Jarlaxle knows these are a bone priest, whivh is a skeletal undead who casts cleric spells and is immune to cold, and a skeletal champion, which has damage resistance that only bludgeoning weapons get through.
Jarlaxle's blade bites deeply into the bone priest. Tuks misses.
Yellow tries to smack Tusk with a sword (no AoO because flat footed, but you're the logical target for the normal attack)
miss
bold may act:
round 1:
Daeron
Tri'gar (only if passes a DC 15 will save first)
round 2:
red
Jarlaxle
Tusk
yellow
Daeron shoots at red.
Tri'gar finds himself unable to move.
Red glares at all of you, and you find yourselves almost overwhelmed by fear.
bold may act:
round 2:
Jarlaxle
Tusk
yellow
Daeron
Tri'gar hold person for 2 more rounds, may retry save on your turn)
round 3:
red-22 HP
Jarlaxle smashes into red, which falls back over as a pile of bones.
Tusk attacks yellow twice, missing both times.
Daeronbot shoots at yellow.
Daeron's arrow breaks off some chunks from the skeleton.
Tri'gar is up.
botting:
Tri'gar bot uses his flail for bludgeoning damage.
His attack misses.
Yellow swings at Tusk again.
Yellow misses.
The entire party is up again, no more saves needed from Tri'gar.
I'll bot Daeron now, rather than wait so that we can keep moving.
Daeron does more damage.
Jarlaxle finished off the skeleton.
You and several dozen other Pathfinders are able to cling to the rock as gravity pulls it back toward the fortress.
The floating Vault is nearly a half-mile wide with defenses established in every direction. An adamantine shell encloses the structure; however this has been ruptured, and strands of the sky metal practically bleed from the holes in a vain attempt to repair the damage and reseal the area completely. The ground bulges all about, and chunks of earth and metal explode periodically as blasts of air billow out from within, driven by an unseen force.
Your first challenge is to get inside. To do this, as you approach, you may each make one perception, kn:engineering, or survival check.
OK, for the perception check, it was only necessary that one person pass, so no botting.
As your maoutain crashes into the side of the fortress, you must clamber off, make your way across, and go inside the entrance you've spotted in a short time window. (this check will be made slightly easier because Jarlaxle succeeded in spotting the entrance.)
I need each of you to make an acrobatics or climb check. Anyone who can fly automatically succeeds at this check.
Kyra-bot's climb check:
failed
Kyra-bot is now at 29/35 HP.
Due to Jarlaxle's sharp eye finding the entrance, you are all able to make your way in, with only Kyra-bot taking any damage.
You find yourself in a maze of twisty passages inside the fortress.
(I need Knowledge:dungeoneering or survival checks. Because of how tight the passages are, only three people can contribute to these checks. This is challenging enough that you know you want to work together here. Go ahead and roll for a series of three checks, and I'll let you know if more are needed.)
Working together, the team manages to find their way through the tunnels.
A heavily worn set of stairs leads from claustrophobic tunnels into an eroded cavern studded with sand-scoured crystals that emit cool, faint light. The jagged foundations are all that’s left of metal walls—the fragments of which now jut from the wall like throwing knives. An immense, intricate, thousand-sided polyhedron made of sky metals floats within a tight series of binding circles. As blasts of air erupt from the polyhedron, the surface’s shattered facets regenerate before being blasted apart on another side.
The walls in this area are heavily damaged and only a few inches tall. The lighting here is dim, and the intermittent bursts of wind impose a –2 penalty on ranged attack rolls in this area.
The Pathfinders can explore the room and then attempt to either solve the puzzle orb or deal with the magic circles. You can use Knowledge (Arcana) to determine the properties of the circles or damage them at random. The following skills can be used on the orb: Appraise, Disable Device, Intelligence, Knowledge (religion), Wisdom, or Use Magic Device; or harder Knowledge (any), Linguistics, or Perception check. You can each make one attempt before ...something... happens.
The four major magic circles around the orb provide numerous external defenses that ward off intruders. These circles’ respective effects cease when the PCs destroy them.
Distortion: This circle increases the difficulty of all the PCs’ checks to solve the puzzle orb by one step.
Earth: This circle empowers the guardian creatures here, granting a +1 profane bonus on attack and damage rolls. Furthermore, these creatures begin each encounter with a number of temporary hit points equal to their Hit Dice (minimum 4).
Fear: This circle instills the fear of being buried alive in those who attempt to solve the puzzle orb; such PCs must succeed at a Hard Will save or gain the shaken condition until the end of the next encounter. If the PC fails the save by 5 or more, he must succeed at a Fortitude save or begin to suffocate. With each round, he can attempt another Average Fortitude save to end the effect. This is an evil compulsion and fear effect, and although protection from evil does not protect against
it completely, the spell does allow an additional save against the suffocation effect.
Warding: This circle increases the other three circles’ hardness by 50% and heals them a number of hit points equal to the APL at the end of each combat. This healing cannot repair a destroyed circle,
however.
Jarlaxle, you still have a round of actions.
For everyone:
The circles can be damaged by either a Disable Device check or physical damage. Please tell me which circle you are attacking.
It is also possible to try to solve the puzzle now, although Jarlaxle now knows that could be dangerous.
Kyra tries to smash the warding circle.
Kyra realizes she did not damage the circle at all, due to its hardness.
Jarlaxle?
Also, Tusk and Tri'gar, I will let you reconsider your action, if you would have attacked one of the circles after Jarlaxle told you about them.
Tusk destroys the warding circle in a single blow.
Tri'gar eliminates the fear circle.
Jarlaxle badly damages, but is not able to destroy, the earth circle.
Mineral monstrosities emerge from the walls, trying to defend the fortress.
Please move your tokens to the next map. You should all be placed somewhere in the room with the orb.
The Society’s discoveries have weakened the prison of the powerful being sealed within Aucturn’s Tear, and it can now offer a fraction of its power to the Pathfinders.
Two columns that look like statues of women emerge from the walls.
The green statue moves forward to attack Jarlaxle.
The red statue moves forward to attack Tusk.
Both hit.
The entire party is up.
One of you may bot Kyra if you wish; if not, I will at my next GM post.
Thunderous Aid: Ranginori has sensed his saviors are
near and attempts to grant them his power and wisdom.
During combat, a PC adjacent to the puzzle orb can attempt
an Average Diplomacy check, Average Spellcraft check, or
Easy Use Magic Device check to direct the Duke of Thunder’s
wrath. If successful, a PC can cast one of the following spells
as a spell-like ability, using her character level as her caster
level and either her own Charisma or 20 to determine the
spell’s save DC. She can use any of the spells listed in her
own subtier or in a lower subtier. This ability can only be
used once per combat, and any summoned elemental
disappears at the end of the combat.
cat’s grace, cure moderate wounds
Between combats, Ranginori can impart his insights to
one PC attempting a skill check to help free him. The group
must decide which PC gains this bonus before she attempts
a skill check, reducing the check’s DC by one step.
Jarlaxle knows these are caryatid columns; they are constructs, have damage reduction, and are immune to almost all magic.
Jarlaxle, you're up.
Kyra casts bull's strength on Tri'gar.
Tri'gar's attack does some damage to green, as does Jarlaxle.
-22 HP
Tusk is unable to hit the red statue.
Green swings at Tri'gar.
Red attacks Tusk.
The party is up. Tri'gar, don't forget the buff from Kyra.
Even as the many-faceted prison spins and reconfigures itself, it cannot keep pace with the combined efforts of the Pathfinder Society. A refreshing breeze pours from the immense orb, restoring the agents’ will to fight.
Tusk's first hit smashes into the closer statue, damaging it some.
-12 HP
Kyra swings at the nearer statue.
she misses.
Jarlaxle swings at the green statue, reducing it to rubble.
Tri'gar moves over and finishes off the red statue.
You now each can make one attempt at the rings or puzzle, and can also take up to two rounds of actions to heal.
you are also healed by hit points each. If any of you had taken ability damage, that would be fixed a bit. Jarlaxle can also recover some spells whose level adds up to 6. You also each regain one daily use of a class feature.