@DragonParadox can we know what type of check is needed to learn more about that cyclops, and buff up with a Hermean Potential or Bestow Insight (if Kori has the skill needed, and I think he has two lvl 3 spell slots left) before attempting it/have Mina on hand for Fortune?
Regardless; before we go into Gavhaul's tent (be it soon or after our next long rest depending, would it also be reasonable to buff relevant skills for finding traps/decoding codes/IDing magical items?
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@ thread: I'm not sure how far we are from the village. If we're close then I think I'd like to look in (and probably loot) Gavhauls tent before any fey get the chance.
@DragonParadox can we know what type of check is needed to learn more about that cyclops, and buff up with a Hermean Potential or Bestow Insight (if Kori has the skill needed, and I think he has two lvl 3 spell slots left) before attempting it/have Mina on hand for Fortune?
Regardless; before we go into Gavhaul's tent (be it soon or after our next long rest depending, would it also be reasonable to buff relevant skills for finding traps/decoding codes/IDing magical items?
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@ thread: I'm not sure how far we are from the village. If we're close then I think I'd like to look in (and probably loot) Gavhauls tent before any fey get the chance.
You need a Lore Azlanti (Lower DC) or straight up Knowledge History (Higher DC). Knowledge Psionics would be the easiest of all, but no one in the party has it.
You are literally outside the village, they could see the demon-dragon show-down from the wall.
[X] Holistic Approach
-[X] See what replaced the alderman first (Kori, Sirim)
-[X] Heal what you can in case of further trouble (Mina), Kori also casts one more Cure Serious Wounds on Gorok before going.
-[X] Secure the loot, particularly the flask that the phantom was bound in, and butcher the demon (Gorok, Cob)
[X] Holistic Approach
-[X] See what replaced the alderman first (Kori, Sirim)
-[X] Heal what you can in case of further trouble (Mina)
-[X] Secure the loot, particularly the flask that the phantom was bound in, and butcher the demon (Gorok)
Might as well add Cob to loot procurement. Or send him with Kori and Sirim.
Also, Kori has plenty of 2nd and 3rd eve spell slots remaining. It wouldn't be a bad idea for him to cast a Cure Moderate Wounds And Cure Serious Wounds spell on Gorok before an opportunity for anything else bad to happen can pop up.
I'm just worried that the fey are gonna loot Gavhaul's stuff.
Don't suppose we can at least send in someone with detect magic, and Cob for perception checks to check for traps) and then just throw everything (that we're confident won't react negativly) into extrdimensional storage for later perusal?
[X] Holistic Approach + Paranoia about looting
-[X] (Kori, Sirim, Pepper) Kori casts two Cure Moderate Wounds on Gorok. Then go see what replaced the alderman. Before getting close to people, Kori casts [SE: Hermean Potential] on himself. On the way, Kori Casts Cure Moderate Wounds and Cure Light Wounds on himself (Akorian at 23/49 hp).
-[X] (Mina + Cob) Heal what you can in case of further trouble (Kori get a Healing Hex first so he can leave with Sirim asap). Cast Detect Magic (See Invisibility is already up) and go with Cob to the remains of Gavhaul's tent, and if its wards still exist then keep watch for any fey that might want to sneak in and loot the place. If it's not warded, Cast Herman Potential on Cob and he searches it for hidden loot/traps. Provide Fortune if needed. Put everything that looks to be safe to put in extradimsional storage (non magic stuff, basic magic items) into said storage for later perusal. Make a note of anything that might react in an unexpected way to being put into a bag of holding and keep an eye on them so they aren't stolen so they can be ID'd later.
-[X] (Gorok) Secure the loot (I think just Gavhaul's body?), particularly the flask that the phantom was bound in, and butcher the demon
Also, it's probable that Leontas and Urgor are gonna want a cut of Gavhaul's loot and... fair, imo.
I'm only interested in stopping the fey from getting anything. Leontas was a fucking badass and Urgor came in clutch afwhen Gavhaul fled.
But I want us to get first refusal on cool magic gear.
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Edit: @DragonParadox what useful thing might Gorok get from butchering the demon, apart from a trophy that can be used as bragging rights/evidence? I... can't recall why that person wanted to trade for that devil's head.
Oh yeah, the head goes to our collection. Can't break tradition.
What was the soul enslaving the demon used? Does it go away on killing the 'master'? Are there other methods of dispelling it?
The last of Sylestrix' rolls is misssing, it just says she killed the ghost, but with what? Magic?
Added in Kori buffing his bluff @Goldfish: It's a risk to Gorok, but I want to keep Kori's spells for dealing with Alderman's replacement - either in combat or in socially. Or to talk down angry townsfolk that want their stuff back from the dragon.
Edit: @DragonParadox what useful thing might Gorok get from butchering the demon, apart from a trophy that can be used as bragging rights/evidence? I... can't recall why that person wanted to trade for that devil's head.
Added in Kori buffing his bluff @Goldfish: It's a risk to Gorok, but I want to keep Kori's spells for dealing with Alderman's replacement - either in combat or in socially. Or to talk down angry townsfolk that want their stuff back from the dragon.
It's a needless risk. Kori only used one 2nd level spell slots and one 3rd level spell slots during that fight. He's got plenty to spare a 2nd and 3rd to get Gorok healed up.
EDIT: Also, @BeepSmile, if you want to use a 3rd level spell for Kori to buff his Bluff, it should be Channel Vigor. That will give him a +6 bonus to Bluff as opposed to the +3 from Bestow Insight. Channel Vigor doesn't give a reroll or last as long, but it provides a lot more options in case a fight breaks out.
It's a needless risk. Kori only used one 2nd level spell slots and one 3rd level spell slots during that fight. He's got plenty to spare a 2nd and 3rd to get Gorok healed up.
EDIT: Also, @BeepSmile, if you want to use a 3rd level spell for Kori to buff his Bluff, it should be Channel Vigor. That will give him a +6 bonus to Bluff as opposed to the +3 from Bestow Insight. Channel Vigor doesn't give a reroll or last as long, but it provides a lot more options in case a fight breaks out.
Re Channel Vigor: I'm much more concerned about social interactions than violence at this point - the Fey are going to want to help with the Alderganger, since that gets them in good with the local townspeople + general 'fuck demons'
As such, Channel Vigor's 1rd/lvl makes it a total no-go for me since I do not think that Koris going to make a bluff roll within 36 seconds - and I want the buff pre-cast before interacting with people. And I care much much more about a re-roll than I do about Bestow Insight's increase, since rerolls count as +5.
Thinking on it, I'm changing from BI to Hermean Potential, since that'll give two rerolls to any skill checks, and we don't have to hope that it's a Bluff we need rather than a Perception or Sense Motive.
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I was operating from the perspective that we want to go after Alderganger asap, but on further reflection there's likely going to be no difference if we take the time to drop a few Cure Moderate Wounds on Gorok. (I want to keep Shadow Enchantments available for unforeseen circumstances, so not casting Cure Serious Wounds)
Adding in to ask Pepper to come with for his help with scouting/sense motive/being adorable (the third one is an OOC concern, but vitally important nonetheless).
That's not a concern in Pathfinder. There is nothing in the rules preventing us from using Speak with Dead on Gavhaul's remains despite not having killed him.
While I want the fey to pitch in capturing Alderganger if he's alive, we should be careful to not mention (outside of Sirim's telepathy to a fey) that we killed the Lord of Veils until after the Alderganger's cover is blown, because the demons knew Alderman was killed there, so us being there means we might have found the body (which we did), and that might spook them.
Though I might be worried over nothing as it's entirely possible that the battle and the big demon's death spooked them already.
[X] Holistic Approach + Paranoia about looting
-[X] (Kori, Sirim, Pepper) Kori casts two Cure Moderate Wounds on Gorok. Then go see what replaced the alderman. Before getting close to people, Kori casts [SE: Hermean Potential] on himself. On the way, Kori Casts Cure Moderate Wounds and Cure Light Wounds on himself (Akorian at 23/49 hp).
-[X] (Mina + Cob) Heal what you can in case of further trouble (Kori get a Healing Hex first so he can leave with Sirim asap). Cast Detect Magic (See Invisibility is already up) and go with Cob to the remains of Gavhaul's tent, and if its wards still exist then keep watch for any fey that might want to sneak in and loot the place. If it's not warded, Cast Herman Potential on Cob and he searches it for hidden loot/traps. Provide Fortune if needed. Put everything that looks to be safe to put in extradimsional storage (non magic stuff, basic magic items) into said storage for later perusal. Make a note of anything that might react in an unexpected way to being put into a bag of holding and keep an eye on them so they aren't stolen so they can be ID'd later.
-[X] (Gorok) Secure the loot (I think just Gavhaul's body?), particularly the flask that the phantom was bound in, and butcher the demon
Thankfully not all wounds run so deep as the dragon's eye. All that remains of the marks of fire are a few angry red welts on his chest... which is more than one can say of the battle's other remnants: the demon steams gently in the evening air, bile and acids hissing against the ground, 'starting to cook itself alive in its own juices' according to Gorok. You'll take his word for it.
Assisted by an ever-curious Cob he proceeds to drag the body off into a tent to make use of it while Mina and Sirim puzzle over Gavhaul's array of many-hued crystals, not least of which is the broken flash that held the cyclops phantom. "It is definitely still magical," Mina allows, her eyes magnified and distorted through warped glass. "It feels warm, it pulses like the beat of a heart that isn't there. Part of me wants to say this is something like a lich's soul cage, but it's nothing like the ring..."
"Different roads to the same destination," Sirim cuts in. "That did not feel like a common specter, but I assure you the cyclops empire fell many ages past. The most pressing question is if we shall have to deal with that again."
Gorok Heals 34+12 Damage -> Now at 58/62
Akorian Heals 13+16 Damage -> Now at 49/49
Mina Knowledge Arcana: 1d20+13 = 25 (Success)
Thinking back to the last expression you had seen on the mage's face you offer: "It looked like an act of desperation. I do not think it was meant to break."
Maybe, the five of you reason, there are more answers in his tent. So the most skilled among you is asked to delve within, a task wich Cob takes on with particularly... Cob-like enthusiasm: "Maybe traps don't trigger when he's in the tent, hope traps not smart enough to know he's dead "
He has you and Gorok throw the Gavhaul's corpse in there first. Other than smashing over a the small brass stove that had been guaranteeing the mage fine dining and privacy it doesn't seem do much, but then you're not a trap-tripper. Cob certainly seems to notice something, carefully walking in on the tips of his feet before slamming a rock on what you assume is a hidden presure plate and rolling the stove... that you now realize isn't just a stove off. There are far too many dials and a subdued Urgor confirms that those canister's can't all be lamp gass, or as they were called of old 'miner's bane'.
Tucked in a corner you also come upon a crystalline staff which neither you nor Mina can call power from, a person sized silken bag whose power you might not have intuited either if Cob didn't just yank at it until an opening formed seemingly in response to his will, and then slipped in, apparently 'snug as a bug'.
"Rather not be a bug myself," Leontas shouts from the entrance, having decided he wants nothing to do with the strange things within, though it does speak well of the man that he thinks enough of your lingering alliance to stay close in case you need help.
Spirit's Vessel: Description: A single large hollow crystalline flask, now broken which pulses under the hand as if alive.
Ability: ???
Altar of Mind Flame Description: A collection of brass and crystalline knobs that can produce hot focused flame excellent for cooking and alchemical work, though it has far too many knobs and canisters of gas, all marked with obscure occult symbols to serve only that purpose. Under witch sight it glows in colors other than the primary auras of magic Ability: ???
Sleeping Cocon:
Description: Appearing less like something that has been sown of silk and more like the cocon of a man-sized insect this sleeping bag seems 'perfect' from the inside, allowing in neither hot, nor cold, noise nor distraction
Ability: While in this heavy sleeping bag, the owner suffers no harm from being in a hot or cold environment. It can exist comfortably in conditions between –50 and 140 degrees Fahrenheit without having to make Fortitude saves. Any of the creature's equipment in the sleeping bag is likewise protected. The user can also choose to use the bag to nullify sound while they rest.
The bag doesn't provide any protection from fire or cold damage, nor does it protect against other environmental hazards such as smoke, lack of air, and so forth.
Crystal Staff:
Description: Seemingly carved and polished from a single piece of blue-green crystal, the same color as the ghost's vessel, this staff answers to neither your hand nor Mina's
Ability: ???
By the time you are done looting your former employer, that is securing his tent, a delegation of villagers had found the courage to leave the dubious safety of the walls for the camp which now plays host to a dragon curled in on herself like a hurt cat, though they stay as far away from her as they can manage. More importantly one of the people in evidence is the false Alderman.
"What in the hells is going on here?" he demands for all the world seeming incensed as his own guards look rather worried at all the armed mercenaries... and the trail of demon blood leading to where Gorok is working.
What do you do?
[] Unmask the false Alderman
[] Explain that Gavhaul was sadly controlled by the demons, see how he reacts
[] Write in
OOC: And here we are weird mind-magic loot. Want to start turning the toggles at random to see what happens?
@DragonParadox, did Gavhaul not have any personal equipment? I would have expected at least a ring or two, and maybe an amulet or headband.
I would normally vote to push the Gavhaul puppet/replacement story before confronting the Alderman, but since the dude is right here making a nuisance of himself, we should probably take care of that now.
Just means we got to do more thorough looting when this is taken care of.
[X] Unmask the false Alderman
Subtly now over.
@DragonParadox curious, how does Leo feel taking down a Horned Demon his former employer summoned? If nothing else it makes it clear he was using them.
Just means we got to do more thorough looting when this is taken care of.
[X] Unmask the false Alderman
Subtly now over.
@DragonParadox curious, how does Leo feel taking down a Horned Demon his former employer summoned? If nothing else it makes it clear he was using them.
