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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Goonalan" data-source="post: 9762102" data-attributes="member: 16069">Not KotSSession #015a: The Crying Game.The Inspectors.Chromium Malifax aka C-Fax (Rob), Male Silver Dragonborn (Noble) Paladin of Bahamut Level 2Mavis Golightly aka Mave (Sandy), Female Half-Elf (Acolyte) Cleric of Chauntea Level 2Arbuthnot McGow aka McGow (Al), Male Mountain Dwarf (Soldier) Fighter Level 2Snakebite (Kenji), Female Half-Orc (Outlander) Monk Level 2Travis Pickle (Yui), Male Lightfoot Halfling (Criminal) Rogue Level 2Dead PCsThe Inspector aka Spek (Kenji), Male Rock Gnome (Charlatan) Sorcerer Level 1- Killed in Session #2 by Eggnog the Kobold Dragon Priest.To-do list/Quests-#001 Save Dicky Bird aka The Fat Pidgin, and bring him home safely to Edna Gingster, although Dicky is on his way to the Narthex, which is in the Labyrinth, which is near the Seven Pillared Hall- which is in the Underdark- Bugger. Reward: 2000 XP & 1000gp each.<s>#002 Find and investigate the ancient dragon burial site Dicky was looking for, he might be there. Reward: 250 XP.</s> COMPLETE<s>#003 Destroy the kobold menace, including their leader- ‘Chopper.’ Reward: 250 XP & 75gp, with 1gp paid for every kobold tail handed in.</s> COMPLETE#004 Stop Orcus-worshipping Karl’s ritual to bring an undead army to Kirkgate. Basically, save the village, begs (eventually) Lord Crumble. Karl is in Kirkgate. 1000 XP & 500gp reward.#005 Find/Save Cheggers. That's it really, the PCs just need to find/save Cheggers (he’s with Karl, if he’s still alive), for Fionulla (the spy). Reward 100 XP.#006 Find and kill/capture the Bloody Heck- including any leaders. Recover any prisoners they have kidnapped. Reward: 400 XP & 100gp, with 1gp paid for every member of the Bloody Heck confirmed dead or captured.#007 Find all five symbols of Kurgan Kurgan’s office to open the way below Kirkgate. 1000 XP reward (and the PCs get to keep the items of course). Three items found so far.<s>#008 Save the Lowder’s and their farm from the Bloody Heck slavers. 250 XP reward.</s> COMPLETESo, here we go again. Oh, but there are not too many pictures in this bit- we got into it and completely forgot to take any/many snaps.[ATTACH=full]417879[/ATTACH]Morning has broken at Dragon Castle in the Norwood, the Inspectors are up and at ‘em, and on the road- on horse, as early as they can get going, and with their two pet hobgoblins in tow.However, before we get going with all of that the DM has an announcement for the PCs.Here it is…Three days to go.According to Evil Karl, the voice in the mirror right back at the start- in the ancient dragon treasure/lair/tomb- well, this is what he said-“Our glorious Lord will send me my army in just eight days’ time, and then…”“Kirkgate will be no more!”“Aaaaagh-ha-ha-ha-ha! Ha-ha-ha-ha… Yes…”So, that was five days ago, as of this morning.Three more days and the undead army will be here.Three more days including today, or three more days from today? The answer to that question alas is shrouded in mystery.The announcement however concentrates minds, the Inspectors need to get a wriggle-on, is the consensus.And so…It’s a five-hour journey back to Kirkgate, but the adventurers have done this route four times already (in the last three days), and so there’s almost no chance of them going astray, and the dice concur, and the PCs are pushing their horses (a little) they want to get back to adventuring today. After dropping the hobgoblins back at Kirkgate.However, not everything goes to plan, there are few stop and stare moments in the last few hours of the Inspectors journey. The stop and stare coming courtesy of the farmers and their hands, in the fields- it’s summer, there’s always work to be done on the farm, and two heavily armoured hobgoblins cause comment. Lots of comment.The Inspectors are having to think on their feet- how much of the story do they divulge, and so- there are more rolls to be made here.The story is, and as enunciated by Mavis in her marketplace speech back in Kirkgate- there are hob/goblins in the Norwood, the Inspectors were/are just taking care of business. The various rolls to convince are all good, although the DC was only 11. The adventurers have already earned their stripes here- they took care of the kobold bandits, even the farmers in the sticks have heard the tale told- they want to believe.[ATTACH=full]417880[/ATTACH]The Inspectors (well, some of them- the ones that do chatting) convince Mulch Picklehew (and a variety of his co-stereotypes) that the two hobgoblins are the remnants of the Bloody Heck gang, and that- ‘everything is under control’.And a little later in the conversation some fool says (you know who you are Rob/C-Fax)- ‘There’s nothing to worry about.’The next bit is therefore inevitable.And I had it planned anyway.So, five hours from breakfast and the Inspectors and their new-found hobgoblin chums are back in Kirkgate, and… they’re the object of some rather nasty (maybe) stares from folk in the village here. Folk that should be waving, and smiling, and…Eventually the tide breaks.Some time later we get to this…[ATTACH=full]417881[/ATTACH]Although it’s not exactly a mob.At least not yet.This is encounter #20, although the PCs didn’t figure this out until a while later.When I told them.[spoiler= The Bad Guys]Enc#20 What the hell is going on in Kirkgate? 675 XP CR ? Not Very Deadly.This is a skill challenge, of sorts, the good folk of Kirkgate have questions (approx. eight of them), the villagers are convinced that there’s something untoward going on in the Kirkgate region/village, they want answers.[/spoiler]So, the Inspectors make it back to Kirkgate, and with two (more) hobgoblins in tow- bound for the jailhouse.The villagers, and in the first instance it is Gonk Hammerschlagg doing the asking, he wants to know what the heck the Inspectors are doing with more hobgoblins, and where did the hobgoblin the Lowder’s brought into town yesterday come from, also- why has there been a goblin languishing in the cells for a half-a-tenday?The villagers nearby get excitable, they want an answer.But Mavis (and friends) weave their story again- the kobold attacks were instigated by the goblin in the jail- he’s called Chopper, the fellow is a member of a hob/goblinoid gang called the Bloody Heck, as are the three hobgoblin prisoners. The Inspectors have been dealing with these miscreants, the Bloody Heck- C-Fax assures the villagers- has been dealt with.And the crowd are quietened, or else mollified, a few of them even thank the Inspectors for their work. This after Mavis and C-Fax, make a few good-ish rollsBut then there’s a second questioner in the crowd, this time it’s Web Crowfoot, owner and proprietor of the Old Gatehouse Inn. He wants to know what has happened to Fionulla, the village kids love the ranger, but she’s gone- disappeared, and last seen heading out into the wilds with the Inspectors?It’s at this point that some of the players figure out what’s going on here.Not that this is an encounter, although I make that clear soon after, but that they are going to be subject to more enquiries here, clearly the good folk of Kirkgate have been gossiping.But, the whereabouts of Fionulla, as elucidated by pretty much all the Inspectors is- the ranger got hurt- attacked and badly bitten by a swarm of rats, this in the castle the good villagers of Kirkgate directed them to, the former home of the Bloody Heck. Fionulla is at the Church of Chauntea, with Sister Margaritta, and expected to make a full recovery- in a few days.The Inspectors are doing very well, the crowd are back on their side, and back to smiles, and back-slapping, even a few more cheers.There’s just one more question, and it’s WH Smythe doing the asking.“What about the undead under the graveyard?”And…And…The silence goes on for a while.Several players (not PCs) make it clear that they are not answering that, back in game- WH Smythe is pointedly looking to C-Fax and Mavis for an answer, mainly because this pair contribute heavily to the chatter- it’s what they do.Also, because the DM fancies his chances.Note, I pointedly don’t allow the Inspectors to go OOC. This is the moment, not the rehearsal.“What about the undead under the graveyard?”And…C-Fax tells the truth, or else some of it.In precis- there’s someone or something laired beneath the graveyard, down in some ancient catacombs accessed through one of the tombs there. There are a few undead, but- the Inspectors are taking care of this- it’s an ongoing situation.Note, not even Mavis (C-Fax’s wife in game and real life) comes to the paladin’s rescue.He’s the lone voice by way of reply.Then we get to the angry mob scene.A little while later WH Smythe let’s C-Fax know that he was asking about the gnome the Inspectors buried in the graveyard, the sextant has been telling everyone (in the Inn last night) that the gnome (or else its corpse) smashed its way out of its coffin and burrowed down beneath the graveyard.The mob push, pull, and sometimes very politely (McGow is not happy) point the Inspectors towards Kirkgate Manor, home of Lord Gethwyn Crumble.The villagers are in tumult.[ATTACH=full]417882[/ATTACH]Here we all are. Well, some of us. Note, there are not many pictures from this bit- everyone was kinda busy and or on one, trying to figure what’s the right/best thing to say, or not say.It’s at this point the DM makes clear that this is an encounter, and the PCs can spend the IP to re-roll, or get advantage on a check.Eight questions- three of them already asked.Oh, and the players, at the end of the encounter, get to vote for who did best. 100 XP extra for the PC with the most votes, then 50 XP, and 25 XP.I’ll not go through all the questions and answers, I’ll just give plaudits to the winners of the extra XPs. Note, the PCs also don’t get a chance to chat with Lord Crumble (or anyone else in the conspiracy) about what they can or can’t say here.They’re on their own and not allowed to consult with each other.But here’s the thing- the cat is out of the bag, and the LG pair (C-Fax and Mavis) are both very much convinced that telling the truth is by far the best policy.Although at the end of it all, when the story has been revealed, well… not quite all of it has made it out into the open- nobody mentions the coming of an undead army- or the fact that the clock is ticking; and in this instance the co-conspirators (Lord Crumble, Rondo & Sister M) are taking their lead from the Inspectors. They too keep schtum about the above.So, the winners.The extra 25 XP goes to Snakebite, I don’t even remember the question she was answering, but the half-orc instead of providing an answer delivers a hagiography of her fellow adventurers, and about how the Inspectors have accepted her into their ‘family’ group. She tells the assembled crowd about her comrades ‘steadfastedness’, their ‘velocity’, and their ‘trueness’.Snakebite uses lots of words she doesn’t know the meaning of, that in context sound sort of right-ish, intermingled with simple truths- at one point she described McGow as ‘a fat hairy ball of angry, but good angry’, or something very similar. At least one player was crying (with laughter) at this point.Note, I gave the players a few minutes to write any notes that they wanted to, should they decide to make an impromptu speech or two in what comes to pass. The no communication with each other rule that I also decreed was hard to enforce for Mavis (Sandy) and C-Fax (Rob) as they’re both sat in the same room.The extra 50 XP goes to Travis, as voted by the players, which is surprising because Travis’ finale was to subtly blame all the other members of the Inspectors for not telling the ‘good villagers’ of Kirkgate sooner. Travis, he makes clear, wanted to let the people know what was going on right from the very start of it all.The truth being Travis never at any point got close to the above conversation, it simply never occurred to him.The halfling follows this revelation with his own hagiography- only the sainthoods are reserved for the good folk of Kirkgate who have shown nothing but kindness to the various members of the Inspectors, and to Travis in particular.The halfling, and this is the last speech that any of the Inspectors make, then rolls a ‘20’.The crowd, at the last, cheer the Inspectors, and Travis in particular, although they still have a bone to pick with Lord Gethwyn Crumble.The 100 XP award?I’ve been trying to get McGow to come to the roleplay party for a while now.Well, this was the one.A little bit of backstory- McGow swears at folk, gets grumpy, grunts, makes the odd comment (in a semi-surly way, mostly) but otherwise just gets on with it. Chatter is for everyone else.But then he got started.So, the first question from the mob now everyone has re-located to Kirkgate Manor, is about the whereabouts of Dicky Bird, the halfling- the Inspectors said (days ago) they came to the village to find? Where is he? Was this a ruse? Have Lord Crumble and the Inspectors been in cahoots from the get-go?The answer, as delivered by Mavis and C-Fax (mostly) is that Dicky is a prisoner of the Bloody Heck, back in their lair in a place called the Labyrinth, which will be the Inspectors next stop once they take care of business here at Kirkgate.And that’s a great answer.But not as great as McGow’s answer.Al (playing McGow) it seems has been bundling it all up.Suddenly McGow is drunk, and loud, and Scottish (via Canada), and maudlin, and sad, and he’s (Al is) an actor, or else he’s worked himself up and into it.Parts of it (his speech) I still don’t understand- it was loud, and (vaguely) Scottish, and three parts gibberish.I got (and the crowd got) that McGow wanted more than anything to get his best mate (Dicky Bird) back, and that he’d run through the Labyrinth on his own ‘in his under-crackers’ to find the little feller, but he can’t- because he needs to see this job (in Kirkgate) through.He cries, or else Al does, he rages, he ad libs throughout everything else that follows, chorusing- in fewer (but much more slurred) words, whatever anyone else is saying, and constantly, pityingly, bemoaning the loss of his “bes’ pal” Dicky Bird.Note, all of the stuff that Al/McGow was doing was also in his backstory, but McGow had not told anyone his backstory, until now.Keep in mind McGow is stomping around the audience chamber in Kirkgate Manor, yelling and shouting, picking up random objects to inspect, crying and sobbing into Jefron Puddleduck’s beard/Lord Gethwyn’s robe, hugging random villagers, he’s really having his moment (and for the best part of maybe 40 minutes).Anyway, he steals the entire scene.There was applause at times, and great big belly laughs, and tears- of course.And like I said up above, the villagers are angry with Lord Crumble for not trusting them with the truth, the Inspectors- in the eyes of the mob- are trying to save them.Although, and again, it’s worth repeating that no one has said anything about the clock-ticking and the impending army of undead.200 XP for McGow, 150 XP for Travis, 125 XP for Snakebite, C-Fax & Mavis (because the last pair did a lot of the heavy lifting).That was ninety minutes- it flew by.Cheers goonalan and the Tokyo Massive.</blockquote>

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