[PbP Gameday VIII] PFS 9-16 Fallen Family, Broken Name by Lamplighter (Inactive)

Game Master Scott Young

@Natula: Kalas feels happy about the veranda - nice, safe, good place to sleep, lots of vines, dark, if there was bugs it would be perfect... kind of hungry, find bugs?

I've made characters that are dumber than a familiar at this level (intelligence 8 at level 5)

What would you like to do?

I'm ready to head inside, barring some monster jumping out at us. I just don't want to be first in!

Ratesh walks up to the front door and mutters a short magical incantation while waving his right hand over the door.

Casting detect magic over the door and checking for traps the good old fashioned way.

Perception: 1d20 ⇒ 1

Assuming nothing seems amiss...

Satisfied with his quick check, he then opens the door, places his hand on his sword hilt, and steps in.

Also assuming the door doesn't explode when Ratesh opens it.

Junko carefully picks her way through the detritus on the veranda and follows Ratesh inside the manor.

Certain that the door is not warded, Ratesh carefully tries to open it. The handle and latch have been destroyed, but something seems to be preventing the door from being opened from the inside. A quick inspection confirms his initial suspicions: the door is barred, from the inside.

The door is barred shut. We may need to find an alternate means of entry. Unless someone knows how to lift the bar from this side

Well, door’s shut, guess the adventure is over

Is it something I could lift and remove with mage hand? Based on how it's described, I'm envisioning it just being a board or something that we can see from outside.

Kalas returns to hang from the inside of Natula's cape.

Natula produces an already lit everburning torch from her pack and shines it down into the openings in the floor nearby.

"Could go through here." she says her voice creaking from lack of normal use. "Or...."

She speaks a phrase of magic (and now everyone knows why her voice is like that). Attempts open/close on the door next to her.

You can barely see the bar through the crack between the doors - it appears quite heavy and stout. Both mage hand and open/close fail to do the trick.

The missing areas of flooring do seem to lead into an area under the house, although you might need to remove a few more boards to make it a safe entry for a Medium creature. It seems to be a large space that extends the entire footprint of the house, although it's filled with stone pilings and wooden beams and joists which support the house. Given the nearby river and the possibility of flooding, it's likely that the space is open to reduce any pressure from fast-flowing water under the house - essentially like building your house no stilts without the unsightly open space.

"Good thinking, Natula. Definitely worth a look. Ratesh, would you mind?" she says, gesturing at the rotten planks.

Juxian watches the group deal with the door, "I've got a crowbar. Pretty standard pathfinder gear. If we can get it in-between the cracks, we could use it to lift the bar."

@Juxian: you could definitely try to force the door with the crowbar, since the door panels themselves are somewhat rotten. (Strength check to force the door, +2 due to crowbar, extra +2 due to good idea.) It would also be useful in prying up more floorboards should you decide to go through the floor.

"Also a great idea! Go for it!"

I knew I should have bought one of those tools that can become anything you need...my brother told me about them. Never leaves the house without it. Just make the hole big enough for me to squirm through...I can open the door from the inside after...might save some time and effort..

Juxian hands his crowbar off to the strongest looking pathfinder, "I'm no good with the thing but there's usually at least one strong man on a mission."

Ratesh takes the crowbar from Julian.

I’m not usually the brute in a group, but I could give it a shot.

He slips the crowbar into what cracks and loose door panels he can find for leverage and pulls down on the makeshift lever.

Strength: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (2) + 6 = 8

+2 strength, +2 crowbar, +2 for Juxian’s Idea

Let me give that another shot

Ratesh tries again with a mighty grunt.

Strength: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (11) + 6 = 17

aid: 1d20 - 2 ⇒ (12) - 2 = 10

Juxian tries to help pull on the crowbar with his noodle arms, but he uses his brain to get the leverage right.

Natula files her nails.

Junko rocks back and forth on her heels, arms crossed behind her back, watching them struggle with the door.

After a few tries, Ratesh and Juxian manage to force the door open enough to pry the bar up. The thick timber clatters to the marble floor, and the doors open to reveal what was once a grand entrance. Marble pillars support a painted ceiling above an ornately tiled but bloodstained floor. Broken glass and debris cover the floor. A wrought-iron spiral staircase, its railings evoking the fires of Hell, leads to the collapsed upper floor at the far end of the grand hall. To the left and right of the entrance, other doors lead to adjoining rooms, and two open areas midway down the hall seem to lead to curved stairways.

The room presents an interesting study in vandalism. To a height of about four feet, the walls are hacked, burned, and covered in crude pictures and wanton destruction of the sort favored by goblins. Above this height, to nearly eight feet above the floor, the damage is more carefully applied, restricted to defacing images, prying valuables from their settings, and so on. Clearly the hobgoblin commanders were more disciplined than their goblin soldiers when this house was taken.

Above the height easily reachable by Medium creatures, the walls are soot-stained and dirty but otherwise intact. Elegant wainscoting and carved woodwork adorns the corners and ceiling, and several intact portraits hang high no the walls. Most feature rather stern-looking Irrica family members, some untouched, while others are dotted with arrows and bolts fired from below.

Anyone else find it odd that only some pictures are defaced? Not exactly typical of goblin behaviour, I don't think. Konner speculates as he looks around, taking in the room. He examines the floor trying to see if there has been any recent activity here.

perception: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (4) + 7 = 11

"I think they just couldn't reach the ones up there." Junko follows Konner in and points at the portraits hanging high up on the walls that have escaped destruction. "See, the ones down here are all cut up or drawn on, but the only damage to any of those ones is from arrows."

Standing out of the way of others coming in through the door, Junko turns slowly about, taking in the room and scanning with detect magic.

Perception: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (6) + 1 = 7

Wow, those rolls... :/

The main entrance doesn't seem to have seen much use, although at the far end there does appear to be sunlight filtering in through entrances on either side, perhaps doors or large windows.

As the first of you enter the room, you begin to hear a haunting melody coming from somewhere above or ahead of you. The male alto voice echoes around the hall, pronouncing slow, sad-sounding tones in a minor key. There seem to be no words, just pure tones, and those of you who appreciate music definitely feel its emotional impact: sorrow, loss, loneliness.

Also, a reminder that the light level within the hall is dim light, except within 20 feet or the main entrance where it is normal. There is also some normal light on the far right corner of the room. I'll add these to the map shortly, but please let me know if anyone is using a light source.

Konner points to where the rustling sound comes from. He gets out a stone from his pouch and it starts to glow as it hovers by his head. He the readies a flask of acid in case he comes across a wave of rats or other pests.ioun torch

From over there... he warns as he approaches the sound.

Konner's light fills the hall, illuminating all but the darkest corner at the far end of the hall. The haunting song doesn't seem to react to the light, and continues to echo throughout the manor. From the highest reaches of the wall, stern faces look down from their portrait frames, as if silently admonishing the intruders .

Ratesh steps into the room, immediately noticing the haunting melody.

After Konner throws some light in the room and he still can’t find the source of the noise he turns to the group. Either there is someone here singing or we may be dealing with something more spiritual, be on your guard.

I would like to go somewhere near the center of the room and get a better look at my surroundings, particularly the pile of rubbish Konner was focused on. Having trouble updating the map, though.

Ceiling height? Kalas flutters in staying about 10' up if possible.

Juxian pulls out his soul candle and holds it out in front of him to see if it goes out. "Anything spirtual will disrupt this candle and cause it to go out, keep an eye on it if you expect some spooky stuff to happen."

Natula casts detect magic. If given enough time to identify a spell/item she uses spellcraft and takes 10 on the roll.

Can I use Aid Another to help Natula in Spellcraft/Knowledge checks? I usually get conflicting answers so I want to check. Otherwise I doubt I'll have much luck making them on my own.

Junko freezes as the song reaches her, and watches Ratesh's candle closely. Thought I'd dealt with enough ghosts already. Don't know what I expected to see in an old, abandoned manor.

Well, I have something for the spirits as well...Konner says, patting his bandolier pouch holding some blessed water acquired from the Sarenite church in Absolom.

Ceiling height is 15'.

Also, moved Juxian into the room, otherwise the soul candle isn't very useful.

Junko, you can Aid Another as long as you can use the skill and are able to succeed at the skill on your own. So, you'd help offset someone else's low rolls, but if they rolled well your aid wouldn't matter. With Spellcraft, you'd need to be using detect magic as well, and looking at the same area.

Got it, thanks! Also, sorry Juxian, I was apparently just a tiny bit confused today.

Konner heads towards the south wing of the main hall, in the direction where he heard the scurrying. Kalas the bat flies into the room, and Ratesh moves towards the center but remains in sight of the area Konner indicated.

Then several things occur at once. The candle Juxian holds begins to gutter and flicker, and then goes out with a hiss.

Kalas the bat is suddenly afraid of something up high in the room, transmitting a flash of fear to Natula.

Konner's eyes are drawn to the upper walls by some motion, and he sees the various portraits have all turned to face them and are staring at him. Several shake their heads disapprovingly, and one portrait of a stately middle-aged man scowls at him and points a large mace at him.

The song continues unperturbed for a moment, and then raises to a shriek and hysterical laughter. "Fools! You dare to disturb our rest? You will all DIE!" echoes throughout the grand hall.

Round 1

Initiative order
(23) Ratesh
(20) Junko
(17.1) Konner
(17) Natula
(4) Juxian

Ratesh and Junko are up - please declare your actions for the round.

Hey all, today is likely going to be rougher for my schedule than I anticipated, In the interest of keeping things moving since folks are, in part, waiting on me, Junko is just going to cast shield and stay in place. I'll come back when time allows to make an actual post.

OK, no problem!

Juxian watches as his candle goes out and gets ready to yell out a warning! (but is flat-footed!)

Added my cat to the map as well. Haven't really mentioned him much yet.

Who is resting here? We are merely here to investigate what is left of the Irrica's.

Hold my action until some enemy becomes visible.

Round 1

Ratesh responds to the cackling voice, and awaits a reaction.

Junko casts shield on herself and remains in place.

The voice changes from its mournful tune to a much more military-sounding tune, again without words but sounding more like a school fight song.

And then a pair of crossbow bolts fly out of the open doorway to the south. 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (3) + 6 = 9 The first one whizzes past the astonished Konner and embeds itself in the far wall. You hear a muffled oath from that area, and then a clatter as if some wooden item hit the floor. 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (11) + 6 = 17 The second bolt flies true and strikes Konner in the shoulder! damage: 1d10 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 = 4

Ratesh, you can complete your readied action even though there is no "visible" enemy, you are pretty sure someone is shooting at Konner from that open doorway.

Konner and Natula, you're also up!

Just to put a little bit of flavor on my action since I actually have a few minutes between events today.

Junko yelps at the sudden shriek and laughter, backing against the wall and reflexively casting a defensive ward on herself.

"Who is that!? Who's there!?" she yells out, looking all around her.

Over here! To arms! Konner warns as he darts to close with the bow-woman. He slashes at hereif he can see her...treat as readies attack if possible and readies to parry any incoming attack.

attack: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (7) + 9 = 161d8 + 4 + 3 ⇒ (2) + 4 + 3 = 9

Round 1 (continued)

Konner darts towards the open doorway, slashing at someone inside the room. His blade connects. The woman grits her teeth and groans, but stares at Konner with fire in her eyes.

"Bella!" cries the one behind in concern.
"Jus' a scratch, Jaym," the wounded woman replies, then raises her voice. "Tavetti, love, there's a pretty boy over here who's all brave. The rest are still by the door."

Ratesh and Natula are up!

Ratesh draws his sword as he runs south toward Konner.

Moving straight south to 1n of Konner, swinging at enemy in doorway. I think they get concealment?

What are you doing here? It looks like goblins have picked the place over if any loot.

Attack w cold iron scimitar: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (2) + 6 = 8
Concealment?: 1d100 ⇒ 89
damage: 1d8 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 2 = 5