[ACO] PFS2e B16 - Boom Town Betrayal (P2) (Inactive)

Game Master UncleFroggy

Please dot (add a post) in here and then delete your post to add yourself to this campaign.

1) I am based in Southeast Asia (UTC +8) so my posting hours may be unusual (especially for those in North America). I usually update at least one or twice per day. Just to keep the game moving, please post at least once every day and at least once during the weekend. If you disappear for more than 24 hours, especially during combat, I will simply place your character on infinite delay just to keep things moving.

2) Please label all three of your actions. Even if you think what you are doing is obvious.

3) If I am unavailable for longer than 24 hours, I will let you know in the Discussion Tab. Out of respect for your fellow players and myself, I ask that you do the same. Real life happens, and real life will always take priority over the game, but out of fairness for your fellow players, please let us know if you will be unavailable for an extended period of time.

4) Please complete the Macros and the Slides linked at the top of the page.

5) Questions, concerns? Feel free to share them in the Discussion tab.

6) Let's have some fun and tell a great story together! After all, that's what we are here for.

Your adventure begins in the Docks district of Absalom. You are in a local inn, the Rabbled Rouser. The Rabbled Rouser is located on a busy waterfront near Absalom’s harbor. The streets are crowded with legions of taverns and warehouses; each full and echoing with sounds of sailors, travelers, and dockworkers. There are hundreds of ships scattered along the dock just waiting to set sail on their next journey. The inn is crowded full of travelers from all over Golarion, but it doesn’t stand out much from other taverns nearby. You are relaxing and enjoying your time off from adventuring when you notice a distraught man wandering from table to table and making his plea for help. It won't take long before he makes his way over to your table.

Please introduce yourselves here. Feel free to RP while waiting or the others.

Seated at the table is a two and a half foot tall stuffed toy rabbit wearing a professor's cap and gown. He waves frantically at the nearby bartender. His oversized incisors give him a pronounced lisp. "Excuthe me thir. Are you the proprietor of thith ethtablishment? If you would be tho kind ath to prepare one of your finetht thpirith for me."

He checks his coin purse and frowns. "On thecond thought. Perhapth jutht a thmall glath of your houth wine would better thuit my current finanthes if you pleath?"

He turns to the others seated at his table and nods his head. "Allow me to introduth mythelf. I am Profethor Bun Bun, Q.T.E. It ith a pleasure to make your acquaintenthe."

A halfling in her tight-fitting and sleeveless garb sits next to Professor Bun Bun. Her shoulder-length hair drapes over her maroon scarf around her neck. The duel cape she is also wearing seems to extend the length of her hair.
"I would like to order what he orders," she tells the bartender while still looking at Professor Bun Bun with admiration as her chin rests on her hand.

"You're cute," she compliments the bard with a warm smile.

A very big, bronze-skinned silhouette with jet black hair and brown piercing eyes, wearing what appears to be the hide of a lion over a chain mail along with numerous heavy gold necklaces around his broad neck, enters the Rabbled Rouser. He carries a satchel and a huge warhammer in his hand.

Smoking a kind of small handmade cigar, he looks around before deciding where to sit. He seems to be in a bad mood.

A creature that looks like a 3 foot tall deciduous tree wearing a backpack sits near a window, quietly soaking up the sun. Occasionally they lazily run their branch like fingers through a jug of water. When the man begins to make his rounds in the tavern, the creature brushes the leafy foliage from it's face, revealing a pair of large, eerily child like eyes.

"I am a Pathfinder!" the leshy announces cheerfully. "I am named Roots Drink Rain but I know animals have short lives and like to save time whenever they can, so you can just call me Roots if you'd like. For short!"

Continuing to play with their water, Roots then states, "Pathfinders are good at solving problems! Maybe we can help!"

Roots Drinks Rain only needs sunshine and a little water now and then but he does like taverns for the people watching. He probably purchased a tankard of ale because he felt guilty not spending money but would have slid the drink over to someone else at the table.

Finally, Drake decides to sit at a big table, almost empty apart from a few creatures much smaller than his 6'10'' size.

'Mint tea and a glass of milk for The Great Drake!' yells Drake to the bartender.

Then Drake notices Kara:
'Hey, little girl! What are you doing alone, in such a district by yourself? Where are your parents? It can be dangerous here around the docks, you know?

The pale human man wearing a cape over his leather armor looks suspiciously at the man wandering from table to table. His appearance is a bit weird with his shaggy hair and beard. But the most weird thing about him might be the swarm of gems flying around him. So what will happen with this man over there? Why is he looking for in this tavern?

Then he suddenly recognize Drake. He remembers the barbarian. So he moves to him.

Hello, young man. I hope the journey to this tavern was pleasant.

'Vilmur? Is that you? You're not dead? I mean, you're still alive? What are you doing here, old man?'

Dead? What for a weird idea? No I'm not dead indeed. I'm traveling here again, after our mushrooms and sewers experience. I thought a big city... I could meet people from everywhere. Well I also helped to catch up with some dinosaurs before to arrive here. And you? Still problem to hit elephants?

'Hey, little girl! What are you doing alone, in such a district by yourself? Where are your parents? It can be dangerous here around the docks, you know?

”I may look small, but I am no more a little girl. I can handle myself,” Kara proudly says to Drake. ”You seem to be in a bad mood. What happened to you?” she asks him.

Dead? What for a weird idea? No I'm not dead indeed. I'm traveling here again, after our mushrooms and sewers experience. I thought a big city... I could meet people from everywhere. Well I also helped to catch up with some dinosaurs before to arrive here. And you? Still problem to hit elephants?

"Well, if you want to meet people from everywhere, I think you came to the right place. You can start with this table actually!"

The Great Drake thinks for a moment:
"No, I don't have any issues with hitting elephants. As a matter of fact, I haven't met any of them yet! Why?"

The Great Drake wrote:

'Hey, little girl! What are you doing alone, in such a district by yourself? Where are your parents? It can be dangerous here around the docks, you know?

”I may look small, but I am no more a little girl. I can handle myself,” Kara proudly says to Drake. ”You seem to be in a bad mood. What happened to you?” she asks him.

Drake looks at Kara in the eyes and, leaning closer, looks quite impressive, with several scars across his face and chest, including some fresh ones, and an intimidating glare from his hazel eyes.

"I am The Great Drake, also known as the Lion of Katapesh, aka the destroyer of Dragons, aka the terror of Trolls, aka the grabber of Giants, aka the crusher of Crabs, aka the killer of Kobolds, aka the smasher of Smilglen the Squalid Squid!"

While Keleshites are often proud people with a great sense of superiority, Drake is clearly more than that, with a sense of natural arrogance that makes him believe that he's above everything and everyone.

"The Great Drake has draconic blood flowing in his veins! But until now, he only got stupid missions which were mere bounties! How can he be in a good mood after that? And more importantly, how can he show his true value to the world?"
he adds with a strong Keleshite accent.

A halfling in her tight-fitting and sleeveless garb sits next to Professor Bun Bun. Her shoulder-length hair drapes over her maroon scarf around her neck. The duel cape she is also wearing seems to extend the length of her hair.

"I would like to order what he orders," she tells the bartender while still looking at Professor Bun Bun with admiration as her chin rests on her hand.

"You're cute," she compliments the bard with a warm smile.

"Oh no my dear, you mithunderthtand. Q. T. E. ith not meant to be pronounthed ath 'cutie'. It ith an acronym. It thtandth for quite thoroughly educated."

He attempts to adjust his mortarboard cap but fails as it is in fact sewn onto his head.

Stupid missions, stupid missions. That’s quick said. We had to collect mushrooms. That was an exciting scientific mission. And for more dangerous ones you should be able to hit something. Well if we find a new bounty in this place you won’t have the possibility to argue it is because of the varisian lady. She’s not here.

Roots Drinks Rain looks up at the Great Drake in awe. "Wow! You talk loud! I have so many questions! How are you a lion and a human at the same time? And how did you get dragon blood inside you?". He leans over to the Keleshite and whispers, "Did you eat a dragon?"

The leshy looks at Professor Bun Bun, clearly puzzled. "You're not a rabbit. You aren't an animal at all! Like me! But different!"

In response to the Drake and Vilmur complaining about the lack of important missions,Roots replies, "Don't let your spirits get down. I bet there is a good, important job right around the corner. Like exploring an ancient ruin. Or bringing food to someone who is really, really hungry!"

As said it must be interesting as much as the mushrooms at least. This was a great one. The mushrooms are interesting. Do you like mushrooms? We can make an omelet. That’s nice, an omelet. You agree?

Upon hearing that Roots is a Pathfinder, a man at the bar quietly comes over to sit as near to the group as he can. He is tall, though about 6 inches shorter than Drake. He looks clean cut and handsome, with shortish blond hair and a faint smile. He has a beer in his hand and a well-made bastard sword at his side. The hide armour he wears looks old but strong.

"I'm training at the Pathfinder Academy, Roots. The name's Cal. Didn't expect to see anyone else down here. I always loved an omelette when I was a kid on the farm."

Roots Drink Rain appears confused by the Vilmur's discussion of omelets. "I definitely do not agree! Some of my best friends are mushrooms and I would never consider eating them!" The leshy looks down thoughtfully before saying, "I suppose its the circle of life for you to eat mushrooms though. I forget that animals have to eat plants and other animals to live, because they can't live off the sun."

"Hello, Cal! I'm also training! They are teaching me how to do magic and better harness the Spirits that Live in the Trees and stuff like that!"

"They're trying to give me a 'rounded' education. Learning about culture and magic as well as fighting techniques. My village sent me here. The local druid told me my future lay far from home. Apparently she knew some Pathfinders and she had a vision about it. She always did do strange things and act a bit odd around me.

"I come down here to see other people who aren't from these parts and feel a bit out of place in this metropolis."

He looks around at the assembling group.

"I know I can trust people from the society."

What society are you talking about, young man?

He’s still under the shock to know that someone could not love to eat a marvelous omelet with mushrooms. He has his somewhere else, having his gems swarm floating around him.

"The Pathfinder Society. Where I spend most of my time. I haven't been out on a mission yet, though I hope it will be soon." Vilmur is right about his age. He can't be any older than twenty.

Have you passed their trials? I did myself. Never been sent in mission then. That’s why I’m looking for any bounty around Golarion to earn money. That’s interesting, bounties. Did I already mention the one in which I was asked to collect some mushrooms?

Roots Drinks Rain looks up at the Great Drake in awe. "Wow! You talk loud! I have so many questions! How are you a lion and a human at the same time? And how did you get dragon blood inside you?". He leans over to the Keleshite and whispers, "Did you eat a dragon?"

The leshy looks at Professor Bun Bun, clearly puzzled. "You're not a rabbit. You aren't an animal at all! Like me! But different!"

In response to the Drake and Vilmur complaining about the lack of important missions,Roots replies, "Don't let your spirits get down. I bet there is a good, important job right around the corner. Like exploring an ancient ruin. Or bringing food to someone who is really, really hungry!"

"Of course you can be a human and a lion at the same time! Look at The Great Drake: he looks like a human but he has the courage of a lion and his heart is as noble as the one from this animal!

"As for the dragon blood, this usually happens when one of your ancestors is a Gold Dragon!"

And what about the mushrooms?

The man of Irissen asks with a little voice thinking nobody cares about eating marvelous mushrooms.

"Mushrooms are very tasty. What sort were they?"

The troubled man walks up to your table. Speaking quickly he almost begs for your help. "Please, please! I need help! I could tell from across the room that you’re a group of honorable adventurers and I have been desperately searching for such folk to help me in my quest for justice! I beg you, help my poor elderly parents. A dishonorable Taldan nobleman has tricked my poor, naive parents out of everything they have! Their coin and any items of value were swindled from them, but their pride won’t allow them to ask for help."

"So, I must ask. My parents are good people who didn’t deserve this treatment. They’re kind and try to help others, and this is the thanks they get for trying to help someone they thought was in need. Please, won’t you help me retrieve what was taken? I know it doesn’t look like I have much of a reward to offer, but I promise you will have one from me and my parents at the end of this."

Will everyone (except for Professor Bun Bun and Roots Drinks Rain) please complete the Macros and post your token so we can get started

"The Great Drake is awfully sorry, poor fellow, but we're honorable adventurers and not hitmen. The Great Drake is pretty sure you'll find what you need at the docks or at your favorite thieves' guild."

Oh, Drake, young man, you must have lost your pride. This poor man ask you for a service. And you won't offer your help? What for the Great Drake?

The man of Irissen is doubtful with this position.

Who are you and what have you done with the proud Drake who doesn't fear to fight for the poor people?

If it's a money problem, I'm sure we will found some along. I also need some you know. For my people over there.

To the poor man: Sit down young man. And tell us more about your story. Who are you first? And who are your parents? And who is tho Taldan nobleman? Finally tell me more about what was stolen.

The man places his hand on the poor man's shoulder.

"I think I'd be up for investigating further. Not a fan of abusive nobles."

"That's terrible! How did he trick them out of their money?"

”Awww,” Kara consoles the young man and holds his hand, ”I'm sorry to hear what happened to you. I am willing to help you, but if you don't mind, would there be some reward, at least? You see, I am a bit tightening my belt lately,” she asks him with a warm but awkward smile.

”Profession Bun-Bun cutie here will help you, too? Wouldn't you cutie?” intentionally ignoring the Q.T.E. thing previously explained.

The stuffed rabbit gives Kara a brief frown before addressing the man. "Indeed my good man. You could in fact thay that I wath made to help. Err, conthtructed that ith."

He gestures to an empty chair. "I'm Profethor Bun Bun, Q. T. E. That thtandth for 'Quite Thoroughly Educated.' Pleath thit down and tell uth the full thtory tho we can conthider how to protheed."

"I am called Wiston Drent. My parents, my father Lom and my mother Andrea, are at our shared home in the Coins district. They’ve been too distraught and ashamed to leave, but I can take you to meet them."

"A fortnight ago, a nobleman named Malcolm Stanian said he needed some funds to build an orphanage in Taldor. My parents take pride in helping others without receiving anything in return, so of course they agreed to help. We only found out that this man was a fraud! I can only guess he did it because he knew he could and that my parents wouldn’t fight back. This is why it’s such a horrible thing to have happened and why I truly need your help to bring them justice. My parents would feel horrible asking anyone, let alone strangers, to help them retrieve their valuables. But it’s all they have so I must go against their wishes and beg for help."

Kara gets shocked upon hearing what happened to the young man's parents, covers her mouth with a gasp, and gives Wiston encouraging words. She almost has a tear in her eye.

”Such a terrible act! I am deeply sorry to hear your story. Why such kind deeds be ever repaid so evilly? Why would such a nobleman do that terrible act?! How could a noblema...” she pauses for a moment, rethinking what she last said.

”If you don't mind me asking, does that Malcolm Stanian get to explain himself even indirectly, because, well, out of shame you know, like even through writing a letter to you, as to why he did that in the first place? Maybe he has his reasons. You see, why would he lose his reputation as a nobleman for such a single evil act? It doesn't make sense to me,” Kara asks Wiston.

She just realizes that she sounds like she is doubting Wiston's tragic story, to the point she almost regrets saying it. ”Hey, Wiston, don't get me wrong. I am not saying you are not telling the truth, but you see, we just want... I mean, I just want to make things logical here,” she reassures Wiston with a warm but awkward smile again.

Cal narrows his eyes.

"I don't know a lot. I grew up on a farm, in a little village, in the middle of nowhere but I know that Stanian isn’t a real Taldan noble name. The nearest thing I can think would be Stavian, which is the leading house in Taldor. Someone using the Stanian name is probably a false noble, pretending to be someone they aren’t. That makes them worth tracking down in my book. What does he look like and where might we find him?"

He looks angry about this injustice.

Kara is even shocked as ever about the tea spilled by Cal. She almosts falls out of balance when she acts moving backward and in a state of shock. She immediately recovers herself.

”That's crazy, pretending to be someone you're not! Even so more, this young man's parents are deceived by such a fraud,” she says emotionally, but no tear still dares to fall from her eyes.

”I believe you now,” she tells Wiston, ”we'll hel... I'll help you, *'coz I am not sure if they will also help you*, she whispers, but please, don't forget, you know,” she teases him about the reward with some poking.

Well he must be despaired to use the false name of a Taldan noble family to pretend something...

He dreams a bit a moment... then:

But you have a good face. I will help you and you will help me to restore the Baba Yaga queen. That's nice of you. Now the better is to go to meet your parents. They must be worried not knowing where you are. And we can interrogate them also. They must know something and they will tell it to me.

He opens his eyes widely.

Roots Drinks Rain shakes their head. "I don't understand why animal persons do things like lie and steal. But we will go talk to this fancy pants Stabian. And if he is wicked and won't give your parents' gold back, then the Spirit of the Trees will deliver many bites to his fleshy rump! Then he won't be happy that he did lies and stealing," the little leshy promises. Then he looks at the man darkly. "Of course, if we find out he is not wicked, then your rump will be the one getting chewed on."

Having listened carefully to Winston's story, Drake intervenes and responds to him in a rude manner:

"Well, well, well! Let me guess: your parents decided to trust and make business with the first conman that came around your house and willfully gave all their belongings to this so-called 'noble'! And not only that, but having realized they have been completely ripped off, they decided to do absolutely nothing, so that this Taldan scum can continue to swindle other morons! Did I miss something?"

He then whispers to himself:
"Such a bunch of stupid cowards!

After a few seconds, he then adds: "Is your family for real?"

"I'll take you to meet my parents. We should leave now, before it gets dark. Are you coming?"

”Yes!” Kara replies as if she is getting proposed for marriage and get to be known by the young man's parents. She quickly behaves herself after realizing she is becoming disillusional of herself.

We are following you, young man. Go ahead!

"I'm excited to meet your parents!" the leshy says enthusiastically.

When the group leaves the tavern, Roots Drinks Rain stops for a moment to summon forth his eidolon.

Coming out of the trees, crawling out of sewers and jumping out of rubbish piles appear a large number of squirrels. They run towards Roots Drinks Rain and assemble closely together, until they've becoming a living carpet of brown, red and gray fur. They are packed so tightly together that some are standing on top of others. The dozens of squirrels fix their eyes on the young man asking for help, their beady black eyes staring hungrily at him until the leshy raises their arm and tells them, "Calm! We are going help this person! He is a friend!"

As you leave the tavern and follow Wiston, you each start with one hero point.

The Coins District is home to the Grand Bazaar market, which, in the daytime, is full of people from across Golarion looking to buy goods. Wiston leads you further into the district, beyond the Grand Bazaar. It becomes dark as evening descends over the city.

"Uh oh! It's starting to get dark. Are we almost there or should I light up a torch?" the leshy asks. Then he lets out a loud yawn. "Sorry. The feeling of being in the dark is probably what it feels like when animals are hungry."