GM FedoraFerret's Year of the Shadow Lodge Table (Inactive)

Game Master FedoraFerret

As you make your way through the streets, a lean-faced man hiding behind a long cowl slips alongside. “A moment of your time,” he says and pulls you aside, into the shadows of a nearby alley. “It seems we have two things in common, an eagerness to participate in good celebration, and this…” He punctuates his sentence by holding out an elaborately carved wayfinder, the type only granted to Pathfinders of great importance. “I assure you, its mine,” he adds quickly, closing the device and tucking it back into the folds of his cloak with a quick, easy motion. Then he continues, “I know a good number of you are already planning to attend the festivities this evening. I need but a casual favor. An old associate of mine, Charvion Eater-of–Bones is set to make an elaborate display of some artifact he claims to have recovered. I’ve not had contact with him in a year or so, and I’ve a curious feeling about the event. More I cannot say; however, I’d appreciate you keeping an eye on whatever stunt he’s considering. He’s a natural charlatan that one. Just keep an eye out is all—nothing serious. Don’t let him know that you’re watching, and do not approach the artifact during the showing. Most importantly, tell no one of this conversation.”

Sickly, the dwarf, unfortunately, lives up to his name.

Constantly sniffling and coughing, his nose is red and runny, with all manner of unknown effluviants crusting up in his beard, no matter how quickly he tries to clean it.

He seems to be bristling with weapons of all sorts, as if overcompensating for something, the most notable of which is a large hammer of dark adamantium on an overly long haft.

He is quiet and does his best not to draw attention whenever possible, clearly with some serious self-confidence issues. Unfortunately, the various symptoms combined with the constant wheeze of his breathing makes him hard not to eventually notice lurking nearby.

The rest of you were probably not even aware he was 'with you' as you set out for the festival, he was just kind of in the area as you got swept into the alley.

He does not seem suspicious at all of the strange Pathfinder, just glad to be included.

Any knowledges appropriate here? To know who this fellow or this Eater-Of-Bones guy are.. etc

Alas, there are none.

Kishara was on her way back from procuring some new gear, the wrapped parcels still beneath her arm, when the strange man fell in step beside her. She arched an eyebrow at the forward, back-alley summons, but she was not very surprised. She was often approached in such a way, having a bit of a thuggish look about her with her scarred ears and the blunted, slightly crooked nose of one that has been broken repeatedly, people had mistaken her for a common cut-purse more than once.

The flash of the elaborate wayfinder did surprise her though, enough that she instantly wondered if it was genuine or a well forged fake. Her violet eyes scanned the item as carefully as she could in the brief showing.
Appraise: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (7) + 5 = 12

"Hmm, well a name like 'Eater-of-Bones' does not do much to engender trust, does it? Watching sounds easy enough, but what do you expect if I do see something... concerning?" She would likely be keeping an eye out anyway, it came naturally to her. But she could not help but wonder if the messenger had some ulterior motive here.
Sense Motive: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (11) + 8 = 19

I couldn't tell if we were being approached individually or as a group... tried to write to either possibility.

You're being approached as a group. The scenario doesn't explain why you're together but presumably you met at the Grand Lodge before the event and decided to go together for whatever reason.

"Do you have any idea what the artifact might be?", asks the the tall Garundi woman. She carries a large sliver bastard sword, and a longbow on her back. She looks like she's done some hard work for the Society in the past. Ariana tries to peer into the hood to see if she might know the person.

Perception: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (13) + 9 = 22

"New artifact? Shiny! the fire-mage says. A spark in her feathered fingers dances excitedly.

Brewslee nearly stumbles into the man as he is busy procuring more drinks for the event. Coming to a halt more than one of the glasses fly from his arm and crash onto the ground spilling their contents. His face sours momentarily as he looks at the wet ground. Why do people alwaysh shneak up on Pathfindersh....

Brewslees normally tan skin has an almost red tinge to it as he has obviously been drinking since early this morning, or did he just not finish from the previous night?

His eyes open a little wider at the sight of a far more elaborate wayfinder than his own. Who are yoush?

"As I said, most likely nothing worth worrying about," he replies. "I haven't seen Charvion in some time, but the last time we spoke, he seemed slightly off. He earned his nickname after garnering a reputation for... let's say ruthlessness, and I worry he may go a bit overboard in theatrics tonight."

"Yes, yes, but of course... we must all hope everything will go swimmingly. But if it should not... if your worries are indeed accurate, how should we deal with the er... disturbance? Is this man a valued Society contact to be handled with kid gloves? Or do we have full reign to take whatever measures we deem necessary? I only ask because I would not wish to disappoint you, sir."

She meets his eyes and smiles, doing her best to be ingratiating with the hopes of receiving an actual answer to her question.

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (15) + 11 = 26

I'm guessing gathering info on Mr. Eater-of-Bones will do no good either?

"Do you have any idea what the artifact might be?"

"Alas, I do not. Charvion returned only a few days ago, and he and those in charge of this presentation have kept it tightly under wraps." The man's face is vaguely familiar, and you think you've seen him in passing at the Grand Lodge before, but he's no one you've ever met.

His eyes open a little wider at the sight of a far more elaborate wayfinder than his own. Who are yoush?

"My name is Osprey, a humble Pathfinder."

"Yes, yes, but of course... we must all hope everything will go swimmingly. But if it should not... if your worries are indeed accurate, how should we deal with the er... disturbance? Is this man a valued Society contact to be handled with kid gloves? Or do we have full reign to take whatever measures we deem necessary? I only ask because I would not wish to disappoint you, sir."

"I trust your judgment on the matter," Osprey says simply. "If he endangers lives with whatever game he's sure to play, then do with him as you wish. Otherwise, perhaps just keep him from reaching that point."

You unfortunately do not have the time to gather info.

A young, dashing Chelaxian walks alongside you, a bright smile on his well-tended, cleanly-shaven face. His clothes are rather simple, those of an explorer save a finely-wrought mithral chain shirt whose color match his eyes. Straight dark hair come down on his shoulders, with a whiff of lavender and icebloom.

"Osprey, huh? Never heard of you. Anyway, "cooperate" belongs to our motto, Master Zey made sure I got that before my Confirmation." grins the archaeologist. "Don't worry, we'll make sure nothing bad happens."

At the mention of'osprey' Aikio's head tilts quizzically at the human. Then she realizes her mistake. "Ahh, Osprey is your name. I am Aikio. We will keep an eye on this exhibition of Charvion then. Do none of the Venture Officers also share your concern?"

"I've not spoken with them yet," Osprey replies. "Charvion is an old friend, and I don't want any suspicion falling on him if it's undue. I'm merely asking a few friendly Pathfinders to keep an eye out." He pulls out a pocket watch. "Ah, the event will be starting soon. You had all better get to your seats." Without further ceremony, Osprey transforms into a small bird and flies away.

Ariana's eyes follow the bird as it flies away, and then looks at the tengu as if she expects it to turn into a small bird and fly away as well. In all her travels, this is the first tengu she's worked with. She bows to Aikio, "Shall we proceed to the arena?" She sweeps her arm in the direction of the building including all in the group with her question.

Intrigued by the sudden and theatrical disappearance, Auric cannot help but wonder about Osprey.

"A strange bird, that one. Yes, let's." he replies, leading his companions forward.

"Shiny," the tengu says in obvious awe. "My aunt could do that, I wonder if she could teach me how?"
(Aikio's next feat :)

"I'd like to get a closer look at this artifact, let's go quickly for a good seat."

Sickly, glad to be included for the moment, merely nods and shuffles along behind the others.

His eyes seem to be a lot redder now than they were a minute before.

"Think I'm allergic to birds." He mumbles, trying not to look at Aikio.

Kishara shakes her head with a rueful smile. She reaches up to clap Brewslee on the back. "Well, looks like you can have my drink, Brews. I thought we were going to be free to enjoy the revelry, but looks like I'm going to have to stay alert." She speaks with a slight Chelaxian accent that has been muddied by the lingual tones of Absalom.

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OVERSEER ANNOUNCEMENT
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Osprey had asked them to watch, so watch she would. Kishara's violet eyes flickered over the man and the cage, as well as their surroundings and the people involved, trying to get a sense of if there was danger afoot. She twirled and flipped a dagger in her hand, almost absently as if it were a kind of nervous tic.

Perception: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (11) + 11 = 22
Sense Motive(Hunch): 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (20) + 8 = 28

She spoke low to her fellows nearby, "Ripping the fabric of reality does not sound like a good thing to me... Perhaps our friend was right to be concerned? Should we try asking a question?"

If no one seemed eager to ask a question, she did have one that had long weighed heavily upon her mind.
"Who killed my father? He was the Elven Ambassador to Cheliax ten years ago."

The tengu has seen magical cages before, and the lotus was a source of power for many back home. She has left this plane of existence including that verry brief visit to the ethereal plane only two weeks ago. She watched the presentation closely mostly through curiosity. Her only question wasn't for the dead, "Whatever is that thing?"
Spellcraft: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (15) + 14 = 29
Kn (arcana): 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (8) + 8 = 16
Kn (planar): 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (3) + 8 = 11

Ariana wonders if this is simple smoke and magic stuff. The kind of thing that distracts while mage hand and presdigitation did the work of the illusion. She doesn't look at the stage but around the arena just in case they wanted us distracted for some reason.

Perception: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (10) + 9 = 19

Noisy watches with a slight frown, not at all comfortable surrounded by this many people... though a few of them have shifted away a bit.

He nods in response to Kishara questioning the wisdom of the apparent display, though does not shout any questions.

He looks about, a little wide-eyed (Perception: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (2) + 12 = 14) trying to figure out what's going on.

"Should we be trying to get closer?" He mutters quietly, clearly unsure.

Despite the distance, Charvion seems to have no trouble hearing the various questions asked by the crowd. He answers them in turn, though the answers are vague. When he gets to Kishara, he focuses his attention on her, as he did with all the others. "I'm sensing... a J? No, a G. It was... someone your father knew? Yes, definitely a friend, or a colleague, whose name begins with the letter G... I'm afraid that's all the spirits can tell me now."

"Would that be an elvish G, a Chelaxian G, or one in Taldane? I'm sorry KishAra. I wish that could have been more useful for you."

Under her breath she adds "It doesn't seem dangerously noteworthy to me." Then Aikio the Red settles back to enjoy the show.

Ariana asks Kishara, "Could his answer about your father be correct?"

Auric watches the whole scene in silence at first, merely curious as to how the thing works and whether the man is a charlatan or not.

Someone is bound to ask the following question, so I'll do it:

Suddenly, his voice rises above those of many others, asking: "How did Aroden come to die?"

Brewslee's jaw drops in amazement at the entire scene before him. He prepares himself for a question when Auric blurts out an even better one.

He spins his head back and forth looking from Auric to the Bone Eater.

Yea, what happensh to Aroden? He raises his mug into the air, spilling a bit on the large burly man before him.

Charvion turns to Auric and Brewslee, a scornful scowl on his face. "Honestly, were it that simple we'd already know by now. The spirits know much more than us, but not that which no one could know."

Kishara looks thoughtful at this answer. "Probably the Chelaxian usage... Most officials in Cheliax are natives, after all." She shrugs at Ariana's question, a practiced move of indifference that seems belied by the intensity that burns in her violet eyes now. "I don't know... But it's a better answer than I've gotten before today."

She looks interested when the inquiries about Aroden are made, but quickly smirks at Charvion's answer. "Well now, I guess that would have been too easy, eh?"

Aikio excitement sparks in her fingers, as she recognizes one of the costumes in the crowd as her own.

Attempting to join in the festivities she tries to come up with an appropriate question of her own and thinks back to what she knows of the artifact. "Is there anyone still trapped in the demi-plane Hao Jin created?"

I realize that is a bit of a jump from story, but I will not think of any more relevant question until the edit window closes... :P

Charvion closes his eyes and thinks carefully. "... yes. To the best knowledge of the spirits, there are still people trapped there."

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OVERSEER ANNOUNCEMENT
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Egads... I figured the artifact/seance thing was a bad idea... but wasn't expecting that!

As the horns break out, Sickly starts looking around, puzzled, assuming its part of the show.

That thought is quickly quashed, however, as the dragon makes its appearance, and makes off with Charvion and the artifact.

"Hey!" He mutters, unhappily, almost raising his voice, and immediately starts trying to make his way down to where the artifact was only moments before.

Too little, too late.

Dang, knew I shoulda tried to get closer! =)
Not that I'd want to face a dragon, mind you... hmm... ok, perhaps for the best!

He quickly realizes that perhaps the better destination might be the Grand Lodge.

Were the horns some sort of warning system? Or did they summon the damn thing? Any sign of who was blowing them?

"The city! We should try to help!" Ariana yells as she pushes at the crowd trying to get out of the Irorium.

Brewslee rushes into the arena. He bobs and weaves with ease through the crowd, trying to find a way through the exit.

Anyone shee what is going on? He cups his hand over his eyes to block the sun.

Perception: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (12) + 12 = 24

"What in the... What?? WHAT!??" Shocked inarticulate, Kishara can only scan for indication of what in the bloody abyss has just occurred.

Perception: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (20) + 11 = 31

"Surely that is no one's idea of mere theatrics?!"

I can only guess we're meant to go after it? Not that chasing a black dragon sounds good for one's health... Can she at least tell about how big/old it was?

"I think the exit was that way." Sickly mutters, his voice barely audible above the chaos.

He stops suddenly, looking to his left. "Or was it over there?" He adds, suddenly unsure.

"So many people..." He adds miserably, before breaking out into a fit of coughing.

Sickly: That'd be Knowledge (history).
Kishara: Knowledge (arcana) to know that dragon's age.

As the Irorium whips up into a frenzy of chaos and confusion, dozens of dots blot the sky. They quickly close in, revealing themselves to be even more black dragons, though all are thankfully much smaller than the one that took away Charvion and the cage. Riding their backs are a large assortment of goblins, who dismount when the dragons land in the Iorium. Well, dismount is a polite term, most fall flat on their faces trying to get off. One such goblin actually snaps its neck as it's thrown face first off of a dragon from momentum as it makes its sudden landing, directly in front of you.

Party, roll initiatives, indicate in the discussion thread what name you're using on Roll20 so I can give you control of your tokens, and indicate where you'd like to be positioned in the lovely cyan box.

You're not going to roll inits for everyone?

Initiative: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (10) + 2 = 12

edit: hmm... there's a cyan box? is it on a different layer? I do not see it.

Old habits die hard I suppose. Expediency does dictate rolling initiatives for players is smart in this setting, I'm used to PbPs where everyone is in constant contact with one another and "no one may touch my dice" superstitions extend to the internet.

In that case, turn order is Aikio->Dragon->Ariana->Sickly->Brewslee->Kishara->Auric. And it would probably be helpful if I put the Player flag on the correct page :x

You're more than welcome to roll initiative for us. My Roll20 account is "Cyril C." (sihedron star icon)

Ya, GM's rolling init for the group is pretty much common practice in PbP as far as I've seen. All about keeping things moving.

The map looks like an arena now at least... though think you shouldn't have put the dragon on there, who the heck wants to place themselves next to a dragons full attack?! Seems a little close =)

Can't access my token yet

I am Tyranius on Roll 20.You can place me right in the center.

I'm Ariana on roll 20. I have trouble looking at roll20 on my phone but can get to a computer at least once a day.

Upon seeing the dragon Aikio prepares to cast a spell. Too quickly the creature is next to Charvion and she decides not to throw flame. must be part of the show.
Kn (arcana): 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (11) + 8 = 19 identify first dragon?
Kn (history): 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (13) + 8 = 21

As the chaos ensues Aikio casts a different spell and a blast of flames erupts around her body. The flames cool almost immediately, leaving a shimmering sheet of fire around her body. mage armor cast in advance of combat if that's OK?

Kn (arcana): 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (13) + 8 = 21 dragon in front of us.

Ok, my name was bluedove, but the display names seem easy enough to change back and forth so I changed it to Kishara. I do seem to be able to move my token. May I ask what is the green square on the map?

Ok, my name was bluedove, but the display names seem easy enough to change back and forth so I changed it to Kishara. I do seem to be able to move my token. May I ask what is the green square on the map?

Where the Gm wanted us to set up the party.

You aren't completely certain but you know that dragon is at least an adult, probably older. The dragon in front of you now is a young black dragon. 0 questions.

History nets you that the horns were ancient hunting horns, probably of Ulfen origin.

As for positioning, you didn't exactly run up to the dragon, the dragon landed in front of you.

Any buffs you want to throw up before combat is fine, you had about a half a minute between when the first dragon appeared and now.

Everyone should now have control of their characters.

Any buffs you want to throw up before combat is fine, you had about a half a minute between when the first dragon appeared and now.

Brewslee digs through his bags for a wand as he sees the dragons overhead. Finding it he shoves it at Aikio. Tap me with thish.

He feels a tiny bit more magical armor encase his body. Wand of Mage Armor. +2 AC

He takes a large drink from his flask as the dragon lands in front of them. The smell of the flask is less like alcohol and more like a very strong and pungent kerosene.