Longroads Coffeehouse 2.0

Game Master chadius

Stitch points to Crimsi, obviously choosing an option he can relate to. "I think I can pull that one off, they know what's going on." He gives the nod to Meat Wagon, who blasts more soot at the growing crowd.

Roark studies the play, selecting the role that best fits his abilities.

"I'll be Ulthun, then." He sniffs derisively at Vardarel and mutters softly to himself.

Noticing how the tengu is reacting to him, Vardarel turns to Roark and raises one eyebrow in an inquisitive manner. “Is there a problem?” His tone is neutral and his body language non-threatening..

Noticing how the tengu is reacting to him, Vardarel turns to Roark and raises one eyebrow in an inquisitive manner. “Is there a problem?” His tone is neutral and his body language non-threatening..

"I think he's jealous of all the seeds and berries you're eating in front of him." Stitch snarks as he rolls Meat Wagon around the playhouse for an inspection, half careful of not rolling over any goblins.

Vardarel gives Stitch a puzzled look, then shrugs and goes back to concentrating on what is required for the play.

"Um, there's n-nothing wrong with eating seeds and berries..." Fran puts forth, also a little puzzled by the whole thing. She then turns her attention to play and considers the remaining roles.

"I guess, um, I'll be Pizazz then. Seems like I've been singing enough lately," she smiles.

As you decide who gets to go first, the mercenaries finish their preparations and get on stage. It's clear most of them are not actors. They stand awkwardly, read stage instructions out loud, turn and spin in place before running to the next spot on stage. The leader, a brawny blackhaired woman, resorts to yelling at them to stay in character.

"Booo! You suck!" One goblin lights a tomato on fire and hurls it at the mercenaries. Soon the crowd joins in and hurls rotten fruit and wood planks.

If you want to join in on the fun, make a Deception check. Success may please the King even further. Each player can try this once. Success increases the DC for their teammates. Since this is a Play-by-Post I'll rearrange it favorably for you.

Mitzi, Ulthun and Pizazz are claimed. ZUSGUT, CRIMSI, GRENEK, SIATHORN are up for grabs. Otherwise goblins will fill in the leftover roles.

Seeing her companions have done enough to satisfy the goblin king, she is somewhat relieved, not until they need to perform a play, to her disappointment.

"Seriously, we are doing this?" she mutters under her breath before reading the script. Í think I can roleplay Siathorn..." she tells the others with disinterest.

Deception +0 here.

"Goblins are really... unruly, to say the least." she comments but tries her best not to be heard.

Roark sneaks up to the leader and attempts to deftly pull the woman's pants down.

Deception: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (6) + 8 = 14
Or if stealth applies, it's the same mod

Roark's reaction to Vardarel -- he's pretty much sulking over the loss of Clover (or most likely her soup) combined with Vardarel's comment about 'him always be this noisy'

Vardarel does nothing to interfere with the play nor does he join in the heckling of the other group.

Untrained in deception.

Stitch volunteered for Crimsi earlier. He'll keep that selection.

Seeing as the crowd has turned against the mercs Stitch happily joins in, but tries to be a bit more discreet than Feathers. He continues to puff smoke and flame from Meat Wagon to compete with the play's attention.

Deception: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (14) + 4 = 18

"I mean, come on, they can't even breath smoke and fire.."

Even though they're competition, Fran can't bring herself to join in the heckling of the other group. In fact, the secondhand embarrassment is nearly too much for her to handle and leaves her looking as though she's about to cringe right out of her own skin.

The goblins continue booing and throwing rotten fruit at the mercenaries. The only time the mercenaries gain a reprieve is when Meat Wagon roars to life, like a mobile volcano. The goblin crowd begins to cheer and turn away from the stage. Good thing for Roark, as the mercenary leader whips around to glare at him approaching from behind. "Hmpf! What are you doing? Wait yer turn to get covered in tomato juice."

King Zusgut laughs louder and louder over Meat Wagon until the leader screams. "FINE! Let's see the Pathfinders do better!" She marches off stage and her allies are glad to get out of the spotlight (and raining fiery fruit.) Velkik's eyes are wide open as the fire spreads through the stage debris. Her hopes are dashed as the cleanup crew quickly clears the stage. They're good at this.

The goblins clap as you are ushered onto the stage. They begin clapping in unison and declaring you the champion!

...until Velkik blows a gout of flame from her mouth to get everyone's attention. "Let them perform first before we judge them, yes?" She grins. "And now... We Be Heroes!" She gestures to you as the crowd cheers.

"Vardarel takes the role of Mitzi!"
"Fran Rosemont takes the role of Pizazz!"
"Nicole Flames takes the role of Siathorn!"
"Roark Thunderbird takes the role of Ulthun!"
"Stitch Steeltoe takes the role of Crimsi!"

"And Zusgut takes the role of Zusgut!" The king hops off the throne and quickly tears his kingly attire away, revealing a much more humble costume underneath the apparent tearaway clothing. He simply struts onto stage.

Time for a performance! Feel free to describe your acting style. Each performer must roll a Performance check. Here's the play:

Vardarel thinks a moment, then grabs some rope and two torches from his pack. He arranges them on his head, pointy end of the torch up, and tying them in place. It looks absolutely ridiculous.

Turning to Fran, he asks “Does this work as wolf ears?”

Well, at least now you know what he was doing.

I am fine if someone wants to adjust/improve the wolf ear costume for him.

When the play is to start, he sticks his tongue just slightly out the side of his mouth.

Performance: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (16) + 3 = 19 Yay! No costume malfunctions!

Stitch quickly starts to realize the gravity of the situation as he rolls up on stage, it creaks and groans under the weight of Meat Wagon. Heh.. so many eyes on me.. heh.. Nervously shifting his weight from one cheek to the other up on the buck board.

Performance: 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (16) - 1 = 15

After Meat Wagon explodes Stitch freezes, forgetting to duck behind some cover. The flames scorch him very badly, the smell of burnt Dwarf hair is.. suffocatingly bad.

"I should have left the catapult behind..."

While she doesn't have any bright ideas for a quick *actual* costume, Fran does drop down and proceeds to 'walk' on her knees in order to look a bit more size-appropriate for the role.

And then of course for the grand finale, Pizazz cheers at the top of their voice along with the others: "WE! BE! HEROES!"

Performance: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (9) + 7 = 16

The goblins cheer, chant and holler as the Heroes come to life. King Zusgut chews on as much scenery as possible, overacting, waiting for applause and taking as much of the stage as he can.

Velkik quickly hops on stage to fill the role of Grenek, but the crowd doesn't seem to mind the wait. Especially when Stitch provides an impromptu distraction. Velkik stops in her tracks, forcing King Zusgut to remind her of her lines.

All the time, the crowd waits on Nicole Flames and Roark Thunderbird to complete their roles...

Nicole makes sure she memorizes the lines before acting the role on stage. Not trained in this kind of performance called acting, she tries her best to not disappoint the goblin crowd.

"But we helped them escape! The longshanks. Not the undead." she exclaims with feelings that is a bit awkward if she can tell.

"Yes, Mitzi will tear them apart with wolfish fierceness!" she looks down at Vandarel who is acting Mitzi.

Performance: 1d20 + 0 ⇒ (19) + 0 = 19 (Not bad)

Finally, the performance comes to an end. The goblins are excited, imitating their favorite characters. The crowd seems ready to rush the stage, split between Vardarel , Nicole, and Meat Wagon's explosion.

Zusgut raises his hands for silence, and most of the goblins quiet down. “Well that was exciting,” he says. “But now it’s time for the tough decision.” The king pauses dramatically, and from somewhere nearby a goblin beats a drum in a rhythm reminiscent of a heartbeat.

“It’s a difficult choice,” Zusgut continues, drawing out the moment. “But I have to say that one performance...” he pauses as the drum continues to beat. “Rose above the other.” Another pause. “Today, the winner is...” He stops again, and now the goblins are all paying close attention. “The Pathfinders!” A cheer rises up at his words.

The mercenaries sulk to a corner. The leader grumbles at her minions, but they keep to themselves.

"Well, what a great show!" King Zusgut leaps off the throne. "A deal is a deal. There is a gigantic monster in the basement. It is very, very big, has a giant mouth, sharp teeth, and is green... at least that's what I heard."

Once you're ready, he leads you to the entrance to the basement.

Any more questions for the king? Or are you ready to go in?

Seeing his popularity with the goblins, Vardarel tries to get Meat Wagon between him and the most ardent fans. He is also quick to put away his ‘wolf ears’ costume.

When the king asks if there are any questions, Vardarel says “Great King Zusgut, I have heard that the basement floods. Is the monster in the flooded part or a dry part of the basement? Also do you know how long before the flooding is the worst?”

Whew, glad that king goblin has some sense in his head, but I gotta take care of these burns..

"I gotta make a few adjustments to my Wagon, and tend these burns before I'm ready to go down."

So I need 10mins to reset the unstable on Meat, auto success. And at least 10 mins for a patchup on my burnt self. I crit fail the reflex save so took 18 fire damage.

After a quick tinker to replace scorched wiring on Meat Wagon Stitch hands Vardarel a bunch of melted wire scraps before he gets out his scalpel, wipes off any old blood on his pant leg before getting to work on his own fresh burns. It doesn't make a lot of sense, but somehow he makes some precision cuts to release fluids before bandaging himself up like a pro.

Medicine, Risky Surgery vs DC20: 1d8 ⇒ 41d20 + 10 + 2 ⇒ (17) + 10 + 2 = 294d8 + 15 ⇒ (7, 8, 8, 4) + 15 = 42 Bam, full!

"Um, does the green monster just...grab things and eat them? Or does it spit fire or anything like that?" Fran asks, a bit anxious to not have more information than 'big, green, & sharp teeth'.

"More of the grabbing and eating type." The king nods along, super knowledgeable. "If it breathed fire we would be much happier, but..." he shrugs. "Anyway, good luck! I have... important duties to attend to!" The other goblins promptly lift him and return him to his chair.

Once Stitch finishes repairs, it's time to head downstairs...

Twisted and bloated, the wooden stairs connecting the main floor and basement are slick and saturated with water. The walls are covered in algae and the ceiling is coated with black mold, while old furniture and props from the theater are piled in the corners in soggy, crumbling heaps. Small crustaceans and numerous insects occasionally peek from the detritus or scramble into cracks or the shallow pools on the floor. The smell of rot and salt water hangs damply in the air.

To the west, a section of the brick wall has crumbled into a heap, creating an opening into a larger area beyond.

This area is completely dark. If you don't have darkvision you'll need some way to provide light.

Vardarel sets his wayfinder glowing and then gets his bow ready. Figuring this is an area that could have a variety of natural hazards, he watches for any signs of such dangers.

Exploration Activity is either Investigate with Nature or Search depending on which you think catches sinkholes, quicksand, dangerous molds, etc. My character’s bonus for Nature and Perception are the same.

"Maybe the green monster already ate any undead that were wandering around down here..." Fran muses to no one in particular as she conjures some protections for herself. That done, she conjures some additional light in the form of four small orbs that slowly circle around her head.

"Um, guess I'm ready..."
______________

Casting Mage Armor & False Life. Fran will Investigate for the time being.

Nicole lights up her wayfinder to shed light on the dark area. She then begins Investigating with others too.

"If it is very big, sure enough, we can easily spot it."

Roark lights his wayfinder.

Sorry for ghosting the table lately.

It isn't long until you notice the monsters: large quadrupeds with razor sharp teeth and a long scaly tail. Vardarel knows they are Crocodiles, and really large. Perhaps a mated pair? They are much too large for this room, at any rate.

The creature swings its Red tipped tail menacingly, while the White scaled creature hangs back for a moment.

Roark can only stare at the crocs... He pulls out a throwing knife... looks at the large monster... then back at his little knife...

“Two?” Vardarel says with mild surprise. “Good thing it isn’t flooded.”

He waits for Stitch and Meat Wagon to move forward so that he can better seee them, not realizing how little room there is for such maneuvering.

Given our locations on the map, only Stitch and Meat Wagon are probably able to see them. :)

ok...

Roark wonders whether any of his weapons can do anything to huge monsters. "I think you can get the glory for this one, Stitchy!"

"Um...I can fall back a little, to make some room," Fran offers, trying to peer over Stitch & Meat Wagon to get a better look at whatever lurks just ahead. "I d-don't really do well fighting up close and personal. I guess you already knew that from the mock duel, but..."

Sorry busy last few days... are we in combat or?

It takes some work but Stitch finally squeezes Meat Wagon downstairs with some grumbling. He keeps an eye out for issues like hazards, etc.

"Crocs? Big ones?"

Depending on what's going on for init or not, Stitch would recall knowledge, followed by overdrive.

The crocodiles snap their jaws. Stitch confirms that yes, these are Crocodiles.

You all notice the partially collapsed wall near the crocodiles. Maybe they broke it on their way in? If you could calm them down, you may be able to destroy the wall and let them out.

Or you could just fight them.

"Crocodiles" Nicole wants to confirm from Stitcth what they are dealing ahead their way, but keeping her distance. "Perhaps we can present Roark as a gesture of peace to secure our passage." Quickly retracting her statement, she adds, "Alternatively, we could knock them out so that we can get through."

Roark's eyes widen and he can barely contain his indignation. His beak opens and closes but nothing comes out. Muttering softly, he stalks back towards Mister Midnight in a huff.

Would I generate infamy if I used Produce Flame on Nicole? ;)

Vardarel says “I could try to calm them, see if we can just release them.”

As he is saying this, he puts away his bow and gets out some rations from his adventurer’s pack Never hurts to offer food when dealing with such creatures. At the very least, I might be able to distract them.

"You could offer them that big dwarf or that alchemist as a bonus" Roark mutters.

No problems with calming them. The group I'm running this for almost got their heads handed to them.

Vardarel just shakes his head no in response to Roark. Seems this group likes to taunt each other.

"If you don't want to get too close, um, I can probably levitate the food over to them," Fran offers.

As an aside, she whispers to Roark, "Um, I'm pretty sure they're just teasing. Like how f-friends or family tease each other. And even if they weren't, kitty and I wouldn't let them feed you to a crocodile."

"Yep, toss them some food and we'll see about smashing through this wall."

The team gets an idea to pacify the crocodiles by handing them some food. Someone will have to do it without upsetting them too much.

If you have Wild Empathy or Train Animal you can use it here. A Nature, Diplomacy or Survival check could be used to keep the crocs calm while you clear the debris. Someone should lead and everyone else can Aid.

Vardarel moves forward, trying to calm the crocs. He throws some of his rations to them when he gets close.

Already rolled Nature here. I have neither Wild Empathy nor Train Animal feat.
We are at a level where if someone is confident, I will take a single Aid. PF2 the Aid attempts don’t stack and can cause a penalty on a critical failure.

Moved my avatar.
If my check is a failure, go ahead and Bot a Hero Point. +1 for shirt.

Diplomacy to Aid: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (18) + 8 = 26

As an aside, she whispers to Roark, "Um, I'm pretty sure they're just teasing. Like how f-friends or family tease each other. And even if they weren't, kitty and I wouldn't let them feed you to a crocodile."

"Maybe, but it still sounds bad to have me as a chicken they wanna throw to a croc, y'know. At least I know you're on my side!"

Vardarel edges closely at the crocodiles, as they make threatening gestures. Roark squawks in a very tempting, tasty manner, but the crocodiles prefer to devour Vardarel's rations instead.

They remain calm enough for the rest of the team to check the room. A rusted yet functional warhammer lies next to the smashed wall. You notice a wine-red beret in the corner, perfectly clean despite the water and debris. An ivory jewelry box is in the corner.

With the warhammer you begin smashing the wall. It's 10 minutes of hard work and demolition, but you are able to clear the debris away enough to make a large hole in the wall. The crocodiles quickly scamper off through the hole and into the waterway, quickly making their way downstream and out of your sight.

Encounter Complete.

The strong scent of saltwater hints at the daily flooding that washes through these sewers from the nearby sea, as do the occasional stranded fish or crustacean. The walkways alongside the sewer are slick and damp, although relatively clear of the normal waste found in a sewer.

The... "water" is about 2 feet deep and is considered difficult terrain.

You cleared B1 and B2. You can go to B3, B4 or B5. Which way? >Map<

Roark squawks in a very tempting, tasty manner, but the crocodiles prefer to devour Vardarel's rations instead.

HEY!! :)

You notice a wine-red beret in the corner, perfectly clean despite the water and debris. An ivory jewelry box is in the corner.

Vardarel picks up the hat and checks if it is magic.

I don’t care which direction we go.

Vardarel picks up the hat and does notice a magical aura coming from it.

An Arcana or Occultism check would help you identify the item after 10 minutes.