Remove ads

Finding the Spark (Pathfinder 1E Quest)

Reader mode
DragonParadox said:
No, there aren't any, though there are some flowers on the shelf that might technically not be dry

They are bringing a mirror, I thought it would be best to give you guys the time to investigate while that happens.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Ah, I assumed we could use the mirror we looted from the Drow barge. Sirim saw one there when he was scouting the place before our raid, and he guessed it was a Scrying mirror, IIRC.

Sorry about that, I should have specified.
Massgamer said:
Okay, @Goldfish can Gorok use the speak with plants spell? See if the flowers can remember seeing anything?
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Unfortunately not. If he was 7th level, he would be able to prepare one, but that doesn't help us at the moment.
 
Last edited:
DragonParadox said:
That one is already enchanted for the use of the summoner. It seems potentially unwise to use it before figuring out what it does.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Ah, that makes sense. We're gonna need to buy a Scrying mirror soon if that one turns out to be unsuitable. I was assuming we already had one from the Drow loot when I made our recent shopping list.

[X] Have Pepper get a sniff of this
-[X] Kori uses Shadow Enchantment to cast Bestow Insight (Perception) on Pepper when he tries to discern scents in the room.
-[X] Mina will use a Scrying scroll to search for Sir Pisca as soon as the palace staff find a suitable mirror to serve as a focus for the spell.
-[X] Cob will use his cloak's Detect Secret Doors power to check the library for hidden entrances, as well as the nearby chambers, and its Detect Magic spell to look for magic auras along with Sirim. He will also examine the open window from the inside and the outside, looking for evidence to determine if it was opened by magical or mundane means.
 
Last edited:
Pepper already benefited from fortune when trying to get the scene at the scene of the attack.

[I think we should buy a wand of Herman Potential, for when we can do obvious magic to attempt re-rolls?) At CL 1, it's last one minute.

Edit: Bestow IOnsight gives a reroll too, though.

@DragonParadox; when someone uses the re-roll aspect of Bestow Insight, the spell ends. Does that reroll also benefit from the insight bonus?
 
Last edited:
BeepSmile said:
Pepper already benefited from fortune when trying to get the scene at the scene of the attack.

[I think we should buy a wand of Herman Potential, for when we can do obvious magic to attempt re-rolls?) At CL 1, it's last one minute.

Edit: Bestow IOnsight gives a reroll too, though.

@DragonParadox; when someone uses the re-roll aspect of Bestow Insight, the spell ends. Does that reroll also benefit from the insight bonus?
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Ah, I see. Updated the plan to remove Fortune.

Yeah, a Hermean Potential wand would be useful.

I'm wishing we didn't have Pepper swap his Skilled ability earlier. An extra +8 Perception would be great right now. Oh well, we couldn't have foreseen the need for it in this instance.
 
The first thing that hits you when you enter is the flash of lightning from the window above the desk. Thankfully the rain doesn't seem to have gotten in, or so at least you thought.

It's Gorok who notices the blank notebook on the marble desk is soaked, the pages sticking together as though it had been doused in water even though the desk beside it is dry, and Cob who realizes something heavy must have slammed against the stone shelves to the left, enough to scratch the floor before it had been pulled back in place.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
A few things to note; we might be able to approach it as a regular 'closed room mystery', or a half-open room as it may turn out.

The window, is it open or closed? It's the most obvious point of entry and exit, similar to how we breached the barge in the first place. The rain didn't get in the room, but the notebook is soaked. Why, where did the water come from? Perhaps it was returned here after having been taken outside, or else got soaked because its owner stood close to the window at the moment of the culprit's entry? Either way we can go/climb/fly (Slippers of Spider Climbing for Cob) outside and look from there; there might be some clues left about how many people were involved, at least, and they would not be as careful with erasing all traces outside.

The heavy thing, what does a scratch look like? Is it a weapon, like Pisca's sword? Is it Sir Pisca himself, slamming against the wall in his armor? Was he put to sleep and fell down? We can get some information from guessing what could have left it.

We know Sir Pisca carries a notable sword with him. It could be the focus of our Locate Object spell, though given we were not able to ping the bow, I am afraid this will likely be a bust.

We have the Hedge Wizard's Cloak to cast Detect Magic and look for any auras, inside and outside.

Finally, looking at our equipment, we have the Shining Wayfinder we can use as a drow detector when we are reasonably sure he is somewhere around and alive.

As we can reasonably pin this on the elves, we might want to look for places they could be taking their prisoners to. Since they are unlikely to have their own safe houses in the city, they might be using House Basri's infrastructure. Might want to start digging from that end; there are a few questions we might ask Miska's skull.

[X] Have Pepper get a sniff of this
-[X] Kori uses Shadow Enchantment to cast Bestow Insight (Perception) on Pepper when he tries to discern scents in the room.
-[X] Mina will use a Scrying scroll to search for Sir Pisca as soon as the palace staff find a suitable mirror to serve as a focus for the spell.
-[X] Cob will use his cloak's Detect Secret Doors power to check the library for hidden entrances, as well as the nearby chambers, and its Detect Magic spell to look for magic auras along with Sirim. He will also examine the open window from the inside and the outside, looking for evidence to determine if it was opened by magical or mundane means.
 
Last edited:
Nevill said:
We have the Hedge Wizard's Cloak to cast Detect Magic and look for any auras, inside and outside.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
The plan from the previous chapter already called for Sirim to check this chamber for magical auras. He has that covered.
Nevill said:
The heavy thing, what does a scratch look like? Is it a weapon, like Pisca's sword? Is it Sir Pisca himself, slamming against the wall in his armor? Was he put to sleep and fell down? We can get some information from guessing what could have left it.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Mentioning the cloak does remind me that we are in a library in an old castle. Seems like a good time for Cob to use its Detect Secret Doors spell to check for hidden entrances into the room. Saenar and Pisca have probably been teleported far away or they're actually very close at hand. Maybe even still in the palace?

Corrupt guards were a concern, after all, so corrupt palace staff probably are as well. If there was a hidden way to ambush the pair, it could have also been used to remove them without being seen.

Updating the plan.
 
Goldfish said:
Mentioning the cloak does remind me that we are in a library in an old castle.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
It would be awfully convenient for the scratches to be left by a shelf-turned-secret-door. Cliche, but convenient.

The notebook is a clue as well. Why would there be water? The most apparent source of water is outside.
DragonParadox said:
OOC: I tried generating the room with AI as an experiment... it's not worth it, the thing put so many laptops and swivel chairs in the picture.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
What's the average drow description? Ashen skin, red eyes, never sees the light of day, worship daemons? It just generates their natural environment.
 
Last edited:
Goldfish said:
The plan from the previous chapter already called for Sirim to check this chamber for magical auras. He has that covered.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
To see a magic aura in the open would be easy for anyone with mage sight, which the culprits might have for cleanup purposes. They take care to not leave traces. I don't know if magic could be cleaned up, but anything that gives a particularly strong aura can simply be removed from the room.

It makes sense to look in places that aren't evident at first glance, where they forgot to look or didn't think that anyone would come looking. And that's a Perception check, which is a class skill for Cob and not-on-his-sheet-at-all for Sirim.

That is why I want Cob to do the spotting. Sirim would be useful to analyze whatever is found, as Cob is not trained in magic to tell one aura from another.

Also, the window is open. It makes sense to check the obvious exit before looking for secret passages.
 
Last edited:
Nevill said:
To see a magic aura in the open would be easy for anyone with mage sight, which the culprits might have for cleanup purposes. They take care to not leave traces. I don't know if magic could be cleaned up, but anything that gives a particularly strong aura can simply be removed from the room.

It makes sense to look in places that aren't evident at first glance, where they forgot to look or didn't think that anyone would come looking. And that's a Perception check, which is a class skill for Cob and not-on-his-sheet-at-all for Sirim.

That is why I want Cob to do the spotting. Sirim would be useful to analyze whatever is found, as Cob is not trained in magic to tell one aura from another.

Also, the window is open. It makes sense to check the obvious exit before looking for secret passages.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Magic auras can be disguised or hidden, but it's not easy, and each aura has to be targeted with a separate Magic Aura spell. DP could houserule that Dispel Magic spells could do it, too, but that's even more costly in terms of spell level investment.

Magic Aura – d20PFSRD

www.d20pfsrd.com www.d20pfsrd.com

If any auras remain in the room, finding them won't be a matter of Perception. Detect Magic will make them visible, and then it relies on Knowledge (Arcana) and Spellcraft checks to interpret those auras. Cob could use the cloak to cast Detect Magic, but he won't be able to do it any better than Sirim and he won't learn anything from it.

Detect Magic – d20PFSRD

www.d20pfsrd.com www.d20pfsrd.com

Sirim can examine the room for auras, plus check the window for traces of something like a Knock spell. It won't hurt to have Cob check (adding that now) while Mina casts the Scrying spell, but he isn't going to see any auras that Sirim missed. Better to have him looking for physical clues.

That reminds me, @DragonParadox, Cob and Gorok each had a +5 bonus from Mina's Encouraging Mythic Heroism spells when they checked the room. Would increasing the results of their Perception checks by +5 have revealed additional clues?
 
Last edited:
DragonParadox said:
Unfortunately not for either of them, it would have allowed Gorok to also notice what Cob did, but that is about it.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Ah, gotcha.

If Cob didn't spot anything else with a 31 Perception check, I doubt there are any additional physical clues to be found.

Hopefully Pepper will catch a useful scent. Between his +8 bonus, +3 from Bestow Insight, and +8 from having the Scent ability, he's got a solid chance of getting a whiff of something.
 
Artemis1992 said:
Something I never noticed before, there's a feat to buy off the casting-penalties from taking Prestige Classes:

Prestigious Spellcaster - Feats - Archives of Nethys: Pathfinder RPG Database

Increase your effective spellcasting level when your prestige class doesn't.
aonprd.com

Potentially useful, since arcane casters usually have far less need for feats than fighters or divine casters.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Yeah, it's kinda the Pathfinder version of the 3.5 Practiced Spellcaster feat.

Too bad it costs two feats to make it work, though.
 
[X] Goldfish

@Goldfish we know any spells that could restore journal to a previous state? See if there was anything written on it that could help?
 
Massgamer said:
[X] Goldfish

@Goldfish we know any spells that could restore journal to a previous state? See if there was anything written on it that could help?
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
There aren't any I can find that would be able to do it by RAW.

Unless @DragonParadox is generous and allows a Mending spell to restore the writing under the premise that water removing the ink counts as damage.
 
Artemis1992 said:
It's better though.

Practiced Spellcaster raises your raw CL.
This feat actually seems to raise your effective level like the classfeature does.
Which should increase spell-progression.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Better in most ways that matter.

It would have to be, to convince most people to use a Prestige class. They're rarely better than just sticking to your regular class and archetype.
 
Goldfish said:
Better in most ways that matter.

It would have to be, to convince most people to use a Prestige class. They're rarely better than just sticking to your regular class and archetype.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Sometimes they can be good at combining two things.
Or at enhancing a specific aspect of a build.

Rarely mechanically superior in general, but there are niche-cases.
And of course sometimes it's just good flavor, specifically for the servant-of-a-specific-deity classes.
 
I've been looking at options for Gorok's level up and I think we should retrain Gorok's Harvest Parts feat at 7th level.

It made sense for him early on, but he has well and truly grown out of it at this point.

In exchange, he could pick up the Boon Companion feat:

Boon Companion – d20PFSRD

www.d20pfsrd.com www.d20pfsrd.com

This will boost Gorok's Animal Companion class feature to equal his Ranger level rather than always having a -3 penalty. It will be a significant boost for Warty. His HD will increase, attributes, BAB, feats, etc. He'll be able to throw his weight around in combat much easier and with less danger.

Also, I wouldn't mind retraining Gorok's Lantern Bearer archetype, if y'all are willing and DP allows it.

Here's the one I've been looking at:

Churimanger – d20PFSRD

www.d20pfsrd.com www.d20pfsrd.com

Gorok would lose the ability to cast spells, but he would be able to use Eidolon Evolution points on Warty. Ranger spellcasting isn't all that great to begin with, so it wouldn't be a big loss, IMO, especially compared to Super Warty.

Combined with the Boon Companion feat, Warty would be a real threat in combat. After Gorok's level up, we could give Warty two additional natural attacks, the Pounce ability, increase his damage and Natural Armor bonus to AC.

Eventually, we could really upgrade Warty with all sorts of abilities. We could even give him wings if we wanted him to be able to fly.
 
Not a fan of the archetype to be honest.

Ranger spells are rarely strong, bit they have some tricks nobody else does.
And I kinda prefer Warty as a regular Animal Companion.

Also I'm not sure I like that homebrew archetype even separate from applying it to us.
 
Artemis1992 said:
Not a fan of the archetype to be honest.

Ranger spells are rarely strong, bit they have some tricks nobody else does.
And I kinda prefer Warty as a regular Animal Companion.

Also I'm not sure I like that homebrew archetype even separate from applying it to us.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
I like it well enough, except for the weird ass name.

Figured it wouldn't get a lot of traction with the rest of ya'll, though. Spells can be useful, despite how limited they are for Rangers.

Thoughts on picking up Boon Companion instead of Harvest Parts? I would like to retrain his archetype, but I really want to retrain that feat now.
 
Goldfish said:
I like it well enough, except for the weird ass name.

Figured it wouldn't get a lot of traction with the rest of ya'll, though. Spells can be useful, despite how limited they are for Rangers.

Thoughts on picking up Boon Companion instead of Harvest Parts? I would like to retrain his archetype, but I really want to retrain that feat now.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Sure.

Harvest was nice flavor, but not mechanically relevant.

Now that we have Big Money he can just keep some trophies, rather than sell the parts.
A bit like the difference between a noble hunting for some nice piece for his collection, instead of a poacher who needs it to survive.
 
Reader mode
You must login or register to reply here.
Remove ads
Back
Top