The most popular game in this casino involves rolling a polished crystal shard that scintillates between different colors and patterns. Players win a round when the shard matches the color and pattern of the crystals at the center of their table. The game is simple enough to play, but participants only have a 15% chance of winning a given round. In another popular game, players attempt to form specific patterns by stacking partially transparent tiles.
An hour or so after the General makes her way to the VIP lounge, Lucky notices an oread woman wearing an ornate courtier’s outfit with long sleeves and several voluminous skirts that has been on an amazing hot-streak. She tends to win all of her high-stakes bets, while losing a on the low. This bothers the little cleric, as it defies the luck that he worships.
Lucky will stop by Arxus and update him briefly on the nagging feeling... then proceed to circle the room discreetly and slowly, observing the player's rolls.
Lucky notices the woman cheating by sneakily replacing some of her tiles with others hidden in the sleeves of her dress. While she doesn't match the description of Inysha, she is, for sure, actively cheating.
As an FYI - the staffer leaves to go tell Boss, but suggests that Lucky handle it.
The woman does not stand up, stays with her tiles at the table. "And why would I want to do that, little man?" she asks, with a snarl on her face.
Now that they are face to face with the woman, the two can tell that she has an elaborate disguise on, but cannot, as of yet, tell if she matches the description Boss gave them. However, she was definitely cheating, so they do feel they have the right to throw her out.
Would Arxus be able to reveal a tile from her sleeve or the pockets in them without too much trouble or appearing out of bounds for his station to do so?
If he can prove the cheating...:
Arxus will grab at the individual's sleeve and reveal the tiles/pockets hidden within.
"This is how we accuse you of cheating! With proof!"
If he can't reveal the cheating easily:
"Would you kindly show us the insides of your sleeves? And dealer, would you kindly gather the tiles on the table and count them by color Or suit, or however theyre differentiated to ensure that you have a full set, without any extra or missing tiles? We believe this individual has been trading their own tiles with the ones on the board."
Without waiting for the counting to start, and without revealing the contents of her sleeves, the woman grabs her pile of winnings, shoving them into her purse, and starts stomping towards the entrance, with Lucky and Arxus in tow. "Fine, I am leaving! Are you happy?"
SM DC20:
She is being honest about this, and is leaving, not to return.
Upon hearing the commotion, Gridger walks in to see what it's all about but notes that Lucky and Arxus seem to have things under control so does not interfere with it. He picks the pieces of papers and thinks to himself. "Do I have enough faith in my friends to bet on them?" But decides in his consciousness that it's probably not the right thing to do.
A while later, after the commotion cease, he congratulates Lucky to give credit where it's due."Good job Lucky. How she passed our security checkpoint beats me."
Arxus will report in and wait a short amount of time for a mission briefing, before retiring to his quarters; polishing his armor, honing his blade with a whetstone, and reciting his devotionals to The Inheritor. Then he will go to bed.
Prizm just pouts off in the corner because he can't find Bert, and that this whole place really didn't like him or his talents.
"Oh Bert wherever you are, I wish we could just go home - I desperately want to have some blackberries with fey dust, and maybe some fizzy sweetened spring water... oh and the light.. that would be nice"
Meanwhile off in the not so distance corner of the casino, a small dodo runs around a roulette table with a pickle in his mouth while clutching a casino chip in one of his delicate avian feet.
The pitboss dives this way and that as the young dodo seems very intent to bet on black...
The next morning you are ordered to Captain Othis's office.
“You’re still here?” Captain Othis growls, without looking up from the pile of missives on her desk. “I thought you’d find a path out of here by now. Well, maggots, it’s your lucky day. I have another easy job for you to screw up.” Othis rifles through her stack of papers and holds up a scroll bearing a bronze seal.
“Zuhair Issawa needs someone to babysit a shipment of gems. Our real troops have more important things to do, so I’m sending you. All you have to do is get the caravan to his estate a few miles outside the city. Any questions?”
"Just a few. Where are we heading to? Is the route determined already, and will it be scouted out ahead of time? Are any points of the route particularly vulnerable to ambush? Has this caravan been attacked before? If so, what do we know of the suspected attackers or attack points?"
"As I clearly stated, the caravan is going to Zuhair Issawa's estate, a few miles outside of the town. Issawa knows the route. This is well-used thoroughfare and is safe." she barks back at Arxus. "As I said, this is an easy job, not worth using real troops on."
Gridger nods. "Agreed, we shall ensure the caravan makes the route safely." Disheartened at the little trick the captain pulled earlier, Gridger cautiously approaches this job. But nonetheless gives it his all to prove to the Ungrounded the pathfinders are worthy, or maybe even better.
The PCs can easily locate the caravan outside a warehouse in the outskirts of the city. Four stocky rock beetles carry the heaviest goods, and an agrawgh—a 25-foot-long bronze-ringed serpent with horns, silvery skin, and deadly fangs (See slide #9)—carries the bulky material. Two dwarves, Nef and Annie, are in charge of the caravan.
The journey to the Issawa estate is slow going, as the overworked beetles frequently stop to rest and must be coaxed to continue. The dwarves appear to be doing their best, but the beetles are not cooperating well.
Handle Animal check to help them, if you would like
Sense Motive on the Captain:1d20 + 4 ⇒ (14) + 4 = 18 before leaving the office.
After leaving the Ungrounded property Arxus will ask the party,
"Do any of you know anything about this person we're working for, or what trouble we may come across?"Are there knowledge or diplomacy checks available?
"Last time we were given incorrect information that would have been embarrassing if we had acted on. I don't much like liars, I would like not to be misinformed again..."
Lucky will cast Longstrider when they reach the caravan. After finishing his beer and stowing his tankard, he will attempt to coax the animals into moving.
Gridger moves along at the back of the caravan to take rear guard. He attempts to make small talk along the way, but being a man of few words, he repeatedly ends up talking about the weather.
Arxus will walk at the front of the caravan, ready to be the first to greet people they approach, or enter battle with those blocking their way unlawfully.
A er 4 hours of stop-and-go travel through a forest of stalactites and stalagmites, the caravan reaches a narrow bridge made of magically-shaped quartz spanning the vast geode walls surrounding the Opaline Vault. A waterfall tumbles from the ceiling nearby, an influence from the Plane of Water that fills the air with a perpetual mist, though the mist has no effect on Perception checks against creatures within 200 feet. Stalactites grow down from the low ceiling, the longest of them reaching all the way down to the bridge itself. Beneath the bridge, the “floor” of the geode is made up of jagged crystals that sprout from the ground 10 feet below.
From the ceiling, a pair of rock creatures drop down, as well as a flying earth creature.
The flying earth creature casts a spell-like ability. The ground beneath the party gets very soft and muddy (the orange squares on the map). Arxus, Prizm, and Bert are all caught in the mud, and cannot move, attack, or cast spells. However, The Drunken Hero smiles upon Prizm, and he manages to wiggle his way out of the mud, so is not bound.
I have a 3rd level summoner engineer with his "dog" ready to go!
Alternatively if we start in a week or so, I have a grumpy half orc rogue about to finish up. He'll be a 4th level when he's done with the current scenario.
I've been playing PFS less than a year after migrating from the adventure card game! I'm from Malaysia, and work as an engineer! Had the pleasure of hosting Silbeg and Neal in the BuA PBP special!
I've relooked at my available characters, I've forgotten that I've committed my summoner. My preference is high tier as I only have one character above level 3 so I don't get much chance for outside tier 1-2 games!
Oread "way of the sword" fighter 5 (Ready to go!)
Grumpy half-orc "do it my way" rogue 4 (available in 1-2 weeks)
Or if we're leaning low tier - I'm considering creating a dhampir with my brand new boon. So I'm good to go either way!
Roudantaimi is exactly where we left with the group, so very long time ago :)
And the gecko is very much alive (probably because Roudantaimi couldn't take him into Hao Jin Tapestry)
I am good with 5 if you all are... we have one person I'll ask tomorrow night, and then we'll get started.
So, we are looking at:
Lucky (Cleric of Cayden Cailean 4)
Roudantaimi (Gun1/Pal4) (or Tiberius - arcanist 5)
Rogue 4 or Fighter 5
Prizm (Illusionist 3)
Paladin of Iomedae 4 or Cleric of Urgathoa 5
At this time, please introduce your character in the gameplay thread (Batpony, how long for the rogue? We can play delaying if you aren't quite ready yet)!
I'm on vacation and travelling until next saturday, with limited chances to post. Please bot if necessary (I try to check the thread daily, but no guarantees)
Well this whole present evidence got complicated....
I think Roudi can start with the letter from Dell.
I can go with the poison vial second.
next... Arxus with the elemental tattoos
then Prizm with the slagcrusher note
Bert with the ASpis badge
and finally Gridger with the Inyasha descriptions
thoughts? trying to keep the paladins from having to present stolen evidence
Player Name: Tim P
Character Name: Gridger (level 5)
PFS Number of Character: 222036-1
Normal Track!
Day Job roll: Profession Scribe:1d20 + 4 ⇒ (2) + 4 = 6
Player Name: aj torgerud
Character Name: Lucky
PFS Number of Character: 59286-13
Normal|Slow normal
In-tier?: yes
Day Job roll:speed drinker:1d20 + 10 ⇒ (17) + 10 = 27 Anything else you want on the chronicle: no
Player Name: Neal B
Character Name: Arxus
PFS Number of Character: 89589-4
Normal|Slow Normal
In-tier?: level 4 so "yes"
Day Job roll: None
Anything else you want on the chronicle: N/A
Thanks for running the game! And thanks to the other players for a fun adventure!
Player Name: Jyri
Character Name: Roudantaimi
PFS Number of Character: 96960-7
Normal|Slow Normal
In-tier?: yes
Day Job roll:Craft (alchemy):1d20 + 6 ⇒ (2) + 6 = 8
Thanks for running, it was fun!
I've played Infernal Vault already (my very first pbp scenario!), so I'll pass that one. But please let me know if you're running anything in the future.
Yes! It was tons of fun! I have definitely enjoyed this scenario as a whole. And thank you for running once again.
I am due to travel for the first 2 weeks of August, and will not likely have any time for PBP during it. Planned vacation! So as much as I'd like to accept games, I'm holding out any new games until I return!
Likewise, to Roundataimi, would be greatly interested in future scenarios.
