PFS #51: The Shadow Gambit

[Maidhc O Casain]

Cast of Characters:

• Dogan (Brutal Pugilist Barbarian 01) - PeteZero (on vacation)
• Harken (Blight Druid 01) - vl.arandur
• Lanel Brandain (Brass Dragon Sorcerer 01) - soulnova
• Oero Farhelm (Fighter 01) - Keht
• Kalenth Asturian (Ranger 01) - Helfdan

I'll go ahead and post up the intro, leaving it at a spot where those who are with us currently can start some RP. PeteZero (Dogan) is on vacation and as soon as he's back we'll jump into the action, closing the table to new recruits at that time.

GM Preferences (The length makes these look daunting but they're really not):

• Try to post once a day (more is fine). If we go 24 hours w/out a post from a given player, I may post for you to keep the action going. I'll choose conservative actions unless you've given me specific instruction otherwise. If you're going to be out for more than a day or two - and you know about it ahead of time - try to let us know with an OOC.
• For combat posts, my preference is that you post descriptive text as normal and put the mechanical crunch in a spoiler block. My maps will have X/Y coordinates - please post your characters' ending coordinates in your sblocks. I'll assume you're moving to avoid AoOs unless you tell me otherwise, but sometimes I'm dense so if you're concerned it won't hurt to tell me the path you're taking to get to your destination.
• I'm fine with either the ENWorld Integrated Roller or Invisible Castle. If you use Invisible Castle, please use your character's full name in the roll and post the link in your action spoiler block.
• In combat, post when you get a chance. I'll resolve actions in initiative order where it matters (flat-footed, etc) otherwise I'll put the round together in a way that seems to make sense and preserves the dramatic flair. This should keep the need to rework actions to a minimum. I prefer to resolve combats one round at a time.
• No OOC thread for this one - please put your OOC comments in a spoiler block rather than using the OOC tag (which I find very intrusive).
• One of the great things about PbP is that it's very liberating for role-play. Flesh out your characters, indulge in a little back and forth banter, ham it up! (I typically use a color for character speech and thoughts, putting speech in quotes and thoughts in italics; but this is not a requirement).

 

[Maidhc O Casain]

It’s been nearly a month since Venture-Captain Drandle Dreng, a decrepit yet well-respected Pathfinder, instructed you to meet him dockside in Absalom. On arrival, Dreng herded you on to a Korvosa-bound merchant vessel and gave you a series of quick, stern instructions.

“One of my good friends, a merchant in the Varisian outcast’s haven known as Kaer Maga, sent me a very strange letter, which I need you to investigate. The merchant—his name is Horis Collgardie—tells me that the residents of Kaer Maga are very upset about the Society’s plan to build a lodge in their city and even further upset that the agents we sent are making trouble, stirring up the delicate balance of power that exists in the so-called City of Strangers. The trouble is, not the Decemvirate or any venture-captain I can find gave the okay to build a lodge there. We know it would be folly to do so—at least right now—and so this idea that Collgardie has that the Society is there and doing just that is worrisome. In a few weeks time, you’ll be in Korvosa. From there, book passage on a river ship for Harse, then travel overland to the road’s end at the cliffs below Kaer Maga—the so-called Twisted Door. There you must pay the Duskwardens to escort you through the Halflight Path to reach Kaer Maga. Once inside the city, find Collgardie and find out what he’s talking about. If there are Pathfinders in the city founding a lodge, tell them I order them to stop at once. If this is some kind of ruse, get to the bottom of it and do what you can to keep our Society’s good name in Kaer Maga—we may not be completely welcome there, but neither are we unwelcome. Let’s keep it that way. Any questions?”

~~~~~

From the moment the sun rose this morning and the dizzying Twisted Door opened at the bottom of the Storval Rise, you, your companions, and a handful of traveling merchants have trudged slowly up the myriad stairs, tunnels, cliffside paths, and underground ruins that make up the famous Halflight Path. On either side of you march several gruff-looking men and women wearing brown-and-gray uniforms, the right breast bearing a badge with their symbol: a golden arch on a midnight blue background. These are the Duskwardens, and it’s their duty to see you safely up the Path to Kaer Maga, hours and hours of climbing above you.

~~~~~

GM: Feel free to post up some RP as we await the arrival of PeteZero!

 

[soulnova]

[sblock]Alright, this is how I'm supposed to write on OOC, right? I wanted to ask if we are doing 1 round of battle at a time. All the other PBP games I've played do "blocks" of 5 rounds during battle so we can resolve them quicker, but of course this would mean more work for the DM.[/sblock]

Lanel looked quite bored. He had gone over and over again the instructions given to him but he was certainly wondering how the hell was he going to pull it off. He was not a warrior or a agile thief. He would surely need assistance and he should start looking for it. He sighed deeply while guiding the mule and his cart and looked back at his comrades.

He wasn't sure what to think about them yet, but they would have to learn how to work as a team to stop these so called pathfinder members in Kaer Maga. "Have any of you been to the City of Strangers before?" he casually asked to the others.

 

[Maidhc O Casain]

[sblock=soulnova]That's perfect! if you want you can add "=OOC" after the "sblock" inside the first brackets to give the spoiler the OOC title, but that's not at all necessary.

I prefer to run one round at a time; I've added this to the initial post.[/sblock]

 

[soulnova]

[sblock=OOC] Any word on the rest of the party? ? [/sblock]

 

[Maidhc O Casain]

[sblock=soulnova]Keht and Helfdan are putting characters together, PeteZero still isn't back from vacation. Bad timing on my part, I guess, getting it started. We'll get there, though.[/sblock]

 

[Helfdan]

The tall young man known as Kalenth walks stoically, unconcerned with the pace despite the weight of the iron-scaled cuirass he wears. He studies the path, and their guides, with open curiosity. He does turn to Lanel when he hears the question. "Never been there before, but I am looking forward to it. You?"

 

[vl.arandur]

Harken snorts low in his throat in weary amusement. "Never been to this Kaer, but if you've seen one, you've pretty much seen them all." He plods along, his eyes dull as if actively refusing to take in the sights of the mountain track, Koshka weaving in and out of his feet in a pattern that would have tripped up a man unaccustomed to the behaviour. "I was born in one of the Kaeryat, or so says the whore who raised me, so far as she can be trusted to hold the memory. Not this one, though."

 

[soulnova]

"Me neither. I've heard stories but I'm not sure if I could believe them" he answered Kalenth and then turned to Harken. "Well, it's good to have someone who knows how things work out around there. If what I heard is truth we must get to the bottom of this lodge issue quickly before we attract any... unwanted attention."

 

[vl.arandur]

"And if what I've heard is true, unwanted attention is already upon us." Harken grins humorlessly at Lanel, baring his overly long canines at him. Koshka stops her endless curious wandering for a moment to stare also at the man, her eyes matching Harken's in amber hue. "But what else can we do, but proceed blindly onward into the abyss? Ought to be fun."