Might and magic, Lords of the Contested Lands

Game Master Chyrone

In one of my Starfinder games, my character has an ability that automatically improves most initial attitudes (Expert Negotiator). Comes in handy a lot. It doesn't work for people who start out hostile, but those you usually can't talk into anything anyway. :)

Sounds like a good ability to have yes!

On the past post I made an error on the damage calculation, I forgot to factor in divine favor. It should have been 1d8 + 3(str) +2 (pa) +2 (DF) +1 (inspire courage). So it'd be 15 damage instead of 13. I'm not sure if it matters, though it might. Estelle would try to stabilize anyone she thinks is in danger of dying, and that might make it a bit harder... if that turns out to be overkill.

Oh he's ko alright.

Not dead, but a couple in the negative for sure.

Brunhild, while both your crafting and their venture into the warehouse happen at the same time span, you could possibly meet up again if you don't sleep, and head back at the inn you're lodging at.

There is, after all, a second meeting mentioned in the papers you pilfered earlier.

Astella: Ooh nice. Yes that's a VERY helpful ability for a face.

Apologies, i'll post tonight. Last two days were very hectic at work. Estelle would stabilize the still living dwarves and help Astella and daniel search the building. Her immediate thought is to place the still living dwarves at their poker table so that anyone peeking in might just assume they jusy passed out during their game/drinking game, trying to hide the blood from view. She'd help place the dead one in a chest and feel bad about it coming to that.

Just to clarify, we searched the entire first floor now with only the stairway up left to go? Or is the door to the west still unsearched?

Either way, I would probably advocate going up - there is a fairly large chance whoever is upstairs heard the fighting and is either getting ready to come down and fight us or escape.

At the moment, you've searched the main hall.
The door to the west is closed, and likely has the main entrance behind it.

I've restarted playing through the heroes 3 campaigns again..

In the Eofol & Nighon joint missions, an objective was to kill the gold dragon queen. So for our Avlee background characters, Shaymara perished in the earlier stages of the war.

But to quote John Cleese, 'she got better'. It took some time, but she returned a few months before the end of the war.
How? Maybe you'll find out later.....

Like any reasonable Avleean, Severa would be very keen to know.

I'll have a post up tonight.

I think I've taken my turn on the milk quest but I'm not in a rush. I know the party's activities are a bit of a higher priority right now. XD

Sorry, had a family member in the hospital. Everything is ok now, and as far as we know its going best case scenario.

These super high random rolls/crits feel like they happen way too often against us.

I've often found that, after an initial heavy hit from the enemy, they don't last long against the party.

I played a Way of the Wicked once, we didn't finish, but our GM rolled successful saves 9 out of 10. That was one of the most uncomfortable things, all spells failing effect. His high level cleric NPC died from a phantasmal killer induced heart attack, ironically.

Severa & Strom, i'll have a post up for you two tomorrow.

Astella, if you have any, could i request a cure light wounds before moving in to chase daniel? I have 16 nonlethal damage so the next hit probably knocks me out...

Uh oh.... Estelle made the 666th post. O_o'

>:) *Grins evilly and grows horns*

So I just made a post, but I'm not sure if it was my/our turn or not. It seems all enemies and Daniel made their actions, but if not, please ignore my last post and I'll re-evaluate what to do later.

@ Estelle, it is, no worries.

-------------------------------------

drop weapon, draw and Drink my potion of enlarge, grow out over the 10ft hatch, and hopefully fall in with the dwarf holding me. Entirely up to you GM, how this works. But I know he can't normally let go outside of his turn, and I thought this was pretty funny. Whatever the outcome. And seems like a smart, but perhaps poorly thought out, move to match his int/wis.

A personal buff would not force a character to enter a hazardous space, rather it would expand your size across safe spaces, and push the dwarf backwards, from your growing body.

The intended situation sounds fun, though. Daniel, i'll say sure.
Though he will get a reflex save to avoid falling in, DC 15, this would still drag him towards the edge of the open space. In a way, gravity is his foe here, similar to falling off a cliff.

Or, as a more recent example, back at the scene where Daniel dive bombed that dwarf off the roof. They tumbled off the roof together, but Daniel passed a save to grab the rain pipe to mitigate his own damage from falling.
----------------------------
I'm hoping Astella will have opportunity to roll, otherwise i'll do so for the next combat post.

That's fair, it was more so along the lines of "choosing" to expand into the hazardous spaces. Though, IDK if thats possible to do. Paizo has very few (and by that, I mean as far as I can tell no rules or coverings) of this sort of thing.

for example, if you increased in size, and the additional weight broke a beam that had been holding you and your opponent up to make you fall, would that be considered hazardous space?

could I use it to force a grappling(or just any) creature out over the hazardous space? Like, if he hadn't twisted around to put me on the edge and I grew would it push him out over the hatch? Or into a wall spell? etc. The only thing I could think of would be a contested Str check like the spell says for bursting constraints. But I couldn't find anything else on it.

for example, if you increased in size, and the additional weight broke a beam that had been holding you and your opponent up to make you fall, would that be considered hazardous space?

About as hazardous as this, you'd have no footing in parts of your space, when growing.

could I use it to force a grappling(or just any) creature out over the hazardous space? Like, if he hadn't twisted around to put me on the edge and I grew would it push him out over the hatch? Or into a wall spell? etc. The only thing I could think of would be a contested Str check like the spell says for bursting constraints. But I couldn't find anything else on it.

I mean, possibly? Though i'd say if there is room to grow into other squares than the opponent's square, that would take priority. In the grapple order, it is mentioned you can move the other onto a hazardous square, but they get to make a free check to escape the grapple and the effort altogether, with a bonus. He'll get the same bonus on his check.

Hopefully Astella passes the concealment... we could really use a critical hit right about now!

Also, I'm not blaming anyone for how things went, I just apparently forgot the information about Lady Greenbriar's agent was never shared with us. My apologies.

Whoops, sorry... didn't roll concealment.

To overcome concealment: 1d100 ⇒ 56

I think that works... over 20% right?

I like how the dwarf disarms me of my sap and then blames me for not fighting non-lethally XD

Carry a 2nd sap? ^^

So did we find the jewels downstairs? Orherwise i suggest we search the second floor thoroughly.

It was jewelry, specifically:

A set of leather bracelets with blue gemstones set in.
A necklace.
Her signet ring, with her family crest on it.

The bracelet was the items for exchange today.
The necklace was to be sold to a certain 'B.' Whom Astella suspected to be Bruno, a rumored fence and curio shop owner.

So, not to be the bearer of bad news but with the bracelet supposedly not here, we are kind of screwed. Any combat option with both 'enemy' faction seems out. Also we are low or out of resources. My best idea for a plan is withdrawing, taking what we can then buying Astella an invis pot and hoping she can steal the bracelet while invisible.

Does anyone have a better plan?

I can think of a somewhat evil option where we trade the lives of 'the boss' men for the bracelet, but i dont think Estelle would do that unless she had no choice. We can ask the guy where to find the boss and tey talking to him yet that seems incredibly risky.

To scrape the bearer of bad news vibe,

The bracelet is coming. Though the plan of walking from the warehouses back to the commercial zone, will take time, during which the exchange will take place. This late in the afternoon, it will be past business hours once you get there.

I believe you (the group) previously suggested waiting until the transaction was done, then to 'convince' the buyer to hand it over once they are leaving the premise. Which would leave you needn't fight a three way battle, in the most chaotic of situations. Bringing in the allied agent, would provide another to aid you, in whatever plan you would come up with.

As Lady Greenbriar said, "I leave this to your discretion."

Brunhild, i've got something for you up.

You're not forgotten.

Going on a family vacation for a couple weeks. Will try to maintain regular posting but may not always succeed and posts will be succinct.

Have a nice vacation!

@Others Estelle's plan just now is the best I can come up to profit us in this situation but if you have a better idea, I can still edit it in the next hour.

With the aid diplomacy, that Astella provided, Estelle's check is just high enough for the dwarf to consider options.

Though with one preference for fighting here, and another for striking a deal, it comes down to Daniel.

I aught mention a point of interest, (2 if i mention an alliance deal is an unexpected and fun idea)

You were informed by the bruiser, that not all details about locations are shared with the warehouse staff.
That is not to say McFargus' whereabouts can never be found out, but it would involve more looking into, more time consuming than the hours left in the day.

It is something, however, another party could find out, while you do other things.

Oh, I don't mind if the plan works. My character just wants to extricate herself from all of this and get back to the castle, but the *player* has realized that is unlikely to happen for about a zillion years while we chase down leads over here, so really... onward with whatever strikes your fancy.

I'm just the storyteller, it is the party's fancy that sets the course.

I merely have to start statting NPCs if you guys are going that route.

I was unsure what to do. The 'obvious' plan would have been to have Astella and/or Robin covertly steal the bracelet. But that seemed mostly out, this was my second best idea. OOC though I don't mind what we do. It *is* probably highly dangerous, as we are still just level 2. Is level 3 for us imminent now, seeing the newcomers are level 3 as well? So perhaps coming back to this later would be a good idea, if it would take time to track him anyway.

Perhaps we can instead offer him some sort of investment in Welnin or a favor from us for it I suppose and call it a day, if he is open to that.

He -is- a private collector, perhaps a businessman.
He's clearly got money to spend, in his bank account.

A 25 is a fine result for striking an appealing arrangement, if that is an alternative you're considering. Feel free to do that instead, if that takes your fancy.

I think Daniel's plan way back when was to pressure them into giving it back, wasn't it? But if you want to do a deal, totally open to it. Just don't forget that we have them outnumbered for now, and that could change if we let them go... but the main idea is to get those bracelets. It doesn't have to be done in a forceful way.

Remember though that he was knowingly buying stolen property. Not sure how far we can trust him, and personally don't really want him coming to our town ... but totally your call. I like your current plan better than that actually. It has promise... it could be a win-win for both of our teams, and take down the people who actually stole from Lady G in the first place (I think, right?). It will just also be quite dangerous... but it gives him something other than just having to turn it over. Gives him a way to at least get his money back, IF he agrees to it willingly and doesn't work a double-cross or something.

Well, let's wait and see what he says then. If he doesn't agree or such perhaps Daniel can weigh in later.

I have 4 more days of travel and a miserable head cold. Please bot me when appropriate. Strom is on his way to meet the adventurers at Lady G's

Is level 3 for us imminent now, seeing the newcomers are level 3 as well?

That milestone was somewhere today. You have a meeting to crash in the evening still.

I'll have a post tonight.

Returned from overseas! Was welcomed back warmly by work, with lots to do, and some unexpected family medical issues and the sad reality that my computer is fully dead (only posting via phone until I buy a new one). Will catch up with the game as soon as possible.

Guess that gives us another reason to follow Estelle's plan and try to get that guy's money back... maybe if we get ahold of the guy who actually stole it, he can tell us what he did with it.

Two of three have been caught. One who got his beard removed for not cooperating, and calling a noble woman a wench.

So there's the bracelet we now recovered, the necklace tonight at Bruno, this fence, and the still missing signet ring? But didn't we already recover part of the jewels for Lady Greenbriar earlier? Or were all those less important ones? Anyway, we definitely need more help before we do anything. Hopefully we can find Brunhild at the tavern at least, she should know that we need to intercept the fence, right? Also, I would recommend we buy a wand of cure light wounds for real, as we don't have any atm. Is there a magic shop open in the evening? If not, the only healing we have is potions and two 1d6 channels...

The other jewels found in the warehouse, are not from Lady Greenbriar.

That's fine with me, let's buy a wand of cure light, and we should definitely get Brunhild.

Then let's go deliver the bracelets to Lady G and make sure she knows about the other necklace meeting... maybe she can give us some backup there as well.

I don't think we have time to go quiz the guys in jail right now, and not sure they would tell us anything anyway, since we have nothing to offer them, but we could try tomorrow, and if not, maybe we can get some information about the signet ring from the third guy.

Brunhild, with the large amount of story the others have been up, and having to wade through that, i'll link the prior post for your own here.

Link

I'm holding a bit, hoping Brunhild can reply before we rendevouz the party, for evening activities.

I will remain lurking until my cue. :)

Ditto that.

Severa, i'll have something for you tonight.