Ptolus: Midwood - "The Dark Waters of Moss Pond"

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Even at this point, I'm not really sure what was going on in the mind of Renraw's player.

As is obvious to pretty much everyone, both Renraw and Khenemet-Apep are lying their asses off. But Renraw is a level 2 abjurer and how, exactly, he intended to escape the hangman's noose, I've never really understood. And, of course, while Khenemet-Apep has other tricks up his sleeve, he doesn't really want to be in a zone of truth cast by the bishop under the eyes of the baron either.

So The Wizard of Green Mountain will repeatedly toss openings for Renraw to worm out of this situation -- because killing Bufer really doesn't fit into his plans at the moment -- and Renraw ... refuses to take them.

Honestly, I suspect Renraw (and his player) was just pissed at Khenemet-Apep and was wanting to take him down with him. Renraw's stubborness -- as with all his other personal failings -- ends up being the engine for what follows.

And if you have a concern about that geas spell, rules lawyers, just wait. I know.

 

[Trench]

Honestly, I suspect Renraw (and his player) was just pissed at Khenemet-Apep and was wanting to take him down with him. Renraw's stubborness -- as with all his other personal failings -- ends up being the engine for what follows.

You'd have to ask Renraw's player, but as I remember it- that's exactly it. Renraw is mind-numbingly willing to risk himself if it gets revenge on those who screwed him (or even those he think MIGHT have...)

 

[Gnome Quixote]

So The Wizard of Green Mountain will repeatedly toss openings for Renraw to worm out of this situation -- because killing Bufer really doesn't fit into his plans at the moment -- and Renraw ... refuses to take them.

It's probably worth mentioning that I thought Bufer was dead the second Khenemet-Apep's mangy cat spotted him. Whiz had indicated that it was a strong possibility he'd be caught out if he followed, and I got the distinct impression he was trying to talk me out of it. The debate Bufer has with himself before following was almost exactly my thought process, minus the metagame thought of "if the DM is telling me it's a bad idea, it must really be a bad idea". Likewise, the line about Bufer reviewing his options after the wizard spots him, and realizing he has none, definitely mirrored my reaction IRL. For the second time in the campaign, I thought I'd signed my own death warrant in the service of good roleplaying.

Frankly I was surprised when the wizard didn't kill him outright...or at least try to put him under a geas to keep him from revealing what he'd seen and heard.

 

[bissichan]

Frankly I was surprised when the wizard didn't kill him outright...or at least try to put him under a geas to keep him from revealing what he'd seen and heard.

The real reason is that Bufer is now betrothed to the cat.

 

[Gnome Quixote]

Had Renraw chosen to go along with Khenemet-Apep's ruse, I think I would have had Bufer fall for it, in spite of my own B.S. detector screaming bloody murder. Apep just offered Bufer practically everything he's ever wanted out of life--minus one thing that will come up later--on a silver platter. If Kem had played along, it would have been awfully hard to justify turning it down in-character.

 

[Renraw Kem]

Renraw's player, here...

Yes, he wanted to screw Apep, that's a huge part of it, but this is where the Gaius Baltar influence comes in pretty heavily...Renraw believes he is innocent.

And, as in the case of Baltar, I think it's hard to say where to draw that line. Yes, he's a horrible little weasily, lying scumbag, but that's also what might've saved him from the noose.

He had no idea what he was doing meeting with the kobolds, but he's convinced himself he was only intending to gather information so he could save himself (and certain select others) from the inevitable attack. And when he agreed to kill Tucker, it was only because agreeing was the easiest way out of that particular situation. He had no idea what he would really do if the time came. It's why he was terrified walking away from the meeting, and why he was terrified when Khenemet-Apep came for him. He had dreamed of becoming a wheeler-dealer, but it turned out that he didn't have what it takes.

So, inside the Zone of Truth, he would've told...the truth. He had intended to gather information on the attack...he agreed to kill Tucker, but he had no intention of doing so. If the spell forced him, he might also have to say that he MIGHT have killed Tucker if circumstances forced him into it, but there's really no way of telling.

If just meeting with the kobolds (and lying to them) would have been enough to hang a man for treason, then Renraw would've walked to his death with his head held high, a proud martyr, only trying to save Maidensbridge from herself (ie, himself from the kobolds).

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

I'll discuss the zone of truth stuff from Khenemet's point of view later on.

 

[Trench]

Kat being shackled and taken away with the other lying wizards really did throw me for a loop. I had gotten so into Kat's mindset, that I honestly didn't see what he did wrong. Objectively, yeah, he gave information to the kobolds but he HAD TO, because otherwise the deal would have broken (and therefore uneven...). In his mind, that's perfectly rational and the thought that someone could arrest him when he was intending to do no harm utterly befuddles and infuriates him.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

One thing I liked about this story was getting to see the relationship between Tock and Katadid. It humanizes Tock and points out the character's fundemental loneliness.

Previously, frankly, Tock was just a dick, even if he was right that the forces of law and order in the town weren't particularly friendly to a free spirit like his. Even as Tock's scheme gets bigger and wilder and more dangerous, his love for his cousin shines through, making him more than just the criminal the constable, Tucker and Emmerson think him to be.

Kat is more of a work in progress at this point, and he becomes increasingly lucid after this (mis)adventure, although he still is willing to walk straight into the mouth of a dragon for something that draws his attention.

 

[Tock Chandler]

I particularly enjoyed having Kat to play off of . . .as soon as I heard about the character I knew what he meant to Tock. As Kat's player picked up when he wrote that Li'l Midwood story, a lot of Tock's issues with the authority figures in town stem from how he perceived the way they treated Kat.