GM Frost's Intro #1: The Second Confirmation (Inactive)

Game Master Frozen Frost

The adventure begins with you assembled at the Grand Lodge of the Pathfinder Society in the great city of Absalom. The Pathfinder Society is a fellowship of adventurers who maintain a global operation of explorers, historians, and thrillseekers that number in the thousands, with thousands more in support staff. The title of Pathfinder is known across the breadth of the world of Golarion, and none know of the Society’s exploits more than the citizens of Absalom, the so-called City at the Center of the World.

Inside the Grand Lodge’s central hub structure of Skyreach, you wait to meet with the three deans of the Pathfinder Society in one of the lodge’s many meeting chambers.

Kindly roleplay how you wait and meet the others inside the Grand Lodge.

A pale Ustalav awaits the others, but not alone. An ethereal spirit rests nearby. As she whispers back to him, there is this ghostly reverberation to her voice.

"I am sure the others here will find you almost as lovely as I do. We are safe here."

A half-orc sits in the back of the room. A pack well-marked of medical supplies sits at his feet and he fiddles with the items, checking and re-checking pockets. He looks up and realizes he's caught the eye of others in the room. "Sorry, nervous habit. But you never know when you need to know exactly where the scissors are to cut the bandages, even in the dark or when you can't see or hear. A medic's got to know where his tools are, right? Oh, sorry, I didn't introduce myself. Name's Desmond. But I'm just along to make sure everyone makes it out ok. Don't let my presence change anything you do."

Other than the bag of medical supplies, the half-orc seems intent on being a non-combatant. No armor or weapons. Just some study boots and traveling clothes. Oh, you do notice a shield sitting behind him.

A tall olive skinned woman sits at the corner of the room perusing what appears to be a medical journal. Upon seeing the others, she gets up and greets you.

"Bonjour! I am Zhamie Zhapp! I am a docteur specializing in ze poorer sections of ze town."

She sees Desmond's nervous fiddling and comments, "I zee vous are also a medical professional. I think ve vill vork vell togezer. Maybe ve vill have some good adventure togezer. Do not vorry. I vill 'elp you ven ze time comes."

She looks over to the pale Ustalav. "Are you all right? Zere iz nobody here."

As the others gather around together, an overly-energetic goblin comes bounding into the room. A new diversity hire, he's a little over three feet tall. Though a little less scrawny than other goblins, his body is still dwarfed by a wide, ungainly head. He grins to reveal a wide mouth of uneven fangs, which leaves the impression of a particularly mischievous streak that may cause all kinds of trouble to humankind.

"Dangerous things wait for us, hopefully!" he exclaims. "I Shagrat," he says. A silver disk with a seven-pointed star hangs on a leather cord around his neck--a Sihedron medallion from an ancient empire.

"Glad we have doctors--Shagrat get hurt a lot."

Good to see you on this one, GM Tiger!

A large very green very shirtless Orc grunts as he enters the room.

"Khagra." before smiling and nodding to Desmond "Always good to adventure with another honored cousin"

Unlike Desmond, Khagra has numerous weapons held to his back by various leather straps, most notably several tridents.

Desmond looks at Zhamie with some chagrin. "Oh, my apologies, Doctor. I didn't realize there was going to be a true medical professional here. I'm...I'm just a field medic. It's my job to go in with them and then pull them out when they inevitably get hurt. Try to stay out of their way in a fight. But it would be a real honor to work with you. Maybe I can learn some things."

He glances at Khagra and sighs, turning back to Zhamie. "I don't know if you've seen these Pathfinders. Sometimes...there's not time for the...'proper' method of dealing with an injury. Gotta do with that you can. They can get themselves into some messy situations." He looks pointedly at the orc. "Something tells me Khagra might be one to watch." The medic then glances at Shagrat and crosses his arms with a small shake of the head. "Maybe both of them. Troublemakers."

Imelia is visible, so it should not appear as though he is talking to himself.

"It seems as though we are mostly accounted for. But since we are on the subject of healing, I need you to understand that my essence is a complicated thing. My companion Imelia was was assailed by strigoi associated with The Whispering Way. In order to preserve her spirit and prevent her from becoming as they are, I have had to lend her my life force. But to lend her life, I have had to take on the burden of her death. Thus if you heal me, do not do so with the essences of life that are often the realm of the divine and primal forces those powers of life and death have the opposite effect on me. Healing of the occult kind is often acceptable as is mundane medicine. For Imelia, healing magic and mundane work as you would expect for the living even though her essence is like a spirit in form. Did you understand all that?"

TL;DR - Aleksandr has the negative healing trait. Heal spells will harm him and harm spells will heal him. Occult healing (Soothe) is neither positive or negative and works normally, as does the Medicine skill. Imelia is healed or harmed by positive and negative healing as any normal living creature.

Three individuals enter the spacious meeting room. A male elf, garbed in fine red robes with gold embroidery enters first. The second to enter is a woman with snowwhite hair and a cluster of multicolored gems orbiting her head, laden with books. Finally, a bald human male with a bushy beard smiles widely and then curses to himself as the array of weapons along his back get stuck in the doorframe. These three are the deans of the Pathfinder Society. Kreighton Shaine, the elf Master of Scrolls; Sorrina Westyr, the oread Master of Spells; and Marcos Farabellus, the human Master of Swords. Kreighton takes the empty seat at the head of the table, while Sorrina takes an adjacent seat to his side. Marcos half-jogs to join his colleagues, but after a few seconds of awkwardly trying to seat himself and his panoply of back-mounted weapons, he pushes his chair in and stands behind it with a wide, if apologetic, grin.

“Regrets for the sudden nature of this meeting. I’ll try to be brief.” Kreighton begins. “One of our most enthusiastic Pathfinder initiates, a fungus leshy by the name of Rain in Cloudy Day, was recently approved for his Confirmation.

”In case you’ve forgotten, a Confirmation is a mission we send initiates on as a final test before recognizing them as full field agents. It was a mission to the nearby nation of Taldor to search for some ruins in a swamp near the city of Cassomir. Standard fare for a Pathfinder mission, but Rain hasn’t reported back, and it’s been a week since his expected check-in.”

Sorrina Westyr extends a hand. “This is where you come in. Even though Rain in Cloudy Day is still an initiate, the Pathfinder Society doesn’t leave its own behind. Us three masters have agreed that a special exception is necessary. For those of you who haven’t finished your own Confirmation, we’re willing to offer each of you a place in a group Confirmation. We’ll provide a stipend of gold for you to book your passage to Cassomir, and from there, you’ll need to find out what happened to Rain.”
The Master of Swords, Marcos Farabellus, chimes in with a chuckle. “Exactly what my associates have just said. Find a boat, head to Cassomir, enjoy a bit of the city’s livelier elements, and then head into the swamps to find our missing initiate. Of course, if you find little Rain alive and well... then you can really prove yourselves by helping him discover those ruins and finish his own Confirmation!”

”Do you have any questions?” Kreighton asks with a raised eyebrow.

It takes all the attention Shagrat can muster to listen to the instructions. He started getting overly eager to start after Kreighton had said "Regrets for the sudden nature of this meeting."

Having not completed his own Confirmation, he begins jumping up and down on the balls of his feet when he understands this mission could help him become a Pathfinder.

"Yes, yes! Shagrat already in! Count on Shagrat!"

"So Shagrat have question--why Rain not with other Pathfinders? All by his-self on mission? Pathfinders not supposed to go together? What these ruins be before he explore them?" he asks.

dot

A young and handsome Varisian male enters into the room. He is dressed in blue and black leathers with a pair of sturdy boots. He carries a few daggers a pair of light clubs on his back. He has a few pouches as well.
Hi ya, I'm Graeyson

Khragra grunts and furrows his brow and asks "Khragra have several questions. How big is stipend and what we know about swamp?"

Desmond glances at Doctor Zhapp. "Well, at least it makes some sense now why they would want both of us here. If Rain has gotten himself hurt, he might need our help."

"So Shagrat have question--why Rain not with other Pathfinders? All by his-self on mission? Pathfinders not supposed to go together? What these ruins be before he explore them?" he asks.

Kreighton answers the question, ”The iconic Confirmation is an individual quest of discovery, which is why the majority of it is done by solo endeavors, just like Rain in Cloudy Day, but it's increasingly common to receive help from other Pathfinders. Mentors, especially Pathfinders who completed their own Confirmations within the past few years, often accompany their protégés for part of the journey, using the opportunity to impart hard-learned practical advice along the way.” He pauses for a while and continues, ”As for the ruins, after researching several old Pathfinder Chronicles, Rain in Cloudy Day, or Rain (as he is often called), found something that truly piqued his interest: the possibility of ancient ruins in Taldor’s Blackwood Swamp. Working with me, Rain came up with a Confirmation that appealed to his talents: exploring the Blackwood Swamp and cataloguing any possibility of some ancient settlement hidden within the morass.”

”How big is stipend and what we know about swamp?"

Marcos chimes in with a smirk to the other question, ”Stipend? You mean provisions for this mission? Ha! The Society will provide you that. As for the Blackwood Swamp, it surrounds Cassomir on all landward sides. It’s a rotting marshland that’s filled with dense overgrowth, quicksand, giant carnivorous plants, monsters, and all sorts of other lovely things. The perfect place for Pathfinders to prove themselves!

”Are there more questions from the others before we proceed?” Sorrina asks, looking on the others, expecting there would be none as time is of the essence to rescue Rain.

Zhamie looks over at Desmond, "I agree. Vait. Desmond Vilks? I recognize ze name! Vone ov my colleagues vas vith you. Lokoloko, ze goblin! He says you vere a good medic. I am honeured to be traveling vith you!"

Zhamie looks over at Desmond, "I agree. Vait. Desmond Vilks? I recognize ze name! Vone ov my colleagues vas vith you. Lokoloko, ze goblin! He says you vere a good medic. I am honeured to be traveling vith you!"

"Oh, you know Lokoloko? Crazy goblin, but quite brave and heroic. Like I said, some of these Pathfinders put themselves in danger without regard to their safety." He shakes his head. Argoni also says hi to Gnimsh!

The half-orc turns back to Master Shaine's description. He nods. "I've heard of this Blackwood Swamp. It's near Cassomir. A reclusive group of iruxi are one of the more enigmatic forces within it. They try to stay out of the way of most travelers, but they do attack smugglers and other criminals using their lands for nefarious purposes. And Cassomir also faces a major crime problem. Con artists or desperate citizens seeking to eke out another few weeks of living often take advantage of foreigners who don’t realize how desperate things are within the city."

"The swamp itself is dangerous too. When straying off the main paths, it’s easy to find a patch of flammable gas clouds or quicksand within a misty region of the Blackwood Swamp. Travelers seeking to journey into the swamp should bring a trained wilderness expert, or at least have some plans in place to avoid drowning in mires or quicksand."

"Ah oui! Lokoloko is crazee! But 'e is good alchemist!"

Mik-Mek says hi to Rhaegal as well! :)

"I 'ave no qvestions. Ve should make 'aste if ve are to find zis Rain. 'e might be lost in ze svamp."

"I think we are as ready as we can be."

When the others discuss Lokoloko, the crazy goblin, Shagrat smiles a toothy grin.

"Shagrat not know him, but sound like my kind of goblin. Shagrat love danger--always face danger while reckless."

khragra nods, ready to go.

Seeing that there are no more questions with the mission explained, Kreighton Shaine passes to the party a small sack containing 6 gold pieces for everyone.

”This currency is to be used to arrange travel to Cassomir, with any leftovers to be used only for acquiring information on Rain in Cloudy Day’s location. You can’t use personal gold for these purposes," he emphasizes, "as part of your mission is to succeed using only the funds provided by the Society for these two endeavors. You need to head down to the Docks district and charter yourself a boat for the trip to Cassomir. Luckily, the Society has a vessel already chartered for your return journey free of charge — a precaution in case you find Rain in Cloudy day injured or worse!” the Master of Scrolls explains.

Sorrina offers up some minor healing potions to the party. “Use that to assist in your mission.”

Marcos, on the other hand, pulls out an everburning torch from his array of equipment and slides it across the table. ”This will also be helpful, hopefully. Hehe! Oh, I almost forgot, I have something more for you, too!” The Master of Swords rummages something from his bag and then jovially tosses two lesser antidotes to the party.

You can roll a DC 10 Acrobatics check to catch the two vials.

acrobatics to catch: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (8) + 7 = 15

Khagra grunts as he reaches out to catch a vial.

... a small sack containing 6 gold pieces for everyone.

This should be 6 gold pieces for every one PC.

Havinhg grown up in a circus, the young Varisian attempts to grab one of the vials.
1d20 + 7 ⇒ (13) + 7 = 20 acrobatics

Khagra, Skewerspike and Graeyson are able to catch the vials with ease. Marcos is impressed.

"Nice reflex you two have. Haha!" Marcos commends the two.

Kreighton rolls his eyes upon seeing Marcos' antics. Nevertheless, he also provides the party with a single wayfinder. “Though this object is typically reserved for fully recognized Pathfinder agents, I want you to take this one for your journey, using it as both proof of your allegiance to the Society and as a tool for exploring the wilds.”

Each of you has one hero point available.

Following the briefing, the party makes their way to the Docks District of Absalom, where they’ll need to secure travel to Cassomir. The three deans didn’t provide any additional information on arranging travel, and it’s up to the party to secure themselves a boat. Luckily for them, there are plenty of notices and criers at the Docks, all informing crowds of open spaces onboard vessels set to travel across the Inner Sea region and beyond.

You can roleplay how you look around to secure a boat traveling to Cassomir, spending at least two hours. Anyone can roll a Diplomacy check to Gather Information.

Aleksandr heads to the docks, using the story of a businessman looking for passage for himself and his entourage.

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (3) + 8 = 11

Gather Info: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (1) + 3 = 4

Zhamie heads to the docks and tries to book passage. But realizes that her accent makes her hard to understand.

Desmond stands around, watching the others try to talk to various dock workers. He wasn't much for ships, and figures to let more knowledgeable people deal with this. He just hopes he doesn't have to deal with seasickness.

No Diplomacy here

gather info: 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (7) - 1 = 6

Khragra joins his companions in asking around.

"Khagra need boat. You have boat?"

Shagrat is slightly more adept at finding information about a boat, mainly because he has no fear and simply walks onto multiple boats without asking.

When he points out where he's trying to go, some of the captains point him in the right direction (some with much yelling and cursing).

diplomacy: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (12) + 2 = 14

Giving his best grin to someone and a friendly demeanor, Graeyson attempts to help find a boat for the group.
diplomacy to find a boat
1d20 + 4 ⇒ (11) + 4 = 15

After about two hours of gathering information, everyone meets together at a location. Fortunately, Graeyson finds three boats that you can choose from to bring you to Cassomir:

Mimosa (5 gp per PC): The costliest of the available vessels, the Mimosa is a powerful sailing vessel originally constructed in the dockyards of Detmer in the nation of Druma. It is captained by Javinda, a chatty Kellid who enjoys catering to her passengers’ every need. Its polished whitewood hull glints with golden filigree, and serving staff make the fast voyage comfortable and relaxing.

Powerful Hector (2.5 gp per PC): The Powerful Hector is a large wooden barge named after the father of its current captain, Eduard Tabrin. The vessel has basic amenities, including three square meals a day, along with shared lodging for everyone.

Opportune (1 gp per PC): A rickety vessel of questionable quality, the Opportune survives by traveling between Inner Sea ports and regularly making patchwork repairs on its hull. Captain Oderon Payne advertises the lower costs of travel on his vessel and boasts of its speed. The amenities are far more sparse than the other vessels— the captain barely scrounges up two meals a day, and passengers must all bunk together in a communal space.

You must each travel onboard the same vessel and can’t split up. You should also only use the gold provided by the Society for the cost of your chosen vessel. So, which one do you choose?

Aleksandr like the idea of the luxury the Mimosa provides.

"Ooh la la! Zis Mimosa looks tres bien! But should ve spend all our money now?"

Shagrat shakes his head at the suggestion of the Mimosa.

"No, look! This Opportune looks like goblins help repair it. It look super sturdy and cost much less! Plus, we get to stay in same room to sleep, and it fastest one to get us there! If Rain need help, he need help soon! Shagrat say do last boat!"

"Ze Opportune vill sink if I blow on it! No no! Ve must use a bigger sheep. Ve cannot rescue Rain if ve sink!"

”Big Sheep? What sheep have to do with this?!?!?” Shagrat asks in confusion.

Khagra speaks "Khagra think moderation best idea, but if party disagree, then Opportune sounds more like Khagra speed."

The Powerful Hector might be a better, safer, and less expensive choice the acrobat adds.

Desmond looks back and forth as they debate the ships to take. He shrugs. "As long as we don't die at sea. My skills don't quite reach to un-drowning people."

I've played this scenario before, so happy to go along. It will be interesting to see a different choice.

After some short discussion, majority decides to take aboard the Powerful Hector.

The party spends six days travelling into Cassomir with the Powerful Hector vessel. They make their way to Cassomir without any major issues and finally reach the bustling city port of Cassomir. Emerging into the Imperial Naval Shipyards district, the party moves quickly and they find out that Rain in Cloudy Day’s last known position: the Three-Legged Frog inn. The inn is close to the party’s landing point and is notable for a sign swaying in the wind that depicts a frog standing up on two hind legs while drool from its mouth acts as a third leg to keep the frog’s balance. Inside the Three-Legged Frog, the party is met with the generous innkeeper Aganis Downard, who excitedly greets the newcomers.

”Hello, hello! Come in. How may I help you?” Aganis warmly welcomes the party inside the Three-Legged Frog inn.

Desmond enters the Inn, swaying just a bit from their time on the ship. It was nice to reach their destination so quickly. He smiles at the innkeeper. "A table and some food would be nice. What do you have to eat? I'm famished."

Zhamie enters the tavern behind Desmond, almost as green as the orc from her time at sea.

"Oooh... I am nod used to being in ze boat... Vat do you have to calm ze etomach?"

He will spend his days on the boat practicing his acrobatics and helping the crew out if he can.

The Varisian also enters into the inn and takes a seat and examines his surroundings while asking for some meat and cheese and bread and apple cider.

With his companions thus far avoiding the obvious question, Shagrat muscles to the front of the group.

"Food sound good," he says.

"But also--you see a little green plant guy in here last few weeks? Kind of look like a house plant, but can talk?" he asks.

diplo: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (9) + 2 = 11

"Oh, yes! Indeed! The trip has wearied you all? What food would you like me to serve? What drinks would you want? Go, tell and we will do serve the best we can." Agnis tells them.

" A leshy? Hmmmm..." Agnis thinks hard, scratching her head. "Ah, my husband, Roland told me about a leshy that visited here, he mentioned his name is Rain? Ah, I can't remember. It wasn't my shift when the leshy visited. You could ask my husband, maybe he knows, but you need to wait for his shift later. Do you know the leshy? Is he your friend?" Agnis asks Shagrat.

"He is an associate of ours. Now how long will it be until your husband is in?"

"He will be here in about..." Agnis looks into her watch, and looks back to Aleksandr, "About two hours. Associate, you say? Why are you looking for him anyway?" she asks him back.