Halcyon d'Orsay's page

A few years ago, a woman set up an upscale business known as "d'Or Consultant Services". This name covers the real nature of her business as a fortune teller to the aristocracy. She is of noble birth from distant Murgleis, born with clouded vision but gifted with divine oracular powers, which she, for a reasonable fee, will use to help guide the aristocracy of Roland in their ambitions, both honorable and nefarious. People who visit the office for a consultation, however, never really see Halcyon, as she keeps her readings done in dim light with a veil hiding her face. This enhances the mystery of the reading and also lets her mingle in society without people necessarily connecting her to the business.

When she appears in public, Halcyon is a beautiful woman, age 21, with full black hair, a pretty face, and fine figure. She keeps her eyes covered with lenses that are tinted, in the fashion of a blind person covering her damaged eyes. In fact, her eyes are most distinctive: in bright light, a light sheen covers over some of her dark iris, making it obvious she has a sight impediment. But in normal light, this effect is diminished, and in dim light, her eyes almost glow with a faint silver tint. She sees better than most at short range, but she generally hides this fact from strangers, pretending to be mostly blind. She carries a quarterstaff which she taps in front of her as she walks. Her build is slight and somewhat frail looking. She is 5'4". She wears dresses and gowns befitting her station, but she keeps other clothes in her closet that allow her to mingle with the lower classes.

Halcyon was born into the influential Vallin lineage, but her defective sight made her an unsuitable prospect for marriage and as such she was given much more leeway as a child. She had a gift for prophecy and divine magic, which she used to further blackmail her family and the house servants into letting her do what as she pleased. She resented the fact that no one took her seriously, however, and developed a strong ambition to become influential and powerful without the help of her family. She is currently seeking to become a respected soothsayer to the aristocracy, both for the influence such a position would bring her and to learn secrets she can use to move higher. She has scruples and there are limits to what she will do to gain power, but she harbors no great love for the families of the aristocracy. She works under the psuedonym Halcy d'Orsay to hide some dark secrets from her childhood and her family.

Halcyon is a middle child, with two older sisters and two younger brothers. Out of pity for her vision handicap, she was given more leeway than her siblings and she used this and the fact that she could see very well in the dark to sneak around the mansion at night.

When Halcyon was 7, a woman visited who had a harrow deck and did readings for her father and mother. Halcyon sensed the woman was hiding something from both and asked her privately about it. The woman was taken aback and after touching Halcyon's forehead and spending a little time in a trance, and then doing a harrow reading for her, she said her ancestors and the cards themselves wanted her to give her the deck and instruct her on its use. She did a reading for her mother and learned from the cards that she harbored a deep pain and great shame.

When she was 8, she began to spy on her parents and then discovered that her father was abusing her mother. She had a keen ability to sense people's true motives and feelings and she quickly came to understand that her father was a cruel and selfish man and that her mother was not happy but felt trapped by her situation. Furthermore, she noticed her father going into her older sisters' rooms at night and suspected they may also be victims. It did not take much intelligence to tell that she would also be targeted, and she was exceptionally bright.

Halcyon began to question the servants about how sex worked and soon learned how wicked her father's behavior was, so she decided to do something about it. She snooped in her father's business office and found evidence he was bribing officials and paying criminals to weaken his competition. Halcyon ripped out several ledger pages and left a note explaining that if he did not stop abusing his wife and daughters, the missing ledger pages would find their way into the hands of his compettors and government trade regulators. The bad behavior stopped and she also found she got her way whenever she wanted.

As a teenager, Halcyon learned everything she could about everything. She also began to control the divine magical energy that was growing in her as well. She learned all the things aristocratic girls were normally taught, but she went well beyond that and learned about the natural world, history, government, business, magic, and religion. Her father was anxious to be rid of her and at first planned to have her married off, but she found out about that and blackmailed the family who was going to receive a generous dowry in return for taking her off her father's hands, so Lord Vallin next began to plot to have her murdered and make it look like a street crime. Again, Halcyon found out about the plot and who was to do the deed and she approached him and made a deal.

Halcyon and the criminal, Jean-Tom, met on the night she was supposed to be killed while walking from a nearby party. They went to the charnel house, selected a fresh corpse of a woman who looked much like her. They placed he corpse in Halcyon's dress and jewelry, mutilated her face and left the body in an alley to be discovered and reported to Lord Vallin. After the funeral, Halcyon, disguised, and Jean-Tom paid her father a visit and threatened to reveal his treachery. In return for keeping it secret, she extorted from him enough money to start her own business as well as regular payments to make sure it made a profit in the early goings. With the money, she obtained forged documents that indicated she was of a noble family from distant and isolated Murgleis. She set up shop as a soothsayer to the aristocracy and began to build her reputation. She kept her face veiled when interacting with nobles who might know her, but after several years, she found that not many nobles ever saw her, since her family kept her under wraps most of the time to avoid the stigma of being known to have sired a defective child. So she is now able to work openly without fear of being discovered.

1st: 8
2nd: 4
3rd: 6
4th: 7
5th: 2

Oracle: 8 per level (4 + 2 (Int) + 1 (human) + 1 (Favored Class) for total of 32 at 4th level
Occultist: 7 per level (4 + 2 (Int) + 1 (human) for total of 7 at 1st level
Grand total: 39 at 5th level.
Ranks/Attribute Mod/Class Skill/Special
Acrobatics (Dex): 0/0/0 = 0 (Default)
Appraise (Int): 2/2/3 = 7
Bluff (Cha): 4/4/3/1 = 12
Climb (Str): 0/-2/0 = -2 (Default)
Diplomacy (Cha): 3/4/3 = 10 + 1d6
Disguise (Cha): 0/4/0 = 4 (Default)
Handle Animal (Cha): 1/4/0 = 5
Heal (Wis): 1/2/3 = 6
Intimidate: 0/4/0/1 = 5 (Default)
Knowledge (Arcana) (Int): 2/4/3 = 9 + 1d6
Knowledge (Dungeoneering) (Int): 1/4/3 = 8 + 1d6
Knowledge (Engineering) (Int): 1/4/3 = 8 + 1d6
Knowledge (Geography) (Int): 1/4/3 = 8 + 1d6
Knowledge (History) (Int): 1/4/3 = 8 + 1d6
Knowledge (Local) (Int): 1/4/3/4 = 12 + 1d6
Knowledge (Nature) (Int): 1/4/3 = 8 + 1d6
Knowledge (Nobility) (Int): 2/4/3 = 9 + 1d6
Knowledge (Planes) (Int): 1/4/3 = 8 + 1d6
Knowledge (Religion) (Int): 1/4/3 = 8 + 1d6
Perception (Wis): 1/2/3/6 = 12
Perform (Oratory): 3/4/0 = 7
Perform (Dance): 1/4/0 = 5
Profession (Fortune Teller) (Wis): 3/2/3 = 8
Ride (Dex): 0/0/0 = 0 (Default)
Sense Motive (Wis): 2/2/3/7 = 14 + 1d6
Spellcraft (Int): 2/2/3 = 7
Stealth (Dex): 0/0/0 = 0 (Default)
Survival (Wis): 0/2/0 = 2 (Default)
Swim (Str): 0/-2/0 = -2 (Default)
Use Magic Device (Cha): 2/4/3 = 9

Harrow Chosen
All your life you've been drawn to the mysteries surrounding your family's harrow deck.
Benefit: You begin play with your family's heirloom harrow deck. If you use this specific harrow deck as an additional focus component when you cast a divination spell, your caster level is treated as being 2 levels higher. Additionally, twice per week, you can spend 10 minutes consulting this harrow deck on a particular action to gain the effects of the spell augury as a spellcaster of your character level. No one other than you gains these benefits from this harrow deck. If your harrow deck is destroyed, it cannot be replaced. However, by returning to your family, paying 300 gp on materials, and spending 1 week immersed in the songs and stories of your people, you can create a new harrow deck that grants half the benefits of the lost heirloom.

Convincing Liar
You've spent your life perfecting the art of half-truths in order to accomplish what you need to.
Benefit: You gain a +1 trait bonus on Bluff or Intimidate checks and one of these skills (Bluff) is a class skill for you.

Feat (1st level): Harrowed
Numerous Harrow readings early in your life seem to have hit the mark precisely, increasing your belief that you are destined for a specific purpose in life.
Benefit: You get a +1 bonus on all Will saves made to resist enchantment effects. Once per day, you may draw a card from a Harrow deck you own. At any one time for the rest of that day, you may apply a +2 bonus on any d20 roll modified by the card’s suit. For example, if you drew a card from the suit of Dexterity, you could apply this +2 bonus on an Initiative check, a Reflex save, a Dexterity-based skill check, or a ranged attack roll. You may assign this +2 bonus after you make the roll, but you must do so before you know whether the roll was a success or not.

Feat (Human bonus): Extra Revelation

Feat (3rd level): Skill Focus (Sense Motive)
You get a +3 bonus on all checks involving the chosen skill. If you have 10 or more ranks in that skill, this bonus increases to +6.

Feat (5th level): Empath: You can use either Perception or Sense Motive when reading an emotion aura with the read aura occult skill unlock. Reading a creature's emotion aura takes you only a full-round action instead of 10 minutes, and if you succeed at your check, you also determine whether that creature is currently affected by a fear or mind-affecting effect and the relative strength of that effect (minor, moderate, strong, as defined in detect magic). You don't learn the source of the effect or the actual effect.
You can also use the read aura occult skill unlock to read emotion auras more than once per day by opening your innate mental defenses. For 1 minute after you use this feat, you take a —4 penalty on saving throws against fear and mind-affecting effects (regardless of whether you succeeded at the check). During this time, you're also unable to attempt to read emotion auras. Using this feat doesn't use up your one daily use of the read aura unlock, which you can still use either to read another type of aura or to read an emotion aura without taking the penalty associated with this feat.

Rules for the “Read Emotion Aura occult skill unlock”: The colors within the target's aura reveal its emotional state. If successful, you learn the target's disposition and its attitude toward any creatures within 30 feet of it. For a number of rounds equal to the amount by which you exceeded the skill check's DC, you gain a +2 circumstance bonus on Bluff, Diplomacy, Intimidate, and Sense Motive checks against the target.

An oracle with the lore mystery adds Appraise, Spellcraft, and all Knowledge skills to her list of class skills.

Bonus Spells: none, Augury (4th), locate object (6th), divination (8th), contact other plane (10th), find the path (12th), vision (14th), discern location (16th), foresight (18th).
Note: Some of these have been changed by the Psychic Searcher Archetype.

Lore Keeper (Ex): Instead of encyclopedic knowledge, you learn most of your information through tales, songs, and poems. You may use your Charisma modifier instead of your Intelligence modifier on all Knowledge checks.

Focused Trance (Ex): You can enter a deep meditation, blocking out visual and auditory stimuli and allowing you to concentrate on a single problem, philosophical issue, or memory. This trance lasts 1d6 rounds, during which time you can only take move actions. During this period, you gain a bonus equal to your level on all saves against sonic effects and gaze attacks. When you come out of your trance, you may make a single Intelligence-based skill check with a +20 circumstance bonus. You may enter your focused trance a number of times per day equal to your Charisma modifier.

A psychic searcher uses her oracle level as her investigator level to determine the effects of this ability. She gains free uses of inspiration on Diplomacy, Knowledge (arcana, history, local, nobility, planes, religion), and Sense Motive skill checks without spending a use of inspiration, provided she's trained in that skill. A psychic searcher's inspiration pool refreshes each day, usually when she refreshes her spells. A psychic searcher's inspiration pool is based on her Wisdom modifier, not Intelligence.
This ability replaces the mystery spell gained at 2nd level.

A psychic searcher has the ability to augment skill checks and ability checks through her brilliant inspiration. The searcher has an inspiration pool equal to 1/2 his oracle level + her Wisdom modifier (minimum 1). A searcher's inspiration pool refreshes each day, typically after he gets a restful night's sleep. As a free action, she can expend one use of inspiration from her pool to add 1d6 to the result of that check, including any on which she takes 10 or 20. This choice is made after the check is rolled and before the results are revealed. A searcher can only use inspiration once per check or roll. The searcher can use inspiration on any Diplomacy, Knowledge (arcana, history, local, nobility, planes, religion), and Sense Motive skill checks without expending a use of inspiration, provided she's trained in the skill.

Inspiration can also be used on attack rolls and saving throws, at the cost of expending two uses of inspiration each time from the searcher's pool. In the case of saving throws, using inspiration is an immediate action rather than a free action.

Benefit: Once per day, a psychic searcher with this talent can roll two dice while making a Sense Motive check, and take the better result. She must choose to use this talent before making the Sense Motive check.
Special: A psychic searcher can use this ability one additional time per day for every 5 Oracle levels she possesses.

At 5th level, this distance increases to 60 feet.
At 10th level, you gain blindsense out to a range of 30 feet.
At 15th level, you gain blindsight out to a range of 15 feet.

Spells Known:
0th level: 6
Detect Magic, Detect Poison, Enhanced Diplomacy, Guidance, Resistance, Spark
1st level: 3 + CLW
Comprehend Languages, Cure Light Wounds, Detect Evil, Tap Inner Beauty
2nd Level: 1 + CMW + Mystery Spell
Augury, Cure Moderate Wounds, Summon Monster II
Spells per day:
0th: Orisons
1st: 7
2nd: 4

Spell Casting
An occultist casts psychic spells drawn from the occultist spell list, limited by the implement groups he knows.

He can cast any spell he knows without preparing it ahead of time. Every occultist spell has an implement component (see Implements). To learn or cast a spell, an occultist must have an Intelligence score equal to at least 10 + the spell level. The Difficulty Class for a saving throw against an occultist's spell equals 10 + the spell level + the occultist's Intelligence modifier.

An occultist can cast only a certain number of spells of each spell level per day. His base daily spell allotment is given on Table: Occultist. In addition, he gains bonus spells per day if he has a high Intelligence score.

The occultist's selection of spells is limited. For each implement school he learns to use, he can add one spell of each level he can cast to his list of spells known, chosen from that school's spell list. If he selects the same implement school multiple times, he adds one spell of each level from that school's list for each time he has selected that school.

When the occultist learns to cast a new level of spells, he immediately adds one spell of that level to his list of spells known from each implement school he knows (plus any extra spells from schools he has selected multiple times).

An occultist need not prepare his spells in advance. He can cast any spell he knows at any time, assuming he has not yet used up his allotment of spells per day for the spell's level.

Knacks: An occultist learns one knack, or 0-level psychic spell, each time he selects an implement school (including when he again selects a school that he has already learned to use). These spells are cast like any other spell, but they can be cast any number of times per day. Knacks cast using any other spell slots because of metamagic feats applied to them, for example, consume spell slots as normal.

At 1st level, an occultist learns the base focus power from both of his two implement schools (see Implements below) and can select one more focus power from the list of those available to him through those schools.

Whenever the occultist learns a new implement school, he gains the base power of that school. In addition, at 3rd level and every 2 levels thereafter, he learns a new focus power selected from the options granted by all of the implement schools he knows. The occultist can use focus powers only by expending mental focus (see Mental Focus).

Unless otherwise noted, the DC for any saving throw against a focus power equals 10 + 1/2 the occultist's level + the occultist's Intelligence modifier. The occultist can't select a focus power more than once. Some focus powers require him to reach a specific occultist level before he can choose them.

At 1st level, an occultist learns to use two implement schools. At 2nd level and every 4 occultist levels thereafter, the occultist learns to use one additional implement school, to a maximum of seven schools at 18th level. Each implement school adds one spell per spell level of that school of magic to the occultist's spell list. No spells from any other school are considered to be on the occultist's spell list until he selects the associated implement school. He can't use spell trigger or spell completion magic items from unknown schools without succeeding at the appropriate Use Magic Device check. An occultist can select an implement school more than once in order to learn additional spells from the associated school.

Each implement school is represented by a small list of objects. Every day, the occultist selects one item from that school's list to be his implement for the day for each implement school he knows. The occultist needs only one such item to cast spells of the corresponding school, unless he selected that implement school multiple times, in which case he needs one item for each set of spells gained from that school. Implements don't need to be magic items, and non-magical implements don't take up a magic item slot even if they're worn. Implements that are not magic items are often of some historical value or of personal significance to the occultist, such as the finger bone of a saint, the broken scepter of a long-dead king, the skull of a mentor's familiar, or the glass eye of an uncanny ancestor.

Whenever an occultist casts a spell, he must have the corresponding implement in his possession and present the implement to the target or toward the area of effect.

This act is part of casting the spell and doesn't require any additional action. If the occultist lacks the corresponding implement, he can attempt to cast the spell, but must succeed at a concentration check (DC = 20 + the spell's level) to do so. Spells cast by an occultist without the appropriate implement are always treated as if they were cast at the minimum caster level for the spell in question (caster level 1st for a 1st-level spell, caster level 4th for a 2nd-level spell, and so on).

Each implement school also grants a base focus power. This power is added to the list of focus powers possessed by the occultist (see Mental Focus below). In addition, each implement school grants access to a number of other focus powers that the occultist can select from using his mental focus class feature.

Implements Known: Divination x2

Divination Implements
Implements of the divination school grant powers related to foresight and remote viewing.

Implement(s): Book, crystal ball, goggles, harrow deck, headband, lenses, planchette.

An occultist can invest a portion of his mental focus into his chosen implements for the day, allowing him to utilize a variety of abilities depending on the implements and the amount of mental focus invested in them.

An occultist has a number of points of mental focus equal to his occultist level + his Intelligence modifier; these points refresh each day. He can divide this mental focus between his implements in any way he desires. If an implement is lost or destroyed, the focus invested in it is lost as well, though the occultist still refreshes those points of focus normally.

Once mental focus is invested inside an implement, the implement gains the resonant power of its implement school, and the occultist can expend the mental focus stored in the implement to activate the associated focus powers he knows. If a resonant power grants a bonus that varies based on the amount of mental focus invested in the implement, the bonus is determined when the focus is invested, and is not reduced or altered by expending the mental focus invested in the item. Once all of the mental focus in an implement has been expended, it loses its resonant power until mental focus is once again invested in the implement.

The implement grants its resonant power to whoever possesses it; the occultist can lend the implement to an ally to assist that ally, but if he does so, he has difficulty casting that implement's spells (see Implements) and can't expend that implement's focus on focus powers until he retrieves the implement or refreshes his focus.

The occultist refreshes his mental focus once each day after receiving at least 8 hours of sleep. After refreshing his mental focus, the occultist must spend 1 hour preparing his implements and investing them with this power. Mental focus that is not used before the next time the occultist refreshes his focus is lost.

The occultist can choose to save generic mental focus inside his own body instead of investing all of it, but expending this focus comes at a higher cost.

Any focus power the occultist activates with generic focus costs twice as much mental focus to use (and to maintain, if applicable). The occultist can expend his generic focus through an appropriate implement on any focus power he knows, but an implement he didn't invest any focus in at the start of the day grants no resonant power.

Resonant Power(s): Each time the occultist invests mental focus into a divination implement, the implement grants the following resonant power. The implement's bearer gains the benefits of this power until the occultist refreshes his focus.

Third Eye (Su)
The implement allows its bearer to notice that which can't easily be seen. The implement grants a +1 insight bonus on Perception checks per 2 points of mental focus stored in it, to a maximum bonus equal to the occultist's level. If the occultist is 3rd level or higher and stores at least 3 points of mental focus in it, the implement also grants low-light vision. If the occultist is 5th level or higher and stores at least 6 points of mental focus in it, the implement also grants darkvision 60 feet. (If the bearer already has darkvision, the implement increases the range of the darkvision by 30 feet.) If the occultist is 7th level or higher and stores at least 9 points of mental focus in it, the implement also grants the effects of see invisibility. If the occultist is 13th level or higher and stores at least 12 points of mental focus in it, the implement also grants blindsense 60 feet. If the occultist is 19th level or higher and stores at least 15 points of mental focus in it, the implement also grants blindsight 30 feet.

All occultists who learn to use divination implements gain the following focus power.

Sudden Insight (Sp)
As a swift action, you can expend 1 point of mental focus to gain an insight into your immediate future. You can use this foreknowledge as a free action before you roll any ability check, attack roll, or skill check to gain an insight bonus on that roll equal to 1/2 your occultist level (minimum +1). You can use your foreknowledge only once per turn, and if it's not used by the end of your turn, the insight fades and you gain no benefit.

Future Gaze (Sp)
As a standard action, you can gain an insight into the future by expending 1 point of mental focus. This functions as augury, using your occultist level as the caster level.

Ring of the Sophisticate
CL 8th
Slot ring; Price 11,000 gp; Weight —
Often worn on the little finger, this ring grants its wearer a +4 competence bonus on Sense Motive and Knowledge (local) checks. Also, once per day on command, the wearer can use the ring to cast either locate creature or locate object (the wearer’s choice). Furthermore, on command and at will, the wearer can instantly know the direction from herself to the nearest tavern, pub, or similar watering hole as long as that establishment is in a settlement whose population is equivalent to that of a village or greater and that is within 20 miles of the wearer.
Aura moderate transmutation and divination

Heirloom harrow deck: This is the deck that she received as a child from an oracle who first recognized her gifts. She gets a special use from this deck due to her long connection with it as described in the Harrow Chosen trait. The deck provides a +2 bonus to Profession (Fortune Telling) rolls, same as a masterwork fortune teller's deck.

Traveler's Grandiose Carrying Case:Aura moderate illusion and transmutation. (1200 gp) This masterwork harrow carrying case protects the harrow deck within from harm. When the case is used as part of a harrowing, the light level within 15 feet of the case darkens to dim light and miniature illusions of the interpreted cards appear in front of the harrower and her subjects. While stored in a traveler's grandiose carrying case, a harrow deck gains a +2 bonus on saves against effects that specifically target the deck.

+1 Quilted Cloth Armor: Aura faint Abjuration (1250 gp) (Provides DR 3 vs. small piercing weapons like arrows, bolts, darts, shuriken, thrown daggers, and other small ranged piercing weapons.

+1 Quarterstaff Aura faint Evocation (which she normally carries and uses as a blind person's walking stick). (1300 gp)

Eyes of the Eagle:Aura: faint divination (2500 gp) These lenses are made of special crystal and fit over the eyes of the wearer.
They grant a +5 competence bonus on Perception checks. Both lenses must be worn to gain the benefit. Wearing only one causes a character to become dizzy and stunned for 1 round. [If possible, I'd like these lenses to be half-silvered or tinted to make them look like glasses a blind person might wear to hide the eyes.]

Jean-Tom
Jean-Tom is the underworld figure who was contracted to have someone assassinate Halcyon by her father. She found out and contacted him and convinced him to double-cross her father and they made it look as if she had been murdered. They then used the evidence they had to blackmail her father into financing her alias and her consulting business, as well as to keep him from further abusing Halcyon's mother and sisters. Jean-Tom is a sometime's lover, but mostly he helps her find things out that are going on in the underworld. He specializes in servicing the wealthy, finding them special items that may be illegal, fencing illegal items they want to sell, and arranging services of criminals for theft and occasionally murder.

Intersession Link

Number Card Ability Alignment
1 The Paladin Strength LG
2 The Keep Strength NG
3 The Big Sky Strength CG
4 The Forge Strength LN
5 The Bear Strength NN
6 The Uprising Strength CN
7 The Fiend Strength LE
8 The Beating Strength NE
9 The Cyclone Strength CE
10 The Dance Dexterity LG
11 The Cricket Dexterity NG
12 The Juggler Dexterity CG
13 The Locksmith Dexterity LN
14 The Peacock Dexterity NN
15 The Rabbit Prince Dexterity CN
16 The Avalanche Dexterity LE
17 The Crows Dexterity NE
18 The Demon's Lantern [I]Dexterity CE
19 The Trumpet Constitution LE
20 The Survivor Constitution NG
21 The Desert Constitution CG
22 The Brass Dwarf Constitution LN
23 The Teamster Constitution NN
24 The Mountain Man Constitution CN
25 The Tangled Briar Constitution LE
26 The Sickness Constitution NE
27 The Waxworks Constitution CE
28 The Hidden Truth Intelligence LG
29 The Wanderer Intelligence NG
30 The Joke Intelligence CG
31 The Inquisitor Intelligence LN
32 The Foreign Trader Intelligence NN
33 The Vision Intelligence CN
34 The Rakshasa Intelligence LE
35 The Idiot Intelligence NE
36 The Snakebite Intelligence CE
37 The Winged Serpent Wisdom LG
38 The Midwife Wisdom NG
39 The Publican Wisdom CG
40 The Queen Mother Wisdom LN
41 The Owl Wisdom NN
42 The Carnival Wisdom CN
43 The Eclipse Wisdom LE
44 The Mute Hag Wisdom NE
45 The Lost Wisdom CE
46 The Empty Throne Charisma LG
47 The Theater Charisma NG
48 The Unicorn Charisma CG
49 The Marriage Charisma LN
50 The Twin Charisma NN
51 The Courtesan Charisma CN
52 The Tyrant Charisma LE
53 The Betrayal Charisma NE
54 The Liar Charisma CE
Link to Spreadsheet with more information on each card

Everyone is at some good point in their Intersession. While some contacts still have some hidden abilities I need to flesh out, some people have some gold rolls they need to decide on, everyone is more or less in the clear for intersession.
So let me summarize how it is:
• An intersession is represents your downtime, from week to week. Unless otherwise stated, it marks a single week. Some intercessions may be a month long, sometimes we might have multiple of them in a row between "game time."
• Everyone is free to pursue their own goals during this time, in fact, it is encouraged. Here is where you build your empire, interact with NPCs without others snooping around, get things done.
• FIRST and foremost, you roll gold. Roll it however you want, publicly in the discussion thread, or by PM. I don't advocate being public, but to each their own. Do not post intersession in the gameplay thread.
• Next comes the "Orders of Business." Know how a free action works in combat? These are intercession free actions. Usually involve making a decision of some sort, business directions, property management. Sometimes they are just flavor, and tell you whats going on in your empire.I reccomend you do these first, as they might influence other quests.
• Every Character gets three actions of their own. In addition, each contact gets to do a single action for their player. More contacts = more action economy. The order in which you do actions is up to you. (Contact then Player, Player 1 to Contact to Player 2 to Second Contact et cetera)
• Do actions one at a time, and please don't cheat by checking the dice and then deciding on the action afterwards. This is more a request, I want this to be as fair as possible.
• Small, but possibly relevant rule. Some side missions are public, in that anyone can work on them. As intersession is throughout a week, and not necessarily first come first serve, beating a public side mission doesn't guarantee the reward. Say Halcyon passes a check for a diplomacy agreement, but so does Nishara. If the quest can only have one victor, it continues to the next intersession in the event of a tie. It is still open to all, and will continue until a single individual has more passed checks in the questline than all others. Lets say Nishara really wants the reward, so she attempts and passes the public quest twice during the first intersession round. If Halcyon only passed once, Nishara will get the reward. Alternatively, say Raphael doesn't go into the quest in the first Intersession round of it, but Nishara and Halcyon keep it going as they both completed it once. Raphael can put three checks in next time and attempt to steal it. Other players are not alerted to who won, or who put time into the quest, merely that they lost. Your actions for the quest are essentially wasted if you did not win, and with six players and only one winner, it may at times be better not to involve yourself at times. You may alert players in the discussion thread that you intend to take it, and can even trade wealth or make deals to ensure others don't snag your to-be assets. Keep in mind though, it can still be "stolen."
This intersession represents Dec. 24th to Dec 30th, 483. There is an order of business for everyone to respond to RSVP to, and it represents the first quest.
I think that about covers it, I kinda wrote the rules quick so we can get it rolling. Everyone has a list of sample actions on their intersession character sheet. If anyone has any questions, we can answer them here. If you don't like Paizo's PM system, and would prefer google chat or something quicker, send me a PM and we can find something more suited for you.

Name: Halcyon “Halcy” d’Orsay
Occupation: d’Or Consultant Services 1050 + below
Profession (Fortune Telling) DC 10) + 50 gold. For each +5 above the DC, add 150gp.
Additional Profit Yielding Assets:
● N/A
Total per Session Revenue: 1050+Profession DC
Contacts:
● Jean-Tom
○ An ambassador of sorts between the Aristocracy and the underworld, Jean-
Tom dirties his hands so that others don’t have to. Skilled in “knowing a guy who knows a guy,” and not afraid to do a job himself, Jean-Tom seems able to accomplish any job, so long as it has a suitable pay. While his role of lover/business partner/friend to Halcy changes from time to time, he is nonetheless loyal, and knows an intelligent and cunning person when he finds one.

○ Skills:
■ Stealth +8
■ Disguise +6
■ Sleight of Hand +6

○ Black Market: As his action, Jean-Tom can either acquire or sell any item for Halcy, including magical weapons with auras from banned schools. Any item bought or sold this way has no trail to Halcy. Items bought must be paid for in full, and items sold retrieve 1⁄2 price.

○ Hidden Ability, Friends in Low Places. To unlock, have Jean-Tom murder an NPC who is either Unfriendly or Hostile to Halcy.

○ Hidden Ability, Plant. To unlock, acquire an item associated with a crime or steal an item worth 3000+ gold and give it to Jean-Tom.

Orders of Business:
● A letter arrived in the mail, on exquisite paper, wax sealed with curved letters reading “EdB.” It appears to be an invitation to a New Year’s Party, handwritten. RSVP.
○ You are cordially invited to Emile de Beaux’s New Years party, celebrating four-hundred and eighty-four years of prosperity for Durendal. As an acquaintance of mine, it would be my honor to have you at the celebration. Come and be merry with those you know, and form a kinship with those you don’t. Let us start the new year together at 107 Parc Mur Avenue, 8PM on the Last Night of the Year.
Glory to Durendal,
Emile de Beaux

● Much of your clientele this week are asking about the coming year, and about what resolutions they should take. If you like, you can subtly put your own agenda into their card readings.

Side Quests:

● The More you Know (2/X)
○ From your clientele, you have heard rumors that a member of Council, Arthur Blake, may make a visit for a consultation sometime around the New Year. Find information about his work and personal life that may aide in the advice you give him.

○ Diplomacy DC 20 to gather uncommon rumors. Alternatively, Stealth DC 20 to snoop around his residence or workplace. Each time the check is passed, it grants an additional rumor.

Income: 1050.
Net gold: 2100

Income: 1260
Spent: 150 on 6 speak with animals spells. 4 of them have been used. CL1, Druid.
Net gold: 3210.

Actions:
1) Researched list of murder victims and survivors of murder attempts on New Year's Eve.
2) Tried to locate Luc Gardiner, but only learned that he disappeared on New Year's Eve. Obtained a cloak and confirmed that the mirror gang had some contact with him.
3) Used Speak with Animal potions to learn about Lilliane's activities through Mako, the dog.

Contacts:
Caroline: Researched history of Druids in politics and revolutions.
Jean-Tom: Asked him to obtain documents of Blair Bey, but could only follow her and report her activities and contacts.

Other events: Party at Tall Tail. Dave with Vincent. Set up date with Vincent to visit garden and to attend an auction. Talked with Nishara about Blair Bey.

Income: 1200
Spent: 600 on Dream Journal of Pallid Seer
Net gold: 4410 - 600 = 3810

Actions
1) Date at garden with Vincent
2) Consulted a seer trying to locate Luc Gardinier.
3)

Contacts
Caroline:
Jean-Tom: Researched possible enemies of Luc Gardinier.

Income: 1210
Spent: TBD
Net gold: 5020 - spent.

Actions
1)
2)
3)

Contacts
Caroline:
Jean-Tom: