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The chainmail is noisy so gives a -2 penalty so total of 18 for Hagrym's Stealth check.

The female ghost is stunned by Mac's speech, as her anger dissipates at the weight of his words. She pauses as if replaying the relationship with Volluk in her mind. She murmurs "It's always Belcorra this and Belcorra that. She does always come first...." The ghost is lost in her internal reflection that she does not notice Hagrym move toward the skeleton and pry the object from its grasp. It is a framed portrait of a handsome drow. The name "Volluk Azrinae" appears on a tiny gold plaque at the portrait's base. Added a pic of the portrait to the Monster slides.

The ghost excuses herself, as she looks back at the party. "Keep working...I need to think." She phases through the wall to the east.

Mac notices the wall that the ghost phased through is an actual secret door. There are no further exits from this room. Now what? Back to the library or something else?

Thanks for the concern. I am well and regular posts will be forthcoming. Thanks for your patience!

Emergent situation came up before - update for sure coming tonight.

Ok, I am back. The applications were really great. At one time, I debated taking 7 players..lol. In the end, I selected the following players and it was not my intent to take such a diverse group, but that's what happened:

Pileus: Leshy Monk
Shi Xin Wang: Versatile Human (Tian) Bard
Jojo: Goblin Swashbuckler
Gexi: Ratfolk Alchemist (Toxicologist)
Thark the Blessed: Half-Orc cleric of Gorum

To those selected, please report to: Discussion Thread

Thanks again to all who applied!

Final List of Applicants:
Nosteo: Versatile Human (Chelaxian) Sorcerer
Pileus: Leshy Monk
Shi Xin Wang: Versatile Human (Tian) Bard
Jojo: Goblin Swashbuckler
Gexi: Ratfolk Alchemist (Toxicologist)
Rose Petal: Leshy Kineticist
Zatniteshuk: Gnome Oracle
Thark the Blessed: Half-Orc cleric of Gorum
Rumi: Catfolk Champion
Red Swampseer: Elven Commander
Ragnhild Iona Eklund: Versatile Human Fighter
Katarina: Versatile Human Sorceress

Ok, will be back in the morning with the selected players. Thanks everyone for applying - I will have to make some hard decisions.

For those that don't know, pathbuilder2e.com lets you build characters pretty easily, especially at 1st level. A few clicks and you're done.

Alright, I am officially leveled and feeling much enter.

Last question: I’ve still got over 60 gold burning a hole in my pocket. Advice for items I need to pick up to keep helping out the group?

Staff of Healing is universally recommended for a cleric - it's a level 4 item but costs 90 gp.

Side note: Maybe one game with me is your limit (lol) but I am going to start an Age of Ashes PbP, so if you're interested, you can apply with an entirely new concept and will have preference. If not, I will not hold it against you. :)

4 level cleric (war priest)

——-

8+Con hit points
Skill feat: Risky Surgery
Class Feat: Channel Smite
Archetype Feat: Doctor’s Visitation
Spells: +1 2nd level

+1 to AC, attacks, perception, saves, skills, save DC and class DC.
——-

I have not made any changes to my sheet. Does this all sound correct, GM or anyone else?

This is absolutely correct - you can proceed to level up.

Hagrym, I apologize if I was not clear. Pen's conducive weapon and mirror image and your Bless were pre-bufs that you cast before opening the door (the round right before Round 1 so your Bless buff has 9 rounds left.)

Therefore, you can take your full round of actions in Round 1.

Special attacks: It can increase its reach with its trident to 10'.
Lowest Save is Will
Resistances: Physical 5/Poison 5.

The devil puts his hand to his chin, as Garidan's reason seems to set in. "You do make a good point about the sign - nice observation. I did not catch your name. It seems to be more of a strict liability situation - just your presence in this room is enough to trigger the consequences. Those were Belcorra's orders, well, when she was alive. Unfortunately, I signed a contract to enforce those rules...like..." The devil looks over to the hashes on the wall. "Like 500 years ago. And, as you know, those contracts are legally binding. So, unfortunately, for you, in you go into the prison. Unless, there was something else that you wanted to discuss?" The devil seems very relaxed talking with Garidan.

Perception checks:
Garidan: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (17) + 7 = 24
Hagrym: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (14) + 9 = 23
Jon: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (3) + 7 = 10
Mac: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (19) + 9 = 28
Pen: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (8) + 5 = 13

As you analyze the room, Mac's sharp senses detect a trap in the room. Pen, via his magical scans, determines that the trap is not of an arcane nature. Hagrym, through his religious studies, can sense the presence of s restless spirit in the room that is related to fire. He determines that there is a haunt in the room emanating from the hatch. He can use his religious studies to quell the spirits, as he enters the room.

Knowledge Religion: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (12) + 11 = 23

Hagrym commands the spirit to leave and is successful in citing to holy text and exorcising the spirit. The room is now safe to explore and you find a Ventriloquist's Ring buried in the ashes.

Where to next? The eastern door from the library, the northern door from the mist elemental room, or the southern door from the lighthouse center, where Rosk died?

You vist Carman Rajani who purchases your magical weapons. You can purchase the blazons and whip from him.

You discover the following information:
You find no treasure on the tattoo artist or cultist ghouls.
You find a secret door in the western wall of this reading room besides the southern exit.
If you go back to the original room where you met the tattoo artist, you find 2 bulks worth of books on tattoos that would be of interest to Morbilint. You need to find 10 bulks' worth to complete the quest,
There are 2 side rooms from the tattoo artist's room: one leads to a butcher's shop, where you find +1 silver hand axe, and the other leads to a food storage room, where you find the bodies of 4 dead morlocks haging on hooks, which the ghouls most likely use to snack.
Finally, Hagrym is pretty certain that Garidan has been infected with ghoul fever.

Apologies, I was away for Memorial Day weekend in USA. I should have advised you. I am back now.

Apologies, I was away for Memorial Day weekend in USA. I should have advised you. I am back now.

Ah, Destructive smite! Missed that.

Goliath's blow caves in the drake's skull, while Jericho's blade crits, disemboweling the creature. Both creatures are dead and combat is over!

Hagrym studies the scene of the ghost and its almost compulsory pantomiming of repairing books, repeating actions it must have done a lot in life. Hagrym recalls his religious studies and he presumes that removing this room's tables and tools will allow the ghost rest eternally.

The party proceeds to follow Hagrym's directions in a respectful manner. The human ghost does not respond to the party's attempts to speak to it. Once the party has completed its chore, under Hagrym's direction, the ghost smiles and fades from existence. Nicely done!

A search of the room turns up a key, a gold paperweight worth 10 gp, and a crafter’s eyepiece.

Where to?

Very noble of you, Goliath. Since the sailor was 5-10' away, since you both fell into the water together, Goliath grabs the drowning half-orc and swims back to the ship with the rest of his movement. You then both climb the rope that Jericho dropped down, just in time to avoid the crocs' massive jaws. The sailors pelt the crocs with rocks and oars and that drives them away, once they realize their prey has escaped. Well done!

The sailor that Goliath saved is very grateful for the druid's intervention and gives him a big hug. The sailors are happy with the party's presence on board.

Party can roll their skill checks for the day.

Hope everyone had nice Easter weekend.

The party successfully and competently performs their duties causing no delays in the 1st day of travel, earning the crew's respect as you get claps on the back and handshakes from the half-orcs. Penny also cooked a delicious meal, which seems it irk the crew's cook a little.

Day 2:

The next morning, after breakfast, the day’s catch gets hoisted up on the deck first thing and the party is called in to help, which requires you to stand on the slippery deck and lean over the rail to haul in the nets. Ulmo and Goliath are recruited for their high strength, as the two of them along with three half-orc crew members get to work, while everyone else watches.

Ulmo and Goliath need to roll Reflex saves.

3 level cleric (war priest)

——-

8+Con hit points
Skill increase: expert in religion
General Feat: Assurance (medicine)
2nd warpriest doctrine: trained in martial weapons
Spells: 2 2nd level gained per day
*Dispel Magic
*Restoration

+1 to AC, attacks, perception, saves, skills, save DC and class DC.
——-

That’s the easy part. Could someone check the numbers when I get the changes made and make sure the skills and all that good stuff add up?

Thanks!

Everything looks good, Hagrym, except I have your hps at 43, not 41.

Ok all, selection time! I want to try and change the AP as written as little as possible so going with the following 4 players:

Grumbaki - Ulmo Nargrymkin - Dwarf Divine tracker/Infiltrator Ranger.
DBH - Penny Foundling - Half-elf Arcanist.
Lucendar - Jericho Darkleaf - Half-elf Rogue
Coffee Dragon - Baerothad - Human Cleric

Thank you for everyone who applied. To those selected, please report to the Discussion Thread.

Recruitment closes in 3 hours.

After 20 minutes of rest, Hagrym has healed the party back to full and you continue exploring.

You head east and then north, all the way back to the undead minotaur room. You take the western door that heads east for 10' and then south, where you see some stairs.

Due to Mac's Stonemason's Eye ancestry feat, he spots at the top of the stairs, an incongruency in the western wall. The party stops to investigate and you discover a secret door in the western wall to a set of stairs leading down to Level 3. This is now the 3rd way of heading down to Level 3 the that you have found.

You head south and see a short flight of stairs leading down 10' to a moldy beach and a flooded cavern. You piece the geography together and make the educated guess that this cavern connects to the drake's lair.

Congratz - you have explored almost all of Level 2 except the drake's underwater cavern. I have posted map. You also have the other set of stairs down from Level 1 on the island to the north. Do you head there?

To avoid dungeon delving taking days while i await for your responses, will make certain assumptions and proceed.

You head through the NW door to find a pantry.

Only a few fragments of the shelving that once lined the walls of this pantry remain today.

You search the room but find nothing of interest. Two doors lead out of this room, one east and one west. You try the eastern door and it leads to a staircase leading down to the lower level. The western door leads to a passageway with stairs leading down 10' to some ruined rowboats. There is also a room to the south. You try the door leading south but it is locked. You can try 2 thievery checks to unlock the door or an Athletics check to force the door open. Mac has the highest score at +8 while Garidan has +7.

Garidan Aid Another Athletics: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (5) + 8 = 13 --- fails
Mac Athletics check vs. DC 20: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (14) + 8 = 22 --- success!

Mac forces the door open and you find:

The walls of this octagonal chamber are adorned with swirling runes carved into the stone and then filled with dull, silvery metal. The floor is polished smooth, as is the ceiling ten feet above.

Per Arcana check: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (14) + 7 = 21

The silvery metal and runes leads Pen to believe that this is some sort of teleportation chamber. However, it appears that a ritual spell is required to awaken the latent energy in the room. However, Pen is sure that he is unaware of the spell required and it is certainly not in his spell book.

Mac's two strikes land, the first one inflicting no damage and the second one inflicts 4 damage.
Hagrym, the DC of your spells is 18 so please write that in your post each time. Skeleton Fort save: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (3) + 8 = 11 --- fails, takes 7 damage.
Jon's bullet lands, inflicting 4 damage - no critical. The whip inflicts 7 damage. You fail to disarm the undead minotaur with a 14 check. That is not a critical failure.
Total damage: 22
Pen and Garidan are up.

Mac's warpick pierces the devil's chest, as it slams into the wall dead, dissolving into foul ichor. Nice crit! He shouldn't have messed with your cousin! LOL..Combat over. There is nothing else of interest in this room.

I have updated the Map slide to show your progress so far. You have cleared the eastern part of the map. You have 6 options to go:
1. Door with green glow to N.
2. Door NW further down the corridor to the NW.
3. Secret door in the prior room with torture instruments.
4. Western door in the prior room with torture instruments.
5. SW door down the southern corridor.
6. Western door in the first room on this level, where you found the first secret door.
Which way? Obviously the door with the green glow is the closest but do not want to assume.

Appreciate everyone's patience. I am back.

Pen realizes that the magic of this structure, a lighthouse that has been around for 500 years, yet the base has no cracks or imperfections in its structural integrity, is beyond any he has ever seen. The most logical deduction that he can make to deactivate it would be to cut off its power source, which is must logically have, since it appears to be charging. What that power source could be, he has no idea. However, logically, it follows that it must come from down below, since the structure does not appear to be powered by the sun or any external force. With regard to his experiments, all the objects Pen throws harmlessly bounce off with no damage whatsoever to the structure.

If you recall, Boss Scrawng drew you a crude map of the 2nd level where the "mushroom-eyed people", who kicked him and his tribe out, dwell as well as the lair of the "swamp dragon". I've added it to the Slides.
Remember, also that you have 2 pending side quests:
1. The mitflit leader promised you a big pile of shiny gems if you go downstairs, kill all the mushroom-eyed people, and defeat their king.
2. Find Yinyasmera's four men, who have gone missing and were last seen near the dock in the ruins.

Early wish: Happy New Year to all! Thank you for your participation and making this game fun!

You got 60 xp for the wisp, bringing your total to 940. Welcome to second level! Remember that we are playing with the free archetype. Please do not level your characters up until you return to town and rest up.

The doll was a CR 3 creature and worth 80 xp, for a total of 880 xp. 20 more xp for 2nd level.

Whoa, the dice swing in the party's favor, dashing Mr. Beak's 22 AC!

Jon's comment about the warning shots was true and his aim on the next shot is perfect, as he inflicts 22 points of damage on Mister Beak.

Pen, barely standing, follows up with a burning strike that inflicts 16 damage to the doll and it drops to the floor dead, its wings singed!

It had exactly 38 hit points. And even if that didn't kill it, Mac's 2 attacks would have dropped it. Well done! Combat over.

Hagrym, seeing the results of the actions before yours, you can save the heal spell and try to cure Pen with Treat Wounds if you wish. Your call. If you wish to save the spell, you can roll a Medicine check instead.

Hagrym, your action occurs in Round 3, so if Pen fails the Balance check, he cannot act this round and gains the Dying 1 condition and has to roll a recovery check. Your heal goes off next round. We are technically at the bottom of Round 2 right now.

Hagrym, your Spell attack modifier is actually +7 not +1. Spells are based on casting stat and proficiency bonus, not Dex.

Hagrym casts a bolt of divine energy at the doll, which misses the agile doll! Yes, a modified 20 attack roll misses!

Round 2: Winged Doll
◆Step ◆Strike ◆Strike

In its warbly voice, the doll scolds the elf. "You tried to hit me! No one hits Mr. Beak! You made me angry." The doll swoops in close to the elf and tries to punch him in the face but misses. It then times its punch perfectly and strikes Penflower in the throat, breaking his shield, and still nearly killing him!

Since the doll does not have reach, it takes a step to move into Pen's square. It then tries to punch the elf twice.

Strike (Punch): 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (2) + 12 = 14...miss
Strike (Punch): 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (20) + 8 = 28...critical
Damage: 1d6 + 4 ⇒ (5) + 4 = 9 x2 = 18 damage.
Assume Pen uses shield block reaction.
Shield absorbs 5 and takes 13 gaining broken condition.
Pen takes 13 damage, leaving him barely conscious!
Also, since you got hit Pen, you need to make a DC 15 Balance check or fall prone and take 1 point of damage from the glass, which will render you unconscious!

Party is up!

Jon, thank you for the Google doc! You can take off the rusted and ruined keys - those are useless and not worth anything.
Hagrym - the item is classified as magical. So anyone trained in Arcana, Nature, Occultism, or Religion can make the check. Under the PF2e rules, you do not have to be a spellcaster - only requires training in the skills. It is DC 18 check and if you fail, you have to wait for a day to try again. The rules say it is a secret check, rolled by me, but I prefer you roll it. In your case, it would be a Religion check I imagine.

The Blue skeleton takes 14 more damage from Mac. The second attack misses.
Hagrym, I play the 3-action heal to heal/damage same so one roll for everyone, in this case that would be your first roll of 7.
Blue Fort save: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (3) + 5 = 8..fails, takes 7 vitality damage.
Yellow Fort save: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (13) + 5 = 18...success, takes 3 damage.
Blue: 35 damage so far.
Yellow: 22 damage so far.
Mac and Pen healed.

There is a 2nd level class feat for clerics known as Panic the Dead, where you can possible frighten undead, even mindless undead.

Thanks, Jon. Happy Thanksgiving to all in USA!

160 xp for Boss room.
Total xp thus far: 600.

The boss room was supposed to be a Severe Level 1 encounter. I know it's based on a 4 player group so I added the Giant Fly to compensate since you guys are 5, but even then, the party had a pretty easy time with that room. Curious to see how future severe encounters play out. Bite Bite was bad-ass and would have inflicted nice damage but Mac took him out quick.

The scared mitflit boss lets out a small sigh of relief that he was not killed on the spot. He has a nervous look about himself, as Mac lays out each of the questions. His voice shakes a little as he says, "I'm sorry, could you repeat all of those questions?" He hopes the comic relief will lighten the murderous mood in the room, as he sees the corpses of his fellow mitflits and favorite insects. However, upon seeing Jon's seriousness, with firearm in hand, Scrawng realizes that this party is not in the mood for comedy right now. He sighs, knowing that he is defeated, and starts to answer the questions. He motions over to his throne, asking permission if he can sit. He sits down, or not, and begins to tell his tale.

"Hehe, just kidding, I heard all yer questions.
1. My plan, brilliant if I may say so, was for my Mudlicker tribe to train the giant flies, before you killed 'em, and to grow more flies from the maggots into a mighty air force! The Mudlickers, riding the giant flies, would invade Otari and stun them into submission. Unfortunately, it appears those plans have failed." Behind the throne, you see a sand mound that represents a crude map of Otari with several arrows that indicate plans of attack from the direction of the Fogfen.
2. "The Mudlicker tribe used to numbers dozens but we did not live here. We lived one level below the lighthouse but we got into a turf war with a bunch of mushroom-eyed people. Both sides lost soldiers, but we lost more so we had to retreat up here many nights ago.
3. I had 10 Mudlickers under me, 2 Buzzy Buzz, some maggots, and Bite Bite. Poor Bite Bite. If you got this far, I assume all my tribe is dead, right? Then no more Mudlickers. I am the last one." The boss fights off tears. You have killed 3 mitflits followed by 3 mitflits followed by 2 and then 2 for a total of 10.
4.The boss tries to remember and closes his eyes, picturing the geography of the lighthouse. "I will tell you what I know of the lighthouse - the entranceway, the unsteady drawbridge, the frog monster pond, the maggot training hall, the maggot stable, the fly pen, the dining room - that has some scary kobold spirits - stay away, the sinkhole, the walkway with the skeleton, and now the throne room." You have visited all of the places mentioned except the entranceway. "North of the main hall there is a room with a giant scorpion - we tried to recruit it but he was a tough one to control so we left him alone. North of it were some glowing ghosts in this cold room, we do not go near there. Just feels wrong. Outside the lighthouse, under the boathouse to the north, there is a swamp dragon that lives there. Lastly, I know there is an outbuilding on the island to the NW, but a week ago, one of my scouts mentioned that a boat full of 4 big and sneaky-looking people went into the swamp dragon's cave while the dragon was out hunting most likely. Have not seen them since, so most likely, the dragon must have come back and eaten them, right?" For the boss to draw you a map, you need to make a DC 18 Intimidate check.
5. When Mac mentions the "Gauntlight", Boss Skrawng’s eyes get big, and he shakes his head, "The eerie glowing light is the creepiest thing of them all. Since we been up here, once in awhile, a cloaked stranger who leaves a trail of leeches with a glowing lantern visits the lighthouse. What he does there when he goes beyond that door is unknown. However, the sloshing sounds of his footsteps creeped us all out. Every night, the light glows, and I am worried that there might be a big ghost up there so we stay away. You should also if you care for your souls. Bad juju there."

The boss sighs in relief that he was able to unburden himself. "So what now? I am very helpful, yes? Better to keep alive, right?"

Yes, apologies, I did not want to waste a day, while you guys examined the morningstar so I moved ahead to the combat. It is a +1 morningstar.

Good catch! My apologies, will try to keep the creature's names more secret in the future until you guys do RK.

Players, do not forget to use Recall Knowledge for your trained skills to identify monsters in and out of combat to help you out.

Aberration Occultism
Animal Nature
Astral Occultism
Beast Arcana, Nature
Celestial Religion
Construct Arcana, Crafting
Dragon Arcana
Dream Occultism
Elemental Arcana, Nature
Ethereal Occultism
Fey Nature
Fiend Religion
Fungus Nature
Humanoid Society
Monitor Religion
Ooze Occultism
Plant Nature
Shade Religion
Spirit Occultism
Time Occultism
Undead Religion

Will update later today. Thanks for your patience.

I have linked the Google Slides tab under my alias to make it easier for the PCs to see pics of the NPCs you have met, the town of Otari with map key, and the future monsters and maps. I hope I did it correctly. If not, please let me know.

Thanks, JD! So happy to be chosen. Like I said, please look over my sheet and be sure I’ve not screwed something up. This is all new territory for me!

Glad to be in another game with you, Lucendar!

Is your background Acolyte? I believe so, but do not see it on the sheet.

Good job!

Too bad, Jacob, thanks for the heads up.

I know I said recruitment would last a week last Friday, but I will extend it until tomorrow, Saturday, at 6:00 PM EST.

Thanks for all the interest. I am enjoying reading your concepts and tidbits, so I am intrigued. When I read your backgrounds fully, I will let you know any questions/comments, as needed. With regard to your specific questions:

Pancakes: The characters were not involved in Book 1/Book 2 events. Basic premise of start is that local officials have lost contact with Fort Rannick and hire you to investigate. By doing so, you become aware of the larger plot and the giant threat.
Laird: Samurai is allowed – as for prestige classes, they are generally allowed. Though the PC you referenced appears more thematically suitable to the CoT AP than this one.
Giant Halfling: Archetypes for allowed classes are fine even if they mimic abilities.
Pancakes: Let me get back to you on crafting feats. I have to think about it.
Andreww: No, limitation only applies to classes.
Wayland: Yes, I am dedicated to this game.

I think I got them all.

My bad, I was out of town for Labor Day weekend here in USA. I am back now, will update tomorrow.