PF2e 13 - The Level 5 Interlude

Shorter session today, but not one that wasn’t important. We went with some individual vignettes and a minor time skip to show how things have changed and how the adventure has affected each of them so far. At the end of their little scene, they were given a relic as well. Relics are items that level with the players and have different effects that unlock at different levels.

Magnus, the Thaumaturge, went back to the Zophan Swamp to pay some respects to the naiad they had killed before. The one that survived that encounter appeared in the still murky water, and Magnus offered some swamp lily bulbs as a symbol of remorse. The Naiad seemed to accept his apology, sinking back into the water silently, and a lantern appeared out of the water, capturing one of the lilies in a globe of water to act like the light source.

Swamp Lily Lantern

Aspects: Emotion (Remorse), Water

Minor Gifts: Monsoon Curtain, Dominant Emotion, Fervor

Major Gifts: Flowing Footsteps, Emotion Conduit

Grand Gift Quickening Emotion

This lantern is made of evergreen leaves and holds a sphere of water, with a single, living, Swamp Lily in it. The lily emits bright light up to 30 feet, and dim light an additional 30 feet beyond that. You received a +1 Item Bonus to succeed on the flat check to hit Concealed targets within the bright light.

The gifts are unlocked in order at levels 2, 4, 6, 8, 12 and 16

This was the easiest one to make. I got to play into the character’s level up choice (taking the lantern implement at level 5) and play off the path of repentance they feel they need to take for what happened prior. I know the Lantern as an implement gets a ton of effects, but I was hoping that this felt right. It is a minor ability that affects a Flat Check.

Sprii the Leshy Druid wanted to work with the alchemist guild to look for a solution to the metal spreading, and potentially finding a way to counteract it or heal the ground after it has been cleared. I started with a base of the Staff of Metal, but bumped it up and gave it more shit.

Ironbane Staff

Aspects: Plant, Life

Minor Gifts: Healing Wave, Pollen Spray

Major Gifts: Petal Dance, Vitality Siphon

Grand Gift: Megaflora

This staff is made of alchemically infused vines and branches, one end ending in a twisted point, and the other in a netting of vines in the shape of an orb at the top. Particuarly hostile to metal, this staff gains a +1 to hit and +1 to damage when used as a melee weapon against enemies made of metal or those wearing metal armor. This bonus rises to +2 at level 8 and +3 and level 13.

Staves recharge a number of charges in equal amount to your highest spell slot. Charges not spent expire at the end of the day. You cannot cast the higher level spells, even if you gain additional charges, until you posses spell slots of the same level.

The Relic gifts unlock in order at levels 1, 5, 9, 13, and 17.

Activate Cast a Spell

Effect You expend a number of charges from the staff to cast a spell from its list.

• Cantrips Detect Metal
• 1st Conductive Weapon, Shielded Arm
• 2nd Magnetic Attraction, Magnetic Repulsion
• 3rd Shatter (+1), Lotus Walk
• 4th Murderous Vine, Life-Draining Roots
• 5th Lightning Storm, Acid Storm

I wanted to give them a few more tools, maybe let them prep some different spells or cast something different than their normal set. Maybe they’ll be inclined to bonk things with it too, we’ll see.

Finally, the Ratfolk player. They’ve played Esdee the Magus, but basically retired him, and Beedee, the Ranger and younger brother of Esdee. Since five Ratfolk have been reunited, they started to set up a mini enclave in the city to act like a home base as they try to rescue more of their clan. I am not statting up all 5 but I sure could. Anyways, Beedee was given a strange bracelet.

Band Band

Aspects: Metal, Mind

Minor Gifts: Enhancing Circuitry, Recalculate

Major Gifts: Perception Filter, Rail Dash

Grand Gift: Mental Bastion

This silver bracelet is inlaid with tiny grooves of cobalt, and has five brass petals around it. These petals can be removed and given to a person, linking them to you and each other, after an hour spent with you. If the petal ever becomes lost, or it’s attuned bearer is no longer on the same plane, it will reappear on the bracelet. You and each holder of the petals can use the Linked Sending ability, but only to contact each other. You can target each person with Sending only once per day.

This bracelet also grants you Electricity Resistance equal to half it’s level.

Starting at level 7, during your morning preparations, you can focus the energies of this bracelet into a weapon. It behaves as if it has the Shock rune applied to it. At level 14 it becomes Shock (Greater). This rune applies on top of other runes you may have inscribed, and does not count towards your limit.

The Gifts unlock in order at levels 2, 4, 7, 10, and 14.

Linked Sending

Activation - 1/hour

As the Sending spell, but you may only target the other bearer of the bracelet. Receiving a Sending does not count towards this limit.

I felt like this would be a fun way to link up with their other clan members, and basically only them, which now gives me a way to contact the party with external information easier.

There were a few other relic aspects I considered. I considered going Water and Time for the lantern, to sort of represent the inability to go back and fix mistakes, with the cruel irony being hte Grand Gift in time being sort of like a single turn time reversal, but Emotion (Remorse) and Water were more honest. I also thought about giving Luck instead of Mind for the Band Band, but I couldn’t justify it, even though I love dice fuckery. Mind also felt more honest for what the Band was. Plant and Life for the Druid was just sort of by default. They’ve been doubling down on healing with every thing they took so I went “fuck it, more healing”, and the plant was just thematic.

After those vignettes and item awards, I wanted to just get a feel for the game from the players, see what they’re thinking and if they have any direction they want to take. Didn’t get much there, so we concluded the session by a shared dream where the necromancer responsible was commanding a series of the metallic zombies, but they weren’t attacking. They were going through the motions of a simulated life. They were sweeping, and going to a store, and cleaning a window, all very mechanical and stilted. He then asked them, and probably more people, I left the door open to who was all affected by this, why would they stand in the way of progress, and the next evolution of life on this plane.

Now I need to finish prepping this week’s session, I have a couple ideas, but I need to settle on something and see where I end up. Is it a regular monster hunt? Will it be related to the overarching plot? Will I get too ambitious and try both? We’ll see.