[PFS] PbP Gameday 5 - GM Woran's 7-00 The Sky Key Solution (TIER 3-4)

[Ranalus]

Int check to extrapolate a more precise location, as you suggested?
Ranalus examines the patterns of subsidence more closely.
Intelligence check: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 2 = 6
But fails to come up with anything.

[Kaa.]

Int: 1d20 ⇒ 18

Kaa will try to help find a more exact location.

[Aarion Belanor]

Intelligence check: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (13) + 1 = 14

While asking around for digging equipment, Aarion considers the local sewer system and begins asking how it relates to the depression.

[Henrikuaxian]

While hunting for animals to talk to, Henrik also tries to narrow down a more precise location.

Int Check: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (11) + 4 = 15

I find it humorous that the guy with the lowest int mod got the highest int check...

[GM Mars]

Pathfinders have found and uncovered the Sky Key Vault. It is there that the Sky Key—the Society’s ticket home—awaits. However, the dome of green energy remains strong, suggesting that too many Harbinger spellcasters are still anchoring the Society in this time period.

GMs, it is now possible to gain Vault successes. Map is also updated.

[Aarion Belanor]

With that, i'm wondering if we should scout out more harbingers vs. trying to enter the vault. What do you guys think?

[Kaa.]

Let's head to the vault.

[Ranalus]

To the vault.

[Dax Rya]

Vault sounds fine to me, but if we don't get enough harbingers that might make later fights more difficult.

[Ranalus]

It is my guess that 80% of the other tables will see that message and switch to Harbinger duty.

[Henrikuaxian]

Vault works for me as well

[Aarion Belanor]

Then Vault it is for me also!

[GM Woran]

Half a block away you run into a large hole in the ground. Several pathfinders stand guard. You were actually right on track with deducing where the entrance would be.

They help you down what is a dug out tunnel for the first couple of feet. It then progresses into a stone stairway down.
Its quite a way down. Kreigton Shaine wasnt exaggerating when he said they had buried the vault deep for protection. Eventually, the stairs end in a large chamber.

Veins of strange metal line the walls of this massive chamber.
Enormous bronze devices connected to the walls by massive cables spark and spew steam, almost obscuring the large vault door at the far end of the room. The door is labeled with a single word in a plethora of languages: danger.
Stagnant water collects at the bottom of a ten-foot wide pool in the middle of the room. A gasping, bleeding elf who looks like an aged version of Kreighton Shane lies across the room.

Several people in Harbinger robes are across the room, and level crossbows your way. A small lightning elemental accompanies them.
One of them points and you and shouts across the room. "I give you one warning only. Leave."

[Kaa.]

"No." Kaa replies brandishing his ecto-hammer.

[Ranalus]

Totally ignoring the Harbinger, Ranalus moves behind Kaa, turns to Dax, and says, "I don't like the look of those cables. Looks like a Shocking Grasp trap." Then he casts Resist Energy (Electricity) on himself.

[Aarion Belanor]

Knowledge Planes?: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (6) + 6 = 12 (On the lightning elemental.)

"WE ARE NOT HERE TO FIGHT WITH THE SERVANTS OF ARODEN! By default, you serve a god worthy of our patience! Lower you bows so we can find common ground and a solution to this debacle together. I know about your plot to retrieve Aroden from this time. I also know that you have lost control over the key. Your self-destruction does not serve the will of Aroden. Only your survival can instill hope for his return."

"You have lost touch with your god, and for that I do not judge your extreme effort to reunite with him. By embracing this method, you will unravel Aroden's influence throughout history. This will, in turn, destroy his legacy. We must stop this event from happening, or the Harbingers and the pathfinders will both be removed from history, with nothing to offer in our absence."

“We have come to retrieve the stone that has been cast, and make the world whole again. Join with us, so we might correct this mistake. Do not leave the world wondering why the follower of a GREAT GOD has destroyed the memory of someone so immortally important to the world. PLEASE join with us!”

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (12) + 8 = 20

While reciting his views of the Harbingers intentions, Aarion begins visually looking for the keystone.

Perception: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (5) + 9 = 14

[Dax Rya]

Dax doesn't quite take the same stand as the others. Some are resistant, some are peaceable, but Dax is simply Dax. The comment from Ranalus gets its proper consideration, looking to the water. "They are in my element. I can work with this..." A wide grin crosses the gnome's features, the harbinger's words being completely ignored.

Aarion speaks up, and the man's words of wisdom similarly do not sway Dax, it was evident there would be no reasoning with fanatics like these. Not to go too far into the murder hobo classification that most pathfinders were lumped into, it was safe to say that by this point negotiations had broken down. Aarion's intent was admirable, but seemed at least to Dax a bit too late.

[GM Woran]

rolls:

Initiative Harbinger Spy: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (9) + 2 = 11
Initiative Harbinger Grunts: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (18) + 2 = 20
Initiative Lightning elemental: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (10) + 6 = 16

Initiative Ranalus: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (18) + 2 = 20
Initiative Kaa: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (9) + 6 = 15
Initiative Dax: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (13) + 2 = 15
Initiative Henrikuaxian: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (3) + 6 = 9
Initiative Aarion: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (13) + 5 = 18

roll off Grunts: 1d20 ⇒ 8
roll off Ranalus: 1d20 ⇒ 4

Warning not heeded, the two grunts open fire on Aarion.
Crossbow shot blue: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (5) + 3 = 8
Crossbow shot red: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (13) + 3 = 16
But both shots go wide.

Round 1

Initiative:

Grunts
Ranalus
Aarion
Elemental
Kaa
Dax
Spy
Henrikuaxian

Bold may post an action.

[Ranalus]

Darkness take you. Ranalus casts Blindness on the Harbinger (the spy; DC 15 Fort save), then draws his bow and nocks an arrow.

[GM Woran]

willsave: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 1 = 5

The harbinger rubs his eyes, but his vision does not return.

[Ranalus]

My god has spoken. You are defeated. Stand down.

[Aarion Belanor]

Aarion whispers under his breath, "so be it.

After adjusting slightly to his right, the inquisitor calls to Sarenrae for added protection and then begins studying the movements of the elemental.

(Standard action) Cast shield of faith on himself, (Free action) 5' adjustment, (Move action) Study target on the elemental.

[GM Woran]

The lightning elemental flies forward, hanging in the air without effort, and smashes into Aarion.

slam attack: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (7) + 5 = 12

But its form harmlessly skitters off.

Round 1

Initiative:

Grunts
Ranalus
Aarion
Elemental
Kaa
Dax
Spy
Henrikuaxian

[Kaa.]

Kaa will cast a spell on himself. Shield. AC is 23.

[ScorchedOne]

Dax moves forward, ice forming along the surface of the water as the cold coalesces into a solid form to strike the one that isn't actually near the pool. "Throw down your arms and live. Continue this foolishness, and..." There is no need for further threats. Ice cold pain likely strikes the spy and there is undoubtedly more where it comes from, what with the literal hunk of ice floating near Dax providing defense from arrows and blows alike.

Touch Attack: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (15) + 7 = 22
Damage: 2d6 + 4 ⇒ (2, 2) + 4 = 8

Intimidate: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (8) + 6 = 14

[GM Woran]

Kaa: protects himself with a shield spell.

Dax: Strikes the spy with a block of ice.

Spy: Blinded, the spy takes a bottle from his belt and hurls it forward, aiming for the place he last knew an enemy to be.

ranged touch against Aarion: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (19) + 5 = 24
miss chance: 1d100 ⇒ 85
damage: 1d6 ⇒ 3

The bottle turns end over end and crashes into Aarion.

Also 1 splash damage for Kaa and the elemental, also, locally we always use the rule, 'high is good' when rolling percentages.

Round 1

Initiative:

Grunts
Ranalus
Aarion
Elemental
Kaa
Dax
Spy blinded, 8 damage
Henrikuaxian

Henrikuaxian may post an action.

[Henrikuaxian]

Henrik moves quickly forward and to his left, and with a gesture and a command causes a wave of colors to pour forth from his extended hand and wash over both the lightning elemental and the blue grunt.

Color Spray cone area indicated in green on the map. DC17 will save to negate.

[Aarion Belanor]

What was in the bottle? Is Aarion on fire, or looking to take additional damage next round? Hopefully it was a bottle of whisky!

[GM Woran]

Now that would have been a crime, wasting good whisky like that!! Luckily, it was just alchemists fire. So you can stop, drop, and roll or take more damage next round.

will save elemental: 1d20 ⇒ 7
will save blue: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (1) + 3 = 4

The diceroller sure has something against saves this weekend! Doing just the first effect for color spray as I doubt we get into the secondary effect.
color spray rounds elemental: 2d4 ⇒ (3, 2) = 5
color spray rounds blue: 2d4 ⇒ (1, 4) = 5

Blue falls flat on his face. The elemental however just appears to be blinded. elemental traits, blinded is still highly effective

Grunts: Blue is unconscious on the floor. Red shouts to the spy that his throw with the fire was a hit.
He then drops his crossbow and draw a longsword while advancing on Dax.
attack: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (18) + 4 = 22
damage: 1d8 + 3 ⇒ (6) + 3 = 9
He makes a deep slash across Dax his chest.

Round 2

Initiative:

Grunts Blus is unconscious.
Ranalus
Aarion
Elemental Blinded
Kaa
Dax
Spy blinded, 8 damage
Henrikuaxian

[Aarion Belanor]

Alarmed by the flames that have erupted all around him, Aarion steps back and begins patting out the fire that has engulfed him.

(Free action) 5' adjustment back, (Full round action) Attempt to put out the fire without dropping to the ground.

Reflex Save: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (16) + 4 = 20

[Ranalus]

Despite Aarion's pleas for reason, Ranalus cannot resist taunting these arrogant Arodenites.
My god has been gone for four and a half millennia, yet MY spells still work. It would appear my faith is stronger than yours.
He drops his bow, moves up drawing his rapier, and stabs at Red.
Rapier Attack: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (1) + 6 = 7
damage: 1d6 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 2 = 5

[Henrikuaxian]

After the elemental unexpectedly doesn't fall, Henrik attempts to study it more closely.

Know(Planes): 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (3) + 8 = 11

[GM Woran]

Unsure where to go, the elemental goes where it heard a enemy last and tries to attack Kaa.

attack elemental: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (19) + 8 = 27
miss chance: 1d100 ⇒ 40
damage: 1d4 + 1d3 ⇒ (4) + (3) = 7

But it misses.

The elemental is flying by the way

knowledge Henrikuaxian:

The elemental should be out for the count. It might be feeding off the strange bronze devices in the chamber. But messing with those might just be more dangerous then facing the elemental...

Round 2

Initiative:

Grunts Blue is unconscious.
Ranalus
Aarion
Elemental Blinded
Kaa
Dax
Spy blinded, 8 damage
Henrikuaxian

[Kaa.]

Kaa, seeing the opening will reshape his weapon into a sleeker bladed form. Ecto-Lash is now in longsword mode.

[Dax Rya]

Dax takes a quick step back, before unleashing more icy cold, this time at the grunt who has a penchant for red. "Strike me, will you?" The bravado is false though, Dax is slightly concerned about the fact strikes penetrated the veil of water. A crushing amount of ice strikes the grunt in return, fury channeled through the elements and drawing from the nearby pool. "I will chill you to the bone!" A picture of tiny outrage and fury is Dax.

Touch Attack: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (19) + 7 = 26
Damage: 2d6 + 4 ⇒ (5, 6) + 4 = 15

[GM Woran]

Red keels over with a shout.

The leader, still blind, holds up his hands in surrender. "I'll call off the elemental and surrender, if you let my men live. I dont care what you do to me. But they deserve better."

[Aarion Belanor]

After putting the flames out, Aarion calls out to his companions. "We should accept their surrender. It is not to late to turn things around and we may need their help to undo this mess."

[Kaa.]

"Yes there is no honor in defeating someone who has honorably surrendered."

[Henrikuaxian]

"Agreed. Now call off your elemental!" Henrik says, followed by a quiet 5-foot-step in case there is any foul play. (Don't want that elemental knowing where I am...)

[Ranalus]

Agreed. I take no joy in violence and death.

[Aarion Belanor]

Upon calling off the elemental, Aarion accepts the surrender in behalf of the group. As a contingency to the surrender, the inquisitor disarms the Harbingers and stabilizes anyone who has fallen in combat.

After securing the area, Aarion begins questioning the leader. How do we undo this shift in time? Where is the Skykey and how do we regain control of it?

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (1) + 8 = 9 <----yuck!
Sense Motive: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (4) + 7 = 11 <----YUCK! Here comes all the less than desirable rolls.

During the questioning, Aarion turns to the rest of the group. "We need to search this place."

[Henrikuaxian]

Henrik looks around the room, being careful not to get too close to the bronze devices or the pool of water.

Perception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (11) + 6 = 17

While doing this, he also listens with interest to how the Harbinger leader responds to Aarion.

Sense Motive: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (17) + 2 = 19

[GM Woran]

The leader dismisses the elemental, then quietly sits down and allows himself to be bound. Unconscious, the other Harbingers are easily tied up.

With the immediate danger over, your own Kreighton Shaine rushes over to the other Shaine on the floor.
“Good show, Pathfinders,” the injured form of Kreighton Shaine manages between blood-soaked coughs. “But Lady Arodeth is a true savant and driven to fanatical extremes. The same energies that infected her casters above have also seized her soul, and I fear she has already killed several of your fellow chroniclers. Or will have killed them. Blast, but this is confusing.”
Shaine props himself up to continue speaking. “However noble her goals may have been, if Lady Arodeth forces us to remain in this time, we will all die. If the Sky Key is still functional, you must reactivate it before the Starstone arrives.”
The machines in this chamber begin to spark and smoke, and female bodies take shape from the green miasma.
Shaine continues, “She has learned to create temporal copies of herself, as I have. She can produce an army, left unchecked. Some teams will need to hold the line here, in this chamber, so that anyone confronting the true Lady Arodeth in the room beyond isn’t overwhelmed by these simulacra. You know your team’s capabilities better than I, but I promise you Lady Arodeth will be not yield easily.”
With that, the chorus of murky green figures announce, “I would have brought destiny back to this world.”

[spoiler=init]
Initiative Ranalus: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (6) + 2 = 8
Initiative Kaa: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (1) + 6 = 7
Initiative Dax: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (5) + 2 = 7
Initiative Henrikuaxian: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (20) + 6 = 26
Initiative Aarion: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (19) + 5 = 24
Initiative Simularca: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (14) + 2 = 16
[spoiler]

Round 1

Initiative

Henrikuaxian
Aarion
Simularca
Ranalus
Kaa
Dax

Your own Shaine shouts, "These are just Simularca, not the real Lady Arodeth. They are just copies."

Bold may post an action.

[Ranalus]

Can Ranalus have retrieved his bow in the interim?

[Aarion Belanor]

While carefully observing the blue Simularca, Aarion draws back his bow and waits for the best opportunity to fire.

Spellcraft?: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (5) + 6 = 11 (Can these things be killed, or are they illusions?)
Knowledge (Arcana)?: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (5) + 6 = 11

(Free action) 5' adjustment forward, (Move action) Study target on the blue simulacra, (Ready action) Fire at the blue target if it tries to cast a spell.

(Attack) MW Composite Longbow: 1d20 + 6 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (19) + 6 + 1 + 1 = 27 (Ready action)
(Damage) MW Composite Longbow: 1d8 + 3 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (8) + 3 + 1 + 1 = 13

"Should we fight these things or try to push past them and into the next room?"

[Henrikuaxian]

Can I get knowledge results before taking action? No idea on the nature of these things. Here are some rolls:

Spellcraft: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (3) + 9 = 12
Know(Arcana): 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (14) + 10 = 24
Know(Local): 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (15) + 8 = 23

[Henrikuaxian]

Being unsure of the nature of these images, Henrik decides caution is in order. He ejects a wand (Magic Missile) from his wrist sheathe, and keeps an eye on the one Aarion isn't eyeballing.

"If these things are pale comparisons of the real deal, let's try our mettle on them first, I think. They need beaten anyway, to keep them off our tails"

Ready an action to fire a magic missile at the red target if he begins to cast a spell or if he takes any other threatening non-movement action

If that happens:

Henrik fires his wand, and a bolt of energy flies toward the simulacrum.

MM Damage: 1d4 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 = 4

[GM Woran]

Ranalus can retrieve his bow, no problem.

As to what these are, as far as you can tell, they are copies of Lady Arodeth, the same way that you now have two Shaines on your hands and saw several more walking about in the town. HOW that works you have no idea, and your own Shaine is reluctant to elaborate.

"Dispose of them!" your own copy of Kreighton Shaine shouts. "They are not the real Lady Arodeth, and destroying them will weaken her!"

[Henrikuaxian]

Not sure if you are waiting on me to change anything given that information, but I'm good keeping the readied action. Hopefully stop the spells so the melee folks can close ranks :)

[GM Woran]

No I was looking for time to post. The forum ate my post and then I got too mad to emediately re-make it :P

Also, the bronze domes are big enough to basically count as pillars. Its my fault for making that not clear, so Im letting Aarions action stand. For all further actions: The domes are nearly to the ceiling and will provide cover.

Simularca: The simularca start casting in union. both trigger a ready action

concentration check red: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (8) + 8 = 16
concentration check blue: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (4) + 8 = 12

Blue looses the spell due to damage, but red makes it. Both advance.

attack red: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (7) + 6 = 13

Blue tries to hit Aarion around the corner.

attack red: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (12) + 6 = 18

But both attacks miss.

Round 1

Initiative

Henrikuaxian
Aarion
Simularca
Ranalus
Kaa
Dax