[PbP Gameday IX] GM Ladile & the Pathfinder Society Present: Among the Living (Table 2) (Inactive)

Game Master Lady Ladile

Mika also creeps forward.

Yep, still 1 square = 10 feet.

With only one obvious direction of travel Trajan continues to lead the way as you slowly and carefully move from the basement proper into the wet, slippery tunnels. Glistening with water, the slick walls and floor of these tunnels were recently carved from the thick bedrock beneath Oppara. Well lit by standing lamps, the tunnels stretch into an adjacent chamber, seemingly carved from the bedrock as well. However, the adjacent chamber is made of smooth walls, covered in strange glyphs, and also lit by the same standing lamps. At the center of that chamber stands a tall stone dais. In the middle of the dais is a huge boulder which, by all appearances, fell a great distance before crashing here. The boulder glows with an eerie green light.

Standing upon the dais is a heavily-armored man with a heavy pick hanging at his side. Accompanying him is an large, stooped over humanoid creature with a greatclub clutched in one hand, dragging on the ground - and like many of the other creatures you've faced tonight, this one is quite clearly dead.

Upon hearing the sounds of your approach from behind him, the man turns around to face you. "Survivors?" he sneers. "How lucky you are to have briefly glimpsed the Zyphus Stone for yourselves. But now, your luck has run out and you'll never leave this chamber alive!"

The chamber itself isn't as wet or slippery & the Orange Line on the map denotes the boundary of where the 'Grease' effect ends.
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Round 1

Trajan
Kyras
Altavan
Goran
Varro (Mage Armor)
Mika
==============
Fel Bustrani
Zombie Ogre

Active Conditions: None

Environmental Conditions: None

Everyone is UP!

Down Below

Kyras rolls his eyes, takes out a bomb, and just throws it at the giant ogre.
Bomb: 1d20 + 7 + 1 ⇒ (16) + 7 + 1 = 242d5 + 5 ⇒ (3, 4) + 5 = 12

Trajan motions forward the fire casters and tells them, "Worry not for when you are finished casting your spells Mika and I will step in front of you to prevent them from approaching you."

Part of this is for Varro since he hasn't posted since October 20th and this way the GM can bot him, set fire to things (which sounds like his favorite hobby), and still be involved.
Clarification question: How high is the dais? I would guess it's a 10 foot move to get out of the wet area and enter the chamber so I'm not sure how many more feet away the NPCs are from the party.

Goran moves up a pace and shoots a jet of fire at the pair.

Time to end your treachery, fool!

burning hands: 4d4 ⇒ (2, 2, 4, 3) = 11

dc 17 save...just want to move to the 15 ft range to cast the spell

Altavan looked at the armored human and shook his head. "Boring" he said, this time with a real yawn as he waived his hand in front of his face.

Slumber hex on the armored guy DC 17 Will. Move in so I am 30' or less to target him and avoid the zombie.

Trajan tells Mika, "If you wish to advance to protect the casters allow me to go first. Large creatures can reach farther than we can and I'll provoke the beast."

Nodding to Trajan, Mika waits for the fire before moving in to smite.

@Trajan - Yeah, we'll say that the dais is about 10 feet off the ground. Stepping out of the slippery tunnel from where you are requires no additional movement beyond the usual, so you'd have to move 20 ft. total to reach Red.

As always, Kyras really doesn't have the time or patience for all this villain monologuing garbage and simply flings a bomb directly at the zombified ogre. Even with a fair bit distance between them it's like hitting the broad side of a barn and the bomb explodes over the zombie, burning away bits of rotten flesh.

Goran moves into the chamber and stops at the bottom of the steps before conjuring a conic burst of fire upward at the zombie and its wrangler...

...neither of which manage to evade the flames! Altavan tries his usual routine of putting things to sleep, stepping into the chamber while focusing on Fel Bustrani...

...who yawns sleepily but then suddenly shakes his head to clear away the drowsiness. Meanwhile, both Trajan and Mika wait expectantly for Varro to unleash some fire magic of his own before acting...

Going to give Varro a few hours longer and then I'll bot him accordingly.
______________

Round 1

Trajan
Kyras
Altavan
Goran
Varro (Mage Armor)
Mika
==============
Fel Bustrani (-11)
Zombie Ogre (-23)

Active Conditions: None

Environmental Conditions: None

Trajan, Mika and Varro are UP!

Down Below

Okay, more like several hours - work got busy! Unfortunately I went back and looked and Varro used his Burning Hands spell earlier but we'll go with something else that's fiery~

In accordance with Trajan's suggestion Varro takes aim and conjures two scorching rays of fire, directing one at each foe!

Scorching Ray vs. Fel Bustrani (Ranged Touch; Spell Specialization): 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (1) + 5 = 6

Scorching Ray vs. Zombie Ogre (Ranged Touch; Spell Specialization): 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (20) + 5 = 25
Fire Damage: 4d6 ⇒ (5, 6, 6, 4) = 21

Crit!?: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (11) + 5 = 16
Fire Damage: 4d6 ⇒ (2, 2, 2, 6) = 12

And though the ray aimed at Fel misses, the ray aimed at the zombie ogre strikes the undead abomination square in the face and reduces it to a smoldering pile of bones and rotten meat!
______________

Round 1

Trajan
Kyras
Altavan
Goran
Varro (Mage Armor)
Mika
==============
Fel Bustrani (-11)

Active Conditions: None

Environmental Conditions: None

Trajan and Mika are UP!

Down Below

woohoo! love them spell crits!

Trajan is using his archetype class ability Channel Wrath.
Channel Wrath

Trajan is suffused with holy energy once more and tells Fel, "Prepare to meet Pharasma because what's going to happen to you is no accident."

+1 NodachiwithSmiteandPowerAttack: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (4) + 10 = 141d10 + 21 ⇒ (1) + 21 = 22

Trajan channels the righteous wrath of his goddess as he moves up to Fel and attempts to cleave the wicked priest in two, but the man's armor deflects the blow!
______________

Round 1

Trajan
Kyras
Altavan
Goran
Varro (Mage Armor)
Mika
==============
Fel Bustrani (-11)

Active Conditions: None

Environmental Conditions: None

Mika is UP!

Down Below

Mika declares the evil-doer the target of her goddess's wrath, and moves forward.

Her scimitar then swings.
attack: 1d20 + 8 + 3 ⇒ (20) + 8 + 3 = 31
comfirm: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (14) + 11 = 25
damage, critical: 2d6 + 8 + 4 ⇒ (3, 4) + 8 + 4 = 19
bypasses DR; if he happens to be undead, add 4 more damage

AC is +3 against target of smite

Mika calls upon her own goddess as she steps up and swings, striking the wicked cleric a terrible blow with her scimitar! Grievously wounded Fel Bustrani takes a step back from the two holy warriors and pulls out a potion. He drinks it down...and vanishes from sight.
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Round 2

Trajan
Kyras
Altavan
Goran
Varro (Mage Armor)
Mika
==============
Fel Bustrani (-30; Invisible)

Active Conditions: None

Environmental Conditions: None

Everyone is UP!

Down Below

Summoning the spirits, Altavan asked for them to bless the actions of the group in battle.

Bless

With things now made a bit more complicated by Bustrani's vanishing Altavan calls upon the power of the spirits to bless the group's efforts!
______________

Round 2

Trajan
Kyras
Altavan
Goran
Varro (Mage Armor)
Mika
==============
Fel Bustrani (-30; Invisible)

Active Conditions: Bless

Environmental Conditions: None

Trajan, Kyras, Goran, Varro and Mika are UP!

Down Below

Trajan says, "We cannot allow him to escape. Block the entrance and protect the casters."

Trajan moves to the exit and readies an action to attack a foe within reach.

If our fighters are going to retreat...

Kyras cringes, "I hate it when they go invisible. It's like...fight me likje a REAL elf...am i right?" He takes a vile from his belt, and quickly drops a small purple root into the mixture. Juggles it around in his hand, and then throws it at the square the person stepped to before turning invisible.

Will throw a tanglefoot bomb at the square, making everyting in the 10ft area difficult terrain. Won't go for the creature, but just making it hard for him to move around.

Does Altavan have his Burning Hands still available? Varro cast his but he does have a pearl of power (1st) in his inventory so he could recall his and then have the two cast to overlap and see/smell what cooks? Or have Goran recall his Burning Hands so Varro can ready a magic missile?

used mine already as an opening move against these two...unfortunately...

Goran helps make a wall at the entrance wsith the others.

Give up, fool. You might yet live. Your choice...we will show mercy...the local authorities might not if you choose to fight it out. Surrender and see if you can plead for your life.

intimidate, untrained: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (6) + 3 = 9

Mika moves up to the square where she saw the bad guy disappear and swings her scimitar.

if in that square...

attack: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (9) + 11 = 20
miss chance, high is good: 1d100 ⇒ 75
OK, so that hits with the 50% miss chance
damage: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (10) + 11 = 21

edit: I did not move my token, because I'm not sure which square I saw him disappear from...

Not about to let the vile priest flee, Trajan falls back to the chamber entrance to stand guard. Not impressed by the vile priest's tactics, Kyras pulls out and throws a tanglefoot bomb into the general vicinity that he last saw Bustrani. The bomb explodes, showering the area with sticky residue...and as it does, everyone hears a startled curse from the invisible man!

Hoping that perhaps Bustrani has some sense of self-preservation Goran attempts to frighten the priest into giving up...but he fails to reappear or otherwise acknowledge the Sarenite's words.

Mika decides to take a more direct approach, stepping up to where she last saw Bustrani and simply swinging at what may or may not be empty air...and connects! Blood sprays from what seems to be nothingness...and then the *thud* of a body hitting the floor is heard.

Combat Over!

Mika sighs, partly in relief and partly sad that this evildoer refused the Lady's mercy.

Well, we gave him a chance. He'll have to answer for his transgressions now... Goran says as he gives the fallen zealot last rites.

Hopefully, this...incursion is at an end... he says as he scans the area for any magical auras.

Trajan salutes Mika with his nodachi, "Well done Mika! Truly you are blessed by the Dawnflower! As for Fel he has been punished for his crimes and now shall be judged by the gods; the man brought it upon himself."
"I imagine this glowing boulder is the object the Society wanted us to locate. I don't think we're going to be moving it anywhere. Perhaps we should send word to the local Lodge about our situation? Maybe they have some way of transporting something this size."
"Although I don't hold out much hope we should try to find Bodriggan Wuthers' body for the Lady Eliza."
Trajan focuses his gaze upon the glowing boulder.

Trajan is using his Detect Evil class ability on the boulder.

As Trajan turns his sight upon the large boulder he's very nearly overwhelmed by the aura of evil that radiates off of it. Those of you with knowledge of magic can determine that it radiates a necromantic aura and is likely somehow responsible for the army of undead that were unleashed upon the opera.

It looks as though you have a decision to make. This stone is more than just a mere magic item but a genuine magical artifact - and as such, its acquisition could be both a boon and a terrible burden to the Pathfinder Society. Or, you could destroy it here and now and rid the world of its magic for good. It would take time, but it can be done...
______________

What do you do?

"This magic is powerful. I vote that we bring this back and study it. Sheila Heidmarch would be very pleased with our work here today."

Vote to keep the artifact.

Aye...and who knows what the down side of destroying it is. For all we know it could create more of a problem. I think the Lodge would be better equipped to deal with this.

"Such evil should not be allowed to exist. It cannot be used for good and could fall into the hands of some evil entity who is better able to understand and use its considerable power. Such a thing should be destroyed immediately."

Edit to ask:
How big is this boulder weight/size wise? Does it look like the room was created around it? Could it be moved out of the chamber at all?

Something so evil has no place in this world. We should see to it that it does not continue to exist.

While the rest of the group begin to offer their own views on what should be done with the stone Trajan takes in the chamber in more detail. It looks as though the chamber was not built around the stone itself but may have possibly been hollowed out to provide a place for it to rest.

The stone could be moved out of the chamber but it would take some time and considerable effort to do so.

The scenario doesn't give specific dimensions for the stone but I can tell you that it has Hardness 8 and 900 HP as well as DR 5/magic. Given the HP and rules about Hardness I'm going to guesstimate the stone probably takes up an entire 5 foot square.
______________

That's two votes to return the stone to the Society and two to destroy it. Just need a tie-breaker from Altavan one way or the other (as the GM I won't make a vote in Varro's name) and then we'll wrap up the scenario~

"Let us see about destroying it as we have no idea if we can safely bring it back to headquarters." Altavan suggests.

With a majority of the group (though only just) in favor of destroying the stone, you proceed to do just that - though it takes quite a while to hammer and beat it apart. And with Fel Bustrani dead and the Zyphus Stone destroyed the barriers preventing entry and exit from the House of the Immortal Son are dissolved, freeing those trapped within.

After conducting an extensive search the House of the Immortal Son you're also finally able to put to rest any questions as to the fate of Bodriggan Wuthers, as you find his zombie corpse among the dead in the opera house's main chamber. In his belt pouch is a draft of the final letter he wrote to Venture-Captain Eliza Petulengro, wherein he details the final stages of the dig and the strange character of his companion—noted as “cleric of Irori” but in retrospect was clearly Bustani. His pouch also contains a personal journal, a shorthand record of his many adventures as a Pathfinder.

Surprisingly, you find that more than half of the theatergoers survived the zombie onslaught by gathering together and fighting off the undead menace. Because the you dealt with the roving band of cultists bent on stamping out resistance as well as defeating Bustrani himself, the wealthy socialites and nobility of Oppara now have several dinner parties’ worth of sordid zombie stories with which to frighten and awe their friends.

While the loss of Wuthers is unfortunate and the Society's reaction to the destruction of the Zyphus Stone mixed, you've done the city of Oppara, the nation of Taldor, and possibly all of Golarion a great service that will not be forgotten.
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And that's it! Thank you all for playing and I hope you enjoyed the scenario! Please see the Discussion thread for information on your chronicles.

Trajan will see about getting any of the weapons he loaned out returned and making sure the two surviving prisoners are taken into custody by the local authorities.

Well done, fellows. Too bad there was such needless death. But, less so now that we stopped that fool Bustrani. We should hoist a few mugs to celebrate and honour the departed. gg guys...and thanks for running this GM!