DM Brainiac's War for the Crown: Table 2 (COMPLETE!) (Inactive)

Game Master Brainiac

Will: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (5) + 6 = 11

As Amelia fires upon her, Inga dodges with uncanny speed twisting away from both arrows. But before she can draw her blade, Katria binds her mind in a web of psychic energy, paralyzing her!

Will: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (8) + 6 = 14

The half-orc remains paralyzed, unable to break free of the pattern.

Liam takes the half-orc's weapon away.
"Well done, Katria!"

Katria flushes with pleasure at Liam's praise.

"See, we don't want to hurt you," she tells the bound woman, trying to calm her. But letting someone else do the actual Diplomacy check.

Maya nods in agreement with Liam and adds, "Does anyone have some rope? We should probably make her bindings permanent till we've got a better grasp on the situation."

Turning to Inga, Maya says, "Speaking of which, it would be most helpful if you would let us know what's really going on. And who, exactly, the 'them' is that you think we're working for."

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 24 ⇒ (11) + 24 = 35

You bind Inga before she can recover from the paralysis, divesting her of her weapons and gear.

Inga has a potion of cure serious wounds, scroll of invisibility, black adder venom (2), giant wasp poison (2), greenblood oil, +1 studded leather, +1 short sword, masterwork dagger, belt of incredible dexterity +2, and 303 gp.

Once she finally can talk again, the half-orc fidgets in her bindings as she answers Maya. "I'm a drifter, traveling from town to town. I have a... particular set of skills, and sometimes people hire me to do their dirty work. But this was different. I was walking through the streets when a large dog with black eyes used magic on me. It told me to come here and kill the woman who lived here, and I had no choice but to do it. But then I read all her notes about 'veiled masters' and the protections her house has against them. That dog must have served the masters! I don't want them to take control of me again. This is the only place safe from them."

It sounds like Inga may have been deceived by the pairakas that you dispatched several days ago.

"So Caradinna's dead?" Katria asks sadly. "What ... what did you do with her body?"

She's not sure what they should do with the woman. It sounds like she's a murderer (but she and her friends have also killed people, though in service of the princess!), but also that she was tricked or controlled into doing it.

Inga gestures to a trunk in the corner of the room. Indeed, you find a woman's body stuffed inside of it.

Recover Arrow 50/50: 1d100 ⇒ 48

Her face winces when she realizes that not only did she fail to hit the would be assassin, that the arrow is now wasted as well. Her mind was quickly taken off the loss when she heard about the dead woman however.

"I'll check it out." Slinging her weapon back she walked over to the room and shook her head before heading back. She eyed the room, unsure if the story about the protections and wards were real. "I'll handle her for now, someone take a look for these wards, let's try to corroborate this story."

Moving toward Inga, she uses her strength to tightly pull some bonds around her.

"I can't speak for the others, but blood gets spilled often in this city it seems." She grunts as the last of the knots goes into place, "You will probably be tried for what happened here, or at the very least investigated. I am no barrister."

Liam is rather less than compassionate towards Inga.
"So what you are saying is that you are an assassin. Even if these 'veiled masters' compelled you, your normal practice is to murder for coin. You will be dealt with, and these 'veiled masters' are not to blame for all of the evil that you have done."

"I think the wards are less necessary now, but let's take the notes anyway. And get Caradinna a proper burial."

Liam will look for any indication as to which deity Caradinna worshiped (if any).

Maya listens closely to Inga's words, trying to see if she detects any deception.

Sense Motive: 1d20 + 23 ⇒ (12) + 23 = 35

At the discovery of the woman's body, Maya shakes her head sadly. "I suppose we should bring the living and the dead to the Enumerator once we've finished up things here."

DM, what sort of spells or knowledge checks would be needed to know if this house is warded in any particular way? And, if so, would we be able to determine if Inga actually was magically compelled to kill? It doesn't necessarily make sense if this place is warded in the way Inga says.

Unfortunately, if she was compelled, the magic's aura has long since faded. There's no way to tell for sure.

Inga lowers her eyes, offering no protest about being brought to justice.

Searching the house, you can see that the walls are lined with sheets of lead. While they likely would impede some divination spells, they wouldn't do anything about mind control attempts, like Inga hoped.

Carradina's rambling notes are difficult to comprehend, but separating fact from fiction, you can discern that she suspected the "veiled masters" occupied the abandoned Sanguine Brothers slaughterhouse. The pairakas likely had her killed to protect their hideout.

You bring Inga to the church of Abadar and turn her over to the Enumerator to face justice for her crimes.

I'm assuming that it's now around the end of the day.

"Maybe we should rest and regroup," Katria suggests. "In the morning we can check out the park?"

As they wait, she sketches out plans for a couple magic items she would like if he has time. The sipping jacket and bracers of falcon's aim, please; I also don't know if we might want to take a day or two to craft before we head out into the wilderness, though it may need to wait until we finish the adventure and be done while we travel to wherever our next mission will be.

Liam normally needs 1 day per 1,000 gp value, with the possibility of speeding that up with +5 DC to the Spellcraft check. Did we figure if Katria can use her Spellcraft check to help? That would speed things along.

"That sounds good to me, Katria. I would say we have done a day's work and more."

“I think we should go ahead and pick up a scroll of legend lore,” Maya says. “Then if it’s really the prince, we can go ahead and send word to Princess Eutropia before we rest.”

"I agree with Maya, time waits for no one and overnight we may have another night hunter on our hand looking for the potential Prince." She offers her coin purse, "Whatever it costs we need to solve this mystery sooner than later."

"A sound idea, Maya. Who will use the scroll?"
I think Amelia is best. She casts from the bard list and can use Inexplicable Luck on the caster level check.

Works for me.

I actually don't have any ranks into Spellcraft nor do I have Read Magic, so I cannot activate the scroll actually.

Maya can give it a go, I suppose, though Katria or Liam may be better suited.

Legend Lore is not on the Cleric spell list. It is a Knowledge domain spell, but Liam doesn't have that domain.

You are able to track down the scroll of legend lore in the markets of Yanmass. Returning to the temple of Abadar, Katria lights some holy incense around Prince Carrius and begins to chant for several minutes to invoke the incantation.

As she completes it, the occultist's mind is filled with tales of the young Prince Carrius. As the heir to Taldor’s throne, Carrius experienced a childhood of curtailed freedoms. He had few friends, only the carefully selected children of noble families who arrived at prescribed times and played approved games. A guard followed his every movement, a personal food-taster ensured his safety at mealtimes. With a dead mother and a distant, disturbed father, Carrius had only his older sister, Eutropia, who he could truly call family.

Despite it all, Carrius was a happy child who rarely minded these fetters. He was a boy wise beyond his years who understood the importance of his role and was grateful for the consideration of those around him. When the young prince grew moody and fretful, threw tantrums, or retreated into himself, Eutropia was the only person who could soothe him. The two children were inseparable: Carrius looked up to his sister, and she fiercely protected the boy.

The people of Taldor did not truly know him, but they loved him all the same. They looked forward to what the nation would be like under his rule when his father, Stavain III, passed the mantle of Grand Prince down to him.

The images start to get hazy. Katria expereinces a sense of shock, falling, a distant pop, and then nothing. Gray mists cloud her vision, and there are brief flashes of something--or someone--lurking just beyond the edge of perception. Then the spell ends.

"If Legend Lore on this young man gives us the life of Prince Carrius, then that strongly suggests the young man is the Prince. We should get him to his sister in safety and secrecy. I will prepare a Sending spell tomorrow to let the Princess know."

He takes a sheet of paper and tries out various messages.
"How does this look?"
True Prince Carrius was cult's captive. Resurrected somehow, suspect Panivar Lotheed. Prince safe in Abadaran custody. Will get Prince to you. Advice for secret conveyance?

Katria shares what she's seen, and the fact that it certainly seems possible the prince was killed (of course, there could just have been someone there coincidentally, with the prince's thought that he was lurking affected by the shock of his fall).

She nods at Liam's letter, thinking it looks good.

Liam will prepare Sending in the morning and send that message.

Maya nods along with Katria at Liam's proposed message. Then she begins to think through the implications of what they discovered.

If the prince is truly alive, which is still somewhat difficult to believe, then the war for the crown just became a lot more complicated. Wouldn't the prince be the rightful heir? (Legally speaking) Did the prince even desire to rule? Perhaps he could abdicate to Eutropia, but then that might just give their enemies the opportunity to say the entire bloodline is weak and needs to be replaced. Hopefully Eutropia will know better what to do about this situation.

Martella asked you not to contact Eutropia directly about the prince just yet. I'll assume you use the sending to contact her instead.

Martella responds to the sending. "Finish business in Yanmass as soon as possible and bring Carrius to Palace of Birdsong. Safety and secrecy paramount. Use disguises and [i]nondetection if possible."[/i]

Oh right, sorry I forgot about that. Thanks for the correction.
Liam relays the message.
"Mundane disguises we can do, though I cannot cast Nondetection - or Detect Scrying."

"Well, let us get to finishing our business in Yanmass. The park, the bandits, and the missing cavalry. Hopefully the Enumerator can keep the Prince safe until then."

"So the sending went well I would imagine? I wonder though, how can we keep this under wraps? The cult will know someone is missing and if they want to cause a stir they can and will." She looks around, "How safe is this place really? Low paying assassins could make it in."

Amelia states the facts but doesn't offer a solution, there wasn't a good one and she knew it. "Scrying magic... Is there any mundane way to suppress it? I have heard stories of walls that can prevent detection magic but I do not know if they are true."

She's making a cheeky remark to lead lined boxes.

"With the Cult's leader in custody, I think they will disperse. A public confession in exchange for a reduced sentence might help with that.
As to the assassins, the Church of Abadar will be on better guard now and should put up wards that they did not employ before.
Lead sheeting will prevent most forms of scrying. Lining the Prince's quarters with lead would buy us some time."
Until Panivar gets involved and casts Discern Location.

"Yes, I don't think there's anything else we can do for the moment. Maybe we can find some way to cast nondetection, but we also have to deal with the other problems of the city ... tomorrow, probably," Katria says.

I'm assuming after Carradina, shopping and legend lore, it's probably getting late. I think we're down to the Taldan Horse Cavalry at Orvestikar Manor and the bandit attacks at Talgrasses. Unless we still want to head to Hedge Hill Park or Savories, but I think both of those were clues to problems we've already resolved.

"I think we need to put our faith in the Enumerator for the prince's safety for now. The church of Abadar's resources are undoubtedly greater than our own."

Good with sleeping then heading out to the manor, or the bandits, whichever is closer.

After resting overnight, the next day, you head out to investigate Orvestikar Manor. The manor is situated at the edge of the Whistling Plains, 9 miles northeast of Yanmass, so it takes a few hours of walking to reach your destination.

This manor of stone and wood has collapsed into little more than rubble. The walls are mounds of stones fifteen feet high, while former towers are nothing more than slightly taller ruins. The only portion of the manor that appears intact—and the only readily identifiable passageway to its interior—is a wide gate on its southern side.

A life-sized statue of a rearing elephant, complete with caparison and saddle, stands in the middle of an overgrown trail near the manor.

Knowledge (Local): 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (9) + 13 = 22
"That's strange. This statue is new - bearing the current heraldry of the Taldan Horse. I guess they use the term loosely if it includes elephants. It's not the heraldry from when the manor was built, which was clearly a long time ago based on the condition of the place.
It's odd... are they advertising that they are hiding out here, with a new giant statue?"

Liam looks on the ground for tracks.
Perception: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (19) + 12 = 31

Liam does not find any recent tracks in the area.

Katria frowns in concentration and looks over the rubble to see whether perhaps it collapsed just recently. Looking for signs of moss or whatnot growing on it.

Perception (+resonant power, Liam's aid): 1d20 + 6 + 2 + 2 ⇒ (12) + 6 + 2 + 2 = 22

Also, tweaking my mental focus for today: Mental Focus: 15; Abjuration [4/4]; Divination [4/4]; Enchantment [3/3]; Transmutation [4/4]

Katria determines that the manor has been ruined and abandoned for quite some time. Years, if not decades.

"I guess we should see if there are any clues as to what happened to the cavalry," Katria ventures.

Assuming the others agree, she carefully approaches the ruins, Dignity's Barb in her hands.

K: Local: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (10) + 5 = 15

"Not sure..." Liam's question confuses Amelia but she looks about for tracks as well.

Perception: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (5) + 12 = 17

Busy for Easter weekend. Will get something more of substance after.

Maya squints at the elephant statue, not particularly comfortable about passing by it. On a hunch she casts Detect Magic on the statue and concentrates for three rounds, trying to determine if it's more than what it seems.

Also Spellcraft? Or Knowledge (arcana), whichever makes the most sense. +10 if arcana.

Spellcraft: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (7) + 11 = 18

I have an OOC suspicion but that is based on 35 years of RPGs. In character, Liam might not have the same inkling.

Liam doesn't know quite what to do. "Maya, do you see anything dangerous?"

I was blanking on some basics, so looking back, this might be helpful: Lady Rauls is looking into [the missing cavalry]. Her investigation lead her to a gnome priest who was passing through Yanmass a few weeks ago, about the time that the regiment went missing. He claimed to have seen several members of the Taldan Horse riding to an old ruined manor outside of town. If that's true, then it's likely the old Orvestikar Manor, a ruin 9 miles out of town. The manor has a reputation for ill luck among the people of Yanmass, who have shunned the site for generations.

Thank you for the summary, Katria!

Liam, yes, ooc suspicion is certainly a thing, but I think ic suspicion is also reasonable. How the heck did a new elephant statue get to be in the middle of a ruined manor? It might not be a golem, but it could be an illusion, or trap, or any number of other non-benign things. Better safe than sorry. :)

I'm here but I'm waiting to see what rolls out if Doritan wants to try to revitalize.

Doritan stalks through the ruins, trying to stay unseen from any potential attackers. He looks mainly around the courtyard, trying to see if there are any traps or indication of motion near the elephant in the room. If he finds nothing, he continues scouting throughout the rest of the manor, mainly trying to get a lay of the land than scour the entire area.

Stealth: 1d20 + 17 ⇒ (12) + 17 = 29

Perception: 1d20 + 19 ⇒ (2) + 19 = 21

After determining nothing dangerous is lurking in the courtyard, Doritan scouts out the manor. The entry is the most intact portion of the ruined manor. Two weathered cedar doors lie fallen beneath the heaps of stone filling the chamber above the entry, providing a clear but shadowed passage to the manor's interior. On the other side of the passage, a lifelike statue of a human soldier stands with its arms extended and a welcoming smile on its face.

The vigilante notices a thin tripwire just above the ground in the entryway. He is able to disable it swiftly without setting off the trap.

As quietly as he can, he slips into the manor. Within the tumbled walls of the manor, an open space measuring roughly fifty feet square lies choked with stone and timber debris. A mostly ruined roof still clings to the corners, providing a bit of shelter over a wooden staircase in the northwest corner.

Among the debris, a dozen statues depict a gruesome tableau of staged death. In the center of the courtyard, two statues have fallen in a duel, amid a frozen circle of distraught onlookers dressed in improvised finery. On the staircase, statues fall over each other in apparent attitudes of grief. At the base of the staircase stand two statues in long, makeshift wedding coats. Most of the statues are half-painted, with vivid red paint representing bloody wounds.

A close examination of the statues indicates that each is incredibly lifelike, and many are wearing costumes over armor and weapons. Some of the statues have genuine expressions of pain or fright.

A woman works on subtly altering the statues's positions and painting them. The writhing mass of snakes that make up her hair mark her as something more than human. Fortunately, she hasn't noticed Doritan yet.

Well that's not good; guess we know what happened to the cavalry. I'm assuming Doritan hasn't brought us in yet.

Knowledge (local) DC 18: 1d20 + 22 ⇒ (14) + 22 = 36
Knowledge (nature) DC 12: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (16) + 4 = 20

Doritan creeps back to where the others are, and relays his findings, "There's a lot of statues back there, along with a medusa. She seems like a fan of the arts, all told, as well. In any case, we need to be careful."

Amelia hears the words, Medusa. She shivers at the thought of it and eyes the others. "What is our plan to deal with it?" Wrinkling her face she looks displeased with the creature already, "I can stay far enough away from its gaze and try to snipe it but how does its gaze work? What else can we do to guard against it?"

K: Nature: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (9) + 4 = 13

Knowledge (nature) plus first use of inspiration for day: 1d20 + 8 + 1d6 ⇒ (11) + 8 + (1) = 20

Katria tells the others what she can about a medusa's gaze.

"So ... maybe we know what happened to the cavalry now," she says. "That sounds horrible, but it could be possible for the city to free them. ... We should probably do something about the medusa. Maybe if it's a fan of the arts, she'd be willing to talk?"

Sorry, about to start working so can't throw out any more specific ideas at the moment.

A medusa’s gaze can paralyze any living creature that gets close enough to meet it, roughly 30 feet or so. It can be foiled by averting or closing one’s eyes.

Welcome to the game! I look forward to a fun campaign.

Some notes:

I will roll passive Perception checks for your characters when the situation calls for them. To speed things along in combat, I will roll initiative for everybody. Those whose initiative scores are higher than the enemies can post their actions, I'll summarize the results and the enemies' actions, then everybody can post for the following round's actions.

I am usually online weekdays between 4:00 AM and noon, and can check in sporadically the rest of the afternoon. I can usually post a few times each day during the week, but my access is limited on the weekends.

As a heads up, my wife and I are expecting the birth of our second child in July. When that happens, I'll likely not be able to post much for a month or so until I return to work, at which point I will be able to resume regular posting in the mornings, though my afternoon posts will likely drop off after that.

Thanks for the select! Your games are the best, and I’m really excited to be in another one!

The gameplay thread is up. You may begin posting when you are ready.

I already have a courtier's outfit- would I be able to upgrade that to a noble's outfit by just paying 15 gp for the difference?

Bernal Iacomo, reporting in. I'll have time later today to read everyone's backstories, then how about we try and find some ways to tie the characters to each other?

Yes, you can upgrade to a noble's outfit for 15 gp, Doritan.

Thank you for the selection, DM Brainiac! I’m looking forward to being a part of one of your games and it looks like we’ve got a great group of folks.

A few questions before we get things rolling: To confirm, did Lady Lotheed freeing Maya make the most sense? Also, with Maya’s non-campaign trait, Pomp and Pageantry, is it okay to assume she always takes the extra time needed for the appropriate checks? Assuming we’re not in combat, of course. Lastly (for now, at least), how do you want us to handle the campaign traits or lack thereof? Should we assume we have a particular one or just ignore them for now? Hope those weren’t too many questions right at the start, but ideally they’ll save us some time going forward.

Bernal: I’ll also have some time later today to read everyone’s backstories and would certainly be interested in finding connections, if any make sense.

Yes, it makes sense for Lady Lotheed to have freed you, Maya. It's okay to assume you take the extra time needed so long as there aren't any time constraints on you.

Your initial missions are supposed to be based on your campaign traits, but I'll assign them based on which skills your character is best at. So you can ignore the campaign traits for the time being, and select one when the Player's Guide finally comes out.

Doritan, you can only make either a Diplomacy check or Knowledge (nobility) check for each topic, not both. I'll go ahead and use your Diplomacy checks since your bonus with that skill is higher.

Alright, sounds good. Maya can be long winded on occasion, so I think she would take every opportunity she gets to use that trait.

As far as character connections go, I had a chance to read everyone's backstories. It was good to see such a variety. I also found it interesting that a couple of you took Halfling as a language. Maya will be surprised when she learns you speak her heart language.

It looks like Maya's the only one who's lived in Oppara her whole life, though Elif was born there. I'm not sure that prior connections with Elif, Bernal, or Doritan make sense given where they're from and Maya's station in life prior to the campaign. I suppose she could have a connection through the Watersby noble family, though the family is based in Oppara.

I think Katria's actually the one Maya's most likely to know beforehand. It sounds like she spent at least a year or two in Oppara prior to the campaign. Her halfling caretakers could also have known or even been related to Maya and her parents. Alternately, Katria could be familiar with the Watersby family and might have bumped into Nerosa during her studies in Oppara.

So I just realized that I wrote (taking 10) in my sleight of hand check, and then rolled a d20 anyway. I suppose it's only fair that I would only get a 24 for the check, since apparently my mind was in two different places at once when writing the post. Should still be plenty for most searches, though. Hopefully

Hey all,

First of all thanks for the selection. I’m only sporadically checking in at the moment (I’m visiting my wife, who’s a Ned student overseas and will be home in 8 days and can post regularly then). Sorry I’ll be getting a slow start!

Happy to look for some commonalities in backgrounds if people want. Also as noted Katrina could easily be another class if needed. I’ll check what everyone else has going on asap.

Hello, everyone.

Firstly, thanks for the selection, GM Brainiac. It's good of you to run two tables.

Secondly, to the group, I look forward to playing alongside you.

I'm open to building prior connections with people, however Elif's only been in Oppara a mere few months (since returning). I'm not sure how she would have met people at this point. I have read through the other character backstories and I can't see a place they would have met, yet.

As to time frames re posting, I live in the southern hemisphere and I may not be around to post when I'm sleeping and the northern hemisphere folk are posting in their early mornings. I do my best to work around the time issue and will post as soon as I'm up. It hasn't been a problem in my past games and I don't foresee it being so now. I'm just giving everyone a heads-up is all. My time zone is GMT+11, Australian Eastern Standard Time.

Motteditor, in my opinion, Katria being an occultist works really well. We'll have one divine, one arcane, and one psychic caster. It also works with your backstory of her parents being disappointed in her lack of magical skills, since they probably wouldn't be familiar with occult magic (I'm guessing). Also, does this mean the rest of us get entries in Redinald Delaval's treatise? : D

I have to agree with you, Elif, I'm not sure many prior connections would make sense and any we did make might feel forced. There's definitely something to be said for getting to know brand-new people, so I don't think we should feel too bad about it if we can't find any. For Maya, she's been pretty isolated, so probably at most she might have heard of some of you by name, but wouldn't actually know you.

I'm good with organically growing the relationships among the party. It does make it a little more interesting as they try to find their footing with one another and within the group. :)

And to motte, I'm also good with your character as is. Enjoy your quality time with your wife. It's nice to be in a game with you, again. It's been a while. To the other players, I look forward to getting to know you better.

I’ve just gone into a work meeting, but I will have Elif respond to Maya once I’m out.

Doritan, keep in mind that your renown ability only works right now on a community of about 200 individuals. Oppara is a metropolis with a population of over 100,000, so only a small percentage would actually recognize you. You're only level 1, after all!

The ability says that,

This bonus applies only while he is near the community in which he has gained renown; he must be within a number of miles equal to his vigilante level.

Granted, the wording is a little unclear as to whether all bonuses from Renown (benefits in both social and vigilante identity) extend that far, or just vigilante identity, so I'll accept your ruling, but it is fairly clear that I get a bonus on Intimidate for more than just 200 people.

You'd still get the Intimidate bonus, but only the 200-odd people would start with a friendlier attitude.

Fair enough. It was the intimidate bonus I was mainly going after anyway.

Looking at everyone's stats, and going solely off of the highest bonus, it would seem that this could be a good way to divide the tasks (I'm presuming they all need to be done?)
Messages: Doritan/Bernal (+1 CMB each)
Learning the vote: Elif (+6 Perception)
Discrediting: Maya (+5 Sense Motive, +8 Bluff)
Baron: Maya (+9/+10 Diplomacy) or Bernal/Doritan (+6 Intimidate each)
Wine: None of us have Disable Device.
Political Rivals: Elif (+6 Perception, +10 Stealth)
Artifacts: Doritan (+7 Sleight of Hand)

You only need to do 5 of the 7 tasks. Martella will handle the remaining two herself, giving you more time to socialize and make your own connections among the movers and shakers of the empire. Don't forget Katria will be with you as well, so take her skills into consideration.

Okay, then. The only problem is that Katria doesn't have the highest bonus on any of the skill checks we need (barring some class ability not factored into her stats- I've never played an occultist).

In the campaign info tab, I posted a link to a map of Oppara. I've also begun a list of Dramatis Personae to help you keep track of the many NPCs you will meet!

Your list looks good, Doritan. If we only have to do five tasks, I would suggest forgoing messages and wine, based on our bonuses.

DM, are we able to Aid Another or something similar on the checks? Or is it only one mission per person?

You can aid another on checks to accomplish your tasks. I will give you more details on how that will work later on.

Alright, then. I forgot to mention this in Maya’s last gameplay post, but she’ll just take one smoke pellet, if that’s okay. She’s got a sling and some bullets along with a small dagger that she can hopefully keep on her should conflict occur.

Elif brought up a really good point in her last post (in addition to her question about weapons). Do we want to assume we all talked about our strengths and weaknesses to determine who should lead on which tasks? Or do we want to rp that out in the gameplay thread? I imagine this would be the kind of thing a face-to-face table typically discusses out-of-character.

I'm okay with you all doing that OOC.

Sounds good. Should save a fair bit of time.

DM Brainiac, is there an alcove where the weapons that don't fit the rules of the Senate can be kept and retrieved without too much trouble? Elif has an Elven Branched Spear as her main weapon and that is 2-handed and a tad noticeable in formal company... Haha. If it's necessary, then I might need to change weapon, if it's allowable at this early stage?

Once you're inside, you can try to spend some time influencing the servants to get them to smuggle the spear in for you.

Okay, will try that. Thanks. :)

In the morning, I will make the map of the senate interactive so you can keep track of where you and all the NPCs are.

The map of the senate is now at the top of the page. I've made it editable in Google Slides so you can move your icons to the different parts of the building. The grassy area south of the building will stand in for the gallery since it doesn't appear on the map. I'll also put icons for each of the NPCs to show their locations. Note that the art for Okerra and Pythareus are placeholders for now--hopefully we'll get official portraits for each one soon.

So wait, how exactly does using Stealth have a chance to impress the library crowd? I'm confused.

It shows you are quiet and respectful like in a library? LOL, I'm not sure. I think the developers just wanted a wide range of skills available so nobody would feel like they couldn't contribute.

Sorry for the holdup. It’s Saturday, here, and I’m undertaking my carer duties which I have over my weekends. I’m two hours from home, so I won’t be able to post until my afternoon (about 4 hours from now).

No worries! Post when you can. :)

So when exactly do we make our job checks? Just whenever? Or do we need to do them sooner/later?

After this initial check, there will be an event, then we will begin social rounds. Each round is approximately 15 minutes, during which you can take one action to either influence a room, influence one NPC, or make a check towards one of your missions. The gala is scheduled to last 4 hours before the vote, so you'll have about 16 rounds to accomplish everything you want to do.

Are we going to go one round at a time or something like 1 hour at a time (with 4 checks)?

It will be one round at a time, since certain successful actions can grant you bonuses on future actions. Plus, there will be several events that occur at scheduled intervals.

Alright, that makes sense. Good to know. : )

In the airport to head home. Hope to get caught up tonight or tomorrow if I’m too jet lagged. I haven’t read any gameplay yet but looking forward to joining in. GM, please shoot me a PM if there’s anything specific you want me to do in terms of game entry. (If it’s clear I’ve been along all along from game play, don’t worry about it). Thanks!

Have a safe flight home! I'll send you a PM shortly, mott.

I just received book 2 of the AP, and with it, official art for Baron Nicolaus Okerra.

Bernal, it's been a few days since we've seen a post from you. Just want to be sure you're still around! I'll keep moving to prevent the other players from being held up, but hopefully you can check in soon.

Those are some excellent pictures!

As far as Lady Martella’s missions go, have we accomplished three so far? Make a strong impression on Baron Okerra, discrediting senators, and undermining Earl Vernisant? Or do we still need to discredit more opponents?

Just discrediting one senator is enough to complete that task. Stealing the objects is a separate mission from the fraud, though. Doritan has stolen two objects--you need to steal at least one more to complete the mission.

Alright, so assuming Doritan's able to grab one more, that just leaves us with finishing up the Duke Centimus/Countess Abrielle Pace mission and dealing with High Strategos Maxillar Pythareus. I can help with the Sense Motive check, but I think some others are probably better at that. I think I'll have Maya try influencing the general senate floor again for this round. I know we have quite a few more rounds to accomplish everything, but I figure we should probably focus on the necessary first and whatever else we can accomplish can just be a bonus.

So, the tasks (ones we're not working on are OOC; ones we've completed are struck through; ones in progress are in bold):
Messages: Doritan/Bernal (+1 CMB each)
Learning the vote: Elif (+6 Perception)
Discrediting: Maya (+5 Sense Motive, +8 Bluff)
Baron: Maya (+9/+10 Diplomacy) or Bernal/Doritan (+6 Intimidate each)
Wine: None of us have Disable Device
Political Rivals: Elif (+6 Perception, +10 Stealth)
Artifacts: Doritan (+7 Sleight of Hand)

Doritan, I suggest you head back and try to snag one more artifact to finish that task.

Maya, I suggest you go chat up Baron Okerra (and, yeah, nice art!)

Elif, I suggest finish learning the vote and then perhaps go try to catch up on Pythareus (the political rivals task).

As for me, I can try to help Elif or try to just influence entire rooms some more; any thoughts on what people would prefer?

ETA: Ninja'd; Maya, I think you forgot about the Baron task.
ETA Again: Never mind that first ETA; misread Maya's post above.