GMsui's page

After running the first part of this two-parter and playing the second back-to-back at a FLGS gameday a while ago, I've wanted to put my medium through these two scenarios. Alas, fate, supply, and demand have conspired against me and I am utterly unable to do find a GM slot for the second part in local meatspace. Thus, I'm looking for players interested in playing the series. I'm hoping to run both parts back-to-back unless there are similarly stranded PCs out there who just need Part 2.

When a samsaran dies, he is reborn again with few memories of his past lives. The cycle continues until he has earned a righteous place in the afterlife. After years of service and lifetimes of accomplishment, Venture-Captain Bakten nears the end of his noble existence and has begun investigating his past lives as a means of understanding Tian Xia's rich history. However, he cannot complete his research alone, and only with the PCs' assistance can they decipher the region's past.

Venture-Captain Bakten's past lives and the history of northern Tian Xia are interwoven, and with the PCs' assistance he has uncovered a troubling legacy secreted within the mountains of Zi Ha. It is up to the Pathfinders to ascend into the ice-capped mountains to unveil the crimes of past generations and save one of the region's greatest heroes.

GM's notes:

The storyline for these scenarios is rather juicy for players interested in the concept of past lives, particularly mediums. The locales are colorful and descriptive, and the combat is rather challenging overall. There is at least the potential for some engaging roleplay, with the chance to unravel intrigue extending across multiple lifetimes.

There are a few encounters that are very difficult or frustrating in the series, including one that felt very much out-of-tier when I ran it live. As such, I will not be running for a table of fewer than five players, and I don't think I'll be accepting L3 or L4 PCs playing up. I'd caution anyone signing up to bring their A-game.

The series has some juicy chronicles, especially for mediums and alchemists.

I'd be running this with mapping done on a google drawing. If there's enough interest, and as I've been pondering figuring out how to use it for a home game anyway, I could try to work out how to run a game on roll20. I'd expect one post a day from everyone, with that restriction loosened on weekends.

If interested, please state what you'd be bringing to the party, and good luck to those who sign on!

Sorry for delay. Struggling with Comcast.

The trip back to Dalun is uneventful, though Kiryena and her guard did impose an awkward silence over the proceedings. Uliyara bids you a smiling farewell at the gates, where she is soon escorted, as if a misbehaving child, back to her mother. The midnight moon looms overhead as you make your way back to the river. A drunken chorus of gruff jadwiga voices emanates from the city jail, joined by Halvor's unmistakable, similarly sodden baritone, and sings you off as you set sail back to Kalsgard.

Several weeks later, the river boat pulls into the Kalsgard harbor next to Venture Captain Benarry's grinning pixie. She welcomes you aboard after collecting your reports, and invites you to warm up and dry out in the crew cabin while she reviews her findings. Half an hour, she bursts in, her face drawn into a wide smirk, and she laughs heartily. “To think, Naldak’s piece of the Sky Key has been in the Hao Jin tapestry all along! Well, easy enough. I’ll just have to have a chat with the Master of Spells about sending a group of agents in to pick it up. The tapestry is vast, and we never would have known where to look it weren’t for you. To top that off, studying the section of Naldak’s Point that Hao Jin’s magic narrowly missed ripping out of Golarion could teach us more about the tapestry itself. Well done, Pathfinders!”

Chronicles are here. Full debriefing before I go to bed tonight.

Uliyara stumbles a bit as she recognizes the face of the questioner. "Enough, Kiryena!" she shouts. "I would not travel as Uliyara with those who might betray that trust. The proof lies behind you - the wolf pup, no doubt one of Urgalena's agents. Where my own kin meant me harm, when an ancient enemy would rise from an icy tomb to tear at me, they have defended me."

She continues, breathlessly, before her counterpart can respond. "Cousin, I have traveled with them for weeks. I imagine you know only the dispassionate orders of my mother. It is by these Pathfinders' deeds that men of Whiterook now spills ale in our city rather than blood. They have proven themselves explorers and storytellers, trained in eye and tongue more than the baser, bloodier talents."

She calms down a bit. "Perhaps these are traits and deeds not typical of outsiders. But if these men are typical among their society, then it is a folly we have not sought an alliance with them yet. It is a wonder I've not left to join them yet."

"Uliyara!" shouts Kiryena, nearly snarling.

"Enough, cousin," says Uliyara, flatly. "Take me to my mother. Perhaps she'll heed my words moreso than she heeded theirs."

With that, Kiryena and her escort guide you and Uliyara back to Dalun, where certain events that I'll get around to writing soon-ish-ish transpire favorably.

Basically, by indulging Uliyara-as-Haltani's desire to learn about the outside world and by in general making friends of the society and mediating new peaces between third parties where appropriate, you've impressed Uliyara so much that she gives quite a speech defending you and the Society and espousing your virtues when her own kind would question your intentions. In effect, this is an automatic aid-another with a scaling (in this case massive) bonus depending on how much you've impressed her. So good job on getting here, guys. We're more or less done, but there's an extended debrief that I'll need to get around to writing along with your chronicle sheets this weekend. Thanks for playing, sorry for my delays, and I hope you've all had at least a little fun.

Nick, I'm pretty sure you can add inspiration to the roll. The ability is on a per-check basis, even for take 20s. Even if not, if you've got the right source book, you could pretty easily pay 25 for access and scribing costs for crafter's fortune. That'd bump you to 25 and pay for itself in one dayjob check.

Correction" 15. 5 for access, 10 to scribe.

Well, the streak had to end eventually I guess.

The streak can't end! Not like that! Not now!

Nick, I'm pretty sure you can add inspiration to the roll. The ability is on a per-check basis, even for take 20s. Even if not, if you've got the right source book, you could pretty easily pay 25 for access and scribing costs for crafter's fortune. That'd bump you to 25 and pay for itself in one dayjob check.

Just missed the edit timeline - missed an NPC. The guard is actually accompanying a witch that is doing the talking.

It doesn't help in this scenario, but I belive, Nicholas, that if you're trained in a knowledge skill as an investigator, you add your inspiration die for free.

Nicholas knows that the beard clasp is a gladdringgoch, a traditional beard or hair clasp that a clan’s leader wears as a mark of status.

He also recognizes the inscribed rune for one of King Gutheran’s family lines; this rune served as the basis for the modern dwarven rune for “royalty” or “king’s blood.”

Nick surmises that Hao Gin is probably a Dwarven transliteration of Hao Jin, a name that should by now be quite familiar to even junior members of the society. She was a powerful sorceress who, hundreds of years ago, swept up large portions Golarion, whether lands, flora, fauna, or even more sentient specimens, to populate the private demiplane she kept inside her eponymous Tapestry like an extravagant trophy case. The subject matter is common knowledge by now because of the society's exploits about three years ago in claiming her Tapestry as a prize in the Ruby Phoenix Tournament and its intervening efforts to explore the demiplane, catalog the lore it holds, and acquire the treasures secreted within.

As you ready yourselves to depart, disappointed that the Sky Key piece has not been here for centuries but confident that it is within the Society's exclusive grasp, you encounter a rather unfriendly group. A Jadwiga warrior, flanked by a creaking creature that seems to be carved from clearest ice and a decidedly warmer-looking white bear, stands at the entrance to Naldak's Point. By his posture he defies you to try to move past him, but he speaks a clearer message in a booming voice. "Absconders!" he shouts. "Who are you and what are you doing with one of our number?"

Dalun's sigil is quite clearly visible painted upon his tabard.

Try to talk him down, and give me your Diplomacy. Try not to meta too hard with whom and whether you're assisting.

With a mighty swing, Yakanzi cleaves clear through the ghoul. The air loses its icy bite as Vargrim falls into a more peaceful slumber than his icy detention.

Uliyara stares on in curiosity as the party goes about documenting what they've found - Vargrim's old waraxe sitting on the table and a strange clasp still in his beard.

Roll (a) Knowledge (Local or History) and (b) Knowledge (Nobility) or Linguistics to see what you can find out about the clasp.

Inside a pack in the corner of the room, you find what must be the old dwarf's diary.

Peering around the doorframe, Uliyara asks what you've discovered, and if it's been worth the danger.

Ironclaw bites a large chunk out of the creature, and pays for it as he begins to shiver. The figure before him strikes back wildly, all frozen fury, but only manages to strike true with his bite.

Cold Aura Damage, Fort DC Half: 1d6 ⇒ 5
First Claw: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (4) + 5 = 9
Claw Damage: 1d6 + 3 ⇒ (6) + 3 = 9
First Claw: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (4) + 5 = 9
Claw Damage: 1d6 + 3 ⇒ (5) + 3 = 8
Bite: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (11) + 5 = 16
Bite Damage: 1d6 + 3 ⇒ (1) + 3 = 4

Fort DC 15 against disease and another against paralysis.

Please don't roll initiative when you haven't been prompted. In the PbP environment, standard procedure seems to be delegating that much to the GM. It's super inefficient to have everyone roll his own in an asynchronous format. We'll use it for now, though

Amid a hundred dwellings swallowed in part or whole by the empty void, this apartment has stayed whole and unmolested. Where human ruins might smell of the now-moldering furnishings, the occupants here favored stone furniture. Apart from the large block of ice in the middle of this room, the space might appear much as it did centuries ago when dwarves still inhabited Naldak's Point.

On closer scrutiny, Nicholas notices a stout form encased within the ice, obscured by the condensation. It reveals itself to be a well-preserved dwarf a moment after the door opens when the figure bursts from the ice with a bloodcurdling screech.

Baloo: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 2 = 4
Gregor: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (19) + 4 = 23
Huron: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (18) + 2 = 20
Nicholas: 12 + 4 = 16
Rogzul: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 2 = 3
Yakanzi: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (14) + 4 = 18
Vargrim: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (19) + 4 = 23

Roll-Off Gregor: 1d20 ⇒ 14
Roll-Off Vargrim: 1d20 ⇒ 14

Roll-Off Gregor: 1d20 ⇒ 16
Roll-Off Vargrim: 1d20 ⇒ 14

You knew it was there, but had no notion of where or what until opening the door. Effectively, this is mutual surprise, so no surprise round. Gregor's up first, but I should note now as I forgot in the last combat that he needs to make DC 10 handle animal checks to make Ironclaw do any of the tricks he knows, DC 12 if Ironclaw takes any damage, and actually spend an action and make a DC 25/27 check to make the bear do any tricks that he does not know. You've an effective +8, so for now you only fail on a one. Note: It's a class skill for you, but you don't have it marked as such.

Icy-looking areas on the map are iced over and count as difficult terrain.

Round 1:
Gregor, Vargrim, Huron, Yakanzi, Nicholas, Baloo, Rogzul

We're getting pretty close to the end unless you guys go all murderhobo-y, so I'll be prepping sheets soon. Please roll any applicable day-job checks in the discussion thread. Grand Lodge players, this is most definitely outside of Absalom. Sovereign Court players, this mission can qualify as Society PR work, and there are a few qualifying NPCs to recruit on the way out if you haven't already. Liberty's Edge players, Irrisen is a nation of slavers. Sorta? I thought it had a warring city-states vibe from reading through, but whatever. If you're feeling chatty, you could go see how Halvor and the Dalun guard are doing at the tavern and see if the drunks are amenable to abolitionist ideology.

I have never been so happy to see detect undead. That said, you might consider including your formulae book in your build page in the future, so we know what formulae you can prepare in your blank slot.

Nicholas detects one aura, moderate strength, beyond the door.

Yakanzi, Gregor, and Rogzu pick apart the entrance hall. None of them find any traps, inactive or otherwise. The arrows appear to have been left by living defenders from a previous age. With them absent, so is the threat the arrows might have represented. They do, however, note and point out to the rest of the party that the ground is slippery enough with ice to impede movement (difficult terrain, Acro DC +5), and soon after Rogzul and Yakanzi find strange stonework in the northern wall, and later determine it to be a a door leading to a hidden guard's post. Though the previous residents cleared out most of the valuables before disappearing, a masterwork heavy shield and an ivory-handled crossbow remain.

The only remaining option is to continue South. It is also the most interesting option.

Thousands of icicles cover the ceiling of this cylindrical chamber. The outside edge forms a perfect circular curve, cutting into stone without mark of chisel or tool, impossibly smooth. Only places where ice flows over the stone, or where the structures have collapsed, mar the perfect precision of the cylinder. The remains of workshops and living spaces, still furnished, peak through holes in the cylindrical void. At the southern and western edges of the cavern, large portions of the stone and ice have collapsed, cutting into the immense void with piles of rubble.

You feel the air grow even colder if you approach the eastern door.

Map updated.

She's only looking for a stabilize, Gregor. She'll stop you before you tap the wolf a second time.

"You have two Ulfen among you. Can you say, honestly, that you would not conceal your heritage from those who spit upon it if you had the ability? I am Jadwiga. We are mistrusted outside the walls of our city, considered enemy by most who share our borders. If I were not disguised, I would likely be hanging from the trees of Whiterook with you as my grim companions. Truly, my purpose among you is evaluating you and your society as partners to Dalun. To secure trade, I masqueraded as an explorer. To secure exploration, you masqueraded as traders. Are we so different?"

She gestures towards the hole in the ice. "The road behind was my realm," she says. "The path ahead is yours. I have heard of the Society's penchant for studying the lost places in this world. Let's see how you've earned the reputation."

Intricate gilded stonework adorns the entrance, and a complex marble mosaic paves the floor. Arrow slits flank the north and south sides of the hall, but the north side has collapsed and is choked with rubble. On the eastern end, two 10-foot-tall marble statues of armored dwarves flank a fresco depicting an opulent throne room. The faces of the statues have been broken off.

Again, sorry for the delay, all.

Yakanzi's blade strikes deep and true through fur and hide and muscle, and the young white white wolf falls to the snow, bleeding profusely.

Stabilize: 1d20 + 2 - 11 ⇒ (1) + 2 - 11 = -8

You hear a no-longer familiar voice behind you. "I suppose there's no need to continue the ruse," says a woman of hair like gold and eyes like the sapphire she wheres around her neck, wearing the clothes Haltani had worn and standing where she had stood. The conversation in the ice garden still fresh in your minds, you realize immediately that this woman must be related to Baroness Nadya.

"Stay your blades," she asks. "I bore no intentions to harm you as Haltani, and I bear none now as Uliyara."

She steps over to the dying wolf. "All will be explained shortly," she promises, "but I would first ask that someone attend to this young one. The death of one of Irrisen's native creatures, even an assailant as this, will complicate matters more than it simplifies them."

I hate admitting that I got a little too caught up in Fallout 4.

We're near the end. Should be done within a week.

Both Nicholas's rapier and one of Ironclaw's paws strike true. Yakanzi is still up, and the wolf still stands defiant before you.

Will: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (8) + 2 = 10

The white wolf yelps as an entirely unfamiliar cold takes hold.

Baloo finds it difficult to strike the wolf around the rocky formation and fails to land a telling blow.

Ugh. Roll better, please.
Yakanzi, where's that -3 coming from. You only take -1 for PA. No difference now, but if you're taking a penalty, I'd prefer it to be with reason.

The wolf ducks under Yakanzi's swing and tries to wrap its jaws around the rager's legs.

Bite: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (2) + 7 = 9
Well at least it's bad luck all around. Saves me from typing the damage. But not this comment, apparently.

Round 2 Init:
Yakanzi
Rigrory
Rogzul
Baloo
Gregor
Huron
Nicholas
Round 3 Init:
Yakanzi
Rigrory
Rogzul
Baloo
Gregor
Huron
Nicholas

Crap. I thought I'd posted this already.

Leander

The man behind the desk ignores the halfling's words. "Go get Milethis," he says to the guard not holding Leander. "Tell him we may have an issue."

OWL
Welp, never mind

"Wait, what?" The guard talking to OWL looks a bit taken aback. "What do you mean, 'get settled in?'"

A look of understanding dawns across his features, and he reaches out to grab at OWL.

We're in initiative if you resist. If you resist, his attempt to grapple you occurs on his initiative. Basically, he didn't believe you were bluffing to be a new hire. He believed you were some faceless always-been-there. Once you gave up the ruse, he connected the dots with what's going on with Leander, whose story is much the same, and assumed you are together.

Start Round 2. Yakanzi's up. In hindsight, shoulda just lumped you all together across the round break. I'll be very happy if you save me the trouble of needing to run the wolf another round.

Your bear does not have the flank trick, so you need to actually roll the "push animal" usage of handle animal as a move action to make him attack from a flank. DC is 25 now, and your effective Handle Animal modifier is +8. You can instead order Ironclaw to simply attack from the nearest obvious square as a free action, and only fail on a 1.

Forgot to mention: Yakanzi struck true with his attack, so the wolf is now bleeding a bit upon the snow.

Edit: By any measure and by almost any starting point, Ironclaw will be closes to that square to the upper-left of your enemy. Point is moot. My request still stands that you include your Handle Animal rolls unless you cannot fail them.

Will Save: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (15) + 2 = 17

The wolf laughs off Rogzul's spell with all the social grace of a school yard bully.

I realize I forgot Ironclaw. Please place him wherever you think would have been appropriate, Gregor. Ditto Rogzul and your spirit animal, unless you'd prefer to leave it out of harm's way.

You can cast, move, and then deliver the touch spell from up and to the left of the wolf. you still take a cover penalty, but you don't lose the charge, and you count as threatening.

I'd be inclined to say yes if it made a difference, but the point of origin is that lower-left corner of his square. No obstruction there. Instead be glad that if he has an opportunity to breathe again, you'd deserve what's coming.

Rogzul: If you take the raging song, you can't cast. That said, where you start, you and the wolf have mutual cover on account of the rocks.
Huron: You can't share a space with the rocky outcropping. You can make it one square above it and still attack, but you and the wolf will share mutual cover.

Permissions fixed. Sorry about that. Yakanzi, the wolf's movement will provoke.

Totally forgot this earlier. Huron identifies this creature as a Winter Wolf, albeit a very small one. He's probably a young one, and the runt of the litter at that. Huron knows it is a magical beast with the cold subtype, and all that implies.

The young wolf tries to sidestep Yakanzi and bears down on the rest of the group, howling forth an icy wind.

Acrobatics: 1d20 + 3 - 5 ⇒ (1) + 3 - 5 = -1 Provokes from Yakanzi
Frost Breath, Reflex DC 14 for half: 2d6 ⇒ (3, 1) = 4
1d4 ⇒ 4

Initiative, Round 1:
Yakanzi
Rigrory
Rogzul - Need a save against the breath
Baloo - Need a save against the breath
Gregor
Huron - Need a save against the breath
Nicholas

Nicholas, Yakanzi: drawing is a combat action, and requires you be in initiative first. We're entering initiative with you not having drawn yet.

Nicholas Init.: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (1) + 4 = 5
Huron Init.: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (6) + 2 = 8
Gregor Init.: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (8) + 4 = 12
Yakanzi Init.: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (18) + 4 = 22
Rogzul Init.: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (13) + 2 = 15
Baloo Init.: 1d20 + 0 ⇒ (13) + 0 = 13
Rigrory Init.: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (13) + 7 = 20

"Not good enough!" the wolf snarls. As he readies himself to attack, the brutish Yakanzi beats him to the draw.

Initiative, Round 1:
Yakanzi
Rigrory
Rogzul
Baloo
Gregor
Huron
Nicholas

Map is here. The blue rectangle is the hole through the ice wall. The ice counts as difficult terrain for its slipperiness, and the DC of any acrobatics checks on icy terrain is increased by +5.

No one stated so, but I guess I'm assuming my saying "you know you can do something" means "you do something." In the future, I'd prefer not to dictate player actions, though.

Gregor and Nicholas work together and suss out a solution to cut a hole through the ice by the warmth of blackfire clay. Everyone huddles around it and shuffles along as it progresses, until after two hours you can see through the channel in the ice to the stone room beyond.

Before anyone can step through, however, you are distracted by motion in a snowdrift near the rock face and a snarling and growling that seems to shift into a booming, ponderous tongue before settling on Taldane. A man-sized white wolf erupts from the drift, kicking up a flurry of powder as it speaks at you through bared teeth.

"You possess my quarry," he snarls, "the dark-skinned woman among you. Relinquish her to me, and my fangs will find other flesh than yours upon which to feast."

Knowledge (Arcana) to ident. Base DC gets you type, any subtypes, and all properties thereof. State any other questions in order in advance. That said, you're not in initiative.

Nicholas knows what Gregor knows.

That sort of thing requires a bluff.
Guard Sense Motive: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (8) + 2 = 10
Owl Bluff: 1d20 + 7 - 5 ⇒ (17) + 7 - 5 = 19
I'm considering this bluff to be "unlikely"
AHAHAHAHA love it! Bavarian Fire Drill underway!

A guard replies to OWL. "Possible intruder. Says he has papers. If the boss says they check out, he's probably a fixer or consultant. 'Bout damned time if you ask me. If not, then we lock him up and weigh our options. Maybe the little bastard is part of the reason our men keep going missing."

Forgot to mention - no one's really in uniform. Formality breaks down on the frontier, and, barring incidents like the above, most people know each other by face. Only about fifty men here at full capacity.

Leander is dragged into the front office. In it, a stout man sits at a desk reading through various papers. His balding forehead drips with sweat. Even at the dying of the day, it is still quite hot.

"I don't recognize this one," he says, eyeing Leander from head to toe. "I've not received word of a new hire. Did you find him trespassing?"

The guard restraining Leander speaks. "He says he's got company papers. Should-"

"Yes, yes!" the foreman interrupts. "Hand them over."

The guard pulls the papers out of the halfling's pocket and hands them to the foreman, who spreads them flat on the table and takes his time scrutinizing it with a magnifying glass.

Situation: Leander inside a 15 by 15 office with two guards. One at the door, one at the center and holding Leander. Foreman in the back of the room behind a desk. Door is closed. Owl speaks to a third guard outside the closed door. Other guards are returning to their posts.

Nicholas uses an extract of EE each day as noted earlier.

Also, Blackfire clay is listed under Alchemical items with a DC20 to create: link. Can Nicholas attempt Craft(Alchemy) check to use it?

It's not a matter of activation. It's a matter of application. The ice wall's the rub, not the clay itself.

Gregor knows that he can figure out how to use all the clay to melt a passage through the ice in about 2 hours. If there's a quicker solution, he does not know it. Anyone with two brain cells to rub together can probably figure out that standing close to the clay while it does its thing will ward you against the weather enough to heal up frostbite and not need further saves.

I wasn't keeping track of who was using EE. I figured if I mentioned it as an easy out the players would. But yes, it should still be very much up.

Anyone who wants to try to use the clay should give a Knowledge (Engineering) check to figure out how to best apply it. Untrained if need be.

Nonlethal damage from elemental exposure may not be healed while you are still exposed.

Nonlethal Cold, Baloo: 2d4 ⇒ (4, 2) = 6

You'll be fatigued until this damage is healed. That'll require shelter and time or magic.

As you prepare to leave the city for Naldak's Point, Haltani emerges from the crowd of people mulling about the city gates.

"I assume this means you got Nadya's permission to explore? Good job! She can be a prickly one."

The weather outside the walls is no warmer than it was on the trek upriver, and, absent magical means of warding against the cold, you all begin to shiver. Haltani tries to help cut a quicker path through the snowdrifts, though even she is bothered by the chill.

You'll need survival checks to make your way to Naldak's point without getting lost. I'll be rolling these for the sake of expediency, as overland travel bogs down PbPs, I'd think. You'll also need, absent something like Endure Elements, three fort saves against the cold on the way there, though I'll proceed ahead for now so we're not just rolling fort saves for a say.

Haltani eventually gives up even trying to help the party find its way north to Naldak's Point, as Rogzul, by luck or skill, shows an affinity for these lands perhaps greater than her own. In three hours time and several miles of frosted plains, you all apparently arrive at your destination.

As the vast plains give way to rugged hills, the ground becomes hard and icy. An enormous rocky mound protrudes from the ground, covered in ice and snow. On the northeast side of the mound, thick walls of ice cascade down the side of the hill like a miniature glacier. Two shapeless stone monoliths stand near the base of the mound.

"I think this is our destination," remarks Haltani, "though it presents an unfortunate barrier. I can lead you over ice. I can't lead you through it. Any of you have a cleaver idea for cutting through that wall?"

"I assume you mean the group of Ulfen accompanying you up the river?," Nadya asks, continuing without waiting for a response. "They were not the target of the attack they describe. Our trade envoy was. That we do not attack our neighbors does mean they will return the courtesy."
'
"I will say nothing further of the matter, save that I am glad Halvor's blood-feud has been discharged harmlessly," she says, sighing. "According to a runner, he was last seen at the main tavern drinking with some... delinquent... gate guards. Apparently his men and mine are playing a game involving a knife and one's fingers and trying to teach each other to say "I love you, man" in their respective native tongues."

It's been all of 30 minutes since you parted ways with Halvor.

"The state of our communications is not something I'll be discussing until we sort out exactly who you are and what your business is here."

The man sheaths his sword and seizes you by the arm (Assume yourself to be grappled). As other guards converge on your location, he barks at them to stow their weapons.

"Easy boys. The little man says he has papers. We'll take him to the front office, see what the foreman says. A saboteur or spy will die by his papers! A company man will live by his!"

Assuming you don't resist. If you say otherwise, the following does not occur, and we do things the hard way.

The guards arriving on scene chuckle and comply, and the group of about three men begin to lead Leander towards the main office.

OWL, you're far enough that you can't be detected yet. How do you wish to approach?

Nadya ponders a moment before responding.

"Very well. If you are not so competent as you say, you have at least presented yourself as otherwise. I grant you leave to move freely within five miles of the city walls. If that is not far enough, then you abandon my sanction and my protection if you travel further."

"As for you, the clean-cut one," she says, turning towards Nicholas, "perhaps you misread my intentions, but I will... consider your offer."

The baroness looks a little surprised when the dwarf finishes speaking. "Haltani?" she says softly. "How could you know... never mind. Karl, Joreg. Leave us be a moment."

Her guards look at her in confusion. She nods, and they disperse.

"I've tried so hard to make Dalun a welcoming place," Nadya says, "and yet here you are, seeking to leave. Why should you be allowed to wander? There are monsters and wild things in the snows beyond the walls, and I am responsible for your safety. Unless..."

She pauses a moment.

"Unless you think yourselves more than a match for the monsters and wild things, in which I am responsible for their safety. Either way, I am disinclined to allow your request."

State your case, make your own diplomacy roll or decide to aid someone else. I'll be mmore terse and typo prone for a while, having nearly sliced off a fingertip in a mini-cleaning accident.

I'm waiting on Leander here. You don't arrive for a minute. I'm guessing they current kayfabe is that Shadoo leverages a shared heritage to convince Lorym to let him come along. I guess if Leander doesn't post ricky-tick, I'll assume compliance, with an arrest of sorts underway when Owl gets there.

Nicholas doesn't even need to think hard to find the baroness' residence - the prominent spire visible from throughout the city marks her home as clear as day.

Baroness Nadya is sitting at an open-air court in the gardens, if you can call them that, surrounding her palace spire. Given that the usual flora one would tend in a garden don't grow so well in the frigid north, she has settled for frozen facsimiles. She surrounds herself with the forms of every flower imaginable, carved painstakingly into ice and preserved by some form of magic.

She is attended to by several guards, who eye you with open suspicion as you enter the gardens. As you approach, the lead among them steps forward, demanding that you lay down your weapons and state why you've come before the Lady of Dalun without invitation.

The baroness scrutinizes your actions from her icy throne, clad in fare more richly cut but no more colorful than that of her subjects. She wears no jewelry save that which nature has granted her - eyes like cold sapphires and hair like golden thread.

I'd post now, but the company's doing a power refit in about ten minutes, so instead know I'll post late tonight or tomorrow morning depending on how long tonight's table runs.

I wish you luck. For what it's worth, I think this is the right choice.

To the others: I think I can make things work with just the two of you if I playtest encounters before starting them.

As it seems to have become a red herring, the Perception check was just for funsies. Ball is still in your court as far as moving things along.

No offense taken, every offense deserved. It's every sort of faux pas and blunder on my part, and I apologize for it.

Sorry. Mixture of writer's block and my first set of miniature paint arriving.

Kinda wish you rolled higher there.

Assuming you wait until dark because it's impossible to sneak otherwise. By my math, we're about 3 days past the full "moon," so it's bright enough out to be considered dim light. Lorym's at this point told you to hurry with your decision if he's needed or not. He's leaving before dawn unless he needs to attend to something in the camp.

Leander times he approach to the camp between the passing of guards on patrol. They step slow, soft, and deliberate, scanning their surroundings as they go. The camp is obviously on high alert. He gets near the edge of one of the long cliffs by alternating hurried scrambles ahead with lying low behind available rubble when a guard draws close, but is stopped before he could see over it.

Leander is nearly blinded as a sunrod burns away the twilight. "Not one more step!" he hears a man shout. "Drop whatever you're holding and get on the ground!"

The man stands ten feet away, lightly armored and leveling a longsword towards Leander's chin. Past him, Leander sees the men in the main guard tower banging on alarm bells and gongs. The cacophony has roused the entire camp.

Everyone else has seen the sunrod flare up from their vantage a quarter mile away. Lorym has begun to frantically prepare for departure. He stows feedbags and his own belongings and shoves one barrel of water, one barrel of food, any of the group's belongings, and the crate of discretionary supplies from the bed of the wagon. "New plan," he says. "I'm leaving. Best of luck."

Anyone with a Con of 10+ and who can run 120' in a round with whatever they intend to carry can get there in one minute.

Duration: 2d6 + 8 ⇒ (5, 5) + 8 = 18

When I've got scaling DCs, I'm asking for one check.

Halvor does not speak, but he moves his hand away from his axe. His warriors follow suit. He stands still, mouth agape as if he can't comprehend his own actions, as you pass by him and greet the guards. They cast a few divinations to scan for poisons or particularly potent or odious magic before welcoming you all into the city, albeit with the suggestion that Huron and Baloo stay on their best behavior and that Yakanzi treat himself to a bath.

The grey stone buildings of Dalun stand huddled together, as if the stonework was attempting to withstand the cold. Snowy cobblestone streets lead to a tall white spire in the center of town, its sharp point piercing the blue sky; an icy sheen covers the surface, glistening in the muted sunlight.

Colorfully dressed merchants stand out against the blue, grey and white clothing worn by the citizens of Irrisen, who trot through the white cobblestone streets with immediacy. The occasional ice troll lumbers along, giving non-Jadwiga humans a disdainful snarl.

"Even if just to maintain appearances," says Haltani as she walks you to the center of the city, "you'll want to exchange your letter of trade for... well, I don't know. I'd like to think the outside world would find mirth, if not value, in the goods our merchants offer. I've taken the time to prepare you a list of the more interesting traders."

"You'll need to go talk to Nadya if you want leave to explore the areas around the city," she says as she prepares to depart. "I've business of my own to attend to, so I can't accompany you, but do tell the Baroness that I... tell her that Haltani sends her regards."

It's not clear, but I think trading away your letter of trade/credit is equivalent to trading the entire inventory of trade goods you've got on the boat. It's a Diplomacy or Profession (Merchant) check to negotiate a fair deal. If you'd prefer to stay directly on mission, the Baroness's residence is not hard to find.