Brother Seamus's page

Now, in the second full round,

How's Adien doing?

"If they surrender, takest thou their cudgels. If not, we shalt have more skulls to interrogate."

Thug 4 rolls 1d20 + 2 =22, is this a confirmation of the crit?1d20 + 0 = 13

Are the thugs human? Does Thug 4 have a miss chance because of the darkness?

Did Kael move in the surprise round or before the thugs?

All right, they've armed themselves. That puts this in an entirely new light. We are no longer attacking random members of the community.

I hand Adien my club and sigh. Under my breath, I count down, "3, 2, 1, go!"

And I swing around and attack, hitting AC 18 for 7 points of damage, including sneak attack.

Afterwards, I roll initiative of 22.

On that first full round, I swing at a second attacker. I hit. As I rolled another natural 20 to confirm the critical, the blow does (5x4 + 2) = 22 points of damage!

"Well, we shall needs be casting Speak with Dead to interrogate that one," I say aloud to Kael.

I'm never going to roll another critical again, you know.

]It is around 8pm. It should be dark enough for you and Kael to escape, but Adian seems to have regained some of his spine, at the wrong time.

"Adien, art thou armed?" I ask quietly as we continue making our way down the street. I look around for some open establishment, as I take the pick in my left hand.

What time of evening is it? Is it dark enough that we might be able to lose them if we move fast enough?

Well, Spot = d20 + 2 = 15; Listen = d20 = 20. Seamus makes up with luck what he lacks in actual perceptive skill.

He exits the Inn.

To Kael: "Watch my back, friend."

Seamus will catch up with Adien. No more questions. Tonight, at least, he will not walk alone.

In undercommon"I think he's just not believed by the towns folk because he's a drunk. That doesn't mean what he says isn't true. Ask him if he would show us to where he escaped from."

The same: "No. It be more than that. Come now; of all the terrors and dangers of the city, the guardsman did warn us not to believe this man. There must be someone active here, keeping doubt upon this man. As for the escape, are we on the trail of the orcs, or their slaver merchants?"

To Adien: "Thanks, then, to the gods, who saw the way to thy deliverance. Did any of thy fellow monks make free as well? And, what happened afterwards? Whom didst thou call? And hat brought thee to this present squalid health?"

...how he has not been asked about them is almost a year, and how he misses them.

Brother Seamus takes Adien's hand. "Tonight, Brother Adien, thou dost not grieve alone."

"How did the monastery come to be lost? Be this the chapterhouse thou didst belong to, or the one those centuries back?"

And what were his wife and daughter's names? As a matter of fact, many of Seamus' questions will revolve around verifiable details like that.

To Kael, in Undercommon: "That could have gone worse. Thou mightst wish to keep an eye on His Lordship."

To Adien: "Apologies for the disruption. Thou hadst joined the Dawning Sun as a novice. Where wert thou stationed?"

Seamus is trying to draw the long version of the story out of Adien. At times, he'll stop and ask about a detail: when did this happen, where was the attack, how long was the man held prisoner, what kind of work did the orcs have him do.

It's not an interrogation; Seamus doesn't go back and ask the same question in different ways. But he's trying to give Kael enough time to see how much of the story is reliable.

" Lies! He is just trying to get free food and drink from you two! Don't be so gullible!"

All right. Change of plans. Flitwick may be right; he may be a fool; or he may have a very real interest in our not finding out what details Adien might be providing. We don't know whom to trust. But we can't find out during this interview.

Seamus turns to the nobleman and inclines his head in hat he hopes is a proper bow. He replies, "Be that or be it not, this man is answering my questions. I would think that a Lord wouldst know courtesy and wait his turn to speak. But, if His Lordship is so hungry for his own chance at bread and meat that he must needs give his statement now, my colleague would be happy to see His Lordship to a private room and direct victuals therein."

Seamus has not actually claimed to be on official business, but that's the clear implication. Bluff.

"Food, for thy time. Better than food, for honest details."

"I shall do better than that, Brother Arien. Beginning with fresh bread and good meat, for your time.

"What order? Where were you taken? Tell me more about the slavers."

you see Arien turn his head and give an almost paranoid look over his shoulder before resuming his talk~ I am telling you, I WAS taken captive. I was a candlemaker in Canorate, when my wife and daughter died. ~he hold sback a sob~ I then sold my shop and became a monk. My order sent me here to do some research into the history of Castle Whiterock. I was take captive on the journey here na dsold to some orcs. ~he gestures to one of the waitresses~ Some more beer, Tess! ~Tess rolls her eyes and then says "sure." before going off on other duties~ I was beaten and threatened with being sent "down below". I managed to escape and coem here. Why will no one believe me?

As Arien tells his tale, a pompus, pampered noble passes by him and then shakes his head sadly~ More of your tall tales, Arien? No one really believes you. I for one think that your tales are all made up as a way for you to get attention and money. ~he sneers and drops a few coppers at Arien's feet~ There. Keep quiet with your tall tales and let us drink in peace! ~Arien mumbles~ Sorry, Lord Granger Flitwick! I will keep it down. ~but he still gets the coppers anyway~

"Well, my shady friend, we shall find more information, reliable or not, should we ask." Brother Seamus reaches over to Arien's table and taps it quietly. When Arien looks over, Seamus gestures to an empty chair at our table.

"What order? Where were you taken? Tell me more about the slavers."

Brother Seamus tosses a glance towards Arien and says to Kael, quietly, in Undercommon: "That be the town sot we've been warned about. Seems harmless enough."

Oh, Sharoth, what was the name of the officer at the gate?

Brother Seamus's speech carries a subtle accent and spech patterns that are almost 400 years out of date.

"Good Kael, methinks our task heavier and subtler than first suspected. What say you to an evening at this 'adventurers' inn?' The table-top discussions might bear worth in their overhearing, and even if not, then we shall establish ourselves as fortune-seekers new to town.

"Think you that the 'Slumbering Drake' perchance refers to the Red Dragon?"

DM Sharoth (and Kael)

Good morning.

DM Sharoth

Is that doable?

Good idea, crimson jester.

At first glance:

Seamus appears to be an albino human, with white hair --cut close in some sort of a tonsure-- white skin, and pink eyes. He wears travelers' clothes: sturdy but unremarkable, in undyed browns and grays. He has difficulty in direct sunlight, and often wears a woolen hood, raised up over his head. He comes armed with a military pick

With a careful look:

Seamus wears armor under his robes, if you listen carefully, you can hear the muffled shink, shink of mail. His belt pouch is quietly decorated with a stylized forearm flexing and bursting a chain. Also on his belt is a sling and a bag of stones.

He doesn't carry the weapon like he's an expert at using it in battle, but it is better made than it appears at first; in fact, the pick handles like it's a masterwork weapon, but deliberately made to seem plain and common.

Once, he was in a tavern's common room when a fight broke out. Seamus wanted nothing to do with it and stood back by the fireplace. No one was looking his way, but if they had, they would have seen his skin shift to resemble the stones of the chimney and the wood slabs of the wall.

Seamus has an eye for mechanisms. He doesn't enter a room but steal a peak at the door's lock and mechanism, as a matter of habit.

To those who know what to look for:

Seamus is not remarkably strong, but whenever he exerts himself, like lifting a heavy load into a wagon or trying to straighten a bent metal pole, he recites a short prayer under his breath.

Seamus knows something about cooking: he'll order a "house soup" at many taverns and tell you what spices went into its making. He's complimentary by nature, and not tempted to continue with any opinion about how the cook might improve the dish.

Brother Seamus swears in Dwarven, which is, you'd have to admit, a language built for it.

Seamus has opinions about magic. He doesn't understand the usual things like arcane symbolism or the way gods answer prayers. Seamus speaks little about the magical arts, but what little he does say brings discussions to a befuddled end; he sees spells as things, rather than techniques or gifts. He describes a druid casting a spell like she would cast a stick or a rock. He imagines sorcerers having spells prepared like baubles hanging off their belts.

And, oh yes. Seamus seems adept at stealing things off people's belts. Not inclined, but adept.

Sharoth, help me out. What brings someone like Brother Seamus to a town like this?

The only knowledge skill Brother Seamus begins with is Knowledge (Religion): I also rolled a Gather Information check. (Results)

Zeugma, thanks for the background. I had been wondering where the "four fingers" appelation had come from.

Sharoth, Brother Seamus is pretty much written up. Let me know if you have any questions or concerns.

So, let's say that there was a ship of humans, kidnapped by surface slavers and bought by ghouls, to serve as slaves and food animals.

And let's say that, a decade later, the ghouls get wiped out by something that leaves the humans unharmed. But they're still in the Darklands, and they have no idea how to get back, other than a less-than-helpful "up".

So, they form a society based along the lines of a religious chapterhouse dedicated to, say, Sarenrae or Desna (or, hey, Kurgess). Not everybody's a cleric, of course, but everybody's a worshipper. And it's been stable for 300 years.

They don't call themselves Underfolk. They call themselves the Society of Kurgess, or Kurgesites.

Brother Seamus, the underfolk spell thief, is coming along.

Although I think that the underfolk ought to have a different name for themselves. At least this branch. Help me out, folks: why would a band of humans end up in the Darklands, long enough to grow accustomed to the place?

And so far, we have:

I'd be interested. I'd prefer D&D 3.5 rules.

The tricks to play-by-post, I think, are

• keep things moving (fast forward, when possible, from one PC decision to the next; rolling initiative isn't a party decision, for example),
• provide visuals and maps (through photo-sharing or personal websites),
• stay organized and focussed on fun.

I'm still waiting to hear back from BluePigeon, to see if he wants to make a roguey guy. I'll give till tomorrow to respond. I still would want to give Chris first dibs at that point, but since you are not familiar with pbp he might let you have his spot like he did for BluePigeon. Let's see how things look tomorrow.

BluePigeon wanted to design a Binder / Pact Mage. The gimmick there is to bind supernatural entities to you in ways that give you extra abilities. Some of the "vestiges" are combat-oriented, but there are a few that could turn a character into a pseudo-rogue. So, BluePigeon's Binder might fit into that niche.

Having said that, his absence over the past couple of days might be a sign for the worse.

I continue to (a) stat-up the recently-freed character (whose Rogue skills all represent things he learned from other prisoners) and (b) yield my spot to PbP novices.

This will be my first PbP

Well Chris Mortika got in first so we'll have to see if Chris will be able to play or not.

Pres man, I'm still making a character (Aristocrat-or-something / Rogue who helped quell a prison riot) but as I say, I'll gladly yield my place to someone who's new to Play-by-Post.