PFS1e 1-47 - The Darkest Vengeance [Gameday XI] (KS) (Inactive)

Game Master phaeton_nz

People if you have no way of dealing with a swarm then please grab an alchemist fire or acid flask.

Kolris makes this stuff in his spare time; not needed here. Spread them out to others.

Kolris too shakes his head in sadness for Gery. "Why, Gery? Some people just can't help staring at the sun...." Voluntarily accepting blindness; that's impressive roleplay if you have a reason for it. ;)

Blinded: The creature cannot see. It takes a –2 penalty to Armor Class, loses its Dexterity bonus to AC (if any), and takes a –4 penalty on most Strength- and Dexterity-based skill checks and on opposed Perception skill checks. All checks and activities that rely on vision (such as reading and Perception checks based on sight) automatically fail. All opponents are considered to have total concealment (50% miss chance) against the blinded character. Blind creatures must make a DC 10 Acrobatics skill check to move faster than half speed. Creatures that fail this check fall prone. Characters who remain blinded for a long time grow accustomed to these drawbacks and can overcome some of them.

That's real hardship there, especially the half-speed restriction. I agree Gery isn't completely disabled, but this will be tough! It's also a condition that gets recorded on the Chronicle sheet; if the scenario doesn't have rules for having it wear off--or give us a remove blindness spell along the way--it will persist if Gery doesn't pay to have the spell cast.

Let me get this straight. You've basically looted the workroom, left the blinding light on, and closed the secret door before heading back upstairs. Did anyone search the library on the way out?

If you did, I will assume that you also closed and sealed the entrance into the basement as well.

I never went in...but if I borrow those goggles I can check it out...if thats cool with the others..

"We don't need to go back upstairs, Rogarch. Let's just close the door and do our reading here."

Fair point, GM

The library is where the Dark Creepers and the secret door are. I did not realize it before, either.

"Do you need me upstairs? I would like to check the library if there is anything of interest here."

There's a filing log of all the volumes in the library next to the relief carving with the snakes. As he's a cleric with the knowledge domain, I don't know how he missed that... Baldrum will begin his search there, but eventually walk around the library with detect magic on, too.

After closing the secret door against the blinding light Rogarch nods to Kolris.

"We can do the reading down here if you like. With the secret door closed there is no danger to anyone's vision."

"Sure, Baldrum go check out the library. We will all stay together down here."

Rogarch will look over the ledger and information about the dark folk while the others check out the rest of the library.

@Carlin/Baldrum - The library is in B3. With the secret door closed you do not need special goggles to protect your eyes. :)

With the light back at a reasonable level Helping Hand pops out of his resting spot. He hops on to Rogarch's shoulder and keeps a watch.

Searching the library leads to the discovery of a Scroll of Tongues and a Scroll of Secret Page.

And that's when the entire library is plunged into Darkness.

Initiatives:
Carlin: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (6) + 6 = 12
Rogarch: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (15) + 13 = 28
Baldrum: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (19) + 2 = 21
Anastasia: 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (9) - 1 = 8
Gery Thylley: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (3) + 3 = 6
Kolris: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (2) + 4 = 6

red: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (20) + 9 = 29
green: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (13) + 9 = 22

Red attempts to dodge past Rogarch to get at Anastasia. If he fails to get past, Rograch gets attacked instead.
acrobatics: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (7) + 9 = 16
stab: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (16) + 7 = 23 piercing+sneak: 1d3 + 1 + 1d6 ⇒ (3) + 1 + (5) = 9
If that hits, whoever gets it make a Fort save please.

Rogarch is up.

I have to assume that you are where your tokens are

@phaeton_nz - My character icon was next to Gery and was moved by someone else. Should I move her back? Also my character has Uncanny Dodge and is always armed with a spiked gauntlet so she would get an attack of opportunity if red tried to pass her assuming she could see and was standing near Anastasia. Can characters with Darkvision see in this darkness (Gery has an active light source as he activated his wayfinder before)?

Yes I'll let you do that. I also moved the others into the library as well. Red's intent is to get at the most magical person which I believe is Carlin but Anastasia will do. It is magical Darkness

Rogarch and Helping Hand can see perfectly well in the darkness. Helping Hand taps his mistress for luck (Guidance). The Bloodrager's form seems to blur to anyone that can see in the darkness as her arcane bloodrage takes hold. Rogarch draws forth her blade from its sheath in both hands and it explodes with magical power as the warrior steps forward and attempts to carve green in two.

Attack vs Flatfooted

Attack,Rage,+3 sword (vigor),Power Attack: 1d20 + 8 + 2 + 3 - 2 ⇒ (4) + 8 + 2 + 3 - 2 = 15

Damage,Rage,+3 sword(vigor),Power Attack: 2d6 + 6 + 3 + 3 + 6 ⇒ (2, 6) + 6 + 3 + 3 + 6 = 26

Arcane Bloodrage: Blur effect (20% miss chance) is in effect.

And that takes Green completely out.

This means everyone else is up.

If Rogarch can see perfectly well in the darkness then Baldrum can see, too, so...

The monk concentrates for a split second to focus his ki, then explodes into movement. spending a ki point to increase his base speed by 20 ft to 40 ft.

He draws his sansetsukon while tumbling through friend and foe (the last 2 squares at half speed) to get behind the enemy who attacked Anastasia.

Acrobatics to avoid AoO, Unorthodox Strategy: 1d20 + 6 + 2 ⇒ (18) + 6 + 2 = 26
(DC for moving through an opponent's square = 5 + opponent’s CMD)

Then he swings his weapon at the attacker.

MW cold iron Sansetsukon: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (14) + 5 = 19
Bludgeoning: 1d10 + 4 ⇒ (8) + 4 = 12

"Why are you attacking us?!"

Iron Within Dwarves with this racial trait gain 1 ki point. If the dwarf gains ki points from a different source, this ki point is added to that pool. In addition to any other ways in which the dwarf can use ki, the dwarf can expend the ki point as a swift action to either gain a +2 dodge bonus to AC for 1 round or increase her base speed by 20 feet for 1 round. The bonus ki point does not allow the dwarf to make a ki strike unless she has another ability that allows her to do so, such as the ki pool from the monk class. Like other ki points, this ki point is replenished each morning after 8 hours of rest or meditation.
This replaces defensive training and hatred.

Unfortunately Gery can do little to contribute to the fight but it looks like you have things well in hand :)

Gery waits outside the library as he can do nothing to help search through the notes, and when he hears the sounds of combat break out he whips out his rapier and tries to pinpoint the sounds of the enemy.

Perception, Blind: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (16) + 4 = 20

Anastasia goes into total defense.

“What is happening?!?“ she asks panicking.

Carlin takes a step back and launches a pair of magical darts at the creature.

5 ft step back and Magic missile...she has darkvision

MM: 2d4 + 2 + 1 ⇒ (4, 4) + 2 + 1 = 11

Stay where you're at...I'll come find you...I can see...Baldrum, you got this handled?

Kolris curses when the darkness falls, and makes a mental note that he owes Anastasia an apology.

He grunts when he feels someone back into him. "Occupied!" he blurts with another curse at the darkness.

Carlin, unfortunately, that 5' step you took puts you in Kolris' square; I moved you back.

Perception, heightened awareness, whispers of evil: 1d20 + 13 + 2 + 1 ⇒ (14) + 13 + 2 + 1 = 30

He quiets himself briefly, listening intently. All he can tell is that there is too much happening between him and their target for him to do anything, so he retreats, looking for light.

Okay, clearing space for you now, Carlin.

@Anastasia - To answer your character's question you were hit by a Dark Creeper earlier in the turn for 9 points of damage and your character now needs to make a Fort save.

I think that we are out of combat now but I am waiting on the GM for the all clear.

fort save : 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (12) + 5 = 17

Anastasia heals herself!

lay on hands : 1d6 + 2 ⇒ (6) + 2 = 8

No you're not as Red is still up - badby wounded but still up - and it's his turn. However, there are still some things to sort out

First off, Carlin - How do you get an extra +1 on magic missile damage?

Second, I forgot the Death Throes ability that Dark Creepers have when they die. When a dark creeper is slain, its body combusts in a flash of bright white light, leaving its gear in a heap on the ground. All creatures within a 10-foot burst must make a Fortitude save or be blinded for 1d6 rounds. So Rogarch needs to make a save.

((Red -23)) Anastasia makes the save so she is not poisoned by the dark paste on the dagger. The creature, badly hurt, attempts to flee. AOO's can be taken.

havoc of the Society trait...

AoO Unarmed Strike: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (15) + 4 = 19
Bludgeoning non-lethal: 1d6 + 3 ⇒ (5) + 3 = 8
Monks can deal nonlethal damage with their Unarmed Strikes without penalty.

Baldrum attempts to knock out the fleeing creature with a kick to the head.

"Not so fast!"

Rogarch still in her rage attempts to resist the bright light.

Fort Save,Guidance: 1d20 + 11 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 11 + 1 = 14

Helping Hand puts his claws in front of his eyes in an attempt to not be blinded.

Fort save: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (14) + 4 = 18

Rogarch gets temporary blinded and Baldrum knocks out the Dark Creeper. You are out of combat.

Havoc of the Society trait? Never seen that one before. Where does it come from?

Rogarch falls out of rage and sheathes her sword. Once she regains her sight she examines the bodies and gear of the Dark Creepers.

"I guess our instincts were right about those people after all. We should learn what we can and then go below."

"Gery are you going to come or stay behind or do you want us to wait for you while you find a Cleric to heal your condition?"

I'm not leaving him behind defenseless...we take him with us...I'll be his guide... Carlin volunteers.

Just hold my hand.. if you get frisky, your eyes will be the last thing you should worry about... she says with a smile and a chuckle.

”Can someone please turn the light on?! It’s quite dark in here!!“ she says.

Was anyone hurt? I can provide healing but not cure blindness!!!

The Darkness dissipates when the Dark Creepers are dead or unconscious.

Anastasia looks at the dead creatures and is clearly shocked.

“Do you these creatures also killed our pathfinder companions???“

“Well, we can find out by questioning this one. It's not dead, just unconscious - I just knocked it out.“

I'm not leaving him behind defenseless...we take him with us...I'll be his guide... Carlin volunteers.

Just hold my hand.. if you get frisky, your eyes will be the last thing you should worry about... she says with a smile and a chuckle.

"If it is all the same I would like to see this to the bitter end. Thank you Carlin for helping me out." Gery replies gratefully.

Oh well, maybe next time, He thinks wryly to himself.

Rogarch wonders why the halfling would rather stumble around blind and be of no use to anyone rather than seek help to remove this condition.

"I am sure that we can wait for you to get healed up Gery before continuing on."

Gery is going to have to clear up the blindness condition anyways so he might as well do it now. We are not on a strict time-line in game.

"I agree with you Rogarch, I am of little use to you as I am now." Gery agrees, "Though it would take some time to find a healer for me, I think Carla and myself can handle this while the rest of you keep watch over the Lodge."

Gery would gladly remove the Blindness immediately (and he does have the PP to do so) but I was under the impression it would take a day or so to find a caster. If there is no rush here then yes Gery would do it now.

Rogarch nods in agreement.

This sounds like a plan to move forward unless anyone objects.

No objection here. If we have the in-game time, it makes perfect sense.

Kolris (of course) rolls his eyes and grumbles at the delay, but he doesn't go so far as to block the consensus; he begrudgingly agrees that it's all-around smarter tactically.

He gratefully allows the discussion to distract him from saying anything to Anastasia about the dark creepers at all.

"Hey, if you're going out, maybe you should do some shopping. A scroll of daylight--in case we encounter more darkness--that's not too expensive; in fact, I know a guy who can get us a deal. I think I'd also like a scroll of darkvision for me, personally."

A scroll of darkvision is 150 gp. Kolris has a boon to purchase a scroll of daylight at 75% of its listed price; that takes 375 gp down to 281.25 gp. He's only sitting on 230 gp in personal funds though, so he can only buy the darkvision for himself. If we split the daylight scroll 6 ways, that's 46.875 each. Kolris can afford that share, and then he can buy it back from everyone at the end of the scenario with scenario funds if we don't end up using it. (It's his boon to make the purchase, so I'd almost say it's a requirement that he be the one to keep it at the end of the scenario.)

After Gery and Carlin leave to find healing and go shopping, Kolris returns the group to the task at hand. "We might as well start questioning the dark creeper. There was a scroll of tongues in the library, so we can have a proper conversation now. Who best to use the scroll and take the lead?"

@GM, if we cast tongues on one person, would anybody else be able to aid their Diplomacy/Intimidate checks? (i.e. could body language be the basis of an aid check? Calming hands, palms open in reassurance for Diplomacy, looming into personal space for Intimidate?)

And which route should we go? Kolris has Diplomacy +9 (he uses Int on Diplo checks to persuade others) and Intimidate +6; he can use Inspiration to boost the roll +1d6 in either case.

Carlin looks to have a good Intimidate, so we may want to postpone questioning until she's back if we go that route, especially if we can aid the tongues user.

We found treasure already including gold, platinum and gems. I assume you can take what you need to buy your scroll (if you do not have enough funds on hand) and deduct what you take from your gold earned at the end of the adventure.

"We should probably keep that scroll of Tongues if we need to discuss something more important with their leadership. We can always question him when we get back if that is not the case."

We found treasure already including gold, platinum and gems. I assume you can take what you need to buy your scroll (if you do not have enough funds on hand) and deduct what you take from your gold earned at the end of the adventure.

If Kolris can make purchases now with scenario funds, he'll just purchase both scrolls now for full price; there are better things on that chronicle sheet to use the discount on. :)

Full price would be 150 (darkvision) + 375 (daylight) + 40 (scribing) = 565 gp for Kolris' purchases.

No objection here, either.

"Kolris, one question: How are you going to read the scroll of daylight if we encounter more darkness? Or do you intend to give it to Carlin (or me) before we continue here?"

For purchases we can use the treasure (350gp, and 600gp in opals) we just found, right?
Also, we could cast tongues on the creature, then it would understand everone. ;-)

Edit: Ninja'd. Took me too long to write this post on my phone...

"It would make the most sense for people that cannot see in the dark naturally to enchant themselves (with a scroll of Darkvision) at the opportune time."

The door in the basement could lead to an immediate combat, an hour trek or even be days underground.

An oil of Daylight is much better than a scroll (it can actually be used in an area of Deeper Darkness when you cannot see) but is pricey. It can also be purchased for 2 PP if someone is so inclined.

"Of course people are free to do what they like but this seems to me to be the most prudent course of action."

There might be party treasure that has accumulated but remember that any purchase that your character makes on this adventure will be an individual (not a group) purchase. Also as the party treasure is limited you should consult with other players that wish to use it and the GM of course before dipping into it.

The city of Karcau, where the Lodge is located, (pronounced KAHR-cow) is the only major population center in the land of Sinaria in Ustalav. It is renowned as a shining light of civilisation in a region of dark, dreary wilderness. The city is most famous for the Karcau Opera and has a reputation as a place that both produces musical genius and fosters it, it is this reputation that has lead to Karcau's nickname of the Village of Voices. Karcau is nestled on the banks of Lake Prophyria and its waters cut their way through the city, criss-crossing it in various canals.

So it is fairly easy to find healing for Gery and make what purchases you want - as long as you have the funds/prestige to do so. Please ensure such purchases are noted on your Chronicles when you get them.

And for those who have the skills to do so, by examining the scene, you can deduce that the Lodge was attacked by a force from below. And, as an errata, that wasn't actually a Dark Creeper corpse under the organ seat, just a pile of rags that had been left after the souldoll killed it.

So, once you are back together, what now?

i can cast daylight as a SLA once a day....

Now that the band is back together...let me try to see what our friend here knows...assuming we're using the scroll to let it understand us...

Look we want some answers...then we'll see about getting you back to where ever it is you're from...sound good?

diplomacy: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (10) + 12 = 22
if you think intimidate is more applicable, it's +8

@phaeton_nz - Are we into the next day or will it be the same day before Gery is cured and the purchases are made? Also do the Dark Creepers that we defeated have any gear worth taking?

Carlin's ability is pretty clutch here making the purchase of the Daylight scroll less necessary.

Rogarch has already tied up the prisoner. She will use her own twine if necessary but preferably she can find some rope in the lodge instead.

"Carlin, perhaps we should wait on using the scroll on him. He probably does not know much and is unlikely to want to talk anyways. Like I said before the people that sent him are the people that we will want to talk to and that scroll gives us a way to make that happen."

Up to you guys for when you resume your explorations. I suspect it's something like one in the afternoon at the moment in game - although if we want to finish by the end of Gameday, we should get on to it.

that's cool...my action was dependent on if we used the scroll on him...

"I think Rogarch is right. He most likely knows little than can help us find Skeldon." Gery nods, thankful to be able to see what actually happened. "I think we need to head down there in order to find the answers we seek."

Rogarch adjusts her equipment verifying that everything is in the right place. She then packs up some supplies from the stocked pantry and even fills some empty wine bottles (with corks) with fresh water before she is ready to depart.

Say two days worth of food and water on the house :).

"If everyone is ready. We should get on with it."

@phaeton_nz - Unless it is going to slow down the game unnecessarily I would like to continue on the next morning. There is no reason not to go in at full strength.

I like the idea of interrogating the creature and would like to go that route before we continue on the next day. It's just 25gp to do it today.

"Two castings of Comprehend Languages should also do the trick, and much cheaper, too. We just cast one spell on the creature and the other on Carlin. I can cast one today and I will go buy me a scroll."

Edit: Scratch that. Sadly, it doesn’t work.

@phaeton_nz - Unless it is going to slow down the game unnecessarily I would like to continue on the next morning. There is no reason not to go in at full strength.

I second that.

Comprehend Languages is a personal range spell so that will not work. :)

Rogarch simply smiles knowing that the dwarf will realise the flaw in his reasoning once his exuberance subsides.

Darn it! I should have paid more attention in my Spellcraft classes! ;-)