GM Jhaeman's "Decline of Glory" (Inactive)

Game Master Jhaeman

Kurik checks the crates in the alcove for anything of value.

That one there dress like a sorcerer...or something of the like...might mean something interesting is behind that door... Petro says as he goes over to the wall and checks out the door for any traps.

perc, +1 trap: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (11) + 11 = 22

As Stefan goes through barrels, Kurik checks out the crates in the alcoves and Petro walks up to a part of the wall indistinguishable from the rest.

The door seems fine..just hidden fairly well. My elven ancestry shines again... Petro says, clearly impressed with himself. He opens the door when the others are ready to proceed.

With time is Petro able to lower Shaggy (and Relgar) down with the rope harness?

I thought Relgar and Shaggy were already down here with us as Petro helped them... If more help is needed, Kurik will assist, of course.

"Guys, I found some stuff that could be of use for us."

Kurik points to one crate which contains a mouldering set of clothes, a rotten cloak, two rusted daggers, and a pair of nice-looking metal bracers.

"Relgar, can you check if some of those are magic? These bracers look especially nice..."

Jon steps up as Relgar focuses on getting Shaggy situated, and studies Kurik's items for magic.

Casting detect magic

Knowledge (arcana): 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (3) + 5 = 8
Spellcraft: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (16) + 5 = 21
I'm assuming only the bracers are magic based on everything else showing signs of age; if I'm wrong, let me know if you need more checks.

With a bit of help, Relgar and Shaggy join the other Pathfinders down in the barrel-aging caves. Meanwhile, Petro opens a secret door to reveal a long, dry tunnel that continues into darkness. Jon Rooi uses his magical abilities to discern whether anything in the crates could be valuable.

Relgar and Shaggy join Petro in the dry tunnel. He levitates a magically lit pebble (with Mage Hand) to keep the area properly illuminated for those who can not see well in the dark.

Once in a dry area he casts Prestidigitation and dries both himself and Shaggy completely. He reaches into Shaggy's saddle bag to gathers a trio of scrolls before sealing it again for the wet journey back. He then casts Mage Armor on himself preparing for the dangers ahead.

The gnome turns to Petro.

"It is good to be back underground and dry again. Would you like me to dry you off as well?"

Stefan pokes around at the bigger room at the other side of the door. Shaking his legs to get rid of some of the bog. "Nothing else here I think. Shall we go back up?"

That would be nice...thanks.... Petro waits for the gnome to do his magic laundry service.

Any luck finding out what they do? he asks Jon.Maybe Relgar can find out its properties...

Relgar responds to Stefan cleaning his fur with a simple wave of his hand.

"I thought we had a tunnel to explore?"

"I can try to determine what the bracers do."

Spellcraft: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (19) + 5 = 24

Wizards are usually better at this sort of work but a wand of Identify is pretty handy for other casters in this regard.

Well done, dice bot! ;-)
@Sylvester @Relgar: If a Spellcraft roll of 24 will not reveal the properties of this item, I think it should not exist in an adventure for level 1 or 2... o_O

PS: Best regards to your core twin, Relgar! ;-)

Jon hands the bracers to Relgar so the gnome can inspect them. "Definitely magical, but I can't tell what they do."

Alright folks, what's the plan? Heading back the way you came, down the long dark tunnel, or something else?

"There's a tunnel here? Well, I would really like to keep my fur dry. Let's go explore the tunnel."

*shakes his wet fur on Stefan*

"Let's check it out."

The tunnel from the barrel-aging caves leads back towards Railford, and ends in the basement of what must be one of the small cottages you saw on your way into town. The basement is filled with nothing but mouldering, empty wine racks and a flight of crude, wooden stairs leading back above ground.

When you ascend the stairs, you see a wounded, weary-looking man lying on a cot. He clutches a small metal lockbox in his arms. With a wheeze, he's able to raise his head. "Who . . . who are you? I'm Becher Railford. If you're trying to steal the deed to the town, I won't let you!"

Cliffhanger! If it suits, this would be a good point to take a brief break for the holidays, as I know many folks will be travelling or busy with events. We've made good progress, but still have the final act to go. I'd suggest we reconvene on January 2nd. Sound okay to everyone?

i'm cool with that...i'm not going anywhere, but i know others will be...

Sounds like a plan. :)

i'm cool with that...i'm not going anywhere, but i know others will be...

Same here.

Alright folks, GM Jhaeman is back and ready for action! (and promises to stop talking about himself in the third person . . . NOW!). I hope you had a nice break. We left off on a cliffhanger where you found a man claiming to be Becher Railford clutching a metal lockbox. What would you like to do or say?

"Relax, good man. Nobody here is trying to steal anything from you or the town."

Kurik sheathes his greatsword, then shows his holy symbol, an angelic ankh.

"I am Kurik, humble paladin of the Dawnflower. You appear to be injured. May I offer you healing? We can talk afterwards."

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (10) + 9 = 19 (could use a few aids)

Here's hoping that the offer of healing warrants a big circumstance bonus... ;-)

Edit: Who is this 'GM Jhaeman' you keep talking about? :-P ;-)

"Actually we are Pathfinders sent to attempt to help your town. Mainly on account of your father of course."

Relgar attempts to bolster Kurik's presentation with a couple of his own comments.

Auto-aid on Diplomacy with a +10 modifier.

We're not here to steal anything...just calm down..

diplo aid: 1d20 - 2 ⇒ (4) - 2 = 2

"Pathfinders? My father? What do you want? Healing, you said--I wouldn't turn it down." On closer look, he has deep scratch wounds that look infected.

Might want to get that looked at very soon...if that gets worse, you're looking at serious healing magic...or the alternative. Stefan..would you mind using my wand on him?

Stefan accepts the wand from the ranger and uses it to heal Becher. "By Iomedae's blessings, be healed!"
CLW: 1d8 ⇒ 5

The angry-looking wounds on Becher's leg begin to close up from the magic of the wand. He looks up at you in surprise. "That's a handy magic stick! He stands up and is able to put weight on the leg. "Well, if you want to talk, let's do it back at the distillery. I'll show you the way."

"Lead the way, good man!"

"Thank you! I think we have much to discuss."

"Stephan, perhaps you should use one of the scrolls of Remove Disease on Becher? I am no Cleric but it is pretty obvious that his wounds are infected."

Relgar has already determined that the body found in the woods was suffering from Ghoul Fever so it stands to reason that Belcher is as well.

"As soon as we are in a more secure and safe place I will cast the spell. We might encounter something that might reinfect Becher."

Becher leads you back down to the basement of the cottage and reveals a secret door you hadn't noticed on the way in! It opens to another long, dark tunnel. Lighting a lantern from a hook nearby, he ventures into it. "Not far," he says reassuringly.

After several minutes walking through the tunnel, you emerge into a wine cellar.

Becher leads you up a flight of stairs and into a large taproom lined with scaffolding and liquor-filled barrels. The structure is made of a mix of hardwood and solid brick, and looks sturdy.

Before you and Becher have a chance to really talk, however, the sounds of a disturbance carry through even the shuttered windows! There must be a lot of people outside for some reason, and they don't sound happy.

I've placed a map of the distillery on Slide # 2. It's not great, but should give you an idea of the layout of the place.

That can't be good... the bowman says as he peeks out a window to get a sens of what is going on.

perception: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (17) + 11 = 28

Kurik turns to Becher.

"What's going on out there?"

Nisek tries to make out what the crowd is saying.

Perception: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (8) + 8 = 16

Petro's excellent eyesight picks out several Taldan soldiers surrounding the distillery and trying the (locked) doors and shutters.

Their apparent leader draws a longsword and calls out "Becher! You in there? This is Grald Kretchmoor! You ready to surrender the deed? Because if you're not, we're going to have to persuade you the hard way!"

Becher calls back, without hesitation. "Burn in each of the Nine Hells one after the other, Kretchmoor! You'll have to pull the deed from my cold, clenched fists!"

A mocking laugh is the response. "Fine by me, Becher, fine by me."

Booms echo through the taproom--the Taldans are trying to break down the front door!

Unless you immediately side with Grald Kretchmoor, you can each have one round to do something before I'll roll Initiative. Please go ahead and place your tokens on Slide # 2. The Taldans are currently massed along the double-doors towards the bottom of the map (actually the west side of the building, since the compass is on its side).

"This seems like as good a time as any to mention that we Pathfinders are interested in your help," Nisek says, positioning himself where he can punch anyone who invades, "assuming you are in a condition to do so after this is over."

Gun barrel diplomacy is not Nisek's best suit... but with a Diplomacy of -3, no kind of diplomacy is good for him.

"Burning, fire, yes an excellent idea. I can help make that happen."

The gnome's eyes light up at the prospect of a good blaze.

In the meanwhile Relgar takes advantage of the delay before the inevitable conflict to summon a creature to his side. His wand slides out again from his spring-loaded wrist sheath and then begins to glow.

Please go ahead and place your tokens on Slide # 2. The Taldans are currently massed along the double-doors towards the bottom of the map (actually the west side of the building, since the compass is on its side).

@GM Jhaeman:

Kurik draws his greatsword.

"I will protect you, Becher. Nobody bullies anyone under the fiery eyes of The Cleansing Light!"

Nisan and Kurik get ready for action, while Relgar gleefully begins invoking arcane forces!

Petro, Stefan, and Jon Rooi, what would you like to do in your free round before I roll Initiative?

@Nisek & Kurik: Apologies for the confusion. The forces are currently massing outside the western door of the taproom--I've placed some enemy tokens on the other side of the door to make it clear which one. Nisek, I moved your token over there since I assumed that was the door you wanted to protect (but if not, that's okay too).

@Everyone: The "old man" token near the stairs represents Becher.

I'll back you guys up...if anyone needs to fall back, I have you coverd.. Petro says as he moves in behind Kurik.

move action to get behind Kurik...since i have Point blank and precise shot, I'm better at second line...

Jon finds a window with shutters he can peer through, and tries to make out a leader amongst the mob. He fixes his gaze on that person and begins wiling down that person's mental defenses.

Sense Motive: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 2 = 4 to pick out a leader; random target if unable to identify leader

He then twists something inside that person's mind, making their nearest ally appear to be a mortal enemy.

Windows aren't marked on the map, so I placed Jon's token in the middle of the room. Please place his token at a window within 30' of the crowd.

As Stefan girds himself for battle, Jon manages to plant a powerful, violent hypnotic suggestion in one of the Taldans!

Botting Stefan as doing Total Defense.

Jon, you weren't able to pick out a leader, so I rolled randomly. Red failed the save and will become very murderous on his turn.

INITIATIVE: ROUND 1

Relgar
Phalanx Guard
Stefan
Grald
Nisek
Petro
Jon
Kurik

Bold should go!

"Iomedae watch over us against these blackguards who would take by force things that they could not acquire legitimately." Stefan whispers a short prayer and feels his goddess bestow her blessing on him. Activate War Blessing. +1 to attack rolls. Sorry for the delay. Was a bit busy yesterday.

@GM Jhaeman - Are the doors still barred and closed? Also I am wondering if my character is able to see and summon a creature to a location outside of the basement?

@Reglar: Yes, the doors are closed and locked.

@Everyone: Annoyingly, the windows aren't shown on the map despite the scenario giving me stats for the hardness of the shutters and glass. For our purposes, please assume that if you are adjacent to a wall, there's a shuttered window nearby.

ol then..can i revise my action to open a window...let's me shoot through...say like an arrow slit...