GM Jhaeman's PFS1 Module: "Curse of the Riven Sky"

Game Master Jhaeman

Farrokh looks at the walkway as the party are preparing to ascend it and then up at the castle above them "One thing which does occur to me is that once we start heading up that walkway, those of us who can't fly are rather stuck if anything happens during our ascent. Given I'm already flying it may be worth me flying up to get a better view of the route ahead of us just to be on the safe side."

If there are no major objections to the idea (and if it seems like something that it would be viable to do), Farrokh will try to make use of his flight to fly up and get a better view of the sections of the walkway further up and the castle itself. He will try to keep his distance so as not to draw undue attention to himself or appear to be a threat. He will try to spot any potential issues for the party and also see if the new perspective sheds any light on what is causing the walkway to occasionally shudder.

Perception: 1d20 + 23 ⇒ (20) + 23 = 43

Leaving the others behind, Farrokh flies up to scout the walkway from a higher angle. It doesn't take long for him to realise the source of the tremors. Coming down the brass ramp is a giant in black leather armor haphazardly studded with bolts and bits of metal. His face is swollen and misshapen as if he has been battered and bruised regularly and often, and his features have never truly had time to heal. Scars cover his face and bald head, and his narrow eyes glare darkly. His hands appear to be giant metal hammer heads and he clangs them together as he moves down!

I would normally put us on Initiative, but with hammers for hands, the giant can't threaten a flying creature, so Farrokh, you can bypass this encounter if you choose. (I'm away from my files, but I'll see if the module has a picture of the giant and/or a visual representation of the walkway when I get home in about 24 hours or so)

A few quick questions before Farrokh decides what to do.

Given the mention of initiative, does the giant appear to be hostile when he sees Farrokh or does it look like the giant would be open to having a conversation? Is there any indication of what the giant is doing on the walkway and his relationship to the castle (e.g. does the giant look to be a guard)?.

If Farrokh flew past the giant to check the rest of the walkway and the castle, would he have time to get back to the party to let them know that the giant is coming down the walkway after checking? Or is the giant sufficiently close to the bottom of the walkway that there wouldn't be time to both check the rest of the walkway and get back to the party before the giant reached them?

Farrokh squints at the massive giant, trying to get a hunch for whether he would amenable to conversation . . .

@Farrokh: We'll treat the first question as a Sense Motive check, which I'll roll secretly in the spoiler below and then provide your intuition in the spoiler above. As for the second question, the giant is about 3/4 of the way up the ramp and coming down; you would have time to fly up and back down before he reaches the bottom.

Determining that he has enough time to check the full length of the walkway and get back to his allies in order to let them know about the approaching giant, Farrokh continues upwards to investigate the upper reaches of the brass ramp and the castle it leads to.

Xilt smiles at Farrokh's report.

"I do speak Giant if you want to parley."

Just to double check (as Farrokh is continuing up towards the castle after spotting the giant rather than heading back down) would he have been able to communicate back to the party via the message spell from where he is to keep them updated, or would that not be a viable option?

Soaring with the winds, Farrokh rises above the armored giant and the brass ramp to investigate the castle itself.

The structure is built of white stone blocks reinforced with glistening bands of brass and adorned with inset panels of dark, etched wood. The main gate is sealed up tight with doors made of brass inlaid with panels of etched mahogany. But at one point along the brass ramp, before it reaches the main gate, a massive hole appears in the side of the castle! The backs of massive hill giants can be seen pushing into the breach, and the clanging and smashing of a terrible battle echoes out of it!

Thanks for your patience--an exterior shot of Zoarth's Castle is now on Slide # 5, showing the ramp, the breach, and the main entrance described above.

@Farrokh: Yes, it looks like the max range of message at your level is 200' and as the entrance to the castle is 150' above the mountaintop, you can stay in communication.

"Oh" exclaims Farrokh upon discovering the breach in the wall, before utilising the message spell once again to update the rest of the party on the new development...

"Looks like things may be a little more complex than we'd anticipated... The castle has a big hole smashed through it's outer wall and there seems to be a bunch of hill giants pushing through it along with the sound of battle coming from inside... It seems Zoarth's castle is under attack!"

"Unless you want me to check out anything else, I'll head back down to where you are, so I can get back before that giant coming down the ramp reaches the bottom. I'm guessing Zoarth might appreciate our assistance with resolving the current situation."

Unless there are any objections Farrokh will head back down to where the rest of the party are and plan to cast a few spells on himself ready for when the giant with the hammer hands arrives.

Having returned with news of what's happening overhead, Farrokh quickly rejoins the group.

@Everyone: If the plan is to buff a bit and wait for the hammer-handed giant to appear, let's assume you have three rounds of prep time before he comes around a bend in the brass ramp.

Whoa! Zoarth's Castle is cool!

"Once more into the breach, Anthys?" asks Berato with a twinkle in his eyes, before beginning the telltale war prayers to Torag.

T minus 3: casting bear's endurance on Anthys with lesser extend metamagic rod (duration: 20 minutes)

T minus 2: casting bless on the party as a SLA from the Golden Epaulets

T minus 3: casting divine favor on Berato

"Very well, Berato. Let us go to the aid of this Zoarth."

Anthys has some buffing options (like Barroom Brawler or Tactician), but nothing he uses at present.

"Remember, I am strongest amidst allies, but if there is cause for me to charge in, I can quickly follow any summoned creatures."

He has both Coordinated Charge and Fighter's Tactics, so can charge as an immediate action when any ally charges an enemy within 30' (or within 60' if we get Haste).

Knowledge (local) + Monster Lore: 1d20 + 7 + 4 ⇒ (20) + 7 + 4 = 31
Nice!

"Hill giants aren't very bright, but they'll throw an entire boulder at you without breaking a sweat." Adeah throws her gloved hand out to the side and barks out a single word in a language long forgotten. From thin air, her signature weapon shimmers into being: a musket. With her gloved hand she grabs the barrel, then shoves the butt stock up against her shoulder and lays a finger of her other hand on the trigger mechanism. "Lead the way."

Retrieving a stored item is a free action, don't really have anything else to do until an enemy approaches. If this counts as being in combat, I'll spend a swift action to activate Judgment (Destruction).

As it may have an impact on which spells he casts during his three rounds prep time, does Farrokh have a rough idea about how long it would take the party to get up the walkway to the breach from their current location once they have dealt with the approaching giant (e.g. would it only be a couple of minutes, nearer 10 minutes etc...)?

With the sudden change of the party's situation from a diplomatic mission into a potential violent encounter, Farrokh realises that he doesn't have time to throw up his full set of combat spells, so upon arrival back at the bottom of the walkway prioritizes a the essentials...

Farrokh will spend his three rounds casting: extended barkskin, shield and either extended clay skin or mirror image depending on his estimate of the time to the breach.

Finally, as a few of the spells that Farrokh cast right before he slept last night have a 20 hour duration would those still be active at the current time or would they have reached the end of their duration?

The brass walkway shakes visibly and the clanging of hammer on hammer can be heard. The Pathfinders ready themselves for danger!

@Adeah: We're not in combat quite yet.

@Farrokh: My best guess from the distances on the map (accounting for the brass walkway spiraling) is that at a walking speed of 30', you'd make it to the breach in just under a minute of game time. As to your second question, it is presently late afternoon, so just within a 20-hour window from the 10 p.m. bedtime I assume adventurers have unless told otherwise).

@Xilt: Any prep for you before we move on to Initiative when the giant comes into view?

@Farrokh: My best guess from the distances on the map (accounting for the brass walkway spiraling) is that at a walking speed of 30', you'd make it to the breach in just under a minute of game time. As to your second question, it is presently late afternoon, so just within a 20-hour window from the 10 p.m. bedtime I assume adventurers have unless told otherwise).

Fantastic, thanks. In that case Farrokh would go with mirror image as his third spell...

mirror images: 1d4 + 3 ⇒ (4) + 3 = 7

@Xilt: As it was rather buried away in one of my previous posts, so I suspect you may have not spotted it, would you have been open to the suggestion of a bit of spellbook spell swapping on the journey here (I'm mainly checking now as it may become relevant now we are in combat).