Longroads Coffeehouse 2.0

Game Master chadius

Sense Motive (DC 16): 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (14) + 6 = 20

"I'm s-sorry," Fran murmurs, her eyes full of sympathy. "We'll do everything we can to help you find closure on all this. It's...really hard to lose nearly everything you've ever known. I've been there too..."

There should've been more survivors, right? Did something happen to the town's alarm system?

"Oh my, yes!" Roark replies, "When I need to take off the coat some of my feathers get turned inside out. Preening's not as easy as everyone says it is, y'know?"

She is not sure how to console the guy for what happened to them. "We will help to look for the deed. I just wish there are no more demons there." she seems frightened.

“According to the crusaders, there are no more demons in what is left of Bulviss. Although there are wandering demons, their numbers are dwindling as well. Although they may have their faults, the crusaders have been very diligent about hunting down and destroying demons.”

"Um...do you have any idea where your brother would've kept the deed? Maybe in a lockbox under a bed or in a cellar somewhere?"

“I would expect it to be somewhere in his house, on the main path through the town just south of the well. I hope it is in a lockbox or someplace protected.”

“I hadn’t worried too much about it. I was expecting….well I thought we would visit each other again…that there was plenty of time…”

It is obvious that he has regrets about not visiting with his brother more. That their time together was suddenly cut short.

[dice=Crafting]1d20+12 (DC18)

Anything useful to glean from all the pictures, schematics, etc along the walls? Is this guy a good architect? Is it all a sham? Does he have a strong focus in something particular? Are they actually his?

Stitch nods in agreement to the remaining questions, his mind starting to drift off to just what sort of neat schematics for traps, self propelled gizmos, and clock work bang bangs they may find.

"We'll find some clues, we're pretty good at stuff like that." He grins, showing off a poor level of dental hygiene.

Anything useful to glean from all the pictures, schematics, etc along the walls? Is this guy a good architect? Is it all a sham? Does he have a strong focus in something particular? Are they actually his?

Sorry, wasn’t sure what the crafting check was for.

Having inspected the drawings on display, Stitch has respect for them. They are very easy to follow and well organized. The plans themselves are competent but nothing to marvel at. It is the presentation that is striking. A combination of engineering and art.

He can’t judge how competent Caster is at other types of engineering, as all the plans here are buildings and the one water mill.

Any more questions, or are you ready to move on?

I'm good to go.

"So meet you back here once we're done then right? And if we don't find anything of value at the ruins, then what?" He tries to allude to payment for the errand but also tries to avoid being too rude about it.

Also good to go.

"Whatever we find, we'll give you a full report."

Nodding, Castor asks “Would 10 gp each be sufficient reward for successful completion of the task?”

"I think I'm good with that. Find the deed in the house south of the well, and that's it. Just hoping there are no demons lurking there." she is worried.

Stitch rubs the 2 silver and 2 copper together in his pocket "Works for me fella." His skills at negotiating have never been very strong.

"If we find any demons Nicky we'll run 'em flat! Or run away."

Castor wishes you luck in the search and sends you off.

The trip to Bulviss takes a day and is uneventful, save for the sign of patrols of hired mercenaries who lazily watch out for demonic threats. The approach to the hamlet shows evidence of an attack. Farmhouses are destroyed and fields lay fallow. The town itself is little more than the shells of buildings and a ruined well.

A survey of the area indicates three buildings with the least amount of damage, the most promising places to search for clues.

I have conveniently labeled the three standing buildings with numbers 1 to 3 on the map, slide 4.
If the numbers get in the way, we can move or remove them.

"Hmm..." Bella looks about the ruins. "How terrible." Her voice is flat, but Khiari's hand on her shoulder causes her to tremble slightly. "It is an affront to hard work and familial bonds."

The largest building attracts her attention as she pulls out a shortsword for safekeeping. "Be on alert, everyone."

Let's go to Building 2.

The large building at the center of Bulviss used to act as a catch-all gathering place. Now it looks like a battlefield.

The signs of battle are obvious upon entering the hall. Battered and torn remnants of barricades litter the floor and dark stains have seeped into the stones. At the back of the main hall is a shrine that looks remarkably intact. There is a book on the alter laying open.

Stitch nods in agreement with Bella, happy to keep to a structure that Meat Wagon can fit into. "Keep careful and watch your steps." He draws out his clan pistol, double checking he reloaded it from the last rumble with that damned witch.

Stitch rides Meat Wagon whenever possible, if we have a small building he'll wait outside mounted until it appears to be free of baddies before dismounting for searching.

I have placed people on the map. Those who were not on the marching order got put in the back.

Stitch rides Meat Wagon in a quick perimeter of the building, eyes open for any clues or signs of baddies. Once that's complete he rides up the front steps if they look safe and sturdy. "If you wanna be sneaky you better tell me now and I'll keep the smog to a minimum."

Stitch and Meatwagon circle the building once. The town defenders worked hard to block off the side entrances. Those doors were securely boarded up. Although it is difficult to tell, he thinks that some of the attackers came through the roof on the north side of the building. Some of the damage happened afterwards, but he thinks at least a couple of the holes were from the attackers.

Meanwhile Fran notices something missing. The bodies of the dead townsfolk. There are plenty of signs of battle, but no bodies.

Stitch puts on the brakes when he sees the holes in the roof, rubbing his patchy, oft burnt beard in thought. He looks closer at the walls, curious just how hard it could be to climb up on the roof, or if the attackers probably were flying.

Back at the front he relays his thoughts to the others "Busted through the roof, that must've really put a kink in the defense of the place. But by the signs of the boarded up side doors, they had a little time to prepare a defense. It wasn't just a midnight slaughter." He awaits the other's observations.

Bella waits for the assessment and observations. "Does anyone recognize the religious significance of the shrine? It's so pristine."

Bella prepares to Aid the first person to make a Religious observation. With her shortsword drawn, she carefully approaches the shrine.

Fran shivers, drawing her her cloak more tightly around her. No matter how many times she might come across such desolation, it never got any easier. A place once teeming with life, now empty and forgotten, stained with the blood of those who called it home.

"These places always give me such gut-worms, kitty," she says softly. "Sometimes I think I can almost see the ghosts."

As the group proceeds with their inspection of the largest building, something suddenly occurs to her.

"W-wait...wait! The bodies...what happened to them?" she asks, looking this way and that. "There was a battle, you can the bloodstains, but there aren't any bodies. Not even bones..."

When Fran mentions it, you all realize she is right. You have the obvious signs of battle including spilled blood, but no bodies or skeletal remains.

Roark moves up to where Fran, Khiari and Bella are, taking care to stay away from Meat Wagon's tailpipe. He pulls out a throwing knife, though he wonders if anything left there would be harmed by such a small weapon.

"I don't like this. I really don't like this."

Clover looks back at Mr. Potbelly, and shivers. "Did something consume them?" And then she stiffens her spine. "Well, I guess it is time for the next building. Keep an eye out for those traps!"

Let's check out Building 1 if we have finished with Building 2

No one has even entered Building 2 nor has anyone done the Relgion check that Bella suggested in order to identify the alter.

I don’t care which building you go into, just pointing out you haven’t explored Building 2 yet.

Nicole follows behind everyone else. She also draws her bow and loads it, just in case anyone attacks them. She keeps her eyes peeled for any signs of demons and given the fact that no dead bodies of the victims are found. "Is this the house where the deed can be found? Castor says the house is south of the well." she tells the others and looks behind her at what she thinks is a well.

She turns her sight at the shrine that is intact, and the book there catches her attention. "Maybe the deed is inserted there..." she says. She scans the area for possible traps. Perception +6 to Search. "It is just kinda weird that the shrine isn't destroyed or something..." she thinks what might make the shrine that way, or to whom the shrine is dedicated. Religion +6 with Recall Knowledge

"Um, I think I might've been a temple or something...what with the shrine and all," Fran remarks as she moves to follow Nicole. She cautiously looks around before peering over Nicole's shoulder at the altar.
______________

Recall Knowledge: Religion +6

Assuming nothing is amiss, Bella will enter the main building. It's clear someone cleaned up the town and removed the bodies. But who?

Perception +7

I waited on making the religion check last night, wanted to give others a chance to post once they woke up!

"No bodies, well, lots of options there. Maybe someone collected them for spare parts, food, zombie army, locked in another dimension waiting for some hapless adventurers to walk into a recurring trap to collect even more bodies for a giant zombie invasion... or something." Stitch shrugs, nudging Meat Wagon forward into the room to get a better look at the shrine.

He hops down quick before entering, just to be sure the floor is sound and they aren't going to fall into a basement.

Also recall religion, +8

I love zombies, so soft and meaty.

Roark looks around in case other details have been missed.

Perc +8

Fran and Roark agree that the shrine is dedicated to Iomedae. This isn’t a surprise since that god is very popular in Mendev. Nicole has thought it Gorum because the sword in some of the artwork was so big.

You all find plenty of traps that have already been set off. Crossbows that have fired their ammunition, bear traps that are sprung with ichor on the teeth, even some jagged wire with ichor on it that was probably set off by a creature flying in.

Clover and Bella both find a trap that is still active. There is a trip wire that would be set off by someone going up to the alter. They can see that the mechanism leads to the curtain behind the shrine. The trap needs to be deactivated if anyone wants to safely approach the alter.

Disable DC 20 Thievery (trained) to disable the trigger wire

You can see an undamaged book laying open at the alter. Looks like a religious text, but you would want someone to disable the trap before examining the tome.

"Hey, there's a trap by this shrine, and my fingers aren't nimble enough to disable it." Clover points down. "See that trip wire, that blends in well with the wooden floor? That's what you'll want to disable." Then she steps cautiously back.

Roark steps up. "Allow me."

Thievery: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (13) + 8 = 21

With a flourish, Roark disables the trap.

Roark steps up. "Allow me."

With a flourish, Roark disables the trap.

Stitch looks clearly impressed with Roark He's got hands? How come he only uses his beak all the time?

"Hold up before you peak behind the curtain and read the book, wonder if we can tell what sorta blood this is."

Once the trap is disabled, and before the book is browsed, Stitch hops down to see if he can't discern what sort of blood/icor is on the traps.. be it undead? demon? human?

Recall with medicine? Secret roll or player roll? Its +10

I so so so want to be able to take reverse engineer with Stitch, but alas I think medic dedication has taken it up. Perhaps someday I'll retrain out of it. The weird thing is it requires expert crafting, but inventors don't get that until level 3.. yet its a level 2 class feat?

Roark Thunderbird wrote:

Roark steps up. "Allow me."

With a flourish, Roark disables the trap.

Stitch looks clearly impressed with Roark He's got hands? How come he only uses his beak all the time?

How'd I guess? :)

I so so so want to be able to take reverse engineer with Stitch, but alas I think medic dedication has taken it up. Perhaps someday I'll retrain out of it. The weird thing is it requires expert crafting, but inventors don't get that until level 3.. yet its a level 2 class feat?

some archtypes and/or classes will allow you to get a skill increase to expert at lvl 2. Rogues and Investigators give an increase every level. For Archtypes, Pathfinder Agent allows you to become expert in one skill + PFS Lore if you have it already.

Khiari is about to reach into her belt to pull out some tools when Roark gets there first. He's so deft.

Roark bows to Khiari.

Roark uses his beak to hold the trip wire steady as he clips it. Then he ties it off on a nearby piece of debris and moves towards the curtain. He is then able to clip the wire again and delicately wrap it around a pulley wheel.

Pulling back the curtain, he sees a crossbow loaded with a bolt magically augmented with holy power to strike true against demons.

Upon the alter lays a dusty but unharmed copy of Iomedae's holy book Acts of Iomedae, opened to act four— Iomedae convincing mortally wounded soldiers to stand against attacking wraiths until reinforcements arrive to save them. The back of the altar has been painted with a message: “May the Inheritor judge our final acts.” Under the words are the names of townsfolk, nearly a hundred people who stayed behind. You do find the name Pellas Lebris amoung them.

One of the back rooms was used to stockpile weapons. Though most were smashed by angry demons, a crossbow with 10 bolts can be found in the wreckage.

Meanwhile Stitch is looking at the blood and ichor. The ichor is from multiple types of demon, the blood appears to be mostly human and halfing.

Roark reads the inscription with awe. "They stayed, " he whispers reverently, "They stayed knowing there was no way out."

"Well, now we know why there were so few survivors. Takes a lot of pride to stay and fight, hats off to 'em."

Stitch offers a moment of silence, and Meat Wagon gives three puffs of smog in salute.

"Maybe we can haul that book and altar back with us for a permanent tribute back in the city, once we're done. It'll prolly just rot away here if the town doesn't get rebuilt."

Stitch takes one last search of the building before riding his wagon back outside toward building #1. "The one south of the well he said?" His head spins around as he tries to figure south.

Although the alter is quite large and bulky to cart back, it would be much more practical to carefully remove the back of the alter and bring that back. You could easily bring the book back.

Deception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (3) + 6 = 9
Bella's Perception: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (10) + 7 = 17

Khiari can't help but blush as Roark bows to her. He's so affectionate. Bella huffs and drags Khiari to the back of the altar. "Sister, please disassemble the back of this. I shall secure the book. Be careful not to disturb it too much, as it is a valuable record of heroism, bravery and sacrifice."

Bella adjusts her monocle. "And no distractions." She snaps the book shut.

"I agree, Mister Steeltoe. Let us head towards that building." Building 1 next?

"Don't strip the screws!" He tosses Khiari some of the proper tools, then oversees the work.. or his tools, hard to tell exactly.

You have no problem retrieving the book.

Khiari carefully remove the board and wrap it in a blanket to protect the surface. Stitch just watches as she does it.

Having searched the building, the group moves to the building to the north. 1

This house's interior is largely intact and light filters through closed shutters that haven't opened in years. When you open the door, a swarm of bats comes flying out in a panic.

Can use survival to try and calm the bats, or go into the building and try to Force Open the windows with Athletics to give the bats more escape routes. make it easier for the bats to get out. Feel free to suggest other solutions.
Right now the bats are not attacking you, but they are making a mess of the building interior.

Clover and Meatwagon notice there are jagged holes in the floor and other spots that look weak. They suspect there are traps set up there.

DC 20 Perception to find the traps before you can use Thievery to Disable. Since Clover and Meat Wagon have already detected them, they could Aid someone else attempting to locate them.

Perception to Aid someone else finding them?: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (7) + 6 = 13

"The holes are there! No, there! I mean, over there!" Clover keeps pointing, but is having trouble getting the others to see what she sees.

Gah, why is Aiding other people a DC 20?

So she decides to be helpful, and give the little bats another place to be while outside.

Survival T: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (7) + 6 = 13
Hero Point: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (17) + 6 = 23

Clover casts Protector Tree to create a tree with just the sort of hollow that bats like to use for their sleeping areas, and then trills in a cheerful bat sound to help calm the bats and lead them to the home she created. "Here you go, friends! You should be undisturbed here."

This tree is a permanent bat house, much more safe than that rickety old building.

Khiari hates the smog shooting out of Meat Wagon, but his tools are...

"Bats. Let's give them some space." Bella dashes towards a window and tries to Force it Open.

Athletics: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (18) + 7 = 25

Hopefully that is enough.

With the bats pacified, Bella begins to scan the room for any dangers.

Perception: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (4) + 7 = 11
Khiari's Perception: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (5) + 7 = 12

"Are you certain, Mister Steeltoe? Perhaps the bats were the only obstacle..."

"Wow, that was neat!" Fran gasps as Clover conjures a new home for the disturbed and displaced bats. "I wish I could do magic like that..."

She gives the tree another admiring glance before moving up to the window Bella forced open to have a look inside.

Perception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (5) + 6 = 11

"Um, it just looks like regular holes in the floor to me," she remarks, giving the others a puzzled look.

While Fran and the others are fussing over the house, Mister Midnight pads up to the conjured tree and eyes the bats with bad intent. His tail swishes back and forth vigorously.

"Mroooow..."

Can I have one? Just one! I've never had bat before!