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Retcon, per Discussion.

--Round 3
Jadran (62/73, shield 64/64, shield raised)
Tiger (80/80)
Meadow (52/58, hunting Red, 1d6 bleed, Drained 1) / Silence (39/39)
Flory (33/33) / Sir Miles (27/27)
Zibini (39/55, amped shield, mirror images 3/3)
Green Mist (-62 hp, slashing x2, bludgeoning x1)
Blue Mist (-61 hp, slashing x2)
Magenta Mist (-50 hp, slashing x1, bludgeoning x1)
Lazzare (12/66, frightened 1, Dying 1, prone, unconscious, Wounded 1) / Ratatouille (30/30)
--Round 4
Red Wisp (-10 hp, Detected, light 20', 22 <= AC <= 29, Recall: Occultism)
Yellow Wisp (-12 hp, Hidden, 22 <= AC <= 29, Recall: Occultism)

Senses rules and Invisible rules strongly indicate that when you turn Invisible while visible you are Hidden (as such people know your square) unless you successfully Hide or Sneak. There's no "you attack a square without knowing if the monster is here or not", you either know if the monster is in a square (Hidden) or you know you have lost track of it (Undetected after a successful Sneak or Hide).

Okay, I'm on board with that. There is some language in the wisp's stat box which I'd like to discuss after the game.

I'll post in Gameplay, but Yellow hasn't moved (it actually moved before attacking, and then attacked twice), so it's still in the square, just Hidden.

The wisps have a 50' (!) fly speed, so they would have Sneaked (instead of just moving) after going invisible in past rounds. This may entail some retcons, so I'm going to roll Stealth for a potential retcon.

For my reference: Tiger DC 23, Meadow DC 22, Lazzare DC 21, Jadran DC 21, Zibini DC 19, Flory DC 18

Red Sneak: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (10) + 12 = 22
Yellow Sneak: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (4) + 12 = 16

The previous round, Red moved from SW of Zibini to its current position (flanking Meadow with a since-killed mist). However, Sneaking, it only had 25' of movement. It would have had to pass by Jadran to get to its location, provoking an AoO (or whatever it is now), but its Stealth beat Jadran's Perception DC, so it was only Hidden to Meadow and Tiger, but Undetected to the rest, and the AoO would not have been triggered. Tiger and Meadow should have known of its location, but I don't think there's anything that warrants retconning. It appeared the next turn so it would have done the same to Lazzare.

Yellow moved from SW of Jadran to 1 square north of its current position (flanking Lazzare with a since-killed mist). This triggered from Jadran, which I'm going to roll now.

Hidden: 1d20 ⇒ 16
Longsword: 1d20 + 16 ⇒ (15) + 16 = 31
Slashing: 2d8 + 4 ⇒ (3, 5) + 4 = 12

Yellow then moved south to flank Lazzare with Red, although, now looking back in retrospect, it was already Hidden so it wouldn't have need to flank. This works in the party's favor, because it "wasted" an action, and others have made dependent actions, so I'm not going to retcon.

I believe that is all those are all the potential retcons. We'll continue as is, and I'll just use the tracker to indicate their visibility status.

Everyone: Remember that it's low-light, so some attacks are going to have a DC 5 concealment check, some are going to have a DC 11 hidden check.

Also, I should play in between the wisps, as the second one put me down.

Ugh, I hate splitting the initiative like that. Red will Delay until it sees what Lazzare is going to do. :) Lazzare can always Delay until Red goes if he wants.

I took my action (which didn’t involve being hidden, so it wasn’t a factor for now), but I’d still like to resolve the questions I raised above. Thanks to everyone for your input so far.

To clarify:

1. Has Yellow been found (via Seek) and Pointed Out? I thought it was, but now I’m not sure.
2. On my next turn, if it still hasn’t been Pointed Out, I can use my own imprecise senses (e.g. hearing) to Seek, correct?
3. If I were to use Wilding Word to have Lady G Seek instead, how would the actions play out?

It's possible that Lazzare knows this rule better than I do, but if he's saying what I think he's saying, it's better than what you posted at first, it would be ◆ Flory Cast, ◇ Lady G Points Out. (You wouldn't even need to Command an Animal.)

Jadran's going to swing into Yellow's last known square, but it won't hit, and thus, won't give any information on whether Yellow is still there. Nobody else Seeked, so the answer is that Yellow has not been found for sure. I've been trying to use the icons to denote what the party knows about the foes - a full icon if it's Detected (no flat check), a dashed icon if it's Hidden (DC 11 flat check), and I'll remove the icon if it's Undetected (not targetable).

Flory can rearrange her actions is she wishes. We're still short one person posting, anyway.

Tiger slashes deeply into the mist. Even though his fingernails slide through some of the mist, they still do siginificant damage. Resistance to slashing. The second slash almost hits. vs off-guard

Meadow moves and hides.

Jadran, Lazzare correctly pointed out that you got a free swipe at Blue as it walked by last turn. I'm going to bot an AoO, which happens before your turn.

Longsword: 1d20 + 16 ⇒ (16) + 16 = 32
Slashing: 2d8 + 4 ⇒ (1, 5) + 4 = 10

Jadran slices the mist deeply as it passes by. Now, your turn. Jadran finishes off Blue with a backhanded swipe, and then redirecting to Magenta slashes Magenta.

Flory commands Sir Miles to attack. Sir Miles snaps at the place Red was last seen. Flory, what I'm going to do is to make a secret Hidden check (DC 11 flat check). If Red is there, I'll process the attack as usual. If Red is not there, and the check passes, Sir Miles will have figured out Red isn't there; the attack was "wasted" but I'll redirect the second attack to Green. If the first Hidden check fails, Sir Miles won't have figured out that Red isn't there, and the second attack will be wasted as well.

Sir Miles is very confident that Red isn't there any more; he snaps at Green instead, causing some damage, but not as much as hoped.

Meadow, you're still bleeding. I'm going to bot your recovery check.

Bleed: 1d6 ⇒ 1
Recovery: 1d20 ⇒ 1 vs DC 15

--Round 1
Jadran (25/73, shield 64/64, shield raised)
Tiger (80/80)
Meadow (53/58, hunting Yellow, 1d6 bleed, Drained 1, Hidden?) / Silence (39/39)
Flory (33/33) / Sir Miles (27/27)
Zibini (39/55, amped shield, mirror images 3/3)
Green Mist (-36 hp, slashing x2, Recall: Occultism)
Blue Mist (-61 hp, slashing x2)
Magenta Mist (-24 hp, slashing x1, Recall: Occultism)
Lazzare (66/66) / Ratatouille (30/30)
--Round 2
Red Wisp (-7 hp, light 20', 22 <= AC <= 29, Recall: Occultism)
Yellow Wisp (-0 hp, light 20', 22 <= AC <= 29, Recall: Occultism)

Appearance of Wealth!

Repair, Crafting E, Quick Repair (1 min)

...
If that’s not a Success, will HP

Jadran's shield is listed as a minor sturdy shield, which is a level 4 item, and DC 19. So the first roll is a failure, and the second is a success, restoring 10 HP and bringing it back to full.

"...you were being sneaky because you were embarrassed that you weren't trying to hurt anyone or do anything wrong?"

"We weren't being sneaky! We've been right here, in the open!"

A quick comparison of their shoes will suggest that they are not the footsteps you were following earlier.

Not an enemy, I just wanted to give everyone else a chance to finish them off so you don't hog all the kills! (Just kidding, I just put the [ /b] tag on the wrong line. Sorry.)

Tiger's first punch scatters Blue's bones into a dozen places, but his second and third hits can't affect Green.

Meadow, however, wedges her rapier in between the skeleton's bones, and Jadran takes two powerful whacks at it, hacking apart the sinews. The skeleton collapses!

--End of Combat!
Flory (33/33)
Jadran (73/73, shield 55/64)
Meadow (63/63) / Silence (39/39)
Zibini (55/55)
Tiger (78/80)
Lazzare (66/66) / Ratatouille (30/30)

I do need to track the time, so please describe how/if Jadran fixes his shield (borrowed repair kit is fine, or you can buy one in town if you have money), and how/if Tiger heals his grievous wounds.

The skeletons bear no weapons or armor, and their fine clothes are too badly damaged to have any value. A few of them have small items of jewelry that did not melt or become encased in lead. In total, these are worth 2 Treasure Bundles, but 30 gp if you want to buy anything in town.

---

The trio of humans are successful in their battle as well, though they sustain heavy injuries during the fight and are in no shape for further confrontation.

Assuming the Pathfinders approach, they are readily identified as Aspis agents by their badges encased in gelatin. They introduce themselves
as Harp (female human), Arrow (male human), and Bear (female halfling).

As soon as they realize that (1) they're grossly outmatched in combat, and (2) the Pathfinders aren't there to kill them, they readily spill the proverbial beans.

Their leader, the bronze agent Tamis the Hawk, was slain in the first attack, and the survivors are unsure what to do. They show the Pathfinders a copy of their orders:

Tamis,

You’ve heard of the Maid of Anactoria? It’s a bog mummy they found in Ustalav, which supposedly has magical powers. I’ve heard rumor that there are more to be found in the bogs north of the village, and we need to know if it’s true. If my source is to be believed, the others waiting to be found will be just as powerful.

Here’s the thing: higher-ups have decided we’re not to take the easy road and just grab the famous one. That’d draw too much attention. Learn what you can about the existing example and where it was found, and then go looking for more. You’ll have a team of ten and whatever supplies you’ll need. Bring us back a new bog mummy, and that silver badge is as good as yours.

Under no circumstances are you to steal or even tamper with the existing Maid of Anactoria.

Trusting in your complete understanding,

—D

Also, they have archaeological equipment and notes showing they have been busy at work for quite some time, as well as the callouses that go along with such heavy work.

As far as everyone can determine, they appear to be telling the truth.

Finally, they state that they are expecting more supplies and orders to come in on a stagecoach, which is due in town tonight, and invite (or beg) the Pathfinders to escort them out the accursed bog and back to civilization.

You may question the Aspis agents further, if you'd like (or if there's anything that doesn't make sense so far), or, if not, pick a new lead to follow.

"Sewer Dragons set the traps!
Pathfinder Agents don't eat cats!"

I'm going to wrap up this campaign tomorrow morning, and concurrently, lock the folder in which the Chronicles are stored. If anyone doesn't have their Chronicle yet, or needs me to make corrections, please PM me - after the campaign is closed, I won't be checking this thread any more.

Peter realizes that it's unlikely anyone speaks Ysoki. Fortunately, he remembers playing the part of a rat in his elementary school play. He mimicks their movements, conveying the actions of a friend.

Deception: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (16) + 13 = 29 vs DC 19

He's very good at playing charades with rats.

Abadar seems kind of down Lan's alley, and he takes Diplomacy, which at +9, is tied with Auntie Wu's Religion, so Lan will give it a shot.

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (13) + 9 = 22
Will Hero Point a Failure or Critical Failure (since Failure carries penalties as well, assuming it works the same as other Invoke Blessings)

Um, hey there, Abadar Xiansheng. It's me, Ho Lan. I don't pray much, but we're kind of in a jam. There's something attacking the town, and we kind of need to light this lantern, and, I guess what I'm saying is that we would really appreciate it if you'd bless this coin for us. I guess I could leave an extra coin or two here, if that'd be okay with you?

Lan puts a gold piece on the shrine, unsure of what to do or what will happen next.

Sure!

Posting with my main account as this isn't really Peter-related.

You're conflating a huge number of issues.

Magical Trickster was not designed to get sneak attack on every attack. Rogues in general are not designed to get sneak attack on every attack. That melee-wielding thief rogues get sneak attack on a lot of attacks is the outlier, not the standard. If anything, thief rogues are probably broken in the positive direction.

There has been various guides about how to get a foe flat-footed, but in general, you are correct in that it's really hard for a single PC to make a foe flat-footed and attack at full MAP. It's not a bug, it's a feature. Magical Trickster is "broken" in the same way that Twin Feint is "broken" - the sneak attack is added to the MAP attack. You can look into Tumble Behind, a rogue feat which allows a Tumble Through (which doesn't increase MAP) to make a foe flat-footed. But overall, yes, you need to spend feats to do it, so it's not automatic. Hiding and Sneaking is another general way, but even more action intensive (I think you need 1 to Hide and 1 to Sneak, so you wouldn't be able to get a solo sneak attack in 1 round).

The other way is to find partners in crime, and honestly, this is also not a bug, it's a feature. A lot of the 2E feats are designed to be more useful to others than to the feat owner. At higher levels, when fighters knock foes prone on crits, fighter-rogue pairs can work well. Convince an alchemist to load up on bottled lightnings, and alchemist-rogue pairs can work well, too. This dynamic isn't unique to rogues - swashbucklers also rely heavily on synergy, and the champion's best feature (its reaction) is completely useless to the champion themselves.

In the most general sense, 2E wasn't created to make character creation simpler. It was created to make scenario writing simpler. The range of modifiers in 1E made it difficult to write appropriate scenarios - there would be parties where one PC had a modifer of +33 and another had +7, so, as a scenario writer or GM, how do you set a DC that's fun for everyone?

Finally, 2E technically could cross with other rules systems at the time 2E was created, but they chose not to, and now, 5 years later, it's become increasingly obvious that it was the right choice. OGL is too unreliable, which means that, unless players want their game system to be held hostage by Hasbro's Wall Street shareholders every time institutional memory runs out, it has to be completely different from D&D.

What type of fey is Rusylflick?

Rusylflick is a grig.

Which direction is the Garden of Lead?

Southeast. It's not specified in the scenario.

The footsteps we followed to get there were ones of the Aspis members or ones of the party skeletons?

The footsteps neither match the Aspis boots nor the skeletons. This is a point that you can revisit after the impending encounter.

Also, the Maid, or what she was put on, was leaving strange imprints on the ground, does Lazzare find them again? Or maybe some cart that would leave the same kind of marks?

The indentation by the back window of the house was a singular indentation, not ongoing ones.

"You say that there were a bunch of clompstompers here? Where did they go? What did they look like? Did they eat a lot of gelatin?"

“A few survived - oh, there they are now!"

In the distance, a trio of humans are standing back-to-back, with torches and blades, and the party quickly sees they're being attacked - by skeletal figures.

"What do you mean they were dressed like it was a party?"

See Slide 5. You're - gasp - getting attacked too.

Suddenly, a shout of alarm rings out from the south. Lurching out of the bog are several humanoids, bleached white bone showing through the tears in their gowns and waistcoats.

I'm out of time, so I'll roll initiative and place the icons later today.

"No, thank you," Thevenin declines, "We'll join forces, but we're from the Pathfinder Society, our only reward is the achievement points we earn from our lodges."

Thevenin suddenly sees the horrified stares of their fellow agents.

"Oh, wait, I guess we do take cash," they backtrack, accepting the loot.

"Naaah, we're just going to scare them off."

Thevenin puts on a scary face, but forgets to not smile.

"Maybe kick 'em in the nards a little."

Will: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (2) + 9 = 11 vs DC 17

Peter feels sick, but sings anyway.

◆ Inspire Courage
◇ Lingering Composition (Performance), Sickened 1: 1d20 + 9 - 1 ⇒ (9) + 9 - 1 = 17 vs DC 19

♫ He's got the power
He's got the power
Hey, yeah, yeah ♫

♫ Like the crack of the whip, Lady A attacks
Front to back, in this room-sized trap
Dig it like a shovel, time devils on our Maze level
Bang the bass, turn up the treble
Inventor's mind, day and night all the time
Apsu's signs are wise, divine
Short stack, long sword, winnin' the game
I'm here for the kill and not just to maim ♫

◆◆ Telekinetic Projectile, Sickened 1, Inspire Courage: 1d20 + 10 - 1 + 1 ⇒ (18) + 10 - 1 + 1 = 28 vs most damaged one (should be Orange)
Bludgeoning, IC: 3d6 + 1 ⇒ (1, 1, 3) + 1 = 6

Using money to buy the tools is fine.

Yep, that's fine. Just wanted to know the parameters.

GM:

You've mentioned that more villagers will be rescued depending on how long we stay. Roughly how long would we have to survive to get them all out?

Also, you've mentioned that the encounter ends when Midori leaves the complex. Although I suspect it's not as imminent as it appears right now, I suspect we will get to a point where we're ready to leave before we're forced to flee. Is there a mechanism for saying that Auntie Wu and Midori exit the complex, and the other four of us hold back the waves of Noppera-Bo until we're forced to flee?

"Can someone translate for me?"

Deception: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (17) + 13 = 30

♫ "Just sit right back, and you'll hear a tale,
A tale of a twisted maze
That started from the Woodsedge Lodge
Amidst the agents' craze

Gravity started getting rough,
My stomach was in knots
If not for the courage of the fearless bard
The agents would be lost, the agents would be lost." ♫

The tune is so catchy that nobody realizes Peter kind of avoided answering the question.

"The next thing you know, Data will be asking us to prepare an inverse tachyon pulse ..."

Before they leave, Quinoline will offer anyone a greater darkvision elixir (24 hours). Quinoline makes 2/day and drinks one, so the other is literally free darkvision for 24 hours for anyone who doesn't already have it. She also uses a greater olfactory obfuscator in lieu of showering, and has an extra for - literally - the unwashed masses.

---

"The Hive sounds good," Quinoline says, seconding Fangor's suggestion.

She does remind him that the first step towards illumination is a DC 6 flat check.

"You," Lan says, pointing at Yellow. "Give me the keys. I am the keymaster. Do you think you are the gatekeeper?"

◆ Deception (Command): 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (16) + 11 = 27
I'm going to assume that Succeeds as post as if it did.

Lan ◆ Strides up to him and grabs the keyring out of his hand (◆ Interact).

We're missing Tiger but even a crit failure won't affect the outcome.

"Oh," mutters the woman apologetically. "We thought you fit the mold of the Aspic. But I see now that you're not here to preserve our culture, and not just our food. Here," she says, pressing a moderate cognitive mutagen and moderate silvertongue mutagen into Zibini's hands, "I was going to throw these at you."

As the crowd disperses, a priestess and a constable approach the inn, glaring at the embarassed villagers. The priestess introduces herself as Mother Belchescu (Slide 3 for art) and the constable as Doryn Fieru. Mother Belchesu invites the Pathfinders to follow, and allow them to stow any belongings at the Weeping Willow inn if they wish, explaining that she has arranged rooms for them.

Mother Belchescu informs the Pathfinders that there has been an urgent development since she sent her request to the Society for aid: the Maid of Anactoria has disappeared!

Mother Belchescu asks the Pathfinders to recover the Maid as quickly as possible, before the town’s greatest treasure is lost forever.

We'll head to the crime scene, but if anyone would like to Gather Information, I'll take Diplomacy modifiers (or other skills, if relevant to Gather Information) for a secret check.

My intro post got eaten! Quinoline is full of mystery!

"Oh, Astrid! Yes, we go way back. She thinks I've spent too much time reading books and not enough time drinking beer. She's not completely wrong."

Quinoline greets Hobbs in Goblin. (All alchemists know, or should know, Goblin - goblins have some of the best alchemical recipes, and they never write anything down!)

Stealth +8

Beggar So hides in the bushes, and the kobolds do not appear to respond.

"Hey! That's not yours! Finders keepers, usually but we know the real owner so it doesn't count. Now, just put it down and there won't be any trouble. We'll take care of it," Grimmylow says when he spots the kobolds squabbling over the satchel.

"Right. Listen to the goblin-folk. I am sure we can talk about the specifics of ownership and whatnot"

"There is nothing to discuss about ownership. Everyone knows that possession is 90% of ownership, and, well ..." the leader says, raising the satchel demonstrating factual control.

"Of course," he continues, "Irrebuttable proof of possession, adverse or otherwise, confers the right to transfer said possession. We'd be remiss to consider the possibility that our ownership a bailment, with our temporary rights to be returned to the allegedly 'real' owner of said property upon appropriate payment for services rendered."

Kzem readily translates the legalese with Legal Lore: We'll give it back if you pay us.

Two Successes from Grimmylow and Kzem have lowered their price from 20 gp to 10 gp.

If I could nerd it up, Vekka's third roll, (6)+7 vs DC 20, is more reroll-worthy than his second roll, (10)+1 vs DC 19.

The third roll has a 8/20 (40%) chance of succeeding or better, 9/20 (45%) chance of failing, and 3/20 (15%) chance of crit failing.

The second roll has a 3/20 (15%) chance of succeeding or better, 9/20 (45%) chance of failing, and 8/20 (40%) chance of crit failing.

But aside from raw points, there's how valuable the objectives are, since objectives lower down our list are worth less than objectives higher up on our list.

Right now, we sit at 100% probability of having our armor and a not-unfavorable fight. If the third roll is rerolled, it translates into 40% of that plus one other objective (TBD), 45% just what we have already, and 15% having weapons and armor but for an unfavorable fight.

Basically, is a 40% of having an additional objective worth a 15% of having one less? That's not immediately obvious, so I agree it's a hard decision, but just wanted to nerd it up a bit.

Fingo gives the notes from the lounge an annoyed look, then stops, sighs, and looks at Zirzip.

Would translating documents from Infernal to Common be within the range of things that you can do for us?

"But I think Fingo is right, if we could get some hints or help with these documents..."

Zirzip glares at Annavinia, and then bursts out laughing. Annavinia, her face crimson red, shrugs, and says, "What? They didn't ask."

"I know you mortals always take this the wrong way, but, sweetie, there is a special place in Hell for people like you," Zirzip beams.

Annavinia, by convincing or compulsion, translates the remainder of her notes. They describe the arcane sigil used to identify the artifact, and the ritual to destroy the artifact (rather than activate it).

Thevenin hugs Simon's leg. "Hi, hi!" the cheerful leshy says.

Thevenin will buy the Horizon Hunter mentor boon.

Rugged Mentor (Horizon Hunters)
Prerequisites: Liked by Horizon Hunters
Cost: 0 AcP

While working with less experienced Pathfinder allies, you provide important insights that keep your less experienced colleagues safe from harm. For any PCs benefiting from a Level Bump and whose levels are lower than yours, you increase the Level Bump’s modifier to saving throws to 2.

Normal: A Level Bump increases a PC’s saving throw modifiers by 1.
Special: A PC can only benefit from two mentor boons.

Hancock leads the imp through the house, acquiesing to the imp's quirky demands, such as insisting on being carried up the stairs like a baby, and making Kidron open all doors with his left hand and having Cal announce his entrance at every room. He also calls Fingo "Corona" and Corona "Fingo." Just as crazily, he refers to The Carnelian Signet as "Issil," but nobody knows what that means.

The party meanders through the house, retracing their steps - bathroom, closet, pantry, upstairs bedrooms (where Zirzip wonders out loud why you haven't eaten Kellvan's corpse yet), lounge, and finally, back to the bar and common space. The gregarious Zirzip goes silent, and just stands around silently as the Pathfinders search the room.

Kidron notices the imp's tail start to twitch as Fingo approaches the fireplace mantel. Fingo notices an arcane sigil on the bottom of the candelabra, and Corona recognizes it - it's an arcane sigil that was drawn in one of Annavinia's notebooks.

Annavinia's reaction all but confirms this is the much-sought artifact. Her eyes grow wide with awe, but it's guarded carefully.

What do you want to do with the artifact?

"What do you know of this mysterious wizard who kept us locked in here? We're all stuck here until we can solve it."

"That's Master Mysterious Wizard to you," Zirzip says. "Ha, ha, just kidding. Only I need to call him Master. After all, he is my master, not yours. And I am his familiar, and not yours."

"Ah, the infamous Zippy. I'm Bruce, by the way, and my soul is not for sale at any price, FYI."

"You'd be surprised how many people say that at first. But, at any rate, signing infernal contracts is well above my pay grade. My only job is to deliver the goods to Hell when the contract is completed, which, brings me to ..."

"And the artifact. What and where is it?"

"what's the point of all this? Is it just about the artifact?"

"... you see, I'm in a bit of a pickle. Well, not literally. We don't really do that, unless the souls are cibophobic. Then, we might put them in a pickle, or make them a ham sandwich, you know, like make them a ham sandwich, if you catch my drift, ah, ha, ha, ha!"

Zirzip laughs to himself for a bit.

"Wait, what was I saying, oh, right, so, it's all fun and games, for us, anyway, when mortals die and fulfill their contracts, but it just so happens that my former master has found a curious loophole that even all the lawyers had overlooked. He made this artifact, you see, and he became immortal. So, now, he's here, haunting this inn for all eternity, and despite the upside of people getting mysteriously murdered, I'm stuck in the mortal world forever, unless I find a way to ... well ... end it."

"Now, it would be against the rules for me to tell you what to do. But it wouldn't be against the rules to tell you what not to do, and, um, if you happened to guess what you were supposed to do, to, um, disappear and just wait for you to do it?"

He leans towards the group and attempts to wink, but can't move his eyelids independently, and ends up blinking several times before giving up.

"Wink, wink," he narrates.

Thevenin eyes his fellow leshies warily, as apparently eating cats is a thing, now.

"No, thank you," they insist. "I'm photosynthetic."

The slowed effect wears off after a minute, but Grimmylow wouldn't know that so feel free to roll around in the blood.

Lan would like to wear the Noppera-Bo Hood. I believe he'd be the most likely to try infiltrating the camp, with Deception +11.

Lan rolls his eyes a bit at the obvious Southbank posturing, but he's not as eyeroll-y as he was before he met the Southbankers in the party. Perhaps they're not all that bad ...

~) Anything else?

I'm currently going through a divorce which also means having to move out of state to live with my mom in Arizona. It's going to be a rough couple of months. I had to drop out of GMing for Outpost VI and will probably have to step down from my Venture Agent position after 14 years of being a VA.

So sorry to hear this. I can't offer much besides e-hugs, but I do wish the best for you.

Happy New Year, Ho Lan.

Thanks!

So, I think I've mentioned that my wife is Chinese, but her extended family is from a lot of different cultural backgrounds - European, Latin American, Filipino, Korean, and Japanese. Not everyone would celebrate the lunar new year, but there's one Chinese tradition that everyone loooves: free money. Basically, everyone who's married hands out little red envelopes (利是, pronounced "lai see") to the unmarried people, so people frequently bring their significant others because, y'know, free money.

In Chinese cultures, the kids usually get enough money from lai see that it's their spending money for the year - there's no weekly allowance.

Wikipedia

I will try to catch up by tomorrow. This weekend is the Lunar New Year, and I have lots of family gatherings.

GM, out of curiosity, does the winter module for Season of Ghosts have a lunar new year celebration? If not, can we make one up?

"Well, I figured that it takes one to know one, you know ... ha ha ha ..." Lan looks around nervously. "An evil thing wouldn't be scared of good, because, that's what they do, they fight evil. But an evil thing might be scared of an evil thing!"

Lan encourages everyone to finish their rest.

Lan will alternate breathing fire on Kazuki and Hai-Er Hua and Refocus as they're sleeping.

Healing: 1d4 ⇒ 1
Healing: 1d4 ⇒ 1
grr
Healing: 1d4 ⇒ 2
OMFumeiyoshi
Healing: 1d4 ⇒ 3

PSA:

In case anyone else was (like me) an unaware that organization for Outpost (beyond the special) has started, it's started. The thread is HERE, and GM signups end on 2/5, so, like, 3 days from now.

If math is the barrier, dice rollers might help. If reading is the issue, well...you might need to wait a bit more. :D My friend's 10 y.o. is getting so much better at both math and reading because of PF.

For my kids, it was probably the maturity level. Young kids just want to succeed every time they roll. :\ I still catch my 13-year-old fudging his dice rolls sometimes.

The biggest catalyst to getting them started in RPGs was actually when we started writing stories together. We'd write a paragraph and then "pass it around" for someone else to continue. When they got the concept of collaborative storytelling, then I introduced the idea of rolling a die to see what happened next.

I need another Society mission pronto!

My original plan was to run another Tier 3-6 after this game finished. That got a little sidetracked because 1-13 ended up splitting into two tables and I ended up picking up the second table as well, which is lagging by several weeks.

Depending on when that game finishes, relative to the next convention, I may run #1-19 or #1-09 / #1-23 doubleheader. If anyone from this game is interested (and willing to wait), I can PM you and reserve seats.

Kang sends a force barrage, and Nal slashes three times, hitting the Ascendant twice.

The Ascendant looks like it might only hold together for 6 more seconds or so. Still, it is unrepentant. It looks 1d2 ⇒ 1 Khaul in the eyes as it wildly swings its mace.

"To the last, I grapple with thee. Metaphorically speaking, of course, as I don't have Improved Grab."

Flaming Mace, sickened 1: 1d20 + 20 - 1 ⇒ (12) + 20 - 1 = 31
Bludgeoning: 2d6 + 9 ⇒ (6, 1) + 9 = 16 plus Fire: 1d6 ⇒ 4 plus Evil: 1d6 ⇒ 3
I assume Khaul uses Shield Block, this will give him a few more hit points but no reaction.

Turning to Nal, it continues, "From hell's heart, I stab at thee. Metaphorically speaking of course, as I'm dealing bludgeoning damage."

Flaming Mace, sickened 1, MAP: 1d20 + 20 - 1 - 5 ⇒ (4) + 20 - 1 - 5 = 18
Bludgeoning: 2d6 + 9 ⇒ (3, 1) + 9 = 13 plus Fire: 1d6 ⇒ 5 plus Evil: 1d6 ⇒ 6

Turning back to Khaul, it continues, "For hate's sake, I spit my last breath at thee. Again, metaphorically, as I'm about to disintegrate, not expire."

Flaming Mace, sickened 1, MAP: 1d20 + 20 - 1 - 10 ⇒ (12) + 20 - 1 - 10 = 21
Bludgeoning: 2d6 + 9 ⇒ (1, 6) + 9 = 16 plus Fire: 1d6 ⇒ 1 plus Evil: 1d6 ⇒ 3

--Round 7
Khaul (78/100, shield -15 hp)
Farnguy (63/63)
Arfsnarf (60/60)
Nal (46/68, hasted)
Kang (42/56)
Mindartis (66/66, hunting White, potion) / Mialee (0/39, prone, dying 2)
Red Zombie (-81 hp, +resistance (x4), +weakness(x1))
Yellow Zombie (-88 hp, +resistance(x4), -weakness(x1))
Green Zombie (-76 hp, +resistance(x3), +weakness(x1))
Blue Zombie (-119 hp, +resistance(x7))
Purple Zombie (-68 hp, +resistance(x1), -weakness(x1))
--Round 8
The Ascendant (-127 hp, +resistance(x9), sickened 1, AC 27, Recall: Religion)

I'll give it until tomorrow just because I don't have time today, but that was the Ascendant's last turn - combat ends at the beginning of Round 8. Mialee is Dying, so we'll stay in initiative if they're not stabilized.

Stokes is suddenly concerned because his mom signs her letters as "M" and he'll be damned if he lets his own mother get tangled up in this mess.

(I'm really disliking 2e the more I play.)

Well, going from a PF1 archer to a PF2 archer is a quick way to hate PF2. :D Probably only second to going from PF1 alchemist to PF2 alchemist. haha

(words)

What's your point? If you don't like PFS, don't play PFS.

Don't go on a PFS recruitment thread and complain about PFS. Don't attend a training session run by PFS people about how to run PFS games, and wonder why they don't teach you how to run non-PFS games.

Just stay in Recruitment, post about your personal system and style, and play with people who want to play with you.

If you can't find enough people to play with you, then you've finally caught up to where PFS was in 2007-ish, where people had to make some compromises and agree on some limited play styles to broaden the player pool and get a critical mass of players.

Nobody's forcing you to play the PFS way.

You two are likely using the word "style" differently.

Ebonfist is talking about how PFS requires GMs adhere to a certain set of rules and standards. This isn't a "style" (an individual mode of expression), because there's a mechanical aspect to it. Everyone who plays a scenario anywhere in the world has to face the same challenges mechanically at a roughly equivalent level, because the mechnical rewards for completing the scenario are transferrable to any other PFS table.

DarkLightHitomi is talking about how they'd like to run non-PFS Pathfinder games, which falls under the Paizo umbrella (Paizo rules and styles are a superset of PFS rules and styles), but doesn't really belong here, in a PFS lodge.

To be crystal clear, since I frequently go over this in non-PFS recruitment, the two aspects go hand in hand. PFS rules are restrictive, but that's why PFS is relatively popular. The sacrifice of not being able to do anything you want is accompanied by a larger player pool which agrees on a specific set of rules, and vice versa - the cost of being restricted comes with the benefit of being able to drop in and play with anyone in the world. Most people in PFS also play in non-PFS games - home games, Adventure mode stuff - and very few people adopt PFS rules exactly when they play non-PFS games. But house rules in home games and other non-PFS "styles" generally only works when there is existing high trust between the players, so recruitment with any non-published rules/styles tends to be unpopular relative to PFS. PFS recruitment exists in this thread in part for convenience of the recruitees, but in part because it would tend to swamp out non-PFS recruitment in the Recruitment forum. This is not a cool meeting space for people in general who like Pathfinder, it's a business space for people who have agreed to play by a very specific set of rules.

I can probably share some behind the curtains information now.

Overall, one of the things that's at least rare and possibly unique is that this scenario wasn't set out to be writen as a PFS scenario. It was the winner of a contest.

As such, there's a lot of backstory, and, honestly, probably a little too much. NPCs in PFS scenarios typically have limited exposition - nobody can count on a player having played certain scenarios in the past, or playing certain scenarios in the future. So, NPC stories are typically written to be started and ended in a 4-hour block. Each of the NPCs in this scenario has background and motivation more consistent with an Adventure or Adventure Path. It's very complex.

This is one of the reasons that the scenario runs long. I "speed ran" the seance at the beginning - when I played it (over VTT), it was 2 hours and 30 min in before we started exploring the house. (We ended up skipping 1 combat and still running 6 hours and 30 min, and on a non-pandemic weeknight would have burned through a lot of favors from our significant others playing until 12:30 am local time.)

So, going back to Zirzip specifically, his motivation isn't entirely given beyond what I've given out. In various places, he's implied to be tethered to the house, so I don't really know how he gets out that far. He's definitely looking for people capable of breaking the curse, so that's a possible motivation. In the text, he is one of the boars, which doesn't make sense since most people defeat the boars.

But Zirzip's main purpose is that he can guide you to how to break the Covetous Flame, he's the planned backup plan for the undiscovered instructions, that I hinted about earlier. If you dismiss him / kill him, I can also use Selik to steer you towards the necessary path.