From atop a nearby pillar, a robed female cultist stands up straight, giving her an imposing presence. With a gesture, she signals to the other cultists hidden around you and they too emerge. "I am Aglanda, Herald of Razmir. If you be who you say, then you are in no danger. Indeed, you have stumbled upon a wondrous opportunity to gain wealth beyond measure, wealth both material and spiritual! This golden city will indeed require the efforts of many merchants to further the glories of the Living God, and you might just play a part in this great endeavour. But my orders are strict: I cannot escort you to meet Iramine in the Chamber of the Jewel unless you have surrendered your weapons."
A low Bluff roll still beats an even lower Sense Motive roll!
This scene is depicted on Slide # 3. Aglanda, the speaker, is the Gray token on top of the pillar.
Female NG Half-Orc Bloodrager(Metamagic Rager) 6 |Buffs: Shield, Heightened Awareness
Resources:
Re-roll 1/1,Rage 21/21,Scabbard of Vigor 1/1, Knight Pennon 1/1, Rune stone 1st level 2/2|Spells 1st: 2/2
HP 61/61 |AC 23 T 12 FF 21|Uncanny Dodge|CMB+10 CMD 22|F +10 R +7 W +4|INIT +13|PER +15 Darkvision 60', SM+1|Speed 30'|
Rogarch nods.
"I understand your orders and your position Aglanda, Herald of Razmir. Let us meet inside to discuss it in more detail and comfort. We do not have to meet with your leader yet or in the Chamber of the Jewel. Any proper room with chairs and a table will do."
"My companions and I are not ready to lay down our weapons yet. It is a dangerous world as you can well understand and we have been attacked many times on our journey here."
"In fact the more I think about this the better an idea I think it is. If you approve of the details of the trade routes you can bring it up at the proper time with Iramine. If not we can simply be on our way. It helps to minimise your risk and maximise your rewards."
Female NG Half-Orc Bloodrager(Metamagic Rager) 6 |Buffs: Shield, Heightened Awareness
Resources:
Re-roll 1/1,Rage 21/21,Scabbard of Vigor 1/1, Knight Pennon 1/1, Rune stone 1st level 2/2|Spells 1st: 2/2
HP 61/61 |AC 23 T 12 FF 21|Uncanny Dodge|CMB+10 CMD 22|F +10 R +7 W +4|INIT +13|PER +15 Darkvision 60', SM+1|Speed 30'|
I edited my comments slightly on a re-read. I want to make it pretty clear to everyone (in-game/out-of-game) that we are not putting down our weapons. :)
Aglanda nods. "Caution is indeed warranted. Some of our number have fallen prey to accidents and the ancient guardians of this place. Follow me."
Leaving half of the robed figures behind to guard against any other intruders, she leads you into a ruined fort that looks to have become a temporary base for the cultists. "I will send a messenger to wait at the near end of the bridge over the canal, but he cannot cross it due to the shining sentinels. When others of my order return, he will deliver news of your arrival." She points at one of the cultists and motions for him to leave.
We'll move to Slide # 4, and you can place your tokens where you like. Yellow is the cultist who will be the messenger.
- 3 str. Male Tengu Slayer 7 | HP 6/67 | AC 22/T15/FF18 | F+7/R+10/W+4 | BA+6/CMB+10/CMD24 | init+4 | Perc+13/+16 (traps) | Dis. Dev. +22/+25 traps
Following along with Rogarch, ting watches and waits, hoping the half orc had a plan that did not include him giving up his beloved exotic bastard sword.
Following your lead here Rogarch. The last thing ting heard is we're playing nice and he doesn't have a high enough sense motive to figure out anything else.
Female NG Half-Orc Bloodrager(Metamagic Rager) 6 |Buffs: Shield, Heightened Awareness
Resources:
Re-roll 1/1,Rage 21/21,Scabbard of Vigor 1/1, Knight Pennon 1/1, Rune stone 1st level 2/2|Spells 1st: 2/2
HP 61/61 |AC 23 T 12 FF 21|Uncanny Dodge|CMB+10 CMD 22|F +10 R +7 W +4|INIT +13|PER +15 Darkvision 60', SM+1|Speed 30'|
Alright. I will start and when Ting sees Rogarch's hammer flying he will know what to do. People please put your token somewhere on slide #4. I don't want to solo this fight. :)
Rogarch nods at Aglanda's words as she leans casually on her pole-arm.
"How true. Accidents do tend to happen here."
With those words the Bloodrager flies into an arcane fueled rage and she attempts to bring down her hammer on the herald's head. Her form blurs as her rage sets in.
Caught off guard by the sudden attack, Aglanda takes the full force of Rogarch's blow! Staggered but still on her feet, she shouts "Treachery!" Meanwhile, across the ruined chamber, Rawk-N-Role lands a powerful kick that almost sends the would-be messenger cultist to his knees!
Rogarch's attack hit.
Rawk's attack hit and takes Yellow to exactly 0 hp, with the Disabled condition.
Goran, Ting, and Candledark can place their tokens on Slide # 4 and take a Surprise Round action.
- 3 str. Male Tengu Slayer 7 | HP 6/67 | AC 22/T15/FF18 | F+7/R+10/W+4 | BA+6/CMB+10/CMD24 | init+4 | Perc+13/+16 (traps) | Dis. Dev. +22/+25 traps
Having followed closely beside Rogarch, ting raises an eyebrow as she swings her hammer at the cultist. As the woman screams "treachery," ting lulls his tongue in a tengu smile. "It's a bloody bushy whackin'!" Relieved his fellow pathfinders weren't asking him to lay down his blade, he lifts the exotic bastard sword and chops at the shouting woman.
Despite being startled by the sneak attack, Aglanda manages to get her shield up just in time to deflect Ting's attack. But the movement leaves her open to Goran's hurled fireball!
Ting's attack *just* missed even versus FF AC.
Goran's attack hits touch AC even with the -4 penalty for firing into melee.
Candledark, you're up--put your sneakiness to good use!
"You may have won this skirmish," snarls Aglanda. "But you'll never escape the Golden City alive!" She backs up into the corner, pulls a small vial from an inner fold of her robes, and drains it in one gulp. Suddenly her figure starts to fade away, little by little, until she's disappeared completely!
Aglanda does a 5' step to the north, draws a potion, and drinks it.
I've removed her token.
- 3 str. Male Tengu Slayer 7 | HP 6/67 | AC 22/T15/FF18 | F+7/R+10/W+4 | BA+6/CMB+10/CMD24 | init+4 | Perc+13/+16 (traps) | Dis. Dev. +22/+25 traps
"Floggin' disappearin' monk." Frustrated his prey avoided him, ting moves deeper into the building. Seeing the left blue monk having some sort of fit, he moves right. Lifting his exotic bastard sword high chopping at the red monk hiding in the corner.
Rawk-N-Role then moves towards Rogarch and the invisible opponent. He uses his tremorsense to detect her and informs his master of her current location in their shared language.
Tremorsense 60' will pinpoint her square with the information given. Right now everyone knows her location due to the fact that she took a 5 foot step before drinking her potion of Invisibility. Tremorsense may become valuable if she is able to attempt to escape in the following rounds. :)
@GM Jhaeman - Could you please put her icon back on the map for now. Typically North on a map means up but in Pathfinder there is no standard. North could mean any direction. :)
|AC 17, T 13, FF 15|HP: 37/37 |F +2, R +4, W +4 (+2 vs shadow; +1 vs LD/sonic)|Init +2, Perc +9|CMB 0 CMD 12|Phrenic 7/7, Blurred 5/5, Gaseous 5/5, Shadow Speaker 4/4, Light\Dark 1/1, Detect Thoughts 1/1
Next thing the tormented cultist knows, a good-sized rock comes loose from the ceiling above and falls straight for his head...at a 45-degree angle...!?!
telekinetic projectile VS Little Boy Blue:1d20 + 5 ⇒ (7) + 5 = 12 bludgeoning damage:1d6 ⇒ 5
In case the answer is not as obvious as it may seem (this is a very crumbly building after all), can I see anybody else from my present vantage-point?
Ting chops down so hard with his exotic bastard sword that the blade cuts through flesh and is almost embedded in the stone wall behind the instantly-killed cultist! Simultaneously, Rawk-N-Role dispatches his foe and shouts what sounds like garbled gibberish to everyone but Rogarch!
The one cultist still visible--and completely terrified by nightmares--instinctively dodges a telekinetically-hurled rock as he flails at something no one else can see!
Ting's crit was confirmed and takes Red from max hp to dead in one hit!
Rawk's attack drops Yellow.
Candledark's attack misses Blue (even flat-footed). @Candledark: Blue is the only visible foe at the moment.
Blue has to spend a full-round action attacking his nightmare and then at the end of the turn gets a new save vs oneiric horror. Result: Fail.
Rogarch:
"Masked female stands in front of table!"X marks the spot Aglanda was when she drank the potion and disappeared.
Female NG Half-Orc Bloodrager(Metamagic Rager) 6 |Buffs: Shield, Heightened Awareness
Resources:
Re-roll 1/1,Rage 21/21,Scabbard of Vigor 1/1, Knight Pennon 1/1, Rune stone 1st level 2/2|Spells 1st: 2/2
HP 61/61 |AC 23 T 12 FF 21|Uncanny Dodge|CMB+10 CMD 22|F +10 R +7 W +4|INIT +13|PER +15 Darkvision 60', SM+1|Speed 30'|
Rogarch calls out to Goran. It is clearly obvious to anyone that has spent a moment in battle (and has a lick of sense) that their opponent could not have moved away from her position yet.
Panting with excitement and rage the bloodrager calls out to Goran.
"Blind our opponent with the wrath of your god. Let my hammer be your guide."
Arcane Bloodrage: Blur: concealment (20% miss chance, immune to sneak attack and precision damage)
@GM Jhaeman - Thanks for clarifying Aglanda's last know position on the map. It is a pet peeve of mine that the maps are not consistent (check out the legend on slide #3) leading to confusion at the table (especially in PbP). :)
| HP 19/30 |AC 20 Incorp T 10 T 10 FF 20| CMB +8 CMD 17| F +6 R +1 W +3| PER +9 Darkvision 60', Tremor Sense 60' SM+0| Speed 20', Burrow 20', Earth Glide, Stealth +7|Active Conditions: Improved Evasion| Immune: Bleed, Paralysis, Poison, Sleep effects, Stunning, Critical Hits, Sneak Attack, Flanking or Precision Damage|Small Earth Elemental Familiar (Arcane Bloodline) N|Buffs:
Rawk-N-Role attempts to determine (with his Tremorsense) if Aglanda is still standing in the same place or if she has collapsed in a pool of blood on the floor. He tells Rogarch about what he knows.
He then takes a 5 foot step forward and tries to slug Blue in the face.
- 3 str. Male Tengu Slayer 7 | HP 6/67 | AC 22/T15/FF18 | F+7/R+10/W+4 | BA+6/CMB+10/CMD24 | init+4 | Perc+13/+16 (traps) | Dis. Dev. +22/+25 traps
As Rogarch moves to check the leader, ting rests his exotic bastard sword on his shoulder. Drawing his mithril dagger he moves from minion to minion. Carefully kneeling he slips the long thin blade under their chin into their brain pan, making sure they are dead.
A quick search of the area confirms that there's a body in the pool of blood, but it's still invisible! There's no sign of life from it. Meanwhile, it looks like two of the visible cultists were slain in the fighting, but one still lives--at least for now!
The rules are ambiguous on whether spells persist after the caster's death, so I'm going to assume the body will remain invisible until the potion's duration expires in a few minutes--it doesn't really make a difference though.
@Ting: I interpret intentionally killing a helpless sapient creature who poses no immediate risk as an evil action. An alternative would be to just let fate decide whether they bleed out or stabilise naturally (a neutral response) or to heal them and take them prisoner (a good response). You can still do it if you wish (and I don't need a CDG roll), but repeated instances might become an issue down the line.
- 3 str. Male Tengu Slayer 7 | HP 6/67 | AC 22/T15/FF18 | F+7/R+10/W+4 | BA+6/CMB+10/CMD24 | init+4 | Perc+13/+16 (traps) | Dis. Dev. +22/+25 traps
GM Jhaeman wrote:
@Ting: I interpret intentionally killing a helpless sapient creature who poses no immediate risk as an evil action. An alternative would be to just let fate decide whether they bleed out or stabilise naturally (a neutral response) or to heal them and take them prisoner (a good response). You can still do it if you wish (and I don't need a CDG roll), but repeated instances might become an issue down the line.
Curious, but lying to them and bushwhacking them when their not looking isn't? I will refrain from anymore CDG's, but since I posted it, let it ride.
As ting draws the thin mithril dagger from the last dead cultist, he stands, sheathing the weapon. "'At'l keeps 'em from bloody well comin' after us, wroight."
Female NG Half-Orc Bloodrager(Metamagic Rager) 6 |Buffs: Shield, Heightened Awareness
Resources:
Re-roll 1/1,Rage 21/21,Scabbard of Vigor 1/1, Knight Pennon 1/1, Rune stone 1st level 2/2|Spells 1st: 2/2
HP 61/61 |AC 23 T 12 FF 21|Uncanny Dodge|CMB+10 CMD 22|F +10 R +7 W +4|INIT +13|PER +15 Darkvision 60', SM+1|Speed 30'|
Using deception and guile to gain the upper hand in battle is dirty fighting. I can see certain characters with strict codes of conduct baulking at such behaviour but most pragmatic people would simply accept it as a useful if not distasteful tool of war.
The bloodrager sighs as she sees that Aglanda is dead. She is accustomed to killing monsters but not people (even evil people).
Rogarch winces as Ting executes the cultists. She understands the reasoning behind his actions but doubts she would have the heart to do it. She says nothing of it.
The bloodrager waits patiently until Aglanda becomes visible again before searching her thoroughly and the other cultists for loot.
Once the two of them are done searching the dead cultists they turn their attention to the ruined building looking for anything of interest. They begin their search around the table.
Rawk-N-Role, Aid to Perception, DC 10:1d20 + 8 ⇒ (9) + 8 = 17
26 Perception on a take 10 with aid from Rawk-N-Role
"Have a look around the building here. There is probably something of value."
| HP 19/30 |AC 20 Incorp T 10 T 10 FF 20| CMB +8 CMD 17| F +6 R +1 W +3| PER +9 Darkvision 60', Tremor Sense 60' SM+0| Speed 20', Burrow 20', Earth Glide, Stealth +7|Active Conditions: Improved Evasion| Immune: Bleed, Paralysis, Poison, Sleep effects, Stunning, Critical Hits, Sneak Attack, Flanking or Precision Damage|Small Earth Elemental Familiar (Arcane Bloodline) N|Buffs:
Rawk-N-Role smiles at his master and pats her on the shoulder empathising
with the pain that she is feeling. The elemental does not agree thinking that the cultists got exactly what they deserved.
After a few minutes, the body of Aglanda, Herald of Razmir, becomes visible. A search of her and her fellow cultists turns up an array of items, but otherwise the room is empty. It seems that this was only a brief rest spot for those ordered to remain behind as a real guard, and that the bulk of the cultists' forces must be somewhere ahead . . .
Loot on Aglanda:
Orange Potion, Mwk studded leather armor, Mwk light steel shield, mwk light crossbow, 20 bolts, mwk rapier, black robes, iron Razmiri mask, sunrods (x2), thieves’ tools, 134 gp
Loot on Individual Cultist (multiply by three):
Studded leather armor, light wooden shield, daggers (x2), sap, short sword, white robes, iron Razmiri mask, 11 gp.
The trail of the cultists leads to another bridge over a canal of molten gold. Two gold-plated columns carved to resemble female warriors flank the entrance to the bridge.
