Madness in Kintargo (Inactive)

Game Master Profession Smith 6 ranks

"Cold Iron. Looks like we need to get more cold iron weapons."

"You can never carry too many knives. Well, I guess you can, but that number's gotta be pretty damn high."

Once Dom hears the moaning from inside the spider's snak-pak, it's time to act. He'll pick up the arrowhead and use that to help him cut the webbing free from first the body showing signs of life, then the other.

Brassvane Residence

Dom cuts open the first silken cocoon, revealing a haggard, pallid, disheveled middle-aged woman. She's clearly shaken and confused by seeing strangers in her home, but she's polite enough to cough out a weak "Thank you."

When Dom opens the second cocoon, he finds the middle-aged man within dead, his blood and other inner fluids nearly sucked dry by the spider.

T'chazzar cuts away some of the demon's bile, then says, "There's almost certain to be more. C'mon, let's get this bystander out of here and finish this."

"There's almost certain to be more. C'mon, let's get this bystander out of here and finish this."

Dom looks around. "I don't disagree, but where?" His attention turns to Gavin's mother. "Madam, I'm sure you understand by now that your son has gotten mixed up with something terrible. We're trying to find all the places he might have used as hiding spots. Is there anyplace else nearby he might have gone?"

Barring any further leads from the mother, we ought to a) go back over Gavin's notes, b) sweat the kid for a little more information.

Brassvane Residence

Gavin's mom shakes her head a bit but then says, "I've heard him mention a cemetery before as a meeting spot for him and his friends.... Wait--he also mentioned a warehouse belonging to a family friend by the name of Rastuni during one of his last rants."

"Gavin had been acting strange...distant...obsessed with something for several days, staying in his room for hours on end, not going to work. When I last saw him a few days ago, he said he had important business with his friend Morlan. The next day there was a tremendous racket in his room and we thought he'd come home and snuck in. When my husband and I went to his room, though, there was this purplish goo...and a little man-thing covered in blood...and while our attention was on those things, we were webbed by a giant spider and.... Oh! I was bitten! Where is my dear* Altius?" A moment later she spies her dead husband at her side and breaks down into hysterical crying.

*Heh, had a funny typo here--originally typed "dead Altius." Got a little ahead of myself. :x

In the spirit of Dom's comment above, another venue in the near future will be a meeting with Turl and Korva Fushi. I was going to make the Turl roll using Lydia as that team's temporary handler; Kiri handles the Fushi sisters and could make that check. Or another player could make the checks if you don't trust my DM Dice.

EDITED because I realized I hadn't answered Dom's questions about places Gavin might go.

"We'll we've been to all those places already." Davina give the woman a hug in comfort, and tries to lead her away from her husband's body. "I'm so sorry for your loss. I too know the loss of a husband. Is there a family member or cleric we can send for? You may not want to stay here. The house is a bit er messy." she looks over shoulder at Dom and glances at the chest as if to say grab the items out of that. Gavin owes us.

Catching Ms Eradon's glance, Dom tries to be discreet about taking the contents of the chest, nodding in return to Davina, then to the doorway. Why don't you there-there the nice lady's attention in that direction...?

"We have some friends at Songbird Hall, " Leora suggests. "We could take your husband there. " She talks to Mrs Brassvane and attempts to console her. She doesn't mention that Gavin is at Songbird Hall as well.

diplomacy: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (14) + 5 = 19

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"Come along. Let's go to Songbird Hall. We'll send a cleric to your home as soon as we get there." Davina continues to try to lead the woman out of the room.

As the others lead the distraught woman from the room Kiri remained behind until they had her out of sight.

My bad for not being explicit about it, but my intent was that after Davina led Gavin's mother out of the room, I'd have taken the contents of the chest (sorry for the ambiguity, I was working on like 2h sleep yesterday).

Songbird Hall

The trip back to Songbird Hall is without incident. You're greeted there by the High Priest of Shelyn, Zachrin Vhast. He listens to your story, promises to heal Mrs. Brassvane's remaining wounds and treat the poison still running through her system. He also vows to have a team fetch her husband's body to clean it and prepare it for proper burial. He summons a couple of lesser priests to escort Beldonna to see her recuperating son.

Once Mrs. Brassvane's gone, Vhast gets down to business with your group. "Gavin's still unstable from the demon's bile; the same goes for Blackfeather. Hopefully they'll return to their old selves in another day or two. Gavin reports that the buzzing's gone from his head, so that's a good sign."

"Lydia led a small group including Dannin to the Tears of Aroden cemetery to deal with the insect swarm you mentioned and look for any other demon's bile colonies that might be there. With spring finally here we don't want to miss any demon's bile lest the city be overrun with giant vermin. Hmm, actually I'm a bit surprised they're not back by now."

Vhast orders another acolyte to bring some wine, cheese, and crackers for his guests and excuses himself briefly to check in on Mrs. Brassvane and Gavin.

During the break, Lydia, Dannin, and two other Shelynites walk in; Lydia's robe is a ridden with small holes and spots of dirt and blood.

"I got swarmed," the priestess reports tersely.

"Yeah, but your magic's what destroyed those pesky waterbugs!" Dannin chimes in with pride. Turning to address your group, he asks hopefully, "Find your friend yet?"

Lydia quietly adds, "We found something that may or may not be connected to all of this, but I'm going to wait until Zachrin's here before I tell you." A couple of minutes later High Priest Vhast rejoins your group and Lydia spills her guts.

"After dealing with the swarm of infected water striders, we checked the caretaker's shed, where he apparently lived. We found more demon's bile inside and, under a loose flagstone, jewelry and a small journal. The caretaker was apparently quite the creep; his sick fascination with those he buried didn't stop at a bit of grave-robbing, if you catch my drift. We made a quick stop at the Temple of Asmodeus to make an inquiry about the fellow and learned that he passed away late this past autumn, almost four months ago." She hands her superior a small burlap sack that clinks lightly when Zachrin takes it.

"You think this wicked gravedigger became a demon after judgment and somehow came back to his old stomping grounds?" the high priest asks Lydia. "Unlikely...but not entirely out of the realm of possibility. The undeniable truth, however, is that there IS a demon of some sort lurking hereabouts, else there wouldn't be swaths of demon's bile popping up. We need to find this demon and any other demon's bile as soon as possible.' He looks to you all before asking, "Will you help us in this matter?"

Songbird Hall

I warned you guys about being afraid of DM Rolls.... I rolled the Gather Information check for Turl's Performers in the spoiler below, and it wasn't pretty. Would someone (Kiri?) please make the Gather Information check for the Fushi Sister? (If I'm doing it right, it's a Secrecy check with a +2 bonus, so 1d20+6+2. You'll be shooting for a slightly-higher-than-normal DC 17.)

Do I use my Diplomacy score to roll this gather info or the d20 + 6 + 2 that you listed above?

Do I use my Diplomacy score to roll this gather info or the d20 + 6 + 2 that you listed above?

The 1d20+6+2. These Gather Info checks are actually Silver Ravens team checks, so they have different rules. If you fail the check...well, then maybe it's time for you all to hit the streets and make more traditional Gather Information checks to find Jessibel and/or the demon.

I was hoping you'd say that, my diplo score is nearly non-existent.
Gather Info: 1d20 + 6 + 2 ⇒ (6) + 6 + 2 = 14

Davina puts down her tea with a thump. "Demons? Actual demons? This is just getting worse and worse. Cold Iron weapons for everyone. We need to go shopping. While where out and about we might as well ask around for Jess and any demonic activity in the area."

"Cold Iron weapons for everyone. We need to go shopping."

At those words, realizing they're about to leave, Dom hacks a good-sized piece off the cheese, and stands up. "Sudarynya, would you like me to head to the War Cage, and see if Master Chulko has any weapons that fit our needs?" He looks around the room. "I'm seeing two rapiers, shortsword... Kiri, would you want something, just as a backup in case something gets too close? I'll need some money..."

I don't know, would I know by sight that T'chazzar's sword is cold iron, or has he said that out loud at any point?

Songbird Hall (Temple Hill District)

"Perhaps Songbird Hall can finance such weapons for your continued service in this matter," Zachrin Vhast says with a thin smile as he hands the bag supposedly containing the grave-robber's hoard back to Lydia. "I know you probably expected me to try to search out the families whose loved ones these baubles were stolen from," he says to Lydia, "but that would require making inquiries and maybe a report to the Temple of Asmodeus, as they are in charge of all the local graveyards. Call me cynical, but I can't help but think that the items you recovered would somehow end up in the infernal church coffers. Let's instead look on this bounty as a boon from Shelyn. Sell the jewelry and use as much of the proceeds as is required to arm these good people with weapons of cold iron. Whatever's left, bring back here for future use."

Dom: Never really thought about it before, but I'd guess that cold iron would look a bit different than steel. I'm also assuming that T'chazzar would admit to having a cold iron weapon when you guys make your shopping list.

On to the War Cage? Take your time and do some info gathering about Jessibel and/or demonic activity en route? If so, pick a topic and a primary person to make the Diplomacy check and others can Aid Another if they'd like.

Leora sips her wine while they wait for Lydia and Zacharin. "Wow, I didn't even think of searching around outside the warehouse! We were in such a hurry to get Gavin back here before he spread more demon bile, we only looked inside. Thanks Lydia and Dannin!"

"Sounds like a good deal to me!" Leora says when Zach explains his plan for the grave-robber's hoard.

.

Looking for Jessi & demons - I'm assuming we want to gather information since we don't know where to go next.
Since Jessi probably disguised herself, it's likely that she will be difficult to track down. So en route to the War Cage, Leora tries to learn more about where the demon might be lurking nearby, or any other places where demon bile might be lingering. After striking up a conversation with passers-by in the marketplaces and streets, she eventually will ask them "My friend got attacked by some water-striding bugs with this purple goop on them, and now my friend has a cold. Except his snot is purple. Have you ever heard of anything like that?"

diplomacy: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (11) + 5 = 16
Anyone want to aid? Or alter the question?

I actually own two cold iron shortswords, because I plan to go into two-weapon fighting next level. (Suboptimal, I know, but...)

"I'll try to help with getting more information," says T'chazzar, "Though of course people tend to... not trust me."

Diplomacy (aid): 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (15) + 3 = 18

"Believe me, it's very strange," T'chazzar adds to Leora's comments. "Even I've never seen anything like it, in the Darklands or here. Very strange. I guess nobody knows what it is; we haven't found anyone who's heard of it..."

They say on the internet the fastest way to get the correct information about something is to loudly announce the wrong information. The second-fastest way is to assert that nobody knows the answer.

Kiri considered Domitus' question about a back up weapon seriously for a moment, she looked at the dagger that she wore, and never used, and then back to Domitus thoughtfully. Cocking her head to one side she asked, "Do you think I need one? I probably couldn't hit with it anyway. I don't have the strength to hurt something like that. The winds provide a far better solution and are far more damaging than a physical weapon would ever be in my hands." Her head twitched in a funny way, one that could only be a shrug, "If you think I should then I'll take one, if nothing else we'll have a spare that way."

Domitius considers Kiri's thoughts about a backup weapon, nodding as he does. "Better to have a knife and not need it than the other way around, no? I will get you a weapon, and if the gods favor us, you will never need it, instead blowing all your troubles away like dust in your wind. But if Chulko is in short supply of these and there are not enough for all, maybe then you do without, and stick to the wind." Dom's face shows his displeasure with the thought of that contingency; he's clearly not thrilled with the idea it might come to that. Hope is a fool's plan, a voice in the back of his head says.

Dom's focus will be on trying to catch Jessibel's trail.

Diplomacy (untrained): 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (17) + 1 = 18

"No, you couldn't miss her, trust me. Girl like so high, dark hair. Voice that can reach the back rows easy. Dresses in black and red, not for... religious convictions... she and her friends just thought it 'looked cool'. Surely you've seen something?" Maybe I should stop by the Three-Legged Devil, see if anyone there knows anything, Dom thinks to himself.

Embarrassing Admission Time! Nowadays I don't know WTF 'cold iron' is as a term beyond what Wikipedia tells me, whatever. But when I first came across the term in 1E/AD&D times, I was young and stupid, and literally thought it meant like taking a sword and putting it in the freezer, and voila, cold iron. In my defense, I was like, ten at the time. :)

Davina decides to assist Dom in searching for Jess. "She likes to entertain. Telling stories and the like. Really pretty." Davina describes on the way to the War Cage. "Maybe some bolts and arrows of cold iron as well. What do you think Dom?

Diplomacy Aid: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (4) + 9 = 13

T'chazzar I usually buy a cold iron, and a silver weapon first thing. Then I have almost everything covered low level. I tend to carry lots of weapons on my character.

"Maybe some bolts and arrows of cold iron as well. What do you think Dom?

Dom frowns in concentration. "A good idea, as ever sudarynya, assuming Master Chulko has any for sale." Think, Dom, does the War Cage even sell archery supplies? "Honestly, I'm a bit concerned that we might overtax whatever supply he's got at hand. I hope he's got enough to get us all equipped with something..." As Dom trails off, his jaw sets grimly into what passes for his worried face.

Davina, it occurred to me earlier this week that your wish for a sword cane/parasol doesn't jibe with your class features. Inspired Blades get Weapon Finesse/Focus specifically with the rapier only. :-\

A thought suddenly strikes Domitius as the group is walking. "Leora, if it turns out the Firefly Man is not literally a man, but a demon, what does that do to our bet? No change, right?"

"Firefly man, firefly demon, same difference, " Leora says to Dom. "I know he's got nothing to do with this, so the bet's still on! "

"I could use a cold iron rapier, and if Chulko has some bolts for my crossbow, I'll take those too. "

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Here, There, and Everywhere in Kintargo!

I wanted to get as much into this post as possible to give you guys something to do over the rest of the weekend, so there's a couple of If/Then spoilers included that you'd read only if you took the action described in the spoiler tag. Have a nice rest-of-the-weekend; I'll be back some time Monday afternoon to post my next update.

The party splits into two trios to cover more territory in their reconnaissance for any sign of either Jessibel or demons/demon’s bile. While Leora, T’chazzar, and Lydia concentrate on the demon and any demon’s bile infestations it may have left in its wake, Domitius, Davina, and Kiri seek more info on the strix’s missing Apprentice.

For the first group, their inquiries bring nothing but confused looks from folks they question. In a way, though, no news is good news; it seems that no demon’s bile has spread (yet) into the western districts of the city.

Dom’s group doesn’t have much more success. A few people recognize the description of Jessibel—especially taverns and eateries—saying that the teen and some of her young friends (likely from the Opera House Society) occasionally stop in to eat, drink, and work on whatever Opera House Society folks work on in some dark corner. None recall seeing her in the past couple of days, though. When the trio visits the Three-Legged Devil, its owner, a middle aged human named Giveni Henge, says he hasn’t seen Jessi in his place since the night she quit. He’s quite upset to hear she’s missing and he asks for details, such as where and when she was last seen.

When the two threesomes regroup at the War Cage, they find it has all the cold iron weapons you could ask for…except for ammunition like arrows and crossbow bolts. Chuko, the tengu proprietor of the War Cage, claims that he can get those in a few hours, though, from an associate in the Newt Market in Villegre. He even offers to have a tengu associate deliver them, if that’s acceptable to the party.

*****************************

That night at the Silver Stein Inn….

Turl the dwarf and all the Fushi sisters arrive before the doors close to report their findings…or lack thereof. Jessibel skulking around in her prestidigitized brown armor indeed makes her less eye-catching than if she were wearing her outlandish red-and-black outfit undisguised. After a bit of discussion, Turl and the Fushis both agree that the lack of sightings could also mean that Jessibel didn’t travel very far into Redroof from the spot she was last seen before vanishing.

Davina looks in amazement at the Three-Legged Devil. "Three legged? What's the third leg? Are they talking about a stool?" she asks Dom, but she can't keep a straight face for more than a second, and busts out laughing while giving Giveni a wave as she takes a seat. "Giveni she was on her way to the Redroof district when she went missing. We can't find any trace of her."

Bluff: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 2 = 3

In the heat of working on a case, and trying to track down their missing friend, it doesn't occur to Dom how awkward this could be until the three of them are almost in the door of the Three-Legged Devil. Once inside, however, it weighs on Dom like a bulette is sitting on his neck. A bulette made of pure awkwardness.

"Three legged? What's the third leg? Are they talking about a stool?"

Domitius mumbles something noncommittal and continues to try and will himself to spontaneously combust. Even after Davina laughs it all off, Dom is more embarrassed than he ever was any of the times he was here with Jess and Sabrina.

Later, at the Silver Stein, Dom listens to this Baelgar's proposal, and looks around the table at his comrades, trying to judge their willingness to go along. Hell, we were gonna try looking into this anyway, back before everything went crazy. Well, crazier.

Davina notices Dom's discomfort. She smiles and pats his arm. "I spent my share of time in places like this in my younger days. Those stories make for some of my best plots."

She listens to Baelgar, and nods her head in agreement with the proposal. "If you help us, we're willing to help you. Tell us more about what's been happening in the Devil's Nursery Baelgar. I can understand why the dottari aren't investigating these days. We'll do what we can to find the culprit."

Kiri didn't really get the joke Davina was making, most likely it just didn't translate well into the strix mentality. She simply kept quiet and kept watch as any half-way intelligent strix would. She heard Davina tell the proprietor about the apprentice and, though she wasn't sure she trusted the man, Kiri was willing to allow it.

When they made it back to the War Cage Kiri took the dagger of cold iron and replaced the one that she already carried with it. She didn't expect to ever use it but she agreed that it didn't hurt to be prepared, even if she wouldn't admit it to Domitus.

Later still they met with Baelgar at the Silver Stein. Kiri didn't like the man from the very beginning, and not because he was a tiefling, her best friend is a tiefling, but because of the way he spoke about her Apprentice. Looking at the man the strix woman threw back her own hood and said coldly, "Do you think the fact that you're a tiefling is a problem? They work with one for my kind and Chelaxian's hate us more than they do yours." She drew herself up to her full, albeit short, height, "Besides, I grew up in the Nursery and my best friend lives there still. I'll help for that alone." Judging by the winds gusting around her Kiri was rather ticked at the man's insinuation.

The Silver Stein Tavern (Redroof District)

Baelgar leers a bit at Kiri as she stands up to him and points out that her people are likely hated even more than tieflings in the city, but instead of saying something nasty he simply nods, perhaps conceding the point. He accepts Domitius’s offer and takes a seat at the table, his grin growing as he takes in T’chazzar’s heritage as well. “Not the usual mostly-human cliques one usually finds in this city,” he comments before getting down to business.

”Every few nights, starting shortly after the Night of Ashes and the disappearance of our leader, Strea Vestori, a tiefling has been attacked and murdered in our slums, known to most in the city as the Devil’s Nursery. Each victim’s face was destroyed in the attack, sometimes making identification of the body difficult, and there were often signs of tiny bite marks and areas of gouged flesh on the bodies. Two or three weeks back, a human named Lucius was attacked but survived…although no one in these parts has seen him since. We’d hoped that since the killer or killers had targeted a human instead of a tiefling, the dottari might finally take an interest…but no. There were even rumors that a group of rebels might step up to help, but that never materialized either. Now, most of the inhabitants of the Devil’s Nursery huddle inside their squalid huts at night, hiding from what lurks in the night. Still, there are those who will pay good money for secret work done after curfew, and with our ability to see in darkness, my people are often offered these jobs. Those who take these jobs sometimes don’t live long enough to enjoy their rewards.”

The mention of Strea Vestori caught Kiri's attention and drew more reaction than she generally gave to anyone. She didn't gasp, per se, but the air around them did. She looked at Baelgar intently and asked, "Strea's been missing since the Night of Ashes? I didn't know that." As the man continued to speak Kiri listened intently as he expressed surprise that a human being attacked didn't bring the Dottari into it Kiri had to admit to the oddity of it, though she felt obligated to point out, "It's probably better they didn't get involved, they'd have stopped at the tiefling population and might have slaughtered you all with the way thing have been going." She considered the attacks and asked, "Do you know where these attacks have taken place? Were they in the same area or different ones? Was there anything in common between the locations?"

T'chazzar simply absorbs the information impassively. Doubtless he's had the conversation about outcasts and renegades many times before and he doesn't bother going down that road again.

"Lucius was a friend of ours. He's been missing for a long while. Have all the attacks all happened at night? How many have been killed?" Davina asks. Since Lucius was attacked by this same group her interest has raised considerably.

Silver Stein Tavern (Redroof District)

Baelgar sips an ale a bit before answering Kiri and Davina's inquiries. "As far as I know, there have been seven murders, all at night, all in a section of the Devil's Nursery. There seems to be nothing in common between the victims and the areas they were attacked...only that they ventured onto the streets after curfew. Perhaps the rumor that Barzillai Thrune has imported some of Westcrown's shadow beasts to enforce his blasted curfew is true."

If anyone should bring out the map Lydia made, Baelgar would circle an area with a sharp claw nail: an area consisting of R7 and approximately one-third of the distance from that point west toward R6 and east toward R5.

Davina looks to Leora. "You have that map correct?" Assuming she pulls it out. Davina lays it on the table.

"Why would Thrune turn loose shadow beasts just in the Devil's Nursery? You would think that he'd turn them loose in other parts of town."

T'chazzar leans over the map, arms folded, and his eyes flicker across it. Then he says, "Fear, of course. Even if he hasn't imported shadow beasts, the rumor itself creates fear, which creates compliance." He straightens up and uncrosses his arms and puts his hands on his hips. "The bodies have all been found? Any clues about whether they died from claws, weapons, or fright?"

"Nyet, not shadow beasts."

Domitius speaks while his face is scrunched up, eyes closed and pinching the bridge of his nose as he tries to concentrate. Ever since that fateful day at the park, he kept finding himself in situations he had to think his way through. I don't know sudarynya keeps all those facts straight in her head. The Fushi sisters brought Lucius back to the Nest, he was brutalized. What was it Jessibel said...?

"Jessibel mentioned some kind of creatures. Almost sounded like our little vomiting friends, but with a much more sinister bent to them. Gods, what did she call them...?"

Silver Stein Tavern

Baelgar shrugs at T'chazzar's questions. "A combination of small bites and massive trauma to the face. I hear that some of the corpses were unrecognizable. The corpses were cremated immediately to ensure the deceased didn't return as undead to seek their vengeance on the living."

Sitting back in sudden recognition to Dom's comment, she snaps her fingers. "Tooth Fairies. She called them Tooth Fairies. They are fey. Good thing we have our cold iron weapons. Poor Lucius was missing teeth, and bitten all over his head and neck. It was nasty."

T'chazzar nods. "Makes sense. I'm guessing they travel in small swarms? We should put a stop to that."

Silver Stein Tavern (Redroof District)

Baelgar seems surprised and maybe even a bit impressed that so many of your party seem to have little hesitation in helping him and the tieflings of the Devil's Nursery. He gives another of his somewhat creepy smiles.

"I don't suppose you want to travel to the Devil's Nursery tonight, do you? It's quite a walk, especially if we're to avoid the dottari and Queensmen patrols...although we might be able to travel through the sewers. It would probably be easiest, however, for me to obtain a place for you to stay in the Nursery tomorrow until nightfall and then you can do your sleuthing at night."

"I've no objection. I do some of my best work at night."

"It's probably best to keep off the streets tonight. We rush off, and... well, good things rarely come of that," Dom says sheepishly. After a brief moment, he refocuses on Baelgar. "Is there someplace we could meet before sundown tomorrow? That way we have the better part of tomorrow to make any last-minute preparations."

"Tomorrow night sounds good to me, " Leora agrees. "Are there any other weapons or supplies we need before then? "

I've been following along, it sounds good to me, I don't have any questions that haven't been asked.

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"Tomorrow sounds like a good plan. Let's plan for that. Is there a place out side the Devil's Nursery we can meet you?"

"Are there any other weapons or supplies we need before then? "

The question nags at Domitius. At some point after Baelgar leaves, he turns to Davina. "Sudarynya, what do we know about these creatures? What must we do to prepare, beyond the steps we've already taken with the good Master Chulko?" He tries to keep his tone light, but there's an edge of worry to his voice.

"Alchemical fire, perhaps? How big are they? Will this be small groups of flying faeries, or do they swarm like angry mosquitos?"

Damn, good luck resolving that Kiri!

Yeah, it's called replace it with money I don't have at the moment. Hopefully I can find something this weekend when I get paid again. I get my first Pay for Performance bonus on this check, (half of my total for the last month) and it's enough to make life a lot easier so long as I keep getting it, just can't rely on it since I could always fail at times.

Looking at a company online that a friend of my dad's used to get a computer, they do custom gaming PCs and allow you to basically pay in installments on it. Costs more in the long run but makes it more affordable.

Good luck, Kiri! Do you have any experience building computers? I did it when my last computer died and it's surprisingly easy. This website lists the parts you can get depending on how much money you want to spend. All the way from $163-$4000. They also make sure all the parts in each tier are compatible, and have some videos about how to assemble them.

http://www.logicalincrements.com/

Never built one before, though I could easily enough I think, I might look into that one as well.

Modern computers are somewhat easier to build than they used to be. Usually there's only one or two places where a given plug will fit. :)

But you do have to do things like install Windows, make sure your power supply matches your motherboard, get the right kind of memory (I had a huge problem on my last build because my motherboard would only accept an older version of the type of memory that I was using and it kept failing to boot while I was using memory that should've worked), etc.

It is doable! But it helps to have a computer-savvy friend if you have never done it. :)

At one point during my "walkabout" my PC went deader than Nixon. I came || <- that close to building my own, then I chickened out and just bought a new one. Mostly I was afraid my sons would see me doing this and insist on "helping".

GM, I have a few a bunch of questions, if I need to wait til Leora's turn to ask or roll stuff, let me know and I will!

Another important question: how small are the pieces I make out of of this a$$&~@~ gonna be? My first impulse is to leave nothing out there that can't fit into a Good 'n Plenty box.

GM, I have a few a bunch of questions, if I need to wait til Leora's turn to ask or roll stuff, let me know and I will!

-To be clear, Jessi is harnessed and on a leash. Is it tied to something or in the bad guy's hand?

Oops! Leash is held in the bad guy's hand; he should only be clutching Jessi's shoulder with one hand. The harnesses/restraints are stuff from the livery that bind Jessi while still allowing her to move very slowly. If she got knocked down, she'd essentially be helpless.

-Do we remember how deep the pool is from our last visit to Fair Fortune Livery? If I'm remembering correctly, the demons were walking around in it last time, and Jessi fell in but only got gooped up to her waist or so (looking at page 16 of the previous game)

Correct. If Jessi got thrown in and somehow landed on her feet, she'd be in minimal danger. Trussed up as she is, though, she'd likely sink to the bottom, and getting back up would be a challenge unaided.

-Can Leora identify the glowing globe of light spell around Jessi?

Yeah, a simple light spell. If Firefly man gave Jessi a firefly to hold, she could cast the spell herself, since it has no somatic component. Or maybe he's a spellcaster himself.

-How much demon bile is Leora able to get rid of with a channel energy? Would she have some idea of this after dealing with Gavin and his hoard of demon bile?

Any demon's bile within range of your channel (30 ft.).

Serious question: if I wanted to run over and grab Jess, I guess a grapple check? I'd figure it can't be too hard considering she's flat footed, and probably wants me to, y'know?

I double-checked on the chains, and the adventure just says they're connected to the walls and pillars in the cistern, so I'll assume they don't stop or slow you. Running's a full-round action, though, so you wouldn't be able to make a grapple try 'til next round. Then there's the added problem of the makeshift leash Firefly Man's got around her neck.

Given the answer you PMed to me about positioning, I think I can get to Jess in round 1 using a move action. And yeah, I know the leash is a problem, but at least then I'll be as much a problem for him.

The rolls that I scored over in Gameplay are pretty typical for me. (Calculated in one game that my average d20 roll over the course of a campaign was a 4.) Just assume that T'chazzar fails at some stuff and go ahead and do the scene without me.

Quick thought that occurred to me: if the Firefly Man is himself a demon, or some other type of evil outsider, T'chazzar's smites will double their damage bonus, 2 -> 4, yes? And Jesse, don't forget you now have a deflection bonus to AC, too.

Pffft! As if I'd forget about that....

::Quietly adds a bit more damage to FF Man::

Firefly Man is indeed a demon. Also, looking back, T'chazzar went before FF Man, so the deflection bonus should've been up for that first attack...and it would've made a difference. So...T'chazzar can quietly add back in 7 hp of damage while no one's looking.

Well, well, well!

And did you give yourself some healing from Leora's channeling? (Did she do it once or twice?)

Why, no, in fact I do not leave money on the table when dudes are trying to kill us. :)

I seem to recall getting Leora's channeling.

Inspire Courage's saving throw bonuses are morale bonuses; the +1 on attack and damage rolls are competence bonus. I think they may have been morale bonuses in 3.5.

No worries Leora, I can happily save that +1 until such time as I need it for a saving throw or something that is not covered by inspire courage. In case this a-hole tries to throw a spell or something.

Waiting to see if Davina posts. Since she's unlikely to kill FF Man, I'll probably move things along in a couple hours anyhow,

Waiting to see if Davina posts. Since she's unlikely to kill FF Man, I'll probably move things along in a couple hours anyhow.

Actually, Davina's actions could influence things, so I'm going to give her more time to post. Next update tomorrow afternoon.

Since someone asked: I'm swinging at a base of +4 instead of +6 because I'm using weapon finesse and I have a heavy shield with a -2 armor check penalty.

Ah! Fair nuff. :-)

Incidentally, Dom, if you don't have a way to penetrate this enemy's DR, I have a spare masterwork cold iron shortsword.

Actually I'm good on that front; I picked up a CI gladius (like a shortsword, but damage = B or P) in the course of arming ourselves to fight the tooth fairies, but thanks for the offer!

Same goes for anyone else who needs a cold iron weapon and can use it!

So, I've been thinking about it and I am strongly leaning towards swapping characters out. I'm finding that Kiri is simply to much of a sit in the background character for my taste and just isn't keeping me engaged.

I'm looking at a character that will fill the same basic roll of a ranged attacker/support character. Leaning towards another kineticist, or possibly sorcerer, as the class isn't where my problems lie. The base concept is that the character was involved in the original Silver Ravens in the first rebellion. She worked her way through the ranks and fell down a dark path when the Ravens of Old where put down. The agents of Thrune hunted her down, the so called "Demon of Kintargo" and tried to control her. In the ensuing fight the magic went awry and blended with her control over the void, and trapped her in a stasis field. The idea for introduction would be finding/freeing her from the field.

She would have effectively de-leveled in the intervening time and lost most of her memories. I think the character out of her time might RP opportunities might well help me get more interested in the character.

So, I've been thinking about it and I am strongly leaning towards swapping characters out. I'm finding that Kiri is simply to much of a sit in the background character for my taste and just isn't keeping me engaged.

I'm looking at a character that will fill the same basic roll of a ranged attacker/support character. Leaning towards another kineticist, or possibly sorcerer, as the class isn't where my problems lie. The base concept is that the character was involved in the original Silver Ravens in the first rebellion. She worked her way through the ranks and fell down a dark path when the Ravens of Old where put down. The agents of Thrune hunted her down, the so called "Demon of Kintargo" and tried to control her. In the ensuing fight the magic went awry and blended with her control over the void, and trapped her in a stasis field. The idea for introduction would be finding/freeing her from the field.

She would have effectively de-leveled in the intervening time and lost most of her memories. I think the character out of her time might RP opportunities might well help me get more interested in the character.

That sounds really interesting.

Gah! I can't find the Google doc in which I'd started the story of Dom's ill-fated run-in with the Old Man. That's probably for the best, as I was never happy with what I'd had. I'll rewrite ASAP and post it.

Pretty busy tonight, I'll write up some history for you tomorrow, T'chazzar.

-Posted with Wayfinder

Really it's just a reminder that:
* T'chazzar joined up in the middle of stuff but isn't privy to all of your backstory in trying to start up the Silver Raven revolution again
* T'chazzar is a paladin of the Empyreal Lord of intelligence gathering, so he is doing his due diligence about his allies and their agenda!

There's a decent recap for our last new player HERE.

Thank you so much for your excellent handling while the other DM was out. I greatly appreciate the opportunity to join the crew.

Thank you so much for your excellent handling while the other DM was out. I greatly appreciate the opportunity to join the crew.

No problem! Glad to have you on board!

**************************

Quick Note: I'll be offline the next few days; should be back on Tuesday.

Heard from GM Paladin over the long holiday weekend: He said to give him a week or so to get caught up and he'd restart Hell's Rebels. Thank you!

@Kiri: You should forward that PM you sent me regarding the possible bloodline for your new character to GM Paladin as soon as possible to see if he'll accept it.

Hey, thank you for keepin' the home fires burning!

Whoooo! Lookin' forward to stickin' it to Mayor Barry...

There, I got it sent to him.

That's awesome. Thanks for running this for us to keep us going. It was great.

Thank you for running this side adventure, it was tons of fun!

-Posted with Wayfinder

You're all very welcome. I enjoyed seeing the Silver Ravens back in action again, not to mention the addition of T'chazzar to the mix.

Are you planing to continue playing Jessi in the other game?

I'm excited T'chazzar was able to join and get caught up too!

-Posted with Wayfinder

Are you planing to continue playing Jessi in the other game?

Damn well better...!

That's the plan, though her being grounded could conceivably crimp her availability some. We all know that Jessibel would never disobey an order from her mother and sneak off somewhere.... ;)

Why hello, Mrs. Aulamaxa, ma'am. Can Jessibel come out and be a revolutionary with us?

Sooo... any news? :D

Sooo... any news? :D

Nothing yet. I figure if we still haven't heard anything by the start of November, then it'll be time to start thinking about Plan B.

Anyone heard from Paladin? Never got a response to my message to him. Since it's November now are we waiting for him/looking for another/something?

Was wondering much the same thing myself.

I sent him another brief PM Friday afternoon; no reply yet. If we don't hear from him soon, I'll take up running the AP.

I'm still lurking :D
If we do continue, I'd like to trade out my shielded caster teamwork feat for something I'd use more, like scribe scroll.

I'll be traveling on vacation Saturday thru Tuesday but can probably check in periodically.