Pathfinder 1E Fighting a Vargouille

[Asmo]

Just want to check that I´m running this correctly.

Fight starts with the Vargouille's Shriek. No one makes the save and all are paralyzed. Vargouille makes a melee touch attack (which breaks the paralyzation), and the player makes an attack of opportunity?

I don't understand the Poison-bit: the damage from the bite, what does the poison do?

Let's say that the Vargouille bites for a total of 8 damage. A lvl 2 cleric (Wisdom 17) wants to cast a Cure Light Wounds to heal, what does he have to roll to make the check?

Asmo

 

[Nagol]

Kiss (Su)


A vargouille can kiss a helpless target by making a successful melee touch attack (this provokes attacks of opportunity). A kissed opponent must succeed on a DC 16 Fortitude save or begin a terrible transformation that changes the creature into a vargouille within 24 hours (and often much sooner; roll 1d6 separately for each phase of the transformation). First, over a period of 1d6 hours, all the victim's hair falls out. Within another 1d6 hours thereafter, the ears grow into leathery wings, tentacles sprout on the chin and scalp, and the teeth become long, pointed fangs. During the next 1d6 hours, the victim takes Intelligence drain and Charisma drain equal to 1 point per hour (to a minimum of 3). The transformation is complete 1d6 hours thereafter, when the victim's head breaks free of the body (which promptly dies) and becomes a vargouille. This transformation's progress is paused by sunlight or any light spell of 3rd level or higher, but stopping the transformation requires remove disease or a similar effect. The transformation is a disease effect. The save DC is Constitution-based and includes a +4 racial bonus.

Poison (Su)


Bite—injury; save Fort DC 12; frequency once; effect damage caused by bite can only be healed with magic if the spellcaster succeeds on a DC 20 caster level check; cure 1 save. The save DC is Constitution-based.

First, the melee touch attack isn't the bite. I don't think you think it is; I'm just putting it out there in case. The kiss is pretty much the kiss of death for affected low-level characters as the character transforms into a like creature in about 14 hours.

Second, the poison prevents magical healing unless a CL check of 20 is made during the healing attempt. A level 2 clerics casts CLW. He needs to roll a d20 + 2 >= 20 for any healing to occur.

So the order of operations is

Roll to hit
Roll damage
Call for poison save
Note save failure
CLW attempted
Call for Caster level check
If successful, apply healing

 

[Thotas]

Wait -- looking at that, if a character is affected by the poison, it's "cure 1 save". But once they've failed it initially, since the frequency is once, the effect is permanent? Or at least until a Neutralize Poison is cast on them?

 

[Nagol]

Since the poison only affects the damage caused by the bite then it would also be cured when the wound heals naturally. That's a tremendous improvement over the 1e version where the hp were gone forever...

 

[Asmo]

I´m sorry, but is the paralyzation broken when the Vargouille tries to kiss the helpless victim - so that the victim can make an AAO - or does it mean that an nearby partymember can make an AOO? I just want to be sure. Thanks!

 

[rexartur]

Wait -- looking at that, if a character is affected by the poison, it's "cure 1 save". But once they've failed it initially, since the frequency is once, the effect is permanent? Or at least until a Neutralize Poison is cast on them?

It's only the bite damage that can't be healed without the caster level check. It's meant to be more of an immediate impediment than a long trm threat as fr as I can tell.

 

[rexartur]

I´m sorry, but is the paralyzation broken when the Vargouille tries to kiss the helpless victim - so that the victim can make an AAO - or does it mean that an nearby partymember can make an AOO? I just want to be sure. Thanks!

I wold say only an adjacent party member could make an AoO as the victim is helpless (and it says (this provokes attacks of opportunity); emphasis mine

 

[Nagol]

I´m sorry, but is the paralyzation broken when the Vargouille tries to kiss the helpless victim - so that the victim can make an AAO - or does it mean that an nearby partymember can make an AOO? I just want to be sure. Thanks!

Anyone within reach who is able can make a AoO, of course. The text is a bit ambiguous reagarding the victim. I'd rule the attack resolution is what breaks the paralysation and thus the paralysed victm can't make the AoO. The victim can hope the creature misses however unlikely that may be with an effective Dex of 0!

 

[Asmo]

They party (4 players) battled the lone Vargouille yesterday. All of them missed their save. I´m glad we´re playing with Hero points.

Asmo

 

[jamesmanhattan]

I´m sorry, but is the paralyzation broken when the Vargouille tries to kiss the helpless victim - so that the victim can make an AAO - or does it mean that an nearby partymember can make an AOO? I just want to be sure. Thanks!

The paralyzation is not broken. The whole point of the shriek is to set up a poor victim for a nice little unobstructed kiss.

The Vargouille, taking the kiss action, triggers an opportunity attack from any non-paralyzed hostile creature whose "threatened area" the vargoille is in.

If everyone is paralyzed, no one can take the opportunity attack.

What provoking does? It means that if a paralyzed wizard was standing next to an un-paralyzed fighter, the vargoille might want to pick a different target such as a paralyzed cleric standing by himself, because the fighter could get an opportunity attack if the vargouille kissed the wizard, from one of the fighter's threatened square.