May 6th

by Archengeia Tue Feb 16, 2016 1:25 am

Zeiss had trouble sleeping the previous night. There's a lot on his mind.

Today, in the morning, Van finally comes to a decision and tells Kolson personally that he wants to help him out but he just can't be a part of all of this. It's been making him a nervous wreck, he's been jumping at shadows, afraid that some thug or soldier is come knocking at his door. And he can't tell anyone what he's doing either. He hopes Kolson won't take it too personally.

by Kolson Tue Feb 16, 2016 3:23 am

Kolson understands and thanks his old friend for his service. is there anything he needs before he goes?

by Zeiss Wed Feb 17, 2016 2:14 am

Zeiss' stats

Sleeps for 5 hours thanks to his magical ring.
Use 1 hour to take care of bodily functions and shower himself.
18 hours remaining.
Zeiss can't relax. He'll try to rest for a few hours here and there, but if he does it, he'll mostly fidget in his chair.
I will use my actions in an order of priority, from top to bottom. If I don't have enough time, I'll just use another day to complete the remaining actions.

Zeiss (actions)

The very first think he is going to do is investigate the address. He is fully expecting a trap, so he will be prepared. He will use his bracelet of concealment to approach the building (with another appearance than Connor's), use stealth to not be seen, and tell Kolson when to follow him. Of course, my personal guard and Squad 1 of the Blades will be ready to intervene on Advoc's words (they're going to wear concealing clothes, of course). Basically, me and Kolson are scouting, and the others are there as backup. We'll talk with whoever is at this address if they don't want to use violence.
If I have to forego my other actions to follow another chain of events, so be it. If not, here it is.
Remember that female elven taxi driver who took us all over Holtburg when the assassins attacked Kolson's and Rory's families? We decided to nickname her Dallas. Well, I want to hire her as my personal chauffeur, with an appropriate discreet and armored vehicle. Maybe hire one or two other chauffeurs she can recommend since I may want to bring my personal guard with me. Same kind of vehicles too.
Haven't forgotten about that elf manager who uses notes to coordinate his people. Still suspicious, so keeping an eye on him.

Zeiss (actions delegated)

I offer a promotion to the female half-elf half-banderling manager (the cut-throat one) as Superintendent of clandestine operations, such as the Black Butterfly, the Shadow Depository, the Headhunter Task Force, and any other future operations of this type. I want her for this job because I assume she understands the need for absolute privacy for all of these wings, and I think she could guarantee that.
If she accepts, here are her first tasks; the inn is a mess right now, and I want someone who can put that into order. We obviously need specific goods to furnish it, so use my agents who have access to the Hub if need be. Also try to find a way to accelerate the final weaving preparations of the Shadow Depository (one month is way too long for my taste).
I offer a promotion to the human manager (the ex-Hlaalu Lord) as Superintendent of the Exchange's holdings; he would basically manage the acquisition of new assets and plan the expansion of the Exchange. Visas of Wolfrunner has already her hands full with the managers, so I need someone else to take care of that.
If he accepts, here are his first tasks; have some of your people find discreet construction workers who can build us a front office for the Blades and expand the Veil. I want this new space in Holtburg under my complete control. Also, try to find prospective companies we could buy and use as fronts; Visas of Wolfrunner is planning to unify the numerous Blocks within the province, so coordinate with her and plan accordingly.
All of my Superintendents now gain 1% of the Exchange's net profit, which is equally divided between them. It is meant to foster teamwork and efficiency. As for the remaining 99%, I will invest it back into the Exchange.
I will choose the name of my new Superintendents tomorrow (assuming they accept).

Kolson

Finish his talk with Van, and maybe help him move on.
Prepare the expedition.
Training with his men.
Recruit new soldiers for the Blades. Average requirements, not low or high.
What about that medal ceremony Lady Hammersmith promised?

by Archengeia Mon Mar 14, 2016 9:16 pm

Zeiss can't relax. He'll try to rest for a few hours here and there, but if he does it, he'll mostly fidget in his chair.
Zeiss is completely startled by his door banging against the opposite wall. It turns out one of his personal bodyguards, from Squad 1, had opened the door a bit too forcefully and let the knob slip so it kept going. He apologizes to the don boss Zeiss.

Zeiss (actions)

The very first think he is going to do is investigate the address. He is fully expecting a trap, so he will be prepared. He will use his bracelet of concealment to approach the building (with another appearance than Connor's), use stealth to not be seen, and tell Kolson when to follow him. Of course, my personal guard and Squad 1 of the Blades will be ready to intervene on Advoc's words (they're going to wear concealing clothes, of course). Basically, me and Kolson are scouting, and the others are there as backup. We'll talk with whoever is at this address if they don't want to use violence.
The Squad takes their time getting into proper position while Kolson and Zeiss maneuver their way forward, trying to ensure they are not followed or tracked.

Zeiss, upon approach, finds the house to be in good shape for the area, upper-middle class and done in classical West Aluvian style. It is well kept, and upon knocking a professional-looking Orc woman in a long, black, button-down vest and pants with gold trim will formally acknowledge the two.

Kolson

Finish his talk with Van, and maybe help him move on.
Prepare the expedition.
Training with his men.
Van spends a little time with Kolson, enjoying some Olcola (a fruity non-alcoholic beverage produced by the Olthoi, renowned for tasting differently depending on where it is drunk) and reminiscing before heading home. It has probably occurred to Kolson that the Exchange could discretely work with Van's fledgling furniture shop legitimately to help him out in the future, should they choose to.

The preparations for the expedition will be completed on March 12th at current rate, barring any other incidents. That is the date of departure. The team could also leave the night of the 11th if they wish to travel at night for the first leg of the journey.

As an aside the navigator is assuming Kolson wishes to simply circumvent Dereth then head straight west to the mysterious island, rather than trying to go around the globe or anything.
Recruit new soldiers for the Blades. Average requirements, not low or high.
No new recruits found today, sadly.
What about that medal ceremony Lady Hammersmith promised?
That IS today but waiting on resolution of the 'active event'.

by Kolson Mon Mar 14, 2016 10:12 pm

Archengeia wrote:Kolson
[list]
[*]Finish his talk with Van, and maybe help him move on.
[*]Prepare the expedition.
[*]Training with his men.
Van spends a little time with Kolson, enjoying some Olcola (a fruity non-alcoholic beverage produced by the Olthoi, renowned for tasting differently depending on where it is drunk) and reminiscing before heading home. It has probably occurred to Kolson that the Exchange could discretely work with Van's fledgling furniture shop legitimately to help him out in the future, should they choose to.

The preparations for the expedition will be completed on March 12th at current rate, barring any other incidents. That is the date of departure. The team could also leave the night of the 11th if they wish to travel at night for the first leg of the journey.

I'm really liking that idea of helping Van out in the future. I'll talk about it with Zeiss and we'll figure out a good way to keep tabs on him that doesn't get him targeted for being Kolson's friend.

As an aside the navigator is assuming Kolson wishes to simply circumvent Dereth then head straight west to the mysterious island, rather than trying to go around the globe or anything.

The navigator is correct about what route we will take. I don't see any reason to go the other way just yet. We'll officially leave on the morning of the 12th but we'll actually leave the night of the 11th. I'll push for the supplies and everything to be loaded by dinner on the 11th without actually telling anyone our actual departure date and time. I'll invite all crew to a mandatory dinner to celebrate the expedition and let them know then.

by Zeiss Mon Mar 14, 2016 10:47 pm

Archengeia wrote:Zeiss (actions)

The very first think he is going to do is investigate the address. He is fully expecting a trap, so he will be prepared. He will use his bracelet of concealment to approach the building (with another appearance than Connor's), use stealth to not be seen, and tell Kolson when to follow him. Of course, my personal guard and Squad 1 of the Blades will be ready to intervene on Advoc's words (they're going to wear concealing clothes, of course). Basically, me and Kolson are scouting, and the others are there as backup. We'll talk with whoever is at this address if they don't want to use violence.
The Squad takes their time getting into proper position while Kolson and Zeiss maneuver their way forward, trying to ensure they are not followed or tracked.

Zeiss, upon approach, finds the house to be in good shape for the area, upper-middle class and done in classical West Aluvian style. It is well kept, and upon knocking a professional-looking Orc woman in a long, black, button-down vest and pants with gold trim will formally acknowledge the two.

Kolson does the talking for now.

"Hello. My name is Kolson Wezrae, and this is Zeiss of Dreamkeeper. We heard that a certain person at this address has a feud with us, and we would like to discuss the issue with them. We're also very busy people, so we'll have to hold this meeting right now. Sorry for the inconvenience."

Zeiss will be doing the usual; identify escape routes, search for traps, etc. He will also mentally communicate with Advoc to inform him of the possibility of someone fleeing the house. Relay that information to the squads, and capture them if it does happen. Be careful; they may use servants, disguise them with finer clothes and send them ahead as decoys.

Probably being a little paranoid, but better be safe than sorry.

Kolson

Finish his talk with Van, and maybe help him move on.
Prepare the expedition.
Training with his men.
Van spends a little time with Kolson, enjoying some Olcola (a fruity non-alcoholic beverage produced by the Olthoi, renowned for tasting differently depending on where it is drunk) and reminiscing before heading home. It has probably occurred to Kolson that the Exchange could discretely work with Van's fledgling furniture shop legitimately to help him out in the future, should they choose to.

The preparations for the expedition will be completed on March 12th at current rate, barring any other incidents. That is the date of departure. The team could also leave the night of the 11th if they wish to travel at night for the first leg of the journey.

As an aside the navigator is assuming Kolson wishes to simply circumvent Dereth then head straight west to the mysterious island, rather than trying to go around the globe or anything.

Would telling the navigator about our destination at the last minute affect our roll and such? Depending on the answer, it may affect the following.

Zeiss and Sareth will make sure to compartmentalize the information about the expedition. We are being really secretive about it, and the navigator will be told at the very last moment where we are going - or if he needs to know from the beginning, we'll bribe him to convince him to keep the information under wraps, and if he tells someone, we'll know it was him. So far as the rest of the world is aware, we're going on an expedition to discuss an important business deal with an important associate of ours (implied to be someone like the Backbrine or the Naverre Raiders, something illegal). If someone rolls really high, they'll learn that the extra supplies we'll have on board are for a "joint operation".

Basically, we're doing everything we can to keep the element of surprise, which you can assume we have been doing since the start.

by Archengeia Wed Mar 16, 2016 12:29 am

Kolson does the talking for now.

"Hello. My name is Kolson Wezrae, and this is Zeiss of Dreamkeeper. We heard that a certain person at this address has a feud with us, and we would like to discuss the issue with them. We're also very busy people, so we'll have to hold this meeting right now. Sorry for the inconvenience."

Zeiss will be doing the usual; identify escape routes, search for traps, etc. He will also mentally communicate with Advoc to inform him of the possibility of someone fleeing the house. Relay that information to the squads, and capture them if it does happen. Be careful; they may use servants, disguise them with finer clothes and send them ahead as decoys.

Probably being a little paranoid, but better be safe than sorry.
The maid looks rather bored, and calmly informs them that the current mistress of the manor is not here and will not be for several days, being away on errands. Zeiss is fairly certain she's lying, though will have to communicate that to Kolson somehow as Kolson does not succeed on that roll.

Shortly thereafter Advoc rather suddenly takes 28 Air damage. Between him and the bodyguards, they are pretty sure it was a Lightning spell, but cast in Stealth, and they have no idea who cast it or where from.

by Zeiss Wed Mar 16, 2016 1:31 am

OOC:

Advoc casts Holy Radiance on the area he is in.

Spell's description:

He will tell the squads to take formation and roll for awareness.

Zeiss will use Stall (Orator ability) to distract the servant long enough for him and Kolson to enter the house and close the door behind them. To do this, he will lie, and say that he has seen the owner of the house recently, and they should actually be expected Zeiss and Kolson anytime now, as well as blah blah blah. Add a discreet hand gesture, and that should be enough to warn Kolson.

Close the door behind us, and Kolson casts level 8 fire +1d12 orb, converted to subdual damage (he has the feat), at the servant.

OOC:

Kolson wears a cape that gives +1 to all ally rolls on a "huge radius". That's the description of the item, so... 10 miles? Seems reasonable. Cool

Zeiss then readies his own weapons, and is on the lookout for traps.

by Archengeia Wed Mar 16, 2016 10:14 am

The GM has to consider for a moment what casting Holy Radiance in a massive, public, crowded area would do.

by Zeiss Wed Mar 16, 2016 11:54 pm

Every innocent bystanders are my allies! Cool

by Archengeia Sat Mar 19, 2016 10:16 am

OOC:

Advoc casts Holy Radiance on the area he is in.

Spell's description:

He will tell the squads to take formation and roll for awareness.
The blast of Light bathes the area, giving the guards (and possibly Zeiss/Kolson, not sure how far away they are) +1 to their rolls for the next 18 seconds. Since the Light energy doesn't pay attention to little things like walls or floors, there are many startled cries of surprise and fear as the wave of light pulses through the nearby houses.

The squad takes formation with their first action.

Zeiss will use Stall (Orator ability) to distract the servant long enough for him and Kolson to enter the house and close the door behind them. To do this, he will lie, and say that he has seen the owner of the house recently, and they should actually be expected Zeiss and Kolson anytime now, as well as blah blah blah. Add a discreet hand gesture, and that should be enough to warn Kolson.

Close the door behind us, and Kolson casts level 8 fire +1d12 orb, converted to subdual damage (he has the feat), at the servant.
This is a bit stretching it for a single action but I'll allow it. Zeiss rushes in, the woman in question doesn't even listen or try to intervene, and then Kolson attacks her. This is a good time to mention the fact that even subdual damage will kill after a certain point of doing damage, you can ask Rory about this since it came up recently over there as well. I'd allow Kolson to undo the action but it doesn't quite matter since she doesn't fall from the damage anyways. She does look exceptionally angry though.

OOC:

Related to the above, I like that ability and am okay with you guys using it. We'll use a flat Wisdom check to determine levels since Deception doesn't quite fit, and lower the DCs accordingly. To let you know up front how I'll be judging this; the greater disparity in levels ABOVE you, the lower chance of success. The greater disparity BELOW you, the greater chance of success. Either way you're pretty sure this woman is at least level 6.

Kolson wears a cape that gives +1 to all ally rolls on a "huge radius". That's the description of the item, so... 10 miles? Seems reasonable. Cool

Zeiss then readies his own weapons, and is on the lookout for traps.
REALLY stretching the one turn of action now but I'll still allow it. The room you are in is, and I'm being serious, riddled with traps. It's amazing you two didn't trip any already.

Advoc takes 41 Fire damage. This time, one of the Guards partially succeeds at seeing the direction the spell came from, though nothing else about the assailant. It's coming from a surprising distance down the street, from the opposite direction of the gentleman's house.

The Orc does not look happy. She makes the mistake of charging straight at Kolson, taking two swings at him, only one of which connects for 18 Physical. There are also noises that sound like shouting and running around coming from upstairs in the house now, sounding like at least two people.

by Zeiss Mon Mar 21, 2016 9:47 pm

OOC:

Zeiss will crouch down behind the distracted orc woman and say "Push" in Serpent to Kolson, so we can make her fall on one of the traps. Kolson has a strength of 17, and he will use his move to draw his weapon and his action to push her.

If it's a swift action, Zeiss will activate Air Vent so he can leave prone next turn without having to use an action to get up.

Air Vent:

During this time, Advoc and the squads will take cover (Xcom style) and break line of sight with the mage who is attacking our group. Advoc will then cast Light Storm on an area he is sure not to hurt any civilians so he can heal himself.

However, he will cast the spell on the area where the mage is probably holed up if A) it is possible to do from this distance and B) it wouldn't hurt any civilians. He would also do this while moving into cover.

Light Storm:

by Archengeia Tue Mar 22, 2016 10:22 am

Zeiss can spend an action on his Turn to actually examine the traps if he chooses. Otherwise he just knows they're there. A whirl of violet air whips around Zeiss, activating his Air Vent for the next 30 seconds (5 rounds).

Since the enemy is over 100' away from Advoc at the moment, healing himself while attacking the assailant's last known location is infeasible. He instead heals himself with the Storm for 42. With his final action he (and the squad) X-COM it up, still not managing to get eyes on their attacker.

OOC:

by Kolson Tue Mar 22, 2016 5:52 pm

I already took my action.

Zeiss wrote:Zeiss will crouch down behind the distracted orc woman and say "Push" in Serpent to Kolson, so we can make her fall on one of the traps. Kolson has a strength of 17, and he will use his move to draw his weapon and his action to push her.

by Archengeia Tue Mar 22, 2016 8:40 pm

Wow, I am super blind.

Kolson successfully shoves her over onto one of the traps, which immediately sets a massive splash of odd liquid onto her and the surrounding area, a few bits getting on Kolson's shoes. Moments later another small vial follows it, which upon shattering ignites into a conflagration that burns a bit at Kolson (4 Fire damage) and a lot more on her.

The Orc, screeching in pain and rage, whirls blindly at Kolson, hacking away at him and blowing all cooldowns (41 damage). She is likely not long for this world.

Outside... nothing happens. Dun dun dun.

by Zeiss Tue Mar 22, 2016 11:06 pm

We got some questions:

Did it look like this liquid the Burun was making through non-magical means in Naverre a long, long time ago? Or was this 4 Fire damage really magical damage? I'm probably just being paranoid, but heh, you never know.

Isn't the orc woman supposed to have gone prone because we made her fall? And if she managed to get up immediately, wouldn't Zeiss be the one in range of her attacks? Kolson also said that getting up give an Attack of opportunity for us.

I know that Zeiss has basically gone prone to make her fall, but I imagine that his Air Vent power would allow him to stand up without requiring a full action to do so.

In any case, we're going to flank her and finish her off. Zeiss has a 3d6 for sneak attacks. Kolson's cape should still give Zeiss a +1 to his rolls.

Special note; Kolson will use his sword only for the AoO, if he gets one. But even if he doesn't get it, he will still dualcast Cure (maximized) at himself and Bolt (maximized) at the orc woman.

If casting spells in melee range cause an AoO in your ruleset, Kolson said he would let me act first so I can hit her with sneak attack, then he would do a 5 step away before he casts.

Zeiss' weapons:

Kolson's weapon:

Air Vent in effect for 4 remaining turns:

As for Advoc and the others, we'll have two of our squadmates get out of cover to distract the mage hiding in the house, then as for our two black mages (who joined my personal guard and who you said formed Squad 1), one of them will cast at the source of attacks and the other will cast just a few feet away from the original location in case the mage moved. I think everyone should have +1 to all their rolls for one last turn because of Advoc's spell.

Then Advoc will warn everyone to keep their eyes peeled. From this position, the mage should have changed for another position, and we must find out where. Be also prepared for melee fighters to appear, so ready your actions accordingly.

by Archengeia Wed Mar 23, 2016 12:14 am

OOC:

The woman is brutally attacked by both Kolson and Zeiss as she gets up, but she still gets up and she still manages to hit Kolson for the above-said damage.

The two decoys rush out of cover. After a second of silence they wave their arms in an aggravating fashion, but no further attacks come.

The two Black Mages peek out and cast at the designated locations, to seemingly no effect.

Thanks to that +1, one of the squadmates barely hears a sound coming from directly east of him, much closer to the group than the original attacks were originating.

by Zeiss Wed Mar 23, 2016 1:21 am

OOC:

Kolson does his 5 foot step back into melee range of the orc woman, then full attack on her.

Zeiss still flanks her, and attacks again. Sneak attack should still apply.

Advoc and the squadmates signal each other through hand gestures; ready your actions against the upcoming attack from the east. That includes the black mages. I want two squadmates to also roll awareness for any other attack we are not aware of yet.

I assume that a full commando is coming to attack us, so Advoc will ready Holy Radiance and cast it at the most opportune moment so our side can pick off the enemy. Last thing; we'll make sure they are the enemy before we attack them, because obvious reasons. Don't want to attack civilians, Aluvian soldiers, or worse, our own people.

Spell's description:

by Archengeia Wed Mar 23, 2016 2:59 pm

The Orc woman falls to the ground, laughing quietly to herself and activating some Woven rune you're only now noticing upon her palm. It took both Zeiss and Kolson's full attacks to finally bring her down.

Outside the group is in full defensive position towards the sound of the noise, ready for the assault when it comes.

by Zeiss Wed Mar 23, 2016 11:25 pm

Well, if Kolson agrees, I think we should run out of the house since it is likely that she just activated a bomb to blow us up with her.

As for the squads, keep your eyes peeled.

by Zeiss Thu Mar 24, 2016 11:03 pm

Well, Kolson agrees.

He will say, "Cheese it!" then open the door so we can run away from the house. Zeiss will follow him while saying, "Why us!?"

by Archengeia Thu Mar 24, 2016 11:57 pm

The group, having fled, gets away without further incident. Nothing else happens that they're aware of.

by Zeiss Fri Mar 25, 2016 12:00 am

Wait, did Kolson, Zeiss, and the squads all ran way? Because we were mostly were just going to regroup with our squads who shouldn't be too far away from the house. If nothing happens for five minutes, we'll just return to the house, disarm the traps, and start examining what was left behind. Including that orc woman's woven rune.

Also use knowledge engineering to find secret passages.

by Archengeia Sun Mar 27, 2016 10:29 am

While I finish rolling a few things... how thorough are you guys going to be in searching the downstairs and upstairs?

by Zeiss Mon Mar 28, 2016 1:52 am

As thorough as we can. Zeiss will make sure to detect any possible trap, and Kolson will look for magical devices too. We'll also use our non-combat action point.Gotta make sure there's also no basement, secret compartment, etc.

The squads should take position in case we are attacked and prepare an escape route. Don't be attacking civilians or Aluvian soldiers now.

by Sponsored content

May 6th

May 6th

Re: May 6th

Re: May 6th

Re: May 6th

Re: May 6th

Re: May 6th

Re: May 6th

Re: May 6th

Re: May 6th

Re: May 6th

Re: May 6th

Re: May 6th

Re: May 6th

Re: May 6th

Re: May 6th

Re: May 6th

Re: May 6th

Re: May 6th

Re: May 6th

Re: May 6th

Re: May 6th

Re: May 6th

Re: May 6th

Re: May 6th

Re: May 6th

Re: May 6th