Kingmaker: The Stolen Lands [Gestalt]

Game Master Æroden

"Do you see any claws, why would someone make such a rude comment that I have 'claws'?" She puts emphasis on the word claws.

"A back rub would be nice." She smiles warmly at you from below.

"No I don't think that prudent or safe for you to sleep next to me. Sorry Torq, perhaps once we get to know each other better."

It looks like things have settled down. Klaus you need to have your meeting for the warparty. Though I think we will move to the next day.

When Klaus has the warparty make sure to spoiler it: warparty.

We have enough PCs and NPCs that there will be a night guard on at all times, plus no one in their right mind would attack, especially after seeing Dragonkin.

Xan had been about to comment on Torq planning something a little untoward at his offer of sleeping next to her, but the remark died in her mouth when Selena seemed open to the idea once she knew her better. Agreeing to a back rub from him didn't help things either.

"I'm going to bed." she said tersely as she headed off to where she'd left her gear. Someone with a good read of people might think she was jealous.

Vik, tells the dragon-kin to get some rest and , finding Rekka curled up and covered with Fizz's cloak, lies down close to her and drifts off into sleep.

After helping Rekkla sleep Fizzy leaves her a small piece of cake wrapped in leaves then delivers a piece to Vik, then Baern, the Torq.

He frowns at Torq being near the cat lady.

After giving them cake he moves back to Lelouch a piece as promised, then he prances back to Seline

Torq my friend and I have to chat, would you mind?

Once he goes OK Fuzzwiddle why are you a Fizzprizzner?

Going off in the woods about 30 feet to get some privacy she tells you part of her story.

If you are awake after the second hour, you may do a perception check. This includes Torq, I am not for sure who else, but you may choose since there are a few people on guard duty.

Fizzy is most likely heading back to camp and napping after his excursion. He is asleep and misses that check.

ha

Torq looks at her hands.. "No I don't see any claws, I see a perfect set of dainty fingers.. Fizzy why would you say such a thing? Torc sits down on the ground behind her and commences to give a back-rub.. He's definitely not a professional, but he makes up for lack of skill with a strong grip. He's very careful not to scrape her with his nails.. His breathing seems to be getting stronger as she moans here and there..

"Is that nice? And i understand, we should indeed get to know one another better!"

Torq looks at Fizzy as he asks to speak with the woman alone.. "I don't mind.. She's not my property or anything.." "Not yet anyways".. a bit of jealousy sparks up as he watches her walk away in the woods with him..

Perc.: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (8) + 6 = 14

Torq here's the girl crying in the distance and is at once angered by it.. "Fizzy better not be hurting her" He gets up and stealths off into the woods to get a better look..

"Stealth Take 10+10=20" and

"Perception Take 10+6=16

That's always something I've been unsure of, because technically for flavour I think if you've failed to save against a spell, you shouldn't recall who cast it on you, but then that can be situational I guess. Still, it would be nice if they couldn't.

Blood - Lelouch would have been awake at this point as it took Fizz an hour to bake the cake, and so he'd be eating it in the second hour. :p

Amused by the prank he'd just played on Klaus, if questioned by the Wizard, Lelouch shrugs.

It wasn't me. He says, before walking over to the Dragonkin.

Bluff: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (6) + 8 = 14

In conversation with the Dragonkin, Lelouch responds with a smile.

My title and my speciality? You will see in due time.

::Later::

Seeing that most of those around him have gone to sleep, Lelouch accepts the cake from Fizz with gratitude, before hearing the cries of a woman from the woodland.

Perception: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (9) + 7 = 16

I would tend to agree on the not knowing who cast it thing, expect on charm stuff.. You know the next day that you did stuff you wouldnt have otherwise.. You know you had extreme feelings, likes, or w/e to a person that you do not today..

Which are all of my spells lol. My abilities will make anyone who opposes us hate me. I'm good with it though.

[ooc]Torq, Lelouch, Rekkla, Vik make sure you notice you got cake

Torq eyes the cake with a small degree of awe.. "For me? Thank you Fizzy.. I do love sweets.. You should open a bakery when we get this kingdom thing going!" With a very happy smile he devours his cake in a single bite..

Sorry to burst your bubble, folks, but nothing about Charm Person/Monster or Dominate Person/Monster compels a memory wipe after the spell. That is why there are separate spells that actually do fog or erase the memory. A person who is charmed will remember how they felt about a person for the duration of the spell. You may even still make a spellcraft roll to notice the casting of a spell or the use of a SP or SU, and even be aware that you are currently under the effects of a Charm Person spell if you succeed...but the wonderful part of the spell is that even though you know you've been charmed, you feel the person who charmed you has done it for a good reason, because you perceive everything the caster does as a friendly act (until they do something that violates the spell.) Even afterwards you can make a basic Intelligence or Wisdom check to contemplate the unusual change in your mood and feelings towards a person when the spell wears off and extrapolate what they might have done if you never noticed the spellcasting in the first place. I recently had a fighter PC in Shattered Star (tabletop) charmed by a chick in one of the early encounters. Though the PC did not know that's what was done to him, he was later told by our employer that he was under her charm enchantment while she was in "custody". His response was simply, "If that is so, then she must have done so for a good reason. Please be kind with her, and do not harm her." And then the next day, when the spell wore off, the woman was at their communal breakfast table. And he said to her, "This is awkward. After what you did to me, I look at you and feel like you're an ex I had an amicable breakup with years ago. Though we only met yesterday, and I know nothing about you." Because while you can forget the compulsion the spell creates, you don't forget the impact of the feelings for the duration of the time you had them. The savvy enchanter casts Charm Person or Dominate Person and, shortly thereafter, casts Sequester Thoughts (especially if the target is a caster) to remove any successful spellcraft check they may have made to know you cast it. This is typically what you do with Dominate Person, that way you can Dominate a Person, give them a command, and then sequester their thoughts since the spell doesn't erase the command but will erase their memory of who made the command so long as you stay out of view. Casters who use Charm spells generally either only use it once on a person they're likely never to encounter again, OR they use it repeatedly on a weak-willed and unperceptive individual or a charm junkie. Some witches are fond of forcing people into repeated charm loops so much that they start to doubt their feelings when they aren't charmed, and regard their feelings when they are charmed as normal! (You encounter these, for example, in the Carrion Crown adventure path.)

He nods to the wee lizard tugging at the hem of his robe. "That is what I said. At the very least those I named, as well as anyone else who wishes to have a say. Some of our number are more interested in confections," he tilts his head towards the gnome and the dwarf baking a cake, "and whatever else appears to have everyone's interest over there," he looks towards those gathered around something (the woman eating cake), but cannot see through the throng to the source.

After having attempted to gather the war party together to immediately discuss their stratagem against the bandits, and being told by everyone pointedly that they would rather get some sleep, he chastises. "And while you sleep, the bandits continue to pillage, to rape, to murder, and to think themselves unstoppable. By all means, then, get your beauty rest."

Though secretly some part of him is thankful, for after putting up his own tent, the wizard is out cold and snoring, missing any perception check to hear weeping in the woods.

Lelouch from your post that gave you the perception to hear what was going on. Did you follow the sound you heard? You would have seen Torq get up and go into the woods in the same direction of the sound.

War Party
Krazok, "Let's get this planning done with! Come on folks"
Fionn, "Trust me Klaus you don't want to wake up that one, her own butler keeps getting burned, he is new though." Fionn directs the group to go in his tent the second largest one.

War Party
Sly follows along to see what they all have to say, especially since he knows stuff they don't... We will see if the biggies ask little ole me!

Fizzy obviously did not make it to the war party, but rusts the captain and the lizz to know what to do!

Remember that when it is titled 'War Party' we are back in the past, in the first hour of everyone meeting, more towards the end of that hour.

War Party
"Viklop, Lelouch, and Xantria, come so that we may discuss the battle plan for tomorrow." Krazok says rather authoritative and directly since they did not listen to Klaus. Come along children, LOL!

Rekka sleeps, her whiskers twitching in whatever dreams the small caster has.

Lelouch, listening to Klaus acknowledging him as a party member of importance is complacent and follows him to the Dragonkin to begin their meeting.

Apologies for the delay. I was a little caught up in conversation with the excited one. Shall we begin?

::Current::

Yea, Lelouch would have followed the cries swiftly to see what's going on, and approaches just after Torq and Fizzy arrive there. What do I see/hear? :p

le louch did you roll the perception? It was only a 10 but i did not see it

Yup. :p It's above one of Torq's post above. I rolled 16.

my apology

War Party

Once all of those are assembled within Fionn's tent, Klaus seems to have no difficulty taking charge, or at least getting the conversation started. No shy violet, this northern wizard.

"I suppose it is just as well we discovered the lot of you," he addresses Viklop and any of the original company who attend the war party. "There had been some fear in Brevoy that the bandits may have bested you, or some other ill of the Stolen Lands sold short your victories. We do not come to usurp your glory, but to share in it. No doubt you have all read the bloody writing smeared upon the wall: these lands are to be occupied and colonized. Our charter is merely to pacify those who have rendered the land lawless. Those who have come to the Stolen Lands seeking glory and other ambitions," he glances coolly at Lelouch, tying his wet hair back into a fierce knot, "should know what must take place. Aside from older and stranger authorities that are rumored to hold sway in the Greenbelt," he casts his words at Krazok, whom he assumes to be a local and knowledgeable of these claims, "the bandits are the only seeming authority. Unrecognized by any republic or crown, but authority nonetheless. With their deposition, the responsibility, if not the right, of rule changes hands. Thus although we have merely been chartered to rid the lands of the bandits, it would be foolish for Brevoy to simply recall us and not have us continue to maintain, and colonize, rather than replace us with an uncertain, and more importantly unproven, leadership."

The wizard elaborates for those still following him. "The manner in which these bandits are dispatched sets a course for future occupation of the Stolen Lands. To best them by force and then show mercy displays a leadership willing to compromise...but also a weak leadership willing to be compromised. To subject them to the rule of a newly established law, exacting their oath of loyalty or consigning them to death, establishes an authoritarian expectation that may become burdensome and alienate the freer spirits who have settled here, while also burdening those who remain to rule with the taxing details of land management. To eradicate them with prejudice until not a single one of them draws breath seems to make the most logical sense, but soils with blood and fury the rise of what Brevoy would have as a puppet kingdom. Of course the history books will always sweep such indignities under the rug. Though I have made my preferred course of action clear, no one man is a kingdom, and such decisions must be weighed by the minds of those willing to adopt a mantle of responsibility for this territory. Whether mine is among them is debatable, at present. But the completion of the charters nearly fetters the lot of us to it..."

"If my talk of occupation troubles you and your kin, Krazok, as you may have some claim of your own to these lands, then take this opportunity to consider a course which will best benefit them. Our course was set into motion some time ago. In this tent, tonight, we first light the fire over which some new kind of leadership in the Greenbelt shall be forged." Though brusque, the wizard's words are nonetheless diplomatic, even if only in stating that Krazok and his people will not be the victims of a Brevic pogrom.

"Viklop. Krazok. Fionn." The latter name is spoken much less bombastically. "You and your company have already spent some time in the Stolen Lands uncovering the bandits, and Krazok your people have lived here for some time. What do we know of their operations? How they have managed these lands, if at all? Whom they have victimized, if anyone? Enough to comprehend what will become of this territory's infrastructure if they are eradicated, and thus to what degree we must replace them? In addition, what do we know of their location or locations? Their leaders? Or any special methods they employ?"

He then looks to Lelouch and Xantria. "Do I falsely presume the two of you to have previous military experience? Yours, studied," he nods to Lelouch, "and yours, active?" he then indicates Xantria. "If this company who has come before us can provide us with a location and an idea of numbers, are you confident that you can devise a competent stratagem for...whatever course it is we choose to take?"

At that, Klaus cedes the floor, knowing he has laid the framework. It seems very difficult for him to allow anything to be done by committee rather than simply doing it all himself, but he seems to be acknowledging certain limitations at the moment. But primarily, he waits for the War Party to decide on how best to deal with the bandits: mercifully? Lawfully? Brutally? Some other means by which he has not conceived?

I had taken a 10 on my stealth, had i known i could take a 20 my check would be 30, not 20.. Ill post again when i get home from work

Since the Perception check was for the second hour, I assume the War Party was before then? Also, looking at the time, this is probably going to be my last post for the next ten or so hours.
War Party
Xan had just finished unrolling her bedroll when a war council was called. Annoyed as she was at Torq getting close to Selena, she was professional enough to put it out of mind for the moment.

"I don't have any formal military training," she answered Klaus, "but I've seen my share of combat."

Smirking playfully at the tying back of Klaus' wet hair, the violet eyed boy expresses his opinion to those present at the meeting.

I have knowledge of Law, the Monarchy, militaristic tactics and strategy, but am yet to put that of what I know into practice.

I come from a family who rely heavily on battle tactics, and as such, have developed a few of my own. However, I feel if we're to build a Kingdom and make a name for ourselves, it would be unwise to go around killing anyone and everyone we cross paths with.

Lelouch thinks for a second, then sits back and relaxes, as he continues to put across his thoughts on the matter.

Now, innocent people joining thugs, pirates and bandits in order to stay alive is not unheard of. So, we should be careful when it comes down to who we execute, but as we all know, very few people can be trusted, so we must tread carefully.

Currently, I feel our best plan of action is to keep this in mind, and until we have a Kingdom big enough to house a prison, there will be little point in doing things lawfully. If we find ourselves being plead to for mercy, it is something we should consider, but if ill intent is obvious, then it will be down to us to ensure their acts don't go unpunished.

Looking to Klaus and then to the others, Lelouch finalises his views.

In light of this, we must ensure our actions are taken by those living in peril, as heroic acts. Lelouch grips his fist, showing the passion he has for such an ambition. We must portray ourselves as a symbol of hope, not just for those who have sent us here, but for those who we are trying to appease and appeal to. The people. We cannot allow ourselves to be compared to the Bandits that surround us, and our primary tasks must be to rid the land of current issues and build a Kingdom that will be open to anyone wanting to relocate. With Laws in place and guards patrolling at all times, there's no reason why we can't succeed in building a Kingdom for Common and Nobles alike, to live happily in, and fairly free of worry.

I am aware my goals and ideals are ambitious, but through working together, this is something we can most certainly achieve.

Lelouch then waits to hear what everyone else has to say.

Vik is wakes and goes to the meeting with the others, to plan the attack on the bandits base.
"I have asked my colleagues here already if they have any information on the bandits. Do any of you have anything to add?"

From his bedroll you hear.. "ZZZZ.. or w/e the word for snoring is lol.. Torqs no great military leader so he'll leave it to them to determine the plan for the morrow..

Lelouch gracefully shakes his head at Vik's question.