StephNyan |
Lame. Start NOW! Start NOW! Haha. Do you get reprimanded for starting early or something?
No idea. Though I'm quite sure if they do check the thread and see we started before the Game Day, you're not getting your boon(s) either :(
Besides, I don't have the scenario yet: I'll receive it within 2 days.
Chilly |
StephNyan |
The Dalsine Affair
In the middle of the night, you are summoned to the Grand Lodge. It is abuzz with rumors of something monumental happening in Oppara. In the formal briefing, you are informed that transport has been arranged and the team of agents is being sent to the Oppara Lodge.
A swift boat ride, a quick trip through Taldor’s gilded capital, and a coded knock at the front door lead to the unassuming, windowless Pathfinder Society lodge masquerading as a bait and tackle shop called Rods and Reels. The strong smell of old fish permeates the dwelling, which has somewhat of a ill cared-for, haphazard appearance. The light of a single, whale-oil lantern forms strange shadows on the floor among the nets and buckets that fill the lodge’s ground floor.
Now's the time to introduce your characters. When you're all present the real game starts ;)
Race Draxus |
Happy to be back in Taldor, Race Draxus takes his time taking in the sights on his way to the grungy tackle shop. Once inside, the warrior with both an otherworldly grace and the grit of a soldier, glances about, setting his jaw, puzzled by the sparse and low-key setting. He nods silently to anybody present, saying simply, "Race Draxus. Race, or Drax, either is fine."
He adjusts his scimitar and takes a seat.
Mary Dontingham |
A young blonde-haired female covered in scale armor with a big bow strapped to her back and a heavy mace tied to her waist walks into Rods and Reels. "Greetings and blessings to all of you. My name is Mary Dontingham, proud paladin of Abadar. Is there any particular reason this place hides its true nature? Nothing wrong with making gold coin on the side as a tackle shop, but it's the deception that disturbs me."
Oric the Seeker |
A brown haired young man with the build and face of a street tough enters the shop. Incongruously he appears engrossed an a book. Looking up he appears surprised that he has arrived and that there are others in the room.
Hello. I am Oric it seems I am the last to arrive. I hope you haven't been waiting long. I got caught up discussing the types of fish the fish monger on the corner had in his stall. A fascinating array.
Chilly |
A young varisian man enters the room, wearing a chain shirt over travelers cloths. He has light brown hair and a scar on his left cheek. A tatoo decorates his right cheek, and others down his arms. Two punch daggers lie in his belt, and a crossbow is over his shoulder.
well, obviously not exactly the last. That was a fun boat trip wasn't it. Just call me Chilly. Never been to Taldor before. I wonder if it's like the stories.
Shael Nomensteia |
A young tiefling reading a book in her off hand enters the Rod's and Reel's shop. She raises her head long enough to sniff at the fish smell and regard the whale oil lantern curiously before diving back into her book and scooting off to the side. She raises her head again when introductions are being made around the room. She looks to those who had entered and nods to each in turn. "Shael, Arcanist." With violet eyes and red skin she stood out among the common rabble. Her leather explorer's outfit and jutting horns didn't help matters either. She has flame red hair half way down her back and a long tail that twitches whenever she is pleased.
On her hip she carries a simple club and a large tome full of notes. Across her back she has a light crossbow and a quarrel of bolts slung neatly. Every part of her is well proportioned, asymmetrical and carefully thought out as if she were crafted for a specific purpose.
Alaska time, but generally always near a phone or computer due to work related reasons~ :)
Jorus Skyecliff |
A sandy blonde haired man strolls in, looking over the store front rubbing his mutton chop in concentration. He suddenly raises his hand as recognition comes over his face, "That's it! I got cheated on some nicely acquired fishing reels I tried to sell them. And looky here they got them here for three times the price they gave me." He shakes his head in disappointment on his failure to get a great deal.
Then realizes the others and he remembered his manners, "Hello all my names Jorus Skycliff. Glad to meet you all."
Oric the Seeker |
Oric is surprised not once but three times as more people arrive. The nice thing about having a toon with low perception is I can totally blame my confusion on him :)
How many of us were there to be again?
Jorus Skyecliff |
"Maybe for some of us......but the answer your looking for is 7 my dear." He gives her a wry smile as he gives her the answer. With a twist of his fingers the half-elf produces a copper coin and starts to flip it through his fingers, "A bigger team then my last, but that will make for more fun."
StephNyan |
The middle-aged venture-captain who runs the lodge—a ruddy-skinned and pockmark-faced man named Muesello—emerges from the narrow spiral stairs to the lodge’s second floor and addresses you. "Thank you for coming on such short notice, Pathfinders. Let me bring you all up to speed. It seems that I may have gotten myself, and by extension the Society, into a bit of hot water. You see, lately the Taldan government has been growing particularly protective of what it considers its national treasures. Grand Prince Stavian seems to have taken a personal interest in anything older than last week’s fish stew, imposing heavy tariffs on any antiquities being sent out of the country."
The grey-haired man lets out a deep sigh and his shoulders slump. "This is where my own idiocy comes in. I thought that I could save the Society a few pieces of gold by smuggling items out of the city, using my contacts in a secret cult of local Sarenites known as the Dawnflower Blossoms. They receive significant support from people in Qadira, and oversee regular shipments to and from Katheer."
"Everything went very smoothly until last night. A group of local guards known as the Porthmos Militia conducted a violent raid on one of the cult’s safe houses here in the neighborhood of Westport. A man named Chalfon Dalsine, a minor noble who was himself nearly a Pathfinder in his youth, led the attack. This gang slaughtered half the members of the cult, even those who didn’t fight back—it was horrible. A few members were able to escape, but the rest were either slain or captured and dragged away for interrogation."
Muesello goes on to explain that while the deaths were tragic, his primary concern is that he had given the Sarenites several parcels for transport just last week. The parcels included a number of notes written in a personal cypher, but anything involving codes eventually makes its way to the Lion Blades, the secret spies of the Taldan government. It’s only a matter of time before they crack the code or use some divination magic to track him down. Muesello continues his explanation. "The Society is in a very delicate place at the moment, especially here in Taldor. The upheavals caused by the Shadow Lodge have only made things worse. If the government tracks those packages back to me, they might formally expel all Pathfinders from the country! Now what I need you to do is …"
A loud knock on the shop’s front door interrupts the venturecaptain mid-sentence. A strong voice calls out from the other side, "Open this door! This is the Porthmos Militia. Open this door in the name of the Grand Prince!"
For those who've never used Ditzie: drag your icon to the square you want him/her to be, then hit Enter. When you hit Enter a new link will be created, which you can use to place the new map in your post.
Mary Dontingham |
Is the front door to the top left? It's not obvious where it is on the map. I'm moving to the "back" of the store with a clear shot to the entrance. If this is incorrect, I'll move my character to a different spot.
"Well, that was fast. Did say you made an idiotic mistake last night? Don't make another one and cause more trouble. They might NOT expel all Pathfinders from the country, just the ones who smuggle items. One must face the consequences of one's actions."
Mary moves a bit further back in the store. "Still, I worry about unnecessary violence. Should they charge in and attack unprovoked, we should defend ourselves." Mary pulls out her long composite bow, just in case.
Jorus Skyecliff |
Jorus draws a chakram as he moves away from the front doors quietly, and moves to a back window to see if they have an escape route.
MAP
Stealth: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (4) + 7 = 11
Perception: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (1) + 8 = 9
Oric the Seeker |
Well Captain I assume you have a bolt hole the question is do you want us to take it or face the guard. Oric draws his Morningstar and shield. No reason to take chances. Personally I recommend the bolt hole.
Mort Aber |
Mort moves closer to the door and draws his rapier as he does so. He looks through the cracks in the wall (or window) to see how many Militia members are outside the door.
Chilly |
Don't really want to be interrogated, it's bad for my complexion. Do you think they found out about you through those who were captured?
Chilly draws both of his daggers and remains near the door. He looks around for something to barricade it, a table or cupboard or so on.
Shael Nomensteia |
Shael snaps her book shut with a sigh, sliding it into her pack as she works to keep her hands free. Her violet eyes flick from those in front of the door to the rattling doors themselves as she decides her best course of action quietly. Closed quarters, maximised zone control. Area strike appropriate. She recalls her most useful spell for this situation and stands ready to unleash on those who breach the door.
Move to current position
"We need to assist everyone in escaping this building. Muesello especially." SHe looks to Musello then. "Is there anyone else in the building besides you?"
StephNyan |
The pounding on the door increases in volume and an annoyed voice calls out again. “We don’t want to break the door down, old man. Hurry up!”
“Yes, yes, I heard you. Hold on, I’ve got to find a candle.” Muesello turns back and whispers once more, “Yes, I have some of the cultists upstairs. I’ll hold the guards off as best I can. Please get the cult members out of here, or they’re all as good as dead, and please don’t try to kill the guards! This is a large group of serious guards who obviously mean business. Any lethal attacks or, gods forefend, a death could spell doom for the Society! These are city guards acting on the authority of the Grand Prince himself!”
Muesallo walks over to a few rugs covering the floor next to the south wall. He pushes them aside and reveals a hatch. "There are ten of them upstairs. Please get all of them into the basement. There's a tunnel that leads away from there. Use it. And pull the lever you'll find inside the tunnel once everyone's inside."
Mort moves the curtain just enough to see several militia members, but he's unable to see an exact amount.
Mary Dontingham |
Mary will run up the stairs. In a pleading voice, she says "The city militia have arrived and will surely kill you. Come with us down into the sewers if you wish to live!"
Diplomacy: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (10) + 7 = 17
StephNyan |
On the second floor Mary encounters the cultists, who almost all jump up when she appears. "Who are you? What? Oh no!" the cultists say shocked. The cultists move toward the stairs, and knock several objects over on their way downstairs.
Those who wait downstairs see the first confused cultist decend the stairs. "Where to go?! I don't want to die!" the cultist whispers panicked, looking at the Pathfinders with warry eyes.
Oric the Seeker |
Oric moves quickly past the cultist whispering Follow me!
He scurries to the ladder and down to the basement. Once down below he heads to the entrance to the catacombs and casts light on the front of his shield. He then waits for a few others to join him in the basement before plunging into the darkness of the catacombs.
Chilly |
Chilly stays on the ground floor until the last cultist is through, then he follows. He stops whenhe gets to the lever and makes sure everyone is past. Then he pulls it.
Mort Aber |
Mort follows the lead of the other Pathfinders and assists the cultists down to the lower level. Once all the cultist make it safely below, he will head down before Chilly.
If Mort see's an attractive female cultist(non dwarf/halfling/gnome), he'll whisper to her, "You know your eyes tell me everything but your name."
Shael Nomensteia |
Shael looks at Muesello arching an eyebrow when he pleads not to kill the guards. She looks back to the door directly ahead of her. "What I have planned won't kill them but they will regret threatening the Society."
She rolls her eyes at Mort's comment as the cultists come down from upstairs, she merely points them to Oric as she remains fixed on the doorway before her. "Muesello don't get in my way when you open the door."
She'll use Color Spray to incapacitate the guards if at all possible. :)
Race Draxus |
Race, apparently in some sort of reverie, snaps himself out of it as guards start banging and Pathfinders start herding cultists of Saranrae into the sewer system. He leaps to where he thinks he will be most useful, which leads to a lot of dancing around as he can't come to a single decision. In the end, he stays with Shael, ready to cover her withdrawl.
He draws his scimitar, just now realizing the irony of his situation as a former trainer of Taldane militia against the tactics of Saranrae-worshipping Quadiri.
Mary Dontingham |
Mary hurries back down once the cultists have gone down into the hole of the catacombs. She says to Muesello, "You will stay here and answer for your stupidity. I will go with these cultists and try to save their lives. Shael, we should do our best to protect the cultists, we'll need your skills more down there." Mary rushes down the hatch and into the catacombs with the others.
Can't really update the map since we're in the catacombs.
StephNyan |
If you go into the catacombs, place yourself the to basement's right (out of the maps). There's no map for the catacombs, but that way it'll be obvious you're not in the store anymore.
The cultists are rather slow, pushing and pulling each other in order to get to the stairs. After the first cultist only one more has come downstairs, and to Mort's disappointment the cultist looks like someone's granny. "Let me through! Just go! They'll kill us! Move, move! I don't want to die!" the other cultists say at the top of the stairs, their voices growing louder. Oric meanwhile helps the first cultist down the hatch and into the catacombs.
"I los me teef!" the old female cultist says, pausing next to the hatch, "I haf wood'n teef, where ar dey?"
There's another knock on the door. "Like I said, we don't want to break the door down! We will if we must! Open it right now!"
"I lost the key! Give me a few seconds!" Muesello replies.
You'll have to do something to speed the cultists up, or to delay the guards.
Updated Map? I'm unsure on some positions, because some only described the position once all the cultists are in the catacombs.
Mary Dontingham |
Jorus Skyecliff |
Helping to direct the cultists to the hatch the half elf hears the old maids loss and softly reinsure her, "Don't worry mam, I got your teeth. Just hurry down and you'll get them."
Bluff: 1d20 ⇒ 18
StephNyan |
Chilly |
Chilly whispers back standards have definitely dropped
Are we leaving or making a famous last stand. Because we should be leaving. Move some furniture against the door and move
Chilly moves towards the trap door to help cultists down.
Mary Dontingham |
Chilly moves towards the trap door to help cultists down.
Just want to point out that most of the cultists are still upstairs based upon the map. Someone needs to go back upstairs and help them down. There aren't any cultists by the trap door at the moment.
Oric the Seeker |
Oric looks around confused. Where are the rest of the cultists?
He hisses up the stairs. Jorus, Mort go upstairs and get those cultists moving. Chilly Race, and Shael will help them down the hatch and I will get them to Mary below.