[PFS2] 1-16/1-17 The Perennial Crown (GM Watery Soup) (Inactive)

Game Master Watery Soup

Arlo will, of course, avail himself to food and drink. He will also seek some of his fellow Pathfinders so he can check in with them.

Four shrill alarms echoes throughout the palace, one after another.

Within seconds, guards race to King Webhekiz and surround him. Other guards dash back and forth, locating important members of the royal family and securing them all together.

As soon as it is clear no immediate danger is present, King Webhekiz summons the Pathfinders over and gravely explains the situation.

"Each of those alarms represented someone’s lifeblood being shed, and the place where the deaths happened is the royal vault. Attempting to enter the vault without permission is a high crime, and it is known to be lethal to all but members of the royal family ... and outsiders of Bhopan. I've already accounted for my relatives, and clearly you are not responsible. Clearly, something has gone wrong.

I want you enter the royal vaults, figure out what is going on within, and capture anyone you find."

Assuming the Pathfinders accept ...

The organic structure of the Eternal Bloom descends into a constructed stone chamber, lit diffusely from magical light set in the ceiling fifteen feet above. The chamber has four massive alcoves, as well as a ceremonial staircase in the north that ends in an imposing black metal door.

The guards remain outside, explaining that they are forbidden from approaching the entrance, and that the Pathfinders will need to open the vault.

See Slide 5, and put yourselves within the yellow box.

Northwest Alcove: This orange and red mosaic depicts a bat-faced Bhopanese woman, bent and grizzled with age. She is surrounded by colorful leaves.

Southwest Alcove: This mosaic is blue with traces of red. It depicts a blue-tinted wasteland with a stain of red, from which a thorny growth rises.

Northeast Alcove: This white, gold, and yellow mosaic depicts massive plant-ships sailing a sea of light.

Southeast Alcove: This mosaic depicts a young girl running from trees in the distance. While it features many colors, the predominant color in the mosaic is green.

We are not in initiative, but I will track rounds so that everyone has an equal number of actions.

Round 1!

Arlo
Franzine
Gurka
Hopper
Oskar
Phineas

Phineas is intrigued by the NW alcove with its depiction of leaves. His soul longs to see them dance upon the wind. He studies that one.

As Phineas starts walking towards the northwest, Franzine turns towards the group.
I think it might be a good idea to inspect each alcove as a group. We'll check the one Phineas is interested in, then go clockwise around the room. Does that sound like a good plan?
Franzine glances over her shoulder a few times towards the southeast alcove.
Something is unsettling about that alcove over there.
She says quietly nodding to the southeast.
Something is strangely familiar...
Her voice trails off as she follows Phineas.

Oskar gazes around the chamber suspiciously, wondering what sort of trouble awaits them. He looks for any signs of magic and draws his shortbow.

Cast Detect Magic (Heightened to 2nd level, 30' emanation); Draw shortbow

Arlo will follow along to the first alcove. He'll keep a weather eye out on things in the vault so it will be harder to surprise the group.

Using his +8 perception as they advance and examine the first alcove.

Hopper looks at the alcoves and smells the air. He nods to something in his mind and pulls out a bottle

"Pass me your swornd Franzine."

ANd he starts applying poison to it.

Pull out poison, get the sword, apply poison to the sword 3 actions

Gurka is just going to follow the rest of the party. "I agree. Best to stay together ," she says to no one in particular.

The group heads northwest.

In the inner corner of each L-shaped wall, there is a keyhole. The body of a Bhopanese person is slumped against the wall, just beneath the keyhole.

An arc of primal energy emerges from the ceiling, targeting Gurka. DC 24 Fortitude save

Poison: 4d6 ⇒ (5, 1, 5, 2) = 13, DC 24 Fortitude
CS = no damage, S = half damage, F = full damage, CF = full damage plus drained 1

Moving into initiative. The trap can be disabled by distracting the sensors with a Crafting or Thievery check (1 action), or by confusing the sensors with knowledge of pimal magic (Nature check, 1 action). The trap can also be avoided by moving out of the corridor, but a character needs to be in range in order to disable it.

Round 1!

Trap
Arlo (clumsy 1)
Franzine
Gurka
Hopper
Oskar
Phineas

Phin tries to use his primal know-how! Nature, 1 action: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (20) + 5 = 25

Franzine quickly grabs Gurka and helps her out into the main area.
Oof. You okay, Gurka? We'll wait here until they can disable that trap. Now I have a bad feeling about all of these alcoves.

... and as quickly as it started, the encounter ends. Arin reaches up and deftly disables the trap.

End of Initiative!

As the Pathfinders walk into the room, they are suddenly surrounded by a forest whose trees show off the full colors of autumn. The Pathfinders marvel at the sound of leaves crunching beneath their feet. Just as the air begins to nip at their noses, they find themselves back in the corridor. 1d6 ⇒ 2 Franzine holds a rust-colored key in her hand.

Oskar quickly uses his medical knowledge to try to patch up Gurka.

Treat Wounds, Assurance: 2d8 ⇒ (4, 3) = 7

fort: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (15) + 7 = 22
"Ehhh... I've been through worst but thanks for the concern ," Gurka says while wincing in pain.

Interesting. A key just showed up in my hand. Let's check the other alcoves, but check for traps first. We might find other items.
I'll tuck the key riiight... here.
She tucks the key in her cleavage.

Hopper looks at the key when it suddenly disappears under Franzine clothes.

"Hmm. Ok. that was an interesting experience... I mean the vault."

He spots Wolfie is disgusted by the fact that leaves and grass disappeared just as he was relieving himself.

"That was a convincing illusion even for Wolfie. Shall we move to the next one?"

Where to?

Shall we go clockwise around the room? We need to be sure to check for traps before going in each alcove, though.
Which one of you is good at trap spotting?

Phin nods to Franzine. "Sounds reasonable. I'm no good at spotting traps until I'm in them, I'm afraid. Drink?" Phin pulls out an unmarked glass bottle filled with amber liquid and offers it.

Oskar nods his head in agreement and quietly hums a little tune of encouragement while he too tries to spot any more traps that may await them.

Gurka just stares at Franzine. " If I saw the previous trap I wouldn't have walked into it. Just tell me what to do and I'll do it. ," she says a bit bemused with herself.

I'm taking a backseat since I GMd this. Gurka will gladly help with any plans you have including setting off traps.

Arlo continues to follow the group, being wary of any of surprises that may be in the room or around the alcoves.

Continuing around clockwise seems like a good idea. Arlo will continue to use his +8 perception as appropriate.

The group moves to the northeast alcove, again, in the corridor passing by the body of a Bhopanese person slumped against the wall, just beneath a keyhole.

Gurka spots a few outlets just like in the other corridor that would discharge primal energy.

Nature, Crafting, or Thievery to disable.

If Inspire Competence is possible?

Oskar recites some helpful limericks about the legendary trap disablers of old.

Performance to Aid the first character who attempts to disable: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (4) + 12 = 16 A failure is treated as a success.

Hopper looks at the trap pointed by Gurka, and he begins to climb on her shoulders.

"Lift me a bit, I am too short to reach there."

As he gets higher and higher he listens to Oskar's poetry nodding here and there.

Then he tries to deactivate the trap.
Crafting, accepting help from Oscar: 1d20 + 8 + 2 ⇒ (10) + 8 + 2 = 20

Oskar sings, but it's not very helpful as his voice echoes strongly through the tight corridors.

Hopper reaches up to fiddle with the contraption, but can't discern a good way to disable it.

Hopper gets down from Gurka shoulders.

"Maybe someone else can try. We should also check the bodies, what killed them and such." says Hopper a bit mad at himself for not disabling the trap. But this place gave him a lot of confusion.

Nature: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (12) + 5 = 17 Phin studies this one to see if he can help here.

Phineas also isn't able to disable the trap.

Botting. Only successes and critical failures count.

Arlo Crafting: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (13) + 9 = 22
Hopper Crafting: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (1) + 8 = 9
Phineas Nature: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (7) + 5 = 12

Arlo thinks he almost has it, but then Hopper and Phineas accidentally yank on his leg as he touches a critical part. Primal energy explodes from the conduits, and Hopper and Phineas become very cold.

Cold: 4d6 ⇒ (6, 2, 2, 1) = 11

Hopper and Phineas, please make a Fortitude save.

Round 1!

Trap
Arlo (Clumsy 1)
Franzine
Gurka
Hopper (-11 hp, Fort save)
Oskar
Phineas (-11 hp, Fort save)

Fort?: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (12) + 8 = 20

Franzine watches with dismay from just beyond the archway of the room as the three novice trap finders suddenly tumble into a pile after being blasted by an icy spray.
Oh, no! I'll get you out!
She darts in and lifts little Hopper and holds him under one of her arms. She then grabs the gnome and tucks him under her other arm, and with a free hand, grabs Arlo by the back of his collar. With all three companions safely stowed underneath an arm or being dragged behind her, she hurries out of the room as six little arms flail about.

Arlo, quite confused by what he seems to have found (and grateful he didn't get the blast of cold), allows himself to be pulled from the area.

"I don't....know....what happened? All of the sudden Hopper and Phineas turned this icy shade of blue-white...."

Fortitude: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (5) + 9 = 14

"That is chill! It might be that part of my life when I try to turn into snow goblin." says Hopper trying to shake the feeling of overwhelming cold.

Is the trap one-off? Can we investigate the body?

"Should we look at the guard?"

" You all look like you got a little hurt so let me heal some of that ," Gurka says while casting a spell.

3 action heal: 1d8 ⇒ 2

Novice trapfinders? I think we're well on our way to Pro status!

"Great Cayden's Morning After! That'll get your heart racing!" Phin swears.

Hopper and Phineas both take significant cold damage.

The trap is not one-off, but you'll need to be at risk in order to disable it.

The Bhopanese guard's location just below the keyhole suggests that he had inserted a key, but was struck dead on the spot.

Recall: the king mentioned that only those of royal blood, or outsiders, were able to enter the vault.

Round 1!

Trap
Arlo (Clumsy 1)
Franzine
Gurka
Hopper (-9 hp)
Oskar
Phineas (-9 hp)

Nature, Crafting, or Thievery to Disable (1 action)

Hopper shakes his hands and jumps up and down a few times.

"Ok Hopper, you can do it..."

Crafting: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (18) + 8 = 26 and again he attempts to disable the trap.

Hopper disables the trap.

As the team walks into the room, everyone finds themselves in a hot day at a pristine beach. Everyone, that is, except for Franzine. After what feels like a few minutes, they return to the room.

Franzine sees her teammates freeze for only a few seconds before unfreezing.

1d5 ⇒ 2 Gurka holds a white/gold/yellow key which gleams with the brilliance of summer.

---

You've been through this twice, so if you want, we can accelerate through the remaining two alcoves. I'm happy to handwave the Perception checks to spot the traps - I don't think any of the characters would accept a negative Perception check at this point. The Disable DC is 23 for Nature, and 25 for Crafting and Thievery - Arlo (+9 Crafting), Hopper (+8 Crafting), and Phineas (+5 Nature) are the best chances to Disable. The trap discharges on a critical failure. If the trap is disabled, anyone who doesn't already have a key gets to see a scene from that season (spring in the SE, winter in the SW) and a random person ends up with a key.

If you (plural) agree, just start making Crafting/Nature checks until success or critical failure.

You'll still need to decide which keys go into which keyholes.

I'm all good with quick-timing.

Franzine looks at the rust colored key in her hand and notices Gurka holding a golden key.
My key has the color of deep autumn leaves. Gurka, your key must be summer. We need a spring and winter key. Let's get the rest of the keys and place each one in the keyhole in the alcove that represents the same season. I'm hoping it should open a passage.

Gurka nods in approval. " Sounds like a good assumption. Though I'm not particularly good at puzzles so who knows," Gurka says while staring at the key.

Once again Gurka will gladly help anyone. If I'm being abnormay quiet I just don't want to give anything away.

I am fine with fast forwarding it. I will make 6 rolls if they are not enough I will let another pc to roll and then continue with my next 6 rolls.
Crafting: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (11) + 8 = 19
Crafting: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (7) + 8 = 15
Crafting: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (10) + 8 = 18
Crafting: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (8) + 8 = 16
Crafting: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (18) + 8 = 26
Crafting: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (16) + 8 = 24

Hopper looks at Gurka's keys.

"So are those fallen the ones that tried to break into the vault? At first I was thinking that they were guards."

Hopper disables the spring-themed trap (SE) without triggering it, leading the group (minus Franzine and Gurka) to a field of flowers.

1d4 ⇒ 3 Oskar returns with a green key.

---

Hopper disables the winter-themed trap (SW) without triggering it, leading the group (minus Franzine, Gurka, and Oskar) to a snowy field.

1d3 ⇒ 2 Hopper returns with a blue-tinted key.

---

Franzine lines up at the autumn keyhole, Gurka lines up at the summer keyhole, Oskar lines up at the spring keyhole, and Hopper lines up at the winter keyhole.

"Ready?" Franzine calls out. "On three! One ... two ... three!"

All four Pathfinders simultaneously discover that their keys don't fit in their respective keyholes.

Hmm. Well, that didn't work. Okay, everyone switch places. Let's try opposites. Autumn to Spring, winter to summer, and vice versa.

Yeah that makes just as much sense as the other options. Just tell me where to go and we've got this.

Arlo searches for any patterns or clues that may match a particular key to it's keyhole. Any colors that match? Any letters that may match (or that may complete a word or pattern)?

perception: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (5) + 8 = 13

Arlo can't find any clues, but Franzine's suggestion works. The keys fit and the vault opens.

Please list any buffs you want to enact going in.

Beyond the seven vault doors, a breathtaking sight awaits—a sheer endless array of riches and gold, all surrounding a pedestal, atop which a wooden circlet rests. The circlet sprouts flowers and leaves that flourish, wither, and die in an endless cycle.

See Slide 6.

Lelzeshin growls, “The blood of my fellow Bhopanese is on your hands, outsiders. Your refusal forced my hand—forced my fellow citizens to give their lives for Bhopan’s future—but at least your corpses will make for convenient scapegoats. Once the dust settles, which story will the king believe—the one where the Pathfinders who just arrived in Bhopan were once again responsible for treason, or the one where his trusted steward caught on to the Pathfinder’s wily schemes and put his own life at risk to stop their treachery? You’ll be the villains in the legend of my heroism—of Bhopan’s rebirth!”

Round 1
Lelzeshin
Oskar
Hopper
Arlo
Phineas
Franzine
Gurka
Mirrors

This is embarassing, but I have the wrong number of icons up. I will fix it tomorrow. You can arrange yourselves in the yellow box in the meantime.

Lelzeshin (Purple icon) moves in to face Gurka, and slashes at her face with a kukri, then backs off.

Kukri: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (9) + 13 = 22
Slashing: 2d6 + 2 ⇒ (1, 6) + 2 = 9

Gurka's face drips with blood.

Two mirror images of Lelzeshin step out from the mirrored walls (Black & Grey icons)

Round 1

Lelzeshin
Oskar
Hopper
Arlo (Clumsy 1)
Phineas
Franzine
Gurka (-9 hp)
Black Mirrored Lelzeshin
Grey Mirrored Lelzeshin

Move
Cast Weapon Surge
attack: 1d20 + 9 + 1 ⇒ (7) + 9 + 1 = 17
dmg: 2d8 + 3 ⇒ (4, 4) + 3 = 11
Curse active but surpressed since I attacked

Gurka scowls at the attack and recklessly charges her attacker. Unfortunately, her attack goes slightly wide due to the blood in her eyes.

Phineas moves 25' north and casts burning hands, but what emerges from his hands is a buffet of winds that drives dust and grit with it as Phin's hair is tossed in invisible wind! Basic Reflex DC 17 for 2d6 ⇒ (2, 5) = 7 bludgeoning damage!

Franzine snarls at Lelzeshin as she draws her sword dripping with poison and hefts her shield.
How could you betray us? The blood of your fellow Bhopanese is on your hands!
She strides forward to get next to Gurka, ready to strike the betrayer.

◆ draw sword
◆ draw shield
◆ stride

If any of my allies within 15' of Franz get hit, gonna use Glimpse of Redemption as a reaction.