DM RichD's Council Of Thieves Campaign

Game Master Briccone

Right--
It was +2 to profession, social, and/or craft.

By the way--that was the 1,000th post.

As for learning Infernal... Yes, I believe an interrogation is just about the perfect place for a lesson. >:)

This does deserve the place, I'd say. Pretty darn hellish.

@GM: Vethamer is alive and unconscious as well, right? I do believe we left him stabilized last (before we forgot about him OOC). It will be useful to examine both of them separately.
Examining the two other tieflings we captured would also help, of course.

Tal's level up info...

3rd level tower shield fighter
+1 BAB
+1 reflex and will saving throws
+1 feat (iron will)
+13 hp (max +2 con +1 favored class)
+7 sp (2 ftr +2 int +2 bonus +1 human); +1 to each acrobatics, craft armor, diplomacy, intimidate, know dungeon, know engineer, perception)

Class abilities:

Tower shield training: reduce armor check penalty by 3 and increase dex for tower shield by 1 when tower shield is equipped
armor training 1: reduce armor check penalty by 1 and increase max dex on armor by 1

@Raveen: Yes, You can learn Infernal during the Interrogation. I forgot about Vethamer.

Are the interrogation questions only for Palaveen and Vethamer or did you want Janiven to ask the same questions of the recruits as well?

Needless to say, Palaveen and Vethamer will not answer any questions. Are you going to get them to answer questions through diplomacy/Intimidation, spells, or torture?

The items you are asking about that are not on Tal's spreadsheet, are you referring to the items in Palaveen's trunk?

Can I ask a favor? for consistency, can you all have your profile tag in the following format:

Class
Level
HP current hit points/max hit points
AC
Saves
CMB
CMD
Init
Perception
A skill you feel you will use often (i.e. Spellcraft, Survival, Knowledge, etc.)

Here is an example:

Male Dwarf Oracle 1 (HP 9/9 AC:15 T:13 F:12 Saves F:+2 R:+3 W:+4 CMB:+1 CMD:14 Init:+3 Perc: +4 Heal: +7)

Are the interrogation questions only for Palaveen and Vethamer or did you want Janiven to ask the same questions of the recruits as well?

I assumed that I could ask the two other tieflings as well. I want Raveen to attend any recruitment--after all, he is putting the effort to start his own.

Edit: I meant interrogation of the two other tieflings.

Needless to say, Palaveen and Vethamer will not answer any questions. Are you going to get them to answer questions through diplomacy/Intimidation, spells, or torture?

We'll see what sticks.

The items you are asking about that are not on Tal's spreadsheet, are you referring to the items in Palaveen's trunk?

We got letters from Palaveen's desk--I meant that, their list of inventory, etc.

test for new format

Small Gems - 600gp
Pearl - 100gp
Jewelry - 800gp
Dagger (Masterwork Quality)
Rapier (Maserwork Quality)
Jeweled short sword (Not Masterwork Quality worth about 150gp)

There was also a note which I'll post in the Campaign Info tab tonight.

Who's interrogation did you want to RP first and who will be there?

Naberius will be present, if that isn't already obvious.

Mera showed some interest in being there for the interrogation, but I don't know if she'll be around to play that out.

I only registered my own uses, and I might have missed something.
I also assume that the two other tieflings surrendered their arms and armor--in which case that is (according to the apparent trend), +2 shortswords and +2 studded leather armors. Now it's easier for everyone to put their claims.
I call on the masterwork dagger and four mundane others. I've been running short on clean ones.
Also, we might find it prudent to keep the gems and jewelry--they are easier to identify to give them back to their owners if possible. I suppose Tarvi might be helpful in this regards, right GM?

The spreadsheet is updated for everything but the emerald and the last 3 tieflings. It is even broken up to allotments for people.

Per RichD earlier when asked the items the tiefling's acquired were from the deceased so they are now ours. Thus the jewelry is lumped together. Will add the last 2 encounters to the list later when I get a chance.

While nothing is really stopping us from keeping all the goods, I think we might want to return the jewerly to the relatives of those who they were robbed from, to gain some goodwill around town. I don't recall if the Hammersmiths specifically had any living heirs, so we might get to keep the weapons. Vasco will definitely give the emerald to be sold after playing with it for a while, so feel free to add that.

The Hammersmiths did not have any heirs.

Palveen's note is on the Campaign Info tab.

so far it looks like after the Bastards we each gained about 1141 in gp. Not a bad night's work. Now just need to see about getting another 1200 for a magical sword.

This is counting the jewelry though. so if that is being returned then out shares drop by 300 apiece.

Like I said--not everything was included in the sheet.

While nothing is really stopping us from keeping all the goods, I think we might want to return the jewerly to the relatives of those who they were robbed from, to gain some goodwill around town.

I daresay we must give them back; if we don't, we are not better than they are (I said keep, as in not counting them).

@RichD: I've been speaking about recruitment for a while.
Any ideas on how Raveen could acquire a printing press? I do recall that Hellknights have some.

so far it looks like after the Bastards we each gained about 1141 in gp. Not a bad night's work. Now just need to see about getting another 1200 for a magical sword.

This is counting the jewelry though. so if that is being returned then out shares drop by 300 apiece.

Naberius wrote:

While nothing is really stopping us from keeping all the goods, I think we might want to return the jewerly to the relatives of those who they were robbed from, to gain some goodwill around town.

I daresay we must give them back; if we don't, we are not better than they are (I said keep, as in not counting them).

Naberius is certainly willing to receive less money than peddle such goods. Not that he cares too much about the people involved, but he would see taking money from peasants in such a way as ungentlemanly.

Okay, I know Diplomacy rules can be tricky, so I figure we'd hash this out in the discussion so we are all on the same page and then we can RP it in the Gameplay thread.

Palaveen and Vethamer's initial attitude to you all is hostile.

Palaveen

The DC to make some one who is hostile to unfriendly is 25 + creature's CHA modifier. Palveen CHA score is 8 so the DC is 25-2=23. Raveen rolled 29. Since he exceeded the dice roll by 5, Palaveen is now indifferent. There are different DC's for unimportant Secrets (+5) and important secrets (+10). I have broken the questions into 4 categories of 5 (2 Important, 2 unimportant (or what the answer believes each to be) So I will need another diplomacy roll for each group below for Palaveen and rolls for Vethamer.

Group 1 (unimportant) DC20
1. Who are you? Where are you from? What is your parentage?
2. Who are your allies (Tieflings)? Where did you know them from (with details)?
3. What were you after in your thefts?
4. If something particular, did you find what you were looking for?
5. If after wealth, who did you target?

Group 2 (unimportant) DC20
1. Why were you so vicious in your tasks?
2. Tell me of your childhood. What were your parents like?
3. Tell me of your tiefling friends. What are they like?
4. What is the lineage of your friends?

Group 3 (Important) DC25
1. What is the Council of Thieves?
2. What is your relationship with them?
3. How did you come across them (or vice versa)?
4. How did they supply you?
5. What were their orders?

Group 4 (Important) DC25
1. What is their goal?
2. Why are you obeying them?
3. If I wanted to be contacted by the Council--what must I do?
4. What kind of people are they interested in? What kind of people are dangerous to them?
5. By your assessment--what does the Council want?
6. How were you contacted by them? How did you answer and receive their messages?

Vethamer

Vethamer has a CHA score of 13 so his DC is 26. Raveen's 28 did not exceed this by 5, so he remains unfriendly. His DC's for the question groups are as follows:

Group 1 & Group 2 (Unimportant) DC 25
Group 3 & Group 4 (Important) DC 30

Is this accurate and agreeable?

Seems legit.
If Raveen tricks Vethamer to believing that he knows most of the information he has, and just wants confirmation, the dc would decrease accordingly, correct?

I think since he is still unfriendly, he could care less about confirming or denying your suspicions unless you somehow made it worth his while through a bluff check or actually doing something.

Hello? Is this thing on?

*taps mic*

Stil here just at home with Lily

I have family visiting today and tomorrow so I won't be able to post again until Sunday.

Gotcha.

good luck

Just a heads up I'll be at Dragoncon the 3rd to the 7th so my posting will probably drop off a bit during that time.

Update to group 4 of questions:

Group 4 (Important) DC25
1. What is the Council's goal, so far as you assessed and know about them?
2. Why are you obeying them? Do you believe they will advance your cause? What makes you think that?
3. If I wanted to be contacted by the Council--what must I do? How long did you work to get their attention?
4. What kind of people are they interested in, and what have you specifically done to get their attention? What kind of people are dangerous to them?
5. By your assessment--what does the Council want from people who wish to join it (ruthlessness, contacts, cause, etc.)?
6. When were you contacted by them? Do you have any other letters of theirs left? Do they drop of messages at any pattern you noticed (day of the month, cycle of the moon, etc.)?
7. How have they aided you? Only by giving you skeletons?

I'm running dry. I thought they met and I could follow the cookie trail.

RichD, I'd hate to ask this, but since interrogation takes a lot of time here, here is my request: When Raveen wants interrogates Vethamer, could we (on a successful check, of course) get (in one post) the answers to questions where Vethamer knows something different than Palaveen? That way, we could cover him in two days, max (unless he knows something special).

In the interest of time, even if you do meet the DC, you would find that Vethamer is cruel and loved the pain and death he inflicted on others and did not care about the council or bloodlines or any type of politics. He would have joined the Hellknights if they would let him torture people.

Right. I see.

By the way, does anyone know if Mera is still around? It's been a while since we last heard from her.

@Naberius: I've seen activity in other aliases.

@GM: This doesn't add up, RichD.
Palaveen said Beck was his contact with the Council, but said he never actually met him--and with Raveen's Local check, it's a dead end already. A 20 never even heard rumors of him.

Considering the above: Why did the council bother making up a name if there were no meetings? How come Palaveen instantly trusted a random letter and a bag of coin that said 'we're from the council of thieves--do this for us.' Didn't he ask for confirmation or anything from the Council other than money (and monsters that can't be traced)? What makes us sure (let alone Palaveen) that there is a council in the first place?

I think what I'm asking is this:
We've captured the boss and one of his second-in-commands (more like third in command), and interrogated him for all he's worth, and got nothing in over eleven out-of-game days.
Is this how the module did things?

Yes. As you have deduced there are things going on that you and Palaveen are not privy too-yet. I have always stressed that Palaveen answered the questions as he believed the situation to be. It is up to you to determine if he was a pawn in a larger game and who benefitted indirectly from his reign of terror. All will be revealed by the end of book six. Just remember there are sometimes answers in non-answers...

@Naberius: I've seen activity in other aliases.

Should someone try throwing a PM her way?

Palaveen said Beck was his contact with the Council, but said he never actually met him--and with Raveen's Local check, it's a dead end already. A 20 never even heard rumors of him.

To be fair, Knowledge (local) doesn't allow you to conjure up rumours if there are none.

How come Palaveen instantly trusted a random letter and a bag of coin that said 'we're from the council of thieves--do this for us.' Didn't he ask for confirmation or anything from the Council other than money (and monsters that can't be traced)?

Here's how I see it:

Palaveen (at least as RichD has portrayed him) is exactly the kind of person who would buy into that sort of ploy. Of course the Council would be interested in a perfect specimen such as himself! He is a greedy, narcissistic egomaniac. Obviously he would be easy to win over with free gifts and flattery. We have no evidence of him being especially intelligent either, so there is a very real chance that he has been deceived from the beginning...

I think what I'm asking is this:

We've captured the boss and one of his second-in-commands (more like third in command), and interrogated him for all he's worth, and got nothing in over eleven out-of-game days.
Is this how the module did things?

What makes us sure (let alone Palaveen) that there is a council in the first place?

If Palaveen and Vethamer truly know nothing, interrogating does not (and IMO should not) generate information that is not there.

I do get the feeling that you might be looking too hard. This is the first book, after all. And you're right: looking at the evidence that we have been given, from a purely in-character perspective, I don't think we have much reason to think we are dealing with the actual Council of Thieves. That's the name of the AP, so of course they are bound to be involved somehow, but in-world I get the sense that the organisation's existance is something of a conspiracy theory. That might be Raveen's jam, but I wouldn't be surprised if he was a bit more skeptical about the whole thing. A more likely theory is that someone else is using the name of the infamous organisation to their advantage.

Yes. As you have deduced there are things going on that you and Palaveen are not privy too-yet. I have always stressed that Palaveen answered the questions as he believed the situation to be. It is up to you to determine if he was a pawn in a larger game and who benefited indirectly from his reign of terror.

That's not the problem, and has been clear up to now.

All will be revealed by the end of book six.

That's a little too long to wait for, boss. I thought Beck was a hook, but it wasn't.

Looking at the evidence that we have been given, from a purely in-character perspective, I don't think we have much reason to think we are dealing with the actual Council of Thieves.

We won't. You're perfectly correct.

I thought Beck was a hook, but it wasn't.

Certainly seems like a hook to me. You can still try to look for information about him, if you wish. Just because Raveen knows nothing about him off the top of his head doesn't mean he can't be found.

How the heck did Palaveen even send them messages in the first place and miss their messenger-boys? Did he write the letters and burn them, or did he leave the letters under his pillow for the tooth-fairy to spirit them away?

For all we know, the Council could be using actual tooth fairies. They are perfect for the job, really.

But seriously, I don't get why it's so hard to believe that someone could have picked up the messages while invisible, or otherwise magically misled the Bastards to secure their anonymity.

For all we know, the Council could be using actual tooth fairies. They are perfect for the job, really.

That's why I chose them to make a funny.

But fine. I don't want to hold up the game. I guess I was just disheartened.
Does Arael say anything?

Once again I shall my glorious return, I know I was deeply missed by all of the PM's I've been smothered with :) Let me catch up today and I'll try to post tonight or tomorrow morning latest.

Welcome back! You are just in time for the beginning of Book 2, I think.

If Tarvi can't identify the jewels or the owners and families are gone then the loot list I scorrect up to this point. If she knows who owns the jewels then I will redo the loot list accordingly.

Roger that. Sorry to cause you extra hassle! Tarvi might need to ask around to find out who the jewels belong to, probably through her parents. I wouldn't expect her to know off the top of her head... Then again, she seems like a smart young woman. We'll see.

Once again I shall my glorious return, I know I was deeply missed by all of the PM's I've been smothered with :) Let me catch up today and I'll try to post tonight or tomorrow morning latest.

*GLOMPS*

There are about a million spells I want to add to my spellbook, but these should do for now...

You can always ask Monday for a loan :3

I'm not sure if Naberius is ready to pay the interest. :P

I am sure that the interest will not be so bad. Besides, I do not think MOnday would ask for any 'favors' as she is not that type of gal. MOney should never enter into the equation with her. Other forms of interest might still be problematic though.

Oh yes, there would be absolutely no monetary interest involved whatsoever.

Alas, it's time to say goodbye.
I do wish to apologize for leaving at the beginning of Book2, but I would sooner leave at an actual juncture than make my own.
It is my hope that you will find a smarter, funnier, and more helpful replacement for Raven.
In the interests of leaving in the best possible terms, I wish to thank all of you for playing this game with me, and I wish to apologize for disrupting your roleplaying experience. Even at the times of our worst conflict, it stemmed from all out characters' traits, and is testiment to how much promise we have as a group.

Best regards, and farewell.

-Raveen.

RichD, please remove me from the list of players. I think there is an FAQ on how.

*salutes solemnly*

*waves goodbye*

Will have a gameplay post up in a little bit after I wake up.

Um, wow Wasnt expecting that. bye I guess Raveen. Good luck with whatever.

I just finished reading 192 gameplay posts, my god you guys write books! I had to take breaks to get snacks and refill drinks and whatnot!

I am surprised to see Raveen checking out though. Best of in your future endeavors!

I'm not quite sure where to make my entrance after my absence?

Some miscellanea:

1. I assume you would all like a skill replacement for Raveen, yes?

2. Regarding Book 2: Book 2 is famous (infamous?) for having the PC's take part in a 'murder' play. The AP has the PC's 'auditioning' for roles and there is actually a script with the PC's rolling perfom checks after their lines. Now if we were all sitting around a tapletop with adult beverages this would be quite fun and funny, but I am unsure how the best way to do this for a PBP. There are six trials the cast must endure and the trials are real combat (hence the 'murder' aspect of the murder play) Thoughts?

3. I will be away visiting family from this Saturday 09/12 to 09/27, so my posting will be inconsistent as internet connection is nearly non-exisitant and I either have to post on my phone (Ugh!) or mooch off of my Mom's wi-fi when I'm at her house.

4. There will be some in-game down time before book 2 starts so feel free to purchase items, write scrolls, RP with your minions, etc.

Mera, if you want to show up at the hideout the next day or check in with your theater friends, we will take it from there.