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Okay, here are the (fixed) chronicles! (Same dropbox link.)
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Argh, you're right; I forgot to adjust gp for character level. Also I realized that the PDF-editor I used doesn't actually edit the pdf file. I need to find another pdf-editor. Gimme a sec...
interesting to find out the necromancer would have had more undead drones in the end. Does the module have further details about the undead gargantuans if we'd have taken too much time, or do they forever remain a distant reminder to "get moving"? It does, actually. Spoiler:
They don't have stat blocks, besides "you die if you fight them", but:
Basically, if you defiantly stay and confront the gargantuan zombies, you take dmg, and still get to make your escape (assuming you dont die). Also, I'm curious if there was a possibility to subdue the necromancer and get info out of him as an agent of the Whispering Tyrant. E.g., what is the power structure among his forces, what are his coming goals that the Society should be aware of, etc. I like the way you think! GM, thanks again. Apologies for my difficulties in breaking old habits around posting. It is good to know what GMs prefer, I just have to fight my fingers sometimes :D No worries! Well played. Spoiler:
Yeah, I remember it has a weird way of determining treasure bundles. Did we lose something because we missed taking the tavern sign? (I didn't want to say anything about what we needed to grab because I'd GMd this before). You missed...:
The treasure bundles themselves were fairly straightforward: you miss loot if you run away from combat encounters, and find treasure bundles as you investigate the town and the college.
You missed the 2 treasure and 1 chronicle item because you didn't search literally every corner of the college: the missing treasure and item were in the offices. Too bad you ran out of time and the BBEG showed up, right? Well, not exactly. The scenario triggers the BBEG when you've *visited* every room, NOT when you've *searched* every room. So if the group happens to decide to explore the dean's quarters (or whichever room they save for last) before searching every other room, they're incredibly likely to miss several things.
And ah yes, the tavern sign. The PCs get a sneaky (secret?) Religion check to recognize its religious symbolism. But even if they succeed, there's basically zero indication that the painted tavern sign is worthy of being treated as part of Lastwall's legacy. If any of you had shown any interest in the sign, I would've probably said OOC that it's a relic: that's basically how it'd work in a real-life table. Don't forget to post your downtime activity, Roots. Ok Regarding the scenario... I loved it! I find this scenario to be one of the best PF2 that I played. It had a well-defined goal, amazing feel (the scenes descriptions were awesome!). I enjoyed the fights they felt challenging, and the whole idea of trying to do things quickly gave a certain urge to do things. The tasks that Pathfinders were ordered to do seem important rather than: follow this letter and kill all of the kobolds in your way! I also enjoyed that we were given false leads, like the armor on the floor, or that the dossier contained plenty of names that we never found a trace of. I have to agree that, all in all, the scenario is fun to play (and GM!): any complaints I might have are just small gripes. About the fights:
The BBEG fight could've been way harder: the enemy gets more zombies the more time you spend exploring. About the dossiers:
The scenario includes a sidebar box explaining what really happened to the ten missing agents. It's written with some tongue-in-cheek, and it'd be a pity if I didn't tell you some of my favorites:
One was "stepped upon by colossal undead abomination. Body wedged somewhere between abomination’s “toes.”"
@GM - I think you did a great job running this scenario! You posted frequently and kept things moving, I felt like you had plenty of work especially in the skill-check phase. I liked your posts and responsiveness. You definitely got a place on the list of GM's I enjoy playing with! Bloody good job mate! Why, thank you. It was my pleasure GMing for you. Indeed some parts of the scenario required a bit of work for a PbP GM, since the scenario kind of encourages splitting the party. Fortunately PF2E's exploration mode rules offer some help.
So yeah, this just about concludes the scenario. A couple things: Post and roll your Downtime activities, please! You're all in Standard XP progression track, correct? No one is doing Slow mode? I'll fill out the chronicles later this weekend. It's looking real good for you guys: both scenario objectives (gathering relics and identifying remains) seem to be completed. That means full Reputation points! You did miss 2 treasure and one chronicle item, though. I won't go into detail here, but the way the scenario handles time-usage is... questionable. Suffice to say, don't feel bad about missing the treasure. If you have any thoughts on the scenario or my GMing performance, I'd like to hear them!
Giving chase to the escaping necromancer, Xun, Roots, and Arfsnarf follows him. Xun lets loose a few arrows. It looks like one of them hits, but the cultist doesn't stop. Roots finds that the target is beyond the reach of his seedpods, and Arfsnarf quickly realizes that the enemy has a head-start and moves at the same speed the goblin does: a chase would be prolonged and likely to result in unnecessary danger. A few seconds later, Ralthiss is out of sight, escaped into the Gravelands forests. Meanwhile, realizing that their time in Goldenflame is running out, Sky, Kló, and Sieglinde hurry back to the large sculpture and carry it to the cart.
The seven Pathfinders make their leave, saying goodbye to the town and college of Goldenflame. And so begins their return journey to Caliphas. The sun sets, and the Pathfinders find the return journey to be peaceful, since they can take their time maneuvering the Gravelands, taking long detours to avoid both challenging terrain and possible undead patrols. During this trip, Larraz talks more about his group's escapades in Lastwall, putting some context to the contents of the missing agent dossiers. ---- You arrive back at the Vodavani Lodge in Caliphas. Upon entering the lodge, you see Venture-Captain Evni Zongnoss, in her characteristic turban and robes, casting healing spells on and fussing over a few wounded agents. You later learn that these patients are Pathfinders that Zongnoss and her team extracted during their own, concurrent mission into the Gravelands. Upon seeing you, Zongnoss greets your group and smiles once she notices that you brought a living survivor. "Larraz Virtanne, I presume? It's good to see that the journey was not in vain. I'll listen to your debriefing once I'm done treating these brave heroes," she gestures at the wounded agents, who wave you a greeting. "We've saved many lives today; you can all be proud of that." You unload the cart's contents inside the lodge, and sort out the treasure, relics, and corpse-parts. Though many of the remains have been identified, you point out that there's an odd corpse or two among them that you're not sure of: notably, the corpse of a female halfling, found at the veranda of the college, who might be Raelyn Mumblewort. When you haul the Iomedaen sculpture indoors, Evni's eyes widen. She's particularly amazed by this feat: "How-?! The effort required to transport such a massive thing, across the Gravelands no less...!"
After a cursory glance, you determine that the armor, shield, and weapons wielded by the skeleton knight are in surprisingly good shape. Worried that this Ralthiss did not come to the College alone and is retreating to muster reinforcements, you chase after him, to the College's entrance. There, Larraz is relieved to notice that Desert Wind is alive and well, having hidden itself in a bush to avoid Ralthiss's notice. The cart is likewise undisturbed. However, much to your displeasure, you see that the mountain-sized undead colossi are hot on your trail, only less than a mile away now. They must have been following Ralthiss, and are more horrifying to behold up close. You might still be able to stop Ralthiss's escape by shooting at him, if you strive to do so.
Xun drums the spell of imaginary pain, tormenting the necromancer.
Roots likewise gathers his courage and attacks the necromancer. As he gets closer to him, feelings of doubt cloud his mind, but they do little to slow down the staunch Pathfinder. Roots gets two gut punches in. Ralthiss gasps, "Ghh! M-maybe this was a bad idea-!" Arfsnarf, showcasing his seemingly tireless sorcerous powers, launches yet another volley of magic missiles, all aimed at the necromancer. After the third ray, the necromancer is wobbling and badly beaten. "On a second thought, you get to live! Let's call it a tie, shall we?" Larraz, displeased with this proposition, runs up and spellcasts a small fireball.
The necromancer tucks tail and starts to run, heading back towards the entrance.
Party status: Larraz Kló Xun Roots Drink Rain Sky Shark Arfsnarf
Sky Shark adopts his signature battle stance and assaults the skeleton knight while its attention is turned away. As he steps between the necromancer and his minion, however, he feels a malign influence,
Sky ignores these doubts, and unleashes a flurry of rapid-fire ki-powered kicks at the skeleton. The first kick dislocates the enemy's shield-arm with is sacred power. The second kick would have likely finished the enemy off, but Sky hesitates at the last microsecond, giving the undead knight an opportunity to block. About this situation:
Roots attempts to deliver a similiar flurry of attacks at the cadaverous knight in fron of him; this, however, proves challenging with all his injuries. Wary of the enemy's relentless reflexes, Roots defensively backsteps away from the reach of the skeleton's sword, and further away from the necromancer's spell radius. Finally, Arfsnarf spellcasts a barrage of magic missiles at the fearsome cadaver. It takes both rays, but the enemy finally falls down on its knees. Its sword drops to the ground from its bony grasp, and the unholy glimmer in its eyesockets fades away. Larraz, noticing that Roots is badly wounded, spellcasts a healing spell,
The necromancer remains arrogant— and tired. "You- *pant* You can't leave here alive! No!" He spellcasts again, and more dark smoke surrounds him, reaching Sky, Roots, and Arfsnarf.
Initiative order & Party status:
Larraz Ralthiss *Kló *Xun *Roots Drink Rain *Sky Shark *Arfsnarf (Those with *asterisk may act.)
I think inspire courage gives +1 to your magic missiles. Does Inspire Courage apply to spells like magic missile? I honestly don't know. I get that it would apply to things like produce flame because you're making an attack roll but it feels weird to me for it to apply to other types of spells. From my rules-research, it appears that it does give the bonus on the spell damage, but only +1 per target, not +1 per missile. If you shoot more than one missile at the same target, combine the damage before applying bonuses or penalties to damage, resistances, weaknesses, and so forth. but alas, my old friend the number One decided to come grace me with its presence again. Don't worry, Nineteen is not far~ paper-mache Sieglinde Hah! Thanks for the mental image!
Kló spellcasts a ball of flame which he slings at the zombie.
The zombie reaches its hands, attempting to dig into Sky's flesh. Just then, Xun's eyes flash red, and he activates an infernal spell trap.
But it is a nigh-unstoppable monster, and goes through with its attack aimed at Sky.
Xun, however, rescues his ally by telekinetically slinging a brick from a nearby pile of rubble at the zombie. The corpse's skull is crushed by the flying brick, and it lets go of Sky and falls to the ground. The skeleton knight, walking in measured but quick steps, approaches the leshy.
Initiative order & Party status:
Larraz Ralthiss Kló Xun Skeleton *Roots Drink Rain *Sky Shark *Arfsnarf (Those with *asterisk may act.)
Roots propels a volley of seed pods at the cadaver knight. The enemy braces itself, blocking some of the projectiles with its sturdy steel shield. Sky, together with Kló, lowers the priceless sculpture. The masked monk then engages the assaulting zombie by kicking it. Arfsnarf continues the rapid-fire volley that Roots started with his own magical barrage of magic missiles. The enemy's sturdy shield and armor and reflexes are useless against the homing missiles. Larraz again shoots a divine lance at the zombie.
The black-dressed necromancer continues cursing, shouting "The Whispering Way is invincible! Die!" He spellcasts, and a black, smoky explosion surrounds him.
Initiative order & Party status:
Larraz Ralthiss *Kló Zombie *Xun Skeleton Roots Drink Rain Sky Shark Arfsnarf (Those with *asterisk may act.)
Kló waits for Sky's cue to lower the statue. The zombie trudges through the hall towards the party, and reaches out to slam Roots.
Xun begins humming a song and spellcasts a protective barrier. Onyx runs around the hall to flank the zombie, and bites the walking corpse's leg. The legs are clearly the zombie's weak spot, and the zombie loses its balance significantly. The skeleton knight slowly approaches the party by taking a step towards their guard dog.
Initiative order & Party status:
Larraz Ralthiss Kló Zombie Xun Skeleton *Roots Drink Rain *Sky Shark *Arfsnarf (Those with *asterisk may act.)
Quick update: It's starting to looks like we lost Kló as well. I'll write a Gameplay post later today or tomorrow.
There's probably a million things I got wrong when I had to bot people, take into account their items and Bulk and actions, having to start the encounter and roll initiative for a dozen characters and having to control both a friendly NPC and the BBEG. If you see something that looks odd, it's quite probably a mistake: point it out! Even if I'm not fully healed up we could hold on to the scroll and possibly do a 3-action AoE heal which would also hurt undead since that seems to be the theme of the area, that way it will still top me up later while also healing others if they need it during a fight. I'm hoping a potion and a medicine check will get me to a good spot. I'll say this here too (because it's quite easy to miss things when the GM posts 3 consecutive posts): you can use your healing items retroactively at the start of the battle. Just say something along the lines of "back at the dean's quarters, I used my scroll of heal with 3 actions" or whatnot. Was waiting to see what the others thought today but I guess we all took a break, lol. Something like that. I guess Outpost signups was a factor in that.
Larraz looks afraid but determined to fight. "I'm done with escaping; now I fight!" He spellcasts a lance of divine energy, and tosses it at the zombie.
"So this is where you've been hiding? Cower the might of the undead!" Ralthiss taunts Larraz, and spellcasts something. Initiative order & Party status:
Larraz Ralthiss *Kló Zombie Xun Skeleton Roots Drink Rain Sky Shark Arfsnarf (Those with *asterisk may act.)
Having made their rendezvous at the main hall, the party is wrapping up their investigation. The three athletes are holding the Iomedaean sculpture, making slow but steady progress towards the college's entrance. Arfsnarf points out that the study area in the upper floor is the only unexplored nook remaining. Just then, the doors to the main hall burst open! Three figures enter the main hall: a human mage, a skeletal knight, and a shambling zombie. "So! I've— *huff* finally cornered you— *puff* Pathfinders!" the mage speaks, loud and menacingly but clearly out-of-breath from exhaustion.
The speaker, assumedly a Whispering Way necromancer, is a dark-skinned human. Clad in dark robes, wearing a black scarf around his neck and an unholy symbol on his chest, he has an arrogant sneer plastered across his face. The necromancer's minion, a skeletal knight, is equipped with pristine steel. "In the name of Tar-Baphon, I, Ralthiss the Death-Denier, will deprive you of your life and hope! KILL THEM!" the necromancer shouts. Roll Initiative!:
Initiative order & Party status:
Larraz Ralthiss Kló Zombie Xun Skeleton Roots Drink Rain Sky Shark Arfsnarf (Those with *asterisk may act.)
After the battle with the centipedes, Kló, using Roots's healer's tools, and Sieglinde treat Sky's wounds.
As a result, Sky is in a much better shape. Larraz, feeling that he hasn't contributed enough, shows his gratitude by offering a healing spell.
Though Virtanne's druidic magic is soothing and refreshing, it does little to help with Sky and Roots's remaining injuries. "I- I'm sorry!" Larraz apologizes, embarrassed. Kló, Sky Shark, and Sieglinde, being the strongest in the party, decide to carry the heavy sculpture. With some coordination, they lift it. Though it is incredibly heavy and all but impossible for anyone to lift alone, splitting the weight in three makes the physical task tolerable. Arfsnarf, Roots, and Larraz come with the three carriers as they head downstairs to meet with Xun, who's just finishing inspecting the painting. Party status: Kló Xun Sky Shark Roots Drink Rain Arfsnarf
Roots and Arfsnarf meditate. Xun heads downstairs and investigates the main hall a bit more. There's a lot of ground to cover in the spacious, once-majestic hall, but the bard focuses on the important parts: the decor. His attention is soon directed to a painting, still hanging on the western wall, that has survived untarnished. The painting, about 2 feet wide and 3 feet tall, is of a distinguished, handsome halfling woman dressed in pristine white finery. Society DC 14: The halfling lady depicted in the painting was most likely a former dean of the Goldenflame College.
1d8. None of the variations of heal add +stat; the 2-action version adds +8.
With Roots's final blow, you defeat the last of the giant centipedes, which now lie on the college floor, coiled and distorted and scorched and electrified. With the ceiling collapsed, the dean's quarters is now in an even greater state of disrepair, with debris and wooden beams taking up space in the center of the room. Nonetheless, the path to the sculpture should now be clear and free of hazards.
Sky unleashes a flurry of kicks at the remaining centipede. The enemy still stands, however, and retaliates against the masked monk.
Overconfidence is a costly luxury during battle: the centipede is resisting its ultimate fate furiously. Initiative order & Party status: *Kló *Xun *Sky Shark Centipede . teal *Roots Drink Rain *Arfsnarf (Those with *asterisk may act.)
Xun's second arrow pierces through the centipede, and it bleeds lime-colored mucus on the floor, dead. Initiative order & Party status: *Kló Xun *Sky Shark Centipede . teal *Roots Drink Rain *Arfsnarf (Those with *asterisk may act.)
Kló spellcasts a second fireball, this one equally devastating. The arthropod in its way succumbs and burns to a crisp. A centipede skitters at the leshy,
Initiative order & Party status: Kló Centipedes . . orange *Xun *Sky Shark Centipedes . . teal Roots Drink Rain Arfsnarf (Those with *asterisk may act.)
Xun recites a few bardic words of encouragement, and sics Onyx on the enemies. The guard dog tries its best, but the centipedes are tough targets. Sky endures the centipede poison and, with a low-to-the-ground stance, kicks one of the surrounding enemies. Roots pummels another centipede with ki-empowered blows. The centipede is crushed and stops moving. One of the centipedes , meanwhile, lunges at Onyx the brave dog.
Arfsnarf, using his sorcerous powers, claws at one of the centipedes.
Initiative order & Party status: *Kló Centipedes . red . orange Xun Sky Shark Centipedes . . teal Roots Drink Rain Arfsnarf (Those with *asterisk may act.)
The Ulfen druid spellcasts a fiery burst of flames, incinerating one of the centipedal monsters. It is thoroughly scorched, and it writhes in wordless agony, but continues living for a few more precious seconds. The first of the centipedes skitters out of the room and nibbles at the innocent goblin bystander.
Another centipede instead has an easier prey in its sight: Sky Shark, brave as his entrance was, is looking injured at the moment. The centipede lunges at him,
The third centipede , still writhing and on fire, lashes out in the direction of its attacker, but it has to go through Xun first.
Initiative order & Party status:
Kló Centipedes . red . orange . *Sky Shark *Xun *Roots Drink Rain Centipedes . green . teal Arfsnarf (Those with *asterisk may act.)
Roots, soon followed by Sky, enters the dean's suite to walk around it towards the large Iomedaean sculpture. Xun sighs and begins gathering some wood material from the broken double door in preparation of reinforcing the ceiling. Arfsnarf and Kló, finished with their previous tasks, walk to the entrance near Xun. Just then, for one second, you hear scrabbling and squirming and skittering sounds in the ceiling. Before Xun has had the time to put together a sufficient reinforcement, the ceiling collapses, bringing down sodden wood and various rabble upon the two brave monks.
Sky Shark dives in to push Roots away from harm's way, and suffers a major blow. The injuries from the fallen ceiling are not the biggest of their worries, however: the cause of the skittering sounds is revealed to have been a swarm of giant centipedes, nesting above the dean's quarters. Hearing prey below their lair, they must've gotten agitated and collapsed the floor below them. Now, the party faces down a handful of dog-sized, yellow-hued arthropods that are squirming violently and starving for flesh.
Roll Initiative:
Initiative order & Party status: *Kló Centipedes . red . orange . yellow Sky Shark Xun Roots Drink Rain Centipedes . green . teal Arfsnarf (Those with *asterisk may act.)
"Is there any way we can hold this ceiling up just long enough for Xun and I to get that statue out of there? Perhaps that could be a creative solution. Let's say... One of you makes a Crafting check while two others move in and make Athletics checks to lift the statue. If that's what you want. (It's the Disable a Device action. Typically you can retry on a regular failure, but on a critical failure you set it in motion.) I gave you a Recall Knowledge with Crafting. You're available. Feel free to join the others at the scene upstairs. But I'm not sure what you mean by "climbing around the edge". Referencing the "floor is lava" game makes me think you misunderstand the situation: the ceiling of the room is at risk of collapsing down, not the floor.
Xun estimates that, given the statue's current position in the corner of the room, should the soaked ceiling break and come crashing down it has a low chance of damaging the statue slightly, but virtually zero chance of breaking it completely. Not unless the statue is moved directly to the center of the room: that's the main danger zone.
On their way to the dean's quarters, the pair of monks and Xun (accompanied by his guard dog) pass by Arfsnarf and Larraz. The goblin and the Lastwall survivor continue searching the dorms for valuables. Time passes, many a drawer is opened, but nothing valuable presents itself. The trio of Sky, Roots, and Xun enter the middle room in the upper floor hallway through a shattered double door. The double door has been knocked off its hinges, leaving an unobstructed path from and to the office suite. A broken four-post bed stands at the back of the room, against the southern wall. A circular table and an accompanying chair occupy a nook in the northwest. A large statue depicting a marble chariot wheel sporting flames of gold occupies the southeast corner. A quick appraisal tells you that the statue looks important enough to be worth taking back to the Pathfinders' Lodge, but heavy enough to make you reconsider. GM Screen:
Suddenly, Xun stops his allies before they can step deeper into the room, and points at the ceiling. The monks look up, and see that the ceiling looks dangerously unstable, having been worn down due to water damage. It could collapse at any moment; but then again, it hasn't done so yet, so perhaps it might hold for a little while longer. Days, hours, minutes? Who can say.
Taking the potential hazard into account, the trio stay at the room's entrance, and eye the large statue at the back of the room. Sky's keen eyes recognize that this statue is meaningful in the faith of Iomedae. It is an impressive work of Lastwall craftsmanship and of religious importance: it would be a great tragedy to leave it to the mercy of the weather and the undead legions. Impessive as it is, the statue also seems unfortunately heavy, seeing how it's made from marble.
Kló, joining Xun in investigating the corpse at the offices, resumes his role as the de facto body-examiner. The body has suffered severe injuries, presumably from the undead, enough to kill anyone twice over. This also makes identification more difficult. The Ulfen opens the corpse's jaw, and recognizes that the body's mouth has large, broken-off tusk stumps: it belongs to an orc, or perhaps some other tusked goblinoid.
Sky spends a few moments going over everything in the classroom. He finds soaked and dirtied text books, shattered pencils, and broken inkwells. Very little of anything interesting. Arfsnarf, joined by the half-orc druid, enters the dormitories upstairs, one at a time. The goblin ransacks these former residences with much gusto. Upon opening a drawer in one of the rooms, he finds a stash of dusty jewelry. They have some value, more than a few silver pieces to be sure, but not the kind of historical relics you're looking for. In another room, Arfsnarf uncovers a small chest which contains a dirty vial of some sort of clear liquid. The vial is handily labeled, "holy water". "That's the stuff I was talking about," Larraz comments, giving a thumbs-up, "I don't remember seeing anything else around here."
In the offices, Xun covers his nose to block the smell of the rotting flesh, and touches the corpse's clothing. He recognizes the tatters to be the remains of ruined handwraps, such as those used by brawlers or martial artists. From the looks of things, the handwraps were damaged during a fierce fight.
Roots hops into the hole and gently floats some 10 feet to the bottom. There he finds a sword lying amidst rubble and detritus. Though it is somewhat hard to tell in the darkness, the sword is quite ornate and impressive-looking: it has a golden, wire-wrapped hilt and a pommel set with large rubies. With a little help from his allies, the leshy is pulled back up. The party deduces that, although it can be wielded as a battleready longsword, the sword’s normal function is to serve as an important ceremonial item in services held by the church of Iomedae.
You continue investigating the college, starting with the two remaining unexplored areas in the first floor. You enter a relatively spacious room that was no doubt a classroom. It still contains some relatively intact seating and a dusty old rug. To the north, the floor is sodden, and part of it has collapsed, revealing a hole filled with shattered bookshelves, broken chairs, and other decor. Xun, searching for hazards and things of interest, peers into the hole in the floor, and notices a faint glint of metal.
Deciding to move on for now, you head to the other end of the main hall and enter a series of small offices. At first sight, dirty rugs, smashed-in doors, shattered desks, and long-dried inkwells are all that remains there. "I, uh, wouldn't like to spend too much time here if I were you," warns Larraz, and you soon understand why: a putrid smell penetrates your noses as you notice a fly-ridden pile of corpses. On a closer inspection, it's just one corpse, surrounded by chunks of graying zombie flesh. The lone corpse, which lies sprawled and partially covered by the broken desk in the northwest corner, bears heavy claw marks. The dried flesh of zombies litters the floor around it. Scraps of cloth hang tattered around its mangled, stiff hands. Sieglinde detects a presence of magic around the offices. As usual, it's hard to pinpoint its exact location. Having obtained a better picture of the first floor, you decide to take a quick look into the second floor before you commit to anything. The space around top of the spiral staircase is, or was, a study area of sorts. The space is lined with bookshelves and sitting mats. Two smaller rooms branch from the main hallway, serving as private study nooks. "I remember I saw something valuable in the dormitories when I did a quick tour around this place," Larraz tells you, pointing at the rooms in the hallway, "and the one in the middle, there's the dean's quarters, it ought to contain something worth taking home."
Larraz examines the dossiers on one hand while eagerly munching on Arfsnarf's rations and gulping on Sky's waterskin on the other. The name Clement Marten, along with many others in documents, doesn't ring a bell to him. "Uh, no, I don't know these names... Gibb, Kailli, Osprey, and I were a team. ...Dear storms, there're a lot of names here..." his thought wanders off. The news of Kailli and Gibb's demise depress him. "They were good people." He holds a moment of silence. Sky, Kló, and Roots's words of encouragement lift his spirits, however. "T-thank you. You're right! There's still work to do! The mission isn't over yet! Explore, Report, Cooperate!" he hypes himself up. There's apparently still some explorer'e energy left in him. "I left my equipment in the other room. I'll go get them," he tells Xun when asked about his weaponry and readiness for self-defense. "Thanks to the food you lent me, I think I have the strength to defend myself!" Larraz can't wait to go outside and reunite with his animal companion, so you follow him to the cart. "Desert Wind! It's you!" The half-orc bursts into tears of joy, and the horse seems jubilant as well. The druid hugs and pets his companion, and for a moment you might forget the bleak realities of the desolate Gravelands. After a brief celebration, his gaze turns to the bodies on the cart. "Are those...?" He inspects the goblin corpse that was found at the chapel, and confirms it to be Gibb. The small corpse from the tavern, however, is not Kailli's. Larraz breathes a sigh of relief and says, "May this poor soul rest in peace whoever they are. Kailli might still be alive, thank the gods." "Wait, what was that about 'undying mountains' coming this way?" he looks at the leshy. Sky: Finding a survivor is uplifting and seeing him reunite with his horse is heartwarming, to be sure, but you have a job to do. While Larraz is gathering his stuff and inspecting the bodies, you're simultaneously flipping through the notebook's pages. The diagrams, the cipher, the secrecy of it all. What could it mean? The author was clearly writing with some purpose in mind. Though the notebook's true contents may never be revealed to you, perhaps someone else at the Vodavani Lodge is more equipped to decrypt notes like these.
Larraz gladly accepts Arfsnarf's offer. "Oh, thank you Gibb." He quickly notices his slip of the tongue and becomes a bit embarrassed. "Err, sorry. Old habits. I don't think we've been introduced?"
You give the poor man some space by clearing the room, and defuse the situation. "Wh- What? Pathfinders?" he looks at Sky Shark, failing to make eye contact due to the monk's mask, and then the others. (He doesn't seem to understand what Roots is talking about.) "Is it really possible? You- you're not- I mean you don't look like necromancers or undead." The panicked grimace on his face starts to dissolve into a smile. After some convincing, the scrawny druid calms down enough to listen to reason. Words start flooding out from his mouth. "I- I don't know what to say! I'm relieved, I guess! I'm definitely relieved! Oh," he takes a saluting pose, "I'm Larraz Virtanne, Pathfinder agent! I, uh, we... our group is in a bit of disarray at the moment. Are you- you're here for a rescue mission, aren't you?" You give a briefing about your mission. "That's great! Oh, have you seen my teammates? We were found ourselves trapped here in Lastwall when... Well, when the undead hordes swept through the land. The waters have been tainted, the trees have dropped their leaves. Even the undergrowth of forests has mutated into twisted, thorny forms," the druid laments. His group, Larraz explains, found themselves trapped when the Whispering Tyrant's forces first assaulted Lastwall, and have since then been making slow progress towards Ustalavic border. About a month ago, the group found their way to Goldenflame, which had already fallen. "We stopped at Goldenflame to stockpile for supplies and look for anyone needing a rescue. But the town had already fallen to the undead, and we were ambushed! The Wind and the Waves, there were many of them! During the battle, I was separated from my group and companion — ah, Desert Wind, my horse." You interrupt Larraz to tell him that his horse is safe and sound and right outside the college. "R-really?! Oh, Desert Wind, I knew you'd make it! Thank you! Thank you, truly!" "Anyway," he continues his story, "separated and alone, I fled to Goldenflame College, seeking shelter here. I, uh, haven't really dared to go outside except to replenish my dwindling supplies." Larraz is indeed clearly in a malnourished state: pale, thin, and hunched over. "This place is really interesting, though! If you're looking for Lastwall relics, there's some valuable stuff upstairs, I'm sure!"
After a quick rendezvous, you decide to inspect the west portion of the college, and enter the door on the right. The room there has a velvet-lined sofa pushed up against its east wall, now covered in a layer of dust and sawdust. Broken chairs rest in the northwest. Judging from the layout of the furniture, this room served no apparent purpose, other than being a lounge, or a space for studying. A small closet and empty office, both with their doors torn off or kicked in, are to the north. Closed wooden doors lead to the north and east. GM Screen:
Just as they're about to move on, Kló and Xun hear faint, ragged sobs coming from beneath the sofa. Onyx starts barking at the sofa, having heard the whimpering as well. A scrawny half-orc scurries out from his hiding place beneath the sofa. Panicking and frightened, the stranger screams as he struggles to flee the cramped lounge, "No! No no NO! AAAAAAUGGH! Please no! Please no!" He tumbles and trips in uncontrollable panic, and puts his back against the wall when he finds no path for escape. He's wearing camouflage-patterned padded armor. He appears to be unarmed except for a sling hanging from his belt. Kló spies a holly and a mistletoe tucked in his bracelet: sure signs of a fellow druid. The half-orc druid is breathing heavily and doesn't show any signs of calming down soon. "I- I- I'm begging you! Spare me! SPARE ME!"
Hm. While I don't like punishing players for the faults of Paizo's website, I also would prefer not to bot a PC for extended periods of time. Unsure what to do. Let's hope Sieglinde returns shortly. For beginning the investigation in the Goldenflame College, your mission nears its completion: you all gain 1 Hero Point, except Xun who gets 2, for his efforts in organizing the search in the town and for caring about his fellow players.
The group halts the exploration for a moment in favor of investigating the clues and scenes. The masked monk starts flipping the notebook's pages. It contains hand-written, esoteric diagrams — it's as if the journal's contents were written in some sort of cipher. Sky turns the pages, each more complicated than the last. The words are in Common, but they make very little sense: "clock time two ball, emergence delay seven authority..." The diagrams, geometric shapes and graphs, are no help either. Perhaps you're missing context, or a cipher key. Xun leads his dog to the reception room, and has a look around. Onyx once again shows some interest in the sofa, but once the half-orc pulls out the matresses the reason becomes clear: someone had dropped breadcrumbs between the cushions. After a while, the duo conclude that the reception area contains nothing that concerns their mission. Kló walks past Xun and Onyx to continue his medical investigation. Who knew the man of the wilds would end up being the forensic specialist? Kló:
The corpse is actually rather small, so Kló decides to first ascertain its ancestry. It appears to belong to a gnome or a halfling... but upon closer inspection, Kló is able to say for certain that it was a middle-aged halfling female. The cut wounds on her back were done pre-mortem, but they were not the sole cause of death: she was also bitten several times. Judging from the way her body was posed, with her arm stretching out towards the college door, it seems that she was desperately trying to get indoors before she was overwhelmed by a large group of undead. Sieglinde crounches next to Kló, inspecting the halfling corpse's robes. She doesn't have much to say about them. Arfsnarf and Roots focus their attention on the well. With the help of Roots's rope and torch and Arfsnarf's bravery, the duo manage to lower the goblin deep into the well. There, Arfsnarf makes a great discovery! A frog! A bit slippery fellow. Aside from the amphibian, the well contains nothing valuable, save for drinkable water which could be considered valuable in the Gravelands.
The group's leshy and goblin separate from the group to sneak around the college building. The college is surrounded by a foresty thicket, which gives Roots ample opportunities for camouflage.
Led by your new dog companion, the rest of you enter the college from the center entrances, into a reception area of sorts. The lobby is a small and modest room: a dusty sofa and small chairs are the only furnishings that remain. Two small windows to the east look out over the front lawn. Aside from the two entrance doors, a third door leads into the main hall. Onyx sniffs at the sofa a bit. You open the door slightly, and cautiously take a peek into the main hall. Perhaps once majestic, the vast hall now resembles a cave: dark and damp. Dirt and standing water obscure the once-pristine white and gray tiled floor, and a series of stone columns stretching to the ceiling are covered in grime and mold. Sweeping staircases to the northwest and southwest lead upward, as does a spiral staircase. Smashed statues and torn paintings line the walls here: the signs of a struggle. Several doors exit to various rooms to the north, south, and east. Meanwhile the two small sneaky agents discover, well, a well, near the college building exterior. The well is equipped with the requisite bucket. Arfsnarf and Roots then take a cautious peek through the nearby door, and discover the aforementioned main hall.
Arfsnarf, motivated by a healthy amount of necrophobia, telekinetically launches a fist-sized rock at the corpse on the porch. The rock pounces off, and there's no reaction from the corpse. Xun utilizes his magical artefact, and his onyx idol transforms into the form of a living dog. The party has gained a new member! Onyx, while eagerly sniffing the ground, walks to the corpse. After some more sniffing, it turns its head to the party and lets out a small bark. Judging from the way it excitedly wags its tail, it seems the corpse is safe to approach. You walk to the veranda, your attention focused on the face-down body. The corpse is clad in dirtied white-and-red robes with gold trim, shredded from the back, presumably by claws of the undead.
You find a small notebook near the corpse; it presumably fell from the victim. The journal's pages stained with dried blood.
From the veranda, two large doors seem lead to the college building's main hall. There's also doors leading to what appears to be a small lobby or reception area.
Oops, I must've missed that. Sorry Roots! You didn't specify that you were using the oats to tame the wild horse, but I suppose it was implicit. I also notice that I forgot to resolve some other actions too. No idea what happened there -- apologies again.
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