GM Jhaeman's PFS1 # 1-03 (#31) "Sniper in the Deep" (Inactive)

Game Master Jhaeman

Pathfinder! You've been almost literally dragged out of bed in the middle of the night by a servant of the Grand Lodge in Absalom. It seems there's an urgent mission, and waiting for dawn is too late! As you grab your gear and make your way partially dressed into the hallway, you see some fellow agents being similarly alerted. What could be so important to truncate a Pathfinder's good night's sleep?

Please describe your character and introduce yourself to the other PCs.

An irritated human female with a head full of sleep distorted hair, plops herself down on a chair in a very unladylike manner. If it weren't for the hair and disposition, she would be considered a real beauty. but, as it is O' dark hundred after a night of partying, she is not at her best. Kit is shorter than average with lustrous coal black hair and a pale complexion. Kit's cloak has all kinds of mask embellishments on it. Tiny theater masks with serious and comedic expressions.

Kit casts an extended heroism on herself upon entering.

Beside her is an 'animated' creature that looks like a cross between sprightly girl and a black rabbit. A wicked, whimsical grin gleams on her face. He too lounges against the back of Kit's chair. As he is about as large as a ratfolk, though, he does not reach past the top of the chair.

As the others enter, she opens a kit containing finger puppets and accessories. The kit is filled with a well organized collection of tiny felt figurines of all sorts with Velcro attachments like swords, shields, and the like. Observing the others intently she begins to craft facsimiles of each of the pathfinders and practices their mannerisms as best can be represented by finger puppets with voice overs.

A large muscular man comes trundling out to the hallway. His appearance being of a man hastily awakened. His mane of ruby red hair in disarray and his clothes not properly in place.

"Who in the blazes is waking us up this early? The Grand Lodge itself better be under attack or there will be hell to pay!"

He turns to Kitoro.

"Who are you? Roped into another harebrained mission I imagine and then sent off half-caulked in the middle of the night!"

"You can call me 'The Rock'. My name does not translate well into the common tongue."

Following closely on the heels of the irritated Kellid is a baby dinosaur. Although quite skinny for her size the juvenile T-Rex looks quite powerful with long and lean muscles throughout and a jaw that can rip through a steel chest with ease.

Ginger comes bounding into the room with enthusiasm and energy eager to meet new people and start a new mission. Her demeanour being closer to a trained but friendly guard dog then a prehistoric monster of old.

It had been a typical day for Vina: sleeping in followed by an all-nighter of reading. Petite and covered in yellow fur, with a prehensile tail darting to and fro for one book or another, she was quite the unusual sight for her fellow Pathfinders. Devoid of any clothing in the traditional sense, at the exception of humble looking yew wood headband, pearl earrings, jade bracers, a simple bronze ring and a braided alpaca wool belt holding a two short sticks of darkwood, the only noticeable feature she wasn't born with which drew people's eyes immediately was a cluster of emeralds on her chest attached to a delicate golden clasp arranged in the likeness of a five-petaled blossom. Oddly enough her favorite oak tree outside was also marked by a similar gem flower along his trunk's bark...

When not scouring the Grand Lodge libraries, she had most often been seen outdoors in the nearby gardens that day, devouring a borrowed book while strangely speaking or softly singing to 'her tree'. Things got perhaps a little bit stranger later in the evening for any who may have witnessed the tree deciding to uproot itself and give her a ride towards the north part of lodge's grounds...

As the odd duo went along, now well past midnight, Vina had heard the general hum of a small crowd gathered to discuss among themselves. She was uncertain and didn't wish to intrude on a private meeting she was not invited to. Following the growing noise with caution, she arrived at the vestibule of a smaller building to see Pathfinders of all stripes and levels of skills...

She waved Lakadee forward - she seemed to have named this particular tree for some reason - and motioned for her oaken friend to lean over so as to avoid defoliation by door-frame. Shrinking to small size, Vina climbed down a few feet lower, nimbly jumping from branch to branch, and settled upon a small tree swing swaying through the canopy. From the perceived safety of her companion's foliage, she then dared to listen further. After she spotted a few familiar figures down below she managed to shyly ask, "I... I'm not sure you remember me... my name is Vina. And this is Lakadee. Do y-you know why you have been summoned here exactly?... do you need our assistance?"

"Harrumph?" echoes the young treant, a curious look on his bark.

The young T-Rex looks at the moving tree with a look of confusion and curiosity. Clearly the concept of an animated tree is beyond her level of understanding. In her mind it must be a creature that simply looks like a tree.

The Rock smirks while he is well aware of existence of Treants the pairing of the two creatures is a little unusual.

"Well, that is not something you see everyday. Still around here I have seen stranger."

"As for knowing why we are here at this crazy hour. No, not a clue!"

Smiling, the young treant pets the young dinosaur on the head, repeating "Tchooona... tchoooooooona...."

Seeing the interesting combo of giant lizard and giant walking tree, Kit pulls out all the stops and creates a coule of 5 inch long finger puppets to represent them.

"Hurumph," she echoes, trying to get the right inflections to sound like the tree.

"Whether you are supposed to be here or not, you are."

"The name is Kit. I will be your entertainment for this mission."

Though used to animal companions, she still eyes the toothy and dangerous looking dinosaur warily.

A squat, heavily armed tengu joins the assortment of pathfinders and companions. The feathered warrior is still clasping buckles on gleaming sea-green scale armour, tutting to himself.

"Eh, Drandle Dreng! Has to be! Only that old coot insists on waking an honest merchant in the middle of the night, yes!"

Catching sight of the rest of the unfortunate crew, the tengu doffs his salty tricorne and makes a sweeping bow.

"Eh, Captain Malachi Malarkey at your service yes! Purveyor of the finest fruits and vegetables this side of the steaming sea! I'm a close personal friend of Aaqir al'Hakam, yes, we dine together often."

Not to be outdone in the way of unusual companions, the Captain is joined by a brightly-plumed raptor that alights on his shoulder.

"Caw!"

"Eh, and this is Polly" the Captain explains. "She is a very rare parrot-hawk, yes."

For some reason a Besmaran ranger can have a parrot familiar, but a Besmaran druid cannot.

The large druid waves off Kitoro's concerns about his pet T-Rex.

"Ginger is just a baby really. Quite friendly and just looking for attention most of the time. Still, I would not have liked to be the Stone Golem whom she pinned in the last adventure. That was quite something."

"Well let me put on her training harness. Then she knows the time for fun is over."

"Well, hello there Captain and Polly. Quite a crew we have here. That is for sure."

Ginger looks at Polly and wonders if her master will let her chase the pretty bird around the room. However when The Rock spends the time to fasten her training harness she knows that playtime is over and she stands alertly at attention.

Naturally Kit gets to work on a Tengu puppet and even has a parrot attachment. Seems like she has everything in the kit.

Her companion just can't resist and disappears for a bit as he attempts to swipe a pretty feather from the parrot.

1d20 ⇒ 10 +11 if sleight of hand is needed, though perhaps stealth is more suited? If so +18 plus any invisibility bonuses. And not sure if that causes the invisibility to expire. I mean it is an attack, but not.

The halfling woman is plump, yet suprisingly fleet of foot and easily able to keep up with those taller than her.

She is dressed all in white, including her headscarf and gloves.

"Heya. I'm Calabaza Blanca..."

"I am here to do good, by doing well. The Prophecies of Kalistrade make it clear, by enriching myself, I enrich the world.

As a swashbuckler, brawler, ninja, investigator, I do a lot of things, pretty well. And, usually, they won't see it coming. Give me time, I'll show you."

Once everyone is in the hallway, one of the attendants escorts you with fast strides to the office of Venture-Captain Adril Hestram.

It’s just before dawn, and Adril Hestram, a venture-captain with a severe face and an even more severe disposition, stands with his eyes locked in a gaze of professional appraisal, his hairy arms folded tightly over his powerful chest.

Finally, after a long moment, he heaves a weary sigh, allowing his shoulders to slump as if defeated, and says, “All right, fine. I don’t have time to be picky. I need you to go to the Lusty Mermaid in the Docks. One of our Pathfinders, an aging man by the name of Airk Jarigan, hasn’t reported in for two weeks. He’s supposedly close to finding a priceless Andoren artifact called The Sniper, lost right here in Absalom, or so he’s been claiming. As the sun isn’t even up yet, he’s probably still asleep. I need you to go down to the Mermaid, drag Airk out of bed, and find out why he hasn’t been reporting in. More importantly, I need you to get that artifact. You’ll recognize Airk by a gold amulet he always wears around his neck. It’s of an owlbear clutching an amethyst. He should also be with his protégé, a whelp by the name of Dargo Mar. That’s all. What are you waiting for?”

To know something about The Sniper, you can attempt a Knowledge (history) or Knowledge (religion) check.

The Rock has choice words for a person that sits on a problem for two weeks and then decides it is an emergency in the middle of the night. While the words come to his mind in Hallit, Skald and even Taldane he is wise enough to keep them to himself.

He also knows that dragging people out of bed in the middle of the night (or even in the early morning) is not the best way to make friends. He makes a beeline for the Grand Lodge kitchen to fill up and then pray before heading off on this mission at a slightly more decent hour.

"All right, let us eat and talk before we head out. I need to pray too."

"I guess we can make use of the library here to find out more about this Sniper as well. Unless anyone here knows about it."

My character's time of day for his spell recovery is around sunrise so he will be praying for spells at that time. While I don't know if this technically necessary I cannot imagine a divine character willingly skip a prayer session.

Ginger follows her master and smiles. She suspects that they are heading off to eat and that means tasty table scraps for this hungry young dinosaur.

Prepared Agent (all knowledge skills considered trained during mission briefing; 1/scenario: +2 to knowledge check)
knowledge history untrained: 1d20 + 3 + 3 + 2 ⇒ (11) + 3 + 3 + 2 = 19

Also Vina will use this boon:

Mysteries within Mysteries: show this boon to the GM - if any time during adventure your character fails Sense Motive, Perception to find a secret door/trap, or a Will save against illusion spell or effect, you gain a +2 bonus on the skill check or save. Boon not expended if event does not occur.

knowledge untrained: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (18) + 1 = 19 +1 if Azlanti [Azlanti Historian boon]

"I remember a play by that name. Lots of red paint used in that one."

With a yawn, she hops up from her resting place and saunters off towards breakfast, fully appreciating the sentiment that there is not really a rush. Harris appears with a parrot feather behind his ears and saunters along with her.

"Caw?!"

Polly stares at the pooka and then checks that she still has all of her tail feathers.

At the briefing, Malachi cocks his head at the Venture-Captain's assignment.

"Eh, what is this artefact you want us to acquire? The so-called Sniper. Is it a weapon, yes? A description would be most helpful."

Fwiw Rock, my default assumption is that prepared casters start any given scenario with a full complement of spells unless they choose to leave slots open. Although they pray/study/meditate for spells, they don't forget whatever they prepared the day before.

Venture-Captain Hestram is livid at the notion of pausing for breakfast or prayer! "I said go! he shouts, surely waking up those in nearby barracks. "And if I knew what it looked like, I would have told you! So just go get it--now!"

Just FYI, I'm not trying to be a jerky GM--the scenario states that Hestram "is impatient and doesn't take kindly to questions" and "insists the PCs leave immediately, and any hesitation on their part is met with furious insistence". What implications this has for your memorized spells, etc., I'll leave to you. I guess being a Pathfinder is a little like being in the military: you might not always have full bellies and a good night's sleep before being sent on an urgent mission.

The consequences are entirely dependent on your mindset of RP vs. metagaming. On the RP side you would pick your spells as if your character did not know that they would be awoken without a chance to prepare new spells and, as a result, you would pick your standard array of spells most suited to campus living. On the metagaming side you would pick spells more suited to an underwater search for an artifact.

Kit who is already half way out the door, waves dismissively at the captain. In her tired state she gives the group the short form of what she knows. Perhaps after some coffee she might elaborate.

"Not that I am an expert or anything, but there was this statue by that name that brought luck. I believe it looked like Erastil, but danged if I can remember how big it was."

Once out of earshot of the voluminous venture captain, Malachi whispers to his fellows:

"Eh. Easiest mission ever. We visit the nearest temple of Erastil and pick up a carving, yes. If Hestram doesn't know what it looks like, any cheap junk will suffice."

The Rock nods at Malachi's suggestion once they are a good distance away from the VC.

"That would be fitting."

"I will catch up with you people in an hour. The only emergency here is Hestram's need for medical attention."

"I will find a quiet tree to meditate under away from that man."

@GM Jhaeman - Do characters start off this adventure with any spells memorised (presumably from the day before)?

Ginger trods along with her master.

I think the typical expectation is that players have access to the scenario summary blurb for prep purposes. This is why I picked up this druid for this scenario, fyi. Unless the scenario specifically prohibits water spells I had been planning to alter my list with a few changes. Part of my build also depends on a one hour morning seance (spirit class feature) so I will join The Rock for that much needed one hour break if the module is vague on how long we have to get there...

Vina has a puzzled look on her face and finds a nearby spot to meditate outside, cross legged in the grass under the branches of Lakadee, who appears to be taking root and settling for his morning nutrients intake...

"Holy shiznitz, this sounds awesome. I love acquiring things!"

The Rock nods as the treant takes root. His search for foliage is now over.

"A portable tree...ant. Well that is handy."

The druid sits a respectable distance away from Vina as he begins his own personal meditation. He signals Ginger to simply stay put.

As their companions stay behind in the Grand Lodge to prepare, Malachi and Calabaza follow Venture-Captain Hestram's orders and head out immediately to the Lusty Mermaid.

When they arrive, the darkness has melted away, leaving Absalom in the gray grip of dawn. Rolling in off the sea, a chilling fog hangs thick in the air like a cold, pale wraith seeking to steal warmth from the living. Cries of seagulls pierce the otherwise dull stillness of the Docks, but a dim yellow light spills from the stained windows of the Lusty Mermaid.

The front door opens with a moan, and inside sits a scattering of fisherman, returned from a predawn haul. The overwhelming stench of raw fish clings to these men, and it mingles with the savory aroma from the pot of stew hanging above a snapping fire in the hearth.

The proprietor, a greasy-looking human with thick arms and an even thicker belly, looks up from behind the bar and says, “A little early for customers, idn’t it? I have stew cooking, but that’s it. If yer lookin’ fer enthin’ else, ya best shove off.”

"Eh, stew smells good yes. A bowl each for me and my friend here."

Malachi scatters a few coppers on the counter. Then, the Captain scans the clientele, looking for anyone wearing a golden owlbear amulet.

"I'd ask for eggs; but that might offend my new friend here. Do you at least have coffee?"

Wait! One of the groups is going to the Lusty mermaid? When you said docks... Kit just wants to get breakfast and would rather get it there than back in the cafeteria on campus. She will join them there for breakfast.

"You got any rabbit?" she asks innocently, knowing how it goads Harris. She is rewarded by a glare from the long eared rapscallion.

"Eh, as long as they're not tengu eggs you're good shipmate, yes."

Malachi glares a moment at the barkeep. They better not be tengu eggs, yes.

Kitoro hurries to catch up to Malachi and Calabaza as they order stew and coffee. The greasy man takes their coppers and thunks down bowls of stew.

@Malachi: As you look around, could you please roll me a Perception check (or Take 10, it's up to you)

I'll take 10 with a Polly Guidance and a use of Hawkeye for 28 please GM (31 if there is Bright Light which seems unlikely in a sailors' dive but you never know).

Malachi nudges his two companions. "Eh, spotted our target, yes. He's out of bed at least." Mal describes the location of the man with the owlbear amulet.

"Of course, that could just be a pirate who murdered Airk and took his trinket because it looked shiny, yes. Where's the aide?"

Malachi looks to see if the sailor with the amulet is accompanied, expecting to see some sign of the named protègè Dargo Mar.

Malachi takes a discreet look around again.

Malachi bristles uncomfortably. I've seen this show before, yes. The trinket draws attention. Unwanted attention. Makes a body a target yes.

Turning to his fellow pathfinders, Malachi whispers "I don't think that's our man, yes. No sign of Dargo Mar. Amulet out of place on a regular sailor, yes. Let's go talk to him. Ask him about the pretty shiny, yes."

Probably better for the bard or the swashbuckler to lead the conversation.

Kit looks around for Airk Jarigan, supposedly and old man wearing a gold amulet with an Owlbear clutching an amethyst. If she does not see him she will wave down the proprietor.

"How about you, Harris, care for a bit of my stew?"

The Pooka's ears twitch and she wrinkles her nose as she shakes her head no.

@Kitoro: Just to clarify, I think Malachi is whispering to you that he's spotted the amulet, but not on who he was expecting.

Facepalm! Wow, seems obvious in retrospect. For some reason I was thinking he was whispering to himself and not us.

"Mmmh. Perhaps one of us should block the exit until we get some answers, yes? I'd like to have a talk with the proprietor about this and not have the fellow disappear in the mean time."

Kitoro waves over the proprietor while another Pathfinder lurks near the exit, just in case.

The greasy man scowls as he comes over. "What, more stew?"

Telepathically she sends Harris a message.

Do be a dear and watch the door. Should someone try to slip out in a hurry, see what you can do to delay the person.

At which point he makes himself scarce, vanishes, and takes up sentry by the door.

diplomacy: 1d20 + 21 ⇒ (11) + 21 = 32

Flashing the proprietor a winning smile, she asks about Airk.

"We are waiting for one Airk Jarigan. He has a room here I believe. Have you seen him today?"

Using her knowledge of facial expressions and mannerisms she looks for someone reacting oddly to the question, not just the proprietor, as she is not particularly quiet.

sense motive: 1d20 + 21 ⇒ (17) + 21 = 38

Calabaza casually strolls up to the man with the amulet.

"Nice trinket you have there. Thing is, it matches the description of one that's been stolen. We should call the guard and have them check it out."

bluff: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (14) + 14 = 28

When Kitoro asks about Arik, the mood in the inn suddenly drops, and what was once an atmosphere filled with crass and loud conversation becomes eerily silent, almost to the point of simmering hostility. "Ain't never heard no tell of 'im," says the greasy proprietor. "Best you gulp down that stew and git."

A second later, after Calabaza walks up to the table and mentions calling the guards, the simmering hostility turns to a full boil! The fisherman leap to their feet, some grabbing weapons and others their gear to make a run for it, while the greasy proprietor shouts "Get 'em boys!" and reaches under the bar for a weapon!

Obviously, that did not go well :) Ran out of time tonight to set up the combat slide, but will do so first thing in (my) morning.

As the entire bar erupts, Kit does not need to be an expert in human nature and body signs to recognize that Arik is NOT a popular fellow.

"Nice touch, Cala. I take it you enjoy a good brawl?"

Are we to go into init now or did you pause to allow some kind of creative response to calm them down?