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tragicThaumaturge's 4e Zeitgeist Campaign
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<blockquote data-quote="tragicThaumaturge" data-source="post: 7611811" data-attributes="member: 6975610"><p><strong>Session 2.1</strong></p><p></p><p>We finally started playing through the second adventure, after about a month of trying to get my players to come up with their contacts. Life getting in the way and all that. I won’t go over their contacts right now, and instead I’ll mention them as they come into play. Please forgive any typos, I wrote this in a hurry and there's still so much to cover. I’m trying to be thorough because the roleplaying and decision-making is what really makes this adventure shine, but it ends up being quite lengthy. </p><p></p><p>First I’ll go over the events of the spring, after the players finished Island at the Axis of the World. Jasbeer and Juza spent some time with their families after the harrowing events of the first adventure, while Gwen went on to befriend a group of dockers in an attempt to learn more about their situation. Uzziel, still worried about what he’d seen on Axis island, began researching more about that robot project he’d heard about before, but didn’t manage to learn anything new. Beldrum’s player has been busy and has already missed three sessions, so for now his character is recovering from the severe burns inflicted by Asrabey.</p><p></p><p>Newspapers had been rife with articles accusing the RHC of allowing Duchess Ethelyn to escape to the Dreaming with her fey allies. Both Delft and Saxby knew this wasn’t what had really happened, but it didn’t save the party from being yelled at. To make clear the RHC’s stance against the actions of the Duchess and other terrorist sympathizers, the party was assigned to investigate the activities of Hana “Gale” Soliogn, leading into the second adventure.</p><p></p><p><strong><p style="text-align: center">1st of Summer</p><p></strong></p><p>The party was in their office when their boss Stover Delft entered and told them about their new lead, a murder in the Danoran consulate. The party found his dark humor amusing, which I appreciated. They have an interesting relationship with Stover so far, teasing each other in a good-humored way. After the briefing they left HQ and used their boat to reach North Shore.</p><p></p><p>At the consulate they had a brief conversation with Alfred Bellastair, the officer in charge, who was miffed at being denied entry into the consulate. The constables were annoyed the scene of the crime had been cleaned, but Julian LeBrix assured them there was nothing to investigate, since he had caught the woman stealing from the upper floor and had shot her, causing her to fall and impale herself on the fence. Gwen suggested that next time he should perhaps place greater value on life that on gold, to which he responded that he was simply doing his job.</p><p></p><p>They followed the chief of security to the storage room where the body was and spoke with Braden, Nilasa’s boyfriend. Jasbeer tried to get him to calm down in preparation for uncovering the body, but the man could not handle the sight. He left the room in a hurry and Jasbeer asked LeBrix to go after him and make sure he was OK. Sensing something was wrong Uzziel seized his chance and began searching the body in LeBrix’s absence, and discovered the strange wounds on her scalp, the bail certificate and a receipt with writing on both sides. He also determined the depth of the gunshots and their lethality. </p><p></p><p>Once Julian returned he asked them to take the body and leave, so they took it back to the coroner at the entrance. Meanwhile Juza asked around to see if the staff could provide additional clues, and from Tia Jedeau she learned of a foreign doctor who had been present for a visa appointment, and that consular duNadria had been meeting with a guest in the basement. She was offered brigadeiros and politely accepted, but during the course of the conversation she noticed the secretary was acting strange and seemed overly enthusiastic and craved the chocolate a bit too much. She decided to inspect the sweets and discovered they had been spiked with fey pepper, an illegal drug. She realized almost the entire staff had been drugged.</p><p></p><p>After taking the body to the carriage Jasbeer decided to go ask around the bystanders to see if anyone could corroborate LeBrix’s story. From a passerby she learned that the gunshots had come after Nilasa impaled herself on the fence, which intrigued her. Since most of the people present at the time of the incident had already left she decided to leave for a bit and visit Armelia, a friend of hers who was a total gossip. She owned a posh flower shop in North Shore, so naturally news of the murder had already reached her. From her Jasbeer learned that a man with a goatee had taken a package and pendant from Nilasa, and that whatever had shot the woman had been obscured as if by a veil, giving it the appearance of a shadow.</p><p></p><p>Back at the consulate Gwen and Uzziel convinced LeBrix to take them upstairs to where he had discovered Nilasa stealing. Uzziel, who is a very perceptive man, noticed on passing that someone has tampered with the lock on the consular’s office’s door. LeBrix showed them (as best he could) where Nilasa had been when he found her and where she had been when he shot her. Uzziel realized the distance wasn’t completely accurate considering the depth of the wounds, but that was hardly conclusive. They decided to move the rug and saw a blood stain, but the shape indicated a cut from a slashing weapon, not a puncture from a bullet. They wanted to check the consular’s office but LeBrix told them nothing had happened there, and he didn’t want them bothering the consular. Gwen asked him to recreate the scene to create a distraction while Uzziel drank an elixir of clairvoyance to spy on the consular. He saw him quite busy going through stacks of documents that seemed to be about danoran-owned factories, but from so far away he could not see much else.</p><p></p><p>Believing LeBrix wasn’t being honest with them, Uzziel decided to intimidate him. While they were going down the stair he insinuated that Julian was lying and said they would “report everything” once they got back to HQ, unless he had anything else to add. He used an utility power to gain a +5 to his intimidate check and rolled marvelously, scoring over 20 on his check despite his lack of Charisma. Julian looked visibly nervous and cautiously told them he was glad he could be of help since he was simply doing. His. Job. He suggested they should leave quickly and do theirs, heavily implying that if they wanted more information they should go and investigate elsewhere following whatever leads they had. Uzziel then realized that Julian was not the bad guy, but was simply following orders from his superiors, and that he was terrified and wanted nothing to do with the situation.</p><p></p><p>The group reunited downstairs, thanked LeBrix for his help and left. They discussed what they had discovered and stopped for lunch on their way to Heward’s factory, since he had paid for Nilasa’s bail. Juza’s player was just now learning that she had a cousin, and this came with extra baggage since she also learned that he might be involved in something illegal. And this might be as good a time as any to mention that the players have been having difficulty pronouncing Nilasa’s name, accidentally calling her “linaza”, which means “flaxseed”.</p><p></p><p>As they arrived at Heward’s Alkahest and Etchings the first thing they noticed was the protests in the street. They spoke with the people, who were mostly women, and learned that the owners had locked the workers and were refusing to let them leave until they filled their quota, and even then only if someone came to take their place. They were even refusing to pay them until the protests stopped, so they were basically enslaved. Gwen wanted to do something about it but Jasbeer reminded her that they hadn’t come for this, and it was better if they just talked to Juza’s cousin and left.</p><p></p><p>Inside the factory they found Heward at work, and after pulling him aside they asked him to talk in private. They went to his office and told him what had happened to Nilasa, and he was visibly hurt. He told Juza that Eva (his aunt and her guardian) had told him of a vision she had had, and although he hadn't understood it then he now comprehended it had been about Nilasa’s imminent death. He told the group about his relationship to her and showed them to her room, in which they found nothing of note. They asked about places she frequented, and he said she sometimes went for walks in the Cloudwood, and that she accompanied them when he took the workers to dinner at the Thinking Man’s Tavern. He also told them he was aware she had a boyfriend, but had never met him.</p><p></p><p>Once they had finished asking questions he asked them to give him some privacy and let him talk to his cousin in private, so the rest of the group decided to wait outside. Heward then told Juza that he had visited Eva and had discovered she’d been meeting with Gale, and although he didn’t want her to get in trouble he also didn’t want any more young people to die, lured by the terrorist’s propaganda. So he advised they go talk to her and enlist their help in tracking down Gale.</p><p></p><p>They decided to visit the Thinking Man’s Tavern, since it was nearing sundown. On their way out Heward called out to them and told them of something strange that had happened recently, in case it could help. Some men had come asking to buy alkahest but didn’t wanted him to report the sale, and when he refused they made allusion to the fires that had been destroying factories as of late. They had come twice and both times they had the stench of burnt engine grease with them.</p><p></p><p>In Bosum Strand the party realized they were a bit too early, so they decided to split up and meet at the tavern at 8 p.m. Juza took a hike to visit her contact: an orphan named Rider who lived with his four younger brothers in the Nettles. She asked him to keep an eye out for people who smelled like burnt engine grease. Jasbeer and Gwen went for a drink in a different establishment, called the Golden Scale, which was owned by a dragonborn immigrant named Rasmorn, whom Jasbeer had befriended. Uzziel went to gamble with constabulary money and lost. He wanted to win back his 50 GP so he left the others hanging.</p><p></p><p>At 8 p.m. the three constables met at the Thinking Man’s Tavern. They were quite surprised at the number of patrons, but quickly got to talking. Thames Grimsley was present and he recognized the group, and thanked them for delivering his message to governor Stanfield. He informed them he’d been given permission to form his union and had begun organizing protests, and the constables asked if that was the reason the factories in Parity Lake had locked their workers in. Thames answered that sadly it was, but they were here trying to find lawyers sympathetic to their cause who might help them make a law proposal so they would be released. Of all the constables Gwen seemed the most pleased with the development of the situation, and I assume the player was not only glad but actually surprised anything at all had come of it. She congratulated him for his work and he responded that this was as much his victory as it was theirs.</p><p></p><p>After the chat Gwen remained on the first floor, since she wanted to talk to Thames and his companions a bit more. Jasbeer and Juza went upstairs to talk to Barb, having been tipped off by a waitress. Jasbeer began the conversation, and upon telling Bard about Nilasa’s death the old woman screamed with anguish, which caused Tad Hilly to come make sure she was OK. They assured him they hadn’t done anything to her and just wanted to talk, and Barb agreed to talk to them outside on the balcony. Jasbeer continued telling her about what had happened, but upon hearing the accusations they were pinning on Nilasa the woman got angry and told them to check their facts before coming here and making accusations. She walked out on them and went inside, with Jasbeer visibly annoyed. She tried to press the issue, which only caused the old woman more distress. The whole bar went silent and all eyes were on them. Uzziel arrived at that precise moment, making things more awkward.</p><p></p><p>The other constables got Jasbeer to shut up and Thames asked them what had happened. Jasbeer explained the situation and Thames told them to sit down and wait for him while he talked to Barb. He eventually returned and told them she didn’t want to talk to them, but he had convinced her to tell him about other people who might tell them more about Nilasa. Jasbeer was not letting go, insisting they had to talk to her, but everyone else agreed it was better to let her be, lest they got on the wrong side of everyone here.</p><p></p><p>First they went to talk to the Professors, and Hennet Rinus told them he would not follow the ritual of interrogation, and proposed that instead the constables should answer his questions first, and then he would talk. Jasbeer was already not in a great mood and this only served to anger her even further. She comes from a family of farmers and never received formal education, so she dislikes snobbish people who look down on others because they are more knowledgeable. Now in my opinion Hennet might be a snob, but he isn’t particularly unlikeable. I would even argue that his attempt to make the constables think about what they are doing is conductive to a more worthwhile discussion. But in that moment Jasbeer was having none of it. She got angry and sharply told Hennet that what made their authority legitimate was that they had been invested with that power, and he should comply. Naturally the man dismissed her, which made her even angrier. The others realized she was about to cause a scene and told her to leave and let Uzziel answer the man’s questions. He answered as best he could, which prompted even more questions, until at last he implied that their authority was legitimized by the people whom they represented, and that those people had conferred that power to them because they ultimately trusted them (or al least this is what I understood from his answers, and thus what Hennet understood). He asked Uzziel if they were really trustworthy and after assuring him they just wanted to know who had killed Nilasa and why, he decided he’d messed around with them enough and told them what he knew.</p><p></p><p>Meanwhile Jasbeer went to talk to the Band, who had just finished playing a song by Rock Rackus. I took a gamble and had Jered Lawman attempt to make a deal with her - in exchange for information he wanted her to convince a group of policemen to leave their posts on the night of the 5th. She showed willingness but wanted to know what they were going to do, so Jered told her about their plan. He assured her they didn't want to hurt anybody, just throw a ship’s cargo overboard. Deciding this was fairly innocuous she agreed, and Jered told her about the brigands who Nilasa associated with, even going so far as to tell her how to find them.</p><p></p><p>Having gotten the information they were looking for the group decided to leave and rest for the night, but Uzziel and Juza had to stop by HQ first because Uzziel wanted to check Nilasa’s clothes for hidden pockets (he had missed the DC in the consulate, but since the player realized he hadn’t thought about checking for hidden pockets I decided to let him try again) and Juza wanted to go get some things they had requisitioned. After checking Nilasa's clothes Uzziel discovered a vial that still had traces of an invisibility potion.</p><p></p><p>Afterwards they all said goodbye and went their separate ways, and Juza took a carriage because her house was a bit far from HQ. During the trip she conversed with the driver, who told her about the <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /><img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /><img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /><img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /><img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /><img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /> day he had had. A man who claimed to be a doctor had come into his carriage, stained his seats with blood and ditched him without paying. Juza prompted him for more information and discovered he’d picked up the man from an alley in North Shore, near the Danoran consulate, and had already talked to the police about it, who had told him to go to the Constabulary, but by the time he got there everyone had already left (he hadn’t realized Juza was a constable). She asked him about the place where the man had gotten off the carriage, which gave her a new lead: The House of Blue Birds.</p><p></p><p>A few thoughts: players are becoming more comfortable roleplaying their characters, and their personality traits are beginning to shine through more clearly than before. They were somewhat traumatized by the first adventure so they spent all their resources in gearing up for combat, and were surprised by the lack of fights so far. Jasbeer is beginning to exhibit a “bad cop” attitude that will make things difficult for the group down the line (we’re already on day 5 of summer). She has also shown she’s more than willing to break the law to suit her needs, exhibited by the deal she made with Jered and her omitting to hand over the golden icon of Urim from the first adventure, which she decided to keep as a memento. Uzziel’s ludopathy will probably get him in trouble if he keeps it up, but it’ll make Adventure 4 very interesting once they meet a certain dwarf.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="tragicThaumaturge, post: 7611811, member: 6975610"] [b]Session 2.1[/b] We finally started playing through the second adventure, after about a month of trying to get my players to come up with their contacts. Life getting in the way and all that. I won’t go over their contacts right now, and instead I’ll mention them as they come into play. Please forgive any typos, I wrote this in a hurry and there's still so much to cover. I’m trying to be thorough because the roleplaying and decision-making is what really makes this adventure shine, but it ends up being quite lengthy. First I’ll go over the events of the spring, after the players finished Island at the Axis of the World. Jasbeer and Juza spent some time with their families after the harrowing events of the first adventure, while Gwen went on to befriend a group of dockers in an attempt to learn more about their situation. Uzziel, still worried about what he’d seen on Axis island, began researching more about that robot project he’d heard about before, but didn’t manage to learn anything new. Beldrum’s player has been busy and has already missed three sessions, so for now his character is recovering from the severe burns inflicted by Asrabey. Newspapers had been rife with articles accusing the RHC of allowing Duchess Ethelyn to escape to the Dreaming with her fey allies. Both Delft and Saxby knew this wasn’t what had really happened, but it didn’t save the party from being yelled at. To make clear the RHC’s stance against the actions of the Duchess and other terrorist sympathizers, the party was assigned to investigate the activities of Hana “Gale” Soliogn, leading into the second adventure. [B][CENTER]1st of Summer[/CENTER][/B] The party was in their office when their boss Stover Delft entered and told them about their new lead, a murder in the Danoran consulate. The party found his dark humor amusing, which I appreciated. They have an interesting relationship with Stover so far, teasing each other in a good-humored way. After the briefing they left HQ and used their boat to reach North Shore. At the consulate they had a brief conversation with Alfred Bellastair, the officer in charge, who was miffed at being denied entry into the consulate. The constables were annoyed the scene of the crime had been cleaned, but Julian LeBrix assured them there was nothing to investigate, since he had caught the woman stealing from the upper floor and had shot her, causing her to fall and impale herself on the fence. Gwen suggested that next time he should perhaps place greater value on life that on gold, to which he responded that he was simply doing his job. They followed the chief of security to the storage room where the body was and spoke with Braden, Nilasa’s boyfriend. Jasbeer tried to get him to calm down in preparation for uncovering the body, but the man could not handle the sight. He left the room in a hurry and Jasbeer asked LeBrix to go after him and make sure he was OK. Sensing something was wrong Uzziel seized his chance and began searching the body in LeBrix’s absence, and discovered the strange wounds on her scalp, the bail certificate and a receipt with writing on both sides. He also determined the depth of the gunshots and their lethality. Once Julian returned he asked them to take the body and leave, so they took it back to the coroner at the entrance. Meanwhile Juza asked around to see if the staff could provide additional clues, and from Tia Jedeau she learned of a foreign doctor who had been present for a visa appointment, and that consular duNadria had been meeting with a guest in the basement. She was offered brigadeiros and politely accepted, but during the course of the conversation she noticed the secretary was acting strange and seemed overly enthusiastic and craved the chocolate a bit too much. She decided to inspect the sweets and discovered they had been spiked with fey pepper, an illegal drug. She realized almost the entire staff had been drugged. After taking the body to the carriage Jasbeer decided to go ask around the bystanders to see if anyone could corroborate LeBrix’s story. From a passerby she learned that the gunshots had come after Nilasa impaled herself on the fence, which intrigued her. Since most of the people present at the time of the incident had already left she decided to leave for a bit and visit Armelia, a friend of hers who was a total gossip. She owned a posh flower shop in North Shore, so naturally news of the murder had already reached her. From her Jasbeer learned that a man with a goatee had taken a package and pendant from Nilasa, and that whatever had shot the woman had been obscured as if by a veil, giving it the appearance of a shadow. Back at the consulate Gwen and Uzziel convinced LeBrix to take them upstairs to where he had discovered Nilasa stealing. Uzziel, who is a very perceptive man, noticed on passing that someone has tampered with the lock on the consular’s office’s door. LeBrix showed them (as best he could) where Nilasa had been when he found her and where she had been when he shot her. Uzziel realized the distance wasn’t completely accurate considering the depth of the wounds, but that was hardly conclusive. They decided to move the rug and saw a blood stain, but the shape indicated a cut from a slashing weapon, not a puncture from a bullet. They wanted to check the consular’s office but LeBrix told them nothing had happened there, and he didn’t want them bothering the consular. Gwen asked him to recreate the scene to create a distraction while Uzziel drank an elixir of clairvoyance to spy on the consular. He saw him quite busy going through stacks of documents that seemed to be about danoran-owned factories, but from so far away he could not see much else. Believing LeBrix wasn’t being honest with them, Uzziel decided to intimidate him. While they were going down the stair he insinuated that Julian was lying and said they would “report everything” once they got back to HQ, unless he had anything else to add. He used an utility power to gain a +5 to his intimidate check and rolled marvelously, scoring over 20 on his check despite his lack of Charisma. Julian looked visibly nervous and cautiously told them he was glad he could be of help since he was simply doing. His. Job. He suggested they should leave quickly and do theirs, heavily implying that if they wanted more information they should go and investigate elsewhere following whatever leads they had. Uzziel then realized that Julian was not the bad guy, but was simply following orders from his superiors, and that he was terrified and wanted nothing to do with the situation. The group reunited downstairs, thanked LeBrix for his help and left. They discussed what they had discovered and stopped for lunch on their way to Heward’s factory, since he had paid for Nilasa’s bail. Juza’s player was just now learning that she had a cousin, and this came with extra baggage since she also learned that he might be involved in something illegal. And this might be as good a time as any to mention that the players have been having difficulty pronouncing Nilasa’s name, accidentally calling her “linaza”, which means “flaxseed”. As they arrived at Heward’s Alkahest and Etchings the first thing they noticed was the protests in the street. They spoke with the people, who were mostly women, and learned that the owners had locked the workers and were refusing to let them leave until they filled their quota, and even then only if someone came to take their place. They were even refusing to pay them until the protests stopped, so they were basically enslaved. Gwen wanted to do something about it but Jasbeer reminded her that they hadn’t come for this, and it was better if they just talked to Juza’s cousin and left. Inside the factory they found Heward at work, and after pulling him aside they asked him to talk in private. They went to his office and told him what had happened to Nilasa, and he was visibly hurt. He told Juza that Eva (his aunt and her guardian) had told him of a vision she had had, and although he hadn't understood it then he now comprehended it had been about Nilasa’s imminent death. He told the group about his relationship to her and showed them to her room, in which they found nothing of note. They asked about places she frequented, and he said she sometimes went for walks in the Cloudwood, and that she accompanied them when he took the workers to dinner at the Thinking Man’s Tavern. He also told them he was aware she had a boyfriend, but had never met him. Once they had finished asking questions he asked them to give him some privacy and let him talk to his cousin in private, so the rest of the group decided to wait outside. Heward then told Juza that he had visited Eva and had discovered she’d been meeting with Gale, and although he didn’t want her to get in trouble he also didn’t want any more young people to die, lured by the terrorist’s propaganda. So he advised they go talk to her and enlist their help in tracking down Gale. They decided to visit the Thinking Man’s Tavern, since it was nearing sundown. On their way out Heward called out to them and told them of something strange that had happened recently, in case it could help. Some men had come asking to buy alkahest but didn’t wanted him to report the sale, and when he refused they made allusion to the fires that had been destroying factories as of late. They had come twice and both times they had the stench of burnt engine grease with them. In Bosum Strand the party realized they were a bit too early, so they decided to split up and meet at the tavern at 8 p.m. Juza took a hike to visit her contact: an orphan named Rider who lived with his four younger brothers in the Nettles. She asked him to keep an eye out for people who smelled like burnt engine grease. Jasbeer and Gwen went for a drink in a different establishment, called the Golden Scale, which was owned by a dragonborn immigrant named Rasmorn, whom Jasbeer had befriended. Uzziel went to gamble with constabulary money and lost. He wanted to win back his 50 GP so he left the others hanging. At 8 p.m. the three constables met at the Thinking Man’s Tavern. They were quite surprised at the number of patrons, but quickly got to talking. Thames Grimsley was present and he recognized the group, and thanked them for delivering his message to governor Stanfield. He informed them he’d been given permission to form his union and had begun organizing protests, and the constables asked if that was the reason the factories in Parity Lake had locked their workers in. Thames answered that sadly it was, but they were here trying to find lawyers sympathetic to their cause who might help them make a law proposal so they would be released. Of all the constables Gwen seemed the most pleased with the development of the situation, and I assume the player was not only glad but actually surprised anything at all had come of it. She congratulated him for his work and he responded that this was as much his victory as it was theirs. After the chat Gwen remained on the first floor, since she wanted to talk to Thames and his companions a bit more. Jasbeer and Juza went upstairs to talk to Barb, having been tipped off by a waitress. Jasbeer began the conversation, and upon telling Bard about Nilasa’s death the old woman screamed with anguish, which caused Tad Hilly to come make sure she was OK. They assured him they hadn’t done anything to her and just wanted to talk, and Barb agreed to talk to them outside on the balcony. Jasbeer continued telling her about what had happened, but upon hearing the accusations they were pinning on Nilasa the woman got angry and told them to check their facts before coming here and making accusations. She walked out on them and went inside, with Jasbeer visibly annoyed. She tried to press the issue, which only caused the old woman more distress. The whole bar went silent and all eyes were on them. Uzziel arrived at that precise moment, making things more awkward. The other constables got Jasbeer to shut up and Thames asked them what had happened. Jasbeer explained the situation and Thames told them to sit down and wait for him while he talked to Barb. He eventually returned and told them she didn’t want to talk to them, but he had convinced her to tell him about other people who might tell them more about Nilasa. Jasbeer was not letting go, insisting they had to talk to her, but everyone else agreed it was better to let her be, lest they got on the wrong side of everyone here. First they went to talk to the Professors, and Hennet Rinus told them he would not follow the ritual of interrogation, and proposed that instead the constables should answer his questions first, and then he would talk. Jasbeer was already not in a great mood and this only served to anger her even further. She comes from a family of farmers and never received formal education, so she dislikes snobbish people who look down on others because they are more knowledgeable. Now in my opinion Hennet might be a snob, but he isn’t particularly unlikeable. I would even argue that his attempt to make the constables think about what they are doing is conductive to a more worthwhile discussion. But in that moment Jasbeer was having none of it. She got angry and sharply told Hennet that what made their authority legitimate was that they had been invested with that power, and he should comply. Naturally the man dismissed her, which made her even angrier. The others realized she was about to cause a scene and told her to leave and let Uzziel answer the man’s questions. He answered as best he could, which prompted even more questions, until at last he implied that their authority was legitimized by the people whom they represented, and that those people had conferred that power to them because they ultimately trusted them (or al least this is what I understood from his answers, and thus what Hennet understood). He asked Uzziel if they were really trustworthy and after assuring him they just wanted to know who had killed Nilasa and why, he decided he’d messed around with them enough and told them what he knew. Meanwhile Jasbeer went to talk to the Band, who had just finished playing a song by Rock Rackus. I took a gamble and had Jered Lawman attempt to make a deal with her - in exchange for information he wanted her to convince a group of policemen to leave their posts on the night of the 5th. She showed willingness but wanted to know what they were going to do, so Jered told her about their plan. He assured her they didn't want to hurt anybody, just throw a ship’s cargo overboard. Deciding this was fairly innocuous she agreed, and Jered told her about the brigands who Nilasa associated with, even going so far as to tell her how to find them. Having gotten the information they were looking for the group decided to leave and rest for the night, but Uzziel and Juza had to stop by HQ first because Uzziel wanted to check Nilasa’s clothes for hidden pockets (he had missed the DC in the consulate, but since the player realized he hadn’t thought about checking for hidden pockets I decided to let him try again) and Juza wanted to go get some things they had requisitioned. After checking Nilasa's clothes Uzziel discovered a vial that still had traces of an invisibility potion. Afterwards they all said goodbye and went their separate ways, and Juza took a carriage because her house was a bit far from HQ. During the trip she conversed with the driver, who told her about the :):):):):):) day he had had. A man who claimed to be a doctor had come into his carriage, stained his seats with blood and ditched him without paying. Juza prompted him for more information and discovered he’d picked up the man from an alley in North Shore, near the Danoran consulate, and had already talked to the police about it, who had told him to go to the Constabulary, but by the time he got there everyone had already left (he hadn’t realized Juza was a constable). She asked him about the place where the man had gotten off the carriage, which gave her a new lead: The House of Blue Birds. A few thoughts: players are becoming more comfortable roleplaying their characters, and their personality traits are beginning to shine through more clearly than before. They were somewhat traumatized by the first adventure so they spent all their resources in gearing up for combat, and were surprised by the lack of fights so far. Jasbeer is beginning to exhibit a “bad cop” attitude that will make things difficult for the group down the line (we’re already on day 5 of summer). She has also shown she’s more than willing to break the law to suit her needs, exhibited by the deal she made with Jered and her omitting to hand over the golden icon of Urim from the first adventure, which she decided to keep as a memento. Uzziel’s ludopathy will probably get him in trouble if he keeps it up, but it’ll make Adventure 4 very interesting once they meet a certain dwarf. [/QUOTE]
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tragicThaumaturge's 4e Zeitgeist Campaign
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