Shadow over Riddleport

Game Master Joana

"We cornered his drunken ass in the Goblin last time. This time, we won't show any mercy. We'll kill him for what he did to Larur, and then he'll tell us where Lil is." -- Braddon Hurst


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Male Halfling Inquisitor of Calistria (Heretic archetype)

Just a quick note that I'll be on tour this weekend down to Singapore for an under 7s rugby tournament... so it should be a hoot. Downside is that it might curtail my general propensity for verbiage and long windedness... though I should still be online of occasion.


hp 7 / 38; AC 16; Init +2; 3 Str damage Male Half-elf Ranger 4

Looking for Larur? Braddon thinks were going to Roderic's Cove. :-P


Male Halfling Inquisitor of Calistria (Heretic archetype)

I just got back from Singapore... will have a big post incoming in a few hours... should get interesting :)


Male Halfling Inquisitor of Calistria (Heretic archetype)

Just in case Phil isn't making the case plainly in thread - he's offering his own twisted kind of olive branch here... as in giving Gristav and Snake an opportunity to in essence save the kitten of Micah / women.

Just so you the players know - his intent at the meeting with Croat's men will be to prove his alibi and bargain for them to give him a period of time (likely 24 hours or so as we'll need to have the subplot dealt with before Sunday night :P) to furnish them with the killer.


hp 7 / 38; AC 16; Init +2; 3 Str damage Male Half-elf Ranger 4

Unsurprisingly Braddon, the chaotic neutral murder hobo, is rooting for Phil's plan.

That said, if Gristav and Snake do want to try something helpful, noble and/or honorable, Braddon can tag along to help if you need the muscle. Phillip's unlikely to be in any real danger whereas Rotgut wasn't supposed to be safe during the day. So Braddon could join them and we'd lose three characters instead of two when Joana sends the assassins after us. :-)


Male Humanly Awesome 'n Totally Rockin' Paladin of Greatness
Phillip Hargreaves wrote:

Just in case Phil isn't making the case plainly in thread - he's offering his own twisted kind of olive branch here... as in giving Gristav and Snake an opportunity to in essence save the kitten of Micah / women.

Just so you the players know - his intent at the meeting with Croat's men will be to prove his alibi and bargain for them to give him a period of time (likely 24 hours or so as we'll need to have the subplot dealt with before Sunday night :P) to furnish them with the killer.

Okay. That'll work.


M 1/2E Magus 4 :2223a1: BAB3 CMB/D:5/17 AC/T/Ff:16/12/14 Init2 Perc1?3(F:9) HP36/36 FRW6,5,3(F:6) UMD11 Scft10 Alch/K:Arc/K:Lcl/Appr7 Ride/Climb/Swim/Dance:6 Dipl/Intim/Acrobatics5 Sense Motive3(F:6)

Phil's point hadn't read as an olive branch, to me. I'm glad you explained it as such.

Give Gris the clues, he might suggest there's an extortion afoot in Betta's backyard. Finding the throatcutter might make us an enemy of whoever _he_ works for, but it's justice, and it might make a friend of whoever's sees themselves as the rightful extorter of that zone.

But if Ethel's not to be questioned, it falls to Phillip to find motivation to solve the murder, not the acquittal.

Or, yes, not, is also an option.

Are we the sort of men to find offense, in murder, in our shadows?


Male Halfling Inquisitor of Calistria (Heretic archetype)

Is Phillip the sort of man to find offense in a person he doesn't really trust and has been known to make fairly poor value judgements on both people and situations blathering freely about what he is or isn't involved in? - yes.

Does he explicitly mind being on the periphery of a murder? - no.

Does Phillip care about getting a potentially 'innocent' man lynched? - no, as long as it removes the 'threat' to him and Ethel.

Have a second thought on Phillip's desire to protect Ethel from inquisition - I'd posit that it shows a bit more humanity / compassion than Gristav's used to seeing from the halfling... and mirrors his own desire to protect the Rag's End wastrels.

To be honest, Phillip could've resolved this plot thread without involving either Gristav or Snake. Mark the player knows that the direct method would have created intra-party friction, and is contrary to the way in which Gristav and Snake operate. Hence he raised it to you in character and in a way that allows you to act upon it.

All I would suggest is lets baby step it through.
Step 1a - Phillip gets his head out of the noose and gets a stay of investigation for Ethel. He'll also hopefully get a few more details on the actual killing as breadcrumbs.
Step 1b - Gristav and Snake look into Rag's End and establish whether the wastrels can be absolved; and whether there is involvement from the leftover thugs.
Step 2 - Reconvene and swap information. At this point once Gristav and Snake have a tangible reason for the Rag's End wastrels to be out of suspicion then there can be the mexican standoff between the two.
Step 3 - we either follow the evidence trail, or Phillip goes off and does something thoroughly CN that Gristav and Snake don't need to know about but still solves the problem.

I think Snake / Javell's on board with that idea - does Gristav see the logic in it?


M 1/2E Magus 4 :2223a1: BAB3 CMB/D:5/17 AC/T/Ff:16/12/14 Init2 Perc1?3(F:9) HP36/36 FRW6,5,3(F:6) UMD11 Scft10 Alch/K:Arc/K:Lcl/Appr7 Ride/Climb/Swim/Dance:6 Dipl/Intim/Acrobatics5 Sense Motive3(F:6)

Gris doesn't see that they're suspect at all, they were escorted from the shop by their parole patron, and walked home, where the patron spent some time with them. They hadn't time to get back and murder.

Unless they were desired as alternate scapegoats. One can put a frame around most any picture.

Gris started with logic: Who is near the murdered woman? Finding the truth of the matter is the point. Finding a scapegoat is simply beneath us. And likely, worth less XP.

That said, agreed.

[Bill Murray]"Baby stepping, to Rag's End..."[/Bill Murray]


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Male Halfling Inquisitor of Calistria (Heretic archetype)

For Gristav's player's benefit:

What Phillip's been told:
Ethel wrote:
"But it must be that man!" Ethel insists, looking up at Phil with wide eyes. "The crazy one who kept talking about blood! He was in the shop on Fireday! Oh, Phil, thank Desna I left when I did!"
Ethel wrote:
"Oh." Ethel sobers, having forgotten the earlier incident in the recent excitement, and settles to a slower pace at Phillip's side. "That was ... odd. There was a man who knocked at the door, like he thought he was at someone's house instead of a shop. Or maybe like he was collecting for the rat catchers. I think that's what Betta thought it was, because she had me go see. They don't like her at all since she got the dog and stopped paying them. There were three of the filthiest people with him; maybe they were rat catchers. A woman and a girl and a man dressed in nothing but what looked like a piece of sailcloth. The one man said they wanted to buy clothes. I let them in because I knew it would discomfit Betta. But the woman ... I had thought her dress was just dirty, but when she came in, I realized she was covered with blood, just covered. And the man in sailcloth started rattling on about blood and vengeance. I don't think he was in his right mind. The first man bought a ready-made work dress each for the woman and the child, and we bundled them out of there as quickly as we could. But Betta wanted to close up in case they came back; she thought they were dangerous, up to no good, said they might come back and cut both our throats." She shivers.

What Ethel saw:
"Her throat was cut," Micah speaks up with a sudden clarity. "So much blood. So much blood. I saw it. The wrath of Sarenrae. She wouldn't drink it, so she had to suffer vengeance."

They were paroled yesterday not today - they've potentially had all the time in the world.

Ipso facto they are suspects.


Male Halfling Inquisitor of Calistria (Heretic archetype)
Gristav wrote:
Gris started with logic: Who is near the murdered woman? Finding the truth of the matter is the point. Finding a scapegoat is simply beneath us. And likely, worth less XP.

Simply for clarity - Gristav thinks it's beneath him - Remember that Gristav's morals =/= Phillip's morals


Male Humanly Awesome 'n Totally Rockin' Paladin of Greatness
Phillip Hargreaves wrote:
To be honest, Phillip could've resolved this plot thread without involving either Gristav or Snake. Mark the player knows that the direct method would have created intra-party friction, and is contrary to the way in which Gristav and Snake operate. Hence he raised it to you in character and in a way that allows you to act upon it.

Thank you, Mark the player. ;) *Nods in appreciation*

Phillip wrote:
I think Snake / Javell's on board with that idea...

Yep.


hp 7 / 38; AC 16; Init +2; 3 Str damage Male Half-elf Ranger 4

And I'm on board too. Braddon is prepared to go with Snake and Gristav to run Rotgut in the night, or guard Phil while he frames us for his dirty work. ;-)


Male Halfling Inquisitor of Calistria (Heretic archetype)
Braddon Hurst wrote:
And I'm on board too. Braddon is prepared to go with Snake and Gristav to run Rotgut in the night, or guard Phil while he frames us for his dirty work. ;-)

With hand on heart "But I would never do that.... not enough profit in it" :P


I'm going to be away from home through the weekend. Should still be able to manage a daily update, but I'll be reliant on hotel wi-fi.


Male Halfling Inquisitor of Calistria (Heretic archetype)

Missed Tendal's post at first blushing, but I've responded in thread to it the now.


Male Halfling Inquisitor of Calistria (Heretic archetype)

Joana:
Would it be alright to assume that Phil's collateral held over the sleeves until tomorrow?

Not sure if Hassan's open this late or even if there's opportunity to shoehorn another detour in ;)


Phillip:
I had completely forgotten about the sleeves. :P I'm sure Hassan hasn't, though. While, technically, missing the close-of-day deadline would mean Hassan is free to sell the sleeves elsewhere, he'd have to have a buyer lined up, which is fairly unlikely. I'd say that Phil's collateral is most likely safe until the shop opens again, as Hassan would have held the item until close of business.


Male Halfling Inquisitor of Calistria (Heretic archetype)

Phil's going to take a while to live that bet down isn't he Javell?


Male Humanly Awesome 'n Totally Rockin' Paladin of Greatness

Worst. Bet. EVER.

And yes... yes he is.


hp 7 / 38; AC 16; Init +2; 3 Str damage Male Half-elf Ranger 4
Javell DeLeon wrote:

Worst. Bet. EVER.

And yes... yes he is.

LOL :-)


Male Humanly Awesome 'n Totally Rockin' Paladin of Greatness

:)


Cookie Jar Pilferer 9 ; Dimensional Explorer 4

Only 3000 posts behind now! If ya'll'd slow down I'd catch up faster.


Ooh, Fireday: That's a fun day. Lots of action.


M 1/2E Magus 4 :2223a1: BAB3 CMB/D:5/17 AC/T/Ff:16/12/14 Init2 Perc1?3(F:9) HP36/36 FRW6,5,3(F:6) UMD11 Scft10 Alch/K:Arc/K:Lcl/Appr7 Ride/Climb/Swim/Dance:6 Dipl/Intim/Acrobatics5 Sense Motive3(F:6)

They've all been very good days, from here.


Male Halfling Inquisitor of Calistria (Heretic archetype)

Public holiday today plus dregs of the kids illness means no time for proper post - will come on the morrow hopefully.


Male Halfling Inquisitor of Calistria (Heretic archetype)

Nice quote choice Joana :)


We're running out of Starday to generate quotes in, and that one made me laugh when I read it, even if I can't really claim it's plot-relevant*. :)

Plus, we now have all four current PCs represented in the daily quotes.

*:
Or is it? *plots turning BBEG into evil awakened dire mole*


I have to admit to being at something of a loss what to do with Snake and Gristav back at the Gold Goblin until Phil and Braddon are done at the Publican House. I had hoped for a table discussion with Tendal to keep them occupied.


M 1/2E Magus 4 :2223a1: BAB3 CMB/D:5/17 AC/T/Ff:16/12/14 Init2 Perc1?3(F:9) HP36/36 FRW6,5,3(F:6) UMD11 Scft10 Alch/K:Arc/K:Lcl/Appr7 Ride/Climb/Swim/Dance:6 Dipl/Intim/Acrobatics5 Sense Motive3(F:6)

Sorry to have fragmented. Once Tendal made himself scarce, and Snake made himself plain...

I could have Gristav return, having forgotten (gasp) his staff. He's that preoccupied.

Or if Tendal went with his plate to his room, he and Gris might again coincide.

I will do whatever is needed to support the narrative.


Not so much that the narrative needs supporting as that I hate leaving players sitting around with nothing to post. When the party splits, I try to make sure everyone at least has someone to talk to rather than just spectating on a scene their character isn't a part of.


Male Halfling Inquisitor of Calistria (Heretic archetype)

Note to Self: Need to start shipping a Snake / Thuvalia romance...


hp 7 / 38; AC 16; Init +2; 3 Str damage Male Half-elf Ranger 4

Snake may be her type- I mean, Volo wasn't exactly royalty... :-)


M 1/2E Magus 4 :2223a1: BAB3 CMB/D:5/17 AC/T/Ff:16/12/14 Init2 Perc1?3(F:9) HP36/36 FRW6,5,3(F:6) UMD11 Scft10 Alch/K:Arc/K:Lcl/Appr7 Ride/Climb/Swim/Dance:6 Dipl/Intim/Acrobatics5 Sense Motive3(F:6)

And if Snake got down, he might lighten up.

But let me observe Gristav-style, that Thuvalia sequestered herself away from breakfast when Dayn went missing. She might be carrying Dayn's torch.

:-)

Just kidding. It's obvious that Bojasc was in there, is why she refused breakfast.

If you guys think Gris is tiring to read, take comfort that he's tiring to write, sometimes.


Joana wrote:
When the party splits, I try to make sure everyone at least has someone to talk to rather than just spectating on a scene their character isn't a part of.

Also would help if I weren't so crazy-busy right now so the scene could move forward faster. Unfortunately, I'm not likely to get much of a chance to breathe until the end of next week. I'll likely be limited to one update a day until then. :\


hp 7 / 38; AC 16; Init +2; 3 Str damage Male Half-elf Ranger 4

Oh, no. Coming up to three years gaming and we may have to slow down for a week. I think we'll cope. :-)
It's just a pity we're all talking to NPCs. :-)


Male Humanly Awesome 'n Totally Rockin' Paladin of Greatness
Phillip Hargreaves wrote:
Note to Self: Need to start shipping a Snake / Thuvalia romance...

Lol!

I'm thinkin' Phillip has done quite enough. Is Snake having to be slave boy to Queen 'Do As I Say' not enough for him? I mean, c'mon! :)

Braddon wrote:
Snake may be her type- I mean, Volo wasn't exactly royalty... :-)

Let me guess, Volo was some type of low life thug, right? Which would totally make your quote a good one. Lol! :)


hp 7 / 38; AC 16; Init +2; 3 Str damage Male Half-elf Ranger 4

Javell, you can look these things up in the campaign info tab-
"Volo, Sczarni operative and lover of Thuvalia Barabbio, leader of the bandits who robbed the Gold Goblin, now deceased "

Granted there's so much material there, Joana need to alphabetise and index it but it is there.

For more information on the brief life and times of this once proud figure, I've put together a little memoir. Enjoy. :-)

Volo takes the stage.

Braddon introduces himself.

Daynadrian says goodbye.


Braddon Hurst wrote:
Granted there's so much material there, Joana need to alphabetise and index it

Hey, you're lucky it's quasi-updated. (I think Luca's in there?) And it's in chronological order of their introduction. ;P


hp 7 / 38; AC 16; Init +2; 3 Str damage Male Half-elf Ranger 4
Joana wrote:
And it's in chronological order of their introduction. ;P

Yeah, but there's only about 3 people that have been around for that chronological order, and some of them have an Int of 7. :-D


Let me make it to Saturday, guys, and I'll try to get Gristav and Snake back in the mix. I'm barely keeping up with one storyline this week, the way things are going.


Male Halfling Inquisitor of Calistria (Heretic archetype)

Aye aye *snaps a snappy salute* - I'll try and be brief in the scene interrogation at Betta's shop.


M 1/2E Magus 4 :2223a1: BAB3 CMB/D:5/17 AC/T/Ff:16/12/14 Init2 Perc1?3(F:9) HP36/36 FRW6,5,3(F:6) UMD11 Scft10 Alch/K:Arc/K:Lcl/Appr7 Ride/Climb/Swim/Dance:6 Dipl/Intim/Acrobatics5 Sense Motive3(F:6)

<knife wound in upper back>

[ghost-writ]"Yes, I see why I was suspect, what with my famous leaping skills"[/ghost-writ]

:)


Male Humanly Awesome 'n Totally Rockin' Paladin of Greatness
Gristav wrote:

<knife wound in upper back>

[ghost-writ]"Yes, I see why I was suspect, what with my famous leaping skills"[/ghost-writ]

:)

Well, I will freely confess, not only do I more-often-than-not not understand what Gristav is saying, I really have absolutely zero idea what this might pertain to.


Male Halfling Inquisitor of Calistria (Heretic archetype)

Phillip's under suspicion of killing a human lady. Gristav's positing a potential defence depending upon the way the body was found - as in Phillip's too short to have stabbed her in the back ipso facto he's innocent.


Male Humanly Awesome 'n Totally Rockin' Paladin of Greatness

Ah, I see. Gotcha. Thanks for the clarification.


Male Halfling Inquisitor of Calistria (Heretic archetype)

What are peoples first thoughts on the Vigilante (newest playtest)? - I quite like it to be honest. I could see a slightly alternate Phillip written into the class quite easily.


I think it would be fun to run an all-Vigilate party with different specializations with a Mystery Men type set up in Curse of the Crimson Throne or Council of Thieves: a league of would-be superheroes trying to save the city. I'm not sure how well it would work with only one member of party being a Vigilante.

ZetaGilgamesh (Tendal's player) had a PC in a Carrion Hill PbP I was in whom it would have fit perfectly: He was a mild-mannered herbalist by day, dashing gentleman cat-burglar by night. Sadly, his backstory never really came into play during the game.


Male Humanly Awesome 'n Totally Rockin' Paladin of Greatness

After reading up on it a bit, it sounds cool to me. Mainly because it reminds me of a superhero. And I'm a HUGE superhero fan.

It's so Bruce Wayne/Batman, Clark Kent/Superman, Barry Allen/The Flash, and so on.

Seems it would be difficult to pull it off as a DM seeing how it strikes me as leaning more heavily on the roleplaying side(and let's be honest, folks, there aren't too many DM's on these boards that involve themselves in roleplaying the way Joana does. Not saying there aren't ANY... just saying there are very few). I really don't see how a Vigilante would fit in a Rise of the Runelords type AP at all. It would definitely have to be in a Thieves or a Crimson Throne type AP setup for sure.

Mystery Men was a pretty funny movie. That's basically what a team of Vigilante's would be: Mystery men, Avengers, Justice League, etc.


M 1/2E Magus 4 :2223a1: BAB3 CMB/D:5/17 AC/T/Ff:16/12/14 Init2 Perc1?3(F:9) HP36/36 FRW6,5,3(F:6) UMD11 Scft10 Alch/K:Arc/K:Lcl/Appr7 Ride/Climb/Swim/Dance:6 Dipl/Intim/Acrobatics5 Sense Motive3(F:6)

Such a declared team of vigilantes narratively begs for a patron and a theme. And the end of Leon, playing just now here, offers this:

He deals the cards as a meditation
And those he plays never suspect
He doesn't play for the money he wins
He don't play for respect

He deals the cards to find the answer
The sacred geometry of chance
The hidden law of a probable outcome
The numbers lead a dance

I know that the spades are the swords of a soldier
I know that the clubs are weapons of war
I know that diamonds mean money for this art
But that's not the shape of my heart

He may play the Jack of diamonds
He may lay the Queen of spades
He may conceal a King in his hand
While the memory of it fades

I know that the spades are the swords of a soldier
I know that the clubs are weapons of war
I know that diamonds mean money for this art
But that's not the shape of my heart

I'll offer further, that only an Ace or a Fool, might best a King. So a handful of fools, might beat any hand.

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