PBP Gameday VIII: GM Fuzzfoot's Mysteries Under Moonlight, Part 1 & 2 (Inactive)

Game Master PJP

Not sure I see a clear consensus on what to do, but it looks like the basic gist is to save them from death, and question if possible. They look like they will survive, but are you using any resources to heal them in order to question them?

Looking over the gear, Alaric finds that Theodorus is carrying +1 chain shirt, +2 composite longbow (+1 Str) with 20 cold iron arrows and 30 silver arrows, tangle arrows (4, as tangle bolt), cloak of resistance +1, iron holy symbol of Abadar, spell component pouch, 5 gp. The two thugs also each have a +1 heavy shield.

Before she expends any effort to wake them, she makes sure that's what the party wants to do. "Do we want to question them?"

"It would be nice to know how they found us so readily, but it is not a necessity." "We can leave them if they are protected enough." "But we will need to allow them some weapons and untie them." "If we drag them along they will also make noise and cause similar issues."

Farlen thinks for a moment. "Yep, let's leave them. untie one and give them back a sword." "Best we can do under the circumstances."

are the shields Metal or wood?

Alaric is fine waking them, and can try and heal one if needed.

one of the guards will work. Have him watch the other two until we get back. Take all the magic and leave the swords for defense should they need it.

"Hey, Agent, why don't you borrow this bow until we return. I am sure Theo won't mind...until later."

The Agent considers the bow for a moment.

"Nah. I get it why you think I should take it, being I'm a Pathfinder Agent and all that. But I'm not that kinda Pathfinder Agent."

He pats his own bow.

"It wasn't broken in that fight. It was the damned wolf paws and me not being so sure I wanted to hit ol' Theo in the eye and do anything real permanent-like."

The Agent looks up at the moon and tries to gauge the hour.

"We know why they were out here, probably just putting their noses places and trying to do good but going about it the wrong way. We got a time limit here right, and a wisp to deal with?"

Unless GM Fuzzfoot winks at us, I'm good with going to the next scene. And the Agent won't judge anyone else taking loot here, he's just not a materialistic kinda guy.

The +2 is a bonus to hit and damage. You can truly just borrow it. But it is up to you and how you think the Agent would proceed.

Farlen unties the more trustworthy looking of the guards and puts their swords against a tree. With Darrin's help they build a small fire ring ang fire. "Aleric, wake this luckly soul."

Once the guard is awake our best diplomat will explain his guard duty until we return.

Farlen transforms the wolf after casting mage armor on himself. And lines up ready to head out.

Alaric raises an eyebrow at the commanding tone of Farlen, but then pulls out his healing ewand and taps the guard, making sure Shredder is right nearby ready to strike, if needed.

CLW wand: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 = 3

To the guard as he wakes up, he says, "I'd be careful what you do next. Shredder hear hasn't eaten today, and he's getting a might bit peckish."

intimidate: 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (16) - 1 = 15

Shredder stands next to Alaric, licking the blood off of his talons.

intimidate aid another: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (19) + 2 = 21

Ny'a decides that, as Iomedae's voice in this place, she must be the most diplomatic. She steps up to explain. "You've got us all wrong; we're not the bad guys here. In fact, we're devoted forces of good in the world; I myself bring the light of Iomedae wherever I can." She grins, hoping that Iomedae's strength and purity show through on her face.

"Unfortunately, since you attacked us, we can't quite trust you. But we also can't just leave you to the real wolves out here, so we've untied you to keep watch over your companions. Be strong, be safe, and DON'T FOLLOW US. We'd have to resort to ugly force again if you did that, and it just wouldn't end well."

"Make sense? Good! Feel free to share tales of how awesomely we treated you here today!"

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (17) + 8 = 25

The guard nods, beaten in both body and spirit. "Thank you. You are much kinder than we were lead to believe. I will wait a few hours before releasing the others. Then I am headed to Magnimar and will never bother you again." Satisfied you are not leaving danger behind you, you continue on your way.

Certainly, play your characters as you wish to portray them. Taking the bow here will have no negative in-game effect, but it would truly be borrowed in any case, since you can't keep it beyond the scenario unless you buy it anyway.

----

Crumbling tombs and moss-covered gravestones stretch out along the northern and southern sides of the path. To the east, the way narrows and splits, plunging into thicker brambles and dense undergrowth. At the center of the fork in the road, a group of small, glowing creatures carry the bloodied and inert body of a regal woman in silvery armor, whisking her away into the gloaming woods.

A disheveled woman in dented armor and a feathered cloak hobbles after the group, crying out to them. Her golden hair is a tangle of knots and twigs, and blood seeps from numerous cuts across her dirt-covered skin. “Cybelle! No! Bring her back!” She reaches out a trembling hand, and feathers start appearing on her arm. A sharp cry of pain escapes her as she shudders. Her arm goes limp at her side, and the feathers vanish.

Overwhelmed by exhaustion, the woman collapses to her knees and sobs. “Please, help! Those little fiends stole my daughter, Cybelle. They’re in league with that terrible will-o’-wisp. Please save her!”

Ny'a is a melee character first, though as a LG paladin she couldn't take the bow in these circumstances even if it were a real benefit to her. She won't, however, object if someone else wants to use it for the rest of the scenario.

"Please, tell us more. Tell us what happened!" She says, her eyes darting after the luminescent group even as they widen at the unnatural feathers that appear and disappear from the woman's arm. "We're also out to end the torment of that wisp; we're here to help!"

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (1) + 8 = 9

"My dear lady, what exactly are these fiends and why do they want your daughter? We might be able to help, but your information will help us help you." "Now what can you tell us?"

Farlen explains the reason to the lady as politely as he can, but sometimes...
diplomacy: 1d20 ⇒ 17
he looses his patience and can sound condescending.

Hopefully he controls himself enough to get his point across.

"These glowing creatures were once lurkers in light, but Tulvhatha’s influence has altered their powers and fundamental nature, giving them an affinity for shadows instead. They are convinced that Tulvhatha is a divine being and are eager to appease her. When my Cybelle attempted to convince them of the evil of Tulvhatha’s ways, they attacked her. Cybelle felled one of the lurkers, but then they overpowered her and took her away. Please help!"

Ny'a looks down the path, her eyes trying to pick out the fading lights as they lead away. She states "wait here" to the woman simply, then motions the others to follow. "Wait until we're out of sight before we make any... changes..." she says, her words heavy with innuendo.

"Madam, could you tell us a little about your Cybelle? What does she look like, and what sort of training does she have?" asks Alaric, trying to be polite. "Are you in need of healing? By any chance, are you trained as a druid or a shifter?"

The Agent stifles a growl, finding it all too easy to act like the wolfman he most recently took form of.

Rushing ahead, he tries to delay the glowing sprites.

"Whoa, slow it down, sprites! Okay? Carrying around this girl isn't, uh, the right path?"

Nodding towards Ny'a, the Agent beckons the others to follow, presuming if they dally long with the twig-lady they may lose the small creatures to some sort of tiny magic door carved into any of the hundreds of trees about.

You can stay and ask questions if you like, but this is a chase sequence, so....

The first obstacle is a bramble patch: A thick growth of thorny brambles obstructs the area where the lurkers fled.

Dex DC 26 to Slip Between, or CMB 29 to Bust Through

Ny'a can't succeed at either of those DCs

It is so high to accommodate all of the assist that the table can generate. Seeing as you only need a 10 to do so.

Darven lowers his shield and attempts to bust through the brambles.

CMB: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (18) + 11 = 29

If I recall, chases also usually give some leeway for creative solutions for spells and abilities.

The Agent has the Travel domain power - 5X/day he can ignore difficult terrain, perhaps he can use that to move over the brambles?

Zaldur too have travel and luck domain

Farlen follows Darvan adding his bulk and strength to the plunging ranger. As he starts he yells back over his shoulder to the mother.

"Excuse me, good lady, it looks like we are helping immediately."

cmb aid: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (1) + 3 = 4

Yes, Agent - you do have the option for creative solutions like you mentioned. But this is a group chase, and that would really only help you, correct? In any case, Darven managed this one for the group. However, if you and Zaldur want to use a use for each person, I would allow it,

Darven bursts through the brambles, and you all follow through. Unfortunately, you immediately come across an area of quicksand!

Jump Over:
Acrobatics DC 33

Wade In:
Swim 35

Knowing his heavy armor burdens him attempts to swim

Swim: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (9) + 2 = 11

Assuming ACs cannot help...

Farlen will attempt to jump it. Maybe someone could use his head as a stepping stone when he plops in the middle.
If we all have to do the same just subtract one from Farlen's acrobatics below.

"Leaping lizards!" "Who put this stuff here?"

acrobatics to jump (aid): 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 2 = 3

Ah in the group case, maybe a +2 aid bonus for the use? It's moot based on the order we ended up rolling in but I'll cross off a use since at the table it's what I'd have done!

The Agent hesitates as hey reach the area of quicksand.

"Mother's Moon! How'd those little buggers get through this?!"

Knowing Desna's ability to help him hustle a bit quicker has some bearing on his ability to cover distance, the Agent utters a quick prayer before giving it his best.

Longstrider for +10 movement and +4 on Acrobatics to jump a distance.

Acrobatics: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (9) + 6 = 15

Darven jumps into the river and begins to swim.

swim: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (7) + 8 = 15

I am not a big fan of these chase rules, but we'll sort it out. So, I found further clarification that a spell or ability that lasts up to a minute is good for a +2 to +4 bonus, and if it lasts 10 minutes or more, it is good for the whole chase. So Longstrider for Agent will confer a bonus to the rest of the obstacles.

As far as the checks, you should all confer on which of the two you want to attempt, and then everyone roll in support of that single attempt. Some trying acro and others trying swim is a sure recipe to fail. Also, some options appear only available in wolf form. You should all put in your status bar what form you are currently in.

It isn't clear to me whether ACs help or not, but given the high difficulty of these skill checks, I will say that you can use your own OR your AC's check as you wish, whichever has the better chance.

Failing to navigate the quicksand slows you down, but you keep going. (1 failure)

Next you come across a slippery log. The lurkers sped across a patch of water with an alligator floating in the center, which is hungrily watching the chase. A wet log bridges the banks of the river, while
vines dangle precariously from the forest canopy above.

Balance Beam: Reflex DC 29
- or -
Vine Ropes: Climb 33

Longstrider doesn't help here, but I will allow that the travel domain use adds +2 to the total check. This means that if Agent rolls over a 10, he adds his own +2 aid AND another +2 for travel. Does that make sense?

The best way Ny'a can contribute on this check is Reflex with a +6 bonus. Also, note that in wolf form, armor melds with the form and doesn't function--that means no ACP from armor if you're in wolf form.

Ny'a transforms into a wolf. She hesitates at the log, looking timidly up towards the vines. As she tries to sense the will of the group, it's clear that she prefers to attempt to cross the log.

In the interest of not delaying the action, I'll roll a clean d20 and show the result as if applied to either check, that way both are available depending on which check the party decides to attempt. Spoilered to not influence decision-making.

Feels like some writer attempted to invent some new group chase mechanic with awkward feeling unreachable DCs which would throw off the brave adventurers.

The Agent balks at the sight of yet another obstacle that the girl-laden sprites seem to have evaded far ahead of their arrival.

"What's with the river? This feels like some sort of cruel obstacle course! Of course, there's this conveniently placed, yet apparently quite slippery log."

Pinching his arm to ensure this isn't a bad dream, the Agent sighs when it appears once again he'll have to resort to coordinated physical exertion.

Certain the others are tired of swimming through quicksand and wouldn't want to attempt to swim through actual water, he attempts to take it easy as he crosses on the log.

Reflex: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (2) + 5 = 7

Why don't we do it this way: everyone roll 1 d20, and tell me both your adjustments, and any extra bonus you are willing to use. Once everyone reports,mI will assume the best adjustment of all is who you would have designated as the primary and everyone else is aiding.

Farlen helps cross the log as best he can.

roll: 1d20 ⇒ 17
+1 for climb and +4 for reflex. In wolf hybrid form now.

"I don't want to be alligator lunch.

roll: 1d20 ⇒ 14
+4 reflex
-5 acrobatics

”if I thought we had time to get my armor off, I’d go dino.”

Lya, it has always been my understanding that ACP continues, even if the armor itself doesn’t help you. Which is why I haven’t gone dinosaur mode.

Just need a roll from Darven and Zaldur with the modifiers for reflex save and climb.

"I think we are loosing them or maybe we are gaining on them. Can't be sure from this angle."

It looks like N'ya +6 Reflex is the best so far, and she rolled a 20. Aid from Farlen and Alaric bring it to 24. So even if the other two successfully aid, I think you'll just miss.

Next, large webs cling from tree to tree, obstructing your path.

Move Around: Escape Artist DC 35

- or -

Rip ‘Em Up: Strength DC 27

Ny'a approaches the large webs, her dog at her heel; both begin digging into them with powerful jaws and canines.

d20 roll: 1d20 ⇒ 6
Escape Artist -4
Strength +2

1d20 ⇒ 15
Strength +5, Escape artist -2

Alaric is ready to rip the webs from our path.

roll: 1d20 ⇒ 5
Strength +1, escape artist +2

Roll: 1d20 ⇒ 9
Both bonuses are the same at +2

The Agent sighs as yet another obstacle stands in their way. He made a mental note to avoid forests and the outdoors for a while once he returned to the lodge.

roll: 1d20 ⇒ 2
Escape Artist=0, Strength=+4

Zaldurr roll: 1d20 ⇒ 11

Alaric had the best chance with +5 Str, but despite his 20, only the agent and Zaldurr succeeded in aid.

Obstacles encountered: 4, Succeeded:1
Active bonuses: Longstrider (Agent) +2 on travel/speed

Swamp Gas: A pocket of putrid swamp gas lingers just
above the surface of the swamp. A vile stench emanates from
it, suggesting its hazardous nature.

Deep Breath:
Fortitude DC 27

- or -

Dash Forward*: (must be in wolf form here)
Initiative DC 30

So I think we need Fort saves.

fort save: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (7) + 5 = 12 +4 if from plants
fort save 5* reroll: 1d20 + 5 + 5 ⇒ (13) + 5 + 5 = 23

Ny'a breathes in deeply before attempting to proceed.

Fortitude DC 27: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (12) + 9 = 21

Farlen shuts his mouth and moves forward.
fort save: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (10) + 4 = 14

fort: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (19) + 10 = 29

Darven holds his breath and moves on.

With Darven's help, you manage to get through the gas unscathed!

Obstacles encountered: 5, Succeeded:2
Active bonuses: Longstrider (Agent) +2 on travel/speed

The haunted land senses your presence as you draw nearer to the Glade of Silver Sparks and reacts violently. Ghostly hands reach up from the ground, snatching at your ankles to drag you down.

Easy Does It: Stealth DC 35

-or-

Back, Foul Phantoms!: Knowledge (religion) DC 33

Wow... these DCs are rough! Pretty much what I’d expect in tier 7-11, but not here, even with the group challenge! And very focused on dex based characters, for the most part. Hope they are the fail forward type

Knowing that he isn’t helping much, Alaric shifts into deinonychus form. wild shape hoping it at least helps a bit.

roll: 1d20 ⇒ 12
Stealth -2, religion +1 (untrained)

Her wolven eyes darting back and forth across the shapes of ghostly hands, Ny'a studies them. Something... tugged at her memories.

1d20 ⇒ 4
Knowledge (religion), trained: +4
Stealth: +0