[Gameday XII] PFS2 #4-10 Arclord's Abode (Inactive)

Game Master cmlobue

Desmond searches the desk drawers after he repacks his medical supplies.

Perception: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (16) + 8 = 24

Most of the correspondence in this room is decades old, but Mas finds one letter with the seal of the Blakros family on the bottom of it. The letter is a brief thank you note from Nigel Aldain thanking Alyreha for a tour of her manor and of her collection of magical items and artifacts.

Next?

Mas shares his discovery with the rest of the party.

"Oooo! I've heard *that* line before." Mrs. Crinkle bats her eyes and her voice rises an octave. "'Oh, Nigel, won't you come over to my place? I'd *love* to show you my collection of CDs magical items and artifacts.' Heehee! I have a newfound appreciation of Alyreha, folks! Next roooom!"

Again, she takes a moment to check for traps before and after opening the door.

Perception +6

"This doesn't seem like the same kind of note as what we found before." The half-orc's matter-of-fact-ness is completely opposite Mrs. Crinkle's reaction.

He merely shrugs and then nods further down the corridor. "Lead on."

This room is set up to be a quiet place for reading. Few books still remain here, namely several complicated books on magical theory, many of them focused on interactions with the plane of positive energy and study of living constructs.

"Hmmm...." Mrs. Crinkle squints at the nearly empty shelves with suspicion. "Did Alyreha leave it like this, or did some fools make off with a bunch of her books? Stealing from a personal library. How rude!"

Perception +6: Does the dust in the empty parts of the shelves seem to match the dust in parts of the room that wouldn't have been disturbed?

Knowing very little about traps, Mas waits til the signal is clear before following the crinkly barbarian.

There is nothing unusual about the dust in here. There is a cantrip deck that holds five stabilize cards in one of the desk drawers.

"Ooo! Anyone feel like dying so we can test these out? Hmm. Maybe we should put them in that first room, just in case." She pockets the cards, but heads to the next unexplored room instead.

You know the drill. Perception +6 for traps before and after opening the door, and again for finding useful stuff. Also stuff she can use for pranks.

Bert eyed the cards, but knew that he wouldn't likely get anything out of them. The texts on magical history on the other hand were very interesting, and Bertram perused through a couple before packing them away in his backpack, He would verify with Alyreha before they left if he could keep them.

On the far eastern wall of this small room, a board covered in complex magical runes in geometric arrangements is barely visible, nearly faded with the time this room has been untouched. The desk on the eastern side is covered in books, dried up inkwells and other writing implements. The room pulses with spiritual energy and wisps of airy magic all coalesce around a semi-transparent humanoid form sitting patiently at one of the chairs facing the desk.

As soon as the door opens, a ghostly woman rises from a chair and turns to you. "What news of my teacher?" she asks breathlessly.

Pun intended.

"Uhh..." Did Alyreha kill her students? Was this one waiting so long for her to return that she died? Can't be that smart, if so. Mrs. Crinkle glances around, looking for signs of a body while calling out: "Yoo-hoo, boys! This gal has a question for you."

Perception +6

Desmond is surprised by the appearance of the ghost. "Pardon, miss. May we know your name? And which teacher do you mean?"

"I think I'm in love..." Bertram whispered. Then he realized he said that out loud. Then he realized people were staring between him and the ghost. "Not, no with her. I mean, she's probably very nice and all, but that's not the point. This place! Books on magic for every theme and study! Ward theory that's beyond anything taught in schools! Every room we enter takes that to the next level. I could stay here forever. Well, I guess not forever..."

He eyed the ghostly girl.

The spellbook, forgotten, slipped off of Bertram's shoulder and flapped over to where the ghostly girl was, spitting a scrap of paper out at her. It was from one of the books it had gotten into a scrap with earlier, with part of a ward diagram and the word 'plonk'. Maybe it was only part of a word.

"Why is your hair all over the place? May I ask, who are you?"

"Hair? What's wrong with my hair?" She brushes a ghostly hand through her ghostly tresses, managing only to make them flow out in different directions.

"I am Neibiat, and I am a student at a university that Alyreha sponsored. Or at least I was... my memory's a bit fuzzy about what happened before I came here. But Alyreha took me in and was helping me study. She's been gone for a long time, though. Do you know what happened to her?"

"Oh, she's downstairs, honey. Talking skull on a pedestal right now, trying to fix what's gone wrong with her mansion. Say, you wouldn't happen to know who, what, when, where, why, and all that stuff about some other folks that must've come through here between now and when you last saw her?"

"Jest not with me, old woman! Your time may have passed, but I still intend to become master of the arcane arts."

"We are working to restore your teacher. She seems to have suffered from some memory loss, but we're close to helping her remember everything. Have you seen anyone else enter this place? They might be responsible for what happened."

"Neibiat, did you see anyone else pass through here?"

Diplomacy to convince her to help you. Mrs. Crinkle gets -1 for claiming her teacher is just a skull now.

Heehee!

"I'm not jesting, dearie! You can go downstairs and see for yourself. She's darned upset about what those folks have done to her home and asked us to help her fix it. Goodness! No need to get huffy, darling." Mrs. Crinkle's expression is all sugary sweetness. Too sweet, and too sugary. Hopefully this ghost will calm the heck down before everyone finds out why that's not a good thing.

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 4 - 1 ⇒ (15) + 4 - 1 = 18

Razzm knows enough to keep his mouth shut in situations like this but he makes sure that his two shields are comfortably seated on his arms. Just in case.

"Well, umm.. Your teacher, Arclord Alyreha, encountered a magical accident that deprived her of her memory and physical form. She is recovering her memories now, and hopes to get a body back soon, I think. well, I mean, I would. Maybe she wants to be free of all that for now? Seems like not having to deal with all the meat sack stuff might actually free you up for research, come to think on it. I mean, look at you, a ghost and all. Not that I've been staring or anything. Its just, you look like you've had lots of time for study and such. Maybe I'm making a hash of things. what I am trying to say is that Arclord Alyreha is downstairs in the entry. I can take you to her if you like. We can. I mean. We can take you."

Bertram said all of this while blushing, with the color getting deeper the more he talked.

diplomacy of sorts: 1d20 + 0 ⇒ (5) + 0 = 5

Neibiat glares at Bertram as he stumbles over the story, her face growing ever more incredulous and angry - as the tale progresses. Mrs. Crinkle, who is used to dealing with people much younger than her even if they died before she was born, manages to calm the spirit down enough for her to listen to the details of what happened.

She says that she will happily help the Pathfinders in whatever way she can if it means it will restore her great teacher Alyreha. She mentions that she heard a group run through earlier ransacking the place, and she thinks they headed upstairs to the tower, but could only catch a glimpse of them through the hallway since she is bound to this small area of the house. She describes the group as a “spiky woman, along with a weird, clawed person.”

Neibiat doesn’t know what the intruders were after, only that she tried to stop them from ransacking Alyreha’s house, but they just pushed through her. She laments that she is not far along enough in her studies to stop them with magic but will gladly offer up some supportive magic, that she recently mastered. False life to one character, granting 13 temporary HP. She also gifts you a scroll of magic weapon that she knows is buried among the papers on the desk.

"Ooo, that False Life thingy sounds perfect for me!" Mrs. Crinkle declares. She leans in to Neibiat and stage whispers: "I'm a troublemaker. Heehee! -- Now! Let's go find Spiky Woman and Weird Clawed Person. And be sure to call them that when you see them, boys. Pissed off people make stupid mistakes, and we want them bumbling." Neibiat didn't mention how recently those two came through here, but Mrs. Crinkle assumes they're still up in the tower because that means there'll be another fight. Her eyes twinkle with delight in anticipation of the fun she's about to have.

Who else wants to be a candidate for False Life? Magic Weapon can go to someone who actually uses weapons.

And yes, she's proposing that the group skip to the end. Feel free to rein her in.

Mas will pass on the magic weapon
"I look forward to meeting these intruders."

Bertram stammered out his thanks for her help, and took the scroll to use on someone in case of need. He also agreed to run after the intruders, though he was certain he personally would be staying in the back and trying to shield the others more this time.

another vote to move along

The tower is on the opposite side, so you will at least be seeing some of this before you get there. I've marked closed doors you pass on the map with arrows in case it's hard to see them otherwise.

The Pathfinders hurry toward the tower, where the intruders are likely to be. The passageway opposite the stairs has a closed door to either side. It then opens out to a large chamber which has a smaller room (though still large at 30 feet to the side) filled with podiums.

Investigate or move past?

No one seems to care, so I'm assuming your prior plan of "get to the tower fast" is still in effect.

The Pathfinders continue past the room of lecterns and into the next chamber.

Taxidermied animals and beasts on display cover most of this large showroom. On the southern end of the room, a set of stairs leads upwards, and a small door on the northeastern wall is labeled “Scroll Storage.” There is a single model of an owl suspended over the very center of the room.

perception: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (12) + 4 = 16

Bertram rubbernecked past the room filled with podiums, hustled along by the others as they rushed for the final tower. As they moved into the animal room, he spied something in the owl's beak.

"There's a scroll up there. Hang on."

He cast a small cantrip and used fingers of magic to gently tease the scroll free and over to his waiting hand...

...where his spellbook immediately tried to snatch it from him.

"Let go! I never should have freed you..." Bertram broke off that line of conversation suddenly and yanked the scroll free of his book, which slunk around behind him on its strap.

"Oh, here! Take this, booky! Here boy!" Mrs. Crinkle holds out another scrap of parchment as she shoos both of them toward the stairs.

The book may get to eat Mrs. Crinkle's note, but the owl is too high for mage hand to reach at your level.

Perception: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (6) + 4 = 10

It's more than 30 feet in the air?

Desmond looks up at the owl. "I have a grapple. I could try and hook it and pull it down. It'll prot break whatever is holding it though. Unless it's magic and then I can probably climb up the rope."

Yes. It's almost like the powerful mage who designed this place anticipated cantrips. However, she seems to have built the room — in
addition to a display of various creatures — to be part gym and part obstacle course, with the bird’s treasure being the reward at the end of the line. You can use any skill that you can justify to get up there - examples include Athletics to Climb or Crafting to build platforms.

You will need three consecutive DC 18 checks to make it to the bird. They do not all need to be the same person. Anyone who fails a check takes 1d6 bludgeoning damage as they fall to the ground, and the count resets. Once you are there, it will take Thievery, Crafting or Athletics to retrieve the scroll.

Not dissuaded by the failure of his cantrip, Bertram swatted his book away from Mrs. Crinkle and began helping to construct a platform to get up to where the owl with the scroll is. He started by pushing some desks and chairs together, then grabbed a couple of tables to use as the decking. He smiled at the base and then his expression fell as the top level slid off.

crafting: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (8) + 7 = 15

"Let me help you with that." Desmond finishes attaching the bit at the top. "Maybe Rassm or even Mrs Crinkle can climb up and try to get it. I can also try to hook it with my grapple to pull it towards you."

Crafting: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (19) + 5 = 24

Would a ranged attack with the grapple qualify as a skill success? Or maybe it's acrobatics to throw it?

Mas tries to help build a platform.
Crafting: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (5) + 7 = 12

"Oh, poo diddles! I wanted to go fight those weirdos in the tower. Well, fine, I always did like the idea of playgrounds, but never the idea that there was a 'too old for it' age. What hooey! Heehee!" Mrs. Crinkle rolls up her sleeves (and rolls them, and rolls them) until she can hardly put her arms down at her sides due to the bulk of the fabric. "Let's get crackin'! Heehee!"

Rather than begin with constructing a platform, the elderly woman simply starts climbing the walls, declaring as her biceps flex impressively: "Anyone who upskirts will get what they deserve! Heehee!"

Athletics: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (2) + 8 = 10
Well, I assume that's a glorious failure. @cmlobue: Should we let you roll the damage?

<THUMP> "Well, shoot. I didn't even get high enough for that to matter. Oh well! Shall I try again, so you can see the big bruise on my fanny, or shall we go stomp on the intruders' toes a bit?"

Zac will try athletics: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (14) + 9 = 23 adding to the success.
Try again athletics: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (15) + 9 = 24

Desmond - You can use your tools, but it will still require a skill check. I'll let you have a +2 bonus when using the grapple, though.

Mrs. Crinkle - I can roll the damage if you want, but it doesn't really matter.

Betram starts stacking desks, but at the last moment, one falls on his head, dealing 1d6 ⇒ 2 damage to him.

Desmond gets them back into a more stable configuration, but Mas knocks the tower over on himself and takes 1d6 ⇒ 1 damage.

Mrs. Crinkle gets partway up the wall before falling off. It's hard to avoid a glance at her bloomers while she tumbles, and gets 1d6 ⇒ 2 damage in addition to any embarrassment she manages to feel.

Zac notices that some of the displays are positioned to let them act like a jungle gym, and makes it most of the way up. He just needs a little more effort to reach the owl...

2/3 successes - next roll either reaches the bird or starts the task over.

Athletics: 1d20 + 5 + 2 ⇒ (20) + 5 + 2 = 27

Desmond tosses his grapple and hooks the top of the tower and hauls it towards the hanging owl. "Zac, catch it!"

Zac uses the grapple to retrieve the bird. The scroll is quite stuck, however, and it will take some skill to get it out without destroying it.

Thievery, Crafting or Athletics

Zac will try to grab the scroll. athletics: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (9) + 9 = 18

Zac pries the bird's beak open, revealing a... well, I'm not sure. The module doesn't list what is there. Going to assume it is a fragment of Alyreha's research while I contact TPTB.

Bertram was happy that they had gotten the scroll, though he had been hoping for a bit of magic, and not just more of Alyreha's research. "Can we take a quick side trip into the Scroll Storage room? There might be something there I can use to help fight the people in the tower."

"Oh, fine. See if you can find a way to turn them into little box turtles. That would be fun. I've always wondered what turtle soup tastes like." She pauses, then responds a bit too innocently: "Just kidding. Heehee!"

"Ooh - that scroll storage room sounds very interesting indeed."