"Come along now. We won't tell anyone that it was you who told us. And Jadrenka wasn't so nice to you, leaving you all alone here, with just each other and your piglet, so that anybody can come down the stairs and hurt you."
Dez face twists in dismay at hearing another riddle -- his mind works on hard facts, not confusions of flowery words. But his expression turns to relief as Yrja steps forward and solves the riddle, and he shares in Yrja's memories as she evokes the scene when they met the Black Rider, and Dez reads the remembrances of old comrades in the subtle twitchings and muscle movements of her face. And Dez remembers when he first encountered Yrja, how young she seemed, and how much she has matured in the relatively short time they have traveled together. And he especially feels appreciation that her spirit, always lighter than his, has stayed intact in its essential nature after all their trials. Dez proceeds forward and bows at the tree as he reaches the passage of her limbs. "I notice many items left behind in the twists of your trunk by past pilgrims who did not share the Grandmother's blessings on their voyage. Are there any such items that you would share with us to aid our efforts on the Grandmother's behalf in the dangerous journey before us? Please take no offense at the request, I am unsure whether your kind has any use for such items, and we all walk the Grandmother's path, so I thought it fair to ask."
Dez applies his powers of close observation and his depth of studies to the scene before the group. "First, I notice there are many fresh tracks of centaurs and frost giants, which then stop and disappear -- as if they ascended through magic, as we intend to do. These must be the malicious centaurs we were warned of, and their giant allies. I also see some tracks that appear out of nowhere, so clearly there has been traffic both in and out, but probably none friendly to us." "Second, although the artist was unskilled, the the blood appears to make a twisted hammer with a demilune sickle at its base--the rune of Kostchtchie, demon lord of giants and the biting cold." "We have some tough fights before us, I fear."
"I believe I too can manage to fly myself to the top. I've been toying with an extract that will allow me to consume a potion and then regurgitate it back into the bottle for future use. Not elegant, but vert resource efficient. I bought a fly potion just for this purpose. I've been waiting for an opportunity to try the extract out."
: Guba starts to wriggle and gesture wildly, seeming to alert Lisi that there is something large approaching the canoes in the water. Just a moment later Sulee pops her head out of the water and says, "There's a creature coming our way from in front of us. I don't know what it is, but it's big."
Catalina does not hit the pillar so she will need to clear the misfire. I'll given Oren to the end of the my workday (PST) and then I'll bot him.
It is currently 65 feet away. I don't want to get into the math of it (because I couldn't), but from the present position, you and the pillar can target each other with standard cover. Get any closer forward and it has greater cover, although you could decrease the distance to the pillar a bit by moving West a few squares. Note that is difficult terrain picking through ruins to the West. You would have greater cover, though.
And, of course, the drained condition does immediate "damage" as well.
Dez is delighted at all of the novel sights and seems to try to take in every detail to be mused over later. He accompanies Yrja as she tries different delicacies and follows her lead, sampling the same. As they enter the "town" he tells his companions, "I've been looking for a mithral shirt, so if you see anyone that might be selling one, let me know. I'm also looking for some potions to use with this extract I can make that allows me to benefit from a potion without using it up, so let me know if you see people selling potions." Dez will also keep his eyes open for people selling armor or potions.
YES to leveling up. You will depart Akrivel as 8th level characters, so you can work on that now and let me know what changes are in store. Regarding the Contact Friends ritual. It is potentially problematic as the AP proceeds from the perspective of gaining access to information the AP doesn't really contemplate by structural design. It is hard to definitely predict at this point, but once the cat is out of the bag with that type of scrying-type magic... I guess I just kind of feel like access to that type of magic can be a big complication and it's not necessary to a fun game -- at least not as an always available tool. Also, if what you're seeking is a way to communicate with others remotely, it doesn't seem like the best bet. The ritual only allows one question (and is pretty vague in general as to how it works), it requires a roll to perform, and costs 50 gp to cast. "Dream message" seems more powerful as a tool for sending information, and of course "sending" is even better (but a level 5 spell). I guess what I'm wondering is, if you're thinking about the ritualist archetype (an "uncommon" archetype) for mostly backstory RP purposes, maybe we can figure out a work around instead of making that kind of investment...? BTW, I do think the present situation is appropriate for contact friends, which is why I'm making it available through the Ekujae, and it might be similar accommodations can be worked out in the future for rituals (this or others) that are fun/interesting without undermining the structure of the AP too much... Does any of that seem unreasonable? Are there other aspects you (or others) think I should consider?
Alak is very touched by Catalina's gesture and he immediately places the necklace around his neck. "I will treasure this part of you and keep it close to my heart." He gently touches Catalina's cheek with his hand and says quietly, "Please do take care. You always have a home here." Nketiah returns Yasami's smile. "No apology needed. I did not feel threatened and I'm glad we had this talk." Nketiah also responds to Lisi, "I'm afraid that sharing the sacred knowledge of our maloscurwë with non-Ekujae, even good friends, is out of the question, but, as I explained to Yasami, I do think I can convince my people to perform the ritual on your behalf." Caiten is exactly correct that the tunnel is a situation such without precedent that you all have no basis to assess what the changes mean precisely, although everyone was certainly glad of them. The changes in the temple/garden are, on the other hand, clearly due to the Ekujae's hard work and, to Lisi's eyes, reflect some druidly magic as well. Jahsi nods gravely in response to Lisi's comment. "Yes, of course. We are always pleased to see our friends, and we are grateful for your determination to rid these lands of Belmazog's scourge." And answers Yasami's question, "No significant changes to report. Our scouts still cannot progress far due to the remaining pillars, but neither have we detected any Cinderclaw incursions. I'm very sorry to report we have no information about Joran and Cev. The pillars, again, limit our ability to search. I can tell you there are no tracks suggesting that he ever reached the area to which we are currently constrained." Jahsi's expression is of great frustration and, uncharacteristically, he utters what must be some local profanities, judging from the surprised reactions of the warriors under his charge. Jahsi then composes himself and seems embarrassed, "My apologies. We Ekujae warriors are not accustomed or well-suited to feeling powerless."
Jorsk nods in approval of Oren's comments and the crowd stands in silence for a few more minutes, while the air chills and the sounds of the night emerge. Then Rorsk starts to sing again, at first without rhythmic accompaniment, apparently moving the ceremony towards the next stage. Those who speak dwarven recognize an ancient hymn, a final blessing invoking the protection and guidance of the ancestors. After singing the hymn through once completely, Rorsk starts to accompany himself on his drum, as he repeats the hymn over and over. Jorsk signals to your group that it is time to light the pyre by gesturing to a small isolated fire nearby, for lighting the torches. As Jorsk previously instructed, each of you approach, light your torches, and take up a position around the pyre. On a subtle signal from Rorsk, all of you touch your torches to the pyre and it immediately is engulfed in flames. You return to the crowd, and all watch for several minutes as flames leap skyward, casting a warm glow on the clearing. The primary smells are the wood and fragrant herbs that had been added to the pyre. Eventually Jorsk stops singing but continues to play quietly on his drum. The townspeople fade back to Breachill and the Citadel, many placing their hands on your shoulders in sympathy before heading off. Jorsk turns to the group: "It is a good and proper thing you have done here. Once the pyre has burned down to ashes, Rorsk and I will collect Dario's remains and place the ashes into the urn Caiten crafted. We will bring the urn to you at the Citadel, for safekeeping until it can be returned to Dario's clan." Having honored Dario, you turn and look towards Breachill. Tomorrow you return to the Mwangi Expanse to complete the promise made to the Ekujae -- to destroy the remaining totems and take the fight to Belmazog and the Cinderclaws in their fortress.
Thanks so much! Ok, so the legacy tag is no big deal. We will just ignore it, unless for some reason one of you think it was intended to be deleted in the remaster in a particular instance, and then we can decide how to proceed (probably I'll be fine continuing to use it if a PC wants to, unless it seems problematic for some reason). And thanks for the heads up about golems/bastions. Food for thought!
Although his countenance remains calm, Dezső is very moved by the centaurs' enthusiastic reception to his efforts to entertain. Following Korak's declaration and introduction, Dez thanks Korak most formally and then takes a mighty gulp of kvass and raises the horn in salute to Korak and the Voaldyn. He bows deeply and formally to Erdija and salutes her with another big gulp from the horn. "I am honored to meet you Erdija and thank you for your guidance. You can trust that we will follow your lead and fight fiercely by your side." Dezső will spend the night in revelry, letting his guard down more than usual, after the warm reception from the centaurs -- such warmth and acceptance being so unfamiliar to him. Even before the drink, he hardly feels the cold , and he again muses to himself that his natural comfort in the cold is perhaps a sign that his true home is in the colder climates of recent weeks. Dez will look for opportunities to bond with Erdija and Korak in the revelry, and do more tricks for the foals and any others. For fun, he will use his tail to hold his horn of kvass. If he overdoes it, as seems likely, he will make fun of himself and flatter the fortitude of the hosts (finding someone to help translate): (slurring)"I ... am but a puny two-legs... a skinny one at that ... how can I drink kvass like the mighty Vaoldyn?" But he promises Erdija he will be a capable traveling companion, despite his inability to handle large quantities of kvass...
I fixed the second set of links too. Catalina: No need to track ammo, since it's pretty cheap. Crink does have standard ammo to purchase and we can assume you buy a bunch. You can look at the consumable special ammo and tell me what you're interested in. He probably has common consumables and probably needs to seek out uncommon consumables. I think my rule of thumb for uncommon items will be that, unless there's a good reason for them to be available in town, usually it is something Crink needs to track down -- unless I just decide I don't want to make it available. This applies to both the ring and the rapier-pistol. Crink is happy to try to find them and when all the requests are made here in the discussion (and it seems we are reaching that point), I will put a summary in the gameplay thread.
No problem. I've been a bit out of it too, and Lisi's player is recovering from surgery. Hope you're able to resolve your issue promptly and without too much unpleasantness. Catalina: I'll look for the link you sent in Discord. I've found keeping up with Discord challenging and I find it non-intuitive, but I'll find the inventory link and get it up on here. Not tonight though because it's my regular gaming night tonight...
After Hezle and the party reach safety away from the mine and start to discuss matters in detail, Hezle shares a very important piece of information regarding one of your companions... "The elf, he wasn't dead, just unconscious. The spellcasting boggard cultists -- they are the bosses of the other boggards -- they decided the elf should be taken, with all his equipment, to Belmazog. They figured Belmazog would want to question the elf about what the Ekujae know and have planned. Of course, your friend clearly wasn't an Ekujae, but the boggards figured he was special since he's an elf. I have to admit, it was sharper thinking than I usually gave the boggards credit for. There was nothing I could do to stop them. And they left within an hour or two after the battle, with your friend all tightly bound and gagged. I don't think Belmazog will kill him, if she figures he might be important to the Ekujae. She's no genius, but she might want to hold your friend as some kind of leverage against the Ekujae."
Hello all! This is Voomer and here is my character in the game. I'm playing a catfolk bard named Remqaur, or Rem. Looking forward to the campaign. I'm a forever GM, so this is actually my first PF2e player character. If anyone has any suggestions related to my choices, such as spells (but anything, really), let me know. There may be a narrative reason for my choice, but maybe not!
The festivities come to a close as revelers slip off to their sleeping spots and the fire lowers to small flames and then burning embers. The musicians stop playing and the elephants wander off into the nearby jungle. In the morning, the camp is bustling with activity. Children clean up from the celebration, teens prepare food and feed the elephants, and adults work on crafts and construction. You are all greeted warmly when you wake and are offered bowls of a warm porridge with foraged nuts and fruits. After breakfast, a small group of children approach Lisi with a little goat milk and ask him to make some more ice cream before he goes. Also, Adare approaches the group and makes sure you all were able to absorb her information from the night before and did not have any other questions. In response to Yasami’s inquiries the night before (conveyed through Catalina), Adare says ”I just fashioned a tiny dugout canoe from a fallen tree, but a raft like yours, maybe remove a few logs to make it smaller, should be able to navigate the swamp. As for predators, there are certainly some in the swamp but the typical ones won’t be any threat to your group. But I don’t know if the cultists have any guards other than those I saw on the fortress — I did not get very close. You also asked something about color last night, but I didn’t really understand what you were asking.” Adare is happy to answer any other questions. The group is also approached in the morning by Edka, who again expresses his gratitude for the safe return of Kanu and Nalin. ”They have suffered greatly and this trauma will be with them for some time, but it is doing them good to be back under the care of the herd.” Finally, Tanda approaches the group. She again gives the party thanks on behalf of the tribe and gives the party 3 poultices that act as lesser elixirs of life but also have the benefits against persistent damage of the 4th level herbalist feat “poultice preparation”. As you prepare to depart, teens bring baskets of fruit and nuts and mushrooms for your journey. The elephant people gather at the riverside and as you depart they sing you farewell, a low chanting song that that follows you for some distance as you float away. Also, after you depart, you soon spot Edka with the herd of elephants standing on a sandbank in the jungle at the side of the river. The elephants relax and spray each other, and you spot Kanu and Nalin standing close to two large elephants. Edka calls out and the elephants trumpet in unison, an apparent elephant farewell…
As the night falls, the tribe gathers in a circle around the large bonfire and they show the party members to positions of honor, marked by flowers gathered from the jungle. Elders sit closer to the fire and the youngest members of the tribe hover at the edge of the circle. Before the meal commences, an elderly woman (someone you were introduced to, named Tanda, apparently one of the most respected elders) stands and commands the attention of all the tribe. She speaks in Mwangi, and Catalina later explains that Tanda speaks of her people and their companionship with the elephants over generations; thanks the party for returning the two stolen calves; and wishes the blessings of the jungle spirits on the party. Although it boils down to those few points, Tanda's speech is long and winding, and sprinkled with terms unfamiliar even to Catalina. The tribal members seems captivated and they stamp their feet in approval as Tanda finishes, and many flash smiles in the direction of the party members. As the feast begins, a group of mixed ages plays on drums and flutes fashioned from local woods, establishing a festive atmosphere and concealing the sounds of the jungle, aside from the periodic trumpeting of the elephants. The Elephant People wash their hands in bowls of water and then food is passed around in large wooden bowls. The Elephant People scoop out food either with their hands or with a wooden spoon, eat, and then wait for another bowl to come around. As honored guests, each party member is given an individual bowl and spoon and teens periodically come and scoop food into the bowls. The food is mostly vegetarian . There are sweet potatoes, yams, mushrooms, and greens stewed with herbs and nuts. There are fish and frogs from the river, and grubs and lizards, wrapped in leaves and smoked with different herbs. There is an explosion of fruit: rambutan, mangosteen, papayas, and other stranger fruit. To Catalina's disappointment, the Elephant People do not appear to have any fermented beverage tradition, but there are drinks (served in hollowed-out gourds) flavored with berries and an odd bitter beverage flavored with a certain local bark. As the evening progresses, songs are sung around the bonfire and various tribal members shyly come up to the party and make what appear to gestures of thanks (more back slapping). At one point, you are approached by Tanda, who brings with her a young woman she introduces as Adare, saying that Adare has something to tell the party. Adare says (in Mwangi): "I am a scout for the Wise Ones. I travel ahead of the tribe, and explore the jungle around, so that we may be aware of any dangers that lurk nearby. To my shame, I failed to travel far enough to detect the threat of the Cinderclaws before their recent attack, but I have since traveled and seen their fortress. It is deep in a massive swamp a few days distant. There is a large slab of rock that I swear was not there the last time I visited the swamp -- admittedly long ago. And the fortress is an oval structure built of red clay. It is not very tall, although the walls of the fortress rise about 15 feet from the water and there are higher watchtowers. Surrounding the fortress are a number of dragon headed pillars -- all have bonfires on top, but some are lit up their whole length in different colors and some have no light. That is about all I could see -- I could not risk getting too close, and the only way to approach the fortress was from the water -- I approached in a small canoe but did not emerge from the cover of the swamp. I did not encounter any cultists as I approached through the swamp." At the end of the evening, the music becomes more spirited, and many of the Elephant People rise and dance around the bonfire, their movements at times evoking their elephant companions. The party also notices that a number of the elephants have approached the edge of the clearing, apparently drawn by changed music and the movements of the dancers in the flickering fire. The now sleepy children lean against or climb on the elephants that have come to join them at the margins of the festivities. Eventually, exhausted tribe members slip away and bed down on the ground. The party members have been given a covered area in which to sleep, which you can go to at any time -- those who bed before the end of the festivities do so to the pounding of drums and visions of tribe members dancing in the glow with the shadows of the elephants looming protectively nearby.
Dez watches in fascination as the stepping stones appear. Watching out for traps and other notable details, he ascends the stepping stones and, if no hazards are apparent, he claims the hourglass and returns to the group.
Thanks! We still don't have an action from Oren (we can retcon his action as needed, and he doesn't do ranged attacks anyways), but I'm going to go ahead and resolve your actions and roll initiative. FYI, I've had a crazy week having to buy a new (used) car unexpectedly, and I'm leaving tonight for a few days (happy Juneteenth all!). But I hope to be able to post on my phone.
Hi, folks. I'm back! It would be great if people wanted to put posts in the gameplay thread kind of introducing the group to any significant changes from the gain in level. If there's nothing all that significant, then may just mention so here in the discussion thread and it is ok to skip it. I believe Yasami at least had a significant change to introduce. Once we are through with that, I will move the action to the edge of the mining pit, because it seems like you have a plan.
After answering the group's various questions , Hezle sits quietly, so small and silent that the party almost forgets she is there as they muse around the fire. After the group has gone around with their comments and sit lost in reflection following Lisi's contribution, Hezle speaks up, in accented but articulate common: "I, for one, am glad you were able to see that, for many of us, evil is something we have done, not something we are. The vrock -- yes -- that is a creature who thirsted for destruction at its very core. Have you noticed how quiet the jungle is near the camp? That is because the vrock killed all the birds. Was it hungry? No, it had plenty to eat. It just loved to kill. It is different for us kobolds, and even the charau-ka and the boggards. We are born and are raised in certain circumstances, habits, and cultures. Evil gods and their agents work their influences upon us, and it is said the gods themselves whisper to some of our leaders at night, to keep us on their paths. I don't mean to excuse the evil I did -- I knew what Belmazog did was wrong and that whoever is backing her means to bring much evil in the world. But we Thornscales find few opportunities to advance ourselves here in the Mwangi. The Ekujae, for example, don't trust us and most often would kill us on sight if they find us on their lands. And I can't even blame them, given the history of our people. It is the same for the charau-ka, and they also are plagued with their blood lust, and it is rumored the ancestral touch of a demon running through their veins. It is same for the boggards, and their devotion to Belmazog borders on worship. Again, I don't mean to make excuses, and Yasami is right that the cultists gave you no choice but to kill them. But it is easy to make bad choices in this world, and for some of us more so than others, and I am grateful that you have given me another chance. And I ask that you give Kyrion the same chance. As I told Yasami, Kyrion is a young red dragon that Belmazog raised. She somehow got hold of the egg, but I don't know how. I've only met him a couple times -- once at my village and once at the mine. But it was Kyrion's presence with Belmazog that made us Thornscales agree to her mad plan in the first place. Kyrion is majestic and smart and curious and doesn't deserve to be caught up in Belmazog's plans. You know, Belmazog is a bit of a fool, and I'm sure she's way over her head with these foreigners. I'm not even sure she is evil to the core, probably more delusional than anything else. But, I do ask you to give Kyrion a chance to redeem himself when you encounter him at the fortress."
The group heads over to the bunkhouse, which is abandoned and in some disarray. All of Caiten and Oren's equipment is there in a jumbled pile, along with all of Dario's equipment. You search through the belongings of the charau-ka but, with one exception, there is nothing of value -- it is mostly just scraps of clothing, crudely made wooden carvings and jewelry, and half-eaten food. The group does, however, find under the bunks reserved for the butchers 5 moderate elixirs of life.
Back at your camp Hezle does her best to answer your questions. "The vrock was conjured by Belmazog in an elaborate ritual. I've never seen any other cultist who could do something like that. We did not bring the spiders here. We just noticed that they had moved into the mudpit at some point. They are mud spiders that we have here in the jungle. They have left us alone, but I knew they would get annoyed if I disturbed their nest. The floating worms and the creatures in the water just showed up one day. I think they are some kind of side effect of the pillar. I think they must come from some other place because I have never heard of those creatures in the jungle, and they just seemed to appear out of nowhere. The worms have not bothered the workers and the creatures in the water have only shown themselves when the water is disturbed. And, yes, Belmazog has some kind of fortress several days South of here. I have never been, but that is the word the boggards used to describe it. I do know that the cult’s dragon pillars or totems are somehow protecting the fortress and and that you should make sure you destroy all the pillars before going after Belmazog. I know the locations of all the pillars and can mark them on a map for you."
Catalina, note you did receive the 28 points of healing from Lisi's 3-action heal.
Yikes about the fights!! Good luck wrapping things up at school. I hope your summer will be restful. All looks fine in the gameplay. I totally understand why you missed that detail with everything going on for you -- as a GM I want to make sure a player's action is made with understanding of the character's knowledge about the situation. I mean, I let things slide where it's not important, but this is a very sensitive moment in the battle!
Catalina, I'm so sorry to hear you were sick this weekend -- that doesn't sound like the restful time you needed after all that's been happening at school! I wanted to mention that it's clear to your character that if you stay in the area (rather than running into the jungle) you're spider food, but since you (the player) were sick all weekend and have so much going on, you might have missed that. If, in light of that understanding, you want to change your action, I'm totally fine with that. It's up to you. If Catalina chooses to stick with the same action, it would be great to hear your character's thinking in the gameplay thread, because it seems pretty clear the spider is poised to finish off the boggard for you, unless you finish off the boggard first and then become the only available target for the spider... I'm fine waiting to resolve the round. Unless you all end up engaging with the spiders in the open, we're getting very close to the end of the battle.
Catalina sees one of the charau-ka butchers staggering, and targets it with a punishing blast, and it recoils with pain and surprise.
In the confusion of the explosions and movement everywhere, Lisi fails to hear Caiten's suggestion to target the boggards with a fireball. Instead, he emerges from the trees so he can target the two charau-ka butchers with a scatter scree spell. reflex saves:
Both charau-ka butchers are surprised by the bludgeoning rocks from the sky and fail their saves. The one in back is covered with blood and staggering on its feet.
Life has been a LOT recently, and I have had a ton of obligations to try to juggle, and also trying to continue to do a good job at work. I'm still here, and I'll try to do better. I am committed to continuing, even though the regularity has been hard for me since I returned from my trip. I'm very sorry about that.
Sorry folks! I had busyness after being away and then some teenager school drama. I will aim to get a couple of posts up tomorrow.
I'm back from Aotearoa New Zealand! I love that country so much: so much beauty, so much friendliness and peacefulness, and -- despite the continued injustices and only partial reparations -- the Maori have a real presence and agency (in some domains at least and especially on the North Island where I was) that's very moving. And thanks for all the awesome roleplaying while I was away. I'll try to get up the info soon from Lisi's recon, but I think we probably won't fully leap into the next phase until Catalina is back from the woods.
Survey: Would you allow Hero Points to be used with Quiet Allies? If so, who would spend one? Yes I would, with the person rolling (here, Lisi) being the one to spend it. No need to roll for this broad-level surveillance though.
Rocco Shadow drool from their flapping tongues and lick Lisi's cheek. Guba nods somberly, its leaves twitching in the wet breeze.
Not that I'm aware of! If he takes damage while dying it increases his dying value, so that's to be avoided. I don't know how many enemies you'd miss, but it's not a game changing amount of damage (the butchers are tough!) and it seems like the main functional purpose is to discourage pursuit. For that purpose, better to have most (if not all) of the ash IN the jungle. As you have it, if anyone decides to move towards the jungle they will rapidly find themselves in the clear.
Yasami and everyone, please never hesitate to bring up any rules questions or anything you think I might have overlooked, large or small!
So do you all suggest I just wait for Cev to post? How long? At this point its the only thing stopping the next round from starting.
Thanks very much for that. I was confused about the electricity damage -- you're right that already happened. Lisi's player came up with 10 hit points left, so that discrepancy from your calculation will need to be resolved. Anywhere Cev can touch Lisi he would still be in reach of the vrock, which has 10 foot reach. And of course, Cev is very injured too and might be taken down by an attack from the vrock. Basically, it's a tough situation. The safest thing for Cev to do is three step actions to get Lisi in the clear so he can run into the jungle, and then hopefully not collapse from the persistent damage. Then, as you will see, the dinosaur is going to fundamentally change the dynamics with the charau-ka, but the vrock will still be in a position to have a good chance of knocking Cev unconscious on its turn, which is soon. Anyhow, I wanted to give the reasoning behind my relatively cautious action for Cev.
Oren, regarding your hero point use, did you mean this option? "Spend all your Hero Points (minimum 1) to avoid death. You can do this when your dying condition would increase. You lose the dying condition entirely and stabilize with 0 Hit Points. You don't gain the wounded condition or increase its value from losing the dying condition in this way, but if you already had that condition, you don't lose it or decrease its value." If so, you are unconscious at 0 HP and I'll say you are no longer bleeding either.
I'm going to go ahead and bot Cev in about an hour. He did use the glimpse of redemption to assist Lisi, and that reaction has now refreshed, but first he needs to make the two fort saves, which will determine how many actions he has available. If by some good fortune he has 3 actions, I intend for him to take two actions to step himself and Lisi back, and then lay hands on Lisi. Of course, if Cev posts before I do, he may want to do something else, within the confines of the results of the 2 fort saves.
As for the tumble through, yes I accounted for the full stride as part of that action. As for the encounter, it is definitely do able in the abstract. The party in my non-PbP game managed it, and they made one major mistake that you all haven't made so far. But you've had some unlucky rolls (Catalina missed over and over; there were lots of critical hits on you; etc.). Most importantly, in retrospect, the group would realize that drawing the vrock away to attack the party outside the mine area probably would have been a good approach -- it seems unlikely the cultists would have run into the jungle if they heard the vrock in combat. The vrock is a tough opponent, but you have managed to injure it a good amount. Obviously it is up to you all to decide what to do, and I agree you're in a tough spot. It would occur to some of you that if the group were to take all the time to travel back to Akrivel, the circumstances at the mine and perhaps the situation in general could change substantially in ways that might make things more challenging. You also know the Ekujae cannot travel to this part of the jungle due to the magical barriers, so they could not provide reinforcements... In terms of what you do immediately, it's fine to discuss here, but you should ultimately have your characters communicate to each other out loud in game.
Thanks for mentioning that. It does apply! The vrock's action and attitude doesn't significantly change, but it does seem a little more annoyed at Cev... Also, Lisi, as I mentioned in a DM to you, if you fall as a free action (which I don't think is RAW but I would allow it), it would provoke an AoO, so my understanding is that you instead want to take a step to fall off the dinosaur. The only difference is that you don't have the extra action to run behind Cev. I will adjust the Roll20 map accordingly.
I will bot Cev if he has not acted by tomorrow morning so that we can move on to round 3. I'm open to botting suggestions, since I don't believe Cev has provided them yet.
I botted you Cev, but I'm fine with you changing the action if you post another action today in the gameplay thread. Just include the word "retcon" in bold.
Catalina's pistol explodes out of the trees, raining leaves on the ground but falling short of its target. The vrock screeches in surprise, pain, and fury, turning both in response to the lance and hearing its native tongue, looking down at Caiten out of intense red eyes. The group hears wild charau-ka shrieking from within the quarry and, less pronounced, some croaking. Cev and Caiten are surprised to see a whooping, hatchet-wielding charge out of the quarry and almost reach them, moving much more quickly than they expected. Another charau-ka and a boggard appear at the top of the quarry ramp. Yasami hears commotion and charau-ka whooping within the bunkhouse, but none come out. Cev (2 more actions), Oren, and Yasami are up.
Despite the pressing circumstances, Dez lets himself feel the pleasure of Yrja's compliment, quickly responding, "At the University I read A LOT of books." He proceeds forwards with her, and is impressed with Yrja's directness in addressing the apparition, and surprised by the answer.
Dez gently signals to Yrja to pull back and speaks quietly to her: "I don't think this is actually Yelizaveta, or even her ghost. I think it's some kind of dream fragment, an echo of Yelizaveta, but it's self-aware. She won't want to tell us anything, but maybe we can bluff her, bit by bit. It feels like we need to find out what she wants..." Dez again approaches, "Your highness, we may be strange, and we may not be jadwiga, but I can assure you were are no vision, and Grandmother has not sent us here to talk to you. Perhaps we can help."
Cev, I would be fine with that, and I will try to remember he does that the first time each round a proximate injury occurs, but the Vrock and Lisi are both way more than 15 feet away. Lisi is 60 feet away and 10 feet up (on the back of the dinosaur) and the vrock is 60 feet away and 20 feet up (not 25 feet, like I said before).
So, it probably comes as no surprise that there's no RAW on mounting and riding an untrained wild dinosaur without a saddle or bridle. Most of the info I could find is feats for doing a mounted build. What I'm thinking is another DC 27 command animal roll to let you try to get on its back, this time at +2. No extra time is needed for that (or for the mounting); just the roll. Then you need to do a command animal action (DC 27, no bonus) anytime you want to tell it what to do (which is always the case for mounts, except for a move with the ride feat). If you fail, it does what it wants (initially go after the vrock as you already convinced it; if the vrock is unreachable or defeated, probably eat cultists until it decides to leave the area, unless a PC gets in the way). The trickier part is making up rules for staying on. What I'm thinking is that you'll be flat footed (distracting situation) and you need to use an action each turn to stay on. And every so often (I'm not sure yet what makes sense, but not every turn) it will make a move or get annoyed in a way that requires you to make a DC 26 (level based) reflex save to stay on. That's sort of like the buck reaction some mounted monsters have. Certainly a critical fail on command animal would require that save, but some other situations could as well. So, it's unlikely you'd manage to stay up there the whole time, but there is a decent shot of at least a few moments of glory... I'm open to listening to thoughts you or others have. I do think we are in the making sh*t up terrain here...
I'll get back to you on that! So far you've opened the cage reasonably quietly and convinced it to go after the vrock, at least initially. But you still need to let me know where the vrock was when you opened the cage, since you get to time that.
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