It's fine, happens to everyone, and weekends tend to lag. You are all back at the inn now, and on the right track with trying to find your Pathfinder contact...
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The inn itself isn't particularly remarkable, and Jasmine doesn't notice anything out of the ordinary for an inn. The room are upstairs and the taproom is empty of patrons. Rooms have two beds a piece, I've enough empty ones for each of you, but if ya wanna bunk up, it's no different to me, Puglas informs you. Once seeing the gold produced for the rooms, he opens up a bit more and answers what questions he can, I know of the temple of Razmir, but don't trust the strange folk from across the lake. Their faith barges scare away the fish, and a wise sailor wouldn't tangle with them on the open water if it can be avoided. Retiring for the rest of the night, the party begins scouting for information in the morning... ----------
Various locals around Tamran are willing to offer up what they know or what rumours they have heard when charmed with a winning smile or two... An ancient woman working in the market believes, The minions of Razmir are all brainwashed if ya ask me. Giving up everything they own to blindly follow the Living God. What scares me most is those deemed unworthy are sent to Razmiran to be devoured by the hungry god. The neighbourhood butcher is certain, The cultists take in far more money from the locals than they could ever possibly use for their work in the city. All that extra coin is being put to buildin' up a grand army that will conquer all of Avistan. A scrawny little man who is in the shop chimes in, The cultists beat and steal from those who refuse to believe. Plus I heard that the Living God himself comes to visit his temples on occasion. He could be in Tamran right now! Back in the market, there are more venders who are willing to offer up what they have heard or seen, More'n one person has gone inta the temple and nev'r been seen again. I assume they have joined the faith. The leader of the temple is a woman who wears blue robes and a cowl. She is a medusa, and uses the cowl to hide her snakes. One fruit seller in a particularly hushed voice let's the party know of his favourite rumour, There is no Living God. The “faith” is merely a cover for a vast and powerful guild of thieves. The temple possesses complete control over the local government, from the city guard right up to Forest Marshal Gavirk, leader of all of Nirmathas. ---------- Gathering information took most of the day, and the party meets back up at the inn...
I'm very sorry for the delays, been a hectic week. Should be back on schedule for normal updates now.
Caleb:
Caleb is fairly confident he has seen these or similar tokens sold by merchants for about 50 gold pieces each. The Gar’s Last Meal is a fine inn if you can get past the smell of fish. Entering the establishment, you immediately spot the innkeeper. He is a grizzled looking man with only one arm. He looks the party up and down before gruffly introducing himself, Name's Puglas Tamall. Rooms're two gold a night. Meals are three silver apiece. With the last part he gestures with his remaining arm to the taproom where a massive fish is prominently mounted on the wall.
Kiyoshi's examination reveals that only one pirate survived. but that privateer is now stable and unconscious on the shore of Tamran. Kiyoshi's spells reveal that the feather is in fact a feather token (anchor) which can be used to magically anchor a ship at sea.
Caleb notices a small lock box on the vessel as well as the key to unlock it on one of the privateers... Inside is bag containing 13 pp, 28 gp, and 16 sp, the privateers’ charter (signed by the Molthuni governor thus confirming Walren's hypothesis), and a feather.
In the hours following the battle, The Black Mist makes excellent time drawing near the port of Tamran. Thank ye kindly for the assistance, I don't think we would have got our cargo here without the help. Best of luck in the city. I would suggest staying at the Gar’s Last Meal. It's a good, safe establishment down near the water. Captain Walren gives each member of the party a hardy hand shake as they disembark. In the dark, Tamran glitters with hundreds of tiny lights, emanating from the windows and lamps that dot the city. It has the look of a new town, built primarily of wood, though some older buildings linger here and there, many showing signs of damage from the war with Molthune to the south. Cracked walls and burnt remnants can be seen even from this distance, fresh scars from the long conflict.
Well, feel free to take 10 on perception, or try a heal check to see if any of the pirates are still alive...
Jasmine's attempt at a punch seems ineffective. Darius likewise was unable to finish off the enthralled foe. Farg however is able to drive his spear through the pirate, and the privateer drops lifelessly to the deck. Caleb isn't sure about the value of the ship other than that it has certainly seen better days. Captain Walren backs up this appraisal, It's certainly not worth hauling back to shore. In fact, I would feel much more comfortable sailing into harbor nowhere near a privateer ship from Molthune, he adds after taking a look at the flag flown. They have been handing out sailing licenses left and right to sailors that are little more thugs. I say check it over for any goods, then we burn it and continue to shore. The captain notes you are about 2 hours from Tamran by his estimations.
The Pirate turns on his comrade and swings his longsword!
With a deadly blow, the enchanted pirate drops his comrade. Round 2 - Turn Order:
The Pirate is immobilized by Kiyoshi's spell. On his turn he will attempt to break free...
Caleb shifts over on the deck of the small ship and strikes a pirate with his rapier grievously wounding the assailant. Turn Order:
Both Jasmine and Farg fail to connect. Darius nimbly leaps over to the pirate's boat, but they try to take a swing at him:
And they both miss. But Darius too is unable to land a blow. Turn Order:
Farg and Caleb make quick work of the boarding pirate dropping him before he can even attempt to attack the tiefling.
Caleb dodges the first privateer's attack, and the attempted attack on him by the final privateer misses! Turn Order:
Unfortunately for Lilt, his attempt at deterring the pirates is only met with silence. Caleb swings gallantly onto the enemy vessel and strikes a vital blow to one of the privateers. Privateer one leaps over the edge of the boat into the Black Mist.
With longsword drawn, the pirate swings at the tiefling:
Privateer 2 likewise will use his longsword but this time on the swashbuckler:
Turn Order:
Jasmine spots another boat approaching fast and about a minute away from reaching the Blast Mist.
Initiative:
After a minute to prepare yourselves , the privateer vessel glides along side the barge. Turn Order:
Between their natural fortitude and the healing guidance of Kiyoshi, both Farq and Darius filly recover from the fever without any ill effect. In the afternoon of the sixth day of travel, Captain Walren comes down to the cabin, We will be reaching Tamran soon. I'd like to push on past nightfall to reach there this evening. These waters are not the safest... He seems a bit on edge about this leg of the journey, I would appreciate your presence above deck, just in case. About an hour after dusk with thick clouds blanketing the faint moonlight, the lights of Tamran are just visible in the distance. At first sign of Tamran's shore, the tension in Captain Walren noticeably decreased. Well lads and lass, look at that! not more than a couple of hours until shore, he notes with a relieved sigh.
Aside from the threat of the ghoul's fever, the next several days on the barge pass uneventfully as the captain sails with much greater care than before...
While we are out of combat feel free to establish your default marching order either posting here or by rearranging your tokens, it will be helpful to have as a reference for future conflicts in the module.
Within half a minute or so, Farg finds sensation returning to his limbs and he is back to his old self. Captain Walren emerges from the cabin and helps kick the corpses off the deck back into the sea. Ewan should be fine, he is fairly hardy for a human, and it doesn't look like he caught any of their wretched plague. He looks at Farg and Darius, You two don't look as lucky however. But I'm no healer, so what do I know? Returning to his wheel, he immediately sets to modifying the ship's course to avoid any more ghoul ambushes. I appreciate the help, but I would prefer not to have to do that again. We should arrive in Tamran in a couple of days, so rest up.
Feel free to roll for crit confirmation if you feel so inclined, but regardless of the added crit damage, the ghoul falls hard... Turn Order:
Jasmine's bolt imbeds itself into the ghoul. Turn Order:
Doubtful, they have a pretty good swim speed. Plus if they ran away, they would just dive deep and dodge it because a barge has a very shallow keel. But I love the idea...
The spell only lasts one round, so you are fine. It would have reverted to being an enemy again on Lilt's initiative.
Darius's blades cut deep into both ghouls. The injured ghoul drops to the ground dying and the party's temporary "ally" cries out in pain. Turn Order:
Darius finds himself feeling a little woozy at the moment, but whatever it is, it has no real effect on him currently. Farg finds himself equally woozy, but again, whatever is causing that feeling is not affecting him at the moment. However, much more frightening is he suddenly finds himself completely unable to move...
Failure!
Ghoul 3 swings out with tooth and claw against Ghoul 4:
One of the claws find home for 2 damage. Turn Order:
Ghoul 3
The ghoul's teeth and claws sink deep .
Ghoul 4
The second ghoul tries to attack Darius and fails to connect.
The final lacedon charges Farg with its hideous jaw snapping:
Turn Order:
Kiyoshi:
You recognize they have standard undead traits as well as an added resistance to channel energy. You also are aware that being attacked by a ghoul tends to cause an infection known as "ghoul fever" in the victim. Farg's attack kills the ghoul instantly. One of the lacedons steps in and attacks Darius:
The razor sharp claws and teeth try desperately to hack and rend, but the rogue easily dodges. The next lacedon also tries to attack Darius:
And his attacks prove equally ineffective.
Turn Order:
Jasmine's bolt misses its mark. Darius
@Jasmine, No worries. Glad everyone is still in it :) @Caleb, that is more than fine with me.
Fantastic! Glad to have you :) And I'm going to have to call it as not giving the +2 for now until there is a developer answer. In a home game, I would probably give it to you, but PFS is pretty strict in its RAWness.
Darius's blade sinks deeply into the ghoul, but it does not go down. Darius
Since Jasmine and Caleb have yet to check in or post, I will give both until the end of this encounter before either finding a replacement or continuing with four people.
After 3 days traveling along Tourondel River, the barge enters Lake Encarthan. The captain keeps the Black Mist to within about a mile of shore, avoiding sandbars and rock outcroppings along the way. Steady rain plagues this journey, but fortunately the waters remain mostly calm and they do not endanger the barge. Random GM rolls... nothing to see here...:
On the 4th day of travel, you hear the Captain blow a horn, Quickly! Quickly! We are under attack! Leaving the cabin you are able to see Ewan's body thrown like a rag doll past you. Do something! I'll take care of Ewan, the dwarf shouts from the wheel. The main deck of the barge has been infiltrated by four Aquatic Ghouls. The Lacedons appear as starved human-like creatures with sharp teeth and tightly stretched pallid flesh. Initiative:
No worries, I think it is a clever challenge to make a rogue that is solely core. And I will trust everyone did their gp bookkeeping correctly for money :) I'm more just wanting to help make sure everyone is legal for this and for when they go on to other games. Not trying to be mean or anything about being super RAW, but PFS really promotes that... Kiyoshi, Lilt, and Darius are all good to go. Everyone else is super close :)
After nearly an hour of waiting outside on the dock, a vessel finally approaches. The Black Mist is a rectangular, small-sailed barge, 60 feet long and 20 feet wide and has a cabin occupying the back third of the main deck. As the barge is guided into the dock, a heavily scarred Kellid man expertly throws a rope lassoing a dock post and allowing him to pull the barge the rest of the way in. Meanwhile, a stout dwarf leaves the wheel behind to come greet his new passengers. I assume you are my fare? I am Captain Walren, that man is my first mate Ewan. Pardon him for not being the most talkative, his common tongue leaves a great deal to be desired, but he is loyal and capable nonetheless! And this is the Black Mist. She has served me well over the years, and I don't intend on that stopping today. Cabin in the back has plenty of cots for everyone and there is a small stove and plenty of provisions. I certainly do not mind passengers, but I ask you to... help out should anything unexpected happen. These days there is more to worry about than the beasts that lurk in Lake Encarthan. Molthuni privateers prowl the waters looking for victims. Not to mention the accursed faith barges of Razmiran, who force travelers to accept the faith of the Living God, often at the point of a sword. Granted, I do not expect too much trouble, but the journey will take about a week and anything could happen during that time. Now! Load up quickly, we have a schedule to keep.
Slips on her Rules Lawyer hat... Kiyoshi, you are good to go. Darius, your gear actually weighs 52lbs (2 pounds over into medium encumbrance), you also still have 4 skill points left to spend and you need points in disable device to use those thieves tools, and while not super important, what is your second language (from the 13 int)? Lilt, assuming where you put your one favoured class bonus, you have overspent by 2 skill points and your HP is 1 point too high, or you have overspent by 3 skill points and your HP is correct. Also, just to double check, do you have no weapons? Caleb, you should have 25 HP, not 24 (10+1, 6+1, 6+1). And You cannot select Trap Finder as a trait in PFS since it is a campaign trait. There are some other traits that provide you with disable device as a class skill (such as vagabond child or criminal) but they do lack that magical trap aspect of Trap Finder unfortunately. And it would be lovely if someone might be able to confirm or refute this, but as it is written, I do not think the resistance bonus from your cloak applies to the AC bonus granted by the dueling cape feat. Farg, You have "swim" listed twice as a skill, so just wanted to double check where that other skill point should have gone. Minor thing that is frequently missed I think, but the trait you want for the bite is actually "tusked" and not "toothy." Toothy is something different.
Jasmine, can I get your additional languages?
Awesome. Everything looks good on your sheet Kiyoshi, but you might want to pick up a masterwork backpack before we begin as you are just over the line into heavy encumbrance. And if everyone could let me know when they finish up sheets, so I can double check them/plug them into the HeroLab party portfolio for my own ease of reference, I would appreciate it :).
Cygar Anravis, an eccentric but mostly harmless Pathfinder, is currently living in Kassen, a small town on the northern edge of Nirmathas, and he has send for aid from the Society. When you arrive, you find him waiting in front of a dock made for large river barges. Good! Good! You're here. My apologies, but there is not time for pleasantries. It is no secret that the Cult of Razmir has been spreading across Lake Encarthan like a sickness and now it is expanding into Tamran, capital of Nirmathas. Razmir’s masked priests feed the poor and protect the weak from criminals, but there are rumours of extorting money from local businesses, and bribing the local militia to look the other way while they conduct more nefarious operations. With enough gold, their reach might extend into the government of Nirmathas itself, turning a fledgling democracy into a theocracy under the heel of Razmir. I made contact with a friend in Tamran named Reginar who could help. Reginar knows the city well and has been keeping an eye on masked followers of Razmir. I would like for you to explore what is happening in Tamran, and report what you find back to the Society. Cygar explains that he has booked passage for you to Tamran on The Black Mist, a river barge run by a man named Captain Walren. The barge is heading straight for Tamran with a shipment of ingots from Skelt, and Cygar promises that it will make the journey swift and easy. Captain Walren is rather easy to spot: the only Dwarf I know who willingly spends his life at sea. Find Reginar as soon as you reach Tamran. He will be an invaluable aid. I'm sorry I cannot see you there myself, but I will be in contact soon. And with that the strange Pathfinder pulls up his hood and departs, leaving you to wait for the arrival of The Black Mist...
Gameplay and Discussion threads are both up. We will begin the campaign after this weekend. Thanks everyone for signing up! Official Party:
Discussion Thread! To discuss all your discussions! So a few thoughts on combat: I will roll all initiatives in a single post when combat begins to help prevent unneeded delays. And I plan on running initiative in blocks as that seems to run more smoothly in PbP format since individual's posting times vary. This seems to be pretty standard for PbP campaigns especially PFS ones, but below is a rundown of how it works in case you are not familiar: Super Brief Explanation of Combat Order: PCs and Baddies will essentially be able to leap their allies in initiative, but not their enemies. Bold characters will be free to act in combat. For example, assuming the rolls created this order: PC 1
After all three act. Then: PC 1
Then: PC 1
Then back to the top for Round 2.
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