Roland Aristocrat Campaign

Game Master Goldstool Shroomshine

"the magical auras on asfal have changed, he is now covered in a transmutation aura from his ring, as the spell alter self, a divination aura from the seek thoughts spell He cast in front of us, and a faint conjuration aura I couldn't identify from some spell cast on him"

Once Asfal has been absent from the room for a dozen hearbeats, she speaks quietly to insure no one but Marcus is likely to hear. "The conjuration would be armor of the mage. He's a cipher. Transmutation could be many things, but if it means he has altered his appearance, that would be most troubling. Anyone who uses magic to read the thoughts of others is probably up to something, but since he did not hide it from us, I'm not sure it has anything to do with tonight's event."

She pulls out her deck and sorts through it to look a the card Asfal had asked about. She set it where she could see it, off to the side and studied her spread of cards some more. "Eduard mentioned another Galatian, Blair Rey. She saw Abigail just before the party and I suspect she has been pressuring a local politician to support law allowing Galatia to extradite Galatians who commit crimes in Roland for prosecution in Galatia. So I'm thinking this may be a plot that hatched in the land of our golden-haired neighbors. Committing murder here at this party may just be a ruse. If that is the case, our host may be involved somehow. That is what I want to learn here, whether to seek evidence of something Emile may have done, knowingly or not, to expedite the murder and perhaps take the fall for it." Although her last sentence is a statement, she raises her tone at the end of it to suggest it may be open to question.

"Leave the fighting for the glory seeking masses, men like us belong above it all. Your doubts are noted, but seem hardly concrete. Feel free to chat up the three of them, I am sure my squad will be following you up shortly. Any minute now they should be here, though with the numbers and equipment I asked for, it may be longer... " Helmuth looks up the the balcony, to the man already looking down upon him. “Vincent, come down here and cover me. I’d like to speak to our host for a moment on a few matters” He glances to Emile with a small, somewhat suppressed smile, lips still blue from a mixed drink earlier in the night. “Alone, if you will.”

Emile begins to clear his throat, shooting his eyes briefly at Raphael. His glance doesn’t seem desperate, merely like he is looking for Raphael to respond for him. He appears collected.

Vincent eyes the captain for several seconds before nodding, beginning his descent down the eastern staircase. “Yes, of course.” He holds the railing, tapping it rhythmically as he walks down. He scans the crowd.

Outside a distance roar and a faded crackling. It sounds as though someone launched a small portion of their fireworks off a bit early. What must be shouted cheering roars softly from a far off crowd, maybe in the nearby Durendal Park, or a connected street.

"Okay good, keep your eyes and ears open and tell me if you hera or see something suspicious. And gentlemen, I hope you don't try to scare off my wife as you did me." Seth gives off a light hearted chuckle and a quick smirk. "Now if you'll excuse me, I need to return to watching over the foyer." Seth looks towards each of the mages and gives them a nod, and then heads back towards Raphael and Helmuth. He does not approach them but is close by.

Raphael leans in, whispering in Helmuth's ear, "It might be best if you didn't. Earlier, I had the distinct impression that Emile is under the influence of some spellcaster. It was subtle, but it was certainly there. I worry it may be related to what has happened her. It also implies some very dangerous things for any potential enemy. If you remain here and have Seth tail Emile, then we will have little worry of him doing anything dangerous. I can then proceed with my questions." Leaning back, he continues in a normal voice, "It is true that my doubts are not concrete, but I see little reason to assume them any more or less guilty then any other of the staff. I will ask my questions and then proceed with the other staff."

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (15) + 15 = 30

The entire room seems to quiet down as Raphael begins to whisper. The shuffle of servants can be heard in the absence of conversation, along with a quick quip and chuckle from Seth Varianna. Helmuth listens intently as Raphael speaks, no longer tapping his fingers to his gun or giving it a spin. His eyes flash to Emile briefly afterwards.

“Very well. Though we should separate those we have interrogated from the rest. Perhaps Seth may watch over them, assure they do not mingle or exchange secrets with those yet to be questioned. However you like, Monsieur Montefiore, though my men will take over as they arrive.”

Helmuth turns his attention to the foyer’s guests. His head glides across them. “If anyone thinks they saw anything related to the event, seek out either Raphael, Seth or I. I thank you all for your cooperation.” He bows, though he does not break eye contact with the crowd. he rises, turning to the Durendale bodyguard. “Vincent, take post down here. I will be our eyes from above until my men show up.”

Vincent nods. He looks around the room, though his gaze pauses briefly on Seth and Raphael. “I understand you have Helmuth’s trust, but you have not yet mine. Should either your blades be unsheathed while I am present, I am afraid I will have to take action.” He smirks, though his eyes remained fixed, unmoving on Raphael. “Nothing personal, I assure you.”

His eyes fall to Seth’s blade. “An enchanted blade? Was is made for you or is it an heirloom?”

Alexander enters the bar room from the south. Gray circles hang over his eyes. He notices the tavern owner and the oracle amidst her reading, but moves past them. It is only after he makes himself a simple concoction (half Tizionian hard alcohol, half exotic citrus juice) that he begins to speak up.

He speaks slow and measured, not so much to anyone in particular so much as aloud. “What a strange world we live in when the bar is the quietest room of a household. I fear the foyer has grown too loud for my interests and I fear my condolences to Miss Bolton may have peeved her bodyguard. Alexander Ravenhall, a pleasure.” He looks the two in the eyes now, searching for something in them.

“What a curious pair. Do the crowds outside not offer anything for you?”

A silver haired woman steps toward Valentina. Her dress flows, dancing at her heels, glittering bright metallic whites and grays. She is beautiful, startlingly so. Her voice is intoxicating and her eyes are strikingly clear.

“Well, well, well. Usually my senses are more keen for finding the interesting members of a party. I don’t know how to phrase this without sounding rude: You are the construct girl are you not? Silverstone?”

Her lips curl into a smile. What a beautiful smile. Gods, heavenly it is. “My manners must have been drowned in a bottle earlier. ‘Always give your name before asking someone elses’ my mother used to tell me.” She giggles invitingly. “Agatha Agnes, proprietor of all things silver.” She gently places a strand of her hair behind her ear. Helmuth begins to rise the stairs.

It is 11:18PM, there are 42 minutes until the New Year. Predicted three minutes until Guard reinforcements arrive. Around ninety seconds remain until the tarot reading is complete.

Halcyon regarded Alexander Ravenhall with slight annoyance. As he begins to speak, Halcyon makes eye contact with Marcus and darts a glare at Ravenhall, as if to ask, "What's he showing?". She focuses her attention on her cards, feeling close to an answer.

Then Ravenhall speaks to Halcyon and Marcus in a way that requires a response. "What a curious pair. Do the crowds outside not offer anything for you?"

Halcyon answers quietly, without facing him. "Like you, I seek a quiet place where I can contemplate the future. As for condolences, they have been delivered and grudgingly received. Now I seek only to understand what happened to the ambassador. Do you have any ideas who may be responsible for this atrocity?"

As she finishes her question, she keeps her head looking at her reading, but turns her eyes to regard how Ravenhall reacts to the question, not expecting him to reveal anything, but adding his response to her data. Her divination technique draws on whatever happens in her environment as potentially offering clues to the future. Her darkvision reveals him without shadows or gradations of lighting, somewhat two-dimensional.

Any magic auras or ability?
"there are times when it is appropriate for the bar to be somber and subdued, a party should not be one of them, but as a place where someone died... It is rather understandable that no one is exactly feeling the party mood... as to the crowds. not particularly so right now, when I look for answers, sometimes it helps to simply wait beside one who can glimpse beyond the veil"

Seth turns around to Vincent and nods his head when he says that they have yet to earn his trust. Upon the mention of his blade, Seth perks up a bit. "You have a good eye. It was given to me by the man who trained me. Perhaps you know him, Lucius Ferot. He is a friend of my father and he was kind enough to train me and even give me his blade when he retired from the guard a few years ago."

He does not seem unwilling to come close, but he does keep his distance. Alexander sits on a stool at the bar, stretching himself before twisting back to Halcyon and Marcus. “Black Lotus Extract is neither easy to find or pay for.” He takes the first sip of his drink, he pauses. “So they have amassed both questionable connections and a fortune they can spare. I doubt such a person would commit the act rather than orchestrate it.”

He takes another sip. He turns back to the bar. “Such an underhanded method. Can either of you detect those with honest hearts above poison? Or perhaps those depraved enough to utilize them?”

“Ah, my father told stories on Monsieur Ferot. Good ones, mind you. To be trusted such steel is an honor. Truth be told, I was told by many officers I was not fit for the Guard.” He smiles. “And they were right. At fifteen I was far too arrogant for such matters.”

He reaches into his pocket, causing a slight jingling. He takes out a small fistful of empty potion vials. Five maybe.He places all but one into a bag that tucks into his pants. They don’t make a sound as they tumble in. “Luckily it is easy to swallow these than it is my pride. My sister says it is dishonorable to rely on such means rather than steel, but if it saves lives, I care not for honor.” He plays with the last empty vial, nimbly weaving it through his fingers as he listens for a response.

“Aye. Dun’ think either Oracle could cast it. Could be a magical item. We have lotsa couldas here, whoever did this is clever, give ‘em that.” He thinks for a moment on Valentina’s mention on the profits of a possible war. He gives his beard a good scratch before continuing. “Ev’ryone here is a suspect far as I know. Sure even a lady like you could do this with a few potions and some cheap trinkets. As fer the constructs, aye, got a point. ‘Spose we’ll get questioned by a detective later. Nothin' to fear though, right?” He grins widely.

Ernest reaches into his beard once more, taking out a small construct man. He holds it by the waist, and despite its struggled wiggles, he places it into his satchel. “And ya got some evidence, dontcha? Someone here has a chemist, or they have a magic item lettin’ them delay poison. Hells, one of those may be rarer than being able to cast the spells ‘emself.” Helmuth begins to speak loudly in the foyer, almost theatrically. Ernest turns to look, listening for Valentina’s response while listening in on the young captain.

"Right...nothing to fear." It occurs to Valentina that maybe...she might actually have something to gain from this death. Notwithstanding, of course, that she still wants to find the culprit. She's sure that there's at least a social reward for doing so, and Abigail was a nice girl. But perhaps the consequences wouldn't be so bad for her.

"Right, alchemists aren't exactly the most popular form of either magic or science." muses Valentina. "Vincent's been known to tote a particularly large amount of clinking magical glasses. Do you know where he leans on that skill scale?"

Seth watches Vincent play with one of the vials for a few seconds before responding. "This sword has served me well, and it is a gift I am ever grateful for." Seth peers down at his sword for a moment before looking back at Vincent. "That makes two of us. The Guard seemed to formal and tight for my tastes. I prefer the laid back type of work I do. Sure it might be more dangerous, but most of the time you just enjoy a good trip through the country side or a good night in a tavern." Seth's posture relaxes slightly for a moment, reminiscing about how it all started. "Sorry, was just thinking about when I first started off as a mercenary. Anyway, I do not think it matters how you save the life. Sometimes a potion or a spell can be ten times more effective than steel."

As Alexander's words hang in he air, a draft enters the room. No windows or doors are open. The wind is chilling, though it passes. Alexander shivers slightly though he combats the cold with a healthy gulp of his drink. He stirs the glass gently in his hands.

Ernest speaks quietly for perhaps the first time at the party. “Vincent? Dun’ think so. Boy mentioned somethin’ bout his chemist to me and the wee magic boys in the bar. Guessin’ his talent for em starts and ends at drinkin’ the vials.” He scratches his beard, peering at the dark haired bodyguard. “Fits the bill I ‘spose. Careful, though. First one to start shoutin’ accusations usually the one people expect did it.”

Ernest looks around the room. He spots someone. “Alistair knows more alchemist than me. Chemists and witchy types seem to get along pretty well. Lemme see what I can get outta ‘em." He looks down to his feet, glancing up at Valentina. "You, uh, got some one waitin’ for me to leave me thinks. Two o’clock.” He moves his hands in circles, counting something. “No, wait, my two, that’d be ya eight.”

From a bit behind Valentina’s shoulder shuffles a silver haired woman. She appears ready to leave the group she currently talks to, almost anxiously so. Ernest smiles. “Tell me if ya need any more spells. I’ll be hecklin’ Alistair till those reinforcement the Guard-boy keeps mentionin’ show up.”

The silver haired woman approaches as Ernest says his goodbyes. Her heels click sharply as she steps.

Agatha's last post, linked above, moved to this point.

A silver haired woman steps toward Valentina. Her dress flows, dancing at her heels, glittering bright metallic whites and grays. She is beautiful, startlingly so. Her voice is intoxicating and her eyes are strikingly clear.

“Well, well, well. Usually my senses are more keen for finding the interesting members of a party. I don’t know how to phrase this without sounding rude: You are the construct girl are you not? Silverstone?”

Her lips curl into a smile. What a beautiful smile. Gods, heavenly it is. “My manners must have been drowned in a bottle earlier. ‘Always give your name before asking someone elses’ my mother used to tell me.” She giggles invitingly. “Agatha Agnes, proprietor of all things silver.” She gently places a strand of her hair behind her ear. Helmuth begins to rise the stairs.
** spoiler omitted **** spoiler omitted **** spoiler omitted **** spoiler omitted **

It is 11:18PM, there are 42 minutes until the New Year. Predicted three minutes until Guard...

The difference is stark when Valentina turns from Ernest to face Agatha. She sizes the woman up and down as subtly as she can, but even trying to be subtle is difficult with a woman this beautiful.

Wow. She retains her composure, however, straightening up to face the woman and taking her hand daintily for a small shake. "Silverstone is indeed my name - "construct girl" is, I suppose, as apt a name as any. It is very good to meet you, Agatha - I've heard that you're a busy and successful woman, even so young. What entices you to take time out of your day to talk to little old me?"

Vincent seems vacant for a few seconds. He recovers. “Ah yes, pardon. I am intent on preventing any would-be second deaths this evening.These potions will catch anything I do not. Perhaps when the night reaches its end we can discuss a method of ensuring the guests all safely reach their residence. While it isn’t my ideal evening, I would be more than willing to escort any guests home.” Vincent snaps his wrist out, cracking it. “I am going to check on our missing friends. Should Raphael want to continue questioning, make sure it is somewhere private.”

Vincent gives a small Guard salute to Seth, a sly smirk cracking through an otherwise serious demeanor. He walks to the bar room.

Another set of fireworks go off early. These sound more distance. The roars continue for a few second before their sudden halt.

It is 11:20PM, there are 40 minutes until the New Year. Predicted two minutes until Guard reinforcements arrive. The harrow reading is finished.

Agatha chuckles. “Oh, between your modesty and flattery I don’t know what to say…” Agatha trails off her sentence, though looks to Valentina concentrating on her. After a few seconds, she speaks up. “Let me remember, I know I can do this. It starts with a “V” I just know it.” She bites on her fist, trying to remember, or at least trying to look like she is. She searches Valentina’s expression as tries to guess. “Vuh… Vah… Vee… I’m going to make a fool of myself, aren’t I?”

She ceases her concentration. “Still, don’t tell me. I’ll remember, Vee. I didn't approach just to blank right in front of you. Us young and charming must stick together. You are helping with poor Abigal, correct? Horrifying. No girl deserves a death like that. What I mean to ask is will you allow me to help you?”

"Allow you to help me?" Valentina quirks an eyebrow, somewhat amused that Agatha can't remember her name and still won't let her actually introduce herself. "You really don't need to do that. It's potentially dangerous, looking for a murderer." says Valentina. "What do you want to do?"

Seth listens to Vincent and as he turns he quickly speaks. "Of course. We can discuss it later." Seth then turns back towards Raphael. "We can keep questioning if you wish. If you have any other ideas I am all ears.

Halcyon feels a faint stir of air blow over her neck and senses her answer is nigh. The illusion of the gypsy card reader from the 'neither weal nor woe' position breaks off from her dance on stage and drifts into the center position. The stage and it's dancers fade. The gypsy stands as if at a crossroads, considering the man getting beaten in the position of weal, the huge man facing off with the dwarven blacksmith in the position of woe, and the gypsy woman dancing round the idiot in the position of weal and woe.

The Snakebite assassin and the locksmith stand on either side of the fortune teller as she considers. Then they shove her toward the pair at the bottom and before she can retreat, the two begin to fight, with her caught in the middle.

The cold breeze intensifies and she hears a whispered poem chanted in her mind. The breeze seems to cause all the illusions to swirl into a dim tornado and then vanish. The illusions, the voice, and the chill breeze ceases. The augury is ended.

Halcyon nods and glances at Marcus. "That answers that," she says softly and sweeps her cards together. She regards the Foreign Trader one last time before placing it on the top of the deck. She stands, tucks her deck back into sash pouch and stows the folded matt with it.

She fishes a business card from her pocket, finishes her drink, and tucks the card into the empty glass. She holds the glass and card out to Marcus and says, "Thank you for the drink, Marcus. Would you put this on the bar please?" She nods her head in Ravenhall's direction, indicating she wants him to get the card.

As she finishes this task, Vincent strides in, looking intense as usual. She pretends not to see and turns to face the door, waiting for the person entering to identify himself.

Marcus obligingly places the card where she asks, and then sits down with his own drink "now then, I freely admit to not having the gift of sight beyond sight, so I'd appreciate an explanation as to what the cards you drew mean"

“Well, I can sing quite a tune. In a bardic sense. With me whispering a little song in your ear, there isn’t much we couldn’t accomplish. I have a spell or two we could share as well.” She removes a silver chain and pendant from her dress. The pendant is comprised of threadlike cords, spiraling upon themselves in a weaved circle.

“And I have this. A Medallion of Thoughts. Legally gray but if you point me at someone...” She taps to index fingers to opposite sides of her temple. She then points them out in front of her at head height, right toward Valentina. “Their thoughts are ours. ” She grins. “Worry not, I haven’t pried on your mind yet. I was tempted when you spoke to the dwarf. If I check now though, I may spoil the mystery of your name.”

Her grin grows wider when she slips her necklace back into her dress. “Surely I have some use for you, right Vee?”

Vincent enters the bar with a quick knock. He does not wait for an answer.

“Alive. Good. If you need to take the edge off, by all means, but it makes protecting everyone easier if all are together. Make a drink and take it with you out.” His eyes move along the room’s few inhabitants. They stop with a smile on Halcyon, continues his grin to Marcus but his expression fades as it reaches Alexander. He takes a few steps into the bar, approaching Halcyon. “Halcyon, I thought you were with Eduard.”

Alexander takes his card, tucking it into his pocket. He offers a hushed thanks to Marcus, though he listens for Halcyon’s reply. While listening, he takes two cards from a small leather case. They are off-white, eggshell perhaps a pale cream. He hands both to Marcus, placing them by Marcus’ side tipped into each other forming a triangle. The cards have weight to them, and are printed with simple, centered black writing.

“RAVENHALL - GOODS AND SERVICES”

On the opposite side in fine print is an address. It seems to place him by the southern docks.

Once Halcyon hears Vincent speak, she smiles and waits for him to finish. "I was with Eduard, but only so long as to learn a few things about their activities before arriving here and pay my respects, while others examined the body for clues. We know where on her body the poison entered now." As she says this last, she holds her forearms between her body and Alexander back by the bar and subtly touches the appropriate place on her own arm to indicate where without saying it out loud.

She walks toward the door to put as much of the room between her and Alexander, whom she does not trust one bit. Once nearer the door, she looks out to see if anyone is close enough to eavesdrop. In particular she tries to see if Asfal is within sight and therefore, perhaps within spell range of his Seek Thoughts spell.
Perception: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (6) + 7 = 13

When she speaks, she whispers, trusting Vincent's spell heightened awareness to pick it up. Just in case the spell effect has worn off, she does a test whisper, "Can you hear me?"

If he cannot, she speaks more loudly but still as softly as possible.

"I have much to tell you. In a nutshell, I suspect Galatian politics is behind this, but I only have circumstantial evidence. I would also be suspicious of Asfal, as he may not be whom he appears. I thought Emile might have a few secrets worth investigating, but an augury has discouraged me from pursuing that."

With that she stops whispering and speaks normally, "Sounds like you boys with swords and guns have things buttoned down well enough out here. Is there anything I can do to help? If not, point me in the direction of Caroline de Beaux. I want to be sure she's keeping calm."

Edit: Just before leaving, Halcyon turns back and makes a subtle beckoning motion toward Marcus to indicate he can join her if he wants her to answer his question. Bluff to convey secret message: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (11) + 11 = 22

“Well, I can sing quite a tune. In a bardic sense. With me whispering a little song in your ear, there isn’t much we couldn’t accomplish. I have a spell or two we could share as well.” She removes a silver chain and pendant from her dress. The pendant is comprised of threadlike cords, spiraling upon themselves in a weaved circle.

“And I have this. A Medallion of Thoughts. Legally gray but if you point me at someone...” She taps to index fingers to opposite sides of her temple. She then points them out in front of her at head height, right toward Valentina. “Their thoughts are ours. ” She grins. “Worry not, I haven’t pried on your mind yet. I was tempted when you spoke to the dwarf. If I check now though, I may spoil the mystery of your name.”

Her grin grows wider when she slips her necklace back into her dress. “Surely I have some use for you, right Vee?”

Valentina smiles. Despite herself, she was surprised that this woman had actually come to offer her something utilitarian. She'd have to remember to spend some alone time reconditioning her preconceptions about beautiful ladies.

"Alright then, Lady Agnes. Let's go speak to my friends, see what suspicions they've got. Then we can use your power more efficiently."

First, she wants to find Halcyon - the woman was a diviner of some power, and Valentina was sure she saw her performing some sort of reading just now. Only...Halcyon isn't where she last saw her. "Have you seen Halcyon? The blind oracle? Agatha?"

Vincent shows surprise. He whispers low, away from Alexander at the bar. "I didn't know one could trace Black Lotus Extract to where it was administered. Remarkable." When she speaks in a meek whisper, Vincent nods. It seems he is still under the effect of his potions, and has no trouble hearing the conversation. He peeks his head out from the door he came from, looking for either of the two names that Halcyon mentioned. "Asfal. Right. I'll keep an eye on him. Helmuth tells us his reinforcements shall arrive soon. This horrid night is almost over, I assure you."

Vincent examines Marcus for a moment. "If you could escort Madame d'Orsay, I need to speak to Alexander briefly."

It is 11:21PM, there are 39 minutes until the New Year. Predicted one minute until Guard reinforcements arrive.

Halcyon thanks Vincent for checking on him, placing a gentle hand on his, then walks with Marcus into the dining room to look for Caroline. As they walk, she says to him, "Thank you for your support tonight. I think we should gather some of our allies in this evening's investigation to compare notes and perhaps continue working on this mystery, for the good of both Roland and Durendal. I will visit the Tale tomorrow night if I can. I hope I will see Valentina, Raphael, and Seth there, as well as your sister and Lucia, if they are interested. Anyway, about the reading...."

At this point she moves to a point slightly separated from the others, if possible, and speaks directly into Marcus' ear, to keep the conversation private. If Valentina, Seth, or Raphael are near, she will invite them close to hear as well.

"Please keep this between us. I don't want to bring trouble onto Emile unnecessarily, although he will probably be thoroughly investigated so it may come to light anyway. Caroline told me he allows himself to be put under geas spells as part of his business deals. I did an augury to see if it would help us find the murderer if I could study the written contracts connected to the spells, which Caroline says she can locate. But the augury discouraged that, so I'm inclined to wait for the guard and let them handle it from here. I've learned of a person who may be involved but who is not here tonight, so we can discuss that further when we meet tomorrow."

Sorry for the delay in posting. Work was busy and then I've had some connectivity issues. Should be posting more regularly again.

Sense Motive: 1d20 + 17 ⇒ (20) + 17 = 37 This is me trying to get a read on Vincent when he's eying me in the post with the Knowledge rolls.

Raphael returns Vincent's stare with an polite, if aloof, smile. "Given so many stout gentlemen here, I doubt that I will need to protect myself, so have no fear on that count. It pains me that you do not trust me, but given how new to one another we are, I cannot blame you. I'm sure that will come with time." As the talk turns to magical weapons, Raphael's attention wanders and he simply nods and smiles as he mulls over what he has learned tonight.

As Vincent takes his leave, Raphael nods a distracted goodbye, frowning slightly. Shrugging, he turns to Seth and replies, "I think I would, as a matter of fact. Shall we speak to the three from the cellar in the kitchen? The guard should be here shortly to take over the case and I'm curious what those three have to say."

Marcus considers listening to what was said, but leaves for a variety of reasons, from wanting to ensure his friend's safty to simple courtesy outweighing curiosity, when asked.
When he walks with Halcyon, if she has no destination in mind he will steer them towards the room where weapons were stored in order to retrieve his rapier.
When she tells him of what her divinations advise her he is quiet for a moment, giving her words the thought they were due. He eventually speaks, saying "perhaps we should still keep tabs on what the guard find if we can, though we should of course not go against your visions of we can avoid it, there are still things we can do, I'll keep my ears open for banter and rumers amongst the guard at my establishment once their lips and mind have been sutibly lubricated, and speek to my contact in the arcane society and the alchemist in my employ, see if any of them have heard of anything. My sister will try to see if any of her... Less visible contacts know anything m You on the other hand, have a friend here, continue to reach out to her, help her with her gifts, mentor her if she wants it, but the important thing is that you listen to her tell you what's going on. Use any other contacts you can think of as well, but be sure to be as subtle as possible, we don't want to paint a target on our heads from whoever is orchestrating this mess, of course if you have any better ideas you can be sure that I'll listen"this was originally going to be a moderately small post but damn Marcus is a wordy bastard

Getting to the rapier might mean going through the room where Eduard and the body are, as I think that was the cloakroom. Halcyon would advise against disturbing Eduard unnecessarily, both out of respect and because he seems a bit unstable, as Asfal noted.

Halcyon listens to Marcus' advice and nods appreciatively. "My continuing association with Caroline will, I believe, insure information about Emile. I anticipate many of the guests may become clients in the near future, which will naturally provide more information. I also believe ... " She was about to say something about Vincent, but thought better of it, not being sure they were out of his unusually long earshot.

"As for painting a target on my head, I believe, for me anyway, that caravan has departed the city. Everyone here knows my proximity to the victim and my gifts. That is another reason I'd feel better allying with some trustworthy people to give me some security."

As they walk through the dining room, Halcyon pays silent attention to the location and general state of mind of each guest, as well as looking for Caroline.

"Of course. I will go get them for you. Do you want to question them one at a time or all at once?" Seth waits for a response and after listening to Raphael, he goes and approaches the three servants.

"I hope you do not mind, but my friend Raphael would like to ask you three a few more questions. Would you please follow me to the kitchen?" Seth waits for their response and leads them towards the kitchen if they agree.

Also happy belated 4th of July to you all.

Marcus grimaces "right, as much as I want to offer banal reassurances, it't true that you may have frightened or angered people today... Look just be careful, that's all I ask, I consider you a friend and I don't want you to get hurt"

"Thank you for your concern. You are one of my only friends. I don't even have family ... any more. But I am always careful. I've survived some surprisingly dangerous situations in my young life already. My will to survive is strong. Besides, I've seen nothing in the cards to indicate an early demise." She gives Marcus' hand a gentle, affectionate squeeze and momentary half-smile.

He smiles back "good, let's keep it that way

“They're hardly my powers, Vee. Do provide a bit of fun though. Shame I couldn’t get a read on your little clockwork comrade." She jokingly pouts. "Tried earlier, don’t hold it against me.” Agatha gives a little smirk.

She looks around the room briefly. She noticed her brother and Emile speaking. Under her breathe you hear her murmur. "Dreadful, dreadful, dreadful." When Marcus and Halcyon enter the foyer, she gives two quick, quiet claps. “By the Bar. Meet with your friends, I’ll wait. Tell me who you want a read on… Or I can figure it out if you linger on it too long.” She winks playfully. She walks away with a wave, heading towards the host. She removes her pendant, focuses on it for ten or so seconds, and enters the conversation with her brother.

Following the exit of Marcus and Halcyon, Alexander and Vincent exit the bar room. They speak hushed to one another, though keep their gazes at the crowd. Vincent reaches into the opening to his bag, removing his potion rack once more. He removes one, giving it to Alexander. The rack is almost empty now. He returns it back to the bag.

Alexander gives Vincent a pat on the shoulder. The old man heads to the two blonde men in the room.

Feel free to assume you heard all of Hal+Marcus’ conversation, Val.

As Seth draws close, it seems the servants already understand, the tiefling woman nodding her head and getting the attention of the others. Helmuth follows them with his eyes from the second floor balcony. “We do not mind. Lead.”

They enter the kitchen behind Seth. The ratfolk Muro hops onto the counter, grabbing at a cannister of tobacco that the chef must have left behind. The male tiefling Morgan scratches at his forearm down below his knees. The tiefling woman Sacha grabs the crate that Ludovic brought up earlier. She sits down, slumping forward, facing towards the guests and the door to the foyer. She tilts her head to the other tiefling. “Morgan doesn’t talk, isn’t that right, Morgan?” Morgan nods, Muro chuckles as he puts a wad of tobacco into his mouth. “So if you may, please direct questions at me or Mur.”

Most of the guests talk quietly amongst themselves, while the servants sit, stand and lean by the eastern wall.

• Agatha joins her brother in speaking to Emile. The Agnes family seems friendly and calm, Emile somehow keeps up with the two of them. Helmuth regularly eyes the host.
  
• The mages have been reunited with Ernest, and converse about what spells they could use to help the Guard as they arise. Alistair brings up the topic of familiars.
  
• Estelle, Francis Lyon, Nishara and Tomas all mingle. Estelle doesn’t seem to fond of Francis, Tomas seems a bit clung on to Nishara.
  
• Asfal and Aron speak to one another. Aron still seems shaken. They watch the crowd as they speak. Alexander joins them, drink in one hand, vial in the other.
  
• Vincent watches from below. Helmuth watches from above. While Helmuth doesn’t have the same vigilance as the bodyguard, he seems prepared in terms of firepower. Vincent heads close to the manor’s entrance, watching from the south.

“You must of heard the debacle from outside, right? Emmy was trying to look after our companions is all.” Caroline and Beatrice both seem distressed.

"Emile always does what is right. Sacha and Morgan would never be behind this. I’ve even been teaching Sacha to speak like a noble lady." Beatrice watches the three servants follow Seth into the kitchen. She refocuses back to the group at hand.

It is 11:22PM, there are 38 minutes until the New Year. Guard reinforcements should arrive.

Marcus guides his friend over to the table graciously and responds with "it depends on what debacle you refer to, the word seems fairly appropriate for a number of occurrences tonight, did something happen to the guard that were supposed to arrive? Or was it something with the tiefling servants,"

Valentina walks quickly over to Halcyon, her heels clicking smoothly on the ground. When she reaches the diviner, she leans in to the woman's ear, grasping her wrist softly to let her know that somebody is there. "Halcyon, do you have any suspicions? I have a lead but I feel that we need to act quickly if we're to get any remaining work done - when the Guard arrive, they're sure to oust everybody."

Valentina's impatient nature is evident, and if she's given a name indicating that Halcyon has suspicions for that person, she'll quickly thank the seer, turn right back around, indicate to Agatha that she wants a word and then give Agatha the name. "Them. Read them."

To Valentina's request, Halcyon says, "My prime suspect is not here, but if she has an accomplice at the party, I suspect it to be the golden-haired Rolander, Asfal."

To Caroline and Beatrice, she says only, "Where did they come from?" After hearing a summary of Raphael's visit to the wine cellar, she says, "Bigots like Francis and Helmuth may suspect them but I think the culprits run in distinctly different circles. In any case, they are excluded by the same evidence that leads me to suspect the poison was administered well before Abigail arrived. It will be interesting if we can determine which spell effect the enchanted wine was meant to create and how it was placed into Abigail's wine glass. Since they were connected to the wine cellar, that raises some questions, but if you trust them, so do I. The guard may not be so enlightened. Still I expect Raphael will help them if they get into legal trouble."

Halcyon slumps a bit, clearly ready for all this intrigue to end. "Bed will feel especially welcome tonight," she sighs.

Once attention is no longer focused on Halcyon, she leans close to Caroline and whispers, "I did an augury regarding the fortunes of investigating those contracts we talked about earlier. The cards warned against it. You may want to examine them if you can, without alerting your brother, but I expect the investigation into this tragic event will eventually bring them to light."

Agatha spies Valentina, and she excuses herself from the conversation. She calls out playfully to Emile as she walks away from him and her brother. “Don’t get too friendly you two.” She holds her silver pendant in her hand, covering it from prying eyes. She marks her target. “Oh goody, I wanted to see what he thought of me.” She smiles, tightening her hand on the necklace, nonchalantly glancing at the man.

She looks irked after twenty seconds of concentrating. Asfal looks around the room, pausing before conversing once more with Alexander and Aron. “Let me try again...” More time passes, she seems annoyed or perhaps embarrassed. She focuses intently now, staring up at Asfal every few seconds. Her fist clenches.

The blonde man looks around the room, it seems he is aware and looking for someone casting magic. “He has a knack of blocking me out. Third time's the charm.” Agatha holds her pendant once more. She is adamant in achieving success now. After ten seconds of concentration, she meets eyes with Asfal. “Eep!” She turns her back to him, unfastening the chain with a flick of her finger, letting it fall from her neck into her hand positioned below. It seemed to be a quick, effective maneuver, perhaps practiced.

“Vee,” she whispers sharply, “Vee, Vee. Take it. He is Galatian, he can probably detect magic trinkets. If he sees it on me now he will know. I have to go talk to him and pretend I was making eyes.” She holds her hand out palm open, chain and pendant jingling as she motions for Valentina to take it. “I’ll take it back later tonight, or maybe stop by your, what would it be, workshop? Factory? Home?”

Across the foyer, Beatrice responds to Marcus. “The military boy was heckling them. I haven’t a clue about his backup, but if they act as he does, perhaps they should come later than sooner. Beatrice looks seems particularly agitated over the matter. It seems to have replaced her earlier melancholy. Her face twists at something Halcyon says. “Come from? They come from Roland, same as us all. Where did you come from Madame Oracle?”

Campaign Discussion. More info TBA.

Dot.

Thank you for the invite. I am in the process of selecting gear. I am looking to be done tomorrow night. Today was busy at work and I am exhausted. I will have it done by then (around 9pm CST).

No worries, plan is to have it start in early to mid January (want to take into account the Holidays and New Years), so we have the time. To match up with the timing, the first session will be at a small New Year's Eve Party, and will serve as the introduction to the world and a brand new year. Glory to Durendal, the game is in sight!

Goldstool, I sent you a PM regarding a magic item.

No worries, plan is to have it start in early to mid January (want to take into account the Holidays and New Years), so we have the time. To match up with the timing, the first session will be at a small New Year's Eve Party, and will serve as the introduction to the world and a brand new year. Glory to Durendal, the game is in sight!

Well, in light of that I will pour over my gear selections to ensure that I have what I want. I will post again once I have everything finalized.

That seems good to me, I have done a good portion of my inventory but I have some money left over so who knows what I might do with it. Also just going to quickly do horse health rolls in here.
Health Part 1: 1d8 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 2 = 6
Health Part 2: 1d8 + 2 ⇒ (8) + 2 = 10

So it is confirmed that with 24(?) Health, the horse officially has the most?

So it is confirmed that with 24(?) Health, the horse officially has the most?

The horse has 26 because the first HD is max plus its +2 Con mod

Dot.

That horse is twice as tough as Valentina.

Not surprising. d8 hit die and 8 Con isn't a great recipe.

Hi all, by the way!

Hi folks! Thanks to you, DM Goldstool, for inviting me to play in this game. I'm very much looking forward to it. I think I'm more or less ready to go, but I need to finish a couple things.

First up is my monthly income. I had a look at Ultimate Equipment and lawyers in the setting earn somewhere between 5 sp (novice) - 10 GP (experienced). I'm guessing I fall somewhere in the middle, but probably above the halfway mark to experienced (lots of sense motive/diplomacy/know(local) etc.). Assuming 6 GP per day per person, over 22 days (30 days - 8 weekends) I'd earn roughly 132 gp. If I have 2 novice lawyers helping me out so I can handle an average 6 people (or so) per day, I earn around 660 gp. Let's round that down to 600 gp to account for miscellaneous expenses. If I need to spend about an hour a day on each person on average, I have about 2 hours leftover to devote to my merchant business plus any overtime (probably some at least on social stuff e.g. meeting people to do deals with).

Based on all this, I think that something like 600 + some random modifier is good. I see Raphael as primarily an importer of foreign specialty/luxury goods as that's information he'd know. That seems like it'd be fairly stable with some chances for random fluctuation. 2d4 * 100 would average 500 gp month with a range of 200 to 800. My total income range would be 800 gp to 1400 gp with an average of 1100 gp. That sound reasonable to you DM Goldstool?

The only other thing is my contact, Estelle. I expanded her story a bit a lot below.

As a contact, I see Estelle as a means for Raphael to get a feel for certain underworld dealings. As a Guard, she's also an interesting point of contact for anything related to that faction and it's day to day happenings. For skills, Know(Local), Stealth and/or Bluff/Disguise seem reasonable to me, but you're free to come up with our own interpretations. :)

I am playing in a handful of PBP games and one of the things that it's usually good to do up front is decide any preferences for posts in the gameplay thread.

One issue to decide is the general verb tense to use in gameplay. Most games use present tense, as in Halcyon moves to the door and listens for sounds of activity on the other side. One game I'm in requires using past tense, as in Halcyon moved to the door and listened for sounds of activity on the other side. It's a small difference, but the latter provides a more literary feel to the posts. I've heard of games where this latter approach was used and someone went through later and copied and pasted all the entries together (sans rolls and OOC comments) into a kind of fiction narrative.

Another style choice is whether posts include things like what the character is thinking or intending. At one extreme is to only describe what other characters observing the scene would observe, keeping inner thoughts for others to infer from the actions. At the other extreme is to make the narrative include the kinds of things one might read in a fiction story, where the player narrates what the character is thinking and feeling. Other players have to be sure to filter this information out when choosing what their characters do, but it can make for more interesting and readable posts.

Related to this is the amount of OOC (out of character) comments made in the gameplay thread. Some games read a lot like an around-the-table game, with people making side comments about dice rolls, exclamations of woe and weal, etc. Other games discourage such table talk in the gameplay thread, preferring it the discussion board. Usually questions that involve interpreting rules, game world background questions, etc. are best placed on the discussion board where they don't interrupt the flow of events.

In the interests of keeping things moving, most experienced PBP players include rolls in their posts when it seems likely the GM may require one, such as for perception, stealth, knowledge, etc. It slows thing down if the GM has to post to specifically request such a roll, while including one that is not needed doesn't hurt.

It's a good idea to use the spoiler tags to hide information that is intended only for the eyes of a certain player or for the GM. Some GM's make a spoiler post with a title like "Perception DC 15". This means each player can make a perception check in their post and if they get a result of 15 or greater, they can look at the information in the spoiler. Otherwise players should not look at the information if their character did not make the required DC.

Finally, it's a good idea to preview posts and re-read them to proofread and correct errors in grammar and such. Preview will also allow a player or GM to see the results of a roll before submitting, so that he/she can take the result into account in the rest of the post, if appropriate.

Even after submitting the post, you can still go in and edit or delete the post for about an hour, after which the post cannot be altered. If much time has gone by since the original post, some players prefer their edit with the word "edit:" so someone who may have already read the post can see what was changed.

Thank you Halcyon, I am very glad you wrote this up for me.

Addressing things at random (and we can determine things as we play if need be):

• Prefer use of Discussion Thread, but I am fine with spoilers in Gameplay posts to comment on things, make a quip, et cetera.
  
• Let us use present tense. While putting it all in narrative form would be stellar, I don't think we need to think about that quite yet.
  
• People can roll whenever, for major things such as Knowledge DCs to know someone, I often roll that as things are introduced.
  
• I will keep the player things in spoilers, and only the players who pass should view. I ask that people follow this, especially if the party splits up, unless someone can sync minds up, and people want to share things.
  
• If you want, you can share knowledge rolls, information, or things you find. I will assume only you know of it if you do not share.

Knowing that you can preview the dice roll is game changing, I did not know that.

Raphael, you will never have to look up that much rules for downtime. The intersession system is basically designed so you don't need to worry about that / promote quick growth. I will make an intersession sheet for you (made 2 already), and we can talk more about intersession here. Everyone should start with an average of 1000gp per intersession,

For people who have not done PBP on Paizo before, it's worth noting that the dice-bot has a function to try to prevent cheating with the preview function. For example, if you preview a dice roll for a 1d20 roll and the result is a 1, you can't delete the roll and try again. The dice-bot somehow remembers the roll and if you try to edit your post and re-roll the 1d20 to get a better result, it will usually prevent the change, rolling a 1 every time until you post the roll.

This also means you can preview a post with a dice roll in it and the result won't change each time you edit the text and preview it again.

So a useful way to go about combat attacks is to do the 1d20 attack roll and add all your bonuses and subtract penalties. You can look at the result and if the attack would be a critical threat, then you can add another 1d20 roll to see if you made a critical.
Then roll normal damage (in case the result did not critical) with another extra roll for the extra critical damage. The GM can then judge whether it was a critical hit or not and how much damage to apply.

Raphael, you will never have to look up that much rules for downtime. The intersession system is basically designed so you don't need to worry about that / promote quick growth. I will make an intersession sheet for you (made 2 already), and we can talk more about intersession here. Everyone should start with an average of 1000gp per intersession.

Sounds good. I wasn't planning on doing anything more with the (overly complex and full of bookkeeping) downtime rules. I was kind of curious where the math would take me and you had previously mentioned that how the '1000gp' ends up working for each person will be different based on their profession. I was curious how it might work out for me. :)

For people who have not done PBP on Paizo before, it's worth noting that the dice-bot has a function to try to prevent cheating with the preview function.

This is correct. It looks like Paizo saves the next seed used to randomly generate each dice type's (d6, d8, d20, etc) result. So if you roll 5d20, it will always roll the same no matter how many times you preview it. Similarly for 6d8 or something. Swapping the order of the d20 and d8 rolls (e.g. d20 first and then trying again with d8 first) also doesn't change the results. If it wasn't already clear, I'm a computer engineer. :)

For everyone new to PBP, it might be helpful to take a look at these threads:

Painlords Guide to PbP GMing
and
DHs Guide to Play by Post gaming

Hey there leinathan, how have you been?

If anyone wants to discuss previous connections with Halcyon, here are some things that you might want to know up front. These are the things most people would know (or think they know) about her, her past, and her business.

Halcyon is an oracle (in PF class terms) but in public she is generally vague about her means of support. She goes by Halcyon d'Orsay and claims to be of a minor noble family from the Murgleis region. She is either blind or mostly blind, wearing tinted glasses and tapping a quarterstaff in front of her as she walks. She is slight of build, not very tall, but quite attractive and personable. Her disability does not stop her from attending the theater, parties, etc. She's something of a social butterfly with no known boyfriend or fiancé.

She sometimes dresses down, however, and mingles with more common people, usually wearing a scarf over her hair and a veil over the top part of her face, drinking at Marcus' tavern, doing harrow readings for 5 silver pieces (or cheaper if someone doesn't have that kind of change).

In either social setting, the rarefied heights of high society or the local tavern, she is keen to hear gossip and tell amusing stories. She occasionally does a dramatic reading of a well known poem or legend.

Anyone with underworld connections might know that she sometimes deals in information, either obtaining it if someone needs to find out something, or selling information she already has. This leads her to sometimes contract with people with specialized skills to obtain information for her or to accompany her when she looks for information to act as an escort and/or bodyguard.

Another way a PC might know her would be through her business, although she does her consulting in dim lighting that does not allow the person to get a good look at her, which makes it less likely that knowing her through her business would lead one to recognize her when she's in public. She starts most consultations with a harrow reading and follows up with more meetings if it turns out she can provide some helpful information or offer services that amount to counseling. She advises on love, business, politics, and even supernatural connections.

She has a secret that someone in the party may know, but she also likely knows a secret about the other person as well, so both parties have motive to keep the secret.

However your PC may have met her, he/she would probably be most impressed with how much she knows about a wide range of topics for one so young. She is smart with a good education behind her, but she seems to draw a great deal of information from informal sources, such as stories and tall tales. It's also possible she has spiritual sources of information that she naturally taps into; she sometimes slips into a mild trance for up to a half minute, after which she sometimes knows things it seems unlikely she could have learned by mundane means.

She can be very persuasive and diplomatic, and can put up a very good cover identity or bluff her way out of trouble. Finally, she seems remarkably perceptive, particularly for one with a visual disability. This especially applies to reading people. She has an uncanny knack for telling when people are lying or pretending to be something they are not or hiding emotions. She has some spells but they are mostly divination school spells or spells that help her in her work, such as Comprehend Languages, Detect Evil, and Tap Inner Beauty.

Post questions, suggestions for possible connections, or PM me as you choose. I look forward to getting to know the other PCs and getting started.

For my own purposes I've put together a list of the PCs in the game and Raphael's connection to them. Feel free to comment if anything seems amiss or if anything could be expanded upon.

• Halcyon d'Orsay: Raphael and Halcyon met when Raphael had his harrow reading done on a lark at Marcus Tamarin's bar (does it have a name yet?). Impressed, but not fooled, by the elaborate tale she spun from her cards, Raphael made a point of continuing to speak with the insightful young woman. The pair still meet occasionally (generally at the same bar) to trade gossip and to chat.
  
• Marcus Tamarin: I'm currently thinking that we may have met when I came into your bar for Halcyon's reading with some other noble friends. Since then Raphael would have been back a number of times, we may have struck up a conversation. Perhaps either you revealed your secret trading business or I heard about it from some other contacts. Either way, we've since done some business.
  
• Valentina Silverstone: Raphael served as a laywer for Valentina and saw her successfully acquitted of the charges levied against her. Valentina invited Raphael out to a coffeehouse in thanks and proceeded to try to charm Raphael (for some ulterior motive that Valentina hasn't disclosed). Raphael picked up on the fact she was using her looks and charm to manipulate him and called her on it. Impressed by his astuteness, Valentina dropped the act and the two have been business acquaintances since. Valentina procures certain difficult to obtain (but legal) goods for the MTC and occasionally helps with information from the criminal elements of Roland's society. Raphael, in turn, makes his legal advice and contacts available and helps lend a more legitimate facade to some of Valentina's dealings. Their quid-quo-pro relationship is built on mutual respect.
  
• Nishara Tamarin: I'm guessing that Nishara and Raphael met in the same way as Marcus. Perhaps Raphael made use of her clandestine services to acquire information for a lawsuit? I'm not sure what Raphael would provide to Nishara in turn other than coin. Any ideas?
  
• Seth Varianna: Seth and Raphael met when Seth's work as a mercenary led him to the fort guarding the border with Greater Galatine. They were merely casual acquaintances at that point. Later, when Raphael's ventures in the Montefiore Trading Company required guards, Raphael approached Seth and the two have done steady business since. They don't have much in the way of a personal relationship as yet, but that may yet change. One possible future development that seems interesting would be an expansion of MTC into a political entity like the East India Trade Company with it's standing army (led by Seth Varianna).

It sounds like, from what I've seen of each character's motivations, that our common thread is gaining power politically. I don't know that we really have another common thread. Raphael's big motivations would be to see Greater Galatine crushed like the pigs they are, increased political standing for himself and his family and restoration of the WTC to it's former glory. Any other thoughts on common interests? Feel free to respond here or via IM.

It seems to me that Seth, Valentina and Raphael could have a very profitable mutual business arrangement creating a business empire.

Raphael's mention of the East India Trading Company made me think - Valentina could contribute too. She's innovative and has a lot of production capabilities that the other PCs don't have.

By the by, I think I want to start calling her company "Silverstone Industries".

Everyone is making me giddy with excitement! I am preparing intersession sheets with the players' contact stats + businesses, and will soon populate them with side missions/job missions for everyone to do. Gonna now try a dice test:

Oh, about income!

Valentina's business sells big-ticket items. I'm thinking that a good way to represent this would be to have a d% roll to see if anybody bought anything, and then roll something like 2d800 to see how much she made that month - that is to say, to see whether one or two people bought something, and I kind of cherry-picked 800gp as a good number for a high-price item. What do you think?

EDIT: 2d800 isn't a good thing - it allows for any number between 2 and 1600. Maybe just 1d2 or 1d3x800?

Goldstool, sent another PM.

Oh, about income!

Want to clarify:

Yeah, that's what I mean.

I want to make more than your average player on the months where I make money because of the high-end nature of my items, but have the possibility of not making money.

You can do that. In that case, its about how extreme you want it to be. You can have it so you make money in 1 of 20 sessions, but make a 2d6 *1,000 + 10,000 when you do. Its just a matter of balancing risk and reward.

In general, so long as %chance * average payoff is close to 1000, it is good.

Hmm tavern names, I kinda want something classy, and a subtle reference to is being a kitsune hidden in plain sight like "The Sly Fox"
This also gives me the option of 'refuge in audacity' which is always funny
"let me get this straight, you think I'm a kitsune, what, like the fox people? If I were trying to hide why in the nine hells would I name my bar after them, I named the bar after a pet we had as kids, Wiley little bugger, she kept getting into my sister's secret stash of sweets, and when I went to set up shop selling food and drink I felt it to be just right to honor the creature's memory by naming the establishment after her"
Or the option of a 'sarcastic confession' wherein I say something like "oh sure I'm a kitsune and we all know of the fiendish race's skill at disguise, that's exactly why I branded the place where I live and work with their likeness..... What do you think I'm an idiot? Why don't you ask the owner of The Winking Skeaver if he's secretly a rat person, they're Wiley ones,"
What do you think sis?
Anyone else with an opinion can weigh in if they want to, but I'm specifically asking for her's as she's the one who, in character, I would have consulted about said name.

Let me put it this way and see if you have any insight:

On average, an item that I sell is likely to price about 1,000gp.

Ok, Roll a 1d6. This shows how many people were interested in the magic items that week. From there, roll a Xd3, where X = how many interested individuals. From there, if any of those dice rolls are a 3, you get 2d8 * 100 for each one. Example

Welcome to Math with Goldstool, where everything is more complex than it should be.

Hmm tavern names, I kinda want something classy, and a subtle reference to is being a kitsune hidden in plain sight like "The Sly Fox"

How about "Fox in the Rye" which could catch your kitsune reference but also add in rye as a reference to the grain used in various alcoholic drinks? Seems somehow appropriate for a bar.

But why would a fox be in rye?

Evading a hunter? Hunting something else in the rye? Hiding generally? That's all I've got so far.

Evading a hunter? Hunting something else in the rye? Hiding generally? That's all I've got so far.

The Catcher in the Rye is indeed a dangerous thing to avoid. The Fox and Hound Tavern, while we are still adding to the idea cauldron.

I don't think I have given a large enough character background here as some of the other players so here is some more info on Seth Varianna.

Seth Varianna trained from a young age to become a soldier. He was taught by a Commandant in the Guard, Lucius Ferot. Lucius was quite proficient with a glaive and passed his skills onto Seth. As Seth got older, the harshness of his father made him resent him more and more. It was a tradition in the Varianna family for the men to join the Guard. When Seth came of age he decided to go against his father and not join the Guard. To support himself, he became a mercenary with a friend he trained with under Lucius and together they started their own group of mercenaries. (I should probably give them a name at some point) Seth Varianna's group of mercenaries now has roughly 20 members and have been protecting trade caravans for close to 10 years now. The group works out of a small tavern, with an office in the back where Seth can work out deals with potential clients or former employers.

Goldstool, that document I spoke of is ready. You have been added to it. I've sent you another PM with more thoughts on my idea.

Halcyon probably would not have crossed paths with Seth under normal circumstances and it's not essential that we've all met each other. But if Halcyon were to have met Seth, it might be she visited the tavern with his HQ and did some harrow readings for him or some of his group, perhaps she was hired to accompany a caravan to provide readings. Or perhaps she occasionally needs someone as a body guard when she is looking for information in a rough part of town.

Ultimately, it's probably enough if we each have some connection to someone but we don't all need a connection to everyone else. I assume our first adventure will give us some reason to work together. As Raphael pointed out, we all seem to be motivated to improve our situations, build a better power base. It sounds like we've got a good combination of talents: fighters, rogues, spell casters, both divine and arcane, and all seem fairly astute in the social arena.

The friend of your friends could be yours as well, no need for everyone to be best chums,. You guys are in a pretty good region class and connections wise, besides knowing a Druid in the Botanical Gardens, friends with a Galatian or a direct Ratfolk connection, you have almost all the bases covered.

There are some random tavern name generators out there.

Seventh Sanctum

Mithril and Mages

Fantasy Name Generators

... to name a few that seemed creative.

When I create a name for a tavern as a GM, I think partly of the type of clientele desired. If it is an upscale place that wants the wealthy and famous, I choose a name that smacks of high society, such as the "Cream and Crescent" or the "Crimson Sunset." If the customers are likely to come from the lower class, the place will probably have some kind of image that can identify it for those who can't read, with a name that goes with the image, such as the "Red Dragon" or the "Blushing Wench."

If the owners don't mind giving a hint as to their race, then maybe something like the "Seven Tales" (pun on the multiple tails of the Kitsune) or "Fox's Alibi."

Hmm how about The Tall Tail Inn?
Advertised as a place where many a weary traveler or dashing nobleman can rest by the fireplace with their bellies full and their thirst quenched as they listen to the tales of their fellows and tell a few of their own in return.
For an image it'd have an image of a fox underneath the letter filled part of the sign with it's tail being disproportionately longer as it wraps around the sign.

Sounds good to me. Several days ago I added Perform (Oratory) to Halcy's skills, so she can do some story-telling. Stories are actually a kind of specialty of hers, as much of her knowledge of history, nobility, arcana, planes, and religion comes from her voracious appetite for folklore, myths, fables, and other such tales.

Part of her reason for doing something like this would be to increase her chances of being invited to parties, which puts her where she usually wants to be without her having to weasel and invite from the host.

As far as knowledge skills go, this group is pretty great. If there was a Roland Trivia contest, I would put money on your guys.

For my own purposes I've put together a list of the PCs in the game and Raphael's connection to them. Feel free to comment if anything seems amiss or if anything could be expanded upon.

• Nishara Tamarin: I'm guessing that Nishara and Raphael met in the same way as Marcus. Perhaps Raphael made use of her clandestine services to acquire information for a

...

Now that I have some essentials worked out I am ready to forge more connections. In your motivation section you mention that you are looking for more family heirlooms. Nishara might have been pointed out by an NPC that Nishara had worked for in the past. The NPC probably would have given Nishara's name as one who is able to obtain information that proved impossible for anyone else to get.

Does this seem acceptable to you?

As for everyone else, if you had your ear to the ground you would have heard that Nishara is extremely good at getting information, be it regarding people or things. How do you feel I could have come to know you? Anyone is free to look over my background to see what could be used to make a connection.

Looking forward to the ideas.

PS: What information, if any, would Nishara know about any of the PCs?

Probably won't be able to post much in the next day, making a long trip, but I will be working on readying the first session and finishing the Intercession Sheets (Just the Tamarin family I believe now?). I'll check PMs throughout the day and am usually good on responding, just don't think I am going dark.

Good news, we are actually progressing faster than I thought we were going to, everyones been pretty good on getting prepared and getting connected. We might be able to run the first round of intersession before December's end, but largely as this is also New Years/Holidays/family time, I won't be expecting swift responses.

I won't be working after the 23rd and I won't be traveling for the holidays, so I should be able to start any time. Looking forward to it.

I will be on a cruise from the 27th to the 3rd of january so i will be posting very infrequently. Whenever I have wifi I will try to check out the thread

The 24th, 25th and the 27th are no-no days for me - I won't be around. Same with the 6th of January. Other than specific no-no days I'm around on the boards most days.

As for everyone else, if you had your ear to the ground you would have heard that Nishara is extremely good at getting information, be it regarding people or things. How do you feel I could have come to know you? Anyone is free to look over my background to see what could be used to make a connection.

Looking forward to the ideas.

PS: What information, if any, would Nishara know about any of the PCs?

Nishara wrote:

As for everyone else, if you had your ear to the ground you would have heard that Nishara is extremely good at getting information, be it regarding people or things. How do you feel I could have come to know you? Anyone is free to look over my background to see what could be used to make a connection.

Looking forward to the ideas.

PS: What information, if any, would Nishara know about any of the PCs?

Spoiler:

For your consideration as to connections to Halcyon (Halcy):

Halcyon sat in her usual spot toward the back of the Tall Tail. She sipped apple mead and nibbled on the delicious cinnamon bread as she laid out harrow cards slowly. As usual, her eyes were covered with a violet tinted set of glasses that mostly hid the clouded sheen that covered her dark eyes. She never looked directly at the card, but rather put her hand over each card, and set it in place. As she did, faint images sprang into existence on the elaborate fabric mat she used as a carrying case for her well-used cards. These images played out little silent scenes until she swept the cards into a pile and shuffled them before starting again. As usual, it wasn’t long before she had a couple of young aristocratic woman asking giggly questions about some young nobleman.

After a while, the raven haired oracle put her deck away, indicating the time for readings was over. A handsome bard had begun reciting verses for the amusement of the audience. Nishara approached with a bottle of mead to see if Halcyon needed a refill. Before she got to the table, before she had said a word, Halcyon had moved her mug over to where Nishara could pour the mead.

“Seems like a good crowd tonight, Nishara,” Halcyon commented as the golden brew sparkled into her cup. “Is the bard as handsome as he sounds?”

Nishara could not recall telling Halcyon her name, but it did not surprise her that the oracle knew it. Lots of regulars knew her name and it was surely bandied about in her earshot. “He’s passing fair,” the server said.

They chatted for a bit before other customers required her services.

A couple more bards took turns entertaining the crowd, collected their rewards in their hats, and then a slight woman with a large black cloak made her way to the small stage near one wall, tapping a staff in front of her as she went.

It was Halcyon and she waited until she was on stage to take off her cloak, revealing a violet dress trimmed in black velvet, showing a lot of cleavage and drawing the attention of the men of the crowd. She introduced herself as Halcy d’Orsay and then began to tell a story she called “The Lion and the Fox.” The story involved a couple of foxes whose peaceful life was disturbed when a pride of lions took up residence in the same forest. Not only did the lions frighten away much of the prey the foxes relied on, they attracted hunters trying to capture one of the fine beasts. The foxes made a truce with the mice they normally ate and there followed an amusing tale of deception that resulted in both the hunters and the lions leaving the forest in peace.

The audience readily identified the lions with the country Galatine and the hunters, who drove them away, with Roland. Nishara, however, couldn’t help but pick up on little details of the story that linked Nishara with the character of one of the mice, who used magic to imitate various creatures of the forest. It could all be just coincidence, but she also noted that when telling those parts of the stories, Halcy was facing the general direction of Nishara, even though Nishara was constantly moving around waiting on customers.

After the performance, Nishara congratulated Halcy on her clever tale and asked about the character of the shape-changing mouse. To anyone else listening to the two, they were talking about the story, but to Nishara it soon became clear that there was a subtext to the discussion that was about Nishara and Halcyon. Through that exchange, she came to recognize that Halcyon was a player in the same game of information brokering and both were sympathetic to the same ideals.

Thereafter, they occasionally collaborated on leads and commissions. While Nishara had a patron, Halcyon worked for no one interest; but she never worked at cross purposes with Nishara, which led them to become friends. Nishara learned that the mysterious oracle could actually see quite well at short distances, even in total darkness.

Halcy did not speak much of her past, but Nishara strongly suspected that the story about her moving to Roland from Murgleis was as fictional as her story about the lions and foxes. Halcyon also knew that Nishara and her brother were Kitsune. Both had arrived at a tacit understanding that either could learn more about the secret past of the other but that they would not pursue that information actively.

Halcy continues to be a regular at the Tall Tail, but she also spent many nights at other locations. Some were parties of the well-to-do but she also know the oracle sometimes mingled with the lower classes at less reputable pubs, doing readings for free or cheap, sometimes providing healing when she learned of a worker who was injured on the job. Nishara also knew Halcyon had a consulting business that brought her regular income as wealthy customers sought insights into their futures and advice on how to navigate the intricate worlds of business and high society.

Sometimes, Halcy would contact Nishara and ask her to find out some information on a particular nobleman or woman. This usually meant that said noble was scheduled to meet for the first time at Halcy's consulting firm and Halcy liked to have some tidbits of information to slip into her readings that helped convince the noble that she had supernatural insights. Nishara always got a cut of the fee when she helped in this way.

Looks great, though I have but one point that I would like to discuss. I completely forgot to mention that the only PC who knows that Nishara is a Kitsune is Marcus. I realize that this info is in the alias, but that is just for the crunch. Being a shapeshifter such as her tends to draw attention and she is more than paranoid about it. She also doesn't take new forms randomly, and would keep this knowledge from others unless she was completely sure about them. Is there something that would cause Nishara to trust you with this secret?

Or, how would you have found out about it otherwise?

I'm not trying to dissuade you from knowing if it makes sense. I like the connection, very nice indeed!

I'll send you a PM about possible answers.

I also want to know how she knew us to be kitsune, that's supposed to be a rather big secret, espically early in the game.
If anyone finds out, Marcus wouldn't hesitate to have such a person discreetly killed if nesairy (and possible).

I also want to know how she knew us to be kitsune, that's supposed to be a rather big secret, espically early in the game.

If anyone finds out, Marcus wouldn't hesitate to have such a person discreetly killed if nesairy (and possible).

I sent you a PM about some character details regarding Nishara.

Goldstool, I sent you another PM.