[Gameday XIII] PFS1e 6-04 - Beacon Below (KS) (Inactive)

Game Master phaeton_nz

"Uhh, let's approach carefully." Gurgle says nervously. Then adds, "or not at all. This doesn't seem right."

He then turns to his teammates,
"That must be Badru. What next?"

Guy wanders over to join the others.

"Well, we talk to him. Hear his part of the story. Unless we do something antagonistic, I think he will be open to discussion, so keep chill."

"We humbly request permission to enter!" Taresh waits a while for an answer, and if none is heard, tiptoes into the room, checking what the invader might have been and why he thinks "disassembled" is a better term than "eviscerated" or "slaughtered". Is it the nature of the corpse or the methodology involved in extinguishing its life? If there doesn't seem to be anyone to talk to yet, the Varisian decides to look around. "If you can find Badru, go right ahead and ask your questions. I'll check what sort of thieves we might be dealing with."

So. I presume you have sided with Saruna. It would be better if you destroy her and side with me instead. I hear you have questions. What would you like to know?

"We'd like to hear you story. It is always best to hear both sides."

Nikita stands silently with his arms crossed.
A plague o' both your houses!

I am Master of the Archives, Badru. I am a loyal servant of the great Jeweled Sages.

He tells his story. As a mortal apprentice, Badru served the Amethyst Sage with zealous devotion, hoping that his contributions might allow him to climb the order’s hierarchy and be honored with stewardship of a sage jewel. At the outbreak of Keleshite aggression, Badru watched his mentor with awe as the sage undertook dangerous missions to preserve Osirion’s history and the sages’ work. This apparent sacrifice in the name of the greater good inspired Badru to volunteer when the Amethyst Sage first asked for assistance in his immortality rites. The experiments in transferring a soul from one vessel to another was a success, so to speak, resulting in Badru’s transformation into a soulbound construct.

He was not appalled by his new condition. In fact, he has gradually come to see his state as a blessing that ensures his survival until the day his mentor returns. He has cobbled together numerous mannequins and mummies since then, in the hope of sharing his flesh to-construct metamorphosis with others.

That Saruna chafes under her own transformation at the Amethyst Sage’s hands is only further proof that she is disloyal, untrustworthy, and deserving punishment.

Badru’s voice is flat and affectless, and his immobile funeral mask gives him a somber appearance. An amethyst gem embedded in his chest, partly concealed by his ancient formal robes, sends animating energy through his frame.

His starting attitude is indifferent.

"Look, I have no issues with constructs, though I gravely dislike undead, particularly evil ones. And though I would not choose to become one, I respect your decision to do so. I do not really understand this rivalry you two have. Do you know of any way to unseal the library without killing anyone? Seems rather drastic to me. "

diplomacy: 1d20 + 20 ⇒ (16) + 20 = 36

No ... she must die ... again. It is the only way

"It sounds like you are dedicated to the preservation of the knowledge accumulated by the sages. If we slay her, will you help us preserve and record the knowledge here and unseal the lower level? We have been tasked with recording the information here and discovering the fates of this area by the Diamond Sage."

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 19 ⇒ (2) + 19 = 21

I see no problem with that, as long as I survive

Guy refuses to accept that someone must cease to exist to open a bloody door. "Isn't there any way to extract a gem, use it, and then return it bringing the victim back to consciousness?"

I wonder if he was like that before deciding to become a doll, or if the process just robbed him of every iota of empathy. At least Saruna was relatable. Taresh is watching the negotiations, thinking about if we're going to end an inhumane construct-bound fanatic or a self-hating mummified sphinx to protect the archives.

"There might be ways to work around this. There are various spells that might thwart the seal, but I doubt dispel magic will suffice and I don't think we have access to an Antimagic Field or Mage's Disjunction. I think if we modify the soulstones for either Badru or Saruna in the way the ritual described, we probably are not going to be able to put them back any more than we could restore on of us if we used one of our hearts for a similar ritual."

"Nikita, what do your senses tell you about Badru here? Do you think we can trust him more than Saruna?"

Badru detects as evil, same as Saruna. They're both undead

"Would you be able to help us at all if we fought her? What sort of aid could you give us? And how has one of you not been able to destroy the other over all this time?"

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 19 ⇒ (12) + 19 = 31
Bluff: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (17) + 12 = 29

I'm currently leaning towards fighting Badru, as they're both evil undead and he seems less helpful in general. Katswiri's going to see if
she can get him to tell us anything about how combat capabilities and maybe let us head out and buff/prepare before coming back for him though.

Guy, who thinks every problem can be solved if the parties just talk, suggests, "Maybe we could just put them in a room together and let them work things out themselves."

Evil iz Evil. Lyessyer, gryeatyer, meeddleeng… Makes no difference. Ze degree eez arbitary. Ze definition’s blurred. Eef I’m to choose between one evil and anozeyer… I’d razer not choose at all.

Nikita's jaw tightens slightly.

I don't zeenk we should leave any undead behind here. Evil eez evil. Negotiations in search of a lesser evil... You get zee idea.

We have been too easily matched for so long ... but with your help .. the balance my be tipped .. in my favour

Gurgle's eyes dart back and forth at his teammates. He's severely at a loss about what to do. Badru and Saruna are both evil undead. Destroy them both? He thinks for a moment...

Licking his lips in anxiety while glancing at his companions, Gurgle's brows furrow. He nonchalantly reaches for his sword sheathed at his side.

Nikita retreats a few steps, pulls out his revolver and blesses it with a short prayer. Divine Bond, +1 Flaming

"Lets go. We'll deal with Saruna, and return with the gem. We'll want to consult with you, Badru, on performing the ritual after we have it to make sure we have the details correct."

Bluff: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (11) + 12 = 23

Katswiri will try to lead the group back to the stairs heading up to the next level, if Badru will allow us to leave peacefully without tagging along or attacking.

If we make it over there alone.

Katswiri will try to subtly hint to her companions not to speak until the group is sufficiently far from Badru before gesturing to stop and speaking in a soft voice.

"Alright, lets talk about how to proceed here. I think we should take down Badru, and allow Saruna to assist us. She's demonstrated she is useful, even if she is an undead creature, and we don't need to risk fighting both of them when she's helping us. Badru gives me the creeps, personally; he's way too eager to 'share' his condition, he's actively making undead where Saruna is not."

"Whatever we do, we should do it soon before our active magics fade. If we intend to fight either of them, I want to enchant myself or Taresh with a Silence spell prior to the fight, and attempt to block exits so there isn't a way to get out of the area. I suspect both of them kept their spellcasting abilities from prior to their transformations, and will be impeded by the suppression of verbal components to their magic."

"What do the rest of you think about this situation?"

"I don't understand any of this. Sure they detect as evil, but they seem OK. Then again, evil can be very tricky. It just confuses the heck out of me. I'm going to abstain and just try to keep you guys alive if it comes to a fight."

Taresh nods to Katswiri and prepares for combat. probably nedd to put up a spell or two myself, but will do that after getting hone. On mobile right now.

Then let's do it so that my Divine Bond doesn't have time to end.) Ideally, this should be enough for two battles, especially since there is less than a minute to go from one location to another, judging by the map (which always funny in dungeon crawls) .))

Katswiri nods back.

"I will enchant myself with Silence, and attempt to move into the room and block the far tunnel. Nikita, if you fire from the doorway while Taresh and Gurgle engage in melee, we should have him pinned inside the silence field."

"If anyone really needs the spell dismissed, tell me normally. Even if you can't hear yourself I can still see your words without difficulty. I believe channeling healing energy should not require being able to speak, and it should be possible to cast unimpeded from outside the room if needed. We should also try to use the silence spell to sneak up on him, if we can; if he doesn't get a change to prepare or reposition, this is much more likely to go smoothly."

"I suspect that he will not survive Nikita's holy vengeance for long, if he has a strong enough evil aura to be detectable. But just be careful, since we don't know exactly what he is capable of. I'll enchant us with Blessing of Fervor before we go in, any additional suggestions on the plan before we go for it?"

The following assumes Badru doesn't see through our ploy and initiate hostilities immediately.

"I also think it's better for the Sages if there's someone here to share information and knowledge about the archives. Saruna may not like the job or her condition, but she's coping, and eventually when the area has been reclaimed completely, someone might be able to either help her pass on or restore her. In my humble understanding it would be difficult, but the Sages are supposed to know powerful magical techniques, so it is not impossible. So I vote for not destroying her." He takes a breather and starts casting. "Badru on the other hand seems to be living the dream, and that never ends well with undead."

Taresh casts displacement on himself right before the silence affects him or Katswiri (her decision). That should leave 6-8 rounds of it, considering coordination, casting, and movement. The rest of the buffs are saved for the golem fracas.

Gurgle goes along with the group's choice. He is still a bit confused about what's going on.

He scratches his head in thought and addresses the group,
"Uhh, let me try to get this straight. We're going to go destroy Saruna, right? Didn't she say that there was a ritual to perform to create a Sage Jewel? Without her help, how are we going to create that Sage Jewel? Oh! And she said we need Badru's soul focus, which is in his chest and made him a construct. So, why are we going to destroy Saruna?"

Say when you are ready and I'll set up combat.

Guy will activate his aura of heroism from outside the door instead of moving when the others attack.

"We're going to destroy Badru. Saruna we can talk about afterward, but I am inclined to not fight her."

Katswiri will cast Silence after Taresh's displacement, and the group can sneak over to the door, ready to launch a surprise attack. When the group is in position, she casts Blessing of Fervor and signals the attack.

It looks like there's actually a 10 ft wide gap in the tunnel; we'll need someone other than Katswiri to help plug that exit to stop him from escaping that way. Though we can probably follow him if he does.

Katswiri will also use Heightened Awareness and her Natural Divination to get +8 to her initiative check, going to +5 instead of -3.

Initiative
Init(Katswiri): 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (11) + 5 = 16
Init(Taresh): 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 2 = 5
Init(Gurgle): 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (8) + 8 = 16
Init(Guy): 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (11) + 1 = 12
Init(Nikita Volkov): 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (18) + 4 = 22

Badru: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (18) + 7 = 25
?????: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (13) + 5 = 18

Either Badru realised something was up or he was just taking precautions as he is now surrounded by images: 1d4 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 2 = 3. He also says something in Ancient Osirion.

I reported this with only four players - Could Nikita please add their details to the Recruitment Thread. And, speaking of four players - are we using the high tier four player adjustment?

Done! I have never entered the recruitment thread in this game .) And I was also wondering, "where should I fill in the data?" Funny.

What are we waiting on here? We should be high tier with 4 player adjustment, since we're at an APL of 9.4 which rounds to 9, so we're a party of 5 to 7 at an APL between subtiers. We should be high tier with 4 player adjustment.

You're quite right . that removes Badru's pet from the initiative order so everyone is up

Up goes Guys aura of heroism.

Katswiri raises her shield and rushes into the room, moving up to Badru and blocking part of the way out through the tunnel.

Katswiri takes the +2 AC/+Reflex option from Blessing of Fervor, and has an AC of 38 with Total Defense. She will draw an AOO getting into position.

Everything within 20 feet of Katswiri is Silenced.

Gurgle, Katswiri; before silence happens. Taresh has Friendly Switch.

Option 1 If Gurgle would like to move into flank south of Badru, he can sneak attack. Then Taresh can elbow himself into Katswiri's position to also sneak attack, displacing Katswiri one step right.
Option 2 If Gurgle does not want to move into melee yet, Taresh takes the southern position and sneak attacks with Katswiri's assistance.

Gurgle, please pick your action and I will move Taresh based on that.

In either case, this provokes from Badru (displacement may protect), and Taresh makes one melee attack.

Rapier attack: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (5) + 13 = 18 5 BAB 2 Str 2 enh 2 heroism 2 hunter's blessing
Piercing adamantine: 1d6 + 6 + 2d6 ⇒ (4) + 6 + (5, 6) = 21 including sneak attack
Unlikely to hit, but there you go.

Up goes Guys aura of heroism.

I added a move up front first so he could see into the room and battle and we do not have to figure out line of sight and range to determine if the aura is applicable.

Finally, the squad finally agrees to destroy at least one evil creature... The sounds of gunfire rattle the ancient corridors.

Revolver + Deadly Aim + Smite + Flaming: 1d20 + 16 ⇒ (18) + 16 = 341d8 + 1d6 + 19 ⇒ (1) + (3) + 19 = 23 - vs touch AC
Revolver + Deadly Aim + Smite + Flaming: 1d20 + 16 ⇒ (16) + 16 = 321d8 + 1d6 + 19 ⇒ (5) + (3) + 19 = 27 - vs touch AC
Revolver + Deadly Aim + Smite + Flaming: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (7) + 11 = 181d8 + 1d6 + 19 ⇒ (1) + (3) + 19 = 23 - vs touch AC

I think there should be some kind of cover, but still I think Nikita clearly sees it. These shots ignore any DR, and if the Badu is considered undead, then +9 damage on the first hit shot.

Gurgle, wanting to get a better look into the room, takes a step toward Nikita while drawing his rapier. (5' Step)

He then offers a quick prayer to Besmara, blessing his friends and bringing woe to any enemies.

Prayer: You bring special favor upon yourself and your allies while bringing disfavor to your enemies. You and each of your allies gain a +1 luck bonus on attack rolls, weapon damage rolls, saves, and skill checks, while each of your foes takes a –1 penalty on such rolls. 5/5 rounds.

Badru attempts to AOO Katswiri with a well made dagger.
dagger: 1d20 + 17 ⇒ (20) + 17 = 37 slashing: 1d4 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 1 = 5

Taresh misses but all of Nikita's shots slam home (-73).

Badru doesn't like that and a Cloudkill fills the room.

Since Katswiri is the only one in the room, she also needs to make a Perception check (DC 15) as well as a Fort Save (DC 22) before anyone else acts.

Everyone is up.

We're all currently immune to poison from Delay Poison. Cloudkill also has verbal components, does he have a way to cast it in a Silence spell?

Perception: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (1) + 14 = 15

Revolver + Deadly Aim + Smite + Flaming: 1d20 + 16 ⇒ (17) + 16 = 331d8 + 1d6 + 19 ⇒ (7) + (3) + 19 = 29 - vs touch AC
Revolver + Deadly Aim + Smite + Flaming: 1d20 + 16 ⇒ (18) + 16 = 341d8 + 1d6 + 19 ⇒ (7) + (3) + 19 = 29 - vs touch AC
Revolver + Deadly Aim + Smite + Flaming: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (9) + 11 = 201d8 + 1d6 + 19 ⇒ (8) + (6) + 19 = 33 - vs touch AC

]I'm not sure if I can shoot through the fog, if not, I'll go up to point blank range and shoot him in the face. АС24 in case of AoO (smite)

Gotta try to earn my keep. Full attack, using blessing of fervor for extra attack.

adamantine rapier 1: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (19) + 14 = 33 (5 bab, 2 str, 2 enh, 2 mor, 2 sacred, 1 luck)
critical confirmation: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (11) + 14 = 25
damage 1 if critical: 2d6 + 14 + 2d6 ⇒ (1, 2) + 14 + (2, 1) = 20 (2 str, 2 enh, 2 sacred, 1 luck)
damage 1 if not critical: 1d6 + 7 + 2d6 ⇒ (6) + 7 + (1, 1) = 15

adamantine rapier 2: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (17) + 14 = 31
damage 2: 1d6 + 7 + 2d6 ⇒ (6) + 7 + (5, 3) = 21

battleshaping claw attack: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (19) + 9 = 28
magical slashing damage: 1d4 + 6 ⇒ (2) + 6 = 8

If necessary, Taresh autosucceeds at the Perception check and is also covered by delay poison

Also the +2 from flanking.

@Taresh: Darn. Sorry I missed your options earlier. I'll figure something out to do.

In that case, he just wasted his turn - there is no CloudKill yet

Katswiri doesn't notice this but one of the mannequins begin to move. A cold swirl appears around it and Katswiri as the mannequin attempts to trap Katswiri's soul, while a fragment of Badru’s spirit possesses the body, as the spell magic jar. Make a Will save to negate this.

Still it doesn't really matter much as Nikita triple taps him and he goes down.