So, we kicked this off,and due to some marathon sessions, have actually plowed about halfway through the second book already. We'll be running this in fits and starts,since unremitting villainy can really wear a group out.
The Players:
Asha Kell- LE Cleric of Asmodeus. A green-eyed redhead from Isger, she and her twin brother Sorin were raised in an orphanage run bythe Sisters of the Golden Erinyes. While she found much to admire in the Sisters, Asha was more pious than athletic, and opted to enter the priesthood. She is keeping her virginity, since no mortal man is worthy-she is keeping herself chaste until Asmodeus wills otherwise. Very much the team leader, she is also the lynchpin binding them together- Sorin is her brother, Lilliana met her in Egorian, and Tarok has become enamored of her in a perverse and highly pious fashion. Her adherenceto the Trickery Domain means that she shares some of her brother's gift for stealth and subterfuge.
Campaign Trait: Asmodean Acolyte (duh.)
Sorin Kell-LE Slayer. Also green-eyed and red-headed, Sorin is Asha's twin brother, and grew up in the same orphanage. Grateful to the Church of Asmodeus for raising him and grateful to the Hellknights for their role in helping secure Isger, he still opted to pursue a less formalized course of study. He remembered some of what he learned in the orphanage, but also remembered the value of remaining unobserved. He settled into Longacre because it struck him that a place so out of the way might be where enemies of the state with methods similar to his own might congregate. He fell in with Cimri Staelish (in more ways than one), adding a bit of finesse to her relatively simple schemes both to keep in her good graces and to hone her talents- he's genuinely fond of Cimri, having more love in his heart for her than for anyone save his sister. Of course, being an Asmodean murderer, his love only gets you so far. He has a bit of a reputation in Longacre, despite his existence as a "simple gardener," having severely beaten a couple of local boys who (correctly) suspected him of involvement in one of Cimri's minor misdeeds. Most people assume that he left Isger one step ahead of the law. As the campaign begins, Cimri asks him to find some talent to help with a bigger scheme, and he writes to his sister. She arrives with two others in tow,and thus, the die is cast.
Campaign Trait: Local Tough
Lilliana DeVries- LE Infernal-Blooded Sorcerer. A black-haired,blue-eyed beauty, she is the former trophy wife (now trophy widow) of Villem DeVries, a noveau-riche merchant in Egorian whose generous contributions to the Thrice-Damned House of Thrune earned him a minor noble title. After a tragic accident where he slipped on some ice and fell down an open cellar door, Lilliana is the primary beneficiary of his will... as soon as it clears the courts, where several of Villem's relatives are contesting it. Lilliana met Asha at a formal dinner her husband threw, and has enlisted some of the agents of the Church of Asmodeus to help in her legal difficulties. In the process, she has become firm friends with Asha, and the two of them are thick as thieves. Asha, upon hearing of the chance to directly serve the government thanks to her brother's word from Longacre, floated the idea to her friend that securing more prestige with the government will almost certainly help her win her court case- and besides, a trip to the countryside will help her cut costs in the meantime. She finds Sorin almost as charming as she finds his sister, and Tarok is a reassuring presence.
Campaign Trait: Chelish Noble
Tarok of Korvosa- LE Tyrant Antipaladin. A shaven headed, yellow-eyed mass of muscle and sinew, and the sole nonhuman in this merry bunch, Tarok is a Half-Orc taken in by the Order of the Nail after they massacred the orc tribe he was living with. Tarok has grown up convinced that the inherent savagery in his Orcish blood must be fought at every turn, and he has devoted himself wholly to Asmodeus. While not a full Hellknight, he clearly seeks to become one, and while no adherent to the Pentamic Faith, he was enraged to hear of the Order of the Godclaw being driven from their citadel. A devoted Asmodean, he has often worked with the church, and has made Asha Kell in particular the object of his peculiar brand of courtly love. She is hardly unaware of this, and seeing no problem with a loyal and devoted armored killing machine at her back, she extended him an invitation to accompany Lilliana and herself to Longacre as a bodyguard and strong right arm.
Campaign Trait: Hellknight Aspirant (duh.)
And Off We Go:
With this bunch, money made little sense as a primary motivator, so I decided that Fex and Razelago tipped their hand to Cimri a bit early- Louslik is suspected of being in contact with agents of the Glorious Reclamation, but proof is needed. Since an official call would risk tipping Louslik off, they want Cimri and her associates to make it look like a simple robbery, while in fact the actual goal is to steal any incriminating correspondence that can be found.
The Tannery heist went so smoothly it was almost boring- Sorin and Asha both had respectable Stealth scores, so they'd scout ahead with Cimri, then have Lilliana the charisma-empowered spell-slinging machine dump Sleep spells as needed (One for Abbie, one for the Gong farmers, one for Archie, and one more for Jabral), while Tarok (Mister Darkvision) brought up the rear to make sure they didn't miss anybody, and to tie up sleeping targets and blindfold any humans in case they woke up.
Having gotten in without killing anybody, they ransacked the office, taking the tannery lockbox and a bunch of correspondence from Jabral's desk. The meeting with Razelago went smoothly (since, after all, they figure he represents the State), and they spent a fairly quiet night resting up for their next batch of orders... except Sorin, who spent the night with Cimri,to his sister's mild annoyance ("So unprofessional!")
The next day, they got the sermon job- And Lilliana and Tarok(!) turned on the charm to pick up local rumors- her Charisma is much higher, but he rolled asininely well- while the Kell twins stood around flanking Cimri like red-headed bookends- which put them front and center when Sheriff Rhona showed up to start asking questions. On the second go-around, where she mentions "shady friends," Asha very politely introduced herself, tossing some comments about "I have no idea what my dear brother must have done since he moved here to give you that impression, but I assure you, I'm just here to visit family and get away from Egorian for a bit. So you're Cimri's aunt? My brother thinks the world of her, and he's mentioned your care and consideration more than once."
Respectable Bluff result, beat the Sheriff's Sense Motive like a drum.
On the piety question, I gave Asha a hefty bonus, since she's an actual Cleric and claimed it was her idea to go take in some religious instruction- "All lawful faiths have a place in Cheliax, after all."
Sorin floated the question about the Tannery heist, in a way I particularly enjoyed- he muttered that he'd "been busy," with a meaningful look at Cimri and a tilt of the head to "accidentally" show off a bite mark on his neck.
As for the sashes, Asha piped up that her friend Lilliana had suggested them, since it was through her titled connection to the nobility that Fex had graciously extended them the hospitality of Longacre,and they were just being polite.
So far, so good. The Sword Knight issued her sermon, then, after she pulls a fade, Lilliana dusted off her absolutely bonkers-insane Diplomacy to convince people that a true servant of Iomedae- "Such as the good woman who just spoke with such conviction" -would not be hiding in the woods,since, after all, "the faith of the Inheritor is still respected in Cheliax." Boom. Headhost, natural 20. I am appalled.
They headed back to their temporary housing to await the coming day- with Tarok and Asha sharing a lively theological discussion, Lilliana composing a fulsome letter of praise of Fex's handling of his domain to post back to Egorian, and Sorin and Cimri sitting up on the rooftop sharing a flask and talking about her aunt.
The next day was spent posting Fex's decrees- Sorin took note of Doctor Rohalendi's reasoned queries and decided to try and keep tabs on her. Tarok scared the living hell out of the gatekeepers Bo and Dent via the Sonny Liston method of just "lookin' at 'em" while Asha went about nailing up the decree. At the tavern, Bolgart pitched his chili right into Lilliana's face, utterly ruining her coiffure and earning him a rather strained look from Tarok and Sorin, but Asha quietly but firmly suggested that they just leave, and the group did so- but not before Tarok informed the restaurateur that "I'll remember you" in his player's best "Just saw Hotel Rwanda" voice.
At the Sheriff's office, things went a little... well, oddly. None of Sheriff Staelish's scripted comments about "thugs" would have made a heck of a lot of sense based upon their actions to date, so I had her save the rough side of her tongue for Sorin (who, after all, had been quite open about his sexual relationship with her niece), who, for his part, adopted a hilariously cheerful level of concern for "Auntie," wondering aloud "but who will protect us now?"
I suppose you had to be there.
The deputies' ambush, alas, ended up targeting Tarok, who, delighted to finally have chance to hit something, one-shotted the first of them with a nasty crit off of his longsword.
Seeing one of their own beheaded outright, the others tried to run, but Tarok wasn't having it, and he hacked down a second after charging him. The still be-chilied Lilliana hit the third with a Sleep spell, and Asha hit the last with a Command to "fall." Then Sorin trotted over and gave the prone guy a good kicking. They hauled the two living deputies into the cells, then Asha took the dead guys over to the church of Iomedae, "to see to it that their remains are decently treated." And, of course, to get the story of a "regrettable scuffle gotten out of hand, but my bodyguard does take his duties seriously, do let us know if there is anything we can do for their families."
Having gone from smooth, calm and collected to double homicide that everyone in town knew about, the merry band, pleading self-defense, headed for home and an invitation to meet the Archbaron the next day.
The meeting with Fex went pretty well- with four Asmodeans, two of whom are downright fanatical, swearing the Hellfire Compact is no big deal,and they didn't even bat an eye when Razelago turned out to be a devil- Tarok actually favored him with a bow.
When told to arrest Bolgart, Tarok gave a nasty grin, but Lilliana called dibs- a vain noblewoman was perhaps an unwise choice for dousing with chili.
Off to the tavern they went. Sorin took the lead, telling the assembled townsfolk that "it'd sure be a shame if I had to note down any of the faces I see in here," making his Intimidate check with aplomb.
Lilliana made a beeline for Bolgart, while Asha and Tarok provided support, and Sorin sat down to finish some farmer's beer for him,keeping a level eye on Riley Kels the entire time. As soon as Bolgart flared up, Sorin tagged Riley with a thrown dagger, while Asha hit one of the barmaids with Cause Fear- sending her screaming out the door, Lilliana tagged Bolgart with Daze, and Tarok dropped the other Barmaid with a smack from the flat of his sword. After that it was over in a hurry, with Lilliana giving the trussed and bound Bolgart an Acid Splash in the face by way of payback.
While Tarok, Asha, and Lilliana dragged Bolgart off to jail, Sorin decided to interrogate poor Riley. After making his Intimidate check, Sorin commented that Riley's lute seems to have gotten him into trouble, then, using his hand axe's blunt side, he proceeded to break the fingers of Riley's right hand, then beat him unconscious with his lute and tossed him out into the street... before finishing his beer.
Just another day on the job for a guy nobody is going to believe is just a gardener anymore.
The next day, Mister Ingoe offered his services, and Lilliana took him up on it, since she had gold to burn. Sorin posted up at the Sheriff's office, "playing" Riley's broken lute for Bolgart and keeping an eye on anyone who seemed too friendly or sympathetic to the barkeep. Tarok stayed inside, ostentatiously sharpening his sword in front of the imprisoned deputies (whose friends' heads it had severed). Asha and Lilliana played "good cop" to these extremely bad cops, listening sympathetically to the families of the slain deputies, shooing Tarok away when letting in visitors to see the imprisoned ones, adjudicating some lenient rulings on some of Fex's decrees.
The next day, Ingoe brought the first letter from Doctor Rohalendi by, and Lilliana and Asha decided to keep it to themselves- since Sorin and Tarok seemed prone to rash action. The boys swapped places for the day, with Tarok resting his feet on Bolgart's backside, while Sorin sat inside, telling nasty stories to the deputies and assuring them that even if they were released, he'd make sure to find them in his own good time.
So that night, Bolgart made his move. Alas, his insults just drew more of the same in response, so he had to break out on his own. Entrar Tarok, Smite Good in full force, and Sorin, having Studied the guy during the round of his transformation, while Asha cast Doom on Bolgart and Lilliana lets fly with Acid Splash. The fight...does not go well for poor Bolgart. Tarok smacked him around with Headtaker (his utterly mundane Masterwork Longsword), while Sorin flanked and feinted and just generally kept him off-balance.
So Headtaker claimed another,and an order was sent up for a stronger pillory. Two days later, the Cockatrice in a box arrived,almost petrifying Asha, and Sorin led the hunt for the "morons who want to die" that had sent it. Having brought the two farmhands in with what might generously be termed "excessive force," Sorin crammed them both into the same cell as one of the deputies,and told them that if they didn't stop crying, he'd give them something to cry about- these words said, bear in mind, to a pair of men who had been beaten almost to death.
The next day saw Zaggar's visit. The two Isgeri wanted to kill him out of hand, but Lilliana persuaded them to let her meet with him with Tarok in tow and see what he knew.
Having gotten his information, she told Tarok to "remove this loathsome beast"- which was also the cue for Sorin and Asha to break cover and help kill him. Scratch one hobgoblin.
Cue week two!
So, Sorin started taking Cimri under his wing a bit more, explaining that he liked that she tried to be true to herself first and foremost.
The group dutifully trooped out and slaughtered the Ovinnik in the castle gate, then, the next night, found the Allamar brothers trying to orchestrate a jailbreak. So the new pillory got broken in by the twins, while Asha sat beside them, reading them excerpts from the Acts of Iomedae on the importance of law and order.
The next day, Ingoe passed the second of Doctor Rohalendi's letters along, but Lilliana still counseled caution.
When, the next day, Fex passed along his execution request, Asha took up the task of announcing the clemency of their decision- "All of the other prisoners in custody are breadwinners or only children. Sword-Knight Allamar knows the importance of the Law...and for sacrificing one of her sons, we gratefully release the other,the better to comfort his mother in her grief."
Things got a bit hectic after that. The rioters were ill-prepared to deal with Tarok and Asha's coordinated use of his melee and her Selective Channel Negative Energy, while the figure Sorin almost immediately recognized as "Lefty" Kels had to deal with his horse being Dazed by Lilliana. "Lefty" got unmasked in a hurry...and then Asha called out to Sword-Knight Allamar that "Iomedae and Asmodeus have answered our prayers, your sons may both go free. A greater malefactor, one who would lead such trusting youth astray, has revealed himself."
And thus did Riley Kels manage to save the life of one of the Allamar twins, by taking his place on the gallows... and Headtaker got yet another notch in its hilt.
The next night, Sorin caught Jemmy Kemmaino flinging horse dung at the Sheriff's station, and walked her home, singing her a song from the orphanage, and reassuring her that "I'm not a monster, you know." He gave her parents a nice, big smile (which seeing as he'd lived in Longacre for a couple of years without letting on that he was a ruthless killer, was quite the hair-raiser), then headed back to the office.
Week Three and onward... tomorrow.