AvB - Min

[planswalker]

IF YOU ARE NOT MIN OR HIS DM, MR TENTALES WILL FIND YOU AND HUG YOU. JUST ASK LYNDWORM. YOU DON'T WANT THAT

"Very well then. I will have one of our older cops start your training tomorrow. The standard starting pay is 1 gold per day, with a bonus for exceptional service. You will be granted your city watchman's cloak tomorrow morning when you show up for training. If you do not have a place to stay tonight, you can be assigned a bed in the barracks. There is a breakfast served at sunrise every morning and another meal provided when you get off your shift. Report back here an hour after sunrise. Do not be late."

[Mathis]

Min

Min grins widely underneath his beard and exclaims excitedly: "Fantasticable! Though, if I could have some sort of watchman tabard or the like instead of a cloak I'd be happy with that, I already own a magical cloak you see, it's going to be a family heirloom one day.

[planswalker]

"Well, we don't get many new watchmen that can afford a magic cload, but we do have tabards as optional uniform instead. It will be five silver, though. The cloak is free but the tabard costs a little extra. The city subsidizes the cost of the cloaks, but the tabards have to be custom-made."

[Mathis]

Min

"That's ok", Min said joyfully. He pulls up his pouch, counts 5 silver pieces and hands it all to the Captain. "I'll get the measurements done as quickly as possible. I have to be honest with you though Captain. I hope to advance to more than a simple watchman here with you. I've been travelling for many years and I'm no rookie when it comes to a fight. I also like to think I'm slightly brighter than your run of the mill watchman. Min adjusts himself in his seat and leans forward, over the table and continues excitedly: That's why I propose, that after I have proven myself trustworthy with your guard, we could work together on starting up a service provided to the nobility in this town. Some sort of business that provides security without the random and unsafe enviroment hiring someone off of the street gives, a prestigious group of protectors. With the reccomendations from you and the city guard I'm sure we'd draw some of the more wealthy individuals to us. Think of all the percentages you could earn from this captain!

[planswalker]

He smiles grimly. "I am afraid that we just don't have the reputation to do that, but who knows? If you prove yourself, we just mingt be able to get you places. If you do go places, it would be wonderful of you if you could expant the city guard's influence."

[Mathis]

Min

"Luckily for us, there are tons of places to go my friend!" And I'm going to go to your position one day, Min thought as he smiled and offered his hand to the Captain for shaking.


To the DM: Want to just skip ahead to the training or do you have anything else planned?

[planswalker]

Next morning, you eat the basic breakfast the barracks provides and report for training. An old Sargent with a missing left hand introduces himself as "Sgt. Torkheim".

he asks you, "I hear that you have past experience taking care of problems. Care to elaborate?"

[Mathis]

Sorry about the slow post rate! But I'm in the middle of moving to another apartment and just got off a 9 hour train ride during which I didn't get any sleep...


Min

Min eyes Torkheim up and down, but couldn't decide if this was a man worthy of respect or not.

"That's right Torkheim", Min answered casually. "The name is Min Rockhand, I've been a surfacedweller almost all my life and have seen wonders and horrors few common men are lucky enough to dream of." He plants the but of his axe on the ground and continues to elaborate on his experience.

"I've travelled alot, seen the cities of the world and trained with a dozen different fighters of equally many different styles. I've had to fight of orcs and bandits of all kinds of races, most memorable of which was a gypsy halfling with a passion for seduction and knives" Min winks to the old man and grins behind his beard, flashing a set of beer-stained teeth. "When it comes to what you probably want to know, I'm a dwarf who knows where to keep his eyes, and I know how to calm down someone who's looking for a fight. And if you want someone to keep you safe in a fight, look no further."

[planswalker]

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not a problem. as my sig says, i'm about to have an internet shortage myself.

related topic: we just got shadowleaf to be a new dm for AvB. how would feel about him taking over this thread? I'm nearing my limit and he's looking for threads to take over.

[Mathis]

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Sure, that's fine with me. Just let him know I'm ready whenever.

[Shadowleaf]

The old sergeant holds up his left arm. "Why weren't you here sooner?!" He lets out a loud bark laugh. "Well, 'least you boast like a proper Guard, I guess time will show whether or not you can live it to it. I'm getting old, and it's great to have young.."- The sergeant eyes you up- "Gergh, presumably young, blood to take over.
Anyway, let's get down to business. You're fresh and eager to learn. With your supposed combat experience, I assume we can skip the usual sword drilling from dawn to dusk. What'cha want to do first, then? Go on patrol, or learn some theory? "

[Mathis]

Min

Min chuckled along loudly with the man, he liked Torkheim! Alot!
"Well patrol ofcourse! How much theory can there be to a job like this? I solve problems, and I blow a whistle if the problem is too much to handle on my own right?"

[Shadowleaf]

"Well, there's the protocols. I mean, we don't just blunder into a situation, we carefully follow procedur.. Blahahaha. I can't even say it with a straight face. You've gotten the jest of it. Just don't abuse your power, but don't be afraid to bust a few heads to restore order. This city has a shady side like you can't imagine, and us Guards do what we have to do to keep it quiet. How much do you think you can handle, kid? We can take a tour of some of the quieter places in the city, or we can go right in the smack middle of things. Your choice."

[Mathis]

"Right in the smack middle of things sounds about right, you reckon we can handle it?"

Shadowleaf:

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Hello! I just want to be straightforward with where I want this character to go in the future. I want to build a respectable reputation before starting a bureau where us bodyguards, the players can offer work instead of going to look for it. Min would ofcourse charge a respectable sum of money for each job done through the agency, 10-20% of each payment. I've got it mostly planned out hehe. Anyway, that's my goal for this character, hopefully I can reach it with the help of the other players after my IC reputation is large enough.

[Shadowleaf]

"Well, I dunno 'bout you, but I'm a pretty fast runner." The sergeant grins. "Let's take a stroll through the Docks district, then. Docks are rough now-a-days, too far away from our grasp to be controlled, the best we can do is arrest the criminals we blunder into down there."
The sergeant suits up, wearing his Guard cloak and Sergeant's tabard. He sheaths a longsword and a dagger in his belt. A chainmail can be spotted underneath his tabard. It looks awefully shiny compared to the standard guardman's.
He leads you out of the garrison, out on Eschenheimer. He takes a left, and then a right on Broad Chase. You are now travelling eastward toward the docks. The garrison is pretty much right in the middle of the city, with the docks making up the north-east corner of the city.
Broad Chase is alive with people as always. Horses pulling carts, people walking and talking, kids running rampant, everything you would expect from a busy city this close to first light.

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That's great, I like it. Will take some time, of course, but I'm sure you'll get there with some resolve and a hint of luck.
You'll arrive in the Docks District next post unless you want to continue talking to the Sergeant beforehand.

[Mathis]

Min

"Good things Torkheim, good things. I guess I should start calling you Seargant and saluting you now too though?"

Min dons his new Guardsman tabard ontop of his own armor, straps on his shield and axe and walks with Torkheim to the Docks District. Walking through Broad's Chase filled with people, carts and kids Min can't help but feel mighty proud of himself in his new uniform. He smiles and greets as many as he can on his way to the Docks, being polite is a virtue his father had always said.

Upon arrival at the Docks, Min turns to the seargant and says: "Since this place is so far out of the guards reach, wouldn't be a good idea to set up a second garrison out here? Y'know, to stay closer to the heart of the problem."

[Shadowleaf]

The sergeant nods at the salute comment. "Titles are important, we must appear as if we are on top of things at all times, even when we are not."

The housing of the city gradually degrades from well built two-story houses, to more shabby and cheaper one-story housing that makes up most of the Docks district. Shady and dirty taverns, warehouses, and dirt roads are plentiful. It is obviously much poorer than the rest of the city.
The atmosphere has changed as well. While Broad Chase felt cheerful, with everyone smiling back, kids laughing, and women singing, the Docks district feel much more grim. The people passing you mostly look at their feet, or travel in larger groups of strong looking men. Not many talk, and those that do are quiet and hushed.
The sergeant looks at you as you ask your question, and lowers his voice with a reply: "We don't talk about stuff like that out in the open, we don't want people to know we are stretched thin. We must appear everywhere at once, you see?"

[Mathis]

Min

Quickly realizing his mistake Min changes the look on his face to that of one alot more neutral than the happy and polite face he had been wearing in Broad Chase. "'Course Sir."

He continues to walk, and after seeing the degradation of this part of the city and the hushed tone of everyone in the vicinity he comes to the conclusion that this ain't natural. He's seen docks before and plenty of them were busy, happy places. He turns to Torkheim again and asks in a whisper: "Why are everyone this quiet? Is someone keeping them down? Some sort of crimelord or mobster? Docks aren't usually this fallen apart and depressive to walk around in."

[Shadowleaf]

"The Docks attract simple people - strong in the arms and slow in the heads. They work for the daily bread, but the pay of a dockworker is not very impressive. This has led to poor housing, as that is all they can afford. The security and lack of patrols has made the Docks a breeding pit of criminals. Lots of the organized criminals want a say in the Docks, so gang wars are abundant here. Heck, half the dockworkers are members, if for nothing but protection from robbery. This has been going on for a while, and has made the Dock into what it is today."
The sergeant picks up a slow pace. He strikes you as very observant despite his age. He nods to a few people whom seem to recognize him as he leads you through the Docks.

You try to be as observant as he is, but it quickly becomes apparent, that his eyesight and attention to detail is a lot better than yours.

You do realize something strange about the Docks. As you continue through the streets, it becomes apparent, that there are more non-humans than humans. Everywhere you turn are Kobolds, half-Orcs, Hobgoblins, and more obscure species to be found.

[Mathis]

Min

"Gangs eh, which are the ones I should know of? Any particular individuals that stand out?"

Knowledge: Local roll.

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Knowledge: Local to see if I know anything about the criminal underground in the docks area.

(1d20+4)[19]

[Shadowleaf]

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Hope it's okay the Knowledge roll takes the form of a reply from the sergeant.

"Well, there're several. Some small time players, others are bigger and more organized. There're the skulks here. Nasty critters, abducting people and splattering them all over the street the next morning. They carry scary-looking knives, too. They're impossible to catch, always being one step ahead - or rather, behind - our patrols, stalking the shadows and killing our men.
There's some organization known as the Jacks, they're big time criminals with a tight command, we don't know much 'bout them, they tend to get rid of their snitches, and keep their members happy. We know they're present in most of Sesbury, and that they're divided into crews, and have a finger in a lot of stuff across the city - everything from prostitution, robberies to assassinations."

[Mathis]

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Yeah thats perfect, I like it that way so feel free to do it more if I roll more knowledge checks where the result can come as a reply. I'll let you know if I want to seem knowledgeable towards any players and NPC's. Also, Im going to sleep after this post so unless you have something you really want to finish we can continue tomorow?

"By the hells, that's a good group of nasty critters. Let's hope we can put a good scare in them and teach them to respect us properly sooner rather than later then."

Min is stroking his axe absentmindedly as they continue to walk, slowly starting to warm up to the crowd a smile starts to crawl across his face but he remains silent and does not greet anyone unless they say hi first. He'll continue to walk alongside Torkheim, exchanging anecdotes and friendly banter as long as it doesn't obstruct the professionality of the patrol.

[Shadowleaf]

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Go ahead. The next part will take a while.

[Shadowleaf]

As the two of you reach the actual Docks, and walk alongside the water and piers, you suddenly feel very observed. Turning to Torkheim, he seems not to notice.
After following the waterline a few hundred meters, you are forced to stop as a cart tips over next to you. A young woman up ahead notices you and Torkheim, and beelines in a rushed walk towards you. You can easily tell from her body language that she is brimming with rage. As she comes within 60 feet, she begins to shout. "The Guard, huh? Where were you bastards last night, when my poor boy was abducted?!"
You turn to see Torkheim's reaction, but you are simply met with a stare of indifference. You turn to the woman again, who is heading straight towards you.

[Mathis]

Min

OOC: I'm guessing it's a human woman since nothing else was described?

Min notices Torkheim's indifference and deduces it has to be a test of him, to see how he handles the situation.

Min shoots his chest forward and answers in a voice as authorative as possible as he can muster: "Please madam, calm yourself so we can help you. If you keep on shouting like that none of us is going to get anything done. What is your boys name and what does he look like? Did anyone see the abduction?"

Diplomacy to calm the woman down: (1d20-1)[5]

[Shadowleaf]

As the street clears to the sides, you get a better look at the woman. She is indeed human, roughly 30 years old with black unwashed curles bound in a ponytail. She is wearing a green linen dress and has no visible weapons. She seems indifferent with your shouting. "My boy is dead, DEAD. I had to dig his feet out the gutter this morning! The dogs were playing with his arm!"

15 feet between you now.

[Mathis]

Min

Min stays calm and continues to talk to the woman, but he places a firm hand on his already un-sheathed axe.

"That's a sad story you're telling me miss. I'm Min, now tell me your name and the rest of the story, and tell me who did this so we can bring them to justice. But I can do none of this if you continue to scream and shout." Justice on the edge of my axe, Min thought with an increasingly solemn sharpness to his inner monologue.

[Shadowleaf]

The woman starts to run, raising her arm for a strike.

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Roll Init.
Woman's Init: (1d20-1)[7]

[Mathis]

Min

Damned!, Min mumbled as the woman charged.

Init: (1d20+1)[18]

Min will attempt to subdue the woman, he curses the moment he decided not to buy a sap to keep in his belt.

Grapple, she gets an AOO: Melee touch attack: (1d20+10)[14]

Attempt to hold: (1d20+10)[29]

If the grapple attempt suceeds, Min will tell the woman that if she does not stop this at once he will have to hurt her.

[Shadowleaf]

She misses you completely, and you have no trouble keeping her under control. She bites, tears and strikes with great anger, but you easily keep her subdued.

She obviously does not intended to stop anything soon.

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* post roll count doesn't match database