[x] See Naples and live
-[x] Deposit 800,000 gold with the Temple of Abadar
-[x] Do one last round of shopping
--[x] New Shopping List: Approximate total of 24,145 gold
-[x] Stay until the royal visit. In the meantime, try to keep a low profile as you pick up the trail of Azlanti survivors.
I want to see how the city will meet the princess. There is bound to be a celebration, and I am not missing it.
@DragonParadox
So, that we have the money now means the Adamant is done and paid?
I'd kinda like to have a last meeting with Urgor and Leontas before we leave the city.
To coordinate with the Dwarf when we join up to lay a dead city to rest and to wish Leontas and his crew goodbye and ask where they'll be next, so further contact might be possible.
I really hope we can keep some kind of connection to the things and people we leave behind in our journey, in Taldor and Andoran. Having them get up to things outside our point of view is one of things that differentiates a well-told story from a videogame where they'll be in the next relevant location when the plot calls for it, no sooner or later.
@DragonParadox
So, that we have the money now means the Adamant is done and paid?
I'd kinda like to have a last meeting with Urgor and Leontas before we leave the city.
To coordinate with the Dwarf when we join up to lay a dead city to rest and to wish Leontas and his crew goodbye and ask where they'll be next, so further contact might be possible.
I really hope we can keep some kind of connection to the things and people we leave behind in our journey, in Taldor and Andoran. Having them get up to things outside our point of view is one of things that differentiates a well-told story from a videogame where they'll be in the next relevant location when the plot calls for it, no sooner or later.
I think you should buy enough Reduce Person scrolls for... three teleports. Just in case we need to do this again. Also, we need to ask Oda what his life plans are now that there's no caravan for him to find safety in, and he might want to come with us. So we should at least add him in our calculations.
Also also, I think this is the moment where we use the Governor's offer of "rare lore" to get us another go at rare scrolls - he can try to get us a raise dead from a reputable source, and also that scroll that boosts Aid Another.
----
Ask the alchemist if he'd mind whipping us up a priority order of Drow Poison, 10 to 20 doses maybe? Depending on how many he can produce without overworking himself. (Also, can that be one of the alchemy things he writes down for Cob?)
More of the Fire Jackal Spit. Quite a bit more. From 10 to 30(?) doses more. As many as we can get before the price starts to go up. While the last fight used three doses on an immune alchemist and a (presumably) immune summon; that doesn't mean it's not very useful to have.
Comprehend Languages X3, for when we need to understand written Alzanti, and Kori fails his roll. Deadeye's Lore X6, because having Gorok have to bother to prep this takes time. (Honestly, we'd be better with a wand, if possible) Visualization of The Mind
Foxe's Cunning
Eagle's Splendour Anthropomorphic Animal Polymorph Familiar <- For Monkey/Wand stuff
Scroll of Rune of Rule: x1 <- Governor tries again for us (high priority)
Raise Dead <- Governor tries again for us (medium-high priority)
Lesser Metamagic Rod of Tenebrous Spell: x1 (1,500 gold) Not found <- Governor tries again for us (low priority)
Three or four more Rings of Spell Storing (for ship building shenanigans mainly - having Sirim cast True Skill into a ring and having Pepper use it would be amazing, while also allowing for for other buffs on Pepper via different Rings, but having a ring with Haste in it for buffing mooks or a prepared Delay Poison can save us Surge Points. Or a Polymorph Familiar spell for when we want Pepper to use wands in a fight)
[Addendum: @DragonParadox Can we store Mythic Haste in a Lesser Ring of Spell Storing?)
Scroll of True Skill, (though I intend to have Sirim put that into a ring via Wild Arcana for the higher CL)
For Pepper:
Some sort of item that provides the ability to use wands without hands (via mage hand item, I recall you suggesting), if DP allows any such things (though if he needs hands, we can use figment stuff to get him some, I think).
Wand of Ill Omen
Wand of Cure Light Wounds
Wand Key Ring X2 (Ill Omen, CLW)
Magitech Mecha-suit. Prefrably one that can combine with Warty's Magitech Mecha-suit (see below).
Magitech Mecha-suit for Warty
---- @DragonParadox what items can we get that will boost Cob's Alchemy? Stuff that's compatible with the Portable Alchemist Lab
I'll update the shopping list later when I get a chance to sit down at my computer.
Some of the stuff you want is not quite practical, though. Minor Rings of Spell Storing, for example, cost 18,000 gold each. Three or four more of those is a bit much, IMO. If we can snag another one, I wouldn't be unhappy, but we shouldn't go too far overboard.
I already got an answer from DP about Mythic spells being stored. For spell storing purposes, the Mythic version of a spell is considered two levels higher.
The best item I can think of to help Cob with his Alchemy would be a Cauldron of Brewing.
I'll update the shopping list later when I get a chance to sit down at my computer.
Some of the stuff you want is not quite practical, though. Minor Rings of Spell Storing, for example, cost 18,000 gold each. Three or four more of those is a bit much, IMO. If we can snag another one, I wouldn't be unhappy, but we shouldn't go too far overboard.
I have no idea how much money we have. (Roughly, how much do we have after that last set of purchases?)
Fair enough on the expense of the Rings of Spell storing.
When I was intending for us to build our new ship here, I had the vague intention of having the governor leaning on some local mage groups to lend us some extra Minor Rings of Spell Storing, with the honest explanation of "these people want to go all out on buffing people to design and build a really good ship," and seeing how many we could get. And my shenanigans would be based on the amount we had access to.
(Their surety would be based on the fact the governor has the adamantium that we're using to pay for everything, so if we just stole the rings, he'd not pay us for the metal) .
That said, I really really do think that we should buy a regular Ring of Spell Storing for a full 50k (depending on how much gold we have).
The use-case I have in mind is to enable people like Sylestrix to contact people with Sending, or allow other people to attempt the Scrying spell.
And it's not like it won't be useful outside of those rare cases, for quite some time. (Mythic Haste comes to mind )
[Edit: Honestly, a second 50k ring would also allow for a Mythic Heroism. They're basically Surge Point batteries, considering how frequently Mythic Haste and Heroism are used.]
----
I might be adding more stuff to my list, so please @ me before you start, so if anything else comes to mind after that point, I will know to make a new post.
---- @DragonParadox If Sirim were to cast Marionette Possession on Gorok and casts spells, then:
1: It's Sirim casting spells, with all his CL and feats and such?
2: If that's the case can Kori use Oil, Anointing while casting Sharesister on Sirm-in-Gorok's-body, and have it boost the CL of Sharesister, and have the (boosted) spell affect Sirim?
3: If we can do that, would the increase of the casting time to a full round action mean that Kori would no longer be able to cast Sharesister via Inspired Spell?
@DragonParadox If Sirim were to cast Marionette Possession on Gorok and casts spells, then:
1: It's Sirim casting spells, with all his CL and feats and such?
2: If that's the case can Kori use Oil, Anointing while casting Sharesister on Sirm-in-Gorok's-body, and have it boost the CL of Sharesister, and have the (boosted) spell affect Sirim?
3: If we can do that, would the increase of the casting time to a full round action mean that Kori would no longer be able to cast Sharesister via Inspired Spell?
...If we put Inspired Spell: Sharesister into a Ring of Spell Storing, could we then cast the from the Ring of Spell Storing onto Annointed-Sirim-in-Gorok's-Body as a full round action?
"The activation time for the ring is the same as the casting time for the relevant spell, with a minimum of 1 standard action."
"Metamagic versions of spells take up storage space equal to their spell level modified by the metamagic feat."
So, if a metamagic feat is applied to a spell (by a sorcerer), and that spell is put into a ring, then I'm asking if one could apply stuff to the spell being cast from the ring post-storage.
Basically, does activating a Ring count as casting a spell [example. could a Sorcerer Empower a regular Fireball if it came from using a Ring]?/ Hmm. Now I type that out, I'm thinking 'no', the Ring's activation can't have metamagic or the like applied to the spell that comes out.
(note, this isn't me trying to get a specific CL for Sharesister just yet, I'm just trying to find out what our options for boosting various CLs for Sharesister/Tears to Wine/True Skill are, so I'm trying to pump up these rookie numbers where I can and then I'll see what we can do with what's possible.)
Kori can't use Diplomacy worth a damn, but his Intimidate bonus is very high and it's just going to get better. Hidden Diplomacy can be duplicated using Shadow Enchantment, but 3rd level spells slots aren't easy to come by, especially when a 1st level slot will work most of the time.
Obviously, we wouldn't want to use Hidden Diplomacy in all circumstances, but it would do the trick pretty often, and since the spell can be cast as part of making the Intimidate check, we wouldn't need to worry about casting it ahead of time.
...If we put Inspired Spell: Sharesister into a Ring of Spell Storing, could we then cast the from the Ring of Spell Storing onto Annointed-Sirim-in-Gorok's-Body as a full round action?
"The activation time for the ring is the same as the casting time for the relevant spell, with a minimum of 1 standard action."
"Metamagic versions of spells take up storage space equal to their spell level modified by the metamagic feat."
So, if a metamagic feat is applied to a spell (by a sorcerer), and that spell is put into a ring, then I'm asking if one could apply stuff to the spell being cast from the ring post-storage.
Basically, does activating a Ring count as casting a spell [example. could a Sorcerer Empower a regular Fireball if it came from using a Ring]?/ Hmm. Now I type that out, I'm thinking 'no', the Ring's activation can't have metamagic or the like applied to the spell that comes out.
(note, this isn't me trying to get a specific CL for Sharesister just yet, I'm just trying to find out what our options for boosting various CLs for Sharesister/Tears to Wine/True Skill are, so I'm trying to pump up these rookie numbers where I can and then I'll see what we can do with what's possible.)
I'm going to say no because technically you are not casting the spell from the ring. It's spell trigger not spell completion
Pathfinder SRD said:
Spell Completion: This is the activation method for scrolls. A scroll is a spell that is mostly finished. The preparation is done for the caster, so no preparation time is needed beforehand as with normal spellcasting. All that's left to do is perform the finishing parts of the spellcasting (the final gestures, words, and so on). To use a spell completion item safely, a character must be of high enough level in the right class to cast the spell already. If he can't already cast the spell, there's a chance he'll make a mistake. Activating a spell completion item is a standard action (or the spell's casting time, whichever is longer) and provokes attacks of opportunity exactly as casting a spell does.
Spell Trigger: Spell trigger activation is similar to spell completion, but it's even simpler. No gestures or spell finishing is needed, just a special knowledge of spellcasting that an appropriate character would know, and a single word that must be spoken. Spell trigger items can be used by anyone whose class can cast the corresponding spell. This is the case even for a character who can't actually cast spells, such as a 3rd-level paladin. The user must still determine what spell is stored in the item before she can activate it. Activating a spell trigger item is a standard action and does not provoke attacks of opportunity.
[] Argue that you should help put an end to the WWC
I'm so, so tempted. Like. Intensely tempted to argue for this, to offer our services to the governor.
I mean... there's no group the governor can send to deal with them that would be better than us, or at least any such group would probably do better with our assistance.
He can send in jackboots by the dozens, and intelligence agents with skills like ours by... a much lesser amount. How many documents might the WWC destroy before being stopped? What about emergency teleports? Or traps.
There'd be some pretty huge caveats to such an offer though:
It would have to be after a long rest.
We'd have to be allowed to keep any gold/magic items that we find. (I'd want meatshield/social-shield Pisca for it too[1])
While we'd do our best to capture everyone, we'd have to have legal/political cover against the consequences of deaths from any too powerful to be able to subdue non-lethally. (Though, this is an edge case. If anyone hits 0 or lower, we intend to just stabilise, restrain and bag them and move the next target).
He'd have to have a teleport-proof cell ready for us to deposit them into. We can capture targets and keep them subdued for short periods, but are not equipped to prevent escapes beyond "keep them knocked out and put them in a bag of holding (open to refresh air every couple of minutes)".
[1] Kori glances around at the party (who number as four to Pisca's one) and looks to Pisca: "does a 25/75 split on what we find here sound fair?", not bothering to hide the desire for loot from the man knowing that he also really wants loot.
Currently, we have 886,836 gold, not counting any expenses in the past couple days which DP hasn't deducted from the total, such as the deal we made with Saenir to help teach Cob Alchemy stuff and to purchase recipes from him.
PoSK have their place, but this isn't one of them. The spell is cast as part of an Intimidate roll. That makes it difficult to use the scroll in conjunction with the intimidation.
Most of the time, using Inspired Spell/Wild Arcana is going to be the better option than using a PoSK. The price for those things increases quickly.
...If we put Inspired Spell: Sharesister into a Ring of Spell Storing, could we then cast the from the Ring of Spell Storing onto Annointed-Sirim-in-Gorok's-Body as a full round action?
@DragonParadox If Sirim were to cast Marionette Possession on Gorok and casts spells, then:
1: It's Sirim casting spells, with all his CL and feats and such?
2: If that's the case can Kori use Oil, Anointing while casting Sharesister on Sirm-in-Gorok's-body, and have it boost the CL of Sharesister, and have the (boosted) spell affect Sirim?
3: If we can do that, would the increase of the casting time to a full round action mean that Kori would no longer be able to cast Sharesister via Inspired Spell?
If Kori learns the Shadow Projection Revelation at 7th level like I want, he'll be able to project his shadow while leaving his body behind for Sirim to possess. I can see times when it would be helpful to have the full party available, and this would essentially allow Sirim and Kori to swap places and roles.
Ask the alchemist if he'd mind whipping us up a priority order of Drow Poison, 10 to 20 doses maybe? Depending on how many he can produce without overworking himself. (Also, can that be one of the alchemy things he writes down for Cob?)
More of the Fire Jackal Spit. Quite a bit more. From 10 to 30(?) doses more. As many as we can get before the price starts to go up. While the last fight used three doses on an immune alchemist and a (presumably) immune summon; that doesn't mean it's not very useful to have.
I don't have hard numbers on what he can produce in the time remaining before we can leave, since it depends on skill checks and other factors we aren't aware of, but I'm going to include a part in my plan to purchase all of the Fungal Stun Vials, Fire Jackal Saliva, and Drow Poison (in that order of priority) that Saenir can create.
Gorok didn't use any of the poison loaded in his sword during that fight. It would have been a waste to use it again Saenir, so I specifically left that out of the plan when he was fighting him.
I'm not. Not even slightly. We've already done enough today, and blown through most of our spells and Mythic power in the process.
On top of that, we were able to do so without making a spectacle of ourselves or attracting a lot of attention. When we raided the barge, it was in a low traffic, nearly deserted part of town without many important people taking an interest in it. The raid on the WWC is going to be the complete opposite of that. I wouldn't want to do it if we were all fresh, for that reason alone.
Our anti-Divination defenses and precautions can only get us so far. Remember, we screwed over the Apsis Consortium in a big way recently, and the WWC is just another front company for them now. We don't need to go out of our way to kick them in the teeth so soon after sucker punching them. That doesn't fit with our MO.
Updated my plan with most of the additions you wanted @BeepSmile
I left off the Anthromorphic Animal scroll, since we don't have anything to use it on. The spell only affects animals, and neither Pepper or Warty qualify, both being Magical Beasts, if Pepper even counts for that seeing as how he's technically imaginary.
Also left off the Wand of Dream Feast. That is super niche and I'm not sure of the purpose behind buying it. It can be cast using Wild Arcana/Inspired Spell if we ever need it for some reason.
Didn't include a regular Ring of Spell Storing, either. 50,000 gold is too much to spend on a single item right now, IMO. That would be much more than the next most expensive items we purchased, the Nondetection amulets. It would almost be as much as the entire shopping list we've put together here.
[X] Saving for a rainy day
-[X] Deposit all but 60,000 gold with the Temple of Abadar, after the expenses from our final round of shopping are taken into account.
-[X] Then do one last round of shopping before departing Cassomir. The gold we don't deposit will be split up between the group's Bag(s) of Holding and Handy Haversacks. Although the bank is reliable, and there are branches throughout the continent and beyond, we won't always have easy access to one of them, so it makes sense to keep a large sum of gold for unexpected expenses.
--[X] New Shopping List: Approximate total of 57,420 gold
---[X] Ask the governor if he can help lend some weight to our requests to make certain unusual purchases, such as a scroll of Rune of Rule, or a scroll of Raise Dead from a reputable temple, if he can do so without causing any trouble for himself or his faction with his political rivals.
--[X] Offer to purchase as many Fungal Stun Vials (75 gold each), or doses of Fire Jackal Saliva (50 gold per dose) and Drow Poison (75 gold per dose) if the Fungal Stun Vials aren't feasible, as Saenir can produce in the next three days before we depart the city.
--[X] Sort out the pirate loot while we're doing our shopping. We need to work out who is keeping what, between us, Sir Pisca, and Leontas, and what will be sold to split the value.
--[X] Speak with Oka about his plans going forward. If he wishes to return to Augustana with us before leaving our service, he is welcome to do so free of charge. Whether he chooses to stay in Taldor or return to Andoran, we will give him a severance bonus of 1,000 gold and warn him that it might be safer for him to make himself scarce. We've made enemies, and he could be in danger by proxy.
I'm not. Not even slightly. We've already done enough today, and blown through most of our spells and Mythic power in the process.
On top of that, we were able to do so without making a spectacle of ourselves or attracting a lot of attention. When we raided the barge, it was in a low traffic, nearly deserted part of town without many important people taking an interest in it. The raid on the WWC is going to be the complete opposite of that. I wouldn't want to do it if we were all fresh, for that reason alone.
Our anti-Divination defenses and precautions can only get us so far. Remember, we screwed over the Apsis Consortium in a big way recently, and the WWC is just another front company for them now. We don't need to go out of our way to kick them in the teeth so soon after sucker punching them. That doesn't fit with our MO.
But... loot! And sneaking in and taking everyone out Metal Gear style, knocking them out and throwing them into a big bag of holding one by one!
And we unwind and undo all the traps that are set up to destroy any information!
(The below plan has a "we need a rest, if the governor feels that he can't wait, we retract our offer"
[X] Plan: FUCK IT WE BALL!
-[X] Argue that you should help put an end to the WWC
--[X] Argument: They are likely to have interesting loot, and we can argue for a minimum payment from the Governor (8k gold) if the loot doesn't cover it. We do have disguises, and while the governor likely has agents as skilled as us at preventing the destruction of information he's unlikely to have better. But he'd have to agree to some caveats:
---[X] It would have to be after a long rest, so not by 'noon'. Up to him if he wants to risk them fleeing by the time we have our spells back. If he thinks waiting until we are all rested is too much of a risk, we withdraw this offer.
---[X] We'd have to be allowed to keep any gold/magic items that we find. (I'd want meatshield/social-shield Pisca for it too[1]). If they are material evidence, he'd have to pay us the value of them.
---[X] While we'd do our (very good) best to capture everyone, we'd need a promise of "'legal'/political cover against the consequences of deaths from any too powerful to be able to subdue non-lethally". (Though this is an edge case, and is unlikely to occur. If anyone hits 0 or lower, we intend to just stabilise, restrain and bag them and move the next target).
---[X] He'd have to have a teleport-proof cell ready for us to deposit them into. We can capture targets and keep them subdued for short periods, but are not equipped to prevent escapes beyond "keep them knocked out and put them in a bag of holding (open to refresh air every couple of minutes)".
---[X] The party looks to Pisca, and asks if he'd be willing to assist in this infiltration mission, for a 20/80 cut of the value of whatever we take (if below 8k gold, the governor makes up the difference). Also, while his social skills and social standing in combination have benefited us greatly, we are worried that this is the sort of thing that ends up with him assassinated a few months from now, so we'd only be willing to do this with him if he goes under a disguise, like we intend to.
---[X] Also intend the following: ---[X] Then do one last round of shopping before departing Cassomir. Keep 60k gold on the party, and put the remainder in the bank; as although the bank is reliable, and there are branches throughout the continent and beyond, we won't always have easy access to one of them, so it makes sense to keep a large sum of gold for unexpected expenses.
---[X] New Shopping List: Approximate total of 56,420 gold
---[X] Square up Pisca's share of loot/value.
---[X] Speak with Oka about our plans, the danger he's in because of our enemies, his plans and where he might want to be dropped of with a large bonus pay.
-----
Regardless, @Goldfish, putting my lust for loot and sneaky shenagins aside, I think that for the sake of purcheses and having gold on hand we should have our plans be "have [amount (60k? 80k? - I have no idea what is sensble)] of gold on hand, and then put everything else into the bank, post shopping".
The result is that we know exactly how much we have on the party, rather than having [total current amount]-800k-[shopping expenditure], which could be anything. It stresses me out.
Re. Pages of Spell Knowledge. In that case should we get PoSKs of Barbed Chains or Divine Favour, so we can switch one of them out while retaining access? (There's also that lvl 1 Oracle spell that lets you pre-roll something, and can choose to use that roll or not at any point for 1 rd/lvl that I rather like the look of)
---
While Fire Jackal Spittle is better than Drow poison, we can get it on the underground market here, so I think that we should try to get Drow Poison from the alchemist and Fire Jackal Spittle from the black market.
But if it's a question of time, and he can make whatever we want then I want ALL THE FUNGAL STUN BOMBS! GIVE THEM TO ME I WANT THEM!
Edit: Why are the lockets for the continual flame items gold? I don't really care about the price, I'm just confused. Is there a benfit? FUNGAL STUN. GIB THEM TO ME! NOAW! I H̴̡̀U̸͖͂N̵̠̓G̷̖͠E̷̤͋R̴̟͐
Regardless, @Goldfish, putting my lust for loot and sneaky shenagins aside, I think that for the sake of purcheses and having gold on hand we should have our plans be "have [amount (60k? 80k? - I have no idea what is sensble)] of gold on hand, and then put everything else into the bank, post shopping".
The result is that we know exactly how much we have on the party, rather than having [total current amount]-800k-[shopping expenditure], which could be anything. It stresses me out.
Re. Pages of Spell Knowledge. In that case should we get PoSKs of Barbed Chains or Divine Favour, so we can switch one of them out while retaining access? (There's also that lvl 1 Oracle spell that lets you pre-roll something, and can choose to use that roll or not at any point for 1 rd/lvl that I rather like the look of)
I'm not sure what you're trying to say here, dude? Why would be retrain either of those spells? The only time we should consider buying PoSK is for non-combat spells with a casting time too long to use for Inspired Spell.
That's why I have Fungal Stun Vials as a priority in my plan. He might not have the reagents or time to produce them, however, so I included the poison options as secondary choices.
Because they don't stand out particularly, and that sort of basic jewelry should be commonly available without needing to have stuff specially made.
We can have other versions made, but I was considering saving time, as if I was personally shopping. Why stress about cheap stuff like that when you're dropping tens of thousands of gold on enchanted gear?
---[X] Offer to pay Saenir 500 gold for each Drow Alchemical recipe he writes down for Cob, starting with the process to create Fungal Stun Vials. This would include any personal instruction he can provide before we depart.
I'm not sure what you're trying to say here, dude? Why would be retrain either of those spells? The only time we should consider buying PoSK is for non-combat spells with a casting time too long to use for Inspired Spell.
Oh, I had it in my mind that using a PoSK was convenient and easy during combat, but un-subtle to use.
If using one requires fiddly stuff/actions beyond what is typical for casting the spell, then they aren't combat-viable and we should only get them for non-combat spells that we don't want to keep hidden.
That said, level 1 PoSKs that we don't intend to cast in combat or need to be secret are better than Insipred Spell, in that they require a level 1 spells slot rather than a Surge Point.
Actually, an excellent contender for a PoSK is the spell Bless. It's level 1, so it's cheap for a PoSK, we are never going to need to cast it subtly, we're only ever going to cast before a fight that we know is going to happen, so any fiddly stuff that comes from PoSK action-economy won't have much impact.
So, I think you should add a PoSK: Bless to the shopping list, and then we can switch the spell out next level-up
1. We can have other versions made, but I was considering saving time, as if I was personally shopping. Why stress about cheap stuff like that when you're dropping tens of thousands of gold on enchanted gear?
2. Why include this in your plan? We already voted on this arrangement yesterday.
1. Fair fair, I was just confused why we'd pay so much, but at this level fo wealth it's not worth thinking about.
2. I am a fool and eejit and it was a mistake that slipped through while constructing my plan, thanks for catching that.
Actually, an excellent contender for a PoSK is the spell Bless. It's level 1, so it's cheap for a PoSK, we are never going to need to cast it subtly, we're only ever going to cast before a fight that we know is going to happen, so any fiddly stuff that comes from PoSK action-economy won't have much impact.
So, I think you should add a PoSK: Bless to the shopping list, and then we can switch the spell out next level-up
Adhoc vote count started by DragonParadox on Nov 29, 2024 at 7:26 AM, finished with 32 posts and 7 votes.
[X] Saving for a rainy day -[X] Deposit all but 60,000 gold with the Temple of Abadar, after the expenses from our final round of shopping are taken into account. -[X] Then do one last round of shopping before departing Cassomir. The gold we don't deposit will be split up between the group's Bag(s) of Holding and Handy Haversacks. Although the bank is reliable, and there are branches throughout the continent and beyond, we won't always have easy access to one of them, so it makes sense to keep a large sum of gold for unexpected expenses. --[X] New Shopping List: Approximate total of 57,420 gold ---[X] Ask the governor if he can help lend some weight to our requests to make certain unusual purchases, such as a scroll of Rune of Rule, or a scroll of Raise Dead from a reputable temple, if he can do so without causing any trouble for himself or his faction with his political rivals. --[X] Offer to purchase as many Fungal Stun Vials (75 gold each), or doses of Fire Jackal Saliva (50 gold per dose) and Drow Poison (75 gold per dose) if the Fungal Stun Vials aren't feasible, as Saenir can produce in the next three days before we depart the city. --[X] Sort out the pirate loot while we're doing our shopping. We need to work out who is keeping what, between us, Sir Pisca, and Leontas, and what will be sold to split the value. --[X] Speak with Oka about his plans going forward. If he wishes to return to Augustana with us before leaving our service, he is welcome to do so free of charge. Whether he chooses to stay in Taldor or return to Andoran, we will give him a severance bonus of 1,000 gold and warn him that it might be safer for him to make himself scarce. We've made enemies, and he could be in danger by proxy.
[X] Plan: FUCK IT WE BALL!
-[X] Argue that you should help put an end to the WWC
--[X] Argument: They are likely to have interesting loot, and we can argue for a minimum payment from the Governor (8k gold) if the loot doesn't cover it. We do have disguises, and while the governor likely has agents as skilled as us at preventing the destruction of information he's unlikely to have better. But he'd have to agree to some caveats:
---[X] It would have to be after a long rest, so not by 'noon'. Up to him if he wants to risk them fleeing by the time we have our spells back. If he thinks waiting until we are all rested is too much of a risk, we withdraw this offer.
---[X] We'd have to be allowed to keep any gold/magic items that we find. (I'd want meatshield/social-shield Pisca for it too[1]). If they are material evidence, he'd have to pay us the value of them.
---[X] While we'd do our (very good) best to capture everyone, we'd need a promise of "'legal'/political cover against the consequences of deaths from any too powerful to be able to subdue non-lethally". (Though this is an edge case, and is unlikely to occur. If anyone hits 0 or lower, we intend to just stabilise, restrain and bag them and move the next target).
---[X] He'd have to have a teleport-proof cell ready for us to deposit them into. We can capture targets and keep them subdued for short periods, but are not equipped to prevent escapes beyond "keep them knocked out and put them in a bag of holding (open to refresh air every couple of minutes)".
---[X] The party looks to Pisca, and asks if he'd be willing to assist in this infiltration mission, for a 20/80 cut of the value of whatever we take (if below 8k gold, the governor makes up the difference). Also, while his social skills and social standing in combination have benefited us greatly, we are worried that this is the sort of thing that ends up with him assassinated a few months from now, so we'd only be willing to do this with him if he goes under a disguise, like we intend to.
---[X] Also intend the following: ---[X] Then do one last round of shopping before departing Cassomir. Keep 60k gold on the party, and put the remainder in the bank; as although the bank is reliable, and there are branches throughout the continent and beyond, we won't always have easy access to one of them, so it makes sense to keep a large sum of gold for unexpected expenses. ---[X] New Shopping List: Approximate total of 56,420 gold ---[X] Square up Pisca's share of loot/value. ---[X] Speak with Oka about our plans, the danger he's in because of our enemies, his plans and where he might want to be dropped of with a large bonus pay.
The patina of long age lies upon the temple of Abadar, the same that clings to the streets and houses that surround it, grand and finely built, but past their prime. Carriages bearing the arms of a dozen unfamiliar families, houses, and trading firms jockey for a place in the square. Harried priests in curled bleached wigs bear ceremonial gavels and unwelcome words of shrill precedent against an invasion of self-importance. Here wealth changes hands not as metal torn from the earth, but as numbers in a ledger assured under a divine gaze and dozens of sureties set over the long centuries against thieves and conman who would test its stewardship.
Foremost among the latter is glamor, one may not strike a bargain within a Temple of Abadar under a false face or name, but even the priests concerned with perfect forms must account for the empire's often murky politics. Therefore, it is permitted for those who wish to deposit and withdraw coin discreetly to enter wearing white masks embroidered with a golden key and reveal their faces only within the temple to the keepers of the vault. It costs a hundred gold coins apiece to rent one to 'keep away the unserious,' or so you are informed.
From his present resting place at the bottom of an empty jug Sirim wonders sarcastically if they would charge extra to draw a key upon it, to which Cob cheerily offers to do it himself for free.
"That is quite alright, master Cob. I think I shall make due," the shade replies, though not without a faint thread of amusement at the thought.
He doesn't follow you into the square, a mask being of little use to hide a goblin, just as with an iruxi. Mina wears a strip of cloth over her eyes, sheer enough to see through but thick enough to cover her markings, while you make due with a cloth drawn over your eyes to hide the grey hue that marks the People from those born under the sun.
"Name and reason for seeking judgement," a boy asks, faintly tremulous at the sight of the sword at your belt.
"We are here to make a deposit," you answer softly so as not to spook him as you quickly show the seal of the dwarvish blacksmith who had melted down the adamantine alongside the governor's own seal on a Note of Provenience, the actual text of which is remarkably bland.
For some reason the acolyte grows even more pale, enough for Mina to ask him if he needs healing.
"He thinks we're part of some grand political game on the part of the governor," Sirim notes. "That or Avistan's most expensive assassins."
You are delivered to the high priestess of the tempe with such speed you'd think someone had cast a spell to grease the marble floors.
"Name of account," she asks wearily as she dismisses your guard.
"Gorok's Ghosts," Mina says.
"And is Mr... Gorok present?" she asks, her expression a pleasant mask with only the faintest lines of confusion creasing the brow.
"No, will that be a problem?" At the resulting shake of the head she continues: "We can show you what the remainder of our companions appear as," Mina explains as Sirim calls forth figments of Gorok and Cob.
The mask shatters. "Is that a goblin?"
"Will that be a problem?" Mina asks again, more firmly.
"No, it simply took me aback, my apologies madam. Praise be to the Judge of the Gods that even a goblin could come into such civilized company."
"Pray, how much does 'civilizing' cost?" you ask, annoyance flaring into anger. "Are there different prices by height, the length of one's ear, or the sharpness of one's teeth?"
She seems taken aback for a moment, lips thinning as she bites back some answer. "I misspoke."
Her manner grows more brusque then, but still willing to take your coin and offering you a host of options for identification which, she claims, is only for the temple's most wealthy clientele.
[] Arcane Key: Five small golden keys crafted by the temple to be as tamper proof as they can manage
[] Blood Key: Deliver a vial of blood from each of you to check for unique life signature, much more secure as long as you trust them with your blood. Sirim cannot deliver blood as he has none
[] Fate Key: The priests will simply divine if you are who you claim you are when it's time to withdraw gold, but it would require you to lower your protections against divination each to do so
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