Maybe cursing while casting might have done something or maybe not but the results speak for themselves as the Creature takes the spray to its face and crashes to the floor. The party makes quick work of it from then on.
How to obtain Victory points.:
Once the PCs defeat the serpentfolk guardians, they can opt to make useful notes on the priests’ rituals and regalia. Each group can attempt a single Easy skill check using one of the following skills: Appraise, Craft (armor, clothing, or jewelry), Disguise, Knowledge (nobility or religion), Perception, Profession (clerk, merchant, or scribe). If they succeed, they earn 1 Victory Point.
CORE elf wizard 2, init +5, hp 15/15, ac 15, tch 13, ff 10, cmd 14, sv 0/3/3
Ophidian rectory. And since we defeated the sepentfolk, shouldn't we get one of these checks? Edit: maybe you mean we should roll one of the checks you listed?
Some heavy presence within this massive, domed chamber claws at the chest and weighs the air itself down. Strange glows emanate from the cardinal points of this massive, circular chamber. In the center of the room, an elevated, spiraling staircase entwines a column of stone, atop which sits an altar.
Once the PCs defeat the serpentfolk, they may study the remains of Ydersius’s divine servants to make useful notes about his faith and legacy. Each group can attempt a single Easy skill check using one of the following skills: Heal, Knowledge (dungeoneering, planes, or religion), Profession (scribe), or Survival. If successful, the PCs earn 1 Victory Point.
Lasir's flames wash over the skeleton and snake, leaving ashes and a burnt angry snake.
The snake lunges for Lasir!
Bite 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (5) + 5 = 101d4 + 4 ⇒ (3) + 4 = 7
Its burn severely hampers its movements as its bite misses.
Attack from Skeleton on Bemmer 1d20 + 0 ⇒ (6) + 0 = 61d6 ⇒ 6
Bemmer on the survives a rather clumsy strike from the skeleton wielding a broken scimitar as it rams the broken blade off the floor.
A crack of thunder and the tang of ozone cut through the complex. The figures before you, and indeed the walls, the floor, even the air itself seem to crumble and fall away like glittering sands through an hourglass. Unfamiliar figures—their heavy, hooded robes embroidered with the symbol of a winged eye—stand about the field, their hands crackling with lightning. Dozens of Pathfinder spellcasters lie dead at their feet. A gargantuan image of a woman appears and shimmers like a desert mirage. She has a regal bearing, but her features are lined as if by years of endless duty.
”Arrogant Pathfinders! Your ridiculous Society spends fortunes and lives to reassemble a treasure that turns time itself like the pages of a book—a key that could undo all the misery and suffering our world now knows—and you use it for this? Poking at snakes and playing at heroism? Golarion knew a true hero once! Our Lord Aroden—who raised the Starstone from the sea and imprisoned the undead tyrant Tar-Baphon—could already walk the world again were it not for your petty games and delays. Every death in your hours of playtime now hangs as a weight around your collective necks, you spoiled children.
“I am Lady Arodeth, and on behalf of the Harbingers of Fate and the God of Mankind himself, I have seized your Sky Key. Its defenders threw their lives away trying to stop compassion and destiny from returning to this world. I advise you not to throw your own lives away attempting to do the same.
“Behold the return of the Last Azlanti! Behold Aroden!”
Table GMs, you may begin Act 3.
As a reminder to everyone, this scenario ends at Midnight Eastern US Time, when October 11th becomes October 12th. You should work on resolving anything bad that happens by then. I mean, not that this is bad or anything.
Time Zones:
To make this perfectly clear, I am in the US Eastern Daylight Time Zone, which is UTC-4. Convert to your time zone as necessary.
The Crack of thunder must have startled everyone as your foes seemed to have leapt into your blows, ending themselves.
Victory Points:
Once the PCs defeat the serpentfolk, they may study the remains of Ydersius’s divine servants to make useful notes about his faith and legacy. Each group can attempt a single Easy skill check using one of the following skills: Heal, Knowledge (dungeoneering, planes, or religion), Profession (scribe), or Survival. If successful, the PCs earn 1 Victory Point.
DC 10 Knowledge (religion) check:
Identify the embroidered eye symbol on the newcomers’ robes as the holy symbol of Aroden, the vanished and presumed-dead god of humans.
Needless to say time is short as you busy yourselves doing what is needed before hurrying to join the rest of your fellow pathfinders.
The robed Heralds begin casting, and arcs of lightning leap to the rods made of skymetal. A deep thrum from somewhere below reverberates with chest-tightening force, then the earth begins to heave and quake. Emerald green miasma lashes out, snaking back along the arcs of arcane lightning and infecting hooded casters throughout the crowd. Your body—or perhaps the whole world—crumbles to dust and you hear a distant scream of “She’s overloaded it!”
And just as swiftly, the world is whole again, but in place of a flower-speckled field stands the sprawling marketplace of a small city. Ivory-white buildings and columns feature reliefs and endless statuary all depicting physically perfect human specimens in poses of glory over serpentfolk. A chiton-clad crowd of gawkers stares, both at you and at the roiling dome of green light that encompasses nearly a square mile of territory, beyond which this strange city stretches on.
Robed Heralds panic as they sprint beyond the edges of the glistening dome, only to collapse just beyond its border. There they scream and writhe, their bones cracking as flesh and sinew age to dust in mere moments. Meanwhile, those unfortunates consumed by the green miasma scream and stagger, their features warping and bloating as if the power seeking refuge within them were too big for mere flesh to contain.
And high overhead, a looming stone glows with a light visible even in the growing light of dawn.
For game purposes you have being transported back in time.
Bad news is any items thus gained disappears.
However, this provides you some benefit as well! Each of you can choose two of the following benefits right now.
• Recover one or more spells or spell slots whose total levels are equal to your character level.
• Regain one daily use of a class feature. If you would normally be able to use the feature five or more times in one day, instead regain two uses.
• Heal 1d2 points of damage to all ability scores.
• Heal 1d8 hit points. Add your character level to the number of hit points recovered.
You can choose the same benefit twice, if you like.
Knowledge (History) 5:
You recognize this as a moment in history: the Azlanti city of Lacsuhnollo, a sizable colony city in the region that will one day become the Isle of Kortos. The Azlanti citizens here have endured a long conflict with the aboleth and their ulat-kini minions, yet for the past several hours, they have fearfully watched a star in the sky grow brighter and more ominous.
Knowledge (History) 15:
You recognize this as a moment in history: the Azlanti city of Lacsuhnollo, a sizable colony city in the region that will one day become the Isle of Kortos. The Azlanti citizens here have endured a long conflict with the aboleth and their ulat-kini minions, yet for the past several hours, they have fearfully watched a star in the sky grow brighter and more ominous.
Oh Yes, you likely have less than 2 hours before the asteroid above crashes into Golarion and plunges the world into a thousand years of darkness.
DC 15 Knowledge (engineering or history) or Profession (architect) check:
You recognize the architecture around them as Azlanti.
Though the citizens of Azlant are more accustomed to everyday magic than even the cosmopolitan residents of Absalom, these humans of the past have never laid eyes upon dwarves, gnomes, or half-orcs. The sudden appearance of a massive crowd in their midst, combined with the long-standing war and chaos in the sky, proves too much. The crowd of onlookers grows angry, then defensive, yelling threats in Azlanti to order these strangers out of their city and summon the guards.
The methods to deal with these;
Calm The crowd Down. Diplomacy Check DC 18
Cow them into Submission. Intimidate Check DC 15
Other methods could be used as well.
I'll recover the use of two of my 1st level spell slots, bringing me back to 4.
Lasair transforms his hands into scaled claws using my Bloodline Power.
"Listen, ancient knuckleheads- mess with a dragon, you get the claws. Our business is much more complicated than anything you'll ever encounter; leave us alone, or face the consequences."
"This is bad... like really REALLY bad. We have got a couple of hours at most before the apocalypse. We are in the Azlant colony of Lacsuhnollo and that thing in the sky is a meteor that will plunge on Golarion destroying human civilization for a thousand years and more. We need to get back to our time as soon as possible!" says Asarnil actually feeling awed by the circumstances.
I like Lasair's methods. Also No one goign for the Victory Points?
Lasair's words halts the crowd in their tracks as their eyes widen at teh sight of his claws. Real impressive ones too.
Encounter ended. Do proceed to ask your questions.
A familiar figure limps out from between two buildings. The weight of years seems to hang over Kreighton Shaine, the Pathfinder Society’s illustrious Master of Scrolls, his face more deeply lined than it was this morning.
“My apologies for not reaching you more quickly, but I have been quite distracted,” he pants.
To the left and right across the ancient marketplace, other versions of Kreighton Shaine are speaking to other, equally bewildered Pathfinders.
“It seems redundant to say so at this point, but the Harbingers of Fate have seized control of the Sky Key, and we all appear to be trapped in what the Isle of Kortos used to be eons ago. The same sort of temporal bubble that brought the serpentfolk city of Sessegishoss to us now keeps our forces pinned down here. pausing a moment before continuing, “We are attempting to uncover the Sky Key Vault now. While the vault itself seems to be here in this time period, our entrance to it wasn’t projected back, and we’ve lost our bearings relative to its location in this new landscape. What’s more, I worry simply reclaiming the Sky Key will not be enough to allow our escape— that green surge we all witnessed seems to have invested many of the Harbingers with enough of the Sky Key’s energy to maintain our chronological exile.”
Shaine looks worriedly up at the sky. “We will need to work together to uncover the vault and cut the tethers that anchor this time period to the Harbingers’ spellcasters. We must do both so we can use the Sky Key to escape.” A crack of thunder sounds overhead as the dome of green light twists and arcs down to the surface with a thunderous crash, and strange, hairy beasts stride where it struck. “And we would be wise to move quickly.”
Shaine starts handing out Potions of Cure Light wounds to everyone.
One to each PC. So Now off to finding the vault!
CORE elf wizard 2, init +5, hp 15/15, ac 15, tch 13, ff 10, cmd 14, sv 0/3/3
I believed the know religion check was for victory points but then I'll roll planes, no worry. As for moving I'm all for it but what do we need to do? Roll perception? Something else?
Pathfinders have found and uncovered the Sky Key Vault. It is there that the Sky Key—the Society’s ticket home—awaits. However, the dome of green energy remains strong, suggesting that too many Harbinger spellcasters are still anchoring the Society in this time period.
GMs, it is now possible to gain Vault successes. Map is also updated.
"Pathfinders. I do believe finding these Harbringers are the keys to which our prison might be released." Begins Shaine.
"By our reports by others and other Mes to say the least, they are all powerful and can't be missed as they all have a green glow about themselves. In fact I think there are some reports on their general locations." He ends and looks at all of expectantly as he passes a sheaf of parchments.
Alrule Shahan:
Skills needed: Hard Bluff, Hard Diplomacy, Easy Intimidate, Average Knowledge (history). Or you Battle!
Here a Taldan Woman in the latest of Taldan Fashion stands, surrounded by a green glow. She seems utterly convinced that she is a full Azlanti citizen and that Lacsuhnollo is her home.
Binui Skostravalus:
Skills needed: Average Bluff, Average Profession (gambler), or Average Sleight of Hand. Or you Battle!
Holding out a deck of cards, a smiling man offers to read your fortune.
His fortune telling for each and everyone of you is the same. "I see Naught but Death, Darkness and Doom for you." yet his readings is not false for it you fail to stop the meteor, it will be death darkness and doom for everyone. Like all Harbringers, he is lined with the same Green Energy.
Gad Gemple:
Skills needed: Easy Bluff, Average Diplomacy, Hard Intimidate, or Average Knowledge (religion). Or you Battle!
A Man lined with flickering green energy greets you among a throng of fervour minded crowd.
"On your knees and worship me!" he gibbles.
"I am Gad Gemple, the grandson of the Last Azlanti and the Avatar of Aroden!"
Omandi Mil:
Skills needed: Average Bluff, Easy Diplomacy, Hard Intimidate.. Or you Battle!
A green glow quietly surrounds this Proud woman as she holds her head high and looks down upon you from her own makeshift dais.
"Have you come to pay your respects, Peasants?" She smirks as if amused by something only she understands.
"Or are you awed by my indescribable power and mastery of the Arcane?"
Romnus Vagarti:
Skills needed:Hard Bluff, Hard Diplomacy, Hard Perform (any). Or you Battle!
A Green glowing man wth a simply enormous bag is here busy stuffing that same bag with valuables. As you Approaches he roars!
"Mine. Mine. Mine. Mine. Mine. None shall touch the treasures of the Dragon Romnus!"
CORE elf wizard 2, init +5, hp 15/15, ac 15, tch 13, ff 10, cmd 14, sv 0/3/3
"If this is Lacsuhnollo then you should try to remember what happened to it. And by the way... you see that thing in the sky? Unless you snap out of your trance you are going to find out the hard way about the fate of this fine city..." says Asarnil to Alrule Shahan in his trademark sarcastic tone.
Lasair... could you use that intimidate check with someone else? Asarnil doesn't have any decent social skill and Alrule Shahan is the only one with an adequate knowledge check for him (well, the Gad fellow would be too but he was taken anyway)
Yeah, makes sense. Because I haven't actually said anything yet, I'm going to use this natural 20 on Omandi Mil.
"You're very funny and everything, but your so-called indescribable power isn't going to save you from being crushed by a massive meteor. You better get us out of here before you turn into arcane pancake."
Bemmer's stern demeanour and words shakes teh very foundations of Gad Gemple as he steps back with his word. Flinching as if each word delievers a cold stinging slap to his world and shatters it!
Just then the world ripples and you're faced with creatures not of this world!!
Gad meanwhile steps back as if to observe though you can tell that he's still shaken!
"This is a test I have summoned! A test to prove your divine writ!
Sense Motive DC 10:
He's not even convinced by his own words!!!!!
Ending this quickly might just break his out of his world view.
The green dome overhead ripples and flexes, visibly weakened but still present. The same woman’s voice from earlier booms from everywhere and nowhere at once.
“This… this isn’t what I wanted. I wanted a world with purpose again—with certainty. But I suppose there is no greater way to die than in the same fiery cataclysm that marked Aroden’s first step toward divinity. Join me in martyrdom, Pathfinders, and try to die with some dignity.”
Tables, we no longer need any anchors successes! All that's left is to retake the vault!
Between Bemmer harrying it and the magical bolts of force from Asarnil, the skeleton is unable to keep up and falls into a pile o bones whice slowly disaapears from view.
To the vault!!!
“Good show, Pathfinders,” the injured form of Kreighton Shaine manages between blood-soaked coughs. “But Lady Arodeth is a true savant and driven to fanatical extremes. The same energies that infected her casters above have also seized her soul, and I fear she has already killed several of your fellow chroniclers. Or will have killed them. Blast, but this is confusing.”
Shaine props himself up to continue speaking. “However noble her goals may have been, if Lady Arodeth forces us to remain in this time, we will all die. If the Sky Key is still functional, you must reactivate it before the Starstone arrives.” The machines in this chamber begin to spark and smoke, and female bodies take shape from the green miasma.
Shaine continues, “She has learned to create temporal copies of, as I have. She can produce an army, left unchecked. Some teams will need to hold the line here, in this chamber, so that anyone confronting the true Lady Arodeth in the room beyond isn’t overwhelmed by these simulacra. You know your team’s capabilities better than I, but I promise you Lady Arodeth will be not yield easily.”
With that, the chorus of murky green figures announce, “I would have brought destiny back to this world.”
"I'm sure you would have. Now, if you could go away that'd be lovely; I'm going to my cousin's concert tomorrow and I'd rather not be dead for the occasion."
Lasair darts forward and conjures a burst of light in front of the figure's face.
As Pathfinders defeat the furious simulacra, they disperse into foul mist that screams in anger before fading away entirely. Nearby, the true Lady Arodeth seems shaken by the destruction of her miasmic doppelgangers, and their deaths seem to sap her of her zealous rage.
Table GMs, this is Code Green. Code Green is in effect.
The asteroid looms impossibly large overhead, and the air grows stiflingly hot as the world itself begins to rumble. High overhead, the dome of green energy shudders, twists, and finally shatters, and Pathfinders’ bodies begin melting into flowing particles as the world slips away.
Just as quickly, you stumble as Bloodwatered Meadow coalesces beneath your feet, as it does for countless other Society agents. The wildflowers bob lazily in the wind, and nothing but a few still bodies stand as testament to the bloodshed and struggle of the past five hours. Kreighton Shaine, looking several years older, staggers to his feet and gives a nervous chuckle before climbing up a small knoll and waving his arms for the crowd’s attention.
“What we have all witnessed here today has been a remarkably journey that included sights no living soul on Golarion has witnessed. The Sky Key has allowed us to walk among the serpentfolk and Azlanti, gazing upon several of the greatest events to shape Golarion and the region that would one day become the Inner Sea. Let the catastrophe that we witnessed and narrowly escaped humble us and teach us so that we might find value in preserving the messages and wisdom those lost people may have left behind for us to discover. I think we all have some responsibility to remember those who passed so that our modern world can exist.
“You have all observed great things and have notes to share. This much is certain. But for now, let us… let us simply take a few days to reflect. The Society, I imagine, will send agents to collect your notes and interview you about your experiences. Until then, find your families and loved ones, as I know I shall. Failing that, find some passion that ties you to the here and now, and embrace it.
“We survived, Pathfinders. I am proud of your Unrivaled Accomplishment!”
-----
Congrats everyone. The stakes haven't been higher for a PbP Special, but everyone rose to the occasion. I've been watching the successes come in on the Google form and it's been exciting watching you inch closer and closer to the goal! There have certainly been some super tables out there, but it's fairly clear that everyone has been working hard and contributing to the group success. I'm super proud of you guys.
At this point, you have a chance to perform Downtime activity and roll for boons. Because the house earned an Unrivaled Accomplishment, everyone gets their Secondary Success Condition.
I'd like to send a big thank you to all of the players for participating in this event, and a big thank you to all the GMs who ran this. Running and playing in the Play-by-Post specials are a lot of work in a short time, and you rose to the challenge.
If you have any feedback about how this was run at all, please either email me at jmcteague@pathfindersocietyonline.com, or email Jesse at jesse@pathfindersocietyonline.com
