Assassin's Guild Quest
- Thread starter Tarro
- Start date
-
- Tags
- original assassination
- Location
- CA
You can absolutely get someone with high stats all around, given a high enough roll. But their highest stat will be based on the vote.
Year 1, Spring: Interview
- Location
- CA
The Academy, being on the border of the western kingdoms and the empire, had seen it's fair share of wars over the years. It was itself a strategic objective for many of them; if a single country were to take and hold the city for a generation, it would end up far surpassing any of its neighbors in talent. Unfortunately for those who've tried, the Board of the academy takes vested interests in preventing that exact scenario. The Academy is neutral in the sense that it allows students from any polity. But otherwise, it actively mobilizes against anyone trying to upset the balance.
Years and years of border skirmishes have led to hundreds of soldiers that were formerly peasant levies out of employment and stuck on the border. Most returned home to their fields. Some turned to banditry. But many of them drifted down to the Academy. The Academy had plenty of odd jobs to go around, moving students in and out of housing, menial labor in workshops, etc., but never enough to completely employ the population that trickled in from the border.
And that left you with a lot of people willing to take money to do unsavory things. You took a walk from your base, found a few strong men down on their luck, and in a few hours had a reasonable 'security force' to call your own. Ten guys who found lounging around in your hideout better than on the streets, betting paid to look intimidating and do whatever other dirty work you wanted. They couldn't be called an elite force by any measure, but then again, you didn't need an elite force.
Ten mooks acquired.
Recruitment Roll: 3 + 10 = 13
Maybe you should've had lower expectations for trying to employ someone to kill people for you when you had no reputation, not much time, and less than a tenth of the money held by the nobles in the ivory towers at the top of the city, but there were a lot of people in the city, and a lot of chances for you to get lucky. Instead, you mostly found failing students drowning in their sorrows, people too deep into the bottle to hear you, and clubs with entrance fees too pricey for your current budget. You were about to call it quits, settle the tab in the bar you were idling in, and head back for the night with nothing, when you felt a tug on your money pouch.
??? Stealth Vs. Katarin Awareness: 32 + 20 < 54
1 degree success
Certainly, the Academy was a more orderly place than where you grew up, in the underbellies of Kelton in the Western Reaches, but your tight awareness of where you keep your valuables hasn't faded with time. Your hand snaps to where you know the pickpocket's wrist has to be, and traps nothing. No, you recognize as the air next to you 'meeps', you didn't catch nothing. You caught someone, someone who was so tiny your own rather small hands could firmly wrap about their entire wrist, but they were invisible. Not particularly strong, and by the feel not a fighter of any stripe, but dragging the invisible girl back with you was better than nothing.
Invisibility? You could work with that.
–
You sat the girl, Alexa Tahlin, down on the only couch in your base. Two of your henchmen took seats next to her, sandwiching her between them. You took a chair across from her, and your skeleton occupied the third seat at the table. A bit more 'casual' conversation gives you a decent rundown on her history. Alexa is a dropout. She was doing fine before a workshop incident left her with an unfortunate case of permanent invisibility. In the wake of that, she found employment and continued education rather difficult to pursue. The invisibility wasn't just tied to her body, even. Anything nonliving that she carried below her size would also be rendered invisible on contact. Put simply, she was a merchant's nightmare. Maybe the greatest of martial artists or wizards would be able to sense her, but for an ordinary person? She was untraceable.
But, as you leaned back in your chair and watched her fidget against the clothes of mooks holding her down, you recognized that she had no killer instinct. If you chose to pick her up, she'd be a fixer-upper.
"So," You speak after a while. "Let's talk business."
Immediately the tears come out. Or at least you assume they do, because again, invisible. "Please don't hurt me," She begs. "I'll do anything."
"We'll come back to that later."
Getting her to a decent level will be easy enough, you think. One of your mooks could probably get her up to an average lethality in a season or two. And you could probably keep her cowed by force of personality, with a bit of cash on the side. But you were taking a chance. Maybe an unnecessary one.
Alexa Tahlin
Lethality: 3
She seems squeamish at the sight of blood.
Vitality: 3
She starved for a decent bit, before she resorted to thievery.
Stealth: 10
She's literally invisible.
Awareness: 4
To be honest, you don't think she was a good student, even before the accident.
Traits:
Permanent Invisibility: It's just invisibility, all the time. Her Stealth stat cannot be reduced by other effects.
Price: 4 gold/season
She has dreams of going back to school someday.
Personal Action Restrictions: None
After the Interview phase is the Personal Action phase, where you can select actions for yourself, your mooks, and the Famed assassins you have that let you.
Mission Restrictions: None
More talented assassins may require that they get to pick which missions they do.
Percentage cut of mission payouts: 0%
Dirt cheap, but you get what you pay for.
[]Hire
[]Skip
I am going to try out a thing during the interview phase. For the next 24 hours or so, I will answer all questions you have for Alexa in her voice.
Years and years of border skirmishes have led to hundreds of soldiers that were formerly peasant levies out of employment and stuck on the border. Most returned home to their fields. Some turned to banditry. But many of them drifted down to the Academy. The Academy had plenty of odd jobs to go around, moving students in and out of housing, menial labor in workshops, etc., but never enough to completely employ the population that trickled in from the border.
And that left you with a lot of people willing to take money to do unsavory things. You took a walk from your base, found a few strong men down on their luck, and in a few hours had a reasonable 'security force' to call your own. Ten guys who found lounging around in your hideout better than on the streets, betting paid to look intimidating and do whatever other dirty work you wanted. They couldn't be called an elite force by any measure, but then again, you didn't need an elite force.
Ten mooks acquired.
Recruitment Roll: 3 + 10 = 13
Maybe you should've had lower expectations for trying to employ someone to kill people for you when you had no reputation, not much time, and less than a tenth of the money held by the nobles in the ivory towers at the top of the city, but there were a lot of people in the city, and a lot of chances for you to get lucky. Instead, you mostly found failing students drowning in their sorrows, people too deep into the bottle to hear you, and clubs with entrance fees too pricey for your current budget. You were about to call it quits, settle the tab in the bar you were idling in, and head back for the night with nothing, when you felt a tug on your money pouch.
??? Stealth Vs. Katarin Awareness: 32 + 20 < 54
1 degree success
Certainly, the Academy was a more orderly place than where you grew up, in the underbellies of Kelton in the Western Reaches, but your tight awareness of where you keep your valuables hasn't faded with time. Your hand snaps to where you know the pickpocket's wrist has to be, and traps nothing. No, you recognize as the air next to you 'meeps', you didn't catch nothing. You caught someone, someone who was so tiny your own rather small hands could firmly wrap about their entire wrist, but they were invisible. Not particularly strong, and by the feel not a fighter of any stripe, but dragging the invisible girl back with you was better than nothing.
Invisibility? You could work with that.
–
You sat the girl, Alexa Tahlin, down on the only couch in your base. Two of your henchmen took seats next to her, sandwiching her between them. You took a chair across from her, and your skeleton occupied the third seat at the table. A bit more 'casual' conversation gives you a decent rundown on her history. Alexa is a dropout. She was doing fine before a workshop incident left her with an unfortunate case of permanent invisibility. In the wake of that, she found employment and continued education rather difficult to pursue. The invisibility wasn't just tied to her body, even. Anything nonliving that she carried below her size would also be rendered invisible on contact. Put simply, she was a merchant's nightmare. Maybe the greatest of martial artists or wizards would be able to sense her, but for an ordinary person? She was untraceable.
But, as you leaned back in your chair and watched her fidget against the clothes of mooks holding her down, you recognized that she had no killer instinct. If you chose to pick her up, she'd be a fixer-upper.
"So," You speak after a while. "Let's talk business."
Immediately the tears come out. Or at least you assume they do, because again, invisible. "Please don't hurt me," She begs. "I'll do anything."
"We'll come back to that later."
Getting her to a decent level will be easy enough, you think. One of your mooks could probably get her up to an average lethality in a season or two. And you could probably keep her cowed by force of personality, with a bit of cash on the side. But you were taking a chance. Maybe an unnecessary one.
Alexa Tahlin
Lethality: 3
She seems squeamish at the sight of blood.
Vitality: 3
She starved for a decent bit, before she resorted to thievery.
Stealth: 10
She's literally invisible.
Awareness: 4
To be honest, you don't think she was a good student, even before the accident.
Traits:
Permanent Invisibility: It's just invisibility, all the time. Her Stealth stat cannot be reduced by other effects.
Price: 4 gold/season
She has dreams of going back to school someday.
Personal Action Restrictions: None
After the Interview phase is the Personal Action phase, where you can select actions for yourself, your mooks, and the Famed assassins you have that let you.
Mission Restrictions: None
More talented assassins may require that they get to pick which missions they do.
Percentage cut of mission payouts: 0%
Dirt cheap, but you get what you pay for.
[]Hire
[]Skip
I am going to try out a thing during the interview phase. For the next 24 hours or so, I will answer all questions you have for Alexa in her voice.
- Location
- Somewhere else
[X]Hire
Also, this means I have to reference Puffin Forest's "permanently invisible"
View: https://youtu.be/WUA5aCOF3y0?t=58
Also, this means I have to reference Puffin Forest's "permanently invisible"
View: https://youtu.be/WUA5aCOF3y0?t=58
thelordofmango
may be stupid
- Location
- under a rock
[X]Hire
[X]Hire
'invisible arsonist' aside: If we train up her awareness she could be a great spy, tailing future targets to find weakpoints. Or aquiring items we need / clean up by taking possible evidence with her. Or planting evidence.
@Tarro
"Alexa, how willing and capable are you of learning? We may have opportunities for you, but your attentiveness could really use some work..."
'invisible arsonist' aside: If we train up her awareness she could be a great spy, tailing future targets to find weakpoints. Or aquiring items we need / clean up by taking possible evidence with her. Or planting evidence.
@Tarro
"Alexa, how willing and capable are you of learning? We may have opportunities for you, but your attentiveness could really use some work..."
- Location
- CA
"I can learn quickly!" She rushes out between your sentences. At your mention of attentiveness her voice turns sullen. "I'll be better, next time."
"I, um, don't know? But it was what dad wanted. He spent all of his savings, too."
"Professor Siemens was interested in the properties of Pyrite as a binding metal. What do I mean by binding metal? Ordinarily, gold is used for enchantments because it's so malleable, but gold is, well, gold. Pyrite is cheap and looks the same. So we set up the enchanting table, and the professor prepared a basic poured enchantment mixed with pyrite: the standard test that emits light."
"But the glass just... fell off the table on me."
You stared a bit, disbelieving.
"No, I swear, I wasn't touching it! It just fell on its own!"
"Do you think that maybe you could recreate that situation sometime in the future?"
- Location
- CA
"No, because the enchantment doesn't work like that!" She insists, despite her current state.
In a lower voice, she continues. "I, um, tried to copy it. Maybe sell it or something. It was just shiny, like it was supposed to be."
"I don't get it," she cries, miserably.
"Hm, could you make cheap enchantments with this pyrite of yours? If you could and we could apply it to a target..."
- Location
- St. Petersburg
"Do you think it could have been sabotage?"
(Good use case for an invisible person, by the way)
"What are your views on legal system in the Academy?"
(Basically, what kind of work she'd be willing to do for us, and more specifically, what laws she'd be okay with breaking? I assume arson wouldn't sit well with her either, but she isn't too shy to steal)
Is there anything we are aware of that could help us pierce invisibility? While we are planning to offer her a job, having a spy invisible for the employer is not ideal when you handle sensitive information.
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- Location
- CA
"I don't know, pyrite just doesnt seem to work for me," she groans.
"Who would sabotage Professor Siemens?" She asks. "He can speak directly to the Academy Board."
"He didn't report the accident, though," she grumbled.
"Well, the enforcers keep the peace? There's a lot of theft among students, though, and they seem to look the other way most of the time."
"I didn't steal though!" She insists.
You look suitably unimpressed, taking out your coin pouch to give it a mock count.
"I didn't steal much, though," she corrects morosely.
"So you're willing to steal." You correct. "What else are you willing to do?"
"Anything, I swear!" She latches on to your implication of employment like a lifeline.
"Even murder?"
She gulps, but doesn't refute you. "I, uh, I'm not any good at that. But I'll try my best?"
You know stronger martial artists can simply sense people, and that high level mages have detection spells that would probably work. You think you could buy an enchanted item with the same effect, but it'd probably have to be custom made, so the price would be inconsistent but high.
On the other hand, you're pretty sure you're surprisingly close to that sensing level already. After all, you did catch her once, right?
(OOC: you train awareness at two levels below your effective awareness, making leveling it rather quick comparatively. As long as she isn't trying to kill you, that is.)
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Well, if we can make sure that the invisibility doesn't make her get foolish ideas about backstabbing us she will be an awesome asset.
"Now, i think there is no need to talk about your ability to stay out of view. How well can you avoid making sounds? How well can you follow a plan under pressure, when dropping something could lead to danger to your life?"
"How does the academy keep unwanted people out? How does the academy try to prevent people stealing from each other?"
"Now, i think there is no need to talk about your ability to stay out of view. How well can you avoid making sounds? How well can you follow a plan under pressure, when dropping something could lead to danger to your life?"
"How does the academy keep unwanted people out? How does the academy try to prevent people stealing from each other?"
- Location
- CA
"I'm good at following directions," she says with confidence.
"That's the only thing I'm good at," she mumbles to herself, a second later.
"They kind of don't. Um, the enforcers might kick you out if they see you being suspicious, but there's not a lot of them around and a lot of people come and go."
"I've never seen an enforcer care about someone crying about stolen stuff," she fumes.
- Location
- CA
Mundane locks exist, but they're not very secure. You could jig one open with some luck and the right-shaped tool, much less anyone who has real practice. Add to that they're a decent chunk of metal that has to be crafted somewhat precisely and they aren't too common.
Magic locks are like normal locks, but also they require magic, which requires expensive materials to set the magic on. Maybe some of the Academy vaults will use that sort of thing, or an experienced mage protecting his own stuff, but for the most part property is protected by guards and enforcers, who will mostly be hanging around the rich and famous.
Year 1, Spring: Personal
- Location
- CA
It really wasn't a question for you in the first place. That you could find anyone remotely special to work for you was worth the price to you at the current point in time. That she didn't ask for much was a nice bonus, too. Even if she couldn't stick a knife through someone particularly well didn't matter to you yet; you had other people for that.
"I find myself interested in your abilities," you assure Alexa.
"Really?!" She starts, before she remembers she's supposed to be wary. "Wait, you don't mean you want to dissect me, right?"
Surprisingly, even with the business you want to undertake, the possibility was entirely out of your mind. You weren't a mage, anyways. You could barely make sense of the magic systems she described, much less control any of it yourself. "Do you get asked that a lot?" You ask, in disbelief.
"...a little," She answers, unwilling to express the full extent.
Maybe, you weren't even doing the dirtiest work that the Academy offered. Really, life is always full of new experiences.
"I have some tasks for which your skills would be a great asset," You explain.
"Ofcourseofcourse I'll do it!"
Paying four gold was far too much, for someone this easy. Your bleeding heart was just too much, sometimes.
"Good. I'll expect you here in the morning. If you don't mind the dust, you can sleep here," You conclude, standing up from your chair and taking a late night walk rather than experience any more exposure to her.
You'd taken a brief look at Elainus Levon's schedule during earlier observations, so you had a pretty good idea for how long you had before any point in killing him was gone. You had some time to get your business more developed. And clearing out some of the dust. Really, you had to deal with the dust, sooner than later.
Pick one for each person/group.
Katarin:
[][K]Train a stat:
-[][K]Lethality
–[][K]Optional Write-in: Get trained by someone?
-[][K]Vitality
–[][K]Optional Write-in: Get trained by someone?
-[][K]Stealth
–[][K]Optional Write-in: Get trained by someone?
-[][K]Awareness
–[][K]Optional Write-in: Get trained by someone?
[][K]Train Mooks
-[][K]Lethality
-[][K]Vitality
-[][K]Stealth
-[][K]Awareness
[][K]Investigate a place:
-[][K]Your Base. There were still some secrets left behind by the former occupant.
-[][K]Elainus Levon's Workshop. Make sure everything was as you expected.
-[][K]The High Towers. Bump shoulders with some of the Movers and Shakers in the Academy.
-[][K]The Underbelly. Get established among those already doing crime.
-[][K]Write-in: Any other places of interest?
[][K]Base Development:
-[][K]Bring in furniture. Make this place look a bit more professional.
-[][K]Clean up the place. It's yours, dammit! It shouldn't be this dusty!
-[][K]Develop it further. There's a lot of space left, maybe you could make it an actual permanent residence?
-[][K]Write-in: Any other development ideas?
[][K]Explore. There's a lot of things going on around the city. Maybe you could find something interesting.
Mooks:
Mooks cannot train themselves.
[][M]Investigate a place:
-[][M]Your Base.
-[][M]Elainus Levon's Workshop.
-[][M]The High Towers.
-[][M]The Underbelly.
-[][M]Write-in: Any other places of interest?
[][M]Base Development:
-[][M]Bring in furniture.
-[][M]Clean up the place.
-[][M]Develop it further.
-[][M]Write-in: Any other development ideas?
[][M]Explore.
Alexa:
[][A]Train a stat:
-[][A]Lethality
–[][A]Optional Write-in: Get trained by someone?
-[][A]Vitality
–[][A]Optional Write-in: Get trained by someone?
-[][A]Stealth
–[][A]Optional Write-in: Get trained by someone?
-[][A]Awareness
–[][A]Optional Write-in: Get trained by someone?
[][A]Train Mooks
-[][A]Lethality
-[][A]Vitality
-[][A]Stealth
-[][A]Awareness
[][A]Investigate a place:
-[][A]Your Base.
-[][A]Elainus Levon's Workshop.
-[][A]The High Towers.
-[][A]The Underbelly.
-[][A]Write-in: Any other places of interest?
[][A]Base Development:
-[][A]Bring in furniture.
-[][A]Clean up the place.
-[][A]Develop it further.
-[][A]Write-in: Any other development ideas?
[][A]Explore. There's a lot of things going on around the city. Maybe you could find something interesting.
"I find myself interested in your abilities," you assure Alexa.
"Really?!" She starts, before she remembers she's supposed to be wary. "Wait, you don't mean you want to dissect me, right?"
Surprisingly, even with the business you want to undertake, the possibility was entirely out of your mind. You weren't a mage, anyways. You could barely make sense of the magic systems she described, much less control any of it yourself. "Do you get asked that a lot?" You ask, in disbelief.
"...a little," She answers, unwilling to express the full extent.
Maybe, you weren't even doing the dirtiest work that the Academy offered. Really, life is always full of new experiences.
"I have some tasks for which your skills would be a great asset," You explain.
"Ofcourseofcourse I'll do it!"
Paying four gold was far too much, for someone this easy. Your bleeding heart was just too much, sometimes.
"Good. I'll expect you here in the morning. If you don't mind the dust, you can sleep here," You conclude, standing up from your chair and taking a late night walk rather than experience any more exposure to her.
You'd taken a brief look at Elainus Levon's schedule during earlier observations, so you had a pretty good idea for how long you had before any point in killing him was gone. You had some time to get your business more developed. And clearing out some of the dust. Really, you had to deal with the dust, sooner than later.
Pick one for each person/group.
Katarin:
[][K]Train a stat:
-[][K]Lethality
–[][K]Optional Write-in: Get trained by someone?
-[][K]Vitality
–[][K]Optional Write-in: Get trained by someone?
-[][K]Stealth
–[][K]Optional Write-in: Get trained by someone?
-[][K]Awareness
–[][K]Optional Write-in: Get trained by someone?
[][K]Train Mooks
-[][K]Lethality
-[][K]Vitality
-[][K]Stealth
-[][K]Awareness
[][K]Investigate a place:
-[][K]Your Base. There were still some secrets left behind by the former occupant.
-[][K]Elainus Levon's Workshop. Make sure everything was as you expected.
-[][K]The High Towers. Bump shoulders with some of the Movers and Shakers in the Academy.
-[][K]The Underbelly. Get established among those already doing crime.
-[][K]Write-in: Any other places of interest?
[][K]Base Development:
-[][K]Bring in furniture. Make this place look a bit more professional.
-[][K]Clean up the place. It's yours, dammit! It shouldn't be this dusty!
-[][K]Develop it further. There's a lot of space left, maybe you could make it an actual permanent residence?
-[][K]Write-in: Any other development ideas?
[][K]Explore. There's a lot of things going on around the city. Maybe you could find something interesting.
Mooks:
Mooks cannot train themselves.
[][M]Investigate a place:
-[][M]Your Base.
-[][M]Elainus Levon's Workshop.
-[][M]The High Towers.
-[][M]The Underbelly.
-[][M]Write-in: Any other places of interest?
[][M]Base Development:
-[][M]Bring in furniture.
-[][M]Clean up the place.
-[][M]Develop it further.
-[][M]Write-in: Any other development ideas?
[][M]Explore.
Alexa:
[][A]Train a stat:
-[][A]Lethality
–[][A]Optional Write-in: Get trained by someone?
-[][A]Vitality
–[][A]Optional Write-in: Get trained by someone?
-[][A]Stealth
–[][A]Optional Write-in: Get trained by someone?
-[][A]Awareness
–[][A]Optional Write-in: Get trained by someone?
[][A]Train Mooks
-[][A]Lethality
-[][A]Vitality
-[][A]Stealth
-[][A]Awareness
[][A]Investigate a place:
-[][A]Your Base.
-[][A]Elainus Levon's Workshop.
-[][A]The High Towers.
-[][A]The Underbelly.
-[][A]Write-in: Any other places of interest?
[][A]Base Development:
-[][A]Bring in furniture.
-[][A]Clean up the place.
-[][A]Develop it further.
-[][A]Write-in: Any other development ideas?
[][A]Explore. There's a lot of things going on around the city. Maybe you could find something interesting.