(PF2 - Gameday XIV) @ “Claws of the Tyrant” part one “Gravelands Survivors”

Game Master rainzax

Barlespin switches it up and lands two solid whacks tandem with Squishy's bomb. (20 damage and Enfeebled Corpelight, 1 splash Barlespin and Agnes for no effect)

Squishy administers excellent aid, restoring much vigor to Agnes, who, tackles the Boney Corpselight to the ground! (Prone, Grappled Corpselight)

It explodes into a pile of bones - the combined assault, with it's weakness to blunt damage, destroys the vessel, as well as the occupying entity!

Encounter Over

The party takes stock.

To Do:
1) Short Rest or Keep Moving?
2) If Short Rest, QM needs to know how much Time is taken!

Marius rushes up to support Red and Barlespin in melee combat, but the corpselight goes dark as he arrives. "Well done, all. That was a nasty undead creature. I hope the other buildings are without them."

Marius inspects Red's wounds. "Looks like Squishy was able to heal most of this, but some still could use some bandaging. If we can spare the time, I should be able to help."

One vote for a quick Treat Wounds.

I am unhurt, so I have no say in the matter. Squishy and Agnes are the only ones damaged, right? Though I agree that if Agnes is missing 10 HP, a quick round of medicine would be a good idea. I'm also trained in Medicine, so I can patch up a second person.

"Phew, good work, everyone. Sorry I couldn't be of more help, but it looks like you guys had it. You feeling okay, Squishy and Agnes?"

Agnes, you didn't need to stow the shortsword. Both trip and grapple need one free hand, and the shortsword is a one-handed weapon.

GM, could you give us more of a description of this enemy? It looked like a regular skeleton, but from your description it sounded like something "riding" the skeleton.

"Phew, good work, everyone. Sorry I couldn't be of more help, but it looks like you guys had it. You feeling okay, Squishy and Agnes?"

Agnes is at 25/36

Agnes, you didn't need to stow the shortsword. Both trip and grapple need one free hand, and the shortsword is a one-handed weapon.

Agnes had no free hand at the time. She had drawn a club in order to deal bludgeoning damage. Although I did forget that I took monk dedication and didn't actually need a club to deal bludgeoning damage.

GM, could you give us more of a description of this enemy? It looked like a regular skeleton, but from your description it sounded like something "riding" the skeleton.

Looking like a will-o-wisp (floating eerie light) inhabiting a bone corpse long decayed of flesh, it had the ability to corpse-hop from host husk to host husk.

The party decides to rest a moment to get Agnes and Squisky back to full strength.

Go ahead and roll your checks and report back the Time spent!

"I agree with Agnes, let's get in the building and take care of healing there. Jystolo, get away from that! Do not put that piece of the undead in your mouth!"

Despite the map, I initially thought the corpselight hit us when we entered the cathedral. If we're outside, I definitely think we should get in the building and then healers can do that while others are searching.

Medicine to Treat Wounds: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (8) + 8 = 16
HP to Red: 2d8 ⇒ (4, 6) = 10

"Red, we can spare ten minutes. Let me do a quick poultice and wrapping."

Given commentary in the OOC thread, I believe we can safely spend 10 minutes.

@Agnes: ah, you're right. Missed that part, sorry for correcting you when it wasn't necessary.

Malendyl tends to Squishy's health while Marius helps Agnes recover.

Medicine to Treat Wounds: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (14) + 6 = 20
Healing for Squishy: 2d8 ⇒ (4, 2) = 6

Despite Malendyl not being used to treating a plant-like body, he does a decent job at it, but he cannot help question his patient about their body.

"So... Squishy - may I call you Squishy, or do you prefer your full name? Normally, when a bone is broken, I'd set it, but I'm not sure what to do if you were to snap a limb. Do you have bones like we do, or is it more like wood? I guess the principle is that same, but I've just never seen it in practice..."

Also, I'm not familiar enough with Alchemist and especially the Chirurgeon subclass. do you recover your Versatile Vials automatically, or do you still need to spend some time making them? If it's the former, that's easy healing.

Malendyl takes some time to patch Squishy's wounds.

Sqishy @ full, Agnes @ 25/36 HPs, 10 minutes pending

Once they take their Short Rest (Awaiting rolls / time for Agnes), the party decides just how to set up what is effectively ransacking the church for useable goods...

How many people will GM roll Search for? And the others, will you Scout, Defend, etc, just in case something comes up? For now, there is no need to Evade the Undead (that is for between locations) nor Watch Jystolo (he is cooperable per previous rolls this "round")...

Approaching the church door, someone listens in... all quiet...

Squishy recover materials while they patch Agnes' wounds.
Crafting to Treat Wounds: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (2) + 8 = 10

Fail to Treat Agnes, recovers 2 versatile vials

"Sorry, seems your wounds are harder to heal, take this for now." Squishy offers once of her versatile vials after adding something to it to become drinkable.
Versatile Vial, Coagulant: 1d6 ⇒ 2 HP to Agnes

They also pull out a minor elixir of life for Agnes.
Minor Elixir of Life: 1d6 ⇒ 6 HP to Agnes

Agnes: 25 HP + 2 HP + 6 HP = 33 HP

After that, Squishy goes to Search mode with sickle still in one hand.

Squishy, Marius healed Agnes to nearly full, you don't need to waste consumables. Maybe the one Versatile Vial to top off that one remaining hit point.

Also, I forgot Squishy could heal with Crafting. I'll refrain from rolling Medicine from now on, both Marius and Squishy are 2 better than I am. Unless they are occupied, of course.

Thanks, I missed it. Just found Red is also Agnes. Will keep the minorelixir of life then.

Squishy, I am holding you to what you rolled Here. Ignoring the treat wounds due to name mismatch, this leaves you one elixir down, but Agnes to nearly full, and all done in 10 minutes

Marius tends Agnes while Squishy administers vials and elixirs.

Sqishy @ full, Agnes @ 33/36 HPs, 10 minutes Short Rest

Looking at Red’s minor scratches, the party decides whether to spend more time healing, or, to get on with the Search, or to Split Up!

To Do:
1) Move on right now, everyone Searching (or Scouting, other explore activity), no time cost
2) Move on partially, some remaining behind to give / receive healing, the rest Searching (or other), no time cost, but fewer Searchers
3) Move on after extending Short Rest another 10 minutes or longer, but costing time, and everyone Searching (or other)

Quorum three on Option 1, 2, or 3

If Agnes was at 25/36, and Marius healed for 10, then together with Squishy's versatile vial (or quick vial via Quick Alchemy) she would be at full. I am not sure why we would do anything other than #1 at this point, but I am open for an argument if I'm missing something.

Barlespin impatiently stands around, keeping Jystolo out of trouble in the street outside the church while Agnes gets healed up by the cleric. He motions Jystolo over and says, softly, "Okay, we have a few minutes here, kid ... You get one question now. What ya got?"

Jystolo retreats to a corner, and stays with the other Survivors.

He doesn't yet seem to be in a querisome mood...

...in any case, while Malendyl looks out from a clever hiding spot (Scout / Avoid Notice), the rest of the party ransacks the church inside (4x Search)...

The inside has already been ransacked, and evidence of multiple squirmishes depict a scene in which multiple waves of undead wiped out the congregation, many of whom seem to have later risen themselves, and now roam the town and beyond...

The party recovers from the wreckage the following items:

For any item with a listed DC, each PC may roll once to attempt to Identify Magic (10 minutes per check)

⚔Ω⚔Ω⚔Ω ⚔Ω⚔Ω⚔Ω ⚔Ω⚔Ω⚔Ω

1 hour spent, prior to rolling (Marius has rolled to Treat Wounds on Agnes so far - Barlespin, Malendyl, and Squishy have 10 "free" minutes to give)

Having searched the Church thoroughly, the party decides...

...where to go next!

Arcana: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (7) + 5 = 12

Barlespin gets intrigued by a curious trinket ... so intrigued with its cultural and historical significance that that he isn't actually able to focus on identifying anything magical about it.

When everyone finishes up what they're doing, he says, "On to the smithy then?"

"I mean, we could ask Rokvel if they've left anything behind that could be useful. But it's been 6 years, not sure if they can remember."

I think I never got a gender on Rokvel, and I don't want to presume, so going with they/them for now.

"Honestly, all the locations in town seem like a good option. Just get as much done as possible before night falls."

My personal preference would be to visit either General Goods, the inn, or the restaurant for supplies on the road, but more armaments always seems good.

Malendyl murmurs a quick prayer while still looking out for danger. Ideally he'd head into the church himself, but this'll have to do.

Can I identify as well, or am I completely occupied with scouting? I'm fine if it's the latter, just wondering.

Barlespin nods to Malendyl. "Good idea!" He turns to Rokvel, "Know of anything useful left behind in the smithy for us to look for? Should it be high or low on the priority list?"

"Hope’s Breath Inn is right across the street. Let's go there. The less time we spend out in the open the better."

Marius immediately notices the holy water. "Good to know that some purified items have survived this long."

While Barlespin looks at the trinket, Marius uses that time to attempt to identify the mace. "A mace will always come in handy."

DC 16 Religion to ID Mace: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (4) + 8 = 12

"But, it's unlike most I've seen. Maybe I'll figure it out later. Since the inn is closest, let's go there first."

A4) Hope’s Breath Inn

The party decides to head over to the Inn, before or after Identifying the loot they found at the Church.

Exploration to Next Location (Keep? Change? Post!)
Barlespin w/ ✋✋ amulet, buckler, hand x-bow @ Watch Jystolo, in Middle
Malendyl w/ ✋s empty @ Avoid Notice / Scout (+2), in Back
Marius w/ ✋ shield @ Search, in Back
Red w/ ✋ shortsword @ Search, in Front
Squishy w/ ✋ sickle @ Evade Undead, in Front

...Looking back and forth, the party prepares to cross the street. Just before they go, a trio of walking dead stumble by and everyone hides. And when the coast is clear...

Squishy and Barlespin, please roll openly! Marius and Red, please spoiler your rolls! (Anyone is free to Change their Exploration Mode before their roll)

...Once a cheery place filled with laughter and music, this inn’s hearth fires have long since darkened. The building’s second story has collapsed almost entirely, blanketing the ground with shingles and exposing its interior to the elements...

Marius follows the same tactic from before - shield at the ready, eyes wary.

Barlespin quietly explains to Jystolo the answer to his question as they cross toward the Inn. As he moves, he switches his weapon back to his loaded hand crossbow.

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (13) + 8 = 21

Keeping my exploration tactic.

"I agree with Agnes, let's search through these buildings methodically. No need to expose us any more than we need to."

Should we do a vote for the remaining buildings, or do it on a case by case basis? I'm fine with deciding one at a time, but flavourfully Malendyl wants to plan the optimal path. :P

Apologies for the hold up. Work audit is exhausting.

Inside the church...
Trained in religion "Holy water, this will be useful." they place them on their pouch.

Squishy continues to Evade Undead for the group if needed, or Search if they feel there is no imminent danger as they move toward the Inn.
Undead Lore to Evade the Undead: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (1) + 8 = 9
Hero Point! Undead Lore to Evade the Undead: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (15) + 8 = 23 (+5 modifier if Searching)

@Malendyl, either way works for me.

Overrun Inn!

Jystolo sticks close to Barlspin, still not asking any questions, but remains cooperative. For the time being. Meanwhile, Squishy routes one group of wandering zombies while the party quickly crosses the street.

Danger Points: 1

While Malendyl sticks to the shadows keeping a high vantage point, Agnes and Marius stop just before the door to Hope’s Breath Inn. They hear the telltale sounds of another pack of zombies trapped inside...

Inside: a Severe Encounter mini-hoarde of low-level zombies! (Marius CS to Search!)

...fortunately, it doesn't seem that they have the means to break through themselves. At this junture, the party decides whether it's even worth it to break in and loot the Inn!

A Choice:
1) Make some preparations, and open the door, unleashing them?
2) Leave the Inn behind, and travel to another location, sacrificing 30 minutes (half a "village round") to Regroup?

If #1)
a) Declare any preparations (1-minute spells, consumables, etc)
b) Choose someone with a free hand (✋) as the Door Opener
c) Roll Initiative (Door Opener may elect to roll Athletics)

If #2)
a) Take a "free" 10 minute break (ex: to ID items ((must use hero point to re-roll)))
b) Choose a New Location
c) Roll again for Exploration Modes (Watch Jystolo, Evade Undead, Scout/Avoid, Search)

Quorum of 3!

Jystolo looks towards Barlespin with wide eyes full of fear and shakes his head "no"!

Barlespin also shakes his head. "I'm with the kid on this one. I don't think there's any benefit in bothering with the inn at this point."

If it looks like the group is going toward option #1, though, he offers, "If we are going to let those out, though, let me set up a snare for them to trip as they stumble out."

On the phone right now.

Squishy nods. ”We are risking exposing our people. Better keep our heads down and continue looking for anything useful.”

Voting #2.

"They seem contained for now. Let's go to the Mordesha House Lodge over there. Those Pathfinders are known graverobbers. If there's anywhere in town besides the cathedral with anything useful against undead it's there." She points to the old Pathfinder Society lodge next door.

The party decides to Reroute.

Agnes suggests Mordesha House, while the rest of the group...

Two more votes for Mordesha or three for another location...

Barlespin decides whether he has time to leave a Snare beside the door as the party leaves...

Barlespin - is this something you can do in 10 minutes or less? If yes, go ahead and deploy a Snare as an additional precaution!

Barlespin nods to Agnes. "Makes sense to me. Let's move on."

Using his newfound skills, Barlespin sets up an alarm snare from his daily preparations, with a high enough alarm radius that they'll hear it at Mordesha House if the zombies get out, but the sound won't alert anyone much further than that.

That takes ◆◆◆ from the Snarecrafter Dedication

Malendyl nods. "Too bad we can't use the inn, but it seems like a whole lot of risk for not enough gain. Let's play it safe. Mordesha House seems good."

"Yes, better to avoid a bunch of zombies if we can, though it pains me to stay that. I always prefer to purge the undead if we can, but we are not equipped for that fight. The lodge is the next best option, yes."

While we await Evade Undead, Watch Jystolo, and spoilered Search checks...

A5. Mordesha House Lodge
An unusual symbol is cobbled into the limestone face of this fanciful building, which stands tall amid the neighboring ruins. Judging from the broken furniture inside the structure, the building seems to have been designed to house a multitude of guests.

A PC trained in Society recognizes this symbol as the Glyph of the Open Road

...the party proceed cautiously...

Watch Jystolo (Diplomacy): 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (11) + 8 = 19

Barlespin continues to competently babysit.

Squishy goes ahead in keeping the undead's attention away from them.

Undead Lore to Evade Undead: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (20) + 8 = 28

Malendyl beams with pride as he watches Squishy avoid the undead like a pro. He throws a thumbs up at them as they look in his direction.

Squishy's diligence buys the party time!

CS: I will "refund" you the "lost" 30 minutes, effectively letting the team travel faster throughout the rest of the evening. Danger Points won't go lower than 1.

The party sacks the Pathfinder Lodge. Their efforts recover a locked trunk, too heavy to carry (probably? 8 bulk).

Athletics (DC 25) to Force Open (-2 unless crowbar), or Thievery (DC 22) to open with 3 Successes. Critical Failure means that PC has to stop rolling with that skill (but someone else may try). Critical Failure with Athletics raises the DC to Thievery by +2 per CF as well.

With about 3 hours remaining, the party selects their final 3 locations for the night!

"I, unfortunately, don't have the manual dexterity for picking locks. I'd say someone go with finesse first, but if that fails ..." He grabs his crowbar off his toolbelt.

With about 3 hours remaining, the party selects their final 3 locations for the night!

Barlespin awaits with his crowbar to see if anyone can manually open the secret latch, while the party debates where to head next...

Added a link, lowering quorum to 2 to expedite

"Well, we are close to the residential district. What say we take care of searching that next?"

I have Thievery +7, but I don’t have a Thieves’ Toolkit.

Squishy, seeing Malendyl’s approval of their effective distraction of the approaching undead, gives a thumbs up in return to assure them that all is well on their end and that the undead are held at bay.

Once Squishy confirms the area is clear, they head toward where the others went. They volunteer to open the chest while the rest decide on their next move.

If anyone has a higher modifier, Squishy will step back and let them handle it; otherwise, they’ll attempt to unlock it.

"The Residential District sounds good to me." they agree with Barlespin.

A7) Residential District
Most of the residential homes in Yua’s Hope were built along the western side of town, a fact that makes the absolute destruction of this district even more tragic. A handful of walls, none more than a few feet in height, remain standing today. The rest of the buildings are utterly demolished, their former existence fading as tendrils of sickly green vines reclaim the stones...

Exploration rolls!

Also: Is anyone actually from Yua's Hope? (Did you grow up here?)

Squishy realizes that they can actually create a shoddy version of thieves’ toolkit and some infiltrator’s pick. Looking around, they find materials that they can use to create them. They excitedly gathers them and begins tinkering.
Crafting to Cobble Together: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (17) + 8 = 25

Once they are created, they proceed to unlocking the chest and inspects the loot inside it.

Open Locked Trunk (Contents) spoiler for content.

Agnes is from Yua's Hope. Her family owned and ran a roadside tavern, The Bearded Goose.

Agnes pulls out her crowbar and attempts to open the chest.

force open DC25: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (19) + 8 = 27

"The Open Pot is across the street. We should check it out while we're close.

Diplomacy to Watch Jystolo: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (15) + 8 = 23

Marius is not from Yua's Hope.

After Agnes skillfully opens the trunk with the help of her crowbar, Marius helps categorize the finds. "Coins - perhaps helpful if we end up in a village. A scroll - could be helpful after we take time to identify it. And a wayfinder. Seems we found a Society member's footlocker."

As the group makes their way to the residential district - or what's left of it, Maris keeps an eye out as usual.