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Really Pants posted:Do you intend to clean up the whole square? It might take a few hours. Hrm. Well, I guess at least see how hard it'll be to clean and how TO clean it so we can move on and leave it to someone else. EDIT: And to take a bit in a vial or something for THE LABS hahaha
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Sep 9, 2015 05:16
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I'd settle for just grabbing what we can of DRED and then getting the Sechims back to HQ, then we can figure out what we need to do and if we need other materials to do it. Only leave it to the NPCs if we can find people who won't die from it.
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Sep 9, 2015 22:56
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I might be a little quiet for a while, there was a serious accident at work, and people are trying to figure out what's going on. Meanwhile, F.R.E.D. will want to study DRED's parts and stuff to figure out if he's new or not, or one of the older builds. F.R.E.D. is in favor of sticking around to make sure the area is cleaned up.
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Sep 10, 2015 18:40
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Does Haldain/Cha want to try seeing what's up with this one and maybe talking him down, or should Takara grab him and drag him away?
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Sep 11, 2015 02:25
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Good work Spirit Therapist.
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Sep 11, 2015 15:10
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So, what do we know? Well, there's conspiracy afoot. Our point of contact for this conspiracy is the Ragman, the code-name of a shadowy creature and general boogeyman of the city. Exactly how much of the attributed misdeeds is stuff he did and how much is either rumor or just people blaming the wrong guy remains to be seen, but he's been a busy little murderer the past few days. He showed up at the Danoran consulate and murdered worker activist and fey affiliate Nilasa Hume in order to protect Consular Methan duNadria's secret. So, what's the secret? Well, duNadria has been buying up factories destroyed by the arsonists, and also was suppressing the investigation of Colonel Julian LeBrix, a consulate guard who was investigating reports of thefts from various Danoran factories in Flint and noticed that factory materials were vanishing from sealed crates between the loading and unloading of the barges. He suspects they're somehow being transported into the Bleak Gate. Further investigation reveals that duNadria was apparently coerced into doing this by the Ragman, after a series of literal fire sales brought the Ragman's attention and ended with the Ragman telling duNadria what to acquire and the consular either buying people out or burning them out after calling in the arsonist brothers (two dragonborn from Ber named Eberado and Valando). LeBrix also discovered that the factories are being used to store lympha so that they can harvest the souls of workers who die in accidents and use them as fuel. Why would you do that? Well, not only does it prove you're a total rear end in a top hat, but lympha provides magical power even in magical dead zones like Danor. Whatever they're building, it's on the scale of the Coaltongue so questions of logistics. Where are they building it, and how do they plan on running it? Well, given that this conspiracy has a habit of jumping out of Bleak Gate portals, using weird witch poo poo from the Bleak Gate and stealing stuff through the Bleak Gate, they're probably still in there. They want to kill Nevard for trespassing on an operations site, so that probably narrows down the locations a bit. Similarly, given their fondness for weird things that run on lympha, using it to power their secret project wouldn't be out of place, though they would need lots of it from somewhere. But even if it is in the Bleak Gate, where exactly would they park a construction site and how would they get the finished project back out? (I'm still confused as to if we ever actually entered the Bleak Gate. Nevard said he had a ritual that would shift us in instead of waiting for nightfall, but we might have waited for nightfall in the real world.) (also: apparently Cauldron Hill was magically shaped/created by the witches, which partly explains all the tunnels inside the hill) So, what are they going to do with it? No idea! Depends on what they're building. duNadria believed it to be some sort of war machine, which would explain the secrecy, but who exactly would it be used on? The Ragman claimed to be working for Risur, but Delft believes that the king wouldn't go for black projects, especially of the soul-burning sort. And I'm still trying to figure out what exactly it could do. Another Coaltongue would be a pretty underwhelming result since Risur's already got one (and it's quite nice). Having two of them would allow Risur to kick even more Danoran tail than usual, especially if one could sail up to the captial in the dead magic areas and just go to town, but it wouldn't do much against any more land-bound opposition. So, what do they want? Well, the Ragman claimed that they're working for the security of Risur, Leone was all about disregarding established authority or something, and the soul of one of their black ops agents thinks that they're all about revolution and/or "the greater good". While not a confirmed member, we did have a conversation with a certain mysterious cigarette smoking man who was wondering what we'd do if we had the power to impose true order without resistance. Since this is a conspiracy, the odds of one or more of these people being duped by someone operating behind them is pretty good, but still I'm wondering where one secret construction project fits into this. You can't achieve true peace without resistance just by slapping enough guns together, so there's got to be more to it (let's face it, it probably involves lots of magic). So who all is involved in this? Again, our point of entry starts with the Ragman who was operating under the identity of Roger Beckard, a nonexistant Flint constable. The Ragman was accompanied by some sort of black ops squad who were also intent on helping him recover the documents and Dr. von Recklinghausen. The Ragman was presumably slain when Bran put a Vendetta Bullet through his undead (?) heart (??), and the ops squad all died of poison before we could interrogate them. They were later reinforced by more goons along with Leone Quital, a violently domineering guy with some sort of mastery of magnetism ability and a disdain for authority figures great enough that he gave zero shits about giving us his real name. He might also be capable of helping them build things with his metal-shaping powers. Before he died, the Ragman strongly insinuated that the conspiracy had enough enough pull in Risur that it could bury our investigation through our superiors. Later we discovered that Nettles Mayor Reed MacBannin, noted expert on weird witch stuff, erased our memories earlier and his butler Cillian Creed offered to dispose of us, but was denied. Cillian Creed also mysteriously vanished as we were closing in on the mayor, who attempted to blame Creed for everything before vanishing as well along with everyone in his house. When we tracked down the arsonist brothers Eberado and Valando, we discovered that they were about to burn Thames Grisley and John Dafton, apparently after they went to the office of Parity Lake Mayor Rosa Gohins, who was using forces provided by rich industrialist rear end in a top hat Guy Goodson. Goodson's forces have all mysteriously pulled out of the city and he seems to be holing up out on his private island in the Ayres. Mayor Gohins might also have disappeared at the same time. We've also got an unknown player in the game in the form of Morgan Cippiano, who is likely a local member of the Family criminal syndicate building up power here in Flint. His associates helped out with the factory problems because they're a classier bunch of murderers than our own local homicidal tyrant, Lorcan Kell, who seems busy expanding his business out of Parity Lake with expeditions into the Nettles and the Cloudwood. I wouldn't be surprised if at least one of these groups is being used by conspiracy somehow (though the Ragman carved his way through Kell's forces in order to get to Wolfgang). Some of the guys who were probably connected to the arsonists seemed fond of shakedown tactics. So, immediate problems: -Check out that warehouse Haldain saw in a vision -Figure out what to do about Goodson and the wayward mayors -Still need to get more lympha out of factories. If you want to do any gear swapping to deal with hazardous materials, now is a good time to do it -Maybe see if our arsonists know anything (I'm curious about the minions: are they also from Ber like the brothers, or are they more local elements?) -Figure out who the helpful sniper was and maybe see if we can rescue him from the black ops guys Less immediate problems: -Find out more about this conspiracy (who's involved, what they're building, how they're building it, why they're building it, what they're going to do with it) -Figure out how they get stuff into the Bleak Gate (the rusty rings are a good start, but we could use more specifics, and try to figure out where the cargo is being pulled from the ship) -Fill in the blank: Build big thing -> ???? -> True order. Also, we have several visions from the greatest skyseer around. As fantasy prophecies, they are both inevitably true and cryptic to the point that they normally only make sense in hindsight. Study them, and theorize. Nevard's most recent batch of visions: Really Pants posted:"In my latest visions, I have witnessed a dark figure, standing atop Cauldron Hill, towering over our city. As the sun set, he cast a shadow over Parity Lake, stretching northwest into the sea, beyond the horizon. This man is born in our city, but his goal lies elsewhere. Things moved in the dark of his shadow--indeed, his shadow moved before he did, for he was controlled by others." And the one that he had a year ago that spooked the duchess into trying to destroy the Coaltongue and take over Axis Island. Really Pants posted:"When I first learned that Aodhan intended to make peace with Danor and embrace their ways fully, I began to worry. I pleaded with him to remember all that Danor has taken from us, to heed the innocents that the machine of industry grinds down in its gears, but he would not listen. I sought advice from my diplomatic counterpart, Asrabey, and was told merely that if the Crown allied with Danor, the Unseen Court would view us as enemies." Have any ideas or questions? Notice any threads? Speak up and let's get the ball rolling! Remember, it's not paranoia if they really are out to get you! 
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Sep 14, 2015 22:51
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I'm still here. I've got a funeral to go to, and then I'll start posting more frequently.
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Sep 17, 2015 00:38
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The only thing that I can suss out of all that prophecy is thatquote:"There was a man who tore himself in two, and the two fought over a woman, tearing her into three, who ran away. Mice skittered around them, collecting crumbs fallen in the rails of a trainyard. A train roared down the track past me, with no one driving it. In the distance it derailed and two of the women were crushed." Seems like a reference to what went down in Elfaivir with the tripartite goddess. That doesn't really help us any, though. I'm down to just continue to the warehouse.
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Sep 17, 2015 01:20
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Looks like the battle that killed Srasama itself took place outside of Alais Primos in Crysillyir, though the fallout turned the old Clergy capital of Methia into a dead magic zone even though it was about a thousand miles away over in Danor?
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Sep 17, 2015 02:40
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Based on what Haldain saw while speaking with the dead agent, you know that the warehouse must be somewhere in north Pine Island. How do you want to narrow down your search?
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Sep 18, 2015 15:14
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-Look at a map of the city, put some markers on the governor's palace and Cauldron Hill, try to line it up as well as the vision showed. -Check and see if there are any of the warehouses that duNadria acquired are in the area. -Check with the dockers/contacts/rumors if there's any warehouse in the area that is unused/avoided/gives off bad vibes -Once we get close, have Haldain listen for the screams of souls in lympha or possibly check for any magical signature
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Sep 18, 2015 16:50
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Oh yeah, before we leave Takara will head down to the quartermaster and trade in her Screaming Hide Armor +1 for Hide Armor of Necrotic Resistance +1. Both are level 2 and the resistance armor is common, so I don't think it should be a problem.
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Sep 19, 2015 16:14
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What, if anything, should I roll to try to remember the alignment?
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Sep 19, 2015 22:21
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Intelligence check? Alternatively something like History/Streetwise/Nature for mapping stuff?
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Sep 19, 2015 22:25
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Sorry I've been such a noshow. I'd love to give an elegant answer or big dramatic reveal on my life or w/e but the actual reason is just "Undertale"
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Sep 21, 2015 22:19
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Edited for Rakshasa goodness; I assumed that's what it was, but didn't want to say without confirmation haha.
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Sep 22, 2015 04:42
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Undertale is pretty good
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Sep 25, 2015 01:19
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Agreed.
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Sep 25, 2015 08:04
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Ok, information gathering time. Things that we can probably attempt to find out: -General layout of the building: Probably Perception, maybe also Dungeoneering or History or something? -State of the guards: Insight to get a general feel for them, plus maybe also Nature or whatever the knowledge check is to figure out their capabilities (probably similar to what we fought with King, but you never know). If they're still of the brainwashed type then talking our way past them gets more interesting. Maybe see if we can detect any patrol patterns. -General Arcana check to figure out what's going on here, maybe see if we detect lympha -Try to stick Bran's senses through a window or something, maybe see if we can get him on the roof?
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Sep 25, 2015 14:54
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Ok, getting a better picture here. Circle of Rusted Iron means there's still a way for stuff to get in or out of the Gate. Potential hostages complicate things. Could still use a Nature check to figure out how dangerous the guards are, plus maybe an arcana check to see what we're missing, like if there are any magical traps/wards/alarms. Maybe also have Bran stick his magic eye down below and take a look around corners/listen to the researchers. Potential idea might be to have Cha, Fred, Keegan and Haldain show up at the front door to talk and distract while Bran set up shop on the roof while Takara moves to deal with the hostages. Do we have legal cause to start arresting dudes or are we just being loose cannons?
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Sep 27, 2015 17:20
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Well, that looks pretty nasty. Also raises some interesting questions. We should probably try to get the rest of you around the back here so you're closer to the action, because I really don't want to go several rounds with Goodson Jr.
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Sep 29, 2015 02:56
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Well, with that last curse doing half your HP in damage if you take a standard action, I'm pretty sure you literally can't fight him alone. Curse of the Master's Scorn is pretty much the only ability that doesn't seem to completely shut down a character. Does taking down Goodson Jr end a curse?
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Sep 29, 2015 04:20
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Ending the encounter ends a curse. Derek does have to hit someone in melee, and then let them attack him, before he can ruin their day. Maybe we'll see how that goes. Hwurmp fucked around with this message at 04:27 on Sep 29, 2015 |
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Sep 29, 2015 04:22
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Anyone seen whoda thunkit? He hasn't posted in a few weeks. So, trying to figure out how to get everyone else onto the roof. FRED's amulet has two turns worth of flight on it as a daily, so that's an option (don't know if he can carry anyone while flying though), as is teleportation via Haldain's Fey Step or Cha's Docker's Jank (though that swaps places with an ally). Takara could also drop a rope down and haul someone up. Could also try to get to the roof of the adjacent building and maybe cross over from there or maybe trying to quietly KO the guards in the back. We're not the stealthiest of parties though, so maybe a distraction would work, like having FRED use Object Projection to teleport a rock or piece of scrap metal 50 feet up and away and let it fall/bounce its way down to make some noise. Keegan has a free use of Animal Messenger, though it would require finding a rat or something and waiting 10 minutes to use the ritual, but it could be used to at least confuse the guards or Derek Goodson, but that might put them on alert. Alternatively we can have one or more people go up to the back door and try to talk into the building, but that reduces our ability to ambush and also puts you within range of being hex-slapped.
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Sep 30, 2015 00:03
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whoda thunkit please give us a sign Carrying is an option, but F.R.E.D.'s Strength is low. He would fly pretty slowly while holding someone else. Hwurmp fucked around with this message at 01:20 on Sep 30, 2015 |
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Sep 30, 2015 00:22
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I could let someone stronger borrow my amulet~
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Sep 30, 2015 02:22
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Yeah, he could project the amulet over to Takara and then she could fly down, grab a dude and return. If FRED also teleported up some sort of pulley then she might be able to pull a dude up while flying down, thus transporting all four agents in two turns.
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Sep 30, 2015 02:37
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Cha awkwardly can't really add much if anything to this current situation, at least until she gets up there to join you, and...yeah, she's not real good at that part, hahaha
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Sep 30, 2015 03:14
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I wonder if we could draw Gale's attention somehow. At one point we were supposed to get this necklace to Nevard in order to get it to her, but that didn't happen. Are there any patrol ships out in the water?
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Sep 30, 2015 03:40
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You can see a couple Navy cutters but they're pretty far off, closer to Central and Bosum Strand.
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Sep 30, 2015 03:46
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Ok, if we're doing the half-orc super pulley then we need to do a few things: Phase 1- Set-up: FRED sends the amulet up to Takara along with some sort of pulley thing, Takara puts on the amulet and sets up the rope Phase 2- Distraction: Do something that gets the guards investigating the other side of the building for 15 seconds, but isn't bad enough to put the place on full alert Phase 3- Showtime. Someone grabs one end of the rope, Takara flies down and pulls them up in the process. She then flies back up with another person, and the rope is sent down again. Repeat for a second round and everyone should be on the roof.
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Sep 30, 2015 21:50
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Do you have pulley things?
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Sep 30, 2015 23:49
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I assume FRED could make one with his mental tools thing, unless that's too complicated. Takara also has a climbing kit, so there might be some parts that she can use in there.
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Oct 1, 2015 00:52
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That should be okay.
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Oct 1, 2015 01:20
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All of F.R.E.D.'s silly gimmicks are coming into play! Bran, if you borrow F.R.E.D.'s hedge wizard's gloves, you can use Mage Hand to make a distraction, too. With a decent stealth check.
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Oct 1, 2015 01:45
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I'm totally up for magical flailing with comically oversized robo-gloves
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Oct 1, 2015 09:54
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Alright, then we just need FRED to start us out with the creation and distribution of the tools.
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Oct 1, 2015 16:41
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If it matters, I assume the order was to send FRED up first as Takara descended because he's the heaviest, then bring up Cha, then Haldain and Keegan the next round. She might be able to bring up a child at the same time as Keegan since they're light, but I'm assuming the kid will get into trouble later on at the worst possible time. Of course, if we don't bring the kid up then the kid will still get in trouble at the worst possible time later on.
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Oct 3, 2015 19:09
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It seems like whoda thunkit has lost interest; I'll NPC Keegan in this encounter, and put out the call for a replacement.Really Pants posted:--Start at 4th level, with 5,475 gold. Hwurmp fucked around with this message at 22:43 on Oct 3, 2015 |
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Oct 3, 2015 22:34
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| # ? Jun 13, 2024 14:23 |
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Been wanting to get back into D&D. Lemme do the requisite reading and I might get back to you tomorrowbouts.
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Oct 3, 2015 22:45
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