A druid has cast awaken animal on her animal companion.
Marc Radle wrote:
Per the rules, an awakened animal cannot also serve as an animal companion. If an animal companion becomes awakened, it ... ceases to be an animal companion, which means it reverts to a normal version of that animal. ...
You then add the 3d6 Intelligence, +1d3 Charisma, and +2 HD to the now-normal animal. At that point, the animal becomes a magical beast (augmented animal) and can begin gaining class levels as a monster cohort per the Bestiary rules...
Let's imagine that a druid did such a thing, and shortly thereafter perished.
What type of animal would you think most likely to be making a name for itself in the world?
In short order, you return to the lower levels of the Arcanum. There, in a large anteroom off the kitchens, you recognize Poppo, overseeing a work crew carving the innards from a small whale. He smiles as he catches sight of you and waddles over in your direction.
"Welcome back, welcome back, Passfinders. Have you had any luck finding our mutual friend?"
The academy student nods back, and quickly conceals something in the folds of her robes. "Of course. Most excellently done, too. Um, give my regards to the good professor." She turns to walk straight away from the building where you'd meet Poppo.
Sense Motive of 21:
The student reacted to the mention of Poppo. She may be concealing something she doesn't want the gnome to know about.
Sense Motive of 21 and Perception of 18:
She maneuvered a small skeleton, perhaps a rat or squirrel skeleton, up a sleeve, where it skittered up and out of sight.
It's a simple matter to reach the Academy. Your robes mark you as people who belong there, so you pass through the gates to the outer grounds without contest.
Inside, that's a different manner. On the walkway to the main building, you come across a woman in her mid-twenties, gaunt of frame and with deep shadows under her eyes. She stops and stares at Frissa.
"Hello," she says, with a curious tone to her voice. "I thought I knew all the gnomes here at the academy.
"Come to it, I don't think I recognize any of you. Where have you been hiding yourself, these past years? Does the Academy have a north campus I've not encountered?"
It takes only a few turns to find another entrance to ground level. You're not alone when you leve the Guts, but nobody seems to pay you much attention.
You're about two blocks away from the Academy. It's still Monday, about mid-afternoon.
Short version: I was in the hospital for several days in early October. It was unexpected, and I ended up with a lot of dropped balls. I've been scrambling to get my work back caught up, and this game fell completely off my RADAR.
I'm very embarrassed.
So, would you like me to continue, or is someone else interested in taking over the GMing? I'm fine either way.
Speaking entirely to the players: this has become a challenge to run in PFS, because you have, through reasonable and logical actions, sent the adventure very far off-rails. I can extrapolate what I think the major NPCs would do in this case, but PFS ties my hands about how much new material I can introduce into the adventure.
The door swings towards you and is surprisingly quiet, as if the hinges have been maintained in good working order. Behind them is a chamber, indeed larger and wider than anything you've seen before, perhaps 25 feet on a side. Your light is the first that floods into the room, which has otherwise lay dark. The scent of the ocean is strong here, and there appears to be a flight of stairs in the center of the floor.
There are other things you might notice as well -- doors, exact dimensions, etc. But immediately in front of you is a sixteen-foot-long scorpion, its rust-colored scales shining in the light. It spins around to turn its flat black eyes to you -- each one the size of a grapefruit -- and arches its stinger over its back.
You return to the Guts and make your way back to the door. In context, it looks like this might be the entrance from the underground tunnels into an actual building's basement, perhaps still active or perhaps long abandoned.
Not a problem. You leave the Guts and arrive back out in the fresh air. It takes a moment to get your bearings, but you are in the middle of the town, more than half-way to the Academy.
Rayne is about to step on a particular stone when the sound of rats beneath it gives him pause. With a little checking, he realizes that it's the swinging door to a pit trap, with thousands of rats piling over themselves below. The pit covers the entire passage from side to side, and extends 10 feet down the corridor. From this vantage point, Rayne can see that the passage to the right ends in a door (it would still require a little bit of maneuvering to get around the corner of the pit down the side tunnel.)
Pavanna, I'm afraid you can't ready an action outside combat. But I'll note that you're likely to cast that spell at first opportunity.
Prepared and on alert, the party moves forward. Just as he passes the passage to the right (which leads to a door, by the way) Rayne's right footfall sounds hollow, and the floor unexpectedly swings open.
Rayne's Reflex save:1d20 + 10 ⇒ (9) + 10 = 19
Rayne throws all his weight on his left foot, trying to keep from tumbling into the revealed pit, but he's not quite able to do so.
Acrobatics to avoid some of the damage:1d20 + 12 ⇒ (20) + 12 = 32
Rayne lands on his feet, cushioned by something soft and furry at the bottom of a 10' long by 5' wide pit, 20' below the other members of the party. Rayne takes 1d6 ⇒ 4 points of damage and drops to one knee in the dark. The dim light from the tunnel above only serves to illumine the thousands of red feral eyes down here, as a wave of rats pours over the slayer, squealing in outrage.
Damage:1d6 ⇒ 5 points from the scratching and biting.
Rayne's Fortitude save:1d20 + 7 ⇒ (8) + 7 = 15; Rayne is not nauseated.
No magic. No poison. It appears to be a relief, made when these tunnels were built, long ago and before House Thrune had signed contracts with Hell. It's not intended as an altar, but there might have been such a thing nearby.
Frissa, it is indeed an efreet, rather than any sort of fiend. (It's hard to make the distinction some times...)
You move through the passage that Alden spotted. It has the typical dead-ends, street entrances, and so on. You also come around a corner to spy an ancient relief of an outsider -- probably an Efreet -- haughty and regal, accepting tribute from an audience of humans. The scene is carved into the stone walls of the dungeon and seems to be pat of a cellar, although the surface building has certainly been repurposed by now.
And with that, the rot grub is torn into pieces. The tunnels are suddenly very quiet.
There is a pile of bones here: rats and dog mostly. This creature has not had to go far to get regular meals.
From here:
Alden, when you ran around the back side of the loop, you noticed another passage that led off in that direction, generally towards the academy.
From the square where Alden is standing now, there is a passage left, into the area he had just run around. The passage goes for about ten feet and then turns left. If it continues somehow, it will need to go either up -- perhaps towards the streets-- or down even deeper in the Guts.
Also from the square whee Alden is standing now, there is a short flight of steps to the right, leading to a T-intersection going left (backtracking towards the neighborhood of the warehouse) and right, in the general direction of the academy.
Next to him, Morrolan attempts to maneuver around behind the monster.
Behind Morrolan, Pavanna and your Chelaxian charge stand, the cleric prepared to fight physically if any threat approaches. (Is there any spells Pavanna could cast, that would help Rayne?)
On the opposite side of the monster, Frissa backs up and casts a sheet of fire at the monstrous vermin.
Reflex Save:1d20 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 2 = 6. Frissa's fire hits it straight on, dealing full damage.
From around the corner, Alden moves past Frissa and takes advantage of the clear spot across from Rayne. (I'm presuming here, but I suppose Alden would attack.)
Alden's Flail:1d20 + 12 ⇒ (3) + 12 = 15 That hits, just barely, and does 1d8 + 4 ⇒ (4) + 4 = 8 points of damage.
--
The rot grub's fleshy spines quiver in outrage. It tries to savage Rayne arm again:
Grapple:1d20 + 8 + 5 ⇒ (8) + 8 + 5 = 21 and just barely fails in maintaining its grapple.*
--
Your turns.
* I admit that I'm a little vague on some elements of the grappling rules. The penalties on Dexterity actions cancel out between the grappler and the grappled victim. So the only modifier is the +5 circumstance bonus for maintaining a grapple. It failed to hit Rayne's CMD of 22, so Rayne slips out of its grasp. Is that correct?
Alden, the party had just taken a left branch in the tunnels (the other branch ran right, and then turned left). You go down that other branch, and it seems to loop around counter-clockwise. There are other branches, but yo stay focused on the left wall, and at a double move you end up just around the corner from the sounds of battle. Unless there's a surprise, you'll come up behind Frissa next round.
--
The creature attempts to maintain its hold on Rayne.
grapple:1d20 + 8 - 2 ⇒ (17) + 8 - 2 = 23
It succeeds, and gnaws for another 2d6 + 6 ⇒ (1, 5) + 6 = 12 points of damage.
Monsterous Grub: Attacks Rayne, grapples.
Rayne: Attempts to escape, but remains grappled.
Pavanna: readies a (physical?) attack in case the grub devours Rayne and goes looking for more.
Morrolan: fatigues the creature momentarily, and tries unsuccessfully to maneuver around it.
Frissa: maneuvers past Morrolan and Rayne and the monster. She then swipes at it with a flaming touch, missing.
So, let's assume Morrolan will try making that Acrobatics check.
Acrobatics:1d20 - 2 ⇒ (7) - 2 = 5
Morrolan, the monstrous grub is writhing and bucking in its space. You try to push through, to get behind it, but your first attempt is rebuffed. Do you want to attack it from where you are, around a hard corner, or would you rather make another attempt to get around it, sacrificing your attack this round?
Or, if you have a player folio / PFS shirt, you could re-roll that first attempt.
Sorry. I was so focused on Morrolan's knowledge check that I didn't realize he was also taking actions!
Morrolan will have to make an acrobatics check to move behind it. Even though it doesn't make attacks of opportunity, it still won't let you through its space.
Frissa, it's Morrolan who's moving. I'll interpret your action as readying to attack in case Morrolan moves out of the way, if that's okay with you.
Frissarose, the corridor here is about 10' high, so, yes.
Rayne, you come close, but it's still attached.
Morrolan:
Well, how about that? What we have here is a giant rot grub. Many times, they seem to arise from swarms allowed to feed upon the flesh of dragons. They are notorious for infesting the lairs of giants, where they're a real danger. Against a creature of Rayne's size, its burrowing nature doesn't come into play, but it's powerful circular jaws will gnaw him to death in 20 or 30 seconds.
They're reputed to inject their prey with powerful poisons that some dwarven doctors use to immobilize patients without pain.
It's a monstrous vermin, so it's likely immune to mind-affecting spells.
Rayne, if you mean the Manukirt Trading Co. Warehouse, that's where you are. That's the place where you picked open the lock on the door, and entered, seeing this hole descending into the depth of the Guts. I was under the impression you folks were going to use the Guts to get to the Academy of Practical Arts.
I'll presume you are moving with weapons drawn. Frissia, are you casting light on anything, or are you relying on the tunnel's existing torchlight?
The Guts are dimly lit, with torches spaced so that there are thin areas between their effective illumination. Rayne, you lead the party through a maze of branching, twisting passages, each slightly different from the others, with short flights of stairs up or down, dead ends with grates in the ceiling which lead to the town above, collapsed tunnels, branches which reunite later on, and some thirty-foot switchbacks, where you find yourself going opposite your intended path.
Twice, your wayfinder needle veers sharply, influenced by something besides true north, bun in each case it rights itself after a couple dozen paces.
Shortly after choosing to go left at a branch, Phelerosa looks around, uncomfortable. "This is different," she whispers, trepidation mixing with bewilderment. "Where is everybody?"
At that moment, twenty feet ahead of her, Rayne, you turn the corner and see a twitching pale maggot, the size of a large dog, moving along the edge of the floor, It arches its body back towards you; its "head" is nothing but a quivering circular mouth, which gasps in excitement as it hurls itself at you.
The monstrous thing lands on Rayne's left arm and attempts to attach itself.
Attack:1d20 + 6 ⇒ (20) + 6 = 26 Crit confirmation:1d20 + 6 ⇒ (19) + 6 = 25
Morrolan, you're right next to Rayne, with a hard corner protecting you from whatever's around the turn in the passageway. Something large and white and covered in fleshy spurs has leapt from the darkness and is writhing furiously around Rayne's arm before your slayer ally could do more than call out an alert.
Daxter, do you have a Character Folio or a PFS shirt? If so, did you want that saving throw to stand, or did you want to use your re-roll?
Grab:1d20 + 8 ⇒ (11) + 8 = 19
The thing has swallowed Rayne's arm, and it looks ready to gnaw upon him.
Don't worry about posting in initiative order -- you can all choose to delay, and the monster has already acted.
To be clear, you're in a five-foot wide corridor. It bends to the right, and Rayne is in the corner square, Morrolan is next to him, with a hard corner between Morrolan and the monster. Frissa is next to Morrolan, and can only see the part of the monster that is grappling Rayne. Since the creature is in a grapple, it can't take any attacks of opportunity, but you would need to pass through its square to get behind it.
Rayne:
Up ahead, it looks like the corridor does .. something .. to the left (you're too busy to sort it out right now) and also turns to the right. Behind the party, you see the tunnel turns to the left. It's plausible that somelone like Alden, in the rear of the party, could rund down that passage and come out behind the monstrous grub. There's no guarantee that would work, and it does place him at the mercy of anything he might meet along the way.
At the bottom of the access point, the tunnel dead-ends to the southeast. The dank tunnels reek of musty seawater that oozes from the stone ceiling and leaves the walls coated with a wet sheen. But you're in a dry corridor, 5 feet from side to side, as opposed to a sewer with effluvium flowing down the center of the channel. There are torches on the walls every fifty feet or so, suggesting that the derelict tunnel is still in use.
There is indeed an entrance to the Guts here, a ladder leading down, behind the stack of food in the back left corner. The tunnel leads north-west and south-east.
You hear a distant collision down in the tunnels, as if two large piles of trash crashed into each other. It's difficult to say which direction it came from.
Rayne:
From the northwest, you'd guess. And quite distant; the nature of the tunnels keeps sound bouncing around for a while. Which is to say, your party will be announcing their presence as they go, unless everybody takes care to move silently.
The Academy or Practical Arts is on the northern end of town, and the warehouse is almost straight south of there, through most of the city. If you have wayfinders, you could use them to dead-reckon your way through the Guts. But you'd want to surface periodically, to make sure you didn't overshoot or get slightly off-target.
You can use Intimidate to force an opponent to act friendly toward you for 1d6 × 10 minutes with a successful check. The DC of this check is equal to 10 + the target’s Hit Dice + the target’s Wisdom modifier.
Success: If successful, the opponent will:
...give you information you desire
...take actions that do not endanger it
...offer other limited assistance
After the intimidate expires, the target treats you as unfriendly and may report you to local authorities.
So, a rules note: As long as you keep Phelerosa with you, the Intimidation check remains active. Once she leaves you, Aldan's Intimidation check wears off in 1d6 x 10 minutes. You cannot attempt a Diplomacy check while she's under the effects of Intimidation, but you can do so afterwards, with the modifiers for her starting attitude.
Rayne, your first impression is that the lock is beyond your skills, but just before you're about to give up -- or shake your thoughts clear and try a fresh start, you hear the cylinders grind together and the lock pulls itself open in your hands. Apparently, years of disuse had weakened the mechanisms.
Inside the warehouse, you see, looking to the left, an organized pile of foodstuffs, stable in these conditions but probably months old.
To the right, there is the backside of a door, cunningly concealed in the east wall. With a little effort, someone could push against the door from the outside, slip in, and have a spring mechanism close the portal back again within seconds.
Rayne:
In and amidst the pile of foodstuff, behind a few barrels of wheat, there's a passage down to the hidden underground passages. This is odd: most of the people living down there are malnourished; if this were a regular point of entry, the food here would be long gone.
You arrive at the warehouse. Smaller than the buildings nearby, it has two large doors facing south. The left door looks to have been broken open years ago, and is chained and locked. There is a small wooden platform on the ground in front of the right door.
The halfling gives you a wary glare over her spectacles. "You and your friends talk pretty big for Academy apprentices, Alden Darkcrown Thelas. She ends up dead, wounded, soulbound for Hell or imprisoned on a slave ship, I'll find out, and I won't be coming after you alone."
And with that, she steps aside. "Lunch is on the house. Now get out."
You find Phelerosa waiting for you at the door, traveling bag in hand.
"That's all, fine, Alden Darkcrown Thelas, but Phelerosa is a good girl, and I've grown a little protective of her during her stay here. Can you and your posse swear that you will do everything in your power to protect her, or are you only willing to promise me that, if giant rats attack her, you'll just sit by and watch, rather than helping the rats?"
Phelerosa takes a step back and, seeing no one taking an interest in you, nods.
"Well, the Inkwell was built right across the harbor mouth from the Whaler's Point. It was originally Pezzack’s garrison in the town’s early days. It's sort of a fortress and sort of an inn, and it's, well, neutral ground for the folks around here. I've never gone there myself, but we get Loyalists here, and rebels, and they all go to the Inkwell.
"The Throne Defiant is also an inn, but I can't recommend it. The rooms are expensive, and it caters to the Loyalists. There's a woman there, though, that helps out folks who get injured or sick.
"Shorewall is right next to the Inkwell. It's that little stretch of wall between the towers out there. If you look closely, you can see they fly the old Chelaxian flag, the ones from before the Thrunes played footsie with Hell. The people who stay there don't mix much with the rest of the town, and that's all for the best. They're humorless, and they have one of those Galtan 'final blades,' that steals the souls of people they behead.
"I haven't heard anything about Old Madge, but there's a noodle cart that patrols the harbor down around Gold Street during lunch."
At that point, Auntie turns around the corner and calls out, "Honey, you've got another table that needs its food."
"Wh -- where are you going? Pazzack is under a siege, surely you can't mean to just walk out? Do you have a boat waiting for you, outside the blockade? How do you intnd to reach it?"
She can answer specific questions, but she's still a little too panicked to think up clever plots on her own. Which places did you want to know about?
One more thing: will you be having Phelerosa follow you out of Auntie's, in the middle of her shift? (Once she leaves your presence, the effects of the Intimidate will follow their due course.)
Morrolan, you do not notice any patrons paying you very close attention -- maybe the academic robes are doing their job -- but you continue to overhear the discussion at the other end of the restaurant. Ulster continues to insist on his story, and you can cross-reference his details with the view of the harbor out the windo and get a reasonably good idea where he claims to have seen this pale person.
When Phelerosa returns, she has ale for five and some bowls of rat stew. She also has a scroll tube. "I keep a record of someone’s exceptionally poor decision making as leverage in case I ever find myself in trouble."
Inside the tube is a contract, the relevant parts are as follows:
For those who read Infernal:
This document, filed in triplicate, serves as a record of the bargain between Magarius
Charthagnion, son of Parvanus Charthagnion, and the devil Krathurex. The terms of
the contract are as follows. Section 1: Obligations and Restrictions Upon Krathurex
Within one Golarion hour after both parties sign this contract, the devil Krathurex
shall provide to Magarius Charthagnion the value of 25,000 gold pieces, in the form
of legal tender in the nation of Cheliax. This money shall be provided for Magarius
Charthagnion’s use, without interference by the devil Krathurex or any of his allies
or subordinates. The devil Krathurex affirms that he is not aware of any action that
his superiors plan to take that would provide interference. For the purposes of this
contract, “interference” refers to any action, willingly and knowingly taken, that
obstructs Magarius Charthagnion’s free use of the provided money, that attempts
to deprive Magarius Charthagnion of other money or property, or that attempts to
cause harm to Magarius Charthagnion. For the purposes of this contract, “harm” is
defined as…
Section 6: Obligations and Restrictions Upon Charthagnion
… Magarius Charthagnion will be provided the agreed-upon sum to use as he sees
fit, without restriction or interference, as specified in Section 1. The devil Krathurex
or one of his representatives will respond to summons pursuant to the repayment
within a period of one week after the issuance of such a summons, as specified in
Section 4. The devil Krathurex will not attempt to contact Magarius Charthagnion
without Magarius Charthagnion’s prior request and approval, as specified in Section
5. If the eldest son of Parvanus Charthagnion pays the value of 30,000 gold pieces to
the devil Krathurex or one of his representatives before the date of 01 Abadius 4717,
the responsibilities of all signatories of this contract will be discharged. If the loan is
not repaid in the specified manner by the specified date, the devil Krathurex shall gain
legal possession of the soul of Magarius Charthagnion in perpetuity.
"I'll stay, thanks, but if you want to see the contract, sure. I keep it as a reminder that bargains with devils are never what they seem.
"As for Jax Telandil, I've heard a few rumors, but I can't swear to them. What I can tell you is that Telandril works odd jobs around Docktown, often having to do with building second and third stories onto new ships."
To Pavanna, she smiles and says, "Coming right up."
--
The stew is likely to take a couple minutes to arrive. What are you doing in the mean time?
The serving girl looks at Frissa and a small grin forms at the corner of her mouth. Quietly, she says, "Sent, eh? Yes, I know of the old paracountess. Did my family send you to 'rescue' me? Well, I'm in no need of rescue, thank you. You can tell them that I'm happier here than I ever was, back in Corentyn. No backstabbing, no Hellish politics.
"Which reminds me: tell them that I still have a copy of the contract. I have been discreet with it, but that would change if they ever came after me with force."
She raises her voice a little. "No, I'm afraid there's precious little in the stew these days. Rat, mostly."
Sorry, Rayne. Typing late at night. Vowel are hard.
As your server finishes her introduction, you hear a disturbance from across the room. Someone stands at his table, knocking around the bowls of his amused companions, and raises his voice, insisting gruffly "I tell you what I saw! A man, white as a girl's front teeth, with huge eyes, rose up from the harbor, dressed only up to his waist and holdin' a blue staff above his head!' This is followed by a round of indulgent laughter.
Your server sighs and shakes her head. "Don't mind Goodman Ulster over there. He had brownie problems a couple of years back. Things he sees are likely as not tricks of his mind."
The halfling turns towards you as soon as she's tended to a table of customers. She looks you over carefully and say, in a concerned tone, "We don't want any trouble here at Aunties', gentle folk. If you're looking to cause a ruckus, I'd ask you to take it out on the dead hulls out there.We can't be affording any repairs tho the place this year."
Pavanna wrote:
When the halfling comes over, Pavanna leans down to whisper in the ear of the elderly woman, the name of Phelerosa and then jingles her coin purse and then puts her finger to her lips with a *sush*
The matron's expression is still a mixture of concern and puzzlement. "Right this way, folks." She leads you to an out-of-the way corner, well-lit by the window but remote enough to keep low conversations private. "Your waitress will be right with you."
Not more than a minute later, a young woman comes by. "Welcome to Auntie's. Our special today is stew and boiled fish. Is there something any of you would like?"
The interior of the tavern is unexpectedly impressive, with glass panels on the ceiling 20 feet above the main floor, which appeared to be a re-purposed hold. A tall window facing south also features a clear view of the former Manukirt warehouse.
At this time of day, half the patrons are enjoying a meal, while the other half are already getting started on their evening regime of home-brewed grog. An elderly halfling woman gracefully weaves about the room, conversing with patrons. "I'll be right with you, sweeties." she calls to you as you enter.
Auntie's is an establishment in Docktown, but the establishment won't open till noon. Until then, you research elements of the city, working to get your feet under you.
History of Pezzack:
Pezzack was the only town to overthrow its Thrune-appointed ruler after the Chelish civil war. It ruled itself as an independent city-state under the banner of the dead god Aroden.
Half a year later, the standard of House Thrune flew again over a town of ashes. The governor’s Hellknights had burned the poorer quarters to the ground, but had failed to kill the very idea that had sparked the rebellion in the first place—that the rule of Thrune was illegitimate, won through diabolism and deceit, and that no true heirs to the nation of Aroden would allow themselves to be ruled by outsiders. After this destruction, which the Pezzacki now call the First Ashes, other Chelish cities which had been toying with rebellion instead capitulated. But Pezzack never fully submitted. The town remained on the brink, poised to once again break out in open rebellion.
A generation after the First Ashes, an influx of immigrants—mostly from Galt and Andoran— had rebuilt and repopulated the town, many attracted by the writings of Indageous Vonor, a legendary Chelish playwright who had witnessed the sacking of Pezzack firsthand. Forbidden to own weapons after the First Ashes, the Pezzacki employed arms of a different sort, wielding ink rather than steel. Criticism, satire, and insurrection flowed from the Glass on the Hill, Vonor’s famous theater.
Seditious pamphlets and essays printed in Pezzack spread throughout Cheliax, and into Avistan beyond, turning this isolated town into a magnet for revolutionary thinkers and agitators. Gracchian Tauranor, Pezzack’s military governor started hanging dissidents from Traitor’s Hook.
Five years ago, Amalia Wraxton, Vonor’s finest student, premiered Abrogail I at the Glass on the Hill. A history dripping with excoriating satire, the play painted Abrogail as Asmodeus’s lover and a conspirator in the death of Aroden. The opening performance of the play never finished; summoned by infuriated loyalists, Governor Tauranor and his knights stormed the stage to shut down the production. Tauranor’s knights killed both Vonor and Valeria Minish, a popular actress who was especially beloved among the poor. Rebellion exploded instantly. Tauranor never made it out of the theater—rioting mobs tore him and his Hellknights to pieces. The rest of the town guard left their posts to put down the rebellion, and blood painted the streets. The strix, winged inhabitants of the reach known as Devil’s Perch to the southwest of the town, took advantage of the chaos to drop burning logs onto the settlement. For the second time in a century, most of Pezzack burned. When the dust of the Second Ashes had settled, a third of the town’s population was dead and a new era of anarchy had begun.
The reaction from Egorian was swift. A Chelish armada under the command of Governor Vedra Sawndannac began a blockade of the town, trapping over a hundred merchant ships at anchor in Fat Harbor. From the deck of the flagship, Amalia Wraxton was tried in absentia and sentenced to death. The rebels now control most of Pezzack—though their rule is disorderly—and any Chelish soldiers still in town have retreated to the loyalist quarter around the dead governor’s manse. A new makeshift settlement has risen in the harbor: Docktown, a chaotic maze formed out of the interconnected ships not allowed to leave.
And despite every printing press being seized, from somewhere in town the notorious Printsmith produces pamphlets and plays decrying the Thrunes and undermining their right to rule. These works have spread far beyond Pezzack and Cheliax.
The Four Factions:
The following four factions constantly vie for influence in Pezzack.
Docktown: Representing the stranded merchants in Fat Harbor, the tiefling “mayor” Bruck wants economic dominance over Pezzack—a greedy oligarchy made easier by the town’s well-honed smugglers and perpetual unrest.
Galtans: Violent revolutionaries fronted by the grey gardener Habar Curl, Pezzack’s pack of Galtan rebels want the town’s freedom to spring from the blood of dead Loyalists—and anyone who might be aligned with them.
Loyalists: Pezzacki still loyal to the Chelish crown believe there can be no peace until rulership of the city is returned to its diabolical masters.
White Thistles: These idealists led by Amalia Wraxton want a unified, free Pezzack and hope to win over the other factions’ hearts and minds through verse and acts of derring-do.
--
In Docktown’s chaotic jumble of ships, Auntie’s tavern still manages to stand out. Draped in bright curtains of white and red and bearing a huge, garishly painted former ship’s masthead of a woman as its sign—creatively augmented to hold two foaming mugs aloft, the three-story converted ship’s hold is perpetually packed with Pezzacki looking to drown their fears and boredom.
