[PFS2_Luke_Parry] 2-06: The Crashing Wave (Inactive)

Game Master Luke_Parry

I'll tell you why I found this (the handling of the university encounter) amusing, afterwards ;-)

Alright, so, the 'wrinkle' for the University encounter was that someone is 'supposed' to overhear your conversation, and beg you to take them with you...

...the wrinkle being that it is a 12', 1500 lbs Stone Giant (who has no loot to offer). Getting him through customs would have been... interesting...

However, because Adalan used Message, he *couldn't* overhear the conversation!

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You receive full gold / full reward.

I'll get chronicles prepared and sent out this evening (local time).

Wowsa, that was a bit stressful!

Now that we are done I went back and took a look at the 'secret check' on those forged documents. Yeah I can see why they didn't find a reason for a shakedown, lol.

Thanks for running another interesting scenario!

Thank you for runnin! Level 5 Dran'Thor arrives!

No dramas :-)

For those of you wondering why you finished 'early', chalk it up to intelligent planning on your part, and good rolls - for example, sorting out Themolin could have taken three days (Day 1: See Receptionist; without a critical success, she can only get you an appointment the following day. Day 2: See Themolin; without magical discussion / good rolling, he won't agree to a private meeting until the following day. Day 3: Go to the warehouse...)!

Message was definitely 'Most Valuable Spell' of the session :-)

Level 5 Mara also arrives! There was a lot going on this level, so hopefully I did everything correctly.

Also FYI, I am attending a weekend getaway with my sister. Through Tuesday I may get some posts in via my phone, but please bot me as needed.

Thanks for running. I really enjoyed the scenario's intrigue, and such a humble cantrip proving so useful is certainly nice to see. The next one looks quite interesting as well.

Alright, chronicle links have now been PM'ed out.

As always, please download them sooner rather than later, as I periodically 'clear' my google drive.

Additionally, please post updated reporting details for the next scenario (for which I believe Thorax will be rejoining the party).

PLAYER: J.G.
CHARACTER: Dran'Thor
PFS ID#: 212081-2001
STARTING XP: 54
STARTING FAME: 44
STARTING GP: 383.57 gp

Downtime after 1-12, 8 days, Crafting, Specialty Stonemasonry feat, lvl 2 DC 16: 1d20 + 10 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 10 + 1 = 12

Downtime after 1-00, 8 days, Crafting, Specialty Stonemasonry feat, lvl 3 DC 17: 1d20 + 10 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 10 + 1 = 15

BOONS:
Faction Boon: Verdant Wheel
Advanced Boon (or others but not faction Boon): Naturalist
Generic Boon: Secrets of the Jistkan Alchemists
Generic Boon: Touched by the storm
Generic Boon: Tarnbreaker's champion
Slotless: Engraved wayfinder
Slotless: Beginnings and Endings
Slotless: One-Who-Waits
Slotless: Ally of Iruxi

Out for this one: Experienced Mountaineer

Free Schools items: Scroll of Haste

With Tiger (Bonded animal)

Still looking to buy something with gold and/or fame. So changes can occur.

PLAYER: Ever_Anon
CHARACTER: Mara Spintho
PFS ID#: 2364939-2001
STARTING XP: 50
STARTING FAME: 36
STARTING GP: 128gp, 5sp, 6cp

BOONS
Faction: Improved Envoys’ Alliance Champion
Advanced: Touched by the Storm
Generic: Skillful Mentor (slotted for free)
Generic: Experienced Mountaineer
Generic: Valais's Assurance
Generic: Sand Slide

Purchases:
Buying: Low-Grade Silver Shortsword (-40gp)
Selling: Shortsword (+4sp, 5cp)

Earn Income roll for 1-13: Library Lore DC18: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (16) + 10 = 26

Success so Mara earns 60sp.

Note: As my level 5 ancestry feat I took Clever Improviser. I get to add half my level as a proficiency bonus and can use trained skill actions even for untrained skills.

I also upped Medicine to Expert, so I can use Assurance with it and always hit the DC20 which increases the hit points regained by 10. My skill feat for this level is Continual Recovery, so patients I Treat Wounds on are only immune for 10 minutes, not an hour. Mara is a healing machine!

1-13: Devil at the Crossroads

PLAYER: Pete H.
CHARACTER: Bair Mann
PFS ID#: 123584-2001
STARTING XP: 45 (lvl 4)
STARTING FAME: 29

Items Purchased: +1 Armor Potency Rune for 160g (from 1-04 chronicle)
STARTING GP after purchases: 6g 3s 32c

BOONS:

Question, how does Expert Assurance at lvl 5 hit a 20? 4 from expert and 5 from lvl 5 and 10 is only 19?

+1 Wisdom makes it 20.

You don't get to add ability scores to assurance, it sucks sometimes but isn't the most powerful feat.

PLAYER: The Sesquipedalian Thaumaturge
CHARACTER: Adalan Mussara
PFS #: 270872-2001
STARTING XP: 46
STARTING FAME: 24
Purchases: 8 gp of spell scribing materials
STARTING GP after purchases: 127.06

DC 15 Arcana +guidance to learn true strike: 1d20 + 13 + 1 ⇒ (14) + 13 + 1 = 28

DC 18 Arcana +guidance to learn flaming sphere: 1d20 + 13 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 13 + 1 = 19

Earn Income DC 16 (Academia Lore): 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (11) + 10 = 21
3sp x 8 = 24 sp

BOONS:
Faction: Improved Vigilant Seal Champion
Vigilant Seal Bonus: Resist Corruption
Advanced: Adversary Lore (fiend)
General: Sand Slide (3 uses)
General: Wayfinder
General: Adamant Wayfinder
Slotless: Engraved Wayfinder
Slotless: One-Who-Waits
Slotless: Ally of the Iruxi

Scenario Consumables: scroll of invisibility and minor healing potion

Signing in for #1-13: Devil At The Crossroads (Regular Speed):

PLAYER: Nefreet
CHARACTER: Thorax Toothlicker
PFS ID#: 66548-2001
STARTING XP: 55
STARTING FAME: 35
STARTING GP: 197gp, 9sp
BOONS:

Player: RePete
Character Name: Deshacerla
PFS #: 126566-201
Faction: Vigilant Seal
XP: 46 (level 4)
Funds: 344g 97s

Downtime: Diplomacy(Trained): 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (6) + 10 = 16 <--Success

Faction - Improved Vigilant Seal w/ Resist Corruption (lvl 2 Rep)
General - Experienced Mountaineer
General - Touched by the Storm
General - Traveler of the Spirit Road
Slotless - Engraved Wayfinder
Slotless - One-Who-Waits
Slotless - Ally of the Iruxi

Free School Items: Scroll See Invisibility, Scroll Restoration

Interestingly, As per Death and Dying, only PCs and Companion Animals benefit from the 'Dying' rules... and Bonded Animals are explicitly *not* Companions... which means they just die at 0 hit points (like most other NPCs).

I'll hand-waive it for this combat, since I was unaware of it as well, but it will be enforced moving forward (unless someone can point me to a clarification that I have missed?).

I think you don't have missed anything. As it was said it was unconscious I wanted to stabilize. So I take it as favor until next fight. Thank you.

Thorax/Hannah: Am I correct that Hannah with her Reach weapon can attack adjacent and with her reach weapon? Thus with her ability to use AoO's she can really mess up certain opponents by moving next to them which would force them to step 2x away instead of 1x away if they want to do something that would provoke (like cast a spell)?

Yesss!!

And likewise, I gave her Lunge, so she can safely attack creatures with superior reach.

While we wait for dwarf to finish off the ghost in that room, I'm assuming that our next scenario will have to be mostly or all lower level PC's?

If so, what is everyone planning to make or bring? I've got a level 1 alchemist with 5 XP that I'm thinking of trying out.

Sorry :-/

As written, the haunt specifically isolates one PC from the party...

This section would be easier to run face to face :-(

what is everyone planning to make or bring? I've got a level 1 alchemist with 5 XP that I'm thinking of trying out.

3rd Level Hannah will be there to tank!

Sort of like how we originally started with Thorax at 3rd Level...

I have a level 2 fighter/sorcerer I could use, though I was also considering making a new cleric.

I think I'm going to make a gnome bard.

Play whatever you want - everything has its own merits, after all :-)

Back to the Gameplay thread, now that everyone is 'together' again, I am just waiting for an indication of the direction you wish to take ;-)

I could play my goblin sorcerer-rogue lvl 2 in such a party.

@Luke: was it possible to die in the bathroom with some worse dice rolls ?

I have a ranger level 1 I could bring, but I could make something new as well. So many options! lol.

Sounds like melee is handled fairly well in the group for next characters. Has lost omens been added into the society legal stuff yet?

@Dran'Thor: It was absolutely possible to die in the bathroom - either to the snakes, or the haunt. Not especially statistically likely, mind you, but certainly possible if it had, say, been Adalan or Deshacerla...

@Deshacerla: Lost Omens has been added - you need to check the Paizo Blog which is the interim additional resources...

Anyone else have really messed up achievement points showing on the Paizo scenarios played section? It appears I'm getting 4 for every session, regardless if quest (1) or scenario (4). I also only got 1 for the scenario I GM'd recently, but I've submitted a request to get that fixed (should be 8).

Technically, this is benefiting me nicely but... I expect it will get retconned after I use the points (whenever the system is created) and then really mess stuff up.

Mmhh I also see that I've got only 1 for two scenarios I GM'd.

@Luke: and me who thought during the whole time "No I can't die here anyway. There will be something the help me." I got courage like this :)

They're presumably trying to finalize the AcP system in the next couple weeks. I expect it to be glitchy until then.

Question about downtime and such. It hasn't been really important to Bair, but my next PC will be crafting stuff so I'm making sure I do it right.

Downtime occurs after an adventure, but assuming they level up from an adventure does the downtime occur after they level or before?

You would think after (and for most of my PFS1 experience I assumed as much), but I asked in the PFS Forum regarding PF2 and was told it happens before.

Okay, that's fine. It works out easier that way actually. Thanks!

Personally, I feel this fight is a little unfair (especially with Bair having run off!), so I haven't been using optimal tactics (i.e. making Stealth checks to Hide every round), given that the GM instructions don't explicitly *tell me* to be optimal like that, and Poltergeists are not particularly intelligent foes, which gives me a little wiggle room, as the GM ;-)

Thank you!

Posting to all my games: My grandmother died Sunday and I'm not in a great headspace for posting. Plus I have to travel home for the funeral, help with arrangements, that sort of thing.

I'll try to get a few posts in, particularly if my character needs to do something in order for the party to move forward, but probably won't manage much in the way of RP or helping with decision-making for the rest of the week. Please bot as needed. I hope to be back in form by next Monday.

Oh, condolences. I wish our words could do you feel better.

Understood. Take all the time you need.

Dang, if I knew there were so many climbing combats in PFS2 I would have been smarter about stuff earlier. But as is, Bair will soon (after the next full session) be retraining his lvl 2 skill feat to give him combat climber so he can climb while holding a weapon and not be so disadvantaged in these fights.

Otherwise I can cast Spider climb on you.

A nice spell and would negate most of the need for a roll, but still requires both hands to climb. The feat really isn't about the climbing but more about fighting while climbing. It allows a hand free which is really valuable in this game for not having to sink lots of actions into putting away and getting out weapons.

But that spell will be incredibly useful this combat once the melee is free to go get to the devil.

Sorry Adalan - look a lot of mid-tier and higher outsiders, it has constant True Seeing (6th level) running :-/

Oh, no worries. Occupational hazard of being an illusionist. That is a rather concerning hint at its potential strength though.

We always seem to play "up", so that's par for our course =/

Technically, you are 'stronger' than the minimum required for 'high' tier.

3+3+3+4+4+4 = 21 CP.

Honestly, though, all the 'extra' adjustment was simply adding the zombies; the Ascendant Amalgam stays the same.

There is what I can only assume to be a reason for that, which I will share with you after the combat, if it doesn't become obvious.

That Acid Arrow has certainly been MVS thus far this combat :-)

I am sorry that this scenario has been a bit of a weird one; I honestly believe it would do better in IRL.

That said, we are almost at the end - I encourage people to have whatever PC they wish to use for the next scenario (which will be a 1-4) ready :-)