GM Elberion's The Feast of Ravenmoor [PFS] (Inactive)

Game Master GeraintElberion

Ever eager to take flight Linka adds a few letters at the end on the group name, -ron.

With that taken care of, anything else we should be aware of before we hit the road?

"No, not that I know of. You can decide for yourselves how to get to Ravenmoor. Just find Elias Kyle."

You have time to shop in Magnimar before Sheila Heidmarch hooks you up with a caravan heading north. We will then fast forward to the approach to Ravenmoor, after you wave goodbye to the caravan of Varisian traders.

Ravenmoor is located almost 250 miles from Magnimar through foothills, forests, and marshland. You travel the Lost Coast Road up through Sandpoint until you reach Galduria; from there the rest of the journey is made via horseback along a well-traveled road on the western shore of the Lampblack River. As the Lampblack curves away to the east, this road continues north along the edge of Churlwood, eventually taking the caravan to Roderic’s Cove and Riddleport.
You abandon the road at this bend in the river to follow a little-used trail up along the river’s west banks into increasingly dreary landscapes of bogland and bleak moors. During the day, the preponderance of ravens in the skies gives subtle encouragement that you are on the right track to Ravenmoor, but as the sun sets, the mosquitoes come alive. The trail itself often winds away from the river and soggy boglands to avoid the worst of these pests, but once you near Ravenmoor, insects become a constant annoyance.

Salvius tries to make natural insect repellent along the way, perhaps looking for eucalyptus, tea or thyme in hopes of keeping himself focused in his studies throughout the journey. He keeps notes of every new species of trees the party passes through, and he even collects beetles and other insects for study, before releasing them back into the wild.

He constantly badgers Vina about her experiences too, trying to get to know her and Lakadee a lot more, and giving off the impression he looks up to druids a lot, almost idolizing them.

Vina buys the ingredients that cannot be found in nature for insect repellant while in town and assists Salvius in brewing the stuff.

Just buying it outright ooc but ic she brews it with Salvius 'cause it's fun and she knows all about poison, venom, sap and everything that stings...

Vina eagerly engages Salvius in conversation, even offering him to climb atop Lakadee's branches for a better view. Once he does, she climbs on his shoulder to gain an even greater vantage point!

When the subject switches to druids and nature, she says, "Reality is like an onion. It has many layers. The magical, the natural, the ethereal, and many more. You can live your whole life looking at the outside of the onion and be fine. Some like to see the other layers, so they peel one by one. Some cut right to the middle with non-subtle means, but those are ready to shed some tears, as they know they're using a knife to cut the onion directly."

Crafting 3 doses of Vermin Repellant.

Linka joins in the brewing. As they travel to Ravenmoor she takes a moment to warn everyone of the stirges.

So the raven part of the town is fairly evident. The moor part should be pretty obvious when we get there as well. The moor part is what we have to watch for. It's full of stirges. Big blood suckers that fight the ravens for control of the skies around the town.

Sayuki taps her chin. ”I would argue that life is more akin to a parfait,” she offers. ”Everybody loves parfait!”

She picks up a dose of Vermin Repellent as well.

Have you tried using a knife on a parfait? Ineffective at best and a huge mess at worst. Actually... I think that sort of fits the parfait side of things.

Sayuki nods. ”Exactly. What’s more, an onion is an onion the entire way through—a parfait’s layers are different, and complementary. If you do not plunge your spoon through multiple layers and try to eat them one at a time, you are setting yourself up for disaster.”

Vina laughs at Linka and Sayuki's antics.

Back in town Vina purchased enough supplies to make 20 doses of insect repellent

Salvius is overjoyed Vina lets him sit atop Lakadee, and he shows the group some of his own studies - he pulls out a glass jar holding a wicked-looking branch, pulsing with green energy. He says-"I collected this in my first battle as a Pathfinder - The Battle of the Solstice Scar. Eshimka, one of the lieutenants of Tar-Baphon, corrupted the forest with his very essence as means to protect himself. I studied this very branch, despite its foul magic. and negative energy."-he says whilst putting it back in his backpack.

He opens his spellbook and shows the party-"I have combined both the arcane art of imbuing one's essence into matter, and the druidic ritual of plant control. To perform this: Astamdam Willingello!"-as he points his wand at a patch of grass, and the grass seems to grow tenfold and start dancing to the motion of his wand, spiraling in a beautiful dance of plant matter - roses wiggle, pumpkins jump, and trees shake.

"One of the very first spells taught to young druids, or so my studies have shown me, but a herculean feat to accomplish from the arcane tradition."-he says scratching his head and blushing.

As you near the village, you hear the sound of a young boy’s voice calling out, “Aaaaaaplesaaaauce! Here boy! C’meer boy!” followed by some whistling, as if a child were seeking a missing puppy. This comes from the tall grass growing to the left of the road.

Suddenly, a stirge zips out of the undergrowth, weaves in the air and then lands on Vina.
melee touch: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (9) + 7 = 16

Stirge

Tanya
Vina
Sayuki
Salvius
Linka
Ekanta

Bold are up!

"Eeeeeeeeeeeeek! Lakadee! take this off me! ATTACK!" says Vina, pulling the thing off her fur!

Escape Artist: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (19) + 3 = 22

"HARUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUMPH!" replies Lakadee, swatting at the thing with thick branches!

Lakadee Full Attack
Slam: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (17) + 10 = 27 for dmg: 2d6 + 7 ⇒ (3, 5) + 7 = 15
Slam: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (19) + 10 = 29 for dmg: 2d6 + 7 ⇒ (6, 6) + 7 = 19

Sayuki's quick to grab an arrow-- but when she draws, she notices that there seems to be a tree pulverizing the giant mosquito.

Them's some good rolls with killer stats on top of it! I didn't look at Lakadee much before, but he seems beastly!

".........I'll save my arrow," says Sayuki, turning about to make sure there aren't more of them.

Tanya draws her pistol and aims for the stirge. "Hold still Vina."
Attack Roll Pistol B/P + PBS - Melee: 1d20 + 4 + 1 - 4 ⇒ (15) + 4 + 1 - 4 = 16
Damage Roll Pistol B/P: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (7) + 1 = 8

Ooh, get it off. Get it off.

Escape Artist, Aid: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (6) + 3 = 9

Linka tries to help pull the stirge off, but can't get a grip.

Vina wriggles free of the stirge’s proboscis and lackadee pulverises the creature.
First hit took it to dead. Not just dying, dead.

Just as the tree connects, a little boy appears on the path. Dressed in over-sized, rolled-up dungarees and a floppy straw hat and with bare feet. The boy cries out in distress, ”Applesauce!” and runs over to the stirge’s broken body on the floor. Its diaphanous wings crumpled, its proboscis jutting up into the air, ”Bwaugh!”
The boy cries over the stirge, a bubble of snot growing on his nose, ”My little Applesauce!”

Plot trap if I've ever seen one! lol

"Hi there... sorry about that. We thought he was trying to sting us. We didn't know stirges could be kept as pet. Is there anything we can do to make you feel better? I'm so sorry..."

Sayuki quietly un-nocks her arrow.

"Have you ever done something that seemed so obviously correct at the time, and been proven wrong immediately after?" she whispers to Tanya.

Vina, could I have a diplomacy check to go with that?

"Applesauce wouldn't never hurt nobody never. You just scairt him!" The boy blubbers out between tears. The bubble has now popped and a long stream of teary snot runs down to the ground.

Tanya, pistol still smoking in her hand, looks on with a solemn expression. She whispers back to Sayuki, "Isn't that the entirety of war in and of itself?"

She starts to reload the pistol and sighs. "Sorry about that kid." After it is reloaded, she tucks it away for later use. "But next time, keep your pet on a leash before it grabs a random stranger."

"There there... give your nose a good wipe with this," says Vina bringing down one of Lakadee's leafiest branch. "Do you want to take a ride on my big walking tree for a bit?"

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (20) + 9 = 29

Okay, that's bossing the diplomacy. If anyone can aid another and get that over 30 then I will call that as a big shift in attitude.

+7 oughta do it—

Sayuki steps forward; ”He has moved on to the afterlife, now, where he can drink all he wants,” she says.

Diplomacy Aid: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (4) + 7 = 11

The moment where he could have been useful having come and gone before he could even react, Ekanta stays behind, silent and obscure, and looks away...far, faaar away....

Were the boogers really necessary? Let's stick with wholesome, family-friendly, graphic depictions of gore and violence next time, shall we?

Diplomacy, aid: 1d20 - 2 ⇒ (17) - 2 = 15

Losing Applesauce hurts, but this is also an opportunity. Your chance to start becoming the greatest stirge trainer ever. Get out there and find Apples and show everyone how you like them!

Tanya, having no diplomatic skills, just lowers her hat and diverts her attention elsewhere.

The boy's sobbing slows to a miserable snuffle and he wipes the drooping snot away with the back of his sleeve, leaving a long wet stain on the dirty cloth.
:b

He clutches the dead stirge in his arm, but reaches out tentatively to Lakadee, "Yeah, mebee I could ride home in the tree?"

Hey kid, sorry your dog got hit by a truck. Wanna go for a ride in the truck? Hooooo boy.

That made me laugh harder than I would expect.

Were the boogers really necessary? Let's stick with wholesome, family-friendly, graphic depictions of gore and violence next time, shall we?

LOL! violence over bodily functions! LOL

Hey kid, sorry your dog got hit by a truck. Wanna go for a ride in the truck? Hooooo boy.

ROTFLMAO!

Vina helps the boy hop unto her tree swing and makes sure he's safe. We wouldn't want further... accidents...

She then motions for Lakadee to resume his march towards the town.

"You'll be the envy of all kids in town when we arrive! hee hee hee!"

I'm going to rule that the boy did not witness the violence (because, by the book, he doesn't reach the path until the end of the first round) so he does not know how the stirge died. I mean, you could tell him but that's on you.

Vina, give me a lift? I want to note down some tips on stirge training while there's time.

Checks Animal Companion sheet: Light load 466, Medium load 932, Heavy load 1,400 -- yep!

Looking at Salvius, the kid and herself already in the tree, she pauses, then says, "Why not? I'm sure Lakadee can take it!"

To be fair, I sill declared Tanya as shooting the bug. There is a chance he saw Tanya's pistol smoking and heard a very loud BANG! If anything, I just turned a kid into an anti-gun violence against small, ineffective insects advocate.

The raised path leads through boggy swathes of tall swamp-grass until you reach the Ravenmoor Ferry.
Two ramshackle shacks flank the Lampblack River here, sheds to house a flat-bottom ferry. Tightly drawn ropes cross the river, part of a cranked pulley system that draws the barge across the black water.

As you draw near, a crooked-backed, thin-haired man appears, "Ah, you'll be wantin' ta take the ferry, strangers. Nobody swims the Lampblack, not unless they want to die in the teeth of the Wolf-in-the-Water!" He points at a sun-bleached skull nailed to a fence post, "You don't want ta end up like this poor bugger now, do ya?"

After a moment, he notices the boy, "Now, what you doin' with Ornigaard in your big tree?"

Sayuki chooses to remain on foot, but discretely wipes a flattened insect leg off of Lakadee's branches.

"Wolf in the Water?" asks Sayuki. "I will of course heed your advice, but... I will admit my curiosity is piqued."

Ekanta gingerly clops his way to the riverbank, dips his staff in, and stirs it around slowly like a Ninshaburian brewmeister, almost as if daring something to strike it.

In case these are any use:
Perception: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (2) + 9 = 11
Survival: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (3) + 7 = 10

Sayuki takes a few steps away from Ekanta.

"Sage advice friend. I will indeed retain your ferry services. As for this little man here, we are giving him a ride back home after he sadly lost his little stirge friend. Care to point us in the direction of his home so that we can safely bring him back to his parents?"

Ekanta finds nothing in the water but the man leans over a railing and shakes his head, "You be careful there, stranger. Everything can seem real peaceful and then..." He slaps his hands together with a loud clap that rings over the water, "You're gone."

He turns back to those on the path, "It's one silver apiece, and one gold for the big tree thing." He tilts his head to one side, "If you wanna leave it here, I'll keep an eye on it."

Then he addresses Vina directly, "Boy needs to take better care of his pets. He oughta be careful his pappy don't whip him: losing a stirge he trained up for the boy." He jerks a finger over his shoulder, "They got a place up by the festival grounds. You'll find it easy."

"So," he holds out his hand, "Silver a head, an' I'll need a second trip to bring the tree over."

Sayuki taps her chin. "Would it not be less work to bring the tree over, rather than 'keep an eye on it,' as you say?" she asks.

She plans on forgetting about the boy and his stirge over a nice drink or ten later.

Vina pays the fee for both Lakadee and her. "Big guy here is coming with me. Thanks for the offer of watching him though. That was kind of you Sir. And thanks for showing us where the boy's parents live."

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (12) + 9 = 21

The man puffs up and takes Vina's money, "Well, you keep that politeness up like you doin' an' folks won't mind you so much. I thank you for it."

He pockets the coin and gestures for those riding Lackadee to come down. The boy, Ornigaard, hops onto the ferry without paying and waits for the others to join him. He cradles his stirge and keeps looking back at Lackadee.

Lakadee looks back at the boy with friendly expression, and says "Mmmmmoooooph. Thoom! thoooooooommm..."

Sayuki shrugs and pays the fee for the rest of them, herself included.

Tanya tosses the ferry master the silver coin, and keeps her eyes locked onto the water.
"Never thought I would be shooting at fish." She mumbles.