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That’s a wrap, y’all! Hope y’all enjoyed it and thanks for hanging in there with me. Definitely the most challenging session I’ve ever GM’ed, ‘preciate y’all’s help with navigating the rules… I’ll leave this open for a couple of days to see if there are any issues with the Chronicles; the reporting was done at the close of Gameday but you can let me know if you have any issues there as well… See y’all around in the forums!
You guide the rescued prisoners away from the Insatiable Queen’s fortress, finding the golden dragon you rescued, Maurinaxian, was true to his word, having cleared the way back to the portal for you and your growing entourage of Golarion refugees… Upon your victorious arrival back to the Grand Lodge in Absalom, all honor and praise are heaped upon you. Venture Captain Ambrus Valsin is most pleased with you all, even Zaarah, whom he earlier thought was b@t$hit crazy! You are each promised choice assignments/stations. Osprey informs you that the mysterious red masked stranger also passed on his appreciation and would be looking on your future in the Society with great interest… With Izmiara defeated and driven away from Dominax Annuli, the demons in her service are overwhelmed by infighting as they struggle to take control of the Moonscar. You learn thru various channels now available to you that she eventually regains control of her disciples and focuses her attention solely on the Pathfinder Society, primarily you, in retaliation for their unforgivable offense. ======================================== Congratulations! You have successfully finished The Moonscar! You earn 3 XPs! For the rescue and return of Janira Gavix and Osprey, you are awarded 2 Prestige Points! For defeating Izmiara and driving her away from the Moonscar, you gain 1 Prestige Point! For gaining knowledge of potential sleeper agents on Golarion, you gain 1 Prestige Point!
Janira agrees enthusiastically to buy rounds for everyone; it is clear that she was here for the shortest amount of time and didn’t suffer quite the depredations of the ones who had been held longer… Osprey informs his saviors that the Insatiable Queen has been questioning him extensively about the Pathfinder Society and specifically about the Decemvirate, with whom the Pathfinder has a unique relationship. He assumed Izmiara intended to indoctrinate one of the Ten, and fears she may already have done so—a fact made nearly impossible to investigate given their anonymity behind their magical masks. Utomo describes to you how he witnessed Izmiara break one of the strange statues littered about while he was looking out from the mirror. The shattered figurine emitted an eerie light and a visible burst of raw magical energy. What the statues do or mean, however, he doesn’t know. In fact, these are mindbind figurines—unique statues linking the Insatiable Queen to some of her most highly placed sleeper agents on Golarion. The intact figurines located here represent a Vudrani maharajah; a sinister looking Chelish man in the raiment of an Asmodean cleric, who is a high-ranking member of the House of Thrune; an elegant female drow; a Mwangi chieftain; and a male dwarf whose skin is etched with runes. In addition to the intact mindbind figurines, the shattered remains of many more statuettes, some centuries or even millennia old, lie strewn about the chamber or displayed like prized trophies (these are the ones Agata identified with her History check)… Then the lillend you rescued early on, Vintari, who followed you a little while only to mysteriously disappear, flies towards you and lands next to you, a look of contrition on her face. ”Sorry for abandoning you…but you have no idea the things they did to those of us imprisoned…I fear you did not have the strength to prevail and I feared being under her torture again… “To show my gratitude for my rescue and your efforts, I can offer but a small service…I was nearby when you set off the disjunction trap and noticed it destroyed several items. While my magic is not great, I have enough to restore one broken item each back to you, if you wish…”
The prisoners shake their head at Marta’s pursuit proposal, Osprey saying, ”Izmiara has more resources than those you faced here; I presume she’ll be back and in force. And while you performed most excellent, I doubt the lady will underestimate your abilities next time. We should head back as soon as possible; you have a way back, I presume?”
Theodric draws his adamantine falcata as he approaches the mirror, averting his eyes, saying, ”Enough procrastination; let’s crack this open!” With one mighty swing, the mirror shatters… …and five people appear, their eyes in a state of shock…as they look about, they give off a relieved look when they see none of their tormentors… Some of you recognize the Pathfinder agent Osprey, Druman Kalistocrat Obenna Sirara, Garrin Levoye of Andoran’s People’s Council, Professor Zembe Utomo of the Magaambya, and… …Janira Gavix! Alongside them, you see a horned devil, he grins widely, saying, ”Scathscar, at your service, much obliged! Should you ever find yourself in Hell and need assistance, mention my name, I owe you one…” He then promptly disappears… Osprey appears to recognize several of you. ”Theodric…Alie…Zaarah…Marta…it has been a long time since you helped with that Adril Hestram affair. I am know indebted to you twice. Where is Izmiara?” Janira brushes herself off before her eyes light up. ”Marta! It has been ages since I guided you thru your Confirmation! You have rescued me twice now! Next round at the Pig's Paunch is on me! And yes, I’ll echo that question, where is the Insatiable Queen?”
It's the other things in there I'm worried about. Just a reminder, since we’ve been playing such a long time, the Decemvirate dude in the red mask you talked to towards the beginning, mentioned the following people were missing in addition to your primary rescue target, Janira (ones you’ve found thus far in bold): Pathfinder agent Osprey
Agata can discern that the mirror is not active at the moment…
Agata and the rest of you agree to Sweet Mawd’s request to commune with Desna… The answer to your first two questions are… Yes, Janira is trapped in the mirror… …and no, breaking the mirror will not harm her… Boudoir of the Insatiable Queen (Slide 1)
Alie detects the mirror and statuettes as magical… Mirror (Spellcraft DC32):
This is a Mirror of Life Trapping. Statuettes (Spellcraft DC40):
These are Mindbind Figurines.
Agata informs the party that the mirror is a Mirror of Life Trapping… Boudoir of the Insatiable Queen (Slide 1)
Marta respectfully takes down the angel’s corpse, puts her in a restful pose, and closes her eyes… Those of you that can fly can tell the darkness of the pit extends…a very long way…you’re not sure if it has a bottom… Detect Magic:
The mirror and the statuettes give off a magical aura… Boudoir of the Insatiable Queen (Slide 1)
Flint proves to be right, Izmiara, the Insatiable Queen, has fled to fight another day…to where, no one knows… You scour her boudoir, looking for signs of Janira… The silk-canopied bed is surrounded by six 2-foot-tall statues of various humanoids. Knowledge (History) DC35:
You identify several of the statuettes based on facial features, distinctive attire or weapons, or other unique features. Among the activated mindbind figurines are a man in the uniform of a high ranking officer in the Taldan army, identifiable as General Erestos Marburran, who led the Sixth Army of Exploration to its defeat at the Battle of Nagisa; an Azlanti man wielding a ranseur and wearing the raiment of a Runelord of Wrath; and an Abadaran archbanker who can be identified as Miliana Vistrara, the high priestess in Isarn in 4217 AR, when a virulent plague of Yellowtongue Sickness spread from Isarn across Avistan. On the western balcony stands a horrid mass of radiant flesh, gore, and metal. From notes crudely nailed to her body, you discover this was the angel Szeria who was acting as a scout for a celestial army and was trapped by the queen; her lacerated body is now the center of an art piece in Izmiara’s intimate chamber. Perhaps most gruesome of all are the rusted hooks pulling her eyelids back, locking her permanent, glasseyed gaze upon the Insatiable Queen’s bed; the angel’s final sight was one of her enemy’s vile acts of intimacy and debasement. The southwestern balcony holds a 4-foot square frame of adamantine around a section of the lunar glass wall polished to an impossible sheen—a mirror which is part of the wall and cannot be moved… Flint sees no signs of tracks, other than the creatures that they encountered in the room… Boudoir of the Insatiable Queen (Slide 1)
While Theodric’s beheads Irentios, Izmiara withstands Agata’s spell as a minor annoyance. Smirking, she says, ”You’ve not heard the last from me…next time we meet, I will be better prepared. Stay alive till then, handsome one, you will make recompense fro my scars…till now, something to remember me by…”
…then she flies swiftly down into the blackness of the pit, on the other side of the large pillar supporting her bedroom…and you notice her black sword disappears from where Theodric disarmed her… THE FINAL COMBAT is over! Pathfinders Victorious! Flint (-30; -57 NL)
Boudoir of the Insatiable Queen (Slide 1)
Zaarah tries to zap the Insatiable Queen with a cosmic ray…
…but the spell fizzles out as the ray raches her… She sneers at you all. ”Your precious Janira is a favorite pet of mine at present; I don’t return my pets often. Even if you survive, good luck finding her…” THE FINAL COMBAT! Round 2 / 3! The bold may post! Flint (-30; -57 NL)
Boudoir of the Insatiable Queen (Slide 1)
While Marta’s first two blows miss their mark, her fists flash even faster, striking Euphrixia in gut, chest, and chin in succession, the last blow snapping the succubus’ neck…her eyes glaze over and she falls towards the bottom of the pit without even a whimper… Alie moves 5’ north and uses her wily skill in spell casting to ensorcel the twisted sister of vengeance…
…and while the sister resists at first, she eventually succumbs and freezes in place on the shantak…her mount senses something is wrong, and flies away down into the pit… You see a darkness come over the eyes of Izmiara… [ooc…and then there was one…[/ooc] THE FINAL COMBAT! Round 2 / 3! The bold may post! Flint (-30; -57 NL)
Boudoir of the Insatiable Queen (Slide 1)
While Alie delays, Theodric decimates the shantak with his falcata striking repeatedly, never missing, as the beast shrieks in pain until the coup de gras comes as the last mighty blow decapitates the creature, both head and torso following into the pit of despair… Except for one, all of Flint’s arrows strike true, turning Betcezia into his own personal dartboard, the fifth arrow turning her to gas as she flees to her coffin… The enraged Queen shrieks out in anger. ”YOU WILL ALL PAY FOR THIS!” THE FINAL COMBAT! Round 2 / 3! The bold may post! Flint (-30; -57 NL)
Boudoir of the Insatiable Queen (Slide 1)
Finally made it to Texas…I’m wore out… First off, bad choice of words for the succubus on my part; she flew up from the pit as well…Izmiara has a telepathic link to each creature in this fight so they know where everyone is…as for the succubus ranger, she knows the layout of the fight via telepathy and I didn’t see why she couldn’t delay her turn till her mount moves…as for Izmiara, she has the Quicken Spell-Like Ability feat; did I alter it a bit to make it fit for her? Yeah, I did… is all this playing fast and loose with the rules? Perhaps but it’s a cakewalk as written, so you can choose… Look, guys, I ran this module because Alie mentioned she’d like to have this as a retirement session and I’ve enjoyed playing with and GM’ing Gerald’s characters over the years; I thought it should be memorable. I found out pretty quickly 95% of this module’s encounters would not challenge you at all; for example, survivors of previous encounters showed up for the finale (not as written). In fact, I gave most creatures you’ve encountered (that didn’t already have it) the advanced template (not as written). I could’ve hand-waved just about every fight as written…but I didn’t think that’d be enjoyable for any of you, perhaps I’m wrong… If y’all want me to retcon the finale, let me know, and I’ll hand-wave the rest of it as you’d have killed Izmiara in the first round since, as it was written, Betcezia wouldn’t have been around to give her displacement; it would’ve just been Izmiara and her mount… Y’all let me know how y’all wanna play it out; I’m beat after that drive and I’m gonna crash…
Izmiara swiftly casts a spell…
…and she blinks back to hovering over her bed… Betcezia flies up to her, casts something, and you see many of Izmiara’s wounds heal… Izmiara smirks as she calls for aid, ”Come to me, sisters! Attack the casters!” A shantak with a succubus rider flies up from the pit below; you recognize her as the sister that escaped you on your arrival on the Moonscar…she fires a barrage at Agata…
…and then a familiar succubus, Euphrixia, from the temple above, blinks in beside Alie and tries to touch her…
Izmiara’s furious shantak attacks with tooth and claw…
…and finally, Izmiara sends a wave of evil energy that reaches all but Zaarah…
THE FINAL COMBAT! Round 2 / 3! The bold may post! Flint (-30 OR -42; -57 NL)
Boudoir of the Insatiable Queen (Slide 1)
Izmiara barely withstands Alie’s spell…
THE FINAL COMBAT! Round 2! The bold may post! Flint (-18; -57 NL)
Boudoir of the Insatiable Queen (Slide 1)
Flint and Marta tag team Izmiara… While four of Flint’s arrows go awry, two sink deeply into the Insatiable Queen and she hisses in pain with an evil glare… Marta’s quick fists strike furious and quickly…
…while only one blow lands it is a mighty one, catching the succubus queen flush on the jaw…while she grimaces from the blow, she is not intimidated…and she still sits upright… Zaarah’s black blade slashes at Irentios many times…
…but only the last strike hits slicing lightly into his side… THE FINAL COMBAT! Round 2! The bold may post! Flint (-18; -57 NL)
Boudoir of the Insatiable Queen (Slide 1)
Everyone’s still standing; since it’ll be after lunch till I can post, just an estimate here, Izmiara has been hit for about 230+ total damage, Irentios about 40+, Betcezia is the same as in my last post… And yes, I posted it here in the Discussion thread on the previous page, but it would’ve been easy to miss:
Like I said, it’s been a long while and, if I recall right, he made the argument that I was not unarmed; and I couldn’t really disagree as I was technically armed. He said if I dropped the bow, then he’d allow it but I was all in on ranged combat so I passed on that. Now I’m curious and y’all know the RAW better than I; is there anything definitive on this? I’ve got a couple of Zen Archers and I might need to adapt how I play them…
Glaring at Theodric with red eyes, Izmiara rages, ”You will suffer for every scar you’ve put on my perfect body, peon!” THE FINAL COMBAT! Round 2! The bold may post! Flint (-18; -57 NL)
Boudoir of the Insatiable Queen (Slide 1)
Agata puts the ole evil eye on the Izmiara and Irentios...
...Izmiara easily withstands it but Irentios succumbs. Agata then follows up by sending an energy bolt at the Insatiable Queen...
...while it looks like Agata's aim was accurate, apparently the succubus was not where she appeared to be... Then Theodric shows off his skills with the falcata...
...and the mad Queen yells out in surprise as her weapon leaves her hand, flying towards Theodric...the next attack misses but after that all strikes land, one devastating as it slashes deeply into her side...and the shield manages to bash into the shantak, but it doesn't phase it much as it is unmoved by the bull rush... THE FINAL COMBAT! Round 1! The bold may post! Flint (-18; -57 NL)
Boudoir of the Insatiable Queen (Slide 1)
Hmmm…can you gimme a little more info on Greater Vital Strike? While it says You can make a single attack that deals incredible damage, I didn’t read that to exclude being used in a full attack, thus it was only used once during his full attack (Irentios used it only on the first attack, not the rest). Is there another thread or a FAQ that clarifies that? As for initiative order, only during this first round, I’m letting the ones in the bottom order pick their target (or action) before the ones up in the second…if they choose to delay, I’ll open it up. For the rest of the rounds, I’ll revert back to everyone…
Yeah, that surprised me…three crits…and Irentios can deal a lot of damage when he hits…and I think that’s only the third or fourth time in this entire module that I’ve hit Flint… And your echolocation definitely did it’s job on your attack on Betcezia… And I’ll readjust your damage in my next post as well… I’ve got buffering cap on my -1 as well, it’s a good and cheap item for a little protection from crits…
Thanks, Marta, I’ll correct your damage in my next post. I did apply clay skin to Theodric’s damage and I remembered to subtract Alie’s false life as well (she had posted it just prior to combat so it was easier to remember). If there’s anything else I missed though, let me know and I’ll correct it…
The battle post was long as it was so Izmiara’s knowledge info is here: Succubus Anti-Paladin Special Attacks channel negative energy (DC 27, 6d6), energy drain (2 levels, DC 25), profane gift, smite good (+11 attack and AC, +12 damage) Spell-Like Abilities (CL 12th; concentration +23) Constant—detect good, tongues At will—charm monster (DC 27), detect thoughts (DC 23), ethereal jaunt (self plus 50 lbs. of objects only), greater teleport (self plus 50 lbs. of objects only), suggestion (DC 26), vampiric touch 1/day—dominate person (DC 28), summon (level 3, 1 babau 50%) Immune charm, disease, electricity, fear, fire, poison;
Lowest save is Will +2 unholy cold iron bastard sword
Betcezia howls in pain as all except the last of Flint’s arrows strike true, piercing her deeply, making her a literal pincushion. She hisses to General Irentios, ”Strike the archer!” General Irentios nods fiercely with a wicked grin first at Flint, then at Zaarah, sneering, ”Come, archer, let’s see how you fight up close! And don’t worry, m’Lady, there’s enough of me to go ‘round!”
Flint receives a devastating blow from the axe of Irentios, its edge biting deep…but he manages to avoid the second strike.. Zaarah gets hammered as well with the general’s axe…and then again with a second… Recovering her bearing, Betcezia sends scorching rays at Agata and Alie…
…and then flies down 10’, putting the beams holding Izmiara between Flint and herself. Agata and Alie each get scorched, Alie twice… A foreboding, otherwordly voice emits from Izmiara’s blade, rejoicing, ”I am free!” An abominable black glimmering ray exudes from the point of Izmiara’s evil ebony blade, speeding straight at Theodric; he gets a sickly feeling as it strikes home…
…then Izmiara exults, ”Come, handsome one, let’s dance!” as the shantak advances towards Theodric and Marta…
…and her mount takes a swipe at Marta as well…
THE FINAL COMBAT! Round 1! The bold may post! Flint (-137)
Boudoir of the Insatiable Queen (Slide 1)
Alie can see well enough to dimension door herself and her companions just over the barrier blocking the entrance…and the abominations within the room are even more blasphemous on this side of the wall…
THE FINAL COMBAT! The bold may post! Flint
Boudoir of the Insatiable Queen (Slide 1)
Yes, there are walkways and fliers can ignore the pit… The General is basically just a supercharged fighter? No SLAs, DRs, etc. to speak of… Let me go back and I’ll copy and paste Betcezia’s stuff: Succubus Vampire Sorceror
I’ll update w/ Alie’s Dimension Door when I get home as it’s too hard to fiddle with the map on my phone; then Flint can draw first blood ;) |
