[Outpost VI] Feast of Ravenmoor (Inactive)

Game Master Redelia

Bahram will put his fork holding the leafy greens down at Zubb's Obvious warning.

K.Nature: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (13) + 7 = 20

Mahakala takes a closer look at the food after the villagers nonchalant explanation of the flying pig plant monstrosity, and being a vegetarian will stick to purely the plant based food. Recognizing the plant greens being served he will only have a small serving favoring the black mushrooms.

"Perhaps over our meal you could tell us more about your protector? The Slumbering Dreamer? I have not heard of such an individual before."

Taayar being the polar opposite of the druid when it comes to food bypasses all the nasty leafy greens and mows down on any and everything with flesh that is served.

Knowledge Nature DC 12: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (7) + 8 = 15

After wrestling with the disturbing pig, Xivio is not too interested in dining on the meat offerings. Like the others he also avoids the salad greens, sticking to the mushrooms, certain that they, at least, could never intoxicate anyone...

(oops, I forgot to include Taayar. The villagers can tell he's not an ordinary creature, so settle him in just behind Mahalaka's chair, and make sure to ask him what to feed his companion.)

The mayor grins at the failed bluff, obviously amused rather than offended.

After the food is served and everyone has begun eating, Mayor Kriegler gains everyone’s attention as three families present their beautiful teenage daughters to the feasters. Each is dressed in white silk robes with intricately braided hair decorated with garlands of local flowers. Each girl takes a turn visiting family pavilions and tables, and recounting the rehearsed story of Ravenmoor’s founding.

After the complete story has been told in turn by the three girls, Mayor Kriegler consults with the village elders seated near him before declaring Shel Lupescu—a beautiful and charismatic young woman with long, blonde hair—the Founders’ Feast Queen, presenting her with a wreath of woven vines and flowers. The girl’s family then makes the rounds of the feast in a flurry of excitement and anticipation.

(Between what you already know and the story you've just been told, it appears that the Dream Tender is a reference to Desna.)

Shel appears to be trying to flirt with each one of you, seeing what response she gets.

I'm really not comfortable with detailed roleplay here, but I have to run the scenario as written. Would any of your characters be likely to respond to flirtation from a teenage girl, considering what is going on?

nope on the flirt

Nyshka would try to detect evil through her interactions with the villagers, especially the mayor and anyone being a center of attention like Shel and her family.

Nilah appears unimpressed with Shel's obvious attempts.

also nope. Odd choice to write in at this point in the scenario.

Mostly she's intrigued by the sequence of the festival and the focus on the young women. She watches people carefully for any signs of hidden motive.

Sense motive: 1d20 ⇒ 15

Way too few feathers for Zubb Zubb. So yeah, let's just jump over that.

Xivio watches the shenanigans with detached amusement, uninterested in the girl's flirtations.

Sense Motive: 1d20 + 0 ⇒ (19) + 0 = 19

Normally Bahram would be all about some flirtation, but this situation seems a little awkward. Bahram will smile halfheartedly, and give her partial attention.

Nyshka finds that the mayor is evil. Shel and her parents also detect as evil. No one else does.

reminder: detect evil finds humans who are level 4 or higher, a cleric or paladin of an evil deity, or engaged in evil

Xivio finds that Shel is not actually attracted, and instead seems to be acting out of desperation.

Xivio's eyes narrow as he takes in the seen and he gazes upon the girl with a sense of pity and concern. He waits until the group is alone to relay his suspicions regarding her desperate situation.

Mahakala will smile and to try to diplomatically rebuff her flirtatious advances. Taayar on the other hand will rush over hoping for head scratches, showing a giant grin of sharp teeth coated in the remains of her dinner.

"Perhaps we should retire for the night, so we can continue our duties with the sunrise? he inquires to his companions.

Nyshka will share her concerns with the party as well, but is uncertain what exactly kind of evil they may be up to. "I mean, it COULD be that they are a demon-worshipping cult raising an army of fiendish stirges, or they could simply have been trying to con us out of some money."

personally at a loss for what kind of wrong is going on here, but something sure is wrong lol

Don't want to meta-game, so I'll just enquire if there are any appropriate knowledge checks to be made at this time...

I don't think there are any obvious knowledge checks. The 'rails' of the adventure do indeed have you retiring for the night; I've paused here in case you as a team choose to jump off the rails... :) )

Shel completely ignores the poor little dino. She seems annoyed, like he is in the way, rather than interested in his cuteness.

[ooc]I'll move us forward to settling in for the night tomorrow, if there are no objections.

Perhaps tomorrow we can question some of the townsfolk to see what they know of the mayor and this peculiar set of young women. Now I wonder if that tax collector wasn't a victim of some sort... Nilah remarks, otherwise ready to retire for the evening.

No objections

You return with the mayor to his manor. He personally shows you to the second floor, which is all guest rooms. Each room has just enough space for one sleeper, although a little dino can sleep on the floor without a problem. The mayor tells you goodnight, promising to deal with the business of the tax money in the morning.

assuming you do nothing before bed, please place yourselves in the rooms where you will sleep.

Nilah is very suspicious of the mayor after her companions' perception of evil intent. She takes the first room to the west and, laying down on the bed, listens intently throughout the night for sounds of suspicious movement throughout the house. Until she falls asleep that is.

Mahakala will relax and quickly fall asleep in the bedroom adjacent to Nilah's, while Taayar will curl up and sleep at the foot of the door.

Zubb Zubb will take the middle room, his mongoose will share the bed with him.

However, I'd like to cast Unseen Servant before I go to sleep, and instruct it to keep the door closed. It only exerts 20 pounds of force, but that might delay an intruder, or make enough noise to rouse people. However it will only last the first four hours of the night.

Nyshka will sleep in the next room. With the bad feelings going on in the town she will sleep in her armor despite the discomfort. She can remove fatigue in the morning with her lay on hands mercy.

"Oh, how nice. There is a room for each of us. See you all in the morning. Perhaps then we can make sense of what is going on in this town."

This first part is said rather dryly. He seems to find the situation boring.

The girl and her family are evil. That's big stuff. An evil mayer doesn't surprise me, but the girl? Why was she flirting with us? That's creepy

Do these rooms have a lock? I would think that Bahram would lock his door, or at least prop a chair under the door handle. He also has thieves tools to try and lock the door.

Xivio settles in for a restful evening, certain that nothing could possibly go wrong in such a placid town...

You are all able to sleep 8 hours, before things begin to happen.

Please take care of memorizing spells, etc. The adventure is very specific that you are able to do so at this point. Spontaneous casters get all slots back, daily use abilities are recharged.

I also need two perception checks from each of you.

Perception: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (3) + 7 = 10

Perception: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (16) + 7 = 23

Spells set

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

Perception 2: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (1) + 14 = 15

Perception: 1d20 + 0 ⇒ (15) + 0 = 15
Perception: 1d20 + 0 ⇒ (20) + 0 = 20

Sticking with the same spells prepped

Perception: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (1) + 4 = 5
Perception: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (1) + 4 = 5

Nothing disturbs the rogue wizard's slumbers. Apparently wrestling with a mutant pig is surprisingly taxing.

Percpetion: 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (9) - 1 = 8
Percpetion: 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (6) - 1 = 5

Nyshka awakens fatigued but removes the condition with a use of lay on hands.

Both the Druid and Dinosaur appear to be fairly groggy upon waking.

Zubb Zubb notices a scrap of paper stuffed into a slit in the mattress where the bed is pushed against the wall. One side of the paper contains an order from the city of Magnimar for the collection of 500 gp in back taxes from Ravenmoor, while on the other is a crude map of Ravenmoor with several buildings circled— the trading post, the weaver, the ferry, and Kriegler Manor.

stirge stealth rolls: 4d20 ⇒ (20, 12, 9, 4) = 45

A stirge attacks Nilah in her sleep.
attack: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (20) + 7 = 27
The stirge attacks, draining Nilah of 1 point of Con.

Two stirges slip into Mahakala's room. The first attacks the little dino.
attack: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (9) + 7 = 16
The stirges gets a grip on the little dino, draining 1 point of Con.

The second stirge to enter the room tries to grab onto Mahakala.
attack: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (11) + 7 = 18
Mahakala also finds a stirge to be draining blood, draining 1 Con.

One stirge slips into Zubb Zubb's room.
attack: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (3) + 7 = 10
Zubb Zubb loses 1 Con.
His stirge is unable to grip him.

The stirges are up first in initiative, so drain one more con each from Nilah, Mahakala, and Taayar. Zubb Zubb's stirge tries again to attach.
attack: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (20) + 7 = 27

round 1:
Nyshka (asleep)
Taayar (-2 Con)
Xivio (asleep)
???
Zubb Zubb (-1 con)
Mahakala (-2 Con)
Bahram (asleep)
Nilah (-2 Con)
round 2:
stirges

Taayar may act, if you think he would defend himself from the stirge.
Escape artist or a grapple check might get you free from a stirge, or you can attack a stirge.

Yikes, that was a really nasty surprise round, and part of round 1 before any of you got to act...

Taayar awakens from a lovely dream of hunting Ankylosaurus to find an annoying thing with wings making her tail itch. Roaring in annoyance she will attempt to bite it and probably part of her own tail.

Attack: 1d1 + 5 ⇒ (1) + 5 = 6
Damage: 2d6 + 2 ⇒ (6, 2) + 2 = 10

Xivio snores gently, lost in dreams of strolling through a pleasant, mosquito-free, forest.

Taayar awakens from a lovely dream of hunting Ankylosaurus to find an annoying thing with wings making her tail itch. Roaring in annoyance she will attempt to bite it and probably part of her own tail.

[dice=Attack]1d00+5
[dice=Damage]2d6+2

Mahakala, note you rolled 1d1 on your attack instead of 1d20 :-)

attack for real: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (1) + 5 = 6

Lol! Sometimes it's just destiny.

Taayar's roar wakes up everyone still asleep.

Nyshka and Xivio may act. Remember you are prone in bed.

May I ask how the stirges got in? Did we have our windows open? Because, if they tried to push open the door, I think my Invisible Servant is strong enough to keep them out. Also, my familiar is out, and has scent.

It came through the door. Your unseen servant expired hours ago; it's almost dawn. The adventure says to treat it as 8 hours' sleep so that you get back spells and abilities. Also, there are other factors here that you don't know about yet that could have been involved in opening the door. In terms of your mongoose, I believe it was sleeping, too.

Zubb Zubb, I can't see your full character sheet, which means I can't be sure if the stirge hit you or not. I have to calculate what your flat footed AC without your armor on is. I had assumed that was 10 for you, but I just realized that it might be slightly higher if you have a protective magic item.

bigger picture, this encounter feels unfair to me, but I have to run as written. The doors have no locks, so can't be locked, even with thieves' tools. There are no chairs that could be wedged under the door handle. You're basically helpless against this ambush. How I rolled on initiative did not help.

Hearing the sound of fighting startles Xivio out of his restful slumber. He leaps to his feat, briefly considers whether he should try to put on his armor before shaking himself fully awake and remembering that he is a wizard, and then rushes to the door.

One action to stand. One action to grab wand of magic missile. 5' step to the door.

Nyshka gets out of bed, grabs her weapon, and moves toward the scream.

Guess this aching back from the armor was worth it. she notes as she uses lay on hands mercy to remove her fatigue.

large image of the other enemies you are fighting is placed on the side of the map

Two of the cultists moves forward and swing a sickle at Nyshka.

attack: 1d20 + 0 ⇒ (12) + 0 = 12
attack: 1d20 + 0 ⇒ (20) + 0 = 20
confirm: 1d20 + 0 ⇒ (11) + 0 = 11

one hit, not critical
damage: 1d6 - 1 ⇒ (6) - 1 = 5

Nyshka takes 4 damage. I also need a fortitude save.

The last cultist moves a little and readies an action of some sort.

bold may act.
round 1:
Zubb Zubb (-1 con)
Mahakala (-2 Con)
Bahram
Nilah (-2 Con)
round 2:
stirges
Nyshka (-4 HP, fort save needed)
Taayar (-2 Con)
Xivio
Cultists

Zubb Zubb crawls off the bed, staying prone, then casts a spell from the ground. Move action

It's Burning Hands time! Did you bring marshmallows?"

I can catch yellow, blue, and presumably the stirge in the room, without hitting any allies.

Burning Hands: 4d4 ⇒ (3, 1, 1, 3) = 8 DC15

Doors are still shut?

Nilah shoots up and out of bed, suddenly very aware and on edge. She steps over and opens the door...

[move] stand up from prone
[5ft step] N
[move] open door

Mahakala will wake with a start as his skin is pierce twice over by nasty stirge and rolls off his bed to his pack. He reaches for and draws his scimitar to defend himself with.

Move to get up and move to draw his weapon

Bahram, unknowingly, mirrors Nilah and Nyshka. He hops out of bed, grabs his axe, and opens the door.

What is happening?!

the doors that the mosquitos are in are open, other doors are closed. Mahakala, you can draw your weapon as part of your move action.

Mahakala and Nilah, you can each take a standard action still.

save rolls against burning hands: 3d20 ⇒ (8, 9, 20) = 37

"No! Mom! Dad! calls out a voice from behind the mask of Red. You're pretty sure the voice is that of Shel Lupesku from the feast!

OK, for the sake of time, I'm going to call the fight. She won't fight you anymore, but instead tries to stabilize her parents. The stirges will be dealt with quickly once you turn your full attention to them.

Shel explains to you that she is supposed to be a sacrifice in a religious ritual tonight. She and her parents came here to try to kidnap one of you to take her place. Assuming you refuse for one of you to take her place, she explains to you that the ceremony is going on in 'The Chenowitz Place", which she describes to you how to find.

sorry for not letting the conversation play out, but I'm really concerned that we won't be able to finish on time.

Any additional actions or quests for Shel before we move on to raiding the ceremony?

Slightly confused at being attacked and then having his final adversary surrender Mahakala will resheath this scimitar and motion for Taayar to stand down. After hearing her cry out the druid will cast stabilization on both her parents.

"Desperation and love will make us do things we normally wouldn't, and my wounds will heal with time so no permanent harm is done." He sighs a moment, "I suppose you should explain this ritual to us, and then if my colleagues agree even put a stop to it. Human sacrifice is not something i can sanction having knowledge of and not intervening."

Mahakala turns to his companions, "A dark thought... perhaps this is what happened of our predecessor."