Finding the Spark (Pathfinder 1E Quest)

If you want to use intimidation you have to try to scare Pisca into obeying, otherwise it would be diplomacy which isn't really Kori's forte.
My thinking was that we would be using fear: "If you do [thing] (i.e. kill him), [bad thing] (unspecified) will happen to you!"
So, not scared of Kori, but instead of the consequences of killing this drow.

It is also a total lie, so bluff might work?
On the other hand, would trying to direct Pisca at all take up Kori's action or could he attempt such while doing a combat action?
I ask because if it takes up Kori's action to attempt to direct Pisca to stop at knocking the alchemist then I'd prefer to not bother.

@Goldfish Gorok's here, he could Swift Charge to the Alchemist and then take a full attack action?
 
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My thinking was that we would be using fear: "If you do [thing] (i.e. kill him), [bad thing] (unspecified) will happen to you!"
So, not scared of Kori, but instead of the consequences of killing this drow.

It is also a total lie, so bluff might work?

That would be bluff since you are lying, you need to come up with the bad thing since the DC is based on how far fetched it is
 
Then just as the shouts of confusion and anger ring out though the full, just as Gorok and an enraged Sir Pisca are climbing up though the film of green the drow does the very last thing one might expect him to do. In accented, but understandable Taldan he shouts to the knight: "I surrender!"
I'll believe it when you are down at -10 HP and stabilized. No matter what faction he goes to other than other drow, he is dead. Which means he is stalling in the face of 6 PCs breaking in.

Not a bad tactics, but also a transparent one.

I think we could disable him, feed him a potion to stabilize, and throw his unconscious body to the Abductor Beast to secure him, all in 1 or 2 rounds.

Don't know about the momentum, shouldn't we be drawing other drow to us and away from the front door?

Edit:
It's not like he can see the topside. In fact *rolls sense motive* it almost looks like he was expecting something like this... or at least like Pisca, he did not offer to surrender to Cob.
Huh. So he expects to live even if taken by the authorities. Which... might not end up with a public execution, with the governor trying to avoid this kind of publicity. And the pirates have already escaped once.

I take it this fight is just a prelude to meeting the girl from the divination.
 
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That would be bluff since you are lying, you need to come up with the bad thing since the DC is based on how far fetched it is
"I can see an enchantment; he's rigged bombs to blow if he dies!" [Faced with death, a demon worshipper would care more about being spiteful to their killer much more than the wellbeing of their 'comrades']

But again, if attempting to direct Pisca costs an action from Kori, I'd much rather not try to do this.

I don't try to accept surrender and still manage to avoid the alchemist's death (very very slim set of circumstaces) that's great, and if not; ces't la vie. um.... ces't la mort?
 
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Goldfish, If we're going in for the kill on the Alchemist, should we not have Gorok help focus him down? I think that making sure he can't take any more actions is more valuable than getting a single attack in on anyone coming through the door (though I acknowledge that our poison does mean that a single attack is useful.)

Positioning questions regarding the Alchemist/door @DP:
Can we have Gorok use Fleet Charge to get in range of the Alchemist to make a full attack, but also be off to the side of the door (in case people burse through), and either be standing within distance to full attack anyone who comes through the door next turn (or at least within a 5ft step).

Alternatively, is the Alchemist within a 5ft step of Gorok right now, so Gorok can take that step and full-attack him?

Fleet Charge (Ex): As a Swift Action, you can expend one use of Mythic Power to move up to your speed. At any point during this movement, you can make a single melee or ranged attack at your highest attack bonus, adding +1 (Mythic tier) to the attack roll. This is in addition to any other attacks you make this round. Damage from this attack bypasses all Damage Reduction.
 
Goldfish, If we're going in for the kill on the Alchemist, should we not have Gorok help focus him down? I think that making sure he can't take any more actions is more valuable than getting a single attack in on anyone coming through the door (though I acknowledge that our poison does mean that a single attack is useful.)

Positioning questions regarding the Alchemist/door @DP:
Can we have Gorok use Fleet Charge to get in range of the Alchemist to make a full attack, but also be off to the side of the door (in case people burse through), and either be standing within distance to full attack anyone who comes through the door next turn (or at least within a 5ft step).

Alternatively, is the Alchemist within a 5ft step of Gorok right now, so Gorok can take that step and full-attack him?

Fleet Charge (Ex): As a Swift Action, you can expend one use of Mythic Power to move up to your speed. At any point during this movement, you can make a single melee or ranged attack at your highest attack bonus, adding +1 (Mythic tier) to the attack roll. This is in addition to any other attacks you make this round. Damage from this attack bypasses all Damage Reduction.
The size of the room kinda prohibits too many people piling on the dude. Cob is behind him and Pisca is basically already in swording range. Gorok is behind Pisca.

He can attack the Alchemist, too, but I'm not sure if it's necessary. We should expect Drow reinforcements at any moment, so having someone ready to intercept them is important.
 
Kori casts a Searching Shadows spell. He uses it to restrain the alchemist if the Drow somehow manages to avoid both Cob and Sir Pisca's blades.
Is this a good fit for the situation?
  • Spell Resistance: Drow possess spell resistance (SR) equal to 6 plus their total number of class levels.
Whenever the shadows come into contact with a creature with spell resistance, you must attempt a caster level check to overcome its spell resistance. If you fail, the spell ends.
Wouldn't we risk ending the spell then and there, considering the level of our adversary?
 
Is this a good fit for the situation?


Wouldn't we risk ending the spell then and there, considering the level of our adversary?
That's less than ideal, but not unexpected. If the spell ends like that, Kori will know there is at least another Drow on the other side of the door.

Casting the spell is better than him doing nothing. He has plenty of 1st and 2nd level spell slots remaining, but only two 3rd level slots and three Mythic power. This lets him scout ahead without wasting time or putting anyone in danger while the alchemist is being dealt with.
 
But what advantage is there to scouting? We know how many there are, and we want them to come in to the room the party is in rather than go top.


In terms of action economy I think it'd be much better for Kori to ready an action to cast Barbed Chains (SR: no) on either the Alchemist (if he doesn't go down to the melee attacks), or the first drow he sees.

I also think you are far too relaxed about doing enough damage to take the Alchemist down before he gets to go again, unless - is it your intention with your plan to kill him this round, or do you hope to do so next round?

I also think that getting the Abductor is a waste of Mina's action; am I missing something? Because I think we can just leave it for a few rounds until the fighting is done.
 
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That's less than ideal, but not unexpected. If the spell ends like that, Kori will know there is at least another Drow on the other side of the door.
You are, potentially, using it to restrain the Alchemist. It has a chance to fizzle out just from that.

If the Alchemist isn't down after Cob and Sir Pisca, perhaps Kori is better off stabbing him, or slapping him unconscious, or whatever.

...we also have the Shining Wayfinder, usable only by Mina, to point at the nearest source of evil. Might come in handy as drow detector... if the Alchemist is dead or we get us/him out of the room, that is.
 
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But what advantage is there to scouting? We know how many there are, and we want them to come in to the room the party is in rather than go top.


In terms of action economy I think it'd be much better for Kori to ready an action to cast Barbed Chains (SR: no) on either the Alchemist (if he doesn't go down to the melee attacks), or the first drow he sees.

I also think you are far too relaxed about doing enough damage to take the Alchemist down before he gets to go again, unless - is it your intention with your plan to kill him this round, or do you hope to do so next round?

I also think that getting the Abductor is a waste of Mina's action; am I missing something? Because I think we can just leave it for a few rounds until the fighting is done.
I'm going to update my plan to have Kori use Barbed Chains.

As for Mina, she has limited spells and few things she can reasonably do in this room in the next few moments. She might as well retrieve the Abductor if time allows for it. I only have her doing that in the plan if she doesn't need to help with something more pressing.
You are, potentially, using it to restrain the Alchemist. It has a chance to fizzle out just from that.

If the Alchemist isn't down after Cob and Sir Pisca, perhaps Kori is better off stabbing him, or slapping him unconscious, or whatever.

...we also have the Shining Wayfinder, usable only by Mina, to point at the nearest source of evil. Might come in handy as drow detector... if the Alchemist is dead or we get out of the room, that is.
Ah, I thought I had already removed that part about using the spell to restrain the alchemist. I see what you mean. Gonna exit the plan anyway, so Searching Shadows won't be in it shortly.

The Shining Wayfinder will take too long to be useful. The AoE of Detect Evil is too big and the spell takes three rounds of use before it gives any location information.
 
The AoE of Detect Evil is too big
Hardly a problem when it points to the nearest one. You know when they are coming for you, and you can estimate the distance up to the closest target by the angular speed of the needle.

I'd use it in a situation where we venture out of this room and need to know if there is an ambush in the next one.
 
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Hardly a problem when it points to the nearest one. You know when they are coming for you, and you can estimate the distance up to the closest target by the angular speed of the needle.

I'd use it in a situation where we venture out of this room and need to know if there is an ambush in the next one.
That's not how the spell works, though.

In the first round, all it does is tell you if there are any Evil auras anywhere in the 60 foot AoE cone.

The second round tells you the number of Evil auras.

The third round is when you find out where they actually are.

And you have to maintain concentration the entire time or you lose the effect and have to start over.


EDIT: Never mind, I just looked up the Shining Wayfinder rather than the base Detect Evil spell. I had forgotten it acted more like a compass than the spell itself. Updating the plan now.
 
I'd use it in a situation where we venture out of this room and need to know if there is an ambush in the next one.
I think I have a very bad idea of how this boat is laid out, I'll read again after a nap, but I thought the Alchmist's workroom was adjoined to the barracks (that has 4 drow in it)?

I'm expecting them to burst through the door next round, and by that point we don't need to track the closet drow.

Maybe Mina could drop a Fortune on Cob to ensure he gets his next sneak attack? (Though the Evil Eye's -AC is also very useful, especially since the alchemist can't even roll to save until the start of Mina's next turn)

Or if the Alchemist's already down, ready an action to Evil Eye (-AC) the first Drow through the door?
 
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I think I have a very bad idea of how this boat is laid out, I'll read again after a nap, but I thought the Alchmist's workroom was adjoined to the barracks (that has 4 drow in it)?

I'm expecting them to burst through the door next round, and by that point we don't need to track the closet drow.

Maybe Mina could drop a Fortune on Cob to ensure he gets his next sneak attack? (Though the Evil Eye's -AC is also very useful, especially since the alchemist can't even roll to save until the start of Mina's next turn)

Or if the Alchemist's already down, ready an action to Evil Eye (-AC) the first Drow through the door?
Good point.

I've updated my plan to have her either use Evil Eye on the alchemist or ready an action to respond to more Drow if the alchemist is dealt with before she can act.
 
[X] Goldfish

I'm still a bit concerned that the Alchemist will still be up, but less than I was.

@Goldfish If I'm parsing the plan correctly, Cob's only doing one quick action sneak attack? What about his Standard and move actions?

Can he ready an action to wait for Pisca to get up in the Alchemist's face, and then stab him?
Of if Cob goes after Pisca, then he can just take a full attack action against the Alchemist in order to get that additional haste attack?

I wonder if this is too broad a conditional, or if it would be allowed: "[Move action] Cob draws a second dagger in his off-hand, [Standard action]: Readies action: Take next available sneak attack against a drow, be it stabbing the Alchemist or throwing his off-hand dagger at another drow".
 
[X] Goldfish

I'm still a bit concerned that the Alchemist will still be up, but less than I was.

@Goldfish If I'm parsing the plan correctly, Cob's only doing one quick action sneak attack? What about his Standard and move actions?

Can he ready an action to wait for Pisca to get up in the Alchemist's face, and then stab him?
Of if Cob goes after Pisca, then he can just take a full attack action against the Alchemist in order to get that additional haste attack?

I wonder if this is too broad a conditional, or if it would be allowed: "[Move action] Cob draws a second dagger in his off-hand, [Standard action]: Readies action: Take next available sneak attack against a drow, be it stabbing the Alchemist or throwing his off-hand dagger at another drow".
Cob already used his most of available actions this round to teleport behind the alchemist, Sneak Attack him while Invisible, then attack him again because of Haste giving him an extra one. The Sneak Attack I have him making in my plan is him using Surprise Strike as a Swift Action.

This is all happening in the Surprise Round of us sneaking in through the barge's backdoor. Am I interpreting the order of event correctly, @DragonParadox?

Between Cob, Pisca, and Kori, the alchemist really shouldn't be alive after this round is complete. The alchemist doesn't get his Dexterity bonus because of that, if he has one to begin with, and Cob debuffed his AC with the Disoriented condition on his first Sneak Attack, which lowers it by another -2 (or -4 vs Cob's attacks). The chances he avoids even a single attack come down to our people rolling Nat 1s on their attacks (except for maybe Pisca's 3rd attack which won't benefit from Furious Focus).

Cob's average damage for that Sneak Attack will be 24, 32 from Pisca's first two attacks (or 48 if they all hit), and 13 from Kori's chains. That's 69 on average, or 85 if Pisca gets all three hits, and without a single lucky Crit figured into the math, versus the alchemist's remaining 54 HP.
 
A drow surrendering? Not impossible, but usually only if its a trick or at best think they can get out of it somehow later.

Either way, we can either knock him out or kill him, since I'm sure the Governor doesn't mind either so long as issue is dealt with.

Besides, I doubt we could stop Pisca in his rage mode anyhow, what with basically being a barbarian multiclass.

[X] Goldfish
 
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