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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Libertad" data-source="post: 9769024" data-attributes="member: 6750502"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/g9YpHC8.png" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="width: 596px" />This chapter also takes place in Al'Kirat, although is significantly shorter due to being virtually in one location. Master Zakaro is a wealthy businessman who hosts an exclusive auction of unique and expensive items every year at an event known as the Enchanted Gala. It is invitation-only, kept secret from the general populace, and a Divine Relic known as the Knife of Topaz is one of the items for sale. While stealing the Knife is always an option, PCs will need to prove that they are of wealthy means to even be allowed to participate in the auction, so the book recommends checking that the party has 5,000 gold minimum, with 7 to 10,000 recommended.The PCs have various means of learning about the Gala, such as via Prophecy or Lilith telling them about it, or learning from the Adventurer's Guild that a knife of unknown properties was sold to Zakaro after the adventuring party that obtained it couldn't figure out its true purpose. Securing an invitation can be done either via approaching Zakaro by offering their own expensive magic item to sell to him, or via sponsorship by a well-respected figure in the city. Sultana Zanara Zin'Zara can give the PCs 5,000 gold if they convince her of the dagger's necessity in defending the city, and she will personally accompany them to the Gala. If the Veiled Syndicate pulls some strings, Lilith will give the party 5,000 gold and withdraw her two jackalwere agents from the pool of bidders.The Gala itself traditionally rotates locations every year to make it difficult for information leaks to reveal it to outsiders, but during the adventure path it takes place at the Eternal Oasis Theater. The Theater has both obviously-armed and plainclothes guards on patrol, and a staff member acting as doorman pats people down for concealed weapons. There's a gambling hall where PCs might be able to win some money, and even talk one of the bidders (a dwarf by the name of Doragummir) into indulging in his gambling addiction and potentially losing up to 2,000 gold pieces. This tactic will make him able to bid less at the auction.There's many guests at the auction, but only three are given significant writeups. Said guests all have their own spending limit of total gold pieces, preferred items they will bid more on than the others, and even tactics for the PCs nonviolently eliminating them as competition. The first bidder is the dwarven historian Doragummir Stonehall, who knows that the Knife of Topaz was crafted as part of a joint Anubian-Dwarvish project and thus wants to buy it as a means of restoring his family's honor. In addition to his gambling addiction, he can also be persuaded into bidding on the Two-Barreled Grimfire Pistol, and PCs who manage to get the dagger can then later sell it to Doragummir once the Anubian invasion is over.The second bidder is Yasar-al-Fajr, the efreeti ambassador to Al'Kirat from the City of Brass. He is at the auction at the behest of that City's reigning Sultan to look for powerful items, and he has his eyes set on the Knife of Topaz. PCs can eliminate him as a bidder by convincing him that the Dagger is not as powerful as believed, in which case he doesn't want to risk the reputation loss of spending money on an "overpriced trinket." If Al'Kirat's Sultana is sponsoring the PCs, al-Fajr will not risk breaking diplomatic protocol by competing against her.The last two bidders work together as a group: they're Steve and Marie, a pair of jackalweres in human form acting on behalf of the Veiled Syndicate. Lilith has an interest in the Knife after scrying upon it, discovering that it is a Divine Relic in the process. The jackalweres have the lowest budget of gold out of the bidders, meaning they are unlikely to win unless the PCs sabotage the two other bidders. They can be taken out of the equation via Lilith's sponsoring the party, or if the PCs exploit their lack of understanding human/tiefling social customs to cause them to attract too much attention and thus get them to leave out of fear of blowing their cover.Every bidder has a write-up of what they plan to do with the Knife, and where they will transport it once it's in their possession. As can be expected, all of these options provide the opportunity for the PCs to buy/steal the Relic for themselves.<img src="https://i.imgur.com/ugKDZke.png" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="width: 287px" />The Auction itself consists of three items plus as many others as the DM deems suitable. Each item is presented onstage one at a time, with Master Zakaro explaining its function, history, and value before setting a starting bid. Bidders must raise their hand and clearly state their bid, which must exceed the prior bid by at least 50 gold pieces. Once a price surpasses 1,000 gold, the minimum bid increases to 100 gold, and to 500 once it surpasses 5,000. At any time, Zakaro will countdown from 5 to 0 to finalize the sale.The first item for sale is a Two-Barreled Grimfire Pistol. Also included with the purchase is a satchel of gunpowder and a private meeting with a dwarven gunslinger who will teach the buyer how to handle and reload it. The Grimfire Pistol can be shot twice before needing to be reloaded (also twice), and the gunslinger can grant proficiency to the buyer. The item starts at 500 gold before settling at 1,100, with the jackalweres going into a bidding war with the PCs if they intervene. Doragummir will win it if the PCs convince him to bid on it.The second item is the Knife of Topaz, which is desired by all other bidders. There is no starting bid listed. Without interference from the PCs, it will be claimed by the efreeti for 12,000 gold pieces. But if the PCs sabotage all three other bidders and don't get it themselves, it will be sold for 4,500 gold pieces to a tiefling scholar who turns out to be a close associate of Rumbold Tomekeeper. So even if the PCs don't bid for it, they can still obtain it in a roundabout way as their diligence against the other bidders pays off in spades.The final item is actually a creature, a battle-trained hippopotamus named Babi. It was originally owned by orcs from O'grila, who view such creatures as an exotic animal for pet-keeping. Babi can also follow commands in the Orcish language, and is trained to travel across arid environments such as the Wasteland. Her initial value is 150 gold pieces, with a maximum value of 750 gold before being bought by a tiefling dinosaur handler. Babi uses her own unique stat block rather than the default Hippo from the Monster Manual. She's a CR 2 creature who has advantage on saves versus fright, can't swim but avoids penalties to movement and attacks while in watery terrain if her feet can touch the ground, and her bite can grapple and restrain foes while her tackle can push back and knock prone targets.The chapter wraps up with six sample magic items to add to the auction as well as brief suggestions for including ones of the DM's choice. Either way, these less-important bids can be summarized as opposed Deception/Persuasion checks to see whether the PCs "buy" the item at a 20% discount or increase.As for the Knife of Topaz, it is a magic dagger that can be inserted into the heart of a willing, unconscious, or restrained creature. It doesn't harm them, but extracts hidden knowledge the target creature knows, but the Knife can only ever be used on that particular creature once. The Knife can also convert any fire damage of the attuned wielder's spells and abilities into radiant damage, or radiant damage into fire damage.Thoughts So Far: Despite being the shortest of the adventure chapters, the Enchanted Gala provides a good set-up with multiple avenues for success. PCs interested in other items must balance their desires with ensuring that they have enough money to claim the Divine Relic. Exploiting the weaknesses of other bidders and using social connections to gain funds for the auction can help otherwise cash-strapped parties. I would've liked to see more detail on running the auction as a heist. There are writeups and stat blocks for security and various NPCs, but there isn't much more than that, like what would happen if a fight breaks out and how the other bidders will react. Breaking into the Gala is boiled down to a list of suggested skill checks and gold investments in one short paragraph. While there are writeups for what the NPC bidders plan on doing with the Knife, I can see a lot of groups deciding to try and get the item as soon as possible.Join us next time as we fight a battalion of Anubian tomb raiders in Chapter 9: the Sunken City of Anan'Thul!</blockquote>

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