GM Woran's The Consortium Compact (Inactive)

Game Master Woran

It takes you another hour, but asking around rat street gives you some information.
The people arent eager to talk to you, but they are poor enough that using the right words and a few copper pieces makes them talk.

A few people have disappeared over the weeks. Not unusual in itself. No one cares a lot about the poor and destitute.
But people have been disappearing in greater numbers.
There has been some unusal activity around a certain sewer entrance, but all those that went to investigate, in hope of maybe making some money of scavenged goods, also went missing.

They can point you to the certain grate.

"Well then, shall we enter? I rather not stay in the sewers to long, as it is hard to get rid of that smell..."

Rico lights his sunrod, providing normal light in a 30ft radius and ups the light level by one 30ft after the other radius.

"Alright, I'm good to go! Who's with me!"

Lets go

Sewer map

Delroya’s directions lead to an isolated alley in the Bristles, and then down into the sewers beneath Diobel. The stench of sewage mixes with the sharper odors of chemical fumes and decay and permeates the damp tunnels. From this intersection, tunnels lead west and south into the darkness. A third tunnel heading east is filled with detritus, filthy beddings, food scraps, broken glass, and rotting furniture.
An alcove lies beyond a collapsed portion of the tunnel’s southern wall, and further east, a statue of a giant rat rests in the dead-end passage, illuminated by a faint light coming from a broken sewer pipe. Countless
empty flasks and discarded alchemical ingredients lie on the floor around the statue. On a nearby workbench sit several organized but empty flasks and jars.

You see several bodies on the floor.

I've placed your icons on the bottom of the map so you can put yourself where you want to be

The people on the map are bodies right? I want to check them over and see what killed them.

heal: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 2 = 3

Araklifest searches the body at the other side of the little stream. "This are probably guinea pigs for the makers of the new drugs," he suggests. He also casts detect magic on the body and the surrounding area up to the statue.

What you thought were dead bodies, turns out to be drug addicts deep in delirium. They are malnourished, and withdrawn into themselves.
They dont react to your presence, untill you start examining them. Then they moan incomprehensibly, weakly trying to swat away your hands.

"Dear Picoperi! These people are starving!"

Rico rushes towards them, and starts grabbing things from his backpack. He then quickly distributes some foodstuff among the delirious humans.

4 humans... I give them each one half of a Trail Ration (Halfling size) and 10 Fortune Cookies. I will therefor distract 2 Trail Rations and 40 Fortune Cookies.

Rawlins walks over to the man currently being examined by Araklifest.

"Do you need any help? Food? Healing? We can get you out of here, if that's what you want."

His speech is still a bit slurred from all the booze he's had.

Gorrec stays back a bit.

"Is it wise to touch those people? You never know how they will react if they wake up. "

The people react a bit to the food, but not much. You practically have to feed them, as they seem to forget about the food the moment its out of their sight.

Araklifest walks up to the statue, searching the debris while walking, keeping his spell (detect magic) up as long as possible. He returns to the alcove at the south side of the stream, taking a look into the alcove.

In that case, Rico starts feeding them. Can't have the clientele starve to death.

With constant attention, you manage to get them to eat and drink a bit.

Checking out the makeshift laboratory around the rat statue, you see all kinds of alchemical equipment neatly arranged. Empty bottles are stacked in a corner, and various liquids are are carefully arranged on a small work bench.
Nothing looks magical.

Checking the light source, you see a small beetle in the broken sewer pipe. Its carapace emits light.

Gorrec stays away from the statue and the drugged people, and keeps watch to see if anyone approaches.

May Flower go's to the alchemy lab. Does it look like there is more drugs of what these people used or is it all empty/ingrediënts?

perception May: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (12) + 2 = 14

May searches trough the alchemical reagents, but nothing seems to be a finished product.

When Rico is done feeding the people, he will help May and Araklifest in searching around for clues and such stuff.

Perception: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (11) + 5 = 16

If Rico doesn't find anything at first glance, he will start searching by sorting stuff left and right, aka taking 20.
Perception take 20: 20 + 5 = 25

May wants to check out the light beetle, and askes Arklifest if theres magic afoot

"As far as I could see, I detected no magic involved yet. But what I feel is more strange is this deserted lab. If they plan to produce more of these drugs, the lab should have been in full action. I think they relocated to a new spot."

There are still a lot of reagents around. If they relocated the lab, it would mean they left a lot of valuable items lying around.

The beetle seems to have made a comfortable spot for itself in the pipe. Its about as big as a housecat, and doesnt appear to mind that you are checking it out.

A quick search doesnt yield Rico anything, but after a thorough search he finds a small vial hidden in one of the drug addicts sleeping mats. It appears to hold a thick white liquid.

"Found a vial which isn't empty. You think this might be our sample?" Rico shows the vial with white liquid to the rest of the party.

"You know, with the lab here and stuff, we might have stumbled on it during mister Leper's break. Should we wait fo him here? Maybe hide in the alcove? It's all fun and games that we can now report this new drug and the location of its creation to the authorities. But that doesn't solve the problem, only delays it; we need mister Leper as well, preferably alive so he can be interrogated."

Perception or craft: alchemy can be used to identify what is in the vial

Rawlins reads through the notes left by Magali.

"Hmm, says right here we need some samples and his notes. These might be the samples, but I'm not exactly sure, and we haven't found his notes yet. They might be hidden somewhere else, or on his person. Maybe it's a good idea to wait for him a bit to interrogate him. Leaving now would only lead us to jump to conclusions. I do wish those poor bastards around here were of more help, though."

Perception check on the vial: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (1) + 5 = 6

A perception on the bottle Perception: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (10) + 5 = 15

"Maybe they could be! To mister Leper, they are like furniture. He knows that they are here, and most likely, how many of them there are. If we place them more in sight, then maybe he won't bother to check the alcove. If we hide in there, we might even get the drop on him!"

Rico has no idea what's in the vial. Rawlins thinks it might be cake icing?

While the rest was investigating drugged idiots and creepy vials Gorrec has been meditating.

I am Gorrec the Magnificent, the best there is. I am Gorrec the Magnificent the best there is. I am Gorrec the Magnificent, the best there is.

After a minute a shadowy figure has appeared besides Gorrec. It is wearing a dark cloak, with the hood obscuring its face. On its back it carries a massive stone plate.

Manifesting my phantom for the first time, in ectoplasmic form .

It walks up to Rico, holds out its hand and whispers: "Give."

perception phantom: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (15) + 4 = 19

Seriously? No explanation at all? Just manifest something out of nowhere, outside the discussion circle, and make it walk towards them? You do realize that Rico (and the others) know Gorrec and that this is not part of his regular repetoire, right? Do not look strange at the reaction.

Or if our almighty voice in the sky finds this to be unwanted PVP, then Rico just hands the vial to this suspicious figure.

Rico turns around to see who whispers behind his back, and gulps at the sight of the cloaked individual. It seems to want the vial, but who is this? Maybe mister Leper, who snuck up on us? It is a rather bold request, but playing along could be beneficial.

Rico holds on to the vial tightly for a bit (Bad Deal bardic performance), and then offers the vial to the dark stranger.
"Wi..with pleasure, goo...goo...good sir"

Bad Deal performance, hexed the item with the Slumber Hex. The moment this stranger accepts the item, he immediately needs to make a DC16 Will save to not fall asleep for 2 rounds.

I would not consider this real PvP. If you two want to butt heads again I am all for it! This is a great roleplay opportunity :D

will: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (9) + 2 = 11

The cloaked figure falls unconscious, vial still in hand.

Then it disappears, leaving only the vial behind.

"Nice trick Rico. What did you exactly do?" asks Gorrec.

With some amazement and a lot of curiosity Araklifest looks at the appearance manifesting itself besides Gorrec. He knows from his books about the possibilities and the theory, but this is the first time in his life he witnesses one.

As the stranger falls asleep, Rico immediately produces a rope from his backpack. "Quickly, before he wakes up! Help me tie him up, so we can..." And then, the body disappears. "Where did he go?!?"

Then, as Gorrec asks his question, Rico states while scratching his head: "Well, I can enchant any item in my hands with a sleeping curse. It doesn't last long, but it can work sometimes."

Then, Rico realizes something. "Wait a minute, Gorrec! You were on stakeout! Why did you let that... that... "whatever-it-was" past you? We could have been severly injured, you know!"

Rico throws a fit, totally unaware of the nature of the mysterious stranger.

Rico has absolutely no knowledges, so he literally has no idea what is going on.

Rawlins looks at the events boggle-eyed, then turns around for the sewer exit in disbelief.

"That's it, I need more drinks. I'm too sober for this. If you need me, I'll be at the Oyster."

Feel free to stop me, obviously.

Araklifest, I think you need religion for spirits.

"This is the second time today you are doubting my skills, little man.
You seriously think I let a dangerous figure walk past me without warning? The fact that I let it through should be enough to know it is save."

Gorrec scoffs and continues.

"I saw you guys stumbling around and found it wise to summon some assistance. It can accomplish many things, if you let it do its job."

He shrugs. "Unfortunately talking is not one of its strong points."

"Now the important part, how long does an item you curse stay cursed? It would be great to curse the vial again and leave it here for Lazlo to pick up.

Phantoms are technically outsiders, so Knowledge the planes is the correct one.

BTW, the phantom is awake again. It only lasts for 2 rounds.

"It did walk past you, and it didn't look like a friendly creature! You didn't even introduce him...her..."whatever-it-was" to us! You just summoned a mysterious stranger and let it sneak up on us!"

Rico calms down a bit, his adrenalin fading from his body again.
"But yeah... about that cursing stuff... It only stays cursed for as long as I hold it. The moment I let go, the curse activates. So either the person who took it from me gets cursed, or it becomes a dud if no one is holding it..."

Rico adjust his hat, which shifted in a crooked position after his hissy fit. "So in other words, I can't curse it and then leave it somewhere. Also, maintaing this curse is actually quite exhausting, so I can't activate it that often each day..."

Then Rico notices that Rawlins is moving away. "Where are you going Rawlins? The Oyster? No, no, no no no. You need to stay here with us! We're a team, remember? So stay here in ambush with us to get this mister Leper."

"Look, I'm all for a bit of roughhousing and deception, but when ghosts start sprouting from people's heads, that's it. That's officially above my pay grade. If you want me to deal with it, I need to be more buzzed than this, so at least I can forget it once it's over."

"Men.......mumble mumble"
"Hey guy's, stop making such racket, your scaring the bug."
Knowledge nature on the bug.
1d20 + 5 ⇒ (3) + 5 = 8

Loving your roleplay!

The housecat-sized beetle is a dull brown color that’s brightened with two glowing green-yellow spots on its carapace. You think they are called fire beetles? You don't recall anything particular about them.

"Stop moaning Rawlins. If you want to be a Pathfinder, you better get used to apparitions and the like. The sooner the better," answers Araklifest the man.

May patrols with Nitoriu (using his sent) to keep watch for anyone aproching

"I am going to summon it again, and see what it can find out about this place." And this time don't behave like a bunch of babies, it can't be the scariest thing you guys have ever seen."

After a minute of meditating the ghostly figure appears again.

It looms menacingly over Rico and whispers "Your luck will run out soon. Prepare."

It looks at the vial perception: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (4) + 4 = 8

After it has put the vial down it turns ethereal and starts walking in and out of the walls and the floor, looking for secret passages.

Leaving the emidiate vicinity of the lab, May notices that the sewer starts smelling more like... sewer. Closer to the lab, an acrid chemical smell has the upper hand. Farther away things smell like poop.
Further away from the lab, the sewer is also in worse shape.

Having time to study the bottle, the phantom doesnt know what it is.

Rico had the idea that its probably some of the drug, buts its not something you really want to test out on yourself.

The phantom doesnt find any secret doors or passages.

I just realized that I have a useful spell on my list...

"Well Gorrec, it seems that your mental manifestation is influenced by your overwhelming ego. Let's see if he really didn't know about this liquid, or that you are just distracting."

Rico casts Borrow Skill and touches the phantom. With a sudden flash in his eyes, he takes the liquid and inspects it once more.
Perception: 1d20 + 3 + 1 - 2 + 2 ⇒ (16) + 3 + 1 - 2 + 2 = 20

Then, when May comes back from her patrol, Rico approaches her.
"Dear lady, it might be that your knowledge of this beetle is impaired by the sheer smell of the sewer. Might I magically check your memory to see if have some information about the creature? It could be hiding itself, even from you."
If May allows Rico, then he will cast Borrow Skill and check the beetle. Knowledge Nature: 1d20 + 3 + 1 + 0 ⇒ (16) + 3 + 1 + 0 = 20

Its drugs. And not one you've seen before.
Now that you're handling the vial in plain sight, the drug addicts become more active. Reaching out frail hands, trying to get a hold of the vial. Its easy to swat their hands away, as they barely have any strenght.

After handling the liquid while using the phantom's skills.
"It seems that I was right, you do distract your own mental manifestation. This is indeed a form of drugs. It is a new one though, haven't seem something like this before."

Rico then sees he needs to secure the vial, before it ends up in the hands of the weakened people. He keeps it up in the air for a while, trying to get it into his backpack.
"So this vial of drugs is an important piece of evidence, which we need to keep away from other people."

After meeting up with May and checking the beetle.
"I was correct, you do know this beetle, May. This is a Flash Beetle, easy to domesticate and can act as a nightlamp. For you see, it constantly sheds light from its abdomen. But it can aslo suddenly create a flash of light, which can make you see stars for a little while."

We have the drug, but we need the notes. We need to lay an ambush here. Who of us has something to help prepare an ambush?"

I find it rather impressive Rico managed to touch an incorporeal creature.

It's like magic! But just to be safe Incorporeal 50% chance of effect (high is good): 1d20 ⇒ 16

"I do not have stuff with me to prepare an ambush. I usually stay in the spotlight to sell my stuff... But if you want to get corny, I can make a trail of Fortune Cookies to lure him in."

"We can be sure that the owner of this lab will come back. The lab and the bottle of drugs are too expensive to leave behind. Till then we have to hide and wait to ambush him, but there is not much place to hide when he comes. One or two could wait in the alcove, perhaps one behind the statue. If he takes the same way we did the others could perhaps hide in the sewers south and west of the entrance, but it could be possible that he comes by way of those sewers in stead of this entrance and that could cause unexpected difficulties. What do you think?"

Ergh, I want to reply to Araklifest about staying, but I can't seem to find the right words. Been trying to formulate them for the past three days, but I'm drawing a blank. I'm staying, don't worry.

"I agree with Araklifest. Let's all use different corners to hide in, but not too spread apart that we'll be in trouble if problems arise."

Oke