Victor lets out a melodramatic groan and once more shifts his attention towards the now halfway empty goblet. “It would be a heinous injury towards our impending operations if we were to fail at such a critical phase, this “first push” if you will, must be successful. At least to a satisfactory degree.” With a subdued, nearly lazy hand movement, he lifts the glass to his lips and drains the remaining content in a single drag.
“Still, allow me to display my curiosity; if we were to give you an entire week to gather information, where would you go and who would you ask?” Victor seems to examine the goblet in his hand for a moment, his eyes remaining fixed on the cup rather than the gathered individuals.
Fate waves dismissively. "Ve vould naturally not broadcast our involvement in a scheme involving the churches. Manipulating the 'faithful' vould require more planning and forethought, and ve vould need to have an endgame in mind."
Fate holds up a finger, punctuating her points as though she was giving instructions to children. "Undermining the peoples' religion would open new possibilities. You see, few people truly lose faith; they merely transfer it to some new idol. Ve could provide one of our choosing."
She pauses, resting her fist against her chin as she contemplates something. "This plan is growing in complexity, and our needs for resources vith it. Tell us more of these ruins."
"I would personally observe the phenomena of the clergy of Ghlaunder. The Gossamer King's devotees often pose as ministers of other deities in order to infiltrate small villages. Rather than abolish them downright, the faithful of Ghlaunder seek to increase corruption from within and subtly move the unknowing towards the reverence of their idol.” Victor nods, as if to approve of his own words. His fingers once more fiddle around with his pipe and within a few moments he is once more puffing on it with a content expression on his face.
“However, such a masquerade would necessitate certain enchanted articles and a fair bit of calculating ingenuity from our side. If we were to guile the faithful to our side through a planted clergy member of our own, then we would be capable of taking Finders' Keep with a limited amount of bloodshed and perhaps even make them loyal to their new ruler. Perhaps a member of our midst could slowly convert them to his or her own faith.” Victor turns his head towards Crystal, giving her a knowing smile. “That is, unfortunately, a long reaching goal.”
Again that cultivated blond eyebrow arches at Victor's words, a grin creeping onto the woman's features at the question. "Where and who? I would go wherever required, of course, with whomever. The adventurous, the rich, the powerful, the obscure...they all sing to me in the end. I am confident I can single us out a ruin to explore by week's end. And if it should take more time than that..." she shrugs her shoulders to emphasize, "then our plans will be delayed. Better to be fully prepared than go about things halfway."
The idea of converting worshipers to The Prince of Darkness has definite appeal to her. She knows she is being played, the carrot dangled before her, but the prize is too great. She nods, fingers drumming on the table in anxiety. "Yes, I see this plan, once fully fleshed out, has definite promise. Some of the Doctor's extracts, my charms, perhaps some coercion on the rest of you's parts." Her red-painted lips curl into a tooth-showing smile at the thought.
Ahh. Subjugating the church is indeed an undertaking that is not to be done lightly. Sadly religion is not my area of expertice, however that does not mean i am unable to assist in the matter. Here.
Doc pulls out a small paper fold and slides it across the table to Crystal.
It is a rare herb that when inhaled dulls pain, but renders one extremely suseptable to suggestion. I leave its administration and use to your discression.
Long slender fingers delicately pick up the packet, blue eyes inspect the contents before she shrugs and puts it down her bodice, to be properly stowed at a later time. "Good doctor, how do I administer this herb? Mix it with a tea? Convince the other party to smoke it? Inject it somehow?" Her brow crinkles as she thinks of the benefits and consequences of using such a drug.
Fate nods as Victor speaks. "This Glaunder does indeed sound like a good model indeed, Herr Victor." She taps her mask with her index finger, the metal of her gauntlet making a dull clink with each tap. "I vill make a mental note of this name, so that I can study this religion further."
Fate glances at the flayleaf, her nose turned-up still. "This drug may have uses for us, Herr Doktor."
|
"Bacon!"
Sarcon jumps up and assesses the room, he seems disappointed with what he sees.
"huh...Did I miss the giant pig attack, or was that a dream? Because now I want bacon."
As Sarcon heads for the bar to order bacon he asks
"so did you guys pick a church, or did the plan change? It's almost time for the prison food delivery and imma steal it."
Ghlaunder was a sham of a deity, and would fall with all the rest with the Dark Lord's return. His ultimate victory, and hers by default, was assured.
Her brow furrows at the sudden outburst from Sarcon, and she rolls her eyes, holding her hands up in a 'this is what I have to work with' gesture.
In a tone of condescending politeness, "Good Sarcon, I don't believe we have picked a church, although my vote would be the clergy of Sarenrae or Iomedae. I think our more immediate concern is the gathering of coin and power to make our ascendance go all the more smoothly."
I see we now have campaign info, for those interested.
I'm still working on further instructions to clarify my vision for this game. I'll be wrapping up the heroes recruitment tomorrow and posting the intro in each gameplay thread.
-Posted with Wayfinder
Sounds good :)
Personally, I have not seen the heroes yet, intend to keep it that way :) I imagine more fun.
That bit in the campaign tab looks interesting, and some odd combinations...
Our job this weekend, we are going East of town to the abandoned cave filled with a tribe of madmen who really like us, and our job is to kill them all.
Yes, I did say it was abandoned, and yes, caves usually are not inhabated, but this one is full of angry men. That's why we need to kill them all, to make it more abandoned....
And the best part is that the angry men really like us, that's what makes this job so easy!
Yup :)
Fate gives a vigorous nod. "Excellent. Ve vill cleanse the vilderness of filthy savages."
Our job this weekend, we are going East of town to the abandoned cave filled with a tribe of madmen who really like us, and our job is to kill them all.
You *are* villains.
Yes, I did say it was abandoned, and yes, caves usually are not inhabited, but this one is full of angry men.
Obviously it was abandoned by someone else.
And the best part is that the angry men really like us, that's what makes this job so easy!
Yup :)
It will not be easy, if only out of spite.
Actually, if they are friendly, the combat encounters will be with someone else, not with the madmen or what have you.
Gee, thanks Doc! ;p
Oh by the way, I just finished picking a hero team. They have the advantage of 6 players. But, perhaps to your advantage, one of them is a paladin.
-Posted with Wayfinder
Well that one was only meant as an example XD
Taking what I can and making the wierdest of it :)
Alas I have never played a paladin, I've wanted to, they look like a fun class, a little feat starved, but I could never get on board with the paladin code :(
They may have the advantage of numbers but we have the advantage of moral greyness! Coupled with my inteligence and we should prove supreme. the Doc nods solomenly to himself.
First post is up. Let the games begin!
Also, I've added game information to the campaign info tab.
In addition, I've added some general PbP information to my profile.
Ok. Read the campaign tab. Lots of goodies in there! Few thinfs i want to clear up.
1. I intend to do lots of crafting and work a day job, and do both in the same week. The problem is that the check is for a weeks worth of work.
So hows this. I roll my day job check at the end of the week and devide by 5. That is how much i made each day that week. So if i decided to do 2 days crafting and 3 days working, i would get 3 days worth. Rolling at the end prevents me from rolling bad and then deciding to do more crafting that week or vice versa.
2. If we intend to capture the keep, know that Im always prepared... Dun dun dun!!!
3. I have a doctors clinic (whether owned by me or not) where it is assumed i have everything i need and i need to pay for it if i intend to take it with me. Also, it is assumed i have a house. Is it ok if i have a secret basement in there that i will gradually fill with, ahem, torture equipment, a secret lab and testing facility? Is it alrigt if i store stuff in these places, specifically a private office in the clinic, my house and the secret basement?
4. What day is it today? And by extention, how does time flow? Is it 1:1 real time (hopefully not) or is it more along the lines of when we, as a group are ready for the weekends. Have you got plans on how to coordinate the two campaigns when they need to be "at the same time" or if one group is moving faster then the other?
5. I asked upthread about bayleaf, where it said you needed to smoke it and i read inhaled are you ok with this use of it, if i somehow burn it and somehow get them to inhale it for an extended time?
Sorry for all the questions!!! I figure its best to get these cleared up before hand, to make things smoother :)
1. I intend to do lots of crafting and work a day job, and do both in the same week. The problem is that the check is for a weeks worth of work.
So hows this. [blah blah blah]
Sounds fine.
2. If we intend to capture the keep, know that Im always prepared... Dun dun dun!!!
You think that.
3. I have a doctors clinic (whether owned by me or not) where it is assumed i have everything i need and i need to pay for it if i intend to take it with me. Also, it is assumed i have a house.
Correct.
Is it ok if i have a secret basement in there that i will gradually fill with, ahem, torture equipment, a secret lab and testing facility? Is it alrigt if i store stuff in these places, specifically a private office in the clinic, my house and the secret basement?
You are assumed to have as much space as necessary to safely store any items or equipment you have. But if you want to use the space for plot purposes (like deploying the mist-maker of mass obedience), we'll need to discuss that separately.
4. What day is it today? And by extention, how does time flow?
Time flows however I feel like it. It shouldn't affect the game for the most part, but if I need a season for... my own reasons, it may suddenly be that season.
As for syncing up the games, I will probably sync you up every "turn", so if one team finishes questing before the other, they can roleplay dividing the loot or something while the other team finishes up, then we roll day jobs, shop, and start the next weekend.5. I asked upthread about bayleaf
Ah yes. I will grant you a censer fills one 5ft square with potent-enough fumes. If you can't get them to hold it, however, you'll need to add [previous increase +2] to the doses in the censer (or campfire or whatever). So for a 0ft radius, 1 dose, 5ft radius = [1+2=3]+1 = 4 doses, 10ft radius = [3+2=5]+4 = 9 doses, etc.
A few questions of my own, if I may.
1. How liberal is "The City!" when it comes to to the worship of the darker deities?
2. What is the general consensus on the subject of the unliving?
3. Is the question of heritage important in this region?
4. Would you, as the ruler of Finder's Keep be capable of amassing loyalty among the general citizenship and as thus make the other team endure hardship due to the unwillingness of the people to serve them?
5. Does animated undead rot further after their reanimation or does necromancy delay rigor mortis?
1. How liberal is "The City!" when it comes to to the worship of the darker deities?
It's not illegal, but it probably won't make you any friends. Still, the heroes are probably the only ones you'd need to worry about for this. I'm not sure they'd oppose you less for worshiping Irori or anything though.
2. What is the general consensus on the subject of the unliving?
They are scary. People flee. Don't keep them openly shuffling around your house or place of work and it shouldn't be an issue. As I said to Doc, you have a safe place to store your things; this includes undead.
3. Is the question of heritage important in this region?
I can't think of why it would be at this point.
4. Would you, as the ruler of Finder's Keep be capable of amassing loyalty among the general citizenship and as thus make the other team endure hardship due to the unwillingness of the people to serve them?
No. The people are oath-bound to pay taxes as levied by the rightful king of Finders' Keep. They are not bound by any conscription laws or such, so if you want them to do things besides pay taxes, you'll have to hire them with tax money. That said, the heroes team doesn't collect tax money, but instead gains "favor" similar to prestige in PFS. If you could talk the other villains into it, you might be able to gain favor instead of tax money, but then I'd have to ask why you're not a hero in the first place?
5. Does animated undead rot further after their reanimation or does necromancy delay rigor mortis?
I wouldn't think they would rot as long as you have them under a magical effect. But if said effect wears off, I can't promise they'll be as good next time around. I'd probably use ammo salvaging rules for that kind of thing.
Gameplay status questions
When do we make our checks to figure out what caves to go to and where they are, if that is our wont? Are we at that point now, or is it time to make a Day Job check?
Now there's an excellent question. That's probably what Doc meant, but I didn't understand it. Consider this the night before the weekend. You can make your checks now (effectively in the morning) and then set off immediately, if you so desire. We'll do the first week of day jobs and crafting after it's over.
So based on the formula, assuming we can find the place with a successful survival check we can find an item worth up to 1,800 gp?
1.800 gold pieces? I could animate a couple of undead guardians with that much gold. And I assume that you could planar bind some devils eventually. (Our castle is going to be rather well defended.)
@everything upthread. Sounds good!
About the bayleaf, I was less concerned with how to administer it and more wondering if it was possible.
Now that I know that tho, excelent! Mostly it will be used on a bound prisoner, but campfires. Hmmm. Or if a witless hero happens to walk into my clinic?
About the time question, that was basically it. Is it Friday today or Monday.
So! I will write up a lead that the Doc knows about, for us to discuss if it is worth it or not!
I'm excited :)
Ya, I just went with it :)
As for my share of 1 800gp? I could create A LOT with that! And I'm rather crafty, bewar of my defended positions! ^o^
Do you know what would aid your defenses, Doc? Ghouls and mummies.
I'll let DM-Kal adjudicate, but I believe my diplomacy roll (and yours too, if you choose to) are to gain our leads. We will have to make a separate check to actually find the place.
Also, while I think we can just say 'money', I think the intent is for us to find 'power', as in valuable magic items/components we can then use ultimately to secure our claim.
You know, with my immense knowledge about the local area (Knowledge(Local)) I might already know of the location of said ruins/caves.
Indeed Crystal, your roll of 18 would yield an 1800gp item (or less). If you seek something somewhat specific, like a magical means of binding foes, I'll give you something similar that fits into that price range. If you just want money, you can do that too, but consider it a bit of a monkey's paw kind of wish...
Also, other people are welcome to make rolls to try to bump that value. I'm not going to allow aiding another on these rolls, but I will allow everyone to make their own.
And yes, the diplomacy/knowledge local rolls are to gather/remember leads. Afterwards comes survival/knowledge geography to find the location outside the city. Of course none of these rolls are necessary if you're just raiding the Keep.
Just to summarize, I can attempt to roll my knowledge skill and if it is higher than Crystal's then we are able to earn additional wealth?
Quite right Victor. If you were to, for instance, achieve a 21 on your roll, then at your present level you would be eligible for an item costing up to 2100gp, thereby replacing Crystal's lesser result.
One more question and I think I will be satisfied. Do we state intent before we roll, or can we determine value, then confer over what kind of item we would seek?
It would be best if you state intent before you roll. Something like "a renewable means of healing" or perhaps "a way to see in the dark", rather than "an eternal wand of cure light wounds" or "goggles of darkvision". Depending on how high you roll afterward, you may get something very cheap (like a wand of virtue or a sunrod) or something very expensive (like an orb of endless positive channels or a headband of blindsight).
Sweet Cthulhu, may your mind ripping embrace be praised! We will be receiving 2500 gold if we are to succeed in this endeavor. I would like to dedicate this wondrous victory to my obscene intelligence.
Hurray!
Lets see, 2500 gold pieces. That will be 2000 gold pieces for me and 125 gold for each of you.
625 for each of us once we lift it off your corpse, good sir. ;p
I suddenly see the light of day, perhaps I should not attempt to withhold riches from my crazed, egotistical fellow maniacs. Health concerns could pop up in such a situation.
I wouldn't hope so, if that is the case then one of us would have to dedicate ourselves heavily into tracking. I do have a fair amount of Knowloedge (geography) but unless we are allowed to roll it together then I do not think I can beat my own DC.
Could I roll the Geography part and someone else the survival part?