How interesting. Playing one deity off of another. . .
OK, so if I have it right, the idea is that once we get to the morning of day 3, Hal will sub-out one of his existing 4th level spells and replace it with divination, presumably discern lies or sending as he can't use divination in a domain slot.
Now the way this particular spell works, it provides advice in reply to an actual question concerning a specific goal, event or activity that is to occur within 1 week. So you can't just flat out ask for an interpretation. But perhaps to get around this he could ask:
"How should we/I interpret Soroon's vision from Pharasma?" such that Hal's activity is the act of interpretation itself.
I have to say, normally when Hal casts divination spells he simply finds Angradd just encourages him to kill the nearest force of evil with all due haste - he's not big on preparation - though he certainly does try to guide his followers on the right path.
I'm very curious to see what will come of this. . . stay tuned.
No swarming Ekeebe, I'm just keeping track of details - my job and all. You too will correct me as well when I inevitably get them wrong. Keeping track of multiple realities might be good for our brain health, but it's tougher than it sounds.
I'll take this to mean Thalia joins Karek and Donkor on first watch. She won't be sleeping through the snores of Hurgah anyway. Not unless someone has a silence spell to donate, anyway.
"I do not wish to alarm you gentlemen, but I do spy a column of smoke over to a little east of true north, and am pretty sure that it is another campfire, I will take the first watch with Halstadt, more eyes mean more opportunity to react accordingly."
"Sweet Thalia, these old eyes are none too keen, especially when there is so little to eat and drink. Can you tell how far away this smoke is? We should make sure that we do not give away our own position so foolishly and I would feel more at ease if the supposed campfire can be reconnoitered."
Contents of a Sending Spell from the Crown of the World – sent to Grand Lodge, headquarters of the Pathfinder Society in Absalom on the Isle of Kortos.
Message Received. Hoffenburrow headed for Ahn’Selota with haste. Tell Scarab - will be six more days. Seeds urgent priority but what of fabled Pact Stone?
We need recon, eh? Eill doid, bud eim nod da quiedesd.
"Another column of smoke, huh? How far away do you think it is?", Jason asks as he looks to the north.
"Perhaps we should investigate..."
"Sweet Thalia, these old eyes are none too keen, especially when there is so little to eat and drink. Can you tell how far away this smoke is?
"Hard to say," she answers, "but many miles at least. Perhaps an hour by camel - longer at our usual speed." Her normally melodious voice has become disquietingly serious.
Moonpate considers the half-elf's words and adds:
"We should make sure that we do not give away our own position so foolishly and I would feel more at ease if the supposed campfire can be reconnoitered.""This high ground we have chosen may be defensible but it offers little for concealment." Xian'an looks at the embers still aglow in Moonplot kitchen. "They may well have seen our fire as well."
The youngest dwarf hears and joins the discussion:
We need recon, eh? Eill doid, bud eim nod da quiedesd.Hearing Karek, Jason crosses the camp to join the conversation and is quickly brought up to speed:
"Another column of smoke, huh? How far away do you think it is?", Jason asks as he looks to the north.Thalia pauses as she watches the sorcerer's eyes fail to focus properly. She then reminds herself that the humans lack her heritage, virtually blinded in the darkness. It must be difficult for them to live their limited lives.
"I cannot say for certain," she answers, "but it is several miles out."
"Perhaps we should investigate..."
"Possibly. Now that the sun has fallen my ability to spot the smoke against the night sky is already decreasing with each passing minute. We will have a limited window of time and if we're going our scouts should leave now. But I cannot track the smoke plume as well as stand guard back here at the same time. Know that we will be split and vulnerable."
"I am stealthier than I appear. I could sneak up with you all or stay back and provide long range magical support. I leave it up to the rest of you to decide where I may fit best, keep in mind that my dwarven eyes are fine in the dark".
"I am stealthier than I appear. I could sneak up with you all or stay back and provide long range magical support. I leave it up to the rest of you to decide where I may fit best, keep in mind that my dwarven eyes are fine in the dark".
"Very good Master Dwarf. I can help out those of us who can't see as well in the dark."
"Halstadt remembers true. I will be approaching the leader of the dig site as a "researcher" interested in the gen and elemental activity going on, with Hurgah as my trusted bodyguard. If I can stay close to Khymrasa, we should be able to be of maximum use."
"I could pose as your servant, Master Moonpate," Gandel suggests. "I wouldn't think it too unusual for a "distinguished reasearcher" to travel with a servant - particularly a halfling servant - as well as a bodyguard."
"I'm moderately stealthy, but I can't see very well in the dark. If Jason can help me in that regard, I'll be happy to go along on the scouting mission," Gandel offers.
"What Hurgah does best is to kill, not sneak or plan. Do what you must, and wake me when it's time to leave or fight," Hurgah rumbles, then sits facing the sun, the scaly tattooed skin of his naked torso glistening.
"I am stealthier than I appear. I could sneak up with you all or stay back and provide long range magical support. I leave it up to the rest of you to decide where I may fit best, keep in mind that my dwarven eyes are fine in the dark".
"Right, many often forget dwarven armies have their own scouts as well." Breach pats Hal on the shoulder. "We'll take one cleric with us."
Breach moves to the edge of the dune, as though he means to depart.
"I say we advance, keeping low and in-between the dunes, no camels, but until we get a few minutes out we'll be hustling, double-time. Hurgah's got the watch back here with Donkor. We'll be back in under 2 hours - anything else and it's gone to the crapper."
The dwarf looks behind him, all business: "Now who's coming?"
Then he adds: "Jason, if you mean ta be passing out magical eyes, now's the time to be at it."
Woah! That came across even more assertive than I thought - especially for a GM PC. I was just trying to move things along.
(Donkor and Hal - you can stay or go with the scouting party as you see fit - Breach is just assuming Donkor will stay because of his previously assigned watch shift and Hal will come because of his previous offer.)
And if anyone wants to modify Breach's plan to proceed, you go right ahead. My thinking is Breach should go, in case Bilbo comes back, as one of the few PCs with rogue levels, he might not want to miss the chance to strut his stuff.
"I say we advance, keeping low and in-between the dunes, no camels, but until we get a few minutes out we'll be hustling, double-time. Hurgah's got the watch back here with Donkor. We'll be back in under 2 hours - anything else and it's gone to the crapper."The dwarf looks behind him, all business: "Now who's coming?"
"I should stay here with the camp and foodstuffs, and await a sending or your return. I will place an arcane alarm around the camp and will remain vigilant for news."
"If we run into trouble I will send to you Master Moonpate. Beware though friends, if our campfire has produced any smoke it is likely that those we scout will be scouting us as well".
"I am happy to remain here and ready myself to watch Hurgah do his killing, should the rest of you all come back fleeing with enemies on your heals."
OOC:
---------------
When you look back at Thalia, her clothes have somehow changed yet again – this time her latest outfit is a formfitting black skin which better cloaks her body against the darkness. Without looking back, she strides out into the desert. Impossibly, the lithe half-elf moves so lightly that she makes no impressions in the sand as she crosses.
Shattershield shoulders his shield and axe, Hal his giant axe, and the two of them head after Thalia protectively, each taking up position closely behind her. Once Hal steps away from the campfire and out into the night, he pulls his rugged grey cloak over his head and his form slowly blurs into a haze, making him almost disappear from sight.
“Johornah!” whispers Jason and for a second both his eyes and those of Gandel glow like they belong to animals of the night. Gandel silently nods in approval as he coils his whip for the journey and the two of them strike out after the dwarves. With Gandel’s small-size, the wave-like dunes seem to swallow him instantly.
Following Breach’s instructions Thalia plots a course avoiding the higher dunes, taking the five of them through low-laying valleys wherever she can. Every so often she pauses and uses the stars in the sky to guide their relative position.
There should also be a penalty for moving at full Speed, but it will cancel once the five of you get closer to your destination and slow it down.
As soon as the five scouts leave the campsite, Moonpate casts a spell of his own, looking to further ward their position against unwanted intrusion.
OOC:
---------------
When you look back at Thalia, her clothes have somehow changed yet again – this time her latest outfit is a formfitting black skin which better cloaks her body against the darkness. Without looking back, she strides out into the desert. Impossibly, the lithe half-elf moves so lightly that she makes no impressions in the sand as she crosses.
Shattershield shoulders his shield and axe, Hal his giant axe, and the two of them head after Thalia protectively, each taking up position closely behind her. Once Hal steps away from the campfire and out into the night, he pulls his rugged grey cloak over his head and his form slowly blurs into a haze, making him almost disappear from sight.
“Johornah!” whispers Jason and for a second both his eyes and those of Gandel glow like they belong to animals of the night. Gandel silently nods in approval as he coils his whip for the journey and the two of them strike out after the dwarves. With Gandel’s small-size, the wave-like dunes seem to swallow him instantly.
Following Breach’s instructions Thalia plots a course avoiding the higher dunes, taking the five of them through low-laying valleys wherever she can. Every so often she pauses and uses the stars in the sky to guide their relative position.
** spoiler omitted **...
Yes, Karek will stay behind, leaving the scouting to those with a positive stealth score. Is Sending a standard action, or does it take longer? Do we have a message spell that works in the given range, perhaps?[/ooc]
OOC: sending takes 10 minutes, but I bet you knew that. : )
Moonpate has a choice between a silent psychic alarm which only he hears or a louder magical alarm heard by all (both opposition and allies)
Beetle implied that Thalia's low-light vision would be appropriate for this venture.
Jason approaches Gandel as they make preparations to leave.
"Atrum visum!" and the dark turns into day for both of them.
"Ready comrade?", he asks his fellow Pathfinder. "I am wary of this lone spire of smoke."
Fed up with the excitement, Moonpate uncorks the imported bottle he purchased for the Exemplar. Its taste is complex and refined, offering a pleasant distraction from bitter endless wastes of sand around him. He finds the refreshment recharges his batteries and enables him to reflect on all sorts of imaginative spell combos for the morrow.
The Scouting Party (Jason, Hal, Thalia, Breach, and Gandel)
Approximately after an hour, give or take, Thalia slows the crew down and they approach with even more caution, eventually slowing as they finally begin to leopard crawl across the dunes in the moonlight. After a few minutes more Thalia stops entirely and just watches and waits.
Nothing can be seen.
Breach joins her, poking his head over a dune to get a better look. "Dammit woman," he whispers, "what's going on?"
"They're there. In that valley, a hundred yards out." Her eyes never leave their point of focus.
"Wha? I don't see - " Then the dwarf stops himself and nods silently.
Then each in turn, each of the scouts spies it:
Every half minute or so, a head pops up out of the valley and looks around, taking a quick scan. It is a sentry of some kind. It's hard to be sure of details at this distance in the moonlight, but Thalia believes it is a human male. You do not believe you have been spotted. The camp is well hidden.
Up to you! (And I believe you have chosen to use two spell slots for Jason and Gandel).
Thalia can benefit from darkvision as well, but on a moonlit night her low-light vision is quite handy.
After 60 feet, those using darkvision have to rely on normal vision, which is quite inferior to low-light.
It's neat that we have one of those comparatively rare situations in which low-light is actually superior.
"Can anyone turn invisible or turn us all invisible so we can get a closer look?
** spoiler omitted **
Donkor also has a tendency to think that everything is unfolding according to Pharasma's plan, for good or ill, so he won't get worried too fast. Scouting takes time, and if they find something interesting it might take more time.
Say 5 hours before he gets worried enough to blow 25g in spell components for a divination to see if we should intercede.
Moonpate can cast Fly on himself and use his bonded item to cast it again on one other person. Could we reach the target or get relatively close via flying?
This is hard for Moonpate to gauge. It could work quite well but there's a few qualifiers:
First, the domed one only has a general idea of the direction the scouts traveled and an approximation of the distance. He's not sure he knows where to go, but he does have a sense of it and if he were higher up, presumably he would have a chance of spotting any action, even in the moonlight.
Next, a fly spell has an awesome Speed (60 feet) so he could travel approximately 3 times as fast as the scouts. But it only has a duration of 7 minutes. He's not sure how far he would close in before it would be exhausted. Casting it twice on himself might work better, but even then he's not so sure. He'd potentially be traveling at least part of the way on foot.
Jason approaches Gandel as they make preparations to leave.
"Atrum visum!" and the dark turns into day for both of them.
"Ready comrade?", he asks his fellow Pathfinder. "I am wary of this lone spire of smoke."
"Aye-aye, Cap'n!" Gandel says with a grin. "Let's make sure there aren't any other competitors trying to beat us to the prize. I suspect we'll have enough trouble with Khymrasa's forces - we don't need anyone else sneaking up on us from behind."
"As an alternative I could sow a bit of confusion by making myself invisible and then run up to the camp and toss in a thunderstone. I've got another spell that would boost my speed, and the sandy terrain doesn't really hinder my movement," Gandel offers.
Did anyone see how far away the smoke was? What was the estimate of how long it would take to travel there? We will wait for a little longer than twice that time. If it seems like they need a rescue party, we might as well all go together. Unfortunately, this group stayed behind because we're not the speedy, stealthy ones.
"Campers":
(How come the "Scouts" get a sexier name? Maybe you guys should be "Base Defence" or "Red Leader")
Karek, I'm answering the questions posed, but I think you meant to engage your fellow players in discussion so just ignore this if it doesn't help.
Did anyone see how far away the smoke was?
Only Thalia, and she is gone. She said something about several miles, which unfortunately was not too specific.
What was the estimate of how long it would take to travel there?
As I review it, it looks like she didn't actually say. Breach said something about being back in under 2 hours, so perhaps he received better info from Thalia, but you can't be sure where he got his estimate from.
We will wait for a little longer than twice that time.
Which (unfortunately) is what? Moonpate has proposed 2 hours, Donkor 5. Hmmmmm. Speaking of Moonpate - is he sharing any of that booze?
Speaking of Moonpate - is he sharing any of that booze?
"Given our situation, I must agree with friend Donkor's casually dour assessment and wait a goodly five hours before fearing the worse."
Sexy Scouts:
What is the distance to the location where the otehr camp is?
The 'valley with the head periodically sticking up' is approximately 100 yards away (300 feet). If we're talking about Gandel's vanishing spell with a duration of 5 rounds, you might need to get closer first, say half that distance before casting, or perhaps combine it with Gandel's idea to cast a second spell to increase base Speed. Otherwise we're talking about a really quick glance.
Speaking of Moonpate - is he sharing any of that booze?
I pledge to do my best to imperil the scouting party in order to do my part to make this happen.
Hal and the Sexy Scouts:
Is the new name then!
Hal and the Sexy Scouts:
"I would not think the Thunderstone to be a good idea Gandel, then they will know we are here I think it is best to stay quiet. Thalia if Gandel turned you invisible do you think you could move fast enough to scout the area and get back quickly before the power wears off?"
Thalia responds to Hal with a nod, but then she adds, “I’ll handle it if you want, but if Gandel goes, he could always re-cast his spell if need be.”
She turns to the halfling and whispers into his ear: “You up for it Pathfinder?”
Hal and the Sexy Scouts:
Meanwhile while the others discuss their approach, Breach has slowly and quietly stabbed his axe and shield into the side of the dune next to him and unpacked his crossbow. The old dwarf loads a bolt and takes a sniper’s position, lying in the sand as he looks down the metallic sight of his x-bow. He’s trying to get a bead on the sentry, but the distance is exceptional. Unless he’s a truly amazing shot, he won’t get a hit in the moonlit darkness at this range. But he does seem awful still and patient – perhaps he has done this before.