[PFS] GM MattMorris The Shattered Shield (Inactive)

Game Master ChesterCopperpot

Barrabas, do you know how to open this?

Do you know something about Robb? He hasn't post from the 8th of July. And he found a will we can show to Abeesa. In fact Bask has shown it to her already on monday.

Robb is just busy with RL stuff, no worries. I'll try to move on from the will later today. I'm at Gen Con this weekend, so updates might be a little sporadic! Thanks for being patient.

Have a great Gen Con ! Enjoy it and till later.

let me take a look. Barrabas takes out a set of tools and looks at the locking mechanism.

disable device: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (8) + 6 = 14

tricky one, this

Sorry for the delay! Gen Con was fun, but busier for me than I thought.

Seeing the will presented by Bask, Abeesa gasps! She quickly scans the document's contents, realizing its importance. "Where did you find this? Are you sure it is genuine?"

-----Meanwhile-----
Barrabas and Waze study the safe. It's lock proves tricky for the alchemist to open.

Do you want to spend more time here, or do you want to move on to C?

Do you think you can open it with more time ahead? asks the wizard to Barrabas.

I think we have another try, but that's up to Barrabas

"It was hidden in a painting in the Mendalari Estate, we only found it because there was a fire and while we were evacuating the painting was damaged and the letter was visible."

He thinks for a second, not sure what to do with his right hand that usually rests on Salim.

I'm guessing Salim was not admitted into the museum? He knows the stay trick so he could be scaring people in a cloakroom

He describes the painting to her, as best as he's able with the damage to it and the distracting fire.

"Does that sound like your favourite painting? Do you know if Mendalari bought it? As to its authenticity, I am no expert I'm afraid, though one of my friends might be able to help."

"That was my favorite painting until my ingrate of a brother sold it to Inusi Mendalari to spite me! Speaking of which..."

The woman turns toward her brother, who is unabashedly scratching his armpit while peering at a stuffed bear.

"Abbashin, you selfish twit! Time to get yourself a job and a new place to stay--I'll be dumping your things in the dung heap if you don't remove them from my estate in the next 30 minutes!"

Brandishing the will in her brother's face, Abessa cackles with glee. Abbashin's jaw drops open as his sister continues, "Come on, you dope! You no longer have any money to spend at this auction, and I won't be letting you touch any of mine, of course."

As she turns to leave, trailed by her dumbstruck brother, Abeesa slips you a banker's note for 2,000 gp! "For your trouble, " she says.

Let me try that again, I think I'm close. Barrabas approaches the lock with another set of pry pins.

disable device: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (11) + 6 = 17

Barrabas manages to open the safe. Inside is a gruesome sight: A dismembered body!

The safe is full of a dismembered body, and its separated parts. It...doesn't seem to be anyone you know.

Barrabas stands up quickly from the sight. Jeez. That's not what I was expecting. Who the hell's office is this?

That's a good question. Who may have a good answer?

The wizard tries to watch on the office's door in case a name is inscribed over there.

A plaque on the door says "Aya Ajiri."

Well that's Aya or she keeps weird stuff in her safe. Either way, there's a murderer on the loose. Barrabas inspects around the safe for anything he can pick up a scent from to find the killer.

Well, that's fine. A murderer in action before the auction. What will it be after the auction? Or will the auction still take place?

The Pathfinders could call the Pure Legion. Sure this institution will have something to tell because of the dismembered body.

By the way, is it a male or a female who is so dismembered?

But is it the best solution, to call the Pure Legion? Not sure. And Barrabas is already on the track.

It's a female body. Barrabas, you smell a faint odor of decay. It's not enough to identify the smell outright, but you will recognize it if you smell it again.

I've got something, although it is feint. Let's keep moving. Barrabas moves down the hall.

survival: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (11) + 1 = 12

Waze follows the alchemist with a hand on the cross of his gun.

"I will keep you company."

Benedict starts to doze as the gnome continues to talk . . .

Barabbas and Waze are about to enter the last area, the door opens and a guard calls into the hallway, "It is time."

Breaking off his conversation with you, the gnome joins Madame Adenalar and heads toward the entrance to Area B.

This long and narrow room features a podium at the far end. Two columns of oak chairs with satin pillows cushioning the seats line the northern and southern walls.

As you enter, a guard hands you a program with a list of available items and their starting bids.

1) Bracers of divine range 2,500 gp
2) Clockwork statue of Brigh 1,000 gp
3) Phylactery of faithfulness 500 gp
4) Kelksiomedes’s grape trellis 2,500 gp
5) Staff of healing, minor 4,400 gp
6) Eldas’s platinum drafting tools 1,500 gp
7) Incense of meditation 1,650 gp
8) Golden statue of Ra 5,000 gp
9) Shard of the Shattered Shield of Arnisant 5,000 gp

Please put yourselves where you would be on the map.

Sorry but how much money did we manage to get for this event? :)

The wayang enters and take a site near a door. He pays attention to all noises or movement. There is a murderer in the Museum. Perhaps in the room...

Bask looks grim on hearing the news of the body, his instinct to alert the authorities warring with his holy mission. If there's a chance to talk privately with the group before going in he will share his thoughts.

"We must find a way to alert the authorities about this when our business is concluded. For now we must obtain the shield, but Desna has frowned upon us and it is last on the docket."

"We could try to increase the price of some of the other items so our competitors use their funds before the end, but it is risky. Perhaps someone with a good eye for valuable relics could sit at the front and indicate if an item looks worthy of retaining, while others watch the crowd to judge their interest?"

He will then propose a few gestures for covert message passing, such as scratching his nose etc.

His ideas are pretty obvious though, perhaps someone who's better at bluffing will be able to improve them

The wizard precises: The goal is to secured as much artifacts as possible. So they doesn't fail in bad hands.

Barrabas is reading what Bask is saying, Yes, to dry out the competition might be a good tactic. We should try reading the crowd to see if there are any tells for what they are interested in.

Barrabas reaches in his bag for the extract he prepared earlier.

Heightened Awareness for 10 minutes. Perception +9, Sense Motive +1, Bluff +3. Appraise +2. Know Local +5 if that helps determine value.

"We should also think about what we can sneak out of town past the guards. Apart from the shield we should focus on smaller items, all things being equal."

A young woman walks out the back door of the room, followed by a guard laden with items. After depositing them on the front podium, the guard exits through the other door and joins his fellow outside the auction room.

In a clear voice, the woman announces:
"The first item for bid is a set of bracers of divine range. Handy for any divine spellcaster! The bidding will begin at 2,500 gp."

No one speaks up immediately to bid.

You have 14,000 in bank notes. The 10,000 that V-C Obo gave you, plus 4,000 from the bidders who have left.

Yes, Robb. I think especially on the Phylactery of faithfulness 500 gp. That can be ours. These bracers could be also be ours.

Barrabas looks around for authorities of any kind: security, the manager, or whatever. He gives a low whisper to the party members closest, That's the lady in the safe.

Bask passes the message along to Benedict, and leans in to whisper back.

"She might have stolen the shield, or replaced it with a replica. Or she might have poisoned these relics. I think we should confront her and call the guards, we can't risk her escaping".

Neither of the other attendees seem interested in bidding on this item.

To the others: We should bid these bracers. We can act later for the lady.

If nobody says something else, Waze bid for the object.

Waze, check out Discussion where we're figuring out our strategy for what to bid on. These bracers are a touch expensive for our plan.

"Do I hear a bid?"

Can I get two people agreeing on a pass? Sorry, auction stuff is a little tedious on PBP.

Barrabas shakes his head for 'no bid'.

Robb keeps his arms crossed.

I'll base this on the numbers you have put together. Thanks for gathering it, Jahz!

The auction goes on apace. The auctioneer seems unwilling to lower prices below their starting bid, counting on the rarity of such religious items to maintain their value within Rahadoum.

You are able to secure the items you bid on, except for the Eldas’s platinum drafting tools--the bidding on those goes up to 3,000.

Using the money you saved on that, though, you are able to secure the golden statue of Ra.

Objects acquired: Clockwork statue of Brigh, Phylactery of faithfulness, Incense of meditation, Golden statue of Ra

Finally, the auctioneer brings the last item up to bid: The Shard of the Shattered Shield of Arnisant.

NICE. Should we call for an inspection or verification in case it was messed with?

Thanks, GM - that sped things along quite nicely!

”Madam Auctioner, can you tell us more about the history of this shard and how it can to be here instead of with the rest?” Jahz asks with an innocent smile.

I mean, the Society thinks it’s a fake already. If we get the shard without (much) fuss, we can examine it at our leisure once we’re outside the country.

"I'm sure you are aware of the Sacred Cobra Auction House's reputation for providing authentic artifacts, or you would not be here. All of our artifacts have been independently authenticated."

She doesn't seem willing to let you check it out beforehand.

Asking to the others loudly enough to be heard by what replace the dead woman: Do you think I should cast a detect magic?

The wizard is on his guard saying this.

Is the shard brought out for bidders to see, or is it more like we're expected to wait to receive it on winning the auction? I'd suggest waiting on a detect magic as casting spells might trigger some kind of security

Bask's hand tightens on the hilt of his scimitar as the shard comes up. His eyes meet those of his pathfinder allies as he prepares to stand and confront this shape-shifting murderess.

Should we go through with bidding and try to obtain this one, or make a fuss now? I'm assuming this conversation will take place in the form of nods or shakes of the head while looking at Bask

The shard is sitting on a pedestal at the front of the room.

Let's go through with the bidding. If it comes to violence we can always loot the money back off any corpses we make.

ok

"If all questions are answered, it looks like we are ready for the main event!"

With that, the auctioneer gives a sharp whistle. Immediately, you hear the sound of smashing glass above you. Shards of glass rain down from the ceiling, and a golden creature lands among it. The creature is shaped like a gargoyle, but it has a gold patina and blades for hands.

Reflex save from everyone, please!
piercing: 1d4 ⇒ 3
DC 14. On success, nothing happens. On failure, take 3 damage and you are blinded for 1 round.

~+~Combat Round 1~+~
Blue
Benedict
Robb
Waze
Bask
Barrabas
Jahz
Red

The auctioneer pulls out a potion from her robes, drinks it, and disappears.

reflex save: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (17) + 3 = 20

Barrabas is able to avoid the falling glass. He moves into the aisle and kicks at the creature with his hooves.

hoof 1: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (18) + 3 = 21
damage: 1d4 + 3 ⇒ (1) + 3 = 4

hoof 2: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (12) + 3 = 15
damage: 1d4 + 3 ⇒ (4) + 3 = 7

Gotta keep track of the auctioneer. Luckily I still have her scent.

Reflex vs DC 14: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (8) + 3 = 11

Wide-eyed Jahz is caught by surprise at this sudden turn of events. "To arms, comrades!" he yells as he rises to his feet, but the effect is slightly ruined by his incessant wiping of his eyes. "Protect those without weapons!" His own blade - and those of his companions - begin to shine like torches.

Beginning Weapon Song to give everyone's weapons a +1 enhancement bonus and move action to stand. I'm assuming the blinded condition hits before he could try to identify the creature, so I'll save his roll until next round.

Note to self, let the Skald go first in combat.

Reflex: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (19) + 7 = 26

Bask was so poised to attack his scimitar is out of his scabbard before the glass hits the floor and he uses it to shield his eyes.

He reflexively instructs Salim to attack before realising he was left outside, and angrily gives himself the aspect of the bull and attacks.

I'm not sure if Jahz is providing a flank while blinded, if so there'd be a +2 to attack

Scimitar bab+str+enh-PA: 1d20 + 1 + 4 + 1 - 1 ⇒ (19) + 1 + 4 + 1 - 1 = 24
Slashing: 1d6 + 6 + 3 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 6 + 3 + 1 = 11

Scimitar confirm: 1d20 + 1 + 4 + 1 - 1 ⇒ (17) + 1 + 4 + 1 - 1 = 22
Slashing: 1d6 + 6 + 3 + 1 ⇒ (6) + 6 + 3 + 1 = 16

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