GM Xavier Kahlvet's Hell's Rebels 2e

Game Master KingTreyIII

Side note: I think I forgot to mention that the curtains are open to allow more space for people who wish to dance.

Chance makes his way up the back staircases and climbs all the way up to the rigging of the stage. He looks down below at the dancing guests below as he casts invisibility and continues moving.

The next room appears to be some kind of archive—business ledgers for the opera house and so forth. The records themselves are of little importance, but Chance instead finds something else: a small cache of supplies hidden behind several of the books.

Gonna assume Chance takes these. Inventory Updated

The last room that Chance sojourns to has a small balcony overlooking the stage below. But more prominently are the two bearded devils in the room! Just as the informant said, these devils do indeed wear masks that appear very similar to Barzillai’s. And show off my crappy photoshopping skills. Also interestingly, they do not have glaives like most barbazus; these ones instead wield scimitars.

Chance Stealth: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (17) + 13 = 30

One of the devils looks in Chance’s direction, looks at the other devil while pointing to the door—apparently having some kind of telepathic conversation. The other devil shrugs. The first devil then saunters over to the ajar door and shuts it just after Chance slipped through Or before, if you wanted to stay in the previous room.

*

When they split up, Jisara heads upstairs to the balcony to retrieve Thatch, who then sticks close to her heels as she makes her way to the Prince's Parlor. There, she surveys the gifts the gifts that have already been left for the Lord-Mayor, before finally heading back down the northern stairs to the backstage area.

Okay, this is why I asked you to move your token, because I can’t fully tell where you’re trying to go. Based on that, I think that means you did a loop, went to the Prince’s Parlor, then back down to the stage? Eh, that’s what I’ll go with.

Jisara finds that the Prince’s Parlor was once a small, private sitting room, but has now been repurposed into a small shrine to the Prince of Darkness, Asmodeus. On a small table is a statuette of the archdevil and an iron box with a slit in the top—enough of an opening to put some coins within. The offering box is obviously meant to be opened, but it’s locked with a very prominent padlock. Just a mere glance through the box’s slit reveals that it only has 2d6 ⇒ (2, 4) = 6 coins inside at the moment.

Jisara Diplomacy; diplomat’s charcuterie: 1d20 + 14 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 14 + 1 = 16

Jisara makes minimal effort to hide her distain of the shrine of Asmodeus, which several of the other guests notice. While they may not agree with the church’s teachings, they know it is unwise to directly go against it, so they give Jisara a wide berth.

As Jisara continues to the north, she comes across what appears to be a private lounge that has been repurposed into a small dining area. At first she is wondering if she took a wrong turn to an off-limits area—but no, there are just no guests in this particular room. However, just as she’s about to leave, she notices something interesting about the wall. As she examines further, she finds that it’s actually a secret door! The door leads to a spiral staircase that seems to go all the way up and down. Operas have interesting staging, so this must have been for moving actors very quickly. She decides to abandon her previous plan and explore this staircase. Yes, I’m assuming this, but this is also something I know you would probably do.

While the staircase’s doors are not clear from the outside, from inside the staircase themselves they are obvious. Jisara does not risk trying to go through any of the doorways, but she does make a note of where they are and where they connect.

You now know that staircase S7 exists. I’ve marked on the map where the staircase’s doors are with white rectangles. I’ve also left Jisara on the first floor inside said staircase. Ironically, the staircase actually doesn’t have an exit on the first floor.

*

Edrakk climbs up to the third floor of the Opera House. The first thing he notices is the massive glass window that overlooks Aria Park. While Edrakk was not there personally, he has heard enough stories of the Aria Park riot half-a-year ago. And in those stories, he knows that Barzillai slammed his mace into the side of the windowsill. Hmm. It seems that after six months, Barzillai finally managed to fix the damage from his little outburst—any apparent sign of his breaking of the windowsill is now gone.

Edrakk Diplomacy; diplomat’s charcuterie: 1d20 + 15 + 1 ⇒ (12) + 15 + 1 = 28

“Vyre’s been strangely quiet about all of this political unrest, carrying on like nothing new’s happening. Must be nice to be so sheltered away from it all.”

Edrakk mingles with the guests, trying to get a glance into the off-limits areas. Unfortunately, no one comes or goes from those areas, so Edrakk couldn’t even peek through an already-open door.

*

Vitalis sneaks into one of the rooms. What he’s surprised by is the sheer number of chairs in this room—apparently this is where Barzillai stored all of the chairs that should be in the low seating and balcony.

As he listens to one of the doors, he hears several voices on the other side. Based on the number of voices and his informant’s intel, this is likely where six Smileys are on standby.

The next set of doors he listens at leads to the same room. While the northernmost doors he listens to, he doesn’t hear voices. Rather, he hears strange, clopping footsteps every so often. Based on his intel and knowledge of Hell’s denizens, this is likely where the three cloven-hoofed barbazus are waiting.

Suddenly, a chill runs down Vitalis’s spine as he feels a cold length of metal against his Adam’s apple. He’s been found! How? Where did this person come from???

A raspy voice whispers from behind Vitalis. ”With one hand I give…”

Vitalis Athletics: 1d20 + 21 ⇒ (14) + 21 = 35

Vitalis grabs the mysterious stranger’s arm—the one holding the sharp instrument to his neck—and then elbows back at where he heard the person’s whisper! This is enough to make his assailant reel back in pain and free the paladin from immediate danger.

As he whips around to confront his attacker, Vitalis finds someone very unusual: a person clad in a off-red jacket , the only object he wields being what appears to be a barber’s straight razor (the sharp object pressed against Vitalis’s neck). Like all the other people at this gala, this person also wears a mask, but a much more disturbing one: a patchwork of flesh sewn together with black wire; a single large, bulbous, orange eye staring at the paladin while a row of sharp teeth smile. Image on slide 4, bottom-right corner.

Vitalis moves to grab his halberd, but the stranger puts a long finger up to their face. ”Shhhh…” They rap their straight razor softly against the west wall. ”Wouldn’t want to alert everyone, now would we?”

This causes Vitalis to hesitate for a moment, but a moment is just long enough. The stranger Casts a Spell without verbal components and becomes surrounded by dark energy of divine magic. The stranger then vanishes in the blink of an eye, as if they were never there at all. All that is left is an echo of the stranger’s final whisper in Vitalis’s ear: ”To invade another’s home…”

Vitalis’s mind reels for a moment, especially since he is not very versed in the magical arts. Was that an illusion? Did they teleport? Turn invisible? Instead, his mind fixates on those first words: “With one hand I give.” And then it hits him. That is a saying used by worshipers of Norgorber. It is a salutation, but also a warning—the speaker’s true motivations remain secret, and a gift in one hand may be offset by a threat in the other.

*

CLAP CLAP

Two magically amplified claps echo throughout the halls of the Kintargo Opera House and the illusory orchestra goes silent. Barzillai Thrune takes center stage (literally), as a spotlight seemingly appears out of nowhere to illuminate the Lord-Mayor. (Chance notes that the spotlight is being manned by one of the bearded devils he just found.) The entire scene demands the partygoers’ attention.

”Citizens of Kintargo! I thank you all for your patience during these trying times! I promise you that the worst is now behind us! Starting tomorrow, we shall return Kintargo to its former glory, starting with this: As Lord-Mayor, I hereby render Kintargo’s nine o’clock to six o’clock curfew null and void!”

Rousing cheers erupt from the partygoers at this announcement, clearly enthused by this announcement. Barzillai holds his hand up for silence from the partygoers—and in stark contrast to his attempt to do the same to the rioting crowd six months ago, he actually receives his wanted silence.

Several people join Barzillai on the stage, each one of them holding a small pitchfork and wearing a devil mask identical to Barzillai’s—these are clearly just Smileys who have changed masks.

”Without further ado, I ask that all dancers please step onto the stage as we begin the festivities of an Egorian tradition: the Dance of the Damned!”

Y’all made a knowledge check about the Dance of the Damned a long time ago, so here’s that again.

Many if not all of the partygoers move onto the stage to take part in the Dance of the Damned—indeed, if the PCs do not take part, it will certainly be noticed. Barzillai himself seems to be the only one of note actively abstaining from participating in the event.

If you choose to participate in the Dance of the Damned, it will take up your action for this round (as the Dance takes a half-hour). If you do NOT participate, you may do something else, but you will also be penalized (but I won’t tell you how).

If you participate in the Dance of the Damned, please roll all five Performance checks for ease of play.

Paper Faces on Parade
10:00 - 10:30
==============
Chance
Jisara
Edrakk
Vitalis
==============

After his encounter with the unknown Norgorberite, he stands frozen in place for a long time. The blood drains from his face and beads of cold sweat drip off of him. "This is not good." he thinks to himself.

The amplified claps snap him out of his torpor and he rushes back to the dance floor.

DC 35! O.O

Perform 1 (DC 15): 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (14) + 15 = 29 Crit success!
Perform 2 (DC 20): 1d20 + 17 ⇒ (16) + 17 = 33 Crit success!
Perform 3 (DC 25): 1d20 + 17 ⇒ (19) + 17 = 36 Crit success!
Perform 4 (DC 30): 1d20 + 17 ⇒ (9) + 17 = 26 Failure
Perform 5 (DC 35): 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (6) + 11 = 17 Damned!

Vitalis participates in the Dance of the Damned and absolutely nails the first few songs. But after the third song, his stamina drops, and by the final song, he can no longer keep up and gets himself disqualified.

Chance avoids the devils and slips downstairs just before his invisibility wears off to join the Dance of the Damned.

Who calls fiends just to serve as stagehands? No way. He's got something else up his sleeves besides his arms! But that mystery will have to wait - it's time to dance!

Performance (DC 15): 1d20 + 19 ⇒ (2) + 19 = 21 Success
Performance (DC 20): 1d20 + 19 ⇒ (14) + 19 = 33 Crit Success
Performance (DC 25): 1d20 + 19 + 2 ⇒ (19) + 19 + 2 = 40 Crit Success
Performance (DC 30): 1d20 + 19 + 2 ⇒ (16) + 19 + 2 = 37 Success
Performance (DC 35): 1d20 + 19 ⇒ (6) + 19 = 25 Failure

Chance finishes the final moments of the dance exhausted. Maybe my timing was a little off those last few bars, he thinks, sweat dripping behind his mask, but I'm still standing!

He looks around to see who else is left.

Edrakk nervously makes his way to the stage and begins to attempt to dance, although it quickly becomes clear he possesses neither enough rhythm nor enough grace to actually make it through. After stumbling through the first song, nearly falling flat on his beak multiple times, he ends up disqualifying himself before the first song is even over.

Deception: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (20) + 13 = 33

Feigning disappointment, he discreetly makes his way to the staircase on the upper left of the stage and takes it up to the private lounge Jisara mentioned (assuming she told the rest of the group), and begins looking along its southwest corner. "Let's see... she said t-there was a seam on the right side, right? Right along... here? I think?"

If he can find it, Edrakk takes the staircase up to the third floor and begins investigating on the other side from where Chance was. Investigating the two rooms on the left, and maybe also the rigging if I have time.

I'm assuming the rolls are all secret for this part. If it helps him at all, Edrakk does have Scavenger's Search, so he may be able to search the rooms a bit faster.
In the event he gets caught and it doesn't seem like he'll be able to talk his way out, he'll use the crackling bubble gum to slow them down and get out or create a smokestick with a reagent.

That last one is a Crit Failure, Chance. I don't know if something seriously bad will happen if we all fail out, but just wanted to let you know.
And yes, I'd have told everyone what I found before the next phase of the gala.

Jisara does her best, but her heart clearly isn't in it, and she's ejected from the Dance only halfway through. With as much dignity as she can, she retreats from the dance floor with Thatch held in her arms, stroking his fur.

Performance #1: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (2) + 12 = 14
Performance #2: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (12) + 8 = 20
Performance #3: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (2) + 8 = 10

That last one is a Crit Failure, Chance. I don't know if something seriously bad will happen if we all fail out, but just wanted to let you know.

You're right! I thought there was ALSO a Performance bonus I forgot to add from the food or drink - just checked, there isn't. I must have been thinking of the tremorsense from the Assassin Vine Wine he drank last round (not the same thing at all), or the Performance bonus Edrakk gave Chance with Tweak Appearances (but on re-reading it the bonus applies only when speaking to the selected audience, even though it's an adjustment to his outfit - is that right?)

In any event, even if it is a crit fail, it's close enough that Chance doesn't realize he crit failed until the judge taps him on the shoulder.

Chance Reroll: 1d20 + 19 ⇒ (15) + 19 = 34

The judges damn the last few people, but it is Barzillai himself that stops Chance’s dancing. He raises the gnome’s arm for the crowd to see him.

”Let us all congratulate they who have kept the curse of Asmodeus from us!”

The crowd loudly cheers for Chance. Barzillai Thrune then places upon Chance’s head a solid gold crowd with ruby inlays. The crown is nonmagical but is worth 3,000 gp. Inventory Updated

*

Edrakk ducks away from the festivities to do a bit more searching. As he exits the secret staircase, he finds that the first room appears to just be a storage area for tools and rope that is used for the rigging.

As he turns to the south, he suddenly finds himself staring at the “angelic” form of an erinys! She wears a mask that is almost identical to the one Barzillai wears. She seems to be distractedly watching the Dance of the Damned below.

Edrakk Stealth: 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (6) + 15 = 21

”Hm?” The erinys turns to Edrakk and stands up straight. ”Sir, what are you doing?”

Edrakk Deception: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (11) + 13 = 24

Edrakk talks quickly—that he got lost searching for the bathroom or some other similar excuse. The fury devil rolls her eyes and opens the door to the south. ”Sir, this area is off-limits. Please leave now.” Not wanting to engage in a fight with a devil on his own, Edrakk reluctantly saunters out, back into the public rooms. And because you got caught, that’s all you have time for.

*

Once the Dance has concluded, Barzillai excuses himself. He goes through a door on the east side of the stage—into the room that has the three bearded devils.

Chance, meanwhile, finds that he has garnered a lot more attention by winning the Dance of the Damned—for good and for ill. While the various sycophantic partygoers try to get in his good graces (presuming him to be some high-class noble), the Smileys and devils all keep a very close eye on the gnome. Even if he hides the crown he received from winning the Dance, he has made himself out to be more than a mere face in the crowd. He’s going to have a tougher time sneaking out of sight to do who-knows-what.

Paper Faces on Parade
10:30 - 11:00
==============
Chance
Jisara
Edrakk
Vitalis
==============

Chance mock-staggers under the weight of the crown then straightens up, grinning broadly, and waves to the crowd.

I'm pretty sure the real curse of Asmodeus just put a gold crown on my head. I probably shouldn't feel this good about winning. He's probably going to try to kill us when we unmask, or announce some horrible new proclamation, like "All unlicensed performers shall suffer altitudinous defenestration" and "No performers shall be licensed without kissing the Lord-Mayor's devil-sworn derriere" and ... Damn! This thing really is heavy.

Chance shrugs at Jisara, Edrakk, and Vitalis as he is surrounded by supposed "well-wishers" and others not even pretending, then faces away from his friends and calls out, "We will have to catch up later, my friends - I must mingle! Let's meet in a bit where we first had those delightful hors d'oeuvres!" Turning back to the crowd, the bard begins speaking loudly, asking about some of the rumors he and the other Silver Ravens have already heard this evening. "Say, did any of you fine people see a dragon flying over the city last night? Its silhouette was clearly visible against the full moon..." Chance moves off the stage towards the back of the house (moving south on the map, away from the stage and orchestra pit), hoping to draw attention so as to give one or more of his friends the opportunity to investigate the orchestra pit or sneak up one of the back staircases unobserved, or at least unchallenged.

I don't know if anyone is planning to try to take advantage of Chance's distraction, and I'm not sure what - if anything - to roll to represent the distraction itself. I thought it would be Deception to Create a Diversion, but apparently that only helps the PC creating the diversion, not anyone else. Maybe Aid Another for someone else's Deception or Stealth roll?

I actually have rules for exactly this. It’s actually your choice of an Acrobatics, Intimidation, or Performance check.

Performance it is, thanks.

Performance: 1d20 + 19 ⇒ (1) + 19 = 20

Heh. Maybe Chance could sneak off alone after all.

After Chance goes off to mingle and hopefully draw some attention away from the rest of the group, Edrakk pulls the other two aside and starts whispering. "W-we're running out of time before midnight. From what I know, we've gone through m-most of the manor apart from the left of the stage and the basement. Downstairs is almost certainly going to be the most heavily guarded, but we do have a way in that might not draw too much attention through the secret staircase. I think I'm probably the stealthiest out of all of us, but I got caught last time by an erinys and I'm worried that they might now be on the lookout for me specifically, so it might be a good idea to wait a bit longer to go looking around down there. W-would either of you have anything that could make us stealthier? I-I know Chance has invisibility, but he's probably going to have a crowd around him for the rest of the night."

Not posting my actions just yet, I wanted to plan stuff a bit with the group first and I figured getting a post in tonight will help me remember tomorrow.

Chance found those potions of invisibility - he probably didn’t have time to hand them out, did he?

Chance found those potions of invisibility - he probably didn’t have time to hand them out, did he?

Up to you to decide if he did.

10:30 to 11:00

Right after the dance, before they all run off again, Vitalis finds his allies to tell them what he discovered.

"We have a problem. Besides the soldiers and devils the Lord-Mayor has hidden away, there's a third-party lurking the halls. He or they, appear to be Norgorberite assassins of some sort. While I was exploring, one had a knife to my throat before I even realized he was there. But he let me go without a fight for some reason."

"We're running out of time. We should plan to make a move quickly. If it were up to me, I'd evacuate the building, but I have a feeling, the guests will foolishly insist on staying."

"I have another idea, if you think it has merit. If we can't convince them guests to leave, perhaps we can attempt to herd them to their own safety. I'm thinking, before midnight, perhaps Chance or even I could perform a side performance near the entrance, say, the assembly room. Then we could barricade the doors from the inside while the guests are distracted. I found a storage room to the east full of chairs that we could possibly use. Then if all goes to hell, they'd be a short distance from the foyer. I don't know if it'll work or not, but my priority is keeping these people safe."

"I think after 11, we should start to stick together. In case anything happens, it might be better if we weren't split up. We are thinking Thrune has plans at midnight, but if a hidden assassin catches one of us alone again, he may decide to act on his own timeframe."

For his next half-an-hour time, Vitalis will find the secret contact again and ask him to move move at least four chairs from storage to the assembly room. Since the contact is in servant uniform, it would be more discrete for him to do it than for Vitalis. Vitalis will then drink an assassin vine wine (if allowed), and spend the time observing the foyer doors. (Are there guards on the inside or outside? Are there a lot of guests in the foyer? Could we take out the door guards discretely? He wants to see if he can secure an exit from the building if possible.)

10:30 to 11:00

Right after the dance, before they all run off again, Vitalis finds his allies to tell them what he discovered.

"We have a problem. Besides the soldiers and devils the Lord-Mayor has hidden away, there's a third-party lurking the halls. He or they, appear to be Norgorberite assassins of some sort. While I was exploring, one had a knife to my throat before I even realized he was there. But he let me go without a fight for some reason."

"Odd that he just let you go... m-maybe he's not working with Thrune?"

"We're running out of time. We should plan to make a move quickly. If it were up to me, I'd evacuate the building, but I have a feeling, the guests will foolishly insist on staying."

"I have another idea, if you think it has merit. If we can't convince them guests to leave, perhaps we can attempt to herd them to their own safety. I'm thinking, before midnight, perhaps Chance or even I could perform a side performance near the entrance, say, the assembly room. Then we could barricade the doors from the inside while the guests are distracted. I found a storage room to the east full of chairs that we could possibly use. Then if all goes to hell, they'd be a short distance from the foyer. I don't know if it'll work or not, but my priority is keeping these people safe."

"I think after 11, we should start to stick together. In case anything happens, it might be better if we weren't split up. We are thinking Thrune has plans at midnight, but if a hidden assassin catches one of us alone again, he may decide to act on his own timeframe."

"That could work. I'm going to go check out the basement then, try to get some idea of what he's planning."

Edrakk takes the potions of invisibility and heads back to the private lounge, locates the secret staircase, and descends. Just before opening the secret door, he downs the potion and tries to slip through the door without notice.

If I can get through a room or two with just the first potion I'll do that, if I need to take the second potion to get anything done I will but I don't want to use both potions if I can avoid it.

"Odd that he just let you go... m-maybe he's not working with Thrune?"

"It's unclear. I was not able to question him. But whether he was hired by Thrune or just a shark drawn to blood, there is no doubt that he means to cause harm tonight."

Jisara follows Edrakk to the staircase, but doesn't follow him in. Instead, she keeps watch outside, trying to distract anyone who comes near it by pretending to ask them for help finding the restroom.

Not my best work, but my imagination is failing me.

Chance tries to provide a distraction, but fails spectacularly. Some of the people around him start to show a bit less interest.

*

Jisara follows Edrakk and keeps an eye out for him.

Jisara Intimidation: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (6) + 14 = 20

*

Edrakk drinks one of the invisibility potions Inventory Updated and sneaks into the basement. I’m assuming, because you didn’t specify.

When he enters the Opera House’s underworld the name for the area below the stage, he finds himself seeing a pack of hell hounds! The hell hounds pace throughout the underworld, clearly meant to be guard dogs.

Giving the hell hounds a wide berth, Edrakk hugs along the pillar with the secret staircase to look on the other side of the room. When he does, he notices the orchestra pit and the orchestra playing inside—though, he is aware that it is an illusion, so he only sees a vague shimmering image of a group of humans playing instruments. More pertinently, he notices a creature on the far side of the orchestra pit: a massive skeleton with bat wings and a scorpion’s tail, wearing a devil mask identical to Barzillai’s. Based on his intel, this has to be the bone devil.

The bone devil lazily leans against a wall and waves its hand through the air as if conducting the illusory orchestra.

Similarly, Edrakk notices something interesting about the Opera House’s underworld: several mechanisms are in place that he realizes are for trapdoors up on the stage above. I’m not noting exactly where the trapdoors are at this time, because you definitely don’t have the time to sit down and notate that on a map.

A hellhound starts to close on Edrakk, forcing him to the south and through the closest door he can find, which leads to an ordinary hallway. He then moves into the closest door to see what he can find. He finds a room with several filing cases. As he searches through, he finds that they’re files on the Opera House’s more wealthy clients and patrons, but all of the files are tantalizingly bland and incomplete.

FYI, Edrakk, it’s assumed that you can easily go back to the public areas with minimal difficulty.

*

It takes some time, but Vitalis manages to find the Ravens’ inside man.

”Y’all need to be careful. Chance’s little effort is tipping off the Smileys that something’s going on. Y’all will need to lay low for a bit or else Thrune may catch on.”

Vitalis then lingers and mingles in the foyer.

Vitalis Diplomacy; diplomat’s charcuterie: 1d20 + 15 + 1 ⇒ (19) + 15 + 1 = 35

Vitalis scans the area. He finds that there are no Smileys outside, as the ball is already well underway. He finds that most people congregate toward the low seating, but there are quite a few people that linger in the foyer as well. He would have learned a bit more, but something unexpected occurs: Barzillai Thrune and his entourage appears, walking straight at the paladin!

”I must say, you have certainly proven yourself to be quite a capable individual.” Barzillai takes Vitalis’s hand and kisses the back of it. ”I would be honored if you would grant me the pleasure of a dance.” This invitation causes Barzillai’s sycophants to throw a quiet conniption fit out of pure envy at Vitalis.

Barzillai continues to speak with Vitalis, much to the sycophants’ chagrin. Eventually Barzillai disengages, heading to the stage to await Vitalis’s attempt to dance with him.

Paper Faces on Parade
11:00 - 11:30
==============
Chance
Jisara
Edrakk
Vitalis
==============

Vitalis looks at Barzillai coyly. "So you do recognize me after all. I'll pardon your previous slight by accepting your dance."

Vitalis takes the stage.

(Let me know if I need to make any rolls.)

Jisara does her very best to hide her growing anxiety as the clock ever closer to midnight, and she practically pounces on Edrakk when he returns.

"Well?" she asks, tail whipping behind her, "did you find anything?"

Chance considers joining the dancers but quickly steps into the wings when Barzillai - followed by VITALIS?!? - takes the the stage. He takes advantage of whatever distraction the pair provide to shove the crown into his sleeves of storage and slips off to the west.

If he is able to shake off the sycophants following him while they are distracted by the Lord-Mayor’s dance, Chance tries to investigate the rooms off the forbidden west hallway (scarlet line shows movement; he’ll look further north if one of the other Silver Ravens has already checked the rooms on the lower part of the hall).

Alright, waiting on Edrakk's and Jisara's actions for this round.

And I'm also gonna bump this little tidbit from your informant:

”Y’all need to be careful. Chance’s little effort is tipping off the Smileys that something’s going on. Y’all will need to lay low for a bit or else Thrune may catch on.”

Jisara does her very best to hide her growing anxiety as the clock ever closer to midnight, and she practically pounces on Edrakk when he returns.

"Well?" she asks, tail whipping behind her, "did you find anything?"

"Hellhounds and a bone devil, which w-we already knew about to some degree, but also trapdoors underneath the stage. I did also find a bunch of f-files on the wealthier patrons of the Opera House, b-but that's about it."

I'll post my actions sometime tomorrow morning.

Alright, waiting on Edrakk's and Jisara's actions for this round.

And I'm also gonna bump this little tidbit from your informant:

Quote:

”Y’all need to be careful. Chance’s little effort is tipping off the Smileys that something’s going on. Y’all will need to lay low for a bit or else Thrune may catch on.”

Thanks for the reminder. I don’t think I’ll change what Chance does, but “if he is able to shake off his sycophants” should probably be read as “he’ll try Stealthing” (which I think is a secret roll).

"Trapdoors under the..." Jisara starts, confused, before immediately turning and hurrying back down to the dance floor. There she watches Vitalis take the stage, trying to hide the sense of panic she feels building in her stomach.

Sorry for the slightly late post, I had a late night last night and have been feeling pretty burned out.

Once he informs the group of what he found, Edrakk nonchalantly grabs a glass of wine and makes his way to the edge of the dance floor, watching the dancers as he leans against the wall and taps his foot to the beat.

I have no idea if this is something I could do, but if I can, Edrakk would like to try to use the tremorsense from the wine to get a feel for where the trapdoors are, trying to see where the vibrations are different or muted, maybe using a crafting check.
If he can't, he'll just keep an eye on Vitalis and Thrune, maybe trying to read their lips to see if he can catch some of their conversation, and standing ready if anything happens.

Chance manages to give his sycophants the slip, but even though they don’t know where he went, they are still aware that Chance is gone.

As he makes his way into the restricted space, he unfortunately finds that he’s made his way into a dressing room with spare costumes for the Opera House, and that there is nothing of interest in there.

*

Jisara Diplomacy; diplomat’s charcuterie: 1d20 + 14 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 14 + 1 = 17

Jisara’s own sense of panic makes it difficult for her to make much effort mingling with those around her.

*

Edrakk Diplomacy; diplomat’s charcuterie: 1d20 + 15 + 1 ⇒ (9) + 15 + 1 = 25

I have no idea if this is something I could do, but if I can, Edrakk would like to try to use the tremorsense from the wine to get a feel for where the trapdoors are, trying to see where the vibrations are different or muted, maybe using a crafting check.

Honestly, I’m gonna give a Hero Point for that idea, because that’s actually kinda ingenious.

Edrakk mingles with some guests as he moves around the stage, but his attention is more on the stage itself. Just as he thought, the trapdoors are much thinner than the rest of the stage’s floor, so the tremorsense from the wine is enough for him to notice their locations on the stage. And, unfortunately, the trap doors are actually quite massive. Position of the trapdoors are shown on the stage on slide 4.

But it is not just the trapdoors that Edrakk finds with the tremorsense. On the opposite side of the stage from the secret staircase S7, he finds another secret staircase! Unfortunately, Edrakk was unable to find a door into this one. It might be that there isn’t one on this floor like S7, or that it’s just very well blended into the wall.

Y’all now know that staircase S8 exists.

*

Barzillai smirks as he and Vitalis wordlessly dance.

Vitalis Performance: 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (14) + 15 = 29

The two’s dance brings a hush over the crowd as they marvel. Even Barzillai’s sycophants are entranced. The tension between the two of them is as sharp as a razor’s edge, making it clear that at any moment one might try to take the other’s life. To the point where, once their dance has finished, it draws a round of applause from the other guests.

Barzillai bows to Vitalis. ”That was quite the pleasure. My apologies, but there is something I must attend to.” With that, Barzillai makes his way back into the room with the three bearded devils.

*

Midnight fast approaches. The PCs’ paranoia has been stoked beyond comprehension. This party thus far has just been…a party. Was all of this really just as advertised? An olive branch from Barzillai to the people?

No. It can’t be. He’s a Thrune! Thrunes do not know generosity. The Lord-Mayor is going to make an announcement after the midnight unmasking. Whatever it is he’s planning, the time is fast approaching.

There is half an hour left in the Ruby Masquerade. Jisara and Chance are without their weapons and staves, and Vitalis is without his armor I’m assuming you put your Hellknight plate in the bag of holding, because you didn’t specify.

The Smileys have started to keep their sights on the PCs—their inexplicable disappearances have not gone unnoticed. It’s clear that the Smileys suspect that the PCs are more than just citizens enjoying the party. One wrong move and the PCs could inadvertently oust themselves. Chance’s little escapade into a dressing room nearly sent them into action; it was only the inadvertent distraction caused by Barzillai’s and Vitalis’s dance that placated them. The PCs are sitting on the razor’s edge.

Paper Faces on Parade
11:30 - 12:00
==============
Chance
Jisara
Edrakk
Vitalis
==============

During the dance with Barzillai, Vitalis whispers to the Lord-Mayor, "You think you are so clever. But I know what you are planning and I will stop you. I've already dispatched one Thrune and I must say they aren't so tough. Thank you for saving your last dance for me."

(It's a bit of a bluff because I don't really know what his full plan is. I'll roll a deception but I'm not looking for any mechanical result either way.)

Deception: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (20) + 13 = 33

I also forgot to mention: during this last half-hour, the Smileys are slowly herding the guests into the low seating and the balcony to prepare for the midnight unmasking.

Dying to know how Vitalis’s gambit plays out. Assuming it doesn’t change Barzillai’s departure at the end of the dance with Vitalis or result in immediate arrests or anything drastic:

Chance moves back into the foyer (or wherever the other Ravens are gathering). “Only half an hour left and I feel like we’re no closer to learning what’s going to happen at midnight! Jisara, I think we should call back the bag of holding soon and get our fight gear ready. I found one of the dressing rooms from the days when the Opera House was actually an opera house, why don’t we duck in there to get ourselves ready? I can make us all invisible for about 10 minutes - if you all stick close to me - and we could try to sneak into the dressing room, call back the bag, and then come back out right before midnight, or earlier, if we’re ready to act then. And it doesn’t have to be the dressing room - we could vanish right here (assuming we’re in the foyer), go up one of these flights of stairs, and prepare while hiding out on one of the secret staircases you guys found. Also, a few minutes before midnight, I’ll cast a spell to give you each the benefit of my somewhat eclectic education, so we will all have the best chance to recognize whatever horrors Barzillai might call forth to face us (or to slaughter his guests).”

Chance is proposing that the group mosey either into the Assembly Room or onto the west wing of the stage, near one of the doors leading to the west hallway. He will cast invisibility sphere, they use that to sneak into the dressing room (already marked on the map), call back the bag of holding and reequip themselves. If they time it right, they will still be invisible as well as fully armed and armored when the go back into the foyer or wherever they need to be and the clock strikes midnight. Vitalis, how much time will it take you to put on your Hellknight plate?

A few minutes before midnight, he will also cast share lore (duration 10 minutes) from a scroll to give everyone trained proficiency with Bardic Lore.

Five minutes for Vitalis to don his armor.

Also, there are bathrooms, y'know. Those "small" rooms attached to the assembly rooms? Those are public restrooms. You don't need to sneak into an off-limits area to get a couple minutes of privacy.

Edrakk doesn't need too much from the bag, I think I just kept my extra poisons and healing potions in there. I'll probably wait to call back the stuff from the bandolier, as that's more conspicuous.

"I can keep watch while everyone equips themselves, I don't really need much from the bag. I'm not s-sure we should still be invisible at midnight, though. I-I'd worry we'd draw attention by not being there, although we'd be drawing attention anyway I suppose. I w-wish I had thought to get some more reliable disguises for the unmasking."

Jisara gives Chance an approving nod. "A fine plan. Let's get ourselves to the bathrooms, don our equipment, and ready ourselves for the twist Barzillai has in mind for all of us."

Once she's confident they're out of sight of any of the Smileys or fiends, she snaps her fingers once, summoning the bag of holding with a pop of displaced air. She sets it on the floor and opens the mouth of the bag, drawing out her staff and dagger.

Vitalis also armors up.

(I'm waiting for people to discuss our plan for the round before I post what else I'm doing.)

(I'm waiting for people to discuss our plan for the round before I post what else I'm doing.)

Yup. Y'all explained what you planned to do for getting your gear back (something that was basically handwaved at this point), but not what you're ACTUALLY planning on doing during the last half-hour of the ball.

After armoring up and telling his allies his plan, Vitalis strides confidently out of the side room towards the foyer. He leaves his head exposed and mask on so all can see that he is the same man who just danced with Barzillai Thrune.

Performance: 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (19) + 15 = 34

Vitalis plays up the crowd.

"To all who are in attendance, it is I, the Moonlight Hellknight, the most favored guest of Thrune. I offer now my mouth to any who wish have a word with the Lord-Mayor and I will make sure the message reaches his ear. Form a line. You have but to the strike of midnight before I must take my leave. But first..."

Intimidate: 1d20 + 20 ⇒ (6) + 20 = 26

He turns to the guards be the doors. "I need this area. Move out of the way. Go make yourself useful somewhere else. If you think Thrune won't hear about you giving me trouble, with these people as witness, I assure you, he will."

(If the intimidation isn't enough, Vitalis will resort to more forceful methods to get the guards to clear out.)

Edrakk borrows another invisibility potion and makes his way downstairs, waiting for his chance (no pun intended) to sabotage the trapdoors.

If I can get a chance, I'll try and sabotage them, but if not I'll just observe if they're doing any kind of preparations to try and get a better idea of what they're going to do.

Botting Chance: Chance, like Vitalis, sets up a distraction.

Chance Performance: 1d20 + 19 ⇒ (7) + 19 = 26

While not his best work, his recognition as the winner of the Dance of the Damned does drum up a bit of a hullabaloo.

*

Jisara makes her way to the balcony.

Jisara Diplomacy; diplomat’s charcuterie: 1d20 + 14 + 1 ⇒ (7) + 14 + 1 = 22

She mingles around, but doesn’t get very far with anything.

*

As Edrakk makes it down to the basement again, he quaffs the potion and sneaks out. When he does, he notices the bone devil fiddling around with the trap doors before returning to its post. Clearly the devil cannot see the invisible Edrakk, but he will have to navigate the patrolling hell hounds that can smell him.

Edrakk Stealth: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (14) + 14 = 28

Edrakk makes it past and approaches the trap doors. The trap doors themselves have hanging rope ladders, but also have a block-and-tackle lift beneath them for dramatic stage entrances. Looking at the trap doors themselves, they appear to have a locking mechanism—the bone devil was apparently just removing the locks, so that if someone were to step over them, they would fall open.

The mechanisms are just out of reach, so Edrakk will have to use the rope ladders to gain a bit of extra height to reach them—and a rope ladder randomly swaying by an invisible force may not alert the animalistic hell hounds, but it might alert the bone devil.

Edrakk Stealth: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (16) + 14 = 30

Lucky for Edrakk, the devil is distracted with “conducting” the illusory orchestra, so it doesn’t even notice the tengu using the rope ladders to reengage the trap doors’ locking mechanisms. Knowing he only has 10 minutes to his invisibility, he works quickly, but engaging the mechanisms is simple—it would certainly be a bit more complicated to disengage them without the correct key. Edrakk manages to lock the trap doors without anyone noticing. Now to get past the hell hounds again…

Edrakk Stealth: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (17) + 14 = 31

Edrakk makes his way back to the secret staircase without any of the hell hounds smelling him, just as his invisibility is running its course! Hero Point to Edrakk. As they are no longer relevant, I’ve removed the locations of the trap doors from the map.

*

Vitalis manages to usher away some of the Smileys, and his distraction is more than entertaining to the other guests. Unfortunately, midnight draws near, and the Smileys return and insist on ushering guests into the low seating. And if Vitalis puts up a fight, then Barzillai himself arrives to break up the commotion and insist on guests congregating for the midnight unmasking. I promise you, what you did actually DID help in the long run, just not in the way that you think. Sorry for how railroad-y this is, but it’s just how it is.

*

It is 11:50. Midnight draws near.

The Smileys all herded the guests into the low seating and balcony in preparation of the unmasking. The guests go along with it. Indeed, if the PCs aren’t there, it will be noticed. Most of the guests end up in the low seating, wanting a front-row seat for Barzillai’s announcement.

You all may choose to be in either the low seating or the balcony (but I’m gonna assume the low seating). If you choose to be in neither, there will be penalties. Additionally, this next section is very much dependent on timing. As such, I’ve put the next several things in spoilers marked with letters. For sake of ease, please dictate exactly when you do something (e.g. “Right before point B, I do this.”)

11:55. Barzillai takes center stage and claps his hands to get the crowd’s attention.

“And thus we come to the conclusion of tonight’s festivities. I would like to thank each and every one of you for making the Ruby Masquerade a night to truly remember.”

Edrakk will stay with the rest of the group, but suggests they go to the balcony. "It'll give us a good aerial view, and we wouldn't be at risk of getting crushed in a stampede." I'm assuming this suggestion is going to be overruled, and honestly out of character I know it's probably a better idea to go to the lower seating, but Edrakk probably would rather the group be more out of the way.
As soon as Barzilai starts talking, he pulls out a stick of pink gum and nonchalantly places it in his mouth. For the next 10 minutes, or until he uses the bubble, Edrakk has a +2 on saves against auditory effects.

Chance shakes his head in disagreement. “I think we need to be closer to the stage, Edrakk. I never thought I’d want to be as far as I can get from it, but I think we ought to sit downstairs at least, in case there’s something we can do.” Chance takes a seat in the lower seating area.

Perception B: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (1) + 14 = 15

Edrakk is suddenly overcome with incurable blindness. Apparently.

Perception A: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (8) + 11 = 19
Perception B: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (9) + 11 = 20

Oh well

Perception A: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (9) + 11 = 20

Jisara joins the others in the lower seating area, and casts resist energy on herself and Edrakk to protect them from any fire magic their enemies might hit them with as part of their inevitable betrayal.

Perception B: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (6) + 11 = 17

She tenses, feeling the hair on her neck stand up. A low growl emits from deep within Thatch's tiny chest. This is bad.

Welcome to the most chaotic combat ever! Man, this is going to be a lot easier to keep track of in PbP.

1d22 ⇒ 22

So Smiley #22 is the inside man, so I’ll just take him and the one next to him (#21) out of the combat.

Ruby Massacre
Round 1
Casualties: -14
==============
Barzillai Thrune [Walking; 5’ above ground]
Jisara {resist fire 10} [walking]
Orange [???]
Yellow [???]
Green [???]
Blue [???]
Purple [???]
Vitalis [walking]
Lillend [???]
Big Bralani [???]
Chance {invisible} [walking]
Edrakk {resist fire 10} [walking]

"RUN!" Jisara shouts, immediately pushing into the crowd. Before she goes, though, she sends a surge of energy through Vitalis's muscles, enhancing his speed.

◆ Stride
◆◆ Cast haste on Vitalis.

Facepalm I utterly forgot that Barzillai had a freaking turn! I’m going to say he Delays, because that makes the most sense to me.

Jisara quickens Vitalis and tries to run, her scream inciting panic in the members of the crowd with their heads on straight. I was actually about to bring up the greater difficult terrain again, but I just noticed that you actually HAVE a 35 foot Speed, so nevermind.

As Jisara is navigating the crowd, she suddenly runs straight into an unmasked elf that most definitely was not there a second ago! This elf wields a scimitar and has silver-white hair the color of lightning! Picture in the bottom-left corner of Slide 4

Suddenly, more of these maskless, silver-haired elves suddenly appear in the crowd—two of them on either side of Edrakk and Vitalis! The elves’ first two actions were to cast dimension door—Green Blue and Purple I placed randomly because reasons. Blue I just happened to place right next to Jisara. I genuinely wish I was kidding, but that’s how it turned out.

Green and Purple close the gap, wading through the crowd of people.

Blue, Orange, and Yellow, however, swing their scimitars at the PCs right next to them!

◆ Blue vs Jisara: 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (13) + 15 = 28
Damage: 1d6 + 7 ⇒ (6) + 7 = 13 plus 1d6 persistent bleed

◆ Orange vs Edrakk: 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (15) + 15 = 30
Damage: 1d6 + 7 ⇒ (4) + 7 = 11 Evil Damage: 2d6 ⇒ (5, 5) = 10 plus 1d6 persistent bleed

◆ Yellow vs Vitalis: 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (20) + 15 = 35
Damage (doubled from crit): 1d6 + 7 ⇒ (1) + 7 = 8 Evil Damage (doubled from crit): 2d6 ⇒ (1, 4) = 5 plus 1d6 2d6 persistent bleed

Vitalis resists some of the slashing damage.

Barzillai comes out of Delay. Barzillai takes several steps back in shock as he looks across the crowd. ”They have replaced the staff with the anarchy of Elysium! Flee for your lives!”

Barzillai ◆ grabs the mace at his hip and glares over at Edrakk. ”I will not concede to this affront to human life!” ◆◆ Cast a Spell

Edrakk Will: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (16) + 14 = 30 Success
Nonlethal Mental Damage: 10d4 ⇒ (1, 3, 1, 4, 4, 4, 3, 3, 4, 4) = 31

Ruby Massacre
Round 1
Casualties: -14
==============
Jisara (-13) {resist fire 10; 1d6 persistent bleed} [walking]
Orange [walking]
Yellow [walking]
Green [walking]
Blue [walking]
Purple [walking]
Barzillai Thrune [Walking; 5’ above ground]
Vitalis (-22) {hasted: Round 0 of 10; 2d6 persistent bleed} [walking]
Lillend [???]
Big Bralani [???]
Chance {invisible} [walking]
Edrakk (-52) {resist fire 10; 1d6 persistent bleed} [walking]

"We need to get these people out of here!"

Vitalis ignores the elven attacker for the moment and rushes towards the doors to the foyer. Activating my Quick Runner's Shirt and using a third stride action he can move 95 ft. or 6 squares of greater difficult terrain.)

He then makes an attack against one of the guards blocking the door.

Halberd: 1d20 + 18 ⇒ (1) + 18 = 19 Oh well
Damage: 2d10 + 6 ⇒ (10, 4) + 6 = 20

◆◆ Quick Runner's Shirt
◆ Stride
◆ Strike (Smiley 10)

Vitalis runs toward one of the doors and attacks (and misses) one of the Smileys. When he does so, Yellow and Purple strike out at him!

↻ Yellow AoO vs Vitalis: 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (1) + 15 = 16
Damage: 1d6 + 7 ⇒ (5) + 7 = 12 Evil Damage: 2d6 ⇒ (4, 6) = 10

↻ Purple AoO vs Vitalis: 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (4) + 15 = 19
Damage: 1d6 + 7 ⇒ (6) + 7 = 13 Evil Damage: 2d6 ⇒ (3, 4) = 7

Bleed Damage: 2d6 ⇒ (3, 4) = 7
DC 15 Flat: 1d20 ⇒ 18

Suddenly, flying straight up from the orchestra pit is a winged, elven woman with the lower half of a massive snake! Image on Slide 3. The winged woman completely ignores the low seating and flies straight up to the balcony! But doesn’t really have anything else to do this turn.

Then, falling from above is another elf woman—this one looking very similar to the elves currently harassing the PCs. She wields a bow as she flies down from the third floor. When she reaches about 20 feet above the ground, she ◆◆ Casts a Spell, causing a massive burst of energy to erupt in a 10-foot radius burst in the middle of the crowd in the low seating!

Casualties: 2d4 ⇒ (2, 4) = 6

Note, this creature is technically at the same altitude as the previous creature, but I put her on the 1st-floor map because she’s more relevant to those on the first floor than those on the second.

Ruby Massacre
Round 1
Casualties: -8
==============
Jisara (-13) {resist fire 10; 1d6 persistent bleed} [walking]
Orange [walking]
Yellow [walking]
Green [walking]
Blue [walking]
Purple [walking]
Barzillai Thrune [Walking; 5’ above ground]
Vitalis (-29) {hasted: Round 0 of 10} [walking]
Lillend [flying; 20’ above ground]
Big Bralani [flying; 20’ above ground]
Chance {invisible} [walking]
Edrakk (-52) {resist fire 10; 1d6 persistent bleed} [walking]

Chance begins to sing, and his magically enhanced voice cuts through the nightmarish cacophony of Barzillai's massacre.

◆: Cast a Composition Cantrip, inspire courage (voice booming due to bullhorn)

"Oh, it’s been getting so hard
seeing what you’ve done to our city
Your decrees have gotten so strange
people pay to smuggle mint and tea
Mmm-hmmm
Oh, I see a man on the stage
He flies into a rage and his soul is as dark as the night
But our people, the Kintargans, let nobody ignore ‘em
‘Cause they won’t go down without a fight
Oh, NO

Op’ratic death
Op’ratic death
Op’ratic death
Op’ratic death!!!”

Pausing for breath, the invisible gnome shouts, "ANYBODY WHO ISN'T A SILVER RAVEN OR DETERMINED TO GO TO HELL FOR THAT THRICE-DAMNED TYRANNICAL FUSTILARIAN ON THE STAGE SHOULD HEAD FOR THE EXITS! DON'T TRAMPLE EACH OTHER, BUT TAKE DOWN ANY SMILEY-FACED TRAITOR WHO GETS IN YOUR WAY!"

◆◆: Cast a Spell, soothe (heightened to level 3)

Realizing that Edrakk suddenly looks awful and is bleeding heavily, Chance sings a snippet of his healing song, lending it as much extra power as he thinks he can spare.

Healing for Edrakk:
Soothe (level 3): 3d10 + 12 ⇒ (6, 7, 10) + 12 = 35

Sorry - I forgot to include Chance's reactions:

↻: Counter Performance, Shadow Projectile, or Fortuitous Shift (DC 11) (whichever reaction is triggered first, if any)