GM Rotation, The COREageous Crew

Game Master Pete H.

Paul does have eyes on them from his position. Red and Green are the two card players while Blue (Janks). is partway down a trapdoor hole.

The rogue catches Nal's eye and points to the east side, then holds up three fingers. He readies his sap and prepares to rush the trio.

Nal nods, pulls out his two-handed sword and intercepts it so that it can be hit with the flat part, non-lethally.

(surprise round?)

((Yes))

Paul motions to the rest of the party outside the house, then moves in.

As far as I can tell from the layout and the location of the walls, neither of us will be able to attack during the surprise round--we can't 5' step diagonally around the wall, and we don't have the straight shot we'd need to charge. Is that the case?

Nal gestures with his hand to stop and looks back to check if the door through which other pathfinders will enter is closed.

If it is closed, and there is a deadbolt (and not a lock that requires a key), then Nal will tiptoe over, open the door and then return to the starting position (stealth take 10 = 21).

With a nod, he will show Paul that now it's time to start and they will both go inside almost synchronously...

Running inside, Nal will move across the room and jumping onto the mattress in the corner, becoming visually slightly taller. Surrender, he will throw one word, menacingly holding his sword. (surprise - move; I hope they don't have combat reflexes and improved unarmed strikes)

The door is closed when you move to open it. Perception check please.

Perception: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (2) + 8 = 10 +1 traps

Nal opens the door. and a bell starts ringing. Seems there was a trap. The two card players prepare their weapons while Janks scrambles down the ladder and closes the trapdoor after him.

With the jig up, Cashel spends the surprise round hustling closer.

Now on the map!

Cortina quickly moves inside, still wielding her longspear.

Darn! Typical stealth mission .)
Nal rushes back...

Ryul moves in as quickly as he can act after the door opens up.

Hearing the alarm bell, Paloma and Cheeper follow Ryul, hot on his heels.

It appears that surprise has been lost, The two move up to defend.

Initiative
Ryul: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (1) + 3 = 4
Paloma: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (19) + 2 = 21
Paul: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (13) + 3 = 16
Nal: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (16) + 3 = 19
Cashel: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (17) + 2 = 19
Cortina: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (10) + 4 = 14

Green: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (7) + 5 = 12
Red: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (9) + 5 = 14

Paloma/Cheeper, Nal, Cashel & Paul are up first

Paul rushes forward past the enemies before they can react and tries to lay out the green one with his sap.

Sap attack vs. flat-footed (unless they have Combat Reflexes or Uncanny Dodge): 1d20 + 4 + 2 ⇒ (17) + 4 + 2 = 23
Nonlethal damage, incl. sneak attack: 1d6 + 1 + 1d6 ⇒ (3) + 1 + (4) = 8

Blue looks like he's on the street outside, but I think he's the one that went down a trap door? In which case, double move. If he is where we can attack him, we'll do that.

Moving in, Cheeper moves past Paloma to bite one of the thugs.
Cheeper Bite attack vs Green: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (11) + 8 = 19 B,P&S Damage: 1d4 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 1 = 5
Trip if bite hits: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (6) + 2 = 8

Cashel strides in, and blasts whomever is still up with a blast of force.

Force Missile: 1d4 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 1 = 2 Force damage.

Nal, scolding himself for foiling the plan, and also for not acquiring a baton like Paul's, runs inside and hits one of the bandits with the flat of his sword.

Greatsword: 1d20 + 4 - 4 ⇒ (19) + 4 - 4 = 191d10 + 1 ⇒ (6) + 1 = 7 - nonlethal (I'll buy sap too...); if green still on his feet, then green; otherwise RED.

Isn't that a critical threat?

Yeah! Thanks! Too many systems (SF, PF2e, etc), everywhere slightly different rules.
Crit?: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (6) + 4 = 101d10 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 = 3

Green goes down, unconscious. Red (-7nl)

Red strikes at Cheeper. ss: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (17) + 3 = 20 damage: 1d6 + 3 ⇒ (5) + 3 = 8

With Green down, everyone is up.

Cashel fires a force missile at the remaining man.

Force Missile: 1d4 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 = 4 Force damage.

Cheeper yelps from the strike and lashes out viciously at her attacker.
Claw 1: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (6) + 8 = 14 B&S Damage: 1d3 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 = 4
Claw 2: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (15) + 8 = 23 B&S Damage: 1d3 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 = 3
Bite: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (10) + 8 = 18 B,S,&P Damage: 1d4 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 1 = 2 Trip if Bite hits?: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (5) + 2 = 7

But upon seeing her furry friend so badly wounded, Paloma calls for Cheeper to come away from the bad man and makes room for someone else to attack.
Handle Animal: 1d20 + 5 + 4 ⇒ (3) + 5 + 4 = 12

Cheeper 5 ft step back out to the hall. If can't 5 ft step to that spot, Paloma will step there and Cheeper will step to her current spot.

Red drops his weapon. Call it off! CALL IT OFF! I SURRENDER!

Cortina waits to see if red also went down. If Cheeper's bite hit him, he'd suffered one more point of damage than green, so he should be unconscious, too.

Red then passes out

With a shrug, Cashel casts Stabilize on the man.

He then points at the trapdoor.

"Guess we should chase after the one who fled down there."

Cortina moves to the trapdoor and checks it for traps, then uses detect magic to check also for magical traps.

Perception, guidance: 1d20 + 3 + 1 ⇒ (8) + 3 + 1 = 12

Ryul moves in and searches the guards, ”Seems I was a bit slow, but maybe you all were just incredibly efficient. Which is to be lauded. Well done.”

There are no traps or magic on the trapdoor. And their gear just consists of a chain shirt and short short each. Although there is the set of playing cards though.

Paul follows through the trapdoor.

This small, stuffy square room was cut from the building’s stone foundation. The room’s east wall features a large stone mosaic of stone that shows several faceless people worshipping at the top, and others being condemned at the bottom, with no figures in the middle pattern. The mosaic contains a set of three identical circular indentations: one set within the top section, one in the empty center, and another set within the bottom section. Illuminating the room are two lit torches, in sconces, on the north and south walls. There is no sign of Janks.

((Slide updated))

Perception check: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (3) + 11 = 14

"No one in sight. Come on down, my friends, and see what you make of those stones."

"Okay!"

Cashel, with some degree of difficulty, makes it down the stairs, and moves over to inspect the mosaic.

Perception: 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (9) + 15 = 24.

"Those three stones probably go in the indentations, but if we put them in the wrong ones it'll probably blow up in our faces."

Ryul activates the light spell upon his glinting armor and follows down, he casts detect magic to scan the stones and mosaic.

”That seems probable Paul. The possible combinations with three stones is not enough to make a good passcode, so a consequence of doing it wrong is likely. Anyone recognize the religious significance here?”

Cortina quickly scans the guards' equipment and the playing cards with her active detect magic spell. If nothing is magical, she follows Paul and Ryul down the trap door. Magic items will be looted, of course! ;-)

The dwarf checks the stone mosaic for magic as well, then turns to her fellow pathfinders.

"Well, I'm no expert on all religions... yet. But we do know Celeena Deckland - who hired these mercenaries - has links to Cheliax. So, what do you think, Cashel?"

She looks at her fellow cleric, who might have definitely has read more books than she.

Cashel shrugs.

"But is that a good thing, or a bad thing? I mean, if we are going from least to most ominous, I would say Child-City-Devil, but is that necessarily correct?"

Perception: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (9) + 7 = 16
Paloma follows the others, pulling out her wand to tend to Cheeper's wounds.
She looks over the puzzle and offers her input. "The devil must surely go at the bottom with the condemned. And I suppose the child with the worshippers. So Cashel's order sounds right to me."

And she gets to healing her companion's wounds.
CLW: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (6) + 1 = 7

Do you take the chance and plug them in?

With a shrug, Cashel tries placing the discs.

Paul frowns. "I'm no scholar, but I'd put it city-child-devil. The child, you see, is innocent and hasn't yet made a choice between the heavenly city and the Pit." He shrugs. "But what do I know of such things?"

Cashel, wait a minute. We have two unconscious thugs. Let's just ask them first.

Too late. Cashel plugs the disks in. Child-City-Devil.

... and the door pops open. He gives a smirk to everyone else, just as the disks pop out of their slots and fall on the floor.

A spiral staircase is revealed leading down to a room which is split by a long, ten-foot-wide stone walkway, extending sixty feet east to west between two spiral staircases. Two ladders rest on the north side of the walkway and two more on the south, leading down into a fifteen-foot-wide trench twenty feet below. These sub-rooms are filled with objects ranging from decrepit suits of rusted armor, to piles of rotting furs, and to various over-stuffed footlockers.

You can see three levers on the floor in the trench

The way down on the other side is blocked by a portcullis.

Two lemurs stand stupidly in the center of the walkway, waiting for anyone to attack.

Perception: 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (15) + 15 = 30.

"There's another lever hidden under a pile of rugs, too."

I'm sorry--I shouldn't joke about typos, but I'm just imagining these two little primates with great big eyes staring at us.

Raul points out the nasty foes waiting, ”Enemies first, then levers. But good eye. Anyone know anything about those? I haven’t studied that type of creature yet, maybe some sort of planar entity? Also, who wants to rush them with me?” He pulls out his long curved blade.

I agree. And if it can be chopped down, then I'm not going to babysit these monsters like I did with those guys upstairs. Nal tightens his grip on his sword.