PFS - PbP Gameday IV: #6-05 Slaveships of Absalom (lvl 1-5) (Inactive)

Game Master Revvy Bitterleaf

"As I already state, good sir," Sabha says, repressing her adolescent urge to display a rude gesture, "Lady Silviana's majordomo gave us leave to inquire of you regarding this purchase. She has waived privilege."

The carrot hasn't worked. Maybe the stick?

"Besides, you have nice practice here. Lots of very important papers. Insured, probably, though irreplaceable."

She allows fire to dance across her fingers.

Intimidate: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (1) + 4 = 5 (good grief!)

Eyeing the fire on Sahba's fingertips he says with a slight bit of sarcasm, "Perhaps simply more polite discussion before resorting to heating things up as it were. No need to jump the ship just yet."

Looking to the Chelexian, Y'serid continues, "This is an investigation that your property was used in spying. I think its your best interest to absolve yourself, yes?"

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (7) + 8 = 15[ooc]Well that was entirely average...[/b]

Average isn't quite enough to convince him....maybe someone can assist you in explaining to him why the man should help you.

I say we rely on Taric to do all our Diplomancing. His dice are awesome! :D

Don't jinx me, Y'serid!

Teric leans in close to Solvius. "As Sahba said, we have the good Lady's permission to look into this affair. We could waste her time sending her a message to confirm this, but she is a busy woman and this entire affair has her quite embarrassed which is why she asked us to do this discreetly. The last thing she wants is to have word of this get out. It would embarrass her, Councilwoman Darchana, and I'm quite sure you name would come up too. If the nobility gets word that you're involved in the sale of tainted assets, I seriously doubt it would be good for business."

"Now, we're trying to handle this affair discreetly. We have no doubts about your innocence in all of this, but we need to have to information on the sale."

Diplomacy, Aid: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (4) + 10 = 14

Ack, maybe we just need some Aids.

Mine have been so bad I actually went back and started doing a scatterplot for an eventual chi-square test. Surely, random dice *couldn't* be that bad.

So far, they are, but looking historically they appear random. Ah, well..

Prospero draws himself up and assumes a calm, almost disinterested air.

Solicitor Salbus, we are all currently working to advance Lady Silviana's interests. You look to have quite a lot going on. Perhaps if you could just answer a few quick questions, we could be on our way and leave you to your business.

This is an attempt to aid Teric.

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 0 ⇒ (16) + 0 = 16

Jaxal steps up and says, "Pardon my friends sporadic tactics, sir. They are just not used to dealing with professionals."

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (20) + 6 = 26

"It is true, we are here on your clients behalf, and she is concerned about the charges levied against her household. Any information you can provide is appreciated."

Sahba heads outside, being careful not to slam the door.

If nothing else, her leaving might improve the situation.

Hard to recover from such low rolls. Thanks, guys.

At Sahba's "intimidation" attempt the man suddenly goes tense.

"Lady, if you don't be careful where you wave your flaming fingers I will be forced to call for the authorities"

Luckily the rest of the party can convince him to calm down a bit, which is aided a lot by Sahba's leaving the room.

Grimacing slightly, the Chelaxian spreads his hands to admit defeat. "Ordinairly I would not speak of privately eexecuted contratcs with an unaffiliated third party." Solvius says before patting a folded paper on his desk. "However Lady Silviana had a lteer delivered to me prior to her departure for Taldor, authorzing me to disclose to the deputized agents of Lady Darchana the identity of the chattel merchant. It's a step up from the Slave Pis to be sure- a much more orderly experience, a very fine display parlor with excellent lightning, and he always keeps excellent wines on and. I trust you will treat him with the respect that he deserves."

Sahba, listening through the door mutters to herself.

"Yes, he will receive all the respect a slaver deserves..."

"Yes, of course, sir. But you neglected to actually give us the name or the location of this individual. Where is his place of business?" Y'serid says.

Hahaha! Davien laughs at sahba's muttering. Having decided to remain outside, dealing with... 'Upper class' people had always ended badly for him. Mostly because he never showed respect to anyone, yet always showed respect to everyone! Atleast in his own way and mind.

aye I bet so lass. I have no doubts.

He continues to play his flute, making mistakes occasionally, but when he doesn't, it doesn't sound half bad.

Also a slight typo on my part..it's the Slave Pits..not the slave pis...that would be....weird.

"Ah, you are correct..a small oversight on my part.

"Mahjub Madi is the purveyor in question and can be found at the northern end of Misery Row. His private shop is called Mahdi's Chattel."

"And was it Madi who selected this particular slave or did someone from the Lady's household choose her? Was this sale suggested by anyone?"

Sense Motive: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (16) + 4 = 20

"Not that I'm aware of"

He seems genuine

Sahba opens the door and pokes her head back in.

"Guys, we can burn his office down later. It seems we have somewhere to be."

She turns and glares at the solicitor. "Slavery may be legal, but that doesn't make it right. Too many slaves are taken without the color of law, and stripped of their rights of citizenship. The institution is corrupt throughout. You, and those who keep it alive will learn to suffer the consequences."

With that, she waves exasperatedly to her companions, and slams the door.

Go Liberty's Edge!

"We have a 'merchant' to visit."

Teric rolls his eyes at Sahba and turns back to Solvius. "Idealists, eh? You and I know better. Even if it's distasteful, we can't change the world, only better ourselves from it. Now, my thanks for your help. Keep in touch, Solvius. There are time in which I have need of a good solicitor to handle delicate matters. If this all works out, perhaps we can discuss a retainer." He gives the man a small bow and exits, following the others.

Clearly it was Sahba's underlying feelings of slavery that made her a bit too uptight for her diplomancy rolls....

Thanks for picking up the slack, Teric.

After you leave Salbus you make your way towards Madhi's Chattel

Misery Row is an enormous, elevated platform that runs along the eastern edge of the Coins district, and serves as the main destination to buy and sell slaves in Absalom.
The cages are set into the platform such that slavers and prospective buyers can walk over the pits to inspect the merchandise easily. Mahdi’s Chattel is located along the platform, where his many-windowed storefront can catch the eye of discerning buyers. The massive wooden platform is well worn by foot traffic, and is active all hours of the day and night. The Token Guard, the guards responsible for patrolling this part of the city, intervene only in particularly egregious crimes or those they’re paid to investigate. As a result, petty criminals have numerous opportunities to ply their craft.

A hanging sign identifies the single-story building with large, full-length windows as “Mahdi’s Chattel—Absalom’s Finest.” Heavy curtains are drawn over all of the windows—one of which has been smashed—and a small painted sign that reads “Closed” hangs over the latch of the door. The door is not completely closed and shows signs of scratches and damage to the wood around the latch.

Perception: 1d20 + 0 ⇒ (17) + 0 = 17
You hear that? Me neither.

Sahba waits for the rest of her party to arrive.

Perception: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (12) + 2 = 14

Hmm, the window's smashed. Not what I expected...

Coming up tot he door, Y'serid take sin the sign and sighs, "Closed? Really? I wonder if the owner is still inside, cleaning? Should we knock?"

Perception: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (12) + 4 = 16

"They left the door open, too." Sahba pushes it open slightly, and peers in.

Perception: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 = 4

"Well, Varasians always say, 'If life gives you an open door, go through it.'" He follows Sahba, pushing open the door slightly to allow more light.

As Sahba peers in and Teric pushes open the door further you see;

Mahdi’s Chattel is pleasantly decorated. An Andoren rug lies over the polished wooden floor of the entryway, and a small decorative table holds a curious stone statue. The eastern half of the room is in slight disarray, apparently from light renovations that are nearly complete.

The stone statue stands almost 2 feet tall, weighs 15 pounds, and has simian features, massive horns, and a long tail.

The windows have been smashed, and broken glass lies on the floor and on the desk on the opposite side.

The work table in the center of the display parlor conceals a heavy, polished stone with a 4-inch-diameter steel ring attached to the top, providing an anchor for manacle chains.

There's also another door leading further into the building

Knowledge, Religion: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (7) + 6 = 13

Teric glances at the broken glass. "This doesn't look normal. I think someone broke in." As if the words free him of any further obligation, the Varasian moves over to the desk to search it for any papers.

Perception: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (16) + 1 = 17

Has the desk been opened?

Perception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (3) + 6 = 9

Jaxal follows along, with no insight into the situation.

Let's assume it is

Other then a note of - pick up some milk on the way back from the office - there doesn't seem to be any papers here. All papers of any interest must be kept somewhere else

Noting the broken glass, Y'serid rests a hand on the hilt of his sword.

"Hopefully the robber is long gone or in no wish for a fight."

Moving over to the desk with Teric, "Did you find anything of interest? I assume we are here for the Mujahb fellow?"

Turning to the hallway, he calls out, "Mahdi! Are you here? We have some questions for you!"

No answer is given

Perception: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (20) + 2 = 22

what a roll!

Looking idly around the room, Prospero hears something. Suddenly, he snaps his fingers to get the other' attention. He then tugs at his ear lobe and points at the other door, whispering the words There is someone in the other room

He then slowly draws his rapier.

Teric looks up as Prospero's whisper. He motions the man forward and prepares himself to seize the magical threads of the world.

I don't think he can cast without alerting them.

Prospero, rapier drawn, looks to Teric then moves cautiously toward the door.

Seeing the others get into fighting stance, Jaxal draws his rapier as well.

I don't think he can cast without alerting them.

No clue if there's an official rule for that, but generally when you try to do something quietly I'll allow a stealth check to see if you manage to go unnoticed. I haven't seen a rule stating you can't whisper your spell

I've put up the map so you can position yourselves where you want (I've placed you where it sort of made sense to me based on your action - the smiley face is Prospero since he doesn't have an avatar). Also everyone mentioned going towards the (closed door), nobody actually stated opening it

I didn't realize the door was closed. That should give enough to allow him to get a spell off.

Teric shifts back and tries to cast a protection spell as best he can without alerting those in the other room.

Cast Mage Armor. +4AC

Drawing his blade, Y'serid quiets up and moves to position by Prospero at the door, nodding his readiness.

"I suggest we be careful, it could be Mahdi, and he just did not hear us." he whispers to the others.

Teric and Y'serid get ready for what ever is behind the closed door

As Y'serid moves into position next to him, Prospero gives him a nod and a quick smile. He sees Teric casting a spell. He is ready to try the door when the others signal they are ready.

Sorry about the avatar, my main Paizo account has one and one other character, but I haven't been able to figure out how to get one on this character. Also how do I move my icon on the map? Is there a link somewhere that shows what to do? Thanks!

"Well, he's not here, so let's get going."

Sahba, winking to her companions steps over to the front door, and closes it loudly. She then softly moves back to the inner room door, where her companions are preparing to enter.

Bluff: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (17) + 9 = 26

Sabha closes the front door loudly, trying to get a reaction from whom ever is in the other room

Since this will start combat I'll update later today when I have a bit more time to do stuff

Davien draws his blades.

AH, let us hope, though I can't say a bit of action would make me sad haha. He whispers to the others.

3d20 ⇒ (4, 4, 15) = 23

As Sabha closes the door loudly the door opens up and a human's head shows up on the other side - who looks mightily surprised to see so many people wielding weapons on the other side of the door he just opened
"The shop is closed right now, come back later"

As he tries to close the door again you can see;

This large office doubles as a private parlor for Mahjub Mahdi to conduct his legal but objectionable business. The room’s furnishings consist of a round table with two comfortable chairs, a desk with a metal-banded strongbox beneath it, and a refreshment cart. Two paintings hanging on the north wall both depict the bustling harbor of Katheer.

Next to the door stand 2 humans wielding short swords and daggers, one in a red jacket and the other in a blue jacket

On the other side of the room you see a muscular half-orc with a great sword strapped to his back and a mace hanging from his belt holding up a bearded Keleshite man off the ground by his fine-spun tunic among several smashed bottles of wine next to the refreshment cart.

As the half-orc notices you looking into the room he snarls at you in a rather unfriendly manner
"Like my ..associate said; the shop is closed right now, come back later after we've ...conducted our business with Madhi. You can have him after we are done with him"

"Oh, don't mind us. I'm more than happy to watch a slaver beaten to a bloody pulp. Frankly, we had similar intentions. Would you mind terribly if we torched the shop? After you're finished, of course."

As if to emphasize her words, Sahba lounges against a table in a non-threatening posture.

"Ain't no money to be made if there's no shop anymore..then again..

The half-orc shakes the man he's holding by his tunic

"..ain't no money now either. Maybe I should let these people burn down your shop, what do you think Madhi? Should I let these people burn down your shop?"

Feel free to roll a diplomacy check Sahba

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (3) + 4 = 7
Have I rolled above a '5' this entire adventure? My diplomancy rolls have been *awfu*!

Maybe Teric could try?

Relaxing only slightly, Y'serid taps the side of his blade against his head, unsure of what to do next, "Here we were trying to surprise you, and now everyone is surprised by the predicament."

Looking past the men, he picks up his voice a bit, "Oh is that you Mahdi? What did you do to piss these guys off?"

Diplomacy Directed at the baddies(?): 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (8) + 8 = 16

"Well, well, Mahdi. You cheat these boys too? Shame." Teric eyes the other men. "I suppose you got here first, so you're entitled to take your payment out of his flesh, but I want him alive or else we get nothing."

"Or, perhaps we can make a deal and you leave him with us. What did he cheat you out of? He sell you a lame slave? Or perhaps one that was stolen from someone else?"

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (15) + 10 = 25

Prospero is aware of the others' negotiation but his focus is on the two men by the door, the one in the red jacket and the other in the blue. His rapier is at the low ready and his eyes and crooked grin take on a feral aspect.

Open for stuff

This will be Davians first rodio

This will be Y'serids first game as a Medium! (Used the Gencon 2015 rebuild to rebuild him from Magus)

I also want to say, thank you Revvy for GMing this scenario! I look forward to it!

Checking in. Looking forward to it!

Just as a confirmation, this is September 19th correct?

You mean for when it will start? Yup, pbp gameday IV has a start date of September 19th

Feel free to log into gameplay and get to know each other in character before then but actual play won't start before then (also because I haven't received the scenario yet which also sort of hampers my ability to start earlier)

Weird. Gameplay doesn't seem to be working yet.

New avatar. A bit closer to my mental image of this character.

I just noticed..I had an introduction post..and it's gone now. Stuff I type in gameplay doesn't save...odd

It might be a bug..since you show up in the players tab now..which I think means you have posted in gameplay.

So let's give it a day or so and see if it works then..if it still doesn't work and I can't get it to work we'll just have to post in character in the discussion tab instead of gameplay and play that way. The campaign tab works..so I can should be able to put the link to maps up

Maybe they're trying to prevent anyone from starting early.

My guess is that GM has to officially start off the gameplay thread before it's viable.

EDIT: Oops. Just noticed GM is having the same problem. Reported in the Issues sub-forum.

The forum gremlins magicked up a fix. Gameplay is working now.

Revvy, I sent you a private post about a schedule issue that came up.

I don't think everyone here has played with me before.

Just so that you know what you will be getting yourselves into;

I will roll initiative for everyone.
If you have anything special to use during rolling of initiative - such as tactics domain power - or you have an ability that gives you a bonus in a certain type of environment, please let me know.
Most of the time enemies of the same type will go on the same initiative roll, if I think this would be incredibly unfair to you I might split them up - decided on a case by case basis

I will then group it so that it will be players-enemies-players-enemies

If your name is up in bolt you can post. I'll assume that the order in which things are posted will be the order in which they take place unless you add a comment that you are delaying till after something happens/someone else has acted. If you want to ready an action, please add a comment that it's a ready and include any die rolls needed for your readies action. I'll fit in everything in the order it's supposed to take place in. If some reason some action can't take place anymore I'll adept the a bit to what seems logical (to me) at the time or if there's still time to change your action allow you to do so.

I'll try to check-in a few times a day and post at least once (maybe more depending if I have the time)

If someone hasn't posted for a day once their name came up as bold I reserve the right to put you on delay or NPC you in (which will most of the time be go fully defensive or move to a safe location).

If you haven't posted for more then 2 days I will delay/NPC you in as soon as you are the last one to act, even if 24 hours hasn't passed yet.
If I haven't seen a post from you in over a week without prior notice I will put you on permanent delay until I see a post again.

Example:

Player 1 + readied action player 2
Enemy 1
Player 3, Player 4
Enemy 2, Enemy 3

Damage Enemy 1: X (blinded)

I will sometimes use spoiler blocks with a listed skill and DC, if you make the DC you are free to look at the spoiler and act on the information provided.
This will most of the time include (but not be limited to): (Monster) knowledge checks [If I didn't provide one, you can still roll for knowledge checks..I might just forgot about it or only had time for a quick update]
Some hidden stuff needing perception checks to be found, you can still search for stuff when you feel like it it, but for example looting a room after combat it helps speed things up.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask them

Seems so far we have 4 players checked in;

Propsero; fighter 1
Sahba; sorcerer 2
Teric; lvl 3 (oracle/sorcerer)
Y'serid ; lvl 3 medium

Average is 2,3 so that would mean low tier

PJP here - if we are low tier anyway, I will be playing with Jaxal.

Just want to update, I have completed the upload of my Medium, if you want to review him and check him over. It took a while to change him using the character rebuild boon from GenCon...wow Mediums have a lot going on.

How to change your avatar
-> my Account
-> Pathfinder Society (make change)
-> Edit on the character
-> click on change on character image
-> choose and don't forget to save it

Thanks, Revvy! I don't know what I did wrong but following your instructions squared me away. One thing, though, I tried to move my smiley face icon on the map of Mahdi's office closer to the door, but all I managed to do was erase it. I could not get it to paste but I wanted to let you know in case you were wondering who was messing with the map.

Hi, to inform you; I will be playing PFS all weekend at a local con during which time I may or may not have access to working internet and time to post here, so it is possible that I won't post till Monday

Away for the weekend. Back on Sunday!

Thanks for letting us know

Just to inform you, the site was down a few hours - at least for me, I assume it was for everyone) and I couldn't update. I'll update later today once I get home (assuming the site doesn't go down around that time again...)

Yup site was down for everyone! No problem!

Scenario is pretty much over (unless someone wants to do something else)

So if everyone can make sure I can find their PFS number somewhere and roll a dayjob if they have one I'll get started on the chronicles

Since this was part of the Gameday IV and there's a chance of a boon I'll roll for those. If you get a 1 or a 20 you can pick from a list which I will message to you. If you end up winning I need to have the email that's linked to your paizo account so they can email you the boon.

Order is the same as I've rolled initiative;

Init Sahba: 1d20 ⇒ 17
Init Y'serid: 1d20 ⇒ 10
Init Teric: 1d20 ⇒ 4
Init Prospero: 1d20 ⇒ 6
Init Jaxal: 1d20 ⇒ 9
GM: 1d20 ⇒ 16

So no boons for anyone this time :(

For those playing in other gameday games, better luck with your next roll(s)

Thanks for the game, Revvy!

#150786-8
Jaxal
Faction Dark Archive
Day Job: Craft(alchemy): 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (15) + 8 = 23

Revvy,

Thanks so much for running this. My PFS number is in my profile.

and to everyone,

This was my first PbP. Thanks very much for making this a fun experience. I had a great time and hope to see you all again in other rounds!

PFS #: 1142-5
Faction: Exchange
Day Job (Bluff): 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (14) + 9 = 23

Thanks for running, Revvy. Great game, everyone!

Sahba's info is also in her profile, which means I only need Y'serids information before I can report this for the gameday

PFS#: 15165-12
Faction: Andoran
No Day Job

Thanks for the run Revvy! Was a lot of fun!

PFS 9440-1
Faction: LE
Player: TomG
Day job: Craft (Calligraphy)
Craft (Calligraphy), take 10: 10 + 8 = 18

Thanks, Master Bitterleaf.

Andoran isn't a legal faction anymore, I'm assuming you mean Liberty's Edge Y'serid?

Working on sending chronicles now, it got a bit more busy then I planned for yesterday

If everything went correctly (and I didn't make any copy&paste mistakes) you should all have received a message with a link to your chronicle.

If anyone notices something they think is wrong let me know and I'll try to fix it

I'll leave the thread open for a few days and close it during the weekend so people have time to comment before it disappears from your active list

Thanks for playing and I hope everyone had fun

Since I've had like 4 questions on why you guys missed stuff I'll just post it here:

The First boon;

The Major Domo tells you (if you make a high enough diplomacy check - which you guys did. If you don't make the DC she doesn't tell you anything and you have no clue);

“You seem to possess a keen understanding of how things work in Absalom, so perhaps you might be willing to perform a small service for my Lady. It would be unheard of for Lady Silviana to demand recompense for her handmaiden purchased from Mahjub Mahdi; however, were you to secure such a deal, it would be gracious gesture that might lead to a budding friendship, don’t you think? And should he refuse you, who were you to ask in the first place?” She shrugs her shoulders and frowns slightly.

You guys got the information from Madhi, but didn't ask for a refund on the slave (and therefor didn't make the checks needed to succeed on it)

The Sovereign Court; If you did the above mentioned favor and tell Lady Darchana about it (or if any of your PC's have an impressive influence boon with her from a different scenario) she asks you to stay behind when you meet her and she makes a request for you to do something for her, if you do that you earn the boon. I checked with Prospero and none of his characters played the scenario where you can get the boon, so he wasn't told about the favor she wants you to do, so you have no clue on what to do (steal some stuff from the harbor master's office)

And to be compelete: Liberty's Edge needs to free the slaves

And to be compelete: Liberty's Edge needs to free the slaves

This wasn't crossed off, so we didn't miss this one, I believe.

(Of course, Sahba would permit no other outcome than freedom for the illegally obtained slaves. One of the reasons she burned evidence of their imprisonment.)

Dang, totally forgot about asking for a refund. Interesting that it was hanging out there and not tied to PP.

Revvy Bitterleaf wrote:

And to be compelete: Liberty's Edge needs to free the slaves

This wasn't crossed off, so we didn't miss this one, I believe.

(Of course, Sahba would permit no other outcome than freedom for the illegally obtained slaves. One of the reasons she burned evidence of their imprisonment.)

Just to confirm, yes you did get that one

Hey Revvy, thanks for the information. I didn't mean to come off as quibbling, I really do like to hear why I missed things so I can do better next time.

Thanks again for the great job running this scenario!

Yah - sometimes from start to end takes so long, I forget what some of the mini-objectives are! I should take better notes...

Hey Revvy, thanks for the information. I didn't mean to come off as quibbling, I really do like to hear why I missed things so I can do better next time.

Thanks again for the great job running this scenario!

All though I'm not 100% sure what quibbling is don't worry about that. I'm pretty sure I didn't take it like that ;)

So, do we have another "free the slaves" adventure ahead?

You say Liberty's Edge, I will never stop saying ANDORAAAAN!