#6-09: By Way of Bloodcove (1e GM rotation) (Inactive)

Game Master Mustaparta

Elemenar catches the scrollcase and verifies that it is empty. His own scroll with a flaming sphere spell on it is simply rolled up and tucked into his belt. He moves the scroll to the scrollcase. "Thanks. Now I won't be worried that the scroll will go off on its own. You know that can happen sometimes. If they aren't properly protected." He maintains a serious face as he fastens the case to his belt.

Bluff: 1d20 + 0 ⇒ (20) + 0 = 20 Even the grumpy old elf can pull off a joke every once in a while.

Kiyoko gives Elemenar a blank look, completely befuddled by the elven wizard.

I had kind of assumed that she was tossing the scroll and the papers inside to Elemenar, but hey...I guess the papers fell out while she was tossing it?

“Malika additionally informed us that this expedition’s aims are of great concern to the Pathfinder Society. She has collected substantial intelligence to this effect but is unable to get the information out of the city... I ask that you travel into the lion’s den to retrieve the information that Malika has gathered on this expedition so that we can find out if it is connected to Sharrowsmith’s disappearance. Malika has indicated that she left a message for us in the Witchlight Inn that will help us find her information, so head there first."

“Though these are grim circumstances, they also present us with an opportunity. Once you have infiltrated the city, try to sabotage the Consortium’s preparations for the expedition. ... I also want you to make some inroads for the Society in the city. Gaining the ability to move agents and supplies through Bloodcove more easily would be a massive boon for our operations in the Expanse. I have some information on some disenfranchised citizens of Bloodcove who may be up to the task. Finally, gather some intelligence of your own. Talk to the people of Bloodcove and see how complete the Aspis’s control over the populace is. Report to me any groups or people of influence who may be sympathetic to our cause and support us...

Obviously this is the information you were seeking. Following objectives are left: 1) sabotage the Aspis Consortium expedition 2) gauge attitudes of locals 3) make a deal to smuggle Pathfinders through Bloodcove

"Which of our tasks should we do next? Getting the lay of the land would help us in infiltrating the consortium's operations here. We'll need to know if the citizens will turn us in or not. It would make moving around easier." Ki Chin suggests.

Aylanna agrees with Ki Chin that familiarizing with the locals sounds like a good next step.

Elemenar nods. "You are right. The locals are a good place to start next."

One person, who would answer to questions, is Byshek Obiel innkeeper of the Witchlight. You return to him and ask his opinion on Aspis. “You ask me, the Consortium is the best thing that ever happened to this place. This used to just be a pirate hideaway, now it’s the center for trade in the region!” he says

You will meet more NPCs willing to answer as you attempt sabotage and smuggling missions.

"...You don't say," Kiyoko says, barely hiding her doubts about the man's opinion. "That is a far cry from what I heard."

She gives Aylanna a meaningful look, as if to say, You do the talking.

Also remember to roll the cover checks at this point.

Aylanna doesn't try to argue too much with the innkeeper, but does explain her differing experience and asks more specifics about what the Aspis have done to improve things.

"I'm not a local, but my experience with the Consortium is less ... positive." She'll tell some real life story (which I am not familiar enough with their specific pathfinder lore to make up) before asking "What have they done around here that has made things better?"

Diplomacy to gather info and convince: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (8) + 13 = 21

Diplomacy for merchant cover: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (19) + 13 = 32

Cover (intimidate): 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (14) + 4 = 18

Elemenar can't help but scoff when Byshek praises the Consortium's presence in Bloodcove.

Cover, Laying low,Knowledge(local): 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (19) + 9 = 28

"Well, they provide jobs and keep this place from being raided by pirates, so in my opinion they have improved our living conditions. I'm sorry to hear, that the Aspis agents you have met haven't been as nice." he says

3 out of 4 successes. Lin Ki hasn't rolled yet. Which mission do you want to try next? You can continue asking attitudes of locals you meet.

Ki Chin stays at the back, trying to keep unnoticed, as Aylanna starts asking questions.
Stealth: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (6) + 3 = 9

The magus whispers to the others. "Shall we make a nuisance of ourselves on the expedition?"

Since no one objected to Ki Chin, you're heading to expedition

Roll Diplomacy to locate expedition's staging ground.

Diplomacy (gather information?): 1d20 ⇒ 5

Kiyoko gives Ki Chin a slight nod and waits for Aylanna's questioning to run its course. As the party heads for the exit, she makes a small bow and follows after them.

Ki Chin starts asking around about the expedition's gathering point.
Diplomacy: 1d20 - 2 ⇒ (9) - 2 = 7

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (18) + 13 = 31

Aylanna also asks around, but nicely.

Aylanna gets answers before people start wondering too much your curiousity.

Finding the dock where the Aspis Consortium’s riverboats are being prepared is a simple task, as the operation is large enough in scope to have most of the city talking about it. Three large sailing vessels sit in the river slips. All three are serviced by a large warehouse, which contains pallets of food and barrels of water. The dock is bustling with porters packing supplies into crates and building pallets to be loaded onto the boats using an overhead winch.

While working alongside the dockworkers guarantees the PCs access to look around, to have any opportunity to actually sabotage the operation PCs must wait for the workers to leave, which they do either at the end of the workday or shortly after midday (when the jungle heat becomes too great for manual labor). If the PCs decide to come back during one of these periods, or if they investigate the site without accepting the job, they arrive to find the dock empty of workers but guarded by the Consortium’s hired mercenaries and their trained hyena. A sufficiently skilled party may attempt to sneak past the guards, but once the guards have spotted an interloper, it is very difficult to avoid combat.

From across the street fronting the docks, Elemenar watches the stevedores sweat away while loading the three ships. Even though it is still relatively early in the day, the jungle heat and humidity are oppressive. That doesn't look like work that he wants to do. There are a couple of foremen bossing everyone around. Lounging on a pile of boxes that are waiting to be loaded are some rough looking thugs. A mangey hyena lays at their feet, occasionally biting at flies as they buzz past. One of the thugs is busy picking at his fingernails with a dagger. Another looks like she's honing the edge of her blade with a stone. Their mismatched weapons and armor give them away as mercenaries. Elemenar quickly realizes that these are hired guards. Even after the workers leave, the guards will probably still be a problem.

"Well," he says to his companions. "It looks like we're going to have to deal with those guards. After the workers leave, I might be able to put them to sleep and then we could sneak in. I'm afraid that a direct confrontation would tip our hand significantly."

Kiyoko sighs inwardly. All of this subterfuge is obnoxious. Would that I could simply solve the problem with my katana.

“Shikata nai,” she says. “It cannot be helped. We wait, then?”

Aylanna has nothing to help with the disabling and sneaking plan suggested by Elemenar, other than a mediocre but positive stealth skill. If it comes to sneaking she's in, but is also ready to bust up some aspis guards if need be.

Sighing in remembrance of his attempts at stealth so far Ki Chin nods in agreement to Elemenar's plan.

"Let us go with Elemenar's plan of putting them to sleep."

There are 5 guards and a guard hyena. Sleep spell would not get all of them and rest would fight.

How many would it get?

Two guards would be affected and they get Will save. If any of them escape, Cover checks become harder and fighting causes enough disturbance to get noticed. But at this point, it likely won't matter that much as you already found Malika's journal.

Moving forward Elemenar casts sleep spell, but only one guard is affected.

Will save: 1d20 ⇒ 6
Will save: 1d20 ⇒ 18

"Intruders! Alert!" screams half-orc, who looks like boss.

The boss draws his greataxe and orders the hyena to attack you. Red guard drinks a potion and you hear noise from inside the warehouse.

Put your tokens on slide 3. You could arrive either left (off map), north or south. Party can act.

Aylanna will move in from the north toward the middle, stop 10 feet away from Orange guard. She casts Murderous Command on him, hoping to send him back to fight his boss. DC 16 Will Save or attack its nearest ally next turn, including move if needed.

Murderous Command Link

Will save: 1d20 ⇒ 5
Orange guard turns away from Aylanna and looks at his boss with cold stare.

Aylanna, I checked the settings and everyone should now be able to edit slides.

Aylanna, I think you put yourself inside the building. If you're coming from the north I think you'd still need to be on the far left.

Elemenar scowls at the guard who resisted his sleep spell. He strides directly towards him. "You have done yourself a great disservice, my man. It would have been better to allow yourself to accept the slumber I offered you. Instead, now, you will have to deal with much harsher circumstances." Elemenar points a finger at the guard and jet of flame shoots forward.

Flame Jet. DC 16 Reflex for half. A failed saved also means that the guard is on fire. Flame Jet creates a line of 20 feet. I don't know if you want to say that it also hits the sleeping guard since he is prone.

dmg: 1d6 + 2 ⇒ (6) + 2 = 8

Sorry, it was me who put Aylanna there. Figured its possible for the north door to be open.

Reflex save: 1d20 ⇒ 1

Elemenar's flame strikes only the guard who is not asleep.

Kiyoko advances toward the now-burning, conscious guard. She draws her katana and stops just short of the man, both hesitant to near him while he's on fire (she still remembers her own experience with a particular Tian woman who set her on fire, once) and also to offer the man a chance to surrender.

Ready vs approach: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (1) + 11 = 12
1d8 + 7 ⇒ (6) + 7 = 13

With the enemies' attention on Kyoko Ki Chin attacks the hyena from the behind!
Lesser Blade of the Open Road: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (1) + 10 = 11
damage: 1d8 + 5 ⇒ (5) + 5 = 10

Had to retcon two of the guards out because of adjustment

The hyena bites Ki Chin trying to trip him.
bite: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (17) + 3 = 20
bite: 1d6 + 3 ⇒ (5) + 3 = 8
CMB to trip: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (7) + 3 = 10

Orange guard shoots Aylanna with his crossbow and loads it.
+1 light crossbow: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (16) + 3 = 19
bolt: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (6) + 1 = 7

Half-orc boss steps forward "Surrender now woman and I will spare your life!"
demoralize Kiyoko: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (8) + 9 = 17

Its party's turn

Elemenar moves closer to the orc and angles himself for a clear line to it. "I think you have that backwards. If you surrender now, we will spare your life." Elemenar has dealt with both mercenary guards and orcs before. There is almost no chance that the orc will give up. He levels his hand at the ugly creature and lets loose a jet of flame.

Flame Jet. DC 16 Reflex for half. A failed saved also means that the orc is on fire.

dmg: 1d6 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 2 = 3

At the start of her turn, Aylanna takes 5 damage and heals Ki Chin for 5

Aylanna fires a scorching ray at orange, on whom she has a clear shot.
Scorching Ray: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (1) + 7 = 8Fire Damage: 4d6 ⇒ (3, 3, 4, 4) = 14
But it's a bad miss.

From the readied action: Kiyoko slashes ineffectually at the half-orc as he advances on her, apparently affected by his unexpected aggressiveness.

Current round: Despite his bravado, the sword saint steels herself and attacks again. She slashes at him with her katana in a diagonal arc aimed at his left shoulder.

Reitenseiya, shaken: 1d20 + 11 - 2 ⇒ (7) + 11 - 2 = 16
1d8 + 7 ⇒ (1) + 7 = 8

orc's reflex save: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (19) + 2 = 21

Elemenar's jet scorches the orc only slightly, Aylanna's spell isn't even close while Kiyoko misses narrowly.

Ki Chin can act

"Tsk. Careless." Ki Chin chides himself before attacking the hyena again.
longsword: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (9) + 10 = 19
damage: 1d8 + 5 ⇒ (6) + 5 = 11

Ki Chin almost kills the canine. Half-orc swings his axe at Kiyoko and Orange guard aims his crossbow at Aylanna, but misses.

mwk greataxe, PA: 1d20 + 7 - 1 ⇒ (11) + 7 - 1 = 17
PA: 1d12 + 6 ⇒ (6) + 6 = 12

+1 light crossbow: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (4) + 3 = 7

Party can act

Reitenseiya, two-handed: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (3) + 11 = 14
1d8 + 11 ⇒ (3) + 11 = 14

Kiyoko parries aside the half-orc’s wild swing, then shifts to a two-handed grip on her katana. She slashes at him again, but is unable to land a blow either.

Ki Chin strikes to finish the hyena off.
longsword: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (5) + 10 = 15
damage: 1d8 + 5 ⇒ (3) + 5 = 8

The hyena is gone.

Aylanna and Elemenar can act

Elemenar closes his eyes and focuses on himself for a moment. When he opens his eyes they are glowing orange. He turns his gaze to the orc. Heat waves shimmer around the orc.

Burning Gaze. DC 18 fort save or take dmg and catch on fire.

dmg: 1d6 ⇒ 1 Pathetic....

Aylanna moves up to orange and fires off a burning hands through him and the half orc, aiming to avoid her party and the sleeping guard.

Burning Hands Reflex 16 for half: 5d4 ⇒ (4, 3, 4, 3, 1) = 15

She doesn't cast defensively, confidently thinking her defense against this guard has the better chance of success.

Their good dice rolls seem to be over.
Orc's Fort save: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (8) + 5 = 13

orange's Reflex save: 1d20 ⇒ 7
Orc's Reflex save: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (8) + 2 = 10

Orange's AoO vs. Aylanna: 1d20 + 2 - 4 ⇒ (19) + 2 - 4 = 17

The half-orc is severely burned and his goon swings his crossbow at Aylanna before falling to ground from the heat. He concludes the halfling to be most dangerous opponent moving to brutally slash her with axe.

mwk greataxe, PA: 1d20 + 7 - 1 ⇒ (19) + 7 - 1 = 25
slashing: 1d12 + 6 ⇒ (8) + 6 = 14

Kiyoko gets AoO and everyone can act

Kiyoko takes the opening the half-orc presents as he turns his attention to Aylanna and slashes at his back. His move catches her off-guard, however, and her aim is off.

AoO: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (2) + 11 = 13

The sword saint follows after the man and strikes again, hoping to land a blow on him now that his attention is divided.

Reitenseiya, two-handed, flanking: 1d20 + 11 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 11 + 2 = 17
1d8 + 9 ⇒ (4) + 9 = 13

That is enough to put him in helpless state.

Only the sleeping guard remains

Kiyoko cuts the half-orc down and performs a chiburui slash, clearing her katana of blood. She resheathes the blade and looks over at the sleeping man.

“What do we do about him?” she asks, hiking a thumb at him.

The Consortium’s warehouse is mostly filled with food and water, the PCs can find a locked chest (hardness 5, 10 hit points, break DC 22, Disable Device DC 20) and a smaller chest.

You need to perform at least two significant acts of sabotage here. You're free to devise their own plans, but there are several good options.
* Brute Strength: The PCs might just use a weapon to stave in the boats’ hulls. Each hull has hardness 5 and 20 hit points.
* Disable Device: The PCs can disable the rudders, anchors, or tools more subtly, causing the crew to perform timeconsuming repairs only after they are farther from Bloodcove. Doing so requires a successful DC 16 Disable Device check.
* Spoiled Supplies: Less moral PCs could decide to tamper with the expedition’s rations.
* Burn the World: A flashier option involves starting a fire in the warehouse or on the dock. As such areas are vulnerable to fires, the dockworkers have protocols in place to quickly contain and fight any fire that breaks out. The PCs must use accelerants such as oil, alchemist’s fire, or a massive explosion like fireball to ensure the flames spread fast enough to ensure their effectiveness. This requires no skill checks.