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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.
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As you check into the Lodge in Absalom, you spot the following message on the board:
"I need some agents to travel with me to the Shackles on an important mission that will affect the future of the Society in western Garund. I need people who aren't well-known as being Pathfinders, so you'll do. Meet me at the Glorious Payoff as soon as you can.
It is signed "Capt. Calisro Benarry" and has note of which pier the ship is docked at."
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A young Pathfinder is reading the message pinned on the board. His face betrays a clear oriental descent, and his gray hair give him a wiser appearance. He's wearing simple clothes and a studded leather armor, a heavy looking backpack on his shoulders with a spear strapped onto it.
Well, my researches here are complete, and it's been a good while since I've done some field work he thinks, takes a little notebook from one of his pockets and a small piece of charcoal to write down the pier to go to, then leaves the lodge with a cheerful step.
At the pier he stops from a moment Wait, what am I looking for? A tavern? A ship? he asks the first person he runs into Excuse me, I'm looking for the.. er... uh... he takes his notebook from his pocket The... ah, the Glorious Payoff, would you please be so kind to point me in its direction? And maybe tell me what it actually is, please? he asks with a smile.
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"A trip back to the Shackles? That sounds alright. And with Benarry." says a flame-haired, olive-skinned young human woman. Like the man she follows to the docks, she wears some well-worn studded leathers. A large dagger is on her belt and a walking staff attached to her rucksack.
"It's her ship," she says, smiling, "I saw you at the Lodge. I'm a new Pathfinder too. Telua." she offers her hand.
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"Sure, off one boat and on to another." A man dressed in simple brown and green clothing with a well shined breastplate approaches the Glorious Payoff. Seeing the rest of the party, he bows politely and introduces himself. "Well met friends. I am Adoril the Younger, a champion of Erastil. Please call me Adoril. I'm looking forward to our trip together."
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The pale woman who arrives shortly after Adoril wears no armor of any kind, except perhaps against foul weather. She marches up the docks to join the rest of you, smiling and waving a gloved hand in greeting. A silver amulet hangs from her neck in the shape of a rapier emerging from a lotus.
"Erryn Canmore," she says by way of greeting, her hand lowering to rest on the pommel of the rapier on her hip. "Is this the Glorious Payoff? I believe I'm to serve as your medic."
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Approaching the message board in the Grand Lodge, an elegantly-dressed human, wearing a comically large ascot tie, looks slightly out of place. The thin, 6-foot tall gentleman has a neatly combed coif of dark hair with a full mustache, which is often singed by his electrical experiments. He typically wears an odd set of goggles on his forehead, always ready to tinker. He seems to be struggling with his backpack.
With a wide-eyed look of wonder staring at all the Grand Lodge has to offer, he awkwardly approaches the other new Pathfinders starting to gather. "Well met, Pathfinders. I'm Tesla. I dabble in magic ... primarily electricity." He continues, "I'm not from around here. Another time actually. I'm afraid one of my experiments went awry. But this is a fascinating place to continue my research."
When he sees the champion, he smiles, "Adoril? Is that you? Hardly recognized you now that we're on dry land. And not soaked." He continues adjusting his mostly empty backpack. Alas, when one isn't blessed with great strength, everything is heavy.
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You gather on the docks and Callisro Benarry arrives. She invites you on board and steps aboard. She casts off and deftly steers her ship through a hidden channel, carefully navigating through the barely visible rock and coral that protrude slightly from the water’s surface. Behind the Payoff, a slightly smaller ship—the Sea Sparkle—follows, making every effort to follow Benarry’s course as closely as possible. Off the port hull, the deep green of the Garundi coast is illuminated by the late afternoon sun.
"See those gulls?" Benarry shouts over the flapping of the sails, "that’s the sandbar we’ll be dropping you off at. Barely sticks up over the waves, but the seabirds flock over it to feast on crab. As I explained earlier, Vidrian—you might have known it as Sargava not that long ago—needs explorers to chart the trade routes to the south that they couldn’t use back when it was ruled by Cheliax. Simple enough bit of adventuring, but the new nation’s been having trouble with the Free Captains of late. Turns out when Vidrian broke free of Cheliax, the locals stopped paying the pirates protection money, and now they’re the number-one plunder target in the Shackles. What’s more, the pirates have set up a blockade preventing our ships from making it down to Vidrian to assist."
"Thankfully, we’ve got someone on the inside. Stella Fane, a Free Captain with ties to the Firebrands and the Pirate Council, has been in contact with the Society. She and members of the Society’s leadership have put together a fairly clever plan to help the Society’s ships pass through the pirate blockades unharmed. The Wind and the Waves willing, the Payoff and the Sparkle can sail to Vidrian, no problem. While we’re doing that, I’ve arranged transport for you to Port Peril to meet with Fane and get her to sign this contract making the whole thing official—she may be a pirate, but she’s the kind that holds to her word. You’ll need to avoid drawing too much attention until after the deal is done. Once she’s signed the contract her friends in the Pirate Council will ratify it and there won’t be much the lesser captains can do. Be careful. Anyone looking to put a stop to this need only ensure that contract never gets signed."
"It’s a long-term trade agreement; we tell her where we’ve had reports of slavers—she hates them and it’s no skin off Society members' backs to let her know—and she approaches us first with any information she receives regarding archaeological sites and historical discoveries. Our obligation requires us to make the information exchange each time one of our ships passes through the Shackles, so attacking a Pathfinder ship is the same as attacking Stella and her allies on the Pirate Council. Smartest deal we’ve made, if you ask me."
"Any questions?" she asks.
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Adoril claps the wizard on the back, "Ha! Great to see you again, Tesla. It seems the ocean calls to me recently. Let's hope I don't get so close this time!"
After listening to the brief, Adoril speaks up "How can we recognize our contact? Does Captain Fane have any distinguishing features? How about places she frequents?"
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A towering man dressed in various shades of red and gold runs towards group. "Am I late? I saw a message posted, but had to go fetch my belongings... Oh, she's still here.", he looks at the Glorious Payoff and breathes a little heavily, as if he ran a few kilometers in full gear. "Hi. Ebir's my name. Azarola.", he nods at everyone. "Nice to meet you. If you already made introductions, I can catch up with everyone on the ship. No point wasting time on land."
He walks past Bennary on his way to the deck, and gives her a quick nod: "Captain."
He listens to Benarry's briefing, this time with his gear stowed below the deck. The man has several scars on his arms, and a few smaller ones on his face. HIs slowly graying hair just hands from the sides of his head, and could honestly be better kept. But he doesn't seem to mind. A short beard with some salt in it frames his face.
"Yes, Captain...", Ebir clears his throat. "Where exactly should we be looking for this Captain Fane? And is there anyone in particular we should be aware of? I mean people who might plan to stop us. Except slave drivers, of course."
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"All we know is that Stella Fane frequents bars at Port Peril. We don't know which one she'll be at today, but that's why you're here. Now, then, since I can't really afford to beach this boat on that sandbar, off with you! The water's warm and calm so over the side with you lot!"
You can either climb down a rope or jump off the rail.
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Matei stayed mostly silent during the whole trip and briefing, his thoughts lost somewhere else.
He climbs down the rope and gets to the beach with his companions. So, we're headed to some kind of bar, right? Never been so far south, and I'm not used to the kind of locales we may enter in this mission. Do any of you have any suggestion to "blend in" with the locals? While talking he's trying to accommodate his clothing to the warmer climate, the young man is already sweating copiously.
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As Tesla climbs down the rope, he wonders aloud, "Hmm...did anyone ask about our return trip?" He shrugs and hopes that'll get worked out when the time comes.
When Matei asks about blending in with the locals, Tesla considers what he learned while reading up on the society of Port Peril.
He shares any information he recalls.
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"Drink some rum, dazzle a pirate captain with our wit and then get her to sign a treaty? Wow! It's my first mission."
With that, she concentrates hard and a green man manifests from the wooden deck upwards. The being is about 2 metres tall, leafy vines wrapped around a wooden skeleton, with a mask-like face and softly glowing blue eyes.
"This is Tapio, the spirit of my island. Didn't want to surprise you all with him later."
The green man bows.
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"One of my favorite parts of being a Pathfinder is seeing the powers of my allies. Greetings Tapio the island spirit." Adoril bows back to the green man. "Well then friends, let's get at it!" Adoril slides down the rope and looks out for trouble, and a route to the port, as the rest of the party comes down.
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Calisro hands Tesla the contract.
"Careful with that contract, by the way. It’s all magicked shut, so only Fane can read and sign it. Now if there isn't anything else, you can all jump overboard and swim to the sandbar."
Calisro is not wrong about the waters around the sandbar. It's warm and fairly calm and shallow so you're not in danger of drowning. You pull yourselves up onto the sandbar to wait for your ride.
You spy a wooden crate half buried in the sand.
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When Tapio is introduced, Tesla bows in return to the small creature. "My first time meeting a spirit guardian." The wizard reaches into his pack and pulls out a small jar. It has a single firefly darting around. "This is Elon, my spirit animal. Not near as impressive as Tapio, almost not worth mentioning, but he gives me moral support." He places the jar into his pack for safe-keeping.
Tesla formally bows to Calisro when he's handed the contract. "You can count on us, madam." He tucks the contract away in the inner lining of his fine cloak.
He looks around the beach.
Finding nothing of interest, he sits down and enjoys the warm sun.
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""A different ship will pick you up.' It's this kind of attention to detail that's made the Society such a wonderful organization to work for," Erryn says dryly, watching the ship sail off into the distance. "I'd joke that they likely expect us to build a boat ourselves, but that's actually happened to me before."
She's initially startled by the appearance of Tapio, but quickly recovers and returns his bow. "A pleasure to meet you, Tapio."
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When the eidolon appears, Ebir instinctively reaches for his sword. After the creature is introduced, he calms down a bit, but still keeps a hand on the hilt for ... reasons. He nods towards the creature as he scans it top to bottom. "Well, you certaily are ... subtle."
On the beach, Ebir smiles at Erryn's commends. "Bah! We'll manage. No adventure starts with a foolproof plan. After all, that wouldn't be an adventure, would it?"
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Matei looks amazed at Tapio Marvelous! This is the spirit of your island? May I ask where are you from? he asks Telua eagerly.
After listening to Tesla talking about his firefly, the young Pathfinder inquires him May I ask you what kind of moral support your insect companion is able to provide you? You see, I study the psychological effects of adventuring on Pathfinders, and I'm really interested in anything that can help those with more fractured psyches cope with their situation. I never thought of familiars and animal companions as possible "helping devices" for the recovery of the mind, maybe you can help me casting some light on this matter would you? After the mission has ended, of course.
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Tesla looks over at the crate. He pats some thieves tools at his side. "With all my tinkering, I found it beneficial to know how to use these." He frowns when he sees no lock mechanism. "But if it's brawn you need, I'll keep basking in the sun." He flexes his flabby wizard arm and shrugs apologetically.
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Adoril pries open the lid of the crate. Inside you see a bottle of rum stamped with a stylized dragon turtle and what appears to be a bottle of beer. Other bottles within the crate are broken and empty.
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From where he's sunning himself, Tesla watches Adoril open up the crate. He see the group unpack a couple bottles.
The wizard is no expert on alcohol, but he recognizes the potion. "Well done, Matei and Adoril. I'm not sure about the bottle of rum, but the potion is Bravo's Brew. It should help one resist spells affecting the mind." He turns back to take in the solar rays of the sun.
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The tide comes in as you wait on the sandbar, eventually leaving you standing in a few inches of water in the middle of the ocean. About an hour later, a small boat appears, sailed by an elderly dwarven woman. She anchors the boat at the sandbar and begins moving around sacks of shellfish and crab traps to make room in the cramped vessel. She looks over at you.
"So you younguns are jus' gonna watch an old woman move all this without helping? I figgered you younglings would at least help out an old lady. If you wanna get going to Port Peril now, get over here and help move this stuff around to make some room! Hlar's the name, by the way."
"Y'know, Calisro Benarry made me come out here earlier than normal so you might as well help me row!"
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Telua answers the questions as they dive in and swim. She looks at home in the ocean.
"I grew up on a volcanic island not too far from here. Lush rainforest, amazing plants. My mother was in a shipwreck whilst she was pregnant and most of the inhabitants are from that shipwreck. Tapio and I met when I was growing up and we formed a bond. I set out to see the world and they come with me."
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When the dwarf comes...
"Tapio can help you row. We're both quite keen to get to the Port."
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Fascinating, very fascinating Matei listens to Telua's story as if she's telling the most intriguing tale ever told A shipwreck you said? That's amazing. And the whole population of the island is made of survivors... I would be delighted in visiting the place and make a few inquiries to the locals. Also, have you told your story to any of the big names of the Society? I bet some of them could be really interested. I'm sure Miss Barun would like to know more about this. If you don't mind on our way back you could tell me more about your island, and with your consensus I could tell everything to Miss Barun.
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Tesla will hold onto the rum if no one else does. He assures the group, "Rum is not my drink of choice. It's quite safe with me." And if no one takes the Lesser Bravos Potion, he'll hold onto that too.
When Hlar asks about rowing, Tesla (once again) flexes his flabby wizard arms, and states, as if it's totally obvious, "Yes, yes, others are far better suited than I for such a task." He finds a seat and adds, "Now if it's light we need, I'm your man." Tesla casts magical light on a small pebble and tosses it in the sea.
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"I don't get back very often. It's not too far from the Shackles. It's lovely and deadly at the same time. Luckily, Tapio returns there whenever I do not need him, so I can always keep in touch. Not everyone was from the shipwreck. There are some newer people there now. I was the first person born on the island, though." She looks relaxed as the speaks of home. "I hope to gain strength and allies enough that when we are inevitably threatened, we can resist."
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Hlar sails her boat in a meandering path to shore along the submerged rock formations. Occassionally, she would suddenly jump overboard and dive to the bottom of the ocean and returns with an oyster, sea urchin, or squid. Hlar’s boat arrives in Port Peril around sunset. As you drift into Crescent Harbor, sailors disembarking for shore leave remain clearly visible, singing rowdily as they work. Hlar soon lands at a smaller dock to unload her catch and gestures at Fane’s ship in one of the docks—the Risen Albatross.
"Stella has a penchant for riotous nights on the town once she’s returned to port are well known. But I don't know where the kids go these days. You can talk to the harbormaster, Tsojmin Kreidoros. He might have a better idea of where Fane disappeared to."
Tsojmin, a dwarf, is close by, checking off tasks written in a ledger. Hlar points him out to you and sends you on your way.
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With some difficulty, Tesla climbs onto the small dock. After Hlar points out the harbormaster, Tesla reminds the group, "Friends, recall that we have this bottle of rum from the beach, in case we need to encourage the good harbormaster to speak with us." Tesla holds out the Rum for whoever thinks it might help.