[ACO] PF2e - Q17 Escorting a Mirage (P2) (Inactive)

Game Master UncleFroggy

Please dot (add a post) in here and then delete your post to add yourself to this campaign.

1) I am based in Southeast Asia (UTC +8) so my posting hours may be unusual (especially for those in North America). I usually update at least one or twice per day. Just to keep the game moving, please post at least once every day and at least once during the weekend.

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Tuesday/Thursdays - all day, as they are the 2 busiest days of my work week

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8) Let's have some fun and tell a great story together! After all, that's what we are here for.

You arrive at the Merabian docks via the barge Powerful Hector, captained by one Eduard Tabrin, who waves as you descend the gangplank. Merab’s docks are busy, crowded with merchants, goods, and beasts of burden. Your instructions only say that someone will meet you at the docks. You're not left waiting as an imp soon flies up, hands over a written message, then disappears in a puff of smoke.

Go ahead and introduce yourselves

A tall man dressed in a butlers outfit is amongst the first to disembark. His countenance is a tad on the green side, as if sea travel did not fully agree with him.

No weapon or armor is evident, although a shield is attached to his back, giving him a slightly turtle-like appearance. He offers a small bow to the imp. "Would you be so kind as to lead us to the Flowing market?" he asks, before turning to assist the others in disembarking. Whether that be by offering of a hand, or hauling a trunk.

A green kobold has been waiting for the others, but not long enough. Upon recognizing other Pathfinders, she approaches them and offers a hand for a handshake.

"Ehle Kiv." she introduces herself. "It looks like we need to look for the chief archivist in the Flowing Market."

A grey feathered Tengu swings out from the ship's rigging on a rope and lands gracefully on the dockside next to the gathering group, his sandals slapping as they hit the ground. He brushes off his leather armor, stills the rapier by his side and then bows to Percival and Ehle "I'm not sure we met on the voyage over - I can never avoid helping out when on a sea passage! I am Vamasu. And you have the look of fellow pathfinders!" and glances at the shield on the human's back.

Then to Ehle he says "The Flowing Market? Do you know the place? This is my first time in this rather sandy city and I have not heard of it before."

Traveling by boat was a new one! Traveling at all was still pretty new--joining the Pathfinder Society was an excellent decision.

Although the imp was concerning.

A bird with black and gold feathers whistles, and a cat disembarks the Powerful Hector (what an odd name) behind her. She alights briefly on the cat's head, before fluttering her wings and landing next to him; she does seem a little heavy for him to carry that way. While rather small compared to the other Pathfinders, the bird does seem unusually large for her kind, the size of a large crow.

Though if her size as going to suggest there was something unusual about her, the tiny spectacles or the messenger bag slung over her shoulder give it away faster. A wayfinder is clipped to the side of the bag.

"Whistle Wit. I used to be a librarian's pet. My cat's proper name is Whisker, but sometimes I call him Feathers. It's a little joke. Should we be concerned about the devil?"

The flowers market… She summons a dwarf to the Flowers market… What’s the meaning of this mascarade? is thinking the fire warden. Just be serious. What does he have to do in a flowers market? If he doesn’t carry any weapon the brown beard dwarf wears a light armor and a steel shield is for now strapped in his back.

Finally finding some companions he asks: Well my name’s Benkost. What the hell is all this mess? What are we doing at the flowers market?

It's an orc with a splint mail. He’s got a halberd on his back. He wears a sling on his belt. Hello, my name is Enrax.

You each need to attempt two checks to navigate the streets of Merab: one to find the Flowing Market and one to find Zarta within.
You earn Zarta Search Points (ZSP) as follows: +2/+1/0/-1 for CS/S/F/CF respectively

To find the Flowing Market:
DC 13 Deception to Lie / Diplomacy to Gather Info / Intimidation to coerce
DC 10 Survival to Sense Direction
DC 8 Thuvia-related Lore to RK

To find Zarta w/in the Flowing Market:
DC 15 Athletics to Shove through the crowd
DC 13 Diplomacy to Gather Info
DC 15 Performance to Perform
DC 10 Society to RK
DC 8 Library or Book-related Lore to RK

Survival: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (8) + 2 = 10

Athletics: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (18) + 6 = 24

The dwarf tries to survive to find the market. Why such a weird meeting point.
And as he doesn’t struggle too much to dispatch the crowd he doesn’t need to unleash a ball of energy to make it.

The fighter tries to Shove through the crowd.

Athletics:1d20 + 12 ⇒ (5) + 12 = 17

The orc tries to Gather Info.

Diplomacy:1d20 + 6 ⇒ (14) + 6 = 20

"It's the Flowing Market, dear. Oh. Oh dear. They're a little... rough. Yes, well. Excuse me, sir!"

Untrained Thuvian Lore: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (9) + 4 = 13

"Oh, books! I found it."

Academia Lore: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (17) + 7 = 24

Jeeves thinks for a moment. Leaning forward toward a nearby urchin he asks "Is it true that today is the day that the gold is hidden around the Flowing market? Oh I do hope the storms didn't make my masters miss this wonderful event." Then turning to the rest of the group he says "Follow that urchin!"

deception: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (18) + 5 = 23

Cut to chase scene through the streets with the Pathfinders in Hot Pursuit of the urchin and arriving hot and bothered at the market.

"Oh, I think I see her!"
society: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (5) + 3 = 8

Vamasu finds one of the local dockhands, if a tengu then even better, and ask "I have heard great things about Merab’s Flowing Market. Could you direct me there please?

Diplomacy to Gather Info DC 13: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (19) + 6 = 25

and apparently finds someone both knowledgeable and friendly! Vamasu quickly joins the chase of the urchin though, aided by having his own bearings.

Once at the market, Vamasu will find a drink seller with some shade and get a cold juice to cool off. While there he will ask around for the best book stalls and see if that narrows down the options for where Zarta might be.

Diplomacy to Gather Info DC 13: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (7) + 6 = 13

Then to Ehle he says "The Flowing Market? Do you know the place? This is my first time in this rather sandy city and I have not heard of it before."

"Actually no." Ehle responds to him.

"We should ask around here." she suggests.

Not eager to talk to people, Ehle looks for signs that might direct them toward the Market.
DC 10 Survival: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (13) + 6 = 19 to Sense Direction

Once she finds the Market, she shows people her badge and asks them if they saw a woman with the same badge as her.
DC ?? Pathfinder Society: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (16) + 3 = 19

Finding the Flowing Market

Finding Zarta

You quickly locate Zarta after a short stroll through the market, taking under an hour. Nestled among the market stalls is a tea parlor and bookstore named Leaves and Bindings. A small cart holding several crates sits outside the shop. Zarta is sitting at a table with a dwarf, whom she introduces as Pallomar Gladhammer, a freelance correspondent for Golarion’s Finest books and travelogues.

Zarta gestures at Pallomar. "Pallomar here is in a spot of bother, and he will be writing an article about his adventures with Pathfinders. Deliver him and the books back to the Powerful Hector safely and you will receive the normal remuneration. It’s not exploring old ruins or something equally exciting, but even dry history books can be a gateway to experiencing new and wonderful things."

Zarta smiles and drinks another sip of tea. "Do you have any questions for me or Pallomar, or do you wish to get this simple errand over with?"

”Do you mind if we ask what the spot of bother is? Is it likely to affect our trip back to the ship? Vamasu will ask Zarta

The dwarf strokes his beard then asks: Do you get any trouble here during your stay? Any enemy you got?

The orc listens carefully and is ready to go.

Jeeves nods "[b]Maaam.[/]b" he says, not feeling a need to ask any questions of his betters. After all, if he was supposed to know something, surely she would already have told him...

"Who's pushing the cart?" asks the cat, sniffing around it, "I am willing to guard the crates."

"He's just being lazy," huffs Whistle Wit, perched on the back of a chair, "Though... we are pretty light. And I'm a witch, so I can guard from there. Might not be a bad idea."

"That's what I said!"

”Do you mind if we ask what the spot of bother is? Is it likely to affect our trip back to the ship? Vamasu will ask Zarta

The dwarf strokes his beard then asks: Do you get any trouble here during your stay? Any enemy you got?

Pallomar sighs. "I wrote a small article for Golarion’s Finest last year detailing my experiences in Merab. It seems that some of the local Merab Vultures fans objected to my article, saying that it brought bad luck to the team and made the Vultures lose the Avistan Basilisk League Championship. Now they want to lynch me for it..."

"Who's pushing the cart?" asks the cat, sniffing around it, "I am willing to guard the crates."

"He's just being lazy," huffs Whistle Wit, perched on the back of a chair, "Though... we are pretty light. And I'm a witch, so I can guard from there. Might not be a bad idea."

"That's what I said!"

"I will be driving the cart. I just need people to protect me in case the local Basilisk League fans try to attack me."

"Now that you mentioned it, along the way, I found a basilisk game going on today between the Merab Vultures and their rivals, the Riddleport Rollers, and the fans are agitated. I wonder why..." Ehle ponders that thought and shares them. "What is with that basilisk game?"

"Oooh you upset the local fans, did you think they'd forgotten when you came back here? Sometimes a port's just too dangerous to return to! Anyway, I hear the vultures are the ones in red and black, so we know who to avoid."

Then turning back to the group he asks "Ehle, do you know when the game starts? We could sneak out while they are busy"

"It has been going on today, maybe the game will be finished anytime soon." Ehle shrugs. "If that is the case, I think we should go now."

"Perhaps." offers Jeeves "A subtle disguise might be in order?".

He rummages around in a bag, and pulls out an old wine bottle. "We could put a cloak over you, and you could hug the wine bottle. Everyone would just think that you were a friend a tipple over their limit."

You are provided with a cart already loaded with 4 crates of heavy books, stacked 2 deep. Pallomar gets up into the driver's seat and you begin your return to the ship.

Several people emerge from the crowd and try to surround the cart. One of them shouts, "Leave the goods and no one gets hurt!" Pallomar ignores them and keeps driving the cart forward. Not surprisingly, they draw steel...

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COMBAT TRACKER
Round: 1
Tactical Map
------------------
Those with ** may go

**Benkost - AC 20 (22 w/shield), 49/49
Red
Enrax - AC 22, 64/64
Ehle Kiv - AC 18 (19 w/buckler), 21/21
Jeeves - AC 18 (20 w/shield), 19/19
Whistle Wit - AC 17 (18 w/shield, 13/13
Pink
Vamasu - AC 18 (20 w/Extravagant Parry), 17/17
Yellow
White
Blue
Green

I assume I channeled the element when we left with Pallomar.

The dwarf reacts quickly. He rushes in position, unleashes a blast and raises his shield (AC 22).

Element blast: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (6) + 10 = 16

Damage: 1d6 ⇒ 1

I assume I channeled the element when we left with Pallomar.

The dwarf reacts quickly. He rushes in position, unleashes a blast and raises his shield (AC 22).

Element blast: 1d20+10

Damage: 1d6

The only reason why you'd channel the element prior to leaving is if you were expecting some sort of ambush. Your character wouldn't have known that -- granting Pallomar told you that he could be ambushed by sports fans but there are non-combat ways of dispersing a crowd. So, you'll need to spend an action to channel elements and not have the shield up (assuming you can also explain how you're hitting the bandits with a tent in the way... :)

You can do a blast for free when you channel anyway, so it's the same number of actions.

My bad. I overlooked that when I looked it up. But you still don't have LoS where you're standing -- there's a tent in the way

You decide. But the shield is raised for sure.

Benkost attempts to strike one of the bandits with a fireball but succeeds in singing a vendor's tent. He then raises his shield.

A bandit with a red tunic pulls out a dagger and rushes at Jeeves. He then tries to poke him.

Dagger vs Jeeves AC 18: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (1) + 5 = 6 for Piercing/Slashing: 1d4 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 1 = 5

Fortunately for Jeeves, the bandit trips on a loose stone and almost ends up impaling himself.

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COMBAT TRACKER
Round: 1
Tactical Map
------------------
Those with ** may go

Benkost - AC 20 (22 w/shield), 49/49 (AC 22)
Red
**Enrax - AC 22, 64/64
**Ehle Kiv - AC 18 (19 w/buckler), 21/21
**Jeeves - AC 18 (20 w/shield), 19/19
**Whistle Wit - AC 17 (18 w/shield, 13/13
Pink
Vamasu - AC 18 (20 w/Extravagant Parry), 17/17
Yellow
White
Blue
Green

The orc strikes on the red.

Power attack:1d20 + 13 ⇒ (11) + 13 = 24

Damage:3d10 + 4 ⇒ (1, 3, 4) + 4 = 12

Then he strikes again.

+1 striking halberd:1d20 + 13 - 10 ⇒ (10) + 13 - 10 = 13

Damage:2d10 + 4 ⇒ (4, 3) + 4 = 11

"Eeek! Bandits!" squeaks Jeeves. The man sways unsteadily on his feet. It appears that after the voyage he has not yet regained his land-legs. Either that or the bottle that slips out of his pocket and onto the ground used to contain something other than the the "water" with which it is conspicuously labelled.

Enter stumbling stance.

He offers a weak blow, far, far to the left of the bandit. The old man is no threat to anyone.
feint: 1d20 + 5 + 1 ⇒ (20) + 5 + 1 = 26

Before accidently banging sticking out his foot and then banging his head into his assailant.

flurry attack #1: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (18) + 8 = 26
damage: 1d8 + 4 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 4 + 1 = 9
flurry attack #2: 1d20 + 8 - 5 ⇒ (17) + 8 - 5 = 20
damage: 1d8 + 4 + 1 ⇒ (7) + 4 + 1 = 12

"Nobody attacks my masters!" he slurs at the hopefully chastened figure.

* enter stumbling stance
* feint
* flurry

"Wow, these guys really want these books. Well STAY BACK!"

Whistle Wit emphasizes these last words with a flap of her wings, and an outsized blast of cutting winds.
"And stay away from the cat, he's contagious!"

The closest bandit hears the shriek of a bird of prey and feels feather brush his skin. He intuitively understands that if he approaches Feather's Fall then the threatening bird will attack him.
As though carried by those same wings, the cat swoops into the air and then lands, sitting next to the wagon and glaring at the man as though daring him to approach.

◆◆ Cast slashing gust, though both targets have cover. Spell attack Red: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (15) + 7 = 22 for slashing damage: 2d4 ⇒ (4, 3) = 7 and Spell attack Blue: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (19) + 7 = 26 for slashing damage: 2d4 ⇒ (4, 3) = 7. On a critical success, double damage and the target also takes 1d4 persistent bleed.
◆ Cast murmuration on Red, designating my familiar as the second creature. No immediate effect, but the first time he moves closer to Feather's Fall he must succeed at a DC 17 Will save or take piercing damage: 1d4 ⇒ 1. No damage on a critical success, half on a success, and on a critical failure he'll also take sonic damage: 1d4 ⇒ 3 and take a -2 status penalty to an attack or hostile action he takes that turn.
◇ Familiar of Nimble Flight. Feather's Fall flies 15 feet without provoking reactions (although he didn't move past any enemies anyway).
If Red is down, no enemies are close enough for murmuration so Whistle will cast glass shield and raise her AC by 1. Feather's will then move with Independent since she didn't command him, so he ends up in the same place anyway.

Ehle positions herself close to one of the hostilities. She draws her buckler shield and raises it.

◆ Stride
◆ Interact to draw buckler shield
◆ Raise buckler shield (+1 to AC)
↺ Cringe

Enrax levels his halberd at Red and strikes him down with his first strike. Ehle moves up and raises her shield. Whistle Wit slashes at both Blue and White, opening large gashes on their abdomens. Both ruffians look at each other and wonder whether they should have chosen an easier target to hit...

Jeeves, if it's ok with you, I'll just move you to the nearest bandit and keep the flurry?

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COMBAT TRACKER
Round: 1
Tactical Map
------------------
Those with ** may go

Benkost - AC 20 (22 w/shield), 49/49 (AC 22)
**Enrax - AC 22, 64/64 (1 action)
Ehle Kiv - AC 18 (19 w/buckler), 21/21 (AC 19)
**Jeeves - AC 18 (20 w/shield), 19/19
**Whistle Wit - AC 17 (18 w/shield, 13/13 (1 action)
Pink
Vamasu - AC 18 (20 w/Extravagant Parry), 17/17
Yellow
White (-7)
Blue (-7)
Green

Yeap!

Jeeves moves up to Pink and with two strikes, puts him to sleep.

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COMBAT TRACKER
Round: 1
Tactical Map
------------------
Those with ** may go

Benkost - AC 20 (22 w/shield), 49/49 (AC 22)
**Enrax - AC 22, 64/64 (1 action)
Ehle Kiv - AC 18 (19 w/buckler), 21/21 (AC 19)
Jeeves - AC 18 (20 w/shield), 19/19
**Whistle Wit - AC 17 (18 w/shield, 13/13 (1 action)
**Vamasu - AC 18 (20 w/Extravagant Parry), 17/17
Yellow
White (-7)
Blue (-7)
Green

The orc moves.

Vamasu will stride from behind the stage and move up near to Jeeves and Enrax. He will then call out to the thug in yellow "You look very keen to take our books, but you don't seem the scholarly type. Are you in the right place?" and then will draw his rapier

Bon Mot: Diplomacy, Bravado vs Yellow Will DC: 1d20 + 6 + 1 ⇒ (14) + 6 + 1 = 21 (On success, Vamasu gains panache plus yellow gains the normal -2 penalty to Perception and Will saves for 1 minute)

---

◆ Stride
◆ Bon Mot
◆ Interact to Draw

Whistle Wit flutters over to keep up with her cat. She doesn't want to be too close to the bandits, but they were just a little too far away.

◆ Take Flight to fly 15 feet.

Enrax moves up while Whistle Wit takes to the air and catches up with her cat. Vamasu taunts Yellow, who is left trying to find a snappy response.

Yellow steps up to Jeeves, draws a knife and tries to stab him.

Dagger vs Jeeves AC 18: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (13) + 5 = 18 for Piercing: 1d4 ⇒ 4

Jeeves is caught unawares and doesn't manage to weave out of the way in time.

Blue takes a step towards Enrax, draws a knife and tries to stab him as well. Enrax takes advantage of the Blue's distraction and jabs his halberd at the ruffian.

Enrax Reactive Strike: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (17) + 13 = 30 for Piercing: 2d10 + 4 ⇒ (7, 8) + 4 = 19

The strike is enough to remove Blue's head.

Seeing Blue fall, the remaining bandits' morale breaks and they make a run for it.

COMBAT OVER

Pallomar has kept the cart moving the entire time. As you finish up combat and prepare to continue escorting the cart, a group of basilisk fans comes around the corner. One of them spots Pallomar. "That’s him! That’s the dwarf who insulted our basilisk team in his article!" The crowd turns ugly quickly, and they begin rushing in your direction. Pallomar snaps the reins, and the cart accelerates away from the crowd, leaving you behind.

The next encounter is a chase. There are 4 obstacles which you need to get at least 4 successes. You earn Chase Points (CPs) based on skill checks - CS/S/F/CF: +2/+1/0/-1 respectively

Bad things will happen if the crowd catches up to you! :)

ANGRY CROWD
An angry crowd of basilisk fans in the colors of the Merab Vultures blocks the way.
Skills:
DC 15 Acrobatics or Athletics to weave or push through
DC 17 Intimidate to get the crowd to back off
DC 13 Society to go with the flow.
Successes Needed: 4

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CHASE TRACKER
Round: 1
Obstacle: Angry Crowd

Skills:
DC 15 Acrobatics or Athletics to weave or push through
DC 17 Intimidate to get the crowd to back off
DC 13 Society to go with the flow.

Successes: 0/4

Crowd Location: 1 obstacle back
------------------
Those with [b]** may go

**Benkost
**Enrax
**Ehle Kiv
**Jeeves
**Whistle Wit
**Vamasu

Acrobatics: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (10) + 8 = 18

The dwarf weaves with the crowd.

The orc tries to push through.

Athletics:1d20 + 12 ⇒ (12) + 12 = 24

Benkost makes his way through the crowd but Enrax simply bulls through...

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CHASE TRACKER
Round: 1
Obstacle: Angry Crowd

Skills:
DC 15 Acrobatics or Athletics to weave or push through
DC 17 Intimidate to get the crowd to back off
DC 13 Society to go with the flow.

Successes: 2/4

Crowd Location: 1 obstacle back
------------------
Those with [b]** may go

Benkost
Enrax
**Ehle Kiv
**Jeeves
**Whistle Wit
**Vamasu

"Out of our way!" Ehle shouts at the crowd and weaves her way through them.
DC 15 Acrobatics: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (12) + 7 = 19