Which door do you mean? I thought you already opened the patio door; GM said we don't see anything of interest. How about the door from the patio to the rooms to the north of A15?
"Does anyone really think the wayang is still here? I suggest we look for anything of interest - more clues, about what's going on here, magical items, maybe another blood-drained corpse - and go back upstairs to the room that haunt tried to scare us away from."
Using his runestone of power, Garduk gains the ability to cast one more 1st level spell. With a word, another four ice blue darts appear in the air in front of him and shoot off towards the witchfire.
Still invisible (vanish, round 2 of 5), Garduk spends a moment in silent concentration, then draws a small stone from his sack and waits for the witchfire to reappear.
Garduk spends one of his 3rd level spell slots to fuel his arcane reservoir, then pulls his runestone of power (level 1) from his handy haversack to give him access to one more 1st level spell slot in case he needs it.
"Damnation!" Garduk casts vanish(and becomes invisible for up to 5 rounds) and disappears from sight. He jogs down the stairs to stand next to Darren and looks for the witchfire.
"I'm right here, by the way," he mutters to the big fighter.
I made a copy of the map slides, which everyone should be able to edit: here is the link.
“But we just got up here. Hrmm. Fine.” Garduk sighs and starts down the stairs to join the others.
As he sees through the creature’s invisibility, he yells, “By His blasted hand! It’s another witchfire, or something that looks a lot like it!”
Spellcraft:1d20 + 15 ⇒ (20) + 15 = 35
“More summoning? Let’s see how well you concentrate when you’re being hit in the face.” Garduk growls words of arcane power and four ice blue darts appear floating in the air in front of him, before speeding into the courtyard and slamming into the invisible creature he sees whispering.
Garduk's initiative is +9 with heighten awareness, so that uses it up. The ghost is gone, there is no enemy in sight (even with see invisibility), and we are still in initiative, correct?
"Hrm. Another damned ghost. Blast!" Garduk growls a curse and hurries up the stairs. He stops behind Darren and casts protection from evil(to give him the protection against mental control, charm, compulsion, etc., as well as a deflection bonus of +2 to AC and +2 resistance bonus on saves if he doesn't already have them).
"There. Try not to dive over the side after him." The arcanist looks cautiously over the edge. "You all right down there, Suussmaar?"
Garduk clutches his wand of magic missile in one sweaty hand, and lets the more heavily-armored Pathfinders go first up the stairs. "I'm still annoyed we didn't get to examine that telescope," he growls, trying to distract himself from the possibility that they could be attacked at any moment. "I don't believe that Dagagal has any more right to be here than we do. And who is this Garigai person, anyway?"
Realizing that diplomacy doesn't seem to be working, Garduk tries a more direct approach.
"Hrrmmm. Who is 'Garigai', anyway?" The half-orc calls out to the wayang through the doorway. "I thought this place was abandoned after Minasako Himiju disappeared. When did you move in? Did you kill the man we found hanging from the chandelier? If you did, what did you do with all of his blood?"
First Suussmaar hears whispers in some local language, but after hissing the voice in common comes from afar patio part.
-You still alive and still here? You do not belong here. Talk. But stay away from me! , - the wayang sounds not really cooperative, but at least he exchange not only spell, but few words...
Garduk listens in, trying to hear anything that the wayang might say in a language he knows (Tien or another).
The half-orc pulls a scroll from his pack and reads off a spell.
Garduk casts heightened awareness to gain +2 on Perception and Knowledge checks for the next 10 minutes. If there is an initiative check in that time, he will get +4 on the initiative check and use up the remaining duration of the spell. Bonuses are included in his tagline.
"I'm fine," Garduk growls. "I say let's keep going."
Once the first minute has passed, Garduk taps himself with his wand of infernal healing again to get himself back to full health. The command word sounds a lot like "Fixmeup."
Garduk pulls a vial of smelling salts from his haversack, pops open the cap, and sticks the fragrant mixture under Dhastrach’s nose. “This ought to wake him up quickly, and he can help with healing himself.”
I think Garduk should be at -28 instead of -29 this round, because of infernal healing.
Since he wasn't able to reach Dhastrach last round, if Darren or Suussmaar steps back from the doorway, this round Garduk steps up and uses his wand to cast infernal healing on the cleric of Nethys.
Garduk steps over and taps Dhastrach with his wand of infernal healing. He mutters to Darren, "Probably just as well that the archon went home; she would have thought we were all turning to the dark side."
He pulls a potion of cure light wounds from his belt in case the cleric needs something more to get him strong enough to handle his own healing.
Oh! I didn't realize Garduk had taken damage from the ice storm. He’s down to 4 hp!
Shivering, Garduk spends a point from his arcane reservoir to dimensional slide(move action), joining Darren in A15. He pops a wand from the spring-loaded wrist sheath up his sleeve (swift action) and casts infernal healing on himself.
Apparently she can’t hit the broad side of a barn. I’d better give her something more useful to do.
”Archon! Help the warpriest!” He pauses, then grudgingly adds, ”Please.”
Editing Garduk's last turn, per GM's comment on Discord:
"But he's right... oh, Hells!" Garduk watches the others retreat from the balcony and glares at the retreating wayang. He calls out to the Great Beyond for assistance before moving back to take cover behind a statue further from the enemy spellcaster.
Garduk uses 3 points from his arcane reservoir to use his summon monster spell-like ability to cast summon monster 3 as a standard action.
"But he's right... oh, Hells!" Garduk watches the others retreat from the balcony and glares at the wayang. He activates his wand to cast magic missile at it one more time before moving back to take cover behind a statue farther from the enemy spellcaster.
Garduk feels his hair stand on end and flinches just as the lightning bolt flashes past him, taking only a fraction of the damage he would have gotten from the full force of the blast (successful Reflex save for half, reduced by 9 temporary HP from false life). He turns to the source of the spell and points.
“There he is, three steps to my right! It's that little invisible bastard I saw by Suussmar when we first walked in!”
What is he?
Knowledge:1d20 ⇒ 14 (Arcana or Planes +15, Dungeoneering, Local, Nature, Religion +9)
Questions about the creature, if successful:
In this order:
1. Special attacks
2. Special defenses
3. Damage reduction
4. Strongest save
The half-orc snarls and twitches again from the shock. “Enough of this” He casts magic missile again, then steps back to be out of the line with the others.
Enduring Scholar (Season 10 Dark Archive Faction Journal Card):
ENDURING SCHOLAR (2+ goals): Your exposure to dangerous magic has conditioned you to resist spells. Once per adventure before rolling a saving throw against a spell, you can apply a bonus equal to 1 + half the number of goals you have completed.
Garduk darts back from the edge of the balcony and shouts out words of arcane power. Four large, ice-blue darts appear in the air in front of him and immediately blast forward, striking the creature.
Garduk casts magic missile from his own prepared spells, rather than from the wand.
Garduk peers closely at the writing and grunts. "Hrm. Whoever wrote this, they spent plenty of time practicing their calligraphy. Probably either a noble who had the free time to spend on it, or someone whose livelihood depended on it." He looks at the detritus scattered around the room and shakes his head. "That doesn't tell us who the liars are, what they lied about, or why the person who wrote this was so angry about it. Or why there was a dead man drained of his blood hanging in the other room."
Garduk will not be the first Pathfinder to step out onto the porch, but he will go out when the others do. With see invisibility and detect magic still active, the scarred half-orc scans the porch for anything of interest before approaching and looking through the telescope.
Interesting as the autopsy may be, Garduk isn't going to wait hours.
For the first half hour, Garduk will read a book he pulls from his haversack. After that, he will suggest to Darren that they check out A15 themselves.
"We can just prop the door open with a chair or something so these two will be able see and hear us and vice versa, but this spell that allows me to see invisible creatures won't last all day. We'll stay close enough that you won't lose that spell Dhastrach cast on you."
If Darren agrees to go into A15 with him, Garduk will first cast shield on himself from his wand, then slide it back into his spring-loaded wrist sheath.
Edited to add:
Walking into A15 (if Darren will go with him), Garduk casts detect magic and scans the room for invisible creatures and objects as well as magical auras. He keeps his wand of magic missile ready.
Garduk continues scanning for invisible creatures and objects. "Probably. We should try to figure out who he was and what he was doing here. Better check him for booby-traps first."
The half-orc scratches his neck. "Hrmmm. Of course, that assumes he's really there. It may not be magic, but he could be a haunt or some kind of spiritual residue. Maybe poke him with something first."
Garduk puts his scroll away, only a little disappointed not to have gotten to use it. He looks around and does a quick head count.
"What happened to Carrick? I thought he was right behind me."
He sees Derrick and Suussmaar clamber up to the pagoda's walkway and rolls his eyes.
"They've got to be kidding me," Garduk growls.
Climb:1d20 ⇒ 7
He tries unsuccessfully to pull himself up onto the walk, then drops back onto the grass.
"Somebody want to lower a rope?"
EDIT to add:
While he waits for one of the more athletic Pathfinders to help him up, Garduk pulls out his lesser versatile metamagic rod and uses it to cast extended see invisibility on himself (duration 140 minutes).
Garduk walks up the yard to join the main group, grumbling to himself as he goes.
Retconning - Garduk doesn't double move to climb up the hill.
Garduk looks up the hill in the direction of the shouting and growls. “Hrmmm. Sounds like the other part of the group is in trouble, Carrick. Somebody probably ought to get over there and help them.”
The half-orc looks around, then back at the heavily-armored paladin, and sighs.
“Ah, Hells, Abaddon, and the Abyss. Somebody is us, isn’t it? Crud.”
Garduk turns away from the Moongate, starts to step back, and disappears from the path. He reappears in an instant well past the top of the hill. When he sees the hungry fog, he pulls a scroll of gust of wind from his handy haversack.
Garduk uses one point from his arcane reservoir to teleport 70 feet as a move action with his dimensional slide exploit, then another move action to pull out his scroll.
Garduk votes to stay at the inn overnight. “Hrm. I grew up living in tents. I prefer a bed indoors when I can get one.”
Before Ateji leaves for the night, Garduk asks her in Tien what she knows about the mansion, and if she knows anyone who has ever tried to go inside.
In the morning, he prepares his standard spells (as on his profile page in the Statblock spoiler). Garduk casts mage armor and false life on himself, then spends 2 points from his arcane reservoir to replace those spells with magic missile and see invisibility.
False life:1d10 + 7 ⇒ (2) + 7 = 9
Once he has finished preparing his spells, he checks to make sure his wands of shield and infernal healing are firmly set in his spring-loaded wrist sheaths.
Garduk is part of the Dark Archive. I don’t know if there are any other members of the Archive in the party, but if there are, he will discuss any specific faction mission for this scenario with them while on the ship.
Before entering the town (and at the start of every adventuring day), Garduk casts mage armor and false life, then spends 2 points from his arcane reservoir to replace those spells with magic missile and see invisibility.
Once the Pathfinders arrive in Nagura, Garduk asks a few pointed questions of the locals, checks his Pathfinder Chronicles, and tells the rest of the party what he learns about Hinojai and the Way of the Kirin.
“Hrmmm.” When the party gathers at Kami’s Whisper for their evening meal, Garduk reviews his notes of his investigations. “All right, let’s start with Hinojai, the haunted house. It was original owned by an aristocrat named Minasako Himiju. She disappeared about 90 years ago, when the murders and other atrocities associated with the manor started.”
The lanky half-orc snorts. “Does anybody think that sounds like a coincidence? No? Me neither. This Himiju was supposed to be a decent sort, for a noblewoman, but it remains to be seen whether she was a victim or a victimizer.”
He turns back to his notes. “Hinojai is abandoned. Shadowy figures have been seen on the property, but only from a distance, and they have never been identified. Despite being unoccupied for all these years, the manor has remained in fair condition.”
Glancing out the window to check the weather, he continues reading. “Since Himiju disappeared, the worst supernatural events at Hinojai happen when a mysterious fog descends from the house. No one who goes into that fog is ever seen again.” He looks at each of the other Pathfinders. “So that’s our safety warning, people. Don’t go to the mansion when it’s foggy. Or befogged.” He jots down another note, reminding himself to purchase a scroll of gust of wind before they go to Hinojai, and does so as soon as possible after they leave the inn.
{I have added the scroll to my character sheet and marked off the 150 GP purchase price.}
Garduk turns to his notes about the organization that they are also supposed to investigate. “Amara Li also wants us to look into the Way of the Kirin, and said that Minasako Himiju was involved with it. The word is that the Way of the Kirin was dedicated to fairness for common people and to opposing political corruption.” He shrugs. “Good government types, whatever.”
He turns another page in his notebook. “Ah, here we go. This is the good part. When the empire of Lung Wa fell a century ago, there was a strong backlash against the Way of the Kirin, and the exploitation and corruption the Way had held at bay ran rampant throughout the Successor States. Hinojai remained a bastion of the Way’s ideals, since it was safely in Minkai, but without the power of her network to support her, Minasako’s influence in the area began to wane. After a year or two, Himiju could represent the Way in name only, as she no longer had any means to enforce its doctrines. The Hinojai manor eventually fell into disrepair and Minasako disappeared, but no body was ever found.”
I think that’s everything, but even if I didn’t say it all in character, Garduk tells the other Pathfinders everything shown under the spoilers for both topics at DC 15, 20, and 25.
“Once we’re done eating, we need to find someplace to spend the night. Unless you all want to try to sleep in the haunted mansion. Heh heh.”
Garduk forces an anxious chuckle and waits for the others to laugh at his little joke.
Edit to add roll for temporary hit points from false life: Temporary HP:1d10 + 7 ⇒ (2) + 7 = 9
Garduk wanders up to join the group, late as usual. The scrawny half-orc wears traveling clothes that fit him poorly. He wears no armor, but carries a haversack slung over one shoulder. A billy club, dagger, several pouches, and a couple of wands dangle from a thick leather belt wrapped twice around his thin frame. A crossbow hangs beneath his cloak; it is weathered and looks poorly maintained, but doesn't seem to have gotten much actual use. A slim book with a lurid red cover sticks out of one pocket.
His face is disfigured, with thick scars running from his ears to the corners of his mouth that twist his expression into a grimace even when he attempts to smile.
He does not attempt to smile now.
"I am Garduk the... well, just Garduk," he growls by way of introduction to the other Pathfinders. "Student of the outer planes and the arcane." He pauses a moment, then adds. "Mostly self-taught." His accent is an odd mix of flavors, mostly northern, but with a touch of something aggressively inhuman.
He bows to the venture captain and growls a few words in Tien before taking a seat.
"你好，老板。 很高兴见到你。 我期待着了解我的下一份工作。"
Tien:
"Greetings, boss. Nice to meet you. I look forward to learning about my next job."
I hope this isn't going to be as terrifying as my last mission. Garduk accepts tea with a grunt and scowls into the cup as he listens to the venture officer's briefing. Haunts and ghosts? That sounds simple enough. There must be a catch.
As Li nears the end of her remarks, the half-orc jerks in his seat, spilling tea on his leg.
Amara Li wrote:
"Finally, remember your mission is to discover what happened at Hinojai, not burn it to the ground."
"Ma'am, I explained that months ago in my report to Lady Heidmarch. The damage to that old mansion was unavoidable... Oh. Hrmm. You just meant that as a general warning to the group? Never mind. Sorry for the interruption."
The half-orc sits in embarrassed silence for a few more minutes, listening to the others' introductions and questions, before breaking in again.
"So why send us halfway around the world to investigate a haunted house? Don't get me wrong, I like to travel - all those weeks on a ship gives me lots of time to read - and I enjoy seeing new places, but there are plenty of haunted houses around the Inner Sea. What is the Society's interest in Hinojai? Is there anyone there who we should meet before going into the haunted house? Is there anything else we need to worry about, besides not burning things down, not upsetting the locals, and not getting our souls eaten by whatever is haunting the house? And what can you tell us about the Way of the Kirin?"
I'd better take some notes on her answers. Garduk whips an ink-stained, acid-burned notebook and pen out of his haversack. Assuming she has any.
Garduk looks at the hole Grel makes through the stone with a skeptical eye. He leans over to Reesa and growls, "Did he just make a real hole in that rock? Because it won't do us any good to crawl into an extra-dimensional pit to nowhere."
As the others crawl through, Garduk shrugs and follows. "Corona's right, Grel. This is a very useful spell."
Garduk pulls a pat of butter from his pouch and looks at Reesa's clean hands with an envious scowl before joining her in casting grease on more of the aid team. He can cast it twice with his remaining level 1 spell slots, and a third time with his runestone of power if necessary and time permits.
Player Name: Tusk the Half-Orc
Character Name: Garduk the Unteachable
Class and Level: Arcanist (Occultist) 7
PFS#: 199504-7
Faction: Dark Archive
Advancement Track: Normal
Day Job Roll: Craft (bookbinding), Crafter’s Fortune:1d20 + 9 + 5 ⇒ (1) + 9 + 5 = 15 eyeroll
Aid character:
Jamir "Hamstring" Montajay - PFS #: 199504-5
For my Season 10 Dark Archive Faction Journal Card, does finding the statuette of Chaldira Zuzaristan count as "recovering a unique magic item and delivering it to the Pathfinder Society" for purposes of checking off that faction goal?
Garduk accepts the wriggling extra-dimensional bag from the hound archon. "Thank you, Magnus. I promised his family I wouldn't let him charge headlong to his certain death if I could prevent it."
Tempting offer for Jamir, but I think I'll keep them both alive if I can!
Corona, we might need to do both - let's see how Garduk does.
Garduk quickly flips through his spellbook, reluctantly casting aside his preparation of mirror image and refreshing his memory of knock, then casting the spell.
Garduk casts detect magic as well, and eases himself down to the floor to get a closer look at the box.
Damnation, that doesn't help at all, and I bet it's going to hurt like Hell when I stand back up.
He stands up quick and groans in pain, proving himself right. Blinking away years, he growls, "While we look for magical auras, I don't suppose anybody has a set of lockpicks? And the skill to use them? If not, I can look up a spell that might get it open without damaging the contents. Only takes a few seconds, but I'd have to give up one of the spells I prepared this morning, and it might not work."
Using the Quick Study arcanist exploit, as a full round action Garduk can spend an arcane reservoir point to swap one of his prepared second level spells for Knock.
While we’re waiting for what’s next, I moved our tokens in front of the door to the northeast chamber in what seemed like a reasonable marching order, but please feel free to reposition them.
Realizing he is alone and has lagged behind the group, Garduk hurries to catch up to the other Pathfinders, arriving in time to hear the end of the conversation.
"I drink. I mean, I could drink. Hrmmm. I mean, I would be happy to join you all for a drink when this is over. If we survive."
