GM Valen's PFS 1e 0-20 The Devil We Know Part I: Shipyard Rats (CORE)(Tier 3-4) (Inactive)

Game Master Lysle

You have received a summons to a Pathfinder Lodge in Taldor.

Seebonickk hauls in his nets near Absalom and heads to Taldor.

A gnome with orangish hair enters the room.

"Hi all Sebonickk here! I'm handy with traps!"

A beautiful pale woman slowly, slowly cuts off a piece of meat with a silver knife. Beans, a glass of chianti... Everything seems to be fine, but something in this scene would make an unwitting viewer shudder... But there is no outsider here. After cutting off a piece, she puts this juicy meat in her mouth and takes a small sip of wine before swallowing. You weren't bad. I expected the worst. After telling this to a steak of indeterminate origin, she wipes her lips with a white napkin. Sorry to interrupt our date, but I'm in a hurry to Taldor. She smiles a strange smile, gets up, and in the light from the fireplace, her brooch with the shape of a fly and a skull on it shines brightly and ominously.

You too huh? a shortish woman says. Tell you what, you build them and I'll escape from them

I'm Nightkit by the way. Daredevil acrobat, escape artist, and all around sneaky person.

She is a human girl with medium length black hair which tumbles over her shoulders. What skin can be seen on her 5'3" tall curvy body is tanned. She is wearing a black formfitting leather outfit, with accessories, including a belt with several belt pouches, a coil of spider silk rope, a rapier and short sword resting against one hip and a sheathed dagger opposite. A knee length black cloak and black practical walking boots complete the ensemble. Her green eyes twinkle with potential mischief and she moves with the grace of a dancer.

"Sebonickk! So good to see you again!"

A flash of red-haired storms up to the gnome, picks him up and whirls him around exitedly in a full circle. Then suddenly the young woman seems to remember her manners.

"Oops. Sorry about that..."

She blushes and puts Sebonickk back down while smiling sheepishly.

Now that she's standing still you can see more than just red hair over studded leather armor. The pale, well-muscled woman with green eyes has a finely crafted dark bow slung over her back and a longsword on her hip.

She guides Sebonickk to the table she was sitting at with Nightkit.

"You havn't met my friend Kit here, have you? She likes to swim... a lot."

She winks.

"My two favored rogues both in the same Pathfinder Lodge in Taldor... this cannot be a coincidence. Were you also summoned here, Sebonickk? Or is this just a stop on a longer trip?"

Yes I do. Tell him about the time I did an entire mission while bikini clad She grins at the memory.

Anyway Merida. We're going to have to stop meeting like this. People are beginning to talk. she says teasingly.

She gives the fighter a hug of her own, and plants a chaste kiss on her cheek.

Merida blushes again - this time her face turns to a darker red. Maybe the mention of Nightkit in bikini and the hug have something to do with it?

"I... I think that's a tale for another time. So, Sebonickk... what brought you here?"

A tall man of Taldan descent walks in the room, bags thrown over his shoulder and a tired look on his face. he sets his gear down in the corner with an thud. His armour and weapon clearly show hi to be a man of battle, as well as the scars on his body. He plops down in a chair after grabbing a mug of hot black coffee.

Apologies for my tardiness...just got the message when I got back from Rahadoum. My companion will be by shortly, I think..had to stop by his church, I think. I'm Theron... he says as he raises his mug in salute with a meaty hand. He smiles when he sees a shock of orange hair. he gets up and moves to the gnome and claps him on the shoulder.

Seebonickk! how goes it, my friend! Staying out of trouble? Or just can't find any to get into... he says with a chuckle.

good to go...just waiting o chronicle form my game which just wrapped...might make minor purchases if needed...other than that, good to go...

"Greetings amigos."

Menudo's plate mail, gleams as if it had just been polished. And upgraded from MW to +2.

The tall elf adjusts the curved blade strapped across his back.

"I am Menudo, also knows as Taldan Pete. I am a Paladin of the great hunter Erastil. I hope none of you raise the dead, it would be a nice change from last time. Also, going anywhere but Rhahadoum would also be nice.

He points to a row of wands across his belt.

"I am an unusual Paladin, in that I use all magics that I can bend to my will. It usually works." +13 UMD

"Hello Theron, after the clusterlovemaker of our last mission, here's hoping this goes smoothly."

He shudders, recalling a thoroughly evil doll.

"Regardless, I am certain the Society has hand-picked us to suit this adventure, and we shall be an unstoppable team."

The conclusions of much of the party prove correct as, per the summons issued to each of you, you all find yourselves in the main hall of of the small Pathfinder Lodge in the Taldan city of Cassomir all on the same day and at the same appointed hour.

Prior to your arrivals in Taldor, you had each received a missive.
Faction Handouts are now posted on Slides. Scroll down to the handout for your PC's faction. Please note that these faction missions are entirely optional, have no mechanical benefit for completion, and may be ignored completely should you so choose.

Once have gathered at the lodge, you are greeted by Venture-Captain Hestia Themis, a small, unassuming woman of Taldan heritage with dark hair and eyes.

The Venture-Captain holds a large sheaf of papers in her small hands and clears her throat. Her booming voice, the antithesis of her stature, fills the main hall of the small Pathfinder Lodge in the Taldan city of Cassomir.

“One of our own has been kidnapped. Pathfinder Cestis was taken just days ago from a relics auction in the Imperial Naval Shipyards, and we believe his disappearance to be related to the six dozen or so kidnappings of the last several months. Now that one of our own is missing, this has become a Society matter—something we’ll get to the bottom of.”

Themis gestures to a teenage boy standing beside her, who nervously regards his surroundings and sweats profusely, his thick brown hair matted and wet against his head. “This is Nefti, the assistant to the biggest thorn in my side in Cassomir—an agent of the Aspis Consortium named Kafar. Kafar is also missing, taken from the same relics auction along with Pathfinder Cestis and a dozen other citizens of Cassomir. Nefti was at the auction, saw where a small group of the kidnapped victims were taken, and his handlers in Cassomir have give us access to him so that he might guide us to our missing Pathfinder. If you happen to find Kafar...” Themis grinds her teeth. “Let him go, per the agreement I’ve just made with his superiors. Your priority is Cestis, and I think Nefti can lead you to him. Any questions?"
Picture of Themis and Nefti now on Slides.

Please indicate any purchases made in your next post.

Also, please provide a token, marching order, and common modifiers on this Slide.

Added.

"Another relic auction? Did I mis-list my patron as Shelyn on my Society application form? Anyone here a merchant?"

I don't have my last chronicle sheets, but my purchases will go on it.

we're going to need more booze for this... Theron says as he hangs his head. If I have to face another creepy doll...by the Gods... he says as he ponders the points made by Venture Captain.

An Aspis agent, eh? So we have to let him go? Does he have to have all of his teeth? the brute laughs.

A joke...I do have a sense of humour fater all... he puts out as a defense.

Actually, helping the Aspis might gain us a few favours from them.

She looks over to the others. Creepy dolls huh? That sounds like an interesting story there

That was just the final part...a story best told after many....many drinks. Was not a fun experience...getting a sap...in case I need to "convince" someone to come along...lol

Seebonickk turns to Nighkit. He scratches his head.

"WHat's a bikini?"

Then to the others...."Hello all! Hello again Merida!"

When the venture captain starts speaking he focuses.

"Has Nefti been helpful?

Bi-Kini .... It's a two piece rather brief outfit, suitable for swimming in. Bi means two and I think kini is from an aquan word meaning 'to swim'. Very popular with the female undine population so I'm told. Males usually wear things called mono-kinis. They're just designed to cover the ... erm .... sensitive bits.

She hoped that the person who told her this wasn't having her on although it did seem to make sense.

So...you mean like a dancer's outfit...I seem to recall something like that on some serving girls and dancers at a tavern back in Absolom in the Docks area...I think. there was a huge fight there...and it's a bit fuzzy...not sure if it's the booze or the fact I had a chair broken over my head that makes it blurry... Theron says with a hearty chuckle.

Something like that ... yeah. And as a matter of fact, I do some dancing at one of the high end clubs, and sometimes in a water tank. I also do escapes and such.

She paused for a bit.

Was that the tavern in the docks that hangs over the ocean and has a hole in the floor? Cause I've performed there a few times. Usually when a fight breaks out, I just go down the hole.

She too listens to the Venture Captain when she speaks and ponders afterwards. Are we talking slavers here ma'am? Cause if we are, I'm not inclined to let any live - and I'd be obliged to rescue all of their victims. It's the right thing to do.

She looks over to Theron. Wanna be my flanking buddy? she says with a grin.

An Aspis agent, eh? So we have to let him go? Does he have to have all of his teeth? the brute laughs.

A joke...I do have a sense of humour fater all... he puts out as a defense.

Nefti looks uncomfortable, but the Venture-Captain replies in a professional tone. "“Difficult situations sometimes call for difficult choices,' she notes calmly. "The Aspis have the information we need about where to start in this mystery, and if it takes dirtying our hands with them to get Cestis back, I think it’s worth it."

"Has Nefti been helpful?

"Both the Aspis Consortium and the Society are now missing agents as the result of this recent spike in kidnappings," notes the Venture-Captain. "Nefti is the only lead we have."

Was that the tavern in the docks that hangs over the ocean and has a hole in the floor? Cause I've performed there a few times. Usually when a fight breaks out, I just go down the hole.

"That sounds like the Inn of the Unlucky Sailor where I believe the captives were taken," blurts Nefti, quite surprised upon hearing the description of the Absalom tavern. "But, that's right here in Oppara!"

She too listens to the Venture Captain when she speaks and ponders afterwards. Are we talking slavers here ma'am? Cause if we are, I'm not inclined to let any live - and I'd be obliged to rescue all of their victims. It's the right thing to do.

"“There are... rumors of twisted men from the Darklands who climb up through Cassomir’s Locker, the sewers, catacombs, and older ruins below the city," Hestia Themis concedes. "Alas, they are only rumors. We don’t know who’s doing it or why."

Any more questions?

I know of the bar you're referring to...but it wasn't that one. I would remember that detail. This was a less reputable bar as I found out after. I'm pretty sure I'm on their "Do not let in" list now... Theron says as he takes a swig of coffee, needing the pick me up now after his travels.

I'll distract them so you can shank the,,,sounds like a plan...

"Theron, I can sneak into the place. Let's talk to Nefti"

"I grow weary of compromises. Still, we have our mission, let us move on it.

At the Pathfinder's prompting, Nefti guides the party through the streets of Oppara to the shipyards. "Our destination is called the Inn of the Unlucky Sailor," Nefti explains, somewhat timidly. "Rumors are that it is currently closed for business while being remodeled."

Perched precariously overhanging the dirty harbor water stands the Inn of the Unlucky Sailor. A fresh coat of white paint glistens on half the inn’s outside walls, and most of the windows are boarded up. The roof leans slightly toward the harbor, as if at any moment the entire thing could come off and slide into the ocean. The dock leading up to the inn is made of rotting wood connected to thick, rank-smelling pilings. Several small rowboats are currently tied up along its length.

Map of the Inn is now on Slides. Please place your token on the Map, if you haven't already provided one. Also, if you haven't yet done so, please provide the requested information on this Slide.

There is limited access to the inn from the water below and the dock leading up to the main entrance is rotten and noisy.
Anyone attempting a Stealth check to move along it suffers a –5 penalty. Additionally, anyone who moves faster than a single move action along the dock on their turn must succeed on a DC 15 Acrobatics check or fall prone. The street entrance is boarded up, and would require a Strength check to bring the boards down.

It looks like a run down dump Nightkit says softly to Nefti. The Absalom version is much nicer and the water is cleaner.

Before entering, Menudo activates a standard Detect Evil, then steps inside the main door and sweeps the room.

Agreed. Kind of out of place for a bunch of rowboats to be tied up underneath isn't it? Renovations and all... thew warrior says as he checks out the area.

I can shoulder the door...or try the back way...front door is more my style...forgot to buy a crowbar again! third scenario in a row where i needed one and forgot to buy the stupid thing! also, could someone add my token to the sides please? i'm on my phone...i entered the numbers, but the token is hard for me...ty!

Done

If there's a lock ... I'll pick it but, by the Ghods, I hope the pilings are still in good shape otherwise no amount of renovations is gonna save this place.

Oops missed the part about it being closed.

Menudo holds out a crowbar to Theron. "Care to do the honors?"

Also, Menudo attempts to activate some wands.

Wand of Longstrider: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (3) + 13 = 16
Wand of Longstrider: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (12) + 13 = 25

Will make attempts at Wand of Shield if we can get the door open and are heading in.

Wand of Shield: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (2) + 13 = 15
Wand of Shield: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (14) + 13 = 27

@Ashtoret & Merida Bowie - please fill out the requested information on this Slide.

It appears from above posts that Menudo quickly and carefully, if not necessarily quietly, moved across the old dock to the main entrance and that he handed a crowbar to Theron who followed. I have moved Theron's token accordingly.

Do the others plan to follow? If so, please provide the marching order in the Slide noted above. Otherwise, please place your tokens where you wish your PC to be on the Map.

There have been parades quieter than Menudo.

@Ashtoret & Merida Bowie - please fill out the requested information on this Slide.

Done - sorry for dragging my feet.

Do the others plan to follow? If so, please provide the marching order in the Slide noted above. Otherwise, please place your tokens where you wish your PC to be on the Map.

Also done.

Merida carefully follows her melee friends, bow drawn and arrow nocked. She stops a few steps before the entrance, ready to shoot any aggressor.

readied +1 Longbow: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (8) + 8 = 16 +1 if in point-blank range
Piercing: 1d8 + 3 ⇒ (8) + 3 = 11 +1 if in point-blank range

Theron tries to wrench the door open with the borrowed crowbar.

str: 1d20 + 4 + 2 ⇒ (8) + 4 + 2 = 14

A pale woman of Ustalav descent is catching up with you. Hi all. Name's Ashtoret, pathfinder. I got a little lost on the way, friends. She nods to Merida and he smiles at her, clearly remembering some past adventure. So. Are we looking for the missing, killing all the kidnappers and raising them as zombie servants-porters for the glory of the Dark Archives? She nods knowingly at the paladin. Just kidding. Not for Archives.

Nightkit frowns at the mention of raising corpses as undead. Much that I like the idea of turning slavers into slaves, I am really not sure that's the way to do it. Nah, just the first two. But nice to meet you anyway she says sizing up Ashtoret with a sultry grin. Nightkit's the name.

Theron tries to wrench the door open with the borrowed crowbar.

Theron gives is a go. The board loosens slightly, but remains stuck.

Beyond the boards holding shut the portal, most of the party hear some movement inside. The more sharp-eared: Nightkit, Theron, and Seebonickk, even from his current position, are able to pinpoint the sources as being a humanoid, muttering some primal sound, and a the quiet, scurrying of a pair of four-legged creatures.

Putting us into rounds.

SCUFFLE AT THE INN OF THE UNLUCKY SAILOR - Round One Begins!

PCs in bold may act

?
Merida
?
Seebonickk
?
Ashotoret
Menudo
Theorn
Nightkit

Earlier...

"Hi Ashtoret! Nice to see you again!"

Merida smiles back at the wizard, but her happy expression fades away quickly when creating undead is mentioned.

"No, thank you very much. I have had enough undead for at least another year. Some of the zombies Kit and I had to fight had Wayfinders - which means they once were Pathfinders! Poor souls..." She shudders.

---

When there's noise behind the door:

"Did you hear that?"

Delay.

Btw, of course Ashtoret used a wand of mage armor before her comrades opened the door.

Some more scuttling can be heard near the door.

SCUFFLE AT THE INN OF THE UNLUCKY SAILOR - Round One Cont'd!

PCs in bold may act

?
Merida
?
Seebonickk
?
Ashotoret (mage armor)
Menudo
Theorn
Nightkit

Nope...but we'll find out what is making that sound shortly... Theron says as he grips the crowbar tightly, desperate to break through the door.

posting my action of doing the door ahead of time, to speed things up in case you guys are waiting on me...i'll spoiler it...no peeking guys!

Nightkit will be doing her best to help Theron

((also posting ahead of time - just in case))

Seebonickk double moves towards the rest of the party.

my short legs!

"Coming" he whispers

Seebonickk double moves towards the rest of the party.

my short legs!

"Coming" he whispers

Anyone who moves faster than a single move action along the dock on their turn must succeed on a DC 15 Acrobatics check or fall prone.

Seebonickk, Acrobatics: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (15) + 10 = 25

The gnome gnavigates gnotably.

Using Theron's and Nightkit's posted actions...
Though the street entrance is boarded up, a second tug by Theron, aided by Nightkit, is enough to bring the boards down.

Through the busted boards, Theron opens the entrance. The inn’s interior is now visible and it is in much better condition than the exterior. The floors are new and quiet, the walls are covered in fresh paint, and the entire place smells of recently cut wood.

Most of the furniture has been removed, though a few tables and chairs remain and are covered in sawdust and wood shavings. Several buckets of white paint sit atop the bar.

A mass of furry rats of various sizes crowd the doorway. A man dressed in furs and carrying a sizeable stick for hitting, shadowed by one of the large rats towers next to a sizable, overturned cage on sitting on the floor and the broken form of a man atop the bar.
Pictures of foes now on Slides.

The abdomen of the man lying atop the bar lies bare, bloody, and bruised.

Six more persons are hog-tied with thick rope and then tied to each other by the neck sit in the northwest corner of the tavern.

Interior of tavern now revealed on Slides.

Having been alerted to the party, two of the rats of unusual size framing the door [ooc[(blue & red)[/ooc] snap at Theron and Menudo.
Rat (blue), readied action, melee (bite) v. Menudo: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (12) + 1 = 13
Damage (P) plus disease: 1d4 ⇒ 4
Rat (red), readied action, melee (bite) v. Theron: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (9) + 1 = 10
Damage (P) plus disease: 1d4 ⇒ 1

The rat swarm then moves to envelope the Pathfinders in the doorway.
Readied move
Menudo, Nightkit, and Theron may take attacks of opportunity vs. swarm.
Swarm (P) plus disease: 1d6 ⇒ 4

Menudo, Nightkit, and Theron may attempt Fort save (DC 12) v. disease.
Menudo, Nightkit, and Theron may also attempt Fort save (DC 11) v. distraction.

SCUFFLE AT THE INN OF THE UNLUCKY SAILOR - Round One Cont'd/Round Two Begins!

PCs in bold may act

Ashotoret (mage armor)
Menudo -4 HP (Fort save vs. disease, distraction)
Round Two
Merida
Seebonickk
Theron -4 HP (Fort save vs. disease, distraction)
Nightkit -4 HP (Fort save vs. disease, distraction)
Man with stick (black)
Rat of unusual size (brown)
Rat of unusual size (blue)
Rat of unusual size (red)
Rat swarm (yellow)

Nightkit looks appalled at the way the men are tied. Someone's gonna pay for that she mutters.

fort: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (18) + 2 = 20

Nightkit doesn't have much she can do about swarms, so she acrobatics out of the swarm acrobatics: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (1) + 10 = 11
and stabs the blue rat.
rapier: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (9) + 6 = 15 piercing: 1d6 ⇒ 6

Although it is possible that she trips on a rat and ends up faceplanting on the floor.

Menudo had a wand out, because I used Shield right before we tried the "door," so I don't think he can take an AoO

Annoyed, Menudo drops his wand and turns his attention to the enemies

Menudo is immune to disease.

Save vs. Distraction: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (15) + 7 = 22

Swing on blue rat: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (11) + 9 = 20 for 1d10 + 4 ⇒ (10) + 4 = 14

heal, untrained: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (18) + 2 = 20
fort: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (10) + 6 = 16
distraction: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (5) + 6 = 11
AoO: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (16) + 10 = 261d8 + 4 ⇒ (2) + 4 = 6
it's a longsword...so u think it does half to a swarm..can't remember off the top of my head...Menudo...grab a gauntlet...preferreably spiked...then you can always take an AoO

That man's been beaten...I know the signs..from both ends... Theron says as he fights off the swarm's effects. He swings his blade at the rat next to him.

attack, PA, FF: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (14) + 10 = 241d8 + 4 + 4 ⇒ (1) + 4 + 4 = 9
power attack, furious focus...

Blast that swarm with whatever you have! I care not if I'm in it... he calls back to the wizard.
He steps forward a pace, trying to get out from the swarm's bites.

5 ft step. I give you permission to blast the swarm if i am in it fyi...this is a time when friendly fire is not as frowned upon...lol

5 ft step. I give you permission to blast the swarm if i am in it fyi...this is a time when friendly fire is not as frowned upon...lol

"I'll take the unusually large ones."

Nightkit doesn't have much she can do about swarms, so she acrobatics out of the swarm...

Assuming posted Fort save was v. poison; Fort save required for distraction (which for the rat swarm is DC 12--not DC 11 as I mistakenly stated above..

Although it is possible that she trips on a rat and ends up faceplanting on the floor.

It is not. Anyone who moves faster than a single move action along the dock on their turn must succeed on a DC 15 Acrobatics check or fall prone. Nightkit took only a single move action. Further, a swarm can move through squares occupied by enemies and vice versa without impediment, although the swarm provokes an attack of opportunity if it does so. Nightkit can move through the swarm unimpeded.

Annoyed, Menudo drops his wand and turns his attention to the enemies

The Pathfinder drops a rat.

it's a longsword...so u think it does half to a swarm..can't remember off the top of my head...Menudo...grab a gauntlet...preferreably spiked...then you can always take an AoO

A swarm made up of Tiny creatures takes half damage from slashing and piercing weapons.

Theron slices a few writing rats within the mass.

He swings his blade at the rat next to him.

Sorry, the distraction is DC 12. Theron only gets a move action.

SCUFFLE AT THE INN OF THE UNLUCKY SAILOR - Round One Cont'd/Round Two Cont'd!

PCs in bold may act

Ashotoret (mage armor)
Menudo -4 HP
Round Two
Merida
Seebonickk
Theron -4 HP
Nightkit -4 HP
Man with stick (black)
Rat of unusual size (brown)
Rat of unusual size (blue) -14 HP
Rat of unusual size (red)
Rat swarm (yellow) -3 HP

Bump!

SCUFFLE AT THE INN OF THE UNLUCKY SAILOR - Round One Cont'd/Round Two Cont'd!

PCs in bold may act

Ashotoret (mage armor)
Menudo -4 HP
Round Two
Merida
Seebonickk
Theron -4 HP
Nightkit -4 HP
Man with stick (black)
Rat of unusual size (brown)
Rat of unusual size (red)
Rat swarm (yellow) -3 HP

Due to the holiday season, I am going to give the above another 48 hours to post, then I will begin botting.

Colored splashes fly out of Ashtoret's hands when she takes a step forward and casts a spell covering all of the rats. Color Spray, DC 15 Will for swarm and red rat