GM Chadius's CORE Shades of Ice Trilogy (Inactive)

Game Master chadius

Her guisarme slices into the beast and it shouts. It shuffles five feet across the ice, unaffected by the slippery surface. Then Hannar scorches it with a bolt of flame.

It lashes out at Carini, who hit it, and Darven, who is within reach.

Even is Darven: 1d2 ⇒ 2
Bite: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (11) + 11 = 22
Damage: 1d8 + 6 ⇒ (5) + 6 = 11

Even is Darven: 1d2 ⇒ 1
Claw: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (9) + 11 = 20
Damage: 1d6 + 4 ⇒ (6) + 4 = 10

Even is Darven: 1d2 ⇒ 1
Claw: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (5) + 11 = 16
Damage: 1d6 + 4 ⇒ (4) + 4 = 8

Even is Darven: 1d2 ⇒ 2
Wing: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (4) + 6 = 10
Damage: 1d4 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 2 = 5

Even is Darven: 1d2 ⇒ 2
Wing: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (9) + 6 = 15
Damage: 1d4 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 2 = 3

Carini feels its claw rake through her armor, while Darven narrowly dodges the dragon's bite.

Round 5
Enemy (30 damage)
Hannar
Kavor
Hortensia (1 damage)
Carini
Loni & Drootina
Darven (15 damage)

The floor is slippery, so any Acrobatics checks increase by 5. Additionally each square costs two squares of movement to travel, and you need an Acrobatics check of 10 to run or charge.

The ceiling is 20 feet up, before you see a layer of mist similar to the Obscuring Mist spell.

Hannar moves, raises his hand, and a ray of fire comes forth to attack the dragon...

ranged Touch vs. White Dragon: 1d20 + 3 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (11) + 3 + 1 + 1 = 16
possible Fire damage vs. White Dragon: 1d6 + 1 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (6) + 1 + 1 + 1 = 9
SR check vs. White Dragon: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (7) + 3 = 10

Applying Point-Blank and Precise Shot feats, as well as Inspire Courage. Question: is SR roll needed? I have been adding it, just wanted to be sure. Also, does the dragon take double damage from fire attacks?

Darven takes another swing at the dragon.

Same mods as before
attack: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (11) + 10 = 211d8 + 10 ⇒ (5) + 10 = 15

@Hannar: SR check is not needed. The dragon is taking more fire damage than you would expect.

Darven and Hannar hit the dragon, and its injuries are starting to pile up. One more solid hit should be enough...

Kavor Doan strikes at the dragon, his massive axe crackling with arcane energy.
Not using Power Attack; dragons have good AC.
Attack, Bull's Strength, IC: 1d20 + 8 + 2 + 1 ⇒ (9) + 8 + 2 + 1 = 20
Damage: 2d8 + 10 ⇒ (1, 7) + 10 = 18
Is the Bless still active? Didn't include it.

With a mighty swing, Kavor cleaves into the dragon. It puffs one last bit of frost before collapsing.

Combat Over

With the dragon out of the way, you finally have a chance to observe the cold iron door at the end of the room. It radiates strong transmutation and enchantment magic. No matter your efforts the door is impossible to open or bypass. Perhaps you will see behind it in a later adventure...

A thorough search of the Lodge unearths a couple of letters written by Caggrigar. In one he mentions going to the Worldwound with his most reliable agents. In another he speaks of Melkorka Skur's mission to the Keep of the Huskarl King. A third, unfinished letter is addressed to someone called "The Spider". He says the Keep has some kind of incredible power that could be used not only to topple the Pathfinders in Absalom, but also help "The Spider" usurp control of the Shadow Lodge after the failure of "our illustrious leader."

Skagni himself is surprisingly upbeat despite his injuries. "Believe it or not, I know a few friends in town. This one goblin in particular, goes by the name Gumgum. He and his friends can give us a place to stay for a few weeks while we set up passage to get back to Trollheim." He nods to the tribesmen, who begin pillaging whatever weapons and armor they can.

"Once again, thank you. I'll take that chest off your hands." He kicks the chest. "Thanks for getting it here without damage. Whitethrone isn't exactly the friendliest city, but seeing so many races working together does inspire me...I can't hate this city, no matter how much it tries to make me."

End of Part 2
Skagni's contacts will allow you to purchase goods in Whitethrone for your next adventure.

One of Skagni's contacts, a goblin named Gumgum, closes his store early and gives you a safe place to sleep for the night. "Maybe me be Pathfinder someday?" He keeps asking Kavor about it. It takes all of Kavor's strength to not bury his axe in the goblin's football-shaped noggin before Skagni distracts the critter with some more fire.

"The Ram Tribe men said they would begin the trip home as soon as they get some food in their belly. I urged them to sleep here for tonight, at least. Gumgum knows a cleric who will check them for disease and injury." Skagni shakes his head. "Gumgum said the cleric owed him. I wonder what he did." He shrugs. "The Shadow Lodge has tarnished our reputation out here, but our contacts are still good for now."

"In the meantime, we have more important things to discuss- like the Keep of the Huscarl King. While I was stuck there, I heard the Shadow Lodge caught wind of a weapon called Jedrek's Shard. That belonged to Ranulf the Huscarl King. That 'shard' belonged to a giant he slew in his youth. Of course it was a piece of something much larger..."

"After serving the Taldor Emperor as a bodyguard, Ranulf moved up north. That was five centuries ago. Hopefully the Shadow Lodge hasn't found the ruins yet."

Skagni turns to you all. "Sorry about the long story. Had to catch you up to speed. I updated your map to lead you to the ruins. You should get up there and secure Jerdek's Shard before the Shadow Lodge does. Assume the worst, but hope for the best. Maybe the Shadow Lodge was wiped out."

Gumgum runs past you with a pot of broth. "You talk too much, Skags. Me bring broth. All rabbit. No rats this time!" Gumgum attempts to smile politely but it forms into a full rictus grin.

You'll be outside. A lot. So grab your cold weather gear or endure elements spells to ward off frostbite!

Horrtensia wraps herself up warm in her furs and looks out over the landscape.

How far is this place and what other dangers are we likely to meet on the way?

I have a couple of endure elements scrolls if one of you needs help but I should be able to put up with the cold myself. Abadar will provide.

Hortensia will start prepping one endure elements, I am happy to provide it for someone who is more likely to need it than I am. Otherwsie I will use it on myself.

Darven should be fine against the cold.

"Do we have any allies up in that area we can call on if we need to?" Darven ask scooping a out a ladle full of broth from the pot. "Thanks Gumgum, it looks good. See Kavor, not all goblins fit the mold you are used to."

Where is this adventure taking place?

"I'd say 3 to 4 days." Skagni sips on some of the broth and grins. "Yes, lots of rabbit."

"Do you think the altitude may become a problem?"

If not, Hannar will stick to his cold weather outfit, otherwise he will graciously accept endure elements from someone.

With no more need for Floating Disk, Kavor Doan can prep an additional Endure Elements every day. With the Rod of Extend Spell, that is 3 castings at 2 days each, so continually covering 6 people.

If you are covering 6 people, then I'll just prep 1 per day to cover Drootina, and then the 6 should cover all the people. Yay!

"Dude, a powerful weapon? What does Jedrek's Shard do?"

"An axe of some kind, maybe? I'm not sure on all the details." Skagni scratches his head. "I'm hungry, anyway. Let's get some stew for the evening and you can head out tomorrow, eh?"

The Ulfen have a saying: “No blade is as sharp, no demon as cruel as the winds that walk their way down the Icestair.” At the border of Irrisen and the untamed wilds of the Realm of the Mammoth Lords, the meaning of those words becomes clear as the barren, snow-covered plains stretch to the horizon.

Four days’ travel now lies between the eastern edge of Irrisen and the shattered remains of the Huscarl King’s keep. To the east, sinuous snow drifts give way to rocky foothills from which pines and scrub brushes claw for life. In the distance, the massive creatures that give this land its name shuffle along at a ponderous speed, still impossibly huge even from far away. Skagni’s map marks a clear and straightforward path, but the snow makes for slow travel. The Shadow Lodge agents have a head start, but persistence through the harsh environment and adherence to the strict map may yet make it possible to catch them before they reach the Keep of the Huscarl King and gain access to the mighty weapon held within.

Feel free to make Knowledge(Local) checks

Also make Knowledge(History) checks.

Hannar possesses neither of these skills.

Hortensia has neither but can hit a DC10

Local: 1d20 + 0 ⇒ (16) + 0 = 16
History: 1d20 + 0 ⇒ (15) + 0 = 15

These Kellid locals are a barbaric lot but an Ulfen managed to carve out some sort of a kingdom for himself here.

Knowledge (Local): 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (5) + 6 = 11
Knowledge (History): 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (14) + 6 = 20
"Yes Hortensia, that was Ranulf, once a Huscarl of the Taldan Emperor. So he became the Huscarl King. He wielded a mighty flaming greataxe called Jedrek's Shard, which no doubt proved invaluable when a powerful white dragon attacked his keep. The weapon was buried in his keep with him by an intentional avalanche caused by his followers after his death. But now others may be exploring the site."

Darven keeps his head down and braces himself against the cold.

After this excursion, I think I'm heading home for a bit

During the first day, the party notices mammoth elephants in the distance, stomping about. Massive elk and giant sloths stride about. You are careful to keep your distance and they don't bother you.

The thick cluster of pine trees ends abruptly at the top of a low hill. At the bottom, the snow is littered with the aftermath of battle. Broken shields and spears jut from the snow like fractured bones, and blood colors the ground around a sprawl of bodies, many still seemingly locked in combat.

There are 10 corpses total of two distinct groups. 5 of the corpses are Kellid men and women warriors who carried axes and shields. The lower half of each Kellid warrior’s face is painted white in a haphazard sprawl of color from the upper lip to just above the larynx.

The remaining five are more "civilized" individuals, stripped of their armor and weapons, left to freeze in the frozen north.

heal: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (17) + 1 = 18
survival: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (15) + 8 = 23

This one is still alive". Darven says to the others and pulls out his wand and gives it a tap on the kellid's chest. "There you go...you should be fine now."

clw wand: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (7) + 1 = 8

While knelt down, he notices two sets of tracks leading away from the apparent battlegrounds. "Well at least we are going in the right direction."

Knowledge (Local): 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (1) + 6 = 7
Survival: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (9) + 1 = 10

"Local Kellids fighting against... Shadow Lodge agents, maybe? But the winners of this combat didn't take the time to bury their dead. Let's see what the survivor knows, if they are willing to talk."

Hortensia scans the rough ground but she is a city dweller and uncofortable out here in the wilderness.

So the shadow lodge are killing the locals? I wonder what brought them into conflict and who won. I dont suppose these are all of the shadow lodge agents so presumably they did. Hopefully this survivor can help tell us something.

Assuming the healing charge restoed him to consciousness she looms over him and speaks slowly and loudly at him in Skald.

Hello, who are you, what happened here. We are looking for the people who attacked you, can you help us..

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (19) + 14 = 33

Loni checks around, but doesn't see anything out stand out.
Surival: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (2) + 12 = 14

Darven leans down and applies the wand. As the warrior opens his eyes, suddenly a wild wolverine runs onto the field, snarling and looking for blood!

Sigh. This encounter.

The wolverine double moves up in front of Darven and Hortensia.

If your weapon was drawn, Hortensia, you can make an AoO.

Round 1
Bub
Kavor
Darven
Hannar
Loni & Drootina
Hortensia
Carini

Combat Map

Combat is on slide 1.

"whao, where did you come from big fella" Darven says a little surprised.

A lucerne hammer is not the sort of thing I think you can stow. Hortensia normally carries it around unless in polite company and certainly when travelling through dangerous wilderness.

Also, Hortensia now has a +5 init modifier. Doesnt change anything for this encounter though.

OA Hammer, pa: 1d20 + 10 - 2 ⇒ (3) + 10 - 2 = 11
Damage: 1d10 + 7 + 6 ⇒ (8) + 7 + 6 = 21

Waiting to see the result of Darven's Wild Empathy if he can do that.

Wild empathy normally takes a minute sadly.

To use wild empathy, the ranger and the animal must be within 30 feet of one another under normal visibility conditions. Generally, influencing an animal in this way takes 1 minute, but, as with influencing people, it might take more or less time.

With that said, Hortensia swung on it prior to combat, so it may be beyond the point of no return.

To be fair it ran up to us in a decidedly hostile manner! Also Hortensia is a city girl, wolverines the size of houses are not common! Finally by lucerne hammer I obviously meant glaive.

Hannar moves, raises his hand, and an Elemental Ray burst forth at the beast...

ranged Touch vs. Wolverine: 1d20 + 3 + 1 ⇒ (17) + 3 + 1 = 21
possible Fire damage vs. Wolverine: 1d6 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 + 1 = 5

You are not wrong. And with Darven, who has grown up in the Mwangi, this is a baby to what lives in the expanse. That is also why I put up too options, if Empathy was never on the table, then I have an attack posted.

Oops, I took my OA but missed taking my actual turn

Taking a step back Hortensia swings at the thing.

Glaive, pa: 1d20 + 10 - 2 ⇒ (10) + 10 - 2 = 18
Damage, ap: 1d10 + 7 + 6 ⇒ (5) + 7 + 6 = 18

Kavor Doan strikes at the animal.
Attack, PA: 1d20 + 8 - 1 ⇒ (6) + 8 - 1 = 13
Damage: 1d10 + 7 + 3 ⇒ (6) + 7 + 3 = 16

To be fair, Loni would have done the same thing. If it doesn't back down, he would then send Drootina to attack.

Wild Empathy: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (4) + 6 = 10

(If he doesn't see the wolverine back down, he'll send in Drootina for the attack)

Drootina heads up and attacks the beast.
Gore Attack (Power Attack): 1d20 + 6 - 1 ⇒ (13) + 6 - 1 = 18
Gore Damage (Power Attack): 1d6 + 3 + 3 ⇒ (3) + 3 + 3 = 9

Normally I would allow Wild Empathy, but... this encounter doesn't leave me a lot of options. They didn't even provide a map.

The wolverine doesn't seem interested in what Loni or Darven are offering. As it closes in, its tough skin resists hammer blows, axes and sword swings. Only Hannar's bolt of flame manages to injure it, and that just makes him mad.

He decides to do the thing he's best at: Flying into a rage.

mwk guisarme: 1d20 + 7 + 2 ⇒ (9) + 7 + 2 = 18
Damage: 2d4 + 6 ⇒ (1, 4) + 6 = 11

Carini can't get a good blow, either!

1 is Darven, 2 is Kavor: 1d3 ⇒ 3

Bite: 1d20 + 8 + 2 ⇒ (15) + 8 + 2 = 25
Damage: 1d6 + 6 + 2 ⇒ (5) + 6 + 2 = 13

Claw: 1d20 + 8 + 2 ⇒ (6) + 8 + 2 = 16
Damage: 1d8 + 6 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 6 + 2 = 9

Claw: 1d20 + 8 + 2 ⇒ (15) + 8 + 2 = 25
Damage: 1d8 + 6 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 6 + 2 = 10

Enraged, the wolverine bites and claws poor Drootina!

Round 2
Bub (Rage!)
Kavor
Darven
Hannar
Loni & Drootina (23 damage)
Hortensia
Carini

Combat Map

Combat is on slide 1.

The wizard lines up another swing, this one much better.
Attack, PA: 1d20 + 8 - 1 ⇒ (19) + 8 - 1 = 26
Damage: 1d10 + 10 ⇒ (9) + 10 = 19

Hannar moves again and casts Color Spray...

Outline on map but hard to see. Will save DC=14

Color Spray: School illusion (pattern) [mind-affecting]
Casting
Casting Time 1 standard action
Components V, S, M (red, yellow, and blue powder or colored sand)
Range 15 ft.
Area cone-shaped burst
Duration instantaneous; see text
Saving Throw Will negates; Spell Resistance yes
Description: A vivid cone of clashing colors springs forth from your hand, causing creatures to become stunned, perhaps also blinded, and possibly knocking them unconscious. Each creature within the cone is affected according to its HD.
2 HD or less: The creature is unconscious, blinded, and stunned for 2d4 rounds, then blinded and stunned for 1d4 rounds, and then stunned for 1 round. (Only living creatures are knocked unconscious.)
3 or 4 HD: The creature is blinded and stunned for 1d4 rounds, then stunned for 1 round.
5 or more HD: The creature is stunned for 1 round.
Sightless creatures are not affected by color spray.

Seeing it is hard to strike Hortensia starts to inspire her companions.

+2|2

How is Hortensia doing that in Core?

Will Save: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (19) + 4 = 23
The wolverine maintains its composure despite Hannar's magic. But Kavor sees an opportunity and hacks into him!

Hortensia proceeds to aid her allies.

Round 2
Bub (24 damage, Rage!)
Kavor
Darven
Hannar
Loni & Drootina (23 damage)
Hortensia
Carini

Combat Map

Combat is on slide 1.

I have a boon allowing path of the people's council archetype from a scenario I ran in core mode.

Ah, okay, good. I was worried about losing my Core status.

Darven takes another swing.

PA+IC: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (1) + 11 = 121d8 + 11 ⇒ (7) + 11 = 18 Insta miss