"I couldn't help but notice that you avoided the same direct question from two of my colleagues. I won't be so easily put off. How much were you getting paid to retrieve the kamadan and who promised you the coin?"
The dwarf gave Phin a quick glance before returning his attention to dragging the beast along the corridors. "Ye know who did the promisin' well enough already, as I already mentioned the lad Taran stayed behind to see if they'd be other visitors of note. But that name is not one that bears mentionin' in the wrong circumstances, if ye catch my drift? Doubt he'd want to be associated in the need for this mess."
"As to what was promised... oh, who cares, we ain't goin' to see a single coin of it. 700 Galifars he promised us, for all the good that does ye."
"Is it alright if we accompany you back? After all the trouble we went through, I would really like to see the kamadan safely reach its destination." And make sure that we get paid for our trouble...
"Well, that wasn't part of the arrangement, but one can hardly be blamed if someone decided to follow us along, and seeing that one already knew about our cargo, it wouldn't serve any particular purpose to try and chase them away - it's not like we can make the cart carrying our cargo invisible," the Captain mused, a twinkle in his eyes.
"And if you ever feel your eyes are less weary, Lady, I'd be thrilled to buy them and you dinner," the Captain said, giving Phin his best charming smile.
As they exited the upside down shrine, Alua paused to bid farewell to the strangely excited spirits. She wondered why they were here at all, if it distressed them so. She wondered if she'd ever understand the spirits at all.
**
700 Galifars he promised us, for all the good that does ye."
700 Galifers!! I undercharged the weasel! Alua mentally smacked herself around, promising that she wouldn't endanger her team for peanuts again.
**
As they moved past the boarded up door, Alua paused and took a moment to listen. I wonder if they remaining blink dogs came here; I wonder if this creature is their friend. She was very curious about the undead creature behind the door, but not curious enough to risk opening it.
As they moved past the kitchen, Alua reminded Phin, "Remember to grab that box."
Phin wasn't so willing to let the dwarf and human just go their separate way but she had to grudgingly admit that they probably wouldn't have been able to get the creature through the tower so quickly without them. She guessed that their payment for their help was to let them go. The rogue watched them leave and said in parting, "We better not see you anytime soon."
Alua scolded Phin, "Ne need to be rude. It's not their fault that our employer acted dishonestly. They didn't do anything we wouldn't have, and they lost two of their friends for their trouble. We might not have been able to take the kamadan down so quickly if they hadn't already been there."
Taking a moment to take a deep breath, and murmur a few words to the spirits, Alua then said to the dwarf, "You've treated us honestly, and I'm sorry for your losses. I'm Alua Riversong, and we're at the ir'Brock Inquisitive Agency, Tavick's Landing. In case you ever have anything you need investigated." She held out her hand to the dwarf.
**
Relieved to hand the kamadan over to the other team, Alua agreed with Phin. "We definitely want to make sure this thing gets to where it's going. Eyes open, everybody."
"Ne need to be rude. It's not their fault that our employer acted dishonestly. They didn't do anything we wouldn't have, and they lost two of their friends for their trouble. We might not have been able to take the kamadan down so quickly if they hadn't already been there."
Phin bit back a retort as Alua lectured her. The girl obviously hadn't grown up on the streets so if she wanted to naively see the good in all people then so be it. Nothing the elf said would make Alua change. Only by being betrayed or double-crossed would Alua learn to be less trusting.
"And if you ever feel your eyes are less weary, Lady, I'd be thrilled to buy them and you dinner," the Captain said, giving Phin his best charming smile.
The elf beamed back at the Captain, "How can I possibly say no to such an enchanting invitation? That would be delightful."
Alua was certainly the boss in this group and now Lupi also heard about the inquisitive agency This is interesting, she thought. She went to Alua and said "I'm sorry we got two killed in the battle against the Kamadan... I mean... I have seen a good share of battles and death and I do appreciate there are people like you that try to avoid unnecessary bloodshedding..."
Then she said to Phin "Are we going to check the big chest with House Vadalis symbol on it that was in the room before skeletal dogs?"
"You've treated us honestly, and I'm sorry for your losses. I'm Alua Riversong, and we're at the ir'Brock Inquisitive Agency, Tavick's Landing. In case you ever have anything you need investigated." She held out her hand to the dwarf.
Alua was certainly the boss in this group and now Lupi also heard about the inquisitive agency This is interesting, she thought. She went to Alua and said "I'm sorry we got two killed in the battle against the Kamadan... I mean... I have seen a good share of battles and death and I do appreciate there are people like you that try to avoid unnecessary bloodshedding..."
"They took the coin, so they knew the risks, or they damned better should have," the dwarf grunted, eyeing Alua's extended hand. "This is a rough trade, much like soldierin' - fit for only those that have failed at everythin' else."
"You, lass... Oh, Abyss below, why not?" he growled as he grasped Alua's forearm, going for a brother-in-arm's salute instead. "Rurik Ungart. An' that there is Gwen Bartell," he gestured at the woman with the spear who had decided to keep her wary distance. "Who knows, next time we might be on the same side an' not just takin' the same coin."
It took Captain Irvallo's team less than half an hour to prepare their cargo for transport. After first inspecting the beast's health - muttering at the beast's many bruises and wounds - they checked and rechecked the chains binding it until they satisfied themselves they'd hold. Clearly, they placed less trust in the efficacy of the sleeping poison than the team Lupi had been part of, having learned of their mistakes. Then the kamadan was dragged up a ramp to a to a cage built atop a wooden platform under which axles and wheels had been attached to make the whole affair mobile. And when the still-slumbering beast was safely locked behind bars of iron a tarp was thrown over it, the edges nailed down on the platform to keep wind flapping it and revealing to passerbys the true nature of their cargo.
"All right, we are ready to proceed if you still intend to follow us along," the Captain said, his chain mail jingling as he walked over to you from his final inspection of his charge. "We'll depart in two minutes."
While the kamadan was being prepped for transport, Phin grabbed Erix by the elbow and asked, "Are you up for a trip back to collect what we left behind? If not, I can go alone. If we hurry, we can be back before the transport leaves."
"You, lass... Oh, Abyss below, why not?" he growled as he grasped Alua's forearm, going for a brother-in-arm's salute instead. "Rurik Ungart. An' that there is Gwen Bartell," he gestured at the woman with the spear who had decided to keep her wary distance. "Who knows, next time we might be on the same side an' not just takin' the same coin."
Alua smiled in relief and gripped the dwarf's arm in the familiar salute. "Let's hope so," she agreed. Better to make a friend than an enemy.
As Erix and the dwarf hefted the unconscious kamadan through the door they had come through, Phin took the opportunity to carefully roll up what was left of the portrait of Maril d'Vadalis. She safely stowed it with the small box she had taken from the kitchen and then caught up with the others.
When they descended to the next level, she suddenly remembered the chest of blackened steel, marked with the symbol of House Vadalis. She tapped Alua on the shoulder, "I think the other five bodies can handle the kamadan. Do you think you can help me with that chest? It may help to pay some of our bills."
Alua nodded and the two of them broke off from the others and headed for the bedroom. Having seen the remains of the last two skeletal dogs upstairs unceremoniously dispatched by the kamadan, the rogue was fairly certain that they wouldn't have any trouble with the previous residents. Sadly, what had been left semi-alive in this tower by House Vadalis was no more. They each grabbed a handle from either end of the chest and carried it out into the hallway.
The elf was more agile than strong and she barely was able to lift her end of the chest. Thankfully Alua was more sturdy and did a much better job of carrying the chest. Phin merely kept her end from actually dragging on the ground. Once they made it out of the tower, the elf was breathing hard. Luckily, those who had been struggling with the weight of an unconscious kamadan were panting just as much and when she mentioned taking a small rest, no one argued. After a mere five minute breather where everyone kept a close eye on the kamadan for any sign of it waking, the group continued to the rendezvous point.
Erix had remained quiet for most of the trip - though given he was pressed chest-to-hindquarters with a filthy Kamadan this was less reticence than an attempt to avoid opening his mouth.
"You, lass... Oh, Abyss below, why not?" he growled as he grasped Alua's forearm, going for a brother-in-arm's salute instead. "Rurik Ungart. An' that there is Gwen Bartell," he gestured at the woman with the spear who had decided to keep her wary distance. "Who knows, next time we might be on the same side an' not just takin' the same coin."
Erix nodded "Rurik. Gwen. I'm Erix. If I wasn't on the job I'd offer to escort you. If the degenerates camped out at that place prove troublesome and you need to come back to get the bodies, then come get me and I will."
---
When their competitors were gone Erix took a moment to seek out Alua. "That was well done. If they're getting paid that sort of wage, then they're an experienced group."
Erix stared off into the distance for a moment " We're going to need to pay some debts to the gods when we get back - if that mage hadn't lost concentration... fight would have gone very differently."
Erix continued "So, Boss. Lupi. Loopy? You're going to have to decide whether to take her to meet our employer. He was pretty keen on us not spreading word. Do we tell him what she picked up? My suggestion is either swear her to secrecy somewhere and drop her off, or hire her right now, tell her she's bound by confidentiality, and claim the contract never said we couldn't get new employees. I'm a bit worried that if he finds out there's an outsider who knows..." he looks over to the goblin, tilts his head to the side and makes a crack noise, crudely reminiscent of the noise made during a hanging.
Smiling cheerily he continues "Up to you. Guess that's why you get the big office, hey?"
Erix stared off into the distance for a moment " We're going to need to pay some debts to the gods when we get back - if that mage hadn't lost concentration... fight would have gone very differently."
Baran flashed an uncommitted glance at Erix and muttered, "yes, lost concentration."
Phin listened to Erix raise the question of how to handle Lupi with regards to their employer. The elf had a greater, more serious concern. "I don't think we should mention Lupi at all or take her with us. She was part of the original team that was responsible for transporting the kamadan that failed. I don't think our employer would be very merciful with someone that failed in such an important task. If we mention her then it could put her life in danger. I say that she should lay low at the agency for a few days until we conclude business with our employer. That way we can make sure she stays safe."
Baran piped up suddenly, "Do you really think she'd be in danger? Well, at the very least, having you with whomever goes to see him may not be doing the inquisitive agency any favours. But Erix has something to. Lupi, you should probably stay close, I mean at the agency. If Werem has any concerns then she is one of us, a new mamber, sworn to the same contract."
Erix stared off into the distance for a moment " We're going to need to pay some debts to the gods when we get back - if that mage hadn't lost concentration... fight would have gone very differently."Baran flashed an uncommitted glance at Erix and muttered, "yes, lost concentration."
Erix grinned "That was you, huh? I coldn't really see it. Pretty good spell. Well done! Regardless of that, you charged onto a ledge to fight two people by yourself - that takes guts."
I have to say, I prefer doing it without the turn updates. As a GM, they're a huge amount of work to put together. I'm happy to switch to the other way. I'll kick things off by moving my ic stuff over to gameplay.
Well, I think it's time to move on, and since I didn't get a 100% clear choise whether Lupi gets added to the Agency's roster now or later, I'll leave her presence in the Huntmaster's office open and up to her to decide - I do want you to play out her recruitment IC, but whether it's after the meeting in "current" time or backposting to have happened before your audience I dont mind. Will post on the Gameplay side soon...
I can't wait to hear Baran's newest song!!
Jussi - Is Werem offering to pay the fee to the guy, or just give us his name, so we can then bribe him? Not sure if that's Angie misunderstanding, or Alua.
He's only offering the name, not to pay the guard on your behalf. So the choice is: the money you were promised or a chance to keep Sebastian from suffering a series of eventually fatal accident (for the cheap price of 20g a month, although you'll only hear the price if you choose the letter and exchange a couple of messages with the guard in question).
Just as a reminder, you might not be in quite as dire financial situation as Alua seems to think... I will set up a party pool linked to the site tomorrow in case you already forgot your recent acquisitions :-)
How feasible is it for Phin to use Sleight of Hand to get a look at the name in the envelop? Or possibly replace the envelop with an empty one? It is his office so there should be some office supplies around...
To get a look inside a SEALED letter while the Huntmaster is staring at you? Absolutely nonexistent. The best you could do without opening the thing with a knife (in a very obvious way) would be to hold it against the light to see if there is something inside the envelope or not.
Replacing might be a possibility if you had an indentically sealed envelope close at hand (there aren't any on the table - the office is quite neat, so as to draw a visitor's attention to all the rare and expensive art, not a mess on the table), but the Huntmaster would definitely notice the swap eventually, and you might not like the consequences...
Right. Second adventure wrapped up. Welcome to level 3, everyone! Please do the level-ups in the usual manner for ease of checking the math… for Lupi’s benefit, what I mean is something like this:
***
BAB+1
all saves +1
danger sense +2
rogue talent: underhanded
HP +5
9 skill points
acrobatics
bluff
diplomacy
disable device
escape artist
etc…
***
Secondly, it’ll be about a week until the next mission starts, so please have fun RPing for a bit. It’s only two days to a major athletics festival in the city, and there is all sorts of things to see and do. Lupi, this is a good chance for you to give us a delayed intro post – paint us a picture of Lupi’s usual day in the city – what he does, what he sees doing it, how it makes her feel… don’t list write a list about her waking up, washing, having breakfast and doing whatever until nighttime. Feel free to invent NPCs to interact with, as long as you don’t create anyone rich and powerful who’s eager to give you aid beyond the limits of your own character’s power to achieve. These kinds of stories help understand what makes a character tick.
There is a couple of things that will happen before we get to the next mission (a bit of Indiana Jones-like action this time around). I will post about those when I have a moment. First one will happen two nights from now, and while it won’t affect anyone of you directly it will have some relevance to Lupi if not anyone else.
Also, I forgot to do this after the first mission, but if you have OOC questions about something that’s nagging you (stuff that didn’t make any sense to you in the mission etc), feel free to ask. Some stuff might have relevance later on in the campaign so I won’t give out what I would consider too big a spoiler, but I might be able to shed some light into matters that makes some things make some sense to you.
Added your reward to the party pool. Take a look at it, and if you want to take something with you, do make a clear note of it - if it's in the pool, it's stored at your agency and not necessarily available at moment's notice mid-adventure. Also, there are some things you still have to figure out what they are good for in there.
Woo hoo! New level! Celebrate!
HP +7
BAB+1
fort and ref +1
+ 1 spell per day
+1 spell known
+1 revelation
skills: 3: stealth, climb, acrobatics
background 2:
knowledge nobility and history
Revelation:Energy body
1st level spell - TBD
Woot! Level 3 which means a new feat and Phin's dragonmark will finally be active. Let the mayhem ensue.
Feat: Least Dragonmark of Shadow - darkness 1/d, disguise self 1/d, or minor image 1/d; +2 to gather info checks (since this doesn't exist in Pathfinder does the +2 go to Diplomacy?)
+6 HP
+1 BAB
+1 Fort and Will
Danger Sense +1
Finesse Training -> thornblade (add dex modified to damage instead of strength) - would the GM consider her being able to choose light blades instead so that the bonus would apply to her dagger as well?
Sneak Attack 2d6
Skills = 10/level
Acrobatics, Bluff, Climb, Disable Device, K.local, Perception, Sense Motive, Stealth, Perform (sing), Diplomacy
Background Skills
Perform (lute)
Sleight of Hand
Woo hoo! New level! Celebrate!
HP +7
BAB+1
fort and ref +1
+ 1 spell per day
+1 spell known
+1 revelation
skills: 3: stealth, climb, acrobatics
background 2:
knowledge nobility and history
Revelation:Energy body
1st level spell - TBD
Already had history, so nixing that. Any chance I could make haggling a background skill? Like a subset of Appraise?
Hmmm. Couple of things.
1. This time is when https://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/hybrid-classes/brawler/archetypes/paizo-br awler-archetypes/turfer-brawler-archetype kicks in. I picked it for Erix's original training, and where he is now. @Kirsdrake; are you okay with it?
2. Is Erix's build okay? He's much better at combat than most, but seems to lack in the actual investigative bit. I could do some multiclassing or something if that would help?
3. Final week of uni, so I might be a bit slower than normal.
- Wizard lvl3
- +1Fort, +1Ref
- +2, +1ss lvl2 spells per day
- 2 new lvl2 spells: Burning Arc, Detect Thoughts
- +5hp, +4hp from lvl, +1hp from favored class
- skills 7/lvl: Knowledge(Engineering), Knowledge(Geography), 2xKnowledge(Arcana), Knowledge(Local), Appraise, Spellcraft
- background skills 2/lvl: Knowledge(History), Knowledge(Nobility)
- retrain lvl1 feat to Dodge
- 3rd level feat: Additional Traits(outlander (Burning Hands, Mage Armor, Burning Arc),reactionary(+2 Init))
- Spellbinder level2 spell: Burning Arc
I will do the update shortly.
1. This time is when https://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/hybrid-classes/brawler/archetypes/paizo-br awler-archetypes/turfer-brawler-archetype kicks in. I picked it for Erix's original training, and where he is now. @Kirsdrake; are you okay with it?
Umm... not quite 100% what I should be OK about ;^) Did you suggest Erix should have two of those terrains (one from his lost memories, other now gained) or if it'd be OK to change what the terrain he originally had now that he has relearned the ability? If the latter, I'm quite comfortable with the thought.
2. Is Erix's build okay? He's much better at combat than most, but seems to lack in the actual investigative bit. I could do some multiclassing or something if that would help?
Well, on one hand it makes perfect sense for the Agency have specialists - Erix just so happens to specialize in hitting people very hard. On the other hand, if one member of the party is significantly more powerful than others, combat becomes tricky as anything intended to be challenging for the powerful one is downright deadly for the rest of the group, and an encounter tailored for the masses is made trivial by the powerhouse. But I don't think Erix is an issue for power balance as he is.
Feat: Least Dragonmark of Shadow - darkness 1/d, disguise self 1/d, or minor image 1/d; +2 to gather info checks (since this doesn't exist in Pathfinder does the +2 go to Diplomacy?)
Gather Info is a subset of Diplomacy in PF, so it'd make sense for the Mark to give Phin +2 to Diplomacy for that specific purpose only. There are enough precedence of such bonuses, like bonuses to avoid getting lost while using Survival to navigate in the wilds.
Already had history, so nixing that. Any chance I could make haggling a background skill? Like a subset of Appraise?
Hmm... I think haggling should be part of Diplomacy - it's a way of influencing NPC attitudes in my book. But if you want, I think we could use Appraise as haggling, but only for the specific purpose of negotiating the price of an object or perhaps a service, within limits - I wouldn't allow you to use Appraise to try and persuade an NPC to give your Agency better rewards for an assignment or such. That is 100% Diplomacy in my book.
1. This time is when https://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/hybrid-classes/brawler/archetypes/paizo-br awler-archetypes/turfer-brawler-archetype kicks in. I picked it for Erix's original training, and where he is now. @Kirsdrake; are you okay with it?Umm... not quite 100% what I should be OK about ;^) Did you suggest Erix should have two of those terrains (one from his lost memories, other now gained) or if it'd be OK to change what the terrain he originally had now that he has relearned the ability? If the latter, I'm quite comfortable with the thought.
Uh, no, just that the terrain picked is 'Urban'. I like the idea of him Parkouring around, and scrapping with gangs.
2. Is Erix's build okay? He's much better at combat than most, but seems to lack in the actual investigative bit. I could do some multiclassing or something if that would help?Well, on one hand it makes perfect sense for the Agency have specialists - Erix just so happens to specialize in hitting people very hard. On the other hand, if one member of the party is significantly more powerful than others, combat becomes tricky as anything intended to be challenging for the powerful one is downright deadly for the rest of the group, and an encounter tailored for the masses is made trivial by the powerhouse. But I don't think Erix is an issue for power balance as he is.
Great! I'm certainly enjoying it! If anyone is worried, shout out.
I'll try to take some more investigative skills, rather than blowing it all on Acrobatics and Climbing.
Woot! Level 3 which means a new feat and Phin's dragonmark will finally be active. Let the mayhem ensue.
Feat: Least Dragonmark of Shadow - darkness 1/d, disguise self 1/d, or minor image 1/d; +2 to gather info checks (since this doesn't exist in Pathfinder does the +2 go to Diplomacy?)
+6 HP
+1 BAB
+1 Fort and WillDanger Sense +1
Finesse Training -> thornblade (add dex modified to damage instead of strength) - would the GM consider her being able to choose light blades instead so that the bonus would apply to her dagger as well?
Sneak Attack 2d6
Skills = 10/level
Acrobatics, Bluff, Climb, Disable Device, K.local, Perception, Sense Motive, Stealth, Perform (sing), DiplomacyBackground Skills
Perform (lute)
Sleight of Hand
Any ruling on my finesse training question?
I'm really enjoying the group dynamics, and don't mind Erix being a superhero. :)
Since Alua is really good at diplomacy, I'll forgo the haggling and just put another skill point there.
Any ruling on my finesse training question?
Hmm... the ability specifically states that while you get Wwapon Finesse with every finessable weapon, you need to select one particular weapon as your "signature" weapon to get even more proficiency with. If Thornblade was a light weapon I could rule it being "a kind of dagger", but it's actually a "medium" one-handed weapon, so I'm afraid that and a dagger aren't similar enough. It weights as much as a longsword after all, 4 times as much as a dagger.
Uh, no, just that the terrain picked is 'Urban'. I like the idea of him Parkouring around, and scrapping with gangs.
Right ;^) That makes perfect sense, then, considering urban is the terrain you have spent a lot of time lately. If you'd have suddenly wanted to pick, say, Desert as your favored terrain... that'd have taken some explaining ;^)
Brawler +1 (to 3)
Favoured: HP
BAB+1 (to 3)
Will +1 (to 1)
Favored Turf - Urban (Ex): At 3rd level, a turfer chooses a type of terrain from the ranger’s favored terrain list. When in that type of terrain, she gains a +2 bonus on initiative checks and a +1 bonus on combat maneuver checks and to CMD.
Feat: Combat Expertise
HP+9 (to 31)
4 skill points
+1 rank Acrobatics (to 7)
+1 rank Stealth (to 7)
+2 rank Perception (to 6)
2 background points
+2 rank Craft: Alchemy (to 6)
Minor panic at work, I fear I can only start writing first proper posts (beginning with information about those news articles) tomorrow.
Haggling
There are rules for bartering under the appraise skill that might apply, but they are the worst written rules in all of pathfinder. I can't quite figure them out.
Erix' build
I think it's cool to have a real toughy in the group. Baran is particularly squishy so it does create a night/day dynamic. Erix has half the skill points to spend so there is some balance. All this to say - I have no objections. - minor point: can you spend two skill ranks on the same skill when you level up? Someone should take some survival skill though. Not having any trackers showed in the last contract.
Alua's glowing form
Ooooooooo
- minor point: can you spend two skill ranks on the same skill when you level up?
Haven't looked at anyone's numbers yet, but I believe you can as long as you don't go over the level-based max skill rank.
Right. I think all your maths check out, as long as Erix there didn't raise Perception or Alchemy ranks past 3 (capped at character's HD).
No. To 3. Skill points are rare beasts in Erixland.
That should be all sorted, then. Feel free to update your sheets to reflect your newfound power ;^)