Trapped in Hell's Basement (DM: Mal Malenkirk Judge:Covaithe)

[Voda Vosa]

"Very well" says Sheng as he makes his stone disappear in his sleeves.

As the group leaves, the sorceror comments in his thoughts. "One of you should have accompanied Patrin. If there is a confrontation, he alone would have to deal with any physical threat. I am not happy with the choices taken. Now I will try my best to take any valuable information from these fools."

Sheng walks casually to one of the Jadite guards. "I greet you respectfully brother, my name is Kao Tsung, I'm a humble mercenary. I could not avoid to notice you are from the Kindom of Jade, as well as us." Sheng makes a broad gesture towards Raiko and Max. "Now that our employee has left to inspect the area, perhaps I must admit that your actions are most honorable, and that we don't share the guard's point of view, but we found ourselves with no food nor money, so we really had no choice but to follow him. Perhaps we could help each other out. If we help you out with the Watch, perhaps you could help us out too?" Sheng smiles convincingly.

Bluff: 20

 

[dimsdale]

ooc: updated character careers for this adventure here

Max watches the guards as the dragonborn gives him the stone, which was a mistakes. By failing to observe the exchange of the stone, Max fumbles the stone, which falls to the floor. "Damn it!" Max whispers under his breath and quickly retrieves the stone. Max than tries to play it off by buckling on of the straps on his boot.

ooc: bluff roll: 1d20+1=9

 

[ScorpiusRisk]

Raiko puts the stone in his pocket. Never attempting secrecy before, his action, and the item in his hand, is quite apparent. He leans against the wall, listening to Sheng.

We will respond to threats as needed. Be aware, they seem to have noticed our new rocks.

[sblock=ooc]Bluff 7[/sblock]

 

[dimsdale]

We will respond to threats as needed. Be aware, they seem to have noticed our new rocks.

"Read ya loud and clear Raiko. I'll be ready if it comes to that." Max whispers while finishing with his shoe. With the stone safely tucked into a pouch, he then moves his right hand closer to the hilt of his sword while still on one knee.

 

[Mal Malenkirk]

[sblock=Character Stats]Hey, if you have your PC stated in the Character Builder, can you upload the file?

Those who don't, I'll enter you manually in my CB. I find it a more convenient way of storing info about PCs in my campaign then referring to the wiki.[/sblock]

[sblock=OOC]I knew odds were there would be some failures, but I'm impressed. It looks like everyone who could fail DC 10 did![/sblock]

Entrance Hall

The two jadite sentries are humans. One remains gaurded at Sheng's overture but the other smiles broadly. He huddles with Sheng.

-''You have hit hard times, esteemed comrade? It is regretable that relocating from our oni infested homeland requires adaptation and flexibility. My family left a lot of ressources behind in the exodus. I would be honored if you called me Tao Zse Lee. Pray tell me what you can of the 'War', I long for news.''

[sblock=OOC]The 'War' is obviously the ongoing campaign of the Iron General / Shogun against the Oni.

Inisght (1d20+1=7)

You don't know what he expects you to say of the War or what he believes himself. Well, not from the check, anyway.
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[sblock=General skill check policy]Voda Vosa: Don't make a new bluff check for any new social interactions with these particular guards on this particular topic. 20 will stand for the scene unless the situation change dramatically and I specifically ask a new check. Just chat away under that 20.

Everyone: As a general rule, never make multiple checks of the same skill in the same scene for the same general action/intention unless it's a skill challenge (which I don't abuse, there might not be one in this adventure) or unless I specifically ask for it.

I only require multiple checks of the same skill for distinct intentions (i.e. hiding the stones VS chatting the guard, two unrelated activities)
[/sblock]

The other jadite seems a more suspicious sort. It seems more to be in his nature than out of any concrete reasons... until he glimpse the purple rocks, not once but twice!

-''Can I be so bold as to inquire as to the purpose of these stones, honorables guests.'' asks politely the other jadite guards in a tone that makes a travesty of the words.

[sblock=OOC]I fully expected someone somewhere would fumble, but seeing two rocks is more suspicious than just one...[/sblock]

 

[Mal Malenkirk]

The tour

As the tours begins, Gelname takes notice of Ashir's purple stone.

-''What a curious sight. What is it?'' he asks conversationnaly.

[sblock=OOC]No matter how you resolve the stone situation, the tour continues. It is a single purple stone, after all. What is at stakes is how suspicious Gelname is going forward.

Hence I continue the scene in the interest of PbP expediency.
[/sblock]

-''Well, as you saw, this is our barracks. We also have a forge in the section.''

Gelname then takes the crew through kitchens and a dinner hall, training rooms and then, after a longer walk through a tunnel, into a chapel. They encounters many groups of armed and intense young people, mostly humans, half-orcs and dwarves. Gelname spends a lot of time here, explaining the rite of Maros, the god of war and the philosophy of the order. It basically boils down to the strongs must defend the weaks and teach them to become strong.

-''Well, that's about it, you have seen everything.''

The tour took many twist in turns, it's hard for the heroes to dispute Gelname's claims.

[sblock=Religion 10]
Maros as defender of the weak is very rare but not unheard of. PC who fail 10 will be confused but Patrin is at least familiar with this version of Maros worship.
[/sblock]

[sblock=Religion 15]
There are also a few subtle hints and references about fighting the forces of chaos which, while commendable, have nothing to do with mainstream Maros worship. Maros cults are fairly chaotic themselves.
[/sblock]

[sblock=Dunegoneering 15 or Insight 15]Make just one check.

Gelname is lying through is teeth. If you made the insight check, you just know that he is lying. If you made the dungeoneering check, you can easily retrace your steps to the section that has been bypassed.
[/sblock]

 

[Voda Vosa]

Sheng smiles, as thge time that he contacts the others via thoughts.

"I will try a risky gambit. I need that everyone suppress their thoughts for now. I will give this fool my gem, hoping to convince him that they are part of the pay Patrin gave us. That way we will be able to read his thoughts, and perhaps uncover some piece of information."

"Your question is not bold at all. These..." explains Sheng as he takes out his gem. "...are valuable gems, part of the pay for our services. Sir Patrin explained that the Watch is not in a good economic situation, but assured these were worth our efforts thus far. Here, have a look." Sheng hands the gem to the guard.

 

[renau1g]

"Oh this old thing, well it's a gift from my parents back home, a good luck charm, if you believe in that sort of thing, but for me it's just a piece of home" Ashir replies to Gelname, hoping to put the man at ease.

The genasi observes impassively, his mind already going through the categorical information he possesses on the gods and the worship of Maros.

"Interesting...they claim to want to battle the forces of chaos, but they also worship Maros, who himself is not concerned with those things. Perhaps this bears further investigation?" Ashir thinks to the others, after waiting for Sheng to give him the go ahead once he has the gem back

[sblock=OOC]
bluff; religion; insight; dungeoneering (1d20-1=15, 1d20+9=21, 1d20+2=5, 1d20+2=21) I rolled twice, once for Insight, once for dungeoneering. After seeing the sblock comment though I will go with the first roll of 3 and know nothing.
[/sblock]

 

[TwoHeadsBarking]

Haruka spends more time watching Gelname than their surroundings. She smiles pleasantly at all the right times.

[sblock=assuming Sheng gives the "all clear"]He's lying. And poorly, I might add. Something's being hidden from us.[/sblock]

[sblock=rolls]10 Religion, 25 Insight. That's a nice range on those rolls.[/sblock]

 

[ScorpiusRisk]

Raiko simply nods at Sheng's statement and keeps his senses open for any issues. He cannot, however, resist giving an update on the war.

"Life and battle continues to be difficult in the Kingdom of Jade. The frontier lands see the worst of things, as the army is stretched thin. Though many suspect the most powerful Oni continue to work in secret in our population centers."

[sblock=Actions]Due to Sheng's training and discipline I don't think he'll have a probem controlling his thoughts at this time.

Perception 18 to overhear the conversation between Sheng and the guard.[/sblock]

[sblock=PbP Summary]Raiko, Male Dragonborn Paladin 1 ()
Init: +0; P.Insight: 18; P.Perception: 13
AC: 20; Fort: 16; Reflex: 13; Will: 14
HP: 25/25; Surges: 6 hp, 10/10
AP: 1

Skills: History +6, Insight +8, Intimidate +8, Religion +4
Languages: Common, Tsugo
Str: 20, Con: 10, Dex: 10, Int: 8, Wis: 16, Cha: 12

Sling Bullets: 20/20

Divine Challenge, Holy Strike, Valiant Strike, Lay on Hands (3/3 per day)
Dragon Breath, Piercing Smite, Second Wind, Chanel Divinity (Divine Mettle/Divine Strength)
Paladin's Judgement[/sblock]


[sblock=CB Summary]====== Created Using Wizards of the Coast D&D Character Builder ======
Raiko, level 1
Dragonborn, Paladin
Dragon Breath Key Ability: Dragon Breath Strength
Dragon Breath Damage Type: Dragon Breath Poison

FINAL ABILITY SCORES
Str 20, Con 10, Dex 10, Int 8, Wis 16, Cha 12.

STARTING ABILITY SCORES
Str 18, Con 10, Dex 10, Int 8, Wis 16, Cha 10.


AC: 20 Fort: 16 Reflex: 13 Will: 14
HP: 25 Surges: 10 Surge Value: 6

TRAINED SKILLS
Religion +4, Insight +8, History +6, Intimidate +8

UNTRAINED SKILLS
Acrobatics -4, Arcana -1, Bluff +1, Diplomacy +1, Dungeoneering +3, Endurance -4, Heal +3, Nature +3, Perception +3, Stealth -4, Streetwise +1, Thievery -4, Athletics +1

FEATS
Level 1: Weapon Proficiency (Bastard sword)

POWERS
Lay on Hands: Lay on Hands
Paladin at-will 1: Valiant Strike
Paladin at-will 1: Holy Strike
Paladin encounter 1: Piercing Smite
Paladin daily 1: Paladin's Judgment

ITEMS
Plate Armor, Heavy Shield, Backpack (empty), Hempen Rope (50 ft.), Torch (4), Belt Pouch (empty), Bastard sword, Sling, Sling Bullets (20)
====== Copy to Clipboard and Press the Import Button on the Summary Tab ======
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