[OPVI] PF2e B21 - Against the Unliving (P1) (Inactive)

Game Master UncleFroggy

Please dot (add a post) in here and then delete your post to add yourself to this campaign.

1) I am based in Southeast Asia (UTC +8) so my posting hours may be unusual (especially for those in North America). I usually update at least one or twice per day. Just to keep the game moving, please post at least once every day and at least once during the weekend.

2) Please label all three of your actions. Even if you think what you are doing is obvious.

3) If I am unavailable for longer than 24 hours, I will let you know in the Discussion Tab. Out of respect for your fellow players and myself, I ask that you do the same. Real life happens, and real life will always take priority over the game, but out of fairness for your fellow players, please let us know if you will be unavailable for an extended period of time.

4) Please note that on the following days, my posting can get unpredictable:
Tuesday/Thursdays - all day, as they are the 2 busiest days of my work week

4) Please complete the Macros and the Slides linked at the top of the page.

5) Questions, concerns? Feel free to share them in the Discussion tab.

6) Let's have some fun and tell a great story together! After all, that's what we are here for.

The young half elf enters into the room. The half-elf has Tian features. He bows in greetings and in a strong Taldan accent greets his companion. He is dressed in white and golden robes with flecks of gold in his hazel eyes. I am Iustanus. I am pleased to meet you all.

Your adventure begins in Caliphas, where the you have been staying for the past few days. While perusing job boards, you come across a tattered and rain-stained bounty pinned on top of fresh ones.

Knight in need of adventurers who can brave undead-infested lands. Please contact the master innkeeper of the Elderberry Cellar to arrange a meeting.

You may introduce yourselves here

"Honey, over here." The red-haired human man bounds over to the job board. "...See? I knew someone would need our help. Best vacation ever, or bestest vacation ever?" He grins, proud of his discovery.

"Oh! I didn't see you here. Sorry about that." He turns to you and waves an apology. You notice the simple curved necklace around his neck shine unnaturally. "I'm Jiggo Maeleranti. Pleased to meet you." He turns to his companion, a tall, slender grey skinned woman with bat wings covered in feathers. "And this is the love of my life... come on, Salera! Say hello to Iustanus."

Salera remains leaning against the wall in the inn. No one bothers her here. The few who brave the approach have something to say about her tail, or the bat horns on her head, or the faintly glowing curved sigil on her forehead. She chases them off soon enough. She can feel the rage build up ever so slightly, before Jiggo tells a dumb joke. He never gave up on her.

"I'm Salera." She gives a practiced curtsy. "I'm with Jiggs." She steps forward to ruffle his puffy hair. "I go where he goes. Looks like we're going to the Elderberry Cellar. You coming?"

A sky-blue haired woman is reading aloud parts of the notice. "Knight in need, that sounds respectable. Undead-infested lands, I just helped another village at this, contact at Elderberry..." she has a tiny shudder, snaps open her butterfly-shaped fan and gives her face a breeze "...cellar."

She turns to the newcomers. On first glance, her clothes seem as fine as any and aesthetically pleasing, but on closer look her shirt is clearly Taldan nobleman style, skirt brings to mind Quadiran temple dancers, hair veil is from Varisia and the jewels resemble Osirian funeral ones. She is tall and slim even for an elf, her face is too young and eyes dark and deep.

"Oh, hello friends! Or do you prefer colleagues? I just got my wayfinder to attach the lid I got from Janira Gavix, and as it says, I am Lindevaile Tindome." she greets as she pulls out a brand-new wayfinder with one hand, still fanning herself with the other.

"That looks interesting" she says to Salera as she notices the sigil, not at all bothered by Salera's appearance. "Is it something that connects you to what is important to you? Like my hair, it was stone gray but turned blue soon after I came out and felt the wind for the first time."

A small fungus leshy pops out of the nearby shadows and grabs a few of the old, rain-stained bounties from beneath the fresh one. They stuff them into their mouth and start chewing, reading the new announcement loudly and slowly. "Oh. I like knights. I don't like undead. I should meet at the elderberry inn. Elderberries are good, Elderberry Knights?" They continue to chew, looking at the others and blinking a few times.

"Hellow, I'm Eddie. Nice to meet you, fellow Pathfinders yes?" Eddie also shows off their engraved wayfinder to Lindevaile and scratching their cap while looking at the others. "You all seem familiar.." I've played with so many of these characters I forget who's played with who!

Eddie has the look of what most would call a 'typical' mushroom: cap and stem, but with the added bonus of stubby arms and legs and a face. Atop their 'cap' rests a small version of a pirate's hat. They carry a staff, worn by the lapping of waves along a shoreline, and a spaulted wooden shield across their back.

Short by the standards of his own people, Fjorn makes up for his average human height in midway heft. He is surprisingly nimble for a thick-bodied and heavily armored warrior - sporting a buckler on his right arm and a tower shield on his back. His thick beard and full head of hair a dirty blond finds itself loosely bound into multiple moderately kept locks; a few of which are indeed well groomed and arranged neatly into ropey braids, whereas others seem to have taken on an orientation of their own, unruly, unwound, unorganizable.

Though his manners are polite, they stand in contrast to his wild eyes which dart around, as if to signify he is experiencing a mild hallucination at all times. This isn’t far from the truth, for beneath his warm furs what looks like a portable laboratory is stowed in horizontal and vertical rows across the inside of his garments and around his waist - liquids of nearly every spectra visiblly within reach of his ordinary sized hands.

His voice is warm as he turns to Bo "Familiar, no" then to Lindevaile, Jiggo and Salera, and lustanus "But confident in your company, I ken be. Fjorn is my name, of the Kolkind Clan. I am ready when yew all are, and, though a knight I don't be, I make up for it in great legacy of heritage: for I am an Ulfen!" and here he smiles broadly for emphasis.

Salera raises her eyebrows, curious about the elf with clashing fashion sense but without fear and hesitation. "Jiggs and I are linked." She points a finger at the human. "I can only be around here when he's around. I'm just... glad to find him again." She relaxes just a bit.

"Oh! Eddie!" Jiggo runs over and waves hello. "Your >berries were delicious!< I had so much fun rounding up baby dinosaurs with you. Salera also had fun, as well!" He waves back at Salera when she points, earning a sigh in response. "You know Salera, always shy in public."

Jiggo offers to shake Fjorn of Kolkind Clan's hand. "Good to see you. I'm Jiggo Maeleranti. It isn't often that I find a human as tall as I am." Jiggo is short for a human, not counting his mass of orange poofy hair. "Maybe this is a good sign from Shelyn." He pulls out the holy symbol from underneath his tunic. "Oh! Or Noctiluca!" He waves to Salera, who sighs and taps the holy symbol trinket near her right ankle.

The half elf, half Tian, is quiet, taking it all in.
Undead are a blight, even more so since the Whispering Tyrant has returned. I would like to add my skills to the extermination of the undead and perhaps join the Knights of Last Wall, though, do they have need of less military types?

"Oh! Eddie!" Jiggo runs over and waves hello. "Your >berries were delicious!< I had so much fun rounding up baby dinosaurs with you. Salera also had fun, as well!" He waves back at Salera when she points, earning a sigh in response. "You know Salera, always shy in public."s to Salera, who sighs and taps the holy symbol trinket.

Eddie drums their fingers on the side of their cap, rousing a few small fly larvae from their hiding places. "Oh, the boat and the sea.. to get the stuff from? And shinies!" They take out a gold coin and bite it, smile, and return it to a pocket. "I hope you've explored many pretty places and gotten many shinies to chew on."

"Ulfen, hrm..." Eddie has no idea what an 'Ulfen' is but smiles and nods just the same. "You have nice big face hair. Do the leaves and fir sprills get stuck in it?"

A scruffy little goblin in a brown robe, closely pursued by a slightly less scruffy and little goblin, scurries over to join the crowd, proudly holding up his own wayfinder. "Pathfinders! I can help?"

The second goblin looks nervously up at the much larger people around.

"That's my cousin, Tup. He's not a Pathfinder, he just worries I'm not careful enough. But every time I see people get worked up about undead, you just smash 'em. Easy enough!"

He bounces a little, looking at the board. "I'm Zibini. I do magic. I can make people braver!"

"Or Desna, and preferably all of them." Lindevaile Tindome says, showing Jiggo the butterfly on her fan. "We could go see more of the city later, it's so big and I've seen only so little this far. I seem to be good at drawing attention, so you'd be left in peace.", she says to Salera, smiling.

"I don't what being Ulfen really means, and how it's different from a knight. But I trust you, and you can tell me more."

"I can make them more scared!" she says to Zibini and gives him a quick demonstration of her nastiest glance, surprising on such a youthful face.

"Well, we have a good group of skilled people here, so let's go hear more." She waves with her fan in the general direction she expects the meeting to be. "We are all strong and motivated, but the teachers told us that in diversity is our strength. Are we diverse enough?" she wonders with complete sincerity.

Perhaps self-conscious of the mention of height, Fjörn puffs out his stomach as if doing so would add an inch or two to all three of his physical dimensions, and thrusting his hand forward, shakes with the vigor of slight overcompensation ”Jiggo of the Maeleranti clan” but his smile is genuine ”May your own story add to those of your forebears” when something dawns on him with suddenness, he whirls as his facial expression now conveys recognition, and says to his fellow Verdant Wheeler ”Nope. Yep. Yew among old Urwal’s ilk, say, was it that herbal excursion?...” his mind searching for a memory just out of grasp... he pivots with directionlessness, pulling a leaf out of his hair and considering it, before stowing it back ”Bah. More than one way to keep warm. Little detritus makes for keen insulation, no?”

I believe that we are skilled enough! the half elf states/ The blood of the golden dragons flows through these veins and gives me arcane power

"Oh, that's a clan name? Shame that mom never told me our clan, I have to go by one name only." Lindevaile Tindome comments Fjörn's and Jiggo's discussion.

"Oh I have heard of your kind! I always wondered how it worked, as I feel the wind and can produce air in my hands. How do you feel a dragon or produce some of it?" she wonders Iustanus's bloodline.

The half elf shrugs at the elf's question. I used to be able to just manifest some magical effects, like eldritch bolds and rays of flame, as well as some cantrips. I have been able to also do this.. he says as his hands grow into golden claws and his hands take on the golden scales of a dragon.

But lately, I feel more drawn to this heritage, more aware of being a dragon, as if their might wants to manifest through me

This is a way that I am explaining his Dragon Disciple dedication

"Four bears sounds like a lot," says Zibini thoughtfully, "I've only fought one bear. It was a zombie, though."

"Oh of course! You are not just connected to dragons, you are one." Lindevaile Tindome says as she admires the half-elf's sharp claws.

"Didn't meet bears. Just boars, and they went away when I gave them a nasty look.", she adds to Zibini's thoughts.

At the Elderberry Cellar, the innkeeper points you to a private suite upstairs at the end of the corridor. As the group approaches the room, a muffled explosion occurs and the door at their destination opens, revealing a slightly smoky and disheveled Chelaxian man in his late twenties.

"Innkeeper! I'm so sorry about the noise and bother! I'm testing some delayed holy bombs. Wait, you don't look like the innkeeper. Are you here for the bounty I posted? I am Timitheo Ralovon, Knight of Lastwall. "

"Ah, hello Timitheo Ralovon." Jiggo goes for another handshake before coughing a bit. "Sorry, it's a bit acrid in there." He covers his mouth and clears his throat. "I'm Jiggo Maeleranti. That's Salera, in the back and covering her nose. Allergies."

"Lindevaile Tindome, Zibini and Tup. Eddie, Fjorn of the Kolkind Clan, and Iustanus make the rest of us. We're responding to your job posting. Something about the undead?"

"Four bears sounds like a lot," says Zibini thoughtfully, "I've only fought one bear. It was a zombie, though."

"Bears can be mad if they are hungry or you wake them too soon. They eat mushrooms. Four would be much worse than 1." Eddie nods in agreement before following the others towards the inn.

---

"Are you hurt? Was it bog gas going boom? I've seen that." Eddie shuffles ahead and looks inside the room.

Lindevaile Tindome walks through the room to the nearest window, opens it and begins fanning the smoke out of the room. "We have experience in similar threats, and for any unforeseen problems, we are resourceful and creative." she says showing her butterfly fan and then continuing to drive the smoke out of the window.

Earlier

The Ulfen responds to Lindevaile "May your deeds bring honor to those who too bear the name Tindome"

Now

"Not the Innkeeper, your deposit it sound" Fjörn pulls out the bounty page he collected earlier and shows it to "Timitheo Ralovon, Knight of Lastwall, my name is Fjörn of the Kolkind Clan, Pathfinder turning the Verdant Wheel, and these are my colleagues: Lindevaile descendant to Air, Jiggo and Salera of the Maeleranti clan, bonded by holy link, lustanus descendant of the Gold Dragon, humble Zibini, a Brave goblin, and Eddie Bo, sprouted of the Leetus"

He realizes here that his introductions were made double to Jiggo, the two talking in tandem, and moves to advance the conversation with arms expanding into the entire hallway "Have we permission to enter and discuss business?"

I like Fjorns introduction, I was almost expecting him to introduce himself as son of x, son of x, like the dwarves in the Hobbit movies, lol

The half elf nods in greetings.

"Oh yes, yes! Come in! Come in! I was creating delayed action holy bombs as part of my Knightly duties. Now then, I need you to check out an island for me. It's in the middle of Lake Encarthan. I last saw my old friends leading undead away from the refugees. They were last seen rowing a boat towards this island. I don't believe they survived, but I'd like confirmation and perhaps to recover some mementos for burial. Is this something you can do?"

Eddie scratches their cap, slowly piecing together the request in question.

Perception DC16: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (10) + 11 = 21

"That sounds very dangerous. Didn't something really big happen in that lake with undead recently?" He urges the man to tell the rest of the story.

Timitheo sighs. "I guess I was pretty obvious, eh? I... keep having nightmares. In my dreams, they were all... dead, but moving toward me. I could never lift my sword against them. It’s too much. I can’t handle... If this is real, please, end their suffering."

Timitheo then proceeds to describe his friends to you:

"How terrible..." Jiggo listens to the man's story. "You need closure, more than anything else. We'll do whatever it takes to confirm their whereabouts. We'll bring back news or mementos from them, alright?" Jiggo gives the man a hug, if possible.

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (18) + 9 = 27

Once the team finishes and they leave the inn, Jiggo whispers. "I didn't want to say much. His allies may be Skeletons and Zombies now. They're the most likely undead we would encounter. If they survived but their pets did not, those animals would likely haunt their owners." He sighs.

"You may be right, it can be easier to go on if you know what happened. And anyway if there's undead they should be destroyed. We'll go." Lindevaile Tindome agrees with Jiggo.

"It's been a long time since the event, I guess zombies have rotten to skeletons already. I heard somewhere that you can keep zombies from rotting somehow, they are called husk zombies. If we see zombies, it might be that kind." she whispers an answer to Jiggo.

"It's not a clan name, it's all mine. Like Rosemary who was in my class was not from clan Mary. I write it in two parts, people say it right that way. Not Linde Vailetindome, but Lindevaile Tindome. As it was not Ro Semary but Rose Mary." she chats to Fjörn later.

"Don't worry, smashing undead is fun and easy!"

"Why are you so focused on their hair?"

"Find and loot your friends' corpses. Got it!"

Zibini is pretty good at working with people, and knows not to say any of these.
"We can handle that!" he says instead.

"Oh, I understand now. We'll try to help but we'll need a big boat to take us all. That's a big lake!" Eddie bobs their head in agreement with themselves.

“We’ll find your friends laddie, and be they alive, bring them back apiece, and be they dead or worse, ease their suffering into the next plane of existence” Fjörn reassures their quest giver.

He then reaches into his alchemical belt and arranges some bottles...

What sorts of momentos would you like for us to bring back? he asks the alchemist.

"Well, I would say things that were important to them in life. Rook had a spellbook, Pups had a spiked collar, Denufair, Doronea's rabbit usually had a ribbon around her neck. That sort of thing."

"I've arranged for a boat, the Faithful Return, to take you most of the way. I suggest that you prepare to leave early tomorrow morning. The ship has its own security so you can rest at night, though you’re welcome to help keep watch."

If you need to make changes to your daily preparations, go ahead and make them now. Also if you need to make any purchases, now would also be the time to make them.

"I think we have enough information. Let's rest and head to the island tomorrow."

Lindevaile Tindome returns to the inn where she has stayed for the last few days. After dancing a bit with other guests in the evening, she heads to her room and it's balcony, where she has pushed the bed. She sleeps peacefully in the night wind under Desna's stars.

I read through quite a lot of minor items, but nothing seemed good enough to buy.

"Alright, time to sail." Jiggo prepares to go to the port while Salera holds him back for a moment. "Uh... tomorrow?"

The half-elf will go and purchase a staff of water.= for 60 gp.

"The undead attack at night. If we get to choose, we should go in the light. Tomorrow!" Zibini agrees enthusiastically.

and a wand of mage armor.

Will we be able to find the undead in the day? Don't some only come out at night? he inquires.

On board the Faithful Return, the captain mentions that this island is cursed. A strange gray fog soon rolls in during the day, so you might be better off venturing onto the island at night.

You folks decide. Will this be a day assault or a night assault. :)

Lindevaile Tindome is standing at the bow of the boat looking ecstatic. Even the occasional splash of water or a gust throwing her hair on her face seems to delight her. "This is so wonderful! It's so... open! Feels just sooo good! And you see so far, all the new places we could go!"

When the captain speaks, Lindevaile Tindome calms a bit. "Oh yes, the island. Shame it's such a sad place. I can push away some fog, but not a whole islandful. Maybe it would be better at night, we would see trouble further away." She looks at her companions expecting agreement but then, looking at the humans, realizes: "Wait, or would we? How much light do you need? I have this" she takes out her wayfinder turning it's light on "but how many of these would we need?"

Lindevaile Tindome is probably better off in darkness than in fog. But I don't know how much darkness hurts the tactics used by our non-darkvision members.

Jiggo wakes up, prays for a bit, checks the town for the nearest hospital or hospice, and makes a mental note to return later.

"Well then. Salera can see in the dark, and I can see through her. Although sometimes she spends too much time checking me out." Jiggo ponders as Salera passes her hand through his hair. "Maybe we're better off going during the night. I'll light a torch so the rest of us can see."

Fjörn shrugs ”Better now than later, for the Dead have their way with our young squire’s friends another day”

Hefting the tower shield off his back, our hallucinogenic Ulfen hero lights a common torch and situates it snuggly within a sconce, his arm demonstrating surprising strength and ease of carry despite his average stature.

"Ooo fog is nice... but so is darkness.. can't we do both?" Ponders Eddie, enjoying both moisture and darkness it can be a hard choice for them.

Eddie has darkvision but can't do anything about concealment so prefers the night option I guess.

My elven eyes allow me to see in the dark, with some light. I would recommend going at night, it maybe more dangerous but also bear more fruit.

Whatever time they decide to go, he will use his wand of mage armor to boost his defenses. He will also spend time attuning to the new staff.The staff is carved in blue lacquer and with wave designs on it. It smells of rain.
[ooc] I thought he had a light spell but not on this character. [/b]