Drewan falls in beside Digger after he's out of sight of Kit and Jake. "So, how do you think we should handle Jake's...issue?"
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Drewan appears from out of the crowd as the small group is buying a bite to eat. He pulls Kit to the side and, outside Jake's view, shows her the small discarded packet. "Jake is under some sort of enchantment, placed on him by the quarry foreman. He discarded this after being approached by her, and attempted to hide its existence from us. We should keep an eye on him for the next few days. Let Digger know when you can, as well." With those words, he fades back into the crowd.
Drewan observes Jake dropping something in the pile of rock cuttings, pauses briefly to motion Dev to continue to intercept the others, then makes his way toward the pile to retrieve the dropped object.
Drewan shakes his head and climbs down from his perch. "Let's get going, then. If he's been enchanted, he's a danger to himself and the cause - we can neither leave him to his own devices, nor alone with that woman."
He blends into his surroundings and disappears completely from view, then begins to shadow Jake and this mystery woman.
Drewan, seeing Jake's stiff movements, looks quickly at Dev. In a hushed voice, he says, "Something's wrong. Ever since Jake started talking with that woman, he's been acting...off. That, and the fact that he can't seem to leave the quarry fast enough, leads me to think there's something going on here she doesn't want anyone to know about." He looks back to the scene unfolding before them. "So, then - what do we do about it? Leave them be and investigate after dark? Circle around and meet them as they're leaving? Assault her now before she realizes she's in danger? The sergeant might be a problem, but maybe Digger can convince him to stand by..."
Ditto - I'm still lurking.
Merry Christmas, all!
Yeah, Drewan is laying low - not a good time to be a catfolk in Coran.
Eventually, Drewan arrives at the inn and joins the others. He tells them about the strange behavior exhibited by the man, as well as the location of the man's suspected lair.
At that point, Drewan heads off to the Silver Spirits to find the others.
Drewan continues to watch the entrance to the inn, and plans to follow Dether once he emerges.
Drewan circles back and ends up on the roof of the stables, across from the inn's front door, longbow ready and arrow nocked.
Drewan answers the man, "Not a chance." Then, with that, he takes off to the east, turns the corner and heads south.
Drewan waits for the others to leave, then leaps out the window himself.
Drewan immediately crouches down. "I'd wager the same group that attacked here earlier are here again looking for us. I think we should leave by the window where we have more maneuverability, attack them as they're leaving the inn." With that said, he waits expectantly for the others' responses.
Drewan smirks, then says, "Hello, Kit. I don't think I've seen you since...well, since Milah moved away. Can't say I'm glad to hear about you getting mixed up in all of this, but I suppose it was just a matter of time." Then, to Dev, "True, I don't imagine many wagons will be moving through the streets tonight. Still, if there's cover of night and rain, we might be able to take advantage of it."
Drewan stands and walks to the door, peers out, then shakes his head. Ah, Kit...why are you getting mixed up in all of this? He catches Gair's eye and motions for him to send Kit in.
Drewan speaks up. "I suggest we go after Bela, then. If things get traced back to her, she goes away and the guards suffer for it. Either way, all the better for us."
I think that's us, Dev. :-P
So, yeah - I have no idea what to do about the seal. I thought the whole point of going to a local diplomat was to get an actual seal. While I think we could forge a passable one, it won't hold up under scrutiny.
Drewan gets a thoughtful look on his face. "Hmmm...I may, though I haven't spoken with her in quite some time. Did she say what she needed?"
Seeing Digger leave the building unharmed, Drewan silently stands and follows the small group, keeping his vantage point from the rooftops.
I'm fine with tying Kit into Drewan's background, just let me know. :-)
Just to add (slightly) to what the others said - consider the type of stuff we're likely to do, and have a way to escape quickly if we get in a sticky situation. Drewan, for example, is fairly strong in combat, but that's the bulk of what he's really good at - he could do some other stuff in a pinch, but not nearly as well as, say, Digger. In combat, he prefers to shoot from rooftops and uses them for a quick escape when the situation demands. This works in Coran because the buildings are fairly close together - elsewhere, it might not work quite as well. Then again, he's got a good stealth score, so he can use that in a pinch. To be honest, Drewan doesn't do a whole lot except provide support to the rest of the group - he's able to provide some ideas, but is not generally the one that carries those ideas out. For example, right now Digger's inside trying to convince the Tiny Town official to help us, and Drewan is outside ready to run in and rescue him if needed. If you want to have a more active role in things than that, then you'll want to bring something to the table that will allow that (bluff, disguise, etc.). If you don't want to be the one doing the talking, then I'd recommend building your character around combat and stealth/escape, similar to what I did with Drewan. Of course, it should go without saying that, while healing wouldn't be a bad thing, you should play what you want. If you can't bring yourself to get inside your character's head, then you won't feel that pull to continue playing - that's, I think, how we lost Hazan.
Drewan crouches on a nearby rooftop, keeping an eye out for anything that might potentially interrupt their plans. "Nothing I've seen thus far. I hope Digger hurries up in there - we need to get that signature and back to the warehouses before those supplies start leaving the city. Barring that, we'll have to gain entry to the warehouses tonight and set them alight at the first opportunity."
Okay, so it seems that my suggestion to break up the group has had unintended consequences (e.g., we're at a standstill). If you all would prefer, let's just pick the top priority and do everything as a group. My personal preference would be to have Drewan (or Dev) forge an official-looking document, go to Tiny Town, bribe/blackmail an official to get the appropriate seal, stamp it, and deliver it. That's the most immediate need, I think.
Drewan expands on Digger's revelations. "Tiny town lies in the southwest part of the city. Home to many of the shorter races it in some ways has its own laws and policies. Relations between tiny town and the normal operations of the city are sometimes strained due to these differences and regular sized folk arrested in tiny town are often treated more harshly." Regarding the docks, Drewan points out, "The harbor is fairly large, and could easily house two dozen ships at anchor, waiting to dock, though usually there aren't more than half a dozen."
Drewan nods agreement. "Perhaps if there was a rumor started that placed the rebellion at the city gates instead of the docks? Or along the caravan routes instead of the warehouses?"
Drewan nods at Jake and returns the smile. "Having the guards actively looking for me has, perhaps, taught me the value of keeping a low profile."
Drewan snickers. "I just had a thought. I wonder what would happen if we were to forge some documents ordering the dockworkers to move all of the supplies from the warehouses and load them onto the ships in the harbor. We could then sink or burn the ships, taking care of two of our problems. Just a thought, but if anyone could find a similar document, I might be able to pull off a reasonable forgery."
Drewan shakes his head. "I suppose that's an option, but I'm not particularly comfortable taking the fight to Gumlat. As you say, some of us have...contacts...there, and to bring the resistance there in any meaningful fashion might put them in danger." He looks to the rest of the group. "I propose that, as the captain suggested, we do what we can to disrupt supplies making their way to the army at every step." He continues, punctuating his statements by pointing to the list. "First, we need to take care of those people that can manage the logistics of moving supplies out to the army. I suggest that those of us that are less conspicuous, either by stealth or disguise, should gather information regarding them and see which, if any, might be susceptible to blackmail or bribery. Either of those solutions will be less troublesome than killing or capturing them. This should happen today or tonight. I suggest Puck, Hazan, and I do this." "Next, while those persons slow down the logistics of moving the supplies, we destroy them, possibly more than one warehouse in a night. If we can do it quietly - perhaps by putrefying or poisoning the foodstuffs - then we will obviously deal with less resistance. Still, if we're short on time, or can't find another option, we can hopefully burn down the warehouses with little effort. I suggest Dev and Jake see what they might be able to accomplish regarding this." "Finally, we disrupt the dock operations to prevent them getting any more supplies in to take over land, or out by sea. We might steal a couple of ships and sink them in the mouth of the harbor, or perhaps even sink them where they are, or we might be able to merely incite the dockworkers to stop working." He looks to Digger, "I suggest you see what you might be able to do along those lines, as well as possibly doing some recruiting, if you're up to it. Also, while you're out, keep your ear open for any information regarding those handling shipping and logistics." "With those steps taken, the merchant's guild will have no choice but to increase prices - the scarcity of the supplies should take care of that." Done with his tactical suggestions, he looks to the others. "The captain is entrusting a lot to our small group, but I think we're up to it. Unless anyone has any suggestions, I think it best that we spend the rest of the day doing whatever investigating we can, then regroup and split up however we need to to take care of our tasks."
Drewan gains a level of Ranger:
For the moment (until next level, at least, when I pick up Boon Companion), Drewan will be leaving the cat behind on missions. A couple of questions, however... - Is there anything we're doing for money these days, or have we earned any since we started? I've got to buy barding, masterwork if possible, which will cost a bit, plus (eventually) a saddle, etc. - I'm assuming that my companion does not come with any tricks other than the bonus one (track). Drewan has +10 to Handle Animal checks for his companion, however, so should be able to train him for combat by taking 10. It'll take 6 weeks, however, so you'll need to tell me when that's done.
Drewan continues to wait. If the guard is sniffing around, we'd be better off elsewhere, I think. Especially if this has been identified as a location we frequent.
The built in limitations seem kind of pointless to me First off, sorry for revisiting this. I realize I'm likely overthinking this, but when you say this, does that mean Drewan can have whatever companion he'd like? I mean, ideally, he'd take a big cat - pounce, rake, grab, plus 3 attacks a round, what's not to like? Second choice would be between a wolf and a roc. Wolf has trip, which is pretty good, but one attack a round is a little rough. Roc has grab, flight, and 3 attacks/round. Thoughts? Anyone?
I suppose, considering that Drewan is already a particularly wanted catfolk, drawing extra attention is likely not a great idea. How common are rocs, wolves, and small cats (leopards, cheetahs, etc.) as animal companions, and how likely are they to go relatively unnoticed in an urban setting like Coran?
Well, first, I'd need to know whether you want to follow the ranger animal companion list RAW. That list includes only badger, bird, camel, cat (small), dire rat, dog, horse, pony, snake (viper or constrictor), or wolf. Roc has a comment in its description from which you can infer that rangers can specifically bond with them as well. Alternately, you can houserule and open it up to the full druid animal companion list. PF devs have said that rangers are intended to have a very restrictive list because they are better in combat than druids. However, the other side of the argument is, look at clerics and inquisitors with the animal domain, and fey-blooded sorcerers - they have access to the full list. Please don't feel like I'm trying to pressure you to go the houserule route - I can find a companion I will enjoy, regardless. That said, if you do houserule, then I would need to find out how you feel about dinosaurs in your world. An allosaurus would be my preferred companion, if you're not against them. If you don't go with the houserule option, then my other choices are roc, wolf, or cat (small).
GM - Just confirming whether or not rangers are limited to the list of Animal Companions detailed in the Ranger description, or if there are other options available in your game.
Drewan, upon seeing guards outside the inn, ducks into an alley and climbs to the roof of a nearby building to observe.
Seeing Hezek's lack of empathy to Dev's plight, Drewan thinks, Seems he's not too keen on helping out. Probably best that I not mention my sister. Information is, as they say, power. Dev: Drewan will pull you aside at some point. "I would appreciate your assistance in getting a message to one of my race in Gumlat, as well. I don't particularly trust Hezek, so I am coming to you directly. She lives in a small house near the southeastern edge of town. Please have your friends alert her to the danger as well."
I would prefer a faster pace than one round every four days or so, personally, but when you're talking about a PvP battle in PbP, it is by definition going to take a while. I agree with Jake - I would be fine with either or both of the proposed solutions. I would also agree with Jake's proposed solution to the 24 hour limit, if you chose to go that route. Drewan's strategy is going to be fairly consistent, and I think I could quantify it fairly succinctly, if necessary.
"I have heard the same rumors. That said, they could have easily been started by almost anyone looking to put my kind in a poor light, or to divert suspicion from themselves." |