Amgir's "Curse of the Crimson Throne" AP (Inactive)

Game Master Faelar Braegen

I move over to examine Lamm's body. I start with his pulse. The important question is, is he dead or simply dying? Also I do watch and pay attention to Tyler as hr runs over, collects the key and uses it to open some box.

Also, with all that stuff that went down, where do we stand on XP? Secondly, would I need a check to know what Tyler has found or will simply watching him be enough.

Lamm is dead at the moment, but I am sure you could have a lot of fun with a Speak with Dead spell, if you could find one and cast it.

The box that Tyler has opened is in another room, so you would have to go and check it. Once anyone see's the Brooch, they can make the save, as long as they have a rank in it.

As for experience, you are very close to levelling, but you need a little bit more to actually level. Once you finish the fishery, you will reach level 2. There is only a little bit left, not including doing a search of the property.

Also Fealix, could I grab that Perception from you?

But I need my perception, ugh, fine, how much do you want? I only have one rank

I look at the body and sigh, "Damn fool." I seem to be a bit depressed and pissed off. "Atleast he is finally dead. I only wish I could have made him scream at least once. Such is life and such is death." I get up and follow Tyler to see what he has found.

You know what? I will let you keep your Perception and will use mine for you, that way we both get to keep our Perceptions. I doubt mine will be as good as yours though. Sound good?

You see Tyler pulling out an assortment of items, but he hasn't gone near the hat box with the flies. One of the items that he pulls out is a beautiful brooch.

[Ooc]I was just making fun of the way you asked for a perception check. I'll make one real quick[/ooc

Perception:1d20 + 4 ⇒ (12) + 4 = 16

I look over the items Tyler is going through. The brooch means little to me but the succubi statue catches my eye.

I look at Tyler. "Mind if I?" Assuming he'd say "sure" I reach in and take it to get a closer look. "Interesting. A very lovely piece. You can have whatever you what but I will keep this." If there are no objections, I wrap the statue in a cloth and put it in my pack.

[Ooc]What of the watchman? What's he up to?[/spoiler]

Iolana continues to move her wedding ring around her finger nervously. This is taking too long she seethes...

Frustrated by idleness, Iolana goes into the next room. She looks to Tyler, who has opened the strongbox, but considers their equal positions and does not wish to stifle his expression of self, or sour a potentially beneficial relationship. She approaches the box laden with flies.

"No good can come from opening this," she recognizes aloud. Iolana breathes Detect Magic and sweeps the room before focusing on the box again, and sighs. "Gentlemen, might you recall if Lamm was particularly fond of keeping grotesque trophies?"

I know you were, tried to respond in kind but didn't sound right reading it. Sounded almost angry.

I had nearly forgotten the watchmen. He walks over with Fealix, looking a little concerned about what he just heard. But he ignores it for now. When he see's the Brooch he lets out a gasp, "Th...th...that belongs to the Queen! Why would Lamm have this?"

Iolana, you are detecting magical aura's from the Obsidian Wand, The glass tube and inside the Hat-Box.

I look at the watchman. "Good question. Maybe he's a master theif too. He's over there if you want him. I believe he has paid proper for his crimes though I wish he were still alive." I look to the others. "Queens jewels. So what now? Do we give them back? She may be grateful for it." I look over at the watchman. "What say you? We give these back and she'd be happy right?" If I can help it, I would have stowed the statue before he could see it.

"Grotesque and magical trophies," Iolana corrects. She kneels and picks up the box, then rises and carries it into the room with the corpses.

"Unless one of you good sirs is like to attend me solving this morbid puzzle, if I do happen to scream in something more urgent than disgust, I do hope you will assist."

Iolana takes the box and places it besides Lamm's corpse, attributing its contents to him, in her mind, and then steps back several paces, and casts Mage Hand to lift the top.

Caim closed his eyes, feeling the healing energies wash over him, knitting up all remaining injuries, bar a single tooth-mark on his shoulder, courtesy of the, as Raz had put it, overgrown guppy. Removing his makeshift sling, the magus grimaced at the blood-stained sash before he rolled his eyes and tied it back around his waist.

'I swear... that Runt is going to give me a damn complex, the way he keeps on about my weight.' Caim sighed, examining his waist, as though trying to see body fat which did not exist.

At the watchman's gasp and exclamation of how the broach was the queen's property, Caim let out another sigh.

'Shame, I liked the look of that broach, but if it is indeed the queen's, then I won't get to even lay a finger upon it, let alone keep it. As for the lil' statue there Fealix... interesting taste, but succubi were never my bag of tea, so you're welcome to it.'

Once he finished giving his unwanted and pointless words, he moved to stand next to Iolana, ready to help her in any way he could; being knowledgeable in the fields of the arcane as he was, he felt confident that if the contents of the box were indeed magical, he could at the very least be able point out what it was, if not what it did and how it did it.

"He's only calling you a run cause he counts as four of you..." Raz whispers to Tyler.

Perception: 1d20 ⇒ 10

Do I hear Raz's whispering?

My ears perk up at Iolana's statement. "A possible woman's scream?" I say to myself. "I wouldn't want to miss that." I move over to where Iolana is and wait close by. An eager smile on my face.

Caim, you do not hear the whispers.

The guard looks at you Fealix, "If you return it to her I would say she would be very happy and may even reward you. If she doesn't I am sure the king will!"

As everyone gathers around Iolana; each for their own reasons, she casts a quick spell and the lid of the box flings open and inside you see ... Zellara’s severed head, poorly preserved and decorated with unsightly makeup in a crude attempt to give her sagging flesh the semblance of life. You only saw Zellara yesterday, she even gave you a Harrow reading.

As all of the items are being laid out, Iolana's eyes are drawn to a very familiar item. The platinum ring.

Under Zellara's head there appears to be a small wooden box, that is where the magic is emanating from.

Appraise:1d20 + 6 ⇒ (15) + 6 = 21
Heal:1d20 + 5 ⇒ (20) + 5 = 25
Craft(Alchemy):1d20 + 7 ⇒ (16) + 7 = 23

Raz fights back the bile rising in his throat as he looks the head, and a flash of insight reveals something horrible.

"If this is her, she's b-been dead for w-weeks."

I am still waiting to see if Iolana screams

WOW! Nice rolls!

Iolana untrained Heal 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (15) + 1 = 16
Iolana Appraise 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (4) + 7 = 11 wow, so much for investing in that skill, dice roller *shakes fist*

Iolana's face is expressionless when she sees the head in the box. Of course, it made little sense that a mistress of cards could have such great magical power to steal into her barred room to weave her webs, or have survived bribing the underworld Lamm was a part of to learn his location.

Iolana face finally softens as she reaches for the ring. Her stomach seems to roll and she swallows hard and cups it in her hands delicately. Her attention to her husband's wedding ring is such that she cannot spare any for the remaining items, or their worth.

Heal check:1d20 + 1 ⇒ (11) + 1 = 12
I roll my eyes and move in to examine the head. I snear.

I go into to examine the box which Iolana seems to show no interest in. "What is in here I wonder?"
If possible, I opens za box.

wow, that is alot of posts!

Seeing the head in the box confuses me, 'didnt we talk to her just yesterday? maybe she came here ahead of us and was killed for trying to get Lamm?'

I spot the box under her head, walk over a grab it. Without a second thought, I open it and look inside.

Raz cringes as he hears the thrown hit the floor, and fights back the bile in his throat again as he realizes the smell was spread by the flight.

"You're supposed to respect the dead."

Both Fealix and Tyler move in to have a better look and while Fealix is looking at the head more closely, Tyler reaches in a pulls out the box. He opens it and they both peer inside ... where they see a very familiar deck of Harrow cards!

Hand-painted images decorate this Harrow deck, the frames gilt in silver so that under lighting they sparkle and flash. Despite the worn condition of the card backs, the images on the faces are so vibrant they seem to move when viewed out of the corner of the eye. The deck itself handles with surprising ease, almost shuffling itself.

At the touch of a card, it shimmers slightly and before you stands Zellara. "Thank-you friends, for defeating the evil monster Lamm, where I could not. He killed me a few weeks back and I have been searching for a group of individuals who would be able to help me protect and defend the city of Korvosa. Defeating Lamm was one such a way, I knew you could do it. Which is why I summoned you all. I wish to be of help still, even though I am no more, my spirit lives on in these cards of mine and I can perform a couple of duties for you. Firstly I can manifest myself like this once each day, secondly if you touch a card of mine to an item, I can tell you what the magical properties of the item is, but I can only do this 3 times a day and finally I can still perform Harrow Reading for you to help you in your adventure. I have a feeling that is was only the beginning."

Iolana grasps Eugeni's ring in her hand, and holds it to her chest, just above her heart. The stirring of emotion she previously displayed seems to bleed from her face just as quickly, however, save for this gesture, as she watches Fealix toss the head away callously, and Tyler reach for the box beneath.

"Has it not occurred to a single one of you that is is fairly convenient that a man who profited from the misery of others would hold these items close to him?" she inquires of the group. "How would such a petty figure dare to approach the castle, or the lady herself to obtain the Queen's property?"

The guard looks at the brooch a bit longer, "I remember now, it was said that the Queen sent the brooch to a Jeweller to get fixed and it was stolen from the man. At least now we know who stole it and Mr Fealix is right, the Queen herself is giving out a reward of 1,200 Gold Pieces to whomever can find it and return it to her!"

Hey Tyler, hands off. I picked up the box first by a whole minute :p

I glare at the image hissing.

I look inside the shoe box for anything else. Seeing nothing I head offf and start poking arond Lamm's place. Making sure to be as thorough as I can.

Is there anything else of note down here?

That was everything that was down here. There may be more stuff upstairs when you get time to look around.

I have time, I look around upstairs starting with Yargin's office.

It takes you about an hour to search through everything but you find the following :

3 Vials of Acid,
2 TangleFoot Bags,
1 Thunderstone,
Leather Armour,
Dagger,
Light Crossbow,
10 Bolts,
Garnet Amulet (worth 100 GP)
Small Studded Leather Armour,
Small Kukri,
Disguise Kit,
Bag containing 100 SP,
Bag Containing 200 CP.

A Thunderstone huh? Are there any shops in town that Sell Pikachus? I might have to get one.

I will take the light Crossbow. "This may come in handy sometime." I am assuming the others tag along so once we have all the loot in one place, I will simply sit off to the side and watch as the others divy up the spoilers. I have what I want. The statue of Succubi, crossbow and ten bolts.

Why would you want to evolve your Pikachu? Raichu was a lot worse than Pikachu in every way, other than power.

Much cooler looking and power is always a plus.

I never liked the Pikachu family to be honest, I always liked Cubone. Anyway ... back to the real world. How are you enjoying your first evil character?

A lot of fun. I am really working to maintain some level of group cohesion though it is aparrent that few of the others are disturbed by him. It took me a while to get over killing the kid. I just have to keep reminding myself I am a character in a game. Honestly I have such a hard time playing evil characters in any game. So it takes some work. Besides, I am focusing on his evils being that of deception and sexuality as opposed to the murder concept. Murder will be a side effect of his inner turmoil and will soon be expressed better in his next level. A few major sins he despises to a degree are power hunger, control, and materialism. It's a lot of fun refining this guy into a real character. I think as I get used to it, I will enjoy him a lot more. It is also nice that this campaign is FINALLY moving. For a while I thought my third attempt at Fealix was going to fail again. It is so hard to find GMs who allow non-core races AND evil characters into the same game. Thank you so much for running us.

At the revelation of the head-in-a-box, Caim blinked, shaking his head as though trying to clear away any mental images before taking another look, eyebrow raised in curiosity. Fealix's disregard for the head, as evidenced by his casually tossing it aside, had Caim shake his head in bemusement. Raz's exclamation triggered a quiet scoff, and he turned to face him.

'So long as it ain't digging up the corpse and performing necromancy or necrophilia, who cares? Being dead, she ain't going to care. I agree that he could be more gentle, but she ain't about to complain... or is it that you feel sick in the stomach around dead bodies, or heads, as the case may be?'

Shaking his head again, and only half paying attention to Zellara's... ghost? poltergeist? Vengeful Spirit of Woe? Caim turned to Iolana, and gave her a deadpan look at her words.

'Remember that these three are former slaves of Lamm, I'm almost certain that whether or not they admit it, a few bad habits carried over from their time in his company.'

Iolana acknowledges Caim's effort with a nod, then steps back and rests her buttocks on the wall, considering the position they found themselves in at this moment. A deceased seer, and a plot to restore the queens jewels to her person. Like as not, such a outpouring of noble gratitude for such a trifle could go wrong. Just as easy for the representatives of the crown to say with the trinket in hand that it simply confirmed their guilt. The lady's home, however... empty, and bereft of any heir. With the cards, one could assume a completely foreign identity. After all, none she had interviewed had the slightest suspicion that the woman had been murdered.

"It would be unwise the sell the cards," she says finally. "First, it required an extraordinary effort on the part of this spirit to call us together to avenge her death, and as such proves that she is not entirely bound to them.

"Second, and please forgive me Caim if I use you as an example, there is no guarantee that once the Queen's agents have her gem back in hand that they will honor the agreement they have made. It is just as likely that they will accuse our agent of having pilfered the item himself, and use this as a basis to detain him."

Iolana pauses and stands straight, smoothing her dress over her hips. "From a certain perspective, these cards would allow one who is skilled in deception to assume the role of Zellara, or at the very least her house. And how difficult would it be to interview the proprietors and patrons of the tavern about the relations the handsome boy with the red skin kept before he slipped away with a third of the king's treasury?" she inquires, her voice a purr even if her expression is sedate.

I am glad everyone was patient while this was going so slowly. Still not sure why and the only explanation I can come up with was I was leaving it too long for everyone to roleplay. But I am happy with how things have progressed now. If anyone has any idea's on how this game could be more enjoyable, please post them and I will try to implement them. As for non-core and evil characters, I think it adds a little more variety to the group if at least one is included, not to mention the roleplaying opportunities. I am glad I am running this with you all and feel that I have become a better GM because of it. Also, if you have any minor changes you want to make to your characters, go ahead while your still level 1. If you want to add another Archetype, you can as long as it doesn't replace an ability that will be replaced anyway.

Zellara speaks up again, "Taking on my identity, huh? Well I can also manifest myself into furnishing at my house, like while you were there. If that helps?"

The guard seeing that Lamm's reign has come to an end, looks over to Fealix. "Seeing as Lamm has been stopped, I will take my leave and inform the higher-ups of the situation. May we meet again soon and on more favourable terms." With that he takes his leave.

Seeing as you are all taking your time to explore the building, you can identify the 2 other magical items from Lamms room. The glass tube contains a dose of Oil of Keen Edge and the Obsidian Wand is a wand of Magic Missile (with 23 charges remaining). During your ransacking, will you be going to the boat out back, or leaving it alone?

Iolana's eyebrow arches at the specter's admission, and she hazards a glance at Fealix, wondering what the red-skinned boy with his peculiar outbursts would make of such articles if left to his own devices.

What would the Pharasmans think about this woman's spirit inhabiting the things she owned in her former life?

Iolana strokes the outline of her lower lip for a few moments, pensive, and misses the guardsman's exit. She will assist the group in finding and identifying magical items.

Raz looks at Caim and points at Zellara's ghost.

"She's right there. You can ask her if she cares or not." Caim's use of the phrase 'former slaves' made Raz remember his fellows from before he escaped. "Does anyone know where the other children are being kept?"

I lean into Raz. 'Im going to check out that boat around back, you coming with?'

I look at the ghost and look even more puzzled, but dont say anything. I watch the guard leave, but don't show any sign of recognition to him. 'where was he in the fight against Gobblegut and the shark?'

When Raz mentions the other children I look up and await an answer.

I watch and listen. "*Hiss* I owe this spook nothing. We got Lamm and now we are finished. Now If folks don't mind I will lay claim to at least another 300gp, if no one has any objections of course. Then I will return to the tavern."
I hear Raz comment about the kids and I sigh. "They're fine. That fool Hookshanks almost turned them loose on me but I managed to convince them to revolt. Once Hookshanks was slain they all fled. I don't know where they are now."

I wait for any final comments from the peanut gallery.

Is anyone going with Tyler to check out the boat out back?

Not quite yet.

"Where were they? If they are still there I need to go and see them." What Raz didn't say was that he wanted to see how many of those he knew weren't there. He needed to know how many he had failed...

"I will keep the cards," Iolana volunteers. "The queen's broach should garner a tidy sum between you gentlemen. If I might be so bold, I might assist you locating purveyor of magical items that will give you a fair deal, but I have obtained all I wished from this endeavor."

At Raz I shrug. "They are gone and are no longer any of your concern. If you feel it is important to go round them up then be my guest. Good luck trying to find them. They scattered like roaches as soon as Hookshanks died. They could be anywhere, possibly getting into trouble already."

Seeing that no one wants to come with me to the boat,

'See you in a little bit, im off to check the boat for treasure.'

I head outside my self and make my way there on my own. Daggers at the ready.