Arabella says, "I understand why K'Don might be able to find something out, but won't the rest of us just spoil the dynamic? That is if you're suggesting we go and try to manage some kind of diplomatic information gathering. Won't the orcs attack humans on sight?"
"Why, no, most tribes are quite neutral towards humans and the other races*. What kind of stories do you get about life here back in Trellak? There's always a little bit of a culture clash, but K'Don should be able to smooth that out. And many of them are eager to trade for whatever technology or knowledge you might have.
And I'm not asking you to be diplomats, just go to that area, wander around, and see if you can find anything unusual or 'off'. You can give any explanation you want for why you're there - there are lots of explorers of all races* wandering over Keltica looking for fame or fortune."
* : when he says "races", you understand he means Humans, Dwarves, Elves, Hobbits.
"So we just hope we don't run into any tribes that have been persuaded to join up with this K'Ploch? Sounds dicey. Can you give us any scouting reports you have on the last known location of hostiles, so we can try to stay away from them?"
Eventually, she offers, "I'm not sure what you think we're going to find. K'Loch sounds to me like a basic charismatic leader finding a way to make the orcs believe we're a serious threat. Maybe he's got some magic item, but if so, we're not going to find that out away from where he is."
Arabella makes her comments slumped against a wall. There's not a lot of emotion in her voice, just rational thoughts for everyone to consider. It is obvious, however, that she's not excited about the idea of wandering around a potentially hostile wilderness so close to an army of orcs bent on human subjugation or annihilation. But she sounds like she'll go with the group if it agrees to the mission. The fact tha she doesn't mention payment perhaps says how much recent events have blunted her appetite for the region.
"For what it's worth, the place we'd like you to go to is a couple week's journey west from here, far from K'Plech's region of influence. From all the reports we've had of that area, the Orcs are still friendly."
"If it could stem a war, I say it's worth a shot," Marko says quietly, as he polishes his glasses. A sign that the others knew by now that he was nervous but determined.
-Posted with Wayfinder
K'Don thinks to himself "Finding K'il Moto is my main goal. So, I'll be happy to explore for him over there (were ever there is).
"Count me In"
Alexander looked positively green at the idea of possibly facing off against more of the natives without the cavalry at his back. "Here now, that's not what we set out to do. Locate crystals and determine what resources are in demand in Keltica, wasn't that the plan? What's more, it would put Connor in an unconscionable amount of danger." He mopped his brow with a hankerchief. His initials were embroidered on the corner of it. "As I have said before, I am no soldier of fortune. This simply isn't in keeping with my plans."
Arabella sighs. I agree and no one would blame you and Connor for heading back to the coast until this blows over. But if this leader continues to gain followers, even the cities might be attacked, so it might be worthwhile heading west to see what we can find out. Maybe K'Don can persuade them to explain what's going on. If it averts a war, that means the way will be safer for us to explore. Maybe we can find something out and send Katana back to report while we push on west.
The commander pauses, thinking to himself for a few moments, and says "Well, I don't want to split up the group, I believe your strength lies in your different abilities which complement each other. I thank you again for your help here, but why don't you all head back to Jewelston, or even WeMadeIt, we can handle things from here. I had no right to ask such a dangerous task of you, and I have other resources to draw on."
Arabella looks much relieved. When the group meets to discuss options, she says, "Why don't we go back to WeMadeIt and then explore north or south along the coast. Alexander can scout for land that might be suitable for a plantation, maybe discover some local plant that could be exported or animals that could be domesticated. I can perhaps help with that; I know a little about biology. I have discovered I can work many naturally occurring materials into conduits for ergonic energy, so I can find something to replace the crystals in my devices. And perhaps this orc K'Don is so anxious to find will turn up in the area. We will never be that far from WeMadeIt and other smaller settlements along the coast. So I can get raw materials for some of my inventions and Connor won't be in as much danger if we stick to the areas people have to some extent already explored."
K'Don is deep in thought, with an expression of uncertainty.
Alexander jumped to agree with Arabella, perhaps a bit hastily, but with renewed enthusiasm. "Yes, an excellent idea. Much to be preferred to trekking through the wilds of this new land. I'm sure there are orcs about, so we shall still require a native guide, if you would, K'Don? And surely your skills would be better utilized in favor of the settlers, Master Montalvo?"
I didn't put this in my text box. How did it get here
Assuming Marco is with us on regrouping back in WeMadeIt!, Arabella will suggest we "splurge" and take the train back. She's anxious to be able to take a proper hot bath and sleep in a real bed for a change. As time has gone on, she has begun to look scruffy and she looks about as happy about it as a wet cat.
So, the trip back to WeMadeIt happens without any significant incidents.
Subtract 12 SP from your purse.
You get yourselves set up in a decent but not fancy hotel. I believe you each have enough funds to stay there about 2 weeks, unless you buy some expensive items.
What are your next plans? Are you buying anything? What are you doing for income?
Oh - are you telling people in taverns of your exploits? Taverns (of whatever quality, from rot-gut docks to the finest gentlemen's club) are the places where everyone loves to gossip and trade tales. A good story by an "adventurer" is always welcome to pass the time.
Did I hear that we were paid 100 gold pieces?
K'Don will make the rounds of the taverns, from the warf front rock-gut to the taverns that are appropriate for him to go into. Keeping an eye out for the Dwarfess. He will recount the tale of the saving of little village. K'Don will leave the "raised pinky" taverns to Arbella, she probably fits in better there. Also, seeking information about a new adventure to persue.
200 SILVER pieces each.
Oops, recalculating...maybe about a month's worth of moderate living.
You hear rumors (from dubious sources) that Rocknarra (Dwarfess) has a new "boss", which doesn't match with your previous impression that she was in charge of her little corner of WeMadeIt.
Feeling much better about their "great adventure" now that it was safely over with, Alexander took Connor (and therefore WindDancer) with him on an ill-advised crawl through what gentlemen's clubs there were in the city, regaling the locals, and anyone else whose ear he might bend, with the tale. Unlike K'Don, his primary goal (besides making an impression on the local nobles - especially noblewomen) was not to find further adventure to go on, but to suss out who was who among the townsfolk and make contacts and network. If he could learn more about items in demand and where they might be found here, so much the better.
Arabella will remind the group to refer to her by her pseudonym, Emma Watson, mindful that she might still have people looking for her. She stays in her room mostly, working on her belt. Once she completes work on it, she'll start looking for information on the land north and south of the city, visiting various bars, from low-life ones to upper crust watering holes. (She's wearing her belt, so she feels a lot safer roaming the city unescorted.)
For rumors of interesting sites to explore north or south of the city:
Charisma Bonus: +4
Result = 11 + 4 = 15, success + 2 raises
All of this takes a few days. Your tales of taking on 16 Orcs are met with eagerness and awe by some, doubt and scoffing by others, until some of the military guys come back from Roxbury a couple of days after you and start talking about a group with a half-Orc and a beautiful woman wiped out a massive Orc attack. From that point on, your "street-cred" is greatly enhanced, especially whenever Arabella and K'Don are together - people will stare at you, whisper and point, etc.
Marko's non threatening demeanor doesn't seem to help convince folks of the veracity of their exploits. After all, he doesn't exactly fit the traditional mold of an adventurer, what with his slight build and glasses eternally perched on the end of his nose.
Still he goes along and is quite "helpful" by pointing out the inconsistencies of Alex's regaling.
-Posted with Wayfinder
Sigh.
K'Don will explore the possibility of upgrading his armor. And if we have horses, he will see if he can get an upgrade (if necessary).
Restocking supplies.
If there's no further discussion, then...
The night passes without incident.
T
The Baron is extremely thankful to you for saving the village and Adelmar, and makes good on his 100 GP payment. He even gives Katana some money for her part. Y'all can decide how to divvy that up amongst yourselves.Did you mean 100 Silver or 100 Gold
It was 100 GP *for the group*, divide by 5 = 20 GP *each*, or 200 SP each.
Arabella, despite your good roll, nobody knows of any nearby places worth exploring (I guess the good roll means you're really really sure of that). The Orcs never got to the point of building stone buildings that last, or ever had "kingdoms" so to speak, so there's no ruins or castles or anything like that.
Alex and K'Don - no progress after a few days.
However, on the fourth night back, Arabella wakes up in the middle of the night. Listening intently, she finally hears faint sounds of someone else in the room!
Sounds like your stuff is being searched. What do you do? Lie there quietly and hope they go away, speak to them in a normal volume, scream your head off, etc.?
The room is "pitch dark", so -4 to all attack rolls. If you try to move to light a match or grab a dagger, you'll have to make a Stealth roll to be *quiet* about it, so no +2 for the darkness.
You can assume that your friends are in the adjacent rooms to yours in the hotel. No adjoining doors between rooms.
The rules say that a loud noise allows a Notice roll at no penalty to wake up someone who's asleep, I'd give that maybe a -1 since there's walls between you.
Regarding places to explore, I wasn't specific enough. I was thinking about the things the party was interesting in locating, such as land that Alexander might use for a plantation investment, creatures or plants that might be domesticated, or clues about K'Don's nemesis. I'll make another roll later depending on how this other event pans out.
As for the intruder, Arabella will says with all the urgency she can muster, "If you touch the wrong thing, it will explode!!!". As she says this, she will move out of bed, away from the intruder, grabbing her gun if she can.
Result = 7, TN for opposed smarts roll.
= 11
Nice try, but the intruder isn't fooled.
And I'm assuming "urgency" is "tone" of voice, not loudness? So I'm not letting anyone roll to wake up yet.
Initiative
Hmmm...
The intruder dashes to the door of your room and runs out. Very quietly too, I might add.
She dashes after the intruder, keeping her gun (Reason) and dragging her blanket, wearing only her nightgown. As she runs, she yells, Fire! Fire! Everybody Wake Up! Fire!
Let me know if she's close enough to try something like throw the blanket over the guy (?). She won't try it this round but maybe next if she's close enough.
Ok, so everyone roll your Notice at -1 to wake up right now.
The max extra squares you can get from Running is your Pace, so you move 6+6=12.
This thief has the Fleet Foot Edge, so their normal Pace is 8 and they roll a d10 for Running :
So s/he moves 16 to your 12, and dashes down the hotel hallway and around a corner to where you know the stairs are. Assuming a lantern here and there in the hallway, you see dark clothes and a dark wrap around their head (Victorian version of a ski mask), obscuring hair color and such. From the size and shape, could be a male or female Human or Elf.
A few other patrons (who made their wake-up Notice roll) start coming out of their rooms in various states of disarray, shouting "Fire?" "Where?" "Run for your lives!" etc. etc.
Having looked at the actual Chase rules (rolling Agility, getting multiple Initiative rolls, only able to attack those lower in Initiative, etc.), I'd rather keep this to a simple roll-your-Run-die kind of thing, if you're even wanting to continue. You can tell the thief is very fast, and already has a 4 square lead on you.
Does Arabella continue to chase after?
Stretched across her little-big's chest, she had been sleeping peacefully, rising and falling slowly with Con-nor's breathing. Now instantly awake and alert, her head snaps up, though she doesn't know why at first. Then the shouts register. Shouts she doesn't understand, but she recognizes the urgent tone.
And she recognizes the voice of the talky-big.
She immediately jumps to her paws, grabs her little-big's sleeping shirt, and begins tugging and chittering as loudly as she can.
Marko let out a snore, as he continued to dream that he was swimming in a lake of honey wine.
-Posted with Wayfinder
Arabella will continue to run after her, hoping for a break or that she'll keep up enough to fire "reason" at her once outside.
She will change her yelling to "Thief! Thief!". She was hoping some of the people aroused might create obstacles to her movement.
+ any bonus from WindDancer? Not sure if he makes it or not now... probably not, huh?
Alexander grunted and pulled the pillow over his head. That kid and his damn nightmares...
Heh - forgot I'm running 2 NPC's...
Connor
= 7 + WindDancer = he's awake
He goes over to Alex and wakes him up (no roll needed).
Katana
Wow, double explosion!
= 9 = she's awake
She enters the hallway immediately to assess the situation.
Thief
+ 8 (base Pace) = 13
The thief continues to outpace you, moving 13 to your 9. S/he is now 8 squares ahead. If you wish to continue to follow, you can have one more round.
Some people start pounding on doors as they run down the hall, shouting "Fire!", others are standing there confused as they hear Arabella shout "Thief!", not sure what's going on.
P.S. - forgot my own -1's on the Notice rolls, but it didn't matter...
Just for visuals, Arabella and the thief are now down the stairwell, moving across the empty lobby (except for a guy asleep at the registration desk). The thief is heading for the front door.
A couple of people have also reached the first floor, and come out of the stairwell shouting "Fire!", "Run!", etc.
Is the lobby big enough that she could fire "reason" without causing much collateral structural damage? "Much" here is defined as an amount she could pay for if she had to. The range of the weapon is the cone template which is nine squares long and three wide at the widest point.
If each square is 5 feet, that would be 45 feet long and 15 feet wide.
If so, give me details and I'll decide about firing. Ignore the rest of this post.
If not, she'll keep running and yelling "thief," hoping to keep close enough for a shot once she gets to the street.
I'll make the roll for the extra running distance.
Oh, well. She'll still try to see which way the thief(?) ran and hope K'Don might be able to track her.
Well technically the thief is within range, but remember the strict fire-laws you were warned about as you got off the ship...
The thief gets away. More and more people start pouring out of the stairs in bedclothes, nightgowns, etc. carrying a few of their most precious possessions, and heading as fast as they can for the front doors.
Arabella, roll a Notice at -2 for darkness and confusion.
ALL - every PC is awake at this point, you hear people yelling "FIRE!" outside your doors...