The Secret Society [Take that, Fourth Wall!] [3.5 Gestalt, Eberron]

[sazzer]

The 16 Questions
What game system are you running?

D&D 3.5

What 'type' or variant of game will it be (i.e"Shadow Chasers" or "Agents of Psi" for d20 Modern)? What is the setting for the game (eghistoric period, published or homebrewed campaign setting, alternate reality, modern world, etc.)?

Eberron

How many Players are you looking for? Will you be taking alternates, and if so, how many?

5

What's the gaming medium (OOTS, chat, e-mail etc.)?

Here.

What is the characters' starting status (i.eexperience level)?

Gestalt - Level 5

How much gold or other starting funds will the characters begin with?

Standard.

Are there any particular character classes, professions, orders, etc that you want..or do not want? What are your rules on 'prestige' and/or homebrewed classes?

Any.

What races, subraces, species, etc. are allowed for your game? Will you allow homebrewed races or species? 'Prestige' races or species?

Any

By what method should Players generate their attributes/ability scores and Hit Points?

4d6b3 with one complete reroll. Max hp for first level, roll for all others.

Does your game use alignment? What are your restrictions, if so?

Nothing evil.

Do you allow multi-classing, or have any particular rules in regards to it?

Nothing beyond the Gestalt rules - will get too complicated otherwise.

Will you be doing all of the die rolling during the course of the game? Will die rolls be altered, or left to the honor system? If players can make die rolls, which ones do they make, how should they make the rolls, and how should they report them?

Players roll all dice that they know they should be rolling - E.g. Player roles active searching, I'll roll passive listen checks...

Are there any homebrewed or optional/variant rules that your Players should know about? If so, list and explain them, or provide relevant links to learn about these new rules.

* Gestalt characters - from d20srd.org
* Taint rules - from d20srd.org
** Fortitude saves used to save against it.

Is a character background required? If so, how big? Are you looking for anything in particular (i.e. the backgrounds all ending up with the characters in the same city)?

Required to explain up to how/why you are a member of the society.

Does your game involve a lot of hack & slash, puzzle solving, roleplaying, or a combination of the above?

Will depend on how it all goes, but aiming for an even mix.

Are your Players restricted to particular rulebooks and supplements, or will you be allowing access to non-standard material? What sources can Players use for their characters?

Any, but make it clear what comes from where.
Anything that isn't standard will need to be verified by myself - just to ensure nobody slips in the "Fireball of Instant Kill My Enemies" (tm)...


Characters
{table=head]Player|Character|Race|Class 1|Class 2
Lix Lorn| Emily Crest (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheetview.php?sheetid=210139)| Human| Swordmage |Wilder

The-Mage-King| Ezekeil (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheetview.php?sheetid=209996)| Human| Warblade| Egoist

Demons eye|Justin Tindertwig (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheetview.php?sheetid=210180)|Human|Warlock| Binder

unre9istered|Frahraek (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheetview.php?sheetid=205218)|Warforged| Dragonfire Adept|Totemist

Arq Kugos |Arron Questef (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheetview.php?sheetid=177128)|Human|Ranger|Warblad e
[/table]

Background
You are all a member of a secret society based out of Fairhaven in Thrane. The society has a mandate of hunting down and ridding the world of evil - real deep evil like Liches and Necromancers.

Recently, diviners for the society have picked up a large level of tainted ground in the Mournland, due east of Eston. Quickly, a group was put together to investigate this and report back what was discovered. You are this group...

You have all been summoned from your various endeavours back to Fairhaven to attend council in the old, presumed abandoned, Cathedral of the Silver Flame.

Maps


Getting fluff for the city from here (http://community.wizards.com/go/thread/view/75882/19786638/Cities_of_Khorvaire). Note that the maps aren't mine, but if necessary I might alter them to suit... The cathedral is in the Halls of the Host segment in the Sovereign Ward of the city.

Map of Fairhaven (http://media.photobucket.com/image/thrane%20fairhaven%20map/Roc254/Fairhavencopy.jpg)

Map of the Soverign Ward (http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f81/Roc254/SovereignWardcopy.jpg)

[unre9istered]

Frahraek

Frahraek arrives at the cathedral early, hours early. He chooses an out of the way spot and stands motionless, awaiting the council. If not for how out of place he is for the decor of the cathedral, he could almost be just another statue.

[The-Mage-King]

Ezekiel

In the rafters of the cathedral, Ezekiel waited, watching for the person who sent the message to show up.

Is there an OoC thread for this?

[Lix Lorn]

Emily And Nightwing
"Is anyone here?" called the raven familiar, as he fluttered around Emily's head. She walked into the cathedral, looking around.

[Arq Kujos]

Arron

"No one but us." came a call from seemingly no where. A hand rose up from behind a pew in the cathedral. Take a seat and get comfortable. They probably plan to keep us waiting until everyone arrives." After he finished speaking, a long pause of silence followed. A loud yawn broke the silence as the hand disappeared back down beneath the pew.

[Lix Lorn]

Emily And Nightwing
"Well, that's irritating." said Nightwing.

[The-Mage-King]

Ezekiel

"Greetings." A voice echos through the cathedral, though it sounnds like it comes from the rafters.

"I... am Ezekiel. I am most definitely not Evil." It continues.

[Arq Kujos]

Another yawn responds to Ezekiel's claim. "Nice to meet you. I'm Arron."

[Lix Lorn]

Emily and Nightwing
"That's a suspiciously specific denial." said Nightwing. Emily rolled her eyes.

[The-Mage-King]

"No it isn't. I am stating directly that I am not Evil. Though that should be obvious, considering that I have a job in the order." The voice responds quicker than might be expected.

[unre9istered]

Frahraek

"I Had Considered The Possibility That This Meeting Was A Trap, Given The Unusual Location, The warforged intones. I Am Gratified To See That All Of You Seem To Have Questions Similar To Myself.

OOC:I Foresee A Large Number Of Edits To Maintain The All Primary Letter Capitalization Precedent I Have Set. (no I don't normally talk like this)

[Arq Kujos]

Ral

"Just because we all have questions doesn't mean this isn't still a trap. Still, you live your life afraid of being caught in traps, and one day you will find yourself correct."

[Lix Lorn]

Emily and Nightwing
"Riiiiight." replied the raven to the Not Evil man. "Course..."
He turned to the Warforged.
"Greetings." he said. "What's with all the capital letters?"

[Demons_eye]

A large snoring starts in the rows of sets in the far back, loud as a banshees yell. A equally loud yelp is herd followed by a blast being sent off to the roof. "Damn" A young male voice says "I did it again." He looks up to find a group of people and says "Oi you the lot I am meeting here."

[Lix Lorn]

Emily and Nightwing
"Think so." cawed Nightwing loudly. "Who are you?"

[The-Mage-King]

There is a crash above, followed by a humorous thump as an oversized katana impacts blade first with the floor, a man with silver hair and greyish eyes standing on it.

"That almost hit me, you careless fool." He says, glaring at Justin with great annoyance in his eyes.

[sazzer]

A man fades into visibility at the front of the cathedral, in the large open space near the altar. "Everyone is finally here then?"

[Lix Lorn]

Emily and Nightwing
"Think so." said Nightwing.

[The-Mage-King]

"I suppose..." Ezekiel adds, removing his sword from the floor and seathing it at his right side.

"So what are we here for? Is there an invasion of demons in an orphanage somewhere, and we need to go kill everything in it?"

[Lix Lorn]

Emily and Nightwing
"Except the orphans... Mr-Not-Evil." smirked Nightwing.

[Arq Kujos]

"Are you always so gung ho about killing orphans? Geez..." Arron sat up, this time reveiling a very bad case of bed head. He reached up and patted his hair back down and then stood up. He reached down and produced two large bastard swords and a finally crafted bow made of bone and metal. He placed his weapons on his back and then nodded. "Alright, why are we here?"

[The-Mage-King]

"Oh, yes. Because that would be wrong." Ezekiel replies, shiftily looking around. "Unless they attacked us first, of course."

[sazzer]

Keeping a cautious eye on Ezekeil, the man responds "We have received intelligence that something profoundly evil is occuring in the Mournland. Unfortunately we have no eyes in that region of the world, and so we have need for you to go and investigate what is occuring."

[Lix Lorn]

Emily and Nightwing
"Evil in mournland, got it." said Nightwing.

[sazzer]

Glaring at the bird "You mock? Remember this is the Mournland we are talking about. The grave of Cyre. It is an evil place in its own right, so for our diviners to have detected such a point of evil coming from inside of it can only hint at the magnitude of the problem we may face here...

[Arq Kujos]

"That is very vague. How did you come across this intelligence? By sending people like us to their demise?" Arron seemed suspicious but he waited patiently for a response.

[sazzer]

"Our intelligence sources should not concern you, but I will tell you that we gathered this knowledge from the concentrated efforts of many dozens of powerful Diviners who's sole job it is to hunt out such threats that we may deal with them before it is too late"

[Arq Kujos]

Glaring at the bird "You mock? Remember this is the Mournland we are talking about. The grave of Cyre. It is an evil place in its own right, so for our diviners to have detected such a point of evil coming from inside of it can only hint at the magnitude of the problem we may face here...

"Be that as it may, it is as you said. The Mournland is a very evil place. Is it not possible that your diviners are mistaken or overwhelmed by an existing evil taint?" Arron stopped himself and bowed. "Forgive my rudeness. Where exactly in the Mournland are we being sent to investigate?"

[unre9istered]

Frahraek

"The Very Question I Would Have Asked. If The Location Of This Threat Is Not In Close Proximity To Any Of The Known Menaces Within The Mournlands, And It Is A False Reading, Then We Only Need Be Concerned With The Typical Mournland Hazards. If We Were Not Capable Of Withstanding Those Threats Then We Would Not Have Been Summoned For This Assignment," The warforged conjectures.

[Demons_eye]

The man crawls out his row to get a better look at the group and to also listen better. His red hair and red eyes seem more alive then his fatigued stat suggests. He tries to climb over another row before hanging over it, deciding it was not worth the effort "Sod it, Mournland again? I hate the place."

[sazzer]

"It seems to be near, if not in, what used to be Eston before the last war tore Cyre asunder and left the Mournland as it now is"

[Lix Lorn]

Emily and Nightwing
"No disrespect intended." said Nightwing, dipping his beak. "So... a lot of dark energy... we could do with stocking up on resistive charms."

[The-Mage-King]

"Hm... How long is this going to take?" Ezekiel asks, slightly shiftily. "Because I have an appointment back here in a month and four days..."

[Demons_eye]

The make laves back in the sets throwing his leg over the back of the row "Dealing with evil? Wont end. I would free up your appointments for a while if I were you."

[The-Mage-King]

"I meant this specific mission. It's a vital appointment for me."

[unre9istered]

Frahraek

"I Have Not Required Such Charms In The Past; Metal And Wood Seem Less Susceptible To Such Corruption. However, Prudence Dictate That Minimal Precautions, At The Least, Be Taken," the warforged claims.
"It Is Approximately 1000 Miles To The Mournland Border Over Land. Even If We Purchase Passage On The Lightning Rails Or A Ship, It Is Improbable We Would Be Capable Of Returning Before Your Scheduled Rendezvous."

[sazzer]

It will take as long as it takes. Your duties to the society come first, as you should know. Of course, if you wish to leave the society, and all the privileges therein...

[The-Mage-King]

"Oh well. I guess I can miss this meeting."

[Demons_eye]

"Damn 'it will take as long as it takes' was my second guess..."

[Lix Lorn]

Emily and Nightwing
"We'll be around as long as we need to be." said Nightwing.

[sazzer]

Very well - if there is nothing else...

[unre9istered]

Frahraek

"Will We Be Receiving Any Support For This Assignment? Such As Supplies, Funding, Or Equipment." the warforged inquires.

[Arq Kujos]

"Or transportation? You didn't mention how we are getting there."

[Demons_eye]

"Legs always took me places I wanted to go" Justin offers.

[The-Mage-King]

"What about target descriptions? It would be a terrible shame if we wound up accidentally killing innocent..." Ezekiel starts, trailing off as he sees the looks he's getting.

"I wasn't going to say 'orphans'! It was 'kittens', this time!"

[sazzer]

Compensation will be provided on your return, as is standard. Transportation can be supplied to Eston, but from there you will be fending for yourselves. As for targets... glaring at Ezekiel if we knew that your services wouldn't be required...

[sazzer]

I presume you have no further questions then?

[The-Mage-King]

"None from me."

[unre9istered]

Frahraek

"I Also Have No Further Questions For You, Sir," the warforged states.
Then he turns towards the group and queries, "How Shall We Travel?"

[Lix Lorn]

Emily and Nightwing
"I expect we have little choice but to travel under our own power." said Nightwing, shrugging.

[unre9istered]

Frahraek

"We Were Informed That Transportation Would Be Provided To Eston. We Should Discuss Whether to Travel By Land Or By Sea, Unless Accomodations Have Already Been Made?" The warforged turns to look at the society representative.

[Demons_eye]

Justin, who appears to have fallen asleep again, looks up sleepily "Whosiy whatsit? I am ready to head out, just tap me on the shoulder when we do."

[sazzer]

Arrangements have been made to Shift you this evening, from here to the remains of the church of the Silver Flame in Eston. Unless you would rather walk?

[Lix Lorn]

Emily and Nightwing
"I like the shifting option." said Nightwing.

[unre9istered]

OOC:Do we have an OOC thread yet?
Also, what is Shifting? Is that the Dragonmarked houses teleportation?

[sazzer]

OOC:Do we have an OOC thread yet?
Also, what is Shifting? Is that the Dragonmarked houses teleportation?

No OOC thread - it's called "Take that, Fourth Wall!" so I figured you might be able to do without, but if you really want one...

Shift isn't a spell or power at all - it's just the term the Society uses for Teleport

[Demons_eye]

Something like shifting snores out of Justin's mouth.

[unre9istered]

Frahraek

"I Have No Preference. However, For The Sake Of Ezekiel's Appointment, Shifting Would Be Expeditious, the warforged offers.

[The-Mage-King]

"Shifting sounds better to me."

[sazzer]

Take the remaining hours to prepare yourself and return back here by 6 this evening. And with that the man vanishes as suddenly as he appeared

[unre9istered]

Frahraek

"I Am Uncertain, the warforged complains, "Do You Non-Forged Frequently Cease To Exist Part Way Through An Action In That Manner? I Have Not Witness That Occurring In The Past...Bah! Never Mind, He Reappeared In The Edit."

[Lix Lorn]

Emily and Nightwing
"That'd probably have been a typo." said Nightwing. "It happens."

[Arq Kujos]

"Try not to hold it against us. We humans aren't as infallible as you forged ones."

[The-Mage-King]

"Yeah, some of us can't even tell the difference between an orphanage and the home base of an Evil cult... " Ezekiel adds, walking out of the church.

"Why are they holding that one time against me?" You hear him mutter as he leaves.

[Arq Kujos]

"There is a fine line between fallible and incompetent." Arron mutters under his breath.

[The-Mage-King]

"I heard that!"

[unre9istered]

Frahraek

"I Certainly Would Not Refer To My Kind As Infallible. However, I Am Unaware Of That Particular Failing," the Warforged confides.

[Arq Kujos]

"I heard that!"

"And I don't care." Arron said calmly.

:smallbiggrin:

[The-Mage-King]

"Yeah? Any clerics you'd recommend for healing?" The voice comes back, despite the speaker being well out of earshot and speaking range.

"Ooh, look! I edited it!"

[sazzer]

Ok - who's doing what?
For the sake of argument, I'm going to say that it's currently late morning, so you've got ~6 hours to do whatever you want/need to do and be back if you don't want to walk ;)

[unre9istered]

Frahraek

Possessing no funds to further equip himself for the trip and with nothing better to do, Frahraek returns to the alcove, hoping the time passes in a brief sentence or two as it sometimes does. The alternative is very boring for him.

[Demons_eye]

Justin wakes from his short nap and gets up. Dusting himself off he mutters "two sec's" and walks outside. He starts to draw an elaborate circle with many lines in it. The ending result might look like a mirror with a twig in it to some people, at lest thats what it looked like to Justin, and he starts to chant a name over and over.

In the circle a five branched star rolls in with satyr hove for feet. The thing has two faces, a hag, kind in voice and manors, and a leonine that seemed stuck in an angry mood. Even in the circle the star moves from hove to hove when talking.

After many riddles are answered Justin himself grows some hove and walks back in side muttering about an unfair riddle. He sets down in row again but this time he is wide awake and looks a the party "You know why a writing desk is like a raven?"

[The-Mage-King]

As the bell rings to designate the proper time, Ezekiel walks back into the church, wiping a red liquid off of his oversized katana.

"What?" He asks, looking at the rest of the party. "Do you really-"

The protest is cut off by a scream of horror from outside.

"His intestines are all over the wall!" Someone yells, barely audible in the church.

"..." Seph Ezekiel pauses, seeing the looks he was getting.

"He detected as 'Evil'. Seriously. I used 'Detect Alignment' and he detected as Evil. And then he hit my hair." He protests, pointing out a broken strand of hair on his head.

[unre9istered]

Frahraek

Glad that the passage of time has gone by without even so much as hearing the intervening hours being rung, the warforged comments, "There Are Interesting Sounding Bells In This City. Most That I Have Heard Have The Normal Ringing Sound. The Screaming Sound Is An Interesting, Though Disturbing, Change."

[Lix Lorn]

Emily and Nightwing
"That would be the 'self defence' of our 'Not Evil' companion." said Nightwing dryly.

[sazzer]

Am I right in thinking that nobody has anything they want to be doing before heading off?

[unre9istered]

OOC:I'm good to go.

[Lix Lorn]

Yep, we're ready.

[The-Mage-King]

Stabbed stuff. I'm good.

[Demons_eye]

Did what I had to

Setting my augmentations to +2 to hit

[sazzer]

When you finally all arrive back to the cathedral, you find the man from before stood there plus two younger men who look to be wizards. You have returned then. Good. I'm afraid that we can only spare the resource to shift you to Eston two at a time, due to commitments elsewhere. We do not foresee this being an issue since there is no way anyone can be expecting your presence there, but all the same it would be good to be prepared just in case... Now, which of you are going first?

[Lix Lorn]

Emily and Nightwing
"We will." said Nightwing.

[The-Mage-King]

"And so'll I. I'm the best swordsman you've got. I can run interference whiel the rest are being warped in." Ezekiel adds, wiping the last of the blood off his no-dachi and concentrating for a moment, causing the blade to glow.

"Right. I just invested some of my power in this baby. I'll be ready for whatever comes at us."

[unre9istered]

Frahraek

"I Also Volunteer To Be In The Vanguard." The warforged says.

OOC:Doesn't the share spells ability mean that a wizards familiar count as a separate creature for teleport? I'm not sure if that's what Nightwing is, but I thought I'd put it out there.

[sazzer]

For the sake of being a contrary bugger (:smallsmile:), yes the familiar needs his own teleport casting on him...

[The-Mage-King]

OoC: Then the warforged and the not evil swordsman should go first.

[Lix Lorn]

I think the rules say he doesn't, but if you're gonna rule Zero. XD And yes, he's a familiar. I used the Obtain Familiar Feat to get him based on her Swordmage levels.
Emily and Nightwing
"The two of us will need to go together, I think." said Nightwing, nodding at Emily. "We'll do fine."

[sazzer]

The rules state "The familiar must be within 5 feet at the time of casting to receive the benefit. If the spell or effect has a duration other than instantaneous, it stops affecting the familiar if it moves farther than 5 feet away and will not affect the familiar again even if it returns to the master before the duration expires". Technically that's when you cast the spell on yourself, but there's nothing I can (quickly) find that covers when someone else casts the spell on you.

The normal Teleportation spell is Instantaneous, but the Shift power that the mages of the society are using isn't...

[Lix Lorn]

It's not instantaneous? What is it then..?

[sazzer]

It's not instantaneous? What is it then..?
Slower than Instantaneous... :P As in - it takes a non-zero amount of time to get from A to B...

[Lix Lorn]

...well, can you tell me the exact wording? XD

[sazzer]

...well, can you tell me the exact wording? XD

I *could* but that'd spoil the surprise... ;)

Shift isn't a real spell, so there is no wording, but it takes 1 minute per 100 miles travelled...

[unre9istered]

So the first group will arrive 6 or 7 minutes ahead of the second?

[Lix Lorn]

Isn't that casting time, rather than duration? I mean, it doesn't run out and suddenly ping them back.

[sazzer]

Casting time is how long from starting casting until the spell takes effect. Duration is how long the spell takes effect for. Teleport - and thus Shift - has the effect of moving the target to the Astral Plane and moving them from source to destination. Once the duration ends, the target transfers back to the Material Plane wherever they happen to be.

[Arq Kujos]

"Why not have me go first? I can scout out dangers ahead of the group and prepare a defense against them if needed. Just because no one is supposed to expects us doesn't mean some isn't expecting us." Arron stretched as he spoke, leaning to the left and then the right.

[Demons_eye]

"Draw straws?" Justin offers and picks some up making sure that they are even then brakes them so there were 3 sets of matching.



If you want to use this here it is.

Number|Person
1-2|Emily & Nightwing
3|Ezekeil
4|Justin
5|Frahraek
6|Arron


[roll0] First group
[roll1] First group Ignore if Emily or night wing is above

[roll2] Second group
[roll3] Second group Ignore if Emily or night wing is above
[roll4] Second group reroll if needed
[roll5] Second group reroll if needed Ignore if Emily or night wing is above


Last two go together


If we use this then Emily and Nightwing first then Ezekeil and Justin with Frahraek and Arron pulling the rear.

[Lix Lorn]

Any travel spell that sends you back at the end is a waste of a spell slot in my eyes, but hey. :/
Emily and Nightwing
Emily nodded in satisfaction upon the draw.

[The-Mage-King]

"Noooo!!! My power points are going to be wasted if I don't lead!" Ezekiel overdramatically says, looking at his drawn straw.

[sazzer]

It sends you back *to the Material Plane*, not to where you came from. Any travel spell that left you adrift in the Astral Plane is kinda useless/dangerous if you ask me...

[Lix Lorn]

Well, sure you need a way back, but that's why you prepare two Plane Shifts. (Shrug) It's irritating not having control.
Emily and Nightwing
Emily glared at him, and Nightwing translated her few short handsigns.
"She says that she's bored as hell and doesn't give a... bar of soap about your power points."

Emily glared at Nightwing.
"She said it ruder than that." he clarified.

[The-Mage-King]

"Yeah? Well I didn't ask you." Ezekiel retorts, glaring back.

[Lix Lorn]

She glared at him, and made several more handsigns.
"She says... wow, Emily... I'm not translating that."
She continued.
"Hlal's book, I didn't even know sign language had that many swear words."

[The-Mage-King]

"...Wait, you can use sign language to cuss out deaf people? Or tell them that the giant stone they're sitting on is safe and most certainly not a lightning rail conductor?"

"Evil deaf people, I mean. Not any other deaf people. Because that would be wrong."

[Lix Lorn]

Emily and Nightwing
"Um. I think she's considering attacking you now..." said Nightwing. "Please don't, Em'lee..."

[Arq Kujos]

"Well, no point in standing around cursing each other. Let's get going." Arron stretched one final time before bowing to his comrades. "Journey safely." Well, maybe not you. he thought, looking at Ezekiel.

[Lix Lorn]

Emily and Nightwing
"Agreed." said a relieved Nightwing. "We'll go first."

[unre9istered]

Frahraek

"How Great Will The Delay Between Our Arrivals Be?" the warforged asks.

[sazzer]

One of the younger men speaks up at this. It is difficult to be precise over such great distances, but I would estimate around 5 minutes travelling time for each Shifting.

[Lix Lorn]

Emily and Nightwing
"Could be risky." said the bird. "But we'll be fine. Probably."

[sazzer]

Well, if we've quite finished debating these things, are we ready to get on with things?

[Lix Lorn]

Emily and Nightwing
"We're ready." announced Nightwing.

[sazzer]

Looking at Emily, And you and your companion will be going first? Who will be following?

[The-Mage-King]

"I volunteer."

[unre9istered]

Frahraek

"I Believe Ezekeil And Justin Drew The Lots For The Second Group," the warforged reminds everyone.

[sazzer]

Very well, lets get you going then. The man then gestures Emily and her companion forward, where the two other men are standing. Both start chanting, and then reach out to touch Emily and Nightwing respectively, at which point the both suddenly vanish. The men keep chanting for five more minutes, at which point they stop, look towards the leader and nod affirmation.

Emily/Nightwing
As soon as you are touched by the casters, you feel a strong pull and see everything around you fade into darkness. For what feels like hours you are surrounded by only darkness with the occasional silvery glimmer flying past, until you feed a sudden shock and see a world fade back in around you. It is nothing like where you just left however, with a large amount of damage all around you. Beneath your feet is the tattered remains of what was once a rich blue carpet, and all around you are wooden seats that look to have been plundered for firewood - at the very least. The windows are all empty of any glass at all, and there are large cracks in the walls all around, to the extent of there even being holes that are easily large enough for Nightwing to be able to fly through...


Map of the target (http://grahamcox.co.uk/ss/eston_church_1.png)

Listen: [roll0]
Spot: [roll1]

[Lix Lorn]

Emily and Nightwing
Should I be spoilering this, cause they're not there?
Emily looked around carefully, scanning the area. She motioned to Nightwing, who came over, fluttering around her shoulders. They started moving carefully towards the altar.

Familiar within arms reach, I now have Alertness.

[sazzer]

Ezekeil/Justin

Same process as before - I'm not typing it all out again :)

Emily/Nightwing

Carefully moving around, you creep up to the steps ahead of you where the remains of the Altar lays. The Altar itself is a stone table, badly cracked and with impressions all around it where there were probably precious inlays of gold and gems. All of these have been stripped bare however, leaving only the stone itself. Besides the altar are yet more badly broken wooden furniture. As you reach the top of the steps, you hear a loud popping noise from behind you.

Ezekeil/Justin

You both arrive on the tattered blue carpet, and see Emily and Nightwing walking up the steps at the end of the church. Everything else you see/hear is as described before.


New map (http://grahamcox.co.uk/ss/eston_church_2.png)
Ezekeil Spot: [roll0]
Ezekeil Listen: [roll1]
Justin Spot: [roll2]
Justin Listen: [roll3]

[Demons_eye]

Seeing more rows of sets Justin heads over and lays down waiting for the others.

[sazzer]

Justin sits on one of the wooden benches, but the wood is so badly rotten that his bulk falls straight through it, landing on a gnome who was sleeping underneath it. The gnome lets out a cry at being landed on, and on hearing this a number of other gnomes crawl out from under benches as well cursing and dragging weapons with them...


New map (http://grahamcox.co.uk/ss/eston_church_3.png)

Justin is Prone, having fallen through a bench, and will need to stand up first. Otherwise the gnomes - having just been rudely awakened, count as unaware and so the party gets a surprise round against them

[Demons_eye]

"You have got to be kiding me... sorry about that, we dont need to fight about this, really" Justin says while getting up and backing away.




[roll0] Diplomacy if I can.


Edit: For clrification I am backing up to Ezekeil

Edit:Edit: Thats really 25 with bonus from bluff

[sazzer]

With a groan You disturbed my rest, how you going to make that up to me? Who are you anyhow?

25? Seriously? You can't make it 24? ;)

[Demons_eye]

"Believe me I love rest too but if you start a fight with us not only could some one get hurt but it would be harder to get back to sleep! I don't have much but I can give you some money and a free lunch" Justin offers pulling off his back pack and digging out his rations and sack of money.



I could remove all my ranks from bluff but then I have 8 skill points to spend and a diplomacy skill with no ranks.

[Lix Lorn]

Emily and Nightwing
Emily whirled around, and she and Nightwing approached Ezekiel, ready to launch an attack if it came to it.

[sazzer]

Gimme! the gnome squeaks grabbing the offering and bolting for the nearest doorway. Seeing this, the other gnomes suddenly pour towards Justin, demanding payment for themselves too.

[Lix Lorn]

Emily and Nightwing
Emily scowled, and signed something quickly to her familiar.
"But that would be wrong." he admonished.

[The-Mage-King]

"That's my line, you dumb bird."

[Demons_eye]

"Here I got five silver and some rations for each of you" Justin says. He looks at the others with a glare that seemed to say its fine/shut up depending on the viewer.

[The-Mage-King]

"You know, I've figured out how much blood is in a Small body... More than you'd expect, actually..."

"Of course, I only figured it out on Evil Small creatures..."

[Lix Lorn]

Emily and Nightwing
"Emily says... no. I'm not translating needless references. Yes, I know the fourth wall is shattered beyond repair. I said no!
...
Oh, fine. She'd like to say that the human body can be drained of blood in seven point six seconds, given adequate vacuuming systems."
Emily then grinned creepily, tilting her head to the side.

[The-Mage-King]

"...I like you. You have the right idea. Now, how quick do you think, say, the gnome body could be drained?" Ezekiel responds after a second of silence, before looking shiftily at the batch of gnomes begging for money from Justin

[Lix Lorn]

Emily and Nightwing
Nightwing looked highly squicked out.
Emily signed something.
"...probably faster, she says." he said, swallowing his distaste.

[The-Mage-King]

"...And simply by stabbing them?"

[Lix Lorn]

Emily and Nightwing
"Significantly slower." translated Nightwing, looking ill.

[The-Mage-King]

"...How much slower?" Ezekiel asks, his hand edging to the hilt of his sword as he watches the gnomes.

[Lix Lorn]

Emily and Nightwing
"...you are NOT trying it." he said, looking very ill.

[The-Mage-King]

"...We've got enough for a control group..."

[Lix Lorn]

Emily and Nightwing
Emily snickered.
Nightwing was positively green.
"You disgust me." he said.

Sooo... shipping EmilyEzekiel now. XD

[sazzer]

The gnomes - after much squabbling amongst themselves - finally leave the church munching on the new found food and admiring the silver. Just as they leave, there is another loud popping sound, and the remaining two members of the party arrive...

[unre9istered]

Frahraek

"It Is Gratifying To See You Were Unassailed Before Our Arrival," the warforged says. "How Shall We Go About Locating The Source Of Taint We Were Sent To Uncover?"

[Lix Lorn]

Emily and Nightwing
"Yeah." said Nightwing, slowly changing back to his normal colour.

[The-Mage-King]

"Sure. Maybe there'll be enough for a control sample, too." Ezekiel says, nodding to Emily.

"Let's go stab stuff."

[Demons_eye]

"Well lets start looking" Justin says as he looks around and starts to detect taint randomly.





[roll0] Search

Using Detect taint with it if that helps.

[Lix Lorn]

Emly and Nightwing
Nightwing went an unhealthy green again, and Emily smirked. She started looking around for any recognisable signs of taint.

Search= [roll0]

[The-Mage-King]

"Now, where would that stuff be... I want to see what it can do..."

Remember people: Scientist(ish) first, murderer 'Paladin' second.

Also, Search check: [roll0]

[sazzer]

Searching the church, even with detect taint, reveals nothing new...

[Lix Lorn]

Emily and Nightwing
"Now what?" asked Nightwing.

[The-Mage-King]

"How about I go check to see if those gnomes are tainted? They seemed corrupted..." Ezekiel suggests, moving towards the place where the gnomes exited, his hand drumming a beat on his sword's hilt.

[Lix Lorn]

Emily and Nightwing
"No!" burst out Nightwing, once again starting to go green. Emily giggled.

[Demons_eye]

Justin continues to look around ignoring the others.




Search again

[roll0]

[unre9istered]

Frahraek

"Perhaps Our Purpose Here Is Not Within This Church," the warforged suggests.

[The-Mage-King]

"Yeah. Those gnomes seemed tainted. I'll just go check on that..." Ezekiel trys again, leaving the church through the passage the gnomes left through.

[Lix Lorn]

Emily and Nightwing
Nightwing looked after the leaving Ezekiel, and went into the corner, an unhealthy green colour. Emily followed after the non-evil warrior.

[sazzer]

As you leave the church, you emerge to find yourself in the intersection of a crossroads, with the church itself built such that the roads go all around it and lead directly towards - or away from - the church. All around there are piles of rubble and the remains of both people and animals scattered freely. Surprisingly there is very little stench given the number of corpses around...

[Lix Lorn]

Emily and Nightwing
Emily wrinkled her nose as she came out. Nightwing followed a minute later, and then dashed back inside upon seeing the bodies.


Spot: [roll0]
Listen: [roll1]

Wow, a natural 20. Hellyes.

[sazzer]

Looking down the road to the north, you can see the gnomes from earlier scurrying away - a good 100' away already. You also see signs of some of the corpses down that route having been shifted recently - possibly by the gnomes on their way past...

[Lix Lorn]

Emily and Nightwing
Emily tapped Ezekiel on the shoulder, pointing at the moved corpses.

[The-Mage-King]

Ezekiel holds his hand up, signaling to the people in the church to hold position for a moment.

"These are probably zombies. So there are two options: find a way to activate them... Or go stab them first." He says, drawing his sword. "I vote take them down first."
With that, he walks towards the nearest moved corpse, stabbing it.

Now then... attack roll, if the thing moves: [roll0]

Damage: [roll1]

And crit confirmation, if I get a 18-20 on the attack roll: [roll2]

[sazzer]

As you take a swing for the corpse, you slice it neatly in two vertically from head to groin. As it falls apart, a number of rats and insects scurry away towards other corpses nearby...

[Demons_eye]

"You cant crit a zombie dude" Justin mutters

[The-Mage-King]

"It could have been a human disguising itself as a corpse!"

[Demons_eye]

"But then you would not know and not aim for vital parts"

[The-Mage-King]

"...Wat? You don't aim for the vital parts on everything?"

[Demons_eye]

"No, then I waist 18's, 19's, and 20's good shots on things that are not bothered by it" Justin replies.

[The-Mage-King]

"But that's impractical. If you don't aim for the vital bits, then you won't wind up hitting something there. A rule of thumb."

[Lix Lorn]

Emily and Nightwing
Emily was snickering through the entire exchange.

[sazzer]

As you stand around staring at the ex-corpse, the gnomes round a corner out of your sight...

[The-Mage-King]

"After them!" Ezekiel yells, running off, waving his blade around radomly.

[Lix Lorn]

Emily giggled again, and followed.
Nightwing groaned, and followed too.

[unre9istered]

Frahraek

"Why Are We Pursuing The Gnomes? Do They Have Information About This Place? If So Waving Your Weapon About Randomly Is Unlikely To Extract Any Useful Information," the warforged states as he falls behind the rest of the party due to his body's armor slowing him down.

[sazzer]

ok - before progressing, rolecall. Who is where doing what?

[Lix Lorn]

Emily and Nightwing are following Ezekiel, who is being omnicidal and following gnomes.

[unre9istered]

Frahraek is following the others, but falling behind because he can't move as fast.

[The-Mage-King]

Ezekiel is going to go ensure that the gnomes aren't tainted.

As taint often has no external effects, and only internal ones...

Yeah.

[Demons_eye]

Following the others

[Arq Kujos]

Arron has grown bored with Ezekial's murderous intentions so he follows along quietly.

[sazzer]

You all decide to chase after the gnomes, and as you get to the corner where they disappeared from sight you see another stretch of road that is again littered with corpses and rubble. The gnomes are nowhere obviously in sight down this stretch of road...

If you still want to chase them, make a Spot check to see if you can see them

[Lix Lorn]

Emily dashed after Ezekiel, looking around and listening carefully.


Listen: [roll0]
Spot: [roll1]

[Arq Kujos]

Arron, suddenly intrigued by this turn of events, scans the area for signs of the gnomes.

[roll0]

[The-Mage-King]

spy with my little eye...

Spot: [roll0]

[sazzer]

Emily's keen eyesight spots the slowest of the gnomes disappearing through a broken window off down the road, about 50' ahead.

[unre9istered]

Frahraek

OOC:sorry for the late post.
Spot check:[roll0]
I'm pretty sure that's good enough. If not I'll edit my post to make sense.

Seeing the gnome climbing into the window, Frahraek keeps his silence. Ezekiel seems too unstable to gain any information from these creatures and it might be best to let him chase figments through the streets for the moment.

[Demons_eye]

Justin follows silently but keeps and eye out. He is skeptical of Zek's reasoning at the very lest.



[roll0] Spot

[roll1] Listen

[sazzer]

Emily, Frahraek and Justin will have seen the gnome. The others didn't

[The-Mage-King]

Action point time.

I spend one to get +[roll0] on my spot check.

[Lix Lorn]

Emily signed that she saw them-and Nightwing made a point of NOT translating.

Awman. Sorry, 'Zeke.

[sazzer]

@Ezekiel - still nothing I'm afraid

[sazzer]

What now? :P

[The-Mage-King]

"Up the wall! That way I can get a better view!" Ezekiel yells, running straight up the closest wall, looking around more.

[unre9istered]

Frahraek

With Ezekiel distracted up on the wall Frahraek tries to surreptitiously jump in the same window he saw the gnome jump into. "Hello Gnomes," he says, looking around for them, "I Was Wondering If You Knew Of Any Particularly Tainted Areas Around Here. Also, You May Wish To Remain Out Of Sight Of The Human With Long White Hair And The Large Sword, The One Who Looks Nothing Like Sephiroth. He Appears To Believe There Is Information To Be Gained By Vivisecting You, Though I Have No Idea Why. I Doubt He Is Correct."

[Demons_eye]

Justin walks over to the window and tries to hide it with his bulk.

[Lix Lorn]

Emily ran after Ezekiel, trying to point in the direction of the gnomes, as Nightwing totally refused to translate.

[sazzer]

Ezekiel

Spot: [roll0]

Scaling the wall, you can see down the road you've been on. Ahead you can make out a plume of smoke but can't see any indication of what is causing it.

Frahraek

Diplomancy: [roll1]

Why should we trust you? You're 'elping 'im out after all!

[unre9istered]

Frahraek

"Trust Me Or Do Not. I Am Not Concerned With That." Frahraek answers. "If You Wish Me To Leave, Answer My Question. If Not I Will Continue To Follow You And Eventually He Will Find Us. Do You Know Of Any Areas Of Particularly Strong Taint In This Vicinity Or Not?"

[sazzer]

No, not unless you mean that old cesspit out east that is... No leave us alone!

[unre9istered]

Frahraek

"Then I Will Suggest We Investigate The Cesspit To The East. Thank You For Your Compliance."
Frahraek climbs back out the window, walks a little way down the street and calls out, "Attention Companions. There Is A Cesspit To The East Of Our Current Location Which Has Been Described As 'Tainted'. Lacking Other Leads, I Suggest We Investigate."

[Arq Kujos]

"That sounds just vague enough to get us all killed." said Arron with a smile. "Let's go."

[The-Mage-King]

"WHAT? How did you find that out?" Ezekiel asks, turning around and looking to Frahraek. "You found the Gnomes?"

[Lix Lorn]

Emily followed after Ezekiel, laughing quietly to herself.

[unre9istered]

Frahraek

"Indeed," Frahraek answers, "The Only Location In This Vicinity They Were Aware Of That Might Be Described As Tainted Was The Cesspit Of Which I Spoke. I Suspect Any Further Information You Could Glean From Them Would Be Unrelated To Our Current Mission." Frahraek then turns to the East (or as close to the direction the gnome pointed as the street allows) and walks off.

[sazzer]

The street you are on runs roughly north-east to south-west, and South-west is the direction you came from...

[The-Mage-King]

OoC:To keep this from dying...

"Well... If you're sure the gnomes aren't taainted... That way!" Ezekiel yells, pointing north east and dashing forwards.

[Lix Lorn]

Emily and Nightwing
Emily dashed after him, caught up in his action.