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The man stands from behind his desk and motions to the door to the stables with a flourish and a charming smile "I'm sure that you won't be disappointed madame." Stopping at the door, he turns once more to the group, politely inquiring "How many steeds of fine quality and good stamina are you looking to purchase for you party of well-armed friends, who you have yet to introduce?"
There's a collective impressed gasp from the children as you reveal the coin, and the young girl squeals in delight. The small band of children quickly disperses, chattering excitedly amongst themselves. As you enter what appears to be the office of the stables, you find yourself in a large room, dimly lit by slants of sunlight falling down through the wooden beams of the ceiling, illuminating the large variety of riding tack hanging on the walls. A large door stands open on the left side of the room, opening onto the open courtyard of what you assume to be the stables proper.
The young girl who initially was guessing pouts as the boy interjects his own guess. When he's revealed to be wrong, she shoves him slightly aside with a glare. Moments later, the minor quarrel is forgotten as a snicker runs through the children at the mention of Thiera. "Nah, she ain't hear today."
As you reveal the coin in your right hand, there's a chorus of disappointed sounds mixed with cries of 'I knew it!' from the children. The young girl dejectedly sticks her hands into the pockets on the apron of her dress and nods "Yeah, Varnis is inside somewhere." She brightens visibly and the offer to play the game again.
The young girl considers for a moment and then nods to the slight cheers of the other children "Alright, deal."
The children are quiet for second before a girl of maybe nine steps forward, staring somewhat defiantly and mischievously at P'Aye. "Maybe they is, maybe they isn't? But that ain't the question is it? Question is, what's a lady with a pretty voice gonna give us if we tell her?"
Assuming you're going to the stables after gathering whatever gear that you want to have... After taking a few minutes to gather the gear that they want, the group sets out to the stables. The people of Daven's Rest seem understandably on edge, many of them openly displaying small daggers or cudgels and more than a few cast suspicious looks towards you as you make your way through the cobbled streets. The town's stables are housed in a large stone building sitting on the cobbled street that leads to the town's gates. A wagon with elaborately carved and painted sides rests in front of the building, with several young boys and girls in the colorful clothes of the wandering Varisians playing around it and singing a nonsense rhyme. At your approach, they quiet their game, watching you with open curiosity. The door to the stable's office is unlocked, and opens easily.
"Apart from the undying gratitude of the people of Daven's Rest? I can promise a reward of 35 gold if you can bring in the perpetrators. This ain't a rich town."
Detect Magic
Spoiler:
The coin radiates the same type of Conjuration as was detected in the Pathfinder's room Read Magic or Spellcraft 20+
Spoiler:
You recognize the runes as the ones typically used in a spell to create a zone of silence. The sheriff looks to Ghorum and nods, replying to him in quiet Dwarvish.
Spoiler: "I believe you brother. This crime is beyond what we've had to deal with before. I'd take it as a kindness if ya'd look into it."
As Thorson and his daughter depart from the table after delivering food, ale, and hearty apple cider to the group assembled there, he hears P'Aye call out to him and stops. Turning to face her as she steps towards him, he looks somewhat surprised as P'Aye comments on the quality of the food, stammering some quiet response before making a worried and uncomfortable escape behind the bar. P'Aye or Perception DC 18
Spoiler:
Thorson casts you a glance that is both worried and angry "Listen here girl. My daughter may be a trouble maker and we might not agree on everything, but one thing she ain't is an accomplice to murder. That Varisian riff-raff she hangs around might be, but she ain't. Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if Varnis and his friends killed the fellow and took her away with them." Sighing heavily, he starts towards the bar saying "Maybe you're right. I'll tell the sheriff that I think she got nabbed by the killers. If you wanna track down that gypsy, he and his friends usually hang around the stables." As you converse within your eclectic group, the sheriff noisily descends the stairs. Looking around, he makes his way through the increasingly crowded main room of the inn towards you. "Alright fellows. And of course, ladies." he says, bowing to P'Aye before continuing in a smug tone. "I looked around the scene and I found something you lot missed."
Hmm, that's an excellent idea, since I think that we're in danger of getting bogged down right now. So lets try that out. I will take the preferences stated so far and come up with a general location in an isolated part of Taldor.
Rellen, you've been added to the list of replacement players/contributors. Also, I really like the Long Fingered Man. May have to steal him for my game at home, if you don't mind.
Alright, sorry to see you go and thanks for your contributions Sigz. Welcome aboard Lost Soul. So: Several small villages (a good half-day or more from each other) that started out as outlying towns for a larger, now abandoned city? An artifact in the ruined city, which is now becoming active again?
Beautiful. +1
P'Aye, the small knots of people in the inn's common room are all speaking in rather hushed and subdued tones, so your delicate senses allows you to hear most of the conversation between Carawyn and Thorson.
Carawyn
Spoiler: Thorson and Maryn look extremely worried, and when Thorson speaks his voice breaks slightly. "I know, but the sheriff is going to look for someone who can be blamed for the murder, and when he hears that someone looking like her went into his room...well, it'll look pretty open and shut to him."
Maryn looks to you and asks, barely above a whisper "Would you try to find her for us? Please? We don't have much we could pay you with, but we would do what we could."
Carawyn
Spoiler: A quick search of the upstairs portion of the inn doesn't show any trace of your friend. The only other person with you on the second floor seems to be the sheriff, who's searching about the murdered man's room and muttering to himself.
When you hurry downstairs, you see Thiera's father and her sister Maryn conferring in hushed tones at the bar. As you approach, they abruptly fall silent, and when you ask about Thiera old man Thorson beckons you closer and mutters at you to keep quiet. He looks worried, and Maryn won't meet your eyes. In a hushed tone he murmurs to you "Don't say nothin', but we can't find her. She just disappeared last night, and we're getting worried. Sometimes she sneaks out to see that no-good Varisian gypsy boy Varnis, but she's always back by morning. And..." The man trails off, and a second later his daughter continues. Barely speaking above a whisper, Maryn says "That dwarf, the one who was drinking down her last night, said something about seeing a girl who looked kind of like her sneak into the Pathfinder's room." Thorson meets your eyes for the first time, and in a hoarse whisper says "Theira may be a troublemaker, and she might've gotten involved in some bad stuff lately, but she ain't a murderer, but that's just what the sheriff'll assume."
Wow, this is getting considerably more response than I expected. Please note that the recruitment is currently closed; I don't want this to involve too many people as that'll be rather chaotic.
The people involved are:
For everyone else interested in the idea, if someone wanted to organize something similar (which would allow a different idea to be developed as well), then it could be interesting to see how both progressed. Current Votes Needed -Terrain: swamp, wetlands, and/or forest? -Group of small isolated villages or a single larger village, possibly partially ruined? -Active artifact that everyone knows about or an unknown one that is becoming active somehow?
Carawyn
Spoiler:
Maryn has dark blonde hair, while Thiera has chestnut brown hair.
The Sheriff nods, his eyes not quite rising to the level of P'Aye's. "Oh, of course. Tell ya what, I'll take a quick look at the mess up here and meet you downstairs to compare notes." The mood in the inn's humble common room is one rife with tension and fear. A handful of other travelers sit huddled in a corner by the fire, their weapons clearly displayed at their sides as they speak in hushed tones and eat the hearty breakfast of smoked sausages and potatoes served by a shaky looking Maryn. You notice that she pauses occasionally as she goes about her duties, conferring in whispers with her worried looking father. Gohrum
Spoiler: You don't know much about your employer. He was a nice enough fellow, with a few tales of his exploits as a pathfinder, but he didn't seem eager to share too much of his past, and he was slightly evasive when asked about what his business in Ustalav had been or why he needed a bodyguard.
He had mentioned wanting to depart Daven's Rest during the later hours of this morning, and Maryn had likely been instructed to wake him.
Maybe a city split into two halves by a river? The city could have been a fairly important part of a trade route that finally got shut down and so its importance and wealth faded until, what with Taldor's decline, the remote town had to become self-sufficient and independent. As with your idea, maybe one half could've fallen prey to something and is now an abandoned ghost town with a dark secret?
Could I please get a headcount of who's going downstairs and who's staying upstairs? The sheriff opens his mouth in preparation for a snide response, if his expression is any indication, but he closes his mouth as he notes P'Aye's somewhat scantily-clad state. In a somewhat more polite tone, he nods sagely and responds "Oh, aye. You're a smart one, I can tell. We don't have anyone capable of that in this town. I run a real tight ship, see. Must've been one of those twisted foreign bastards you see on occasion. No offense." Uldhazel, you manage to bypass most of the crowd's attention, which is shifted to one of the inn's servants who emerges from the building and begins conveying a highly dramatic account of mass slaughter and foul rituals to an audience of several rapt villagers.
Carawyn
Spoiler: As you make your way towards the stairs and think of Thiera, it occurs to you that you have yet to see her this morning, which seems odd what with all of the commotion. And she does have dark hair, as the young woman that the dwarf mentioned earlier.
Alright, we have 5 votes for Northern Taldor and 1 preferring Varisia but willing to go for Northern Taldor. Northern Taldor it is. So next question:
If so, what kind of history, governmental system, level of contact with the rest of the world, and general feel do we want it to have?
If not, what would we rather have instead? And Me'mori, that's fine. Creative input is welcome, although it'll be secondary to that of the actual players.
Irian
Spoiler:
Examining the body more closely, you easily ascertain the cause of his death: his throat was slit completely. It would appear that his killer slit his throat and then proceeded to mutilate his body, finally turning it over and leaving the axe embedded in his back, although the motive behind this eludes you. As Irian begins investigating the room, Gargos enters and lifts the corner of the mattress which Carawyn indicated. A decently sized pouch has been hidden under the mattress, and further investigation will reveal that it is filled with several dozen golden coins. Moments later, the sheriff tromps up the stairs, emerging at the top of the stairs as Irian suggests that they leave the scene and discuss their findings. "That sounds like a great idea." he says, eying the collected strangers suspiciously and pushing past them into the room. "Why don't you ladies back off and let me do my job."
Exiting the inn proves to be something of a challenge, as a sizable crowd has gathered around the door. A man who appears to be the town's sheriff - a grey-haired dwarven man clad in a scale mail emblazoned with Abadar's symbol - pushes his way through the crowd outside the door, ignoring their questions, and stumps up the stairs.
That mostly echoes the kind of locale I'd like to create/DM. I find that smaller, somewhat isolated communities tend to create a greater feeling for the players of their characters being part of the world instead of just passing through it.
That does indeed sound like an intriguing system.
I can't say that I am.
All of those sound like workable ideas, although we'll have to see what ideas everyone comes up with and agrees on. I tend to run lower magic campaigns, particularly in regards to magical items. Magical items are uncommon, special (not just a plain +1 Thingamajig), and generally have a little bit of story behind them.
To those who have posted thus far: discussion thread is up here. Please post your response to the questions there. I've decided that, since this is an experiment, the easiest type of location to design will be a small urban environment, probably in a somewhat rural area. Later on, depending on time limitations and how this progresses, something else might be designed. I'm still open to getting 1-2 more people involved in this.
Here's the thread for the project proposed here.
Since this is the first time I've tried this, I'm going to say that the basic structure should be that of a town (between 1,000 and 3,000 in population) located somewhere in the Inner Sea region (the location will be decided by group consensus.
The following are basic elements that need to be settled first: -Location of the town
To those who have stated interest thus far, please toss out a few ideas on what they'd like to see in response to these questions.
Thorson shakes his head in response to Gwynn, still seeming more than a bit dazed as he ushers his daughter off with whispered instructions to keep people out of the inn. "Nah. What kind of twisted bastard would do something like that? That ain't natural at all." Looking to P'Aye, he again shakes his head "There was a dwarf with him when he arrived yesterday evening, Miss, and he stayed the night too. Don't think he knew anyone in town besides that." The young guard looks at P'Aye flushing scarlet and not meeting her eyes as he wipes his mouth with the back of his gauntlet. Murmuring something that sounds more or less like a mumbled "Yes ma'am", he rushes down the stairs, apparently eager to leave the scene in the hallway behind. Uldhazel
Spoiler:
Stepping carefully into the room, Uldhazel is able to ascertain little. The Pathfinder's pack has been torn open, its contents ruined -clothes ripped, papers torn and scattered about the room, a few small vials smashed. The man's sword rests undisturbed by the bloodied bed.
Shards of glass and splinters of wood crunch slightly beneath your feet as you gingerly approach the window. The rope is secured by a single iron spike, driven into the wood of the frame, although the murderer got the spike there in the first place isn't readily apparent. Opening your Sight, you perceive the faintest trace of magic hanging in the air, filling the entirety of the room. Some conjuration has been used here fairly recently, although it wasn't an overwhelmingly strong spell. Carawyn
Spoiler: The smell in the room is revolting, but the cool breeze blowing in from the broken window has lessened it enough for it to not be overwhelming. The intrigue of the mystery almost allows you to ignore the horror of the scene. Almost.
You don't need to go far into the room to note something new; one corner of the thin mattress rests higher than the other, as if something were resting beneath it.
For right now, I'm looking for a few more people; input on what will be designed should be made in the design thread, which I will create when I'm concious enough to coherently word it :P I'm fond of both heavily urban and rural environments, as both lend themselves to some very fun types of games. If the consensus ends up being to go for a larger city as the base environment, then we will chose an established city (such as Korvosa, Egorian, Magnimar, Riddleport, ect.) and then detail specific areas of and factions of it that are pertinent to the kinds of characters that will be played.
P'Aye
Spoiler:
The first thing you notice is that the body sports many deep gashes, presumably from the cleaver lodged in his back. The fact that you didn't hear a serious disturbance the night before and that there isn't any sign of a struggle leads you to believe that the first blow was a fatal one. Few actual details can be ascertained from the doorway.
Thorson momentarily tears his wide eyes from the carnage in the room and shakily says "Fellow's name was Garrick. Told me he was a Pathfinder, so I gave 'im a discount on the room. He seemed nice enough, didn't seem like he'd be someone you'd wanna murder." before falling into silence as his eyes are drawn once more to the corpse on the bed. Seemingly relieved for someone of some authority to be involved, Thorson stands aside, nodding to Irian and P'Aye. The young guardsman takes a single look into the room, pales, turns away, and proceeds to be quietly sick. As he steps aside, a dark-robed man with pale skin and somewhat harsh features is revealed at the top of the stairs, where he is soon joined by an elven woman.
We will possibly be making a city/town, or simply fleshing out an already published location, depending on what the group prefers. However I'm keeping it to the Inner Sea regions largely because there's a substantial framework there with which to create a specific location.
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