AvB - Ishmael

[Monodominant]

"Indeed" confirms Ishmael really feeling that way.

"May I proceed?" he asks them and if they agree he continues inside looking for a quiet place to offer a solemn personal prayer that includes the words judgement, luck and fate many times as well as apologies for putting his life at risk when his time is not yet come.

That done he looks for a cleric or acolyte and explains that he needs magical healing.

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Got the items identified by the way! Most of them are nice and the cloak would have been amazing if I had this essentia stuff :D. With the exception of the cloak and gauntlets which I keep for now but dont use I put everything on boots and both rings and I keep the bolts in a separate position so I know where they are in my bolt box.

Oh and XP by any chance? Dont want to sound greedy but that bastard nearly killed me!!!

[planswalker]

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ah, yes. xp. what level are you again?

"Indeed. For one whose profession is to aid the Judge in receiving souls, I will do it for free." one priest answers. Several spells later, you feel renewed.

[Monodominant]

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I am level 6 but ECL 7 due to the LA +1

And wow free healing? Also I realised that I am wearing the boots of striding so perhaps these acrobats boots will go for sale since they give a small tumble bonus and swift activating extra speed and I need the swift actions for the caustic burst usually... plus continuous speed is more fun :D

Still the rings are amazing... knock and damaging faerie fire! And the gloves are very good for investigation stuff!

Ishmael bows deeply and thank the priest as his wounds close he yet again whispers the name of Kelemvor.

Before leaving he stops by a small marble box next to the braziers that hold incense and myrrh and puts 50 gold as an offering. The cleric might have said its free but Ishmael knew better than not to make a proper offering.

That done he continues with the remaining errands on his list. He passes from the plaza just in time to be the last non-shop customer of Hagan and gets the items identified and then looks around him when he is in a small dark alleyway.


"I am ready brother". he whispers.

[planswalker]

"Then follow me. And don't let yourself be seen."

He motions for you to follow him into a sewer main.

[Monodominant]

Ishmael nods and follows silently and quietly. He does his best to stay in the shadows and be silent.

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(1d20+23)[27] MS

[planswalker]

Many turns and about an hour later, Ishmael finds himself in the company of ten other skulks besides himself and his guide. Three of them are wearing black robes, and a fourth is wearing a white robe. The other six seem to wear nothing but loincloths. Wickedly curved daggers are casually held in one hand as the ten look at the entrance. As you step into the room, their daggers begin glowing.

"The brother from afar has at last joined us. Will he come forth?"

[Monodominant]

Ishmael is amazed. He has not seen this many skulks gathered since he was a little boy. It is all very surreal and a sense of racial pride fills him despite the difference he has with his local cousins. Wearing clothes for example... his minds voice says.

Ishmael also remembers he had heard the rumors about 2 groups of skulks. The evil ones that live in the docks but also an even worse group of darker believers deep below the city. He wondered with who he was dealing.

All this cast aside he walks forward and inclines his head to those around him.

"I am here brothers" he says simply.

[planswalker]

"Our brother not yet. Can one vouch for him?" the one in white says.

"I can." your guide says. "I have watched him for three days and nights. He is one of the Cast Down. We have been watching him for ten days now. He has uncovered an entrance to Auntie's, and single-handedly slew the Nose. He has spilled blood and had his own blood spilled with me, and we are brothers."

"Shall this one claim kinship with us, as a fellow member of the Cast Down, we who are unseen?"

[Monodominant]

So this was how it felt to belong. Against his better judgement and driven by blood and kin Ishmael felt powerless to resist his people.

I do. I claim kinship though we have some differences and our methods are not the same I am part of the unseen like my father before me and his father before him he said solemnly.

[planswalker]

"Then let the clan recognize that we have met a brother from another tribe. The sewers are our domain, and now they are yours as well. You may come and go as you please. However, a warning: our domain does not yet extend into the tunnels under Old Town, for there the kobolds have lived for generations. We are unable to dislodge them at this time."

"Our war with the Jacks must come first. Only one gang will be able to rule the streets of Aldhaven, and that will be us. For now the Docks and the sewers are ours, while the main town is theirs. However, if we can take advantage of your knowledge to wipe out Auntie's, we will cut out their heart."

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2000 xp, btw. with another 1000 xp story award.

[Monodominant]

Ishmael inclines his head once more.

"I thank you for your acceptance and it is an honour to be considered part of the Clan." he says truthfully.

He considers their words for a moment and continues.

"What is our current relation with the Kobolds? Are we at war or simply ignoring each other? As for the Jacks I too share a profound dislike for them even though I was not part of the tribe before" he says calmly

"Actually apart from the entry at Aunties I may have uncovered something more. There is a house in Scale Street that had a trapdoor leading to a small outpost or whatever it was. Though I cannot be certain it was not a ruse I may have actually met the Dayman while I was impersonating a low level ganger. I even got a mission assigned from him so I, that is to say my other persona, becomes a full member. I do not know if they will have moved from there as the Watch tried to get involved in my business but its worth checking perhaps?" he said eagerly.

"If I may be so bold, may I ask what else you know about the Jacks and how I may help with what skills I have and my style of work? I am currently hunting for a particular one called Toe and his men and would like to know more about him. I admit I had underestimated the Jacks and my encounter with the Nose almost got me killed despite the fact that my comrade was there to help... perhaps only due to luck did we survive..." he considers his words but does not mind admitting it. Indeed the Nose had been a formidable opponent and he was lucky the Jack had also underestimated him!

"Also, as I am unaware of your local customs I would like to know more of... us? I see the diffrent robes and the loinclothes and the glowing knives but I am unaware of the protocols or how I should behave around you brothers as I have away from my kind for too long..." he said somewhat ashamed.

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And I believe that these 3k XP along with the discovery 1k XP from before actually levels me!!!

[Monodominant]

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Once again I am facing the dilemma of Assassin level or Rogue level... rogue level is +1 attack, +1 will (which I really need to fix) and con saves and more importantly... uncanny dodge...

On the other hand assassin is... well... cool... +2 reflex AND poison use and death attack (which is subpar with my intelligence) but most importantly spells... and this 1 spell per day is incredible useful!

Either way they both get d6 hit points so here goes:

(1d6)[5]

re-rolling in case of 1

(1d6)[2]


Edit: more questions -

Okay so I wanted to ask a couple of things about crafting as I was considering poison crafting especially since buying poisons is extremely expensive...

So as an example lets say a poison has craftind DC 15 and a cost of 150 gold.

From what I read we do a roll per day and based on gold rather than on sp/cp according to Rizbans post for game rules.

So I pay 1/3 of the item cost as raw materials (50gp) and make the roll.

Lets say I have 4 ranks, 2 points int bonus and masterwork artisan tools bringing my bonus to 8 and I roll a 12 (can you take 10 on crafting rolls?) for a total of 20,

So I multiply my 20 with 15 for a total of 300.

Here is question 1) Do we calculate the result based on market price or raw material price?

If not my result of 300 still means I did "one increment better" and hence I could make another one during the same day? If yes I guess it means I did even better and could make numerous during the same day?

2) Is there a way to increase the DC of a poison via a good crafting roll? So I want to make drow poison but make it more strong DC wise could I ask that the DC is set to 20 instead of 15 for example and thus gain 1 or 2 extra DC points?

3) Do you allow the various poisons from 3rd party books like Poisoners and Assassins guide?

[planswalker]

"The lesser lizardlings we regard not at all. We both are more concerned with the Jacks, and so long as they do not try to spread beyond Old Town, we leave them alone."

"Indeed it is. Ingratiate yourself in with them as highly as you can over the next week. Seven days from now, we will strike. The better your position when it is time, the greater your reward shall be."

"What we know of the jacks is of no concern of yours. You already know more than you need, and your infiltration is likely to garner more than we could tell."

"We of the robes are of the priesthood. Our cult of the Dark One leads in all ritual. We who wear the white leads they who wear the black. To learn of those not of the priesthood, speak with Gorga. She will teach you of our ways."

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go assassin. you wanna get HiPS asap. It'd make you almost godlike in this setting.

you can take 10 on craft checks unless rushed or threatened... such as combat.

you calculate based on market price.

yes, indeed that is so. For the cost of 1/3 the additional one's price.

I'm willing to houserule that +5 dc to craft allows a poison with +2 save dc, for double cost, open-endedly.

run them by me first, but in general yes, so long as they're not game-breaking.

[Monodominant]

"I did not mean offense by asking about the Jacks. The more an assassin knows the more he can use against our enemies." he says simply but accepts the priests words.

Ishmael nods again to the gathered priests and turns to see if the one named Gorga makes himself known and if he doesn't he asks if he can then be introduced and taken to him.

He also turns to the one that brought him here.

"You also mentioned meeting the Clan Chief?" he says letting the question hang.

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Well HiPS is still far far away... the easiest dip for it is Shadow Dancer which is stupidly good but I have vowed not to cheese that...

As for the poisons in that case I will invest in the crafting thingy. Also I read in Complete Adventurer (which has craft poison making) that due to the nature of poisons (one use) the raw material cost is 1/6th for normal stuff but 3/4 for rare stuff (like black lotus etc).

Thanks for the dc house rule... it makes it good for low powered poisons which are otherwise too expensive for what they do.

[planswalker]

The one who lead you here says, "Yes, follow me. Gorga is his granddaughter. We will meet her there as well."

He leads you off through a new tunnel in the labyrinth that is called the sewers.

[Monodominant]

Ishmael follows obediently this new wonderful, albeit stinking, world of possibilities opening before him.

"Do we control the sewers under the Noble's Quarter?" he asks as they walk.

[planswalker]

"Indeed we do. Unfortunately, the Royal Guard do not understand the truce we have with the City Watch. If they catch you on the surface, they kill on sight. And they make the Nose seem runny."

[Monodominant]

"Interesting. I wonder if the Royal Guard are that tough why they dont come out to get us, the kobolds and the Jacks cleared out..." he said his curiosity spiking about what was happening behind the wall's of the Noble's Quarters.

"Anyway, could you tell me anything about the chief and the grand-daughter so I know what to expect? The priest back there was not that friendly or open with information..." he discussed as they continued towards their destination.

[planswalker]

"There's a difference between fifty men regularly watching the streets and hunting us down in squads and those same fifty men focibly storming a stronghold we know inside and out and they don't. Besides, as long as we're 'under control' inside the city walls, the nobility doesn't care, by and large."

"Well, the Chief is a skulk. One old enough to watch his grandchildren grow up. While patrolling nightly looking for dominari to kill. He's quite the skillful rogue, and don't be fooled by his kind veneer. He didn't get to his position by not attaching strings to gifts and giving knives to his rivals' backs."

"his granddaughter, though, she is something else. His oldest son believed in genetic experiments done... empirically. While of course I believe that our race is best served pure, I have a hard time discounting his results. You'll see what I mean."

[Monodominant]

Ishmael nodded in appreciation for the information shared.

"I can understand the chief's demeanor. I have met similar leaders from other races. Leadership requires talent, skill and luck and relaxed morals while maintaing a set of rules or regulations..." he said confidently.

"Is there a rivalry between priesthood and the chief? They did not seem the type to accept anyone above them... even someone accomplished or incredibly skilled..." he mumbled a bit softer.

"And the same about my question about the Jacks. I would openly share any info I have on them and was taken aback at their answer... I mean I really had no clue the Nose was that potent and I am now a bit worried about the rest of them... a little less luck and we would both have been dead... if I had the info that he was deadly in melee we would have engaged him from distance..."

[planswalker]

"Well, oddly, no. Some say that the priests consider him their messiah. Others that they're really nothing more than his puppets. Still others say that there's a reason all his daughters married men who became priests. Personally, I think he's been smart enough to marry into them as much as possible, then create enough evidence that they daren't kill their potential messiah. Of course, the Shadow Spider being the mythical Red Robe who rules the whites wouldn't surprise me. They're new to the sewers, truth to tell. Our parents can recall a time before they ran affairs down here, before the Shadow Spider had gotten the deal with the watch."

"As for the Jacks, why don't you start by telling me what you do know. I don't wanna waste your time repeating things you've heard."

[Monodominant]

"You mentioned it before and now again. What is the truce exactly? You also said my actions might have jeopardised it in some way... and also who is this Shadow Spider? Is he or she a skulk and where did it come from?"
Continuing about the Jacks he nodded.

"Well. I very recently started looking into them as various... projects I have seem to involve them. My current target was the Toe though I know nothing more about him. He and his cronies are terrorising a banker that a client of mine uses. As such I followed him accross town and discovered a house in Scale Street from where he went to meet the Dayman. There was a lurker there guarding it and I had to eliminate him to move further." he said and paused.

"Having interrogated him first I went down the secret passage and found a small outpost of the Jacks there and pretending I was him I spoke with someone who may have been the Dayman" and continued by giving a short description of the man and how the room and door looked like, andy defences he had noticed, how many other entries and exits there were as well as the number of men present and their descriptions.

"I am not 100% sure but I seem to have convinced him and he tasked me with a small mission before I can become a full member of the gang. He acted as if indeed was who I said I was but I cannot be sure if he simply played along..." he said with a smile.

"As that was useful but not for my current mission I went back on the streets and found out where the Toe's men were hanging out. After a couple of days of following them I ended up at that bath-house. I suppose you know what happened since then..."

"Oh and I was also have a couple of more names that I was interested in but not as top priority" he said and mentioned the names Edistris had told him about.

[planswalker]

"I forget that you do not know. Twenty-three years ago, some of the more clever in the city watch realized that if they ignore the docks, we were willing to agree not to prey upon the city proper. There is a certain element of the city watch which appreciates that we do not tolerate the other gangs to encroach into our territory. We do not break into peoples' homes at night nor do we wantonly kill outside the Docks. In exchange, the city watch always finds itself too occupied with other forces to meddle in our affairs."

"We severely limit the number of skulks who venture outside the docks and above the sewers. However, we cannot always get the proper offerings for our sacrifices from the Docks, so once a month we must venture into Old Town to acquire an appropriate victim. We are careful to do this when those who are not aware of our agreement are on patrol, that way they do not know to link it back to us. Those who venture out there wear the markings of a different clan, that we can deny involvement."

"I am sorry to confuse you. The Shadow Spider is what the Chief called himself before becoming the Chief. It's still a title of honor for him that we use when talking of his exploits."

"We will definitely want to correlate the names you were given with those we know about."

"You are almost as well informed as we ourselves are. The Jacks' leadership structure is based upon upon your skill at your job. The protitutes and beggars form the lowest tier, being mere informers and not actually full-fledged members. They can often be used to relay messages to the Jacks. The next echelon is barely one step above: the Lurkers, Sneaks, Lookouts, and Bashers. They are almost like hired help: the Jacks call them in occasionally to assist with jobs, as well as a small continual fee to ensure their loyalty. They often know of one or two ancillary bases and can be brought to Auntie's if needed. Above them are the two major divisions of the Jacks: the Mockers and the Nighthawks. The mockers are thieves, while the Nighthawks are assassins. This is where our information gets spotty. We know that the Mockers acquire names based on bodyparts, the more central the part, the higher ranking you are. The Nighthawks we know little about. We are not even sure that they are a distinct branch but merely some of the Mockers who are skilled at killing. All three known Nighthawks are named after fingers on the left hand. Jimmy the Hand leads them, that much we know. He has a rather public image in the underground."

"Above both the Mockers and the Nighthawks are the Headmen. They are named after features of the head. The Nose whom you killed was the chief of their security. Your god must have favored you today, for he would surely have killed you otherwise. They are lead by the Dayman and the Nightman. From your description of the Dayman you met, we believe that he is the real deal. The both serve as the voice and the eyes of the Upright Man, the ultimate and final leader of the Jacks. His identity is jealously guarded, and it is said that only the Dayman and Nightman have seen his face. It is also said that not even they know where he lives or what his real name is."

[Monodominant]

Ishmael listened carefully at the information he was given as everything started to fall into place making more sense now.

"If indeed I met the Dayman I am simple suprised of how it was possible to trick him. If indeed he is the number two of their organisation I either got even more lucky than with the nose or I got swindled. I am not sure how to proceed on that front... we shall see..."

With that he falls into silence processing and considering things until they arrive at their destination.

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Grats for the incredibly detailed backgrounds on the gangs etc! Amazing work!

[planswalker]

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actually, most of that is a poster on this forum's named Shadowleaf. In the first AvB, he offered the submission of the Jacks, and Riz and I liked it enough to make it canon. We later promoted him to dm when we both got swamped with our sheer number of characters.

btw, if you would like to submit an npc, organization, or plot hook to AvB, don't be shy. Just pm it to both me and Riz. We'll look over it and let you know what we think.

who knows, if you're good at it and we want another dm, already having dm-level knowledge so it's not a spoiler will weigh in your favor.

"Indeed, it is likely that he duped you. However, if you walk in knowing it's a trap, your cunning might be able to spring the trap on them instead."

[Monodominant]

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Cool! I have various material that could fit if a bit more tailored. Do you have the noble house's etc mapped out?

Are there other kingdoms around Aldhaven? Cause during periods of inside upheaval outside enemies are also becoming more active.

Ishmael nods but is unconvinced about his cunning being enough. The Nose prove to be much stronger than expected and he had really come close to attempting a similar thing with the Dayman. He now realises that if he had he would most likely have not made it out alive.

"Well at least their... security officer is out of the picture. Even if they have others it will take some time hopefully for them to find a proper replacement." he said on a more conversational tone.

"Are we far by the way?" he asked as time was passing and the tunnels seemed to go forever. He was unsure that he would from now on use the sewers always as the oppresive atmosphere was something he had become unused to.

[planswalker]

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Riz has the major houses mapped out pretty detailed.

as for external threats....

they fit perfectly, and so far we don't have any created.

"It's not far. We'll be surfacing soon."

Just then, another skulk appears from the shadows. "A dominari paid a city watchman to let him over the walls at night. Time to collect a fresh one for the black robes."

Your guide looks to you. "Well, looks like it's time to go a-hunting. Have time in your busy schedule to share in the hunt with your clan-brothers?"

[Monodominant]

Ishmael eyed them suspiciously for a moment.

"A human paid the guards to be allowed in during the night? That sounds fairly suspicious brothers. I will join to see how we hunt and fight together but we should be careful. Perhaps the Jacks are planning to retaliate?" he said carefully wondering where the catch was. Perhaps it was a test to see if he was indeed embracing the clan.

"Do we know anything about him?" he asked

[planswalker]

"No, we watched the exchange. This one is foolish enough to check in on a warehouse at night. By his accent, he's new to the city. Let's give him a Docks Handshake."

He leads you off, and motions for you to follow just before putting on his ring of invisibility.

[Monodominant]

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Bastards they keep showing off their invisibility rings. I also want one damn it.

Just keep your guard up. Its too convinient for my liking. he continues but follows his new comrades. He feels a bit uneasy about the idea of killing someone in this way but it was true that a lone man in the docks that WANTED to be here at night was far to provocative. There was the truce that declared the area belonged to the skulks at night and if this was not enforced they would lose their reputation and domain.

His jaw set he continued to follow. Apart from the above this would confirm his conviction to them. Attacking the Jacks was not enough as they were his own enemies as well. He would at least try to make the mans suffering as little as possible.

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