The 6 Seasoned Pathfinders, Episode 7 - The Midnight Mauler (#3-16) (Inactive)

Game Master FiddlersGreen

I doubt this is necessary, but Stephani will first Detect Evil on the Mauler before enacting her Smite Evil against him. But I will assume for now that evil it is!

Stephanie calmly drops her shield and raises her sword in both hands. She says "I am sorry to inform you, but justice today demands your death. Clearly more than a disease has taken hold of your soul. I was willing to try to heal you when I thought perhaps the actions were out of your control, but you seem to have nothing but vengeance in your heart."

Smite against target will give Stephani AC 22 against it for the rest of the combat. Smite will also ignore any DR.

Power Attack, smite, inspired: 1d20 + 7 - 1 + 4 + 1 ⇒ (8) + 7 - 1 + 4 + 1 = 19
Damage: 1d8 + 6 + 3 + 1 ⇒ (6) + 6 + 3 + 1 = 16

Elvik, actions?

Knowledge Arcana: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (2) + 7 = 9

Yndra looks doubtful. "Well struck, Stephani. Remember, though, we were asked to bring him back alive if possible. Maybe we can undo what damage time and this curse have wrought upon him?"

I'd like to see if we can stack some nonlethal damage on him, just in case.

no access to the map at the moment
Elvik attacks the beast. "Because of you I had to swim! Just stay calm and take your treatment!"
Waraxe: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (3) + 6 = 9

The Mauler
Starling
Stephani
Dusklord
Yndra
Elvik

Oops sorry Starling, did not notice your question. You begin singing in the first round.

Starling begins singing her lament for Rutowski as Stephani steps up to deliver a powerful blow that sends the Mauler reeling. Dusklord follows up with a spell that coats the Mauler in more powder, but this time it is sparkly.
will save: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (13) + 5 = 18
But the old Master of Blades has seen this spell enough times to know what is coming, and closes his eyes just in time to avoid the dust from reaching his pupils. Yndra also tries to attack the Mauler, but her eagerness to deliver a powerful blow throws her aim off, and the Mauler redirects her blow with his shortsword, right into the path of Elvik's axe.

The Mauler howls into the night sky, and is answered by another howl from the alleyway as a large wolf-hound rushes out from the alleyway to aid him, snapping at Starling's ankles viciously.

attack roll: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (10) + 2 = 12
Fortunately, Starling sees the hound coming and steps out of the way of the snapping jaws.

Meanwhile, the Mauler lashes out as Yndra furiously with blade and fang.

attack roll: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (9) + 7 = 16
attack roll: 1d20 + 0 ⇒ (4) + 0 = 4

But apparently age is catching up on him more than he realises, and he is unable to land a telling blow.

The Mauler -16
Wolf -
Starling
Stephani
Dusklord
Yndra -13
Elvik

You guys are up again.

Stephani hears Yndra's words, and struggles with the order that the doesn't agree with, but an order is an order. But then the wolfhound appears, and she decides it is better to put these two down first, and see if they can be revived after.

Power Attack, smite, inspired: 1d20 + 7 - 1 + 4 + 1 ⇒ (18) + 7 - 1 + 4 + 1 = 29
Damage: 1d8 + 6 + 3 + 1 ⇒ (7) + 6 + 3 + 1 = 17

"His warped and bloodthirsty attitude is part of his affliction...much as I was once afflicted but no longer am. He might still be redeemed if we can take him without killing him!" Dusklord says as he prepares another spell, still focusing on taking away the Mauler's vision.

knowledge arcana: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (16) + 9 = 25

Casting Blindness/Deafness, DC 17 Fort.

Starling continues her lament as moves her hand on the blade of her rapier, causing it to glean with magical power. She then pierces at the Mauler with it, scoring a direct hit but causing less damage than she would have hoped for.

Rapier attack: 1d20 + 4 + 1 ⇒ (20) + 4 + 1 = 25
Damage: 1d6 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 1 + 1 = 3
Crit confirm: 1d20 + 4 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 4 + 1 = 9

Arcane strike, then rapier attack.

Starling scores a light strike on the Mauler, but it barely notices. Stephani follows up with a furious slash that tears a gash diagonally across his torso before Dusklord utters a powerful curse to steal the Mauler's sight.
will (not) save: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (1) + 5 = 6

The Mauler snarls in fury and surprise as everything around him suddenly goes dark.

"No. NO! I am in my prime! I WILL NOT BE DENIED MY VENGEANCE!" he laments.

The Mauler -36, blind
Wolf -
Starling
Stephani
Dusklord
Yndra -13 <--------next
Elvik

Yndra and Elvik, your turns.

"Hah!" Excellent timing, Professor!" Yndra redoubles her effort, confident that she can now hit Vilk with a strike meant just to wound. She doesn't let up on the ferocity of her attack, though.

Attack -PA +blind +song -nonlethal: 1d20 + 4 - 1 + 2 + 1 - 4 ⇒ (18) + 4 - 1 + 2 + 1 - 4 = 20
Nonlethal Damage +PA +Judge +song: 1d8 + 3 + 3 + 2 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 3 + 3 + 2 + 1 = 14

Yndra delivers a powerful blow, knocking the old wolf out cold. Without the lycantrophe directing its actions, the wolf also flees into the darkened alleyways.

Combat over! Now what?

Stephanie makes sure he is alive, and stabilizes him, if necessary. Then she binds him up.

"OK, he is alive. How do we administer this medicine? And how long will it take?"

Dusklord smiles a sickly sweet smile as the Mauler is brought down.

"Indeed, that was good timing. Even the Mauler is no match for the power of necromancy. And a well-placed blow you delivered. He could have been quite dangerous, even without his sight."

He stoops over the lycanthropy-inflicted man. "What a tremendous specimen. Should he have died, I would have found great interest in an autopsy, and perhaps other further studies. As things stand, however, we should secure him before trying to administer any medicine. Did someone have manacles? In the alternative, as much rope as we can collectively summon."

He watches as Stephani binds the man. "Will that hold?"

The wizard crushes up the wolfbane flowers they brought and places them in a cup with some water, then forces it down the werewolf's throat. Or whatever else I believe will work to administer the wolfbane.

fort: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (8) + 5 = 13
fort: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (17) + 5 = 22

The initial dose does not appear to have any effect.

Trying again?

Yndra produces the manacles from her backpack and hands them to Stephani. "I'm not sure they were ever meant for a creature such as this Mauler, but who knows..."

When the first dose not seem to be helping, Yndra kneels at the unconscious form. "Blessed Nethys, lend Your wisdom and knowledge to me, so that we may save this man. He's been instrumental in so many discoveries, I'd be a real shame if we'd have to put him down..."

Cast Guidance for an extra +1

Heal, untrained: 1d20 + 3 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 3 + 1 = 5

After some prodding, Yndra looks up at the professor. "I'm not sure, it's not working yet... I'd rather not risk him waking up in this state and testing those manacles. Maybe some more will do the trick?"

I say put a second dose in.

Heal: 1d20 - 2 ⇒ (1) - 2 = -1

Stephani looks on, completely baffled.

Heal, untrained: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 2 = 6 we are doomed
"Hm, maybe it has to go into the ears?"

Hmm...I think we have found a hole in our party's abilities... Just for the record, Aeleth is not trained in heal either. He barely knows how to tie his laces, and by that I mean he brings several spare bootlaces on missions because he ties them in a way that they can only be undone by cutting them.

Back to Vilk, they say that if at first you don't succeed...

Who needs to learn to cure people by hand, when you've got MAGIC to do it for you? :)

As indicated, Yndra is in favor of trying again, but we should get a second vote before going ahead.

Stephani nods in agreement, having no clue what else to do. "We can't take him back like this, can we?"

heal: 1d20 - 2 ⇒ (13) - 2 = 11

Dusklord frowns. "This should work. I concur that we should administer another dose. Either this will cure him, or we would have to put him down regardless. We have nothing to lose," the wizard says with some urgency in his voice.

He mixes up another elixir and administers it to the werewolft.

craft alchemy: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (4) + 12 = 16 I actually have a +12 bonus on craft alchemy. It seems like it might be pretty applicable here, so I'm not sure if I could gain a bonus from this or not.

Heal: 1d20 ⇒ 8

"I say we put him down. No reason to let such a monstrosity live. We can do it quickly here, and give Dusklord the autopsy he always wanted," Starling says with a short grin, flashing her teeth. "A crime done unknowingly is still a crime, and while I would have been willing to let him get away with things before killing Rutowski that is no longer the case." Starling pulls out a dagger and looks at the others.

Hmm...Dusklord, you can read the spoiler above, or I'll just copy it here.

Still want to administer the wolfsbane? You could also take the option proposed by Starling...

What does Elvik think?

Yndra opposes the proposal by Starling, putting her hands on her hips for dramatic effect. "That's a load of crap. He can't be held accountable for his actions! It's this curse that twisted his very being. What if you yourself ran afoul of some enchanting magic, and were forced to attack one of us.Would we have to "put you down" as well? Pah!" She gives Dusklord a nod of her head. "Give him more. If it saves him, there's no reason anymore to kill him. If it kills him, Starling can have the justice she wanted. At least we tried, in that case. I'm not so quick to give up on a man."

"He is disabled now, and will cause no more harm. If we can heal him of his condition, we can take him back to stand trial for his actions and a group of fair minded Pathfinders can determine the truth of the matter. Dispensing justice in this case is not our task, but we have stopped the crimes now, and have been tasked with saving the man if possible."

I'll share the antivenom info...

Dusklord raises an eyebrow at Starling.

"A little cold for you, isn't it? Regardless, our assignment was to rescue him if we could. My preference is always to do what will lead to the most good. Let us try one more dose."

With most of the team on board, Dusklord forces another draft down the werewolf's throat.

Dusklord pours the second concoction down Vilk's throad.

fort save: 1d20 + 5 + 2 ⇒ (18) + 5 + 2 = 25

Violent convulsions seize the Mauler's form as the lycantrophic curse and the wolfsbane poison clash within his corporeal form. He shudders and a light foam forms at his mouth as his fur begins to fall from his skin and his muscles and bones atrophy till all that is left is the body of a frail old man, his breath ragged, his face worn and with rings around his eyes so dark you'd think he'd been punched by Aeleth. Having been told by Dusklord what comes next, Stephani quickly pours her antivenom down the old man's throat.

All is quiet for a moment...
fort save: 1d20 + 2 - 2 + 5 ⇒ (15) + 2 - 2 + 5 = 20
...and all remains quiet.

The antivenom made the difference! The DC was 16!

You hear the Reds city guards talking loudly as they continue their patrol of the city, and decide not to linger. You find and old abandoned house that you take refuge in as you wait out the night.

Vilk recovers consciousness around sunrise. He thanks you feebly, but otherwise remains silent and withdrawn, unable to look any of you in the eye.

"I was aware of what the Mauler did. I was not in control, but I was there behind his eyes... my eyes. I did not have the strength of will to fight it. There is no excuse, and I am at your disposal, to deal with as you choose."

Sense Motive: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (13) + 2 = 15

"I suggest we escort you back to Absalom where the Society can look into this matter thoroughly, and decide what to do. I sympathize with your plight, and I do believe you feel regret, but I am not the judge nor jury here. Will you come quietly? If so, I will mention it on your behalf."

That concludes the adventure!

There were two boons up for grabs. One for saving Vilk's life and the other for saving Rutowski. Unfortunately, you missed the second one. =(

You succeeded in your primary mission of finding and defeating the Mauler. Unfortunately, and this is something I disagree with whoever wrote the Secondary Success Conditions on, the secondary success was to not only successfully save Vilk, but also to save Rutowski. Which I think is downright unfair because I don't think the writer took the Mauler's 50ft movement speed into account when writing the scenario - that translated into a +4 to all his chase checks, and he already had very decent modifiers.

For what its worth, we had the same outcome when I played this with another character a couple of years ago, though I didn't realise till I was running the chase scene myself just how stacked against the players the chase scene was.

Feel free to roleplay out the resolution, and make your dayjob rolls if any.

[dice=Sense Motive]1d20+2

"I suggest we escort you back to Absalom where the Society can look into this matter thoroughly, and decide what to do. I sympathize with your plight, and I do believe you feel regret, but I am not the judge nor jury here. Will you come quietly? If so, I will mention it on your behalf."

Vilk nods silently, his gaze distant and vacant.

Yah, every now and then you run into one of these. The right character could have caught him, but I can't believe Steph kept as close as she did. Few skill points + well armored does not make for a good chaser.

Yndra looks satisfied as the curse is lifted from the 'Mauler' and claps some imaginary dust from her hands. "I believe some magical solution would have been quicker, but I can't argue with the results from some herbs. Welcome back, Master Vilk."

She nods in sympathy at hearing that he's still aware of what he did. "I agree with Stephani. Let's head back to Absalom, and let them sort it out. I'll testify that you weren't to blame for what happened. Having to live with what happened is punishment enough, I say..."

--

I figured as much about the success conditions. It happens... I think we were indeed unlucky with the types of skill checks offered by the chase, and the mauler was definitely at an advantage. I'll stock op on a potion of Expeditious retreat, for future cases. Thanks for running this one, FiddlersGreen!

No worries, I had fun running this one too!
Though, it would also be fun getting back into Aeleth's head again. It's ever so roomy in there! XD

Still taking day job checks if anyone has one.
Will do Chronicles about 30 hours from now, will be a bit busy until then.

Unfortunately, we may have lost Serak. Are we still going to carry on?

I am really sorry to say that I won't be able to continue. Work is picking up and my wife has just started a new job that means a different day routine for both of us. I'll have to see how it pans out in the long run, but for now I have to cut back on games, to give the ones remaining the proper attention. It's a shame, because I really liked the group.

No worries man, glad to hear that those are the reasons you're dropping. More work and consideration for your wife are good things! Focus on the more important stuff. =)

Sorry to see you go, Yndra - but totally understand! Hope to see you around occasionally, at least.

Serak has indeed dropped off the boards.

No day job for Steph.

According to the list, next up was the Blakros Matrimony run by Starling/badslacker. We still in for that? There would still be 4 of us without Yndra and Serak, which is enough, but we could try to recruit another couple of people...

Great run! I quite liked that scenario.

We definitely need to replace Serak. I can put up a recruitment ad.

Yndra, I do hope you would reconsider! You've been a fantastic addition to the group. It seems we've done 1/day posting pretty regularly, and maybe a little slower on the weekends. I'd love to have you stick around.

(I rolled day job in the discussion thread.)

I'm in for the Blakros Matrimony, it's been a (very long) while since I last DM'ed but I'll give it a shot!

Check in here.

Dusklord, that's really nice to read, but for now my mind if made up. The best I can do is to see again in about six weeks' time how things have settled, if you're willing to hold my spot until then. No promises, though...

Here there be Chronicles.

Thanks for running the game!

Stephani will purchase an antitoxin to replace the one she used.

Also, she will cross the Prized Find boon off of her Wounded Wisp chronicle to get that second prestige point!

Dusklord, that's really nice to read, but for now my mind if made up. The best I can do is to see again in about six weeks' time how things have settled, if you're willing to hold my spot until then. No promises, though...

I definitely hope you will consider coming back. If you need to delay DMing for time constraints, I think we could work that out, too (or I'll take a scenario for you). Keep us posted!

Chronicle looked great! I really liked that scenario. And great idea on the boon, Stephani! I'm doing that, too!

I've had one bite on replacements so far, but the guy only has a level 2 character. Thoughts?

I'm not opposed to it - we could probably slow track at some point for them to catch up. What is the character?

I've had one bite on replacements so far, but the guy only has a level 2 character. Thoughts?

Our next game is a tier 3-7 though. =(

He also has a level 5... I guess he could take that character.n or use a few pregen and apply it to lvl 2 character.

Level 5 would be ok, since he would be out of tier anyway. Pregen is ok too, but long term I expect he would prefer his own character. How far away is his level 2? Maybe he can find a game for it while pre-gen to get more credit quickly.

Our current lineup is:
Aeleth - incredibly smrt pacifist
Dusklord - clever wizard (but not as clever as Aeleth)
Stephani - front-line do-gooder
Elvik - front-line semi-heal-bot (sorta)

We have arcane, front-line and healing covered. Maybe some ranged or more healing would be a good complement.