GM Tyranius (PF2) Quest #7 A Curious Claim (Inactive)

Game Master Tyranius

Dot in here

The interior of the Silver Spoon Inn and Tavern is as elegant as the name would imply, featuring a black marble bar top and gilt chairs, freshly upholstered in rich leather. On opposite ends of the room are two polished ebony tables, one laden with decadent trays of charcuterie and cheese, while the other holds simple crusts of bread served on fine porcelain platters beside silver ewers of clear water. Finely dressed patrons mill about, drinking and gossiping, while a few individuals clad all in white stand aloof from the crowd.

Venture-Captain Kristoff Valicho gestures for an employee to take over behind the bar before joining you at a corner booth. “Welcome to the Silver Spoon, friends! Since the Society helped pay off the loan, we’ve really been able to fix the place up right. Anyway, on to business. Establishing the Society’s position in Kerse has been slow going, especially with interference from the Aspis Consortium. You may be able to help change that, however, as an important potential ally has requested our assistance.” He slides a crumpled letter your way.

“The wreck is a few hours’ walk from here up the coast. I have a horse and a small wagon ready for you, just in case you’re able to recover any of the cargo. Be careful, though. My contacts in the Mercenary League say their investigation of the wreck was cut short by a swarm of carnivorous undead that surged up from the water during a storm. I’m sure capable agents like yourselves can handle a few monsters, but with the number of creatures they reported, you should head inland before any such storm arrives.”

Hopper sits on the stool waving his feet as he drinks some mixture of unknown origin to him. He recognizes the ingredients and the quantities that were used to make them, but they provide no value beyond taste experience.

The small Goblin takes a sip and looks around the place. Only half of his head is covered with hair while the other half is covered in tattoos of atrocious quality. His leather armor wear signs of burns from fire and different acidic substances. On his belt, he carries a bandolier filled with bottles. He arrived at the tavern riding his wolf which he softly calls Wolfie.

Wolfie was not eager to stay in the stables, and he was making horses feel uncomfortable, so his mount simply sits next to the tavern ignoring most of the things that happen around him.

Given the letter, Hopper read it quickly.

"Ok, investigate the wreck, strip it from any valuables, and look for the documents. Are looters common in this area?" asks Hopper as he takes another sip of the drink

"Oh, call me Hopper, pleasure" squeaks goblin without looking anyone in the eyes.

Martin walked in with a truly abominal set of armor on. There were gears and pistons, tubes of some kind of fluid, and it even gave off an occasional hisssss of venting steam. Still, it looked truly massive and with lots of built in gadgets that must be useful...somehow. The hair that stuck out like pale straw in every direction, and the face pockmarked with acne scars, showed Martin's attention to his craft far outweighed his attention to the finer points of grooming.

"Umm, a shipwreck investigation? But I haven't gotten the water breathing apparatus installed yet? Maybe I'll have time on the walk there? Especially if I rode in the wagon and worked on the Mark IV here. Any idea what kind of undead? I could also try to add a compressor tank to spurt holy water at range. Tell you what, let me think on the best modifications. We have time, right? Wait, you said a couple of hours. That's not enough time to add the compression tanks. Hmm..."

Manny winks at one of the waitstaff and spends time chatting her up. He's about to set up an after work meeting when the Venture Captain calls him over. "A shame. Duty calls."

Manny is well groomed, with smoothed hair and his leather armor well oiled. Of his many tools and gadgets he carries a lute and a whip coiled at his hip. "Sup everyone, I'm Emmanuel Holysmith. But you can call me Manny." He extends his hand to shake.

He scans over the letter. "Sounds like we need to find signs of sabotage, too. We gotta deal with Aspis, anyone Tuddlym sends to silence us, and the undead." Manny cracks his knuckles. "Especially the undead. Maybe I can get my hands on some holy water..."

He turns to the Venture Captain. "Let's see. Do you think we'll have to spend a lot of time underwater? Did the ship sink or is it just marooned?"

He tries to recall anything about Annette Tuddlym. Someone that high up must have a lot of stories about her. Surely someone here must know something about her...
Diplomacy: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (19) + 11 = 30
He also has the Glad Hand feat, so it would take half the time it normally should.

If Diplomacy is not applicable, Manny has a +5 Trained Society bonus.

Following the inventor and wearing a much more conventional suit of armor, the handsome Taldan man introduces himself, "Iniquity. My name, that is."

He finds someplace secure and safe to leave the hefty glaive that he carried in over his shoulder and then gathers with the others. He takes his turn reading the letter and nods before passing it to the next Pathfinder. "I will do my best to protect you from any undead we encounter," he says. "My artistic skills will be wasted upon them, but I can wield my glaive as well as pen and brush."

Manny makes sure to offer Iniquity a hearty handshake. "Pen and brush? Color me curious. What's your style? Non fiction journalism? Poetic satire? Embellished tales of glory?" Manny points to his lute. "I like to sound awesome."

"I was formerly a thespian--writing scripts for comedies and dramas, painting sets--before Shelyn plucked me away to defend others," he answers Manny with a smile and a solid grip.

"Shelyn, eh?" Manny grins. "Shylye told me the stories she writes and the songs she sings are pure beauty." He laughs. "We're gonna get along just fine, buddy."

He points to Hopper. "That's Hopper and that's... um... he never mentioned his name, actually. What's your name again?"

"Me? Oh, umm...I'm Martin. Martin Shadestep. Formally squire to Sir Branseon Mathers, eighth of his name. I'm umm...between knights at the moment."

"I'm afraid I don't have much more to tell you. It should be a fairly easy journey along the trade road to the site, but from there you'll need to rely on your own experience."

Manny circles the room and finds out that Annette is a cousin of Ulba Tuddlym, intercessor of the Esteemed Bureaucratic Foundation and the highest ranking politician in Kerse.

You each start with 1 Hero Point. Go ahead and pass out Glyphs and make any last minute preparations you need.

Hopper listens to the exchange, related to scripts, comedies and dramas. He wonders how did he end with those three long-shanks on one mission.

"Ekm... I am not the biggest fan of theatre... I liked some plays at the theatre of King Zusgut in Puddles. But long productions are so boring." says Goblin as he gets up from his seat and looks through the window if Wolfie is all right.

"Hold up. Before we head out, Iniquity, your armor looks a little out of balance. Would you like me to assist you?"

Without waiting for a response, Martin walked over to the champion and grabbed the splints at the man's pauldrons and twisted hard to the right. The armor settled more evenly on Iniquity's shoulders.

"There, does that feel better? The way it was, you'd have had chafing on that left armpit after about an hour. Do you normally have chafing there? If so, we may need to adjust those straps tonight."

The man - barely more than a boy, really - suddenly looked embarrassed. "Umm...sorry. I was raised as a squire. I've spent eight years helping knights put their armor on. I've been cuffed so many times I've lost count for not noticing things like this. It's a habit now."

He looked away sheepishly.

"Ah, political intrigue..." Manny returns with some information about Annette Tuddlym, which he tells his teammates. He also got the address of the waitress's home, which he does not tell his friends.

Manny pauses as Hopper explains the boredom of long productions. "Lemme guess, you like action that comes in fast and doesn't waste your time. Have you ever seen Terresq: Final Wars? It's different from the other Terresq plays. Fewer wizard politics and more cool fights as everyone tries to control Terresq for good or for evil. Oh, and MegaTerresq shows up as well! It's so cool."

"Sounds like we need to head out and see the ship for ourselves." He pauses. "I'm gonna get some holy water on the way out."

Getting some holy water from my schools.

Taking your leave of the Silver Spoon, you gather your supplies and set out along a well-kept trade road heading from Kerse, at the mouth of the river, Northwest to the port city of Detmer, on the shores of Lake Encarthan. The road is well-maintained and regularly patrolled, and clearly gets frequent use. For most of the first hour it keeps within sight of the shore before drifting away from the lake through a small forest to avoid a steep rise.

It’s as you pass through this copse that you all spot a single ruffian doing a terrible job of hiding in the bushes ahead, waiting to waylay you. The little gnome raises a crossbow and fires a bolt at Iniquity Pen.

Crossbow vs Iniquity Pen AC FF 19: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (3) + 10 = 13
Damage: 1d6 ⇒ 1
Precision Damage: 1d6 ⇒ 3

The bolt clips off of Iniquity Pen's armor, giving him a small scratch. If Martin hadn't adjusted one of the pauldrons it surely would have been worse.

With the element of surprise gone two more bandits step out from behind trees and quickly close in around you as the ambush is set. Giving two fingers she directs her lackeys to move into flanking positions at the rear.

The pair of bandits circle around Mad Hopper, shortswords in their hands.

Red Shortsword vs Mad Hopper AC 21: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (11) + 9 = 20
Red Shortsword vs Mad Hopper AC 21: 1d20 + 9 - 4 ⇒ (9) + 9 - 4 = 14

Green Shortsword vs Mad Hopper AC 21: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (7) + 9 = 16
Green Shortsword vs Mad Hopper AC 21: 1d20 + 9 - 4 ⇒ (12) + 9 - 4 = 17

Hopper screams as he dives low to the ground, the shortswords clanging into each other just above his head. The bandits curse as they miss the killing blow.

The forest area is difficult terrain and provides cover.

Round 1
--------------------------------------------
Bandits
--------------------------------------------
Martin
--------------------------------------------
Niedre
--------------------------------------------
Emmanuel
Mad Hopper
Iniquity Pen (43/47)

Manny spends his time talking about his favorite plays, trying to figure out Hopper's favorite type and style. He knows plenty of theaters in Oppara that cater to different genres.

Iniquity knows a lot about Shelyn, and Manny spends some time learning about more of her stories and sermons. And of course they talk shop about playwriting. Manny's still working on his own big story, maybe he can set it to music.

"Huh... someone's hiding in that bush." Manny points out the gnome as the ambush springs. "I guess we found Tuddlym's hires. Man, they picked the wrong group to ambush."

Martin's armor hissed as he engaged combat mode. He unclipped his meteor hammer and began swinging it around as the bandits closed in. He had practiced with this ball and chain, and was hoping to add it to his armor at some point to bolster his attacks. Still, he swung the chain fast, catching it with his off hand to make it shoot sideways. He angled it to wrap around the nearest bandit's leading leg and yanked. Then, he reached out his left arm and banged it against the other bandit's sword. A metal spring unclipped itself from his vambrace and clamped onto the weapon's blade, weighing it down.

trip red: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (7) + 9 = 16

craft, tamper vs reflex DC: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (15) + 11 = 26

(A) draw weapon, (A) trip, (A) tamper

Martin's chain misses the bandit as it strikes the ground, but the distraction is plenty enough for the inventor to clips some weights to the end of the other bandit's blade. Success

The small gnome drops the crossbow, drawing a deadly looking kukri. She Swips the kukri at Emmanuel's calves.

Kukri vs Emmanuel AC FF 17: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (17) + 10 = 27
Damage: 1d6 + 5 ⇒ (5) + 5 = 10
Sneak Attack Damage: 1d6 ⇒ 2 Crit for 24!

Kukri vs Emmanuel AC FF 17: 1d20 + 10 - 4 ⇒ (6) + 10 - 4 = 12

Emmanuel feels a sharp jolt of pain as the blade slices through his muscle.

Round 1
--------------------------------------------
Bandits (Green -2 Att/Dam 1 rnd)
--------------------------------------------
Martin
--------------------------------------------
Niedre
--------------------------------------------
Emmanuel (14/38)
Mad Hopper
Iniquity Pen (47/47)

Hopper ducks below the blades and begins to look to the sides wondering what is happening.

"Why do you go for the smallest one in the team. Attack the long-shanks!" yells.

When the gnome scores a massive hit at Emmanuel he yells

"Hey! Not that one! Go for the armored ones!"

Hopper takes out his dagger and takes a swing at one of the bandits. He hits straight in the sword of the bandit trying to make an opening for the Wolfie.

Deception@red, Feint: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (13) + 7 = 20

Wolfie smelled the creatures before they showed up, when the battle started it lowered its head and lied down his ears. Wolfie showed his massive teath and begun to growl. It needed just needed a small decision which one of the humans Wolfie should attack. And the opportunity has come...

Jaws@red: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (11) + 10 = 21 Potentially vs flat-footed if the feint worked
Damage, piercing: 2d8 + 3 ⇒ (8, 8) + 3 = 19 Auch! max damage without a critical

Jaws@red: 1d20 + 10 - 5 ⇒ (3) + 10 - 5 = 8
Damage, piercing: 2d8 + 3 ⇒ (7, 4) + 3 = 14

1st: pull out dagger
2nd: Feint
3rd: Command Wolfie (2 wolfie attacks)

I was wondering why my alchemist is in front, and then I saw that he is the highest lvl. Here goes light cavalry goblin tied in a sword fight with some bozos :P

Iniquity swings his glaive around and strikes rapidly while shouting, "Look lively, we've been ambushed."

After his assault against the brigand finishes, he takes one hand off of his glaive and places it upon Emmanuel's back, infusing life and vigor.

Strike (red>green), strike, cast (s) lay on hands (heal Manny 12 hp)

Glaive #1: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (16) + 10 = 26
S: 1d8 + 4 ⇒ (3) + 4 = 7 plus potential deadly (and shove 5 ft west): 1d8 ⇒ 1
Glaive #2: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (11) + 10 = 21
S, forceful: 1d8 + 4 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 4 + 1 = 9

"So, are you guys gonna actually ambush us, or..." Manny's jive talking is cut short as a blade cuts through his calf. "Yup, I guess you're serious!"

"Attaaaaack of the killer Gnomish!" Manny chants an Inspiration of Courage to help his friends. He silently asks his patron Shylye to allow the Compostion to Linger.

Performance check: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (13) + 11 = 24 That should beat the DC 18 standard level 3 check, so Inspire Courage should linger for 3 rounds.

He gives a thumbs up to Iniquity as some of the wounds heal and draws his whip. He snaps it at the Gnome in Red, trying to disarm the feller.

Disarm, Whip +1, Inspire Courage vs Reflex DC: 1d20 + 8 + 1 ⇒ (8) + 8 + 1 = 17 Oof. If that's a crit fail, Manny can freely drop the whip to make it a failure.

[dice=Disarm, Whip +1, Inspire Courage vs Reflex DC]1d20+8+1 Oof. If that's a crit fail, Manny can freely drop the whip to make it a failure.

If a non-1 17 is a crit fail vs reflex DC, I quit ;-)

@Emmanuel- Red is a bandit, the gnome is yellow. Which are you targeting with the whip since you said gnome in red.

Emmanuel begins to inspire as his whip has a hard time catching the gnome while it wraps around a tree. Wolfie bounds out of the woods where he was hunting for a snack. Hopper feints as he watches wolfie sneak up from behind and pounce on the unsuspecting bandit.

Iniquity's glaive slips past as it first pierces one bandits neck, felling him to the ground before slicing across the other bandit's arm.

The remaining bandit fumbles around with his weapon after seeing his friend fall. "You'll regret that!" He pushes through the trees towards Iniquity, before stabbing at his side.

Green Shortsword vs Iniquity Pen AC 21; Tampered: 1d20 + 9 - 2 ⇒ (17) + 9 - 2 = 24
Damage: 1d6 + 3 ⇒ (4) + 3 = 7

Green Shortsword vs Iniquity Pen AC 21; Tampered: 1d20 + 9 - 2 - 4 ⇒ (5) + 9 - 2 - 4 = 8

Iniquity feels the blade stick into his ribs slightly, but overall he should be fine.

Round 2
--------------------------------------------
Bandits (Green -9)
--------------------------------------------
Martin
--------------------------------------------
Niedre
--------------------------------------------
Emmanuel (26/38)
Mad Hopper
Iniquity Pen (40/47)

Manny tried to disarm the Red clothed bandit, but it's no go.

Martin unclipped another of his special weapon weights, and tried to clamp it around the man's elbow, locking the joint in place. Then, he spun his chain around, sending the weight at the other end towards the bandit next to him, aiming for the man's knee. Trying to do too many things at once, the chain went wide again, and hi missed the trip attempt.

crafting, tamper Green: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (8) + 11 = 19
trip Green: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (2) + 8 = 10

"Ouch!" Iniquity says when the bandit slides his blade into the seam of his armor. "I rather do regret not taking out your legs!"

Reaction (probably vs. Niedre): Glimpse of Redemption @ first enemy within 15 ft to damage an ally within 15 ft -> enemy's choice of do no damage OR -5 damage and be enfeebled 2.

The bandit strikes at martin as he attempts to tamer with his weapon once more.

AoO vs Martin AC 20: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (11) + 9 = 20
Damage: 1d6 + 3 ⇒ (2) + 3 = 5

Iniquity uses his shield to block the blow completely before reaching Martin. This gives Martin the opportunity to clip on another weight. Niedre slips into a flanking position with her companion. She gives a bit of a whistle. "Over here..."

Kukri vs Iniquity Pen AC FF 19: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (7) + 10 = 17
Kukri vs Iniquity Pen AC FF 19: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (8) + 10 = 18

She groans as her kukri slides across his shield instead.

Round 2
--------------------------------------------
Bandits (Green -9; -2 att/dam 1 rnd)
--------------------------------------------
Martin
--------------------------------------------
Niedre
--------------------------------------------
Emmanuel (26/38)
Mad Hopper
Iniquity Pen (40/47)

Hopper is glad that all of the bandits went for someone else. But is worried about Inquity

"Hey! Your redneck. Leave my friend alone!"

With one swift movement Hopper reaches to his bandolier, pulls out a blight bomb and tosses it at the bandit

Blight Bomb@green, inspire courage: 1d20 + 10 + 1 ⇒ (15) + 10 + 1 = 26
Damage, poison, inspire courage: 2d6 + 1 ⇒ (6, 6) + 1 = 13 +2 splash damage limited only to the target, +2d4 persisted poison damage if hit

Then Hopper looks at Wolfie and makes a sign with his head pointing him a direction. And begins to move behind the bandit to distract him.

1st: quick bomber + toss@green (restrict splash to only target)
2nd: move to provide flanking
3rd: command Wolfie (move + attack)

Wolfie sees Hopper command and begins to run through the forest around the gnome. At full speed, it jumps at the gnome trying to tear its flesh

Jaws@Niedre, MAP, inspire courage: 1d20 + 10 - 5 + 1 ⇒ (9) + 10 - 5 + 1 = 15 Flanking with Inquity
Damage, piercing, inspire courage: 2d8 + 3 + 1 ⇒ (7, 3) + 3 + 1 = 14

"If you insist," Iniquity replies to the gnome as a bomb erupts behind him. He twirls his glaive in a showy pattern between strikes toward the gnome.

Strike x 3, non-lethal penalty, vs. FF

Glaive vs. Gnome, Non-lethal: 1d20 + 10 - 2 ⇒ (2) + 10 - 2 = 10
S: 1d8 + 4 ⇒ (4) + 4 = 8
Glaive vs. Gnome, Non-lethal: 1d20 + 10 - 5 - 2 ⇒ (17) + 10 - 5 - 2 = 20
S, forceful: 1d8 + 4 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 4 + 1 = 8
Glaive vs. Gnome, Non-lethal: 1d20 + 10 - 10 - 2 ⇒ (4) + 10 - 10 - 2 = 2
S, forceful 2: 1d8 + 4 + 2 ⇒ (8) + 4 + 2 = 14

Manny's Inspire Courage lingers on for a second round.

He takes this opportunity to trip the bandit in front of him.
Athletics vs Reflex DC: 1d20 + 7 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (19) + 7 + 1 + 1 = 28

As she (hopefully!) faceplants, Manny casts Blistering Invective and laughs. "You picked the wrong people to rob, lady! I bet you flunked out of bandit school with an F for Megafail!"

Will Save DC 19 or things are going to get very hot for her soon...

Alright, backto it now that I can log into Paizo!

Blistering Invective DC 19: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (4) + 9 = 13

Emmanuel wraps his whip around Niedre's leg and yanks her down to the ground hard. Success Emmanual quickly begins to taunt her as her skin grows red and begins to blister.

Hopper splashes a deadly concoction against the southern bandit's back. The filth quickly works magic as it rots away his armor and skin, killing the bandit on the spot.

Iniquity uses the butt end of his glaive and bops Niedre right on the forehead, leaving behind a decently size goose egg.

Round 3
Martin
--------------------------------------------
Niedre (-8; 2d6 Persistent Fire; Frightened 1; Prone)
--------------------------------------------
Emmanuel (26/38)
Mad Hopper
Iniquity Pen (40/47)

Martin swung his chain around in a whistling arc, then used his off arm to change its direction as he slammed it downwards onto the prone woman again and again.

attack: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (19) + 8 = 27
B damage: 1d8 + 3 ⇒ (7) + 3 = 10
attack: 1d20 + 8 - 5 ⇒ (3) + 8 - 5 = 6
B damage: 1d8 + 3 ⇒ (4) + 3 = 7
attack,backswing: 1d20 + 8 - 10 + 1 ⇒ (16) + 8 - 10 + 1 = 15
B damage: 1d8 + 3 ⇒ (3) + 3 = 6

Martin's chain snaps hard against the gnome's shoulder, leaving a massive purple bruise in it's wake. Niedre grimaces as she rolls to her feet. AoO if anyone has one.

She feints slashing her kukri back at Emmanuel.

Feint vs Emmanuel Perception DC 17; Frightened 1: 1d20 + 12 - 1 ⇒ (10) + 12 - 1 = 21
Kukri vs Emmanuel AC FF 17; Frightened 1: 1d20 + 10 - 1 ⇒ (13) + 10 - 1 = 22
Damage: 1d6 + 5 ⇒ (4) + 5 = 9
Sneak Attack Damage: 1d6 ⇒ 4

Emmanuel takes another jagged cut across his abdomen as she grins up at him. "It's over for you." Some of her blisters begin to pop.

Persistent Fire Damage: 2d6 ⇒ (1, 4) = 5
Persistent Damage Flat Roll DC 15: 1d20 ⇒ 10

Round 4
Martin
--------------------------------------------
Niedre (-23; 2d6 Persistent Fire)
--------------------------------------------
Round 3
Emmanuel (13/38)
Mad Hopper
Iniquity Pen (40/47)

"It's over for you? Oh come on, you can do better. Like this-" Manny grunts as the blade slices across him, but he points anyway. "Sorry evildoer. But justice always prevails! TO VICTORY!"

Manny's Inspire Courage lingers for a third and final round. He takes a Step back and tries to trip her again.

Athletics vs Reflex DC: 1d20 + 7 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (11) + 7 + 1 + 1 = 20

Cutting it a little close, there. Still, he cracks his whip at her again.
Whip+1, Agile MAP: 1d20 + 7 + 1 + 1 - 4 ⇒ (16) + 7 + 1 + 1 - 4 = 21
Slashing: 1d4 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 2 = 3

"Woo! Your complexion is... well, not so good. If you surrender, maybe we can clean up those sick burns!" Manny strums his lute some more.

Step, Trip, Strike

Reaction: Glimpse of Redemption -> attack does no damage OR -5 damage and enemy is enfeebled 2 until end of her next round (I presume she's going to opt for the latter and Manny gets 5 hp back).

"Is whatever coin you were promised truly worth dying over?" Iniquity asks as he spins his glaive in an acrobatic display, striking out at the gnome several times through the display.

Strike, Strike, Strike
Reaction: Glimpse of Redemption

Glaive, IC, non-lethal #1: 1d20 + 10 + 1 - 2 ⇒ (4) + 10 + 1 - 2 = 13
S, IC, NL: 1d8 + 4 + 1 ⇒ (6) + 4 + 1 = 11
Glaive, IC, non-lethal #2: 1d20 + 10 + 1 - 2 - 5 ⇒ (14) + 10 + 1 - 2 - 5 = 18
S, IC, NL: 1d8 + 4 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 4 + 1 = 7
Glaive, IC, non-lethal #3: 1d20 + 10 + 1 - 2 - 10 ⇒ (14) + 10 + 1 - 2 - 10 = 13
S, IC, NL: 1d8 + 4 + 1 ⇒ (6) + 4 + 1 = 11

@Iniquity Pen- Correct, -5 damage and Enfeebled 2

Emmanuel is unable to trip Niedre but leaves a sizeable welt on her arm and side. Iniquity's glaive has a difficult time getting a decent strike in among the trees.

Round 4
Martin
--------------------------------------------
Niedre (-26; 2d6 Persistent Fire; Enfeebled 2)
--------------------------------------------
Round 3
Emmanuel (18/38)
Mad Hopper
Iniquity Pen (40/47)

Martin whirls the chain around again, aiming to the take the gnome out of the fight once and for all.

attack,ic: 1d20 + 8 + 1 ⇒ (10) + 8 + 1 = 19
B damage,ic: 1d8 + 3 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 3 + 1 = 7
attack2,ic: 1d20 + 8 + 1 - 5 ⇒ (16) + 8 + 1 - 5 = 20
B damage,ic: 1d8 + 3 + 1 ⇒ (7) + 3 + 1 = 11
attack3,ic: 1d20 + 8 + 1 - 10 ⇒ (2) + 8 + 1 - 10 = 1
B damage,ic: 1d8 + 3 + 1 ⇒ (6) + 3 + 1 = 10

Hopper runs to the side and reaches for another blight bomb that he tosses at Niedre

Attack@Niedre, inspire courage: 1d20 + 10 + 1 ⇒ (8) + 10 + 1 = 19
Damage, poison, inspire courage: 2d6 + 1 ⇒ (2, 5) + 1 = 8 +2 splash damage if not critically missed, +2d4 persistent damage if hit. Restricting splash only to target

Then Hopper gives a signal to Wolfie to attack the gnome.

Wolfie yet again bites the gnome

Attack, inspire corage, MAP: 1d20 + 9 + 1 - 5 ⇒ (5) + 9 + 1 - 5 = 10
Jaws, piercing, inspire courage: 2d8 + 3 + 1 ⇒ (1, 6) + 3 + 1 = 11

Attack, inspire corage, MAP: 1d20 + 9 + 1 - 10 ⇒ (9) + 9 + 1 - 10 = 9
Jaws, piercing, inspire courage: 2d8 + 3 + 1 ⇒ (7, 3) + 3 + 1 = 14

The blight bomb makes the small gnome turn a vile shade of green as she begins vomiting in the grass. Martin steps up, putting her down for good and bringing peace back to this road.

In a concealed pocket on the gnome's body, you find a note and a bronze badge emblazoned with the head of a snake. The note says simply “Stop the investigators. Hide our involvement.”

"And that, is that." Manny shakes his head and coils his whip.

Society: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (2) + 5 = 7

"And the plot thickens. Someone doesn't want to be discovered... but who?"

He looks around a bit. "Anyone good with medicine? I can magically Soothe wounds if need be."

If anyone is capable of using Medicine, Manny would love to get his wounds treated. He would probably try to restore his focus point, too.

Otherwise he will cast Soothe twice, healing 1d10+4 HP two times. Will wait for a response before I roll...

Iniquity can restore 12 hp every 10 minutes. 40 minutes to get everyone healed up and recoup the focus point..

"That was a grim end, but they chose their path and continued even when it was clear they were outmatched," Iniquity says. "If we think we're safe for the moment, I take some time to tend to your injuries."

Society: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (7) + 4 = 11

Society: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (6) + 9 = 15

"This looks like a badge of Aspis Consortium agent. Interesting..." squeaks Hopper looking at the paper.

Hopper has no medicine skill, but he has 2 reagnants allowing him to make 2 elixir of life. (1d6 hp), so not much of a healing. But he also for Healing potion from the training (2d8+5) which could be used to heal Manny

1 Healing from Iniquity and 1 Soothe spell should be enough. Manny will Refocus after that.

Soothe: 1d10 + 4 ⇒ (1) + 4 = 5 Manny is at 35 HP now.

Manny uses some magic to mend to the worst of his wounds. "Oh, that could have been better. Ugh, whatever. I don't want to sit here all day. If Aspis is involved then they know we're coming."

You continue to theorize on the reasoning for and extent of Aspis involvement as you resume your journey, after taking care of your injuries of course. After another hour or so of walking, after the road has swung back to the coast, you come upon a footpath leading down to the beach. As you approach, you can see a merchant ship run against some rocks in shallow water. Though it looks as though you could fairly easily wade out to the vessel, a number of shambling figures wander around the shallows between your current position and the ship. Their numbers are already too many to safely dispatch, and storm clouds loom just offshore and moving inland, suggesting that these may just be the vanguard of a larger swarm. If you are to reach the boat successfully and complete your investigation, it's going to require some skillful operating!

The investigation is done as a skill challenge, as there are too many undead to face head-on. We'll do this in four phases, with each PC making a check in each phase, and I will tally your total successes across all four to see how well you do overall.

Phase 1: Get on That Boat!
Suggested options are as follows. There is room for creative solutions, if you can justify your method:

Manny narrows his eyes as he scans the coast (for dramatic effect). "Undead. I'd love to fight on, but those are a lot of undead. Too much for me."

"But I could trick the undead... and pose as one of them. Maybe they won't bother us that way. How will the Aspis get through here, anyway? Hehe..."

GM, can each PC choose a different method, or is this one strategy for the entire team? Manny has +9 Deception and +7 Athletics, so he suggests posing as undead or swimming while holding his breath.

If each PC chooses a different method, Manny will pretend to be undead. I don't know if the GM wants to roll the checks in secret or if we'll use Spoilers to hide our secret rolls. I'll spend a Hero Point if I roll below 5.

Manny slumps his head low, controls his breathing, and mumbles "Braaaains..." as he begins lurching forward.

You can each choose different strategies.

Crafting and Stealth Hopper has with the same modifier, so he will go Stealthy letting Martin to build state of the art raft ;)

Hopper looks at Manny's disguise and deems it naive. That could never work! thinks to himself, maybe in some plays, but not in real life.

He tries to stay away from the undead hiding in shadows or behind obstacles, leading Wolfie behind him

crafting: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (10) + 11 = 21

Martin was normally better off crafting with metal in a workshop, but sometimes you had to make do with the tools and materials you have on hand. Using some driftwood, vines, and a type of easy-press fastener he had invented himself, he put together a rat that should hold most of them easily enough. Whether it would come apart in the swells...well, sometimes you just didn't know if an idea worked until you put it into practice!