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Finding the Spark (Pathfinder 1E Quest)

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Arc 3 Post 25: Threads of Shadow, Marks of Blood
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    • Threads of Shadow, Marks of Blood ​

    24 of Arodus 4707 A.R. (Absalom Reckoning)

    "Get the body clear!" you shout, thinking of all that might be lost to the flames yes, but also of what might be freed. Shamans tend to have all manner of dangerous things tucked away and doubly so those who truck with searing hell-things. Cob is game, alas Cob is also four foot tall, ears and all and not used to leveraging something quite so girthy. All he manages to do is roll the corpse in the baking mud. Thus your next words are a curse into a spell flowing, the shadows to snare the elementals. It's like bidding a snake to swallow a hot coal. The robes catch, thread of gold shinning bright, flesh boils and crackles, no different from any other form of flesh and blood...

    Cob Escape Artist: 1d20+10 = 14 (Failure)
    Elemental Will Save: 1d20+4 = 17 (Success)

    All the while the slaughter in the center continues, two dead on either side by fang, by claw and spear, no quarter asked or given as only trickery can breed. How the warrior who had been on the receiving end of enchanted slumber and goblin steel is still standing you cannot say, but they're bold enough to meet the chief, though either pain or darkness betrays them, steel goes awry with a hiss parting only air as Mina tries to snare the other warrior into slumber.

    Men at Arms take 4 Hits for a total of 22 Damage -> 2 Dead and 1 Wounded 11/12
    Iruxi warriors take     3 hits for a total of 34 Damage -> 2 Dead and 1 Wounded 8/14
    Knight One takes 0 hits from Chief Sirkan
    Men At Arms Morale Check: Automatically passed due to presence of the Knights
    Chief Sirkan takes     0 hits from Knight One
    Knight Two Will Save Against Sleep 1d20+4 =     23 (Success)

    You do not need to speak the language to understand the gestures the armored figure is making with mailed fist as he charges and Mina drops the the floor. 'Kill the witches in the back'. Luckily for you, they had not reckoned with Gorok who meets the charge by hooking his axe under the foe's shoulder, cutting though mail and flesh, only battle hardened reflexes keeping them from losing an arm altogether. The answering blow barely parts Gorok's scales, though it oozes more red than it aught. Even twenty feet away you can smell it. The iron garbed warrior is looking at the corpse and they are laughing.

    A poor sign that, some distant part of your mind notes dryly, though you do not get to ponder things overlong as Warty leaps forward and slams into the knight to had tried to hurt Cob and had managed to hurt Gorok smashing him into one of the willow tree with a great crack, pinning them in place. He can't be trying to swallow the armored warrior whole, but that's what it looks like.

    Knight Two takes 1 hit for a total of 12 Damage from Gorok -> Now at 17/29
    Gorok takes 1 hit for a total of 4 Damage and 1 Bleed from Knight Two -> Now at 28/33
    Warty Bull Rush against Knight Two: 1d20+4 = 24 (Critical Success) -> Knight Two is now Grappled

    Again the spell of shadows flows from your lips, this time the rhythm changed to match the dance of flames, this time the sorcery holds and held fast is the living bonfire just as Cob rolls the body out of the way. There's no time to breathe a sigh of relief, there's hardly any change to breathe at all as the crossbowmen, those who can still see at least shoot wildly at Gorok. While your companion's armor sheds most of the bolts one lodges deep.

    Elemental Will Save: 1d20+4 = 15 (Failure)
    Crossbowmen Morale Check: 1d20+1 =     21 (Critical Success)
    Gorok takes     1 hit from the Crossbowmen for a total of 6 Damage -> Now at 22/33

    What do you do?

    [] Rush out to heal Gorok

    [] Cast Bless to offer some small help to all your allies

    [] Write in

    OOC: Well you have to hand it to the Chelixians, they do not go down easy.
     
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    • All is going relatively well

    We should go and helo Gorok. We are not too good at murdering, but we are a good healer.
     
    This is a pretty chaotic little battle going on here.

    @DragonParadox, what is the Halfling Sorcerer doing? Her Magic Missile spells wouldn't babysitting very hard, but they've got enough range to hit from anywhere in the battlefield and they never miss.

    Gorok is not in serious danger yet, and our spell slots are definitely running low. Rather than trying to heal him, we should cast Bless. It has a huge AoE and though the effect is minor, it will boost all of our nearby allies. That can add up to make a significant difference, especially at low level where everyone's attack bonuses are so low. Also, Mina is earlier in the Initiative order than we are, so she'll be able to heal Gorok sooner, and without using a spell slot.

    [X] Cast Bless to offer some small help to all your allies
    -[X] Mina uses her Healing Hex on Gorok as soon as she is able.
     
    [X] Cast Bless to offer some small help to all your allies
    -[X] Mina uses her Healing Hex on Gorok as soon as she is able.

    Damn, battle is going a little nuts, but Warty for that crit and grapple! Best toad! :D
     
    Massgamer said:
    [X] Cast Bless to offer some small help to all your allies
    -[X] Mina uses her Healing Hex on Gorok as soon as she is able.

    Damn, battle is going a little nuts, but Warty for that crit and grapple! Best toad! :D
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    He's a Battle Toad!

    /fondly remembers the old Sega Genesis 'Battle Toads' game
     
    Technically what Warty did was not a grapple in the full mechanical sense, he was going for a bull rush since he wanted to get the knight away from Gorok, but since he crit I had him pin the knight between himself and a tree.
     
    [X] Cast Bless to offer some small help to all your allies
    -[X] Mina uses her Healing Hex on Gorok as soon as she is able.
    DragonParadox said:
    Technically what Warty did was not a grapple in the full mechanical sense, he was going for a bull rush since he wanted to get the knight away from Gorok, but since he crit I had him pin the knight between himself and a tree.
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    Best boy and best investment ever
     
    [X] Cast Bless to offer some small help to all your allies
    -[X] Mina uses her Healing Hex on Gorok as soon as she is able.
     
    [X] Cast Bless to offer some small help to all your allies
    -[X] Mina uses her Healing Hex on Gorok as soon as she is able.
     
    [X] Cast Bless to offer some small help to all your allies
    -[X] Mina uses her Healing Hex on Gorok as soon as she is able.

    Okay, buffs are good, and I trust Goldfish judgment.
    Also, we'll need stand up to heal Gorok, which is move action.
     
    [X] Cast Bless to offer some small help to all your allies
    -[X] Mina uses her Healing Hex on Gorok as soon as she is able.
     
    Arc 3 Post 26: Breaking Point
  • Threadmarks
    • Breaking Point ​

    24 of Arodus 4707 A.R. (Absalom Reckoning)

    As another pair of arcane lights flow towards the knight Cob had stabbed, to strike though not to kill you cry out: "Alala! Alala!" The shriek comes unbidden, an echo of a sound never heard with your own ears. Spines straighten, knowing not why, the wounded are hardened against pain and those kin to the fallen driven not to fear but vengeance. The warm-bloods will fall, the servants of this 'House Thrune' will bleed, the slaves of Asmodeus burn.

    Knight One takes 5 Damage from Iolda's magic missile -> Now at 3/29

    For a moment it looks like the enemy too takes heart from the fact that none of their champions had yet fallen, then the first knight topples over in a pool of blood and mud, Cob's knife in the back of his knee finishing the job. Another of the macemen falls to throwing spear and axe as the last pair find themselves fighting back to back and surrounded by foes, helms askew, bleeding all but broken. But they know for them there is no quarter. Another Iruxi falls, his chest caved in even as Mina rushes forward, slipping nimbly between the bars of the cave to ensure that Gorok does not join them.

    Knight One takes 1 Hit for a total of 15 Damage from Cob -> Knight One is Dead
    Men at Arms take     0 Hits from Lizardmen Warriors
    Men at Arms take     2 Hits for a total of 13 Damage from Lizardmen Warriors -> One dead and One wounded 11/13
    Iruxi warriors take     2 hits for a total of 8 Damage -> 1 Unconscious 0/14
    Gorok heals 4 Damage -> Now at 26/33 Bleeding Stopped

    The axe rises, blood red in the light of the straining elemental, falls sinking deep into the leg of the knight Warty had pinned against the tree who screams out works you do not know the shape of, begging for mercy, quarter. Why he expects any warriors to renounce the glory of his death you are not sure. A ransom maybe? What would such failed warriors, their master dead their guard scattered even be worth?

    The flame still strains against the shadow...

    Knight Two takes 1 hit for a total of 7 Damage from Gorok -> Now at 10/29
    Knight Two Morale check: 1d20+4 = 15 (Failure)
    Elemental Will Save: 1d20+4 =     6 (Failure)

    Your attention is abruptly pulled to the clatter of weapons falling, the crossbowmen dropping their weapons and setting to panicked fight, the blinded colliding with the hale, though truth be told in these woods at night all of them might as well be blind and all of them are doomed.

    Crossbowmen Morale: Automatic Failure (Loss of leadership)

    "Well..." you glance at the baby, currently gulping in air for another scream to add to the sounds of battle turned rout. "Looks like you are in luck."

    All Characters Gain 966 XP

    What does Kori Focus on in the aftermath of the fight?

    Choose One:

    [] Persuade Gorok to spare the last knight, they might know something of use about why their master was so hellbent on getting his hands on Click

    [] Strip anything magical off the Inquisitor's body before throwing it to the elemental to sate its rage (If not taken Mina will handle this after she is done healing the wounded Iruxi; magical items may be lost)

    [] Lay claim to as much of the loot of the battle as you can. After all, Gorok's Band had done more than your fair share of killing

    [] Write in

    OOC: I know this is short, but what happens in the immediate aftermath will impact your loot as well as what information you get out of this so I wanted to give you the choice of what to focus on.
     
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    • I'm not super interested in finding out exactly why the Inquisitor wanted Click, because I don't think we should try to intervene any further than we already have. Too much more interference in Chelaxian politics or internal power struggles and we're likely to start seeing Devil foes.

    As for loot, our best chance for that is from saving anything magical on the Inquisitor's corpse, IMO. He probably doesn't have anything particularly amazing, but there's a chance he's got a Bag of Holding or Ring of Sustenance, or something else relatively inexpensive but potentially very useful. Even just potions or scrolls could be useful.

    The equipment carried by the soldiers is likely to be decent loot, though most of it will be bulky and difficult to transport without loading Warty heavily. Trying to resell the stuff in Cheliax could even be dangerous, depending on the markings and style of the equipment.

    [X] Strip anything magical off the Inquisitor's body before throwing it to the elemental to sate its rage (If not taken Mina will handle this after she is done healing the wounded Iruxi; magical items may be lost)
     
    [X] Strip anything magical off the Inquisitor's body before throwing it to the elemental to sate its rage (If not taken Mina will handle this after she is done healing the wounded Iruxi; magical items may be lost)

    Goldfish said:
    I'm not super interested in finding out exactly why the Inquisitor wanted Click, because I don't think we should try to intervene any further than we already have. Too much more interference in Chelaxian politics or internal power struggles and we're likely to start seeing Devil foes.

    As for loot, our best chance for that is from saving anything magical on the Inquisitor's corpse, IMO. He probably doesn't have anything particularly amazing, but there's a chance he's got a Bag of Holding or Ring of Sustenance, or something else relatively inexpensive but potentially very useful. Even just potions or scrolls could be useful.

    The equipment carried by the soldiers is likely to be decent loot, though most of it will be bulky and difficult to transport without loading Warty heavily. Trying to resell the stuff in Cheliax could even be dangerous, depending on the markings and style of the equipment.

    [X] Strip anything magical off the Inquisitor's body before throwing it to the elemental to sate its rage (If not taken Mina will handle this after she is done healing the wounded Iruxi; magical items may be lost)
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    He's no adventurer, so I really doubt he has those items for convenient travel.
    Worst case an enchanted holy symbol of Old Red, best case something for combat.
    Adventerur-utility seems the lowest chance.
     
    Artemis1992 said:
    [X] Strip anything magical off the Inquisitor's body before throwing it to the elemental to sate its rage (If not taken Mina will handle this after she is done healing the wounded Iruxi; magical items may be lost)

    He's no adventurer, so I really doubt he has those items for convenient travel.
    Worst case an enchanted holy symbol of Old Red, best case something for combat.
    Adventerur-utility seems the lowest chance.
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    True, but a Bag of Holding is not just convenient for adventurers. A scheming, low-ranking member of the Church of Asmodeus might have one to carry his easily portable wealth, important documents, incriminating evidence, etc., if only to protect it from rivals.

    Easier to trust in your own ability to secure your valuables on your person rather than a locked room or chest, especially when non-magical locks are trivially easy to bypass with or without magic, and even magical ones aren't especially impressive at lower levels. Assuming you even have access to those spells.
     
    Goldfish said:
    True, but a Bag of Holding is not just convenient for adventurers. A scheming, low-ranking member of the Church of Asmodeus might have one to carry his easily portable wealth, important documents, incriminating evidence, etc., if only to protect it from rivals.

    Easier to trust in your own ability to secure your valuables on your person rather than a locked room or chest, especially when non-magical locks are trivially easy to bypass with or without magic, and even magical ones aren't especially impressive at lower levels. Assuming you even have access to those spells.
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    On the one hand yes, on the other, wealth and documents can fit into normal bags, little need for magic here.
    Paper is inherently light and wealth can be turned into gems or high-nomination coin for ease of transport.

    Most people wouldn't waste their money on magical solutions.
     
    Goldfish said:
    I'm not super interested in finding out exactly why the Inquisitor wanted Click, because I don't think we should try to intervene any further than we already have. Too much more interference in Chelaxian politics or internal power struggles and we're likely to start seeing Devil foes.
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    We aren't done here, by far. We still need to escort out Iolda's people, and we have to decide if we want Click to be sent out with the escapees, even though the biggest threat to him is gone. We don't know if they will still come after (is it the Inquisitor's plan, or is he acting at another's behest?), or if it would be safer to leave him here if there is another party that can look after him.

    On the other hand, it's only a sidequest, and of a relatively low priority at that. I just like crossing things off my list.

    [x] Persuade Gorok to spare the last knight, they might know something of use about why their master was so hellbent on getting his hands on Click

    I am curious enough to attempt this.
     
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    [X] Strip anything magical off the Inquisitor's body before throwing it to the elemental to sate its rage (If not taken Mina will handle this after she is done healing the wounded Iruxi; magical items may be lost)

    Save the magical loot! Also, this lets Mina focus on healing Gorok's kin in general.
     
    [x] Persuade Gorok to spare the last knight, they might know something of use about why their master was so hellbent on getting his hands on Click

    I want closure on this subject. Ignorace is going to work against us.
     
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