Strength of Thousands (PF2 AP) by DM DoctorEvil

Game Master DM DoctorEvil

I would indeed alert the others to the interloper. Friendly reminder that ZM's a they/them, by the way. :)

After quietly pointing out the movement they spotted, Za Minyahil stands by Ikto as he attempts to talk to it. They weren't sure if the creature was just an animal, or something a bit more sinister.

M'Baba can only kind of make out the creature lurking above, but from what he can see, he thinks they are fey of some kind, not an animal. He has heard of a type of gremlin called Scrits that mar and consume books and this room as the look and feel of its handiwork.

any particular question you want answered about these creatures?

Try as he might, Ikto, who knows lots of languages, cannot successfully communicate with this creature. It looks down at him quizzically, then laughs. As you watch, it then calls out in a strange tongue, and then begins casting a spell.

Do you wish to react to enter a fight or let it happen? If a fight, roll initiative

Do they also get affected by bells?

M'baba raises his rapier and says "This is gonna be bad, isn't it?"

He moves his lights towards the creature.

If the spell being cast is prepared by any of us, that person would automatically know what it is.

Casting a spell, especially at a school of magic, does not equate, in Iovia's mind, to a hostile action, so she continues to search the bookshelves.

Ikto backs away towards the side away from friends. He won't attack yet, but if this spell is a bad one, he wants to be sure they're not all pooled together.

For now just moving to the side.

"I don't like this." He adds to the others, "Let's hope that's a translation spell, but I don't like it."

Do they also get affected by bells?

M'Baba gets the sense that silver bells affect these gremlin-type fey much like they affect any others like pugwampi. Unfortunately, he's not sure that story is fully true in the first place any may be just an old wives' tale. So, he's not really sure, but skeptical.

I don't think any of you have this spell prepared, nor on your known/available spell list, but I may have missed it.

As M'Baba raises the lights to be near the fey scrit, the illumination reveals a number of other similar scrits atop the rest of the bookshelves in the center of the room. They seem to be watching the interaction with vested interest.

Ikto sees a closed door at the opening at the top right side of the room but doesn't yet investigate what's beyond it.

Finally the creature finishes its casting and a super-slippery film of greasy substance fills the floor of the room in a shape that makes the footing of Za Minyahil and M'Baba quite treacherous.

ZM and M'Baba need DC16 Reflex or Acrobatics checks or fall prone. If you decide to fight, roll your initiative.

Reflex: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (15) + 9 = 24

M'baba is quick and is able to stay on his feet. He jumps out of the greasy area and bellows "Hey" at the gremlins. He takes out his bell and rings it. He wishes to get back at them and also test the bell theory.

With a sigh, Iovia looks to the lead gremlin. "We are not here to harm you. We are here to look for books. If you choose to be hostile, whatever happens is your own fault."

She does not do anything hostile of her own, yet, but she is ready to use violence if needed.

Reflex: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (18) + 7 = 25

Light on their feet as a petal on the breeze, Za Minyahil retains their footing and jingles the bell tied to their sword a bit.

"Find someone else to annoy," they add sternly.

Ikto rings his bell as well! WHY are so many of these creatures making apparent war on the school? He wonders.

The scrits don't respond at all to conversation. When you starting ringing the bells, the forward looks worried, and eventually leaps backwards with the others. From what you can tell, it only seems worried by silver bells, in case you have any other kind.

With that, the front area of the library is yours to explore as you see fit, at least for now.

How long do you want to pore through books here?

M'baba comments "Interesting. This dude seemed worried, like... he's not bothered by the bells themselves, but somehow what they represent. Maybe their leader gets very angry at their sound? Silver bells, I mean."

With nothing else to add, he proposes moving on. He says "Let's try this door?"

He means, top left door. We could start there and go counter-clockwise.

"I would suggest that we finish searching this room before we move to others. We are here to find books for Teacher Ot. We are not here to randomly explore. For all we know, they have been living here for years, and they see us as invaders. We should limit our intrusion as much as possible." Iovia suggests.

If the rest of the group decides to start exploring, though, she will go with them.

M'baba shrugs while saying "Well, we've searched this room already and it seems like all books are useless. But maybe there's a hidden compartment that the fey haven't found yet, but the entry lobby is a weird place to put such a compartment."

You really haven't spent any time looking at the books, as the interaction with the scrit happened almost immediately. If you tell me approximately how much time you want to spend looking, it will affect any die rolls.

I see. Then I guess 10 minutes is standard. Anyone against?

Seems fair to me!

I think for a room this size, it would take much more than 10 minutes. There are 24 bookshelves, and given the state of the books, we'd have to go through them slowly. After all, many of the books are damaged.

From an OOC perspective, I don't think any of the books will be in here. But, I'd rather be sure than find out after some avoidable fight that we could have completed the task peacefully :). I think if the library were in good shape, 10 to 20 minutes would be enough time, but for one in the shape Doc's described, I'd guess an hour. That said, if the group prefers 10 minutes, that's fine.

I lean closer towards an hour myself.

"I really am learning to dislike gremlins, but thank goodness for the bells." Ikto is relieved. He gets to work looking but keeps the bells handy in case they return.

I will say that with a Perception success, you can clear 1 bookshelf in 5 minutes (one side of the two-sided shelves). That is, in 10 mins, you can clear 2 shelves each, if you all makes successes. Critical success double the speed, while critical fails halve the speed. If you don't want to open every book, and look at it, as Iovia describes, the times may be faster. Feel free to roll your own Perception (just one for the 10 minute period let's say).

Perception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (13) + 6 = 19

Perception: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (1) + 8 = 9

Za Minyahil begins poring over a shelf.

Perception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (8) + 6 = 14

The group goes work clearing bookshelves in the main room of the Stump Library while also keeping a sharp eye on the gremlin occupants. The scrits chitter amongst themselves, but don't make any aggressive moves for the moment. Each of the initiates clears two bookshelves in the library, except Iovia, who gets distracted by a tome purporting to describe all the religions of the Mwangi Expanse. Since she pores through that book for part of the time, she only clears one section.

The searching is not with merit. While you don't find any of the books described by Teacher Ot, Iovia does find a scroll filled with arcane writing, while across the room Ikto finds another.

Iovia cannot easily read the first spell found, as it does not seem to be divine magic, but Ikto can rather easily tell the scroll he found is a scroll of faerie fire.

Iovia can try to Identify Magic but it takes 10 minutes, or she could pass the scroll to another player. Adding the Faerie Fire scroll to your loot tracker, is someone claiming it now?

You can roll Perception for another 10 minutes of searching if you wish or move along.

"A scroll of Faerie fire." Perception: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (3) + 8 = 11

Iovia will pass the scroll along to Ikto or Za Minyahil to see if one of them can tell what it is.

I'd suggest that, since he can use it, Ikto should keep the Faerie Fire scroll.

She then goes back to searching the books after tucking the religious tome into her pack for study later.

Also, just as bookkeeping help, we are at 7/24 shelves searched.

More searching: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (16) + 8 = 24

Excuse my lack of appropriate terminology, but faerie fire is now revealing light with the remaster and has been combined to the same spell as glitterdust. It is on all 4 spell lists, so any of the casters could claim it.

Ikto can in fact read the second scroll also, which turns out to be a scroll of grease. Thinking about using those scrolls keeps Ikto distracted enough that he can only clear on bookshelf this time, but Iovia makes up for it by clearing 4. Both of the others also clear 2 shelves i this 10 minutes. None of the searching turns up items of interest this time around.

With that work, pretty much all the shelves on the northern part of the library are cleared. To get more, you will have to get closer to the scrits, who are watching carefully, but have not done anything outwardly hostile since the initial grease spell.

[ooc]I am marking off the shelves you have cleared and moving your token to the next reasonable place. LMK if you want to do something different than I have listed. The double shelf rows have books on both sides, so they count as two for purposes of clearing.

Perception ZM: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (9) + 6 = 15
M'Baba perception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (6) + 6 = 12

M'baba is impressed that the others managed to find magic scrolls. He says "That's a good find. We should try the other sections."

He motions to the scrits that he's not moving aggressively and slowly makes his way to the southern side of the room.

Probably diplomacy: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (6) + 5 = 11

"I think when we're done here, I want to ask Teacher Ot why magical scrolls were left behind. I can understand the books, if you think you'll be coming back to work on the place more, but the scrolls? That mystifies me."

Iovia will continue to search the bookshelves.

Searching: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (3) + 8 = 11

I think that Ikto can hold onto both scrolls if he wants. Grease is solid, and we definitely want to make sure someone has the Revealing Light accessible. It's a very strong utility spell.

Za Minyahil follows after M'baba and narrows their eyes at the scrits as they approach. The message is clear. Don't try it.

Intimidating Glare: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (8) + 4 = 12

The scrits hiss and chatter more among themselves as the group starts forward to the southern end of the main chamber. They do not seem particularly intimidated by Za Minyahil, nor are they super impressed by M'Baba. They continue to look balefully at you.

As the searching begins again. from the southern opening, you see a really large bug crawling in the ceiling, entering the main chamber. It has a silvery carapace and an undulating fish-like scuttle as it creeps slowly above the room. It seems to be about the size of large pig, so big for any bug you've seen (before this week). It seems to sense you disturbing the contents of the library and lets out a chittering sound, then rushes toward your end of the room looking to attack!

Noisy Library - Round 1

28 Ikto
26 ZA Minyahil
18 M'Baba
11 Iovia
8 Yellow Bug

All the party may act. It seems pretty clear of the bugs intention to punish you for being near its food source.

M'baba opens his eyes wide at the sight of the huge bugs. He says "I'm really starting to hate bugs." He first considers what he knows about such a bug, then summons an attack spell he learned in his time at the school.

Recall Knowledge nature, Spout spell on it.

Recall knowledge nature: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (8) + 4 = 12

bludgeoning damage, basic Reflex DC 18: 2d4 ⇒ (1, 4) = 5

"We can bring a sample of that to Professor Koride after we find the books." Iovia muses aloud. However, that is not all that she does! She calls upon the power of her deities, lifts her arm, and fire comes from her hand, racing towards the bug on the ceiling.

Action 1 and 2: Fire Ray.

Spell Attack: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (15) + 8 = 23

Damage: 2d6 ⇒ (5, 6) = 11 fire damage, and the square it is in is on fire, dealing 1d6 fire to anything that ends its turn in the square. The fire lasts until the end of the bug's next turn.

She then uses the bookcase that she has just searched for cover.

Action 3: Take Cover.

"Well, this will get ugly."

Recall Knowledge Lore Insects: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (13) + 7 = 20

He moves behind M'Baba to support him even as he tries to figure out what these things are.

and lifts his shield, it's saved his lives too many times for him to not use it. "I'm a bit reluctant to use fire spells in here."

M'baba opens his eyes wide at the sight of the huge bugs. He says "I'm really starting to hate bugs." He first considers what he knows about such a bug, then summons an attack spell he learned in his time at the school.

"I hated them even before I got here," Za Minyahil quips.

They stride around the shelves towards the silverfish, their sword jingling as they draw it. Then they lift their shield to ready for whatever comes their way.

◆ Stride
◆ Interact (Draw Shortsword)
◆ Raise a Shield

"Your smaller kin destroyed my books, paper-eater!" he calls to the large bug. "I'll not let you do the same to the few remaining tomes here!"

Noisy Library - Round 1 - concluded

28 Ikto
26 ZA Minyahil
18 M'Baba
11 Iovia
8 Yellow Bug

Ikto knows this is a giant silverfish. They are larger version of the more common pest cousin. They tend to consume large quantities of paper, clothing or other materials but are somewhat territorial. They don't have any magical properties per se, nor any known special weakness or resistance. After saying all this, he raises his shield to protect from any attacks.

Za Minyahil moves to engage the bug, drawing their weapon, and raising their shield for a fight.

M'Baba has heard of silverfish, but did not know this pig-sized version even existed till now. He casts a spell that conjures a spout of water in mid-air blasting at the bug which cannot avoid the spray of water which dampens the books on that end of the library after doing its damage.

Iovia blasts fire at the ceiling, scorching the bug and filling that space above with fire. She then tries to hide behind the bookcase to avoid any retaliation.

The silverfish, burnt and drenched, drops to the ground and clambers over to Za Minyahil, meaning to get a bite of the intruders, but neither bite is successful.

End of Round 1

Silverfish DC18 Reflex: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (2) + 8 = 10 fail
Silverfish mandible vs ZM: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (2) + 8 = 10
Silverfish mandible vs ZM, MAP: 1d20 + 8 - 5 ⇒ (9) + 8 - 5 = 12

Noisy Library - Round 1 - concluded

28 Ikto
26 Za Minyahil
24 White Silverfish
18 M'Baba
17 Purple Silverfish
11 Iovia
8 Yellow Silverfish (16hp dmg)

As melee combat begins in the library, two more silverfish crawl out of the side rooms, stirred by the sound of fighting. The scrits atop the bookshelf laugh and cheer as the initiates get into a fight.

Ikto and ZM are up now.

Looks like I will run either or both of those guys when I get back to posting later today.

Copper wire begins coiling up Za Minyahil's sword once again as they raise it up and strike at the silverfish with a resounding CRACK!

◆◆ Spellstrike (live wire)

Attack: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (9) + 7 = 16
Weapon Damage (piercing): 1d6 ⇒ 6
Spell Damage (slashing/electricity): 1d4 + 1d4 ⇒ (4) + (2) = 6

Then their shield snaps forward to keep the arthropod at bay!

◆ Raise a Shield

Noisy Library - Round 2 - continued

28 Ikto
26 Za Minyahil
24 White Silverfish
18 M'Baba
17 Purple Silverfish
11 Iovia

The attack from Za Minyahil hits and adds in electrical damage which is enough to do in the original silverfish, but now two more have joined the mix. The ghoran raises his shield in case the newcomers attack him as well.

As the other large silverfish appear, Ikto scrambles towards White then casts a spell that buffets the insect with a strong blast of wind, shuffling loose papers and small books in its wake.

The windblown silverfish advances making a mandible attack against Iovia. Even in her hiding spot, the silverfish makes a very damaging attack, hurting the cleric badly.

Iovia takes 16 hp dmg, leaving her at 12/28. M'Baba is up now.

White DC18 fort: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (6) + 7 = 13 fail
Bludgeoning Dmg to White: 1d6 ⇒ 2
White mandible vs Iovia: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (19) + 8 = 27crit, even with std cover
Piercing dmg to Iovia: 1d6 + 2 ⇒ (6) + 2 = 8 16 total!

Seeing himself in an awkward position, M'baba takes a step back and raises his rapier in case any of the beetles come his way.

Stride, ready action: strike

Readied strike: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (1) + 7 = 81d6 ⇒ 1

He is too scared to do anything well. He speaks out "Need a lil help here!"

2 ones, wow!

Noisy Library - Round 2 - continued

28 Ikto
26 Za Minyahil
24 White Silverfish
18 M'Baba
17 Purple Silverfish
11 Iovia

M'Baba readies his blade in case any of the silverfish get to hos position.

Purple Silverfish scuttles over to where Za Minyahil waits, and makes a pair of attacks with its mandibles. Using his shield as a barrier, the ghoran is able to keep the insect from harming them.

Iovia is up now.

Purple mandible vs ZM: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (9) + 8 = 17
Purple mandible vs ZM, MAP: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (5) + 3 = 8

Iovia does cry out in pain when she is bitten, but she ignores the wound for now.

She darts around the insect so that she can see both of the remaining creatures.

Action 1: Stride.

Lightning then shoots from her hands to target both foes.

Actions 2 and 3: Electric Arc at DC 16 Reflex for 2d4 ⇒ (2, 4) = 6 Electricity damage against the two silverbugs.

Noisy Library - Round 1 - concluded

Hurt but not out, Iovia moves to a spot between the insects and unloads a bolt of electrical energy that leaps from insect to insect. Purple gets singed by the blast, but White avoids damage from it entirely.

End of Round 1

Purple DC16 Reflex: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (11) + 8 = 19 success
White DC16 Reflex: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (19) + 8 = 27 crit success

Noisy Library - Round 3

28 Ikto
26 Za Minyahil
25 Green Scrit
24 White Silverfish (2hp dmg)
21 Blue Scrit
18 M'Baba (readied)
17 Purple Silverfish(3hp dmg)
11 Iovia (12/28hp remain)
10 Orange Scrit
10 Red Scrit

While the students are engaged in combat against the over-sized insects, the scrits take advantage of the situation by moving from spectators to combatants, shrieking and moving to attack on their turns.

For now Ikto and ZM are up for the good guys.

Ikto lined up against the giant Silverfish sees Iovia in trouble and tries to draw the attention of it for her sake and M'Baba "Now the gremlins are attacking too. Because of course they are."

He keeps his shield high, then unleashes his most powerful spell on the giant silverfish.

Race shield for Action one, Technically Shocking grasp is now ThunderStrike so I will go with that. Roll to hit: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (19) + 8 = 27
Dmg Electricity (Ref DC 18 I think): 1d12 ⇒ 1 Dmg Sonic1d4 ⇒ 2

Za Minyahil's dark eyes don't show how hard they're rolling, but the motion of their head certainly does. They intone the cantrip they used before, this time just using it normally to zap the silverfish as they keep their shield raised against its nipping mandibles.

◆◆ Cast a Spell (live wire)

Spell Attack: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (16) + 5 = 21
Slashing Damage: 1d4 ⇒ 1
Electricity Damage: 1d4 ⇒ 2

◆ Raise a Shield

Noisy Library - Round 3 - continued

28 Ikto
26 Za Minyahil
25 Green Scrit
24 White Silverfish (2hp dmg)
21 Blue Scrit
18 M'Baba
17 Purple Silverfish(3hp dmg)
11 Iovia (12/28hp remain)
10 Orange Scrit
10 Red Scrit

Ikto sees the scrits getting ready to join against them, and chooses his most powerful spell. Expecting a big flash and boom, he is a bit disappointed when he gets a small flash and soft bang. The spell seems impressive, but the effect is pretty minimal.

Za Minyahil also uses an electrical spell against the other silverfish that they combines with spell attack. The damage is not a lot greater, but every little bit helps. The ghoran then gets his shield up, expecting attacks from the gremlins.

Green Scrit drops off the top of the bookshelf and runs down the aisle to attack Za Minyahil with its pointed little finger, piercing the plant-like body of the ghoran, and spreading sticky goo across the wound.

White Silverfish attacks Ikto with its mandibles, scoring one painful bite but missing with the other.

Blue Scrit casts the greasy pool at the feet of Ikto trying to make the initiate slip while fighting a big bug.

Za Minyahil is hit for 3hp dmg, and need a DC14 Fort vs poison. Ikto is hit for 5hp dmg, and needs a DC16 Reflex or fall prone. M'Baba is now up.

White DC18 Reflex: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (19) + 8 = 27 success
Green Scrit sticky finger: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (19) + 7 = 26
Piercing dmg to ZM: 1d4 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 = 3
White vs Ikto: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (11) + 8 = 19 hit
White vs Ikto, MAP: 1d20 + 8 - 5 ⇒ (11) + 8 - 5 = 14
Piercing dmg to Ikto: 1d6 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 2 = 5