GM Mauve's PFS 1e 8-06 Reaping What We Sow (Inactive)

Game Master MauveAvengr

The Pathfinders see an abandoned pile of stones to their right. Gareleth thinks it may be an alter or something.

Up ahead are charred ruins. The paths to the ruins are spongy but easy to traverse. However, it's surrounded by bogs which is hard to wade through (anything green is treated as difficult terrain)

aw, danged shallow bogs! At least if it were deep bog, I could swim through it =)

Nereus, trident in hand, eyes the area cautiously.

"Many things could be waiting, in or off the path." He says, quietly.

He moves forward slowly, listing to the right, as if intending to turn down the path towards the standing stones.

Perception: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (9) + 5 = 14

Gareleth moves up a bit behind Nereus still keeping aware for threats.

Yuzu frowns a bit; there isn't a great way to do this. She dismounts Satsuki and walks beside her, hand on her reins. She doesn't want the poor girl to twist her hoof or something because she was carrying extra weight.

Andrelis advances, rapier held low in his hand, working his way forward to support Gareleth and Nereus.

Nereus slowly wanders up the spongy path. Yuzu dismounts Satsuki, deciding to walk the horse. Andrelis and Gareleth advance behind the aquatic elf. Nereus puts out his ear to listen for anything coming from the shrine. Unfortunately nothing to be heard. Though something does seem to sparkle on top of the pile of stones.

Yuzu shrugs, and moves to the stone pile; she leaves Satsuki about 15 feet back, and keeps her quarterstaff in-hand.

"Cover me, I'm going in," Gareleth says, moving forward towards the altar cautiously. He is looking for traps and threats as he goes.

Perception: 1d20 + 0 ⇒ (3) + 0 = 3

I moved him all the way up, but if anything trap or monstery would show up, feel free to move him back to that spot.

Also, if he reaches the altar safely, he would detect magic

I suppose I should do the same!

Perception: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (18) + 4 = 22

Andrelis moves up to support, warning Yuzu and Gareleth to be careful, Watch yourselves, we don't know what's here yet.

Perception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (11) + 6 = 17

"Druidic, perhaps?" Nereus ventures, looking at the strange altar. "Surface traditions are not common for me."

Knowledge (religion): 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (12) + 5 = 17

The Pathfinders slowly move up. Will assume Licia and Tessara move up as well.

Nereues immediately notices that this is a shrine to Gyronna, The Angry Hag. It's very simple, basically an altar made of piled stones. Gareleth moves in to investigate but sees absolutely nothing beyond some stones. Yuzu and Andrelis notice something shining in a nook. Yuzu reaches her hands in to find a polished cat's eye chrysoberyl gem that is worth around 200 gp.

Yuzu shrugs and pockets the jewel for now-- not in a sneaky way, mind.

"Nothing else is here to find; let's move on, unless someone minds?"

Andrelis listens to Nereus' pronouncement about the origin of the shrine, That sounds bad, 'the angry hag' doesn't have a good ring to it; I'm sure this doesn't bode well - someone obviously has built this shrine.

Nereus shrugs, "Not a divine entity seens under the waves much... though given her propensity to foster hatred, spite, an destruction, I've read some sahaugin have delved."

"So no, I suppose not a a 'good ring'" He adds, with a faint smile towards Andrelis.

"The structure seems the obvious choice, yes." He agrees with Yuzu, and starts heading that direction with the others, still on high alert.

Perception: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (4) + 5 = 9 Though not as alert as one would hope =)

"Hate, spite, and destruction?" Gareleth asks, then he sighs. "My beloved Halli would have loved her. I miss her so much," he says, wiping at his eyes. He then slaps the smile back on his face, flips a thumbs up and says, "Right, let's move."

The Pathfinders decide to approach the charred remains of the house. By this time, clouds start to block out the moon and rain starts to fall. A faint smell of fire lingers as they approach. They see nothing beyond the foundation of the house. The old walls of the house are about a foot or two high.

========================

Not in combat but please state what you're doing and move yourself accordingly.

Tessara

?

Gareleth

?

Andrelis
Nereus
Yuzu
Licia

Tessara is up!

Gun loaded, Tess advances with as much stealth as she can manage, using the bushes for concealment...

Stealth, double move, moving 1/2 speed for total of 6 squares: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (14) + 10 = 24

Obviously stopping if she sees anything, and not moving past enemy lines.

Gareleth follows Tess being stealthy and tries to stay behind one of the partial walls for some cover as he casts a spell to see if he can sense anything magic in the area. Casts Detect Magic

Stealth: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (20) + 5 = 25

Not sure if Gareleth's turn needed to wait until after the question mark happened, but if it's nothing that would grab attention, this is what he'd do.

Sorry Gareleth! Something jumps out at Tessara when she walks in!

Tessara moves in, trying to stick to the shadows and use bushes for concealment. Once inside, she looks around the charred remains of the house. And in the shadows, four skeletons lurch forward. Ack! One of these skeletons is on fire too!

The blue skeleton sees Tessara and moves in for an attack. With its chipped and rusty scimitar, it swings hard. Tessara takes a blow straight to the chest and knocks the wind out of her but is otherwise undamaged. Attack missed.

========================

Round 1

Tessara

Blue Skeleton

Gareleth

Green Skeleton
Yellow Skeleton
Burning Skeleton

Andrelis
Nereus
Yuzu
Licia

Gareleth is up!

DC 10 Knowledge (religion) to ID normal skeleton
DC 10 Knowledge (religion) to ID burning skeleton

@GM: I'm guessing they have something to bypass stealth yes? I was hoping to stop Tess' movement if I spotted something, if that's possible, at least two squares back if that's possible. Here's my ID checks- please choose what info I get based on your best judgement:

Kn.Rel vs. normal skel: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (13) + 8 = 21
Kn.Rel vs. burning skel: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (8) + 8 = 16

Sorry - been a very long week...

A bit of recon. Tessara sneaks in slowly. She spots four skeletons hiding in the shadows. They don't seem to see her. They seem to be hiding, ready to jump out when they see the group.

The normal skeletons are each holding a broken scimitar. They are somewhat hard to hit (AC 16, Touch 12, FF 14), but low health (4 hp). Bludgeoning weapons are more effective against it (DR 5/bludgeoning). Cold does nothing against them (cold immune, undead traits). They have broken scimitars (+0 to hit) and can hit with their claws too (+2 to hit). These skeletons are also very fast (Improved Initiative)

The burning skeleton is not holding anything. Its a bit easier to hit (AC 14) and a bit more health (5 hp). Unlike the regular skeletons, it is vulnerable to cold and immune to fire.

Would that still have been a double move for you?

Yes, since as soon as I spotted them, I would have returned to my original square to inform the others.

Tessara advances stealthily and then backs away carefully returning to the group, whispering "Four skeletons- if you lure them here I can blast them all at once with my blunderbuss, I'll get my shot ready and fire when the four of them have crossed the bushes. We need a bait to drag them out here."

Still a double move as I was using stealth, but just with a different end location.

Blunderbuss has scatter property: I roll an attack against everyone in a 15-foot cone at -2; damage is bludgeoning so that could work well here I think. I have tentatively placed the cone template on the map for later, but it may not be the final placement. @Yuzu: if you back up one square on your turn I can back up 5 feet on my next turn and ready an action to shoot, as the party bait will hopefully bring a lot of skeletons within a more effective 15-ft cone placement... and make sure you shake those bushes! :)

"Bait, I feel, won't be required;
Their attention I can acquire."

If GM's okay with it: Yuzu can holler with her quarterstaff out from a good location, then ready a 5-foot step back (condition: "Tessara is about to shoot").

Going with Tess' plan, Gareleth throws the Elf a wink and whispers, "I'll help blast them," and steps just to the side where he can fire around the Elf into the cone she's targeting and beyond.

Readied action--When the skeletons move forward, Gareleth will wait until after Tess' shot and then will target whichever skeleton is closest to him with an acid splash

Acid Splash vs. touch: 1d20 + 100d6 ⇒ (5) + (1, 6, 3, 6, 4, 6, 4, 4, 3, 4, 4, 4, 6, 5, 6, 3, 6, 2, 6, 5, 2, 4, 5, 6, 5, 3, 1, 2, 5, 4, 2, 2, 1, 1, 4, 3, 6, 6, 1, 4, 4, 5, 1, 5, 2, 6, 4, 1, 3, 4, 6, 4, 5, 6, 2, 4, 6, 3, 3, 5, 5, 5, 2, 3, 3, 3, 5, 3, 5, 3, 1, 2, 3, 4, 1, 1, 4, 2, 5, 6, 5, 3, 3, 3, 1, 2, 6, 4, 1, 4, 1, 4, 1, 1, 1, 5, 5, 5, 2, 5) = 367

Going with Tess' plan, Gareleth throws the Elf a wink and whispers, "I'll help blast them," and steps just to the side where he can fire around the Elf into the cone she's targeting and beyond.

Readied action--When the skeletons move forward, Gareleth will wait until after Tess' shot and then will target whichever skeleton is closest to him with an acid splash

Acid Splash vs. touch: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (13) + 6 = 191d3 ⇒ 1

Gareleth crouches down and prepares a spell behind the elven gunslinger.

Yuzu hollers out with her quarterstaff. There is no response from the skeletons, they do not come out to attack. The faint smell of burning lingers in the air but otherwise everything is calm and quiet.

Yuzu switches to her longbow.

Longbow: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (2) + 6 = 8
Piercing: 1d8 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 2 = 6

And a five-foot step if they seem to respond to it.

"In my head this seemed like a more action-packed plan" Gareleth whispers.

Not a single skeleton in sight. They seem to be waiting on you!

I should be able to hit Blue from here, though, shouldn't I? Or... miss Blue, given my roll.

Yuzu Perception: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (17) + 4 = 21
Skeleton Stealth: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (20) + 2 = 22

You don't see it :)

Boooooo!

Yuzu, frowning, switches to her quarterstaff.

How's the ground around these parts, btw? Fairly sturdy? Still boggy?

If Sturdy: She gets up on Satsuki so that she can make a swift(ish) exit.

If Boggy: She sucks it up and walks in, completely expecting to be ambushed given Tessara pointed out nearby skeletons. Can I take Total Defense here? I'd quite like to.

Any green terrain is difficult terrain. The roadway is sturdy and is normal terrain. And yes, you can use Total Defense as it's a standard action.

Rad! I'll step in and take Total Defense, then. Quarterstaff held high, eyes peeled... Wayfinder lit.

As Yuzu moves in to the burnt out house, she readies herself against an attack. She may not say it, but her bodies says "Come and get me."

The skeletons take this opportunity to attack. Blue moves forward first, raising it's scimitar to slam down on the kitsune. Yellow and Green move in shortly after. Can only hit on a crit.

Two of them would have hit if not for total defense!

Lastly, the burning skeleton comes up and swipes at Yuzu. Though his fiery body is intimidating, he can't seem to get through Yuzu's armor with his claws.

========================

Round 1

Tessara

Blue Skeleton

Gareleth

Green Skeleton
Yellow Skeleton
Burning Skeleton

Andrelis
Nereus
Yuzu
Licia
Feather Seed

Gareleth, Andrelis, and Nereus are up. Will bot Licia and Feather Seed after everyone else has gone.

Andrelis calls out, Yuzu, I'm firing at the one on your right he says as he quickly draws his bow and fires at the one he mentioned

Ranged attack into melee: 1d20 + 3 - 4 ⇒ (10) + 3 - 4 = 9
Damage: 1d6 ⇒ 1

Yuzu is swift with her staff, keeping it between herself and each skelly's attack. The most anyone really gets is a nice thunk into the wood. If she had more time between blows, she'd really start trying to twist their weapons-- and claws-- away before they had a chance to dislodge them... but oh well.

"Ah, hone no ma; konbō wa hogo shimasu; boku o mite!"

WHY DO I KEEP CHALLENGING MYSELF TO MAKE THE POEMS HARDER. This one fits 5-7-5 in Japanese and English.

Gareleth moves up and calls out, "Let's make things easier on you, Yuzu," and strikes out with his whip trying to wrap it around one of the skeleton's blue's ankle.

Trip Attempt on Blue: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (8) + 9 = 17

If he fails the attempt, Gareleth will drop his whip so he doesn't get tripped, but he has it on a weapon cord so he can easily retrieve it next round.

Huh... thought I'd posted... moved my token, remember typing up something... perhaps forgot to actually send it! Ooops

Nereus quickly moves in to help, taking up a position beside Yuzu, as he thrusts his trident at the nearest skeleton, knowing it is not the perfect weapon for the task.

Trident vs green: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (16) + 4 = 20, for 1d8 + 3 ⇒ (7) + 3 = 10 damage (minus DR)

Andrelis quickly shoots his bow at one of the skeletons. Unfortunately, it bounces off of the skeleton's shoulder blade.

Gareleth moves in and takes a swipe at the blue skeleton. Doesn't look like Gareleth has Improved Trip so it provokes an AOO

Luckily Gareleth is too quick - with a flick of his wrist, the whip ties around the ankle of the skeleton and it falls to the ground.

Nereus is able to squeeze in to the charred remains of the house. He holds his trident up high and brings it down on the green skeleton. The skeleton collapses in a heap of bones.

Licia moves up and calls for the power of Sarenrae.

Channel Positive Energry
blue: 1d6 ⇒ 4
yellow: 1d6 ⇒ 3
burning: 1d6 ⇒ 4

Licia glows for a second then a burst of positive energy radiates off of her. The blue skeleton immediately falls to the ground but the yellow skeleton and the burning skeleton are steady on their feet.

The fire from the burning skeleton starts to heat up, getting more intense. It begins to singe Yuzu's fur.

========================

Round 2

Tessara

Blue Skeleton

Gareleth

Green Skeleton
Yellow Skeleton (-2 HP)
Burning Skeleton (-4 HP)

Andrelis
Nereus
Yuzu
Licia
Feather Seed

Tessara and Gareleth are up!

Gun loaded, Tess advances with as much stealth as she can manage, using the cover of the ruins' entrance walls. Obviously stopping if she sees anything more inside, and not moving past enemy lines.

Stealth, double move, moving 1/2 speed for total of 5 squares, costing 10 squares of movement: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (4) + 10 = 14 If the walls provide Total Cover please add 10 to this Stealth check

Close to the edge of the entrance, she peers carefully around the corner to see if she can see any of the skeletons from her angle. She also peers through the rest of the ruins to see if other surprises are waiting for them...

Perception: 1d20 ⇒ 8

Gareleth would not be in range for the skeleton to take an AoO with a trip attempt since the scorpion whip can be used as a reach weapon if you're proficient with regular whips, which he is.
Scorpion whips are weird ;=)[/ooc]

As the skeleton topples to the ground, Gareleth lets out a, "HaHA!" and then tries to strike at the next skeleton yellow

Spell Combat

Acid Splash vs touch: 1d20 + 4 - 4 ⇒ (3) + 4 - 4 = 31d3 ⇒ 3 firing into combat without precise shot

Trip Attempt on Yellow: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (9) + 7 = 16

And again, he'll drop the whip rather than being tripped if his trip attempt fails

Tessara moves slowly, but carefully through the brush to hole in the wall. From her angle, she doesn't see any of the skeletons. The rest of the ruins look empty.

Gareleth laughs at the skeletons. A blob of acid forms in his hands. He'll fling it at yellow. The half-orc tries to avoid hitting Yuzu. In his attempts, the acid just hits the ground instead.

But with a flick of his wrist, the whip does wrap around the ankle of yellow, tripping him.

Yellow stands up provoking an AOO from Yuzu and Gareleth, then swings its scimitar down. Unfortunately for it, the scimitar nearly tumbles out of his hands and it fumbles its attack.

Suddenly, the burning skeleton erupts into massive flames. Embers from the fire flare out and get into Yuzu's fur and Nereus's hair. Yuzu and Nereus must make a DC 13 Will save or be shaken for 1 minute.

The burning skeleton starts laughing, which is eerie in itself. How exactly can it laugh with no lungs? Then it focuses in on Yuzu and attempts to claw her. Unfortunately, the kitsune is far too armored for the claws to get through.

The intense heat from the burning skeleton singes the two Pathfinders up close... and the yellow skeleton. Yuzu takes 1 Fire damage + 1 more if shaken. Nereus takes 3 Fire damage + 1 more if shaken. Yellow skeleton explodes in a fiery death.

========================

Round 2

Tessara

Blue Skeleton

Gareleth

Green Skeleton
Yellow Skeleton
Burning Skeleton

Andrelis
Nereus (-3 HP or -4 HP, shaken?)
Yuzu (-1 HP or -2 HP, shaken?)
Licia
Feather Seed

Andrelis, Nereus, and Yuzu

Yuzu is about to smash the yellow skeleton when it explodes. All right, then! But the same event gives her cause to pause:

Will Save: 1d20 + 0 ⇒ (20) + 0 = 20

Kinda wish that was on the attack...

She shakes her head and pats out the flames that managed to land on her, then whips her quarterstaff around:
Attack: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (6) + 4 = 10

She doesn't quite connect, probably.

Andrelis, realizing the futility of wasting more arrows into the swirling melee, instead draws his rapier and sets about to flank the skeletons, passing by Gareleth on the right side of the ruins...

AoO on Yellow (Trip Attempt): 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (20) + 9 = 29

Critical trip. Nice!

Gareleth laughs and says, "And stay down, you old pile of bones!"

The slashing damage from his whip wouldn't do anything unless he crits, so I'm just having fun making them fall down :=)

Is the bush inside the house difficult terrain, like outside?

Bush is not difficult terrain. Only the green patch south of Tessara is.

Dangit, again, I thought I posted... I'm clearly getting old.

Nereus continues to press the attack on the remaining foe, sidling sideways and thrusting his trident at the one that's on fire.

trident vs burning skeleton: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (3) + 4 = 7

Unfortunately, he finds the heat coming off the final foe quite disconcerting, and his attempt is way too tentative. His attack amounts to little more than waving his weapon about.

5' step south, single attack