PFS PbP Gameday V - #7-00 The Sky Key Solution (tier 1-2) (Inactive)

Game Master Uktar

perception: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (6) + 2 = 8
Etna will opt to stay near the front to better stay close to any action that may appear. "I'll be careful but we do not have much time. I want to see as much as we can before this bubble pops"

Scanning the area, Lorain moved into the middle of the group in order to support as needed.

Perception: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 2 = 4

Though he sticks close to Isme's side even Viata peers around the room with interest, eyes wide and sniffing at the air nervously.

Perception: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (9) + 8 = 17

Lots of smells here...too many smells. I don't like it!

Barl will be about first or second in line. He should be leading underground but can't help getting distracted by the stonework.

As you explore this area, wandering from finished room to the uncut portion (with a quiet, disappointed "awww" from Barl), you come around a pillar of stone to see 2 Tiny lizard-like creatures, and a Medium reptilian humanoid, who shouts to his pets:

Barl & Zavubak manage to hear the hissing of the humanoid in time to react in the surprise round.

init 1: 1d20 ⇒ 11
init 2: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (3) + 6 = 9

Barl's up
Init order: Etna, Lorian, Isme, Barl, Ajaline, NPC 1, NPC2, Zavubak

Kn-local for humanoid, Kn-Nature on critters

Let me know if you still cannot manipulate the map.

Lorian looked at the group to figure out how it might best operate.

"Looking at each others weapons and skills, I think that Zavubak and Etna should lead the way. Behind that Barl and Isme. The long spear might dissuade a foe from trying to attack you Enta. Just try not to jump around too much or you might accidentally get skewered. I will be in the back guarding Ajaline and cheering you on in battle."

See Zoo Gardens Map, Our Group's Map: Zoo Gardens map The link is also immediately under my Profile Name.

Knowledge (Local): 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (18) + 7 = 25

Barl moves to block the small passageway and quaffs his extract, quickly growing larger.

i can't manipulate the map on my phone. I will move up 2 squares to the northeast where I block that small passage but am not adjacent to the humanoid. Using my Enlarge Person as a standard action.

"Hey, half-elf." Zavubak looks over at Lorian. "Perhaps you should refer to yourself as the Tactician... As of right now. As you say, I will lead the way." A wicked grin covers his face as he moves up to close the distance with the enemies.

Surprise round - Move action up to where the tiny dinos are.

Zavubak, sorry, critters go first. Upside, feel free to make an attack as standard action instead, if you'd like. Barl, you can take an AoO on the one charging Zavubak (and depending upon result might mean lizard doesn't get to attack Zav). And yes, they're tiny, with 0' reach, so they're sharing 5' square with targets.

The 2 Tiny lizards hiss angrily and charge.

v Zav: bite att on Zav: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (19) + 3 = 22
damage: 1d3 - 1 ⇒ (3) - 1 = 2 if hit, make a Fortitude save

v Etna: bite att on Etna: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (7) + 3 = 10
damage: 1d3 - 1 ⇒ (1) - 1 = 0 if hit, make a Fortitude save

Then we're top of the order: Etna's up
[ooc]Init order:
Etna,
Lorian,
Isme,
Barl,
Ajaline,
NPC 1,
NPC2,
Zavubak

Barl, feeling large and in charge, swipes at the ancient critter with his war hammer.

Tell me if I am figuring any of this wrong with Enlarge Person. Damage goes up two steps to 2d6. I gain one attack from the strength bump but lose one from the size bump so my attack bonus is the same. One bonus to damage. Is that right?

Attack: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (19) + 3 = 22
damage: 2d6 + 4 ⇒ (3, 6) + 4 = 13

Barl, indeed, your damage goes from 1d8 to 2d6, the +1 to hit for str boost is offset by penalty for size increase (so +0 to hit), and damage +1.

As the sweet innocent lizard dashes toward Zavubak, merely looking for its next meal, the dastardly dwarf cleaves it in half, leaving its legs twitching on the floor while it's upper half slides to a bloody stop at Zavubak's feet.

Zav, you were never struck, never took damage, because Barl's AoO struck first. You still have your surprise round action, and there's a different lizard in the square adjacent to you, that struck and missed Etna.

"Hmph. Thank you, Barl. A fine strike." Zavubak nods in gratitude at the dwarf as he grabs his orc double axe in both hands and brings it across the lizard's abdomen, letting out a warcry. Haaaaaa!

Orc double axe: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (9) + 5 = 141d8 + 6 ⇒ (5) + 6 = 11

Etna will quickly lash out with her rapier to attack the creature in her space. It was not nice to have a tactic she often employed used against her!
"This is for my inability to make any sort lizard skin something out of you!
This will be vs the lizard in her space. If it has been killed by Zavubak she will instead use this attack as she moves up adjacent to the bigger lizard man.
attack: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (19) + 7 = 26
roll to confirm
attack: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (17) + 7 = 24
damage: 2d4 ⇒ (2, 3) = 5

"Thank you Zavubak!"Lorian said. "Sometimes, no matter what you do, there are people or creatures that no amount of talking will dissuade them from violence. In those cases, dealing with them in a direct manner is the quickest way to resolve them. he said before starting to encourage the party towards bold actions in battle.

Standard. Inspire courage rd 1 of 10. +1 morale to attack/weapon damage rolls, +1 morale to saves vs charm/fear effects.

Zavubak slays the other charging beast (its charge lowering its AC just enough to seal it's fate), and Etna deftly darts forward and delivers a critically piercing strike at the lizardy humanoid.

As if the martial prowess of the party wasn't inpsiring enough, Lorian offers some inspirational encouraging words as welll.

Isme, Barl &/or Ajaline, let 'er rip.
Init order:
Isme,
Barl,
Ajaline,
NPC 1,
Zavubak
Etna,
Lorian,

Isme's Round 1

Kn. Nature: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (16) + 7 = 23

Although fascinated by the appearance of the small lizards and the larger, reptilian humanoid Isme is also perfectly aware that this isn't really the time for trying to get a closer look. Raising her longspear, she steps up behind Etna and deftly stabs at the remaining creature from over the halfling's shoulder.

"Now now, this won't do at all," she comments in an almost conversational tone.

Longspear (Reach; Inspire Courage): 1d20 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (17) + 1 + 1 = 19
Damage: 1d8 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 + 1 = 4

Viata's Round 1

Following hot on the heels of his master, Viata's fur bristles as he leaps and spins and dances around Isme's feat - almost as if trying to act as a distraction or as protection.

Viata fits into Isme's square and can use the Bodyguard feat to boost her AC should she be attacked.

Uktar I rolled 25 to know the humanoid. Looks like it won't matter this fight but just reminding you.

Barl moves around his now much-smaller companions and swings at the lizard man.

I think there is room to move around the group and attack using reach.

attack: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (3) + 3 = 6
damage: 2d6 + 4 ⇒ (3, 1) + 4 = 8

Ajaline takes a couple steps over so that he can see the lizardlike creature. He draws his bow and fires a shot. "Disgusting vermin. You are so beneath me I am amazed that I'm even wasting an arrow on you."

shortbow, courage, into melee: 1d20 + 2 + 1 - 4 ⇒ (14) + 2 + 1 - 4 = 13
damage, if hit: 1d6 - 1 ⇒ (2) - 1 = 1

Isme, It looks like your attack did not include the soft cover that Etna is providing your foe. (check out Phalanx Formation

Isme says "Poor little compies" i.e. they were Compsognathus then attempts to stab the "lizardman," as Barl calls it. But she does not penetrate the creatures thick skin; perhaps she could've delivered more force if the halfling weren't in the way...

Ajaline also has difficulty penetrating the tough hide with his bow shot. Should've been an additional -4 for cover, but missed either way.

Meanwhile Barl daintily excuses himself while moving through a few allies' squares, doing his best not to step on anyone. Unfortunately, while he managed to get a clear line of attack no cover penalty for Barl, he swings wildly and misses.

The lizardman lashes out at Etna with morningstar and bite
morningstar attack: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (12) + 2 = 14
morningstar damage: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (7) + 1 = 8

bite attack: 1d20 ⇒ 7
bite damage: 1d4 ⇒ 4

Zavubak, Etna, &/or Lorian, have at it.
. Init order:
Zavubak
Etna,
Lorian,
Isme,
Barl,
Ajaline,
NPC 1,

"Puny lizard. I know not what these creatures are or why they fight us, but they clearly have misjudged their opponents." Zavubak marches ahead past Barl towards the remaining lizardman.

Double move

Etna will take the opportunity of the miss to slip into the enemies square by spending a panache point and a immediate actions. After slipping inside, she will smile from under him as she attempts to drive the rapier up into the creatures hide.
attack: 1d20 + 7 + 2 ⇒ (13) + 7 + 2 = 22
damage: 1d4 ⇒ 2
In addition, do to my annoyance, he will take a -4 to all attacks against anyone but me. Anyone adjacent to me will also be considered flanking him while I am in his square.

"We got them where we want them! Coming through, Excuse me, pardon me." Lorian said as he made his way forward, pointing out to the the group where to target their attacks. T

Continue performance 2/10. Move to new location and attack.
Attack: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (5) + 4 = 91d6 + 3 ⇒ (1) + 3 = 4

whoops, forgot to add that in to mine. Would have done 3 damage instead of 2

Etna slips inside the lizardman's guard, stabbing him yet again. The bloodloss from the punctures looks to be taking its toll, yet the creature remains in this fight.

Everybody's enjoying a little Mouser love, with a +2 flanking bonus to hit, so with inspire +3 to hit, +1 damage

Isme, Barl, &/or Ajaline, you're up.

Etna, if you cut and paste your token on the map, it should layer over what's already there, allowing you to place yourself on top of critters whose space you enter. At least, it should. I've taken care of it for the lizardman, but tip for possible future uses...

sorry to my first time having to occupy spaces. I almost messed up the whole map when that little lizard was in my square, took me like five minutes to figure out my position after that haha.

Can I walk through any of the 4 squares enlarged Barl takes?

yeah you can walk through them unhindered, just can't end your turn their with out squeezing.

Ajaline moves past Barl in order to get a better shot at the lizard beast.

I think I'm not affected by soft cover now. And no flanking bonus for ranged attack.

Shortbow,inspire,into melee: 1d20 + 2 + 1 - 4 ⇒ (17) + 2 + 1 - 4 = 16
Damage, if hit: 1d6 - 1 ⇒ (6) - 1 = 5

No worries, Etna. Just remember, control Ctrl-Z is your Undo friend (i was having issues getting you back on the map as well. I should figure out locking layers, etc, but I'm not a google docs user in general.)

Ajaline's arrow sails through the air, only to deflect off the edge of the lizardman's shield. Perhaps Isme or Barl will finish off the beast.

Round 2

Frowning with the realization that her attack was hindered, Isme pushes past her other teammates and crawls between Barl's legs in order to circle around the creature and get into a more favorable position.

Moving to current map position.

your movement's 30', Isme, so you can also make an attack with your spear. No penalty, but no flank bonus, since the Mouser flank ability only applies to adjacent foes--next round, you'll be able to fully flank with a 5' step. So +1 to hit and damage thanks to inspire.

Argh! I will get the hang of this eventually; thank you for being patient!

...And then Isme remembers her training and that she should be free to strike the reptilian creature even from her current position. "Hah!" she cries as she attempts once more to skewer it.

Attack (Longspear; Inspire Courage): 1d20 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (8) + 1 + 1 = 10
Damage: 1d8 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 1 + 1 = 6

Barl slams his super sized war hammer on the lizard man.

Round 3/10 enlarge person.

Forgot the Inspire Courage bonus last round, not that it would have mattered. No flank bonus for me. Love the mouser anyway!

Attack: 1d20 + 3 + 1 ⇒ (12) + 3 + 1 = 16
Damage: 2d6 + 3 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (2, 4) + 3 + 1 + 1 = 11

Barl also gets tantalizingly close to striking the lizardman. If only it weren't for that pesky halfling, this lizardman would feel nigh on invinceable.

Of course, he has no clue what a Mouser is, and he attempts to 5' step away before attacking the halfling.

if Etna's AoO doesn't finish him off:
morningstar attack: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (5) + 2 = 7
morningstar damage: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 1 = 5

bite att: 1d20 ⇒ 7
bite damage: 1d4 ⇒ 2

Then top of the order, Zavubak, Etna, &/or Lorian,

aoO: 1d20 + 7 + 1 ⇒ (7) + 7 + 1 = 15
damage: 1d4 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 1 = 5
This time Etna will not bother roll into the lizard man's space, instead taking him on face to face. "Prepare to face death, again, I'm not sure how the good lady is sorting out this time thing!
attack: 1d20 + 7 + 1 ⇒ (7) + 7 + 1 = 15
damage: 1d4 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 1 = 5

Etna seizes upon the opportunity your foe offers and skewers him unconscious as the lizardman attempts to step away from the pesky halfling who was underfoot.
Your flank bonus would've applied to AoO, because it happens before he steps away. Just enough to hit him.

and we're out of initiative. 2 very dead compies, and a lizardman bleeding out.

Some of y'all made this roll earlier:

As you study this slain creature, the group can make 1 skill check as a whole, in any one of the following skills: Craft (painting), Handle Animal, Heal, Knowledge (nature), Profession (clerk, farmer, scribe, shepherd, or stablemaster), or Survival. You can take ten, if you so desire. Can assign one person as lead, and will allow Aid Another unless trained only. Take 20 is not an option.

I would recommend Survival or Heal since everyone can aid. I am untrained in all the others and have a negative mod on those two so I will wait and aid whomever else.

Barl shares his information on the lizardfolk with the rest of the party.

"A lizardfolk?" Isme studies the slain creature with interest. "Certainly not what I expected. I wonder if lizardfolk are the ones that control this piece of land during this time period or if it was simply an attraction in this...pen area?"

I agree with Barl; I think Heal or Survival would be the best way to go since very few of us have any of the others. Isme has a +5 to Heal and a +1 for Survival.

Survival (Aid another): 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 1 = 2

After the battle, Zavubak kneels next to the lizard creature. Examining its body closely, he tries to pinpoint its weak spots, but can't find anything he can recognize. "Apologies, but I've never seen another creature like this in our time..."

Sorry guys.. That RNG..

She will clean the blood off her rapier and skip back to the group.
Got one panache back from the kill.
She nods as she hears more about the lizard men. "Hmmm well that guy did not seem to happy about us walking around. Even got his pets trying to take us out!
She will walk over and begin to look over the bodies. Maybe she could help them notice something about them.
[ooc[She will take a ten in any skill that is not trained only to assist. She has no negatives in mental stats so with a ten she will aid in one of those fields.[/ooc]

"Hmph. Slimy, stinky creatures. One wonders why such things even exist." Ajaline watches the others stoop over to investigate the bodies of the slain creatures. He wrinkles his nose at the thought of even being near such inferior beasts. "If you guys think you can learn anything useful by poking and prodding at some dead bodies you are welcome to it. I am simply not accustomed to that sort of thing." He makes a display of turning away from the group and standing away at a distance.

No ranks in any of those skills and it's more fun to play IC and have Ajaline NOT help.

Despite the lack of help from your petulant Elf, Isme is able to use a Heal check to thoroughly examine the remains of the lizarfolk and its pets, gaining valuable insight into the nature of the ancient society from whence they came.

Victory Point achieved.

As you travel deeper within the Zoological gardens, you come across an interesting chamber:
Clouds of steam rise from this balmy chamber’s countless pools. Small, rocky islands abound, separated by cloudy, mineral-laden waters. Each island supports a stone plinth carved with minute glyphs and elaborate pictograms. Sliding across the floors and floating in the pools, thousands of snakes of various species and sizes slither throughout the chamber and bask in its tropical heat.

There is no specific map for this room. I've inserted a graphical image to give you a very rough sense of it. Essentially, you need to get adjacent to a plinth to study it and take notes. Each PC can try to decipher each plinth. There are obvious skill checks you can make to deal with snakes : Acrobatics to jump to island, stealth to slip by carefully, or Handle Animal/Wild Empathy to deal with snakes. the distance between islands makes you believe that Acrobatics may be the most daunting of those checks. Creative solutions to deal with snakes are welcome as well. They are normal snakes, mostly vipers and other venomous snakes, and there are thousands, i.e. too many to simply clear out with damage. Again map image is just rough approximation, there are set DCs irregardless of my image, and distance on image is irrelevant. Just tell me which plinth, #1 to 5 from left to right, you're attempting to approach.

Etna will strip off her chain shirt and buckler before she stretches slightly before making sure she has some writing utensils in her pack. After getting some stretching in she will take a deep breath and begin to stealth by the many many snakes towards the 1d5 ⇒ 2 one. For once she will not say anything, trying her best to stay quiet as she moves.
stealth: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (20) + 8 = 28

Barl feels inspired as he watches Etna sneak through the snakes. He tries to follow suit, aiming at #4.

Using a point of inspiration.

Stealth + Inspiration: 1d20 + 1 + 1d6 ⇒ (13) + 1 + (1) = 15

Sometimes it's good to be short. Etna easily manages to slip by the snakes without disturbing them whatsoever: she is as one with the room.

Barl, on the other hand, moves like a dwarf. As he is about to step on the tail of a particularly nasty looking pit viper, he feels a sudden moment of inspiration that causes him to pause in just the nick of time. As the sweat begins to gather on his brow, he is finally able to reach plinth#4.

You may try Appraise, Kn-History, Kn-Nature, Kn-Religion, Linguistics and/or Perception to decode the carvings on the plinth. Take Ten is an option.
Plinth images