[ACO] PF2e - 03-13: Guardian's Covenant (P1)

Game Master UncleFroggy

Please dot (add a post) in here and then delete your post to add yourself to this campaign.

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8) Let's have some fun and tell a great story together! After all, that's what we are here for.

Toasty! bounces a bit.

"Greetings fellow Pathfinders! Maybe you've seen my sideshow around Absalom... Will...it... BURN!?!"

Toasty! beams for a moment, showing off his rather burnt staff.

"The sideshow where for a nominal fee we take your items and find out how flammable they are. Long way from home here, but Toasty! can still probably find way to help."

A goblin that had been lurking here, waiting, leaps out at Toasty!, yelling "DANCING!"
It seems threatening momentarily, but rapidly proves to be harmless. Satisfied that Toasty has been "got", the goblin sneaks back into his hiding place to wait for more "victims" to arrive.

A rather shabby Catfolk, who apparently was sleeping in the corner, uncurls from the floor, stretches, takes out a jug of wine, drinks some, and blinks at the goblins.

"Fire? Dancing? I just wanna know who paying Hadrimos," he thumps his chest, "for his next drink."

Watching the others in the room, a man in in robes of white and black and gold trim sighs slightly before adjusting his mask of iron, chuckling at the two goblins and their antics.

"I do agree that our patron could show themselves. It would be bothersome if I couldn't speak to them, to hopefully negotiate terms of employment."

Again, looking towards the others, he seems to ponder before speaking up once more as he thumbs his mask.

"If you would like, I could start with blessings to the Living God before our briefing, lest you are not wanting."

You have traveled the Maze of the Open Road and are gathered around the massive hearth fire in the center of the fledgling Port Valen lodge. Venture-Captain Bjersig Torrsen approaches them with his dog Mahki, his scribe/ interpreter Lirall, and Rahaksenwe.

Go ahead and RP while I run the last player down :)

A dwarf with wild unkempt hair and beard suddenly stumbles through the Maze teleporter. "Wha? Where am I? Someone in the lodge asked if I wanted to become a hero. I asked if that involved beating people up, and apparently they took that as a 'yes' and now I'm here."

He eyes the group, his gaze lingering on one of the goblins. "Oh hey, you're that weirdo who asks for money to burn things. I've seen you around. And you, mask guy, quit the preaching. I'm not buying anything from that 'deity' of yours."

Despite his gruff introduction, he settles in with everyone and seems to be content to hang out.

Venture-Captain Bjersig Torrsen’s oversized gestures convey his excitement. "Welcome to the far side of the map! I don’t know what I was expecting to find here, but it sure wasn’t the hospitality that the locals have shown us. I mean, just look at this new lodge! It’s like we never left home!"

"Speaking of leaving home, we’ve worked alongside Rahaksenwe and other Port Valen leaders to link this lodge to the Maze of the Open Road. They helped us set up the portal so that future Pathfinders won’t need to cross monster-infested waters to get here like we had to. That help wasn’t free, though."

Rahaksenwe nods and explains, "The portal could not have been completed without the blessing of Viltydus, the fey guardian who guides travelers through the Forest of Trials. Viltydus has a keen eye for heroic potential, and their one condition for building and maintaining the portal is that Pathfinder agents must assist them regularly to foster greatness in this region. That’s why you’re here: to hold up your end of that bargain."

Torrsen jumps back in. "So, wash up, get what you need from the quartermaster, and follow the footpath just outside the town gate right to the stump at the edge of the forest. Viltydus will meet you there—somehow, they can always sense when Pathfinders are on the way! Any questions?"

First time running this... so bear with me as I get to know the scenario. Pirate Rob and I almost got killed playing this one...

Hadrimos will get his wine jugs refilled and will get a healing potion from the quartermaster.

Lasha Tumbai leaps out again to dance at Grom with a shriek of "Dancing!" He peers suspiciously at Hadrimos, realising the Catfolk was actually asleep when he danced at him earlier, deciding to dance at him again to be sure. He decides to do a full circuit of everybody just to be sure.
Part way through, his "Handler" Expert Hireling comes back from lunch, sighs, and walks over to the strutting Goblin, expertly fastening a pair of potions onto the Goblin's bandolier. One Minor, one the Lesser that had been collected from the Pathfinder Provisions.
Hearing the sudden jangle of bottles Lasha Tumbai spins around several times like a cat chasing it's tail, then realising what's happened he gives the Handler a thumbs up and continues his dance.
"Don't worry...he's nearly got it out of his system. Once he's happy that you've all 'Witnessed the Dancing' he'll simmer down to a managable level. Probably still won't use the potions himself though. Or the Rapier. He's sort of started to get the hang of the Cloak."
By way of explanation he continues: "Pathfinders found him somewhere up North in the Saga Lands. He was technically a Bandit, but never really got past the leaping out and dancing, so they decided he had the potential to be put to use as a half decent Battledancer. Kitted him out with a Duelist cape and a Rapier, but he usually just sticks to the Dogslicer."
He concludes saying: "Anyway, good luck putting up with all that. Don't mind me...I'll try to stay out of the way...please don't let me die...thank you!" and slips a in a pair of ear plugs.

”We go WEST into the dangerous, weird forest to find Viltydus. He need to witness the DANCING! If he like he might send us to Valenhall. Or not. Maybe he send us to metaphor. Or not.”
Lasha Tumbai shrugs. The shrug ripples into a beat that Lasha bops gently along to.

Heh, interesting, so your hireling is the "main character" and Lasha is the sidekick. :P

Grom takes a few steps back as Lasha aggressively dances at him. He eyes the handler. "Will he listen to us, or do we have to babysit him as well?"

He turns to Rahaksenwe. "So, any information on this Viltydus person? And what will these heroics entail? My guess is you don't become a hero in a single day."

The handler looks up from a notebook and pulls out his earplugs.
"What? Oh, yes...no he's not an...not a complete idiot. He just gets a bit caught up in his dancing. He's even occasionally started to do a fair impersonation of a human when he's trying to be diplomatic. Thinks humans find it easier on the ear than a goblin accent. I mean, he's probably on to something there. He's here for the 'Explore and Co-operate'...I'm mainly here for the 'Report'".
Lasha Tumbai bows an impressive bow, and chips in using a slow, deliberate deep voice, similar to a hammy stage actor: "Good Moaning master Dwarv. Vil ty dus seeks to encourage heroism in da forest. He favours those who play for the love of the game not those with eyes only for the prize."
He finishes with a cough to clear his throat.

"No need to buy anything from Razmir, dwarf. He provides all for who are devout, and who aide his congregation, that I can promise..."

William leaves momentarily to find the quartermaster and grab a scroll of heal to take before returning to the others, catching the last bit of Lasha's performance.

"Yet it is the prize that funds our ventures and self obtained supplies. If you do not want the payment, I could take your share as tithe to send to Razmiran."

Under William's muffled voice is a hint of humor, fully doubtful that anyone would take him on his word. William then turns towards Torrsen while crossing his arms.

"Is there any information as to what kind of trials there have been in previous encounters? It would be a shame to be unprepared."

Toasty! asks half excitedly, half sheepishly.

"The blessing, is it... flammable?"

Under William's muffled voice is a hint of humor, fully doubtful that anyone would take him on his word. William then turns towards Torrsen while crossing his arms.

"Is there any information as to what kind of trials there have been in previous encounters? It would be a shame to be unprepared."

So rude to wear a mask when talking to a deaf Venture-Captain. :P

Toasty! asks half excitedly, half sheepishly.

"The blessing, is it... flammable?"

When the Venture-Captain doesn't answer, William shakes his head slightly before kneeling down to Toasty!'s height.

"Unfortunately no little one, though it does help you stay alive longer if you set yourself ablaze."

He has completely forgotten that the Venture-Captain is deaf, even though he had dealt with him previously, lol.

Lasha seems excited.
"Dis blessing help Lasha dance longer? Yes Please!"
He does the arm wave to leave his right hand out for you to pour some Blessing into.

You travel a short distance beyond Port Valen’s borders toward the forest. A massive stump eight feet in diameter sits at the edge of the wood, and all the surrounding plants and earth seem to direct their focus toward it.

A lithe Mahwek individual stands atop a giant stump, their average height magnified by an awesome presence of personality. Their fingers, lips, ears, eyebrows, and nostrils are richly adorned with dozens of rings, each one made of a different material and etched with varying pictograms and sigils. They speak with a voice like wind in the canopy. "The portal already beckons souls destined for greatness! Welcome, Pathfinders, to the Forest of Trials, a noteworthy juncture in your travels across this vast, beautiful world."

He bids you follow him and he leads you to a revered smithy in Port Valen. "This is Bronzhelm's Smithy." he says, gesturing to a metal sign emblazoned with Bronzhelm’s mark—a winged helm perched on the handle of a morningstar— that hangs above the entrance.

Viltydus cracks their knuckles. "Many dream of greatness, but a dream’s legs often buckle without a sturdy tool to support its weight. Any who brave the Forest of Trials must be well equipped, and such instruments of valor are forged here in the song of fire and steel. I task you to assist our esteemed smith with crafting a tool worthy of a hero, one you’d be honored to receive yourself in the coming years, were you to journey to Valenhall. This is Tonfer. He's presently working on a magical item fit to take to Valenhall."

Tonfer turns to you, saying, "Well met! The item is still mostly unfinished, as I've been putting off the procedure for imbuing the item with magic since 'that step always seems to go awry.' Crafting magical gear so close to a site of legend is tricky: the forge fire takes on a life of its own, and sometimes spirits of grandeur inhabit the items and try to exert their own will. You must be ready to fend off such creatures as we collaborate to finish the item."

You are making an Arcadian blunderbuss.
Skills: Society, Thievery, or Lore (any settlement or other topic closely associated with firearms)

You need to make three skill checks to complete the item. A different PC must attempt each of the three checks, and the remaining PCs can use any of the allowed skills to Aid the PC making the primary check with that skill. PCs not assisting (or making the primary check) may use an exploration mode activity to be ready for battle, such as Avoid Notice, Defend, or Repeat a Spell.

Grom takes a look inside the forge. "These 'spirits of grandeur,' what do they look like, or do, exactly? And what do they want? Do they want to steal or corrupt the item, or take the magic for themselves?"

To the party, he says, "I'm afraid I'm not of much help, don't know much about forging weapons. I can help stoke the forge, if that's of use."

Not trained in any of these skills, and I doubt Pathfinder Society Lore would count.

After a quick introductory dance Lasha seems quite keen to see what's going on and join in.
"Lasha like Smithy places...have good rhythms."
His body will pulse along eagerly to any hammering that occurs.
"Blunderbuss look like some kind of starter pistol, yes?"
"Sure you not want make Tap Shoes? Or Cane? Everyone loves badges...need nice pin for flappy cloak."
Lasha shrugs again and then becomes hyper focused trying to help.
Going to spoiler three rolls so they can be used as required. Will label them Primary, Aid, Aid, but if it is judged that someone else should be a primary rather than Lasha then use it as another aid.

Aid Thievery: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (9) + 10 = 19

Toasty! bounces up and down excitedly.

"Ohh, Toasty! knows about precursor to big boom. Here's how to get powder to burb best."

Flammability Lore: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (1) + 13 = 14
Hero Point: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (3) + 13 = 16

As the group makes their way towards the edge of the forest, William blesses Lasha, Toasty! and Ulvard with the powers he had obtained from the worship of Razmir.

Lesha, Toasty!, Ulvard, and William get 12 Temporary Hit Points from Call Upon Razmir’s Benevolence ◆◆

Looking around, a sound of amusement comes from under William's mask while he picks up and tests various tool balances and feel.

"I do like a good forge, and as for tales of heroes, this could help the spread of His word amongst the folks here. I can help with what is needed."

William will aid as best he can, knowing that he isn't an expert in things not Razmiran, or things concerning firearms.

Between Toasty!'s staff of fire and all the gunpowder Toasty! politely requests the occasional re-application of Razmir's Benevolence.

Always obliging to those who help him and not besmirch Razmir, William will give Toasty! a blessing every minute or as needed.

DC is 20, btw. Sorry I didn't indicate it. Since all your aid rolls are above the DC, I'll just use it.

Lasha, with Hadrimos' help manage to add one of the finishing touches. William remembers a factoid or two and adds his touch as well. Toasty! tries to recall something about fire but doesn't quite remember anything useful. Grom and Ulvard stand around and look dangerous...

"We're doing great! Almost done.. Let me put the final touch and ..." Suddenly something emerges... two somethings, actually. A pair of flaming rats step out of the forge and attack you!

"Oh my! This has never happened before! I'll hold the weapon! You deal with these... things"

COMBAT TRACKER
Round: 1
Tactical Map
Special Conditions:
* Any creature that either enters the purple squares or starts their turn in 1 needs to make a DC 22 Fort Save or be Sickened 1
* Everything within the purple square (including the rodent) is concealed
* The rat is immune to the above effects (of course!)

Before your Turn:
------------------
Those with ** may go

**Lasha Tumbai - AC 20 (21 w/Dueling Cape) 54/54 (temp hp: 12/12)
Yellow
Toasty! - AC 24 78/78 (temp hp: 12/12)
Ulvard - AC 20 53/53 (temp hp: 12/12)
GM
Grom Brightbeard - AC 21 (22 w/shield) 46/46 (temp hp: 12/12)
Hadrimos - AC 22 52/52 (temp hp: 12/12)
Pink
William Borthon - AC 23 68/68 (temp hp: 12/12)

Lasha approaches the smoke to try and spot the rat things. Thinking he can take them by surprise he launches himself in then tries to give it a good chopping.

Action 1 ◆ Stride S, S
Action 2 ◆ Tumble Through S, S, SW
Action 3 ◆ Confident Finisher vs PURPLE

2) Acrobatics(E): 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (12) + 15 = 27 (I’m a Bouncy Goblin.)
Fort Save(E)1d20+9[/dice: 3d6d1d20 ⇒ (7, 15, 10, 17, 8, 9, 15, 5, 13, 13, 11, 15) = 138
(+1 Striking Dogslicer) to hit#1 vs PURPLE(flanked?): 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (2) + 11 = 13
Confident Finisher, S Agile, Finesse, Backstabber : 2d6 + 2 + 2d6 ⇒ (1, 3) + 2 + (2, 5) = 13
+1 from Backstabber

Apologies. We’ve gone to the seaside as a family. Free time and signal are worse than usual. I’m also struggling to move my pog on the map. I’m hoping to be flanking with Hadrimos if the Tumble worked.

And I’ve no idea what happened with that fort save. There’s nothing in the notepad I copy and pasted from that looks like the 3d6 bit.
Fort Save(E): 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (3) + 9 = 12
Aha. Missing square bracket?

Sorry about not posting, for some reason I was only getting updates on the discussion thread, not the main gameplay, and I thought I had dotted in. Doesn't look like I missed anything too important yet.

And there was meant to be a flat check for concealed too.
1d20 ⇒ 4

Southwest would be outside the forge (through the wall). The best I can put you is south of Purple, which isn't a flank unfortunately)

Lasha charges the pink rat. He fearlessly enters the cloud and immediately gags from the acrid fumes. He tries stabbing at the rat but misjudges its location. He does, however, manage to clip something.

The Yellow Rat sees Toasty! right in front of its face and tries to munch on it...

Jaws vs Toasty! AC 24: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (20) + 10 = 30 for Fire: 1d8 + 4 ⇒ (3) + 4 = 7 plus 1d4 persistent fire
Jaws vs Toasty! AC 24, MAP: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (8) + 5 = 13
Jaws vs Toasty! AC 24, MAP 2+: 1d20 ⇒ 18

It somehow manages to clamp its jaws on a meaty arm...

------------------
COMBAT TRACKER
Round: 1
Tactical Map
Special Conditions:
* Any creature that either enters the purple squares or starts their turn in 1 needs to make a DC 22 Fort Save or be Sickened 1
* Everything within the purple square (including the rodent) is concealed
* The rat is immune to the above effects (of course!)

After your Turn:
DC 15 Flat Check vs 1d4 Persistent Fire: Toasty!
------------------
Those with ** may go

Lasha Tumbai - AC 20 (21 w/Dueling Cape) 54/54 (temp hp: 12/12; S1)
Yellow
**Toasty! - AC 24 76/78 (1d4 Persistent Fire)
**Ulvard - AC 20 53/53 (temp hp: 12/12)
GM
Grom Brightbeard - AC 21 (22 w/shield) 46/46 (temp hp: 12/12)
Hadrimos - AC 22 52/52 (temp hp: 12/12)
Pink (-3; 13 < AC)
William Borthon - AC 23 68/68 (temp hp: 12/12)

Toasty! resists fire 3, so should have 1 temp hp left.
fort vs sickened: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (10) + 13 = 23

"Yay! Fire!" screams Toasty!

before sadly remembering that if they are using fire against him, he likely shouldn't use fire against them.

Sadly Toasty! empowers their staff with cold and swings at the adjacent rat.

concealment DV5 vs yellow: 1d20 ⇒ 5
Spellstrike(Ray of Frost) vs Yellow: 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (10) + 15 = 25
B + Cold damage: 2d6 + 4 + 4d4 ⇒ (2, 3) + 4 + (3, 2, 2, 1) = 17
+2 Fire damage(I suspect ineffective) from Torch Goblin

Toasty! then gathers up the floating bits of power and enters his arcane cascade.

crit persistent fire: 2d4 ⇒ (4, 4) = 8
Flat 10(Torch Goblin) to end: 1d20 ⇒ 12
Resists Fire 3. eats last THP and 4 real ones. Fire is out

Ulvard roars his challenge out at the rats. It certainly sounds pretty impressive. Then quickly drawing his greatsword, he charges forward, swinging at the rat with yellow fur.

fort vs sickened: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (8) + 10 = 18
strike: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (18) + 10 = 28
concealed flat check: 1d20 ⇒ 14
damage, rage: 1d12 + 4 + 3 ⇒ (9) + 4 + 3 = 16

O Rapid rage
* interact (draw weapon)
** sudden charge