Nightmare in Katapesh OOC

[SanguinePenguin]

Gex has absolutely never seen one, but based on their chaotic forms, and how their mere presence was such an offense to humanoid senses, he thinks these things could be qlippoth, the primordial denizens of the abyss. He also knows that they were not summoned, but actually brought here, since their corpses are just laying there rather than dissipating back to the abyss.

[SanguinePenguin]

Kharesh - society

Spoiler

Show

What Zetath says pretty much checks out with Kharesh’s understanding. The industry of raiding caravans near Katapesh, then selling them back definitely happens. Pretty much all caravans have a lot of guards for precisely that reason. A few people slip through, either because no one knows they are arriving, they don’t have anyone to buy them, or they are outbid - ironically, that only happens with the destitute or the very skilled.

Mauricio - mercantile

Spoiler

Show

That price is definitely on the higher end, but it also definitely happens. Usually when two conditions are met: the enslaved person is exemplary at something - usually something valuable, and two or more parties get into a bidding war. According to Zetath, his wife satisfies the former, whether she’d satisfy the latter is up to chance. Additionally, he knows that the city definitely allows this practice. Katapesh’s two biggest exports are pesh and slaves. There is a trend for these extortees to be fairly well treated in their short time as slaves as it keeps the public outrage to a minimum.

Mauricio - legal

Spoiler

Show

There is little that can be done legally once someone enters Katapesh as a slave. If bought, they can be freed, but otherwise the law is set up to unambiguously favor the slave owners. However, Zetath is also correct that if the slave owner doesn’t go through the effort of making a proper paper trail, then simply taking them back is enough. The paper trail does require more effort, time and money - so it is frequently overlooked. To many slavers it is just as effective to keep the slaves hidden until the short time until auction. On the other hand, what Zetath is asking you for is definitely illegal. The repercussions would only be severe is the slaver is a card carrying member of the slavers guild - which isn’t too likely from one of these ragtag extortion rackets. Mauricio also knows that many in the Zephyr guard would be willing to turn a blind eye for a one off slave liberation, for a nice bribe at least.

[Prehysterical]

Intimidate: (1d20+1)[21]

[Starbin]

Messed up the die roll with punctuation

Sense motive - (1d20)[9] (not sure about the modifier here ... wis?)

[BelGareth]

WOW, just WOW.

[SanguinePenguin]

As to gnolls, the behavior for outsiders is different than for gnolls interacting with gnolls. Outsiders should show some deference to all gnolls, big not too much lest you be viewed as a slave. Contradicting or challenging a gnoll in any way, especially in front of other gnolls, often results in a violence. If a gnoll challenges you though, backing down is a mistake and a sign of weakness. If explicitly invited to engage with the gnoll, you can generally take them at their word at least for the short term. Embarrassing them can result in a short term victory, but they will often seek revenge later. Never push, guide, or coerce them toward doing any thing resembling work. Do not speak to their slaves.

Tl;dr - be polite, don’t challenge, don’t escalate, don’t back down.

I pooled the party’s knowledge and made an aggregate that I assume would have been discussed on the journey to here.

[SanguinePenguin]

Sadar’s assessment of the ladder is that it’s not in great condition. Gurmok and Gex would have no trouble, Sadar, Kharesh, Mauricio, and Kali could do it but would have to be very careful about which slats could support their weight.

Acrobatics DC 13 (Medium only)
(Crit) Success - ascend
Failure - fall 10 ft
Crit fail - as fail and destroy ladder

Kharesh is pretty sure with a good jump, he could grab the bottom of the hatch, but the taller members of the party, Mauricio and Sadar, could surely just reach it.

Although pretty quiet, he can tell at least someone is inside.

[SanguinePenguin]

Sorry for the delay - initiative here - IC post coming soon

Sadar - (1d20+6)[18]
Kharesh - (1d20+5)[15]
Gurmok - (1d20+6)[23]
Mauricio - (1d20+7)[19]
Gex - (1d20+3)[15]
Kali - (1d20+7)[12]
Dalnu - (1d20+3)[21]
Sapha - (1d20+6)[16]
R - (1d20+7)[19]
T - (1d20+3)[8]
O - (1d20+6)[7]

[Prehysterical]

Devise a Stratagem: (1d20)[8]

What kinds of armor are these people wearing?

[farothel]

Link to Dalnu Tuvasseh, so you can have a look if you want.
I'll use blue in my speech.

[SanguinePenguin]

Some rolls that affect the round...:
T Will vs Gurmok: (1d20+5)[10]
R Will vs Gex: (1d20+7)[26]

[DrK]

ouch, that was sore. Didn't expect to go down so quickly

[farothel]

I'll be away from the 6th of August until the 23rd. While I normally should have internet at my destinations, I will be slower in replying, especially the last 5 days when I'm at the Discworld Con.

[Starbin]

Healing rolls heal - (4d8)[22]

[SanguinePenguin]

@Kharesh

Spoiler

Show

The man’s answer seemed very honest, but he clearly was inflating what he thought the information was worth. He was pleasantly surprised that Sadar paid him the amount in full.

[Prehysterical]

Devise a Stratagem: (1d20)[2]

[Prehysterical]

Using a Hero Point to reroll the Fort save against Filth Fever: (1d20+4)[17]

[Starbin]

I suppose it can't get any worse ... unless I roll a 1 and end up with the same result AND no reroll :)

Fort save - (1d20+7)[17]
EDIT: WHEW!

[farothel]

I'll be on holiday from Saturday. While I will have internet (normally) the first days, it will probably not be all that good and from the 8th until the 19th or 20th, I will have no internet at all. From then on until the 29th (when I'll be back) it's probably spotty again. GM feel free to bot my character where needed during my no-internet period.

[SanguinePenguin]

@DrK I think you missed my comment about the AOO against R3. As you did not use your reaction, I’ll apply it to the this AoO.
AoO: (1d20+9)[17] Damage: (1d10+4)[13]

[SanguinePenguin]

Fort save Swarm (1d20+2)[17]

[DrK]

@DrK I think you missed my comment about the AOO against R3. As you did not use your reaction, I’ll apply it to the this AoO.
AoO: [roll0] Damage: [roll1]

Sorry, i did miss that. But you can keep rolling my attacks, you roll better than I do

[SanguinePenguin]

As a DM maybe, RIP Hastur…

[SanguinePenguin]

Dalnu thinks the purple gem, an amethyst, well cut and large, should be worth about 15 gold. The opaque oval is a bloodstone and worth about 2 gold. The red sphere is a carnelian that should be worth about 7 gold. The glowing stone looks to be fluorite, and she would put its value at a few silver, except for the glowing.

(While RAW detect magic wouldn’t tell you what is magic, there are simple ways to do this that could be done with time. So, she wouldn't know now, but for latter.) The claws, glowing crystal, and all three large flat stones are magic. The other three gemstones are not.

Spoiler: Initiative

Show

Kharesh - (1d20+6)[16]
Sadar - (1d20+7)[14]
Dalnu - (1d20+4)[19]
Gex - (1d20+4)[13]
Mauricio - (1d20+8)[13]
Gurmok - (1d20+7)[8]
Zen - (1d20+7)[10]
Purheegee - (1d20+9)[25]
Gnoll - (1d20+7)[15]
Young Gnoll - (1d20+7)[27]
Hyena - (1d20+6)[11]

[BelGareth]

rolling to ID items:

(1d20+1)[21] claws
(1d20+1)[15] glowing crystal
(1d20+1)[10] 3 large flat stones
(1d20+1)[5] 3 large flat stones
(1d20+1)[11] 3 large flat stones

[Prehysterical]

Devise a Stratagem: (1d20)[15]

[Prehysterical]

Crossbow Strike at H1: (1d20+4)[23]
(1d6)[3] piercing damage

[SanguinePenguin]

H1 will save: (1d20+4)[15]

[Prehysterical]

Devise a Stratagem: (1d20)[17]

[DrK]

correcting the botched attack roll (1d20+10)[15]