PbP Gameday VI: GM Thunderspirit's 4-05: The Sanos Abduction [Core] (Inactive)

Game Master thunderspirit

Unfortunately, Amiri has her own problems with feeling the bearhug love.

"Stupid, smelly bear! Don't you know you're already dead?'
Finding herself grappled and unable to effectively use her bastard sword, Amiri drops it and pulls out her new cold iron morning star.
"Time to test out the new steel!"
Raging Power Attack: 1d20 + 7 + 2 - 2 - 2 ⇒ (10) + 7 + 2 - 2 - 2 = 15
P & B cold iron dmg: 1d8 + 5 + 2 + 4 ⇒ (2) + 5 + 2 + 4 = 13

"Cheap garbage! If I live through this, I'm gonna let that merchant know I hate his horrible weapons!"

includes penalty to hit from grappled condition

Haha, well played. :-)
Amiri's morningstar strikes the zombowlbear, though the impact clearly deadens on the undead flesh!

Orange, hugging Amiri, tries to maintain!
maintain: 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (12) + 15 = 27 success
BRAIIIINS!: 1d6 + 5 ⇒ (5) + 5 = 10

Blue also tries to maintain on Silgil!
maintain: 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (17) + 15 = 32 success
BRAIIIINS!: 1d6 + 5 ⇒ (6) + 5 = 11

Both Amiri and Silgil have a sizable chunk out of the sides of their heads!

Xavier, Caerwynn, Werner!

Xavier entertains the idea of greasing up Silgil to help him get free, but then he remembers that even greased dwarves aren't really that agile.

Instead he decides on literally "forcing" the issue on the one holding his fellow arcane caster.

Wand of Magic Missile: 1d4 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 = 4

Werner wastes no time with a follow-up swing at the dead owlbear grappling Silgil.
Attack w/Greatsword: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (6) + 7 = 13
Damage: 2d6 + 4 ⇒ (2, 5) + 4 = 11

The ball of flame continues to burn, burn, burn.

Flaming Sphere: 3d6 ⇒ (2, 4, 4) = 10 DC 17 Reflex negates

Caerwynn drops her stick and draws a silvered sickle from underneath her pack. She steps into a position opposite Werner and attempts a wild swing.

Sickle @ Blue: 1d20 + 4 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 4 + 2 = 8
Damage: 1d6 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 1 = 2

Blue Refl save: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (14) + 4 = 18

Xavier lands a force bolt and Werner's blade, with the help of Caerwyn's flank, slices into Blue! Caerwyn's own sickle attack is less successful, however!

Round 3
Silgil
Amiri
owlbears
Xavier
Caerwynn
Werner

Silgil and Amiri are up!

Amiri SMASH.
Raging Power Attack: 1d20 + 7 + 2 - 2 - 2 ⇒ (16) + 7 + 2 - 2 - 2 = 21
P & B cold iron dmg: 1d8 + 5 + 2 + 4 ⇒ (7) + 5 + 2 + 4 = 18

Silgil will remain on all out defense in case it decides to switch strategies. Besides, he figures, breaking loose would probably end up being more painful that another hug.

Amiri's desperate beating with her morningstar manages to feel Orange while Silgil tries to defend himself!

Blue releases Silgil and turns its full attention onto Werner, his "reward" for his slashing blow!

claw 1: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (16) + 9 = 25
claw 2 dmg: 1d6 + 5 ⇒ (2) + 5 = 7
plus free grab: 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (13) + 15 = 28 success
Werner gets held fast by the zombie owlbear's claw!

claw 2 vs grappled AC: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (13) + 9 = 22
claw 2 dmg: 1d6 + 5 ⇒ (2) + 5 = 7

bite vs grappled AC: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (6) + 9 = 15
bite dmg: 1d6 + 5 ⇒ (6) + 5 = 11

slam vs grappled AC: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (7) + 9 = 16
dmg: 1d8 + 5 ⇒ (6) + 5 = 11
So 14 on Werner from two hits, by my reckoning.

Xavier, Caerwynn, Werner!

Xavier grits his teeth, feeling rather useless, and fires another bolt of force from his wand at the undead owlbear!

Wand of Magic Missile: 1d4 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 = 4

"Oof!" Werner exhales as the owlbear grapples him. "A little help, Amiri?"

Knowing that he and Silgil have wounds he calls upon Cayden Cailean to heal only him and his allies. Channel Positive Energy: 2d6 ⇒ (6, 1) = 7

Caerywnn's fire burns still. Flaming Sphere: 3d6 ⇒ (6, 6, 5) = 17 DC 17 Reflex negates

Caerwynn takes advantage of the owlbear's rapt attention with Werner to reposition herself opposite Amiri. She waits for the woman to charge...

DC 17 Refl: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (17) + 4 = 21
The flaming sphere can't touch this dexterous zombie owlbear!

Xavier lets another force bolt fly, while Werner's grappled state doesn't prevent him from administering to the wounds he and his companions have!

Caerwynn readies an action!

Round 4
Silgil
Amiri
owlbears
Xavier
Caerwynn
Werner

Silgil and Amiri are up!

Silgil backs up, pulls out his wand, and takes the easy shot.

Magic Missile damage: 1d4 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 1 = 5

"Thanks for the healing. I don;t think it will last much longer."

Amiri gazes longingly at her dropped sword, but doesn't want to dally with such a vicious beast still on its feet. Taking the morningstar in both hands, she charges the remaining Zombowlbear.

Raging Power Attack with flank: 1d20 + 7 + 2 + 2 + 2 - 2 ⇒ (6) + 7 + 2 + 2 + 2 - 2 = 17
P&B cold iron dmg:: 1d8 + 7 + 3 + 6 ⇒ (7) + 7 + 3 + 6 = 23

It takes both the force missile from Silgil and the blow.from Amiri to fell the undead, but it falls!

Out of combat!

Caerwynn rolls the sphere over the doubly-dead corpse of the owlbear before it vanishes into nothingness.

She approaches the door, raps loudly on it with her stick, and calls out. "Everyone still alive in there?"

While she waits for the reply, she taps each of the wounded once with a wand.

CLW for Amiri: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 1 = 5
CLW for Silgil: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 1 = 5
CLW for Werner: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 = 4

Silgil also pulls out his own wand of CLW and asks someone to use it on him.

CLW: 2d8 + 2 ⇒ (5, 3) + 2 = 10

Which puts him right at max HP.

Xavier takes a moment (standard action) to dismiss the Grease spell, then runs over. "My word...are you chaps and ladies alright?"

Yes, go ahead and heal yourselves up. I have gamed with enough people at this table to trust it. :-)

There is a moment of calm with the zombie owlbears (re)killed. A moment after Caerwynn's rapping, one of the boards reinforcing a cottage window is pried open from the inside, and the face of a purple-haired gnome woman pokes out of the window. Once she sees that all is clear, she worms her way headfirst out the window, despite a chorus of protests from inside the cottage. Oof! Urgh! Ack!

Eventually the tiny gnome wriggles through the gap, landing deftly on her rear end. She bounds to her feet as she speaks. Finally! I was getting thirsty in there. Oh, did you bring any wine? I like wine. Hmpf. Bloody owlbears. You'd think they'd know better than to trifle with me! Hey, is that my packhorse? I'll settle for grog, if you have it. Instead of wine, I mean. Not instead of my packhorse. That would be silly.

The disheveled gnome climbs directly over the rotten corpse of an owlbear and starts rummaging through the packhorse's saddlebags. Meanwhile, a shocked group of young Pathfinders emerge from the cottage, surveying the carnage with horror.

The gnome Ignizi continues to ramble on. Been like this for a week or so, you know. Nothing but undead and southeastern winds. Wretched awful smell. And me without my astrolabe. You should hear these youngsters whine and complain. One little undead horde and they go all to pot! By the Eldest, I'm thirsty. Heh, I'd drink a flask of ink at this point! Bloody zombos did drag off one of the youngsters, though. Oh, you should hear them complain: "Oooh, we're all about to die! Oh my, what's-her-face was abducted by zombos! Oh, I don't want to be eaten." And they call themselves Pathfinde— AHA! The gnome triumphantly holds up a bottle of dark red wine. She uncorks it almost at once, taking a big quaff, before whirling about and addressing the group that came out of the cottage. You youngsters, burn these carcasses. Bloody awful stink. Turning next to the party, she continues. You lot with the weapons — unpack this horse, build a nice fire, and pull some turnips from the garden. Then come have a drink and tell me how fat Sheila's gotten! With that, the renowned researcher Ignizi Dinnelletter scuttles back into the cottage, drinking some more of her newly acquired wine along the way.

CLW potion: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 = 4

Amiri drinks her cure light wounds potion, but realizes she's still bleeding from a number of gashes.

She shrugs, picks up her sword and then tries to squeeze inside the cottage before the gnome drinks all the wine.

She still has a cure mod potion, but I'd like to save that. If anyone can spare some heals, Amiri would be much obliged. Still down 8HP

Silgil shrugs and heads towards the door.

"Open this once you get inside, will you. No need for all of us to scramble in through that window."

Rather undignified, if amusing. Typical gnome.

Werner still has 4 channels. Allow me to roll a pair. Take this healing before you mark off resources.

Werner calls upon the Lucky Drunk, grasping a tankard in his hands. A wave of positive energy flows over the group.
Channel Positive Energy: 2d6 ⇒ (3, 1) = 4
Channel Positive Energy: 2d6 ⇒ (4, 3) = 7

"Here's to the Happy Drunk! May his tankard be ever full! And speaking of tankard's, where's that wine-wielding gnome gotten to?"

Werner still has 4 channels. Allow me to roll a pair. Take this healing before you mark off resources.

Thanks. I'll retro one CLW and Caerwynn can retro the one she did.

Caerwynn watches the gnome with some bemused interest. "Amiri, would you unpack the horse?" She herself goes to light the fire and harvest the turnips.

Survival (build fire): 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (18) + 13 = 31
Know Nature: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (16) + 7 = 23

All the while, she keeps a careful eye on the surrounding woods for more owlbears, or other undead.

Perception: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (14) + 11 = 25

A dinner collected, she enters the cottage to deliver the turnips to Ignizi. "A week or so, you said?"

Over the dinner of turnip soup, which is quite good, as turnip soups go, the party gets to meet the rest of the research team. In addition to the gnome Ignizi Dinnelletter, there is Lemmy Monelli, a halfling who fancies himself a bard (although no one else does when he sings); Leona Marideth, a human with a serious disposition who seems regularly exasperated by Ignizi; Marsia Backar, a starry-eyed human obviously giddy to be working with such a renowned scholar; and Narsisco, a bored and self-important half-elf who routinely rolls his eyes at Ignizi.

The team confirms that Dijjit, another member of their group and the other gnome on the team, was dragged off by the undead several days ago and hasn't been seen since. She was tending the garden, Lemmy says, and a bunch of zombies just run up and grabbed her! He looks aghast at the memory.

We shoulda gone after he— Leona begins, before Ignizi silences her. Don't be ridiculous! You lot are greener than the spring grass and I'm in no condition to make such a trip. It'd have been a disaster from jump. Leona slumps in her chair, ears bright red and looking sullen.

But you know who might be able to is this lot here! Ignizi says. And maybe put an end to the undead incursion too! This elicits a snicker from Narsisco, which is quickly stifled by a withering glare from the gnome. The glare lingers a moment before she continues. Got to bring her back alive, though, you understand, if possible. She's got a way about her, with fungus.

"A way about her with fungus? I wonder what that... Well, nevermind that. I am ready to set out forthwith." Werner says, making a move to stand up and grab his gear.

Setting out at night? You don't know anything about the fey around here, do you? She cackles like a hen for a moment, and Marsia joins in, only to be stopped cold with a glance from Ignizi. Not that I'm surprised, not many do. Listen, my boy, the fey are notoriously difficult to research, given their secrecy and unique talent for disruption. Over the years, I've developed a knack, you might say, of how to deal with them. S'why they chose me for this assignment, and gave me a group of mewling kittens to "help." Thanks, Sheila. No, you should stay the night and set out first thing tomorrow.

Werner shrugs. "I guess it's just not that urgent then..."

Amiri emits a loud belch of appreciation over her second serving of soup.
"What can you tell us about the fey around here? And where are these undead coming from? That's not a fey thing, is it?"

Ignizi looks at Werner sternly — he is reminded of the disciplinarian paladins of Iomedae that ultimately led him to drink and thus learn about Cayden Cailean in the first place. Didn't say it wasn't urgent, my boy. I said you won't want to go out at night. The fey are notoriously unwelcoming to outsiders. It's a minor miracle they are okay with my crew.

As for the undead, she says, pushing the tureen over to Amiri again, nobody is sure where they're coming from. Just rumors. One that's been floating around the local gnome communities is that something is collecting bodies and gradually building a zombie army. Which is ridiculous, but then Dijjit got taken, so now I'm not so sure it's ridiculous. Headed north, they did.

She brightens all of a sudden. You know who might be a help in this, is Riddywhipple. Narsisco rolls his eyes as he gets up to clear some dishes, shaking his head. Ignizi seems not to notice as she continues. He's been in Sanos Forest longer than most, and knows how to stay alive in the unforgiving woods. He lives in a hollow log about a day's travel north, so it's the same way you'll be headed. He knows Sanos inside and out. If you can talk him into it, he'd be an excellent guide. Now he isn't much for strangers, but mention my name and that might help. He's a little reclusive most of the time. Teeny tiny little thing. Most folk just walk on past and never even know he's there, unless he wants 'em to.

Silgil enjoys the turnip soup. It reminds him of good hearty dwarven fare and hot what he expected from a gnome. Then again Ignizi IS a druid too.

"What manner of creature is this Riddlewhop fellow?"

I think I got that name right. Gnomes have such odd names, but then again I've never seen one upset when you get it wrong. Seems to tickle their funny bone.

"How will we find him? Is there a particular landmark near his home? And is there something we could bring as an offering or treat in order to curry his favor?" Amiri looks around the room at the astonished faces.

"What? I'm not just a pretty face with a big sword, you know. I've been through more adventures than all of you combined..."

Caerwynn considers carefully. "We will set watches tonight, and embark at sun's first light. I will speak with Riddywhiple. How many days hence since Dijjit was taken? Exactly?"

Caerwynn will also ask for a description and/or sketch of both Dijjit and Riddywhipple.

Xavier just blinks a bit at the (stereotypical) gnomish reaction to the battle and such, taking notes and keeping quiet. He'll gladly allow his curative wand to be used on Amiri or anyone else who needs, as well.

(Since I've GM'd this scenario before, I'm going to keep relatively quiet with most strategic decisions and such, just fyi to my fellow players)

Riddywhipple! Riddywhipple, Riddywhipple, Riddywhipple, Riddywhipple. A pity folks don't have sensible names like dwarves.

Riddywhipple is a faerie dragon, Ignizi says. About the size of an alleycat, maybe a little bigger. With wings, though. And scales, not fur. Just in case you were gonna confuse him with an actual alleycat. And Dijjit — she's got short, orange hair. Not my style, but she likes it, so what can ya do? Dijjit was abducted just under a week ago.

Hang on, I may have something for you lot. She leaps up, surprisingly spry for her age, and rummages about in several cabinets for a few moments before returning, her arms full of an assortment of items. She dumps the whole collection on the table, scattering plates and flatware about as she does. It's dangerous to go alone. Take these!

"Thank you," Caerwynn says. "This should help indeed. Best for us to get to bed, then, so that we can depart at first light. I will take first watch."

In the morning, Caerwynn ensures that Ignizi's gifts are packed and then heads outside to pick up the trail.

Survival: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (13) + 13 = 26

Silgil will claim a scroll of detect undead.

"Don't think I'll be needin' the other things. Someone else take them."

In the morning he is ready to go with the first risers.

Amiri happily claims the potion of CLW.
By dawn, she awaits the party outside the cabin door, ready to follow the trail. She happily aids Caerwynn's attempts at tracking.

Survival: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (10) + 7 = 17

During the morning the party marches through the day, following a series of ravines that Ignizi indicated would lead them to Riddywipple's fallen log. Locating the log in the midst of a clearing is easy enough — it is distinguished by a series of distinctive carvings that adorn the trees for twenty yards in every direction. All appears quiet, and nothing seems to stir in the area.

Caerwynn holds up a hand to stop the company. "Riddywhipple?" she calls out, tentatively. "Friends of Ignizi approach, sent by the gnome to ask your aid." She holds the alexandrite aloft.

Xavier taps himself with his wand of Mage armor and keeps his other wands at the ready, remaining silent for now, watching their surroundings carefully.

Caerwynn cautiously leads the party toward the hollow logs, and finds evidence of a den within, but no sign of a faerie dragon.

Perception: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (2) + 5 = 7

"Not much of a home. I wonder where he went."

Silgil adds his voice to the chorus of "Riddywhipples", searching around for evidence of where he might have gone.

Amiri looks around.

Survival--looking for tracks: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (11) + 7 = 18
Perception: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (17) + 8 = 25

Amiri speaks softly to the group "I hear something to the North, everyone."
Then she raises her voice to drill sergeant levels: "Riddywhipple is that you? Do you need aid?"

Amiri, bastard sword out, moves toward the voice.

Perception: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (15) + 11 = 26

"Put that weapon away, fool," Caerwynn admonishes, though she too approaches the sound, keeping a cautious eye on the woods ahead.