AVB - Short Meets Sleek

[Rizban]

Team Up for Renen and planswalker. All others will be fed to the dire beavers or denied XP gain.

((planswalker's character arrives in the Plaza and waits for Renen's character to make itself known. I'll leave it up to the two of you to describe the scene.))

[planswalker]

Lumos Maximiss, prismatic kobold and priest of Solaron arrives at the scene, resplendent in in all his shiny glory as he waits around for whomever it was that sent the message to arrive and make himself known. The multi-hued scaly midget makes quite a scene as his already brightly-colored clothes only stand out more when offset by his white cape which seems to have over a dozen glowing pebbles stuck on it in a rough starburst shape.

[Renen]

https://encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSnkNbZzX3qpZPOeYhgTPkrsxvKAE45s lu2mNGZQSRTRICSazhx

Eve quickly notices the colorful new addition to the area. Figuring that flashy is exactly the type that adventurers most often are, she casually walks up in front of the kobold. She looks directly at him, to indicate her immediate involvement in the conversation.

"Well, and here I was worried that I wouldn't be able to tell who adventurers are. I do hope you are here because of the notice I put out." says the pretty orange cat with a bow.

[planswalker]

"Greetings! I am Lumos Maximiss, Priest of Solaron! Yes, I am indeed here to answer the ad in the town crier asking for help."

[Renen]

Eve walks around the adventurer looking him over.

"You see, as the ad mentioned I need some help rescuing a certain someone, and to do that I need to... retrieve an item from the Sisters of Salvation." But as you can imagine it's quite a difficult task for a little cat. I was hoping you'd be willing to assist?"

That color! My eyes! NOOOO!!!

[planswalker]

I do not apologize. At least Xim is wearing his mask of languages and you're not trying to decipher his Google Translated German as "draconic".

"Sure! I'd love to help rescue someone!"

[Renen]

"Great! I was hoping to find an eager partner. Now, they have this amulet in their residence, and we need to get it. By any means necessary. Though without killing, as that would defeat the purpose of using the amulet to rescue the person."

Eve's a telepath, so I think she'd be able to understand him even without the mask :smallbiggrin:
Not that I mind the color all that much.

[Rizban]

Telepathy doesn't allow you to automatically bypass a language barrier, though a tongues-like effect would function through telepathy. It allows you to communicate with anyone who has a language, but that doesn't mean they understand what you're trying to communicate if they don't speak your language.

[Renen]

I'd understand if it's a rule you are making for the game, but I never seen telepathy being ruled as needing common language.
My argument for why it shouldn't care about language is as follows:
"Communication" is defined as "the imparting or exchanging of information or news." Therefore it follows that language is unnecessary for telepathy.

[Rizban]

Information transfer requires order and pattern recognition, i.e. language.

Allow me to use a language free method to tell you about a major event in AVB. If you can accurately translate it into who, what, where, why, and how, I'll give you 10,000 XP. I'll even give partial credit.

I'm sure with a little thought, planswalker can figure it out.http://www.musea.brussels/mobile/images/qr/06_NDsablon_06.jpg

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_4gMJoE4n0uY/TEB8d31OfQI/AAAAAAAACqM/BR_70AI8Lyk/s1600/Brian+monk.jpg

http://www.mornproductions.com/gitp/128748504.jpg

http://www.eibonvale.co.uk/strangereviews/asia/suicidecircle/cap131.jpg

http://www.mornproductions.com/gitp/wallpaper-2941421a.jpg

http://happyfamousartists.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/2008-Rosegarden.jpg

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/60/Victory_by_tamerr-d5t1lsz.jpg

https://www.audubon.org/sites/default/files/Swainson%2527s_Hawk_h12-2-158_l.jpg

[Renen]

Well, as a DM I don't mind if you rule it that way. But I searched around and almost every post I found agrees that telepathy needs no language, the only reason it is mentioned in the text is so you couldn't talk with things below 3 INT.

But I'll give the pictures a crack (though I am bviously guessing as I can't exactly go back and read over each old AVB thread to see which fits, and what the names are) :
1) A bribe or payment for services rendered was given
2) To a shady individual (assassin perhaps)
3) Assassin eliminated the target
4&5) Which lead to the destabilization/downfal/turmoil in a kingdom/organization because a number of people (competitors? simply opportunistic individuals?) wanted their own piece of the proverbial pie
6) This escalated
7) Into a big war
8) Not sure about what the bird is for. If I had to guess it's either freedom or (Since it's an falcon, I think) it means either the end of the conflict (freedom from it/past actions) or symbolizes the clarity of the 20/20 hindsight.



Did I get even close? Or am I waaaaay off the mark?
I can't exactly do a who/where unless I really should go digging in old threads, which I'm willing to do if it is so but perhaps after my exam week.

[Rizban]

Waaaayy off the mark. I'll give PW a guess, but he doesn't get XP, because he should already know the answer.

Anyway, the point of that is that without a common information system by which we could understand one another, you had no idea what idea I was trying to convey. Even if you could get the general concept across, it would be impossible to communicate detailed information without understanding one another. Even people who speak the same language often think very differently, so non-language communication between them would still be exceedingly difficult.

[Renen]

Bah... In my defence moving pictures with sounds and such probably work better :)

Also, here's one of the threads (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?303896-Mindbender-Telepathy-and-Language-(3-5)) I was talking about. But if you say it's language dependant that's fine. Not like it'll almost ever matter. (Though there's a few spells now that I think about it, that also talk about telepathy and mention not needing a language. Though they don't make it clear if it's just the spell designer stating the obvious or an inherent part of the spell)

[Rizban]

Even if the pictures were animated with sound, it wouldn't change the message.

Well, at the end of that linked thread, his DM came to the same conclusion I did...

[Renen]

No spoiling the answer for me bro! Tell him in PM :D
Not checking this thread for a few hours incase you don't notice this and accidentally spoil the puzzle

[planswalker]

Our AVB ruling is an already-established ruling from years ago (I don't remember if I first declared it in year 2 or 3 of AVB's history, but it was for Monodominant's second character.

It's based around this principle: thoughts are done in languages. If you don't believe me, try thinking of a quote in your native language and then one in a non-native language that you speak fluently (if you happen to know 2+ languages, that is). Only monolingual societies try to perpetuate the myth that thoughts are "universal". It is a proven scientific fact that thoughts are formed in languages just like words. The same languages, in fact, that the verbal forms use.

AFAIK, dnd RAW never says one way or the other specifically, and in AVB we err on the side of science and assuming you can't do something that the rules don't specifically allow unless RL science says it can. Since science IRL says mum about telepathy, we default to "no".

My extreme example of this principle: Nowhere in the rules does it say that you can't kill every elf in the world by mooning the elf queen at high noon in her court. This doesn't mean showing her your halfling's butt at high noon is going to cause genocide. By and large, the DnD rules tell you what you can do, not what you can't.

I'm not really all too interested in getting into the philosophical debate over linguistics and thought with you, so please do not take offense if I don't answer any replies you have on this topic. I've just tried to explain to you why we rule the way we do in AVB and illuminate you behind one of Rizban's and my guiding philosophies behind how we run our games. You're not going to convince us to change our opinions after the better part of a decade of rp'ing together, and I honestly encourage you to rule differently in your own game when you run them if it better suits your play style.

as for Riz's picture puzzle... I feel like I should know this one, but... dammit, it's nearly 2am my time when I'm posting this. I'm way too tired to want to puzzle through a riddle. I came on here to post for Xim, who is definitely not a philosopher or a riddlemaster.

"Great! I'm not willing to commit murder, so I'm very glad that one's off the table. Now then, I assume that if you're going to go through the expense of placing an ad in the Crier that you have a plan, yes?"

[Renen]

"I was planning on eating tuna today...." replies Eve thoughtfully.

"Oh, the other plan was to cause a distraction, or truck the sisters into giving us the amulet. Though I don't know what you can do, and what authority you weild. Maybe you can just walk in and have them hand it to you... Speaking of, do you terribly mind if I ask of any credentials you have? It is not meant as disrespect, but I know nothing about you. I'm willing to answer any questions about me. "

I withdraw all my telepathy objections. Rizban knows that any time I talk about rules it's not to undermine his authority but to make sure I'm on the same page, as I'm generally OK with DMs ruling things any way they want as long as it works.

[Rizban]

It's always nice when Curmudgeon supports my own conclusions.

[Renen]

Hey, I have no problem with that. I even specifically put forth your point to make sure he considers it. :D

[planswalker]

"Well, like I said, I'm a priest of Solaron. We're missionaries sent here from another realm of existence to spread the message of the Light Eternal. We don't send neophytes through the portal.

As for other credentials..." Xim pulls out the medium-sized dagger he has. "I survived a night in the Docks last night. This is one of five daggers I looted off the corpses of members of the gang responsible for the troubles there. I sold two others and the final two were given to my companion as her share of the loot. I am a cleric of no small magical talent who also has some basic arcane spellcasting.

I do admit that I'm quite curious to know a little more about you as well. I didn't know the cats of this world could talk.

As my glow might indicate, I can do "distraction" quite well. In addition, I am a member in good standing of a temple to a good-aligned deity. If I ask them politely and can explain why I need the item clearly, they might just trust me with a loan of it. What specifically are we looking to take and why do we need it?"

mystic theurge build with lvl 5 cleric and lvl3 sorcerer casting. I also have a magic item with at-will stick.

[Rizban]

On a separate note, I'm going to end the bonus XP offer. The picture message was telling the story of Perry.

Translation: In the Plaza, the Town Crier gave information (1) to a fairly unknown man (2) who destroyed his enemies with the strength of his mighty feet (3). Others failed, crying like children (4), but he went to the Tallest Spire (5), where he easily climbed to the top (6), achieving a great victory (7) and becoming the Spire Hawk (8).

[Renen]

"Well, cats here cant talk... usually. I'm just an unusual cat." she says looking pleased to be recognized.

"Now we need this amulet, as I was asked to return it to it's prior owner in exchange for a umm... hostage. One of the sisters of salvation. Unfortunately for all my attempts they don't seem to value one of their own as much as that trinket." she says showing a mental image of an amulet.

"And after that they call themselves good..." she mutters almost indistinctly.

My fault for not pointing it out explicitly earlier (though it does not invalidate anything you said). Eve isn't talking physically she is telepathically talking. Now, while I am unsure if as per RAW she could talk, but I am doing it so that since she is "cat" she doesnt have the proper mouth to produce human talking. Though for ease of explanation I use terms like "mutters" though what she really uses in the telepathic equivalent.

[planswalker]

yes, I caught that. You may not be sending out vibrations through the air, but you are talking in the sense of communication, which is what Xim meant.

Also, just to be totally clear: Xim is indeed talking out loud to the cat who's responding telepathically so that it looks for all the outside world like he's having a conversation with a cat but no one is answering.

"I'm going to need the specifics if I'm going to be able to help... What amulet is this, who's been taken, and where are they being held? Who took the captive?"

[Renen]

Yeh. Just wanted to make sure we are on the same page. I usually assume people reply by talking normally unless they are too far/gagged etc.

"Well... I am afraid I don't have too much in the way of those. The girl is held captive by a third party. I cannot disclose their identity I'm afraid. I'm not only far too weak to take the girl back by force but said third party played a part in saving my life, so I want to do this peacefully. The amulet was requested in exchange for the girl, who is a member of the sisters of salvation. I know nothing of the amulet aside from the appearance.

[planswalker]

"You just absolutely refuse to give me any names to work with whatsoever, don't you?"

[Renen]

"Well, the girl is called Sarah. My name's Eve. I'm afraid I can't tell you the name of the one who wants the amulet though."

[planswalker]

"And all you know about the amulet is what it looks like? Don't you know where they keep it or anything else?"

I'm having difficulty understanding what exactly you've got here. Did you put an ad out for help with your mission before you've even scouted out enough information to be able to fill in your partner on what you'll be doing?

[Rizban]

She's done the scouting and knows a fair bit. Unfortunately, for... reasons, she can't reveal some of the specifics. The character is also very evasive by nature.

[Renen]

Doing exams, will make coherent post soon(tm)

[Renen]

Ahh exams. The best part of the year. Cant wait for the next ones!

"I know the building they probably keep it in. I am just as umm... whats the word..." Eve transmits a feeling that roughly translates as "waning to chase one's tail in frustration".

"I was told to get the amulet, but I wasn't told anything about it, and I was honestly too scared to demand any answers. I'm not looking to trade it for the girl because she is held by such nice folks..."

[planswalker]

"Fair enough. Well, I do "distracting" rather effectively. Perhaps we can do something with that."

[Renen]

"Shall we go scout the area? Perhaps you'll see something I missed too... Im a cat, not a cat burglar. Open window is how I get into most places. Never really had to break into somewhere on a short notice. "

[planswalker]

"And I myself am a priest, not a criminal. Still, I guess the two of us shall see if we can't muddle our way through this. Lead on." Xim says, indicating for his newfound partner to lead the way. Provided that he does, Xim will follow along.

[Renen]

Eve guides her new companion over to the house of the sisters, stopping well ahead of the front door.

Over to Rizban.

[Rizban]

Sorry, I was totally not paying attention to this thread at all. Something in my brain clicked into this being planswalker's thread as a DM.

The Sisters of Salvation Center is a small two story plaster building with several open windows on the corner of Porter's Road and Steinbacher Hohl in West Midtown. The Sisters are going about business as usual, with several going in and out almost constantly. A small girl of about nine stands by the main entrance holding a basket of pale, white flowers, waiting to greet anyone who approaches the building. As she spots Xim, she gives him a funny look and tries to hide her giggles behind her hand.

[planswalker]

"There is no need to hide your laughter, for is not mirth one of the great virtues of this life? I must indeed look quite silly to your eyes, and for this I give no apology or explanation other than 'Shine the Light!'" Xim loved children, and he did not mind one thinking him funny-looking. After all, his whole appearance has been crafted to attract attention.

And here I thought you'd just gone through one of your "RL has me too busy to post" phases.

[Rizban]

And here I thought you'd just gone through one of your "RL has me too busy to post" phases.That was part of it too. When I started having time again, I saw your name as the most recent poster and I frankly just forgot you were in a team up and mentally categorized this thread as one you were DMing.
She smiles broadly and hands you a flower.

"You're silly. I like you!"

[planswalker]

...

on that subject, is your personal thread waiting on you or on me?

Xim smiles. "I like you too. Now then, who's in charge here? I come from the Temple to Solaron and such altruism as you Sisters do warms our hearts. I have come to learn more and see if perhaps my temple could aid you."

[Rizban]

On me, definitely.She points at the flower and simply says, "Two silver."

If you pay her, she just shrugs at your other questions. "You'll have to talk to one of the Sisters about that. I don't know."

[planswalker]

"I'll take five!" he says and gives her a gold.

He thanks her for the information and proceeds inside.

[Renen]

Eve slinks behind a barrel standing near one of the neighboring houses.

"I'll wait in here. They probably wouldn't like me in there. And they probably won't like you for being with me. And this barrel smells like fish, and im hungry. If you need anything, I'll still hear your thoughts unless you move far under the house or something."

Team-up threads sometimes must narrow focus to one of the party. I think this is one of those times. Eve will have her time to shine, but for now she recognized that her presence would ruin any diplomacy, due to her being an annoying cat earlier.

[Rizban]

The inside of the building appears to be mostly one large room. Several long wooden benches are set in rows before a small, low dais.
A blonde woman his her early thirties is leading a prayer for a half dozen younger women.
To the left of the door stands a strange, glowing man whose head floats several inches above his shoulders with no visible neck whatsoever. He gives you a stoic stare, his eyes never leaving you from the moment you enter.

[planswalker]

knowledge (arcana) and (religion) to tell me more about the Lumi strange being that Xim doesn't necessarily know anything about. Especially without knowledge (the planes) to help him.

[roll0] [roll1]

Seeing such a luminous being, not wanting to disturb the prayers, and figuring that it would likely be able to help him, Xim approached the neckless man and says, "Greetings! I am Lumos Maximiss, priest of Solaron! I have some seeing if this wonderful organization would be interested in partnering with my temple so that the greater good can be served better. The girl out front said that I would need to talk to a Sister about this. Is there one available at the moment?"

[Rizban]

The being has no religious significance, so far as you can tell. You do note, however, that some of his gear appears to actually be shaped soulmelds.His head rotates in the air until his chin is pointed directly at the ceiling. He then begins speaking, though his head continues to rotate until it is again right side up.

"Hello. I am Faísca. Sister Tara is good at helping people. She leads the prayers right now," he says as he motions towards the woman.

[planswalker]

"Oh, okay. How much longer do you think the prayers will last?"

[Rizban]

Sorry for just dropping this. I've had a lot going on and had to gain some slack somewhere. I'll be picking it up again now though, if you're both still interested in playing this out.

By my calculations, you should still be a few days away from the big flood.His head rights itself as he speaks.

"I could not say. Humanoids count time in such short increments. I can not keep up. It should not take more than a tenth fraction of an Arn..."

[planswalker]

Xim will patiently wait for the service to conclude before approaching the lead woman and saying "Greetings! I am Lumos Maximiss, priest of Solaron! I have some seeing if this wonderful organization would be interested in partnering with my temple so that the greater good can be served better. Are you Sister Tara?"

[Rizban]

The service takes nearly 45 minutes. The Lumi smiles and "nods" to you as if to say, "See? Not long at all."

The woman looks at you oddly as you first approach but seems to accept you rather readily.

"Yes, I am Sister Tara. What temple do you represent, and what type of partnership are you requesting?"

[planswalker]

"I represent the Temple to Solaron, and we're looking to aid the poor and suffering in this city, among other things. We understand that your organization is one of the major ones in this city for such charity, and I've come to learn more about you. While this isn't a formal offer from my church yet, we believe in being direct and forthright, and here I am. We can supply both money and manpower to help the cause, provided both groups find the other favorable."

Is there anything specific you'd like me to keep an eye out for? Xim thinks to his partner as he talks.

[Rizban]

"I'm very grateful for the offer; however, part of our contracts to operate as we do forbids us from accepting any form of financial support from any of the formal religions or local religious leaders, a part that certain local priests watch like vultures just waiting for the chance to pounce. Not all supposedly Good religions are operated by friendly or benign leaders. While we could use any manpower you're willing to contribute, we must refuse any coin you might offer."

[Renen]

I too had a busy beginning of the year with new semester and such. Happens to everyone :D

Btw, picked a picture for the amulet if no one minds, since up to this point we didnt have any.

Eve shows Xim a mental image of the amulet.
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/8c/af/48/8caf484fb0fea97cae579b99e551c10e.jpg

"That is why we are here. Though be on the lookout for any small boxes, doors that might lead somewhere thats not a living quarters. Stuff like that.

Having previously walked around the house, and been inside twice, Eve shows a rough sketch of how she thinks the layout works.

Rolled INT check (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=20480683&postcount=1874), if 12 is enough, Eve uses her brain to imagine a rough map of the house, though some parts will obviously be blank, as she can only guess there's "some" kind of rooms there.

[planswalker]

"I'm very grateful for the offer; however, part of our contracts to operate as we do forbids us from accepting any form of financial support from any of the formal religions or local religious leaders, a part that certain local priests watch like vultures just waiting for the chance to pounce. Not all supposedly Good religions are operated by friendly or benign leaders. While we could use any manpower you're willing to contribute, we must refuse any coin you might offer."

"It is a shame that this world has such very mistrustful people among it who claim to be "good" yet end up blocking those very goals in others. Well, at the very least you've got a pair of willing hands to help you here for today. How can I help? I will have to talk with my superiors to see what we can do to encourage our brother temples that fighting against the common good does no one any good."

[Rizban]

"I'd rather not advertise it, but I'll be forthright with you. One of our young acolytes has gone missing and is believed kidnapped. Someone came by earlier to try to extort us in exchange for her release, but we were not able to give her what she wanted..."

[planswalker]

"What would be so precious that it is worth kidnapping and extorting someone over like that?"

[Rizban]

"In my opinion, nothing. There is nothing more valuable than the lives and souls of the innocent."

She looks very hurt.

[Renen]

Eve mentally pokes Xim.

"I bet they are saying bad things about me arent they? Probably calling me names and everything... You know what they say about cats and curiosity. Don't keep me in the dark."

[planswalker]

Actually, they haven't mentioned you at all. Xim thinks to his companion.

"I apologize if this is a strange question, but did y'all have an incident earlier involving a cat?" Xim asks, his curiosity getting the better of him.

[Renen]

"They didn't? I bet they are just too embarrassed!" replied Eve, batting her tail around.
"Anyways. We need that amulet if we want to rescue the girl, unless one of us suddenly becomes a master combatant. They haven't thrown you out yet, so Im guessing they like you. See if you can't get them to show you the thing they value more than one of their members."

[Rizban]

"As a matter of fact, we did... How did you know about it?"

She starts looking at Xim somewhat suspiciously.

[planswalker]

"Because, strange as this sounds, I was approached by a cat who asked me telepathically to help him rescue a girl who had been kidnapped, but that we'll need to steal some sort of amulet from the Sisters of Salvation to be able to make the exchange. Unless I'm mistaken, all of us are really on the same side here: we all want the girl back, none of us really want to give anyone willing to kidnap any sort of powerful item, and if we work together, we might just be able to figure out how to get the girl back without having to actually lose the amulet.

I do apologize for the bit of subterfuge at first, but I also genuinely meant every word I said earlier. My order legitimately would look forward to finding ways that we can help you."

I know you were probably all set on theft, but you asked for a priest of Solaron's help. We are not known for subtlety. I genuinely believe they're willing to help us out if we work with them instead of against them. Xim thinks to his partner.

[planswalker]

[roll0]

because that seems like it might apply

[Renen]

"Let me guess, you tried the straightforward approach? Yeh... Been there done that. As far as I can see there are only a few ways to resolve this. Either by trading the amulet for the girl, beating the one who has the girl, or doing nothing. Problem is... I don't want to fight. Both for personal reasons and because I don't think we can win the fight. Though... I HAVE spoken with the third party that has the girl. If the sisters do not want to trust me with the exchange, they can have one of them bring the amulet. Though for their safety I hope they send one that can fight well."

[Rizban]

It seems much of the budding friendship has been nipped, but she doesn't seem hostile towards you... yet.

"I am afraid that, no matter how much I would like to, I cannot hand over the amulet at any price, not even to save the life of one of our own, as I told the woman who came by earlier demanding it as ransom.

It wasn't until later that evening that we had the encounter with the cat trying to magically force entry. It was not known at the time, but I now suspect the woman and the cat to be the same person. If so, she has already been here twice to take it, once by threat and once by theft. It now seems she has decided to stoop to manipulating others into achieving her goals."

[planswalker]

"We'll let the cat speak for itself when it gets here, but I for one am now involved in this because there's someone in trouble, not because of some kind of trinket. The cat seems to believe that a direct confrontation can't work, but I'm not so sure. I myself am no slouch in a fight. In fact, I recently organized and successfully survived an encounter late at night in the Docks with the gang that is causing trouble down there. I and my partner from there can certainly hold our own, and with a morning's preparations, I can have magical backup tailored to the situation. With the cat to run as a possible lookout, I think we might just be able to set up a meet and get the girl back without having to really risk the amulet in the process, provided that your people are willing to trust me that far despite the backward nature of how we met."

[Rizban]

"If it were simply a matter of handing over a trinket, I have willingly do so. However, the amulet that was required in ransom is not something I can just fetch from a drawer and hand to you. The protective wards sealing it are such that it would take significant effort obtain it that is not without risk. Even if there was one willing to make the attempt, I would not allow it. The amulet is a relic of a dark power, long sealed, and to trade it for the life of an individual would be putting her one life above the lives of all, nor would she herself be spared in the end..."

[planswalker]

"That's completely fair and reasonable, yes. Hm... any way we could fake up a facsimile long enough to at least try and lure the kidnapper out? Perhaps something else. I do see your point about not endangering the greater good over one life. Still, now that this has come to my attention, I feel I must try something."

really trying to not squeeze you out of your own quest here, buddy, but it's getting hard to not take over and say "screw the cat, I've got this".

I'm actually wanting to work with you and not just take over, but it's getting hard to justify IC with the cat not showing.

[Rizban]

"We would have made a rescue attempt ourselves, but the girl, or cat, or... whatever outright refused to tell us where Daughter Tara was being held. With apparently no way to convince her, we threw her out and prayed that Tara's soul would find peace."

[Renen]

OOC: I cant take any action unless prompted by Xim. He has to talk to the cat to inform her of the developing situation. As far as Eve knows they are chatting about stuff, as she is not sitting with her ear to the door or anything. So just relaying everything Xim heard from the sisters so far would be enough. Eve CAN be convinced of things, if she can see that siding with the sisters/Xim equals siding with the stronger side.

[planswalker]

sorry, I could have sworn that Xim said to get in here, but I can see that I haven't. Fixing now.

Uh, you'll want to come in here and join us. I think we're about to have a solution to this problem if we can just all talk together. Xim thinks to his erstwhile silent partner. He makes sure to fill him in on all the details as he approaches.

"If you think you can indulge me a moment longer, I think some straightforward communication might just help clear this whole thing up." he says aloud.

[Rizban]

Sister Tara crosses her arms and wait, obviously agitated, but she says nothing for the moment.

[Renen]

Eve sounds somewhat sceptical.
"They weren't all that nice to me last time... But as long as you guarantee my safety... If they try anything, I expect you to step in."

Assuming Xim agrees to some extent, Eve trots up to the house, jumping onto a windowsill.

"Knock knock." She says to those inside, peeking through the glass. "I'm willing to talk, just as long no one tries to hurt me. "

[planswalker]

"I promise that I will do everything in my power to see to it that no tries to hurt anyone here." Xim promises.

[Rizban]

No one makes a move against the cat, but no one seems particularly pleased to see it.

[planswalker]

Does it really surprise anyone at all that a group dedicated to altruism and charity might just be willing to talk to you rather than attack you on sight? Xim thinks to his overly-dramatic partner.

[Renen]

Your daily reply brought to you by Wall of text Inc. Wall of text: Making PbP great again!
http://vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/creepypasta/images/4/49/WALL_OF_TEXT...PREPARE.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20130122224809

"Yes... They are supposed to look out for the girl. As someone without an owner I all too well know how bad it is to left alone. I try to help a girl instead of looking for... ...
And these sisters accuse me of extortion. And they leave their charge in the hands of someone unknown instead of giving up some stupid amulet. A good owner doesn't do that! " She replies to Xim.

The then sits down, wrapping her tail around her, and addresses everyone relevant at once.

" For the sake of clarity, I'll repeat the story again. My new friend here seems to think you are in the right. Perhaps if I start from the beginning...

As I was walking around I saw a shady guy. Having nothing better to do I followed him. Perhaps he had some fish? Turns out he was hired to kidnap a girl for some cultist. The two didn't agree on a price, and ended up killing each other. I... helped them arrive at said stalemate which earned me the wound from earlier. Then...

She passed for a second, throwing Xim a personal message.

"You are a magi right? Can you see if I have some spell on me?"

To everyone:
"There was this... " here she proceeded carefully. Hoping that the influence from earlier worn off and was indeed the one responsible, and hoping that it did not affect her telepathy she tried to be a little less general while paying attention to the pressure she felt earlier. If she felt it was still there, she instead phrases it as obscurely as before.

"This woman. Not human. Partner of the cultist, who was not too sad to see the fight end in the stalemate. She claimed the girl, and said that in order to give her back she wants the amulet. I do not fancy my ability to fight anyone above a rat. My talents lie in other places. So I went here hoping that the sisters would be reasonable. Instead, I have this great pain in the tail instead. "

[planswalker]

What kind of spell do you want? I've got a... specific setup on my at the moment, but I can almost anything divine ready tomorrow morning at dawn. My arcane side of my spells are... a but limited. Xim thinks to his companion.

"Well, my presence here changes things, I assure you. I am quite willing to fight for and, should it be necessary, give my life to bring this girl back, and as the five skulk corpses can testify, I do not give my life cheaply for the common good. In case it wasn't clear, "subtle" isn't in my vocabulary, but it doesn't need to be. I feel that I am a resource here that, if the clever cat and the wise sisters can work together to use, might just be able to use to get the girl back safely without giving away something that would be used to harm many more lives."

[Rizban]

"And you, whether girl or cat, were never once asked to fight in any capacity, so don't invent worthless excuses. All that was ever required of you then, and now, was to give us the location of our captive Daughter. We threw you out, because you refused to give us even that much aid. I assume this attempt at subterfuge is because you are still unwilling to aid us.

And you, kobold, I hold you innocent in this regard and would be willing to accept your aid in any hostilities involved in retrieving Daughter Tara, if you so chose to assist."

[Renen]

"I didn't think you are strong enough. And what happens when you all die there? Thats right, I'm the one who dies next as the only person who knew where to send you. With Xim here... Well I heard the docs are rather dangerous for you humanoids. So if you say you can take on a demon... or is it a devil... well, details... If you say you can do it, you all better bring everyone you can, including Mr. Floaty head over there. I'll lead you to where the girl is."

To Xim
"I think I had some spell cast on me, but I dont feel it anymore. I guess it's gone... I really hope you are as strong as you claim..."

Does Eve still feel the magical "don't say the wrong thing" effect?

[Rizban]

Yes, she does. She also still has the -3 Int penalty."And you value yourself and the merest chance that potential harm could come to you above the certainty that Daughter Tara will die tragically." She turns to Xim. "You see how unreasonable she is, and I've told you how difficult and dangerous complying with her ransom demands would be. Is it any wonder we threw her out? Now she seeks to steal what we would not give her, though it cost one of our own her life. We are willing to lose life if needed, but this person," she scoffs at the word, "is unwilling to be inconvenienced. If she will not aid us even in the slightest way, as she seems adamantly against, then Tara's blood is on her hands and hers alone."

She turns back to the cat. "Either help us or get out and do not return a fourth time."

[Renen]

Eve hisses audibly.

"I said i'd take you there. Don't blame me if you get captured as well..."

To Xim
"Slight correction. They arent just willing to lose life. They are specifically willing to lose lives that are not them."

Then she phrases things more carefully, as you made it apparent earlier that she can sense when she is about to say too much

[planswalker]

"Listen, everyone, I think we're all on the same side here, but we're not all very good at communicating. Let's pause for a moment and focus:

One: a girl has been kidnapped, and everyone here wants her back.

Two: this cat here knows where to take us to get her back, and it's willing to help us do that. However poorly things have gone about up until this point, I think we can all agree that we're making progress by the fact that we know this.

Three: If things get violent, let me be the center of things. With a morning's preparations, I can be quite effectively prepared for a rescue mission.

Four: We need to stop recriminating and start planning.

Do you think we can all agree to this so far?"

[Rizban]

"This is the first time you've ever agreed to lead us anywhere.

Xim, I hold you innocent of any wrongdoings of this one and will gladly accept any assistance you are willing to offer; however, I will not have this one present during the rescue. I do not trust her and do not want her there further complicating matters. Daughter Tara would have been back safe with us hours ago if not for this one's obstinance.

Now, I can have sisters ready in no more than five minutes. I want our Daughter returned to us as quickly as possible. We can plan as we travel."

[Renen]

"I don't remember the path back there well enough to tell you how to get there. I'll have to show you. Don't worry, I'm not planning to get involved. Whenever everyone's ready..."

To Xim

"Think you are ready now, or do you need the time to prepare? I want to get this over with and get back to my business."

[planswalker]

"We sound like we're all in agreement here, though we don't all like each other, which seems fine. If we leave now, we leave now. The cat will show us where to go, has no desire to interfere further, and then we will get to the business of rescuing her. I can agree that time is more important than preparation. We'll figure out what to do on the way." Xim will cast mage armor on himself and say, "The rest of my preparations can happen as I walk." He will be ready to depart when the rest are.

[Rizban]

The Sister excuses herself and returns a few moments later with two other Sisters. The three of them are armed with warhammers.

"Let's go."

[planswalker]

"Lead the way, cat."

[Renen]

Taking note of the hammers, Eve looks impressed.

She then turns and leads the way to the hideout.

As they approach, she buffs herself to not almost die again.

She casts Inertial Armor and Vigor.
She also activates her centres, gaining
+3 Natural AC
+2 To Fort save and +1 to other 2 saves
+2 To all ability scores


Always thought DnD is best played with big teams. But I'm super enjoying the AVB format :D

[Renen]

Rizban probably just busy with other stuff. But I do think there's nothing else from both of us until we arrive at the place Eve is leading everyone.

[Rizban]

You head down a narrow back street on the edge of north Guildman just outside of Old Town that just looks like a straight shot all the way through. Suddenly, the cat disappears into a space between two buildings you couldn't see until you almost right on top of it. The area seems pretty suspicious. It's definitely a place you can't see from either street.

Taking this turn, you reach an even narrower "alley," more of a gap between two buildings built too close together. Further on, it looks like the two buildings are actually leaning up against one another. The three Sisters have to squeeze into the narrow space, though the kobold and cat manage it just fine. The space terminates in a poorly disguised cellar entrance.

The entrance stands open, revealing a long, narrow staircase twisting straight down with an open shaft in the middle and distinctly lacking handrails...

[Renen]

"After... just about everyone who wants to go down there..." says Eve, motioning at the stairs with one paw.

[planswalker]

Xim will peer inside and, provided that it doesn't scream "death trap!" to him, climb down, figuring that with his dozen or so illumination effects, he's the logical one to go first.

[Rizban]

The three Sisters allow Xim to go first but do not hesitate to follow close behind.

You make your way down the narrow, uneven stairs, taking care to watch your footing. As you descend, you feel an aura of malice in the air that you would swear is beckoning you to step off the edge and into oblivion...

Resisting the urge to fling yourself to your death down the shaft, you make it to the bottom and see a narrow tunnel. The tunnel in front of you is a mere three feet wide and five feet tall, which will require the Sisters to hunch over to squeeze through but, again, is no impediment to Xim. The tunnel goes forward with a slight downward slope for thirty feet before ending in a firmly closed wooden door. From beyond the door, you hear the muffled sounds of a woman singing to herself...

[Renen]

Eve hangs back, her self preservation still working.

[planswalker]

Xim approaches the door but waits for a cue from the Sisters as to how they want to proceed.

"This is your mission, I'll follow your lead." he whispers to them, not wanting to necessarily alert anyone on the other side who the leader is just yet.

[Renen]

It's not the strongest PC's that live longer. It's the ones that let the NPCs go 1st :)

[Rizban]

The three Sisters take a moment to ready themselves, sparks of bluish energy swirling around them and seeming to center on their throats. Sister Tara silently counts down from 5 with her fingers. On the count of zero, the three fling the door open and rush into the room, weapons ready to strike.

They come up short at the shriek of Daughter Sarah who leaps to her feet and drops the dirty rag she was using to clean. No one else is visible in the room.

The stone walls of the room are adorned with skulls and seem to be painted red, though whether it's paint or blood, you can't be certain. A stone altar about four feet tall dominates the small room, the foul glyphs upon it glowing faintly. The red stains on the altar are most definitely blood, and you spot a small channel carved into the altar through which blood is directed into a basin near the bottom. What little light exists in the room is crimson and seems to emanate from the altar itself, casting dark shadows on the wall, giving all four women a slightly fiendish appearance.

[Renen]

"Well... Thats slightly anticlimactic..." thinks Eve to everyone.

"Ask her if she knows where our mutual acquaintance is. And let's hurry out of here. "

I assume there is no invisible threats, as (I think) mindsight would detect them unless some specific anti-mindsight measures were taken.

[planswalker]

"Girl, we're here to get you out. Can you walk?" Xim says as he enters, bringing a light show with him. "If you are hurt, I can heal you."

[Rizban]

"Sisters! I'm so glad you've come! I didn't know what I was going to do if it was that demon coming back!"

Daughter Sarah starts to cry little tears of joy at her rescue, declining the offered healing. She appears completely uninjured.

[planswalker]

"Now then, any reason not to leave before the enemy arrives?" Xim asks. Provided no one gives a clear, coherent reason for them to not try walking out with the girl at this time, Xim will take the girl's hand and attempt to lead her out.

of course, this as a player is where I expect this to show why it won't be this easy.

[Renen]

Eve says nothing, batting her tail back and forth, eager to not be here for much longer.

Suspiciously good situation turning worse in 3...2...1...

[Rizban]

Sister Tara and the others check Daughter Sarah for injuries and then briefly scan the room. Satisfied, they thank you profusely for your assistance and head back out and up the stairs.

[Renen]

Talking to everyone but the girl, the cat asks her companions
"Anyone here know which demons can make one smarter for a time?"

They thank EVE? :smalleek:

[Rizban]

They were thanking Xim. I didn't see your reply...The Sisters, overjoyed to have one of their own back, ignore the cat who caused them so much grief.

[planswalker]

Surprised it was that easy, Xim goes with the others as they return upstairs. He wonders where the kidnappers have gone...

[Renen]

Ignored by everybody, Eve's tail starts working like a small windmill.

"I said... which type of demon can raise the intelligence of any individual? If you stop ignoring me, MAYBE you'll learn something..."

Does walking on two legs makes the blood drain too far from their brains? the cat thinks in frustration. This situation, although more fortunate than what was expected, only caused her anxiety to keep building.

[Rizban]

Eve's tail whirls around so fast that she lifts off the ground! She's gained a fly speed!

Sister Tara sends the others on ahead and stops to talk to respond to the cat.

"None that I know of. Why?"

[Renen]

"Oh... in that case you might want to blindfold the girl, plug her ears, and not bring her into your house. The demon did something to her. If I were you I'd find out who held her, before bringing her into any sort of place that you don't want attacked... I do hope I'm wrong though "

The only thing stopping Eve from running away right this second, is the thought that running AWAY from heavily armed bodyguards is probably a bad idea. The story about how cats have nine lives? She was really starting to wonder if thats true right about since 5 minutes ago.

We have a liftoff!
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3598/3375400669_4194135035.jpg

[planswalker]

"Why do I have the feeling that you know more than you can tell us?" Xim asks, not pausing as he stays with the girl.

[Renen]

"Well, its actually a serious question. I have no idea what type of demons can make someone smarter. But one such demon used that power on the girl. I have no idea what other side effects it might have though. Still, probably a good idea to presume the worst. I usually do."

[planswalker]

"I wonder what kind of effect has been cast upon you as well... Are you sure that you won't be forced to turn against us as we leave? I understand that you might have difficulty sharing such details with us, but the more you can figure out to share, the more likely we are to be able to help you."

[Renen]

Eve's mood lifts a little, as she is finally asked something interesting.
"Well, that question is rather impossible to answer. Assuming I turn on you, there are two possibilities. One is that I know that I will, and the other is that I don't. If I don't know, then the answer I give would be incorrect. If I do know, the fact that I haven't told you yet would indicate that I have no desire to tell you such things, and would simply lie now as well. Either way the answer would be no." She says, getting into her wise old wizard mode.

"I just think that if the girl DOES have some sort of tracking on her, we should maybe be careful with her. Or... maybe the girl's dead and this is the demon who used magic to change her appearance. I'd ask the girl some question to verify her identity. A few questions in fact. " says the cat, careful to stay out of the girl's line of Sight.

[Rizban]

Sister Tara sighs in exasperation. "See this? This is why I'm a dog person."

Unless one of you says something that catches her interest or deliberately attempts to prevent her from leaving, she turns around ready to get back to the center and more thoroughly check over Daughter Sarah.

[Renen]

"Woof! Woof!"

[Rizban]

She waves her hands in an obvious "I'm done with this" motion and turns to walk out.

[Renen]

Eve lets her, having no additional snarky comments to add.

[planswalker]

"Well, if there's a trap, we might as well just get this over with and trigger it. We're doing nothing worrying over it." Xim says as he helps the Sisters lead the girl out of there and back to the compound.

[Rizban]

"Again, I thank you for you aid," says Sister Tara as the four head inside. They don't actually invite you to enter...

[planswalker]

Not wishing to be rude, Xim will stay at the door and loiter for a little bit in case there is trouble. While he waits, he sends out a thought to his cat companion, Well, it seems the girl is safe enough at the moment. Perhaps now I can see about helping you get out of whatever curse you seem to be suffering from.

[Renen]

Finally... The girl's safe... They and mister floaty head can deal with any further threats... Why did I even start all this...

She looks up at Xim. Even though he is a kobold, a cat is still a few times shorter.

"Well... I just thought that i might have some tracking magic cast on me. Do you know anyone who might help? If not, there's one person in this city I'd trust..."

Eve looks, and sounds tired. Her adrenaline wore off, and all the worrying seemed to be for nothing.

[planswalker]

"Well, the priests of my order could certainly look into breaking any enchantments or curses on you, if you'd like. Are you sure that there's something cast upon you and you're not just overly concerned?"

[Renen]

"Well... I could be just paranoid, but in this case curiosity is unlikely to kill me. So if you do know someone who can atleast have a look, it would make me feel better"

[planswalker]

"Certainly. Follow me." Xim leads the cat back to the Temple to Solaron in the Temple District.

[Rizban]

I seem to have lost the description. You want to post it, plans?

Edit: Also, I've been at my mother-in-law's for a few days ripping out drywall after her house flooded in the recent storms... I'm too tired to search for specifics right now. Just progress the story, okay? I give you permission to run a priest.

[Renen]

Eve follows.
me and plans will just go through the temple scene then. Though if u don't have the description, I'll just imagine a generic "good" fantasy temple. Maybe with a statue or two...

Btw, I just realized I have no idea who solaron is. Even google fails me.

[planswalker]

actually, he was speaking to me as co-dm for Aldhaven who has access to DM resources. The Temple to Solaron is actually one of my contributions to the setting so I actually know more about it than he does, coincidentally.

although... I seem to have lost my description to the temple as well.... and I'm feeling really under the weather. I'll get around to a good description later and give you the basics so you can picture this. The temple is very much not a "generic good fantasy temple with a statue or two"

The prismatic kobold leads you through the Temple District to a rather.... unique temple complex. There appear to be two distinct temples located next to each other, both dedicated towards sun deities. One seems to be populated almost exclusively by prismatic kobolds like Xim (though most seem to be content with their scaling and don't add additional illumination) and the other by a variety of chromatic and metallic kobolds along larger humanoids of draconic persuasion. Though designed to be mirror twins to each other in form, the former takes on a bright, quite gaudy theme of white, gold, and multicolored rainbow hues while the latter is a more solid, sensible brown. The two buildings are connected by a single tunnel which joins the two together.

Xim leads his companion to the gaudy half, whose entrance is on the opposite side from the more stoic building.

"Ah! Lumos Maximiss! How was your venture?" greeted another of the prismatic kobolds dressed as a priest as the two of us enter.

"We succeeded in rescuing a small girl from kidnappers, and I have learned that even the Light in this city occasionally gets in its own way from serving the Greater Good. Along the way, I've found a telepathic cat here, and it seems to be under some sort of compulsions or curses. I figured we might be able to help it."

Xim turns to his companion and gives him a chance to explain his situation.

[Renen]

Eve blinks a few times at the other kobold. This was alot of kobolds for her to absorb all at once. She didnt remember wandering here before, and as such definitely didnt remember seeing so many kobolds.

"Yes hello. See, I think there's some monitoring spell on me. I was recently near some folks that I think might have decided to keep a closer eye on me than I'd like. I kept feeling like there were things I shouldn't say, specifically about the one I think put some spell on me. I think it might have worn off, but I cant exactly be sure now..."

[Rizban]

"But of course we'll gladly check you for curses or other magic. Do you have any protective spells or charms I should know about before attempting to cast a spell on you?"

[Renen]

"Just a minor protective charm..." she says referring to her inertial armor, all other buffs having since worn off.

[Rizban]

The priest performs a series of odd hand gestures that look almost like they were originally part of some tribal dance, causing the general lighting in the area to slowly become brighter and brighter as he casts his spells. When he concludes his casting, it's almost as bright as the noonday sun, the light beginning to fade back to its original level.

"As far as I can tell, you have three ongoing effects. The first appears to be some sort of variant on mage armor, but I'm assuming you know about that one. One appears to be some sort of variant to a geas, seemingly a lesser version that triggers in stages depending on how significantly you deviate from the requirements. The last effect, however, is not something I'm able to discern. I could try further magics, but I doubt that I'd uncover anything else about it."

[planswalker]

"Hm... is there anyone in our order who could at least safely lift the gaes on him? I'm afraid that I'd have to wait until dawn before I could cast the proper remove curse myself. I feel that there's something more sinister going on here than he's able to let on at the moment, and I'm not sure it should wait until morning. If need be, I can owe our order a special service for this."

[Renen]

"Hey! I know telepathy has some limitations, but I'm not a he!" declares Eve in mock displeasure, as she doesnt actually sound too offended.

"Well... So it was the Geas I was feeling... Never had one on me before. Would explain that feeling I had... But I'm much more worried about the one you dont know about..."

She licks her side a few times, without even noticing.

"Say... do you happen to have one of those communication devices that people in this city use? Once we get rid of this Geas, there's someone I'd like to contact."

She pauses for a few seconds.

"Oh yes, thank you for helping me..." she trails off.

"What demons can make you smarter?" she asks no one in particular.

[planswalker]

"Hm... religion and planar creatures was never something I studied much, but let me think on that. Perhaps your riddle will make more sense after your gaes is lifted, and I do apologize for failing to properly identify your gender when I really should have known better. I'm afraid that non-reptilian genders tend to confuse me."

[roll0]?

derp, that one's on the player for being lazy and posting without thinking.

[Rizban]

A priest has it prepared on a 16+. Otherwise, none who prepared it haven't already cast it for the day.
[roll0]"I do apologize, but an overly eager adventurer came through earlier today clad in a number of cursed items he'd picked up recently and donned without properly identifying. All the priests who had prepared remove curse for the day have already cast it attempting to remove the items from the afflicted man..."

He looks truly hurt that he's not able to provide the spells required at this time.

Edit: Upon mentioning the geas itself, the -2 penalty expands to all of Eve's ability scores, rather than just to Int...

[Rizban]

The priest considers your question.
[roll0]

"I am honestly not familiar with any demons that could confer such a boon. I can think of one that drains the mind through a supernatural toxin, but I don't think that's quite the same..."

[planswalker]

"Well, friend cat, If you can hold out until dawn, I can attempt to remove it myself then, or you could go to one of the larger temples in the district and hire a casting right now. I can go with you if you'd like to help speak for you and try to limit how much more you have to trigger the curse."

[Renen]

Eve bats her tail in frustration.

Well, knew that would happen.

"Afflicted man? No... No more curiosity for me for a few days... Still trying to unravel this mess... She mutters to herself.

"I should be fine until dawn. Assuming they'll let me sleep in some box around here. With this many clerics around, I think it's safe enough."

@planswalker well, it did create a fun misunderstanding :P

Feel free to time-skip to whenever, Eve is willing to stay and wait, and as a cat doesn't care about fancy accommodations

[planswalker]

"Well, feel free to stay in my room if you wish. It's not fancy, but like you said, the temple should be safe."

Without much better to be done for the day, Xim will perform his daily duties around the temple, engage in the evening devotions to the Light Eternal, sleep, and prepare his spells at dawn.

spell list updated

[Renen]

Eve hunts a few mice/rats and after finding some enclosed space in the chapel, gets some rest with all benefits that it brings.

Or maybe a dire rat :D

[Rizban]

I'm going to have the two of you split up back into your own private threads for awhile, at least until "tomorrow morning." There's some stuff that just happened for both of you that needs to happen separately.

[Renen]

I hope plans didnt die :smalleek: I need him to save my character from a geas :smalltongue: