PFS Scenario #05-08 The Confirmation Tier 1-2 with GM Deadly Secret - Table 1
Founded over 400 years ago in 4307 AR, the Pathfinder Society originally consisted of adventurers based in Absalom who sought a way to combine their resources and recruit additional help for particularly dangerous ventures. Over time the group attracted new members and continued to grow, and today its members and influence span across Golarion.
Today, the Pathfinder Society continues to grow at an unprecedented rate, and supply hardly keeps up with the demand for new agents. To meet the growing need, the Three Masters, who are responsible for the training of new initiates at the Grand Lodge, have made the difficult choice to advance the promotion of some of the Society’s most promising initiates. In addition, they have taken the unprecedented step of letting a small group of particularly impressive initiates attempt a Confirmation together, accompanied by an established field operative.
The Confirmation is the final test all Pathfinder initiates must pass in order to become Pathfinder field operatives. Every Confirmation is different, and ordinarily it would be tailored to the individual initiate; however, in this case, Kreighton Shaine has selected a task suitably engaging for an entire group. At all times, initiates are expected to fulfill the three duties of a Pathfinder agent: explore, report, and cooperate. Failure to adhere to these three tenets risks expulsion from the Society.
Once they have undergone Confirmation, Pathfinder agents are called upon to travel to the far corners of Golarion, delve into the deepest tombs, and solve the world’s oldest riddles. During these dangerous missions, Pathfinders are required to keep detailed journals, maps, and accounts of their exploits. After each adventure, agents send a copy of their records to the regional venture-captain for analysis; especially noteworthy reports are forwarded to Absalom for consideration to be included in the next edition of the Pathfinder Chronicles. The Society comprises thousands of adventures coming from all walks of life, and it places no moral obligations upon its members. Each member of a Pathfinder Society adventuring party is expected to forgo all personal and theological differences and work together to achieve the Society’s goals.
Do the players need to make any purchases before you meet your Venture Captain? You will have one more chance after you meet up and get the mission.
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In the meeting room with the Venture-Captain:
Kyra is the silent type but her attire shows that she is a cleric of the sunflower.
"I usually travel with my fellow group of adventurers but am very happy that I can finally conduct my confirmation in the society. Let me tell you a little about myself as knowing each other is the first step to bond and fight together!" she says with a stern look.
Kyra tells you a little about her recent adventures and it is quite clear that she is possessed of a fierce will and pride in her faith and skills with the scimitar.
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 says as 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, saying, “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.
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Aralos looks at Qiroyo, "very much so. i too believe that sharing information is crucial to finding answers, you thought might have not existed. i would like to know what we are dealing with here as well. ive heard murmors of the gillmen. Janira, what can you tell us? Aralos looks over to Kyra, "yes, we shall both keep a sharp eye for anything religious that might be up there, you never know what you could find...."
Knowledge (geography)
During your time spent training with the Pathfinder Society, you may have had a chance to learn about the Isle of Kortos, which is home to the City at the Center of the World. A particularly observant or studious initiate may have also learned a bit more about the Kortos Mounts.
Knowledge (history)
Long hours spent by some initiates in the Grand Lodge’s libraries may afford them additional knowledge regarding the origins of the gillmen.
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Janira responds to Kyra, "Kreighton Shaine selected you for this mission because he thought your expertise might come in handy. I don't know if religion is involved, but if it is I am sure you will help guide us."
Janira responds to Aralos, “The gillmen are a humanoid race much like humans save for the three piscine gills on both sides of their necks. They’re a little secretive but not outright hostile. Most live in or near the water.”
Janira responds to Alric, "I don't usually deal with them but from my understanding, they are just as diverse as we are. So I would say, just keep on your toes if we do encounter one until we know for sure it's not hostile."
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Alric ponders his knowledge to himself for a little bit. "The Kortos Mounts are on the Isle of Kortos." He smiles and shrugs at his less-than-helpful information. "Sorry. I don't know much about Kortos."
Alric nods at Janira's response. "Alright then, I suppose we should be pretty careful." He pulls out a grapefruit and begins thoughtfully and ponderously munching it.
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"Those gillman, you know, area also known as the Low Azlanti." Qiroyo began explaining. "They are an amphibious humanoid race believed to be the last descendants of the ancient Azlanti people. So I've read..."
He paused and starting mumbling to himself. "Azlanti, what a beautiful language. I should really get a dictionary at the next chance..."
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Aralos responds to Janira [b"ah i see, something we might need to keep an eye out for while near water....the question stands...what are waterfolk doing in the mountain?[/b] pondering on the idea. "you also spoke of some other dangers in the area. we will need to be ready, but hopefully we can make peace with anything in our way, and focus on the objective.". Aralos looks to Qiroyo"If you know where we can get a translation source, that would help us immensely on this journey. Alric, you seem to enjoy fruit. Might be from my families farm!" Aralos grabs an apple from his bag after getting hungry watching Alric eating his collection of fruits.
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"Waterfolk in the mountains. How absurd. I can see why you were weary," Rita says, gesturing towards Janira. " Did you notice anything else while you were in the cave? Was anything out of place?"
In response to Qiroyo, Rita acknowledges, "As the last descendants of the Azlanti, it's entirely possible they may speak the language, but I highly doubt it's the same as it was long ago."
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 other 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!”
”My name is Janira Gavix and I joined the Pathfinder Society nearly 4 years ago after coming of age. I grew up in Eastgate. I joined the society when I was 20 years old with adventuring in mind but gained a fondness for history and knowledge. Not only did I train under Kreighton Shaine, I also trained with Marcos Farabellus and Aram Zey. I look up to each one as a role model and hopefully someday you will too."
“What about you? What made you decide to join the Pathfinder Society?”
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"I needed to get away from home," Rita says meekly. "My brother was..." she trails off into inaudible words before snapping back into it, "The Society seems the best way to get back at that noble for killing my family. I'm here to get stronger via experience. The monks back at Greenstar were a bit too, well, serene for my tastes." As her speaking gets heated, her hands seem to arc electricity, but she realizes this and calms down before any damage can be done. "We'll just leave it at that."
Rita stands from the table, fixing her robes before looking back up. "Shouldn't get angry here. I'll....I need a moment to calm down" And with that, Rita begins pacing near the table, close enough to hear, but far enough that her anger-relief punches end up targeting the table beside her instead of an ally.
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"My name is Qiroyo Darudo and I am a librarian. I've been preserving, sorting and studying tomes in the archives for more than half a century. This is both my duty in the name of Irori and my life passion." He put a lot of focus on the word 'librarian', but otherwise speaks quite fast and difficult to follow.
"Why am I here, you ask? I am hoping to find the unfound."
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Alric nods cheerfully to Aralos. "Yes I do have a deep love for citrus. I can't deny it. Does your family have orchards? Incredible! Tell me more about this! Do you grow amanatsu? I've always wanted to try amanatsu!"
During the introductory conversation, Alric looks around slowly smiling and not speaking for a little while in an awkward silence, then he realizes he's supposed to talk too "Oh! Um right! I'm Alric. I was the gardener at a mage's college but I decided I'd rather follow my true passion. Citrus! I want to try all the different kinds of citrus so I decided to work with the Society! The pay is decent and there are lots of opportunities to travel. Plus, people should just relax and enjoy the amazing things in life instead of being horrible to each other so... you know... I like to help with that too." His face slowly widens into a beaming grin and he takes a bite of a lime. "Ooh! I never get over how tart that first bite is." With relish, he keeps munching while listening to Aralos.
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Aralos looks around to his allies, "my name is Aralos Till, i am a farmhand by trade, with my whole family. when i was younger, i was very interested in the tenants of not only Irori, but the pathfinder society." Aralos looks to the ground[/b] as some of you have expressed life can have its bad moments, and for me, i just had a rough time at home with family. after much thought i decided that being a pathfinder would be the right path for me, alongside being a cleric and following the teachings of Irori very closely. i hope that whatever we face on kortos, will not only bring insight to us, but also somthing that will help the pathfinder society as a whole, and mabye even some new allies for the pathfinder society."[/b] Aralos takes out something from his bag, and passes it to Alric."this is the only amanatsu i have left, but im sure you will enjoy it"[b] Aralos gets up and walks over to rita [b] hey, if you ever need anyone to talk to, im great at being a listener
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As one final punch decends, almost upon Aralos, Rita stays her hand mere inches from his gut. "Oh! My goodness. I'm....terribly sorry about that," she snaps, her anger immediately subsiding over the incident. "I may take you up on that offer if the caves prove too boring.
"In any case, I prefer to talk on the move. Keeps my brain AND body at ease. Mind if we get going?" Rita starts heading towards the doorway out, but stops and stares over Alric's shoulder. "Woah. Man. I'm so nervous I didn't realize how hungry I was,", she groans, rubbing her hand on her stomach. "Got any more of that?"
"I seem some of you are excited to get started." Janira smiles and gesters for anyone to sit down if they aren't. “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 they 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.”
“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.”
Any final questions for Janira?
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Alric nods slowly at Aralos and gravely accepts the fruit. "Thank you very much, friend. That means very much to me. And I hope you find your time with the Society very profitable for your personal goals." He reverently puts the treasured fruit into his bag to be savored later. At Rita's question, he grins broadly. "Of course!" He tosses her a blood orange.
He turns to Janira and nods in a confirming manner at Kyra's question. "That's what I'd like to know too, I guess. And what kind of problematic locals do you expect?"
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Aralos ponders on the thought of the trek ahead. "yes we should definatly bring some crucial gear if required. i think also having a strategy of how we should position ourselves while trekking. we have 2 clerics, and as me, and Qiroyo are both the followers of Irori, we should stay closer to the front." Aralos looks to Qiroyo "i believe we will be tested on our abilities with the way of the fist on this mission"
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"one tactic is good. Two tactics is better." When addressed Qiroyo points at his small longbow. "I'm old and weak. While I certainly believe in Iroris pure fist, it rarely hurts anything these days. Therefore I also carry this. I am in the search for deeper enlightenment, but until then, I prefer to stay in the back."
Janira responds to Kyra, "Of course you should have your own journal and pen. If you don't have one I can lend you some paper and inkpen. It's important to keep notes. A bedroll and blanket would be a good idea as well, we won't arrive until tomorrow and will have to set up camp. Hopefully you have a few trail rations available."
"Of course I'll be with you, so if you are short on resources I can assist. Any final purchases you think you need, go ahead and do that while we are here in town. We leave shortly." Janira looks around for any other questions.
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Rita meticulously carves the orange, leaving the peels in a nice neat pile on the table before standing up. "I'll need to buy a small notebook to carry with me. Most of my adventuring notes have, well, not survived. A bit too much of one element in the midst of a piece of parchment leads to some unfortunate side effects." She leaves with Alric, and purchases the same items, as well as a bedroll and blanket, as suggested.
As she returns, she carefully places the gallon of mead in the backpack, ensuring everybody knows she has it. "For camp tonight! Can't sleep well on the ground without it, mom always said." And with that, she straps the backpack closed and looks to Janira. "Shall we set off?"
Janira will give everyone time to purchase items. After making sure that your gear is well-packed and evenly distributed among members of the team, Janira is ready to depart. You first walk through the busy and colorful streets of Absalom before leaving the City at the Center of the World for the Cairnlands along a well-worn path that leads toward Diobel, through the wilderness surrounding the Kortos Mounts. During your journey, Janira points at some large structures protruding from the landscape-what she called "siege towers"-clues of a tormented past for the metropolis. She also teaches you in some ways about the wildlife and plants you encounter.
After a good day's walk, you decide to stop for the night. You set up watches and have conversations.
Anything you would like to do before you set up watches and sleep?
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Alric whistles as they travel along and snacks on a desert lime. He listens with great interest at Janira's explanations. "Siege towers... incredible..."
Alric nods cheerily. "That sounds great! I'll take a turn on watch. Who wants to go second?" Assuming they set a watch rotatin, Alric is fine with settling down for the night at any point.
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While the group sat at the fire and had dinner they were discussing their tasks ahead, the caves, the gillmen and potential dangers. Once the topic of the outcome of their mission came up, Qiroyo who had been mostly silent answered calmly. "Difficult to see. Always in motion is the future."
Afterwards he suggested to go to sleep and offered to take second watch.
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After offering everybody a bit of the mead she purchased, Rita pipes up "I'll take the watch just before dawn. I like to watch the sunrise, even if it isn't the same view I got from that monastery. Still has that gorgeous pastel orange."
As the chatter dies down for the night, Rita is one of the first to fall asleep, that is, assuming others can fall asleep with the thundering sound of her snores.
The night is a peaceful one. You all wake up rested and have time to prepare spells for today. Janira explains you should arrive at the location later in the day, just in time for the full moon. The party leaves the Cairnlands for a deep forest.
The trees towering overhead begin to shield most of what remains of the day’s sun and the vegetation beneath grows denser. Janira pauses a moment and pulls out an intricate silver compass emblazoned with the Pathfinder Society sign: the Glyph of the Open Road. "I received this wayfinder when I successfully completed my Confirmation. Should we be successful on our journey, you will get your own as well." She flips open the device and holds it in front of her; the initials J. L. are engraved into the inside of the device’s lid. After studying the compass inside for a moment, she remarks, "We’re on the right path. We need to keep heading northwest past those large rocks up ahead."
As you were discussing the origins of the gillmen, you all hear a tree fall and small animals begin to scatter out of the brushes away from the sound. Among these small critters you can see three creatures.
A hideous, dog-sized flea leaps about on long, gangly legs. The sharp, jagged edges of its jaws greedily clatter for blood.
No surprise round.
Initiative
Janira
Qiroyo Duarudo
Kyra
Alric the Slow
Aralos Till
Rita Revalo
Creature (orange)
Creature (blue)
Creature (green)
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Party Buffs:
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19.06 - Alric
19.02 - Creature (orange)
17.06 - Janira
15.00 - Kyra
14.01 - Rita
13.00 - Aralos
12.02 - Creature (blue)
06.04 - Qiroyo
06.02 - Creature (green)
---Round End---
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Up first, Alric!
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The wizard recoils "Whoa... that's gross... but interesting!"
Alric lays a hand calmly on Rita's shoulder. "If you can stay close, I can help make you big. Then you can defend all of us." He turns to the others "If we shift to the southeast, Rita can stay between us and the giant fleas and strike them as they come."
Alric, you know these are fleas. Fleas often carry diseases so don’t let them bite you. They can jump absurd distances. You know they are immune to disease and mind-affecting effects. Slashing damage is the best to get past their DR.
Flea (orange) leaps all the way to Qiroyo Darudo with a charge attack FF AC 15
20/x2
Hits
piercing, slashing and bludgeoning damage
Fortitude saves
Janira will start up a bardic performance to inspire courage to you all +1 ”OK Pathfinders, this is nothing. Avoid letting any of these critters bite.”
Up next, Kyra!
Kyra hits the flea and takes all the damage but is still alive.
Up next, Rita!