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Finding the Spark (Pathfinder 1E Quest)

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BeepSmile said:
We might as well activate some of our less valuable hour/level and 10min/level buffs before we start poking?


There's probably more "low cost[1]" buffs, but...

Um. Kori's Shadow Shield thingy,
Gorok's scabbard of crits on at least one of Cob's weapons.
Gorok has put poison in his blade, so he has that ready.
Everyone should wear a one of the squids - of if you can't breath air while wearing one, then have a squid close at hand ready to put on.

Oh! As a spontaneous caster, Pepper can drop an Mage Armour or two on someone?

[1] As in, they don't require a consumable, the resource can't be used for something much more powerful, and if the resource used turns out to wasted, it won't be too upsetting[2], and if everything were to kick off suddenly, we

[2] An hour of Koir's Shadow Shield, a charge from Gorok's scabbard and one or two of Pepper's level 1 slots feel inexpensive to me.
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Plan updated to include some long duration buffs. Better safe than sorry.
BeepSmile said:
Maybe it'd be worth dropping an Invisiblility so he can scout more safely rather than acting as a canary if he gets popped?
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That was already part of the plan.
 
Oh boy, description implies something nasty.

[X] Goldfish

@DragonParadox did we loot mask, bindings, and cage after freeing princess? Were they magical/worth anything at all?

Also, what does she look like with it off now?
 
DragonParadox said:
The mask is magical, but you would have to take it off her which Serina either can't or won't do.
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When we get off the ship, it might be nice to directly up ask if she'd like for us to take a look at the mask - buff up and do some Detect magic + spellcraft rolls.
If she says no, that's fine.

[Hypothesis: Mask is cursed so it she might not be able to ask to have it removed. Asking to have a look at it (and thus ID any curse it might have) is my thinking for how to get around that hypothetical curse].
 
Vote closed.
Adhoc vote count started by DragonParadox on Feb 5, 2025 at 12:20 PM, finished with 15 posts and 3 votes.
  • [X] Sirim casts Shadow Conjuration to change Avarice's special abilities from those of an Occult Dragon to a Brine Dragon. With his new Swim speed, and Invisible thanks to a spell from Kori and Mage Armor from Pepper, Avarice will slip beneath the ship and telepathically relay what he discovers to the party.
    -[X] Before Avarice investigates:
    --[X] Kori activates his Cloak of Darkness and casts Defending Bone.
    --[X] Mina casts Mage Armor and See Invisibility on herself, then Delay Poison: Communal on the party, plus Anippe, Pepper, and Serina.
    --[X] Pepper casts Mage Armor on himself and Sirim.
    --[X] Sirim casts Magic Circle Against Evil, then casts Reduce Person on Cob.
    --[X] Gorok and Cob each use Gorok's scabbard to enhance their weapons.
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Arc 10: Post 43: Course of the Broken New
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    • Course of the Broken ​

    8th of Abadius 4708 A.R. (Absalom Reckoning)

    Now garbed in sleek black scales, Avarice launches itself beneath the surface and then you wait, looking out over the waters as you lay down spells of protection and preservation. While the iruxi herd their young back towards the cabin, where they are joined by most of their elders, the Thuvian sailors hasten to arm themselves, though it is with the air of men overcome with sudden dread, muttering prayers under their breath to any power that will listen. One of them even says something about Asmodeus that has you biting your tongue, now is not the time to argue faith.

    "Dead below," the voice of the dragon rings out like an indictment. "They clamber atop a metal contraption and pull festering ooze from the gaps between its rusted plates to crawl their way up the underside of the ship like parasites."

    Sirim is the first one to gather his wits and start asking questions: "What manner of dead? Are they limber of limb or stiff? What manner of death? Drowning, violence, or sickness?"

    "I am not in possession of that knowledge," the other replied, leading to a moment of silent communion between the two.

    "What of the device? You said it was metal?"

    "It has the look of a vessel that once might have borne men under the sea, though its surface is scarred and pitted with rust, its viewing ports torn open."

    "I did not know..." Serina thrusts out her chest as though to compensate for the uncertainty you hear in her voice. "This, I think, is how the Sisters of the Sea planned to rescue me from my transport ship. Alas, I fear they will not take a refusal well, now that I have chooses to travel another path."

    "Well, why aren't they attacking then?" Anippe bursts out, wrapping fear in bravura as you'd seen done many times in your youth, though admittedly never in one quite so young for a cause so serious.

    "'Cause they don't know we know," Cob puts in, waving an expansive hand over the group that includes everyone from Avarice and Pepper to a somewhat confused and not terribly stealthy Warty. "We're sneaks."

    "So can we just make the ship go faster, outrun them?" Anippe asks, still worried. "Mother can conjure wind. I think you've mastered about the... Third Circle of spells, right?"

    "The question, child, is not one of our competence, but of its best use. If we flee we invite pursuit," Sirim notes.

    "And its good to lay the dead to rest when we find them," Mina says, though it's clear the presence of the young girl gives her pause in arguing for battle.

    What do you think should be done?

    [] Try to outrun the strange pursuers

    [] Fight them, you are curious about the metal ship

    [] Write in

    OOC: Cob was not kidding up there, you guys are extremely sneaky. To any remotely level appropriate enemy that isn't built around perception you really are ghosts, auxiliary members included.
     
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    • Always nice when things are working as intended!

    Sea Hags also aren't known for their talents with far viewing.

    I admit I'm curious about what kind of vehicle they got their hands on...

    A submarine could be intensely useful for future exploration of Azlanti ruins
     
    I think I'd choose to run, on the off chance we are in hag territory and they can interfere in some way. The dead can pursue, but absent support and direction from the hags I don't think they will fare very well.
     
    The stakes are too high to stop and fight, IMO. We are on a conjured ship with an expiration date and Gorok's entire tribe. Not every encounter needs to come down to a fight for us to succeed.

    We should be faster than anything can pursue us underwater just using our Tailstream and Trade Wind spell combination, so long as we don't stop it slow down for things like fishing or sightseeing. Maybe we can add another spell on top of that to put some more distance between us?

    @DragonParadox, can we use a Fill the Sails spell cast by Sirim in conjunction with Mina's Trade Wind spell to further increase our speed?
     
    DragonParadox said:
    OOC: Cob was not kidding up there, you guys are extremely sneaky, to any remotely level appropriate enemy that isn't built around perception you really are ghosts, auxiliary members included.
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    When we Awaken Warty, I want it to involve [cheese] that gives our best boi stealth nonsense.
    ------
    Thoughs: Maybe we should have someone on dispelling duty?
    To counter any dispelling magics sent at the ship?

    Also, Sirim should cast Mythic Haste. Because I love that spell. Because something something additional move action.
     
    A bunch of sea hags sending what sounds like a submarine full of undead to try and board us from beneath? That is nightmare fuel.

    @Goldfish could we use some kind of turn undead spell while we are boosting up speed to make the undead that are already clinging to ship go away?
     
    Massgamer said:
    A bunch of sea hags sending what sounds like a submarine full of undead to try and board us from beneath? That is nightmare fuel.

    @Goldfish could we use some kind of turn undead spell while we are boosting up speed to make the undead that are already clinging to ship go away?
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    I don't think there are any Undead on our ship yet, right @DragonParadox? It was just the ooze that was on the hull?
     
    Goldfish said:
    The stakes are too high to stop and fight, IMO. We are on a conjured ship with an expiration date and Gorok's entire tribe. Not every encounter needs to come down to a fight for us to succeed.
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    On the other hand...
    DragonParadox said:
    [] Fight them, you are curious about the metal ship
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    This is the prize. And there is an underwater fortress somewhere in the Inner Sea, awakening to the arrival of its former masters.

    But I think I'd rather raid Azlanti vaults on land before we dive into the sea.
     
    I'm thinking we should just make a run for it. Underwater combat is always a pain in the ass, even when you have the right spells and abilities to overcome most of the hurdles involved.
    Since we are escorting precious cargo, we should prioritize keeping them safe instead of getting into a fight.

    This might seem a bit silly, but I think it could work. An Extended Deeper Darkness spell would last 140 minutes, and an Invisible, Tiny-sized Avarice should be able to hide that pebble where it will be very difficult to find. There aren't any Hags I'm aware of that can cast Dispel Magic, though nothing is guaranteed. If the plan succeeds, Avarice should be able to tell us more about what's happening inside the vessel and effectively blind everyone inside and around it for quite a while.

    Meanwhile, our ship is boosting out of the area at turbo speed (relatively speaking).

    [X] Now you see me, now you don't!
    -[X] Try to outrun the strange pursuers
    --[X] Kori will cast two Extended Deeper Darkness spells on a pair of small pebbles inside of a small coin pouch or similar container. Avarice will return to take the pouch, then sneak upon the metal vessel and lodge the Deeper Darkness pebbles somewhere in its hull so they won't easily be removed before returning to the ship. He'll let us know if there are any Undead still clinging to our hull after our Summons are finished.
    ---[X] If there are still Undead on the hull after we make a break for it, additional steps will need to be taken.
    --[X] Mina will cast Summon Monster IV to Summon a Medium Water Elemental with instructions to dislodge the Undead from the bottom of our ship. The objective isn't to destroy them, but merely to keep them off the ship until we can depart.
    --[X] Sirim will cast Shadow Conjuration to duplicate a Summon Monster III to Summon a pod of 1d4+1 Celestial Dolphins. They will be assist Mina's Water Elemental using their Smite Evil ability.
    --[X] Gorok will cast his Aquatic Cavalry spell, sending the two Summoned Hippocampi to aid Mina's Water Elemental.
    --[X] Kori will cast Bless on everyone using his Page of Spell Knowledge, Summoned creatures included, once they are in the water.
    -[X] Once the Summoned sea creatures are sent on their mission, Sirim will use Wild Arcana to cast a Fill the Sails spell to further enhance the ship's speed, along with our Trade Wind and Tailstream spells. After it elapses in 90 minutes, he will cast it again.
    -[X] From this point forward, we won't be slowing down to fish or for other unnecessary tasks unless a Divination performed by Kori indicates we are no longer being followed. Between the rations we brought in our Bags of Holding, any supplies taken from the former prison ship, and Allfood spells cast by Gorok, everyone should be able to manage until we reach out destination.
     
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    ...Two Deeper Darkness spells, to be dick? :p [

    (It might be unreasonable to try lodge the second in place while under the effect of the first)
    Then again, lodging the first in place would already be hard.

    What about a piece of string well tied around a pebble, with both the string and pebble having separate DDs on them?

    Also, if we can't lodge the pebble in a place where it still allows DD to be emitted, is there some sort of waterproof Alchemical Glue we can use?
     
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