The Sirensong Traveling Carnival (Inactive)

Game Master Whosawhatsis?

Nathaniel has to keep from yawning as the excited shopkeeper started to talk about business transactions and sales and whatnot. There was a reason he hadn't become an entrepreneur. But still, the young man's eyes lit up as Basil seemed to indicate he had all the required components they had been sent for, including the sunstone powder.

Seeing that the others were intrigued by the wands, Nathaniel tried to look at the offering sagely, as well, though he had no idea what any of them did. Perhaps they could grant an edge this evening when they went to try for the flag once again.

Erin has seemed oddly restrained since entering the magic shop, but her eyes nonetheless light up at the sight of the rows upon rows of neatly labeled wands. She walks up and down the wall, examining the wide selection of spells this shop has to offer. "Ashak, you've still got that bag of silver, right? I think we're going to need it." Also, I seem to recall Doc saying we could keep the change. Was there any change?

Funny man owns many magic sticks. Pogug want magic sticks. Would like many magic sticks. Pogug thinks to himself.

"Pogug want magic sticks!" He barks, peeking over the counter. "Pogug want sticks that make things on fire. Or make Pogug invisible! No, Pogug want something that lets him play multiple Vween-Makers!"

Also, I seem to recall Doc saying we could keep the change. Was there any change?

There will be change, but you'll have to finish the transaction to find out how much.

Funny man owns many magic sticks. Pogug want magic sticks. Would like many magic sticks. Pogug thinks to himself.

"Pogug want magic sticks!" He barks, peeking over the counter. "Pogug want sticks that make things on fire. Or make Pogug invisible! No, Pogug want something that lets him play multiple Vween-Makers!"

I don't know what a "Vween-Maker" is... Basil looks down through now-transparent the glassy countertop, But I believe there is a wand of vanishing in there. The sale only applies to the wands you see here, but I could prepare a more potent invisibility wand if you wanted. Fire spells would also be full price, I'm afraid.

Ashak produces the pouch from some hidden pocket in his clothing. He tosses the purse to Erin and then retreats back over to Nathaniel.
He whispers to the young juggler."Our friends seem decidely unconcerned by the sudden appearance of an entire building overnight. Might be some of those wands could help with our 'mission' tonight though. Still it's hard not to be suspicious of this guy."

Erin Reynor wrote:

Also, I seem to recall Doc saying we could keep the change. Was there any change?

There will be change, but you'll have to finish the transaction to find out how much.

"Well, first things first, we should probably buy the Doc's supplies." She pays with Doc's money and counts the change.

Nathaniel smirked at Ashak's comment, nodding his agreement. "And the town guard doesn't seem to be concerned, either. Maybe this city is more rife with magic than it first appeared. Still, if his magic can help us with the carnival tasks, then I'm willing to give it a go. It's tiresome always getting your ass kicked."

He looked at the proprietor, narrowing his eyes. "You're right, though...he has sleazy salesman written all over him. We better tag along with them to make sure we don't get bilked of our hard-earned coin."

Basil hands over the powdered sunstone and the other substances, and once you have settled the payment, you have 74gp remaining in the purse that Doc gave you.

Erin's eyes widen in surprise at the stash of gold coins left over from the purchase. "Nice, looks like we've got a bit of a budget." She walks along the row, picking up a wand here and there to examine it. "Any ideas of what we'll need for tonight?" She holds up a wand labeled "blurred movement." "Pogug, you asked about invisibility, right? I don't know about that, but this one should make you harder to see as long as you stay on the move."

Want to just split up the money and pick out our own wands? Erin will grab reduce person for capture the flag, but other than that I was just thinking of taking those generally useful wands I mentioned earlier - unless someone has particular suggestions to offer her.

"I call dibs on disguise self (I should be able to cast it on Sephy) and silent image, which might take a few tries to get working, but after that I can just maintain concentration. Unless Pogug wants them, as a bard he should have an easier time with the wands, but I figure he'll be more busy sneaking. Play to our respective strengths and such . . . whad'ya think, Pogug?"

Evalee thinks for a moment. "We should also pick up another wand of infernal healing, that way I could carry one, in case of emergencies." Infernal healing, like all the other spells from soft cover books, never made it on to the unchained summoner list. For the purposes of this game, does it count as a summoner spell?

Infernal healing, like all the other spells from soft cover books, never made it on to the unchained summoner list. For the purposes of this game, does it count as a summoner spell?

Yes, I'll consider Infernal Healing to be on your spell list.

"Speaking of sneaking... when I asked if your elemental could carry me up there, someone pointed out that we're about the same size." She holds up the reduce person wand. "Well, what if I was smaller?"

Nathaniel looked at the handy labels on the wands, his interest piqued at the variety. A nice little plethora of options to choose from for tonight. He looked them over as thoroughly as his short attention span would allow him, then joined the others.

"I can't use any of them, but the one that can bring fog (obscuring mist), the one that can shrink (reduce person), and the one that can make you move faster (expeditious retreat) all seem good. There's one that can trap someone to their shadow (shadow trap), and a wand that even could make someone do something you tell it (command). What do you guys think?"

Erin, remember, these are behind glass (or something that looks like glass, anyway), so you can't just pick them up.

It feels like we've sort of ground to a halt, so let's just get things moving again and we can figure out the details of our purchases later if need be.

"Well, I think I've decided what I want," Erin says to Basil finally. She scoops up 12 gp from the change, then adds 21 gp and 45 sp from her own pack. Pointing to each wand in turn, she reads the names off the labels: "Reduce person, blade lash, long arm, mount, and touch of the sea."

She turns to the others. "You guys about ready to go?"

I have minimal experience with the arcane so I'll let you all decide on wands. I do vote we finish up here and get back to camp. My day has been plenty exciting concidering we still have a... umm." Ashak pauses for a moment, its clear to his companions that he is rethinking stating their real plans in front of a stranger. "Performance to plan."

Nathaniel only insists on purchasing the Obscuring Mist wand, even though he cannot use it, but otherwise is clearly long past ready to go. He paced back and forth like a caged beast, irrationally looking forward to the evening time. Perhaps they would make a better show of it this time around.

Yes, back to the circus.

"Yup, Obscuring Mist, and also . . . Silent Image, Disguise Self, Jump, Ant Haul, Expeditious Retreat, and Feather Fall." She knows some of them she likely won't be able to use on her first try, but she figures more options are better than . . . less options. "Which comes out at . . . fifty-two gold and five silver."

Evalee casually pays out more money than many commoners see in a year, not even realizing she's doing so as she does so.

"Where did you get all these single charge wands anyway?" she asks the strange wizard whose shop they are in.

Ashak folds his arms as Evalee pays out a hefty chunk of the groups winnings for some magic sticks. "There goes half our silver. Let's hope it pays off."

Nathaniel nodded grimly at Ashak's statement...that much silver could have gone a long way towards meals and whatnot should the whole carnival gig not work out. Still, the juggler felt better with the wands purchased, like the group had a more decent shot of pulling things off this evening. Once everyone is ready, he is eager to be back to the circus to finish planning and make a better second attempt.

I assume whoever is carrying this money is keeping track of how much is spent...

"Where did you get all these single charge wands anyway?" she asks the strange wizard whose shop they are in.

Basil Arcto looks at Evalee quizzically for half a moment. Why, I made them, of course!

Basil reaches down through the surface of the counter, which you now realize looks more like a solid block of glass encasing the wands than a display case surrounding them. The strange material flows around his hand, briefly rippling like water when its surface is disturbed.

He retrieves the requested wands, gathering them in his fist like so many sticks. As you watch him withdraw the hand, you see the bundle of wands disappear into a neatly-folded parcel of indigo-colored paper encircled in twine, which appears around them as they pass through the surface. He then immediately sets the package down on the countertop, which is again perfectly smooth and solid, as you count out your coins.

Any follow-up questions? Any other business?

"Huh, you can make single-use wands? Neat. Makes me wonder why anyone bothers with scrolls."

Erin gives Basil a polite nod as she stows the parcel in her backpack, then moves to stand by the door and looks back at the others.

I can make wands with any number of spells. I've even made wands that store multiple spells, though they're tricky to make and even trickier to use. I wouldn't recommend it, unless you really don't want to know whether you're about to heal someone or set them on fire. Basil gives a wry smile.

But I can make custom wands with only as many uses as you need, and pass the savings on to you! Remember that, for all your future magical needs, and tell your friends! He waves as you head or the door.

Those with any knowledge of spellcraft will find this information surprising. While you can see how this might be possible, it's not something the average hedgemage can pull off. Even if they could, with the time and spellcasting required to create a wand, it seems that he should at least be charging more than the price per use for such items (and certainly should be losing money selling them for half-price!), given the time and effort that must go into making them. Then again, as you saw with the sunstones, time doesn't seem to be much of a constraint for him. And where did he get them, given the supply issues you heard about yesterday? If there's one thing you can be sure of, its that Basil Arcto's Arcane Bazaar is a hell of a lot more magical than the Artificery was.

Is that a feat I can take? Might not be strictly optimal, but that's definitely something Evalee would be curious about.

I don't think the game actually has a feat for it. It's something you might be able to learn (I'll have to decide whether to require a feat for it or not, sorta feels more like an Arcane Discovery to me) given the right teacher, but so far, you only know of one person capable of doing it. Anyway, you'll have to take Craft Wand before you can even think about learning to craft partial wands.

And I'll need to be level five to learn to craft wands, but my feats are already planned in advance a few levels so it'll take a while after that. Maybe someday!

Nathaniel hears Basil rattle off some nonsense the young man cared nothing about, the juggler resisting the urge to roll his eyes as the shopowner and the ladies of the party exchange information about the making of single-use wands. Yawn.

When the others are ready to leave, Nathaniel leans in excitedly, looking over their purchases before starting to speak. "So what's the plan, folks? Go in under cover of the fog, with our sneakiest folks even more sneaky and small? Evalee make a mad dash with the speedy wand? The wind spirit ride plan?" It's clear that Nate might not understand the mechanics behind a lot of these things, but he is excited at the prospect of finally beating the carnies at their game.

"All of the above! Except not some of them but yes some things that you didn't say. I'd like to save the speedy-go-quick wand if possible, since I'm, uh, well I'm not really that good at climbing. Noodle arms. I was actually thinking . . . well, if another chameleon drops out of the sky (unlikely, I know) maybe I could have gotten professional help fast enough to actually . . . help. If I had it earlier. But yes to the other things! We want as much redundancy and as many as win conditions as we can manage. So even if we goof up or even if we're anticipated in some of them, victory is inevitable!"

Evalee continues talking as they make their way to the carnival.

"I was actually thinking we could use ant haul to get Erin airborne, and use reduce person on Ashak or Pogug. So Erin gets in position to jump, we obscure everyone's vision with conjured mist, make someone sneaky-small, turn Sephy into one someone who's supposed to be here and see if he can lie his way in, and does anyone else have any good ideas because I'm out of them. At any rate, we'll have to coordinate our respective attacks!"

"So that wand can make one of your summoned critters strong enough to carry Chi and me? If I can borrow Ashak's boots and get a lift up into the air, I should be good to go." She turns to Semsephiel. "Speaking of borrowing, I've got these sleeves that can alter my clothing, and you can use them if you think it'll help with the disguise." Disguise self doesn't alter aural or tactile properties but the sleeves do, so hopefully they'll give an extra circumstance bonus or something. "As for the rest of us, if Evalee runs in and summons some mist, maybe the others can slip past in the confusion? You could even conjure a horse or some of that greasy stuff to slow down the guards."

Keep up the great strategy discussion! Your walk back to the city wall is pretty uneventful otherwise, so please spend the time in-character discussing your plans, or speculating about the developments within the city, or doing whatever other roleplay you want to do.

"If Pogug small, peoples can't see Pogug. Pogug like!" The goblin frowns. "But Pogug can't sneak past big beast thing. Pogug think it can smell Pogug, so even if Pogug small Pogug can be smelled."

The goblin begins to tune his Vween-Maker in boredom. "Put out light too. Pogug can sneak in darkness, but torches too bright."

Nathaniel listened to the others talk, then shrugged. "I'm not really sneaky, and I don't do magic worth a flip. But if we put up a mist, I can sure as hell flip daggers at the would-be guardians and make them spend a few precious seconds chasing me down. Time enough to help exploit openings in their defenses."

Nate didn't have a Vween-Maker to tune in his boredom, so he paced about instead. He wasn't too sure trying to disguise someone as someone else would do much good, but then again, he had never been accused of being able to plan a breakfast, much less a successful infiltration against opponents who were ready for you. He just hoped they won, as the pressure would be on if they crapped out again.

"So. Here's what I've got: I summon an elemental, cast ant haul on it, have it scout out the positions of the guards while I summon Sephy and then I cast ant haul on it and it lifts Erin in the air."

"Pogug casts reduce person on himself while I cast disguise self on Sephy, imitating someone far away from the entrance to the tent. Ashak, Nate, and myself move somewhat closer to the rope Ashak intends to climb. Then we count to three."

"On three I cast obscuring mist, Nate draws fire, and Ashak heads for the rope, using the fog as concealment. Erin and Chi drop from the sky, and Pogug heads for a different rope with his magically reduced size. Semsephiel tries to lie his way in the front door."

"The important thing is that we coordinate: if we all act at once they'll have to choose who to try to stop."

We all hold our actions and move on the same initiative.

"Oh, you're going to need this," she gives Pogug the wand of reduce person. As a tiny creature he'll use his DEX to climb with, so I think he's the one best served by the wand. Ev and Nate will run interference for Ashak, though hopefully no one will even know that he's there. With us slinging knives and greases from the fog, anyone in the area will likely go looking for us instead of him.

"And it looks like we're here!" she knocks on the door to Docs workspace/vehicle.

While it's not explicitly spelled out what happens if you perform the ritual to summon your eidolon while your SLA is active, I think the intention is clear that you can't have your eidolon and a monster from your Summon Monster SLA summoned at the same time. If you summon Semsephiel while you have an elemental summoned, the elemental will go away, just like if you used the SLA again before the previous one ended. Was your plan for Erin and Chi to fall when the elemental blinks out of existence? That sounds pretty dangerous, as they would have no warning when the eidolon-summoning ritual completed, and I think I would have to roll something (maybe a reflex save, or an initiative check vs. falling, I'm not sure) to determine the outcome.

While it's not explicitly spelled out what happens if you perform the ritual to summon your eidolon while your SLA is active, I think the intention is clear that you can't have your eidolon and a monster from your Summon Monster SLA summoned at the same time. If you summon Semsephiel while you have an elemental summoned, the elemental will go away, just like if you used the SLA again before the previous one ended. Was your plan for Erin and Chi to fall when the elemental blinks out of existence? That sounds pretty dangerous, as they would have no warning when the eidolon-summoning ritual completed, and I think I would have to roll something (maybe a reflex save, or an initiative check vs. falling, I'm not sure) to determine the outcome.

You're probably right about what the rules intend. :[ In that case, I'll probably go with the elemental; I think Erin and Chi probably have the highest chance of success in the group.

I was thinking it would probably make the most sense for Chi to jump off way up in the air, get into a slow glide, and then grow to medium so the elemental can swoop down and set Erin on his back. If that works Evalee would probably have time to summon Semsephiel while they're still up there, since the elemental can carry them really high and they can descend as slowly as a foot per second.

That said, if you want to keep the elemental around for safety's sake that wouldn't be a bad idea, especially if it readies actions to dive in front of would-be taggers.

You hear the sound of glassware breaking from behind the door, followed by muffled cursing. The door slams open, and a puff of smoke escapes through the top of the doorway. Doc pokes his head out and squints against the light. Oh, it's you. Did you get the rest of my stuff?

"No," the tired and frustrated fiend sarcasms, "after arranging to do so, informing you of our arrangements to do so, and embarking for the tiered city to make good on our arrangements, we ultimately decided to squander our borrowed wealth on . . . what is it you mortals squander your wealth on? Political connections? Dangerous secrets best left unknown?"

"Books!" protests his summoner. "If I was so inclined to squander someone else's money, I'd squander it on books! And likely not even on the kind full of dangerous secrets best left unknown! Unless there was a really good deal! Or the title looked interesting. Anyway, we did get the rest of your stuff, Sephy's just lying. He can be prett-y deceiving."

"Speaking of dangerous secrets best left unknown, turns out the Artificery was bought out by this new magic shop, Basil Arcto's something something. Not sure what that's all about, but they had your sunstones and everything, so that's a plus."

Basil Arcto? That hack? Let me see those. Doc snatches the package and hastily opens it, severing the twine with his teeth. He dumps the contents out on his workbench, and begins mixing small samples with other reagents in glassware, then holding it up to the light to view the reactions with a sour look on his face. After a minute or two, he grudgingly admits that the quality is acceptable. He seems disappointed by this outcome, and shoos you away, slamming the door with a noisy harrumph.

If nobody's interested in commenting on that, and nobody has any more planning they want to do, I guess we can jump to the carnival closing down for the night.

"You know the guy Doc? He's certainly an interesting fellow."

EDIT: Nevermind, lets get our heist on.

Actually Doc just slammed the door on you, so you can't really comment TO him (not now, anyway). I was just thinking you might want to say something about it amongst yourselves.

Nathaniel just snickered at Doc's reaction to both the curious Basil ARcto and the quality of his goods. After the door gets slammed on them, the juggler shrugged, looking back to his companions. "Well, thanks, and all that. On with the show? I'm ready for some payback!"

Sorry for not posting, I've had computer troubles for the past couple of days. Fixed now!

"I wonder how they know each other . . ." Evalee muses. "We have it on fairly good authority (our own) that Mr. Arcto is anything but a hack. There's probably some sort of history here! We should wait until Doc is asleep and then rifle through his stuff!"

Semsephiel lets that suggestion hang in the air for a moment before offering his own. "Or, conversely, we could not rifle through his possessions instead."

"On second thought, that's probably the better idea," Evalee agrees.

"You know, it's always possible that these wands he sold us are just fancy-looking sticks. We haven't actually tried to use one yet...

Speaking of which, let's get to work on stealing that flag. Where were you guys thinking of approaching from when we strike? Oh, and Ashak, can I borrow those boots?"

"Hrm. That's . . . really something I should have thought of."

Evalee casts detect magic to check if the wands are just fancy-looking sticks.

The wands all exhibit the appropriate magic auras.