GM Jhaeman's PFS1 # 5-23: 'Cairn of Shadows' (CORE) (Subtier 8-9) (Inactive)

Game Master Jhaeman

Hearing arrows from above, Jair casts Wind Wall to protect her comrades from it, as far as possible.

May the secret of winds protect my comrades! before they all die in agony...

Move to get better placed
Cast Wind Wall to the max high possible.

Climb 1/2 speed: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (7) + 5 = 12
Two Blades tried to hurry along towards the top but got nowhere.

"I'll come back for you Khellek - got some trouble to clear out."

Kavor Doan casts Still Haste on the party and ascends 40' (has a Climb speed of 20' with Spider Climb, which goes to 40' with Haste, so that is 40' with a move action).

He auto-passes the Climb Check (Take 10 for a 24).

It looks like we are spread out on the ground - not sure if that is to scale, given the shaft that we are ascending. He will get as many PCs as he can with Haste, prioritizing himself, Grog, Two Blades, Kaya, Jair, and Khellek (in that order).

He is Invisible and not carrying any light.

Fortunately, he typically prepare Still spells or V-only spells to avoid Arcane Spell Failure, so he can still cast while climbing.

With the shattering of arrows hitting the floor nearby, Kaya grabs onto a chain and scurries up.

Climb up 40 ft with Haste and hopefully see something she can do with her standard? 20 ft climb speed doubled with haste which allows take 10 for 16.

She whistles for Droog to follow, though the cat moves a lot slower up the chains.

Edit to add effect of Haste.

The cat takes a leaping jump, grabbing onto the chains with her claws and trying to pull herself up. It isn't a very natural thing to do for a very natural climber, but she loves Kaya very much.

Climb 20 ft: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (18) + 11 = 29
Climb 20 more ft: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (19) + 11 = 30

Haste on Droog so 80 ft move so 1/4 is 20 ft each climb.

Kavor Doan will have caught the cat as well in his Haste spell, so both it and Kaya should have +30' speed.

Thanks! Updated taglines for Haste and updated movements.

Jair tries to conjure a magical windy shield against the arrows raining down from above, but just can't quite get the right angle.

Two Blades makes a little progress with his ascent, while Kavor Doan and Kaya begin scaling the chains with startling speed!

@Jair: Sorry, it's a smart idea, but wind wall mentions a couple of times that it has to be vertical. It won't work on attacks from above or below.

Yes, the "horizontal" isn't to scale, and I'm happy to assume that you were bunched up enough for haste to effect everyone. Please note the caster level and duration, as buff tracking will be crucial in this encounter.

Grog is up.

Kaya looks for where the arrows might be coming from.

Perception as a move vs stealthing? enemies: 1d20 + 16 ⇒ (10) + 16 = 26

@GM no worrie, for one time my spell selection could have been smart :D

Jair uses her wand to bless her comrades.

May the secret of life and death guide your weapon and protect you from from fear.

Bless: +1 moral bonus to attack and to will save against fear.
It doens't apply on Jair... for reasons.

Grog tries to climb as far as he can.

"Thanks Jair"

Climb: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (2) + 10 = 12

Grog keeps climbing, but he can hear grunts from above as one of his allies is pummeled by glowing balls of pure energy!

Kaya is being targeted by magic missiles. Kaya, you take 16 points of damage and need to make an immediate Climb check (vs DC 10) to avoid falling.

Initiative (Round 2)

Kaya (spider climb, light spell)
Two Blades (light spell)
Kavor (invisible, spider climb)
Grog
Jair (wayfinder light)
Special # 2
Khellek (light spell)
Special # 1

Bold should go!

Because of the density of the chains, attacks from more than 40' away have a 20% miss chance.

Climbing Reminder: You climb at 1/4 your normal speed (or 1/2 speed by increasing the Climb DC by 5). If you are not threatened or distracted, you can Take 10. If you fail the DC by 4 or less, you make no progress, but if you fail the DC by 5 or more, you fall. (The DC of these chains is 10.) You must have both hands free to climb (so no shields or held weapons), you lose your Dex bonus to AC, and if you take damage, you have to make an immediate Climb check or risk falling.
I'll need a new Climb check each round.

"OUCH! That hurt! Magic from above. Hurry up you all. This isn't going well. They can see us and we can't see them!"

Take 10 for 16

"This!" scowls Khellek.

"Is why I suggested you levitate me." he starts to lecture.

"On the plus side, if they heard you climbing up, you should be able to hear my words of advice as well. I would start by focusing on their wizard.."

Inspire courage, +2 vs fear and charm spells, +2 to hit and damage. The to-hit and damage will stack with the bless. The bonus vs fear will override it. At least so long as he keeps talking.

Remember if you are climbing, all modes of travel are increased by the haste spell that Kavor Doan cast.

I have a scroll of fly, if needed! says Jair

"I've never flown before.." admits the scholar.
"It appears my preparations were not as thorough as they should have been."

And while at the bottom, Khellek is ready with a feather fall incase any of his students take a slightly-too-rapid trip toward the bottom of the chains.

Khellek starts offering some wise advice as more arrows rain down from above, threatening Kaya's precarious position on the chains!

Three arrows target Kaya. (nothing personal, Kaya--you're radiating light and the closest to the top, apart from Kavor Doan who's invisible).

Two arrows hit, and one of them's a crit. Kaya, you take 34 damage in total.

Initiative (Round 3)

Kaya (spider climb, light spell)
Two Blades (light spell)
Kavor (invisible, spider climb)
Grog
Jair (wayfinder light)
Special # 2
Khellek (light spell)
Special # 1

Bold should go!

Because of the density of the chains, attacks from more than 40' away have a 20% miss chance.

Climbing Reminder: You climb at 1/4 your normal speed (or 1/2 speed by increasing the Climb DC by 5). If you are not threatened or distracted, you can Take 10. If you fail the DC by 4 or less, you make no progress, but if you fail the DC by 5 or more, you fall. (The DC of these chains is 10.) You must have both hands free to climb (so no shields or held weapons), you lose your Dex bonus to AC, and if you take damage, you have to make an immediate Climb check or risk falling.
I'll need a new Climb check each round.

Kavor Doan climbs up, ascending 40' with a single move action.
Can he see anything? That may affect what he does with the rest of his turn.

He auto-passes the Climb Check (Take 10 for a 24).

Kaya climbs right back down to the bottom and pulls out a wand as she gingerly removes an arrow from her arm.

She hasn’t touched the one sticking out of her neck yet. Her voice gurgles, ”Sta… st… stay th..ere Droo.”

Climb down 40, free to command, move to draw wand.

Grog keeps climbing.

Climb: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (15) + 10 = 25

"Everyone OK?"

Badly wounded, Kaya is forced to retreat--but Kavor Doan and Grog continue the ascent!

Kavor Doan's standard action is up, and Two Blades and Jair also have their turns.

Fast climb: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (13) + 5 = 18
getting a better grip on the chains, Two Blades quickly closed the distance.

ID Slim Figures, Heroism: 1d20 + 7 + 2 ⇒ (7) + 7 + 2 = 16
ID crone: 1d20 + 7 + 2 ⇒ (5) + 7 + 2 = 14
Bleh... not great rolls. May be enough for the masked figures, maybe not.

Kavor Doan almost regrets having spent so much more time drinking and fighting when he should have been studying. Then he thinks better of it and resumes ascending the chains.

Another 40' up, so now off the map and 20' from the platform.

Not able to do anything, and not wanting to get up as long it's not secure, Jair delays.

Kavor Doan presses on, still invisible, and Two Blades ascends rapidly as well. Meanwhile, Jair decides to bide her time until the moment for decisive action comes.

A cackling voice comes from the top of the shaft, quiet at first but then louder and louder! "Tricky, tricky, tricky . . .Sneaky, sneaky, sneaky!

A brief flicker of glowing lights in the darkness indicates spellcasting.

Initiative (Round 3)

Kaya (spider climb, light spell)
Two Blades (light spell)
Kavor (invisible, spider climb)
Grog
Jair (wayfinder light)
Special # 2
Khellek (light spell)
Special # 1

Bold should go!

Because of the density of the chains, attacks from more than 40' away have a 20% miss chance.

Climbing Reminder: You climb at 1/4 your normal speed (or 1/2 speed by increasing the Climb DC by 5). If you are not threatened or distracted, you can Take 10. If you fail the DC by 4 or less, you make no progress, but if you fail the DC by 5 or more, you fall. (The DC of these chains is 10.) You must have both hands free to climb (so no shields or held weapons), you lose your Dex bonus to AC, and if you take damage, you have to make an immediate Climb check or risk falling.
I'll need a new Climb check each round.

How injured is everyone at this stage?

Khellek keeps up his inspiring words and eyes up the rest of the group who seems to be mostly descending again.

Anyone nearby injured, Khellek will likely heal, but be good to get a quick summary of damage

Kaya stands there, next to Khellek, blood dripping down her very injured body as she gasps for breath. Wicked bruises are on her shoulders and two large puncture wounds from arrows are present. One to the neck and one to an arm. She holds a wand, presumably for healing, but it probably won’t do the trick very fast.

No one else has taken damage. It has been all me. She is the only one who came back down.

"Kaya you OK?" Grog shouts down.

Jair moves closer to Kaya and calls for her god to heal the druid.

May the secret of Life and Death heals your wounds.

Cure Critical Wound: 4d8 + 9 ⇒ (5, 6, 2, 7) + 9 = 29

It’s still Khellek’s turn (sorry Jair).

She came out of delay.

”Oh, that’s the stuff. I should be able to get back into the slaughter shortly. Thank you.”

Khellek eyes up the damaged Kaya. Shaking his head he mutters something about Health and safety training.

cure light wounds: 1d8 + 5 ⇒ (5) + 5 = 10
Assuming there is any damage left after Jair comes out of delay. Otherwise he just stays ready to use feather fall on any pathfinder falls.

"Thank you Professor Khellek, I feel a lot better."

Jair and Khellek work in concert to magically knit some of Kaya's serious wounds back together.

Moving quickly but outlined by the light, Two Blades becomes the next target of the archers' attacks!

Three attacks on Two Blades. Because Climbing denies the Dex bonus to AC (and Uncanny Dodge doesn't help in this specific situation) and there's no Two-Weapon Defense, I believe Two Blades modified AC is 15 (please correct me if I'm wrong). If so, all three attacks hit and one is a critical threat that confirms. Two Blades, you take a total of 44 damage and need to make a DC 10 Climb check or fall.

Initiative (Round 4)

Kaya (spider climb, light spell)
Two Blades (light spell)
Kavor (invisible, spider climb)
Grog
Jair (wayfinder light)
Special # 2
Khellek (light spell)
Special # 1

Bold should go!

Because of the density of the chains, attacks from more than 40' away have a 20% miss chance.

Climbing Reminder: You climb at 1/4 your normal speed (or 1/2 speed by increasing the Climb DC by 5). If you are not threatened or distracted, you can Take 10. If you fail the DC by 4 or less, you make no progress, but if you fail the DC by 5 or more, you fall. (The DC of these chains is 10.) You must have both hands free to climb (so no shields or held weapons), you lose your Dex bonus to AC, and if you take damage, you have to make an immediate Climb check or risk falling.
I'll need a new Climb check each round.

Jair draws her scroll of flight and stows away her wand of bless.

Kaya, still a bit injured, hits herself with the wand of healing and puts it away, ”Thank you all, I’ll head back up now. Hopefully we can get up there, they are in a massively advantaged position.”

Wand of CMW: 2d8 + 3 ⇒ (3, 4) + 3 = 10

Kavor Doan will cast Still See Invisibility to locate the crone.

Because he does not have his bonded item in hand, he needs to make a DC 22 Concentration check.

Concentration: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (14) + 12 = 26

Then, able to see the crone, he climbs the chains and onto an open spot on the platform. He combines the last part of this move with drawing his waraxe.

He needs 20' of climbing to get to the platform, and has a 40' movement. When I can see the platform, I will figure out his positioning.

Climb: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (13) + 5 = 18

Despite having taken some serious damage from arrows Two Blades was able to hang on to the chains. Disgression being the better part of valor, he made his way do to the ground in order to get patched up.

Climb back down: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (17) + 5 = 22

As Jair prepares for flight and Kaya heals herself further, Two Blades is forced into a tactical retreat. But Kavor Doan has reached the top and, invisible, is ready for action!

Kavor Doan can finish his movement and Grog can go.

Kavor Doan will get off on one of the squares adjacent to the shaft, but will then use Spider Climb to scurry up the wall and around the corner, ending up behind the crone.

Grog climbs near the dwarf.

Climb: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (5) + 10 = 15

fast climb if I can

As Droogami clings to the chains, Grog advances far below. Meanwhile, Kavor Doan gets into position for what he hopes will be a surprise attack!

@Kavor Doan: I'm going to roll a Stealth check for you to see if they hear you maneuvering and realise you're on the platform with them (but of course you'll get the +20 bonus from invisibility). No one seems to notice you're there.

@Grog: Fast climbing gives a -5 penalty to your Climb check. Fortunately, with that roll, you make it exactly. If you haven't already moved your token, you can advance 15' up the chains.

For a few instants at least, silence fills the shaft.

As only Droogami and Grog are on the chains, and neither radiates light, there's not an obvious target.

Are we up in Initiative?