male human fighter 5, HP 50, AC 21; T 13; FF 18; F +6, R +5, W +4, Init. +8, Perc. +7
Are we headed back in to the sewers and the like again? If so...let me know ahead of time. That way I can at least buy some hip waders or a small boat... Theron says with a chuckle.
“I am perplexed." She continues, "A new kidnapping spree plagues my beloved city. It seems our citizens make easy prey to those who profit from such exploits. While this disturbs me, I am more troubled by reports that some of those kidnapped return to the city as undead monsters who accompany this Cult of Nature’s Cataclysm plague, a plague that I can’t seem to excise from my beloved city."
“This ends now!" Hestia declares. "For a third time we battle Groetus-worshiping dogs and there will not be a fourth!”
Taking several deep breaths, Hestia regains her composure. “I am sending you to Swift Prison to interrogate a cultist we captured who was trying to kidnap a local engineer. Meet my man Garver out front—he’ll take you in to see the Nature’s Cataclysm fool. Find out where the other cultists hide, where they’ve taken their recent victims, and how they’re turning them into skeletons. Free as many Cassomir citizens as you can—the good publicity never hurts. Any questions?"
As you think of questions for Hestia, feel free to peruse the old faction letters, which begin here.Please note that the faction letters entirely optional, no longer have any impact on how your PC obtains Prestige, and are included only for the sake of fun, nostaliga, and/or completeness.
f N human Wizard 5 | HP 32/32 | AC 16 T 12 FF 14 | CMD 14 | F+3 R+3 W+4 | Init +2
Magic:
Color Spray 3, Feather Fall 1, Ray of Enfeeblement 1, Shield 1 | Blindness/Deafness 0, Ghoul Touch 1, Mirror Image 0 | Fireball 0, Halt Undead 0 || A-Bond -
Oh yeah. Undead is my specialty. I hope we will meet with them, and more than once. Ashtoret smiles with a happy, kind smile that does not fit with the topic of discussion at all.
I agree M'Lady she says in a very serious tone. This has to stop. How much ... erm ... persuasion are we allowed to use in this .... interrogation?
Theron Randallas wrote:
I can make the mutt talk...give me a little time and he'll sing like a songbird...if that's allowed, of course...
"Are you two asking me whether you should rough up this cultist in Swift Prison to get information?" Hestia asks rhetorically. "Then, the answer is no."
“He’s a bit… unstable," she continues, "but when he’s lucid he provides good information about the cult and their plans. He could potentially provide us with future information and serves us better as an ally, alive and unharmed.”
Menudo wrote:
"With this type of scum, even I can stand a little strong-arming."
"You shouldn't have to," Hestia nods. "You are entering a prison for Abadar's sake. Those who display violent or illegal behavior inside Swift Prison, such as threatening an inmate, will likely soon find themselves as inmates, locked away with the others."
Knowledge (local) re Swift Prison (DC 10):
Swift Prison’s prisoners must pay fees for lodging and favorable treatment. These payments even include a “chains tax,” requiring a prisoner to pay 5 sp each month to avoid being shackled. Swift Prison has an unusual policy in which non-violent criminals who pay for the privilege are allowed to roam the streets surrounding the prison, so long as do not cross the invisible boundary known as the “Rules of the Swift” (which is what the prison calls the invisible boundary that surrounds the prison). Prisoners who cross this boundary are put to death when recaptured—very few have broken those rules in the prison’s history
If the result of the Knowledge check meets or exceeds DC 15, you may open the spoiler below:
Spoiler:
The wardens of the Swift are notorious for allowing unusual privileges in exchange for exorbitantly high sums. Prisoners who pay these extortions earn the right to reside in one of the Swift’s private apartments. Rich prisoners may also purchase the “Liberties of the Swift,” the right to walk the prison grounds and surrounding city streets freely. Wardens of the Swift are often replaced after being caught abusing their posts for personal gain.
If the result of the Knowledge check meets or exceeds DC 25, you may also open the spoiler below:
Spoiler:
Those unfortunate souls too destitute to pay often find themselves locked in the Swift’s cellar begging cells. If they are unable earn enough money to pay for their release by begging, they typically succumb to disease. The inmates call these dank cellars Stavian’s Fair.
Ashtoret, Theron Randallas, and Seebonickk, please sign into RPGChronicles for reporting and chronicles at the link here.
I also heard that the wardens of the Swift are notorious for allowing unusual privileges in exchange for exorbitantly high sums. Prisoners who pay these extortions earn the right to reside in one of the Swift’s private apartments. Rich prisoners may also purchase the “Liberties of the Swift,” the right to walk the prison grounds and surrounding city streets freely. Wardens of the Swift are often replaced after being caught abusing their posts for personal gain.
Assembled and briefed, the party presumably sets out for the prison. However, Ashtoret appears to be lagging behind.
; P
@Ashtoret - If you would like a chronicle sheet for this adventure, please fill out the RPGChronicle information for Part III at this link.
Swift Prison’s formidable gates loom over those who pass beneath them. Out front, a gilded statue stares uncaringly at those who serve time beyond her sentry-like gaze. The wrinkled, dirty faces of Cassomir’s prisoners are briefly illuminated behind the bars of the ground floor begging cells. Their pathetic drone as they beg for coppers fills the courtyard in front of the prison.
Hestia’s man, Garver—a tall Taldan man with a slim physique and plain peasant’s clothing—approaches. “You made it. Good. Follow me.”
Garver turns and enters the prison, marching through myriad hallways that twist and turn and finally end at a plain but thick wooden door. Garver produces a key and says, “Our captured cultist enjoys visitors, and if you like his work, it’s all for sale.”
I will pause here in case you have any questions (and allow Ashtoret to catch up!)
f N human Wizard 5 | HP 32/32 | AC 16 T 12 FF 14 | CMD 14 | F+3 R+3 W+4 | Init +2
Magic:
Color Spray 3, Feather Fall 1, Ray of Enfeeblement 1, Shield 1 | Blindness/Deafness 0, Ghoul Touch 1, Mirror Image 0 | Fireball 0, Halt Undead 0 || A-Bond -
Filled in the data at the same time as your post! I'm sorry, it's been a crazy couple of weeks - I postponed filling in the data in all the games until the weekend where I haven't done it yet.
What type of cultist's creativity are we talking about? As she curiously looks at the prisoners, the atmosphere of this place does not seem to put pressure on her.
male human fighter 5, HP 50, AC 21; T 13; FF 18; F +6, R +5, W +4, Init. +8, Perc. +7
He's earning a wage as he serves his sentence? If the money goes to pay for his crimes, that's fine... Theron says, a bit dumbstruck by the information.
What type of cultist's creativity are we talking about? As she curiously looks at the prisoners, the atmosphere of this place does not seem to put pressure on her.
"What was the cultist up to before now? No good, I'm afraid. He was captured after the presumed destruction of Dalirio’s Cult of Nature’s Cataclysm a little while back." Garver replies happily. "Beyond that, I've no answers for you about his past. I'm sorry, truly. If I knew more, then I'd tell you." Garver replies happily.
Nightkit wrote:
Yeah ... what sort of work?
"Oh, his work now? Why, painting!" Garver exclaims.
"No one knows who the painter is-he hasn’t given his name and no one has discovered it yet, so the guards simply call him the “crazed painter,” a nickname he either doesn’t mind or isn’t coherent enough to understand."
Theron Randallas wrote:
He's earning a wage as he serves his sentence? If the money goes to pay for his crimes, that's fine... Theron says, a bit dumbstruck by the information.
"Indeed, payment goes directly to Swift Prison, all rightful garnishment, of course." Garver notes. "I can handle any transactions for you, if you'd like."
Garver then leads you through the door and down several stone steps into a dingy, shadowed room with three cells. Garver gives the two guards there some coins and they head back up the stairs, closing the door behind them.
In the center cell, covered in paint, a man dressed in torn beggar’s rags, his feet shackled to the floor by a 3-foot length of chain, throws color onto a dirty canvas. The man stops painting when the you arrive, looks through the bars, and exclaims with a toothless grin: “For you, my master, always for you!”
He then lays the painting atop a small pile of recent works and sets up another blank canvas, madly attacking it with his brush.
Huh .... well ... if he wants an artist's model, I can be accomodating - for the right fee of course.
Excuse me she says when she gets to the bars. May I see an example of your art?
The crazed painter ignores the interaction from the Pathfinder—instead, he shouts, “For you, my master!” He returns to his painting, then strangely pauses after a few moments.
"For you, my master!" he shouts again and again, at odd intervals, as he continues to furiously paint.
The PCs may attempt to get through to the "crazed painter" with successful Diplomacy checks to change his attitude. Feel free to write out some or all of your PC's words as certain approaches through roleplaying have mechanical benefits.
male human fighter 5, HP 50, AC 21; T 13; FF 18; F +6, R +5, W +4, Init. +8, Perc. +7
Ummm...yeah...she would make a great muse... Theron says carefully, knowing sometimes when he talks too much, a fight is bound to break out. Not that he minds...just not when there are things to be done.
Menudo does not detect any evil aura on the crazed painter. He and the others seem to soothe the painter and he seems to enter a semi-lucid state.
“Friends!" cries the crazed painter. "Did the Master send you? Yes, he must have. Praised be he who ends the days! Do you seek my secret? Soon enough—but in return I ask something from you. You must give it to me as I need it to complete my collection.”
He points to two paintings hung in a shadowy corner of his cell. A third canvas hangs next to them but is blank. “If you go outside this very prison you’ll find a statue covered in gold. You may have already seen her! Describe this statue to me in exquisite detail and I will tell you all I know.”
The PCs can freely exit and reenter Swift Prison. The crazed painter refuses to provide any information until he gains the description requested.
The statue sits just outside of the prison’s gates, its golden form shining brightly in the sun. It stands just over 7 feet tall and rests atop a 3-foot-tall stone base. The statue depicts a curvy Taldan female with short hair and wearing flowing robes open at the neck. She regards the party with a blank, uncaring expression. Faint moons decorate her flowing robes, and she crushes a set of scales beneath her left foot.
Perception (DC 15):
You see that the sculptor left his mark on his work of art—he carved a small letter “I” into her left foot.
f N human Wizard 5 | HP 32/32 | AC 16 T 12 FF 14 | CMD 14 | F+3 R+3 W+4 | Init +2
Magic:
Color Spray 3, Feather Fall 1, Ray of Enfeeblement 1, Shield 1 | Blindness/Deafness 0, Ghoul Touch 1, Mirror Image 0 | Fireball 0, Halt Undead 0 || A-Bond -
A curious thought, Nightkit. I think I can.By a happy coincidence, I have a free slot left. I can prepare the Silent Image spell there (I don't remember if it takes 15 minutes or 1 hour... however, we are not in a hurry) and with the help of this spell to show the statue. If no one is against it, we will do so.
