[PFS2, Outpost07] 2-17 Lost Maid of Anactoria (Inactive)

Game Master Watery Soup

For out of character discussion.

Please post:

Player Name (optional):
Character Name (required):
Character PFS Number (required):
Character Level (required):
Character Faction (optional):
Downtime Instructions (optional):

Player Name: UncleFroggy
Character Name: Loong Laohu (aka Tiger)
Character PFS Number: 2396852-2003
Character Level: Monk 6
Character Faction: Radiant Oath
Downtime Instructions: PFS Lore(T): 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (17) + 8 = 25

Player Name (optional): Mitch
Character Name (required): Flory Buntzer
Character PFS Number (required): 142569-2013
Character Level (required): 3
Character Faction (optional): Horizon Hunters
Downtime Instructions (optional): Crafting (Tailor): 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (8) + 12 = 20

Player Name: SuperBidi
Character Name: Lazarre
Character PFS Number: 6533-2010
Character Level: 6
Character Faction: Grand Archive
Downtime Instructions: Sea Lore: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (9) + 9 = 18

Hello Watery Soup, hello Mitch, nice to see you again.
It looks like I always bring Lazarre to your games, Watery. He was level 3 the last time, so it's been a hell of a time!

Player Name: Super Zero
Character Name: Zibini
Character PFS Number: 2003
Character Level: 5
Character Faction: Horizon Hunters
Downtime Instructions: Earn Income. Task level 3, DC 18: Crafting: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (7) + 7 = 14. Failure x 8 days earns .64 gp

If we end up high tier, Zibini is a Rugged Mentor:
While working with less experienced Pathfinder allies, you provide important insights that keep your less experienced
colleagues safe from harm. For any PCs benefiting from a Level Bump and whose levels are lower than yours, you increase the
Level Bump’s modifier to saving throws to 2.
Normal: A Level Bump increases a PC’s saving throw modifiers by 1.
Special: A PC can only benefit from two mentor boons

4 glyphs btw so if someone has 2, we all start with 2 HP.

Then we all start with 2HP.

@Watery: The game is supposed to start in March, but will you allow our characters to introduce themselves and speak a bit before the actual beginning of the adventure? I like to discuss with other characters at the start of an adventure but it also tend to take quite some time without any progress in the plot.

Absolutely. For roleplay purposes, you will be gathering in Ustalav’s capital city of Caliphas.

Cool!
When you feel it's the right time to start such roleplay, put the first message in Gameplay.

It is likely that my preferred character Kernal Klank won't finish his current game in time for this to start. I'll start looking over the pregens for one that seems to round out the group a bit. Any suggestions? Looks like we've got casters/ranged covered. How about healing?

Zibini has some healing, but he's not really a healer.

Restore the Mind is nice because it's resource-free, but finicky to use.

Here's the scenario description:

When the grim “local celebrity” of the small village of Anactoria goes missing, its townsfolk reach out to the Pathfinder Society for assistance. A group of heroes arrive just as a band from the rival Aspis Consortium have headed out into the nearby swamps. Is this a coincidence, or is there more going on in Anactoria than meets the eye? Of course, everything is subjective when you visit a town where its celebrity is a mummified bog corpse!

We have plenty of healing, what we do not have much is melee martials (without you, we have just one left).

Tiger is a walking medic with Assurance Medicine. The only thing he can't do regarding healing is cast spells...

Player Name (optional): Halgur
Character Name (required): Meadow
Character PFS Number (required): 35206
Character Level (required): 2007
Character Faction (optional): Verdant Wheel
Downtime Instructions (optional): Earn Income scouting lore DC18: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (13) + 8 = 21 Success! 4 gold

We have plenty of healing, what we do not have much is melee martials (without you, we have just one left).

Alrighty, browsing the pregens, how does Harsk sound? I'm quite fond of Dwarves, and he's a dual wielding ranger. Should fit in the scenario well.

6,3,6,5,5 = 22 CP, high tier either way, so I assume it'll be Level 5 Harsk, putting us at 26 CP total. Flory will get a level bump. Does anyone have mentor boons?

Meadow has Worldly Mentor

Worldly Mentor (Verdant Wheel)
While working with less experienced Pathfinder allies, you help your less experienced colleagues recognize danger and
withstand danger. For any PCs benefiting from a Level Bump and whose levels are lower than yours, you increase the Level
Bump’s modifier to Perception checks and Initiative rolls to 2.
Normal: A Level Bump increases a PC’s Perception modifier by 1.
Special: A PC can only benefit from two mentor boons.

I have Dark Archive one (it's for spells if I don't make a mistake, so Flory may be interested).

Grand Archive? That's Magical Mentor. Though it gets an extra buff if you share a spell tradition, which it doesn't look like you do.

Zibini is a Rugged Mentor:
While working with less experienced Pathfinder allies, you provide important insights that keep your less experienced
colleagues safe from harm. For any PCs benefiting from a Level Bump and whose levels are lower than yours, you increase the
Level Bump’s modifier to saving throws to 2.
Normal: A Level Bump increases a PC’s saving throw modifiers by 1.
Special: A PC can only benefit from two mentor boons

I've decided against Harsk. For a melee dual wielder he made a very poor choice to invest in striking on his heavy crossbow, not his war axe. I figured I have the boon to allow me to play one of the Sundered Waves pregens, so I will!

The sword and board fighter (much like Kernal Klank), Jadran Tagar!

Here he is, I'll get his profile finished off tonight and fill out everything needed.

Slides are up! Please put your Perception modifiers into Slide 2, and your Initiative using a default exploration mode. Marching order is appreciated, but not necessary for this scenario.

Please also let me know if you have any GM glyphs or other things for extra Hero Points.

Flory, please make sure to apply the level bump to your tagline, as I will be using that frequently.

Loong Laohu, for clarity, can you specify how you'd like me to refer to your character?

We have enough glyphs for everyone to have 2 HP.

Done.

Jadran has the pilgrim token feat, letting him win a tie for initiative.

I have two Glyphs.

Zibini has the Twitchy goblin ancestry feat. He gets a +1 circumstance bonus to AC and saves against hazards, as well as Initiative checks (which I can include, but means he doesn't get anything extra from someone Scouting). That increases to +4 to Initiative if any enemy uses Deception or Diplomacy for Initiative.

One glyph here although it doesn't look like it's necessary. Also this is a replay for me so I'll hold back on any decision making. I will admit I don't remember anything at all about the scenario though. Hopefully this game will prove to be more memorable.

One glyph here although it doesn't look like it's necessary. Also this is a replay for me so I'll hold back on any decision making. I will admit I don't remember anything at all about the scenario though. Hopefully this game will prove to be more memorable.

Just had the giggles after imagining PBB conducting the interview... :)

We've made six checks on this task. We have more natural ones than natural rolls above four.

I'm sure it's fine.

The Maid doesn't want us to find her because there are too many non-believers in the party.

Flory will need to cast light.

It depends if we want to be stealthy or not. I personally don't care.

As a pregen my gear is not optimal.. no wayfinder was included, neither was healing tools for a character that has battle medicine! I dropped the gold to pick up a set of healing tools at least but I'll have to live with the other deficiencies.

I would love to handwave this, but I believe my hands are tied. A while ago, I helped transcribe some of the pregens to PbP format, and learned that pregens have to be played as written, even if they contain mechanical mistakes (several of the pregens are shorted skills/feats, and the alchemist is shorted several reagents).

Yes I'm also pretty sure players are stuck with 'as written' which was why I shied away from Harsk to begin with. The question is though, can't you make purchases with their available gold? Or even sell gear at the appropriate rate and use that gold to buy different gear? All I did was use some of his gold to buy healer's tools (not in game, but on the sheet). If you don't think that is allowed then I'll go without or hopefully borrow some from someone without battle medicine. Or perhaps go through the RP of purchasing said tools when we get back to town if they would be available to buy somewhere.

Either way, something that should get sorta out before I need to battle medicine someone.

In this case he's a pregen from a specific adventure, so I wouldn't expect him to have a wayfinder if he's not part of the Society.
Although the lack of tools is certainly an oversight. He did have money, though?

Using money to buy the tools is fine.

I'll be out of town the next two days, please bot as needed.

I forgot Lazzare was burying the corpses. Well, he does his investigation while digging. And considering his exceptional strength, it'll take forever anyway unless someone lends him a hand...

Done

Sorry, can Sir Miles have started the encounter next to me?

Sure!

Psi Cantrips have two features. The first is that they're supposed to be a touch stronger than ordinary cantrips, and the second benefit is that they can be "amped" by spending a Focus Point. That really just means their Focus Spells are stronger versions of their cantrips (or sometimes just thematically linked) rather than being entirely separate spell effects.

Unleashing Psyche does three things:
surrounded by obvious display of magic,
status bonus to damage rolls of instantaneous spells, and
you can use Psyche actions.

The only connection between Zibini's Psi Cantrips and Unleashing is that imaginary weapon is an instantaneous damaging spell and eligible for the bonus. You might be thinking of Psyche actions?

I'm not 100% sure what I'm thinking of. I played a psychic and I remember having to remember to cast a spell in Round 1 so I could Unleash Psyche in Round 2, and then hoping the fight was over in Round 3. :)

As long as casting shield on another doesn't require Unleash Psyche, I'm happy to just go with the flow.

What are the odds someone has a repair kit? Another piece of gear the writers figured a shield block fighter wouldn't be needing.. Also I've only got a craft +7 if anyone down the line with the time is more skilled at it for after the fight.

What are the odds someone has a repair kit? Another piece of gear the writers figured a shield block fighter wouldn't be needing.. Also I've only got a craft +7 if anyone down the line with the time is more skilled at it for after the fight.

I do. Also, +11 Craft, and Quick Repair

Perfect, thank you.

Ok, so how do we want to do this?
The sneaky folks who can see get the drop on them, and the rest of us bring up the rear?
Or some other approach?

I have great doubts they will be the enemies. Anyway, it's really up to the sneaky folks, we, the not-so-sneaky folks, we can just stay put.

Yeah, to be clear, the first thing you probably need to decide is if you're going to attack them, talk to them, or stay out of the way. And then there are probably sub-choices.

If it makes you feel any better, there's no "wrong" choice, it's just a question of how the final encounter plays out. If discussion seems to be stalled, I'll probably just make up something gelatin-related and be silly about it.

I want to remind everyone that this is a replay for me so I will refrain from any decisions. I will back up whatever the rest of you want to do.

Lazzare definitely wants to talk to them and will act accordingly.