Pirate Rob's Confirmation (Inactive)

Game Master Pirate Rob

Ledot.

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We're not officially starting until Monday but since I've got the adventure I figure I might as well start posting. This is mostly a chance to read background, introduce your character, fill in some background details and start finding your character's voice.

The invitation delivered last night was remarkably simple, especially given the importance of the occasion:

“Start where it all began. Meet us at the Pig’s Paunch one hour before dawn.”

...

The Pig’s Paunch is a run-down building with a faded sign of a large pig standing on its hind legs, arms folded above a corpulent belly. Inside, the air is thick with the scents of human sweat, stale tobacco, and leftover food. In the center of the room, surrounded by inebriates sleeping off their revelries, a familiar elven man stands high upon top of a large round table.

“Welcome! Welcome, my students! Please, have a seat!”

With that, Kreighton Shaine, the Pathfinder Society’s Master of Scrolls,
nimbly drops down to sit cross-legged on the table before looking about the tavern with a sense of reverent wonder.

“Can you believe it? It all started here years ago—well, over four hundred of them at least. Under this very roof the Pathfinder Society was born."

“But today! Today you will begin your Confirmation! Master Farabellus, Master Zey, and I all agree you each have shown your worth and dedication to the Society, so there’s no better time to see if you can handle becoming full field operatives. Allow me to introduce you to Janira Gavix”

He motions for an excitable halfling woman to approach. She wears a large backpack and carries all manner of tools, pouches, and scroll cases around her waist.

Shaine continues:

“Janira here will be going with you on your Confirmation. She was
one of my brightest pupils and will no doubt be an invaluable resource on your journey, for she discovered the caves you are about to explore
during her own Confirmation.”

Janira speaks up in an enthusiastic and cheerful voice:

"Greetings, aspiring Pathfinders! Six months ago, while I was
mapping cave entrances in the foothills of the Kortos Mounts, I witnessed a lone gillman entering a concealed cave. I thought little of it at the time, but I saw another one enter the cave again a month later as my Confirmation stretched on. A few days later, after I completed my assigned task, I entered the cave system, but was unable to find the gillmen.”

Master Shaine hops to his feet.

“Initiates, for your Confirmation, you will travel to these caves to explore and document its many passages. Additionally, and most importantly, you are to learn what the gillmen are up to in there. Oh, and you need to come back alive as well.”

With these parting words, the Master of Scrolls jumps off the table and strolls out of the building while humming to himself.

Janira pulls out a large leather-bound journal and opens it on the table.

“Before we set out, we should all get to know each oother and review our plan. After all, the most important factors that determine whether an expedition will be a success are cooperation and preparation! I’ll go first!”

She barely takes in a breath before continuing exuberantly.

"As already mentioned, I'm Janira Gavix and I joined the Pathfinders almost 4 years ago. To tell you the truth, I thought they'd be a cog in my master plan of tasting all the world's delicious food. Turns out I've taken to the scroll pretty well. Their focus on learning and preserving knowledge even includes recipes!"

Janira takes a moment to calm herself, realzing that her natural state of excitement might not be everybody's cup of tea.

She continues in a much calmer voice. "So, enough about me. Tell me about yourself. Why did you join the Pathfinder Society?"

She points at one of you at random.

I'm assuming you all have at least a basic understanding of Golarion and Absalom as the City at the center of the world. If I'm wrong or you're curious about more background, just let me know.

Reeling from the Pig's pungent smells, Darius coughs a bit and struggles to maintain his composure. After taking a deep centering breath he was pleased to fine a kindred spirit at least, Kreighton Shane, the master of scrolls. Darius greets the elf with a nod and listens politely as he introduces the others present including another novice Pathfinder.

Finding a finger pointed at himself, Darius blushes and fidgets.

"Uh, my name is Darius Orion", the young tiefling says with a slight bow.

"I joined the Society so I could be around other souls with an appreciation for knowledge. And it was the easiest way to get away from my family."

His tail twitches nervously and he looks away, hoping his joke hasn't fallen flat.

Janira giggles a little bit at your joke and gently encourages you to open up a little bit more.

"Glad so see you're fond of Kreighton, he's brilliant. A little peculiar at times, but brilliant. How long have have you been an initiate, the full three years, or did you get a field commission?"

Janira appears honestly friendly and interested in getting to know all of you.

"I-I've been in training for years now. Three sounds right", Darius answers nervously.

"I've been looking forward to this day."

dottydotdot

Janira smiles and nods to Darius in a reassuring manner before looking over at Gwynbel.

"So tell me, why did you join up?"

"Hah! The lifespan of you teiflings is too ephemeral to get hung up on a few bad interactions with your kin. You should be glad to have such companionship for your few years here", the old elf says. "And to not have great pains waking up this early in the morning" he mutters under his breath.

After taking a sip of water, Gwynbel says "My name is Gwynbel Tathdiir. I've seen many things in my life, and as I watch the sunset of my time here on Golarion, I decided to make the most of it. And so I decided to join the Pathfinders. The gnomish folk are right, you know. Life really should be about a cornucopia of new experiences."

Gwynbel looks about the table, and comments "By Nethys' Mask, I've probably seen more sunrises than all of you combined!"

Janira responds with a smile to Gwynbel:

"It's always nice to find out new things. How have you been enjoying the Pathfinder Society so far? What is your favorite class at the Grand Lodge? Azlanti languages used to be a favorite of mine, but ever since Drandle Drenge started teaching it, I haven't been able to keep up with the schedule."

She will also look over to Mrachni Swordfollower.

"You look like a tough one, tell me a little about your self and a bit about your fighting style."

The burly orc, who up to this time has been watching the interactions with interest, nods. His right cheek is scarred with the emblem of a sword, blade down, with rays of light emanating from its hilt. "My name is Mrachni. I follow the Swordmistress. She sent me hither, after an oath I took in Falcon's Hollow, far from here."

He looks to the tiefling, his gaze penetrating. "I, too, know something of... 'family'."

Gwynbel responds to the peppy halfling with "Why, yes I have been enjoying my stay here. Truth be told, Intermediate Swordplay has infused me with a vigor I haven't felt in over 7 decades!"

As Master Kreighton walks away, Gwynbel thinks to himself "Must have some important business if he can't stay to talk..."

Darius fidgets awkwardly.

"Swords are scary... and sharp."

Janira nods at Mrachni, rolling up her sleve to show a large scar on her left bicep.

"I've seen a bit of combat myself, although I'd be perfectly happy to never have another monster try and kill me if it didn't mean giving up the search for knowledge."

We'll add David in here once he gets his character ready. Going to start moving on though.

“On to the details of the mission at hand,”
Janira says with an eager grin.

“After reviewing my mission reports personally, Master Shaine believes it is no coincidence that each time the gillmen entered the caves it was during a full moon, so it is also no coincidence that you have been called here now, just a day before the moon is full again. We both believe that tomorrow night is our best chance to find out why these caves are important and what exactly the gillmen are doing in there.”

She pushes her journal towards the middle of the table so that all can see it. It contains a rough map of Kortos with a dotted line and a red x showing you where to go.

“The caves we’ll be travelling to lie under the base of the Kortos Mounts. We’ll need to spend every minute of daylight possible to reach the caves by foot, crossing over the Cairnlands, taking the paths to Diobel, and finally making our way through the wilderness. With any luck we won’t run into any of the local inhabitants. Once in the caves, we’ll need to work together to explore and determine whether any gillman are present or have been recently. Keep an eye out for any other clues that might hint at the caves’ significance, too.”

She pauses a moment, looking up to see if there are any questions.

Additionally Knowledge: History or Geography may reveal some useful information.

Darius glances at the map.

"I've read about the isle", he says a bit sheepishly.

History: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (16) + 8 = 24

"Janira, friend, do you have your notes from your Confirmation, so we can peruse and plan ahead?" Gwynbel asks while leaning in towards the table, is white hair resting momentarily on the table top.

As a note we're currently in Absalom, on the isle of Kortos.

Janira nods to Darius.

"Home to Absalom, city at the center of the world. Every since Aroden raised up the Starstone. One of the most interesting things is the complete lack of horses, between the centaurs, minotaurs and harpies they never did well here. Camels on the other hand..."

She cuts herself off before going into too much detail.

Was my history check insufficient? =(

History? Geography? What are those?

Things I'll have ranks in next level :shakefist:

Janira flips through the pages in the journal on the table.

"I of course turned over my findings to the Pathfinder Society, but I've got some preliminary notes, that I'm happy to share."

She spends about 15 minutes going over pages in her journal. They mostly deal with mapping of the various caves and isn't of particular use to your mission.

The cave you're going to has a narrow(ish) 50ft long tunnel that opens up into a larger chamber. There are 2 more smaller chambers past that, but nothing too confusing.

"There were some carvings in the cave we're going to, but I didn't get a chance to go over them in detail before my supplies started running low."

She finishes with an upbeat smile.

"Of course, finding out exactly what's going on with this cave and the Gillmen will be your confirmation anyway. I'm just here to make sure you get to the right place and come back in one piece."

Was my history check insufficient? =(

Opps, I totally missed your history roll. I'm really bad at seeing dice rolls sometimes.

"Can't say I've been on many spelunking expeditions...Did any of the formations look unstable?", Gwynbel asks with a slightly worried inflection.

Janira responds reassuringly

"The cave we're going to was quite solid when I looked over it, and my aunt was a miner so I know my way around rocks pretty well. I'm sure it could use some more exploring though, my job was to figure out which caves were worth further exploring, rather than to detail them myself."

Gwynbel looks around the tavern, and watches a dwarf and a half-orc playing a rousing game of drunk arm-wrestling. After a few minutes, he looks back at the table and says "It would be impractical to discuss this too much while we still wait for our mysterious fourth to arrive. Darius, what were these familial issues you absconded from?"

The young tiefling fidgets uncomfortably again.

"It's just... uh..."

Realizing that everyone was still staring at him, Darius wraps an arm self consciously around his own chest and rubs his neck.

"My family is from Cheliax. They're dedicated servants of Thrune. There was certain expectations of me that I knew I couldn't fulfill. Fleeing was the only thing that made sense."

Darius is a poor liar. It'd be fairly obvious there's a bit more to it than that.

Gwynbel raises an eyebrow and says "Well, we all have our inner demons to deal with, so they say," completely oblivious to the double meaning of what he just said.

Mrachni raises one eyebrow at Gwynbel's comment. His low voice is like a hum in the room. "Sometimes it is better not to ask too much of others' pasts, til they are ready to share."

Darius nods fervently in agreement and then turns away hoping the big orc doesn't look his direction.

"Sometimes it's wise to not assume someone over 12 times your age doesn't know what he's doing," Gwynbel thinks to himself. He looks at the half-orc straight in the eyes and says far less jovial tone than before: "Less to hide means less hesitation and more willingness to go forth bravely. What is the motto of the Pathfinder Society?"

"You assume too much. Hiding is not the only reason to not reveal one's past."

Janira steps in, to change the topic before any animosity builds.

"Lets make sure we've got all the supplies we need."

She flips to a checklist in her notebook before continuing:

"Rope, a light source, food, a firestarter, somethin' to heal with."

She thinks for a moment before adding a couple more items.

"Something that splashes in case of swarms."

She pauses again for a second, this time it's like a lightbulb has just gone off in her head.

"That reminds me, I've got writing supplies for all of you."

She pulls out some paper and pens and hands them out.

"It's important to keep good notes, that'll be how you impress the Society."

Darius nods and digs through his oppressively bulky backpack as Janira reads off the checklist.

"I'm happy to take notes. I love taking notes", he says proudly.

"Ah! A fellow Scroll?" Gwynbel asks Darius.

"Excuse me?"

Valeros speaks up:

"I've got some frayed rope, slightly used torches, half a water skin, a few rations, I'm level 1 and dual wielding. Hit it!"

Bah, I missed the edit cut off by 3 minutes, Ignore Valeros, he's just drunk in the tavern, not joining you.

Gwynbel glances over at the drunkard with a slight hint of pity in his eyes, and then looks back at Darius to say "The Scrolls. One part of the Pathfinder Society. Note takers excel in that school! I myself hope to join them once we succeed at our Confirmation."

I'm not sure on lore here, but I think you become a Scroll, Sword, or Spell only after the confirmation?

A tall, wiry muscled man of Kellid descent, who has up to the point stood back and listened, steps forward and clears his throat. I am called Harlbrount. I too have been summoned to this...mission. Please pardon my lack of talking. I'm afraid prefer the company of nature to men. The Kellid motions to a ball of fur under one arm. This is Brusolex, my ever present companion. I have had him since he was a young pup, after his mother was murdered in her burrow by a band of goblins.

As Janira lists off equipment, Harl nods. I must acquire some of the things you mention.

"Welcome Harlbrount and Brusolex."

Patting and lightly shaking a pouch on his belt, Gwynbel says "I have a fair number of things to splash with, and a torch or two. Mrachni, are you proficient in the healing arts?"

The burly orc grunts softly. "Wouldn't say that, but the Swordlady has granted me some healing ability in the past, when it is needed."

"Then lets pray it is not needed. Worst comes to worst, I may be able to heal others, but a healer's kit would be useful," the old elf says with resignation.

"Janira, is the society providing any transportation? My old bones can handle the walk, but a nice ride would be preferable."

Janira responds

"We will, unfortunately for you, be walking. Kortos is home to many centaur tribes and if we encountered one while mounted, things might not go well for us. As for other options like camels we'd just make ourselves good targets for the harpies."

"All that said, it'll take us all of today and most of tomorrow to get to the caves. so we should finalize things and get going. There's a general store by the northwestern gate, we can stop there to pick up any last minute supplies."

With that she begins packing up her stuff.

If I missed any of your questions or you want to do anything else before moving on feel free to post.

David said he's playing, but hasn't actually posted beyond his initial I'm here, so we're going to assume it's just the 4 of us.

"I'll make sure to pick up some rope on the way out."

I don't have many other questions, and am fine with fast forwarding

The journey through the City at the Center of the World is swift and without incident, and the long trek across the Cairnlands provides a great opportunity to discuss Master Shane’s class on the history of Absalom.

Most of the journey is uneventful, but Janira points out landmarks such as siege towers, distant mountains, or distinct flora and fauna along the journey.

No encounters occur during the first day of travel.

Janira speaks while helping set up camp. "Alright, while we'll likely be safe, we should set up watches just in case. Bandits aren't completely unknown in this area."

Sounds good.

Darius, wordlessly, picks up his things and prepares to depart.

Upon breaking camp, Gwynbel looks around for a nice spot, and drops his equipment off, followed by a prolonged stretch. "I would prefer to get a full night's sleep, if possible. My body isn't used to such strenuous walks."

Isn't breaking camp what you do when you leave?

I've heard it in some contexts where it implied it was the 'aloha' of camping

Harlbrount picks up a few item on the way out of Absalom.

As the party readies to camp, Harl begins clearing a spot. Now I feel in my element! Let me help in the making of a suitable camp. The hunter begins gathering tinder, small twigs, and branches, piling them up around a cleared area. He stacks the branches in the conical formation, with small twigs and wood shavings underneath. Turnig to the party and Janira. Do we think it advisable to have a fire?