E2 — The Portrait Hall
S2-E2 · Upper Level · Social infiltration
The Portrait Hall
A hundred painted nobles gather around a blank frame. The only unpainted figure is a space shaped exactly like the party’s leader.
The hall is a sentry gallery, not a dead end. The blank frame can be passed by deception, etiquette, or careful study. Loud violence alerts S2-E3 and S2-E5.
Success: The portraits turn aside and reveal a service door to S2-E3. The party learns the phrase “the house remembers the ember.”
Complication: A painted courtier steps out and demands a name. Characters can answer with a clue from S2-E1 or accept a moderate combat complication; progress continues.
Delay clock: Each failed round adds one audible bell. At three bells, the servants’ patrol in S2-E3 begins alert but can still be bypassed.
PF2e Challenge
The Portrait Hall Challenge
Primary CheckDeception, Diplomacy, Performance, or Society DC 16
ProgressAchieve 3 successes before 2 failures. Every 2 rounds of delay adds one escalation, but never removes the route forward.
Critical SuccessThe painted court accepts the party’s cover and reveals the service door without raising an alarm.
SuccessThe party passes the hall and learns the phrase “the house remembers the ember.”
FailureA painted courtier demands a name, creating an additional complication but not blocking passage.
Critical FailureThe portraits sound a bell; the servants in S2-E3 become alert, but the route remains open.