The gnome stops her work at the mention of her missing apprentice, and surveys the group. After Samantha finishes the story, the alchemist snaps back, "Berries? We've got no orders for berries. And if Gellion was taking on work for such interesting acquaintances," she directs this towards Nurri, "he would have told me. Gellion's just late to work today, if your looking for missing apprentices - there aren't any here!"
Sense Motive DC 15 (Pricknettle's only):
In spite of her curt refusal, you get a sense of worry and false bluster behind Ms. Picknettle's words
Petrello's Haberdashery:
Petrello begins to frantically grab at any objects which Jacob tries to magically tidy up. "No, no, no, NO! There's been no struggle here. It's just the way I keep things and it's the way things are going to stay if you want me to talk." He slumps down into a chair, exhausted and clearly heavily burdened by the recent events. "I know it's probably idle thinking to believe that such a ragtag gang such as yourselves is going to stroll into my shop and bring back my daughter, but you might just be the only shot I've got, so let me answer your questions."
"Betrona was acting perfectly normal, if not a bit disobedient, but that just my daughter for you. She kept getting into all kinds of trouble with Gellion and Nolaria - the two rascals who apprentice for the alchemist and the temple of Erastil, respectively. Even though I expressly forbid it, she ran off with them anyway, my guess is to either the graveyard or the orchard."
"As for the orchard, its care rotates between citizens who've no other livelihood - sort of a public project. It was never kept too well, but especially with all the recent goings on and the rumors, work seems to have fallen by the wayside."
"That's really all that I know, but I can tell you it must be that apothecary boys fault, such a bad influence he is. If only Betrona had listened to me! And I've heard that Pavolus, my son, is missing too, although I haven't seen him much after my wife and I split."
"If you have any other questions you may of course contact me, but for you I encourage you to listen to your companions and make haste," the mayor says as she lays a map on the table. Several locations have been marked - the shops belonging to the masters of the missing apprentices. "I honestly hadn't expected such a strong showing of investigators, so I confess that I only had one map drawn up. I'll have another made for you but until then you'll all have to share. Now if you'll excuse me, my bowl is full to the brim with business - you'll have to see yourselves out."
It seems like the party's about to split but not everyone know's where their going. I'll spoiler the three locations mentioned and whichever one you want to visit, simply open that spoiler and only that spoiler. Make sure you spoiler your response with the name of the location, so that everyone knows which spoilers they can or can't read.
Pricknettle's Potions and Poultices:
On the way to Pricknettle's you pass a town square, in the center of which the old gallows still stand, watched by a single guard. The gallows offer a grim reminder of the hangings which you've heard occured in the town's history after the uprising against House Sarini.
The inside of the shop is well kept with various alchemical odds and ends on display, aside from the front desk where a gnome woman is deep in her work. "Welcome to Pricknettle's, finest quality alchemical goods around." She gives a short laugh. "Well, only alchemical goods around to be honest, but I still think I deserve more than a bit of pride in my work. Anyhow, just give me a wave when you're ready to order." She speaks curtly, and continues her work the entire time.
Petrello's Haberdashery:
On the way to the haberdashery you pass a sprawling orchard - one which has clearly seen both better and worse days. It appears as if the orchard is barely tended to anymore, some parts appearing sparse and others looking more like a forest than a an orchard.
The shop itself seems just a bit rundown, the inside is even worse. The place is an absolute mess, although it doesn't look like much work is being done. A man stomps out of the back when he hears you enter. "What do you want? No we don't do group discounts. Got a problem? Take your business to one of my infinitely more successful competitors. Hmph!" Needless to say, he seems to be in a foul mood.
Witch's End Tavern:
On the way to the tavern you pass a sprawling orchard - one which has clearly seen both better and worse days. It appears as if the orchard is barely tended to anymore, some parts appearing sparse and others looking more like a forest than a an orchard.
Outside the tavern hangs a sign depicting a dark-haired figure burning at the stake - Witch's End indeed. As you enter, you just narrowly avoid colliding with and imposing woman who must be over six feet tall. She barely gives you a second glances as she rushes over to serve some drinks to patrons at a nearby table. "Perfect. Another group of outsiders here to muck up my tavern's floors. Are ye some adventures looking for a noble quest? Well here's one - try not to get in my way will ya?" She returns to the bar area and barks back at you, "Now what can I get ya? And don't say the usual cause I know none of ye are locals."
Finally, the doors of the mayor's office open to reveal plush red carpet and oak furniture upholstered with velvet. The decor lends this room an air of comfort, but it’s also clearly a place of official business, with several layers of administrative papers, staff memos, maps, and charts covering the wide surface of the solid desk in the center. From her tall-backed chair behind her desk, Mayor Sandra Trinelli looks up, shaking herself out of a deep concentration. A subtle look of relief flashes across her face as she motions to the oversized chairs in front of her.
"Normally, I’d exchange more pleasantries with my guests, but I fear there is no time," she says. "The business that brought you here is quite urgent—it may actually be a matter of life and death."
“Let me explain. You may have heard that several young apprentices from various establishments in Saringallow have disappeared in the last couple of weeks. Every one of them has failed to show up to work, and nobody seems to know where they’ve gone."
“That’s not all. Rumors are spreading about sightings of enormous insects roaming about town. So far, the townspeople have chalked up such rumors to overactive imaginations, but I fear they might be real, and that they might have something to do with the missing apprentices. I have no proof that the situations are connected, but if folks get that notion into their heads, things are bound to spiral out of control.”
She shifts nervously, as if avoiding an uncomfortable implication, before continuing.
“Please, I implore you to look into this matter quietly and thoroughly—find out where our apprentices have gone and discover the cause of our vermin problem. Don’t jump to conclusions until you have investigated every possible angle; we need to be absolutely sure that we know who or what is responsible before we take any necessary law-enforcement actions."
“I suggest you start by interviewing the masters of every missing apprentice on this list I’ve compiled. I suspect that, collectively, they might shed some light on the youngsters’ whereabouts. That could in turn illuminate our vermin problem, but until we have more information, I caution you against suggesting to anyone that the two situations are connected. Beyond that, though, you have my full cooperation in this matter. If anyone gives you guff about your line of questioning, show them this letter.”
The mayor pushes a scrap of paper with several names scribbled on it across her desk, as well as a rolled-up, ribbon-bound letter written on thick parchment.
“As far as an incentive,” the mayor says, “I’ve pooled together 50 gold pieces as a reward for each apprentice you manage to find and rescue, as well as an additional 100 gold pieces if you can determine the cause of our vermin problem—and eliminate it. Do we have a deal?”
Everyone can read these:
The List of Missing Apprentices:
Betrona Pindlion—apprentice of haberdasher Petrellano Pindlion
Gellion Vazarro—apprentice at Pricknettle’s Potions and Poultices
Morvinarr Albusin—apprentice at Witch’s End tavern
Noemi Tauralio—apprentice at Gunty’s Hearty Breads
Nolaria Wintren—apprentice of the temple and Father Ildris Ruvarra
Pavolus Laterna—apprentice of cobbler Dependable Drummady
The Writ of Investigation:
My Fellow Esteemed Citizens,
The bearers of this letter have embarked on a matter of official Saringallow business on my behalf. As such, it is my deepest hope that you will treat them judiciously and conscientiously, and that you will trust that any questions they ask are in the interest of furthering this urgent errand. Please answer their inquiries completely and to the best of your knowledge, as you would answer questions from me personally. Should you be aware of another citizen who may have the information they desire, I implore you to disclose those details, as well as anything else that might be of use. Should you aid my proxies in completing their task, rest assured that you will earn my profound gratitude, as well as any small favor from my office.
Your Humble Mayor,
Sandra Trinelli
DO NOT POST YOUR CHARACTER SHEET PUBLICLY I don't want everyone to know everyone else's abilities at the start of the game. PM me a sheet, Google Docs, mythweavers, whatever, but leave it out of your profile for now.
Races: Everyone seems to have chosen already, all fine.
Classes: Any Paizo classes, chained and unchained variants both okay. Traitors are free to make use of any "evil" themed classes/archetypes.
Point Buy: 20
HP: Max
Gold: Average per class.
Alignment: Non-evil, unless you are one of the two traitors.
Traits: 2, no drawbacks
Background Skills: Yes
Correction:I thought we had seven but I actually haven't heard from our seventh so it looks like we'll be going in with 6 players - but because I've already sent out PMs we'll stick with 2 traitors. Unless, of course, our missing player got selected in which case there will only be one... so get ready to get paranoid!
Good news! With only 7 completed submissions, I have decided to accept all seven instead of having to cut out one. I figure this'll save some grief in the case of any dropouts as well. However, there will now be not only one, but TWO traitors, so best keep your wits about you. The traitors might know who eachother are, or they might not, I haven't decided yet. Just to clarify, this is the actual list:
Ira kroll
william Nightmoon
Profession Smith 6 ranks
Nathan Hartshorn
Nurri Al Rhakaza
Zayne Iwatani
Jay's Wing
Before I roll for the traitors, I'd like all of you to repost the "good" version of your character's backstory in the discussion thread just to make sure everyone's still on board, after which we can start making characters, and then move post-haste onto the game!
The character chosen as the traitor will use the evil backstory which they privately PMed me and play as an evil character. They will gain XP with the rest of the group, or rather, level at the same intervals, since I'm not sticking strictly to the XP system.
Life's about to get a lot busier for me over the next month or so - I'll have to withdraw unfortunately. Awesome concept though, I'll certainly be lurking around to read what happens.
I did mention in the recruitment post, albeit very briefly, that the villain will be determined randomly, so as to prevent anyone trying to guess who I would pick based on external factors such as this.
If I count correctly we've already got 5 actual submissions and a few more who've expressed interest. Once we've got at least enough for a full party and I've finished my initial prepwork, I'll give a few days warning to let any lurkers/last minute submissions in before closing recruitment and then make the final picks.
There's a neon sign outside that reads: "Club Murder5".
It's never open.
There's never anybody inside.
But everyone claims to know a member.
In reality, even the actual gang members don't even know who each other are. I say gang because the Club consists almost entirely of criminals, from petty thieves all the way up hardened killers. They all gather in the basement wearing masks with the number 5 printed on the face; meetings which are announced by the leader via email and happen randomly throughout the month. No one can quit the Club under penalty of death.
The reason I know all this is because I used to be the leader. Used to, because I quit during the last meeting. I removed my mask in front of all of them and only narrowly escaped. Now they're all after me. Penalty of death.
Why did I do it? I could've just stopped showing up, slipped into the background of the city. But the truth is, I was bored. I only love things that are interesting. And my life just got a lot more interesting.
I received a question about possible character requirements (point buy, etc.), so I'll post here for anyone curious. This is still subject to change but for now:
Level 1 (advancing to 2 halfway through)
Max HP
20 or 25 point buy (still deciding)
Background skills, yes
Alignment, non-evil for all but one character obviously
Super interesting, definitely getting some Durarara!! vibes. I love the idea of a possible PC antagonist (in fact, I'm currently trying to start a game in a similar vein). Will give the system a read.
A rash of missing apprentices, giant vermin sightings, goblins at the gates - all this and more plagues the Isgeri town of Saringallow - unfortunately located in the shadow of an infamous and supposedly curst estate. When a number of heroes answer the mayor's call for aid, matters seem to be looking up for the doomed town - but little do they know that a villainous traitor lurks in their midst.
Welcome, welcome, welcome friends. Elevator pitch: I want 6 players for the newly released Gallows of Madness module, a collection 3 horror themed mini-adventures for 1st level characters. The catch is that one randomly determined player will secretly be evil and it'll be up to the other players to not only save the town, but root out the traitor amidst the growing paranoia a la Pathfinder meets Mafia. Sound like a terrible idea? It is; hence the short nature of the adventures and the "experimental" part of the title.
How to apply (READ ME ENTIRELY):
Secrecy will be a big part of the game - especially if you get chosen as the traitor, expect to be PMing me a lot. In fact, the first PM you send will be part of your character application. In this thread, post a short backstory for a character you'd like to play, but DO NOT INCLUDE ANY CRUNCH. Then, via PM send me an alternate or expanded backstory for an evil version of that same character. Cultists, serial killers, demon-worshipers, everything is on the table, just make sure you've got motivation for actively sabotaging your own party. Also in the PM, you may include class/archetype ideas, although a full statblock isn't required and ALL CHARACTER SHEETS WILL BE KEPT SECRET. Pretty much all Paizo material, especially the evil classes/archetypes that don't see much use, is in play.
By submitting an application you agree to the following:
I WILL post at least once a day.
I WILL NOT look at spoilers not intended for me EVER.
I ACCEPT that my character may be attacked, sabotaged, or even killed by other characters.
I WILL maintain a jovial and friendly relationship with my fellow players in spite of the above.
Sarrin-where?:
Saringallow’s History
A minor house at the time, House Sarini of Cheliax founded the town of Sarini’s Hollow in Isger as a garden estate for its more influential members several decades before the rise of House Thrune. The town grew steadily as the nobles brought in peasants to serve its many needs, from farming to ranching to housework. As the Sarinis began to dabble in witchcraft and diabolism more, the peasants also served as a steady and clandestine supply of victims. Once the townspeople caught on, they executed all the Sarinis they could catch and drove out the other nobles.
Shortly after the uprising against House Sarini, the town’s leaders began constructing a wall that soon extended beyond the town, even enclosing some of the farmland that supported its populace. Their intention was to allow the townsfolk to live and farm in peace, and to keep the dangers of the outside world at bay. Indeed, Saringallow’s wall protected the town from most of the Goblinblood Wars’ dangers—the disorganized goblins simply flowed around it in search of easier targets. To this day, only the poorest farmers and most marginal citizens live near the walls. The rest of Saringallow’s residents refuse to build too close, and the guards breathe heavy sighs of relief when they finish their patrols of the ramparts.
Despite its suspicious populace and high walls, trade in Saringallow has flourished thanks to its proximity to Conerica River. While noble visitors are carefully watched and merchants must subject their wares to thorough inspections, the town thrives on the varied commerce that passes through its borders.
Life in Saringallow
The people of Saringallow are generally hardworking and independent, but can be cold and unwelcoming to outsiders. They tolerate travelers and merchants only as long as is necessary to conclude business. Those who decide to settle permanently in Saringallow typically must spend months or even years cozying up to their new neighbors before they are truly treated as fully recognized members of the community.
Within Saringallow, small groups of families and businesses have formed close-knit ties that have lasted for generations. To some older residents, frequently consorting with people from other neighborhoods or walks of life—even fellow citizens—is considered unlucky or even unnecessarily risky, so strong is the townspeople’s fear of the unknown. A common saying reflects the townspeople’s distrust of anyone trying to get to know them: “True friends aren’t too friendly.”
Most citizens of Saringallow are deeply suspicious of magic, especially witchcraft and evil divine magic, though some admit that certain kinds of arcane magic have their merits. In general, though, they see the practice of magic as an invitation to outside forces that cannot be controlled.
Practitioners of arcane magic are generally tolerated, if distrusted, but anyone with any ties to witchcraft or evil divine magic is unwelcome within the town’s walls. On the other hand, the townspeople view alchemy as a practical trade, and they see divine spellcasters of good- aligned deities as holy protectors. Therefore, the town has a few bustling alchemy shops, and Saringallow’s temple to Erastil supports a burgeoning congregation.
Saringallow’s top administrator is its elected mayor. Sandra Trinelli currently fills this position, though unless she can resolve the town’s recent troubles, the townsfolk might wish to elect a new leader before long. The people of Saringallow quickly lose faith in leaders who fail to keep the world’s evils at bay.
