GM Xavier Kahlvet's Passing the Torch—Low Tier (Inactive)

Game Master KingTreyIII

Zanice picked up a scroll of Stoneskin (950) and another of Aram Zey's Focus from Zarta.

I usually give myself a 24 hour duration from Life Bubble, with my extend rod that'll leave 28 hours. Who should get the other half of life bubble for our adventuring days?

Someone with a low fortitude. Marta has a really good fort ST so I'm thinking someone else should get it.

What are the rules for this social encounter? is it one action per 'round'? Are there actions to influence and actions to determine strengths and weaknesses of each target, to determine which skills would be most effective? What is the goal? To find our target and get him off by himself (and us) or to question him in public?

What are the rules for this social encounter? is it one action per 'round'? Are there actions to influence and actions to determine strengths and weaknesses of each target, to determine which skills would be most effective? What is the goal? To find our target and get him off by himself (and us) or to question him in public?

It’s not as restrictive as you think; just get to Strake and get the intel that you need. No “social combat rounds” or anything else like that.

Besides the other day long protection of life bubble (which could also be split on the entire party, but will only protect each person for 5 or 6 hours, rather than all day), I also put Magic Vestment (CL13) on Hendric's shield, as requested.

Life bubble would be good - I'd think split amongst the party would be best, no?

Fine by me, it just only lasts 5 hours on 2 people, 6 on the other 3. I usually cast it each day after preparing spells, but the latest I would have possibly cast it was before we left the ship and entered an enemy stronghold :). We’d need to ask the GM for how long between leaving ship and arriving here in the Villa.

We’d need to ask the GM for how long between leaving ship and arriving here in the Villa.

I'd say around an hour and a half.

It looks like there is one npc left to talk to, I figured I’d give Arnaut first crack, but I could also try. He left (willingly?) with the people in red and came back without his memory. I’m wondering if these red cloaked people are affiliated with Red Mantis.

That seems a logical assumption about the red-cloaked people.
We could also ask around about the large palanquin, if people have seen it going specific places or know who rides in it.

Peter wasn’t planning to scout ahead, just to be stealthy near the party. I don’t think we want to call attention to ourselves.

I’m a little confused, can we cast spells from the bushes or will such activities be automatically detected?

It is an option, but if you are casting for a minute or longer then it'll attract attention.

Basically, you get a minute (10 rounds) to cast stuff before someone comes by to check things out.

Moved this to discussion (since it was under one hour)

So I misinterpeted the earlier comment. We have 10 rounds. Assuming I spent one on detect magic, and that he uses his ring of invisibility on himself in the last round, that leaves 8 that Peter could cast spells in. The spells that may help the party include: invisibility 2x, dispel magic 2x, greater dispel magic. He could also aid another for a +2 (divine) or +1 bonus (arcane) to someone else's caster level check to dispel. I asked about a mundane disguise to cover up the mark, but apparently that won't work because it takes 1d3*10 minutes to apply a disguise in pathfinder.

I took a look at people's sheets and Jordan and myself appear to be the stealthy ones, while everyone else is less than +9 which basically means counting on invisibility working and at this tier that is probably not a sure thing. I think dispel magic is probably our best best. If we can get 4 dispelled, then Jordan and I could go invisibile and be sneaky. Anyone have a different suggestion?

So, about Peter’s comment about the disguise stuff: That is possible to hide the marks, but it requires a disguise check to move through the area to the pagoda proper without it being seen; the 1d3*10 minutes thing is hand-waved because it’s made on the go.

Options for how to go about this section is as follows (each PC can choose to do different things):

• *Remove the sigils with dispel magic, remove curse, or similar (of which you only have a total of 1 minute to do anything before you’re inevitably caught).
• *Disguise check to make your way to the pagoda without the sigil specifically being seen by hiding it behind a hat or something without it (gonna say that the bonus from stuff like disguise self doesn’t count, because this seems like something powerful enough to pierce through that; not written in, so I’m making a ruling on that).
• *Stealth check to make your way to the pagoda without you being seen specifically.
• *Sleight of Hand check to make your way to the pagoda without the sigil being seen by using distractions and misdirections to draw attention away from the sigil.

The main comment I had is that Marta offered to go first to spring any traps and the next thing I knew is that everyone went and sprung the 'trap'. It would seem that Marta should be the only one with a mark on her forehead at this point, though we all would eventually get one when we enter.

Are any of the other visitors marked? If they all are, it would actually be a sign that we are intruders to remove them.

Is Marta able to turn around and return to the party outside the courtyard, assuming she is the only one to have gone into the courtyard at this point?

It would seem that Marta should be the only one with a mark on her forehead at this point, though we all would eventually get one when we enter.

...

Is Marta able to turn around and return to the party outside the courtyard, assuming she is the only one to have gone into the courtyard at this point?

I specifically said that you all set foot into the courtyard and hid behind a bush inside the courtyard (in this post). The reason why I said that is because, as I’m reading it, if you dispel the sigil then step back into the courtyard, a new sigil is created.

Are any of the other visitors marked? If they all are, it would actually be a sign that we are intruders to remove them.

Anyone else you see inside the courtyard is not marked with the sigil like the party is.

Let's see if Arnaut can dispel on Marta and himself with the +1 bonus from Pete.
Zanice and Hendric got their marks dispelled.
Pete and Jordan can Stealth with Invisibility really well.

Arnaut and Marta aren't as good at Stealth (+8 and +9 respectively; could get +2 Heroism, +2 Moment of Greatness, and Bestow Insight on each other from Sir Hendric's scrolls for another +2, or more if Arnaut uses with Mnemonic Vestments.)

Best bet is to get them Dispelled, but if not, then we go with Stealth I guess.

Jordan is pretty bad at this. No disguises or anything. Assuming invisibility works, though, we can go with that. I've only got vanish and a few scrolls of greater invisibility, though. Anybody have normal invisibility they can spare?

@Jordan Peter will toss a CL13 invisibility on you.

@GM - I sent you a PM asking about an upcoming thing.

Marta - A.K.A. Telmar So-Melnop wrote:

I specifically said that you all set foot into the courtyard and hid behind a bush inside the courtyard (in this post).

I saw that but it came right after the post where Marta offered to go in ahead of everyone and I wasn't sure if you saw that. It probably doesn't matter and we would have ended up with that mark no matter what though.

Marta could swap out the coordinated charge feat for Stealth Synergy and, with her solo tactics ability, benefit from the highest stealth of the group if needed. But let's see if the dispel works.

If we have two successful dispels, it isn’t necessary. If it is Peter would invis you as well so we have two 68 stealths (forgot heroism in the earlier roll) :)

I wouldn’t be surprised if we ran into a permanent invisibility purge that drops our stealths by 20, but I’m hoping we still have enough.

I happen to know that it's difficult for X Hums (Jordan's player) to post during the weekends, and because I'm not too up to anything today, I'm just going to give them until tomorrow before I start botting Jordan.

Yeah. I've got 2-3 irl games on the weekends, so it's difficult to get play by post in as well. Thanks for understanding.

Makes for a busy weekend. I've just got my 2-3 times a month Tuesday night game aside from the occasional con.

GM Xavier Kahlvet wrote:

Since folks figured out that the Master is fleeing, I’m going to rule that if the Master’s token gets completely off of the map, then he’s considered to have escaped;

Well, we can't have that. I'd like to adjust Marta's orders so that she cast the spell burst of speed and ends up on the stairs on the other side of Mr. Mind Eater. By nature of the spell it will not provoke an AoO. because it is a swift action she will not be able to switch her bane around at this time and instead drops it.

I’m hesitant to allow that change because, as far as Marta knows, there’s no reason to prevent the Master from actually getting off of the map because she wouldn’t know that there would be a random acolyte that would happen to see the Master; as far as Marta knows the Master would eventually be downed since she’s heading into a 300’ stairwell.

EDIT: Literally just realized that Marta is female. Whoops!

EDIT 2: Actually, I just double-checked how Marta could've moved, and if she'd just done a straight-shot to the stairwell, she could've just moved through the spaces of the crocodiles and gotten there without using burst of speed; the Master can't take AoOs since he's nauseated. So Marta can get there and switch off her bane. Ignore what I was saying previously in this post; I'll allow the change.

@Arnaut - please tone down the snark a lot. It is really not appreciated. I would rather nip this in the bud. If there is something you want Sir Hendric to do, ask directly.
@Zanice - visibility is the entire problem.

Sir Hendric is not the only damage dealer and doesn't have to take care of the Master. There are plenty of other capable PCs. If sight allows, he will charge. If not, he will mop up the other assassins.

Her move with burst of speed in conjunction with haste is 80' per move action. I don't believe there are any rules about the two not stacking, so she can get just about anywhere she wants to when using that spell.

But I'm fine with whatever you decide and I like the idea of not losing the spell! :) I had forgotten that nausea prevented an AoO. I also thought she would have to make a ST if she went through the cloud and wanted to avoid the embarassment of rolling a 1 and soiling her clothes. Do I need to make a ST if she zips through the cloud?

Funny you should say that you just realized that she is female. If you read her backstory She was named Telmar (a boy's name) because her father wanted a boy. Her nickname is Marta.

Marta has life bubble and is immune from (now dispelled) cloud.

Dang. Missed that. I'll add it to her spoiler so I don't forget - for now.

@Hendric - sounds good. Let’s have a discussion between the characters so Arnaut can learn how to communicate effectively with Hendric. His sense motive is good, but not (quite) that good.

@Zanice I have neither phantom steed nor communal phantom steed.

@Hendric The arguments for/against teleporting seem to be the exact same as last time. Just walking in seemed to work well last time.

My vote would be to simply walk in the woods looking like Kobolds, as that seems the safest option. Does either bard have the Triple Time performance or any other means of enhancing movement?

I do not. I will also point out that while singing our way through the woods is highly encouraged in Absalom, it might attract more attention than desired here.

I do not. I will also point out that while singing our way through the woods is highly encouraged in Absalom, it might attract more attention than desired here.

Kobolds can be bards, but point taken, there are probably other dangers in the woods.

I did not understand the arguments against Teleporting last time. There was an assertion that Teleporting could somehow "attract attention" but by what mechanism was not explained. There is no flash of light or clap of thunder. We have no reason to believe that Mediogalti Island is covered by a teleport-detection artifact.

I do understand the argument that it takes up spell slots.

My argument for it is that it will take less time. If the Red Mantis now know that Pathfinders are on the island (and have attacked their Pagoda, freeing some of their captives including Strake) then they will mobilize to counter us. The sooner we get our mission done, the better.

I do not know whether or not this scenario includes a timer. In-character, it is a reasonable conclusion that the longer we take the more likely the Red Mantis will be able to prepare for us.

I'll go overland if we have to.

The argument that was made last time was that it is fairly conspicous when people magically arrive via a teleport vs simply walking in.

This time we know we're going to meet Rurat, who kills humanoids that aren't kobolds. We could use veil and teleport in, or we could use veil and simply walk there. It seems like teleporting Kobolds are fairly conspicous.

I don't believe we actually told our cover story to anyone of any consequence, and we have the benefit of having been under veil our entire time here, so when we switch to kobolds, we should be just as inconspicuous as before. The fact that all of the people here know that we had business with Strake is probably not great for him (or us, since we're the logical next step), since the Mantis will probably investigate this. (Perhaps we should come up with a cover story, like he owed us something from his pirate days, make that bluff, or something else).

If there is a timer, it seems likely to be until Torch's plans come to fruition, but I'd rather be cautious in how we approach things (especially given how well it worked the first time), instead of trying to beat a clock.

Anyways, it looks like its the same thing as the first time, so I guess right now the vote is at:
Walk: Peter
Teleport: Hendric

Teleporting is conspicuous if you arrive directly in someone's line of vision, but I don't think that was ever suggested as a plan. We could teleport to a mile from our destination, for example.

Teleporting is conspicuous if you arrive directly in someone's line of vision, but I don't think that was ever suggested as a plan. We could teleport to a mile from our destination, for example.

Do we have an exact distance? I thought he just gave a physical description and said it takes a week or two to get there.

Does greater teleport allow you to specify "arrive 5 miles east of X"? I thought you needed a reliable description of X (which we do have).

Sir Hendric the Vigilant wrote:

Teleporting is conspicuous if you arrive directly in someone's line of vision, but I don't think that was ever suggested as a plan. We could teleport to a mile from our destination, for example.

Do we have an exact distance? I thought he just gave a physical description and said it takes a week or two to get there.

Does greater teleport allow you to specify "arrive 5 miles east of X"? I thought you needed a reliable description of X (which we do have).

You actually don't. You have a description of the Horn, which is a landmark close to the ruins. You still have to actually find the ruins. And "close to" is a relative term; the journey is about 80 miles, so "close to" could still be within 3 square miles of the Horn, which is still a pretty big area.

Peter Zarr wrote:

Sir Hendric the Vigilant wrote:

Teleporting is conspicuous if you arrive directly in someone's line of vision, but I don't think that was ever suggested as a plan. We could teleport to a mile from our destination, for example.

Do we have an exact distance? I thought he just gave a physical description and said it takes a week or two to get there.

Does greater teleport allow you to specify "arrive 5 miles east of X"? I thought you needed a reliable description of X (which we do have).

You actually don't. You have a description of the Horn, which is a landmark close to the ruins. You still have to actually find the ruins. And "close to" is a relative term; the journey is about 80 miles, so "close to" could still be within 3 square miles of the Horn, which is still a pretty big area.

So we could teleport to the Horn, but not the ruins. It makes it a closer call for me, but I'm still in favor of just walking.

Whatever you guys want to do is fine by me.

I vote for a nice teleport.

If you want to teleport, I can supply one normal casting, ie Peter can greater teleport with zanice and a couple others, we spend a minute studying the area, one of us teleport peter/zanice back and the other teleport the rest of the party there. I only have 2 5th level spells tho, so can't do 2 teleports.

As I indicated my preference is for walking (it seems like a safer tactic to me than teleporting nearby and hoping we aren't spotted).

I'm far more concerned over my 7th level spell slots (the greater teleport) than the 5th, but I certainly appreciate you offering one of your 5th (so I only have to burn 1 5th level slot to teleport).

Teleport: Marta, Hendric
Walk: Peter
Abstaining (unless I'm mistaken): Zanice

Just realized Arnaur recommeneded dancing our way there in the gameplay thread, so adding him to the walk column. Which I think makes Jordan the deciding vote if Zanice is still abstaining :)

Teleport: Marta, Hendric
Walk/dance: Peter, Arnaut

I am abstaining.