In your first mission as a Pathfinder agent, the head of the Grand Lodge sends you on a number of missions throughout the metropolis of Absalom, pitting you against traps, thieves, and even an unruly devil, all in the pursuit of knowledge.
CG Male half-elf rogue 8 | HP 67/67 | AC: 21 T:17 FF:15 | F +4 R +12 W +2 (+2 vs. enchantments) | Init +12 | Perc +13 | Low-light vision | Trapfinding +4
Tathane jumps back and dodges out of the way as the ugly spider thing tries to bite him. "Wait!? I won't be able to hurt this thing with my bow? Is that what you said?"
Acrobatics:1d20 + 4 ⇒ (12) + 4 = 16To avoid AoO if one exists
Tathane sizes up the creature and decides his best bet is to move away, far away. With athletic movements he moves to the other corner of the room.
He doesn't believe in 'game balance'. Gandalf always lets him pass. As a feat, he has Exotic Weapon Proficiency (beard). The city guard often question him, just because they find him so interesting. His dice bag is woven from tarrasque leather. His TPKs end game lines. His blood cures moderate wounds. He once punched a flumph. Yes, you heard me. He belongs to a prestige class whose sole requirement for entry is just being him. ♬ He is indeed, the most interesting GM in the world. ♬
1d20 + 6 ⇒ (10) + 6 = 16
In his flight, Tathane stumbles over a pile of lacy red and black undies under which he discovers the box!
He doesn't believe in 'game balance'. Gandalf always lets him pass. As a feat, he has Exotic Weapon Proficiency (beard). The city guard often question him, just because they find him so interesting. His dice bag is woven from tarrasque leather. His TPKs end game lines. His blood cures moderate wounds. He once punched a flumph. Yes, you heard me. He belongs to a prestige class whose sole requirement for entry is just being him. ♬ He is indeed, the most interesting GM in the world. ♬
The spider's set of compound eyes widen at sight of the revealed box. Suddenly the thing's body bulges, and ripples and instead of a spider now there is a huge feral pig. It drops to the floor on sharp cloven hooves, and fixes it's little piggy eyes on the half-elf. It snorts. Then it sounds a deafening squeal.
Round 3 (Theme ♬)
The Bold May Act!
_________________
__ Imp disguised as a boar now
__ Einarr
__ Esper
__ Perrine
__ Tathane -2 hp
__ Ramachandra
__ Doughlas
CG Male half-elf rogue 8 | HP 67/67 | AC: 21 T:17 FF:15 | F +4 R +12 W +2 (+2 vs. enchantments) | Init +12 | Perc +13 | Low-light vision | Trapfinding +4
Tathane spots the box and immediately picks it up. "Hey guys. I think I found it." Then he spots the thing that used to be a spider, now a pig, staring at him and the box. He looks around and spots a lacy under garment of some sort. He picks it up and tries to make a show of covering the box with it and then tossing it on the bed. In reality, he holds the box behind his back while tossing the cloth to the bed.
He doesn't believe in 'game balance'. Gandalf always lets him pass. As a feat, he has Exotic Weapon Proficiency (beard). The city guard often question him, just because they find him so interesting. His dice bag is woven from tarrasque leather. His TPKs end game lines. His blood cures moderate wounds. He once punched a flumph. Yes, you heard me. He belongs to a prestige class whose sole requirement for entry is just being him. ♬ He is indeed, the most interesting GM in the world. ♬
If possible the pig looks angrier at the attempted deception.
He doesn't believe in 'game balance'. Gandalf always lets him pass. As a feat, he has Exotic Weapon Proficiency (beard). The city guard often question him, just because they find him so interesting. His dice bag is woven from tarrasque leather. His TPKs end game lines. His blood cures moderate wounds. He once punched a flumph. Yes, you heard me. He belongs to a prestige class whose sole requirement for entry is just being him. ♬ He is indeed, the most interesting GM in the world. ♬
Esper The doors pull open into the office/lobby room. They are open right now.
Einarr's axe swings high, and takes a chip out of the corner of the wall.
Esper approaches the battle. Seeing the strange boar, she focuses her mind on it, and then swings her quarter staff at its head.
Move to the battle. Swift to activate hypnotic stare, which gives him -2 on Will saves, and is a supernatural mind effect. This also allows her painful stare ability to function. Full details on my profile.
Attack:1d20 ⇒ 18 Bludgeoning Damage:1d6 ⇒ 6
Note: The next time the imp takes hp DAMAGE before her next turn (including right now if she manages to hurt it past its DR) she can activate Painful Stare as a free action, which increases that damage by one point. This only happens 1/Rd. Full details on my profile.
Range close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels)
Effect one missile of acid
Duration instantaneous
Saving Throw none; Spell Resistance no
DESCRIPTION
You fire a small orb of acid at the target. You must succeed on a ranged touch attack to hit your target. The orb deals 1d3 points of acid damage. This acid disappears after 1 round.
He doesn't believe in 'game balance'. Gandalf always lets him pass. As a feat, he has Exotic Weapon Proficiency (beard). The city guard often question him, just because they find him so interesting. His dice bag is woven from tarrasque leather. His TPKs end game lines. His blood cures moderate wounds. He once punched a flumph. Yes, you heard me. He belongs to a prestige class whose sole requirement for entry is just being him. ♬ He is indeed, the most interesting GM in the world. ♬
Esper delivers the beast a blow that sounds like someone falling on sand. It seems to focus the creature's attention upon her for a moment, but has little other effect.
A clear shot never arrives for Doughlas, as the surrounded pig has plenty of cover from the wall and Doughlas's teammates.
-4 firing into melee, plus -4 cover from the wall and Einarr.
Perrine nearly fumbles the huge (for her) silver letter opener. -2 inappropriate-sized weapon penalty.
Fighting like--well, like a cornered pig the beast lashes out at Perrine with its tusks. Perrine though manages to step aside in time.
gore v Perrine:1d20 + 6 ⇒ (9) + 6 = 15damage:1d8 ⇒ 6
Round 4! (Theme ♬)
The Bold May Act!
_________________
__ Imp disguised as a boar now -2 hp
__ Einarr
__ Esper
__ Perrine
__ Tathane -2 hp
__ Ramachandra
__ Doughlas
He doesn't believe in 'game balance'. Gandalf always lets him pass. As a feat, he has Exotic Weapon Proficiency (beard). The city guard often question him, just because they find him so interesting. His dice bag is woven from tarrasque leather. His TPKs end game lines. His blood cures moderate wounds. He once punched a flumph. Yes, you heard me. He belongs to a prestige class whose sole requirement for entry is just being him. ♬ He is indeed, the most interesting GM in the world. ♬
**CLANG!**
1d8 ⇒ 6
The stunned pig looks stupidly at Einarr for a long moment before keeling over stiff as a wooden plank. A red sulfurous cloud puffs from the body obscuring it for a moment when it lifts it reveals the tiny limp form of an imp in the pig's place.
"Hmm." The paracountess rises at the sound of the party's victory music. "Hm? Oh, it's the doorbell. It must be my next appointment. Are you all about done?"
"I say we cover it real quick and run off with the box. Leave the bedroom door open and let Paracountess deal with it if it wakes back up." Doughlas says with a shrug of his shoulders.
He doesn't believe in 'game balance'. Gandalf always lets him pass. As a feat, he has Exotic Weapon Proficiency (beard). The city guard often question him, just because they find him so interesting. His dice bag is woven from tarrasque leather. His TPKs end game lines. His blood cures moderate wounds. He once punched a flumph. Yes, you heard me. He belongs to a prestige class whose sole requirement for entry is just being him. ♬ He is indeed, the most interesting GM in the world. ♬
CG Male half-elf rogue 8 | HP 67/67 | AC: 21 T:17 FF:15 | F +4 R +12 W +2 (+2 vs. enchantments) | Init +12 | Perc +13 | Low-light vision | Trapfinding +4
Tathane makes haste with the others to leave as soon as the imp falls. "The estate sounds good to me as well. I doubt we'll meet someone quite so interesting as the paracountess was though."
"I had enough of that foo-foo lifestyle. Makes a man weak you know.... Lead on to the next stop, I'll follow along as I need to get whatever that was we fought off my axe while I walk."
He doesn't believe in 'game balance'. Gandalf always lets him pass. As a feat, he has Exotic Weapon Proficiency (beard). The city guard often question him, just because they find him so interesting. His dice bag is woven from tarrasque leather. His TPKs end game lines. His blood cures moderate wounds. He once punched a flumph. Yes, you heard me. He belongs to a prestige class whose sole requirement for entry is just being him. ♬ He is indeed, the most interesting GM in the world. ♬
Doughlas, Esper, Ramachandra:
As you leave the manor you look back one last time and notice a woman staring at the party strangely. The others in the party don't seem to notice and seem mostly concerned with getting away from Lady Dralneen's estate. Alrady the dust cloud kicked up in their wake is nearly out of sight. When you look back the woman is gone.
Later:
The air seems drier and spicier in the Wise Quarter like all scholarly books in the district had drunk in all the moisture from it. It is noticeable even beyond Tathane's cloying peach perfume scent. The traffic here is predominantly: camels, their drovers, pages, sages, street corner philosophers, students of the Arcanamirium, and other students of the arcane, and the merchants and shopkeepers who cater to them all.
Ambus Valsin wrote:
Visit the offices of Osirian nobleman Dremdhet Salhar in the Wise Quarter. The Pathfinder Society needs to obtain permission to delve the Salhar ancestral vaults beneath Sothis. He has made a verbal agreement, and your visit makes it official. You will receive an official charter and detailed maps. Do not embarrass the Society in this matter.
The party comes to a huge stone edifice whose arched facing casts cool shadows over the street. Beyond its ominous facade, a wrought iron fence and a guard bar the way, or seem to as you approach a silent servant emerges from the shadows, and waves the party through.
After a quick spritzing of scented water, and a more-or-less unobtrusive inspection for skin parasites, the servant shows the party into the cool and well-appointed foyer where a wizened man in a turban awaits you.
Another servant arrives with steaming tea.
"Good day to you, Pathfinders." He bows. "I am Amenopheus, the Sapphire Sage, advisor to Master Salhar. I understand you were sent here to discuss archaeological permissions. Knowing this was coming, I spoke with Master Salhar at length on the subject and have this to say.”
“Since Osirion was reopened to exploration a decade ago, adventurers, historians, and treasure-seekers flock to my country by the hundreds, perhaps thousands. While most families with ancestral burial vaults maintain guards and keep their sites out of the hands of casual thieves, not all families have the wealth or power to restrict everyone, and as we all know, not every defense is perfectly secure. Unscrupulous tomb robbers, maligned merchant organizations and so-called 'murder hobos' cause Osirion to bleed relics into the Inner Sea—something the descendants of Ancient Osirion cannot afford. We Osiriani have thousands of years of rich history coursing through our veins, and while that power has been out of focus in recent years, we are content to wait, and bide our time for Osirion's eventual ascendancy to the world stage as a major power once more.”
“Master Salhar remains impressed by the Pathfinder Society, orating in their favor a handful of times in front of Absalom’s Grand Council, in fact. Due to previous relationships between him and the Society, Master Salhar has agreed to grant permission to the Pathfinder Society to explore his family’s vaults below Sothis. The only thing he requires is that you retrieve the map of the vaults from his own vault here."
Amenopheus takes a sip of tea. "If you agree, the servant will lead you to the basement and show you the room.”
Sitting in the back, Einarr sniffs the tea... but since he does not want to be rude to the Poffy Seidr who could turn him into a frog, the Ulfen will take out his brandy flask and pour some brandy into his tea cup to make it more palatable. After he quickly puts the flask away see sips his new tea and smiles at the man...
Esper bows deeply to Amenopheus. "Greetings, sir. May the sun shine long upon you."
She sits in a comfortable chair and nods her head at the servant in gratitude. Savouring her tea, she listens to Amenopheus' tale.
After his spiel, Esper smiles sweetly. "We appreciate Master Salhar's faith in our society, Master Amenopheus. Please relay our gratitude to him."
She takes another sip of tea, then continues. "It is a great honour that Master Salhar has afforded us. Of course we will retrieve the map, as requested. Will the vault have defences we will need to bypass, or will it be open to us already?"
"You will forgive this old man for being melodramatic, but one rarely has such an opportunity--even in a life as long as mine. Your answer my dear is: both."
The servant from the front door appears again. Amenopheus looks at the man. The man bows.
He doesn't believe in 'game balance'. Gandalf always lets him pass. As a feat, he has Exotic Weapon Proficiency (beard). The city guard often question him, just because they find him so interesting. His dice bag is woven from tarrasque leather. His TPKs end game lines. His blood cures moderate wounds. He once punched a flumph. Yes, you heard me. He belongs to a prestige class whose sole requirement for entry is just being him. ♬ He is indeed, the most interesting GM in the world. ♬
After leaving the reception room, the servant brings the group back through the spacious, pillar-lined halls, leading them down sturdy stone steps into the cool basement. Down a hallway, after a couple turns, the party ends up at a plain wooden door. The servant opens the door, gesturing to the room, once they enter he closes the door and the there is an audible click.
A magical flame hovers in the middle of the chamber providing illumination.
Written on the back of the door (the side facing them now) is the message: “Within these cases lies your quest and your way out.”
The room itself contains a number of chests and other containers described in detail on the map.
Map Folio updated. (Well, rearranged with the most important page on top.)
Doughlas tries concentrating on his Detect Magic spell. He's looking over each of the boxes but to everyone else it just looks like he's trying to not soil his small clothes. Still coming to terms with his new abilities, he's just not sure what the results mean to him.
He doesn't believe in 'game balance'. Gandalf always lets him pass. As a feat, he has Exotic Weapon Proficiency (beard). The city guard often question him, just because they find him so interesting. His dice bag is woven from tarrasque leather. His TPKs end game lines. His blood cures moderate wounds. He once punched a flumph. Yes, you heard me. He belongs to a prestige class whose sole requirement for entry is just being him. ♬ He is indeed, the most interesting GM in the world. ♬
Doughlas and Esper:
After a few seconds Doughlas and Esper are able to ascertain that there are multiple sources of magic in the room, coming from the hovering ball of fire, the brown copper-bound chest, the red lacquered chest, and the steel box. All seem quite faint.
random aura identification:1d4 ⇒ 2
Both agree that the aura radiating from the brown copper-bound box is of the illusion school.
Doughlas mentions to the others, "The brown chest seems to have an illusion spell on it. The red chest and steel box also have a faint magical aura. The wicker basket may be a safer one for now."
Female Gnome Warpriest 4 | AC 17/12/16 | HP 35/35 | F+6, R+2,W+7 | CMD 15 | Speed 20’ | Init+7, Perception+5, Sense Motive+8 | Lowlight vision.
”Well, fortune favors the bold, Ive always heard. If no one has any advice, we could just dive in headfirst.”.
If no one stops her and gives advice, Perrine tries to open the half filled tub with the key in the bottom. ”Can any of you tell if this liquid is poison?”
CG Male half-elf rogue 8 | HP 67/67 | AC: 21 T:17 FF:15 | F +4 R +12 W +2 (+2 vs. enchantments) | Init +12 | Perc +13 | Low-light vision | Trapfinding +4
"Wait a minute!" Tathane stops anyone from opening one of the containers. "Let me look for traps first. You know, sharp pokey poison things. Sometimes even exploding things." Tathane examines each of the containers for traps.
He doesn't believe in 'game balance'. Gandalf always lets him pass. As a feat, he has Exotic Weapon Proficiency (beard). The city guard often question him, just because they find him so interesting. His dice bag is woven from tarrasque leather. His TPKs end game lines. His blood cures moderate wounds. He once punched a flumph. Yes, you heard me. He belongs to a prestige class whose sole requirement for entry is just being him. ♬ He is indeed, the most interesting GM in the world. ♬
Perception,trapfinding@brown No traps here, but locked.
Perception,trapfinding@red Nor here! (Locked as well).
Perception,trapfinding@grey There's some sort of devious magical trap on it, and it is locked.
Perception,trapfinding@orange It's seems to be an ordinary basket of the sort you might use for laundry. The lid is just resting on top of it.
Perception,trapfinding@blue It's just a jar full of clear liquid. What could this hide? Wait-a-minute there's a strong chemical smell coming from the liquid (strong enough Tathane can smell it through the peach perfume). You think it might be caustic. The jeweled key at the bottom looks as if it will fit all three chests/boxes.
"HAR AHR HAR!... you are so funny when you get tiffed." Einarr playfully responds to Perrine and tries to ruffle her hair as he would a child as he walks by.
