PFS1e - #7-14 Faithless and Forgotten, Part 1: Let Bygones Be (high tier) (Inactive)

Game Master MauveAvengr

Either way, i think that we have all been washed in red."

Vuldruk starts coughing... as he brings up his sword to swing down, the barbarian feels his muscles harden and stiffen. It becomes increasingly hard to move. With his sword inches away from the ghoul, Vuldruk becomes frozen in place.

Vuldruk has contracted Ghoul Fever and is paralyzed (failed first save (disease) and last save (paralysis)). If you have a reroll Vuldruk, you may want to reroll the last Fortitude save.

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Round 2

Vuldruk (enlarged, diseased, paralyzed) (20/44 HP)
Wymarc
Bahram

Ghoul Stalker (-19 HP)

Cassiopia
Trajan

Ghoul

Troll

Bahram is up!

Vuldruk starts coughing... as he brings up his sword to swing down, the barbarian feels his muscles harden and stiffen. It becomes increasingly hard to move. With his sword inches away from the ghoul, Vuldruk becomes frozen in place.

Vuldruk has contracted Ghoul Fever and is paralyzed (failed first save (disease) and last save (paralysis)). If you have a reroll Vuldruk, you may want to reroll the last Fortitude save.

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Round 2

Vuldruk (enlarged, diseased, paralyzed) (20/44 HP)
Wymarc
Bahram

Ghoul Stalker (-19 HP)

Cassiopia
Trajan

Ghoul

Troll

Bahram is up!

Check your private messages; Vuldruk didn't fail any of his saves.

I replied to your message.

Nevermind the ghoul is fine and the fight continues.

Yes - Vuldruk is diseased and paralyzed. He is welcome to reroll if he has one (such as a Paizo t-shirt)

Baharam is up!

I assume that my poor Diplomacy attempt from last round had no effect?

This is the same round. Is the Diplomacy the only thing you want to do this round?

it was. It's rather counter productive to attack the same round you are asking for peace.

True. Also Vuldruk is paralyzed for 4 rounds.

"You come in to 'catalog' my house like damned archeologist, kill the last two members of my family, nearly destroy me (he points at Vuldruk and Wymarc), and ask for peace? The only evil I commit was to cross House Thrune. You may not be Cheliaxian, but you are no better than them. You have done nothing to prove to me that you deserve to live."

As he talks, the ghoul's wounds slowly stitch up. He looks up to the hulking barbarian and attempts to claw and bite Vuldruk.

Despite his intentions, the ghoul seems terrified. He knows he's outnumbered and probably wont survive. He only gets one good claw attack in, knocking the barbarian.

Vuldruk is at -2 HP and currently dying. He will need to make a constitution check to become stable with a -2 penalty.

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Round 2

Vuldruk (enlarged, diseased, paralyzed, unconscious, dying) (-2/44 HP)
Wymarc
Bahram

Ghoul Stalker (-14 HP)

Cassiopia
Trajan

Ghoul

Troll

Cassiopia and Trajan are up!

"How far the noble House of Davian has fallen then when you turn into ghouls without the aid of necromancers? What crimes against the gods have you perpetrated? Perhaps the bones in the burial chamber are some of your victims? And now, talking about being worthy to live, and you strike at a helpless foe. Where is your honor?!?!"

+1 Nodachi with Smite and Power Attack: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (13) + 10 = 231d10 + 21 ⇒ (10) + 21 = 31

Knowledge Religion: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (1) + 3 = 4

Ouch! At least the 1 wasn't on a save or a hit. Hopefully one of the Knowledge folks can help out.

kn. Religion: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (10) + 7 = 17

Still at a loss of the turn of events, he addresses Trajan as if blades and blood were not flying.

"Well, yes, they could have become ghouls due to necromancy, but it could also have been caused by ghoul fever or cannibalism..."

As he hits that last thought, Bahram looks back at the room with all the bones and then back to the ghoul with an 0 face.

"Oh, you poor Davian. But we were truly sent here just to discover the truth of what happened to your family."

"Cannibalism?!?! Now we know why the gods are punishing you Davian! Perhaps if you were to beg the Gods for forgiveness and surrender to oblivion, they might have mercy on what's left of your soul. If not for you then for your family whom you killed and ate in a twisted act of depravity. If there is any honor left in you, accept the judgement of the Gods."

Cassi walks closer and thinks for a moment what to do. Keeping her options open.
Is the troll dead? As he is upside down?

yes i have one reroll
im on rage and have more hit points

fort.save: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (19) + 7 = 26

con check: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (19) + 3 = 22

The troll is barely kept alive. Looks like the ghouls tied the troll up and have been feasting on it. Since trolls generally have regeneration, it'll keep coming back to life... but barely.

And with Vuldruk's reroll, he smashes the ghoul! Everyone hears a *thud* as it's skull is broken in.

Vuldruk would have killed the ghoul before the ghoul did any more damage - so Vuldruk would not have gone down and is not dying. That means Trajan can redo his turn.

The troll looks scared with blood flowing down its face.

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Round 2

Vuldruk (enlarged, diseased, 22/44 HP)
Wymarc
Bahram

Ghoul Stalker

Cassiopia
Trajan

Ghoul

Troll

Cassiopia and Trajan are up!

Wymarc nods, ”Poor bastard...never thought I’d feel sorry for a troll, but he’s no threat to us. We should free him...”

"The troll has been kept down here for so long he's likely to eat our new friends and allies the gourd leshies. Plus he will make any future archaeological expeditions difficult with his presence. Bahram and Cassiopia said that trolls are evil and vicious. It would be irresponsible to allow it to rampage through the area, killing innocent civilians. It can't be arrested and transported as we have no means to do so. So we'll release it and face it in combat to give it an honorable death."

The problem with RPing a paladin. The Paladin Code might allow the execution of a prisoner but only if the paladin can establish its crimes. And it would be against the Code to allow evil to escape and harm others. This appears to be the best solution to the situation and still be within the paladin code.

”My guess is, after what he’s been through, he’ll flee here and never return...but do as you see fit...”

We are still in rounds, just fyi!

Trajan doesn't have Knowledge (Local). He was told about fire and acid so his plan is to 'kill' the troll and then set fire to its remains. After seeing the ghoul regenerate, he senses just killing it won't be enough.

Trajan positions himself between the troll and the exit and then strikes at his bindings with his nodachi, targeting the troll with the holy power of Iomedae.

Trajan uses his Smite class ability on the troll and prepares for battle.

Vukdruk when seeing in the position that Trajan is with respect to the Troll attacks him and unleashes a powerful blow from his sword and when he falls he spreads a vial of acid on the remains of the troll

+1 Large Bastard Sword +Power attack: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (10) + 9 = 19
damage: 2d8 + 12 + 1 + 6 ⇒ (7, 4) + 12 + 1 + 6 = 30

The troll swings at Vuldruk as the barbarian slashes at him. Utterly defeated, the troll starts weeping as the life goes out of its eyes.
With a splash of acid, the troll stays dead!

Now the Pathfinders can get a closer glimpse of the room. The room is filled with relief covered walls that depict scenes of Aroden on Golarion, particularly a lesser miracle performed at Westcrown in which he transformed and revitalized a garden of roses.

About 15 seconds after Vuldruk kills destroys the troll, he (and everyone) hears coughing... coming from the ghoul.

"Stop... stop *cough*.". The ghoul comes back to life! "I give up. I wont attack any more *cough*. You must understand why I did what I did. You say you come here for information about the Davians? *cough*. I'm your best bet. I am Arenzo Davian, last of House Davian. I can tell you anything you want to know *cough*."

He is surrendering as you can see his wounds stitch up slowly. You can refuse his surrender and kill him outright or take him back with you as a captive to question him back in Absalom about what exactly happened (or something else?).

I was wondering if the 'regeneration' the ghoul had from eating the troll would keep it from being destroyed at 0 HP.

"Realize and understand you are surrendering to a paladin of Iomedae and an Armiger of the Hellknight Order of the Godclaw. By law we will surrender you to the proper authorities - meaning the government of Cheliax. I'm sure you have some ideas about what will happen to you at their hands. If you still wish to surrender understand ANY resistance will be met with furious reprisal."

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (15) + 7 = 22

Bahram glances at Trajan in surprise. "Well, not exactly to the Cheliaxians. Arenzo would be coming back to Absalom with us.". He says with an apologetic smile."I mean, Cheliax would kill him just to silence his accusations of their dirty deeds against his family."

"Yes to the Chelaxians. Do you think any ship's captain is going to run the risk of transporting an undead, wanted criminal? Assuming you can even find a ship's captain willing to transport an unbound advanced ghoul on board. You have a better chance of flying to the moon and back. If he surrenders to us, I am responsible for him under local laws and thus responsible to turn him over to the local authorities. I'm not going to lie to him and he knows full well what surrendering means. If he refuses to surrender under my terms, it's combat. And any attempt at smuggling him will result in me reporting said act to the local authorities, causing a rift once more between Cheliax and the Pathfinder - something we were told to avoid."

Trajan turns to Arenzo,
"Arenzo, you know what I say is true. Repent to the gods; I see the murals of the beloved Aroden on the walls. Pray to him and to his Inheritor for mercy and forgiveness. Tell us your family's story and we will carry the information back to Absalom. Although no one in Cheliax will likely know your story you, and your family, will live on in the memories of others. You are in a horrible situation, partially of your own making, but you can still redeem yourself to the Gods."

I'll stand on Trajan's 22 Diplomacy check from earlier as this is part of the same conversation in an attempt to improve his attitude.

Wymarc shakes his head. ”Then we question him here first, before turning him over to any Chelaxian and before any combat...”

The closest Chelish authorities are back in Corentyn about 100 miles away. You do have your own ship, the Sea Sylph docked here in Anglemire captained by a Pathfinder agent Captain Zaerim. Heading back to Absalom, you don't have to stop at any port in Cheliax so should be okay.

"Do not send me to Cheliax. They wont kill me. They will torture me. Flay me, starve me, make me a living husk. That's what House Thrune does." Davian gets down on his knees. "Is the Inheritor okay with torture? I think not. That's what they did here - torture us, starve us, burn the whole place down. Innocent women, children, elders. All killed simply because they didn't like us.". He sighs as he continues.

"The only sin I commit was to cross the Thrunes. I have asked the gods for forgiveness, but none have listened. Simply kill me now rather than return me to any Chelish authorities. I refuse to speak any more. And you will never know what truly happened here."

Arenzo Davian stays on his knees and holds up his hands behind his head. He closes his eyes and waits.

"Absalom Is just as close as Corentyn I would think. We could deliver him to our superiors, who could then turn him over to Cheliax if that is what they think is the lawful and right thing to do. That seems to be the most logical course. And lawful too!". Bahram argues on behalf of Arenzo. When he mentions the bit about his superiors possibly turning him over to Cheliax, Bahram looks to Arenzo inconspiratory shakes his head 'no.'

why am I fighting for the life of this Google? What do I care? Interesting.

Wymarc ponders but a moment before speaking. "Aye, you ghoulish man, you have the advantage on us there...

"You forced our hand, Trajan...you should've let us question him first as opposed to telling him his fate up front...but I know that is not your way, my friend. We were sent here by the Master of Swords to find out what happened here and any information about the Davians. Now this mission is for naught if we don't take this ghoulish man back to Absalom for questioning since he's the only one that knows everything..."

He sighs before continuing. "I am a Pathfinder, first and foremost; that is where my loyalties lie. I am in agreement with Bahram; I say we take him back to the Sea Sylph which is anchored close by. Captain Zaerim is under Society orders and loyal to Marcos Farabellus, not the Chelaxians; I've no doubt he will transport us along with our passenger back to Absalom, alive...or undead, if you please...

"Those are my thoughts, any way...so, what say the rest of you?"

Trajan produces Zefiro's Note (Slide #9 in the 'Maps and Info' section) and hands it to the other Pathfinders.

"My friends, I literally have no choice in this matter. I cannot break the oaths as a paladin by breaking the laws of Cheliax. And the note is crystal clear: 'Henceforth, all aid knowingly or unknowingly quartered to House Davian and its members will warrant death and eternal damnation.' Meaning Arenzo would have us die for his crimes. His House engaged in the Civil War; anytime one enters war there's always the possibility you will lose. Instead of losing with honor he chose to murder and then eat his own family to keep himself alive. I will not sacrifice us for such crimes which are so heinous that the Gods imposed the sentence of undeath upon him. I take no pleasure in this and I will not have Arenzo be an excuse for House Thrune to execute me and then decide my Church and my Order were also accomplices and punish them as well. I'm sorry but it will be death by combat."

Trajan stands next to Arenzo with his nodachi at the ready.

"I will allow you to stand before striking you but that's the only quarter you will receive. If you do not rise, I will assume you wish to surrender to the judgement of the Gods. Perhaps it will gain you some measure of forgiveness for admitting your wrongdoing and accepting your punishment."

Apologies to all but this is, again, the problem with roleplaying a paladin. If Trajan went along with your plan he would have to literally walk to the nearest city and turn himself in, knowing death is waiting for him. And with 'guilt by association' a real thing in Cheliax, his actions could lead to dire consequences for the Church of Iomedae and his Hellknight Order. He will die for the right cause but a murdering cannibal isn't that cause.

An exasperated Wymarc throws his hands up. "And I have no choice either; if you do this, call me friend no longer. If I cannot trust you to honor your commitment to the mission, how can I trust you to watch my back? Who knows when your loyalty to Cheliax and the Hellknights will trump your loyalty to your companions. Seeing as you knew this mission was to take us to Cheliax, you should've recognized your potential conflict of interest and refused it...but you accepted this mission and now you ensure its failure. Why did you even join the Pathfinder Society when it is clear you have higher loyalties?

"But you do what you want...you have your alleged 'death by combat'...you didn't have any problem killing a crippled troll, you won't have any problem killing a crippled ghoul...doesn't mean I have to stand here and watch it..."

Wymarc bows curtly to Bahram, Cassiopia, and Vuldruk and then exits the chamber...

Playing paladins are tough; one reason I won't play 'em...I know you have to play your paladin accordingly...but I have to play Wymarc the way I think he'd react as well...to note, Wymarc has no regard for the ghoul, but thinks the mission would be best served by taking him to Absalom and letting his superiors make that decision...

Bahram nods. "The 'right' thing to do, and the most lawful are not always in agreeance. Handing him over to someone who had already caused this..." Bahram gestures to his surroundings "to happen seems am evil act to me. Not to mention, as Wymarc eluded to, that this will lead to a mission failure most likely. I do not intend to take the blame for that. Neither do I think that this is worth coming to blows within our group though."

Yeah, this is a tough situation for you. I blame the venture Captain for seeing you fit for this particular mission. Lol.

As Trajan sees it he is saving all of the other PCs lives because you've all stated the intention to continue with the next part in the series - which also takes place in Cheliax. He knows how long a memory House Thrune has for its enemies (see them issuing an order to not help a "dead" house how many decades after it was destroyed) and that the authorities will arrest and execute the PCs for disobeying the royal order. Trajan isn't the sharpest sword in the pile but even he finds the timing of the decree too coincidental with the Pathfinders arrival in Cheliax on a mission to discover what they could about House Davian. So if the authorities have already been tipped off about this plan, who's to say they won't learn of Arenzo 'surviving'? and escaping the country.

Situations like this are one of my issues with playing a Paladin/Hellknight; I'm considering withdrawing from the module I signed up for in the upcoming Outpost PbP convention. I hate being the reason the party is going to fail.

"You must do as your conscience dictates as I am following mine and the law."

It would be up to the GM to speak for the Pathfinder Society leadership but, to the thinking behind Wymarc's point about letting the authorities in Absalom deal with him, Trajan has no idea if the Society would then turn Arenzo over to Cheliax. Without knowing that, this is the choice Trajan is left with.

This is why I love Pathfinder - moral dilemmas like this!

Just fyi, the memo/note was posted before House Davian went extinct so it's decades old. Zefiro gave it to you with other old/ancient documents about House Davian. Not to say that House Thrune wont still honor the note though!

There is something in the module about the leadership at the Grand Lodge doing something if you return with Arenzo, but you are definitely not obliged to return with him. If you believe the best course of action is to kill him or return him to the Chelish authorities, you are more than welcome to. You've already earned max rewards either way and there are no boons regarding saving Arenzo so this is entirely roleplay.

Feel free to discuss it more if you want. Arenzo surrenders, but begs death if you insist to return him to Chelish authorities.

Sounds like everything has been decided.

Sounds like everything has been decided.

Re-reading what the GM last posted, if one of the smart/skilled PCs can roll one or more of the following: Knowledge (History), Knowledge (Local), and maybe Knowledge (Nobility) to see if the order is still in effect? I should've noticed the 'I' in the ruler's title; she's the founding Abrogail, not the current one. Neither the player nor the PC has any idea if that "Edict" is still binding or not.

Or, metagaming alert, Cassiopia with her outstanding Bluff and/or Diplomacy is likely to blast Trajan's 3 Sense Motive out of the water to convince him the Edict has expired.

That's kinda what Wymarc did when he mentioned there was no House Davian any more...but not sure I have a decent enough check to make it authoritative...

Sure, feel free to roll one of those Knowledge checks. Or if anyone has a relevant profession (e.g. barrister, lawyer, etc).

Like I said, you guys have already earned max rewards so what you do is just roleplay.

“In life, this ghoul was Arenzo Davian...but no longer...this thing is an undead being with the memories of his former life...and there is no longer a House Davian to belong to..."

I'll retcon slightly to add this to my pertinent quip (above) before Wymarc left the chamber...

"...and for that matter, this decree is decades old...as House Davian has long ceased to exist and the village of Anglemire along with it, this decree is likely no longer even valid...did you consider that?"

Knowledge (Local): 1d20 + 4 + 1 ⇒ (10) + 4 + 1 = 15 (Using my Grand Lodge Faction pin bonus)

Cassiopia listens for a long time silently as the situation unfolds.
KnowNobility: 1d20 + 17 ⇒ (4) + 17 = 21
"Dear Trajan, I applaud to your conviction, but I am very sorry your logic is flawed. You see, the document you provided was issued by the former chelish dynasty and as you know House Thrune has supplanted them less than 100 years ago, making all the former search warrents null and void. You see the dynasty in which the warrent was issued is extinct.
Second, you see the poor thing has already been punished by fate. He is no longer alive!"

I'll make it easier to advance things. Cassiopia takes 10 on her Bluff check, casts Burst of Insight on herself, and Bahram auto-assists Cassiopia's Bluff check for a total of: 10+11+8+2=31.

Sense Motive: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (10) + 3 = 13

At -18 to the check Trajan will believe what he's told, including that Bahram can indeed fly to the moon and back.

"They do replace the official history every three months. Your unlife has been spared Arenzo and we will transport you to Absalom as our prisoner. When you're not describing past events, you and I can spend hours in prayer for the souls of you and your family."

Trajan smiles at what Arenzo must consider a generous offer of prayer time and sets about disarming Arenzo and preparing him for transport.

Arenzo Davian is at your mercy. He's utterly dejected and quiet while someone ties ropes (or handcuffs?) around his wrists. The journey back to the ship is quiet. The leshies wave goodbye and give each of you a gourd to take home - as long as the Pathfinders want one.

The only other creatures seen are a flock of gulls flying high overhead. Captain Zaerim doesn't question the Pathfinders as they load the ghoul into the hold deep below. The Sea Sylph hugs the southern shore of Garund and briefly stops at the town of Merab in Thuvia, where it had stopped on the way out.

Back at the lodge, the Pathfinders bring Arenzo to Marcos Farabellus as well as providing him with any details/trinkets they found. After taking Arenzo and providing him with adequate room and board, Marcos responds, "We will question him about the details of what happened there. Thank you for saving him. The information will be valuable.
What else did you find?" Feel free to tell him anything you found!

Marcos paces the room while he listens closely. "Interesting, interesting.". He then stops pacing and looks directly at each of you. "We have heard word from Cheliax. The Chelish holiday of Loyalty Day draws nearer and already officials are declaring that Queen Abrogail II, in her wisdom, directed state-sanctioned scholars to unearth the lowly and treasonous Davian legacy. News of Arenzo's fate - whether true or exaggerated - serves to fuel the starving imaginations of the nation as its people prepare for the celebration."

"I have also heard from this Zefiro Balinger. He is working to provide a better picture of what you can expect to find at the next sanctioned site of archaeological interest - across the straight to Garund and the province of Kharijite."

Primary Success Condition: successfully complete their main mission by securing and fully exploring the ruins of Emberhold.

Secondary Success Condition: fulfill three of the following five: do not fight Corentyn's guards, convince Zefiro to share the secret history of Cheliax by helping Mirielle escape, retrieve the keepsakes from the leshys, resolve the encounter with the leshys without combat, and capture (rather than destroy) Arenzo Davian. 5/5

Feel free to continue roleplay, especially the encounter with Marcos.