[PFS] PbP Gameday VII - GM Woran's The Citadel of Flame (Inactive)

Game Master Woran

[PFS] PbP Gameday VII - GM Woran's The Citadel of Flame

dot. will update player stats/profile tonight.

Venture Capten Dennel Hamshanks ignores all pretense of pleasantries as he pounds into the meeting room in the Grand Lodge in Absalom. “Never time to do it right, is there? Gorum see us through this, then.”
He grunts loudly and levels his glare at the entire room.
“Ever been to Qadira? Religion is almost a fad down there, with new cults springing up like weeds and getting crushed just as quickly. It has been that way for centuries.
“But some make a mark—on Qadira or in the Chronicles. Three centuries ago, the archdevil Moloch, preaching surrender to the desert heat, suddenly became the rage. Qadirans walked into the desert just to die just as if the heat was their paradise. The most devout sought out the hidden Citadel of Flame, where a fearsome bull-headed idol of Moloch judged them and sent the worthy to Malebolge, the sixth layer of Hell. No surprise that Sarenrae’s priests launched a mighty crusade to demolish the citadel. After two weeks, a great sandstorm swallowed the expedition—and, it seemed, the citadel and its idol. Nothing more was heard from either.
“Until ten days ago, that is. Sandstorms regularly scour the Qadiran highlands, and this time they emptied an entire valley of dunes. Poking out of that valley, visible only to those soaring above—such as a flying Pathfinder wizard—was the lofty spire of a fortress: the Citadel of Flame, presumably.
“Hopefully we are the first to learn about its reappearance and we need to act fast. The Decemvirate doesn’t expect any trouble, so they’re sending you. But I do expect trouble—who knows what’s infesting that citadel? Get in there fast and find that idol—it could be the key to the entire cult. It’s likely statue-sized, maybe as big as me, and should have a bull’s head on it. And for Gorum’s sake be careful.”

Qadira... that's a hot and dry place." comments Z'hor'll, the undine watersinger. "And hot and dry isn't really a good place for people like me, if you know what I mean?"

"A status as big as you? That's pretty big. How are we going to get it out of there. I know I can't carry a venture-captain sized hunk of stone. And what sort of desert horrors should we expect to see?

"Man, I hope that we can see some water other than those mirages I always hear about. Mirages just aren't good enough for water-shaping."

"EHH! We c'n git dat done! F'nish th' job of m' fellow Sarenites!"

Fuath slaps Z'hor'll heartily on the back.

"Y'll be fine! Sun's good fer ye! Feel da goh-d'ss'ss' blessin's spillin' o'er ye wit each ray o' light!"

I will attempt to update taglines again tomorrow. Everytime I tried saving my taglines, I'd get booted to a different page. All the stats are uploaded in the profile, though.

No worries. Updating profiles can be wonky

The Venture Captain shuffles trough some papers and hands you each a small stack. "You're going to Katheer, the capital of Quadira, by boat. From there its a few days travel trough the desert. As to how to get the idol out, Ill leave that up to your creativity. If you're strong enough you could carry it. Or you could buy a donkey or camel. I would advice against horses. They dont do well in the desert heat, unless its one of those special breeds, and I've been told they cost a fortune."

Z'hor'll thinks about this a moment. "Well, we do have a dwarf, and I hear that they are about as strong as an ox. About as smart, too, but we won't hold that against him!" He slaps Fuath on the back, in return for his slap.

"I am Gresh" says the huge half-orc in bright shiny full plate and carrying a shiny black greataxe. The holy symbol of Iomedae hangs from his neck.

"I am Z'hor'll B'bblebr'x, at your service!" says the undine, as he acknowledges the big half-orc. "Yeah, I know, but trust me, it sounds far better under water!"

"So, it looks like we have even more brawn to carry the big statue. Maybe we don't need to rent a poor mule for the job. Of course, how much could that cost?"

Howdy! - greets the man - I'm Gyrand, here for the Society as well.

The brawler scratches his head while looking around. He was just a common man who punched things - and this group was quite more exotic than he was used to.

Dennel gives you all a good once over. "I'm sure you'll all do fine, as long as you are careful. The desert is a dangerous place. Unless you have any questions for me, your ship leaves in two hours. Enough time to pack your things and do some shopping if you need to. I can recommend you buy some hot weather gear if you dont have it already."

Wonders if he has time to add an enchantment to his shiny black greataxe

"I have no hot gear... I will purchase this gear when we are done here." says Gresh. He then seems to ponder another option... Gresh mutters, "Perhaps I will ask my contacts in the Society if an Endure Elements spell will be of use in the desert as well..."

Gresh addresses Venture Captain Dennel Hamshanks directly, "Do we have any reason to believe that others are on their way to the Citadel and if so, who they might be?"

I would like to add a +1 enchant my greataxe, buy hot weather gear and use 2 prestige to get a wand of Endure Elemens

If I had actually paid attention to the character sheet, I would have said a +1 enchantment to the platemail, not the greataxe... sorry.

"'ey! Th' dissert ain' so ba' a place! We're like t' fine' some o' m' kin der! Well... m' religious kin. Not t'many dwarves a'cept Sarenrae's holy truth."

Fuath scrunches up his face while looking at the Venture Captain, obviously thinking...

"... what... questions... should we ask you?"

”Should we be afraid of these sandstorm? I can only imagine what that must be like. The opposite of a nice summer cyclone, I should imagine. All hot and chafing.” asks the Undine. ”What are the other sorts of hazards we should expect there? Rampaging Sarenrites I should imagine. Hordes of beautiful harems? Or just a lot of sand snakes?”

Although he is trying to keep things light, it is clear that the water-touched bard is a little concerned about where they are going. ”Will we need to fear minions o Moloch? If so, what will they be like?”

Dennel looks at Gresh. "I have no reason to believe others are on their way. The citadel was only recently uncovered, and we only found out by chance. Its in a very remote part of the desert. Altough I can imagine if word got out, the Sarenrites would be very interested." He also glances at Z'hor'll. "If the Saranrites beat you too it however, just let them be. It would be a shame to have such a site be destroyed, but getting in between religious fanatics is a sure way to get you all killed."

Dennel then looks at Fuath. "Well, I would advice you to ask questions about things you dont know about. Have you traveled trough a desert before? I can give you advice. Have you heard of Moloch before? If not, I can give you the cliff notes. Maybe you are the type that rather researches things in the library and want to look up answers over there, rather then ask. That is fine too."

Finally Dennel turns to Z'hor'll. "Moloch is an archdevil and ruler of the infernal layer of Malebolge. It is said that all who burn join the armies of Moloch. The Lord of the Sixth embodies both absolute discipline and directed destructive force. His sacred animal is a bull, and his worshippers are generally fanatics more then willing to die. If there are any minions left, it would be ones that could have survived decades of burial in the sand."

”So what supplies are you going to send us with so that we have the best chance of survival and success? I mean, I guess I can pick up some hot weather gear. I suppose we need stuff like vermin repellent and antitoxin? And gallons of aloe Vera gel to treat sunburn. Man, I don’t want to see what happens to my skin in the sun. Guess I will need to stand in Gresh’s shadow as much as possible.

“And what do you know that you are not telling us?”

Dennel looks a bit annoyed. "Look, this might not be your usual forte. I can imagine even some apprehension going to such a terrain. But this mission is voluntary. If you are uncomfortable, or do not trust me in this, you are free to refrain, and we will find another mission for you."

"Woah, woah, woah!" exclaims Z'hor'll. "I was just asking questions... one's that everyone's wondering about. I can handle it. I may have to go requisition a wand of endure elements to protect my beautiful blue skin, but I know a guy, you know?"

"Still, what critters should we be worried about?"

Dennel isnt going to let Z'hor'll off easy. "So everyone is wondering that I am wilfully holding back information back from you? What operation do you think I am running here? That I have a network of spies in place who have already combed a just unearthed citadel, and that I'm sending you after for s++@s and giggles? I have no idea who trained you in your three years of basics but they clearly didnt work on your attitude. Now get out of my sight before I demote you back to trainee!" He points angrily at the door.

"No need to get angry sir. We are leaving and will happily go forth to investigate the citadel." Gresh gestures towards the door as well.

Z'hor'll considers giving the Venture-Captain a distance "wet willy" with his hydraulic push, but decides the better of that. He puts his arm around the large half-orc, and whispers, "Yeah, Pathfinders have that affect on folks."

Fuath looks to Z'hor'll.

"Eh! Y' fish people is awl da same! Ain' gut fer nuthin buh' ge''in' ever'in slimy, and smellin' ba'! Now ye gun an' piss' ohf da Venture Cap'in!"

Fuath has a negative CHA modifier. While some play that as "quiet, and uncomfortable in social situations," I play Fuath as being horrible in social situations. Usually being crass and/or rude/insulting. If anyone has a problem with this: please let me know, and I will refrain from Fuath interacting with your characters in this way.

You have some time to make purchaces if you want to. Your journey takes a few days aboard a sea ship. This is the time for a bit of a longer character introduction. What would others notice about you? Does your character have a set routine?

Z'hor'll seems at home on the ship. He is never one to sit still, but is always around, asking questions, and constantly joking with everyone. He tends towards slapstick and practical jokes, but is quickly known to have quite the repertoire of dirty jokes as well, much to the amusement of the sailors and the chagrin of his traveling mates.

He also spends a good deal of time sculpting water with his watersong. He loves to try to make intricate flowers and other works of art, but after a while it is obvious that he is frustrated with his lack of skill in the actual sculpting, as well as the very ephemeral nature of his art. His typical response is to laugh it off, but to those who get to know him, you can tell that it bothers him.

When discussing tactics, he makes it clear that his is a support role. He will inspire the team with his jokes or a rousing story, but his combat skills are a bit lacking. His trademark combat trick is to use hydraulic push to perform a variety of combat maneuvers, instead of just pushing his target back (the typical bullrush) he can trip, disarm, or perform a dirty trick. If he is not inspiring, he can use his watersong and even coax the water to attack adjacent targets.

Gresh will requisition a wand of endure elements. He will also buy 2x antitoxins and antiplague flasks. In addition he will trade in his current mwk full plate for a magical suit full plate with a holy symbol of Iomedae emblazoned upon the breast.

Gresh is clearly not comfortable at sea. He spends most of the time aboard the ship polishing his armor and sharping his great axe while on deck. Even though he is uncomfortable, he is always willing to engage with others. Others find him easy to speak to and often realize they offer more information then they intended. Gresh often talks about his recent exploits to the north and the closing of an ancient portal.

Gresh relishes bringing the light of Iomedae to those that follow darker paths. While he is willing to talk, he will not hesitate to use force when warranted. He defends those that cannot defend themselves. He will willingly place himself in harms way to protect his allies. He deals out Justice to ememies using his great axe.

Fuath wears a small belly-warmer over religious robes. Tauting his faith in Sarenrae, and being one of her chosen followers.

Many remarks about how dumb most dwarfs are, staying underground, and not seeing Sarenrae's holy light. He's obviously the most dedicated dwarven follower of Sarenrae, hence why Sarenrae gifts Fuath with her power when he prays to her.

He is very gruff, and dislikable. Often picking fights and causing insult. To the chagrin of those he is interacting with, but the likely amusement of those near him.

He seems ready to fight at a moment's notice, with his nice battle-axe at hand; though he may not be the best at it. He explains that Sarenrae has allowed him to heal "the worthy at range. And can also cause some damage, and trip opponents at range with the abilities gifted by Sarenrae.

The voyage to Sedeq is uneventful.
The desert heat is intense after Absalom's balmy sea climate.

There are options to rent donkeys or camels to help carry equipment and make the journey easier if you want to.

The trek trough the desert is tiring, even when taking a break trough the hottest part of the day. Carrying enough food, but especially enough water for a round trip on your backs makes for slow going.
During the fourth day, the endless Qadiran dunes gives way to red stone crags. Continuing your journey, the sun beats down on a maze of red slickstone, with delicate arches and towering columns called hoodoos dotting the landscape. Somewhere within this expanse lies the Citadel of Flame and within, the idol of Moloch.

You leave early on the morning of the sixth day to take advantage of the cooler temperatures.
The path descends through a maze of cliffs, opening into a slot canyon of smooth red stone surrounded by towering hoodoos. At the far side, two hoodoos carved into enormous bull-headed men leer down on the canyon, while those nearby look like stylized flames. To either side, the canyon walls rise steeply in a series of rough ledges to the clifftops above.
Brass doors on a massive wall of baked gray mud can be seen through an arch at the far side of the canyon.

Without pack animals, enough food and water for the trip will have to be carried by everyone. I assume it can be divided between characters
Ive also placed your characters on the map

Sorry, was it too late to rent pack animals? Z'hor'll was interested. Been meaning to post. If it is ok, how much would a mule or camel be?

If not, we'll just haul it, I guess.

The undine wipes the sweat off of his brow, and briefly considers freezing it, but then just shakes it off his hand.
"Well, I guess this must be it?" he says, stating the obvious.

So, the doors are at the same level as us, but we just cannot see them on the map?

Z'hor'll steps out, cautiously, calling for Gresh. While there, he looks around.
perception: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (4) + 7 = 11

The half-orc moves forward ahead of the undine while he readies his battle axe and scans the brass doors. ”That looks to be the way in to find what we are looking for...” he says, pointing the battle axe towards the brass doors.

Gresh turns toward the undine and with a pained look whispers; ”Any chance you can douse me with some sort of conjured water once we get inside the citadel? This sand gets into and under everything....”. He shifts uncomfortably in his shiny full plate.

Perception: 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (2) - 1 = 1

Fuath moves up and stands beside Gresh, eyeing the area surreptitiously.

Perception: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (18) + 4 = 22+2 if it is unusual stonework

"Huh. Guess t'is is i'! Wull, wha'ya say we go on 'n, Gresh?"

renting a camel is 15 gp per day, and a mule is so cheap you're better off buying one. Renting camels for everyone would greatly reduce the travel time too, from six to 3 days. The map is the top view, the doors are between the dotted lines. Its not very clear, so I put in a graphic where the doors are exactly.

Fuath studies the arch with interest. It has a multitude of runes carved on its front. Written in Ignan. DC25 linguistics to translate of no one knows Ignan
He notices that several of these glyphs were carved recently.

Everyone can also make a survival check

15 gold per day? That’s 10% of the cost of a camel. Per day... I guess if everyone wants to spend 90gp, I will as well. Otherwise, I buy a couple of mules.

survival: 1d20 + 0 ⇒ (10) + 0 = 10

I will purchase a camel

Gresh places his battle axe in front of Fuath saying, ”Just a moment Fuath” as he concentrates on the set of brass doors.

i am using detect evil on the door

survival: 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (9) - 1 = 8

Those quadiran merchants strike a mean bargain ;)

The door is not evil.

While some of you search the canyon floor, and other check out the doors and runes, suddenly the rubble at the sides of the canyon moves, and two fiery creatures erupt from under the stone!

Incredibly fast, the flame creatures rush down.

slam blue agains Gresh: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (3) + 7 = 10

slam green against Fuath: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (19) + 7 = 26
damage: 1d6 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 1 = 6
reflex save: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (2) + 4 = 6

One of the flame creatures completely misses Gresh. The other one however slams into Fuath with great force, actually setting the dwarf on fire!

Round 1

Initiative

Flame creatures
Fuath 6 damage
Gresh
Gyrand
Z'hor'll

Fuath, Gresh, Gyrand and Z'hor'll are up!

A burning creature can attempt a new save as a full-round action. Dropping and rolling on the ground grants a +4 bonus on this save.

Assuming, here... based on the artwork
kn:planes: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (4) + 7 = 11
Note, the RNG truly hates me

GM Woran, Does Z'hor'll think that creating water with the spell on Fauth will help?

Z'hor'll takes a 5' step back, and starts reciting
"Knew of this fellow named Wilber
His body parts were a little off kilter
Whenever he laughed
Flames shot out his ass
Carried around his own fire extinguisher!"

Inspire Courage, +1
He then draws his MW scorpion whip.

Ah yeah, its know planes to identify the creatures. Also, creating water on Fauth wil certainly help

kn:planes: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (1) + 5 = 6

Gresh heaves his great axe and strikes at the fiery creature.

greataxe vs blue, pa, ic: 1d20 + 8 - 2 + 1 ⇒ (13) + 8 - 2 + 1 = 20 adamantine/slashing, pa, ic: 1d12 + 5 + 6 + 1 ⇒ (11) + 5 + 6 + 1 = 23

The great axe slices through the fiery creature, gravely injuring it?....

Gresh hacks at the flame, dousing a considerable part of them, but the creature still stands...

"Wull, tha's no' a fine gree'in', izzit?!"

Fuath draws his adamantine battle axe and swings at the creature next to him green.

Attack: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (17) + 8 = 25
Damage, Adamantine: 1d8 ⇒ 6

fire damage: 1d6 ⇒ 5
Fuath chose not to make a reflex save and is still on fire

Putting Gyrand in delay

Z'hor'll: Starts performing to boos his allies.

Gresh: Scores a heavy blow against one of the fire creatures.

Fuath: Is on fire, but still manages to hit the other fire creature.

Flame creatues: Singlemindedly continue to attack their targets.

slam blue agains Gresh: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (5) + 7 = 12

slam green against Fuath: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (6) + 7 = 13

But both miss.

Round 2

Initiative

Flame creatures Green 6, Blue 23 damage
Fuath 11 damage
Gresh
Gyrand
Z'hor'll

Everyone can act!

Gresh takes a step back to shield Z'hor'll from the fiery creature and swings his battleaxe at the fiery creature.

greataxe vs blue, pa, ic: 1d20 + 8 - 2 + 1 ⇒ (16) + 8 - 2 + 1 = 23 adamantine/slashing, pa, ic: 1d12 + 5 + 6 + 1 ⇒ (11) + 5 + 6 + 1 = 23

The battle axe cuts deeply into the fiery creature...

Z'hor'll sees the need to end this fight quickly, so rather than trying to put out the fire on the dwarf, he attempts to knock the fire creature onto its burning butt, which continuing to recite limericks.

"There was a young fellow named Hall
who died in the spring in the fall.
'Twould have been a bad thing
had he died in the spring
but he didn't — he died in the fall"

Casts hydraulic push, using the feat hydraulic maneuver, which let him change the combat maneuver from bull rush to trip.

trip vs green: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (4) + 8 = 12

Wow, can I roll anything higher than a 5 on this game?
Casting a spell means that I do not burn a round of perfomance due to my harmonic performance feat

Gresh smashes Blue into Ashes! Green however is none too impressed.

"Weh'! Dis is ho'(t)!"

Fuath swings again at the firey creature(yes, foregoing the save to try and remove the burning condition), with the burning temper of the sun goddess behind his blow!

Attack: 1d20 + 3 + 1 ⇒ (13) + 3 + 1 = 17
Damage, Adamantine: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (6) + 1 = 7

Gresh: Makes short work of one of the fiery creatures.

Z'hor'll: Conjures a stream of water, but it doesnt appear to have any effect.

Fuath: Scores another solid hit against the remaining fire creature, and remains on fire.
fire damage: 1d6 ⇒ 3

Fire creature: The death of its companion doesnt seem to move the remaining creature. It swings again at Fuath.

slam green against Fuath: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (7) + 7 = 14

Round 3

Initiative

Flame creatures Green 13 damage
Fuath 14 damage
Gresh
Gyrand
Z'hor'll

Everyone again can act!

Z'hor'll continues to recite his limericks,
"There once was a man from kanass,
Who's nuts were made out of brass.
in stormy weather,
he'd clack them together,
and lightning shot out of his ass!"

Inspire Courage continues

He then casts create water over Fuath, dumping 8 gallons of water on the dwarf's head, hoping to put out his fire.

As this is a spell being cast, no rounds of performance are used.