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Screw it Mel, that post sold me.
Edit: That post could probably have sold me on anything by the way, it's glorious.
Sorry, also being tardy. Work was crazy, and I have been wrestling with a dilemma. Honestly I'm not sure Hal should be there. An insane paranoid known criminal hunted by assassins probably shouldn't turn up at Court. I'm also a tiny bit worried Possession might be an illegal spell, and the Duke knows he used it. It might make more sense for him to go with Turion and prepare a rescue should it become necessary. I don't want to mess with the scene though. The best reason I can see for him to go is he can use Cunning Caster to cast Teleport without getting caught - assuming there is no teleport trap, which there almost certainly will be. That being the case the best bet is to give pretty much everything to Turion and concentrate on doing that.
The two hours are just enough time for Hal to Nap Stack, but not enough to study. It does mean he gets his 2/day powers back. If ALL magic is being taken it is problematic as that includes a lot of his clothes, and they also project illusions that true sight sees through, so he'll have to wear something normalish. 2 items (thanks for the greater magic aura casts!) means he can do the Luckstone & headband. For the record Hal might have a few hours of his own greater magic aura left but it is not helpful and he would not admit it, and has a secret pathfinder pouch he can keep his spellbooks & illegal alchemy in. If he knows there is a small item Mel or Kaz wants he could try to secrete it away for them... but his plan is basically bolt if anything goes wrong. On the plus side his Planar Fork should have attuned by now.
My plan is to immediately burn for Nap Stack and get spell slots cleared - won't actually give time to study, but hopefully the King will keep us waiting longer than this.
Haroldson pales "Two hours? I was crawling through a sewer two hours ago and now in two more I have a royal audience!?!" Visibly he takes hold of himself "My apologies my lord, I suppose speed is of the essence."
"Hopin' I got it this time... Court." he pronounces, finger pointed to the first word.
I took the last two, so I think I should back off for a bit - though that means the next one may be something else?
Erk - closer than I like! Except I'm pretty sure Steal wasn't a real guess?
@Brookside GM: how are double letters handled? 1st word is better 'cos we know there are three letters, and what they are.
C _ u _ _ with an "r" somewhere but not 3rd or 5th. There is no "u" 2nd. "o" somewhere but not 3rd. "t" somewhere but not 2nd. hnksaelyidmpfb so three letters, three places ORT - COURT - validOTR - COUTR - r!=5, t!=2 ROT - CRIOT - valid RTO - CRUTO - t!=2 TOR - CTUOR - r!=5 TRO - CTURO - valid out of COURT, CRIOT, and CTURO I'm pretty confident about COURT. maybe do that next and lock it down - going to have to do it sometime, and lets us know for sure how many more guesses we have?
Hal nods slowly "Good point Boss"
"I'm pretty sure that first one is COURT now, and the second one looks like SPARE. COURT SPARE CHILD something?" Hal thinks for a moment "There's only 8 letters we haven't tried for that last one, b, f, g, j, q, v, w, x, andz. V, w, x and z are pretty rare. Q needs a U. That means B, f, g and j are likely. My money's on FABLE, or maybe GABLE, but FABLE seems more likely. We've got 3 guesses before we have to start getting these right. I'm gonna try FABLE. Here we go..."
"Hmmm. Need some more letters." Hal mused, pointed at the second and pronounced "Stomp".
"Maybe... Court Something Child Fable? Could be a passphrase?"
"I wonder if the first one is Court?" Hal asks, considering. If you're right about the second one bein' Steal, then the 't' will show up. That third one's gotta have a vowel, right? like an 'i' or 'o'? And that second 'c' can't come third, so has to be at the end? So c-h-i or o-something-c. Y'know, I reckon it could two vowels. Maybe choic, chooc, chiic, chioc.... yeah none of them are words. Alright, if we're talking about good letters maybe a y, an l, a t, an o and an i? Toil...y? Like a verb? Nah, probably has to be a real word... Maybe doily?"
Is this like mastermind? Like if we ask "how many As" we get told something like 1, 2, 0, 1?
"Hmm. Have ta say, sounds... familiar." Hal starts pulling out books from his bag and cross referencing between them. He flips between notes, jotting down a few notes and rubbing his forehead - apparently oblivious to the black mark he leaves there.
Sorry, I was updating my sheet and realised I'd messed up what spells I'd cast. I'm going back through to see if I have the slots to do Identify.
That's true, but Hal has the wisdom of someone with some serious mental issues. Also, Identify only does the book - though if we waited till tomorrow Hal could spam it pretty hard.
In which case I think if he burns both 6th level slots to cast Analyze Dweomer it should be the nuclear option, right?
Follow up, if I get him True Sight for a round he can see through illusions. Does that mean spells that are illusion that cover up magic auras would also be stopped? If he can see through the magic does that mean he can use Disable Trap to overcome the trap on the book? Or will he need to potentially have remove curse as well? It's expensive, but this is sort of important. He also gets to do 13 items, so he can scan every damn thing. Identify does 1 at a time. Hal has a pretty decent Spellcraft and Knowledge Arcana if you want a skill roll, by the way.
Identify works to counter magic aura if you make the save, right? Hal can spell study to get that.
"More f'r him than the cat I reckon. Typical middle class fantasy. Fishin' on a tropical island 'n' writin' a "novel" - poor bastard 'as no idea what the life of a fisherman's like." He considers "Novel sounded interestin' though." "I'm pretty much out of tricks, but I guess gettin' 'is grace there fast is better. I've got a way to hide auras, he might be usin' that. Hmm... Can't just dispel stuff... me specs might do it but I overloaded 'em to see through the wall." "Any idea what the trap is? Curse, poison, sets fire ta the book?"
As if on command Hal stirs, wakes, and immediately grabs at his back and groans. "Gonna have'ta check up on 'im later." he comments "Man might love fishin' now but I reckon the shine is gonna wear off fast once he..." he trails off as he takes in the room. "News? What've we got?"
Tell me when Hal should 'wake up' :)
Hal, still clad in the body of Rogers, nods as he takes the pouch, and continues in his not-Hal voice. "I'll take Mr Rogers home, then teleport him to a destination of his choice. Once I abandon his body I should return to mine, and there is no need for Mr Rogers to know where we go, or who we are. I have some small funds, and as I made the offer I am happy to pay back the sum." As he turns to go he hesitates "I may be a few hours - please do be careful with my body, I expect some pain when I come to, but it would be good to minimise it. If you could ensure I change position every hour or so I would be obliged."
Make it Unconcious Agenda and Shadow Walk. Use the human favoured class bonus to pick up a bonus spell; Glimpse of Truth.
Oh wow! That is so... I don't even know. It's like... hacking trauma therapy?
Alright, this was a level I had a plan for but wasn't sure we'd make! I'm considering as few things with spells, so putting those first. Would love any comments or suggestions Very keen on True Seeing - the idea of a character who can see through all magic and illusions marries interestingly with a character who suffers from hallucinations. Not sure as to the utility - True seeing is one of those spells that is either game-breaking or useless depending on circumstance. he can also do Spell Study for it if needed, and has a 1 off potion that has the minor side effect of potential permanent blindness. Unconcious Agenda I was avoiding enchantment so as not to clash with Turion, but if he has stopped posting then some mind control might be good. Mass Suggestion is awesome, but Unconscious Agenda is terrifying and is not something Turion has done. Treacherous Teleport fits the fact Hal has been hacking teleport wards, and is a ruse spell. Not much more useful than a normal teleport - though the ability to teleport a mixed group to two different places is potentially useful in the right circumstance. Shadow Walk I've never actually used shadow walk. I think it is useful as a non-teleport escape (in dim areas) and I think you can hang out there if you want a place to sleep - I won't say a safe space though! Can you use it from inside a building? I think you can, but am not sure. Ideally I'd like version of this that used the First World, but Shadow works - as long as it is not mirror! Antimagic Field Way out of left field. Arguably Hal's best move in a fight with another caster is stopping that caster from zapping his friends. Antimagic Field is like persistent Dispel... at the cost of Hal losing pretty much all of his abilities. I've been trying to give Hal a hang up about killing people, so if he should take a spell to fight with it should probably be more debuff than burn. --- Wizard (Spell Sage) 11
Hal does not have feather fall but does have a beneficial winds lesser charm, though I would prefer not to use it.
"Can't leave him here. Best he can hope is to get fired without recommendation. I told him I'd get him refuge if he told me what I needed to know, and he's taking me up on it. I'll drop him in another country, settle him in, make my way back."
"Hold." Hal says. "Change of plans. We're taking him." 'Is there anything - or anyone - you need to take with you? Absolutely need, mind. You can buy new clothes, but some things can't be replaced.'
I'm on board for the plan. Hal is mostly a bunch of weird tricks that can be really useful, and combat is where is weakest anyway. This sort of thing is exactly what I wanted him to be doing - just hope you three don't mind me being pretty useless during the actual fighting. Before we go Hal will take a hair clipping from Rogers, and try to make sure they have not left behind any evidence. I'll try to get a post in to that effect once he's back in his body, but don't wait.
When Hal speaks out loud it is obvious his accent has been changed."I've got some silk rope. We can use that if we need to. Bag over his head too. Let me check Rogers for what he wants." 'Alright, mate...' Hal says silently, carefully enunciating the words mentally. 'We couldn't have done this without you. Deal's a deal. You want us to tie you up, gag you and never tell anyone that fact - or do you want a ticket to a job somewhere else? Choice is yours far as I'm concerned. That said, you try to finger us later and we'll be back. I've taken a shine to you Geoff, and I very, much don't want to have to come look you up later.'
Would it have been possible for Hal to have locked the door as part of the round where he slipped through and shut it?
lock is a good question!
Okay, so I was looking for what Hal might be able to do whilst in a butler body. I think CMB checks are just not going to work.
I believe at the moment Hal is making sure the Duke can't just run out the door if he gets free, and I am reluctant to stop doing that. He could cast Black Tentacles, but given what we've seen I think that will just end up catching Kaz and Mel. Otherwise I think he's just going to try lying.
Hal pauses a second at the door, and with a quick movement opens it, steps inside, and closes it again, leaning with his back against the door.
Hal dusts off his hands and carefully checks to see if the coast is clear.
Kneeling down Hal pulls a white cloth from Geoffrey's pocket and begins to sweep up the few traces of silence dust that have come through the door, one eye out for any guards, guests or general servants that might have been following the Duke.
Hal/Geoff freezes for a moment, then gives a dust-muffled squeak, steps outside and shuts the door.
action:
The idea was basically interference if he tried to flee by standing in the doorway and trying to grab his arm if necessary.
The butler lets out a tiny shriek of shocck as his master is set upon, only for it to be muffled by the dust.
Hal: Doing his best to impersonate Geoffrey's mental voice Hal snags a tray of drinks, approaches the Duke and waits for a gap in conversation. When the Duke turns towards him he proffers the tray and murmurs "There may be an issue upstairs milord."
"So - is that the plan Boss? Take the book, not sit tight?" Hal checks for confirmation, ready to prompt Geoff to point out the book.
"If we waited here, would he come up here when the guests leave? Actually... why did you come in?"
After echoing the comments Hal starts to answer, enunciating slightly more clearly than normal.
@Brolin: I always worry about people who drop out of everything all at once. Good for you for dropping buy to say goodbye :) @Brookside GM: I hope the interview went well!
Indeed! Good luck!
Hal blearily stared over at his own body, lying recumbent in the corner. "Damn I look old." he mutters, muted further by the silence dust. "Huh. So..." he starts out loud, goes to switch to an internal voice, then shrugs and continues out loud. he crouch walks over to the knapsack and starts pulling out equipment, including a strange crystal and a book. "Right mate. I know you're prob'ly loyal'n'all, but we've already got enough evidence your boss is selling out the kingdom ta the elves anyone else'd be in chains. He's goin' down, and takin' people with him." "Now, I can't have ya fightin' me. We're gunna give you a chance ta turn state's witness and cooperate. Carrot and stick, right? Well, the bad news is the stick's real bad. I'm gunna use magic to rummage through your mind, then summon a Cacodaemon" here he shows the relevant entry in the Saliharion "That should be able to pull out your soul, give me time to do a proper infiltration over the next couple weeks. Does mean if anything goes wrong then your face is gunna be the one the blame gets attached to, which might be an issue if ya got family or somethin'." "Good news is the carrot's real good too. Somehow, for someone who's killed more people than most professional assassins I know, the Boss is a softy for a redemption story. Work with us and we can give ya a new life far away from here, with a new name and a new face. Possibly even this one, if'n you're attached to it. I gotta tell ya, when I got the same deal I jumped at the chance, and it was the best decision I ever made. I'm gunna get ta see my family after this, and I absolutely will cross my normal moral lines if I get ta see my little girl." "In fact, Boss, ya want ta give this guy the talk? I gotta start preppin' the spells anyway."
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