OOC: DH The Purity of Sacrifice

[rax]

I'm off to meet some friends and probably won't be back until late this evening. I'll post IC tomorrow, Saturday.

[BananaPhone]

I'm a little disappointed the Interrogator didn't greet us like this .

[rax]

Nah, not enough betrayal yet to merit that greeting...

[BananaPhone]

And not enough payment .


I'm just checking Ben, but this Interrogator guy is "on the level", yes? He knows we're one of the Inquisitors goon-squad, so no need to beat around the bush?

[Bennosuke]

Lol to the above conversation, but to Banana; yes.

[rax]

@dojango
I had Hound ask about names because I checked the IC thread and there are more names that the group has collected besides Durchess.

1. The bolt pistol that Kander recovered had a name plaque: "Mercutio". Kander speculates that the pistol belonged to the owner of the hand the group recovered and sent to the Mechanicus for analysis. Following up the name may give clues as to who the sellers were.

2. The Credit Guild team members that were dealing with Boss Half-Face are named as: "a tall git, went by the name Sir Drimmle. It was him and Guilder Jen, Guilder Ollof, and Guilder Kimpler."

I was wondering if these are leads that the group has forgotten about or perhaps abandoned as inconsequential, and if so what the reasoning was behind such a decision.

Another point of interest is that Harl Kander said that Magos Petrovskii had sent him to investigate the site of the battle between Clan Sabay and Clan Tora. I read that as the Mechanicus possibly having independent knowledge of the weapons trade. Either Petrovskii is running his own investigation or he's involved in the trade. So, maybe not the most trustworthy guy from the Inquisition's perspective.

[Bennosuke]

Now that's some darn good sleuthing!!!

Rax, I'll give you a point of XP just for doing that leg work.

[rax]

A whole XP! You're spoiling me rotten!

[Bennosuke]

EDIT: 100 XP, and the addition to that is that I've made character boxes to keep track of all characters in the first page thread. Please check the post, this is where I will keep track of XP, bullets ect

[rax]

No worries, I thought it was quite funny that you'd hand out just a single XP as a reward. Obviously, 100 XP is a lot more useful though.

BTW, would it be possible for Hound to take an Int test to see if he knows anything about a Lord Durchess? There's no direct Lore that's specifically about nobles, but the description of Common Lore does say that the skill is used "to recall the habits, institutions, traditions, public figures and superstitions of a particular world, cultural group, organisation or race."

[Bennosuke]

I'd say that CL Imperium at -10 would be appropriate since Hound is not from the planet, but if he knew enough about the lords and nobles of the most important planets of the sector it would be reasonable to believe he would have the knowledge.

[rax]

Sounds fair. Hound will be searching his memory while the debriefing continues, i.e. making use of the Foresight talent for +10 to the check.

(1d100)[5] vs. 50 (Int 50, Difficulty -10, Foresight +10)

Edit: Solid "Yes" for Lord Durchess there.

Hound can't really act on my OOC sleuthing unless someone in the starting group brings up the names and events I noted earlier.

[dojango]

That is some good sleuthing, I went back and read some of the earlier thread again and missed that part. If you want to say that Xerros (the tech priest that dropped) emailed you a more accurate version of events than the feral's drawings, you could pull the names from that.

[Bennosuke]

Wow, great roll!

Spoiler: What Hound Knows

Show

Lord Flavian Durchess XIII of House Durchess runs one of the largest Promethium mining empires in Hive Hapheastein. The Durchess refineries are so vast and productive that the House not only commands a small fleet of trade vessels to export their product off world, but that he often commissions Rogue Traders as well. Thirteenth of his name and line, Durchess commands a small personal army, and owns an elaborate crystal mansion in Spire Corona, as well as several estates in other hives on the planet. It is known that Lord Durchess' glutenous appetite is rivalled only by his love of extravagant clothing and specifically sparkling jewelry. There is not a whisper of concern for heresy or concerning behavior surrounding Lord Durchess, though it is rumored that House Durchess is involved in a shadow war with the two other major Promethium mining Houses in Hive Hapheastein; House Venris, and House Atilla.

Lord Durchess is married to Lady Emelia Durchess (originally Emelia Krin), and they have a single son, Lord Flavian Durchess XIV, who is currently serving as a Lieutenant General in the Imperial Navy.

[rax]

That is some good sleuthing, I went back and read some of the earlier thread again and missed that part. If you want to say that Xerros (the tech priest that dropped) emailed you a more accurate version of events than the feral's drawings, you could pull the names from that.

Sure, I'm up for that if Bennosuke is okay with it.

[dojango]

@dojango
I had Hound ask about names because I checked the IC thread and there are more names that the group has collected besides Durchess.

1. The bolt pistol that Kander recovered had a name plaque: "Mercutio". Kander speculates that the pistol belonged to the owner of the hand the group recovered and sent to the Mechanicus for analysis. Following up the name may give clues as to who the sellers were.

If he's still alive he should be easy enough to spot

[Bennosuke]

Sounds good to both of you, waiting for IC posts to move things forward.

[Blindfolded Ape]

I'm sorry, but I cannot imagine Hound knowing that information outside of a Columbo-style "Just one more thing" moment. In related news, my mental image of Hound now looks and sounds like Peter Falk. Not that either of those are bad, just giving you a heads up.

[rax]

@Blindfolded Ape
Just checking so I understand you correctly.

Are you...

1. Saying that the solution proposed by dojango and accepted by Bennosuke is too unbelievable and that you would prefer that we as a group don't act on the clues I dug up OOC? If so, I agree with you that it's a kludge, but barring any of the original team responding to Hound's nudge in the IC thread, that would mean we kill one branch of the investigation dead for no better reason than the original team not taking note of information that they in large part requested themselves at the time.

2. Saying that the whole situation reminds you of an episode of Columbo and that you find that hammy but acceptable?

[Blindfolded Ape]

The second one. It's good and believable that the connection was made. I am just reminded of Columbo in the process. Had it on the brain, so it's mostly my fault on that.

[Bennosuke]

Rax had a great roll with about 4 degrees of success, and he took the initiative to review the entire IC thread to find leads that I'd placed. I figure both are worth rewarding. Glad everyone is okay with it.

[BananaPhone]

Oh Ben, did we get paid for our efforts?

Also, just confirming, but most of us are sitting at 1,200-1,400 exp, that means we're at the 3rd Advance Track for our current 'careers'. (such as they are)
So in 700-800 exp time, we'll have advanced to the 4th tier and get to decide which branch to pursue, yes? (eg. in marcella's case, she has to choose between Savant Militant and Scholar Materium)

[Bennosuke]

"Yes, I think we can get personnel files on these men from the credit guild offices... I have intricate, cunning plan. Many moving parts. Needs absolute co-ordination and teamwork. Like hunting saber-claw penguins at home. But it requires a tech-priest on our team..." Luis pulls out some more sheets of paper with crude drawings on them. "Step 1: Go to Credit Guild human resources department and infiltrate facility. Step 2: Set human resources department on fire." He holds up a picture of a building with lots of brightly colored red and orange flames shooting out of it. "Step 3: Using fire as diversion, locate database with personnel files and find personnel files on these guilders. That's your job, Priest of Mars. Step 4: Evacuate building hopefully with minimal friendly casualties. And finally, step 5: Find out where these guilders live, kidnap them, and start cutting off fingers until they tell us what they know."

I think I'm tempted to give Dojango 1xp just for this post!!! Lol

As an aside, it looks like the group is still chatting so I will hold on posting.

@Rax: none of the characters looked in the. Gweneth's head is still safe.

[rax]

@Bennosuke
Thanks for the confirmation.

@Bananaphone
If you can confirm that I misread what Marcella is saying, I'll adjust Hound's reply to something more suitable. I might still favour going in as Arbites, but Hound will sound less muddled in his response.

[BananaPhone]

OOC: Hmm, re-reading Bananaphone's post I think I misread it. Marcella is suggesting that it would be better to approach the Magos as representatives of the Inquisition - she didn't misunderstand Hound's idea about presenting ourselves as Arbites investigators, did she?

On the subject of identifying the weapons, as I understood it, none of the original players ever looked at the weapons either? The only thing they say was the boxes the weapons came in and Marcella checked them out psychically. Correct?

Oh, she hadn't misinterpreted it. She was offering an alternate method of approach. You could present yourself either as full-on members of the Inquisition here to follow up a report that heretical weapons were left with the Magos for destruction, in which case you'd have the authority of the Inquisiton behind you - but it would announce the presence of the Inquisition on the planet and could scare some potential leads off. (which is what she alludes to) However, that's a two-way street as fear of the Inquisition would also open some doors that would otherwise remain shut. This route also means that you don't have to lie.

Alternatively, you could present yourselves as members of the Arbites following up a lead. Though the Arbites have power and authority, I'd venture to say the Adeptus Mechanicus wouldn't be particularly intimidated by them, but they would be more wary of crossing the Inquisition. Also, following up leads of an investigation might unwittingly alert the Magos that the authorities are onto him. That could be a benefit or a con.

So it's either or really, as both have their pro's and con's.

In regards to the boxes, Marcella psychically felt their presence inside, having to pass a Fear check just to not freak out. She knows they're of the warp and heretically by psychic identification. That can't be faked, so Marc is the only one that I know of who can positively identify them. Otherwise the Magos might just destroy a decoy box in front of you guys.

[rax]

Okay, thanks for clearing that up. I've edited my IC post in response.

On the subject of social skills, I think the group is only mildly better off than before. Hound currently has no social skills trained, but he can use Interrogation with an Int test. OTOH, the description of Interrogation is clear that it's not a skill to be used in casual conversation - each test takes 1d5 hours and inflicts a level of Fatigue on the target.

[Bennosuke]

Shall I wait for the other players to respond and finalize plans then?

[rax]

I have nothing more to add for the moment IC. It seems that we're all pretty much okay with splitting into two teams, but I'm waiting for IC confirmation on that score, as well as who's on which team.

[rax]

As an addendum to our plans, it occurs to me that if we're all really bad at the Charm/Intimidate side of stuff, then perhaps we'd be better off doing some breaking and entering. How are people's stealth and lock-picking skills? Hound's are pretty much non-existent other than being trained in Tech Use.

[BananaPhone]

We're garbage in that area too .

Honestly, it's a miracle we've all survived this far.

Marcella will be open going with either team. (either to the Magos to identify the weapons or to the Credit Guilders to access the database)