GM Hawthwile's Scions of the Sky Key Series (Inactive)

Game Master Hawthwile

Alaric looks over to Shredder, and blinks. 'Sounds like the job I was born to do' he thinks.

"Elders, if you do not mind, could you be a little more specific? Which great beasts are you thinking of. I could guess, but it might be easier for you to tell us which dinosaurs you are referring to." asks Alaric.

Jethro nods in assent, thinking to himself, What could possibly go wrong?

Telka also nods, Yes, just what sort of trouble are you sending us in to? Not that we mind trouble you understand but best to be aware of the dangers we might meet along the trail. Also you mentioned others? Who else has visited you recently?

Well this promises to be interesting. Mistress, where are you sending me today?

Tere remains quiet after his offer of assistance was turned down, awaiting the reply.

Finyak answers Alaric. "It is as you say - they are dinosaurs, the mightiest creatures for miles in any direction, dangerous and untamable. The lizardfolk must have suffered great losses in chasing them off. As to what kind of dinosaur, none of our tribe have seen them and lived to tell the tale."

Mother Bogwynne nods her head sadly. "It would take far too long to tell you all the possible dangers you might face," she replies to Telka's inquiry. "Since you say you are worthy of carrying our tribe's treasured weapon, we assume you are quite capable of handling yourselves out there... and if not, then it was simply not meant to be. Perhaps the others will prove capable - a small group of explorers Gwelli brought back from a recent trade expedition, since you are so curious. They too seemed eager to help us with our problem."

"Eager enough to have a few hours' head start," Diblop chimes in. "These new strangers will have to move swiftly if they want to prove their worth!" She chuckles at her own joke.

What do you do?

"Can you tell us more of these 'others' you mention? How many were they? What did they look like? Did they say anything unusual?"

Mother Bogwynne shakes her head again. "They looked like you folks - except they left quickly. And while I found it unusual that they offered to help, who am I to turn down good fortune when it comes a-calling?" She glances meaningfully at Jethro. "You all best hurry, or they'll be back before you've left."

Since there's not much else the elders can tell you, we're moving on!

The Pathfinders bid the gripplis of Krihirik farewell and set out for Deepblood Ravine. On the way there, they have time to discuss what they might already know of the place and make preparations for the journey.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

The Kaava Lands teem with wildlife, from squawking birds and stinging insects to humongous trees that create a dense canopy above. Vines, roots, and large-leaved plants cover much of the ground. The gripplis’ directions lead northwest through the dark, virtually trackless terrain. The myriad sounds of the jungle grow louder, and the undergrowth grows thicker, as the Krihirik village vanishes into the distance.

Everyone needs to make a Survival check to determine how long the journey takes.

What do you do?

Knowledge (Geography), Diviner's Fortune: 1d20 + 9 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 9 + 1 = 13

Knowledge (Local), Diviner's Fortune: 1d20 + 9 + 1 ⇒ (8) + 9 + 1 = 18

Survival, Diviner's Fortune: 1d20 + 2 + 1 ⇒ (17) + 2 + 1 = 20

Bardic knowledge (Geography): 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 1 = 6

"There might be mountains...I think?"

Survival: 1d20 ⇒ 10

Knowledge Geography: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (20) + 4 = 24

"Not so much, the ravine goes down instead of up." Shaking his head, Banon adds "The lizardfolk got run out of their territory by the dinosaurs. Predators, of course, so we better watch out."

Survival: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (12) + 8 = 20

Telka happily chats away on their trip about where he has been and asks everyone else about their travels. Sadly he has little formal knowledge of such issues.

He is however an excellent guide and will happily help out finding our way through the jungle.

Survival: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (6) + 13 = 19

Is it hot enough to require endure elements?

@Telka - There is enough shade here to not require endure elements. It's also enough shade to bring the light level down to dim lighting.

Despite not being a "outdoorsy" person, Jethro points out a trail through the dense overgrowth that seems to lead straight to the ravine. Banon, Thran, and Telka help the wizard get his bearing back as he leads the way, and at the crossing of a small stream Banon notices another set of tracks, quite fresh, moving the same direction. Six distinct humanoid tracks are located, as well as a curious set of smaller tracks that seem to have been left by a barefoot humanoid missing two toes on the right foot.

About four miles from the Krihirik village, the terrain suddenly drops off into a deep ravine. The far side of the ravine is sixty feet away, and its craggy faces descend one hundred feet to the ravine floor below. The gap in the jungle allows a glimpse of the sky above, but the trees grow to the very edge of the ravine, and their dense canopy still blocks out much of the light. Several of the trees have massive, shaggy-barked trunks sporting countless twisting limbs. The trees’ strong roots grow deep into the earth and some even dangle over the side of the ravine.

Only way forward is down, folks.

What do you do?

Knowledge Nature: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (4) + 6 = 10

"Can't ever be easy. I've got rope for maybe two-thirds of that drop."

Bardic knowledge (Nature): 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (15) + 1 = 16

Thran takes out a rope from his backpack and then glances at Banon with a grin on his face he says

"...by our ropes combined, we are"
Thran then strikes a pose with his chest pumped up and his fists in his sides

"Long enough rope!"

Are we sure the only way is down? Can't we make a rope bridge to the other side? Telka can fly I think? so we should be able to get a rope to the other side and tie it down. Or is our destination down?

Telka looks down the ravine and then looks down at the heavy armour, pack and shield he is carrying.

Well, I dont think I can make it down there on my own. Fortunately Desna provides so I can get myself down with a fly spell. I'm afraid I dont think I can carry anyone else down, this gear is already pretty damn heavy. I do have some rope if you want to lash something together to climb down yourselves.

Looking at Shredder Thran addresses Alaric

"How's he at climbing a rope?"

"I do have a feather fall spell if you want to try to get him to jump down? Or we can try lowering him at the end of the rope?"

"Sounds like we want Telka to head down with as many as Thran can magic down, then the best climbers stay here and take the hard way down."

Telka looks over the group. If we can feather fall a bunch of people down that is probably the best idea. If I go down that way I could cast fly on someone better able to carry people up and down. Alaric might be able to take the form of something that flies or climbs perhaps...

"I can climb well enough without the rope, unless something attacks from the brush."

Knowledge (nature), diviner's fortune: 1d20 + 9 + 1 ⇒ (9) + 9 + 1 = 19

"Watch out for that monkey tree! It'll stink you up but good. It might be harder to climb down without using the tree, but we may need to do that."

He peers over the edge. "I'm not much of a climber myself, but I can cast feather fall if need be, or twice if I really have to using my ring."

Thran does a quick count using most of his fingers while mumbling

"Shredder, Alaric, Banon, Tere, me and Jethro..Telka can fly himself. I have enough magical power for..what, 4 of us..so that's 5-4 ..carry the one..."

It's one target per lvl for 1 round per level. We decend 60ft per round so it takes us 2 rounds to get there so I can get 4 of us down..and then we just hope there isn't an anti magic field half way down, or something flying attacks us while he float down ;)

Or Alaric changes into something big like a horse and Telka casts fly on him and we just ride him down one (or 2) at a time for a couple of lifts

Good plan. Jethro is only level 2, so he can only take 2 targets for 2 rounds, but still that should be sufficient.

Jethro nods in assent. If no one objects, Jethro will grab one of his comrades by the hand, and then jump off the side of the ravine (assuming it's a straight path down?) and then cast feather fall.

It sounds like we have a plan then. Thran, Jethro, Telka - please verify that you are using the spells mentioned perviously before we continue. An alternative would be for Jethro to use his Arcane Bond to cast a second time. Or perhaps someone has a pearl of power?

Jethro and Thran look over the edge of the cliff and feel fairly confident in their ability to descend with the use of magic. But with six Pathfinders and a dinosaur, the two of them realize they can't affect everyone at once.

What do you do?

Confirmed for Jethro - casting Feather Fall (CL 2), which will get himself and one other Medium creature down 120 feet over 2 rounds. No pearls of power for me.

I can also Arcane Bond to cast FF a second time if need be

Thran casts feather fall on the party following whom ever is brave enough to go first over the side of the cliff.

I still have the pearl of power I bought the previous adventure to take care of the endure elements..which we didn't need to use this time around, so it's still available. I'll use it to save Jethro's spell since I can get 4*2 people down

Having made their way safely into the ravine thanks to Thran's magic, the Pathfinders continue to the northwest. Fallen trees, rocky streams, hanging vines, and other obstacles litter the ravine floor, making travel through this area just as difficult despite the sparser foliage. After several hundred feet, the terrain gives way to a natural trail running through the middle of the ravine. In most places the trail is a mere five feet wide, though it widens to fifteen or even twenty feet in some areas. The ravine walls and the distant canopy still block out most of the natural light along the path.

Where the path narrows again, a humanoid corpse - one hand stuck in its vest as though desperately trying to reach for something - lies sprawled in the dirt next to a thick, thorny plant. Countless biting ants swarm over the corpse, making its features difficult to discern. As the Pathfinders approach, the swarms begin moving with increased agitation that subsides as the Pathfinders retreat.

Maps updated!

We're not in initiative yet - unless you want to be. But approaching or trying to walk around the swarms will trigger combat. You could try waiting for the ants to calm down enough to walk around, clear them out with aggressive action, or something else.

What do you do?

Bards can't use pearls of power... they only work on memorized spells. There is no core option for that
kn:nature: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (6) + 11 = 17

"These ants seem to be a quite nasty variety. Either we're going to have to clear them out with fire, or we'll want to wait them out." says Alaric. "They'll act as a swarm, and our weapons will be useless, and their poison will drain our strength."

"I have a flask of alchemists' fire, but only one. How long do you think it will take them to settle down? Or is there a way that we can lure them away from the body?"

Telka looks over the swarm. That looks like it could be real trouble. I have some acid and alchemist fire. I could cast Fly on someone if they can ferry the rest of us around these things.

Jethro looks at the swarm doubtfully. "I can cast burning hands on them, but if that isn't sufficient to take them out then I'm not sure what else I'll be able to do. I do have a flask of acid as well, and I could always use my ring to cast burning hands a second time."

Jethro's burning hands will only do 2d4 due to only CL2

"I think if I position myself in the right spot I might be able to get all the ants with my fire." @GM, are the green squares difficult terrain?

"Telka, that body may have important information about the other group that is helping the grippli. Jethro, you shouldn't get that close to them. They will probably attack you if you try to approach. Shredder can move rapidly--maybe he can lure them away."

@Alaric - Oops, thanks for catching that regarding bards and pearls of power. So Jethro could have used the pearl to cast feather fall twice and Thran once to collect all 7 party members.

@Jethro - green squares are indeed difficult terrain - well, difficult for you. Not so much for the swarms unfortunately.

The ants roil around like agitated puddles of treacle as the Pathfinders discuss their options.

How about everyone includes a vote for action in their next post? Most votes moves the party.

What do you do?

Telka looks over at the corpse, Well, it might well have useful information on it but there isnt much I can do against swarms. I might be able to stun it with a sound burst but that is about it.

He looks over to Alaric. If you think Shredder can lure it away that might be better. If someone has a spare pearl of power I can cast longstrider on him if you havent.

My vote is for luring them away if possible

Does Alaric think lurking away would work??

”Shredder is already pretty fast. Raptors need speed to catch their prey, and he has plenty of it. ” He looks over to see Shredder nosing at Tere’s backpack. ”Ueually their prey isn’t jerky in an elf’s rucksack. ”

The elf gives Alaric a guilty half-smile.

Another vote for luring, if the druid thinks it will work.

From what Alaric has heard about swarms of ants, he feels fairly confident that the mindless creatures will move to envelope as many creatures as possible, starting with the closest ones. He also feels fairly confident that he has not taught Shredder to lure creatures away from the rest of the party.

Sounds like the vote is for luring. If Alaric wants Shredder to go on his lonesome, he'll need to Push the dinosaur (Handle Animal DC 25) as a move action. If Shredder is wounded by the swarm, he'll require another Push (with a -2 penalty) to keep luring the swarm away rather than stop and try to fight them off or run away completely. Once the lure is put into action, we'll treat it as a surprise round and enter initiative.

What do you do?

I think it might be better for Alaric to do the luring while we all back away. You could perhaps take some flying form to help you avod them? I might also be able to do it with a fly spell perhaps if Alaric wants to avoid it. There isnt much I can do to a swarm anyway.

Thran waits to see if the plan will work and mentally runs through the steps needed to create a sonic boom in an area if it turns to that.

"How fast can these ants move, and what will stop them from chasing someone?"

"I was thinking something similar, Telka. I could take deinonychus form myself. As such, I move as fast as Shredder." replies Alaric. "Plus. I hope I am a little more clever than my little buddy here.

"Shredder, leave Tere's pack alone! Honestly, dinosaur, what has gotten into you?"

He thinks for a moment. "If someone can help me out of my armor, I can be even faster. It won't help me in an animal form, anyways. At least not yet. But, I could use a casting of mage armor, just in case.

"Shredder, defend Tere!"

He then turns to Tere. "Tere, please don't feed him while I am gone... he is starting to get a little round around the belly."

Assuming there is time, while we observe the ants, Alaric will remove his breastplate, and have Jetho use Alaric's wand on him. He'll then cast barkskin on himself as well, and wildshape into the dino form. It will take 5 rounds to get my armor off, one to cast barkskin, and one to change shape.

Noted that Jethro has used his feather fall (as well as someone's pearl of power to cast it a second time.

Jethro watches the arrangements somewhat doubtfully. He dutifully casts Mage Armor using Alaric's wand, but he also prepares to cast burning hands if it becomes necessary, and he offers his flask of acid if someone can use it. He also whispers, "From the pose of that corpse over there, I wonder if it has anything that might be useful against these ants? It looks as though he was reaching for something before he died. If so, perhaps someone should run over there and check once Alaric lures the ants away..."

If it turns out that we aren't able to lure the ants away, Jethro will try to target the cone of burning hands in such a way that he hits both swarms with it.

Excellent. With Alaric's speed (and ability to ignore the difficult terrain here) and intellect, he can stay just out of reach of the swarms. No need to roll initiative.

Preparations complete, the dinosaur-shaped druid screeches a challenge and charges through the ants. As the mass of insects roils and seethes like an angry sea in their pursuit of the invader, Alaric is able to deftly draw the swarms further and further away from his companions and the corpse the ants were feeding on.

Moving quickly, the rest of the Pathfinders find that while the body has swollen beyond recognition from the ants' bites, the corpse's weapons are still in good shape. After grabbing what they can quickly, the Pathfinders hurry further down the ravine and wait for Alaric to lose his millions of pursuers.

Upon closer examination of their findings, the Pathfinders discover they have retrieved a rapier, a masterwork composite longbow, a potion of invisibility, a potion of cure moderate wounds, two oils of magic weapon, two sleep arrows, two flasks of alchemist's fire, and a rope of climbing. Additionally, the corpse's beltpurse held a crumpled note that seems to have survived the ants' assault.

Handouts updated!

After about half a minute of pursuit, the ants disburse back into the jungle and Alaric rejoins his companions as they move ahead. The floor of the ravine slopes downward slightly and the foliage overhead gradually thins. To the north, the wall of the ravine looks to be heavily eroded - creating a (relatively) shallow slope out of the gorge that leads away from the Krihirik village.

As the ravine widens, numerous boulders scattered throughout the area attest to steady erosion. Some of the boulders bear strange carvings and are even hewn into rough pillars, but they jut at odd angles out from the landscape and don’t seem to be a part of any surviving structure. Nestled in the shadow of two such pillars is a shallow pit scraped out of the earth by some massive creature’s claws. The nest contains several branches, the half-eaten body of a leather-clad humanoid, several broken shells, and a several large, intact eggs. In the trampled foliage near the nest lies the corpse of a massive, bipedal dinosaur, its tooth-lined maw agape and its hide pierced with dozens of crude javelins.

Technically there's an option here for stealth, but unfortunately Telka is unlikely to be very sneaky in his full-plate so I'm heading straight for initiative to keep things moving.

As the Pathfinders enter the clearing, they find they are not alone! Several reptilian creatures look up from their feast of eggs, hissing angrily and reaching for stone weapons.

Map updated!

Round 1! Bold may act!
Telka
Red
Blue
Yellow
Green
Jethro
Thran
Tere
Banon
Alaric (Barkskin, Mage Armor, Wildshaped)
Shredder

What do you do?

Since there was time, and I cannot fail the survival check, I would cast Greater Magic Fang on myself and Shredder, and barkskin on him. AT worst, the two Dino’s. Alaric and Shredder, I’ve twice as fast as the party

Survival: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (1) + 12 = 13

Telka cannot fail the survival check

Oh my, I hope we dont meet whatever made these...

Seeing multiple enemies Telka casts a spell and then jogs forward to present a tempting target for them to attack.

Casting shield of faith on myself and moving forward 40'

@Alaric - that sounds fine. How many greater magic fangs do you have prepped?

The lizardfolk are happy to take Telka up on his offer, roaring in rage and racing toward him with unexpected speed. One hurls a javelin while the other three swing their morningstars...

Green Javelin vs AC 26: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (6) + 4 = 10
Piercing damage: 1d6 + 5 ⇒ (6) + 5 = 11

Red Morningstar, PA vs AC 26: 1d20 + 8 - 1 ⇒ (1) + 8 - 1 = 8
Bludgeoning, Piercing damage, PA: 1d8 + 7 + 3 ⇒ (1) + 7 + 3 = 11

Blue Morningstar, PA vs AC 26: 1d20 + 8 - 1 ⇒ (7) + 8 - 1 = 14
Bludgeoning, Piercing damage, PA: 1d8 + 7 + 3 ⇒ (2) + 7 + 3 = 12

Yellow Morningstar, PA vs AC 26: 1d20 + 8 - 1 ⇒ (20) + 8 - 1 = 27
Bludgeoning, Piercing damage, PA: 1d8 + 7 + 3 ⇒ (8) + 7 + 3 = 18
Crit Confirmation: 1d20 + 8 - 1 ⇒ (5) + 8 - 1 = 12
Crit damage: 1d8 + 7 + 3 ⇒ (1) + 7 + 3 = 11

...and while most of the attacks simply bounce off the dwarf's sturdy armor, the last lizardfolk (perhaps in a sudden fit of cunning) aims for Telka's head. The blow connects solidly, but the lizardfolk overextends himself and can't take full advantage of the blow.

Round 1, 2! Bold may act!
Telka (-18)
Red
Blue
Yellow
Green
Jethro
Thran
Tere
Banon
Alaric
Shredder

What do you do?

"They might have started this! But we will finish them!"

Thran proclaims as he draws his long spear

Starting inspire courage

Tere advances cautiously, blade ready.

I can't edit the map from my phone. Single move up, ending on the top row of the path. Holding an attack, which I'll roll now.

Curve blade attack, including inspiration: 1d20 + 9 + 1 ⇒ (10) + 9 + 1 = 20
Damage, if applicable, including inspiration: 1d10 + 4 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 4 + 1 = 10

Jethro draws his wand of magic missile and sends a bolt of force at Yellow.

Magic Missile: 1d4 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 1 = 5

Ow, that bloody well hurt mutters Telka.

He takes a step back and casts another spell. A loud booming sound reverberates around the clearing.

Casting sound burst, it hits all four enemies dealing 1d8 ⇒ 8 sonic damage and forces a DC18 fortitude save or be stunned for 1 round.

Banon moves up to keep pace with Tere, turning his blade to block any incoming spears.

Move and Total Defense.