Adventurers' Guild HQ IC #2

[Bonecrusher Doc]

This thread will be used for subplots that develop in the HQ IC thread that we want to continue, but without disrupting the flow of things. For now, that will just be SPAM meetings, but there may be other scenarios in the original HQ IC thread that I recommend get moved to this thread, to keep things from getting too disorganized.

[DavidByron]

Matthew is arranging some papers on the library table.
Oh hey! You're a bit late to your own meeting Gylvin. Don't worry; everyone else is late too. Welcome to the inaugural meeting of the Society for the Perfection of Arcane Methodology. I wrote up that preliminary agenda for tonight you suggested. Perhaps you could check it for mistakes.



Society for the Perfection of Arcane Methodology

1. Discussion of integrating magic into combat or general exploration. This would be open to any guild member as we would be discussing situations where magic use needs to be coordinated with team tactics.

2. Covering our knowledge base. Wizards are usually expected to know academic stuff. What areas of expertise need to be better covered as a guild? What do we need to study more?

3. Expenses / finance Everyone benefits from having competent wizards with eg scrolls or researched spells, so we shouldn't have to pay all the costs. How should the costs be divided up?

4. Wizard-less teams. How to help out the team/s with no wizards. And how do those teams pay into the system?

5. Any other business.

Agenda - wizards only.
6. Selection of SPAM officers, charter.

7. Sharing of spell information

8. Spell Research.

9. Security

10. Crafting items

[hr]
Gylvin:
Gylvin walks into the room. He's a little flustered at running behind for the kick-off meeting. He see's that Matthew has gone ahead & set up.

"Thanks for getting started. Just you & I so far eh? I hope the other magic users are willing to work together, there's just so much that can be accomplished if we organize. Has anyone else expressed interest? I haven't gotten feedback from anybody."
[hr]
Matthew:
I think Balthazar and Sheila whom you know and Dravick. He's the bard from team Badger. The guy with the lute? Sheila has had some magical tutoring and Dravick can cast some cantrips. I'm not sure if anyone else in the guild knows anything about the arcane. Zan might be interested too. He's a cleric of Boccob but I don't know if he can cast arcane spells or not.

And then there are some of the new guys I don't know about them so much. I think they are going to all be in a fourth team and so far there's no representation from among them.

Lankin is a Gnome so I suppose he might know some illusion spells as all Gnomes seem to... more of an inherent ability I think... but I asked him whether he was an adventurer and he was pretty clear he didn't want anything to do with that side of things. Still if we wanted a senior member to sit in for some reason he'd probably a better choice than Bruce or Eldon.

While Gylvin and Matthew are waiting....

Well it's going to be a short meeting if it is just us. ......

I was going to check out the city library today but got side-tracked....
[hr]
Dravick:
Feeling a little better after his headache subsided, Dravick realizes that aside from Ana, he is alone in the Guildhall. I wonder where everyone is? I guess I should check around and make sure no one is getting into any more trouble. He carries his lute along and as he leaves the guildhall he sees someone entering the library. I think that was Glyvin. Deciding to see what Glyvin was up to he went into the library just in time to hear Matthew describe him as "the guy with the lute." He smiled at that description, and then announced himself. "Hello Gentlemen. What sort of shenanigans are you up to in the library?"
[hr]
Hey Dravick. Matthew hands Dravick one of the pieces of paper with "agenda" written on it. Welcome to S.P.A.M. We're just waiting to see if anyone else turns up. Gylvin was just asking who else was coming and I was trying to think of all the people in the guild with some experience of the arcane. Me, Gylvin, Balthazar, you, Sheila and Lankin maybe was my list.

[Thymin]

Dravick:

Oh, right, the SPAM meeting, I totally forgot. Oh well, it all worked out in the end. "I guess I'm not too late then. I'm interested in getting started, though I don't know how much use I will be." Dravick focuses his attention on the agenda and reads it over fairly thoroughly.

[Thanatos 51-50]

Shiela:

The red-headed Shiela enters the library, her hair more of a mess than usual, and rubbing a bruise on her forearm.
"Am I late?" She asks, bleary eye peering about the room, following up, without pause with the phrase, almost as an excuse: "Valeris can Fight!"
She sounds very excited at the prospect of another skilled fighter in the guild.

[Bonecrusher Doc]

Lankin enters, carrying a three-legged wooden stool suitable for a person of his size. Rather than crowding around the table where others are already seated at the benches, he places his stool in a corner next to bookshelf, sits down, and leans back against the books.

Lankin
"Contrary to popular belief, I'm not an arcanist, but I am familiar with the principles of arcana, and Bruce suggested I attend at least this first meeting. I can probably help you with any questions you have about expenses and supplies."

It appears that in 3.0, Intelligence of 10 was the prereq for gnomes getting ghost sound, dancing lights, and prestidigitation. In 3.5 the prereq was changed to Charisma of 10. Lankin has 9 Charisma. Which means all the other gnome kids never let poor Lankin join in all the gnomish games growing up.

[Karaswanton]

Balthazar

Balthazar enters, looks over the documents, and says nothing.

[strongoak]

Gylvin

Gylvin is impressed by the crowd. Gylvin looks over the agenda and stops when he gets to item 6 (electing officers). He thinks for a moment and then asks Dravick for a moment of his time. "Dravick, I see you're a bard" Gylvin says. "One of the purposes of SPAM is for us to learn about integrating magic effectively into our teams. An important part of that learning experience will be the keeping of accurate records of the discussions and lessons learned. As a Bard, you have a unique talent for handling information. Would you be willing to serve as the scribe for SPAM? This would involve you keeping meeting minutes and composing any other documentation that we need. Please consider it and let me know if you'd like to help out."

Gylvin then turns to Matthew & says "Well, we may as well get started. Looks like a good crowd tonight." He goes to the front of the room and addresses the group.

"Welcome all of you to the first meeting of the Society for the Perfection of Arcane Methodology. I know that's a mouthfull, so we'll just refer to the group as S.P.A.M. I see that we have 3 magic users, a bard, a fighter and a guild official. This should make for a very interesting meeting. "

"In this forum, we'll be endevouring to address tactics for employing mages during battle as well as mundane topics such as financing the creation of magic items and the sharing of information. For those of you who are not Wizards/Sorcerors I'd like to let you know that part of the meeting is closed to non-Arcane magic users. This is not meant to be an insult, it simply reflects oaths that we have taken regarding the protection of arcane information. If we start getting Paladins or Clerics in this meeting, then I assume that there would be agenda items that were only open members who gain their magic powers from Divine sources."

"I'd like to suggest that we begin by introducing ourselves and briefly describing our interests in the Arcane Arts as well as what we hope to gain from this meeting. I'll go first."

"In case you don't know, my name is Gilvyn Liadon. I'm a wizard and my primary interest is Battle Magic. I've always been taught that the best defense is an overwhelming offense. I tend to favor spells that make things go "BOOM". From this group, I'd like to gain a better understanding of tactics used by non-elven fighting teams. I hope to become at least a good battle mage as my father."

Gylvin finishes his opening remarks with "Thank you for listening, who would like to go next?"

[DavidByron]

OK...
I think everyone here knows me already.. Matthew Estella. As most of you know adventuring is a change of occupation for me so I don't have much experience of fighting beyond clearing out belligerent drunkards from pubs. I don't know what my team will be facing but I want to be prepared. So I need information on how to fight esoteric adversaries, especially those where perhaps raw steel is of limited use and knowledge is key.

Secondly I'm keen to see the guild succeed. I think that we wizards can be a big part of that but we need to organise and co-operate efficiently. Prevent arguments by working out rules. Our resources are currently limited so we need to make every effort count. We can also help the teams that don't have wizards, or any arcane casters.

Thirdly I guess I want to increase my own powers and abilities. So for me it's to benefit my team, my guild and of course myself also.

Guess that's about it......

[Thymin]

Dravick:

"I'll go next. I think you all know me, I'm Dravick. Some of you may know me as 'the guy with the lute.'" He smiles and holds up his lute. "Anyway, I'm the only arcane caster on Team Badger, and I think that this group can be of great benefit to the guild as a whole and each of us individually, so here I am."

[Jensik]

Sharn Vankessel

A rather heavily armored pale man steps in the door. He looks around and notices the meeting already started. He says bowing, "Don't mind me, continue."

He does not take any seat, but stands by the door he came in through.

[Karaswanton]

Balthazar, LN Dwarven Wizard

The dwarf pulls on his beard as he talks:
You can call me Balthazar. I am an associate of Gylvin here, as part of Team cougar. My area of expertise is somewhat more subtle than my comrades. I specialize in conjuration. My training is a result of military research.

[Thanatos 51-50]

"I'm Shiela. You're probably a wee bit surprised that I'm here due to the rather obvious fact that I'm a Fighter.
Truth is, I've always been interested in the Arcane and its uses. I've even learned how to light a wand - although I'm still not very good at that. I'm here, primarily to learn, but secondarily, to provide a mundane fighter's representation of how I can use whatever spells you discuss in battle tactics. Where to drop those fireballs and such, what type of illusions are helpful - just more basic combat tactics stuff."

[strongoak]

Gylvin

"Great introductions! Let's go ahead and move onto the first item in our agenda. We'll be talking about using magic in different situations. I'd like to start tonight with an example where a simple spell can be used creatively to help the party."

"Suppose your group is in a large, dark hall. Suddenly, an arrow flies past, nearly hitting a party member in the head. You know what direction the arrow came from, but you can't see anything in the dark. What is one thing that you could do with magic to support the party?"

Gylvin gives the group a couple of moments to think about the problem. Balthazar signals that he would like to respond.

Balthazar says "Well, there should be some way to use a light spell in this situation....

"Exactly" Gylvin responds enthousiastically. "Depending on how far away you think your opponents are, you can cast the light spell on an arrow or rock. Can anyone think of other circumstances where the light spell could be useful?"

[DavidByron]

Matthew
I normally use Prestidigitation (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/prestidigitation.htm) if I want light. I suppose it isn't much of a combat spell though because it only works on things close to your person.
[hr]
I'm just going to throw down another subtopic but assume Matthew says this after the discussion on the use of the Light (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/light.htm) cantrip is over. Oh and you get those horizontal lines by typing [hr]
I have a question about "Enlarge Person (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/enlargePerson.htm)" (to translate the technical name of the spell from Draconic). This is a spell that doubles someone's size for a short time, but it also makes them quite clumsy. If I was going to use it in battle should I cast it on a friend or an enemy? Or is this a poor spell for a fight?

[strongoak]

Matthew
I normally use Prestidigitation (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/prestidigitation.htm) if I want light. I suppose it isn't much of a combat spell though because it only works on things close to your person.
<hr>

Gylvin

"I would be more concerned that the construct would be too fragile to survive being thrown or shot. If it were capable of surviving a shot from a bow or a throw, then this would be a good spell due to it's duration."

[MK Kilmarnock]

The cleric was capping his flask as he clamored into the room. He sheepishly looked around, knowing he was definitely late.

"I'm.. I'm sorry! It's just that I was told that this was a meeting for arcane spellcasters only. Then somebody mentioned my team didn't have an arcane spellcaster, so... here I am."

[DavidByron]

Matthew passes Zan a copy of the agenda. That's the last one I made so if anyone else turns up you have to share!
[hr]
It would be interesting to hear from the non-Wizards what their expectations would be for a Wizard during combat. What sort of role? If there are only so many spells a Wizard can have memorized and maybe one or two scrolls... should the spells be stuff to help retreat if need be? Or zap spells that target the most enemy fighters? Or something for defense? Miscellaneous stuff?

Should the role of Wizard be an offensive one or is that best left to the fighters, and Wizards should concentrate on stuff the fighters can't do?

Or for example Zan, you can use arcane scrolls, right? What would be the best scroll for you to have in reserve for your team?

[Thanatos 51-50]

"If I may -" Shiela interjects "I think that mages who have some sort of scouting ability would be extremly useful for example, if Matthew and I were exploring a ruin, I would be very grateful if he could, for example, cast a spell to see in another room, and then cast one of those wonderful illusions to show me whats going on. That way, I could better plan an assault or a path around the room in question.
"I'm not aware if anyone has that capability yet, or can ever reach that, but maybe its worth researching?

"Also, while I'm quite fond of swordplay, I can only hit one person at a time, and only then when I'm right next to them - I like it when the other guy goes
"Boom" and I can give my sword-arm a rest, but thats just killing as may birds as possible with as few stones as possible, maximum allocation of resources and junk.

"Furthermore - and I'm not sure if any of the magi here can - but if we had a mage that could smith magical arms and armor, such an asset would be invaluble outside of a combat situation, during downtime and such."

Shiela looks around the room quickly before staring at her feet.
"Um - Shiela smash puny orc?" she mutters quietly shortly before shutting up.

[Shades of Gray]

Durx, having overheard bits of the conversation from the next room, walks through the door, trying to act subtle. However that idea was a failure. He knocks a Chair down, and picks it up. He shuffles over to the chairs and sits next to Dravick.

I fink the role of a wiz'rd is to help in offense. A sportiv'ur defensive role is better handled by a cleric 'r bard. If the team's mult'ple warriors then they could have a subtle role, like using illusions'urenchantments

So, what about smashing orcs?, Durx give a slight scowl at Shiela.

[strongoak]

Gylvin

Gylvin listens carefully to the conversation. There are some very good ideas being discussed.

"Actually, the role of the Wizard can be either offensive or defensive in nature depending upon the skills of the particular mage. Some are masters of Illusion, some conjuring objects while still others favor spells that are more combat oriented.

Let's look at Shiela's example of scouting. Matthew or Balthazar may be able to come up with something to help with that request but I would not as my education is more offensive in nature. I prefer to let the ranger or someone trained in spotting traps & hidden objects do the scouting.

Another thing to keep in mind is that Wizards only have a finite amount of spells that they can cast each day. This means that one of the most important jobs of a magic user in combat is deciding when he should cast in addition to what spell he will use. After all, if the mage uses all of his spells in the first 10 minutes of a battle, he's pretty much out of the action for the rest of the day. He then becomes a liability to the party rather than an asset."

[DavidByron]

Hm. It sounds like this question is impossible to settle without taking into account the specific make up of each team. In fact the whole question might be answered differently for each team. I suggest we table this item until we've had a chance to talk to our team mates.....?

Moving on due to lack of posts for > 24 hours :smallsmile: but feel free to retroactively post to it
Well the next item is "covering our knowledge base".

I think we need to make sure we have experts in any area of knowledge that might be useful instead of all trying separately to know a little about everything. Of course we have the city library practically on our doorstep if there's time to research something.... but sometimes you need to know enough to know what to look for in the library.

On the other hand I can see that if you're down a dungeon killing monsters and you come across something you need to know about right there ... such as how to kill a certain creature... it might not do much good to have a friend who knows the answer unless we had some sort of spell for communicating that knowledge somehow.

[MK Kilmarnock]

Zan stared downward, not really being able to think.

Arcane scroll... arcane scroll... best arcane scroll to have....

His trouble in thinking about that problem was so great that he found great relief when Matthew moved the conversation onward.

"I've recieved much schooling about various deities and the planes.... I could probably help you out in that respect."

[DavidByron]

Yes that's the sort of thing I mean.

I have a pretty good knowledge of the way Bridgeport's political system works, and for what it's worth some contacts in the entertainment industry up and down the river.

What about everyone else? I guess we all have a good knowledge of spells and arcana, I'm talking about other stuff more.

Is this format not working? Basically the only reason for the agenda was to role play the fact that --well frankly all the wizards are LN and just like that sort of stuff. However I don't think it works very well for the players :smallsmile: Don't want people feeling they can't post something because according to the agenda its XYZ time.

This thread is supposed to go a bit slower too. However I'm going to throw down the next item on the agenda for now just to keep moving along.

[hr]
Later on...
Moving along.... next we have... Expenses and finance. Ah well this ought to be interesting. Lankin, this is somewhat about the details of the contract but for the most part it's about how cash will be split up among party members within a team and to some extent between teams.

Still the appropriate text of the contract might be worth re-reading here... Matthew picks up a piece of paper which is a copy of the guild contract and reads from it.

Member will contribute 50% of monies earned through any activity to the care of the guild treasurer, until such time that the value of 1000 gp have been contributed. Thenceforth, member need only contribute a tithe of 10%. Should a member experience material gain in a form other than coinage, a reasonable contribution to the guild is expected.

So the first question here is what should count as a material gain and specifically what replacement costs and operating costs are discounted before calculating profit? Replacing something like a few crossbow bolts or a few arrows is cheap enough but a scroll costs 25gp and a potion 50gp even for the cheapest of them. What I'd like to suggest is that items that get "used up" for the direct benefit of the team while on a mission would be replaced from any loot taken on the mission and profit calculated afterwards for purposes of sharing out how much money each member gets and how much the guild receives. Other operating costs like tolls or fares when traveling would be treated the same way.

Second question: Each member of the team is likely to want to spend some of their share, perhaps most of it, on upgrading their equipment. For example better armor or weapons. Those items would be bought with members own money and would belong to them. But some items might be bought for the team as a whole. These items would belong to the guild although used by a specific team and might be bought from the team's loot, again in this case before profit is calculated.

Third question is about team to team transfers. Let's say I make a scroll for Zan's team using my personal ink and parchment. The normal sale price is 25gp and materials account for half that. Should Zan's team just pay me cash? At what price? If the item was something from team Adder's loot would we pass it to another team at the purchase price or at half price which is all we'd probably manage to sell it for, or something in between?

[MK Kilmarnock]

The young Morseworth stared at Matthew before looking up at the ceiling, scratching his head. "Money.... I'm not very good with financial stuff. But I guess we'd pay whatever the cost of the scroll was, unless you were willing to take anything off out of the kindness of your heart."

[strongoak]

Second question: Each member of the team is likely to want to spend some of their share, perhaps most of it, on upgrading their equipment. For example better armor or weapons. Those items would be bought with members own money and would belong to them. But some items might be bought for the team as a whole. These items would belong to the guild although used by a specific team and might be bought from the team's loot, again in this case before profit is calculated.

Third question is about team to team transfers. Let's say I make a scroll for Zan's team using my personal ink and parchment. The normal sale price is 25gp and materials account for half that. Should Zan's team just pay me cash? At what price? If the item was something from team Adder's loot would we pass it to another team at the purchase price or at half price which is all we'd probably manage to sell it for, or something in between?

Gylvin

"I think the most fair way to handle intra-guild magic item creation would be to base it on creation cost rather than sale cost. For example, if I make a scroll that costs 25gp for another team, then the reimbursement should be the 25Gp. It should come from the purchasing team if they are using it on a personally contracted missions and from the guild if they are sending the team. It may be easier for the guild to fund the creation of the scrolls or items and then charge the appropriate team when they requisition a spell. I'm more concerned about use of the mages internal life forces during the creation {ooc: reference to xp}

{OOC: Maybe the mages capable of scribing scrolls or creating items should be allocated a portion of the guild experience specifically for creating items to help the team. Maybe 5-10% of guild activity experience which does not contribute to levels and is specifically for creating magic items for the guild armory. }

[Karaswanton]

Balthazar

Balthazar looks a little lost during the financial discussion.
Um. My wife usually handled the money, I'm no help here.

I really have no understanding of any of the financial stuff in D&D at all. I probably never will. I just wanted to add something to the thread. :smallbiggrin:

[DavidByron]

Matthew:
You know I have a few scrolls I'd like to sell because I am trying to raise enough money to get a familiar. I'm not sure what would be a good idea though. I quite fancied getting one of those little birds that can speak, or perhaps an owl. I was thinking you could train a bird familiar to take messages back and forth over long distances.

[MK Kilmarnock]

Zan quietly thought before...

"Wait, Matthew! Boccob will allow me to make scrolls too, right?"

No no no..... maybe it was use scrolls... Augh, I wish I had HIS penchant for sorcery and wizardry....

[Karaswanton]

Zan quietly thought before...

"Wait, Matthew! Boccob will allow me to make scrolls too, right?"

No no no..... maybe it was use scrolls... Augh, I wish I had HIS penchant for sorcery and wizardry....

If I'm not mistaken, it is use wizards scroll, unless you are also a wizard and then you can make wizard scrolls. Really, most clergy of Boccob are probably wizards. Not that you are a disappointment as a cleric instead of a wizard of course

Balthazar tries to smile sweetly, thinking:

I hope that didn't sound sarcastic, I didn't mean to be sarcastic. Or did I? I'm not sure. Was I sarcastic or not? Who am I? Who are all these people? Oh right, I'm Balthazar..no I'm not that's not my name. Oh right, it's an alias, and these people are my comrades. Or at least they say they are, they might be dwarvish spies. Wait, no beards. And that one's an elf, and the dwarf government never uses elf spies, unless the do now. Why do I worry so much, I'm paranoid. Oh no, I'm paranoid, I must be going insane!

OOC: Balthazar has an overly healthy sense of paranoia.

[DavidByron]

Clerics can make scrolls if they take the feat
Matthew:
I'm sure a smart guy like you could learn how to do it Zan!
[hr]
Matthew is still fussing about accounting....
Let's say I have a spell that allows you to disguise yourself magically. Now that's very useful sometimes but most of the time you won't need it. So is that a good spell for a scroll?

And Silent Image -- the figment spell -- I mean the "illusion" spell -- it's very useful for getting out of a tight spot. If things turn badly for a party having a scroll with it on might be a very wise idea.

Let's say then that the other two teams lack these two spells --- actually that's something else we need to sort out. I think I'm jumping up and down the agenda a bit but it's getting late and I've been trying to get to sleep earlier these days. Trying to get a good solid 8 hours before everyone starts getting up in the morning....

Hey maybe we could lobby Bruce for a separate room for the wizards to sleep in? Oh what was I sa--

let's say team Badger and Cougar decide it would be good to have a scroll of those two spells. Would they give me personally 50gp out of their teams' money? Would they have to pay the 50% "tax" on that to the guild first? Would the money be subtracted before the team divided up it's profits between members?

Let's say team B gets 200gp. They decide they want two scrolls from me. Would they pay me the 50gp then divide up the remaining 150 six ways, 25gp each and then give the guild 12.5 of that each? And would I have to pay the guild half of the money I got for selling scrolls? The materials alone cost me half. It seems like I'm just wanting to swap four scrolls worth 100gp for 100gp worth of materials needed to get a familiar.

*Sigh*
We need an accountant for this stuff. Maybe it's not worth worrying about it right now.
[hr]
I have to get going... I know there's stuff we didn't cover. Can we quickly go over item seven? Sharing of spell information? I guess you'd normally have a price for copying each others spells but none of us have any money right now so I propose we just waive that between us for now and make sure everyone has a chance to learn the others' spells? We're going to need a LOT of magic ink.
In view of the team threads moving on I suggest we wrap this meeting up with a few last comments and then skip forward to the next SPAM meeting which will take place after the first adventures and after the two women (sisters?) and the gnome are prisoners. After the small weapons are found, the goblins killed, the twin daggers examined and while the jail in the cellar is being dug out.

[strongoak]

Gylvin

"I have no problem sharing spells amongst ourselves at no cost. As far as scroll creation goes, my thought is that if the scroll is being created at the behest of the guild, then the mage should receive 1/2 the cost of the spell plus materials from the guild (provided they have not reached the 1000gp point, then they would get 90%). The scroll would then be guild property. If the mage is creating a scroll at the request of another guild member or civilian customer, then payment & guild contribution would be handled under the terms of our contract.

{OOC: I agree with DavidBryon, let's let the IC threads catch up.}

[DavidByron]

After the adventures and the death of the doge
Matthew waits for Zan and the others to turn up. He fidgets a little. How much interconnects? How much should he say? All of it?

[MK Kilmarnock]

Zan walks into the meeting hall, takes a seat, and allows his head to fall on the table.

"Please no numbers. Not for a few moments."

[DavidByron]

SPAM - the second meeting?
SPAM part deux?
Son of SPAM?
With only Zan and Matthew in the room so far Matthew decides, "What the hell?"

OK, secret, secrets.
Well the big one is that there seems to be some kind of super powerful monster on the lose frying people (so far only its own minions) and opening strange portals. We have two sister cultists locked up in the stables going on about some god killing super-nasty. A bunch of goblins mixed up in the odd business of an entire town up river seeming to be blotted out. There's some sort of poison wielding assassin from Midford knocking around at the same time as the doge drops dead... Oh and Ana has some kind of very powerful curse aura on her. But that last one's a big secret so -- hush hush.

So how was your week?
You wanna talk about numbers now?

Matthew puts his head in his hands and lowers it to the table. Yeah that was probably not a smart thing to say. But if I had to say it to anyone I guess saying it to Zan was best.

Uh. I think there's some sort of no drinking policy in the li.... actually could I have some of that please?

[MK Kilmarnock]

Zan lifts his head off the table for a moment.

"If you can find a container of some sort, I'll give some to you. But I can't let anybody else drink from this directly." He sighed apologetically. "That was a large list of grievances from you.... is this the end of our world or something?"

Zan looked for a cup or something nearby that he could use to give Matthew a sip. "To hell with it.." He stood up and walked over. "Lean back and open your mouth, and I'll pour it in."

[DavidByron]

*Mental image of Zan pouring alcohol down his throat as Gylvin or Lankin enters the room* I better pass on that.


is this the end of our world or something?
I may have exaggerated for artistic effect.

But I was wondering if your church might know something. Not about the small stuff like wars and assassinations and such; I dare say that wouldn't interest them much. Too normal. Too mundane? But if there's anything more ... out there... weird or cosmic going on ... the church of Boccob might have heard of it, what with Boccob being the Lord of Secret Knowledge and all that.

[Thymin]

Dravick:

As Dravick enters the room for the second SPAM meeting he overhears the end of the conversation between Matthew and Zan.


...weird or cosmic going on ... the church of Boccob might have heard of it, what with Boccob being the Lord of Secret Knowledge and all that.[/COLOR]

I wonder what they're talking about. "Secret Knowledge? I'm always interested in finding out some secret knowledge." He smiles coyly, at the men and says, "But seriously, what's going on?"

[DavidByron]

Well you know Bruce is digging the jail out because we have some prisoners, right? Well two of them are women and Bil says they might be sisters. They seem to be part of some eschatological cult. You know -- "the world is ending" blah blah blah. That was my impression but I haven't had a chance to interrogate either one yet. They had these matching ceremonial daggers and they were both screwing with the guild. Hey that reminds me --- did you guys ever find out who sent that special package that Dravick opened up?

I assume that episode is well known because,
(1) it was so public; even Elga would know of it
(2) it was pretty funny after the fact :smallamused:

Matthew's had some experience with nutty cults through his dad.

[Thymin]

I am Dravick

"No, we haven't. Yet. But we're following some leads. Why, do you have any info?

[MK Kilmarnock]

Zan had to take a seat fro the revelation.

"I have no way to contact them. I can't find out if my church knows anything or not... Boccob certainly won't tell me."

[DavidByron]

I know you're Dravick! :smallsigh:
I was speaking to both you guys.
What? Clumsy sentence structure? Me?
To Dravick:
Well no, but don't you think it's a coincidence? We got attacked, you got attacked. I just figured it's the same bunch of loonies. Matthew shrugs.

To Zan:
Come on Zan. Pull yourself together. You've got to be a player. If they don't want to know you now, maybe you can use this stuff we know so far to gain access? I don't know how it is with your church but some things are human nature.

[MK Kilmarnock]

Zan wiped his face, took a few deep breaths, and addressed Matthew. His calm tone seemed to have returned.

"Very well. I will try and see all that I can do. Is there a way to contact the church nearby?"

[Thymin]

Dravick:

Dravick thinks a moment about what Matthew said, then replies, "No, I don't think it's a conincidence at all. The attacks must have been related. Did your gropu find out anything else besides the cult of the two deranged sisters? If not, will you let me know once they've been interrogated? He is overcome for a split second with the vision of the box exploding into flame. "Or for that matter, if you want some help with the interrogation. As for the matter of a Church of Boccob, I think I might know of one..." he trails off thinking. "Anyway, let me know when you want to go. I'll go with you."

[roll0]
Also, a Bardic Knowledge Check for the eschatological cult matthew is talking about. [roll1]

[DavidByron]

So per the recent HQ comment we're putting any die rolls in the main HQ thread.
I didn't realise the church was so secretive, but I guess it makes sense.

Hey, Zan, if you don't mind me asking, how did you come to be part of the church of Boccob? You know I'm not much into that stuff, but I think if I was Boccob would be the one... as deities go he's alright. None of that pretending to care about everything, none of that hype and sanctimonious "religious" nonsense. None of that hypocrisy.

chip on shoulder Matthew?

[Thanatos 51-50]

Shiela

Shiela walks into the librariy wearing her armor, sword, and purple cloak right around the time Matthew started going off about religion.
"I had no idea we were using S.P.A.M. to dscussion theology, now." she jokes as she slides inside and pulls up a chair.
"May I ask inquire as to the current order of business?"

[Thanatos 51-50]

Shiela

Shiela walks into the librariy wearing her armor, sword, and purple cloak right around the time Matthew started going off about religion.
"I had no idea we were using S.P.A.M. to dscussion theology, now." she jokes as she slides inside and pulls up a chair.
"May I ask inquire as to the current order of business?"

[DavidByron]

did strongoak say he was in Mexico for a few days? I'm just going to say Gylvin and/or Balthazar comes in with Shiela
We were just chatting while we all waited for you Shiela! Matthew grins.

Nah.
I just didn't want to have to repeat myself but now we're all here....
I will begin!

Matthew narrates the events of the night that team Adder went down into West Bridgeport to find an assassin and ended up with fifteen burned bodies, half a dozen dead goblins through a portal and a captured young woman with a strange dagger that matches one found on the woman team Cougar captured at the docks.

And here is the dagger. The woman is out in the stable of course but so far we haven't got anything intelligent out of her and frankly I doubt that we will. I think my team is going to this town past Midford to check things out but my hunch is this dagger might relate to something more local.

[DavidByron]

I'm writing some scrolls tomorrow--- does anyone want one?


Choice of:
Disguise Self, Hypnosis, Enlarge Person
True Strike, Color Spray, Silent Image (the illusion spell)

or from Gylvin / Balthazar:
Charm Person, Sleep, Magic Missile
Obscuring Mist, Mage Armor, Shield
Grease, Expeditious Retreat, Feather Fall

[MK Kilmarnock]

Zan was still thinking about how to respond to Matthew's inquiry of how he came to worship Boccob. About to give an answer, his interest managed to squeak away to the scrolls and he looked over them.

"True strike looks immensely useful to me..."

[Karaswanton]

Balthazar shrugs.
I never liked it personally, but then my spells don't really rely on accuracy.

[Thanatos 51-50]

Shiela

"Oh, Enlarge Person?" Shiela says "That makes me bigger AND stronger, right? Does it work on my weapons, too?"
Shiela glanes about the room, and immediatly blushes.
"I know, I know, dunce cap... Shiela smash puny goblinoid? Alternativly, I could inspect that blade a bit."

[MK Kilmarnock]

Zan closed his eyes a few moments, breathed, then looked at Shiela in the nicest manner (which is actually pretty nice, considering his usually passiveness).

"Please stop degrading yourself in that manner. We're all aware that you are rather intelligent, and I for one am impressed." He even smiled a bit. "Though of course, your kobold smashing skills are most likely nothing to scoff at either."

[DavidByron]

Well I was going to go for spells that are not so obviously useful but might be very useful to have as a back-up. So I'll be taking Disguise Self and Silent Image for myself. I'll be taking the zap-pow spells as my regular memorised spells.

True Strike can be cool though. You can make those "impossible" shoot a thimble off someone's head shots. Maybe shoot through a rope with an arrow or hit someone in the eye? Plus you can shoot with your eyes closed. You just "sense" when and where to shoot.

Use the force Zan!

I think Enlarge Person is best for grappling. If you want to take someone down fast then ogre-sized grappling does it really well. I mean really well. I bet I could even beat someone like Durx or Fin if I was enlarged. And nobody gets hurt that way too.

Well not much anyway...

So I'll put you down for True Strike Zan and Shiela for Enlarge person.

Oh hey -- I am going to get a raven familiar. They are so cool. I'll be able to teach it neat tricks and it will be able to speak and stuff.

Hmm. I'll have to think of a name for it.
Matthew seems quite excited about this familiar thing!


That makes me bigger AND stronger, right? Does it work on my weapons, too?

Matthew sees nothing odd about the question.
I never did get around to giving you a demonstration did I? I was going to but then all that stuff started to happen... Basically yeah the weapons get bigger too but it gets complicated if you start doing things like dropping things that became enlarged with you (they shrink back) so throwing weapons shrink back before they hit and so do things like arrows.

[MK Kilmarnock]

Zan was happy with both the scroll he was signed for, and the fact that he had managed to avoid the question of Boccob. It wasn't hard to answer, just troublesome and more storytelling....

[DavidByron]

It's pretty easy to distract Matthew by getting him talking / lecturing about something. I'll have to write the scroll in Adder IC so I'll mention when you can grab them.

[Shades of Gray]

[COLOR="DarkGreen"]I think Enlarge Person is best for grappling. If you want to take someone down fast then ogre-sized grappling does it really well. I mean really well. I bet I could even beat someone like Durx or Fin if I was enlarged. And nobody gets hurt that way too.

Dream on, m'lord also gives me that spell, and we can agree that I'm much bigger than you. 'n'large pers'n 'sgood for combat to, it makes you stronger, always a good thing to have. Combine it with'a strengh spell and you'll be a juggernaut.

How d'you feel about spontaneous casting? Today I cast'd a cure spell, it had little effect. I replac'd summon monster for it, later that day, a summoned creature would've been useful.

[DavidByron]

Didn't see you there Durx! Is this your first time at SPAM? I don't think we've had anyone from your team here before. Do you know if anyone on your team could use a Wizard's scroll?

As for spontaneous casting Wizards are generally not able to do it, but I do think there's some merit in leaving a spell slot open, and certainly a cantrip slot open, so that with fifteen minutes notice you can memorise any spell. I think I'm going to go with two combat spells and an open slot for all the miscellaneous stuff. The other day I was at the library and....

Oh yeah this is something else you all might need to know about.

There was an incident at the library when I tried to see about using the place for research. Kyte was along with me and he came across a book that had contact poison on it's pages. It appears that the book was some sort of assassin's primer. This means that an assassin must have been active in Bridgeport recently. The book said to get in touch with the assassins in Midford. All quite suspicious in view of the recent death of the Doge.

[Thymin]

Dravick:



There was an incident at the library when I tried to see about using the place for research. Kyte was along with me and he came across a book that had contact poison on it's pages. It appears that the book was some sort of assassin's primer. This means that an assassin must have been active in Bridgeport recently. The book said to get in touch with the assassins in Midford. All quite suspicious in view of the recent death of the Doge.

Thinking about everything that has happened so far, with the guild suffering attacks and the assassination of the Doge, Dravick wonders if the events aren't unconnected.
"Attacks on the Guild, strange cults, unique matching daggers, the possible assasination of the Doge, poison in the library... Could it be connected somehow? If so, then how do all of these pieces fit together? If they are all related, we're probably in over our heads..." Dravick mused alound. He paced around the room slowly with his right arm across his chest and his left arm across it, his chin resting in his left hand. He seemed perplexed and thoughtful. Then without any warning he said, "No. There'd be no way for all of these things to be related. The attacks on the guild are one thing. The poison and the possible assassination of the doge is another. I mean, how lucky would we have to be for one of our members to literally stumble upon another set of clues to the same problem." Seeming pleased by his reasoning he says to the group, as if he just realized they were still in the same room, "I feel a bit out of sorts with SPAM, being a caster of a different sort, but I'd like to offer my services as the SPAM scribe. That way, we can try to keep our meetings organized and have a record of the things we talk about..."

[MK Kilmarnock]

Zan looked at Dravick.

"As much as I admire the thought you pour into your reasoning, explained by the pauses..." He himself had a little trouble speaking, because he felt as though he were being watched by the others, and he was nervous as it was anyhow. "Um... well, shortly, there is still the very much alive possibility that these things are indeed connected. We can't forget that. Maybe the attacks were designed to distract us long enough to prevent the death of this Doge...."

It doesn't feel nice to fail, either. And that's how I feel. Maybe it's how the others feel... being helpless to save somebody to the point where you didn't even know they were dead or in danger until it was too late.

[DavidByron]

Well it's getting late. I suggest we meet again tomorrow evening.
Moving time on until after the following events:

Interrogation of Kesha by team Adder.
Kidnapping of Kata by the turncoat Finde (team Dingo).
Team Badger's trip to West Bridgeport.
Announcement that the teams will be sent out by Bruce.
Possibly some of the interrogation of Verona by team Cougar.
Possibly Matthew has his new familiar the as yet unnamed raven.

[DavidByron]

It hasn't quite yet happened in Adder IC but I think this will likely be the last SPAM before the teams split up so I'll just assume that everyone's got out of the way any stuff they were planning before leaving so Matthew will have made his familiar and the scrolls. Hope this isn't assuming too much as they are both completely standard actions.

True Strike scroll for Zan
Enlarge Person scroll for Shiela

Matthew will be taking Beguiller at 2nd level so he will get knowledge of the following spells and as a result of that be able to create scrolls so others could eventually learn these spells (* indicates spell already known by Matthew):
Charm Person*
Color Spray*
Comprehend Languages
Detect Secret Doors
Disguise Self*
Expeditious Retreat
Hypnotism*
Mage Armor
Obscuring Mist
Rouse
Silent Image*
Sleep
Undetectable Alignment
Whelm

It looks like this will be our last meeting for some time.

I've got the scrolls requested by Zan and Shilea by the way. We never got around to co-ordinating what spells we were going to be researching so I made a list. I assume Gylvin and Balthazar will co-ordinate amongst themselves. I still think a good communication spell would be a great idea.

In the mean time I'd like you to take a look at my familiar in case I ever manage to train it to take messages, so you can recognise it. I'm not sure if that is possible. I might be able to get it to take messages back to the guildhouse over distances.

But for the immediate future team Adder is headed for Midford inititally and then out East from there. There's a pub in Midford called The Widowmaker. It's an old River Dwarf hang out, or at least it used to be, well it still is really but I think they've been trying to go up-market. Anyway I am known there so you can leave a letter there under my name and I should be able to pick it up. Actually if you send it to "Abramelin" because there's a lot of "Matthew"s knocking around.

I assume that we can send letters to Aulric at the church of Morrow in Falls and it will get there. The good thing about The Widowmaker is that a lot of River Dwarves still go there so it's easy to get a letter delivered there.

You know it might be a good idea... when I get to Midford I'll see if I can get it sorted out so that any member of the guild with their guild pin can read "my" mail since it will be under the "Abremlin" name.

[MK Kilmarnock]

Zan took his scroll at least.

"Thank you. I hope I can use this for something decent.... I need a drink. You... you sure you don't want one?"

[DavidByron]

No thanks Zan, not in the library.

Oh hey that reminds me though... next business.... I thought it would be nice if we all chipped in and bought a nice little going away present for Ana. Nothing big.

[MK Kilmarnock]

Zan leaned over the table, awestruck.

"Going away? She's leaving? But... but why?"

[DavidByron]

No she's not leaving, we are.
Most of us anyway.

[MK Kilmarnock]

Zan was stammering.

"Sure, b-but not for long, right? J-just a little while!"

[Thymin]

Dravick:

Remembering that there was a SPAM meeting tonight, Dravick heads to the library to find Matthew and Zan already there talking about something. "Whew. And here I thought I was going to be late." Dravick smiles meekly before continuing. "I don't know why I always have such a hard time remembering these meetings. Anyway, it looks I'm not that late, or else noone else has arrived yet." He takes a seat next to Zan, and sits quietly for a few moments before asking, "When does the meeting start anyway?"

[DavidByron]

It never really gets going until Shiela arrives!
I sort of assume that everyone who will attend is already here. Otherwise every meeting would have to start out with a long list of "X arrives", then "Y arrives" type messages.

[Thymin]

I edited my last post to account for your thoughts DB. It really makes better sense that way. But I left it that Dravick was late.

"So, have I missed anything?"

[DavidByron]

Well I suggested an address in Midford to act as a drop-box for intra-team communications. And I was going to introduce my familiar but she was asleep. Oh here she is now....

The small bird was well hidden in Matthew's hair, on his shoulder and might have escaped notice until it began to move about.

This is "Fi". She's a raven. You can speak directly to her.

[MK Kilmarnock]

Zan answered upon impulse, like a child talking to an animal-disguised mascot.

"Hello, Fi."

[DavidByron]

"Hellow Matthew's friend! CAW!"

[MK Kilmarnock]

Zan looked on with utter joy.

"My name is Zan, Fi!"

[DavidByron]

Shorter absence than expected though quite long enough!
Yes it's back baby!

Society for the Perfection of Arcane Methodology

Rule number 1. Nobody talks about SPAM.
Rule number 2. Nobody talks about SPAM.
Rule number 3. Don't get yourself killed by a cat while walking through the wilderness.
Rule number 4. Failure to respect (3) may cause confiscation of spell book.

Yes, the thread that's more quasi-timed than even the HQ thread! OK let's get to it; there's a lot to talk about.

[DavidByron]

Matthew goes in search of Kyte to make sure he turns up for the meeting.

[Thanatos 51-50]

Bad thanatos for not monitoring this thread better! Also - is the post-Gylvin death?
Shiela

As usual, Shiela is the last to arrive. Its kind f the odd order of things where the fighter who is interested in magic shows up last to the mage's meeting. Although, its been turning out that S.P.A.M. was less "Mage's meeting" than ti was "All the teams collaborate, shoot theories and ideas back and forth, and hey! Magic gets involved, too!"
The redhead slides into a convient chair, once again encased in the tools of her trade (Armor, Scimitar, Dagger - left the shield behind)
"Alright - whats our order of business today?"

[MK Kilmarnock]

Zan stumbled into the room, clearly tired, and collapsed into a chair as soon as he was able. His body slumped over the table as though he were sleeping or in a drunken stupor.

"..... Okay... I'm... um... here."

[Thymin]

Dravick:

"I wonder what's on the agenda for today." Dravick wondered aloud.



OOC: What is the quasi time temperament of this meeting, and are all of the teams back at the guildhall? Dravick wondered out of character... :smalltongue:

[DavidByron]

After all the teams are back at the HQ -- assuming that team D are about to head back.

Matthew:
I guess the agenda is the war and the old Doge's assassination. But first a moment of silence for our lost comrade, Gylvin, a wizard's wizard if ever there was one.

(Pause)

[Thanatos 51-50]

Shiela

Had the Tailor been a horse, or a dog, or a cat, or any other creature of similar facial musculature, her ears would have shot forward.

Being a human being, however, her stance in the chair straightened considerably, and eyes darted about the room as ne hand drfted towards her scimitar.
She paused a breath and let her hand fall from her balde's hilt to honor the comrade she couldn't save. If only she hadn't attempted to frighten the cat...
She wouldn't be sitting here now, it would have gone after her - she would have survived, the cat would still be dead... but... time for self-pity and doubt later, now was time for businees.

Shiela Tailor, Fighter, took a deep, steady breath.
"War, you say, how brings this upon us?"
Her eyes harden a bit.
"I knew that theory suggested our Doge was assisinated, and... what the druid wrote, but is Doge Varonis such a complete Tactical Moron, Idiot, and utter waste of flesh and organs ((OOC:I'm arbritraily claiming thats a single word in battlecant. It makes sense that way:smalltongue:))That he'd bring us into war? Does this have anything to do with the Church of the Gnome God?"

[DavidByron]

Matthew:
Uh... didn't catch all of that.... OK let me go first.

As you all know team Adder was charged with tracking down more on this cult that had attacked the guild. All the attacks were instigated by two sisters, both cult members. The Cougars captured Verona and the Adders captured Klesha. Matthias managed to persuade both girls to co-operate with the guild and we ended up with the title to Highburrow Hall which we gave back to the church of Yondalla as a political move to build some support here in Bridgeport.

We set off to Fishleap Shallows to investigate why the goblins had a map showing it. When we got as far as Khorinis we met guardsmen from Midford saying Midford was already under siege. Now some of you have not seen Midford but it's a big city even by the standards of the seven. To lay siege to a place like that you need a big army. The report was that the siege was well organised and the attackers had cut the river traffic. Half the party went to investigate further while Vlax, myself and the sisters carried on to Fishleap.

When we arrived the town was burned out.

You know it's odd but I remembered that reading by the old seer Linda. She predicted I'd be standing in a town with all the houses burned, but that it would be OK because the villagers had escaped.

So we searched for the survivors and found them. They told us that a man called Davison had been smuggling weapons to the goblins in bales of textiles that had come from Bridgeport. They believed that the goblin base was at a place called Broken Mountain (because that's where the trader had headed with the weapons). They didn't discover he was smuggling weapons until he'd been doing it a year. The goblin army attacked a day or two after team Adder had gone to Highburrow Hall and passed through the portal created by the cult "power".

I saw some of these weapons and I think they are the same manufacture that the badgers found in the port side Church of Garl.

The only conclusion is that has been a plot for over a year by the weaver guildmaster Argos to arm goblin tribes in secret and get them to attack Midford -- and I assume not just Midford. On the way home we heard there were some goblins down the Harvest river as well as the North so the entire area between Midford and Khorinis is effected at the least. The elders of Fishleap said goblins had not been seen locally for along time so Argos had to not only arm them, but seek them out and recruit them.

Given the scope of this conspiracy the death of the old Doge cannot be a coincidence, therefore he was assassinated by Argos.

And since the church of Pelor was unable to raise him I conclude that he was killed using some sort of Necromancy. No ordinary poison would have been effective in keeping the old Doge dead. We know Midford assassin's guild was active in Bridgeport just before the old Doge was killed but with the siege on there's no way to investigate that angle easily.

We didn't find out anything about the cult "power" we set off to investigate but thought it best to get back here with the other news immediately. It seems to me that if Argos is aware or becomes aware that the Adventurers' Guild were the ones who found the secret weapons cache intended for the goblins, he may want to eliminate us. I don't know what the relationship is between the cult "power" and the Argos conspiracy but they don't seem to be allies.

[DavidByron]

Matthew:
Has everyone met Fiona by the way?

Matthew indicates the raven who is eating some seed from Matthew's hand.

Klesha and Verona pretty much became a part of team Adder on the trip. I hope you are all OK with that. They were taken in when they were kids and more or less brainwashed into the cult. I think whoever is leading the cult headhunted them because of their talents. Probably burned down their school just to stage their "rescue". They were both told the other sister died in the fire.

To Shiela:
Varonis? Is that Argos' official title then?

What's this about a druid's writing?

[Bonecrusher Doc]

Argos' ducal name is "Vanorius," seemingly laying claim to the heritage of the Vanorian empire.

[rockdeworld]

After all the teams are back at the HQ -- assuming that team D are about to head back.

Matthew:
I guess the agenda is the war and the old Doge's assassination. But first a moment of silence for our lost comrade, Gylvin, a wizard's wizard if ever there was one.

(Pause)
During the pause, Kyte slips in.

Why did that magician want me here? He wonders about Matthew. He listens to the following conversation, and comprehension dawns on him.

[Thanatos 51-50]

Shiela

"As you know, Cougar was on their way to Falls to investigate a summons by a former guildmember."
Shiela begins,
"As you also know Gylvin was killed by a cougar during the trip, but that is not what prompted our return. While investigating the scene, I discovered a half-elven druid who had been killed by several piercing wounds, upon examining the items on her person, we found a parchment written in Elven. It was translated when we got back here - I'm sure Father Eldon will be able to show you all the translation, however, it pretty much confirms your theory about the goblins."
Shiela screws her eyes shut, as if trying to remember what the page said:
"The Broken Mountain erupts again, ... something... with an army. Some Evil is creating goblins un-naturally, and the Orcs aren't acting on it... Caught some around Fishleap Shallows... scouting... they think they can conquer the Seven Cities... wait, no, she wrote believe they are destined.
Then... something about the "False Garl" making a pact to "manipulate Nature", to enslave the Seven to Bridgeport - it actually uses the old name, Zarif.
Then there is a line, asking the bearer to see someone, and inform him of the problem. See what they can do, I think... I don't rember it exactly, obviously."
Shiela looks around the table to judge everyone's reactions to the report.
"So, it at least appears as if at least one druid knows something else is going on - and he sent an apprentice to act as a runner. Thing is, the Apprentice was killed - I assume by goblins - and we ended up killing her companion. That would explain why the druid's killers didn't loot her corpse.The cougar scared 'im off. They were also carrying a couple gems Balthazar says they are occasionally enchanted to assit with eyesight, but I haven't put eithther to necklace or the tiara on, myself."
Actual words copy-pasted here for your convience:
~~~
Omorna,
The Broken Mountain erupts again, but this time with an army, not fire. Some devilry is spawning goblins unnaturally. The orcs refuse to do anything about it. The wrath of Obad-Hai shall be swift. I have captured some of the goblins on scouting missions in the woods north of Fishleap Shallows, and they seem to believe they are destined to conquer the Seven Cities of the Great Valley.
My spies have also just returned from the south. The False Road of Garl has made a pact with those who would manipulate Nature, through which they hope to enslave the Great Valley to themselves in Zarif.
I know not how the goblins and my reports from the south are related, but I fear time is short. Go quickly to Maghlemuel and if he does not already know of these things, give him this letter, then do as he bids.
Earth's blessings upon you.
-Aurelia

[DavidByron]

Matthew:
Definitely need to see the translation. Especially the bit about, "creating goblins un-naturally". And we could do with some allies in this matter. I think there's a druid in team Dingo. Perhaps they know this dead druid.

In fact from the exact translation it's an Obad-Hai deal not a druid deal so the Cardinal (Omoris) probably doesn't know them. "Maghlemuel" is the name of the high priest of Obad-Hai in Bridgeport; something Matthew would most likely know. But no doubt Eldon recognised that name if team Cougar didn't.

Also I think Sharn has the translation not Eldon and Sharn may be present at the meeting so the translation might be available now.
I had thought this was just a simple matter of political intrigue and war, but if your report is accurate it's something far more sinister. I can see the master weaver rounding up and recruiting goblins from out of the East but that's hardly "creating goblins unnaturally". This is important. Maybe Argos isn't the head of this conspiracy. How much control over his goblin allies does he really have?

Do you have evidence that the druid was killed by goblins? Whereabouts were you when you found the body? I'd be surprised if goblins had crossed the Harvest and come South of Khorinis. The death may have been a coincidence.... It's not easy to track a druid that far.... another alternative is that the main road is being watched by agents at this time.

That reminds me. We met four guardsmen from Midford heading South to try and appeal for troops against the goblins. Although when we met them I had no more than a hunch, I warned them about the new Doge and suggested they come and talk to Bruce here. I take it these Midford guards never made it to Bridgeport that we know of?

How did the funeral go?

Was there anything odd about it? Dead bodies can still tell tales. I think we should break into the tomb and ask the dead Doge what he knows. Unless the same Necromantic effect that blocks his being raised also prevents other such spells.... All we need is a powerful cleric to cast the spell or write a scroll. Eldon might be willing. We might even be able to persuade a cleric of Pelor under the circumstances since the Doge was assassinated on their watch. But I think we'd need more proof first....

One other thing. There may be more conspirators than we know of yet. In particular who made all those weapons? I think the old Doge was originally from the smith's guild or something like that... but to make an army's worth of weapons in secret suggests someone from that guild is in on things too. That's the two most powerful guilds in Bridgeport, the new Doge and I assume -- has Argos fired the old Marshal yet? Well expect that next. On the other hand the other churches stand to lose out so they might make good allies.

[Bonecrusher Doc]

Another FYI - the Clerics of Obad-Hai and the Druids are not as separate/distinct in this campaign as they are in the PHB. Druids revere Obad-Hai, just in a less formal and specific way than the clerics do... they sort of revere him by revering nature, whereas the clerics revere him directly. I can't remember if it was Wellesley or Valspir that told the adventurers that Maghlemuel "studied in both traditions" (read: multiclassed Druid and Cleric). The reason I did this was because of the way Omoris introduced himself as a "druid of Obad-Hai." Here is some of Omoris' backstory from his character sheet:

Just northeast of the halfling marshes lies the glades belonging to "the Crown of Obad-hai" a sect of druids devoted to the protection of the forest. They combat deforestation in many different ways, from summoning wolves to scare would-be woodcutters away,to planting snares and traps to snare and entangle thier foes.They do not particulary have any qualms on how they acheive thier goal, and for every person gently guided out of the wood another finds themselves stripped of thier belongings, beaten and floating in the marsh. While all who gain a profit from the export of timber despise this group, many halflings and humans are thankful, for the druids help to repel orc incursions and other foul creatures. Recently, the sect has been attacked by adventuring groups hired by logging guilds, and have had to tone thier activities down and become even more secluded. In desperation, they have sent some of thier wisest apprentice druids, including Omoris Brecht,to go out into the world and spread the judgement of Obad-Hai to those who disrespect nature, and to aid those who do. Many of these druids fell foul to mishap, but Omoris was crafty enough to find a way of becoming more powerful, earning funds for his sect, and dosing out the judgement of the master of nature: By joining the adventurers guild.

[MK Kilmarnock]

Zan was clutching his head tightly. "Too much..."
His hand darted down to frantically grab and uncap the flask, swigging at least a quarter of it before capping and taking a breath.

"Um... my apologies, but I'm not very good at keeping up with all of this. I... I th-think I've gotten all that's happened so far, but I'm still not very useful with one happy exception. You mentioned the funeral, and.. um, I guess I'm as far as the expert can be on that subject. But why br-break into the tomb?" Zan sighed, knowing the reasons given were quite sufficient... he simply wasn't comfortable with the idea. He was also feeling some bitterment at the religious affiliations involved... Pelor, Garl... he was sure he heard a mention of Obad-Hai. It seems all of the gods were mixing it but his own.

"Okay, I recant that earlier question." Zan followed that sentence up with a general description to what exactly happened at the funeral, not leaving any details out this time as he had previously to Inagu. This was essentially the most crucial account, as he had never given one to the whole of the teams before.

[Thanatos 51-50]

Sorry, MK, but could you please, please, type out the description of the funeral for those of us not following the other team's threads?
Also, DavidByron, this may be a good tool to update your "Plot Summary" on the help page.

[Bonecrusher Doc]

The funeral procession reaches the end of the gardens and comes to a large pair of double doors that are the rear entrance of the cathedral of Pelor. Young clerics armed with maces step aside. Instead of going through the doors, however, Lucas turns to a wide, low, single door to the right, made of wood and iron. He produces a large, intricate key from a ring on his belt, which he puts into the keyhole of the door and unlocks it. Stone steps curve downward, well-lit by torches in brackets on the walls. The procession goes down into the crypt under the church.
After descending a 360 degree spiral of the staircase, Zan and those around him find themselves in a huge room of stone. The walls, ceiling, and floor are stone, and there are stone columns everywhere that are continuous with the floor and ceiling. About half of the giant room is full of the tombs of various Doges and High Priests and other persons of power. the room is well-lit and well-cared for; there is no dust on the tombs, no cobwebs in the corners. Another cleric meets them and leads them to a simple, undecorated tomb. The only engraving is a simple "Aloysius III." Valspir whispers that the stonecarvers will work for months before completing the artwork on the tomb. The coffin is set down.
Lucas
"Behold, the material shell of Aloysius III. If any here think this be not he, speak now."
The coffin is opened, revealing the body within. A man with white hair, old but not ancient, the skin of his face tough-looking, and probably ruddy once. In death he is paler, with tiny purple spots around his eyes, mouth, and neck. Around his neck is a heavy chain of gold and jewels, on his belt is a small dagger with a gold hilt (not similar to the daggers of Klesha and Verona), and in his left hand is a scroll.
Lucas looks into the faces of all those present, his own face an expressionless mask.
******
With no protests, Lucas orders the doge's body placed in the tomb and the tomb sealed with a heavy stone lid that takes eight men to lift and position. A final prayer is said, then the procession quietly returns up the steps to the garden before informally splitting up. The high priests go into the cathedral, Marshal Picket leaves the group somewhere in the palace, and the three senior guildmasters, Zan, and Valspir come out into the plaza in front of the palace again (in view of Dravick, Victor, and Inagu).

[DavidByron]

Matthew:
Well perhaps I was being over theatrical when I said "break in", Zan. We won't break anything. It's a good question though. The reason is that it's not good enough for us to all know the old Doge was assassinated; we need to convince others. There may be some small clue on the body that was over-looked.

[MK Kilmarnock]

Zan bowed his head. "Yeah, I understand, now."

[Jensik]

Sharn

Sharn walks into the room, with an expressionless look. Apparently he had been standing just outside the door the whole time. He takes a piece of parchment from a pocket and lays it on the table. "The note. Many are the possible reasons why the Doge cannot be raised. While Necromancy is one... perhaps... he feels his time here is over, and does not wish to return. If that is the case, there is a spell that will allow us to speak with him... in a sense. You see, when someone dies, their soul moves on, but an imprint stays behind with the body, in case it is ever called on to return. A priest with enough power can animate the imprint and ask questions to the body, and it will reveal any information it knew in life. I've seen it done before, not very cooperative, rather cryptic in fact. An interesting experience, very fascinating." He pauses and looks about the room. "Though... some find it quite terrifying, or so I've been told."

[MK Kilmarnock]

Zan was practically passed out now on the table. Who knew why he was so tired, but he was getting a bit irritable.

"... Can YOU do this?"

[Thanatos 51-50]

Shiela

The fighter looked with concern unto Zan.
"Are you alright, Zan? Need some sleep or some spiced cider or something?"
which reminds me, do we have a coffee-analouge during this time frame?
"In regards to spaking with our friend, the Late Doge, access isn't our biggest worry - that spell sounds like could fetch a pretty copper or several. Do we have the funds?"

[DavidByron]

Matthew studies the translation of the note. Written in Elvish and not in Druidic then. Perhaps for the benefit of the clerics of Obad-Hai


Omorna,
The Broken Mountain erupts again, but this time with an army, not fire. Some devilry is spawning goblins unnaturally. The orcs refuse to do anything about it. The wrath of Obad-Hai shall be swift. I have captured some of the goblins on scouting missions in the woods north of Fishleap Shallows, and they seem to believe they are destined to conquer the Seven Cities of the Great Valley.
My spies have also just returned from the south. The False Road of Garl has made a pact with those who would manipulate Nature, through which they hope to enslave the Great Valley to themselves in Zarif.
I know not how the goblins and my reports from the south are related, but I fear time is short. Go quickly to Maghlemuel and if he does not already know of these things, give him this letter, then do as he bids.
Earth's blessings upon you.
-Aurelia

The Broken Mountain ... I wonder if it used to be an active volcano. The city library might have something on that. ... the townsfolk at Fishleap mentioned Orcs too. They gave me the impression that the Orcs are the native population out that way, and keep themselves to themselves. The woods North of Fishleap -- that would be across the river since Fishleap is on the South bank -- that's is my best guess as to where team Adder was when they stepped through the portal created by the "power". it's between Fishleap and the Broken Mountain. "Zarif" is the old name for Bridgeport of course and "Maghlemuel" is the high priest off Obad-Hai here in Bridgeport.

It's a bit confusing but it seems there are multiple factions referred to. The goblins and the "devilry" that is "creating" them and then in Bridgeport the "false Garl".

I wonder if Argos is a follower of Garl.

At any rate it looks like it would be a good idea to get this note to Maghlemuel without delay.

Do we know if the guildhouse is being watched yet?

[rockdeworld]

Kyte

"Probably." Kyte answers in response to Matthew's question about Argos being a follower of Garl - his first words yet in the meeting.

For reference, check this post (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=4033128&postcount=361) from Badger IC.

[DavidByron]

You mean "Probably" in answer to, "I wonder if Argos is a follower of Garl."
Matthew:
What's all this about a "false Garl"?

[MK Kilmarnock]

Zan twitched an eye and turned to Matthew.

"Have citizens sunk so far as to create false gods? ...." Sighing and trying to give the friendliest shake of a head to Shiela, Zan tipped up the flask and began chugging. He remained silent and drinking until the flask was empty. When it finally did empty, he capped it in a bit of irritation but seemed to have calmed down a little.

[Thanatos 51-50]

Shiela

With a slight delay, Shiela mused over the message and the theories being bandied about.
"It sounds more straightforward than that," she responded quickly "The letter states "The Flase Road of Garl" Assuming that the Garl in question is, in fact, Garl Glittergold, it may be one of two things.
One, it could be nothing but mere religious differances. I'm no expert, but these Druids seem to worship Obad-hai, maybe they see Garl Glittergold's church as a "false Church". Would anyone here happen to know if thats the case?"
She pauses for the span of a breath before ocnituing on
"Two - which I think may be more likely, is simply that these men are not going down Glittergold's path, but a "false Road". There is a high priest en route to Bridgeport to chastise Garl's worshippers which Cougar is making prepeartions to intercept. Reason being, the Head Priest-guy of bridgeport used to be a Cleric of Obad-Hai, but the new Doge replaced him with the Head Gnome in Charge of Garl's churches down here. In other words, the number one guy to get a tongue-lashing.
This theory suggests that the Druids out there know Bridgeport's worshippers of Garl are straying from the Pah, and are heading down a "False Road".
We really need to speak to Maghemuel."

[DavidByron]

Shiela:There is a high priest en route to Bridgeport to chastise Garl's worshippers which Cougar is making prepartions to intercept.

Matthew:
How do we know that?

[Thanatos 51-50]

Shiela

"Bruce didn't say, just 'I have learned Fortugeld intends to sail to Bridgeport in order to chastise followers of Garl for their erring ways'. Thats actually, probably a slight misquote, but he didn't relate how he came upon the intel. Cougar is to intercept and warn him that he may be in danger." the fighter relates in an off-handed manner.
"So, I guess "we know" becuase Bruce said so... Hey! I rhymed!"

[MK Kilmarnock]

Zan sighed and straightened himself in his seat.
"I have a minor understanding of what's going on, here. However, I'm going to most concern myself to aiding the team. That's what I'm here for, after all. Well, then, with that highlighted, it is my understanding I'm attending the foray into the tomb of the Doge."

[Jensik]

[roll0]

Sharn sifts through his memory attempting to recall any text referencing animosity between the church of Garl and Obad-Hai. But for some reason, he can't seem to focus and is constantly thinking of his old friend Carl.

((OOC: Terrible roll))

[DavidByron]

Matthew:
Hey isn't that new guy -- the gnome who turned up with a spade one day -- Markov, Marko ... Marko Something -- something like that -- isn't he a sailor? I think he came from the Gnomish isles. He might have some useful tips.

[MK Kilmarnock]

Zan closed his eyes and had his arms crossed, trying to remember something when Matthew suggested that they ask Marko. Though it was an improbable shot due to Boccob's uninvolvement, Zan tried to remember anything himself about Garl in terms of relationships with gods that might help them all.

[roll0]

((Are you kidding me!? Roller, why has thou forsaken me?))

[Karaswanton]

Balthazar

[roll0]

[Bonecrusher Doc]

The adventurers can think of no historical animosity between the deities Garl and Obad-Hai. Only in recent years, in Bridgeport specifically, has there grown to be friction between the Church of Garl and all the other churches because of converts leaving their ranks to join the growing movement in the Bridgeport Church of Garl. Possibly worse in the churches of Obad-Hai and Ehlonna because they see their religions dying out, while the churches of Pelor and Yondalla can afford to lose a few people and still stay strong. Small sects of niche deities such as Boccob haven't lost anyone to the new Garl movement.

[Shades of Gray]

Durx

[roll0]

The few dwarves that worsh'ped Obad-Hai set up there own smaller villages in the mountains. And Any'un worsh'ping Garl was either livin' with th'nomes, or an entertainer or prankster. Yeah, Marko's on my team, and he's a sailor. I'll remind him to come to one of these meetings

I'm Durx by the way, if anyone's new to these meetings. Say, anyone have anythin' t'eat'r'drink? 'sides Zan.

(@Doc, If I can't post right now, then disregard this post, and I'l post again when I can, I also forgot I got 4 skill points per level b/c of my Int, instead of 2, so I am putting ranks into Knowledge (Religion) and Craft(Blacksmithing and Weaponry)

[MK Kilmarnock]

Zan shrugged.
"Um, I can go run and grab a mug if anybody's got one, and I'll gladly pour you a swig. I'm generous, you just can't drink directly from the flask. S-sorry if it offends you, I don't want it to."

[Shades of Gray]

No problem at all, y'carry that 'round everywhere, I wouldn't want some'uns spit on it too.

He laughs.

You can't live with dwarves all yer life and not have a mug on hand.

It's true, Durx pulls out an old copper mug.

[MK Kilmarnock]

Zan had a heavily amused look on his face as he stepped over and poured a generous amount of the ail into Durx's mug. "You were around Dwarves for a significant portion of your life? Really?" Zan's amusement was also from his own being raised by a dwarf. He had truly never considered it, but perhaps that was why he was such a heavy drinker.

[Shades of Gray]

Actually, since I was young, I came to this town 'month ago. I'm Durx, of Clan Ironbeard, I was surprised when they accepted me as one of their clansmen m'self.

[MK Kilmarnock]

Zan finished rubbing the back of his head and took his own sip of ale before capping it and returning to his seat.

"Um, we were a bit off topic just now... but I only know one dwarf while we're at it, so my knowledge bases of dwarven culture are good unless we're talking about whole civilizations. For all intents and purposes, um.. well, I guess you're basically a dwarf in a half-orc body. N-neat!"
Zan looked about nervously, knowing he should be getting back down to business.

[Karaswanton]

No problem at all, y'carry that 'round everywhere, I wouldn't want some'uns spit on it too.

He laughs.

You can't live with dwarves all yer life and not have a mug on hand.

It's true, Durx pulls out an old copper mug.

The dwarf panics, and then bolts out of the room.
I knew I forgot something! My mug! Damn!

[DavidByron]

Matthew:
Balthazar..??

Uh well anyway.... that's what Adder was up to and I think we covered what the Cougars were doing. Where did team Dingo disappear to so suddenly? And did team Badger get anywhere with the Halfling uprising thing? Well we know the weapons were nothing to do with them now but did anything come of it?

[rockdeworld]

Kyte

Kyte shakes his head but says nothing, allowing one of the other Badgers to fill in for him. Instead he decides to listen.

[Shades of Gray]

Matthew:
Balthazar..??

Uh well anyway.... that's what Adder was up to and I think we covered what the Cougars were doing. Where did team Dingo disappear to so suddenly? And did team Badger get anywhere with the Halfling uprising thing? Well we know the weapons were nothing to do with them now but did anything come of it?

A friend of ours's kidnapped, by our former teammate Finde, s'well as some others. Speakin'f which, we might have some sailors for hire by the guild, but we have to talk it out first.

[MK Kilmarnock]

Zan sighed.
"As far as the uprising is concerned, I hardly learned anything thanks to a little trip taken to West Bridgeport." He didn't go any further than that, though he noticed when Balthazar suddenly left the room.

"...R-right."

[DavidByron]

Matthew:
Oh by the way. If anyone hear's anything about people creating magical portals or people looking for people like that, we need to know about it.

[MK Kilmarnock]

Zan looked at Matthew, confused.

"Is this one of those out of the blue questions you like to throw?"

[DavidByron]

I'm assuming that Kyte brought Matthew up to ddate prior to the SPAM meeting that evening.

http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=67035&page=25

Matthew grins.

Matthew:
Yeah, one of those questions.

It's just a hunch.

Well.... I'm still more worried about this cult "power" that may be little more than one guy grabbing talented children and indoctrinating them. Or maybe something much more sinister. I was sort of thinking of a sting operation.

What if we set up an act where a young woman opens up a portal and displays magical powers in a public place in Bridgeport? We do it using illusion - I think the sisters are illusionists too so we'd have perhaps three on hand. So we pull it off in a very public place where we have contacts -- I'm thinking that pub Dravick used to work at. Word gets out about the incident and then we just wait to see what vultures turn up.

[Thymin]

Dravick:

"I don't know about this plan, where would we find a young woman to play the part of the portal creator? And even if we did find a suitable person, wouldn't we be putting her into harm's way with your hope that she gets noticed by this sinister vulture and he come to try to take her away?"

[DavidByron]

Matthew:
Well there are young women in the guild who could play the role -- that would probably be preferable to disguising someone else as a woman. But the role would require some acting.

[MK Kilmarnock]

Zan smiled somewhat widely, feeling rarely michevous. "Dravick, are you a good actor?" He chuckled at a whisper into his hand, but sobered himself in a few moments. "Um, how exactly would we find a woman to do this? The only one is... well, Ana that we know and have good access to. Either that, or we could simply LOOK for somebody. Nobody in Keopara acts, as far as I know, so I'm sorry I can't help."

[Shades of Gray]

What 'bout Iva? Ana might not want to, she is very shy. s'far as illusions go, I can make some eerie mist. And make stuff glow, likes some gloves, as a torch, to make them seem magical.

[MK Kilmarnock]

Zan was more serious this time, which may have been scary.
"If you can make mist, are you sure we can't disguise Dravick?"

[Shades of Gray]

Sorry no, Deception isn't exactly on St. Cuthbert's to-do list.

he laughs.

I thought Matthew here specialized in illusions. Is there an actor's guild in this town?

[MK Kilmarnock]

Zan hung his head.

"I guess we can always try something along the line of the actor's guild.... I simply didn't want to, well... you know, involve outside parties or have expenses on the guild."

[Thymin]

Dravick:

"I really don't think I'd look very good in a dress Zan."

[Jensik]

Sharn

"Iva would be more than capable to fill this role, but I'm not comfortable using her as bait. I've already had to pull her back from the view of death once, and I'd not like to do it again if it can be helped. Also, our team is scheduled to leave for the seas shortly, so you'd have to wait."

[MK Kilmarnock]

Zan had a fist to his chin.
"Fine, I agree... but, um, you see Iva won't be an option then? Augh..." Frustrated, he took a small sip of ale and coughed. "I retain most of my opinion in that, as, um... a last resort, isn't there a spell to change gender or something? And can we trust those two women we captured?"

[Daryk]

Marko

Marko slipped into the library and listened for a few minutes, asking Durx a couple of questions to catch up.

I've read back a couple of pages to where I think this particular meeting started.

Seeing several opportunities align simultaneously, Marko said, "I'm not sure about the portal creation bit, but two of the three who kidnapped Kata said they were looking for someone who could 'do magic with her voice'. I think maybe those three should be brought from the Sampo to the guild for further questioning. And speaking of needing an actor, Kata said her band left for a bit, so she might be available, if she's willing." The gnomish sailor took a breath, then continued, "As far as Garl, I have to plead ignorance to specifics. I follow the Sea Lord, Ahto. Most of my people who go to sea follow Ahto, those who don't mostly follow Garl. That's about the limit of my knowledge."

Unless, of course, Doc says otherwise... :smallbiggrin:

[DavidByron]

Matthew:
That's an odd expression, "do magic with her voice". I mean almost all magic has a vocal component. Just about anyone who does magic does so with their voice.

I'm trying to recall if there is any physical resemblance between the various young ladies we have wandering around now. ie Klesha, Verona, Kata and Ana. I get the impression they are all pretty young but no particular resemblance otherwise except between the two sisters. But I'll try to check on that.
So Kata says she is not able to do this? Mistaken identity? Who among her kidnappers is alive and in your custody? Finde and the two fake town guards?

At any rate perhaps this woman, Kata, has been through enough with this first kidnapping to set her up for another attempt. I agree that Iva would be ideal; she's a professional performer. Well I don't think this idea can go ahead without her or someone similar so let's move on.

To Sharn:
So you're going to try and intercept the Gnome high priest at sea. Is that ... it sounds like finding a needle in a haystack. I mean it's a big ocean. At any rate if you are leaving so soon someone else should deliver that note to the Obad-Hai church leadership. That should be a high priority. We can keep the translated version.

To Marko:
Do you think the Cardinal would deliver the note?

[Shades of Gray]

We are thinking of this too literally. Magic with your voice? I've heard singing that's been comparable to magic. It might mean a singer, or a practitioner of bard's magic.

[Daryk]

Matthew:
That's an odd expression, "do magic with her voice". I mean almost all magic has a vocal component. Just about anyone who does magic does so with their voice.
Marko
"I agree, but it was their words, not mine."

Matthew:
So Kata says she is not able to do this? Mistaken identity? Who among her kidnappers is alive and in your custody? Finde and the two fake town guards?
Marko
"Yes, those three."

Matthew:
To Sharn:
So you're going to try and intercept the Gnome high priest at sea. Is that ... it sounds like finding a needle in a haystack. I mean it's a big ocean. At any rate if you are leaving so soon someone else should deliver that note to the Obad-Hai church leadership. That should be a high priority. We can keep the translated version.

To Marko:
Do you think the Cardinal would deliver the note?
Marko
"Finding a ship coming in to port isn't that tough, really. I'd have to ask Omoris if he'll deliver the note, but I fully intend to take the Sampo out to intercept my countrymen. If they're in danger, I can think of no faster way to clear my reputation," Marko said confidently. "Of course, I may need some petty cash to pay our crew. They've been on their best behavior the last two days, so I think we can trust them," he continued.

[DavidByron]

Matthew:
You have a crew!? How many guys are we talking about here? I take it these are the people Finde and the other two hired ... would they be prepared to fight do you know?

[Daryk]

Marko

"Of course we have a crew. Did you think I brought a river galley into port with a handful of landsmen? They surrendered after the vessel's master died and Omoris worked some of his magic. They say the master had no family, so I'm thinking that makes the ship ours. A crew makes it much easier to operate, and the one we have has sat still and shut up for two days straight now. I think that makes them trustworthy enough, and worth paying. Some of their fellows jumped overboard when we siezed the ship, so we could probably use a few more to round out their numbers," Marko said in an even tone.

Doc, did any of the jumpers come back? How big is the crew now?

[rockdeworld]

Don't expect BD to check this thread, he stated officially to direct questions to him in pms

That's an odd expression, "do magic with her voice". I mean almost all magic has a vocal component. Just about anyone who does magic does so with their voice.

At any rate perhaps this woman, Kata, has been through enough with this first kidnapping to set her up for another attempt. I agree that Iva would be ideal; she's a professional performer. Well I don't think this idea can go ahead without her or someone similar so let's move on.
Kyte

...It means Ana. Kyte thinks to himself, but as usual, he stays silent. At least until Matthew decides to wait on the woman Iva. Kyte thinks for a few moments, an idea forming in his mind, then speaks - interrupting the conversation about the boat.

"Iva is not an adventurer." He says shortly. "I can disguise myself instead. With your help." He says pointedly to Matthew.

[DavidByron]

Matthew:
I don't anticipate any fighting during the initial performance.

We could probably do it in the HQ thread in fact.
The danger would come afterwards. Presumably if someone was trying to track down the mystery woman they'd start by talking to patrons and staff at the Empty Tankard. That's where Dravick's contacts would help. They could give false information and warn us that someone's been poking their nose around.

I'm afraid it's hard to disguise real objects or people magically. It's easier to make things appear out of nothing. I could disguise myself but only for about ten minutes. We'll have to ask Iva of course but I have no doubt about her ability to do the job.

[Shades of Gray]

No one else supports m'theory that "Magic with your voice" means singing? I don't think Ana ever sings. She's incredibly shy.

[DavidByron]

Matthew:
Linda the seer had a vision of Ana singing, in a garden.

[Daryk]

Marko

"Durx, I wholeheartedly agree with your theory. They grabbed Kata, who's a singer, and at least among my people, those who can sing magic are held in high regard," Marko said.

[MK Kilmarnock]

Zan had his head in both hands.

"Great, the image of Kyte in a dress is now ingrained into my mind. I'm not going t-to be able to sleep tonight."

[Thanatos 51-50]

Shiela

the young redhead finally pipes up.
"you know, guys, I'M a Female..." She suggests beforemdeciding to draw a dagger and fiddle with it idily.
She was sitting right in the room, how could they miss her? Plus, as an added bonus, she'd be able to defend herself if everything went wrong...

[rockdeworld]

Kyte

"And you can disguise yourself?" Kyte asks, turning to Sheila. "It requires more than simply putting on a dress."

You have to put on a funny hat :smallbiggrin:

[DavidByron]

Shiela: you know, guys, I'M a Female...

Matthew, grinning:
Gosh Shiela is right! She could very easily pass as a girl. Haha.

Sorry Shiela. I was thinking the role would call for projecting a certain amount of timidity and I never even thought of you. Hm. But you'd be known locally and I wouldn't want anyone going after your dad. We'd have to make you look a little different.

[Thymin]

Dravick:

"I could help you disguise yourself Sheila. I think this plan is shaping up fairly well, and maybe we could get a lead as to the identity of this cult power."

[Thanatos 51-50]

Shiela

"The biggest thing I could think of is my hair. Red Hair isn't exactly common. Maybe a hat or some black grease or something (or both) to conceal it." she suggests.
"Of course, I'd need all the help I can get obsuring my face, but faking a different hair color should be enough to keep people from thinking the Tailor Line is involved."

[MK Kilmarnock]

Zan paused, stiff as Shiela spoke up. He slowly turned to her, aghast at something...
Are you kidding me? I missed... I missed such a blatant detail!?

Zan groaned and softly pressed the palm of his hand into his forehead several times, creating a soft smacking sound. "Stupid, stupid Zan." Once he had finished punishing himself, he quickly regained his composure and returned to his normal, timid voice.

"The only problem, and it is slight to add, that Shiela may have is that she doesn't give the illusion of being helpless or otherwise... well, um... everybody knows wh-what I'm getting at, right? It's not too much of a problem, maybe it doesn't even have to be taken care of. It's nice to know that she won't be in much danger either way."

[Trulhammaren]

Iva

Poking her head into the library(?) Iva takes a quick look around at the people gathered there. Everyone here is part of the guild....

Having heard the bits and pieces of last few comments by the people seated in the SPAM meeting she just had to speak up. "Now whats with all this disguising business, and hun do you have any idea how messy changing your hair color with charcoal is, not to mention how long it takes to get the stuff out. Take it from someone who has tried hiding her hair, the best way is to draw people's attention elsewhere."

Iva takes a few steps further into the room but stays standing.

[Daryk]

Marko

"Temporarily coloring your hair shouldn't be a problem, either directly with magic, or using it to apply or remove the charcoal," Marko offered in response to Iva's concern.

The old "Color" cantrip from AD&D could make longer lasting color changes. Does the current incarnation of Prestidigitation cover that, or would a color change revert after the duration expires (i.e. one hour)?

[DavidByron]

Because Matthew was using this spell such a lot I was looking for ways to limit its power and one of them, for Matthew at least is that I was saying only objects (not people) could be effected for the hour. However I don't think that cautious limitation should necessarily apply to others so if Marko says he can do it that would probably be fine. Maybe the Gnome natural ability is slightly different etc.

Prestidigitation wording. (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/prestidigitation.htm)
Matthew:
Hm. Interesting. I'd like to see that trick Marko.

Well it seems like we have a lot of hidden talent here in the guild. If the war goes badly we could always start up our own theater group. Several volunteers for the acting roles. I'll go and check with the sisters to see if they can help with the illusionary fiends and the opening of the portal effect. I think we could have quite a performance on hand here. Apart from the lead role we could have "victims" who just act like they are fighting / being killed by demons from the far side or whatever. Then we need concerned by standers to help whisk the injured and perhaps "dead" off before anyone else can get a good look at them.

Kyte do your abilities with disguise also extend to disguising others? I think it would be good to make the lead role look younger too.

According to acting ability by standers could be "sobbing and distraught" or more sort of "shocked and blank".

Dravick how much do you think your friends at the Empty Tankard could be trusted to be in on this being a little performance?

OK I'll quickly go find the sisters to ask them.

[Thymin]

Dravick how much do you think your friends at the Empty Tankard could be trusted to be in on this being a little performance?

Dravick:

"I trust them. At least the regular employees, some of the regular customers are nothing more than drunks, so it'd probably be best not to let them in on too much. I can talk to Gil about this, and maybe Stacy would be willing to act as a 'victim.' I think we've got a good plan here, I just hope that it gets some results soon enough. As for disguising identities, I probably ought to disguise myself as well, unless you want people to recognize me and give them someone to look for."

[MK Kilmarnock]

Listening to the conversation further passed the idea to Zan's head that there would be a heavy part in their success played by theatrical performance. This concerned him... after all, he had never acted in his life. Well, he had, but he put the "I am a cleric of Nerull" implication a bit too far, and didn't want to go there again. He had read extensively on theater, though, and hoped that Matthew might select him to do something.

[DavidByron]

Meanwhile....
Matthew finds the two sisters and asks them if they could help out with the illusion stuff; they say yes.

[rockdeworld]

Kyte do your abilities with disguise also extend to disguising others? I think it would be good to make the lead role look younger too.
Kyte

"...no." Kyte answers, after Matthew has finished speaking.