Aspex's page

Aspex gestures imperiously at the floor, palm down, and pushes suddenly, making the floor near the ratfolk fall away. "Jump, Marduk!"

She'll cast Create Pit, DC 18, centered in the square 2 squares south of Marduk. If I'm counting right that should get the stack in the ratfolk square, Tseka, and Marduk. If I miscalculated the radius, that is my intent.

I feel sorry for anyone stuck in a pit with Marduk.

Aspex chants out the words to a spell and gestures as if throwing something. Glittering motes of golden dust start raining from the ceiling near Tseka and the visible ratfolk.

Cast Glitterdust, DC 18, centered on the square to the right of Tseka.

Aspex nods in Hakime's direction but remains silent as she looks around the room.

We're all bunched up in the hallway to this room. Can we move around as we talk?

Same- nope.

Spellcraft vs DC 19: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (5) + 13 = 18
Kn:Local vs DC 18: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (12) + 9 = 21
Kn:Arcana vs DC 15: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (9) + 11 = 20
Kn:Local vs DC 15: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (2) + 9 = 11
Appraise vs DC 18: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (11) + 9 = 20

Can we try the Linguistics check once Wyeth points out the scents or is it totally beyond the ability of anybody without sharp senses?

I think we've made all the checks now except for the Profession and Linguistics ones.

Aspex smirks as she picks up the badge Gob cast aside. She rubs her thumb over the raised snake and flicks it with her fingernail, nodding to herself. "Nothing unusual, save that this is a fake."

She looks over curiously at the flask as Wyeth describes its properties. "Useful."

Man, that's a good location for a pit...

Aspex squeezes past the others to stand next to Hakime, snapping off a shot as soon as she has Yekai in sight.

If she can see around that corner, she'll shoot.

Crossbow: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (1) + 3 = 4 omfg...
Bolt: 1d8 ⇒ 3

With a frown on her face, Aspex pulls out her crossbow, slaps in a bolt, and fires at Yekai.

Though looking at the map I'm not sure she has LOS on Yekai.

Crossbow: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (9) + 4 = 13
Bolt: 1d8 ⇒ 8

Grumbling about the necessity of fighting, Aspex gestures at the man's feet and murmurs a spell.

Casts Grease at Yekai's feet. DC 17 to stay on his feet.

Back, looks like I didn't miss too much.

Hi, guys.

I've just been asked to cover for someone who's scheduled to teach a seminar next week, so I'm going to be out until Monday the 8th. Sorry for the short notice.

Thanks.

Untrained Bluff: 1d20 ⇒ 15

"Of course there is something off, you cretin. We went through a great deal of effort to acquire these items and have already been low-balled by the merchants above. We are expecting you to try to do what you are about to do." She gestures at the ratfolk's hand in its coat. "So yes, we might seem nervous."

Aspex pulls out the unholy symbol of Lamashtu. "We heard there may be a market for this here."

Disguise: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 2 = 3 Holy crap, Aspex is bad at this.

Aspex pulls out the unholy symbol of Lamashtu. "We heard there may be a market for this here."

[dice=Disguise=1d20+2[/dice]

For my ease of reference

Contraband

1 dose of blue whinnis poison
a pistol from Alkenstar
a bawdy piece of artwork featuring a Gokan celebrity
three jade unholy symbols, one for Fumeiyoshi, Lady Nanbyo, and Lamashtu
and an engraved darkwood box filled with oracular finger bones smuggled out of Po Li

Aspex nods. "Let's be on our way, then." The conjurer follows Gob's lead, using her wand to cast Mage Armor on herself before falling in behind Hakime.

"Didn't they say Tseka is looking for some of the items we've found? We don't know if they're hiring mercenaries or not, but we have contraband Tseka might be interested in."

Wait, did we descend into the Deepmarket yet or is this just the 'door' to the Deepmarket? Put another way, is this Tseka's hideout we're trying to get into or just the Deepmarket we're trying to get into?

Aspex gives the pipefox a small smile. "One of my ancestors was an extraplanar being from a realm of fire. I do use some of that power myself, but my preference is to summon creatures from the planes to do my fighting for me."

She listens closely to the conversation between the pipefox and Gob but doesn't contribute to it.

"Tseka, mistress of the Deepmarket."

Kn:Arcana: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (14) + 11 = 25 Sure, give me a decent roll when I don't need it, dicebot...

Aspex looks curiously at Yrishi. "You are... familiar with the Deepmarket?" The Chelaxian sounds skeptical.

Kn:Planes: 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (1) + 15 = 16 Really, dicebot?

Aspex grunts, then describes a lemure and how Abyssal spirits are generated by the plane itself out of the souls of the damned.

Diplo Aid Another: 1d20 ⇒ 11

Aspex looks harder at the shadowy stranger. "Only an idiot isn't wary of strangers down here."

Aspex looks around, wary for an ambush while their attention is focused on the hidden speaker.

Perception: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (14) + 2 = 16

Aspex grunted and pulled out the engraved darkwood box containing oracular finger bones smuggled out of Po Li. "Then you are the one who should assess this."

She can't hit a 29 on a Perception check even with a Natural 20, but can she Aid Another somebody else?

Perc Aid Another: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 2 = 3 Wow, guess not.

"Lucky we found you, then. Can you take us to her, or one of these lackeys?"

Bluff: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (18) + 2 = 20

Aspex grunts and looks at the sack of powder skeptically. She sniffs at it and frowns. "If this is the best bloodroot I could get down here I would be better off at home. Luckily, we are selling, not buying." She drops the sack on the merchant's counter. "We hear Tseka might be interested in an item we have acquired."

Disguise: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (12) + 3 = 15

Aspex grunts and looks around again. "I suppose we just ask every person sitting around the market here if they will take us downstairs?" She sounds annoyed, which is not all that uncommon.

Kn:Local: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (13) + 9 = 22

Aspex already looks like a Chelaxian villain in blood red and black, but I can roll a Disguise check if she still needs to.

Aspex looks over at Marduk. "Not my area of expertise."

"We've heard that a trader named Tseka is interested in an item we procured. We need someone to take us to Undermarket to facilitate the sale."

So was that 'you don't look like you're from around here' because nobody decided to disguise themselves? Womp womp...

Kn:Loca: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (9) + 9 = 18 That will be decent with some Aid Anothers.

Aspex scans the market, looking for an appropriate guide.

Aspex nods and turns back to the others. "Shall we?"

Linguistics: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (11) + 9 = 20

Aspex sighs. "Our resources are not unlimited, friend, but we have another bauble we found on our way here." She puts the bawdy piece of artwork on the counter beside the poison.

Aspex sighs and rolls her eyes at Gob's forwardness but nods. "As the man said. We have business in Undermarket."

Aspex's Diplo is crap, but she'd be happy to take the lead.

Aspex glances at Hakime briefly before approaching the counter. "That is a beautiful vase. I'm afraid it would break on my way home, though. Do they travel at all well?"

Sorry, I had missed that you'd given us a list of contraband provided.

Aspex looks up from the vial of poison they'd been given. "You say we should look for a guide in the market- is there any place in particular or should we just look for someone who doesn't seem to have anything else to do?"

Kn:Local: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (6) + 8 = 14
Kn:Dungeoneering: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (19) + 9 = 28

I'm assuming we all share whatever knowledge we get, so feel free everybody to read all the Dungeoneering spoilers. DM, do we know what constitutes 'contraband' in this context?

Aspex nods at Hakime. "We should research what kind of contraband the proprietor wants, to get access to that secret tunnel."

I'll play whatever you want to run, GM. I haven't played Deepmarket Deception, either.

This was a very interesting scenario. Cloakers are weird NPCs even when you're not trying to get into their crazy motivations. Thanks, GM.

I'll have Aspex updated to lvl 3 before we start the next one.

And if we can Take 10 on the Dy Job roll she'd have an 18 instead of the 15 that she rolled.

The shadow play was the cloaker manipulating the shadows, right? And it threw in the unholy symbol of Azathoth to show that it had some greater power behind it. Like, 'it's not just me who's pissed at Amenira and these adventurers, it's the Black Goat with a Thousand Young' (or maybe that's another Lovecraft nickname). The cloaker must have been trying to scare the townsfolk into mobbing us, but I guess it gave up when we spotted it?

Still, it doesn't seem like the cloaker had a cult or was trying to summon Azathoth, so it was just hanging around being creepy and trying to scare the outsiders off.

I'm still not clear on how it was influencing Spark. Cloakers aren't known for their connection to plants. Do we have any clues there?

So the effect on the children is actually beneficial and they eventually grow out of it, right?

Aspex nods. "Her hypothesis was wrong, but she had only your village's interests at heart."

Day Job: Craft-Painting: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (7) + 8 = 15

I went back and read through the thread and don't see where we decided the cloaker was influencing Spark. When did we figure that out?

Aspex nods. "Maybe it can talk our way past and out for us. Assuming all plants speak the same language."

Aspex nods. "Could it just be planted here rather than back in the cave where we found it?"

Aspex waits for Zura to answer Gob's question then follows up. "By 'wrong bed' does it mean 'why isn't it in the ground' or is there something wrong with the soil around the town?"

Can Aspex help?

Int check: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (4) + 4 = 8 Nope, probably not.

Aspex frowns down at the seedling but can't think of anything that could help. "Herbology was never my best subject," she mutters.

Aspex nods at Wyeth. "The decay is quite pronounced since we removed it from the ground, yes."

Aspex examines the seedling after everyone else is done, then the syrup and vine once they're pointed out.

Kn:Nature: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (18) + 8 = 26
Spellcraft v Syrup: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (1) + 11 = 12
Spellcraft v Vine: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (10) + 11 = 21

She nods at the vine. "That can be worn as a bracelet. The berries can be used to entangle opponents."

Sorry, guys, but work has gotten ridiculous in the past couple of months. I'm reducing my number of games on the boards and am going to try to catch back up here.

Aspex nods in agreement with Gob's identification and further examines the seed pods in reference to Benson's question.

Kn:Nature to see if these might be related to the plants in town: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (9) + 8 = 17