DMDM's Hells Rebels

Game Master Douglas Muir 406

"You also said that I was tapped out, do you mean out of favor with the deck?" Zeldana asked.

"You reached the limits of what little power you have. And no, not out of favor, or you would have drawn something darker. It is possible to," she pauses, obviously searching for a word, "offend, the deck. By being too importunate, or demanding. Other things too. But in this case, I think not."

"Well then. Here, I will speak sooth with you. I lie freely and with a smile, but I am not lying now." [Slightly modified version of a common Varisian saying.]

"At this time, there are two people who could teach you how to use the cards. One is the Paralictor Zella Zidlii. Formerly of Korvosa, a graduate of the Academae, she came late in life to Asmodeus with all the enthusiasm of a convert. She sold her younger siblings to a Chelaxian slaver in exchange for passage to Cheliax and a letter of recommendation to House Thrune. Her deck is light -- nothing like ours -- but she has practiced the Art with patience and attention, and has gained wisdom. She serves Thrune now, and with great zeal. She is admirable in many regards, and you could learn much from her."

"But first. Do you wish me to awaken your deck? Or shall I leave now, and not return until the cards have found a new Bearer?"

Zeldana waved her hand to get some of the smoke out of her face but not in an offending way. "I figured it may have been something like that. Honestly after the Owl had I pulled another card that made little to no sense I would have stopped trying. I know when the cards don't want to talk." Zeldana stated as she thought back on times when she was unable to perform a reading. "Though they have been few and far between." She mentioned.

Listening to what information Irin was offering Zeldana thought through the options in her mind. Her natural logic took over and she nodded softly. "I would like you to awaken the deck yes... also my I know the price you would have so that I can try to have it ready should I ever call upon you?" She asked as respectfully as her tone would allow. It was obvious that information was what this woman dealer in, so giving as much as she was well, it was something to not take lightly.

"The price of my assistance is simple: a Lesser Geas, accepted freely and without reservation."

Note that this is if you later, eventually call on her. She'll wake up your deck (a little) free of charge.

Sitting around a table in the coffee house, drinking coffee or something stronger. (Laria likes coffee with a shot of whiskey in it.)

"But there's one thing I don't understand.

"Who wrote that letter?"

Irin picks up your deck, carefully, almost reverently.

She pauses for a moment. Then, leaning forward a little, she touches it lightly and says, "Set sails to catch the light of suns."

Nothing happens for a moment. Then, the symbol of the ship volant begins to glow with a pale green light. It brightens for a few seconds, then dims, then -- almost -- goes out. If you look closely you can still see the very faintest flicker of it.

"Very well, then. Attend -- "

Deck of Division

Aura: Faint Divination
Slot: None
Weight: 2 lbs with box

The Deck of Division is activated by spending Harrow points. You have two Harrow points. You're not getting more any time soon, so use them carefully. You recover them after 8 hours rest. The points can be used to activate the following abilities:

Cut of the Cards (1 point). If used as a weapon, your deck gains a +1 enhancement bonus. This stacks with your Arcane Strike cartomancer ability, so you'll be able to fling cards at +1 to hit and +2 damage. It's still not a lot of damage -- d4+2 is not exactly Am Barbarian territory -- but it's a ranged attack that will ignore most sorts of DR you're likely to encounter at this level.

Fast Read (1 point). As a full-round action, concentrate on a person, location, or situation within 30' of you and draw a card. The card will give you some piece of information, if there is information to be found. The relevance may not always be obvious. This is what you did, unconsciously, with the Countess. You used up all your Harrow points and were then tapped out.

There may be other abilities. If so, you don't have access to them at this time.

Zeldana took the cards with a thankful smile. "That you Irin." She said as she put the cards away. "I may not be what you expected or wanted but, I hope that I can live up to at least half of it." Zeldana said, her smile never leaving her face.

Will there be a feat for more?

Will there be a feat for more?

Hmm. If you want to burn a feat slot, okay, yes -- you could gain four more Harrow points.

Shoti sips on a small glass of port.

"I saw the script, it's fairly distinctive, and I could probably recognize it again if I saw it somewhere. But.... that's not much help."

She slides her glass around on the table and watches the red liquid swirl as she thinks.

"There are some broad suppositions we could make.... There were no particular complaints given, so the person doesn't actually know much. Not a person intimate with this place. Otherwise they could have just told what they knew... The note could be fake. Produced by the dottari or farther up because of vague rumors or suspicions... They just wanted a justification to fish around here. It could be a personal attack or a threat against you Laria. Do you know of anyone who you'd consider an enemy or rival who might do something of the sort?"

Zeldana took the cards with a thankful smile. "That you Irin." She said as she put the cards away. "I may not be what you expected or wanted but, I hope that I can live up to at least half of it." Zeldana said, her smile never leaving her face.

"Hm." She packs a lot into that "Hm", most of it not very complimentary. "Well. I've done my duty. When you reach an impasse, call to me. I'll know. Now... I've been long away, and I have a dominion to rebuild." [Untranslatable Varisian word that means something like "personal power base".] She hefts her rucksack, turns to go.

(That rucksack doesn't fit. She's very well dressed in clean, brightly colored clothes that are a strange mix of Varisian and not-quite-right. But the rucksack is old, patched, and travel-stained. A small pocked on one side holds a silver flask with some sort of complex engraving on it.]

"The Wheel turns ever, child. If you are cunning and strong, you may ascend." She turns and leaves the coffee shop.

Zeldana gave a more cheerful like wave as the woman left the coffee shop then she looked around at the area. "This is the right coffee shop correct? Or am I in a spell?"

"Excellent points Sholti" Sera remarks thoughtfully, turning her mind to the problem. "I think its likely someone has a grudge against us, although I wouldn't necessarily jump to the conclusion such a person would know nothing - perhaps they wanted to keep the info to themselves."

"It couldn't be anyone who was aware of my... former activities," says Laria, glancing reflexively over one shoulder. Even in easy-going Kintargo, the penalty for participating in Bellflower Network activities is firm and fixed: death by public excruciation.

Elsewhen: Sholti's home

"Your mother," says your stepfather, "she worries. You get that from her."

Your stepfather is short, plump, and cheerful, with rather wild grey hair. There's a stereotype of Kellid men as tall, broad-shouldered and heroic. This is exaggerated, but there is a cultural ideal of being muscular and taciturn. When you were younger, it used to embarrass you that he didn't fit that mold.

"She's not going to like this Rexus person," he adds, "which is probably good. Because if she wasn't worried about him, she'd be worried about something else." He shoots you a sidelong glance, quick and shrewd.

A thing about being short, plump, and somewhat silly-looking is that it makes it easy to disguise a sharp intelligence.

Okay, let's try a slightly simplified version of the Rebellion rules. The very first decision you must make is, what kind of rebellion do you want this to be? You have three options. We'll call them Popular, Confrontational, and Secretive.

A Popular rebellion attracts wide support among many groups. Advantages: you grow membership faster and are, well, popular. Many Rebellion activities require you to have a certain number of members. With a Popular rebellion, you'll reach those numbers faster. Disadvantages: potential security problems, disparate groups may find it hard to work together, public actions give Thrune more targets.

A Confrontational rebellion makes a fuss, from protests and demonstrations to sabotage and direct strikes against Thrune power. Advantages: potential for quick payoffs; successful actions will also increase your popularity. Disadvantages: not all actions may succeed. Also, this is by far the most likely to generate strong Thrune countermeasures early and often.

A Secretive rebellion is just that. It emphasizes secrecy and security. Advantages: this is the one least likely to produce nasty surprises (including the kind that kill large numbers of innocent people). Disadvantages: slowest to grow. Harder to actually get stuff done.

You can talk out this choice here on the discussion thread. You know your characters well enough to have some idea what their preferences would be.

Stricia doesn't really have a history in the city so she'd go along with whatever the rest of the group decides. She's a cautious sort though so she'd prefer Secretive.

Sholti smiles at Ferran as she hands him a cup of the tea she has just made.

"Are you in need of a break Baaba? Too many years as the only family under Maama's piercing eye?"

After Ferran had arrived to marry Sholti's mother, it hadn't taken long for him and Sholti to enter into a sort of unspoken alliance. Nobody ever doubted that Khatijah occupied the very center of the household. Ferran and Sholti both just orbited her. They quickly realized the value of each other as distractions, so neither could receive Khatijah's undivided attention for too long.

This is not to say Khatijah was ill-tempered or nasty, far from it. She was tough, with a forceful personality. Whether through persuasion, persistence, logic, or guilt, she always got her way.

"If so, I'm sorry to tell you it's hard to dislike Rexus. He's very charming, and not just that. He's very sweet, a kitten. Not a malicious bone in his body I'm afraid." Sholti grins more broadly at Ferran as she drives the point home.

"But don't worry too much Baaba, I've barely been back two weeks. You know my turn is coming for one reason or another."

"True." Sholti admits to Sera. "But I can see only two reasons why a person who knew more would both withhold it, and go to the authorities as well."

"The first would be blackmail. If it is that, Laria will know who sent the letter soon enough. The second is recruitment, which is really the same, just a political rather than financial motive."

"Either way, today's message would be 'I can harm you'. There will need to be a second message. Either 'unless you pay me not to', or 'unless you inform on your customers and associates for us'."

"There is a third very unlikely possibility. If there are a couple more harassing raids, and then an offer to buy Laria out comes. We can be confident the letter writer is Kelish, whether or not the one to brings the offer is. But there are vanishingly few Kelish in Kintargo."

Sholti adds the last bit in a dry tone. Then she says "that was a joke by the way" just to be sure.

Might be someone just jealous of the shop and wants to see it shut down. In times of tyranny some think of using it for their own petty reasons. Stricia says.

"But don't worry too much Baaba, I've barely been back two weeks. You know my turn is coming for one reason or another."

"Mmm." Baaba crosses his fingers over his belly, leans back and becomes interested in the ceiling for a moment. Then, "I don't suppose they taught you much about gnomes at that school of yours...?"

This is a complete non sequitur. You're not actually surprised -- Baaba does this. Sometimes it's part of his... thing, the whole pretending to be not as smart as he is thing. Sometimes, not. So you answer cautiously, "Gnomes? The little fey folk? Like dwarves, but smaller and more... colorful? Those gnomes?"

"Mmm hm." Your stepfather gets up from his chair. "I'm going to make some tea. Would you like some tea?"

This is another peculiarity. Most Kellids aren't big tea drinkers. Your stepfather loves tea, and will talk about it at considerable length. As he bustles about your small pantry, he says over his shoulder, "So this is a story from the Old Country -- "

You sigh to yourself a little. In this respect, Baaba is Kellish to the core of his bones. Most Kellish stories are long, involve a great many lengthy descriptions of clan ancestries and battles with monsters, and almost always end with someone dying heroically -- sometimes with a pointed moral, sometimes not.

"Did I just hear your eyes rolling? Not that kind of a story. A different kind. You haven't heard this one before."

A 'different kind'? This is new. "Different how?"

"Well, it's absolutely true for one thing. Are we out of honey? We can't be out of honey. -- Also there's a gnome in it."

Sholti blinks at Ferran's gnome inquiry. "No, nothing in particular that I can remember."

She accepts his offer of tea and settles in to hear his story. It's not the first item on the list of things she'd like to do at this very time, but she does want to broach a subject to him for which she should be on his very best side.

"So this was in the Old Country, back in your grandfather's time. Your grandfather Kronug was a shaman, you may remember?"

"I remember. I remember."

"Heh... Okay, so. One day the clan is out on the steppes, probably, I don't, know, hunting mammoth or something. And then off in the distance they see some bo'Degh, circling." The word means literally "bird", but it's usually applied to large predatory flying creatures that can kill you. "So they go to investigate, thinking maybe it's a kill they can scavenge." The Kellids are mighty warriors and powerful hunters, but they are never averse to scavenging fresh kills -- hey, free food.

"But when they get there, it's not a kill. There are some dead nov. And there's one nov who is still alive." "Nov" means foreigner, although it can also be used to mean "ignorant person" or "weakling". "It's a little, tiny man. And he's jumping about like a flea, so the bo'Degh can't catch him. And he's waving his hands and making these flashes of light, all glittering and shiny. The light hurts the bo'Degh and one of them falls down. They are angry! They scream and try to seize him, and he jumps some more."

"So the people watch this for a while, and then finally the little man stops making light, probably because his mana had grown tired. And then one of the bo'Degh grabbed him. But the tribe looked at each other and said, that little man is Sub." Important Kellid concept, usually translated as "brave" or "courageous", really means something like "behaving correctly". "So they rode up and killed some of the boDegh and chased them away. The little man was hurt but they took him with them, and your grandfather Kronug gave him some medicine. He lived."

"...you've never told me this story before. And you've told me a lot of stories about Great-Grandfather Kronug."

Baaba wrinkles up his face. "Nnnnyes well, this story is a little... embarrassing."

"Embarrassing?"

"There's a... cha'nob Yuq."

You flinch slightly. "Cha'nob Yuq" translates as "inappropriate gift", but that doesn't remotely capture the awkward awfulness of it. Kellid culture is deeply invested in hospitality and gift-giving. Breaches of hospitality are profoundly wrong. Inappropriate gifts aren't quite that bad, but they're... yes, embarrassing. Very embarrassing. And Kellids aren't good at doing fake smiles and oh-it's-lovely, which just makes things worse. The best thing to do with a cha'nob Yuq is to never, ever mention it again.

A quick note, Sholti is Kelish, as in from Qadira a ways back, not Kellid, as in those dirty barbarians. Yes, it's annoying the two words are so close. But the story works in principle, hospitality, gift-giving etc. So no need to change tack.

Sholti takes a sip of her tea. "Yes? Go on Baaba. I'll live."

Okay, so it looks like a plurality for "secret rebellion". That's fine. Next, each PC takes on a role in organizing the rebellion. (There are six roles and five of you, so one role will either go to a trusted Two of these roles get bonuses for good Int, two for good Wis, and two for good Cha.

Demagogue: Persuader, rabble-rouser, diplomat. Pick someone with good Cha.

Recruiter: What it sounds like. Very important job. Good Cha.

Partisan: Organizer of strike forces. Good Wis.

Sentinel: Counterintelligence and general security. Good Wis.

Spymaster: What it sounds like. Good Int.

Strategist: What it sounds like. Good Int.

A quick note, Sholti is Kelish, as in from Qadira a ways back, not Kellid, as in those dirty barbarians. Yes, it's annoying the two words are so close. But the story works in principle, hospitality, gift-giving etc. So no need to change tack.

Oh, man, I was wondering about that. Your ancestry seemed kind of complicated! Okay, so they weren't hunting mammoth. Alter details to fit. Also, I guess, your step-great-grandfather is a cleric of Sarenrae now?

Sholti takes a sip of her tea. "Yes? Go on Baaba. I'll live."

"Well, when the little man recovered, he was very grateful. His name, he said -- " your stepfather takes a sip of tea, swallows, takes a deep breath, "was Hapax Legomenon In The Honorificabilitudinitatibus. Should you ever run across him."

For the record, thats ho-no-ri-fi-CA-bi-li-TU-di-ni-TA-ti-bus.

"When he recovered, he said he was a wizard, one who specialized in illusions and deceptions. He also said that he had great skill in the crafting of magical items -- 'most excellent and awesome' magical items, he said -- especially ones made with needle and thread, using fabric.

"So he happened to mention this, and the gnome grew very excited. He would discharge his debt! He would make them a mighty gift, worthy of the Goddess and her generous and heroic servants!"

"So Grandfather -- not without some misgivings -- showed him the room of worn-out robes, threadbare stoles, rusted lamps that no longer worked right, and all the rest. And he left him there.

"This."

"This" is a... hat. But "hat" doesn't really cover it.

Start with a turban -- a big one, over two feet tall. Now make the turban purple... not violet, not mauve, but an eye-hurting purple. Now add a metal medallion on the front: a single enormous eye, with an expression that can only be described as "googly", in a bronze octagon. Above it is a frilly asymmetrical lacy bit like a surprised eyebrow. Then add two large bows on either side -- one pink, one blue. Then add a couple of dangly tentacle things on either side of the face. The tentacles are orange and decorated with flowers.

Just looking at it makes your head hurt a little. When you close your eyes, it leaves an after-image

IN THE COFFEESHOP

A few days after the visit from the dottari.

Laria is seated with a tiefling. (He wears a hood that partially conceals his unnatural features. Tieflings aren't despised as elsewhere in Cheliax. but...)

"I think some of you have met Mr. Hetamon Hace before?"

Zeldana, who had been more or less busying herself with her Harrow deck and eating cake, looks over to Laira and their guest. "Um, not that I'm aware of? Have we met before?"

It was a different PC, and quite some time ago.

"I am very sorry to disturb you," he says. (His voice is a pleasant baritone, completely at odds with his appearance.) "But a problem has arisen in the Devil's Nursery, and I thought perhaps Ms. Laria could give some advice. She said you might be able to help."

The Devil's Nursery? That's the tiefling district. Okay, the tiefling slum.

"Oh please don't apologize, if there is a problem I'd like to try and help." Zeldana said as she got up and moved over to them. "What is the problem?" She asked.

"Murder," says the tiefling softly. "The problem is murder."

"But those were years ago -- most of the current inhabitants hardly remember those horrors." You not. It's not easy to be a tiefling in Kintargo, but it's... less bad, compared to anywhere else in Cheliax. So over the last generation, large numbers of the outcast bad-bloods have drifted towards the Silver City, filling the Devil's Nursery to overflowing. "What's happening now is different. Three killings in just over a week -- maybe four if you count the child who went missing. All of the bodies... mutilated."

"You said you were worried about violence," murmurs Laria.

"Yes. Until a few weeks ago, there was a glimmer of hope. There was an organization -- the Cloven Hoof Society, they called it -- that worked to help the tieflings, and represent them before authority. It was led by a woman named Strea Vestori. But she... disappeared. On the Night of Ashes, completely and without a trace.
We fear the worst.

"Between that and these killings, people are becoming hopeless... and panicked. There's talk of rioting, storming the Opera House, to try to bring Thrune's attention to their desperation."

"You know what would happen then," says Laria grimly.

"Of course. A massacre. And then Kintargo "cleansed". Of course, some would protest, but..."

There's a faint sardonic edge to Hetamon's voice. You know for a fact that many in Kintargo -- not most, you truly believe that, but many -- would be perfectly happy to see the Devil's Nursery burned to the ground, and its inhabitants simply gone, no questions asked. It might even increase Thrune's popularity.

Sholti stares at the thing for a couple of minutes, unable to say anything. Ferran isn't a prankster, but she's not sure the whole production isn't some kind of elaborate joke.

She'll have to say something eventually, so she decides to play it safe just in case he's attached to the thing or somehow proud of it.

"That's.... That's a... work of art? It's extraordinary. I can't take my eyes off it. You have it as a keepsake?"

"'Keepsake', I suppose that's right. It still belongs to the Goddess, I guess. And it's magical. Oh, yes. He made three magic items, actually. There was the Boot of Endless Spirits -- that's still around somewhere. I don't know what the third one was. Grandfather would always change the subject when it came up.

"Anyway. Here," he holds out the hat to you, "give it a try."

Sera glances at the tiefling, thinking but not speaking, still not entirely interested in his ghost story. She wasn't sure how this impacted her, surely the authorities would establish order if a serial killer was running about - but she was prepared enough to lend assistance if required.

"Magical? What does it do?"

And what magic could be worth being seen in it?

Sholti takes the confection from Ferran. "On my head right?"

Sholti sits the thing on her head.

"Aggh!"

"It's okay! It's perfectly safe! um, I think."

"What?!" It's crawling around on your head.

"Wait, don't take it off! It's working! See," he holds out a mirror, "look here!"

You look in the mirror.

First off, the hat is gone. No, not gone. Transformed. It's a headscarf now. The appalling purple has become a very dark violet, almost black. None of the bows, tentacles, flowers and whatnot are visible.

Second, you look different. You're still you, but you look a good two inches taller, and perhaps a decade older. Your eyes are deeper set and darker, with a hint of fatigue. Your nose is longer, lips thinner, and cheekbones are noticeably more dramatic. Anyone seeing you would do a double take -- is that her?

(Also, frankly, the headscarf looks pretty good. You never really considered dark violet before, but it works.)

Hat of... Awesome!

Aura: faint illusion
Slot: Head
Weight: 1 lb.

The Hat of... Awesome! acts as a Hat of Disguise, but with the following differences.

-- When first donned by any humanoid creature, its Disguise bonus will be +5, not +10. (The Hat itself will still transform into a cap, helmet, headscarf, or what have you.)

-- The Disguise bonus goes down by -5 every month. So, for many wearers the Hat will stop working after a single month. Once it stops working for a wearer it will never work for that wearer again.

-- However, the bonus will increase by +5 every time the wearer does something... Awesome! The Hat likes danger, bravery, action, inspiring speeches, daredevil displays of skill, fantastic musical performances, amazing rescues, and ice-cold dance moves. It does not like repetition. You can recharge the Hat with an appropriate display of skill. The base DC to do this is 20. However, the skill check must be one that admits of failure -- performing before an audience, walking a tightrope without a net, etc. -- and the DC for each skill increases by +5 every time. The Hat does not mind if you repeat actions like defeating a dragon or rescuing a bunch of kittens by rappelling into a burning building, as long as these things are sufficiently... Awesome! The definition is not fixed but think boss fights and backflips. The Hat definitely appreciates a good backflip.

-- The Hat can be charged beyond +10, if you think you can handle that much... Awesome!

Your stepfather holds up his hands in a shrug.

"Gnomes."

Sholti almost screams when she sees herself in the mirror. She removes the hat immediately. When she sees the change isn't permanent she calms down.

"So it becomes a nice headscarf with the extra benefit of making the wearer look used up and haggard. Why couldn't it just make my lips look fuller? Yes, I'd say 'Cha'nob Yuq' sums it up perfectly."

Hey, it's a Hat of Disguise. Sort of. Concentrate a little and it can make you look like anything. "You want full lips? Sure, sure, here you go."

[Hat gives you full lips.]

[Hat then waits alertly for you to do something with them that's.... Awesome!]

"Oh, it can do other changes. You have to think about it. You want it to change your hair, or whatever, it can do that. For a while. But..."

[Here follows a brief description of how it works]

"Ah well, my dear. I thought you might find it fun to play around with for a bit." He shrugs. "When you're done, tuck it away in the back room upstairs, in the brown box at the bottom of the garderobe. Your mother never goes in there, and I hardly ever do. -- Um, the black box with the lock on it is the Boots of Endless Spirits. Best not disturb those."

Oh I know, just having some fun. Hat of Awesomeness is awesome!

Oh, it can do other changes huh? Alright, hold the mirror up again and I'll give it another try."

Sholti puts the hat back on, this time aiming for fuller lips and going platinum blonde, long hair of course.

If the hat does respond to her thinking, she will save the implications of her first appearance while wearing it, and what it might mean about her subconscious and self-image, to ponder over later.

"OOOH! Nice! I'm going to have some fun with this!"