Rae ArdGaoth
Explorer
OOC: You're going to have to try a little harder than that if you want to persuade me. =P
A Rather Odd Shovel [Judge: Bront]
Boddynock
First Post
Tarag sits stroking his beard, frowning slightly as Tommy jumps up to grab yet another dictionary of cryptography or to search for a treatise on "The concept of the hidden".
After a while he says, "You know, language is a lttle like steel. In the right conditions, fluid in the extreme - yet at other times rigid and unyielding. Ah but that's not really true - for even the most rigid metals have a distinct elasticity, miniscule but measurable. The knack is to know both the inner nature of the iron and the structure of the external form."
"The same thing's true of your father's gems," he says to Fimble, "for they can be inviolable in their purity, reduced to dust by an injudicious strike of the hammer - but find the plane of shear and a craftsman can work wonders with these beautiful stones."
"What if the very nature of stone and steel affects not only the way that we perceive them but even how we talk about them? Might the code we're looking for not share some similarities with the materials it describes?"
"Tommy, where's the section on metallurgy?
OOC: Is that any better?
After a while he says, "You know, language is a lttle like steel. In the right conditions, fluid in the extreme - yet at other times rigid and unyielding. Ah but that's not really true - for even the most rigid metals have a distinct elasticity, miniscule but measurable. The knack is to know both the inner nature of the iron and the structure of the external form."
"The same thing's true of your father's gems," he says to Fimble, "for they can be inviolable in their purity, reduced to dust by an injudicious strike of the hammer - but find the plane of shear and a craftsman can work wonders with these beautiful stones."
"What if the very nature of stone and steel affects not only the way that we perceive them but even how we talk about them? Might the code we're looking for not share some similarities with the materials it describes?"
"Tommy, where's the section on metallurgy?
OOC: Is that any better?
Rae ArdGaoth
Explorer
OOC: Much better.
Tarag finds plenty of books on working with metal with a little help from your librarian. They're not easy to understand, even for the dwarf whose trade is crafting. He is constantly forced to look up strange words, and occasionally has to have enough sense to discount the pseudo-scientific bologna which sometimes crops up in these sorts of books, usually having to do with transforming lead into gold.
Tarag should make a Craft check, with +2 from the Library.
Tarag finds plenty of books on working with metal with a little help from your librarian. They're not easy to understand, even for the dwarf whose trade is crafting. He is constantly forced to look up strange words, and occasionally has to have enough sense to discount the pseudo-scientific bologna which sometimes crops up in these sorts of books, usually having to do with transforming lead into gold.
Tarag should make a Craft check, with +2 from the Library.
Trouvere
Explorer
[sblock=OOC]Keldar has no ranks in Decipher Script. I don't think he has any mechanical means of contributing.
I don't think this stuff really applies to a written code:[sblock=Bluff and Sense Motive]Delivering a Secret Message
You can use Bluff to get a message across to another character without others understanding it. The DC is 15 for simple messages, or 20 for complex messages, especially those that rely on getting across new information. Failure by 4 or less means you can’t get the message across. Failure by 5 or more means that some false information has been implied or inferred. Anyone listening to the exchange can make a Sense Motive check opposed by the Bluff check you made to transmit in order to intercept your message (see Sense Motive).
Discern Secret Message
You may use Sense Motive to detect that a hidden message is being transmitted via the Bluff skill. In this case, your Sense Motive check is opposed by the Bluff check of the character transmitting the message. For each piece of information relating to the message that you are missing, you take a -2 penalty on your Sense Motive check. If you succeed by 4 or less, you know that something hidden is being communicated, but you can’t learn anything specific about its content. If you beat the DC by 5 or more, you intercept and understand the message. If you fail by 4 or less, you don’t detect any hidden communication. If you fail by 5 or more, you infer some false information.[/sblock] In any case, Keldar's Sense Motive is -1. He could probably do a fair job of getting across some secret information, though.[/sblock]Keldar's not very helpful. He paces back and forth, occasionally stopping to stab a finger at a "word" on a page of the code book and to say "Hmm...."
"If it's a simple code, then the real words are the same length as the coded ones. Look for letter, letter, same letter twice, appearing many times throughout. That might be 'Dunn'. Look for a really long word that might be 'Celebrindel' - that has lots of repeated letters - matching your guess for 'n' and 'd'. Then see how often you find a four letter word, ending with the letters for 'l' and 'd'. That's probably 'gold'. What else would a thief write about as often? That gives you 'r', 'o' and 'n' of 'Urton'. I leave the rest as an exercise for you."[sblock=OOC]Or whatever the equivalent words would be in the Common that Keldar is really speaking![/sblock]
I don't think this stuff really applies to a written code:[sblock=Bluff and Sense Motive]Delivering a Secret Message
You can use Bluff to get a message across to another character without others understanding it. The DC is 15 for simple messages, or 20 for complex messages, especially those that rely on getting across new information. Failure by 4 or less means you can’t get the message across. Failure by 5 or more means that some false information has been implied or inferred. Anyone listening to the exchange can make a Sense Motive check opposed by the Bluff check you made to transmit in order to intercept your message (see Sense Motive).
Discern Secret Message
You may use Sense Motive to detect that a hidden message is being transmitted via the Bluff skill. In this case, your Sense Motive check is opposed by the Bluff check of the character transmitting the message. For each piece of information relating to the message that you are missing, you take a -2 penalty on your Sense Motive check. If you succeed by 4 or less, you know that something hidden is being communicated, but you can’t learn anything specific about its content. If you beat the DC by 5 or more, you intercept and understand the message. If you fail by 4 or less, you don’t detect any hidden communication. If you fail by 5 or more, you infer some false information.[/sblock] In any case, Keldar's Sense Motive is -1. He could probably do a fair job of getting across some secret information, though.[/sblock]Keldar's not very helpful. He paces back and forth, occasionally stopping to stab a finger at a "word" on a page of the code book and to say "Hmm...."
"If it's a simple code, then the real words are the same length as the coded ones. Look for letter, letter, same letter twice, appearing many times throughout. That might be 'Dunn'. Look for a really long word that might be 'Celebrindel' - that has lots of repeated letters - matching your guess for 'n' and 'd'. Then see how often you find a four letter word, ending with the letters for 'l' and 'd'. That's probably 'gold'. What else would a thief write about as often? That gives you 'r', 'o' and 'n' of 'Urton'. I leave the rest as an exercise for you."[sblock=OOC]Or whatever the equivalent words would be in the Common that Keldar is really speaking![/sblock]
covaithe
Explorer
[sblock=Math and brainstorming]Let's see, Tommy has a +5 for decipher script. I note that Guidance has no material component requirement, so that's +1, even if we have to pay for it. For 60g (SRD prices) we can get (I hope) a fox's cunning lasting 3 minutes; that's another +2 for up to three pages worth of checks. Fimble grants +2, and Tarag grants +2. We're at +12, if I'm not mistaken. The library will presumably grant at least +2 circumstance bonus, possibly more if Rae is kind. If we can find a way for Keldar to help, that will put us at +16. The only other sources of bonuses I can think of would be hiring a 3rd level bard for inspire competence, or sweet-talking the librarians to see if they have a helm of comprehend languages that we could borrow, or some similar item. Actually, it's perfectly reasonable for a big library to have one of those; that's probably worth exploring. It won't stack with guidance, but +5 is better than +1.
Suggestions for how Keldar might help:
[/sblock]
Tommy marches straight to the shelves holding the books on cryptography he'd identified earlier, mildly protesting guide in tow. While Tarag researches crafting techniques, he studies the books, looking for ciphers likely to have been in use around the time Urton was writing this journal, and codebreaking techniques that seem suitable for those ciphers and based on the brief glances through the journal that Tommy has had so far. After a while he rubs his temples, stands, and speaks to the guide.
"Thanks for your help. I think I'm almost ready to tackle this journal now, only a few things left to do. First, I'd like to purchase an intellect enhancing spell." He shrugs, slightly embarrassed, but grins. "Hopefully it won't be needed, but.... I didn't spend as much time learning how to work on this kind of problem as on other things, and I every little bit counts, right? Second, could I use your helm of language comprehension? You, uh, do have one, right? Of course I'd be happy to have whatever supervision you feel is necessary. And third... Could you tell me where the, uh, toilet facilities are? Wouldn't do to have any interruptions..."
If we can find a way for Keldar to help, that will put us at +16. The only other sources of bonuses I can think of would be hiring a 3rd level bard for inspire competence, or sweet-talking the librarians to see if they have a helm of comprehend languages that we could borrow, or some similar item. Actually, it's perfectly reasonable for a big library to have one of those; that's probably worth exploring. It won't stack with guidance, but +5 is better than +1. Suggestions for how Keldar might help:
- social skills to find a bright young student at the college who likes codes and ciphers and charm them into helping.
- forgery to try to identify from the handwriting words or phrases or letters that are likely to be important, vs. ones that are just misdirection -- i.e. ones written carefully rather than dashed off hurriedly.
- bardic knowledge to provide insight of famous code deciphering episodes from story and song. Or perhaps poetic forms that encode semi-hidden information, like acrostics.
[/sblock]
Tommy marches straight to the shelves holding the books on cryptography he'd identified earlier, mildly protesting guide in tow. While Tarag researches crafting techniques, he studies the books, looking for ciphers likely to have been in use around the time Urton was writing this journal, and codebreaking techniques that seem suitable for those ciphers and based on the brief glances through the journal that Tommy has had so far. After a while he rubs his temples, stands, and speaks to the guide.
"Thanks for your help. I think I'm almost ready to tackle this journal now, only a few things left to do. First, I'd like to purchase an intellect enhancing spell." He shrugs, slightly embarrassed, but grins. "Hopefully it won't be needed, but.... I didn't spend as much time learning how to work on this kind of problem as on other things, and I every little bit counts, right? Second, could I use your helm of language comprehension? You, uh, do have one, right? Of course I'd be happy to have whatever supervision you feel is necessary. And third... Could you tell me where the, uh, toilet facilities are? Wouldn't do to have any interruptions..."
Rae ArdGaoth
Explorer
[sblock=OOC: ]As I believe the primary reason for the +5 bonus from a helm of comprehend languages is that you actually understand the language (even if you don't know the script), I think I should significantly reduce the bonus to this kind of Decipher Script check (decrypting instead of translating).
Knowing every language ever would certainly be useful, though, so I think a +2 bonus is appropriate.[/sblock]
The librarian gives Tommy a haughty look at the mention of the magical helmet. "But of course we have such tools. Just a moment." He snatches a young scholar carrying a stack of books and whispers harshly in the student's ear.
[sblock=Listen DC: 15]"Go to Master Grintley, tell him I need to use his personal helm of languages. Don't come back to me without it! Sneak it out from behind his back if you have to, but get it to me. If he gives you grief, blame me."[/sblock]
Muttering to himself, the librarian comes back.
[sblock=Listen DC: 20]"I'll be disintegrated before I let this Academian shame our library. Russna's left toe, why didn't we think of this before?"[/sblock]
A smile forms on his face. "He'll be right back with the helmet you requested. The lavatories are over there, and spells cost the standard amount. I'll summon a caster as soon as you're ready."
Knowing every language ever would certainly be useful, though, so I think a +2 bonus is appropriate.[/sblock]
The librarian gives Tommy a haughty look at the mention of the magical helmet. "But of course we have such tools. Just a moment." He snatches a young scholar carrying a stack of books and whispers harshly in the student's ear.
[sblock=Listen DC: 15]"Go to Master Grintley, tell him I need to use his personal helm of languages. Don't come back to me without it! Sneak it out from behind his back if you have to, but get it to me. If he gives you grief, blame me."[/sblock]
Muttering to himself, the librarian comes back.
[sblock=Listen DC: 20]"I'll be disintegrated before I let this Academian shame our library. Russna's left toe, why didn't we think of this before?"[/sblock]
A smile forms on his face. "He'll be right back with the helmet you requested. The lavatories are over there, and spells cost the standard amount. I'll summon a caster as soon as you're ready."
Trouvere
Explorer
"Wait, what?" says Keldar as this registers. "Almost ready? I thought we'd started ages ago. What were you doing with all those books? I thought you were making progress. I'm bored already! Right, I'm going to take a break and stretch my legs. Back in a little while. I'd not want to miss seeing Tommy wearing a helmet. Librarian, if you'd have someone escort me outside, and, um, point me in the direction of the magical supplies store?"
covaithe
Explorer
Tommy thanks the guide sincerely, oblivious to his whisperings. He uses the facilities. When everything is ready, he dons the helmet, nods to the caster, and begins to study the journal.
[sblock=ooc]Rae, go ahead and roll this one for me, if you like. I don't think there are any modifiers in play that I didn't mention in my last ooc ramble, so I'll let you decide what the final bonus is.[/sblock]
[sblock=ooc]Rae, go ahead and roll this one for me, if you like. I don't think there are any modifiers in play that I didn't mention in my last ooc ramble, so I'll let you decide what the final bonus is.[/sblock]
Boddynock
First Post
OOC: Ah, but you're missing the point that Keldar will have some understanding or intuitive grasp of the elements of misdirection. I think you could make a strong case for Bluff being a useful skill in this situation. "Now let's see, if I wanted to get this information across secretly, how would I mislead everybody else?"
Forgive me, but Keldar seems uniquely suited to such an exercise.
Made the first (important) roll, for Craft, and failed the two Listen checks. 1d20+6=13, 1d20+3=14, 1d20+3=8
Trouvere
Explorer
OOC: I guess. I don't regard Keldar as being particularly good at bluffing. His low Wisdom and lack of ranks in Sense Motive make him personally gullible. He's told so many tales and revised his own personal history so many times that he's no longer sure what's true himself. He veers wildly between grandiose claims of competence and (presumably) obfuscating stupidity depending on his mood from moment to moment. It was Rapture who was supposed to cover Bluff and Diplomacy for the team. Keldar's (probably) a fantasist; she lived a role.
If we're paying for a spell and there's a 5th level caster available, then Heroism (+2 morale bonus to skills for 10 min/level) would be more cost effective than Fox's Cunning (+2 untyped bonus for only 1 min/level), since it takes 1 minute to attempt to decipher the equivalent of one page.
If we're paying for a spell and there's a 5th level caster available, then Heroism (+2 morale bonus to skills for 10 min/level) would be more cost effective than Fox's Cunning (+2 untyped bonus for only 1 min/level), since it takes 1 minute to attempt to decipher the equivalent of one page.
