Bremix seemed to realize he was a Skelm before rage took over. He has access to a spiked chain, and his antlers are quite good at knocking people down. He also has access to divine spells, notably silence, invisibility and harm.
Cold Iron weapons will cut through him quickly.
Jakoby realizes the transformative magic is likely the Aslynn's hag ritual redirecting to another target. Narcela has resisted so much it is washing over on Bremix. Overwhelming him with damage would be enough to break the magic and knock him out without permanently damaging him.
Ro tries to harass him but the magic makes his skin much tougher.
"Fine!" Ostog grumbles. "Yes, we... altered some of the events... And we were sloppy." He looks to his teammates. "We have brought great shame to our team."
Ostog hangs his head low as Mira's demand cuts through his bravado. "We... must apologize."
Anyone wants to speak, go ahead. The Without Trace or Fail team is now Friendly. I'll move us on tomorrow.
Doc Bloodshanks studies the controls for a bit and figures out where the interplanar shift button is. It's currently fixed to the Universe containing Golarion, which is perfect. As he reaches for the wheel, Narcela gasps.
Narcela holds her chest and her skin begins rippling. She looks to you, and focuses inward. For a moment her hands turn to claws but she manages to hold on and quickly regains her human form. "No mother. Not today..." She crawls into a corner of the ship and shudders uncontrollably. "I'll never be a hag..."
Bremix growls in frustration. "She's a monster! You're going to get us all killed! I-" And he begins to heave as he tumbles off the ship. His skin ripples. Horns emerge from his head. His mind turns to pure rage. "I'm a... skelm? What have I- WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO ME!" He roars as more skelm rush in to aid him. "Yes, brother. Kill them all! We'll help!"
The other Ardis Scholars quickly find cover and hide.
Of the three skelm who run onto the deck, one of them bears a bright Yellow sash across his chest and seems much stronger than the other two.
Lumna's key glows brilliantly for 10 minutes as you all briefly lose your physical form. The energy quickly renews you as if you had a full night of rest. As you return to your physical forms, your mind and body quickly move to memorize spells and craft alchemical agents.
Lumna has 3 charges left.
As Itka and Argoni prepare themselves, a question comes up: How do you actually pilot the Gale's Claw? You have the wheel, but its controls are abnormal to say the least.
A PC can attempt a DC 28 Arcana, Crafting, or Occultism check to Recall Knowledge, or a DC 28 Survival check or DC 31 Perception check to trace residue left from previous pilots to determine how to pilot the Gale’s Claw.
"Of-of course it's a fair game!" Ostog growls as the other Without Trace or Fail teammates start to gather behind him. "How am I supposed to know where these tools came from, anyway? Maybe someone stole our equipment to make us look bad!"
DC 18 to Sense Motive:
Ostog definitely knows something he isn't admitting, but he's too proud to say it.
Yohann has the team in an Indifferent mood, where they are carefully considering what they will say. Maybe 2 more nudges like Yohann and Savan will get them to open up some more.
Ostog Oakfeller, a powerfully built man in his early fifties, stands up and growls. "Hey! No fair trying intruding-" but then he sees the shovel handle. "What is this?"
He peers at it and sees the family crest. "Who stole our shovel?" He mumbles. Savan persists and reveals a hunting knife. "And our- our knives? Are you- are you asserting we did something suspicious? Feels more like someone is setting us up. Probably the Varki..."
Savan's Diplomatic actions have nudged them a little, but they are still Unfriendly. Another good roll like that may influence them further.
Or you can take the evidence and present them to the officials.
If you use the 5 charges, you get a full night's rest and you instantly do your daily preparations (so you don't need an hour to brew alchemical formulas or pray/study for spells.)
"Okay, it will take me about 10 minutes to focus." Lumna's thoughts ring in Itka's head. "Are you ready?"
You settle aboard the ship and begin your efforts to recover and heal. Narcela and the scholars get aboard the ship with you, although their focus is on Narcela as well as Bremix. Both have fallen quiet, trying to stabilize their breathing, and the scholars are checking on their health.
You have 10 minutes, work on your daily preparations. Once everyone confirms they are set, move your tokens onto or around the Gale's Claw aboard the ship.
"Hey! If you're done, I got to reset these ribbons." Dahila eventually wanders your way. "The other teams need a chance to catch up to you. Head back to the checkpoint, we'll make the final push soon."
You have 1 more opportunity to talk to the Officials or the other teams.
Doc Bloodshanks aims carefully, hitting the remaining dream twice. Due to its incorporeal nature, only his critical bomb seems to do any long lasting damage.
Argoni's bottle does the trick, throwing off its balance and overwhelming its resistance to shock it.
Demoistride continues to gallop through the clouds, whinnying through the dark atmosphere. Aslynn will hear about your trespass...
But more importantly, the faded dream lurches towards its closest target. Itka realizes she is wide open to attack.
Will Save vs Bane:1d20 + 16 + 1 ⇒ (12) + 16 + 1 = 29
Despite his burns, Doc Bloodshanks throws his vials at one of the dreams. They both miss, and their incorporeal nature resists the splash effects entirely.
Isaku is a bit more successful. Gritting his teeth through the flames, he takes aim and shoots the fiery horse.
Breathing heavily to adjust with his wounds, the horse rethinks its strategy and begins to flee. It gallops off of the Sky Dock into the darkness beyond, probably to warn his master of the impressive resistance he encountered. 120 ft fly speed.
The animated dreams don't seem to care. One of them, surrounded by Jakoby and Ro, is more interested in spreading nightmares. Tendrils lash out.
Even is Ro:1d2 ⇒ 1 Tendril:1d20 + 22 ⇒ (5) + 22 = 27 Tendril:1d20 + 22 - 4 ⇒ (2) + 22 - 4 = 20
Unable to affect Jakoby, the dream retreats, flying 40 feet backwards towards the edge of the dock.
The other continues to flail at Isaku.
Tendril:1d20 + 18 - 1 ⇒ (3) + 18 - 1 = 20
It decides instead to give him a Vision of Death, dealing Mental:8d8 ⇒ (2, 3, 2, 3, 4, 5, 1, 2) = 22 damage. His mind is clouded with images of Narcela giving in, her body transforming into a horrid hag as she begins clawing at his face.
With skill and determination, Yohann and Mira are able to pull the ribbons out with ease. Elara slips and thuds onto the ice flow, forming a crack. She is still determined and makes it across. Despite the setback, she simply yanks the ribbon out as if it wasn't frozen.
"I think that's a new record?" Dahila compares some of her notes as Elara returns. "Maybe faceplanting is the secret. Oh well, we'll count that for double."
With your team's duty complete, it's time to return to the checkpoint. But something seemed so... odd about the snow.
Perception DC 16:
Carefully scanning the snow, you see a broken shovel handle. Did someone heap additional snow onto the lake? You notice the Storval family symbol on the handle. It's the same symbol that is on Gruen's cloak. Why would a member of the Without Trace or Fail team be out here?
Doc Bloodshanks, Isaku
Reflex Save DC 28 vs 25 Fire Damage
Doc Bloodshanks
Will Save DC 28 vs Vision of Death (21 damage)
Before Your Turn Begins
If you are within 20 feet of Deimostride, everything is concealed.
You must also make a DC 26 Fort Save. Failure means you are Sickened 2. After this you are temporarily immune to sickness from the smoke for 1 minute.
Jakoby and Ro are so focused on defense they are unable to land a blow.
BakBat likes it hot, but not that hot. The flames critically burn him and singe his favorite hat! He takes his revenge on the two animated dreams, burning them both. Their incorporeal nature resists some of the damage.
Itka chooses to retreat, flipping the horse off. Does he even understand what Itka is saying?
Argoni can't get a good bead on his intended target. And he can't get a good aim on the other target either. The electricity splashes but the dream's incorporeal nature seems to ignore the minor damage.
Jakoby, Ro, BakBat, Doc Bloodshanks, Itka, Isaku
Reflex Save DC 28 vs 25 Fire Damage
Doc Bloodshanks
Will Save DC 28 vs Vision of Death (21 damage)
Before Your Turn Begins
If you are within 20 feet of Deimostride, everything is concealed.
You must also make a DC 26 Fort Save. Failure means you are Sickened 2. After this you are temporarily immune to sickness from the smoke for 1 minute.
Round 2
Deimostride (102 damage, Smoke Concealment, 20 ft, -10 movement speed, Off-Guard until start of Doc Bloodshank's next turn)
Elite Faded Dream[Black X]
Faded Dream[Yellow \] (41 damage, Bane)
Isaku (17 Damage)
Itka (Sickened 2, Bane 10 ft)
BakBat (13 Fire Damage, Sickened 2)
Round 3 Jakoby (26 damage, Hasted, Fatigued 1)
- Ro (37 Damage, Immune to Argoni's Battle Medicine for 1 hour)
Doc Bloodshanks (17 Fire Damage, Frightened 2, Vision of Death)
Argoni (Sickened 2)
Isaku's Will vs Fear:1d20 + 16 ⇒ (12) + 16 = 28 Doc's Will vs Fear:1d20 + 15 ⇒ (15) + 15 = 30
Isaku aims and shoots, landing a solid but not critical hit. He gives Doc Bloodshanks a heads up, and the Doctor zaps the horse.
The horse blazes with flame, dashing through and burning as many targets as he can, dealing Fire:6d6 - 2 ⇒ (6, 3, 6, 2, 6, 1) - 2 = 22 damage. The horse enters Itka's Bane...
Deimostride's Will:1d20 + 19 ⇒ (9) + 19 = 28 and ignores it.
Faded Dream's Reflex:1d20 + 16 ⇒ (9) + 16 = 25
The dream isn't as lucky and cannot ignore all of the intense heat.
The horse wants to bite either Isaku or Itka...
Even is Itka:1d2 ⇒ 1 Jaws:1d20 + 22 ⇒ (3) + 22 = 25
And gets neither.
The Elite Dream points.
1 is Ro, 2 is Doc Bloodshanks:1d2 ⇒ 2
It tries to demoralize him.
Intimidate:1d20 + 20 ⇒ (20) + 20 = 40
And Doc Bloodshanks sees a vision of his own death. Probably one of those so-called "Deities" trying to force their divine filth upon him! His mind is wracked with pain as he takes Mental:8d6 ⇒ (6, 6, 1, 2, 2, 1, 2, 1) = 21 damage.
The other dream tries to lash out at Isaku.
Concealment:1d20 ⇒ 3 Concealment:1d20 ⇒ 12 Nightmare Tendril:1d20 + 18 ⇒ (1) + 18 = 19 Concealment:1d20 ⇒ 5
Isaku is Concealed by the smoke and the dream is unable to find him.
The team quickly blasts through the fog, pushing their way to the checkpoint. The Fangs of the Rhemoraz are busy setting up their tent when the team arrives.
Beyond the camp, a large sheet of exposed ice is marked by race banners. In the middle of the ice, a delicate ribbon lies partially frozen in the sheet.
”Story time. Balgrid lost a bunch of gear overnight, due to ferocious winds. The next morning he discovered a scroll half-frozen in the water. He took a piece of ice and focused it against the sun. The rays pierced the lake’s surface and he was able to reach in and get his scroll. I wonder if it was magical or a letter from his momma.”
”Your mission is to go across this frozen pond and get the ribbon in the middle without damaging it. Hint: smashing the ice or using fire spells will probably ruin the ribbon and end your challenge. You need to maintain your balance while walking across the ice, so you don’t fall in. Feel free to try as many times as you want, as long as you don’t damage the ribbon and you don’t fall in too many times.”
The straightforward method is to make an Athletics check to walk across the ice, and then Thievery or Nature check to free the ribbon. Creative solutions will also be allowed.
Anyone who gets on the ice can open:
Anyone attempting to move across the ice must now treat it as uneven terrain and takes a –1 circumstance penalty on checks to Balance on the ice and a –1 circumstance penalty on checks to free the ribbon. You can take extra time to clear the ice; this negates the uneven terrain and the penalties to their checks, but costs you 1 Progress Point due to lost time.
Dahila sits up with alarm. "It's a bear?" She motions to some of the officials, who quickly pick up their tools and weapons before heading off in the direction Elara pointed out.
"We'll try to keep an eye out for it. I want our racers to get some rest. Tomorrow is the last day."
You wake up, peek out the tent and see thick fog blanketing the region. Dahila is yelling at the other tents to wake them up when she sees you emerge. "Good, one less team I need to poke. We weren't able to find the bear, but we did see its tracks - massive. Be careful out there on the way to the next checkpoint."
Time to travel for another day. Pick a skill that will help you traverse the landscape for the rest of the day. Relevant skills might be Athletics, Nature, and Survival, but if you can explain other skills I’ll allow it. You get a +1 Circumstance bonus thanks to Purrlock's diplomacy.
Before Your Turn Begins
If you are within 20 feet of Deimostride, everything is concealed.
You must also make a DC 26 Fort Save. Failure means you are Sickened 2. After this you are temporarily immune to sickness from the smoke for 1 minute.
Looks like Erastil is "can choose holy" and you'd like to choose Holy. Go for it.
I have no idea how holy/unholy affects your weapons, I'll have to look it up some more. Divine Lance definitely will do holy damage since it has the Sanctified trait.
Doc Bloodshanks, Jakoby, Argoni, Isaku
Will Save DC 28 vs Fear
Jakoby
DC 24 Fortitude vs (curse, emotion, enchantment, fear,
mental, occult) of Fatigued 1
Before Your Turn Begins
If you are within 20 feet of Deimostride, everything is concealed.
You must also make a DC 26 Fort Save. Failure means you are Sickened 2. After this you are temporarily immune to sickness from the smoke for 1 minute.
Remember Deimostride generates a 20 ft cloud of Concealment around himself. You'll have to roll to target him. I also forgot about another ability of the cloud, but I'll do it next round.
Argoni focuses a bit and remembers something about Deimostride. He can trample, he resists 15 Fire damage, and the cloud of smoke is nauseating.
Isaku notes Deimostride is a fiendish creature, inherently Unholy in nature.
Concealment for BakBat vs Deimostride:1d20 ⇒ 16 Concealment for BakBat vs Faded Dream:1d20 ⇒ 5
BakBat blasts Deimostride with intense flame, noting that almost half of it was ignored. The Faded Dream surging through the smoke resists much less. While the Elite dream is outside the smoke, BakBat's aim is completely off.
Isaku finds a spot and shoots the horse once, telling Doc Bloodshanks how to take full advantage of the horse's weakpoint.
Doc Bloodshanks slams a vial of intense cold into Deimostride's face. It slows the horse down but it doesn't deal additional damage or anything like that.
The horse takes a moment to rearrange his hindside to recover from Argoni's dirty trick. The smoke turns nauseous as the horse figrues out who to mangle first.
1 is Ro, 2 is Argoni, 3 is Isaku:1d3 ⇒ 1
He chomps at the bird.
Jaws:1d20 + 22 ⇒ (18) + 22 = 40 Bludgeoning:1d8 + 9 ⇒ (7) + 9 = 16 Spirit:1d6 ⇒ 3 Fire:2d8 ⇒ (1, 1) = 2 All doubled due to Critical Hit
Hoof:1d20 + 22 - 4 ⇒ (9) + 22 - 4 = 27
After chewing on Ro for a bit, Deimostride tries to rear up and kick, but Ro flies a little higher to evade it all.
The larger elite dream hovers into the smoke before unleashing a haunting laugh. It casts Fear, but it can't see BakBat very well and he is unaffected.
Concealment vs Doc Bloodshanks, Jakoby, Argoni, BakBat, Isaku:5d20 ⇒ (12, 11, 17, 2, 11) = 53
The smaller dream continues to lash out.
Even is Jakoby:1d2 ⇒ 2 Concealment vs Jakoby:1d20 ⇒ 16 Tendril:1d20 + 18 ⇒ (20) + 18 = 38 Void:4d8 - 2 ⇒ (3, 3, 2, 1) - 2 = 7Doubled due to being a crit
Concealment vs Jakoby:1d20 ⇒ 17 Tendril:1d20 + 18 - 4 ⇒ (5) + 18 - 4 = 19
After striking Jakoby once, it begins to back away. Jakoby can already feel terrifying visions trying to bid her to sleep.
Sigrun stands up next. "We're glad to have new competition this year! Neighbors from the Varki are killin' it! We Bluetongues have a lot to learn from you!" Runa blushes in embarrassment while Marbin begins flexing his arms.
"And we got these Power Rangers from Angel Grove or something? No wait, Chileax. No wait, from all over the world, yeah? We got to show them some Ulfen hospitality, eh?" The other Bluetongues cheer her on while the other teams clap in appreciation. Even the Without Trace or Fail team get the message.
Dahila breaks a small smile. "That's what I'm talking about. Win or lose, we're all in this together. Anyone else have something to say?"
Perception DC 12:
Just outside of the checkpoint perimeter you notice a four-legged animal over 10 feet tall, at the tree line. As soon as you see it, it flees into the woods.
Make a DC 18 Nature check to see if you can identify it. You can read the spoiler below if you make the check.
Spoiler:
This is the same bear that killed the caribou at the caribou crossing event.
Remember Deimostride generates a 20 ft cloud of Concealment around himself. You'll have to roll to target him.
Concealment vs Jakoby:1d20 ⇒ 15 Concealment vs Ro:1d20 ⇒ 4
With all of the thick smoke, Jakoby and Ro have trouble hitting their target.
Concealment vs Slow:1d20 ⇒ 9 Fort vs Slow:1d20 + 23 ⇒ (14) + 23 = 37
Deimostride completely ignores Itka's magic.
Concealment vs Devise A Stratagem:1d20 ⇒ 13 Concealment vs Dirty Trick:1d20 ⇒ 10
Argoni has no idea how to hurt Deimostride, but he does know how to distract him. Deimostride neighs in shock, leaving him Clumsy.
Round 1
Deimostride (Smoke Concealment, 20 ft, Clumsy 1 via Dirty Trick)
Elite Faded Dream[Black X]
Faded Dream[Yellow \]
Isaku (Reflex DC 28 vs 17 Fire Damage)
Itka
BakBat (Reflex DC 28 vs 17 Fire Damage)
Round 2
Jakoby (12 damage)
- Ro (8 Damage)
Doc Bloodshanks (Reflex DC 28 vs 17 Fire Damage, Take Cover)
Argoni
Round 1
Deimostride
Elite Faded Dream[Black X]
Faded Dream[Yellow \]
Isaku (Reflex DC 28 vs 17 Fire Damage)
Itka BakBat (Reflex DC 28 vs 17 Fire Damage)
Round 2 Jakoby (5 Temp HP) (Reflex DC 28 vs 17 Fire Damage, Will DC 28 vs >Confusion<)
- Ro (Reflex DC 28 vs 17 Fire Damage)
Doc Bloodshanks (Reflex DC 28 vs 17 Fire Damage, Take Cover)
Argoni
The horse trots out to survey the area. His hooves burst into flame and he dashes across the docks, covering everyone in smoke and ash. The heat is so intense almost everyone is burned. Fire Damage:6d6 - 2 ⇒ (6, 5, 1, 3, 2, 2) - 2 = 17Basic Reflex Save DC 28 He snorts in Argoni's direction.
The stronger faded dream flies up towards Jakoby. An arm wreathed in tentacles reaches out and she finds her perceptions scrambling.
The weaker one sweeps around the battlefield and finds BakBat's mind oh so tasty...
Tendril:1d20 + 18 ⇒ (4) + 18 = 22
But BakBat's mind is a dish best preserved. That's where all of his ideas come from.
Doc dives for cover and tries to focus on the fiery horse covered in smoke. But nothing comes to mind. This is a very unique creature. He does realize the smoke exudes about 20 feet away from it and creates a field of concealment.
Argoni studies the dreams. The remains of nightmares given incorporeal form. While he doesn't recognize any weaknesses, he knows they are very resistant to non magical damage. They also resist any damage that is not force, ghost touch or void.
Jakoby, you may freely Stride as part of your initiative if you wish. There are no pictures of the dreams, so I had to reuse the generic red tokens. The one with a Black X is stronger than the one with the Yellow \.
This strange space vaguely resembles a dock, but with metal piers jutting into the shadow beyond the castle walls. What looks like a sailing vessel is tied to one pier. Its two masts are angled backward at a steep angle, making the raised sails look more like a covering canopy than something intended to catch the wind. The ship's name is marked in blood-red writing: the Gale's Claw. The ceiling here is 30 feet high to accommodate the ship.
As you enter the chamber, you hear a horrid pulse. A blast of dark clouds emerge from the ship's deck, and an equine creature made of shadow rears up on his hind legs. Living dreams crawl off of the deck behind it and laugh. "Oh, we'll have so much fun feasting on your comatose minds."
You hear Narcela gasp. "Deimostride! Aslynn's prized horse... Try to stop it from escaping. I'll keep the scholars safe." She calls to the scholars telling them to hide.
