GD14 - Under the Eye of the Mantis (T3-4) (Inactive)

Game Master Nomadical

**HOUSE GM ANNOUNCEMENT**
Giovana grins approvingly as Rowan the Whispering falters. “So close, Pathfinders. Now finish the job!”

Table GMs, the Silence Broken condition is now in effect.

**HOUSE GM ANNOUNCEMENT**
Zarta Dralneen raises a ward to deflect an errant bolt of magic from a weakening Sotroz. “We’re almost there, darlings. You just need a little push...”

Table GMs, the Cracked Mirror condition is now in effect

Eltis reaches out to Zenari to heal her.
Heal spell, 2nd level: 2d10 ⇒ (6, 4) = 10

Then he tries to put another crossbow bolt into the Big Bad dude.
crossbow: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (2) + 9 = 11
P damage: 2d8 ⇒ (3, 1) = 4

Cast heal, 2 actions
Shoot

"Nomnomnom!" Mrs. Wolfy Crinkle taunts, going into full aggressive-play mode on the prone ghoul beside her.

Bite vs. Yellow: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (20) + 10 = 30
Piercing damage: 1d10 + 6 ⇒ (4) + 6 = 10 x2 for 20

Assuming that kills Yellow...
Next she bounds over to Rowan and tries to trip her too.

Bite to Trip vs. Black Rowan: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (15) + 5 = 20

If Yellow wasn't dead after Mrs. Crinkle's first attack, she'd have finished it off and then ran over to Rowan. Here's the damage roll, if needed:
Piercing damage: 1d10 + 6 ⇒ (4) + 6 = 10

◆ Strike, ◆ Stride, ◆ Strike (Trip)

We got this Ms Zarta

Zenari double slices the ghoul then hits it again.
longsword: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (18) + 13 = 31 slashing: 1d8 + 4 ⇒ (3) + 4 = 7
shortshort: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (5) + 13 = 18 piercing: 1d6 + 4 ⇒ (2) + 4 = 6
longsword: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (19) + 3 = 22 piercing: 1d8 + 4 ⇒ (2) + 4 = 6

If the ghoul is downed, the attacks go to Rowan

"Try not to kill her, darlings!" The Carnelian Signet leaps to and fro against the disciple who is in way over their head.

As Rowan the Whispering’s defeat at the hands of the neophyte Pathfinders becomes imminent, she gets weary. Rowan knocks over several of Sotroz’s ritual foci releasing the animals in the nearest cages. Sotroz turns to see what happened, and the fear of their imminent demise is clear upon their face.

But likewise, as Sotroz weakens at the hands of the veteran Pathfinders, their magic goes awry. Sotroz’s arcane blasts destroy important focal lenses of the faux-aiudara tied to Rowan’s blood, disabling the assassin’s ability to step through the mirrors. This also makes Rowan off-balance, leaving her clumsily trying to find her footing and adjust her tactics.

Eltis reaches out to heal Zenari which is much more effective than he expected, and of course far more effective than his crossbow shot. 2-action heal should be 2d8+16 (adjusted to d10’s by an ability I presume), but either way you left off the extra 16 hp.

Mrs. Crinkle takes one last bite at the ghoul’s belly and severs his spine, leaving the two halves twitching on the floor. She scoots between Zenari and Eltis careful to not interrupt the healing spell, and tries to trip Rowan, but the assassin easily avoids the maneuver.

As the ghoul halves stop twitching, Zenari steps around the corner to attack Rowan. The longsword cuts deeply into the aiuvarin’s thigh.

I had to remove the secondary longsword strike to add in the Stride needed to get Zenari around the corner. First strike was a Crit, second missed.

The Carnelian Signet reminds the team that Venture Captain Viore Ciobanu did ask for you to capture his daughter alive.

Sorry, I should have bolded Adelmare to be able to go at the bottom/top of the round.

Round 3
The Final Confrontation
Conditions: Bless 25 feet around Adelmare
BOLD May Act

Adelmare

Red Disciple (-39, F1, Near Death)

The Carnelian Signet (1 Temp HP, Concealment vs Ranged)
Shalosar

Rowan [Black] (-14, Clumsy 1)

Zenari (-17)
Eltis
Mrs. Crinkle (8 temp hp)

Any black area that might appear to be a wall is thick mud.

Rowan: 18 < AC =< 21 Disciple: 18 = AC

oops. Thanks for the save on that heal. Did completely forget that. Eltis has Healer's Gloves moving the dice to d10's.

**HOUSE GM ANNOUNCEMENT**
When the dust clears, only the Pathfinders are left standing. The remaining undead fall to dust and the few surviving Dispatch agents drop their weapons in surrender as the Society’s victory is complete. Zarta Dralneen and Viore Ciobanu immediately busy themselves with recovering the somewhat unstable aiudara that was constructed here, while Eando Kline walks amongst the agents, giving reaffirming pats on the back and handshakes.

“Exceptional job, everyone. While this might not be the typical mission we undertake for the Pathfinder Society, you still handled it with grace. You should all be proud of yourselves today for what you’ve accomplished.”

Nearby, Red Mantis Assassin Giovana saunters through the opposing forces’ remains, sucking on a piece of alchemical candy and once again cleaning blood from her iconic sawtooth sabers. She pulls the sweet treat past her lips and gives Eando an almost sultry look while tossing him the still-bloody cloth. “You know, the Pathfinders aren’t half-bad in a fight. Maybe we’ll work together again in the future. Perhaps in... closer quarters?”

Eando’s face turns a shade of crimson for a moment as he catches the bloody rag. He then gives Giovana a knowing little smile through his beard as he uses the cloth to clean his own sword, before sending the Pathfinders back home.

I’d like to extend a giant thank you to all the GMs that ran this year’s Special, and all the players that came out to vanquish the dastardly Aspis Consortium. I hope everyone had fun and will make running and playing in our mutli-table specials a regular tradition. Thank you all!

"Well. There may be hope for those two yet!"

"Well. There may be hope for those two yet!"

”I dunno”, Shalosar replies. ”I’ve always heard that mixed marriages don’t work”

"Well then!" The Carnelian Signet lets the flames die out. "At least we got to get rid of those ghouls." She shrugs. "Looks like Eando has yet another admirer!"

Issil spends the trip home thinking about the nightmarish visions Sortoz put in her head. A nightmare she will never allow to come to fruition.

Zenari cleans her own weapons. Well, I'm going for another swim - who's coming with?

"May as well. I need to get this ghoul stench out of my dress."

"Cannonbaaaaall! Heehee!" Mrs. Crinkle knows she could use a bath, too. And a thorough toothbrushing. There isn't enough mint in the world to get the odor of ghoul off her breath for at least a week. Sorry, folks. Just be grateful she didn't bite their feet, armpits, or rumps.

She does everyone the favor of sleeping on the deck near the head for the voyage back to base.

Zenari is curious. She asks Mrs Crinkle if she has a first name. She also makes sure she is not underwater beneath Mrs Crinkle when she does cannonballs.

On the way back she sings sea shanties with the crew, helps out on deck, and sleeps in a large saltwater filled barrel on deck, with a sign on it 'Pirate sleeping - Disturb at your peril'. Of course that gets annotated by the crew.

Zenari is curious. She asks Mrs Crinkle if she has a first name.

"Nope! Heehee!"

Mrs. Crinkle draws a bold "P" over the "sl" of "sleeping" on Zenari's sign.

Zenari cleans her own weapons. Well, I'm going for another swim - who's coming with?

”Swim with an orca?”, asks Shalosar. ”Why not?”

Eltis shrugs, "A swim and a quick bath sound good. I think everyone is covered in blood and ghoul..."

On the way back Eltis happily joins in on the shanties.

Orca? What orca? Although if one does turn up that would be cool

Orca? What orca? Although if one does turn up that would be cool

”You said you’re an orc/undine cross”, says Shalosar with a grin, ”so you could call yourself that”

Zenari giggles - and Shalosar and the others find out later, how much Zenari is at home in the sea.