[NostalgiaCon 2021] PFS #8-04 Wardens of Sulfur Gulch (Inactive)

Game Master cmlobue

Two immense metal cylinders attached to a series of metallic pipes and conduits occupy much of the west side of this room. The susurrus of moving air is audible within these containers. Technological consoles covered in controls and glass displays wind along the north and east walls.

”What in the world are all these gizmos and whirligigs,” Fahd grumbled, not at all comfortable in this place.

Disable Device: 1d20 + 6 + 2 ⇒ (7) + 6 + 2 = 15
Minata tried to tinker with the strange device using his masterwork tools but it was too complex for his skills.

knowledge (planes), DC20: 1d20 + 16 ⇒ (17) + 16 = 33

Based on his knowledge of the planes, the occurrences in this room suddenly click for Arin. He speaks to the group, but also the voice in the box as if requesting confirmation.

I can tell that the systems here may be overloaded. There should be a buildup of chemical gas in the synthesis core, giving the shade enough elemental material to form a vulnerable body.

He looks around at the party to confirm that they understand the implication. He speaks to the voice in the box.

How should we attempt to draw the haunt here to take the form?

Knowledge (arcana): 1d20 + 21 ⇒ (20) + 21 = 41

"Good question..."

GM...is the synthesis core the two metal cylinders in this room?

The cylinders are the core, and the buttons on the other end of the room are to operate them. There will be skill checks later when you actually try to do so.

Also, the module assumes you got more information from the shade, but I think a 41 can figure out her plan...

Rone realizes that the shade desires freedom and plans to take an elemental form and depart this place. By carefully controlling the type and quantity of gas released, you may be able to create such a body and lure her into it.

However, before he can share this knowledge, everyone but Shrec and Minata notice two more of the small boxes begin to glow.

Surprise Round - bolded may go

One action only

Fahd
Rone
Arin
Minata (surprised)
???
Shrec (surprised)
Rhiannon

It will surprise no one that Knowledge (Religion) is used to identify this.

Knowledge (religion): 1d20 + 21 ⇒ (3) + 21 = 24

"I think this is getting more dangerous.", Rone says as he indicates the glowing boxes.

Rone walks over to the control panels and examines the buttons and other controls to see if there is a way to alter the gas.

Not sure what kind of check that is, so just trying a few.
Knowledge (eng): 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (6) + 12 = 18
Intelligence: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (11) + 8 = 19
Wisdom: 1d20 + 0 ⇒ (7) + 0 = 7

This is a reactor meltdown haunt. It will fill the room and the nearby hallway with radiation. Destroying a glowing box will weaken it, in addition to the normal ways to affect haunts.

Can a regular old Lay on Hands damage a haunt? Once it manifests, that is? Would a 'to hit' roll be necessary?

Fahd sighs, knowing he was going to have to try to beat up the screens and isn’t sure if even that will do any good.

He moves to the closest box and punches it.

Attack 1d20 + 17 ⇒ (12) + 17 = 29
Damage 1d10 + 9 ⇒ (8) + 9 = 17

Could someone move me, please?

Arin takes the familiar form of his warm, healing fire elemental and moves to envelope the other box.

[standard] enter energy body
[move]

Energy body positive energy: 1d6 + 8 ⇒ (4) + 8 = 12

Could someone move me, please?

Done

Lay on hands damages haunts, as long as you can touch some part of the manifestation. In this scenario, they all seem to be coming from technological items.

Everyone tried to take full round actions in the surprise round, but it is fixable.

Fahs steps into the room and smashes one of the glowing boxes (which were not the big ones to the west).

Rone enters the room and walks to one of the panels.

Arin converts himself into energy and glows at the panel he is already adjacent to.

The lights in the room flash red, and everyone begins to feel ill. Those in the room must make a DC 22 Fortitude save or be affected by high radiation and take 2d4 ⇒ (1, 3) = 4 Constitution damage. Those in the hallway instead make a DC 17 Fortitude save or be affected by low radiation and take 1d4 ⇒ 4 Constitution damage.

Surprise Round - Round 1 - bolded may go

Fahd (DC 22 Fort save)
Rone (DC 22 Fort save)
Arin (DC 22 Fort save)
Minata (DC 22 Fort save)
Haunt (-12 HP)
Shrec (surprised, DC 17 Fort save)
Rhiannon (one action only, DC 17 Fort save)

Fort: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (4) + 10 = 14
Minita turned green with sickness as the strange energy poured into his body. Stepping over, he started to attack the strange box

Power Attack Box: 1d20 + 13 - 3 ⇒ (5) + 13 - 3 = 151d10 + 7 + 9 ⇒ (10) + 7 + 9 = 26
Power Attack Box: 1d20 + 8 - 3 ⇒ (3) + 8 - 3 = 81d10 + 7 + 9 ⇒ (5) + 7 + 9 = 21

Arg. I definitely missed that it was a surprise round.

Fortitude, DC 22: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (5) + 3 = 8 => 4 CON damage

Arin continues imposing his positive energy on the panel near him, and also attempts to deal with the effects of radiation.

[move] energy body positive energy Energy body positive energy: 1d6 + 8 ⇒ (1) + 8 = 9
[standard] Cast restoration, healing CON damage

Fort 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (5) + 10 = 15

Fahd continues to attempt to disable the strange box.

Attack 1d20 + 17 ⇒ (1) + 17 = 18
Damage 1d10 + 9 ⇒ (4) + 9 = 13

Minata hacks the other box off the wall, and the red lights fade as Arin's energy flows into the machines.

Fahd (4 Con damage)
Rone (DC 22 Fort save)
Minata (4 Con damage)
Shrec (DC 17 Fort save)
Rhiannon (DC 17 Fort save)

Isirah’s shade briefly appears on the remaining monitors, unleashing a storm of invectives before vanishing. Anyone who witnesses this outburst knows that the shade is losing what little self-control she possessed, and that she could easily be goaded into making herself vulnerable.

An open compartment in one of the tanks contains the shade’s failed attempt to create elemental gems from pressurized gases. They count as 1500 gp for purposes of faction goal cards, but otherwise have no effect.

You also find a mask on a desk and a belt in one of the chairs. Knowledge Engineering to identify them.

fort: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (4) + 8 = 12 Oouch

Fortitude: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (15) + 11 = 26
Whew!

Knowledge (eng): 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (2) + 12 = 14

Arin has one more casting of restoration but can also get some mileage out of lesser restoration depending on how we want to prioritize people with CON damage.

Remember that every 2 points of constitution damages reduces your max HP by your level. With some luck, you can get people down to 1 constitution damage, which has no effect on its own.

Also, thank Fahd for punching out the camera in the surprise round.
With both of them intact, it deals constitution drain instead.

Then on that note, Fahd gets the casting of restoration :)

Arin speaks another incantation and lays his hands on Fahd. All of his CON damage healed.

That leaves Minata, Shrec, and Rhiannon

He switches to a lesser incantation and gets to work on the rest of the party...

Less restoration, Minata, ability damage healing: 1d4 ⇒ 3
Less restoration, Shrec, ability damage healing: 1d4 ⇒ 1
Less restoration, Shrec, ability damage healing: 1d4 ⇒ 2

UPDATE I just remembered Arin has Arcane Bond, so if Rhiannon fails her save, he can actually use this to eke out one more casting of restoration.

Fort Save: 1d20 + 17 ⇒ (17) + 17 = 34

The flashing lights confuse the paladin greatly as she seeks an enemy to bring down with her sword. But then the battle is done and she shakes her head. "This entire place is vexing me, I must admit. I prefer a straight fight." Rhiannon sheathes her blade with an unusually angry scowl on her face as she waits to see what happens next.

Sorry for delay! Crazy end of week and busy weekend...

Minata (1 Con damage)
Shrec (1 Con damage)

No one seems to know what the two technological items in this room do.

What next?

Arin nods at Rhiannon's observation, and adds Indeed. The mysteries of technology are many. It looks like we still have ground to cover here.

He heads for the door out of this room to the West and opens it.

You find a long corridor with two more doors leading west, as well as another passage that ends in impassable rubble. The hallway also connects to the room with the large screen.

Minita headed down the corridor to cover the others as they made their way exploring the strange place.

Rone wipes sweat from his brow as he follows the others...

Fahd follows Minata closely, as he needed to be near the front to protect the others from the next awful haunt in this place.

Well, anyone have any ideas, we could rest here until our Constitutions are back up, but I have a feeling time is of the essence.

You were not given a deadline to complete this exploration, so if you want to sleep in the haunted wreckage, feel free.

We have been through a lot today... resting seems like a prudent choice to be prepared for what lingers in the rest of this place.

Seriously, look at Arin's status line. I've never used so many of his dailies. lol

So, pressing onward or sleeping? Where?

Let's perhaps setup a cozy camp in the room with the haunted wreckage. It's as out-of-the-way as we'll find here, I think.

To make Arin's vote a little more concrete.

Minata nodded in agreement, taking up guard duty as the group got set up for the night.

Fahd wasn’t happy about napping down here, but he knew the little gnome had kept them alive so far, so he wasn’t about to disagree.

Let's perhaps setup a cozy camp in the room with the haunted wreckage. It's as out-of-the-way as we'll find here, I think.

The whole complex is haunted wreckage at this point. C1 is the only place you've found that only has one door, unless you plan to pick a dead-end hallway.

"Sounds good to me. I need to catch on some reading anyway.", Rone says as he pulls a tattered book from his bag.

Rhiannon looks grim. "I do not like the thought of taking our rest in this place, but I understand the need to recuperate your magic, Arin. I will stand watch whenever you need me to do so."

Will be interesting to see if we can rest here at all, but I'd probably vote for C1. Seems fairly remote, at least.

C1 is fine.

Arin responds to Rhiannon I will take a turn too. You must rest at some point too.

The Pathfinders set watches and manage to sleep through the night, despite the strange lights and sounds of the complex.

However, as the group prepares to set out, Rone, Minata and Fahd get a feeling of déjà vu - followed by their stomachs dropping as if they were falling.

Surprise Round - bolded may take one move or standard action

Minata
Shrec (surprised)
Fahd
Rone
???
Arin (surprised)
Rhiannon (surprised)

”Dammot, it’s happening again! Everyone wake up and lets put this thing down again!”

Rone casts a spell...

Cast life bubble on the group. 5 hours each

Fahd and Minata delay while Rone provides protection for the team.

You all feel a familiar sense of falling...

Round 1 - bolded may go

Minata (+1 surprise round action)
Shrec
Fahd (+1 surprise round action)
Rone
Arin
Rhiannon
Haunt

Minata took up a guard position to protect the ones more able to deal with the threat.

Ready action attack threat
Attack threat: 1d20 + 13 - 3 ⇒ (10) + 13 - 3 = 201d10 + 7 + 9 ⇒ (4) + 7 + 9 = 20

sorry, GM, should have been more specific. Fahd doesn’t think there’s anything to do versus this particular haunt, so he will delay.

Shrec sense he feels a sense of falling, moves to the corner and grapple the walls to hold himself up, he faces the wall and stretches his arms out for a 90 degree angle acrobatics: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (11) + 3 = 14

Now I'm really glad for that rest... Arin thinks as he releases a burst from his refreshed pool of positive energy.

channel energy (positive), DC19: 4d6 ⇒ (5, 3, 5, 4) = 17

Rone gives himself the power of flight. He isn't sure about this feeling of falling, so not taking any chances.

Cast overland flight on himself.