GM Fnord's PFS First Steps (Inactive)

Game Master Aoth Anskuld

That's right....Millie! Maybe she is our ticket inside!

I don't want to act based on discussions that aren't necessarily the final plan, so when you guys come up with the final plan of action, either start roleplaying it and I'll respond, or just summarize it and I'll set a scene.

tell me what to have 'drassic' ask the girl, make a distraction and cover me while I concentrate and cast... that the plan?

Alright...I think we all agree we need to get inside the Home for Recovery. Once inside hopefully I can break away from the group and do some snooping around. Ice's pocket pal might be able to help with that endeavor as well.

We could use the Dwarves as a distraction, or we could enlist the help of Millie to at least get us through the door. But lets not forget that the simplest solution is often the best course of action.

Auntie Baltwin is expecting someone from the Temple to be showing up with a parcel. A few of us can head to the orphanage and claim that we became separated from the rest of our group; but that they should be along shortly with the medicine. Tiann can ask if we can wait inside for the others; I'd imagine it wouldn't look to good to deny a devotee of the Goddess' simple request for shelter. Once inside I'll try to break away from the group and see what I can find.

A few of us will need to stay back and hold onto the parcel. Jory & Karzak...since it sounds like Auntie will barricade the door with whatever she can find if you show up again I guess this task falls into your capable hands.

Ice....before we head out maybe have your little friend ask Millie about any parts of the Home that are off limits to the kids or visitors?

Sound good?

Jory nods and points to his fellow dwarf.

"I think he can bash the door if we hear screaming inside. Got it, we get the parcel and come in 5-10 minutes later."

If we get enough of a concensus behind that plan, I will come up with a list of skill rolls that I need to see, and then summarize.

We might need a bit more time that that Jory...Ice can send Drassic out when we're ready for you.

By the way, ghost sound doesn't do what you want it to do, that's what ventriloquism is for, so I'm going to have to not allow that trick anymore. With your empathic link you can make him go where you want and pretty much do what you want though. No talking...

Karzak growls again at the thought of having to wait outside, but the talk of breaking down the door brings a wicked smile to his face. He nods excitedly, his thick hands curling into meaty fists.

If ya' get in trouble, ya' yell out and we'll come in bashin' and burnin.' 'Cept the orphans a'course; we wouldn't bash the lil' ones. We need a code word or something?

The magic might not work the way we want it to...

I can always go in with 'Drassic,' I can tell Auntie that he ran away from me into the shop if she notices and confronts me. Until that happens, I'll just have the lizard whisper in my ear, and I'll relay to Millie. I think she'll talk to me if she thinks she is answering Jurassic's questions

Ice then nods that he is ready with this plan.

OK...we'll start with Ice giving me diplomacy and sense motive checks for interviewing Millie.

Edit: Also, any specific questions you want to ask outside general questioning :)

1d20 + 0 ⇒ (14) + 0 = 14 diplomacy
1d20 + 1 ⇒ (10) + 1 = 11 sense motive

Just the where kids cant go general stuff

Millie explains that Auntie tries to keep the kids out of her private office in the rear of the first floor, except when Auntie has had too much of her special tea. When Auntie has had too much tea, she mostly takes naps and the kids do what they like.

Tiann and I will enter under the auspices of delivering the medicine. We can also hold it for delivery when the time is right.

[b]Perhaps it wouldn't hurt to purchase a bottle of Auntie's "special tea" from Miltvis and maybe share a drink or two with her to dull her senses?"

I don't drink myself, but I will help in any other way...

OK, whoever is waiting out of sight (just the Dwarves?), you're fine. Currently there's nobody outside at the Home for Recovery, so whoever is knocking on the door, please start us off. If you're in the group entering the house now (everybody but the Dwarves?), go ahead and describe your actions when you get there, and we'll go from there. It sounds like you intend to go ahead introduce yourselves as the Pathfinders sent by the silver crusade?

If you want to bring whiskey with you, we'll assume there was plenty of time to pick some up before you get there.

Tiann nods, the presented plans making good sense. Ice, that's fine with me. I'm sure I can manage. Unless our Dwarven companions are too chicken? As for being direct with Auntie Baltwin: that works fine for me. I've always been better at straight talk than twisty mazes of words. 's probably part of why the Dawnflower chose me to be a champion of her faith, instead of holing up with ... what was it, dusty old books? She grins, trying to poke fun at the disagreement of earlier. Well-intentioned fun, of course.

Yes, picking up some "special tea" sounds like a good idea. I imagine at least someone in this CON-generous party can drink her under the table, let alone get her to talk.

Tiann hoists the medicine parcel and makes way to the Home for Recovery, keeping her holy symbol of Sarenrae in her spare hand. She knocks on the door firmly, knowing that a large number of children can produce quite a racket.

Greetings and good morrow! I am Tiann Ceriagh'u, here on behalf of the Silver Crusade and the Pathfinder society, and I am come to deliver much-needed medicine to the Home of Recovery!

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (9) + 6 = 15

Ice will leave the majority of diplomacy to those better suited. He'll pay attention from the rear, keeping eyes open for anything suspicious.

As Jory waits outside he strikes up a conversation with Karzad.

"Here I was trying to come up with a fancy script, and you had a simple story: Disaster kilt their mums!

"The lesson I learned is dwarves shouldn't take more than they hit."

Talhaearn will hang back...looking for an opportunity to sneak away and search Auntie's private office which, according to the intel from Millie, is in the rear of the first floor.

I'm assuming I should hold off on a stealth check until someone is able to distract Auntie or until she leaves the room.

Jake will also stay to the rear, just inside the door with arms crossed.

Karzak snorts in amusement, his body heaving with a laugh. Never was one fer too much talkin'. Still, didn't think she'd take such a dislike to us; we seem like a fine pair of dwarves, no? Too much weird stuff going on in that place; I'm still fer clearing the place out and bringing in new management..

He drums sausage-thick fingers on the haft of his hammer. The battle-deprived dwarf was obviously anxious to bash something. So...anything we can do while we wait for the others?

Auntie Gilga Baltwin answers the door herself. Those of you who hadn't met her before are slightly taken aback, as she really is quite a hag. When she hears what Tiann has to say, her eyes twinkle a little, and she grins, revealing several missing teeth. "Ah, I've been expecting you. Please, come in, I have several sick children who have been waiting for this medicine."

From everyone inside the house: Sense motive, trying to learn what you can interacting with Auntie to confirm the suspicions you already have about her, or learn anything new.
From Tiann: bluff to distract for Tal
From Tal: stealth to sneak off

If you're not in a rush to post-and-run, please feel free to include some roleplay thoughts with your rolls to set the scene for everybody. :) Tiann will be the primary person talking to Auntie, with Jake and Ice backing her up and Tal sneaking off when he has the chance. Everybody else is trying to find out what they can from Tiann. If Tal successfully sneaks off, we'll resolve his time in the house next.

Tiann nods, accepting the offer to come in. She takes a look around to examine the place, wondering if the kids are in squalor or opulence.

Perception: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (16) + 4 = 20

Thank you, thank you! You must be Gilga Baltwin, yes? I'm Tiann, if you couldn't tell, she says, with a grin, knowing her human distaff voice quite thoroughly contrasts against the men she's with. As I said, the Silver Crusade sent us here. Have you heard of them and their work in Absalom? I've been thinking about joining with them and continuing their work. Tiann makes sure to show Gilga her holy symbol of Sarenrae, and continues talking about the faith and how she came to it.

I was thinking that I could use Knowledge: Religion to talk at length about something to distract Gilga, as my Bluff is not as good. :) I'll roll both of those and Sense Motive here.

Knowledge: Religion: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (3) + 4 = 7
Bluff: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (19) + 2 = 21
Sense Motive: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (20) + 4 = 24

If I don't flub the dice too badly, I'll try to get some info out of her after getting Tal set up.

Tiann has managed to so thoroughly distract Auntie Baltwin that not only does Tal have a chance to slip out, but the other men in the house realize they have an opportunity to sneak away as well.

Everybody inside, also please make a Heal check.
Everybody but Tiann can roll sense motive, stealth, and perception

Heal: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (10) + 8 = 18

Tiann mentally notes the delivery from another charity but decides not to pursue the issue for now; best to let the social lubricant take effect first.

Just a little for me, I'm afraid. I'm glad to help out but I'm afraid they keep us new recruits busy! She chuckles, an honest chuckle one would give when offered liquor on the job. I'm curious... how many children are here? And I must be honest: I wasn't told precisely what their ailments are. As a follower of the Dawnflower, I'm sure you can understand my commitment to making sure young ones are taken care of.

Sense Motive 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 1 = 2

Talhaearn takes in the scene; trying not to be noticed. As a half-elf living in a human world he has spent his whole life trying not to be noticed.

He admires how easily Tiann is able to keep auntie engaged, small talk being a skill Tal generally has some difficulty with...try as he might.

He scans the room, taking note of the hallways and ascertaining where they might lead.

Stealth 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (9) + 7 = 16

Perception 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (18) + 10 = 28

Heal 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (17) + 1 = 18

Jake listens intently to Tiann's conversation from just inside the door.

Perception: 1d20 ⇒ 14
Sense Motive: 1d20 ⇒ 14

Heal: 1d20 ⇒ 4

When he sees Talhaearn begin to look for an opportunity to slip off, he purposefully walks closer to the conversing Tiann, and circles the conversants with his steps while looking intently at Gilga with disdain.

Intimidate: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (15) + 4 = 19

Let's see if I can intimidate the woman enough to draw some of the attention away from Talhaearn's exit.

When Jake tries to intimidate Auntie, she starts to get angry. "You! Boy! Stop clomping around on my kitchen floors and wait outside! I am not afraid to take my broom to your head!"

To Tiann, "Your friend needs to learn some manners before I have to remind him of how bad parents treat naughty children."

No disrespect intended, Mi'Lady, but I will not be leaving the premises, as I am an agent of the Pathfinders here to facilitate the delivery of medicinals you require.

Jake steps back from the group a bit and crosses his arms as he casually leans agains the wall.

Auntie Baltwin sat a little straighter. "Ah, yes, the curatives. You said you were here to deliver them, can we get down to business? Where is my package?"

Talhaearn looks around for a sheet of paper and something to write with so that he can copy at least a few of the entries from the ledger.

An alcoholic. Lovely! She's not so much a caretaker as a slavedriver. Probably buys her liquor with the money the kids make and the medicine she "needs". Ugh. Ollysta was right, of course.

Tiann nods at Gilga. Yes, the curatives... about that. You've still not answered my questions. As a healer and hand of the Silver Crusade, it is my duty to ensure that they're delivered to the right people. I just want to make sure there wasn't a mixup or anything. What sorts of ailments do your children have... and how many are you looking after?

She tries to stall for time while her teammates find any information they can. Meanwhile, she tries to subtly signal to Jake that she's seen all she needs regarding Gilga's nature as an alcoholic and the separate shipment.

Considering we're both Pathfinders, I want to use the Pathfinder initiate slang. Per page 25 of Pathfinder Chronicles, Seekers of Secrets, under Slang, Pathfinders receive a +2 bonus to Bluff when trying to communicate secret messages, and a +2 bonus to Sense Motive to detect such. If doing things subtly doesn't work, then I can be direct.
Bluff (+2 base, +2 untyped Pathfinder initiate using slang): 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (14) + 4 = 18

Jake can roll a sense motive on Tiann with the extra +2 to get her message.

Baltwin starts to get angry. "The right people? You were sent to deliver my supplies, clearly you are in the right place. I don't need to explain myself to Ollystra Zadrian's errand boys, if she wants to talk to me, she can come here herself. Now you have stretched my hospitality to its limits, give me my supplies and get out."

Talhaearn returns to the others and speaks quietly to Jake.

I'm not sure what's going on in this house....but giving medicine to sick kids isn't it. Auntie's got several unopened packages of medicine...plus I copied some numbers from a ledger of some sort.

I don't want to get into a power struggle with this drunk in front of the children...plus our orders were to drop off the medicine and gather information. We've done the latter...so let's give her the package and get out of here.

Sense Motive: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (20) + 2 = 22

Jake nods to Talhaearn, then steps forward. Staring down at Gilga, he pauses, then takes out the package of medicines. He keeps a firm grasp on the packagas as he speaks to her, not releasing it until he is finished.

The care of the sick children is of the utmost concern to Ollystra Zadrian. That is why you are talking to Pathfinder Agents and NOT "errand boys". I hope that you understand.

After handing her the package, he addresses the others.

Come, our work here is complete, for now.

Outside Talhaearn tells the others what he has already told to Jake.

It's a shame...these children really need someone like the person Auntie pretends to be. Zadrian will want to hear of this I'm sure....let us return to the temple.

The group in the house makes their exit, happy to be out of Gilga Baltwin's presence. Along the short walk to the main road, you pick up your Dwarven allies, and fill them in on all you have learned.

When your group reaches the main road, it is only a matter of a few minutes to wait for two coaches to arrive, and take you back to the Temple of the Shining Star.

When you reach the temple, an attendant sees you arrive, and goes to find Ollysta Zadrian. The Paladin arrives, happy to see you, but evidently slightly worried. "Ah, Pathfinders, I was expecting you to return sooner. Did you run into any trouble on your task?"

Tiann smiles at Ollysta, giving a bow as before. Nothing too terrible... though it seems that Auntie Baltwin has her own problems. It was plainly clear to me that she's too fond of her drink. And from information we gathered, it seems, she pauses, trying to regain her composure as the fury of the thought overcomes her. Continuing very quickly now, It seems that she's putting her children to work for her own benefit! My guess is that she puts the kids to work to fund her drinking habit. And it seems that our package was not the first, as I spotted another as well. We did deliver it, as requested, and have determined that Gilga Baltwin is very much not an apt caretaker.

Tiann sighs and breathes, trying to calm down.

Talhaearn clears his throat.

I discovered several unopened packages of medication in Auntie Baltwin's office, along with a business ledger of some sort. I couldn't quite figure what the numbers meant, but I was able to copy a few of them down. Perhaps this will aid you should you decide to investigate further.

Zadrian sighs. "I had hoped that the rumors were not true."

Zadrian examines the transcript, and her frown turns to anger. "You say this was in a ledger in her office? This...this list seems to have codes for standard medical supplies, and black market prices. This is most unacceptable."

She confides, "We still know she is helping children, but I suspect she is doing so using what little magic she is rumored to have, and selling medical supplies from several charities on the black market.

"As for the child labor, the comings and goings there were always a little suspect, but from what you've told me, it sounds like these children are earning far more than what she would need for their upkeep.

"In any case, I shall take no more of your time, I will be taking this evidence to the inquisitors to investigate fully. Your work here has been exceptional, thank you all...again, please come visit us any time you like, I would love to hear about the latest goings-on at the Grand Lodge."

The Paladin gives Tiann a quick hug and smiles at you all, and takes her notes with her as she leaves for the back offices.

Well that was a job well done...and yet thoroughly depressing. What's next on that list of ours?

"Zadrian, she was mean to us and was quite a bi-- uhm biddy. We have three tasks to go and Khazad still hasn't got to use his hammer yet."
Jory bows.
"Can we do the books now?"

"Are you suggesting that Khazad use his hammer on the books? I'm fairly certain that won't go over well."

It makes no difference to me, but we need to progress quickly. I fear as if we are already running behind.

Tiann nods to Jake. I agree. If we're all agreed on taking care of the books, then let's do that.