Wounded Wisp - GM Nowruz (Inactive)

Game Master noral

"now oily"? Sounds like TMI to me! :P

Fort: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (12) + 4 = 16

Arioch moves back, away from the swarm, and then draws a flask of Alchemist's Fire from his bandolier and flips his Wand of Cure Light Wounds from his spring-loaded wrist sheath.

"Reminds me of my extended family..."

Maaldrek nods with satisfaction as Arioch and Baldrum pull out flasks of alchemist's fire, and shouts, "Aim at the center of the swarm so that I get splashed! it will ignite the oil covering me!"

5-ft step into the swarm; Readying an action to move out of the swarm after Maaldrek catches fire.

Fire dmg on swarm from Maaldrek's oil, Round 1: 1d3 ⇒ 2 x1.5 = 3 pts. of fire dmg on Round 1

PS: Cara, if you step to the south before they throw the alchemist's fire you won't get splashed with fire dmg.

fort: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (14) + 3 = 17

Ugh...I can tate those snacks again...disgusting... she says after spitting out some bile. She steps back and tosses a jet of fire from her hand at the swarm.

touchAC: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 = 31d6 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 = 3

I already posted Baldrum's surprise round action here. The short version:

Baldrum reaches for an alchemist's fire and offers it to anyone who wants to use it. (move action to retrieve an item from a backpack)

Anyone can now grab the alchemist's fire from Baldrum's hands and throw it at the swarm.
It would be great if someone did so before the swarm acts again. Really, really great. ;-)

Looking at the map, @Ierwin would be a good candidate for that.

Illyndar reluctantly runs towards the dwarf when he sees the man hold up what the elf can only surmise to be a flask of alchemist fire... he did hear from one of his adventuring cousins that alchemist fire was a good way to deal with swarms...
The elf grabs the flask and tosses it at the swarm hoping to hit the top right corner of the swarm...

Ranged attack: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (16) + 3 = 19...DMG: 1d6 ⇒ 5

Maaldrek is on fire on the map! WOOT!

"Now that's a hot sauce! Glad i didn't grab that. I thought it was yah healin' potion, Baldrum. I would av 'ated ta av poured that down someone's throat."

Ierwin moves along the wall around the burning tiefling and the core of the swarm and out toward Arioch. Single move, he Readies to move again if the swarm pursues him out of the cave.

Illyndar blasts the bats and large parts of the swarm dissolve!!

Also the Tiefling’s burning body can eradicate some of the swarm.

11 damage.

Arioch and Cara are still bleeding!!

The swarm of carnivorous bats moves to the next young Pathfinder's bodies and the Wizard and dwarf start to bleed.

Illyndar and Baldrum please make DC 11 Fort save or be nauseated 1 rd. because of the swarm's distraction - additionally you are bleeding with 1 HP on each turn of the swarm & receive swarm damage now: 1d6 ⇒ 5

~

The alchemist fire that Illyndar threw burns on!!

2nd round fire : 1d6 ⇒ 2

This destructive fire attack killed off the main body of the swarm!!

~

Combat over

Baldrum, -5, bleed
Ierwin
Buzzwinkle
Maaldrek
Cara, -6 bleed
Illyndar, -5 bleed
Arioch, -6 bleed

some of you are still bleeding and could be nauseated!

Sarenrae, heal our wounds! Cara says as she holds up her symbol and sends forth a wave of healing energy

channel: 1d6 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 1 = 6+1 is from a trait

Perfect timing for a channel!! ;-) You can ignore nausea. What do you do now?

And it ends bleed damage!

Feeling much better after Cara's Channel, Arioch moves back into the room and says, "Well since we went through all the trouble to clear out those pesky bats we might as well look around and see if there's anything to be loot I mean 'found'..." and starts checking into the tunnels.

Perception: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (8) + 4 = 12

No further threats are visible and the tunnels become too narrow to follow.

"Thanks for the healing, Cara."

The monk bows a litte before the cleric, the addresses the party.

"Well done, everyone. And Maaldrek, I never heard of anyone who asked to be set on fire in order to deal damage to enemies. Usually I'd say that's stupid. But you seem unharmed, so it was the right tactic, it seems... Those swarms really are annoying - and dangerous, too."

Baldrum thoughtfully strokes his beard.

"Let's deliver those notes to VC Dreng, shall we?"

Ready to move on.

And it ends bleed damage!

But everyone needs a good bleeding. ;)

"Well done, everyone. And Maaldrek, I never heard of anyone who asked to be set on fire in order to deal damage to enemies. Usually I'd say that's stupid. But you seem unharmed, so it was the right tactic, it seems... Those swarms really are annoying - and dangerous, too."

Baldrum thoughtfully strokes his beard.

"Let's deliver those notes to VC Dreng, shall we?"

"Well, maybe Maaldrek should buy some new pants first.... Um, two 'ands there, mate."

Illyndar starts to feel a bit sick over what he expects to happen from the effects of the swarm due to his rather delicate physique but then the noble Cara makes it all go away before the elf falls to his knees retching.

"Are...you...alright?" the elf manages to stutter out at Maaldrek while panting from the exertion of combat. "Why was that swarm here? DO they not clean out this place on occasion?" he asks no on in particular.

"I have a scroll case we can put the notes inside of to keep them safe." he informs the others.

You decide to leave the cellar and the secret room and return to the upper level.

The kitchen personnel is a little astounded to see you again, especially with some of you having blood stains on their clothes. And although Heryn Gale is quite busy when you return she notices that you obviously were in a fight.

"Oh my god, what happened to you?!" she asks with great concern and wants to run down to see what is going on.

When you explain to her that you found the secret door she obviously is very surprised about what you found.

You can decide if you tell her about the documents or not.

Heryn then says "That is truly unbelievable and I agree with you. But to be honest such a matter has to be discussed with a Venture-Captain to align on the next step. I do not know what you want to do now but good luck to you! And please come back and inform us what to do with the room ... I ... I am still in shock ... unbelievable."

"Oh my god, what happened to you?!" she asks with great concern and wants to run down to see what is going on.

Ierwin pulls a large skillet off the wall rack and uses it to fan the flesh and fur-smelling smoke from the stairwell, and as a censor bar if needed.

Given the distraction Buzzwinkle wolfs down another bowl of trail mix and laps up a drink carelessly left on the bar with his huge tongue.

That'll thow that other moothe who ith top bull here! *hic!*

He hiccups and spits out the bowl a moment later.

I think those...pests came through the cracks that appeared after the earthquake...I mean, I'm not an expert, but that seems logical... Cara muses as she tries to wipe off the mess after the swarm got roasted.

The pan flies up to block Cara's line of vision.

You decide to leave the cellar and the secret room and return to the upper level.

The kitchen personnel is a little astounded to see you again, especially with some of you having blood stains on their clothes. And although Heryn Gale is quite busy when you return she notices that you obviously were in a fight.

"Oh my god, what happened to you?!" she asks with great concern and wants to run down to see what is going on.

"Bats in the belfry. Think throwing a handful of coins out on the street and watching the mob converge on them, with us being the coins."

"It wouldn't be the first time someone accused me of having pants on fire. Besides, I like the slightly burnt aroma to be honest," adds Maaldrek in reply to Ierwin and Baldrum's comments. Turning to Heryn, he asks, "Where do you keep your lamp oil dear? I happen to need a slight refill..."

Cara playfully wipes some of the bat gunk on Ierwin.

Here...you smell better already...

Cara elbows Arioch in the ribs.

Behave...or no healing for you... she says with a grin.

And yes, we should deliver this to Dreng immediately...and the other stuff we've found...

The group listens to Cara and decides to leave the Wounded Wisp and return to the Venture-Captain and you travel back to the meeting point that you received earlier ... and it is still raining.

You are now just steps away from Dreng who looks at you with a smile at first and with some concern when he sees the marks of battle on your clothing.

"You are back. I hope you have my bottle ... and can explain the shape that you are in." he says with a raised eyebrow.

Bats....lots...and lots...of bats.... Cara says as she tries to not gag as she remembers the sickening feeling during her encounter with them.

We did find your bottle...and some other stuff too...notes and letters... Cara hands over the documents to Dreng

can't remember who really has them...so running with it...

Dreng is suspicious but opens an umbrella and looks through the documents … his eyes open wide after he reads through the first pages. He asks you tell him everything and wants to know all the details.

After a while he stands up with the umbrella.

"I ... I cannot believe that I have been in this wine cellar so many times and have never noticed this secret door! You Pathfinders might have found something that gives us a taste of our roots." he says with genuine surprise in his voice.

"You had the luck of finding a long-lost trove of documents and by following my directions you will potentially earn some renown in Absolom. This is an important find and you will be the ones to investigate some potentially far-reaching discovery related to Eylysia because you were the ones to stumble upon it." he says with a sly smile.

Then he looks at the documents in more detail.

"The other documents you found that are not related to Eylysia will need to stay with me so that I can begin assigning other agents to decrypt and collate the contents for proper study and comparison to exploits published in the Pathfinder Chronicles."

"So you're old and been around awhile, what do you know about this Eylysia? Any idea where she is? Ever heard of this Fimbrik?"

"Hmmm ... you are very perceptive Arioch! I probably heard of Eylysia but I need to double check. I have many scholarly contacts that also include members of the Arcanamirium. But I cannot go into too much detail on Fimbrik! I think he is a gnome illusionist." he says with a mysterious gesture.

"Ahhhh ... six people standing next to me with papers definitely has blown my cover!" he sighs and stands up.

"You find me in the grand lodge. Now go and solve this puzzle!" Dreng says and walks away.

"VC Dreng, according to these notes there are three possible leads to follow. Any preferences where we should start investigating?" Baldrum asks, almost painfully blunt, just before Dreng starts walking away.

see discussion for the List of Leads

He pauses.

”Whatever you think works best! You are Pathfinders! Find the path!“

Well, thanks for nothing...

Baldrum turns to the others.

"Let's start with Fimbrik, shall we? I'd like to get moving!"

If the party decides otherwise, that's totally fine.

Baldrum turns to the others.

"Let's start with Fimbrik, shall we? I'd like to get moving!"

"The tomb might be easier to find and search plus we only have Fimbrik's home address and he might be at the Arcanamirium until night."

"Well if Fembrik is not home then we know he may be at the Arcanamirium so that is a pretty good lead. We should check there and then possibly there."

You all decide to go to Fimbrik's home first and his address was noted in the documents you found.

FIMBRIK's HOME

You all arrive at the Arcanamirium's campus in Absalom’s Wise Quarter.

Fimbrik's home itself is an impressive stone dwelling reminiscent of what one might expect from an eccentric wizard’s home.
A brick step leads to Fimbrik’s front entrance, which is locked with a rusty lock.

Numerous stacks of newspapers—roughly 2 years’ worth of monthly copies—are piled around the door and crammed into a thin slot at its base. Each rounded corner of the building has a large window, allowing creatures to look into the structure without difficulty.

See the map in the slides for a layout of the house.

You ring the bell and knock but receive no answer. In general the house does not look like it has seen many visitors recently.

You begin to walk to the first window on the left of the front entrance.

D3. Bedroom

A bed and desk occupy this room.

Then you walk to the window on the right of the front entrance.

D4. Study

This study contains a round table surrounded by chairs, and the walls are replete with tome-laden bookshelves.

An elderly gnome garbed in noble attire with a dapper rounded hat on his head and a can tipped with a brilliant glowing gem in his hand is standing in the room. It seems as if he is perusing his book collection.

Arioch knocks on the window to get the elderly gnome's attention, "Old geezers can't hear too well."

There is no reaction from the gnome at all.

Baldrum stands next to Arioch when he knocks on the window, watching the reaction of the gnome (if any).

Perception: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (8) + 7 = 15

Edit: No reaction? Does he move at all? It certainly seems suspicious - especially as he's an illusionist...

"Hmm... weird..." says Maaldrek, before casting a spell of magic detection.

Detect Magic, Knowledge Arcana: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (11) + 5 = 16

You see that there are magical auras surrounding all the rooms you are looking at.

Baldrum stands next to Arioch when he knocks on the window, watching the reaction of the gnome (if any).

[dice=Perception]1d20+7

Edit: No reaction? Does he move at all? It certainly seems suspicious - especially as he's an illusionist...

The gnome is reading his book.

"Gnomes can be a tricky lot." Illyndar tells the others.

Arcana: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (6) + 8 = 14

"He may just be too busy in his book to notice us."

"Crickey a gnome!" says Ierwin in awe of the little man at rest with his book. He goes on to explain "Now nawrmally ya only find them in gahrdens, but this one 'as a special enclosah built just fawr him!"

Buzzwinkle takes that as his cue to break the window. He hits it with his rack of antlers, seeing another young bull moose inside looking at him fishily.

gore v window: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 2 = 5 damage: 1d6 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 = 4

"BUZZ!"

It does seem odd...perhaps he suffered a hearing loss...I've seen it before. Artificers and alchemists....if their projects don't work out.Cara says trying for fugure the gnome out

Buzzwinkle takes that as his cue to break the window. He hits it with his rack of antlers, seeing another young bull moose inside looking at him fishily.

[dice=gore v window]1d20+2 [dice=damage]1d6+1

The windows break easily but the gnome seems to not even bother to look up. He continues to read.

"Ingenious plan...although does that make us criminals?"

"Not at all! it is the duty of first responders to gain entry to a residence when someone is in distress or incapacitated... this gnome appears very much in distress. It is reading and at risk of dying of the Bleaching syndrome."

Maaldrek steps into the room, following the Bullwinkle's breaking of the bay window...

The gnome does not react at all to you entering his home.

Cautiously, Maaldrek gently taps the aged gnome's shoulder, guessing he may have lost some of his hearing along the years, saying "Good Sir, may we have a word with you?"

Maaldrek steps in front of the gnome, in plain view, repeating the question in case lip reading would ease communication between them.

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (14) + 7 = 21