I get about 3 hp per level. Let's not forget to subtract those also!

All we have to do is subtract -2 from all our rolls and DCs to simulate being 2 levels lower. Oh, and not use the things we got on lv. 7 and 8.

OK, my official vote is to move south to the last pillar. Since we're over leveled, we can prob. do without a resupply right now. And when we eventually return to town, we can wait a day or two if needed to get our supplies or runes attached and still have saved time vs. going back now.

Man, this is too easy. I wish we were lower level!!! Can we all drop down a couple of level and then level up after we beat the last pillar?

%5Btable%3D2%2C1%5D%20%5Br%3D1%2C1%5D%5BIMG2%3D150%5Dhttps%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FNev55GI.jpg%5B%2FIMG2%5D%20%5Br%3D2%2C1%5D%5Bfieldset%3DSamrod%20Ik-Sanjar%5D%5BB%5D%5BURL%3D%22https%3A%2F%2Fog.myth-weavers.com%2Fsheet.html%23id%3D2399389%22%5DSamrod%20Ik-Sanjar%5B%2FURL%5D%5B%2FB%5D%20%0A%5Bb%5DHP%3A%5B%2Fb%5D%20104%2F104%20-%5Bb%5D%20AC%3A%20%5B%2Fb%5D26%0A%5Bb%5DConditions%3A%5B%2Fb%5D%20Longstrider%208%20hours%0A%5Bb%5DSteel%20Shield%3A%5B%2Fb%5D%20Hardness%3A%205%20Hp%3A%2020%2F20%20(10)%0A%5BB%5DHero%20Points%3A%5B%2Fb%5D%202%0A%5Bb%5DCantrips%20prepared%3A%5B%2Fb%5D%20Light%2C%20Shield%2C%20Message%2C%20Electric%20Arc%20%0A%5BB%5DSpells%3A%5B%2Fb%5DCreate%20Water%20x1%2C%20Longstrider%20x0%2C%20Blood%20Vendetta%20x1%5B%2Ffieldset%5D%5B%2Ftable%5D Samrod Ik-Sanjar HP: 104/104 - AC: 26 Conditions: Longstrider 8 hours Steel Shield: Hardness: 5 Hp: 20/20 (10) Hero Points: 2 Cantrips prepared: Light, Shield, Message, Electric Arc Spells:Create Water x1, Longstrider x0, Blood Vendetta x1 Pendergrast's answer takes Samrod aback a bit, so he asks cautiously "You... do realise that the gods are real, yes? And that all of them, even the, err, 'unsavoury' ones represents facets of our mortal lives. So every god's dogma entails some kernel of truth, some insight, advice even, how to life our lives in accordance with fate itself. It becomes, therefore, a question of vital importance how we can observe the tenets and rules of the gods, when they often seem to contradict each other. Many a scholar will protest here and argue, the gods' tenets do not seem to contradict each other, they do. However, each god or goddess, Good or Evil, Lawful or Chaotic, represents facets of our reality, and they are so far above us mere mortals in understanding the very fabric of reality, that the mere notion we could fathom their intentions must be regarded as the pinnacle of hubris." "And yet, perhaps there is a way to solve these seeming contradictions. Because the very order of the multiverse is unknowable to us, any apparent contradiction must be the result of our imperfect understanding thereof. After all, the very idea of an universal order being contradictory is in itself contradictory." "I only ever got to read fragments of philosophical treaties about the subject, but the gist seems to be, since we mortals are nearly blind to the universal order, we are akin to stumbling through a badly lit room full of traps. No matter how agile or careful we are, we will stumble, even fall. Yet, the mere inevitability of us committing errors does not absolve us of the responsibility of always looking for the Path to Perfection, no matter how difficult this may be. Someone who commits an error for all the right reasons may be acting erroneously, but not blasphemously, and the gods will accept repentance. Those who act in bad faith, however, will cause damage to their very souls, no matter what dogma they cleave to, and will find their Path to Perfection being hindered." "Therefore: If one is to judge the actions of another, one must always consider intention: If someone acts in error, they need to be stopped from going down the wrong path, and they shall do restitution for the damage they caused. Those who blaspheme on the other hand, deserve harsh punishment and will not find mercy in the eyes of the gods without honest penitence." "Therefore, I am compelled to ask what dogma you were following when you decided to destroy that old temple? Such an act would be considered blasphemous by Irori and Torag after all."

Hexploration through the jungle (incl. the dragon pillar encounters) were lvl 6. The mine area was lvl 7 - you were right on level through that area. The Charau-ka berserkers were rated at lvl 6 each. I don't know - this is the first AP in PF2e, so perhaps it didn't have all the final tweaks? Still, none of you died, so stop whining 😉 ...obviously due to your superior tactics...

Fireday, 13 Rova 4719, morning The night passes uneventfully except for a torrential down pour stretching over several hours of wet darkness. Renalis shelter keeps out most of the water, but even she can't prevent the river banks from becoming a soggy carpet of mud from the waterline to the trees. As the sun rises, a sweltering heat begins to build saturated by dampness. You praise yourselves lucky that this day can be spent aboard Pendergrasts boat floating gently down river instead of fighting your way through dense jungle. Pendergrast is not in the best of moods when Samrod tries to strike up conversation, but he is not in a position to simply ignore him. "Pfft!!", he scoffs with a haughty frown, "Superstition... fairy tales... nothing more than Pesh for the masses! Rules and rituals to keep the common people docile. I suppose it is very effective at that, but not something a learned scholar such as myself would ever waste my time with. Why do you ask?" Map

So we are over-leveled, huh? And here I thought, we were doing so well because of good tactics... 😞 I mean, those Charau-Ka had a +20 to to-hit, . So I figured, we were kinda on-par here.

No, you just leveled up. Meta-wise you are 'supposed' to be lvl 8 at the stronghold. You are actually two levels ahead fighting the dragon pillars at this point. This part of the AP is not strictly linear.

%5Btable%3D2%2C1%5D%20%5Br%3D1%2C1%5D%5BIMG2%3D150%5Dhttps%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FNev55GI.jpg%5B%2FIMG2%5D%20%5Br%3D2%2C1%5D%5Bfieldset%3DSamrod%20Ik-Sanjar%5D%5BB%5D%5BURL%3D%22https%3A%2F%2Fog.myth-weavers.com%2Fsheet.html%23id%3D2399389%22%5DSamrod%20Ik-Sanjar%5B%2FURL%5D%5B%2FB%5D%20%0A%5Bb%5DHP%3A%5B%2Fb%5D%20104%2F104%20-%5Bb%5D%20AC%3A%20%5B%2Fb%5D26%0A%5Bb%5DConditions%3A%5B%2Fb%5D%20Longstrider%208%20hours%0A%5Bb%5DSteel%20Shield%3A%5B%2Fb%5D%20Hardness%3A%205%20Hp%3A%2020%2F20%20(10)%0A%5BB%5DHero%20Points%3A%5B%2Fb%5D%202%0A%5Bb%5DCantrips%20prepared%3A%5B%2Fb%5D%20Light%2C%20Shield%2C%20Message%2C%20Electric%20Arc%20%0A%5BB%5DSpells%3A%5B%2Fb%5DCreate%20Water%20x1%2C%20Longstrider%20x0%2C%20Blood%20Vendetta%20x1%5B%2Ffieldset%5D%5B%2Ftable%5D Samrod Ik-Sanjar HP: 104/104 - AC: 26 Conditions: Longstrider 8 hours Steel Shield: Hardness: 5 Hp: 20/20 (10) Hero Points: 2 Cantrips prepared: Light, Shield, Message, Electric Arc Spells:Create Water x1, Longstrider x0, Blood Vendetta x1 As the boat ride goes on, Samrod tries to strike up a conversation with Pendergrast, probably just out of boredom, although he does seem to have put some thoughts into it. "Say, Pendergrast Effendi, as a scholar, certainly your interests do not just cover archaeology. Even to just do this field of study justice, you need to have a broad education and solid knowledge base. And not just about the natural world, flora, fauna and such, but also the metaphysical matters. religion, philosophy and such. I am trying to live up to Irori's teachings, flawed as my attempts may be at times. Of course, I also only ever managed to find mere fragments of his holy scripture. What about you, Pendergrast Effendi? "

Why should they bind it? They'll either tell it to scram or kill it so it can't give away their location. So we kinda need to decide where to go: Pillar or Town?

The fey should be handed over to the elves. They'll know how to bind it appropriately so it's no more threat to them.

So maybe let us go to Akrivel first then. Drop of the Biloko somewhere along the way, then stock up on stuff. Maybe Samrod can pick up his dragon-head helmet and test it in the last pillar fight before we go for the stronghold.

Oh I love that suggestion

ROFL!

Bad Rogue! You are not supposed to give that poor, man-eating fey critter indigestion on purpose! No cookie!

Perhaps we can put the fey in charge of Pendergrast and point them toward Akrivel while we take on the pillar? I give either one of them even odds against the other...

I'm so bad at looking for equipment to buy! I'm also terrible about using consumables. I'm half-way through BG3 and I don't think I've used a potion or a scroll other than a handful of healing potions.

I'm fine either way. While I would prefer to tackle the pillar first, Samrod would easily be persuaded to get rid of drop off Pendergrast at civilisation first. But we definitely need to stock up on consumables if we are to take on a whole stronghold full of cultists. Wouldn't mind getting a weapon and armour rune for Samrod either, if available. Bleed damage is scary.

OK, what's our next destination? If I understand this right, it's going to prob. take us a few days to get to the next pillar if we go straight, or 10+ days if we go back to drop off the prisoner first. Wilder would prob. vote to go forwards. But also, if someone wants to go back first, I'm OK with that. I know it can suck in games if people worry too much about time when some players really want to take a rest or visit a place. I don't want the "urgency" of our narrative to keep anyone from accomplishing their desires.

He'll have to make do with hardtack and berries, or whatever our rations are made of (or Samrod memorizes just for him). Personally, I would just kick him out of the boat the next time we make landfall or something. Or maybe tie him to the remains of the last Dragon Pillar, and tell him to "Tell the Cinderclaws that we are coming for them next...."

Also, that "other mouth to feed" eats PEOPLE!

Getting rid of the prisoner and the encumbrance would be helpful, I think...

Meta-question: Are our toons supposed to still reach lv. 9 before attacking the cultist stronghold? Personally, I would prefer to take down the last pillar before going back to Akrivel, in-universe to see if that breaks the blinding curse (and even though I have an idea how to mess with Pendergrast Effendi when we get to Akrivel). But if the others prefer, I don't mind going back first either.

Oathday, 12 Rova 4719, evening As the sun is already heading towards the western horizon, you figure that it may be time to start looking for a suitable camping site. This particular place in the middle of a swamp seem less ideal, and you may as well begin your trek back down towards the river where you left Pendergrasts boat. A few more hours slogging through puddles of mud and water has you leaving the swamp behind to find solid ground under your feet. As dusk begins to fall, you are stil up on the ridge overlooking the river, but this seems as good a place as any to set camp. Renali gets to work on spinning a camp. Tomorrow, you will get back to the boat and you can drift leisurely downriver towards your next destination. The question is: which destination will that be? According to the maps retrieved from Hezles lab, there is still one dragon pillar that you haven't visited yet and then the Fortress of Sorrow beckons. You may also have business back in Akrivel, but the journey will take around four days to Akrivel and probably more to get back (going against the stream up the river). You will probably also need to decide what to do with your Biloko prisoner. He seems docile enough at this point, but it is still another mouth to feed. Map