Monday, August 10, 2015

Iron Gods (Backwards) The Choking Tower (Part 3): Session 2

Last week's session of my Pathfinder game continued  The Choking Tower. As usual spoilers for a published adventure path below the jump.



Characters:
Modok:  Android Magus (Bladedroid, Kensai)/7 with 26 Fame
- Balance: Artificial Intelligence/5, AI weapon, NPC 
Tebryn Vonnarc: Drow Magus (Eldritch Scion, Spelldancer)/7 with 27 Fame
- Kelvora: Viper, familiar, NPC 
Dagna Skyforge:  Dwarf Magus(Soulforger)/7 with 25 Fame
Ankul Bitor: Ratfolk Magus/4 Alchemist (Vivisectionist)/1 Rogue/2 with 24 Fame
-Steeltail: Ratfolk Rogue/4, NPC (League Hireling)

We picked up with the Varisian merchants camped in Heddick's lumberyard. Both Modok and Dagna wanted harrow readings and I experimented with different spreads, while dropping some hints about the campaign in cryptic divinatory fashion. 

They left the merchants and went to check out the Ealdorman's other lead, the Bardleigh quarry in the Badwater (after some reminding, since the players had all forgotten about that lead entirely). At the Bardleigh's they found a Varisian finger cymbal.  They went back to the Varisians with this evidence. Along the way somebody reversed pickpocketed Tebryn with the following note:
  Go to the Skelton Farm. Investigate the well. I know who you are. 

It was signed with the Technic League logo with a superimposed stylized Z as an Arcane Mark.


Much hilaraity was had at the name "Skelton" being misheard as the noun "skeleton" and the note was doodled on.

From the Varisians (once shown the cymba) they learned that Ilaris Zeleshi had joined the merchants shortly before arriving at Iandenveigh. Zeleshi apparently snuck away when the PCs were looking for her and getting Harrow readings.

The PCs arrived at the Skelton Farm and discovered it to be an abandoned property. The well apparently one had a capstone which is now pushed to the side with an expended Glyph of Warding on it. 

Suddenly a Bio-Nanite Cloud  rose out of the well. It flashed the party with a hyponotic pattern and everyone failed their saves version Fascination. It then when after the closest person: Dagna.

It was a tough fight (as swarms always seem to be) but between a Swarm-Bane clasp (originally on Dagna but she passed it to Modok before she went down) and some area effect spells they took it down. It dropped Dagna but then healed her back to stable (as it was supposed to do; it's programming is severely corrupted.
  
There was some rules weirdness. The Bio-Nanite cloud has an attack bonus (+14) but as far as I know swarms never roll to attack; so I don't understand why it is there. Also I had it take a double move at one point but  + Todd Glasspoole thinks that swarms only get one action. We couldn't find anything in the rules that says this. Does anybody know?

After the fight (in which flashy visible spells were used like Deeper Darkness and Fireball), Redfang ran up to see what the commotion was about. He invited the PCs to see the Deadeye Council.

Back at High Home the cleric, Brother Gahuar Derviec, healed Dagna of her wounds and Str damage from the nanite cloud. 

Tebryn wisely attended the council meeting alone. He was fairly successful at being evasive about Ilaris. He was told the story of Old Skelton digging up some kind of metal cave and being killed by a shimmering cloud (the Bionanites). They offered a magic longbow (moderate conjuration; but otherwise Tebryn failed his Spellcraft check) which they said is "good fer killin' robots an' such" if the party succeeds in clearing the wreckage under the town without causing a panic.  

The PCs rested and prepared to tackle the dungeon at night. 

Illaris ended up taking nine points of damage (from the swarm) and will fully heal overnight. Also she has rift boots but no such item exists. Here, James Jacobs says that was removed from the adventure during playtesting but left on Illaris' character sheet by mistake.


 XP: 800 each 

Treasure: None
Prestige: None

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