[Gameday XIV] GM Chadius 4-06: Signal from the Electric Laboratory (Inactive)

Game Master chadius

30 minutes later...
Argoni (13 damage, Chakram acid Damage: 9, 5, 7)
BakBat (2 damage)
Jakoby (11 damage, Immune to Battle Medicine)
- Ro (2 damage)
Doc Bloodshanks (4 acid damage on armor, Immune to Battle Medicine)
Itka (12 acid damage on armor)

If you took any acid damage during the fight, or you threw wooden or metal weapons, please apply the acid damage to your equipment as well as yourself. This may have damaged or destroyed them.

The team spends time to regroup and search the laboratory, finding a cloak, some valuable metals and research notes.

The rest of the first floor seems clear of any danger or interesting items. The basement still has the locked door, but there seems to be a password and manual override that need to be dealt with first.

When the team is ready, they can try to go upstairs.

Argoni should only be down 1 after Itka's healing on him. Argoni also has Crafting if anyone needs an item repaired.

The halfling goes to pick up the sharp metal disks he was flinging at the oozes. A couple are pitted from the acid, but still seem usable. He touches his bandolier and the chakri zip back inside, safely tucked away.

Jakoby looks down at her warm winter clothing - lucky not to sustain acid damage to them. She looks at Ro, whose feathers all seem intact.

Scanning GM posts for "acid", I see no damage to either

Arrows are cheap and lightweight, and our hunting duo are not regularly in the habit of retieving them. Instead, she stuffs her pipe once more, and blazes.

10 minutes (to 30 total spent)
~) Refocus (□☑)
~) ♥️ 137/148 and ♥️ 94/96

Perception: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (11) + 12 = 23

Doc realizes some acid damage got on his scale mail and pulls out his repair kit, replacing any damaged pieces of leather or metal while the exploration of the lower level is being completed.

Crafting (Repair): 1d20 + 18 ⇒ (19) + 18 = 37

It is not exaggerating to say that the scale mail looks better than new when he is finished.

Retcon: Itka would've repaired her Explorer's Clothing during our rest.

Crafting T to repair Explorer's clothing, DC 14: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (7) + 14 = 21
Success for 20 points; clothing is fully repaired.

"Hmp." Itka announces her readiness to leave with her customary grunt, then begins hobbling toward the stairs, looking for traps or ambushes along the way.

Perception +12 to Seek until the others overtake her, then Detect Magic for her Exploration mode.

Noticing that some people still have wounds, Doc begins using Quick Alchemy to generate versatile vials and pass them out. "Swallow up. These don't stay potent long."

If I understand how these work now, I can create 2 and throw one on someone to heal them ... and then next round create another one and throw 2. So every 12 seconds I can heal 2d6 hit points 4 times, and that's assuming no one takes them out of my hand and drinks them. If the injured people take them out of my hand, I can create 3 per 6 seconds.

With a bit of healing, the team feels ready to continue. The ground floor is done, so the team heads upstairs.

The room is littered with scattered papers and dried bloodstains. A blackboard with a few notations covers most of the western wall, but little else remains on the few workstations pushed against the wall. The bookshelves are barren, filled only with a couple of tomes damaged beyond repair. In the corner, a large and unusual device emits a hum almost too low to properly hear. A large trail of blood leads out of the room and into the opposing bedroom.

Arcana: 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (20) + 15 = 35

"Hey, that's a spirit-singer. It responds to the presence of haunts and spirits. It's probably reacting to the presence of an incorporeal ghost."

Argoni feels key starting to hum and you all hear a masculine voice emit from the device. "Who are these people? More attackers? I wonder if I can trust- wait, I hear my thoughts. They can hear it too? I may as well say hello."

>A human masculine ghost appears, well dressed and still wearing his spectacles.< He bows to you all. "I am called Vilo. State your purpose. I need to know if I can trust you all." The device continues to hum with his voice. "Dammit. Well, you can hear my thoughts so know that I am not lying."

That ghost is quite ... masculine... Doc observes to himself.

Out loud, he says, "My name is Doctor Grime Percival Bloodshanks, and we are with the Pathfinder Society. You may call me Doc. We are here to try to help with the ... issues taking place in this manor. Know that, if you mean us no harm, then we mean you no harm, either. Can you tell us, Vilo, how you arrived in your current ... er... state?" He waves his hand vaguely toward the incorporeal figure.

Argoni waves to the ghost. "Hi, I'm Argoni." He turns to the scene of empty shelves, bloodstained papers, and missing notations. "What happened here? This looks like it would have been a lab or at least somewhere to work out experiments. But something ransacked it?"

Jakoby stays back and signals for Ro to do the same, and keeps an eye out, and more importantly, a bowl packed, lit.

~) Refocus (10 min) to (□□) if time

"Hmp. I'm Ikta Biklest. Lumna's been sending out distress signals. She's concerned about the safety of Dr. Treju and the others who worked with her. Hmp. There were sounds of fighting several months ago, and she hasn't seen anyone since. Do you know anything about that?" It's rather ironic that grouchy Itka is dwelling so much on concern for others in her description, but it seems likely that this ghost will be more helpful than hurtful if he knows this.

"Yes. There was a horrible assault upon our manor. Much worse than the intrusions by harpies. Marauders teleported in without warning. I lost my voice during the attack." Vilo continues to wave a ghostly baton in the air, and the spirit-singer reverberates, causing the key Argoni has to sound out Vilo's words.

"Revecka was ordered to put the laboratory on lockdown. It is where our most important research lay. She rejoined the fight afterwards but was left for dead. By the time I... awoke," Vilo stumbles over the right way to describe his undeath, "She was the only one I saw, and she was badly wounded. She had to resort to... extreme measures to stay alive, and she needs to stay in her room at all times."

"Lumna keeps telling me to turn the power off so they can speak to her, but without power she will certainly perish. And I am in no condition to lift or carry things."

"I would love for you to help Revecka. She is in the south room on this floor."

"Perhaps, we can carry it for you?"

Diplomacy is +20

"If you are able to help Revecka escape, I will do everything in my power to help you. Then I may be able to rest." Vilo lingers on that word.

"If you are ready to go, then I can guide you there." You hear the sounds of shouting from another room on the Southern side.

"She had to resort to... extreme measures to stay alive, and she needs to stay in her room at all times."

"Hmp. What sort of 'extreme measures'?" Itka's mind immediately goes to all the varieties of undeath, though Vilo does specifically state "stay alive". Hmmmp... "Hmp. What can you tell us about the marauders?"

We can walk and talk if others are amenable.

"Oh, we met Lumna! She was nice. I guess we can go help Revecka. But can you tell us what you were studying here? What was all this for?"

Works for me. Apologies for ghosting the table. ISP at home is getting unpredictable and cut out early last night.

"I am not completely sure of the details, but there is some kind of tool inside her chest right now. She told me it was necessary. But she has not been very talkative lately. The marauders looked like bugbears, and..." Vilo shudders. "One of them threw a doll at me. I didn't know what to think about it until it grasped my throat. I couldn't breathe, but I knew I had to help Revecka."

As he leads you down the hallway, you see a book thrown out of a room, smashed carelessly against the wall. "That is from Revecka's bedroom!"

This beautiful bedroom is adorned with deep greens accentuated by a few golden decorations. The only surviving painting adorning the wall is made in typical Ustalavic style with dark colors and just a hint of light. A blood trail ends next to an open metal case containing medical gear near the bed.

"Did you see anything yet?" One humanoid winged creature leans against the windowsil. "We've been waiting for the power to shut off, there must be something expensive in here!"

"Why do I have to do all the hard work?" A feminine winged humanoid throws a bedsheet aside before snapping at the man by the windowsil. "We steal, we split the goods. Together. I don't care if you do the scouting, a singer like me shouldn't have to do this hard work."

The two glare at each other before the man raises a clawed hand. "Look, we have company." He turns to you. "We were here first. Scram. Unless you can make it worth our while of course. There's gotta be some scrap metal in here that's worth it."

You have an opportunity to bribe them. Or fight them.

Doc pulls out two of his infused alchemical items. "I have here an elixir of life and an antidote. Worth far more than scrap metal, I think."

The harpies look at each other. "Scrap metal, right. I'm looking for gems, precious materials, that kind of stuff. Otherwise I'm keeping the box." The apparent leader looks at the box by the side of the bed. "Somebody bled for whatever was in here. Must be real powerful stuff."

The group does remember the stone chest full of rare and valuable metals they found after defeating the living magic and oozes.

Jakoby keeps her eyes sharp, her sword down, and lets the others do the talking.

◆) Hunt Prey w/ Monster Hunter w/ Outwit

Doc advances toward the open box with medical equipment and looks it over. "This is medical equipment, but likely requires a professional. The healing items I am offering you can use for yourselves." Doc tries to identify any of the equipment in the chest.

Recall Knowledge (Crafting): 1d20 + 18 ⇒ (14) + 18 = 32

"Precious metals? Like some really shiny and glittery stuff? Hmm, I think we know where you can find some. If we tell, you can go find it and then leave forever. If we catch you in here again, you'll regret it."

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (18) + 11 = 29

Eyes narrowed, Itka glances around quickly to determine the best item to cast Spirit Object on. Hmp. The box'll do. She gives the harpies a moment to choose the better part of valor and leave, though.

The harpy leader puts a razor sharp talon lightly on the medicine chest. "Hey! No peeking, this is ours..."

Argoni makes a different suggestion. "Hmmm... okay, I'm listening little guy. Where is it?"

Argoni glances at the others, but figures it's a better bet than risking more injury. "Ok, it's downstairs in a stone chest. Look for the residue of some oozes, and watch out there might still be more. But you leave that box here for us, and you take your metals and leave."

"Alright, my man!" The leader claps Argoni's backside. "NOW we're talking. Come on, time to get paid and get out of here." The harpies descend downstairs and out of sight.

With the room clear, you can take a break and search around.

On the wall you see a painting consisting of many people in a study, posing for the artist during a cloudy summer day. Most are adults except for two daughters getting a hug from presumably their father. You also see a four-legged beast wearing a silver medallion sitting in front of the group. The signature of Silvu Cioraru lies in the corner of the painting, and you see “To Great Beginnings” engraved on a silver plaque.

One of the people in the picture looks like Vilo, back when he was alive.

Vilo hovers into the room, slightly impatient but he keeps quiet.

Doc puts the letters in his bag. "These will be excellent to include in our report." He eyes the clockwork goggles. "These allow you to see exceptionally well in darkness, as well as to see invisible creatures. The tool any-tool is quite useful." He looks disdainfully at the healing potions, concerned they might carry the taint of divine magic with them. "Seriously, you need to properly label these things with disclaimers."

"Hmp. They're good enough for some of us." Itka scoops up the moderate healing potions and greater antidotes, handing them off to whoever wants one. "Hmp. I can already see in the dark. Anyone else want the goggles?"

"Ah, if we are done here. Revecka's Office is this way." Vilo waits to see if you have any inquires. If you don't, he navigates you towards the Southern room.

The study is filled to the brim with notes and journals along with the smell of ozone and the crackling of electricity arcing between Stasian coils. A large collection of books, most sporting elegant metal bookmarks, covers the desk. A single drawing showing a beautiful woman with differently colored eyes sits in a silver frame at the edge of the desk, her smile warm and filled with hope. A pallid woman stands at the desk, her movements slow and deliberate as she is jotting down a few notes. Vilo points at her and nods in affirmation.

The woman slowly spins around, eyeing all of you. She seems ready for you to attack her. "If you're going to attack me, hurry up already."

Medicine(M): 1d20 + 17 ⇒ (13) + 17 = 30

Isaku holds up his hands in a placating gesture. "Perhaps I can be of help?" He pulls out his healers kit to prepare to treat her.

"Argoni!" Isaku calls, "She appears to need some help. Perhaps you can treat her?"

Worst case, he can use either a potion or a scroll or a wand

Medicine: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (18) + 14 = 32

Argoni pulls his eyes from the stacks of notes and journals, wondering what secrets he might find in there. Isaku's call interrupts his thoughts and he takes his first look at the woman. "Oh. Revecka, I presume? I'm Argoni. Perhaps you'd like to sit for a bit. We'd like to help and we don't want your to exert yourself too much. We have a Doctor here with us, and several of us are trained in medical issues. What are you working on that is so important?"

Do we think Treat Wounds will do anything? Can we tell what's afflicting her?

"Not one step closer..." The woman pants. She turns to face you and one thing is obvious: there's a metal device sticking out of her chest. Argoni and Isaku realize it needs electricity to function, carefully dispersed at the right amount of power over time.

"My name is Revecka. Last of the Ardis Scholars, I'm certain." She coughs. "I have to keep working. I don't have much time."

DC 26 Diplomacy check to Make an Impression can improve her opinion of you and get her to divulge more information.

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 20 ⇒ (19) + 20 = 39

"Revecka. I'm BakBat. We are here and can likely save you, but, we need more information."

A bit of information rattles loose in Itka's skull. "Hmp. Are you related to a woman named Rozla?" She goes on to explain that she was part of a team that found Rozla's remains on an interplanar mission not too long ago. "Hmp. She deserved better than she got. I'm sorry for your loss." Her perpetual frown softens somewhat; she knows full well the weight of loss, despite coming to that knowledge on a different path.

"Rozla? What happened to my sister?" Itka relates the events of the Tomb Between Worlds. "Th-thank you. It means a lot to me, really." She catches her breath. "Okay. BakBat, right? I trust you. Here's what's going on."

Revecka shows you the galvasphere embedded in her chest, along with a red, uneven scar next to it. "Dr. Treju's latest prototype: a galvasphere that can replace a failing heart. Sadly, she didn't have time to perfect the energy storage mechanism, meaning that it must rely on external power. I managed to survive thanks to the power from the laboratory, but that power has become too unstable to power something as delicate as a heart. Unless I can gather the reagents from Anaton's laboratory on the first floor, I won't survive much longer. With those I can make a battery that can last for a week or two, but in my condition, I can't fight the creatures roaming around. If you return the reagents, I can safely remove the lockdown and let you into the laboratory. Afterward, I hope to find help in Ardis."

She's talking about the laboratory downstairs with the stone chest that had living spells and giant oozes. She hands you a list of ingredients. "Can you get them for me? If I can do that then I'll tell you everything."

Jakoby nods, lets the talkers talk, puts her pipe out, and begins tracking the oozes as the party heads downstairs.

GM, I'd like to use Survival for Initiative if allowed - Also, might trigger Monster Hunter (Recall Knowledge)

"Uh, I hope you don't need some precious metals." Argoni grimaces. "We cleared out some of the lab. Had some oozes that were being used for the chemical battery experiments? What sort of things do you need?"

"No, everything I need right now is liquid, alchemical in nature." Revecka coughs. "I wouldn't be surprised if looters raided the mansion and took anything shiny that wasn't bolted down."

Jakoby leads the team downstairs, back to the laboratory. All she sees are harpy feathers leading out one of the windows into the night sky. The metals are gone but everything else is left intact. Argoni follows the instructions and gathers the needed ingredients.

"Thank you." Revecka takes the ingredients and begins working on replacing the battery immediately. "I don't think I'll live through the night without this..."

"We didn't have any warning you know: Bugbear marauders appeared out of nowhere. We realized something was wrong only when we heard Anaton's cries from downstairs. Adelana ordered me to come here and put the laboratory in lockdown. When I returned to join the fight, I was wounded and left for dead. After I stabilized my condition, I looked around for survivors, but I found no one, not even their bodies. It's possible they're still alive, but I have no way of knowing." She pours some of the agents into a vial, mixes them together, and does a quick chemical test to confirm the correct proportions.

"Alright, I think this is ready. In case I bite it during the transfer, the password is-" she has a coughing fit and drops dead right before saying the password like some cliché but easily recovers. "Stormheart."

"Can you two help me here? It's a lot harder to swap it alone... Open the galvasphere and swap out the vial inside with this one. Close it and that should start it up again." She points to Doc Bloodshanks and Argoni.

Doc tries to learn as much as he can by observing this process, then goes to help open the galvasphere and swap the vials.

Crafting check (if needed): 1d20 + 18 ⇒ (9) + 18 = 27

Argoni rushes over to help Revecka. "Yep, I got you, girl!"

Crafting?: 1d20 + 16 ⇒ (6) + 16 = 22

If that's a fail, let me know. Argoni can use Halfling Luck for a reroll

She takes a deep breath and opens the galvasphere. You can see her body struggle to breathe. "Hurry up..." Doc Bloodshanks and Argoni quickly swap out the alchemical vials. As soon as the galvasphere closes she breathes with renews life and energy.

"Oh man, I'm feeling much better..." She stands up, renewed. "Let me turn off the coils." She flips a few switches on her console and the coils power down. "Thank god, that noise was driving me insane. Nothing but hum for the last few months."

"I'll flip the override, so you can access the basement lab. There is a well-stocked animal pen, my father's spirit-transcriber, a few clockwork automatons that Dr. Treju was using as a base for their prototype and Lumna's electrified lodgings that help her maintain their form. The laboratory is in lockdown mode and has plenty of supplies, so everything should still be ok."

Doc nods. "Excellent. I'm glad to hear that, assuredly, nothing unexpected will go awry when we head down there."

"Hmp." Itka snorts derisively at Doc's definitely-not-sarcastic remark. "Hmp. We'll be ready for anything. Do you need anything else before we go down there?"

"No, I need to pack up. I haven't been to my bedroom since I got the galvasphere from the medical box. Now that I can move around a bit, I can get out of here."

After meeting Revecka, you make your way to the basement. But you hear shouting from outside!

A fearful mob gathered outside the manor holding torches, pitchforks, cleavers, and anything else the frightened people of Ilev could use as a weapon. They are led by a >man in his forties wearing a silver butterfly medallion< with images of stars, suns, and moons made with a bright blue enamel. A man with a haunted face is close behind holding a sharp cleaver with a sinister glint in his eyes. You recognize the man with a cleaver, it's Kitsur.

As you walk outside to greet the crowd, Lumna appears beside you, peering at the group with innocent foolishness. "Look, The Entity wears the skin of a human!" Kitsur calls out. "Kill her and the headaches will end!"

"Hold, Kitsur." The man holds a hand to calm him. "I am Saban Procaru. The people of Ilev have been tormented for months by hallucinations. I came to help them and they have led me here. I am inclined to tear this building down brick by brick and banish this haunt." The translucent woman shakes her head and pantomimes, but Saban ignores her. "And yet you stand here. For what purpose? Are you its guardians?"

Kitsur hisses and points. "That Entity is pure evil, Saban! Its Guardians visited me earlier. Now look! They came here to reinforce the place and enhancing their evil patron! We must strike now! Do not listen to their words!" The crowd roars in bloodlust, but Saban remains calm. "I will hear them out, Kitsur!" Kitsur remains quiet for now, but Saban looks at you, observing your every movement. "Time is short, speak your case."

Kitsur's interference increases the difficulty to calm the mob.

You have an opportunity to calm down the fearful mob before they turn violent. Each PC may attempt 2 skill checks. Here are likely methods:
- Religion: Draw a parallel between Lumna or the Scholars and Desna as travelers.
- Arcana or Occultism: Make an Explaination filled with technical jargon that confuses the mob, making them hesitate.
- Intimidation: Inform the mob that the manor is filled with dangerous flammable reagents or paint a picture of untold dangers if they storm the manor.
Other skills may apply if you give a clear explanation.