Gameday XIII - Pathfinder Society Scenario #2: The Hydra's Fang Incident

Game Master Shadow Dragon

Nails sees no benefit to free swimming (as of now), instead using his free hand to grab onto the boat. He stabs at the foe by him.

MW Cold Iron Siangham + IC: 1d20 + 5 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 5 + 1 = 9 for Piercing/Cold Iron + IC: 1d6 + 2 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 2 + 1 = 5

Sigh, put a monk in water and make him more useless, lol

Andros and Nails try to strike their foes but miss.

@Avi: Okay a few things. First (and maybe you're on mobile and can't see the map well) the creature is adjacent to Avi so both loading and firing the crossbow will provoke attacks of opportunity. Second you won't know if the creature has Combat Reflexes or not until/unless you say you want to continue with those actions. Last as Pip noted Avi also has Inspire Courage so both his attack and damage rolls receive +1. So let me know what you want Avi to do.

In case Pip wants to know the oars are floating near the boat. Once the group is victorious (I have faith my infamous Die Roller Curse (tm) won't kill you) you'll be able to retrieve them.

Looks like Andros is no longer sinking

Avi doesn't feel like he's doing well with his crossbow underwater, but he has little other choice for now.

[move] reload crossbow
[standard] attack RED
[dice=light crossbow attack (underwater through 10ft), P damage]1d20+4-4; 1d8

apologies, I'll include IC from here on out. Also I'd somehow missed a map update (looked at it at one point, and finally submitted my post much later, my bad).

Being encroached upon, Avi takes a defensive stance.

[standard] total defense

and MAYBE

Swings to a further rung of the boat...

[move] 5's swing? is this possible or is it just a move action that also provokes? Water combat movement always gets me confused. If it provokes he stays put, but then I don't know how he's getting out of that square.

It's uncommon and a bit convoluted which is why I wanted to spell out what was happening. The map is a problem because in order to see everything better I would've needed a battleship-sized rowboat with a multiple squares under it hehe. As for moving the thwarts are now full; Pip and Avi share one and Nails and Andros the other.

Avi goes on the defensive against the foe.

Red once again goes after Andros and Avi:

Water Thug Red Claws - Andros: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (10) + 4 = 141d4 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 2 = 6
Water Thug Red Claws - Avi: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (4) + 4 = 81d4 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 2 = 5

Random; 1 for Andros, 2 for Avi: 1d2 ⇒ 2

Water Thug Red Bite - Avi: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (13) + 4 = 171d4 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 2 = 4

But misses all three times! It grumbles and slaps the water.

Blue tries his luck with the pesky dwarf monk:

Water Thug Blue Claws: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (3) + 4 = 71d4 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 2 = 5
Water Thug Blue Claws: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (12) + 4 = 161d4 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 2 = 4
Water Thug Blue Bite: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (4) + 4 = 81d4 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 2 = 4

And once again claws Nails.

Nails takes 4 more points of damage. The entire party is UP!

Round 3 - Splish Splash!
Pip

Round 4 - Splish Splash!
Avi
Nails [-12]
Andros [-10]
Thugs in the Water! [Red at -2, Blue at -4]
Pip

Nails grunts, ”Grab an Stab. Get er done.”

MW Cold Iron Siangham + IC: 1d20 + 5 + 1 ⇒ (9) + 5 + 1 = 15 for Piercing/Cold Iron + IC: 1d6 + 2 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 2 + 1 = 4

Move to hold, stab.

Pip Notes: Keeps up IC, hold on and ready to grab any ally that drops unconscious.

Blue grunts as Nails gives him the pointy end of a siangham right in the gut!

Blue at -8.

Okie, just going to risk it :grimacing:

Avi cautiously resumes his defensive stance but begins shifting his body to obtain a crossbow bolt without exposing himself to attack.

Gulp...

[standard] Total defense
[move] reload crossbow

Okie, just going to risk it :grimacing:

Avi cautiously resumes his defensive stance but begins shifting his body to obtain a crossbow bolt without exposing himself to attack.

Gulp...

[standard] Total defense
[move] reload crossbow

Seeing Avi scheming to harm him the aquatic creature takes a swipe!

Water Thug Red Claws: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (8) + 4 = 121d4 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 2 = 6

But instead misses for the 3,469,721st time! His fury is unmatched!

Andros is UP!

Andros tries to fend off the thug...again.

attack, IC: 1d20 + 1 - 4 + 1 ⇒ (11) + 1 - 4 + 1 = 91d4 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 + 1 = 4

Andros tries to fend off the thug...again.

Why does Andros have a -4 to hit? Is he throwing the dagger?

The red creature once is hopping mad - literally - and tries to attack:

Andros 1, Avi 2: 1d2 ⇒ 1

Water Thug Red Claws - Andros: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (7) + 4 = 111d4 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 2 = 3
Water Thug Red Claws - Avi: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (4) + 4 = 81d4 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 2 = 3
Water Thug Red Bite - Andros: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (11) + 4 = 151d4 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 2 = 3

But misses so wildly even his badly wounded buddy laughs at his incompetence!

Meanwhile the blue creature, starting to feel the effects of Nails beating, tries to give Nails a whoopin!

Water Thug Blue Claws: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (7) + 4 = 111d4 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 2 = 5
Water Thug Blue Claws: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (2) + 4 = 61d4 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 2 = 3
Water Thug Blue Bite: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (16) + 4 = 201d4 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 2 = 6

And he takes a bite out of the dwarf - with no seasoning!

Nails takes 6 more damage, all PCs are UP!

Round 4 - Splish Splash!
Pip

Round 5 - Splish Splash!
Avi
Nails [-18]
Andros [-10]
Thugs in the Water! [Red at -2, Blue at -8]
Pip

Nails begins to tire and pleads as he stabs, ”Come on now, this ain’t gonna end well for anybuddeh.”

MW Cold Iron Siangham + IC: 1d20 + 5 + 1 ⇒ (14) + 5 + 1 = 20 for Piercing/Cold Iron + IC: 1d6 + 2 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 2 + 1 = 6

Move to hold, stab.

Pip Notes: Keeps up IC, hold on and ready to grab any ally that drops unconscious. I’ll double check when I can, but I think after this round Pip has only 1 or 2 rounds of IC left.

[oc]nope...my bad..i thought i had a -4 to hit...my brain is fried...[/ooc]

There's extra gurgling to be heard as the blue creature is finished by Nails the Tough!

The red creature is both distraught and angered, shouting, "I kill you!" at Nails.

Andros and Avi are UP!

[oc]nope...my bad..i thought i had a -4 to hit...my brain is fried...[/ooc]

No worries it happens to me all the time. Right now I'm going to consider holding on to a thwart as a successful Swim check so there are no attack penalties for using a melee, piercing-damage weapon like Andros with his dagger and Nails with his siangham. Avi using a crossbow has to deal with the -4 for firing into melee without having Precise Shot and a -2 for every 5' of water the bolt travels through.

The monk growls, ”See? It ain’t gonna end well. Jus take yur bud an split afore ya both feel the pointy end of it.”

Thankfully (for the shot, not otherwise...) there is now zero feet between Avi and RED

After dodging several attacks, Avi again nervously shifts his body in hopes of getting off crossbow shots without being attacked.

[standard] Attack RED
light crossbow attack (into melee): 1d20 + 4 - 4 ⇒ (3) + 4 - 4 = 31d8 ⇒ 8
[move] reload crossbow

Andros keeps up his weak assault.stabby stabby: 1d20 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (10) + 1 + 1 = 121d4 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 1 + 1 = 3

Avi and Andros both miss the remaining creature who bypasses them to face what it considers the biggest threat: Nails!

It will provoke from Andros; I don't think Avi has anything in hand to use for an AoO?

Water Thug Red Claws: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (7) + 4 = 111d4 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 2 = 6

But has just as much (little?) luck with Nails as he did with Avi and Andros!

Round 5 - Splish Splash!
Pip

Round 6 - Splish Splash!
Avi
Nails [-18]
Andros [-10]
Thug in the Water! [Red at -2, Blue is shark bait]
Pip

The party is UP!

Pip tries his best to keep everyone’s spirits up after a death has just been experienced, ”Uh well. It’s uh, all fun and games until someone gets their eyes stabbed out and dies? Yeah. Anyway sorry, that’s about the last joke I got.”

Same actions (free, move, readied) but this is the last round of IC.

The monk just grunts and stabs.

MW Cold Iron Siangham + IC: 1d20 + 5 + 1 ⇒ (20) + 5 + 1 = 26 for Piercing/Cold Iron + IC: 1d6 + 2 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 2 + 1 = 6

Crit Confirm to End this?: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (3) + 6 = 9

Move to hold, stab.

We'll see what Andros's AoO does!

aoo: 1d20 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 1 + 1 = 61d4 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 1 + 1 = 6 Andros tries again to fend off the thug.stab: 1d20 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 1 + 1 = 31d4 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 + 1 = 5ugh....just...ugh

ugh....just...ugh

I've had those moments too. :( Avi is UP! The last creature is 10' away from him so Avi will not provoke for reloading or firing. It would be an additional -4 to hit since the bolt is traversing 10' of water.

light crossbow attack (into melee, 10ft away): 1d20 + 4 - 4 - 4 ⇒ (14) + 4 - 4 - 4 = 101d8 ⇒ 4
[move] reload crossbow

Imagine there were a crossbow that shot harpoons... that would be something.

Pip pipes up, ”Oh there definitely is, sir. An underwater crossbow, I believe. I’ve seen them in action, pretty darn useful. Is that why you haven’t hit yet? You should switch to that weapon instead.”

His suggestion is likely not helpful.

The red is reeling but he gathers himself to pound Nails!

Water Thug Red Claws: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (8) + 4 = 121d4 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 2 = 4
Water Thug Red Claws: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (9) + 4 = 131d4 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 2 = 5
Water Thug Red Bite: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (10) + 4 = 141d4 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 2 = 3

And sets the record for missing more than anyone else!

Round 6 - Splish Splash!
Pip

Round 7 - Splish Splash!
Avi
Nails [-18]
Andros [-10]
Thug in the Water! [Red at -8]
Pip

The party is UP! Avi: Just a thought but maybe go with Daze this round?

Sarenrae, why do you leave me at this time? Andros pleads as he stabs at the thug.

stab: 1d20 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (9) + 1 + 1 = 111d4 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 + 1 = 4

Um, do these count as humanoids? Well, let's try it.

[standard] daze (DC 14 Will, spell resistance)

Nails wearily holds on and stabs again. Killing isn’t fun.

MW Cold Iron Siangham: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (4) + 5 = 9 for Piercing/Cold Iron: 1d6 + 2 ⇒ (6) + 2 = 8

Move to hold, stab.

His fatigue is finally getting to him.

Um, do these count as humanoids? Well, let's try it.

[standard] daze (DC 14 Will, spell resistance)

It is.

Will: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (2) + 4 = 6

The creature looks dumbfounded.

Unfortunately Daze does not grant special advantages for attackers and it is immune to the effects of the cantrip for 1 minute. Thanks to Avi the party is UP! again.

Round 7 - Splish Splash!
Pip

Round 8 - Splish Splash!
Avi
Nails [-18]
Andros [-10]
Thug in the Water! [Red at -8]
Pip

Another option: Pip is equipped with a shortsword and it's only AC 10 to assist Nail's to hit roll.

I don’t see a way for Pip to get adjacent without provoking an AoO or attempting a swim check. And he ain’t good at swimming, just drowning.

Nails tries to finish this with one more stab!

MW Cold Iron Siangham: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (11) + 5 = 16 for Piercing/Cold Iron: 1d6 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 2 = 3

?We can do this! Andros says, heartened by Nails' efforts.

stab: 1d20 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (13) + 1 + 1 = 151d4 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 1 + 1 = 3

The combined assaults from Nails and Andros do the aquatic creature in who gurgles one final time and sinks to the bottom...

Victory!

Nails zeroed him and Andros finished him! Woo woo! I'll let you guys get the boat righted, climb back in, and do some CLW rolling. :) No skill checks required on either of those since there are 4 of you working together you can get things done by taking 10.

Finally up and somewhat safe in the rocking boat, Pip grabs Nails’ offered wand and starts the process of healing.

CLW Nails: 4d8 + 4 ⇒ (4, 2, 1, 6) + 4 = 17

”There ya go, don’t mind the last scratch. Ladies like scars.”

CLW Andros: 2d8 + 2 ⇒ (6, 2) + 2 = 10

”And you too.”

Sure, it’s below average again. But if it was above average I would be concerned the dice were broken! I’ve also rolled much worse before so I can’t complain too loudly.

And then he keeps the wand until the mission ends. Because he definitely should.

Pip exhibits some sticky fingers when it comes to wands as Nails and Andros resume the fun and exciting job of...rowing the boat.

Following the map from the guard station the group soon spots what's supposed to be the Hydra's Fang in the distance!

Any preparations beforehand? And how does the group approach the Hydra's Fang?

New Slide 2. Your boat is not that close to the Hydra's Fang but I don't have a way to make the water part of the map large enough. You're about 60' away from the aft of the Hydra's Fang.

Who do we see on deck? It’ll determine a lot about how we can approach.

Nevermind, I looked at the map. I should done that first, lol. Is there rigging or a rope ladder anywhere hanging over the edge for a good egress point? Do the people on board look like they have seen us?

Pip whispers, ”Get me close enough and I can maybe charm our way up.”

@Pip: An FYI but Avi's Bluff is 12 and Pip could auto-aid him if he's amenable. Also you wouldn't be able to see who/how many are on deck due to the height difference between your rowboat and the Hydra's Fang.

Pip's problem solving skills presents the group with some options for boarding the vessel:

1) Climbing the anchor line
2) The ship's sides; he's heard of, and told, stories where pirates used rope and grapple to board a ship
3) The flat, rear part of the ship

As for if you've been seen:

A voice calls out to the rowboat You can trace it back to the top of the rear of the Hydra's Fang, "Who goes there? Password!"

Nails intuition tells him whomever is calling out sounds nervous and that the "Password!" part was thrown in.

Nails whispers to the talkers, ”The password deal is a lie, they are making it up to cover their nervousness.”

I am cool letting Avi taking lead here over Pip if he wishes to.

Avi calls out the "password"

Swordfish!

He adds in

We were expected! Can you please help us up onto the Hydra's Fang?

Bluff: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (15) + 12 = 27

A voice from above calls out, "Haha this isn't some rich man's yacht and you're here to help me, get aboard!"

At least tie a rope to the mast so we can climb up, yeah> Andros says as he tosses the end of a rope up.

ill use charges of my wand for healing

At least tie a rope to the mast so we can climb up, yeah> Andros says as he tosses the end of a rope up.

ill use charges of my wand for healing

Friendly GM reminder: The group recovered 2 sets of silk rope (50') and grappling hooks, one of which is already knotted...

Andros will toss up a grappling hook. He gives it a tug to make sure it is snug and proceeds up the rope.

we can take ten i assume?

Andros will toss up a grappling hook. He gives it a tug to make sure it is snug and proceeds up the rope.

we can take ten i assume?

Throwing a grappling hook requires a ranged attack, range increment of 10', target AC is 5. The railing of the ship is 30' above your rowboat. So I'd recommend whomever has the best ranged attack give it a heave. Oh and casting Guidance on them is always an option. :)

Grappling Hook rules

Nails pulls his already tied off and knotted grappling hook and rope, then tosses it up, ”Fine. Don’t help us up. Whatever.”

Toss AC 5 - Range: 1d20 + 4 - 4 ⇒ (7) + 4 - 4 = 7

Pip grabs the other knotted rope and ties it to a grappling hook. He holds it up for someone to throw, ”Might as well toss two.”

Nails throws the grappling hook and hears a satisfying 'Thunk!' as it catches the railing above.

Who is first up?

Since he started this with a well-placed bluff, Avi figures he should head up the rope first.

He nods to Nails in thanks and heads up.

Once he hits the deck he looks around at the crew. He suspects they might try to order them around first, so he gives a pause to see what they say.

Nails grabs the second setup from Pip and chucks it up too, before heading up it.

Assuming he can act.

Toss AC 5 - Range: 1d20 + 4 - 4 ⇒ (18) + 4 - 4 = 18