GM Frost's B13 The Blackwood Abundance (Inactive)

Game Master Frozen Frost

Urwal is looking for you to collect mushrooms in a cavern.

The adventure begins as the PCs are exploring the harbor town of Cassomir. Their search for work leads them to a bounty board near the docks, where the following notice is pinned to a bounty board.

“Attention! The Verdant Wheel seeks adventurers for paid work in the Blackwood Swamp. The ideal candidate is good in a tight place, takes initiative, and keeps detailed notes. Ask for Urwal at the Pathfinder encampment.”

The Pathfinder Society has set up an extensive camp in the Blackwood Swamp. A collection of tents and supply crates fills a relatively dry and elevated patch of ground near a crumbling stone ruin. After a short wait, one of the crates opens and an iruxi clambers out. “Ah, new initiates, welcome! Come, come, much to be done, best not to delay. You’re here because of the poster, yes? Yes! Excellent.

“The task I have for you is simple. Beneath these ruins are caverns, filled with the most beautiful varieties of mushroom I’ve seen since I was in the Mwangi Jungle. Stunning specimens, and all completely in the wrong place. None of them belong here!

“I want you all to head into the caverns and collect samples of each species, then bring them back to us. We’re fairly certain they’re harmless, and the caverns are probably uninhabited, but if you do encounter anything, be sure to put together a full report afterward. Once I’ve got those samples, we’ll get you paid and off to your next mission!”

”Oh, I forgot to mention, Urwal is the name, leader of the Verdant Wheel, you know, one of the factions of Pathfinder Society. What are your names?”

You begin introducing yourselves here.

A slightly pale gnome looks around slightly worriedly, checking out the others at the bounty board.

"Am I late?" it asks having headed up to the pathfinder encampment looking for Urwal.

"I'm... ahh.. Slipp." says the small one by way of introduction.

"So... you want us to ... ahh... collect mushrooms?"

A small stuffed rabbit hops into the tent. He carries a rather large crossbow in one hand with a quiver of arrows on his back. He lays his pack down in a corner of the tent and looks around curiously, his nose twitching as he takes in the scents of the tent.

"Exthcuseth me, but isth thith the tent of Urwal of the Pathfinders? I thaw the thign outthide about collecting muthroomth. I'm Bun Helthing"

His overlapping incisors give him a pronounced lisp as he speaks.

Banterknell waits until at least 4 others are present so that he can make a dramatic entrance with a flourish and a flip.

""Banterknell, at your service. Adventurer par excellence and rescuer of many a fair maiden. Your source of entertainment and inspiration for this mission, unless you would prefer mushrooms."

Banteknell is dressed up in wildly colorful clothing, perhaps to compensate for a very slight bleaching that has begun in his hair. His mouth is stretched into a wild grin, perhaps a bit too wide. He eyes show a little desperation and it seems like he may be trying too hard to be flamboyant and exciting.

Notable for a number of unusual features, which include unnaturally bright red hair, elaborate tattoos over much of his skin, and eyes with black sclera and autumn orange irises, Zisiro is easy to identify as something different. "I'm Zisiro," he says with a smile and raises himself up on the balls of his feet. "We're happy to be of service!"

He looks at his left shoulder and harshly whispers, "Yes. We. Are."

He looks back to Urwal. "Is there a list of the ones you want? Or any we find will do?"

A wiry man with a thin, gaunt face approaches. He wears a black cloak with the hood pulled up over his head, but still his wiry long black hair falls out of the front in an unkempt mess. A hefty bastard sword is slung over his back along with a longbow.

After his Pathfinder party finds the bounty board, the ranger muses about his possible sources of desired danger.

Collect mushrooms?! Are any of them alive or monstrous? If not, what's the point? This is what I get for working in groups. Still, numbers repel risk.

As the group walks from the docks to the Pathfinder camp, Nikma looks around at the group incredulously.

A stuff animal... a jester... a worried sorcerer. How long have all of you been Society agents? He mutters this softly so the question may not even reach all of those around him.

Nikma is not very good at hiding his doubts or being diplomatic with others.

----------------

Nikma grimaces at the Iruxi as it bounces about. Are you... some kind of alchemist with a mushroom fixation? Anyway, I'm Nikma, a ranger of the Horizon Hunters. Usually I hunt and catalog monsters, not mushrooms. With any luck one of these will spring to life! They shouldn't be here, after all!

The ranger's enthusiasm has a hint of grim seriousness.

"Well... I'm kind of still a proto-agent" admits Slipp.

They seem rather vacant, their expression miles away. "But mushrooms... they could be interesting. I hear some have bright colours."

As they talk, faint streaks of colour start to play over palid cheeks. Slipp blinks, drawing themself back to the conversation and looking around almost in surprise.

A flute appears in their hands, and eyes look down at it, almost in surprise. Walking over toward Banterknell they offers a mile and a tune

perform: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (8) + 7 = 15

A stout dwarf with a long blonde braided beard enters the camp. He wears well-worn hide armor, a stone Warhammer at his belt, and a weld-made steel shield on his back. He seems jovial, boastful, and willing to engage in friendly competitions of strength, endurance, or general athleticism.

As the group reads the posting he chuckles to himself. "Well, I'm good in tight places and generally take the lead in expeditions but I can't say I take detailed notes. Do any of you?"

He listens politely to the iruxi but a slight frown crosses his face a a few points in the conversation.

"Urgoth, Urgoth Earthbreaker is the name. Ex bounty hunter, not botanist. My last mission ran into some mushrooms. They were unpleasant to say the least. Normally most kinds of mushrooms are fine assuming you don't try eating them."

Hmm, I guess technically I am too. I'm still getting used to all the varied and non-obvious talents of Pathfinder agents. I guess from my own line of work and interests I just expect folk to be ready to soak up a lot of violence...!

He smiles and bobs his head to the flute playing when it starts.

Urwal turns to Slipp, ”Yes, to collect mushrooms. I suppose you are interested to do it?” He then finds a stuffed bunny asking him too, but he is having a hard time understanding the bunny. ”Uhmm, I believe you are here too for the mushrooms. And what is your name again?” But before he can know the answer, Banterknell makes a wonderful entrance in in the midst of them. ”Well, of course I prefer mushrooms, but your entertainment is no less needed with the group.”

The presence of Zisiro approaching catches his attention as well. ”It is good to hear that!” he says enthusiastically, not noticing the lie in Zisiru's interest of the mission at hand. ”Well,” he continues, ”actually, we have no idea what exactly the mushrooms are, but we know what they look like. One species is a brilliant blue, like the cloudless sky at noon. Another is red, the color of a ripe tomato, with spots like a dandelion, and the last is a verdant green, like the grass at the Open Road Lodge.”

His attention then turns to Nikma. With his black cloak, he would have thought he may come from the caverns where the mushrooms they will be collecting from. Urwal answers his question after his introduction. ”Well, those yet-to-be-known mushrooms picqued my interest. That's why you are here, to look about it for me.” he says assuringly.

He then listens to Urgoth and Nikma, giving comments about the dangers of encountering mushrooms and all. ”I just want you to finfs mushrooms, colelct them and take notes about them. That's it. Don't worry, I doubt there would be something that eats living beings there. Hehe.”

”So are you all ready” he asks everyone.

Banterknell springs up from his seat and exclaims.

"Quite new. Quite exciting. I was told there would be adventure, new things to see, new deeds to do. New, new, new!"

Pulling out a flute of his own he waves it at the other gnome and joins him in a performance and finds the two of them well matched.

perform: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (9) + 7 = 16

The stuffed rabbit sighs at the tall reptilian creature. "Bun Helthing ith my name. I'm altho interethted in collecting mushrooms."

"Um. I'm not sure how to avoid them, but sometimes breathing in mushroom spores is harmful to people," Zisiro adds.

He looks over his shoulder and hurriedly whispers, "No! That would not be funny."

The tattooed man clears his throat as he turns back and asks, "Being in enclosed spaces probably makes that a real risk. Do you take antitoxins or antiplagues to protect yourself from mushroom spoors?"

"Spores eh? Well, I guess we could wear cloths over our faces."
He looks at the others. "Like bandits!"

"Like bandits," Banterknell reiterates and drapes a colorful kerchief over his mouth and waggles his eyebrows.

"Oh, Bun Helthing." the iruxi repeats what the stuffed bunny said. urwal then looks over Zisiro, as if there is somebody behind, but there is actually none. He just shrugs about it and answers his question. "Well, mushroom spores could either cause poison or disease. You would not know unless you encounter an unknown one. Better be ready perhaps?" he said. "Do you have any questions? If none, I am sending you off to the caverns."

Urgoth observes the group a little more closely and begins to get a bit worried about their mental health or their abilities to perform the take at hand.

Urgoth opens his mouth to say something but decides against it. He thinks to himself, "Eh, it'll probably be fine, we're just cataloging mushrooms."

He checks over his equipment. "You all ready to go then? Which way is it?"

"Very well," Zisiro says, brows furrowed. His countenance softens soon enough, and he rummages through the satchel at his side. "I'll just drink this once we reach the caves."

"Tho, are we heading to the cave then?"

Bun has darkvision and an extreme dislike for fire (obviously)

If you have last minute purchase, do so. Anyone without darkvision must state how they will address the darkness of the cavern.

---

"Follow me, ye all."

Everyone follows Urwal. After a 15-minute trek through the swamp, the PCs arrive at the entrance to the caverns: a large, jagged crack in a hillside. The cramped tunnels throughout this cavern are 10 feet high, and the air is cold enough for the PCs to see their breath in front of them. Moisture collects on any walls bare of mushrooms or lichen, and the darkness makes the space feel more confined than it is. The large mushrooms throughout these caverns are pale and spongy to the touch.

The mushrooms growths are difficult terrain and provide standard cover.

When you enter the caverns...

HERE is the map of the mushroom-filled cavern.

The ranger is dubious on Urwal's lack of concern about possible danger in the cavern.

Well, we're the professionals. We'll just have to let him know what we find and what he shouldn't assume.

------------------

Nikma, who does not possess any heightened vision, must light a torch as they enter the cavern.

Soon after, he begins to smell something sickly sweet that seems to come from the East, even over the immediate smell of his burning torch.

He points in that direction and describes the smell to the party.

Bun Helsing backs away from Nikma, being vulnerable to fire. "Pleath do not thtay tho clothe to me. Fire and I are not the betht of friendths."

"I can see in darkness without any difficulty" volunteers Slipp, as they put away their flute.

"But if you can't, well, the first-world is bathed in light. I can breach the barriers and let is slip through if you wish."
-=-=-=-=
After entering the cave, Slipp looks around before pointing south. "There is some light down there... that may also be worth investigating.."

"No dark vision, but given a little light I can see just fine, I brought a lantern so I'm good."

BK breaks out his hooded lantern as they enter, noticing an odd glow from the south, but is distracted by the smell. Having always been able to pick things out by their smells he sniffs the air greedily trying to figure out what it might be.

And yes, Banterknell gets to notice the sickly sweet smell too, thanks to his keen sense of smell.

Decide as a group which way to go first. If I see a majority, then we will proceed.

"If you can make magic light, we should use that so the rabbit doesn't worry," Zisiro suggests. "I smell whatever it is that way, too."

Urgoth leads the way, his darkvision making it easy and comfortable for him to be underground. He holds his shield up and hammer at his belt to leave a free hand. Exploration Activity: Defend

"Alright, lets head down east then."

Urgoth is secretly pleased that the group appears to have calmed down its initial antics and is taking the task a little more seriously.

"Everyone keep your eyes peeled. The underground is an unpredictable place."

Exploration Activity: Scout

Bun Helsing sticks to the shadows, his ability to see in the dark making the passages seem bright as day.

Slipp nods to Zisiro-the-spirit-eater.

They make an exaggerated gesture as if parting a curtain and then suddenly a small light appears on Bun's shortsword.

Slipp then tags along with the group, keeping their eyes open.

You can position yourselves on the Map in Slide 4.

As the dwarf champion takes the lead, he notices somebody is lying on the ground, unconcious and surrounded by what looks like a cloud of spores that fills the air! See Map. Will you be rescuing the unconcious? If yes, who will do it?

Anyone attempting to rescue can hold their breath for 5 + CON modifier rounds, and the rescuer can only move 5 ft (1 square) per round while dragging another creature. Beyond the number of rounds one can hold the breath, he gets to inhale the spores in which you need to roll a Fortitude saving throw against the soporific effects.

Unless someone stops him, Urgoth will immediately spring into action. Glancing sideways he says, Nikma, watch my back would ya?" He takes a deep breath before moving into the area to try and drag the unconscious someone out of the spores.

CON +2, so 7 rounds minimum, if I count right he should be able to reach the person and drag them out in 6 rounds?

One round to Stride, Interact to Grab, and five rounds to drag the unconcious creature.

Urgoth drops whatever he is holding, takes a deep breath and begins to go inside the spore cloud. He then drags the creature out of the cloud. Thankfully, he has enough air to hold. After a minute, the creature regains conciousness as she is now breathing fresh air.

"Wha... what happened to me?! Am I... dead?" she finds herself with the party, safe from the spore cloud. "Who are you? Are you here to take me to... No..." her face shows some signs of fear, but she is not moving form her position.

Arguing with the spirit within, Zisiro is too slow to lend aid. "Of course we must help--."

Noticing that the dwarven warrior has taken the initiative and broken into the hazy cloud of spores, Zisiro approaches in order to assist but it proves unnecessary. He looks over his shoulder and whispers, "I have told you dozens of times: intention matters as well as results."

Once the reptilian appearing humanoid wakes, "We are hirelings here to collect mushroom samples for an iruxi named Urwal. My name is Zisiro. Are you one of the Pathfinders?"

Banterknell is a bit flighty, first investigating a curious looking mushroom, then starting forward as the rescue begins, then falling back s he realizes he would be no help, then pulling out his flute and beginning a performance just in case there is trouble and Urgoth needs a little inspiration, then clapping his hands with glee as the rescue is successful.

"How exciting!" He exclaims, though the whole process was anything but, more to convince himself it was something worth seeing to stave off the forthcoming bleaching he seems to be facing.

Slipp too seems to find the whole underground quite engrossing. Colour lightens their cheeks as the figure becomes conscious.

"Who are you?"they call out.

"And how did you get here?"

"Pathfinders? No. I am from the Tskikha enclave, a community of iruxis living nearby. I am one of them. My name is Kallia. I was out foraging, and I entered the caverns looking for new and exciting flavors to try, thus I look for the mushrooms here. I didn't think the one I was picking was poisonous. Thankfully, you just came in time when I was unconcious. Thank you for saving me." she says shyly. "Anyway, are you looking for mushrooms too? I didn’t explore much of the cavern but if you want, I'm happy to help you. What do you think?" she says while trying to stand, groaning in small body pain due to falling when she became unconcious.

Her help can grant +1 circumstance bonus to the PCs’ skill checks to harvest mushrooms.

Nikma holds up his sword demonstratively. You've got it Urgoth. Covered!

--------------------
Hello young lady. We are here to collect mushroom samples and assess the situation. Mostly the mushrooms though.

As she tells her story, Nikma pokes at a couple of nearby mushrooms, hoping that one of them will push back.

We would be happy to have you along with us! But... why do you so readily wade into further danger?

Is it a nature check to harvest the mushrooms?

Urgoth bows his head politely as the iruxi thanks him. "Thank nothing of it."

"We'd be glad for your help. Are you sure you're alright?"

As if this were all just a play, a performance with background music, BK starts up a soothing tune, which grows theatrically ominous when Kallia mentions the poisonous mushroom, then subsides back into peaceful twittering.

”Yes, I am alright now. Thank you. There, you can get mushrooms. Just be careful on removing them, if too disturbed, it will release dangerous spores.”

Roll a DC 15 Nature check to see if you can carefully obtain mushrooms here without much disturbance. If you fail, you must roll a DC 13 Fortitude save or take the effect of saporific spores:

Make use of the +1 circumstance bonus to your skill checks from Kallia. You have three attempts unless you critically fail, taking the above effects and destroying the mushrooms in the area.

"I will attempt to gather the mushrooms that Urwal wants." Taking a deep breath, the small rabbit hops over to a small bed of mushrooms and begins harvesting.

Nature: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (13) + 6 = 19

"Here we go. That was eathy.

BK just plays. He would eat a couple of them, just for the experience, but he really has no idea which might be poisonous and dying is not on his bucket list. In fact, now that he thinks about it, dying is anathema to a bucket list.

With Bun taking the lead, Slipp just sticks back, keeping a careful eye on the surrounding mushrooms.

"I'm surprised there is nothing here that eats them..." they say.

Bun Helsing carefully extracts some mushrooms from its source, gathering enough quantity for Urwal. After that you all proceed to the area where some of you find something that is glowing. As you get to approach, you notice that the light from the torch of Nikma causes the affected glowing mushrooms to shrink in on themselves (making it harder to get from the looks of it) and stops giving off light. What do you do?

BK leaves a light spell going at a comfortable distance, and by that I mean comfortable for the mushrooms. Just to see, he tries using a prestidigitation spell to try to pluck a random mushroom.

"It may be the heat from the fire," Zisiro suggests. "Like Bun, they withdraw from the flame. If we stay back with the torch and lantern, Banterknell can provide Nikma with light."