PFS 2-03 Rebel's Ransom (Inactive)

Game Master Pirate Rob

Here is where the game is played.

Dot

The shifting sands of Osirion have been known to swallow entire communities, wiping them from the face of Golarion. Those same dunes sometimes uncover that which has been lost, revealing secrets from the past.

In a nation with a rich and mysterious history, such discoveries set off a rush of exploration, but the deserts are not a safe place, and more than one group of treasure-hunters has donated their bones to the sands.

When Venture-Captain Norden Balentiir contacted you this morning in Sothis, the story was a familiar one. A group of Pathfinders has gone missing in the desert and he would like to send you to find them. You have been asked to meet at his office to discuss the rescue, and be prepared to depart immediately.

Arriving at his office Norden Balentiir greets each of you by name, a stack of agent dossiers in a neat stack on the side of his desk.

He also adds "While I may be familiar with your previous achievements, please take a moment to introduce yourselves, you'll soon be in danger and we should enjoy what luxuries we can."

He will then carefully pour ice-water from a large crystal carafe into a series of glasses while introductions are made.

See link up top or in my header for a picture of Norden Balentiir. Also if you could fill out the initiative/perception on slide 1 as well as a picture for your character.

A towering Taldan man speaks up. "I am Baron Gavin de Roche, recently returned from an expedition in the Crown of the World. It seems our little Society has a sense of humour, sending me from extreme cold to extreme heat."

He adjusts the axe slung over his back, clearly uncomfortable with the weight of the weapon. And with good reason, as the thing is MASSIVE and BRISTLING WITH SPIKES. Those of you with knowledge of orcish weapons recognize a butchering axe, a deadly weapon that requires special skill to use.

Standing behind Gavin is an Ulfen guard who introduces himself with a terse I'm Kjell Sorinnson. Beside the baron is a big mastiff wearing a finely crafted chain shirt. Noticing the looks, Gavin adds, "This is my faithful companion, Buster. I've had him since he was a pup. He'll hold his own."

"Woof!"

A fall--6'2" to be exact--woman wearing the distinctive gray and red plate of a Gray Maiden steps forward, a warm glow escaping from the eyeslits and from the interlock of plates. She removes her helmet. Her light brown skin has a touch of yellow, and her hair is a—probably dyed—sanguine red pageboy style. Her face and neck are covered in scars at various points of healing, some jagged and angry and others careful and macabre in their beauty. Either way, every single scar is done-over with tattoos that glow warm and marigold, their light growing and dimming with her each breath. The tattoos follow the shapes of the scars closely, not hiding them, but rather highlighting them.

She smiles a cocky, disarming smile and holds up two fingers to her forehead in a casual salute before flicking them away.

”I am Sayna Asenath Elantho. I recently aided the society with some archaeological matters in Cheliax and in helping to restore a Shoanti burial site our organization had mangled. Always send the Osiriani people to do archaeology, eh? I am part of a group of former Gray Maidens—the Scarlet Rose—looking to turn ourselves into a force for good in the world and provide restorative justice. I left Korvosa to learn about methods other groups use to achieve such aims. Also, I figure the women of the world are always in need of someone to keep them warm at night, and how could I turn a blind eye to their struggle when I am so well-suited to it?” Her voice is warm and deep and only carries the smallest dash of an Osriani accent, having spent too long away from her homeland. She smiles once again in that same easy, confident way that comes so naturally to her.

She sits down and lightly rests her chin on her palm. ”Oh, Venture-Captain Balentir, would you happen to have any hot water for tea? I have my own tea and pot on-hand.” She smiles. ”The heat doesn’t bother me.”

Gavin nods to the armored ex-Maiden. "Well met, Sayna. I like your tattoos. Are they an homage? Do they tell a story? Wait, wait. Don't tell me now. We need to save some stories for our trip. Or will be we be fortunate enough to stay in Sothis?"

Norden Balentiir listens to the intros, seemingly confirming what he knows regarding your histories, at the mention of tea he raises his left hand and snaps his fingers loudly. Moments later a young boy enters and bows.

Norden Balentiir looks to the boy and says "Tea"

The boy bows slightly and responds "Yes effendi." in a clearly prepubescent voice before backing out of the room.

All along, this tall woman has been standing off in the corner, not really talking to anyone, just cleaning something on her necklace. As soon as she hears the mentioning of tea, she smiles. "Tea would be good." She continues to clean what appears to be a finger.

[b]"Another mission, another band of strangers. Where are we going this time? Please remind me."[\b]

The small, humanoid frog perched on the back of one of the chairs shudders audibly at the mention of hot tea. "To each their own, ah guess. Can't imagine drinkin' somethin' hot in such a hot, dry place, m'self." He hops down and approaches the desk, gratefully accepting one of the glasses of ice-water. Gulping it down in one long draught, he wipes his mouth with his bare arm and reclaims his perch. "Ahh, now that hit the spot. Y'really come to appreciate cold, clear water growin' up in th' swamp; ain't much a' it 'round there, after all. Anyways, nice t'meetchall. Mah name's Gorf." The diminutive figure has a long metal-and-wood tube of a decidedly homemade nature strapped to his back, and an assortment of small pouches at his belt. His armor, a sleeveless mithral shirt that was once quite fine, is filthy and, beyond all reason, rusty.

An enormous half-Varisian (half-Taldan) waddles in, his body also covered in tattoos. To those knowledgeable in such things, they appear to be Thassilonian runes of an arcane nature, especially those most commonly related to evocation magic (wrath magic in vernacular of the runelords). Even with his corpulence he holds himself in a superior pose.

”Venture-Captain, I see you have recruited some decent guards for me this time ” he sneers. ”They have to be better than those oafs I dealt with when saving those Twinhorns. Or the buffoon bards that I kept alive in the Kulkamo woods. Regardless, my mastery of evocation did the trick.”

He turns to the other Pathfinders. ”When the time comes, keep the rabble away from me. I will protect you with fire... just as long as you realize I am really only protecting myself... the rest of you... well I would be surprised if you proved your worth. Sayna, you like fire? Good... I shall bring much. Celie, don’t worry about damaging spells, I have more than enough for both of us... focus on making these others worthy of adventuring with our arcane power. ”

He then looks down enough to notice Gorf. Immediately, he prepares to burn the frog-man to cinders, but quickly realizes that he is a grippli. ”A gun, eh? How cute.”

My apologies as a player for all of this... if you would all prefer I will down play this portion of Ethan’s personality through the rest of the game.

We all have our different levels of RP. Sometimes I am deep within my character and others i just post a few lines and a dice roll. You do you. That is my oppinion.

All good here, as long as you don't mind a bit of it in kind :)

Gavin puts on a scowl. "I have traveled with many mages. All have been as thin as parchment. Today I meet the most corpulent one ever. Still, if you see us as 'guards' then you strike me as no different from the others. Yet another that needs protection. After all, is that not what guards do?"

He then cracks, a smile crossing his face. " Be at ease, finger waggler! Our foes will be too busy with me and my axe to have a care for you. The sun will continue to rise for you." The baron pauses, then adds, " Though the heat may be the death of us all!"

Buster pads over to Celie, sniffing for a moment before sitting and waiting to be petted.

Celie looks down at this thing. She turns her nose up, but soon some chittering is heard and a small fox jumps out of her pack and moves to sniff the dog.

Expected, Gavin!

Ethan chuckles at the impetuousness of the Taldan man. ”I am sure you see it that way. We shall see the truth, though.”

He delicately grabs he glass of water offered, taking a sip. For a man of his size, he is curiously unaffected by the heat, though this would probably be attributed to magic over anything else. (he would have cast endure elements upon himself here)

”Venture-Captain,” he sneers with no show of respect, ”What mission do you have for me?”

The boy returns after a few minutes with a tray holding a large pot of hot water as well as numerous fine cups and saucers and accoutrements such as milk and sugar atop a mahogany box. The boy lays the box upon the table whereupon he removes the tray and opens the box revealing numerous compartments inside including one filled with spoons, another with paper-mesh sachets and several other compartments filled with tea leaves covered by glass lids with labels such as

Menedes' Mint
Eternal Sunshine
Desert Lime
Water Fairy

Having presented the tea the boy bows again and backs politely out of the room.

The Venture Captain ignores Ethan's sneer for now and motions to the Oread to introduce herself first

Buster returns the sniff. Sadly for the familiar, he then goes to sniff where all dogs sniff.

Celie looks at the lables and tries to remember what she has learned about plants and how to make poisons out of mondane stuff.

Knowledge nature: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (6) + 10 = 16

The Fox returns to Celie's shoulder and chitters in her ear. Celie shrugs at something and chitters back to the Fox.

I'm okay with it as long as I get to knock back :3c

Sayna raises an eyebrow at Ethan's arrogance and condescension. She has served Queen Ileosa Arabasti of all people, so so the display of ego did little to rattle her. Nevertheless, she begins thinking of a proper response, as she cannot let such disrespectful behavior towards her comrades stand.

In the meantime, she gives the serving boy a friendly smile and a thank you. She bows her head to the Venture-Captain. "Your offerings are delightfully tempting, but I am afraid I have a particular tea of my own that I take for medicinal purposes. And I actually mean medicinal, no euphemism." Sayna pulls out some herbal tea of her own from her bag, leaving a dash of fresh minty scent in the air. "The primary effects only took me six months back who knows how many years ago but I appear to have caught a taste for it. It also helps with the pain of...all this." She holds the cup up to her face so the steam can brush against her face while the tea steeps. She closes her eyes to savor the sensation. "Never work for Kuthites. It's painful for everyone involved, except they enjoy it."

Cross off one Mulibrous Tincture

"Now," She sits forward and looks directly at Ethan. "Let us settle this now: I protect all those under my charge, both in body and in character, as is my duty as a Knight of the Sisterhood. And in that duty, I should remind you are here not as Taldan Marquess of Such-and-Such or Baronet of My-Daddy-Bought-Me-a-Title, but as a Pathfinder, one sworn to 'Cooperate,' and you shall treat your comrades with respect. You shall get the same protection as everyone else as long as you do not work against the aims of the group." She sits back and takes a sip of her tea, savoring its bitter heat. "If you disagree and think that your personal glory is worth more than that of the group and that the principles to which we are sworn as Pathfinders are unimportant, I am certain the Venture-Captain here would completely understand." Her invitation to flout the Society right in front of a superior crystal clear to all, she smiles politely, holding her cup and saucer with practiced grace.

Gavin laughs. "So much fire in this group! No pun intended."

"Don' mahnd a bit a fire 's'long as you don't go settin' off all mah powder 'n' such. An' don' you worry" he says, patting the gun. "This thing's gotten me and them's with me through all sortsa scrapes. We'll protectcha jus' fahn!"

I'm all good with haughty imperiousness; Gorf's used to being looked down on, as it were. I'd appreciate it if we can steer away from fat-shaming (no problems so far, just thought I'd mention it).

Celie smiles, "Reminds me of an old fiery friend. Lets cook with the good stuff."

Sayna gives Baron de Roche a polite nod. "I have no hatred for puns, intended or not." She takes another sip of her tea and closes her eyes again, letting the warmth wash over her. "You could teach that other Taldan fellow a thing about decorum."

The last member of the party is short and stocky like a dwarf, but quite unlike a dwarf, her skin seems to be made of stone and her eyes are two glittering sapphires. She listens to the conversation, clearly absorbing, but not saying much.

"I am happy to work for you again, Venture-Captain. I shall not stop until the lost ones are found." She turns to the party. "I am Tai Sapphire, and I am a soldier." Her accent is odd: Osiriani but extremely old-fashioned.

She accepts a glass of water. Her stony skin darkens temporarily where droplets fall. Her hands are roughened: she clearly uses her fists often, though a gleaming guisarme sits with her belongings.

Celie: One of the ingredients of Eternal Sunshine is a flower that in quantities far beyond what you would find among tea leaves is a minor hallucinogen. It's unlikely any of these teas are useful in making poisons however the desert lime does smell particularly nice, if you like sour flavors that is.

With the introductions complete and refreshments served Venture-Captain Norden Balentiir gets down to business, largely ignoring the party's banter.

"Just over a month ago, a merchant traveling through the Parched Dunes stumbled across the entrance of an ancient tomb, uncovered by the sands. He sold the location of the tomb to the markets here in Sothis, where the knowledge was quickly brought to the Ruby Prince’s attention."

After taking a sip of water the Venture Captain continues "The Ruby Prince contacted me later that same day to arrange for a group of Pathfinders to explore the tomb and bring back its riches. The group left the very next morning. We kept in contact via magic for most of the journey, but shortly after entering the tomb itself, we lost contact and they have not been heard from since."

Norden Balentiir concludes "Your mission is to travel to the tomb, find the missing Pathfinder, and complete their mission, if possible."

Sayna gives the Venture-Captain her complete attention as he begins the briefing. She sighs as she realizes she’s being sent to yet another tomb. She knows her way around them, for sure, but she cannot help but wonder if one of the higher-ups has typecast her. She makes a mental note to start making inquiries when she’s back at the lodge. You don’t find many nice lady loves in tombs, or at least none as “lively” as required

”How long of a journey is it to the tomb? And if it is far, how are we handling supplies?”

Celie nods, We will do all the dirty work so you don’t have to. she curtsies and walks out of the room.

”I see.” says Ethan. ”We are the rescue mission for he less competent Pathfinders. Why didn’t you just call on us in the first place?”

”So, What sorts of dangers would have overwhelmed them? What we there skills... what didn’t they prepare for?”

"Come now, the Venture-Captain is no auger of tea leaves. If they entered the tomb, then we know they did not die from exposure. And since it's a tomb, their likely foe was either ancient traps or the walking dead. The are likely dead," Gavin tries to raise their collective spirits. "But maybe not. We Pathfinders are canny sorts, no? Worst case, we can bring them back for proper burial."

"I too would like to know how long a journey we have before us. I understand that traveling is best done at night, with resting being done at the peak of the day. Unless we use magic to protect us from the elements."

"Ah was afraid it'd be sumthin' lahk this. Ah ain't exactly cut out for trekkin' 'cross a desert. Ah well. Can ya tell us a bit more 'bout the first team? How many a them was there inna first place, and what'd they look like?"

"They could be trapped. We certainly can't risk not investigating."

Norden Balentiir blinks as Celie leaves early but does his best to answer the party's questions.

"It was a small group of just three experienced explorers. Led by Jilarni Golgarna, a veteran from Galt, the group also included Jojack Harnast, a dwarven trap expert, and Gilleon Samsil, a human sorcerer of some skill.”

He does have a small portrait of each which he is glad to show you.

Continuing as he pulls out a map "As for the journey, it's almost 200 miles southwest along the Dragon's Tail. It's a well traveled route, other than the heat there's not much to be worried about, although you could travel with a caravan if you were particularly worried."

Pointing to an oasis on the map "From here you'll travel straight south for about three days until you find a crack in the desert floor, almost a ravine..."

Sighing slightly, Norden Balentiir says "As for supplies, I can unfortunately not provide you with all the supplies for your journey, however I do have contracts with several merchants in Sothis allowing us to buy large quantities of supplies, including mounts if desired, without the customary mark up for rush jobs."

Gavin does some math, visibly counting on his fingers. "That's about ten days travel, all told if we went on foot. Closer to seven if we go on camels, which I recommend. I've coin enough to acquire a camel, feed, and barding for the trip. I might also get myself more appropriate clothing. If we're to bring back riches or, Desna weeps, bodies... Then we may want a wagon."

His eagerness is obvious. "Let's get moving. Time is of the essence."

"I concur, Baron de Roche, I can think of no further questions to bother the Venture-Captain with, so we must see to our comrades post-haste. I will happily provide my share of the traveling expenses."

She begins her own attempt to account for all the resources the party would need and quickly loses focus as she gets caught up in the minutiae of guessing each party member's dietary needs, position in the horse vs camel debate, and how to distribute sleeping arrangements in a way that nobody will kill each other.

"Blech, but I do so loathe having to manage mundane logistics. I miss having a quartermistress. Alyane had eyes that could light up even the Vaults of Orv and could get you there and back on schedule without a single piece of hardtack more or less than necessary. A shame it didn't work out between us."

She throws back the rest of her tea like it was a mug of ale on Merrymead and stands. She throws a dazzling smile to the Baron.

"I shall trust you to do the calculations. Just tell me my share."

While Sayna might not want to do math, her player doesn't mind. By my estimation, that's a minimum of 42 trail rations each way if seven days is right (not counting animal companions/familiars), though more is good to be safe. Six camels to ride and possibly two more to pull a wagon. We'll have to see what our GM says is available and how much it costs. I'm also actually not sure what's the official word on whether fire resist means you don't have to worry about hot weather. I've always had it ruled resistance cancels it out, but I can't find an official ruling

Yeah, I'm not aware of fire resistance cancelling out environmental effects from heat. Either way, I have to deal with this the old-fashioned way :)

Gavin quickly rattles off all the items that he plans to purchase. "I've no problem paying for the wagon. I'm flush from my most recent trip."
Feel free to look at the spoiler for travel expenses

Sothis is a metropolis, especially with the VC's connections there is no trouble at all finding supplies at list price. How you decide to proceed is up to you. As normal in PFS you're considered to have enough muscle to lug your stuff around so no need for wagons if not desired.

Celie dosn't like meaninglessly talking and would rather go and finish missions so she can have fun.

As the group leaves the room, They see Celie still talking to a receptionist. "Oh, you're done?" she joins back with the group as they go shopping. She will buy rations for her and her fox. If she can get away with it, she'll ride in the wagon the entire way there... as the driver... yeah, the driver.

OK, will skip on the wagon (sorry Celie) but will instead buy a wand of endure elements. Also I don't want to assume that the briefing is done. I'm just extra active right now and figured I'd get ahead on my posts.

When he steps out of the meeting, Gavin spots Celie. "I'm not one for small talk either, but it's bad form to walk out without asking permission. Not that I've not wanted to before!" He says this last bit with a wink.

If anybody has further questions for the Venture Captain he is happy to answer them to the best of his ability. Otherwise he'll encourage you to set out as soon as possible. As the sooner you get there, the more likely you are to find survivors.

Celie shrugs, "He told us the mission. It's time for us to get it done."

"Mounts are a wise idea, Gavin. We will make much better time, which could mean life or death."

Hey, Tai can use a wand of endure elements! She will spend 2 PP to get one.

"Ugh" Gorf says, as he trudges out of the meeting room, the dread of a desert journey apparent on his face. He stops by the receptionist and asks for directions to the Dark Archive office that surely exists somewhere in this lodge. Zarta's got a ton o' wands lyin' 'round all the time. I'm sure the faction's got one'o them bad-weather wands lyin' round. Gorf will requisition a wand of endure elements from the Dark Archive for 2PP points, then will purchase a camel, saddle, rations, etc. from the nearby marketplace (all the same things that Tai bought).

Sayna will also make the mount and supply purchases Baron de Roche recommends for 175 gp

I cant think of any other questions for the Venture-Captain, so I’ll be good to move on

Sayna comes back with a fetching camel. She fawns over the creature as if it was a cat. ”I’ve named them Torchbearer, for reasons that should be obvious.”

At the beginning of each day on the journey, Sayna will read from her Book of War Prayers to whoever will listen. She will also loan her Potion of Darkvision to anyone who needs one (I bought it totally forgetting she has darkvision)

On the day we reach the site, Sayna will offer to play her Game of Fortunate Passing with whoever could make the most use of its benefit (if they beat her)

Hearing the bad news about no wagon, Celie frounds and buys the mount and supplies that were mentioned. Spening 175g of her hard earned money that she stole from inocent people she killed... I mean, rewards she gained. She will also buy a newHot Weather outfit.

"Walk? Ride a camel? That seems so barbaric!" spouts Ethan. "I'd prefer flying... or a carriage... but I don't think that will be possible. And what sort of Venture-Captain wouldn't provide their team with mounts? This is preposterous!"

He then tells the team his plan. "I am not going to use any mundane, smelly beast to carry my esteemed personage around. I will use magic to do this far better. In fact, if a few of you wish, I will allow you to ride with me. With my magical prowess, this chariot will be able travel over the sandy deserts as easy as a paved road, which should increase our speed over mere camels.

"Gavin, I assume you know how to handle a team?"

"Oh, and I alwyas make sure to have the tiny hut spell memorized. No need for me to sleep out under the stars like barbarians. I suppose I could share it with you lot as well."

With a sneer he looks at Gavin as if to say, 'This is why you need a wizard.'

As at his level it has a speed of 80', it can make 64 miles a day

Ethan will purchase the phantom chariot spell. He will take the time to scribe it into his spellbook, and then use his arcane bond to cast it for today.

If the GM permits, and the players agree, this would supplant the need to purchase mounts. This costs Ethan 240gp... and he is going to do it regardless.

"Oh, and don't worry. I can always teleport myself as well as three of you home safely."

On the trail, Ethan tells Sayna, "I would play you a game of senet. Mind you, I will not be easy on you."

I could imagine getting +2 on all knowledge checks to identify critters wouldn't be a bad thing.

Celie perks up when Ethan talks about flying to the site. "That's the way to go. How high will we be traveling? Would hot weather or cold weather gear be better?"

Sayna already knows she does not like Ethan. But she doesn't have to like him to enjoy the convenience of his magic. Besides, it was a step in the direction of team spirit for him to offer to share, and she believes in encouraging such behavior.

"How delightful! I'm glad to see you thinking towards the needs of the group." Sayna smiles at Torchbearer and pets them. "I'm keeping the camel, though. They already have a name, after all. I'll just find a nice place in the lodge stables for now." Never know when you might need one!

Later, on the trail, on the day the party arrives at the site, she takes Ethan up on the game. "I should warn you that I am absolutely atrocious at this game. One of my exes, Zafira, taught me how to play. She absolutely demolished me every time. She outplayed me at senet every time, too." Sayna grins lasciviously then throws her head back in a hearty laugh. The former was not actually true, but Sayna is not above fudging her autobiography for a jest.

Opposed Int Check for Game: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 = 3

However, she is absolutely atrocious at senet.

Three out of four people in my Mummy's Mask group had Fate's Favored (it's actually what we named out group) so we learned how nifty this item is!

Celie looks at the game Sayna pulled out. "That looks interesting... but no knives... I'll play." she smiles.

Int: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (20) + 5 = 25

At the edge of the chariot, Fox is watching the ground wiz by them.