GM Qstor's page

Long day my mistake

Benson grips his dueling sword and prepares to dash into the room.

Once initiative is ... initiated.

combat

Pathfinders are up

"They're coming!" comes a shout from the room.

"Uh yeah, its the kids. Currently we need with our work so I'd ask you to come here."

A man shouts "Right intruders then" You hear casting.

"Who's there show yourself? Are you one of the kids?" you hear weapons being drawn "Come out!" shouts another voice.

GM Qstor wrote:

Sorry I was running games at a con. My apologies for the late notice.

No problem but you should've invited us to play! ;)

lol I didn't know if you could make it to Virginia in the US :)

moving along

No enemies remain in this stone room. The Pathfinders hear mumbling from behind the door.

These stained stone walls conceal actual sepulchers.The heavy stone lids that seal the tombs are each approximately 3 feet square, and etched with the name and rank of some departed sailor. Virtually all of the cells have been unsealed, their lids now lying cracked on the
stone floor.
Jumbled, crumbling skeletons lie heaped within each
cell, recently looted of any valuables. Nothing of value
remains in the graves. One lid remains intact, on the chamber’s western wall at floor level. It swings open on visible hinges, no longer adequately disguised as a secret door. It leads to a curving passageway scarcely larger than the dimensions of the doorway. Harsh chemical fumes
emit from the opened hatch, and the sound of voices and
the flicker of movement in front of a light come from the
passage beyond.

Sorry I was running games at a con. My apologies for the late notice.

Gamorra hears there are more up the east stairs and heads there, checking for traps before taking the stairs.

Gamorra finds no traps on the stone stairs. The stairs head up ten feet.

When the children ask to leave, he says, "We want you to return safely to your families," Benson assures the children. "We'll escort you to keep you safe if you wish."

One of the kids straightens his back. "Thanks mister but we got it! We're Twincandles after all!" A few of the other kids nod in support.

Can someone cast Detect Magic on the items on the table?

@GM: Any Knowledge checks or an Appraise check to determine what's on the table and its value?

the items are work over 50 gp each and are nonmagical but are old

Narka can help heal Arioch with his heal stick and assists with the Detect Magic afterwards.

She auto aids in diplomacy for whoever is trying to illicit information from the street urchins.
"We are not hear to harm you. We just want to know what was going on here and what you were forced to do."

"We're with the Twincandles but these new guys seemed more interested in collecting these old things, preserving them and then selling them for money. We were helping clean but them but they aren't nice all the time." One of the kids points to the stairs to the east. "There's a few more up the stairs in the back room. Can we leave now?"

GM Qstor wrote:

The boards won't let me post in gameplay. Combat over

Weird! Although it looks like it let you post text. I wonder what's going on/wrong? Are you having issues at any other table?

I don't know if it's related but I wasn't receiving notifications of new posts for this table.

Sometimes the boards have done that to me. I just tried on this game to be honest.

So did the elemental come from a trap (as suggested by the "click"), or did the guy I just killed actually know some magic (as evidenced by the elemental going out when he did)???

They were a trap.

The thug is stunned as the dhampir runs his blade into the man's throat. He expires quickly. Arioch is left to strike the corpse.

The elemental vanishes.

combat over

the thug rolled a 6 on the save but it wouldn't post. There's no drugs FYI

The kids were removing dirt from a variety of archaeological items. On the tables are a set of white jade figurines, an ancient bronze sacrificial dagger studded with chunks of roughly cut obsidian, well-preserved
Taldan tapestries, and several darkwood Mwangi masks.

"Don't hurt us please!" one says.

The boards won't let me post in gameplay. Combat over

Blue shoots his crossbow at the half orc.

attack: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (20) + 6 = 26

damage: 1d8 ⇒ 6

crit confirm: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (16) + 6 = 22

damage: 1d8 ⇒ 4

"Intruders! You'll pay." he shouts.

The water elemental attacks Daenerija

attack: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (10) + 5 = 15

damage: 1d6 + 3 ⇒ (4) + 3 = 7

The two attacks connect. The childern listen to Narka and start to slowly move away.

Pathfinders are up

Will: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (11) + 1 = 12

**puts on GM hat**

Let's plan for 2-17 after 3-05 if people need that too. Always glad to help out people that have GM'd for me. Like you and Redelia :)

Benson runs a thug through but when he stepped forward to stab he heard a loud click and a water creature appears next to him.

Arioch waits, as the child next to him cowers.

"Please...don't hurt us!"

Rest of the Pathfinders are up

It sounds like they don't want to be here to begin with...so this is a bit more than just a drug-laundering outfit, isn't it?!

Yes, they don't want to be there.

opening the door

This massive room’s most striking feature is its thirty-foot-high
vaulted ceiling, decorated with faded frescoes of storm clouds.
Motes of flickering light occasionally flash into being within
the painted thunderheads, giving the imperfect impression of
watching a distant storm.
Centered on the north wall of the chamber is a massive
sculpture of a wrathful feminine face, mouth open in a silent
roar. The sculpted curls of her wild hair seamlessly merge with
the painted storm clouds above, creating the impression that
the howling face emerges from a storm-filled sky.
On the room’s south side is a similarly positioned face,
resembling an ancient, bearded man. From between his
defiantly clenched teeth issues a trickle of murky fluid, which
runs down the knotted coils of his beard to pool onto the
stone floor, which has been cut to resemble a fanciful variety
of coastlines and islands, each raised an inch above the rest of
the stone surface.
The fluid pouring onto the floor fills the low-lying areas
between these “islands,” which function as eccentrically
positioned steppingstones across the center of the room. The
water and islands create another illusion—that of looking out
across a great reflective seascape from the peak of an incredibly
high mountain.
The grandeur of the room is somewhat undone by the two
makeshift worktables positioned in its center, surrounded by
benches and stools. The worktables are littered with a variety
of small objects, statues, bits of pottery, and assorted relics.
On the east side of the room, a split staircase leads to a wide
platform ten feet above the floor, where a similarly cluttered
worktable stands. Sturdy wooden doors are set into the east
and west walls.

As the party opens the door two men reach for weapons. One shouts "Intruders" the other "Magenta!". Six kids, male and female cower at the wall or duck under the tables.

combat
Pathfinders up

Apologies the room with the grey floor was the room with the stone coffins with sailor names on them. Moved you to the next door.

Mercutio (whose finery - horror of horrors! - remains eerily pristine) raises a hand against the torch's glare as he goes to take a closer look at the stele.

[dice=Linguistics?]1d20+6

Arioch moves in and gives the place a once-over - hoping for more assistance from Mercutio (and anyone else!).

19/23/24

He looks at Narka, "Cool but you might want to wait for me to check the place out before going in next time or they might be fitting a coffin for you."

The half orc doesn't notice anything out of the ordinary. He realizes there no undead in the area.

Benson, being a sailor with his own ship, stands with head bowed to honor those lost at sea. Then he examines the names, if any are listed, to see if he recognizes any.

[dice=Profession (Sailor)]1d20 + 4

Benson doesn't see the names of any of his old shipmates

Gamorra looks around to see if she notices anything

[dice=Perception]1d20 + 13

and kn history or local or engineering are same modifier

[dice=kn check]1d20 +10 religion would be +14

Likewise Gamorra doesn't notice anything out of the ordinary.

moving on? there's nothing of interest apart from the names on the stone coffins

Narka opens the door and moves into the room.

Narka sees the above. There's names on each crypt lid.

Daen follows behind Arioch and Benson.

Aricoh doesn't notice any traps. But does find a secret door on his left

assuming you open the door where Daenerija is

This sturdy 10-foot-by-40-foot stone chamber appears less
damaged by the wet conditions than the damper areas of the
crypt, and no supports are positioned here to hold the roof
up. Eighteen standing crypts are set into the walls here.

Once the door is cleared Narka moves to the landing before the stairs and looks down to see if it is safe and slowly moves down the stairs.

[dice= Perception]1d20+8

Narka finds the door safe.

A dark, damp stairway leads down to the south, slowly curving
westward as it descends. Its walls are reinforced with wooden
supports, and the western wall is set with empty alcoves, each
several inches deep, suitable for displaying religious icons or
similar small relics.

[dice=aid Arioch's Perception]1d20+3

"Missed a spot over there," Mercutio mentions, eyes not turning from the stele but a finger nevertheless pointing accurately at...something.

Mercutio points and Arioch is able to find the door in the eastern wall.

moving through? There's no traps on the door.

Question, DM: Do you think I could use my Enhance Weapons ability to improve +1 weapons to +2 if I wished, or only to grant them special properties?

Yep, cause it says can ALSO add - dancing, defending, distance, flaming, frost, ghost touch, keen, mighty cleaving, returning, shock, seeking, or speed.

Ylandria leads the way as you easily climb down. She's quiet and lights a torch.

on slide 2

This 15-foot-by-20-foot chamber’s low ceiling is supported by
an array of recently installed wooden spars. The room’s only
point of interest is at the easternmost end, where a 6‑foot
stone stele, seemingly part of the chamber wall, stands. It’s
etched with an eroded relief of a humanoid figure, positioned
above a slightly less eroded inscription.

Ylandria says in a low voice while pointing to the stele. "There's a door behind here. When the Twincandles took over this camp, this door was open, and point a’ fact, we couldn’t figure how to move it
at all. When the cousins came, that Terliss spent a little
while tryin’ to read this writing. After that, this door was
closed whenever we came down here. We were locked
out.”

Narka Nama keeps a distance from the new comer Varisians. Being Taldan she knows the reputation of Varisian wanderers and while they have not done anything yet she does not want them to lighten her purse. At the mention of the Sczarni Naka spits on the ground to ward off bad luck. "So what can we expect when they realize they are about to be evicted? Will it get violent? How many can we expect them to have in ranks? Will the authorities intervene?"

"Yes I can expect they'll resist the efforts. I don't know what the Lord Mayor will do. But won't your Lady Heidmarch whisper in his ear to hold the watch?"

- -

assuming you move on

They provide you directions to the entrance.

Buttresses jut crookedly from the ground, between piles of
shrub-covered stone. A narrow gap in one of the standing
stone columns—just wide enough for a person to pass
through—leads to a small, cylindrical chamber within. A
sturdy block and tackle is mounted above a five-foot-wide pit,
leading into the darkness below.

The pair turns to the half orc. "It wasn't us. But we tell you what you want to know, if you lot agrees to listen. Now see our group the Twincandles, is one one of Magnimar’s smallest Sczarni “families,” and recently went on a recruiting drive to help solidify our tenuous position in Magnimar’s gang territory, and perhaps enable our move
into the lucrative pesh trade. So we were contacted by
a guy who claimed to be our cousin, a man named
Titus Terliss. He told us that his gang was on the hunt
for a place in Magnimar to hide out for a season, and
one of his fellows was a savvy alchemist, could help us
cut in on the trade. But you know we never met
this alchemist, but our friends contend that he is a
fearsome and feral individual." They go on.
cousins /other guys are the guys that beat up the guy
in the plant shop'
"Our “cousins” moved into a crypt beneath
Two-Lights, where they've set built up an elaborate alchemical
laboratory. Although they originally worked hard to
produce product for the Twincandles’ new endeavor,
our "cousins" had other priorities. They began conscripting
our gang the TwinCandles, soldiers for jobs that were not authorized
by the our leaders, and carrying out bolder and more violent
robberies."
Olivia turns to you and says, “They are indiscreet and coarse. If you eject
them, you can help yourself to whatever spoils they’ve
accumulated. Our excursion into the soporific trade
has not been profitable, and we wish it ended.”

The boy says "Thank you sir! Will do!"

She leads you to a camp of tents.

The scent of incense suffuses this ramshackle camp, not quite
overpowering the pervasive odor of mildew. Gnats swarm
between lean-tos, shanties, and tents, the best of which are
assembled on foundations of scrap wood, and the worst of
which rest directly on the soggy ground. Soot-smeared
children play near cook-fires tended by old women, while
tannery workers eat from bowls held in their stained fingers.
At the center of the cacophony of color and smells is the
base of the two tall wooden masts upon which Two-Lights’s
nightly beacons burn. The masts form the central support for
a festively ornamented and irregularly shaped tent, clearly
occupied by the camp’s most important residents.

She says wait then comes back with two people.

“Pathfinders, meet kapteos Olivia and Jacek Giatano.”

The two Varisians bow. "Hello" They say.

GM Qstor wrote:

Okay, from your rolls and looking at the shop, you get the impression that Chert was involved in the pesh smuggling.

Chert was the guy who was beaten up, right?

I mean, what you say is pretty clear (hypothetically, he might've been laundering without realizing what was passing through his shop).

Yep!

I just want to make sure we GET that reward! Do we need to go out of our way to claim our bounty, or will the "railroad" bring us there in due course?

Just wait! ;D

I did.

Okay, from your rolls and looking at the shop, you get the impression that Chert was involved in the pesh smuggling.

Gamorra is impressed at the ease in which Mercutio gathered the information. She nods and says "Who handed the compass and where did they get it? What did you get away with and what did you not get?"

If they don't answer me perhaps the questions can be asked by Mercutio. I think we are ok to go with them.

"Those other guys. I'm not sure where they got it." She steps and waves. "This way, please" She nods her head to the side towards where she was stepping.

"I will tell you all if you come with me to Two-Lights. I was at the plant shop but I'm not responsible" fails save
She rubs her eyes.

" Some guys accompanied me into the Dockway in
order to acquire a package from Chert, a Twincandles
friend. However, while I haggled with Chert over
the price, the guys decided to rob him instead, beating him and cutting him with a poisoned dagger. The guys then ransacked the shop after realizing they didn’t know where the package was kept.
While I tried to revive Chert, I was handed
a compass and told to leave it by Chert’s body." She pauses “Then,” Ylandria says, “That weird tiger plant came to life and attacked us.” Ylandria gestures to the blood-soaked bandages
across her neck, from where Antaios struck her (snatching
off her satek in the process). “We got out of there with some
of what we were lookin’ for, but I couldn’t leave Chert in
there with that thing. I didn’t know if it would hurt him. Please come with me"

He notes Eun's wardrobe and remarks to the others, "Hey that's a nice satek she's wearing. Looks familiar doesn't it?"

@GM: When you write "Eun wears a satek identical to the one found in the Dryad's Trousseau" that it has the same gang symbol on it as well?

The woman looks at her wounds. "Oh it's nothing. I'll be fine." she then quickly glances at her scarf. "Oh thank you. It's just an old thing I got!" She smiles.

The man turns "Thank you again. Where are you staying so we can repay you for your kindness?"

yep, the scarf is the gang symbol.

"How did you get these wounds? And that satek?"

[dice= Diplomacy]1d20+10
[dice= Heal check to see the extent of the injuries]1d20

It's just a scratch. It's nothing" she replies. "It's old I can't remember where I got the scarf"

The rats failed the dc 17, so 14 damage? or if they are a swarm 21.

21 my mistake.

I shall wait to see if there still IS a combat after that fumigation.

In the meantime, you DID catch my final Appraise roll, right DM?

Yeah so you can reveal the info.

If the rats are still active after the Burning Hands then Narka will rummage through her backpack for an alchemist fire to toss next round...

my bad

The rats are burned.

The woman introduces herself as Ylandria.

Assuming you rescue her friend.

He says "Thanks a lot! I'm Eun. Nice to meet you!"

Eun wears a satek identical to the one found in the Dryad’s
Trousseau, and Ylandria’s neck is dressed in a mudsoaked
bandage.

Ref: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (9) + 7 = 16

The rats ignore Benson's pleas for them to retreat. They continue to look for a meal.

rats 10 damage

Rest of the group is up

getting back into it, on slide 2

Arioch finds the hole, which the Pathfinders avoid. He sees a swarm of hungry rats at the end of the alley.

Mercutio thinks its suspicious that the woman is "right" on the direct path from the injured man's shop, in an old alley, hidden from the street.

"Oh thank you! We got lost!" she cries.

The rats look for a snack.

Combat Pathfinders are up

moving on, assuming you head on

Heading to Ordellia

A deep rumbling sound followed by a sharp cry echoes from a
nearby alleyway: “Watch! Watch!”
Around the corner, in the narrow alley, a 10-foot-diameter
section of street has collapsed into the earth, creating a
churning cauldron of mud, loose cobblestones, and sewage.
Laying prone beside the sinkhole is a young woman, her
muscular arms plunged into the quagmire, straining under an
unknown weight. She pleads with anyone who can hear her for
aid. “Quick, quick! My mate got pulled under!”

One thing you learn about the Sczarni that they are headquartered in Ordellia, in a shantytown known as Two-Lights

The Pathfinders enter the rear of the shop.

The rear entrance of The Dryad’s Trousseau allows pallets of
fresh plants to be brought from the alleyway into the back of
the shop, where they can be unpacked for display. Just inside
the delivery doors are two wooden crates of robust Avistani
roses. One crate has been smashed open, and rose petals and
tangled, thorny clusters are strewn throughout the room.

A shipping manifest attached to one of the crates
states that it was unloaded this morning from a ship
called the Paloma.

The crate of Avistani roses has a false bottom
that opens into a shallow space approximately 4 inches
deep. The undamaged crate contains a similar false bottom This
second space contains blocks of sticky white wax wrapped
in cheesecloth.

are you guys looking for the Szarni or check out a4?

The Pathfinders easily dispatches the big cat sized plant.

combat over

Searching the room, you find a blood stained bit of cloth on the claw of the plant. The blood appears recent.

The green leafed cat tries to dodge the flaming hands. It seems rooted in place and takes extra damage. The other Pathfinders slash at it's leaves and branches cutting the foliage.

REF: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (7) + 3 = 10

It tries to hit the half orc with it's branches.

attack: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (12) + 6 = 18

damage: 1d8 + 3 ⇒ (2) + 3 = 5

attack: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (2) + 6 = 8

damage: 1d8 + 3 ⇒ (5) + 3 = 8

plant 38 damage

Pathfinders are up

Does anyone have Knowledge (Nature) to learn anything about these plants?

@GM: Were we able to unlock the door?

yes and the party knows the creature is a Topiary.

I'll just go to combat

The tiger like plant snarls menacingly and looks ready to attack the intruders.

combat

Pathfinders are up

Benson easily disables the trap.

A2

This room contains hundreds of colorful and exotic plants,
positioned beneath several salt-clouded skylights. The most
remarkable specimen, an intricately twisting four-foot tree
bedecked with lavender-colored leaves, stands in an alcove
on the room’s south side. A brass plate reveals it to be an
amaranthine juniper. At the rear of the display floor on the
southern wall is an open doorway with a twisting woody vine
curled around the frame, fixed in place with loops of wire.
Above this vine is a sign reading “Employees Only.”

There's nothing of interest in the room apart from the trap

He notices a large plant to the north in A3.

@GM: Taking 10 on Perception for a 19 basic, 23 for secret doors, 24 for traps.

Arioch sees there's a trip wire in A1 and that the door behind the counter to a3 is tightly locked

moving into a1

Inside the front door is an overturned planter the size of a
washtub. Soil mixed with bits of broken pottery is spilled
across the hardwood floor. To the north, an ornately decorated
fifteen-foot-wide archway allows passage to the shop’s display
floor. A sales counter fills the eastern side of the room, and
behind it stand several bookshelves filled with horticultural
tomes. A stoppered flask lies in plain sight in the middle of
the floor.

Searching the room you find a potion bottle without the potion and an overturned planter with a bit of dirt at the bottom and its labeled with a brass plate embossed with the word “Antaios,”