GM PaleDim's PFS #6-15: The Overflow Archives (Inactive)

Game Master PaleDim

After collecting some useful scrolls, the party heads up to the mezzanine.

This wooden floor rises ten feet above and overlooks the stacks. Most of the water generated here flows freely through the railing, so not enough accumulates to impede movement.

You behold an over-sized koi, who appears to be spewing the water that is flooding the Archives. It stops for only a moment to speak something, trying a couple of different languages, and then returns to spewing water sporadically.

What do you do?

Yulau clucks her tongue at hearing the koi’s dismissiveness. ”It says that it’s busy,” the sorceress translates from the sylvan tongue. ”Busy destroying our library, looks to me,” she adds.

Jilla starts speaking in a strange tongue, wagging her finger repeatedly in the koi's direction.

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (1) + 3 = 4

Drat! Instantly realizing that Jilla's attempt to lightly request the cessation of the drowning of the library will surely backfire, Professor Masaendri immediately jumps in to try to salvage the situation. Glaring down her nose at Jilla, she snaps in Sylvan:

Bowing respectfully to the enormous koi, who just may be that dangerous sleeper the gathlains warned them about (and certainly seems to be the source of the flooding), she begins to fawn over the fish:

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (9) + 2 = 11
Wow. The diplomacy rolls in this game have been dismal.

Unfortunately, the Professor isn't accustomed to placating angry superiors (angry students and parents notwithstanding), and her words fall rather flat.

Kalak sizes up the very large carp thing, and asks his companions, What is this creature, what does it say? Should we investigate elsewhere in this place or.... he says meaningfully patting his massive hammer. But it does not seem hostile other than trying to fill this library with water?

Kalak sizes up the very large carp thing, and asks his companions, What is this creature, what does it say? Should we investigate elsewhere in this place or.... he says meaningfully patting his massive hammer. But it does not seem hostile other than trying to fill this library with water?

"Maybe this is the creature the others downstairs spoke of? Either way tell it to quit releasing water."

The great fish frowns at Jilla and spews an enlarged gush of water before speaking again.

It then turns to the professor, its grimace deepening.

Surely the RNG will regress to mean and give a good result on your next attempt.

What do you do?

Diplomacy 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (6) + 8 = 14

”Ignore those two. They get fussy when they are wet. I’m sure we can reach an agreeemnt for you to pause the water while we figure out what has happened here…”

"My gramps always said that violence never solved a problem, but he got ran over by a bull. If fish-face over here won't cooperate, let's talk some sense into it!"

Jilla takes out a baker's rolling pin and begins slapping it threateningly into one palm.

Intimidate: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (10) + 6 = 16

Taken aback, the Professor blanches briefly before backing away a bit. Instead of engaging further, she fills in those who don't understand Sylvan on what has transpired thus far, and continues her translating services for the remainder of this encounter.

Spoilers open, and unless noted otherwise, you can assume the Professor will continue to translate as soon as things are said for the remainder of the scenario.

As an aside, she mutters to Jilla: "Let Yulau handle this for now."

The great fish starts to turn red in the face and bellows again.

It starts to spew and increasing amount of water that starts to wash the Pathfinder down the spiral staircase. One by one each of you circles the drain, travels down, and flows out with the gush of water back to the floor of the stacks.

Obviously that introduction did not go well. Perhaps she will be in a better mood later?

Albatross and Owl watch as you flow out from the staircase.

Didn't go well eh, at least she didn't eat you! Owl quips, after which Albatross predictably hushes him.

What do you do?

Try the Koi again, head down the stairs, or something else?

Kalak regains his feet, glaring up at where the large koi fish sits, just out of sight. That went worse than I thought. Should we try the basement? Maybe the fish will be put to sleep by the riddle?

”Yes, let’s try the basement. I’m in no mood to tangle with that thing again!”

Jilla sloshes down the stairs with the others, eager to see what awaits them next.

As much as "I smacked a big talking fish with a rolling pin" has a certain je ne sais quoi, I take the GM's hint that this is the better move :)

Flooding from the library above has turned this storage chamber into a treacherous bog. Rising above the black lake, the flat tops of many rows of shelves create a makeshift maze of causeways. The spiral staircase you took descends from above, a deluge of water cascading down the steps. Four narrow corridors channel rivers of seawater off into the darkness.

The floor of this room is flooded to the point of being a deep bog, and the ceiling is 15 feet high. The shelves here are broad enough to act as walkways requiring no Acrobatics check to traverse while moving at half speed and only a successful DC 5 Acrobatics check to walk along at full speed.

The deep water and waterlogged texts make recovering anything of value here particularly challenging.

You expect the water to capture light in interesting ways, but all of you notice a particularly concentrated cluster of lights persisently dancing under the surface of the water, possibly at the actual floor level (marked on the map). Further, as you concentrate on those lights you start to hear a faint, muffled murmuring sound from the same source. It something calling for help within the lights? Are the lights themselves trying to speak with you? Who's to say?

Jilla, the Professor, Kalak, and Kaseem do not believe the sounds are real. They have dis-believed a Ghost Sound.

For now you all stand inspecting the intriguing display.

Map updated!

What do you do?

Perception 1d20 ⇒ 14

”This looks scary. The water is too deep for comfort,” she whispers, not advancing any further.

Jilla whispers, "Maybe someone dropped an everburning torch in the water!"

Perception: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (1) + 4 = 5

Perception: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (6) + 9 = 15

"Or something in the water is trying to lure us down there to attack and drown us. I can't swim so I have no interest in venturing down to discover what is the source of the lights."

Would Profession (Merchant) give a chance at a roll?

Perception: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (20) + 5 = 25

Kalak makes his way forward atop the bookcases, which creak under his weight, Who would try to lure us with magical sounds? he asks as he scans the room. He reaches down into the water, puling up two brass scrollcases, These look like those others, important? Yes? I don't see anything causing the lights or the sounds, maybe we should make our way around to the left and see what else is down here?

As soon as she can, Professor Masaendri pulls herself up onto some shelves. It was a mistake to wear a skirt. I really ought to invest in sturdy trousers.

"Hm. Excellent eye again, Kalak. Scrolls of Magic Circle Against Chaos and Slow. Wonderful." She gives him a nod of respect. Switching back to her lecturing voice, Professor Masaendri addresses the group. "Now, if illusory sounds and lights are placed in a particular spot, one must ask why. Does anyone have a guess?" As she speaks, she peers around the group, looking up, down, all around, and anywhere except where the distraction is.

Perception: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (10) + 7 = 17

Jilla jumps up and down and raises her hand. "I know, I know. A trap! Wait, I've got a brilliant idea! Only it might not work . . ." Removing a long forked wand from her pack, the gnome waves it around several times uttering arcane words (or nonsense).

Suddenly, a dolphin appears in the water. Jilla claps her hands. "First time! That never happens!" She starts chittering like a dolphin.

Using my CL 3 wand of summon monster I to summon a dolphin (with UMD check below). Then using my gnome speak with animals to ask it to go investigate the glow in the water and report back with it finds. It'll have to be fast!

Use Magic Device: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (20) + 3 = 23

Would Profession (Merchant) give a chance at a roll?

I'm not seeing anything relevant to *that* particular skill.

Kalak finds the magic scrolls that are salvageable near the top of the bookshelves they now walk on. Professor recognizes them instantly.

Then she begins holding class! Jilla, the good pupil has an astute idea as to the purpose of the magical display.

She successfully summons a dolphin, who dances around the space of water where the lights reside. It playfully swims circles at the surface before jumping up and diving down into the water. Approaching the lights, it looks at them from all angles, never touching them before returning to the surface. It approaches the monk and nestles its head over the edge of the gangway, chirping away in its language to Jilla.

What do you do?

"Good girl! Or uh, boy," says Jilla. She pats the dolphin on the head for a few seconds before it dissolves back into pure magical energy.

"Yep, the lights are just lights--definitely a lure to trap us."

"Good girl! Or uh, boy," says Jilla. She pats the dolphin on the head for a few seconds before it dissolves back into pure magical energy.

"Yep, the lights are just lights--definitely a lure to trap us."

"Ha! I knew it! Shall we proceed forward?"

Kaseem will take the Magic Circle scroll as he might be able to activate it but has no chance of activating the Scroll of Slow.

Did the Professor see anything when she looked all around?

Did the Professor see anything when she looked all around?

It wasn't a "pull up" situation, as the tops of the shelves are what you're walking on to stay out of the water.

Just as you're about to turn and decide which way to head something flits out from behind a column to the North. At first it looks like a blue streak as it darts back in the forth with perfect maneuverability. Then it holds still and hovers over the water in the Northeastern area of the room and at roughly 4' height above the water-line.

Surprise round action to move up to 50'.

Now that you can get a good look at it, you see a tiny, iridescent serpent slithering through empty space, the air around it distorting as if from heat. Baring its teeth it's very clearly hungry and interested in you...

Battle theme!

Round 1
Bold may act

Kalak
Jilla
Kaseem
Yulau
--------
BLUE
--------
Professor Masaendri
Wilbert

Map updated!

REMINDER No Acrobatics check to traverse the walkways while moving at half speed and only a successful DC 5 Acrobatics check to walk along at full speed.

Kalak, Jilla, Kaseem, and Yulau are up!

Yulau didn’t like the look of that toothy creature so she fired a magic missile at it.

Damage 2d4 + 2 ⇒ (4, 3) + 2 = 9

"What the heck is that thing?" Jilla asks, instinctively taking up a fighting stance.

Total Defence. I'm moving to an adjacent book shelf--there may be an Acrobatics check involved for both the movement and the jumping, so I'll roll both just in case.

Acrobatics (move full speed): 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (16) + 7 = 23
Acrobatics (long jump): 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (9) + 7 = 16

The large Shoanti man clambers across the tops of bookcases very carefully, using his massive hammer to balance him as he closes with the flying snake thing.

I'm not sure Kalak can attack from the top of this bookcase, but if he can, here goes!

attack: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (18) + 5 = 23
Damage: 2d6 + 7 ⇒ (5, 1) + 7 = 13

Kaseem waits to see what the creature does and if Kalak's attack did anything to it.

Delay.

Yulau's arcane force missiles certainly pummel the creature and aggravate it. It hisses and gnashes its tiny fangs, setting its sights on the sorceress.

Jilla: Yes full speed requires DC5, but given your bonus it's impossible to fail. On the jump: sorry for not specifying that more clearly but I'm going to say the bookshelves make a plainly walkable surface between all of them. So: you can all easily step between them without a real jump.

Jilla moves into position and takes a defensive stance.

As tension rises in the room, Kalak nonchalantly strides atop the bookshelves to stand next to where the creature hovers. He winds up with it, swinging it as powerfully but also simply as an axe at a log he needs to fell, and WHUMP. The flying worm crunches against the hammer and falls to the surface of the water, lifeless. As its body begins to sink, the dancing lights and ghost sound from under the water both cease.

Out of combat! (Lol, welp. That was fast.)

Kalak turns back to look at the group for confirmation that he did the right thing. Also he makes a slightly confused expression that says was that it? The tension drains out of the room.

What do you do?

"Nice hammer!" remarks Jilla, looking at Kalak's earthbreaker with admiration. "Maybe you should hit the big fish upstairs causing all the problems!"

"Excellent! I suspected my spells would not be needed with those timely attacks. Back to searching?"

Perception: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (20) + 9 = 29

There goes my only decent roll for the module.

"What the heck is that thing?"

DC 13 Knowledge (planes): 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (4) + 8 = 12

Rather than admit that she doesn't know, the Professor replies: "Unfortunately, I did not get a good enough look at it to identify it. Onward, everyone. Let us hope we can find more scraps of that dratted scroll. Aside from the threatening koi, that is the only lead we have right now. I suggest we turn right at the next intersection and work our way around the perimeter of the basement in the same direction (counterclockwise) so as to avoid missing anything." She hops down into the water and barely manages to keep her face from expressing the fullness of disgust at the cold, dark, filthy water. It's...a bit distracting.

Perception: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (1) + 7 = 8

Jilla's dolphin soon bids the party goodbye and the party decides to start meandering through the side rooms of the understacks.

"turn right at the next intersection" From where the Professor was standing that might be the Southwest wing? I've updated your positions on the map to reflect that.

The group shuffles through tight hallways, hopping along bookshelves until you reach a door that leads into a Southwestern room. At this point, as the floor has elevated gradually, the water is not nearly as deep as the main section. You're able to hop down and stand up out of the water here.

However, the door to this room is locked.

What do you do?

Anyone have Disable Device?

”Well, I certainly can’t pick a lock,” Yulau whisperes, looking at the group expectantly.

"Hmm . . ." Jilla paces back and forth in front of the door, her hand on her chin, deep in thought. Then suddenly, as if to surprise it, she jump-kicks the door knob!

I'll go ahead and use my Liberty's Edge faction pin which allows me to use Disable Device untrained, and add 1d4 to it. Who knows!

Disable Device: 1d20 + 1 + 1d4 ⇒ (13) + 1 + (2) = 16

Seeing the wild and crazy gnome 'get an idea', Kaseem seeks cover behind something sturdy. Failing that he'll hide behind Kalak.

Jilla starts to pick at the lock and gets a feel for some of the tumblers and other shifting parts. However, on this attempt it eludes her, but not by so much that she can't try again.

Since you failed by 4 or less, you can make another attempt.

"Well that is...certainly an unusual technique, Jilla. Would you care to try again, or yield the floor to someone else?" Professor Masaendri purses her lips with skepticism.

Jilla starts to pick at the lock and gets a feel for some of the tumblers and other shifting parts. However, on this attempt it eludes her, but not by so much that she can't try again.

Since you failed by 4 or less, you can make another attempt.

If she plans to try to Disable Device again, Kaseem will cast Guidance on Jilla the Gorilla.

Jilla shakes her head sadly. "Huh, that usually works! Sorry folks, that was my best jump snap kick, and I totally took that door by surprise! It's locked good."

She can't try Disable Device again, so maybe hammer-man can break it down?

Kalak concentrates a moment, before hefting his earthbreaker and attempting to batter down the door.

attack: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (20) + 5 = 25
damage: 2d6 + 7 ⇒ (2, 6) + 7 = 15

Sometimes it is the best way to be direct. So the spirits of the Quah say. he shrugs, and passes through the door way if he's able to.

The Professor manages to maintain her composure as Kalak begins vandalizing the archives' door. It shocks her, but she explains her acceptance of this tactic to the group. "I suppose it would have been too much for the Master of Scrolls to give us the keys so we could properly investigate. After all, he probably assumes that that pathetic boy wouldn't have been able to bypass any locked doors; therefore we oughtn't need to do so. However, assumptions are known paths to folly. Doors can be replaced; many of these manuscripts and scrolls cannot." And certain powerful things are more likely to be behind locked doors, if I had to guess.

The Professor manages to maintain her composure as Kalak begins vandalizing the archives' door. It shocks her, but she explains her acceptance of this tactic to the group. "I suppose it would have been too much for the Master of Scrolls to give us the keys so we could properly investigate. After all, he probably assumes that that pathetic boy wouldn't have been able to bypass any locked doors; therefore we oughtn't need to do so. However, assumptions are known paths to folly. Doors can be replaced; many of these manuscripts and scrolls cannot." And certain powerful things are more likely to be behind locked doors, if I had to guess.

"How powerful of a magic user must one be to bypass locked doors with a spell? More powerful than an errant intern would have access to?"

Kalak looks around at the group, hefting his earth breaker and signaling that the rest of the group... might want to back up.

He winds up and, swinging it overhead, slams it into to the door successfully breaking through the top half. It's not yet low enough to let water into the next room, which you can now see is dry... for the time being.

There is a good chance that one more hit might completely break the door, letting the waters at your feet rush in. You can also try a simpler, brute-force method to bash it open (leaving you the option of attempting to force it closed again... what's left of it).

What do you do?

Can one of the small-size PCs (ok, me) crawl through the broken top-half of the door while leaving the lower-half intact?

Spellcraft: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (17) + 9 = 26

I second Jilla's question. Maybe medium-sized folks could fit through too, with some restrained smashing of the edges so we don't get splinters in our behinds?

Or maybe we could reach through the hole and unlock it from the inside?