EndlessForms |
You are awaiting a briefing by Ambrus Valsin on your upcoming mission.
EndlessForms |
“Pathfinders, I’m sure you know our associate, Guaril Karela, if not personally then by reputation,” says Ambrus Valsin while gesturing to the Varisian man seated across from him. “We’ve had reports from a confidential informant in the Aspis Consortium that trouble is brewing in Tamran. Probably not coincidentally, several of Karela’s shipments bound for Tamran have gone missing.”
Guaril adds, “You see, the Molthuni navy maintains a rather tyrannical blockade around the city—a blockade past which my associates and I have helped Ambrus move items numerous items. It’s not so difficult; the Molthuni are not the brightest stars in the sky. Or at least it wasn’t difficult until recently. An unknown party has intercepted my last dozen shipments, and I doubt Molthune is responsible. When I lose shipments—”
“—Our lodge in Tamran loses much needed supplies,” finishes Ambrus. “Not to mention the fact that Guaril provides many important goods to the people of Tamran, such as food and medicine. Your mission is to accompany Guaril to Tamran and investigate the disappearances and thefts. Hopefully Oraiah Tolal, our venture-captain in Tamran, will have more leads.
“You depart with Karela in two hours. If you have any questions, or any supplies to purchase, I advise you do so now.”
You might know more about Nirmathas and its militant neighbor Molthune.
Zhaasshar |
Know. History (take 10): 10 + 0 = 10
An impressive Nagaji in armor stand next to you. Well dressed, with a symbol of a serpent's head around his neck a feint odor of decay suround him like the one you could find in a swamp.
Nissse to meet you. I'm Zhasshaar the Reborn. He says with a bow.
My quesstion is do you think that the Aspisss is involved in thisss ?
Piety Angelbane |
Kn. history: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (7) + 8 = 15
"Yes, nice to meet you Karela, my name is Piety Angelbane." the Tiefling says and things for a minute.
"The Nirmathi are outmatched by the Molthuni in numbers, and so they rely on guerilla tactics to win their war of independence. To this day, the capital Tamran and its surrounds are not protected by a single army but by loose collection of militias. Further, Molthune has captured and occupied Tamran five times throughout its history, but the Nirmathi have retaken it each time. Fortifications proved ineffective against the Molthuni armies, so the Nirmathi simply tore down the walls; this makes it harder for the Molthuni to hold the city, and the forces invariably withdraw and burn down the city after sustaining too much harassment. That's all I know about the Nirmathi and the Molhuni."
.Pregen/6. |
Kn. History (inspiration for free): 1d20 + 7 + 1d6 ⇒ (5) + 7 + (3) = 15 Nice.
Sitting in a discreet corner, was a middle-aged man, with dark skin, a little hair and a white beard. He leans over a cane and stands up when Ambrus and Guaril arrives, greeting everyone, including the other agents in the room, "nice to meet you, I'm Quinn".
The man in a stylish coat have an accent that easily exposed him as a Galtan. He looks excited with the mission offered to them. "Wise words, Piety", he says to the tiefling beside him, to after ask to the superiors, "and do we have a plan? Will we introduce ourselves there as Pathfinders?"
He seems to be planning something quietly in his mind...
EndlessForms |
My quesstion is do you think that the Aspisss is involved in thisss ?
“If it’s not the snakes, then it could be the Church of Razmir. We’ve had unpleasant dealings with them in Tamran in the past, and I wouldn’t put it past the Razmiri to hold a grudge. We also can’t rule out any of Guaril’s enemies or rivals, of which I’m certain he has many.” Guaril does not comment, merely offering an innocently apologetic smile and shrug.
"Wise words, Piety", he says to the tiefling beside him, to after ask to the superiors, "and do we have a plan? Will we introduce ourselves there as Pathfinders?"
Guaril answers, "I have a ship prepared to sneak you into Tamran under cover of night,nowhere you will rendezvous with Reginar Lacklan, who will escort you to Ashfall Lodge, the Pathfinder base of operations in Tamran. I will meet you there in three days to hear what you have uncovered in that time.There you'll also meet Oraiah Tolal, the local Venture-Captain. I'm sure she can tell you more about the town."
.Pregen/6. |
"I appreciate you for give us these information, sir. I'm ready to go, and what about you, guys?", Quinn queries the others.
EndlessForms |
Guaril Karela provides a ship to take him- and yourselves to Tamran, using the cover of night and his own cunning to slip through the Molthuni blockade. You reach Tamran in the early hours of the morning. A local Pathfinder agent named Reginar Lacklan surreptitiously greets you and offers to take you to the Ashfall Lodge, the Society’s base of operations in Tamran. Karela explains that he has his own enquiries to pursue and leaves you.
Like much of the city, Ashfall Lodge rises above the marshy ground; however, whereas most other buildings stand atop piers and pilings, the Pathfinder lodge straddles three broad cypress trees. Rope bridges and wooden slat ladders wind across its outer branches, leading to a handful of tiny cabins for storage and visiting agents. Two bell pulls hang from the southern tree—one weighted by a medallion depicting the Glyph of the Open Road and the other weighted by a bronze symbol of two faces in profile. Reginar takes hold of the Open Road rope and gives it a sharp pull, sounding a high-pitched bell in the lodge above.
From above, a gray-haired halfling woman examines the visitors, smiles, and drops a rope ladder. She nimbly clambers down and gestures grandly to the elevated structure. “Welcome, Pathfinders. May Ashfall Lodge be your home away from home and your welcome to a new land. If you’ll accompany me, I can answer any questions you might have.”
"My name is Oraiah Tolal, as I'm sure you were told, the local Venture-Captain currently stationed here," she explains as she leads you to a small meeting room inside the lodge. After everyone is seated, she explains, "You were probably told about the thefts against us. My own attempts to investigate the thefts were stymied by a pernicious rumor spreading through Tamran slandering the Pathfinder Society in general—and more specifically myself and Reginar—as Molthuni sympathizers. I suspect that the rumor campaign may be linked to the disappearance of Guaril Karela’s shipments, but I have no proof. You might be able to learn more, given that you are relative newcomers to the area. After all, whomever is spreading the rumors hasn’t had the chance to fully turn the city against you. At least... not yet."
Oraiah recommends several sites that might be worth investigating in the city.
The Docks: “Karela’s shipments across the lake haven’t been getting through, which means the bandits must have a ship. If they have a ship, they’ve probably visited Tamran’s docks.”
The Gar’s Last Meal: “Many consider it the only inn in town worth staying at—a harsh verdict but a great place to dig up rumors.”
The Forest Bounty: “That’s the town’s most popular feast hall. These days it’s seen a lot of traffic from members of the city’s various militias. You probably won’t get a very friendly reception, what with the rumors around town, but talking to the militia patrols is your best bet at learning what’s going on outside the city.”
The Market District: “We haven’t been getting our supplies, but several of the more… illicit… items Karela used to bring into the city are still appearing in the market. That suggests someone in town is fencing goods for the thieves.”
Oraiah offers you a place to stay at the lodge. Further, she can cast the following spells for you free of charge for the duration of the adventure whenever they visit the lodge: cure light wounds, cure moderate wounds, cure serious wounds, magic vestment, remove blindness/deafness, remove curse, and remove disease. She can cast these spells in any combination, but she can cast no more than six spell levels per day.
Let me know if you want to go to a specific location. You can also canvas the town for a few hours to gather general information with a Diplomacy check and you can always split up if you want.
.Pregen/6. |
The travel was a quite boring to Quinn, but the city calls his attention. The investigator walks through the city, looking for the details and becomes impressed about the discrepancy between the Ashfall Lodge and the other buildings at that marshy place.
The investigator greets Reginar Lacklan as well as Oraiah Tolal when they arrive at Ashfall Lodge.
I suspect that the rumor campaign may be linked to the disappearance of Guaril Karela’s shipments.
Between one word and another of the halfling, Quinn asks her: "Can you tell us more about this suspicious, Oraiah? To us, you don't have to proof, only tell us your impressions about it", he ends with a likeable smile in the face.
Reis Sier |
A human walks in, and sits down at a table.
Greeting all. My name is Reis Sier, and I am but a humble servant of Pharasma. I pray she leads me down the correct path to take. I am ready to depart after I make a few purchases.
Gonna buy a few scrolls (all 1st level): bless, obscuring mist, tap inner beauty
EndlessForms |
Sorry for the delay. My laptop is still in the shop so I decided to wait until I got to work today and had access to my desktop rather than try to post from my iPad this weekend, which is usually a pain.
"Can you tell us more about this suspicious, Oraiah? To us, you don't have to proof, only tell us your impressions about it"
"Well we've never had problems in the town before and both seemed to come on at the same time, as if it were a coordinated effort. I'll admit, it's not solid evidence yet-that's why you're here, after all-but I've had my finger on the pulse of this place for some time and something isn't right."
Before our departure, we've heard that the church of razmir could be involved. Have you heard of any activity of these men here ?
"I haven't caught wind of the Razmirans being too active around here lately but then again they can often lead some competently sneaky schemes. And we've had problems with them in the past so keep them in your minds when you're investigating."
Anything else? Ready to explore? Just let me know where you want to start.
You can try canvasing the town for 1d4 hours to learn more if you want:
Zhaasshar |
Zhaashaar turns to his companions and says
How do we prossseed ? Do we try to team up and find informations together or do we sssplit to increase our chancesss to find sssome informations before going to the plassses the Captain told us about ?
Zhaashaar has a +7 on diplomacy and no Know. Local.
.Pregen/6. |
You can try canvasing the town for 1d4 hours to learn more if you want
That's what Quinn will do!
"Thank you, Oraiah. Your informations will be very useful. Forgive our hurry, but we have a term work to do", Quinn greets the halfing, and starts to walk in the town, looking for any useful information.
1d4 hours: 1d4 ⇒ 2
Kn. Local + free inspiration: 1d20 + 7 + 1d6 ⇒ (15) + 7 + (6) = 28
.Pregen/6. |
Zhaashaar turns to his companions and says
How do we prossseed ? Do we try to team up and find informations together or do we sssplit to increase our chancesss to find sssome informations before going to the plassses the Captain told us about ?
Zhaashaar has a +7 on diplomacy and no Know. Local.
"Never split, my friend. Always together, our first lesson, remember?", Quinn gives to Zhaasshar a pleasant smile. "Come with me, aid me to gather information around, before we go to the other points of interest".
EDIT: Can anyone help Quinn with an "aid another" on the Knowledge Local check?
Zhaasshar |
Sssometime when time is the esssence, sssplitting the party is the only way. On a dungeon, I agree that'sss never a good idea.
And a party of five, quessstioning people is more visible than two groups of three and two.
unable to help
In cases where the skill restricts who can achieve certain results, such as trying to open a lock using Disable Device, you can't aid another to grant a bonus to a task that your character couldn't achieve alone.
.Pregen/6. |
"My reptile friend, I just believe that separate in groups in a village where Pathfinders are not seen with good eyes recently, wouldn't be wise. Let's go, buddies".
After 2 hours with Aramil's assistance, Quinn tells everybody about what he discovered - in other words, you can read the spoilers.
"So, where we go first? I suggest The Market District. What do you think?"
.Pregen/6. |
Once at The Market District, Quinn starts to gather information about the recent events involving the cutback of the supplies, and if someone knows what or who is the font of the illicit items.
Kn. Local + free inspiration: 1d20 + 7 + 1d6 ⇒ (18) + 7 + (5) = 30
EndlessForms |
Also, I just want to note that I do not like posts that just have rolls with no description whatsoever. If you just roll dice with no interaction with the story, you are roll-playing, not role-playing. At the very least try to add a description of what your character is doing to make those rolls, as the rest of you did. This also applies to posts that have all ooc speech; try to avoid this. Making ooc questions/comments is fine, but try to keep the story moving with some action from your character.
The marketplace does not rely solely on Guaril Karela’s smuggling to function, and it remains a major center of activity in the town.
You can make a Diplomacy or Knowledge (local) check to find someone willing to talk to you. There are plenty of seedy people around that might be more willing to talk than an honest shopkeep.
Zhaasshar |
Zhasshaar began to look around, focussing on stores able to provide rare goods rather than thoose selling common one.
Hello, friend. I'm looking for spesssific sssupplies. Where could I find those here ? Or which merchant do I mussst see to find what I need ?
Diplomacy: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (13) + 7 = 20
.Pregen/6. |
** spoiler omitted **
The marketplace does not rely solely on Guaril Karela’s smuggling to function, and it remains a major center of activity in the town.
You can make a Diplomacy or Knowledge (local) check to find someone willing to talk to you. There are plenty of seedy people around that might be more willing to talk than an honest shopkeep.
Once at The Market District, Quinn starts to gather information about the recent events involving the cutback of the supplies, and if someone knows what or who is the font of the illicit items.
Kn. Local + free inspiration: 1d20 + 7 + 1d6 ⇒ (18) + 7 + (5) = 30
@EndlessForms, was that check valid?
EndlessForms |
Oh sorry, I missed that you made a separate check at the market. You guys got it:
After a bit of searching around, you meet Gilligam, a purveyor of contraband substances of all kinds. Gilligam is a tall, obese man with a scraggly red chin-beard. He instantly seems intimidated by the large group coming to speak with him and when Zhaasshar starts asking about his supplies, he looks around nervously, "I knew this was going to come back to bite me! You’re here to break my legs or something, right? Karela's lot, I'm guessing, and you're not happy that I'm not doing business with you anymore. Well you don’t have to break nothing—I’ll tell you everything! Just don’t hurt me!"
"Sure, I used to buy from Guaril Karela and I hold no hard feelings against him, see? It's just that he stopped supplying so now I buy from whoever is stealing from Karela. Hey, what’s it matter to me? I gotta get my supplies from somebody, yeah? When I meet them, it’s always on the north end of town, so I figure they must have a hideout up north somewhere. Please, that’s all I know! I'm just the middle-man, not the one stealing your supplies! Tell Karela that, tell him!"
.Pregen/6. |
Sense Motive: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (19) + 5 = 24
Quinn hears every word spoken by the fat man, with much attention. The investigator observed when his pupils become dilated and the sweat flowed more often on his face when Gilligam talked about the smugglers.
"Look, Mr. Gilligam", Quinn say, "we don't really want to... how did you said? 'Break your legs', you know?", then he comes close to Zhaasshar, and continues, "but imagine this shiny morningstar flying to your head, crushing it and then this area will stay decorated with your brains. It is a terrible scene to imagine, I know. And if it become true, it will be more horrible yet, argh!", he grimaces.
"We don't want this, want, Gilligam?", he puts his hand on the shoulder of Gilligam, "now, let's start again. What do you have to tell us about these men and this 'new market'?"
Waiting for @Zhaasshar's action, if he will intimidate Gilligam.
Zhaasshar |
Zhaashaar listen to Quinn words. He looks at the merchant and said after Quinn puts a hand on his shoulder.
He smiles at the merchant and says, while touching his morningstar.
Yesss, it will be must unfortunate that your charming establissshment be repaint by your brain... I expect that you tell usss all the trusss not only a part of it
Intimidate (take 10): 10 + 11 = 21
.Pregen/6. |
@EndlessForms, in this case, as a reflex of his last post and in response to the cavalier's action, Quinn will take '10 to "aid another" on Zhaashaar's intimidate check, that will increase to 23, ok?
EndlessForms |
You actually can't take 10 on aids (because then unless you had a negative modifier you would always aid) but with that modifier you can't fail to aid so it's a moot point here.
Gilligam's eyes go wide and it is clear that he is dropping his act. "Okay, okay, they come from the river! They sell for half what I used to pay Karela! What did you expect me to do, I'm a business man! I hope you never catch them, my profits have never been higher!"
It is quite clear that he is not willing to risk another lie with you and he is now telling the truth.
.Pregen/6. |
"Yes, my lizard friend. Sounds good for me too."
Once at The Docks, Quinn will repeat the same procedure he did at The Market District, he will gather information with the locals about the disappearance of Guaril Karela’s shipments, if someone saw any new ships around there, and if someone know anything about this new "merchants" from the river, mentioned by Gilligam.
Kn. Local + free inspiration: 1d20 + 7 + 1d6 ⇒ (6) + 7 + (2) = 15
EndlessForms |
Sorry to take the weekend off; that is atypical for me. My laptop should be fixed in the next few days though and then my posting rate will increase back to normal.
Although Molthune blocks much of the trade to and from Tamran, the city still does brisk business with other Nirmathi settlements up the river, and there’s plenty of fishing to be done well before reaching Molthune’s interdictors. As a result, the docks still bustle with activity during the day.
You can use Diplomacy to ask around at the docks about the recent disappearances.
.Pregen/6. |
"Yes, my lizard friend. Sounds good for me too."
Once at The Docks, Quinn will repeat the same procedure he did at The Market District, he will gather information with the locals about the disappearance of Guaril Karela’s shipments, if someone saw any new ships around there, and if someone know anything about this new "merchants" from the river, mentioned by Gilligam.
[dice=Kn. Local + free inspiration]1d20 + 7 + 1d6
Kn. Local is invalid?
I'm usually stay off at weekends too, no problem about it. =)
Piety Angelbane |
Piety follows the rest to the docks. Although he does not think he will get useful answers he asks around for any information about recent disappearances.
Diplo: 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (20) - 1 = 19
Zhaasshar |
Zaasshar looked around and began to ask questions to the dockers and the patrons in the dock's taverns.
Hello guys, do you have ssseens new boatsss in the area ? New people in town ? I'm looking for informations about new people moving goodsss around here. Do you know any ?
Diplomacy: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (5) + 7 = 12
EndlessForms |
No Local here, the scenario just calls for Diplomacy. Luckily Piety got it because from now on I will be ignoring 'empty rolls' with no context.
Piety asks around but the first few people are not willing to speak. Eventually though you find a man named Jonathram, an amateur apothecary. Jonathram has not aged gracefully, despite his elven heritage. He is completely bald and wears a silver earring in one ear and a snowy white beard.
"Thefts? I don’t know nothing about no thefts. I know about receiving stolen goods though, and I ain’t about t’get locked up on no fool charge like that. Some Varisian feller come by wanting to buy up mah vermin repellent, trying to barter off some potions or whatnot. But I sees the Glyph of the Open Road on ‘em, and I ain’t about to touch no Pathfinder stuffs, so I tell him to shove off. Boy that got ‘im real mad. He was itchin’ up a storm, he was! Must have been living in them marshes, where them skeeters live."
Reis Sier |
Interesting. Is there anything else you can tell us about the man who was trying to sell you stolen goods? Did you see which way he left after he left here? Was he by himself or were there others with him?
diplo if needed: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (8) + 8 = 16
.Pregen/6. |
Kn. Local + free inspiration: 1d20 + 7 + 1d6 ⇒ (8) + 7 + (1) = 16
"An elf with beard! Omg!"
Quinn listen the exotic kind of elf speaks and after that, he attempts to assimilate the spoken words with his meager knowledge of the region.
"Well, indeed, there are several broad swathes of swamp within 50 miles of the city. Any of them would be likely locations", he whispers.
"Zaashaar, I just know that this place have several broad swathes of swamps, but...", he makes a dramatic pause...
@EndlessForms, can I do any skill check for more informations about it?