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A Pathfinder Society Scenario designed for levels 12-15.
Over a century ago, hordes from the Abyss tore through a weak point in the Material Plane and surged forth onto Golarion, creating a corrupted and blighted land that would come to be known as the Worldwound. Legions of crusaders fought against the demonic incursion, containing it behind a wall of holy artifacts. In Pathfinder Society Season 5: Year of the Demon, forces bolstered by Pathfinder agents pushed back a demonic siege and even reclaimed land that had long languished under demonic control. The heroes of the Wrath of the Righteous Adventure Path finished the job, sealing the Worldwound and slaying the demon lord responsible for its creation, Deskari.
Yet the land where the rift to the Abyss once stood remains scarred and fragile, and on the Abyss itself, some artifacts and powers tied to Deskari remain unclaimed. One of the Pathfinder Society's most formidable enemies, the demon Koth'Vaul, is eager to seize upon these opportunities. Unless the PCs thwart him, Koth'Vaul's will become even more powerful than ever before, and wreak truly terrifying vengeance upon the Pathfinder Society.
Written by Cole Kronewitter.
Please provide the following information:
Player Name (as you would like it to appear on your chronicle)
Character Name
Character Number
Faction
Day Job
Any particular things I should be aware of regarding your character? Any special tricks?
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James Minz
Lila
100685-1
Silver Crusade
Perform Oratory, take ten=42
1) Pathfinder Savant:
When she casts from a scroll, it's at her caster level+1
(e.g. Barkskin lasts 130 minutes, +5 enhancement, etc).
Attention fellow players, if there's time to purchase items at start of scenario, may want to consider buying some scrolls.
Can always take ten on Spellcraft, Kn-Arcana & Use Magic Device (except when activating blindly).
Kn-Arcana ten=31: Can ID:
-11th lvl spell effect that's in place
-11th lvl materials manufactured by magic
-6th lvl spell that targeted me
-Any spell cast with "specific material component"
Spellcraft Take Ten=29
-14th lvl spell as it's cast
-9th lvl spell Decipher scroll (no need for Read Magic)
-Caster Lvl 14 properties of Magic Item w/ Detect Magic:
UMD 33: Emulate any alignment,
- 13th caster lvl scroll,
- 8th lvl spell on scroll (ability score=18)
- 8th lvl spell Decipher scroll (no need for Read Magic)
2) Dual-Cursed Oracle revelation: Misfortune
3) Lvl 8 Lotus Geisha Bard, Enchantress focus, uses Spellsong to mask casting
(she is level 10 caster as a bard, with caster level 12). i.e. starts telling the tale of the Emperor who Wore No Clothes, while really casting Dominate or Charm or whatever...
Just finished running her through Eyes of the Ten. She's now
Silver Crusader Venture Captain Lila Andreas-Salome
I've updated her profile, but not all her gear and boons (she's on Inventory Tracking Sheet #6 because of all the different scrolls she carries...thank goodness for handy haversacks, so she can always find the right one.) She used to be Chaotic Good, but she ate some baaaad bread. The positive effects of that have worn off, but she's still not Good...
She has a scroll of Breath of Life in her springloaded wrist sheath, (and cure scroll in other).
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Player Name: Edward McGee
Character Name: Connor O'Malley
Character Number: 145373-5
Faction: Sovereign Court
Day Job: Take 10 on Perform Dance for a 35.
Connor is a level 13 Human Bard (Arcane Duelist) who uses a longspear with a Banner of the Ancient Kings attached.
He is strong, charismatic, but not too bright or knowledgeable.
Out of combat he has the charisma based skills you might expect.
In combat he has a +15 init bonus before possible use of Heightened Awareness.
The Flagbearer feat grants allies within 30 feet who can see the banner a +2 morale bonus to Attack Rolls, Damage rolls, and saves vs fear and charm effects. +1 then doubled by the banner.
The banner also increases my effective level for Inspire Courage by 4 levels. So as a swift action I can Inspire Courage granting a +4 morale bonus vs charm or fear overriding the bonus granted by the banner, and a +4 competence bonus to attacks and weapon damage rolls. Which do stack with the Flagbearer bonus.
As an Arcane Duelist Connor is treated as having a free hand to cast while wielding his weapon.
Spellwise he has useful things such as Saving Finale, Gallant Inspiration, Heroism, Haste, and for some reason both Dimension Door and Bard's Escape.
Connor has a couple of healing options but they are both more useful for out of combat healing to save wand charges then in combat.
So in short, Party face. Or possibly backup face with both an oracle and another bard here. And if you are good with weapons Connor makes you great.
I've never played Connor on PBP before so it will take me awhile to set up his profile.
I realize that with only 1 martial at the table and another bard (or two?) that Connor may not be the best fit. But my only other options in range are
A level 12 Evoker who just fireballs everything. An unfun experiment of mine. Effective but dull.
A level 15 Void Wizard who focuses on summons. I don't mind playing down but I would want everyone including the GM to be okay with me playing him first.
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Connor is certainly a better buffer than Lila ever will be, although that's not really her preferred role: mind control, face, knowledges & misfortune are her forte. She's good at bypassing encounters, if enemies aren't immune to mind effecting (Dominate, Calm Emotions, etc). Her best buffing gimmick is using scrolls at Caster Level.
I do have a Gnome Alchemist at level 12 (Grenadier 10/Master Chymist 2).
Crazy Hairy is a lot of fun, but he's very...different. A true force of chaos (you have been warned). He can dole out damage. (Full nova is 5 bombs in a round, fire or force dmg--of course, he can only do that for 5 rounds).
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While Lila can do the Buff thing, that's never been her primary focus . If mind-effecting is viable, She's good at bypassing encounters, via Dominate, Calm Emotions, etc. She also has some utility combat casting (Burst of Radiance, Create Pit, Glitterdust), and she can crank out 5d4+5 magic missiles every round (via scroll). She does have DIscordant voice, and if Connor is doing the inspire courage, then she could be doing Dirge of Doom (shaken all foes w/in 30') while supplying Discordant Voice bonus to damage.
That being said, if we're worried about damage, I do have a level 12 Alchemist (gnome Grenadier 10/Master Chymist 2). But be warned, Crazy Hairy is an agent of Chaos. (He did a performance on stage during a Grand Convocation: he vomited a swarm of spiders over himself then self-immolated with bomb, with a finale of scraping a tumor off his neck and tossing a fairy dragon into the air.)
Now the craziness has been somewhat mitigated ever since Bombshell came onto the scene (Bombshell would be his mutagenic alter ego...i.e. Crazy Hairy is a male gnome with bat wings, Bombshell is a female halfling with butterfly wings...and Crazy's tumor familiar does like her a LOT more. )
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Lila your thoughts on me playing a Fireball specialist wizard or playing down with a level 15 summons focused Void Wizard?
Connor also has Virtuoso Performance and Shadowbard so he can have 2 different performances going at once. As a Arcane Duelist he has the alternate option of
Bladethirst (Su): An arcane duelist of 6th level or higher may use performance to grant one weapon, one natural weapon, one end of a double weapon, or 50 items of ammunition of the same type within 30 feet a +1 enhancement bonus. This enhancement bonus increases by +1 for every three levels after 6th (maximum +5 at 18th level). These bonuses stack with existing bonuses and may be used to increase the item’s enhancement bonus up to +5 or to add any of the following weapon properties: defending, distance, ghost touch, keen, mighty cleaving, returning, shock, shocking burst, seeking, speed, or wounding. If the weapon is not magical, at least a +1 enhancement bonus must be added before adding special abilities. This performance replaces suggestion.
I don't normally use it since it only helps 1 weapon but if our only martial character is a Barbarian I could do something like start Inspire Courage as a swift action then cast Shadowbard to increase the barbarian's weapon by +2 and grant it keen.
Though as mentioned a Wizard might fit this party better.
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Looks like the other bard is a Dervish Dancer, i.e. melee combat bard with plenty of cure spells. You make his +2 keen scimitar into +5 and he overcomes all DR. (He's applying Dex to dmg, so ignore what the profile says; he's doing lot more)
And our cleric is a necromancer/negative channeler for aoe damage and debuffs. He and Lila could have some fun synergy
The shaman could be just about anything, depending upon spirit/wandering spirit, so he could fill a lot of roles depending upon the build.
You're overthinking it. Play whatever you want to play and we'll kick butt and take names...or die trying.
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Connor it is. I have most of my profile done.
Spells known
lvl 5 - Shadowbard, Bard's Escape
lvl 4 - Path of Glory, Greater, Virtuoso Performance, Invisibility, Greater, Dimension Door
lvl 3 - Haste, Dispel Magic, Tiny Hut, Arcane Concordance, Good Hope
lvl 2 - Heroism, Glitterdust, Blistering Invective, Gallant Inspiration, Mirror Image
lvl 1 - Heightened Awareness, Liberating Command, Saving Finale, Feather Fall, Touch of Gracelessness, Disguise Self
lvl 0 - Read Magic, Detect Magic, Prestidigitation, Message, Mending, Spark
A few notes on some of these spells.
Tiny Hut is actually useful in combat. The area is opaque from the outside but clear from the inside. Blocking line of sight from casters or archers.
Path of Glory is my main out of combat healing spell. Everyone who needs healing stands near me then I create and expand a path that grants fast healing 5 for 13 rounds. Healing each of us for up to 65 health from 1 spell.
Bard's Escape is similar to Dimension Door but I can move myself and up to 6 targets within 30 feet of me to any spot within 230 feet of me when I cast it.
So I could for example put myself 10feet away from a caster, drop the 2 other melee characters flanking some big threat, and put the casters somewhere within casting range but out of melee. A nearby ledge perhaps.
Btw several of my abilities only work if you are within 30 feet of me so try not to stray.
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Peter Rogers
Candi Payne
226993-1
Liberty’s Edge
Candi is an arcane bloodline bloodrager and is generally pretty straightforward. She hits things very hard and is also very durable. I’m just finishing Retrocon Siege of the Diamond City where she played at the lvl 14-15 tier. RP-wise, she sees herself as a “Paladin of Calistria,” has a fondness for cheap cigars and strong drink along with the usual Calistrian predilections, and is chaotic good in alignment. Candi also has a bloodline emissary familiar in the form of a viper named Donna. I’ll put together a more complete description of her over the next couple days.
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Looks like the other bard is a Dervish Dancer, i.e. melee combat bard with plenty of cure spells. You make his +2 keen scimitar into +5 and he overcomes all DR. (He's applying Dex to dmg, so ignore what the profile says; he's doing lot more)
I am indeed that Dawnflower Dervish.
Player Name: Alex Greenshields
Character Name: Pallas Morningstar
Character Number: 2840-1
Faction: Scarab Sages:
Day Job: Take 10 on Perform (Keyboard) for a total of 34.
As has been guess, Pallas is a largely melee focused character and can't inspire courage in others, sadly, but hash some useful buffs for the party:
1) Symphony of the Elysian Heart Masterpiece (give allies within 30' of me freedom of movement)
2) Cast healing spells (CLW-CCW) as a move action while doing dervish dance.
3) Bodyguard feat w/benevolent armor + gloves of arcane striking can boost your AC (if you're standing next to me) by +8 (aid +2, Gloves +3, armor +3) with an AoO (and I have Combat Reflexes).
4) Useful spells: Cure spells, heroic finale, slow, haste, arcane concordance, good hope, silence, ddoor, echolocation
5) Wield a +2 keen scimitar, so when fully self-buffed (haste, good hope, dervish dance, arcane strike, power attack) full attacks are: +24/+24/+19 1d6+d6+25 (15-20)
6) Have an adamantine scimitar as a backup weapon
6) Oh, and I have discordant voice, so everyone making melee attacks within 30' of me when I'm doing dervish dance gets +1d6 sonic.
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Candi things:
1) Arcane bloodrager – When she rages she can apply a number of spells to herself such as resist energy, blur, displacement, and/or haste. She can also cast a 1st or 2nd level spell on herself as she goes into rage (essentially casting three spells as a free action). If she’s fighting enemies without true sight, her favorite is mirror image.
2) True seeing is a pain for her as it negates displacement/blur and mirror image, and I’m painfully aware that almost all high-level demons have true seeing. Her current favorite backup plan is stoneskin. I’ll be bringing a number of scrolls of that for Lila to cast on Candi. Candi also has a goz mask to enable her to fight in smoke, fog, etc. without any penalty to her attacks.
3) Her hit points go to 217 when she rages, and I think a scroll or three of false life might come in handy. She does have raging vitality.
4) I’ve invested a bit in her Will save. She was possessed once, and it wasn’t pretty. When she is raging, she has a +17 Will save with an additional +2 vs. mind-affecting effects and another +5 vs enchantment spells and SLAs. Candi’s familiar, Donna, has the ability Elysium’s Call to help out if Candi does fail a Will save.
5) Her basic raging, hasted, arcane strike, power attack full attack is +25/+25/+20/+15 (2d6+32/19-20) plus a bite attack from the tusked trait of +14 (1d4+11). Her greatsword, “The Big Stinger” (remember, “paladin of Calistria”), is +3 furious, impervious, adamantine and is thus +5 when she’s raging so she can bypass alignment DR. She can cast monstrous physique II on herself. Her favorite form is tikbalang which makes her large, adds +1/+3 to her attacks, and, most importantly of all, gives her pounce.
6) As I noted above, Candi’s just finishing Siege of the Diamond City, where she earned her latest “title,” Naked Balorslayer (it’s a longish story). She’s done #9-25: Betrayal in the Bones in case there is link between that scenario and Rasping Rebirth. She has also done Eyes of the Ten and is a Venture Captain. She even has a lodge - Club Candi, a Calistrian-themed beach resort and Pathfinder Lodge, looked on Glasswall Isle, just off the coast of Thuvia.
7) I’ve got a separate alias for her emisary familiar Donna, who can, among other things, cast guidance at will. Out of combat, Donna (size tiny) generally rides around on Candi. During combat, she’ll often jump off and try to stay out of the way.
That’s all the big stuff off the top of my head. Give a yell if you have any questions or if I seemed to have missed anything important. I’ll update her profile with Siege of the Diamond City material expenditures and purchases in the next few days when that scenario is officially over, and I have the chronicle sheet.
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Note that everyone else in the party has a UMD of 21 or higher so the scrolls shouldn't be an issue.
Everyone in the party can cast Haste or Blessing of Fervor so you should get to use displacement often.
Your Pale Green Prism (cracked) (to hit) ioun stone will often be overwritten by Inspire Courage since they are both competence bonuses.
If I do use bladethirst “The Big Stinger” seems like a good target. I don't see the Improved Critical feat so I would probably boost it to +7 and Keen.
We are missing someone to deal with traps and we are weak at ranged but otherwise looks like a mostly balanced party.
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Candi: Don't forget to buy Diamond Dust as well.
(That's 250gp of Diamond Dust per casting, and 700gp for the scroll, for a total of 950gp each time Lila casts it on Candi.) It'll last 2 hours and 10 minutes, providing up to 130 points of DR
Other considerations:
Magic Vestment: provides +3 enhancement to armor. Of course, it doesn't stack with armor enhancement, but for Candi, it would increase AC by 2. More importantly, it'd last 13 HOURS. cost: 375gp (can spend 2 prestige to get scroll with 2 Magic Vestments)
Barkskin: +5 AC that lasts for 130minutes, i.e. 2 hours and 10 minutes. Costs 150gp (can spend 2 prestige to get scroll with 5 Barkskins)
Pallas, Connor:
Magic Vestment won't help y'all, but Barkskin would certainly be a nice boost.
Pallas, it doesn't stack with Amulet of Natural Armor, but it would boost your AC by 4 (and potentially free you to use neck slot for other magic items...)
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Please let me know if your PC has successfully completed any of the following:
• #5–00: Siege of the Diamond City
• #5–02: The Wardstone Patrol
• #5–03: The Hellknight’s Feast
• #5–09: The Traitor’s Lodge
• #5–11: Library of the Lion
• #5–13: Weapon in the Rift
• #5–22: Scars of the Third Crusade
• #5–24: Vengeance at Sundered Crag
• #5–25: Assault on the Wound
• #7–17: Thralls of the Shattered God.
Have any of the PCs earned the Al-Jakri’s Debt boon on the Chronicle sheet for Pathfinder Society Scenario #9–25: Betrayal in the Bones?
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• #5–00: Siege of the Diamond City (Siege Hardened, Impressive Defense)
• #5–11: Library of the Lion (wrote a short, lovely poem/tribute)
• #5–13: Weapon in the Rift (Best. Day. EVER!!! Mendevian Commendation, Champion of Ghalcor's Legacy, Ghalcor's Spellcraft)
• #7–17: Thralls of the Shattered God. (Heartwood Restored, Valais' Wisdom)
On the offchance it might also be relevant, she also completed:
• #5–05: the Elven Entanglement (Elven Uprooters)
though all others bow down.
I’m covered in gold,
But it’s just for the cold.
My ladies by my side;
they are my pride.
Who am I?
(alright, it ain't Shakespeare, but not bad for a timed morning slot on the third day of a con)
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Lila’s Pathfinder Savant ability is exceptionally cool. I’ve gotten my Siege of the Diamond City chronicle sheet, and I’m looking at the following potential pre-game scroll purchases in order to take advantage of this.
450 gp – 3x Scroll of False Life
2,850 gp – 3x Scroll of Stoneskin (includes diamond and granite dust cost)
750 gp – 2x Scroll of Magic Vestment
600 gp – 4x Scroll of Barkskin
I’m also getting a new Wand of Infernal Healing, since my old one is just about used up. What do folks think of Candi getting a set of First Aid Gloves? They’re not cheap, 4,500 gp, but they’d give us some additional, distributed healing.
Anything else I should be getting? I am trying to not spend all my money as there are some big ticket items that I’d like to get for Candi down the road.
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I think hard mode is great for friends who play together often, have a well balanced group, and know each other's strengths and weaknesses.
It can even be fine at a local game day when you get tossed together but feel your party can handle it. If you succeed you all get to brag to other players.
But here I think most of us have not played with each other before and no one locally will care if I tell them I beat hard mode on a PbP.
That being said I don't want to be the odd one out. If the rest of you want to do it I'll switch my vote. I have other seekers.
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False life is a Personal spell, so Lila can only cast that scroll on herself. Ditto on Shield.
D’oh!
Candi will be making the following purchases that will go on the chronicle sheet she just got (some of this is just replacing what she expended during Siege of the Diamond City):
75 gp – Blood-boiling pill
40 gp – Bladeguard
250 gp - granite and diamond dust
375 gp – Scroll of Keen Edge
450 gp - 3x Scroll of See Invisibility
310 gp – Mw cold iron cestus
2,850 gp – 3x Scroll of Stoneskin
750 gp – 2x Scroll of Magic Vestment
600 gp – 4x Scroll of Barkskin
750 gp – Wand of Infernal Healing
25 gp – Familiar satchel
That will leave me with 9,250 gp. I’m still on the fence about the First Aid Gloves. I’ll try to finish totally updating my character description later this evening.
I’ll also vote “no” on hard mode for pretty much the same reasons laid out by Connor.
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I have a little over 5K I can buy the gloves and loan them to you. I don't have very good defenses so I don't melee as much as I used to. Though I can still deal close to 100 damage turn due to all of the bonuses.
I got to play the Ruby Phoenix Tournament with 2 dedicated archers, a bombardier alchemist, and a gunslinger. We are all now banned from Xielan Island.
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I have a little over 5K I can buy the gloves and loan them to you.
OK, thanks, I have added First Aid Gloves to Candi's character sheet, which I think is now fully filled out and ready to go. I dotted in Donna, and I think she is also good to go.
Candi has a scroll of Breath of Life which she can't use due to her low UMD. Who would like to carry it? It's for general party use, whoever needs it if/when the cheezewiz hits the fan.
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I'd be happy to carry the scroll. I have a +21 UMD, so I can "take 10" to cast it.
I'm afraid you can't "take ten" with UMD.
from the last lines of UMD skill description:Special: You cannot take 10 with this skill. You can’t aid another on Use Magic Device checks. Only the user of the item may attempt such a check.
That being said, Lila actually can take ten with UMD (except when activating blindly), because of the Adept Activation ability of her Prestige class.
Pathfinder Savant
She has her own Breath of Life Scroll in a spring-loaded wristsheathe, and she'd be happy to load another in her other wristsheathe (whether Candi's or whomever's).
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I agree about no to hard mode. Survived All For Immortality doing it that way, but for this I think it's better avoided.
Any preferences for my wandering spirit. I usually go Ancestors for flavor reasons (he's Shoanti) and take Wisdom of Ages which makes him pretty good with some knowledges (+20 on planes, nature and religion). Sounds like Lila has Knowledges covered, though. I could go Life spirit and get channeling which could save on wand usage and such.
It's going to be the weekend before I get his sheet transferred, but some things to know:
He has glove of storing with a rod of reach, and usually has at least 1 breath of life prepped, so he can do that from afar.
Permanent Hexes: • Heaven’s Leap (like jester's jaunt spell, I can move folks around tricky situations) • Tongues • Evil Eye [-4, DC22, 11 rounds] •Fortune
• Fly • Chant • Misfortune [DC22, 2 rounds]
Useful party spells: Life Bubble, Heal, Breath of Life, Blessing of Fervor, Communal Air Walk, Invisibility Purge
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I'm pretty sure you can't use a rod with scrolls.
Apologies for the Candi Payne-Duke alias that showed up with our characters. This is a mistake I created several years ago when I didn't understand the forum and alias system. I've asked customer service if they can delete it for me because it serves no purpose other than to confuse me.
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Apologies for the Candi Payne-Duke alias that showed up with our characters. This is a mistake I created several years ago when I didn't understand the forum and alias system. I've asked customer service if they can delete it for me because it serves no purpose other than to confuse me.
You are not alone in stumbling with the vagaries of the paizo site registration system: my -8 PC ended up becoming my -11
I don't even remember how it happened anymore, just that they couldn't go back and fix it, so they just transferred the chronicles forward to the new number.Lila is +16 on most knowledges. +18 with kn-Nobility, and +21 with Kn-Arcana. She can ONLY take ten all the time with Knowledge Arcana (i.e. Lotus Geisha loses Lore Master, but she can take ten for Kn-Arcana due to Pathfinder Savant.)
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Last minute purchase idea that would capitalize on Lila's abiltiy. Scroll of Talisman of Reprieve would let us ignore those penalties, at least for time.
https://aonprd.com/SpellDisplay.aspx?ItemName=Talisman%20of%20Reprieve (sorry having trouble doing the link thing.
At cleric 5th lvl it be 1125 gp for one. Maybe buy two? Anyone interested in splitting the cost?
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Last minute purchase idea that would capitalize on Lila's abiltiy. Scroll of Talisman of Reprieve would let us ignore those penalties, at least for time.
https://aonprd.com/SpellDisplay.aspx?ItemName=Talisman%20of%20Reprieve (sorry having trouble doing the link thing.
At cleric 5th lvl it be 1125 gp for one. Maybe buy two? Anyone interested in splitting the cost?
I can contribute 500 gp for my share of two of these.
I also just want to confirm that Candi is wearing the First Aid Gloves she borrowed from Connor and that Pallas has Candi's Scroll of Breath of Life, correct?
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Not to seem too pedantic, but does somebody own The Plane-Hopper's Handbook? I haven't picked it up yet, though given the focus of season ten, it might be a good idea to do so.
If someone does own it and therefore we have access to the spell, Lila will happily kick in her share. (She does love shopping for scrolls...sooo many scrolls)