GM Frost's S01-14 Lions of Katapesh [Outpost V] (Inactive)

Game Master Frozen Frost

Yigrig Moneymaker needs your help!

dotting in

Zror and Roxz reporting for duty

Your adventure begins in a meeting room in Katapesh, where you are briefed on your mission by Yigrig Moneymaker.

Yigrig Moneymaker, the powerful goblin merchant, slumps in a large chair. His face, normally so proud and assured, looks troubled. “It’s good to see you, Pathfinders! I have a lot of respect for the Society. You’ve been good to me in the past, and my family has aided you in return. But today I come before you, my hat in my hands, in need of help.

“My family and I have almost brokered a trade agreement between the cities of Solku and Oenopion. It’s a beneficial deal, one where Solku gains the materials it needs to defend itself, Oenopion gains a new trading partner, and everyone stands to make a heap of coins. There’s only one issue standing in the way of the negotiation being finalized: a bridge must be constructed over the Elemion River to facilitate safe travel between the two cities. My family is responsible for building and maintaining this bridge. It should have been a simple job… easy to pull off.

“It has been anything but easy.”

The old goblin leans forward. “Every morning at the work camp, it is discovered that more of my children have been pulled from their beds in the night, presumed dead. Every shipment of aid I send gets attacked. The last one I sent did not even arrive.

“There is a lot of money riding on this deal, but I admit this isn’t about money anymore. This is personal. Someone is harming my family and I can’t sit by and let that happen.

“I have contracted the Pathfinder Society to protect the bridge and surrounding work camp while construction is completed. I have a caravan ready to leave, filled with new workers and supplies for the bridge site. I want you on it. When you see it safely to the bridge site, I need you to stop the attacks on the camp by any means necessary until the jobis complete. When you get to the work camp, you will meet my son Zig, the overseer of the project. Sweet kid… takes after his old man. He’ll be your liaison with the workers and see to your needs.

“Nothing is more important than family. Nothing. And so, I’m asking you to take care of mine. Our future is in your hands.”

Please introduce yourself to him and to others. This is also you moment to ask questions to Yigrig.

Tarkii rubs their little grey rodent paws together, starfields gleaming where their pupils should be peering out from under their hood.

"Yes... yes... family is important, let us be of help... [smaller]help."

Tarkii is a rather odd looking Ysoki, silvery fur and a somewhat elongated, almost otherworldly shape.

A half-orc sits in the room, going through his pack. You see it stocked with bandages, wraps, salves, needles for sutures, etc. He looks up at the elderly goblin. "Sir, I'm Desmond. I'm a medic, and I'll do my best to help your family."

He glances at the others. "I'll keep you on your feet too, Pathfinders. Just help me get to the goblins too. I'll leave the fighting to you though." As he says this, you notice he doesn't seem to have any weapons or armor. The most protection he seems to have are some heavy soled boots.

A rather bland looking gnome slips into the room. He (or is it she? They..) is somewhat androgenous. Listening to the goblin's plee, they nod quietly to themselves. "Yes... family..."

They sidle over to Desmond. "I can help out a little with injuries as well. "

Then, as if a curtain lifts, a flash of colour crosses their face. "Oh... Yigrig... what can you tell us about the terrain the caravan will be passing through... and the area the bridge is in?"

A tall man with short blond hair enters the busy tent. He takes in the scene with the practiced eye of a seasoned detective.

"Greetings, fellow Pathfinders! Isaku Beru at your service. I'm the chief investigator of the Absalom Detective Agency. I was told that Yigrig Moneymaker needed help with finding out what happened to his workers."

If anyone has read books by Clive Cussler, you're bound to recognize the name!

"Good morning, chaps! What a fine day! I hear you Yigrig, old fellow. Family, money, new trade routes? Sounds like a fine escapade for me." says a smartly turned out, well-muscled human man at the entrance to the the room. "Rafe Thoresby, explorer, pleased to make all of your acquaintances." You are unsure from his tone whether he actually means it. He wears scale mail and carries a katana and shield on his back. Both his hair and eyes have a definite golden sparkle to them and he smells uncommonly pleasant, even in armour.

Rafe speaks with a clear, upper class English accent and his tone therefore often sounds disdainful.

They sidle over to Desmond. "I can help out a little with injuries as well. "

Desmond nods and looks at Slipp. "You're a healer? Where's your medical kit? But good. It sounds like these goblins may be in a lot of danger."

Slipp just grins at Desmond. "I don't use a kit. But it is quite fatiguing doing it my way.". As he grins red appears in the gnomes lips, before vanishing again.

"Generally my connection with the First World is brings local-scale-storms. But the place is full of life as well, so sometimes I can... I'm not sure how to explain it... bring it over to here."

"Yes. We must protect goblin group to finish bridge. Very important to make goblin look good."

The goblin in half plate says proudly. "I am Zror, Champion of Iomedae. " He then points over to a wolf with a saddle on his back, "That noble brat is Roxz."

”I am very grateful for your help. I knew the Society is really reliable. As for your question, Slipp, the caravan you will be going with and the area you will be visiting is home to great beasts such as lions, panthers, dire wolves, and more. I suspect such creatures might be responsible for the attacks on the camp, but I want you to find out for sure when you begin your mission.” Yigrig explains.

Everyone receives one hero point each. If you have GM glyphs, this is your chance to share it to others.

”If you have no more questions, let us waste no time and follow me,” he tells everyone in the room.

Yigrig leads you to a goblin caravan. The goblin caravan consists of 4 Huge wagons and 20 nervous goblin workers. It also contains a trove supplies including wooden beams and food. The leader of the caravan is a goblin named Muckmuck. Because many goblins loathe horses, the caravan’s wagons are pulled by camels.

Muckmuck laughs to himself. “You longshanks think you can protect us? You can’t save Muckmuck. You’re weak. Face facts. We’re all going to die.

“Tell you what. You want to help? You be the minstrel. Make fancy music. Make goblins feel less likely to run away. Convince them we’re not all going to die.”

Never mind, Muckmuck, he is just murmuring to himself. You can make your last-minute purchases before all of you leave with the caravan.

"Oh Muckmuck, Muckmuck, Muckmuck. It's very easy to be despondent but I think we'll turn out to be much more competent than you expect. Let's see if we can get some travelling songs going on the way." Rafe shakes his head and tuts a little.

"If that's the way you see it, Muckmuck, then you're already dead. We won't give up on you! You have to have faith."

"WEll, if that is all it will take to cheer you up."

Slipp slips a small little flute from his pocket. The tune that starts up is slow and sad. But as they play, colour slowly starts to seep into his face. And as the colour returns, the timbre of the music slowly changes as well, becoming haunting, and then sombre before subtly almost moving into joyful.

perform: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (19) + 7 = 26

Zror mounts Roxz and does a few circles around the caravan. "Muckmuck, it is new times. Goblins read. Goblins fight alongside longshanks. Goblins go out on adventures. It is great time to be goblin. This is just minor set back that me and friends will conquer.

Desmond speaks to Muckmuck. "Oh, I think we can help. Pathfinders are great at protecting and tracking down hoe's doing this. And I will try to help any of the hurt goblins. Do you know what is doing this?"

Muckmuck may have liken the music Slipp plays but he has still grim thoughts of what is ahead of them. He thanks Slipp for their effort but he stills seems depressed. He just gives a shrug to others.

The caravan takes two days to reach the camp with one overnight stay on the side of the path. Just as Muckmuck says, they are terrified to travel to the camp. However, the caravan is filled with goblins, and despite their fear, their wandering attention span quickly turns to revelry in its many forms. The night is filled with fights and cackling laughter as the goblins try to impress the you and each other with feats of physical prowess.

You can partake in this revelry to lift the spirits of the goblins and gain their trust through your impressive displays. The following checks include some of the various ways you might attempt to impress the goblins and raise their spirits. Each PC can attempt a total of two checks, and no check listed below can be attempted more than three times.

Acrobatics: A PC can attempt a DC 15 Acrobatics check to Tumble Through the crowd while trying to display agility and grace.
Athletics: A PC can attempt a DC 15 Athletics check to Climb so well they impress the goblins with their physical prowess.
Deception: A PC can attempt a DC 15 Deception check to Impersonate Muckmuck or another goblin in the caravan.
Performance: A PC can attempt a DC 15 Performance check to Perform for the goblins.

From here, your party must maintain the quickly degrading morale of the goblins due to recent attacks to them as they work on the bridge. Your party begins with 6 Moral Points. The goal is to not let the Moral Points reduced to zero, else the goblin will abandon working on the bridge to save their lives.

You can begin improving the morale of the goblins!

Zror begins by showing off the athletic training he picked up from the longshanks.

athletics: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (15) + 7 = 22

Following up he does a flip to show that he is still goblin.

acrobatic: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (13) + 5 = 18

Isaku performs feats of acrobatics.

Acrobatics: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (1) + 8 = 9
Acrobatics, Hero Point: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (17) + 8 = 25

He then climbs to the top of a nearby tree to try to impress the goblins.

Athletics: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (10) + 5 = 15

Whew

Acrobatics: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (20) + 8 = 28

Athletics: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (11) + 5 = 16

Desmond forgoes his medical kits to show off climbing the tree and doing a spinning backflip off it to land.

Tarkii giggles as he gathers round some goblins and does his best Muckmuck "Woe is us, we're all going to be eaten by pigs, nothing matters."

deception: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (12) + 4 = 16

deception: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (13) + 4 = 17

Slipp watches the antics of the goblins with a kind of amused detachment. It's kind of like watching gnome children... but gnomes with a vicious disregard for safety.

As he watches he continues to play his flute.
perform: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (4) + 7 = 11
perform: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (4) + 7 = 11

However the mood is just not quite right. As he plays his colour continues to drain and the music becomes flatter and flatter. Eventually he just crawls off to his blankets in silence.

Zror shows off his athletic and acrobatic skills to the goblins and everyone enjoys it, even to the point one of the goblins shows off as well by tumbling through the crowd. +2 Moral Points

Isaku does the same tumbling through which is almost as good as a bouncy goblin. They are impressed actually. He also is able to climb a tree that make the goblins nod in approval for a longshank. +3 Moral Points

Desmond shows that a half-orc can do the same what humans and goblins do. Goblins are now in frenzy and high-spirited. +3 Moral Points

Tarkii makes an impression of Muckmuck, showing them how miserable he is. The goblins burst into laughter and teases Muckmuck, in which he smirks in disappointment to the goblins. +2 Moral Points

Slipp plays their flute. But the goblins are unimpressed with their performance and heckles them mercilessly, while bashing and cancelling their talent. 0 Moral Point

Rafe, it is your turn. You are left with one Deception and one Performance check.

At least I don't have +0 for anything due to my Pathfinder Agent dedication!

Rafe watches the rest of the Pathfinders do the feats that he felt most comfortable with, Rafe attempts a conversation between Yigrig and Muckmuck about the benefits and drawbacks to being a 'longshanks'

"....and that's why they like shelves!"

Deception: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (6) + 2 = 8

He follows up by making a beat on his shield and singing an ancient folk song.

Performance: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (17) + 4 = 21

And whilst his sense of humour is too patronising, he rescues himself by singing in Mwangi!

Rafe does not do well on impersonating Muckmuck and the goblins are dismayed, though he goes singing in Mwangi and gets a nod from most goblins eventhough they don't understand much what he is singing. Maybe because of his accompanying beats of his shield, we may never know for sure. Maybe Zror could answer that for them. +1 Moral Point

Thanks to your efforts, you have acquired 17 Moral Points in total. Nice!

Please check the MAP and place your icon on which wagon you will be riding.

On the journey, Rafe well tell the goblins about the importance of good education and explain how good his Hermean education was.

Zror will be on his mount, Roxz, slightly ahead of the carts.

Desmond will be napping a bit on the ride.

Isaku will be walking beside the wagons. He will draw his pistol in case anything hostile shows up.

Tarkii rests in the rear cart, trying to keep his distance from the real Muckmuck.

Slipp sits quietly in the third wagon. One might suspect a small gnome to be worried at being surrounded by goblins, even friendly ones. Slipp however seems almost indifferent to his position. He is interested in the scenery though, paying close attention to anything that breaks up the monotony of the trip.

The next day, the goblins are high-spirited and joyful, they even greet you one-by-one. But you continue to travel and just as you approach the bridge site, you are ambushed! The goblins scatter and hide, fleeing for their lives.

”Do something! This is what I have been telling you.” Muckmuck derides you.

AMBUSH IN THE DESERT Round 1
Terrain condition: Trees and outcropping rocks are greater difficult terrain and provides lesser cover.
Active condition: None
Tactical Map

Character in BOLD can act!

Tarkii HP 33/33, AC 2O
Rafe HP 30/30, AC 19

Red

Zror HP 34/34, AC 20

Green

Slipp HP 17/17, AC 15
Isaku HP 26/26, AC 18

Blue
Pink
White
Black

Desmond HP 30/30, AC 20

Orange
Yellow

---

Wagon 1
Wagon 2
Wagon 3
Wagon 4

Here is the MAP. I'm so sorry.

"We'll handle this, gentlemen." Rafe says as he drops down and ◆◆ stride x2 to cover, he then ◆ readies his katana.

Sorry for the delay

Tarkii scrambles out of the wagon and puts the lake between himself and the raiders before casting guidance on Slipp.

Red runs forward but he gets past Rafe. It seems he does intend to attack him! The man throws a lesser alchemist fire into one of the wagons.

Bomb Attack vs Wagon 1: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (16) + 5 = 21
Bomb Damage: 1d8 ⇒ 8 fire damage plus 1 persistent fire damage plus 1 fire splash damage

Damage will take effect at the start of next round.

AMBUSH IN THE DESERT Round 1
Terrain condition: Trees and outcropping rocks are greater difficult terrain and provides lesser cover.
Active condition: None
Tactical Map (The map is now properly linked.)

Character in BOLD can act!

Tarkii HP 33/33, AC 2O
Rafe HP 30/30, AC 19

Red

Zror HP 34/34, AC 20

Green

Slipp HP 17/17, AC 15 | Guidance
Isaku HP 26/26, AC 18

Blue
Pink
White
Black

Desmond HP 30/30, AC 20

Orange
Yellow

---

Wagon 1
Wagon 2
Wagon 3
Wagon 4

Anyone adjacent to the wagon can spend 1 action and attempt a DC 14 Reflex save to Interact with the wagon to put out a fire using blankets, water, or some other appropriate tool to reduce the damage by 1d6.

Zror spurs his mount to move ahead and get adjacent.

Companion moves twice

Zror takes out his longsword and attacks.

1d20 + 9 ⇒ (14) + 9 = 23
1d8 + 3 ⇒ (6) + 3 = 9

one action-command, one action-draw sword, one action-strike

Zror on his mount makes his move and attacks Red which connects. Green goes into the direction of Zror just to throw a lesser alchemist's fire into one of the wagons.

Bomb Attack vs Wagon 1: 1d20 + 5 - 2 ⇒ (12) + 5 - 2 = 15
Bomb Damage: 1d8 ⇒ 7 fire damage plus 1 persistent fire damage plus 1 fire splash damage

Damage will take effect at the start of next round.

AMBUSH IN THE DESERT Round 1
Terrain condition: Trees and outcropping rocks are greater difficult terrain and provides lesser cover.
Active condition: None
Tactical Map (The map is now properly linked.)

Character in BOLD can act!

Tarkii HP 33/33, AC 2O
Rafe HP 30/30, AC 19

Red

Zror HP 34/34, AC 20

Green

Slipp HP 17/17, AC 15 | Guidance
Isaku HP 26/26, AC 18

Blue
Pink
White
Black

Desmond HP 30/30, AC 20

Orange
Yellow

---

Wagon 1 (pending 15/1/2)
Wagon 2
Wagon 3
Wagon 4

(pending fire damage / persistent fire damage / fire splash damage)
Anyone adjacent to the wagon can spend 1 action and attempt a DC 14 Reflex save to Interact with the wagon to put out a fire using blankets, water, or some other appropriate tool to reduce the damage by 1d6.

Colour floods back into the rather too-quiet Slipp as the attack unfolds. He leaps from the wagon, dashing forward. Then, hair standing on end, they concentrate on the First World, where a storm rages.

electric arc on red and green, reflex DC 17 for half: 1d4 + 4 ⇒ (3) + 4 = 7

Red should have -9 to its HP from Zror's attack, I forgot to include it.

Red's DC 17 Reflex Save: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (17) + 7 = 24
Green's DC 17 Reflex Save: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (16) + 7 = 23

Both Red and Green able to somewhat dodge the arc, but the residual electricity knocks Red down.

AMBUSH IN THE DESERT Round 1
Terrain condition: Trees and outcropping rocks are greater difficult terrain and provides lesser cover.
Active condition: None
Tactical Map (The map is now properly linked.)

Character in BOLD can act!

Tarkii HP 33/33, AC 2O
Rafe HP 30/30, AC 19
Zror HP 34/34, AC 20

Green -3

Slipp HP 17/17, AC 15 | Guidance
Isaku HP 26/26, AC 18

Blue
Pink
White
Black

Desmond HP 30/30, AC 20

Orange
Yellow

---

Wagon 1 (pending 15/1/2)
Wagon 2
Wagon 3
Wagon 4

(pending fire damage / persistent fire damage / fire splash damage)

Red

Anyone adjacent to the wagon can spend 1 action and attempt a DC 14 Reflex save to Interact with the wagon to put out a fire using blankets, water, or some other appropriate tool to reduce the damage by 1d6.

"Excellent teamwork. I'll set em up, you knock em down" The goblin says laughing and giving a broad smile behind his half visor.

Isaku forms a plan vs Green.

Devise Strategem: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (2) + 8 = 10

Not seeing a feasible plan, Isaku strides forward and pulls a throwing knife out of his belt.

◆ Devise Strategem
◆ Stride
◆ Interact (Draw Weapon)

Isaku seems to have a better plan, but not for now. The four men make their way toward the party and rains down alchemist's fire to Wagon 1.

Blue: Bomb Attack vs Wagon 1: 1d20 + 5 - 4 ⇒ (4) + 5 - 4 = 5
Bomb Damage: 1d8 ⇒ 5 fire damage plus 1 persistent fire damage plus 1 splash fire damage
Bomb Attack vs Wagon 1, MAP: 1d20 + 5 - 4 - 5 ⇒ (12) + 5 - 4 - 5 = 8
Bomb Damage: 1d8 ⇒ 6 fire damage plus 1 persistent fire damage plus 1 splash fire damage

Pink: Bomb Attack vs Wagon 1: 1d20 + 5 - 4 ⇒ (18) + 5 - 4 = 19
Bomb Damage: 1d8 ⇒ 8 fire damage plus 1 persistent fire damage plus 1 splash fire damage
Bomb Attack vs Wagon 1: 1d20 + 5 - 4 - 5 ⇒ (10) + 5 - 4 - 5 = 6
Bomb Damage: 1d8 ⇒ 4 fire damage plus 1 persistent fire damage plus 1 splash fire damage

White: Bomb Attack vs Wagon 1: 1d20 + 5 - 4 ⇒ (4) + 5 - 4 = 5
Bomb Damage: 1d8 ⇒ 3 fire damage plus 1 persistent fire damage plus 1 splash fire damage

Black: Bomb Attack vs Wagon 1: 1d20 + 5 - 2 ⇒ (17) + 5 - 2 = 20
Bomb Damage: 1d8 ⇒ 6 fire damage plus 1 persistent fire damage plus 1 splash fire damage

Since Slipp is adjacent to the Wagon 1, he takes 6 splash fire damage in total.

AMBUSH IN THE DESERT Round 1
Terrain condition: Trees and outcropping rocks are greater difficult terrain and provides lesser cover.
Active condition: None
Tactical Map (The map is now properly linked.)

Character in BOLD can act!

Tarkii HP 33/33, AC 2O
Rafe HP 30/30, AC 19
Zror HP 34/34, AC 20

Green -3

Slipp HP 11/17, AC 15
Isaku HP 26/26, AC 18

Blue
Pink
White
Black

Desmond HP 30/30, AC 20

Orange
Yellow

---

Wagon 1 (pending 47/1/8)
Wagon 2
Wagon 3
Wagon 4

(pending fire damage / persistent fire damage / fire splash damage)

Red

Anyone adjacent to the wagon can spend 1 action and attempt a DC 14 Reflex save to Interact with the wagon to put out a fire using blankets, water, or some other appropriate tool to reduce the damage by 1d6.

"Ouch!" calls out Slipp, who seems to fade out of existence for a moment.
unexpected shift DC16: 1d20 ⇒ 18

Light sparkles around the gnome momentarily as they seem to shift in reality.
Unexpected shift, reduces damage by 1 and leaves me dazzled for the round.

Desmond hops out of the wagon. "They're trying to burn them! Stop the bombs!" He begins trying to smother the flames with the blanket he was using to nap.

Reflex Save (DC14): 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (5) + 10 = 15
Reduce Damage: 1d6 ⇒ 2

Reflex Save (DC14): 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (13) + 10 = 23
Reduce Damage: 1d6 ⇒ 4

◆ Step
◆ Put out Fire
◆ Put out Fire

Desmond will focus on putting out the fires. Fits with his support theme.

Am I correct in thinking pink and blue have no weapons in their hands, having thrown an Alchemist's Fire with each hand?

Yes, Rafe. They are empty-handed now. I will take note of that detail.

Slipp manages to reduce a small damage from the splash by shifting themselves from reality. Desmond finally finds out what the ambush men are trying to do, reducing some of the fire. Orange and Yellow do what the others did and fly lesser alchemist fires to one of the wagons.

Orange: Bomb Attack vs Wagon 2: 1d20 + 5 - 2 ⇒ (19) + 5 - 2 = 22
Bomb Damage: 1d8 ⇒ 3 fire damage plus 1 persistent fire damage plus 1 splash fire damage

Yellow: Bomb Attack vs Wagon 2: 1d20 + 5 - 2 ⇒ (9) + 5 - 2 = 12
Bomb Damage: 1d8 ⇒ 8 fire damage plus 1 persistent fire damage plus 1 splash fire damage

AMBUSH IN THE DESERT Round 2
Terrain condition: Trees and outcropping rocks are greater difficult terrain and provides lesser cover.
Active condition: None
Tactical Map

Character in BOLD can act!

Tarkii HP 33/33, AC 2O
Rafe HP 30/30, AC 19
Zror HP 34/34, AC 20

Green -3

Slipp HP 12/17, AC 15 | Dazzled (1 rd)
Isaku HP 26/26, AC 18

Blue
Pink
White
Black

Desmond HP 30/30, AC 20

Orange
Yellow

---

Wagon 1 47/50 (pending 39/1/5)
Wagon 2 50/50 (pending 11/1/2)
Wagon 3 50/50
Wagon 4 50/50

(pending fire damage / persistent fire damage / fire splash damage)

Red

Anyone adjacent to the wagon can spend 1 action and attempt a DC 14 Reflex save to Interact with the wagon to put out a fire using blankets, water, or some other appropriate tool to reduce the damage by 1d6.