If Sveng would like, he can make a Knowledge (nobility) check for Eregos Villarius or Hargus Kryn. I don't mind. I'll give you information based on the result.
I managed to find this post in the GMs history about Senate rules.
Sounds good Eregos, I'll let the GM weigh in before making any rolls.
Ah, excellent. Thank you, Sveng. While the Studded leather armor does not need to be hidden, I'll stick with having it so. This does mean I can bring all of my weapons, bringing the list to:
Courtier's outfit he just bought
50 gp worth of jewelry
House Kryn Signet Ring
Studded leather armor hidden under his clothing
4 Daggers
belt pouch
deck of cards
falcata
If I can figure out how, I'll also bring in a peacebound spiked gauntlet. Where do bucklers fall on that list? As armor, or otherwise?
I will be traveling for the Thanksgiving holiday weekend here in the US, starting tomorrow. I will have my phone, but cannot guarantee my posting availability. Please bot me if necessary.
I would say either Know. Nobility (except for Hazel) or Know. Local for anyone.
Yeah, I'm cool with Sven or anyone finding out about Piri. Since we are on the same side, it can only help. Again, I'm still waiting to get home to find out what I'm bringing. thanks Sven for reminding me about the post on Senate rules.
Same here, I'll supply information about Hazel if anyone looks into her background.
Piri, dons the outfit tailored for him over his studded leather armor. Carrying the tools of his trade, the alchemy crafting kit, ink pen, ink, and thieves tools. I will have extracts of adhesive spittle and disguise self memorized. Leaving his bow and quiver, relying only on his peace bound rapier.
Not to impose, but I fear that thieves tools may raise a red flag. If you're sure on bringing them I would advise concealing them somehow.
Hmm good point. Can I peace bind them? If I can conceal them effectively, I will bring them, otherwise I will just leave them at home.
Nah! it would take just 10 min for Valeria to sew them in a secret pocket inside your cloak.
Done, thanks Val.
Happy Thanksgiving to those celebrating!
Sorry for the delay - I was celebrating, and it involved travelling, some time in a hospital (not for myself), and the usual amount of extended family strife. Ah, the holidays!
Back now, though, and Sydney will take everything on his sheet, which is not much of the contraband nature.
His bird familiar will also attend, sitting on the would-be senator's shoulder, which I understand is not too uncommon in Taldor.
Have we yet decided who is going to handle what mission?
Aide: Martella legitimately needs a senatorial aide as both a cover for her other false aides and to run communications between allied politicians. This is by far the easiest job available, but also the most time-consuming, requiring you to run messages between various politicians. Navigating the crowded senate floor to deliver messages quickly requires a successful .
Discovery: Martella is confident Eutropia has gathered the votes necessary for her cause, but she hates loose ends. She tasks you with uncovering the true dedication of two senators: Duke Centimus and Countess Abrielle Pace. It is unknown if either supports Eutropia’s bid to end primogeniture, and while their votes will be apparent after the senate convenes, Martella wants you to discover their positions in advance, as well as the reasons each noble holds that position. Divining each noble’s motivations requires a successful .
Fraud: Martella needs to discredit a few prominent senators backing primogeniture - not necessarily to sway their votes, but to undercut their influence after the vote. You must create a scandal surrounding one of the major opponents to the repeal of primogeniture. Doing so requires first identifying an opponent, either with a successful Sense Motive check or by coordinating with another agent, and then by spreading rumors with a successful .
Politicking: The orchestrations of Eutropia, Glorianna Morilla, and Martella Lotheed have swayed a great number of reluctant senators, and Lady Lotheed requires a vast web of influence to maintain that. To that end, she would like you to make a strong impression on Baron Nicolaus Okerra and remind him of certain debts he owes her. While Baron Nicolaus Okerra isn’t a senator, his war record and general popularity make him an influential figure — one whose reputation helped sway a number of otherwise neutral votes. .
Sabotage: Some senators are too powerful or stubborn for you to influence their votes, but that doesn’t mean they’re beyond some petty revenge. Martella would like to exact some retribution against her more powerful half-brother, who has contributed a large bottle of rare, 150-year-old red wine from family holdings in the Opparos province, now held in the senate’s kitchens. Martella will provide a single syringe filled with a putrefying agent to render the wine embarrassingly undrinkable but warns you not to steal the bottle and to conceal any signs of tampering; it must be drunk at dinner and appear to be of terrible quality or — even more scandalously — a forgery. Of course, she notes, that no one would actually get hurt by this, just her half-brothers reputation. Recognizing the correct bottle in the crowded kitchen requires a successful .
Spy: Martella needs someone to keep tabs on political rivals and update her if they change their tactics, most notably High Strategos Maxillar Pythareus. You must stay close to the military commander, watching for unusual behavior or listening for snippets of conversation, and warn her if he takes any unusual actions, all while remaining unobtrusive. Spying requires a total of
Theft: To liberate stolen artifacts and further undermine the influence of the recently disgraced Earl Calhadion Vernisant, Martella would like to see some of the historical artifacts that the earl donated to the senate vanish from the Arcade of Triumphs before it is unveiled prior to the evening’s vote. Martella indicates you will receive a finders fee for liberating the stolen item as they are returned to the museum from where it came. The artifacts aren’t secured; the senate assumes anyone sophisticated enough to attended this crowded gala would never dream of stealing anything on public display. Stealing any single curio from Martella’s list requires a successful skill check. Martella’s list mentions five items — a buckler, a dagger, a fan, a journal, and a spyglass. She notes that she needs only three of them to go missing to disgrace the earl, but if all of the items could be liberated the museum would be extremely grateful.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
There are 6 players and 7 missions. How about each one of us takes something we would be really good at, and then decide who picks up the last one based on ability?
Sveng would be good at: Discovery, Fraud, Politicking
Sveng would be okay at: Sabotage (could be good if he used Young Reformer), Spy
Sveng would be awful at: Aide, Theft
There is also the question of the items that were gifted to us.
She waves the owner over. The young woman brings a pouch stuffed with some various items. Inside are two vials of liquid blade, eight smoke pellets, a single dose of soul stimulant, and two vials of dust of illusion.
Sveng is not interested in any of the equipment (I think it could be better used by people more interested in clandestine activities as opposed to doing politics as he would prefer to do), but he could hold onto the soul stimulant since it's a useful healing item.
Also, since this seems like it will be an important question at some point, how do you handle identifying magic? More subtle magic that is. If somebody uses charm person or some other spell without an obvious physical effect, what do onlookers perceive? Is it possible to use clandestine magic without lighting up like a beacon?
Piri would be best at the Sabotage task because of his disable device and stealth and appraise. Good at knowledge checks and Spellcraft which addresses the dm question of identifying magic. I have spellcraft and I can identify potions by just holding them.
Sorry, I had considered it and actually answered it somewhere else from someone with the same question forgot to answer here as well.
Magic can be used, but there is always a chance someone might spot you casting even with appropriate feats. Good read about concealing spells also of relevance from the FAQ.
Sounds good Piri, than we shall leave the Sabotage mission to you!
@GM Dak - Thanks. I'm also familiar with that FAQ and rules discussion, but there's no clear answer and much is left up to GM discretion (which I think is good). However I would like to know what your discretion is in such matters. For instance, if you were attempting to get past a door with two guards and cast charm person on one of the guards, what would the other guard (who is presumably untrained in spellcraft) know about what just happened? Similarly, is Sveng cast sow thoughts in a crowded room of senators and politicians, how obvious would it be to the rest of the room (presuming they're not trained in spellcraft) what he just did?
I just want to make sure that I understand the limitations of manipulation and illusion magic so I don't do something intensely stupid.
Whoa, woke up to 12 new posts! I'll get a post up soon.
Hazel is best suited for the Aide task (CMB +5 and +2 to move through crowds from Athletic Champion). She could be okay at some of the influence and perception rolls, but others are probably better suited.
My thought is unless you have the appropriate feats people are going to pick up on the fact you are casting a spell between the somatic and verbal and possibly material components. Now things like Still and Silent spell would help with this, then of course their are feats specifically geared toward casting without people picking up on it. Now if you are hidden or out of sight or have the appropriate feats it makes it easier to cast without being noticed. However, as you noted, people who aren't trained won't know what you are casting, just that you are using some sort of magic. So as to your example the other guard would know you were using magic, just not what the effect was. Now if you went and had the other guard bark like a dog or do something extremely uncharacteristic then they would likely figure out what you did.
In regards to the senate, since magic isn't permitted without prior written approval, unless you were taking great care to hide what you are doing (ie step into a room and close the door to cast Guidance, for example) then people will take note. Obviously this severally limits spells that require line of sight or line of effect. They might not know what you are doing, but they will know you are using magic and unless you have that written approval you will likely get in trouble with the guards.
Perfect, that answers all my questions. Thanks GM!
Alright Major we will leave you in charge of being the actual aid than!
Politicking, spy perhaps. Could sabotage, but will be obvious.
No good at aide, theft or fraud.
Sydney will take Politicking than!
Aide
Discovery
Fraud
Politicking
Sabotage
Spy
Theft
Also as a side note, Sveng will share all of the info he has gathered the last day and a half. Informed companions are more competent companions!
General Pace Info: Countess Pace is agreeable and endearing to those she considers useful or empowering, but entirely dismissive of “useless people.” Outwardly a firm ally of Princess Eutropia and the end of primogeniture, Countess Pace sycophantically trails political power like a wolf chases prey, allying herself with whoever offers her an advantage. She is likely to betray her allies should things turn against her.
General Centimus Info: Duke Centimus lost the use of his legs in a riding accident, and while many of his contemporaries believe this makes him a less capable leader, Leonard has stubbornly refused to hire a divine spellcaster to heal the damage. The duke has a keen interest in the world beyond Taldor, and still hopes to visit Goka, where his great-grandfather originally hailed from.
General Pythareus Info: The high strategos is direct and confident, cutting to the heart of any topic. He despises politics, preferring to focus on matters of military and strategic concern. His presence at the Gala is a formality; Maxillar would much rather be inspecting troops or training on horseback.
General Vernisant Info: A proud man in his early thirties, Calhadion Vernisant is the appointed leader of Greater Ridonport and a hereditary senator. His political ambitions are considerable, though he kept a low profile following the brutal dismemberment of Grand Duke Forath Bozbeyli (the former head of Tandak Prefecture). To boost his resume, he has played up his being a direct descendant of General Arnisant and used his pedigree to politically bludgeon his peers into submission, leveraging their fear of appearing unpatriotic against them.
General Lotheed Info: Count Bartelby Lotheed, took over the day to day management of the family lands after their fathers deaths. He mainly sticks to his lands but Bartelby visited Martella once following the death of their father, and rather than console his sister, he instead told her not to return to the family estate unless she brought a suitor who would actually bring value to the Lotheed family. Now he works to garner favor in the senate by gifting lavish wines from the families private stock.
As for the tasks, Hargus/Eregos is good at the following options.
Discovery: Good Diplomacy for Influence, and decent Perception and Sense Motive
Spy: Excellent Disguise to get close, if Seamless Guise applies to the check, and decent Perception and Sense Motive
Fraud: Decent Bluff check, and an okay Linguistics check
I can also assist with Politicking, as I should be decent at Influencing people.
From an RP standpoint, the Spy mission would prove challenging for Hargus/Eregos, since he wants revenge on Pythareus. Since I have a boost for a check on Pace, I'm currently focusing my efforts towards that part of the Discovery mission.
http://www.d20pfsrd.com/feats/general-feats/stylized-spontaneity/
http://www.d20pfsrd.com/feats/metamagic-feats/stylized-spell-metamagic/
Summary:
+1 level effective level increase gets you:
a)+10 to the DC to id spell;
b)adding -5 penalty on top of that suppresses
i)visual manifestations of the spell; or
ii)auditory manifestations.
So you have +1 spell level, +10 to DC to id, -10 to DC id = effective 0 change to DC to id spell BUT: spell is now invisible and makes no sound.
Basically, one could detect thoughts as a spell one level higher than normal, and no one knows anything unless they make a Perception check (10+spellcraft_ranks+intmod). Hmmm.... I guess it's not bad if you're at a range of 60 feet as Perception checks are modified by distance (+1/10ft) so the DC to spot my detect thoughts at 60 feat would be 6 higher... those Perception DCs are not too hard to make but still, I think the feat not completely useless... I shall consider it... :)
I don't know if seamless guide applies, but if not than I believe Valeria would be able to pull off the spy mission with her skills.
GM Dak, for the 'Social Rounds', how limited would I be in helping others with my recall ability? I think it's very reasonable to be able to help at least one ally who is in the same area per 'social round'. But would I be able to help more than one? What if they were in a different area, such as Valeria?
The description says it requires touch and within 1 minute so I would say it would have to be in the same area as you. However, I don’t have an issue with multiple people in the same social round since they are 15 min time periods with the above stipulations.
very definitely something wrong with the website. I posted a spellcraft, and commented on not sure how to rp it. I rolled the exact same thing 19 + 10, and it showed before I logged, now I can't find it.
Yeah there is something strange going on. When I post it doesn't always show so I have to refresh the page to make sure it shows up.
Same thing happens to me sometimes.
Happens to me all the time. I give it like 10-20 seconds, refresh the page, and it's usually there.
GM, what kind of time consumption would it be to identify the targets for the Fraud mission?
This is what I think we have thus far in terms of missions:
Aide - Maj. Fothergilla
Discovery - Hargus Kryn/Eregos Villarius
Fraud - Sveng
Politicking - Sydney Streegrenet
Sabotage - Piri Erudishen
Spy - Valeria Tanessen
Theft - ?
We have managed to secure a +5 circumstance bonus on the theft mission (provided a distraction), but unfortunately I don't think any of us have sleight of hand trained (possibly Peri Erudishen because he doesn't seem to have his character sheet on the Paizo boards). Since it is a trained-only skill we may have to get rather inventive to accomplish this mission. The smoke pellets and dust of illusion certainly come to mind.
Oh I actually have a brilliant idea.
I'm going to make the content of the Fraud mission be the content of the Theft mission.
I'm likely going to need some help to pull this off though. I need to get one of the targets of the Fraud mission in a secluded spot where I can cast magic on them without being suspected of foul play. Then we use the dust of illusion to disguise one of us this person and another one of us as a servant or aide of this person. The 'servant' uses the smoke pellets to steal the items, then secure the items in a hidden location, all while the 'target' looks on approvingly and directs the 'servant'. Once away (with the help of a distraction by the others if needed) they can drop the disguise. The smoke pellets are mostly to sell the clandestine nature of the activity, as somebody is still likely to see the two fleeing the scene. Once the 'target' is confronted about the stolen artifacts, they will have already have the thought in their head from sow thought and may even believe they one of their servants was sent to steal the items on his behalf.
Convoluted, and depending on the target failing their will save, but let me know what you think.
So to identify a prospective target, it actually plays along nicely with the Discovery mission as that person could provide you with a likely target. Otherwise, going about finding important NPCs and attempting a Sense Motive would be another route.
Just to clarify though, would searching for important NPCs and attempting a Sense Motive check to identify the ideal targets for the Fraud mission take up our action for this social round? I just want to make sure before I post.
Yes, essentially the Sense Motive would be a Discovery Check like you are working toward influencing an NPC as detailed on the social combat tab of the Loot & Notes sheet.
Awesome, thanks! Post up!
GM, if we went ahead with my crazy plan to frame the target of the Fraud mission, would it still require a linguistics check to fabricate evidence? Or perhaps could Sveng use his Young Reformer trait for the check even though it normally can't replace linguistics?
Oh I think I may have misunderstood, if the discovery works like influencing an NPC, than I can only check one person per social round.
So if I understand correctly we need to target a suspected NPC, make a discovery check, then make an influence check, at which point we will be allowed a sense motive or perception check to learn of their motives, correct?
If that is the case than Sveng will target his sense motive check at Countess Abrielle Pace to start learning how to influence her (and possibly find her weakness).
Yeah, as I noted some where at some point, I'm not against creative solutions. Also, the skills I listed are the most common, IE what the AP listed, but I don't feel it is exhaustive as that would be unreasonably prohibitive in my opinion. In this case, depending on how you play it, I feel it would be more of a Bluff check which would qualify for your Young Reformer trait.
Piri does not have slight of hand -- disable device, stealth. He also has a very high linguistics.
For those of you rolling discovery checks let me know whether you are trying to figure out a weakness or how to influence the NPC.
@Piri Since no one is actually working on the Theft mission I assume you would want to wait to go on the tour until that point. Also, the Arcade has been completely influenced. Normally I would just use it in a different area, but none of the others ones use Spellcraft. So let me know if you would like to adjust.
I am trying to figure out how to influence, since I believe that is required as part of the mission.
Doh, yup. Ignore what I just said, the weakness checks require specific skills to each NPC, which you can ask for if/when you want to perform a weakness check. So... I'm actually going to add those onto the Loot & Notes sheet since they don't require anything to gain.
That actually seems kinda gross that you can just discover somebody's political weakness with a check. I mean it's very thematically appropriate for Sveng, but it must make them feel very vulnerable.
Well, the weaknesses aren't necessarily political weakness they are actually ways you can approach them in your influence checks to be more likely to influence them. The weakness skills are just what you would use to figure that out. IE actually learning the weakness provides you a +4 on a future influence check.
Valeria's discovery vs. Pythareus was to find out how to influence.
If possible, Valeria will go for a short 2 min walk throughout the Senate to pass along everyone's discoveries (to get theirs, and give them hers). She nonchalantly grabs a hors-d'oeuvre or drink as she walks back to Pythareus' area.
Forgot to throw this out there. In the event there are forum issues again in the future. I setup a Discord server to utilize for communication.
When you join just type in general which character you are and I will add you to a group just for this game. Then if things ever get crazy with the forums we can use that to communicate.
GM Dak, my last roll was to raise the influence level of the Gallery (A4). I was not attempting a Discovery roll for Countess Pace. Sorry if that wasn't clear.
Note - It's not a requirement. Just something that might help if the forums have issues again or you ever want to use your phone to get a message to me but don't want to mess with trying to do it on this page over your phone.
@Hargus Hm, well Know. Nobility wouldn't really work up there since there aren't a whole lot of nobles, it is mostly kids. That's why the influence skills for that area are Acrobatics, Disguise, Perform Act/Com/Dan, Sleight of Hand.