PFS1 #2-26: The Mantis's Prey (GM Mike...R) [Outpost IX]

Game Master Mike...R

Welcome to the game. I've added a link to the signup sheet at the top of the page, if you could add the reporting details for your character to it before the start of the con that would be fantastic (I'll also be adding a link for the slides later). You should also dot and delete in the gameplay thread to get yourself added to the game.

We're due to kick of the scenario on the 2nd of March. Information about posting expectations for the game, botting policy etc... can be found in my GM profile here, so its worth making sure that you have checked those before we start.

I've now added the link to the Maps and Handouts slides. The maps on page 3 show the location of the Foreign Quarter in Absalom, where the Pathfinder Grand Lodge is located, along with a map of the Grand Lodge itself showing the location of the Water Palace. On page 4 there is also a picture of Venture-Captain Shevala Iorae who the party are currently on their way to meet.

Page 5 of the slides is for additional character information and character tokens. If you can get all of that information filled in before the start of the game that would be very much appreciated.

With the start of the game a week away, feel free to do character introductions as the party make their way towards the Water Palace.

You see a large sized (yes not just big but LARGE) THREE armed half orc in robes wielding a dagger. When you shake his hand (will save dc 11) you realize it is an illusion and you see a creature (kn local -?? merrow ) in white dragon hide plate with a white dragon hide shield, wielding an admanatine nodachi.

"Greetings, I am John Smith, born in Avistan, but most recently from the Mwangi, where I live with my wife Pocahontas, who is also a Pathfinder. Pardon the illusion, but common folk get distressed seeing a Merrow walking about, but I find myself more ready for combat in this form, and you don't always get time to prepare. Looking like a sorcerer or an alchemist also throws off any of those with ill intent.

I can handle animals, survive in the wild, moderately capable at spotting and disabling traps, and while underground I can spot dangers up to 10 feet away without having to concentrate. My main function is combat, though I have a few druidic spells for utility, like faerie fire to counter displacement and invisibility.

This is my animal companion, Battlecat. (Brigantine wearing large cat). That is what he calls himself not me, but I respect that. He is reasonably able to trip enemies (greater trip) and allow us to attack them as they fall. He understands druidic. If anyone would like him as a mount he has a military saddle and I can instruct him to let you ride him.

With the game starting in a few days time can everyone make sure they have dotted into the game and competed the other activities noted at the start of this thread so I can make sure everyone is here and ready to go. Thanks!

Sorry I'm late to show up; BTW, where's the normal player-info request/form?

BTW, where's the normal player-info request/form?

For the player signup and information I need adding to the slides, plus anything else that is needed before the start of the game, take a look at my three posts at the start of this discussion thread.

Hello GM, Andor knows Torch quite well actually.

See this chronicle sheet and the last boon ‘Torch’s respect’.

Ah good, that's useful to know.

I've taken the liberty of giving everyone a fitting and distinctive color/shape signature - hope everyone likes them (We're Magically Delicious!)!

OMG that moon token made me laugh.
Wow this is going to be one huge combat. Glad I am going later in the turn . Allie will be on defend as default but might be difficult with lack of room.

Xilt, did you use the waterproofing I gave you?

Great battle field control and attention to detail GM! Respect!! :-D

Thanks! The narrow battlefield makes things a bit tricky for both sides, so I'm glad the bad guys have a few tricks up their sleeves to help them get around that.

Thanks for everything GM!

Regarding the damage: Andor is fine.

@Dr. Zephyrus Vitruvian - There is Life Bubble on everyone which should protect their gear from getting wet. Xilt will apply it after combat anyways as it has a longer duration. Thanks. :)

I just looked that spell up; wow. If I'd known about that, I'd have targeted the enemy a square closer, which would've reduced my cover penalty AND caught one more enemy in the cloud! That is certainly very good to know about!

So with life bubble we can all just waltz through my Plague clouds...what an incredible combination.

^Indeed. :)

This encounter seems to be in the bag, so I'll give an OOC heads-up: I'll want to reanimate one of the assassins - the slight snag is doing so will take an hour. Do we have that kind of time? Maybe we can forge ahead for 30-45 minutes or so and then come back for it.

^1 hour delay is not going to work here. We are looking at perhaps a 1 to 2 minute delay for people to loot, heal up or maybe mix up an extract or two. We are invading a lair and on the clock. However on the way out we should have all the time you need to animate your monster. :)

Skipping that round, pretty much over at this point yeah

On the question around what sort of zombies a Reanimator can create... After falling down a sizable rabbit hole of impassioned arguments on the forums around what can and can't be created using animate dead under PFS rules, I've managed to piece together enough official rulings to safely conclude the following:

1. In PFS the animate dead spell and its "lesser" version can be used to create skeletons and zombies using the "Creating a Skeleton" and "Creating a Zombie" rules on pages 250 and 288 of the Bestiary.
2. The variant skeletons and zombies in those sections of the Bestiary are however not legal options for the animate dead spell in PFS.
3. That said the Simple Reanimation ability of the Reanimator alchemist specifically mentions it allows variant zombies and (to my knowledge at least) there are no official PFS rulings which remove this. So on that basis the creation of variant zombies is legal using Simple Reanimation in PFS.
4. However, as the animate dead spell in the Core Rule Book only mentions the skeletons and zombies in the first Bestiary, only the variants in that book are allowed for PFS.
5. Although the books containing the other variant zombies are covered in the Additional Resources document, the variants are not among the bits of those books which Additional Resources makes legal for PFS.

So long story short... Simple Reanimation can be used to create standard zombies, Fast Zombies and Plague Zombies but not any of the other variants in PFS.

Regarding the hit dice - Applying the zombie template removes hit dice gained from class levels, so turning a medium human of any class level into a standard zombie would result in a 2 hit dice zombie. You would also need to make sure you had the 25gp per HD of onyx (i.e. 50gp for a 2 hit dice zombie) which would be consumed in the use of the extract.

So long story short... Simple Reanimation can be used to create standard zombies, Fast Zombies and Plague Zombies but not any of the other variants in PFS.

Fast Zombies are certainly a good choice for most purposes, but I don't suppose you'd be willing to add one more possibility on sheer 'common-sense' grounds (other DMs have been willing to go even further, so I'm pretty sure you're able so long as you're willing)?:

Alchemical Zombie:This zombie has been created through alchemical processes rather than necromantic magic. As such, positive energy has less effect on it, giving it channel resistance +2. Its alchemically treated flesh is also more resistant to damage, granting it an additional +2 bonus to its natural Armor Class above that which it gains based on its size. (CR +1)

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Of course I always carry quite a bit of onyxOrvian black salt with me; the Humanoid-HD problem is a new one to me that no DM before has brought up, but that's fine, I guess I'll just have to save it for a different kind of monster.

Fast Zombies are certainly a good choice for most purposes, but I don't suppose you'd be willing to add one more possibility on sheer 'common-sense' grounds (other DMs have been willing to go even further, so I'm pretty sure you're able so long as you're willing)?:

Quote:

Alchemical Zombie:This zombie has been created through alchemical processes rather than necromantic magic. As such, positive energy has less effect on it, giving it channel resistance +2. Its alchemically treated flesh is also more resistant to damage, granting it an additional +2 bonus to its natural Armor Class above that which it gains based on its size. (CR +1)

Unfortunately while they may be thematic, alchemical zombies are not a legal option for PFS.

Not posting for the moment, outside of the initial diplo check there's little I can realistically do atm

Due to some real life stuff I'm going to have limited availability to post over the next two to three days and won't have access to my computer. I'll try to keep things moving if I can, but won't be able to pull together any complex posts as I'll only be able to post from my phone.

Letting the others decide the next course of actions, not sure myself to go where next

Andor, it seems you never acknowledged what I did here; I just want to make sure you caught it.

DM, I am of course curious: What other monsters might've been summoned if I'd chosen a different relief to press?

Also, time and victory permitting, I think I've just found today's "special patient"...!

Oh! I don't know if this would make any difference, but when I made my Sense Motive check, I totally forgot I'd taken a perceive cues infusion back at Torch's place, so provided it's been less than 100 minutes since then, my result should've been 5 higher.

In fact, it should've been 7 higher, because I forgot heroism too!

I am of course curious: What other monsters might've been summoned if I'd chosen a different relief to press?

From what Andor was able to determine the elemental is summoned the first time someone presses in one of the faces in the incorrect order. So essentially all of the faces other than the "Cage Face" would result in the elemental being summoned if they were the first face pressed.

Regarding the sense motive, although its been just over an hour since the party left Crescent Manor (so the extract would still be active), even with a +7 the check would still not have been enough.

Thanks for botting GM--I was following the entire fight but then had a spot of unfortunate timing when it was my turn to post :)

No worries. As Jilla was just delayed she is still able to act in the current initiative block as talking wouldn’t have taken up any actions.

Firstly as the Immolation and Plague bomb discoveries are marked with an asterisk in the discoveries list they can’t normally be stacked on a bomb together, does Dr Vitruvian have an ability which allows him to get around that?

I confess I'd forgotten/overlooked that; in fact, I recall having this idea that you specifically COULD mix and match Bomb adulterations. I don't know what happened.

Secondly, normally Plague bombs produce a 10 foot radius cloud which I don’t think would reach purple if red was the primary target, does Dr Vitruvian have something which would allow him to create a bigger cloud?

I was confused because fog cloud has a 20-foot radius, and that somehow managed to blind me to the parameters right in front of me.

SO! You're right on both counts - so what I'll do instead is have thrown a Plague Bomb in the square indicated, meaning red takes 12 splash damage with a DC 23 Reflex save for half, and both are subjected to The Shakes.

I know there is a gnome specific architype which gets access to an additional discovery allowing two damage based bomb discoveries to be combined in a single bomb, but that is limited to discoveries which change the bombs damage.

I'll resolve the attack as outlined above, although it looks like even with the new target location the cloud would not be able to get both targets as fog cloud is a "spread" effect which needs to be centred on a grid intersection, so for alchemist bombs that would be one corner of the target's square. As that would produce a 10 radius area it doesn't look like the cloud could be positioned to get both.

Given the cloud can only get a single target I'm going to assume you'd want to just target red directly with the bomb rather than with splash damage. So I'll resolve the attack like that and let you roll the additional damage caused by red being directly targeted.

GM Mike...R wrote:

@Eryx - Is the +8 on the damage from Precise Strike? If so would that work with a dart, as I think it can only be used at range with thrown melee weapons like daggers (i.e. not with weapons that can only be used as thrown weapons)? That said, even if that is the case I'm guessing Eryx has daggers he could use instead (plus quick draw) and they would do the same damage, so it would be unlikely to affect the actual outcome of the attack?

The relevant part of the deed :

[PFS Legal] Precise Strike (Ex) (Advanced Class Guide pg. 57): At 3rd level, [...] She can even use this ability with thrown light or one-handed piercing melee weapons, so long as the target is within 30 feet of her. Any creature that is immune to sneak attacks is immune to the additional damage granted by precise strike, and any item or ability that protects a creature from critical hits also protects a creature from the additional damage of a precise strike. This additional damage is precision damage, and isn't multiplied on a critical hit.

As I'm understanding it, whether it's melee or ranged doesn't really matter as the base ability doesn't specify it, so it should work with a dart. But I'll re-read it later, I might have missed something. I might just use daggers from now on to remove any confusion.

Just that Hero Lab does tell me it does work, if it doesn't, this is weird. Probably because the dart is technically useable in melee, though at a penalty.

Having just checked it in Hero Lab, you're right, it does let you do it. Although I think I may have worked out why. By the looks of it Hero Lab has put darts in the "Simple Weapons: Light Melee Weapons" category, which would let it qualify as a "thrown light or one-handed piercing melee weapon" for the Precise Strike deed. But looking in Ultimate Equipment darts should be in the "Simple Weapons: Ranged Weapons" category (see this link), which wouldn't qualify them as a melee weapon. So I suspect this may be due to an error in Hero Lab.

DM, I want to verify something since you seem to have such a handle on the mechanical technicalities: Is it correct that ranged weapon attacks do not add Strength-and-a-half like melee weapons do, even if they're used two-handed (e.g. composite bows)?

That and ranged are 1/2 deadly aim not 1/3 for 2h

The default position in the rules is that melee and thrown weapons apply the strength bonus to damage (i.e. ranged projectile weapons don't). There are however exceptions called out, such as two handed melee weapons which do 1.5 x strength damage (see here for an overview of those). While ranged projectile weapons like bows don't apply the strength bonus to damage, specific weapons such as slings and composite bows override this in their item descriptions (such as here), where they specifically say they add the strength bonus but don't mention any multiplyer. There is a feat (Two Handed Thrower) which allows thrown weapons to do 1.5 damage when thrown with two hands but that can only be done if you have the feat.

As John says, unlike Power Attack, it's ranged equivalent Deadly Aim does not include a clause which allows it to generate additional damage if the weapon is wielded two handed.

Do I have time to reanimate one of the medusae?

If the party are looking to quickly search the base for useful information and then rush back to Absalom, you suspect that wouldn't give you time to complete the process.

Sorry for the hiatus, but...

If the party are looking to quickly search the base for useful information and then rush back to Absalom, you suspect that wouldn't give you time to complete the process.

...in the interim, it doesn't seem like that's what's been done; could I have used the time as previously mentioned, then?

Assuming the party are looking to quickly get back to Absalom to address the threat there, you think the previous assessment would still hold.

Total def is a dodge bonus which you will lose to an invisible opponent. maybe ready to attack when he hits you.

What I'll be doing I think, but I'm lacking ideas on how to write it since I hate cat and mouse sequences

Can't do anything there

@John Smith27 - Very true but it is just something that I think my familiar would want to do. :)

How much would one of the medusa corpses and its weapons (not necessarily any of their other equipment) weigh?

BTW, John, how did you figure out that cipher? Heard of it before? It makes sense, but how did you know it was 3 letters before?

I started with common letter substitution single letters a or I and work from there. Double letters usually ee oo ss tt sometimes cc mm pp rr. Anyhow the single letter was where I started.

How much would one of the medusa corpses and its weapons (not necessarily any of their other equipment) weigh?

For just the body and weapons (i.e. not armour or other equipment) it would be around 170 lbs.