Advice: GM'ing RotRL and my rouge did a unexpected thing (some spoilers)...

[bannondorf]

Hey Everyone, first post here.

So, I am GM'ing a Rise of the Rune Lords campaign and my players are at the very end of the second module, the 'shadow clock'. SO they decided to let the Rouge go scout the inside before busting in the door, the party Wizard (Diviner) cast invisibility on him that would last for 7 min and the rouge (who has tripled down on acrobatics and stealth) managed to make it past the Golem (Niether the golem or rouge was aware of the other, a surprise for later) and albeit slowly, all the way up the stairs, past the faceless stalkers in the bell room and all the way in the Boss's chamber totally unnoticed. the Lamia was visible as she was unaware and was busy writing a correspondence, the rouge noticed her magic spear, leaning against the wall on the far side of her, and like a proper murder hobo, for reasons he couldn't articulate, crawled through her space with a series of acrobatics and stealth I based on her CMD-dex and distracted perception respectively, he grabbed the spear silently with a slight of hand, and with big awkward spear penalties acro-stealths back through her space and made his way back down the tower running out of invisibility part way but using his great magic rouge talent to vanish at vulnerable places. And off into the city to meet up with the party.

truly I'm impressed, and the player said his hands where sweating at the end. But here is my conundrum.

The Party is planning on taking this recon and doing research and prep before going back. from the description the rouge gave the Wizard knew it was a Lamia Matriarch but little else. So, assuming my players take the leave and come back better prepared option, I wanted to have the Lamia's forces ambush them in the city, but, no one in the clock saw the rouge, the Lamia will eventually notice the spear is gone, but how can she find them? neither her or her minions have mundane or magical tracking of any kind. but I dont want to ex-machina "surprise! they found you" because they made a clean get away. I am looking for suggestions on how I could have the bandies track the PCs.

thanks for your input in advance.

[Allanimal]

According to the PFSRD,
A lamia matriarch casts spells as a 6th-level sorcerer, and can cast spells from the cleric list as well as those normally available to a sorcerer.

Have her pick up a scroll or wand of locate object. The range is a bit limiting, but eventually she’ll find it...

[NNescio]

And here I thought he used an unorthodox combination of Concealer Attack, Mascara Sense, Defensive Roller and Improved Eyeliner. Or something along those lines.

[Efrate]

Good for him that spear is nasty. Crits one shot pretty much anyone at that level with the x3. My party had to take her on twice, cost 2pcs each time. The balor illusion can freak them out a bit, as can the golem. Locate object helps a lot to set up an ambush, though it's likely just the faceless stalkers, golem is hard to move in the city and she can join but she is also a bit harder to maneuver. Though an invisible flying surprise when they are engaged with the stalkers would add to some tension.

[bannondorf]

Thanks for the feedback so far everyone! I figured the stalkers would do most the work, maybe the golem can come knocking at night and although she could alter self to be a more manageable size they imply the Lamia doesn't want to get involved in the drudgery of the dirty work so she probably stays at the tower.

seems like locate object is still a needle in a haystack given the size of the city. maybe she alters self and uses some of her charmed connections and convinces some allies to search or make a gaurd picket near the tower, she needs to get a new spear at the least.

[Crake]

Thanks for the feedback so far everyone! I figured the stalkers would do most the work, maybe the golem can come knocking at night and although she could alter self to be a more manageable size they imply the Lamia doesn't want to get involved in the drudgery of the dirty work so she probably stays at the tower.

seems like locate object is still a needle in a haystack given the size of the city. maybe she alters self and uses some of her charmed connections and convinces some allies to search or make a gaurd picket near the tower, she needs to get a new spear at the least.

I think this has gone beyond what she would consider "drudgery of the dirty work", and into the territory of "these wretched mortals dare steal from me? I'll have their heads for this!". At least, that's the way I would see it.

[Allanimal]

seems like locate object is still a needle in a haystack given the size of the city. maybe she alters self and uses some of her charmed connections and convinces some allies to search or make a gaurd picket near the tower, she needs to get a new spear at the least.

Locate object is a relatively low level spell and just my first thought. I’m not too familiar with PF, but with the massive sorcerer and cleric spell lists to choose from, she has tons of options.

[NNescio]

Re: Locate Object

I trust the party isn't the paranoid sort to have antidivination spells/effects up and/or lead-sheeted backpacks/containers, right?

[bannondorf]

Re: Locate Object

I trust the party isn't the paranoid sort to have antidivination spells/effects up and/or lead-sheeted backpacks/containers, right?


nope, one of my players that is usually very paranoid scrying/tracking has actually made no effort to foil such things this game, something I would like to exploit.

[bannondorf]

the session that I was seeking advice on was last night, figured I would circle back and let everyone know how this ended up going down. So, they decided leaving and 'preparing' was a bad choice, as if she got wind the faceless stalkers are a problem (anyone, anywhere), the Lamia is a unknown quantity and the monster (troll, ogre, golem, whatever) that suposedly lives in the base of the tower seemed to be elsewhere, so they decided "strike while the iron is hot!" or distracted and unarmed in this case. I hoped for of the grand cinematic fight from bottom to top as the dungeon is organized, they decided instead (ruining everything as players do), knowing now exactly where the 'Boss' was to have the Sorceress in the group cast fly on two of them, the wizard then buffed their carry cap with ant haul and they rode the sorceress and barbarian up to the top of the tower and into her living room.

As it turns out...without the spear she has dumped ALOT of character resources into wielding, and no time to prepare, the Lamia is paper tiger. Her SR only defended her from one minor spell (ill omen), her medusa mask's DC was handily beaten by the rouge, in desperation I had her cast deeper slumber in an effort to take someone out of the fight but since the wizard had cast 'protection from evil communal' before the ride up on the group they had immunity from mind effect/compulsion spells, which deeper slumber is. she cast cure moderate on herself but to little avail as by the end of round 3 she was at -2hp and at the beginning of round 4 the rouge coup de graced her...just in time for 2 faceless stalker to show up from below and be thrown off the tower to there doom as the sorceress wrecked the scaffolding they where standing on with a fireball. they then went down just far enough to kill the last faceless stalker and proceeded to loot and scoot.

they missed the Golem entirely, as well as its potential loot. but it ended up being a woefully anti-climactic fight.

[Seto]

Honestly, it's rare enough that the "Rogue goes sneaking and scouting by themselves" idea doesn't end in disaster, so... Good on them! I think it's a pretty awesome story. Don't worry about your boss fight, I'm sure even if it was anticlimactic the players are patting themselves on the back.

[Efrate]

If they are smart about encounters like that in the future most of the rest of the ap is going to be a cakewalk. The next leg of the journey is made trivial if you get weapons away from the ogrekin, and flight and a bit of stealth sadly solves a huge number of the next section.

You will likely skip mamie and the prisioners, can easily take the keep by killing the ogre leader who is right next to the upper entrance from the eagles nest and can be killed without alerting anyone else who then all retreat. The stone giant might be an issue he is caster iirc and lifting his weapon is not as big a deal.

Black magia might not even happen if the kreegs are taken care of swiftly. Party may be significantly underleveled if all that comes to be, and also lack direction without the prisoners.