Ironclaw: The Will to Power

Game Master UltraFennec

@Delroy: There was a single Chapter flipover in June, which netted everyone 3 XP ("session," Chapter, Motto), and the Christmas Gift.

After that I decided to push to get this story done with rather than think about how to divide up into proper Chapters, and given how time-sensitive things were you wouldn't have had time to train up anything anyway.

So the grand total should be somewhere between 27 and 30 XP depending on how often Flaws mucked things up for each character.

Rosza is cashing in the Gift "Local Knowledge: Bonus d12 for Lyore River Valley related rolls" for the +5 points to retrain. That gives her a total of 32xp (3 from June, 24 from stories, 5 from re-training). I'd like to use 20 points of that to purchase two additional Gifts, then 12 points to purchase 3 Skill Marks.

Goals...I don't really recall setting more goals! I only had Rosza's starter goal marked down. Still getting familiar with how the system treats that, I suppose.

Alright then, assuming her starter goal will be fulfilled by Events Soon to Occur, some new Goals:
Goal #1: Uncover the Nature and Identity of Cedric's Further Conspirators
Goal #2: Begin developing a network of informants in Triskellian - Underworld, Mercantile and Noble!
Goal #3: (Need to think about this a bit)

Downtime
--------
Rosza will be pursuing (perhaps with Natalia's aid?) the matter of the letter (which hopefully Natalia will forget to turn over to the lawful authorities?). Rosza will specifically be trying the papermakers of Triskellian on the scrap she shaved from it, and perhaps if Natalia is interested, they can try something like wheedling a look through any correspondence to the College in terms of wealthy donations to see if we find similar writing/paper. Rosza is convinced that someone is building a private army/militia, and getting the College in pocket would be the sort of thing she'd likely try to do if she were ridiculously wealthy and considering a hostile takeover of the Merchants Guild/Triskellian...The only thing better than plenty of troops with guns is plenty of troops with guns accompanied by powerful magic.

Rosza also will drag Guillaume along to check in with Signore Apollinaire at the Lissemanteau embassy about a certain sparrow, a detailed description of what happened including her myriad scribbled notes, why that sparrow might be useful and influential in the upcoming trial of Cedric of Launts (and thus why Rosza told him to put said sparrow and members of his family up in some comfortable and protective place) in case the House wants some leverage in that trial to establish their need for reparations, and, speaking of which, some questions about the missing Lissemanteau shipment -- what it contained, and particularly whether it was traceable back to the House if it was something illegal, because the odds are good it went straight into Triskellian's black market...She will point this out if Apollinaire is too evasive, and note that she is still pursuing Cedric's accomplices/allies/backers, so knowing what to look for might very well help her.

The ermine is also going to poke Uncle Apollinaire about a wheel or cylinder-type cypher or something of that sort, so she can make sensitive reports without praying the courier has been bribed/threatened sufficiently to preserve their integrity.

All respectfully, of course. She is certainly his junior.

Presuming Jean-Yves DID indeed arrive and was treated well by Uncle Apollinaire, Rosza will want to have a little chat with him, just to keep him in mind of his Great Good Fortune in picking the winning side, and to remind him of how generous and protective she could be when provided with useful information, particularly if he intends to pursue his career in/around Triskellian (see: Rosza attempting to make a network of contacts/informants). If Rosza is relatively cash-flush at this point she may even be persuaded to invest slightly in his continuing good business...

re: Specific NPCs or plot-threads: I have tried to BURY you under NPCs, I admit it! I'd love to see a few of them unearthed. Hyacinthe Cosette (aka Gisélle) or Léon the Younger...Either of her siblings' intervention could easily create anything from unpleasant speedbumps to outright nightmares! Although they're theoretically out of town (assuming Léon is where he's SUPPOSED to be!). And then there are all the other potential entanglements...Penelope Simone has made an appearance but has been more of an assist/connection than a problem to date. And of course gentilhuomo Bianchi...

Also we may have just made enemies of a LOT of rabbits. <_<;

That's the way they work, reputedly.

Total XP is 27. Preferred expenditures:

Raise Brawling, Observation, and Presence. He did a little fighting, though not much. More importantly, he's done his best to help with uncovering clues, though less successfully than he might prefer. Lastly, he's used his intimidating nature to great success twice already, so he's going to practice to make it even better.

Also, it was either Endurance or Dodge, whichever was at d6 before. I already forgot. We'll say dodge since he spent a bit of time dodging crossbows last time.

Gifts:
First gift is Increased Trait: Will, to represent his determination to see his goals through. Mostly through sticking to his guns on Bisclavret things, underscoring his resolve.
Second gift is Increased Trait: Career, to represent his refinement of his battle technqiue. Can't become a Fiann without being a great warrior.
Third gift is Relentlessness, to represent his unstoppable nature.
With xp, fourth gift is Charging Strike, a technique he's been practicing since he never seems to get into position fast enough to deliver his own killing blows, as shown by our big thieves den fight.
With xp, fifth gift is The Cry of a Hundred Souls, a vocal representation of his inner savagery, spurred on by meeting a fellow atavist.

Any questions?

Slow down on the Goals folks, heh. Setting personal goals is all well and good, but Goals with a capital G is my territory. It's the prime (and only, lol) method the game gives the GM to focus the game's action. I need those other two spaces for your next outing!

Basically, if I put out a Goal, it's your incentive to do said thing.
The book pretty much explicitly says I should be handing them out for things you'd do anyway, so don't worry about it too much.

@Rosza: Your numbers add up and your expenditures and selections reflect the character as we've seen her played I think. Unexpected choice in the Body die, but then I didn't realize you were doubling armor until combat actually happened, lol. Interesting departure from the fencer trope.

The Dodge rank will almost certainly help you more against ranged attack. Purely in terms of dice (post Ambidexterity especially), Parries are what's going to keep you alive in melee. I'm surprised you haven't looked into Fencing yet, didn't see it on your sheet. That's pretty much the OP tree for Parry everything...then again the Ambidexterity keystone stuff is also like O_O

@Ceallach: Your numbers do not add up though. Marks cost 4 XP apiece, and Gifts cost 10 XP apiece. If you sell back a Gift you don't want or need then you'd have enough to raise the first three skills and grab those two Gifts, but otherwise you'll need to do some rearranging. We'll gab about it.

@Delroy: I'm not sure about Eidolon. One one hand your magic made a huge difference in how the fight went. On the other hand I'm not sure how it leads to this particular spell. What would you say if I gave you Mystic: Thaumaturgy, and you could buy Eidolon with your XP? You do need Mystic for...well, everything, and it's really useful.

Hit me up, we can gab about it if you really want it badly.

@Quinn: Your Increased Trait is perfectly acceptable, and also a really good choice considering how you want to study that evil book nobody knows about...and having a better die in Career is always good.

You kinda already grabbed Fencing for your Christmas Gift though, remember? At least, that's what it says on your character sheet.

Why not pick Performance: Dance instead so you can actually legally take Extra Career: Sword-Dancer? ;)

I must admit I hadn't considered this combination before, and you'd think there would be a good hybrid career for this a la warlock in Calabria, but now that you've laid the groundwork this could be a seriously dangerous combo once you've gotten a few more Gifts and Marks under your belt.

@Natalia, Javiera: Hit me with your best XP shot. I can take it!

I used to be good at basic math. -_-

Oh well. I decided to keep all the marks, retrain my Local Knowledge, and just take Charging Strike with xp, and drop Cry of Hundred Souls for now. I didn't do all that much interacting with the atavist anyway.

Banking 6xp to save for Increased Trait: Speed.

@Rosza: Your siblings will be making appearances soon enough. You passed by Port Spar without stopping for aperitifs, after all. ;) Leon...you'll see in a minute. Heeheeehee. :D

Penelope will be making a rather more immediate appearance, and it will hopefully be simultaneously amusing and annoying, as it should be.

@Ceallach: Eamonn and Taisheah are connected to future events, you'll be seeing them again.

@Delroy: You didn't request it, but Gwenaelle and Luigi will be making their first appearances here during our interlude shorts. One of them is possibly involved in the next full outing, but you'll have to guess who. The Abbot and Uncle I'm saving for a later date when things have hit the fan more. :D

@Quinn: You should be meeting an interesting sage at the least. See my PM for question regarding further misadventure.

@Natalia: I wasn't able to finagle a Repense presence in the last adventure that would have been logical, sorry. With Delroy's permission however I'd like to yoink one of his important NPCs and draw a connection. Are you opposed to associating with a lowly Rinaldi that is in no way in line for succession, that also studies at your college?

@Javiera: We haven't had an opportunity to flesh out your character basically at all. We should fix that. PM me!

I used to be good at basic math. -_-

Oh well. I decided to keep all the marks, retrain my Local Knowledge, and just take Charging Strike with xp, and drop Cry of Hundred Souls for now. I didn't do all that much interacting with the atavist anyway.

Banking 6xp to save for Increased Trait: Speed.

Cry of a Hundred Souls is AWESOME, but it is the kind of thing I'd want you to actually get trained in for dramatic montage sake.

You'll need it later, but it's a safe drop for now.

So much to do, so little that I have.
Basicly, I find that I should have to do a lot of backfill to get to what I see Natalia as (and keep off the power gamer route). Even so, I'm going to get a bit of goodies and backfill at the same time.

Slow down on the Goals folks, heh. Setting personal goals is all well and good, but Goals with a capital G is my territory. It's the prime (and only, lol) method the game gives the GM to focus the game's action. I need those other two spaces for your next outing!

Whoops, my bad. Amateur spymaster seemed like the next obvious step for Rosza, given what had gone on, I thought. She's got a powerful enemy or thirteen or fourteen and knows nothing about them, and the way she tried to work and turn Jean-Yves post-gunpoint seems to run straight along those rails.

@Rosza: Your numbers add up and your expenditures and selections reflect the character as we've seen her played I think. Unexpected choice in the Body die, but then I didn't realize you were doubling armor until combat actually happened, lol. Interesting departure from the fencer trope.

I think I know where the disconnect is. :) You're looking at the "Heroic Fencer trope" and I'm looking at "Swashbuckling Anti-Hero" right down to the reveal of "Armor?! You coward!" (Her very first pose I sort of made a big deal of her secrete...The steel skullcap that some small number of musketeers and the like wore under those big floppy hats. Known as a cervelliere IF it's worn openly or a secrete if you hide it and pretend to be unarmored.) Rosza is a (rightfully) paranoid younger sibling and the way I have begun to think of her is 'The best of three dastardly choices.' in that if she's given two equally useful or profitable options and one of them visibly is 'doing the right thing' she will veer that way. She might even veer that way if it involved some small disadvantage...Whereas Gisélle and Léon the Younger just. Don't. Care.

Or might even go out of their way to take the most opportunistically cruel option. Meanwhile, Rosza definitely enjoys the empowerment but isn't truly heartless, (her interaction with Jean-Yves, which probably comes across as perfectly chaotic weasely...Formal until she suspected him, an absolute terror when interrogating him, then practically trying to woo him over to the service of the House when she realized he was quite useful).

The Dodge rank will almost certainly help you more against ranged attack. Purely in terms of dice (post Ambidexterity especially), Parries are what's going to keep you alive in melee. I'm surprised you haven't looked into Fencing yet, didn't see it on your sheet. That's pretty much the OP tree for Parry everything...then again the Ambidexterity keystone stuff is also like O_O

Yeah, Fencing and Ambidexterity both get a replay on attack/counter/parry sub-Gift, Fencing gets a disarm and a Reach-distance attack (lunge). The big difference between the two replays, I think, Fencing seems nominally stronger (but also more unpredictable) as it forces a reroll of your dice AND your opponent's dice, while the Ambidexterity replay is only 'roll again with your other weapon.' As for the rest, Ambidexterity gets the double-draw and parry bonus, which I felt would more reflect Rosza's focus in her recent sword training (Stay alive! All other options are moot if you don't stay alive!); the Akimbo Fighter sub-Gift would give her favor (reroll 1s) on pretty much anything she does with Fencing weapons, let her Counter when reeling, and break Parry ties in her favor (quite a list!); and then for offense there's Tandem Strike, the 'traditional RPG reason for choosing Ambidexterity'. So I see it as the far more defensive 'suite' and thus the better choice ATM. I don't think she'll pursue both, however, because it pretty quickly seems to wander into 'Too many options to ever use' territory.

IMHO the designers did a good job at making them distinct. Fencing enhances Flynnery (disarm, lunge, add Dodge dice to Parry) and Ambidexterity is all about that second weapon.

EDIT: Just saw your other reply (this was open in the background and being modified for over an hour, yes, so many distractions today). Feel free to ignore the above commentary about Léon if it doesn't suit whatever you already had in mind!

@Delroy: I'm not sure about Eidolon. One one hand your magic made a huge difference in how the fight went. On the other hand I'm not sure how it leads to this particular spell. What would you say if I gave you Mystic: Thaumaturgy, and you could buy Eidolon with your XP? You do need Mystic for...well, everything, and it's really useful.

Hit me up, we can gab about it if you really want it badly.

I ended up having a change of heart on Eidolon for the time being. So as it stands:

XP: +2 Marks Academics (3 total w/ Knack) (8xp)
+2 Marks: Inquiry (2 total) (8 XP)
Gift: Theurgic Clout (10 XP) Brings Supernatural to d12

@Delroy: You didn't request it, but Gwenaelle and Luigi will be making their first appearances here during our interlude shorts. One of them is possibly involved in the next full outing, but you'll have to guess who. The Abbot and Uncle I'm saving for a later date when things have hit the fan more. :D

Uncle? I don't remember mentioning an uncle, but I might have and forgot to put it in my important NPC notes. And thank you for pulling them in, I hate asking for spotlight time, but I appreciate it when it comes.

He wouldn't mind hanging around with Natalia and Quinn, as well.

I hate asking for spotlight time

Please don't hate it, please do ask for it. It is FAR too easy for the manner in which I play Rosza's flamboyance to lean towards center-of-attention and I encourage everyone to drag their pasts and NPCs into things. I've probably had a dozen PMs back and forth with UF since we started this due to my twitchy worrying about scene-stealing, particularly with Rosza leaning hard on 'Me noble, you noone.' at NPCs and her pack of armed goons admirers.

I was figuring (until the interrupt) that the next few scenes were doubtless going to be Delroy and Javiera dragging the threat of the Church in, and Ceallach pulling Eamon's involvement with the 4CC in, and then much arcanistry between Delroy, Natalia and Kwin...And I was looking forward to Rosza being more out of her depth in those situations and trying to behave herself. It sounds like at least some of that is going to be played out either as discussion-and-outcome or PM or spoiler, though, which is good.

But really, PLEASE STEAL THE SCENE. Because Rosza will try to by default. She's a muddle of flirt, swashbuckling highwayman and not-exactly-disenfranchised young noblewoman with a pair of lethal siblings who want her head on a plate, and whose current survival plan amounts to 'accumulate as much power as possible, legal and otherwise, in Triskellian, before my brother and sister try to have me assassinated...again.'

Okay, before I start looking at crafting the next outing in detail, or doing interludes, I wanna make sure I've noted the relevant plot points we already have left to resolve.

Cedric's co-conspirators.
Who let the guns out?
Who stole that second shipment from the thieves/Cedric? With black magic no less?!
What was in that tomb-y thing and why is it so dangerous?
What is that broken spyglass for?
What is the Order of the shattered star?
What is that book?

Who ate the last slice of pizza?

How much would could a roguish wood chuck chuck, if a roguish wood chuck could chuck wood?

@ Rosza: Guillaume, he didn't think you wanted it after it sat there for an hour...

@ Javiera: About half a cord, if he only has to "chuck" it a few strides (they aren't much for athletic repetitious jobs)...

@Rosza: My plans for your siblings would still fit the personalities you've described. I don't know exactly how I'm gonna play them yet, but they definitely will still have a relative amount of amorality.

And speaking of Guillaume, I've had an amusing idea for this interlude...heeheeehee...

@Delroy: "Uncle" Vanderhouphen? That's who I meant. :)

Working up a list of Dramatis Personae for the next outing, and going forward further than that in some cases.

Who's ready for Interludes?

To clarify, what I mean by Interludes are a short break from the normal adventures, maybe one or two scenes at most, that are there for advancing your character-specific sub-plots or furthering your knowledge of things branching from the main plot that aren't heavy enough to require the full group's attention.

In a perfect world where we all had time to post all day these would last about a week in PbP format. As it stands, they'll last until I'm prepared for the next step, at which point we'll move unfinished Interludes to PMs and get the main thread churning on the new adventure.

If you really don't have anything in particular you want to do yourself, then perhaps you could join a willing accomplice in their Interlude! And if you really just want to give your brain a break and sit RP out for a bit, maybe make some necessary rolls for your activities, that's OK as long as you come BACK when I start up the main proceedings again.

Sound good? Good!

Give me a brief idea here in Discussion of what you aim to accomplish during this Interlude so I can set scenes and start things off.

Oh! I see! (Only after you told me, I found it.) And yes, Interludes sounds like fun! Delroy may want Noble Witness for his report to his superiors, He'd ask both Ladies who might have the time to go with him. Javiera as well. (Delroy still needs reasons for Calleach and Quinn. A Noble and Clergyman's reports 'should be enough' in his opinion. Nothing personal.)

Noble Witness is already going to be given out, since the crime involved with the magic is going to involve statements from everyone anyway. Just saying.

Noble Witness will probably play a larger part in our next outing, however. Possibly because of <REDACTED>.

The part that's squarely in your field will be most effectively corroborated by Javiera, since she's the only other person in the party with any experience with black magic IIRC, and she has to go to the same Cathedrale you do if she wants answers about the Order of the Shattered Star.

I don't want to like, snub you or anything. Just trying to frame things in a way that makes sense in my head, hopefully a way that fits everyone too. As a Witch Finder, the license granted to you by the Council (effectively the State in Triskellian) mostly means that the Constabulary and other bodies controlled by the Council (the big six Guilds) have to cooperate with you without undue harrumphing or stonewalling.

However, your training does come from the Church, and you're still effectively a Church agent. One freer than the majority of the Church when it comes to acceptable action, but the common view is that Witch Finders are a sort of inquisitor that is sneakier than the pulpit-preaching hellfire kind.

As an agent of the Church, the testimony of yourself and Javiera would actually be valued above that of people outside the Church unless the witness in question were themselves to be a skilled magicker.

Essentially, Nobility is great and they support the coffers and make deals and inroads, but when it comes to black magic the Church is as insular as you'd expect.

Edited my post slightly to reflect the tracking of days in my head. Rouchardon's party invitation is actually for the NEXT evening, which is Dimanche, which makes it something of an illicit gathering since services and coin aren't supposed to transact on Dimanche. It's not actually illegal since Triskellian believes in civil rule strongly, but it is frowned upon by the Church...officially.

He's a devout Orchomencist however, and they're looser about that sort of thing. And unofficially you'll probably see a few clergy there because maintaining healthy Church ties is important to a good Guildsman.

Everyone except Ceallach and Quinn would have at least passing knowledge of what "Classic style" entertaining involves, though only Natalia and Rosza are likely to have been exposed to any variant of it, even indirectly.

"Classic" style is a term used to describe the set of rituals associated with entertaining guests in high-class mode during the Antilachrymosus and the century directly leading up to that golden time, so it's quite ancient.

The specifics have varied through time, and the most debaucherous elements dropped off gradually as Penitence gained its hold on the city and Calabria in general, but essentially it's the promise of a sumptuous meal, a full spa bath and massage, and entertainments.

Given that this is to be a party, and the meal is to be at a later hour, Rouchardon probably intends to emulate the style as closely as possible, which means the full communal treatment (typically divided by sex as most of the bathhouses in the city were constructed for such), the socializing, the perfumed powder post bath, perhaps even a sauna, and of course the massage. All before dinner and a show!

I don't expect Quinn to be familier with the local customs, but she familier with the divide between high class and low class, so she expects something high class, and expects Ceallach to have much less experience with what high class means.

AKA, she expects Ceallach to be super scandalous. Quinn at least knows how to behave to present herself in a noble fashion.

Given that this is hosted by a guy who has a LOT of friends among the commoners that essentially rule the city right now, is a member of one of the Council Guilds, and has a reputation for throwing parties, Ceallach will definitely not be the only scandalous person or thing that happens.

Been reviewing the IC thread for a final time to make sure I'm not missing anything actually important.

We lost that lighthearted tone pretty quickly, huh? XD

Well, I imagine during the interlude, that Javira would help with Delroy, and spend time in prayer at the church, helping widows, orphans, and all kinds of people with issues they might have. After the party, of course.

Other than that, her schedule's open.

While the interludes are meant to cover sub-plots, they could be used to help re establish that lighhearted tone as well.

Spoiler: you're getting the infodump for the next adventure at the party, so the Interludes with a capital I will probably need to take place before that. The other stuff, yeah, that can be done afterwards since the actual beginning of the adventure will be post-training time.

The capital Interludes need to start ASAP though so that a logical amount of time can pass for research (of several things) and training before things start rolling again.

@Ceallach: That was pretty much the aim, though in some cases they're more likely to maintain a less light tone, but those will be few and far between methinks.

*Squint* What the blazes did we determine was an appropriate address for a noble speaking to a merchant, anyway? Rosza has used *checks* "Good Cedric," "Messer Cedric," and "Pauvre Cedric" to date, but some of those were definitely meant to be snarky so I'm not entirely sure how she'd address Rouchardon Ilaire.

And she's been in Triskellian long enough, I dare say, that she'd _know_ the local form of address despite not being a 'properly finished' young lady in terms of the Etiquette Gift.

Eh, I can always fall back on medieval French Maistre I suppose viz a touch of Avoirdupois dialect in the good ol' Lyore valley.

Yes, I am a silly person for fussing about such things.

Re: Light-heartedness...I fully admit that I commingle rather a bit of grit into things, although there's (I believe) a touch of wit in some of Rosza's behavior that perhaps isn't always blatant. My apologies if either it or the grit is discomfitting to anyone.

(Especially any paladins or phelanii that Rosza tries about to drag off to the Triskellian equivalent of Josie Natori.)

If they're an artisan then your notes say maestro or maestra is appropriate. Messer is for degreed physicians and scholars and such. Cedric and other merchant types would probably just fall under the "goodman/goodwoman" label which is...well, I thought it was gentilhuomo/gentildonna but that sounds more like a term for lower nobility.

Fussing about titles is part of what makes this game different, go nuts. :)

If you really wanna make it strange for the listeners, use Doloreaux titles. I have no idea what they'd be, but they can't be heard all that often in Triskellian given how hard and long the passes and roads are outside of the Lyore Valley.

@Everyone: Interludes? Interludes. I think that I have a grasp of what everyone had intended based on recent and prior postings. Some of you I need to bend around a wee bit to fit in things we need to know, some of you will encounter seeds for future plots, and some will possibly need to complete two short scenes because of what I need to dump at you and what you want to do yourself. Sorry?

Delroy + Javiera: Cathedrale de Temoin, yes? Delroy needs to report his findings and compare the engravings on the spyglass with his books, Javiera has an Order to ask about?

Rosza: You...wanted to generate underworld contacts, and I need to have you talk to your House for a quick minute.

Ceallach: working on it. Talk me at. We work it out.

Quinn: Study that book, ask around Zhonggese sages in Docks about Calabrese forbidden magics and possibly that spyglass.

Natalia: Discuss spyglass piece with Dunwasser, and as Rosza I need to update you on your House's thoughts on the recent outing. It's been long enough that they could feasibly have heard the news before you got back to school and sent a letter to arrive with you I think.

And a quick question that is important: Rouchardon Ilaire is kind of a skank, and known for spending more of his father's coin than his own despite running a successful business. He's also known for parties. How debaucherous does this get before I cross actual lines of discomfort?

I mean, obviously I'm going to stick within the bounds of Paizo's ToS for posting, so it's not like anything really skeevy will happen, but how much do I need to obfuscate and what's fair game for setting a proper scene?

EDIT: Clarification: I'm thinking on the wavelength of "Roman bath party," not "infamous and not entirely accurate Roman orgy." So uh...yeah. Not being a giant creep.

Something like the picture on pg 136 of the IronClaw Omnibus in PDF?
As for me, I'll refresh myself on the TOS so I don't make problems via ignorance. My own boundries are somewhat lax, (Once a Paladin of Orchomency I had been playing took a hit that would have killed her so I exhausted "Dramatic Disheveling" and described it as all the plates tearing or falling off of her leather armour, leaving nothing but straps and buckles and shiny rings…) So yeah, no real worries here.

@Rosza: Grit is good, it can help make things smooth; with some friction and elbow grease.

The Paizo ToS is basically "don't do obscene stuff or harass people" when it comes down to it.

I had been thinking more like an actual Roman bath party. Less, "tubs" more "there is a giant spa pool here heated by hot springs and a building for sauna and food and merriment."
I figure that given the map in the Gazetteer, the marked location of the Three Spears is huge compared to other clusters around it, and it's near the northeast gate so there's space enough.

That and there's a lot of comment about it's baths being sumptuous and high-class and awesome compared to more pedestrian public baths, so I thought that given the patronage of the place they'd probably hold their wild parties there since commoners, even wealthy, probably don't have country estates like Nobles.

Scene wrap soon? I'd like to start posting Interludes today. If you want to frilly up the Paladin we should get to it quickly. You'll need time for alterations to be done, or actual manufacture if nothing extant pleases after all. ;)

Not to mention frillying up Caellach and Delroy.

Is it odd that I am searching through period costumes for visual aids?

I could just have Delroy get something acceptable, 'cause the really fun shopping trip will be with the females of the group. :)

On one hand I want to run it as a group scene, OTOH I feel like it'd take longer than we really want, and there's only so much random stuff that can happen before I just really want to move things along.

...p#!+et, thailand. I'll set it up.

Actually, generating contacts (not all of them underworld, but also noble and mercantile) wasn't something I imagined would happen all at once, but rather a progression of ongoing and not necessarily planned events...Such as the business with Jean-Yves.

And indeed, RJ needs to chat with some of her extended family about said sparrow, and some coin, some undocumented manifests attributed to the House, and goodness WHY were they so late in getting about to Cedric's that they let the merchant's guild run off with everything?

------------------------------

Due to the nature of what an interlude IS I suggest simply starting them up immediately, and without too much worry or concern about when during the day, which permits some flexibility for getting things done which require a character to be with group A or with group B or soloing...Clearly not all happening at the same time.

Perhaps to help keep things clear in posts involving multiple scenes, spoilers using prefixes a la:

>>>> XXXXXXX, YYYYYYY and ZZZZZZZ at the Dressmaker's Shop.

Oh. You just did that.

Yeah, I pretty much did that. I've set it up mostly as solo bits for now because there's a lot of ground people wanted to cover, and most of you have very different places to go.

I did kinda plop you down at "home" first because I wanted to get your "gimme" Goal out of the way first, and drop a bit about Rouchardon's reputation. And then of course you can grill Uncle Apollinaire, and Penelope can kidnap Guillaume, and you can talk to Jean-Yves, and all that goodness.

And of course then if there's anything ELSE you want to do that can fit in the two-day timeframe we can get to that.

@Ceallach: Natalia and Delroy are actually responsible for the bear knight's extremely awesome insta-down, but it's probably he wasn't really watching what was going on given that everyone was behind him, huh?

@Ceallach: Natalia and Delroy are actually responsible for the bear knight's extremely awesome insta-down, but it's probably he wasn't really watching what was going on given that everyone was behind him, huh?

Hey now, if we're going to start handicapping 'good tales' with 'the truth' Rosza won't be able to open her mouth.

Also, if anyone is looking at Rosza's last post and thinking 'Did she just...?' then yes, yes I did. ;D

Because of gritty and SRS.

Delroy's shopping trip consists of buying 'Rich Clothes', a 'Nice Hat' and a Miserichord (From what I understand, it is another name for a Rondel Dagger)

The Rondel, Possible outfit, Awesome hat

Edit: I should stop posting so late at night.

That pretty much sums up Ceallach's Truth.

As for the whole "Roman Bath" concept, go for it. It sounds fun.
On the other hand, Natalia is going to be worried and touchy about the whole thing, but that's just the character and not the player. And her worries have more to do with her phobias and psych problems, and not the concept of a "Roman Bath" itself.

The Roman Bath might be the first time that ceallach actually feels at home.

The Roman Bath might be the first time that ceallach actually feels at home.

I like the way you think.

I'm kind of chomping at the bit to see if Rosza tells her Uncle who's party they've been invited to. I have an amusing...hilarious reaction prepared. :D

I'm kind of chomping at the bit to see if Rosza tells her Uncle who's party they've been invited to. I have an amusing...hilarious reaction prepared. :D

Oh, no doubt she will let the name drop, if only to see if her uncle has any dirt on him...But she has more immediate things on her beady little brain than the evening's divertissement.

And I'm using italics for emphasis in the OOC discussion forum again. Time for a nap.

Sleep is for the weak! We must continue!
Also, I call what UF just did with Madonna Rareté 'Running with Scissors'

*Makes note*
The moment Ironclaw adds an alignment system, Rosza Juette's alignment is officially 'chaotic weasel'.

I vote you add it to your sheet regardless because it's funny as hell. *sage nod.*

Poor Guillaume. Nothing says "creepy obsessed stalker" like tying your obsession up and painting compromising portraits of them. So much attention from everyone but the ones he really wants it from.

Also, I hope I'm not piling on anything weird to anyone. Judging by reactions to the bath party that's not the case, but I always worry after the experiences I've had over IRC with weird creeper players and GMs.

...We're all on the same page on what that is, right? XD ':(

I believe so, Boss. I know I'm having a fun time.

Yes, I'm pretty sure we all are on the same innuendo-laden page.

Although, funny thing, until that page was pointed out, I had flipped past it several times without honestly LOOKING at it and noting the lack of clothing and that the feast chairs weren't chairs. I blame the muddy line/ink density and the fact that aesthetically it just never appealed to me enough to really look at it.

An awful lot of the art in the IC book is kind of meh, by my tastes. It's not horribly bad. It's just not horribly good! All IMHO, of course.

I just think it's mildly hilarious that I never even realized what was going on, on that page, for lack of caring enough for the art to look at it.

A lot of the art in the book is from the first edition Ironclaw books, which were produced on a very tight budget when Sanguine Games was just starting up, so the developers picked artists that were not so expensive to commission, and were typically friends of theirs IIRC.

Squaring the Circle was produced at a higher standard because there was a big push to make the product better and more aesthetically pleasing, and there was money to do so...but there's only so much an indie game company can do, y'know? Especially when you hire known industry talent from cartoons and great freelancers like Chris Goodwin to draw your Species pics.

So they re-used a number of old pieces that don't necessarily reflect what the game's about anymore. Like that Slayers-esque pic of that one wolf in fetish lingerie casting an electric kamehameha.

You can see that they were getting better about art by the time Jadeclaw came out (a lot of the BoJ art is from Jadeclaw with redone speech bubbles), which makes the re-use in Book of Jade less egregiously bad, but it's still a big aesthetic break. But y'know. Money.

Chris Goodwin's work is excellent. The rest rather pales beside it.

And yeah, I know. Money. I just find it mildly hilarious that I missed the suggestiveness of a full-page spread due to how busy the art was.