Pathfinder Game 42 - 07/18/2025 - A Not So Peaceful Rest
Written by David Green
Oakwood was indeed able to “borrow” the Menhemes holy symbol without issue. The crypt was in the original dungeon under the town. There were several options for access but we elected to use the first one, under the Fish Market. There was no issue sneaking past Zug, the snoring orc cook and getting through the locked door into the basement. We pushed aside the barricade and were back in the caves. It was like high schoolers returning to daycare. Thankfully the crypt was only a couple bends away. The room still radiated evil. When we entered, the skeleton guards re-reanimated. However, now that we were 5th level, they were dispatched quickly. Oakwood suggested that maybe we should bury the bones elsewhere so we wouldn’t have to fight them a third time. The GM mentioned something about disturbing the bones of the ancestors and that once the evil was dealt with, they’d be fine. As a half measure, we removed their swords and short bows at least. We surrounded the sarcophagus and Oakwood placed the Menhemes holy symbol on the recess. Lines of power appeared on the lid which then flew off, revealing a terrifying undead creature in the twisted form of his long dead relative. And she was in no mood for talking.
To add insult to injury, the skeleton bones reanimated as Oakwood feared but as Flaming Skulls so removing their weapons did no good. As is the case for a lot of these Bad Baddies, it emitted a Fear aura. TerStegan missed his save but only took Fear 1 due to his Fighter bravery. He attacked the undead. When she went, she tried to control TerStegan’s mind with another Will save, but he saved. (This fight could have gone south fast if he missed it.) Everybody went on their turn, saving against the Fear as best they could. The Skulls started flying around, causing chaos including persistent fire damage. On her second round, she crit Clarisa with a mental attack and she was dropped. Around then, Brisco showed up and did a 3-action heal which damaged them, helped us and brought Clarisa back. However, she was still prone so the Skulls attacked her and knocked her out again. Xeelie was also getting battered and used a scroll to do another 3-action heal and brought her up again. This heal took out two Skulls which exploded in fire. But thankfully the damage was modest and by then Oakwood had his 5 points of fire resistance zone up for those near him. Meanwhile, TerStegan pretty much took out the undead by himself. When she fell, they all fell.
Her cloak was a Cloak of the Hunter which Oakwood Menhemes took. It gives +2 to stealth rolls and a couple Ranger powers. Hunt Prey which for an action, gets you +2 to Seek and Track that prey. Plus, no penalty for the second range increment. And then Hunter’s Edge: Precise which gives +1d8 damage on your first attack on that prey. Attack, not strike which means it works with Impulses? There was no other treasure. Brian assumed we healed up. We debated about the bones. The evil was still present but much less. We decided it was the evil of Belcora’s ritual and once we lifted it (and defeated her?) it would be clear. We choose to leave Otari’s bones in the crypt with her bones so that they’d be together when this was all over. We Mended the lid as best we could. We then debated our next course. We could head to the Gauntlight immediately (once Oakwood returned the holy symbol) or we could hang around town for a week in case there was trouble prior to the election redo and watch Xeelie build magic items. No one wanted to deal with the election anymore and everyone wanted to head towards 6th level ASAP. So, for better or worse, we left town. Truthfully, we’d most likely be returning battered and beaten before lunch anyway. To the dungeon.
Brian allowed us to show up at the room we needed to be at for the ritual. (Someday we need to fix those teleportation circles.) Once again, we had to make a Will save against Fear for just being there. As we approached, a bunch of Flicker Wisps emerged from the stone in the center of the room. Same as last time. They are a pain because they are immune to magic. TerStegan started swinging. Oakwood put a Timber Sentinel next to him. They mostly attacked him because they could get flanking. Their attacks weren’t too high but they hit enough to use up the tree’s 30 hit points before the end of the round. But with TerStegan’s sweeps, Xeelie’s attacks and some trident throws from Briscoe, it was over pretty quick. We distributed the items, Xeelie cast the ritual and the barrier was cleared. Before going down to the next level, Oakwood suggested we check in with the spirit of Otari. We had promised to keep him posted. He was still there. He was pleased to see we had the items and were able to remove the barrier. He was sad to hear that we had to fight to get the cloak. He said he felt something and thought maybe he could move on. But he didn’t seem to be in any hurry. Hopefully he can be reunited with his lady love under the town that bears his name when he’s ready.
Down the stairs we came into a large circular chamber. There was a spiral staircase winding down out of sight with an ancient iron handrail. However, it was mostly empty air in the middle with the stairs clinging to the edge. On this level were 3 doors at each compass point. Oh, and a Gibbering Mouther. It hadn’t noticed us yet and we briefly considered slipping past it. But we’d have to fight it eventually so let’s get to work. Once initiative was rolled, we faced its Will based Confusion aura. Clarisa went first, got confused and randomly attacked Xeelie. At least that only lasts a round. TerStegan went next and charged it. On his way, two snail-like aberrations emerged from the corners. He ignored them and hammered the Mouther. After a couple rounds with TerStegan, it decided to run through him and get at the rest of the heroes. However, TerStegan saved against the movement and then crit it with the Reactive Strike as it went by. (I think that was its engulf power which caused us so much trouble before.) It didn’t last too much longer after that. The other two monsters were dispatched soon after. Basically, we used hero points to save against their worst effects and it wasn’t too hard. We stopped there for the night. Brian assumed we’d take 10-20 minutes to heal up. And then we’re back to opening doors.
Pathfinder Game 41 - 07/11/2025 - Mission Impossible-The Election Was Stolen!
Written by David Green
We got another late start as we waited to get up to 3 out of 4. BTO was unavailable. We were still stuck on the same evening we came into town. DG wanted to let the day go and take on the crypt in the morning. Paul wanted to do a few more things on the accountant/election track. Dan expressed no opinions. The GM sort of became the tie breaker. After Oakwood convinced TerStegan to end the day, Amica showed up at our doorstep. She was worried about her father. These accountants were giving him lots of advice and money for this election and she feared he was in over his head. TerStegan told her our suspicions but unfortunately, she had no hard evidence either. She agreed to keep her ears open and let us know if she hears anything. So, it was back to that track. It occurred to Oakwood that the Menhemes mill was just as critical to the town as the log flume so we went over there to talk to TerStegan’s adopted father. His advice was to attack the accountants and spread their blood as a warning to other troublemakers. Oh, if it were only that easy. He agreed to keep an extra watch on the mill. Captain Longsaddle had already increased the patrols on the log flume itself.
We next went to talk to the mayor. TerStegan wanted him to know what we suspected even if we had no proof. He, at least, listened but could not act without proof. The only resources he had were Longsaddle and the guards and they were already engaged. One bit of information we got was that the Kartos Consortium was a big logging company from outside of Otari. We finally had their motive. To bankrupt the town and take over. Osef was more worried about his upcoming speech. TerStegan gave him some tips, making a good Performance check. When asked if he had any thoughts on other key spots at risk of sabotage, his first thought was the holy symbol. Since it was the sign of his authority, he decided to always keep it with him until the election. So much for unlocking the crypt with it. We were committed to the election, at least for now. He did suggest the DawnFlower library might be a target as well since it held all the town’s old records. I think the day finally ended.
The next day was the last day before the election. We all got one skill roll to have some sort of impact. TerStegan wanted to use Performance to write another jingle that would stick in people’s heads. The GM wanted to know if it was to be pro-Osef or anti-Carmine. He went with anti-Carmine and at the GM’s suggestion, it was about him being clumsy and therefore not fit. (I think that was more Brian’s idea than Paul’s.) He rolled modestly and then used a hero point and rolled great. Oakwood used Crafting to make signs and such. (Acrobatics wasn’t going to cut it.) He rolled middle of the road and had little impact but at least didn’t do any harm. Dan had no interest in any of it. Oakwood then suggested TerStegan do something about Carmine being under undue influence from outsiders. We can’t prove anything but we can start a rumor. Although he had already had his roll, the GM gave him another. He rolled a 1, and it backfired. So much for roleplaying in a d20 game. Other than that, we patrolled around town, on the lookout for trouble. Brisco showed up around then. I think he turned into a tree to guard something through the night. But there were no more attacks. We successfully grinded past another day.
Election day. TerStegan and Oakwood voted early so that they could patrol for the rest of the day. The accountants stopped by to see the “quaint” voting customs of a small town. Oakwood noted that the Tengu seemed to be “casing the joint” looking at entry points. But then they left. Oakwood talked to the chief guard. Evidently, they were just going to leave the ballot box in the guard barracks entryway and count the votes in the morning. When Oakwood suggested perhaps he should post guards on it, given the fact that they lost that sword not 3 days earlier. He was told (after blowing a Society roll) to leave it to the adults and this is the way that’s been working for decades. Brisco came up with a good idea but I’m not sure how much of it was in advance, in retrospect or what. Basically, he took the Sigil cantrip for the day. When he cast his vote, he marked his ballot with a magic sign in witness of some guards. There was no sabotage and the polls closed at sunset. Amica said her father met with the accountants but she couldn’t hear what they said. They looked smugly confident however.
We decided to guard the barracks through the night. We didn’t want to go in because we didn’t want to be accused of tampering ourselves. And Longsaddle probably wouldn’t have allowed it anyway. TerStegan guarded the front and Brisco, the back. Oakwood hung out by some crates with sight of the front and the north side. Disinterested Clarisa decided to join him there. Around midnight, the mute dwarf came walking up, surprised to see TerStegan. They had a standoff of sorts but since she couldn’t talk, there wasn’t much of a conversation. They watched each other while the rest of us watched the barracks. Brian seemed to be trying to goad us into attacking and there was a lot of nothing happening. She cast a subtle spell that TerStegan managed to spot but again, nothing happened. He threatened to cleave her if she did it again. Brisco went back to the back door and sat up against it. Soon after, someone tried to open it but stopped when it was resisted. DS misunderstood, thinking someone had come out. So, he started swinging at empty air, assuming an invisible foe. He called out for a guard but got no answer, proving, to him at least, that it wasn’t a guard.
Brisco raised the alarm and the guards woke up. The dwarf left at a leisurely pace and TerStegan followed her. Brisco told Longsaddle there was someone in the barracks, probably invisible, that was messing with the ballot box. Clarisa came around the back to support him and Oakwood went to the front door. Longsaddle showed Brisco the undisturbed ballot box in a condescending manner but ordered a search to humor him. At this point, it seemed like a wasted night, where all our efforts were for naught. But then some of the guards spotted someone in the kitchen. A mysterious figure in black clothes ran out and it became a skill challenge chase. The DC was up around 24 which is tough. Worse than a 50/50 for most. Brisco and Oakwood made one roll but had to use a hero point to do so. (Another “heroic” skill roll.) Clarisa made one but the guards missed theirs and he got away. TerStegan followed the dwarf back to their hotel but the Tengu never showed up. Brisco explained his Sigil plan to Longsaddle and asked for the box to be opened and checked. Longsaddle called for the mayor and town elders. Oakwood suggested adding the other candidates as well.
While we waited, we questioned the guards. Oakwood figured it would be hard not to spot a Tengu, even in a heavy cloak. However, since Tengu have bird feat, it was not hard to confirm those tracks. Brisco and TerStegan demanded the accountant be arrested but evidently there were several Tengu in town. That gave him plausible deniability. The mayor was committed to the rule of law in his town. They opened the box and Brisco’s ballot was no longer there. Oakwood suggested that it called for a revote so that is what they are going to do. To keep things tidy, in one week. The next day, when they counted the votes, Rajani had the win. That doesn’t look good on him. The dwarf was brought in for questioning but the Tengu hasn’t shown up yet. That took the pressure off for a bit and Brian said we shouldn’t have any trouble “borrowing” the key/holy symbol/town office seal to get into the crypt. So, we stopped there, poised to use it to open the crypt next time. Seems familiar somehow.
Pathfinder Game 40 - 06/27/2025 -Dark Rituals of DOOM
Written by David Green
We were assumed to have picked up that cargo and started on the road back to Otari. However, Brian pointed out to Dan that the book we got last time was full of arcane spells. With Clarissa’s feat, she had a pseudo spell book so she might want to transcribe interesting spells before we returned it. Or broke it. That got him looking at his character sheet and he realized, despite her new bag of holding, Clarissa was currently encumbered. (Not a surprise, given her -1 STR.) That launched an hour discussion on encumbrance rules, pouch of holding functionality, inventory maintenance, etc. Basically, that new Staff of Fire was heavy and he hadn’t loaded his pouch and backpack correctly. She also had some stuff she’d never use like a pile of sling bullets which she could dump. He also tossed a potion and a wand into the party sheet. Brisco took the potion. The wand was a 1st level Harm spell which at 5th level, wasn’t that useful. Brisco decided to “pay” 30 gold into the stash, take the wand and destroy it. We did acquire it in an evil temple. In and amongst all that, Paul looked at the email traffic and realized Xeelie wouldn’t exist for another month so all the money he spent on throwing axes and various parts was going to have to wait. Eventually, finally we got rolling again.
We came onto the map of the Otari area, just before the road went under the log plume. We tripped an Alarm spell and came upon an ambush/sabotage site. There were a wide array of goblins, hobgoblins and bugbears who seemed to be guarding a priest in a dog mask performing some sort of ritual. There was a glowing pentagram under the plume with an innocent farmer acting as a sacrifice. (That “farmer” had an initiative of 38 by the way.) There were also goblins unloading barrels and placing them at support beams. We sprang into action however we were over 100 feet away. TerStegan moved up to some logs to get some cover from the guys with crossbows. Some of them moved up to meet him. Clarissa was eager to wipe them out with a Fireball however it was pointed out that this would likely take out the plume. An arcana roll indicated that the ritual was conjuring a big fiery explosion with the addition of making fiery explosions in the area bigger. She decided not to do their job for them. She instead took a shot at one of them. The mounted pixie was still with us as she had business at the Dawnflower Library. Brisco stayed with the wagon and moved it forward. Oakwood turned on his powers and used a manifested wooden long bow to hit the priest now that the wagon was within 100 feet. Brian rolled a “concentration” roll and he kept control of his ritual. The minions weren’t too tough but there were a lot of them. And those crits still hurt. They all had different abilities so it was slow going while Brian navigated through the big list.
TerStegan continued to swing and crit and cleave bad guys. The next time the wagon moved, Oakwood no longer had a shot at the priest. Since no one else could reach him, he got off and shot him again. This time, he missed his roll and the ritual started to get away from him. Would it get worse or better? A random die would tell, evidently. That made Oakwood a prime target and he was hit with 3 bolts in rapid succession. The ritual got “better” and shrank a little. The pixie ran across the map on her raptor, cast a Gust of Wind on the ritual and pushed it away from the plume a bit. And then ran back to give TerStegan flanking. With his axe mastery and Bless spell, he could hardly miss. Brisco got off the wagon and did BFMed on TerStegan and himself. Even though we weren’t yet close to the caster, he decided it was time to go. He grabbed the “innocent victim” and flew away with a fly spell. At this point, Brian pulled us out of combat. 2 rounds. The ritual went off but the plume was saved. The villains got away as was preordained by plot requirements. The pixie tried to follow them but flying over a forest as opposed to running through it proved to be too big an advantage.
We finished off the minions and since Brian was in control, took no prisoners. The pentagram was broken. Fire enhancing runes were found on the barrels of oil. (GM plot runes not player useful runes.) We put them back on their cart with hopes of selling them. (TerStegan has needs and every nickel counts. It occurs to me we didn’t search and gather their loot.) We did note that the priest and the “victim” were communicating in sign language, just like those two accountants that were causing trouble in town. We were pretty sure it was them but we had no hard evidence. We rolled into town, the evening before the day before the election. We delivered our goods and returned the wagon. We reported to Longsaddle. There was no reward for the previous bandits, by the way. We told him about the sabotage. We figured we could rest up at the clubhouse and take on the crypt in the morning but TerStegan and Brisco wanted to continue investigating the accountants. So, we spent the rest of the night on that.
It was pointed out that that much oil was not trivial to get. We talked to Tamily and she agreed to buy it once Brian figures out what it is worth. She suggested it must have come via the port so we talked to the harbormaster. He gave us a surprisingly big list of townsfolk who had recently purchased a lot of oil. A dead end or at least a multiple end. (We need to get into the oil business.) They then went to talk to Wren about the runes again. She didn’t share anything new there but it turns out she sold the oil. Evidently some very nice goblins came into town and wanted to buy a lot of oil. She had to special order it for them. She didn’t know where they went and knew of no connection between them and the accountants. She did say they looked over her books and found ways she could increase her profits. Brisco decided to stake out the accountant’s room for a couple hours. At some point, a young lad showed up with a package and then left. Brisco turned into a pest and snuck in to get a peek. He even used a hero point on his blind stealth roll. They unwrapped their DoorDash dinner, put out an extra setting and invited him to join them. (Remember that perception-based initiative roll of 38?) Brisco ran off. And they finally concluded this was, in fact, a dead end.
Next time, we are going to the Menhemes crypt to retrieve the cloak. It occurred to Oakwood that if the election goes against his father and the holy symbol transfers to Carmine, it becomes much harder to get. So, we want to do this before the election. Brian said it shouldn’t be a problem for Oakwood to get it. No game on July 4th so we’ll try again on the 11th. By the way, Brian says that the next level of the dungeon is the 5th so we shouldn’t expect to level up again until after that level is done.
Brian tried to kickstart the game in advance via email. The bridge was assumed repaired. The wagon assumed to be unstuck and loaded with the stuff we managed to save from the collapsed keep. The goods were assumed detected and identified. We were assumed healed. There were discussions via email about who would want what and what we would sell. However, we still spent a bunch of time hashing through it all. Periwinkle was given a share of the cash and since Brisco was taking her father’s Druid Crown, he decided to pay that out of his share. (The pixie was a sorceress/champion and the crown was of no use to her or her dead father.) The Staff of Fire was given to our Sorcerer. The two +1 Ogre hooks were saved with their magic to be used for backup weapons for Oakwood and TerStegan. Although at 4 bulk each, they were a bit of a pain to carry around. There was much discussion about the Sapling Shield but ultimately the action economy of a tower shield was just too high so it went on the sell list. However, we were still 2 days out of Absolom so all the selling and buying plans were a bit premature. Finally, after several false starts, we got moving.
We had no issues the first day and camped near a sheep farm just off the road. During the middle watch, TerStegan turned into WereStegan. Evidently, he had been infected with Lycanthropy during the fight with the evil Druid, 3 months ago. There was much consternation from the players about actions taken or assumed to be taken or evidence or whatever but given the glee in Brian’s voice while springing this on us, he wasn’t going to be talked out of it. His trump card was that there wasn’t anyone high enough level in Otari that could cure it anyway. Unfortunately, TerStegan is a big threat and a were-afide one even more so. Plus, the fact that none of the casters had gotten their spells back since this was technically the same day. Oakwood was on watch with him. He took a shot, figuring we were in big trouble, and woke Clarisa. WereStegan took a piece out of him with his Retribution Axe. Thankfully, he got distracted by the easier prey horses and attacked one of them. They managed to run off as everyone else started waking up. Periwinkle was assigned to chase them down since she and her riding raptor were the only ones that could catch them.
It looked like this would take the rest of the night but Brian sort of storyboarded it. For one, Paul was left out. WereStegan pushed past Oakwood and went after one of the sheep. We gave chase but then he ran off into the night. The horses were retrieved and the sheep ranchers showed up. They would alert the watch. Around breakfast, TerStegan came walking in with vague images of the event. Some Recall Knowledge rolls were made. It would take a 4th level spell to cure him. But we were still a day (and night) out of Absolom. Whether the moon would still be full enough to cause a repeat was unknown. A recent Lycanthrope is a bit random, evidently. We traveled, camped and tied him up that night. Whether that would have worked was debatable but thankfully he did not change. We rolled into town. Our first priority was getting him cured. The fairy said her temple could do it. However, people were too eager to sell and buy so we had to do that first.
We sold the stuff and passed out the money. ~250? It was quite a haul. Brian would allow common magic items to be bought without issue but anything uncommon would require a roll with the DC dictated by the level. Oakwood bought an Aeon Stone, thanks to Xeelie’s roll. TerStegan bought a cold iron rare longer range throwing axe with a roll. He spent an extra 50% to get it the next day since we had to get back to Otari ASAP. He and Xeelie bought some formulas so that she could magic it up when we had the time. He also bought a magic helmet BTO found in the books for him. Xeelie bought all kinds of stuff. She spent so much, I don’t think she got that magic armor she needed. Brisco and Clarisa were uninterested in the whole process. Of course, they just got new items for “free” from the treasure. They both bought portable holes at the end. We also got TerStegan cured. It cost 40 gold which everyone kicked in on. We did not pick up whatever we were supposed to get for the use of the wagon yet. We figured we’d do that last since we didn’t know how getting that book was going to go. To the library.
Getting into the library was no problem. The letter got us to the person in charge and then got us into the restricted section. The book was full of scribblings that got more chaotic as the author got older and crazier. The cover was made out of stone and the whole thing could be used as a shield. The only suggestion on the table was Oakwood’s of creating a copy and swapping them the next day. However, the amount of security measures we saw were giving us pause. This is the biggest library in the biggest city on the continent. This wasn’t going to go well. Xeelie and TerStegan suggested we try to convince them of our need. Not a surprise since they were loaded with Charisma skills. That would be a skill challenge and everyone had to participate. We decided to give it a go since we were at the end of the night. We had extra hero points (metagaming), BTO wouldn’t be here the next two game (sort of metagaming) and if it failed, we’d have another week to come up with a new plan. Thankfully, Brian was “generous” with the skills to use and everyone was able to justify using one of their best. The DC was still a stiff 26 and we needed 5 successes with no failures.
TerStegan started with Performance, laying down the foundation of the heroic Roseguard and evil Belcora rising again. That fact that Otari’s ghost told us that we needed that book particularly resonated with the library directory. He had a +15 and succeeded. Next was Brisco using Survival. He told a tale of the impact a relit Gauntlight would have on the land. And that it would impact Absolom soon enough. And the fact that Belcora seemed to have it in for them. I’m not sure Survival was the right skill for that but he made his roll. Oakwood had the worst skill at +10 Medicine. He concentrated on the undead rising from the graveyard, terrorizing the innocent folk. And the more undead found in the Gauntlight in technically gruesome detail. Again, probably not the right skill. He barely missed the first roll, used a hero point and rolled a 17 (+10). Clarisa went next, using Intimidation. Basically, a repeat of the dire consequences described by the previous two. She missed her roll, used a hero point and made it. Bringing it home was Xeelie and her high Diplomacy. She succeeded as well. Our case was made and we were allowed to borrow the book. (The fact that it was on loan from Otari in the first place should have helped us.) Once the invisible security measures were disabled, it was tucked into Clarisa’s bag of holding and we walked out winners.
We stopped there. We need to pick up TerStegan’s axe and whatever cargo we were supposed to get. The goal is to speed back to Otari, arriving the morning of the election. No one is particularly interested in that (are we even old enough to vote?) Or probably more accurately, no one thinks we can have an impact. However, it seems to be an anchor point event based on how often Brian has mentioned the date. So, something will probably happen. We still need that cloak from the crypt and to research that barrier spell.
Pathfinder Game 38 - 06/13/2025 - The Hag and her Prisoner
Written by David Green
We started the game like most games, trying to figure out what to do. Brian had provided “hints” in the form of a secret message from the captured fairy to TerStegan. But even hints are subject to interpretations. We got it mostly right. With regard to the ritual, some arcana rolls lead us to believe that this was a Control Weather ritual enhanced by a blood sacrifice. The Hag’s goal was to freeze the land. But it should take a day to cast so we should have some hours. There was also a warning that if it was disrupted, it might destroy the keep in a backlash. So, we decided to “loot” the area before risking any confrontations. That turned out to be much harder than we thought. The Ogre’s loot sacks were immense and full of useless stuff. A tree stump, a keg of booze, drums, etc. They were too heavy to carry but we didn’t want to spend the time detecting and identifying. So, we took our best guess and Oakwood started moving stuff out of the keep over to the road, hoping it would be safe there. Since his was the lowest perception, he’d let the rest search and identify which they did.
There were two valuable potions. One was a fast healing that TerStegan took and one was an electric damage field that Xeelie took. We also took their arms and armor, especially the short bows. We also found a chest full of coins and shiny rocks in the goblin’s room. Unfortunately, it weighed 50 bulk so we couldn’t move it without some major work. Xeelie had her familiar toss rocks out while we continued to explore and fight. All this took enough time for another round of Fresh Produce to top off everyone’s hit points. The next room was the filthy Ogre room but there was nothing in there of value. Prepared, we went to the west door. We expected/hoped to be able to access the cells where Periwinkle’s friend Bell was imprisoned. The hint implied to us that we could get past the ritual room to the cells (wrong) but we were hoping we didn’t have to try. The next two rooms were the Hag’s and in much better shape. The first had a large body and a hatchet. Brisco chopped off its head to be sure. There was also a cauldron of acid, likely for acid bombs. But no bombs. We searched for secret doors to the north and found none.
The next room was her bed chamber. Xeelie pocketed some stuff from her dresser. TerStegan and Oakwood examined the full plate standing in the corners. They ended up taking them to our staging area as they were worth some coin. Brisco searched for secret doors and found none. Xeeile then examined the chest. It turned out to be a Mimic as did the table that held another cauldron of acid. That fight wasn’t too hard but a bit annoying. Firstly, the obvious strategy was to knock the acid off the Mimic, preferably on it, before it could throw it. However, TerStegan could not do it within the constraints of the rule system. Since his weapon did not have a Disarm trait, he needed a free hand to attempt it. And he didn’t want to let go of his 2-handed axe. He could attempt to cleave the pot itself but being made out of steel, it would have a high hardness and hit points. Ultimately, he chose to just hack at the Mimic although he did have the foresight to take a step north so that no one else got hit with the acid he knew was coming. The other thing was that any weapon that hit one, got stuck with a tough Athletics check to get it free. Xeelie was trained but not strong and soon enough, both her weapons were stuck. As was she. So, the meleers were impeded and losing actions. But the casters peppered them with cantrips and it was over soon enough. The chest Mimic was actually full of coins and we spent some time gathering them.
Next was the ritual room. There was talk of using various potions but we weren’t sure what awaited us so no one decided to do so. We opened the door. There were two columns of bones near the door and since they were labeled “unharmed” we looked at them with suspicion. On the other side was the Hag, casting her ritual. Next to her was the floating undead Head of a dead Hag and a fairy in a cage. That formed the coven of three needed. We could see the entrance into a room to the west where we assumed Bell was being held. Any hopes of being ignored while we rescued that potential ally were quickly dashed. Let’s start with the bones. Each round they manifested a skeleton of some fallen foe however they were very weak. TerStegan took out the first one with one blow. And each subsequent round, they got recreated a bit tougher than the last. However, between Oakwood’s damage field and AOE cantrips like Arc of Lightning, the skeletons and the columns were taken out without much issue. They were more of a distraction.
Xeelie bravely ran through the room to get to the imprisoned Bell which turned out to be a riding raptor familiar to the fairy Periwinkle. So much for freeing a powerful ally. Unfortunately, the Head followed her in there. Between using actions to open the cage and being pummeled by the Head, Xeelie was quickly on the ropes. As a final irony, right before she could finally pick the lock, the raptor freed itself. Oakwood ran over to engage the Head and Xeelie managed to run out of the room before she was knocked out. But the main event was the Hag. At first, she spent one action a round to maintain her ritual. On her first round, she hit Brisco with a Baleful Polymorph (6th level?). He missed a stiff fort save and was turned into a bunny. However, the next round, he spent all 3 actions to get a will save to shake it off. And did. TerStegan went after the Hag. She was another supervillain, double our level. They went at it and TerStegan even managed to free the fairy on a sweeping crit. She flew into the room with Oakwood and the Head and reunited with her dinosaur. Somewhere in here, Xeelie and her handful of hit points came back in and did her Recall Knowledge on the Hag. And rolled well. We learned, among other things, that she was vulnerable to fire which was helpful to know. Oakwood left the Head and got near the Hag to put her in his fire damage field.
At this point, she started to panic. She abandoned her ritual to cast a 3 action Cone of Cold. (The room started to fill with ice as the aborted ritual started to backfire.) She managed to hit everyone but Oakwood who was standing too close. It was 49 points. TerStegan used a hero point to avoid a crit failure and was barely up. Brisco tried the same but still took the double damage. He thought that was instant death, going down to -75 or something but it had to be double his full hit points in one blow so he simply went out. Xeelie had no chance either way and went out as well. Clarisa saved and was merely badly injured. The fairy ran in and did a modest healing AOE on those she could get without healing the hag. TerStegan engaged the Hag again but missed. Oakwood got him flanking and hit once but the Hag was still going. The other two gathered their weapons and stood up. Clarisa fired some Magic Missiles from the hallway. (She never had to come into the room.) The Hag then tried to cast another spell but TerStegan got an opportunity attack and crit (thanks to the flanking) which interrupted it. And when he went right after her, he crit again and took her out. The Head was finished off in the next round.
The chronicler went to bed at this point. I do not know how much further they went but regardless if it happened on this night or first thing next time, we’ll gather the loot from her, if any, and run for the door before the whole place turns to ice. Hopefully we can grab some coins and Xeelie’s familiar along the way. Then it’ll be repairing the bridge, filling the wagon with loot and continuing on our way to Absolum. We’ve got a lot to sell. We should do that first before becoming wanted criminals for stealing the magic book we need to save the world. A hero’s work is never done.
Pathfinder Game 37 - 06/06/2025 - Ogres At the Gate
Written by David Green
Dan:
Combat started and we re-rolled initiative. Brisc went first and stabbed a dagger into the bone door/gate so it couldn't close. "Him" moved forward just behind the gate. The hobgoblin archer shot at Clarissa and "She" moved next to the "Him" and threw a hatchet at TerStegan. Xeeli jammed the other door so we were no longer in danger of being locked out. Clarissa cast Grease on "Him" and "She", however they both made their saves. Then TerStegan killed the Cockatrice with a crit.
Dave:
Our heroes continued their assault on the Hag’s Keep. TerStegan had moved just inside and was facing the two Ogres. The archers behind the arrow slits were further isolated by the open doors which made them tough to get at. Clarisa had laid a line of Grease under the Ogres. One slipped and lost a couple actions but they just stepped back and continued to use their reach. But the heroes had to navigate around it for the rest of the fight. Mostly it was whittled down the chickens and goblins and try to keep the front-line guys up from the Ogre onslaught. But we weren’t doing much against them. The archers were no joke but the Ogres were the real threat. They had the usual high defenses and attacks. So high, that when they hit, they almost always crit. And an Ogre crit was 40+. Plus, they got extra effects on their attacks like shove and trip. Lastly, they had reach and opportunity attacks so with their size, they covered a lot of territory. They were “on par” with the single foes we’ve been fighting but there were two of them plus supporting minions. A tough fight, to be sure especially after expending resources on the bridge battle last time with no rest between.
After a couple of rounds, things were not looking good for our heroes. The Ogres were mostly untouched and we were reeling. The casters were mostly out of spells and Brisco had used his Battlefield Medicine on everyone. Paul was rolling poorly and that wasn’t helping. Oakwood showed up, did a bit of healing, turned on his damage field and moved up to get as many foes in it as possible. At least he had a fresh pool of hit points. Xeelie got crit and was forced to back out. However, around here, Clarisa used a charge of her Necklace of Fireballs and did a bunch of damage. The Him Ogre was finally at least injured. We concentrated fire on Him and he finally fell with a hero point driven crit from TerStegan. The goblins and chickens had been taken out along the way so there was only Her and one Hobgoblin left. However, she was barely injured. She racked up Oakwood. She hit and moved him into the Grease. When he stood up from being prone, she crit him with an opportunity attack and he was almost out. Xeelie was out and Briscoe poured a healing potion down her. But BTO was having tech issues and had to drop right afterwards. But luckily, she started missing after that crit on Oakwood. She missed 6 straight swings while everyone concentrated her. She finally dropped and we survived.
At this point, it was after midnight so we talked about stopping there. But we debated a bit. Wade offered to pull us out of combat and start with the looting and healing but Paul wanted to get his last two rounds of his Bless spell. He was for charging forward. In addition, we could hear the Hag doing some sort of ritual so realistically, we couldn’t afford a 10-minute rest anyway. We ended up taking one round to do some quick healing. Briscoe did a battle-med on Oakwood and Oakwood passed out some Fresh Produce. TerStegan ate his but Oakwood and Briscoe will have to use an action next round. Clarisa gave Oakwood some temp hit points. Xeelie was left out since she wasn’t on the map but at least she had that potion in her. She’ll probably need some battle-med from Oakwood first thing next time. Hit point wise, we’re in pretty good shape. I think this is a “solve the bandit problem” side quest so the rewards should be good. But can we defeat a Hag (and minions) with no spells and very little healing left? We’ll find out next time.
Brian/GM:
I have put Xeeli’s HP at -14 from max, a value comparative to the rest of the group to reduce immediate distractions. If there is some creative way to give Xeeli more HP in the couple rounds the group has been preparing, I am open, however I think most characters were busy healing the PCs that were still around.
The last plan was to do “something” immediately about the ritual taking place in the chamber to the north. Unsure if the context / story above makes this more or less likely to happen that way...
Pathfinder Game 36 - 05/30/2025 - Goblin Cockfight
Written by Daniel Ruth
Brian got a bunch of book binding supplies. Oakwood/Dave was out for the night but the rest of the party bravely fought on!
After arguing how to get to Absalom by various spells or cantrips we finally decided that it was only economic feasible to go to Absalom by horse and carriage. This was the only way to get back in time for the election. We arranged taking a package for delivery in order to get the carriage for free and earning a gold for the delivery.
Dave rolled survival and kept us in style on the way to the city and back. We took shifts on watch on top of the carriage. A few hours out at bridge, it collapsed with the carriage halfway over, making it thouroughly stuck. It was an ambush! A group of hobgoblins tried to get us to hand over our valuables. Naturally we attacked. Briscoe threatened them with the power of plants and vermin. They claimed they had already killed a druid so this triggered Briscoe to attack. For once he actually went first and cast a Stinking Cloud. They were up on a ridge so the melee actually had to get up to them before we could attack them. They did some very impressive damage but after a fireball and cantrips we started to whittle down.
Once we defeated them we followed the couple of hobgoblin survivors back to an elaborate encampment. Basically a gigantic beast skull imbedded into the mountain and the encampment inside its mouth. Before the encampment was a grave, we read several tombstones. They were very endearing. I think. Past this were series of bridges that led to a village surrounded by a log barricade. Outside was a small island full of statues. It was very ominous. Inside were two flocks of chickens. After Xeeli stole the key and opened the gate, TerSteegan ran through the swarm of chickens. There was a goblin War Chanter, Comando and Warrior but at first it was just the chickens. Chickens everywhere. The carnage. Briscoe used a spell to calm one of the chicken flocks but the other saved.
We had mostly taken care of the goblins when the inner door opened and we faced about a dozen goblins. Surprise! What was even more surprising was when Xeeli found out that inside each flock was a cockatrice. Briscoe killed the Cockatrice and many of the goblins were burned in a fireball from Clarissa. We ended the night with one cocktrice up and several unknown goblins coming out of the building.
Pathfinder Game 35 - 05/23/2025 - Wild Voidgluttons In Bed
Written by David Green
Back to the dining room. We found a wine storage room. There were 3 expensive bottles which we took. One other bottle had another note from Zacchaeus Quagmire III. Some hints about this level which we already knew and the next level which we won’t get to for a while. Somehow there were 7 potions in there as well to be extracted and IDed later. Next was another teleportation room and then a bath room. Lastly was a garbage room with a chute down and a ghost. Xeelie was shoved by flying rocks into the chute but she successfully Grabbed an Edge and didn’t fall down it. Brisco attacked it. It then turned invisible, moved and then did an AOE fear attack that got everyone. Oakwood crit failed so Frightened 2 and fleeing. Xeelie failed for Frightened 2 but not fleeing. TerStegan, Frightened 1 but not fleeing. Brisco saved and was immune. And then it threw rocks at Xeelie and hit because she was Frightened 2. She successfully climbed out, failed to Recall Knowledge and fled the room. TerStegan charged in, was missed by its damage field and crit it for 30. Oakwood fled but had to open the door to the stairs so ended still in the dining room. Brisco cast Guidance on Oakwood and TerStegan and then hit it for 6.
It went invisible, moved and did an AOE TK Storm, flinging debris at everyone. It hit Xeele and Brisco for 2d12. Xeelie used the Seek action to try to find it. (A secret perception roll in a 30 area.) She failed, moved back into the garbage room and closed the door. TerStegan missed a Seek, stepped, and attacked the square he hoped it was in. He missed the flat check and was done. Oakwood fled again. Dan showed up and rolled a middle initiative. Brisco chose not to use an action to open the door and did a Seek in the dining room. Brian let him Seek the bottom half of the room but he failed to find anything. He then moved and did Seek in the top half of the room. And didn’t find anything but was fairly confident there was nothing in there. It became visible in the original room and did the Frighten thing again on Xeelie and TerStegan. TerStegan saved and was immune for 10 minutes but Xeelie was Frightened 2 again but not fleeing. And then it hit Xeelie twice. Xeelie cast Life Boost on herself, identified it as a Poltergeist and then hit it for 6. (It had resistances but no weaknesses.) Clarisa moved, opened the door and raised her shield since she didn’t have two actions left to cast a spell. TerStegan used a hero point to finish it off with a crit for 38. Oakwood healed the party with lots of Fresh Produce impulses while Brisco missed two Treat Wounds on Xeelie.
We then spent a bunch of time messing with the hatch which led to a drain that emptied at the dead Ottyugh we found before. We found nothing but missed and made a lot of rolls. Some prestidigitation clean up and we were off again. We checked out the lounge and the torture room but we had already searched the area. There were no doors found. The blue aura was gone but when Brisco climbed onto the table, he still took a bunch of damage. Xeelie examined the table again to see if she could disable it. But this room is part of the central core of the Gauntlight and therefore indestructible. We went around to the lake room. And to the cave in the northwest corner. That led to natural caverns that went on a long way. Since the Werewolf was fleeing that way, we assume it gets to the surface eventually. But we went back to the door at the landing. That led to corridors and doors. We went up, figuring it would lead back to the previous level. First, we went past the door we saw in the Despair room. In the corridor, Brisco found an invisible door. I.e. concealed with an illusion.
That led to a sitting room. We saw Belcora and Voluk having a meeting in a nice clean room. But they quickly disappeared and the room aged. A vision of the past. Another door led to a lounge with two divans. On one, was Belcora reading a tome. A perception check from TerStegan saw that it was The Whispering Reeds. That was the book the big scary guy we avoided in the library took off a shelf. And then she disappeared. Next was a dining room. And then a bedroom with a portal archway. Plus, a horrible monster. A Voidglutton. Brisco went first and missed with a focus spell since its Reflex was +18. Clarisa did a Vitality Lash and it crit failed its save. But it took no damage from it. Oakwood turned on his Thermal Nimbus and missed its 30 AC with a fire EB. It went next, critting Xeelie with a web attack and then rolled a 1 on another attack. When it stepped forward, it entered the fire aura. But took no damage. Immune to fire or magic or resistance? TerStegan cast Bless and then missed with a 28. Xeelie crit on her Recall Knowledge. It is immune to all spells except a short list of light-based ones. Pretty much Force Barrage and Battle Axe for us.
Xeelie made a DC 26 acrobatics to get unstuck and threw her star knife. And missed. Brisco cast Splash on TerStegan to try to keep him up. He then missed with his Trident. Clarisa cast a full load of Force Barrage on it. 35 points and it was injured. Oakwood cast his Timber Sentinel and backed up. It cast Darkness in the middle of us but Xeelie’s lantern (level 3) overpowered some of it. That was a free action. It attacked TerStagen and crit, of course. 48 points of damage but the tree took 30 of it. But that came with a free Fear attack. That was a crit fail but only a Frighten 1 on a brave fighter. Its next action, it hit again for 23. It then did a concentration power but Xeelie interrupted it with a natural 20. And did 25 points plus bleeding damage. TerStegan turned on his stance, failed in a Feint and missed. Xeelie cast Life Boost on TerStegan and then moved around to flank it. And hit for 17. Unfortunately, she moved her light, leaving Clarisa and Oakwood in the dark. Brisco did Battle Medicine on TerStegan and gave him 25. He then missed, used a hero point and missed again. Clarisa stepped forward to get into the light and then used a 1st level Barrage. It did 10 and took it out.
There was one last door that led to a chamber in the center. There were 3 creatures webbed to the wall. TerStegan went in and cut them down. As they fell, they swiftly decayed. There was an unusual composite longbow, prayer beads and an elixir. It was once a trophy room(?), long since emptied and abandoned. Probably as they dug down. Xeelie identified the potions. 4 bottled sunlight, 1 mist form elixir and a stone body mutagen. The longbow was +1 striking composite longbow. If we had an archer, he’d be very happy. Although he’d probably would have already built one. We’ll sell it for parts. The Prayer Beads required a divine caster but Clarisa’s Oracle archetype was good enough. +1 hit point for her when she casts a divine spell. And the ability to cast Heal and Bless, once a day. Mist form is 20% miss chance for 3 rounds. TerStegan took that. The stone one gets you 5 points of damage resistance but you lose 10 feet of movement and take -2 on Reflex saves. Sell it. We spread out the sunlight as they are undead bombs. This level was pretty much done. We will start at our house next time. Either going to Absolom, breaking into the crypt to get the cloak or tackling various side tasks.
Things got more complicated since last time. We still had 3 wisps that half of us could not affect and an undead hand. Plus, the Witch and her menacing puppy familiar was creeping towards us. And now the Laughing Man had appeared on a throne at the north end of the chamber. He started to give a running commentary on our struggles. The fact that Oakwood was confused, he thought this was a significant event. Especially since “more were coming”. Out of an alcove we had innocently walked past, came an undead Wight sort of thing. Its first action was to do a scary wail. It was a tough Will save for all against fear. Most failed and took -1 on most everything. We kept swinging however when confused Oakwood went, he attacked the Witch. She put up an earthen barrier and took no damage. And then two misses however it got her involved. She appeared to be another one of these “way too powerful, don’t mess with them” NPC/monsters. She unleashed a Poison Cloud. The save was big and so was the damage. Plus, low visibility. However, because Clarisa was already near death from the Wight, she went out. And since the spell had the Death trait, she was dead. Brian declared retroactive play. The Witch was smart enough to know that the attack on her was probably a mistake and wouldn’t have wanted to kill anyone over it. She, instead, hit Oakwood with a spell that did damage, moved him towards her like a puppet and put him on his knees. A more fitting display of her power over us.
Another Wight appeared but it was the confusing wisps that were the real problem. Near death Clarisa got confused next and she randomly attacked the puppy. She elected to punch it but with an action to stand and a double move to get there, she didn’t actually get to attack. In reaction, the puppy grew to large size and the Witch stole her shadow. (Enfeebled 1?) Oakwood ran after her and hit her with a heal. Late arriving Brisco used his last AOE heal to heal multiple characters and damage the undead Wights. As is often the case, this turned the tide and soon enough the last Wisp faded away. The Laughing man commanded the Witch to come with him and they both teleported away. Xeeile and Brisco and her magic lantern started searching. Oakwood did the Ocean’s Balm on TerStegan and Xeelie. However, the room was still disturbing. Most missed a Fear save and those minuses would not go away until we got out of there. We decided to head for home to recharge the Druid’s healing spells. We grabbed the body of the Werewolf Druid and started the usual game of trying to find our way back out by the most direct path.
However, this time we had an encounter along the way. In the Morlock’s altar room, we came upon a Swarm of Bone Flies feasting on a body. Initiative. It had a 33. Yes, another superpowered foe, designed to challenge the whole group by itself. Its AC and Saves were super high. In one round, it nearly took out Xeeile with 3 attacks. She managed to move forward, out of the room. (Once again, we were fighting in tight quarters with doorway bottlenecks.) Being a Swarm, it was resistant to most of our attacks. The second round, it nearly took out 3 more of us. Basically, when it attacked, it attacked everyone in its area (4 squares). We spread out as we could. We got smarter about what would affect it. AOEs were good but its Reflex saves were monstrous. It was less resistant to bludgeoning although TerStegan blew through that resistance. Brisco did Battlefield Medicine on TerStegan and himself and Oakwood did it on himself so that hopefully they could survive the next round. Clarisa went last. She had an AOE cone on a Fort save but she’d hit Brisco and Oakwood as well. The damage was low but the hope was that the flies would take double so she took the shot. And took it out. A 3-round fight of panic, TPK fears and victory.
We left. Everyone that was hit by the flies was assumed to have been diseased. That was everyone but Clarisa. Brian sent us to our cabin and rather grind our way through the Treat Disease rules, assumed we all got better after 3-4 days. We sold some stuff and distributed some stuff. Brisco’s Returning Trident was upgraded with a striking rune. The body was returned to the general store owner along with his wife’s necklace. That got us some gold and discounts at his store. Next time, I guess we’ll try to navigate the acquisition of the town artifacts Otari said we needed to move down a level. Although, there were still unexplored areas of the current level so maybe we should wait until the next trip.
We started with a conversation with Otari’s ghost. Several people had various things to say but I think it can be summarized into 3 primary areas. What happened to him. The Roseguard fought Belcora 500 years ago. Their wizard had some up with a spell to prevent her from fleeing down into the lower levels. Most of the fight occurred on the second story which is all but gone. He fell into the lower levels when the stairs collapsed. He wandered, looking for an exit. He passed through a lot of the challenges we had faced however he hadn’t gone below where we already were. He went through the library, killed the Minotaur whose bones we saw and eventually fell to the Otyugh whose body we had found. He/we assumed the fight continued and she fell at that pool of blood at the base of the tower.
Second, what do we have to do. There is a barrier at this level that prevents going any lower. He thinks she turned their wizard’s barrier against them. She used “something precious” from each Roseguard member to power the ritual. He thought that we’d need to retrieve those items, find the ritual and reverse it to get passed. His item is his Skeleton key, found with his body. We also need the Rajani sword, currently under lock and key by the adults in town. And linked to Amicia. To our surprise, the holy symbol in the procession of Oakwood’s father was not an item. Otari thought her cloak would be more precious to her. We assume she was buried with it so it would be in her sealed tomb under the town of Otari. And we need that holy symbol to open it so we still have to get it from the adults. Lastly is the wizard’s book which hopefully has the ritual. We had no idea where that might be. If it’s amongst all the books we’ve seen in this place, that’s quite a haystack. However, when asked, Otari thought it might be elsewhere. He “suggested” (hint hint) we talk to the town wizard. Anyhow, that’s quite a list of difficult problems to solve. The big question will be weather we try to convince the adults on what is going on or assume they’ll shut us down again and “steal” the stuff we need to save the world.
Lastly, what can we do for him. Our ghost experts think that he is tied to this cave, the place of his death. He thought he could not move on because he is somehow tied to the Gauntlight. Our working theory is if we can stop Belcora (or her ghost or her minions) he’d be free. Xeelie asked what he’d like done with his bones. He wanted to be reunited with the cleric in the tomb under the town. Apart in death but together again in the afterlife. We gathered his bones so we could put them in the tomb when we break it open. In addition to his Skeleton Key, he pointed us to his +1 studded leather armor (which was given to Brisco) and Venom Dagger (which will be sold). He told us where the ritual and barrier were. And asked that we keep him updated. It’s been kind of boring down here after 500 years. At least the Will O Wisp won’t be bothering him anymore. Eventually, we managed to pry the knowledge thirsty away and continued with our explorations. Xeelie took lots of notes.
We followed one river and discovered that it led to the room with the Gibbering Mouther we had recently killed. The next cave led to a vast hallway. To the south, we could see the scintillating barrier. To the north, a hexagonal room. However, there was some lady and her puppy at the barrier so we headed that way. She claimed to be heading to the gladiatorial matches, promised to be down here somewhere. Some players had vague memories of talking to someone about them long ago. She didn’t seem to be a ghost and was up on current events in Otari. She asked who we were voting for which opened the discussion on whether we could vote. What is the voting age and what was our age? She had two different colored eyes that evidently identified her as a Hag or hag related. Her puppy gave people the “powerful evil demon” vibes. There were continued discussions while Xeelie tried to use all of her knowledges but other characters started wandering off. Since this hag/witch wasn’t doing anything, we decided to ignore her and head north. After all, we’re not murder hobos.
To the north was a large room with a raised platform in the middle. On that was a huge stone with seven gashes across it where energy was pulsating out. There were 2-3 doors exiting. However, before we could do anything, 4 undead hands crawled out followed by 4 Lesser Wisps. As per normal, people demanded to know their strengths and weaknesses since we had fought them before. And were pointed at the Bestiary list. And as per normal, the information there was lacking. But we already knew what there was to know. The Wisps were immune to all magic and had no weaknesses. And the hands were undead. With a full load of players and 8 monsters, the initiative order was packed. Everyone did their normal stuff. TerStegan waited for his initiative to come up so he could start slaughtering them. Brisco complained about not having any healing spells left and not having any other spells that were useful. Xeelie did her Find Weakness class powers. Clarisa fired a cantrip at two hands and last going Oakwood finished them off with vitality energy blasts.
After a round and a half, 3 hands were out and 1 wisp. Everyone saved against the Wisp’s sparkles in round one although TerStegan used a hero point. Clarisa critically saved so she was immune for 24 hours. However round two, Oakwood missed his save and became Confused. And is poised to start attacking random friends. Meanwhile, that witch and her evil puppy had moved up. Were they going to help or attack? However, at that this point, Brian had a potential emergency and had to drop off. It turned out to not be an emergency but by then, it was too late to get back going. Next game is next week to accommodate BTO’s schedule where we’ll pick up in mid round.
Pathfinder Game 32 - 03/21/2025 - Rest In Peace
Written by David Green
We started with more character changes. Wade had loaded the latest version of Brisco and updated his token accordingly. However, it didn’t seem like Dave had 100% decided that was the way he wanted to go. But after a month of discussion and indecision, Wade decided. So, he’s still a Druid but made Storm his primary and Leaf his secondary and dropped Wild. Storm’s focus spell is a good ranged damage spell. And while it could be debated how comparable the combat wild shapes are, the bottom line was that Dave had only used it once in 5 levels. And with a side of Medic. This makes him more of a caster and a better Battlefield Medicine healer. Wade also gave him a +1 returning trident for his troubles. Dave Green made a few changes as well. He dumped Darkvision since he’s not going to be sneaking out front anymore and took Shield Block and that Reenforced shield we earned for saving that dwarf. That qualified him for the Bastion dedication which he took at 4th. That net effect was that it made him tougher. Good now that DS stayed a caster and didn’t change to Champion as had been discussed. Once DG updated his character and DS updated his spells, we were ready to go.
First up was the last ghost on level 3. The book repairer. The previous ghost, we tried to talk into “moving on” but ended up fighting. We assumed the same would be true with this one. Wade pointed out that by merely defeating a ghost in combat, it would eventually return. So, we debated whether to even try but decided to give it a shot. She was still busy going through the motions of repairing the piles of books in her room. We tried to talk to her and make Recall Knowledge rolls but got nowhere. I think Paul suggested that if we removed the damaged books, she’d think she was done. And maybe she could rest. We moved them out, politely, however once gone she stayed at her workbench waiting for more. We then realized she was linked to her tools. We moved them out, politely, and she finally moved on. Her long dead body had a Crafter’s Eyepiece (+1 on crafting rolls, repair hit points equal to 10+10 per skill rank on a success and 15s on a critical success), a key and a gold paperweight. We moved on as well.
That last hostile being on this level was the Wood Golem guarding Belcora’s private library. Last time, we couldn’t touch it and only survived because we got out of the room. But TerStegan was confident (and eager for riches) this time. DG suggested we use its (hoped) inability to leave its room and pepper it from range. However, that would leave TerStegan mostly idle so he decided to do it his way. Basically, let him go toe to toe while the rest tried to keep him up. Once again, after the first round, it was untouched and we were battered. It didn’t help that TerStegan went last. Oakwood and Brisco used half their actions trying to keep him up. As usual, he was doing the lion’s share of the hitting and damage. The rest were either missing, failing or bouncing off its resistances. Its retribution reaction attacks were taking a toll on us but the key was TerStegan who never went down. A couple of highlights. TerStegan got good use out of his new Bless spell, getting hits from that +1. Oakwood’s Protector Tree took 30 points of damage once there was a gap for him to place it. And Brisco did a ton of healing with his spells and improved Battlefield Medicine. As is usually the case with a 4 on 1 battle, it was dire for 3 rounds and then over. The room had 4 bulk of old history books on Absolm worth a projected 20 gps. On to the 4th level.
We had previously explored two areas down there. The dining room and torture chamber which had several unexplored doors. Or the Mad Ranger(?) and his pet wolf that Otari’s ghost had led us past. We elected to follow Otari although I’m not sure that spirit has our best interests at heart. We decided to treat the Ranger as a haunt and try to figure out what he wanted. Our Druid talked to him but rolled poorly. He did manage to get him to stop growling and start talking. But it was a “None Shall Pass” dead end. We started to talk about bribing him or just going past him when initiative was rolled. As always, the monster went first, Brisco next and TerStegan last. It cast a 4d12 Lightning Bolt at everyone but Clarisa. (Once again, we were fighting in a 5-foot hallway, stacked up against each other.) So, it was a Druid. DS was insistent that this should have given him an advantage in the previous negotiations, Druid to Druid, but Wade was unmoved by his repeated pleas.
The wolf moved up to block the way and we attacked. In general, both sides rolled poorly. Oakwood did roll two 20s in the same round and took out the wolf. But the Druid went next and healed it back up. But then TerStegan took it down again. At this point, the Druid cast Grease in our hallway and retreated. TerStegan and Oakwood saved but Brisco fell. TerStegan was on its edge so he could move freely and chased after him. The rest faced a DC26 Reflex save for each square moved or taking 5-foot steps without the risk. They did that but it delayed them a round. The Druid then cast a Wall of Thorns which, in addition to causing damage and difficult terrain for those walking through it, gave him cover from most of us. But it was just another delay tactic. TerStegan mostly exchanged misses with him while the rest of us tried to get into the fight. When the Druid was almost out, he jumped into the lake below the platform we were fighting on. TerStegan jumped in after him. And missed. Oakwood and Clarisa manged to get a ranged shot but missed as well. (His AC and Defenses and damage reduction were the usual big numbers for a single foe.)
At this point it was after 1:30AM so the chronicler went to bed. I assume he was finished off unless he turned into a fish and swam away. Or maybe they stopped to start again next time. Underwater combat was another untapped section of rules that will probably take time to dig into. Unless Wade storyboarded his defeat, they probably stopped. There’s one door in there but Otari’s ghost went over the lake and into a cavern/corridor so maybe we head that way.
Pathfinder Game 31 - 03/07/2025 - Do You Know Your Already Dead?
Written by Daniel Ruth
We started with character changes. Paul had already added the Bard free archetype to his Fighter/Marshal last time so he was good to go. Dan added Oracle to his Sorcerer which was only adding a couple of feats. DG had the most work to do. He transformed his Monk+Kineticist into a Kineticist+Monk so he had to transfer inventory and add Monk feats. DS still hadn’t figured out what to do so he was running Brisco with the addition of the Medic archetype. And BTO couldn’t make it but his latest plan was an Alchemist/Witch+Investigator. Evidently the remaster rules have fixed up both Alchemist and Investigator which he had considered back when we started. And we were off.
We came up to the camp at the Smuggler’s Cave that we suspected the kids from Otari had gone. We elected to announce ourselves rather than sneak up. Bardish TerStegan took the lead but he came on pretty strong. “We know Amicia Rajani took the sword and we know you’re heading into the Gauntlight. That’s way too dangerous and you all should go home.” They denied it all. Amicia was not seen and the other 3 seemed to be delaying us. He made an intimidation roll on Oakwood’s sister and rolled so well; she started crying. Eventually, we just went past them and into the cave and talked to Amicia. As we suspected, she had the missing sword. TerStegan repeated his accusation but it didn’t work so well. But it did force out what had really happened. Eventually. The sword had broken itself out of the case and flown to her in her room. She assumed it had “chosen” her as the last blood of the Rajani family line. Given the stuff that been happening around Otrari and the evidence, that was probably true. Her plan was to embrace her presumed destiny and go become an adventurer. She was heading to Absolum (not the Gauntlight) and was hiding in the cave because the town was looking for her. And talked her friends into coming too, although only the Gobin was planning on doing the adventuring thing.
There were more discussions with TerStegan doing most of the talking. He believed her story and would support her goals but she needed to go home first and explain what had happened. She was reluctant. Oakwood tossed in that her father, in addition to being worried about her missing daughter, was being accused of stealing the sword. She had to clear his name, at the very least. Eventually, with promises of support from TerStegan, we talked them into going home. Oakwood went to get Longsaddle with Clarisa while the other two went to the Rajani home. Oakwood filled in Longsaddle and advised him that tack, not force was needed. Especially, given that he could be working for the Rajani family in the near future. We all came together and the two “adults” had a secret meeting. They agreed to take the sword into custody until they could do their due diligence of investigation. TerStagen was mad about that but got out authoritied. TerStegan was certain the sword would escape soon enough and told them to put a guard on it 24/7 so that when it left, they wouldn’t have to reaccuse anyone. With that, we ended that side plot thread for now.
TerStegan decided to write a short easy song about how the sword chose Amicia in hopes of swinging public opinion to his point of view. Unfortunately, that was taken as proof that her father is destined to take over as mayor. Oakwood stopped by his parent’s house to give his father a heads up. He was thinking, as mayor, he’d be pulled into Longsaddle’s investigation and he wanted to try to give him the right information before it got muddled up. However, his father realized the impact this might have on the election. He proposed starting a rumor that Oakwood was “chosen” by the Otari holy symbol relic. Oakwood didn’t want to be dishonest and pointed out that he had never been that popular in town. Black Sheep and such. Maybe his older sister was a better choice. He left his father to scheme. But it doesn’t look good for the upcoming election, at least for the Memhemes family. We went back to the cabin to get a night’s sleep before returning to the Gauntlight. This was all the same day we rescued the dwarf from level 4.
Looking at the architectural plans we recently found, there were 3 secret areas on level 3 we never got to so we decided to finish it off. First was another teleportation room that was otherwise unremarkable. Next was a secret reading room off the Restricted Area that we had burned. In the big room, we found a giant skeleton that seemed to have toppled over in the fire. There was nothing left in there but the secret room was unharmed. In there we found 3-4 potions. However, we did not have Xeelie so we couldn’t identify them. We also found Belcora’s journal, however Xeelie was the only one that could read the demon language. Lastly, we found specifications on the construction of the teleportation circles. It would be possible to use them to fix the circles but we needed someone with a lot of crafting skill. We miss Xeelie. Hopefully her new version has all the same skills. The circle on the first floor was the only one that was damaged but given time and money, even it could be fixed.
Lastly was the presumed office of the Scribner ghost. We were hesitant to take on a haunt but decided to go for it. We were reminded that her room had a body with armor, a portrait of the chief craftsmen and a small iron key. All of which we had already taken. Brisco and Oakwood went in to try to convince her that she was dead (see body) and that it was time to move on. Figuring it was a Haunt/skill challenge. However, it turned out to be another boss battle. Once again, she had super high stats to make her a challenge for 4-5 characters all by herself. Like a 25 AC. Brisco went first. He spent an action to convince her not to fight (succeeded but failed) and then hit her with a 2 action heal (harm). She went, doing an AOE Moanful Groan. Brisco missed the Fort save and was Slowed 1. Oakwood made his and the other two were too far away. She then crit Brisco for 39 points of damage. We attacked and/or moved up and attacked. Brisco did Battlefield Medicine on himself but the next round, was hit again for 25+ more. Oakwood and Clarisa were doing full damage with vitality damage but TerStegan’s damage was getting resisted. But he crit so he did more anyway.
After 3-4 rounds, it was over. Oakwood used Ocean Balm to heal Brisco and Brisco healed himself with another 10-minute Treat Wounds. Meanwhile, her office was searched. We found some valuable books in a cabinet after TerStegan busted it open. He crit failed his Pick Locks and broken them first. And then crit succeeded with the Force Open. In there were also plans for the Gauntlight itself. It would take time but if we could figure out how it worked, we might be able to figure out how to stop it from working. However, it was in a language we didn’t know. Maybe Xeelie did. We also got a side view handout showing it going 400 feet down. If we understood it correctly, there were 7 levels and we were on level 3. And had briefly been on level 4. Levels after 4 seemed to be very high? Not sure. By this point, Paul was asleep so we stopped there. The plan next time is to go deal with the ghost that was fixing books. Is she a haunt or another boss battle? The last thing on this level was that wooden golem in the private library. Are we tough enough to fight it or is it one of those unbeatable monsters? Hopefully a Recall Knowledge will tell us what to do.
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Pathfinder Game 30 - 02/21/2025 - Detective Orc Smash is on the Case!
Written by David Green
BTO was in Hawaii and DG was late due to Skype issues. When he did get on, he asked where we were at with regard to the Free Archetype offer that Brian had emailed the week before. It had not come up. Dan hadn’t had a chance to do enough research. Dave wasn’t even sure what to do with his Druid let alone another archetype. And Paul hadn’t checked his email all week. Once it was explained to him, he was 100% on board. This would allow him to take his first Bard feat at 4th instead of 10th (due to his need to finish off his Marshal dedication.). He could achieve the Fighter(Marshal)/Bard of his dreams. DG took Kineticist with the Wood element to give him some capabilities he wouldn’t get from Monk without using focus points. So those two updated their characters in Foundry.
A couple of rule clarifications. Because there was no mention in the book to the contrary, you had to meet the preqs to take the free archetype. For most, that’s a +2 in the prime stat. There was mention of waiving them but only if players were being “forced” to take a particular archetype which we are not. However, it was also ruled that the free archetype exists in parallel to your original character so the “two feats in an archetype before you can start a new archetype” did not apply. They still apply to your base character progression. Paul wanted to know if he could use one of his fighter feats to take an additional bard feat at 8th. Brian ruled against that for now. They are on separate tracks so you can’t use class feats for the free archetype and vice versa. It is our assumption that BTO will stick with Rogue/Witch, advancing in both now. Lastly, pathfinder builder has an option to include the free archetypes but only if you bought the paid version for $5.99. Dan did so and Paul was considering it. In theory, if you can do something there, it was “legal.” However, Foundry isn’t that smart. It pretty much lets you do what you want. So, the legality of some of these rule nuisances depend on what program you have access to.
Back to the game. After defeating the Gibbering Mouther, they explored the cave and found a passageway south. After following it a bit, they concluded it was the same passageway (and the same Gibbering Mouther) we had run into under Otari. We tried to get going when it was realized some were still down hit points. DG successfully argued that during that hour of exploration mode, we could have healed up. So, we were ready to go. Late start. We went back to the library to find most of it burnt. All those books. The room with the giant idol was also burned away. We did find sand all over the place. If you remember, we found a barrel of sand for fire fighting in one of the small rooms. But that meant someone was using it. Probably Augrael again. But the fire damage ended about there. We headed for the Dwarf we failed to save last time. The reading Fey had moved one room over but was still occupied. He seemed extra annoyed by our presence but did nothing. We continued. Luckily Oakwood remembered the trapped door and used his Mage Hand to avoid it. Through a couple of secret doors and we were back to the Will O Wisp room.
The Dwarf from town was still alive but in dire shape. Still chained to the table, groaning for help. The WoW was nowhere to be seen and there was no blue light. TerStegan took a crack at the locks. With a +1 from Oakwood’s Aid, he rolled a 20 for a crit success. That opened two locks. The next lock, they failed. His picks had one failure left in them. They succeeded on the next two and he was freed. Meanwhile, Brisco was doing a medical assessment. The guy was in bad shape. Evidently, he had been captured by a blue skin bald woman a year ago and brought down here for torture. (For the rest of the night, Brisco asked if any new person we met was blue.) Brisco did a Treat Wounds and used a Healing Wand charge to get him from almost dead to badly wounded. He also had all kinds of conditions on him. We decided we had to get him back to town. We made it back to the cart without issue, although it was slow going with him, and headed back to Otari.
Before we got to the turn off for the clubhouse, we ran into our rival teen gang including Oakwood’s sister and TerStegan’s sort of girlfriend, Amicia Rajani. Brisco managed to dart into the woods but with the cart and the dwarf, the rest just met them. They claimed to be going camping but they were acting suspiciously. Amicia, in particular. They were equipped appropriately but they could also be heading to the Gauntlight. We advised them not to go but they would not be dissuaded. The goblin examined the wounds and bandages of the dwarf and made some adjustments. We think they were valid. Oakwood asked his sister how she was feeling, outside earshot of the rest. She said better but was evasive, looking toward Amicia. Eventually, we passed on by, although the goblin decided to stay with the wounded back to town. Brisco lingered in the woods, hoping to overhear some clue after the rest of us left but got nothing. He tried to follow them but missed his Stealth roll. He caught up. He sent his familiar to the cabin, in case they did something there, as the rest of us headed to town. At a mile distance, he could sense the emotional state of Saps. It was concerned/panicked. We decided to send the fastest, Oakwood, to the cabin as the rest pressed on.
Oakwood ran into Saps before he got there. He had a note from the high priestess addressed to the heroes of Otari. Evidently someone had stolen the ceremonial sword of Rosegaurd Rajani and she needed our help solving the mystery. She had given the note to some girls heading towards the Gauntlight and asked them to drop it off. Not sure why they didn’t mention it but it was pretty obvious they were hiding something. It said that Carmen Rajani is being accused since he’s been trying to gain procession of his family’s heirloom for years. The guards thought it would have taken an expert thief and/or magic user to get it. Oakwood scooped up Saps and headed to town. When he ran into the goblin, he begged her to stop his sister from going to the Gauntlight. He made a decent roll and the goblin decided to go to his family bakery and get some fermented muffins before going. (Oakwood’s mother had warned him to never eat those muffins.) Meanwhile the rest made it to the dwarf’s family bar. His mother was most grateful. She gave us a strong metal shield with her family crest on it. Unfortunately, no one would use it. It’ll be unfortunate when it shows up in the local pawn shop. (100 gp) The high priestess was sent for and did some stuff for the dwarf. He needs sleep more than anything else. (And maybe some PTSD counseling.) And then briefed the group on the theft. The same info from the note.
We all met at the Dawn Library and did our best CSI. At first glance, the glass case was busted and the sword gone. We puzzled as to why the guards thought magic was needed for a smash and grab. But on closer examination, the glass pane was “phased” out of the case without disturbing the mounting brackets and then broken. Brisco suggested using our Mending cantrip scroll to put the glass back together to get some clues however Clarisa wanted to transcribe it first. That would take time and we sort of moved on. Brisco changed into a dog, hoping his nose would learn something. He made a roll but there were just too many people through here for that to have any chance. Everyone was assuming Mr. Rajani took it, however Oakwood suggested (seconds before Brisco) that it might have been the daughter. If she was going into the dungeon (why, we don’t know) maybe she thought she needed the sword.
He headed to Longsaddle and found him talking to an irate Mr. Rajani. He resented the accusation and did not consent to his shop and home being searched. When he spotted Xeelie, he was eager to talk to her. (Too bad Brian wasn’t there.) We were all invited in. His daughter was missing and wanted Xeelie’s help finding her. We weren’t aware of any relationship between her and the Rajani family but we weren’t Xeelie either. We searched her room. We found three things. We found letters, tied in a bundle. They were mostly addressed to TerStegan with one to Oakwood. But obviously never sent. We decided not to invade her privacy by reading them. We found that one pane of her window had been removed and broken much like the library. It was too small to use as an escape. The working theory is that it was practice for the spell used there. We did not recall her having any magical training. Just a blacksmith/craftperson. Lastly, we found Xeeile’s doll familiar Lucy. However, Xeelie had Lucy so this was a duplicate. Our theory was that she was dabbling in pact magic like Xeelie to get the spells needed. Maybe coerced by a higher power?
We felt time was of the essence. We told the father we had some ideas and were acting on them ASAP. We told Longsaddle a bit more so that he could take the heat off the father. We left the cart at the bar, figuring it would slow us down, and headed to the Gauntlight. We tried some tracking but the path was too worn. We arrived just as darkness fell. At which point, Brian shared one more piece of information. Near here, on the water is an old smugglers hideout. The kids from town have been known to camp/party there from time to time. With magic muffins? So, we decided to head that way. As we approached, we could see the light of a fire. Teens, smugglers, demons? And stopped there. So, no combat but maybe a nice break from endless dungeon door roulette of death.
Pathfinder Game 29 - 02/07/2025 - Will-O Wisped!
Written by David Green
Evidently Brian had forgotten to apply something to Xeeile last time so we started with a save for her. She missed the Fort save and took a little damage. But was also Drained 1 which removes your level in hit points off the top which needs a long rest to recover. And poisoned with another save in an hour or it gets one stage worse. We started. Oakwood opened the door to the south that the villain came through, figuring it was safe. And had to make the same Fort save. He crit failed and got Drained 2 plus modest damage. Brisco did Treat Poison on them but that just gives +2 the eventual next save. For Oakwood, he was starting down a 3rd, most of which weren’t recoverable. And we were already down TerStegan and most of our high level spells. We also heard the screams again. We did a quick search of the office of the boss from last time. Amongst his papers were 3 scrolls and plans (i.e. maps) of levels 1-3. More screams and we found a secret door. And then another and entered a chamber.
We found a missing dwarf from town (side quest) chained to a stone table in the middle of a round room. He was inside the blue light we saw a level up. (Not to be confused with the blue light from the skeletons last time.) He was unconscious, being harmed and healed over and over. A skill challenge. As usual, without initiative order, it was a bit chaotic. We could not move the table or move him without unlocking him. We knew the blue light meant significant damage. Brisco immediately concluded that the copper bath tub in the last room would shield us but a Recall Knowledge from Xeelie said that wouldn’t work since it was already flowing through floors. Oakwood thought he could unlock him with his Mage Hand if we could find the right key. He had some keys we found along the way and tried the one that looked closest. He had just determined it wasn’t the right key when it turned into a severe combat challenge.
A Will o Wisp attacked from invisible surprise. It crit Xeelie and did 40 points. Since she was already depleted from the leftover trap, she was at 1 hit point. (It had an initiative of 33.) It then thankfully missed Oakwood. Oakwood then missed (it had an AC of 29!) and missed again. He retreated/fled. He’d need a 15 on his first attack and a 20 on his second to hit. Xeelie also fled, facing the same long odds. Clarisa pondered her spell choices and used Divine Lance cantrip. She missed, by rolling a 19, due to partial cover from her line of sight. Since casters were still only trained in combat magic and didn’t have magic weapons, they were 3 worse than the melee guys. At least against AC but its saves were likely just as high. She fled. It moved to block the door back to the dining room, went invisible and attacked with lightning. It crit Brisco but only did 25. Oakwood missed twice and fled. He ran through its square but it only cost double movement. Brisco, after some convincing, fled as well.
Xeelie cast her focus heal spell on Brisco as she headed up the stairs. Clarisa fled to the next level ending her movement next to the creepy reader in the lounge. It moved at least 35 (60) and got next to Oakwood and Brisco on the stairs. It attacked Brisco. Since its to hit was +19, it hit Oakwood on a 3 and crit on a 13. Others were higher or lower but it wasn’t good. It did 29 to Brisco with a crit, taking him out. Oakwood grabbed his body, leaving his dropped steel shield, and double moved onto level 3. It continued to chase. Any hopes of it staying on its level were dashed. Xeelie activated her +10 to speed item and fled. Clarisa fled and jumped into her arms. Brisco got 6 back. Reset his initiative and stayed in Oakwood’s arms. It moved, went invisible and attacked the winged fey and missed. We continued to flee to level two. Brian did a monster battle to see how that fight might end.
We had two with minimal hit points, still down high level spells, still two drained and poisoned. Because the last 3 wouldn’t recover without a long rest, we decided to make for the cabin. We wanted to make a heroic rescue of the dwarf but it was just a bridge too far. At least it seemed that way to us. Maybe at full strength and full numbers, we might have had a chance but we never hit it even once. Back home, Oakwood and Xeelie saved against the poison. We did two long rests to get the Drain back. In that time, we sold what treasure we had accumulated since the last trip to town. Oakwood and TerStegan bought +1 armor, borrowing money from Clarissa since she got her +1 armor as treasure. Brian marked the side quest as failed and asked if we were going to tell his mother. Since the players didn’t actually know he was dead, we did not. Plus, maybe we could at least retrieve his body. We then debated where to attack the dungeon next. Armed with the maps, we could see the areas of level 3 that we’d skipped in our attempt to save the dwarf. We’d go there. With that scary looking dread knight thing lurking in that area?
We came in the usual way and took a peek at the fey. He was still reading so it must have won the fight. So, in retrospect and free of the panic fleeing of the moment, if we had taken a short rest, we might have been able to go save that dwarf after all. Or be killed. It’s so hard to know what’s hard and what’s impossible in this system. The restricted section was mostly empty. The next room to the north had been cleaned out as well. There was a 15-foot statue that looked a lot like Belcora. It seemed to be stitched together out of pieces of dead bodies. The stink was even worse in this room. TerStegan bravely crept in and lit it on fire. As the room filled with smoke, we left and closed the doors. Xeelie tried to seal the edges with old rugs with minimal success. Brian seemed eager to punish us with the “fires in confined space” rules but the room was big, the ceilings high, the walls stone so it didn’t seem that dire. TBD.
Meanwhile, we went south. It took a bit to find the secret doors we knew were there from the map/plans. That led to an underground grotto with our old friend, the Gibbering Mouther. It was one of those “flee or die” monsters when it killed us at 2nd. Is it the same or has it been scaled up to 5th to be impossible again. We attacked. At least we were full up and had TerStegan this time. Brisco saved versus the confusion but not Clarisa. She failed and attacked TerStegan and missed. (Remember the good old D&D days when Confusion meant a random action. In PE2, it means full attack on a random thing and since there were more of us than of it, our odds were not good.) It went, firing goo at Ter Stegen, hitting once. At least he made his DC24 Fort save against the blindness. TerStegan missed his Will save, used a hero point and made that save. (At least those that save were immune for 10 rounds.) TerStegan hit but because it was a slashing weapon, a new mouth appeared and attacked him back as a reaction. That reaction did more damage than his attack. Plus, TerStegan was taking persistent bleed damage.
Oakwood missed the Will save, used a hero point, missed again, used a hero point and missed again. Thus confused, he attacked TerStegan, hitting once and putting Stun 3 on him. Brisco hit it with a claw. Clarisa missed her save, used a hero point and saved. She hit it with a full load of magic missiles doing 42. It attacked TerStegan and missed by his new magical armor bonus. And flowed onto his square. He rolled a 20 on his Reflex save and it went on by. Xeelie attempted to tumble through it to give herself flanking but failed. And then swung and missed. And cast Fasting healing on TerStegan. TerStegan lost all his actions due to the stun but got his fast healing, took his persistent damage and saved against it. Oakwood missed the Will save again and attacked Brisco this time. He Stun 1 him and then missed him 3 times. Brisco cast a Gale Blast but then it was pointed out it had no range. Clarisa missed with TK, used a hero point and hit. That moved it to badly damaged. It attacked Xeelie and hit by 1 on a 7 on the die. She took 22 plus the persistent. Then restrained her and then tried to engulf her. She went, escaped and cast Live Wire for 17. Some of it was slashing so it did 16 as a reaction. She then took the persistent damage and didn’t save. TerStegan finally got to go and crit, of course. Did 51 and killed it.
So, it was another tough fight but no permanent damage and few spells used. We searched around and found some coins in the pools. And followed the tunnels long enough to confirm they linked to those on level 2. And stopped there.
Pathfinder Game 28 - 01/24/2025 - Persistant Worms
Written by David Green
We talked to Augrael again and he was actually helpful. He was happy to see the dead librarians and seemed eager to start munching. Evidently the Morlocks had been displaced from below and he was infected by the ghoul pox during their migration. So, he didn’t really have any loyalty to them. We tried to pump him for information. He wouldn’t say anything about what monsters were below or the dread knight we had seen in the next room but he did say that the column of green light was “tapping” an innocent victim that we would probably “like”. Townsperson or maybe one of the side quests? And that they’d be dead by midnight. After some discussions, we decided to forgo finishing off level 3 and make for level 4. He gave us a map of parts of the next level but it was so crude, I’m not sure anyone gained anything from it. Southeast from the stairs behind Belcora’s office.
We came to a grand dining room with 8 doors. In there were 4 skeletons that we assumed would animate. Xeelie tried to do a Recall Knowledge to recall their resistances and Brian pointed us to a catalog of foes we’ve faced on a tab in Foundry. However, there wasn’t much in there but question marks and it turned out these we Corpselights, not skeletons. They weren’t too tough but they resisted slashing and piercing. Double from bashing though. Once they dropped, the blue light animating them moved to find another body. The only thing that seemed to affect those was Clarisa’s Vitality Lash. So, we bashed them and she finished them off. One got away and returned with a new corpse just as we thought it was over. Unfortunately, Oakwood was standing by the door and got crit. That moved him from barely injured to badly injured. TerStegan wasn’t so great either nor was Xeelie. The plan was to take 10 or 20 to heal up and refocus but the door to the south opened before we could.
Volluk Azrinae arrived, identified us as intruders and attacked. As usual, the big monster went first. (This was a 7th level monster, upsized to 8th to make us sweat.) It seemed to be a human shaped bag of bugs. We’ve encountered Belcora’s chief craftsman at each level in some form. He cast Worm Repast on TerStegan. He took 6d6+4 plus persistent damage and was almost out. With more persistent damage to come. He then used a hero point to reroll and critically failed instead. So rather than bleed out before he can go, he just dropped. It then Demoralized Brisco for good measure. Clarissa cast a full load of magic missile and at least moved it to injured. Its AC and DCs were up at 27. Xeelie, once she cast fast healing on herself, bravely ran across the room and closed the door since Volluk hadn’t actually stepped in yet. Oakwood grabbed Ter Stegan and his axe and got back to the stairs. The DC of 27 was too high to stop the persistent damage and stabilizing him wouldn’t do any good since he'd just take more damage anyway. Brisco cast AOE heal and got him up.
Volluk went next and cast Dimension Door through the closed door into the room. Unfortunately, he arrived right where the stairs entered the room. That really gummed up the movement for the next few rounds. And ended any thoughts of fleeing. He then attacked Clarisa and critted. (Of course.) That attack did no damage but did 4d8+2*10 persistent damage. She cast more magic missiles and it was badly damaged. (That spell doesn’t have to hit or best a DC.) She then took 47 and missed the flat check. TerStegan stood and his axe was given to him for free since Oakwood used an action to bring it. But he couldn’t reach or get past us and it. Brian allowed him to shove past us and get engaged. But he missed its AC 27 by 1. He then missed the Acrobatics roll Brian made him roll for the shove and switch maneuver. He missed it and fell prone. However, he took minimal damage and saved against the persistent damage. He was barely conscious. Xeelie ran up and rolled a 19 on the die and hit. Plus, her sneak attack damage. But he was still only badly damaged. Of course, he resisted some of it, being made of bugs.
Brisco missed a Gouging Claw. Oakwood did the same position switch that TerStegan did to get in range and rolled a 1 on the Acrobatics. But he had just earned a hero point so he used it. But then missed anyway. It was Volluk’s turn again. (Using actions to keep people from dying really impacts our damage output.) First, he regenerated 7. Then he stepped into Xeelie square. Reflex save 25. Saved for half. 17/2 for 8. And then did a 30-foot cone on a 27 Reflex save. Oakwood and Brisco critically failed and TerStegan and Clarisa just failed. TerStegan used Dive for Cover hero card to automatically save but become Clumsy 1. But still took half. Brisco used his Halfling Luck and just saved. So, everyone took 15 and Oakwood took 30. TerStegan stood up, ran around to get flanking with Brisco and missed by 1. Xeelie delayed her turn to try to get flanking (and sneak dice) but Brisco didn’t end up moving. Instead he turned into a Giant Insect and attacked. He did 13 but again it was reduced. Xeelie got out of its square and attempted to give herself flat footedness with her Tumble Through. She could not best its Reflex DC. She then did a recall Knowledge but like everything else, that DC was too high for it. She missed her attack, used a hero point and hit but it wasn’t enough.
Somewhere in there Clarisa went down. Again, Oakwood Medicine skill wasn’t good enough to do any good. He instead did Battlefield Medicine on her for 2D8. That at least reset her Dying clock. (I’m not sure we did the Dying, Wounded and Dead rules right but TerStegan would have probably died if we had.) Oakwood then moved and attacked. He missed, used his last hero point and hit with a crit. He rolled crap damage but it was enough. Its bugs started to scatter and evidently we needed an AOE damager to finish them off. Clarisa stood and cast her Floating Flame on the square. She needed a 15 flat check to succeed. She missed it, used a hero point and made it. And then took 31 more points from the persistent and dropped. But somehow in there the persistent ended. TerStegan went next. He ran over to her and administered a healing potion for 19. Somehow, we all lived. We hid in the storeroom for 5 10-minute blocks to do healing and refocusing. It seemed like a lot but it’s better than the 5 hours it used to take. Nothing more attacked us.
During that last 10 minutes, those not refocusing searched the dining room. The villain had nothing however the skeletons did. We got 48 gold and a Bracelet of Dashing (+1 on acrobatics rolls and +10 movement for 1 minute once a day). That went to Xeelie who was planning on building one when she had the cash. We also found a Viper arrow. (When shot, it turns into a viper and acts like a summoned creature.) I think the plan was to sell it since no one much uses a bow. Although Brisco was talking about taking it and using it to create a trap at our clubhouse. Not sure what use that would be but Dave hates to give up anything magical. He held onto that smoking spear for 3 levels, despite not being able to switch from two handed weapon to a shield to a caster fast enough to get any use out of it. So, we’re back to almost full hit points. The casters are depleted, especially of their high-level spell. But we’ve got someone to save so I think we will press on next time. We did two rooms in one night. This is going to take a while.
We started where we left off, wounded with books and ghoul gore scattered about the library. Xeelie and TerStegan had a handful of hit points and Oakwood had a bit more. The question was to run or heal a bit and then run. However, Brian told us we saw ghostly footprints walking through the battlefield. We thought they were from an Otari spirit. So, the question became to follow them or not. It was now or never. Two were for not and two were for following. Clarisa was not online yet to vote. TerStegan broke the tie by going so the rest followed. I think Brisco managed to cast his Goodberry and get a few hit points into some of us.
We followed them through the restricted section where we saw a dangerous looking undead knight. It ignored us so we avoided it. Someone made a recall knowledge and determined it was too powerful for us. We went down a level, concerned with so much left unexplored on level 3. We came into a natural cavern with a lake and a platform built over it. There was one other door and some land between the lake and the walls. The spirit walked to a rogue ranger sort of guy who turned towards us. There was also a giant wolf on a bed. The dude started barking and growling when Oakwood asked if he was Otari. The spirit then went across the water. At this point, TerStegan said he had gone far enough and we went back up. We’ll have to figure that guy out another day.
Back to heal or flee. We reached a consensus pretty quick to do 10-20 minutes of healing before deciding that. But where? We wanted to avoid active monsters and gore and get out of the way. We decided to head to the secret teleportation room however when we went down that hall, we ran into that morlock ghoul that loaned us those books. Augrael. He had questions about the sounds of battle, our wounded state and such. Xeelie was still disguised as a ghoul and tried to talk to him. He guided us to the guest reading room but he was becoming more suspicious and wouldn’t leave us alone. Oakwood noted the stairs up and suggested we just leave him. We did. Once up, we went to that level’s secret portal room and healed up some. Still wounded and at least 3 of us infected with ghoul fever, we decided to go home. Oakwood led us through to level 1 and out. Back at home, Brisco did Treat Disease on all of us. That gives you a +2 on your next save. No one missed it. We got a long rest or two and headed back down.
The next discussion was where to re-enter level 3. We decided to go the way we came last time so that we wouldn’t have to face another barricade and potentially raise another alarm. However, that was communicated poorly to Brian who placed us at a different entry point. We decided to just bust through but neither strong guys could do it. So, we went back up to level 2, around and back down to where we wanted to be in the first place. 2 hours of effort and we were back to where we stopped last time. We could see someone had moved some books. We wanted to go to the restricted section but decided to search this area first. Finish it off. We had a half dozen doors of potential doom to face.
The first door was to the workroom. In there was a ghost (not a haunt) who was busy repairing books. However, on closer inspection, she was going through the motions but not able to actually touch anything. Xeelie talked to her a bit but she seemed single minded. There was a door that led to her bedroom but we decided to avoid a confrontation and hope there was nothing of interest in there. Next was the repair room full of supplies. We searched it and TerStegan found 2 scrolls of mending and one of hypercognation. Next was Belcorra’s office. We actually had the key for that one. We picked up an everburn crystal in the first room and ran into a fey in the next. He was adding illustrations to a book on torturer. Laughing to himself. We tried to talk to him but he ignored us. From there were stairs down and a washroom. We searched the book shelves in the main room and found a scroll of ghost weapon and formula of make undead. We left the fey and moved on.
Next was the north hall. The first door required a key we found in the sofa cushion in the office. In there was what appeared to be a private library. Visions of knowledge and/or cash danced in our eyes. However, there was a big wooden construct in there. When TerStegan stepped in, it moved to attack. Brisco changed his mind a couple times and ended up firing a cantrip. Oakwood waited for TerStegan to get out of the way. When TerStegan hit it, it did a reaction splinter attack. That crit for 30+ points. Oakwood moved in and missed twice. It went, firing a zero range AOE hail of splinters which crit TerStegan and Oakwood for 30+. And then attacked and hit and crit. And like that, TerStegan was reduced to a couple of hit points. Panic. It had an AC of 25, 5 points of damage resistance and +15 to hit. Our Leaf Druid tried to talk to it, plant to plant, but determined that it was a mindless guard. However, he did learn that if we left the room, it probably wouldn’t follow. (Like that wasn’t the plan.) Xeelie cast her fast healing focus spell on TerStegan and got out. He grabbed Brisco and got out. Lastly Oakwood left, closing and locking the door behind him.
We healed up again. We found another wash room and a room that was under construction. Or was 500 years ago. The next room was surprising warm. In there was a Vengeful Stove. It had fire attacks with reach and 13 points of damage resistance since it was an iron stove. And couldn’t be critted. We had no choice but to grind through it. We got battered. Oakwood hit it twice (with crits that didn’t count) and one of the features of flurry of blows is that if both hit, they count as one for the purposes of damage resistance. That finally finished it off. We searched the ashes and found a copper ring with a song bird engraved on it. Xeelie fast identified it and it was a ventriloquist ring. +1 deception and once per day ventriloquist spell. TerStegan took it for now but it might be better to sell it. At that point, it was getting late so we decided to finish off a few more doors and hit the restricted section next time. We went into the safety office which had sand and buckets to put out fires. Next was the break area which had some beds and a bunch of body parts served up on a table. We did 10 minutes of focus point healing and headed for the restricted area. But first, Augrael showed up again so I guess we have to deal with him first.
