GM Hawthwile - Forged in Flame Series (Inactive)

Game Master Hawthwile

Crowe raises an eyebrow.

"Sounds like you are the kind of guy to involve if illicit actions are required. Tell us everything you do ... you might think it is none of our business but we are talking about an inevitable hunting you so logic is the path to take and therefore we need all the facts! So tell us more!" Crowe demands.

And then he starts laughing, "Not that I would use that logic but other here might! Ha ha ha ... "

"Crowe's right. The more facts we get, the better." Cirri begins pacing. "Is there another safe house we can get you to? On what grounds does it state it can capture you? You were already brought to trial."

"Laws are weird."

”Maybe we can use you as bait and set a trap to lure that thing out. And take it apart quickly without much fuss....”

"You mean you will take it apart without fuss--I'm next to useless against robots, even extraplanar robots."

Carlin waves off Crowe and Cirri's requests for more information. "I'm certain it would bore you to tears to hear me go through the minutiae of what I do," he says with a wave of his hand. "And it wants to arrest me for a death I was already acquitted of. Hardly lawful proceedings, wouldn't you say?"

Carlin rubs his hands together gleefully at Fahd's idea. "I know just the spot!" he says. "There's a warehouse Qalkami uses occasionally for these sort of meetings. I'll talk to a few friends, have them spread the word, and I can guarantee you that bucket of bolts will show up exactly on schedule. I'm sure you all can handle things from there."

What do you do?

Crowe does not care but as a player I kind of feel uncomfortable with this guy. GM, is there any possibility to independently gain background information on this tiefling? What about our contact in town who orffered support? Can we contact them anytime?

I believe Yasmine said you could come to her at any time if you felt uncomfortable about any of the tasks Qalkami asked of you.

"Tell us where this place is, so we can take a look before you spread the word. If I remember correctly we can defend ourselves, but not attack. Does that mean we have to allow this inevitable to attack us?"

Trying to buy us some time so we can ask Yasmine what she thinks about this

Snaggletooth blinks. "Excuse me--tin can? Are you suggesting that you accidentally killed a goodly paladin?"

"Yes, uh, that sounds like you've got a pretty good plan. We might check to see if our friend has some advice for this."

Ninlil is also not so thrilled about our friend here, at least the little we've heard.

Carlin provides the Pathfinders with a quick sketch of where to find the warehouse in question. "What time do you want 'im there? The later the better frankly - gives my friends more time to get the word out."

He gasps at Snaggletooth's accusation. "Well," he says dramatically, one hand clutched to his heart, "excuse me for defending myself from kidnapping! It's hardly my fault he decided to use lethal force, and I was forced to respond in kind to keep myself safe!"

Carlin looks at Ninlil inquisitively. "What friend might that be?" he asks.

If people want to move the party, it'll take 3 votes to do so. (Familiars don't count as a separate vote.)

What do you do?

(Familiars don't count as a separate vote.)

Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!

"Never mind who our friend is, you have your secrets and we have ours. We will come here later to discuss the plan"

My vote is to go and speak to Yasmin first before agreeing on this ambush plan

Cirri agrees with Toctep. "Okay, back to the shop you go. We'll come back after we ask- hehe." Cirri quiets herself.

Let's go talk to Yasmin so we know what we're getting into.

Ninlil nods. "Let's. We want to make sure we provide as much assistance as we can."

Yasmin!

"See you later ... but ... I'll be back!" Crowe says in a deep voice.

Masayoshi shrugs as he follows Crowe.

”Looks like I don’t have much of a choice this time.”

"Uh, okay then," Carlin says uncertainly. "You, uh, know where I'll be. Let me know if you want that meeting set up!" He retreats back into his safehouse and shuts the door tightly behind him as the Pathfinders depart.

Back at the embassy, Yasmine greets the Pathfinders with delight. "Welcome back, honored guests! To what do I owe the pleasure?" she asks.

What do you do?

"Qalkami wants us to make sure that this person Carlin can walk the streets freely again. We understood that there was a tiral, do you know anything about that?"

"Carlin said he was acquitted, but also a paladin attacked him, so he killed the guy in self-defense?" Cirri is confused with all of this social legal mumbo jumbo.

"I can't possibly justify helping a drug dealer evade justice. Surely there's something we could do?"

"Oh," Yasmine says disapprovingly. "Carlin. I'd rather not discuss the details - suffice it to say that he was only found innocent on a technicality. A disgrace, the entire thing."

"Now," she continues, "what exactly did Qalkami ask for in regards to Carlin? Did she write it down anywhere?"

What do you do?

"Well, she wants the inevitable to stay out of Carlin's and her affairs. I don't think she wrote anything down, why?"

Link and Link

Did you look here?

Cirri digs around for the missive. "Oh! Wait. I totally forgot to look in the packet. Let's see... See to it that Carlin isn't bothered by the thing anymore." She hands Yasmine the missive. "Seems like he is innocent by the letter of the law, but not in spirit. How much trouble are we going to be in if we smash the Inevitable? Is there any chance we can find a non lethal way out of this?"

”Have you ever tried punching a robot? As far as I can tell ‘non-lethal’ isn’t an option.”

"At the end smashing the robot will be easy for me! I am a force of nature after all!" Crowe says grinning.

"Hmm..." Yasmine ponders. "Since Carlin was found innocent by the local legal system, you might be able to talk the inevitable down if you wanted to resolve this peacefully. Carlin can hopefully provide more details you could use in your arguments."

"Alternatively," she continues, "I would be happy to provide Carlin with protection from the inevitable - by sending the local law enforcement after him - if I only had enough evidence to bring him to justice." She smiles. "If you help him feel comfortable enough around you, perhaps you could get him to spill the beans on what he's been up to. I assure you not all of it is legal, even technically, in Zjarra. And after all, you have only been asked to protect Carlin from the inevitable, not any other threats."

What do you do?

Sense Motive: 1d20 + 16 ⇒ (1) + 16 = 17 Son of a...!

Masayoshi scratches his chin in thought with his tail.

”Interesting. So we either talk down the Inevitable or we ‘secure’ Carlin in a jail cell. Well, my vote goes to the idea that doesn’t involve meeting that tin can.”

"Well, you're better at talking than I am. We'll get him to fess up and then send him to jail, and the guards can protect him." Cirri giggles. "Man, we're twisting all of Qalkami's wishes, huh? Irony."

"She's a genie, it's what they do; best to give her a taste of her own medicine."

Perception 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (7) + 13 = 20

”Well then, we need to be more clever than that Carlin. From what I can tell, that might not be the toughest job in the world!”

”Ok, let us go. Talk to the Tiefling again ... but we should also talk to the robot whatever we come up with when we meet the Tiefling!“ Crowe says.

"I'm glad I could bring a new perspective to this problem," Yasmine says with a bow. "Are there any other problems I could bring a local's insight to, or may I provide you with some refreshments before you depart?"

What do you do?

"I would love a cup of tea before we head back. Should let that tiefling simmer for a bit"

Let's put that crook behind bars!

Masayoshi’s mouth curls into a Grinch-style malicious grin.

”Well then, let’s go make a new friend.”

Ninlil ponders. "That is a fascinating approach. The legal system here is quite bizarre. Oh, but tea would be excellent!"

Snaggletooth doesn't quite catch Yasmine's smirk. Perception: 1d20 + 20 ⇒ (12) + 20 = 32

"Oh, yes--now would be a perfect time for some refreshment. Don't go away--I have s--" flzzt "--right here."

The image flickers a little and the pterosaur seems to go off-camera for a moment. He returns with a... is that a tail...? hanging out of his mouth?

He shakes his head a few times before looking up and swallowing. "Ahhh, much better."

"We should move with haste, however. After all, we do not want the inevitable to find him first!"

”Can we stop with the inevitable Inevitable puns?!”

Then it is decided.

After a brief afternoon tea, the Pathfinders bid Yasmine farewell and return to Carlin's safehouse. The creature out front doesn't even look at the group as they pass by. A quick knock and the sound of familiar voices is enough to bring Carlin back out into the open.

"So, did you, uh, meet your friend? Ready to help another friend - namely, myself? And Qalkami, of course." he smiles, rubbing his hands together. "So, what's the plan? Can I bring that bucket of bolts in for a meeting?"

What do you do?

”Whoa, whoa, whoa! Slow down, buckeroo. We’re here to ensure your safety, but we gotta know some things to do that. Qalkami may be trying to help you but she ain’t a fool—she don’t want an angry robot on her tail any more than you do. If there’s a chance that any more robots come here and start going after her...well, lets just say that her safety is much more valuable than yours—her words. So! What’d you do to get this thing after you? And I mean ‘what did you really do’ because as far as I can tell robots don’t usually concern themselves with the murders of mortal paladins, especially those committed by a man acquitted for it.”

Bluff: 1d20 + 16 ⇒ (20) + 16 = 36 +5 if Innocent applies.

Oh! This is gonna be fun!

Toctep sits back and enjoys the show

"I didn't consider that. Qalkami's putting herself at a huge risk. You... did tell her everything, right?"

Bluff, Aid: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (6) + 1 = 7
Cirri, as usual, completely believes Masayoshi's words and forgets they are trying to trick Carlin into admitting guilt.

Crowe just stays silent and enjoys the show.

He is a je** but he surely knows his sh***!! Crowe thinks.

"Why, what do you mean!?" cries Carlin, visibly affronted. "Surely it wouldn't know about my breaking into the grand vizier's palace to relieve him of the crown jewels and replace them with a perfect forgery! Or how I got them out of the city along with incriminating evidence of his son's bedside indiscretions by stashing them inside a caravan guard's pack! I assure you, I have standards, and one of them is protecting my employers from any potential blowback." Hands on his hips, he continues to describe many illegal activities (robbery, smuggling, surveillance, blackmail) punctuated frequently by mentions of his "personal code of conduct".

This is plenty of evidence.

His tirade finished, Carlin pushes back the hair that has fallen in his face. "So, I assure you, there is nothing to worry about. Now, shall we deal with this construct? I grow tired of living in such cramped quarters and long to be able to conduct my business in peace once again."

What do you do?

Fahd listened carefully to the man’s confessions. Is this enough to call in the law enforcement, or is his word alone not quite enough yet?

”You talk a good game, that much is for sure. But taking the Gtand Vizier’s Crown Jewels? Sorry, I’m not sure if I can beleive that or not. Might be all hot air.”

Given the details of what he has told you, the law enforcement will have the evidence they need to link and pin several unsolved cases to Carlin and put him behind bars.

"That makes sense." Cirri nods along with each story, growing frustrated and disappointed with each tale. "Wow, I guess we tell the authorities now, then? They should keep you nice and safe, and the inevitable will leave you alone now that justice has been served." Cirri smiles and nods, content.

I’ll allow a Reflex save or Initiative check (one or the other) if your character wants to stop Cirri from spilling the beans and sending Carlin to a different hiding place where the authorities can’t find him.

DC: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (16) + 1 = 17

There Cirri goes again, trying to help but sticking her foot in her mouth!