M Elf Oracle (Ancient Lorekeeper) 14 | AC 33 T 21 FF 27 | HP [132/121] 121/121| F +17 R +18 W +16 | CMD 34 | Init +12/14 | Perc +21/23 lowlight vision, scent, darkvision, see in darkness, deaf | Spells (-, 6/8, 7/8, 3/8, 5/7, 6/7, 5/6, 4/4)
I can easily silence the guard - and everything around him. I will not be hampered in any way by silence, nor by darkness. I can use such tools to loot the wagon, though I will need to borrow a bag of holding.
Do you wish for me to do this?
Quenly can employ Silence and Deeper Darkness to prevent the lone guard raising an alarm easily, though he'd have to be physically impeded too. Quenly could also use these spells (or Vanish in place of Deeper Darkness) to simply evade the guard.
Ranger 2/Rogue 10 | HP 85/99| AC 29/ 22(23) touch/23(24)flatfooted | Sneak Attack +5d6 | Resiliency 1/day F+16,R+22,W+13 ((1/day can reroll Will save)| Init. +10(+12)| Perc +19/24*(+21/26)| Evasion | Trap Sense +4 | Improved Uncanny Dodge
Shel rolls her eyes. ”Let the elf scout and see what he can find out. But the guard is working for Apsis. Apsis is evil. Therefore th guard is being evil. Easy peasy,” she whispers as she waits for the report.
Noke, you are likely to get a surprise round to use whatever abilities you want.
Omrax, you do not detect any evil auras in the direction of the camp.
Flyndyngylyn can easily circle the camp and determine that most of the people are asleep by the fire. There is also one humanoid sleeping in the southern wagon next to a cage for a large-sized creature.
If possible from his position, Flyn tries to see if he can identify the creature in the cage before reporting back to his companions…
GM: Flyn is trained in every knowledge area and the mod is the same for all of ‘em (+7 with +1d6 inspiration) so I thought one roll might be preferable to a knowledge shotgun of multiple rolls, if that’s OK?
@Flyndyngylyn: Not possible yet because you can't see it. However, if you are willing to spend an action when it appears, I will let you keep that roll.
@Omrax You're not in combat yet, so you can just tell people.
Disturbed by there being only one guard looking over the camp and spotting no traps, especially since they’re carrying such a large amount of gold, on the way back around, Flyn casts detect magic, focusing it first upon the southern wagon and then on the northern one…
Male Half Elf -Paladin 14 AC31/T14 /F30/CMD28| Hp 144/144 | Fort:+23;Ref:+16;Will+19(27) |Percept.+10 | Init.+3. { }
By the Inheritor I do not sense evil in any of these here or sleeping.
Unless we see Aspis badges, I suspect they are hired mercenaries or similar. Just doing a job for their masters.
Quenly, if you blind the sentry, are we able to still contain him? If any of them escalate, then we will be forced to take stronger action.
Assumes the 60' cone reached the most of the camp...
Ranger 2/Rogue 10 | HP 85/99| AC 29/ 22(23) touch/23(24)flatfooted | Sneak Attack +5d6 | Resiliency 1/day F+16,R+22,W+13 ((1/day can reroll Will save)| Init. +10(+12)| Perc +19/24*(+21/26)| Evasion | Trap Sense +4 | Improved Uncanny Dodge
”Well, let’s just go knock them out or something. At least no one should object to us taking their gold. I might get a new hat out of this at the least,” she grumbles to the others, growing impatient.
M Elf Oracle (Ancient Lorekeeper) 14 | AC 33 T 21 FF 27 | HP [132/121] 121/121| F +17 R +18 W +16 | CMD 34 | Init +12/14 | Perc +21/23 lowlight vision, scent, darkvision, see in darkness, deaf | Spells (-, 6/8, 7/8, 3/8, 5/7, 6/7, 5/6, 4/4)
Rush him in the darkness and the quiet. I will tell you where he is, and none shall hear. Should he escape you, I will assume a form able to subdue him and his fellows.
If the group is happy with the plan, Quenly casts Silence and Deeper Darkness on the dull grey ioun stone that orbits his head. He takes the stone in his hand to stifle the two magical emanations just long enough for him to get within range of the guard (20') then releases the stone again, letting the magic loose.
This plan also works without the Darkness - but Deeper Darkness will serve to stop the guard easily reaching his fellows or making any kind of visual alarm. Quenly and his dragon can pinpoint any enemies for you all using See in Darkness and telepathy.
Male Half Elf -Paladin 14 AC31/T14 /F30/CMD28| Hp 144/144 | Fort:+23;Ref:+16;Will+19(27) |Percept.+10 | Init.+3. { }
Updated Shel on map - not sure if woods count as difficult terrain or not - 20' would put you into the deep dark area and adjacent to foe. I am not exactly sure where darkness starts since it has a large area.
Female N Wayang Witch (Invoker archetype, Time patron) 12 | Darkvision 60 ft | Speed 20 ft (40 ft riding Happu) | | Temp HP 19/19 | HP: 115/115 | AC 19 Tch 15, Fl 16 | CMB: +2, CMD: 15| F: +18 , R:+14, W:+14 & +1 vs. spells/spell-like ab./poison | Init: +3 | Perc: +17, SM: +3, Dipl. (Influence): +22, Bluff (Deceive): +22 | Invoke Patron: 9/12 min. | Flight 10/12 min. | Reroll 1/1 | Chaldira reroll 0/1 | Happu (riding dog) HP: 13/13 | Divune (familiar) HP: 115/115 | Act. Cond: See invisibility, Heroism
Noke invokes her patron and then slumber hexes the lone guard.
Swift action: Invoke patron Curiosity: The DCs of the invoker’s hexes and patron spells increase by 2.
Standard action: Slumber hex, DC 26 or asleep 12 rounds.
Good try, but no. The guard falls asleep. At this point, no one in the camp is awake and you have about a minute of silence before Quenly's spell wears off. If you don't want to stay in initiative, each of you can make a Stealth check with a +20 bonus (because you are "invisible" to the sleepers' ears) to do things around the camp as long as you remain within the spell's radius - though if you touch or attempt to harm any creatures, it's back into initiative.
With the guard out of commission, Flyn continues with what he was doing, sneaking back to his companions the exact way he came, pausing only to cast detect magic, concentrating on the area around the southern wagon first, then those around the campfire, and finally the area around the northern wagon, in case a nasty magical trap or the like might’ve been cast as a backup plan to their lone guard…
There do not seem to be any creatures that where part of the caravan that are not present. The northern wagon has only one thing in it: a large chest warded by an audible alarm spell.
M Elf Oracle (Ancient Lorekeeper) 14 | AC 33 T 21 FF 27 | HP [132/121] 121/121| F +17 R +18 W +16 | CMD 34 | Init +12/14 | Perc +21/23 lowlight vision, scent, darkvision, see in darkness, deaf | Spells (-, 6/8, 7/8, 3/8, 5/7, 6/7, 5/6, 4/4)
The Silence spell will stifle the Alarm, and I shall cover the sleeping guards with a further casting. Shel, Flyn, perhaps you can work together to open the chest? Be swift.
Quenly glides silently over the camp, ready to throw further spells over the sleepers and the creature in the covered wagon.
Shel, Quenly can carry you with him and deposit you by the loot wagon if you like.
Quenly will re-cast Silence to cover the sleepers by targeting the campfire in their centre, and then fly over to the creature-wagon so that the emanation from his stone covers that. I've put a second silence aura on the map: yellow and red emanations are Silence, Cyan is darkness - so our rogues can see to do their disabling and looting.
Noise doesn't wake a person affected by Slumber Hex so we're okay on that front.
Flyn nods unconsciously as he assumes this alarmed chest holds the Aspis gold for the auction; he makes his way back to his companions, giving the northern wagon a wide berth…
Upon making his way back, he whispers to his comrades. ”It appears the northern wagon has a chest with the gold; however, it is warded by an alarm spell…I’m guessing it’s a proximity alarm or the like?”
Looking at Quenly and Noke in particular, he continues. ”Can one of you dispel the magical alarm around the chest? If so, I should be able to sneak in, secure the chest, and we can get away with none of them the wiser…”
Flyn nods to Quenly and motions for Shel to follow…once Quenly has cast his silence spell over the alarm, he makes his way to the wagon, enters, and checks out the chest…
Whether the alarm goes off or not, nobody knows because the entire camp is silent.
The chest is, in fact, filled with gold bars. You certainly don't have time to empty it without a lot more silence spells. There is nothing else in this wagon.
The scenario does not give a weight for the chest, but describes it as "oversized", so Flyn's 18 Strength alone is not going to be enough.
Shel is with me as well…but I’m assuming it’s too heavy for the both of us…
Communicating with Quenly thru telepathy. Need help carrying chest, too heavy for me and Shel…if there’s a spell to lighten the load, fine, if not, we need more muscle…
M Elf Oracle (Ancient Lorekeeper) 14 | AC 33 T 21 FF 27 | HP [132/121] 121/121| F +17 R +18 W +16 | CMD 34 | Init +12/14 | Perc +21/23 lowlight vision, scent, darkvision, see in darkness, deaf | Spells (-, 6/8, 7/8, 3/8, 5/7, 6/7, 5/6, 4/4)
I will take the chest Quenly announces to the group. Close it securely. I am coming.
Quenly casts another spell upon himself, and lays another Silence spell on the creature-wagon. In the darkness, the elf's flesh warps and twists into something else entirely. The shadow descends upon the treasure wagon. A few moments later, the shadow lifts and reveals a devastated wagon bereft of any items.
I have it. We can leave. Make haste, for I cannot hold this shape indefinitely.
Quenly casts Bulls Strength upon himself, then Silence on the creature wagon. Within his Darkness spell he transforms himself into a Mastodon (Many Forms revelation operating at lvl15 = Greate Polymorph). Still borne on wings of shadow, he tears open the cover of the wagon with tusks and lifts the treasure chest up in his trunk. Quenly's heavy load capacity as a Huge quadruped with Bulls Strength up is 4200lbs, somewhere over 2 tons. A few minutes flight at speed 40' should be enough distance to enable us to divide the gold bullion between us for recovery.
Quenly's ioun stone will continue orbiting his head when he shapechanges, so the Deeper Darkness and Silence stay active.
Flyn smiles at his fellow Elf and nods, motioning to his companions to follow Quenly quietly…Flyn will play rearguard just in case, keeping alert in case they’re somehow followed…
Your suddenly large friend can carry the large box of Aspis gold away without a problem. Are you planning to do anything about the other wagon or the people? (If not, there's nothing to do until the overseer calls for the next part.)
Male Half Elf -Paladin 14 AC31/T14 /F30/CMD28| Hp 144/144 | Fort:+23;Ref:+16;Will+19(27) |Percept.+10 | Init.+3. { }
Once clear of the area, Omrax responds
”Aye, a very creative solution. The guards shall be stumped what happened.
Alas, I suspect their Aspis leaders shall be less than happy. But at least we spared their lives to make a choice in direction for their careers. By the Inheritor, this key better be worth the trouble.“
M Elf Oracle (Ancient Lorekeeper) 14 | AC 33 T 21 FF 27 | HP [132/121] 121/121| F +17 R +18 W +16 | CMD 34 | Init +12/14 | Perc +21/23 lowlight vision, scent, darkvision, see in darkness, deaf | Spells (-, 6/8, 7/8, 3/8, 5/7, 6/7, 5/6, 4/4)
Quenly, in his usual elven shape and with his ioun stone pocketed for the time being to suppress the darkness emanating from it, smiles and nods at the little wayang.
A white raven begins circling overhead. The bird is Sheila Heidmarch’s signal that you should wrap things up and head back to Heidmarch Manor with or without the Aspis Consortium’s gold.
______________
Table GMs, this is your 24 hour warning. Act Two concludes September 22nd!
The next morning, two hours before the auction is slated to begin, Sheila Heidmarch calls everyone back to the theater for another emergency briefing. She appears greatly agitated and her tenor is one of immediacy.
”My friends, we have little time and much work to do, so I’m going to make this simple. While you were dealing with the Aspis Consortium, my informants in the city investigated the individuals you reported on from last night’s gala. It seems a number of them have sufficient funds to jeopardize our efforts. In what little time remains, I need you to prevent as many of them from participating in the auction as possible. My agents will provide each of your groups with a mission brief. Once you complete the task, return here to inform us of the results, and we shall quickly set you upon another mission. Again, we need you to complete as many missions as you can before the auction starts. But remember to keep your efforts clandestine and try not to kill anyone important. We’re still trying to win the auction somewhat legally.”
______________
Table GMs, begin Act Three. Act Three will conclude October 12th!
You return to the Lodge with a large pile of gold and get a night's rest.
Here are your mission briefings. Two votes to start the first, but feel free to discuss what order to do the rest in to keep things moving.
The Curse:
“I think we got lucky with our merchant friend, Falrig Sneve. He mentioned that he was trying to conserve funds for the auction, so we sent him an invitation to stay at Haruka House on the grounds of our manor. If you have yet to see it, Haruka House sits alone on the west side of the main house and is the most luxurious of the four Thassilonian cottages on the property. As far as I can tell, Sneve suspects us of no foul play. Still, we can’t have him mucking up the auction, can we? Thankfully, I doubt we have to do much. Ensure no actual harm comes to him, though, as such would reflect poorly upon Heidmarch Manor and the Pathfinder Society. Rather, somehow trick him into believing the Runecarved Key is cursed and he should withdraw from the auction without any further urging.”
The Debtor:
“While we’re not sure how much of a threat Dymal Rinks poses to our winning the auction, we don’t want to take any chances. Our informants tell us that Rinks owes a considerable debt to the proprietor of the Matador, Master Basaale Minvandu. Short on the funds to cover his debts, Dymal Rinks hopes to cash in on the Runecarved Key as part of a wild investment scheme. Unfortunately for Rinks, Minvandu wants his debts paid immediately and has sent his collectors to track the halfling down. I suspect we can easily knock Rinks out of the auction by turning him over to Minvandu’s thugs. Still, I’m a little wary of this course of action as handing Rinks over to the bone-breakers may very well result in his death. Despite being a desperate little imp, Rinks is a decent arbitrator and if word gets back that we played a part in his death, it might make things difficult in the future. If you can avoid getting him killed it might help. Perhaps you can pretend to be thugs and scare him off or simply threaten to rat him out to Minvandu if he doesn’t back out of the auction. In any event, do whatever you need to do to drive him away. Oh, and he lied about his whereabouts. Our informants say he’s hiding out at the Galesford Inn in Dockway.”
The Scandal:
“I need not warn you how much of a threat Lady Kaddren is to our mission—she is wealthy, powerful, a wizard, and she hates us. Thankfully, our talented informants seem to have uncovered her weakness: scandal! It seems the lady has been seen slipping in and out of the tower of the Golemworks’s master wizard, Toth Bhreacher, at unusual hours. If the two of them are involved in an affair, it could imply Lady Kaddren might be showing Toth political favoritism—an illicit act that would also break her family’s long-standing efforts to keep nobility and business separate. Such evidence might stand to ruin her if it fell into the hands of her rivals. I need you to collect, fabricate, or purchase enough hard evidence to be able to blackmail her. While blackmailing her won’t help ease her opinion of the Pathfinder Society, it is perhaps the only way we can get her to back out of the auction.”
Underbridge Exports:
“It seems the Runecarved Key has attracted the attention of a small exporting company run by the dubious Vaor family of Underbridge. Why the Vaors are interested in the key, or even how they came up with the deposit, is beyond my imaginings. I doubt they have much in the way of finances, but one can never tell. Perhaps they represent someone else more powerful, perhaps not. In any event, I need someone to head down to Underbridge and find out. This map should get you to their warehouse quickly. Best of luck, Pathfinders.”
The Good Doctor:
“I’m not sure yet how we can get Doctor Landis to back out of the auction, or if we fail, if we can outbid him; at least not until we know who is acting as his anonymous patron. I have a strange feeling about the whole thing. I doubt his patron has noble intentions and I suspect the good doctor is probably in a lot more trouble than he realizes. Go to the museum and see if you can get Doctor Landis to introduce you to his anonymous patron, or at least his patron’s contact. Once we know who it is, we can hopefully drive a wedge between the doctor and his benefactor.”
Glow of Rushlights:
“There were two women at the pre-auction who paid their deposit in Minkaian coins which, according to our sources, may have been stolen during a recent caravan raid. If such is the case, the duo no doubt have dubious intentions. The women call themselves the Duchesses and they likely have ties to one of Magnimar’s criminal organizations; I suspect the Rushlight Society. Still, it is their finances and not their intentions that most concern us. Some of our more reliable street contacts informed me that the two women were last seen entering the home of a local merchant named Windun Landers. Perhaps not so coincidentally, Landers has a wrought iron rushlight mounted on his door casing. Head to the man’s residence, and see if you can’t figure out how much money these “Duchesses” have. If all is as I suspect, they don’t have enough to bid competitively. I’m also near certain they’re using stolen funds, so leave whatever gold you find. I don’t want us bidding with illegally gotten coin—that’ll create more problems for us than it will solve. Lastly, whatever you happen to find, do not involve the authorities. I cannot risk the courts subpoenaing your testimony during the auction.”
Dead Woman's Debts:
“Prior to the founding of our lodge, the Pathfinder Society had few contacts and fewer resources here in Magnimar. One of our best was an alchemist and a sage name Darga Cranstone. Cranstone kept a small lab in Ordellia, performing specialized research using rare herbs that grow wild in the Mushfens. Yesterday, word from Absalom arrived that several years ago, our organization paid the alchemist an advance of over a three thousand crowns for some research. Several months later, Cranstone had only turned over half her findings, and eventually failed to complete the commission. Then for a short while, the Society lost all contact with her. Just days before the Decemvirate sent a debt collector to hunt down Darga, her apprentice suddenly sent word that his mistress was still working on the project. This kept on for several seasons, with the apprentice’s notes becoming more infrequent, until they simply petered off. While the sum was fairly significant, other matters put recouping the lost sum on hold, and after a few years, it was eventually forgotten. Now that we have again been reminded of this debt, I need you to go to Cranstone’s tower and collect the fee she owes us, with interest.”
Hydra Bait:
“We’re still a little short on funds and we need to make some quick coin! If you’re daring enough, head over to the Alabaster District and enter a hydra baiting competition at the Serpent’s Run coliseum. The Master of Games, Axetongue Droaeb, has offered a decent sized purse to adventurers willing to get in the ring with one of his ferocious multi-headed beasts. As always, this event draws a tremendous crowd, one whose coin will more than double the purse he pays to contest participants. “
You have no trouble following Heidmarch’s explicit map, and soon arrive at the warehouse in Underbridge. Inside, members of the Vaor family bustle around cases of supplies hauled in from their various business operations. As soon as the doors open, the denizens of the warehouse attack.
Flyn Omrax
Yellow Rats
Green Rats
Brown
Cyan
Blue Rats
Gold Wererats
Shel
Quenly
Purple Rats
Blue Wererats
Violet Wererats
Red Rats
Orange Rats
Noke
Pink
Red Wererats
This is not the largest combat I have run for PFS, but it's close.
M Elf Oracle (Ancient Lorekeeper) 14 | AC 33 T 21 FF 27 | HP [132/121] 121/121| F +17 R +18 W +16 | CMD 34 | Init +12/14 | Perc +21/23 lowlight vision, scent, darkvision, see in darkness, deaf | Spells (-, 6/8, 7/8, 3/8, 5/7, 6/7, 5/6, 4/4)
Quenly's 12 hour buffs will be up - armour, flight, magic vestment on his shield, and Hunter's Blessing on everyone for +2 initiative, +2 Perception/Stealth, and +2 to hit and damage vs humans.
M Elf Oracle (Ancient Lorekeeper) 14 | AC 33 T 21 FF 27 | HP [132/121] 121/121| F +17 R +18 W +16 | CMD 34 | Init +12/14 | Perc +21/23 lowlight vision, scent, darkvision, see in darkness, deaf | Spells (-, 6/8, 7/8, 3/8, 5/7, 6/7, 5/6, 4/4)
Quenly will snag one of those Heroism spells again please :) And also cast his own False Life, which I forgot to do on the first day I think.
Fire Damage vs. Flyn:3d6 ⇒ (6, 5, 2) = 13, DC 17 Reflex negates
As does Cyan.
Fire Damage vs. Omrax:3d6 ⇒ (6, 4, 5) = 15, DC 17 Reflex negates
Round 1 - bolded may go
Flyn
Omrax
Yellow Rats
Green Rats
Brown
Cyan
Blue Rats
Gold Wererats
Shel Quenly
Purple Rats
Blue Wererats
Violet Wererats
Red Rats
Orange Rats
Noke
Pink
Red Wererats
