Search Posts
You can get Chronicle Sheets here. I really like 2e, and I played PbP heavily in 1e, but something about 2e and PbP just don't mix well for me even after trying it a couple times.
Primary: Accomplished
Secondary: Accomplished
Now that you have completed the four missions you’ve been assigned, you can report back to the faction leaders. The faction leaders are satisfied, most pretty impressed with your excellent handling of various events. After the last meeting Janira Gavix races down the hall, her blond hair flying in her excitement. “I just heard you made it back—congratulations! It sounds like everything went, well, about as well as anyone could expect. Come with me, I have something for each of you.” The halfling woman leads the way into a small office and distributes finely crafted wooden boxes. Within each, a gleaming compass lid emblazoned with the Glyph of the Open Road and an engraved name lies upon a cushion of silk. “I’m not sure if you’ve picked up your own wayfinders yet, but when you do, you should have ones that prove that you belong. Now it’s official,” she beams. “Welcome to the Pathfinder Society!"
Your attacks absolutely destroy the shadow creature, which causes its flaw to become repaired. With only three flaws remaining and all three being controlled by the ritualists, the ritual reaches its climax and finishes. Tavvar speaks first, cursing in shadowtongue, "Weeks of work wasted, and for what, half-dead assistants? Maybe this ritual is more trouble than its worth." she says before addressing you, "Here to arrest me or something? I haven't done anything wrong, here are my permits." she says as she pulls out the appropriate paperwork for conducting a ritual here.
Felika's negative energy doesn't quite work as expected as her blows both heal and harm the creature. Fortunately, Felika's raw muscle and martial form outpace the creature's healing abilities and she destroys it. Destroying the shadow also makes its attached flaw vanish. The ritual once again lashes out with shadowy tendrils, harming everyone involved (everyone).
The shadow attacks Squash with its tendrils.
Initiative Order, Bold May Go!
Flaw 1: (currently controlled)
Peregrine fails to deactivate the flaw. Squash smashes his spiked chain into the ritualists shadow, somehow harming the malicious shadow within. The shadow wavers and becomes weaker, but does not collapse. felika, recall knowledge:
Felika recalls that these creatures are called Shadows. Because of their being made of pure darkness, they resist damage from fire and light effects. They are weak to negative energy.
Alldo's electricity zaps the shadow, but it manages to avoid some of the damage by ducking deeper into the ritualists shadow. Unfortunately, he doesn't manage to discern a better solution to his current flaw. Drizzic repairs the shadowtounge rune flaw that he is currently at. Initiative Order, Bold May Go!
Flaw 1:
Drizzic fully understands the flaw with Shadowtongue runes, but unfortunately can't quite figure out how to fully reduce their effectiveness.
Felika isn't able to use her arcana training to make the flaw any easier to repair, but she does manage to stretch her occultism skill to the limit and repair the flaw regardless. The interaction with the ritual and its unstable nature comes to a head as it violently begins flailing shadowy tendrils around the room, grabbing, smacking, and chocking anyone involved in the ritual. DC 18 basic fort save for everyone but Peregrine. In addition to the wave of negative energy, the ritual calls a small shadow creature from the shadow plane to assail the ritualists.
The shadow creature attacks the (red) ritualist next to it.
The shadow creature hits the ritualist with its shadow tendril, then attaches itself to the ritualist's shadow, entering inside of it. It then stretches its shadow to attack Tavvar.
Initiative Order, Bold May Go!
Flaw 1:
Squash realizes that Tavvar has used runes in Shadowtongue to enhance the shadow magic present here. Unfortunately, these runes are doing a little too good of a job empowering the ritual beyond their control. Zonk realizes that some runes were drawn too quickly and are jagged, crooked, or otherwise incorrect and need to be corrected to stabilize the ritual. Initiative Order, Bold May Go!
Flaw 1:
He smiles, "Pathfinders? Why didn't you say so, come on in then." he says as he leads you to the unobtrusive staircase in the museum's northeast corner, "Next floor up, Tavvar has been doing research on the third floor. Weird stuff has been happening, but she assures me it's under control." Droning voices echo off the mahogany walls and domed, plaster ceiling of this luxurious room. The sumptuous furniture has been pushed to the sides of the room, making space for eldritch markings and mystical paraphernalia laid carefully over the plush carpet. The chamber seems muted and dim despite the crystal chandelier overhead, and a bonenumbing chill seeps through the space along with a metallic scent. A ritual is obviously underway here, but it doesn’t seem as though it’s working as planned. Shadowy energy lashes out from a twisting breach in the center of the room, and indistinct shapes flit and scuttle along the walls. Tavvar stands at the head of the circle, her face twisted in a determined grimace, while her assistants each frantically continue their gestures and chants. The ritual is obviously wearing them down and they are too occupied with the ritual to engage with you in any way Perception by the PCs:
Intiative Order, Bold May Go!
It seems that most people you ask either don't have time to answer questions or aren't sure who Tavvar is, you do gather some information regardless. You discover that Tavvar has been working on the ritual for several days at the Blakros museum after its normal hours of operation.
When you arrive at the museum after hours, you find the front door closed but unlocked. A single staff member, Chayron, is cleaning the museum, performing maintenance on the exhibits, and acting as a doorkeeper for Tavvar and her assistants.
Drizzic can tell that the coat of arms on the aft wall is, in fact, the insignia of the Taldan navy. A closer inspection of the lantern reveals it is in fact an everburning torch formed into a lantern rather than a simple torch, and the lantern’s glass can be manipulated to change the color of light it sheds. The age of the lantern and its multicolor function, combined with the obvious Taldan insignia carved into the wall here, strongly suggest the ship is in fact a relic of the original Silent Tide invasion—the evidence Calisro Benarry wants you to find.
The ship isn't currently repairable to sail back unfortunately, but you take the smaller vessel back and begin your last mission to recruit the scholar.
The creature gratefully accepts the rations and begins devouring them.
Moving to the room on the right reveals the crew bunks. In stark contrast to the rest of the ship, this cabin has been somewhat cleared of algae and cleaned. Six simple beds, complete with fresh linens, are crammed into the space. A few small footlockers are shoved under some of the beds. You find two talismans in a balled-up rag. Moving to the room on the left reveals the map room. This cabin’s floor has been cleared of the algae present everywhere else on the ship, and a simple table has been set up in the center of the room, with a few chairs pulled up around it. The aft wall bears a large carving of a coat of arms, visible even despite the wear of the elements. An antique lantern hangs above the carving, casting a faint light over papers strewn over the table.
I might have been leveling up slightly faster than the books as I originally planned to let you have some time at 20, basically what all the 2e APs do now. This means your 5th level milestone might feel further than it normally would. Honestly though, I can't quite remember if I did enact that plan or not now. Grandlounge would have to confirm.
Sharp beams of sunlight light filter down through cracks in the main deck to cast this cargo hold in a dim light. Though the ship’s original armaments are now little more than rotted ballista mounts, this area shows signs of recent activity, including intact shipping crates, a recently broken crate, a few boxes, and faint trails worn through the slippery vegetation growing over the deck. Wooden doors in finer condition that the rest of the boat stand to the north and south, but the stairs leading further down now lead only into dark, scummy water.
Gnawed bones of sea birds lie in a heap in one corner where a [url=https://i.gyazo.com/2b56ffa8d17d131081af02a6d5d06439.png]strange flesh-stiched creature is desperately trying to get any remaining meat off the bones. Sense Motive, DC 16:
This creature is hungry and will not likely attack unless it believes it will acquire food from the assault. Due to the mats of vegetation and layers of barnacle growth, the floor is difficult terrain. Recall knowledge, Crafting or Arcana, DC 23: This is a Fleshforge Dreg. It is a construct that is capable of a variety of effects depending on what its creator desired. This particular one can spit acid. They are intelligent, though very limited in capacity and cannot speak.
Alldo and Zonk hear rumours of a strange creature aboard the ship. Some people claim the creature's spit is so acidic, it eats through parts of the ship. Perception by the PCs:
With those rumours in mind, Alldo and Zonk do in fact notice holes burned away on small parts of the ship as though from acid.
Following Calisro Benarry's instructions, you set out to explore a wrecked ship that possibly dates back to the Silent Tide invasion of the late 40th century. The ship has only recently washed up and snagged on a reef of other wrecked ships, leaving it partially out of the water. Despite its unstable situation and the fact that it’s been above water for only a few weeks, it’s become a favored waypoint for smugglers. The Pathfinder Society has arranged for a small boat to transport you to and from the wrecked vessel. Captain Semiri Balogog is a cheerful rainkin half-orc with sun-dark skin and thick braids of black hair adorned with gold rings. She has provided ferrying services for Pathfinder agents for over a decade and loves hearing about agents’ missions past and present. The weathered boards of the ship’s main deck are cracked, warped, and thoroughly covered in a thick, stinking carpet of algae, seaweed, and barnacles. The sodden mess squashes and scrapes underfoot, while squawking gulls circle overhead. The ship once boasted three masts, but they are now broken off only a few feet above the jagged railings. Whatever other distinguishing features might have once existed on this vessel are either long lost or utterly obscured. Empty doorways lead into cabins to the fore and aft, and a dark opening descends into the lower level.
After being burned and electrocuted twice, the last goblin also passes out. With Eando's directions, it is easy to identify the whistleblower to be unpetrified. He informs you that he had been targetted because a band of militant hobgoblins has begun establishing a base in one of the siege castles outside the city. He had tried to warn the officials in Absalom, but the hobgoblins had gotten to him first. The man gives you a jeweled ring worth 12 gold.
Drizzic doesn't hit the goblin directly with the alchemist's fire, but it lands close enough that some of the liquid splashes up at the goblin, lightly burning him. Squash dashes at the fire-crazed goblin and easily knocks the creature out. Both of Felika's attacks are evaded as the goblin ducks and weaves. Felika's goblin tries to knock her down by grabbing her foot.
Squash critically hits this goblin as well, knocking him out also. Map Slide
The crowd mumbles about the younger generation having no respect for the traditions, but disperses regardless. Unfortunately, as the crowd disperses, three goblins arrive, "Sorry longshanks, we can't be letting you doing that." Initiative by the PCs:
Map Slide
Alldo convinces the smith that maybe these statues aren't worth keeping around. The herbalist replies to Squash about "Seeing plants grow over stones all the time!" Peregrine convinces the socialite that violence isn't the answer in this situation. Felika helps the charlatan get better marks by calming down the crowd. The acolyte is not hearing anything about Sarenrae from a...goblin. Round Tracker: Round 2
Yep, what Squash said all sounds good. I love your reasoning for metagaming being a bit more accepted in PFS than in a home game. After all, you might have never played those characters together before and really have no idea what your skills are. On that note though, if you do a game with introductions, describing your skills that you are good at is a good thing to include. Introduction Checklist:
The crowd spots you and begins shouting, "Get out of here! You have no respect for our traditions! Statues once, statues forever!" You also hear chants occasionally; "Turned to stone, that's their home!" The crowd seems to drown out Drizzic's words. Round Tracker: Round 1
Information You've Gathered:
In this case, the mob is being lead by an actor, an acolyte, a smith, a charlatan, a socialite, and a herbalist.
For several blocks, the quiet lanes of Westgate’s residential neighborhoods feature small houses, low-key cafes and taverns, and the occasional specialty shop. The fragrant scent of tended flower gardens in the warm sunlight blends with the low hum of distant conversation over what would normally be a pleasant boulevard. But the stone statues—at first appearing only here and there, like odd decorations—now number several per block, and the otherwise plain square ahead is outright cluttered with stone figures. They take countless forms, from humans and halflings to orcs, lizardfolk, and even stranger, all forever frozen in acts of desperation, defiance, or despair. The quaint, statue-filled square is also filled with people; several dozen townsfolk shout and argue, their voices somehow out of place among the silent statues.
Round Tracker: Round 1
The notes turn out to be schematics for soulbound dolls written by the original owners of the house. With this information, you can report back to Gorm Greathammer about the house's history. You also find a magical potion and wand here. At Zonk's request, the whispers in the other room cease to make noise.
mission 2:
Some time ago, a whistleblower revealed a possible threat to Absalom related to one of the siege castles. In response, however, that individual was silenced and eventually petrified during the Charge of the Gorgon. Eando suspects foul play; he has leveraged his contacts to get a writ allowing the victim to be restored, and he would like the PCs to do so and learn about this alleged threat to the city. He gives them a greater salve of antiparalysis with explicit instructions that it be used only on the target. Additional Aid: Eando is impressed with PCs who can keep the other NPCs occupied and says he can put their social skills to good use. He provides the PCs with a list of individuals he goes to for information across Absalom, telling the PCs to drop his name in conversations with those individuals to get the best scoop on current events. This grants the PCs a +2 circumstance bonus to a single Diplomacy check to Gather Information during this scenario. Mission 3:
Flotsam Graveyard: A wrecked ship has recently cycled to the surface in the Flotsam Graveyard, with signs that it might date back to the original Silent Tide invasion—a centuries-past naval operation by Taldan operatives known as the Black Echelon attempting to take control of Absalom. Calisro points out that a newly uncovered vessel from that era would be a great discovery for a group of new Pathfinder agents—however, it seems that the people who informed her of the ship got scared off by something on board. While she doesn’t explicitly direct the PCs to steal the ship, she does hint that it would make a grand impression on the other Pathfinders were the party to return “in style.” Barring that, she encourages them to visit the ship and either verify or disprove the ship’s rumored origin. Additional Aid: If the PCs successfully gain more time with Calisro by occupying the NPCs near her, she laughs and slips them a small, unmarked hip flask, describing it as “a pick-me-up for when you really need to get back on your feet.” This is a minor healing potion. Mission 4:
A scholar at the College of Mysteries has been working on an interesting new ritual that’s has led to considerable division among her colleagues. She’s been under growing pressure to leave the college, so now might be a good time to contact her, determine if she would be a good fit for the Pathfinder Society, and, if so, recruit her You head off to Westgate to investigate the petrified on Eando's whistleblower.
secret perceptions:
Zonk notices two things of importance in this room. The first, that Squash also notices, is a secret compartment in the wall behind a collapsed bookcase that contains a stack of notes. The second thing he notices is strange whispering coming from the room to the north. recall knowledge:
Peregrine:
Those whispers are part of a haunt and can be disabled with religion or performance. You also know that the underlying spirits remain, resetting the haunt every midnight, until what truly happened here becomes public. Drizzic: Those whispers are part of a haunt and can be disabled with religion or performance.
Opening the door to the left. A large, long-cold fireplace stands in the east wall of this expansive parlor, but the furnishings are all rotted. A dank stench of mold lingers in the air. The ceiling overhead has collapsed, leaving the room open to the sky. The floor in the room’s southern end has followed suit, leaving a gaping hole into darkness. Nothing in this room appears to be of much interest, so you move to the doors on the right. Everything this room once held now lies jumbled over the floor in a soggy mess: torn pages, scraps of fabric, and splintered remnants of furniture. Doors hang askew in the north and east walls, but the door to the south has been smashed from its hinges. You can see through the doorway to another room to the north of this one. Ivy has overgrown the empty window frame, casting this room into cool shadow. A low shelf, its wood warped and cracked, stands against the south wall, and a desk has been overturned and smashed in the eastern part of the room.
secret perceptions:
Zonk and Squash both hear scratching beneath the floorboards... recall knowledge, secret:
Drizzic:
You identify these sounds as evidence of a Scrabbling Hands haunt. In order to disable it, someone will need to make a religion check. The haunt will reset every midnight until the true story of what happened here becomes public. Alldo:
Spooky Felika:
The scratching sounds are similar to those of zombies, likely meaning that zombies are trying to climb through the floor. Peregrine:
Spooky Zonk:
You identify these sounds as evidence of a Scrabbling Hands haunt. In order to disable it, someone will need to make a religion check. Squash: The scratching sounds are similar to those of zombies, likely meaning that zombies are trying to climb through the floor.
Alldo doesn't currently detect any magic and Zonk hasn't yet detected anything out of the ordinary.
Sensing no immediate danger, you open one of the front doors leading to the entrance hall. The tiled floor, ornate columns, and sweeping staircases of this once-grant hall evoke a distinctly Taldan aesthetic, though the finery has suffered greatly over the past years. The marble floor tiles are cracked and filthy, and the statuary lining the walls has been smashed. None of the three staircases climbs beyond head level before ending abruptly, debris from their fallen upper reaches scattered across the floor. The hair on the back of your necks stands up as you get a vague sense of dread, though nothing appears to happen yet.
religion, hard DC:
Soulbound Dolls: These little constructs are created for a variety of reasons—such as to serve as companions or servants—but their free will means their obedience to their creators is hardly a given. Followers of Pharasma generally abhor soulbound dolls, viewing them as a perversion of the natural cycle of souls, and those who worship the Lady of Graves see the destruction of a soulbound doll, regardless of the construct’s alignment, as an important service to the Great Beyond. Soulbound dolls are the simplest in a series of soulbound constructs including human-sized soulbound mannequins, powerful soulbound shells, and sentinel soulbound terra-cotta warriors. Creating them from unwilling living creatures is evil, and an unwilling donor can attempt to resist the process, ruining the doll if not preventing the donor’s death. A non-evil doll can only be crafted from the soul of a person who has given consent to such use before their death occurred
gather information on the haunted house:
The Mavedarus estate was built generations ago, and the series of disappearances and deaths in and around the house began before it was even completed. Despite the perpetual incidents, the house remained in the possession of the original Chelaxian family, passing down through the generations until it was abandoned after the earthquake that shook Absalom in 4698 ar, sending most of Beldrin’s Bluff into the sea. The couple in residence at the time both went missing in the quake. While rescue workers never found their bodies, they found many others within its walls—until a series of accidents eventually killed enough rescue workers that they simply boarded up the site and left it. Zonk asks around and someone tells him that the house used to be owned by soulbound dollmakers. After a little while, you arrive at the estate. The Mavedarus home was once a grand, three-story structure with a rooftop veranda and manicured grounds. Now, only the first floor remains standing, the second and third stories having collapsed during the earthquake, and in the years of neglect since, the grounds have grown into a wild disarray. Main Entrance:
"All of the consumable items granted by the Spells school take the form of magical scrolls (Pathfinder Core Rulebook page 564), and the item options below simply list the spells that can appear on these scrolls. When selecting a scroll, you can heighten its spell level to the Scroll Level listed below. For example, a 7th-level character could select a scroll of heal heightened to 4th level."
None of you can seem to engage Glorina in any lengthy conversation, but Fola takes a moment to speak to you regardless, "Oh, new recruits! I wish I had time to learn all about you, but sadly, I do not. Glorina and I are having a vital conversation at the moment. If you could do me a favor though, I'll be sure to give each of you more time next visit." she says before telling Glorina to wait just a moment, "Someone at the College of Mysteries is working on a new ritual, but its caused quite a stir among her colleges. She's being pressured to leave the college, so its a good time to try and recruit her into the Society. Good luck!" she says before returning to Glorina. Mission 1:
A partially collapsed house in the Precipice Quarter, long rumored to be haunted, has been marked for demolition in the next few days. Gorm understands that the house was severely damaged in the earthquake of 4698 ar, but rumors of strange activity there long predate the quake. He would like you to uncover the history of the house before its destruction. Mission 2:
Some time ago, a whistleblower revealed a possible threat to Absalom related to one of the siege castles. In response, however, that individual was silenced and eventually petrified during the Charge of the Gorgon. Eando suspects foul play; he has leveraged his contacts to get a writ allowing the victim to be restored, and he would like the PCs to do so and learn about this alleged threat to the city. He gives them a greater salve of antiparalysis with explicit instructions that it be used only on the target. Additional Aid: Eando is impressed with PCs who can keep the other NPCs occupied and says he can put their social skills to good use. He provides the PCs with a list of individuals he goes to for information across Absalom, telling the PCs to drop his name in conversations with those individuals to get the best scoop on current events. This grants the PCs a +2 circumstance bonus to a single Diplomacy check to Gather Information during this scenario. Mission 3:
Flotsam Graveyard: A wrecked ship has recently cycled to the surface in the Flotsam Graveyard, with signs that it might date back to the original Silent Tide invasion—a centuries-past naval operation by Taldan operatives known as the Black Echelon attempting to take control of Absalom. Calisro points out that a newly uncovered vessel from that era would be a great discovery for a group of new Pathfinder agents—however, it seems that the people who informed her of the ship got scared off by something on board. While she doesn’t explicitly direct the PCs to steal the ship, she does hint that it would make a grand impression on the other Pathfinders were the party to return “in style.” Barring that, she encourages them to visit the ship and either verify or disprove the ship’s rumored origin. Additional Aid: If the PCs successfully gain more time with Calisro by occupying the NPCs near her, she laughs and slips them a small, unmarked hip flask, describing it as “a pick-me-up for when you really need to get back on your feet.” This is a minor healing potion. Mission 4:
A scholar at the College of Mysteries has been working on an interesting new ritual that’s has led to considerable division among her colleagues. She’s been under growing pressure to leave the college, so now might be a good time to contact her, determine if she would be a good fit for the Pathfinder Society, and, if so, recruit her
Fola Barun, a dark-skinned half-elf and leader of the Envoy's Alliance sticks out just a bit more than most, even in a crowd of pathfinder agents. She is currently speaking with a female Taldan woman wearing clothes and accessories that are more reserved than most Taldan nobles would prefer. recall knowledge, secret:
Alldo has had many dealings with this woman in the past. She is none other than Gloriana Morilla, leader of the Sovereign Court. She long led the Sovereign Court, an international organization supporting young nobles across Avistan. She and her agents were instrumental in Grand Princess Eutropia’s rise to power in Taldor, and while Gloriana still wholeheartedly supports the Pathfinder Society, her focus has shifted to helping the new empress consolidate her rule.
Tamrin chuckles at Peregrine's attempt, "You're going to need some more practice before you try that in a tight situation." he says before beginning to return to his conversation with Calisro. Before he can start up again, Drizzic surprises him as she shows up far more stealthily than Peregrine, "Ah, the setup first, then the actual attempt. Clever move you too." Zonk then takes the opportunity to relay information that Tamrin is clearly keen on hearing, "Well, you have my thanks for that then!" Finally, Alldo also sneaks up on Tamrin, "Oh by the...would these new recruits stop sneaking up on me." he says laughing, "Calisro, go send this lot on a slave rescue already, they clearly have the skills." With that, he willingly gives the conversation up to your group with Calisro. "A slave rescue? Well, I might have something like that, hard to say." she says before pulling out her flask and handing it off to you. "There's a wrecked ship out in the Flotsam Graveyard that might from the Silent Tide invasion. Here's the problem, something onboard has the teams I've sent spooked. So, if you want to get fancy and return in style, just bring the whole ship back here, but if ya can't manage that, then at least find some information on the ship and see where its from." Mission 1:
A partially collapsed house in the Precipice Quarter, long rumored to be haunted, has been marked for demolition in the next few days. Gorm understands that the house was severely damaged in the earthquake of 4698 ar, but rumors of strange activity there long predate the quake. He would like you to uncover the history of the house before its destruction. Mission 2:
Some time ago, a whistleblower revealed a possible threat to Absalom related to one of the siege castles. In response, however, that individual was silenced and eventually petrified during the Charge of the Gorgon. Eando suspects foul play; he has leveraged his contacts to get a writ allowing the victim to be restored, and he would like the PCs to do so and learn about this alleged threat to the city. He gives them a greater salve of antiparalysis with explicit instructions that it be used only on the target. Additional Aid: Eando is impressed with PCs who can keep the other NPCs occupied and says he can put their social skills to good use. He provides the PCs with a list of individuals he goes to for information across Absalom, telling the PCs to drop his name in conversations with those individuals to get the best scoop on current events. This grants the PCs a +2 circumstance bonus to a single Diplomacy check to Gather Information during this scenario. Mission 3:
Flotsam Graveyard: A wrecked ship has recently cycled to the surface in the Flotsam Graveyard, with signs that it might date back to the original Silent Tide invasion—a centuries-past naval operation by Taldan operatives known as the Black Echelon attempting to take control of Absalom. Calisro points out that a newly uncovered vessel from that era would be a great discovery for a group of new Pathfinder agents—however, it seems that the people who informed her of the ship got scared off by something on board. While she doesn’t explicitly direct the PCs to steal the ship, she does hint that it would make a grand impression on the other Pathfinders were the party to return “in style.” Barring that, she encourages them to visit the ship and either verify or disprove the ship’s rumored origin. Additional Aid: If the PCs successfully gain more time with Calisro by occupying the NPCs near her, she laughs and slips them a small, unmarked hip flask, describing it as “a pick-me-up for when you really need to get back on your feet.” This is a minor healing potion.
|
