PFS2e 4-01 - The Year of Boundless Wonder (KS) (Inactive)

Game Master phaeton_nz

Dot and Delete to join this game.

You have been sent down to the Guild Vaults to meet up with Zarta Dralneen (human female) and Rain in Cloudy Day (fungus leshy) (pics on slides) to help them catalogue the recent acquisition of treasure, and there is quite a lot of it. Rain calls this the 'Vault of Boundless Wonder' before introducing himself proclaiming that he’s a new Pathfinder agent who has been chosen to help with important tasks around the Grand Lodge.

When he sees those whom he has met before, he gushes with enthusiasm, saying how much fun their adventure together was, thanks them for helping him pass his Confirmation, and proclaims that the ruins they uncovered drew the attention of all sorts of important faction leaders. Rain also asks them for a first hand account of their adventures in the ruins.

Zarta Dralneen watches the conversation with amusement, but when it begins to drag, she clears her throat to remind Rain of his current mission.

The Archives get more exciting every day, Rain states then adds, And who better to manage the excitement than Zarta! Oh, have you all met Grand Archivist Zarta Dralneen? Rain prompts you to introduce yourselves.

You are all at area A1 on the map if you wish to place your tokens there.

Corelion gives a bit of a dramatic bow, their wild blond hair flowing lusciously around them as a halberd pokes out from behind their back.

Strengthening up they introduce themselves, their voice reverberating almost as if in song. "Corelion here. I am an Elven Spellsinger."

By the end of it thought Corelion's elven haughtiness comes though, clearly indicating his high opinion of himself.

"Hello again Rain in Cloudy Day!" nods Khaul, a rather gruff looking dwarf wearing rather heavy looking armour.

"Not going to send us down to another burning ship of looted artefacts are you?" he asks warily.

"I'm not truely being sure me beard has fully recovered from that yet."

I have done intro 3-1 which was not one of the ones listed, but also has Rain in it at the start.

He nods to the others assembled. "Aye be Khaul of the Irontoes clan. Me role in most expeditions is to place Brenda.." here he pats his shield. "and meself between trouble and t' other Pathfinders.." he points to the rest of the group.[/b]"

A young human comes in, his face serene, a warm smile on his lips. He wears a simple hide armor, and holds a glaive, which he puts near the wall.

Greetings to al. My name is Cassimon, Cassimon Dohl, servant of Sheylin. Milady Drainen, it is an honor to meet you.

It's Dralneen with an ell and two eees Zarta corrects with a smile but I've been called worse.

A very old elf, in full plate regalia stands straight as a pole. His face is burned by the sun and his hair, almost pure white. A sinister look give him an air of grim determination and regal authority

Strangely, with his pristine armor, decorated with flying dragons, he wears a lots of bits and bolts packed; broken holy symbols, scrap metal of diverse origin... on one side, a weapon who seems to be burning as smoke gets out of its scabbard and on the other, he has a scepter with a head like a golden dragon.

With a short bow he presents himself. Greeting Lady Dralneen, greeting Rain in Cloudy Day. I'm Elonded Firehand, servant of Ragatiel.

Ummm .... Rain asks nervously Do you know your scabbard is smoking? I ... don't think that's normal

A short tengu slowly peeks her beak and eyes around the corner of the door frame before looking inside. Seeing Rain in Clody Day, her slightly anxious movements relax as she almost hops into the room. "Oh good this is the right place! I've heard such scary things from the kitchens about these archives being packed with dangerous things..."

The black corvid humanoid tidies her cloak of bleach white feathers, with a few bright red spots around the shoulders that match the little hoary redpoll that slumbers in a nest the cloak's hood. Inside her cloak is a colorful garment in a recent Absalom style with a few changes for her avian physiology. She has a bandolier hanging from one shoulder with various spices and cooking ingredients in containers, and a small dagger made from a red-colored bone. Hanging from the end of the bandolier is a small binder held closed with a seashell on a string with the word ‘recipes’ written on it. She also has a small scroll case worked with images of cooking supplies hanging from the other shoulder. In one claw she carries a bundle of something nice smelling.

She gives everyone and everything in the room an intrigued look, clearly curious about everything, but definitely trepidacious about some of the scarier looking artifacts. "I think, besides Rain, I haven't had the pleasure of meeting any of you. I'm Dyner Inazuma from north of the Sarkoris Scar and here to learn all I can about cooking! Speaking of which, I swung by the kitchens before coming here and picked up something to eat for everyone!"

She unwraps the bundle and reveals she brought some warm bread, soft cheeses, and cold cuts for everyone to enjoy during the briefing.

"But I can bring more to the group than just cooking, I can cast spells, and while my, uh, 'bird brain' can't hold that many recipes at once, I do have a variety of useful ones on tap and in my binder as well."
This is new for Dyner, but I'm trying out carrying a variety of scrolls of first level utility spells (with a Scroll Case of Simplicity, ) so she can likely pull out a situationally useful spell in exploration mode and save her spell slots (though she's likely to use Amped spells more) for combat.

Without looking at his smoking scabbard, Elondel responds Totally normal. My sword is magical, blessed by the Fire of Vengeance. But have no fear Mister Rain, I use it only against the ones who deserve it.

He nods at the Dyner, acknowledging her presence.

A small slender halfling walks into the room wearing a well cut, if slightly older style, vest and trousers of dark blue. He has sandy blond hair trimmed short with a well trimmed beard strap and mustache. He bows to Zarta Dralneen and the rest of the party.

"How may I be of service Grand Archivist? I have some knowledge of cataloging, as I have curated my instructors personal collection for several years. I have also been tasked with helping to acquire new items for the collection as well and know how to protect myself if we need to collect anything new for the Vault. Ah, my name is Peregrine by the way. A pleasure to meet you all. And thank you for the refreshments Dyner! I also have some knowledge in cooking! Perhaps we can share notes. I would be interested to learn something of tengu cuisine!"

Rain in Cloudy Day waves exuberantly to indicate the piles of treasure in the vaulted chamber. Wow! Just look at all these magic items! And enchanted weapons! And a skull that always looks at me funny! Big magic books about even bigger magic books! Well, I’m not sure about that last one. I haven’t read them. Cataloging all this treasure is bound to be exciting! It sure beats sorting the mail.

Zarta runs her fingertips along the table, lifts a strange hourglass, and inspects it with dubious curiosity. Exciting, yes, and possibly quite dangerous.

Rain frowns. Well, yes, but… at least we’re in the safety of the Lodge? Can’t be that bad! You said these items are harmless. He picks up a skull from the table. Its eyes glow with pink fire, and it speaks, Unhand me, you hideous rotten mushroom! Harmless?! How dare you!

Rain replaces the skull and covers it with a cloth, muffling the voice. Well… mostly harmless?

Zarta fails to stifle a grin. She tilts the hourglass this way and that, shrugs, and sets it back on the table. Yes, mostly harmless. We believe these items present no major threat to us, and we’ve secured those we believe to be cursed. The true danger comes from an old enemy of the Pathfinder Society, the night hag Aslynn. She nearly claimed these treasures for herself before they were entrusted to us. We don’t know why she needs the items, or which ones are most central to her wicked plans.

I’m off to a meeting to discuss the situation with Eliza, Ambrus, and the faction leaders. You’ll stay here with Rain and continue cataloging these objects. We need to learn where the items come from and understand what they do. Then we can decide what to do with them. Any questions?

Corelion rolls his eyes at the seemingly simple task of cataloging objects and declines to ask any further questions.

Khaul stares at the skull that looks at Rain in a funny way and gives it a strange look of his own.

"Are ALL the artefacts in this room from Aslynn? And can you fill us in on the history between her and the Society... so we know what we might be looking for?" he asks.

Elondel shrugs when he hears of the mission, no vengeance to carry against evil doer, no innocent to save. Just books and artifact to catalog.
But as an investigator of the occult, it could be interresting, and their tie to a Night Hag, enemy of the Society, made them even more interesting.

I agree with my esteemed colleague, can we know more about the link between this artifact and this enemy of the Society ?
Is some of those artifacts are more important than other and need a specific attention?

Let me start by telling you about Aslynn Zarta says, She caused trouble for the Society a few years back, even tried to capture and sell the soul of our former Master of Spells. We thought we’d seen the last of her after we helped stop her from raiding a magical demiplane known as the
Hao Jin Tapestry. Apparently, she’s still hunting for treasures, and she has something horrible planned for the Pathfinder Society.

As to how we got these treasures Rain cut in. It’s such a cool story! There’s this place called Shadow Absalom, where a mercantile group called the Onyx Alliance had a massive vault of treasure! Aslynn wanted it all, and she almost got it, but some Society agents learned about her plot just in time! There’s more to it… but you’ll have to read the chronicle yourselves. I don’t want to spoil the story!

I'm don't have a vast experience in the history of the foes of the society. What can you tell us about the power of that night hag? Or the powers of a night hag generally speaking?

Only Trained in Religion here

Zarta has to think about that for a bit, then sighs. I'm not sure there is much I can tell you. Think of her as a type of witch and that should be sufficient for now she finally replies.

"Archivist Zarta, how best may we help? Is there a system in place for cataloging these items and how to sort them?", Peregrine asks with interest.
"Also, are there any safeguards in place to keep this witch out if she were to discover where they are?", Peregrine asks with a bit more trepidation.

I have no more question on my part. I'm eager to start cataloging these artifacts.

Says Elondel

Khaul nods his agreement. "I'm not knowing so much about some of these here artefacts as most of you." he admits.

"But if yer want to have an opinion about the craftin behind them... then I'm yer dwarf."

Corelion sighs "Lets be on with it."

Well we certainly have some oddities here Zarta says. At least one of the ‘objects’ seems to be alive, in a sense, yes. So far, the skull just insults everyone. Maybe you can talk to it and learn more. We haven’t found any other creatures in the vault—yet! It’s not our business to keep creatures captive, so we’d like to help get them home if we can, and to keep them safe from Aslynn.

Once we've done here, we’ll return some to wherever they belong. Some might be dangerous, some should be destroyed, some might hold valuable knowledge. Some might be all those things. That’s why your work, and my meeting with the Society’s leaders, is so important. We need to make a plan!

Here's my plan of attack Rain exclaims, producing a parchment and putting it on the table. Or should I say my 'to do' list

((Added to the Slides))

As you go over it, Zarta advises you to be ready for anything, suggesting they make a quick trip to purchase supplies, if necessary, before they begin their work. Then, she departs for her meeting.

So which part of the Vault do you wish to investigate? Each investigation phase takes ten minutes and requires an appropriate skill check for a potential discovery. One check per PC please.

Corelion picks up the skull and sees if he can make a better impression than Rain.

diplomacy to make an impression?: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (18) + 11 = 29

Khaul's dwarven eyes pass over the list, and then dart back to the word "treasures".

"I'll have a quick loosie over there." he says.

Then, taking out a piece of paper starts to methodically chronicle all the items in the pile.

expert crafting (Assurance): 10 + 8 = 18

@phaeton_nz could I use Esoteric Lore for with task #5 "Danger"?

Elondel looks around asserting where his vast knowledge will be best used.

I have some medical knowledge, I'll check the high shelves from the fifth area. I hope to find out what is dangerous, even poisonous, or not.

Medicine: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (19) + 5 = 24

Corelion talks to the skull and makes a good impression. The skull replies, saying Call me Zykyryz! No, it isn’t my name, but it’s shorter than ‘all powerful wizard.’ That’s right, I can do magic! Just wait. Keep me close, and I’ll prove it to you.. Corelion also ascertains, during their conversation that Zykyryz isn't undead but it is more likely that some supernatural aspect of her became trapped in this unusual vessel. Zykyryz says, That sounds about right. Thanks for using your head!

Khaul finds a Brooch of Shielding

Cassimon finds a Demon Mask

Elondel - I can't see why not

((Waiting on Peregrin and Dyner))

Corelion nods and smiles to the skull "I'm glad we could find each other, stick close to me and I'll give you a chance to shine."

"Well look here." says Khaul, pulling out a broach.

"This be magical protections. Why, I do remember being told a story about a foolish necromancer from Nex who tried to take on a dwarven war party. He thought to destroy the leader with magical missiles once his minions had been hacked apart by good dwarven axes. And the warleaders broach just absorbed them all. "

Dyner's eyes light up at the sight of the scrolls and hustles over that way as quickly as she can. "I just got into scrolls and such! I took a correspondence course about them as well. Maybe I can help sort things."

Occultism, Expert: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (18) + 12 = 30

Elondel looks for cursing items from standing on the shelves of this part of the vault.

Esoteric Lore: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (4) + 10 = 14

Dyner finds a Wand of Widening

Elondel doesn't have much luck with the precarious shelves. Maybe Cassimon found it first.

((Still waiting on Peregrin))

Peregrine goes to the pile of scrolls and begins sorting through them, trying to organize them by type of spell.

Arcana: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (18) + 5 = 23

random: 1d6 ⇒ 3

Peregrine finds a scroll of Darkness

In the meantime Rain tried to exit the Vault and came face to face with a horrible manifestation.

They’re not real! They can’t be real! The panicked voice of Rain in Cloudy Day precedes his rapid footsteps as he races back into the vault. I can’t… I don’t… help! Please, help! They’re after me! Rain collapses just inside the vault, clutching the sides of his head and whimpering in fear. A hideous snarl from just past the entryway causes Rain to go completely still.

Several shadowy forms appear in the vault. ((Pic on slides.))

Initiatives:
Initiative Khaul: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (4) + 8 = 12
Initiative Elondel: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (2) + 7 = 9
Corelion: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (17) + 7 = 24
Cassimon: 1d20 + 0 ⇒ (6) + 0 = 6
Initiative Dyner: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (19) + 7 = 26
Initiative Peregrine: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (10) + 5 = 15

red: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (19) + 8 = 27
magenta: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (10) + 8 = 18
blue: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (9) + 6 = 15
cyan: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (19) + 6 = 25

Red and Magenta look tougher than Blue and Cyan.

Red double moves past the terrified leshy and up to Khaul before stabbling him with a spear.
spear: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (8) + 11 = 19 piercing: 1d6 + 8 ⇒ (4) + 8 = 12

Dyner is up next, followed by Cyan.

Shield always at the ready, Khaul deflects the underhand blow of the shadowy figure.

"I'm a thinking " he says "that hag has sent some stooges to try and take these goods."

Then, seeing how spread out the group is, calls out.
"Stick together. Coorperation be our strength."

Dyner gives a squawk at the sudden bugbear shaped shadow things that pop up near her. She starts to recant a recipe for ice cream with a few modifications to make it especially cold as a freezing ball of cream forms in one claw.

With another modification she adds kinetic energy to the ball and causes it to fly stright into the face of the cyan tinged shadow as she retreats behind the bookcases closer to everyone else, the wand gripped tightly in her claws.

Ray of frost: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (7) + 10 = 17
Cold or Fire damage: 2d4 + 4 ⇒ (2, 3) + 4 = 9
If a critical hit, -10 to movement speed as well as double damage

Just checking on what we're waiting for at the moment.

((My bad - got distracted))

Dyner slams what looks like a frozen confectionery into the one with the cyan aura. Cyan glares at Dynar and throws both spears at her.

spear: 1d20 + 8 - 0 ⇒ (7) + 8 - 0 = 15 piercing: 1d6 + 3 ⇒ (3) + 3 = 6
spear: 1d20 + 8 - 5 ⇒ (2) + 8 - 5 = 5 piercing: 1d6 + 3 ⇒ (6) + 3 = 9

before moving down the stairs (difficult terrain).

Corelion is up before Magenta and Blue.

Corelion draws their glaive as they move up into position to strike at the red bug shadow monster.

Glaive vs Red: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (8) + 10 = 18
slashing damage: 1d10 + 4 ⇒ (8) + 4 = 12

That also hits - just. (Cyan -9, Red -12).

Blue moves up to help Red stab Khaul.
spear: 1d20 + 9 - 0 ⇒ (5) + 9 - 0 = 14 piercing: 1d6 + 3 ⇒ (4) + 3 = 7
spear: 1d20 + 9 - 5 ⇒ (7) + 9 - 5 = 11 piercing: 1d6 + 3 ⇒ (2) + 3 = 5

Magenta moves up to Peregrine and stabs twice.
spear: 1d20 + 11 - 0 ⇒ (11) + 11 - 0 = 22 piercing: 1d6 + 8 ⇒ (1) + 8 = 9
spear: 1d20 + 11 - 5 ⇒ (7) + 11 - 5 = 13 piercing: 1d6 + 8 ⇒ (6) + 8 = 14

Peregrine, Khaul, Elondel and Cassimon are up before Red.

With two of them focused on him, Khaul figures there is little more he can do to help the others at the moment.

Keeping his shield up he waits for an opening... before swinging Torag's Hammer at the red creature.

attack: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (14) + 11 = 25
B damage: 2d8 + 4 ⇒ (8, 8) + 4 = 20

And then, a second swing to try and finish it off. Or into Cyan, if red drops

attack,MAP: 1d20 + 11 - 5 ⇒ (1) + 11 - 5 = 7
B damage: 2d8 + 4 ⇒ (2, 4) + 4 = 10

But the momentum of the hammer swing pulls him sideways and the blow is well wide of the mark.

*Raise shield
*Strike
*Strike

By Ragatiel, who are these invaders!

Elondel, draws his smoking longsword and moves to flank the one Peregrine is already fighting.

In Ragatiel's name, die!

Smoking Sword vs Purple FF: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (15) + 9 = 24
Damages, S + 1fire: 1d8 + 3 + 1 ⇒ (8) + 3 + 1 = 12

◆ Interact (draw longsword)
◆ Stride
◆ Strike

Khaul doesn't crit but it is still a good hit. (Red -32). Elondel also hits. (Magenta -12)

Peregrine and Cassimon still to go.

"Ah!" Peregrine shouts as he is struck by the creature. He moves away from Magenta and then tries to recall any information he may have on these creatures. Peregrine then begins an incantation under his breath. As he completes the spell a green circular rune appears in front of his outstretched hand.

◆Stride
◆Recall Knowledge (Arcana) Arcana: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (7) + 5 = 12
◆Shield

Cassimon moves into the room, and tries to help Elondel fighting the foe, using his glaive

Attack: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (10) + 5 = 15
Dmg: 1d8 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 2 = 5

Attack: 1d20 + 5 - 5 ⇒ (5) + 5 - 5 = 5
Dmg, Forceful: 1d8 + 2 + 1 ⇒ (7) + 2 + 1 = 10

but his strikes aren't precise enough, by a long shot

Stride; Attack;Attack

All Peregrine knows that these are nightmares from the Plane of Shadow .... or are they Shadows from the Plane of Nightmares.

Cassimon goes for Magenta as well but misses.

Red stabs at Khaul
spear: 1d20 + 11 - 0 ⇒ (7) + 11 - 0 = 18 piercing: 1d6 + 8 ⇒ (4) + 8 = 12
spear: 1d20 + 11 - 5 ⇒ (7) + 11 - 5 = 13 piercing: 1d6 + 8 ⇒ (4) + 8 = 12
spear: 1d20 + 11 - 10 ⇒ (11) + 11 - 10 = 12 piercing: 1d6 + 8 ⇒ (4) + 8 = 12

Dyner is up next, followed by Cyan.

Dyner takes a moment to settle her feathers and mind as she takes a few deep breathes. After a second, lines of fire start to trace themselves around her head, forming into the words of various recepies on her right as the lines on her left trace outlines of various cooking instruments going through the motions of making a meal. Free action, Unleash Psyche

Feeling empowered, she starts to create a ball of flames in almost the exact same way she made a ball of ice last round, however, this time the small ball seems to be much larger. "Making a double batch of fire cream, just for you!" She then adds kinetic energy to it and flings it straight at the magenta shadow.

Ray of frost, amped: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (16) + 10 = 26
Fire damage: 2d10 ⇒ (8, 3) = 11
Dyner gains half damage dealt as Tmp HP for 1 minute. If a critical hit, -10 to movement speed and double damage.

The recipes and instruments around her head imeditately shift from line of fire to ice, all of the ovens and grills turning to ice boxes and magic cold sigils. She sends one of the ice boxes after magenta as well, causing the lines to flip back yet again.

Magenta needs to make DC 20 Basic Reflex Save vs Cold damage: 2d4 ⇒ (4, 3) = 7

magenta ref: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (1) + 9 = 10

Surprisingly, Magenta is still up after that barrage of fire and ice(-37)

Cyan (-9) moves next to Magenta and stabs Cassimon twice.
spear: 1d20 + 9 - 0 ⇒ (5) + 9 - 0 = 14 piercing: 1d6 + 3 ⇒ (1) + 3 = 4
spear: 1d20 + 9 - 5 ⇒ (15) + 9 - 5 = 19 piercing: 1d6 + 3 ⇒ (6) + 3 = 9

Corelion is up before Magenta and Blue.