GM supervillan's Krune campaign (Inactive)

Game Master supervillan

Lonan turns to see his mistress frowning at him from across the room and comes flying back to clamber back into his cage. "CAAAAAW! She want half cup of sunflower seed to ruffle my feathers! CAAAAAW!!"

The raven looks expectantly up at his mistress to see if she'll provide him the treats, but she just gives him a cold stare, shakes her head and follows the others to the Stolen Kiss,

Stolen Kiss? Perhaps a clue to our quarry? The detective continues his
silent search for any telltale signs the team is being obsevered or acttracted undue attention.

Perception: 1d20 + 36 + 1d6 ⇒ (19) + 36 + (5) = 60

Fendel catches the eye of a voluptuous strumpet who beckons him over - indeed many of the working ladies not already engaged with clients or potential clients regard your group with greedy eyes.

Miss Oni turns back once more at the sound of jingling coin. "More questions, sweetheart? It never ceases to amaze me how many come here and just want to talk. Miss Feathers' appearance? Tall. Muscular. Feather Boa. Can't miss her, really."

Outside, Urchin Ally is surprised to see you. "Back so soon? What did you come here for? Where's my steak? Bah! I'll be lucky to get rat-on-a-stick tonight at this rate. We are going to the Canary House after this, right?"

The Stolen Kiss is visible from the doorway of the Blushing Rose. It's a ramshackle pub, with the sign of two lovers embracing hanging above the entrance. Ally crosses the street with you, holding onto Inky, and waits outside. "Come on, guvnors, I'm starvin'!"

Inside the dingy tavern you find that Miss Oni's information is good. Though she stands a full head taller and muscles ripple beneath her white sequin dress, Miss Feathers looks right at home sitting with half a dozen more traditional harlots. Miss Feathers’ deep, booming voice and hearty laugh fills the otherwise quiet tavern, and she’d be easy to find even if it weren’t for the signature boa of feathers draped around her neck.

Miss Feathers notices your approach and looks you up and down, appraising you. Obviously recognising that you are not ordinary customers, she dismisses the other girls with a wave of her hand and beckons you into her booth.

"Oh, finally" she starts with a sigh and wastes no time on small talk. "Look, let’s get through with this quickly. This girl’s got drinking to do. I appreciate what you do, blah blah blah, but I don’t need to be seen with you. I only told Ollysta a little bit, but here’s the score. Some of the girls at the Blushing Rose went missing, and Madam Rose was none too happy. She reckoned that I’m a girl who can take care of herself, so she sent me around to look into where they got off to or to see whether maybe another cathouse snagged ’em. This guy Gelwin — a customer — had seen some of them. I ask him and he says they’d been feeling down and he sent them to this lethe house he’d done some forged contracts for. I go looking around and they rope me into this weird ritual. I ain’t felt right since, and I knew it was some magic business that your sort should look into. Those girls still haven’t showed up. Gelwin’s gone, too, though I can’t say I want him to start coming back around. I seen some other Pathfinders — at least that’s what they said they was — that put this in my mind. Didn’t seem like the real helpful type, so I sent my letter instead.”

Miss Feathers hands you a piece of paper with an address on it.

Portrait of Miss Feathers added to Slide 1

"Oh...well, weird rituals kinda makes sense based on what we've heard so far," Nina remarks, sounding surprisingly cheerful after hearing such dark details. "Now...this might be a really dumb question, but, um, a lethe house is where you find and buy the drugs, right? Because that'd definitely make it easier to kidnap people and do strange rituals, if they're already taking a magic carpet ride to begin with."

Teric frowns as Miss Feathers relays her experience. "May I, Miss?" He casts a detection spell to see if there are any lingering aura on her.

Cast Detect Magic

While waiting for Teric to read Miss Feathers' aura, Daedîn asks a quick question...or two. "The other 'Pathfinders' you spoke with was probably a ruse...the Aspis or the Lissalans, perhaps. Did you notice any snake symbols on their attire? And one more question if you will, m'Lady...what can you tell me of Miss Oni?"

"More questions, sweetheart? It never ceases to amaze me how many come here and just want to talk."

Who else is making inquiries?

*****************

"Also, can you describe these other Pathfinders? And this Gelwin? Perhaps the names and descriptions of the missing workers as well."

Local vs Gelwin?: 1d20 + 24 + 1d6 ⇒ (20) + 24 + (1) = 45

lethe house

Is there a knowledge check for this?

"Oh, you're not dumb, sugar" Miss Feathers replies to Nina. "You are bang. On. The. Money. The lethe makes you forget your troubles for a while. Sad, sad people at that place."

Miss Feathers nods and Teric casts his spell, but the sorcerer detects no magical auras.

"You're probably right sugar" Miss Feathers turns to Daedîn now. "But I didn't notice any snakes. They looked a lot like you, sugar" she answers Fendel. "I can't tell one group of heavily armed adventurers from the next though."

"Gelwin, he does forgeries, contracts mostly. Has an in at the Church of Asmodeus who makes sure these end up in the official records. Seems to spend most of his earnings at the Rose. He's fat and Chellish.”

"As for Miss Oni: she's half elf, half tien-shu, and all woman, baby. They say that she never takes off that mask of hers, but if you can pay her price I'm sure you can find out if that's true. She ain't cheap though sugar."

Miss Feathers gives you names and descriptions of half a dozen of her missing co-workers. "The address of the lethe house is on that scrip I just gave you."

"Hah! I thought so. And Inky says I don't know anything," Nina smiles, a bit smugly. But just as quickly the smugness is gone and replaced by genuine concern. "Miss Feathers? Did any of the missing girls have anything in common besides working at the Rose?"

Teric waves over a serving maid for drinks and food. "Now, do you have a rat-on-a-stick? Can you get two of those for the girl outside with the...weird cat? Otherwise, bring me some whiskey."

He turns back to Miss Feathers. "Can you tell us more about the ritual? Candles, dark magic, body paint, that sort of thing? I assume not sacrifices or you would have led with that."

"Sugar, I don't think the girls had anything in common. Just feeling kinda blue. The Rose is a great place for a working girl, but not everyone comes to the job for the joy of it.

The ritual was strange. I didn’t pay too much attention, but they had us bleed a bit and painted our blood on some crackers. I felt sort of... incomplete afterwards. Like something was missing.”

A 'translation' note (more for your British GM than anything): 'crackers' here means something like a communion wafer, I think.

A waitress comes over to Teric. "Rat-on-a-stick? Sir, this is a reputable establishment." She seems quite offended, but thinks for a moment before adding "We do stench-kow kabobs. You could tell your friend they're rat, if that's what she wants. Two silvers. And another silver for the whiskey, unless you want the good stuff."

"You should try the Five Kings 25 Year Adamant malt, sugar. Makes a great Delayed Blast Fireball!" Miss Feathers raises her cocktail glass.

Teric nods to the waitress. "That'll do. See that she get the kabobs, please. And of course, I want the good stuff. A 25 year malt sounds very nice."

He turns back to Miss Feathers. "Blood on crackers? Yes, that sounds like the start of a dark ritual. What did you do with them?"

"One Adamant 25, coming up. Dwarf-style, sir?" the waitress asks.

"I don't rightly recall what happened after the blood, sugar" says Miss Feathers. "They ate the crackers, maybe? I don't think I did. Did I?"

"And you said you've not felt quite the same since then. Are we talking maybe a cough or feeling tired or is it something worse like the chocolate squirts?" Nina asks, clearly not grossed out by the slight shift in topic.

"Oh, it ain't like after a Vudrani stew sugar. I feel like a part of me is missing. That's the only way I can describe it." Miss Feathers replies.

"That's...huh. That's really strange," Nina replies, her expression growing troubled once more. She tries to think if she's ever heard of any rituals - magical or divine - that might fit the details of Miss Feathers' experience.

Kn. Arcana: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (4) + 7 = 11
Kn. Religion: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (20) + 6 = 26

Nina has a think - but the only correlation that occurs to her is that some religious rituals feature 'sacrifice' by the participants. Where evil deities are concerned that sacrifice is sometimes an unwilling victim, and blood is a common element. But this sounds unusual in that Miss Feathers was willing, even if she didn't know exactly what was going on, and that she is still feeling a sense of loss.

We can move on to the lethe house whenever you are ready, but I don't wish to curtail your roleplay with Miss Feathers :)

"Umm....hmmmm....no. Still not really enough to go on, not yet. I mean we're investigating a cult and those usually involve evil deities and blood and other things that may or may not come from a willing or unwilling person but still...that could apply to a LOT of cults..."

She thinks for a moment further and then shakes her head.

"I can't think of any other questions off the top of my head. But we'll get to the bottom of this and bring those girls and that one guy back, if we can!"
______________

Nina is good to proceed once everyone else is~

Daedîn bows to Miss Feathers. "Thank you for your time and information, m'Lady...and give my compliments to Miss Oni..."

Turning to his companions, he says, "Shall we check out this lethe house now?"

Daedîn is ready to proceed as well...

He does realize they are all prostitutes...right?

"Dwarf-style? Do you take me for a short man with a beard? Heavens no. In a normal, civilized manner. Now hurry, it sounds as if we'll be leaving soon." Teric waves the waitress away.

"As you like, sir. Twelve silvers, all told."

The waitress takes Teric's coin. "Humourless sot. Didn't get to do my 'on the rocks' gag. I'll never break into the Oriat comedy circuit working this dive." She mutters as she retreats to the kitchen area.

We'll move on to the lethe house in the morning (around 8 hours from now, give or take).

Sorry for falling behind. It looks like this situation has been handled already

Whilst Teric sips his whiskey (earthy, with a fiery kick as it goes down) Urchin Ally devours her 'rat-on-a-stick' ("Oooh, these are pungent. What kind of rat did yer say this is?")

Shortly you leave the Stolen Kiss, and show Ally the scrip of paper with the address of the lethe house on it. "You guys don't stick around in one place do yer?" she says whilst wiping grease from her mouth with her sleeve. "That's not far from here. C'mon."

Your ragamuffin guide takes you through the backstreets of Hospice district to what looks like an abandoned block filled with boarded-up houses and businesses. The address on Miss Feathers' note is a greying wooden structure that appears to have once been a tavern many years ago. The sign in the front has been pulled down and the windows are boarded up, but unlike the other houses on the block, the door is open and a few patrons can be seen entering and leaving the place.

We are on Slide 3; the open door is to the east (left of the map). All windows are boarded up.

girls go missing
fat dude says he sent them to this lethe place
Feathers checks out the lethe place and apparently doesn't find anything but gets roped into a ritual. She can't remember all of it but she does feel like part of her is missing

is that about right?

Fin will draw his bow and try to sneak up to the door and check it out; he'll look for tracks of anyone/anything leaving or entering, as well as for any signs of danger. If he finds the door locked, or trapped, he'll attempt to pick/disarm it, as long as the trap isn't of a mechanical nature...

Stealth: 1d20 + 24 ⇒ (2) + 24 = 26
Tracks: 1d20 + 20 ⇒ (4) + 20 = 24
Perception: 1d20 + 20 ⇒ (6) + 20 = 26
Disable Device: 1d20 + 21 ⇒ (19) + 21 = 40

Reminder:Trapspotter 10'

As the team stalks through the night, "We have yet to establish a base of operations for ourselves. Should we become separated, meet back at our original contact location in the city."

The detective watches over the sniper, following him into the shadows. Well, he's got the right attitude, and is not completely unskilled. Handles his equipment well enough.

Before allowing Daedîn to attempt the lock, Fendle pulls his wayfinder and scans the area.

Discerning Wayfinder for Detect Magic

Stealth: 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (7) + 15 = 22
Survival: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (13) + 13 = 26
Perception: 1d20 + 36 + 1d6 ⇒ (6) + 36 + (5) = 47
Disable Device (including magical traps): 1d20 + 26 + 1d6 ⇒ (18) + 26 + (5) = 49(If needed)

Your summary is accurate Quiella

The door in the western side of the lethe house is wide open. You see a couple of scruffy humans enter. You see a wealthy looking youth leave. Fendel detects no magic on the door, nor on the people coming and going. Fendel has not yet scanned inside the house.

Glancing inside the house, you see small groups of people passing around smoking pipes. There are cushions scattered around the floor. You count three armed men, one of whom is guarding a door leading further into the house. A dwarf sits in a deep armchair in the southeast corner.

"Shall we walk in and talk to them? Or do you lot have your hearts set on sneaking in like unseen shadows?" She says with a straight face but a distinct twinkle in her eyes

Teric casts a spell on himself as the near the house. "Let's go in and see what all the fuss in about. Perhaps they're smoking a good vintage leaf." Teric walks up to the door.

Pause for others before Teric cons his way in.

False Life: 1d10 + 8 ⇒ (7) + 8 = 15 Temp HPs

Daedîn steps back 5’, draws his as he conceals himself in the shadows, observing things through the open door...if his companions wish to enter, he will cover them as they do so...

Stealth: 1d20 + 23 ⇒ (17) + 23 = 40
Perception: 1d10 + 20 ⇒ (7) + 20 = 27

From what we can see, does anyone in the room match the description of any of the missing workers?

Nobody there has the look of a harlot or courtesan, no.

Teric approaches the door and smiles at the other men. "I was told to come here if I wanted a good evening!" He nods at them and then to the dwarf. He makes a show of breathing in the smoke and moves to take a seat on a cushion. "What are we smoking?"

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 17 ⇒ (14) + 17 = 31

"Yeahhh...there's too many people inside that may not be involved at all. We need to try talking our way in first before we try the butt-kicking route," Nina agrees softly. Still, she's not stupid - before the group attempts to head inside she proceeds to cast Mage Armor on Inky and then Barkskin on the both of them.

"Okay, ready!"

"Let's just hope that all these other fools will get out of the way if things get ugly," Inky rumbles.

The eidolon doesn't seem concerned about making herself any less conspicuous. In fact, she holds perfectly still so Nina can mount up.

"What? They'll probably think I'm just a part of the experience. In fact, I'll bet I'm not the strangest thing some of those people see on their little trips."

Fendel pulls out a few flasks from his haversack. Seeing the the team wants to talk their in, he replaces them and waits to see how this turns out.

Teric, Nina and Inky make their way inside whilst the rest of you skulk near the entrance.

Most of the small crowd in the lethe house barely glance up from their pipes. The three toughs pay attention though the highlighted tokens - humans armed with spiked chains and longbows.

The dwarf in the corner spits into a spitoon at his feet. "Why, it's lethe of course. Good soaked into weed, or through a hookah" he drawls slowly. "I'm sure you knew that, friends. Take a pull. Take a cushion. Put your feet up. My house is your house. Bracca" he slurs to the nearest tough guy "give our new friends loaded pipes, there's a good fellow."

The rough-looking man green highlights takes out small smoking pipes, and offers one to Teric and another to Nina. He shrugs, and offers another to Inky. "Ye need someone to hold this for ye. Mebbe a hookah'll be better."

Teric sit on a cushion and takes the pipe. "Well, my thanks. Quite the hospitality. My name is Teric." He looks to the dwarf expectantly as he takes a breath, inhaling the lethe vapors.

He nods to the men with chains and bows. "You've got good security. You expecting any trouble?"

"And I'm Nina," the gnome adds as she plops herself down on a cushion as well. "Nice place you got here," she remarks to no one in particular as she sniffs at the pipe handed to her. She glances at Teric and taking her cues from him, also takes a small pull on the pipe. Immediately she coughs, unused to such things.

"Hoo...this takes some getting used to," she hacks. "But it's the good stuff, right? No wonder you've got all this help."

What are they doing? Its like they are trying to get themselves incapacitated! The detective thinks a moment, but is certain none of them took any serious precaution against poisons or toxins.

To the remaining team, he warns quietly, "We may need to sweep in quickly. My bow can deal damage in a way to render to dwarf unconscious. If it comes to a fight, we'll need at least one to survive. That said, I'm willing to let this play out a bit more. Maybe they have something up their sleeve."

With that, her knocks an arrow and prepares to attack.

Merciful bow. If we have time to buff, I will Bane and Gravity Bow

Quiella joins the others and takes a cushion. She accepts a pipe but does not take a pull.

"Do you do any other things around here? I heard sometimes some interesting stuff happens here; and I don't just mean from the lethe."

"Welcome, welcome, master Teric and mistress Nina. Oh, and another fine friend has joined us" the dwarf drawls. "I am Drollis. As for my helpers, well, this is Kaer Maga. When trouble comes looking for you, there are no city guard to come to your rescue."

The haze of smoke in the house makes those inside feel a little light headed. But it's nothing compared to the immediate hit of the lethe. The haze has no in-game effect.

"Other things, friend?" Drollis speaks to Quiella. "Are you referring to the Feast, perhaps? What's your interest?" Drollis spits into his spitoon again, and packs another wad of tobacco into his mouth.

"Boss, disturbance outside." One of the toughs calls to Drollis. The dwarf gestures and huffs grumpily, and his guard goes to close the door....

Fendel cast Gravity Bow. Spell manifestations provide audible and visual cues - even if Fendel himself is not visible, there is noise and light from the casting.

Daedîn and Seldanna you have one round's worth of actions if you want to do anything, or you can wait and see. We are not in initiative yet.

"My name is Quiella; I apologise for not introducing myself."

"Yes, tell me about this feast; it interests me,"

"Wooo....this is kinda nice," Nina giggles as the drug takes hold on her mind. "Um...there's a feast? You serve food here too? Sweet! I'll probably get hungry at some point..."

All Inky has to do is take one look at the giggling Nina before she shakes her head. "Uh...yeah, thanks but no thanks," she rumbles, very carefully pushing the offered pipe/hookah away. "Need to make sure she gets back to her room safe later, you know? And him too...I guess," she adds, nodding at Teric.

Teric blinks as he breathes in the vapors. "Oh yes, that's good..." His eyes unfocus for a few moments. Once the moment has passed, he shudders a bit, giving a lazy smile. "I'm sure I could sell this in lots of places. Just let me know if you want to change your distribution model."

He blinks again, looking at the dwarf. The Varisian slides up his sleeve to show his inner forearm where the Lissian tattoo is. He flashes it to the dwarf for a long moment. "And the boys outside are part of my security. As you said, you can't be too careful in this city. Don't make them come in after me. It won't be tidy."

Bluff (tattoo): 1d20 + 20 + 4 ⇒ (18) + 20 + 4 = 42

"Brother Teric, no need for threats. You're amongst friends. Bring your 'boys' inside. This is a business, after all, and we don't want potential customers dissuaded by the door staff. You can tell me all about your business connections after the Feast. Your gnome women are welcome to join us." Drollis nods to the guard by the door.

The guard puts his head outside and says "Come in. Boss says you're good." He holds the door open.

Daedîn and Seldanna may still take one round of prep if they wish. I'll wait for you to indicate one way or another.

Seldanna, not one for fogging her mind with anything stronger than the occasional glass of red wine...or two, avoids the offer of Lethe.

Sensing trouble may be near, Seldanna taps herself with her wand of mage armor.

Daedîn comes in silently, keeping his bow in hand...he'll move to a corner and observe...