Cataclysm (AD&D Ravenloft -> PF1 Conversion) INC Thread

[samduke]

following along, The dead need to remain dead I agree

[Bunny Commando]

Grey - HP: 17\17 - Conditions: None - Active Effects: Cloak of Darkness (2 hrs.)

---------------

"What do you mean that 'we'" and Grey points at Ted, Amelie and himself while saying it "would be welcome in town?" the scoundrel then nods at the remaining members of the party "I mean, aren't we all foreigners to you?" he asks, starting to realize this place, this Sea of Sorrows might really be true to its name.

[Darius Vibrtrar]

Brucian seemed to measure greys question and how to answer.

"You three are common to the eyes of our folk. The others are rarely even spoken of, there are many who may automatically assume they are a threat, if not passively dangerous. I am more traveled than most of our our town, but I couldn't tell anyone what they are beyond physical characteristics .... one might assume they are Caliban. Which would cause more trouble than not."

As the last of you board the rafts below and get ready to disembark, the raft rocks back and forth an additional time, once more than expected. Looking back you see Luc has joined you, standing there, holding a lantern in his hands.

"Luc?" Brucian calls out cautious and concerned

"Are you alright? You've never tried to leave with me before... is it them? Do you wish to stay with them?"

There is no response from the young man, his vacant eyes staring off into the distance.

[DigoDragon]

"Maybe he'll be our... good Luc token," Rose whispers to those nearby.


After giving the crickets and groans a moment to pass on through, she lightly clears her throat for a more serious topic. "Anyway, I don't think I recall that name before. Who are the Caliban?" she politely asks.

[Darius Vibrtrar]

Brucian looks to rose, obviously being careful with his words. He begins to push the conjoined rafts with a pole.

"What would you say to a mother, whose just given birth to a child with a tail? A third eye? A hump, or even extra fingers and toes?"

His eyes seem drawn to Cheyanne, Rose, and Millie.

"The Caliban are those cursed in body by the darkest of powers, are seen as ill omens, or even an invitation from that family for evil to have come into their home. Most are outcast from their homes for the safety of the village"

[Bunny Commando]

Grey - HP: 17\17 - Conditions: None - Active Effects: Cloak of Darkness (2 hrs.)

---------------

"Why would I say anything? People in Neverwinter wouldn't even bat an eye if your kid got a tail." Grey shrugs, still trying to come to terms with how different this place is to his native city "But all right, I get it. Things're different here. Just keep your people in line and we'll get out of your hair as soon as possible." and while Grey does seem about to say more, he stops when Luc shows signs of wanting to leave with them. He frowns, gives the others a puzzled a look and shares his thoughts "Not against the fellow following us, but if things get dicey I don't believe we could keep him safe."

[DarkOne-Rob]

Cheyanne has been quietly listening and watching, but at the thinly veiled accusation that her parents dabbled in dark powers she huffs loudly and says, "Only fools judge people based on their heritage! Good-looking, pure-blooded people do horrible things all the time! Hells, it's happened often enough to me! "

With disgust she throws up her hands and turns away. "I don't even show much, either, but I'm not going to stand around and have someone claim I'm...Caliban...just because I've some orc in my family. The only curse there is in the hearts of people who assume the worst of me without giving me a chance first..." she finishes proudly, drifting off as she tries to calm down. The monk breathes heavily and slowly for several seconds as she tries to meditate and center her thoughts again. Then she turns back to Brucian. "No one in your town has anything to fear from me unless they strike first. I will defend myself and my companions, though. That's a fair warning that no one should try and deny is our right. Can we expect at least that much courtesy from your neighbors, or should we go elsewhere?"

[Darius Vibrtrar]

Brucian throws up his arms as if to passively defend his head and face as Cheyanne's outburst startles him. He moves closer to the edge of the raft. There is an honest look of fear in his eyes. Luc seems unphased by the interaction.

"The lord of these lands has made no law, outlawing your kind, you are free to come and go as you wish as long as you break no laws. Assault is very much a crime in our land, our people are not prone to violence."

Brucians voice trembles when answering Cheyanne now.

[DarkOne-Rob]

With an annoyed look Cheyanne shakes her head and closes her eyes, again trying to calm down as she meditates. "Forgive me, Brucian - my outburst should not have been directed at you. I'm sorry," she says as her breathing slows. "You have been courteous and I responded in anger. It was unbecoming of me. Please don't be afraid of me..." she ends quietly, clearly frustrated and embarrassed by the response her outburst has caused.

[Darius Vibrtrar]

Brucian slowly lowers his arms from thier defensive position. Without prompting, Luc speaks in sing song rhyme.

"The on descend shall evil of night the land,
at near signs of hexad this when hand."

Brucian rolls his eyes at Luc, the interruption enough to put him more at ease.

"Yes, thank you Luc."

Brucian readjusts himself and returns to pushing the raft through the swamp with the pole. Vision is very limited with the mists and fog, the sun cannot quite pierce through, only providing ambient light, but the occasional rumble of thunder is ever present.

"We've all learned from experience what to expect, some of its taught, some of it is trauma. So please understand when interacting with my flock."

[Bunny Commando]

Grey - HP: 17\17 - Conditions: None - Active Effects: Cloak of Darkness (2 hrs.)

---------------

Grey pats Cheyanne on the shoulder, trying to ease her discomfort; emotions running hot might spell disaster for the team, after all. He nods and tries to reason with her "They're wrong, of course. But it does look like these people have been dealt a bad hand and they might just try to protect themselves and those they care about." Grey shrugs with resignation "Let's not be too harsh with them. Might show them the truth of your words."

[DigoDragon]

"What would you say to a mother, whose just given birth to a child with a tail? A third eye? A hump, or even extra fingers and toes?"
"The Caliban are those cursed in body by the darkest of powers, are seen as ill omens, or even an invitation from that family for evil to have come into their home. Most are outcast from their homes for the safety of the village"

Rose fidgets a bit at that answer. She only just learned who the Caliban are and already she learned how much she has in common with them.

"Why would I say anything? People in Neverwinter wouldn't even bat an eye if your kid got a tail." Grey shrugs

Grey's words makes Rose feel lucky about the company she keeps. She takes a deep breath and calms her nerves.

With an annoyed look Cheyanne shakes her head and closes her eyes, again trying to calm down as she meditates. "Forgive me, Brucian - my outburst should not have been directed at you. I'm sorry," she says as her breathing slows. "You have been courteous and I responded in anger. It was unbecoming of me. Please don't be afraid of me..." she ends quietly, clearly frustrated and embarrassed by the response her outburst has caused.

Rose stretches out a hand and places it gently on Cheyanne's shoulder. She gives a comforting glance that it'll be alright.

"The on descend shall evil of night the land,
at near signs of hexad this when hand."

Rose has been on-and-off pondering Luc's phrases. They're out of order in some way; she felt sure of it. She nudges the words around in her mind, until something clicks that might make more sense.

"The night of evil shall descend on the land, when this hexad of signs near at hand."

Rose pauses for only a moment. "H-Hey, that made some sense, didn't it?"

[samduke]

still bristling from Brucian's comments, and not wanting to be treated differently. Millie remain's silent for now.

[kinem]

Ted says ”It sounds like what the Vistani were warning us of. Since his behavior started when they were in the area, he probably heard it from them. Maybe he heard too much and they cursed him to not be able to say much. But actually I don’t think they would have. They told us about it and didn’t tell us we need to keep quiet about it. It doesn’t make sense that they would have done this to him.”

[Darius Vibrtrar]

Brucian looks to each of you when Ted mentions the Vistani and having spoken with them. He grows ever quiet, ignoring further inquiry. After about 30 minutes of silence the Mist breaks, and the swamp opens up into solid ground. In about 250 ft there is a road that runs parrallel to the edge of the swamp, and beyond that, the small town of Marais D'Tarascon is spread before you. Brucian steps off the raft and looks back to you.

"Good luck to you, I have duties to attend to in town, If you need me, I should be at the church."

He begins to walk into town, stopping at the road.

"Please take good care of Luc!"

He proceeds down a intersection toward what looks like a church further in town.

[DarkOne-Rob]

Cheyanne silently accepts the signs of unity from her companions and does her best not to make things worse. "I can be quiet when sneaking and scouting - this is harder, but I'll do my best," she confides as she proceeds to make her best effort to stay quiet as they pole the rafts to the town. She doesn't act surprised when their guide begins to ignore them - she may have caused it, after all - but she doesn't look happy about it either.

Once in town and unexpectedly saddled with Luc Cheyanne looks about in confusion. "Wait, please! Where is his family? How are we supposed to care for him?" she tries to ask the retreating clergyman before giving up with a sigh. "If we get into danger I can't drag him around, but I will try to keep him safe, I guess. It's not right to let him get hurt..."

[DigoDragon]

still bristling from Brucian's comments, and not wanting to be treated differently. Millie remain's silent for now.

Noticing Millie has been quiet, Rose steps beside her and whispers, "Something on your mind?"

[samduke]

Noticing Millie has been quiet, Rose steps beside her and whispers, "Something on your mind?"

(OOC: in a mix of languages none of which are common <elven,dwarven,sylvan,draconic,celestial>) Millie swears up a storm, loud enough for roses ears ..

then in common, backwards thinking people

then to Cheyanne, we can tie luci up when we need to do stuff, and drag him about in between

[DigoDragon]

(OOC: in a mix of languages none of which are common <elven,dwarven,sylvan,draconic,celestial>) Millie swears up a storm, loud enough for roses ears ..
then in common, backwards thinking people

This catches Rose by surprise; and she is able to understand the elven, dwarven, and draconic parts. Yeah, that... is definitely something that is probably on Rose's mind too. She might not say it the same way, but she can feel that anger. Rose is just more... timid about it. She gives Millie a friendly hug to show support and that rose is on her side with this.

then to Cheyanne, we can tie luci up when we need to do stuff, and drag him about in between

Rose adds to this, "Well, I'll watch him so we don't need to tie him up. Err, unless you mean metaphorically?"

[Bunny Commando]

Grey - HP: 17\17 - Conditions: None - Active Effects: None

---------------

Grey groans when Brucian leaves Luc in their care "And now we have to play nanny too." he says with a little frustration "But I guess it won't be much of a problem as long as we stay in town." that said, he nods at one of the largest building nearby "That does look like a inn. I say we should head there, find maybe a place to stay and have a good soak to clean the swamp away and ask some questions to the people there." the shadowy man grimaces, again frustrated but this time by how little they know about the quest they're supposed to take on "I mean, the priest has been useless but someone has to know something around here."

And provided the rest of the party join him, he mutters a short prayer to whatever entity has given him power over shadows before trying to gain access to the building, even though this blessing now is remarkably subtler than the others he has shown before.

Spoiler

Show

If the others agree to start with building #1, Diplomacy roll to gather information there (1d20+11)[21]

[Darius Vibrtrar]

As you approach the 2 story building with a fence surrounding the main building and the adjacent stable you see a sign at the open gate and again above the front door. "Full Moon Inn".

Once inside, Grey and the others find the main common room with a bar and 12 tables. One of the barmaids seems friendly enough as Grey uses his people skills to interact with them, finding her name is Katha, and she is a bit of a gossip.

"Oh didn't you hear? Over a week ago, Francois, a local fellow, well he fell dead right here in the common room. I was taking a break in the kitchen at the time, resting my weary feet near the back door. I remember, just before people started hollering in the common room, got a whif of some awful odor blowing in from outside. It was kind like rotten meat-not that we serve any here, mind you-but worse. Luckily, I’ve got quite a strong stomach. In fact, was just about to go outside to find out what could be causing that odor when the screams began. Then I saw Francois being carted off to be buried. You know, forgot all
about that awful odor until just a few days ago when old Fiora mentioned that she had smelled it, too. I’d lock your door while you’re sleeping if was you. Everybody in the village does now. Speaking of rooms, your our only other visitors here other than Duncan, he's a merchant in from the port. Will you 6 be needing a room? Drinks?"

[samduke]

speaking up at the question from the woman, yes a room and meal please- how much ?

[DigoDragon]

Rose looks over to Luc and gives him a gentle nudge. "Any places in town you find interesting?"

[Darius Vibrtrar]

The woman keeps up the friendly demeanor as she turns to Millie.

'A Silver Snake for the night, a Copper Crocodile for each meal. Prices are set by head, not by room, so you can double up or take 6 singles. Gratuity is always appreciated for excellent service."

She looks up, past the group to see luc standing there with his lantern. Luc does not respond to rose.

"Well well, you've got Luc with you. He doesn't seem to have gotten any better does he?"

[samduke]

to the woman, whom do I pay for the room, you?

turning to the others, We seem to have a few hours before dark to investigate, this seems like a reasonable spot to rest for the evening.

[Darius Vibrtrar]

"You can pay Mr. or Mrs. Bascolm for the room"

She gestures towards the bar where a middle aged couple is talking to each other, but seems to be looking towards your group.

"For meals or drink you can pay Ms. Lillin Bascolm, or one of us barmaids."

She gestures to a young woman who is currently serving a man sitting by a window.

"Thats Duncan by the way, the merchant. Oh and if you need use of the stables Jerald Bascom Jr. is outside, he can help you with that."

[Ancient]

Miss Pendagrast - AC: 17 - HP: 14/14 - Perception: +9

"Katha is it?" Amelie says, trying to be sociable after a rather melancholy stretch. "Yes, I think after our travels, a round of drink is in order." Miss Pendagrast presses some coins to the barmaids hand, enough for everyone and a generous tip to put the lady on her good side.

"I don't suppose, you have seen a tall blonde man, name of Trystan?"

[Bunny Commando]

Grey - HP: 17\17 - Conditions: None - Active Effects: None

---------------

Grey definitely knows how to push people to talk and when Katha has spilled some information, he looks at the others and shares his thoughts "Better if we all sleep together. Safer that way." he says before turning towards this Duncan, Grey shrugs and nods towards the merchant "Going to have a talk with the fellow. Might know something. You're welcome to join me." and that said, he nods to Katha and moves towards the man by the window; Grey approaches him with a warm smile, trying to be friendly but not weird the man out "Maid told me you're from out of town. Care to help a fellow traveller find his bearing around here?" he pats his own chest "Name's Grey, by the way."

Spoiler

Show

@Darius
Do you need a Diplomacy roll?

[DigoDragon]

Luc does not respond to rose.
"Well well, you've got Luc with you. He doesn't seem to have gotten any better does he?"

"Uh, I suppose not... when did this start?" Rose asks, gesturing to Luc's lack of response to her.

turning to the others, We seem to have a few hours before dark to investigate, this seems like a reasonable spot to rest for the evening.

Rose nods. "Sounds like a plan to me."

Miss Pendagrast presses some coins to the barmaids hand, enough for everyone and a generous tip to put the lady on her good side.

"Wee, thanks!" Rose chirps in gratitude towards Amelie. She will hold a drink up for Luc and see if he needs help... or if he even responds to drink?

[kinem]

Ted relaxes a bit as he enjoys the food and drink ... especially the latter, as he drinks a good beer for the first time in what seems like forever.

He says to the barmaid "I'm Ted. Thanks for making us feel welcome."

When she goes off to bring more plates, leaving the group a bit of privacy, he says in a low voice "The rotten smell is interesting. Possibly an attack spell or alchemical poison gas that kills. Possibly an undead creature with rotting flesh. I think we need to get on a roof and stake out the place at night, see what is going on out there."