Finding the Spark (Pathfinder 1E Quest)
- Thread starter DragonParadox
- Start date
- Fantasy
-
- Tags
- pathfinder
- Location
- St. Petersburg
On the other hand, you do have crazy Drow running rampant (the survivors of the distillery operation) and some who are capable of summoning Demons (the Lamashan hive in the Locker), so why would you not use them if you are raising a ruckus?
Granted, the first are incapable of meticulous planning, and the second are more interested in staying in the shadows for the time being, but it's too early to write them off as possible encounters.
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Goldfish
Friendly Spider-Fish Abomination
- Location
- Formerly of the Far Realm
Yeah, I'm guilty of some wishful thinking on this one.
Hope for the best, plan for the worst, don't split the party. Fingers crossed.
Vote closed.
Arc 9 Post 68: One More Voice
New
One More Voice
19th of Kuthona 4707 A.R. (Absalom Reckoning)
There's nary a trace of fiends that you can see by way of ancient artifice, that much good news at least your company can carry back to the palace, though with a touch of luck from Mina's hand and a lot of sneezing Peper does claim to have picked up an odd smell, earthy and sharp. He has no way to place it, but at the very least you know that something was here in the flesh, not just shade or summoning.
By the time you make it back to the Temple Way, the main street leading by the ruined abbey the guard is out in force, eyeing the citizenry with suspicion and strangers like you with even more of it. Thankfully you still have the papers the governor gave you to deal with the Temple of Abadar and while they have no force of law here that is clearly Bozbeyli's mark and you are not to be meddled with by guards looking for spies and infiltrators.
"Did... did that one say something about Qadira?" Mina asks as Gorok untangles you from the latest patrol. "What would they have to gain from any of this?"
"They are old enemies, Taldor and Qadira yes?" you ask with a shake of the head. "Easy to fall back on, comfortable in the face of not knowing."
Either way there's no more trouble all the way to the iron crowned palace wall, now manned by tall suspicious looking Ulfen.
"A lizard, a goblin, a witch and an elf, right, get to it, her Highness doesn't like waiting," one of them grunts to your bewilderment.
"An elf?" one cannot help but ask, for all the wish to stay unnoticed, almost reaching out to touch your ears to make sure they haven't grown points.
"You're hiding behind elf-work aren't you?" The disdain in his words is odd, but you pay it little mind. There's more important matters afoot, like why someone would try to assassinate Bozbeyli in such a manner. Certainly he has no lack of enemies, but they could have chosen a time when he wasn't so close to the princess' bodyguards. It's almost like they were trying to cause chaos... To push the princess into the spotlight maybe, to cause her to overreach?
As you follow a harried looking servant towards the same solar you had spoken to the governor in before you hear voices from inside, one of them the princess' and another that seems to be the governor's raised in annoyance, but it's a third one that does most of the talking, in a warm jovial manner at odds with the worry you had seen etched on the faces of highborn and low since the assassination.
The servant lets you through to the sight of Eutropia, the foreseen Bjorn, the Lord Governor, restored by way of potions and philters one assumes and an old man, rotund in shape and yellow by by the hue of his cloak as though one of the melons they made so much of in the market had woken to sunny disposition.
"As you can see Your Highness the Western Winds Company has long plotted this 'dark road' into Nar Voth, hoping to acquire gems from the children of Droskar, undercutting the honorable dwarfs of Bolgrad. It was they who called upon the wicked giant to strike down the good governor I am sure of it for such pacts are common in the lightness and and befouled caverns below. But they have overreached and now they are..." he looks up towards the Governor, seemingly by accident. "Doomed."
"Thank you Sir Basri," the princess waves the voluble fellow down. "Welcome Masters Gorok and Akorian, welcome Mistress Mina, Governor Bozbeyli tells me you have walked those deep roads yourself and you were instrumental in dealing with the raid on the ghoul runner who revealed the involvement of the WWC. What can you tell me about these Duergar. I confess the ancient history of our trading partners to the North is not something I am greatly read on. I know that some of their kin remained in the dark places of the world and that the priests of Torag teach their hearts are as black as the pits in which they dwell, but that is as far as it goes. It never occurred to me to wonder what they might be doing or who they might seek to ensnare."
Basri... Oh you recognize that name and you can guess the game he's playing, protecting elvish secrets, but how did he get to the palace so fast. Was he already here?
What do you do?
[] Play along with the lie that it was duergar (Bluff vs Sense Motive)
[] Explain the drow again
[] Stall for time while Sirim asks Bozbeyli what you should do (Bluff vs Sense Motive)
[] Write in
OOC: Enjoy
- Location
- St. Petersburg
...assume we blame duergar for this. Wouldn't this lead to a punitive expedition to the Locker, which would run into drow if not from Zirnakaynin, then from the Lamashan hive. It would go against elven wishes to reveal actually-demon elves, no? If we are to believe Basri's interests intertwine with theirs, what good does it do them to point below?
Well, at least they openly accuse WWC, which should make it easier to ruin the company. Still, what faction does House Basri aligns itself with? I thought it was Magpies, but apparently they are ready to throw those under the bus.
And since when does Basri worry about 'undercutting the honorable dwarves'? He is ordering raids on their ships!
[x] Stall for time while Sirim asks Bozbeyli what you should do (Bluff vs Sense Motive)
Lord-Governor, halp!
Well, at least they openly accuse WWC, which should make it easier to ruin the company. Still, what faction does House Basri aligns itself with? I thought it was Magpies, but apparently they are ready to throw those under the bus.
And since when does Basri worry about 'undercutting the honorable dwarves'? He is ordering raids on their ships!
[x] Stall for time while Sirim asks Bozbeyli what you should do (Bluff vs Sense Motive)
Lord-Governor, halp!
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- Location
- being near locations is my passion.
I feel - just on vibes here - that the Governor might prefer to be able to give this Barsi fellow an opportunity to tell his elven contacts tat he succeeded in his job of deflecting attention onto the Dreugar.
Thing is, "the Drow no longer have to tithe 90% of their profit from trade with surface dwellers" is the sort of thing that shatters a conspiracy to keep them secret, so we might as well tell the princess? Of course let her know about the conspiricy, and the fact that we don't know if the surface elves are aware that there's going to be a contuining ramp-up in surface folk interactions with drow.
-----
I think we should start in on explaining the little we know of the Duergar, and while we start with that, Sirim checks in with the governor on how he wants to play this, and if he wants us to play along with the Dreugar bit for the Brasi's sake, Sirim teleptacially explains everything to one of her intrigue-specced guards (that the Barsi dude can't see) for them to relay to her later. Alternatively, he sets up a meeting with one of them for after this.
I imagine that another meeting with the princess can't be reasonably hidden from the Brasi, but one of her guards should be reasonable.
----
Oh, here's a thought: @DragonParadox Did Pepper use his once-a-day ability to change his Ediolon evoultion to Perception, or did he altready have Perception?
Because if he hasn't done so, then he'd be much better at teaching the princess of the Dreugar than Kori, if he switches to the relevant Knowledge (Dreguar) skill. [Local], maybe? And just openly (as in, give warning we're going to do so) cast a Hermean Potential on him, for that reroll.
I just like it when Pepper does stuff, and basic knowledge of the Dreugar is just good for princesses to have.
Thing is, "the Drow no longer have to tithe 90% of their profit from trade with surface dwellers" is the sort of thing that shatters a conspiracy to keep them secret, so we might as well tell the princess? Of course let her know about the conspiricy, and the fact that we don't know if the surface elves are aware that there's going to be a contuining ramp-up in surface folk interactions with drow.
-----
I think we should start in on explaining the little we know of the Duergar, and while we start with that, Sirim checks in with the governor on how he wants to play this, and if he wants us to play along with the Dreugar bit for the Brasi's sake, Sirim teleptacially explains everything to one of her intrigue-specced guards (that the Barsi dude can't see) for them to relay to her later. Alternatively, he sets up a meeting with one of them for after this.
I imagine that another meeting with the princess can't be reasonably hidden from the Brasi, but one of her guards should be reasonable.
----
Oh, here's a thought: @DragonParadox Did Pepper use his once-a-day ability to change his Ediolon evoultion to Perception, or did he altready have Perception?
Because if he hasn't done so, then he'd be much better at teaching the princess of the Dreugar than Kori, if he switches to the relevant Knowledge (Dreguar) skill. [Local], maybe? And just openly (as in, give warning we're going to do so) cast a Hermean Potential on him, for that reroll.
I just like it when Pepper does stuff, and basic knowledge of the Dreugar is just good for princesses to have.
He did not use it yet, no.
You are assuming they know about that. Remember you know about them from the drow you interrogated.
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- Location
- St. Petersburg
Fair point. Basri's pet pirates escaped down the tunnels, so I assumed they are well acquainted with them. Since they also know about drow in the city, I thought they would know about the hive too.
It is a lot more amusing to think that Scorpio and the rest of his crew fled through demon-infested caverns without even realizing it.
I wonder whom the voice Sir Pisca heard belonged to.
I thought it was Elywa or one of her... brood? What's the term for a fellow hiver?
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- Location
- being near locations is my passion.
Heckin a!
[X] Plan Buy time, probably play along
-[X] Explain that Kori's knowledge is from the perspective of a member of relatively disconnected tribe, but that Pepper would be likely to be able to give a broader perspective. Pepper introduces himself, and asks for a moment to change himself, and thus what he sees in the world. [Hopefully, the introduction and convoluted explanation for this ability takes about a turn, then it's a Standard action to change his racial bonus to Knowledge (Dreugar)].
-[X] Mina then speaks up after Pepper changes his racial ability and states that she wishes to cast Hermean Potential on Pepper, to help him find the context he is seeking (casting spells in the presence of the Princess without getting the explicit go-ahead being very foolish). If she gets the go ahead, she thanks the princess and casts Hermean Potential on Pepper.
-[X] That's three or four rounds. Sirim makes use of this time asks the governor how he wants to play this. Explain that our intention is to play along with the Brasi's lie regarding the Dreugar, while Sirim telepathically tells one of the Princess's guards the truth regarding the Drow, but we're happy to follow his lead on this.
-[X] If Kori's using his bluff skill to hide the fact that he's setting up something sneaky, Mina uses her Fortune hex on him at that moment.
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That seems likely
Lamashans tend to use familiar terms so brother/sister, daughter/son.
Goldfish
Friendly Spider-Fish Abomination
- Location
- Formerly of the Far Realm
The princess strikes me as a no nonsense sort of noble, not one that appreciates smoke being blown up her ass by weaselly aristocrats.
I'm not terribly interested in playing games with Taldan nobles, the governor included.
Just to be clear, Kori isn't trying to use Diplomacy here. He's stating facts, making some accusations unsupported by evidence, and outright lying if necessary. Will that work, @DragonParadox, or does Sirim need to do the telling?
[X] Can you handle the truth?
-[X] Kori sighs dramatically, pinches the bridge of his nose in obvious exasperation, then motions to Gorok. "Could you please retrieve the corpse of the Summoner?" he asks his companion. While Gorok extracts the dead Drow Summoner from our Bag of Holding, Kori uses the distraction to activate his bracers to gain a +20 Bluff bonus for the next 70 minutes.
--[X] After the audience settles down, Kori continues, "This is a Drow. They are the debased, Demon-worshiping cousins of surface Elves, and they are a plague upon many who wish to live peacefully in the Darklands. Magical interrogation revealed this bunch to be devout followers of Shax, the Demon Lord of Murder. They are in your city to cause bloodshed and chaos as part of a Lamashan plot. The Drow we interrogated didn't know the details, but perhaps you can extract some clues from this one, if you wish to make the attempt."
---[X] "You can thank the secret masters of the WWC for that. It was their actions in the city-state of Zirnakaynin which prompted the Drow to move against nations on the surface of Golarion rather than continuing to prey solely upon inhabitants of the Darklands."
----[X] "At no point in our investigation has there been even a hint of Duergar involvement. Interestingly enough, however, the pirates we captured with the aid of Sir Pisca Fahlspar before reaching Cassomir, claimed to have been employed by House Basri at the behest of a powerful Elven wizard who goes by the name Swallowtail to attack Dwarves shipping. That cannot be corroborated, of course, because someone used powerful magic, an accomplished Elven wizard perhaps, to free the pirate captain as he was being escorted to prison under heavy guard and the weight of three separate curses we laid upon him to insure his compliance."
----[X] "This is the same House Basri who gifted governor Bozbeyli an enchanted flower we discovered acted as a disguised Scrying sensor so they could spy on any business conducted in his private office. It was that very device which allowed them to discover others in the city knew of the Drow incursion and were investigating them during our first meeting."
----[X] "Learning others were hunting the Drow must have been frustrating, considering the effort House Basri had already made to squash a previous investigation conducted by another group within the city who had learned of the Drow presence. When threats with the backing of House Basri didn't dissuade them, it was another Elf, a known Lantern Bearer, who threatened the ire of Queen Telandia herself. That finally silenced their inquiries, after being assured the Drow threat would be handled before your arrival, your highness. We couldn't trust such assurances, of course, so acting as the governor's agents we found and raided one of their operations."
-[X] "Obviously, we don't have all the pieces of the puzzle, but we have enough to raise some fairly damning questions. Why are House Basri and the Elves of Kyonin plotting to sour local relations with the nearby Dwarven holds? Why would they work together to hide the Drow presence in Cassomir, going so far as to deceive even the rightful authorities? That's especially strange considering a princess of the realm was widely known to be visiting soon. And now there is suddenly a Duergar plot to assassinate the governor so soon after he was provided irrefutable proof the Drow were here and busy working their evil on the citizens of Taldor? A plot discovered and laid bare within moments of it unfolding by none other than House Basri. It's... suspicious."
I'm not terribly interested in playing games with Taldan nobles, the governor included.
Just to be clear, Kori isn't trying to use Diplomacy here. He's stating facts, making some accusations unsupported by evidence, and outright lying if necessary. Will that work, @DragonParadox, or does Sirim need to do the telling?
[X] Can you handle the truth?
-[X] Kori sighs dramatically, pinches the bridge of his nose in obvious exasperation, then motions to Gorok. "Could you please retrieve the corpse of the Summoner?" he asks his companion. While Gorok extracts the dead Drow Summoner from our Bag of Holding, Kori uses the distraction to activate his bracers to gain a +20 Bluff bonus for the next 70 minutes.
--[X] After the audience settles down, Kori continues, "This is a Drow. They are the debased, Demon-worshiping cousins of surface Elves, and they are a plague upon many who wish to live peacefully in the Darklands. Magical interrogation revealed this bunch to be devout followers of Shax, the Demon Lord of Murder. They are in your city to cause bloodshed and chaos as part of a Lamashan plot. The Drow we interrogated didn't know the details, but perhaps you can extract some clues from this one, if you wish to make the attempt."
---[X] "You can thank the secret masters of the WWC for that. It was their actions in the city-state of Zirnakaynin which prompted the Drow to move against nations on the surface of Golarion rather than continuing to prey solely upon inhabitants of the Darklands."
----[X] "At no point in our investigation has there been even a hint of Duergar involvement. Interestingly enough, however, the pirates we captured with the aid of Sir Pisca Fahlspar before reaching Cassomir, claimed to have been employed by House Basri at the behest of a powerful Elven wizard who goes by the name Swallowtail to attack Dwarves shipping. That cannot be corroborated, of course, because someone used powerful magic, an accomplished Elven wizard perhaps, to free the pirate captain as he was being escorted to prison under heavy guard and the weight of three separate curses we laid upon him to insure his compliance."
----[X] "This is the same House Basri who gifted governor Bozbeyli an enchanted flower we discovered acted as a disguised Scrying sensor so they could spy on any business conducted in his private office. It was that very device which allowed them to discover others in the city knew of the Drow incursion and were investigating them during our first meeting."
----[X] "Learning others were hunting the Drow must have been frustrating, considering the effort House Basri had already made to squash a previous investigation conducted by another group within the city who had learned of the Drow presence. When threats with the backing of House Basri didn't dissuade them, it was another Elf, a known Lantern Bearer, who threatened the ire of Queen Telandia herself. That finally silenced their inquiries, after being assured the Drow threat would be handled before your arrival, your highness. We couldn't trust such assurances, of course, so acting as the governor's agents we found and raided one of their operations."
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Not a diplomacy roll no.
- Location
- St. Petersburg
While the princess most certainly can handle the truth, and is under less threat from the elves than anyone else present, there are several aspects to think of.
* We do not want to be traced to a particularly scandalous reveal; everything we said to Bozbeyli about the elven queen's ire applies to us.
* I imagine things are already tense with elves, judging from the conversation with the guard, and this is going to make them worse. Our part in this is unlikely to be appreciated. We have staked certain interests in this city, including Saenar, who would not benefit from elven attention.
* We have no idea drow are involved in this. We are risking to instigate a massive political scandal for nothing.
I wouldn't be against revealing drow existence to the princess and/or point fingers if Basri is out of her earshot. I do not want to shake everyone's dirty laundry, enemy and ally alike, to people's faces. It makes life harder for a lot of powerful figures, the princess included, and our position here is pretty tenuous.
We are ghosts, not street performers. Whisper in the ear is our method, so long as the ear is right.
* We do not want to be traced to a particularly scandalous reveal; everything we said to Bozbeyli about the elven queen's ire applies to us.
* I imagine things are already tense with elves, judging from the conversation with the guard, and this is going to make them worse. Our part in this is unlikely to be appreciated. We have staked certain interests in this city, including Saenar, who would not benefit from elven attention.
* We have no idea drow are involved in this. We are risking to instigate a massive political scandal for nothing.
I wouldn't be against revealing drow existence to the princess and/or point fingers if Basri is out of her earshot. I do not want to shake everyone's dirty laundry, enemy and ally alike, to people's faces. It makes life harder for a lot of powerful figures, the princess included, and our position here is pretty tenuous.
We are ghosts, not street performers. Whisper in the ear is our method, so long as the ear is right.
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Goldfish
Friendly Spider-Fish Abomination
- Location
- Formerly of the Far Realm
You make very good points. Thanks for the reminder that we are supposed to be more covert than my natural inclinations would encourage.
Gonna significantly edit my plan.
- Location
- St. Petersburg
This is made into a separate post because it isn't much of a logical argument. But.
My particular distaste for a reveal taking this form comes from our tentative alliance with Lord Governor. It makes him sound like a fool and an incompetent for not cleaning house: being spied upon by others, missing a drow incursion and an elven counter-incursion, allowing piracy to go unpunished. While there is probably some fault in things degenerating to this extent, it compresses all of his failings and lumps them in the same breath with WWC and Basri plotting, just another spider in the can too busy looking out for himself instead of the city entrusted to him.
He's been a bro, as much as a noble can be, and I wouldn't want him to be put on the spot like that.
If we are to tell the truth, I'd like the governor included in the conversation (especially considering the assassination may have seeked to remove him from it, permanently), and I think Basri here rather spoils that mood.
My particular distaste for a reveal taking this form comes from our tentative alliance with Lord Governor. It makes him sound like a fool and an incompetent for not cleaning house: being spied upon by others, missing a drow incursion and an elven counter-incursion, allowing piracy to go unpunished. While there is probably some fault in things degenerating to this extent, it compresses all of his failings and lumps them in the same breath with WWC and Basri plotting, just another spider in the can too busy looking out for himself instead of the city entrusted to him.
He's been a bro, as much as a noble can be, and I wouldn't want him to be put on the spot like that.
If we are to tell the truth, I'd like the governor included in the conversation (especially considering the assassination may have seeked to remove him from it, permanently), and I think Basri here rather spoils that mood.
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- Location
- being near locations is my passion.
Assuming that he'd be brought back to life, it's possible that the attacker's felt that removing him from this conversation now we enough?
As in, the attack wasn't done in front of the princess to stir shit, it was to minimise the amount of time that he'd be alive to talk to her/opportunities to talk to her in private.
And if someone got their own story in first, he might need to go along with it to save face.
----
I'm guessing the Brasi man was already here to talk to the princess in the event of the governor's death, with the backup intention of running damage control.
As in, the attack wasn't done in front of the princess to stir shit, it was to minimise the amount of time that he'd be alive to talk to her/opportunities to talk to her in private.
And if someone got their own story in first, he might need to go along with it to save face.
----
I'm guessing the Brasi man was already here to talk to the princess in the event of the governor's death, with the backup intention of running damage control.
- Location
- St. Petersburg
I hypothesized before that it was done to temporarily suspend him from command. There is hardly a better statement of 'he does not have things in conrol' than an assassination attempt in broad daylight in front of a royal. Coincidentally -- what luck! -- there is a higher authority here to make decisions. Basri is attempting to steer them even now, but we don't know if he's been the instigator.
One potential consequence of this is that someone who is more in touch with the happenings is left in charge after the princess inevitably leaves once things are set right.
But I am a contrarian person and want the governor to remain in conrol throughout this. The reward he promised us is also helpful in this regard.
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Goldfish
Friendly Spider-Fish Abomination
- Location
- Formerly of the Far Realm
How is this? I don't see why we can't inform the princess of what's really going on. Kori can speak out loud, talk shit about the Duergar and seem to support House Basri's story, while Sirim telepathically gives the princess the facts as we know them.
[X] Those pesky Duergar!
-[X] Sirim telepathically asks Kori to buy him some time and to keep the occupants of the room distracted, especially the representative of House Basri.
-[X] Kori sighs dramatically, before seeming to brace himself to recount hard truths. "I know much about the Duergar, and none of it makes for a pleasant tale." Kori then launches into a recounting of common Darklands knowledge relating to the Duergar, their culture, their relationship with other inhabitants of the Darklands, etc.
-[X] Pepper will switch his Skilled Evolution over to Lore (Duergar) so he can weigh in on the conversation and help Kori while Sirim works.
--[X] While Kori plays his part, Sirim reaches out to speak telepathically to the princess and the governor. "Please do not be alarmed, your highness. There is much you need to know and it may be best if House Basri believes you to be ignorant, for now."
---[X] He then begins to share the relevant information we've learned since first encountering the pirates on our way to Cassomir with Sir Pisca Fahlspar.
----[X] The pirates were hired to disrupt Dwarven shipping. Under magical compulsion to speak truthfully their captain claimed it was House Basri and a powerful Elven wizard named Swallowtail who paid them. The captain was later freed using magic despite being under heavy guard and multiple curses, possibly to prevent him from further implicating his employers.
----[X] House Basri has the governor's office under constant surveillance via a disguised Scrying device.
----[X] House Basri and a well known Elven Lantern Bearer threatened the local Pathfinder Venture-captain when his people discovered there were Drow operating in the city. Ask that she please be discreet and not share that she learned of him through us, if she follows up on our information. The Pathfinders have too far of a reach for us to risk offending them, and we would like to stay in their good graces if at all possible.
----[X] Explain the Drow, their worship of Demons, in this case Shax the Demon Lord of Murder, and their involvement with a Lamashan plot.
-----[X] The Drow from the city-state of Zirnakaynin are venturing to the surface due to actions taken by the Apsis Consortium, who also happen to be the secret backers of the WWC. We don't know the full details of the event, but apparently they managed to assassinate the daughter of the Demon Lord Shax, who lived in the city and dictated much of their foreign policy. With her gone, the Drow are no longer required to tithe 90% of all income made through any trade conducted with the surface.
----[X] The governor asked us to find proof of the Drow in the city, since we were outsiders who had already proven ourselves trustworthy and capable, while he feared members of his guard force had been corrupted, possibly through bribes or threats from House Basri or their Elven allies. Then just days after that proof was provided and likely minutes or hours before he could share it with her, an assassination attempt was made against him, supposedly with Duergar backing despite there having been no trace of their involvement up to this point.
--[X] "We don't have all of the pieces to this puzzle, your highness, but I believe we have found enough to raise some very damning questions if you and the governor wish to pursue the matter further. Whether you call out House Basri or the Elves, there is still the matter of the Lamashans beneath the city that must be addressed. In their fervor to hide the Drow presence, they have inadvertently aided the Demon worshipers in their machinations."
-[X] "And that was the last we saw of the Duergar before coming to the surface," Kori finishes.
[X] Those pesky Duergar!
-[X] Sirim telepathically asks Kori to buy him some time and to keep the occupants of the room distracted, especially the representative of House Basri.
-[X] Kori sighs dramatically, before seeming to brace himself to recount hard truths. "I know much about the Duergar, and none of it makes for a pleasant tale." Kori then launches into a recounting of common Darklands knowledge relating to the Duergar, their culture, their relationship with other inhabitants of the Darklands, etc.
-[X] Pepper will switch his Skilled Evolution over to Lore (Duergar) so he can weigh in on the conversation and help Kori while Sirim works.
--[X] While Kori plays his part, Sirim reaches out to speak telepathically to the princess and the governor. "Please do not be alarmed, your highness. There is much you need to know and it may be best if House Basri believes you to be ignorant, for now."
---[X] He then begins to share the relevant information we've learned since first encountering the pirates on our way to Cassomir with Sir Pisca Fahlspar.
----[X] The pirates were hired to disrupt Dwarven shipping. Under magical compulsion to speak truthfully their captain claimed it was House Basri and a powerful Elven wizard named Swallowtail who paid them. The captain was later freed using magic despite being under heavy guard and multiple curses, possibly to prevent him from further implicating his employers.
----[X] House Basri has the governor's office under constant surveillance via a disguised Scrying device.
----[X] House Basri and a well known Elven Lantern Bearer threatened the local Pathfinder Venture-captain when his people discovered there were Drow operating in the city. Ask that she please be discreet and not share that she learned of him through us, if she follows up on our information. The Pathfinders have too far of a reach for us to risk offending them, and we would like to stay in their good graces if at all possible.
----[X] Explain the Drow, their worship of Demons, in this case Shax the Demon Lord of Murder, and their involvement with a Lamashan plot.
-----[X] The Drow from the city-state of Zirnakaynin are venturing to the surface due to actions taken by the Apsis Consortium, who also happen to be the secret backers of the WWC. We don't know the full details of the event, but apparently they managed to assassinate the daughter of the Demon Lord Shax, who lived in the city and dictated much of their foreign policy. With her gone, the Drow are no longer required to tithe 90% of all income made through any trade conducted with the surface.
----[X] The governor asked us to find proof of the Drow in the city, since we were outsiders who had already proven ourselves trustworthy and capable, while he feared members of his guard force had been corrupted, possibly through bribes or threats from House Basri or their Elven allies. Then just days after that proof was provided and likely minutes or hours before he could share it with her, an assassination attempt was made against him, supposedly with Duergar backing despite there having been no trace of their involvement up to this point.
--[X] "We don't have all of the pieces to this puzzle, your highness, but I believe we have found enough to raise some very damning questions if you and the governor wish to pursue the matter further. Whether you call out House Basri or the Elves, there is still the matter of the Lamashans beneath the city that must be addressed. In their fervor to hide the Drow presence, they have inadvertently aided the Demon worshipers in their machinations."
-[X] "And that was the last we saw of the Duergar before coming to the surface," Kori finishes.
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- Location
- St. Petersburg
Yes, this is what I had in mind. Sirim has been invaluable for these kinds of unspoken conversations.
- Location
- Germany
Not sure if talking around things in a relative emergency is funny or annoying.
But since we are also talking about the real deal, it's okay.
[X] Those pesky Duergar!
But since we are also talking about the real deal, it's okay.
[X] Those pesky Duergar!
Goldfish
Friendly Spider-Fish Abomination
- Location
- Formerly of the Far Realm
So now that DP has given the go-ahead for Pepper to Pokevolve into a Cat-skinned Faerie Dragon Improved Familiar/Guardian Spirit 'Super Being' (the bold part is Pepper's wording, not mine), we are basically getting a new mini-Sorcerer in the party.
At rest in his regular Familiar form, he'll only be a 3rd level Sorcerer, so his spells and caster level will be very limited. When Mina casts a Summon Monster spell to inject him with magical steroids, however, he will be getting a significant power boost. Higher attributes, caster level, more spells, feats, etc.
With a Summon Monster IV spell powering him up, he'll be a 5th level caster (7th level with SM V when Mina is 9th level, 9th with SM VI when she is 11th level, etc).
At 5th level he is going to have three feats, four 1st level spells, and two 2nd level spells. That isn't much, but we can work with it. The best thing we can do, IMO, is to choose a lane for him and focus on it really hard; offense, defense, or utility. One would make him into what amounts to a mobile weapon turret, another would be to provide party buffs, and the last would be just to pick generally useful spells that can help in various situations that aren't combat related.
Me being me, I think we should go with the weapon turret option. Here's what I have in mind.
Feats: Spell Focus (Conjuration), Spell Focus: Greater (Conjuration), *Spell Specialization (Stone Discus)
Spells:
1st Level: Grease, Mage Armor, *Shield, Snowball
2nd Level: *Create Pit, *Stone Discus
Feats and spells with an asterisk would only be available when he's a Guardian Spirit.
Grease, Snowball, Create Pit, and Stone Discus all ignore Spell Resistance, so it won't be as much of a concern that Pepper's caster level will always lag behind the rest of the party. Stone Discus doesn't allow a saving throw so that isn't a concern, but the other three spells do. Since they're all Conjuration spells, however, the Spell Focus feats will boost all of them for added oomph.
When Pepper is in Familiar form, he'll have the Grease and Snowball spells to work with for CC and damage.
When he's a Guardian Spirit, Spell Specialization will increase the caster level of Stone Discus to 7th, meaning Pepper will be able to launch two discuses that each inflict 4d6 damage on a hit. 8d6 damage from a spell is no joke. He'll be able to contribute meaningfully to fights rather than maybe serving as a distraction or siccing a Fire Elemental on someone. Mina will need to use one of her limited 4th level spell slots to make this work, but it's definitely worth it.
Create Pit is a great spell, but we could change that to Web or Glitterdust if y'all prefer. They're both Conjuration spells that ignore SR and provide good CC options.
At rest in his regular Familiar form, he'll only be a 3rd level Sorcerer, so his spells and caster level will be very limited. When Mina casts a Summon Monster spell to inject him with magical steroids, however, he will be getting a significant power boost. Higher attributes, caster level, more spells, feats, etc.
With a Summon Monster IV spell powering him up, he'll be a 5th level caster (7th level with SM V when Mina is 9th level, 9th with SM VI when she is 11th level, etc).
At 5th level he is going to have three feats, four 1st level spells, and two 2nd level spells. That isn't much, but we can work with it. The best thing we can do, IMO, is to choose a lane for him and focus on it really hard; offense, defense, or utility. One would make him into what amounts to a mobile weapon turret, another would be to provide party buffs, and the last would be just to pick generally useful spells that can help in various situations that aren't combat related.
Me being me, I think we should go with the weapon turret option. Here's what I have in mind.
Feats: Spell Focus (Conjuration), Spell Focus: Greater (Conjuration), *Spell Specialization (Stone Discus)
Spells:
1st Level: Grease, Mage Armor, *Shield, Snowball
2nd Level: *Create Pit, *Stone Discus
Feats and spells with an asterisk would only be available when he's a Guardian Spirit.
Grease, Snowball, Create Pit, and Stone Discus all ignore Spell Resistance, so it won't be as much of a concern that Pepper's caster level will always lag behind the rest of the party. Stone Discus doesn't allow a saving throw so that isn't a concern, but the other three spells do. Since they're all Conjuration spells, however, the Spell Focus feats will boost all of them for added oomph.
When Pepper is in Familiar form, he'll have the Grease and Snowball spells to work with for CC and damage.
When he's a Guardian Spirit, Spell Specialization will increase the caster level of Stone Discus to 7th, meaning Pepper will be able to launch two discuses that each inflict 4d6 damage on a hit. 8d6 damage from a spell is no joke. He'll be able to contribute meaningfully to fights rather than maybe serving as a distraction or siccing a Fire Elemental on someone. Mina will need to use one of her limited 4th level spell slots to make this work, but it's definitely worth it.
Create Pit is a great spell, but we could change that to Web or Glitterdust if y'all prefer. They're both Conjuration spells that ignore SR and provide good CC options.
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