Shades of Ice Trilogy (Inactive)

Game Master Awenydd83

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please also pop over to the discussion tab and fill out the reporting info spreadsheet. Once everyone joins us and gets that done, I will get the first post up and we can get the intro/ fluff out of the way while we are waiting. :-) I like to hit the ground running and keep a pretty good pace.. hope yall enjoy the ride!

-Posted with Wayfinder

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The meeting in Absalom with Drandle Dreng nearly a month ago was brief, as always. “I have a routine mission for you, though a dangerous routine mission,” the old man whispered in the great hall in the Grand Lodge. Suffering from a cold and weak from lack of food and rest, the old venture-captain looked quite possibly the worst you’d ever seen him. Through wracking coughs he explained, “An ally of ours in the Land of the Linnorm Kings—Rognvald Skagni—is writing a lengthy report on the state of government in the northern countries of Avistan. I received a letter from him just yesterday requesting several key documents from the vaults here to help him finish the report.” Venture-Captain Dreng patted a large, heavy-looking chest next to him. “These are the documents, and I need you to board a ship north to deliver them to Skagni.”

Dreng tried to stand at that point, but a fit of coughing sent him back into his seat. He gestured for a well-dressed, impeccably kept man standing in the shadows of the room to approach and whispered raspy orders to him. The man picked up a small pouch and a large key and handed them both to the party. “Venture-Captain Dreng is unwell, as you can see. He wished me to give you this key and this pouch of gold. The key opens the chest, and the gold will buy you passage and get you from the Linnorm coast to Trollheim, where Skagni resides. Whatever you do, do not let the chest out of your sight and do not, under any circumstances, allow it to be searched. These documents are for Mr. Skagni’s eyes only. Are we understood?” Dreng’s nameless servant waited for a reply and then smiled. “Good. Now run along; Venture-Captain Dreng needs his rest.”

The chest is 2 feet wide, 4 feet long, and 3 feet deep. It is made of heavy oak bound with iron, and locked with an enormous, finely crafted steel lock. This chest weighs 100 lbs and may be carried by one or two players. Due to its size, if one character carries it alone, they are considered to be carrying a heavy load per the Table: Encumbrance Effects Please choose now who/how the chest is being carried.

Please remember that the Land of the Linnorn Kings is extremely cold, and you will need to prepare for this. You have time to go shopping prior to boarding the ship, and should use this time advantageously. We will be dealing with cold effects for the entire trilogy.

Please use this time to introduce yourselves and get things sorted out amongst your selves.

Pazacku adjust his brand new armor one more time and cocks his head to the side before answering the servant.

"Understood".

He moves forward to look over the chest and estimates the weight and what the best ways to look after it may be.

"I could help carry it. However, if my blade were needed, it would be a moment to react, which could cost us more than the chest." He takes a moment to look over the group assembled. "I am always open to discussion, so with that. I open the floor to you all."

I will purchase a cold weather outfit for 8gp, a set of cleats for 5gp, and a set of snowshoes for 5gp for this adventure.

While it it entirely up to you, the only thing you really need to worry about purchasing is the cold weather gear. Anything you can use to mitigate that fortitude save will be worth it.

A well built human looks around the room, taking in his companions for this quest and the large chest. Standing at roughly 6'3, he has shoulder length dark hair, dark eyes, and speaks in a deep low voice.

"Hail companions. My name is Rolvark. Tis good to travel with feloow pathfinders again. He tests the weight of the chest "I can carry this chest alone if it be too heavy for you raven-man, although if anyone is willing to share the load I won't say no."

Purchased cold weather outfit, snow googles, skis and snowshoes. Anyone able to afford stuff like heat stone, tents or frostbite salve?150 gp can only stretch so far...

A half-orc in the room eyes the chest with interest. While most of his head is covered, parts of tattoos that fade into shadows underneath the hood are visible on his face. He wears a simple tunic with a few layers of studded leather over, a short blade is hanging from his belt. The tunic, dated as it is, seems to serve well, but it's apparently seen better days. His shoulders are partially covered with old paled fur stitched to the leather.

"Back to the cold of the North, then. Good."

He looks around his companions for the mission, and introduces himself: "I'm Malik. Of the Rimeclan tribes. I'm not the strongest, but I'll help, sure."

He takes a momentary pause and continues: "Even better - We can get a vehicle for those. I'll take care of it, assuming someone can pull it around. Where do we put the key, however? We should have those two items separated."

Malik will buy a a cold weather outfit, snowshoes, 40 pounds of blackfire clay, a sleigh, a large tent, four heatstones, 150 ft of rope, and camouflage netting for snow, and some rations. Oh, also firewood for 1 gp. That should be enough to keep us warm for 10 days or so. So 337 gp.

You are welcome to purchase the sleigh if you wish, but its really not necessary. If you purchase the sleigh though, how will it be pulled? I'm just trying to save you some gold!!

Well, I am buying some 80 lb of stuff. Plus the 100 lb chest. It's a convenience for all. If you really want, we can cover the sleigh cost from Dreng's pouch, but it's fine as is. PFS characters tend to be overly rich anyway. As for who will pull it, if we take turns pulling/pushing the sleigh instead of carrying that chest around, I reckon it ends up being the same.

Well, guess who has an quadruped eidolon! Assuming the character finishes on time, final battle just started so here's to hoping.

See? Eidolon will pull the sleigh. Teheheheee!

:-) There we go!

This is kuey.

Hikari glances around, his face largely expressionless. You get the impression though that he is absorbing his surroudings carefully. His red robes are of a style seldom seen in Avistan, though those more cosmopolitan would recognise them as a kimono of the Minkai. Under the robes, one can see the glint of scale mail, while hanging from his neck is an elegantly carved symbol of a glowing sun, overlaid by a katana. On his belt hangs a real katana, while his left arm grasps a darkwood longbow. His swept-back hair is the usual Tian raven black, but interestingly his eyes are reddish-orange in hue.

He gives everyone present a perfect 45 degree bow. When he rises, he introduces himself in a careful, measured tone. "It is my pleasure to make your acquaintance. I am Hayashi Hikari, humble servant of Shizuru, Empress of Heaven, Guardians of Ancestors, Goddess of the Sun and Divine Ancestor of Minkai, the Empire of the Dawn. Hayashi is my family name, so please address me as Hikari, in the manner of the west. I come to Avistan as an emissary of my liege lord, Daimyo of the Clan Yamamoto." He gives another bow, then steps back and continues to listen to the discussions.

I'm a bit apprehensive to post because batpony's and my characters are still in the last combat now and I hope that it won't take too long. But assuming the Hikari comes in, I am thinking of using his 2 pp to purchase a wand of endure elements. With 50 charges, it can cover all 7 characters (including batpony's eidolon) for 7 days. Should be enough? Would save a lot of gp for everyone, when it is quite tight at lower levels. Hikari can't use the wand though as a inquisitor but I think batpony's character can.

Rolvark is dumbstruck for a moment at the strange looking man and his unusual manner of speech. He grunts at the man's many titles Does he not need to breath?, and at his red...dress robes. Nevertheless, he makes an attempt to be friendly, extending his hand out in greeting "Well met...Hikari."

Sounds good to me, and the wand will at the very least make it through the first scenario if that is what you wish.

Sorry to disappoint but looks like the eidolon won't be joining this time round. :(

A young man, wearing a dark faded light armor, clearing in some sort of adventuring gear, carries what looks to be sheathed scimitar, sitting in the corner of the room looking at a bunch of maps, stands up while proclaiming, "This will do well for me! I've been meaning to head north into Avistan. Pleasure to meet you all, the name's Dean Drake."

He pauses as you all glance at him. "Ah, you might be curious about my name, I'm told that I'm a descendant of a great draconic bloodline, which may explain why I practice magic, but my real passion is exploration, you see, I'm a collector of sorts. And at the moment my journey has brought me here as I've been looking for a reason to travel North, where my latest interest lie, the legendary artifact the grey skull." You can see his thoughts have obviously taken a hold of him, as he pays very little attention to the instructions given and to the people around him. "So, when do we head off?"

Ok.. looks like we are all set! Thank you everyone for your patience and for giving Huey and Batpony a chance to bring their preferred characters!

You arrive safely, and disembark the ship. Trollheim is a large city with high, secure walls and a sprawling, frozen network of small neighborhoods and districts, many of which contain their own defenses. Many of Trollheim’s market districts are unruly, smelly, industrious, and busy, while residential districts are generally neater, calmer, cleaner, and more secure from Irrisen invasion. It’s frowned upon to cause trouble in residential neighborhoods, and the wide streets therein are largely crime-free.

You try to head straight for Skagni’s house, but the directions to Skagni’s home provided by Venture- Captain Dreng’s assistant are unclear. After a few wrong turns due to poor handwriting, the party finally locates their destination. But there’s a problem: Where the directions indicate Skagni’s house should be stands only the charred husk of a burnt-out building. Bits of burnt timber and ruined furniture lie scattered about, but if anything remained after the fire, it seems to have been picked over and looted. Though most of the walls are blackened with soot, a patch along the former front of the residence still shows relatively clean, white walls. Smeared across those white walls, written in reddish-brown letters four feet tall, are the words, “Pathfinders go home.”

Map link above is active. Please place your token on the board wherever you choose, as well as choosing your marching order on the first slide.

I can either be first or second, anywhere up front will do fine. And I will leave the chest for some one else to carry in case we find trouble.

"Not what I would call a warm welcome, maybe some one knows what happened around here."
taking 10 for 10 on heal
"Definitely blood from what I can tell, but from what is unknown." Pazacku scratches at the ground before he starts looking a round.

"Blood! Very menacing sign, not the start I was hoping for, the last time I saw blood signs was when I was looking for cursed pirate treasure."

Dean looks shocked, but not afraid. He ponders for a moment, " I guess the remains, why the hostility? Where do we go from here? I'm going to search for clues."

perception: 1d20 ⇒ 17

Kicking through the debris, Dean is unable to find anything of interest.

"Hmm...not exactly the welcome one would have wished for." Rolvark exhales as he surveys the ruined house. He looks around, trying to discern the possible cause and traces of the fire.

perception: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (16) + 5 = 21

Rolvark is unable to find anything more than Dean does..

"Blimey, obviously there's nothing here to give useful information, what's say we ask the neighbours? Do you think they also know about the cursed grey skull blade?" suggest Dean, as his mind is clearly is not on the mission.

Just looking forward to my blackblade. Hehe. Are they people around?

This is kuey, aka Hikari Hayashi, who is now unable to join us. So sorry no wand of endure elements, but rather a brand new monk. Changed from oread to nagaji after I discovered the scaled fist archetype. A draconic monk!

At the lodge
You see before your a reptilian humanoid, with grayish-black scales. Some of you might recognise him as a nagaji, a seldom encountered race, and you note that while he is tall like most nagaji, he is also well-muscled unlike most who are slim like snakes. He bears an unusual looking blade across his back, while what appears to be a large dart attached to a rope hangs by his belt. He is dressed in simple short blue robes, and black sandals.

"Greetingsss, fellow Pathfindersss," Shilak introduces himself. "I am Shilak'ho Ajagar," although the way he pronounces it more sibilantly and guttural. "You may call me Shilak, asss I understand sssome have difficulty with namesss of the nagaji. I have only recently arrived a few daysss from Nagajor far from the eassst, on bequessst of my naga mistressss, Lady Mysshalla, to ssstrengthen tiesss and trade with Absssalom via the esssteemed Pathfinder Sssociety. Ssseemss my arrival isss timely, for a missssion isss already ready. I can only beg for your assssissstanccee to orientate me to the landss of Avisstan." With that, Shilak bows over gracefully in thanks.

At Trollheim
"Shilak doesss not like thisss cold... Makesss my blood flow ssslower..." Shilak is now all bound up in thick fur, but he is clearly looking uncomfortable. "What a tasssk my missstressss hasss ssset for me..."

Shilak walks around the ruins of the house, smelling the air with his forked tongue. Turning to Dean, he says rather ominously, "Yesss, we might need to asssk a few quesstionsss..." He passes a scroll to him and asks, "I could attempt to cassst thisss myssself, but you appear trained in the arcane artsss, so could you assssissst? I do not like the look of this placccee."

Shilak hands you a scroll of mage amor to cast on him.

Shilak has 18 Str so can help to carry the chest with someone else, but he fights most effectively with two hands.

Just updated the character sheet, Am spending 2pp for wand of shield!
@Shilak: unfortunately mage armor is not on the Magus spell list.

Dean takes a good look at the scroll, studying it "hmm, I'm afraid I don't know how to cast this," He turns to ask the rest of the crew. "Anyone know how to cast this scroll?"

Ah, interesting. I've always assumed it was.

"Ah, apologiesss then. I ssshall attempt to do thisss myssself..." Shilak opens the scroll and attempts to decipher it according to the teachings of Lady Mysshalla. "Ah, I think I got itsss..."

"Hm ... The North was always harsh.", Malik whispers when seeing the sign and is notified of the materials used.

"In any case - Someone has to know what happened here. Perhaps someone drunk enough might share."

Malik looks around for an inn, pub or a similar type of establishment.

As the party meanders about, trying to figure out what happened here, they are suddenly interrupted by the battle cries of four thugs who seem to appear out of nowhere.

Surprise round:
The Thugs and their leader each toss axes, two aiming for Shilak'ho, and two others aiming for Guinfa. Luckily, none hit their mark.
RvsSHilak'ho: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (11) + 3 = 14
LvsShilak'ho: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (7) + 3 = 10

GvsGuinfa: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (8) + 3 = 11
BvsGuinfa: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (7) + 3 = 10

Bold May Post
Malik
Thugs
~Red
~Green
~Blue
Rolvark
Shilak'ho
Pazacky
Guinfa
Dean
Leader

Sorry for posting so late. Just came from work.

The half orc moves to have a clearer shot and quickly releases a torrent of water at the frontlining attacker. (Green)

Water Blast, Physical, PBS: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (19) + 5 = 241d6 + 4 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 4 + 1 = 7

Where's the chest? And who has the key?

Sorry for the delay. I was down with a migraine yesterday, and am only barely functional today.

I did not represent the sleigh on the map, but the chest is on that. No one stepped up to claim the key vocally, so I guess whomever would like to have it may claim it.

Malik unleashes a blast of water that completely batters the poor recipient. Considering the cold climate, the man is probably served a death warrent right there!

The thugs retaliate by grabbing new axes from their belts and moving in for close combat. The first thug misses horribly, while Green just barely manages to get in a good smack!
Red vs Shilak'ho: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (3) + 3 = 6
Green vs Shilak'ho: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (18) + 3 = 21
Damage: 1d6 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 = 3

Meanwhile, Blue moves in against Guinfa. His ax just barely misses the mark.
Attack: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (12) + 3 = 15

Bold May Post
Malik
Thugs
~Red
~Green- 7 Dmg
~Blue
Rolvark
Shilak'ho- 3 Dmg
Pazacky
Guinfa
Dean
Leader

"An Ambush! This is the shackles all over again!" Dean draws his scimitar, readying for any fight that comes to him. Memories from the past haunts him.

Move action to draw weapon, ready action to attack any enemy that comes within my threatened area. I figured someone else other than me is holding the key, this guy is not responsible enough! Chaotic Neutral here. :)

being the paladin, I believe he will take the key

Pazacku draws his katana while moving to blue and strikes.
katana: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (19) + 4 = 23
slashing damage: 1d8 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 2 = 4
confriming crit: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (5) + 4 = 9
extra damage: 1d8 + 2 ⇒ (8) + 2 = 10

Shilak hisses at the enemies in front of him, ignoring the wound they have inflicted. He draws out his seven-branched sword in one smooth motion, and chops down at the green thug. He then steps sideways to move closer to Pazacku.

Power Attack
7 branched sword: 1d20 + 5 - 1 ⇒ (10) + 5 - 1 = 14 dmg: 1d10 + 6 + 3 ⇒ (4) + 6 + 3 = 13

move action: draw weapon, standard: attack, 5-ft step

Rolvark, upon seeing the axemens' hostile intentions, attempts to identify their clan considering that Trollheim is largely free from violence.

local knowledge: 1d20 ⇒ 7

Drawing a blank, he booms "Ho! Who are you and what have you done with Skagni?!" He quick draws his Earthbreaker and charges at the closest axeman. Targeting the Red axeman

attack: 1d20 + 5 + 2 - 1 ⇒ (11) + 5 + 2 - 1 = 17
Earthbreaker: 2d6 + 6 + 2 ⇒ (3, 1) + 6 + 2 = 12

You don't know what you're facing, and this will cause your death. Says Guinfa pointing the leader with his spiked gauntlet. My friends will broke your bones and spill your blood

Intimidate: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (15) + 8 = 23

He also uses his Hypnotic Stare in the man, in case magic is needed to take him down

Rolvark tries to identify the men before him, but they are dressed in purposely nondescript clothing and he is unable to make out any details before charging in. He just barely lands a smashing blow on his target, but with a hammer that big, even getting clipped is gonna leave a mark!

Shilak'ho tries to repay his attacker in kind, but is unable to land a blow on the nimble thug.

Pazacku steps in with his katana and makes a drawing cut along the mans chest. Unfortunately, he moves in just the right way and avoids a more serious would. Did not confirm

Guinfa calls out the leader of the small band, and the man feels icy chills running down his spine as Guinfa's threat reaches him to the core.

Dean draws his sword and readies himself against the attack.

Meanwhile, the Leader of the group moves up behind the main line of the fight, and tosses another ax into the mix at
?: 1d3 ⇒ 3
Pazacku! Luckily his ax is batted away in the midst of combat and didn't come close.
Attack: 1d20 + 4 - 4 - 2 ⇒ (14) + 4 - 4 - 2 = 12

Bold May Post
Malik
Thugs
~Red- 12 Dmg
~Green- 7 Dmg
~Blue- 4 Dmg
Rolvark
Shilak'ho- 3 Dmg
Pazacku
Guinfa
Dean
Leader- Shaken x3 rnd, -2 will

Even though obstructed, Malik attempts to pump another wve of fire into the thugs. He targets the frightened axe-throwing fellow this time. (Black)

Water Blast, Physical, PBS, cover: 1d20 + 4 + 1 - 4 ⇒ (14) + 4 + 1 - 4 = 151d6 + 4 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 4 + 1 = 9

Malik tries to blast the shaken leader with another blast of water, but is unable to connect while trying to avoid his companions.

The thugs keep up the pressure against the Pathfinders.
R vs Rolvark: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (8) + 3 = 11
G vs Shilak'ho: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (5) + 3 = 8
B vs Pazacku: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (18) + 3 = 21

P Dmg: 1d6 + 1 ⇒ (6) + 1 = 7
Only the blue cloaked man is able to get through the tough defenses of the party, scoring a hearty hit against Pazacku

Bold May Post
Malik
Thugs
~Red- 12 Dmg
~Green- 7 Dmg
~Blue- 4 Dmg
Rolvark
Shilak'ho- 3 Dmg
Pazacku- 7 Dmg
Guinfa
Dean
Leader- Shaken x3 rnd, -2 will

Wielding his exotic blade, Shilak'ho continues chopping into the green thug with two fluid attacks in rapid succession.

Flurry of Blows, Power Attack
7 branched sword: 1d20 + 5 - 1 ⇒ (18) + 5 - 1 = 22 1d10 + 6 + 3 ⇒ (5) + 6 + 3 = 14
7 branched sword: 1d20 + 5 - 1 ⇒ (5) + 5 - 1 = 9 1d10 + 6 + 3 ⇒ (3) + 6 + 3 = 12

If this takes the green guy down, Shilak will 5-foot step forward, i.e. threatening the leader.

Shilak'ho nearly chops his target in half with his first swing, but is unable to connect when he turns his second swing to an adjacent enemy. He then steps into the hole he created, approaching the enemy leader.

Bold May Post
Malik
Thugs
~Red- 12 Dmg
~Blue- 4 Dmg
Rolvark
Shilak'ho- 3 Dmg
Pazacku- 7 Dmg
Guinfa
Dean
Leader- Shaken x3 rnd, -2 will

Rolvark attempts to put down his current foe quickly and aid the others
attack: 1d20 + 5 - 1 ⇒ (10) + 5 - 1 = 14
Earthbreaker: 2d6 + 6 + 3 ⇒ (1, 6) + 6 + 3 = 16

Rolvark swings, but is unable to connect with his target.

Bold May Post
Malik
Thugs
~Red- 12 Dmg
~Blue- 4 Dmg
Rolvark
Shilak'ho- 3 Dmg
Pazacku- 7 Dmg
Guinfa
Dean
Leader- Shaken x3 rnd, -2 will

Dean enters into battle striking the closest enemy! But he is clumsy, he isn't a real pirate.

Move action: per map
Standard action: Attack blue

scimitar: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (3) + 4 = 7
dmg: 1d6 ⇒ 3

Pazacku pulls his combat scabbard loose while moving into a flank, then attacks once with his katana.

katana: 1d20 + 4 + 2 ⇒ (10) + 4 + 2 = 16
damage: 1d8 + 2 ⇒ (6) + 2 = 8