Sorsha gathers up the loot and... actually displays all of it to her companions.
"I would like the dagger" she says, wistfully. You have never seen her eyes so large and bright.
Sorsha scuffs the ground with the toe of her right shoe.
past hundred years—with a government increasingly seeking decadence and spectacle and a citizenry growing more and more desperate to do whatever it takes to survive—that a play like The Six Trials of Larazod, banned
after its first performance 200 years ago, could return from the obscurity of censorship and oppression to become one of the city’s best-known and most notorious plays. Certainly, since the play’s first performance in Westcrown (which resulted in riots and the eventual
disappearance of its creator) 2 centuries ago, the social scene in the city has changed dramatically. Where once a night out on the town might have included fine dining, an overly long opera, and stimulating conversation thereafter at a noble’s manor, Westcrown’s theater
patrons today have much different tastes. Indeed, with the constant threat of shadow beasts lurking on streets and alleys after dark, the very concept of a nighttime play has vanished from Westcrown, replaced by matinees or late afternoon performances of an increasingly violent
nature. Bloodsports in small-scale fighting pits, public executions, salacious private performances that are little more than orchestrated orgies, and even (it is rumored) the sport of hunting men and women like animals through Westcrown’s ruined northern reaches (known as the Parego Dospera) are the entertainments of the day, while nights are spent at home and off the streets.
Since we have the itemized list of where they came from I'd suggest we should. It's a lot of money, but it will buy us a lot of good will.
3 Group fame gained for returning the items and Killing the Bastards.
During the down time, the Westcrown Redeemers are relatively inactive—
after you helped the group’s leader Arael escape from Hellknight custody and once the immediate concern of the Bastards of Erebus was handled, lying low for a time seemed wise to both Arael and his second-in-command, Janiven Key.
Eventually, though, the four of you are contacted by Janiven—she invites you via runner to meet with her at the shrine of Aroden the group has
been using as a safe house. The runner gives the message “We may have found a way to take back our nights!”
At the safe house, Janiven and Arael greet you along with a beautiful
woman dressed in well-worn armor. Arael introduces this woman as Ailyn Ghontasavos, a member of the Pathfinder Society. It is fairly common knowledge that the Pathfinders are not that welcome these days in Westcrown, and that the presence of one here, even under cover, indicates something big is building.
After she’s introduced, Ailyn explains that she has come to Westcrown
secretly and under cover of a common mercenary, and hopes to recover several treasures lost when the city’s Pathfinder lodge was forcibly closed decades ago by agents of the House of Thrune. Called Delvehaven, the lodge has been locked down tight for over 30 years, and even
before then no Pathfinder has set foot inside since Aroden’s death. The fact that the shadow beasts came to plague Westcrown’s streets so soon after the lodge was sealed by the House of Thrune seems to indicate a
connection between the two events, and Ailyn believes she has discovered proof while researching Delvehaven in the libraries of Skyreach at the Great Lodge in Absalom.
She goes on to explain that, as much as she would want to explore Delvehaven, she cannot—she’s not officially here on Pathfinder business, and if the society were to find out that she had taken the exploration of Delvehaven into her own hands, she would be in a lot of trouble. Yet if, perchance, another group not directly affiliated with the Pathfinders were to enter the old ruin—say, a group of heroes eager to combat the shadow beast legacy—Ailyn would be able to make a formal
request to have Delvehaven investigated again.
Unfortunately, one cannot just simply walk into Delvehaven. While the House of Thrune no longer actively guards the site, they transferred that responsibility to Westcrown’s mayoral office. Worse, the fact that the House of Thrune has been engaged in an act of rewriting history (either by destroying existing documents or changing them to suit Thrune’s preferences) means that reliable information about Delvehaven has become incredibly scarce. Ailyn knows that there are several
powerful magical locks and wards on the lodge placed there by the House of Thrune to prevent entry, and her research has shown her that keys to the locks and documentation relating to those wards exists in only one
place—Aberian’s Folly.
Further, the House of Thrune’s devotion to order and tradition all but ensures that these keys and documents are kept in a complex, twelve-sided puzzle-box container known as a Chelish Crux, and that if it has been secured anywhere in Aberian’s Folly, it is likely to lie within the manor’s vault—a place known as the Asmodean Knot. Unfortunately, her research in the significantly sized libraries at the Grand Lodge in
Absalom hit a dead end after that, and so she has come to Westcrown to continue her investigations.
At this point in the conversation, both Arael and Janiven observe that the banishing of the shadow beasts from the city’s nights would be one of the greatest accomplishments the Westcrown Redeemers could do to earn the love and support of the city. If a method to achieve this goal, or even just clues that might point to such a method, are hidden
in Delvehaven, an expedition to the old Pathfinder Lodge is very tempting indeed. And who better to mount such an expedition than the heroes who, with the defeat of the Bastards of Erebus, are already well on their way to becoming the city’s darlings?
So what do you Say?
Nilus has gotten alot of practicing in bashing fellas in the face. He plans on continuing that, especially if it lets him make the damned Thrunes look bad.
"Do we know anyone inside? We could use some more information."
Adria you remember and pass along that The Asmodean Knot is not some place you can simply walk into and have a look around
Janivan to Garrand: No we do not know anyone but I have a plan... She says with a sly smile.
All you need to do is find a way to infiltrate Aberian’s Folly and secure access to the Chelish Crux and thus the keys and documents hidden within. With these,an investigation of Delvehaven can be made with greater safety and efficiency. Ailyn admits that the Pathfinders have long been curious about the exact details of the House of Thrune’s interest in the lodge (as well as the nature of the wards they placed on it), and if you four can
secure the contents of the Chelish Crux, the Society will pay you handsomely for the service.
As for how to infiltrate the home of one of Westcrown’s most powerful government officials and have a good excuse to spend a fair amount of time searching it, Janiven has come up with a bold, unorthodox, and brilliant
plan. All you have to do is become actors!
As you all seem dumbfounded Janivan continues to explain
Mayor Arvanxi is a lover of the theater, and in particular, the Theater Mortrescci—plays where not only the cast’s reputations, but their very lives, are on the line during each performance.
A cross between a play and a bloodsport, the Theater Mortrescci—more vulgarly referred to as the “murderplay”—has become one of Cheliax’s fastest-growing forms of entertainment. Mayor Arvanxi’s favorite play in this genre is a notorious work known as The Six Trials of Larazod, and as luck would have it, a prominent director is preparing to cast and direct this play with aims to perform the full and uncut version for the first time in years as part of the celebration of the newly reconstructed Nightshade Theater in Westcrown’s Parego Regicon—the central island where the city’s nobility and the traditional seat
of government are located. If tradition holds true, and if the performance of the play pleases the mayor, he’ll invite the cast and crew to his home for a banquet and party—a gala event that would give undercover agents of the Westcrown Redeemers a singularly perfect
opportunity to explore the manor.
Janiven runs down the attractions of this plan, ticking
each one off on a finger as she goes:
• As guests invited to the mayor’s home, the heroes-as actors don’t need to worry about hiding from his guards or sneaking into the house.
• Mayor Arvanxi’s obsession with and respect for the theatrical world would grant the heroes-as-actors a huge advantage in squeezing information from him. The mayor’s parties have a well-known reputation for running long—sometimes over the course of days—so you should have an excuse to remain in his home for more than enough time necessary to get the job done.
• The mayor will doubtless require you to come in full costume from your performance, and since you will be playing adventurers and the like in the play, that essentially means you’ll be able to walk right in to his
manor fully armed and armored, no questions asked.
• The mayor and his staff celebrate hard—it shouldn't be long before he and the majority of his guards are so drunk and distracted that they’ll be in no condition to ask questions if you slip away for several hours to look around.
The only real disadvantage of the plan, Janiven admits, is the nature of The Six Trials of Larazod. The play is notorious and was banned for many decades for a reason—the combats and torments the actors endure in the play are not faked, but real. And to date, no cast has survived a production of the full, uncut version of the play—the version the director, a man named Robahl Nonon, has promised to Westcrown and its mayor. But certainly, surviving a play should be a cinch for a group of heroes like you four. Even better, if you become the first to survive the uncut version, the mayor’s delight and the subsequent invitation to his home will be all but guaranteed.
"So are you game?" Janiven asks.
Garrand will stare angrily at Janiven for a moment before nodding abruptly, "It'll do." He'll stomp off and brood.
Janiven looks around confused. What's wrong with him?
Nilus scrunches his face up in pure confusion
Wait, you want us to Pretend to be adventurers pretending to be actors pretending to be adventurers and really fight something on stage......my head hurts.....and I feel like smashing something.
I can totally act. This sounds like an awesome plan! Sorsha says enthusiastically. There's just one problem, I won't have to be a clown or a mime will I?
Janivan walks over to Garrand.
What is the matter Garrand? You do not like this plan? I thought you of all people would jump at this idea.
"One of my cousins told me sometimes they serve meatballs in grape jelly. What could be better?" Sorsha agrees enthusiastically.
That's grapes in meat jelly Sorsha. There's a bit o' difference.
"It is a good plan, it just brings back ugly memories. When I was young my parents where part of an acting troop that took a gig for House Sarini that went very badly. My mother was raped and killed." He shakes his head to try and distance himself from the memory
Sorsha thinks long and hard to see if she remembers anything about the play.
Adria is sympathetic to Garrand's story. I'd like to catch the bastards that did that. Dismemberment by mule pull would be my first choice of punishments for them.
"You'd get no objections from me. Though you'd need a lot of mules as most of House Sarini was present. And when my father asked House Thrune for justice they told him to go pound sand. It's no secret that Sarini is in thrall to Thrune, they call them 'Fools of Thrune' after all. Still..."
Garrand will wave his hand as if to dismiss the subject and deflect any other questions.
Garrand will describe the play to the room with the facial expression of someone holding a bucket of rotting fish at arms length.
Yea it's the part she was born to play but it's a small part.
Well no posts in like a day so I will move us forward when I get time.
Once you accept Janiven's plan, she tells you that there’s little time to waste—director Robahl Nonon is starting to cast parts for the play the very next day at his own venue, a small theater called the Limehouse. He’s already made the announcement that he’s looking for
“authentic adventurers and legitimate risk-takers” over the use of established actors for most of the roles in the play—a move that has caused some discord among the performer’s circuit. In fact, apart from using regulars from his own acting troupe, he has made clear his hopes
that all of the roles in this production will be filled by experienced “heroes.”
The Limehouse Theater is owned by Robahl Nonon, a relatively infamous director known for his temper and his knack for getting emotional performances out of his actors—at least out of those who don’t run in shameful tears from his stage. The theater itself is rather small, and
for larger productions (like Robahl’s upcoming one), the Limehouse serves more as a headquarters and a place for dress rehearsals than an actual venue. The locals actually prefer this, as they find the dress rehearsals to be much more entertaining with their more-frequent errors, and Robahl himself has made a tradition of forcing his players to perform to this audience. Not only do the public dress rehearsals allow for additional income (he generally charges half price for such shows), but according to Robahl, “an actor who can remain focused before an audience as unruly and caustic as this one can perform anywhere!” Those who can’t handle the heckling are replaced.
Word of Robahl’s casting call for the uncut Six Trials of Larazod has spread throughout Westcrown, and while he’s cast a few of the supporting roles already, he has yet to settle on a Larazod (the Tifeling) and many of his companions. By the time you arrive, the director is at his wits’ end—his call has brought only desperate actors who can’t fight or desperate adventurers who can’t act. He’s lowered his expectations,
and when you arrive to audition for the roles, Robahl is ready to cancel the production.
So as long as you're competent then you have got the parts.
Everyone make a Chrasmia or perform (act) check Please. This is the interview phase and we are going to hand wave some of it.
So, uhhh, I guess I gotta act like a teifling. Hmm, ok so "Arrgh, I hate life because my momma slept with a devil." oh please Nilus don't smash my face.
Robahl Nonon @ Nilus
Terible! But you are big...I may be able to do the impossible and make something out of you. NEXT!
@ Garrand Horible! But still the best I'v seen today....go stand over there with your friend. NEXT!
Sigh....Go stand over there.
Finally! We have an ACTOR here!
Your base Popularity is 24. This will come up later.
The 4 of you are accepted into the play.
Robahl invites you into the auditorium of the Limehouse to meet the
rest of the cast and crew. The Limehouse auditorium seats about 60, and the stage is relatively compact at 20 feet wide and 10 feet deep—Robahl notes that, as a result, they won’t be performing the more “complex” parts of The Six Trials of Larazod during rehearsal, but since those portions are traditionally “improvised” (by which he means unscripted combat and torture), that shouldn’t be a problem.
Waiting to meet you in the theater are the other members of the production—all of them already have their roles in the play and are eager to find out with whom they’ll be working.
You meet the following people. Feel free to speak to them if you wish.
Robahl Nonon—Infamous Director
Audacious! Unutterable! Incredible! The crowd pauses as I
asseverate. They hang upon my every utterance, my every
syllable is ambrosia to their jaded souls.
A man so short and stout that he could pass for a dwarf, Robahl has a huge walrus moustache and a frightful frown. The toupee he wears is sadly obvious, as is the faded color of his once fine attire. A tyrant, minor noble, former military captain, and professional shouter, Robahl
runs his troupe with military discipline. He delights in his fruitful and colorful use of language. Never betraying a paucity in his considerable vocabulary by resorting to abject profanity, he pummels those who disappoint him with outrageously long sentences containing obscure insults and flowery observations. His face and neck turn
increasingly crimson as his anger builds and becomes a tirade, and he has been known to run out of breath while abusing an actor. Legend has it that he once railed against the great elven actor Lobbero for so long that the director passed out, leaving the still standing Lobbero speechless for the only time in his life. Robahl’s way with the ladies is equally legendary, and rumor holds he once married a Thuvian princess, but when her father found out, he had her put to death—Robahl
escaped a similar fate by fleeing back to Cheliax. Robahl is a perfectionist, and subscribes to the theory that a person can only achieve true greatness if he is not hampered by false expectations of himself—hence, his attitude. He wants his insults to be remembered, his
rants to strike a nerve, and his roars to sink in.
Role: Robahl is not only the director of The Six Trials of
Larazod, but also plays the role of Asmodeus at the play’s end.
Visbaronetess Delour Aulamaxa —Arrogant Diva
“My talent is matched only by my beauty—and possibly my temper.”
The Visbaronetess’ eyes show the passage of years that her alabaster skin and traditionally thick makeup conceal. A tremendous woman, both in size and personality, Delour Aulamaxa has long been one of Westcrown’s most
beloved divas. Although she normally demands huge sums of money for her participation in a play, the prestige that taking part in a production of the uncut Trials was enough to secure her in the relatively small role of chorus. Delour typically wears extravagant clothing and jewelry, and her costumes during a performance are often less bombastic and outlandish than her tremendous day-today wardrobe.
Role: Aulamaxa is the chorus and narrator for the
play—she sings during the play’s introduction, at the start
of each act, and at the play’s close.
Thesing Umbero Ulvauno— Garrands Good Friend.
“My talent is unmatched, even by my beauty.”
Thesing Umbero Ulvauno is a handsome fellow whose extravagant garb and quick charm cannot long hide the color of his character. His chiseled good looks are brutal rather than delicate, and his sense of humor tends
toward the cruel and dark. Impatient and insufferable, Ulvauno is nevertheless a master at maintaining his public image—those who don’t work with him closely never see past his charming and friendly veneer. The of the players find Thesing unpleasant at best and an arrogant ass at
worst—they avoid him when they can, which is in fact to Thesing’s preference, as he views them as untalented competitors fit only to bask in his glory. Calseinica’s recent addition to the performance is an exception—although she’s rebuffed him several times already, Thesing still
lusts after the starlet it is plain to see.
Role: Thesing has been given what he (and most of the
city) assume will be the starring role in The Six Trials of
Larazod—the role of Haanderthan. The possibility that the
PCs might survive the play and steal his thunder from
this juicy role doesn’t cross Thesing’s mind until several
seconds after such an event actually occurs.
Calseinica Nymm is—Rising Starlet
“Isn’t acting wonderful? It’s a gift to be able to stand on stage!”
A petite beauty, Calseinica Nymmis is not a trained actress—she is, instead, a natural talent, something that many other actors loathe and envy, particularly her greatest rival, Visbaronetess Delour Aulamaxa. For her part, Calseinica is somewhat naive about the realities of the
profession—she simply loves to act and sing, and views the opportunity to perform as a chance to escape the drudgery of an aristocrat’s life. Her family has all but disowned her for this scandalous lifestyle choice, but as her star seems to be rising, she holds no regrets.
For many years, Calseinica found it difficult to break into the acting scene. It wasn’t until earlier this very year that she had her big break—she was serving as an understudy for Visbaronetess Aulamaxa in a production of the popular opera The Winter of White Roses. When Aulamaxa was caught in an accident involving a horse-drawn carriage and a
panicked imp, she spent the production’s premiere in the care of several priests of Abadar, barely able to walk, and Calseinica took the stage in her place. When Calseinica’s portrayal of the domineering, scheming Witch of Roses took Westcrown’s critics by storm, the director arranged for her to perform for all of the productions and fired Visbaronetess
Aulamaxa from the part. The Visbaronetess of course suspects that Calseinica had something to do with causing her accident, and for many months her feud and hatred of Calseinica was both public and unbecoming. For her part, Calseinica barely noticed, so overwhelmed was she with her sudden rise to glory. Of course, this only further fanned Aulamaxa’s
jealousy and rage, and when she heard that Robahl was planning on directing an uncut production of The Six Trials of Larazod, the bitter diva saw a chance at revenge. Feigning an apologetic stance, she crusaded to get Calseinica cast in the role of Ilsandra (the role of the council member that ends up in the 5th and 6th trials). The Visbaronetess managed to convince the young starlet to take the role,
promising her that the play would give her an incredible boost in popularity and assuring her that the tales of its lethality are mostly exaggerations to boost anticipation for the premiere. In addition, the Visbaronetess has assured Calseinica that she’ll have guards and priests in the audience to protect and save her in case things get out
of hand—a precaution she’s sure won’t be necessary. Calseinica is a pretty young thing who is still overwhelmed with the fact that she’s living her dream of being an actress. She may be naive about the realities of the profession, but her talent is pure and her exuberance
infectious. She’s smart enough to know that Thesing is trouble, and trusts Robahl and her “friend” Aulamaxa to keep him from bothering her too much.
Role: Calseinica has been cast as Larazod’s love interest, the beautiful Ilsandra.
Millech the Hump
“Actors… don’t talk to me about actors…”
A stocky hunchbacked man with stringy white hair, Millech has long wanted to be an actor but knew from an early age that his deformity and lack of natural talent would make such a lifestyle impossible. As such, he threw his considerable skill in trickery, stealth, and illusion at the next-best thing—backstage support. Millech has worked with Robahl on all of the director’s plays, and the two have an almost uncanny ability to know what the other wants. The resulting working relationship has as much to do with Robahl’s success as the director’s own skills. Millech is in charge of most of the special effects, set building, and other backstage work on the play, with the exception of providing the devices and beasts the actors are fated to face in the more dangerous parts of the play. These elements were paid for and provided by Mayor Arvanxi,and Millech’s complaints that he won’t be able to see these elements until the night of the premiere, combined with his general fears that the danger might extend beyond the
actors to the crew, hang over the entire production like an ominous cloud.
Role: Millech is in charge of set design, lighting, special
effects, and other backstage elements of the play.