Episode #1: Not Quite Rats in the Basement...

[VennDygrem]

Zella accepts some of the magical assistance, though some seems not to take hold as she closes herself off to the watchman's first blessing, though she accepts the others with the exception of an unnecessary warding against poisons.

In turn, she spends a few moments offering her own magic to the others.

"If we're working together on this job, you should all be protected from my magic. I can ward you against any negative effects, and if any of you are incapable of seeing in the dark, I can help with that as well."

Zella holds her hands out and performs a series of gestures while concentrating with serious intent. Each affected member briefly feels their vision clarify to a supernatural degree for a moment before returning to normal.
 

OOC

I cast Clearsight on everyone (it's cheaper than renewing it every 3 hours using Mass Meld), which grants immunity to any negative effects of my 'Dark' sphere magic (blots and darkness effects) for 20 hours. This doesn't grant darkvision, but allows those with darkvision to see through my magical darkness effects (which can otherwise hinder even 'See in Darkness' abilities and other special senses, depending on the degree of darkness I lay down.)

I can additionally grant darkvision for 20 hours to anyone who doesn't already have it, and if desired I can grant everyone an ability to teleport between patches of dim light or darkness, though I'd prefer to use Mass Meld on that for combat unless it's needed for sneaking; that reduces the duration to just over 3 hours but covers everyone.

I really need to sit down and calculate my SP expenditure. D:

 

[Llyarden]

The cloister is located in a relatively unremarkable part of the city - not one of the poorer districts, but equally far from the lavish style of the wealthy district you had just left. Given that most of the buildings around it are either houses or shops, it sticks out a little; as Zella had recalled, it has a relatively large floorspan, with a tower rising above most of the surrounding buildings, and the whole thing is surrounded by a wall, though it's barely ten feet tall and seems more intended to guide visitors towards the gate than to deter any serious trespassers.

One thing that is immediately apparent from nothing more then casual inspection is the fact that - with the notable exception of the wall itself - the people Weltin had hired to maintain the cloister...didn't really seem to have been doing their job. Without flight it's hard to see over the wall, but the tower - and what you can see of the building from the gate - seem in pretty poor shape, overgrown with ivy, and in places patched up with support beams that clearly weren't a part of the original structure.

The other thing that is immediately apparent is that the locals seem to be avoiding the cloister as best they can...although not to the extent that they want to let it be obvious that they're avoiding it. They conveniently find some other task on the far side of the road that necessitates moving away from it, carts and carriages slightly but undeniably speed up as they clatter down the road adjoining the cloister's gate, and one or two people take back alleys and side paths as though they had been heading that way the whole time despite it undeniably being a longer and more tortuous path.

[Boss Muro]

Khefu shook his head slowly as he looked the ruin up and down. "Bad vibes, this place. To think, just twenty years ago, this was one of the Altea's centers of power. A grand hall in the middle of the community, with an infinite food generator and who knows how much other wonders woven into it's structure. The city could have done anything they wanted with the building after the doves went bankrupt. But instead, they handed it off for a pittance to a series of well-connected scumbags on the hill, who left it to rot and fester into a place like this. A damn shame."

Returning to more practical considerations, Khefu nodded towards the privacy wall surrounding the Cloister. "If we go up to the wall, I can drop a few clairvoyance sensors into the building. I'm thinking top of the tower, behind the main door...maybe one dead center of the building? What do you all think?"

Edited October 19, 2023 by Boss Muro (see edit history)

[GralphidBlackstrip]

"And just a few centuries ago there were only a few houses here, surrounded by daisies. A family of brownies lived in one, and pranked their humans. They were particularly fond of switching the sugar and salt as I remember. There were some most amusing spit-takes." Velras says with a laugh.

 

Turning his attention to more serious matters, he considers Khefu's idea. "I will see if any of the birds or rats will be willing to go in and look around. With a bit of effort, I can see through their eyes as they do so.

Velras calls out quietly, his voice haunting and mystical. He crouches to the ground, over small holes, then climbing up trees to finds bird's nests. Each time he finds an animal, he speaks to them, his normal seeming words somehow comprehensible to the mundane beasts.

"From the Earth: every kind of living creature

all the living creatures of every kind that creep

And from the air all the winged birds of every kind

Come to me, I emplore you

Come, I would speak to you.

And I have cheese!"

Mechanics

Using wildspeaker feat to talk to any nearby rats or pigeons or whatever. I am asking them to go into the compound and look around, and will offer them a piece of cheese or other human food in return.

Let me know if I need a diplomacy check for this.

Statblock and Tracker

44/57 Spell points left

Martial Focus: 2/2

Active Effects: The World, Swords, The Fool, Strength, and The Emperor (Duration: 16 hours from opening scene)

Enhance Equipment (unarmed strike, warhammer, 7 other armors/weapons) Duration: 16 hours from opening scene)

Darkvision (Duration: 20 hours from opening scene, from Zella)

Staunch Resistance (Will, Reflex) (Duration: 160 minutes from opening scene, applies to whole party)

Cast Nature's Carapace (metal) and Resist Elements (fire, enhanced) (duration: 260 minutes from opening scene)

blessing of the watch, hunter's blessing (+2 sacred bonus on Bluff, Perception, Sense Motive,  Survival, attack rolls and damage rolls made against humans. +2 sacred bonus on initiative checks, Perception, Stealth, and Survival checks in urban areas),

Blacksmith Maintenances: Clarifying and Quickening Reinforcements Blacksmith maintenances (+4 reflex and will saves), and Armor Maintenance (+4 armor, reduce ACP by 4)

Defences: AC: 48, FF: 36, Touch: 23, CMD: 39 (+2 per size category larger than me attacker is, +4 vs trip and +5 vs sunder)

Cold/Elec/Acid Resistance 10, Fire Resist 36 and recover 1 HP for each damage prevented

Fort: +17, Ref: +22, Will: +19, (all saves roll twice and take better) HP: 240

Immunities/other: Immune to disease, poison, age.
130' move, climb (including through air, or earth glide speed

Skills: Acrobatics +42*, Climb +31*, Diplomacy +24, K. Engineering, local, and nature (+21), Perception +16 (+7 on traps, +2 bonus and auto-check to find unusual stonework or metalwork), Prof Blacksmith* +34, sense motive +24, Knowledge local +23, Stealth* +24

*Can take-10 even when rushed or threatened

+5 insight bonus to skills when taking 10

Misc: Can make AoOs even when flat-footed.

When suffering penalties to attack rolls, damage rolls, saving throws, skill checks, or ability checks, reduce the total penalty by 2, to a minimum penalty of -1.
 

Edited October 19, 2023 by GralphidBlackstrip (see edit history)

[BBK]

Perking up at the mention of cheese, but then looking crestfallen as he realized that it was likely meant for the mentioned rats and not shared out to the group, Vance lets out a small sigh of disappointment. Nodding to Khefu, Vance shrugs. "Sounds like a decent start to me."

Not having anything to truly help with the current effort, Vance instead begins manifesting various magical accouterments and armaments around himself, the veils of magic coming into being on his person. "Best to be prepared," he mumbles.

Though his clothing obscures some of the manifestations, the five crystals that come into being and float around his head like ioun stones are quite obvious, as well as nearly translucent armor and a shield before both fade from view with the naked eye.

OOC

ACTIONS

• Unsupress Veils & Invest Essence
• Manifest Mind Armor & Mind Shield

---

 

[VennDygrem]

Zella shifts into her prior disguise before the group leaves Weltin's residence. While her instinct was to take on a new appearance, the guise she wore on the way in arrived not long before the others, so it would be suspicious if that girl enters the businessman's abode but was replaced by a different one altogether.

She observes everything on their way, taking mental notes on as much as possible. When they arrive, the professional spy listens to everyone's suggestions before responding.

"Good ideas; magical sensors can get in where physical presence proves difficult. I'm going to scout around the outside while you do what you need to, trying to remain as inconspicuous as possible. I'll try to see if there are any external access points or vulnerabilities, anyone else keeping tabs on the goings-on outside, what-have-you. If anyone wishes to accompany me, I advise you to only do so if you can blend in and follow along."

Zella takes a step back away from the group and performs a courteous curtsy, then strolls away with the better flow of foot traffic, attempting to blend into the crowd. While she doesn't avoid the outer wall quite as much as the other cityfolk, she does her best not to be obvious about her observations. Every so often, she follows a side street, only to wind up back on the main road in a different disguise. Eventually, she finishes her rounds, winding back up with the others, looking somewhat different than when she left them. She singles out Vance as part of her approach, waving and smiling warmly as part of her act; When she speaks, she has the same voice as when she left them not long ago, likely as a means of being easier for them to recognize.

"That was quite a bit longer a walk than I anticipated. Had to find proper spots to 'change out' as it were. Sorry for the change in appearance, you never know who's watching."

OOC

So, a couple magical disguises but otherwise, standard reconnaissance. Perception, Bluff, and Stealth checks below.

For Perception, I'd take note of anythign that particularly stands out from our initial assessment (overgrown ivy, premises in general disrepair, etc.), but focus on whether anyone seems to be watching the outer wall besides us, whether there are any cracks in the wall, any difference in height of the wall in different areas, any obvious blindspots to the main tower, and any other details about the exterior I can determine from my careful observation (e.g. if the main gate is obviously locked from the outside, what other details I notice like type of door/lock, is there any crack under or between the doors in that gate, any additional doors/gates besides the main one, any sewer entrances/manhole/grates, etc.). At least, as far as my dice rolls allow.

Also, it should be obvious that Zella is rather paranoid as a condition of her career. :D

Please let me know if you want multiple rolls for the scouting since it should take place over several minutes at least.

Edited October 30, 2023 by VennDygrem (see edit history)

[Boss Muro]

As Velras negotiated with the local critters and Zella skulked around the perimeter, Khefu settled down cross-legged to conduct a spot of remote-viewing. As planned, he sent out three scrying sensors, one after another. The first appeared at the top room of the Cloisters tower, the second in the room immediately behind the front door (somewhat off to the side of the door itself, in case there were magical eyes trained on the door), and the third placed somewhat randomly, near the center of the building.

OOC

Casting clairvoyance 3 times, as described above. Each gives me normal human vision from the sensor, or 10 ft of darkvision if it's pitch-black. Each casting takes 10 minutes. If something happens during a scry (Like the scrying sensor being detected) Khefu immediately breaks the spell and warns the others.

Statblock

Active Effects: Delay poison, eaglesoul (passive), Greater magic weapon +3, ascetic armor +10, hunter's blessing (+2 sacred bonus on Bluff, Perception, Sense Motive,  Survival, attack rolls and damage rolls made against humans. +2 sacred bonus on initiative checks, Perception, Stealth, and Survival checks in urban areas), blessing of the watch, wind walk, enhance equipment (unarmed, +5), Staunch resistance (+5 will and fortitude)

Defenses: AC: 39, FF: 36, Touch: 29, CMD: 54

Cold/Elec/Acid Resistance 5, DR 5/natural weapons

Fort: +23, Ref: +18, Will: +22 (28 vs mind-affecting), HP: 195

Immunities/other: Immune to disease, death, aging, starvation, takes minimum fall damage, and delays poison. +3 vs fear, +2 vs paralysis and sleep.
Attacks: Flurry of blows: +27/27/27/22/17 for 2d8+15 damage. Stunning fist DC 25. Each hit comes with free intimidate, enemies hit while shaken become flat-footed vs me, +2 attacks per round vs flat-footed enemies. Can flying kick 40' and full attack, or use Dimensional dervish to teleport/charge/full attack 200 ft (costing 2 ki). Two style strikes per round:

Grapple + 32
Skills: Intimidate +42, sense motive +24, Knowledge local +23, Diplo +27, Stealth +26, UMD +12, Spellcraft +21, Perception +19,
Misc: Attacks count as magic, lawful, silver, cold iron, adamantine. 100' move speed.

 

REMAINING SPELL SLOTS: 7/6/5/7/6/6/5

 

[Boss Muro]

Still sitting on the ground in a lotus position, Khefu listened to his teammate's findings and shared his own report. "I've got signs of habitation at the top of the tower, but no actual people in sight. Feels like there's nothing for it but to poke our heads in and see if anything tries to chop 'em off."

"Personally," He continued casually, as if this was a discussion he'd had a million times before, "I've always been a fan of the rooftop entry. It's kind of a well-worn cliche that humans never look up, and they tend to put their booby-traps at ground level too. I vote we start at the top of the tower and work our way down. I've got a spell of airwalk to share with anyone who can't get airborne by themselves, but what I don't have is a way to cloak our advance if anyone thinks to look at the sky."

Thinking over the other options, he added "Short of teleportation, the other option I see is to jump the wall and come in low and quiet. As I see it, there's worse odds of us stumbling into some kind of trap that way, but it might be a bit less conspicuous than five people flying through the air. Thoughts?"

Statblock

Active Effects: Delay poison, eaglesoul (passive), Greater magic weapon +3, ascetic armor +10, hunter's blessing (+2 sacred bonus on Bluff, Perception, Sense Motive,  Survival, attack rolls and damage rolls made against humans. +2 sacred bonus on initiative checks, Perception, Stealth, and Survival checks in urban areas), blessing of the watch, wind walk, enhance equipment (unarmed, +5), Staunch resistance (+5 will and fortitude), clearsight (immunity to Zella's shadows)

Defences: AC: 39, FF: 36, Touch: 29, CMD: 54

Cold/Elec/Acid Resistance 5, DR 5/natural weapons

Fort: +23, Ref: +18, Will: +22 (28 vs mind-affecting), HP: 195

Immunities/other: Immune to disease, death, aging, starvation, takes minimum fall damage, and delays poison. +3 vs fear, +2 vs paralysis and sleep.
Attacks: Flurry of blows: +27/27/27/22/17 for 2d8+15 damage. Stunning fist DC 25. Each hit comes with free intimidate, enemies hit while shaken become flat-footed vs me, +2 attacks per round vs flat-footed enemies. Can flying kick 40' and full attack, or use Dimensional dervish to teleport/charge/full attack 200 ft (costing 2 ki). Two style strikes per round:

Grapple + 32
Skills: Intimidate +42, sense motive +24, Knowledge local +23, Diplo +27, Stealth +26, UMD +12, Spellcraft +21, Perception +19,
Misc: Attacks count as magic, lawful, silver, cold iron, adamantine. 100' move speed.

 

RESOURCES

SPELLS REMAINING: 6/7/5/7/6/6/5

Ki points: 17, Stunning fist: 14

Natural Divinations: +cha to saving throw (x2), +10 to skill check (x2)

 

Edited November 16, 2023 by Boss Muro (see edit history)

[GralphidBlackstrip]

  

"The animals refuse to enter." Velras says with a frown, before listening to Khefu's report.

 

"I'm inclined to agree with the Rookie on just going in. As for flying in, we could wait for nightfall. Zella's magic would let us see well, and there's a chance whoever's in there would be at least somewhat hindered."

 

Mechanics

none.

Statblock and Tracker

44/57 Spell points left

Martial Focus: 2/2

Active Effects: The World, Swords, The Fool, Strength, and The Emperor (Duration: 16 hours from opening scene)

Enhance Equipment (unarmed strike, warhammer, 7 other armors/weapons) Duration: 16 hours from opening scene)

Darkvision (Duration: 20 hours from opening scene, from Zella)

Staunch Resistance (Will, Reflex) (Duration: 160 minutes from opening scene, applies to whole party)

Cast Nature's Carapace (metal) and Resist Elements (fire, enhanced) (duration: 260 minutes from opening scene)

blessing of the watch, hunter's blessing (+2 sacred bonus on Bluff, Perception, Sense Motive,  Survival, attack rolls and damage rolls made against humans. +2 sacred bonus on initiative checks, Perception, Stealth, and Survival checks in urban areas),

Blacksmith Maintenances: Clarifying and Quickening Reinforcements Blacksmith maintenances (+4 reflex and will saves), and Armor Maintenance (+4 armor, reduce ACP by 4)

Defenses: AC: 48, FF: 36, Touch: 23, CMD: 39 (+2 per size category larger than me attacker is, +4 vs trip and +5 vs sunder)

Cold/Elec/Acid Resistance 10, Fire Resist 36 and recover 1 HP for each damage prevented

Fort: +17, Ref: +22, Will: +19, (all saves roll twice and take better) HP: 240

Immunities/other: Immune to disease, poison, age.
130' move, climb (including through air, or earth glide speed

Skills: Acrobatics +42*, Climb +31*, Diplomacy +24, K. Engineering, local, and nature (+21), Perception +16 (+7 on traps, +2 bonus and auto-check to find unusual stonework or metalwork), Prof Blacksmith* +34, sense motive +24, Knowledge local +23, Stealth* +24

*Can take-10 even when rushed or threatened

+5 insight bonus to skills when taking 10

Misc: Can make AoOs even when flat-footed.

When suffering penalties to attack rolls, damage rolls, saving throws, skill checks, or ability checks, reduce the total penalty by 2, to a minimum penalty of -1.
 

[Laird Ichofox]

"I could teleport myself in, but the only means I have of teleporting others is... Indiscreet, shall we say. Large walls of energy tend to be that." Roth muses, before nodding at Velras' suggestion. "If we want to be stealthy and not deal with traps, that'd be the best method of infiltration. However, if we enter on the ground level, we can cut off that route as an avenue of escape for them."

[VennDygrem]

Zella nods along with the suggestion of how to approach from here.

"The outer wall is quite well-maintained, with no cracks or crevices I could breach for further reconnaissance. So, going over the wall or through the front door seems our only option, unless we could somehow approach underground. That's not a particular specialty of mine, though. I agree that using the cover of night is best, especially if we utilize my subtler talents. I could traverse the wall myself as a patch of shadowstuff, but it would look extremely out of place in daylight unless I can stay confined by other shadows. Else, if we wish to intrude immediately, your airwalking may be necessary. I'd say it would still draw some undue attention in daytime, however."

She casts her glance toward the entrance.

"It is strange that no one comes in or out, and no one is visible within the grounds. They must be remaining inside the buildings, or perhaps there is more to these facilities than we know. Rather, I suspect that much is true. I wonder if there are tunnels beneath the facility, beneath the city, that they can traverse. Idle speculation, of course."

OOC

I guess we decide when to enter, then we can determine the best way to do so?

[Boss Muro]

"My money's on them coming in and out with teleportation." Khefu mused, matching Zella's idle speculation with some of his own. "Old Deadeye told me there weren't any secret entrances, most of the gang were humans, and that there were multiple spellcasters inside. If nobody's using the front door, they might just be bipping from point to point when they need to do some shopping or toss a head through a window."

With a slight creak to his knees, the old monk rose from his spot on the floor. "Either way, I can wait until tonight to find out. Should be only a few hours until sundown, and I saw a decent cafe just down the street. Anyone care to join me?"

[BBK]

Previously fidgeting and mumbling to himself, Vance perks up at the mention of a cafe. "Oh, do they have coffee?"

Seeming to come alive at the possibility of more coffee, the absentminded alchemist looks around at the group hopefully, obviously in favor of going. "I could definitely go for a plate of sweet rolls, too."

OOC

ACTIONS

---

 

[GralphidBlackstrip]

  

 "Some of my magic may end ere night falls" Velras idly comments. "Still, I can recast it if needed. Also I cannot see well in the darkness, although I do have other senses.

 

"A decent cafe? It makes me curious what an indecent cafe would look like, but probably best not to inquire further down those lines. In the meantime, I suppose there is one other question. Once we do get in, what are our goals?

 

Do we sneak like rats, searching for a crumb?

Do we try to find a captive to bring back and question?

Or do we fight any foe in a terrible scrum?

Which way will it be: sneak or capture, or just raw aggression?

 

Mechanics

How long until night? My shortest duration spell ends in a bit over two hours, but I can recast it for a few spell points if needed.

Statblock and Tracker

44/57 Spell points left

Martial Focus: 2/2

Active Effects: The World, Swords, The Fool, Strength, and The Emperor (Duration: 16 hours from opening scene)

Enhance Equipment (unarmed strike, warhammer, 7 other armors/weapons) Duration: 16 hours from opening scene)

Darkvision (Duration: 20 hours from opening scene, from Zella)

Staunch Resistance (Will, Reflex) (Duration: 160 minutes from opening scene, applies to whole party)

Cast Nature's Carapace (metal) and Resist Elements (fire, enhanced) (duration: 260 minutes from opening scene)

blessing of the watch, hunter's blessing (+2 sacred bonus on Bluff, Perception, Sense Motive,  Survival, attack rolls and damage rolls made against humans. +2 sacred bonus on initiative checks, Perception, Stealth, and Survival checks in urban areas),

Blacksmith Maintenances: Clarifying and Quickening Reinforcements Blacksmith maintenances (+4 reflex and will saves), and Armor Maintenance (+4 armor, reduce ACP by 4)

Defenses: AC: 48, FF: 36, Touch: 23, CMD: 39 (+2 per size category larger than me attacker is, +4 vs trip and +5 vs sunder)

Cold/Elec/Acid Resistance 10, Fire Resist 36 and recover 1 HP for each damage prevented

Fort: +17, Ref: +22, Will: +19, (all saves roll twice and take better) HP: 240

Immunities/other: Immune to disease, poison, age.
130' move, climb (including through air, or earth glide speed

Skills: Acrobatics +42*, Climb +31*, Diplomacy +24, K. Engineering, local, and nature (+21), Perception +16 (+7 on traps, +2 bonus and auto-check to find unusual stonework or metalwork), Prof Blacksmith* +34, sense motive +24, Knowledge local +23, Stealth* +24

*Can take-10 even when rushed or threatened

+5 insight bonus to skills when taking 10

Misc: Can make AoOs even when flat-footed.

When suffering penalties to attack rolls, damage rolls, saving throws, skill checks, or ability checks, reduce the total penalty by 2, to a minimum penalty of -1.
 

[Llyarden]

The cafe down the street is indeed decent enough, although it's evidently still close enough to the cloister that the proprietor and patrons are clearly still cautious of it - and by extension, a little suspicious of a group of adventurers showing up out of nowhere.

Soon enough, night falls, leaving the cloister looking even more ominous than it had during the day. While Altea is never fully silent, not even at night, it's clear that anyone whose paths would take them past the cloister as the shortest route are giving an even wider berth around the cloister than the daytime pedestrians had. This does, of course, have the convenient side effect of leaving you seemingly completely unobserved.