Thanks for explaining that she's not got the default loadout prepped.
I agree that it's not worth a Mythic Power.
But if Kori's got an "if time is avialable, cast Divine Facoir" then I think it'd be worthwhile to give Gorok a "if time, use the Scabbard of Keen Edges". As I understand it, Vamps, being undead, are immune to crits. But it's a 3 per day use item, and there might be non-crit immune minions there.
Edit: Mina should have the teleport spell in-hand, waiting for Sirim's signal.
Adhoc vote count started by DragonParadox on Jan 24, 2025 at 7:41 AM, finished with 36 posts and 8 votes.
[X] Baiting the Hook -[X] Mina uses Wild Arcana to cast Status on Sirim, Anippe, and Pepper. She casts See Invisibility on herself. Kori activates his Cloak of Darkness revelation and casts Defending Bone. Some time after Sirim leaves, when he judges the trip halfway completed, Cob will use Gorok's Scabbard of Keen Edges on his Alchemical Silver and Devil Bane daggers. -[X] Sirim will go alone, though he will be shadowed by Pepper and Avarice who will run interference to allow him to escape or delay the enemies if he is attacked before we can reach him. He will zap himself with a Jolt cantrip when he nears the clearing, if he hasn't already been damaged before then. He will cast Magic Circle Against Evil as he departs, and Pepper will cast Mage Armor on him. --[X] As soon as Mina detects Sirim has been damaged, the party will teleport to his location. Mina will use Hermean Potential on herself and our last Greater Teleport scroll, with aid from her Fortune Hex if necessary. Anippe rides along in Mina's Handy Haversack. As Mina prepares to teleport the group: ---[X] Cob will use his Minor Metamorphosis power to become Tiny-sized, plus his Offensive Prescience and Defensive Precognition powers, each Augmented with 6 power points. ---[X] Gorok casts Lead Blades on his sword and Acid Maw on Warty, then uses his ring to cast Mirror Image and Shield, if he has time. ---[X] Kori casts an Encouraging Bless spell on everyone, uses Inspired Spell to cast Greater Hide from Undead on everyone, and Divine Favor on himself.
High above the moon, pregnant with ancient secrets as he had found it, hid among the branches of oak and ask and black larch and all was draped in a soft haze. 'Blue as the lips of the Midnight Lord', the priests would say, but it was just the nearness of the ethereal, Sirim told himself glad that he had not the flesh to tremble from lingering child's fears. Like smoke without flame he passed not moving a leaf yet the woods still whispered in their secret tongue, moved by wind and small scurrying things whose small bright eyes he could feel on him and hate against all reason that they saw his weakness even if they had no tongue to speak it with. Every creak, every shift, every movement spied out of the corner of his eye could be the assassin and no eyes to see it but his own.
Yet nothing came of it, ahead the circle of tumbled stones lay in in willful ruin, like the hurled toys of a spiteful titan, but they were not abandoned. Atop each one a skull burned with witchlight, the blue was stronger here. Are they...? He measured the skull with eyes that had seen more practice in such things than most. Too large, too round, not the missing hatchlings. Relief was as sweet as it was short-lived.
"So you have come, though you knew the danger..." cruel humor lurked under the surface of the voice like a predator at the edge of the firelight, holding back only in anticipation. "Tell me, heretic, did you not wonder why I told you this place had been taken by the Midnight Lord?"
"I had assumed gross incompetence," Sirim answered as he cast his gaze among the stones seeking his foe. "In my defense, an inflated sense of your own importance would have been my second guess."
Laughter fell like shards of ice among the shadowed circle. "You have ignored the warning and thus in your ignorance even you, heretic, have embraced pain." In Nidalese the word was an old one, its meaning could shift between pain, catharsis and enlightenment, but all Sirim heard in that moment was 'pain' set to the clink of a torturer's chains.
Alas that he wasn't the only one listening.
The stones ruptured, bleeding gouts of black sand that flowed and merged like shadows before they swirled upwards humanoid figure, its face set with grand and unmoving displeasure, cruelty wholly impersonal. Zon-Kuthon was not angry at Sirim's defiance, that expression told Sirim, the grim god did not even know his name nor would be pay any more mind to his broken screams those of any other supplicant or sacrifice.
"Is that all your god can conjure on his chosen ground?" Sirim cut back with words against the foe he still could not see. "Sand and magic that any sufficiently wizard of middling craft can animate?"
"No, heretic, it's all you're worth." A star of steel came flying from among the trees, tearing at Sirim's substance. Now at last he caught sight of the assassin's red eyes narrowed into slits upon his chalky white face.
Assassin Attack: 1d20+16 = 27 (Hit)
Sirim Takes 15 Damage -> Now at 30/45
"I will enjoy wearing your flesh!" Sirim spat as the crack of displaced air filled the clearing and his companions were again all around him.
What do you do?
Tactical information:
Everyone but Mina gets a turn this round since she was the one to cast the Teleport.
The Assassin has already moved and the golem goes last.
The Golem is 30 feet from your current position in the middle of the stone circle.
The Assassin is 40 feet from your current position, situated in one of the low trees at the edge.
[] Write in plan
OOC: Ah, Sirim finally gets to say a villain line. True it's to a murderous vampire, but it's the thought that counts.
Golems are always tricky to fight. So damned difficult to affect with magic and they all have their special gimmicks. Not a bad choice for the Vampire.
@DragonParadox, are we going to see rolls for how many party members the Vampire fails to see due to Greater Hide from Undead?
Golems are always tricky to fight. So damned difficult to affect with magic and they all have their special gimmicks. Not a bad choice for the Vampire.
@DragonParadox, are we going to see rolls for how many party members the Vampire fails to see due to Greater Hide from Undead?
Edit: First thought for Kori is to have him try and trip up the two of them via Barbed Chains.
[We can't assume this place isn't trapped, or that there's no other foes, but I'm very glad that the party are all in the same initiative group. So that Cob and Gorok can wait for Mythic Haste to be on them before they attack - they can take the bonus Move Action to get to the vamp, and then Full Attack.]
Pepper could cast Improved Invisibility and then the following round throw out Snowballs against the vampire to try and Stagger him? Or just try and attack now? [Golems are immune to spells that require fort saves, unless they affect objects]
We open with some Battle Toad action, letting Warty get first swing at the Golem. He can't do anything about its DR, but his bite attack is very powerful and it will do a bit of Acid damage, too, thanks to Gorok's spell.
There are various spells Sirim could use right now, such as Mythic Haste, but I think the most immediately useful will be casting Versatile Weapon on Gorok's sword. The Golem has a lot of HP and DR 10/Bludgeoning is rough. Gorok has a Bone Earthbreaker, but that isn't a serious weapon at this point. Bone weapons do less damage and Gorok's attack and damage bonuses would be further penalized on top of that.
Gorok and Cob both have Boots of Speed they can use, which are good enough for now and work with our current action economy. Having Gorok and Warty focus on the Golem keeps it occupied and away from our squishier party members.
Cob and Kori focusing on the Vampire will hopefully allow us to take him down ASAP. Kori's Chains won't do any damage, but his attack bonus is boosted, and three separate Trip attempts can add up to make Cob's job easier. Our Psychic Ninja Goblin has unfinished business with this bloodsucker. With his buffs, he has a serious chance of taking the Vampire out of the fight in a single round.
I'm not sure about Pepper's actions. He could use a Grease or Snowball spell to help, but I think he's better off going Invisible and waiting for a good opportunity to strike, especially if Mina empowers him to transform into a Guardian Spirit next round.
I haven't forgotten about Avarice. He has a 1/Day 6d8 Cold or Fire breath weapon he can use, but he is ridiculously fragile. It's best to leave him out of sight to act as backup.
[X] The Worm Bites Back -[X] Sirim uses Wild Arcana to cast Versatile Weapon (Silver) on Gorok's sword so he can overcome the Vampire's Damage Reduction.
-[X] Cob activates his Boots of Speed as a Free Action, expends one Mythic power to Shadow Teleport behind the Vampire as a Move Action, then another Mythic power to make a Sneak Attack using Surprise Strike as a Swift Action, he then continues attacking using Piranha Strike. He uses his Alchemical Silver Dagger to bypass DR and inflicts the Bewildered (-2 AC for 1 round, -4 vs Cob's attacks) condition on his first Sneak Attack. --[X] Surprise Sneak Attack Strike: +22 (+1 Mythic, +2 Morale, +1 Haste, +1 Trait, +1 smaller Size, +1 extra DEX), 1+12+4d6 damage; 17-20/x2 --[X] Piranha Strikes: +19/+19 vs -4 Penalized AC (+2 Morale, +1 Haste, +1 Trait, +1 Size, +1 extra DEX, -2 Piranha Strike), 1+12 damage, +4d6 Sneak Attack damage if applicable due to Flanking (which provides another +2 attack bonus); 17-20/x2
-[X] Gorok activates his Boots of Speed as a Free Action, expends one Mythic power to use Fleet Charge to Power Attack the Vampire as a Swift Action after Cob makes his first attack, then continues to Power Attack it, providing Flanking for Cob to continue making Sneak Attacks against it. --[X] Fleet Charge Power Attack: +18 vs -2 Penalized AC (+2 Morale, +1 Haste, +1 Mythic), 3d6+9 damage; 15-20/x2 --[X] Power Attacks: +17/+17/+10 vs -2 Penalized AC (+2 Morale, +1 Haste), 3d6+9 damage; 15-20/x2
-[X] Kori targets the Vampire with a Barbed Chains spell, using all three chains to attempt Trip attacks against him after Cob attacks. If the Vampire has been destroyed before he can cast, Kori instead attempts to Trip the Golem. --[X] Barbed Chains Spell: x3 chains; +16/+16/+16 vs -2 Penalized CMD to Trip [+6 (CHA) +2 (Morale) +3 (Luck)], plus each hit requires a DC 17 Will save to avoid being Shaken for 1d4 rounds.
-[X] Warty Charges the Golem, attempting to bite it. --[X] Bite: +15 (+2 Morale +2 Charge), 3d8+8 damage, +1d4 Acid damage (+1d4 in the following round as well)
-[X] Pepper targets the Golem with a Grease spell. --[X] Grease Spell: DC 15 Reflex saving throws or fall prone.
-[X] Avarice remains overhead out of sight, looking for additional attackers. He will telepathically warn the party of new threats.
What would be the honorable (honoring?) course of action coming from the god of torture, anyway? To come up with a unique execution method? To do it in person?
Zon Kuthon was not angry at Sirim's defiance, that expression told Sirim, the grim god did not even know his name nor would be pay any more mind to his broken screams those of any other suplicant or sacrifice.
While it would be naive to expect a god to pay a mortal, even a defiant mortal, his personal attention, I feel a little offended knowing that hunting Sirim is the Inquisition's goal, not their God's. What do we do to raise our notoriety a notch?
My personal achievement list for the quest will be tugging every dark power in existense by their whiskers and hopefully surviving to tell the tale.
I think that we should ignore the Sand Golem for this round and focus on the vampire - Have Pepper throw out a Grease (conjuration is SR: No) in case we get lucky, but otherwise just accept one turn where the Sand Golem isn't taking damage.
Not even "is countered" because Pathfinder doesn't work that way (except with countering spells), just "isn't being attacked by Gorok" I think Warty can survive one or two rounds.
Throw out Mythic Haste for the additional Move Action, and focus down the Vampire. If it dies, our party won't stand there scratching their asses. Anyone with remaining actions will pivot to dealing with other threats.
Shifting Pepper into battle form is strictly a pre-fight buff imo, since it eats up all of the other things Mina can do with her turn. At the absolute minimum - without even putting though into it[1] we'd be better off if she readies a Wild Arcana Dispel Magic against the vamp, since if it's not triggered,
[1] As in there might be better things for her to do, but I do think that the readied action is better than buffing Pepper
My concern with your plan is this: If it's a short fight, there's an argument to be made for not casting Mythic Haste. If it's a long fight, then we're going to want those extra Move Actions so that Cob can full attack new targets.
But if it's a short fight, then the value of buffing Pepper falls even further.
More perplexitly, I don't see why you're attacking the golem. Unless we can take it out in one turn, any actions that would be spent causing hp damage are better spent on anything else.
With his buffs, he has a serious chance of taking the Vampire out of the fight in a single round.
This has happened before, and we've seen it fail. The solution is to focus down a given threat/remove it from play - and go overboard on it. Send Gorok with Cob and if they take the Vamp down, they can pivot to the Golem.
And that's why they should have Mythic Haste. So they can move and still Full Attack.
If the vamp goes down this turn to Gorok and Cob, then Gorok can wait next turn for Sirim to cast that weapon buff. If there's an extra action where Gorok has literally nothing better to do than attack the sand golem with a slashing weapon, that's not the end of the world. But we can probably think of something.
Additionally, this is a prepared spot - we can't assume the Vamp doesn't have more creatures coming in. That extra move action allowing for Cob (and Gorok, though he can spend a Mythic Point to move+attack as a quick action) will be invaulable if any other foes appear.
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[ ] Plan: BeepSmile is once again, once again, stealing Goldfish's hard work
-[ ] As Goldfish's plan, but Pepper attempts a Grease on the golem, and Sirim casts Mythic Haste on Gorok and Cob, who hold thier turn until they get the buff. They take their extra Move Action to get in range of the vamp (normal physical movement for both), then both Full Attack. If the Vamp is still up, then Kori casts Barbed Chains (Trip) on the vamp (so it can either try to cast a spell, or get up and take two attacks of oppertunity), and if the vamp is down, then he casts it on the golem. Unless Pepper has proned the Golem, in which case he readies an action to cast it on the Golem as soon as it gets up.
I think that we should ignore the Sand Golem for this round and focus on the vampire - Have Pepper throw out a Grease (conjuration is SR: No) in case we get lucky, but otherwise just accept one turn where the Sand Golem isn't taking damage.
Not even "is countered" because Pathfinder doesn't work that way (except with countering spells), just "isn't being attacked by Gorok" I think Warty can survive one or two rounds.
Throw out Mythic Haste for the additional Move Action, and focus down the Vampire. If it dies, our party won't stand there scratching their asses. Anyone with remaining actions will pivot to dealing with other threats.
Shifting Pepper into battle form is strictly a pre-fight buff imo, since it eats up all of the other things Mina can do with her turn. At the absolute minimum - without even putting though into it[1] we'd be better off if she readies a Wild Arcana Dispel Magic against the vamp, since if it's not triggered,
[1] As in there might be better things for her to do, but I do think that the readied action is better than buffing Pepper
My concern with your plan is this: If it's a short fight, there's an argument to be made for not casting Mythic Haste. If it's a long fight, then we're going to want those extra Move Actions so that Cob can full attack new targets.
But if it's a short fight, then the value of buffing Pepper falls even further.
More perplexitly, I don't see why you're attacking the golem. Unless we can take it out in one turn, any actions that would be spent causing hp damage are better spent on anything else.
This has happened before, and we've seen it fail. The solution is to focus down a given threat/remove it from play - and go overboard on it. Send Gorok with Cob and if they take the Vamp down, they can pivot to the Golem.
And that's why they should have Mythic Haste. So they can move and still Full Attack.
If the vamp goes down this turn to Gorok and Cob, then Gorok can wait next turn for Sirim to cast that weapon buff. If there's an extra action where Gorok has literally nothing better to do than attack the sand golem with a slashing weapon, that's not the end of the world. But we can probably think of something.
Additionally, this is a prepared spot - we can't assume the Vamp doesn't have more creatures coming in. That extra move action allowing for Cob (and Gorok, though he can spend a Mythic Point to move+attack as a quick action) will be invaulable if any other foes appear.
----
[ ] Plan: BeepSmile is once again, once again, stealing Goldfish's hard work
-[ ] As Goldfish's plan, but Pepper attempts a Grease on the golem, and Sirim casts Mythic Haste on Gorok and Cob, who hold thier turn until they get the buff. They take their extra Move Action to get in range of the vamp (normal physical movement for both), then both Full Attack. If the Vamp is still up, then Kori casts Barbed Chains (Trip) on the vamp (so it can either try to cast a spell, or get up and take two attacks of oppertunity), and if the vamp is down, then he casts it on the golem. Unless Pepper has proned the Golem, in which case he readies an action to cast it on the Golem as soon as it gets up.
My concern with keeping the Golem occupied is that we can't know if it's a bog standard Sand Golem or if it has a malicious intelligence driving it, given it's apparent origins, in which case it's more likely to go after vulnerable teammates. It also has a pretty powerful short range AoE that it can use against grouped up party members if it's allowed to get close to them. Gorok and Warty are the beefiest people we've got and can more easily absorb that damage than Mina or Kori.
Gorok isn't going to be able to bypass the Vampire's DR any easier than he could throw Golem's. If he attacks it, that's 10 points of of every successful hit; so rather than averaging 19.5 per attack, it would instead be 9.5 each. I can see the argument for having him target it, though. In that case, Sirim casting Versatile Weapon (Silver) on Gorok's sword makes the most sense.
As for using Mythic Haste, it's not necessary in this situation. The distances are pretty short. Cob can Shadow Teleport up to 100 feet, and Gorok's Fleet Charge allows him to move his speed as part of the attack. Normally Gorok's speed is only 30, but he will be activating his Boots of Speed to increase that to 60 as a Free Action, which means he can reach the Vampire that's only 40 feet away without needing extra Move Actions.
I've updated my plan to have Gorok focus on the Vampire alongside Cob while Warty and Pepper attempts to deal with the Golem. Still have Sirim casting Versatile Weapon, though. Better to burn the Vampire down ASAP.
You've made a good argument against casting Mythic Haste - I didn't think about vamp's DR. But I am very glad that you're focusing on the vamp. That was my main thing.
Hopefully Pepper might prone the golem, and if not, Big Hero Warty can tank some damage from it this turn .
You know, before I start poking holes in your plans, I maybe should look at the basic abilities of what we face. 'cuz I didn't bother looking at the base Sand Golem beyond "Magic Immunity", "Immune to Sleep" and "Immune to [something something] spells that need Fort saves".
[X] Goldfish
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In retrospect, we should have calculated the time it would take for Sirim to reach this location, and aimed to cast a few of our 10 min/level buffs about 12+ minutes before we would have expected him to arrive.
The Scabbed jumps out at me as something that can be used with relative freedom, since it's not like a spell-slot.
BTW, from our previous encounter with the Vampire, we know it has 77 HP and an AC of 22.
If all three of Cob's attacks hit, and they almost certainly will barring Nat 1s, and there is only the one automatic Sneak Attack with no Crits, he'll average 53 damage against it.
Gorok isn't guaranteed to hit, but three of his four attacks have a very good chance thanks to Cob debuffing the Vampire's AC. Each of his attacks will average 19.5 damage, so two of them landing alongside all of Cob's should be enough to destroy it.
And that ignores the likelihood of Cob's other two attacks also getting Sneak Attack damage since Gorok will be providing him with Flanking. If those land, Gorok doesn't even need to hit it, just be a Flanking buddy for Cob.
Of course, I don't expect it to be as simple as destroying this one Vampire. It could have backup nearby, including some Vampire spawn created from Longacre citizens (those take 1d4 days to rise, though, so 50/50 odds any are nearby at best), creatures Summoned using its Children of the Night ability, etc.
Can't ignore the Golem, either. I worry it's got more than the regular tricks for it's type.
If all three of Cob's attacks hit, and they almost certainly will barring Nat 1s, and there is only the one automatic Sneak Attack with no Crits, he'll average 53 damage against it.
A single displacement effect is all it takes to upset these calculations.
Initially I was of the opinion that the golem should be blocked from reaching our spellcasters, and that Gorok's bludgeoning sword is a better deterrent, AoO wise, than Warty's tusks. But I can see the point of concentrating on a single target, especially one that evaded us before.
I just can't believe this is everything the vamp has up his sleeve. We get to get a drop on him, sure, and the less HP he has, the sooner he has to show his hand.
A single displacement effect is all it takes to upset these calculations.
Initially I was of the opinion that the golem should be blocked from reaching our spellcasters, and that Gorok's bludgeoning sword is a better deterrent from AoO than Warty's tusks. But I can see the point of concentrating on a single target, especially one that evaded us before.
I just can't believe this is everything the vamp has up his sleeve.
Looks upwards at DP's and Goldfish's knowledge of Pathfinder 1e.
From my pov, DP's got this system in hand. He doesn't need ideas.
So feel free to make suggestions!
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Oh! How would Shadow Conjuration "Create Pit" work on the golem? [Note, that Spiked Pit does 2d6 piercing, but only has a DC20 climb DC. Rregular Pit has a DC 25, and I think that Shadow Conjuration means that they both have the same reflex save DC.
It'd mean Gorok doesn't beat the vamp's DR but it'd save Sirim a Mythic Point. If the Vamp goes down and we have the golem to deal with, then we can consider casting the bludgeoning damage spell?
...Or some other bullshit where we just drop alchemist items on it, or cast something that makes arrows do lightning damage. Whatever method that's viable that's available.
Then again, I do really want to ensure the vamp goes down.
Darn.
Anyway, SC: Create Pit looks great for use on golems, provided they aren't immune to illusions.
Looks upwards at DP's and Goldfish's knowledge of Pathfinder 1e.
From my pov, DP's got this system in hand. He doesn't need ideas.
So feel free to make suggestions!
----
Oh! How would Shadow Conjuration "Create Pit" work on the golem? [Note, that Spiked Pit does 2d6 piercing, but only has a DC20 climb DC. Rregular Pit has a DC 25, and I think that Shadow Conjuration means that they both have the same reflex save DC.
It'd mean Gorok doesn't beat the vamp's DR but it'd save Sirim a Mythic Point. If the Vamp goes down and we have the golem to deal with, then we can consider casting the bludgeoning damage spell?
...Or some other bullshit where we just drop alchemist items on it, or cast something that makes arrows do lightning damage. Whatever method that's viable that's available.
Then again, I do really want to ensure the vamp goes down.
Darn.
Anyway, SC: Create Pit looks great for use on golems, provided they aren't immune to illusions.
Unfortunately, Golem magic immunity applies to any spell which allows Spell Resistance, except for very specific exceptions for each type of Golem.
Illusion (Shadow) spells like Shadow Conjuration, which duplicate other spells, always allow Spells Resistance, even when the regular spell does not.
Fortunately, Guardian Spirit Pepper can cast Create Pit as one of his 2nd level spells. Depending on how the following rounds of combat go, Mina empowering Pepper so he can drop the Golem in a hole could be the best way to deal with it.
EDIT: Sirim doesn't have any 4th level spell slots left for the day, so he would still be using Mythic power to cast Shadow Conjuration if we were going for that.
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