Fatespinner:
And now on to my question for the game. Fatespinner - when do you plan on posting in-game again?
Well, to be honest I was kind of hoping to find out for certain whether Grim was actually going to be gone for good or not (so I knew if I should start NPCing him or not). Also, I'm waiting for a reaction from Phil regarding the lightning strike and subsequent inferno that has destroyed his ship. Othos is hanging out in the tavern with Gimble, Morn has gone upstairs with his prostitutes, Berzeral is en route to Othos's apartment, and Gimble is eating an almond. Heh.
I went ahead and made a spurious post in the interest of motivating people to interact and scheme a bit more. Lich, if you'd like your character to wander into the tavern at this point, that would be fine. Perhaps he's seeking a room for the night or maybe he's here to collect something from the bartender. Or maybe he's meeting with one of the grumpy men at the bar. Your call. Again, nothing that happens in the tavern is going to ruin my plans. (Just try not to kill anyone.)
Or, if you'd like, I can write your intro for you. I can assure you that it will be happening quite soon if that is what you want. I have a very good idea of how to thrust you into the plotline.
Waiting on Vatt to offer up an apartment description for Berzeral now. As for the door being unlocked, you can handle it any number of ways. Did you leave it unlocked for a reason? Did someone or something unlock it without you knowing? Does anyone else have a key? It doesn't matter to me. If you didn't mean to leave it unlocked, that means that I get to invent PLOT! Mwahahahaha!!!!
Also, still waiting for Phil's reaction to the destruction of the ship. I know he's gotta be crazy busy with the Pathfinder stuff so I might need to drop him an e-mail. Hopefully he'll come up with something to at least rejoin the group. I can handle things from there.
Or, if he prefers, I can NPC him for a short while. There's no way in hell I'll be able to do that character justice though. It's just too good!
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Hmmm... Living space...
Othos is not only a respectably skilled, if rather utilitarian, scribe - he can also scribe low-level divine and arcane magical scrolls. Thus, he has a decent stream of income to fall back on if his adventuring should fail to produce an adequate amount of revenue.
With that in mind, he rents a rather cosy little three-room apartment; while the area might not be the best, it is tidy and well kept. It has a living room with a sofa, some chairs, a round table that seats four people and some cooking amenities, a bedroom with a comfortable bed and an office full of technical volumes on the science of magic, as well as books on the propeties of monsters and charts of Faerun. He keeps his large weapons in a locked metal coffer underneath my bed, while the shield hangs on the bedroom wall. He has traced a summoning circle in multicoloured chalk on the office floor - it is non-magical and non-functional, as it is meant to be a practice pattern. Of course, it looks completely real to an untrained eye.
There are no indications on the door that a spellcaster lives here, as Othos tries to keep a low profile. The apartment's stout door is locked, but the building's caretaker can unlock any of the building's apartments.
Hey gang, I'm in Vegas this week at the GAMA Trade Show (the hobby/game industry's version of E3), so I'm a hard-workin' fool pretty much all day every day, and of course it's Vegas so there's mucho partying involved :-0 I'm back at Mount Paizo on friday afternoon, so I promise you I'll get a new post placed up there just as soon as I get settled back in and all's well.
Thanks!
Hey fatespinner... could you put me on your waiting list? This campaign looks like a lot of fun.
Sure! You'll be the only one on it. ;)
Also, Othos and Gimble are being addressed by the bartender... and a new dwarf has entered the scene. I'm waiting for a response from Vatt to continue that scene as well.
Good point about the languages. Beaky the raven thus speaks Draconic!
That will certainly be rather disconcerting to people nearby. They won't understand it, but I'll be damned if they don't peg you for a mage.
Hmmm... You are far too clever for me. How 'bout Sylvan, then? More pleasing to the ears, I wager.
Yes, that's fine. It'll make you seem like a druid (speaking the language of fey to an animal...) but then when they see you, they'll be thoroughly confused.
As evidenced by my recent post, Gimble has become my erstwhile plot beacon. Huzzah!
I love rationalizing evil. This conversation in the tavern is fantastic!
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Agreed!
Shador isn't being obstinant, he just despises protection fees for protection's sake. It's like how my friend from Russia once described the local firemen there: every month, you delivered cash or a bottle of vodka and they made sure you didnt have a fire ;)
Shador despises that kind of "protection".
And now the whole scheme has been laid out. It makes you wonder: What is the true evil here? Which is worse, greedy merchants or cutthroat assassins? Can a den of rapists and murderers really make life BETTER for the common man? No matter which side wins, it seems that the world gets a little darker.
Hence, "Fade to Black." ;)
Hmmm. I actually thought the "unfamiliar woman" in my apartment would be the disguised Berzeral, and that the victimised young woman would be asleep in bed. Well, well... I'll work this out in two hours or so. Gotta run a midterm first!
Yeah, I'm sorry about that. I forgot that he had moved her to the bed. We'll assume that, after her ordeal, she was not interested in sleeping and decided to have tea instead. Too late to change it! :(
GAH! Vatt! Quickly! Edit your last in-game post! Gimble's not with you! He waited outside for Torbjorn to come back.
Done!
Fantastic! Continuity preserved! :)
Yeah, I must have missed that tiny detail...:) Also, he can keep an eye on our friends at the tavern, too!
Yes, if Morn leaves, he'll know. He intends to lead Torbjorn to your apartment when he returns, though, so he won't be hanging around for long (hopefully).
I'm interested to find out how Berzeral reveals his ruse to the party... if he even bothers to at all, especially since his goal is to avoid traumatizing the woman.
Torbjorn showing up would not be very good for her at the moment...
Looks like we've got a double post from Grim there. No problem, though. Hehe, things are about to get interesting.
"Lucy! You got some 'splainin' to do!"
Nah, you just caught me tidying up. Generally the boards freeze up and go funny on me if I try and edit a post more than twice. I caught a typo, but it wouldn't let me fix it, so I just cut and pasted the edited post and deleted the old one. I do it all the time. Saves me a lot of fistfulls of hair trying to work with the system as written (SAW??).
Oh, that reminds me! What's the status of Malar worship hereabouts? Is there anywhere where I can get in touch with the tribe? Is it more a matter of signals (ie. slaughter a goat and hang its carcass in a certain tree, or paint a wall with its blood or somesuch?) I'd really like your help in figuring out exactly what my guy's resources are rather than just making stuff up myself--if for no other reason than you know this region a whole lot better than me (and oh, yeah, I guess it's your game too, huh?)
The info for Berzeral:
Any Malarite worship that occurs in the city itself is in the form of hunters and trappers who brave the harsh desert in search of new beasts to commune with and new prey to seek, often in the form of merchants who find themselves lost in the ensorcelled desert or adventurers who desperately search for lost relics in the sand. There is a Malarite cult that operates in the grasslands as well, assuming the properties of a ferocious pride of hunting cats. They prey on creatures that roam the open savannah, using the tall grass and their god's blessings to conceal themselves until the time is right. Occassionally, members of this cult will travel to Calimport in order to trade their spoils for new weapons, armors, and spell components but they largely avoid the city. The Hyenas, as the city's Malarite desert hunter tribe is known, have contact with the Lion's Roar (the grasslands tribe) and can usually make contact with them in a few days time. The Lion's Roar tribe possesses many of the resources Berzeral would need in this situation (namely, midwives) while the Hyenas consist entirely of warriors (and male ones at that). Berzeral knows that the Hyenas can be contacted simply by asking for them by name at their 'guild house' on the north end of town, just inside the city gates. They operate openly, but do not display the vestments of their faith in public. They also operate a trapper's cart in the Bazaar during peak times of the year, selling skins, teeth, claws, and other such things (including vials of scorpion and snake poison to those who know how to ask).
While we're detailing the local churches, here's some info for Othos as well:
Ah! The scheming has begun! Bear in mind that Shador possesses knowledge that Kaja also has connections with the Shadow Thieves. And, if you'll recall, she was reading a book all by herself in the lobby area when you left. She's the night clerk of the inn, and you can bet your bottom dollar that she'll be there... and won't take kindly to forced entry.
Of course, a waifish little black girl isn't going to stop you guys, is she? ;)
Torbjorn and Berzeral have room keys which, incidently, operate the front door as well. This will remove the need for lockpicking... at least until you get upstairs and try to get into Morn's room. It will also allow you to enter non-violently, assuming you want to (and really, what did the black girl ever do to you?).
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Indeed. But Othos does not know any of the aforementioned facts, including the grisly fate of the bouncer or any other thing beyond that the girl works the night desk. And he can probably surmise that a girl that works the front desk alone in Calimport is more capable than she might appear.
However, he has asked for input from his fellow schemers...
Sorry for a couple of posts with the wrong avatar. I tried to change them but couldn't edit the post when I discovered my error. I would like to think I am paying attention when I post, but I am just not yet in the habit of setting the proper avatar. I will endeavor to improve.
No problem. I know who you are still. ;)
Concerning Berzeral's disguise, while it is visually quite convincing, the suspicious sort might still be able to discern some of the truth through the guise using other senses. The smell for example of preserved human flesh and taxidermy herbs for example. Tactile investigation would be dangerous--but perhaps with a distraction and some sleight of hand. But yeah, since Berzeral dismissed the matron guise earlier he's pretty close to his actual appearance. Pretty much all he's hiding are his claw bracers (as normal bracers) and his totems (as more conventional belt buckle and leather strap necklace). Other than that he's pretty much as is--for the moment.
Shador is waiting on Orthos or Berzeral to make the move back toward the tavern.
Yes, Shador has a clan name. However, in my background I state that "he uses no clan name". In my view, Dwarves are proud of their clans, thus the lack of a clan name is telling. I left Shador "unnammed" as a plot hook for the DM. Why does he not wish to use his clan name? Is there a dark secret in his past that he wishes to hide? Is he ashamed of his place in life?
These are all things we can develop later if needed or desired.
I left Shador "unnammed" as a plot hook for the DM.
Man, that's like handing a 5-year-old a flamethrower in this campaign. >:)
Haven't heard anything from Grim in awhile. I've got everything else up to speed in the campaign thread. I'm interested to see how this confrontation at the inn goes.
Grim, if you want to just have Berzeral take off to run errands, nothing plot-central is going to happen to you while you're out. You can scuttle off, gather things, and return in about an hour's time (and all in one post if you like). I do want to roleplay the meeting with the Hyenas if you're planning to pay them a visit, however. They're.... interesting people.
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Just curious about the clan name - Othos would probably prefer to refer to him as "Master Blackbeard" or some such thing rather than the more informal Shador.
A technical question - I was intending to hit Kaja with a Charm person spell once I see her, and then just ask her where Morn's room is - we are his buddies and need to se him... After that, perhaps she'll even want to chat a bit with me about her connection to the Shadow Thieves? However, is it immediately obvious that she will realise that I'm casting a spell at her?
And, finally, I'm psyched at the chance to meet with the grassland Malarites, too. A whole clan of mini-Berzerals - that will be rather interesting...
And, finally, I'm psyched at the chance to meet with the grassland Malarites, too. A whole clan of mini-Berzerals - that will be rather interesting...
You read the spoiler for Berzeral, didn't you?!? Bad player! Bad! *slaps on the wrist*
For the record, you probably won't be meeting the entire clan, just a midwife and possibly a bodyguard or two.
A technical question - I was intending to hit Kaja with a Charm person spell once I see her, and then just ask her where Morn's room is - we are his buddies and need to se him... After that, perhaps she'll even want to chat a bit with me about her connection to the Shadow Thieves? However, is it immediately obvious that she will realise that I'm casting a spell at her?
Without the use of feats like Silent Spell and Still Spell, yes, the act of spellcasting will be quite obvious to anyone who is looking directly at you. However, assuming the save fails, she will disregard the action and look upon you favorably. If she MAKES the save, however... then you will likely have a problem. You would not need to roll initiative initially, though, unless you enter by force. You would effectively catch her with your spell in the 'surprise round' and thus she would not get the chance to interrupt your casting with a readied action.