Catacombs of Ravenloft - OOC

[Gwynfrid]

Hello, everyone! This will be our OOC thread for this PF2 mini-adventure consisting of just one encounter. My goal here is for all of us to learn how PF2 mid/high level characters work in combat, and understand about tactics in this relatively new game system. In the process, of course, I aim for all of us to have fun!

Please don't expect me to be the greatest expert on PF2. I have been playing the system for about 2 years, but my experience is still limited, primarily because my IRL group can't meet all that often. But I own the rulebooks, I know where to find a rule when necessary, so, given the thinking time allowed by pbp, I should be all right.

The character roster is as follows:



Player
Character
Class
Ancestry
Background


BelGareth
Ser Rychard (https://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=2643489)
Champion (Paladin)
Human (Dhampir)
Prisoner


SanguinePenguin
Aleith Gahrain (https://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=2638553)
Rogue (Thief)
Human (Versatile)
Artist


Albinobrow
Kluh Sakaar (https://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=2638263)
Barbarian (Giant instinct)
Goblin (Unbreakable)
Prisoner


Nomrom
Razick (https://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=2639435)
Alchemist (Bomber)
Goblin (Charhide)
Academy Dropout


zylodrizzt
eada'alshams almanfii (https://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=2625848)
Monk
Elf (Sylph)
Aerialist


Thunder999
Jildu Varkild (https://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=2643175)
Magus (Twisting Tree hybrid study)
Human (Aphorite)
Martial Disciple



Before I post the first IC thread, I have 3 requests for you :

1) For the setting of the encounter, I have chosen an iconic locale in an all-time classic, Ravenloft. The creatures will include the story's main villain, but it will be a generic version from the Bestiary, with only a few minor changes from me. There will be no story reveals. Still, the map itself would be a minor spoiler for those who haven't ever played this great adventure. If this is a problem for anybody, I will change it. Please let me know.

2) Please pick a speech color for your character. The convention for in-character posting is as follows:

"Character speech is in your chosen color and between quotes like this."

Character thoughts are in your chosen color and italics, with no quotes, like this.

Mechanical descriptions of combat actions and die rolls are in a spoiler like this.

To make your DM's life easy, please include, at the bottom of the spoiler, your character summary stat block, with ongoing conditions, current HP, and a link to your character sheet.

3) This last one is for BelGareth: I gave you a pass because, well, you had the idea for this game in the first place, but I still need you to choose your magic items before we start :smallbiggrin:

Link to recruitment thread (https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?645673-Pathfinder-2e-one-shot-(looking-for-players))
Link to IC thread (https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?646621-Catacombs-of-Ravenloft&p=25486013#post25486013)

[zylodrizzt]

1st! Suppose this will be my color

I've got no issue with any of that.

@dm not sure I gave myself nonmagical or consumable gear. Can I do so before we actually start? Is the map good for lots of movements (very mobile monk here)? I mean if not it's not like it changes much but it be cool if I could so stupid things with a purpose in mind and not just to test it.

Not sure I should be concerned with lack of healing lol

[SanguinePenguin]

Pf2 is loaded with healing! Administer First Aid through the Medicine skill. Hopefully, others know this and are trained / have tools. Of course, death in a one-shot isn’t much different than victory. ;)

FireBrickRed me!

[Thunder999]

I'll go for Ordinary basic Red I think.

Actually looking at people's sheets we've got plenty of healing, Nomrom's alchemist has expert medicine skill, battle medicine and ward medic, SanguinePenguin's rogue has it trained with battle medicine, I've got it trained with assurance but no battle medicine, and BelGareth's paladin has got lay on hands.

On that note, I forgot to buy healer's tools so I can actually use my Medicine skill, is it OK if I fix that?

[zylodrizzt]

Yes I do understand pathfinder has alot of healing but it's not nessisarly in combat (I may be wrong but thought this was 1 encounter) healing. Administer 1st aid is 1 per hour (I think) per target and battle medicine is 1/day per target. At the same time in combat healing is considered a weak action for a turn usually for most systems so idk lol. So guess it comes down to if its 1 encounter or 1 short campaign.

[Gwynfrid]

On that note, I forgot to buy healer's tools so I can actually use my Medicine skill, is it OK if I fix that?


@dm not sure I gave myself nonmagical or consumable gear. Can I do so before we actually start?

Yes to both, as long as you still have room in your budget, you can buy anything you need.

However, as soon as I post the IC thread (that will be no earlier than Sunday night), the shops will be closed.


Is the map good for lots of movements (very mobile monk here)? I mean if not it's not like it changes much but it be cool if I could so stupid things with a purpose in mind and not just to test it.

Yes, and this is one of the reasons I chose this map. Compared to PF1 (where the best option, especially at high level, is often to not move beyond a 5-ft step, so that you have a full attack), PF2 offers a lot more dynamic and mobile combat. I wanted to make sure the map allows everyone to try tactics involving mobility.


Yes I do understand pathfinder has alot of healing but it's not nessisarly in combat (I may be wrong but thought this was 1 encounter) healing. Administer 1st aid is 1 per hour (I think) per target and battle medicine is 1/day per target. At the same time in combat healing is considered a weak action for a turn usually for most systems so idk lol. So guess it comes down to if its 1 encounter or 1 short campaign.

PF2 isn't one of those systems. In fact, PF2 is carefully designed so that no action is consistently bad. There are circumstances when in-combat healing is the strongest move. There are circumstances when something else is.

Also, Treat Wounds isn't usable in combat, as it takes 10 min. Hence Battle Medicine. Yes, it's only 1/day/patient, but it's a solid amount of healing. Most importantly, it requires only 1 action. This makes it nearly as good as a spell.

[Nomrom]

Hey all! Looking forward to a good time. I'll go with green for my goblin to live up to his heritage.

As for healing, I can make a pretty good amount of healing potions each day and still have alchemical reagents left over for bombs and other combat stuff.

[BelGareth]

So sorry everyone, RL and all that,

I believe I have updated my sheet as requested, no clue what to spend my money on.

I'll claim purple

[Gwynfrid]

Great, thanks! This is fine. You have 350gp left to add maybe some consumables? Not strictly necessary though.

I'll aim to start tonight or tomorrow.

[Albinobrow]

I'll take the color blue for my speech bubbles. I don't think I saw anyone with that yet.

And I'm updated my sheet format just looking at spending the last 350GP and I should be all set.

[Gwynfrid]

Here is, at long last, the IC thread (https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?646621-Catacombs-of-Ravenloft&p=25486013#post25486013). Good luck!

[Gwynfrid]

Perception [roll0]

[Gwynfrid]

[roll0]
#1 [roll1]
#2 [roll2]

[SanguinePenguin]

Oh wow that round was complicated! I’ll try to track better. I did notice Ser Richards’s second attack was a d15. [roll0]

[Gwynfrid]

Oh wow that round was complicated! I’ll try to track better. I did notice Ser Richards’s second attack was a d15. [roll0]

Damnit, another botched one. Thanks for the fix. It's still a miss though.

Doing this takes a fair bit of time and attention, especially because I have to bot 2 characters :smallannoyed: and besides, I don't have that great a mastery of the rules. I understand the mechanics well, but I have to look most details up.

So, when I'm in a rush, the typos creep up...

[Albinobrow]

Roll to escape the tentacles for first action Athletics [roll0] including enfeebled 2

[Albinobrow]

Action 2 to try and escape again 1d20+21-5

[Albinobrow]

[roll0] I was hoping it would take the math written out.

[Gwynfrid]

Forgot tentacle damage [roll0] bludgeoning.

[Albinobrow]

Attempting to break free once more! [roll0] vs DC 31

[Albinobrow]

Attempt 2 [roll0] vs DC 31
again includes enfeebled 2 and the -5 to the roll for the attack trait trying to break free.

[zylodrizzt]

Grapple reroll
[roll0]

[BelGareth]

I’m here! Reading ic now

[Gwynfrid]

Roll for purposes to be revealed later... maybe [roll0]

[Gwynfrid]

[roll0]
[roll1]
[roll2]
[roll3]

[Gwynfrid]

Roll-rigga-roll...[roll0]

[Thunder999]

[roll0] fire damage from Spellheart I forgot.

EDIT never mind, that's not active, I was right the first time, fortunately doesn't matter.

[Albinobrow]

Kluh is going to try once more to sniff out the vampire. I'm going to roll all three actions here and see how many actions, if any, I have left once (if) I find him.

Sniff 1 [roll0]
Sniff 2 [roll1]
Sniff 3 [roll2]

[Gwynfrid]

I'm going to write this for the current situation, as well as future references.

I went to check the rulebook a little bit more thoroughly, and I think I had it wrong earlier. The initial intent of this game was to learn and test PF2 rules, so I'm glad for this opportunity to improve my understanding.

Kluh wants to use Scent to find the vampire:


Scent
Scent involves sensing creatures or objects by smell, and is usually a vague sense. The range is listed in the ability, and it functions only if the creature or object being detected emits an aroma (for instance, incorporeal creatures usually do not exude an aroma).

If a creature emits a heavy aroma or is upwind, the GM can double or even triple the range of scent abilities used to detect that creature, and the GM can reduce the range if a creature is downwind.

However, he has the Acute Senses feat:


Acute Scent
Feat 2
Barbarian
Prerequisites Acute Vision, or darkvision
When you Rage, your sense of smell improves. You gain imprecise scent with a range of 30 feet.

This is what "imprecise" means:


Imprecise Senses
Hearing is an imprecise sense—it cannot detect the full range of detail that a precise sense can. You can usually sense a creature automatically with an imprecise sense, but it has the hidden condition instead of the observed condition. It might be undetected by you if it’s using Stealth or is in an environment that distorts the sense, such as a noisy room in the case of hearing. In those cases, you have to use the Seek basic action to detect the creature. At best, an imprecise sense can be used to make an undetected creature (or one you didn’t even know was there) merely hidden—it can’t make the creature observed.

The clause "You can usually sense a creature automatically with an imprecise sense" means that if the vampire is within 30ft, Kluh doesn't need to use Seek to find him. He knows automatically where he is, except that the vampire remains hidden to him and he needs to succeed at a flat check to target him. He can Pinpoint his location to the others.

[zylodrizzt]

Miss chance for trip rnd 12 from eada

[roll0]

[Gwynfrid]

Looks like everybody forgot about the DC11 flat checks to hit the invisible enemy. In the interest of time, let me roll those:

Kluh's grab [roll0]
Aleith's dagger throw #1 [roll1]
Aleith's dagger throw #2 [roll2]

Every attacks hits!

[Gwynfrid]

I missed the last 2 attacks from Rychard

#2 Strike, flat check DC11 [roll0], attack [roll1], damage [roll2] including 4 good damage - miss
#3 Strike, flat check DC11 [roll3], attack [roll4], damage [roll5] including 4 good damage - miss

[Gwynfrid]

Lots of botched rolls here. Here are the fixes

Jildu
#1 [roll0] damage (1d4)[4] and 1 persistent bleed if failed
#2 [roll1] damage (1d4)[1] and 1 persistent bleed if failed
#3 [roll2] damage (1d4)[4] and 1 persistent bleed if failed
Razick
#1 [roll3] damage (1d4)[4] and 1 persistent bleed if failed
#2 [roll4] damage (1d4)[4] and 1 persistent bleed if failed
#3 [roll5] damage (1d4)[2] and 1 persistent bleed if failed

[Gwynfrid]

OK, third time the charm maybe? There was one more error in my latest IC post: The vampire needs to make a DC5 flat check to successfully cast a spell with a Somatic component (a manipulate action) since he's currently grabbed. Here goes: [roll0] - failed

[Albinobrow]

Reflex to hold onto Strahd! [roll0]
Since he's not using the weapon currently per thrash ruling, 'I didnt include the clumsy 1 penalty

[Albinobrow]

Use hero point to reroll that!
[roll0]

[Gwynfrid]

This post is to correct a couple errors that were remarked today
- One in the vampire's favor, he's got resistance to physical (ie. slashing/bludgeoning/piercing) damage, except against magical silver weapons. This reduces the damage taken, and is especially meaningful for Kluh's Thrash actions.
- The other one in Aleith's favor: as pointed out by zylodrizzt in the Discord chat, the grabbed vampire is flat-footed, so he takes Sneak Attack damage.

The rolls below account for Aleith's added precision damage over 2 attacks in round 12, and 2 more in round 13, one of them a crit (precision damage is doubled too!)
Round 12, #1 [roll0]
Round 12, #2 [roll1]
Round 13, #1 [roll2] doubled
Round 13, #1 [roll3]

[Albinobrow]

Action 1: Strike! Miss [roll0] Attack roll [roll1] Dmg [roll2] + [roll3] Persistent bleed dmg
Action 2: Strike! Miss [roll4] Attack roll [roll5] Dmg [roll6] + [roll7] Persistent bleed dmg
Action 3: Miss [roll8] Hold onto grapple Athletics [roll9]

[Gwynfrid]

Typo, the crit success on Battle Medicine restores actually [roll0] hp.

[Gwynfrid]

Secret roll time
Perception [roll0]
Religion [roll1]

[SanguinePenguin]

I’ll post IC about this, but I think some lore is in order:

1) lore (mummification): +16 as I’ll use the incredible improvisation on this. What is that thing?

2) lore (vampires): +12 how do you kill one in its sarcophagus and how long do we have until it is a problem.

3). Perception: looking for traps because that seem obvious.

[Gwynfrid]

[roll0]
[roll1]
[roll2]


Aleith doesn't remember anything about a mummified body being made into a trap, but she has a very definite hunch that this one was. She also knows that a vampire incapacitated to the point of being forced into mist form must spend time in his coffin to regenerate.

[zylodrizzt]

Flurry
[roll0]
[roll1]

Damage

[roll2]
[roll3]

[zylodrizzt]

Escape
[roll0]

[roll1]

[Gwynfrid]

Perception [roll0]

[Thunder999]

rolling Moderate Elixir of life so I can have accurate hp in my IC post

[roll0]

[Thunder999]

So, want to roll this before acting, though it will eat one action, Religion Check to recall knowledge to know the steps you need after the stake to make a vampire stay dead. Rolling first so I can share the information in character if it works/do something else if it doesn't.

[roll0] Religion

[Gwynfrid]

Congratulations! You have vanquished the vampire, his minions and his traps. This concludes this one-shot test adventure for Pathfinder Second Edition. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.

Your opponents in this fight were:
- A Vampire Mastermind, scaled to level 11
- A Greater Shadow, a level 7 monster
- A Gravenight, scaled to level 9
- The Vampire Bat Swarms were level 1 monsters, not a real challenge for level 10 PCs, mostly there for flavor.
According to the Gamemastery Guide, this constitutes a low to moderate encounter difficulty for a group of 6 level 10 PCs. I considered scaling it higher, but I thought that since I was going to maximize the vampire's hit and run tactics, this difficulty would be sufficient.

In the later part of the game, after you had beaten Strahd in combat, I added, as a bonus encounter, a sequence of traps:
- Two Glyphs of Warding cast by Strahd, one of Cloudkill and one of Grasping Earth.
- Banshee's Symphony, scaled down to a level 9 trap.

The game allowed us to test a large number of PF2 mechanics, so from that perspective I think it worked rather well.

Your comments and questions are welcome!