Hob Teabadger's page

I've been kind of avoiding this for a while, I knew about a week or so back I really should get around to it but kept finding excuses to push it off one more day. For the last half a year or so I've just been floundering and then playing catch up every month or so. I hate abandoning groups but continuing as is isn't fair on people either. I'm going to be dropping out of all of the games I'm playing in (bar the one I've been playing in the longest) and most I am GMing except two which are near the end.

The last year has thrown me out of routine with the games, the pandemic is bad enough but there's some personal stuff that looks like it's coming up that'll be making things more awkward. I've enjoyed GMing and playing but it's just not something I can do right now.

Thank you for all the great times and I'm sorry I can't see it through to the end.

@New players This is a good group, my leaving is just real life stuff, it's a great game and you'll have fun.

On the subject of new players I've had Grumbaki in several games as a player as well as playing beside him. I'd strongly recommend picking him as one of the new players!

Cats are the agents of evil.

Sounds good. I'm looking forward to evicting the hag ghost.

Hob will rub his lips to see if there is any residue there and seek out a reflective surface examining his reflection to see if there's any physical substances to the sensations he's been feeling.

We could hire on a staff member... right now anyone geared towards evicting undead would be welcome!

"If we have any ectoplasm after evicting the bad ghost-" Hob turns around "There's definitely more than one of you, most of you have been fine so just the bad one."

"You could always dunk a jar of the stuff over him. It makes a point but no lasting effects. I assume."

Hob doesn't try to stop Talliree's fall given the size difference, he just tries to slow her descent before she hurts herself.

"So a bit of bad news Mitchel. Turns out we made contact with the ghost of an adventurer who put an end to the woman who ran the orphanage... he had some rather grizzly tales and referred to her as a hag but couldn't elaborate as to whether he meant that academically or not before he got sleepy." As he speaks Hob moves across the room gathering a few bits.

He places a blanket over Talliree to keep her from getting cold and a small lump of cheese on her forehead for Mr. Whiskers.

He pulls out his notes and starts flicking through them. "Ah yes Ester Greybrow ran an Orphanage here between 1435 and 1459. Dale reckoning of course. A two year gap before one Lif opened it up as a tavern." He looks up "I found out some interesting tid bits about the areas history involving the shadow guild but that from over two hundred years ago and doesn't seem connected currently. I'll dig into it later though."

Hob looks back down at his notes. "So Esther had a strong personality but hid things well, easy enough to say an orphan ran away. Then one night the adventurer's caught up with her after figuring things out. Lets say there was some less than officially backed justice in the street outside. A nasty death but even they didn't know how many children died at her hands and how many actually caught on and ran away first. She was cursing and giving out til the end. He said she lived for the children and up to when they came from her was careful never to be seen raising a hand to anyone... at least that they saw."

"He did mention she promised to come back and get them all, which only encouraged them to usher her on her way towards the Boneyard. So thats what we dug up... until Rishaal cast the fireball down that the man we had been speaking to was dead for five years. I took it poorly, Talliree took it worse. Still I've got notes to keep me on track." Hob holds up the bundle of paper proudly as if it would ward away any spirits... or worse yet confusion about the facts.

Hob face goes pale and he edges a little closer to Talliree his jaw moving wordlessly for a moment.

After he had recovered a bit he clears his throat. "At least he was a nice ghost? I think we can count on his word given how much effort it took him."

Hob stuck close to Talliree as they headed for 'home' and begins to ponder how much he missed fighting goblins in a dungeon.

Hob looks up and then his eyebrows dart up. "Oh, yes you're right. Lets leave him sleep so." Hob gets a nearby blanket and puts it over Owein's legs to keep him from getting cold.

"We should head back and tell the others about everything we've found out. I mean it's not much but it's grim and important."

"We'll definitely be keeping watch, the construction work may have disturbed her. If not then once she figures out we're evicting her to the afterlife she surely deserves will rouse her to action." Hob considers how best they they can fight such a creature with their current resources. "Thank you Owein, we've got a better idead of what we've got on our hands... now when you say hag, I really hope you don't mean in the academic sense do you?"

Religion: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (3) + 3 = 6

"Talliree, settle your nerves. If her spirit is likely to go after someone it's likely myself. I'm the only member of the group with the appropriate stature." Hob says half soothingly and a bit absentmindedly.

He blinks as his own observation settled in before turning to Owein "That said there's no harm in you speculating... also is there anything else she was attached to?"

"Thank you this could really help. Is there any chance you recall where any of the children went or their names... they'd be older now of course but they might have useful insights. If you can't recall I understand. What you've told us so far will really help and once we've got that and the other things sorted I'll have to pay for a meal and a drink for you at our new establishment!" Hob smiles broadly even the dour discussion can't keep his spirits down for long.

"We might have ummm found some of the kids, whats left of them you see. Do you remember any more details, who were the do gooders, what time of year was it? We can tell the year obviously." He licks his lips and pauses before leaning in closer. "Was there any kind of funeral for her, her spirit isn't exactly resting easy and the more we found out the more unsettling having her linger isn't too nice what with what she was up to."

Religion: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (9) + 3 = 12
Trying to figure out how to bust that ghost

Hobs eyes light up like a dwarf who has found a vein of gold... this man clearly new a thing or two about local history. "Ester Greybrow who ran the orphanage if you'd be so kind!"

Yup

"We should seek out Owein, keep focused on the task at hand. I can get a bit caught up. You've got a lovely selection."

"I have some notions but they are quite long term, for now our current enterprise deserves my focus."

"What's that. Oh he believes in robust trade. I'm sure he'd be pleased."

Hob nods after Talliree's statement. "Still a bit of investigation would be best. For later on though do you have any spellbooks that can be rented so to speak to gain access to them? When time and funding allows it might be best to consider expanding my repetoire."

Once they were done there Hob intended to track down this Owein.

"Largely well, these things take time. A few ghosts knocking about the place but these things happen! I really think leaning into it and coming up with a name involving spirits is the way to go."

"On that note though were you here a few decades back when it was an orphanage or no any locals who would have been? We're trying to track down details about an Ester Greybrow who ran it."

Hob can't help but examine some of the books surrounding them with interest.

"I'm going to ask around with some of the neighbours and see if they can remember this Esther Greybrow. It's thirty years back but some of the residents might have lived in the neighbourhood around then, especially amongst some of the longer lived races! I'll try the Book Wyrm's Treasure first."

Investigation: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (9) + 5 = 14

Hob sets off with any who want to dig up some more details! He'll ask around with a few of the locals but will definitely be swinging by the Book Wyrm's Treasure to gather a few more details. Hob knocks on the door when he enters. "Hello I'm looking for Rishaal?"

Sometime later that day!

"You know technically on those 42JR forms unless you answer yes in part two you really don't need to fill out part five and seven." Hob made a handy point to save the clerk from needless bureaucracy.

Persuasion: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (19) + 2 = 21

"I can look into that, I'll have the information in no time.... depending on bureaucracy and how far back we want to check."

Hob does have the sage background so hopefully he can get the information we need without too much bother.

"We saw a ghost last night digging in that spot- but the tradesmen here can attest the ground was hard packed and undisturbed. We weren't sure but we had some concerns about what it could be. I'd hoped it was just a pet but..." Hob gives a little shiver.

"Mitchel just wants to get a head start on it, we'll be talking to them before long but best to have more information before then right."

Persuasion: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (12) + 2 = 14

Hob winced with the imagined horrors that might soon be very real.

Similar situation here. Just trying to consider our ghost problem... the one in the basement not in the other areas. I need a spray bottle and some holy water.

"We can't go digging up the whole cellar today can we? I'm not sure what else to do... I'm going to have to research some necromancy spells in case we need to evict a ghost that's too creepy on a regular basis."

"You heard the lady, we're just making sure the spooky lady has cleared out."

"Yeah we didn't want to wake you but we've had more restful sleep in dungeons."

Hob's attention is diverted as things heat up. He moves back and begins to try to settle them all down.

Persuasion: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (17) + 2 = 19

Hob rubs his eyes "We over slept... I'll go find Mitchel."

Hob moves over to Mitchel. "How did last night go for you, ours was eventful."

Hob puts his ear to the ground to see if he can make it out more clearly, perhaps he might hear whoever it was talking.

Perception: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 = 3

Perception: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (8) + 1 = 9

"Maybe after the refurbishment. There's always more we can do to enhance the business but a solid foundation is the best start."

Hob is always around cheerily helping a hand to the various craftmen. Casting light in poorly lit areas. Anyone falling from a wobbly ladder has feather fall cast on them and an unseen servant hands requested tools when Hob can't.

Magically Assist: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (16) + 5 = 21
Magically Assist: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (20) + 5 = 25

Hobs signature is small and spidery.

With some effort Hob pushes the door closed again as requested. "I still think while the place is being refurbished we could look into some adventuring work in case of unexpected fees."

While not as elegant as he would have liked Hob will write up a fair and straightforward contract.

History: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (5) + 5 = 10

"Of the gross profits. If we went with net profits in the early turbulent days of running a business we might not have the biggest profit margin compared to our initial high overheads and unexpected costs then we might end up turning a profit on paper but with the repayment be running a net loss. This could have a snowball effect."

Hob holds up his hands "I'm just trying to protect your investment and stake in the tavern. We want to optimise the utility of the investment to ensure a solid foundation for the business."

"Sorry Hob! I wasn't paying attention," she apologies quickly, bending to help him up then realizing she has a problem. "I seem to have trapped myself, otherwise I'd help you up."

Hob takes a half step forward. "I have the opposite problem sometimes I pay too much attention to the wrong thing." The halfling man beams up at her.

Hob waits for the others to answer as he looks around the room. "I'm Hob Tealeaf, I'm a wizard focusing in divination magic. I'm trying to unravel arcane mysteries. I'm working on a few possibilities, for example if everything goes well with the tavern some day I think I might make an extension to it using extra dimensional space using a lab."

"I like to problem solve, for example there was this nice elf woman who was complaining that some woods are being chopped down to fuel the creation of books. So long story short I came up with a longterm plan for sustainable forestry in the area that I intend to employ at some stage, Sir Cloudkeep really thinks its got legs. But I think it would be best to get some hands on business and management experience before tackling something that big."

"Sounds good... so what you're saying is there's a potential untapped market for getting laundry cleaned?"

Hob nods "I new it was today, we'll be spending so much time in the city I'll need to invest in a water clock when expenses allow."

"One of them didn't like artificial magical constructs cleaning up and while everyone was gone I heard one moving around... it will take some adjustment. But you can't argue it's got character and will be a great ice breaker!"

Hob starts working on the breakfast "Was it today we were going to negotiated about those loans?" He yawns into his hand.

Portent: 2d20 ⇒ (10, 20) = 30