Having made several recent forays into a set of unearthed ruins in the volcanic region of Droskar’s Crag, the Pathfinder Society has uncovered what could be an access point to the lost dwarven city of Raseri Kanton. Pathfinder agents from across Golarion have come to support the Society’s latest large-scale endeavor. However, the Aspis Consortium have also begun exploring the ruins, so it’s a race to see who can reach Raseri Kanton first!
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"Surely this summons must as yet initiate within the verysame locale!" logic drives the thought, and thought drives high-heeled boots to make contact in Olfden at the Drunken Dragon Inn.
No less than red-nosed ladies swooned as the very same air that had touched Don Jurri, Modern Knight gently blew their direction in the wake of his confident stride straight to the front of the Drunken Dragon’s bar line, side-stepping the commonly-shapen regulars with a swift and arrogant cut, declaring through action that those below his station ought be served afterwards, his own “apology” a stunning blow as the soft yet firm handsome lines of his face disarmed even the most ordinarily self-confident of men as well as women, elderly as well as mature, creatures of all races - the raw charisma bringing a nearby whining babe to soothment, a young ruffian to part the crowd on his behalf, the bartender to rush hand-over-foot to render service as quickly as possible, and all the semi-fashionable standing around in "oohs" and "aahs" relishing the vibrant and bold draping of couture finery bedecked our dashing hero’s lithe and elegant frame!
Or rather.
Such is the story our self-befuddling hero told in his head, to himself, like the old books of yore read to him in his youth: yes, the hero enters, and all take notice, draw amazing breath at his splendor, savoring the fleeting moment wringing out their droll lives, this, that, the other...
But what actually happens was as follows: a middle-aged man, certainly wellpast his prime, penniless from once riches, whose out-of-mode garments of past season's fashion bear the soiling of not having been recently washed properly (and faded from wear), walks up to the front of the bar, elbowed several times, and ignored indefinitely, ends up snatching the abandoned mug, half-empty, of an already passed out patron, his imagination ripe with the former fantasy, and loudly declaring, in character:
"This round on me, Don Jurri, Modern Knight!" a gesture which, by din of defeat, is surely lost in the noise of the gathered crowd!
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A strange tree stands in the center of camp, its many limbs twisted, almost as if arms. At its center, its trunk seems to have split and grown around an odd, swirling orb of crystal, dark but for a few flecks of swirling light. The trunk is angled, as if presenting the orb to the sun. A large hammer with a stylized lightning bolt hangs from one of the lower limbs, and someone seems to have hung other miscellaneous bits of adventuring gear upon it in a similar fashion.
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A wet, muscular, and purple-blueish woman donned in full-plate enters the camp. She has long, purple hair, several gills on either side of her neck, and a necklace with a single, eloquent pearl resting around her neck. Strapped to her back she wields a long polearm with a hook at the end, and she has several seashells tied to her bag. Her presence is immediately made known to anyone with a slight sense of smell, as the smell of the sea permeates around her.
Torrent looks around the camp, "Name's Torrent. I've been on hiatus for quite a while, though was called her presumably because I was part of the initial crew to discover the entrance we are to explore. Also, I apologize in advance...Last time the complex dried out my skin and made me smell like baked fish!" she laughs embarrassedly. "It took a long time for my skin to recover, only to be called right back in!"
House GM test send - please ignore.
Dozens of Pathfinders gather at the foot of Droskar’s Crag, a dormant volcano in the Five Kings Mountains. High above your heads tumble Gold Falls, a waterfall that catches the sunlight like a fiery golden spout. The snowmelt cascades down the sheer rock into the valley below like a single thread of lava spouting from a primordial crag. Perhaps the mists of this waterfall call to Torrent.
Here, the Pathfinder Society’s base camp bustles with activity — there is certainly a bar for Don Jurri to daydream at, and plenty of sunlight for Interi. A wagon trundles by and a merchant hangs a trinket in one of their branches. Other businesspeople set up shop. A steady stream of Pathfinders trickles into the camp, and joyful greetings fill the air, together with whispered rumors about the mission ahead. Venture-Captain and Folk Hero Luna Aldred has called everyone here for a major expedition, and if the rumors are to be believed, the secret road to a legendary lost city awaits!
You find yourself being mustered with a group of five fellow agents. It's a perfect time to introduce yourself!
You can purchase common equipment from the Pathfinder Core Rulebook of up to your level.
In addition to equipment, you can purchase spellcasting services to remove negative conditions.
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A half-orc woman with a tricorn hat and too many hatchets at her sides grins widely, showing off long tusks. "Nice to meet you all! I'm Rixette Bragg from the Risen Albatross. When they made Captain Fane a Venture Captain, she gave all of us crew field commissions! Don't worry about this place; I've been here a couple of times before. Say, do any of you play cards?" Rixette's deck has unusually sharp edges.
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...waking up the next morning hungover, passed out around the back of the Drunken Dragon, having fully soiled himself, and not remembering the night's further activities, our chivalric hero, in his mind anyway, stumbles to rise, and, immediately puking onto the ground, having now done so, begins to feel the sun's gentle morning rays coax some spirit back into his mind and body...
Rixette knows that Droskar’s Crag, also known as the Pallid Peak, is a dormant volcano. It erupted nearly 800 years ago in a cataclysm known as the Rending, which toppled the great dwarven empire of Tar Khardurrm. Expeditions into the Pallid Peak have uncovered a wide range of dangers, from vermin to duergars to fiends. Expeditions should be wellstocked and prepared with deal with a variety of different threats.
Don Jurri, though still out of sorts, can corroborate this.
Elbowing his master right into an unguarded and sensitive spot in his ribcage, a shaggy, bushy-eyed halfling nearly coughs up a laugh "Alright you old dead beat - get yer ass up and at'em!"
With practiced leverage, he hoists Don Jurri up from the ground, and braces his slouch while recounting that "Turns out you, uh, were the 'life of the party'! Heh heh..." knowingly stroking his master's ego too in a soft spot "Had yee not bought that rd round, dunno if you'd had to turn in early as you did..." the omission here glaring to the reader, perhaps, glosses right over our Modern Knight's head "Anywho, turns out looking at yer map, we were due at that 5 King's Volcano er whatever half an hour ago - we gotta git!"
And with that, the seafaring hireling escorts his pathfinder master - who he'd seen raised from a babe - dutifully to the correct starting point...
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"Don't worry--?" Torrent begins, eyes widening, "We're only going into a volcano where last time I nearly fell into lava, and oh yeah, let's not forget the lava elementals that tears flaming stones from its body and throws them at foes. My skin gets dry just thinking about it!. But sure, it will be fine. I'll at least be able to get to inspect the waterfall after the mission. "
Torrent then finds a log to sit on and carefully accounts for all of her possessions and double--no, triple-- checks her canteens.
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Mint Butterbutton, his tiny wings a flutter, hops on his cricket legs through the crowd of assembled agents. He carries a yellow apple above his head, nearly twice his size.
"Hup, hup!"
Mint sits himself down at Interi's feet, seemingly oblivious to the fact that they are not actually a tree, and, drawing a knife, immediately sets to work peeling the apple, sending tiny curls of yellow peel spiraling to the ground.
"I've got plenty to share!"
"Oh, I like cards," he says to Rixette. "Shuffling though, that's a whole other challenge."
Today, his face is painted bright blue, because he heard there might be lava inside the volcano. A wooden mask, painted pink, sits atop his head, carved into the visage of a snarling bear.
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Salka finally enters, carrying a massive breastplate in her arms as if it were a crate of finery. She finally places it down and she speaks starts unbuckling straps and attaching wires and tubes into designated holes that seem to carry very little purpose at first glance.
"I can't say I've ever been to a volcano, but that does sounds like the kind of place someone like myself might feel at home! See, I'm a blacksmith by trade, and my family started up a business back home in the Land of the Linnorm Kings. Something like seven years ago, though my older brother came out and joined you Pathfinders and started advertising our wares and business has been booming since. Bought me enough of a budget to finally start building some new prototype armor that I'm sure is going to be flying off the shelves once I'm finished with it."
The young Ulfen woman flashes a smile, and suddenly the metallic sheen of her teeth shines almost painfully bright, indicating her oread lineage.
"As for dry skin, I got some heavy duty skin oils around if you want to borrow some. After all, my skin tends to crack like dirt if I let it dry out too much, myself."
Pathfinders shuffle about and wait for Luna Aldred, the folk hero who saved the nearby town of Olfden from a pack of werewolves 15 years ago, to address the gathering.
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Feeling better upon arrival, Don Jurri's extroversion is nourished back to health.
Trees, fairies, orcs, rock and water people... he considers the team, wondering about his place, coming to the "logical" conclusion that "Leadership: That is what you all need. My name is Master Donatellus Jurrious Orwellious, and this here is my manservant, Xavier" he sweeps his dirty cape under and curtsies, sinking with an unexpected grace onto the 1-inch heels of his muddy black booties - and looking to see Xavier not paying attention, he scolds him "Bow for our guests!" which seems to snap the halfling pirate into it - he tips his hat instead, and not without a tone of mild defiance!
Pulling his torso back up "Well, that done. Perhaps you have heard of me? For as the Times change, so too must the great Mores of Society! I am the Inaugural Modern Knight! Follow me, and learn the ways of Modern Chivalry!" he strides forward bravely, without having yet been briefed, under the casual, and probably incorrect assumption that everyone would simply follow suit!
With a yawn, our hireling hero watches as Don Jurri makes a fool of himself - he smiles knowingly to the rest of the team - then says with feigned seriousness "Perhaps, fearless leader, we should provision ourselves amply first?"
His master seems to capitalize on the idea, as if it were his own "Of course Xavier - were it not so obvious, it wouldn't have to be spoken!" and turning in his tracks, is gently redirected to a more appropriate course.
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Mint, tickled that someone else speaks Druidic, and happy that he may have made a friend, grins up at Interi.
"Plentyn?! All plentyn wneud hyn?!”
Mint picks up his partially peeled apple and presses it overhead.
”Hup hup!”
He then turns his attention to the cards Rixette dealt and without even looking at the says,
“I’ve got a good feeling about this hand!”
As you play cards you hear rumors about the areas you might be exploring.
“Strangely, one of our members heard a voice coming from the lake. When we went to examine it, we found a tunnel at the bottom of the lake. We secured the area but turned back when we found carnivorous fish.”
“At the end of these passageways is a sort of door. A tombstone stretches from floor to ceiling and seals off the next set of halls. It reacts to the touch, but we haven’t found a way to open it yet.”
“We used the rest of our munitions to clear the rubble from these hallways. They seem clear enough now, but we can’t figure out why it was sealed before. We recommend a larger team investigate.”
You discuss amongst yourselves which seems the most enticing…
"Can ye swim, master?" Xavier turns to his charge "Get them fancy boots all muffed, no doubt. Maybe Mister Smee can stitch 'em if and when we get home if so?"
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"As for dry skin, I got some heavy duty skin oils around if you want to borrow some. After all, my skin tends to crack like dirt if I let it dry out too much, myself."
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"Hm, interesting. This has never occurred to me. Normally I just reinvigorate my skin by moistening my skin with water once every 24 hours. I never thought to apply oils....Never in my adventures have I come across someone else with similar problems!"
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"Carnivorous fish just need a good gill hook in the face and they'll leave you alone," Torrent laughs and continues with a hint of excitement, " I'd never pass up the opportunity for a swim!"
Venture-Captain Luna Aldred bangs on her shield to gain the attention of the gathered crowd. As the noise dies down, she points to a piece of stretched canvas with a whittled stick. “When I was first told about the discovery of a ruined outpost under this mountain, I assigned a few agents to explore it.”
On the canvas, charcoal and chalk outline a sprawling underground complex. The map already lists names, discoveries, and potential hazards. However, three highlighted routes lead past the end of the explored segments. Each route is labelled with a name and shaded with a distinctive color: yellow for the Labyrinth, blue for the Sunken Halls, and white for Unsealed Way.
“Their preliminary explorations found extensive ruins, as well as signs that this path will lead us to a find that’s worthy of the Pathfinder Chronicles: the lost city of Raseri Kanton, which has been missing for almost a thousand years! This expedition warrants a large team. I reckon this group is enough, though I won’t turn away any stragglers.” Venture-Captain Aldred chuckles.
Her tone darkens as she continues, “This expedition was set to take months. However, the Aspis Consortium has heard of our plans, and they’ll surely be dispatching their own teams. We need to act quickly before those destructive louts claim the ruins. Move quickly, but not recklessly. Report back regularly. And for all that Aroden left us, don’t die.
“You know what to do. Explore. Report. Cooperate.”
A Pathfinder Society agent makes a note of everyone present and the locations they intend to explore before running through a memorized set of instructions. “Keep in mind that this is a coordinated expedition. If anything strange happens, report it back. If you fully explore an area, report back. If you find additional passageways, report it back. If Venture Captain Aldred gives you instructions or you receive a courier to change locations, follow them immediately. If you ever find yourself in over your heads, retreat and rest. If you’re not sure what to do... I guess you should report that back as well. Best of luck down there.”
You move into the mysterious ruins, traversing through dwarven-made halls, then into stranger, deeper tunnels carved through by magma, and finally back into ancient, worked-stone halls. You're deep below Droskar's Crag. You can feel the weight of the maintain pressing down above…
Faintly glowing algae tints jagged stone walls in green light. Fine silt that clouds the water with every movement covers the bottoms of the chamber, though it settles seconds later. Clearly manufactured steps start at the base of the floor and sink to deeper waters in the flooded room to the east.
The dark water beckons. You'll have to dive in.
The Pathfinder agents couldn't tell just how far the water went before they turned around, but they noted that at least in the first chamber there was a pocket of air at the top. They also noted that the cavern walls under the water were jagged and sharp, but could be climbed.
Don Jurri, Modern Knight heard a tavern patron at base camp talking about how an explorer down here swam into a seemingly innocent pool. But once he got down there it seemed to go on forever and ever, twisting and turning. Eventually, he totally lost his bearings, panicked, and drowned — his corpse was found mere feet from the pool's entrance.
Someone else said that's total nonsense, and all the flooded areas down here are short and passable with relative ease.
In you dive… or climb. Don leaps in with gusto leading the way, for better or worse.
Faintly glowing algae tints jagged stone walls in green light. A fine silt that clouds the water with every movement covers the bottoms of the chamber, though it settles seconds later. Clearly manufactured steps start at the base of the floor and sink to deeper waters in the flooded room to the east.
There are four creatures in here; they resemble a cross between a shark and a seal and they look hungry!
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BOLD IS UP!:
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➤ Don Jurri
➤ Interi
➤ Mint
Seal-Shark 4
Seal-Shark 1
Torrrent
Seal-Shark 2
Seal-Shark 3
Salka
Rixette
DC 28 (crit success), second success by another PC, or DC 20 as second check after first success:
If you end your turn in water and haven’t succeeded at a Swim action that turn, you sink 10 feet or get moved by the current, as determined by the GM. However, if your last action on your turn was to enter the water, you don’t sink or move with the current that turn.
Critical Success You move through the water 10 feet, plus 5 feet per 20 feet of your land Speed (a total of 15 feet for most PCs).
Success You move through the water 5 feet, plus 5 feet per 20 feet of your land Speed (a total of 10 feet for most PCs).
Critical Failure You make no progress, and if you’re holding your breath, you lose 1 round of air.
Critical Success You move up, across, or safely down the incline for 5 feet plus 5 feet per 20 feet of your land Speed (a total of 10 feet for most PCs).
Success You move up, across, or safely down the incline for 5 feet per 20 feet of your land Speed (a total of 5 feet for most PCs, minimum 5 feet if your Speed is below 20 feet).
Critical Failure You fall. If you began the climb on stable ground, you fall and land prone.
The void calls... Interi’s pick through the eye! But the creature lives on yet.
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Lips nearly kissing the ceiling to suck air, Don Jurri holds his breath and plunges back under, thrusting his sword forward to menace the next creature to come his way, and with a twirling motion, attempts to muddy the water to obscure himself from the furthest seal shark.
"I have (blub blub) seen these creatures before! And have (blub blub) heard that they..."
◆) Dueling Parry
◆) Create a Diversion
◆) Recall Gossip
+
↺) Opportune Riposte
◇) Halfling Luck!
"The other way, master! It can't (blub blub) see you from that direction!" from off-screen, dealing with an attacking crab, our mighty halfling hero keeps tabs on his charge.
Will Xavier's timely comment spell the difference?
Don knows these are Bunyips, medium aquatic animals. They are known to fly into a barbarian-like frenzy after drawing blood!
He kicks up some silt, but fails to create a diversion.
Mint is up!