The esteemed Blakros family, famous for their museum in Absalom, (but more importantly that this is at least the 5th time they have called on the Society's help after unleashing . . . something with), receives a large shipment of artifacts from Numeria but fears that the ever-vigilant Technic League will attack to reclaim its "stolen" property. When they request the help of Pathfinders to help guard the collection, the PCs discover that the Technic League is the least of their worries.
DM Notes:
N Medium construct (robot)
Init +1; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision; Perception +8
DEFENSE
AC: 20, T: 11, FF: 19, CMD: 20 (+1 Dex, +9 natural)
hp 42F +1, R +2, W +2
Hardness 10 20ft
OFFENSE
Melee slam +9 (1d4+7) or mwk spear +10 (1d8+5/×3 plus 1d6 electricity)
Ranged mwk spear +6 (1d8+6/×3)
STATISTICS
Str 20, Dex 13, Con —, Int 10, Wis 13, Cha 1
Base Atk +4; CMB +9; CMD 20
Feats Combat Reflexes, Power Attack
Languages Common, Hallit
M Dwarf [AC: 22(26MA); ff 19; T:21] HP=75/75 F +11/R+10/W+15 CMD 31 (32 grapple) Ki 12/12 Monk (Zen Archer)/8 Perc +18/stone +20 Darkvision 60' per strike 8/8 40' move
Jory watches the proceedings and is suspicious of the lady, he checks to make sure she is not possessed anymore.
Sense Motive:1d20 + 15 ⇒ (16) + 15 = 31
"We need to get these things out of people without killing them."
Unless the woman protests, Faustus will proceed, first drawing out his cold iron dagger, and then looking to her arm where the metal object was burrowing into. "I wonder if this might be something that someone trained in disabling traps or opening locks might be better at?" he muses.
"What, these" she points towards the small flat metal sheet. "This is a tracking chip. We use them to be able to tell," stopping for a moment, attempting to find a way to explain it, "it's like a compass. We can use them to tell which direction to go to find each other. It's, I placed it in, in case one of use got lost."
"If, if your not goin' to kill me, . . . am I free to go? I just want out of here. I sear, you won' get any trouble from me. I just want to go home."
M Dwarf [AC: 22(26MA); ff 19; T:21] HP=75/75 F +11/R+10/W+15 CMD 31 (32 grapple) Ki 12/12 Monk (Zen Archer)/8 Perc +18/stone +20 Darkvision 60' per strike 8/8 40' move
Jory looks at the woman and the 'tek' with suspicion.
sense motive:1d20 + 15 ⇒ (12) + 15 = 27
"I would hate to chase you down and subdue you again. Let us wait until this episode is over, then you can go. Until now, you are restrained for your own good."
HP 186/186; AC 18, T 15, FF 14; F+20, R+13, W+11; CMB+17; CMD 31; Per +19, Init +8
"You chose to have this rock implanted. My people do something similar, with piercings in the..." Gerdur makes a general motion toward his crotch. "I am told it is pleasurable to the chosen one you bed."
He shrugs at Jory. "If she is no threat to us, then we have no cause to contain her. Her complaint is with the Blakros, not us. Let us continue; there are things to be slain and legends to be forged."
She seems to be telling the truth, and neither of you sense any true sense of deception from her. She's either fantastic at lying, even in her insane state, or she honestly just wants to get out of here alive.
Currently I'm assuming that you as a group have her some combination of held down, tied up, surrounded, and she is also disarmed. She is also aware of the two robots at the front door, though not sure if they are still there. Being that you have captured her, she is assuming she is your (as a group) prisoner/slave, and also realizes she can not realistically escape right now and be safe. If she ran, you'd probably cut her down on the spot, and she has no weapons. I wasn't clear if you actually bound her or not, (I assumed so, but some said no), but I'm fine with it either way.
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Also, just in case there is confusion, the round "rock" is different from the thing she and most of the dead, robbed people in the room have implanted in them. IE, ie one is a grenade, (yah, have fun), and the other is a literal tracking chip. It's safe to remove the ones from the dead, though without special training (yah, thanks Tech Guide!!!), removing from her might deal a lot of damage.
[ HP 23/23 | AC 13/12/11 (MA:16/12/14), CMD 13, Fort +3, Ref +4, Will +4 | Init +2; Perception +6 ]
"I would rather leave the matter to our superiors," Azeban says. "I'd also like her on hand to help us inspect the crate. Other than that, I have no strong opinion."
"True, we are not slavers. Madam, you are free to go as you please. The automatons that were in the front lobby have been dispatched, so it is safe to leave.
"However, you seem learned on these things of technology, as you put it. If the thing in your arm is safe, then we shall leave it be. However, your knowledge might be very helpful in determining what happened here. Would you mind helping us out with your knowledge?"
diplomacy:1d20 + 12 ⇒ (18) + 12 = 30
Faustus puts away his dagger, as his surgery was not needed.
M Dwarf [AC: 22(26MA); ff 19; T:21] HP=75/75 F +11/R+10/W+15 CMD 31 (32 grapple) Ki 12/12 Monk (Zen Archer)/8 Perc +18/stone +20 Darkvision 60' per strike 8/8 40' move
Jory says: "You will lead us to put things right here and help where you can, AND ONLY THEN will you be allowed to go."
Jory hands the grenade to the sorcerer. "This should be fun to throw when magic is not the answer."
He turns to the group.
"We continue, I will lead and Gerdur, you will make sure the lady does not leave until this mess is over."
Jory takes off in front at a steady glide (half of his 40' speed) trying to be invisible and alert.
perception/stealth:1d20 + 15 ⇒ (15) + 15 = 301d20 + 15 ⇒ (8) + 15 = 23
With a look of reservation, and some obvious inner turmoil,"I'll, . . . I'll come with you. I'm not sure just how much help I'll be, though. I've told you what I know. I have no idea what that silver goo was. Never seen it, or. . . what it did to my friends."
Where now? I've moved everyone back closer to Gerva.
[ HP 23/23 | AC 13/12/11 (MA:16/12/14), CMD 13, Fort +3, Ref +4, Will +4 | Init +2; Perception +6 ]
Azeban bows to Gerva. "Then I thank you for your aid."
He gestures towards the doors on the left side of the room. "Our first priority should be finding survivors and information on what we face. We should search each room before heading up the stairs."
Did we ever search the rightmost room? I kind of assumed we took a look, and it's kind of open, but there might be something we missed.
HP 186/186; AC 18, T 15, FF 14; F+20, R+13, W+11; CMB+17; CMD 31; Per +19, Init +8
Gerdur stands back and scowls, though not at the woman. To her he says, "I have interest in slaughtering defenseless women. If you stay, you stay because you wish to stay, not at threat of violence from me."
"I've never seen anything like it. Not alive like that anyway. It's what was inside the crate. Whenever they damaged it, it got out. It slithered over and it, it just infected us. Started with one of your guys. Made him just attack everyone else, not carrying. It's like little we could do would even hurt him. Finally someone managed to kill him, but it's like it just killed the body, as the goo just oozed out of him, through every hole, and moved on to the next one. It was one of my team that had been knocked out Just got up like it didn't matter and continued to attack, my tam, yours, it didn't matter. At the end, it went into a kid. The boy walked over to the crate, grabbing a few things, and put some chips into them. Bringin' em back to life, too. Then they took the crate."
Ascending the stairs, you se the second story lain out before you. To you r immediate right a door marked as "Lavatories", in a Mwangi theme, including small bits of branches from the brush as small comedic drawings to indicate the boys and girls rooms for children.
To your left what appears to be a few line of offices, and before you lies "The Salon", and open area intended of casual discussion, a rest to dine, or simply a place for those taking a tour to sit and relax. Warm colors and skillful paintings of scenes and landscapes lend an inviting charm to this salon. A few small tables and chairs have been up-ended and scattered around the floor.
Directly attached to it is both the "Hall of Incantation" and the "Hall of Mysteries". The Hal of Mysteries is a small gallery displaying a collection of unexplained or bizarre curios from the Blakros archive, more akin to a carnival sideshow than a museum collection. Noteworthy exhibits include a colorful folded manual brought back from an empire across the Arcadian Ocean, a pickled gnoll fetus, a series of twelve quartz crystals carved to look like brains supported by frail humanoid bodies, and a clockwork device with no apparent useful function.
From there, the same room quickly becomes The Hall of Incantations, offering a variety of magical objects of historical significance that have fallen into the hands of the Blakros’ family. Spellbook pages depicting nearly two-dozen cantrips have been carefully framed and hung around the room’s perimeter. Most of the items on-display are actually nonmagical replicas of genuine artifacts securely locked in the vaults below.
And finally, at the far end of the floor, forming a separate room though it is not blocked, lies The Hall of Legendary Beasts, with it's world renowned primariry display, that of an enormous Thunder Lizard.
M Dwarf [AC: 22(26MA); ff 19; T:21] HP=75/75 F +11/R+10/W+15 CMD 31 (32 grapple) Ki 12/12 Monk (Zen Archer)/8 Perc +18/stone +20 Darkvision 60' per strike 8/8 40' move
Jory leads the way trying to be quiet, invisible, and alert. He heads through the second floor making his way to the Hall of Beasts.
Perception 1/ Perception 2/Stealth:1d20 + 15 ⇒ (13) + 15 = 281d20 + 15 ⇒ (14) + 15 = 291d20 + 15 ⇒ (15) + 15 = 30
[ HP 23/23 | AC 13/12/11 (MA:16/12/14), CMD 13, Fort +3, Ref +4, Will +4 | Init +2; Perception +6 ]
Azeban follows behind from a distance, but speaks up before they go further. "I think we should search the offices first. Perhaps someone may have hid themselves there for protection."
Another long-awaited benefit of the renovation, these separate staff offices provide space for paperwork and research in relative peace. Nigel Aldain naturally set aside the largest office (in the building’s northwestern corner) for himself. All the office doors bear shiny new nameplates.
While most of the offices are unlocked, Nigel's is.
Disable Device DC 15:
Gains you access to Nigel's office. Inside, you find the small room rather bare, with the main feature inside a simple wooden desk. Inside one of the drawer, written in Elven, are various letters.
Perception DC 20:
At the end of the hall, you spot that there is a concealed door, leading to a small room between the walls.
Faustus takes a look at the door to Nigel's office.
Perception:1d20 + 12 ⇒ (20) + 12 = 32
"Hey, it looks like there is a concealed door over here... this looks interesting."
Without waiting, Faustus moves to the concealed door, and looks to see if there are any obvious traps there...
Perception:1d20 + 12 ⇒ (6) + 12 = 18
He'll also cast a quick Detect Magic on the door.
You don't spot any obvious traps, nor do you sense any forms of magic. Rather, it seems to simply be a concealed door, leading to a pair of stairs leading back to the first floor. From what you can gather, it appears be a sort of staff entrance, allowing quick access to various areas.
Going down, you see that it leads to another hidden hallway, and see another two pairs of "hidden" doors, one of the right and one on the left. From inside the small alcove within the walls, the two doors are easily spotted, but from outside, you don't recall seeing any doors where this might have lead.
Opening the door on the left just reveals the large room on the first floor, still containing that large "fish statue, but does allow you a quicker way to travel through the museum.
The door on the right, however, leads you to a new room entirely. For years, the museum staff has pestered Aldain and his predecessors for a dedicated workspace to repair and restore the museum’s many age-worn wonders. Exhibits—from paintings to skeletons to taxidermy monsters sit around, waiting to being cleaned, examined, or reassembled.
The first thing that you notice is that the other, less hidden door to the room has been barricaded closed from within, and not long after you enter, a man and a woman stand up, stepping out from behind the various boxes. They look you over curiously, having obviously locked themselves in to avoid some calamity.
"Who are you?!?!"the man says.
The woman, a Half-Elf,"Oh, Vencen, maybe they are here to get us out of here."
"Yes, we can help you get out of here, as long as you answer a few questions. First, who are you. Second, what are you doing here? Third, what is all this stuff here?"
Faustus will trigger his discern lies class ability for this when they start talking (DC17 Will save - but he'll know they succeeded.)
"Hold on. We, we don't want to fight. We just heard what was going on out there, and when we looked outside, saw everyone fighting. More than that, killing each other. There was a group, like her," as he points to Gerva, "The came demanding something, and then, I don't know, they started shooting with whatever staffs they have. Never seen anything like it. Killed Tolby with one blast. . ."
As they continue to explain, they essentially confirm most of what you had already heard. Something broke out of this large metal crate, and slaughtered anyone it saw, traveling from one person to another until they had all died. It then took the remains of the crate somewhere, sounded like upstairs.
These two, one Vencen Quil and the other Zenel Karvoos, are both employees here, researchers that study many of the museums new items before they are presented to the public. They, fearful for their own safety, hid in here, barricading the door and hiding. Once you, <just trying to move things along :)>, tell them you have cleared a path to leave, they thank you and bolt outside to safety.
Before leaving, thankful for you for very likely saving their lives, Zenel shares with you a small secret, that Nigel has hidden small caches throughout the museum. They know of one just outside. You quickly make your way there, careful not to cause much noise or attract attention, and find that there is a section of the wall just above and behind a display that holds a small secret panel. Inside you find: a Healer’s Kit, three doses of Bloodblock, two doses of Antitoxin, two doses of Antiplague, a potion of Cure Moderate Wounds, and a wand of Remove Disease.
Can anyone use that wand? Please double check for me.
Returning back to the second floor, . . .
Can anyone open locks? If not, where next. You see no clues or tracks about the crate, though it does appear that not too far up ahead, someone, or perhaps something, has disturbed some of the objects on display. <green circle on the map>
HP 186/186; AC 18, T 15, FF 14; F+20, R+13, W+11; CMB+17; CMD 31; Per +19, Init +8
Gerdur is used to being the rogue in the party: "picking" locks, springing traps and sneaking behind enemy lines. And by sneaking I mean hitting the enemy until they're dead and can no longer hear anything.
Gains you access to Nigel's office. Inside, you find the small room rather bare, with the main feature inside a simple wooden desk. Inside one of the drawer, written in Elven, are various letters.
Unfortunately, the one player that seems able to read Elven appears to be absent (since Dec 29th).
everyone:
Now, that being said, I will ay that it does play a part in the Darkie Faction mission, and in itself was another large complaint for this scenario. So, with that in mind, it doesn't really matter, and you might actually be happier not knowing, in character.
