Nick Armstrong's page

Nick missed doing his last week's profession check, so he'll do two now and then another for the final week before the Gala if it is needed.
profession detective: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (20) + 14 = 34
profession detective: 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (19) + 15 = 34

Nick tracked down lots of clues and leads and was so busy following up with informants that he was unable to help destroy the keep. By the sounds of it, his focus saved him having to make some tough calls.

Hopefully Nick's singular focus on the Gala will pay off.

Not quite sure how it works with us being out in another town for some time
After lightly spreading the word and loosening lips last week, Nick begins to wind up the threads he planted. Even if he's not in town for most of the week, the agents of the rebellion all work together to listen out for clues for Nick. Maybe someone overheard something interesting. Or a person sympathetic to the rebellion is involved with the planning, but there has to be some information about what the Gala is really about.

Profession(detective): 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (20) + 14 = 34
Clues begin to surface!

It appears that no-one did any crafting this week? Given all our wealth I thought that some-one whould have by now, any takers can feel free to push in line in front of me

After Hetamon spent time helping clear out the flooded rooms under the lucky bones, Nick approaches him with a crafting request. Nick would like a pair of bracers of falcon's aim crafted. 6000 gp from the treasury. Given that it would take some time, Nick knows that it will not be ready soon but hopes it could be done by the end of the next week.

In his off time, Nick follows up on some new leads which have presented themselves. Looking for clues or people with information about the Gala.
profession(detective): 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (1) + 13 = 14
Apparently Nick spent too much time out drinking and socialising to discover any real clues this week.

perception: 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (16) + 15 = 31

Tessara, please go read the players guide description of the sabotage action again. It appears you have a very warped idea of what it does. Secondly, a outlaw team has other functions we should have access to. Glad that the others see this.

we don't have an outlaws team at all, so doubling up on merchants without having at least one of each is risky. Though Tessara's feat so her pick. Next team should cover all the bases though

I vote for recruit, upgrade merchants to black marketeers, gather info on a noble house and gather info on another noble house. We have two teams which can do that. Houses: aulamaxa and Jarvis

I went to look up and the profession checks for day jobs are only at a -1 right? Didn't know I could do those but will now add these to my character as he spends his off time doing detective things.

Nick will buy the +1 longbow from chuko for 2500gp. given the loot and so forth I don't think this is a too large share, and will come in very handy for the party.

Due to the recent betrayal and that the Raven's focus is now pretty much internal, this free's up Nick to pick up one or two cases he was working on to investigate. Nothing serious, just tracking down some stolen goods and so forth.
day job profession(detective): 1d20 + 12 - 1 ⇒ (13) + 12 - 1 = 24
This earns him 12gp, but more importantly some time to clear his mind and reflect on recent events.

Nick spends the time it takes to move into the new base to double check that Luculla is in a holding cell which is secure and as comfortable as we can get. This means she'll have to have a room to her self in the cramped space we have so long. Later Nick will try to get several of the different priests we have around to come talk to her. We have to start by getting her to doubt her faith and slowly see there are other ways to live. Our acceptance of all types of races and faiths might show that there is another way for her to live.

Nick also contacts Chuko to see about getting hold of a +1 longbow (str 1). Not sure how long it might take Chuko to procure such an item, but it should be a priority.
I'm level 6 already and neither me nor Babou do any magical damage, this will likely soon start to run into problems, and if the next rooms have undead, there might be incorporeal stuff, which I'll be useless against.
If this is currently an impossible request then Nick will focus on buying magical arrows (+1 arrows).

As for the rank up item, Nick will grab a wand of cure light wounds, another item it is high time to get.

Lastly the team action for this week I'll do will be to spread disinformation, with Morgar's team.
Disinformation: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (15) + 13 = 28 (9 Base + 4 from Vendelfek)
This is enough to succeed and so we reduce notoriety by: notoriety reduction: 1d6 ⇒ 6

This post was written right after the last game's events, but needed names and details to complete it. So only got around to it now. So think of it as notes from soon after the previous events

Further excerpts from the case files of Nick Armstrong (Private eye):
Finally a breakthrough, this past week the Silver Ravens have finally been recognised by the authorities. I was expecting them to come down on us, and come down hard, so I was surprised when we were invited to publicly meet with the Lord-Mayor. I was sure it was a trap, and to some degree it was, he publicly praised us and recognised our activities, so devious was the man. This is obviously a political ploy to swing the public opinion, showing that our good deeds are sanctioned by the Thrunes, and so he can ride on our popularity. Simultaneously reducing the level of contrast between us and the corrupt Authority by making it appear we are aligned with common goals. Sneaky, and most likely to set us back quite a bit in garnering the public opinion. Sneaky indeed, this shows that our opponent is willing to play the long game, eyes on the big picture. We better start doing the same or else we might just have this rebellion pulled out from under us.
Nick scribbles notes down to look into setting up propaganda against the lord-mayor and highlighting how the Ravens are opposed to his actions. This is suggesting future rebellion actions: Manipulate Events, Spread Disinformation, Urban Influence. We likely need agitators. Upgrade Morgar's team?

a different entry into Nick's notes:
Met with the Captain of the naval warship, he's not what I expected. Typically a sailor is as salty as the ocean he traverses. Not Cassius however, he seems to be a refined man with a taste for the exotic. Peculiar request he had for us as well, a simple delivery in order to earn his favour. A man in his position could become a powerful opponent, so far better to aid him. The mission was easy enough, find a man, deliver the message, return. Things never go according to plan! Plan went smoothly, until the guy wanted to run away from his family upon reading the secret message, this nearly threw a wrench into the gears. It took some effort to smuggle him out from under his father's watch, back to the Naval vessel, but ultimately our covert behaviour went unseen. We were able to return the lovers together and in so doing earn the debt of a Pirate-hunter and at nearly no cost to ourselves, a great success. Scribbled down are some notes of what we could use the favours for, underlined was the name Elia with a question mark

Upon our return, we were set upon by a monstrosity. A servant or follower of some unknown demigod, the whore-queen Mahatahalla spelling? This does not bode well. Sure, nearly everyone we bump into on official Raven business is the high-priest of their own tiny religion, so Kintargo is a hotpot of different faiths, but this one is different. Firstly, the servant was a murderous monster and secondly, the whore-queens are servants to Asmodius himself. That we were attacked at night, is no coincidence, I believe we were targeted specifically. Likely someone is tailing us, someone other than Tayacet, she's a whole other sort of trouble... Note to self: covering of tracks and hiding movements has been compromised, this is what you get for not going it alone Nick! Either way, a new, and evil, cult in town can only spell trouble. This might require more investigation. Suggest a rebel action to gather information on this Mahatahalla and her cult in Kintargo, someone must know something

Side notes scribbled down:
whisky reserves running lower than expected, think that damn booze dragon got into my stores, could explain his broader than usual grin.

Luculla was at it again, flirting around with the people inside the Tooth and Nail. Think she's got a good deal going with the sales of her wares shooting up. Guess the extra income has made her a lot more cosy with the Ravens. Best keep an eye on her.

Kush, the new guy. He's a strange one. Sure we had a vacancy, but the Ravens are becoming weirder by the day. Guess desperation means we can't be picky in vetting the right people. My suspicions might be unfounded, Kush seems to be taking to the job at an alarmingly quick pace.

I'll go and buy the mithral chainshirt from the newt this week and then aim to make/borrow the 400 extra I'll need for the belt crafting next week. Selling stuff should cover this easily. Also, I'd like to grab that +1 buckler if no one wants it. Any extra AC is good.

following the trope I selected to play out, the hardboiled detective is always portrayed with a narrative in the background or an internal monologue which explains his disposition, so I decided I’ll do a bit of an internal monologue in the PbP to reflect on the events of the past week. An after action report of sorts. This has no influence on any other characters, and only serves to set up Nick’s frame of mind.
Sitting in a dark corner by himself in the Tooth and Nail, nursing a glass of hard liquor, reflecting: Last night I had to kill a man, put him down after watching him butcher one of my new associates. I was too slow, or getting too old, to save him! I made sure the son of a b~@+! could do no more harm. Pitty about Vaelic, dying so soon after his brother, damn shame! Raises his glass in the direction of the door, downs the drink and pours another..
This city has gone to hell, wondering if things will ever return to the good old days, where a case didn’t end at a bloody corpse, or several. At least the new Silver Ravens seem to be good people, quite the collection of different folks all working and dying together trying to save the city. They have the guts to try something, which is better than most, best I stick around and throw in with them for the long haul. Only alternative is at the bottom of a bottle, and why not both, ey? takes another drink...
Tayacet Tiora, there’s a name I’ve not heard in awhile. Having her in town, and on our trail no less, nothing but trouble. At least she did the courtesy of letting us know she’s here. She’s a professional, so doing that means she likely has some kind of end game in mind, guess we’ll have to wait and see what it is. I am not that easy to track, but best to be vigilant. On that note, I swear that girl from next door, Luculla, has been eyeing me. She’s a hard dame to miss, might just be my imagination, keep it together Nick! Downs the rest of the glass and retires for the evening.
Could Luculla possibly be the femme fatale for my noir detective? She’s attractive enough, but is she dangerous enough?

A few days after the Ravens had relocated to the "Tooth and Nail", a mysterious man enters and seeks out the current leadership of the Ravens. He's a slender, tall man wearing a trench coat and a wide hat covering most of his face in shadow, it can just be made out that he's wearing an eyepatch.
"Greetings, I'm Armstrong, Nick Armstrong, Kintargo's best detective. I've heard you've lost someone important, and I'm here to offer my services."
Nick explains that he specialises in finding missing people... for a price. After the night of ashes there had been an abundance of work, however most of the new cases have grim outcomes. Nick is used to working alone and never seeks partners, but given all that he's learnt the past few weeks about the dark nature of the current city leadership he feels it is best to join up with the Silver Ravens, as the disappearances are likely to just get worse the longer the Lord-Mayor stays in power.
Nick is an Urban ranger with the urban sleuth(Silver Ravens) campaign trait, he's loosely based on a Hardboiled detective trope: Hardboiled