GM Khouri's Murder's Mark (PfS 1e module) (Inactive)

Game Master Khouri P.

"My name is Rogi. My tribe, the Nisku, does favors for a group of humans. We were given the key, and my orders (and 3 others like me) were to infiltrate The Locked Box and kill all the Guards. Our group dispatched the lone guard and began looting the office on our own initiative in hopes of pleasing the humans (and hopefully acquire a reward). With three of the guards out of the building and the timetable altered, we were interrupted. Two of our group fled, but in our haste one was accidentally locked inside of the vault, and I was caught in the trap.

Heal: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (13) + 1 = 14

Ejtehah's eyes widen.

"You admit that you were responsible for the death of the guard and for this robbery? And who exactly are these humans you are talking about? Where do you meet them and how do they look like?" he asks.

"One was locked in the vault!" The Professor whirls around and calls out: "Show yourself! Don't cause any trouble! If you cooperate we won't hurt you." Well, maybe it was a little hasty to promise that, given that I don't know this group very well yet. Oh well. Too late now. She steps closer and peers around the vault, raising her glowing hand, hoping to spot the other hiding thief.

Perception: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 2 = 5

Of course they're well hidden!

Salmok looks dead in the creatures eyes. "You work for a group of humans? Who are these humans? We would love to meet them."

His mouth twists in distaste. "The humans don't trust us, so I have never met them. All orders and deliveries to our tribe come through two skulks, Kymeth and Onamae, who were recruited to work for the humans full time. Besides, even if I had seen them, all humans look the same. You're all some shade of somewhat brownish. The fibers on your head change sometimes though!" He seems fascinated by your hair.

"Well, I didn't actually deal the killing blow, but the intent was there, yes. So I suppose I am just as guilty."

@Ejthehah: The skulk looks at about 75% health

Nilah looks down at the red skin on her forearm and frowns as the skulk describes "all humans." Well, he didn't say outsiders. I'm guessing he's not being too discerning though...

Nilah quickly stalks further back into the vault, as the professor calls out commands to an unseen foe, to see if she can locate the remaining skulk. She keeps her rapier pointed in front of her.

Perception: 1d20 ⇒ 7

"And where are Kymeth and Onamae? We would love to chat with them as well."

Salmok absent-mindedly touches his 'hair'. Being an oread, his hair isn't made of fibers and is instead stony and grey. "We're not all alike, you know."

"Oh, well. Yeah, you all aren't exactly human yourselves, I suppose. Kymeth and Onamae live with the humans now, I don't know where. They come meet us out at tribe's home in the forest when they have jobs for us."

It is inordinately frustrating to have one's attention pulled in multiple directions. Multitasking is like fool's gold: generally worthless, despite its allure. With an irritated huff, Professor Masaendri gripes: "Why don't you tell your cohort, who was locked in the vault, to come out of hiding and show themselves!" So now we have evidence that the group that robbed the Locked Box was hired by another group of mostly humans. But for what reason? This grunt obviously won't know, but hopefully between the two of them we'll get enough information to patch together a lead.

"Oh she's probably long gone by now. Zahkar? You still here?"

Daysie can confirm that there were 3 new smells down here (including old lady), but 1 went away.

That is 99% of what he knows and can tell you (and you folks keep missing the heal check) so what do you do with him now? (Also Zahkar had the same knowledge so you didn't miss out on anything)

Salmok puffs his pipe. "Do you understand that we have to take you in? To the jail that is. You admitted to be accessory to murder.". He'll watch the creature's reaction. If he is hostile or non-compliant, Salmok will try to calm him down.

Professor Masaendri's eyes bug out. "Long gone?!" How in the great vast universe did they slip past us without being seen when we were all blocking the door?! Flabbergasted, alarmed, and humiliated are all words that apply to her right now. It takes considerable effort to maintain her focus on this interrogation right now.

With a series of stiff, heavy breaths, she puts on her stern professor face. Her voice begins in a confused fashion, but as she gets going it becomes sharp, crisp, and hard: "Okay. Moving on. Clearly... We need to know more about your people and the abilities and training of your accomplices. Can you turn invisible? If so, for how long at one time? How often per day? How did Zahkar slip past us without being seen?"

Ejtehah is silently listening but ready to act if this humanoid tries to escape!

Question: Ejtehah suggested tying him up - I assume you all agreed to that, or at the very least didn't stop him?

Rogi squirms a bit and looks uncomfortable when you say you have to arrest him. "I suspected as much. Although at least I won't starve to death like I might have in the pit. You do feed your prisoners, right? What if I need medicine to avoid becoming sick? Please, I am trying to be helpful."

Then he demonstrates his racial chameleon skin ability as the colors on his left arm start to fade and mimic the background until it is completely indistinct from the background. For most of you, you only know his arm is there because his shoulder fades out from reality. Salmok your detective skills must be kicking in because you can just barely see the outline where the pattern interrupts slightly.

"We don't technically turn invisible, but we can change our skin to match our surroundings - All my people can do it. As often as we wish, for as long as we wish, and we can change it with the speed of a thought. As long as we aren't wearing too much clothes we can create a small sort of visual illusion around it - in general we can't change the appearance of items we carry though."

Now the Professor is curious. Clothes. Hmm. Pity I don't have an extra cloak. "What happens if you get dirty?" She pulls her charcoal stick out of her pocket. "If we draw on you, would that blend in as well, or show up as a floating mark once you've blended into your surroundings?" An image of a student sleeping during one of her lectures with a unibrow and half a handlebar mustache inked onto his face by his "friends" pops into her head. Not that she would do such a thing to Rogi. (Well, not exactly.) Anyway, the purpose is to prevent him from slipping away from them as they march him off to prison.

That would work, but you would have to cover a not-insignificant portion of his body to do so (.5 meters squared) also I can't find any math on how much surface area a charcoal stick/pencil can cover? I am guessing it would probably take the majority of a single stick? Also, if he is tied up the ropes would not turn invisible.

She wasn't planning on covering him in charcoal, but was hoping that some strategically placed lines and Xs would help if he slipped his bonds.

Nilah grumbles at herself for missing the escapee and sheaths her sword, returning to the group.

Is he gone for good or can you call him back? It might be better for you if we got him as well. We could put in a good word with the local authorities.

Intimidate: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (4) + 5 = 9 geez, lotta bad rolls

Yeah that wouldn't work, technically they can do the skin chameleon thing as long as no more than 1/4 of their body is covered. But Molvil wouldn't know that, unless you have Knowledge Local.

Rogi looks confused for a moment, and then says "OH, um, no I assume she is on her way home now."

"Intriguing. What is your species? Where is your home?". He takes another puff on his pipe.

"What now?" Salmok half asks the creature in front of him and half asking the others in the group.

"I'm a skulk. We live in the forest." He seems unwilling to give directions to his home and tribe.

Well, that's helpful. Professor Masaendri's mouth quirks in irritation. "Well, since he's bound up properly, we might as well continue this conversation on our way to the jailhouse. Come along everyone. Let's get this show on the road." She shoos everybody towards the exit, and checks with Mrs. Walder to ensure that they can still safely cross the pit trap.

If someone has a reason to stay here for now, she'll huffily agree to wait until they're ready.

When you arrive at the jail, Sheriff Feldane looks at the blue man with interest. "Well then, who's this?"
I assume you catch her up on what Rogi told you, but feel free to roleplay if you'd like

~after~
"Well then, I see you admitted to attempted robbery and accessory to murder. I place you under arrest for the security of the citizens of Ilsurian. Are you part of the freak show at the circus?" She gives him an appraising glance, then looks to your party "And what of Archivin's murder?"

Rogi denies having any connection to the circus, but the Sheriff looks skeptical.

A calmer (than before) Nilah summarizes thusly.

This skulk is certainly not with the circus. He claims they were hired by humans, but through an intermediary and never met their employers directly. So, it appears our investigation is not over.

Ejtehah steps forward.

“Dear sheriff, may I just ask you why you are so eager to make a connection to the circus? It is absolutely clear for me that there is no evidence to conclude that ... yet!! I mean I personally don’t think much of vagabonds either .. ehh ... I mean .. ehh ... but there are signs that someone wants to frame the circus! I can just tell you more about the tracks we found when we investigated the murder site!!“ he says with eccentric gestures.

And he explains all the details they found out.

"Claiming to be hired by humans doesn't mean the circus wasn't involved - they are mostly humans too, I believe. The thing is (sorry Mr. gnome I didn't get your name) we didn't have this kind of trouble before the circus arrived. Now I'm not one to jump to conclusions, but you have to admit - it's quite suspicious timing at least. Unfortunately none of this is concrete enough to point to a suspect for Archivin's murder, besides the Sphinx, but you say those tracks were faked? We need more evidence."

You can attempt a Bluff or Diplomacy check if you want to try to convince the sheriff someone could be trying to frame the circus.

“Ejtehah is my name! Well, I definitely believe that it is possible that someone wants to frame the circus! I mean it is a pawn shop! You can tell me all you want about how nice this guy was but people don’t like to be broke ... so he has enemies!! I am sure of that possibility!“ Ejtehah says.

diplomacy : 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (4) + 11 = 15

Success!

"Hmm. You're right Ejtehah, that's a potential I haven't considered. It does align with the faked tracks found at the murder site. Though generally framing someone has just as much to do with the person being framed as the culprit as it does the victim. Regardless, the clues you have uncovered may not be enough to sway the rest of the town, who is still on the edge of their seat about the murder and looking for someone to blame, so you should continue to look for hard evidence linking the crime to whoever is responsible. I will endeavor to be more fair in my assessment, thank you for pointing that out. Now I have business to attend to in processing paperwork for this suspect." One of her constables shoos you out.

Rogi looks anxious and extra twitchy as you leave and he is getting booked.

Where to next?

As they leave the sheriff's office, Nilah makes a point to speak softly to the skulk.

Be calm Rogi, I trust that under this sheriff your justice will be fair. There is nothing more for you to do, but cooperate and wait.

Just before the door closes, she asks him one more thing. Oh, and where does your Nisku tend to reside?

He refuses to give any more locational details about his home than "it is in the forest."
That is beyond the scope of this adventure.

Salmok is loathe to see the skulk go. "He seemed like he had good intentions," the oread says sarcastically. "Murderer or not, skulks are intriguing creatures. I would love to have a chat with one another time - in better circumstances."

Then he turns to his companions. "What other clues do we have? Can we go back to the sphinx again?"

I suppose we could drop by the circus, casually drop the skulks' names at a few caravan wagons, and see if we get any suspicious reactions the tiefling offers.

Ejtehah touches his mustache and then thinks.

”I could just ask around in town and capture sone rumors! I’ll catch up with you at the circus?!“ he asks.

I would not advise separating the group - that mechanic really only works well in this module when everyone is on the circus property. If you do separate, you can easily have part of the party miss something important. I will wait to continue until Ejtehah confirms what he wants to do.

“Or maybe we stick together and just ask around in town before returning to the circus!!“ he says.

Gather information in town on enemies of the deceased or any rumors about what’s going on in town : 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (10) + 11 = 21

None of the townsfolk can think of anyone specific that had something against the Walders - there are a few people that are sore they are successful and fairly affluent, but they don't dislike the Walders in particular more than any of the other merchants or nobles in town. The rumors are mundane, mostly who's having an affair with who, who's run into financial troubles recently, etc. But nothing directly connected with the Walders, besides wild accusations that the circus must somehow be at fault.

As you finish up in town and start heading towards the circus, you see people start to run past you from the direction of the circus parade grounds. When you ask what they are running from, your group is told dozens of people are reporting their purses cut while walking around the carnival, and a fight is about to break out! One of the crowd adds emphatically “The thievin’ Varisians are trying to bleed the town dry!”

Assuming you accelerate your travel towards the circus grounds

By the time your group arrives, the situation has escalated into a full-blown confrontation on the parade grounds between four Ilsurian men and two circus enforcers who are trying to drive them back toward town.

What would you like to do?

Professor Masaendri unhooks the yardstick from her belt and, brandishing it like a switch, stalks into the center of the ruckus, projecting a cold, towering rage. Her words shoot out like flying shards of glass. "Everyone calm down! Stand back! NO ONE will lose their temper here! We are official investigators, working with Sheriff Kyra Feldane's knowledge and blessing. You will STAND DOWN and BE SILENT unless one of us commands you to speak!"

Intimidate: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (3) + 5 = 8
Bwahahahaha! There goes her pride!

Oh boy, somebody could keep their fingers to themselves and now the mob will have a sacrifice. Nilah mutters as they draw near the fracas. She waits to see how they respond to the professor before deciding whether to switch on her silver tongue...

I hope they choose substance over vengeance.

Salmok stands back, smoking his pipe. He watches the Professor speak intently towards the group. To Nilah, "Those people don't look happy. Not sure if the Professor helped at all. May have made it worse."

The townspeople start yelling about Molvil trying to limit their freedom of speech and about how you must be working with the circus if you're okay with them stealing from the villagers, and the guards yell about how the Sheriff doesn't make the rules outside of the city, and the two parties lurch toward each other (and you) with violence written clear on their faces and fists curled about weapons. (The townspeople have shortswords and saps, currently wielding the swords. The guards have clubs and saps, currently wielding the saps.)

As good as that roleplay was, there's no way to save that roll, so a riot is triggered! Please roll initiative.

Initiative: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 = 3

May be easier for you to roll initiative

please you roll.

Nilah rolls her eyes. And the natives are restless. Grab a pitchfork!

Init: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (6) + 4 = 10

~**Initiative**~ (round 1)
14 Guards
12 Townsfolk
12 Molvil
10 Nilah
8 Magdelina
6 Ejtehah
3 Salmok

The guards (blue) move forward and swing at the closest townsfolk (red) with their saps, but both miss horribly. The townies swing back at the guards and do some damage, the one on the the right (#4) hitting (guard #2) quite solidly (crit). The guards seem much more solid than the townsfolk, since the guard that was crit on is still standing looking at about 2/3 damaged. The townies look very frail, like they might go unconscious at 1 hit. Two of the townies also attempt to swing at Molvil and Magdelina, but both miss.

~**Initiative**~ (round 1)
Guards (both hurt)
Townsfolk
Molvil
Nilah
Magdelina
Ejtehah
Salmok

Everyone is up!

Ejtehah shakes his head.

"Good, let us do it the hard way!"

Ejtehah starts to cast a sleep spell.

1 round casting time for sleep.
He focuses on red (1) and gives him -2 to will saves with hypnotic stare with a swift action.

Nilah sighs heavily, disappointed at the breakdown of "diplomacy."

It would be ideal if we could incapacitate everybody who's actively hostile. First the townsfolks, but I don't necessarily trust the guards either. If they seem eager despite having the situation well in hand, maybe they'll need "help."

She mutters some deep, guttural abyssal. At the end she snaps her fingers on the right hand that had been gesticulating and focuses on the townsperson in the middle Red 2.

[standard] Cast daze on red 2

She then circles behind the one that's rushed her group in hopes of helping keep him contained.

[move] 20'

Townie 2 Will save: 1d20 + 0 ⇒ (10) + 0 = 10
He is dazed.