GM Elberion's From Shore to Sea [PFS] (Inactive)

Game Master GeraintElberion

Aaftaab nods.

“Hopefully, we survive the investigation. This thing was monstrous!!!“

You can rest here with the villagers or explore some more. You could cross to the island right now or wait until morning. You'll have to decide what you want to do.

If it’s dark outside, Reginald would prefer to rest and depart for the island in the morning.

"We should rest before we head out. No sense heading into a stormy sea in the dark! Is there a good place for us to hole up for the night?"

Might as well snag that sweet 3rd level spell slot back...

The villagers shudder, ”We’ll stay here tonight, it’s the safest place.”

The storm which brought the tentacled beast momentarily Submerged the rest of the village, except for the shrine.

"I mean, if we gotta go out we gotta go out... but if we don't, no reason to tempt this things return."

Ischell appears to be as much trying to sway his own opinion of the right course of action, as convince anyone else.

Castinus settles into as comfortable a position as he can find, in an overcrowded, soaking lighthouse chamber awash with seawater, sweaty villages and severed calamari. Hunkering down, he will sink into a light slumber, beset by dreams of further tentacular horrors awaiting them at the island the next day.

Time passes.

Castinus snores gently, soothed by the low murmur of waves lapping against the shore...

In the morning, eager villagers thank the pathfinders, press parcels of dried fish upon them and generally sing your praises as you head to the boat.
Last chance to do anything in the village.
Estien is waiting in his rowboat and the broad-shouldered fisherman takes two hours to deliver you to the island over choppy seas. He sings as he rows.

The island materializes ahead as imposing cliffs lift weed-choked ruins far above the frothing sea. Miraculously, the broken tops of several towers orbit the island in slow, lazy ellipses, some plunging into the ocean before emerging aloft again. A huge blanket of floating jellyfish lurk just below the gray waters as Estian croaks a rough sea shanty under his breath. He sniffs the salty air and nods toward the jellyfish bloom, his wide mouth breaking into a toothy grin. “That’s a bad place to be right now, surely, I’d say!”

He can only take five. I am assuming that Aaftaab rides Parvaaz above the waves.

Estian suddenly and swiftly begins a gruseome transformation into a horrifying fishman. He croaks something in an unintelligible garble and attempts to rock the boat and pitch the PCs overboard into the jellyfish bloom.

Aaftaab
Reginald
Mist
Parvaaz
Castinus
Robyyn
Ischell

Estian
Bold are up!

Hi GM, is there a map? Doing a standard action charge.

Aaftaab does not know what is going on but seeing that this transformed being is trying to do something that would hurt his companions means that he has to react.

Aaftaab directs Parvaaz to charge the transformed man and Aaftaab attacks with his negative energy blade.

- Void Kinetic blade with outflanking +15, negative energy hitting touch AC (1d6+1+3d6; 20/x2) To hit: BAB +4, Finesse +6, Size +1, +4 Flank with ’Outflank’ / Damage: d6+ ½ Con + 2d6 Sneak Attack + d6 Precise Strike Feat // charge +2: 1d20 + 15 + 2 ⇒ (16) + 15 + 2 = 331d6 + 1 + 2d6 + 1d6 ⇒ (4) + 1 + (6, 5) + (3) = 19

Also standard action charge with Talon that has grab and automatically can make a grapple check if it is a hit.

Parvaaz charges and grabs!

To hit with power attack and outflank +12: Amulet of Mighty Fist +1, BAB +4, Str +6, Outflank +4, -2 power attack, Size -1
Damage with power attack +11+d6: Str +6, Power Attack +4, Amulet of Mighty Fist +1, +d6 Precise Strike // charge +2 : 1d20 + 12 + 2 ⇒ (15) + 12 + 2 = 291d6 + 11 + 1d6 ⇒ (2) + 11 + (3) = 16

CMB +19 grapple* (BAB +4, Str +6, Size +1, Outflank +4) * Creatures with the grab special attack receive a +4 bonus on combat maneuver checks made to start and maintain a grapple.: 1d20 + 19 ⇒ (9) + 19 = 28

No map because I thought this would happen.

Just as the transformed sailor starts to rock the boat, attempting to tip you all into the poisoned jellyfish bloom, he is cut to ribbons by Aaftaab.

You now have a rowboat and are about five minutes rowing from the shore of the ruined island of Nal-Kashel.

Aaftaab casts stabilize on the man and hopes that he is still alive.

"Ooops, I hope I did not kill him!?" he says and continues flying on Parvaaz.

Aaftaab took him to one hit point, Parvaaz completely killed him.

Aaftaab realises that only great magics would bring this creature back from the dead.

”Then you’ll have to learn to not hit so hard,” Reginald comments, his face an unpleasant shade of green that the recent disturbances of the boat don’t seem to have helped much. ”Constables use those padded batons - you could grab one of them for times like-“ Whatever other wisdom the wizard was about to produce are lost as he heaves his partially-digested breakfast overboard.

If nobody else wants to row, Reginald could possibly do so with his eyebrows (aka Prehensile Hair hex) - but the poor fellow’s seasick.

Knowledge (local): 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (11) + 7 = 18

"He transformed into a skum. Some ill influence of the island, perhaps?" Robyyn, assuming that stronger folk will pick up the oars and finish the rowing, retrieves a wand and uses it to grant himself the faintest, translucent glow of magical armor.

casting mage armor from his wand

Robyyn, that beats the DC by 5. Anything you’d like to know?

Robyyn, that beats the DC by 5. Anything you’d like to know?

I didn't put in a request, since it was already dead by the time he made his check, but in case we run into any more, Robyyn would like to know about resistances/immunites. Thanks!

Aaftaab looks at Reginald and feels sorry.

"Come on, continue rowing. You will be there shortly!!"

Castinus reaches out and swiftly grasps the oars before they slip overboard amidst the venomous-looking bloom. "Good spot Aaftab."

He searches the dead body (or rather what is left of it after Parvaas' attack) and muses on what he knows of such a creature, before hefting it into the sea.

knowledge local, insp: 1d20 + 6 + 1d6 ⇒ (11) + 6 + (1) = 18
Castinus is particularly interested in how 'Skum' live and are created; specifically, was the fisherman a Skum all along, or did he somehow transmute into one before our very eyes?

perception: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (17) + 9 = 26any kit, or clues on the body?

Once the above is done, Castinus starts heaving manfully at the oars, aiming for an area of the coastline where the boat can be beached and hauled out without risk of being crushed on the rocks by incoming surf.

The man's clothes and gear are those of a fisherman, functional garb, a small folding knife, string, sandwiches and an apple in a bag, two small waterskins and a whistle.

The body is entirely that of a skum. The webbed feet are painfully bent within the human-shaped leather boots. His belt hangs loose around a narrow, piscine torso.

"Curious... Castinus shares with the others his findings on the creature and its origins. "These creatures are magical creations, rather than a naturally evolving species. I have heard they can breed with people..." he spits overboard in disgust, "...but I have not heard of them possession the ability to transmute between the two forms at will."

He continues to pull at the oars, propelling boat in an amateur but enthusiastic manner. "Aaftaab, do you spy a decent landing spot? What do your frog eyes see?"

"Hmmm ... I think there makes sense." Aaftaab says after looking around.

Perception: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (5) + 10 = 15

Survival: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (16) + 8 = 24

Tall cliffs jut out from the sea to make most of the island's borders but an opening is easily spotted by keen-eyed Aaftaab. Your boat beaches on a shore of thick, black sand.

Imposing cliffs rise above the frothy sea, collapsing at a rocky beach of dark sand. Graceful spires and golden domes pierce the island’s thick foliage high above, and the remains of a ruined road of white slate crumble down the cliffs onto the beach. Overhead, a half dozen broken towers float in slow elliptical orbits around the island. A large rock covered in graffiti juts from the sand in the middle of the beach.

Aaftaab, I assume that you are flying low, close to the boat?

Yes, Aaftaab flies near the boat.

perception : 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (3) + 10 = 13

Perception: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (10) + 9 = 19

Castinus pauses in his rowing, holding the boat steady in the rising swell of the waves. He looks about the others, each studiously doing anything but assisting with the manual labour required to row.

"If I'm doing the hard work here, is there any chance one of you layabouts could focus on that large rock in the middle of the beach? I can hear it humming from here, and I can taste a strange ozone in the air. Is it a threat?"

Castinus will hold off the beach to allow the others to assess the rock. Once they have reached a conclusion, he will steer the boat in as far to one side of the rock as possible, and then run it up the beach, onto the black sand.

"And what are those floating towers, I wonder? We have to get inside those later."

With a grumble, Robyyn examines the rock as best as he can from his spot in the boat. "Show me how well you row when you pass your second century; you'll not guilt me. Youth rows, age watches."

Perception DC 15: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (4) + 8 = 12

"What are you even talking about, Castinus? This crazy place is getting to your mind." Still, the witch tries to do his part, even though he picks up nothing of what Castinus was warning about. When the boat is close enough, he casts detect magic and examines the rock with better senses.

As you draw close enough to the rock for Robyyn to cast his spell, Castinus, Reginald and Mist begin to feel... strange.
All three are sickened.

Sickened: The character takes a –2 penalty on all attack rolls, weapon damage rolls, saving throws, skill checks, and ability checks.

Knowledge (history) DC 20: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (18) + 12 = 30

As Robyyn examines the rock in more detail--oblivious to his companions' distress--his casual indifference begins to subtly shift to one of engrossed attention. "Ooooh, it radiates an aura of enchantment. I'm pretty sure this is Azlanti, likely the smallest fragment of an ancient altar to a deity whose identity is long lost to time."

"Facinating...hurrrlp!" Castinus loses his lunch over the side in a reaction to the strange, uneasy feeling he is suffering from.

Weakly, he pulls the boat up on the shoreline, as far as possible away from the rock. He falls to his hands and knees on the wet sand, before recovering sufficient to (with help) haul the boat up out of reach of the surf.

"Let's get away from that thing. Come on - let's go!"

Castinus wants to get moving.

The cliffs look like a steep climb with jagged rocks below but there is also the damaged road, which seems easier to climb. And you have a roc.

As Castinus wretches over the side of the boat, the tall and formidable human comes- resting a hand of the half-elf's shoulder.

"Dude. I thought you could handle your drink, ya know?"

A small burst of magical energy, warm and soothing, overtakes the feelings of uneasiness in Castinus' stomach.

LOH, cures sickened

"But I agree, best to keep moving. The road does not look inviting- yet it seems the least resistance. I guess we gotta do what we gotta go.."

Vote: road

"We gotta stop the world from swaying so much..." Reginald adds, his face even more green than before.

We've also got two witches with Fly hex, so that just leaves the other three who'd have to walk. But road sounds good here too.

"Thank you ... dude." Castinus offers to Ischell.

"Robyyn, do you have any idea of what god, or gods that altar might have been dedicated to? It feels... unholy. Please don't tell me there may be remnants of it's congregation upon this wretched isle..."
know religion: 1d20 + 6 + 1d6 ⇒ (20) + 6 + (2) = 28
know history: 1d20 + 6 + 1d6 ⇒ (5) + 6 + (5) = 16
Despite the negative impact it might have on his knowledge roll, under no circumstances does Castinus approach close to the altar stone to make these rolls.

"I'll take the high road." Castinus shades his eyes as he looks up at the cliffs. He scans the horizon for threats, and hefts his rapier in his hand.

Once you move away from the altar, the sickening feeling fades.

Castinus, this god is so completely forgotten that the module doesn't even say who it was.

The jumbled remains of an open road streches up the cliff. Less daunting than the cliff face, it is still not going to be an easy climb.
DC15 climb checks. The cliffs are 100ft tall, so you have to climb the road that high as well. Falling on the broken road looks less dangerous than the cliffs as well.

Robyyn looks at the long climb. His feet--which never quite seem to touch the ground when he moves anyway--immediately lift off the ground and he begins ascending to the top.

Using 1 minute of Robyyn's fly ability from Flight hex. At 60' per round he'll do the 1st round at full speed, and then fly at half speed so he can crest the top under Stealth; he'll take a look and make sure there are no threats waiting before coming fully to the top.

Stealth: 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (9) - 1 = 8
Perception: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (20) + 8 = 28

Aaftaab follows Robyyn on Parvaaz.

perception : 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (13) + 10 = 23

Castinus cracks his knuckles, and spends a few minutes limbering up before swarming with almost daring speed up the broken slope.

climb, panache: 1d20 + 5 + 1d6 + 1d6 ⇒ (11) + 5 + (6) + (1) = 23

Feeling mightily pleased with himself, he realises that in 6 seconds he has only climbed 7.5 feet up the slope.

He repeats his efforts, this time with less enthusiasm. Especially as the others simply fly up past him, with little to no effort involved.

climb, no panache: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (13) + 5 = 18

Now 15' up the cliff, he stops, dusts off his hands and lets his analytical mind take over from his enthusiastic athletics. Looking up, he does the maths.

"Guys? Any chance of a lift? Or, a rope, at least?"

Is this how it works? Each quarter move requires a separate climb check, so to make 100' of progress requires 14 successful checks, none of which fail by more than 4 ? And no taking 10, either, right, since this is not without risk? On that basis success is a very small chance indeed.

Castinus will await a rope dropped down from above. Provided with a sturdy rope to ascend up, he can make the rest of the climb without risk.

Stowing his chained blades (but not his guns), Ischell begins to slowly pick his way up the "road".

He can be heard muttering under his breath.

"What in Iori?! I have climbed walls easier than this road... Doesn't even match the rest of the topography..."

Climb, DC 15: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (18) + 9 = 27
Climb, DC 15: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (6) + 9 = 15
Climb, DC 15: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (7) + 9 = 16
Climb, DC 15: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (17) + 9 = 26
Climb, DC 15: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (7) + 9 = 16
Climb, DC 15: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (19) + 9 = 28
Climb, DC 15: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (12) + 9 = 21

The movement is slow going- but steadily, Ischell makes his way up the path.

Reginald follows Robyyn into the air, pulling out a length of rope from his pack as he does so. ”Don’t worry you two - we’ll find a good spot to ties this to up top and then let it down for you to climb!” he announces cheerfully, any sign of seasickness seemingly gone without a trace.

I mean, it’ll probably take two or three ropes to reach the bottom of the cliff, and if we knotted them it’s be even easier to climb, but Reginald doesn’t quite have the foresight for things like that. XD

Castinus, you may take ten on climb checks when there’s no battle or storm or other distracting action. The cracked, ancient road is DC15.

As you ascend the road, you realise why few people visit the island, beyond those visiting Wedding Rock on the shore. Without good reason this is a forbidding and lengthy climb.
Why did the Azlanti choose such an isolated spot for this settlement? You do not know, as of yet...

Parvaaz is directed by Aaftaab to carry everyone that is willing up.

"Come on guys! We can all go up. Parvaaz and I can help!"

As you crest the rise you are able to see the sweep of the island before you. The streets of the city wrap around the ruined structures of the island in sweeping curves like the shell of some enormous mollusk. Massive slabs of a white, chitinous material grow layer upon layer in a once-contiguous piece, long ago broken into jagged formations. Along the streets, urchin-like spines stab ten feet upward, some with illuminated, glass globes drifting slowly in silent orbit around their points. Densely overgrown, vine-choked buildings alternate between fantastic domed structures and symmetrical, orderly city blocks, following the arcs of the queerly curving streets.

If you observe the now-revealed map on the slides, the most striking structures are those marked with B[number].

You are on the road leading from B1 and can choose where, and how, to navigate from there. The island is shattered by historic convulsions, probably earthquakes, and each cliff portrayed on the map belongs to an uneven surface rising in jagged rock from the land below. Whatever the height, DC20 climb checks are needed to cross those sections (or, y'know, a roc).

Via either a lowered rope auto climb success or a helpful roc, Castinus eventually ascends the cliff. As his gaze rises from the obstacle itself, they fall upon the ruined, dizzying spires of the long-broken city.

"Wow." He takes in the sights, slowly. "Just. Wow."

know history, inspir: 1d20 + 6 + 1d6 ⇒ (5) + 6 + (1) = 12

Does Castinus have any clue of the origins of this fantastical city?

"Guys, we are privileged to be here. Our feet are treading history with every step."

Castinus' vote would be to skirt the first cliff wall, use the roc to affix a rope for us all to climb up, scout the ruins of the city and eventually head to area B3.