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Finding the Spark (Pathfinder 1E Quest)

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Using a distillery to kill people and grind up their bones for drugs, both oddly fitting and horrible to imagine. It would only be worse if they were using a slaughterhouse.

@Goldfish should Kori do a divination about possible threats at the distillery? Get some kind of forewarning to help with planning? Or is it too soon since we did last one?

Should we send Sirim and Cob to scout out distillery since they have the best stealth of party while we gather backup?

Speaking of backup, we should get the iruxi warriors if we can since we know for sure we can trust and rely on them. And maybe our crusader merc friends if they are staying in the same area? We've worked with them before, they like us, and we can pay them too for this.

[X] Goldfish
 
Massgamer said:
Using a distillery to kill people and grind up their bones for drugs, both oddly fitting and horrible to imagine. It would only be worse if they were using a slaughterhouse.

@Goldfish should Kori do a divination about possible threats at the distillery? Get some kind of forewarning to help with planning? Or is it too soon since we did last one?

Should we send Sirim and Cob to scout out distillery since they have the best stealth of party while we gather backup?

Speaking of backup, we should get the iruxi warriors if we can since we know for sure we can trust and rely on them. And maybe our crusader merc friends if they are staying in the same area? We've worked with them before, they like us, and we can pay them too for this.

[X] Goldfish
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We may or may not have time to perform a Divination. Not gonna commit to it yet, though. We still have to get to the Pathfinder Lodge and speak with them to see what kind of forces we can gather.

Cob and/or Sirim will probably end up scouting before we hit the distillery, but we'll have to see how things look when we get there and what kind of planning needs to be done there. Too early to decide to send them out for scouting, IMO.

I'm still not convinced we should get Leontas' crew or the other Iruxi to involved in this. Let's see what kind of help we can secure from the Pathfinders before we decide whether we'll bring them in on it. One thing to consider is that our group is warded and disguised, but any of our associates we bring with us aren't going to have that advantage, so at a minimum we have to worry about is them being tied to us, and our identities becoming more commonly known.
 
Would be against bringing the Iruxi warriors, but am 30/70 on Leontas crew. They are a bit too low-level, but the drow worship demons, and the mercs are specialized anti-demon forces. There might be some synergy there.

On the other hand, the bigger crowd we bring the more efficient enemy crowd control will be, and I expect quite a bit of it from a race famed for alchemy and sorcery.

I'd keep in mind the remainder of Captain Scorpio's party, too. Their mage knows Cloudkill, and they will be involved at some point or the other.
 
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OK, lets see if the pathfinders are interested in fighting drow.
Adhoc vote count started by DragonParadox on Nov 15, 2024 at 5:05 AM, finished with 27 posts and 5 votes.
  • [X] Time is of the essence. Seek out the Pathfinders immediately. They likely have someone manning the local Lodge even at this late hour, who can in turn call in nearby members on short notice. If necessary, we can pay them for their assistance, but try to instead sell them on the idea of putting down a great evil in their city, and beneath it, and by doing so earning the favor of powerful people, namely the governor of Cassomir and possibly the Grand Duchess Fahlspar.
    -[X] Since we are likely to soon be going into battle with him again, ask Sir Pisca to avail himself of those pieces of equipment captured from the pirates which could improve his abilities (such as the +2 CHA headband, +2 CON amulet, etc). We will also lend him a +2 DEX belt and +1 Ring of Protection.
    -[X] As the group travels to the Pathfinder Lodge, Kori will cast a Divine Favor spell into Cob and Gorok's Rings of Spell Storing. Mina will cast an Invisibility spell into Cob's and Sirim will cast Mirror Image into Gorok's.
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Arc 9 Post 50: A Path Barred
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    • A Path Barred ​

    17th of Kuthona 4707 A.R. (Absalom Reckoning)

    The hollow thud of Gorok's fist against the door of the lodge echoes down a half empty street. With midnight come and gone even the most determined of drunks had long since found their beds, and no beggars dare plead for alms so near the gate of castle Greyguard lest the captain thinks to 'reward' them with a collar and a pick for breaking stone in the vaults deep below the earth. No answer comes for long enough that Pisca grows impatient of 'scribblers and dabblers'. Finally, the slit opens in the door to reveal golden elvish eyes, the Venture-Captain himself, the first sign of trouble...

    "We're not taking visitors, no contracts, and no applicants!"

    ...and that is the second, you think "Well then it's a good thing we don't need to be taken," you call aloud, still under glamor but hoping he recognizes your voice.

    Ulenar opens the door, though only so much as you need to step through, and once past the door you drop your glamor, much to his poorly hidden chagrin.

    "Made a decision, have you?" A snappish tone does little to bury his worry.

    "We require aid against elves from below," Gorok is nothing if not direct. "They grind medicine-poisons from the bones of slaves, some they spread, most they take below to the city of Zirnakaynin."

    "Look, I'm not sure what stories the Guard have been spinning or where they heard that name, but the drug trade needs no more cause than human greed to keep it going, and the Society makes it a policy not to get overly involved in local law enforcement. We police our own, not do the work of local rulers."

    "You seen worried, friend," you offer deliberately, taking an uninvited seat.

    "Well of course I'm..." He stops, closes his eyes, and murmurs some mantra under his breath, prayer or calming words you cannot say which. "The drow incursion is being seen to. We have been warned not to meddle by those with a stake in the matter and a light hand on their bowstrings. First lesson in being a Pathfinder, don't put yourself in a position where you're dodging arrows from both sides if you can help it."

    "Well we can't," Mina proclaims, her tone more-than-hinting than can't is really 'won't'. "Should we consider that us being uninvited to join?"

    Now you can hear Ulenar more clearly, he's definitely cursing his luck. "No, no, if you join I will render what help I may. It would be a poor showing of solidarity otherwise."

    "But not for gold?" she presses.

    "Normally I would ask how much, but given what my report is likely to look from all this appending, that we were bribed into this mess will not help. New members, even field hires, getting into trouble and needing to be bailed out with fire and sword that has rock solid precedent. Not even Gloriana will be able to argue with that. We will get the support we need from Opara."

    "What of information?" Sirim's thoughts slip seamlessly into the conversation. "How much would it cost to tell us who warned you against investigating the drow so we can... stay out of trouble?

    Even before Cob started nodding vigorously along the statement had all the sincerity of a kobold scrap trader, but you can see he's considering it.

    "A thousand gold pieces, I tell you and you were never here tonight. A week from now, if you haven't been chased out of town or killed, we can talk about membership again."

    "A week? After the royal visit?"

    The deepening silence is all the answer you need.

    Does Kori think the Ghosts should do?

    [] Agree to join the Pathfinders on the spot under the previous terms: owe a favor to Ulenar the Unwelcome, x2 Rights of Refusal
    -[] Write in arguments (Optional)

    [] Pay to find out who told the Pathfinders the drow will be handled and that they should stay out (Cost 1,000 gp)
    -[] Write in arguments (Optional)

    [] Leave, you've learned more than enough for free
    -[] Write in arguments (Optional)

    [] Write in

    OOC: Social rolls hidden.
     
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    • We maybe should have dropped a Hermean Potential on Sirim for this. Ah well.

    Don't have time to check, did Mina give Sirma a fortune today?

    If not, I think we should buy the info, and push (sirim diplo + fortune) for if he knows any non-pathfinder high level peeps that he would trust with this delicate situation we can hire in... one hour.
     
    Huh, looks like even more shady shit is going on than I thought.

    I'm guessing it was the Elves that warned the Pathfinders. The timing is suspicious, too. What are they planning to do, wait until the princess is in town to act and save the day? No, they probably wouldn't want the existence of Drow to even become common knowledge. Maybe they want to take advantage of a situation or incident the Drow are planning to cause, likely related to that royal visit.

    It's weird the Pathfinders would be warned ahead of time like this, though. That's bad infosec, unless the Pathfinders already knew about the Drow? Hmm, it would make sense that they would reach out to the local Elven representatives if they discovered Drow operating in the city, I guess.

    @DragonParadox, how long do we have until dawn?
     
    Goldfish said:
    It's weird the Pathfinders would be warned ahead of time like this, though. That's bad infosec, unless the Pathfinders already knew about the Drow?
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    Likely the same way as us. They started looking, found some threads, tugged at them, and were told to drop it. An organisation like theirs is more likely to stumble on something incriminating, particularly with the operation so big as to be labeled 'an incursion'.

    It's troubling that the warning they got was weighty enough to make them stop, but on the other hand things aren't so dire so as to turn us down. Looks like they are fine with an excuse to act if we give them one.

    I am leaning towards membership, but then I did even before we got into this quest.

    Also, we aren't going to find another backup on such a short notice.
     
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    Okay, I want the info even if we can't expect help from the Pathfinders here. That doesn't mean we shouldn't try to convince them that aiding us is in their best interests.

    Sirim has a good Diplomacy bonus, and he is still affected by the Encouraging Mythic Heroism spell for another +5 bonus.

    [X] Pay to find out who told the Pathfinders the drow will be handled and that they should stay out (Cost 1000 gp)
    -[X] Sirim interjects, "If gold cannot motivate you to provide aid, what of the favors you and your organization might earn from assisting the governor's agents in this matter?"
    --[X] Sir Pisca uses Aid Another to assist Sirim's Diplomacy attempt, and if he feels comfortable making the commitment on his aunt's behalf, adds, "And a favor of my aunt, the Grand Duchess Fahlspar, which is no small thing, as you should know."
    -[X] Mina uses her Fortune Hex on Sirim, if necessary.
     
    I don't know about that. This is the kind of solution I dislike, using skills to try and overpower narrative logic.

    The logic is this: the governor is a known and more importantly, a contested variable, and they likely have already considered the pros and cons of getting involved in a power struggle. There are benefits in aiding the higher ups; they just don't know who is going to end up on top, and there are other, equally powerful forces telling them to not intervene.

    Which they aren't against, mind, but require a justification that they have not already considered, and preferably with a 'rock solid precedent' to argue their case within their own organisation.

    Clearly, if it were strictly beneficial to go to the governor, they'd go to the governor themselves. This is going to put their organisation at risk and potentially set a precedent for them getting involved in politics, which will likely send ripples across the Inner Sea. I wouldn't want this problem solved with a glib tongue with lots of bonuses on top; it cheapens the dilemma. Their price is membership for the reasons stated in the update, not gold or favors.
     
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    I haven't considered that, because I can't fathom whom he might sell it to. He implies the matter, whatever it is, will be resolved in a week. I assume we'll be making our association with the governor known to the people we are working against within that time frame.

    There is a very limited window of opportunity when this information could be of worth, warning House Basri before the governor makes a move on them (and that timing depends on what we find in the distillery). Which, well, if it becomes known, and if the governor keeps his seat (and we seem to be committed to that), is going to sour relationships for a long time, so not sure if it'd be worth the trouble.

    There is more than one party involved, though.
     
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    Nevill said:
    I don't know about that. This is the kind of solution I dislike, using skills to try and overpower narrative logic.

    The logic is this: the governor is a known and more importantly, a contested variable, and they likely have already considered the pros and cons of getting involved in a power struggle. There are benefits in aiding the higher ups; they just don't know who is going to end up on top, and there are other, equally powerful forces telling them to not intervene.

    Which they aren't against, mind, but require a justification that they have not already considered, and preferably with a precedence to argue their case within their own organisation.

    Clearly, if it were strictly beneficial to go to the governor, they'd go to the governor themselves. This is going to put their organisation at risk and potentially set a precedent for them getting involved in politics, which will likely send ripples across the Inner Sea. I wouldn't want this problem solved with a glib tongue with lots of bonuses on top; it cheapens the dilemma. Their price is membership for the reasons stated in the update, not gold or favors.
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    I get where you're coming from here, but I think you're reading a bit too much into it. If the concerns for getting involved were that strong, he wouldn't be willing to provide aid simply due to us joining the organization.

    He might not want his Lodge to get entangled too deeply in local politics, but he obviously doesn't care that much either way. That fits the typical Venture-captain MO pretty well, actually. He's probably retired from active fieldwork to enjoy a quieter, more sedate role in the organization running the Cassomir Lodge. Getting too involved outside of normal Pathfinder stuff could rock the boat a little more than he wants to deal with, but it's not strictly outside of his lane.

    There are plenty of reasons he might not have gone to the governor himself with the info. He might have been told the man already knew, could have believed he was involved, didn't believe he could do so without alerting those involved, etc.

    If we're here now, however, claiming to be working for the governor, a lot of those potential concerns go away and it becomes less troublesome to get involved.
     
    The pathfinders surprisingly aren't that interested in protecting the city. Unless they get something out of it.
     
    [X] Agree to join the Pathfinders on the spot under the previous terms: owe a favor to Ulenar the Unwelcome, x2 Rights of Refusal

    Fuck it, lets go. They have their benefits and drawbacks... but if we HAVE to pick a side in this conflict I would rather be on the side of the folks who are fine with us doing silly stuff for silly reasons.
     
    [x] Agree to join the Pathfinders on the spot under the previous terms: owe a favor to Ulenar the Unwelcome, x2 Rights of Refusal
     
    zxzx24 said:
    The pathfinders surprisingly aren't that interested in protecting the city. Unless they get something out of it.
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    Yep. These people are the Neutral explorers. For all the fandom and to some extent Paizo likes to code them as good they are in it mostly for the money, he power and the secrets which they then use for a variety of factional aims. Lady Gloriana mentioned in the last chapter wants to restore aristocratic rule to Avistan and as long as she does not kill the first Citizen of Andoran and burn down their Senate or something the rest of the organization is fine with it.

    Don't get me wrong there are also Pathfinders whose thing is fighting demons, feeding the hungry and fighting Clhelish aggression, it is just that they are a faction among many.
     
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