The Royal Artificery Society - OOC

[DeTess]

Spoiler: GM Note

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psst. Since I've gotten my first level in wizard, Shandara knows alarm, and while it only will last 2 hours for now, she'll cast the silent mental alarm on her house before she goes to the archives.

Noted. I'll have to keep that in mind :P

edit: also, how much are you trying to make of the mushroom-wine? A small keg (think 10 liters or so) would cost you a full day of work and two half days of work over the next two weeks, and could be done with fairly standard alchemist equipment. You reckon if you really put the work in you could probably make up to a 100 liters of the stuff (that take two full days to set up, and two times a day and a half over the next two weeks for further processing), but you'd need to get some more equipment for that as well.

material would cost you about 1.5 gp per liter, but anything over 20 would require specialist equipment that'll set you back about 50 gp as well (but is reuseable for future projects, of course).

Edit2: on destroying the souls/animating force of an undead, positive energy is generally regarded as by far the best way to do it. Weapons enchanted to strike at ghosts can also inflict harm, but is a lot less effective (one writer describes the difference between the two as the difference between hitting a marble column with a sword, or a butter column with a flaming sword).

Regarding unbinding the sould of an undead, it is not neccessary if you can guarantee your attack will destroy it in it's entirety, but if even a small bit remains than the binding could keep it in the mortal realm, where it might either regenerate, or devolve into some lesser kind of undead. Unbinding it first means that catastrophic damage, even if it isn't quite enough to destroy the soul, will still cause it to go beyond.

During your research you also find an interesting treatise on the ritual for destroying Deathless Kings. In ti the author states that the current ritual isn't perfect, merely good enough, and that quicker and more efficient ways could be devised. The author states that even with the inverted circle against good keeping the power in, a lot of the channeled positive energy is still wasted. The author describes a theoretical variation on the inverted circle against good that could be applied directly to the Deathless king, after which a smaller amount of positive energy could do the job once the king's defenses are broken. Smaller would still be the equivalent of about 2 3rd level spell slots worth of energy. This treatise is entirely theoretical, however, and though the math does appear to check out, the author does make some assumptions on the amount of energy that is needed to actually destroy a deathless king that they don't provide a source for.

another edit: @prehysterical, you can roll me a knoweldge (local) to see if you know anyone in person that could help you. If you're going to try to find your way in the building you could roll me a survival check for not getting lost, or you could just ask at the reception desk right there :P

[DeTess]

@Elbeyon, how exactly are you reaching underneath the tile? The seems are quite flush, though you might be able to fit a very thin tool between them. This isn't a 'you can't do this thing', as I assume you brought tools for disabling traps that would be applicable, but your exact method might have some consequences. Are you working blind based purely on feeling, do you remove the tile (risking triggering some kind of anti-tamper measure), do you have some other method that allows you to see underneath it...

Either way, could you roll me a disable device?

[Elbeyon]

Ah, alright! Vision is a problem, hm. I did masterwork thieves tools! How flush exactly? Would the periscope be small enough to look? If something flatter is needed, perhaps, a small mirror would grant vision? Zeal currently has darkvision if light is an issue beneath the tile. If nothing will fit between the tiles, Zeal does have a small drill. Zeal could drill into the floor beneath her and use the periscope to look from the floor to underneath the first row of tiles. She will make a seal around the drill while she works in case of accidents.

Disable Device! Includes +1 trapfinding
(1d20+23)[38]

[DeTess]

Ah, alright! Vision is a problem, hm. I did masterwork thieves tools! How flush exactly? Would the periscope be small enough to look? If something flatter is needed, perhaps, a small mirror would grant vision? Zeal currently has darkvision if light is an issue beneath the tile. If nothing will fit between the tiles, Zeal does have a small drill. Zeal could drill into the floor beneath her and use the periscope to look from the floor to underneath the first row of tiles. She will make a seal around the drill while she works in case of accidents.

Disable Device! Includes +1 trapfinding
[roll0]

The seems are too small to get a periscope through,a dn though a flat mirror can fit through, you wouldn't be able to see the mirror. Drilling is an option, but time-consuming, and though these hallways aren't actively patrolled, that doesn't mean a guard won't take a look once in a while.

That having been said, with that roll you're actually fairly confident with your exploration of the trigger by touch with your tools. There appears to be a trigger mechanism in place, which has some kind of cap on top of it that keeps it from moving all the way down. This cap seems to be causing the slightly higher resistance to being pressed, as removing it makes the tile as easy to press down as the three easier ones. In the process you lost that cap though, and can't seem to find how to replace it. From the way it all seemed to move together you think what you've just done is 'arm' that specific tile, which means that all the tiles that are slightly more resistant to being pressed down are safe tiles, while the others are trapped.

If you wan to use this knowledge to feel your way across, please roll me one more perception to see if you get them all right, as well as how long you're willing to take to traverse this hallway at the maximum.

[WindStruck]

I think a small keg is the maximum I'd make. I was only really thinking of making enough drink for like... one or two wine bottles. Which is far less than 10 liters.

Eh, let's just say I make 2 liters of the stuff. But I still haven't made counter-poisons for the three I selected anyway...

I guess I'll need to make some rolls soon.

--

edit: How sure is Shandara about that information you gave me? I was also thinking of perhaps, seeking out an expert in the subject just to be sure.

[DeTess]

edit: How sure is Shandara about that information you gave me? I was also thinking of perhaps, seeking out an expert in the subject just to be sure.

I assume you meant the info on undead? You're sure on everything but the contents of the treatise. That one is well-argued, but it's clearly written as a theorethical argument, rather than something the author put in practice.

Edit: and yeah, a cooking roll would be nice. A quick note though, apart from needing a larger bottle or keg, the amount of work for 2 or 10 liters of the stuff isn't that much different. It's when you go beyond that that scale causes you to need to put in more effort in addition to more ingredients.

[WindStruck]

...you know what. As cute and charming as a Thrush is, I think that would just be a problem with the empathic bond during the day.

But I think an owl is pretty cool. How the heck does Shandara befriend an owl, though? Maybe a cat? That's pretty compatible too. Maybe an "unlucky" black cat?

Yeah, I don't know. But I'm not feeling like a spider or a bat.

Maybe I should just hold off and not pick a familiar just yet.

[Prehysterical]

another edit: @prehysterical, you can roll me a knoweldge (local) to see if you know anyone in person that could help you. If you're going to try to find your way in the building you could roll me a survival check for not getting lost, or you could just ask at the reception desk right there :P

Yeah, we're gonna try Knowledge (Local) first. Survival with Bolten is a desperate move indeed.
(1d20+7)[18]

[WindStruck]

here's profession: cook. Sadly, if it's not craft(alchemy) no bonuses from spells.

...or should I just take ten? Taking ten probably isn't a bad option. That's a 16.

But this all probably depends on how quickly Shandara will know if she messes up. If it's pretty immediate, perhaps rolling the d20 for a little extra risk wouldn't be so bad.

[Sønderjye]

@Prehysterical, happy to colbarotating on the crystal thing. If you look in the Crystal lab 2 you could find Z. I am just remembering that you are only allowed to craft one magic item per day so it'll have to wait until tomorrow.

@DeTess, given that I rememembered that I can only craft one item a day so lets say that Z created the basic version first, tested it, and added the modules for enhanced memories afterwards. That way we'll stick to the one item without having to change results or conversations.

Also design things

Spoiler: Design

Show

For the memory storage and copier: Would it work if the copying process involved playing/'experiencing' the memory to itself and noting in realtime impressions in the memory in realtime. As such, instead of copying the memory per say it creates a collection of impressions that combines into a functional memory? The types of impressions that are copied have to be specified on creation.

For the memory editor: Could I create a single impression memory lasting 3 sec for the drink if I
1. Hold the lense
2. Mnemonic crystal A sends a long single impression memory to me
3. I experience the memory until some desired part(say 3 minutes in), then pause with the lense
4. Make mnemonic crystal B extracted the currently playing memory as soon as it was experienced, then start playing
5. After a few seconds I cut the connection to A then B, thus stopping both the experience and the extraction.

I would lose the rest of the memory of course.

[Elbeyon]

@DeTess Knowledge was gained! Another trap created. Giving a maximum time is really hard. Zeal believes this hallway is filled with magic traps? That makes moving with any haste difficult. I do want to use the knowledge, but having learned more about the tiles I believe there is a better approach than my previously described method, Zeal making a sand bridge over the safe tiles. Knowing the tile trigger is compression, Zeal could filter sand through the tiles and support herself and the tile from underneath with the psychic sand to prevent the tile from compressing. My idea is she could make a path out of the tiles by 'jamming' the triggers and turning traps into regular flooring. That should allow her to get through the mundane traps faster. The sand being hidden underneath the tiles too which may help with the next part. The magic traps will slow her down. There is a lot of area to search, but if she is ready for someone to check the hallway she could potentially avoid begin caught out in the open. I doubt there is much room to hide in the hallway and I'm not sure if stealth would allow her to hide on the ceiling like a spy/thief movie. That probably leaves her leaving the hallway to find cover, waiting for the guard to check, restarting the time before a guard rechecks the hallway, re-opening the door, then continue searching/disarming magic traps.

[DeTess]

@DeTess Knowledge was gained! Another trap created. Giving a maximum time is really hard. Zeal believes this hallway is filled with magic traps? That makes moving with any haste difficult. I do want to use the knowledge, but having learned more about the tiles I believe there is a better approach than my previously described method, Zeal making a sand bridge over the safe tiles. Knowing the tile trigger is compression, Zeal could filter sand through the tiles and support herself and the tile from underneath with the psychic sand to prevent the tile from compressing. My idea is she could make a path out of the tiles by 'jamming' the triggers and turning traps into regular flooring. That should allow her to get through the mundane traps faster. The sand being hidden underneath the tiles too which may help with the next part. The magic traps will slow her down. There is a lot of area to search, but if she is ready for someone to check the hallway she could potentially avoid begin caught out in the open. I doubt there is much room to hide in the hallway and I'm not sure if stealth would allow her to hide on the ceiling like a spy/thief movie. That probably leaves her leaving the hallway to find cover, waiting for the guard to check, restarting the time before a guard rechecks the hallway, re-opening the door, then continue searching/disarming magic traps.

A quick note, because I might not have made that clear before. There's a pair of hallways, the first one filled with mundane(ish) traps, and the second one with magical ones. Your idea with the sand is good, but it will require some very fine and precise control because you want to avoid having the sand accidentally trigger the mechanism instead. Unless the item specifically calls out that such fine control is always possible, I'd like you to roll your choice of a spellcraft check or will save if that's the way you go.

[DeTess]

@prehysterical, a couple of weeks ago a notice had been put up by a Rufus Fallowhide, a researcher associated with the Artificery department. He was looking for some test subjects to help with testing 'an innovative way to control automatons'. You vaguely remember that the notice mentioned him having an office on the third floor somewhere.

here's profession: cook. Sadly, if it's not craft(alchemy) no bonuses from spells.

...or should I just take ten? Taking ten probably isn't a bad option. That's a 16.

But this all probably depends on how quickly Shandara will know if she messes up. If it's pretty immediate, perhaps rolling the d20 for a little extra risk wouldn't be so bad.

In this first step, you'll know pretty quickly when you mess up and can correct (though you'll lose a portion of the ingredients), if you mess up at the later stages then it'll be a lot harder to salvage given teh deadline.

Also design things

Spoiler: Design

Show

For the memory storage and copier: Would it work if the copying process involved playing/'experiencing' the memory to itself and noting in realtime impressions in the memory in realtime. As such, instead of copying the memory per say it creates a collection of impressions that combines into a functional memory? The types of impressions that are copied have to be specified on creation.

For the memory editor: Could I create a single impression memory lasting 3 sec for the drink if I
1. Hold the lense
2. Mnemonic crystal A sends a long single impression memory to me
3. I experience the memory until some desired part(say 3 minutes in), then pause with the lense
4. Make mnemonic crystal B extracted the currently playing memory as soon as it was experienced, then start playing
5. After a few seconds I cut the connection to A then B, thus stopping both the experience and the extraction.

I would lose the rest of the memory of course.

That could work for a copying mechanism. It does mean you'll suffer some decay in quality of the memory for every step further way you get from the 'original' though, but as long as you don't go further than copies of copies then it should still be fine.

Picking specific bits out of a memory that way should be doable. It'll require a bit of research into how to identify and split out the impression you're looking for though.

edit: @windstruck, you've got solid designs for the first three gems. It's the last gem that worries you a bit though. Given the amount of power it'll need to hold, and the speed at which it needs to discharge that power on command the tolerances on cutting and enchanting that gem are going to be very tight, and if you get it wrong the power might leak away before it is used, or might not discharge quite the way you're looking for (such as in a big explosion). Your design is solid, but the execution will have to be near perfect as well.

[Elbeyon]

A quick note, because I might not have made that clear before. There's a pair of hallways, the first one filled with mundane(ish) traps, and the second one with magical ones. Your idea with the sand is good, but it will require some very fine and precise control because you want to avoid having the sand accidentally trigger the mechanism instead. Unless the item specifically calls out that such fine control is always possible, I'd like you to roll your choice of a spellcraft check or will save if that's the way you go.

Ooh, the magic traps are latter. I wasn't entirely sure. The sand does seem faster and, I think, more unique. I will roll for fun! The sand seems pretty precise since it can be used to make like hammers, watertight waterskins, or fortresses (assuming enough sand), but mistakes always happen.

[WindStruck]

So, was it possible to take a ten on the cooking check? Well, considering what you said about the first part being easy to correct, I'll yolo it and probably have to buy some more ingredients the next day if this fails...

(1d20+6)[16]

As for the 4th gem, if the execution still has Shandara worried, I could perhaps alter her initial plan to needing to leave the longsword lodged into the Deathless King over a full round or so, so that the 'explosion' isn't quite an explosion, but more of a deluge.. if that makes sense?

[DeTess]

So, was it possible to take a ten on the cooking check? Well, considering what you said about the first part being easy to correct, I'll yolo it and probably have to buy some more ingredients the next day if this fails...

Yeah, you can take 10 (and a string of 16's will get you a decent enough result, but you doubt it'd win you the contest). On your first roll, you think you're doing decent enough. You haven't had to deal with this process in a long while, so there's a lot of double-checking and looking things up, but once you've gotten everything bottled up and ready frot eh fermenting process it all looks and smells as you think it should

As for the 4th gem, if the execution still has Shandara worried, I could perhaps alter her initial plan to needing to leave the longsword lodged into the Deathless King over a full round or so, so that the 'explosion' isn't quite an explosion, but more of a deluge.. if that makes sense?

Yeah, that makes sense. That'd definitely make things a bit easier in realizing the design of the sword (and a it more difficult for the captain, as it means the Deathless king needs to be pretty much immobilized for the last step). The last gem is still going to be the most tricky part, but this alteration gives you a bit more room for mistakes.

[DeTess]

Sorry for the double-post, I need to do a roll here (1d10)[8]

(and another couple for good measure, just in case: (5d6)[20] and (1d20+3)[16]).

@Elbeyon, your method for crossing goes well, until you reach a point almost at the end of the first hallway. There something seems to have gone wrong in your blocking method, and the tile you step on depresses with a slightly audible click. Immediately a number of darts are launched out of the wall at your location with a gust of air. If 16 beats your flat-footed AC, make a DC13 fortitude save against drow sleep poison. If it beast your AC by 5 or more, make that save twice instead.

edit: also, you take 1 or 2 pints of piercing damage if you get hit or hit twice.

[Sønderjye]

That could work for a copying mechanism. It does mean you'll suffer some decay in quality of the memory for every step further way you get from the 'original' though, but as long as you don't go further than copies of copies then it should still be fine.

What's causing the decay in quality?

Picking specific bits out of a memory that way should be doable. It'll require a bit of research into how to identify and split out the impression you're looking for though.

Research like digging through the archieves? In that case I suppose Z will be do that for the rest of the day.

[DeTess]

What's causing the decay in quality?

Basically, every time you replay the memory there's a risk that small details get lost, or incorrectly stored. Each link in a copy-chain means you're losing a bit more detail, which explains the decay.

And yeah, for that research, could you roll me a knowledge(arcana)?

There are also other ways you could approach finding that out, of course, butspending time in the archives working on it is a fine approach.

[WindStruck]

Okay. And how long has it taken Shandara to draw up the designs for these four gems? ...also taking into consideration the time Shandara has spent on her hobby brew thing, and a possible day she may have needed to spend enchanting some pipes for the sewer project.

[DeTess]

Okay. And how long has it taken Shandara to draw up the designs for these four gems? ...also taking into consideration the time Shandara has spent on her hobby brew thing, and a possible day she may have needed to spend enchanting some pipes for the sewer project.

I'd say altogether (designing the gems, step 1 of your hobby-brew project, and spending a day enchanting the pipes) you're about a full week further now.

[Sønderjye]

Basically, every time you replay the memory there's a risk that small details get lost, or incorrectly stored. Each link in a copy-chain means you're losing a bit more detail, which explains the decay.

Fair enough. What thing causes the risk of that loss?

And yeah, for that research, could you roll me a knowledge(arcana)?

There are also other ways you could approach finding that out, of course, butspending time in the archives working on it is a fine approach.

Sure thing. Taking 10 for 25.

Other ways like what?

[DeTess]

Fair enough. What thing causes the risk of that loss?

Could be a lot of different factors. Small impurities in the crystal creating an issue during the re-recording, fluctuations in ambient energy causing small hitches, that sort of stuff. You could minimize it by accounting for those outside factors, but you'd still eventually have some degradations over successive re-recordings an

Sure thing. Taking 10 for 25.

Anyway, with a 25 you find some information on the topic, describing how the different sense can often be found as different 'threads' in a memory. There are some theoretical musing on how these threads might be separated, but with the practical work you've done you reckon you could do something like that using a specially cut psi-crystal to kinda act like a prism does for light, except for memory instead. The information you find is rather vague on how you could actually tell the difference between the threads without re-experiencing them, but if you could get the prism to work to output the senses to different crystals, it should work quite consistenty with what goes where, meaning that with some trial and error you should be able to consistently determine which sense goes where in the proces.

Sure thing. Taking 10 for 25.

Other ways like what?

Talking to your new Elvish acquaintance, trial-and-error, finding some way to trade your soul for that knowledge...

[Elbeyon]

@DeTess Zeal doesn't have that kind of AC. She will get hit twice (Touch 11)! Fortunate for her, she may not have many construct immunities, but she is immune to sleep! A good old restless dynamo. Luckily, they were using nonlethal methods. Oof, she isn't giving up yet though if she can finish the hallway.

Rolling in case!
(1d20+4)[8]
(1d20+4)[12]

[DeTess]

@DeTess Zeal doesn't have that kind of AC. She will get hit twice (Touch 11)! Fortunate for her, she may not have many construct immunities, but she is immune to sleep! A good old restless dynamo. Luckily, they were using nonlethal methods. Oof, she isn't giving up yet though if she can finish the hallway.

Rolling in case!
[roll0]
[roll1]

Hmmm, It's kinda a tossup on whether the immunity to sleep applies or not.... I'm going to go with the more interesting answer though, and say you're fine. Those darts where designed to knock out more fleshy targets. You're close enough to the end of the hallway that you could just make a sand-bridge to skip the last few tiles. Next is a switch-back stairs leading down about 10 meters and then another, slightly shorter (40 feet) hallway. It has the same kind of flooring, but the walls are covered in mirrors.

[WindStruck]

Seems like Shandara will be going forward with the plans for the sword. So.. she will need help from another caster to put magic in the gems, right? And to scribe some backup scrolls as well?

Oh! And estimated material cost for everything? Plus like 300gp to commission a masterwork sword, I know that much at least.

[DeTess]

Seems like Shandara will be going forward with the plans for the sword. So.. she will need help from another caster to put magic in the gems, right? And to scribe some backup scrolls as well?

Oh! And estimated material cost for everything? Plus like 300gp to commission a masterwork sword, I know that much at least.

For the scrolls specifically, yes. You think you could do 3 of the 4 gems on your own (but it'd be easier if you had a powerful caster with knowledge of the ritual on hand), but charging the positive energy one is going to require a cleric of sorts.

[WindStruck]

Is there any sort of sword material that would be a good conductor for positive energy or magic spells, by the way? Perhaps, if it was just in the core of the sword running down to the hilt...

Arcana: (1d20+16)[18]

Planes: (1d20+8)[22]

Or some other roll?

[DeTess]

Is there any sort of sword material that would be a good conductor for positive energy or magic spells, by the way? Perhaps, if it was just in the core of the sword running down to the hilt...

Copper is often found to be somewhat easier enchantable than other metals, but it's not a particularly suitable metal for making weaponry. Components of a magical creature (things like dragonbone and the like) could be used for a lot of enchantments, but these tend to not work as well for when you need to channel positive energy. The standard solution for weapons that need to channel a lot of energy is a copper-mythril alloy. It's quite tricky to work, but it's almost as solid as mythril, while channeling energy more easily than most other materials.

[WindStruck]

Alright. Copper-mithril sounds pretty good! Should not only be excellent for the first three gems, but probably very effective for the last as well!

I just need a price tag for all of this.

The actual long sword needs to be commissioned. I'm sure it needs to be masterwork, and I doubt the materials for the sword alone will be cheap.

Then there's the gems. And then help channeling the spells into them, and maybe help crafting the gems, too. Perhaps members from the rangers guild would help with this free of charge?

Then there's also the scrolls, if the captain wants a backup option.

Just like.. need a price on all the raw materials, plus labor that has to be outsourced.