Protectors of Golarion (Wrath of the Righteous AP)

Game Master Sensen

It's a character mentioned in the campaign trait, so I didn't want to describe them in case they were mentioned somewhere else in the campaign.

Described the character and did a reaction to Thesius, Minotaur and Cultist turn coming up soon.

@Thesius, you pmed about getting a mythic weapon, spoiler you are about to find one, so ideally PM me the starting stats.

Does a 19 miss Red Minotaur even when taking into account that it is grappled and thus takes a -4 penalty to Dex? It might also have a -2 to AC from archon's aura.

I probably made some mistakes there, but the post is done!

Did you mean Thesius got bullrushed? He was in the doorway to block people getting to Wulfric and Verene.

I'm working on what I want for the legendary item.

Yes, the Mino bullrushed you out of the way to get closer to Verene and Wulfric, the movement of that does provoke, the bullrush itself does not.

Gotcha. Just wanted to make sure. Looked like it noted Elliot instead of Thesius, but Thesius was moved. Thanks for the clarification!

Ah damn yeah, he bullrushed Thesius because he was in the was, Elliot is flying above.

I have a Bard named "Elliot" in another game haha.

Reaction to Arthus turn done, Chorussina is up next.

Not a problem. Just wanted to make sure I had things straight.

I did send you over a direct message in regards to the legendary item as well.

I am cooking up something yepyep :).

I look forward to stumbling across it soon.

Desna also has a really hilarious excuse for why that wont violate *deeific non interference*

"Yes, I answered a prayer to remove one of my followers, a *spoiler redacted* from a Deskarite torture cell! But I also placed a really good mythic Star knife in the chest with belongings. Its the Deskarites fault that they never opened that chest haha!"

Its actually really cool that its Thesius who passed the kn. check by more then 10!

Chorussina is still up, will post her later today.

Yikes its cold, need to warm my fingers back up.

Stay warm, GM!

What Thesius said is true as a shorthand — it sounds like it was the daughter's actions, though not the daughter's intent, that offered Deskari the perfect hunter to send our way.

Yeah, her actions, and, in the din of battle, a retreating Qlippoth is *good* and gives time to kill Qlippoths who arent retreating yet.

Laulieh would interpret thesius statement differently (while her outlook on life is not as far removed from a mortal then is the case for most demons, she is a demon), as a combination of a) a threat ("I know who your children are") b) insult from Deskari if Deskari thinks a Behirmiron could kill her (one as written would get curbstomped by her + the party, the spirit totem would kill it fairly quickly. While Qlippoths are very rare on Golarion, they are a very frequent foe for demons in the Abyss.) and/or c) a statement that her counterintelligence skills regarding her own head of security are so weak a random Desnan knows something she doesnt.

I'm rethinking Elliot's actions slightly. I don't know that Wild Arcana works with Spell Combat. I think I found an alternative though.

Those attacks should all be +1 att and damage. I forgot to apply the medal of agility this time.

Righteous Eclipse - Bladed Dash
Attack: 33
Damage: 42 = 30, 1 Sonic, 11 Nonlethal Cold

Righteous Eclipse - Haste
Attack: 27
Damage: 42 = 26, 6 Sonic, 10 Nonlethal Cold

Righteous Eclipse - First Attack
Attack: 29
Damage: 44 = 29, 3 Sonic, 12 Nonlethal Cold

Righteous Eclipse - Second Attack
Attack: 29
Damage: 41 = 26, 4 Sonic, 11 Nonlethal Cold

Righteous Eclipse - Second Attack - Crit Confirmation
Attack: 32
Damage: 36 = 27, 3 Sonic, 9 Nonlethal Cold

Greater spirit totem
Attack: 44
Damage: 13 Negative Energy

Idaya and Merixia are up, I am fairly happy with the posting pace!

Lets see if the party wants to fight the optional super boss.

Spoiler: Lauliehs assessment of how easy he would be is wrong, because of course it is.

Everyone but Verene, Wulfric and Merixia gets to do a 30 feet move due to Idayas abilities!

If we're taking a vote, I absolutely don't want to fight the optional super boss with Verene nearly tapped out of both spells and mythic power. This is still the same in-game day that Verene and Merixia used up a ton of spells on reporting in to the Queen and disenchanting the Keystones of Lozeri before even entering Drezen. Our side projects were very appropriate for their characters but unfortunately did not seem to have any mechanical effect or even result in new interactions or information.

Noted, and you will have an opportunity for a rest after this battle, as the remaining things arent as time critical.

There is a thing about Paladins that I wonder about:

--How does being "immune to fear" influence your decision making? Like, my gut feeling is (I do some martial arts), if I was immune to fear while sparring I would probably get hit more (but also hit more)

--Does it apply to social situations? Is a Paladin immune to the fear of being rejected when he asks someone out?

--Is a Paladin scientist immune to being afraid of not making his deadlines?

Hmm, definitely made an assumption there about the circle. Sorry about that and thanks for the correct, Verene.

I'd suck up the aoo to get to it anyway just to keep the post right, but she is in armor for can only move 40', not enough to get there. Cannot change the post, so best thing is to just have that be a slash at yellow minotaur.

Yes, on including those people in the reroll. The green cultist seems repentant, Laulieh is who she is there to save, and Sorica looks friendly.

Is there a save she needs to make that I missed?

I think the paladin doesn't really think about it, like (s)he has a divine concentration that makes these not an issue to them. So, the feeling is controlled, but they're still able to make rational decisions, such as self-preservation.

I don't think it's supposed to be that paladins cannot feel fear, the emotion, at all. Imagine how weird and behavior-warping it would be for a good person to suddenly one day no longer experience any worry about losing their comrades and loved ones! The intent of Aura of Courage seems to be more that they are immune to any mechanical effects of fear — that they are unshakable, and that their example inspires others around them. Courage is not the absence of fear, it's acting in spite of it, etc.

Idaya, no problem of course. I was referring to the nabasu's spell-like ability that went off here. Arthur, who made the Spellcraft roll to know that it is mass hold person, rightly pointed out that it wouldn't affect Idaya by RAW, as she is not technically a humanoid but a native outsider. This means that things like enlarge/reduce person also don't work on her. (This is the reason Elliot is usually a grippli in battle — he would have preferred to go with reduce person, but we determined way back when, with GM Sensen, that that spell wouldn't work, and we stuck with the RAW. I think the issue first came up when Verene tried to enlarge person Merixia in one of our first fights.)

But then with this post it seems you might need to make the save after all. I don't know. What's the full rule going forward, GM?

I dont mind either way, and would put it up to a vote.

So, are "native outsiders" humanoids or not?

I also think Idaya would likely pass the save with ease too.

Thinking it over, I am tending towards the RAW.

My reason is a bit ideosyncratic.

Succubi/Incubi being infiltrators is a key part of what they do, but since they are still outsiders when pretending to be humans, they cannot be affected that enlarge/reduce person (which is not an intrusive and painfull thing, so they cant exactly easily refuse in the way they could refuse a zone of truth, which is far more intrusive, and has a safe against). Given that enlarge/reduce (a smart Succubus who is affected by reduce person, while pretending to be a medium sized humanoid, could alter her shape to a small sized humanoid and fake that out, but if she is effected by enlarge person she is caught) is a level 1 spell, it would be a bit too good at detecting outsiders.

However, if native outsiders (unless they have the equivalent pass for human alternative racial trait) also cant be enlarged or reduced, then the Succubus infiltrator can try to pretend being a native outsider, and claim *dude, I am a tiefling, what did you expect?*.

I'll vote for having native outsiders not be humanoids due to it already being played that way from the previous GM. Don't mind making the save though either way, as you say Idaya has a pretty good chance to make it.

Thank you Verene for the link to the spell.

To be honest, it seems to me that in terms of flavor, tieflings, aasimar, and other planestouched races should be both types — humanoid and native outsider — for all purposes, the same way half-elves count as both elf and human for all purposes. This would be a disadvantage overall, I think, due to favored enemy bonuses and the aforementioned spell groups and so on, but those races tend to be quite strong already. That's how I would run it if I were DMing a campaign from scratch, anyway.

But, we did already make a decision earlier in this campaign, and I don't mind sticking with that.

Re: the nabasu still being barely alive, does Merixia also have a Greater Spirit Totem attack that might take it down? :)

I don't know how to get around the level 1 spell test, though. It is a weird restriction for spells. I guess the succubus/incubus would have to never be suspected and never put to such tests?

If you suspect someone of being a succubus/incubus/other shapechanging demon, there are already very cheap ways to test them for sure. You can flick a few drops of holy water on them and see if it burns, have a cleric with the feat Alignment Channel (evil outsider) use it on them, etc. Detect magic along with detect fiendish presence or detect evil (to check for the presence of abjurations like undetectable alignment and misdirection, or the absence of magic auras that should be there but aren't due to nondetection) is not foolproof, but in combination the cantrips will get most things.

Is it Wulfric and then Laulieh/Sorica up next?

Yes, currently being bothered by some tooth ache that got worse after meeting the dentist, but if merixia can post with seizures i can post with tooth pain!

Oh, rest up, GM! I didn't mean to rush you. I hope the worst is over and your tooth feels better soon.

Oh man, I'm sorry GM. Get better soon!

It got, better after some ibuprofen and weirdly enough, eating :)

Glad to hear you're feeling better. Teeth can be a real hassle to deal with.

I'm also glad it's improved. It's always been weird to me that medicine for teeth is considered a whole different field than the rest of the body.

Okay, so Yellow Minotaur is now at -78 damage, by my count, after Idaya's and Sorica's attacks plus its existing damage from the black tentacles and weapon song effects. Is it still up? Azira's turn will depend on that. Since Verene's doesn't, a post for Verene will be incoming first, probably.

Yellow is the Minotaur boss, he is very close to dying though (and invested in a false life scroll).

My posting will resume tuesday!

The heroes have won the fight by disabling the Minotaurs fairly quickly (they barely got attacks off), dealing with the curveballs, and correctly making use of the opportunities presented.

The 2 remaining foes (one grappled Minotaur and a single digit hp Nabasu) are unlikely to get anything off before falling.

Pretty sure that scene would be better over VTT or in person :).

I'll have a post up tomorrow, but wanted to make sure to note I'm here. Long week and prepping for an exam Thursday.

I like it, Thesius! Verene will dismiss the tentacles on your cue (if we are out of combat time, or if the GM doesn't mind me doing so. Normally it is a standard action, so she couldn't do it until next turn.)

We are out of combat time.

And I am cunningly useing the contraption of "this gate is too tight" to introduce the next villain without a fight breaking out instantly.

Oh, it is one more fight (you can and should rest prior) before the next mythic tier and levelup!

I think the portal is a fun way to introduce Xanther without full risk. Picking up with what you were doing, I just thought it would be fun to have Thesius run in to make a bigger move for once. Especially since the cultist is currently failing at it.

I can get behind the ideas for our companions that are still actively fighting the fight, but perhaps not alongside us.

Also, I was under the impression Thesius curing the cultist to even stabilize them would stop the portal. Was that not right? Wasn't sure if we were simply waiting for people to chime in or if further action was needed.

Its a mixture of waiting for chime in (Merixia can still trashtalk him), and there is a super bonus if the cultist gets back to actual health, more thoroughly healing her could do a bit more then "stopping the gate".

Like, imagine squeezing through a small window, and then someone makes the window dramatically smaller when your head is through.

Gotcha. If the portal is not closing, he would potentially ask Laulieh if he was on the right track before continuing to cast cure light wounds on the downed cultist.