Jiro bows to the priest. "Thank you for your gracious boon and for the aid to our investigation."
With a nod to the rest of the clergy, Jiro tells the party that he is ready to venture to Amenira's house. "I believe that it is time to examine her housing for any signs or indications of her whereabouts."
"Thank you friend. If you don't mind my asking, what are your thoughts on Sheriff Molume?"
"He is a good man and he helps keep our town safe and secure."
---
You head across town to Amenira's house with a few quick directions from the priest. The well-kept wooden building is painted in festive shades of orange and is the only painted structure you have seen in the town so far. A pair of cashew trees flanks its front entrance.
DC 10 Knowledge (engineering):
The house was built in the last few years and is much newer than most other buildings in Mercy.
The door has no lock and the inside is a mess of workbenches, tools, toys, and dolls in variation stages of completion.
DC 15 Perception:
It seems Amenira packed up weapons, armor, and other items before leaving in a hurry.
A search of her bedroom reveals her spellbook and journal. She has not written in the journal for some time but the bed is messy as if slept in and even has a few twigs sitting atop it.
Dc 15 Perception or DC 12 Linguistics:
You find a page within dictating the rules of Mercy:
The people of Mercy are rather secretive, even about their social norms. I have deduced the following unspoken rules.
1) No meat. Everyone in Mercy is strictly vegetarian, but the opposition to the presence of meat goes beyond dietary choices and seems to have a religious significance.
2) No cursing. They have a broad sense of what constitutes a curse word, and even polite words said in a rude tone are taboo.
3) No blue clothing.
4) No unleashed dogs.
5) No gambling. This includes benign references such as, “I bet” as an affirmative.
6) No spreading of false gospel. The townsfolk refuse to even acknowledge the existence of deities other than their own.
DC 23 Perception:
You find a small doll made of twigs under the bed, much in the style of those you found in the cave.
"Well, she appears to have vacated the premises quite quickly. Perhaps she was in trouble here at the town or maybe she was on to the gnolls?" he says as he pulls a doll from the cave out of his pack and compares it to the ones in the room.
"This can't be a coincidence, can it?" he asks of everyone.
(not raging) AC 22 T 15 FF 19 (uncanny dodge) l Current HP 52/53| F +12 (+2 vs poison) R +6 W +4 (+2 vs mind affecting) | Init +2 | Perc +10 Rage 13/13
As you examine the house, you note that the sun is getting quite low in the sky and it would behoove you to abide by the town's curfew. You had best search for lodging but luckily there are a few places with rooms available to choose from.
DC 15 Knowledge (nature):
As you walk about town you realize that something is very odd about the plants in town: they are exceptionally healthy despite the harsh climate. The townsfolk are growing garden crops that typically grow poorly together, as well as crops that are not in season. Crops that require enormous amounts of pollination flourish despite a marked lack of bees in the area.
And you can let me know what you want to do the next morning if you have any ideas.
(not raging) AC 22 T 15 FF 19 (uncanny dodge) l Current HP 52/53| F +12 (+2 vs poison) R +6 W +4 (+2 vs mind affecting) | Init +2 | Perc +10 Rage 13/13
"Good call, kid."
Old Iron goes for his hammer, then remember it's not there.
"Maybe somebody'll try to kill us in the night. Might be fun. Wouldn't be the first go-around for this old lizard."
Old Iron is fine letting the detective determine where we go next
Max HP 53 | AC 17 (T12, FF15) | F +7; R +7; W +5* | CMD 19 | Init +2 Per +10
Know Nature:1d20 + 6 ⇒ (4) + 6 = 10
It takes all of Tin's concentration to exercise the self-restraint he requires to not swear as they make their way through the town.
Not sure if it matters which inn we select, or we can take the easiest one to keep things moving along.
Once Tin is certain they aren't being watched.
"Yea... sometimes when a lizard like us goes around turnin' up rocks, a big bird takes notice and swoops in t' eat the lizard."
Tin adjusts his collar and gestures awkwardly before realizing his spear isn't in his hand. Reaching into his pocket, he finds comfort in the brass within.
"So... everyone keep their eyes open for angry birds."
The night is uneventful and you wake the next morning to another sunny day in Mercy where the people are starting to bustle about, some heading out to harvest a few crops and others strolling towards the market to buy new food and wares for their families.
Jiro will follow the people to market after a relaxing evening, choosing to leave his armor and blue tunic packed away, opting for something a bit more colorful. "Perhaps my red one will do for today."
Once in the market, Jiro will search for some foodstuffs fit to satisfy his hunger.
As a heads up, I have already GMed this, so I don't want to take the lead on this part of the scenario as it is heavy investigation.
Jiro heads to the square where much of the business is done. As he approaches, he hears a heated argument between two groups.
A representative from the first group says, "We're your best customers, no sense or decency in driving the prices up like you've been for the past few months. You don't have any competitors, we buy every nail you make."
A strong burly blacksmith from the second group calls back, "But that's just the point. We can't make enough nails to keep you happy. If you're going to strain us that hard so that we're working through the night to keep up, we're going to charge extra. That's our right."
The man from the first group responds, "Without us the walls don't get repaired and the homes don't get built. This town relies on its carpenters."
"And the carpenters rely on the blacksmiths!" The second man shouts to applause from his group.
----
Meanwhile at the temple there are still a few priests praying quietly around the tree or doing some minor cleaning chores nearby.
Max HP 53 | AC 17 (T12, FF15) | F +7; R +7; W +5* | CMD 19 | Init +2 Per +10
Tin sorts through his notebook the next morning, going over all the facts he's recorded thus far.
Gnolls. Azathoth. Twig-dolls. Mercy. Tree God. Sheriff seems reliable enough, although not really worshipping the Tree God. Bunch of weird a$$ rules and regulations. Trail growing colder every day.
As the group readies themselves, he reports the most likely outcome.
"Chances are Amenira ain't gonna be found. Once someone disappears, you get like maybe forty-eight hours before a trail goes cold... course them's the rules for a big city like Absalom."
Tin follows along as the others seem interested in the market and the tree, but he does go down his list of other potential leads.
"So we know Amenira was checkin' into the town weaver's home for some ointment and that our girl was gettin' sick. We should go check out this weaver, could be she got wise on our girl and decided to strike back. Could be she was one of these twig-peeps... if we go back to the church, we should ask if anyone there knew Amenira was sick..."
Having heard about this in the missive, Jiro moves closer to see if he can gain any information on the blacksmith and carpenter feud, knowing that his compatriots will be glad that he stumbled upon such a lucky outburst.
As he moves closer, a few fruit stands catch his eye. "Hmm... perhaps a couple kiwis for a breakfast will go with whatever else I can find..." he thinks aloud.
(not raging) AC 22 T 15 FF 19 (uncanny dodge) l Current HP 52/53| F +12 (+2 vs poison) R +6 W +4 (+2 vs mind affecting) | Init +2 | Perc +10 Rage 13/13
Sorry, midterms this week and I'm swamped
Old Iron lingers at the sight of the carpenters and blacksmiths.
"That doesn't look good. Labor disputes have got a tendency to turn into riots. Ain't interested in fighting a buncha working men."
Old Iron pats Tin on the shoulder, while pointing with his thumb back towarss the crowd.
"Yo, smart guy! You think this mess got anything to do with our missing person?"
Over at the temple, the tree certainly still looks like a tree.
----
Meanwhile, things are heating up in the Artisan's Square. "You raise your prices one more time and maybe we'll have to ship our nails in! What'll you do then?"
"Good luck transporting nails all this way or finding someone to put up with your s+~*! We might just have to go on strike after all!" the blacksmith yells back.
Cade approaches a more reasonable member of the crowd and asks, "What construction or project is demanding so many resources on both parties? Is the town expanding that fast?"
No magic. It's a local cult you wouldn't have known anything about.
A man nearby responds to Cade, "All sorts! Houses need repairing and rebuilding and of course there's the wall, that's one hell of a construction project, I'd say!"
(not raging) AC 22 T 15 FF 19 (uncanny dodge) l Current HP 52/53| F +12 (+2 vs poison) R +6 W +4 (+2 vs mind affecting) | Init +2 | Perc +10 Rage 13/13
I was trying to nudge Tin to take the lead, but I can go for it
Old Iron's fist clenches tighter as the argument continues. He looks at Tin, and back at the crowd again, then at his ohter companions, then back again. He finally grits his teeth.
"STOP YOUR WHINING."
Old Iron pushes forward into the crowd.
"Where I grew up, we didn't have the luxury of setting prices for each other. You made what the matrons wanted, when they wanted it, or you lose a body part. You lot have this nice village all to yourselves, living free with your--" he twists his mouth as he tries to force out the word "'god' right there to look out for ya. And you all are fightin over the stupidest sh--" he chokes down the word "Anyways, you keep up like this and someone is gonna do something stupid and draw. Fights between neighbors are the worst. I've been hired for a few of them. Trust this old lizard: you don't want that."
Max HP 53 | AC 17 (T12, FF15) | F +7; R +7; W +5* | CMD 19 | Init +2 Per +10
Tin's more of the shake someone-down-for-information type rather than a mediate-the-guilds type. :)
Tin, anxious to give the weaver's the "glove treatment", taps his foot impatiently as the other members of the party chat it up with the carpenters and smiths.
He scowls, sizing up each person, looking for someone who seems suspicious or ready to bolt when they realize Tin is observing them.
Jiro stands to the side before spying an apple cart. "How much for an apple?" he asks the woman manning the fruit stand before flipping her the coin and biting down into the juicy fruit, watching the events unfold and keeping his eyes open.
Jasmine, as been okay with words, but that is more to get out of trouble than to diffuse a potential fist-fight. She steps in trying to chose her words to have the best impact possible.
Gentleman, gentleman. I am an outsider and visitor. Why don't the two of you calm down, and take a few deep breaths. You wouldn't want me to think of your quaint little town here as nothing than hospitable and a nice place, would you?
The men are a bit too brusque to effect any change in the guilds' attitudes but Jasmine then steps up to save the day and calms the crowds down so they can discuss a reasonable price and terms without causing a strike or material shortage.
DC 15 Perception:
As Jasmine calms them down you notice children in the distance wearing the same orange garb as the other villagers; their hands, arms, and faces are covered in what appears to be bandages. Some adults quickly usher the children out of view.
"Hmm... this apple is quite tasty. *CRUNCH*" says Jiro offhandedly as he smiles at the fruit stand woman. "You guys have great food here!" he compliments, completely oblivious to the goings-on around the market.
(not raging) AC 22 T 15 FF 19 (uncanny dodge) l Current HP 52/53| F +12 (+2 vs poison) R +6 W +4 (+2 vs mind affecting) | Init +2 | Perc +10 Rage 13/13
Perception:1d20 + 10 ⇒ (15) + 10 = 25
Old Iron's brow scrunches tight as he tries to confirm he saw what he thinks he saw.
"Hmm...I see it, too, Tin."
He scratches along his jawline at the edge of the scar across his face. He uses the motion to disguise the movement of his mouth as he turns and discretely speaks to Tin.
"Come to think of it, have we seen any kids since we got here?"
Human Oracle 1 | HP 11/11 | AC 19; Tch 12; FF 17 | F +2; R +2; W +1 | CMB+1; CMD 13 | Speed 20 ft | Init +0 | Bone Club: +1 (1d6+1) | Perc +3 (deaf)
Necress stops one of the tree cultists.
"What can you tell me of this tree?" she asks. "How was it discovered it was divine?" she asks. "What does it do for its followers?" she adds.
'
diplomacy:1d20 + 8 ⇒ (16) + 8 = 24
"What can you tell me of this tree?" she asks. "How was it discovered it was divine?" she asks. "What does it do for its followers?" she adds.
"You will have to talk to High Priestess Zuri if you want to learn more." The follower then goes into the temple to find the High Priestess, who does her best to answer Necress' questions. "It was grandfather," Zuri begins, "who discovered the divinity of Robori and his protecting powers. Robori is selective in his blessings but he grants our town protection and has given me the highest among blessings, the ability to weaves magics. I save these for times of dire need though."
(not raging) AC 22 T 15 FF 19 (uncanny dodge) l Current HP 52/53| F +12 (+2 vs poison) R +6 W +4 (+2 vs mind affecting) | Init +2 | Perc +10 Rage 13/13
Old Iron makes eye contact each with Tin, Jasmine, and Jiro, the nods to follow him.
He starts making his way to get a closer look at the strange bandaged children.
The children have gone but a few of the adult villagers still linger about and don't immediately turn away as you approach. "I'm sorry about that," one man says, clearly not referencing the guild fight but the children. "It's our fault for letting them linger outside for too long. Don't worry though, we've moved them back inside and you don't need to worry."
Human Oracle 1 | HP 11/11 | AC 19; Tch 12; FF 17 | F +2; R +2; W +1 | CMB+1; CMD 13 | Speed 20 ft | Init +0 | Bone Club: +1 (1d6+1) | Perc +3 (deaf)
still at the temple...
"What is the protection that Robori offers the town?" Necress asks.
Once her curiosity has been satisfied about the tree, Necress asks "There has been an outsider that has gone missing...do you know anything that might be useful in helping me find her?" The oracle goes on to explain everything they know to the priestess.
The high priestess evades answering Necress' questions by responding, "Robori protections all of the citizens of Mercy from whatever ails them. I have not heard of any missing person but if they were an outsider like yourself they must not have had the protection of Robori or something like that would not have happened."
(not raging) AC 22 T 15 FF 19 (uncanny dodge) l Current HP 52/53| F +12 (+2 vs poison) R +6 W +4 (+2 vs mind affecting) | Init +2 | Perc +10 Rage 13/13
Old Iron snorts, folding his arms. He leers over the man, though not quite enough to appear openly aggressive. Just enough to make him uncomfortable.
"Perhaps we should check the Weaver's house to see if they know of anything that might be of assistance to our cause?" asks Jiro before blithely heading in that direction, still munching on his apple.
Excellent! GMEF's games are always good ones... and I'm excited to see my fellow players who won the lottery, too.
I'll likely be checking in with a level 5 investigator or swashbuckler, or a level 4 bloodrager depending on what others folks pop in as. All three options are melee, one uses a reach weapon. All three are oodles o' RP fun.
If DM Panic wants to play high tier, I can use my bloodrager, Old Iron. He's one game away from dinging 6, and I would just need to update his purchases.
(not raging) AC 22 T 15 FF 19 (uncanny dodge) l Current HP 52/53| F +12 (+2 vs poison) R +6 W +4 (+2 vs mind affecting) | Init +2 | Perc +10 Rage 13/13
I may only be a 3.2, but I am willing to play up, if you all are willing to have me. Otherwise if you all prefer, I will bow out to give another higher level PC from the list a crack at it.
(not raging) AC 22 T 15 FF 19 (uncanny dodge) l Current HP 52/53| F +12 (+2 vs poison) R +6 W +4 (+2 vs mind affecting) | Init +2 | Perc +10 Rage 13/13
"The mighty Jiro of the Bold Striders would bring along ten new Pathfinders just to show them how it is done!" proclaims the man in the heavy armor with the horse. "Though this is my first mission, so perhaps your experience would be better." he says sheepishly.
I'll be leaving for Florida tomorrow to work on our fields down there for at least a week, probably closer to 10-11 days. While I'm there I won't be able to post as often as I normally do so my games might be running a little slow. I'll do my best to keep up though!
Hey everyone! Thanks for your patience. I know this game has been moving slowly due to my travels and that is unusual for me so I wanted to give you an unfortunate update:
I thought I was going to be heading home tomorrow but my trip has been extended so I won't be back until Friday at the earliest. Unfortunately that means my posting is still going to be very slow until then. We are putting in 9+ hour days in the field down here to finish our work as soon as possible and after that I just usually don't have the energy to update all of my games. I will do what I can though and thanks again for being patient!
the long story:
We have four teosinte populations that need measuring (of many different traits) but they are all flowering/maturing at different times. Two were finished by my other lab mates. I came down last week to measure the third with our new lab tech. The fourth is not due to be finished flowering until later this week so I was going to fly back tomorrow and someone else was going to take my place later this week to measure the last population.
So I was supposed to leave tomorrow but of course got a call tonight that plans have changed and we are abandoning the immature plants in the last population and starting measurements tomorrow, which means I'm staying down to help measure them rather than trade off with someone else. So my trip (and workload) just got doubled without warning.
(not raging) AC 22 T 15 FF 19 (uncanny dodge) l Current HP 52/53| F +12 (+2 vs poison) R +6 W +4 (+2 vs mind affecting) | Init +2 | Perc +10 Rage 13/13
I'm leaving tomorrow morning for a convention, and I won't be back until late Sunday. I might be able to get some small posts in here-and-there, but I'll most likely be incommunicado until Monday.
As a heads up, I will be taking the Illinois Bar Exam on Tuesday and Wednesday and travelling to Chicago on Monday. I am aiming to still get posts up, but I cannot promise that it will happen.
Well, there's plenty of good food in the City. You can try Au Cheval for the alleged best burger in the US. In the same area is the Publican, The Aviary for drinks and more. Or check out Rick Bayless' setup for quality Mexican cuisine. Off Clark is Three Dots and a Dash if a Tiki Lounge is more your thing - it's been getting a lot of publicity lately.
Well, there's plenty of good food in the City. You can try Au Cheval for the alleged best burger in the US. In the same area is the Publican, The Aviary for drinks and more. Or check out Rick Bayless' setup for quality Mexican cuisine. Off Clark is Three Dots and a Dash if a Tiki Lounge is more your thing - it's been getting a lot of publicity lately.
+1
I'm thinking of hitting Manny's, Al's, Laschet's Inn, Howard's amongst others. (4 days leaves a lot of eating time)
Hrm. I'm unfamiliar with Laschet's Inn and Howard's, but I can vouch for the recent Bohemian House There's a Hofbräuhaus near the airport that's entertaining for the beer garden communal seating and good beer, but the German food itself is a bit lacking.
The Girl and the Goat is also good, and if you're a Top Chef follower, you should recognize the owner. Across the border to Indiana is Three Floyd's Brewery, which I highly recommend. A few places in the city should have their more popular brews on tap, but the real winners tend to be via growler.
Sorry about that. I am travelling at the moment and fully expected to be able to post over the last few days, but my luggage with the laptop and phone chargers got lost. I'm back now, though!
Max HP 53 | AC 17 (T12, FF15) | F +7; R +7; W +5* | CMD 19 | Init +2 Per +10
I'm trying to sort out what we really need to speak to the plants.
Here's our two folks who can UMD:
Necress: +7
Tin: +6 +1d6
We have really two options, emulate a bard 10 if you have a 13+ charisma, or emulate a druid 5 if you have a 13+ wisdom. Failing the right ability score, it's a burly check to emulate the ability score (it's whatever you roll on UMD-15 as your effective ability score).
This means Tin would need a DC28 to emulate a 13 Wisdom, followed by a DC25 to emulate a 5th level druid.
Necress would need the same checks to emulate a druid (since she has a <13 Wisdom). Or a single DC30 check to emulate a 10th level bard.
Not sure if I'm missing something here. We may need to consider buffing ourselves to make these checks. Guidance. Heroism. A potion or scroll of Owl's Wisdom to meet the minimum Wisdom requirements. Or, not sure if we can hire a bard for an hour (level 1 is fine, since the caster level check for a level 1 bard to use a level 10 scroll would be made with a 9+ on 1d20).
Human Oracle 1 | HP 11/11 | AC 19; Tch 12; FF 17 | F +2; R +2; W +1 | CMB+1; CMD 13 | Speed 20 ft | Init +0 | Bone Club: +1 (1d6+1) | Perc +3 (deaf)
Heh...I haven't played this character in a while, and I completely forgot that oracles don't have UMD!
I'm not sure where my +7 to UMD is showing up...maybe that was Jasmine's, but the scroll was right to fail when I tried to use it. I have no clue.
That said, I am not seeing any ways to proceed except talking to this plant and seeing what it needs. But it's going to be pretty rough to get this done. I think Tin is likely the best choice for it, or I like the idea of hiring someone if they are available.
Max HP 53 | AC 17 (T12, FF15) | F +7; R +7; W +5* | CMD 19 | Init +2 Per +10
Ah yes, probably Jasmine with the +7.
I had forgotten Inspiration could be used on any trained skill, so overlooked the fact Tin was +7-12 on the roll.
If he can get a potion of owl's wisdom to meet the Wisdom requirement, that saves one of the checks (the harder one).
Then, I suppose if there's any way to juice up UMD for the DC25 check to emulate a 5th level druid.
He actually has the pragmatic activator trait and fox's cunning is in his formula book, so if we rest, he can mix and quaff that and be +8+1d6 tomorrow. With guidance if we can get that, up to +9+1d6.
If he fails the first roll, there's always the folio reroll at +4 for me, so a second shot at +13+1d6 to hit the DC25.
@GMEF: Any chance of purchasing a scroll of owl's wisdom in Mercy? Or if we're not pressed for time, grabbing things in Alkenstar, or hiring a bard/druid NPC for X days to come out?
If he can get a potion of owl's wisdom to meet the Wisdom requirement, that saves one of the checks (the harder one).
@GMEF: Any chance of purchasing a scroll of owl's wisdom in Mercy? Or if we're not pressed for time, grabbing things in Alkenstar, or hiring a bard/druid NPC for X days to come out?
Yes, a scroll or potion should be fine in Mercy and you can rest for the night to prepare whatever you need for tomorrow. In addition, don't forget about masterwork items. Another +2 for only 50 gp.
Max HP 53 | AC 17 (T12, FF15) | F +7; R +7; W +5* | CMD 19 | Init +2 Per +10
OK, Tin will scribe owl's wisdom and purchase a 50gp masterwork tool for UMD. The next morning he'll prepare owl's wisdom and fox's cunning to eliminate the need to emulate wisdom and boost his int-based UMD.
This should bring it to +10+1d6 without Guidance.
Fox's and Owl's will replace his usual prep of False Life and Investigative Mind, if it matters.
