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When you get a chance, do me a favor and set either your "race" or "class" lines just like Vili (Sean) has, two posts above ^ - it really helps out a PbP GM being able to see those numbers without having to open your profiles :)
Thanks, and look for us to get started in a few days (or sooner if everyone else is ready sooner)!
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Fresh off your induction into the Society and the completion of their basic training within the organization, you find yourselves outside the office of Ambrus Valsin, the venture-captain in charge of daily operations in and around the Grand Lodge. The chamberlain's secretary greets you curtly and motions for you to wait before Valsin is ready to see you. This gives you ample time to meet and introduce yourselves to the Pathfinder Agents with whom you will apparently be paired with today!
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A tall, blue skinned man slowly surveys the room around him. The blade of a cutlass shines at his hip, and a suit of white and blue lacquered lamellar rests comfortably on his wiry frame. The leather scale flutters lightly in a breeze that has somehow found its way into the room. He look at each of you dead in the eye for just a moment longer than is comfortable before lazily swinging his gaze around, taking in the whole assembled group.
I'm John. Looks like I'll be your front-liner today.
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A slight and young looking Qadiran woman with a clearly not well used bow on her back leans against the wall opposite the office. She grins slightly and nods at John's pronouncement.
Suits me well enough. All things equal I would usually not prefer to get stabbed.
Name's Dust and I suppose I'm a bit of a multi-tasker.
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An older ulfen man covered in tattoos from head to toe, most notably a large tree that takes up his entire chest, is sitting down. He has his eyes closed until he notices that it is his turn to speak.
Oh very well my name is Vili of house Borr and this is Ratatoskr. a scorpion appears out of the furs around Vili's chest and rests on his shoulder.
I'm here to help alleviate pain.
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, Chamberlain of the Grand Lodge, throws open the doors to his office and motions for you to enter and find a seat opposite his desk. His motions are efficient and precise, and he wastes no time bringing you to order.
"All right, Pathfinders! Listen up. I know most of you are new recruits eager to make names for yourselves in the organization, but first we need to make sure you are up to snuff and won’t get yourself killed out there. I have a number of small assignments for you and your team, and it would be best if you could finish them before the day’s end.
“Every day we get some doe-eyed hopeful or some sniveling bootlicker willing to do anything to join up with the Pathfinders. Most of them are
good kids, but not all of them have the salt to make it in a world like this. It’s rough out there and I’m not just talking about the ruins, tombs, and wilderness Pathfinders find themselves in on missions. We’ve got people who look down their noses at us, folks who think we squander our resources, and agents who want to take everything we have collected. This wealth of knowledge and these items of lore make us the most powerful organization on the planet. That said, since we are fractured and widespread, it’s difficult for that power to light on anything for too long. For every friend of the Society, there are two enemies.
"Your first mission, to test your mettle and loyalties, sends you to meet a few people important to the Society living here in Absalom. These are other venture-captains or close allies of our organization, so follow their orders as you would mine. I’ve prepared a list of things I want you to do. They’re not arranged in any particular order of importance, but I want them all completed as quickly as possible. Only report to me once you complete them all. Included in the envelope you hold in your hands is the list, complete with the name of your contact, and directions to the meeting location.”
Valsin then puts your Mission Briefing on the desk in front of him, as well as a Map of Absalom for you to utilize.
"If you have questions, or introductions to make - make them fast. I want these tasks done *before* nightfall."
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A young woman with bronze skin and red hair that is so fiery it almost seems to lift with heat off of her skin when she moves arrives a little late. She wears light armor and has a rapier and a few other weapons about her but nothing even remotely close to being considered "heavy".
"Ree Soiel at your service, well at least as long as the society continues to pay my bills at least." She winks to the party members.
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Arriving at Paracountess Zarta Dralneen’s townhouse in the Ivy District — one of several homes the noblewoman keeps around Absalom - you come upon a magnificent gothic structure three stories in height. The ebon lacquered double doors wrought with gleaming silver fixtures greet you, a prickly brass cone hanging from a chain serving as the door chime.
Moments after ringing it, a servant with ruddy, oiled skin and small horns on his brow, wearing tight pants but a loose untied shirt that leaves much of his chest bare opens the door, smiling as if he expected you, not even giving the blue ones a second glance, but rather looking over each of you as if you were a morsel soon to be tasted.
"Ahh, welcome. My mistress has been...eagerly...expecting you. Do come in."
Assuming you follow him, he will lead you through well-appointed sitting rooms, ballrooms, and a grand stairway granting a view of an elaborate study. You then arrive on the third floor of the house at a door, which the servant knocks at and announces "Your expected guests, mistress."
The servant opens the darkly stained wooden door. A large intricate carpet dominates the marble floor in this sitting room. A chaise sits along the north wall and a desk spans the southeast corner, its chair positioned with its back to the southwest corner of the room. Three comfortable chairs are positioned around a small, low circular table.
Sitting in the chair behind the desk, regards you all with a wry smile, the tip of her tongue wetting her lips as she looks you over. Zarta puts away a few papers before addressing you.
“Aldor, you are dismissed. Close the door behind you and attend to your other tasks...I think the basement still needs a good washing.” She winks to her tiefling servant before turning her attention to you fully. “It’s always so incredibly adorable when I see a freshfaced batch of Pathfinders. I mean, look at you scrumptious little teacakes. I could eat each and every one of you up. Well, maybe not you.” Zarta sniffs a little at the air around Paly. “I assume this isn’t a pleasure visit since most of you are terribly overdressed for that manner of occasion, so that must mean you are here for that trinket Valsin has been nagging me about. Seems I can’t get that man around these parts anymore," she gestures, sliding her hand down her body and widening the gesture to sweep out and across the room as if her home were a secondary thought. "On the good side, he always sends me all the precious new recruits."
“Many think we in Cheliax serve and worship devils, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. In fact, we use the creatures for their power. They serve us and we sculpt their power in our own interests. The world must come to terms with the order of things. People need to know their place and operate accordingly. It is the only way to make order from this world. Too many people stretch too far beyond their station, making waves and eroding the true order.”
"So..." she smiles devilishly at all of you, "is this visit truly business...or pleasure?"
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"The trinket you were sent for is a seven-lock iron case. I was trying to bypass the protections on it, but to no avail. I advise you not to try and tamper with the case until you return it to the Grand Lodge, though. The box is magically warded with abjuration magic intermingled with strong evocation magic, in addition to seven locks that even the 'experts' I hired could not open."
During Zarta's exposition, a cacophony of booms and crashes sounds from beyond the room’s west door. She sometimes pauses at an extended eruption of these noises before continuing with the conversation.
She then sighs, somewhere between an enticing sound and an exasperated one.
"Business it is, then. A servant of mine is greatly misbehaving. You’re going to have to deal with it in order to get the little bauble Ambrus wants back so badly.”
The Paracountess then opens a drawer of the desk she sits at, drawing out an exquisite silver letter opener shaped like a dagger (treat as a masterwork silver dagger - the light blue item in the office room you are currently in) and places it on the desk. “You might need this to get it to submit,” she offers with a sly grin at Zephyr and Dust especially, as she motions to the west door.
Zephyr
Dust
Vili
Ree
Paly
Once you open the doors:
Zarta’s bedroom is decorated in the colors of Cheliax—ebon black and crimson red. Silk, rare woods, and carefully carved marble compose every bit of furniture in the room. Goose down now litters the room, covering almost every surface and the silken shreds of the cushions that contained it lie about like flayed skin . A post on the massive screened bed is snapped in half, collapsed on the bed and drawing the screened curtains into a ripped slope of formerly fine cloth. Vials of perfume and crystal jars of other cosmetics sit smashed on the marble floor around the dresser. A prominent fixture in the room, a large “X” made of stout wood sits along the west wall, complete with leather shackles and chains. A table sits to its left strewn with various items intended for pleasure, but outwardly resembling implements of pain.
Inside, a tiny red creature has a black box that is slightly bigger than it is and is trying desperately to open it, going so far as to smash it against the floor and anything else nearby. It doesn't even seem to notice you when you enter.
Just inside the door is a silver-tipped riding crop (treat as an improvised masterwork club - the light blue item inside the bedroom) sitting on the table with other similar implements.
Krevus
Zephyr
Dust
Vili
Ree
Paly
Round 1:
Zephyr
Dust
Krevus
Vili
Ree
Paly
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Zephyr lands a blow on the tiny creature who yelps in pain, causing him to drop the iron box! "Nonono! You'll never get the box! I'll never let you fleshbodies control my kind for eternity!"
He seems to heal from the blow a tiny bit, adjusts (5 foot step) away from Zephyr, tries to concentrate...
...and turns Invisible!
Round 2:
Zephyr
Dust
Vili
Ree
Paly
Krevus (-4 hp)
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The invisible creature re-appears (looking healthier than before but still wounded), almost sitting on Zephyr's shoulder as he tries to sting with his tail!
(vs. Flat-Footed AC)
"Krevus not let you take box! Nononono!!!!"
Round 3:
Zephyr (-3 hp)
Dust
Vili
Ree
Paly
Krevus (-2 hp)
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my old age is getting to me
Vili reaches in his robe and produces a scorpion, whose appearance seems to be moving like a night sky, concentrates on the imp. Stardust materializes around the imp, This stardust causes the target to shed light as a candle, and it cannot benefit from concealment or any invisibility effects. The creature takes a –1 penalty on attack rolls and sight-based Perception checks.
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Krevus, the imp, shrieks as Dust takes the box and both Ree and the Eagle strike him, but...
he doesn't actually know what Vili did to him!
Botting: Paly continues to bar the door against escape.
Botting: Zephyr takes a five foot step back to flank with the eagle and tries to swing!
Nearly driven unconscious from the attacks (1 hp remaining before fast healing 2 kicks in), Krevus drops to the ground in defeat.
“Yes, you’ve bested me, but I don’t wish to leave so soon. Take the blasted box, and tell Mistress Dralneen I deserve what comes my way.”
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The discovery of the secret library helps to shed light on how operations are handled here, but do not lend themselves to your mission, as Dust has already retrieved the seven-lock box.
As you depart, with Krevus curled up in a ball under Zarta's desk in the foyer waiting for her displeasure to manifest, Zarta playfully winks to Dust and Zephyr. "If you'd like to keep that little knife, you can...but only if you promise to come back and see me later."
(Where to next, team?)
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Arriving at the Temple of the Shining Star in the Ascendant Court, you are immediately directed to . This paladin of Sarenrae is young in her years, but holds herself with the poise of a queen and warrior simultaneously. She smiles as you approach.
"Thank the light of Sarenrae you have arrived! I knew Ambrus would come through for us in the Silver Crusade. I desperately need you to bring medicine to an orphanage and let me know if the headmistress, Gilga Baltwin, is deserving of our charity. Since our quest began, the needy have clamored for our aid, and I suspect some are abusing our generosity. It may sound cruel, but there are plenty of dishonest people out in the world eager for easy gold."
“Do you know of the Silver Crusade? After discovering so many factions splintered the Society, a number of us banded together to proliferate the cause of charity and kindness using the Society’s resources. As it is said, ‘The Dawn brings new light’ and I’ve made it my life’s work to use our recent darkness to bring a new light to the world and to the Pathfinder Society. I apologize for straying off point. Will you bring this parcel of medicine to Auntie Baltwin’s Home for Recovery in the Eastgate district?”
Assuming you agree, she continues.
"Normally I'd love to answer your questions before sending you off, but I also need to arrange for a vital caravan of medical supplies to be sent to Mendev, so I'm afraid I'll have to leave you to learn what you can from her neighbors."
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Once you take the supplies and head to the Eastgate district, you can all make Diplomacy (Gather Information) or Knowledge (Local) checks.
While most witnesses admit she is a mean old bag, they also all reply they think it is great what she’s doing for the children.
Miltivis, who runs a nearby market, claims he’s served Auntie Baltwin for over 30 years, and while a good customer, she is quite demanding and often rude to the other customers. He says she’s kept his supplier of fine whiskeys in business for decades.
Gilga Baltwin’s neighbors Travost and Tirelle Anthos are frankly tired of the noises the children make and the retinue of cats—though they do appreciate the latter’s mousing skills. They admit to being happy when Auntie Baltwin sends the children “off into the town” during the day, as it gives them a few hours of peace and quiet before they return in the evening.
At the estate across the street, Master Trebb Bonto, a retired builder, says nothing but nice things of Lady Baltwin, as he calls her. He recounts tales of tea and games on the sitting porch, though if pressed, he lets slip that she often cheats at games and sometimes had some shady characters coming to whisper in her ear and palm her small bags of what might have been money before slinking away. “Otherwise a fine lady, indeed.” he quickly adds.
~~~~~