Aubrey's Eberron campaign. (Inactive)

Game Master Aubrey the Malformed

"In fact," Lightbringer adds, with a sudden sense of urgency, "it is possible - however unlikely - that someone else may have thought of the secretary as a source of information ahead of us. Perhaps we should find her quickly. Her life my be in danger." His eyes flash silver and he prepares to get moving.

Runzyl nods and stands at Lightbringer's final statement.

"The metal one is a man of action. We should make haste and find this woman before the cowards strike again!" Runzyl performs what can only be described as some sort of salute to Lightbringer by tapping the knuckles of his right hand against his sternum quickly and nodding.

Great discussion, guys.

"I'm new here in town - I don't even know where these neighbourhoods are", Janosz admits sheepishly. "However, I like the way you guys think - if this Tixler person is our best lead, that's where we should go next. By the way, does anyone think the doorman might be able to tell us anything? I'm certain he made himself not see the ones who grabbbed the inquisitive, but perhaps he might be able to tell us something about Heris' clients".

"I'd wager that the bigger tracks belong to the gnolls we took out least night. But I'm also sure the Daask has lots'n'lots of gnolls eager to take their place. We had better watch out".

Lightbringer glances back to see if the others are following, before hurrying back to the ground floor, Runzyl at his side. He checks his pace as he enters the foyer, and strolls (as much as an armed, armoured Warforged can stroll) over to the doorman.

“Excuse me sir,” he addresses the half orc. “I’m sorry to interrupt your reading, however we are seeking Heris Orlan, an Inquisitive who has his office up on the first floor. Heris is not in, and his offices appear in some disarray – are you aware of where he might be? Has he had any other callers recently?”
“We’d also like to speak to Mister Orlan’s secretary. I believe that Miss Venor-Tixler resigned several weeks ago, but we really need to find her. Do you happen to know where we might find her? Perhaps she dwells nearby, or has taken up new work somewhere that you know of? Or is there perhaps a public house or such nearby that either her or Mister Orlan might frequent?

“Any information you could provide us in this matter would really help us out.”

I’ve represented this conversation as a monologue, but in fact Lightbringer is hoping to engage in conversation with the half orc – and take a full length (one minute) Diplomacy check – check result 16+5 = 21. He will not think to offer a bribe. If one is hinted at or asked for he will be somewhat shocked – but does not have enough cash to offer one anyway. Someone else would need to step in with the money … or try to intimidate the guy or something instead.

Great discussion, guys.

I can't tell if this is sarcasm or not so, umm... thanks?

It's not sarcasm - but you lose 100xp for suggesting such a scurrilous thing. Ha ha, only kidding. Actually, everyone gets 100xp for finding the clues and coming up with a decent strategy.

The half-orc glances up from his paper - headline: FIVE KILLED IN DURA BAR BRAWL. He smiles, showing oversized teeth, as Lightbringer engages him in conversation, evidently taken with the warforged's polite approach.

"You mean Dala, the little gnome chick?" he says in a gravelly voice. "Thought she didn't work for him anymore. Nice girl, always asking after the wife. Dunno where she is working now, but I think she lives in Little Plains.

"Hmmm, haven't seen Orlan for a while, but that's nothing new - don't see him for weeks at a time, and I'm only here in the day. Why, any trouble?"

Knowledge (Local) check - untrained is fine.

If you get 10 or more:

"You guys are right," Trose says, "The lot of us makes a very imposing and confrontational sight. Let me hit the streets, grease a few throats and see what I can come up with. Finding things, and people are really just things that talk, is what I was born to do. I'll meet up with you for dinner at the Crown and Thorn. I'm in agreement that the sevretary should be a priority. You guys look for her while I try to find something on Norn or Heris?"

Sorry tp be so abrupt, but all this discussion happened after I logged off last night, and I'm only on for 10 minutes this morning.
05:18, Today: Trose rolled 20 using 1d20+6. Gather Information.

OK, re your Gather Info, I need to know two things first: what are you asking, and where are you asking it. It makes success much more likely if you are gathering information close to the place where the thing can be found. However, a good roll should be rewarded.

The rest of you also need to decide how you are actually going to find Dala.

I'm going to nose around in the pubs in this neighborhood for a bit, and then over to High Walls. I'm buying a lot of drinks that I'm not drinking. In High Walls, I'm quite willing to apply a little grease to get the wheels moving. In my experience, people with little are more willing to talk if you're willing to give incentive. I stay careful, though. It's quite probable that this is exactly how the Inquisitive got pinched.

Though he more or less ignores Runzyl's suggestion, Lightbringer's analysis at first brings a smile to Ezreal's face and he nods interjecting, "The secretary! Of course!"

His smile fades as the warforged goes on about Marrius, and the mage responds humorlessly, "I agree with you about Marrius. He may have very little to do with our task and I did not mean to imply that he did. And you are of course correct. In spite of his traitorous status in Karrnath, he was a decorated military adviser in Breland. That really means very little to me though, and if this investigation turns up his whereabouts, I will do my utmost to see that he faces justice in his homeland. I did not bring it up to enlist you, only so that you would know."

At Lightbringer's suggestion that the danger to Miss Venor-Tixler may be imminent, Ezreal is on his feet again adjusting his pack and ready to go. Once the doorman has had his say and the group is on the street again, the mage keeps an eye out for any public transit ready to flag a ride. "Crown and Thorn then, around dusk?

Whoops. I didn't open all the search blocks when I was putting things together, so I had already forgotten about and then skipped right over the secretary. That makes a lot more sense :)

I might be wrong, but I think Trose is the only one among us making Kn Local rolls, so I figured an aircab or something where we could just say 'Little Plains' might be in order.

It isn't speedy, but if we couldn't think of anything else I considered going to House Sivis and sending her a request to meet. How do they work? They need just a name or name and address?

Is there something like a Karranth embassy in Sharn?
Also as far as using House Sivis for sending messages... they are generally regarded as a secure line of communication or would someone with sensitive information not use them?
Not that seeing his name on a scrap of paper is enough to right home about but if Marrius does turn up at some point I want to know my options.

Nox will follow his normal method for obtaining information, going to a pub get all the tavern goers into a song and mabey when they are drunk enough he might get some answers, or he will at least have fun. As you can probably tell gathering info through any means is not one of Nox's strong points, but it does make him lots of friends. Or if the others wish I will accompany them on what ever tasks they are attempting to accomplish

almost forgot the roll....come on..... 3....yay...sort of...not really...sigh Roll: 3+0=3

"Huh, big brawl, eh? Mind if I take a quick look?". Janosz peers at the newspaper as Lightbringer chats with the doorman. "Is there a different fella who works the night shift? If so, you wouldn't happen to know him?", he asks the half-orc.

Yet another blown Knowledge check... Is there such a thing as a census in Sharn? If so, perhaps we could go there and look up the Tixler's address?

almost forgot the roll....come on..... 3....yay...sort of...not really...sigh Roll: 3+0=3

I feel for you, man. Maybe get some new dice - you know, that go above 5. :-)

OK, dealing with the questions, in no particular order:

- there is no "phone book" to look up people's addresses in Sharn.
- if you want to simply courier a message to Dala, you will need her address. However, House Sivis can do a Sending - someone needs to look up the spell, though, to see what the caster needs to know as I don't have my books. And it won't be especially cheap - again, someone needs to look that up in the ECS.
- House Sivis is generally considered reasonably secure, as they have a reputation to uphold. However, the gnomes are also nosey....
- there is a Karrnathi Embassy in Sharn, and Ezreal probably knows exactly where it is given that he is on Karrnathi government business.

On Gather Information, this is how I generally intend to run it: you need to be reasonably specific about what you want to know and, in a city as big as Sharn, where you are doing it. Per the PHB, a typical check takes 1d4+1 hours (let's just say 3 hours and standardise at that for convenience) and I can't remember how much it costs to perform, but let's say 1gp (cost of entertainments) since beer isn't that expensive (in some very upscale place, this could cost a lot more). If you change location, you need another roll. You can try again if the first roll is unsuccessful, but is another try which requires another 3 hours and 1gp.

Trose got a good roll but hasn't been very specific on what he want to learn and is splitting his effort between two places. However, to avoid more rolling and delay, I'll let his good roll stand and just hand out some info on this occasion. After that, we will apply these rules.

Spoiler for Trose:

Im only online for a bit, so I'll be brief and ooc.
Rolled 13 for local knowledge check. We're already in Middle
Menthis, so Little Plains shouldnt be far away. Presumably anyone
who works or lives around here should be able to point us
in the right directions. Start by asking the doorman, and Aubrey
can let us know what checks, if any are required for asking
people on the street.
Once we get there, a gather info check or two by asking around at
local markets, shops catering to gnomes, gnome bars etc?
Maybe Nox should run point on that, he'll look less out of place
than the rest of us.
Once/if we find out where she's at, we head there quickly.
Anyone else going with Trose, or is everyone else heading to Little
Plans?

EDIt: based on Aubreys post above - lets start the gather info check at a market place or something similar if we can find one, asking specifically where Dala would be this time of day (place of work) and/or where she lives.

Don't forget the assistance rules for skill checks. If someone wants to assist another person, you can try a DC 10 skill check, which provides a +2 bonus to the other persons skill check. This stacks, with a number of people being able to offer +2 bonuses.

In this instance, assume Lightbringer has made the main check (and got 13). Nox has already made a roll, so can't assist on this attempt. But everyone else in this group (i.e. not Trose as he isn't there) can.

Also, concerning the above, you can retry if the first check fails. I'm assuming that Trose will finish around about late afternoon early evening from his information gathering (i.e. the equivalent of two Gather Information checks) - what we would call "teatime" here in the UK. The rest of you, therefore, can try twice before you go and meet Trose. You have embarked on one attempt (though you haven't tried any assist rolls) and as a result can have one more go if that doesn't work. Lightbringer is right that using Nox as pointman (i.e. the guy who makes the initial roll) in Little Plains is a good idea - you will get +2 as Nox is less conspicuous, House Ghallanda is highly regarded in halfling circles (more so than Jorasco, which is felt to have "sold out" and lost it's halfling roots) and he speaks the lingo. This may help if a second attempt is necessary.

_________
Aid Another:
Gather Info (4 + 0 = 4 vs DC 10)
Yeah. Not so much.

When we attempt again... I rolled another 4. So far I'm pretty consistent on all the Cha based rolls.

Ok my second check will be in the little plains, asking around about the things the others told me to ask about, assuming they told me. Roll: 17(yay)+2 dm mod=19 Finaly something decent, hope it nets us some info

Runzyl will go with Ezreal as a bodyguard. Squishy mages need meatshields. I will attempt to offer an Aid Another with my 8 Charisma-having self: 4 - 1 = 3... Or not.

I'll do the same with Nox. Lessee... hey, I rolled an 11. After my -1 Cha penalty, that becomes 10! So, with my Aid Another, that'll bring Nox's total result up to 21. Huzzah!

NPC'ing Lightbringer in the Aid Another roll for Nox. Roll = 16 + 1 = 17. Brings the roll up to 19 + 2 +2 = 23, above the 20 DC.

Spoiler for the not-Trose group:

At this point, it is getting towards the end of the afternoon for both Trose and the rest of the party, and time for the arranged rendezvous.

By the way, where is the Crown and Thorn? Someone decide, I don't mind where, if it isn't in the Sharn book.

The Crown and Thorn is in Clifftop.

OK - probably my only post of the day - perhaps you should plan your next moves.

I say we either check out and then stake out the house or we go and look for this wine company, or both

The group spends most of the day asking fruitlessly around in Little Plains for the location of Dala, before Nox finally finds an old halfling couple who can supply Dala’s home address, right here in Little Plains.

After Nox imparts this information to the rest of the group, Lightbringer looks up at the cloudy sky, darkening further with the impending onset of twilight.

“If we are to make it to Cliffside by a reasonable approximation of the evening meal time to meet Trose and Runzyl, we should leave shortly. However, I am somewhat loathe to leave without having actually found anything beyond Dala’s address – and I also have a lingering concern that she may be in some danger, although I suppose that if there had been a major Daask raid of the area we would have heard about it today.

“Still, it would be valuable to learn what Trose has discovered, if anything, so that we can plan our next step.

“Here is what I propose. One or more of us should head over to the Crown and Thorn in Clifftop to meet Trose. Meanwhile, I will go to Dala’s house to try to ensure she has not been harassed, and to see if she knows anything else that can shed light onto our investigation – perhaps the location of this “Jendry” person. Nox, I would be pleased if you would accompany me, the lady may feel more comfortable talking to you than to I. Anyone else who wishes to come with us would be welcome too, but someone should return to Trose and inform him of our plans.

“I would not intend to be more than two hours, and should arrive at the Crown and Thorn as you are finishing your meal.”

He looks at the others to gauge their reactions. “What say you all? Does this sound like a reasonable course of action? Is there anything I am overlooking?”

I’m guessing it’s best to concentrate on the house rather than the wine place for now – By the time we make it over to Tavik’s landing the place will likely be closed, and Dala on her way back here – not to mention that we didn’t get the name of the company…

"I agree with you lightbring and I wish to stay with you and examine the house and wait for Dala to return"

Ezreal sighs, "I'll gladly volunteer to leave and meet Trose for dinner. I don't think I've done much more than hinder our efforts here in any case." And true enough, Ezreal had been, albeit unintentionally, alternatively imposing, intimidating, saccharine, and condescending. It wasn't intentional, but he wasn't a particularly social person to begin with and trying to mingle and chat with people who only came up to his belt buckle required a little more grace than he was capable of. Towering over them felt awkward. Crouching down felt like he was fawning over them. At this point he would be glad to forget the whole affair. But that would mean making his way through the city alone at dusk which didn't seem particularly wise. Accordingly he quickly modified his offer, "What do you say Janosz? A bowl of stew and a pint at properly sized table sound as good to you as it does to me?"

Runzyl nods at Lightbringer's statement. "Very well. You and the halfling continue on. We shall return to the tavern to meet with Trose. We shall see you then."

He turns to face Ezreal as the wizard speaks to Janosz, ready to accompany them back to the Crown and Thorn.

"It sure does. This isn't really our game, is it?", Janosz reponds with a sad smile. In some ways, he was a bit embarassed - while he could track a stag for days through the bogs, he had been largely incapable of finding an individual halfling in her own little neighbourhood. Without Nox, they would have been completely ineffectual - and, even worse, it would have been through their own ineptness rather than through any form of sabotage or resistance. Every halfling he had spoken to had been unfailingly helpful, polite and friendly - he had just not known how to ask the right questions. Truly the tasks House Tharashk set you to were many and varied! "It should be interesting to see if he has found out anything. Let's go!"

Lightbringer raises a hand in farewell to his companions, then turns to look down at Nox. "Let us go friend," he says, and heads off towards the address given to them for Dala, deliberately setting a slow pace so that Nox need not scurry to keep up.

OK, we have three groups - the lone Trose, who may or may not be returning the the Crown & Thorn; the antisocial group of Runzyl, Ezreal and Janosz who are going to the Crown & Thorn to avoid causing any more offence; and the Lightbringer and Nox, who are heading to find Dala in Little Plains. That is my understanding: I think everyone apart from Trose has stated clearly their intention.

Spoiler for Nox and Lightbringer:

Having found as much as he feels likely to find, Trose heads for the Crown and Thorn, to have a bit to eat, and wait for his companions.

Spolier for Runzyl, Janosz, Ezreal and Trose:

Lightbringer is relieved to see a woman he presumes is Dala returning to the residence – apparently unharmed. Of course, there was likely little chance that anyone would target her, but one could not be too careful.

“Pardon us ma’am,” he calls out, standing from his cramped seat. “Miss Venor-Tixler? My apologies to disturb you at this time of the afternoon, but could my friend and I,” he gestures to Nox, “please have a few moments of your time?”

Diplomacy 15+5 = 20 if required.

Nox seems contented with just sitting and watching Lightbringer handle the situation, and to Nox's estimations he seems to being a fabulous(sp??)
Nox will sit until either they need to move to talk with Dala, or Lightbringer loses contol of the situation(though i dont expect him too) at which time Nox will attempt to aid Lightbring roll: 18+0=18 nice.

"Cheers, boss, good to see ya". Though a bit frustrated by the day's labours, Janosz is genuinely glad to see Trose. "We - or, should I say, Nox - had some success looking for the secretary. That guy is smoooooth". He suddenly notices Trose's worn-out look. "You look a bit worse for wear - did anything happen to you?"

Nox will sit until either they need to move to talk with Dala, or Lightbringer loses contol of the situation(though i dont expect him too) at which time Nox will attempt to aid Lightbring roll: 18+0=18 nice.

Nice! With these sort of diplomacy rolls we could probably get her to say yes to a date. Well ..... maybe not with Lightbringer....

I presume that Lightbringer and Nox would have had time to discuss what to ask her. I intend to ask her if she knows anything of the case that Heris was working on for Karile, and / or if she knows where to find Jendry. Also intend to warn her to be careful, in case Daask (or someone) should connect her to the case. Sound ok to Nox?

Spoiler for Nox and Lightbringer:

Runzyl takes a seat with the others at the Crown and Thorn, ordering a sizable platter of food and begins to eat. He periodically glances around the room, not so much out of paranoia but more a desire to maintain awareness of his surroundings.

Board may be playing up - I know Runzyl has posted, but it isn't showing up. Maybe it will correct itself later.

Sense Motive: 11 – Lightbringer’s still not that good at reading people.

Lightbringer lowers himself to one knee, bringing himself closer to eye level with Dala, and glances at Nox for support. Of course, it had not occurred to him that they would be the ones to break this news.

“Miss Venor-Tixler, I am afraid that Heris got himself into trouble over his head with this case. He is gone. I pray to the Flame that he is alive still, and if he is, I pledge to rescue him. If he is slain, I will do my best to avenge him.

“We should maintain hope, but we should not hope falsely. I would suggest you pray to the gods for his safety, and for his soul.”

Lightbringer lowers his gaze. “I am sorry to be the bearer of such tidings. But take hope that the information you have provided us may help in finding Heris, or bringing his killers to justice.” He looks again at Dala. “As for yourself, I do not believe you will be in any danger, but please, be careful. If you think that perhaps anyone is following you, or if you feel unsafe, go straight to the Watch for assistance.” Lightbringer just hopes that the Watch in Menthis is more reliable than their counterparts in Dura.

He stands. “Thankyou again ma’am, and our hopes are with you for Heris. We must be going.” He waits a moment in case Nox should wish to add anything, then the two stride off to make their appointment with the rest of the group.

Nox simpley smiles at the words of his large freind and nods in agreement with the decision to leave. Sense motive roll: 15+0=15 As Lightbringer and Nox leave he wishes Dala well and pays any tab they have at the cafe and follows Lighbringer to where ever he decides to go next.