We're obviously not meeting the deadline in this game, but I am willing to go on if the players are. If this is not a good time, we can postpone until you fine folk have more free time?
Okay, folks. This is moving slower than I anticipated. For various reasons.
After some thought and deliberation today, I have a plan.
We will do out-of-context combats. In a separate thread. While that is happening, we will parallelly continue with this thread for the story/mystery AND actual story-related encounters.
This is to allow all of us to participate in the survey on time, and have an actual narrative here.
Thoughts? I know this is not everyone's cup of tea, so let me know - Who's in, who's not?
Talin raises an eyebrow once, and then further and further as Lanni speaks. "Fascinating..." she notes, and thinks for a second as she looks around the room.
"Right!" she claps her hands together. "Well, I don't know what else to tell you here. Leave that rusty piece with me, I will ask about it tomorrow morning. Alternatively, you could take it and check with them directly at the White Goose Inn in the Central Square? That's where they are staying. Your call. I have a meeting with one of the town priests pretty early tomorrow, so I should go lie down. Unless there is anything else?"
The dwarf looks at the piece, and raises an eyebrow. "I mean that could be from any number of things. A tool of some sort?" she shrugs " This kind of rust doesn't happen in a year. I mean the rest of the door was in great shape. Probably not from this room to begin with. I can check with the guys that work on the wall when they come in tomorrow?"
Lanni Talimbi wrote:
"You have any ideas?" he asks to no one you can see.
Talin tosses a weird glance, then turns to the rest of the group, whispering "What's going on in there?", she points towards Lanni's head.
You look around the room for a while while others consider and debate options. It takes a while, sifting through the partially swept dust and rubble. Just as you are about to give up, something odd catches your eye. In this room full of dark gray stone, you notice... rust?
You bend over to look closer and pull out a small cylinder or rusted metal from the debris. The cylinder is hollow, resembling a tube of sorts. As you look over it under torchlight, you notice the inner wall is much less rusted, and lined with circular ridges. As if the ridges were scratched into the inner wall of the thing.
On the outside, a single straight line of material is protruding from it from one end of the cylinder to the other. Whatever that protrusion was, it rusted and broke off.
40 min to midnight here. I will have more responses tomorrow, but I need to lie down. You got -something- though, so you can brainstorm in the meantime.
"I will be honest with you here. Since this door was one of the two doors that were protecting the treasury, it was reinforced, with multiple mechanisms and bolts that were inserted into holes in the stone upon locking. Security was a priority. As far as I am aware, it contained some complex clockwork, similar to a safe. It was actually pretty expensive. A few hundred gold, actually. So the obvious answer is price." she furrows her brow and scratches her temple.
"On the other hand, whoever... removed them... got through the front door, which is no simple feat either. AND-“ she raises her index finger "the actual contents of the room were - well, still are, just temporarily relocated - worth much more. Why go through the effort if you are not stealing cutrency, but a HEAVY, LARGE, CUMBERSOME door that is hard to move around? I am honestly baffled by the situation."
"Clues, no. That's why you are here, but I will try to help however I can. Feel free to look around. I assume magic was involved, but I don't dabble. I breed horses, can work a forge, and can clean up and close a wound. Even in my adventuring days, I swung a hammer and strategised. We had a mystic for sparkly things. No offense. It is an art, but I do my thing instead."
I wasn't calling out anyone specific. Just a general observation attributed to the killer deadlines I have set. Again, there is a reason for it, but I am not blaming anyone here. We all have lives.
“You said the door was solid. Was it made of anything unusual? Something other than pine or oak?”
Talin thinks about it for a while. "It was a while ago, but it was made from sort of evergreen. Pine or fir. I mean I can go scour my ledgers if you really need that information. It was nothing imported or exotic if that's what you are asking. But it was a well-made door. Nice in its simplicity. Symulli might have kept a sketch somewhere if you want to know what it looked like. If she keeps those. Your guess is as good as mine."
Colonel Tipper wrote:
Tipper runs his hand along one of the walls. Looking at Talin, he says “Was there anyplace that the walls looked odd? Like it was dug up and then put back together?”
"Nothing of the sort." she moves her hand over one of the other walls in the room. "Pretty much indistinguishable from this one. Same stone, same mortar, even the same moss and lichen. Like I said - as if the door was never there to begin with.
Thatch the Tengu wrote:
He examines the site that Talin is marking and how unusual it is. "Could it be magic of some sort? Seems to precise to be anything else."
"I mean, if you have a mortar recipe that solidifies perfectly over the course of 8 or less hours, you let me know, and we can sell that thing to every engineer or builder in the world. We will make bank!" she smiles. "Like I said - it happened throughout me sleeping. And I check the locks every night before I sleep and when I wake up. At this point, it helps me sleep and is a morning ritual. You know, check locks, drink a cup of coffee, take a-" she clears her throat. "Relieve yourself."
Sorry, I forgot to mention, if it was not clear - they are tearing down the wall to the treasury and reconstructing it to fit in a new door. Hence the debris.
"Hmm... Some big ranks here. Okay, okay. Yes, I am Talin. I oversee this community. Kind of. Let me bring you some snacks while I clean up. Be right with you. Please take a seat in the garden." she ushers you to a gazebo in a small apple orchard next to the house. She disappears into the house to reemerge a minute later with a plate containing dried apple chips, a pie, a carafe with red liquid and a few glasses. She gently puts the plate on the table in the gazebo. "Please help yourself to whatever you fancy. I'm a mess. Unfortunately, I don't 'do' servants so you will have to pour and slice yourselves. Just give me a few minutes."
She starts leaving, then stops and turns around "Pie is gooseberry and apricot, baked today for the workers. We were busy so they left me some. Back in a moment."
Talin disappears again, and leaves you alone for a few minutes. The gazebo offers a pleasant view of the Sellen River and the hills beyond, and the soothing splashes coming from the river itself are only occasionally interrupted by the buzz of insects. Several minutes later, you hear rushed footsteps from inside the house, and Talin appears with her own empty glass and another carafe just in case. Her hair is even darker than before, now that it is clear of dust and soot, but wet. She has a more presentable, summer dress and sits down with you.
"Right, sorry - I had to clean up. Hello again..."
You spend a few moments with small talk. She reveals that she used to roam Artume and a few surrounding kingdoms with your province captain and a few others back in her days, then decided to settle down here, and after she built her house, she decided to get into the pony and horse breeding business. A small ranch turned into a growing community...
"So now, I have a small settlement named after me." she smiles an accomplished smile with a hint of price. "Dwarves used to make fun of my name at the forge. Called me Sweatyfeet instead. Heh, the cheeky bastards. All good fun." Talin laughs at the memory. "That's why I left to begin with. The joke's on them. I brought some more recognition to the family name by founding" she makes air quotes at the word "this here community."
She waits for you to finish the offered snacks and drinks, and puts on a more serious face. "But anyway - you are here for a reason. And I have responsibilities as well. I will give you a crash course. For the last two weeks, we have had some curious happenings in the community. Sentries tell me they saw an increased kobold presence just beyond the farmlands. We know they live nearby. There is an abandoned quarry just south of here. They used to mine limestone there and drag it upriver to Artume City for construction. Not sure why they stopped and abandoned the place, but kobolds moved in. We have an understanding. They leave us alone, we leave them alone. We sometimes trade. Well, we give them leftover compost. They eat it, I guess? Anyway, they are not aggressive, but it's strange that they are moving around unannounced."
She puts her hands together. "The other thing... Fey. Roughly at the same time, there have been sightings of fairies and satyrs and whatnot. More than usual. In the forest just east of here. People tell me the fey play tricks on travellers on the road to Thom and Gralton, which is problematic - we export a quarter of our livestock to those areas, more or less. So it's bad for business. I would look into that myself, but I have more pressing issues here in town. Which leads me to..." she stands up. "Let me show you. Follow me, please."
She slowly moves to the front door and waits for you to catch up and invites you inside. This is the first time you actually see the interior. Both wooden floors and furniture seem well made, but nothing too flashy or fancy. The house is segmented in a simple manner. A main entrance hall, kitchen, a living room with a fireplace, a bedroom, and an office with a table and chair, otherwise filled with stacks of paperwork and ledgers in glass-paned cabinets. "I need to find a place to store that. Don't mind the mess, please." Talin adds as she gives you the tour. The 'mess' meaning the trail of dust and rock pebbles heading from the pile of debris in the yard all the way into the house, and down the stairs, presumably to the cellar.
Once you enter the cellar, there is an intersection. One leads to a winery with a small table, a few barrels, and a handful of wine racks. The other hallway, the one with the trail of debris, is a shorter one. The entire group barely fits in there, but interestingly enough, the trail ends underneath a dirty curtain.
"Gentlemen, I present to you, our treasury.", Talin gestures towards the curtain. "I know what you think: 'Treasury? Surely it must be picked clean!', and you would be right. But probably not for the reasons you think. We moved all content to a different location. We recounted multiple times. Nothing was missing. With one exception."
She lets the words hang in the air for a moment, and dramatically tears down the curtain, revealing a small room - empty, if it were not for the debris - roughly five by ten feet, "The door. It's the only thing that was missing. It was a nice door, too. Sturdy, and reinforced, several locks, I had it made by Zeerd and Symulli last year. Our master locksmith and carpenter, respectively. All chests were here, still locked, and full. BUT..." she waits again "the door was not just gone. It was like it was never there. Imagine my confusion, moving down to get wages for the people, I have my keys in hand, come here, and there's a wall. As if someone took down the door, and put a wall up overnight, right under my nose as I was sleeping. Front door? Locked from inside. Office door? Locked. I looked, and found nothing."
She looks back at you. "So... thoughts? Questions? Theories? I'm all ears."
I intended to start with a much more intense scene, but seeing that characters are still not ready, we can do some briefing scenes instead.
In any case, I plan on doing a few encounters ranging from easy to extreme to see how the playtest classes fare. Hopefully, we will manage to do so on time.
Taking turns using the well in the square, the party quickly cleans up the mud and other substances from the trip. You collectively approach the manor near the river. As you enter the grounds, you notice a surprisingly out of place pile of debris resting to the side of the gate. A handful of workers move cartwheels full of what seems to be broken stone blocks. They look at you as you enter the yard and quietly nod to greet you as you move past.
While the hedged-off grounds are easily the largest in the hamlet, the manor itself is a humble one, given the circumstances - single story building made of stone, treated wooden roof, about 40 feet across with a little terrace to the side, leading into a garden of apple trees and flowers of various colours. To the other side of the house, you see a water wheel next to what seems like a small pier extended into the river.
The front door is ajar, and a trail of dust and small pebbles leads from the interior all the way to the debris pile near the hedge. You step to the front door, and knock a few times. After a few attempts, a female dwarf appears in the hall, wiping dust and grime off of her forehead and hands into a dirty rag. She is dressed in simple clothes, and while not torn, it seems they saw some rough times in the recent days. Her black hair is tied in a large knot above her shoulderblades. "Hello..." she gives you a curious glance, and a a sudden spark of realisation comes to her. She approaches further wipes her hands and offers a handshake.
"You must be Began's people! We're just wrapping up for the day. Doing some-" she pauses to consider her words. "reconstruction. We'll get to that in a moment. I'm Talin Dewfoot. Eh..." she pauses as she looks at the debris on her floor. "A moment, please. I'll be right with you."
She turns and addresses the workers, shouting with a commanding voice "Alright, everyone, pack it up! Leave everything where it is. I'll see you tomorrow morning."
The workers move their tools to the side of the walkway, and start gathering up to get some rest for the night. Once they are out of the gate, Talin looks at you. "Long journey? Can I offer you anything before we get down to business? Some wine, something to chew on?" she asks as she splashes her face in what seems like a temporarily repurposed birdbath.
I do a lot of Org Play gaming and I know they were pretty permissive about ability score generation. I couldn’t remember off the top of my head if replacing standard ancestry ability mods with two bumps was the standard rules or a variant.
Quickly checking my PDF of 4th printing, I can’t find where they hid the rule.
In any case, since I knew it wasn’t the default method I asked before proceeding.
No worries.
Colonel Tipper wrote:
@NotEspi Thanks for the reply. Sorry if it increased your stress level, I wasn’t trying to be a problem.
It caught me off guard and my brain went to sarcastic joke mode. Conveying such tone over text is... Well, you probably know. Otherwise, I think you will find me being a very mellow individual.
Lanni can't quite put a finger on the smell. It reminds you of something, but it's somewhere in the back of your head, struggling to remain buried. It's definitely animal-related, and while not a pleasant smell, it doesn't cause any negative emotions within you.
Kingdom of Artume, River Kingdoms - Toilday, Rova 12th, 4723 AR
The sun hangs in the orange sky just above the low hills beyond the Selen river. One by one, crickets start their evening performance, and as the cool east breeze hits your faces, you look downhill to the south to see the wooden palisade surrounding your destination - the Dewfoot Hamlet. With the area around the fortification peppered by small farmhouses, fields, and enclosures, the Hamlet seems like a community focused on agriculture. Various animals are being herded back to their pens for the evening - pigs, cows, sheep, but most prominently, horses. The sight would be quite idyllic if it were not for the smell of manure and something far worse that you can not seem to pinpoint. If you were to guess, a mix of blood, eggs, salt, and various scented oils, presumably to hide the other smells.
Waiting a few moments to take in the surroundings and to brace yourselves against the ongoing assault on your nostrils - one that probably won’t lessen with proximity - you start moving down the hill towards the gateway in the palisade. You move past multiple farmhouses, and most of the locals give you a wave or nod as you go past. Others are too focused on their evening work to notice you, but all eyes you meet seem welcoming, if curious. Moving past the farms, you approach the palisade. Judging by the stone arch and scaffolding surrounding the entrance, it seems to be in the process of being upgraded. A small group of workers, exhausted after a full day’s work are packing their tools and getting ready to leave. They eye you as you walk, and joke that you’re the new crew for tomorrow.
Once you pass through the gate, you see a small circular square surrounded by small buildings, mostly storefronts with their individual stalls being packed up for the night. Almost in the middle of the square, you see a well. The road itself continues around the well to form a street heading deeper into the Hamlet. A hundred meters in or so, the road ends in another circular square with a well, but this square easily eclipses the first one by size alone. The diameter is almost three times as large, rows of young trees planted to make shade, and there is a well, a low-ish podium, and several hitching posts.
If you stand in the middle of the square, you can see it branches out into five other streets, not counting the ‘Gate street’. Exactly opposite of the gate, you see a large house on a small hill, surrounded by a hedge fence - your client's residence, as the Captain’s missive describes it. You look at each other, note the sunlight slowly disappearing, and ponder your next move.
After dealing with the aggressive arboreals, you manage to find your way back to the caravan. The crew is eager to hear what you have to say about your hunting o the thief, and once you share whatever you wish, they start moving further down the road to return to Sakabe.
A few weeks of travel - without incidents, for a change - take you back to the Kiniro Kyomai teahouse and within, Amara Li is eagerly waiting for your report. Seeing you also brought back Lin Po and Ti Lan, she comes closer towards you. "Thank you for bringing back your fellow agents as well. What have you two been up to, exactly?"
You hand over the wild bonsai, and she observes it for a while with child-like wonder. "Fascinating. Such a thing growing on its own. It's amazing, isn't it?"
Once the warden tree goes down, the bonsai starts swirling with motes of warm, green light. Even before Dimitsi leaves the circle, the kitsune watches the process with interest as it sits down. Not even half a minute later, the bonsai smoothly ejects a small humanoid figure with moss-like skin and a wide conical hat.
The creature looks at all of you, and bows and you hear an odd voice in your heads. "Thank you, for returning me home. And, of course, for dispatching the usurpers that had profaned my groove during my imprisonment. You may take the tree with you if you wish. You will be welcome in my grove if you wish to return here. But sections of the Spirit Road and the forest still remain dangerous. Be cautious."
Dorobu stands up from his knees as he looks at the creature. He greets the creature in a strange language, and gently bows towards it. He talks to the creature for a few brief moments, then turns to you. "I appreciate the help. These would belong to you, probably." the kitsune hands over a sack filled with what seem to be goods from the caravan he took with the bonsai. A few weeks worth of rations and medical supplies. Along with a small selection of coins. Total worth 3.8 gp
He also offers his weapon - a long, curved, single-edged blade with a squared guard and long grip to accommodate two hands. Some of you may recognise this weapon as a katana.
"I was planning to use this to cut down the aggressive arboreals, but it seems that is now sorted out. Please accept as a token of my gratitude and an apology for stealing the bonsai. I assure you I had the forest's best intentions in mind, even if it might not have seemed that way."
This concludes the mechanical portion of this adventure. I will get to work on reporting. Feel free to continue the conversation, or return to the caravan to take it back to Minkai. As you wish.
Did a minor recalculation of the damage. One of the weaknesses was more than I calculated beforehand, so I added an extra 5 damage to the warden.
The warden is attacked by a barrage of spells and arrows. It gets struck by spells from Eldon and Gympie, one arrow from the direction of Thalaasi misses wildly. Another arrow aims for the warden from Nilaglade's bow, but the arboreal raises his shield to block it. It still punctures through and does some minor damage to the bark.
Lokaloka summons another minion to do her bidding.
Fight for the Kami - 3
Conditions: Inspire Courage until the start of Loka's turn 4.
Honzak and Dimitsi
Lokaloka
Nilaglade
Dorobu
Thalaasi
Warden ( warden -55 hp / shield -10 hp )
Gympie
Eldon
GM Screen:
WEAK ARBOREAL WARDEN CREATURE 3
N LARGE PLANT
Pathfinder Bestiary 6, 24
Perception +11; low-light vision
Languages Arboreal, Common, Senzar, Sylvan, Tien
Skills Athletics +13, Stealth +9 (+14 in forests)
Str +5, Dex +1, Con +3, Int +1, Wis +3, Cha +1
Items large bark shield (Hardness 3, Hit Points 20, BT 10),
stone longsword
AC 20 (22 with shield raised); Fort +13, Ref +9, Will +11
HP 75; Weaknesses axe vulnerability, fire 10; Resistances
bludgeoning 5, piercing 5
Axe Vulnerability An arboreal warden takes 5 additional
damage from axes.
Attack of Opportunity [reaction]
Shield Block [reaction]
I think that the creature would still have acid on it and take 1 hp of damage unless it beats the flat check, correct?
Just checked. That only happens when you crit the target. I will move this forward now.
Acid Splash wrote:
Cantrip 1
Acid Attack Cantrip Evocation
Source Core Rulebook pg. 316 3.0
Traditions arcane, primal
Bloodline demonic
Cast somatic, verbal
Range 30 feet; Targets 1 creature
You splash a glob of acid that splatters your target and nearby creatures. Make a spell attack. If you hit, you deal 1d6 acid damage plus 1 splash acid damage. On a critical success, the target also takes 1 persistent acid damage.
Heightened (3rd) The initial damage increases to 1d6 + your spellcasting ability modifier, and the persistent damage increases to 2.
Heightened (5th) The initial damage increases to 2d6 + your spellcasting ability modifier, the persistent damage increases to 3, and the splash damage increases to 2.
Heightened (7th) The initial damage increases to 3d6 + your spellcasting ability modifier, the persistent damage increases to 4, and the splash damage increases to 3.
Heightened (9th) The initial damage increases to 4d6 + your spellcasting ability modifier, the persistent damage increases to 5, and the splash damage increases to 4.
Thalaasi fires an arrow imbued with acid. It hits the trunk and blackens some of the bark.
The Warden charges Dimitsi using the shield as a ram. As it swings the shield branch, Dimitsi deftly dodges the attack. The warden decides to try to sword instead, but the momentum is already lost. Dimitsi dodges once more with ease.
Using the opportunity, Dorobu lobs another ball of fire at the arboreal. But timing is not good. He hurls his fire just as the arboreal is swinging at Dimitsi, and doesn't quite anticipate the moement. The flame attack goes wide, and ends up fizzling out in the distance.
Fight for the Kami - Round 2 + 3 - Everyone can go
Conditions: Inspire Courage until the start of Loka's turn 4.
Honzak and Dimitsi
Lokaloka
Nilaglade
Dorobu
Thalaasi
Warden ( warden -26 hp / shield -5 hp )
Gympie
Eldon
Gm Stuff:
WEAK ARBOREAL WARDEN CREATURE 3
N LARGE PLANT
Pathfinder Bestiary 6, 24
Perception +11; low-light vision
Languages Arboreal, Common, Senzar, Sylvan, Tien
Skills Athletics +13, Stealth +9 (+14 in forests)
Str +5, Dex +1, Con +3, Int +1, Wis +3, Cha +1
Items large bark shield (Hardness 3, Hit Points 20, BT 10),
stone longsword
AC 20 (22 with shield raised); Fort +13, Ref +9, Will +11
HP 75; Weaknesses axe vulnerability, fire 10; Resistances
bludgeoning 5, piercing 5
Axe Vulnerability An arboreal warden takes 5 additional
damage from axes.
Attack of Opportunity [reaction]
Shield Block [reaction]
Honzak wasn't targeting the warden yet. He was just targeting a random tree/not targeting as the effect is more useful if Dimitsi can then follow up with an attack or three.
Nothing else is there, but okay, I will consider that on your next turn. In the office now. Will follow up when I have some time.
Dorobu Produce Flame vs 16(Blue):1d20 + 12 ⇒ (8) + 12 = 202d4 ⇒ (1, 4) = 5 Eldon stealth vs 21:1d20 + 8 ⇒ (16) + 8 = 24 Warden, will vs 18:1d20 + 11 ⇒ (10) + 11 = 21
As the hulking tree prepares to swing with the blade, Gympie moves in to intercept, and attacks the creature with a ball of fire. The tree immediately raises a shield to defend itself from the attack, but Gympie's projectile flies into the distance anyway.
As it looks at Gympie, the tree is immediately barraged by a series of attacks from Lokaloka, and Eldon. One arrow from Eldon embeds itself into the now raised shield, but three- pickles? Yes. Three pickles find their way into the ridges in the bark. Honzak keeps his floating instruments playing, but the warden is too distracted by the smell of brine to be affected by the music (passed the save).
While all that is happening, Nilaglade and Dorobu attack the pine brute in unison. Nilaglade manages to land two arrows out of three. Both embed themselves into the branches, and the creature squeals in pain. Dorobu summons a ball of fire, not unlike the one Gympie lobbed at the large tree. Instead, Dorobu attacks the boar-like creature. As the ball strikes, the sap covering the creature catches fire, and burns it to ash.
Thalaasi's turn, then the large tree, then everyone else
Fight for the Kami - Round 2
Conditions: Inspire Courage until the start of Loka's turn 4.
Honzak and Dimitsi
Lokaloka
Nilaglade
Dorobu
Thalaasi Pine Brute ( -7 hp -8 nilaglade -10 (5+5) dorobu )
Arboreal Warden ( warden -20 hp / shield -5 hp )
Gympie
Eldon
GM screen:
WEAK ARBOREAL WARDEN CREATURE 3
N LARGE PLANT
Pathfinder Bestiary 6, 24
Perception +11; low-light vision
Languages Arboreal, Common, Senzar, Sylvan, Tien
Skills Athletics +13, Stealth +9 (+14 in forests)
Str +5, Dex +1, Con +3, Int +1, Wis +3, Cha +1
Items large bark shield (Hardness 3, Hit Points 20, BT 10),
stone longsword
AC 20 (22 with shield raised); Fort +13, Ref +9, Will +11
HP 75; Weaknesses axe vulnerability, fire 10; Resistances
bludgeoning 5, piercing 5
Axe Vulnerability An arboreal warden takes 5 additional
damage from axes.
Attack of Opportunity [reaction]
Shield Block [reaction]
Shield Push[two-actions] The arboreal warden Strides and then makes
a shield bash Strike. If the attack hits, the target is pushed
10 feet.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
PINE BRUTE (0) CREATURE 1
N MEDIUM PLANT
Perception +7, low-light vision
Languages Arboreal, Senzar, Sylvan, Tien
Skills Athletics +7, Stealth +4 (+8 in forests)
Str +4, Dex +1, Con +3, Int –1, Wis +2, Cha +0
AC 16; Fort +10, Ref +4, Will +7
HP 25; Weaknesses axe vulnerability, fire 5; Resistances
bludgeoning 5, piercing 5
Axe Vulnerability A pine brute takes 5 additional damage
from axes.
Sap A pine brute’s bark secretes sticky sap. Any creature that
hits the pine brute with a melee attack, is hit by the pine
brute, or otherwise touches the pine brute must succeed
at a DC 17 Reflex save or suffer the effects of a lesser
tanglefoot bag (Core Rulebook 545), also becoming clumsy
1 until the sticky substance is removed. A creature striking
the pine brute with a weapon or object can automatically
succeed at this Reflex save by leaving the object stuck
to the pine brute. The object can then be removed with a
successful DC 17 Athletics check (made as a single action).
A pine brute can have any number of objects stuck to it at
a time. The pine brute can release a stuck object by using a
single action, and the sap dissolves 1 minute after the pine
brute dies, releasing all stuck objects.
Speed 25 feet
Melee [one-action] branch +8, Damage 1d6+3 piercing plus sap
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
DOROBU CREATURE 3
UNIQUE NE MEDIUM HUMANOID KITSUNE
Perception +10, low-light vision
Languages Common, Druidic, Senzar, Tien
Skills Athletics +8, Intimidation +6, Nature +10, Survival +10
Str +3, Dex +1, Con +2, Int +0, Wis +4, Cha +1
Items hide armor, holly and mistletoe
AC 19; Fort +9, Ref +6, Will +12
You can try to RK the information. You did not attempt to speak with the pine brutes or the large tree. The kitsune is obvious, since it spoke with you in common earlier. Post soon. Starting to work on it now.
Thalaasi nocks an arrow, and chooses up a particularly smelly, but jagged stone to go strike his target in tandem with the arrow. The arrow embeds itself into the boar creature, and it seems like it doesn't mind at all. Ont he other hand, the jagged stone cuts several branches as it flies into it's overgrown hide. The boar leaves a trail of green pine needles as it runs towards Dimitsi to slash at it with one of the branches protruding from its back. The strike smacks Dimitsi across the chest, and sticky sap glues itself to his ribcage.
I need Dimitsi to make a DC 17 reflex save, or suffer a 10-foot movement speed penalty and become Clumsy 1
The hulking tree also moves closer to whoever is between it and the bonsai. This would be Dimitsi. It walks up, and gets ready to swing the large stone sword at the Eidolon
Fight for the Kami - Round 1+2
Conditions: Inspire Courage until the start of Loka's turn 4.
Honzak and Dimitsi
Lokaloka
Nilaglade
Dorobu
Thalaasi
Pine Brute ( -6 hp )
Arboreal Warden
Gympie
Eldon
GM Screen:
Quote:
WEAK ARBOREAL WARDEN CREATURE 3
N LARGE PLANT
Pathfinder Bestiary 6, 24
Perception +11; low-light vision
Languages Arboreal, Common, Senzar, Sylvan, Tien
Skills Athletics +13, Stealth +9 (+14 in forests)
Str +5, Dex +1, Con +3, Int +1, Wis +3, Cha +1
Items large bark shield (Hardness 3, Hit Points 20, BT 10),
stone longsword
AC 20 (22 with shield raised); Fort +13, Ref +9, Will +11
HP 75; Weaknesses axe vulnerability, fire 10; Resistances
bludgeoning 5, piercing 5
Axe Vulnerability An arboreal warden takes 5 additional
damage from axes.
Attack of Opportunity [reaction]
Shield Block [reaction]
Shield Push[two-actions] The arboreal warden Strides and then makes
a shield bash Strike. If the attack hits, the target is pushed
10 feet.
Quote:
PINE BRUTE (0) CREATURE 1
N MEDIUM PLANT
Perception +7, low-light vision
Languages Arboreal, Senzar, Sylvan, Tien
Skills Athletics +7, Stealth +4 (+8 in forests)
Str +4, Dex +1, Con +3, Int –1, Wis +2, Cha +0
AC 16; Fort +10, Ref +4, Will +7
HP 25; Weaknesses axe vulnerability, fire 5; Resistances
bludgeoning 5, piercing 5
Axe Vulnerability A pine brute takes 5 additional damage
from axes.
Sap A pine brute’s bark secretes sticky sap. Any creature that
hits the pine brute with a melee attack, is hit by the pine
brute, or otherwise touches the pine brute must succeed
at a DC 17 Reflex save or suffer the effects of a lesser
tanglefoot bag (Core Rulebook 545), also becoming clumsy
1 until the sticky substance is removed. A creature striking
the pine brute with a weapon or object can automatically
succeed at this Reflex save by leaving the object stuck
to the pine brute. The object can then be removed with a
successful DC 17 Athletics check (made as a single action).
A pine brute can have any number of objects stuck to it at
a time. The pine brute can release a stuck object by using a
single action, and the sap dissolves 1 minute after the pine
brute dies, releasing all stuck objects.
Speed 25 feet
Melee [one-action] branch +8, Damage 1d6+3 piercing plus sap
Quote:
DOROBU CREATURE 3
UNIQUE NE MEDIUM HUMANOID KITSUNE
Perception +10, low-light vision
Languages Common, Druidic, Senzar, Tien
Skills Athletics +8, Intimidation +6, Nature +10, Survival +10
Str +3, Dex +1, Con +2, Int +0, Wis +4, Cha +1
Items hide armor, holly and mistletoe
AC 19; Fort +9, Ref +6, Will +12
Loka starts playing a song to boost her allies, Nilaglade fires two arrows, but none of them catches their target. Meanwhile, Dimitsi moves forward, scythe in hand, as Honzaq summons a quartet of instruments around him.
The Kitsune reaches for the mistletoe hanging around his neck. He speaks a quiet incantation, and vicious, long claws grow on his paws. He hunches over, as if returning to his primal roots, and looks at the attacking arboreals with a snarl.
Fight for the Kami - Round 1
Conditions: Inspire Courage until the start of Loka's turn 4.
Honzak and Dimitsi
Lokaloka
Nilaglade
Dorobu
Thalaasi
Pine Brute
Arboreal Warden
Gympie
Eldon
GM Screen:
Quote:
WEAK ARBOREAL WARDEN CREATURE 3
N LARGE PLANT
Pathfinder Bestiary 6, 24
Perception +11; low-light vision
Languages Arboreal, Common, Senzar, Sylvan, Tien
Skills Athletics +13, Stealth +9 (+14 in forests)
Str +5, Dex +1, Con +3, Int +1, Wis +3, Cha +1
Items large bark shield (Hardness 3, Hit Points 20, BT 10),
stone longsword
AC 20 (22 with shield raised); Fort +13, Ref +9, Will +11
HP 75; Weaknesses axe vulnerability, fire 10; Resistances
bludgeoning 5, piercing 5
Axe Vulnerability An arboreal warden takes 5 additional
damage from axes.
Attack of Opportunity [reaction]
Shield Block [reaction]
Shield Push[two-actions] The arboreal warden Strides and then makes
a shield bash Strike. If the attack hits, the target is pushed
10 feet.
Quote:
PINE BRUTE (0) CREATURE 1
N MEDIUM PLANT
Perception +7, low-light vision
Languages Arboreal, Senzar, Sylvan, Tien
Skills Athletics +7, Stealth +4 (+8 in forests)
Str +4, Dex +1, Con +3, Int –1, Wis +2, Cha +0
AC 16; Fort +10, Ref +4, Will +7
HP 25; Weaknesses axe vulnerability, fire 5; Resistances
bludgeoning 5, piercing 5
Axe Vulnerability A pine brute takes 5 additional damage
from axes.
Sap A pine brute’s bark secretes sticky sap. Any creature that
hits the pine brute with a melee attack, is hit by the pine
brute, or otherwise touches the pine brute must succeed
at a DC 17 Reflex save or suffer the effects of a lesser
tanglefoot bag (Core Rulebook 545), also becoming clumsy
1 until the sticky substance is removed. A creature striking
the pine brute with a weapon or object can automatically
succeed at this Reflex save by leaving the object stuck
to the pine brute. The object can then be removed with a
successful DC 17 Athletics check (made as a single action).
A pine brute can have any number of objects stuck to it at
a time. The pine brute can release a stuck object by using a
single action, and the sap dissolves 1 minute after the pine
brute dies, releasing all stuck objects.
Speed 25 feet
Melee [one-action] branch +8, Damage 1d6+3 piercing plus sap
Quote:
DOROBU CREATURE 3
UNIQUE NE MEDIUM HUMANOID KITSUNE
Perception +10, low-light vision
Languages Common, Druidic, Senzar, Tien
Skills Athletics +8, Intimidation +6, Nature +10, Survival +10
Str +3, Dex +1, Con +2, Int +0, Wis +4, Cha +1
Items hide armor, holly and mistletoe
AC 19; Fort +9, Ref +6, Will +12
He gives the proposition some thought and scans each of you with an arched eyebrow.
"Deal. Although - I want to level with you here. Whoever asked you to bring this tree to them probably doesn't want it because it's a nice little tree. The fact that a kami is trapped inside probably has something to do with it. But as I said - a deal is a deal."
He moves back to the magical circle around the tree to sit down.
As if on queue, nearby trees rustle, and a creature not unlike the ones you have encountered in the village appears in the bushes just on the edge of the clearing. It looks at the tree in the circle, and squeals loudly. A few seconds later, a large hulking tree walks out of the tree line, holding a piece of stone in the shape of a sword, and a split tree trunk as a shield. Both creatures rustle their leaves as they meet your gaze, and start walking toward the bonsai.
"NO!", the kitsune shouts at the arboreals. "I need more time! I came too close to be stopped!"
Shield Push[two-actions] The arboreal warden Strides and then makes
a shield bash Strike. If the attack hits, the target is pushed
10 feet.
Quote:
PINE BRUTE (0) CREATURE 1
N MEDIUM PLANT
Perception +7, low-light vision
Languages Arboreal, Senzar, Sylvan, Tien
Skills Athletics +7, Stealth +4 (+8 in forests)
Str +4, Dex +1, Con +3, Int –1, Wis +2, Cha +0
AC 16; Fort +10, Ref +4, Will +7
HP 25; Weaknesses axe vulnerability, fire 5; Resistances
bludgeoning 5, piercing 5
Axe Vulnerability A pine brute takes 5 additional damage
from axes.
Sap A pine brute’s bark secretes sticky sap. Any creature that
hits the pine brute with a melee attack, is hit by the pine
brute, or otherwise touches the pine brute must succeed
at a DC 17 Reflex save or suffer the effects of a lesser
tanglefoot bag (Core Rulebook 545), also becoming clumsy
1 until the sticky substance is removed. A creature striking
the pine brute with a weapon or object can automatically
succeed at this Reflex save by leaving the object stuck
to the pine brute. The object can then be removed with a
successful DC 17 Athletics check (made as a single action).
A pine brute can have any number of objects stuck to it at
a time. The pine brute can release a stuck object by using a
single action, and the sap dissolves 1 minute after the pine
brute dies, releasing all stuck objects.
Speed 25 feet
Melee [one-action] branch +8, Damage 1d6+3 piercing plus sap
The kitsune looks aroind at the clearing that surrounds you. "Based on what I know about this kami in particular, this glade is its ward. The thing it is connected to and wants to protect. It's in their nature, just like us breathing. But I must admit, I don't know how to set it free from the bonsai prison. Hence the offer to merge our existences into one. Which would probably grant me... abilities." he pauses before finishing the sentence, as if looking for the right expression.
"That, I find very intriguing. So yes - there is an ulterior motive. Power. But it's for a good cause, wouldn't you agree?"
While the vulpine's statement might be actually true, there is definitely a secondary motive here. One that he is hiding. Every time he looks at the bonsai, it seems to be with a certain degree of lust for power. He seems eager to continue where you interrupted him. You get the feeling that he is doing it for selfish reasons. Based on what you know about the kami, and the fact that the forest spirits previously shared experiences and memories with your friends, he probably wants to gain knowledge of this particular kami for himself, and use that for his own purposes.
"Why don't prisoners just leave their cells?", the kitsune almost laughs. "Clearly, it didn't trap itself in the tree itself, and it was probably not voluntary either. But when it was trapped, the trees it is watching over started attacking the visitors, even the inhabitants of the forest. Balance was disturbed. I intend to fix that. I will allow the kami to merge with my person, and we will watch over the forest together."
The vulpine smiles. "Well... What makes you say that? This one doesn't seem angry to me. It just wants out.", he nudges his head in the direction of the bonsai.
The Kitsune near the tree looks at you and seems startled for a second. He scans the direction from which the voices are coming. He looks at the book, lets out a frustrated sigh, and looks back at you.
"Hello.", he speaks with a slightly nervous undertone, then stands up from his sitting position and turns towards you.
"I assume you are about to claim to be the righteous owners?"
Eldon starts looking for signs of kitsune in the direction where the caravaneers pointed. Soon after, a set of biped paw prints are found. Another interesting thing is that the grass and other flora seem to be bending in the direction of the tracks.
After following the tracks off the road and navigating deeper into the forest for about an hour, you come to a circular clearing (familiar to Honzak from your previous spirit encounter) around 30 ft in diameter, all covered in snow. In the middle of the clearing, a vulpine creature dressed in light, but layered clothing. They are sitting on the ground reading from a book in front of what seems to be a planted bonsai. The bonsai is surrounded by a circle of magical runes and has a glowing aura around it. With the kitsune's attention focused on the tome in his lap, he doesn't notice you just yet.
No map for now. You emerge from the underbrush and see him in the middle of the clearing.
