Previous session wrap up
You are to meet at Claudia's place tonight after work to come up with a common alibi for last session. Coordinate excuses.
Lydian will suggest - "Acting as auditors for an internal test since the group has no arcane magic users."
(Meeting at Claudia's place)
The address you were given leads you to the busy center of University district. On the winding narrow roads you come to the three way intersection and find the address you were given corresponds to a bar called the "Poelard Arms". A tall dark skinned bouncer directs you through the room toward a back stairway. Says Claudia has the top floor of the building.
The club is crowd of younger folks of several races. The bartender seems to serve both beer and black steaming mugs of qahwa a caffeinated beverage currently trendy among the college crowd. The room is full of the rich scent of the beverage and of the honey used to sweeten the rich black steaming drink.
While walking across the room your eyes are drawn to a small stage on which trio performs. A human poet speaks in time while a elven lass in silk dress croons wordlessly while playing handdrums and a bass player plays soft but frenetic patterns underlying it all.
(If anyone asks what they are performing)
She’s there
Dark and beautiful
You look away, but your eyes are drawn
Again and again
Mustn’t let her notice…
She may be flattered
……but you can’t take that chance
Nor can you stop yourself looking
Taking in the beauty
Not just her face, but her hair…
and down...
below where the thoughts must not dwell
but they do!
and you find yourself looking again and again
like a moth drawn to flames
your eyes alight then leap away
singed with her intensity.
and the need for just one more look...
Up the stairs the landing is covered with signatures carved into the wooden wall. A newly installed wooden door must be Claudia's given the smiley faces and hearts painted all over it as well as the eye slit at waist height.
Inside the room there is a whimsical collection of cushy floor pillows and kneeling tables that work well for groups of widely mixed heights. The room is one of several but tapestries woodcarvings and large throw cushions fill the space.
Lydian lounges on a low divan wearing the dark goggles you acquired earlier to conceal his eyes. Claudia meanwhile sits in a basket chair hung from the ceiling letting her see eye to eye with others in the room. She is tapping her heels with the rhythm of the bass barely heard from below. Peanut sits in the corner gnawing on something large and round.
Behind him is the entry to a canary yellow bedroom lined with low shelves and filled with trinkets, dolls, and carvings. An immense bed dominates that room and sports a hastily assembled ramp obviously used to access a bed clearly large enough to sleep her, her dog and various company to boot.
First plan excuse.
Next dog wanders out. Last dog comes back with a guest Wei Long. (Mother told him Fae was here. Great aunt was watching through a distant cousin (loves music) and saw her enter, and mom told him to come ask about the undead earlier because she knows about his disability and the figure was a uncle of his. (His Uncle was the fellow who was animated in the fiasco. Also mention that Long was stillborn he has no ancestor connections at all despite being pure blooded.)
Help Lydian recover spells. 3 ideas : Get him into ministry library, Sneak him into his house, impound illegal copies but let him peruse them. His personal suggestion is that the group go after Mu Epsilon Nu as that fraternity has always been rumored to have some way to sneak out unseen. Alternately a potion of invisibility would work.
The fraternity has always been reputed to have a hat of disguise or maybe some potions but it is likely that they may not be properly registered.
Fraternity
Fraternity is 3 story building in university district.
Skill challenge 5/3 DC 15 successes to find lead. Bluff, Diplomacy, Intimidate, Perception, Spellcraft
First floor
Upon entering you are in a small antechamber. A door behind you to the right opens into a room where you hear a number of voices raised in in friendly debate. To your left is a bathroom. Forward you hear the clanking of dishes. Also here are stairs to the second floor.
living room - half a dozen students playing a game of "whodunnit" a tapped keg sits nearby.
dining hall - 3 students eating
kitchen - a tall thin man with a long twisted moustache works in a small kitchen cooking with 2 large ovens.
bathrooms - 2 bathroom stalls.
Second floor
The second floor landing has two oaken doors with nameplates. The one on left is labeled Edwin Library and has a tie hung over the door. The other door is Fellows Hall. a hall leads to another two doorways one standing ajar. At the other end of the hall is a stairway going up to the third floor.
The landing is filled with large paper mache busts of current students. They somewhat block the stairwell and could be a fire hazard.
library - junior and girlfriend are making out. Books are mostly irrelevant "stock" books rather than real useful books. A few references are interspersed. A guy Daren and a girl Priscilla are trying to study though the guy is more intent on putting the moves. He may "recognize" Claudia from the club. The girl is a friend of one of Giera's little sisters (Albienne and a bit young to be hanging out with frat boys). On top of a book in library there is a wand of charm that another student left out. It is supposed to be concealed in the metal leg of te desk. (shielded - several scrolls are stored there as well as a wand of magic missiles. Some leakage may occur as the leg was improperly closed)
lounge/smoking room - This room is dominated by two large stone fireplaces. The walls are covered with mounted animal heads, gambling tables, ashtreys, and comfortable chairs fill the room. A table with brandies and liqueurs dominates the west wall. A alcove with a notebook labeled assignation book. (Book has sign-outs typically at night mostly signouts for cloak.) Cabinet below has concealed latch and a metal box which cuts emanations there is also a demonic skull in cabinet though and it still radiates faint evil. (used for some ritual purposes in fraternity, mainly to scare teh freshmen but the oaths of service sustain it somewhat and its presence makes the oaths binding. (Cursed cloak of invisibility. (faint 3rd - unbound and not registered?) Mild Curse only works while naked other than cloak. Fine otherwise.)
bedroom suite (senior fellow) - grouchy fellow who knows a bit about legal requirements. Will hassle party and delay them while he sends frosh his it tutoring to gets campus representative to intervene.
bathroom and showers - large 4 person shower, 2 toilets.
Third floor
Third floor has four doors labeled by graduating class.
Bedroom suite - frosh (four beds, stash of cookies, a couple books, a half carved walking stick)
Bedroom suite - soph (foreign books, paintings, complete mess two slobs, funky puzzlebox)
Bedroom suite - juniors (sports equipment, couple sleeping in (very charming fellow), bookish fellow)
Bedroom suite - seniors (booze, chick mags, music instruments)
Morning briefing
You show up for morning briefing. Tan Li's assistant says he is in but not ready to see you yet. After about fifteen minutes of waiting you are finally shown in. As you are shown in the assistant walks over to Tan Li and says "still no sign of him" before walking out and closing the door behind him.
Tan Li looks up and says "well, do you have an explanation for yesterday's fiasco?" You notice a slight tick to his cheek and the coffee mug is no where to be seen though you do see a coffee stain on the floor near one wall.
Skill challenge DC 20 7/3 Bluff, Diplomacy, Knowledge (Nobility), Profession (Law).
Questioning:
Why did you not tell me at yesterdays debriefing?
Who commands your team? And on whose authority did you decide to change orders? Why did you not consult with me?
What were the rest of you doing at the time?
So the big bust was a total bust. The market district is pissed somewhere there was a miscommunication and they staked out the wrong building. Our team lost face through no fault of your own and at the same time as this was going badly you decided that half the team should desert their duties and conduct an audit?
And whose idea was tearing pages out of a magical book? And how did you select the book in question? What if you had grabbed an enchanted grimoire?
Losses:
Oh before I forget, congratulations on your promotions. I normally prefer to be told when my direct assigns have been promoted but I was informed this morning by departmental mail. I requested a senior officer to take over the team and no one was willing to to supervise you.
You are probably not aware, Llewellyn and the conservatives opposed the this special project as an expensive boondogle. I had to fight tooth and nail to get funding and he/she has been fighting to cut costs by shuttering the group. TO reduce costs. We have better outcomes and more cases. Of course expenses will be higher! This is R&D! And yet you go and handed him a few more votes in the next council session.
Central was pissed at the surprise audit. Somehow because of the new security processes they neglected to send any of this team's new equipment and assured us that things are delayed by having to implement all new security processes. (team loses magic items this session)
Failure - 3 failures gets Giera reprimanded and her ranking taken back.
(other problems include thule fellow animated (uncle of someone very important 99/100 on importance scale) and the unofficial audit at Llewellyn's request. Fae Li passed over and a new supervisor brought in to watch over them. BUT the supervisor did not show up for work today rather than work with them! So why don't you go out there and try to cause less trouble today? Fishmarket has had several missing pets. Also the missing person form the other day is still open. Go check into it and don't come back unless you have found something interesting... DISMISSED.
Pick up gear / check out with whisper
(potions and scrolls available. cloaks and misc items are not available)
Giera may need to turn in her stripes.
(3 comm orbs - I heard you requested more orbs. Only one is gonna be receiving most of the time.)
(possible gear mixup in progress during their checkout)
Statutory Crime
Lots of Missing animal reports near market.
Boy Johnathon reported missing.
See flow chart for clues to mystery.
Item stolen and now in a botanical garden. Garden has an unsealed statue with magic that was causing minor plan like creatures to animate but the statue has had some control until it was supplanted by the new more powerful leader.
Synopsys - Take care of garden and find lost item. Item is unauthorized and must be destroyed for being necromantic. Boy in household stole item to use on bird in garden. Garden has status of man holding bird aloft. Man is indistinct but bird is breathtaking down to the talons sinking into the mans cuff. The bird has worn lead anklets that seal the poly/petrify. Is actually a fiendish creature whose regen keeps it pristine (use imp). Boy was asked mentally and suggested over years into the action. Imp will look for susceptible members to suggest in party.
Note due to presence of Darkskull some fights will be trickier (+4 vs channel saves, +1 hit, +2 AC, +7 HP)
3 Stirges CR 1/2 XP 200
N Tiny magical beast
Init +4; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision, scent; Perception +1
AC 18, touch 18, flat-footed 14 (+4 Dex, +2 size, Prot good)
hp 12 (1d10)
Fort +2, Ref +6, Will +1
Speed 10 ft., fly 40 ft. (average)
Melee touch +8 (attach)
Space 2-1/2 ft.; Reach 0 ft.
Special Attacks blood drain
Str 3, Dex 19, Con 10, Int 1, Wis 12, Cha 6
Base Atk +2; CMB +4 (+12 grapple when attached); CMD 10 (18 vs. trip)
Feats Weapon Finesse
SQ diseased
Special Abilities
Attach (Ex) When a stirge hits with a touch attack, its barbed legs latch onto the target, anchoring it in place. An attached stirge is effectively grappling its prey. The stirge loses its Dexterity bonus to AC and has an AC of 12, but holds on with great tenacity and inserts its proboscis into the grappled target's flesh. A stirge has a +8 racial bonus to maintain its grapple on a foe once it is attached. An attached stirge can be struck with a weapon or grappled itself—if its prey manages to win a grapple check or Escape Artist check against it, the stirge is removed.
Blood Drain (Ex) A stirge drains blood at the end of its turn if it is attached to a foe, inflicting 1 point of Constitution damage. Once a stirge has dealt 4 points of Constitution damage, it detaches and flies off to digest the meal. If its victim dies before the stirge's appetite has been sated, the stirge detaches and seeks a new target.
Diseased (Ex) Due to the stagnant swamps in which they live and their contact with the blood of numerous creatures, stirges are harbingers of disease. Any creature subjected to a stirge's blood drain attack has a 10% chance of being exposed to filth fever, blinding sickness, or a similar disease (Pathfinder RPG Core Rulebook 557). Once this check is made, the victim can no longer be infected by this particular stirge, though attacks by different stirges are resolved normally and may result in multiple illnesses.
Assassin Vine CR 3 XP 800
N Large plant
Init +0; Senses blindsight 30 ft., low-light vision; Perception +1
AC 17, touch 11, flat-footed 17 (+6 natural, –1 size, +2 prot)
hp 37 (4d8+12)
Fort +7, Ref +1, Will +2
Immune electricity, plant traits; Resist cold 10 and fire 10
Speed 5 ft.
Melee slam +8 (1d8+7 plus grab)
Space 10 ft.; Reach 10 ft.
Special Attacks constrict (1d8+7), entangle
Str 20, Dex 10, Con 16, Int —, Wis 13, Cha 9
Base Atk +4; CMB +10 (+14 grapple); CMD 19 (can't be tripped)
SQ camouflage
Camouflage (Ex) Since an assassin vine looks like a normal plant when at rest, a DC 20 Perception check is required to notice it before it attacks for the first time. Anyone with ranks in Survival or Knowledge (nature) can use either of those skills instead of Perception to notice the plant.
Entangle (Su) An assassin vine can, as a free action, cause plants within 30 feet of it to animate and grasp at foes. This ability is otherwise similar to entangle (CL 4th, DC 13). The save DC is Wisdom-based.
Statue Moderate (note touching for long you will have to start making fort saves or be partially petrified. ) near statue is a skull that also radiates moderate magic and strong evil.
Skill challenge -
spellcraft - moderate transformation (bound? dpes bound expire?)
Sangan Statue Name - moeilik metgesel (Fae Li)
translate - Seth "A difficult companion"
det evil - yep
perception - broken seal?
Garden has status of indistinct man holding breathtaking bird aloft. (Man is faded from years of erosion but bird is still breathtaking down to the talons sinking into the mans cuff. The bird has worn lead anklets that used to seal the poly/petrify. The seal was broken recently. Bird is an Imp whose regen keeps it pristine (see imp). Boy was asked mentally to help free it using darkskull. Imp will look for succeptible members to suggest in party.
Fae Li - blood haunting may reveal that a century ago the statue was a man in robes and the bird was lashing out at the robed man who was a famous warlock several centuries back. It was supposed to show him and his familiar with whom he was famous for arguing with.
Darkskull
Aura moderate evocation [evil]; CL 9th
This skull, carved from ebony, is wholly evil. Wherever the skull goes, the area around it is treated as though an unhallow spell had been cast with the skull as the touched point of origin. Each darkskull has a single spell effect tied to it. (Aid in this case)
Note - Will need to have golumns to pick up skull, will need to destroy skull so may meet Jonas sander (aka sunder) the pally who wields the "Nekome" and destroys magic too dangerous to be kept.
Sander (sunder)
Laconic paladin who both fears the weapon and looks forward to using it to destroy evil. He is Albienne lesser noble who devoted self to serving Ministry. The weapon is an Albienne weapon and he has to wield it in a full death suit. Weapon is holy avenger intelligent with powers. Weapon is "Nekome" a maul of Albienne Origin and can speak/read. May be "interested" in Theo if it recognizes his features.
End of Shift - Debriefing