[PFS1] GM Losonti's The Horn of Aroden 05-19 (Inactive)

Game Master Losonti

Huh. She's doing that on purpose, the venomous scorpion!

Torvald slowly walks a circuit around the room, examining the weapons on display. "I'm not much of a swordsman--that's more my sister's bailiwick than mine--but I think she'd love to own one of the famous Aldori dueling blades." The alchemist snaps his fingers, as though remembering something. "Ah! But we're not here for souvenirs, I'm afraid. Marek, I am Torvald Stonecast, with the Pathfinder Society. My companions and I were hoping to meet with young lord Lander Lebeda. We had hoped to find him here, but since he isn't present, would you happen to know where he could be found?"

Marek shakes his head in response to Torvald's question. "Unfortunately, I don't know where he is, but I might be able to point you in the right direction. Come on upstairs to my apartment, so we can talk without having to shout over the forge."

The upstairs room is cramped and sootsmudged but comfortable, with a number of sturdy wooden chairs set out around a small table and a quilt-covered bed built into a corner. Marek offers each of you a glass of mare’s milk or liquor before sitting down. A stuffed eagle clutching a pair of tongs perches above the door to the staircase. Once everyone is situated, he resumes.

“I last saw Lander two days ago. He was headed out of town on the southwestern road. Over the past month or so, he’s been trying to put his training to good use—slaying monstrous vermin in the outskirts of town, that sort of thing. With the recent attacks by bandits, Lander was convinced that he could stop them himself and live up to Baron Aldori’s legacy.”

Languidly relaxed in a sturdy wooden chair, Laafdahni's limpid gaze inspects Marek for any telltale signs of deception. Hmm... He seems like a straightforward man, but is he?

Sense Motive: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (9) + 1 = 10

Hmm... Hard to tell. But he doesn't have any reason to suspect us yet.

Magellia declines the offer of a drink and waits for Marek to finish talking.

"We have reason to believe he was training with you. Do you think he is up to the task or could he be in danger?"

Bandits? Do I know of any local bandit groups?

kn. local: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (15) + 7 = 22

"Bandits you say? What can you tell us of these bandits? Where would you expect Lander's training to lead him to on the southwestern road?"

"I know I want to stay away from them, but not much else. Although Lander has improved quite a bit in the months I’ve been teaching him, he is still likely no match for any bandits. Though it’s unlikely he’d even find them—he doesn’t have much of a head on his shoulders for the wilderness, and is far more likely lost somewhere. If he’s lucky, he’s lost out in the countryside somewhere, playing the hero. If he’s unlucky, he’s encountered some of the nastier critters that live in the back country. I’m worried for his safety."

"Hmm. As are we, especially now. What more can you tell us of his potential whereabouts--terrain, 'nasty critters', etc?" Laafdahni is itching to get out on the road to find Lander, but it couldn't hurt to get more information.

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (6) + 4 = 10

Yates listens to the back and forth with interest, but seems lost about all the weapons downstairs not sure how to use them properly.

As he moves up stairs he starts to take notes about the conversation, and then pauses. "He say where he was headed before he left? And does he normally stay gone for this long?"

"Does the boy run with any companions? Surely he wouldn't be reckless enough to undertake this little quest alone..." Torvald's tone is far from certain, however.

Chuckling softly, Laafdahni shakes her head, musing: Heheh. Even *we* aren't that foolish.

Marek shakes his head at each question in succession. "Didn't give me a destination, just told me which road he planned to take. I imagine he just assumed he'd find what he was looking for. Like I said, the boy doesn't have much sense for what the wilderness is like. As for a companion, I'm not aware of any."

On the topic of creatures, he looks concerned. "I've heard about wolves, but I don't leave town much. I think the biggest creature Lander's fought is a dire rat."

With a sigh, Thorek shakes his head and rises to his feet. "I thank you for your help, Marek, but it sounds like we should be off. immediately."

Bahram nods at Thorek's words and gets up to leave as well. "If we break any blades out there, we know where to go now.". Bahram gives Marek his most brotherly smile, whatever that would be. Just less charming than most of his other smiles.

Yates finishes up his notes and stands up too. "Hrm... can you fix things other than weapons? If so I'll bring anything I break here... But yes we should be moving and moving soon, if he'S been gone for two days so far, Shyka alone might know where he has gotten to."

Fluidly rising, Laafdahni inclines her head in farewell to Marek. Her footsteps gracefully flow down the stairs and out the door, pausing in front of the building for the others to catch up.

Knowing that this conversation may benefit from careful handling Magellia stays quiet examining the dueling swords on display. If any are just on racks within reach she will pick them up and test the weight in her hands.
With a small shake of her head replaces the dueling sword and drawing her rapier she discretely twirls in and balances it on a finger before smiling to herself an sheathing it once more.

----

Once Laafdahni leaves she guesses their business is concluded and follows her.

Once outside she succinctly sums up her thoughts.
"So the son we are after has wandered into the woods, alone, in search of a foe he is incapable of dealing with. I believe our mission will be hampered by his death so I suggest we do not delay."
She pulls a strange face.
"Those weapons are unusual in their weight and balance, I suspect an amateur would struggle."

Yates frowns at the suggestion that their man in distress might be in even worse straights with a hard to use weapon than initially thought. "Right then, let's get moving. The road that Marek pointed us to was that way, right?"

"Yup." Bahram points his curl tipped boots in that direction and and begins a purposeful stride.

After they are away from the smithy, "I don't trust that guy. All of the information I've gathered on him says that he despises the entitled, like Lander. I've also heard that these recent bandit attacks have primarily targeted the Lebeda family. I imagine today he's is using this boy to hurt his family. We should be extra cautious."

Gracefully striding a step behind Bahram, Laafdahni agrees. "Indeed. He seems a two-faced fellow. I would not be surprised to learn that his teaching is as competent as his smithing."

"If your suspicions are correct, then trusting Marek's directions solely on his word may cost us time, if we've been mislead. Perhaps we should try to verify the boy's location independently? Though I'm not sure we have the time, Lander's danger sounded real enough to me..."

Magellai shifts her weight back and forth, clearly unsure as to the right course of action. "I don't know. I can't guess as to the meaning behind spoken words. Though right now I wish I could." She looks sharply at Bahram. "You heard speak of raids. Could you gather a central location?"

Hey everyone, sorry about the absence. Computer parts are here so we should be fully operational again tomorrow. If you're ready to head out after Lander, would folks be able to roll me some perception and/or survival checks? Thanks!

Perception: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (16) + 4 = 20

Yates keeps his eyes peeled as they head towards the indicated direction.
Perception: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (3) + 4 = 7
Survival Aid, Untrained: 1d20 ⇒ 14

Whoops, I forgot your computer had gone out! I was wondering if something had happened and you were okay. Glad to hear you'll have the parts to repair the power supply soon and that you're okay.

If I can make the survival check untrained...
Survival Untrained: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 = 4

Perception: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (12) + 7 = 19

Survival: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (19) + 1 = 20
Perception: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (9) + 7 = 16

Perception: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 = 3
Survival (aid Torvald): 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (9) + 1 = 10

If there's any equipment you'd like to purchase or preparations to make before leaving town, just let me know.

Marek bids the group of you farewell, wishing you a successful and speedy return with Lander. Taking the road the boy was last seen taking out of town, Torvald quickly catches the boy's trail, heading off to the southwest.

You follow the trail for several days, finding plenty of detritus to mark Lander's passage along the route. Bahram is the first to notice a handkerchief tied to a tree near the road. Further investigation reveals that the handkerchief bears the crest of House Lebeda, a white swan on a blue background with a rising sun. Torvald notices that the handkerchief appears to mark where a game trail splits off from the road, heading out into the wilderness.

"Look at all of those trees." Bahram says looking up at them in wonder. "Why, we can't see more than a few feet in front of ourselves.". He looks around the others to see their reaction.

"Well, unless any of you are any more comfortable in the woods...". Bahram hefts his axe in one hand and begins moving forward, looking left and right, and left again.

Her steps flowing over the ground like water in a small stream, Laafdahni gestures for Bahram to lead the way. "It may be best to avoid lots of hacking at trees, though. The noise may announce our presence to bandits and whatever else is out here. I have no doubt we could handle whatever comes our way, but it would slow us down needlessly."

Yates gives a small mental sigh, Curses, there goes the simple 'run into him on the road' option.

He puts down his pack and pulls out the constantly burning torch on his pack. "This here is a Founder's Flame Torch. Good at burning things if we need to. Hopefully we won't!"

Are Lander's boots by themselves, or does he appear to have anyone with him?"

"Curious, what made him careless enough to leave this behind?" Torvald muses aloud as he and Bahram examine the handkerchief. "Mind taking the lead, Bahram? I'm more useful from a distance if we run into any trouble."

"Don't mind at all!" Bahram says cheerfully, through he would secretly prefer someone else were in front of him.

"It would seem he was leaving a trail, for someone like us to find him, or just find his way back out of these woods.. I only hope that he left it not because He was taken prisoner. Shall we?" Bahram asks as he begins to follow the game trail.

There's signs of other traffic on the road, but nothing to indicate Lander was traveling with anyone.

About 2 miles from where you leave the road, the deer trail winds past a large pond fed by a spring. Reeds and sedges grow around the pond, and piping birds are audible over the gurgling of running water. The pond drains from a stream flowing southwards. A section of grasses has been cleared away near the north edge of the pond, revealing a small fire pit caked with ashes.

Beyond that fire pit are three men, their backs to you and their attention on the ground. They appear to be looking for something, and give no indication they are aware of your presence yet.

Please arrange yourselves on the map, located on slide 3! You are approaching from the northwest corner.

Laafdahni creeps along as sneakily as she can behind her team mates, ready to cast Mage Armor as soon as stealth is unnecessary.

Stealth: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 1 = 6

For all her flowing grace, she doesn't pay attention to where she places her feet.

"Pleasant afternoon, gentlemen!" Torvald calls, before the three mistake their approach for an ambush. "I couldn't help but notice you seem to be looking for something, which is a happy coincidence because so are we! Perhaps we can help one another out? My name is Torvald Stonecask, of Janderhoff. And you are...?"

Diplomacy: 1d20 - 2 ⇒ (11) - 2 = 9

My location is fine

Bahram looks back at Torvald and thinks to himself, Well crap!. To Torvald, he whispers, "Ixnay on the Landersay. These are probably bandits looking to kill him." And then he turns to smile at the three men.

One of the men spins round when the party announces themselves, but the other two seem too preoccupied to react even to this. After a quick double-take, he shouts to his companions, yelling "What are you waiting for? Grab them, or Aldona will have our hides!"

Turn order
Magellia
Torvald
Laafdahni
Wicent
Brigands
Yates
Bahram

Because of the particularly terrible situational awareness of these bandits, the party gets a surprise round. Those in bold may also post their first turn of actions.

Yates gives a mental sigh as the group clearly is not going to stay hidden well. He strides forward only his torch in hand otherwise unarmed. "Hello there! We happen to be looking for someone, anyone been through here with a Aldori sword? In nicer clothing and probably lost?"

Gods this is not going to roll well Diplomacy: 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (20) - 1 = 19
Dangit, looks like I got ninja'd by the GM, this can be his surprise round action if that is better.

"S~%#."

Bahram hefts his axe and flies by Yates as he charges the bandit by the water's edge and attempts to split him in twain.

Move = charge, swift = enact archaeologist's luck (+2 att and dmg), standard = attack.

great axe: 1d20 + 3 + 2 ⇒ (20) + 3 + 2 = 251d12 + 3 ⇒ (8) + 3 = 11

confirm: 1d20 + 3 + 2 + 2 ⇒ (11) + 3 + 2 + 2 = 181d6 + 3 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 3 + 2 = 7

" Yield!"

Well, that escalated quickly. Laafdahni casts Mage Armor in a strong voice, wondering who this Aldona character is. The thought of slavery crosses her mind; she sincerely hopes that has not been Lander's fate.

Torvald sighs, "So that's how it's to be, is it? Take them, Pathfinders, but try not to kill them! Dead men spill no secrets after all." Advancing on the trio he draws a bomb and tosses it at one of the strangers. "Let this be a warning to you!"

Bomb vs Red: 1d20 + 6 - 2 ⇒ (20) + 6 - 2 = 24 Confirm?: 1d20 + 6 - 2 ⇒ (1) + 6 - 2 = 5 Damage: 2d6 + 4 ⇒ (3, 1) + 4 = 8

Attack vs red

Yates and Bahram, hold on to those rolls for now. Quick refresher on surprise rounds: you are able to take a move or a standard action, but not both. Bahram and Torvald, would you mind also posting your surprise round action?

I actually was trying to post that before combat started. But didn't realize you had posted for combat to start already. Disregards the diplomacy. It wouldn't work without a minute to try convincing them anyways.

Surprise round - move
Round 1 - move then attack defensively

Well this I understand at least.
Magellia surges forward to protect the parties flank. She lunges with her rapier before returning to a defensive position.
Attack defensively: 1d20 + 7 - 4 ⇒ (1) + 7 - 4 = 4
Damage: 1d6 + 4 ⇒ (4) + 4 = 8
I can't wait for combat expertise for that to be less painful a trade off.

AC20 for the next round to keep me safe till I can spell combat

sorry about that one. Here's surprise:

Hefting his ax so that it is in plain sight, "We are not the type of people you should be looking to'nab.'. Let's have a chat about Aldona instead, and you get to keep your head."

diplomacy: 1d20 + 8 + 2 ⇒ (8) + 8 + 2 = 18

standard = skill use, Swift action = archaeologists luck.

If my attack still happens, please add one to the dmg, as I will enact arcane shot since I have already activated luck.

Torvald would have make that Diplomacy as his surprise round. He's surprised this went straight to violence so immediately.

Bahram, I've temporarily returned you to your original position. You can 5 foot step from there as part of the surprise round, and after the enemy turn you can decide what action to take.

Magellia is able to get into melee with the apparent leader of the group before they can act, but he reads her thrust and steps out of the way. It's all that the bandit across the spring can do, however, to not catch Torvald's bomb with his face. It impacts directly against him and leaves him badly burned.

Laafdahni is up!

Shaking her head, Laafdahni strides forward and stops in front of Yates. With a steady voice like a vast, inexorable river, she casts Color Spray on the one standing nearby in the water.

DC 16 Will negates