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Finding the Spark (Pathfinder 1E Quest)

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@DragonParadox, here's a character sheet for Akorian.
Name: Akorian
Alias: N/A
Alignment: Chaotic Neutral
Age: ???
Race: Caligni (Medium Humanoid)
Level: 1
Class: Oracle (Shadow Mystery) [Friendless Curse]
Feats: Extra Revelation (Cloak of Darkness)
Traits: Fate's Favored, Reactionary, Seeker
Drawback: Umbral Unmasking
Class Features: Orisons, Mystery (Shadow), Curse (Friendless), Revelations (Cloak of Darkness, Stealth Mastery)
Languages: Dark Folk, Duergar

HP: 11
AC: 10 + 2 (DEX) + 4 (CoD)* = 12/16*
Initiative: +2 (DEX) + 2 (Reactionary) = +4
Spell Save: 10 + 3 (CHA) + spell level
Attack: +0
Weapon Proficiency: Crossbow, Dagger, Staff

STATS:
8 (-1) Strength
14 (+2) Dexterity
14 (+2) Constitution
12 (+1) Intelligence
10 (+0) Wisdom
17 (+3) Charisma

SAVES:
FORTITUDE: 0 + 2 (CON) = 2
REFLEX: 0 + 2 (DEX) = 2
WILL: 2 + 0 (WIS) = 2

Special:
+3 bonus to Will saves vs Enchantment effects

SKILLS:
Bluff: 4 + 3 (CHA) = 7
Knowledge (Dungeoneering): 4 + 1 (INT) = 5
Perception: 4 + 0 (WIS) + 1 (Seeker) = 5
Sense Motive: 4 + 0 (WIS) + 3 (CHA) = 7
Stealth: 4 + 2 (DEX) + 3 (SF) + 2 (CoD) = 9/11

Spells Known (CL 1):
Level 0: Create Water, Detect Magic, Guidance, Mending (At will)
Level 1: Cure Light Wounds (B), Divine Favor, Protection from Evil (4/Day)

Special Abilities:
  • Fate's Favored: Whenever you are under the effect of a Luck bonus of any kind, that bonus increases by 1.
  • See in Darkness: You have the See in darkness special ability allowing them to see perfectly in darkness of any kind, including that created by Deeper Darkness.
  • Cloak of Darkness (Su): You conjure a cloak of shadowy darkness for up to 1 hour per day that grants you a +4 Armor bonus to AC and a +2 Circumstance bonus on Stealth checks. The duration does not need to be consecutive, but it must be spent in 1-hour increments.
Curse & Drawbacks:
  • Light Sensitivity: You are Dazzled in areas of bright light.
  • Friendless: You do not gain your Charisma bonus to Diplomacy checks, and if you use Diplomacy to make a request of someone, their attitude worsens one step (but no worse than unfriendly) after the request succeeds or fails.
  • Umbral Unmasking: The shadow you cast is monstrous. Under normal lighted conditions, this is not hard to observe—but uncommon to notice. Creatures that succeed at a DC 15 Wisdom check notice it plainly (an additional Perception check may be required based on environmental conditions). This telltale sign of wickedness cannot be concealed by Misdirection, Nondetection, or illusions, except those that also affect shadows (such as Invisibility).
Equipment of Note: N/A
 
I don't really trust Vex and Ixil not to screw us over, but this is too good an opportunity to pass up right here at the beginning. Normally I would be more wary of the Duergar, they're tough, have some dangerous ability, and are well suited to the environment, but their numbers are low and they've probably depleted a lot of their resources getting this far. Also, a Dark Stalker can use the Deeper Darkness SLA at will, and for all that Duergar have excellent Darkvision, that's not the same thing as See in Darkness, so they're going to be fighting blind, a situation they shouldn't be prepared for.

[X] Talk to Vex and Ixil one last time, an idea comes to you, a raid of all the young blades with this few dwarfs and this many slaves you'd be able to finish what their mysterious enemies had started. You would start your journey wealthier and do one final favor to the People (2d6 Dark Creepers and one Dark Stalker will join you in the ambush )
 
Was just looking at some of the Shadow spells we can eventually learn and came across this beauty.

I've overlooked it in the past, but on a more close read through, it's an incredibly useful and versatile spell. It can be used for scouting, to set off traps, create distractions, to steal from or disarm targets, and best of all it's a super early Save-or-Suck spell. If we target a creature with it and they fail their Reflex save, they are basically rendered helpless for as long as we concentrate on the effect. Reflex saves are generally fairly low, and they're even lower on bigger creatures.

It's a 2nd level spell that we can learn at 4th level and something that would make us extremely valuable to any group, ignoring everything else we'll bring to the party.
 
[X] Talk to Vex and Ixil one last time, an idea comes to you, a raid of all the young blades with this few dwarfs and this many slaves you'd be able to finish what their mysterious enemies had started. You would start your journey wealthier and do one final favor to the People (2d6 Dark Creepers and one Dark Stalker will join you in the ambush )

Worth a try
 
No7sHere said:
@Goldfish what is our actual combat strategy we don't really seem to have any offensive spells?
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Most casters, especially Divine casters, don't have much in the way of effective offensive spell options, and what they do have is often really weak.

That said, we aren't in a bad position here. Our DEX bonus is decent and we have the Fate's Favored trait. Since we're using EitR rules, we apply our DEX bonus to attack rolls for light melee weapons rather than our STR. We cast Divine Favor for a +1 bonus to weapon attack and damage rolls, and Fate's Favored increases that bonus to +2.

If we attack with a dagger, as is common among the Dark Folk, we're looking at having a +4 attack bonus with hits doing 1d4+1 damage. Alternatively, if we can get our hands on something like a light crossbow, which shouldn't be unreasonable as we're also a healer and those shouldn't be sent into melee if it can be helped, our buffed attack bonus would remain +4 but we would be doing 1d6+2 damage.

And if we cast Protection from Evil on ourselves before the fight, that'll be another +2 to our AC and saving throws because the Duergar are Evil.

The only reason I would consider the attack feasible, however, is that we have a Dark Stalker on our side. They can use Deeper Darkness at will. Duergar are as blind in that as anyone else, while we can see unimpeded. The Dark Stalker would only need a minute or two to cast Deeper Darkness on an object for each member of our ambush to carry. Those objects could then be placed in containers or under coverings until our people are in position so that they can be placed at the last minute to completely surround the Duergar in darkness they can't escape from. Even if the Duergar have their 1/Day Invisibility SLAs available, it wouldn't be difficult to prevent them from escaping from multiple overlapping Deeper Darkness fields.
 
Goldfish said:
I've overlooked it in the past, but on a more close read through, it's an incredibly useful and versatile spell. It can be used for scouting, to set off traps, create distractions, to steal from or disarm targets, and best of all it's a super early Save-or-Suck spell. If we target a creature with it and they fail their Reflex save, they are basically rendered helpless for as long as we concentrate on the effect. Reflex saves are generally fairly low, and they're even lower on bigger creatures.
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Best for picking up small change, find hidden loot, grab small prey to eat on hard days, help clean a room, find lost keys, etc!
 
Massgamer said:
Best for picking up small change, find hidden loot, grab small prey to eat on hard days, help clean a room, find lost keys, etc!
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On the topic of keys, in some cases it can also make them unnecessary. There are a lot of doors that are barred from the inside, or which can be easily unlocked by turning a latch, switch, etc. If someone with Disable Device isn't available or can't reach the spot safely, we could use the shadows to just unlock it from the inside.

There are more sinister possibilities, too.

Because the shadows can be moved and carry a small amount of weight, we could use them to pour a vial of poison in a sleeping target's mouth without ever entering their residence. And then we could use the shadows to hold them in place while the poison does its work. Or we could use it to set a building on fire and hold someone in place until they succumb to the smoke or flames (pretty gruesome, though...).
 
Goldfish said:
snip
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Spell is basically the shadowy version of mage hand and such, which means lots of uses when thought of right and GM oks it.

Personally I want there to be an excuse to use it just to fuck around with people, like making some food move across the ground and say something like 'ants are big around here.' :p
 
No7sHere said:
I'm pretty sure we gain access to that eventually as a shadow oracle.
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Yep, it's a bonus spell we learn at 6th level.
DragonParadox said:
I had forgotten Deeper Darkness is cast on an object, man that spell is strong when you can see through it.
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For real. The long duration and huge AoE is nice, too.

As soon as I saw that Caligni come with built-in See in Darkness, I knew we had to get access to Deeper Darkness.
 
Vote's literally unanimous, let's get to this

I have to say I did not expect you guys to start off aggressive, but thinking about it the choice does make sense.
Adhoc vote count started by DragonParadox on Feb 21, 2023 at 6:34 AM, finished with 26 posts and 10 votes.
  • [X] Talk to Vex and Ixil one last time, an idea comes to you, a raid of all the young blades with this few dwarfs and this many slaves you'd be able to finish what their mysterious enemies had started. You would start your journey wealthier and do one final favor to the People (2d6 Dark Creepers and one Dark Stalker will join you in the ambush )
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Arc 1 Post 1: In Shadows of Stone
  • Threadmarks
    • In Shadows of Stone ​

    The Season of Still Stone

    A whisper here, a reminder of old debts there, with but a few words you fan the flames of greed in those already all too prone to is. Eight Whisper Foots in all think the plan is sound, or at least a sound way to get rid of you and thereby enrich themselves. They are righter than they know.

    Number of Dark Creepers: 2d6 = 8
    Sense motive = 1d20 + 7 = 23 (Success)

    As Vex binds darkness into ten pebbles and everyone else begs, borrows, or steals some poison, common Black Smear of course, available to all who would dare the dark-facing cave wall in the burial dealings, the gift of the dead to the living it is said in the tales of the People. If that is so, than not even the ancestors in their nooks of stone favor you. 'Be damned before I ask for help from Vex and his lot', you think, so you endure their gibes in silence when you return empty handed, simply following along in silence when Vex says 'move out' in what he fondly believes is an impressive manner.

    Perception: Poison Harvesting: 1d20 + 5 = 17 (Failure)

    By twisting galleries Vex leads you all, through wormways and bone dry former cold walks. More than once you feel the horrific embrace of stone, stories of careless delvers becoming stuck in narrow ways, unable to go forward, unable to go back, and in the worst ones not even able to draw a knife. 'Not that I even have a knife,' you think. One of the objectives of the raid is to 'liberate' a fine duergar weapon. An axe does not feel like your style, but a crossbow... eye, that would be a fine discovery.

    Vex Survival (I gave him some because given how the tribe works it would not make sense for them to spec into pure stealth): 1d20 + 7 = 16 (Success)

    How long it took before you heard the scrape of beetle legs and the clank of chains coming from below you do not know, not being mad enough to count heartbeats for the whole time, but fear it you do as Vex motions to a gap in the stone, about three feet wide opening into a steep ramp that leads to the road below. There is just enough time to slip down securely and fight the caravan in the open or you could be bold and charge down as they pass, hoping to surprise, just as long as you do not surprise them with a tumble into a nasty fall.

    It is all that you can do not to laugh when Jalx, one of the younger Whisper Foots, instinctively looks for guidance not to Vex, the Hunter-to-be, but Akorian the Outcast. Yet there is reason for it. You had taken care to never reveal all your powers, nor the degree to which you can twist fate in favor of others and not yourself.

    What do you do?

    [] Descend carefully and then face the caravan in the open without the element of surprise (Do not have a surprise round)

    -[] Charge down (DC 10 Climb Check not to take 2d6 Fall Damage on a failure)
    [] ...into the middle of the slaves, try to free or at least rally some of them, for their best chance at freedom
    [] ...the beetle, if you can make the goblin cage fall you know the little blighters will wreak merry hall

    [] Write in

    OOC: If you were able to use diplomacy you would have an option to convince your fellows to go down with their higher climb still, but as Akorian is and with having failed that potion harvesting roll they do not respect you enough to do that.
     
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  • Threadmarks
    • Poison harvesting is shockingly hard, if a 15+ can't do it.
    Well, nothing to it then.

    Could we drop something heavy on them from above, and then attack? Being hit in the head by a tile or large stone from a… 6-7 metre drop is pretty dangerous. We'd still get our surprise round, but with less risk to ourselves (assuming the Duergar don't have significantly more ranged firepower than we do).
     
    Shine said:
    Poison harvesting is shockingly hard, if a 15+ can't do it.
    Well, nothing to it then,

    Could we drop something heavy on them from above, and then attack? We'd still get our surprise round, but with less risk to ourselves (assuming the Duergar don't have significantly more ranged firepower than we do).
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    1. The DC was 16 and in any case people with the poison use rule which Kori does not have do not need to roll.
    2. There is no loose boulders around unfortunately
     
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    [X] Descend carefully and then face the caravan in the open without the element of surprise (Do not have a surprise round)

    Fall damage is a stupid way to die.
     
    Do we even have a weapon? I know we explicitly don't have a dagger, and were talking about getting a crossbow from the raid we're doing right now. What are we planning to do when we get down there?
     
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