Seeing as how Delour is the star of the show and the one with the contacts, I would like to cast Charm Person on her toward the end of the day - duration 3 hours. And then have her introduce me and the crew to some of her wealthier fans so that we can get the word out about the show and also about the collectable figurines and novelty jewelry.
Saving Throw: DC15
I suppose I should ask about the circumstances you wish to cast this on her.
"Not a bad idea Aerith, perhaps you could come up with a plan to allow you to be 'accidentally left behind'... perhaps you might 'fall asleep' in an unobseved corner after such lengthy rehearsals"
"Are we afraid that being cast in a play where our characters are mutilated by a horrible torturer we are going to be harmed, Drovalid?" Asmodia inquires sourly. "Thesing has made it clear that he wishes to know me before I am murdered, as the cool and stiffness of corpses does not flatter his massive ego."
Delour keeps by herself and is always aloof. However, she has an ego a mile high - just like Thesing. I can use Charm Person to make her friendly and then drain her for all the information and contacts I can get. The next day I would do the same thing with Thessing. And finally, with the director. By doing this and not in any way harming or threatening them, I hope to find out exactly what nature of "violence" and "murder" is in the planning so that we can prepare the necessary spells and equipment to make sure that we survive. And also to get the jewelry and wooden collectibles to people who will spread the message.
At no time would I ask either one to do anything to harm their reputations or persons.
Will save
As your spell settles around Delours mind she grasps her forehead and shakes off the spell before it can settle. Looking about angrily it's obvious that the spell did not work.
Perception
Opposing Stealth check
After a quick search she finds you standing there in the shadows having just completed your spell and glowers at you with the full force of her expressive and disdaining face. "And just what do you think you are doing!?!"
Hiding so that nobody will see me. This way I can study my lines without being interrupted. I was also practicing the hand motions since I am playing a wizard. What do you think?
I make the identical motions to those required for the Charm Person spell.
Bluff:
Delour's eyes narrow.
Sense Motive
She looms over you and roars the smell of her cosmetics and lunch sting your sensitive elven nostrils.
"DO YOU TAKE ME FOR A FOOL!?! DO YOU THINK ONE CAN GET ANYWHERE WITHOUT SOME OBSESSED FAN OR RIVAL TRY AND LIE AND CHEAT THEIR WAY INTO MY FAVOR!?! I will have your job, NO!, I WILL HAVE YOUR HEAD FOR THIS! ROBAHL! "
She yells loud enough that everyone in the theatre stops what they're doing and even Thesing halts his back and forth with Asmodia to see what has the large Diva on a rampage.
What are you talking about? I was practicing my lines. Perhaps I should go backstage and let you have your stage to yourself for a while.
I walk away from the crazy woman and go backstage where I hide.
Stealth:
Asmodia, still clad in her shinning breastplate and helm, sweeps into Delour's view, the cape with Aroden's symbol clutched in her hand.
"What offense hath that knave given to your immense magnificence that hath enraged thee so? You are as the sun," Asmodia sings and thy gravitational pull is almost certainly amalgam. I feel it now, the terror that her gut will swallow me whole, "us lesser peons can only hope to be graced by your radiance! Verily, good lady, smile upon us weak mortals and let us not be cast from thine sight, but strive to live by thine example of mercy!"
"Wait, wait good Sir, let us not be too hasty... the play is almost upon us, let us not take small confusions and mis-steps as reason to get too heated, perhaps we all have been working rather hard in delivering your masterpiece, your excellence, and perhaps we all need a quiet drink and a cool head?"
Diplomacy
"Wait, wait good Sir, let us not be too hasty... the play is almost upon us, let us not take small confusions and mis-steps as reason to get too heated, perhaps we all have been working rather hard in delivering your masterpiece, your excellence, and perhaps we all need a quiet drink and a cool head?"
Diplomacy 1d20+11
Just to be clear, this is aimed at Robahl who is the 'authority figure' being summoned, as opposed to the crazy woman.
LeVash is thinking that there is little he can add here, particularly as he got off on the wrong foot with Delour to begin with, so he'll stay out of this one.
Delour's broad magnificence barrels past Asmodia clear upon her goal of getting to Robahl. "Robahl! Robahl!" She shrieks in a melodramatic cry. "Ohhhhh Robahl! I've been violated! Assaulted! Vandalized!"
Robahl nods as he gestures for her to hurry on and get to the point. "Yesss? Whats wrooong?"
"That wretched elven tart! She tried to bewitch me! Tried to have her way with me! Ohhhhhh~ Robahhhhl~! She tried to use her black magics against me!"
Millech furrows his brows as he finishes pulling the ropes on some sand bags. "A spell? That's bad business there. Can't have our actors trying to magic eachother."
Delour gasps. "Ohhhhh~ Robahl! What if she tried to sabotage the play!"
"Alright! Delour you can have the rest of the day off. But no slacking! Work on your pitch! Your treble!" He waves Bloodless off. "I'm aware of how to run my own theatre thank you you're thoughts will be brought into consideration now "
Like a flash all the other workers scurry as if they were being driven by Asmodeus himself. Aerieth is well aware now that Robahl is apparently angry with her.
I have already rolled stealth and should be somewhere offstage. I want to quietly move behind Robahl and then ask what he wants.
Stealth:
Good director, you called? I apologize, I had gone backstage when the queen began to below at me. I have no idea what she was talking about as magic is not my forte. Unless it is the ability to make things disappear.
Bluff:
I take a few copper pieces and make them dance between my fingers and then appear and disappear.
Sleight of Hand:
As I told you before, I am a fletcher by trade, not a magician.
Bejis stands still, staring blankly after Robahl, terrified at the ugly social conflict.
Sense Motive
Yup.
Robahl whips around a movement from him like the turning of a planet his face is red with surprise and fury. "Ah good! So you are either an excellent liar or Delour is a delirious woman! So who should I believe hm!" Robahl searches your eyes clearly watching for you to blink or to give away some kind of hint. But after a moment he deflates slightly. "Bah! Just stay away from her! Talent like hers does not come cheaply and I can replace you with a cheesy affect born from a twig. Do not cause trouble with her or you will be fired! Understood?! Now back to work!"
Asmodia, who has been watching the proceedings from a prone position on the floor breathes a tremendous sigh of relief that she was not trampled, and picks herself up off the floor. She looks to Aerieth and her eyes may as well be daggers. She swiftly turns and removes her helm, then pulls her red hair out of its bun and shakes it free as she approaches Thesing again.
"I have expended my charitable effort energy for the day," she informs him, "and am running into what I reserve for blatant wantonness. Care to join me?" she invites.
Thesing joins Asmodia intrigued on whatever escapade she has in mind. He's clearly been amused by Aerieth's verbal flaying.
Bloodless returns to work, delighted that no one has been fired, or killed.
With that done, he has no further plans...
It's naughty, but not fluid transfer naughty.
You find Asmodia sitting outside your rented room the next morning. She's wearing her work clothes, with a blanket wrapped around her shoulders. Her tankard is in her hands, mostly full, and her eyes are rimmed with red. She looks up and gives you a sad smile when you exit.
"I'll not be able to heal any of you. If you've the money for them, buy yourself potions, because my spells are," she pauses and vents a joyless laugh, "not to be relied upon."
I will go along with the whole charade the next day. And continue to work on getting the carvings and jewelry to the right people to advertise the show. I will memorize Charm Person again.
As you all head to your homes the orange of twilight is muted to a dull red by the presence of blakc clouds in the sky. The rumble of thunder and the scent of rain on the air is thick it doesn't take a druid to tell you that bad weather will be a given for the next couple of days. Tavi has the jewelry ready having the resources of her parents jewelry business to call upon.
The next day is spent with going through the real work of actually acting.
Robahl spends much of his time working with LeVash and Calseinica (making them unavailable for befriending today).
Over the course of the day you see it begin to come together.
Thesings Perform Act Check
Calseinica's Perform ACT Check
Delour's Perform Sing
While everyone of the professionals hit their cues Robahl mercilessly rends them regardless. It seems he holds these three rising stars to a much higher standard than yourselves.
Perform(act):
With what can best be described as pure luck, I manage to make mistakes only when nobody is paying attention.
Good afternoon. While I have not studied it much, I have always found the engineering in theaters most interesting. How long does it take to assemble the sets for a show like this?
Diplomacy:
Becoming slowly used to the roaming calamity that is Asmodia, Bloodless just nods knowingly and sets her a hot bath before laying out a small meal and her clothes for the day ahead.
Perform (Act) - Untrained
Asmodia clings much less to the vestige of Aroden's grace as she brilliantly delivers her lines today, hoping that the capricious elf can refrain from angering the 800 pound gorilla with lungs today.
Bloodless quietly notes the improvement a meal, and a little TLC has on Asmodias general condition and subsequent performance. He tucks that tidbit away for future use.
Failing horribly at "acting", Bejis will attempt to compensate by being intimidating while in character:
Bejis will try to make friends with Millech, by inquiring into his work, prospects, and challenges he faces.
Bejis will also be on the lookout for what other jobs people are doing (cleaning, manning lights/stage machinery, etc.), and in particular checks if he sees any obvious slaves around.
RE: Acting: Everyone hits their marks and gets their lines correctly putting forth what Robahl considers an "adequate performance for a four year old elementary school play" but doesn't seem particularly vicious about it.
Bejis however gets to be the scratching post for the day. As Bejis delivers his first line in a monotone devoid of any cadence, change of voice, or life Robahl laughs and waves Bejis onward. "Ok, but seriously, give us the real performance please."
As Bejis repeats with a slightly more lively performance as his voice cracks and he begins to sweat. "Ye gods man! Act! This isn't your first time with a woman boy! Though I pray for her sake you did not embarrass yourself this much!"
This trend continues throughout the day and Bejis is verbally flayed to the point where his skin itches.
By lunchtime Calseinica offers to take Aerieth out to a delightful cafe she knows down the street. Thesing makes a similar offer to Asmodia though his intentions are certainly not pure.
Bejis and Aerieth (Fail Millech): While not particularly unfriendly he is standoffish preferring to remain absorbed in his work. It appears he was more impressed with Bloodless's magnetism yesterday than your attempts at social interaction today. His answers are short and clipped as he continues his work.
Asmodia, very much resembling a stray cat, will follow whomever is offering her food. Since apparently the kindly owner has found a much more appealing kitten with larger ears.
Bloodless is actually trying to work hard on his acting and stage skills, and is also quite interested in the technical aspects. He occassionally seeks out Millech to engage in more banter (and pick his mind on technical aspects) and in moments of downtime even politely enquires of Robahl.
Diplomacy - Get hot acting pointers off Robahl.
Bloodless(Success): The surprisingly personable bloodless hits it off well with Robahl at the days end and seems to incurred much less of his wrath.
Asmodia:
I enjoy lunch with Calseinica and ask her how she first became involved in acting? I also show her a set of the wooden figurines and the jewelry and tell her that we are doing all we can to drum up business as we will all benefit monetarily if the house is full each night. I ask her if she knows anyone who would be good at spreading these around so that collecting a whole set becomes a challenge, while simultaneously promoting the show.
Um... that's pretty much why she agreed to lunch?
It's all about getting into his role, so that he knows the pure wrath of being accused by the tiefling scum.
And if Robhal will permit his "star" being gone for some time, it's kinda good to see a genuine emotion out of this dude.
In simpler terms, fluid transfer is go.
Bloodless continues on with his boundless enthusiasm, devouring the tips and pointers he gets regarding acting. He seems most genuinely interested.
When Asmodia and Thesing return from lunch there is a distinctive lightness in Thesings step and the smell of sweat.
@Aerieth: Calseinica expounds at length about how she wanted to become an actor since she was a little girl. She speaks about how she used to attend the theatre from a young age and gushes about how the visbaronetess was her favorite actress since forever. She even got to serve as an udnerstudy for her until that unfortunate incident with the imp and she took the visbaronetesses place. She also sobers greatly when she mentions how her family has essentially disowned her for her chosen career.
As to the little trinkets she's not sure how well they'll work as a promotign tool. The idea is certainly unique, she admits, and she cna get them distributed. But, she's uncertain as to their effectiveness.
Robert De Niro in This Boy's Life, huh? That was not unexpected.
Asmodia returns from lunch dissatisfied, and when pressed beyond non committal, surly. She glares daggers at Calseinica and Aerieth, mostly because it keeps her from having to acknowledge the Shade in his Larazod costume, Bejis with his false breasts, and Bloodless.
Bejis would like to take note if there are any slaves working in the theatre, and what kind of conditions they have.
Bejis also would like to find out what kind of challenges we will be facing in the play, if there is an opportunity for last minute shopping.
Other than that, Bejis will be helping to put up advertisements and promoting the play, and practice his acting/lines.
Bloodless is a bit oblivious to Asmodia's surliness, still mentally stuck in the acting game and looking for threats or clues as to what may lay in wait.
Distracted, LeVash sinks back into a 'cold fish' mode, and begins to try to knock himself out of it, failing to pay attention to everything else going on around him.
Finding a bit of a kinship with Calseinica, I tell her how I lived in an elven village in the Barrowwoods where I lived for many years, but that after the death of my parents I was asked to leave the village after some trinkets went missing and I was blamed. So, I understand how she feels being disowned, and wonder if there is any way that her family will accept her back in. Remember, family is forever, or at least it should be.
I tell her that I think the jewelry and trinkets could be kind of a collectable from the show, so that people will want to get them. We could sell them, but a better way would be to hide them so that it is sort of a scavenger hunt to get them. If she has any thoughts, the public discussion that would be created could greatly increase the publicity for the show.
If she has the contacts, me and the other actors could hide the trinkets around the city with directions to the next in the set, and then she could drop hints as to where they are to be found.
@Bejis: You note that there are in fact no slaves working for the limehouse theatre. This is not out of any sense of protest (all the professional actors families own slaves fi they don't themselves) rather Millech and Robahl feel that there art would be sullied if placed in the unwashed hands of a half starved halfling. Better to pay for good hired labor then try to oversee just as many slaves. As to what lies ahead? You find out nothing. This is a fact that has Millech grumbling. It seems no one knows.
As the next day comes you each drag yourselves from your respective holes of loneliness and despair you can't help but notice the many posters, criers, and people talking about the play. Indeed it seems that before the sun has even risen the shadowbeasts themselves were talking excitedly about the "stars" of the play. Even before Aerieth's elaborate scheme it seems there is a small frenzy building just from the more classic methods.
On this day Robahl starts setting up full dry runs of the play
@Bloodless: +4 circumstance bonus to your perform check.
@Aerieth: +2 cirucmstance bonus to perform checks.
Thesing act
Calseinica act
Delour sing
Today the professionals show you how its done and it rapidly becomes apparent why and how they're so famous. Delour's singin is heavenly and she proves a range that you can only imagine. Thesing's acting is far better than his romancing and his Haanderthan is proving quite vicious. Calseinica takes away the show with her sultry performance as Ilsandra.
In her purview with the cat woman, as politely as possible, Asmodia thanks Calseinica for throwing her under the bus with Thesing, and recommends that she indulges in a tryst with the man as a method of getting into her role as Ilsandra. Because nothing says casual sex like looking into the vacant eyes of an actress.
Asmodia will create numerous opportunities to drink at work today, she of the never empty tankard.
Perform(acting): <-- I assume I get both bonuses, subtract one if not.
I continue to work and talk with Calseinica, but also talk with Robahl to see what I can do to improve my performance and if there is anything to be done to help the show become a hit.
Diplomacy:
Asmodia has a plan for the fifth night.
The spells she will memorize tonight are
2nd: Eagle's splendor, Eagle's splendor
1st: Tap Inner Beauty (If Allowed), Summon Monster 1, Enhance Water
Asmodia approaches you with a full tankard, as ever, appearing one short of falling down. She has a sly smile on her face, and her pupils are dilated. "I have divined a method of advertising this show," she says. "A woman's heartache after being seduced and used by the villain Haanderthan. However, I will require your assistance great hunter. I mean to track him to his den, and cause a scene. With the aide of magics, I can be as a nymph, for only three minutes," her smile is almost sanguine as she takes a long pull on her brew. "What say you?"
Bejis will continue to try to make friends with Millech.