Once he's reasonably sure that everyone is as okay as they need to be, Kolris gets back to the investigation. He searches around the room for anything that wasn't immediately obvious before he even considers interrogating the Venture Captain.
"Coming through, Gery... oops! Sorry!" Kolris backs up into Gery, immediately pivoting around the halfling to back up to the door. "Step back with me, little man; we can form a wall and make sure there's no escape for the creeper."
Actions:
Move: 10' at half-speed Standard: readied attack into any square from which Kolris is attacked
Kolris holds his position, staring into the darkness as he lets his ears adjust to being his primary sense for the time being; he quietly unstoppers and drinks his extract of shield.
Actions:
Move: listen for dark creeper Standard: drink extract of shield
So you know what square he is currently in until his turn comes up.
This is why I'm asking; there was no way for Kolris to make an attack vs the creeper (with 50% movement speed) prior to the creeper's next turn. So I need to understand what options he has when he doesn't know what square the creeper is in.
Kolris curses, and curses again. From the other curses around him, he surmises that nobody with darkvision can see either, so he doesn't bother with his extract. Instead, he drinks an extract of invisibility, hoping that will at least grant him the same advantage vs the creeper that the creeper has in the darkness. He steps tentatively into the room, taking very cautious steps in the darkness, he grunts a quiet apology to Gery as he bumps past, nearly tripping over the small halfling.
Actions:
Standard: drink extract of invisibility Move: 15' at half speed
I always seem to mix up the rules on fighting in darkness. What is required to pinpoint and thus target a foe in darkness? Is it just a simple Perception check, and then you attack vs 50% concealment? What's the DC?
Since Kolris is taking 20 anyway, can we just SOP the Perception and (if necessary) Disable Device to open locks? If we are rushed (i.e. can't or might not want to Take 20), don't use the SOP, and if a trap is found, definitely drop out of SOP so I can have agency over the decision of what to do about it, but otherwise it seems silly to delay the game waiting for me to make the same post with basically the same results every time.
SOP: Perception = 38 when heightened awareness is active, 37 when using guidance instead Disable Device (open locks) = 38+1d6 (inspiration on this skill is free due to underworld inspiration talent)
Kolris prepares by casting heightened awareness from his wand (10 min duration; he will burn this for the initiative bonus).
Use Magic Device DC 20:1d20 + 13 ⇒ (5) + 13 = 18 Use Magic Device DC 20:1d20 + 13 ⇒ (14) + 13 = 27
It takes a couple of tries, but he gets it. Then he downs an extract of monkey fish, which he uses to nimbly climb down the chain. (Climb speed 10'; 4 min duration)
We found treasure already including gold, platinum and gems. I assume you can take what you need to buy your scroll (if you do not have enough funds on hand) and deduct what you take from your gold earned at the end of the adventure.
If Kolris can make purchases now with scenario funds, he'll just purchase both scrolls now for full price; there are better things on that chronicle sheet to use the discount on. :)
Full price would be 150 (darkvision) + 375 (daylight) + 40 (scribing) = 565 gp for Kolris' purchases.
No objection here. If we have the in-game time, it makes perfect sense.
Kolris (of course) rolls his eyes and grumbles at the delay, but he doesn't go so far as to block the consensus; he begrudgingly agrees that it's all-around smarter tactically.
He gratefully allows the discussion to distract him from saying anything to Anastasia about the dark creepers at all.
"Hey, if you're going out, maybe you should do some shopping. A scroll of daylight--in case we encounter more darkness--that's not too expensive; in fact, I know a guy who can get us a deal. I think I'd also like a scroll of darkvision for me, personally."
A scroll of darkvision is 150 gp. Kolris has a boon to purchase a scroll of daylight at 75% of its listed price; that takes 375 gp down to 281.25 gp. He's only sitting on 230 gp in personal funds though, so he can only buy the darkvision for himself. If we split the daylight scroll 6 ways, that's 46.875 each. Kolris can afford that share, and then he can buy it back from everyone at the end of the scenario with scenario funds if we don't end up using it. (It's his boon to make the purchase, so I'd almost say it's a requirement that he be the one to keep it at the end of the scenario.)
After Gery and Carlin leave to find healing and go shopping, Kolris returns the group to the task at hand. "We might as well start questioning the dark creeper. There was a scroll of tongues in the library, so we can have a proper conversation now. Who best to use the scroll and take the lead?"
@GM, if we cast tongues on one person, would anybody else be able to aid their Diplomacy/Intimidate checks? (i.e. could body language be the basis of an aid check? Calming hands, palms open in reassurance for Diplomacy, looming into personal space for Intimidate?)
And which route should we go? Kolris has Diplomacy +9 (he uses Int on Diplo checks to persuade others) and Intimidate +6; he can use Inspiration to boost the roll +1d6 in either case.
Carlin looks to have a good Intimidate, so we may want to postpone questioning until she's back if we go that route, especially if we can aid the tongues user.
If Carlin and Gery are able to make purchases:
When Carlin and Gery return, Kolris finds a quiet space in the house to study this new scroll. He invokes ancient elven magic that allows his eyes to understand the magical writing (casting read magic as a spell-like ability). As he studies the arcane writing, he begins taking notes in his formula book, working out the conversion of arcane invocation into chemical combinations.
Spellcraft DC 17:1d20 + 9 ⇒ (11) + 9 = 20
At the end he double-checks his work, then quickly mixes a shotglass sized portion of the formula which he shoots down his gullet. He glances into the dark corners of the room and smiles, satisfied.
The process takes 2 hours and costs 40 gp. His 2nd level extracts are all prepared for the day (he only knew one formula before this, so I didn't leave any slots open), so he won't be able to prepare darkvision unless we rest.
He quiets himself briefly, listening intently. All he can tell is that there is too much happening between him and their target for him to do anything, so he retreats, looking for light.
Okay, clearing space for you now, Carlin.
Actions:
Standard (move-equivalent): Perception to locate dark creeper Move: 15' at half speed
People if you have no way of dealing with a swarm then please grab an alchemist fire or acid flask.
Kolris makes this stuff in his spare time; not needed here. Spread them out to others.
Kolris too shakes his head in sadness for Gery. "Why, Gery? Some people just can't help staring at the sun...."Voluntarily accepting blindness; that's impressive roleplay if you have a reason for it. ;)
Conditions wrote:
Blinded: The creature cannot see. It takes a –2 penalty to Armor Class, loses its Dexterity bonus to AC (if any), and takes a –4 penalty on most Strength- and Dexterity-based skill checks and on opposed Perception skill checks. All checks and activities that rely on vision (such as reading and Perception checks based on sight) automatically fail. All opponents are considered to have total concealment (50% miss chance) against the blinded character. Blind creatures must make a DC 10 Acrobatics skill check to move faster than half speed. Creatures that fail this check fall prone. Characters who remain blinded for a long time grow accustomed to these drawbacks and can overcome some of them.
That's real hardship there, especially the half-speed restriction. I agree Gery isn't completely disabled, but this will be tough! It's also a condition that gets recorded on the Chronicle sheet; if the scenario doesn't have rules for having it wear off--or give us a remove blindness spell along the way--it will persist if Gery doesn't pay to have the spell cast.
Keeping his gaze averted, Kolris offers a suggestion. "If we can turn it off, we can also most likely turn it on again. There's no way we can investigate things while we're risking blindness."
"I propose we try to disable it, and then if we determine it should be left on, turn it back on again then."
Kolris examines Rogarch's goggles closely--depending on the half-orc's sense of personal space, perhaps too closely--muttering "very nice... gonna have to get me a pair of those...."
Stepping back, Kolris both looks away from the door and shields his gaze with his hands while he waits for Rogarch to open the door.
"We don't know!" Kolris yells, frustrated. "Why don't you cast your tongues spell and ask them? Until then, either start murdering them or recognize that they're not threatening us in any way."
Kolris approaches the secret door and inspects it in the methodical way he's inspected every door.
Perception, Take 20, trapfinding, guidance, whispers of evil:20 + 13 + 2 + 1 + 1 = 37
"I've seen stranger things in a Pathfinder Lodge; they could be welcome guests who've successfully avoided the intruders, for all we know. Unfortunately, my spell lets me understand them, but not the other way around, so I can't ask them any questions. They are definitely asking us to get rid of the blinding light--well, blinding to them, anyway."
Kolris gestures to the secret door they pointed out with approving gestures like thumbs up and such. He then points at the door they want to check first with questioning gestures, seeking approval from the dark creeper to check that one first.
@Kolris - Your character can reach pretty well anywhere in the room with a move action (as can mine). So unless you are not planning on moving this turn I suggest that you just post an attack. Up to you of course but it does move the game along. :)
My decision tree involves possibly using Kolris' move action on his studied target ability, so I would prefer to know the layout.
Kolris draws his rapier and drinks an extract of shield as Gery advances on the doll. "Got your back," he says, more interested to see the outcome than anything else.
Kolris looks from one Pathfinder to another with clear confusion on his face. "This seems far less dangerous than I was worried about. Does anyone else see this as completely non-threatening? Disturbing... but the doll just wants to hear a song?" He shrugs, then continues. "Still, there's a soul trapped inside that thing; the best thing for it--and likely for us--is to free the soul...."
"Well, at least we have a lodge to sleep in. Let's post a guard and get to it. I'll take first watch."
Mechanically, Kolris has no reason to rest; he's only used a single point of inspiration and no extracts for the day. Of course, if it's night it's night; no issue resting if the clock says it's time.
Kolris nods. "You're not wrong in the least. A thorough inspection of the upstairs could help. Let's see if we can figure out a way to block the way upstairs when we get up there, too. Just in case someone heard us mucking about without the scream of a wailing worm, they can't sneak up after us."
"Does someone have a silence spell? I think we'll want it before we try to go through that door."
"We should probably also collect those sunrods and the Pathfinder's other things. We may find them useful along the way," he adds. He collects four of the sunrods and puts them in his handy haversack.
This creature is a beast native to the Darklands called a wailing worm, which functions as a shrieker.
I feel like Kolris' result was high enough to follow up on this. Can I assume that the creature is dead, and thus any concern over it being a shrieker (i.e. potential warning device) is moot?
Heal:1d20 - 2 ⇒ (11) - 2 = 9to confirm that it's actually dead
Kolris points up at the wailing worm. "This may seem a dumb request, but I believe in being thorough. Can anyone confirm for me that this worm is actually dead? I have areas of expertise; this is not one of mine."
Kolris takes a good look at the bug, or worm, or whatever it is.
Knowledge (nature):1d20 + 9 ⇒ (18) + 9 = 27
Relating what he knows to the other Pathfinders, he proceeds to inspect each of the doors in his traditional, thorough manner.
Perception, Take 20, trapfinding, guidance, whispers of evil:20 + 13 + 2 + 1 + 1 = 37four times, once for each door
Am I correct that the door with the bug is the right-most door (relative to where we entered; i.e. the single door in the western wall)? And the door that blood is seeping out from is the middle door in the south wall, marked with the red arrow?
I'm thinking we want to investigate the door with the worm (maybe depending on what we learn about the worm from Kolris' knowledge check) or the door with the blood first. Do we have a consensus?
A lot of GMs would disallow a Take 10 to disable (not find) traps so that is a bit of a grey area although technically I agree with you.
I don't think that interpretation is supported by the rules. There are skills that specifically prohibit using Take 10 (Use Magic Device is one, see Special in the entry). Disable Device has no such restriction, nor does any appear elsewhere in the rules, at least not that I've ever found.
You can find a lot of discussion about it, and there are a lot of GMs that don't allow Take 10 or 20 with Disable Device, Perception, any of the social skills, or even with any opposed checks. That's all fine in a home game, but in PFS the rules are set and supposed to be consistent; there's no support for any of those restrictions in the rules.
Taking 10: When your character is not in immediate danger or distracted, you may choose to take 10. Instead of rolling 1d20 for the skill check, calculate your result as if you had rolled a 10. For many routine tasks, taking 10 makes them automatically successful. Distractions or threats (such as combat) make it impossible for a character to take 10. In most cases, taking 10 is purely a safety measure—you know (or expect) that an average roll will succeed but fear that a poor roll might fail, so you elect to settle for the average roll (a 10). Taking 10 is especially useful in situations where a particularly high roll wouldn’t help.
Taking 20: When you have plenty of time, you are faced with no threats or distractions, and the skill being attempted carries no penalties for failure, you can take 20. In other words, if you roll a d20 enough times, eventually you will get a 20. Instead of rolling 1d20 for the skill check, just calculate your result as if you had rolled a 20.
Taking 20 means you are trying until you get it right, and it assumes that you fail many times before succeeding. Taking 20 takes 20 times as long as making a single check would take (usually 2 minutes for a skill that takes 1 round or less to perform).
Since taking 20 assumes that your character will fail many times before succeeding, your character would automatically incur any penalties for failure before he or she could complete the task (hence why it is generally not allowed with skills that carry such penalties). Common “take 20” skills include Disable Device (when used to open locks), Escape Artist, and Perception (when attempting to find traps).
emphasis added
PCs can use Take 10 and Take 20 way more often than we do. In fact, Kolris would be allowed to Take 10 on that Disable Device check (just 10, because there's a penalty for failure), but the allure of a higher result on the dice gets me every time.
That really depends on the GM and it will certainly slow down the game so I would rather avoid it. Rogarch definitely IC does not believe that the most legal systems run smoothly or fairly.
In all the times I've seen PCs threaten NPC with "the authorities," I don't think I've ever seen the threat carried out. It's all just roleplay; nothing to get too concerned about.
Kolris holds up his own wayfinder, but doesn't activate any light from it; there seems to be plenty. Besides, Kolris' wayfinder seemed to be carved from jade; it provides guidance instead of light when needed.
He approaches the doorway that the blood seems to be seeping out from underneath, and gives it a good examination for traps before trying the handle.
Kolris draws his rapier as he darts forward, following Rogarch then slipping past the half-orc into the room beyond, leaning forward to stab his rapier into the false Pathfinder's belly.
"Give it up before this gets any worse!" he urges.
Trusting that combat isn't going to break out immediately, Kolris steps out of the alcove. "Yeah, that's not going to work. This is an 'eyes-only' kind of message; we're going to need to deliver this message to Skeldon personally. If he's not here now, we'll need to know where he is and when he'll be back."
"Yeah, don't worry about it. I'm sure I've got this."
Kolris takes a good long minute to give the door a thorough inspection--not so much out of any fear that a Pathfinder Lodge would be trapped, but out of rigorous and meticulous habit--and then pulls out a very nice set of picks and begins working on getting the lock opened.
Anastasia suddenly notices the elf and politely bows in Tian fashion.
“Welcome. We did not get your name. And what your experience is, is also unknown to us!“ she says expectantly.
Kolris looks at Anastasia, with an out-of-sorts look as if he's a bit caught off guard. His body returns the Tian bow with perfect form--nearly automatically, as if on auto-pilot--before he speaks. "Kolris, of course, sorry," he responds with jilting pauses, almost as if confused or put out by the question. "I'm a Pathfinder," he concludes after too long of a beat, as if that explains everything one would want to know of his skills or experience.
He nods along as everyone else introduces themselves, awkwardly offering an outstretched hand where no handshakes were offered, or simply not noticing and ignoring the offered handshakes from others.
"So, yeah, I read up on this in preparation..." and continues on with his lengthy and detailed explanation of everything he learned of the local area and its politics.
I am still working on rebuilding Kolris' character sheet from his Chronicles. I will update this info when that's done and verified; certainly before the end of the scenario. Thanks for your patience!
Also, Kolris has a boon Whispers of Evil that he'll be checking a box for to gain a +1 circumstance bonus on Perception and Sense Motive checks for the duration of this scenario:
10-10 The Shattered Shield wrote:
Whispers of Evil: Chasing the ghoul witch Zaashakar throughout the city of Azir has left you with more questions than answers. A previously hidden evil has begun to stir, but now you’re aware of its movements. You can check a box next to this boon at the beginning of an adventure to gain a +1 circumstance bonus on all Perception and Sense Motive checks during that adventure.
Sorry I'm late! Kolris' profile is currently a mess; I was copy-pasting an edit I wanted to make to all of my PC's sheets, and accidentally copied a different PC's profile over much of Kolris' profile.
I'm going to add the default Statblock from HeroLab at the top so that I have all the essentials that I can play from; I'll slowly correct the rest throughout the game. I also have a chronicle to apply, but it doesn't level him up, so should have no meaningful impact that would prevent me playing him.
