Ho Lan's page

Completed, and my inventory is updated.

Lan is reluctantly going to drop the thematic, but rather useless, phoenix ward spell, in favor of mystic armor (4th). He'll spend a 4th rank spell slot at the beginning of each day to cast it, as well as vital beacon. This will leave him with a single 4th rank spell slot every day.

This affords Lan a +1 item bonus to AC and +1 item bonus to saves, which I've included in his tagline, although the description will give more detail. For example, his Fort save is +13, +1 with mystic armor, and his tagline just reads +14, but if he gets hit with a dispel magic spell or something, I'll manually change his tagline.

Lan is also picking up a wand of shardstorm (1st), previously known as the wand of manifold missiles, for a little extra offensive capability. And he got the demon mask (item bonus to Intimidation).

How much time do you all need to advance to Level 7?

I have the character portion completed on Pathbuilder, on my phone. I'll need some time to get it uploaded to Paizo, but I should be able to do that sometime today.

Summary: Fleet, Expert Spells, 4th rank spells are Vital Beacon, Phoenix Ward, and Remove Curse. Signature spells Heal, Dispel Magic, and Protector Tree will all be heightened.

Lan has very few purchases he needs to make, but those I do need to do would take some time to figure out. I am thinking about picking up a wand or two, and maybe see if it would be beneficial to get scrolls of vital beacon rather than using a spell slot to cast it every day. I'll just need to compare some costs.

Religion (E): 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (14) + 11 = 25 vs DC 28

"I don't even know what else to ask ..."

Literally, lol. Saves?

Just so nobody duplicates the effort: We had met a sister (who ended up attacking us) on the way here, her name was Yeri, and the sister she was looking for was Yuni. Not Yen Rui. Post introducing Yeri. I don't think we ever found out what happened to Yuni, but I initially thought it was "Yen Rui" when they were mentioned and went back looking for the posts (the search doesn't work).

If anyone recalls if we've heard the name Yen Rui before, please speak up.

---

"Yen Rui, we are but simple villagers from Willowshore. We have crossed the Wall of Ghosts to find out what has corrupted this monastery."

"Servants of Kugaptee? Surely not us!"

Based on their Stealth checks - Red 27 (beats everyone), Blue 22 (beats Lan and Vekka), Green 18 (beats Lan and Vekka) - I think Red should be Undetected to all; Blue and Green should be Hidden to Sigurd, Kazuki, and Auntie Wu, and Undetected to Lan and Vekka. Sigurd Pointed out Blue, so now Blue should be Hidden to all.

Lan takes -22 damage this turn, -49 total, 13/62 current.

Lan will attempt to Calm the Spirits by pointing out that there has been enough bloodshed. He will conveniently ignore his own faults in that regard.

Deception or Diplomacy: 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (1) + 15 = 16
Hero Point!
Hero Point Reroll: 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (12) + 15 = 27

Lan will cast Amped Shield on himself.

↺ Shield Block the first hit: break one layer (hardness 10) for damage under 15, and break two layers (hardness 15) for damage 15 or higher.

Ho Lan's Will Save (E): Success
Telekinetic Storm vs Ho Lan (AC 23): Hit (-9)
Ho Lan's Will Save (E): Success
Telekinetic Storm vs Ho Lan (AC 23): Miss
Ho Lan's Will Save (E): Failure
Telekinetic Storm vs Ho Lan (AC 23 / Frightened 2): Hit (-18)

@Auntie Wu, Sigurd: If we're losing two party members, we should also flee, and Lan will use his actions to flee. But if we're staying (or staying for a round because Auntie Wu has already acted), Lan will cast an offensive spell.

Lan will also Investigate, staying firmly nestled between people with big swords.

Religion +11

Lan coughs up a large ball of phelgm, and thanks Auntie Wu. He declines any beverages she offers to help stop his coughing.

Back at the library, Lan will try to gain the trust of the idja.

Diplomacy, Aid Success: 1d20 + 15 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 15 + 1 = 21
If that is a Failure or worse, Lan will use a Hero Point.

"I'm so glad you found Davenport and Cho. You guys are so good at finding things! Can you find Yen Rui?"

Can someone remind me how we came up with Davenport and Cho? The first instance I can see it appearing is in this post. Was this revealed in a spoiler, or did these two books manifest from Auntie Wu's random words?

Lan is happy to do the talking, but I have a lot of reading to catch up on, and I don't have time right now (more family stuff for today and tomorrow, and then I get to play a [rare] F2F game on Sunday). Monday at the latest, but I'll try to finish earlier.

10, then 8

No problem. Enjoy time with your family!

Just so everyone knows, I'm traveling for a good part of next week. I should have decent connectivity, so I don't expect any downtime.

I'm also traveling between Christmas and New Year's, and that's international travel, so I may be absent for some time.

Congratulations! I'm glad everyone is OK. A perfect Thanksgiving gift.

Lan fights through his sickness to Aid.

Aid Religion, Sickened 1: 1d20 + 11 - 1 ⇒ (7) + 11 - 1 = 17

Lan will Aid Religion.

Lan is Expert in Religion, so Vekka can Follow the Expert at +2+WIS+Level.

Lan will survey the plants on the statue. Any way to un-disease the growths?

Religion +11, Nature +8

Lan looks down at his poker hand.

"This is highly improbable."

Quite possibly my favorite line from any TV show of all time.

Ready to follow Kazuki into E12.

Sorry - my votes were to keep, not to eliminate. Top priorities are 1, 2, 9, and 10, then. Vote to eliminate 8 and 4.

1, 2, 7 (unless the answer to 7 is a subset of the answer to 10), and 9.

If my questions overlap too strongly with existing questions, then I'll change them to the following:

7. Can the Curse be lifted from our actions in this monestary, or will we have to travel elsewhere?
8. What happens if the Curse if lifted?

Lan will definitely vote for (1) and (2), rest TBD.

Religion: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (19) + 11 = 30 vs DC 20

Lan ponders philosophically about his spirit essence. Is this cycle meant to be broken, or is it beneficial for us to be trapped? What happens if we die, here or in Willowshore?

I suggest we ask how to heal the sugi tree.

It should only be 30 minutes. It would have been 70 without Auntie Wu.

Sigurd 67/68
Auntie Wu 34/66, wounded 2
Vekka 60/60
Kazuki 55/81
Lan 50/62

0-10 min:
Lan Refocuses
Lan 60/62 with pearly white spindle aeon stone

10-20 min:
Lan Refocuses
Lan 62/62 with pearly white spindle aeon stone

20-30 min:
Lan casts Rejevenating Flames 3d4 ⇒ (4, 3, 2) = 9
Sigurd 62/62
Auntie Wu 43/66, wounded 2
Kazuki 64/81
Lan Refocuses

30-40 min:
Lan casts Rejevenating Flames 3d4 ⇒ (1, 2, 4) = 7
Auntie Wu 50/66, wounded 2
Kazuki 71/81
Lan Refocuses

40-50 min:
Lan casts Rejevenating Flames 3d4 ⇒ (2, 3, 1) = 6
Auntie Wu 56/66, wounded 2
Kazuki 77/81
Lan Refocuses

50-60 min:
Lan casts Rejevenating Flames 3d4 ⇒ (2, 2, 3) = 7
Auntie Wu 63/66, wounded 2
Lan Refocuses

60-70 min:
Lan casts Rejevenating Flames 3d4 ⇒ (1, 1, 3) = 5
Auntie Wu 66/66, wounded 2
Lan Refocuses

70 min:
Auntie Wu clears Wounded.

I assume that Auntie Wu will also use her Focus healing, so it'll be quicker than that.

↺ Shield Block (Glass Shield)

Hardness 4, plus:
Piercing: 3d4 ⇒ (4, 3, 4) = 11
DC 22 basic Reflex save

Lan's Glass Shield explodes into a shatter, but the creature dodges it all. Critical Success, -0 damage.

---

Lan feels a powerful hit.

Fortitude #1: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (18) + 12 = 30 vs DC 24, stupefied 1
Stupefied 0.
Fortitude #2: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (9) + 12 = 21 vs DC 22, slowed 1
Slowed 1.

---

Lan sees Sigurd and Vekka climbing down from the tree, and he turns to his foe and smiles.

"Go ahead," he says. "Hit me again."

He holds his ground.

◆◆ Heal (2nd rank, 2-actions): 2d8 + 16 + 2 ⇒ (8, 6) + 16 + 2 = 32
I'm saving my last 3rd rank spell slot.
◆ Slowed 1

50/62 hit points, AC 23 (it should have been AC 24 with the glass shield)

Take some time to enjoy the fall colors! Although I'm guessing the peak foliage is well past. :(

Unfortunately, Lan's amped shield needed to be Sustained. When it seemed like it was ignoring you, Lan let it drop, thinking he might need to re-cast it on Kazuki.

---

Lan will heal Auntie Wu, and then cast Glass Shield on himself.

Heal (3rd rank, 2-actions): 3d8 + 24 + 3 ⇒ (2, 2, 3) + 24 + 3 = 34

Lan steps up and bathes Kazuki and Chewer in fire - healing for Kazuki, and harm for Chewer.

Fire: 3d4 ⇒ (4, 3, 3) = 10
DC 22 basic Reflex

"HEY! Get away, you bully."

Lan defends Auntie Wu, casting Amped Shield on her.

Then he draws his magical force and creates a magical tree next to him.

"Auntie Wu, move back here!"

◆ Amped Shield (Auntie Wu), ◆◆ Protector Tree (3rd)

Identify Rune (Religion): 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (3) + 11 = 14 vs DC 19
Identify Make (Crafting): 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (12) + 7 = 19 vs DC 24

"I can say with some confidence that this is an axe."

---

I have a similar question to Auntie Wu: if there's kind of a secondary aspect to what we'd gather from Nature, could we try a different skill at a higher DC?

Nature: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (2) + 8 = 10 vs DC 20

"Hey, I don't think this is the Tan Sugi tree. This looks like a decidious tree. I mean, decilious tree ... decidious? ... delicious?"

Athletics: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (8) + 5 = 13 vs DC 20

"Wow, that thing is really stuck."

"Well, I wish I could say, 'I told you so,' but to be honest, I thought the tea ceremony was a lost cause as well."

I'm not sure where E9 is, but I think E13 / unbeheading is a good idea, and we should probably explore the courtyard and backtrack through all our previously explored rooms before opening up any new one.

Placate

Will roll first and then roleplay the result, will reroll a CF.

Deception: 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (20) + 15 = 35 vs DC 24

"破釜沉舟!" Lan yells. "Break the pots, smash the boats! We have no choice but to move forward with the ceremony. Our friend in the kitchen has taken this proverb a little too literally. But rest assured, we are committed to the ceremony."

Lan speaks so eloquently that nobody notices it doesn't really make sense.

Lan will stay close to Sigurd, shielding him as soon as this gets ugly.

I agree we should try to skill-check our way through this one if we can.

"Would you be so kind as to get us some firewood?"

Lan tries to convince one of them to leave.

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (5) + 15 = 20
Deception +15 as well.

Lan has torches and flint and steel in his backpack, but he's not going to admit that yet.

Lan will move up to the table and begin setting it in the traditional Willowshore fashion.

Willowshore Lore: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (18) + 10 = 28

I freely admit I'm not sure whether this will help or hurt. Sorry in advance if it turns out badly, but I've put Lan up front so that I'm not endangering anyone else.

Do you need me to pick one?

Edit: Oh, I see, we must have crossed posts given the time stamps.

Lan moves in. "Perhaps we can offer you some other drink? Water perhaps? Won't keep you up at night?"

Lan will try to distract them, as he doesn't have many other skills, but his mind is really on shielding Sigurd.

1d20 ⇒ 6
+15 for Deception (what he's saying), +10 for Occultism (what he's thinking)

Since Auntie Wu will be looking out for the statues, Lan will Search.

East is good.

I agree with the list we have. Assuming we get a question every time we free someone, I think the first question or two should be aimed at figuring out how we free the others, and eventually, transition into bigger questions about who the monks are and how we deal with the overall threat.

How we recognize the others is probably a very fundamental aspect. I don't know if we got lucky by this tree attacking us, or whether there are going to be some "hidden" ones.

Lan can also switch from Scouting to Investigate (Recalling Knowledge as an Exploration activity) if the group thinks it'd be useful.

"I agree with Sigurd and Auntie Wu. But, I also believe this statue is one single "node" in a system of corrupted statues that must be specifically aligned throughout the Monastery. Perhaps even at places we have already explored. But! I also suspect we risk releasing some other Entity if we succeed in these endeavors!"

Lan is Expert in Religion, and Vekka can Follow the Expert at +2+WIS+Level.

Sigurd and Auntie Wu are both Religion +12, one of them will be Primary. I will make an Aiding roll for Lan.

Aid Religion: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (6) + 11 = 17 vs DC 15

◆ Recall Knowledge
Expert Religion +11, Frightened 2 Religion +11-2

◆◆ Disable

Intimidation, Frightened 2: 1d20 + 14 - 2 ⇒ (11) + 14 - 2 = 23

"Listen to him, or face the consequences! We're not playing around!"

I coincidentally pulled it up last night so to save you a click

https://2e.aonprd.com/Feats.aspx?ID=3273

Lan will not use a Hero Point on the Will save.

Lan is Frightened 2!

"This Stone Tree houses a portion of the Soul of Kugaptee!"

"Being emotionally tempermental, these creatures are weak to mental assaults!" weakness mental 5

Inside the main hall, Lan showcases his Expertise on religious matters by stating, "I bet the monks carved this statue from stone blocks hauled into place and bound them together with magic so that pilgrims could meditate before and touch a close approximation of the sacred tree. Only the monks themselves would have been permitted to enter the courtyard where the actual tree grew."

Exploration: Lan Scouts for danger. Token moved.

Lan will Investigate the tree to see if there's anything more specific, and then return to Scouting for danger.

Religion (E): 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (6) + 11 = 17

Lan would want to know about their weaknesses and resistances.

Lan will advocate leaving them for later, in hopes of finding some way to redeem them.

On a separate note, I just noticed that Lan should have two Focus Points. His tagline has been updated.

If you have a PC, you can also open the file with MS Paint or Powerpoint, and then save the file as a PNG file. This will keep any transparency the image has in WEBP format.