Shane Sangster's page

I have advanced Shane to 6th level, giving him 4 levels of Unchained Monk (Kata Master) and 2 levels Unchained Rogue (Roof Runner). I enjoyed the previous Zeitgeist game I played in. You can look at my posts in that game to get an idea of my style of posts and roleplaying.

If you prefer someone with arcane magic, I can understand that. Good luck.

Shane was created with a 25 point build at 1st level. So I can bring his abilities down to 20 point buy level. He is currently third level, so I'd boost him up to 6th. His Theme feat was Docker.

His background was that he trained for service as a spy and worked in Flint for a year or so, infiltrating the docks to spy on any revolutionary activity. Got promoted to the constabulary after that. He's low key but good at stealth and hand-to-hand combat. He's also got some soft skills if needed.

Shane's profile does not list skills because the GM in the game he ran in used an alternative system from 13th Age. So I'll have to fill those in as well. He will have some skills like diplomacy, intimidation, and some craft and perform skills that he used when he was working undercover as a docker.

Is starting wealth standard for 6th level character?

How are hit points allocated after 1st level?

I just noticed this and so I haven't had time to look at the details, but Shane Sangster ran in another PBP of the Zeitgeist world before the GM had to quit.

He's a monk kata master 3rd level. Let me know if he would fit. I'll look over the threads and update if I have questions.

I'll be out of town and generally not on line until Saturday evening.

Shane looked at Ralf and then around at the neighborhood. "Not the best time to go poking around the docks without backup. Shall we call it a night and report back at HQ?"

Shane took the paper, thanking the woman politely. At Ralf's comment, he just smiled. "It is the job of bureaucrats to make work for bureaucrats, just as it is the job of lawyers to make work for other lawyers."

He headed for the spiral staircase. "But soft, let us see how dame fortune smiles on our next transportation department adventure," mocking faintly the tone of voice used in formal stage soliloquy.

Shane holds the deed where she can see what information she needs, but keeps hold on the document.

"I am Constable Sangster and this is Constable Tergsvor. We are investigating a crime and we think a barge may be involved. We need to know where we can find this barge, who owns it, and any movement you know of recently." Shane names the barge as it appears on the deed, but he does not show the deed just yet.

Sorry I haven't posted in a bit. I've been slammed with a rare stretch of working ten hour days M-F, coupled with a busy weekend.

While it is notorious among role players to shun the splitting of the group, I doubt a team of constables would travel in a pack when there are so many leads to check, particularly when movement through the city is so difficult. I trust the GM won't use the opportunity to gang up on one or two of us and if/when we'll need the strength of numbers, hints will be given so we stay together. Shane is all for traveling on foot if it will be faster. I read a book that described movement through London in the early 1700s and it was said that moving on foot was generally faster, if not sometimes more dangerous either for one's health or for one's clothes.

As the transfer of the body was wrapping up, so to speak, Shane said through the mental link, "When I talked to the guards, they all acted somewhat strange, as if they were talking about a poker game or a sports event, rather than the violent death of someone they knew and liked. The rug covering the blood splatter of a sword attack, the darkness no one mentioned, it all smells very bad." He showed the barge deed he found.

Shane will be happy to talk further with LeBrix, but he feels the barge deed may be time sensitive. Barges can move and so the sooner it is located, the better. The group needs to get the body back to HQ in any case, where requisitions for potion identifications and speak with dead spells can be placed. Shane also has a couple of blood samples, in case we can requisition a Blood Biography spell to learn more. Once we locate the barge, next in order might then be the Thinking Man's Tavern, since suspects and informants might also be apt to leave the area.

If we feel like splitting up (to cover more ground), we could each pick a lead and meet back in a central location (tavern or HQ?) to share intel and decide the next move.

Shane made a sketch of the pattern of the blood spatter. Then he collected a sample of the blood as best he could, dabbing at a wet spot with a clean handkerchief. He looked next for footprints suggesting movement after the blood was spilled. Once he made his notes, he asked the guards for their names and snapped his notebook closed. "Thank you. I'll let you get on with your duties. If you can show me out?"

Through the mental connection, Shane informed the others of what he found. "Looks like Nilasa was stabbed or clawed up here before leaving. The blood is to one side of the window. Looks like she was attacked and then escaped. There is nothing darkening the room as you could tell when you saw me in the window. Something is definitely rotten here. Maybe we can sort it out from outside the compound and their diplomatic immunity."

As Shane inspected the room, he asked his accompanying guards, "Anything like this happen here recently? Attempts at theft or other crimes by people from the outside, I mean."

Shane walked slowly to the window, scanning the room side to side, noticing the rug but not touching anything. He noted where the glass had fallen and how much of the window remained in place. He jotted a few notes and made a quick sketch of the room for the record.

He stood in the window. He scanned the perimeter of the consulate to see if anyone was looking up at the window. If he saw anyone watching, he waved to see if they waved back.

Finally, he inspected the rug set to the side. He looked for glass on the rug and then began to pull it to see what was under it.

Shane wondered what was going on. Either everyone was roleplaying as an elaborate cover-up or people were being manipulated to say these strange things. He tried to think of a question that would test whether Braden had even ever been in the Thinking Man's Tavern. He would have liked to have engaged him in some discussions about politics to see if he could really come up with anything so bright as to attract the attentions of smart woman, but decided it might be best to pursue leads outside the consul where he did not have to watch his step so closely.

He thanked Braden and handed him a card with his name on it and the address of the constable office to which letters could be sent or messages delivered. "Let me know if you think of anything else that might help me settle this case."

Then he slapped one of his escorts on the shoulder and said, "Let's get up to the room with the view."

Shane nodded. "I know the place. What line did you use to get her attention? She had to have guys hitting on her all the time."

Shane has one followup question for Braden: "How did you two meet, you and Nilasa?"

Shane would have no reservations. He can let Ralf know where the guard office is, which seemed to be a place where good scuttlebut might be obtained.

Shane sent a mental message to the collective that he was going to look at the top floor room with the broken window. He added that the guards were being very helpful, almost to the point of it being suspicious.

Shane puzzled at the oddly chipper attitudes of security personnel. He strolled over to the plate, trying to match the mood of the place. "I'm sorry for your loss," he said in a way that one does when one is socially obligated to say it. "May I?" he asks, pointing to the sweet treats. If he is allowed to take one, he starts to bite into it but then closes his mouth and pulls out a handerchief and wraps it up and pockets it. "Maybe I better save this for later. It would not do to return with frosting on my mouth. My boss would go all thunder and lighting on me."

Shane pulled out his notebook and pencil and asked Braden, "What can you tell me about the deceased? I'll need to notify her next of kin. Did she have any family? Do you know if she had a job?"

Shane coaxes what information he can out of the guy.

Diplomacy via Streetwise, Charisma, level: 1d20 + 3 + 3 + 3 ⇒ (15) + 3 + 3 + 3 = 24

After the interview was over, Shane asked his escort, "Mind if we pop up to the room she was in when she fell? I gotta be able to say I checked it out." He tried to sound like this was just pro forma.

Shane's hoping he can take advantage of the relaxed attitudes of the guards to get access to the room with the window without LeBrix around.

A storm has knocked out power in my area, so my ability to post will be limited for a while.

"LeBrix have the right of it, that Nilasa was Braden's girlfriend?" Shane asked casually.

Assuming they confirm this, he'll ask. "What did you think of her?" Shane tried to get the guards gossiping before they got to Braden. Diplomacy, streetwise, Cha, Level: 1d20 + 3 + 3 + 3 ⇒ (3) + 3 + 3 + 3 = 12

Is the victim human or Danorian? I assume most everyone working in the consolate is Danorian unless otherwise indicated.

Mentally, Shane replied, "There's also the canal barge connection, perhaps a get-away plan. Whatever we find, we need to find it now, before anyone has time to do more cover-up. I'll try to keep LeBrix occupied as long as I can. Make good use of the time."

"I can talk to Braden while they continue their inspection. I'm sure they will be done soon. Then a quick look at the window and we'll be out of your way." Shane did his best to be polite and to take LeBrix attention off the body that he so desperately wanted moved.

On the way to talk to Braden, Shane asked in a tone he hoped would be sufficiently nonchalant, "That egg, does it hold any historical or political significance or is it just a finely crafted work of art? Is there any reason other than its monetary value for someone to want it?"

Shane looked over his notes a moment while the others examined the body. "We will need to ask this security guard of yours, Braden, a few questions. After that we should have a look at the window she flew through." Shane figured LeBrix would likely refuse, but it was worth a try and it would prevent Delft from chewing them out for not being thorough.

Once Shane was in range of Ralf's mind sharing effect, he communicated, "No one claimed to witness our thief with the goatee, but I did find evidence of a scuffle, some blood, and a deed to a ship, well, a canal barge anyway, with a seal of the Danoran consulate on it."

After hearing LeBrix' account of the incident, Shane poked around the window and mentally asked someone to go out to the fence and look up to see if Shane could be seen. "An eyewitness reported the inside of the building as so dark nothing could be seen, which seemed unusual enough to comment on. Also, the same witness said the second shot came after the fall. Did not LeBrix just claim he fired a second time and then she fell? Also a thief outside stole a necklace and some papers, but did not take that valuable egg. Seems like a lot of things not lining up. How do we want to handle it? Anyone know if he is right about having the right to shot people in the back within the consulate?" As he does this, he makes a note of any sources of light in the room, and looks over the broken glass. "Jaelynn, might be good to see if you can detect any lingering magical auras in here that might account for that darkness report."

Looking around for clues in the room with the broken window. No special training in this, just defauts: wisdom, level: 1d20 + 3 + 3 ⇒ (10) + 3 + 3 = 16

I'm struggling to get a clear notion of the location of the fence and the window. I thought the wall was forty feet from the building and that the victim landed on the wall. That's not consistent with a fall. Have I got something wrong. It's been a while.

Let me know if/when Shane returns from his evidence gathering excursion.

Shane is available. I did not notice the PM until Friday. The campaign was listed as inactive, so I stopped checking for postings until learning of the campaign revival.

It's been almost two weeks with no posts. I posted what I could for the situation and have been waiting for GM response. Could we get an update on everybody's situation and availability to play? I'm still available and interested in going on, if we can keep up some momentum. If we need to put the game on ice while some work through RL situations, I'm okay with that too.

Shane will make written notes about the evidence of a scuffle and it's location. He'll sketch the mud and blood spatter and then scoop it carefully into a leather coin purse (coins removed), figuring there might be some magical ways of gaining information from it. Then he'll return to report what he's found. If he's in range of the mental communication link, he'll report the find to the others before returning.

Shane made a follow-up question to the witness, "Did the victim give the papers to the man willingly or did he take them by force? Was he armed? What race was he? And which way did he go when he left? "

Once he had the answers, Shane said, "I will run in the direction of the man with the goatee. I'll see if anyone saw him and then report back." Then he thinks, "I will keep in touch this way," projecting his thoughts to the group, to see if it still worked. "How far apart can we be and still make myself heard?"

Shane began to jog in the direction indicated by the witness. He was quicker than most and covered ground quickly speed = 40. When he came across people loitering about, he approached them, saying, "Oy! Looking for a gentleman with a goatee, would have passed this way in a hurry about an hour ago."

If he can find some angle to make the people more willing to share information, he'll work that into his questions. For example, if they are poor, he'll suggest he was a rich person who was up to no good. If Danorians, he indicate the man was wanted in connection to a crime against a Danorian woman, leaving them to speculate on the nature of the crime and perhaps fill in the blanks with their own prejudices. In short, he will use tactics he learned working the streets of Slate as an undercover agent.

Streetwise/Cha/Lvl: 1d20 + 3 + 3 + 3 ⇒ (10) + 3 + 3 + 3 = 19 For getting people to trust him enough to share information.

Edit: as he moves, he'll keep an eye out for physical evidence on the ground that might be relevant.

Espionage School/Wis/Lvl: 1d20 + 4 + 3 + 3 ⇒ (19) + 4 + 3 + 3 = 29 As Perception.

Shane will have to adjust his requisitions. It's been a busy week and I will get caught up this weekend and try to respond more quickly. Sorry for the delay.

I don't mind evidence gathering scenarios, with one exception. I've played sandbox style scenarios where if the players don't happen to think to look in certain key places or for certain key types of evidence, the whole game can bog down and it gets frustrating. As long as there are ways that things will keep going and we won't be stymied if we don't hit on the ideal evidence then I'm fine with it.

Shane finished the line he was writing and dabbed his pen in an absorbent cloth to clean out the excess ink, capped his in well, set the pen in its case, set the paperwork under a paperweight. He was the picture of calm focus. He then stood, put on his constable jacket, secured his temple sword and nunchaku at his belt along with shurikens and sling bullets, and walked gracefully to the door to wait for the others.

Hearing Ralf discuss his new abilities, he thought to the group "My Kata Master awarded me another dan, for what it's worth. And I've been working on my technique for moving around a melee while avoiding attacks that such movement sometimes leaves one open to."

Can Shane have requisitioned a +1 Temple Sword? He'd also like a MWK cold-iron nunchaku. Temple sword cost: 2330 gp. Nunchaku cost: 604 gp

I meant to do this earlier, but got busy.

Shane sat at his desk, back straight, patiently dipping pen into ink and writing neatly on the form. He could not say that he liked doing paperwork, but he decided the best approach was to do as his kata master had taught him, to focus on each moment as if in a fight for his life. Knowing what to write did not take much of his mind, leaving it free to appreciate the dry sound of pen moving across the course paper, noting the way the ink gleamed as flowed out of the pen nib but quickly spread and turned reflectionless on the paper.

When he wrote about events on the island, the memories evoked the thrill of the challenge, brought pangs of emotion as he remembered the fallen constables who had gone ahead of them, and taught him things he had failed to notice or appreciate at first glance.

When his shoulders began to get stiff, he excused himself and spent some time limbering up in the exercise gym before returning to find more blank forms in his in box.

Then there were the antics of his comrades to absorb, their comments back and forth, the discussions entered into as an excuse to avoid doing more paperwork. If he found himself flagging, he recalled the fate of his parents and why he entered the service, which inspired him to redouble his efforts to complete the work efficiently and well, in hopes it would contribute in some small way to the effort to defeat the terrorists.

He also noticed his fellow constables regarding him suspiciously for not complaining about their piles of requisitions, reports, and service briefs of ongoing investigations by other units. So he made an obligatory disgruntled remark from time to time. Next thing he knew, it was close to quitting time and he left humming a docker melody.

Sorry for delays. Recently started a new term and so my posting has been sparse this week. I'll get caught up as quickly as possible.

Thanks for the reminder on the HP.

We were given some items for the mission (potions, sunrods, etc.). I assume they go back to the supply desk when we get back.

Shane is leveled up except for possible new items. Waiting on word as to how much we have to work with for supplies and what our next mission is to do that.

Working on leveling up.

Hit Die: 1d8 ⇒ 5

I hope everyone has a great holiday and I hope ZenFox42 will be back on his feet, healthwise, soon.

Shane will have Airy carry him to the harbor and begin to explain the stand-off, terms, and what the constables promised Asabrey. Then he will maintain a position in between the marines and Asabrey as some assurance there will be no general ambush or musket fire at him.

If there is an opportunity after the work is done, Shane would seek out some local folk and ask about the mine shaft with the magic spikes and the coins to see if those are local concerns or something instigated by the Duchess. If local, he'll offer to return his coin to their service and notify the locals of the presence of some of their own hiding and possibly wounded in the cave. If instigated by the Duchess, he will report that to the leaders as something to follow up on with the appropriate experts.

Party at Constable HQ later. Shane will bring some good whisky. Well done all!

Shane sighed inwardly and rose and slowly made his way next to Jaelynn. "Asabrey. I am constable Shane Sangster, comrade of Jaelynn. We and several others single-handedly infiltrated this city, opened the gates, and let the Rishuri marines in. You may be a strong fighter, but we are prepared to defend that which we have been assigned to secure: the Duchess. You may be able to take us out, but then you have to fight the rest of the marines. Let's take the Duchess together to the bay and negotiate with the fleet leader. They will have to agree to your terms and without us, you will likely not convince them."

Diplomacy Aid, via Streetwise/Cha/Lvl: 1d20 + 3 + 3 + 2 ⇒ (12) + 3 + 3 + 2 = 20

Shane motioned for the others to rise and show themselves, so Asabrey knew what he had to deal with.

Sensing a stalemate, Shane called out to Jaelynn in a voice he hoped was loud enough for her to hear but soft enough to keep Asabrey from hearing or at least to keep him from reacting violently, "Let's take his offer. I can fly with Airy to arrange the ship."

Shane summoned the air elemental to his side to be ready to move when the negotiations settled on an arrangement.

Shane shrugged and nodded, to indicate he would agree to try to arrange a ship if would mean no more lives lost and the mission accomplished. If Asabrey had ulterior motives, that would be a risk we'd have to take.

Shane will send the air elemental closer to Jaelynn with instructions for it to defend her if anything attacks her. He readies shurikens to throw at anyone who tries to attack Jaelynn.

How far away are we all from the duchess and Asabrey etc.? If Shane were to use acrobatics and/or climb to try to get to the Duchess in a hurry, what would be his most direct path and what rolls would be needed and how long would it take?

Shane, like Tarvak, watched but saw no chance of standing up to the man with the fiery sword. He wanted to do his duty but did not feel that he would be able to stop this force of nature. He would willingly sacrifice his life for his country, but in this case, it seemed that trying to stop the man would be nothing but a futile gesture. He also couldn't muster up much sympathy for the duchess, so he remained where he was and tried to hear and remember the conversation, hoping it would shed light on the actors and plans of the conspiracy, of which the duchess was apparently only a minor portion.

Shane volunteers to go first, being perhaps better at hand to hand combat. Tarvak can cover him with his bow if need be. If stealth will help, he'll try to keep to shadows.

Stealth (Espionage training/dex/lvl): 1d20 + 4 + 2 + 2 ⇒ (15) + 4 + 2 + 2 = 23

I'll be very busy over the next five days with limited opportunities to post, so feel free to assume Shane does something useful and keep things moving. He's fine being the first to enter a room.

Shane likewise sent the air elemental back for more constables. Then he approached the metal door stealthily, not wanting to alert anyone below to their presence. He stopped when he was in a position to attack anything that came through the door.

Is the door a trap door in the floor of the tower roof or a vertical door set into some kind of structure or wall?

stealth (espionage training/dex/lvl): 1d20 + 4 + 2 + 2 ⇒ (9) + 4 + 2 + 2 = 17