House GM test send - please ignore.
|
At the looming foot of Droskar’s Crag, a dormant volcano, the Pathfinder Society’s base camp bustles with activity. Wagons arrive with new goods as merchants 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 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!
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 well stocked and prepared with deal with a variety of different threats.
The two largest cities lost in the Rending were Tar Khardurrm’s underground capital city, Jernashall, and its sister city on the surface, Raseri Kanton. Jernashall was overwhelmed by magma flows, and Raseri Kanton was swallowed up by the earth. While some areas of the ruins still contain magma chambers, this expedition’s route should avoid them. More-likely environmental dangers include flooded chambers and unstable ground.
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 are given the following scouting reports to use in determining where you wish to go for your first mession.
Handout #1: Scouting Reports
Please see the enclosed collection of scouting notes. — Luna Aldred
The Sunken Halls: “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.”
The Labyrinth: “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.”
The Unsealed Way: “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.”
|
A carriage which looks more suited to a trip to the Ivy District than navigating the foothills pulls up to the Pathfinder camp. The teamster hops down and opens the side door, revealing a bipedal clockwork creature with a crossbow attached to one limb and a long blade on another lumbers into the inn. It looks like the latest gnome experiment got away, except it seems too functional for that. It steps out and approaches the other Pathfinders, then hisses to a stop. A panel in the front slides open, revealing a rainbow-colored stuffed bear with buttons for eyes and grease on the paws. The toy hops out and says in meticulous, Hallit-accented Common, "Good afternoon, everyone. Miss Sorbet is here." She looks around for the quartermaster and adds, "Could I perhaps get a small cup of tea?"
Miss Sorbet looks over the missives. "It seems fortunate that I added the rust-proofing after the little incident with the Sixwing Drake. I thought I'd never get all the salt water out of my joints. That said, the lake doesn't particularly appeal to me, nor does the tomb, if I am to be perfectly honest."
|
Wearing well cut clothes even if these are thought for exploration occasions the half-elf follows the briefing quietly, his elven branched spear next to him.
May I join you for a cup of tea? It will be time. My name is Elduin Nerifiel. The tombstone is quite intriguing to me if I may express my thought.
|
A stout dwarf with his leshy joins the group. They are holding hands while singing a happy song in Druid language. The duo seems enthusiastic to what mission lies ahead of them. Actually, they have been staying in the area for many weeks now because they have been called for the mission to explore Droskar's Crag, with a slight detour in Taldor before returning here back again as Venture-Captain Luna Aldred calls him again for another exploration of the Droskar's Crag.
"Fun fact: did you know 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 well stocked and prepared with deal with a variety of different threats. The two largest cities lost in the Rending were Tar Khardurrm’s underground capital city, Jernashall, and its sister city on the surface, Raseri Kanton. Jernashall was overwhelmed by magma flows, and Raseri Kanton was swallowed up by the earth. While some areas of the ruins still contain magma chambers, this expedition’s route should avoid them. More-likely environmental dangers include flooded chambers and unstable ground." he shares to the others before introducing himself.
"Happy to meet you all. I am Tandang, and the pretty leshy here is Plantina. Hehe" he says while giving them a wave of hand in which the leshy copies what he is doing.
|
A kobold with silver scales walks up, nods at Dalea. "Hello, I think we shared a cart for a while on the journey. Did I hear someone say tea?"
He is a slim kobold wearing functional but plain studded leather armor. He bears a staff, a dagger on his belt and a hand crossbow slung on his back along with a backpack. The only other adornment he wears is a necklace with a silver dragon hovering over what could be a pool or a portal...
|
|
"Reading the scouting reports, do you think it is a good start to begin with Sunken Halls?" I wonder why it is called sunken. Sunken from lava? The first time I joined the expedition to explore this place, we..." Tandang gets interrupted when Plantina keeps poking her, asking for some tea, too. "Yeah, yeah. I forgot. So sorry, dear." he says and begins to look for a tiny cup good enough for the leshy. "I will look for a cup fit for you."
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.”
|
|
As you proceed South
This room is a large elevator that leads to a cavern above. The chamber’s central feature is a large stone wheel connected to a complicated gear shaft. A party member can Activate the elevator by rotating the wheel; clockwise to move the elevator up, or counterclockwise to move it back down. As large as the wheel is, the elevator’s numerous gears and internal mechanisms enable you to turn it without trouble. When first used, the wheel grinds slowly and creaks as the entire room moves up, shaking as it goes. After a few seconds, the grinding and shaking stops, and the wheel and room move smoothly
for the first time in centuries.
The upper level is a wide, natural cavern. Long ago, the dwarves who lived here cast shape stone and used stonecutters to smooth out the area. Abandoned wagons of metal and stone mark this as the start of a caravan route, though any cargo that may have once been here has long since decayed.
Approximately a thousand feet down the road, a set of double doors seal off the next chamber
A warning sign in Dwarven reads “Maximum Width: 8 feet”. Mice scatter when the first party member enters the area.
With a successful DC 15 Crafting or Occultism check to Recall Knowledge, you recognize that a wide swath of stone has been damaged by the acidic trail of an ooze.
While investigating this passage, it should quickly become obvious to you that you have left the Unsealed Way and found a new route.
|
|
Moldering bags and gear pile in the southwestern corner of this square room. Stone stairs lead upward to the south. Passageways show glimpses of rooms to the northwest and south.
The staircases rise about 2-1/2 feet to the platform above. The stairs are shoddy from ages of neglect, making them both uneven ground(DC15) and difficult terrain.
Leaning against the wall to the South along with the abandoned gear are moldering bodies, which rise to meet you.
Initiative
Round 1,
Bold May Act
Elduin Nerifiel
Miss Sorbet
Eltis
5 Initiative
2 Initiative
Tandang Boreas
Dalea Obova
Lendaru
6 Initiative
4 Initiative
1 Initiative
3 Initiative
|
|
Miss Sorbet manages to explode right in front of the line of skeletons. The explosion doesn't seem to do as much damage as they would think, but Skeleton 1 is completely reduced to dust. Skeleton 2 drops into a pile of bones, but Skeleton 3 seems completely unaffected.
Initiative
Round 1,
Bold May Act
Elduin Nerifiel
Miss Sorbet
Eltis
5 Initiative
2 Initiative
Tandang Boreas
Dalea Obova
Lendaru (Guidance)
6 Initiative
4 Initiative
1 Initiative
3 Initiative