AVB - The Ways of the Djinn

[Rizban]

Thread for AVB DMs and potential DMs only.

Aldhaven City Streets

One of the main thoroughfares of Aldhaven is Mastiff's Road. It is currently filled with all manner of people, though few seem to stand out to you. The Plaza, arguably the center of the city, sits right in the center of the flow of life through the city, where Midtown meets Old Town. To the north is Old Town and the Nobles' Quarter; to the south and east is The Market. Guildsmen District, to the northeast, is where most of the hard work of the city is done; to the west is the Temple District and Mages' Quarter. Far to the north, on the other side of the river, is The Docks and a clustering of housing for the poor which can be described only as Slums.

Here you stand in the heart of the city, watching people come and go, functioning as the very lifeblood of the city. The most prominent building in the area is a three-story inn named The Sad Flint. It is known as the place to be for relaxing adventurers and those seeking a good story, a good drink, or a good night's rest. Across the Plaza from The Sad Flint is Ezekiel's Supplies, one of two major suppliers of adventuring and exploration gear in the city. Numerous other shops line the sides of The Plaza, including a music shop named The Howling Song, Jim Juweliers's Gem Jewelry, Erbauer's Enchanted Devices and Dynamos, Sendungen Imports, Ranuna's Superior Toppers, and numerous other shops and merchant carts.

The center of the Plaza is kept mostly clear of vendors, the few legal locations for mobile stalls fiercely fought over by small vendors, each jockeying for position and claiming the best prices in town. In the center of it all is a large fountain, topped by a statue of King Alben Rosen, fair and just ruler of Aldhaven, who now lies sick and dying... or so the rumors go.

There is a pair of bored-looking city guards near the fountain lazily keeping an eye on the goings-on within the plaza. They are there to keep the peace, which seems rather quiet for now, although a fair amount of traffic exists.

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Useful Public Threads
Recruiting Thread, for when you need to roll a new character.
AVB Out of Character Thread, for all your chatting, alliance making, and plotting needs. (Approved players only, please.)
Aldhaven City Map (in progress) very rough district map

A small, bronze skinned man with loose-fitting clothes in the style of the tribes to the south enters the Plaza and looks around. He is accompanied by a tiny djinn who flits about through the air, obviously excited by all there is to see in Aldhaven.

Though he's been in large cities before, Sa'ul has never been in one quite like this one before. He takes a moment to acclimate himself to the area before entering The Sad Flint. He'll need a place to stay, and even a foreigner like him has heard tales of the Flint.

Spoiler

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For a lot of the common areas, you're expected to just copy/paste the general descriptions. It makes DMing the game MUCH easier.
You can find the Sad Flint's description in the Streets thread and Erbauer's in a number of places, but I'll reproduce it here for simplicity, as I'll be heading there soon.

Spoiler: Erbauer's

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Erbauer's Enchanted Devices and Dynamos sits on the north-west side of the Plaza on Mastiff's Road. A stout wooden door with elegant etching work opens onto the Plaza. The sign hanging on the corner of the building has a picture of a bag of holding with rings, swords, and other magical items protruding from it.

Inside is a small workshop, about twenty feet by forty feet. On entering, one does not find a true proper shop area, and there is often at least one apprentice noisily working on some magical contraption within.

Near the front are two comfortably upholstered chairs and a small counter which separates the entryway from the workshop. Behind the counter stands a woman of shocking beauty, a nearly perfect face, and shimmering golden hair with trace highlights of blue. Her diaphanous clothing is only just on this side of modest and is really quite distracting. Once you notice her, you find it physically difficult to look anywhere else in the shop... The name tag she wears reads "Clearwater".

"Welcome to Erbauer's! How might I be of assistance to you today?

Spoiler: Prepared Spells

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0 - N/A - 5 Unfilled
1st - Benign Transposition x2, - 3 Unfilled
2nd - Baleful Transposition, Shield (Extended) - 3 Unfilled
3rd - Chain Missile - 2 Unfilled - 1 Spent (Greater Mage Armor)

[Aldurin]

Sa'ul enters the Sad Flint to find a crowded and bustling bar inside, people of various races and trades sitting at the many tables with their choice of beer as multiple barmaids weave their way through to fulfill orders and retrieve empty mugs. Many people talk, others merely drink and listen, yet the omnipresent noise of conversation simply lends to the atmosphere of a homey place that doesn't try to be more than what it is. The only thing that might seem unusual is the well-equipped guards in front of a set of double doors on the west wall, but no one pays them any mind.

There's bar seating available, facing a half-giant that is working the taps and balancing small talk between multiple customers, and a group of off-duty city guards are beginning to vacate the table they're sitting at. As Sa'ul decides on a seat he notices a lean man enter the Sad Flint, in full armor and moving with a swarm of floating knives around him. This draws odd looks from quite a few people but no one seems to be distressed by it.

[Rizban]

Spoiler: Spellcraft

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Attempt to identify any spell effects on the flying daggers.

Gen Assist - Spellcraft - (1d20+9)[21] (DC10)
Sa'ul's Attempt - Spellcraft - (1d20+11)[30]+2=32

Sa'ul openly stares at the newcomer for a moment and converses in quiet whispers with his djinni ally. Satisfied that the understand the spell used, the two turn to look around the room for any other obvious spell effects to try to identify. After all, where one new spell is discovered, there may be others.

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It's hard to believe that it's been more than 5 years since AVB started...

[Aldurin]

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Gah, didn't catch the part where I can just copy location descriptions until the post was done, that sort of thing usually triggers my "don't steal stuff" sense.

Sa'ul manages to identify the spell the stranger is using as Cloud of Knives, which follow him as he sits at the bar and begins talking with the bartender. Nothing else in the room comes across as magical, at least not to the mundane eye. But the patrons of this establishment are diverse enough that it's not out of the question for someone to be using an illusion to change their appearance or some transmutation to ease a disability. As he stands and looks around, a group of sailors occupy the open table, leaving only the bar for open seating.

"Why don't you take a seat and order something, darling?" One of the waitresses asks Sa'ul as she moves through the crowd like a gust of wind, expertly balancing six full mugs of beer in her arms.

[Rizban]

"Hmm? Oh, thank you, no. I just need to talk to the person in charge of renting out rooms. I'm just looking for a place to stay."

[Aldurin]

Just before the waitress exits easy earshot she shouts back, "That'd be the bartender you're looking for, then!" She nods her head toward the half-giant running the bar, who is now in a heavy argument with an elf, orc and dwarf. They're speaking in Dwarven, and the trio seems to be berating the bartender for recommending that they hire someone who lacks the street sense to keep their magic from being out in the open, apparently talking about the man next to them with the Cloud of Knives spell still active. It's clear that the bartender is acquainted with them, as their banter becomes more pointless and is serving as more of a verbal duel for bragging rights now. At the very least it seems like it's a casual enough of a conversation to safely interrupt now.

[Rizban]

He walks up and addresses the barkeep in Dwarven.

"Greetings. I am in search of a room for the night."

[Aldurin]

"Room for one is 5 gold." The bartender replies in Dwarven. If Sa'ul pays he reveals a crystal disk and asks Sa'ul to put his hand on it.

[Rizban]

He produces 5 gold, which he passes to Joss, then eyes the crystal suspiciously.

"What's this? Some kind of magic lock thingy?"

Sa'ul attempts to identify the magic in the crystal.

Gen Assist - Spellcraft - (1d20+9)[22] (DC10)
Sa'ul's Attempt - Spellcraft - (1d20+11)[27]

Regardless, he places his hand on the disk.

Spoiler

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He, of course, can't identify the crystal. He hasn't cast detect magic or anything.

[Aldurin]

Sa'ul is 90% certain that the disk is magic of some sort. The disk glows when he puts his hand on it, and the bartender retracts the disk. "Your room is 299, enjoy your stay."

[Rizban]

"Most interesting. Tell me, are there any good places nearby to go shopping for magical gear?"

[Aldurin]

"Erbauer's, northwest part of the plaza. Big sign, can't miss it." The half-giant says before turning to address other patrons.

[Rizban]

"Thank you."

Sa'ul slides another gold across the counter in thanks and heads back out into the Plaza. Looking over to Erbauer's he makes a mental note to head there next. For now, he crosses over and enters Ezekiel's Supplies.

[Aldurin]

As you enter Ezekiel's Supplies, you notice that the walls are lined with supplies of all kinds. There are various sets of outfits designed for harsh weather conditions and dangerous climates, flasks and bottles and bags and pouches and all manner of containers, swords and knives and bows, and even a small section entirely devoted to cooking utensils and pots and pans. In the far back is a locked glass case filled with what appears to be various magical potions. Next to that is a rack of obviously magic weapons.

A half-elf woman stands behind a counter near the door and smiles at you as you enter. "Welcome to Ezekiel's Supplies! Please, look around and ask if you have any questions."

[Rizban]

Scanning the room briefly, Sa'ul approaches the desk.

"Thank you, I did have an odd request. I was wondering if you bought and sold used wands. Specifically, I was looking for arcane wands with only 1 or 2 charges remaining."

[Aldurin]

The woman gives a puzzled look before responding. "We only sell wands that are at least more than half-full here, and even then not that many. You'll want to check Erbauer's, since they always ask for depleted wands for recycling in crafting new magic items. They might still have some that they haven't processed yet."

[Rizban]

Spoiler

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It's not common knowledge what Hagan does with the items he takes on trade. It's generally assumed that he resells them, as most merchants do. Artificer abilities aren't widely known in the city, and there are no NPC Artificers that didn't start as PCs. It's part of the ongoing conflict and intrigue surrounding Hagan.

[Aldurin]

Spoiler

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Oh, got it. I'll keep DM workings visible only at the surface level to the player.

The woman gives a puzzled look before responding. "That's not something we normally sell. Maybe you should check Erbauer's, or other specialized shops?"

[Rizban]

"Of course not. I wouldn't expect you to carry such items; however, I'm certain that adventurers either come across nearly expended wands they can't use or don't want and sell them to merchants such as yourself. If you were to have the opportunity to acquire such items, I would be interested in purchasing them. Actually... Wait."

He pauses to think for a moment, making strange gestures with his fingers to keep track of his thoughts.

"Actually, you just mentioned that you do carry partially expended wands. Now, from my understanding, you sell them based on the number of charges remaining in them. Right? What if... now just follow me on this one... what if I could purchase just one charge, or even two, from each partial wand instead of buying the whole wand? I wouldn't even leave the shop with the wand. Buy the charge, activate the purchased charges, and hand it back over. Or, for that matter, I wouldn't even have to be the one activating them, so long as they were activated. Would that be possible?"

Throughout his thought process, the little djinni nods and flits about and makes happy noises of approval in support of Sa'ul.

Spoiler

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Diplomacy attempt to convince her to go along with this plan.
Gen Assist - Diplomacy - (1d20+10)[12] (DC10)
Sa'ul's Attempt - Diplomacy - (1d20+23)[31]+2 = [33]

More than likely, the owner, Ezekiel Jedder, will need to approve the plan himself for this to actually work...

[Aldurin]

The woman pauses and seems to be in heavy thought. After a few seconds she speaks. "We would be open to that. But only innocuous spells like Mage Armor and such, as anything remotely dangerous is out of the question for this kind of circumstance. Did you have any specific spells in mind?"

[Rizban]

He provides her with a list of his spells known + cloud of knives.

"Anything not on this list would be appreciated. I could provide something more specific with some time to research. I'm a collector of magical experiences, you see. These are the effects I've witnessed, so I'm in search of new and interesting effects to experience."

[Rizban]

After thinking for awhile as she does whatever it is she does, Sa'ul comes up with a better list.

"I think I'd like to start with the following spells of the First Circle. *ahem* Alarm, Protection from Evil, Good, Law, and Chaos, Grease, Mount, Identify, True Strike, Charm Person, Sleep, Color Spray, Silent Image, and Enlarge Person.

As to Second Circle spells, I'm interested in Web, Detect Thoughts, See Invisibility, Shatter, Mirror Image, Invisibility, Rope Trick, and the various animal aspect spells, the Bull's Strength and the lot."

He thinks a bit more. "Ah, and I have a few spells of the Third Circle which also interest me but are lower on my list at the moment. I'd prefer to see more spells of the lesser circles first. Quantity above quality, for the time being, you see. Still, of the Third Circle, I am interested in Dispel Magic, Magic Circle Against the alignments, Protection From Energy, Phantom Steed, Stinking Cloud, Deep Slumber, Wind Wall, Ray of Exhaustion, Vampiric Touch, Fly, Haste, Greater Magic Weapon, and Slow."

Spoiler

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I'm going to assume he's aware of the existence of every spell of a level he can cast from the PHB, even if he hasn't actually seen them or have them on his list of spells known. Anything outside of the PHB, I'm probably going to assume isn't something he's immediately aware of from his past studies.

[Aldurin]

The woman goes behind the counter and places 12 wands on top. "For the 1st Circle it'll be Jump, Featherfall, Comprehend Languages, Mage Armor, Wave Blessing, Protection from Evil and Protection from Chaos. 25 gold per charge. For 2nd Circle, we have See Invisibility, Protection from Arrows, Resist Energy, Spider Climb and Eagle's Splendor. 125 gold per charge. We don't have any 3rd Circle wands to sell individual charges for."

Spoiler

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Wave Blessing is from Stormwrack.

[Rizban]

He counts on his fingers for a moment and shakes his head.

"That is mighty steep. Mighty steep. You're asking 870 for the whole lot of them... Just seems a bit pricey. How about we call it 600?"

Gen Assist - Diplomacy - (1d20+10)[26] (DC10)
Sa'ul's Attempt - Diplomacy - (1d20+23)[35]+2=37

Spoiler

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Counting out the price per charge to buy the wands outright, it's 555gp, so he's still overpaying a bit. At least, that's his logic behind it.

[Aldurin]

The woman doesn't seem amused by the offer. "I'll drop to 700 since you're willing to spend on all of them."

Spoiler

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Intentionally overpriced in this circumstance.

[Rizban]

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Of course it's overpriced. I would expect it to be. Sa'ul just doesn't want to pay that much if he doesn't have to.

He nods once emphatically. "Agreed!"

Sa'ul begins digging in his bag to produce the relevant coins, counting out 70 pieces of platinum and placing them on the counter.

[Aldurin]

The woman takes the coins and pushes the wands forward. "Go ahead, then. Place them back on the counter after you use them."

[Rizban]

He cycles through the wands one at a time, targeting himself with each effect.

Spoiler

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Gen Assist - +9 (DC10) (can't fail, so already added to all rolls below)

1st level - DC 16

• Jump - Sa'ul's Attempt – Spellcraft - (1d20+13)[31]
• Featherfall - Sa'ul's Attempt – Spellcraft - (1d20+13)[16]
• Comprehend Languages - Sa'ul's Attempt – Spellcraft - (1d20+13)[33]
• Mage Armor - Sa'ul's Attempt – Spellcraft - (1d20+13)[32]
  
• Wave Blessing - Sa'ul's Attempt – Spellcraft - (1d20+13)[15]
• Protection from Evil - Sa'ul's Attempt – Spellcraft - (1d20+13)[31]
• Protection from Chaos - Sa'ul's Attempt – Spellcraft - (1d20+13)[19]

2nd level - DC17

• See Invisibility - Sa'ul's Attempt – Spellcraft - (1d20+13)[17]
• Protection from Arrows - Sa'ul's Attempt – Spellcraft - (1d20+13)[24]
• Resist Energy - Sa'ul's Attempt – Spellcraft - (1d20+13)[27]
• Spider Climb - Sa'ul's Attempt – Spellcraft - (1d20+13)[20]
• Eagle's Splendor - Sa'ul's Attempt – Spellcraft - (1d20+13)[33]

[Rizban]

"Why, thank you! That was most fascinating. It isn't often I get to see so many new effects that I've only heard tales of before now."

[Aldurin]

The Wave Blessing wand is the only one that doesn't seem to properly activate. The woman puts away the wands as she observe's Sa'ul's enthusiasm. "So that's all you want, just to experience magic? A bit of a strange, not to mention expensive, hobby to have. You might want to check out the town and see what it is you can just observe. It may not be obvious but there's little bits of magic behind the scenes for places all over the town. If you go around and experience the city for what it is, you could end up checking off a lot spells on your list. Just be careful in the slums. It's technically not within city jurisdiction and all sorts of unsavory activity goes on there."