[PF2] Troubles in Otari (GM Watery Soup)

Game Master Watery Soup

Grimmylow throws open the door and sees ... cobwebs. A tangle of cobwebs fills this room, obscuring the details of the bed and table within.

So easily notices a strand of discreet webbing at throat level which would snag a creature that walks into it.

DC 18 Survival or Thievery to rearrange the webbing

"Watch it! That piece of webbing can snag someone right in the throat!"

Thievery: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (4) + 7 = 11
Thievery: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (17) + 7 = 24

It takes a moment but Buzz uses his stinger to cut the thing film of webbing. "Sticky stuff."

Thorn looks at Buzz
"Nicely done, Buzz. Do we expect more spidery things here?"

He tries to look around

"Maybe they're squatters and this is their house now. A whole community of spiders. I feel sorry for the flies around here," Grimmylow comments.

"Oh, that reminds me of a joke! What happens when you tell the demon queen of spiders a really good joke?"

He pauses expectantly with a grin. "She LOLths."

But the grin fades and he cocks his head to the side. "I don't really get it, though. The guy who told it to me said 'it gets lost in translation.'"

Buzz disables the loop, neutralizing it, and the party either cuts or burns the spider webs that fill the room.

The table in this room has a small drawer, which contains a number of small, harmless spiders and a hand of the mage.

Let me know if anyone equips it.

---

I will assume that you move down the corridor, opening subsequent doors.

The next door down the corridor opens to a foyer. Outlined in green on the map for clarity. This square room has one door in each wall. One leads back to the big spider room, one to the outside, one that you came from, and I'll move you to the fourth door. The walls have hooks for outerwear, benches, and boot racks. Thick cobwebs hang in the corners and some of the doorways.

Connected to the foyer is an office. Outlined in cyan for clarity. A battered oak desk stands almost in the center of this dusty, damp room. Behind it, a row of cabinets lines the far wall. The sole window is shuttered, but one of the shutters hangs askew, letting in a stream of light. Several stools stand scattered around the room.

Searching the office also turns up a writing set in the desk drawer, protected in a wax-sealed box from the damp air. In addition, the camp’s first aid kit is in one of the cabinets behind the desk. This red box holds four antivenom potions, two minor healing potions, two lesser healing potions, and a set of expanded healer’s tools.

Let me know who is carrying what. Note that the expanded healer's tools gives a +1 bonus to Treat Wounds, so make sure you include that on your character sheet.

Further down the corridor is a bedroom. Outlined in magenta. This bedroom is starkly appointed. A wooden bedframe has slats but no mattress, with a battered trunk at its foot. On the other side of the room is a small, simple table holding a ceramic pitcher and a matching, empty bowl. Tightly latched shutters over the windows block out the light.

The heroes can easily claim these rooms as their own; the empty bedframes pair quite well with the bedroll included in any adventuring pack.

I will pause here, and let everyone catch up with items, and then move down the corridor some more when everyone is ready.

Beggar So picks up one of the minor healing potions. No medicine here so I'm not taking the healer's tools.

Grimmylow leaves the weird hand for now, but will take it if no one else does.

When they find the healing supplies, he starts grabbing, though, taking one of the antivenoms and weaker healing potions.

But his eyes widen as he sees the healer's kit.

"Oh! This is the good one! It's a Absalom Crafts Mark II healing kit! With the leather trim!"

He looks around warily after his first outburst. "I mean...um...it's alright. I'll carry it if no one else wants to."

Meanwhile, he not-so-casually stows it in his pack.

"Ill grab one of these" Kzem mutters, while grabbing a lesser healing potion.

"I am surprised we haven't seen more of those arachnid types here. With all the hubbub from yesterday I was expecting a lot more... adventure... from the building today. Still though, best not to let our guard down too much.."

"Maybe they were all just in that one room. Maybe we interrupted them during their house meeting," Grimmylow suggests.

Just because I'm likely to forget to mention it later, you did, in fact, fight all of them at once. There was a Stealth or Athletics check you failed a while back, the result was that the web lurkers (the creepy things) retreated and gathered all the spiders.

Grimmylow pockets everything that people didn't grab immediately, his backpack bulging like a goblin's should.

---

When the heroes first arrive at the door to the corner room, they notice a worn scrap of paper tacked just above the handle. The faded writing says, “Finley’s Room—leave ‘em be.”

I've indicated the arrow in red, just so there's no ambiguity. Let me know if you'd like to deviate from the default of opening the doors in succession.

Buzz sounds nervous. "Uh, maybe we don't bother the ghost?" Though through his chaotic nature he wants to reach for the door. "Or maybe we take a peek at it." But he very slowly moves his hand to see if anyone stops him.

"Maybe we should check out the rest of the house first? We can come back and introduce ourselves later. Maybe after we've had time to make a casserole. I know a great recipe that uses sand and spiders, conveniently enough," Grimmylow says.

He moves toward the next door, leaving the haunted one alone for the moment.

"I aint afraid of no ghosts" Kzem says importantly to no one in particular.

Nobody stops Buzz from opening the door.

The light in this sparse bedroom seems to have a faint blue cast, and the air within is chilly. Wind rattles the shutters over the window. The wooden bedframe holds a moldering straw mattress and sheets, with a moth-eaten wool blanket folded at the foot of the bed.

A ghost manifests as soon as any character steps into their bedroom, appearing as a pale, wispy form of faint blue light.

Art on Slide 1. Describe how you'd like to approach the situation; I'll either put you into initiative or tell you what to roll.

Beggar So's jaw drops. He almost hurls the shuriken, but realizes that the ghost hasn't done anything hostile yet.

"Who or what are you?!" he manages to gasp out.

"Hello, friend! We're your new neighbors...or...housemates, I guess. You must be Finley. I'm Grimmylow, this is Buzz, that's Kzem, so that makes him So," the little goblin introduces himself and his friends.

"We're going to bring you a casserole but wanted to introduce ourselves, first."

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (16) + 6 = 22

"Hello, friend! We're your new neighbors...or...housemates, I guess. You must be Finley. I'm Grimmylow, this is Buzz, that's Kzem, so that makes him So," the little goblin introduces himself and his friends.

"And I am Thorn" adds dwarf and in lowered voice

"I can't believe in this cancel culture, one would stay silent for few moments and they are already excluded."

He turns towards Finley "Is it your room, or you roam around the place?"

"I can attest that Grimmly's casseroles are worth waiting for. It would be in your favor to accept his kindness!"

Diplo, Aid: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (18) + 7 = 25

Beggar So bows. "Well met, Finley. I am Beggar So."

Grimmylow pauses for a moment, his eyes closing reverently.

"Don't worry, Thorn, Sarenrae has granted me forgiveness or forgetting to introduce you, so everything is fine!" he says when he opens his eyes again.

"'Room or roam'. I like that. Room or roam, room or roam, room or roam."

"Who or what are you?!"

"I'm Finley," the ghost says, mournfully.

"Is it your room, or you roam around the place?"

"Yeah, it's my room," Finley sighs. "It'll be my room forever."

"We're going to bring you a casserole but wanted to introduce ourselves, first."

"Oh ... casserole."

Finley's mouth almost turns upwards into a smile. Almost.

"My grandmother used to make casserole. Squid and beans. I'd give anything to taste that again."

Sensing that Grimmylow shows an interest, he begins telling his tale.

Finley’s grandmother was a member of the Pathfinder Society, known across the Inner Sea region as a league of bold adventurer-explorers, who perished delving into an ancient ruin. Finley grew up adoring their grandmother’s tales of dashing adventure, and so she bequeathed her trusty sword to Finley with the charge that the youngster “put it to good use.”

With a sword but little else, Finley joined the fishing camp’s staff with a single goal: to earn 15 gp to buy a suit of armor and an adventurer’s pack so they could take up a life of adventure.

Finley’s fate was not as bold as their grandmother had hoped. During the last week of the fishing season, Finley’s fishing boat was caught in a terrible, sudden storm, and Finley was swept overboard and drowned at sea. Their spirit was so distraught at having failed to fulfill their grandmother’s charge that it returned here.

The ghost heaves a deep, mournful sigh that rattles the shutters over the window, then sits on the edge of the bed, their translucent form passing partway through the musty straw mattress. “I told her I’d put the sword to good use, you know? My grandmother. She had so many stories
of adventure, and so when she left me her sword, I just wanted to make her proud. But I never got to become an adventurer! I went and drowned instead, and I know I’ve let her down.”

You can converse with Finley. No checks required.

"The ghost stories I've heard many travelers tell usually mean the person didn't fulfill something in life. I guess that is true." Beggar So's eyes brighten, "You know, how about you give the sword to one of us and we can take it on our adventures! If you want, you can even come with us!"

"Oh Finley's not so bad. Wonder why they barricaded him off." Buzz swoops around. "Or we can give you a sword. You can adventure once more!"

"You know, how about you give the sword to one of us and we can take it on our adventures! If you want, you can even come with us!"

“Do... do you think you might have need of it? Are you... adventurers, by chance? You could put it to proper use.” Assuming the team agrees, Finley looks pleasantly surprised as a smile crosses their lips. “That’d be better than it rusting to pieces here in this fish camp, for sure! You can have it—just make my grandmother proud, all right? That’s what’s important.”

Finley indicates that someone corporeal should look under the bed. A loose floorboard hides a secret compartment holding a magical sword called a sparkblade and a leather pouch containing 120 sp.

Sparkblade Description (Archives of Nethys), tldr: +1 cold iron shortsword with activation

"Or we can give you a sword. You can adventure once more!"

Finley sighs and tries to grasp the sparkblade - their hand passes right on through. "I'd love to, but ... I can't."

"Oh Finley's not so bad. Wonder why they barricaded him off."

"The other fishers at the camp never cared the way you do. I stick to my room and I don't bother anybody, so the others simply closed off the room and left me to an eternity of moping around."

Grimmylow tries to comfort the ghost by patting him on the shoulder but his hand just goes right through. He looks at his hand and then just looks at Finley awkwardly.

"We will take your sword on grand adventures, if that will help you stop moping. No need to be sad forever," he says.

"One of us will probably go back to Absalom at some point and I know the Passfinders have a big headquarters there. If you tell us your grandmother's name we could take the sword to them and they can give it to one of their agents for adventuring," he continues.

Thorn reaches to his backpack and takes out chalk that he shows to Finley

"Each one of us have this huge quantities of chalk! This is a sign of real adventurer!"

Thorn reaches to his backpack and takes out chalk that he shows to Finley

"Each one of us have this huge quantities of chalk! This is a sign of real adventurer!"

Finley reaches out to touch the chalk, but his hand passes right now.

"I guess I'm not a real adventurer."

"We will take your sword on grand adventures, if that will help you stop moping. No need to be sad forever," he says.

"One of us will probably go back to Absalom at some point and I know the Passfinders have a big headquarters there. If you tell us your grandmother's name we could take the sword to them and they can give it to one of their agents for adventuring," he continues.

Finley's face lights up. "Would you? I don't even know if anyone there would remember her any more. Her name is .... her name is ..."

As someone touches the sword, Finley starts to find himself growing fainter and fainter. He gasps and looks around, taking one last look at the Material Plane as his spirit begins its journey to the Boneyard.

A second, shimmering form appears next to Finley, growing in intensity until it matches his. It is the form of a kindly old woman, with a wayfinder hanging around her neck.

"Meema?" Finley gasps.

She reaches out to take his hand, and they fade away together. Right before they disappear completely, a faint voice calls out, "Thank you! My grandmother's name is ..."

Each of the heroes hears a slightly different name. Feel free to make the name related to whatever character the sparkblade on the Chronicle will end up being assigned to.

The next door down the corridor is a mundane bedroom. Moving one more door down.

The next bedroom is starkly appointed. A wooden bedframe has slats but no mattress, with a battered trunk at its foot. On the other side of the room is a small, simple table holding a ceramic pitcher and a matching bowl full of leaves. Light streams in past one of the shutters that hangs slightly ajar.

As Kzem opens the door, a small snake head rises from the leaves, followed by the rest of its body, which includes wings. Full-length, the creature is about 2 feet long, the size of a house cat, With iridescent scales and bright feathers. It looks at the party with some amusement.

Art and map on Slide 1.

Let me know how you'd like to proceed, and I'll roll initiative if required.

Beggar So again makes a move to hurl the shuriken he's holding but catches himself, remembering that not everything different is hostile. He returns the creature's gaze before daring to ask "What manner of creature are you?"

"Yes, yes, so, So is asking what you are, who you are, why you're here," Grimmylow chimes in. "Isn't that so, So?"

"Oh, do you understand the words that are coming out of my mouth?" he asks, talking even more loudly and far more slowly than usual to the winged serpent.

Buzz will recall knowledge.

Buzz shares the look of wonderment, though he doesn't get closer to the snake-like creature as he is small enough to be a meal for most snakes. "That's a..."

"Yes, yes, so, So is asking what you are, who you are, why you're here," Grimmylow chimes in. "Isn't that so, So?"

ARGH!!! :)

Can you do an EL check outside of initiative?

E.L. vs Standard DC Creature Level: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (18) + 7 = 25

Kal sizes up the creature before him, seeking out subtle clues as to its name, nature, and essence. He rustles around in his bag looking for some bound and functional item- but doesn't produce it just yet.

"So, so, so ... Do you understand what we say?" asks Thorn

"Oh, do you understand the words that are coming out of my mouth?" he asks, talking even more loudly and far more slowly than usual to the winged serpent.

"So, so, so ... Do you understand what we say?"

"Of course! Of course! I'm Olli, who are you?"

She nods and ruffles her feathers as the group introduces themselves, assuming they do.

"What manner of creature are you?"

"Yes, yes, so, So is asking what you are, who you are..."

“I’m beautiful, aren’t I? Don’t you like how my scales shine? It’s because I’m a couatl.”

Buzz will recall knowledge.

I'll roll for everyone.

Can you do an EL check outside of initiative?

Sure, but I'm going to roll for you alongside everyone else's Recall Knowledge checks (Arcana, Nature), keeping in mind your Dublious Knowledge feat.

So knows that couatls are serpentine celestials who tirelessly help mortals reach their greatest potential all across the planes.

Buzz knows that this couatl is a scalliwing — a mischievous but good-hearted creature that resembles a smaller version of the large, majestic, feathered serpents.

Kzem knows that couatls can make themselves invisible, but they need to reveal themselves to fight. That this couatl is visible could be a trap.

"... why you're here"

Olli looks offended and rubs her wings together in indignation. “I live here! What are you doing here?”

---

Note: Art updated on Slide 1, I didn't realize there was custom art for Olli.

"Oh, yes, yes, coat wattles are well known for being beautiful and you're quite an impressive coaxial specimen," Grimmylow say.

"Oh! You live here like Finley lived here. Well, is there some service we can provide that will help you move on? Got a sword or something we can carry? Because we live here, now, too."

"We don't usually see to many couatls around here! Less because there aren't any, and more because of the whole invisibility thing. Are there other couatls here in the shack?" Kzem bluntly observes, as he peers around- as if looking for something.

"Are there other couatls here in the shack?"

"Nope, nope! Just me!"

You all sense she's telling the truth.

"is there some service we can provide that will help you move on? Got a sword or something we can carry? Because we live here, now, too."

"I'll tell you what. I'll let you stay in my house if you do me a favor first! That mean bully in the dining room keeps sending its spiders to catch me in their webs. If you can make it leave, then you can stay here!"

Assuming the heroes tell Olli, Olli is delighted to hear the web lurker is dead. “That’s wonderful!” she exclaims. “You’re such good friends—of course you can stay here. You can even pick out your own bedrooms! This one, obviously, is already taken.”

---

Opening up Slide 1, the remaining room is a small pantry. There is a small hole between Olli's bedroom and the small pantry, which she uses to go between the two rooms.

Updating Slide 2, the main building is fully explored. Where would you like to go next? There's the east building, as well as the fishing nets and fishing boat to explore.

"This place is just getting better and better, isn't it?" Grimmylow says with a grin to his friends. "Our own place WITH a roommate! It's almost a shame Finley had to go."

He makes a circle or two around the interior of the house, opening doors and muttering to himself. "Checked this one...checked this one..."

"Ok, I think that's this building checked," he says. "Let's head outside."

Once back in the sunlight, he makes a quick prayer before wandering toward the overturned boat.

"It think we cleared this out... for now.. I agree Grimmy!"

Before following the other Pathfinders out, Beggar So can't help but gape at Olli. Finding his voice he manages to stammer "You are magnificent!"

Olli replies, "Not so bad, yourself!"

---

After tidying up the house a little and claiming bedrooms, the group heads out to the beach.

A weathered wooden porch runs along the south edge of the fish camp’s main building, about six feet above the gravel beach. It wraps around the eastern side, where it also provides access to the camp’s largest outbuilding. Worn stairs, their wood beginning to splinter, ascend to the porch from the center of the southern stretch and at the southeastern corner. Thick spiderwebs hang under the porch and along the building’s eaves.

Buzz and Thorn notice a section of splintery and rotten floorboards is weak, and would drop a creature 6 feet onto uneven rocks and piercing
shards of wood.

This hazard is easy enough to avoid, but anyone who wishes to roleplay Tim the Toolman Taylor (or, more realistically, Al Borland) can make a DC 15 Crafting check to replace or cover the weak sections of flooring, or DC 15 Survival check to crumble the rotten floorboards from a safe distance.

---

This pile of abandoned fishing nets on the beach is a rotting tangle of rope and seaweed that stinks of old fish.

Everyone except for So notices unusual tracks in the gravelly sand around the pile.

Crafting DC 15: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (20) + 8 = 28

Seeing the weak sections of the boards causes some concern for Buzz. He skitters down beneath the boards and is able to brace up the weak sections, though Loudmouth is of no assistance.

When Buzz crawls under the section to repair it, a gleam catches his eye. He finds a +1 dagger that was lost beneath the building long ago. Its magic has prevented it from rusting.

Perception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (15) + 6 = 21
Nature: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (19) + 4 = 23

Kzem looks about, grateful that the sprite appears to have prevent some form of grievous bodily harm with the steps.

"Not a bad view though! Water front property, elevated deck. All we need is a swing and a god stiff drink... Might actually end up being a nice place to call home!"

As he peers out over the sand, his eyes are drawn to the fishnets and debris assembled on the beach. He calls out to the others and gestures towards the pile.

"Seems like centipedes to me. They travel single file to hide their numbers, but there is no mistaking a nest when you see one"

Perc: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (15) + 5 = 20

Beggar So has none of the other skills so he makes the Perc check

Thorn stands there with his mouth wide open looking at Sprite replacing the wooden planks. As Buzz is hammering nails that are similar size than he is, Thorn puts one of the plants next to Buzz

"That plank is like what 10 times his size? I heared of mothers being able to lift a cart to save their baby, but I guess it applies as well to Sprites seeing some woodwork to be done!"

Hearing that there are Centipedes closeby he grabs his weapon

"I guess it is a good idea to clear this place from all of the vermins. So? Who would try to lure them out?"

"Is Buzz made out of wood? Is he making babies? Should we give him privacy?" Grimmylow asks, getting the wrong idea as usual.

"I can try to smoke them out," he says about the centipedes, making gestures with his hands similar to those needed for his favorite fire spell.

Buzz looks around as his honey buzz begins to wear off. "Why would I be made of wood?" He notices the centipedes. "Those aren't my babies!"