PFS 1e - # 8-12 Tyranny of Winds, Part 3: Caught in the Eclipse (Inactive)

Game Master MauveAvengr

Maud offers her Pathfinder Chronicles about Geniekind to whomever would like to read it on the chariot ride to the Plane of Air. (+2 to Diplomacy and Kn.Planes regarding geniekind)

Maud seems a bit 'seasick' on the trip, and when you arrive in Armun Kelisk, Maud turns down Jairo's offer of sweets, but does partake of the mint tea, to "soothe her stomach."

She browses through Jairo's collection of outfits, but finds most things too gaudy and billowy to her tastes - she chooses the most plain and elegant dress she can find, made of lime green silk and ribbons with a deep v-neckline, and borrows peridot jewelry to match.

She reminds everyone she is not adept at diplomacy, but she is good at reading people, so perhaps she can team up with someone better at words, as they mingle? "Discretion is, uh, not my strong point." (Otherwise she will likely put her foot in her mouth)

"Dumpling and I would be honored to have your company at the ball, Rock Girl," Cevrik says, displaying that he still hasn't realized that's not actually her name.

Cevrik's no bard, but he's decent at diplomacy.

Which guest do you approach first? Let's only do one guest at a time. It'll get too confusing if we have to do multiple encounters at once.

Willard has clearly combed his beard, and tied it with a blue ribbon into a semblance of order. His vizier's robes are a combination of greys and blue, looking very unusual on the pale Ulfen man.

I have no idea where to begin, or who to speak with first. This is all so fascinating, I don't know whether to ask questions or take notes! he exclaims entering the ball.

I say we start at the top of the list and work down?

"Then let's just pick one and get started," Liora nods. "Surely between ALL of us, we'll have something in common with each of these guests."
______________

Going straight down the list - with the added note that Yulau wanted to speak with the dragon, Wan Feng, for Sovereign Court purposes - sounds good to me.

”Ooo, the dragon first please? I can’t wait! Should we talk to him first, let him talk to us first or what? I hope he’s nice. I’m so nervous…does anyone want to try to speak up to him or should I? What do the rest of you think?”

Yulau votes for the dragon, lol!

Are we on a time limit, should we team up to interview people, or go around in one big cluster? I know we are roleplaying one guest at a time, but are all PCs considered present for each interaction, or are we taking turns with each guest interaction?

Maud will agree with Cevrik's plan to stick together - "I'd be glad to benefit from your silver tongue, Cevrik." She is unsure how wise bringing Mr. Dumplington to a party might be, but trusts the halfling's social propriety.

It's up to you. If you only want one person present, that's fine. Or you all can join in too. No time limit really - you can talk to everyone you want.

So sounds like you want to go in order for now? I'll assume everyone is there, unless you say otherwise.

Since Yulau has a specific agenda beyond ours, I'm happy to let her take the reigns on whether we go as a social clump or scatter to "divide and conquer."

Yulau takes it on herself to approach Wan Feng, the dragon. ”Greetings Mr. Feng. I’m Yulau, and it’s an honor to meet you. These are my friends. This Azure Hall is something special is it not? What a library!”

She waits to see if anyone else wants to chime in on introductions.

Diplomacy 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (3) + 8 = 11
T shirt reroll 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (15) + 8 = 23

Yulau really wants to impress the dragon.

Wan Feng has taken the shape of a white-haired Tian man. He is very serious-minded and lawful to the core. He frowns at Yulau and the other Pathfinders as they approach. "I see." He watches the kitsune carefully. "I've heard about you from the Ainsi tribe." His brows furrow. "They say you allied with their rivals - the Goanron Triumvirate.". He shakes his head, obviously in distaste of the Pathfinders.

But seeing the young kitsune reminds him of home. "This is indeed a great library. What are you here for?"

Anyone want to assist?

"Their rivalry did not involve us, until they choose to attack. We defended ourselves until the Ainsi warrior was incapacitated. They may yet live thanks to that mercy." Waving a hand to dismiss the topic, Kamishah continues. "Our society seeks knowledge, in all things. This library and those that patron it are most valuable resources."

Diplomacy Aid: 1d20 ⇒ 2

Unfortunately, Kamishah isn't that good at assisting either. XP At least he isn't the primary!

Knowing that this is very important to his party mate, Cevrik gives a deep, reverent bow to the dragon and even manages to get Dumpling to mimic somewhat of a bow while the Halfling says, "It is an honor to make your acquaintance, majestic one."

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (11) + 2 = 13

Woot! There's an assist for you, Yulau!

”We are here for knowledge of course, and who knows more than someone as long lived and wise as yourself. We are seeking information on two different topics…..the Concordance of Elements and an artifact we’ve heard tales of called the Untouchable Opal. When we heard about all the collective wisdom gathering in one place, we just had to see if anyone could assist us.”

"Yeah, I mean we went with the Goanron because they found us first. And Elsharon was nice enough...for an earth elemental," Liora adds. "We didn't want to fight with the Ainsi but their representatives forced a choice. Pretty dumb if you ask me!"

Diplomacy (Aid Another): 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (6) + 1 = 7

Alas, Liora may be just a little too blunt to ever really be a great diplomat...

(You changed his attitude from unfriendly to indifferent. You'll need both Willard and Maud to assist to change him to friendly.
Talking about travel or different cultures may win him over.)

He frowns at the antics of the Pathfinders. "Whatever happened with the Ainsi and Goanron, it's not my business.". He turns to Yulau. "I know nothing of those things. I am no scholar, just an humble ambassador. If you have nothing else to say, please go and enjoy the party."

"You are right. Whatever happened with the Ainsi and Goanron has nothing to do with this party or our relationship with you. I hope you will allow us to start from a fresh neutral perspective. Come, let us tell you stories of our travels in the Nirmathas forests or the Qadiran desert..." she wisely bites her tongue short of offering her rock collection for his perusal.

Diplomacy Aid: 1d20 - 3 ⇒ (14) - 3 = 11

Truly, you must have journeyed to some amazing places in your lifetime, can you share some? I myself have only been to the First World, which was a wonderland of strange oddities. Willard pipes in, attempting feebly to aid the conversation.

Diplomacy, Aid Another: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (11) + 1 = 12

"Perhaps you are right." He turns to Yulau with a smile. "Let's talk more in depth another time. I'd love to chat more.". He gives her a better way to contact him (maybe a personal address or something).

Yulau can now convince him to join the Sovereign Court faction with a DC 15 Diplomacy check. But you wont be able to recruit Mithradatha or Zhalla bint Rathmozen.

Diplomacy 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (5) + 8 = 13

Yulau takes the opportunity to tell the dragon all about the Sovreign Court. Unfortunately her presentation was a bit lacking.

As Yulau starts into her presentation, Cevrik lingers nearby and chimes in helpfully adding, "Sovereign Court has, indeed, done glorious deeds and is easily the most stately and sophisticated faction, and therefore, most suited to your glorious stature," and gives a bow.

Aid Another to Diplomacy: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (5) + 2 = 7

But in his haste, he stumbles as he attempts his bow and ends up looking foolish instead of fancy.

Sorry, Yulau. I tried.

Not sure if we can assist on this check or not, but just in case...

Sense Motive: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (14) + 9 = 23
Maud realizes winning over this ambassador is important to Yulau but he just needed a bit more convincing.

"I'm not a member of the Sovereign Court, but from my personal experience the faction seems to be quite honorable, with ties to many governments. Honestly, becoming a member might make your job much easier."
Diplomacy aid: 1d20 - 3 ⇒ (17) - 3 = 14

Sure, I'll say that works!

Yulau is able to convince the dragon Wei Feng to work with the Sovereign Court!

Who do you want to talk with next?

”Thank you,” Yulau squeals as she hugs the Halfling and the oread. ”You two helped me so much. And now we all have a friend that’s a dragon!”

She scanned the room. ”Hmmm, who’s next? Let’s see…Hiw about Vivek, the archaeologist?”. If no one objects, Yulau approaches the air veela and tries to strike up a conversation.

”Hey there….I think you are Vivek, right? Nice to meet you. I’m Yulau with the pathfinder Society. I love this library, don’t you? Libraries are just the best place to find out all sort of information, some long forgotten and others more current in nature.”

Diplomacy 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (8) + 8 = 16

The androngynous veel feels at home at the Gala and occupies himself with dancing and cavorting with as many guests as possible. Yulau manages to snag him in the middle of a dance. "Aha! Pathfinder Society? Lovely to meet you!". Affable and attractive, Vivek is the life of the party and seems to already enjoy the company of the group.

"Before we chat, let's test your dance skills against my own."

You can attempt to use Perform (dance) in place of Diplomacy to impress Vivek.

"A dance-off? Haha, sure, why not?" Liora laughs. She waits a moment to see if anyone else wants to pick a dance and then she does her very best to act as a back-up dancer...

Perform: Dance (Aid Another?): 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (12) + 1 = 13

"Get low!"

"Dance time, Dumpling!" Cevrik says as he joins the back-up ensemble or he'll step into the lead role if no one else wants to, so I'll roll it in a spoiler just in case.

Being encouraged to dance by the little Halfling, the bear responds by sitting down and yawning.

Perform Dance Aid: 1d20 ⇒ 4

Crossing his arms, Kamishah simply says, "I do not dance."

Well, as you can see Vivek, my friends all dance, because if they don't dance, then they are no friends of mine... Well, we try to dance, but have fun anyway! the usually stoic arcanist chimes in, trying to lighten the mood of the party.

perform dance, Aid another: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 1 = 2

Since I made the initial diplomacy roll, I’m assuming I can’t also aid with a dance check. But if I can, here goes. Performance 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (3) + 3 = 6.

Vivek manages to dance with each member of the team (including Mr. Dumplington!). Perhaps it's salsa or tango or maybe even the chicken dance. But at the end, he laughs hysterically. "I haven't had that much fun in ages. But some of you need to take some dancing lessons.". He eyes Willard and Kamishah in particular.

"So you want to talk shop, eh?". Vivek smiles, though sweaty. "I've heard about the Untouchable Opal, the prison of Ranginori, the Duke of Thunder and the benevolent counterpart of Hshurha, the Duchess of All Winds.". He has to stop to take a bit of a breather! "Well, apparently, a few millennia ago, the evil lord of water, Kelizandri, conspired with the other nefarious lords to trap their good counterparts into four gems. The artifacts were scattered across the multiverse and no one knows where they are now. I've spent countless years researching where they could be.". He ponders for a moment. "There are, however, many academic arguments about how to unlock them should they be found. Trust me, I know. But such discussions are treasonous to Hshurha, so any documentation about the subject would surely be carefully guarded and discreetly marked."

He looks around to make sure no one else is listening in. "Look for documents marked with a storm cloud inside an intricate wreath of lightning bolts, that is one of Ranginori's sacred sigils."

Then he takes the hand of Liora. "Let's dance again!"

Who do you wanna talk to next?

Maud initially refuses to dance, but with the rest of the group joining in (badly) and Vivek's encouragement she tries...

Perform(Dance): 1d20 - 3 ⇒ (5) - 3 = 2
...and trips over Willard, obviously embarrassed but also laughing.

Maud is most interested in speaking with one of the djinni (Fairuza Bereket - librarian; Ghassan El-Amin - archivist) or we can just go back to the top of the list with Almoshtari, invisible stalker historian. Although - how do you find an invisible person to talk to them?

"Hah! That was great! Who cares if it's good as long as everyone's having fun?" Liora giggles hysterically when all of the dancing is done. Though she looks tempted to take Vivek up on his offer to dance again, the sylph finally offers the air veela an apologetic smile.

"I'd love to, but my friends and I still need to make the rounds and chat with a few more people. Maybe when we're done, though?"
______________

After the group takes their leave of Vivek, Liora looks around. "Alrighty, who's next? How about the invisible stalker? It's not every day you get to rub elbows, or whatever they got, with one of them, after all! Or maybe that Ghassan guy - he's an archivist, right? I bet he'd know a few things."

Yulau noticed Maud staring at Ghassan, the archivist. ”You think he’s handsome? Do you want to go talk to him? I can introduce you, if you’d like.”. She grabs Maud by the arm and leads her over to the djinn.

”Excuse me, are you the archivist known as Ghassan? I’m Yulau and this is my friend Maud. We are members of the Pathfinder society visiting the library. Looking for knowledge of course. I bet you hear that all the time, right, Maud? How is the party treating you tonight?”

Diplomacy 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (18) + 8 = 26

Looks like Liora just ninja-ed me. How about we hit the invisible stalker next?

Vivek waves goodbye. "Let's dance again sometime!"

As the group heads out to find Almoshtari, the invisible stalker historian, they find a woman in colorful beaded fabric and streaming ribbons matching her description. She seems like a bombastic individual. As a historian, she loves talking history.

You can roll a Knowledge (history) check instead of a Diplomacy check. But Yulau hit it out of the park with that Diplomacy check

As the Pathfinders talk with the woman, she conducts her conversations with boisterous zeal, talking about the history of the place you are in. "Lovely. Did you know it was built several hundreds years ago...". Her conversation continues like that. "What do you do? Tell me about your history"

"Oh, as Pathfinders, there's little we find more valuable than finding historical artifacts and learning more about ancient cultures," Cevrik says, hoping that's the sort of thing the historian wants to hear.

"Well...that's a large part of it, but not everything," Liora feels the need to point out. "Some of us try to do good in the places we're sent. If we can do some good *and* learn something about a place or a group of people or a point in history, then so much the better!"

Liora glances around and then smiles. "Speaking of learning about people, you wouldn't have to know much about the Concordance of Elements, would you? Or the goodly elemental lords like Ranginori? Information on both seems pretty elusive, we've noticed!"

”Or artifacts we hear about. Like the Untouchable Opal for instance,” Yulau pipes up again.

Maud pulls out a prettily striped rock and launches into a concise but dry recitation of her degree research on the history of this composite genesis foliated metamorphic rock - from its original formation in sediments to the tectonic movement that caused it to undergo extreme heat and pressure which caused the striping and changed the formation of the rock, to its being pushed through Golarion's crust, ending up in a stream near what is now Kassen and eventually travelling all the way to her mountain home in Kraggodan.
Kn.History: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (14) + 5 = 19
Prof.Geologist: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (5) + 8 = 13

Sense Motive: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (5) + 9 = 14
...but (I'm assuming) she quickly realizes parties on the Plane of Air are not the best audience for rock trivia and sulks for a few minutes gloomily, mumbling to herself quietly in Terran.

The Pathfinders and Almoshtari talk about history, particularly of the elemental planes and the elemental lords. She smiles and is completely engrossed in the conversation. Though the conversation gets sidetracked every now, she eventually provides some insight to you.

"Curious about the imprisoned elemental lords, eh? I would take care who you ask such dangerous questions. Fortunately for you, I mean you no ill will.". You can tell she is very interested in the history of the elemental lords. "I do happen to have information for you. Ranginori, the lord of air, is trapped in the Untouchable Opal. Lysianassa, the lord of water, is trapped in the Garnet Brand. Atrea, the lord of fire, is trapped in the Gasping Pearl, Finally, Sairazul, the lord of earth, is trapped in the Moaning Diamond."

"According to legend, there's an intelligent book detailing how to free them from the gems. Hshurha doesn't want that knowledge out there so she's had her agents tracking it down for centuries, to no avail. Personally, I'm unsure if it actually exists. It may just be a rumor. It's such an obscure myth that even the book's name is now lost to time."

Almoshtari looks around and spots a colleague. "Excuse me, but I have to talk with my coworker over there about an important discovery. Hope you have a lovely evening."

”Whoa that was high level stuff she just told us! Great job, everyone. Who should we talk to next? I wish there was another dragon…”

"Let's go talk to Ghassan now, since Maud really seemed interested in talking to him," Liora suggests. "If he's an archivist then I bet he knows all kinds of stuff!"

The Pathfinders spot Ghassan El-Amin, the male djinni archivist, standing near the wall, away from the crowds. Watching him, it seems like he doesn't want to be here, but is only here due to professional obligations. On his shoulder is a large raven who Ghassan occasionally speaks to and feeds.

Do you all head over to speak to Ghassan? You may roll Handle Animal in place of Diplomacy to win over the djinni.

Yulau grinned at Liori’s suggestion, also noticing Maud staring at Ghassan, the archivist. ”You think he’s handsome? Do you want to go talk to him? I can introduce you, if you’d like. He doesn’t look really comfortable here, so he might be kind of grumpy. Let’s see. ”. She grabs Maud by the arm and leads her over to the djinn.

”Excuse me, are you the archivist known as Ghassan? I’m Yulau and this is my friend Maud. We are members of the Pathfinder society visiting the library. Looking for knowledge of course. I bet you hear that all the time, right, Maud? How is the party treating you tonight? Lot of people droning on about boring topics, left and right, huh?”

Diplomacy 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (2) + 8 = 10

While Yulau strikes up a conversation, Liora only seems to have eyes for the raven perched upon Ghassan's shoulder.

Handle Animal: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (7) + 5 = 12

"What a handsome one you are! What's your name?"

She almost reaches out to stroke the raven's feathers but remembers her manners and catches herself.

You can only do one of Diplomacy or Handle Animal, not both (which is true for all the people you will be speaking with)... So you'll have to decide which one to do. Is anyone else joining in?

I'm okay with Diplomacy since that one can be made untrained, in which case the modifier for Liora's roll above is a +1 instead of a +5.

Aid Diplomacy: 1d20 ⇒ 2

"Nice bird."

Maud can't decide between looking affronted, blushing, and stammering when Yulau assumes she's romantically interested in the Djinn archivist.

But once she's up to him and introduced she just starts word vomiting about how this is her first time on an Elemental plane and she's been studying all the different elements in order to better understand her own mysterious Elemental power as well and gee, sir, with all the time you spend looking through historical things I'm sure you have some really interesting facts or stories to tell! (Appeal to pride for more Elemental info)
Diplomacy(Pathfinder Chronicles): 1d20 - 3 + 2 ⇒ (17) - 3 + 2 = 16