GM Badblood's The Dragon's Demand

Game Master Lance K

Suizal is caught up in all the hustle and bustle of the town. She stops by Xenne's Tonics to pick up two acid flasks and an alchemist fire.

Then she stops by the general store. "Hello there! I'm perhaps looking for a new backpack. You see, the one I have has a huge hole in the bottom." She shows a huge hole in the bottom of her pack. "Perhaps you have a nicer quality one."

Asking for a masterwork backpack.

"And do you know where I can find some scrolls around here? Magical scrolls," she says with a wink.

While Irlana does feel that the wizard's keep needs to be checked, she isn't hard set to do it now, and definitely would not object to the team giving the keys to the baroness when asked. She is the authority in the town, and so far seems to have treated the group fairly. However, she would not have spoke up against the wishes of the team.

With her pretty new armor Irlana goes to the temple of Shelyn to check on a wand of healing. She wants to be able to participate better with the team, and needs to free up some of her magic for spells other than just healing.

"Hello! I'm Irlana Systra, with the team that worked to clear the tower and find out why it collapsed. We're going to be looking in to the kobold problem for the Baroness and I'd like to have better access to healing magics for the group. I'm a Shaman so I can access divine magic. I'd really like a wand with the magic of Cure Light Wounds if you would be willing to sell one?"

Diplomacy?: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (15) + 8 = 23

Would I need to do the rolls here? Availability? 1-75% and charges?: 1d100 ⇒ 411d50 ⇒ 33

Agile Breastplate, low good: 1d100 ⇒ 69
Chances 1, Baccuss 2: 1d2 ⇒ 1

When she meets back with the group, she asks them, [b]"Well, would anyone want to join me on a visit to the local witch? I hear she may have some scrolls I'd like to buy. Plus, she has a pig that's smarter than Sir Falcon!" she nudges the man, jokingly of course. "Gotta see that!"

I'm using Ilvaria's rolls for the wands, since she did it first. The temple to Sheyln has a wand with 6 charges. Also feel free to open up each other's spoilers. I'm just using them to keep things more organized.

Andwise got a discount too! So two wands, 6 charges and 39 charges. Total spent: 81 gp + 526 gp and 5 sp. Correct?

At the temple of Shelyn:
Irlana gladly pays for the wand. Any charges of healing could be a life saver! "Thank you very much! As you know any healing could save a life if the fighting gets too harsh! And even the best armor has gaps that a weapon can penetrate! Do you have the capability to create new wands? If not, do you happen to know if the Abadaran temple does? Of course we wouldn't want to short the town from needed resources, but we would contract for another wand if possible?"

Meeting back with the team Irlana gladly agrees to go see the smart pig.... "The priest at the Temple of Shelyn had a couple of other interesting magic items, if we happen on some more treasure!"

Ilvaria tries to calm the situation.

"Listen, the more we earn, the more we can spend here. So be glad that we can use your skeleton key please!" she says smiling.

She tries to somehow get Grayhands on their side and really gives everything!

diplomacy Grayhands : 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (17) + 10 = 27

As the party shops in the village, they notice that most houses and businesses have some kind of holy symbol displayed. Some have a stylized brass keys mounted above their counter or on their shop door. Others have multi colored tapestries hanging up, usually depicting a bird or a feathered wing. Finally, some have a wooden symbol if a face fixed to the frame of their doors.

Sorry Ilvara

”Just go ahead and get it, I’ll cover the difference…”

Ilvaria shrugs at Andwise with a smile.

“Here is the coin. Maybe we can be friends next time?“ she says to the proprietor with a seductive tone.

Suizal walks around with the group.

Knowledge (Religion) Untrained: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (18) + 4 = 22

"Ah, see that house there? That symbol. The key right there!!!" she points it out. "That's the symbol of Abadar. And those colorful bird symbols over there?" she points to the colorful birds. "Sheyln, of course. And the wooden faces are commonly used by the Green Faith. Fairly standard gods for a small town around here, I assume."

One other thing is that the party can try to Gather Information in town if they'd like to find out about local news and gossip.

So I'm only going to let there be one Diplomacy check to change someone's attitude per day, but people can also Aid each other.
Generally I'd say 1 aid is usually appropriate for Diplomacy, but more than that you're starting to talk over each other and get in each other's way (on the other hand with Intimidation, I wouldn't cap how many people can aid, as the more people you have, the scarier you are!).

Suizal will not be doing a Diplomacy check as she has a +0 modifier. Plus, she's fairly smug.

She winks at Xenme, "Tea sounds great. Hope to see you again soon, Xenme."

As she meets with the others, Suizal suggests another option in town, "There is a historian by the name of Bassy. I'd like to stop by and meet her, if anyone else is interested. She may know more about the tower too, it's origins. Perhaps we can learn more... especially why all those prisoners were down there."

"Great idea! Sometimes a historian will have details that aren't popular, or well know by the current locals! The winner writes the history, but sometimes the winner changes...."

Suizal wasn't talking about the human bones down there when she mentioned prisoners... but the air elemental.

Suizal is able to easily get directions to Bassy's house. Its a cozy little cottage made of stone and wood, with a thatched roof. A middle aged woman answers the door and invites the party inside.

The inside of the house is filled with packed bookshelves from floor to ceiling and every table and piece of furniture is covered in either various strange objects or piles of papers and books. Sitting amongst this chaos is a gnome with pink hair and green eyes.

"Oh, hello? You must be the adventurer's who found Hunclay. Can I help you?"

Setting aside the shopping, Andwise makes his way to the nearest tavern, and pulls up a chair. Tossing one of his new silver pieces on the bar, he nods to the keep. "One of the locals... in a tall glass please, none of these Halfling sized pints"

After a few deep sips, he smiles at the keep. "What does one do around here anyways"

Diplomacy, Gather Info: 1d208 ⇒ 170

Falcon looks at the crochety old merchant and raises his holy symbol to apsu [b] Look this here is the symbol of my god, a god dedicated to among other things, leadership and peace. In order to lead my friends in the preservation of the peace around here, I need good flexible armor like this, now please be reasonable with the price [b]

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (13) + 7 = 20

Following along with Suizal Irlana moves into the cozy little cottage of the town's historian. "Hello. I'm Irlana and this is Suizal. We're with the group that the baron hired to work in the tower. Terrible incident with the kobolds and the wizard being crushed to death. But there are some questions unanswered that we thought might have clues in the history that you keep. There were some prisoners that died there? And a strange machine that was guarded by a creature made of electrical energy, like lightning. Do you have records of the tower, back when Baron Sarvo lived?"

Andwise, Grayhands happens to be the only tavern in town. Coincidentally, Swerlo Grayhands is also the only rogue in town

Andwise takes a walk around the town to see if there is another tavern besides Swerlo Grayhands' establishment but doesn't find one. Besides the temples, the only other "entertainment" venue appears to be an outdoor amphitheater near the town center. Most of the townsfolk appear to busy at work or moving from one errand to the next and there is even a small schoolhouse for the children; so there aren't even idle kids roaming the streets like there would be in most cities.

[ooc]Does Andwise want to return to Grayhands and get a drink?

Meanwhile, Sir Falcon tries to talk sense into the unfriendly smith. When he shows his holy symbol the man roars in anger. "I don't give one whit about who your god is and what they do! There is enough gods talk amongst the fools in this town already!"

As he is yelling, several passerby's lower their heads and scurry quickly past the shop. One elderly woman makes a gesture to ward off misfortune as she passes by. At this point, Sir Falcon can't help but notice that unlike every other business in town Chance's Smithy does not have a holy symbol displayed.

The man calms down and says, "Fine. I know you're doing some kind of job for the Baroness and I don't want her coming down to talk to me.
I'll sell you what I have at the same prices I give everyone else, not a copper more or less. Its good steel and I have to pay a premium to get it imported from Cassomir, so no complaining about the price. And I'll buy your old mail off you too, if you'd like. You'll need to take it off anyways so I can get you a proper fitting." He gestures for the samurai to enter his shop.

Sir Falcon successfully moved him from Unfriendly to Indifferent; so he's charging a +10% cost instead of +50%. So 605 gp for the armor, and then he'll pay 25 gp for Sir Falcon's old scale mail.

That's quite the Diplomacy check Andwise!

Suizal nods, "Yes, everything is so strange. I feel like we're only getting started. If we could learn more about the history of the tower, perhaps we can learn why Hunclay did what he did."

She looks around the room, impressed by everything. "And perhaps you have some magics that could help us understand. A scroll or something to that effect."

I own this town! Give me ALL the information!

Then Grayhands it is. I'll, uh... reroll that diplomacy check

Diplo: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (3) + 8 = 11

Man. What type of town only has one bar... Come on Tanssi- this time, I want to you come in with me. I am tired of leaving you outside, and it doesn't seem to make a difference anyways.

Meanwhile, at Bassy's house...

"I don't know too much about the tower itself, as most of the records from that time were destroyed. Troubled times, you see. What I do know is that around 4500 AR, this town was the fiefdom of Baron Sarvo Canteclure. He had a reputation for being a bit of a tyrant but what made him a footnote in some histories is that he joined an ill-fated rebellion against the Grand Prince of Taldor. The tower used to be part of a bigger structure, Castle Tula. It was razed to the ground by the Grand Prince's forces as retaliation for joining the uprising, leaving only that tower standing."

"I never went into the tower itself. The locals called it the Witch Tower and they said it was dangerous. I suppose you would be a testament to how dangerous it was down below. One of you were bitten by a large spider, is that right?"

"Sometime after that, Belhaim was awarded to the Devy's and they have ruled over it ever since. Now, I'm still not sure why Hunclay wanted the tower knocked down. He would just tell us that it was obstructing his view. Cantankerous old codger..."

Suizal, if you want scrolls, just roll for them. Bassy is Friendly, so normal costs for them from her.

Andwise goes back to Grayhands and orders a drink. Swerlo smiles and tells him he is going to get him something from the "special reserve" then goes to the back and brings back a mug of ale. This is unusual, as there are several taps plainly visible from the bar. A couple of the patrons snicker while he is gone.

"Here you go, m'lord. Enjoy," the man says, bowing in an exaggerated manner.

While not openly hostile, the patrons in the tavern are snickering and talking behind his back and Andwise can't help but feel like they are whispering about him.

Irlana shakes her head sadly when she hears about the records being destroyed. "Terrible news there. There were some prisoners, locked into cells and abandoned. Can only guess that they starved to death, and the haunt.... Well, his story indicated that they were imprisoned for hunting where they shouldn't have been. Death by starvation for three men is pretty harsh punishment for starving poachers...."

Sir Falcon shakes the man's hand and enters the shop and begins to strip off the old scale mail. You know, I cannot help but notice you don't display a symbol on the shop. Are you from Rahadoum?

He helps the smithy get him all set up.

As the morning progresses into the early afternoon, the town's activity begins to slow down in response to the early autumn heat. Gaggles of workers from the nearby fields, docks and workhouses drift into town to get a drink at the tavern, gossip in the marketplace, or eat their packed lunches in the Belhaim Commons.

Finishing his drink, Andwise nods to Tanssi.

I hate this place. The drink isn't worth the coin, and the people even less so...

He walks to the door, opens it, and allows it to close with a slam on his way out.

Enjoying the attention Irlana asks that Suizal tell her story first. "I wasn't with the group when they first started. I missed the initial 'fake' recruitment that fortunately turned out well for the team and your town."

Once Suisal had time to tell of the first foray within Irlana joins in. "It was a bit scary and strange with some of the creatures and traps inside. There was a creature that was pure electrical energy. Kind of like a living spark. And a small group of kobolds. They had set traps and attacked us so of course we had to fight back. We won, but we also showed them some mercy. Our leader, the gallant Sir Falcon von Raptor always shows mercy if the enemy allows it. We healed the wounds of those that had fallen but weren't dead. Then we asked the leader why they attacked us. Turned out they were scared of one of the creatures that we had already beaten. Hopefully if the survivors ever encounter humans again, well, humans and us other races.... Maybe they'll try to talk first."

Note: She avoids any direct answers about treasures found.

Ilvaria does not need anything material anymore but clearly lacks company.

She hugs her Skunk familiar and tears form in her eyes.

"Meshgi, you are the only one I can now trust!" she says to her Skunk familiar and hugs the little shadow animal that is formed from her own mind.

Her missing friend Melenthe was the only person that gave her the comfort to be who she was.

Could this new group help me to continue connecting to my own morality? Irlana and Suizal really try to help others ... I mean even an air elemental. And Sir Falcon is full of bravery ... something that I could need more of I think. And I have not talked with Andwise about Meshgi and his companion at all although they share similar traits! So much to learn ... Ilvaria thinks.

As the morning progresses into the early afternoon, the town's activity begins to slow down in response to the early autumn heat. Gaggles of workers from the nearby fields, docks and workhouses drift into town to get a drink at the tavern, gossip in the marketplace, or eat their packed lunches in the Belhaim Commons.

To not be alone she wanders through town and eventually settles in the tavern to try to get a feeling about this town.

Falcon, fitted with his new sexy armor, is practically skipping across town. He winds up in the tavern next to Ilvaria. Two lunches please! Falcon shouts as he settles in.

You know with that Hunclay dead but obviously up to no good, someone ought to go to his atelier to figure out what he was up to.

Ilvaria and Sir Falcon both stop into the tavern, but find that the tavern keep Swerlo and the regulars there offer a cold welcome. The food is overpriced, and when they get it the bread is stale and the watery soup is barely lukewarm. It is a far inferior meal than what they have been used to receiving from the Wise Piper Inn.

There are some workers from the local cheese and candle makers and a few fishermen from the docks who have come to the tavern for an afternoon break from the sun. While not particularly friendly, they are at least polite to the adventurers. When the tavernkeeper tries to get the bar to sing a mocking song about the heroes, only a few join in. A few seem uncomfortable with Swerlo and his cronies' behavior towards the outsiders, but none of them speak up in the adventurers' defense.

You don't have to rely on the tavern to Gather Information or for your meals. There is also the inn, where you are very welcome and there is a vibrant marketplace and commons area in the village. The workers I mentioned all work making the primary exports that this village produces and they are currently Indifferent to the party.

Thanks for the information GM!

Ilvaria is happy that Sir Falcon joins her.

“Great that you are here. And I completely agree but we have to wait for the baroness to give us the mission! I cannot allow Melenthe to loose her support! I hope you understand!“ she says.

When they are in the tavern she tries to gather information but obviously the whole town is at Sir Falcon and Ilvaria’s disposal to learn more.

diplomacy information gathering : 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (19) + 11 = 30

The tavernkeep and his cronies are completely unfriendly but Ilvaria gets lucky and finds a friendly group of peasants who work at the Belhaim Candleworks and they introduce her to their boss, a middle aged woman with brown hair tied back in a pony tail and a simple green dress. She introduces herself as Marla Varlis and talks with the drow for several hours. In fact, the group of candlemakers spend some much time talking about their business and their home town that soon everyone notice that the sun is beginning to set.

Hours: 1d4 ⇒ 4
Rumor: 1d12 ⇒ 9

Marla is a very traditional follower of the Green Faith, and talks about how they offer thanks for every batch of tallow that they receive, knowing that animals had to die so that they could make a living. The town is known for its candleworks and sometimes their products make it as far as Cassomir. The Abadarians have been pressuring her to expand her workshop; even going so far as to offer helping them get a loan on good terms from a Kalistocratic investor but she is undecided if she wants to take this step.

When Sir Falcon mentions going into Hunclay's manse, Marla makes a hand gesture to ward away evil (the same one he saw before at Chance's Smithy) and proclaims, "That wizard Hunclay always spooked me. I heard he worships devils and collects evil books! There's no reason to want any part in that sort of thing. I would leave that place alone if I were you."

You've got to remember that these are just simple farmers. These are people of the land. The common clay of the old Taldor. You know... morons.

You've got to remember that these are just simple farmers. These are people of the land. The common clay of the old Taldor. You know... morons.

Ha ha! :-)

Ilvaria thanks the candlemaker for all the information and wishes her all the best for her business.

"And also thanks for the advice on the wizard's mansion. Sir Falcon, I think it is time to get back to the group for the night as it is getting dark."

Suizal continues to chat with Bassy, finding a close friendship with her. "What a lovely time we're having!" She listens in to Irlana's story of the dungeon, adding any remarks that she believes her shaman friend has missed.

"By any chance, do you happen to have a few scrolls I could borrow? Or buy off of you?". She listens off a series of spells that she thinks will be helpful for her, perhaps giving her a bit more protection.

"And what do you know of this witch that lives off on the outskirts of town? I hear she has this intelligent pig. Would love to see it."

Suizal and Irlana talk with Bassy about what they found in the dungeon, trying to avoid talking about the treasure they found. Despite this, some of the townsfolk witnessed the adventurer's lugging out bags full of coins and the gnome is eager to see some of the coins.

"I hope to go down there myself now that you've dealt with the worst hazards down. But perhaps I will wait for you to deal with those pesky kobolds first."

"I really want to see some of those coins you found down there. I heard some of them are very unique and might be of historical interest. I do have a small collection of magic scrolls around here. I'd let you peruse through them and if you find some that you like you can pay me in the coins you found in the tower."

When Suizal mentions the witch's trained pig, the gnome lets out a snorting laugh. "Oh, you're talking about Anagrit's pig, Gallo! It was a smart choice on her part to pick such a cute familiar! She's perfectly harmless, but witches still have a tendency to scare small town folk."

Ilvaria heads back to the inn, confident that she has made friends with a few more Belhaim's residents.

Ilvaria, talking with Marla has raised the attitude of the Candleworks to Friendly!

Any final purchases or preparations? And make sure to level your characters up if you haven't done so yet!

Irlana happily shows Bassy a few of the coins. She hadn't really looked at them other than to count out the price of her armor. "I guess I didn't really think about the coins being part of history. I just thought they were money.... Do you have coins from different kingdoms and different times in history? I'd be interested in seeing that."

Bassy shows Irlana a few items from her collection. In addition to books and scrolls, she has a few clay tablets, some scraps of pottery, and a number of small artifacts such as coins, buttons, cups and jewelry. The items are not magical but primarily of archeological interest. Eventually she notices that it is starting to get dark and excuses herself, saying that she's had a long day and needs to get a good night's sleep.

We'll start the next dungeon soon so make your final preparations. Make sure you have basic supplies, like ropes and light sources. Also, seeing that we have a lot of low strength characters; one very simple thing you can do is to carry some extra gear in a sack and just drop it when a fight starts. Especially for this job, where overland speed doesn't matter much. You can make Kn Dungeoneering and Local checks also.

Suizal does have Light prepared. Don't have rope or anything like that, but can pick some up if needed.

I have the light spell also, but no rope. I'm not any good at climbing.... No rope, no skill, and no STR bonus!

The party makes their final purchases and heads back to the Wise Piper for a good dinner of roasted rabbit, served with a tomato and cheese salad, buttered bread and more cider.

In the morning the innkeeper greets them with more bread and cheese, along with some boiled eggs and a pitcher of creamy milk. "You'll need to have a good meal in you because you have a lot of work to do. Be careful and make it back safely!" She also gives everyone some food to bring with them for the rest of the day, which included some more bread, eggs and cheese; along with some left over tomatoes and cold rabbit left over from last night.

Take 4 gp out of the party fund for lodging and food (Common accommodations and good meals)

After talking with some people in the town they tell the party that they could reach the caves where the Blood Vow kobolds dwell by taking the Old Quarry Road. They also say that no has taken that road in years and that it has become completely overgrown. But the party also remembers that the kobold archer Sesserak told them that they were able to get from the Old Quarry by taking the underground tunnel they found underneath the tower.

Sir falcon had rope and pitons but left the in the tower, so he will buy more, as well as an antitoxin.

Well...back to the tower then?

"Oh I really love the great food here! And yes Sir Falcon, let us go through the tunnel that we discovered!" the Drow lady says.

Sounds good!

Talia smiles shly at Ilvaria's compliment. "Oh, I can't really take much of the credit. The bread is from Bread and Cakes and the cheeses are from Dendo's shop. And the hunters at Biton Lodge caught these rabbits. I just threw everything together. But I'm glad you like it."

The party makes it back down into the tower and they see at the top of the hill there is a crew of townsfolk salvaging the stone from the collapsed tower. They are led by a middle aged man with gray muttonchops who is picking through the stones and picking out the best bricks. He acknowledges the adventurers with a curt nod and goes back to filling up a wheelbarrow with black bricks.

The dungeon is still and the party quickly makes their way to the tunnels. Sesserak did not lie and the tunnels lead for several miles underground and at one point the trail opens up into a ledge that skirts the edge of a vast subterranean lake that is lit by a few rays of sunlight from up above. After several hours of travel, the party sees sunlight up ahead and emerge out into the open air.

They emerge onto a rocky strip of shore that is about fifty feet wide and leads to a large lake. To their left is a forty-foot tall quarry wall. The area around it is strewn with stony debris—the result of centuries of rockslides. Several larger boulders stand against the middle of the quarry wall. Ahead they can see a pair of caves. There is some furtive movement, then several smalls stones whiz through the air and clatter on the stony shoreline as some creatures swear at the group in chittery Draconic. Kobolds!

Round 1
Light Conditions: Bright light
Terrain: Boulders are difficult Terrain and provide cover
Irlana
Kobold Caster
Ilvaria
Tanssi
Suizal
Kobold, Orange
Kobold, Drk Green
Kobold, Brown
Kobold Xbow
Kobold, Green
Sir Falcon
Andwise

Irlana starts the round!

Since I probably wouldn't have been walking through the tunnel with my crossbow loaded and ready.... Not terribly surprised by the immediate attack, Irlana casts a quick spell at the closest kobold trying to delay his actions. She then steps forward and readies her crossbow for additional combat.

Casting Daze on the closest visible kobold. Will DC12 to save. Dark Green? Then stepping up by the rocks for some cover herself while she gets her crossbow ready.

I know that in real life you probably wouldn't be walking around with a loaded crossbow; I don't mind you having one ready and loaded.

Will: 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (13) - 1 = 12

Irlana tries to ensorcecell one of the kobolds, but its seems surprisingly resistant to her magic. Irlana then moves underneath one of the boulders to get cover from the inevitable rain of sling stones. In the shadowy recesses of the cave a kobold with shimmering blue scales directs the other kobolds in Draconic. She has a loaded crossbow in her hand, but instead of the patchwork leather armor most kobolds have she is just wearing a dress that was probably made for a human child with a leather belt across her chest holding several small pouches. The kobold then fishes out a scrap of paper from one of the pouches and speaks out loud a magic phrase. There is a shimmer of light the appears around her briefly before the scroll turns to dust.

Round 1
Light Conditions: Bright light
Terrain: Boulders are difficult Terrain and provide cover
Irlana
Kobold Caster
Ilvaria
Tanssi
Suizal
Kobold, Orange
Kobold, Drk Green
Kobold, Brown
Kobold Xbow
Kobold, Green
Sir Falcon
Andwise