[PFS2E] GM kuey's Lost on the Spirit Road (1-06) - GD IX (Inactive)

Game Master kuey

Yeah! Well done brother! Did you see that? That's my brother!

The oracle pulls out a scroll but waits for the others actions before to use it.

Let's see if there is still need for this offensive spell now.

And that's enough!

Finally, Pre Fix's orb of fire lands right smack upon the poracha, badly singeing it. It looks alarmed and about to turn and flee, but Peri's sword, empowered by Salaish's magic slices down and ends it life!

Combat Over! Character Status:
Su Fix (8/19)
Lande (11/23; wounded 1)
Peri (18/19; shield 13/20)

Peace descends upon the caravan and eventually the drivers slowly emerge, cheering the Pathfinders for finally defeating the beast. Ti Lan and Lin Po, too, come over to the team to congratulate and thank them. Lin Po, however, does look upon the body of the beast with some sorrow in his eyes. "Porachas are usually peaceful creatures of the forest, rarely hostile to travelers. I wonder what had set this one off, and infuriated it enough to keep it harassing us."

With the immediate threat gone, the team have a chance to learn of recent events from their fellow Pathfinders. Lin Po and Ti Lan admitted that they feared they would be trapped in the forest forever if not for the team's rescue. They explain the source of their predicament, starting with receiving a strange message one night before reaching the village, from a kami spirit that was residing within the green scarf!

The message was vague, but they were able to discern that the kami was trapped within. It had apparently lain dormant for countless years within but it started to stir, awakened as it neared its home grove. While that gave it some measure of influence over the forest and some of its denizens, it could sense that some sort of nefarious force in the forest would try to capture it. At the time, Ti Lan and Lin Po had a strong sense that the kami’s ward was close by, and they convinced the caravan to take a minor detour to assist a spirit in need.

Unfortunately, the detour ended up being far longer than they expected, as the theft of the relic disrupted their plans. Unable to contact the kami anymore, they have nonetheless been able to follow trails left by the helpful spirits guided by the kami, in hopes of finding their way back to the spirit road. They have glimpsed the kitsune thief in the distance several times, still carrying their bag, but they have never managed to catch up with him. Clearly, the spirits are trying to lead them to the thief but they have thus far been unsuccessful. What's worse, they are tired, scared, and frustrated, and they feel guilty for leading an entire caravan into such a troublesome situation.

"Could you please help to retrieve the scarf?" Lin Po glances at the caravan drivers who although looking more collected, are obviously worse for the wear. "I don't think they can go much further."

Ok, Hero Point time. Would like to award to Lande for his doggedness in going after the poracha.

"A spirit trapped within a scarf for centuries? How horrible it must have been. Once we are able to recover a little bit, I would be glad to help."

She then looks at the rest of the group hopefully, asking "Will all of you join me?"

----

The little gnome walks all the way around the caravan, looking at the wagons from all angle. After about ten minutes of this paces, she comes over to Lande and lays a hand on his shoulder causing some of his wounds to heal.

She then takes her dented shield over to Voron and asks "Could you please repair it again?"

After that she returns to pacing.

Refocus, Lay on Hands, Refocus. 20 minutes.
Would like to Lay on Hands, Refocus, repeat until people are healthy. That would approximately another hour of time.

Well. Thank you Miss. Otherwise I had done surgery. Do you know that? To do it properly you need to cut in the wounds to make a proper wounds to tie up then. That's all the difficulty of the action.

Of course we will go with you. Count my brother and me anyway. We were ask by Amara Li to recover the arteficats so we will recover them. We are goblins and we know that some of the longshanks have difficulty to consider us properly. So we won't fail, in decision anyway.

Peri looks to Pre Fix, then points out "You know a lot of the tall folk don't like that term, right? If you avoid it, you might have better results when talking to the humans, elves, giants and other tall folk."

Yes, Salaish would've renewed the Inspire Courage for that last round.

Lin Po, however, does look upon the body of the beast with some sorrow in his eyes. "Porachas are usually peaceful creatures of the forest, rarely hostile to travelers. I wonder what had set this one off, and infuriated it enough to keep it harassing us."

Ohhh. That's worrisome. And sad. While the party is resting and talking, Salaish takes out her viola and begins composing a mournful requiem for the creature, hinting at the mysterious reasons that led it to abandon its normally peaceful ways. (Refocusing)

When Lin Po asks if the group can retrieve the scarf, she immediately pipes up along with the others: "Of course we'll help! --Hey, when you've seen the kitsune, what was it doing? Where should we start looking and which way was it going? And all that..."

And where did it go?

Yes, we will. It's vital that we retrieve that scarf and find the kitsune. He continues his personal urgency that started with his "spirit vision."

She then takes her dented shield over to Voron and asks "Could you please repair it again?"

Voron looks over at Peri and nods. Yes'm. Let me see it...

Accepting it he sits down with his repair kit...

Repair (Craft): 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (3) + 7 = 10

Voron struggles and curses at the shield. He bends it too far the other way...

Repair (Craft), another 10 minutes: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (3) + 7 = 10

He flips it over and starts pounding on it to correct from having made it worse. The wizard winces and looks up to see who noticed. Hehe. Still working on it Peri... no problem... just taking the scenic route.

Repair (Craft), another 10 minutes: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (12) + 7 = 19

He laughs sheepishly and hands it back to Peri.

I... think it's done.

Sorry for the late update. The day just got away from me yesterday.

"Thank you, Pathfinders. I'm afraid we would not be much help with the thief. We barely caught a glimpse of the kitsune when it made off with the scarf and some of our goods as we were busy fending of the poracha. Since then, we've been following its tracks, or through guidance by the spirits."

Sure enough as the Pathfinders turn to search, Lande the ranger easily picks up the trail. Bidding a quick farewell to the caravan, the Pathfinders give chase. With his skill in tracking, there was little need for help from the spirits, but they still seem to do what they can to speed up the journey, moving aside brush, clearing debris from your path, etc.

After following the tracks off the road and navigating deeper into the forest for about an hour, Lande suddenly holds up his hand to stop the team. Just straight ahead is a clearing, and there seemed to be some movement there. Creeping carefully forward, you can see kitsune sitting on a stump in the clearing. On his lap is a sack of what appears to be valuables, and in one hand in an exquisitely embroidered green scarf. The kitsune alternates between staring admiringly at the treasure he acquired, and glancing around looking worried and confused.

Please always assume Voron shares :)

A clearing, again, just like before...

The wizard mutters under his breath absent-mindedly. He then speaks up a bit more and fully recounts the vision again to his teammates Open the spoiler.

I think we should try to talk to him and figure out what he's afraid of. We can really play on that fear and get him to discard all of the treasures... and the green scarf with them.

He looks towards the talkers of the group.

Now, don't scare him off as you announce our presence!

Frowning, Peri tells Voron "It is going to be tough to convince him of anything if we can't talk!"

Peri is in favor of Deception.

the little goblin is a bit impatient.

Do I need to go to say him to give back the things?

After one second:

Of course you it needs to be convinced by force, I let you go.

My brother is right. We must go to get the artefacts back. I can put the kitsune on fire if that can help. So he won't say we are not warmly with him.

“That sounds rather violent, I really would prefer talking with him first.”

“Shall I start the conversation?”

Deciding to avoid the violent option for now, the Pathfinders very carefully make their presence known with your weapons sheathed to make clear that you just wish to talk.

The kitsune visibly jumps when you make your way out of the deep forest. He clutches his sack tightly ready to bolt, but seeing that you are non-threatening, he pauses.

"Are... are... you from her?" he hisses in a trembling voice.

Her? Yes, we are sent by Amara Li, the venture-captain of the Pathfinder Society, to get her things back home.

The kitsune looks confused.

"Amari Li? The Society has a hag witch as a Venture-Captain?"

A hag witch? What are you telling? She's not a hag witch. She's a human Tian. And she's not a witch. What are you talking about?

My brother is right. Amara Li isn't a hag. Where did you see a hag? Is it because of the hag that you are confused?

"Hmm... Perhaps we'd understand better if you start from the beginning. Story time, guys! I'll break out the music!" Salaish bustles out her voila and positions it, beginning to play a series of soft notes that highlight an air of eager expectancy (non-threatening, of course). She smiles calmly at the kitsune, encouraging him to begin his narrative. Maybe Amara Li is a common name and he's confused her for someone else? Or maybe he's confused in general? Or maybe there's more to this than it seems... She maintains the smile on her face, deciding to keep her musings to herself for now.

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (13) + 7 = 20

“I think we are talking about different people. This hag witch you speak of, is her the pursuing you in order to get the scarf? You really shouldn’t have taken the scarf away from its protections.”

“If you return the scarf to us, we can put it back under protection.”

I didn’t think Diplomacy was an option. If it is, I’m fine leaving that roll.
Otherwise, here is a deception attempt.
She is trying to make it sound as if there were mystical protections around the scarf.

D'oh! You're right! I got my D-- skills mixed up. Good thing Salaish's Deception is also +7. Let's just say that Diplomacy roll was to convince the kitsune to talk to us openly instead of running, fighting, being difficult, or whatever.

Ok, will take this in parts. I'll accept the diplo first to get him to spill the beans, and the deception check to get him to give it up.

"Hmm... Perhaps we'd understand better if you start from the beginning. Story time, guys! I'll break out the music!"

"Oh, you're not from her." The kitsune is visibly relieved, perhaps also calmed down by Salaish's music. "The spirits, and they are not one for lying, told me shortly after I ... uh ... found this sack lying in the woods. Yes, that's right. Said that that hag witch is hunting this, something about a trapped kami that the she wants to seize control of. They warned me to return ... uh, I mean put it back. But you know, if I do, who's going to look after all this treas... I mean the kami." The kitsune is obviously still unsettled that he can't keep his story straight.

“You really shouldn’t have taken the scarf away from its protections.”

“If you return the scarf to us, we can put it back under protection.”

The kitsune looks more troubled, staring at the bundle of treasure in his hand for quite a few moments. Suddenly, he grimaces, closing his eyes tight as he trusts the entire bundle into Peri's hands.

"Quick, take it all before I regret it. I have a bad feeling about this and I've learnt to trust my instincts after all this years. This is a bad score, no matter how valuable, and I want to keep my head on my shoulders."

With that, without another word, the kitsune turns and flees into the forest.

Success! For the last Hero Point I divvy out, let me give it to Salaish for the role-play here, and also to spread this out. For those of you who have played or ran this particular variation, I've run it somewhat differently because as written, it just doesn't make sense to me.

And now your attention is not on the kitsune, in the midst of the falling snow, you can't help but feel that the area is humming with spiritual energy. Peri feels it particularly so. The scarf in her hands practically vibrates with energy, as if something within is reacting to the forest here.

You also notice that in his haste, the would-be thief seemed to have left an item of his own behind! An sheathed curved sword lies on the ground beside the stump that the kitsune was sitting on. But before you have the chance to investigate further, a faint rustle in the woods catches your attention...

From the other side of the clearing, a sickly-looking young woman staggers out. She looks in great distress, glancing anxiously at the surroundings. She clutches her threadbare cloak around her, shivering in the cold. She hesitates momentarily when she spots the party across the clearing, then a look of relief comes upon her.

"Oh, oh, oh, please help me. I got lost picking herbs in this snow for hours now. Oh, oh, oh..." she begs for help in a quivering voice before bursting into tears.

"Have you considered..." Peri starts to say, when the kitsune leaves. "Well, he wasn't much of a listener!"

When the woman comes out, Peri is perplexed. "Where did you come from?" She puts away the scarf and then approaches the woman, trying to see what might be wrong.

Peri... do you mind if I see the scarf.

For some reason Voron isn't really satisfied until he gets to hold it for a moment. But why? Ah yes, I must inspect it's arcane properties. No-one else can!

He focuses on it even as the distressed woman approaches.

Looking back at Voron, Peri asks "Do you know how to release the spirit?"

Lande, go with Peri to see what's wrong with the woman.

Be careful!

The goblin follows at distance.

"All right. Hey lady, what are you doin' all the way out here. It's a way's off from town and it's dangerous out here?"

Thanks for the hero point, GM kuey!

Salaish is a bit stunned that getting the scarf back from the kitsune was that simple, but the mention of Amara Li being a hag has snagged in her mind. She didn't _seem_ like a hag... Salaish continues playing her viola, running on autopilot, as she stares after the kitsune with her mouth hanging open in confusion.

And then the haggard woman appears. Where does her mind go? Why, she immediately wonders if this woman is a hag, of course! Her eyes narrow in suspicion, and unconsciously her music takes on a suspenseful tone. She whispers to Voron (assuming he's still close to her and the woman is far enough away that she wouldn't overhear): "Psst! Voron! Keep the scarf away from her. Just in case."

Suddenly a thought occurs to her. "Whoa! There are herbs that grow in the snow?!" _That_ doesn't sound right. Her bow continues its course back and forth across the strings of her viola, heightening the suspense and anticipation of whatever comes next.

Voron nods to Salaish, turning his back to the group's proceedings with this haggard woman as he continues to try to figure out the scarf's workings.

GM, would it be a secret Arcana check to understand the workings of the scarf? Religion, other?

Arcana/Occultism +7 (+8 to checks to Identify Magic and to Decipher Writing of a magical nature.)

Religion +6/+7 (blah blah)

Voron takes over the scarf from Peri and turns his attention to it, not particularly caring about the young woman. (Voron, that would take 10 min. Let's resolve the following first.)

The woman looks relief that the Pathfinders are not hostile, and in fact, Peri's calm voice seems to reassure her as she starts approaching the party, limping somewhat as if her feet is pained from too much walking.

"Whoa! There are herbs that grow in the snow?!"

The young woman cocks her head to one side in apparent confusion. "Uh, yes, yes ... there are." She sticks her hand in to a pouch, as if to pull out some herbs.

Hmm, why is the GM rolling initiative? And why is he putting up a map? No particular reason... :)

combat map
Bold may act
-------
Round 1: Status: Nil
~~~
Peri
Pre Fix
Su Fix
Voron
Lande
woman
Salaish

Peri peers at the woman, trying to detect any signs of deception on her part.
I believe that Perception to Sense Motive is a secret check.

Just in case she raises her shield and gets her whip out.

Seek, Raise Shield, Interact to get weapon

Voron senses a sudden rush of tension in the group, especially when all around him have stopped talking.

Uh oh, are things not going well with the mysterious woman?

He quickly stows the scarf and draws his dagger, and sprints out to the side to get a good watch on the woman.

[[A]] Interact: stow green scarf
[[A]] Interact: draw dagger (holding dagger and staff in diff. hands)
[[A]] Stride: 25'

The goblin moves forward to cover the wizard and casts Shield.

Where are you going with the scarf?

He's perhaps charmed by the woman to give her the scarf. Let's impede this!

The goblin pulls out his sling and moves to come near the wizard. Finally he casts Shield.

Waiting on Lande's posting.

Other than a sense motive check, there isn't much Lande would do at this point.

Must admit that this plays somewhat awkwardly on PBP, as it is quite clear she is deceiving you. (What? No...) Welcome suggestions on how I could have played it out better. :)

Su Fix, Voron, don't forget the bonuses and penalties you got from the kami. Also, everyone, don't forget that you get to reroll 1 saving throw per encounter.

Neither Peri nor Lande sense anything untoward about the young and haggard woman. Despite that, the Pathfinders are wary and draw their weapons, some moving forward towards her. She looks increasingly alarm, taking a few steps back as the group moves menacingly forward...

Until she suddenly disappears! Instead, in her place are 2 tiny winged humanoids, seemingly put together by clay and ash. They take to the air flying straight towards the nearest Pathfinder, Pre Fix! (They are in the same square as him.) One manages to land a bite on the goblin's shoulder. The wound is small, but what is more worrying is the poison that the creature injected into his body! (Pre Fix, Fort DC13 please.)

combat map
Bold may act
-------
Round 1: Status: Nil
~~~
orange humanoid
yellow humanoid
Salaish
-------
Round 2:
~~~
Peri
Pre Fix (19/20; Fort DC13 or 1d6 ⇒ 2 poison damage & enfeebled 1)
Su Fix
Voron
Lande

Lande approaches drawing a hatchet. He then swings at one of the flying creatures with it.

◈ Interact
◈ Stride

◈ Strike - Hatchet (agile, sweep)
1st Attack: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (2) + 7 = 9
Damage (Slashing): 1d6 + 4 ⇒ (6) + 4 = 10

Peri raises her shield and strides into combat, seeking to slam the shield into the tiny yellow creature.
Shield boss: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (7) + 6 = 13
Bludgeoning: 1d6 + 3 ⇒ (3) + 3 = 6

"Get off you tricky little...things?"

Salaish's bow fairly flies across her viola's strings as her performance switches to intense battle music.

Performance DC 15: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (9) + 7 = 16
Lingering Composition: Inspire Courage lasts 3 rounds

Inspire Courage: You and all allies in the area gain a +1 status bonus to attack rolls, damage rolls, and saves against fear effects.

Then she puts away her viola and tries to remember if she's ever heard of anything like these things before.

Recall Knowledge (arcana) DC 13: 1d20 ⇒ 15

"They're homunculi! Uh--constructs! Not alive! And kinda junky..."

◈ Lingering Composition, ◆ Inspire Courage, ◆ Interact, ◆ Recall Knowledge

"Not alive? Guess I will not be using the whip here."

Ah, there they are! Voron remarks, as if it'd been near obvious.

He backs up and, using his mind, launches a nearby tree branch at one of the homunculi.

[[A]] Step

[[AA]] Cast (somatic, verbal) Telekinetic Projectile vs. YELLOW
Spell attack (inspired) YELLOW, B damage (inspired): 1d20 + 7 + 1 ⇒ (11) + 7 + 1 = 191d6 + 4 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 4 + 1 = 10

Both Lande and Peri fail to hit the tiny creatures, who dance around their blades while snarling at them. (Even after retroactively adding the bonus from IC.)

"TWACK!" The branch sent by Voron, however, flies unerringly, slamming into the head of the (yellow) homunculus, leaving behind a headless clay doll lifeless on the ground.

pending Pre Fix and Su Fix

The goblin steps to avoid to have the tiny creature on him and calls an Incendiary aura around him 10ft.

Each time a creature within the emanation takes fire damage, it catches on fire taking 2d4+1 persistent fire

The brother of Pre moves forward and casts a new spell.

Spray of Stars: 1d4 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 = 3 Fire damage. Reflex DC 17

The creature catch fire if it doesn't get a critical success.

Pre Fix, I do not believe persistent damage gets the bonus from Inspire Courage, as the damage roll is not from your ally. Also, you missed the fort save so I rolled for you.

Pre Fix's body manages to repel the poison. He quickly steps out of range of the tiny construct and calls upon an mystical aura. Su Fix follows up quickly with a spray of sparks which not only damages it, but due to the aura, sets it on fire! It struggles to reach Pre Fix but burns to ash before it manages to do so.

There is a very brief silence as the Pathfinders look around, wondering if the woman had morphed into these two homunculi, had disappeared from view or was simply an illusion. That is until a cloud of sickly green gas wash over Pre Fix, Lande and Peri, just a green-skinned hunchbacked female humanoid covered with warts appear next to Peri, cackling gleefully!
(Pre Fix, Lande, and Peri, fort save DC18 or enfeebled 1, enfeebled 2 on crit fail)

combat map
Bold may act
-------
Round 2: Status: inspire courage 2/3 (+1 attack, dmg, save vs fear)
~~~
red humanoid
orange humanoid
yellow humanoid
Salaish
-------
Round 3:
~~~
Peri (fort save DC18 or enfeebled 1, enfeebled 2 on crit fail)
Pre Fix (19/20; fort save DC18 or enfeebled 1, enfeebled 2 on crit fail)
Su Fix
Voron
Lande (fort save DC18 or enfeebled 1, enfeebled 2 on crit fail