3.5e Batman Campaign (2.0)

[JoyWonderLove]

“If we’re casing the place after the fact, I’m guessing you’re checking for evidence of the inside job? Big heists normally prefer plants, and we already know Garrel was bought off, so best to double-check the rot isn’t all the way through. Or am I way off?”

That there was more than one way to bribe a Justiciar was well known in Gotham, but Stephanie doubted Merchants were much more expensive, and too few people were beyond the going rate for mage papers anyway. They found themselves searching inside the captain’s quarters. Oracle busied herself with tearing open sealed letters inside the secretive captain’s desk compartment. But it was the six sapphires that unashamedly held the light from the eternal torch in Spoiler’s hand that drew her. The ambivalent House Kyle rogue barely suppressed her grin. Hello, good graces. Only after making a showing of glancing at maps did she pluck up a sapphire to appraise the gem by eye, expression even. It was rare to find three kinds of gems in one night out.

Spoiler: Sapphires, appraisals and dubious morality

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Take 10 Appraisal: 15. (+2 Demon’s Head, +3 Intelligence, +10 Taking)

If the captain seems corrupt based on the letter evidence, and later what I might find in the chests, then I will liberate the shiny sapphires. I’m not above using a Bluff to distract certain PCs to do it, either. >:)

If the captain seems innocent, and there’s no obvious sentimental reason the Merchant would want them (evidence it’s for a fiance, needed for a spell to heal someone), I’ll ‘pay’ at a rate that favours the captain for the sapphires, based on my Appraisal check. Come here, little beauties.

After the gems and two heavy chests I'm happy to move on to Fox.

Stephanie made an intrigued noise at spying the heavy chest across the room, beside the wooden bed. She waltzed over to it only after a preliminary glance at the charts on the shelves, aware of present company. Nobles rarely enjoyed seeing expensive locks easily undone. “This chest could be hiding the valuable evidence you need to further break the Thieves’ hold on Midtown. I might even be able to finesse it, given a few minutes. But I’m more a concerned Gothamite helping make the odd citizen’s arrest against dangerous criminals; potentially damaging the property of family men isn’t really a hobby of mine.”

Alibis were a habit that her shifty elf friend had massaged into her skull over the years, and they had saved Stephanie from jail and the grave on more times than she cared to consider. However respectable a front she had insisted on showing everyone at the Mage College, the blonde had still spent the evening armed and kitted to traipse freely around private property, far past curfew, and without any care for the Guild Master’s opinion or approval. Never mind the dead arsonist. A witness capable of puzzling out practical alchemy, linguistics and arcana, Barbara would know how little Spoiler cared for laws. But people, and plausible deniability, were entirely different.

“I’d really need a nod from someone in the know.” She unfolded her purple leather case of tools tantalisingly, but looked over at Oracle innocently. “Do you think the Justiciar’s would understand?”

Spoiler: If I get the Jbe nod of approval, Take 20 (Open Lock) twice, and Take 10 on Search and K: Local (The Cat)

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Search: Take 10. Just confirming that, yknow, it’s safe. I’m pretty sure it is, but no one needs a trap to ruin our day.

Open Lock: It normally takes 1 round (6 secs), so Take 20 takes two minutes. So four minutes total per heavy chest (one in captain's quarter, one in crew quarter). Result 32 for both (+10 baseline, +20 Taking, +2 Masterwork kit).

Take 10 on K: Local. 20 The Cat. I can’t remember if I’m completely making it up, read it in a wiki page, or if it’s confirmed, but does The Cat actually likes gemstones?

Basically, I’m collecting gems that could be sold at worse, or grant me a little more sway with House Kyle at best later on, maybe. But stealing is only okay when it’s from morally dubious people.


After the gems and two heavy chests I'm happy to move on to Fox.