[PFS2] 2-19 Enter the Pallid Peak (GM Watery Soup, Table 1) (Inactive)

Game Master Watery Soup

Lazzare looks at the last duergar: "Surrender or prepare to die!!!!"

Demoralize: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (9) + 11 = 20

Unless the duergar screams for his life:

Lazzare calls for lightnings on the last enemy.

Electric Arc: 2d4 + 4 ⇒ (3, 1) + 4 = 8 lightning damage, basic Reflex save DC 19.

"Surrender?! HAAA!" Slavering as she looms over the remaining foe, Mrs. Monster Crinkle arcs herself downward to bit his face off.

Bite (P): 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (2) + 7 = 91d10 + 6 ⇒ (2) + 6 = 8
Bite (P), MAP: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (12) + 3 = 151d10 + 6 ⇒ (5) + 6 = 11
Bite (P), MAP: 1d20 - 2 ⇒ (1) - 2 = -11d10 + 6 ⇒ (2) + 6 = 8

She ends up wafting him with the breeze of her wolfy breath and showing off her tonsils, mostly. If he was a dentist, he could bill her just for looking.

Tandang steps up and goes all-in with his staff, knocking the duergar solidly on the head.

The remaining duergar is down to his last breath, and Lazzare's cry makes him realize his life will end. Yet, he is unrepentant, defiant until the end. He looks at Lazzare and quips, "From hell's heart, I stab at thee. With my last breath, I spit at thee!"

Reflex: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (20) + 8 = 28

LOL serves me right. He has 1 hp left, only a crit success could have postponed death. Just gonna bot Harsk.

Dwarven Waraxe: 1d20 + 6 + 1 ⇒ (15) + 6 + 1 = 22

Harsk, never one for speeches, puts the duergar out of his misery.

--Final
Tandang (20/20 hp)
Mrs. Crinkle (19/23 hp)
Harsk (19/22 hp)
Lazzare (33/33 hp)
Horst (20/20 hp, Wounded 1)

I'll let you take care of healing, and move us on tomorrow.

Lazzare is a still a bit puzzled by what happened: "What were these duergar doing there and why they attacked us..."

He starts searching the room, looking especially at the anvil.

Harsk removes his axe from the duergar's ribcage, and cleans it as best as he can. Then he searches the corpses for valuables, or perhaps good quality weapons - "Bastards. They got what they deserved"

Thanks for the bot GM Watery Soup!

While the others begin searching the room, Mrs. Crinkle shrinks back down to her plump, petite size. "Well, that was unexpected. Harsk, dearie, while you're rooting around in their pockets, can you see if the keys to these manacles are in there? I'll just be standing here in a puddle of red dress for now, since I can't really pull it back up with these ugly things." She jangles the manacles on her wrists.

"Oof. Don't think I've ever spent that much time on the ground in a fight before."

While Harsk searches the bodies, Horst will pull out his picks and see if he can pop the manacles himself.
Manacle: 1d20 ⇒ 19
Thievery: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (17) + 7 = 24

Manacle: 1d20 ⇒ 8
Thievery: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (14) + 7 = 21

"These aren't so bad once there isn't someone swinging at you," he say as he slips them off.

If Harsk hasn't found keys yet: "Let me see if I can get you out of those, Mrs Crinkle"

Is there still weirdness coming from the altar or was that just being watched by invisible duergar?

”Haha! What else lies inside this place? And what are they trying to guard or something?” Tandang says as he approaches the thing in the middle of the room.

Perception +6

”If anyone needs treatment, my tools are always ready.” he says with a wink while inspecting the thing.

Horst pops the manacles off of himself.

The Pathfinders look around the rest of the room, but don't find anything of interest. The evil presence by the altar seems to be waning. The altar essentially cast alarm on the bridge - the duergar were alerted to your presence when you crossed, allowing them to start invisible.

---

Icon on Slide 4 moved.

Shackles hang from short chains attached to the patched walls in this room. Pallets of filthy rags litter the floor. A stone bridge rises over the lava to the north, and another hallway leads south.

Perception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (1) + 6 = 7

"Woah. Is it safe to cross the other side through this bridge?" Tandang asks the others. "What could have happened in this place?" he becomes curious.

Perception: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (4) + 7 = 11

Lazzare is oblivious to the important information.

"Lava, lava and more lava. May the ocean protect me!"

And Lazzare is ready to cross the bridge to the north.

Perception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (9) + 6 = 15
"Someone sketched a dog with a pick in charcoal here. That's Dranngvit's symbol, as we figured out before. Wonder who drew it? Probably not the duergar? Maybe those ifrit we met before? Or someone else, maybe long ago."

I'm assuming that Horst removed the manacles from Mrs. Crinkle. Can we retcon Tadang healing her too? I wanted to do that before we moved on. If not, she'll chug a healing potion before leaving this room. Just let me know.

"Oh goodness me! That dog carrying a pick looks completely different from this angle. Heehee! Come here boys, look! Heehee! Someone's quite the accidental artiste! Heehee!" Giggling about the accidental, um, "mature" nature of the drawing, Mrs. Crinkle doesn't even think to wonder about its meaning.

+0 on Religion

"Heehee! Well, I'm ready to move on when you are."

I'm assuming that Horst removed the manacles from Mrs. Crinkle. Can we retcon Tadang healing her too? I wanted to do that before we moved on.

"Oh goodness me! That dog carrying a pick looks completely different from this angle. Heehee! Come here boys, look! Heehee! Someone's quite the accidental artiste! Heehee!" Giggling about the accidental, um, "mature" nature of the drawing, Mrs. Crinkle doesn't even think to wonder about its meaning.

"Heehee! Well, I'm ready to move on when you are."

All: Note there is a Religion check that gets unlocked with the Perception success. I'll move us along if nobody attempts.

If retcon is allowed for Tandang to treat wounds of Mrs. Crinkle:
Medicine Check to Treat Wounds for Mrs. Crinkle: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (14) + 6 = 20
HP recovered: 2d8 ⇒ (4, 8) = 12

Religion: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (10) + 7 = 17

Lazzare confirms it's Dranngvit, but doesn't have anything to add.

Moving party on Slide 4, see tactical map on Slide 8.

The heat in this room hits like a hammer distorting the air into a shimmering haze and obscuring the faint engravings on the dark stone walls. Two undamaged spans of speckled granite stretch south over a river of lava. Between them, on an island in the molten rock, a warhammer juts from a rock cairn.

As the group enters the cavern, lights begin to swirl around Harsk and Horst. A sign advertising general goods floats in the air, and market stalls shimmer. Dwarves bustle about, purchasing mushrooms and metal goods. A sudden rumbling causes everyone to look around, alarmed. A wave of lava comes roaring down the corridor, swallowing everyone. The grim, phantasmal reenactment of the cataclysmic event shows a panicked crowd charging towards the Pathfinders.

Harsk and Horst need to make a Will save, and I'm putting us into initiative.

--Round 1
Horst (Will save first)
Haunt
Mrs. Crinkle
Tandang
Harsk (Will save)
Lazzare
--Round 2

This encounter deals with a Haunt.

Haunts are spiritual hazards, usually formed when the spiritual essence of a location is imprinted with the instincts and emotions from a living being’s demise. Because haunts lack matter, they rarely involve a physical component, and when they do, that component is generally incorporeal or might even be damaged only by positive energy.

This haunt can be disabled using the following skills: Diplomacy, Intimidation, or Religion (all lower DC) to calm the panicked spirits, or Athletics (higher DC) to wrestle them into a semblance of order. Each attempt requires that you be within the purple area, and costs two actions (Disable Device).

There are two additional Recall Knowledge (one action) actions you may also take: You may attempt a Crafting or Architecture Lore check in order to learn more about the bridges you crossed, and you may also attempt a Religion or Dwarven Lore check to recognize who the cairn is dedicated to.

Will: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (15) + 6 = 21

Horst flinches from the panicked crowd and the wave of lava, but manages to mostly pull himself together.

He'll take one action to try to Recall Knowledge about the bridge and then the other 2 to try to calm the spirits.
Crafting Knowledge: 1d20 + 3 - 1 ⇒ (6) + 3 - 1 = 8
Diplomacy: 1d20 + 4 - 1 ⇒ (12) + 4 - 1 = 15
"Don't panic! Keep it orderly and we'll all get out.". He tries, but he's not very good at it.

Botting Harsk

Will: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (13) + 5 = 18

Horst has never seen anything like this before, and his diplomatic efforts are met with a roar as phantom dwarves trample toward the exit, trampling him and Harsk.

Trample: 1d10 + 4 ⇒ (10) + 4 = 14
DC 20 Reflex save, no damage on crit success, half damage on success, full damage on failure, full damage plus knocked prone on crit failure.

--Round 1
Mrs. Crinkle
Tandang
Harsk (Reflex vs -14 hp, frightened 2)
Lazzare
--Round 2
Horst (Reflex vs -14 hp, frightened 1)
Haunt (Recall DC > 8, Disable DC > 15)

Tandang moves forward bringing with him the leshy, getting past Horst and Harsk, to appease the incorporeal crowd.

"Don't panic now. We are not going to hurt anyone," he says to the incorporeal beings.

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (13) + 4 = 17

Someone moved the map. I've put it back, but I'm not sure it's properly placed.

Lazzare moves into the room and raises his arms to the ceiling (ho no, again...).
The storm rages around him while he yells at the phantom dwarves: "Gather around me, the power of the ocean will fight the lava. Lord of the Deep, show these poor souls the strength of the unshakable depths of the sea by quenching the little fire of the volcano."

Intimidation: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (15) + 11 = 26

Tandang pleads with the ghostly figures, to no avail. Failure!

Lazzare tries a different approach, and they seem to respond better. 1 Success!

I've moved the map back. I bump the map myself all the time, which is why all my maps are aligned with the top left corner of the slide - it makes it easier to re-align.

--Round 1
Mrs. Crinkle
Tandang
Harsk (Reflex vs -14 hp, frightened 2)
Lazzare
--Round 2
Horst (Reflex vs -14 hp, frightened 1)
Haunt (1 success, Recall DC > 8, 17 < Disable DC <= 26)

Thanks for the bot!

Reflex: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (6) + 8 = 14

Harsk is badly trampled by the phantasmagoric dwarves!

"Can ye at least act like dwarves, and get the hell off of me!?" - the dwarf roars in outrage.

Intimidation: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (20) + 2 = 22

With a mighty shout, Harsk shames the phantom dwarves into behaving. Crit - 2 successes!

Botting Horst's save.

Horst Reflex, frightened 2: 1d20 + 9 - 2 ⇒ (16) + 9 - 2 = 23 success

End of Encounter!

--Final
Mrs. Crinkle
Tandang
Harsk (-7 hp)
Lazzare
Horst (-14 hp)

You are free to heal yourselves as you see fit.

---

With combat behind them, the Pathfinders are free to look about the room.

"Ooohoo! Now that was a show! Heehee! Are you folks okay? Looks like we have a minute to take care of your wounds. Funny how things that aren't real can really hurt, huh?" She begins poking around as she chats.

Perception: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (14) + 5 = 19

"Oh! Lookee here! There's a little mole thingy in this cairn. What do you make of that?"

Religion: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (11) + 7 = 18

Lazzare looks at the mole: "Poor creature that will never see the ocean... Isn't it Magrim sacred animal? And the warhammer it's favored weapon? It puzzles me someone can choose the mole as their sacred animal."

"Hmmm, are not those we found present in the puzzle something we try to solve earlier? Do you like to go back there? Or, is it safe to go back there? Or, maybe there is other way to go back there?" Tandang asks with too many questions.

"Anyone, want some healing?"

"That was a show indeed" - Harsk grumbles, and accepts the goodberry - "Many thanks Tandang"

That puts me at 14/22HP ;)

Lazzare says to Harsk: "I'm a bit pissed to be beaten by an amateur. But it looks like you need a dwarf to speak to dwarves", and he smiles to Harsk.

"So, let's go to the puzzle, I think we have all the pieces of it."

The Pathfinders head back to the chest puzzle room. Icon on Slide 4 moved, although there's no more tactical maps at this point.

See Slide 7 for a list of possible combinations, Post 136 for a list of gods, and Post 142 for how to make a combination guess. Go ahead and make multiple guesses if you want to save time.

"If I have understood correctly, the first one can only be Angradd, the second is Drangvitt, the third one should be Magrim and the last one is Kols."

Dial 1: Great axe & boar
Dial 2: pick & hound
Dial 3: mole & warhammer
Dial 4: hammer & lizard

Everyone's ok?

Mrs. Crinkle leans on her staff and allows Lazzare to do his thing. "Sure. Works for me, honey. You got this!" She gives him a big, cheery smile.

"Sounds good to me." Tandang nods in agreement.

Lazzare smiles: "Call me superstitious, but I'd prefer one of the dwarves to actually do it. If it's ok for you."

Dial 1: Great axe & boar

Dial 2: pick & hound
Dial 3: mole & warhammer
Dial 4: hammer & lizard

The chest pops open with an anticlimatic click.

Inside the chest are several items abandoned when Droskar’s Crag exploded. Though the heat ruined their contents, several bottles of Chelaxian wine remain valuable for their historic significance, with the date 3979 visible on the labels. They’re worth 2 Treasure Bundles.

In addition, the chest holds a +1 clan dagger; one side of the blade bears an etching of a dwarven city with a magmafall safely running through it—it clearly originated in Jernashall, Tar Khadurrm’s famed center of trade.

Just as a note, in the higher subtier, this is a dagger with the Uncommon kin-warded rune. You will get access to a boon to the rune even though you didn't technically find it.

---

The Pathfinders have an uneventful return to Olfden, where Elsitt heaves a sob when he sees the Pathfinders returning with the bodies of his friends. He tearfully thanks them before gratefully giving them their promised reward: 2 Treasure Bundles. He immediately begins preparations to hold a funeral, which he invites the Pathfinders to attend.

Venture-Captain Luna Aldred receives the Pathfinders' report with a smile. She thanks them for their service and promises to call on them again if she plans any further expeditions in search of Tar Khadurrm history.

End of scenario!

You're welcome to continue roleplaying, as well as ask any questions about the scenario if the plot was confusing.

Lazzare will be happy to attend to the funerals. It's weird when said like that but it actually looks like he's happy. The ysoki will stay a mystery. He'll also make a prayer to the Lord of the Depths if people are ok with it, but he won't insist.

When leaving his comrades, one can feel a bit of sadness in his voice: "Well, I think it's time to part ways. You were a bunch of nice folks, I hope we will bring back the elderly team for another mission one day. In the meantime, I will try to help the Venture-Captain. I want to know more about Droskar's Crag and be part of the next expedition."

The sequel is supposed to be released at the end of the month, I'm eager to continue this story!!

Mrs. Crinkle borrows a cloak for the funeral so she doesn't have to show up in a bright red, partially burnt, oversized sweater. She even manages to be genuine and gentle.

Afterwards, while wishing farewell to the group, she chatters: "Oh, well dearie, it sure was good working with you and your little friend there, especially in all those magma rooms. Heehee! Those were hot! I sure would be happy to team up with all of you again. I'll get right on knitting myself a new dress so I'm more presentable. Heehee! But for now, I'm back off to Absalom. Would you believe there are taverns there I haven't visited? Goals, people! I've got goals! And I'm off to meet 'em!"