24 - 4e style

[Mal Malenkirk]

Karath was the director of the Contraband division of the Security Council of Undhil. The dragonborn was massive and getting a little fat. He was an ex-agent forced to retire from field work due to age, which he didn’t take well at all. He had a legendary temper that matched his reddish skin colour and betrayed his fiery heritage. SCU legend had it that he had burnt his office thrice in two years when he uncontrollably exhaled fire during particularly poor debriefings. At any rate, it was thought extremely perilous to report to Karath after a disappointing performance on an assignment. It was therefore with some trepidation that the agents entered the director’s office.

SCU was a very fluid organization as far as field agents were concerned. The office personnel were steady. The field agents were not. There was great mobility between the branches and Contraband was itself an entry point for new personnel. After all, it was basically just high stake law enforcement so you could break in and evaluate recruits. Compared to the other tasks of SCU, it was fairly straightforward. It was nothing like the complexity of counter-espionage, for example. The only reason why contraband was under the purview of SCU rather than the City Guard was the importance of keeping smuggling under control. In a city that depended so much on its preferred trading partner status, it was crucial. SCU had the reputation for getting the job done while the Guard... well, it was the Guard.

-‘’All right, new team. Again. What have we here.’’ Grumbled Karath, fumbling with his files. ‘’So, Barrion. A regular in these affairs. Seeing as you are on the payroll of the Eladrin kingdom of Silverif, we ain’t about to let you wander from Contraband to Counter-Espionnage, eh.’’ He chuckled and turned to another dossier.

-‘’Nathan Furies. A human. Your kind is a little under represented around here considering your weight in the total population. You are moving in from the City Guard were you did a tour of duty as bodyguard for several senators. I sure hope this isn’t a political move to appease Senator Gaylar. You have to stand on your own merit.''

"My orders is my only politics and the governers gave me none before I left him." replied Nathan without emotion.

-''Fair enough. Who else... Leyra. Healer. Yeah, we always need one of those, which is why you have moved around so much. Four branch in two years! You go wherever our people are getting a beating, eh? But you are an elf worshipping Corallon... isn’t he like the ethnic god of the fey people? Well, just as long as you remember that you fight for the whole republic.’’ He said gruffly.

Karath was well known for his strong support of republican values and his extreme dislike of anything that fostered a sense of cultural identity distinct from being a citizen of Undhil. If anything, he was considered too radical on the subject by many, taking a strong stance against anything he saw as racial based privilege or ethnic organizations.

“Beauty is found in strange places...” Leyra answered the dragonborn mystically.

Having seen a few different task forces already, since there was quite some demand for her healing prowess, the elf was somewhat used to this whole buzz and so remained silent, waiting for further instructions on the mission at hand. Her vigilant eyes survey the scene and examine the others, whom she will be going to work with soon.

The dragonkin stared at Leyra blankly for a moment after her intervention.

-''What the hell did that mean!?'' he exaclaimed dumbfounded. Karath was not known as much of a hilosopher. ''Oh never mind.''

He then turned to the Halfling, file in hand.

-‘’Hum... Garrick. A thief. A reformed thief, born again into the faith of the Raven Queen! With a pedigree like that, you must have wowed the recruiter with your skills. I’ve known a few of the Raven Queen devotees to take too active a hand in increasing Queen’s domain, if you catch my drift. Well, every team need your skill set. But I have my eye on you.’’

When the republic was born, some cults were outlawed. Asmodeus, Bane, Lolth, Tiamat and Vecna’s cults were deemed criminal organizations, to name a few. For a while, there was some support to include the Raven Queen on the black list but its follower managed to lobby their way out of it. There were still suspicions. Most people feared and misunderstood the church of the Dark Queen’s teachings.

"You need have no worries on that score, sir. I certainly do not need to act in that manner. It is my experience that all come to my Lady in time without any...assistance. Even those who seem to live forever as some see it..." Garrick glanced at the 'longer-lived' in the group and a small smile graced his lips "...even they are welcomed in their turn."

-‘’Good. Stick to to that line of doctrine and don't join a sub-sect onb my watch. Okay’s who’s next? Mirage. A tiefling wizard and a mystery man. No known family or associate, yet I’m pretty sure the Internal Security Bureau has looked into it. You might wish to be more forthcoming with information if you want to rise in rank. Meanwhile the only reason you are in is because we never have enough wizard and the file says you know your job. But you ain’t touching something sensitive until your file is as heavy with personal info as your colleagues here.''

"Friends and family are a weakness, one which an enemy can exploit too easily. I shall be able to provide not only the artillery typical of those of my calling, but subterfuge as well. I am most capable at remaining unseen and providing distractions when required." replied Mirage leaving some ambiguity on the subject of his background.

Karath's attention perked up as he made mental notes. Then he turned to the last member.

-''Right, and to round up the team we have a dwarf. Err... bloody dwarves names are hard to pronounce for dragonborn tongue. Anyway, you come from the military. Good man. Me too. File says you are a diehard patriot, I like that. All right, so that’s my new team. Hmm, there are a few imponderable but you all had good evaluations so I will have to trust your former supervisors for the moment. I am wary but nobody can’t say this isn’t an Undhil team. Six different races! All you miss for true greatness is a dragonborn.’’

It was unclear whether the last remark was serious or not. Karath mouth’s twitched but a dragon’s features were hard to read.

Barrion smiles at the Dragonborn's joke, taking his last comment as such
-"Ah, but that's why we have you to report to boss--rounding things out a bit. That's why I'm here anyway."

-''Well, nobody can say you don't have the right attitude.'' Karath. ''You just write one report too many for my taste after the job is done.'' Karath grumbled. Undhil didn't have agents of their own in Silverif's law enforcement branch. It told a lot about which nation was currently in the most solid position and it irked the patriotic dragonborn.

-"Six races? So many selections for a crow's buffet." the dwarf Dagran chuckled beneath his beard. "I don't suppose you were planning on filling us in on how many first-time anti-smuggling teams end badly? I've heard some stories..."

-''You know how it is. Rookies die, veterans survive. That being said, there ain't any rookie in the general sense in this room. You've all seen your fair share of action. That's the silver lining. You should do okay. Now walk with me, I'll introduce you to your control and she will brief you.''

The director led the new agents toward the control room.

 

[The Digger]

I’ve known a few of the Raven Queen devotees to take too active a hand in increasing Queen’s domain

"You need have no worries on that score, sir. I certainly do not need to act in that manner. It is my experience that all come to my Lady in time without any...assistance. Even those who seem to live forever as some see it..." Garrick glanced at the 'longer-lived' in the group and a small smile graced his lips "...even they are welcomed in their turn."

 

[ShaggySpellsword]

Barrion smiles at the Dragonborn's joke, taking his last comment as such, "Ah, but that's why we have you to report to boss--rounding things out a bit. That's why I'm here anyway."

 

[Thanee]

Leyra

“Beauty is found in strange places...” Leyra answers the dragonborn mystically.

Having seen a few different task forces already, since there was quite some demand for her healing prowess, the elf was somewhat used to this whole buzz and so remained silent, waiting for further instructions on the mission at hand.

Her vigilant eyes survey the scene and examine the others, whom she will be going to work with soon.

 

[Charwoman Gene]

"Six races? So many selections for a crow's buffet." Dagran chuckled beneath his beard. "I don't suppose you were planning on filling us in on how many first-time anti-smuggling teams end badly? I've heard some stories..."

 

[Erekose13]

"Friends and family are a weakness, one which an enemy can exploit too easily. I shall be able to provide not only the artillery typical of those of my calling, but subterfuge as well. I am most capable at remaining unseen and providing distractions when required." replies Mirage leaving some ambiguity on the subject of his background.

 

[Velmont]

"My orders is my only politics and the governers gave me none before I left him." replies Nathan without emotion.

 

[Mal Malenkirk]

[sblock=ooc]I wanted to type up the exposition post were the mission is explained but wednesday is game night for my group and we finished late while I need to get up early...

Tomorrow I work late but you should still expect the complete mission summary and the first map (which is already completed) in about 22 hours from the date stamp of this post. (I'll edit this post with it).[/sblock]

 

[Mal Malenkirk]

The large doors and wide corridors of the Hive, as the HQ was colloquially known, were custom made for dragonkins, the largest of the republican races. Most official buildings built in the republic era were. Dwarven critics pointed out that it also made these buildings well suited for orcs, trolls and all matter of nasties.

The team reached the control room, nicknamed the Mine due the overabundance of weird crystal pieces of various shape and size. Resonance crystals were a peculiar sort of magic where shards of crystals of various origins (from diamond to common glass) would be, according to alchemist jargon, ‘synchronized’. Synchronized shards could be used to transmit sound over large distance. Sadly, it was expensive and one crystal could only be used to transmit sound to one other specific crystal. Still, its use as a communication device were invaluable. SCU made use of it more than any other organization in the republic. Where the army normally had only one pair of crystal linking a platoon of elite soldier or a battalion of regulars to their command centers, SCU typically used a pair of crystal for every agent on the field. It was very expensive. And it made the control room look like the treasure room of a demented dragon since each field agent’s crystal had its matching pair here.

Karath introduced the team to an ebullient drow lady with unusually pale skin and sunny disposition. Her cheerful demeanor clashed with her dark and professional dress.

-‘’Hey, my name is Shayla. Over the air you call me ‘Control One’. I wanted ‘Boss Lady’ but apparently it is against protocol.’’

She was standing at a desk filled with fairly large crystal of different hues matched with much smaller one of identical color.

-‘’Okay, so Dagran is Green, Barrion is Purple, Garrick is Yellow, Leyra is Plum , Mirage is Grey and Nathan is… wait, I already have a Yellow. You will be Red.’’

She handed everyone a small stone matching their colors. It had been covered in a sticky substance and was fixed near the agents collar.’’

-‘’Done. All right. The job. It’s a Salt shake down. We have an informer clueing us to a rash of smuggling throughout the city of what is likely Salt. As you know, it’s a big no-no. We don’t have enough evidence for a warrant in most of these lead except for one; the brother Karathoff. Two dwarves cattle rancher. Yes, ranchers! But they are also greedy and ill mannered so you see that they will only go so far in fighting stereotypes.’’ She winks at the group.

-’’These guys have priors. Smuggling, assaults, tax evasion and attempted murder a few years ago but that one didn’t stick. But that’s why the judge gave us an actual warrant for this run. So no need to just burn everything and run away, you can actually bring them in. Actually, we really need to interrogate someone, otherwise this will be a waste pf time. They are almost certain to resist though. In the past few years they have been more successful and you can expect half a dozen cowboys that double up as guards. The brother themselves are pretty tough customers. The analysts evaluate that will likely feel that they have gone too far in recent years to be stopped now so expect them to fightlike cornered rat. The field observer on this one is Jimmi. You may have met him, he’ll escort you to the site. It’s just a bit off the city. He’ll give you the tactical layout. Remember to keep in constant touch with me. Good luck, and don’t end up front page in the press.’’

[sblock] SALT? ARE YOU SERIOUS? Yes, very. In the pre-industrial world, salt was like oil today. War were fought over control of the mines and high price could lead to revolt. It was used for many reasons but the most crucial was preserving meat. It was doubly important for city dwellers; getting protein outside of salted meat could be almost impossible for someone who lived in a typical middle-age city. It wasn’t as bad for peasants.

Since everyone used salt (or bought salted products), taxing salt was a primary source of income for governments, as close to direct income tax as they could get in those days.

In the context of the campaign, Brokhelm produces a lot of salt and due to the preferred trading status, their merchants are taxed less than others. But if smugglers can come in and undercut them with untaxed salt… They complain to their king, who complains to your president who puts pressure on SCU. So there you are.

WARRANT? Yes, this is a state of law. But it is still a bit iffy. Example; the proof against the Karathoff brother is no more solid than all the other lead their informant gave them. But they are less connected so the judge feels better giving a warrant in this case. They do a lot on a subjective basis.

PRESS? Yes. Guttenberg style. A daily is still just a large sheet printed back and front. Censorship against anti-republican article is still considered normal and journalist aren’t that worried about checkingtheir fact, protecting their source and remaining neutral. We are talking early press.

I posted all this during my break at work which is why I don’t have the map ye. I'll post it in a few hours and then you will start by deciding on an approach tactic.[/sblock]

 

[Mal Malenkirk]

Downloap Map

One hour later, a few miles off town and down a little used road, the team is gathered near the access way to the dwarven brothers ranch. They had been led there by a dour little halfling named Jimmi. He was the field observer. His job was to keep Control One constantly updated, a task that the agents themselve usually couldn't do once stuck in a fight. The job required for good stealth, a keen eye, a talent for succinct and precise description as well as an encyclopedic memory. He would hang out, during the operation and report everything he saw.

-''Here we are, people. Now do your thing.'' he said grimly.

[sblock=ooc]
You start in the upper left. We are out of combat. You can deploy as you see fit. I placed no monsters because there are none in sight. The forest hides everything.

As long as you stand north of the forrest or the opening of the road to the ranch, no stealth check is needed (so plated character need not worry). As soon as you step in the forest, you need to use stealth (branch cracks and all that).

Dark green (DG) is thick wood. It's difficult terrain (1/2 move).

If you stand in a DG square and someone has no other DG square between him and you, you have cover. (i.e, you are at M15 and he is at M18).

If you stand in a DG square and have one DG square between you and the foe, you have superior cover and he has cover. (i.e, you stand at M14 and he is ay M18).

If there are two full DG square between you and a target, there is no line of sight either way. You can't shoot blind through it either. Consider it like a wall, you are sure to hit a tree.

Light Green (LG) is tall grass and bushes. You can move normally, you have no cover while standing. If you are prone, you have full cover from a target 10 square away and you have cover from a target 9 to 3 square away.

Remember ; You can only initiate stealth if you have superiorl cover and you can only move stealthily if you have at least cover (or concealment).

Therefore, if you are four square away from an enemy and in LG, you can't drop to the ground and suddenly disappear. But if you are already stealthy, you can keep making check and potentially crawl up to 3 square away from a target before getting spotted. Similarly, if you are on the edge of a DG square and snipe someone, you need to move deeper in the wood one square to gain full cover again and re-attempt stealth.

Brown square are just beaten path. Nothing special about it.

West building is barn or warehouse, east is a house, little white square south of the house is the backhouse (toilet).

The fine line north of the house that you can barely see unless you download the mpa and see it as it was intended ( ) is the fence to their corral.

Obviously you should start by deploying non-stealthy characters somewhere on the map (tell me where and I'll place you) while stealthy player can attempt to get in advantageous position.

If you try to stealth through the forest, a single check will see you (or not) right to the edge of the forest.

A failed check will simply see you reach destination but be spotted and fight will start immediately with no suprise round.

When someone has LOS I will place the opposition.
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