GM Bret’s PbP Gameday VIII PF2 The Mosquito Witch (Inactive)

Game Master BretI

Taja enjoys her ale, and then turns in for the night.

"Well, that was an eventful first day in town!"

She doesn't sleep well, having dreams of a coach drawn by skeletal horses with a headless coachman at the reins. In pursuit is a hoard of zombie- mosquitoes.

Chug volunteers to help out Tasaria tending the patient. "I can provide a blessing of Cayden to him if needed."

Chug helps keep Tasaria awake as she tends to her patient. He also makes sure she never goes thirsty while doing the work!

In the morning, the man is still very weak but the disease seems to have abated. He is well enough that he can be left alone.

He does introduce himself.

“I am Andor Oronce, an accomplished monster hunter!” The claim would sound much more impressive if only he didn’t wheeze so much while making it. “I came to Shimmerford to rid it of the horror haunting it.”

About this time he has a coughing spasm. After it settles, he drinks some water.

Once he feels he can speak again, he begins relating what he remembers. His memories of coming into the town are clear. Something happened once he started exploring the woods. He has memories of terrifying red eyes staring out at him from the darkness. They pursued him, haunting him as he tried to find his way out of the woods.

He has no memories of the pond you found him at. You suspect given his description that he may have panicked and run, causing him to become lost in the woods.

"What time of day... or for that matter, what day of hte week did you enter the woods?" asks Teja.

"We found you late afternoon.."

After finding out what day it was, he thinks a moment and indicates he must have been out there two days. Since he isn’t sure, one of you checks with the inn keeper who confirms Andor had been lost out in the woods for about two days.

The inn keeper then mentions how the woman with the dog never returned last night.

"It sounds like we should be heading out again for a potential search and rescue."

Of the Inn Keeper, Tasaria asks, "Do you have any idea where they were headed?"

“I would guess to the northeast, they seemed interested in the half-elf who went that way. Might try talking to Tanner before you leave. I don’t know what happened, but it was after talking to them that Haru came asking about the half-elf.”

"The half elf?" asks Teja.

"Which half elf is that?"

“Female, wears golden armor and a red dress. Another of the monster hunters who came to help the town.”

Helène tries to stay cool as Andor tells his tale, but she finds that chills run down her spine as he describes the red eyes.

She begins to see a pattern forming, especially when the news comes in that Haru is missing. "Sorry lot of monsters hunters, that keep going after each other to get lost as well. Let's hope we fare better..." She dusts off her coat, eager to get going again. "Teja, do you think you could find Haru's tracks, and her dog's as well? Best thing to do seems to be to set out northeast, after them."

Tasaria readies her supplies, making sure they are all back in order, checks in on her patient one more time, and heads out with the others.

"Let's get a bite to eat and then I'll see." answers the half kellid woman. As she takes a draw of her morning ale, she spits out a mouthful. "Mosquito in it." she says apologetically.

Finding the man alive and returning him to town clearly did Max some good. That, plus some sleep have restored some of what seems to be his standard snarky cheer. (Clearly worried about the woman with the dog) Folk shouldn’t travel alone, though I confess my travels in groups of four or five tend to be quite dangerous as well. In any case, we should stick together. I agree with some breakfast and then off to follow this latest lead.

"Breakfast before heading out is always good," pipes in Chug as he spoons in more food.

Once done, Chug checks his gear before waiting at the door.

If you are ready to leave, someone should lead with a Survival check.

"OK, If you lot have finished lollygagging around, we should head out."

Survival: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (20) + 3 = 23

Teja tucks a roll into her pouch in case of later hunger, and then places her paper doll on her shoulder so it can enjoy the view.

"Lead on Tasaria. ... Oh I say, this is a much quicker route."

Nice rolling!

Aid Survival, if allowed: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (6) + 3 = 9 Nevermind.

Phineas flicks a few flyin' fools from forth his face, but is otherwise ready to depart.

Helène, invigorated by the night's rest, takes up her scouting position in the group, alternating between the front and the rear.

Tasaria leads the way back into the woods, trying to find any indication of where Haru and her dog may have gone. After about twenty minutes travel, she notices her compass begins to behave erratically. Thankfully she is alert and able to navigate without the compass.

After about ten more minutes travel, the group comes across a corpse in the woods. By now the compass has ceased to function. You notice strange, creepy runes inscribed on the trees and pieces of gear and scrapes of a red dress scattered around the area.

The gear consists of a short sword, a dagger, a lesser antidote, and a suit of gold-plated half-plate armor. There is also a vial with an inky black potion that seems oddly out of place, as it seems much older than the rest of the equipment.

Survival to find tracks
Occult to investigate the runes on the tree.
Arcana to Identify Magic on the potion.

Survival for Tracks: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (18) + 3 = 21 Phineas checks for the tracks.

Sorry, corpse, or copse? The first is a dead body, the second a group of trees.

"We had heard about compasses not working.." reminds Teja. "I wonder if that iron cave is nearby."

As the group comes in sight of the runes, the hairs stand up on the back of her neck. "That doesn't look good..."

occult, assurance: 10 + 6 = 16

"Red dress... and golden half plate. Who wears a dress under plate armour? And who would get undressed out here."

No corpse, but you are in a group of trees. Sorry for the confusion!

Phineas finds old, pointed tracks in the ground and scraps of cloth in nearby branches that suggest someone was dragged off and up into a tree. What's more, he notes that while the tracks resemble those that would be left by the Mosquito Witch's pointy feet, a creature of its reported size would be unlikely to take such close footsteps.

The tracks also lead deeper into the woods.
Survival to follow them.

Teja takes one look at the writing on the trees and realizes that these symbols aren't actually occult runes or a real language, just scribbles intended to look frightening.

"Is there one of them ponds near here? Maybe they went for a swim and were ambushed?"

"I think someone is just trying it on here, and trying to blame the "witch"." summises Teja.

She looks up, hoping to see a body stashed in the trees.

"I wonder how long ago this happened?" she says, explaining the non-runes.

She tries to use survival (T,+3) to judge when the "ambush" happened.

Tasaria shakes her Wayfinder ruefully then joins the others looking around.

"Wasn't one of the missing hunters a half-elf woman described as wearing gold armour over a red dress? Let me take a look at those" she adds as she reaches for the armour and weapons.

Warfare Lore to examine the items: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (2) + 4 = 6

"We could try to follow those tracks or we could see if the malfunctioning of the compass can actually lead us to the source of the interference."

Survival: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (18) + 3 = 21

Teja thinks that the battle must have happened at least a week ago!

The red dress was torn apart by whatever attacked the person. Tasaria thinks they must have removed the armor after the battle, the tatters of the dress are just what was left behind.

No clue what happened to the body after it was gotten into the tree.

Tasaria starts to follow the tracks through the woods, Helène scouting as you go. The rest of you follow along, watching for any signs of trouble. You travel this way for about ten minutes when you hear the distressing noise of a dog howling in the woods.

I will allow you to adjust your exploration activities since you can hear the dog before you can see it.

Teja slips into the shadows.

"Big cats sometimes hide their prey in the trees.." she notes.

When the sound of the dog is heard she adds "Maybe it knows where its mistress is... lets go have a look."

Which way is the wind blowing, if at all?

Phineas points out the tracks. "Looks too close together for this 'Witch'. Not sure what it is. Shall we follow?"

Seeing Tasaria already walking, he nods. "Great minds and all."

Still Detecting!

There is very little wind, but what little there is comes from behind and slightly to the left of you.

Teja Avoid Notice (Stealth)
Phineas Searching (Perception)

Helène is pretty impressed by her colleagues' display of skills. The creepy runes give her chills, even as Tejá explains that they're only scribbled look look frightening. "Could have fooled me..."

She follows the group and tries to form an opinion based on their interpretation of the clues they find. "Could it be a copycat? Someone who's praying on the hapless 'monster hunters' and blaming it on the legend of the Mosquito Witch? That still wouldn't explain the bloodseekers, though."

Her thoughts are cut short by the howling of a dog. "We must be getting close," Helène comments with lowered voice. She draws the sling from her belt and keeps a bullet loaded. She carefully moves up with the rest of the group, keeping an eye out for trouble.

Still Scouting.

"That could be Peaches and she sounds in distress."

Tasaria hurries on toward the sound, holding herself back so as to not lose either the group or her sense of direction.

Teja makes sure that the wind won't be blowing her scent to the dog, skirting around the side a little as she approaches so as to avoid alerting it.

An odd potion

Arcana (potion): 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (13) + 8 = 21

Max follows the group as he is out of his element if the compasses don’t work, and quite tired of mosquitos.

Max believes the inky black potion is a Potion of Invisibility.

You find the source of the sounds, it's Haru's dog, Peaches, who had been cornered and is being tormented by a cluster of huge mosquito-like creatures! They are flying around the dog, staying up high enough to be out of it’s reach. They fly down to attack, then quickly fly out of reach again!

Bolded may act

Nature skill to identify the creatures, this usually takes an action to Recall Knowledge.

Round 1:

Teja
Green
Tasaria
Max
Blue
Peaches
Black
Chug
Red
Phineas
Helène

Action: Speak"Careful of Peachs, with so many wounds, she might attack us rather than the ...stirges?"

Then calling to the dog she says "Good girl, we are here to help... you and Haru!" in as calm a voice as she can.

nature: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (10) + 3 = 13

Before drawing her own rapier.

Speaking is a free action. Doing something that has mechanical effects on an opponent costs one or more actions.
In this case, the warning does not cost an action but attempting to calm Peaches does.
Teja only used two of her three actions.

Teja quickly warns you all to beware of dog.

She then tries to calm Peaches, but unfortunately the dog is too hurt and scared to recognize her as a friend. Teja then draws her rapier.

Green Bug dives down on Peaches and attempts to attach itself. It fails and flies back up, out of the dog’s reach.
Barbed Leg: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (6) + 8 = 14

Bolded may act

Nature skill to identify the creatures, this usually takes an action to Recall Knowledge.

Round 1:

Teja
Green
Tasaria
Max
Blue
Peaches
Black
Chug
Red
Phineas
Helène

Tasaria moves out in front of the group, speaking soothingly to Peaches while calling on the blessing of Sarenrae.

ranged healing: 1d10 + 8 ⇒ (9) + 8 = 17
nature: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (7) + 3 = 10

"Sarenrae, I implore you, bless this creature with your healing while she ... Come here Peaches. Come away from the nasty bitey flying things. Come to your friends."

Move action, two action heal, not sure you will allow the call to Peaches to be included as part of the latter.

Mechanically it will be a two-action ranged heal, one action move, free talking,
The heal is an automatic success on the Nature check.
The Nature check done separately would be an action.

Tasaria moves closer and heals some of the wounds on Peaches, stopping the bleeding. Peaches seems a little calmer now.

Bolded may act

Nature skill to identify the creatures, this usually takes an action to Recall Knowledge.

Round 1:

Teja
Green
Tasaria
Max
Blue
Peaches
Black
Chug
Red
Phineas
Helène

Teja also draws her dagger. Just in case.
Left over action from before. I know speaking is normally free, but as the warning stuff was called out in a spoiler, I figured speaking the warning was giving some tactical advantage to the party, so wanted to err on the side of caution.

These don’t look like anything I have researched! I assume though that electricity will still hurt them!

advancing forward the minimum needed to get two targets within 30’. targeting the two closest (green and red)

Electric Arc - DC 18 Basic Reflex 1 or 2 creatures, 30' range: 1d4 + 4 ⇒ (2) + 4 = 6

Green Reflex: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (6) + 8 = 14 Failure, full damage
Red Reflex: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (15) + 8 = 23 Success, half damage

Max gets slightly closer and then zaps two fo the big bugs! Green plummets to the ground.

Blue dives down and attacks Peaches. It is able to latch on to the dog! It then starts to draw blood from it, seeming to gain health apps it does so.
Barbed Legs: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (19) + 8 = 27
Blood Drain: 1d4 ⇒ 2

Peaches breaks free of the creature and then bites at it! Both bites strike it and bring it down!
Escape: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (13) + 7 = 20
Jaws: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (16) + 7 = 23
Piercing: 1d6 + 2 ⇒ (5) + 2 = 7
Jaws: 1d20 + 7 - 5 ⇒ (13) + 7 - 5 = 15
Piercing: 1d6 + 2 ⇒ (5) + 2 = 7

Black bug then dives at Peaches but misses and goes back up.
Barbed Legs: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (7) + 8 = 15

Bolded may act

Nature skill to identify the creatures, this usually takes an action to Recall Knowledge.

Round 1:

Green 6 damage
Teja
Tasaria
Max
Blue 12 damage, ground level
Peaches 2 damage
Black 10’ up
Chug
Red 3 damage, 10’ up
Phineas
Helène

Chug moves into a better position then then lets loose an arrow at the closest creature.

Tasaria's friend, Bilby Bot, steps in to give Chug a nudge.

Chug strides up to the nearest bloodsucking creature and stabs at it with his rapier, twice.

rapier attack vs flanked ac: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (2) + 7 = 9
potential piercing damage: 1d6 + 1 ⇒ (6) + 1 = 7

rapier 2nd attack vs flanked ac: 1d20 + 7 - 5 ⇒ (20) + 7 - 5 = 22
potential piercing damage: 1d6 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 = 3
extra crit damage, deadly: 1d8 ⇒ 8
Total damage on critical hit 2x3+8=14

Chug’s arrow flies true and hits Red, causing it to crash to the ground.

Bolded may act

Nature skill to identify the creatures, this usually takes an action to Recall Knowledge.

Round 1:

Peaches 5 damage
Black +3 temp hp, ground level, attached to Peaches
Chug
Red 6 damage
Phineas
Helène

Round 2:

Teja
Tasaria
Max

Phineas strides to get closer to the foul bloodsucker, and uses produce flame!

Spell attack: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (17) + 7 = 24 for 1d4 + 4 ⇒ (1) + 4 = 5 fire damage vs the black bloodsucker!

Crit: 1d4 + 4 ⇒ (1) + 4 = 5

The bug is killed by the ball of fire Phineas threw at it. It seems they are easier to hit when attached to someone! The dead corpse continues to burn for a short time. The place where the bug was attached to Peaches is still bleeding.

I think we can call combat over at this point, but you will need to deal with the persistent bleed condition.

Peaches whimpers in pain.

Phineas will use heal from range for 1d8 + 8 ⇒ (4) + 8 = 12 healing to Peaches!

Peaches is healed and the bleeding stops. She trots over to Phineas and tugs on his sleeve, lightly pulling him further into the woods.