[Pressed for time but I wanted to get this out this week. Proper format and edit to follow tomorrow.]
[Day 66 Continues – The Ratpack confronts She!]
[This game uses the Pathfinder 1E roleplaying game. Game sessions happen once a week. This session happened November 15, 2021.]
[SPOILERS! If you are likely to adventure through the Shattered Star Adventure Path from Paizo, this campaign will be spoilers all the way down.]
Player Characters
Marativy – female ratfolk 7th level Ninja
Zitch Grimreaper – male ratfolk 7th level Witch with a donkey rat (capybara) familiar
Roscuro – male ratfolk 7th level Monk
Swamprover – female grippli 6th level Wizard
Hrefna – female changeling 6th level Omdura
Via Roll20
Templeton von Trapp – male ratfolk 7th level Summoner (Synthesist)
NPCs
Gridik Stormstride – male blue kobold 5th level Wizard (Invoker)
Ariphi – female tiefling 6th level Rogue
Mel Sharples – male halfling Cook (Expert of unknown level)
Alice Hyatt – female halfling Bodyguard (Warrior of unknown level)
Flo’ Castleberry – female gnome Bodyguard (Warrior of unknown level)
Autumn
Day 66
Mid-day
“I am Oriana, and if you will let me, I will fight at your side.”
With those words, the leader of the Grey Maidens threw her lot in with the Ratpack. Marativy confiscated Oriana’s discarded sword and proceeded to loot the bodies of the dead Grey Maidens. Zitch used several healing hexes on Oriana who appreciated the healing. Roscuro talked with Oriana while the others went about preparing for the next fight.
Gridik used his pearl of Power to restore a casting of Magic Missile to his memory. Swamprover and Zitch cast Detect Magic and searched the area. They discovered that Oriana’s sword was magical, as was a floating point in the room. They identified the floating point as a sensor for a spell, meaning Sorshen was spying on the group and knew that Oriana had switched sides. Marativy and Zitch also explored the last room on this level, which was Oriana’s bedroom.
Oriana herself was not much help regarding information about how to get to Sorshen. Apparently Sorshen teleported her minions where she needed them to go and none ever got a feel for where things were or how to get around without being teleported. Roscuro was less than impressed.
Once the group was ready to continue, they set to solving the riddle of getting to the next area. The two central rooms of this floor [the rooms that were not receiving areas for the teleportation area below] each had a mosaic of a snake on the floor and a pedestal with a disk on top in the center. Oriana wasable to share that the disks turned the floor mosaics. The Ratpack first turned one of the mosaics and then the other [it took several working on it at a time to turn the floors] until the heads of each snake were closest to each other. This caused a gold mist to appear in the doorway between the two rooms.
The adventurers waited until their magic items finally reactivated from the Dispel Magic effect they suffered teleporting to this floor. Several adventurers activated defensive magic items. Oriana asked to have her sword back so she could fight Sorshen. Marativy argued against this, having taken the greatest injuries for Oriana prior to her switching sides. Oriana presented a fair case that she would be most useful with the sword and none of the Ratpack actually used longswords as weapons. Roscuro found this compelling and handed the sword back to Oriana. Then the group stepped into the golden mist.
When they reappeared, they were standing on another snake mosaic on the edge of a circular, domed room. Clothes and pieces of armor were strewn around the room. Off to their left, against the wall was an area raised a foot above the rest of the floor upon which sat an enormous four-poster bed with a canopy suspended from the posts. Reclining on the bed was Sorshen.
Sorshen started talking rather than fighting, so the adventurers responded. Roscuro explained the group was here for a metal shard, describing the shard in question. She refused to part with the shard and started monologuing. This was when Roscuro decided the conversation was going nowhere useful for the adventurers and went to attack.
Noticing the shift in stance, Sorshen cast Confusion on the group and then flew 15 feet up into the air. Not bothered by the height differential, Roscuro focused his ki and leapt straight at Sorshen…just missing her and crashing down onto the bed. Marativy advanced on Sorshen. Swamprover cast Fireball, catching Sorshen, Marativy, and Roscuro in the effect. Roscuro evaded the effects entirely, but Marativy and Sorshen only avoided half the effect. Templeton pounced at Sorshen and clawed her multiple times. She seemed immune to the cold effects from his claws, but he was able to get her to start bleeding. Zitch placed Protective Luck on Templeton. Hrefna, confused, swung at Ariphi but missed. Oriana, fully under the effect of the spell, babbled.
Sorshen fluttered back from Templeton, bleeding, and cast Fireball, hitting several of the adventurers and dropping Gridik. Roscuro leapt up to the canopy and walked the supports to get closer to Sorshen. Marativy joined Roscuro up on the canopy, which brought her close enough to attack and critically hit Sorshen. Swamprover moved to get a better angle [and to not be bunched up with the others] and cast Lightning Bolt at Sorshen, but the bolt fizzled on Sorshen’s spell resistance. Gridik slowly bled. Ariphi attacked Hrefna and hit her. Templeton cast Haste on Roscuro, Marativy, himself, and Zitch [the group not taken out by the Confusion spell]. Zitch moved up to Gridik and cast a Healing Hex on the kobold, keeping him from bleeding to death and bringing him back into the fight. Hrefna attempted to strike back at Ariphi and missed while Oriana attacked herself.
Sorshen fluttered away from Marativy [still bleeding] standing on the canopy and then attacked Templeton, dazing him. Roscuro leapt from the canopy onto the back of the hovering Templeton and struck Sorshen. Marativy leapt across to Templeton’s back and also struck Sorshen [doing Sneak Attack damage due to the Ratfolk Swarming trait]. Swamprover cast Acid Arrow at Sorshen but Sorshen was immune to its effects [due to 10 points of Energy Resistance]. Gridik cast Invisibility upon himself and stood up. Zitch put Protective Luck on Hrefna as she, Ariphi, and Oriana started fighting amongst themselves due to the Confusion effect.
Sorshen dropped her appearance as Sorshen and revealed herself to be an alu-fiend. She clawed at Marativy and hit twice, despite Roscuro and Templeton bodyguarding Marativy. Roscuro focused his ki and then made a flurry of blows, hitting the alu-fiend twice. Marativy also performed a full round of attacks, hitting critically, which allowed Roscuro to land an Outflank attack in on the alu-fiend. Gridik cast Dispel Magic to free Hrefna from the Confusion, but was unable to overcome the effect. Templeton needed to close with the alu-fiend to attack, which dislodged Marativy from his back [her ring of feather falling protecting her from the fall]. Unfortunately, all of Templeton’s attacks failed to connect. Zitch cast Protective Luck on Roscuro and cackled to maintain the effect on Hrefna. Hrefna dropped Ariphi in the fight of the confused but was in turn dropped by Oriana.
Still bleeding, the alu-fiend fluttered down closer to Marativy to attack her, hitting twice again. Roscuro attacked with a flurry of blows, hitting the alu-fiend three times. Marativy moved to flank the alu-fiend, which triggered an attack of opportunity from the alu-fiend who hit and dropped Marativy. Swamprover ran over to Marativy to render aid. Gridik moved to a better spot and cast Fire Breath, overcoming the alu-fiend’s spell resistance! Templeton clawed at her and hit twice. Zitch moved to Marativy and cast Cure Moderate Wounds, bringing Marativy back to consciousness. Ariphi stabilized and stopped bleeding [at -3 hit points]. Oriana babbled to herself.
The alu-fiend fluttered away from her attackers and cast Confusion again, catching Gridik and Marativy this time. Roscuro delayed to allow Templeton to move closer to the alu-fiend. Marativy, confused, attacked Zitch and hit him. Swamprover, taking not of Grigik’s success, cast Fire Breath and caught the alu-fiend in the effect. Gridik was able to have a moment of clarity in his confusion and cast Snow Ball at the alu-fiend, dropping her.
The adventurers then had to wait for the confusion effects to wear off while keeping anyone confused from harming anyone else or themselves. Roscuro made use of his Stunning Fist attack to speed this up. Once Hrefna was coherent, she immediately activated her healing aura, healing most of the damage taken in the fight.
[It was late, so we had to pause here.]
End of Session
Rat Whispers
[This session was mostly the big fight, which is why I detailed it out. Next session will be the looting and wrapping up some loose ends – like the pyrohydra!]
Ratpack
Book 1:
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Book 2:
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