(PFS2) Bounty / Quest Rotation (B4, B5, B7, B8, Q1) @ "The Sandstone Secret" (Inactive)

Game Master rainzax

Perception vs DC 16: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (10) + 6 = 16

Ghul reads this mysterious second permit in the guardswoman's hand upside down. His raspy voice breaks the hot air "It seems that the character of Norden Balentiir - our Venture Captain and the underwriter of both documents in question - is expressed in one of three possibilities. The first, in his short memory or lack of accounting thereof, that he issued a second permit to our group nearly a year later today, sending us to a site that has been previously slated for excavation, yet forgotten entirely. The second, in a similar vein, but not forgotten, just the omission of that very fact from our briefing, but with purpose, and perhaps nefarious. The third, well, you might as well guess! But given that the first two scenarios are improbable at best, maybe it would due for you to cross-check our paperwork as well, and make your own judgement"

Without outright making an accusation, Ghul is hoping the facts speak for themselves...

Diplomacy +4

The woman yawns. "Sure, let me see your papers. I'm supposed to only let Pathfinders into the ruin anyway. So unless you have legitimate papers, scram. You can hang around if you want, but I'm not letting you into that ruin."

She holds out her hand expectantly.

The armor isn't the only protection! There is also this award winning smile! Ron flashes his smile again continuing the banter and feeling better about all of this, though Ghul still has an unusual way with words that Ron needs to pause and think about before he responds.

perception dc 16: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (16) + 6 = 22
Society dc15: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (19) + 3 = 22

I don't see any evidence that this is faked but you are right it is from a year ago. How odd. Ron then looks at the name and shakes his head. I guess drilling us with all the pathdinder facts does help from time to time! I think this is a fake name. Durvin Gest was the founder of our organization and Eando Kline is the leader and founder of the Vigilant Seal faction. Seems as if someone just made up a name that sounds pathfinder'y to me.

I am not sure who has the papers but if it is Ron, he offers the papers over to the woman.

The woman takes the papers from Ron and compares them to "Durvin's" papers. After a quick glance, she says, "Yeah, these seem okay to me. You're hereby authorised to enter the ruin. It's a bit weird that two groups of people got the same permit, but that's none of my business. I get paid either way."

A sly grin appears on her face.

"Does this mean I get paid double?"

Zendel bows and shakes his head. "Oh milady, if I could offer it to you, I would. But alas, we cannot afford to pay you a second time. If we find this 'Durvin' perhaps we can persuade him to pay your fee."

Zendel brushes himself off. "Are we ready to see what lays within?"

Ron nods his head. I am quite ready to find out what is down here and to get to the bottom of this paperwork mystery.

Ghul nods.

He raises his shield arm, and marches forth near the front of the group, taking direction from behind him.

You enter the tent with the rope around it and inside you see a small hole in the ground with a rope ladder leading down it. At the bottom you see the flickering of torchlight. Once down, the area opens up into a wide chamber, with 10 foot high ceilings. Several of the pillars in this once-grand entryway have collapsed. The statues around its edges depict scarab beetles.

To the south, you see a passageway that's been blocked by rubble. Clearing it would take several hours. To the west, you see a big door flanked by statues. From the north, you hear vague sounds of a hammer striking wood. Several torches light this room and the passage to the north.

Everyone except Ron notices immediately that there's a pressure plate right in front of the door to the west. You don't know exactly what it does, but you think it can't be good. Disabling it would take a DC 15 Thievery check.

Ghul, I don't have a token for you, if you could make one and place yourself, please?
Everyone: I've blown up the map a bit, I hope it displays properly for you. If it doesn't, give me a call and I'll shrink it so Google Slides can handle it.

Society: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (7) + 8 = 15

"Oh look, scarabs!" Zendel points. "in Osirion, scarab beetle iconography is commonplace in tombs and other places associated with death." He rolls up his sleeves. "I wonder if we'll be facing more undead?"

Zendel turns around in a slow circle, taking in the room.

"Ron... There's a trap ahead. I can't disable it. Should we go to the North? I hate being herded, but I don't like the idea of triggering it."

I made a token for Ghul and placed it on the slide.

Ghul watches Zendel as he speaks. There it is. That mortal fear of death in all of it's forms. He knows that no offense was meant by it - indeed, undead are a menace to the living more often than not! - but it does register to him in any case.

Without a word, and keeping his shield raised, Ghul heads towards the northern corridor, as the party prepares to assemble into a single file.

Ron pulls out his sword and shield as he follows behind Ghul. Thanks for the warning about that trap! Totally missed that. Well it sounds like our "friend" is to the north so it makes most sense to head that way anyway. Don't want them to sneak up on us.

As you follow the hammering sound, you walk through a dusty hallway, all neatly lit by torches. You pass by two closed doors that appear to not have been opened in a very long time. Further on, the hallway seems to loop back on itself to the first room again, but aren't illuminated by torches - there don't seem to be any torches at all beyond this point. There is one open door however, where the sounds seem to be coming from.

In the room you see three colourful pits, each about 5 foot deep. You think they might once have contained liquid, but they have evaporated over time, leaving behind a powdery residue. A young man is carefully lifting up pottery and placing it in wooden crates filled with sawdust, then nailing them shut. Every so often, he misses a nail with his hammer and hits his own finger, letting out a curse. As he grabs another clay pot, he sees you standing in the hallway, he lets out a yelp, nearly dropping the pot in surprise.

"Well, er, hello, er..." He takes a quick look at you, then sighs in relief. "fellow Pathfinders. I must say, I did not expect Adventure-Man Balentiir to send backup, especially this late into the mission. Don't worry, I've nearly finished up here. You can go back to town, I'll follow you this evening."

"Adventure Man? Perhaps you should tell me just who in the Hells you are. Surely he would have told you he was sending you another team if he had really sent you to begin with."

The guy chuckles nervously. "Oh, that's just my nickname for him. We go way back, he and I. I call him that because he sends everyone on adventures," before adding nervously, "Right?"

He carefully places the clay urn back on the ground.

"As I said, he and I have a history. I'm sure you've heard of Durvin Kline, right? Famous Pathfinder and all? I'm in all the Chronicles and such. I said I could do this mission on my own, but he must've been worried."

You all get the feeling now he's quite obviously ill at ease with you being here.

Hell indeed.

Ghul watches the interaction between Ignatius Thrune and Durvin Kline, but holds off on weighing in for now.

Thinking back to the leaflet he was handed before coming here. Ahh the famous Durvin Kline. I was told I was going to have a quiz soon on some pathfinder stuff soon. Since you are so renound, I was wondering if you had any advice on how to remember the motto. It is "survey, describe, and unite" right? Ron is clearly trying to catch him in a lie here.

Durvin stares at you blankly for a second. "Er, yes, that is correct. The famous motto of the Pathfinder Society. I've said it so many times to my fellow party members, it's drilled into my head by now."

"I for one would never stoop to be so disrespectful as to call someone who as earned the prestigious title of Venture-Captain, Adventure-Man. I also know that my faction leader, Eando Kline has never mentioned having any family in the Pathfinder Society. Furthermore, that is not our motto. That was a trick question.

Now, stranger, tell me who dares sully the name of the Pathfinder Society ? Think carefully how you would answer that. Neither the Society nor the Thrice-Damned House of Thrune are to be trifled with. The hellfire that dwells within me, burns hot."

Intimidation: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (5) + 6 = 11
Hero Point.
Intimidation: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (3) + 6 = 9
Bah. Always undone by poor dice rolling.

"My cunning allies intend to catch you in your lie, and hang you by it!"

The rasp in Ghul's voice probably shoots a tingling splinter into this Durvin Kline's spine - he does his best to temper the fear reaction with a slowing of his tempo of speech and choice of words "But I would posit to you a Redemption Arc: As it is clear to us that your permit has been forged - inclusive to adopting a pseudonym to cover your future tracks had you not been caught! - a consequence is that any contents of this premises, where they to be serviced under such faulty pretense, would hereby be illegitimately gotten. At the same time, that you have shown great industriousness in advancing the work of the legitimate ledger (in our possession) in clearing out these ruins for exploration and documentation, another interpretation is that you are as-of-now laboring under the lawful extrusion of any and all artifice contained within these walls!"

Finishing his thought with the description of the crossroads "And so, under which light ought we interpret your actions? I can assure that if you make the honorable choice, I will see to it that my allies and superiors honor such an arrangement. Unfortunately, if you instead decline to do so, so too must I rescind my offer to persuade them to stand down."

As indeed Durvin Kline might have a lot to consider here, Ghul allows the man a proportional amount of time to consider his words and make his choice.

Make an Impression or Request (Diplomacy): 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (5) + 4 = 9
Hero Point!
Make an Impression or Request (Diplomacy): 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (17) + 4 = 21

Ron is proud that his trap worked on the clear imposter but let's his allies do the talking for now.

Durvin hesitates as Ignatius pops through his lies, but scares as he is, he won't be bullied away. Ghul's speech though hits the right nerves. His posture sinks and he looks like he's about to cry.

"Ah okay, I think the ruse is up. You're smarter than I anticipated. Please, I had no ill intentions. My name is Nefram Subeli, and I'm an archaeologist. I knew about this ruin, but the government won't let me dig here, so I forged some Pathfinder documentation. I wasn't going to use it to discredit you or anything, I just thought it'd... grease the gears of bureaucracy, you know? But if you have the actual rights to this ruin, I'll cooperate, I swear!"

Before anyone can answer, an eerie moaning sound echoes throughout the ruin, carried by a dry wind smelling of rot and decay. The lights in this room start to flicker and go out. In the darkness, you hear the sounds of countless tiny legs clicking against the floor. As you re-light the torches, you see the room is suddenly filled with thousands of scarab beetles, all pooling together into one giant, writhing mass.

Officially they're centipedes, but this makes more sense, thematically.

Initiative count:
Ron
Beetles
Ghul
Ignatius
Zendel

I'm trying something different here. I've pre-rolled potential Recall Knowledge checks for you, so if you wish to do so, just open the spoiler with your name. This saves time communicating with the GM and deciding on actions and such. Let me know what you think about this.
Ignatius, I can't find your stats. Do you have Nature trained?

Ron may act!

Ron looks at the "pathfinder" and says Stay there. We will take care of this. There will be consequences if you try to escape because you think we are distracted. Ron than charges up to the swarm with his long sword out. He then takes a swing at the mass using his very well practiced stance.

powerattack: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (16) + 9 = 25
damage (s): 2d8 + 4 ⇒ (8, 5) + 4 = 17
crit?: 2d8 + 4 ⇒ (7, 4) + 4 = 15

◆ to stride ◆◆ to power attack. ↺ to raise shield if attacked first or take an AoO if one provokes first

Ron slices expertly through the heap of bugs, and though they seem to resist a tiny bit of slashing damage, his blade fells hundreds of bugs with each slash. There's still plenty of bugs left, though.

The scarabs surge forward in an attempt to cover Ron and eat him alive. Ron's blade lashes out again in retaliation.

Ron's AaO: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (16) + 9 = 25
Ron's damage: 1d8 + 4 ⇒ (2) + 4 = 6

More dead bugs fall to the ground, but there's still enough left to continue the attack. The scarabs crawl inside the cracks of Ron's armour and bite any exposed flesh they can find. No attack roll required, it's auto-damage.

Damage to Ron: 1d8 ⇒ 7
Basic Reflex save: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (18) + 6 = 24
Damage to Ron: 1d8 ⇒ 6
Basic Reflex save: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (8) + 6 = 14

Fort save for Ron: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (5) + 8 = 13
Fort save for Ron: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (20) + 8 = 28

Ron saves the first Reflex, fails the second, fails the first Fort save, makes the second.

Poison damage: 1d6 ⇒ 4

Initiative count:
Ron - 15 damage, Centipede swarm venom stage 1 - flat-footed
Beetles - 19 damage
Ghul
Ignatius
Zendel

Ghul, Ignatius, and Zendel may act!
I know Ignatius and Zendel have campaign coins. If you give them to Ron to reroll his failed Fort save and he makes a 20, he's not poisoned.

I just realised after my edit-window is over. Ron can act as well in the next round. Everyone may act!

"Beetles - hundreds of them - soft of flesh and with paralytic venom - careful Ron!"

Least Resistant to Slashing damage - Weak to Splashing damage!

◆) Recall Knowledge
◆) Draw Sickle
◆) Strike
↺) Glimpse of Redemption

Ghul's Deific Sickle Slash: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (12) + 7 = 191d6 + 4 ⇒ (3) + 4 = 7

Drawing his sickle, Ghul gets to cutting at the fat bodies of the slimy bugs!

Ignatius is trained in Nature +5

Ignatius heals some of Ron's wounds and then steps forward.

Heal (2-action): 1d8 + 8 ⇒ (4) + 8 = 12

Zendel will lend his campaign coin to Ron.

Ron's Fortitude Save: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (19) + 8 = 27

Zendel is surprised by Ghul's comment, since of course the swarm must be weak to Bludgeoning, not Slashing! But Ron's effective attacks belie that.

◈ Devise Stratagem: 1d20 ⇒ 7
◇ Known Weakness on Swarm (Nature): 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (14) + 4 = 18

Still confused about which strategy to use, Zendel falls back on Electric Arc!

◈◈ Electric Arc (DC 16): 1d4 + 3 ⇒ (2) + 3 = 5

Swarm Reflex save: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (14) + 11 = 25

Lots of scarabs get toasted by the chain of lightning zapping through its mass, but overall the majority seem relatively unscathed.

Ghul cuts through more of the insects, and now the mass seems to have dwindled to only a fraction of its original size. There's still fight left in them, though.

With Hmm's powers of awesomeness Ron makes his Fortitude save, and with the healing from Ignatius, all his damage has healed! Ron's completely fine again.

Initiative count:
Ron
Beetles - 27 damage
Ghul
Ignatius
Zendel

Ron may act!

Thanks for the hero point. I am honestly not sure if I used one this adventure yet. I will need to check if that is just bad booking.

Ron goes through a rapid change of feelings as he gets bite, healed, poisoned, and fights it off in a matter of seconds.

Thinking on his feet as his training as taught him, he steps out of the nasty swarm and plants his feet for another powerful attack!

powerattack: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (19) + 9 = 28
damage (s): 2d8 + 4 ⇒ (6, 7) + 4 = 17
crit?: 2d8 + 4 ⇒ (1, 1) + 4 = 6
dice are on fire! Not sure if swarms can be crit in 2e so figured I would roll the damage.

Thank you for the aid. We are dropping this swarm!

◆ to step ◆◆ to power attack. ↺ AoO if one provokes

Yes, that's a crit indeed. And for some reason swarms can be critted. At least, I don't see any text saying they can't.

With one final wild swing, Ron cleaves expertly through the remaining mass of scarab beetles, and what remains is too ineffective to pose any threat. They scurry away back into the crevices they came from.

Nefaram ("Durvin") rushes towards you and falls to his knees. "Thank you! Thank you for saving me! I was afraid you'd run away and let those bugs eat me alive! I'm so sorry I took this dig away from you, I'll never do it again!"

Officially, the Quest is over now, but I'd still like to know what you're going to do with Nefaram. I'll write a wrap-up post after that.

Ghul helps Nefaram up from his knees.

"To your feet, we've no need of that"

"Now, show us what you have uncovered. It looks as though you've been here some time, and have learned a lot. Anything of particular interest to report?"

Zendel strokes his beard. "You know, you don't have to just pretend you are a Pathfinder. If you want to go exploring and excavating, the Pathfinder Society will take just about anyone with the right skill set!'

Nefaram turns towards Zendel and blushes. "Ah, ehm, I'm afraid I'm not a professional adventurer, just an enthusiastic historian who's low on funds... Though I do admit this digging business has got me rather excited. If I join the Society, will that lessen my punishment?"

"Oh and ah... Please don't tell the guards this wasn't an official dig. They'll string me up and leave me in the desert when they hear they've been digging without getting paid. I'll pay them back eventually, I promise."

Nefaram then shows you around the tomb and the notes he's made along the way. It's nothing earth-shattering, but it is interesting from a historical perspective. However, you find nothing that explains the moaning sound and the stench of rot just before the fight with the beetles broke out... Perhaps the curse of the pharaohs?

The guards outside (there's more than just the woman, they were just sleeping in their tent) are relieved to hear they didn't have to fight a giant mass of scarabs and they help load everything onto carts and haul it back to Sothis. Norden Balentiir is surprised by how quickly you're back, but after the debriefing he nods in agreement. "Sounds like you handled this perfectly. Especially you Ron, using your Pathfinder training productively. I did not expect this leaflet to be used in such a way, very clever."

You bring Nefaram to jail, despite his pleas for leniency. He's found guilty of graverobbing and impersonating a Pathfinder official, but Norden Balentiir strikes a deal and Nefaram can indeed join the Society and pay back his debts that way. A while later, you get a thank-you letter from Nefaram stating that he's happy where life has brought him, and hopes to potentially work with you in the future.

If your words are true, the society has resources to train you and make an adventure out of you... but it takes work and you must prove your dedication through the training. But if you make it out on the otherside, you won't need to pretend to be one of us ever again. Ron clearly hopes he is helping set someone on the right path and that this guy isn't just giving us lip service.

When we get back to Norden, Thank you sir! I am happy to be of service. And I didn't expect to use that info either but hey, you told me to be ready for a pop quiz and I was. Ron smiles as he realizes he did a great job on his first mission with the society.

Sorry I missed most of it. I've been working between 10 and 16 hours per day this week.