Qat Tzgane's page

Now that everyone is here, Qat drifts over to listen to the conversation. To Einar, she asks, "You're suggesting the victims were adventurers, perhaps, or had formed some similar alliance for a common goal? There are many so-called Clubbs in London these days. Just about any common interest can be the inspiration for one. But this seems a weird collection. While my friend and I were part of an adventuring group who delved into ruins well away from London, I know her pretty well and I don't think she would have anything to do with the likes of these other victims, except perhaps the prostitute. She did like ... being with ... other women." The last sentence stirs some memory in Qat and she turns away, wiping her eyes.

Qat welcomes Kelendia into the backstage area of the theater, points out the papers and says, "Still waiting for Norman. I'll wait by the door a while longer and then join you."

While Qat waits by the door, she taps out the door knock rhythm with her feet, using the taps more like a percussion effect than a dance step. She does this relatively softly, so as not to disturb the rest of the group. After a few repetitions, she begins doing variations and syncopations. This goes on for quite a while.

After a couple moments he decides he's too early, and finds a quiet corner to wait, and watch, outside until he see's signs of life from Qat's arrival, and approaches again, and gains entry.

Einar notices no one about. The theater is lively with folks so long as there is a performance going on, but mostly avoided by anyone looking for handouts or easy victims when unoccupied. The theater staff tend to keep an eye on things when rehearsals are going on.

Qat opens the door a minute or so later and notices Einar. When she learns he knocked earlier, she apologizes but said she had to go to the little bard's room. She ushers him inside the empty theater and encourages him to make himself comfortable. She'll send the others to him when they arrive and then lock the door and join everyone herself. Or she says he can stay and chat with her.

Don't worry too much about the ship. If, however, you want to use it to navigate the river, we'll need to look at the crew needed to do that. There are water taxis that can be hired to take people across the river or up or downstream. The river is somewhat tricky to navigate, particularly crossing between the starlings of London Bridge, where the current can be tricky and can slam a poorly navigated boat into the bridge supports or starlings.

Qat can answer some questions about the last victim, Gia.

She is more composed in the new day, rather low key and grim, but sharp and ready for action. "I had not seen my friend for a month," she says, avoiding saying her friend's name out of a Gypsy superstition against mentioning the name of the recently deceased. "I'm puzzled by the claim that she had stolen goods. She was a great thief, don't get me wrong, but I was not aware that she had made any big scores since I saw her last. She usually let me know and we'd celebrate when she had a good night. I also haven't been able to see her body or her apartment. I can try to do both, but it would be like the thief-takers to lurk nearby to try to identify wanted people who were connected to her. I've kept my nose pretty clean lately, but you never know. If her head was really torn off, I'm not sure I'm up for seeing that."

It's an interesting project, so I'm having fun. I'm not planning on making every NPC a gestalt bard, so it will not be as complex as Vagabond seems to have had in mind. I'll be making a lot of stuff up as I go. The goal will be to create an interesting sandbox to play in for a while.

Update: I've worked out the details of the murders, who committed them and other details, like the victims and the modus operandi. I'm working on some NPCs that may be involved. Once I have that, I'll write some newspaper accounts of the murders to date, so you'll have information to start investigating from. Still might be a week or two before I'm ready to roll.

Well, there's always the streaming video market when you all decide to discover the wonder that is Doctor Who. I'd recommend watching the first two seasons of the re-introduction of the series by the BBC back in 2005.

In later episodes, the Doctor establishes a presence in Victorian era London, with two aliens and a human woman forming the nucleus of a strange gang of three. The lizard woman (Madame Vastra) and her wife (Jenny) work as detectives. At one point, they share this exchange:

Madame Vastra: Send a telegram to Inspector Abberline of the Yard. Jack the Ripper has claimed his last victim.
Jenny: How did you find him?
Madame Vastra: Stringy, but tasty all the same. I shan't be needing dinner.

Anyway, back to the plotting.

Have to ask Doctor Who what that says. (He speaks baby.)

Speaking of Doctor Who, would anyone mind if I eventually introduced something from the Doctor Who universe? I have toyed with a Doctor Who related campaign, so maybe you'll meet a woman who will introduce herself as "Good evening! I'm a lizard woman from the dawn of time and this is my wife."

Just an idea.

Actually, I've got a general plan of attack for working out a plot. I'm not going to invest to much time in maps of the larger city, more just different sections, using street level maps for encounters.

I too am tentative about the time commitment, so let's agree if/when we get started we won't be too impatient when it comes to posting.

I'm also not sure how far I want to try to run the campaign. My immediate interest would be to play out some scenes where people pursue clues, have some fights (not necessarily with the murderer), and after a while, solve the case (or die trying?).

I might stop at that point. It depends on lots of factors to be determined. It will be a learning experience, and hopefully lots of fun.

I'm going to start thinking about plot ideas for this set-up and when I come up with something, if Vagabond hasn't resurfaced to advance this him/herself, I'll start a new thread for PBP and invite players with characters created to join if interested. I've not GMed PBP game yet, but I'm a participant in enough to have a good idea of what works. I've GMed a variety of campaigns in a variety of systems over the decades, so once I get some ideas, I'll let you all know.

If I do this, I'd like to run Qat as an NPC so she can take part in combat. I'll use her for advancing the plot if need be.

I do not plan on making every NPC a gestalt Bard type, partly because that will make it a lot more time consuming to create NPCs and partly because I don't think it necessary. The community will still have its tendency to break into song as in musicals, but I'm not sure I want to make that a central quality of every episode.

I'll probably extend the invitation to join to up to 5 or 6 players so some who did not make Vagabond's cut may get a second chance.

I'll post as I get ideas or make decisions, and if I decide not to go forward with this, I'll let you know here. I should have something to report by the end of this coming weekend.

In the meantime, if you'd be interested in participating, poast something here. Also if you're no longer interested in this idea, let me know.

It's been almost two weeks since the GM posted. How long before we file a missing GM report? I sent Vagabond a PM, hoping to elicit some response.

I checked Vagabond's various aliases and nothing has been posted since the end of March. He/she hasn't been posting that long, so perhaps he/she just realized how much work a campaign is, especially with every character and monster a potential gestalt. If so, he/she is just not being polite and letting us know.

The other possibility is serious calamity, making it impossible to post. In which case, we may never know.

Anyone care to run a campaign for these characters if the GM never returns or do we just retire undefeated?

My schedule changes to night shift starting today, so my posts will mostly be in the morning (Eastern U.S. Time). Today I may not get a chance until late night.

So what's next? I should be able to post every day although not always at the same time.

Reporting as requested. Thanks for including me.

I've no issues with content except that if there is sex and/or gore, it should proportional to and appropriate for an entertaining long-term adventure narrative. As with good literature, less is usually more when it comes to describing such things, since we all have good imaginations and can fill in the blanks.

I've already indicated that Qat was romantically involved with a female human, the one she is grieving, so that's obviously okay with me. Haven't determined her overall orientation for certain. I can leave that to the background, however, if it would upset anyone for that to be a front-center plot element.

Looking forward to getting started.

And sorry to be a little behind on noticing that the game had moved past the recruitment phase. I've not been checking the recruitment page much lately.

For simplicity, how about we assume a bar-room brawl erupts for some reason--say, a group of street thugs wanders in already a little drunk, looking for trouble? Could give them stats of some PFSRD pre-generated characters of appropriate level, one per PC, and then all we need is a map of a tavern, which I've got. I just need to get a few things in order, probably take a day or two.

If the GM is about to get thing game rolling formally, however, that would be good to know, as I don't want to spend the time and not get to have the fun that it is setting up.

Anyone care to spar? I can set up a map in G-docs. I'd like a chance to try out some of Qat's dirty tricks and steal combat maneuvers.

Well, this sort of interaction before the official selection of PCs has been made is very unusual, at least in my limited experience. I like it, myself, but most games just have people posting characters on the recruitment board until the GM closes that phase and announces the PCs selected for the game. Then the scene is set and everyone starts role playing.

It's worth noting that technically, this is all just a kind of audition and things assumed here may turn out to play out differently once the campaign starts proper (hopefully soon). I'll make up some stuff about Qat's friend for atmophsere, but it's up to the GM to decide if she even has had a friend murdered. The GM might have a different pattern of victims in mind.

At the question about her friend, Qat starts to pour herself a full cup of whatever bottle is closest, then seems to think better of it and just puts a few swallows in her cup. She sips the cup as she considers her answer, tears welling up in her eyes.

"Gypsy tradition prevents me from saying her name, but she was an adventurer through and through. She was one of the best in the underworld, at least the best that I knew of, at breaking and entering. She could climb walls like a monkey up a tree, locks were useless against her, traps almost useless. She was like a shadow when she did not want to be seen. It's possible she was killed by someone she stole from, assuming he had someone very clever put on her trail." Here Qat gives a quick glance at Norman, then at Rae, but does not appear to be making any significant connections, just thinking of people with their types of skills.

"Besides, she hadn't taken any of those types of jobs since I met her, about a month ago. We had been out of town, in fact, for the first few weeks, investigating an underground ruin for ... artifacts and archeological evidence of ... Oh, who am I kidding? We were looting the place, or at least intended to. Didn't find much. We got back to London and spent most of our time together, when I wasn't rehearsing, that is. The theatre is prepping for a new play next month. But even then, she mostly watched me in rehearsal."

Then she sets her cup down and stands and plays a solo on her violin. It is full of passion for her fallen friend and apparently improvised.
Gypsy violin solo

"I'm not worried about legal problems if we take out the murderer and some legal eagles want to treat me like a criminal for ridding the streets of scum. I'll take the rap if people want to claim it was all my idea and I made the killing blow. I'm pretty good at making myself hard to find and even if I'm captured, I doubt they can hold me for long." Qat speaks with the casual self-confidence typical of youth.

When Lady Kelendia brings up the possibility of an assassin's guild, Qat says only, If it's assassins, then we strike at the head and hope the body dies."

At the mention of whether to capture the killer alive or not, Qat's features darken noticeably, as if several lamps in the area simultaneously went out. She drums her fingers on her violin and then says, keeping her words measured and controlled, "If we are certain we have the killer and he--and by 'he' I am keeping in mind that it might be a 'she' or an 'it'--and he puts up a fight, I will cut open every artery and watch as he bleeds out."

She shifts her violin absently and strums a minor chord on her violin before adding, "If capture him we must, I know a lot of dirty fighting tricks that can incapacitate him as well as a net, things like dropping his pants, throwing his cloak over his head, kicking him in sensitive places, and so on. I usually use them for giving myself a chance to scarper off, but the same tricks could be used to keep him from doing the same. I'm also good at snatching things from people even in the middle of combat, should we need evidence. I'm just not wild about the possibility that the guy turns out to be the son of the city prosecutor or some such connection and he ends up walking free."

In game mechanical terms, these are combat maneuvers like dirty trick and steal. She's got the improved version of each and can use her perform (acting) bonus in place of the normal CMB bonus, which gives her a very good chance of succeeding. The rules say the dirty trick can be used to create the following conditions: blinded, dazzled, deafened, entangled, shaken, or sickened. The effect can last more than one round, although the target can usually end the effect if he takes a full round action to do so.

knowledge(local): 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (10) + 8 = 18
Qat listens and then tries to jam (softly) by fingering notes with her left hand while tapping on various parts of her instrument. As she is doing this, she wonders what it would sound like with a little water sloshing around inside. She makes a mental note to purchase a cheap violin and try it out.

Performance(strings): 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (11) + 14 = 25
Performance(perfusion): 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (10) + 3 = 13

The effect is not as cool as Einar's performance, but she enjoys the experience and her appraisal of Einar improves. When Einar makes eye contact with her, she tries to get a little call and response exchange, encouraging him to play a riff and then letting her try to replicate it on her violin/drum.

When all is done, she praises his skill and gives the others a chance to do the same. Then she says, "If we are agreed that we have a killer to catch, I suggest that when we are done, we head over to the theatre district and find a room to share, assuming we want to keep together for a time. In the morning, we can use the theatre stage as a place to engage in some sparing practice to take each other's measure in fighting styles. Then we can split up into smaller groups and begin to gather information on the recent crime scenes and discover what the victims had in common, besides their status as victims."

No rush.

@GM: Any idea how long before you decide on which characters will be in the official game? I'm having fun with the interactions and it's a great way to find out not only the content of the PCs skills and abilities, but also the players' styles and roleplaying skills.

But there are a decent number of characters in the mix now, so I'm interested in either moving on to the campaign proper or focusing on other games.

Qat grew quiet as first Norman and then the fashionably attired and well-armored Lady Kalendia approached the table. She recognized Lady Kalendia from various capers where their paths had crossed. She didn't know her personally, but she knew of her reputation as a formidable practitioner of magical arts.

Qat picked up her violin and began to riff off the rhythm set by Einar. It was a simple five beat pattern, with the last beat syncopated to arrive early. Bump, bump, bump, Ba-dump. Her notes rose with each beat, only to drop down on the last to the original note. She played the notes in the base register of her violin, encouraging others to sing or play the riff as a base line.

She played a melody over this in a minor key, with a driving intensity that led to an improvised song.

It's time for action
A killer's out there lurking in the night
We've got to stop him
We've got to band together for the fight

Stop this killer!
If we don't
Another soul will feed the demon hunting in the dark
It's time to kill or
Be killed ourselves
We're fighting for our lives against this killer, killer, killer!

Qat breaks from singing and adlibs some violin improvisations for a few lines before continuing. She plays violin as she sings, encouraging others to join in on other instruments or just beat out something on the table. She looks in the eyes of each of the assembled adventurers, whipping up enthusiasm for the job ahead.

It's now or never
Together we must liberate the night
We mustn't waver
United we can win this righteous fight

Of this foul killer
So grab your steely knives
Stab him in the heart and cut his legs in a million parts
We'll get this killer
By sword or spell
we've got to find and kill the killer, killer, killer!

Anyone else want to add some verses or offer up some rap or spoken verse, a la Vincent Price? In case anyone doesn't recognize the intended melody from the scan of the lyrics, here is a hint: U-Tube Link

Qat Connection to Izzy: 1d100 ⇒ 70 Servants or apprentices to the same master

Not unless Izzy was in Minkai, Golarian at some point. Since coming to this dimension, Qat has been a free agent. Could have had the same employer, however.

Qat Connection to Norman: 1d100 ⇒ 32 Former allies

This actually doesn't contradict your already-explained 'first' meeting of me, and indicates we've run into each other on a separate occasion. My initial impression was a little cold and distant for this, but if we were "allies" on a project and didn't know it directly, until, perhaps, after the fact, that could definitely make sense.

I got a very good Knowledge (Local) roll on Norman, so I was roleplaying it as if Qat had been asked to try to identify Norman for one of the underground folks Qat occasionally does jobs for. But this would work better I think. Perhaps his disguise was too good this evening and Qat didn't recognize him at first. I'd rather have her knowing someone like him from another context, so she doesn't have to be as suspicious of him.

Vir + Qat: 1d100 ⇒ 90

Best Friends !

I like the backstory that emerged from the roleplay better, although they might be friends. I doubt best friends. Qat might be best friends with Stella, however, given her connection to Fey from her earlier escape from slavery with their help.

I'll roll a Knowledge (Local) for Lady Kelendia. Knowledge (Local): 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (16) + 8 = 24

If she has a criminal background, then there are all sorts of ways to account for such a good roll. Qat sometimes does jobs that involve spying or stealing, but she tries to only use her powers in ways that don't hurt innocent people, for what it's worth.

I too am enjoying Vir's antics, but I think once the situation transitions from a tavern to the streets and we are in situations where the tone is meant to be more edgy, I think I'll become annoyed if Vir doesn't settle down and demonstrate an ability to stop thinking about self promotion and take a more tactical attitude. Comic relief is okay, but if its relentless, then it will conflict with the tone of the roleplaying that is to come. It's kind of like the TV drama Perception, where the doctor has episodes where he imagines someone. Sometimes it's funny, but when he needs to be focused, he generally is able to block out these things and function with the FBI and police. I think my character would be reluctant to team up with someone who might be a loose cannon in a sticky situation.

And, with my play being over now, I can actually post! Whoo!

Reminds me of a friend I knew in college who was a drama major who had a tee-shirt that said, simply, "I can't. I have rehearsal."

"Caution is good, but your willingness to help is heartening. Sticking together is good, so long as it doesn't hinder our investigation. Pooling what we know about the victims is indeed a good idea as well. If we need a place to start investigating it would seem to be finding a pattern to the victims, their common element, assuming there is one."

This may be a problem until the GM gives us the info. While we wait, I have an idea for a musical song/dance scene that would be unwise from the standpoint of investigators wanting to keep a low profile, but it might fit in the spirit of a musical play, where the songs are more about what's going on in the hearts and minds of the characters than literal depiction of events. I'll introduce it later when we've concluded this phase of our getting to know each other. Since this is all preliminary and not really part of the campaign, it might be a fun interlude while we wait for the main campaign.

Perception 1 (Norman): 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (20) + 11 = 31
Knowledge (Local) (Norman): 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (17) + 8 = 25
Sense Motive 1 (Norman): 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (19) + 11 = 30
Perception 2 (Norman): 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (8) + 11 = 19

As Qat talked with her newest friends, her eyes keep drifting back to a man sitting alone drinking and observing. She had noticed him earlier. Something odd about him. Hard to put her finger on it. Maybe he was too non-descript, almost as if by design, so he left no distinct impression. That sounded familiar, once she thought about it. After letting go of the effort to mentally place him, she kept looking back at him to get a fresh impression. Finally it clicked. She had encountered him, or someone with similar height and non-descript visual credentials, during a number of her contract jobs for local organized crime contacts.

She never took jobs that required her to harass common folk for loan repayment or to bump off witnesses to some crime or another, though she occasionally was asked to do such things. She only helped if they were needing intelligence on other criminals, some evidence they could use to blackmail an already corrupt politician, or stealing something they needed from someone who had obtained it illegally in the first place. Someone had once set her to discover the identify of someone known to be investigating one of them.

She took the job and did a lot of leg work, but couldn't find anything about him except that he was good at hiding his tracks and his true identity. The guy just seemed to drift about the shadows. Did not seem to be connected to known law enforcement concerns. She concluded he was some kind of vigilante, but that was conjecture, mostly due to the fact that the guy who asked her to look into him got fingered for something illegal that took him off the organizational charts of the underground criminal organizations. That could be someone different than this shmo sitting here, but something in the back of her mind thought there was a connection.

Now he was here. She wanted to be suspicious of him, but she did not have any evidence that he used his chameleon skills to cause anyone harm. If he could be trusted and if he were an investigator, he might be a useful addition to the team. But, of course, he could be the murderer, just very good at hiding his activities. Watch and learn, she decided was the best course.

bluff: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (7) + 13 = 20 (To hide her repeatedly looking at Norman.)

Qat allows Einar's mind link and finds the experience intriguing. At some point, when Vir is not connected but Stella and Qat are, Qat asks Stella, "If we're going to conspire with Vir to catch the murderer, we need to know one thing: Is he as good a fighter as he says he is? If he is not, for his sake, do what you can to influence him to find another project."

Once Einar's mind link demonstration is done, Qat looks to Rae and Izzy.

Sense Motive, Vir: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (19) + 11 = 30
She got a 25 Knowledge (Local) on Vir earlier. If he's been around as long as indicated, there ought to be more than just Vir's word on his exploits. Any reliable third party descriptions of any of his fights? If not, people might not ally with you on a mission that requires teamwork and crackerjack timing and possibly some subtle undercover work.

Qat stands and sizes the quartet of would-be heroes gathered in the corner of the Drum. "So what talents do you offer in this dangerous game of catch the killer? I am an actor and can transform myself into just about anything."

She pauses, raises her delicate hands above her forehead, and says, "dissimilat et consolo". As she says this, she passes her hands in front of her face and then sweeps them dramatically downward. As she moves, her body appears to transform into a seedy looking male homeless person, covered in rags, hunched over, with a dingy beard and stringy grey hair.

She stumbles a bit when she gets close to Izzy and holds onto her arm to steady herself. Sleight of hand: 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (12) + 15 = 27
Izzy, make a perception check.

Once Qat stepped back from Izzy, she simply vanished. stealth: 1d20 + 9 + 20 ⇒ (1) + 9 + 20 = 30

Everyone who wants to try to determine where Qat is, make a perception check.

She appears again as she makes a mock strike against Vir from behind, holding a dagger with its pommel facing forward. mock sneak attack: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (17) + 5 = 22

Vir feels a bump as the pommel drives into his back. It does 1 point non-lethal damage, but would have done much more had the business end of the dagger been used.
potential damage: 1d4 + 2 + 3d6 ⇒ (1) + 2 + (6, 5, 1) = 15

Qat drops the illusion and returns to her normal pretty self, bows, and says to Vir, "Sorry about that. Even taken by surprise, I almost did not get that hit in. We can use the City Pantheon theatre stage to do some practice combat, where we can get a better sense of our respective fighting abilities. I cannot overpower an opponent, but I can trick, blind, steal, and feint with the best of them, which usually gives me an opening, if I need to attack or a chance to escape." She hands the dagger back to Izzy, from whom she took it earlier. After her exhibition, she sits and looks to the others expectantly.

Note: the vanishing was a magical effect, rather than some use of hide in plain sight.

I have to ask: is Vir Invictus inspired by this character of the Girl Genius comic? Othar Tryggvassen, Gentleman Adventurer

Sense Motive, Izzy: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (8) + 11 = 19
Sense Motive, Rae: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (7) + 11 = 18
Sense Motive, Vir: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (18) + 11 = 29
Sense Motive, Ruskov: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (4) + 11 = 15

As Qat becomes more determined to get revenge, she begins to be more wary of those who she might enlist to help. She watches eye movements, hand gestures, fidgeting, and postures to spot tells that indicate lying or false emotions.

Anyone wanting to misrepresent their feelings or motives, conduct a bluff check (in secret if you prefer) and reveal things about your motives if you don't beat Qat's roll for your PC. With regard to her own motives, Qat has been unusually truthful up to this point, so anyone trying to detect false motives or misrepresentation will not discover any in her up to this point. She has secrets, of course, but so far those have not been an issue.

Einar's post ninja-ed the post I made above, so I did not respond to it except to add a line to place his comments in the flow.

When Qat feels the mental message, she raises an eyebrow at him and thinks,

To Einar's proposals regarding his special abilities, Qat only nods and says, "That could be very useful. If we wish to set a trap, we may need to be in different places but may need to know what we are seeing or doing."

Sense Motive: 1d20 + 11 + 2 ⇒ (18) + 11 + 2 = 31 Spending 1 point from guile pool to boost the roll.

Qat studies the man as he speaks, suspicious he might be connected to the murderer or even the murderer himself. After studying him as he speaks, she concludes that this is not the case. Whatever his motives, he is not interested in helping the murderer.

If Einar's motives involve more than he's saying, make a bluff check to hide it from Qat. She is pretty good at reading people, due to her extensive experience gambling.

"I've seen you perform before. You weren't bad. Today you look awful. What happened?"

"Sooner or later, the murderer was bound to kill someone with a powerful friend who would revenge her death. That happened last night. He killed my friend. Now I am going to see that he suffers and dies." Qat spoke quietly but with a deep reservoir of conviction and confidence.

Einor spoke about his interest in the matter. Then another patron of the Drum approached.

"Heard you guys're talkin' 'bout goin' after the killer?"

"I'm talking about it. I'm normally non-violent, but I was trained to kill, among other things, so now I'm going to do what it takes to find and eliminate this ... abomination." Sleight of Hand: 1d20 + 15 - 1 ⇒ (13) + 15 - 1 = 27 As Qat said this, she made a casual gesture with her hand and suddenly she was holding a war razor, examining her reflection in the wide blade.

"Anyone care to help? Even if we fail, someone will surely write a marvelous ballad about the effort." She snapped the blade back into the handle and the weapon vanished again into her robe.

"I hear we're actually going to do something about this mass murderer. It's about time. Where do I sign up?"

When Qat hears this, she interrupts her conversation with Einar and puts her fingers to her mouth and makes a shrill whistle to get her attention. "Line forms over here," Qat calls out with a grim smile. She scans the room, making eye contact with each patron, making the invitation inclusive.

Qat decides she had better let Stella calm down, so she offers a toast to their new friendship and then takes her wine on a stroll around the bar, since Vir seems content to tell his stories about himself whether she is listening closely or not. Before departing, however, she gives a moment to his current monologue and glances with a sly grin at Stella and winks before waving and strolling away.

About then, all eyes turn to the bizarre, but not unprecedented sight of a bear making its way through the maze of tables. Qat is a little jealous of Ruskov for such a wondrous distraction. Picking pockets with that thing in the room would be child's play. She's not interested in taking advantage of it this evening, as she wants to focus on her grief. As she moves around the room, glancing this way and that at the occupants, she finds her mood has been elevated by her interactions with Vir and Stella, so she resolves to make good use of the distractions and see if she can identify some who might join her in a quest to discover the identity of the murderer and put him or her down. She had parted company with the London Fog, an adventuring party that left to explore a ruin in another world through one of the many portals into this world. It was high time she formed a new one.

She drifts toward the hulk of a man sitting on the floor, studying the room as if it were a chess board. Something familiar about him, now that she gets closer. More than just having seen him near the docks. She finds images floating unattached that apparently are from the night before, after she learned of Gia's murder and the monumental bender it inspired in this place. Vaguely she recalls him lifting a glass of water in toast to her curse on the many generations who were the ancestors of the abomination who brought her world down in a crashing, burning ruin.

She ends her stroll in front of him and invites herself to sit on the floor near him, being careful that most of her garments do not get pressed into the dirt on the floor. "Well met, again. I probably learned your name last night, but remind me again. Then we can discuss if you'd be interested in hunting down a wild animal loose in our community."

What you see: Qat is a slender 5'4" tall with straight black hair down to mid-back, a pretty face with dark almond shaped eyes, graceful eyebrows, a dainty flat nose, and a narrow mouth. She appears to be a teenager or a young looking 20-something. At the moment, she has circles under her red-rimmed eyes from lack of sleep, crying, and a hangover. Her clothing is colorful with a graceful looking suit of quilted armor mostly covered by layers of scarves, sashes, and the like. Over her armor she wears a loose fitting jacket with lots of big pockets and long, full sleeves. Her only equipment at the moment is her violin case. Strapped to the case is a lady's parasol made of colorful fabric. A hairbrush is looped through a strap to a belt under her jacket.

If you are the suspicious sort, you might wonder what she might have hidden in the many folds of her layers of clothing.

Knowledge (Local) for Einar Colby: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (16) + 8 = 24
Knowledge (Local) for Rae Keisinger: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (11) + 8 = 19

To Stella's 2nd question, she says, in Sylvan,

Qat pauses for a moment and waits until Vir is talking about himself and says to Stella,

While talking to Stella, Qat's gaze strayed to other occupants of the Drum. A strange man sat by the wall with a halo of Ioun stones. She had seen him lumbering about the docks on his peg leg. There had to be a story there. She made a mental note to ask him about himself later. She also noticed a newcomer to the bar. At first she didn't register but then Qat remembered seeing her play violin somewhere. She played well (not as well as Qat, but better than most). Maybe they had played together at a rave somewhere.

It is possible that some of the PCs that are in the bar know each other and have even adventured together. Qat has been adventuring in the city for a while and has worked with others before. I would suggest each new player read Qat's background and decide if you think your character might have run with her. Assume some sort of previous interaction if you think it would be an interesting to roleplay. We can always revise the assumptions if/when the characters enter the campaign proper.

I encourage each player to list how open he/she is to such connections as you introduce your character. I'm going to list some spoiler info with Knowledge(Local) DCs just for those who want to assume they have not encountered her before and roll the knowledge (local) check.

Qat says, "Thank you," in Sylvan. She continues to talk in Sylvan, partly because it is a beautiful language and partly because it provided more privacy, since most people could not speak it.

"I grew up in a far-away place called Minkai. Near our city was an ancient forest. I used to slip away and meet a friend of mine named, Fairvik. She was a kitsune and we liked the forest because she could take her fox form and we could enjoy being ourselves without worrying about what other people might think. We were friends with many of the fae of the forest and they protected me when I needed a way to escape. That led me here. I miss my friends, but otherwise, I've never longed to return to my village. I had been a slave and was to be given to a vile man as a gift from my daimyo. Here I'm free and can do what I want. Of course, right now, what I want is revenge, but I am grateful to the Fey for helping me. If you ever need anything or if this guy ever treats you mean, let me know." As she finishes her last sentence, she glances at Vir to see if he even noticed what she said.

"Inconvenienced? Nyet. Look, my mug is full now. Your grief has been very good to me. Unfortunate that it does not treat you so in turn."

Qat ignores the sharp retort, thinking only of the words of a famous bard, "Souls whose hearts bring naught but hate cannot but help to live with fate that imparts the dark waters of the heart, yet never exhaust that cold internal spring."

At the table, she watches the odd sight of two mugs of ale levitating across the room a few feet above the floor before getting a good look at the tiny brownie carrying them. As she draws up to the table, Qat smiles, sincerely this time, and says, "Comtianda zendamir! Tiendal arsha dommela 'Qat'. Tomishha tiendin aresh diel?"

will: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (13) + 4 = 17

Qat senses someone approaching and looks up. A handsome man heading her way, a little unsteady. Tears in her eyes blur the details, but she masters her emotions and sits up to regard him, wiping the tears away with one of her bright scarves, careful to keep the edge of the scarf away from her face. He's rather handsome, with some seriously well made armor and a dueling sword, so not some common tavern lout. She is grateful for the distration. Self-pity is a dangerous indulgence.

"Vir Invictus, Champion of the Faë and the Fair Folk, at your service my troubled lady. How can this humble knight aid you this solemn evening?"

That annoying nagging thought at the back finally came through and he put it together with the latest news on the street. The sad song suddenly made a little more sense. With a sigh he adds,

"It is dark times, these days... It is only dishonesty and cowardice that would pray on the meek, a slayer without courage to fight properly! I would put him down myself, had he only the guts to face me..."

Qat regards him critically, trying to figure out if he is sincere or if he is mocking her. Knowledge(Local): 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (17) + 8 = 25

Suddenly, she recognizes him. He had been by the theatre once asking the staff if they would like the privilege of producing plays bringing some of his legendary escapades to life on the stage. She had not talked to him directly, but was amused by the way he went on about himself. Tellridge, the manager, had pretended to be excited and had told him he'd get back to him real soon. After he left, everyone had a good laugh. Qat felt a little sorry for the guy. But London was a hard town for the amateur artist. Lots of competition.

"Thank you, kind sir. Bring your drink over while I fetch one of my own. If the fiend won't fight fair, we may have to lay a trap or hunt him like a rabid dog." Qat rises, sets her violin in her open case, and walks gracefully to the bar and orders her usual, a plum wine. She hears another patron make a snarky remark, but such is always the risk of playing in bars. Not everyone is sympathetic to the message of the musician.

"Isaac, I'll buy the complainer a refill." When Isaac has filled a mug, Qat sets her wine at her table and delivers the ale to Ruskov, with a smile. "Sorry if my grief has inconvenienced you," is all she says and returns to her table.

Knowledge(Local): 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (19) + 8 = 27

Something about the woman looks familiar to Qat. Then she recognizes her as a warrior who trundles about town in the company of a bear dressed in armor with a sword. She is rumored to have some connection to a distant once-famous circus, but Qat has never been very interested in such entertainment. It did put into her mind a quote she always liked that said, "Words are like a cracked teapot on which we tap out crude rhythms for bears to dance to, all the while wanting to compose music that will move the stars to pity."

Rereading my post, I notice I started in present tense but shifted to past tense part way through. I'm playing in a couple of other PBP games and in one the convention is to use past tense while the others use present tense. So I'm used to doing both, but forgot to proof this one to make it consistent. If the GM has a preference, I'll gladly follow it in the future.

Crunch and Fluff complete. See profile and spoilers for details. Five levels of rogue, using the Glory Rogue option and the Bukato and Urban Ninja archetypes plus the Gypsy Bard Archetype.

If you want to modify her spell list, I chose spells that were mostly useful for her on-stage performances as an actress and musician, but with a few that would help her with her rogue activities, particularly gambling and picking pockets.

Let me know if anything doesn't quite look right. I modified my 20-point buy distribution from the one I listed earlier, plus added the attribute increase from 4th level. I don't see her primarily as a fighter, although she has some potent options if she has to fight. She mostly holds her weapons hidden and tries to use surprise attacks to wound and use the shock to buy her time to escape. When possible, she resorts to dirty tricks and steal to humiliate her opponent, such as by dropping his pants or covering his head, then stealing his money pouch before using her Ninja Trick (Vanish) to disappear.

As indicated in the Gameplay board post, she has a strong motive to join anyone else who is willing to try to identify and catch or kill the murderer.

Condition: Fatigued (from lack of sleep, lack of food, and a hangover)

A young woman enters the Mended Drum, carrying only a violin in a battered old case. She nods to Isaac and Abby and walks directly to the small stage to the side of the fireplace. She sets her violin case on a stool and from a fold of her bright red cloak, she pulls a few pages of piano music and sets it on the piano in front of a young man who was idly playing some cheerful melody. Without saying a word, she communicated to the young man that she wanted him to play the music to accompany her. The somber look on her face made his fingers freeze mid-phrase and he nodded, looking over the music while she got her violin out.

Regulars of the Drum knew her as Qat, an actress with the local actors' guild, regular performer and playwright at the City Pantheon theatre, as well as a skillful violinist. She also liked to gamble and was rumored to be involved in some scandals. Tonight, however, she was obviously not her usual cheerful self. Her hair appeared to have gone uncombed for the past few days, she had applied no make-up, and her face showed evidence that she had been crying and needed sleep.

She tuned her violin and said to the occupants of the room, "I have recently lost someone near to me to a horrible act of ..." Her voice cracked but she mastered herself and continued, "of violence. Were I with my Gypsy friends, we would honor her with many traditional acts. However, in their absence, I would ask you to please allow me to perform a traditional Gypsy chaccone."

As the room grew respectfully silent, she walked slowly around the perimeter and turned the lamps down low near the piano and off completely at the far sides. When she got back to the piano, she lit a single candle and set it on the stool. She pulled a small mirror from a pocket and said "Frumesetarkista". Cast Tap Inner Beauty spell. Then she drew forth a red scarf and covered the mirror and set it next to the candle.

She stood next to the stool and composed herself to play, nodding to the pianist when she was ready. He began the piece with a series of quiet chords in a minor key and then she began to play a soulful melody, full of sadness and love.

U-Tube Performance

Perform (String Instrument): 1d20 + 16 ⇒ (2) + 16 = 18

Listeners knew that she could play much better than she did in this circumstance, however, it still sounded quite beautiful.

After the performance, she placed her right palm around the candle flame, extinguishing it and burning herself a little. She stood with head bowed. Then she thanked the audience for listening, pulled out a sheaf of papers with handwriting on them, walked slowly toward the fire place and with tears in her eyes cast the letters into the fire place. After this, she collapsed into a chair and began to sob softly.

I did not see any house rules regarding hit points. So that would mean rolling hit dice for level 2-5:

Level 2 HP: 1d8 ⇒ 4
Level 3 HP: 1d8 ⇒ 2
Level 4 HP: 1d8 ⇒ 6
Level 5 HP: 1d8 ⇒ 4

I've added a fair deal of crunch to my profile. Still working on equipment and then I'll add the background. I notice the gameplay board is active. Are we to begin posting when we have our characters ready? I thought the plan was to propose characters and wait for the GM to decide which characters get chosen.

It always helps me to have some information about the world my character inhabits to link aspects of her past to the history / geography of the world. So anything we can learn about this city we'll be running in will be helpful. I'm particularly wondering how the prevalence of bards is explained and how that affects the politics and social world. Is everyone artistically inclined, like an artist colony? What is the range of wealth to poverty? What are the challenges the society faces with regard to maintaining prosperity and stability? If nothing is given up front, I'll make up some things that might fit anywhere, but I'd prefer to have some background on the world itself before writing my character's background.

Also, still waiting to find out if the Rogue Archetype "Urban Ninja" is allowed.

Everyone gains the original combat expertise and power attack as a bonus feat.

Does the character have to meet the normal prerequisites of these feats to gain them?

@ Roonfizzle Garnackle and YoricksRequiem: Thanks for the info. That helps.

@ Vagabond: Would the Urban Ninja Rogue Archetype (Drop Dead Studio) be allowed? I'd be interested in it with or without the Guile Pool.

Every level, you Gestalt with either Bard or Skald, but do not gain saves, skill points, hit dice, or base attack bonus of the gestalted class. If you have 2+Int skill points, increase that to 4+Int skill points.

Need some clarification on this. I'm want to work out the first level for a Rogue/Bard Gestalt.

Which class is the "gestalted class"? The Bard or the Rogue?

Then what does it mean when you say you "do not gain saves, skill points, hit dice, or base attack bonus of the gestalted class."

For example: The Bard and Rogue BAB are the same, but the Bard saves are FRW: 0 2 2 while the Rogue saves are 0 2 0. Does your statement above mean that the character's saves are the same as the bard's or the same as the Rogues or would it be 0 2 2, which is the better of the two?

I'm also confused about the skill points. A bard gets 6 + Int skill points, so if you gestalt with a class that only gets 2 + Int Skill points, you get 4 + Int Skill points instead? If you gestalt a bard and a rogue, do you get 8 + Int, which is the better of the two or 6 + Int which is the bard's?

Thanks.