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Sounds like a great time for us to level up to 6 after we just completed our first successful mission! lol Hah! Not quite yet, at some point mid next Adventure you guys will hit 6.
The Blue Bird Inn Basement Roctar turns to Frank aghast,, "Murder? I'm going to cut that f$+@ing guy'z hair off, he can haz my wife, I'm takin' eeez hair, a fair trade!" He and Lucian charge up the stairs of the Inn towards Volin's penthouse and a date with a soon to be hairless half-elf...
Hey folks, between work tomorrow evening, hanging with my daughter after that and table top Vampire Friday night. The next significant post will be on Saturday.
Me too!!! LOL. I don't bake so I didn't question it.
It was actual small piles that fell out of her sleeves RAW :-)
Lucian's Apartment "She what!" Roctar spits with rage. He grabs a dagger from the floor and stalks through the portal with Lucian following closely behind. Drummer looks to the portal and back to you Ratchet and shrugs, "Humans". "Can I just simply walk through to go back home? I have to fix my table and set up my drums again before I go to work later". Pretty nonchalant for a being that was almost just murdered a few minutes ago, but then the Warforged are not known for being overly emotional. ------------- The Blue Bird Inn Basement Viduk and Erix depart with Ziki in custody. As the rest of you are all about to depart, you see stalking through the portal Roctar with a dagger, he looks pretty pissed off. A man you've not seen before follows close by, "Let's get to the bottom of this old friend!" he howls with glee. The man following is worse for wear to be sure, eyes blood shot, he's inebriated.
Lucien's Apartment Drummer nods, "Thank you for helping me friend Ratchet. I am glad that the killer was caught, do you know why she was trying to kill us?" Roctar's eyes go wide, "Where iz my Wife then! Is she safe?" Lucian walks to the portal, "This goes to the Inn? Could you uh, leave it here?"
The Blue Bird Inn Basement The Archon reponds, "I would rather that the conversation be some place private".
Probably with some good investigative rolls is my guess. We just weren't getting the right ones at the right times. Was there much of a way for us to track her down other than waiting to ambush her? The group left off the trail of the flour a bit too soon, but then it was an odd clue. Still, she's a changeling so it would have been tough to nab her after that first murder (she was posing as a baker working at the Inn). IN fact she overheard your last conversation while you were planning there. Unfortunately for her, Drummer was made of sterner stuff as a Warforged and the kill wasn't as clean as she was hoping for, Viduk heard her and you al converged so fast she couldn't get out in time! There were a few missed rolls but overall I think the investigation went well. You identified who it was within a day and half! Actually, you probably could have prevented Borgo's murder too but Erix chose to be inside instead of on the roof when he followed Corlina. I understand the choice, he wanted to hear what they were saying in case they were the murderer but being inside instead of outside he couldn't see Ziki climbing down the outside of the wall invisibly which he would have seen had he been outside. Regardless, great job folks you saved Drummer, Volin, Roctar, and Corlina! I suppose the question is whether anyone wants to give Roctar the info that his wife is cheating is the last loose end but the adventure doesn't really address it. After the scene with the Lantern Archon and a few days of downtime for all of you, I'll start up the next adventure.
Pure coincidence. That's RAW from the adventure.
The Blue Bird Inn Basement Ziki does not respond to the responses of the group, Viduk takes her into custody. The Lantern Archon speaks, "I am here specifically for you Frank and you Gauntlet. I am willing to meet wherever you wish and so can accompany you to this Mickey P., but my time here is not endless". Ratchet exits the scene through a portal. ------- Lucian's Apartment You return through your portal, the weapons on the wall are on the floor and the two men attend to Drummer's wounds. Two potion bottle are on the table and Drummer looks essentially all healed, or is it fixed. Lucian slaps the Warforged on the back, "Lucky I had those repair potions lying around hey!?" Drummer nods back to him. Roctar looks concerned. They all turn to you, Drummer speaks first, "Has the killer been apprehended?" Proto is present seated at the feet of Drummer.
The Blue Bird Inn Basement She blinks, "There was flour?... damn the stuff gets everywhere. I must have had some on me when I left work". It appears she didn't realize she even left the flour! "I was a small time thief before my husband rehabilitated me and my child..." you see a lump in her throat form and she swallows it down, "gave me a reason to be and do better. Then it was all taken away in the blink of an eye. Why! Why don't you ask the Watch the Crown why there was no justice for me!" she holds up her hand with only three fingers. "For my little baby Zaka! Why don't you ask those questions!!! Why didn't anyone ask those questions!" She calms down, "So yes, yes I needed to become more deadly to do what had to be done, to mete out justice. Yes magic. Yes of course, it facilitates many things. No, if I had accomplices I would have sent them to distract you lot". She turns to Viduk, "Come, show me what Justice you have for a Mother. Let's see what the populace thinks of your Justice once my trial begins". Viduk remains silent, he also remains still.
Solid first case of the new Inquisitive group I think. Hope you all dug that one. Little debrief of the perp. Delve into the mystery of the lingering Archon. Then we will take a little time for the PCs to settle into Sharn, especially the just arrived PCs like Ratchet and Brennus, they barely got a chance to breathe before the action started.
The Blue Bird Inn Basement Frank grapples the foe getting glitter all over himself in the process as if he were at a house full of ladies of the night (not that Frank knows anything about that of course)! Quickly Ratchet places manacles on her and Erix confirms he saw no one else with a second from Brennus. Viduk claps Erix on teh back, "Well done. How did you all arrive here so fast?" A few minutes drag on as the invisible foe recovers from the battering received by Brennus' magic. The hits from weapons of the Party, they'll not heal so fast. The invisible becomes visible and the culprit is literally revealed before your very eyes, it is a three fingered changeling. Viduk stands above her, "Identify yourself! In the name of the Watch I place you under arrest for the murder of Svans ir'Klimansor and Borgo Delborde and the attempted murder of Drummer". She sneers, "They had it coming, they a have it coming for what happened". She states nothing further. Viduk seems to be in no rush to take her away, though silent about it, he is giving you all time to question her if you wish. Curiously, the Lantern Archon summoned by Frank is still present long after it should have returned to the Heavens.
The Blue Bird Inn Basement Erix's whip connects as she's fleeing along the ceiling. Brennus' air blast, which sends whipping down the stairs, dislodges her from her spot on the ceiling, she falls to the floor, seemingly finally stunned! Round 3 - Frank E. - You have the final action of Round 3!
The Blue Bird Inn Basement Erix swings at a figure none of you can see! Then a few moments later, the battlefield changes entirely. Drummer is gone, the figure that Erix swung at is no longer invisible as Ratchet's glitterdust outlines the figure clinging to the ceiling. Zero's attack strikes and the electrical damage sparkles the glittered figure but it remains firmly glued to the ceiling, well, not glued it's still moving and trying to get away! Gauntlet's blade appears from thin air and into his hand. The Lantern Archon releases rays of light at the foe. Light Ray 1 - Crit? - Damage - x2 HIT
Round 3 - DM ONLY: ZIKI Fortitude save DC 17
HP = 29/72
Erix: Then yes you get an AOO as she withdraws!
Erix: Whoops! Forgot you switched stances so you can now see invisible. She full withdrew by leaping to the ceiling and is spider climbing towards the stairs, when everyone runs down, she would just pass overhead invisible. Clever except you can see her...
The Blue Bird Inn Basement Round 2 DM ONLY:
ZIKI - 51/72 ROLLS:
Initiative:
Brennus Frank E Broulnindre Gauntlet Ratchet Though he cannot see her, Erix can hear her gasp as he strikes her! Round 3
Drummer is still backed into a corner, Viduk spins and places his back to Drummer as he holds his longsword out in a defensive position. As the rest of the group hurries down the stairs, by flight or by foot, you all see Erix in the middle of the cluttered basement, blood on his blade, he struck something but you don't see any foe! Against the back wall are Drummer and Viduk in defensive positions. A freaking Lantern Archon is also here, it asks Frank, "What foes vexes you here Frank E.?" On the stairs, a portal opened up, that's how Ratchet arrived. From yon portal you hear two drunken voices shout, "To arms. To arms. A Drummer must be saved!" ALL PC's GO!
Normally yes, but see above, it shall be explained soon enough :-)
Also, if you want to let summons keep their teleportation magic in general, please lemme know. No, this was a special case, which I am building into a future storyline. I just sprung it now out of convenience:-)
Well done GM! Logistics and scale were never my strong suit when I GM… Took a bit to unravel that all for sure!
The Blue Bird Inn Basement Round 2 Erix can hear the struggle down in the basement and heads down, right behind Viduk to see a Changeling swinging an axe at Drummer! He is clearly already injured, and likely, any other race but a forged would have gone down with the first hit (you can see a crease on the forged's neck). There's a damn good chance that she may have gotten away with this but for Drummer being one tough sob. Viduk yells, "In the name of the Watch, drop your weapon, you are under arrest!" DM ONLY:
Initiative: Viduk - Drummer - Ziki - Erix Viduk attack - MISS 1 - 50 & HIT 51 - 100 Actions -
The Changeling swears and reaches to her belt to grab something, it's a potion, she drinks it and disappears! Drummer steps back away from where the Changeling was, placing his back against the well, he holds in his hands the small table where his drums were seated. Viduk swears and steps forward swinging his longsword where he thinks the Changeling may be, but he strikes nothing. ERIX - GO! On the stairs above, you can all hear the arrival of footsteps...
ARRIVAL TIMELINES: Lucian's Apartment to the Inn Front Door - 2,640 Feet - 1/2 Mile Away. Roctar & Corlina's Apartment to the Front Door - 1,320 Feet - 1/4 Mile Away. Volin's Apartment to the Inn - 90 Feet Away. These distances will become largely irrelevant based on PCs actions. Round 1 - Erix arrives inside the Inn, practically next to Viduk on the
Round 2 - Erix will be IN combat.
Round 3 - Everyone has now arrived and will be in combat! OK, posting up "Round 2" now in gameplay.
Today was jam packed, I'll get to this tomorrow evening as I can stay up later on a Friday and I'm not running my table top game.
My creepy ghosts can beat up your creepy ghosts. I've got more creepy ghosts...
Sorry for the further delay, just ran out of time here, I'll get to this on my next post when I have a moment tomorrow.
Apologies, it's getting late and I still have to get to work, took a large chunk of time on a post for my Ravenloft game... :-(
That works, would you do it from within the location you are in now or try and retrieve proto first?
Is the inn where one of my portals is? Quite frankly I forgot about the Portals. How many did you have? There are 3 locations you were scouting. Volin's Apartment and the Inn are very close to one another so having a Portal between them makes sense.
This will be a fairly dynamic battle with all you arriving at different times. I'm going to make some calculations based on movement when I have a moment tonight and post some updates. Assuming Frank informs B, then I believe B can use her communicator for inform Ratchet, you will all be able to start to converge on the Inn. Let's see if you can catch this Killer!
Third Day of Vult in the Year 998 YK - Sharn - Oakbridge District Erix sees the Sentinels hiding in the shadows, damn their good, and then leaps onto the roof!
Third Day of Vult in the Year 998 YK - Sharn - Oakbridge District Gauntlet & Frank - Outside Corlina and Roctar's Apartment Frank updates Gauntlet on the position of Roctar. Still no word from Erix on Corlina. With the Deneith Sentinels watching over Volin, that should be covered. Viduk is by himself, but his communicator is out of range so only if Erix heads to Volin's will it be in range. Though based on what happened last night, there's a good chance of it. This is like not job the two had worked together before. All this standing still and waiting is... nerve wracking. Ratchet & Broulnindre B watches Ratchet sneak into the building. With Proto on the roof, B looks for another vantage point to watch from. She finds it on a nearby spire which should allow her to watch everything from where she is perched. Ratchet:
Your vantage from inside the apartment gives you a good look at Lucian for the first time. He is an old tired looking human with unhealthy yellow eyes, wrinkled pale skin and a strange dazed expression. His posture is bent and broken with weblike unkempt hair and an unkempt beard streaked with gray. He is covered in scars and burns and his right hand is missing two fingers.
Despite the war and perhaps time beating him down, you can see there is still a there, there. A presence waiting to be unlocked. On the wall hang a well kept suit of chainmail full of war decorations for valor. Next to it are a short and a long sword all pristinely kept. Despite his personal appearance, this apartment is immaculate. The topic changes from the war to post war problems. Lucian believes that agents of the Emerald Claw are still after him. Amazingly enough, Roctar brings up the other half of the group that he met yesterday, suggesting that Lucian hire them to look into whether or not Emerald Claw agents are indeed in the city! Through this all, they continue to drink and do not notice you.
Erix: The Deneith Sentinels are hiding but they're there. Nope, Volin is in his own Penthouse, has no idea you hired the sentinels. The idea was for him to act natural so as to not tip the killer off that you are onto her.
Third Day of Vult in the Year 998 YK - Sharn - Oakbridge District Erix follows and then gets ahead of Corlina with ease. Brennus follows, perching on top of the Inn giving him a view of the entrance to the Inn as well as an eye on Volin's Penthouse. Erix:
You hide in the shadows of the stairwell once more when she knocks with the familiar cadence and is ushered inside by Volin. Instead of getting down to getting down, the two begin to speak about Borgo's death.
Corlina expresses her concern that now two of their fellow Peace Circus members have died two nights in a row. Volin tries to convince her that it's a mere coincidence. She doesn't seem entirely convinced. Volin presses her to share more if she knows more but she laughs off the suggestion and they proceed with their horizontal endeavors. Ratchet meanwhile follows Roctar who heads in an all together different direction. He ends up at an apartment on the far side of the District away from the Inn. Broulnindre follows above. B remains on the roof with Proto as Ratchet heads inside. Ratchet:
Dismounting Proto, you head down into the building from the roof trying to ascertain if you can locate the apartment to which Roctar went. Luckily, the man is quite loud and the apartment is near the top of the building!
He is visiting with a man he refers to as Lucian. The two exchange "war"stories. Lucian's are quite literal as he is a veteran of the Last War and is quite proud of his kill list. Roctar's stories are of feats of strength and of bar brawls where he's bested more than one man at a time. They drink and laugh. Frank and Gauntlet wait patiently near Corlina and Roctar's apartment... unfortunately, you have no idea where any of your Party members went. Erix!: As you sit down to listen to yet more moans from the Penthouse groaning at the monotony, you receive a message from Viduk on your communicator, the killer is in the basement attacking Drummer right now!
DM ONLY: Perception
Third Day of Vult in the Year 998 YK - Sharn - Oakbridge District Ratchet produces his communicators. Ratchet, B, Viduk, and Erix each get one. With the Deneith Marshals protecting Volin, it is easier to track the last three targets. Drummer appears to never do much except perform at the Inn and then return to his room so if he is targeted and Viduk is guarding him, it makes sense for the Sharn Watch to have a communicator. The rest of the Party can focus on Corlina and Roctar. Gauntlet, Frank and B can stay on the roof with Brennus while Erix and Ratchet (with Proto) can stay on the ground in case either one leaves their apartment. This way if either one does peel off there are two of you to follow them. Brennus or B can follow by air. Brennus has his spell and B has a communicator to gather the rest of the group to a rally point or either one can back up the ground team if the killer does attack! --- As the third day draws down into night, the Party watches and listens for any movement by Roctar or Corlina. Their apartment is close enough to the roof and their window open on this cool night. Perhaps unsurprisingly, there is another argument that takes place. This time both leave the apartment and go out for a stroll.
------- DM ONLY: Stealth -
Perception ------- Perception DC 15
Passed out last night, I will update tonight!
I would say you could take 10 even while distracted. I don't think it's the sort of thing you'd want to activate mid combat anyway unless maybe you were ambushed...
I'll update this game probably by tomorrow night. We will fast forward to early evening as all the murders take place at night. We shall see if you can catch the murderer in the act this time! You were SO close last night!
OOoh!! I have Craft +12, though, I think it's maybe supposed to be for a specific few crafts, as it's a discipline skill. I never picked which one however. You can pick Craft Mechanical, I'm fine with that after all your House manages the Lightning Rail.
Nope, you can do so.
Based on living situation, Volin appears to be the most wealthy. Do you alert him to what you are doing, assuming you do it? Do you leave the rest unawares so they act more natural? Also, while the married couple live together, they should be considered two separate targets, she is clearly wiling to leave and do... whatever. He seems to be more of a homebody.
Third Day of Vult in the Year 998 YK - Sharn - Oakbridge District
Viduk nods to Gauntlet and speaks, "Perhaps Gauntlet and Brennus would recon Volin's Penthouse. Frank and B can keep an eye on Roctar. Erix did an excellent job in following Corlina and as she seems rather willing to move about, someone who moves quickly seems the best choice to watch her. I can watch Drummer. Perhaps Ratchet, you and your wondrous Proto could sit at a spot within the nexus of the three locations and come to the aid of any one of us if we identify trouble? I would say one Portal to Roctar and Corlina and your other Portal to Volin's penthouse. As a member of the Watch I'll take responsibility for safeguarding my fellow 'Forged Drummer".
@ Brennus & Erix Erix is correct. Volin's penthouse is within line of sight of the building where the Inn is located but you cannot see the Inn straightaway, just the side of the building. These two locations are perhaps 100 yards away as the crow flies, but the it is a secondary span to get from one to the other, i.e., you could fly from the front of the Inn to Volin's penthouse, but to walk you have to go up and down a lift. Roctar & Corlina's home is in another set of towers, within the same District but about a 30 minutes walk from the Inn to the west. The window in their apartment faces west as does the front of the Inn, so no line of sight between them. --- @ Ratchet - Moving Volin now would probably lead the murderer to suspect you are onto their trail. But I suppose putting at least one of the members out of reach would ten cause the murderer to focus on the other three targets. --- @ Gauntlet & Everyone Else really. Looking at the Sending spell, it's truly excellent. The problem is it's casting time. 10 minutes. Whispering Wind on the other hand, is what would work best in this situation, considering how close the locations are, the casting time is 1 round and the message is delivered the next round. --- @ Erix - House Sivis - Based on your roll. You could arrange for three members of the House to be present and willing to cast Whispering Wind for a single stake out night for 200 Gold total and a favor to be named later. You are assuming their safety so if any one of them dies it could get sticky. Generally, just a single casting of Whispering Wind is 50 gold and is made from their House location, i.e. they aren't willing to travel. House Tharashk - For 1,000 gold (a 200 gold bargain), the House can cast Discern Location but the caster must have met/seen the target of the spell or be handed an object that belonged to the target of the spell. OR For 10 gold per day (a 10 gold per day savings), you can hire a Tharashk Wayfinder to assist you in tracking the murderer. Neither of these services would result in a favor to be named later. Erix could also acquire either of these Services for free with a favor to be named later. House Deneith - For 15 gold per day (a 15 gold per day savings), the House will allow you to acquire the services of a local Sentinel Marshall (you can of course hire up to 4) to shadow the targets providing them some protection. Of course if spotted by the murderer, the murderer would probably back off... These services would not result in a favor to be named later. Erix could also acquire either of these Services for free with a favor to be named later.
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