DM YRRAH SINNED's Shattered Star Campaign (Inactive)

Game Master Dennis Harry

"It's cursed!" Zhai screams as she tried to get it away from Ran (which remember was what she'd try to do immediately, not wait long enough for Ran to get up or anything.)

Happy 2018 everyone!

Granite looks at Ran. And then at Zhai. And then Ran again. "...ok." He wasn't really sure what to make of the exchange. "Perhaps we should settle this elsewhere? I'm sure our benefactor could help us sort this out."

Matter of fact, I took it from her while grappling with her. Realizing that she is somehow 'different' from before would definitely take sufficient time to be back to a watchful stance. Unless Zhai knows something in-character that we others have not learned yet, and was expecting a cursed trinket to make an appearance?

"Cursed? Don't be ridiculous.", Ran responds as Zhai attempts to take the necklace, keeping it out of her reach by interposing his body as a barrier, ignoring Natalya for now: "Or maybe it is, driving woman to madness? I feel fine, the two of you are the ones acting weird here! Lets head back and sort out the details there, I promise I won't raise a Goblin Army on the way."

... Unless Zhai knows something in-character that we others have not learned yet, and was expecting a cursed trinket to make an appearance?

We all knew exactly what we needed to suspect and therefore be ready for the possibility, namely, she spurned all friends to make off with the trinket, and how she handled our approach, it was the most likely explanation long before you actually removed the necklace. Her response to the removal of the necklace was simply confirmation.

Hence why I said I'd make you drop it if you didn't immediately drop it. The only real questions were whether it would be a grapple check and whether I'd get surprise on you (since you probably would not be expecting me to make the attempt), or if it would be a regular attack since my only aim is make you drop it, rather than to grab you, move you around, or pin you, and the fact that we were grappling the girl and not each other.

As for 'expecting' it, nope, I have skills in neither spellcraft nor Knowledge Arcana, I never run into cursed items before, possibly only ever hearing about them in stories - but saw people abandon or betray friends or family for either money or glory. Both of which could be provided by a valuable trinket such as the one this whole mission was about. So OOC I can fully expect it, especially with the Will Save. But if I disregard Meta-Knowledge, then in-character I had no reason to do so. You may have wanted to voice your suspicion in-character, earlier.

And while she WAS admittedly acting weird, aside from her slumping down a bit after I took it from her there was no reaction so far to suggest she was controlled by an outside source or affected by some supernatural influence. Her reaction could simply be because she hoped to still get away with her prize, something all but impossible now.

What you plan to do sounds more like a disarm or a steal attempt. I may not expect it, but I am fully aware of you. Can be surprise(reasoning that I don't expect to be betrayed by you) or Init(reasoning that I am in combat in hostile territory and keeping my guard up). Regardless of surprise, I am only holding on to the item, not wearing it. If this IS the prize this is about, it should be returned to the Lodge for our quest-giver to sort things out. As such, any attempts to force Ran to drop it or take it from him would be considered hostile actions that seem unreasonable to him(he's not acting or feeling differently, after all). So, fair warning. I'd stick to nonlethal, obviously, but would defend myself if you initiate offensive actions against me. Plus I have combat reflexes which lets me do Attacks of Opportunity even while flat-footed, so surprise is irrelevant unless you have other means of not provoking on your choosen action.
Using the blunt backside of his spear to defend himself, Ran shouts at Zhai: "Whatever do you think you are doing? This goes back to Sheila, I won't liberate it from one thief to let another take it!"
Attack of Opportunity, nonlethal: 1d20 + 8 - 4 + 2 ⇒ (17) + 8 - 4 + 2 = 23 Damage, nonlethal: 1d8 ⇒ 7
Just to be clear, this only happens if you actually initiate an action against Ran. He will not perform a hostile action first.

Granite also has no in character reason to believe the item is cursed. He's just confused about what you two seem to be arguing about and thinks this isn't the time or place to deal with it. Hence his suggestion that we let Miss Heidmarch help sort things out, presumably when we're all safely back in her mansion.

"Yes, as I said, if there's an issue we can deal with it later. Perhaps with the help of our benefactor. Let us head secure our companion and head out. Though perhaps we should have a plan for how to explain or friend, who seems to be unconscious now?"

Magnimar - Underbridge - Abandoned Boarding House Lead

As the group bickers over the trinket, Ikit comes down from the rafters and steps in between Ran and Zhai, "Curse, no curse. Someone need to carry thing to Sheila. We go, she remove curse. Yes?"

Just as Ikit completes his statement, Granite finally manages to break through the wall to the outside.

Natalya is indeed unconscious and its clear that she can easily be brought out of this place, well now anyway.

I see no reason why Zhai cannot come to that conclusion. However, as the group has succeeded at their task, let's just move on shall we? Are you all heading back to the Pathfinder Lodge next or somewhere else first?

Were we supposed to meet Sheila at the lodge? I was thinking we'd head back to her mansion by as inconspicuous a manner as possible. Either way, his vote is to go to Sheila next. We can report what we found back to the guard captain afterwards.

"Yes. _I_ want to go. I said so. No need to convince me.", Ran states while staying in a defensive stance.
I concur. Let us get to Sheila. For the record, it was not Zhai's conclusion I disagreed with, it was the absolute certainity with which it was presented - no doubts or second-thoughts, no other options considered - even if that means taking action against a party member.
Plus, we need to get that thing back to Sheila. If even carrying activates it(as opposed to wearing/using/wielding), that is, having it in your possession is enough, then there's no guarantee wrapping it in a rag or putting it in a bag would change anything about it, so unless we want a sub-plot to fetch a lead-lined box and 3-foot tweezers(while splitting the party to stand guard over the item), I'd prefer to move on.

"You should let Granite carry the trinket. That'd show it has no hold over you, or that it has a mind of it's own, one of the two."

"And what would we gain from that? The moment I give it to him, you'd assume he was cursed. Or try and take it from him. Enough of this nonsense. I took it from her, I'll carry it back to Sheila.!"

"If you could give it to him then that would mean it wasn't cursed. Therefore, either it has affected your mind and you can't give to him, or you have no reason to not let him take it back with us. So what is it going to be, you give it to him, or you can't give it to him?"

"Oh, if that makes you happy, I'll be perfectly content to give it to Granite. As long as YOU stay at least 20 feet away from HIM, and I get to be between the two of you on the way back. Woman, you are acting WEIRD."
Sighing, Ran turns to Granite:"So, lets go along with her crazy idea if that makes her happy, for the sake of getting back to Sheila. Granite, will you carry this for me?", holding out the Amulet in question, all the while keeping Zhai in his peripheral vision as if expecting that she'd try to snatch the trinket and try to run off.

Fun fact, I didn't roll that bad on my Will Save (16, or 18 vs Enchantment). Could be I beat the DC, and now Granite will fall under the Trinkets Control by rolling worse. But hey, you don't care because if I can hand it off you can be certain it's not cursed, right? ;) But whatever it takes to get us moving forward.

Having no reason to think anything bad is going to happen (other than perhaps his two companions attacking him for some unknown reason rather than each other), Granite shrugs and takes the trinket. "If it'll get you two to stop fighting and let us get a move on, then sure. Why not."

Will save: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (19) + 4 = 23 Hey, not bad! \o/ Though admittedly, rolling terribly would have been kind of amusing.

Magnimar - Underbridge - Abandoned Boarding House Lead

Ran holds out the amulet and Granite grasps it. Ran takes a few moments to relinquish his grasp. He wants it back but not bad enough to take it back, yet.

Ikit eyes the exchange quietly while Natalya still seems absolutely exhausted.

The four companions head back to Sheila's Manse.

After a brief wait, you are escorted into her library once more. Granite presents her with the amulet and her eyes widen and her jaw drops in shock. She reacts cooly to Natalya asking two of her guards to bring the woman to an upstairs bed room to rest, "See that you keep her under guard for now". Natalya does not resist nor speak, she just seems to lack any motivation at all or display the signs of mania she was displaying earlier in your encounter.

"Come with me into the parlor, let us sit and get comfortable, do you require food or drink? Of course you do, I shall send someone along with them", she nods to the butler that allowed you in an has been loitering about.

As you all enter the parlor she closes the doors, "I suspect I know what the amulet is, but in order to be sure, I would like to affix an ioun stone to the indentation in the shard’s face. If it is based on Azlanti magic similar to that the Pathfinders based the design of their wayfinders on, and if this shard reacts to an ioun stone in the same way, my hunch will be proven correct. Is this acceptable to you?"

Granite is a little uncomfortable walking into their host's mansion in such a filthy state. He did his best on the walk back to remove as much gunk as possible, but he feared he might never be rid of the smell.

"Ahh, the system the wayfinders were based upon. How fascinating. Yes, of course, my all means, let us try an ioun stone. If you wish, I can do it for you." Granite gives Zhai a sidelong glance. "There is...some concern that it might be cursed. If that is the case, I think it best we expose as few people as possible to it."

Ran eyes the Amulet with worry: "Is that safe? The Ioun stone won't damage it or anything. I mean, what kind of reaction are we talking about here? I had Granite carry it to easy Zhai's mind about some possible curse, but I'll be wanting it back as a memory once all of this is over! It has...emotional value."
If assured that whatever Sheila intends to do is not harmful to the Amulet, Ran will agree with the suggested course of action.

Granite gives Ran an odd look. "Emotional value"? He hasn't had it very long.... And though getting it was an...unpleasant endeavor, it was hardly epic or worth remembering in the long run. I hope this doesn't cause problems with Miss Heidmarch... His eyes then flick back to the woman in question.

"'Emotional value?' Curse evidence exhibit B." Zhai says with a gesture in Ran's direction, her concern over the issue quite evidently back in full force.

Ran turns to Zhai with a grave look: "The emotional value, of course, is in reminding me that I did not let you order me around, Curse Exhibit A." Ran laughs out loud suddenly, then turns to Sheila: "Do whatever you need to do. You're the expert. Take it apart if you must, I don't care."
Bluff(to play it off as a joke/setup): 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (20) + 5 = 25

Granite's concern eases as he chuckles at Ran's joke, more in an attempt to ease the obvious tension in the room than because it was actually funny. I really hope Miss Heidmarch can put this bickering to an end. Or that they'll at least have the common sense not to start fighting each other in the middle of her home. He then edges away slightly, making sure that if a fight did break out, he would not be caught in the middle of it.

Magnimar - Heidmarch Manor

"It should be perfectly safe".

Sheila excuses herself for a few moments, then returns quickly with a scarlet-and-blue sphere ioun stone in her hand.

She places the ioun stone to the amulet. As she does it flashes with coppery light and fuses to the shard and its appearance changes to look
as if it were made of the same material as the shard itself!

Sheila clears her throat and speaks, “What you have found, my friends, is nothing short of a miracle. Varisia has seen its share of miracles of late—the discovery of Xin-Shalast and the defeat of Runelord Karzoug, or Korvosa’s release from mad Ileosa’s rule come to mind—but this discovery will soon be remembered as an equal to those events. This is a powerful Thassilonian artifact, a fragment of horacalcum and a portion of the Shattered Star of Xin: to be precise, the Shard of Pride.

I suspect that the shard’s current carrier already knows more about it than I do, in fact I bet that once you take possession of it once more Ran, it shall begin to tell you all about itself. The ioun stone I believe will prevent the very real curse that Zhai mentioned from dominating you as I suspect it did poor Natalya. Yes, this explains much about her behavior in these recent weeks”.

Sheila hands it to Ran.

With some reluctance, Ran reaches out for the Amulet, keeping his eyes locked with Sheilas as he takes it from her hands.

Just before he makes contact with the Amulet, he pauses for a moment...he had considered speaking up, saying something...to his companions, to Sheila - but really, there was one dominating question, simple and short, that he needed to ask:"What next?"

With that, he took possession of the Shard once more.

Hmmm... It was interesting to hear that the amulet was indeed cursed. Specifically, why had it apparently attached itself to Ran when he had taken it from Natalya and not to him when he had taken it from Ran. Perhaps it has to do with voluntarily giving it up? Or maybe it just didn't like me... Either way, he hoped Zhai would take the news gracefully rather than make a big deal out if it. More arguing in front of their host was hardly becoming.

"Most interesting.... Hopefully now that Ran possesses it, Natalya will be freed from its influence, yes? Perhaps now she will be willing to divulge where she found the thing. Once she has suitably recovered, that is." Granite was admittedly a little surprised that Sheila seemed willing to let their companion have the object; did she have no desire for object supposedly as rare and unusual as this one? Or perhaps it was merely a loan to speed up gaining more knowledge about the thing? Either way, he supposed the lady had her reasons, and she had given him no reason thus far to doubt them.

Zhai sounds a bit relieved. "Maybe next time you'll at least consider my words." turning to Sheila, "I take it his ownership comes from how he took from her? Would that mean if someone else could take it from him by defeating him in combat?"

Ran shrugs:"I considered your words, but I dismissed them courtesy of how you delivered them."
He KNEW he felt fine enough. If there had been a curse, it did not matter, he was under control at all times. But then, for some reason, she seemed to have known all along. Best not to dwell on it.
On her final comment, he remarks, with a wide grin: "If ownership is taken by victory in combat, then it should be perfectly save with me. We're in luck."

"Only if your over-inflated ego doesn't get you in trouble. As for my delivery of words, not all of us are endowed with necter-sweet words that can sell water to merfolk, doesn't mean my words lack importance or truth." she says while rolling her eyes.

"It's useless to speak the truth if you can't convince anybody that it's the truth. If I remember my lore correctly, there was once a seer cursed to see the future but be unable to convince anyone that her predictions would come true. Unfortunate story really since the girl had done nothing to deserve the curse save gain the unwanted attention of a powerful man. I hope if I were ever to gain such a level of power that I would also have obtained the wisdom not to abuse it for such pettiness."

"An interesting story, Granite. But then, We all are responsible for our own fates. If she could not convince others of the truth of what she saw, she should have taken it upon herself to change the outcome!", Ran nods, before turning to Zhai: "I understand that's what you tried, but the girl ATTEMPTED to talk first. Maybe instead of screaming orders at me and trying to force me to comply, next time just talk with me and my perfectly-sized ego. No nectar needed, really, just proper arguments. You do that, and I'll promise to listen. Deal?"
No, really, you used a total of 7 words before considering assaulting me. To-the-point is great, but I'd gladly have asked about your curse suspicions if you had kept talking instead of trying to jump me.

Magnimar - Heidmarch Manor

Sheila raises an eyebrow, "You should work out these difference here and now. If you continue to work for me, I will need you all pulling in the same direction".

Sense Motive: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (6) + 4 = 10

Granite attempts to politely smile, but it looks more like a grimace. It was really quite embarrassing that their group tiff had been noticed by their benefactor. Now, if this had been pretty much any other type of problem, he was sure he could figure it out by locking himself in a room with plenty of books, paper, ink, and quills. But...unfortunately he had found that humans were far too complicated for his current understanding.

Perhaps he should appeal to Lady Heidmarch for aid in this? Or would that be overstepping? True, she had been nothing but kind to them, but that didn't mean she was willing to mediate between them, especially when she was undoubtedly capable of finding another group of adventures with less baggage to help her in her next task.

So instead, he stands awkwardly around, waiting for Ran and Zhai to air their grievances with each other and hopefully but them behind them.

"There wasn't time Ran. By the time we were talking it was already too late. Or did you forget that part? When there is time to talk about something and still avoid the problem, then naturally I will do so." shifting from serious into a playful tone, "But if you'd like, I can let you set off any traps you fail notice rather than save you from yourself." without the curse being a worry, clearly Zhai is back to being unconcerned and certainly holding no grudge, possibly considering the bickering to simply have been a symptom of the curse.

sense motive: 1d20 ⇒ 5

"It if was too late, you should have saved yourself the trouble. That said, I didn't feel any different, whatever curse it was, it was incapable of overcoming my willpower, so there was nothing to worry about. I'll happily keep that up, to keep you safe...", Ran bows, in an overacting way, staying bowed for a bit before suddenly jerking back upwards, motioning for silence from both his companions and Sheila, quickly explaining:"Shhh....there's...more shards. I saw a Crow, sheltering another Shard made from a black metal, with a pale blue stone in it - it felt...close!"
Turning to Sheila, he attempts to rub his Shard, repeat whatever he just did:"I think it wants us to retrieve another fragment of the Xin Star...I believe that is in your interest, as well? Is there anything more you can tell us about the Shards?"