Blood Under Absalom -- A Multitable PbP special (GM Hmm's table) (Inactive)

Game Master Hmm

Nice. But i wasn't making jumps, if that was supposed to be a part of it. Casual walking only. :)

That was how I was reading the diagonal move you made, based on the arrow. It doesn't matter, you just barely made the roll.

ORDER: Green Fighter (DEAD), Sheela, Sophia, Yorad, Corona, Mort, Blue Rogue (-3, entangled), Princess Tiffany, Purple Sorcerer (DEAD), Red Cleric (DEAD)

Sheela and Mort, go!

Sheela simply walks up to the entrance, blocking him off. "Big talk. Little action. Just you, running away like a filthy rat."

Move Action.: Moving.
Standard Action: Ready an action to use laughing touch when he's in melee range.

Laughing Touch vs Touch AC: 1d20 ⇒ 15

Mort high tails it to cut off the other escape path for the rogue Acrobatics: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (16) + 4 = 20

"I believe you're surrounded. Just give up and cooperate and maybe you won't find out what its like to drown in sewage. You get me?" He holds his greatsword high, still coated in the blood of two of his companions.

"The sewage really wasn't that bad..." mutters Tiffany. "BUT HAH! We got you, Aspi jerk!" She cheers as the net falls over the agent and the others block off his retreat.

The Aspis Rogue, damned by his own statblock tactics, spits on the ground. "Surrender? To Pathfinders? Never!"

Entangled Attack on Mort: 1d20 + 3 - 2 ⇒ (11) + 3 - 2 = 12

Yeah, it's over. But if you want to entertain yourselves taking him out, go ahead.

"Ow...stupid slippery floor..." Corona grumbles as she pulls herself up off the grimy ground and begins moving towards the melee - at a more cautious pace.

Yorad grins broadly, "Well then why don't you just be on your way then?" He motions for Mort to grab one end of the net while he grabs the other. If no one objects then he will just toss the unrepentant rogue into the sewage with the rest of the trash.

Sheela simply laughs. How cute.

The Aspis agent's eyes narrow. "When we don't come back, they'll know. The Aspis will find you again."

Should we call this? Is your intent to kill him or take him unconscious? I'm okay with either one.

"Boooring!" Sheela yawns. "Throw him into the drink! We have a contest to win."

A comedic toss into the sewage is fine by me. Failing that, let's knock him out.

Mort moves up next to the resolute man, sword in hand. "Let all know you were offered mercy and spit in its face. The spirit of these games is honor, and you sir have none of it. Enjoy your time in the s+$%." Intimidate: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (5) + 11 = 16

Greatsword + Power Attack + Study + Bless: 1d20 + 5 - 1 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (20) + 5 - 1 + 1 + 1 = 262d6 + 6 + 3 + 1 ⇒ (4, 1) + 6 + 3 + 1 = 15
Confirm? Greatsword + Power Attack + Study + Bless: 1d20 + 5 - 1 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (15) + 5 - 1 + 1 + 1 = 212d6 + 6 + 3 + 1 ⇒ (5, 3) + 6 + 3 + 1 = 18

He removes his head with one swift chop, watching it roll then slide down into the brown sludge, eyes blinking and mouth open, tasting the sewage for all eternity.

Sophia watches the execution unfold.

"Well, he -was- warned. No more games for him.
By the way, let's see if his comrades carry anything of use to us."

Sophia searches the other three for items.

And just like that... the fight is over. The head floats for a moment in the water, slowly sinking. There is a vase suspended in a cage. How do you propose getting it?

Sophia, being practical, searches the bodies. They did not have much beyond the weapons and armor that you saw on them. The only things of interest that you find is a masterwork shortsword and a potion of cure light wounds.

"Well, that was...gruesome," Corona grimaces as she finally comes trotting up to the others. "I guess it couldn't be helped, though. Personally, I wouldn't want to work for people that wouldn't ever let me leave. He should've done his research."

After a pause, the light of recognition dawns in her eyes. "Oh! We still need to get the vase down, don't we? We should probably work on that," she suggests as she begins moving back over to where the small cage hangs high in the air. She looks around, trying to pinpoint anything that might be useful in getting the vase without breaking it.

Perception: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 2 = 6

"That's...pretty high off the floor...are you sure no one here can fly? No? Man...too bad we don't have a tengu here with us, I bet they could fly right up no problem!"

A potion!

*Yoink!*

"Oh, neat, a restorative.
Do any of our tough guys want to carry it, or shall i hold onto it?"

Sheela taps herself with her own wand. She's not a fan of executions- reminds her of her family's troubles- and stays quiet while healing herself.

Use Magic Device: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (8) + 7 = 15
Use Magic Device: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (7) + 7 = 14
Use Magic Device: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (7) + 7 = 14
Use Magic Device: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (14) + 7 = 21

Cure Light Wounds: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (8) + 1 = 9

The axe wound heals right up. Sheela checks her face in a mirror. "Splendid!"

"Okay, it's suspended in a cage. Is the cage locked? Is there a release mechanism? How is the cage suspended, can we take the cage with the vase?"

Mort wipes his blade clean on the headless man's shirt as Sophia pats him down for anything useful. "I can lift someone up there, Tiffany could you reach it if I lifted you up? Just be careful, it could be trapped, or maybe locked." Mort slides his sword back into its sheath on his back then goes over to retrieve his sunrod and comes back to get a closer look at the cage. Perception: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (18) + 4 = 22

Mort turns to Sophia when she offers the potion "I've got a couple already so, maybe someone else would get more use from it."

Everyone at the team stares up at the vase.

Tiffany, Mort and Sophia all realize that the chain the cage is suspended from won't tolerate much more weight. It would probably snap off if more weight applied to it, or you could possibly pull it free. The cage does appear to be locked, but you could take the cage and vase together if you need to do so.

[EDITED to acknowledge Mort's roll from his Ninja post.]

"If I lift up Tiffany maybe she can just pull it free and we can work on getting it out from the safety of the ground." Mort looks around and scuffs his feet a bit. "Lets try to wipe this section of floor clean underneath it so I don't lose my footing."

"Too bad the cage is probably heavy...I know a little trick to pick things up from far away but I can't move really heavy things with it," Corona sighs. "It's a fun way to spook people though! Especially if you can give it some neat sound effects...er, not that I've ever done anything like that..."

"Let's clean the floors and uh...should the rest of us stand by with blankets or something in case the cage slips?"

"Sounds like a good idea. I'll help clean up, then Mort and Tiffany crab the cage. I have a blanket around here somewhere..." Sheela digs into her pack, pulling out a green and gold bedroll. "It'll have to do. A keepsake from my younger years, during my rebellious nature phase."

Yorad watches Mort out of the corner of his eyes, muttering softly "I think my way was better. Would have sent a message to the Aspis bosses..."

Once the group has turned its attention to the cage, he nods in agreement with the plan. "Let me have a look at it first. There may be some hidden trap on there. Best to be cautious here."

Perception, traps on chain?: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (20) + 3 = 23

The group cleans up the floor. Depending on the methods used, I foresee a laundry trip in your not so distant future.

Yorad sees no traps on the chain!

"You mean I get to be the first one to touch the shiny vase?! OH YAY! You guys are the best!" Tiffany eagerly leaps onto Mort's shoulders and reaches for it. "Come on Mort, just a bit closer, I can almost grab it!"

Climb: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (20) + 11 = 31

Mort will be sure to leave his backpack in a clean corner before hoisting up the frog. "I really wish you hadn't jumped into that sewage..."

Tiffany climbs Mort easily, hangs off the vase and snaps the chain.

Acrobatics, Tiffany: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 1 = 5
Acrobatics, Mort, Take Ten*: 10 + 4 = 14

Although Tiffany's subsequent fall is clumsy, the prepared Mort easily catches both her and the vase in its cage. You have a vase that is locked in a cage. It is very pretty, decorated in Tien illustrations with a red phoenix upon it. The vase's top is sealed with red sealing wax and a cork.

What do you do now? Do you unlock it? Take both with you? And if you go, where do you go? Down the unexplored passage by the dry room, or back down the turd tunnel?

___
*Mort's player adores 'Take Ten' so that's what I'm doing here.

"Bravo! That was a good catch, New Friend Mort!" Corona applauds. "Now we can get out of here, right? Well, I mean once we get the vase out of the cage, if we can."

She looks thoughtful. "Did they say where we needed to go once we got a vase? I guess we could probably go back up the trapdoor but that other passage might lead us out somewhere, too. I think we should have a look and see where it goes!"

You know I do adore the take 10 when I can use it. Its the lawful side of me peeking through in this chaotic game.

Mort carries the both of them around the corner into a clean and less smelly room, setting them down gently. Mort wears some shabby and loose clothing but underneath Tiffany can tell he's one solidly built man. "Lets see if we can't open this thing, I'm not interested in lugging around a cage in this place."

A quick look confirms that neither the Slayer nor the Rogue have disable device. I have not checked everyone else's sheets.

You can try to break the cage if you wish, but that might be challenging if you wish to do so without breaking the vase. The cage looks a lot sturdier than the vase, and is solid iron. It might be possible to break the red sealing wax through the bars of the cage though.

Oh I assumed Yorad would have it. I'll be getting it at some point with Mort but he doesn't have it yet.

"Let's just take the cage with us, rather than risk breaking the vase." Yorad looks over the cage helplessly.

Tiffany brushes off some more raw sewage from her clothes. "Yeah, let's take the whole thing. It would be awful if we broke it after going through all that trouble. And it's soooOoo pretty!" She hugs the cage and rubs her face along the side.

"Reminds me of this one time my date got her head stuck in a jar." Sheela giggles. "We had to take her to an glassworker. He applied so much grease! I left a generous tip so he wasn't tempted to speak of the incident."

You travel down the passage not yet traveled, and find another turd tunnel! This one is far shorter in length than the other, so you spend much less time in the cramped space. You find that the whole passage leads to another trap door with rope hanging from it.

Do you go up and out?

Sheela leads the way to the rope and trap door. "The other platform was in pretty bad shape- let's try this one!"

Seeing as no one can open the lock on the cage, and everyone being a bit nervous about breaking the vase, Mort resigns to the fact that he gets to lug the cage along with them. He grunts and groans as he carries it at the back of the group. "This thing won't exactly call any attention to ourselves now will it... where did we need to get this thing to? If we have to lug it through town we're going to attract too much attention!"

Seeing Sheela head for the door Mort hollers ahead "At least listen and try to peek up there before you sling that thing open."

When Sheela peeks under the trapdoor, she finds the sub-basement of the warehouse arena, where a number of tengu monks appear to be sweeping and tidying things up.

Sophia will try using acid splash on the sealing wax, as much as it would take.

Otherwise.....Sophia tries to fiddle with the lock, prying in it with a dagger.
Disable device, untrained, no tools: 1d20 + 2 - 2 ⇒ (18) + 2 - 2 = 18

I'm a bit confused. The sealing wax. All that is doing is holding the vase to the bottom of the cage right? Unsealing the vase causes it to rattle around and maybe break in the cage? Or am I getting things confused.

The options I see for you... You can bend the iron bars with a strength check and a crow bar, or just a strength check. You can try to break the cage, and have a good chance of breaking the vase.

The sealing wax is sealing the top of the vase shut with a cork. Disable device cannot be used untrained, but most ceramics are resistant to acid. I'd allow the acid splash to melt the wax if you wish.

When Sophia melts the wax, you see a number of red envelopes inside, some of them now covered with bits of dripping wax.

"Ooh, more surprises! I guess that means we really do need to get the vase out of the cage though..."

She looks up. "Maybe if one of us holds the cage really steady, someone else can try to pry the bars apart..."

Suddenly, the young woman gives herself a slap on the back of the head. "Wait a minute, New Friends! Now that the vase is open, maybe we don't even need to get into the cage! Watch!"

Corona points at the red envelopes concealed in the vase and attempts to lift one out using the trick she'd mentioned a few minutes ago.
___________

Let's Mage Hand them suckers right out!

One by one, Corona mage hands the little red envelopes out. Each is embossed with an elaborate hand-painted print of a jade phoenix. When you open them, you find a beautiful calligraphed invitation in both Tien and Taldane, inviting you to attend a performance of a traditional opera from Lung Wa entitled Dawn of the Jade Phoenix, to be held at a small theater in the Foreign Quarter known as the Hanafuda: House of Seven Mysteries on the next day.

Where to, now? Up and out? And do you take the cage and vase with you?

"You did it, Sophia and Corona! Good thinking!" She examines the beautiful invitations closely, taking care not to get any sewage still on her hands on them. "I don't suppose anyone has that one magical spell that can clean me off of this.. stuff? Hehe..." She looks down as she asks in embarrassment. "They're just too pretty to ruin."

"An opera sounds like so much fun. I just wish they would have looked for talent more openly. You guys have heard me sing, you know what I can do!" She carefully puts the envelope in an empty pocket of her backpack. "If we're going to leave here, we have to take the vase!"

Corona smiles happily, clearly pleased to have done something useful. "Aw shucks, we wouldn't be here in the first place if you and New Friend Mort hadn't done such a good job of getting the cage down!"

As the envelopes are passed out and opened, her happy expression changes back to its oft-seen counterpart, confusion. "An...opera? That's interesting. Maybe the next test is to give a nuanced critique of the acting?"

She shrugs and places her invitation into a pocket. "Oh well, I suppose we'll find out when we get there! Now let's get out of here...oh and I guess we should take the cage and vase with us so they know we didn't just beat some other team up and take theirs."

You go up and out. The tengu monks pause in their sweeping and tidying to bow to you as you climb up with the cage and vase. "Congratulations, honorable ones, on finding a vase. We shall contact you tomorrow!"

They return to their sweeping and tidying. After all, it is bad form to leave a dojo in a state of disarray.

Am I correct in assuming that in your current unhygienic states you are returning to the Flying Alderman in hopes of a hot bath?

Opening the envelope and reading its contents, Sophia's expression seems to turn excited.

"An opera? Sheela, singing!"

It's clear the reptile girl is eager to go.

"Oh, singing. Dancing. Handsome dancers and entertainers. It will be lovely!" Sheela nods in agreement with Sophia. "Based on this pattern though we'll be jumped by half a dozen Tien mauraders or something. No matter!"

Sheela takes a look at her bedroll. "Let's return to the Flying Alderman and get a bath."

The Flying Alderman is hopping tonight. The fire is roaring, and the dark wooden furniture is filled with a genial crowd of people drinking beers and wines or eating onion and cheese soup with thick slices of whole wheat bread. The walrus-like proprietor is sitting at one of the far tables, chatting with some of his customers.

In the crowded common room of the inn, one individual stands out: the samurai that Sheela and Sophia talked to from the Docks tavern, the one with the lacquered eastern armor. He has a vase sitting on the bar next to him, still locked in its iron cage. The previously stoic samurai is now deep in a bottle of sake in celebration of his latest victory. He pours himself another full cup, then downs it. Looking at his bottle again, he shakes it and frowns. Then he flashes his coin purse about openly before the barkeep, a cute lady dressed in a pink top, who immediately sets to providing a round of drinks for the entire, crowded house.

The ronin, completely unaware of what's going on, only notices when the barkeep grabs his purse and pours the contents onto the bar, counting the debt the ronin now owes her. The ronin glares drunkenly at the barkeep, rises, and puts his hand on the hilt of his sword. "あなたは私を馬鹿だと思っていますか?"

What do you do?

[IF you need the layout, see SLIDE SIX.]

"Uh oh...I think the nice barkeep thought he wanted to buy drinks for everyone!" Corona whispers to the others as they watch the scene unfold from the doorway. "New Friend Sheela, New Friend Sophia, you can talk to him right? Because he doesn't look too happy..."