PFS2 Pirate Blood of the Beautiful Many (Inactive)

Game Master Pirate Rob

Welcome to the town of Petitioner’s Port in Druma.

You're not entirely sure why Venture Captain Drandle Dreng has sent you halfway across the Inner Sea to check in on an Alpaca farmer or why he's sent so many of you.

But as you gather in Petitioner’s Port, outside the Meticulous Truffle Inn, you have a chance to introduce your yourselves before you head about two hours north to the Harjhack Farm to work on Dreng's cryptic mission

A blue-skinned sprite flits about the entrance to the Meticulous Truffle Inn, She's sporting a pair of shortswords and leather armor that would make her look fierce were it not so small.

"Does one of you want to open the door? I like truffles, yes I do. I know we have to hustle, but the food I'm not through."

By now you are all somewhat familiar with Giggleflame. She's a fierce, flighty, flitting little sprite who occasionally rhymes her words unintentionally. She is also easily underestimated, and will unabashedly take advantage of that.

Mechanics - Eldritch Trickster Racket Rogue, trained in a bunch of skills you'll find on a Rogue or a Wizard. Will get into melee, but is happy to use Frostbite on foes from a distance first.

A blonde elf reached a hand out to push the door open for Giggleflame, a deadpan on her face at their antics. Clad in simple scale mail with a bastard sword and backpack slung across her back, she looked every part an adventurer. If a little older than most of the crowd. What stood out most were the vials and chemicals that dangled and clinked about her waist. An odd combination.

"Don't take too long, Giggleflame. We've got a couple hours ahead of us. Best walked, or flown, without a full stomach." She'd sigh and then decide to just follow her in. If nothing else she might be able to double check that they had enough rations.

Henaria had been quiet during the trip from Absalom, reclusive, only speaking up to offer suggestions, advice, or double checking that everything was prepared. Which with a group this big, there were a lot of things she felt the need to double check.

Mechanically, Henaria is an Outwit Ranger with the Alchemist Dedication via Ancient Elf. Can function well enough in melee, can identify enemy weaknesses, exploit them, and has a decent bit of utility out of combat.

Shaggy auburn hair and golden eyes mark the halfling named Peri Longshadow. He grins up at the blond elf and slaps her on the lower back good-naturedly. "You're so kind to open the door for little Giggleflame," he says. His hand falls away to leave behind a small parchment with a target drawn on it, stuck to the back of Henaria's armor with a bit of tacky gum.

The Mihrini fingers the wooden charm shaped like a notched sword hanging from the cord at his neck. "I wouldn't mind a bit of warm food before we set out, myself."

"Yay! Food for the tummy!" The sharp crack of a whip thunders and you see a goblin sprint for the door. He waves a whip around cracking it and laughing. He stops just inside to admire the place and see where the best smells are coming from.

"Come join Scripio for tasty food? I promise goblin songs!" The goblin spots a cracked button on the ground and picks it up, grinning. He licks it and places it in a pouch.

"Huh? Chow time? Hmph, 'bout time" A dour dwarf in shabby studded leather shuffles in and looks around for a pot of stew.

You all know Harsk. Ranger, dwarf, likes tea.

"This isn't..." She'd let out a long sigh as everyone took advantage of the sprite's insistence on getting some truffles to get their own meals. Completely oblivious to the literal target on her back, she'd bring a hand up to rub her forehead. This was probably going to add, at the minimum, another thirty minutes before they reached the farm. More likely it'd add an extra hour depending on the level of tomfoolery they got up to.

A feisty sprite, a mischievous halfling, an eccentric goblin, and a dour dwarf. Why did she get the feeling that she was going to be spending a lot of time trying to keep people on track...

"Don't forget to double check your rations! I'm not going to give you mine if you run out." Odds were she'd forage them some food if they ran out.

Adding to this motley crew is a half orc, half undine, female who is dressed like a pirate, including a tricorne hat on her head. Her armour looks like it's made out of coral and she has a collection of swords and a trident.

She smiles at the antics of the others.
Arrrr ... I be Zenari Benarry. Here to find treasure and booty

With our party gathered, its easy enough to find your way from the Meticulous Truffle Inn in Petitioner’s Port towards the Harjhack Farm.

The two hour trek through rolling green hills is broken by the occasional idyllic stream or copse of trees. A sturdy wooden fence marks the borders of thef arm; though it might prevent animals from escaping, it doesn’t pose much of an impediment to any other creatures looking to enter the property.

There you spot several dozen alpacas off in the distance, moving behind a growing hill. Shortly thereafter the leader of the herd, a gleaming golden alpaca ascends to the top of the hill, silhouetted by the sun.

We'll just do normal saves for this since we're not in combat where we might need to immediately know the results.

Moments later, a rugged-looking Kellid man in dirty overalls approaches, using a pitchfork as an impromptu walking stick. He waves, "I'm Wilhuff Harjhack. I was thinkin' o postin' on the town board and asking for help with a problem I'm havin', but maybe y'all can be of assistance and save me the trouble. What brings y'all out here anyway?"

Fortitude (E): 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (5) + 7 = 12

Peri's jaw drops open. "That is an astounding beast!" he says. "I must have one for a mount!"

fort: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (4) + 7 = 11

Zenari will offer a shoulder if Giggleflame wants a ride.

By the Code! Is that the legendary Beast with the Golden Fleece?

Fort: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (10) + 7 = 17

"Hmph. S'just a fuzzy critter, it ain't that special." Harsk mutters to himself.

Fort Save: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (2) + 6 = 8

"Oooh!" Scripio blinks and tries to shield his eyes. "I can get beast to go!" He cracks his whip over his head.

Wilhuff Harjhack chuckles as you all ignore in in favor of the Alpaca. "Slow yer roll dere pardenrs. I see you've spotted Majesty up on the hill. A fine Alpaca no doubt, I wouldn't say a legendary beast though, and they ain't much for riding but if y'all wanna see if you've got an inklin' o' what's going on with my local mystery here, I could see it to sendin' some fleece yet way."

Added a picture of Majesty and friends to the slides.

"Apologies! I was overwhelmed by Majesty's glorious, well, majesty," Peri says to the rancher. "My name's Peri Longshadow. Everyone else is too numerous to name. Drandle Dreng sent us to check on this ranch. Do you know him?"

Fort save vs Gleaming Alpaca: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (2) + 4 = 6

Giggleflame takes the offered perch by Zenari. She munches on truffles the entire journey, absently leaving bits of food crumbs on the half-orc.

"Woooow," she says, struck by the sheer beauty of the alpaca. "I love her fur! So shiny!"

At the offer of fleece for a favour, Giggleflame is quick to accept. "Your bargain is good, and is made in my mind. Tell us you mystery, so that we can make it history."

Giggleflame, Zenari and Scripio are partially blinded by the glory of the alpaca Majesty.

Still need a save from Henaria

Wilhuff Harjhack replies "Dranny, that ole rapscallion? I haven't seen 'im in decades, but I helped dig him out o' a hole once. Not a fellow that's easy to forget. Dunno why he woulda sent y'all but I could use some help. Ya see, it started about two weeks ago, when I found one of my alpacas, Shadow, dead near the northern fence. Looks like she got spooked something fierce and was caught up in the wiring we use there. Didn’t think too much of it until we found more alpaca bodies in the coming days. With ol’ Rockford gone, that makes four dead alpacas.”

Any idea what killed 'em?

Wilhuff Harjhack answers “Well, aside from Shadow getting caught up in the wiring, it’s been right strange. The other alpacas look like they just dropped dead from fright. I can’t tell much else, as I don’t have a medical background, but maybe you can take a look? Rockford passed just last night, I laaid a tarp over 'im. Was just gonna head into town and look for 'elp figurin' it out, 'fore y'all showed up.”

Wilhuff pauses a moment, before continuing "Majesty... You see he’s the stud ‘round this farm and the daddy to a good chunk of the herd. He’s one of those fancy baccalia breeds they have out east. Bought him years back from a Prophet and the farm’s fortunes have only soared since. I’m worried whatever’s killing the herd stragglers might get some courage and try to attack Majesty. I don’t know what I’d do if I lost him!”

"That would be terrible! We can't let either of those things happen!" Peri says confidently. "Show us the your latest loss."

"Dead alpacas? Scared to death? We need to go see this." Scripio says, suddenly seeming very serious.

The old farmer escorts you to the northeastern section of his land, where he has kept the body of his latest lost alpaca, Rockford, untouched near the containment fence.

"I'm gonna gather up the rest into the barn, good luck figuring it out."

---

Obvious things to Investigate:

How long we take investigating here is potentially important, so investigate one thing each for now, making any additional revealed in the spoilers. We can potentially investigate longer if desired, spending additional rounds after we get through the first. Also, don't forget your potential penalties from the blinding glory of Majesty. So go ahead and choose what to investigate, roll the appropriate check and follow any further instructions found. (Be careful, nested spoilers can't have custom naming so have instructions before them) Feel free to discuss your findings etc.

Giggleflame descends from Zenari's cozy shoulder to take a look at the fence.
Crafting: 1d20 + 6 - 1 ⇒ (10) + 6 - 1 = 15

"Looks like there's no damage, or signs of something trying to push its way in... wait a second, the fence is rotted in a few places. It would actually be pretty easy for one of you bigguns to push through it, which is odd because... they didn't even try that."

Perception: 1d20 + 5 - 1 ⇒ (5) + 5 - 1 = 9
Giggleflame, not seeing anything else of note with the fence, quickly becomes bored with it and moves on.

Perception: 1d20 + 4 - 1 ⇒ (19) + 4 - 1 = 22
Medicine: 1d20 - 1 - 1 ⇒ (5) - 1 - 1 = 3

Scripio puts his face close to the corpse. He sniffs and then points to the alpaca's ears. "Look at the earrings! This a alpaca with style!"

Then he puts his fingers on the wool and into two puncture marks on the neck. "Hey! Something bite the neck here. Lots of holes."

Perception (T): 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (18) + 5 = 23

"I see what you mean," Peri says, nodding to Scripio as he inspects the alpaca corpse.

Medicine (T): 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (14) + 5 = 19

He lifts an ear, pushes back an eyelid, and examines the mouth. "Something sucked out near all the blood."

Fortitude: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (2) + 5 = 7

She stayed quiet, leaving everyone else to handle the discussion with Wilhuff. It wasn't because she was rubbing her eyes against the blinding light that glinted off Majesty's fur. It wasn't because of that. Her constant blinking and rubbing of her eyes were entirely unrelated.

Survival: 1d20 + 5 - 1 ⇒ (13) + 5 - 1 = 17
Perception: 1d20 + 7 - 1 ⇒ (20) + 7 - 1 = 26

"Footsteps." She'd point them out as she crouched down next to Rockford's corpse, scooping up three loose gold studs and inspecting them. "Whatever did this wasn't large. That knocks out most large predators, though considering the means of death... That was already determined."

perception: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (3) + 5 = 8
survival: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (14) + 3 = 17

Aye! Tracks. Small ones.

perception: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (7) + 5 = 12

Perception: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (15) + 7 = 22
Crafting: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (12) + 3 = 15
Survival: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (17) + 5 = 22

"Aye, and they keep goin' on th'other side, too, look."

Followup Perception: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (5) + 7 = 12

Got Harsk elsewhere, going with just his survival.

Summary of things we've learned:

The fence hasn't been touched, although it is rotten in places and could be easily knocked over.

Rockford has some puncture marks on it's neck and has been drained of blood.

There are small prints nearby the corpse, that disappear and then continue after a large gap on the other side of the fence.

Do you want to continue investigating? Go consult Wilhuff? Follow the tracks? Something else?

Sorry about that! Moving a little too quickly as I tried to catch up on PbP.

"There's some sort o' dangerous critter about. We gotta go find it!"

I vote follow the tracks.

So I guess we're looking at a vampire bat with a crippled wing then. Shouldn't be too hard.

Sure, follow the tracks.

"Vampires?! Scripio can fight vampires!"

Giggleflame flits about the ground, excited by the mystery. "Yes, track it down! Bring it down! Let's go!"

Peri's eyes grow wide as he points behind Scripio. "Like that one!?"

Whether or not the goblin falls for the prank, Peri slaps his own knee and laughs. "We probably should tell Wilhuff what we found and where we're going."

I suppose that's wise. In case we need to be rescued or something

"Aaaaahhhhh!" Scripio whirls in fright, although his whip flails wildly, cracking multiple times. "Where?! Where?! Where?!" The goblin looks around frantically.

"Invisible vampires!" Scripio begins whipping at random points in the air.

It's easy enough to tell Wilhuff where you're going, before heading off to follow the tracks.

Following the tracks leads you to a n a rocky outcropping nestled in a
copse of trees, not to far from the farm.

The trees here stand about 30 feet tall on average, while the rocks to the north rise to a height of 20 feet.

About 80 feet from you, nestled in the rocks is a small but rather spikey and vicious looking creature waking up from a nap with powerful jumping legs and long fangs and claws. It must be, the legendary Chupacabara! It looks towards y'all with menace in its eyes!

Because of your efficiency, it suffers a -2 penalty to initiative. We are now far enough away from Majesty to not be suffering further penalties from that.

Terrain Notes:

A pair of collapsed tree trunks lead up to the main area from the lowered terrain. You may Balance up it, DC 12. You'll have to balance for 20 feet to be able to move freely up above but can head up either tree on the map.

You could also instead Climb the walls to gain the 5ft needed to get out of your starting position, at DC 15. (Do remember than climb requires 2 free hands.

Although you view is now great from down here, Peri and Harsk notice several bit of unstable ground where the dirt and such has been dug out into a sinkhole.

The White/Gold Crosses are Sinkholes, If you step on one, you'll need to Grab an Edge (DC 15) or plummet 20 feet.

Initiative:
Henaria
Harsk
Peri
Zenari
Henaria
El CHUPACABRA! (White Dash)
Giggleflame

Henaria, Harsk, Peri, Zenari and Henaria are up!
Feel free to start armed or not, however you like. You're both expecting some sort of crippled vampire bat, and have been dealing with terrain that has required some scrambling.

The Chucabara does have cover from those of you down here.

Map on slide 3, CHUPACABRA image on page 1

Peri hauls himself up the short bluff--a tougher feat than for bigger folk. He considers the bow over his shoulder for a moment but then straps on his shield. He watches the strange creature as he draws a blade from his belt. "You're a scary one."

◆ Climb: Athletics (T): 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (16) + 7 = 23
◆ Interact
◆ Interact

Scripio seems to be missing from the initiative list. Is one of the Henarias him?

Harsk grumbles and tries to balance up the log.

◆Acrobatics to Balance: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (13) + 6 = 19 Success -> 10 ft.
◆Acrobatics to Balance: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (4) + 6 = 10 Failure -> 0 ft.

Nearly losing his footing halfway up the log, he cranes his neck to get a good look at the critter.

◆Balance, ◆Balance, ◆Hunt Prey w/ Monster Hunter (Nature +5)

Scripio seems to be missing from the initiative list. Is one of the Henarias him?

Opps! Most certainty yes, sorry about that.

Feel free to roll your own secret checks going forward for this game, part of the experiment here is trying to provide enough info so that the active person can always roll. DC should be determinable from the info in the spoiler if needed (Is level 3 so DC 18

Harsk Recall DC 18: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (17) + 5 = 22

Yup, it's a Chupacabra! A bloodsucking and intelligent beast. They frequently live as mated pairs, so watch out for a second one! Also it's weakest defense is certainty Will.

Harsk gets halfway up the log while Peri climbs and then equips themselves for combat.

Initiative:
Scripio
Harsk
Peri
Zenari
Henaria
El CHUPACABRA! (White Dash)
Giggleflame

Scripio, Zenari and Heraria still up!
See initial post for monster and terrain notes.

Zenari climbs up the wall.
athletics: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (13) + 7 = 20
draws her weapon
then raises her shield.

Scripio climbs up the sides of the cliff wall after Peri. He gets to the top and heaves himself onto the ground. He pulls his whip back out and skittles away from the cliff.

Athletics: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (12) + 5 = 17

◆ Climb
◆ Draw Whip
◆ Move

Henaria would run over to the log and start trying to get up, spreading her arms wide as she tried to balance her way up to the top of the cliff.

Acrobatics: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (7) + 5 = 12
Acrobatics: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (1) + 5 = 6
Acrobatics: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (10) + 5 = 15

Almost losing her balance part of the way up, she caught herself and finished climbing up the rest of her way. Bastard sword having been pre-drawn for whenever they encountered the creature.

Balance (10 ft), Balance (0 ft), Balance (10 ft)

Henaria struggles but makes it to the top of the log while Zenari and Scripio make the climb and arm themselves.

We'll say Henaria is on solid ground after the 2 successes.

El Chupacabra bounds forward and Pounces on Henaria, clearing nearly 20 feet of ground as it leaps.

Jaw vs Henaria: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (16) + 11 = 27
piercing: 1d10 + 5 ⇒ (6) + 5 = 11
Athletics to grab vs Henaria Fort 15: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (13) + 3 = 16

Latching its fangs into Henaria and hanging on!

1d20 + 7 - 2 ⇒ (16) + 7 - 2 = 21

Initiative:
Harsk
Scripio
???
Peri
Zenari
Henaria
El CHUPACABRA! (White Dash)
Giggleflame

I fixed inter party initiative order. Giggleflame, Harsk and Scripio are up!

"Dang, that's a mean critter!" Harsk shouts as he tries to balance the rest of the way up.

Acrobatics to Balance: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (19) + 6 = 25

Spurred into action, he leaps the rest of the way up, drawing his heavy crossbow and firing as he reaches the top!

Crossbow: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (20) + 6 = 26
Piercing: 1d10 ⇒ 9

◆Acrobatics to Balance, ◆Interact to Draw Weapon, ◆Strike

Harsk gets to the top, and crits the El CHUPACABRA! with his crossbow.

Esoteric Lore (DC18): 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (20) + 7 = 27

Scripio yells at the beast as he charges forward with his whip, cracking in the air. "Here come Santa Claus, Here's comes Santa Claus! Right down Santa Claus lane!" The sight of the charging, yelling, whip cracking goblin invokes something deep in the beast.

Attack: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (1) + 6 = 7
Nonlethal Damage: 1d4 + 2 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 2 + 2 = 6 +2 or +weakness value

◆ Exploit Vulnerability
◆ Move
◆ Strike

First time I'm doing this. I think the Esoteric Lore crit not only gives me weakness info, but also a general Recall Knowledge (from Diverse Lore).

"Oh, is there something out there?"

Giggleflame, ever curious, follows the others by heading up the log.
Acrobatics (Balance) vs DC 12: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (9) + 7 = 16
Acrobatics (Balance) vs DC 12: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (16) + 7 = 23

Seeing the monster before them, she finishes by drawing her shortsword. "Here we go!"