GM Erich's PFS2E Quest 6 - Archaeology in Aspenthar for Gameday X (Inactive)

Game Master Thereus, Silver Crusader

With Kaitlyn joining in on the ladder lowering, the trio easily pulls it to its full length. Despite the swells of warm sea foam at the base of the cliff, the rope ladder is firmly secured to the rocks below and even the least sure footed of you can make your way down without incident.

Your dwarven guide waves from above "Good luck Pathfinders. I'm sure you can find your way back to town without ol' Sefu! I'll let the exploration team know you were successful with the ladder." then disappears over the lip.

---------------------

The escarpment you find yourself following a bit inland leads to a huge basalt structure with well-weathered stairs that lead to a covered entry. A single door remains in working order, leading into the southern portions of the structure.

New Map. Set your exploration activities and place yourselves where you want to when the door is finally opened.

Kaitlyn pulls out her sling and loads it in case anything unfriendly is waiting. She then keeps to the shadows.

Exploration Activity: Avoid Notice

Oranna would put a hand to the blade on her back, preparing for anything that might come out of either the door or from the water's nearby. She felt like she had enough of a warm up after undoing the ropes that had tied her in safety but one could never be too unprepared for a situation to arise.

Activity is to Search, keeping a keen eye on things
Perception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (17) + 6 = 23

Down at the cliff, Thrass spends some time looking for fresh fish, but once the rest of the team moves on, he reluctantly rejoins them.

Since Kat promised she'd protect him from those devious squirrels, he'll stick closely by her side, covering her back.

Exploration activity: Avoid Notice. Stealth is +3.

After climbing down the ladder, he brushes himself off. As they enter the area, Giles will carefully stay near the middle of the group unsure of what to look for yet.

Ecthelion will keep a careful lookout for danger, staying nearby Giles.

Giles Exploration Activity: Avoid Notice
Ecthelion Exploration Activity: Search
Perception: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (5) + 3 = 8

Marcus follows the others down the ladder, but then takes up his big maul and walks over to the door. "Ok, everyone ready? I'll open the door." He hefts his maul and looks like he might break the door open, then take a closer look at the door before he tried to open it.

Search, Perception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (7) + 6 = 13

Exploration Activity: More Search!

Mrs. Crinkle stows her staff and shuffles down the ladder, not quite as slowly as one would expect. Once her feet are on solid ground again, she girds herself with shield and staff before planting herself at the back of the group. Winking at Ecthelion, she stage whispers: "We'll keep him safe, eh?"

After a moment, she realizes Marcus is waiting to open the door. "All ready Captain! Open the door! Let's do some archaeology! Who's ready to stare at old dusty stuff and write things down? -- Oh shoot! I forgot to buy a writing set while we were in town. Oops. Heehee! Guess I'll have to wing it." She doesn't really seem sorry to have forgotten.

The door opens with some effort. Scattered bits of ancient armor lie discarded haphazardly around this room. Ancient tools, some plainly built for alchemy or armor maintenance and others much less clear in origin, are stored on shelves along the walls, which are adorned with carvings of figures in ornate plate armor.

Oranna spots a small vial hidden in a pile of mismatched pieces of armor. Another door atop a series of steps leads out of the room.

Crafting: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (2) + 4 = 6

Kat looks inside and can't really make heads or tails of what the armor represents.

"Well, it's a dark room and I can't see."

If no one else provides light, Mrs. Crinkle will light one of her torches and stow her staff.

Once there's light, Mrs. Crinkle moseys into the room and nudges a random piece of armor with her foot.

Crafting DC 17: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (16) + 5 = 21

"Ooh, now this is interesting. Ancient Osirian armor was usually lightweight. I wonder what these are?" She stares at it a bit longer, then around the room in the hopes of finding more clues.

Perception, Crafting, and Society are all +5

Giles looks overly excited at the old detritus and hurries forward to examine some of the pieces.

Society (T): 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (15) + 5 = 20

He also immediately recognizes the pieces as not Ancient Osirian armor. "Oh yes, Mrs. Crinkle these definitely look ancient, but possibly not Osirian?" Then he talks to the group as a whole. "The Osirian empire was founded over 8000 years ago. Which would be a major archeological find! But this armor is much heavier than we would expect to see. Quite a mystery so far. Exciting, isn't it?" He begins gently picking up and putting down various pieces around the room. Probably not following proper archeology protocol but being relatively careful.

I initially misread the description of the items initially, so I have edited Giles dialog to match.

"It's some proper armor, is what it is. Some good steel to wear between you and the the sword trying to gut you." Marcus picks up a piece and knocks on it to see the solid strength of it. He puts the piece back down. "But if you say it doesn't fit here, I believe you. Maybe this isn't an Osirian site after all."

Marcus will open the next door when we're ready, but giving everyone some time to explore the room and see what we've found.

Kaitlyn stays in the shadows, the significance of the archaeological finds lost on her. She senses, rather than sees, that Thrass is nearby.

Thrass doesn't say much, as armour and history aren't of much interest to him. He tries to stick to Kat, but is much more clumsy in his hiding than she is.

Giles gets out his writing set and begins making sketches and taking notes alongside. Anyone looking over his shoulder can see that his sketches are pretty good with an artistic flair. He is paying no mind to Marcus and the others that aren't as interested, assuming that the whole group is just as enthralled with the random artifact pieces strewn about. "Oh look at this Mrs. Crinkle. This piece has some very interesting markings but I cannot make out what they mean.

Not sensing any immediate danger, Ecthelion loiters awkwardly and wanders closer to Marcus near the door, ready and waiting.

Keen eye sight allows for Oranna to find what appears to be a small untouched vial among the ruined armor and clothing, pushing it aside as gently as one as rough as she as could before picking it up in her firm hand, trying to not break it, "Any of you know what this is, don't look like it is damaged or nothing, might be important"

When Oranna holds up the small vial, Giles pops his head up and nearly tosses the sketches aside. "Oh, great find Oranna. I might be able to make an educated guess on what it is."

With the nature of the vial's contents shrouded in mystery, the group soldiers on.

Opening the door at the top of the stairs unveils a long darkened hallway. Several small rooms line this long hall, a careful search of each revealing the by-products of ancient alchemical experiments or broken mechanical devices.

You also discover a small bottle containing a mercurial substance in one of the last rooms.

A final door remains at the end of the hall.

Place yourself as you wish to be when the door is opened.

"Oooo! More alchemy! Let's see here."

Crafting DC 17: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (3) + 5 = 8

"Well shoot. I can't make this out. Ohhh, all the knowledge the ancients had! If I had more patience for studying I'd dive deep into it instead of dabbling like I do. Now, what's in this little bottle here?" She carefully picks up the bottle, groaning a little as she stoops to retrieve it and grunting as she stands back up, and holds it up to her torch for a better look.

Crafting +5

Crafting: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (8) + 4 = 12

Kat looks at the object and shrugs, it could very well be ancient fish sauce, for all she know...

Giles looks through each of the rooms as he worked his way down the hallway and examines some of the old equipment left behind.

crafting: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (11) + 5 = 16

Something was bothering him about what he was seeing but he couldn't quite figure out what it was. "There is quite a bit of stuff here to go through. I am really regretting not investing in an alchemy kit before this mission. I expected to see pottery and statues, that kind of thing." He shrugs as he continues jotting down a few more notes.

He stays behind a bit letting the other folks lead down the hallway. Ecthelion appears relatively uninterested in all the old broken things but stays alert while Giles works.

Thrass ignores all the ancient machinery. "We're here for rico- recog-, for looking if everything's safe, right? As long as that stuff isn't exploding, it looks safe to me. Let's move on."

He still sticks close to Mrs. Crinkle and Kat.

Stymied by yet another strange liquid, the group forces open the door at the end of the hall. Wooden limbs and flasks containing alchemical reagents are strewn across the floor in this expansive room beyond. A few of the piles resemble vaguely humanoid forms. There are several other doors leading from the room along the far wall.

Arcana(U): 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (18) + 1 = 19

Would Untrained qualify to open the spoiler?

good roll Kat

Giles looks a little leery at what looks like might be bodies. He turns to Ecthelion. "Let's uh, be careful shall we? These kind of look like bodies all over? I hope it wasn't due to some alchemy experiment gone wrong. Ecthelion, don't touch anything, just in case.

Arcana: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (5) + 5 = 10

Giles tries to inspect one of the piles from a distance but can't quite figure out what it is. "This isn't more armor is it? Maybe we should have brought better lights than just these torches"

Giles appears lost in thought for a moment as he surveys yet another room full of strange alchemy items. Then says mostly to himself [b]"What in Golarian were they doing here?"[/b

"No idea. But it's fascinating!" With creaking joints, Mrs. Crinkle crouches to inspect a pile of body more closely to try to ascertain its ancestry and how it might have died.

Medicine (T): 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (6) + 3 = 9

Perception and Society are both +5 to ID the ancestry if there's enough of the remains to give a clue

Marcus peeks into the various rooms to see if there's anything other than alchemical creations. "So far so good. At least we can tell them the site is clear so far."

@Kaitlyn Yes, recall knowledge is usable untrained.

"These appear to be alchemical golems. Though I have no idea what an alchemical golem is -- One of my fellow pathfinders at the Lodge is an alchemist and mentioned it in passing."

As Mrs. Crinkle wanders into the room, one of the large "piles" comes to life, its wiry wooden arms tipped with syringes and a diminutive brain floating within a glass container that serves as its head.

Round 1 - Bold can act
Marcus
Kaitlyn
Giles
Ecthelion
Oranna
Thrass
Red Creature
Mrs. Crinkle

Giles gets a little closer, lighting his own torch from Mrs. Crinkle's torch-flame. "Huh, now that you mention it Kat, that does make sense. I have heard of them but I had never seen one in person myself. They seem inert for now and let's not disturb them, just in case. It seems like this whole structure was dedicated to alchemy so far. I wonder if it was primarily focused on producing constructs like this? I do hope there are no working models left or we may be in some trouble."

Giles looks around the room further, looking for books, scrolls, scraps or paper, anything with information on it. Meanwhile, Ecthelion makes his way slowly across the room visually examining each body. His body posture possibly showing he was nervous or suspicious, it was hard to tell.

As Giles hears the sound of wood and glass rattling his face lights up in terror. "Oh no! Look out!" He places his hand on his prominent tattoo and strengthens his connection with the Eidolon. The tattoo glowing brighter briefly as the matching tattoo on Ecthelion does the same. Ecthelion moves up in a defensive position and attempts to strike the creature down before it can act.

* Giles Boost Eidolon
* Ecthelion Stride
* Ecthelion strike

Tentacle Slam attack: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (20) + 7 = 27 potential bludgeoning damage: 1d8 + 6 ⇒ (8) + 6 = 14

!!!! Wow. 14x2=28 bludgeoning damage total

posted my post while GM was posting. Updated this to make more sense.

How do you make the diamonds?

Hearing some strange noise from the room Mrs Crinkle had gone into, Kat rushes into the room to find one of the golems has come to life. Reacting instantly, Kat whirls her sling overhead and lets loose a stone.

Sling Attack: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (9) + 6 = 15
Ranged Damage; Sling: 1d6 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 1 = 5

She drops her sling prepares to do battle with her fists.

◆ Stride
◆ Sling Attack
◇ Drop sling
◆ Tiger Stance

Marcus surges forward, charging the golem creature to keep it away from the others. He swings his heavy maul at the metal parts.

Sudden Charge: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (2) + 9 = 11
Damage: 1d12 + 4 ⇒ (9) + 4 = 13

Strike: 1d20 + 9 - 5 ⇒ (16) + 9 - 5 = 20
Damage: 1d12 + 4 ⇒ (4) + 4 = 8

◆◆ Sudden Charge
◆ Strike

How do you make the diamonds?

Just copy it from my statblock and add it to yours. There's a hex/ascii code for it but I have no idea what it is. :)

Giles, I don't want to alpha-game you, but if you do a Work Together, you Eidolon can do one more thing.

At the sound of battle, Thrass rushes into the room and finds himself looking at a giant wooden... thing. He looks at it, then at his claws, then calls back, "Would punching wood help? Maybe my claws are more effective."

Without waiting for a response, Thrass stands on his tippy-toes and holds a more agile defensive pose, ready to dart away when necessary.

Stride, Stride, Crane Stance.

Giles, I don't want to alpha-game you, but if you do a Work Together, you Eidolon can do one more thing.

I don't mind the help or advice at all. I'm still new to PF2e and the summoner. I can't find the rule on a "work together" action though. I think the Eidolon might be a different case since technically we have "Act Together" that says we share our actions. Although it is worded strangely. I'm going to keep looking into it, another action for him would be awesome. Thanks for your advice.

Just copy it from my statblock...

Thanks!

Oranna, finding herself completely behind the group charges forward, pushing through her way to try and get to where the trouble was.

All action to move as I am still stuck all the way in back. Wasn't able to move into the room using my phone controls

Marcus slips in and begins the assault, forcing through a good wallop with his final swing. Kaitlyn launches her sling stone to no avail but Giles is able to coax Ecthelion into a thundering strike that bursts one of the glass chambers within the creature, spraying those close by with the sticky contents. Oranna and Thrass move into place.

@Ecthelion and Marcus: Need a DC 16 reflex save first. If failed then need a DC 15 Fortitude save or be enfeebled 1 (enfeebled 2 on a critical failure)

◆ syringe strike vs Ecthelion: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (11) + 14 = 251d8 + 4 ⇒ (6) + 4 = 101d6 ⇒ 1
◆ syringe strike vs Ecthelion: 1d20 + 14 - 5 ⇒ (16) + 14 - 5 = 251d8 + 4 ⇒ (2) + 4 = 61d6 ⇒ 1
◆ syringe strike vs Ecthelion: 1d20 + 14 - 10 ⇒ (10) + 14 - 10 = 141d8 + 4 ⇒ (6) + 4 = 101d6 ⇒ 2

The creature lashes out at the eidolon, stabbing it twice with the pointy needles but delivering no goo from the crushed chamber within.

Round 1/2 - Bold can act
Red Creature -36 damage
Mrs. Crinkle
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Marcus <Need reflex then a potential fortitude save>
Kaitlyn
Giles
Ecthelion -16 damage <Need reflex then a potential fortitude save>
Oranna
Thrass

Seeing this pile of old junk trying to hurt her team jolts Mrs. Crinkle from her alchemical daydreaming. "Well that just makes me MAD!" As she speaks, her voice becomes deeper and somewhat distorted as her mouth changes shape, stretching into a sharp-toothed snout. Her plump, petite body swells and grows, towering over Kat and Giles. (Still a medium creature, just on the large end of that range now.) Fortunately, her boots and armor grow with her. Unfortunately, that oversized red sweater dress does not. The slip knots release as her much more muscular body fills the formerly voluminous garment to the point that it resembles an almost obscenely tiny red mini dress. The fibers are so tight that they creak and groan as her super hairy, wolf-like limbs carry her in swift strides into the fray. She drops her staff along the way. Roaring in fury, Mrs. Crinkle snaps her jaws at the alchemical attacker to throw it off balance.

Athletics to Trip: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (15) + 7 = 22

◆ Rage, ◆ Stride, ◆ Strike

Ecthelion Reflex: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (15) + 5 = 20

Ethelion raises up on their tentacles to avoid the spray but is unable to avoid the onslaught of strikes from the Golem. They screech terribly in pain as they get punctured twice, nearly taking down the fierce eidolon. They attempt to retreat and lick their wounds.

Giles winces in shared pain as Ecthelion is struck and moves into action to help boost his allies. "Oranna! Let me boost your sword!" As Oranna moves up he reaches out a hand to touch the hilt of her greatsword, which begins to glow slightly in the dim torchlight.

◆ Act together
◈ Giles Stride
◈ Ecthelion Stride
◆◆ Magic Weapon on Oranna's Greatsword (+1, Striking)
Duration: 1 minute. The weapon glimmers with magic and energy. The target becomes a +1 striking weapon, gaining a +1 item bonus to attack rolls and increasing the number of weapon damage dice to two.

Thrass's mouth falls open in amazement as Mrs. Crinkle suddenly transforms into a wolf-beast. But she appears to hit the wooden thing, so she's probably still on our side. Thrass decides to go in to help out. He jabs twice at the wood-thing, then decides he's probably safer off outside its reach, and darts back out again.

◆ Stride
◆ Flurry of Blows
◆ Stride back out again

Flurry of Blows: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (19) + 9 = 28
Flurry of Blows: 1d20 + 9 - 4 ⇒ (16) + 9 - 4 = 21

If both are hits, the damage is combined before applying resistances and weaknesses.

Damage: 1d6 + 4 ⇒ (6) + 4 = 10 bludgeoning damage
Damage: 1d6 + 4 ⇒ (1) + 4 = 5 bludgeoning damage

He looks back at Kat as if looking for help, or possibly approval.

Reflex Save: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (5) + 6 = 11
Fort Save: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (16) + 6 = 22

Marcus flinches at the sticky substance is sprayed over them. As he turns aside, he is suddenly face-to-face with the big bad wolf Crinkle's furry anger. "Uh..." He mutters as she lashes out at the golem. He takes that as a queue not to question her transformation further as he brings down his hammer on it again in a massive strike.

Power attack: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (7) + 9 = 16
Damage: 2d12 + 4 ⇒ (6, 4) + 4 = 14

Strike: 1d20 + 9 - 10 ⇒ (7) + 9 - 10 = 6
Damage: 1d12 + 4 ⇒ (10) + 4 = 14

◆◆ Power Attack
◆ Strike

Oranna doesn't bat a single eye that the old woman turned out to have her own special ability, having thought that there had to be something with a frail old thing like that would have her here and now it had all been revealed. Now all they had to do was use that sudden knowledge to try and kill whatever the Hell it was that had just popped up.

"Alright, now that's what I'm talkin' 'bout!" she says as she rushes to get into position, slashing with her now enchanted blade.

Attack 1: 1d20 + 7 + 1 ⇒ (20) + 7 + 1 = 28
Damage: 2d12 + 4 ⇒ (3, 7) + 4 = 14
Attack 2: 1d20 + 7 + 1 - 5 ⇒ (3) + 7 + 1 - 5 = 6
Damage: 2d12 + 4 ⇒ (2, 8) + 4 = 14

Critical hit does double damage if I recall XD

Kaitlyn gapes at Mrs Crinkle's transformation as well. Brushing that image from her mind to focus at the battle at hand, she charges forward and makes two strikes at the golem.

Tiger Claw (Agile, Finesse, Nonlethal): 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (1) + 6 = 7
Tiger Claw, MAP (Agile, Finesse, Nonlethal): 1d20 + 6 - 4 ⇒ (13) + 6 - 4 = 15

◆◆ Stride x2
◆ Flurry of Blows, Tiger Claw (which don't hit)

The morphed elderly menace scrambles in and drops the golem to the ground with a flourish. Marcus tries to repeat his previous success but cannot hit the wiry creation. Kaitlyn finds the now prone golem a tough target as well. Giles is able to enchant the half-orc's greatsword and she wields it to great effect, nearly splitting the creature in two. Thrass strides in and finishes off the dilapadated golem with his first powerful blow crit vs prone! releasing another exploding amount of liquid spray.

After some failed saves (same as above) it might have sickened you for a bit, but that won't matter now.

chambers hit: 2d6 ⇒ (2, 4) = 6

End of Combat!
Red Creature -80 damage <destroyed> 3 crits, people! I was suppose to crit you that much... ;)
Mrs. Crinkle
Marcus
Kaitlyn
Giles
Ecthelion -16 damage
Oranna
Thrass

What now, Pathfinders?

Kat skips over to Ecthelion and begins treating wounds.

Medicine, Treat Wounds: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (16) + 5 = 21
Healing: 2d8 ⇒ (3, 3) = 6

"All better?" she asks, smiling.

***

"Nicely done, Thrass! Maybe there's something to all that fish you've been eating!" Kat congratulates the iruxi.

Ecthelion lets the monk tend to their puncture wounds. When Kat finishes Ecthelion rests a tentacle on her arm and makes a noise somewhat similar to purring. They say something to Kat.

Giles observes Kat helping Ecthelion as well. "Thank you Kat. Ecthelion does their best to protect me and others but they are not as durable as they think they are sometimes."

Now that it appears things are safer Giles takes another look around the room, even more Leary of the remaining, hopefully inert, golems. He does take a closer look at the golem they just felled.

Probably goes without saying, but before I forget, Kat picks up her sling from where she dropped it

"Nicely done, Thrass! Maybe there's something to all that fish you've been eating!" Kat congratulates the iruxi.

Thrass looks down at his fists. " Thanks, but I can't claim this as my kill. Everyone contributed, I just dealt the finishing blow. Looks like Marcus and Oranna dealt most of the damage."

With that said, Thrass digs down the front of his robe and snacks on a celebratory fish. "But yes. You cook all the nutrients out of the food. Raw meat is the healthiest. This way, you can still taste the memories of the fish."

Though I do like the moniker "One-Punch Thrass." :P

"One-Punch Thrass"? ... Okay. ;)

Once she's certain the threat is gone, Mrs. Crinkle begins shrinking. Her muscles are replaced with her normally plump form, her snout recedes back into her dimpled rosy face, and her clothes and armor return to their normal size as well. Well, except for that red sweater dress. It's now so stretched out that it falls right off her. She begins to chuckle as she proceeds to scoop up the dress, draping it over herself and re-tying the slipknots so that it stays on. "Heheheh! Oh, you should've seen your faces! Hoohoo! My, it's always amusing the first time folks see me get mad! You see, I tinkered with alchemy a lot in my younger days, and one time I created an extract to make me more powerful. (I liked dominating in the underground fighting rings, but being a petite woman was rough, you know?) Well, it sort of worked. Like you just saw, it gives me an interesting boost. The problem is, it isn't complete. No matter what I wear, the outermost layer of my clothing doesn't change size with the rest of me. Hooo boy! The first time that happened in public sure was a hoot! Everyone blushed but me! Heeheehee! Good thing the first armor I ever wore was cheap crap that broke apart rather than kill me, though. That would've been messy."

By this time, Mrs. Crinkle has finished getting dressed. After retrieving her staff, she resumes looking around the room for interesting whatsits.