Age of Ruin OOC: Facing down destiny

[Ozzy_G]

Bardic Knowledge check for that.

[Lycar]

Okay then.

Bardic Knowledge: (1d20+10)[22]


Lycar

[Ozzy_G]

Nope, sorry.

[Lycar]

Orin tries to appear not too impressed by the sight in front of him. But that requires some self-discipline i dare say.

Bluff check: (1d20+16)[20]

(So that is how heroes end up. At least he dies young. Makes a pretty corpse. I wonder if they are going to commission a statue or a painting. Probably not. Look at all that gold and finery. Now that it doesn't do any good anymore. And still no trace of a temple. *sigh*)

Eventually Orin manages to tear his gaze away from 'his' corpse and can ponder some other things a bit.

(At least Azakan distracted the others a bit. I should be able to stay not-me for a bit longer maybe. Still, i can't for the life of me not figure out what the hell Azakan is trying to tell us. And what is going on with Sumner... is he really becoming a host for Gothul? This would be bad. Very bad. If i could get my hands on the guild library here, i could do some research. Hmm.... maybe i should keep my eyes open for someone i could impersonate...)

Spoiler

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Bren looks around a bit, seemingly bored. He seems more interested in his surroundings and the people milling about then the dead 'hero'.

Lycar

[Lycar]

Orin listens to what the mage has to tell.

(Wait what, a Bezikira? The same beast that attacked us on our way to Mokar? Coincidence? Maybe... maybe not...! Poor me. Other me. Would playing dead have saved you? Worked for me. But then, i am a coward. Well, not that much of a coward anymore i hope. But still.)

Spoiler

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Bren mutters under his breath "That's why he's dressed tight as a sausage... so nobody sees the mess..."

EDIT: Oh something else. Gothul was a demon, right? And the killers were devils. Now Orins player happens to know that devils and demons don't exactly get along well. So it might be possible that the devils want to prevent the demon Gothul from coming back. And Davethra and its people get ground to dust between a chaotic evil rock and a lawful evil hard place.

But what does Orin know about devils/demons? Enough to figure something like that out? Or are they all the same for him, extraplanar interlopers who just make live miderable for everyone?

Lycar


Lycar

[Ozzy_G]

Knowledge (The Planes). Or Bardic Knowledge if you don't have that.

[Lycar]

Well, Orin can't know everything but he has a chance to!

Bardic Knowledge: (1d20+10)[29]


Lycar

[Ozzy_G]

In Goramesh, Devils live in the cities, and are organised under different Devil-Kings. Demons live in tribal masses in the wastes, and are chaotic and disorganised. The Devil-Kings sometimes hire demons to attack their rivals with. They don't consider the demons to be clever or civilised enough to wage war on them. It's possible that the Devils wouldn't want demons to be summoned, but it would have less to do with any sort of ancient hatred, and more to do with the fact that it would simply make their job harder if they invaded or something.

[Lycar]

Does the name 'Saigon Vul' ring any of Orin's bells?

Know. (Nobility): (1d20+10)[28]

Know. (History]: (1d20+10)[14]

Lycar

[Ozzy_G]

Yes, he was once a mid-ranking cleric of Gothul in Zardis, at the Imperial Court. His job was carrying out sacrifices of political criminals.

[Ozzy_G]

And with that revelation, that finally concludes the plot link-in with my epic-level game set in this campaign setting with characters such as Anarazel, Adornaxis and Bintarion. I actually finished that plot for them at the end of the last summer holidays. Wow, play-by-post really is slow compared to regular tabletop!
Now, you're free to whatever crazy whims I have...

[Lycar]

Hrmph, this situation could use a bard with a Glibness ready to cast. Unfortunately, it is still the same day Livina and the others died, so he's a bit low on 'arcane virility' right about now.

He would need some 'alone time' to find out if there are any temples and clerics around who could resurrect his 'friends'. He still wants to raise at the very least Rego Vel. Maybe the others too if funds permit.

Otherwise he could just go and blow the cash on something that wards off divinations. Being scryed upon is... unnerving.

Just a question, one of the Spymaster features is that Orin gets his spymaster lv, as a bonus on will saves vs. scrying and on the spot check to find the sensor. But how do you rule spotting the sensor? Do you actually have to go and cast Detect Magic to have a chance of finding it?

Besides, here is an environment where Orins old days as a scribe (and ranks in forgery) may pay off.

He should keep his eyes out to try and 'aquire' a few blank sheets of paper with the guilds letterhead maybe. Or even some signed and sealed orders. Just cast a humble Erase (just how selective do you rule one can delete the text on a piece of paper or scroll) and then forge himself one nifty little tool for whatever nefarious plot he can dream up.

So, if this guy is a high ranking guild wizard, this may be just the place. So Bren will act bored and look for loose bits of interesting paper, m'kay?

Lycar

[Ozzy_G]

You can spot the sensor without detect magic.
Give me a sleight of hand for getting papers.

[Lycar]

If this fails, he will just claim to be a too-curious barbarian...

Sleight of Hand: (1d20+10)[16]


Lycar

[Ozzy_G]

I know who you are and I know you would like to do more, and I will do my best to help.

When Kaleff says this, he looks at Orin, and Orin gets the impression that he's speaking just to him.

[Lycar]

(Protector of the body and it's organs. The body being what, the empire? Just like my unfortunate alter ego, dutyful civil servant that he was. Protecting the body of the state by cutting off and out the parts infected with dissent. Ministry of peace indeed! So your god is big on order? Justice without mercy equals tyranny, freedom without law is anarchy, order without .. what was it... flexibility is stagnation? Something like that. Dead. Not rotting maybe but not growing either. Life is change, deny change and you deny life. Do you? Does your god? I'm not going to take that chance, not if i can help it!)

Okay, so Orin knows only very little about what is really going on. As the saying goes, a little bit of knowledge is a dangerous thing.

Work with me please, i think Orin has a crazy plan that just might succed.

He believes that Sumner Kesh, while maybe a bit too lawful for his own good (and that of Orin and all other people incidentially) would not give the world into the hands of some demonic force.

However, Sumners plumous appearance and the repeated mention of the keyword 'host', combined with Azakan's warning about Sumner being posessed by Gothul, lead Orin to believe that some drastic actions need to be taken.

Later today, he will try to catch Kaleff alone and talk to him or, failing that, slip him a note with some basic instructions. Basically something about 'keep another Shatter spell or three handy' and 'if Sumner seems to have departed, do something about the reminder'.

So Orin hopes to get a good night of sleep to replenish his mental arsenal. Then he will try and slip off, making haste to locate a), Sumner's corpse. He figures it was around after the explosion, it still is, and b) Krasjnix's temple of Isana. It has to be reasonably close.

Then he will make sure to seize the corpse and transport it to the temple, ask the priests there if a) they are willing and able to raise Sumner and b) if Sumner's current 'incarnation' happens to host two souls and they resurrect his old body, will Sumner's and only Sumner's soul be called back?

If yes, he will ask the priests to wait with the actual resurrection to give Orin enough time to get back to Sumner. He then will use his bardic suggestion ability to imprint Sumner with a command to 'heed the call' (i.e., submit to the summoning when his soul is called back to his old body) and also be there to use his Hymn of Fortification ability to suppress any hold the parasite entity might have over Sumner's will.

Ideally, this should seperate Sumner from the other entity, which ought to remain in the clone body.

Which then needs to be dealt with but frankly, that is a problem Orin really only wants to think about when it actually does present itself.

At least he has the Hat of Disguise and his spy training. Maybe he can even pose as a Qusan wizard (maybe even Gareth Spellwright) to move around the city etc.

Oh and did he manage to palm anything useful?

Lycar

[Ozzy_G]

Yes, Orin managed to pick up a couple of document signed by Saigon, with the Guild heading and everything.

Later today, he will try to catch Kaleff alone and talk to him or, failing that, slip him a note with some basic instructions. Basically something about 'keep another Shatter spell or three handy' and 'if Sumner seems to have departed, do something about the reminder'.

Is that a typo? Did you mean "remainder"?

[Lycar]

Yes yes, remind him to take care of the remainder.

What can i say? English isn't my first language, it shows sometimes.

Soo... plan crazy enough to work? At least the priests of Isana should be midly amused.

Lycar

[Lycar]

Right, if Kaleff goes through all that trouble to distract the guy, i might as well make the most of it. See if there are any juicy bits of information to snatch here. I don't think the guy will keep a diary on his desk but if there is a chance to open a desk drawer unseen...

So, spot check to see if Orin spots anything of particular interest on the desk or in the open?

Spot: (1d20+5)[14]

And if so, that is another Sleight of Hands check to grab, right?

Sleight of Hand: (1d20+10)[20]

Now Orin looks if he could get his hands into the cooky jar desk drawers without being caught.

If not, well, maybe Kaleff can do something about it...

Orin will try and signal to Kaleff to examine the drawer, hoping the Zhan will know how to deal with locks better then him.

I believe, passing on a secret message unobstrusivly is a Bluff check?

Bluff: (1d20+16)[32]

Hmm... that reminds me: Orin's Vest of Escape contains a magical lock pick that gives a +4 on Open Lock checks. If it is feasible, Orin might want to put it on the desk for Kaleff to use. But he'll only do it if he's reasonably sure that it will help Kaleff, otherwise he's quite loathe to let go of it. He may opt to take Livina's thieves tools from the backpack and put them on the ground near that desk instead, where Kaleff is going to find it should he go for the desk.

Now to distract the others so Kaleff can do his thing:

Spoiler

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Bren had been watching and listening with little interest so far but now he gets up.

"We need to see about some things first here."

He walks up to the other side of the room to get everybodys attention and says:

"Azakan, i do not know about that ritual or that god of yours. But you promised we would seek out a priest to have them raised."

While talking, Bren put down his backpack and now opens it and retrieves the head of the young Qusan fom it.

Turning to Saigon, he continues:
"You say you are priest? Can you bring those people back to live? We got money. And treasure. If your god is one of health and life, he should do it, no? What better way to prove your god is wise and worthy. We need to get crown first anyway and we need to think of a plan to do that, so there is time."

"I know you have to prepare and all that, so you can't do it right now. But if you can do this, you will have Bren's help in whatever you are trying to do. Then Bren will trust you. But i wonder, are you willing to do it? Are you capable of it? You say your god is so great, yet you speak not his name. What are you hiding? Either way, if he brings those i promised to resurrect back to life, it will be prove enough for Bren."

Bran waits to listen for Saigon's answer.

####
If Kaleff needs more distraction...
####

..., then pulls out another head. It's a female but with oddly alien features. She too hase a gruesome head wound and her brain appears to be missing.

"You happen to know who she is?"

Using the captivating speech feature of Orin's Master manipulator feat here.

He can use his Diplomacy vs. up to 1 + CHA mod (5) people to use 'compelling delivery and witticisms' or whatever to distract them.

That would be Saigon, Azakan, Sumner, Khorik and Draven.

I hope Ismal is not going to raise an alarm if Kaleff goes through the guys papers and desk and Tharok hopefully knows to shut up too. Ideally he's not going to spot Kaleff doing stuff to begin with of course.

Targets save with their own Diplomacy or Will save vs. Orin's Diplomacy roll, or they suffer a -4 to Listen, Sense Motive and Spot while he keeps talking.

Diplomacy: (1d20+20)[38]

The plan is to allow Kaleff to ransack the guys Desk or whatever he thinks needs filching while Orin helps out with a distraction.

I just hope he gets the hint(s).


Lycar

[Ozzy_G]

Orin pockets a couple more documents that have other people's signatures and so forth on. He manages to open a few of the desk drawers, revealing only writing implements, a bottle of wine, some herbs and assorted odd objects which look like the components for common spells, such as bat guano, a feather, a small coin, sand, and so on.
There is still one draw unlocked though.

[Lycar]

Well, let us not take too much stuff. On the other hand, it might be possible that Saigon will be quite distracted for a while and not miss some paperwork.

Rego Vel, he knows Rego Vel. Now that should be interesting.

I suppose, listening to what Saigon has to say is still counting as being distracted, yes?

Spoiler

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"You know that man? Well, then tell us about him, maybe his fate is linked to ours. Who is he? How do you know him? Do you know why we found him in the plains east of the bitter sea?"

He, i sure hope that Kaleff can open the locked drawer. Orin has a few ranks in Open Lock himself but even with the DEX bonus from the gloves he's not exactly a master thief. So let the Zhan do the fine work.

Also i think NobleSavage will be happy if his character gets to do something sneaky.

Lycar

[Lycar]

Hrm. Seems like the dragon lady made her Diplomacy save.

Fine. So let's grab some writing utensils. Can even cover Kaleff while doing so.

Spoiler

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Bren loks at Ismal impassivly for a moment, then he shrugs and puts the head back into the backpack again. After that, he walks over to the desk and rummages around to find some empty paper and a pen or quill and inkwell or something, returning with it to Lady Ismal.

(Damn nobles.. think they can push around people just because of their fancy blood... oh shut up Bren, you're just jealous.)

Can Orin see if Kaleff had any success with the locked drawer? And if so, can he retrieve the tools or lockpick?

Lycar

[Ozzy_G]

You never gave Kaleff the lockpick, since it wasn't needed.
When you go around there, you cannot see whether Kaleff opened the locked drawer, but he taps his coat nonchalently, and you can see a very slight bulge that might be a sheet, or sheets, of paper.

[Ozzy_G]

I'd like a Sense Motive check please.

[Lycar]

Haha, he did it. Takes a Zhan to do the real thievery.

Talk about racial profiling here.

Sense Motive? Here we go... although it doesn't take much insight to realize that something is up. If i was to wager a guess, you want to use an impromptu teleport to start a new thread and get rid of all the ex-players which you have to NPC now... but that's just me.

Sense Motive: (1d20+10)[17]


Also: Hrm. This is moving fast ahead. Are they sure they don't want to sleep a night about this? Orin feels a bit exhausted right now.

Oh well.

Spoiler

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Bren exchanges a look with Tharok, giving him a short nod.
"Of course we are coming. This is our destiny too after all. But you are in quite a hurry. Why so hasty all of a sudden? If you don't have a plan, let's sleep a night about it. Haste makes mistakes."

Soo... since Azakan & Co. are NPCs, can Orin use his natural grace and skill at Diplomacy to convince them to give it a nights rest maybe?

After all, all those aquired papers aren't going to do us any good outside the guild. And i *so* want to put those ranks in Forgery to good use...

Lycar

[Lycar]

Hm well. I was thinking... whips do allow disarms. People who are surprised don't get to make AoO, unless they have combat reflexes. Rare in casters.

Soo.... how about Orin keeps his hand on/near the hilt of his scourge and... just anticipates someone trying to do the vanishing act without taking him along?

Say, a ready action to disarm a crown if he feels 'left out' ?

He won't disrupt a teleport if he is confident that he would be taken along for the ride but... what can i say? He is pretty jaded about people being honest and such.

Lycar

[Ozzy_G]

Okay. What are you going to do about your plan to resurrect Sumner, if you're all just going to be teleporting straight to this island?

[Lycar]

It would seem that this plan is falling apart fast.

However, there are still 2 options:

Even if Saigon has prepared a teleport spell, it is'nt likely he has 2 or 3 of them.

So it might be possible for Orin to snatch the artifact, just as Saigon is casting the teleport spell. It would suffice to disarm the crown with the scourge, as it won't teleport with Saigon if he isn't holding it.

Even if he does have a second teleport spell, he can only return to the vault but not away again immediately.

If Orin gets his hands on the crown, then he is in a position to use his power of diplomacy and fast-talking to convince the guild wizards, that it would be in their best interest to thwart the plans of the ominous entity whatever way possible.

Even if he doesn't get the crown, he may convince the wizards that resurrecting Sumner, the host, into his original body would disrupt the plans for a new Davethran Empire, which i presume they would be in favour of.

But there is the fact that he didn't have a chance to ascertain that there is a way to have anyone resurrected that he could get access to and soon too.

According to the late Krashnix, there ought to be a temple of Isana near Halgarth but the Qusa seem to be very distrusting of priests. Maybe they razed the temple in the meantime, everything is possible.

If he does go along for the ride, then at least he is on the scene to directly interfere with the ritual. As much as he doesn't like putting his own life and well-being on the line, this might be his only chance.

Question to you: Do you rather have the party united at the new location or do you fancy having Orin continue to do his own thing? A lone spymaster, deep inside hostile territory, wrestling with his own inner demonds to change the fate of the world, for better or for worse...

Lycar

[Ozzy_G]

Question to you: Do you rather have the party united at the new location or do you fancy having Orin continue to do his own thing? A lone spymaster, deep inside hostile territory, wrestling with his own inner demonds to change the fate of the world, for better or for worse...

Well, that's up to you. You'll have to decide which you want to try. Remember that when you are preparing to teleport, you'll all have to hold hands, which is problematic for using the whip.

[Lycar]

Well, there are several things to consider:

a) Does the Teleport spell, to Orin' knowledge, have a somatic component?
(It doesn't but does Orin know? Spellcraft: (1d20+5)[15])

If so the Saigon must have a free hand to cast and there will be no circle, but rather a line of people. If Orin is not the last link in the chain, him letting go of someone's hand will mean that either he and the people in the line after him, or only the people in the line after him get left behind.

Orin might want to choose his place in the line accordingly.

b) The spell only requires physical contact between people, not actual hand-holding.

Also, if he 'holds hands' by grabbing the wrists of his neighbours, that is, he is holding them but not the other way around, he could break contact simply by letting go. So Siagon starts casting, Orin tries to whip the crown and, depending on success or failure of the disarm attempt, tries to grab someone to get contact back or tries to resist the teleport if he gets grabbed.


Of course this is all VERY risky and Orin isn't much of a gambler. Especially not when his life is on the line...

Or he could just come along quietly... either because he thins this is best or because he just doesn't quite dare to try anything...

But things are happening so fast that Orin will probably not manage to make up his mind to try anything stupid before they are already on the island.

Comments?

Lycar

Also: Are you still playing in Maryring's game ?