# Forum > Play-by-Post Games > Finding Players (Recruitment) > Out-of-Character >  The Royal Artificery Society - OOC

## DeTess

*players:*
Player
Character
Race

Prehysterical
Bolten Cogturner
Dwarf

Windstruck
Shandara
Drow

MrAbdiel
Aiden Sorveaux
Human



*retired players:*
Player
Character
Race

Armonia13
Xavier Trafalgar
Human

Sønderjye
Zacharias "Z" Volenta
Human

pi4t
Meredith Dockson
Human

Elbeyon
Symphony of "Zeal"
Warforged



Lore snippets:
*Spoiler: Important people in the Society*
Show


*Lokhad Forgeheart, Master of the Facilities*
Lokhad is an old dwarf, with a long greying beard and piercing blue eyes. He sued to be a talented smith, and still teaches theorethical courses on metallurgy, but his advanced age has robbed him of the strength to properly wield a forging hammer. Instead, he oversees the care and sue of the many workshops on the campus, and deals with misdemeanours of Society members while on campus grounds. He is known for being willing to go to significant lengths to help the members of the Society do their work, but if you purposefully mistreat the facilities or put parts of the campus in danger with reckless experiments he'll make you regret it.

*Headmaster Owena Dey*
Owena is half-elf, and the Headmaster of the academy housed in the campus. She's a district disciplinarian, and in a constant low-key war with the entertainment district near the campus. Though some might find her moralizing a bit tiresome, there's little doubt that she's got a great eye for talent among both students and prospective teaching staff, and her connections among the high nobility can be of great use to those she favors.

*Cirast Overhill, Curator of Alchemy*
Cirast is a middle-aged halfling of unusually large size in every dimension except height. He's known as connoisseur of fine dining and finer beverages, and his detractors scoff that his skill at alchemy is merely a side-effect of his desire to brew alcohol from every single fruit, vegetable and mushroom ever discovered. Nonetheless, it'd be a mistake to dismiss his skills. His knowledge of alchemical formulas is vast, and it's been said he can determine the full ingredient list of a potion from just the tiniest of sips.
*
Maria Escribano, Curator of Engineering*
The humans of House Escribano earned its place among the high nobility on the battlefield's of the age of conquest. Their members where the very finest siege engineers in the Emperor's employ, and Maria is no different, though she applies her knowledge too less martial endeavours. She has had her hands in tons of designs, from the aqueducts that provide water throughout Vaungate and many other major cities, to the cranes that help unload ships in the harbor in record time, to the massive wind and watermills that process the empire's grain. Her workshops have produced many fine designs, and it's said that she never does something small.
The only thing that comes close to matching her intellect and creativity is her temper. Those that seek advice or favors from her know to be straight and to the point, as she cannot stand those that waste her time.

*Jassin Iliran, Curator of Architecture*
"Form and Function" is the motto of the Iliran stoneworks. No embellishment should be without function, but every design should be elegant nonetheless. Jassin considers it to be every Architect's calling to make the most practical building possible, while making the most beautiful building possible. Iliran has designed many of the grandest buildings in the capital, and the elf's style is emulated by many other architects. Apart from the aesthetics, one of the things that sets Iliran apart from their peers is the foresight involved in the elf's designs. The most clear example of this was the expansion of the Imperial theater, where the acoustics of the theater allowed shows to continue even while the work was happening, with none of the noise of construction penetrating into the great halls where performances where being held. This wasn't a happy accident, but a targeted effort by the elf to dampen noise coming from the most likely sites for expansion of the building.

The elf is rarely seen in public, preferring the peace of their offices. Nonetheless, they seem to have an uncanny ability to know exactly what's going on in the city, and where their services will be required.

*Ralph Curnow, Curator of Biology*
Curnow is the most respected doctor int eh empire. Though frequently called upon to attend the emperor and the high nobility, he makes a point of spending time to advice in the various hospitals and wards in the poorer districts as well. He helps who he can, irrespective of their social status, and treats everyone with the same firm but friendly way. He's dictated several books on best practices in medicine, including the importance of cleanliness to avoiding infections, and he has helped end many harmful practices based on what he considers 'counterfactual superstitions'.
However, he is only one man, and though many have sought to study under him, he has never made time to teach, referring those that would seek his mentorship to others, or to his books instead. There are also periods in which he becomes completely unavailable, something those closer to him attribute to his unwillingness tos top working until his body forces him to get rest.

*Kou Maron, Curator of the Archives*
When many people think of an Archivist, they imagine a stuffy and old librarian, constantly fussing over books. And this is true for quite a few of the archivists on the campus, but not for Kou. She's the youngest person to ever hold the title at only 27 years of age, and spends most of her time away from the archives. Instead she travels the empire and beyond, tracking down rare volumes and bringing them back. Her capacity for finding rare volumes is without peer, and she's found many books thought lost forever.
When she is in the capital, the young catfolk is visited by many researchers looking to convince her to track down a work they need next. She also spends time recovering works that have been lost in the labyrinthine depths of the archives themselves, as her near-perfect memory allow her to effortlessly track down every book currently in the collection.

*Szid Dustmark, Curator of artifice*
Little is known about Szid's history. The kobold arrived at the campus one day, walked into an artificer's workshop and casually corrected an incredibly complicated enchantment the artificer had been working on for weeks. Szid speaks very little, and spends most of his time holed up in his small office, working on the most wondrous designs, though many of them are too complicated for anyone else but him to implement, and he rarely turns his designs into reality. Nevertheless, many improvements in the field of artifice and enchantment have been made through decoding the diminutive kobold's designs, even if the full extend of his work is still beyond the understanding of most in his field.



*Spoiler: The empire and Vaungate*
Show


*Raimel Tarian*
Raimel is the current emperor, and like the rest of the Tarian dynasty he's a half-elf. He finished the unification of the empire in his youth after the death of his father in battle, and has ruled (mostly, there where a couple of rebellions in his early reign) in peace. He's well liked among the general populace as a fair and reasonably generous ruler, and he's respected among the Nobles as a just arbiter of conflicts, as well as feared for being a ferocious general. However, there are rumours at court that the now venerable emperor's mind is slowly starting to fail, and a variety of nobles are looking to try to take advantage of this.

*Isalar Tarian*
Isalar is the emperor's grand-daughter and heir. She grew up on the frontier, but has recently been called to the Empire's capital of Vaungate. She's still something of a wild-card at court, generally keeping to herself, but those that have had cause to deal with her talk about her cunning intellect and sharp wits.

*The government*
Though the emperor is of course the leader of the empire, he does very little direct governing. Most of this is handled by the layers of Dukes, earls and barons below him. The emperor primarily issues general orders and edicts that the nobles need to execute, and handles disputes between nobles. Though the dukes have estates in the capital and spend at least several months each year at the court themselves, most of the other nobles are spread across the empire, governing their land in accordance with the emperor's laws and wishes, but having a reasonable amount of freedom with regards to how they implement the emperor's will. Some rule alone and with an iron fist, while others have instituted councils of influential citizens to aid with their decision making. Some Nobles are well-liked, others are miniature tyrants only barely kept in check by the empire's laws.

*Vaungate*
Vaungate is the empire's capital, and a massive city with a population just in excess of 1 million citizens. Though many of its citizens are affluent, there are some poorer slums in the citys outskirts. The city itself houses many vaunted institutions, such as the Artificery Society, the Temple Conclave, the High Tribunal and the headquarters of the Ranger's guild (think a cross between an adventurer's guild and an empire-wide police force). And of course at the centre of the city lies the emperor's cout and the estates of the high Nobles that directly attend him.

*The Artificery Society campus*
The artificery society occupies a large campus on the city's outskirts. Within the campus are workshops, libraries, dormitories, observatories, lecture halls and all the other buildings needed to keep an institute of science and learning running. Technically outside of the campus, but considered part of it are the personal workshops and residences of the more influential members of the society. The campus is bustling and busy at all times of the day, alive with the hammering of forges, the trundling of waterwheels and the crackle of magical contraptions as the members of the society ply their trade.

Right outside the campus is a bustling entertainment district as well, where the students that come to study under the teachers of the society congregate during their free time.

*The harbor district*
The harbor district is home to one of the largest markets in the city, where exotic goods from all voer the empire and beyond are traded. Here one can find anything from fish to spices to exotic animals to rare metals. It is often said that if you cannot find it in this market, it does not exist. Clustered around the market are the offices of a number of 'acquisitions firms', Merchants specializing in finding rare and exotic goods for their clients, primarily Nobles, but also the occasional artificer.

*races in the empire*
Humans and half-humans (half-elves, half-orcs) make up a significant portion, with the other core races (Elves, dwarves, gnomes) having significant populations as well. Anything else is rarer. Though an attempt has been made and is being made to culturally integrate everyone, there are differences based on the area's people hail from, though differences based purely on race are rarer, as the various races often intermingled in the smaller kingdoms and fiefdoms before the current empire took over.

However, the dwarves in particular make up significant sub-cultures with their own set of habits and unspoken rules because most dwarven clans got integrated in the empire through rather favorable treaties, rather than conquest. Most emperors during the age of conquest had the wise response of 'Yeah, screw that' when confronted with the prospect of laying siege to a dwarven hold, while most dwarven clans understood that it'd be best to learn to live and deal with the sprawling empire that now surrounded their mountain homes.



IC thread: https://forums.giantitp.com/showthre...ery-Society-IC

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## WindStruck

Not sure if I should be putting my post in spoilers, especially considering how long it is, and how it probably doesn't relate to anyone else's character.

But let me know!

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## DeTess

> Not sure if I should be putting my post in spoilers, especially considering how long it is, and how it probably doesn't relate to anyone else's character.
> 
> But let me know!


It's no problem. Also, could you roll me a perception?

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## WindStruck

Certainly!

(1d20+6)[*21*]

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## Sønderjye

Fortune favoured the crafty!

Now that we're all in, would anyone be interested in having some shared background? I imagine that this game will end up being fairly individualistic so having some buddies to reach for when we need help could be a good way to interact with each other.

@DeTess, later I'll be looking at making more grafts and I got the impression from the custom magic item process you wanted us to come up with things that could believably work. I figure this is as good time as any to talk about biology in a magical setting. In case you're not feeling inspired for anything in particular I'll include my thoughts on a possible systems below. 

*Spoiler: Thoughts on magical biology*
Show

A major thing in the systems is that 'most' magics we see are capped at a certain number of times per day requiring rest. That to me implies that magical beings store quantities of magic in their body in a process that happens while one is resting. 
I think the smoothest source of magic would be that magic exists somewher external(like the weave) since that gives an easy explanation to why some spells last longer than others(part of the spell matrix draws energy from the weave to sustain itself), why some being have permanent magical effects on them(they have organs that continually draw from a very specific part of the weave), why some abilities are i.e. 1/week(the organs used to channel the magic draw energy slower). 



I'm also realizing that I didn't see the replies after WindStruck's first post. Should I change location or is it fine that two things happened the same area?

*Spoiler: Ideas*
Show

Storing ideas for later. Don't steal plz.

Magical item that converts waste into food
Aging slower. 
 - Draws on restoration energy to repair he minor damages that upon accumulation causes aging
- Creme that like that other creme extends lifetime.
Sympathetic bags:
 - Teleports things from bag to the other
 - Conjures copies from one bag into another. 
Water cleaner.
Oathbinding

Mind stuff:
 - Remove and store memories in device. Experiment if temporary removal of relevant memories removes skills.
 - Look at memories in device. Evt look through in incredible speed.
 - Rather than look at memories, directly implant them into head to gain skills.
 - What happens if all memories are Does transfering all memories constitute the same self?

 - Alchemically treated brain store
 - Lock memories away until some trigger
 - 
Pensieve

Magic detection (already made)
 - Something that boosts kno arcane to get magic detection to work.
Detective aid.
Magic item crafting detection. As magic detection but for created item.



Designs

Flæsk with psionic krystal that egen activated transfers memory og an event or topic to vial content. Can be consumed to gain memory. Probably internal memory.
Variant removes insteadof copies
Variant does the same but for knowledge
Variant does same but for all memory of a topic

Memory:

Crystal that can be pinged x/day to  get a feeling of what the content of memory is
(set of) crystal that can get memory from crystal, can store many memories, and can copy it to crystal.
Find a way to extract information from memories. Divination magic to identify the information in memory.
Modifier(pre reconstruction) to edit the memory
Modifer(real time) to play back, fast forward, pause, and such.

Commercial uses:
- Entertainment: i.e. sex, adventurers amazing environments, dragon fights, relive own old memories, pleasurable moments, pleasurable mindstates.
- Skill copying: Need:
    - A way to extract skills from memories or condense memories down into the essential parts. Divination to identify skill based parts?
    - Need a way to clear space for those memories
    - Need a way to integrate the memories with the existing mindspace, maybe take inspiration from potion to grow connections? 

Current batch:
Design 1a: A big blue crystal that are able to copy memories from other crystals into it for storage, able to copy memories stored in it into other memory crystals(henceforth refered to as mnemonic crystals), and able to delete some memories stored in it to get more space. It can copy a memory, either from a crystal into storage or from storage into the crystal, once every 5 minutes. It is also capable of overwriting memories in existing memory crystal
Design 1b: As above but instead of one big crystal it's multiple interconnected crystals.
Results: Feasible with b being cheaper and more complicated. Need to think of a specific way to copy memories. Idea: use psionics to create sensations and play all senses to load memory.

Design 2a: A magical lense that allow a user that currently is experiencing a memory from a memory crystal to change the process of that experience. They can speed up, slow down, pause, skip, decrease and increase the detail(i.e. to reduce sensory stress) both of the overall experience and of specific parts.
Results: Doable for everything except skipping. While skipping is possible, it's hard to judge how far into future skips to. 
Design 2b: As 2a except it allows the editing of a memory that is currently stored in a memory crystal.
Result: Possible but making the edited version look believable/continuous is hard. 

Design 3a: A device that is attuned to a specific skill upon creation. It is able to scan memories stored in mnemonic crystals and uses clairsentience to identify which part of the memory that are relevant to the attuned skill. Can be used along with 2b to edit a memory down to a memory that only contains important knowledge about some skill.
Results: ?? Might need a way to how it does the identification?
Design 3b: As 3a however instead of searching a memory in a memory crystal it searches for important memories in the mindscape of a person.
Result: Theoretically possible. But mind is vast and can't search the entirety.


Next batch:
Design 1: A device that created null memories in the mindscape of a person. Null memories doesn't contain any knowledge or information, and are very resistant to connections  however they take up space in the mindscape. As they take up space the mind can be stretched by filling it up with Null memories which (hopefully) will be able to expand it over time. Overfilling the brain with Null Memories can rapture the mind and since Null Memories take up space they might prevent the formation of new long term memories.
Design 2: Decay accelerator: Can target specific memorie(s) and greatly increase the rate of the natural forgetting process. Once activated it must remain in the possession of the user for a week, at the end of which the memories and their associated connections have decayed fully. 
Design 3: Implant memories stored into a memory crystal directly into the mindscape.

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## Armonia13

> Fortune favoured the crafty!
> 
> Now that we're all in, would anyone be interested in having some shared background? I imagine that this game will end up being fairly individualistic so having some buddies to reach for when we need help could be a good way to interact with each other.
> 
> @DeTess, later I'll be looking at making more grafts and I got the impression from the custom magic item process you wanted us to come up with things that could believably work. I figure this is as good time as any to talk about biology in a magical setting. In case you're not feeling inspired for anything in particular I'll include my thoughts on a possible systems below. 
> 
> *Spoiler: Thoughts on magical biology*
> Show
> 
> ...


Did you have your own place? If not, wanna be dorm mates? Assuming you wouldn't mind bunking with a kid filled with tons of useful knowledge

EDIT:  Also I'll take green voice

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## WindStruck

tbh, it probably _would_ have been better to make up your own locale to avoid little discrepancies, unless you had the intent of interacting with Shandara in some way.

But still no harm, so it's okay if your character was briefly at Jullieane's Brew.

Also, not sure if there is any good way to tie in a background between Shandara and Z. I don't think she'd be buying any of the stuff he sells, for one thing. So then it may be a question of if they collaborated on something. Common fields seeming to be alchemy, jewelcrafting, and arcana.

I rather liked Prehysterical's idea of that Mandatory Collaboration program.

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## DeTess

> Now that we're all in, would anyone be interested in having some shared background? I imagine that this game will end up being fairly individualistic so having some buddies to reach for when we need help could be a good way to interact with each other.


To just make a quick note of on this, all of you at the very least know of one another, and you've probably collaborated in some minor way in the past at the very least. That way, if any PC needs help with something that another PC could help with, they'd know they can approach them.




> @DeTess, later I'll be looking at making more grafts and I got the impression from the custom magic item process you wanted us to come up with things that could believably work. I figure this is as good time as any to talk about biology in a magical setting. In case you're not feeling inspired for anything in particular I'll include my thoughts on a possible systems below. 
> 
> *Spoiler: Thoughts on magical biology*
> Show
> 
> A major thing in the systems is that 'most' magics we see are capped at a certain number of times per day requiring rest. That to me implies that magical beings store quantities of magic in their body in a process that happens while one is resting. 
> I think the smoothest source of magic would be that magic exists somewher external(like the weave) since that gives an easy explanation to why some spells last longer than others(part of the spell matrix draws energy from the weave to sustain itself), why some being have permanent magical effects on them(they have organs that continually draw from a very specific part of the weave), why some abilities are i.e. 1/week(the organs used to channel the magic draw energy slower).


Most of this makes sense, and what you describe here is generally the leading theory. Also a quick note on time-scales, for gameplay reasons spells and abilities have very strictly set periods, but research would show that the recharge rate is a bit more variable than strictly 1/day or 1/week or whatever (some individuals might recharge things a bit faster, others a bit slower, 1/day or 1/week or whatever is the general average).




> I'm also realizing that I didn't see the replies after WindStruck's first post. Should I change location or is it fine that two things happened the same area?


Two things happening in the same area is fine, I'll edit my description of the other people present I gave Shandara in a bit to include you.

Edit: @windstruck, could you roll me a sense motive?

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## DeTess

Oh, and before I forget, a quick dice-roll for reasons (1d20+5)[*21*]

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## WindStruck

I'll roll that sense motive. Though things are so suspicious at this point, my opinions probably are not going to be swayed.   :Small Tongue: 

sense motive: (1d20+4)[*14*]

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## DeTess

> I'll roll that sense motive. Though things are so suspicious at this point, my opinions probably are not going to be swayed.  
> 
> sense motive: [roll0]


Yeah, he's being really shady. He seems like a smooth talker and eh sounds genuine, but to say his behavior is 'off' would be putting it mildly.

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## WindStruck

Yep, already made what I think would be an appropriate IC response, regardless.




> To just make a quick note of on this, all of you at the very least know of one another, and you've probably collaborated in some minor way in the past at the very least. That way, if any PC needs help with something that another PC could help with, they'd know they can approach them.


And this is good. I'm glad we'll at least know of each other. Should make things less contrived, and hopefully less awkward!

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## Prehysterical

Bolten will speak in Blue.

And thanks for picking this game up, DeTess!

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## Sønderjye

@Armonia, Z does have his own place. I see that you have a lot of knowledge skills though so my character might have reached out to yours to talk about various abilities of magical creatures?

@WindStruck, My idea was to provide a clue to your character about some of the secrets of my character, so that there might later be some reason for you to know that something is up. I don't think there was any discrepency from your posts, though I see some from the post that DeTess made. Would you rather that I move it somewhere else?
For shared BG I like the idea of having done a previous alchemy project together.

@DeTess, I like the note about people knowing each other. 
Sounds good to me about biological magic. I'll probably ask more questions later. What are the leading/competing theories of where magic is drawn from?

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## WindStruck

> @WindStruck, My idea was to provide a clue to your character about some of the secrets of my character, so that there might later be some reason for you to know that something is up. I don't think there was any discrepency from your posts, though I see some from the post that DeTess made. Would you rather that I move it somewhere else?
> For shared BG I like the idea of having done a previous alchemy project together.


I think you may as well just leave it as is.

Though from the way it was written, I don't think Shandara would have been clued into your dealings, given how discreet Z was already trying to be.

On the other hand, we can wave all those concerns away, since we're already supposed to know each other somewhat.

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## DeTess

> @DeTess, I like the note about people knowing each other. 
> Sounds good to me about biological magic. I'll probably ask more questions later. What are the leading/competing theories of where magic is drawn from?


There's three main theories:

 Divine origin: all magic, even so-called 'arcane' magic is granted directly by one or more gods to those they think deserving, or even just interesting. Advantages of this theory: It's really hard to prove wrong. Disadvantages: saying 'the gods did it' isn't particularly good science. Life origin:  All living beings generate magical energy. Some use this energy themselves, other merely make it available for others to use. Advantages: it explains how creatures have a limited amount of magical 'stamina', and why some areas tend to be more magical than others. Disadvantages: one would expect it to be harder to use magic in the desert, or far out in the ocean, but this is generally not the case. The background magic field: There's a world spanning web of magical energy that every caster and magical creature draws on to cast their magic. Advantages: It explains why it is easier to cast magic at some times and in some places than in others, and it matches observations that working a lot of magic in the same location in short succession can make further castings progressively more difficult. Disadvantages: It doesn't explain that much more than the 1st theory. It sounds more scientific, but no clear cause for this field (if it exists) has, as of yet, been discovered.

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## Armonia13

*@PMSønderjye* He would definitely be able to help with that, so sure!
*@DeTess* Would I need to roll to see if I know where Meredith Dockson lives?
Edit: Also, what kind of ships are we working with here? We talking Galleons and sloops or are engines a common thing?

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## WindStruck

I'm about to bump into Bolten, if that's alright, though there doesn't have to be any significant interaction.

Also, since we have known each other briefly and probably did collaborate on something or the other, I am liking the idea of a bejeweled clock or otherwise, jeweled clockwork thing.

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## DeTess

> *@DeTess* Would I need to roll to see if I know where Meredith Dockson lives?
> Edit: Also, what kind of ships are we working with here? We talking Galleons and sloops or are engines a common thing?


Unless she's putting in an effort to hide (which she doesn't seem to be), it shouldn't be a problem to find her. 

Regarding the ships, it's still solidly the age of sail, so galleons, sloops and the like. Engines aren't really a thing yet.

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## WindStruck

> That's fine, but is she going to the Curator of Engineering workshop or is she going to run into him on his way home? And the jeweled clock is a past project, right?


She'll be at the Curator's workshop.

And yes, I'm talking about a past project.  Unless, for whatever reason, you'd rather have it as a concurrent thing....

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## DeTess

@windstruck,  the maps here at the workshop is the same map mentioned on the board, just in more detail, and with take-home copies for those interested.

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## WindStruck

Guess I wasn't clear...

There's the map of the Stormdrain district.  And the other 'map' I was referring to was the Curator's actual sewer system plans. I wanted to compare those two things.

Oh, and the board I was referring to.  I was thinking her plans were pinned up on a board in her office for all to see - but not to copy or take.

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## DeTess

> Guess I wasn't clear...
> 
> There's a 'map' map that's the map of the Stormdrain district.  And the other map I was referring to was the Curator's actual sewer system plans.


Ah, sorry. Those are actually overlaid on eachother (so the sewer system is drawn in a different color ink on the district map). The main pipes try to stick to the main roads, but there isn't really such a thing in the Stormdrain district, so it's mostly a grid that partly matches the streets where possible, but that does cover the entire district.

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## Sønderjye

> I think you may as well just leave it as is.
> 
> Though from the way it was written, I don't think Shandara would have been clued into your dealings, given how discreet Z was already trying to be.
> 
> On the other hand, we can wave all those concerns away, since we're already supposed to know each other somewhat.


Z has +2 to bluff :P But you'll choose

@DeTess, thanks, I'll keep that in mind!

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## Sønderjye

What process of inventing things are we going for? I don't think there's precident for a treatment that always cures a specific disease so I am imagining something along the lines of combining Antiplague with a few boosts to fort against diseases. Am I on the right track with that?

What's the process for learning about a disease? I am a little fuzzy on how to figure out what the mechanics and the DC is other than finding a knowledgable NPC and asking them. Can we walk around and examine different victims, and eventually get the facts assuming we don't ourselves get infected? I imagine that a double blind study accounting for counterfactuals and cofounders is a little too advanced for the current tech level.

@Armonia13, looking to have a chat with your character since your character might know more about what could or could not work against an unknown disease. How do you prefer to handle that IC? I just made a post knocking on your dorm?

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## DeTess

> What process of inventing things are we going for? I don't think there's precident for a treatment that always cures a specific disease so I am imagining something along the lines of combining Antiplague with a few boosts to fort against diseases. Am I on the right track with that?


That can definitely help. Another part will be treating the symptoms. Finding herbs and other substances that can help against the disease's symptoms could help with creating a treatment that's particularly effective, though finding a way to combine those without them losing effectiveness or getting nasty side effects will be a significant part of the challenge.




> What's the process for learning about a disease? I am a little fuzzy on how to figure out what the mechanics and the DC is other than finding a knowledgable NPC and asking them. Can we walk around and examine different victims, and eventually get the facts assuming we don't ourselves get infected? I imagine that a double blind study accounting for counterfactuals and cofounders is a little too advanced for the current tech level.


I'd say you could use a heal or knowledge(nature) check when studying victims of the disease to try and get a proper feel for what it does and how it affects people (and therefore what you need to do something about), and talking to a knowledgeable NPC is always a good idea. The setting is still a couple of steps of development away from proper double-blind studies and vaccines and the like. A treatment either helps a significant portion of those affected, or it doesn't, the testing fase generally consists of checking that your concoction doesn't have any (immediately apparent) problematic side effects, and that it does what it needs to do.

Also, can I just say that I _already_ hate Ronce? He's just so slimy. So if you ever want to try and do something about him, I'm all for it :P

@Prehysterical I love your design idea so far! Something to keep in mind though is that there's currently a bit of a shortage in adamantium (I mentioned that earlier in the rumour department, but forgot to mention it in the IC thread, but there's a slight shortage of mythril and adamantium due to a supply issue), which would have been especially problematic with your first design, but shouldn't be as much of an issue with the second.

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## Prehysterical

Glad to hear it. I do have some long-term questions, though.

In a game like this, especially with project deadlines like the sewer project, the amount of time it takes to craft something is very relevant. How are we going to handle timeframes for designing schematics? Depending on the size (like a drill big enough to carve out tunnels for large sewer pipes), the amount of detail they require will be monstrous. So, how do we determine how much time it takes for Bolten to come up with something like that? A few days? Do I just make a Craft (clockwork) check for the design or would I use Knowledge (engineering)?

Also, do I as the player have to come up with a gold cost for something unprecedented like this? Without knowing the exact dimensions of the sewer sizing, it's very hard to price materials.

----------


## DeTess

> Glad to hear it. I do have some long-term questions, though.
> 
> In a game like this, especially with project deadlines like the sewer project, the amount of time it takes to craft something is very relevant. How are we going to handle timeframes for designing schematics? Depending on the size (like a drill big enough to carve out tunnels for large sewer pipes), the amount of detail they require will be monstrous. So, how do we determine how much time it takes for Bolten to come up with something like that? A few days? Do I just make a Craft (clockwork) check for the design or would I use Knowledge (engineering)?
> 
> Also, do I as the player have to come up with a gold cost for something unprecedented like this? Without knowing the exact dimensions of the sewer sizing, it's very hard to price materials.


Making a full design would be done with a craft check. The amount of time it takes does depend on the project, as well as how innovative you're being. I'd say a design like the one you're working on right now would take somewhere from 4-7 days to complete (in part based on your check, and you'd have a bit of free time for social stuff during that period as well). Your check would primarily decide the time it takes to complete, and how many lingering unexpected issues your prototype design would have that you'd need to find further solutions for.

I'll generally handle pricing (which is partly based on the kind of materials, partly on what a similar item would cost, partly on what seems right). You generally wouldn't have to pay for a full-size version yourself for a project like this (unless you want a spare for personal use, of course :P). You'd generally show a smaller scale model or proof of concept in addition to your designs, and if that's convincing the cost-side will be handled by whoever commissioned the project.

----------


## Prehysterical

Sounds sensible. Here is the Craft (clockwork) check for the schematic: (1d20+19)[*39*]

...I think Bolten has a promising future in the Society.  :Small Big Grin:

----------


## Armonia13

> @Armonia13, looking to have a chat with your character since your character might know more about what could or could not work against an unknown disease. How do you prefer to handle that IC? I just made a post knocking on your dorm?


There are two places he can typically be found, his dorm room or the Great Archive. I'll get a post up about him going back to his room to start on his ship ideas in a bit, I'm spending a little bit of time with my family right now and will be able to soon

Edit: Sweet! A 27 should give him more than enough knowledge on ships to have an idea of a new design, right?

----------


## WindStruck

That is quite a legendary roll from Bolten...   I'm sure he will do well.  Until problems arise, as was mentioned could happen before!

Zeal's post is..  amazing, haha!  Adorable and makes me want to chuckle.  Up until the point where the plague doctor costume scares everyone away!

----------


## Sønderjye

> That can definitely help. Another part will be treating the symptoms. Finding herbs and other substances that can help against the disease's symptoms could help with creating a treatment that's particularly effective, though finding a way to combine those without them losing effectiveness or getting nasty side effects will be a significant part of the challenge.


So adding ingredients that gives bonuses against the symptoms makes a treatment more potent against that disease? In other alchemical concoctions, what usually keeps things together, makes it so they don't lose effectiveness, and avoids side effects?




> I'd say you could use a heal or knowledge(nature) check when studying victims of the disease to try and get a proper feel for what it does and how it affects people (and therefore what you need to do something about), and talking to a knowledgeable NPC is always a good idea. The setting is still a couple of steps of development away from proper double-blind studies and vaccines and the like. A treatment either helps a significant portion of those affected, or it doesn't, the testing fase generally consists of checking that your concoction doesn't have any (immediately apparent) problematic side effects, and that it does what it needs to do.


Ah cool, perfect. 




> Also, can I just say that I _already hate Ronce? He's just so slimy. So if you ever want to try and do something about him, I'm all for it :P_


Haha, I feel like you're really playing him well. Doing something about him is definitely on the table for later but I'll need to be good enough to get by without him first :P

@Armonia13, I made a post just now and will go to bed soon. I wasn't sure if you just wanted to do your own thing for now so if that's the case just let me know and we'll use the alternative scene I have in the IC spoilers.

@Prehysterical, I just had a thought for later. Clockwork grafts would be really neat.

----------


## Prehysterical

It's funny because clockwork prosthetics are already a thing.

----------


## Armonia13

> @Armonia13, I made a post just now and will go to bed soon. I wasn't sure if you just wanted to do your own thing for now so if that's the case just let me know and we'll use the alternative scene I have in the IC spoilers.


Already posted a response :)

----------


## Elbeyon

> Zeal's post is..  amazing, haha!  Adorable and makes me want to chuckle.  Up until the point where the plague doctor costume scares everyone away!


Thanks! I'm already liking Zeal! Do you think a wide brimmed hat would help cut the intimation factor? P:

I really enjoyed all your posts! It was hard to write my own because I kept wanting to read everyone's post xD What's going on with the half-orc!? That was scary when he just dodged Shandara and left. I love your coffee shop too! Zeal will visit there one day!

----------


## pi4t

Oh, gosh, this has moved quickly! Sorry, today is the day I GM a game in person, and the day just got away from me.

Is it OK to start working on a position that someone else has already "claimed"?

----------


## WindStruck

You mean the notices on the board?  I think it's fine if you work on whatever.  I mean, nothing wrong with competing designs, that's just how the world works..

It might not hurt to reach out to collaborate, though.

edit: so I've made my first "crafting" roll.  I'll wait to see what those results mean, if anything, but I think if I want to keep pursuing this idea, I'd probably need to either head to a library, or Shandara could go review her book repository at her home first...

----------


## Elbeyon

Now Shandara is thinking with portals.

The commissions on the board are open commissions. I certainly don't mind ooc.

Shandara & Bolten are working on the "Draining the Stormdrains" commission.
Xavier is working on the "Streidekker and Sons, Shipwrights" commission.
Z & Zeal are working on the "Treatment" commission.

Zeal is also interested in the minor harvest festival, shipwright, and bank commissions! She is very unprepared to do the bank commission currently, but I'd like her to attempt it even if she fails to break in.

----------


## DeTess

@Elbeyon, I loved your post for Zeal, it had me smiling and laughing all the way through




> Edit: Sweet! A 27 should give him more than enough knowledge on ships to have an idea of a new design, right?


It'd take a bit more time to study to really get going (as Z dropped in before you'd gotten much further than the preliminaries), but you've already got a decent idea for the two directions you could take it in. Ship design always goes in two, mutually exclusive, directions, being for faster ships and bigger ships. Faster ships a are needed for the quick transport of people, or large amounts of documents, or valuable goods, while bigger ships are for transport of stuff in bulk. You've got some starting ideas for both, but you'd need more time to work on that.




> So adding ingredients that gives bonuses against the symptoms makes a treatment more potent against that disease? In other alchemical concoctions, what usually keeps things together, makes it so they don't lose effectiveness, and avoids side effects?


Depends on what you're making. there's a  variety of substances that can act as an 'emulsifier' of sorts. Your character would probably know that for applications in the field of medicine and treating diseases a mix of fish oil and lime juice is often used (and yes, that tastes exactly as revolting as it sounds), but there might be other options as well (purified alcohol is used sometimes as well, for example, but that's only an option if you've got a number of other liquid ingredients to dillute the alcohol enough, but not so many that the alcohol loses its effects)




> edit: so I've made my first "crafting" roll.  I'll wait to see what those results mean, if anything, but I think if I want to keep pursuing this idea, I'd probably need to either head to a library, or Shandara could go review her book repository at her home first...


Right, as you suspected, direct teleportation magic requires just way too much power to be practical. A 'summon sewage' effect might work, but the reduction in energy cost for most summon effects is due in large part to the fact that you're nor targeting particularly precisely (or at all, apart from the kind of thing you're summoning), so you might end up getting sewage from another district if you can't find a way to constrain that. however, you've also heard some discussion among the Artificers about a new enchantment designed by their Curator that should, theorethically, allow the internal spaces of two bags of holding to be connected, allowing items to be put in one bag to be retrieved with the other. However, as with all the Curators designs, its an incredibly complex enchantment, and you'd probably need to do some adaptations to adapt it for the sewer system as well, so it's definitely a challenge, but might be the perfect solution.

@Prehysterical, Yeah, your design is coming along beautifully. You'll even find time to make a quick proof of concept of the interlinked smaller drillbits to show, and you've figured out a way to keep the drill going nice and straight using a gyroscope system. It'll still take you about 4 days to finish the design and the prototype/proof of concept, but your character can feel pretty confident about their progress.

----------


## WindStruck

Cool! And that was with a somewhat lowish roll (below 10) and without a library bonus. Think I could definitely make another roll to design proofs of concept for that.

I'm guessing knowledge (arcana) just to prove it should be possible within a limit of level 2 or 3 spells, and a spellcraft roll for.. I'd guess..  "psuedocode" in programming lingo for the worst rolls, or a prototype.

The curator you mentioned that connected two bags of holding, is that Szid? And do you know if he'd be available?  (perhaps later in the evening that day, or some other day)

----------


## DeTess

> The curator you mentioned that connected two bags of holding, is that Szid? And do you know if he'd be available?  (perhaps later in the evening that day, or some other day)


Yeah, that's Szid. He's not generally personally available. You can try, but he seems to be very particular about who he meets in person. You can drop by his study and knock on the door, but it's rare for him to actually invite anyone in. His designs are however available to be perused in the archives.

----------


## Sønderjye

@Prehysterical, Hah, that's great. I don' imagine that those prostethics are useful to the average citizen though, I'm sure we can think of something better.

@pi4t, I don't think that anybody can put exclusive claims on anything. Feel free to do whatever you think would be fun.

----------


## pi4t

How much would it cost to make a very small (say 1 inch across) floating disc? And a similar sized web shelter? For proof of concept purposes.

----------


## DeTess

@windstruck

Making a spell that just transports sewage isn't the most difficult. Getting it to only take sewage from those areas you want to take it from is however pretty difficult. There are two main methods currently in use. The easier enchantment is to use secondary enchantments placed at the boundary of where you want your enchantment to take effect, but such boundary enchantments would have to be placed fairly close together (within 5 meters with most well-documented techniques) to actually work, which means you're really only moving the infrastructure issue around (though since the boundary enchantments could be placed on ground-level, you're at least making things a bit easier). You could define the area within the enchantment itself, but that's a lot more difficult, both because you'd need the exact position of each enchantment, and because defining distances is actually pretty difficult when making an enchantment. For this reason most enchantments either use 'here' as it's location of effect, or a direction to throw it's effect in (which wouldn't be useful in this case, because such effects are generally designed to stop on the first solid surface they hit, and without that limitation they'd just keep going forever).

Another issue you'll have to contend with is a way to power the enchantment so that it keeps going for a long time without maintenance, as the pipes themselves would be fairly inaccessible. You could do this by just pumping a lot of power into each enchantment, which means you'd need a lot of mages, or some fairly expensive foci to place the enchantments. You could also try adding tot eh enchantments so that they can run on 'ambient' magic, but that'd be another addition to an already complex enchantment. You could also see  about capturing a magical creature to run the enchantments. For something like this a water elemental might work best, but such creatures aren't exactly easy to come by, and convincing them to work with you is fairly difficult a well.

----------


## DeTess

> How much would it cost to make a very small (say 1 inch across) floating disc? And a similar sized web shelter? For proof of concept purposes.


Depends on the exact way you'd want to go about it. The simplest way to do this would probably be to inscribe a small gemstone or another material that can hold magical power with your enchantments (probably about 15 gp in material for the size you describe), which could run those spells together for quite a long time without needing to be recharged, but this'd also scale pretty poorly depending on how large you'd want the actual product to be.

How large would the final product have to be?

----------


## pi4t

> Depends on the exact way you'd want to go about it. The simplest way to do this would probably be to inscribe a small gemstone or another material that can hold magical power with your enchantments (probably about 15 gp in material for the size you describe), which could run those spells together for quite a long time without needing to be recharged, but this'd also scale pretty poorly depending on how large you'd want the actual product to be.
> 
> How large would the final product have to be?


Around the size of the normal spells, though it would depend on how large the shipyards would want them to be.

*Spoiler*
Show

Meredith is thinking of making a submarine. I'm not quite sure what I ought to be describing in terms of my design, or how practical a given design would be in terms of cost - the pricing guidelines are rather vague when it comes to any "interesting" items. The only information I have is some sample things which can be done with magic, namely all the low-level spells. I've therefore been figuring out what elements a submarine would need, which couldn't easily be provided without magic, and working out how powerful a magic effect would be necessary to supply that.

Anyway, the design I'm thinking of would need the following components:
A lightweight, watertight barrier - the spell Web Shelter seems to be the lowest level spell that gives this.
A supply of conjured breathable air (and a way to get rid of the excess CO2) - Air Bubble is a first level spell which provides something like this.
Some way of moving up and down - Levitate seems like the obvious way to do this, and it's canonically possible to get an at-will levitation effect on a person fairly cheaply (boots of levitation, 7500gp market price). Of course, I'd be wanting to levitate the whole ship rather than just one person, increasing the cost - but it would also only need to levitate through water rather than through the air, which will require less force and hopefully reduce the cost down again.
Some way of moving horizontally - Floating disk is a first level spell that provides exclusively horizontal movement. It's supposed to stay a fixed distance from the ground, but it seems reasonable to make a version that stays a fixed distance from the bottom of the submarine - and then just hold the submarine in place vertically using the levitate effect.

By combining these spells, it seems obvious it should be possible to make a submarine. I have no real idea if this is the most efficient method, or how much the final result would cost, though. Or how much the shipyard would be prepared to pay, for that matter.

Is this a sensible way of designing our magic items, or would you prefer I take a different approach?

----------


## Armonia13

> It'd take a bit more time to study to really get going (as Z dropped in before you'd gotten much further than the preliminaries), but you've already got a decent idea for the two directions you could take it in. Ship design always goes in two, mutually exclusive, directions, being for faster ships and bigger ships. Faster ships a are needed for the quick transport of people, or large amounts of documents, or valuable goods, while bigger ships are for transport of stuff in bulk. You've got some starting ideas for both, but you'd need more time to work on that.


I definitely know what I'm going for when I get back to it! It might be manual to start, but I'm gonna aim to make a paddle wheel system to act as a supplement to sail ships.

----------


## DeTess

> Around the size of the normal spells, though it would depend on how large the shipyards would want them to be.
> 
> *Spoiler*
> Show
> 
> Meredith is thinking of making a submarine. I'm not quite sure what I ought to be describing in terms of my design, or how practical a given design would be in terms of cost - the pricing guidelines are rather vague when it comes to any "interesting" items. The only information I have is some sample things which can be done with magic, namely all the low-level spells. I've therefore been figuring out what elements a submarine would need, which couldn't easily be provided without magic, and working out how powerful a magic effect would be necessary to supply that.
> 
> Anyway, the design I'm thinking of would need the following components:
> A lightweight, watertight barrier - the spell Web Shelter seems to be the lowest level spell that gives this.
> ...


It's one way to approach it. Thinking of it in terms of what you need to get the effect you want is a good one, but you don't necessarily need to think of it in terms of canon spells. It could be done the way you describe, though it would probably be more efficient to just enchant a woord or metal construction to make it completely watertight. A permanent air bubble effect is definitely a good way to do the air-refreshing, and while you could do depth-regulation with levitate, you could also focus on making the ship neutrally buoyant, and having a mechanical system regulate depth (though that wouldn't necessarily be more efficient than a levitate effect enhanced to affect the entire ship). The biggest challenge would probably be to design a method of propulsion that works without wind or oars.

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## Armonia13

Is the protection the doctor is providing those pendants of Sarenrae that you mentioned in Zeal's hospital trip?

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## DeTess

> Is the protection the doctor is providing those pendants of Sarenrae that you mentioned in Zeal's hospital trip?


As a matter of fact, yes :P They're a pendant made form that fancy metal Z mentioned either with a small blessing on them.

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## Armonia13

> As a matter of fact, yes :P They're a pendant made form that fancy metal Z mentioned either with a small blessing on them.


Good, I could use any help that I can get 😅

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## WindStruck

So... none of the things I have listed were addressed, save for the thing about boundaries.

Are you saying everything else is impossible?  Like, you can't even have a summoning spell that summons an object, but only if that object is within X meters?

Actually, I believe I've heard of such a spell, but I can't think of what it is on the top of my head.

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## Armonia13

> So... none of the things I have listed were addressed, save for the thing about boundaries.
> 
> Are you saying everything else is impossible?  Like, you can't even have a summoning spell that summons an object, but only if that object is within X meters?
> 
> Actually, I believe I've heard of such a spell, but I can't think of what it is on the top of my head.


If I may give my opinion, I think it is less about possibility and more about how you could make it work. There are theoretically various ways you can manipulate many if the concerns you listed in your post. For example, range could be mitigated by overlaying multiple castings, making sort of a magical tunnel. Volume and weight could be affected by various focusing components. You could study offshoots of various spells in order to tweak them slightly for your purposes. Like, you could use Apport Object as a base figure out a way to bypass the Touch requirement(maybe an engraved magic circle?)

----------


## DeTess

> So... none of the things I have listed were addressed, save for the thing about boundaries.
> 
> Are you saying everything else is impossible?  Like, you can't even have a summoning spell that summons an object, but only if that object is within X meters?
> 
> Actually, I believe I've heard of such a spell, but I can't think of what it is on the top of my head.


Sorry, my bad, I wasn't clear here. You can have a summoning spell that summons an object with a certain distance, but it's a more complicated enchantment than a summoning spell that summons an object, and also more complicated than 'within these boundaries', especially since you'd have to define distances differently in different directions. The same issues arise when defining a specific area. It's not impossible, just difficult.

The volume is a matter of power, it's not so much that it's infeasible, but you'll need to get somewhat fancy with the way you're powering these enchantments. The constraints on the kind of item are also doable, though you  might need to do some experimentation and fine-tuning to make certain it captures all kind of sewage. Excluding specific substances can work, but you wouldn't be able to make the effect filter out any bacteria or poisons present in the sewage, for example.

----------


## WindStruck

So it sounds like conjuration spells are perfectly fine summoning something from potentially infinite distance away, even from other planes. But the moment you want to put a limiter on that, like, within 200 feet or so or designate an area to search that's a problem.

Still, I think there's a few odd counter-examples:

Guardian Armor  - This teleports an armor on your person to another person within a short range. A very concise proof of concept that not only shows it is possible to teleport something a short distance away with a level 1 spell, but also in a very precise manner.

Callback - Summons your familiar back to your side, with a limited range of anywhere from 400~640 feet.  Though perhaps it's a special case since the familiar has a magical bond with the caster?  I still feel it's worthy pointing out, since its range isn't infinite. Apparently, in this case, more range = more power needed?


What I was thinking was, maybe in order to get the limiter on distances that I wanted, it was just a matter of manipulating the power.  Or perhaps, exchange how that power is used. For an ideal example, increase volume but decrease range.  But.. I don't know what you mean by "you have to define distances differently".   :Small Confused: 

What does this mean?

----------


## DeTess

> So it sounds like conjuration spells are perfectly fine summoning something from potentially infinite distance away, even from other planes. But the moment you want to put a limiter on that, like, within 200 feet or so or designate an area to search that's a problem.


Yeah, basically, a standard conjuration spells is 'bring me X thing' without any sort of place specified. Making a spells that brings it from a specific place means you need to make a spell that says, bring my X thing from Y place.




> What I was thinking was, maybe in order to get the limiter on distances that I wanted, it was just a matter of manipulating the power.  Or perhaps, exchange how that power is used. For an ideal example, increase volume but decrease range.  But.. I don't know what you mean by "you have to define distances differently".  
> 
> What does this mean?


Okay, so here's how I'm kinda looking at how making an enchantment works. Designging an enchantment is kinda like writing magical pseudo-code. 'Bring thing X to here' is something that's easily supported by the 'conjuration' library, but once you need thing X to come from a very specific place things get more difficult. You'd have to either set a boundary ('continue looking for X untill you encounter the stop command), or define the location very precisely 'look for X, but not further than X meters away on the vertical plane, and no further than y meters away on the horizontal plane, and total distance no longer than Z meters away' and stuff like that.

Sorry, not properly explaining how I saw this is really on me. Also, if you'd prefer a different way to look at how enchanting works, that's fine too, just give me an idea of how your character looks at it and I'll work with that instead.

----------


## pi4t

Am I understanding correctly that Z was also a student at the academy, who's recently graduated? If so I'm going to suggest that Meredith was in the same year as him, and often used his alchemy.

----------


## pi4t

(Apologies for the double post.)

I decided to jump on the Julieanne's Brew bandwagon. Apparently it's a popular place! @Armonia It sounds like Xavier is fairly new so Meredith doesn't know of his interest in shipbuilding and won't seek him out. If you want to collaborate, I suggest having Xavier run into Meredith now. (Or, for that matter, if anyone else wants to run into Meredith, this is a good opportunity).

----------


## WindStruck

Actually, I was thinking about it more and I think we've got it wrong.

Pretty much always, conjuration means an object or substance appears before you. But the exact manner of how this happens varies. Most conjuration effects have the creation tag. Or, it's pretty blatantly flavored that way. An object is created, or brought forth somehow, but as to where it actually comes from? Who knows.

Maybe the spells just grab any old matter from anywhere, and a lot of times these creations disintegrate after the duration is over.

But you'll notice that spells that specifically teleport one known, existing thing from one place to another actually have limitations on their range. This is why I was thinking a range limitation would be pretty easy. As I understand it, the power of the spell dictates how far something can travel.

I think the generic creation spells I was talking about could be like an ultra-efficient algorithm that just skims excess energy from seemingly random places. So maybe you're right, that it takes a lot more "processing power" to search for something specific on top of moving it. But I disagree that limiting the potential distance costs even more power. I see it as perhaps a recursive, web-crawling algorithm, with a priority to keep the search broad, not narrow. So if you want to limit the distance it looks, all you do is limit the number of iterations it gets.

----------


## DeTess

> I think the generic creation spells I was talking about could be like an ultra-efficient algorithm that just skims excess energy from seemingly random places. So maybe you're right, that it takes a lot more "processing power" to search for something specific on top of moving it. But I disagree that limiting the potential distance costs even more power. I see it as perhaps a recursive, web-crawling algorithm, with a priority to keep the search broad, not narrow. So if you want to limit the distance it looks, all you do is limit the number of iterations it gets.


I wasn't really thinking about it as limiting distance requiring more power, but rather requiring a more specific enchantment, making it more difficult to create he enchantment in a way that works. That having been said, I do like this approach as well. It'll probably have a couple of interesting, but fun and minor unintended side-effects, but not something that's particularly problematic. 

So yeah, your character wouldn't have any reason to doubt that this approach could work.

edit: @pi4t, yeah, you'd get a stipend this week

@prehysterical, I'll get to your post in a bit, but I want everyone else to have a chance to catch up to your temporal position a bit first, if you don't mind. As I said though, your character would have time for some social stuff while working, so if before those 4 days are over an opportunity to interact ore roleplay with the others comes up, there's no reason not to go for it.

----------


## Prehysterical

> I'll get to your post in a bit, but I want everyone else to have a chance to catch up to your temporal position a bit first, if you don't mind. As I said though, your character would have time for some social stuff while working, so if before those 4 days are over an opportunity to interact ore roleplay with the others comes up, there's no reason not to go for it.


I don't mind at all. He wouldn't make the first move, but I'll keep that in mind.

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## Sønderjye

Using prestigation to make gloves is actually really clever. I hadn't thought about that before.

@Piet, I haven't actually specified how old Z is because I wasn't sure quite what the game was tailored towards. I'm definitely open to having been in the same year as other characters and having been interacted over alchemy.

@All, how far along the education do you all imagining your characters to be? And how long does the education last?

----------


## WindStruck

I think I'll also add to the previous discussion that those "ultra-efficient" creation spells would actually have the problem of reconstructing the matter into the desired form, plus maintaining shape for that duration.

With that said, I'm glad it seems like some progress is being made. Do you think Shandara finishes within a few hours?

And also, what hours are the archives open? It would be really ideal if she could browse there in the middle of the night. Not much else better to do with her time...

----------


## Armonia13

> Using prestigation to make gloves is actually really clever. I hadn't thought about that before.
> 
> @Piet, I haven't actually specified how old Z is because I wasn't sure quite what the game was tailored towards. I'm definitely open to having been in the same year as other characters and having been interacted over alchemy.
> 
> @All, how far along the educationare you all imagining your characters to be? And how long does the education last?


Thank you! I got inspired by a game I tried to play in awhile ago. Xavier is 14 years old, but would have graduated early from the Academy's required lessons. He'll still be attending some classes in his spare time, but by all rights is a full fledged member of the Society

*@pi4t* Xavier will definitely be searching out Meredith, once he isn't occupied with helping Z. Feel free to search him out for his knowledge skills anytime as well!

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## DeTess

> With that said, I'm glad it seems like some progress is being made. Do you think Shandara finishes within a few hours?


Your initial study should be done in a couple of hours. Making and testing the enchantment should take longer.



> And also, what hours are the archives open? It would be really ideal if she could browse there in the middle of the night. Not much else better to do with her time...


For society members the archives are open 24/7.

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## WindStruck

I guess after researching in the archives for a few examples, I could try making a spellcraft check at a +2 bonus?

You think one check works for Shandara's whole paper she wrote? Or maybe three? One for standard search, one for boundaries, one for the defined areas?

----------


## DeTess

> I guess after researching in the archives for a few examples, I could try making a spellcraft check at a +2 bonus?
> 
> You think one check works for Shandara's whole paper she wrote? Or maybe three? One for standard search, one for boundaries, one for the defined areas?


If you want to try creating a working example for all three methods that'd take a lot more time. I'd say expected time required for each method separate is about 3 days (4 for defining the area exactly), but doing all three would take about a week (depending on the check), as you can re-use parts of the enchantments in the other approaches. And yeah, a day of extra study should get you a +2 bonus.

----------


## Sønderjye

@Prehysterical, if you are bored I'd be happy to do a brainstorming scene for clockwork grafts. Since we're playing with timelines anyway it could be sometime during your 4 days of crafting or it could be a flashback.

@Piet, Armonia's reply makes me think that it sounds good to already be graduated so let's say that we do it during the same year and have the connection about alchemy.

@DeTess,
I'm not rolling knowledge nat because Z is aiding Xavier. Or are we using one of the aid another variants in which the aider rolls and the bonus they give depends on their roll? I do enjoy those variants and how thematically it makes sense that someone who is good at something helps more than someone untrained. I am guessing that I shouldn't roll a heal since I'm forgoing the independent knowledge roll?

I'll just take 10 for the spell-related rolls, getting familiar help. That means 29 spellcraft and 24 kno(arcane). So we're looking at the aura for any spell lesss than lvl 12 and identifical of the specific spell effect up to spell lvl 4. Z will also inform Xavier about the spell and it's location such that Xavier also is able to roll knowledge(arcane) to determine the spell effects.

----------


## Prehysterical

> if you are bored I'd be happy to do a brainstorming scene for clockwork grafts. Since we're playing with timelines anyway it could be sometime during your 4 days of crafting or it could be a flashback.


Z can try, but I'm not sure that Bolten would be keen on the whole idea. The idea of replacing body parts or integrating machinery into a person might be a little... icky to him.

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## Armonia13

> @Prehysterical, if you are bored I'd be happy to do a brainstorming scene for clockwork grafts. Since we're playing with timelines anyway it could be sometime during your 4 days of crafting or it could be a flashback.
> 
> @Piet, Armonia's reply makes me think that it sounds good to already be graduated so let's say that we do it during the same year and have the connection about alchemy.
> 
> @DeTess,
> I'm not rolling knowledge nat because Z is aiding Xavier. Or are we using one of the aid another variants in which the aider rolls and the bonus they give depends on their roll? I do enjoy those variants and how thematically it makes sense that someone who is good at something helps more than someone untrained. I am guessing that I shouldn't roll a heal since I'm forgoing the independent knowledge roll?
> 
> I'll just take 10 for the spell-related rolls, getting familiar help. That means 29 spellcraft and 24 kno(arcane). So we're looking at the aura for any spell lesss than lvl 12 and identifical of the specific spell effect up to spell lvl 4. Z will also inform Xavier about the spell and it's location such that Xavier also is able to roll knowledge(arcane) to determine the spell effects.


So Z has Detect Magic? Man, I really should have grabbed an item that let's me do that. Future purchase I guess. Also, you're able to take 10 on Knowledge Checks? What is the point of a Bard's Lore Master ability then?

If I'm able to take 10, I'll have 25, +2 if I take the time to use my reference guides, so 27 on Know Nat, Arcana, and Religion(There is such a thing as divine plagues after all), plus a 24 Spellcraft.

----------


## WindStruck

Yeah, think I'd feel the same way about grafts and such tbh.

I feel like if things go well for Shandara, she may be able to return to the Curator's office with a protype spell (still untested by the way) at around the same time that Bolten brings his schematics and mini drill prototype.

Getting there at the exact same time may be contrived, but at the very least, I feel for a nice story we've got to know that we're each seriously working on something and have come up with some potential solutions.


edit: I didn't think it was possible to aid another on knowledge checks.

double edit: Since Shandara does not have any levels as a wizard, is it even possible for her to test the spells she has come up with by herself?

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## Sønderjye

@Prehysterical&Windstruck, Bah, uninformed peasants, scared for the inevitable avalance of technology. The future is metal and we might as well accept that.

More seriously it could just be grafts for warforged, for people that have lost a limp and now we might as well give them something useful instead of simply a replacement, or just an addition rather than replacement like a way of getting wings.

Though, obviously I'm not going to engage your character on it if you don't enjoy the fantasy.

@Armonia13,
Yep, detect magic was a magewright spell and often comes in handy. Happy to help you with the item later, I'll even throw in a friends discount.

On taking 10 on knowledge. As far as I know you can take 10 on all skills(except UMD which have a specific clause that you can't take 10) as long as you aren't distracted or under threat. It seems pretty unambiguous in under the skill section in the d20pfsrd. I'm not super famliar with the bard ability but my assumption is that it allows you to take 10 during combat which you otherwise can't.

On aiding another. I just reread the aid another section under skills and as I recalled there are no restrictions on skills you can use it on. I had forgotten that I need to roll a 10 or higher on the same roll because only competent help actually gives a bonus. The description specifically calls out that the GM can put in restrictions as they choose so if DeTess says I can't then I can't. Still, it's a lot easier to understand something if you have someone to bounce ideas off(see rubberducking) and even if you know a lot about something, someone else can still see something or make a connection you didn't which can help you out, so I feel like the case is pretty strong for why it makes sense to aid another on knowledge checks. I would fluff it as pointing out observations, talking about similar diseases, and such. Familiar can talk using prestigation to make crude floating sentences which it can do at will.
Roll for aid another self: (1d20+8)[*19*]
Roll for aid another familiar: (1d20)[*5*]
Edit: so unless DeTess rules differently you get +2 for Z's aid but the floating letters from the familiar doesn't point out anything you didn't know.

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## Elbeyon

> @Armonia13,
> Yep, detect magic was a magewright spell and often comes in handy. Happy to help you with the item later, I'll even throw in a friends discount.


Detect magic is so good that is the only 0th level spell Zeal learned. She just has detect magic prepared in every slot.

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## DeTess

@shandara, I saw you rolled twice for spellcraft, which two approaches are you working on?

Edit:
*Spoiler: info for Elbeyon*
Show


The pendant is made from Targath, which grants a +2 resistance bonus on fortitude saves agaisnt diseases. It also has a faint blessing on it, granting a further +1 sacred bonus on fortitude saves.

The faint magical aura you detect has hints of transmutation and Necromancy, though you can't determine much more than that. You do notice that the aura seems a bit stronger in those suffering from bad coughing, than those who don't.

knowledge nature: You get a pretty good idea of all the symptoms. The main symptoms seem to be diarhea, coughing, and in many cases a fever. Other issues that some patients mention, such as headaches and diziness seem to spring from dehydration being caused by the disease causing its sufferers to lose a lot of liquid. What seems to be a bit odd to you is that the disease seems to hit two seperate parts of the body, being the digestive tract and the lungs. Many diseases tend to only primarily affect one part of the body, with all other symptoms being the result of something going wrong there.



*Spoiler: info for Sonderje*
Show


The faint magical aura you detect has hints of transmutation and Necromancy, though you can't determine much more than that. You do notice that the aura seems a bit stronger in those suffering from bad coughing, than those who don't. FI you're looking at the direct effects of a spell than it's not one you've seen before. It's not impossible for it to be some kind of artificial disease and you do remember reading about a couple diseases like that being used by enemies of the empire during the age of conquest, but most of those where a lot more spectacular and deadly than what you're looking at here.

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## WindStruck

I rolled twice because that's what investigative mind lets you do. Then you get the best roll.

I'm just working on the basic approach. Searching from the point of origin.

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## DeTess

> I rolled twice because that's what investigative mind lets you do. Then you get the best roll.
> 
> I'm just working on the basic approach. Searching from the point of origin.


Ah, okay, apologies. Yeah, a 33 will allow you to crack that easily in a day or three (which means you'd be done at about the same time as Bolten) so by the end of your third day you've got an enchantment that can reliably do what you need it to do, transferring sewage within a decent range into a container or pipe. Scaling it up to work on a full-size sewer is just a question of finding the right power source to sustain the enchantment, but there's a number of options there that you'll know will work (could be carving the runes with a highly magical kind of metal only found in former lake-beds, or maybe inlaying it with pieces form a magical type of coral or drawing it on with ink made from the heartblood of a sea serpent or something like that. You'll want something that has some natural association with liquids or water, but this is up to you to give your own twist on, and the costs will be covered by the patron for this project).

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## WindStruck

My plan was actually to use several such enchantments to help control the sewage flow and get around tough spots that would require demolishing many buildings.  It was meant as a supplement to engineering plans. Not.. one massive spell that does the job for the whole district...

Also, I'm wondering if anything else happens over the course of those days? Shandara would at least be making some trips between her home and the archives, and some places to eat. She'd probably actually have to do some grocery shopping too. (Can't just eat out all the time! ...right?)

Kinda feels like I've just been posting and posting by myself. But I guess if nothing eventful happens....  I'll be seeing Bolten at the office again too?

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## DeTess

> My plan was actually to use several such enchantments to help control the sewage flow and get around tough spots that would require demolishing many buildings.  It was meant as a supplement to engineering plans. Not.. one massive spell that does the job for the whole district...


I know, sorry if I didn't make that clear. You think it might be able to do the entire job if you got a truly massive way to power it, but it would be more efficient and easier to implement to allow it to bridge gaps as you suggest




> Also, I'm wondering if anything else happens over the course of those days? Shandara would at least be making some trips between her home and the archives, and some places to eat. She'd probably actually have to do some grocery shopping too. (Can't just eat out all the time! ...right?)


AS with Bolten, you'll have time for some social stuff, and grocery runs and the like. Working on the enchantment takes up a significant part of your day, like a day (or in your case night) job would, but it doesn't take up every waking moment.

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## WindStruck

Guess I am frozen in time for a bit then.  :Small Tongue: 

I wouldn't mind RPing and all, but I don't think checking vegetables at the store and telling the butcher how many pounds of meat I want would be very engaging. 

All the rest of our PCs... welcome to say hi or ask for some limited help.

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## Armonia13

*@DeTess* Exactly how long ago was the end of the Age of Conquest?

Edit: Also, would a KnoArcana check tell me whether a conjuration aura would appear on a magical disease that wasn't directly transmitted via spell or attack?(Sonderjye did mention that Z would tell Xavier his own findings in the moment)

To be clear, I'm asking if I cast a Contagion spell of some sort on a single target, and it spreads to other people later, would it still Detect as Necromancy and slightly Conjuration in the new victims?
Edit 2: Could've sworn that note said Conjuration earlier, not Transmutation, never mind my question

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## Elbeyon

I'm not normally active when the gm is on!

@DeTess Would you like me to wait for that morgue info? I love all this information! I feel like my character is really researching and learning!

@WindStruck I'm trying to hurry and advance things with each of my posts. Any chance you want to spend time with Zeal? She might have the plague :V

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## DeTess

> *@DeTess* Exactly how long ago was the end of the Age of Conquest?


About 60-ish years now since it formally ended, though as with many things in history there isn't quite that clear a cut-off as historians would like there to be (the lest 40 years of the age of conquest where mostly crushing the last few well-entrenched hold-outs, and dealing with a couple of smallish rebellions).




> @DeTess Would you like me to wait for that morgue info? I love all this information! I feel like my character is really researching and learning!


Oh right, if your character is planning on going to the morgue next I'll quickly set the scene for that.

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## Elbeyon

> Oh right, if your character is planning on going to the morgue next I'll quickly set the scene for that.


My bad. I had Zeal go down to the basement, but I didn't specifically declare her visiting the morgue (yet). I wanted to include the scene change there at the end, so I can work on my next post for tomorrow.

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## WindStruck

Interacting with Zeal sounds really fun. Can't confidently say Shandara would be having fun, but hey she is just too shy for her own good.


Also...   no more sign of that shady half-orc following Shandara?

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## DeTess

> My bad. I had Zeal go down to the basement, but I didn't specifically declare her visiting the morgue (yet). I wanted to include the scene change there at the end, so I can work on my next post for tomorrow.


No, this was on me, I missed that bit. I've edited my IC post with the transition to the morgue and the area for autopsies.




> Also...   no more sign of that shady half-orc following Shandara?


Nope, you see no sign of him, nor anyone else looking particularly shady.

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## Prehysterical

> About 60-ish years now since it formally ended, though as with many things in history there isn't quite that clear a cut-off as historians would like there to be (the lest 40 years of the age of conquest where mostly crushing the last few well-entrenched hold-outs, and dealing with a couple of smallish rebellions).


Oh... That would have meant that Bolten was born around the time that the Age of Conquest ended. I had originally written his childhood as taking place during the last days of that age. The Crimson Claw orcs were supposed to be a marginalized people pushing back against the Empire in a sort of last hurrah. Do I need to change that part of my character's backstory?

@Windstruck Tea time for subterranean friends?

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## WindStruck

> @Windstruck Tea time for subterranean friends?


Uh... sure? Maybe before these 3-4 days have passed when we have arrived with our works?

To call each other friends though.. well, there is a lot of baggage Shandara just has to try not to think about.  If Bolten is indeed a friend, maybe he's the closest thing she has to one.  But I don't know about Zeal. I'd like to think she could take that title.


I was actually wondering something.  I'm sure there are some races that might prefer a more underground environment.  Surely there's got to be something a bit like that in the city? Or if anything, basements and tunnels might just be really common!

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## Prehysterical

Sure. Maybe we could say some time during the second day, their halfway point where they need to get some air?

Yes, "friend" is a strong word, but they're acquaintances and they've worked together before. If we need to find a way to kinda nudge them together, maybe the tea shop is crowded by students studying for some exam and Bolten only feels comfortable enough to ask Shandara to share a table.

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## WindStruck

I thought Bolten always just brewed his own tea though..   :Small Big Grin: 

Hm, well.  Shandara does have a sitting room.  If he ever did feel like coming over. Maybe that's a bit much as well.

Well, you gotta eat, and it's probably more convenient to go someplace than make your own.

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## WindStruck

an IC post is up if Bolten is interested in sitting at a small table in a crowded cafe.

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## Elbeyon

I'm liking the exchange between Bolten and Shandara! I have a feeling that Julieanne's Brew is going be visited often. Zeal is overly positive and quick to call people her friends. Though, that that's not really being displayed since she is in a plague hospital and promised not to cause trouble.

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## DeTess

> Oh... That would have meant that Bolten was born around the time that the Age of Conquest ended. I had originally written his childhood as taking place during the last days of that age. The Crimson Claw orcs were supposed to be a marginalized people pushing back against the Empire in a sort of last hurrah. Do I need to change that part of my character's backstory?


No, that's no problem. As I said, 60 years ago is where the historians dropped their marker, but the core of the empire had been at peace for longer, while trouble continued for far longer in the empire's outskirts. Iirc you weren't born that close to the empire's core, so it all still fits.

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## Sønderjye

> Detect magic is so good that is the only 0th level spell Zeal learned. She just has detect magic prepared in every slot.


Huh, I've been assuming that magewright got cantrips like all other classes that have been converted to pf.




> *Spoiler: info for Sonderje*
> Show
> 
> 
> The faint magical aura you detect has hints of transmutation and Necromancy, though you can't determine much more than that. You do notice that the aura seems a bit stronger in those suffering from bad coughing, than those who don't. FI you're looking at the direct effects of a spell than it's not one you've seen before. It's not impossible for it to be some kind of artificial disease and you do remember reading about a couple diseases like that being used by enemies of the empire during the age of conquest, but most of those where a lot more spectacular and deadly than what you're looking at here.


For clarification: Is this you saying that I rolled too low to identify the spell effects, that knowledge arcane don't allow you to identify the effects of a spell that is active, or that I can only identify the spell effects if I am already with the underlying spell?

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## DeTess

> For clarification: Is this you saying that I rolled too low to identify the spell effects, that knowledge arcane don't allow you to identify the effects of a spell that is active, or that I can only identify the spell effects if I am already with the underlying spell?


Basically, you're looking at the lingering effects of a spell that has been cast too long ago to identify(and was instantaneous). Like if you find a scorchmark on the floor and pick up some faint evocation, but too much time has passed to determine whether it was a fireball or a lightning bolt.

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## pi4t

I guess I need to apologise again for my lack of posts. This doesn't reflect very well on me, does it? I'm afraid there was a major medical emergency on Monday, which kind of got in the way of me doing any of my usual activities like this. (And also meant I didn't particularly want to read the hospital scenes.)

Getting back on topic, how much would it cost to create the following? Roughly speaking.

1) An unusually large Floating Disk
2) A Floating Disk of the usual size
3) Some mechanical method of propulsion (e.g. a propeller, pump, etc.)

Since we're still in the pre-industrial age, I'm assuming that things like nonmagical engines are out of our reach.

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## Sønderjye

> Basically, you're looking at the lingering effects of a spell that has been cast too long ago to identify(and was instantaneous). Like if you find a scorchmark on the floor and pick up some faint evocation, but too much time has passed to determine whether it was a fireball or a lightning bolt.


I see. It would be really nice to be able to identify previously cast spells. How much would an item cost that worked like gloves of object reading but instead of reading the psychic imprint with regard to ownership and the nature of the owner, it would read the psychic imprint of a spell that was cast in the past to gain information about the spell?

Giving this a try.

*Spoiler: Monocle of Magic Reading(first draft)*
Show

While wearing this monocle, the user can learn the details of a magical effect by reading the psychic imprint left behind when the magica effect was produced. It works only if the user either is standing where the produced was cast or is able to observe the aura of the magical effect, such as through detect magic.

The amount of information revealed depends on how long the user studies the psychic imprint. The information below is revealed in order such that after 6 minutes the user knows all the information. This item couns as a clairsentience power cast by a 5th level caster for the purpose of effects that conseal information. 

Interpreting the psychic imprints requires a spellcraft check against a DC 20+spell level for each minute of studying the imprint. Sucess indicates that the user gains the corresponding information listed below and on a failure the user is overwhelmed by the imprint, must break his studying, and can't resume studying the imprint until a day have passed.

1 minute: The level of the magical effect

2 minute: The target of the magical effect

3 minute: The save(s) DC of the magical effect

4 minute: How long ago the magical effect was cast

5 minute: The description of the effect of the magical effect

6 minute: The intend or goal for producing the magical effect

Notes:
I was looking to tie the use of this to a skill because it felt like interpreting an imprint should be skill based. Psionics Spellcraft seems to be a lot about interpreting psionic phenomenom so it seemed like a good fit. 


*Spoiler: Design options(first draft)*
Show

How much would these different approaches cost/how well would they work?
Design 1: The monocle is glass constructed from a mixture of sand(or whatever the usual material to make glass is) and gem dust. The glass is then imbued with magical energy that allows the user to see psychic imprints of magical effect, with magical energy being stored in the gem dust and the runes to direct the energy being enscribed around the edge. The monocle contains enough mojo for 18 minutes use. It can be recharged by a spellcaster sacrificing a spell slot to power at the ratio of 3 minutes per spell slot.
Design 2: As above however the runes allow it to recharge by drawing in ambient mana such that it itself regains 6 minutes of use each day.
Design 3: As design 1 however The monocle is made with regular glass and the magic is stored in psionically attuned jewels(i.e. crystals) that are embedded in the frame.
Design 4: As design 3 but instead of using crystals to contain the power, the frame of the monocle is made from remelted material which hold a strong psychic imprint such as the first weapon/armor a guard received and had used for 20 years.
Design A: More a redesign of the original item. Instead of being able to learn information about any magical effect we'll restrict it so it only works on spells, replacing all instances of 'magical effect' with spell and replacing 'produced' with 'cast'. Can be combined with design 1-4, I'm just curious about what the difference in price is.


edit:
Are we open to juggling multiple timelines? I'd like to respond to Armonia's reply so we can continue the momentum but there are still things Z is doing inside the hospital. Can I start a scene with Z and Xavier being outside the hospital talking, while continueing the scene inside the hospital? With the understanding that if something major happened inside the hospital(such as Z being kidnapped) then the later scene didn't actually happen and we were just talking hypotheticals? I've had good experiences using a multi-scene framework in other games.

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## DeTess

> I guess I need to apologise again for my lack of posts. This doesn't reflect very well on me, does it? I'm afraid there was a major medical emergency on Monday, which kind of got in the way of me doing any of my usual activities like this. (And also meant I didn't particularly want to read the hospital scenes.)
> 
> Getting back on topic, how much would it cost to create the following? Roughly speaking.
> 
> 1) An unusually large Floating Disk
> 2) A Floating Disk of the usual size
> 3) Some mechanical method of propulsion (e.g. a propeller, pump, etc.)
> 
> Since we're still in the pre-industrial age, I'm assuming that things like nonmagical engines are out of our reach.


A fully nonmagical engine is out of reach (at least without your character first making the half a dozen so so intermediate leaps needed tos tart exploiting steam power). You might be able to design a hybrid, however (using a magical effect to create a force that is then turned into propulsion by a meganism). Regarding the others:

1) probably about a 1000gp or so in materials. You need some kind of focus to hold and power the enchantment, which would be pretty expensive, but you wouldn't need that much else.
2) How unusual are we talking here?
3) depends on the size, but it won't be cheap. Probably 5,000-10,000 gp, for something capable of moving a couple 1,000 lbs per minute, more if it needs to be bigger (and obviously less if it 's allowed to be smaller, such as for a small scale model)




> I see. It would be really nice to be able to identify previously cast spells. How much would an item cost that worked like gloves of object reading but instead of reading the psychic imprint with regard to ownership and the nature of the owner, it would read the psychic imprint of a spell that was cast in the past to gain information about the spell?
> 
> Giving this a try.
> 
> *Spoiler: Monocle of Magic Reading(first draft)*
> Show
> 
> While wearing this monocle, the user can learn the details of a magical effect by reading the psychic imprint left behind when the magica effect was produced. It works only if the user either is standing where the produced was cast or is able to observe the aura of the magical effect, such as through detect magic.
> 
> ...


I like this idea. generally recharging over time would be pretty standard for an item like this. I think pricing it similar to the glove of object reading is fair. It can get you some more information, but ti does require a number of successive checks. Though I'd say condense it down to 4 checks at most, but prohibit taking 10 (first check gets you level and how long ago, 2nd gets you target and save's, 3rd gets you the intended goal, and 4th gets you the full description).

Anyway, something like design 2 would work. You'd probably want a lens ground from a psionically attuned crystal, though one made with gem dust from a gem that had first been infused with an appropriate spel could work as well. Either way, supplies would set you back about 750 gp. It'd probably take you 1-2 days to design and make it.




> edit:
> Are we open to juggling multiple timelines? I'd like to respond to Armonia's reply so we can continue the momentum but there are still things Z is doing inside the hospital. Can I start a scene with Z and Xavier being outside the hospital talking, while continueing the scene inside the hospital? With the understanding that if something major happened inside the hospital(such as Z being kidnapped) then the later scene didn't actually happen and we were just talking hypotheticals? I've had good experiences using a multi-scene framework in other games.


I'd preferably not. A little bit with people 'losing' a couple of days while crafting doing some RP in between is fine, but with more than that I'd really need tos tart paying close attention to what everyone will has been doing (not a grammar error, tenses just get weird if I allowed that).

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## Armonia13

I feel I've gotten what I need from the Campus Hospital, so I don't mind deleting my post and wait to redo it when * Sønderjye* is set, if that helps

Edit: Oof, that wasn't a good thing for me to say. Any chance my Decorum Band stops me from opening my big mouth? I really should think things through better before I post 😅

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## pi4t

> 2) How unusual are we talking here?


I said usual, not unusual  :Small Smile: 

For the "large" one, I'm picturing about maybe 20ft across? I basically want to know how the cost scales with size.

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## Elbeyon

> Huh, I've been assuming that magewright got cantrips like all other classes that have been converted to pf.


Pathfinder didn't give adapt orisons so I was assuming that npc classes do not get cantrips or orisions. It looks like at-will 0th level spells might be a pc class feature unless that was changed?

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## DeTess

> I said usual, not unusual 
> 
> For the "large" one, I'm picturing about maybe 20ft across?


Oops, got those inverted. The cost for permanent version for the standard one would be about 1000gp in materials, as I said.

For a 20 foot one, if you'd use the same method as for the standard-size one you'd need a really expensive focus or power source (think a 100k gold, but in practice priceless, as these wouldn't just be for sale). You could probably decrease that significantly by generating a rig of enchantments that creates a number of adjacent smaller disks, though even then it'd be quite pricy (still in the 40-50k range, but the components would at least be more readily available). Generating large force-fields can be done, but it's difficult, and it's generally easier to figure out a way to make another material behave the way you want it to than to use magical force as a structural component.

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## Sønderjye

> I like this idea. generally recharging over time would be pretty standard for an item like this. I think pricing it similar to the glove of object reading is fair. It can get you some more information, but ti does require a number of successive checks. Though I'd say condense it down to 4 checks at most, but prohibit taking 10 (first check gets you level and how long ago, 2nd gets you target and save's, 3rd gets you the intended goal, and 4th gets you the full description).
> 
> Anyway, something like design 2 would work. You'd probably want a lens ground from a psionically attuned crystal, though one made with gem dust from a gem that had first been infused with an appropriate spel could work as well.


That sounds good. I was imagining that all 4 designs would work but that they would be slightly different outcomes. Are you saying that only design 2 with the modification you made is viable for achieving what I want?

Gotja on the ruling on scenes. 




> I feel I've gotten what I need from the Campus Hospital, so I don't mind deleting my post and wait to redo it when *Sønderjye* is set, if that helps
> 
> Edit: Oof, that wasn't a good thing for me to say. Any chance my Decorum Band stops me from opening my big mouth? I really should think things through better before I post 😅


Eh, it's fine. I think it's fine to say "when we are done with this I do X" and me just waiting with responding until I'm actually done.




> Pathfinder didn't give adapt orisons so I was assuming that npc classes do not get cantrips or orisions. It looks like at-will 0th level spells might be a pc class feature unless that was changed?


I totally missed that. Good spotted. I'll get around to making my 0st lvl slots prepared. I'll admit, I've never played an NPC class before  :Small Tongue:

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## Elbeyon

@DeTess I have a bit of a meta question. Is trying to find the source of the disease outside the scope of what we're suppose to be doing? Also, I'm not sure what item would be too much. Would something like: an inhaled substance that mixes with blood and weakens its elements until it evaporates be possible/effective?

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## DeTess

> @DeTess I have a bit of a meta question. Is trying to find the source of the disease outside the scope of what we're suppose to be doing?


It's certainly not impossible or entirely outside of the scope, but I will say that things won't be quite as easy as finding a single contaminated well or something like that, and it's not a necessary step (at least , It's not necessary for you to figure this out) to deal with the disease.




> Also, I'm not sure what item would be too much. Would something like: an inhaled substance that mixes with blood and weakens its elements until it evaporates be possible/effective?


It could help, but also, once you're bleeding into your lungs, stopping you from drowning in it is only part of what needs to happen.

----------


## DeTess

> That sounds good. I was imagining that all 4 designs would work but that they would be slightly different outcomes. Are you saying that only design 2 with the modification you made is viable for achieving what I want?


For an item like this you'd generally get some passive power regeneration as in design 2. As for design 4... It'd definitely do something, and that something could be very interesting, but your character would think that it'd probably not do what you're looking for in this case. You reckon that that design might be useful to a detective or similar, with an effect closer to the original glove of object reading. Like, if you ever want to create an item that does something like the 'detective vision'  you see in some video games, that'd be pretty good approach.

----------


## Elbeyon

> It could help, but also, once you're bleeding into your lungs, stopping you from drowning in it is only part of what needs to happen.


The disease seems resistant to being treated directly. I'm not sure if that is only magic though, and alchemy would work. Healing the wounds in the lungs directly through alchemy to stop bleeding may be too direct. Something to cause coagulation may work. It was noted that the magic faded once the victim was dead. Perhaps, inducing a false death, like inducing a medical coma, would disrupt the disease.

----------


## Sønderjye

> For an item like this you'd generally get some passive power regeneration as in design 2. As for design 4... It'd definitely do something, and that something could be very interesting, but your character would think that it'd probably not do what you're looking for in this case. You reckon that that design might be useful to a detective or similar, with an effect closer to the original glove of object reading. Like, if you ever want to create an item that does something like the 'detective vision'  you see in some video games, that'd be pretty good approach.


Is it important what is generally done for an item in regards to what designs you'll accept? In a previous post it sounded like putting in a spell array that drew on ambient mana to work were more complicated than something that had to be manually refilled. What I imagined with d1 compared to d2 was that the first one would basically do the same but cheaper since you need to expend a limited resource in order to use it.

Ooh, that sounds exciting. What does detective vision mean in this context? Allow one to view the past on some location?

----------


## DeTess

> Is it important what is generally done for an item in regards to what designs you'll accept? In a previous post it sounded like putting in a spell array that drew on ambient mana to work were more complicated than something that had to be manually refilled. What I imagined with d1 compared to d2 was that the first one would basically do the same but cheaper since you need to expend a limited resource in order to use it.


Being able to recharge it at all makes it a bit more complicated, as you need to design it in such a way that it can be recharged. The exact mechanism doesn't really matter though, unless you want to have a lot of different options (such as passive, and recharging with spell slots). In the previous case, it was a difference between 'making it with a big enough charge that it'll last a long time' and 'making it so it can recharge'. Does that make sense?




> Ooh, that sounds exciting. What does detective vision mean in this context? Allow one to view the past on some location?


To some degree yes. It wouldn't be perfect, but you'd be able to get a decent feeling for the events at a place where something impactful happened (such as a murder, or a robbery or the like, anything that would involve high-strung emotions that'd leave en 'echo' for a while). Not enough to be able to identify the faces of those involved, but definitely clear enough to see where the perpetrator or victim headed off to, and to help with finding clues.

----------


## DeTess

> The disease seems resistant to being treated directly. I'm not sure if that is only magic though, and alchemy would work. Healing the wounds in the lungs directly through alchemy to stop bleeding may be too direct. Something to cause coagulation may work. It was noted that the magic faded once the victim was dead. Perhaps, inducing a false death, like inducing a medical coma, would disrupt the disease.


What you've seen so far is that the generic fortitude boosters are of limited effectiveness, and magic for curing diseases isn't that widely available, and doesn't work as well once a victim starts coughing heavily. To egt an effective cure, you'd want to design something that's tailor-made for this disease. Everything you've suggested so far would be helpful, but for the biggest effect you'll not just want to hit one aspect of the disease, but as many as you can manage, does that make sense? I'm not saying you shouldn't try any of the things you've suggested so far, because they're all good ideas, but it's fine to think a bit bigger than just going after one symptom.

----------


## Elbeyon

> What you've seen so far is that the generic fortitude boosters are of limited effectiveness, and magic for curing diseases isn't that widely available, and doesn't work as well once a victim starts coughing heavily. To egt an effective cure, you'd want to design something that's tailor-made for this disease. Everything you've suggested so far would be helpful, but for the biggest effect you'll not just want to hit one aspect of the disease, but as many as you can manage, does that make sense? I'm not saying you shouldn't try any of the things you've suggested so far, because they're all good ideas, but it's fine to think a bit bigger than just going after one symptom.


I think I better understand now. So, something like using a form stabilizer mixed with some type of life essence to try to cancel the transmutation and necromancy to help the lungs, and also trying to treat the underlying disease with the same substance. They dehydration isn't a direct symptom and can be treated separately though.

----------


## DeTess

> I think I better understand now. So, something like using a form stabilizer mixed with some type of life essence to try to cancel the transmutation and necromancy to help the lungs, and also trying to treat the underlying disease with the same substance. They dehydration isn't a direct symptom and can be treated separately though.


Yeah, something like that could definitely work. Also, going Voltron on the various symptoms by mixing together a number of different remedies tailored for each individual symptom could help with suppressing it as well, to just give another example. Or , I don't know, figuring out how to grow new lungs and bowels and doing a transplant for each patient (though that might just be a little impractical... :P)

----------


## Elbeyon

> Yeah, something like that could definitely work. Also, going Voltron on the various symptoms by mixing together a number of different remedies tailored for each individual symptom could help with suppressing it as well, to just give another example. Or , I don't know, figuring out how to grow new lungs and bowels and doing a transplant for each patient (though that might just be a little impractical... :P)


Haha. Alright! I think I was a little too stuck on the disease's resistance to treatment and was trying to think of ways to treat a disease without curing it. Thanks for the quick replies! I'll make sure to get in another post for tomorrow!

----------


## WindStruck

I'm wondering if I should roll a sense motive..  oh, why not.

(1d20+4)[*8*]

----------


## Elbeyon

oof. That exchange is going roughly.

----------


## WindStruck

Poor Bolten.  Didn't mean to make him feel bad.   :Small Tongue:

----------


## Elbeyon

We'll see him again!

I know people are waiting on me, so I wanted to do my crafting post. Hopefully, that isn't a problem. If for some reason Zeal couldn't leave the hospital, she has the tools to do her work at the hospital. 

For the dehydration, I don't think Zeal will use alchemy. Dehydration is a super common problem, and it might be better served to make a more permanent fix. I was thinking Zeal could make either one of the below. I like the Sipping Sleeve more since it could be used for more than just dehydration (like other illnesses), but the more open nature might be problematic and might need a vist. The Quenching Sleeve is simple and straightforward. 

Zeal knows of Curnow! She mentioned him to the sister! I wasn't expecting to see him. xD Zeal is pretty happy about that.

The Arcane Arts and Crafts section is craft check fluff and can be skipped. No one should be compelled to read it! 

*Spoiler: Sleeve, Sipping*
Show

Aura: Faint Conjuration (creation) & Transmutation; CL: 1th; Slot: Wrist; Price: 1,350 gp; Weight: 1 lbs.

This dark blue wave-decorated cloth sleeve easily fits over their wearers arm.

As a standard action, the user can pour up to 1000 ml of nonmagical potable liquid onto this sleeve, infusing it into the sleeve. The sleeve can activate on command to have the liquid consumed by the wearer. Once the sleeves is infused with a liquid, the liquid can only be removed without consumption by removing the sleeve and wringing the liquid out.

On command, the sleeve becomes infused with 1000 ml of completely normal water; you can wring it, and so on.

Feats: Craft Wondrous Item, Create Water; Cost: 675 gp.


*Spoiler: Sleeve, Quenching*
Show

Aura: Faint Conjuration (healing); CL: 1th; Slot: Wrist; Price: 900 gp; Weight: 1 lbs.

This dark blue wave-decorated cloth sleeve easily fits over their wearers arm.

On command, the sleeve creates moisture within the body of the wearer as if the wearer drank enough water to sustain themselves.

Feats: Craft Wondrous Item, Create Water; Cost: 450 gp.

----------


## DeTess

> *Spoiler: Sleeve, Sipping*
> Show
> 
> Aura: Faint Conjuration (creation) & Transmutation; CL: 1th; Slot: Wrist; Price: 1,350 gp; Weight: 1 lbs.
> 
> This dark blue wave-decorated cloth sleeve easily fits over their wearers arm.
> 
> As a standard action, the user can pour up to 1000 ml of nonmagical potable liquid onto this sleeve, infusing it into the sleeve. The sleeve can activate on command to have the liquid consumed by the wearer. Once the sleeves is infused with a liquid, the liquid can only be removed without consumption by removing the sleeve and wringing the liquid out.
> 
> ...


Because of course the perfect item already exists in the actual rules XD




> The Arcane Arts and Crafts section is craft check fluff and can be skipped. No one should be compelled to read it!


It's an awesome section, so why would anyone skip it? Anyway, it does take you a bunch of iterations to get the balance exactly right, and to deal with some unexpected interactions between your chosen ingredients, but in a  day or two you think it's good enough to start using, though you suspect there's further refinements to be made once you can observe your creation in effect.

That having been said, could you roll me a fortitude save, adding +3 from the amulet you had while in the hospital, and adding any other bonuses you might have against diseases? Unless you're actually immune to diseases, of course.

@sonderje:

*Spoiler*
Show


You track the four patients through their coins, but find no common origin, though based on the aepprance of the previous owner of some of the coins they spend some time in one of the poorer districts, potentially the Stromdrains.

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## Elbeyon

> Because of course the perfect item already exists in the actual rules XD
> 
> It's an awesome section, so why would anyone skip it? Anyway, it does take you a bunch of iterations to get the balance exactly right, and to deal with some unexpected interactions between your chosen ingredients, but in a  day or two you think it's good enough to start using, though you suspect there's further refinements to be made once you can observe your creation in effect.
> 
> That having been said, could you roll me a fortitude save, adding +3 from the amulet you had while in the hospital, and adding any other bonuses you might have against diseases? Unless you're actually immune to diseases, of course.


Those two items are custom items, actually!  :Small Red Face:  :Small Big Grin:  I did put them in an official format though. I wouldn't want to use an already exist item for a commission in a crafting game! I'm glad they looked like official items. I hope they both look ok. I wanted to make sure the sipping sleeve was limited so it could not be abused for potions or something other than intended.

That makes sense she needs to work on them more! I ended with Zeal working on another batch because I am sure it needs refinements and she can do better with testing. 

I wasn't trying to cut off any rp at the hospital. Zeal wouldn't pass up a chance to talk to Curnow.

The scary fortitude save! I thought this was coming. Zeal is not immune. She is pretty human with a 10 rp race, but she does get a small bonus for being what she is.

*Spoiler: Roll*
Show

Fortitude Save
(1d20+15)[*26*] +1 (Base) +1 (Con) +2 (Racial, Construct Resistance)+3 (Circumstance, Outfit) +3 (Resistance & Scared, Pendent) +5 (Alchemical, Antiplauge)

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## DeTess

> Those two items are custom items, actually!  I did put them in an official format though. I wouldn't want to use an already exist item for a commission in a crafting game! I'm glad they looked like official items. I hope they both look ok. I wanted to make sure the sipping sleeve was limited so it could not be abused for potions or something other than intended.


Heh, I didn't notice that at all. They look fine though for what they need to do, though your character would need to do a bit of design work before you could start producing them.




> I wasn't trying to cut off any rp at the hospital. Zeal wouldn't pass up a chance to talk to Curnow.


Ah, okay. I'll have another IC post up in response to that in a bit then, but I need to get some food into me first.

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## Elbeyon

> Heh, I didn't notice that at all. They look fine though for what they need to do, though your character would need to do a bit of design work before you could start producing them.
> 
> Ah, okay. I'll have another IC post up in response to that in a bit then, but I need to get some food into me first.


Excellent! I'll have Zeal work on inventing them in another post. Yay! That's two (including the alchemy item) custom item approvals.  :Small Big Grin: 

Enjoy your food! I have been looking forward to every post!

Zeal used a lot of money for consumables on that hospital visit but so worth it. She is super busy with her two items, probably working like 16 hours a day, but she'd love to explore the district to try to find the source of the disease. She does have patient history filled journal, detect magic, augury, and locate object (if she knew what she was looking for). Assuming, the pendants aren't a lead. She is probably too busy for that.

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## WindStruck

> That having been said, could you roll me a fortitude save, adding +3 from the amulet you had while in the hospital, and adding any other bonuses you might have against diseases? Unless you're actually immune to diseases, of course.


This is exactly why Shandara is going nowhere near that Stormdrain District.

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## Elbeyon

> This is exactly why Shandara is going nowhere near that Stormdrain District.


Understandable, Shandara is pretty vulnerable. Keep her safe! She has a prosperous future! Shandara and Zeal still need to become friends.  :Small Big Grin:

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## Sønderjye

I liked the fluff you put into that post Elbeyon but it has left me a little confused about how much control we have over the world. DeTess, are we allowed to just make up 'ideal' alchemical ingredients like (I think) Elbeyon did. Can I just start describing the process of crafting a concoction and put in ingredients that I invent ad hoc in order for the brew to do what I want it to?

Also DeTess, back when Z left Ronce he left a note with a list of ingredients for the receptionist to get as agreed with Ronce. If you did comment on that I missed. When can he pick that up and were the ingredients as much worth as I suggested?

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## DeTess

> I liked the fluff you put into that post Elbeyon but it has left me a little confused about how much control we have over the world. DeTess, are we allowed to just make up 'ideal' alchemical ingredients like (I think) Elbeyon did. Can I just start describing the process of crafting a concoction and put in ingredients that I invent ad hoc in order for the brew to do what I want it to?


You can describe it like that, definitely. Doing some research in advance might reveal particularly effective ingredients, but you're a skilled alchemist, so your character would have some ideas nonetheless.

How ideal those ingredients end up being if you do it this way is of course largely dependent on the craft check that follows.




> Also DeTess, back when Z left Ronce he left a note with a list of ingredients for the receptionist to get as agreed with Ronce. If you did comment on that I missed. When can he pick that up and were the ingredients as much worth as I suggested?


Ronce works quickly when properly motivated. It should be ready for pickup the next morning. I'll do some rolling once you go to pick it up.

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## Elbeyon

Zeal has a lot of work to do with the plague! I would have included failures at Arcane Arts and Crafts, but I ran out of time. My intention on ending with Zeal starting on an altered batch was to show that there were improvements and changes she was making to the recipe. She's going to do her homework and try to work through any problems. Like DeTess said: she needs to make iterations, balance the ingredients, and deal with some poor interactions. She did it off screen!

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## DeTess

@Sonderje, the Ingredients from Ronce are all there, matching your list. However, it does seem like Ronce got them from the clearance sale of herb shop or similar, as lot of it is very old. It should all still be functional, but some ingredients have lost a bit of potency, which means you need to use a bit more than usual to get the same effect.

It takes you about 2.5 days to get all 4 of your designs to the point that you feel comfortable testing them on patients. You'd probably be a bit worried about your first two designs, not with regards to its effects, you're fairly certain it'll do what you designed it to do, but about the effect on the patient while the disease burns itself out. It might be best to first test it out on relatively healthy patients with mild symptoms, before testing it out on those that are worse off. Though given its effects, it might also work at cleansing contaminated food or water, provided there is such a source to target.

@Elbeyon After some time studying the books you definitely have some design ideas to make the sipping sleeve work. In particular, you've learned about a particular type of salamander that drinks through its skin, and you've got some solid ideas about how to replicate that effect in humanoids, and how to hold a sufficient amount of moisture for the patient to absorb this way.

@Elbeyon, @sonderje, both your alchemical solutions will be done around the same time. Is there any particular strategy you had in mind for testing and distributing your first batches to confirm it works as it should?

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## WindStruck

Are we all going to be at about the same point in time, now that we have planned out and designed our.. um.. crafts?

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## DeTess

> Are we all going to be at about the same point in time, now that we have planned out and designed our.. um.. crafts?


Roughly, yeah. More varying craft-times might be better for verisimilitude, but game-technically, keeping everyone at roughly the same point in time is probably a better idea. I'm planning picking things up at the 'everyone's done crafting' mark on sunday, maybe on saturday, but there's two people who still have some time to fill, @pi4t and @armonia to be precise.

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## Elbeyon

> @Elbeyon After some time studying the books you definitely have some design ideas to make the sipping sleeve work. In particular, you've learned about a particular type of salamander that drinks through its skin, and you've got some solid ideas about how to replicate that effect in humanoids, and how to hold a sufficient amount of moisture for the patient to absorb this way.
> 
> @Elbeyon, @sonderje, both your alchemical solutions will be done around the same time. Is there any particular strategy you had in mind for testing and distributing your first batches to confirm it works as it should?


Nice! That's really cool. Zeal needs to go shopping.

I can do a post for this. Zeal's focus was always saving lives so her strategy will be centered around that. The main limiting factor in the cure is Zeal; she is only a single alchemist with a single alchemy workshop. Zeal's cure needs to "prove effective" for others to support it. She will send a portion of her cure to campus alchemist and biologist with copies of her notes and formulas. She will eat the cost at her workshop to produce as much solution as she can by herself, 8 goods per day. She herself is going to take the majority of the cure back to Light's heart hospital. She will want to treat the people in the most critical condition first to try to stabilize them and prevent more from dying. That's why she was so focused on removing the blood/liquid from people's lungs, and the medicine is taken through the lungs. The doctors at the hospital should know the sickest, but Zeal can also use detect magic to find the strongest magic in people's lungs to increase speed/accuracy. Detect magic can almost be used as a "detect disease progression." Her cure is burned in a thurible/censor, so if the sickest are gathered on one floor, perhaps, she can treat them at the same time if she burns enough of her thurible bricks around the room.

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## Sønderjye

I should note that Valet familiar means that Z crafts items in 50% of the usual crafting time. If we're looking at syncing people up I guess I can spend some time on other projects and take a break to do something else?

Z priorities a good spread of ages, species, and representations of the various stages of the disease so he'll know whether the cures works on all groups.

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## Elbeyon

Nice! I really liked Z's proper science method. Z and Zeal are going to body this disease together!  :Small Big Grin: 

Valet familiar is great!

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## Sønderjye

Yeah! We'll do it! 

Honestly I would have loved to work together on it but I couldn't find a way to while maintaining the exclusivity for Ronce. This is probably good as well.

It really is. I took it mostly for flavour but then realized the coorporative crafting stuff.

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## Elbeyon

I would have pushed for working together more too except exclusivity is a dealer breaker for Zeal. She never would have agreed to try to protect the formula for personal gain. She is charitable and has a sense of duty towards people and helping them. Her sharing knowledge is probably going against her desire for fame, but her ideals are a higher priority than recognition.

I really wanted a Valet familiar too, but Zeal isn't a human and only has three feats. She has no feats to spare because she has a three feat chain. She doesn't need to sleep though! That's nice. She may not be able to work as efficiently, but she can work harder! Not that her working longer helps her shop at all; they have business hours. And, I don't see anything in the rules about paying people overtime.  :Small Amused:

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## Sønderjye

Yeah, I get that. I am hoping that both cures works and give Ronce the worse one  :Small Big Grin:  It needs to work well but not super well. 

They should definitely have rules for people working overtime.

I just looked at your sheet and I realized that our builds are so similar. How did you manage to get those feats? I needed to get a crafting feat at lvl 1 to qualify for Exceptional Artisan and couldn't find anything useful so I ended up wasting a feat on craft poppet.

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## Elbeyon

The more people that try to help with the plague the better! Zeal is still curious about the cause since no one seems able to determine that. Zeal is super busy making the alchemy items and magic item. She'd like to find the cause though, but since crafting is more the focus of the game I think I should drop the topic for another time.

Hah. Overtime would be something.

The characters are different though and that's what matters! Poppets are great! I'm probably going to make some in the future just because they are so cool. I love little constructs. And, I paid to retrain one of Zeal's feats.

----------


## pi4t

I'm sorry, but this campaign is moving far faster than I'd anticipated and I'm struggling to keep up with what's being written, let alone write anything myself. I'm going to bow out.

Sorry to mess you around, and enjoy the game!

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## Sønderjye

That's fair though I'll be sorry to see you go and that I really don't think that your posting speed has been a problem. This game has a pretty individualistic nature, I don't think you're obligated to keep up with what other people are writing unless you are interacting(and you can actually make a case for that improving your ability to not metagame when interacting with other players) and you definitely haven't slowed things down yet.

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## Elbeyon

The content of my posts has been rushed, but I can live with it. The sewer commission finished pretty fast, and I want get the players back in the game as soon as possible! I left my campus posts a little open in case anyone wanted to join them, but I'm going to try to wrap them up since we're moving forward soon.

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## Armonia13

> I'm sorry, but this campaign is moving far faster than I'd anticipated and I'm struggling to keep up with what's being written, let alone write anything myself. I'm going to bow out.
> 
> Sorry to mess you around, and enjoy the game!


Hey, I think I'm gonna drop as well. It's not that it is moving too fast, I'm just having difficulty following what's going on. Also I severely overestimated my ability to handle multiple games as well as real life. I hope things go well guys, I'll definitely check into the story every now and then cuz you guys are really interesting!

----------


## Prehysterical

Aw, I'm sorry to hear that, guys. I'd say that it's really not a problem, but I will trust your judgment. Hope that RL and your other games go well.

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## WindStruck

Well, I am sorry to see you guys go.

As Elbeyon said, a lot of it is individualistic..  but I guess in the long run that's probably not so fun as being able to interact with our other players.

----------


## Elbeyon

I'm sorry things didn't match up quite right for everyone.




> As Elbeyon said, a lot of it is individualistic..  but I guess in the long run that's probably not so fun as being able to interact with our other players.


That was Sønderjye!  :Small Tongue:  I really enjoy interacting with players too. I'm not that into solo play and enjoy the group experience.  :Small Big Grin:

----------


## DeTess

@armonia, @pi4t, I'm sorry to see you go. If at some point in the future you have more time, I can see about reintroducing your characters.


@Sonderje, @ Elbeyon, here are the results for the tests with your cure designs, feel free to work that into RP however you like.

*Spoiler: test results*
Show



Design 1: Both variants you created seem to have the same effect. On a healthy person they do nothing, or induce a very slight fever that lasts for a couple of hours before fading. On someone with a mild case of the disease they cause a strong fever (strong enough to render the  person bed-ridden that lasts for half a day, but afterwards the sufferer seems completely free of the disease, though they tend to complain of hangover like symptoms, likely due to liquid lost during the fever). 
You've tested it on a pair of sufferers that where suffering more from the disease, but the fever that followed was really bad, and for a little while ti looked as if they might succumb to it. However, once the fever broke they where free of the disease. If the pattern holds, this design for the cure would likely be extremely dangerous to those worst off. It'd still likely give the patients in the deadly final stages a better fighting chance, and would be better than nothing. However, design 2 seems to be better used for those cases.

Design 2a: Patients given this concoction show a marked decrease in symptoms. Mild sufferers seems free of the disease altogether, though checks with detect magic show that the disease si still present, and the patient will likely need repeat doses while the body fights off the disease. It helps even for most of those those worst off, weakening the symptoms and buying time for their bodies to fight off the disease. It seems particularly effective against the part of the disease that targets the bowels, but it does less to alleviate the coughing.
Design 2b: Its effects are similar to that of design 2a, though they are more effective in those suffering from heavy coughing. Hoever, the design actually seems less effective on patients at the hospital, or those undergoing some other form of treatment as well. This is likely because the spelleater spit deals with all magic acting on the body, including that of other treatments.




*Spoiler: Elbeyon*
Show


The sickest are actually all kept together and separated from those beter off in the hospital, so it's easy to find them all gathered together. It takes some time for your treatment to disperse through the air and being affecting the patients, but the difference is clear after even a couple of hours. The coughing has decreased markedly on all patients, and they're breathing easier. The fever and other symptoms are also somewhat alleviated, though to a lesser degree. The disease sin't gone, at least not yet, but your treatment is buying the patients time and strengthening their bodies so they can fight off the disease.



@windstruck, @Prehysterical, I'll set up the scene in th workshop in a bit. I don't think Shandara was there yet, but feel free to have her walk in at any time.

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## Elbeyon

At this point should Zeal try to improve the design, or should we be wrapping up this commission?

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## DeTess

> At this point should Zeal try to improve the design, or should we be wrapping up this commission?


You could try improving it more, but the weaker points of your design are covered mostly by the brew designed by Sonderje (and you'd likely hear enough about his testing to determine as much). Between your curatives the outbreak will most likely be brought under control. It'll take some time and work yet on the part of the doctors and hospitals, but as long as sufficient remedies are available the disease can be brought under control with minimal further loss of life.

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## Elbeyon

That's wonderful news!  :Small Big Grin:  Teamwork makes the dream work.

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## WindStruck

I'll wait for Prehysterical to respond before having Shandara walk in.

----------


## Elbeyon

Zeal's pocketbook really took a hit. All her liquid cash went into making goods to supply the hospitals. All the supplies she saved for crafting got drank up by the Sipping Sleeve. She used a lot of consumables as well. >< I'm glad I banked as much starting money as I did, but I didn't expect it to all disappear.  :Small Amused:  :Small Eek:

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## WindStruck

That's why nobody should question if we have a few hundred or a thousand gold in the bank saved up from our stipends and stuff.  Never know when you will need it!   :Small Big Grin:

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## Elbeyon

Exactly! Magic stuff is expensive, and Zeal belongs to the Artifice school. Banking money should be considered wise by the Society. I imagine if Zeal didn't have the money to make the Sipping Sleeve she would have had to submit her concept as a commission, and that would have delayed its construction. But, the people need it now.  :Small Eek:  Though, I suppose how common is a plague, really?

I remember someone said that they were banking money in the requirement thread, and I thought that was a really good idea. I would have started with much less saved like most of my other characters if I didn't read that. I thought I had saved a lot, but it turned out to be barely enough.  :Small Eek:

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## WindStruck

That was probably me. I said I was leaving some money unspent and mentioned that most of it would probably be in a bank or something.

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## Elbeyon

Oh yeah! I remember you mentioning the bank now. Thanks! You really helped Zeal's first commission go much smoother.

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## DeTess

@Elbeyon: producing the treatment in accordance with the emperor's orders won't eat up all your time. You've got employees for that after all, but you'll need to spend at least a bit of time each day monitoring the work, and the shop won't be producing anything else during that time.

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## Elbeyon

That's cool! Zeal is happy to have her business partially nationalized for the good of the people. She'll supervise Arcane Arts & Crafts during the plague. I'm sure Elrah will be happy to have Zeal around.  :Small Big Grin: 

Oof at the plague being refereed to as the Stromdrain plague. I doubt Zeal will call it that, but she is only one person.

Still, some caution and vigilance is probably warranted. She'll make sure the letter is the real deal and give a good think on any ramifications of the order. Has something like this happened to the Society before? Is her business being outside campus a factor? How will this effect her "Treatments needed!" commissions? Does this mean her commission was accepted and she doesn't need to do submit her commission, or should she still submit her commission to the school? Does the treatment include the Sipping Sleeve?

----------


## DeTess

> Still, some caution and vigilance is probably warranted. She'll make sure the letter is the real deal and give a good think on any ramifications of the order. Has something like this happened to the Society before? Is her business being outside campus a factor? How will this effect her "Treatments needed!" commissions? Does this mean her commission was accepted and she doesn't need to do submit her commission, or should she still submit her commission to the school? Does the treatment include the Sipping Sleeve?


Yeah, it basically means the commission was accepted, and that that one too has been nationalized. The hospital itself has funds, but the empire is throwing more money at you than they could to do the same job. The imperial seal has some magic woven into it that makes it very difficult to forge, and you have heard of the sender (signature also matches). It's not unusual for the empire to lay claim on the output of the Society or particular members for emergencies like this, and they always reward them well. The sipping sleeve is not mentioned, it seems that they're mainly interested in your alchemical design. Maybe because they think it more important, or maybe because they haven't learned about that one yet.

----------


## Elbeyon

Awesome! Zeal completes her first commission.  :Small Big Grin:  Zeal wouldn't want to neglect any paperwork and leave the school in the dark, but it seems everything is business as usual in these unusual times! She will write them (whoever is appropriate) about the Sipping Sleeve and seek clarification. If they don't know the sleeve exists she should tell them so they can decide. And, she certainly doesn't want to be seen as "hiding" information. Plus, the thought does cross her mind that the empire might foot the bill instead of a probably financially strained hospital. She can't imagine a better use of money than improving the health of the people! In the meanwhile, the Sipping Sleeve is already made and free to be used as needed! If the sleeve isn't commissioned or able to be sold, she will, honestly, probably straight donate the Sipping Sleeve to the hospital rather than put the sleeve on a shelf somewhere. It's a lot to give away for a small business, but Zeal will survive and the sleeve can help a lot of people.

----------


## Sønderjye

Life have been busy and kind of exhausted tonight but I wanted to throw up a post to keep things moving. I skimmed over the posts but if there was anything directed at me other than the research results please poke me again.

Edit: Just to be sure. The weaker points of Zeals treatment was covred by my design 1 right?

@Elbeyon, could we have any shared BG that could make Z trust Zeal in particular? I'd like to only give Ronce one of the designs and get the other one out behind his back, and I'll need someone to have pretended to have invented it so it can't be traced back to z.

----------


## Elbeyon

Yeah, our designs work really well together. They form a nice little combo treatment to knock out the plague!

All our characters know each other! You want Zeal to steal a design? That's a big ask. She would never normally do that. Perhaps, we can get Z an alias?

----------


## DeTess

> Edit: Just to be sure. The weaker points of Zeals treatment was covred by my design 1 right?


Design 2, actually. Design 1 hits all aspects of the disease, but is best used on someone that is only lightly affected by the disease, while design 2 deals with the symptoms, and especially with the bowel-related ones.

----------


## Sønderjye

@Detess, perfect. Ronce seem like someone who would prefer a treatment that made the disease kill off itself rather than one that mostly alleviated symptoms.

@Elbeyon, want to take that convo IC once I'm done with Ronce?

----------


## Elbeyon

> @Elbeyon, want to take that convo IC once I'm done with Ronce?


Sure! Z and Zeal can talk it out. Make sure to pick a proper location!

----------


## WindStruck

So I know Shandara can't cast 1st level wizard spells,  but is it actually possible to work on the project like through preparations and in a ritualistic sense?

----------


## DeTess

> So I know Shandara can't cast 1st level wizard spells,  but is it actually possible to work on the project like through preparations and in a ritualistic sense?


Yeah, that shouldn't be an issue. You are a spellcaster, and the designer of this particular enchantment.

----------


## Elbeyon

The nice thing about Pathfinder is that a caster doesn't need to know a spell to make a magic item that uses the spell (except potions, spell-trigger, or spell-completion magic items). Not knowing the spell adds +5 to the craft DC but creating the item is still possible if the craftsperson is skilled enough. Zeal doesn't know Create Water, so crafting the Sipping Sleeve was harder for her than say: if she was an Adapt with Create Water.

----------


## Prehysterical

I'm curious, Elbeyon. Have you been saving up all these outfits and characters for a chance to use them, or do you just an instinctive knack for finding them in the aether?  :Small Big Grin:

----------


## Elbeyon

I have some outfits saved, but I will need to get more outfits in the future! The characters I am making up when wanted/needed. I wanted to give Zeal a nice big family tree, but I was reading pathfinder gnome fluff and gnome's don't have families. They raise their kids as a group sorta like lizardfolk or something. That made the family tree idea turn into a blob. So, the family thing didn't turn out as well as I hoped, but Zeal does consider one gnome her mom even if the other gnomes consider it strange.

----------


## Elbeyon

Z would be talking to 

*Spoiler: Elrah Ettlundl*
Show




Elrah's fluff: Elrah Ettlundl was the first employee Zeal ever hired at her shop. She has a small talent for alchemy and a friendly personality, always eager to learn. She takes clear, easy to read notes in the stores ledger and is good with the customers. Anything she lacks in skill she makes up for in passion. She has her own key to the store and often opens unprompted if Zeal is lost in a project. She has some trouble at home, but that hasnt interfered with her work yet.

Will Elrah talk? That's the big question!

----------


## Sønderjye

@Elbeyon, wouldn't you be the one to judge where Zeal is at that moment? I'm trying to set up a scene with you without taking control of your character in case that's unclear.

----------


## Elbeyon

Zeal is around! I though since Z asked for Zeal that implies that Zeal isn't in the storefront, but I can have Zeal hear Z from the back or upstairs.

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## Sønderjye

I just didn't want to take control over your character, I guess he can be somewhere Z can't see from his angle. Anyway that sounds good to me.

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## Elbeyon

Of course! That makes perfect sense.

Would Z be interested in a little amnesia potion?  :Small Amused:  I'm trying to think of a way to do this without Zeal stealing Z's work. I do want to engage with your plot, but your plot also puts Zeal in a lot of danger. I imagine the punishment for stealing other people's work is expulsion from the society and also maybe the game. This could cause a game over!

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## WindStruck

I guess I'm done with Shandara in the workshop for now?

Am I going to run into any problems trying to enchant this pipe?

----------


## DeTess

> I guess I'm done with Shandara in the workshop for now?
> 
> Am I going to run into any problems trying to enchant this pipe?


Yeah, unless there's more you want to do there, of course. Enchanting it shouldn't present you with any insurmountable issues, but feel free to roleplay some issues and added solutions if you want. Both you and @prehysterical can skip ahead a little to when you next drop by the workshop, of if you want to do something else first, that's completely fine as well.

@Elbeyon, actually stealing someone's designs, will get you in a decent heap of trouble, though in part depending on the details. However, it'd have to be proven, and only Z could make the accusation. That is, in this particular situation, if Ronce finds out Z gave you the design, the only one he can bring _legal_ trouble for is Z.

----------


## Elbeyon

If that is what Zeal thinks, she can accept Z's design! She wants a good reputation at the society, but she cares less what a mob boss thinks. Plus, pissing off a mob boss could lead to a lot of fun! And, a lot of people get helped this way.

----------


## Prehysterical

Windstruck, was there anything you wanted to do during that downtime or are you okay with us both just going ahead?

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## Elbeyon

I am looking forward to seeing what people work on next!

----------


## WindStruck

I wasn't thinking of anything out of the ordinary.  I think Shandara will just work on enchanting the pipe, as was requested.

----------


## WindStruck

As I wrote it, Shandara is stuck on the metalworking part of this.

Oh woe is her. Is there any kind soul that can help her with these cumbersome tools?

----------


## Elbeyon

Only if there was someone familiar with the sewer system and skilled with metalworking.  :Small Big Grin: 

Zeal's meeting with Z feels like a fairly average length meeting.  :Small Amused:

----------


## Prehysterical

> As I wrote it, Shandara is stuck on the metalworking part of this.
> 
> Oh woe is her. Is there any kind soul that can help her with these cumbersome tools?


*looks offstage*
"Is that my cue?"

----------


## WindStruck

> *looks offstage*
> "Is that my cue?"


Well, uh...   :Small Eek:  

Maybe!

I wouldn't want to twist your arm, or anyone else's really.  Okay, well I guess that's not entirely accurate.  I was thinking maybe DeTess would have someone for me to talk to. But that's sort of a backup plan.

If Bolten happens to have some reason to go to such a place, by all means.   :Small Big Grin:

----------


## DeTess

> Well, uh...   
> 
> Maybe!
> 
> I wouldn't want to twist your arm, or anyone else's really.  Okay, well I guess that's not entirely accurate.  I was thinking maybe DeTess would have someone for me to talk to. But that's sort of a backup plan.
> 
> If Bolten happens to have some reason to go to such a place, by all means.


And if Bolten doesn't I can definitely bring someone in. Either is fine, with me, but this is up to bolten.

----------


## WindStruck

I was just thinking that Shandara probably doesn't know the best way to get the imprints/engravings/etchings/whatever these technically are onto the copper pipe, and it would be a good RP opportunity.

Don't mean to hold anyone up either.  You could even just say something like, "A supervisor over the premises helps Shandara," and be done with it.

----------


## Sønderjye

@DeTess, are the truth that is compelled from the truth spells subjective truth or objective truth? Does it prevent someone from saying something they think is false or something that is false about the world?

@Elbeyon, Sorry about the delay. Got caught up in life stuff.

@WindStruck, Thanks for making a scene that could involve another player. I think with as few people as we are that's the kind of stuff that'll keep the game running.

----------


## DeTess

> @DeTess, are the truth that is compelled from the truth spells subjective truth or objective truth? Does it prevent someone from saying something they think is false or something that is false about the world?


Subjective truth. You could say things that are untrue as long as you believe them to be true.

----------


## Elbeyon

I'm thinking a Elixir of Amnesia. If we're getting fancy maybe a Sequester Thoughts version? The sequester thoughts version would probably be 1k to include the 500 gold gemstone.

----------


## Sønderjye

@DeTess, Perfect!

@Elbeyon, Deal. I was worried for a hot sec when I saw that it could be restored with modify memory but given that's a 6th lvl spell that is unlikely to come into play.

----------


## Elbeyon

Magic is always expensive. Z is probably familiar with amnesia. He could always consider drugs, lots and lots of drugs, to forget the day. Zeal would only think of going with the magic option or alchemy if there is an alchemy item for that.

----------


## Sønderjye

Eh, after cost reductions we're looking at something in the 100-200gp range for the elixir. Not something we'll want for every day use but for a one time event it's fine. Moreover it can be made during a single day since it's a magic item progress at a silly fast rate compared to the non-magical goods. So we could in theory wrap that scene up by the end of the day.

----------


## Elbeyon

My idea on what needs to happen.

Z signs over his research to Zeal in a secret contract, likely through the Society. Unless, we can make a legal contract ourselves.
Z needs something to stop him from giving the drug to another person. Perhaps, he finds out that the Society has done everything needed for the plague. Kinda a sad result for him, but it's probably better than giving the 2nd drug to Ronce. 
Z forgets he ever worked with Zeal.

Zeal will use Z's research to further complete the commission. Obviously her approach was incomplete, so she continued her research.

----------


## WindStruck

Oh, a party!  Now THAT sounds fun for everyone!

----------


## Elbeyon

I bet gnome parties are wild! This whole plague thing is real a downer, you know, and a party sounds ideal once the city has thins thing beat!  :Small Big Grin:

----------


## Sønderjye

On board with the contract thing. @DeTess, how are contracts usually handled?

I'm not sure I get your second point? Why wouldn't he just use the elixir to forget the piece of information that he had made a second treatment and one to forget that he made this deal?

Otherwise that works fine. I, as a player, would appreciate getting some of the money(assuming that stuff happens) for what whoever pays for licencing the formula, possibly in donations to Z's workshop, though Z care more about getting the cure out than the money(even if the money is nice) so I'd also just cope with not getting anything.

----------


## Elbeyon

I only imagined the use of one elixir. More could be worth it. 

Zeal is not so greedy that she'd try to use Z's commitment to helping people against him for profit! I'm sure we can figure out some way to compensate Z! I also didn't know Z had a workshop. I know we get a weekly 50 gold stipend, and that was going to increase as we became more known. Plus, we get a % commission from whatever we make and everything.

*Edit:* If we can do the contract without a third party, Zeal is trained in linguistics. She only has +6 though. That'd work if making a contract is DC 15. Take 20 might be available for DC 25.

----------


## Sønderjye

Enough amnesia is always the answer?

Great, thanks for splitting it. What split feels good? 50/50 on whatever Zeal gets for this treatment?

Unrelatedly I am pondering possible next inventions and I am noticing that I don't know what stuff already exists and/or is widespread. While I thought it cool that the metal I mentioned early was used in worldbuilding, it also surprised me because I assumed it was obscure enough that it wasn't in wide use. DeTess would you be able to shed some light on the magical tech level of the world? In particular what kind of magics/items are used by the guards, by educational institutes, in manual construction, and by merchants? Also in logistics, criminology, mental enhancement/changes, and food production? Consensus on theories of the soul and what constitutes the self?

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## WindStruck

Well.. that would be a whole lot of info dump...

If you're thinking of inventing something, it may be better to just ask if what you were planning on creating already exists, or something similar.

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## Sønderjye

I recognize that yeah. I just have a lot of ideas and which ones are feasible depends on the setting. Here's a list of some of them

*Spoiler: List*
Show


Food:
Device that converts waste from the sewers into a powder that easily can be used by farmers. But with magic, are there any farmers and if so what are they already doing to increase crops?
Exploring different plants and grafting a plant together that yields more food than existing agriculture.
Device that converts waste directly into food.
Device that just conjures food using conjuration magic like repeating trap for conjure food and water.
Logistics:
Two bags that are sympathetic-conjurationally linked so something that is put into one bag instead appears in the other
Device that copies non-magical things put into it.
Mental:
A device that allows user to remove and store memories in it.
A variant that allows the user to review memories stored in the device
A variant that allows others to review those memories
A variant that allows users to store/copy all memories related to some skill
A variant that implants memories instead of viewing them, allowing users to acquire vast bodies of knowledge in a short time.
A variant that allows the implant of a full memory set into an artificially grown brain/body to transplant consciousness. Heavily depends on how souls work in the setting.
Anti-aging:
A device that when worn or when used regularly uses healing magic to restore the damages caused by aging. Also heavily depend on how souls works.
A creme that works like Unguent of Timelessness but works on entities that currently are alive in order to extend lifespan.
Criminology:
Previously discussed device that allows for identifying of spells cast.
The detective vision device from earlier
A device that tracks someone based on sympathetic resonance. 
A device that identifies who was present during some time
A device to counter memory modifying that otherwise lets criminals weasel out of truth compulsion
A map that allows one to, on a map, track the location of all instances of a type of prior linked object(i.e. guard badges)
A device that counters illusions
Various offensive and defensive capabilities
Plagiagery:
A device that uses the psychic imprint of a crafted object to learn how it was crafted. Hurr hurr.



The bottom line is that it's a long list and I don't want to do full writeup of all items when whether they could potentially be viable depends on the setting. I'm also happy exploring things in game(i.e. criminology) but even a laymans understanding is helpful for sorting in ideas. If little is known about souls I am also happy to go to town with experiments on that front.

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## DeTess

> On board with the contract thing. @DeTess, how are contracts usually handled?


Well, you need to find someone to summon a Devil for you, and in exchange for one or more souls they'll draft up an ironclad contract backed by punishment clauses from the Nine hells...

Or you could get a lawyer to do it. Fees for something as simple as an agreement of sale is generally about 10gp or so. 

You could probably write it yourself with a bit of study as well, and there are basic fill-in templates for this sort of thing available in the archives.




> Unrelatedly I am pondering possible next inventions and I am noticing that I don't know what stuff already exists and/or is widespread. While I thought it cool that the metal I mentioned early was used in worldbuilding, it also surprised me because I assumed it was obscure enough that it wasn't in wide use. DeTess would you be able to shed some light on the magical tech level of the world? In particular what kind of magics/items are used by the guards, by educational institutes, in manual construction, and by merchants? Also in logistics, criminology, mental enhancement/changes, and food production? Consensus on theories of the soul and what constitutes the self?


General tech-level is late middle ages, renaissance or thereabouts, with some things probably a bit more advanced than that (because I don't have the time to learn what the state of science was during the actual renaissance on all fronts, so I'll play it by ear mostly), but you're also right now at the center of a vast empire, which means all the rare and obscure things are still reasonably accessible. That metal you mentioned would have been very difficult to get just about anywhere else, but here there was at least enough to be found to work it into pendants for most of the front-line medical personnel*.

Generally though, If you've got a cool idea it's highly unlikely I'll respond with 'this already exists' unless I'd either previously established its existence on screen, or it is very, very obvious.

For example, on the list you posted of ideas, you could probably advance most of those. Some of those (the anti-illusion device for example) might already exist in some form, but further advances can be made, while others are active fields of study that you could contribute to (like the plant research). A way to vastly extends people's lifespans is possible, but it won't be easy, and will likely be either extremely costly or impractical (for the simple reason that simple immortallity causes a rather seismic bit of setting upheaval, which is fine as a long-term thing, but not something you'll have done by next Tuesday).

The linked bags you mentioned have actually just been discovered by the Curator of artificery (I'd mentioned that to windstruck as part of their research, which means it had been established as a thing already), but as with all his designs, they'll need some refining and simplifying before it can be easily produced.


@prehysterical: there's also plenty of places where you'll get more of a back and forth. The Escribano workshop however is also a business that specialized in turning the designs from the Society into practical applications, and that includes the business side of it. Don't worry, not every hand-in of your projects will be quite as dry and business-like. 


*A bit of background lore on that: When the disease just started breaking out, an unscrupulous Merchant bought up every scrap he could get. However, his daughter then got ill, and he donated it all to the church of Sarenrae in return for treatment for his child, The church then worked int into pendants to help protect the healers.

----------


## Elbeyon

@Sønderjye What? Zeal isn't interested in making a profit on something that isn't her work. Z will get all the money from drug. The only thing Zeal wants is her costs covered (aka the cost of any amneisa elixirs she makes). Does the drug have a name, or do you want Zeal to make the name since she is suppose to be the one inventing it. Zeal will get the credit for the drug, but that is sort of the idea. If for some reason the two drug commissions can't be separated 50/50 is fine.

I don't mind the 10 gold lawyer fee, but it's more a question if we want a third party at all. Zeal is trained in linguistics! I do kinda want to use that skill the more I think about it. It's not often people write/sign contracts in games!

@DeTess I think Zeal will stay away from devil contracts even if the devil is suppose to be a third party. The costs and risks would might be too high  :Small Amused:

----------


## WindStruck

I think Prehysterical could have been hinting that he'd hoped for a reaction to his work similar to Shandara's.   :Small Big Grin: 

Maybe that's a fair point, but then again, it's all engineering field, and I'm sure all the people knew what they were looking at without much need for dialogue. On the other hand, Shandara was introducing a magical application, and they needed to call in one of their magical experts.

(I think her presence may have also cut any further interactions they could have had with Bolten short).

----------


## Sønderjye

@Elbeyon, Fair enough. I'd feel good about you getting a good chunk of profit as well but I guess you'll decide on that one.

I second giving Zeal a chance to flex her linguistic skill. I don't mind the 10gp, the worry of the lawyer is involving more people.

I have 78gp on my sheet and each potion is 175gp after cost reductions. Do you have enough for reagents for the amnesia potion or will we have to wait on those until we have enough cash? Taking the money for those out of the profits once they roll in?

@DeTess, Thanks for the answer! That does clarify things and give me something to work with. My personal preference is to have consistent rules of the world and find ways to work with those but the rule of cool is also a valid approach.

Also, tell me more about these devil contracts and souls.

----------


## Elbeyon

@Sønderjye The potions are cheap. Zeal can cover it. She does have a different cost reduction than Z though, so the potion will cost more for her. It's more that a person can only make one magical item a day. So, Zeal could make one elixir today, but it'd take another day to make the second one. Perhaps, Zeal can make one elixir. And, Z can make his own elixir later to forget her made the drug.

----------


## DeTess

> @DeTess, Thanks for the answer! That does clarify things and give me something to work with. My personal preference is to have consistent rules of the world and find ways to work with those but the rule of cool is also a valid approach.


I'd prefer to be able to give you an entirely consistent and pre-meditated set of rules as well, but I just don't have the time to do the in-depth world-building required to be able to get an exact list of where every field is technologically speaking (which I'd also have to update over time). When a player shows an interest in a particular direction I can and will fill in things more, but I don't have the time to do it all in advance.




> Also, tell me more about these devil contracts and souls.


I was mostly joking... However, there are rumours about spells that would allow the summoning of an extraplanar being to arrange for supernaturally enforced contracts. 

Now, these are just rumours and urban legends but sometimes you hear about a sudden unexplained death in a noble house after they had a public falling out with another house, or you hear things about merchants suddenly going under after defaulting on a contract, and one would start to wonder if there isn't some truth to it...

Also, I'm probably going to a bit of a step forward in time, probably two weeks from now (earlier if you look all set for it, later if you've all still got lots of RP going) where the current projects are all finished (with further payouts, rewards and other consequences), and a new set of commissions are added to the board as well. When that happens you'll all gain your first gestalt level as well, so that's something you might want to think about already.

----------


## WindStruck

Oh.. a time skip for everyone?

Seems a bit fast in my opinion...   I guess this is assuming all the projects went smoothly without a hitch.  Or did we all just roll too high for there to be a possibility for failure?   :Small Tongue:

----------


## Prehysterical

> @prehysterical: there's also plenty of places where you'll get more of a back and forth. The Escribano workshop however is also a business that specialized in turning the designs from the Society into practical applications, and that includes the business side of it. Don't worry, not every hand-in of your projects will be quite as dry and business-like.


I'm sorry if that sounded passive-aggressive on my part, DeTess, but that wasn't me taking a dig at you through the character.

Bolten grew up without the presence of his father, he had a strict and perfectionist mother, and none of the other dwarves cared enough to help him find his way after the destruction of his home. Between all that, Bolten has something of a validation complex because he feels like the workshop is the only place where he is really accepted for his own accomplishments. In his own mind, there would be a lot of celebration and camaraderie between him and the engineers upon his discovery and Bolten would feel like part of the group for once. This is completely unrealistic and unfair to project onto the engineers, of course, but Bolten simply doesn't know any better due to his stunted social upbringing.

I was perfectly fine with how things went down, which is why I even threw in the bit about him recognizing his own insecurity. Rest assured, there was no beef in that word sandwich.  :Small Big Grin:

----------


## Sønderjye

> I'd prefer to be able to give you an entirely consistent and pre-meditated set of rules as well, but I just don't have the time to do the in-depth world-building required to be able to get an exact list of where every field is technologically speaking (which I'd also have to update over time). When a player shows an interest in a particular direction I can and will fill in things more, but I don't have the time to do it all in advance.


That sounds good to me. Thanks for the clarification. Do let me know if at any point it feels like I'm putting too much work on you.




> Also, I'm probably going to a bit of a step forward in time, probably two weeks from now (earlier if you look all set for it, later if you've all still got lots of RP going) where the current projects are all finished (with further payouts, rewards and other consequences), and a new set of commissions are added to the board as well. When that happens you'll all gain your first gestalt level as well, so that's something you might want to think about already.


Can we spend the time crafting and selling off screen in the meantime? I had a bunch of project planed over the next days

----------


## Elbeyon

I don't mind timeskips. It's nice when games move forward IC. It feels good to get some roots in the game through the IC months.

----------


## DeTess

Okay, I made that sound a lot more dramatic than intended. The 'timeskip'  I mentioned would only be about 4 days, mostly to a point where the results of the various commissions start becoming visible (and any complications might start popping up, though I vastly underestimated the numbers you guys could put out, so it'll generally go about 98% right).

----------


## Sønderjye

How much does Z get from the two treatments?

Also I think I'm about done with the scene with Elbeyon. I imagine the rest can happen nicely off screen though we should probably agree on the details of the contract. I'm also happy to go with a standard leasing contract or whatever people use for distribution and further work on works of others.

----------


## Elbeyon

@Sønderjye Would you like me to post IC about Zeal giving Z the contract details?

----------


## Sønderjye

Sure, sounds fun

----------


## WindStruck

So, uh, will we continue with the workshop scene, or just skip??

----------


## Elbeyon

I wasn't able to post today. I'll post tomorrow.

----------


## WindStruck

Are we waiting on anything still?

I think I was still waiting on a response from Prehysterical, if there will be one.

Or I guess skipping a bit ahead works too.

----------


## DeTess

I'm waiting a bit more for Prehysterical and for Z and Zeal to round off their deal.

----------


## Sønderjye

And here I thought Elbeyons and my scene was while waiting for the timeskip  :Small Tongue: 

Unrelatedly, @WindStruck does your character have a particular domain of items that your character is invested in? Bolten has clockwork, Zeal has alchemy, Z has alchemy and potentially graft though I think I'll explore mind stuff, but I'm struggling a little to place your characters interests.

@DeTess, you might have missed the two questions in my last posts?

@Elbeyon, In your post have you already made a contract? The legal work referred to is that a contract that Z can sign? On reflection it's probably just the society law.

----------


## DeTess

> @DeTess, you might have missed the two questions in my last posts?


I might have, sorry! I assume you meant these?




> Can we spend the time crafting and selling off screen in the meantime? I had a bunch of project planed over the next days


Yeah, shouldn't be an issue




> How much does Z get from the two treatments?


You'll get the payment from Ronce over the timeskip. Since I think Zeal will be sharing the full profits from your treatment, that'll probably amount to another 500 per week (which Zeal would egt on top of the 1000 per week already promised) over the next 4-5 weeks (I'll put the specific amount in the timeskip post as well).

----------


## Prehysterical

> Are we waiting on anything still?
> 
> I think I was still waiting on a response from Prehysterical, if there will be one.
> 
> Or I guess skipping a bit ahead works too.





> I'm waiting a bit more for Prehysterical and for Z and Zeal to round off their deal.


I was waiting to see if the scene was going to get axed or not because of the timeskip. I will reply now.

----------


## WindStruck

> Unrelatedly, @WindStruck does your character have a particular domain of items that your character is invested in? Bolten has clockwork, Zeal has alchemy, Z has alchemy and potentially graft though I think I'll explore mind stuff, but I'm struggling a little to place your characters interests.


I think the answer you are looking for, in comparison to the other characters we have here, is:

Shandara's specialization is magic. Spells and arcane research.

ALSO, she's quite a good jeweler.

And she'd rounded out in other ways that make sense, I guess.  Another interest related to the other characters is alchemy, though I imagine she isn't as good.

----------


## Elbeyon

> Unrelatedly, @WindStruck does your character have a particular domain of items that your character is invested in? Bolten has clockwork, Zeal has alchemy, Z has alchemy and potentially graft though I think I'll explore mind stuff, but I'm struggling a little to place your characters interests.
> 
> @Elbeyon, In your post have you already made a contract? The legal work referred to is that a contract that Z can sign? On reflection it's probably just the society law.


Zeal actually mostly focuses on artifice. Alchemy was simply the most relevant commission to her interests. She didn't pick the plague because it was alchemy, but because she wanted to focus on the plague. Helping with the plague was something Zeal felt she needed to do. The most relevant commissions to Zeal's skills are the boat and festival commissions. She will try the bank commission even if her skills are not the best aligned. 

The contract put on the table is that fill-in template DeTess mentioned. It's just an example to give an idea to Z of what to expect to sign. It's not the final contract. Zeal will need to write a new contract to match the odd circumstances. 




> You'll get the payment from Ronce over the timeskip. Since I think Zeal will be sharing the full profits from your treatment, that'll probably amount to another 500 per week (which Zeal would egt on top of the 1000 per week already promised) over the next 4-5 weeks (I'll put the specific amount in the timeskip post as well).


That's right! OOC, Z should get the money from his commission, because that is only fair. I think it'd be a jerk move and not a team move OOC to try to take Z's comission.

----------


## Sønderjye

@DeTess, Yes those exactly. Thanks!

@WindStruck, Gotja. Any thoughts on what kinds of spells that you're interested in making?

@Elbeyon, any particular kind of artifice that Zeal is interested in?
I am 100% comfortable with a 50/50 split but if you think that's a **** move I'll follow you.

----------


## Elbeyon

> @Elbeyon, any particular kind of artifice that Zeal is interested in?
> I am 100% comfortable with a 50/50 split but if you think that's a **** move I'll follow you.


I suppose Zeal is more interested in wondrous items and architecture. She wants to change society!

I do think claiming gold on the commission is a bit of a jerk move! Zeal isn't doing any work, currently, aside from making some elixir which she is being reimbursed. Zeal getting some fame for her time seems like a good deal. Zeal isn't trying to make money off the plague or Z. She will likely put in some extra work on the formula, but she can accept that.

----------


## DeTess

@prehysterical, there is a set of clamps in the workshop that allows for the inserted object to be rotated. It's generally used for holding pipes while the craftsman either straightens it out (or bends it) or works it into something else.

@windstruck, now that you're thinking in that direction you might recognize it as well. It looks like a slightly oversized clamp with a set if rollers on each side that can turn to turn the object.

----------


## Sønderjye

To me it feels like we're in this weird limbo where everybody waits for someone. Might I suggest that DeTess makes the timeskip post and we'll get around to adress it as soon as our scenes close?

----------


## DeTess

If prehysterical and windstruck want to finish their scene first, I'll of course let them. If they're fine with it, I'm going to kick things forward.

----------


## Sønderjye

I suspect I was unclear since your reply doesn't really address my post. I'm saying that you could make a post and people can wait with jumping along the timeskip until their scenes are finished. There's no reason as to why they can't finish their scene after you reveal what happenss after the timeskip.

----------


## Prehysterical

You cool with moving forward, Windstruck?

----------


## DeTess

Provided no one has any objections, I should put the 'kick things forward a bit' post up sometime tomorrow.

----------


## WindStruck

Yeah we can move on...   :Small Smile:

----------


## Sønderjye

Sounds good to me. I guess that means we should get around to choosing gestalt level 1. What are people looking at picking up? I'm myself leaning a little towards Artisan as it seem to be the only real non-cheese way to reduce crafting costs aside from Extraordinary Artisan. I was also having my eyes on some cool factotum/chameleon base class homebrews but they are probably too strong compared to available options.

----------


## Prehysterical

On that note, I have a rules question for DeTess. So, the familiar granted to the Clocksmith Wizard is stated to get only half of the usual bonuses. Meanwhile, in the rules, there is also a Clockwork Familiar that functions as a full familiar and has some nice little bonuses on top.

Since this whole game is about earning our power, would it be all right if Bolten crafts his familiar and gets the Bestiary Clockwork Familiar instead of a retooled standard familiar?

Edit: The links are below
https://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/cor...ard-archetype/

https://www.d20pfsrd.com/bestiary/mo...work-familiar/

----------


## DeTess

> On that note, I have a rules question for DeTess. So, the familiar granted to the Clocksmith Wizard is stated to get only half of the usual bonuses. Meanwhile, in the rules, there is also a Clockwork Familiar that functions as a full familiar and has some nice little bonuses on top.
> 
> Since this whole game is about earning our power, would it be all right if Bolten crafts his familiar and gets the Bestiary Clockwork Familiar instead of a retooled standard familiar?
> 
> Edit: The links are below
> https://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/cor...ard-archetype/
> 
> https://www.d20pfsrd.com/bestiary/mo...work-familiar/


Yeah, if you can manage to craft that one yourself it's fine to take it, and it won't apply only half the usual bonus. I'll waive the requirement for being level 7 to get it as a familiar, but you should pick up improved familiar to do so if you hadn't already.

----------


## Prehysterical

So, speaking of feats, we get one as part of our first level gestalt, right? I'm fuzzy on how gestalt rules work with NPC classes.

----------


## DeTess

> So, speaking of feats, we get one as part of our first level gestalt, right? I'm fuzzy on how gestalt rules work with NPC classes.


Yeah, not because of gestalt, but because I'm also giving you a feat from e6 at these 'gestalt' level-ups.

----------


## Sønderjye

How are we doing E6 feats? Do you have a source from which we can choose from, do we pick official regular feats with a level requirement of in the 1-9(?) range, or do we just homebrew them?

----------


## DeTess

> How are we doing E6 feats? Do you have a source from which we can choose from, do we pick official regular feats with a level requirement of in the 1-9(?) range, or do we just homebrew them?


Official feats with level requirements 1-7 (because pf gains a regular feat at 7, not 6 like dnd). Homebrew epic feats are on case-by-case approval after finishing the gestalt side.

----------


## Sønderjye

Great! 

Relatedly, I am rethinking my choice of gestalt class. Is this version of the artificer allowed? It's similar to the eberron variant that were previously allowed with less class features and no infusions, and instead more power shifted over to charge storing feature.

----------


## DeTess

New post is up. @ Elbeyon and @Sønderjye, your deal would have gone off without any trouble (meaning Z doesn't remember a thing). I assume Zeal will be sending the extra 500/week your way, but I'll leave it up to you how that goes.

As a week has passed, you'll also all get your weekly stipend, as well as any other weekly income you might have.

edit:



> Relatedly, I am rethinking my choice of gestalt class. Is this version of the artificer allowed? It's similar to the eberron variant that were previously allowed with less class features and no infusions, and instead more power shifted over to charge storing feature.


I'm not a fan of that one, specifically not of it's weird science feature. I might be misreading it, but it seems really, really powerful, especially in e6, where it gains spell levels as quickly as any full caster. It gets a lot of spell casts per day (more than a sorcerer, significantly more if you can reliably make that use magic device check), and gets only slightly less 'spells known' than a sorcerer would. The ability to combine casts is also really powerful, and if such a combined device only takes up a single device slot then it makes the class significantly more versatile than sorcerer while also being able to cast far more spells in a day.

----------


## Prehysterical

For the record, since I think that was listed in the recruitment thread, the weekly stipend is 50 gp, right? Also, for skills, we only get per level skill ranks for our first PC level and not starting skill points, right?

Edit: Ha, so much for "perfect memory".  :Small Tongue:

----------


## DeTess

> For the record, since I think that was listed in the recruitment thread, the weekly stipend is 50 gp, right? Also, for skills, we only get per level skill ranks for our first PC level and not starting skill points, right?


Starting skillpoints aren't really a thing in PF, so no, you won't get those. Remember, in gestalt you get the amount of skillpoints of your best class, so if your gestalt a 6+int class on a 2+int NPC class, you'd get 4 additional SP. 




> Edit: Ha, so much for "perfect memory".


Oh, he got what he wanted to test exactly right. He just didn't quite think through all the consequences. The easiest way to test whether the definition for sewage encompassed everything was to use it to magically block off a pipe and check if anything got through. Of course, since the definition was correct, that meant there was nowhere it could go but back up into the workshop :P

----------


## WindStruck

Me reading  ooc first: oh god what happened!?


Um also.  With this new gestalt level, we get more skill points?  But the max rank we can have is still 6 right?


One more thing.  How much did the magical gel stuff that Shandara used to enchant the pipe cost? And would she be reimbursed for that as well, _in addition_ to her stipend?

----------


## DeTess

> Um also.  With this new gestalt level, we get more skill points?  But the max rank we can have is still 6 right?


Yes, that's correct.




> One more thing.  How much did the magical gel stuff that Shandara used to enchant the pipe cost? And would she be reimbursed for that as well, _in addition_ to her stipend?


Yes, she'd be reimbursed for the test-tube, and if she takes the contract to make the rest, the pay-out for that contract is on top of the material costs.

----------


## Prehysterical

Right, right. Sorry, DeTess, playing games in multiple systems and the rules get jumbled sometimes. Bolten's Expert class gives him 6+ skill points, so I'm not complaining (with background skills, to boot.)

Guess this means Bolten needs to buy a spellbook... or would it be fine if Bolten made his own spellbook as basically a catalogue of his future designs? (He'd still pay full price; just for fluff.)

----------


## DeTess

> Guess this means Bolten needs to buy a spellbook... or would it be fine if Bolten made his own spellbook as basically a catalogue of his future designs? (He'd still pay full price; just for fluff.)


That's completely fine.

----------


## WindStruck

Okay. Since the initial tests worked (with some unfortunate consequences), would the Escribano Workshop be interested in any of the other designs for further refinement to their plans/needs?

As a reminder:  wards could be set up to redirect the search, which can modify the area to a cone, square, semi-circle, or something else more irregular, and this also will typically allow for slightly more distance in the other directions. 

The other option is simply searching one or more pre-defined areas, rather than centered around the pipe.


-----

Oh yeah. So I assume Shandara will need to enchant something *much* bigger than a copper pipe 20 cm wide?

How big are these pipes and what is their material?

----------


## DeTess

> Okay. Since the initial tests worked (with some unfortunate consequences), would the Escribano Workshop be interested in any of the other designs for further refinement to their plans/needs?
> 
> As a reminder:  wards could be set up to redirect the search, which can modify the area to a cone, square, semi-circle, or something else more irregular, and this also will typically allow for slightly more distance in the other directions. 
> 
> The other option is simply searching one or more pre-defined areas, rather than centered around the pipe.


The one with the wards they aren't really interested in because it'd mean losing a decent portion of the gains in reduced construction your first design has (still far better than having to lay the pipes all the way, and if you'd presented it first they might have gone with that). The one with the pre-defined area would be ideal, but it's also the most tricky to implement. It's not beyond you, but it's easier to make a mistake with and would take longer to create per pipe because each pipe would need to have a separate area defined.

In other words, your first design is good enough. The one with pre-defined areas would be the perfect solution, but you'd be looking at closer to 8 days of work, and larger risk of mistakes.




> -----
> 
> Oh yeah. So I assume Shandara will need to enchant something *much* bigger than a copper pipe 20 cm wide?
> 
> How big are these pipes and what is their material?


The bigger pipes vary in length and size a bit, but the largest ones are 4 meters long and about 80 cm in diameter, while the smallest would be about 3 meters long and 50cm in diameter. They'll be made from cast iron. You can make use of their workshop for the enchanting, as they'd have the tools needed to easily handle the larger pipes.

----------


## Sønderjye

> I'm not a fan of that one, specifically not of it's weird science feature. I might be misreading it, but it seems really, really powerful, especially in e6, where it gains spell levels as quickly as any full caster. It gets a lot of spell casts per day (more than a sorcerer, significantly more if you can reliably make that use magic device check), and gets only slightly less 'spells known' than a sorcerer would. The ability to combine casts is also really powerful, and if such a combined device only takes up a single device slot then it makes the class significantly more versatile than sorcerer while also being able to cast far more spells in a day.


That's fine, I am on the edge between that one and the eberronpf anyway so I'll just run with the latter. I agree that in a normal game it would be really powerful though with how few spells we seem to use on a daily basis and in particular how few of them that are useful to repeatedly cast it felt like it wouldn't be excessively powerful here.

----------


## Elbeyon

I'll try to get a longer post in next time!

Custom Item request: I'm trying to buff up my skills to tackle that bank. Would it be possible to craft a custom Cracked Magenta Prism with a higher skill bonus (using the item creation guidelines)? And, might it be possible to combine that item with itself to allow it to boost multiple different skills.

----------


## DeTess

@Sonderjye, could you roll me a knowledge arcana for your research? Is there anything in particular you hope to come across, or want to look into?

@windstruck, if you're going for your original design, no more rolls are needed. IF you try to implement the 'rigidly defined area's' variant I want another spellcraft check.




> I'll try to get a longer post in next time!
> 
> Custom Item request: I'm trying to buff up my skills to tackle that bank. Would it be possible to craft a custom Cracked Magenta Prism with a higher skill bonus (using the item creation guidelines)? And, might it be possible to combine that item with itself to allow it to boost multiple different skills.


You could definitely try to make something like this as a personal project, but it'll be more involved than a 'standard' magic item. I suggest you'd do some in-game research and think a bit about what you want it to do exactly. Are you looking for an item that gives your character a thief's skill-set, or that'd allow you to use effects from the item to make up for area's in which you lack skill (such as a magical auto-lockpicker or similar).

Also, could you roll me a gather information to see what you can learn about the bank and the attempts other people have made?

----------


## Sønderjye

@Elbeyon, just wanted to check in - are you fine with closing the contract scene or are there something you'd like out of it before we do that?

@DeTess,

Just to make the IC request for more info on the mind and memory a little more concrete here is a design that Z is considering making and he wants to be sure that he's on the right track.
*Spoiler: Memory Extractor*
Show

The memory extractor is a small vial. On the bottom there is a psionic crystal which have been treated with similar alchemical reagents as the memory related ingredients in Elixir of Amnesia. When the opening of the vial is placed against the forehead of a user and the user activates the device, a ephemereral mist starts flowing from the forehead and into the vial in which remains as a turning smokey liquid. In this way the device allows a user to extract memory of one event or all memories related to a specific piece of information into the device. The liquid in the vial, referred to as liquid memory, contains the memory and can be ingested. Once ingested a user lives through the memory in real time. While reliving a memory through drinking liquid memory a user is unaware of their surroundings. They can exit a memory they currently are experiencing at any time by succeeding a DC 12 Will save or by taking a single point of damage. If a user exits before a liquid memory is fully experienced the remainder of the memory is lost. A memory extractor can be used 3/day but there is no limit to the number of liquid memories a creature can consume save for the time required to live through the memories.

----------


## Sønderjye

Just saw the message above. Casting Investigative Mind to be able to roll twice and get the best result. 

Here is two knowledge(arcane): (1d20+15)[*21*] (1d20+15)[*34*]. Best roll is 34

What he's basically looking into is how to make the above device. So that includes if someone have done somethin like it before and if so what the results were, what the potential dangers might be and how to avoid them, and what the mechanics are for how magic/psionics interface with the mind.

----------


## DeTess

@sonderjye: 

There's been quite a wealth of research in memory loss, as well as the intentional removal (and undoing of that removal) of memories. Memory transfer has been studied a lot less, and the studies that have been done are mostly theoretical. This is because past experiments with memory transfer have proven to be quite risky, though most of those experiments  occurred a long time ago, and with the power of hindsight and the theories you've read you can see quite clearly why they caused people to become quite insane (dumping an entire's life's worth of memories in someone's head isn't a good idea, for example).

There's a variety of psionic crystals that are known to be able to hold and preserve memories and impressions, but the main challenge would lie in fully extracting the memory in one piece, rather than just getting a collection of disjointed impressions. You read a number of theories regarding how this could be done, from specific ways to cut the crystals, to suggestions for the user to reach a (potentially alchemically enhanced) meditative state to properly transfer the memory. Some of the research in memory removal might be of use as well, as these describe particular methods, both magical and alchemical to target a specific memory with a minimum of 'collateral damage' (I'll let you fill in the exact ways here yourself, or I could spend some time this weekend further working it out).

----------


## Elbeyon

> @Elbeyon, just wanted to check in - are you fine with closing the contract scene or are there something you'd like out of it before we do that?


Yeah! I just wanted to reply. I'm all good stopping there. The next payment will include the full amount. The two elixir costs ate pretty much everything.




> You could definitely try to make something like this as a personal project, but it'll be more involved than a 'standard' magic item. I suggest you'd do some in-game research and think a bit about what you want it to do exactly. Are you looking for an item that gives your character a thief's skill-set, or that'd allow you to use effects from the item to make up for area's in which you lack skill (such as a magical auto-lockpicker or similar).
> 
> Also, could you roll me a gather information to see what you can learn about the bank and the attempts other people have made?


That sounds like a worthwhile project! Ioun Stones have minor mental links to their wielder and are visually affected by strong emotions. The prism normally changes focus on different ability scores as does the cracked version to some extent. Perhaps, the various colors in the prism relate to amplifying parts of a person's traits/skills and the colors can change with each new day. Drawing parallels on looking at things in a new light or everyday is a new day.

Rolling gather information!
*Spoiler: Gather Info*
Show

Diplomacy, Influential Questioning
(1d20+15)[*16*]
(1d20+15)[*30*]
(1d20+15)[*24*]

----------


## Sønderjye

@DeTess,
Thanks! In that case here is 3 designs for memory extraction, let me know how they work.

*Spoiler: Designs*
Show

Design 1: Previously described Memory Extractor. 
Design 2: As Design 1 but there is no vial and the memory is stored directly into the crystal.
Design A: Really an addition to either of the prior extraction methods. The target is fed an alchemical concoction that helps them hone in and strengthen the particular memory, thus making extracting the full memory easier.
Design B: Instead of A. Uses a secondary crystal to connect to the psychic impression that is fundementally connected to the memory and draws information from that to fill out the memory.
Design C: Combines A and B


Edit and relatedly: Is knowledge and skills memories, or does knowledge and skills count as a different class of mental objects than memories?

@Elbeyon, cool good. Just wanted to be sure (:

----------


## DeTess

@Elbeyon, yeah you manage to gather quite a bit of information about the bank, including maps of the general structure and decent information on a lot of the defenses. A lot of groups of students have already mad their attempts, though as far as you've heard none have succeeded as of yet. There are four main obstacles:
Getting inside. There are only two official entrances into the bank. One is the front entrance, which is lightly guarded but leads into a large foyer with no cover, making it hard to advance in further without being seen. The second is the freight entrance which is used for receiving goods. there is more cover there, but also a far heavier guard presence. you've heard that several groups have sued the sewer's to sneak in, and at least one group came in by climbing up to a third story window. There are no suitable windows on the lower two floors though.Getting to the vaults. The hallways leading to the vaults are closed off by several locked doors, and are littered with all kinds of traps, such as pressure plates under tiles and magical runes that trigger when seen. These can all be bypassed and turned off, but you'd need someone both nimble enough to avoid the mundane traps and someone with significant skill with disarming magical traps.The vaults themselves are locked with a new kind of lock, so a lot of the conventional lockpicking wisdom can go out of the window. However, from what you've heard from a group that got that far, the locks themselves aren't impassable if you've got someone that is good with locks. Their difficulty in picking lie in their odd design,but that design is not particularly more secure than other good lock designs, just different and requiring either specially designed, or hastily improvised tools.The vaults are also secured with some kind of device or enchantment that automatically sends an alert to either nearby guards, or some kind of guard post when the vault is opened. This has resulted in the two groups that got that far being caught 'red-handed'. The exact details of this defense are only being guessed at, as no one has managed to get past it so far.

@Sonderjye, knowledge can be contained in memories, but skills also relies on muscle memory. I would allow you to make a normally trained-only skill-check untrained after witnessing a relevant memory, and maybe gain a small circumstance bonus (+1 or 2) if you're essentially just replicating exactly what you've seen.

I'll comment a bit about the various designs later, but I really need to get some sleep now first

@everyone, work has been taking a bit much out of me this week. This might mean I won't post much until Saturday, or maybe things'll be fine again tomorrow, we'll see.

----------


## Elbeyon

Nice! That's some great info! Zeal approaches step 1!

----------


## DeTess

@Sonderjye:

Regarding your designs:
1: could work, but you're going to have to think a bit about the exact medium you'll be capturing the memory in. The right alchemical concoction or enchantment on the crystal can tease the memory loose, but holding it in something other than a psionic crystals is tricky, though it would make absorbing the memory later a lot easier.
2: Storing the memory directly in the crystal is a lot easier It's a natural property of them, after all), but getting it out again in the clarity you desire is a bit more involved than just swallowing the liquid containing the memory as ib 1, probably requiring some kind of specific tool or spell.
A: should improve the quality of the memory in both design 1 and 2, and should help with getting to things the original owner of the memory might not have noticed quite as actively (faces of random passersby, a just barely overheard conversation they considered irrelevant, that sort of thing).
B: could really help with improving the quality, but linking the experiences of two people like this does come with a risk of backlash to the recipient of the memory (will save or bad stuff happening, such as temporary (or not so temporary in extreme cases) insanity). On the other hand, this should get you the complete picture, which would allow one to notice things that the 'owner' of the memory might have completely missed. Without something like this you won't get anything the owner of the memory only registered subconsciously.
C: Combining A and B would be redundant for recent memories, but if you're trying to get at something old, or even something the owner repressed, then it might be necessary to beak out both.

@elbeyon, roll me a to-hit with your grappling crossbow, and a climb. There is a pair of guards patrolling the bank's exterior, but you've got a window of opportunity to get in unseen, provided you're quick enough (just in case it needed to be said, you can't take 10 on either roll).

----------


## Elbeyon

Not the best rolls, but Zeal brought the tools and did the prep to make this easier!  :Small Eek: 

*Edit* Woops. I flipped my grapple and climb modifiers. Grapple is +4. Climb is +5

----------


## DeTess

> Not the best rolls, but Zeal brought the tools and did the prep to make this easier! 
> 
> *Edit* Woops. I flipped my grapple and climb modifiers. Grapple is +4. Climb is +5


You've (barely) bypassed the first obstacle. Could you roll me another stealth as you make your way down, as well as whatever rolls might be appropriate for bypassing the first locked door to get into the trapped hallways leading to the vaults.

----------


## Elbeyon

Nice!  :Small Eek:  :Small Big Grin:  The best stories involve danger. Zeal just wanted to enhance the story.  :Small Eek: 

I'm glad Zeal did the prep! I'm guessing she would have failed both her grapple and her climb if she used a grapple hook instead of a grapple crossbow and used a normal rope instead of a knotted one.

----------


## WindStruck

I liked Zeal's little internal monologue. It's like a noir parody.   :Small Big Grin: 

_The odds were stacked against me.
I had only a fool's hope of succeeding,
but I was the biggest fool of them all.

Countless had gone before me and failed to succeed,
but this was different. I had a plan...
and I was still trying to formulate it._

----------


## Elbeyon

> I liked Zeal's little internal monologue. It's like a noir parody.  
> 
> _The odds were stacked against me.
> I had only a fool's hope of succeeding,
> but I was the biggest fool of them all.
> 
> Countless had gone before me and failed to succeed,
> but this was different. I had a plan...
> and I was still trying to formulate it._


Thanks!  :Small Big Grin:  I like your monologue too.  :Small Big Grin:  I hope my post wasn't too silly. Zeal can be a little goofy but she is very serious currently! She is giving the old heist her best attempt. She is also currently on a load of drugs. I mean alchemical creations.

I'm loving the locations, the people, and world building going on! It's fun to keep notes of everything! The world is really getting filled out and expanding with us! That's one of the reason I love a city focused game. The world gets developed so much more! Everyone's posts have been amazing. I love the characterization going on for the player characters. They feel very real.

----------


## DeTess

@Elbeyon, I'll let you do the narrating for the bank adventure.

you make your down to the ground floor. Your periscope comes in handy more than once to give you forewarning of guards patrolling. The biggest challenge is on the ground floor. The door you need to open is located behind the counters where the bank's tellers will be working, and these look out on the central foyer, which has four guards posted. They mostly keep an eye on the door outside though, and you're just about quick enough in getting the locked door open and slipping in the hallway beyond.

The hallway itself is about 7 feet wide, and a good sixty feet long, ending up in a switchback of stairs that you know leads to another hallway going back the other way. The ground is covered by tiles about 1.5 feet on a side,w which all look identical. You can tell from minor discrepancies in the Heights of the tiles closest to you that pretty much all of them have some kind of mechanism beneath them. Maybe not all of them are actually traps, but every tile definitely could be a trap.

Let's see how you proceed :P

----------


## WindStruck

Oh, the Deathless Kings sounds so very interesting!  It's almost like a little homebrew adventure you could run for someone else.

Anyway, let's see what else Shandara may have known.  I mean, I guess she has been doing extra studying and reading in her spare time.

For extra lore on Deathless Kings:
knowledge religion: (1d20+9)[*16*]
knowledge history: (1d20+9)[*29*]


And then perhaps, some immediately knowledge Shandara may know about...

Magic and rituals that could potentially keep someone "alive" (undead) and keep raising them:
knowledge arcana: (1d20+16)[*31*]
knowledge religion: (1d20+9)[*15*]

----------


## WindStruck

Oh, I guess for the sake of more things I could say to the captain, I'll try one more roll.

I'm vaguely thinking of an enchantment that could be activated that dispels all other magical effects on the target.

knowledge arcana: (1d20+16)[*21*]

Of course, I guess it also depends on the nature of the magic keeping the Deathless King alive, but what I am thinking of is sundering the connection between his soul, undead body, and whatever else is keeping him here.

Let's say for example, you must say the activation word of the sword, and then you must also strike the "killing blow" on the next hit with the weapon. For extra oomph, we could say the effect is even more powerful because it eats up/destroys the sword's magic as well. So basically, only get one shot.

...oh.   Also, the captain specifically mentioned a ritual to end the deathless king for good.  Simply knowing that ritual and getting to study it is... honestly, probably the simplest thing.  Basically: replicate the ritual, stick it on the sword, done?

----------


## DeTess

> Oh, the Deathless Kings sounds so very interesting!  It's almost like a little homebrew adventure you could run for someone else.


Yeah, If I where to run this setting for a more 'traditional' campaign the players would be members of the ranger's guild, and this would be the kind of stuff I'd throw at them near end-game.

*Spoiler: Knowledge(religion) on the Deathless Kings*
Show


The bodies of the Deathless Kings where treated for preservation after their deaths. There is some discussion about whether the force that animates them is their original soul, or some other malevolent entity that ahs taken voer their boy, but what is known id that they tend to be very intelligent and ambitious, and they have a drive that matches (for as far as historians can confirm, at least) the intent of the original king (or, in one case, queen) whose body they inhabit. Scholars on matters of the undead generally find the distinction to be moot.



*Spoiler: Knowledge(history) on the Deathless Kings*
Show



The Deathless Kings seem to be the monarchs of a long lost civilization that inhabited the Desert region making up the Southern border of the empire. murals found in their tombs show that the land they used to inhabit was once far more fertile, but some calamity struck that changed things. Historians can't quite agree on what this calamity was. The murals depicting the event show it in a very stylized way, though it seems like there was some kind of war between the people that lived their and their gods, or at least some god-like entities. This conflict blighted the land and caused the collapse of that civilization.

In more recent history, the remains of the Monarchs of these long lost civilizations have slowly start 'waking up' in their tombs as the Deathless Kings. This has always led to a large-scale war between the empire and the Deathless King, and though the empire has been victorious every time, the cost has always been steep. There have been five such conflicts over the past 200 years, the first two being against the same Deathless King. He apparently managed to come back from having his entire body cremated and the ash scattered. The second time the empire committed an entire order of Paladins and warrior-priests to destroying the deathless king, and though the massive amount of positive energy they unleashed did kill it for good, many of them burned out their powers in the process, never being able to channel their god's power again.

The second Deathless King to fight the empire was either overconfident, or lacked tactical acumen. It's undead army was smaller than those of the first, and more easily destroyed, and the archmages and high priests accompanying that host took their time properly destroying the Deathless King. Their ritual lasted about 48 hours all told and involved some of the empire's most powerful spellcasters. However, they devised a ritual that since has been used on the remaining two Deathless kings that attacked which can be accomplished with a far smaller expenditure of power, Though it still requires two powerful (read, capable of casting 3rd level spells) mages cooperating in a ritual that takes about 10 minutes to complete, at least one of whom has to be a priest of some sort for channeling positive energy.

You don't remember the exact details of the ritual, but you do know that it's recorded in the archives, so finding more details should be fairly easy later.




*Spoiler: On becoming (and staying) undead*
Show



You know quite a few rituals related to creating normal undead, in part because, while regulated, doing so is not forbidden. These bodies are closer to golems than people though, with only a small spark of nbegative energy powering the bodies, rather than a proper soul.

Becoming an (intelligent) undead generally requires some serious twisting of the soul, causing it to remain attached to the body even after the body has died, and preventing it from passing on. There are a variety of ways this can happen, both 'naturally' and on purpose. It generally requires either an enchanted object (which could eb the body itself) or a strong emotion to anchor the soul to the mortal realm. Creating intelligent undead is an area of research that is discouraged within the empire, but study of those that had been created by rogue necromancer show that it is possible to create enchantments to chain a soul to a body permanently, though these generally require a massive amount of power to lay down (the kind of power that either requires a lot of powerful mages cooperating, a priceless power source, or human sacrifice).

Creating undead that are self-reviving is presumed to be even more difficult, but very few examples are known, the Deathless Kings being the most prominent example. It is generally assumed that the soul is infused with enough power that they can either steal a new body, or rebuild their old body from nothing over time, even after having their old body destroyed. Souls outside of bodies do tend to quickly fade unless they've got something anchoring them to the mortal realm. This is often either a strong emotion (in the case of most ghosts and similar), a specially crafted container for the soul (known to not be the case with the Deathless Kings. At least, no such relic has ever been recovered) or an incredibly strong will.




The idea for the dispel effect certainly has merit, and could disable lesser undead. However, for something like a Deathless King you know that you'd need more than that. Dropping their protections and wards would merely make them vulnerable, not properly dead on its own.

----------


## WindStruck

Oh, by the way. I've been bad and procrastinating on building the gestalt level onto my character sheet.

I just need to pick out my 1st level wizard spells now, but I remember something and should ask.  Do we also get background skills for this gestalt level?

...or not?  Either way makes sense, feels like a lot to give us.   :Small Big Grin:

----------


## DeTess

> I just need to pick out my 1st level wizard spells now, but I remember something and should ask.  Do we also get background skills for this gestalt level?
> 
> ...or not?  Either way makes sense, feels like a lot to give us.


You only get background skills once per level, so no.

----------


## Sønderjye

Ah, and here I hoped for some kind of vague misty memory thing like in HP. Oh well. 

I am still a little uncertain about the specific mechanics of memories. I've made a post full of assumptions. Do let me know where I guessed wrong. It ended up being way longer than I thought it would be but it's late now and I need to hit the sheets. I'll try to find time to read it and try to make it shorter tomorrow. 

Deathless are pretty cool. I hope I can get to talk to one of them to see if we can recover the secret to immortality without the associated mental urge to kill everything.

----------


## Prehysterical

> You only get background skills once per level, so no.


Oh... That also means we don't gain a hit die or any BAB, right?

Oh boy, better hope that one of those guys isn't named Settra the Imperishable.  :Small Tongue: 

Edit: Speaking of the captain's comment, what is the Empire's relationship with metallic dragons? I have an idea in mind for how Bolten overcomes the spell level limitations of making clockwork constructs, sooooooo... no ulterior motives at all he lied.  :Small Big Grin:

----------


## Sønderjye

In standard gestalt you don't get bab or hit die no. You do however use the best of the bab and HD of your classes. Given that You are gestalting wizard//expert you get the better hd(Expert) and the better bab(also expert), so your bab and HD doesn't change. If you had chosen to gestalt say Fighter you would use fighter bab/hd instead of your expert bab/hd for the first level.

----------


## Elbeyon

The Ranger's Guild guild is popping off! What a wild commission! I am loving the exchange between Shandara and Eshanel.

----------


## DeTess

> Oh... That also means we don't gain a hit die or any BAB, right?


Yeah, as Sonderjye said, you don't . The Gestalt level is basically an upgrade to an exisiting level. You get extra class features, and if you gestalt side has more skills, a bigger HD or more BaB that will improve as well(with the new value replacing the old value), but with wizard added to expert you wouldn't see much of an improvement there.




> Edit: Speaking of the captain's comment, what is the Empire's relationship with metallic dragons? I have an idea in mind for how Bolten overcomes the spell level limitations of making clockwork constructs, sooooooo... no ulterior motives at all he lied.


Dragons as a whole are quite rare. The empire isn't exactly on bad standing with the metallic dragons as a whole, though there are individuals, especially those leaning more towards the chaotic side of the alignment axis that have grudges regarding the empire conquering a pretty big piece of land. There are a couple of places where metallic dragons are known to live. These are often the leader of some kind of monastic order or similar group of people that seek to retreat from the world and pursue perfection in one way or another. These dragons are sometimes sought out for counsel, but they're fairly picky on who they actually wish to see.


@Sonderjye, looks like your design is already coming together. Your assumptions look solid, and the bit about replaying it in real time is most likely the safest way to inject it. It wouldn't necessarily eb impossible to create harry potter style 'liquid' memories, but you'd need to device some sort of capture medium for that, as memories in their natural state are a complex web of impressions and experiences, which psionic crystals are generally best suited to capture and store.

Could you roll me a spellcraft to see how well your execution on this first iteration is, as well as a will save, just in case? I'll answer your questions afterwards.

----------


## WindStruck

I'm a bit confused because I asked, "With this new gestalt level, we get more skill points? But the max rank we can have is still 6 right?"

And you said, "Yes, that is correct."

You hadn't mentioned upgrades before, but it actually sounds like we don't get a whole level's worth of skill points but only upgrade the amount of skill points we get if the gestalt class has more.

---

Oh, also!  I think I'll be getting a familiar.  I kind of like the Thrush one. How would we go about that?  Anything to RP with that?

----------


## DeTess

> I'm a bit confused because I asked, "With this new gestalt level, we get more skill points? But the max rank we can have is still 6 right?"
> 
> And you said, "Yes, that is correct."
> 
> You hadn't mentioned upgrades before, but it actually sounds like we don't get a whole level's worth of skill points but only upgrade the amount of skill points we get if the gestalt class has more.


Sorry that was me misinterpretting your question. So just for the record, you get the following from the gestalt level:
All class features of your new class at that level.*If your new class has more skillpoints than the other one,* you get skillpoints to make up the difference. So for example, if you got 4+int skillpoints from your NPC class, and now got 6+int from your gestalt class, you'll gain an additional 2 skillpoints.*If your new class has a higher BaB,* you get that classes BaB instead of that of the NPC class on your track*If your new class has a higher hit-die,* you gain hp to make up the difference.For each save, you get the higher base save bonus provided by the two classes.





> Oh, also!  I think I'll be getting a familiar.  I kind of like the Thrush one. How would we go about that?  Anything to RP with that?


You could definitely find these birds living in the city. I'll leave it up to you how you go about it. Maybe you find a wounded one that you nurse back to health, or just befriend one that allways sings in front of your window, or maybe something else like that.

----------


## Sønderjye

> If I was able to enlist the aid of two such individuals, I should be able to store the magic into the long sword you wish to be created.


Or perhaps someone who can pretend to be a 6th lvl divine caster for the purpose of item creation with the right roll. *points at self*

@DeTess,
Taking 10 on spellcraft for 30.
Will save: (1d20+5)[*23*]

----------


## DeTess

@sonderjye, your experiment goes off mostly without problems,  but you did notice one somewhat annoying quirk during playback, related to time. The playback smeed to randomly speed up and skip over the more 'boring' parts of your breakfast. This was less of a problem when you used both crystals, but still present. You'll probably need to do a couple more iterations on your playback mechanism to make it actually play out in real-time, rather than what the original owner perceived as real-time.

Regarding the questionaires, Your frist fill-in goes as expected, with you remembering most of the details you considered relevant. Trying to fill it in while you're missing the memory is a rather distressing experience though, You know that you had breakfast at some point, but try as you might there's void in your memory regarding breakfast itself. Eventually you start to remember things, but once you check this questionaire against the others, it seems your memory was just taking things from other breakfasts you ate to try and fill the void. This also gives you quite a bit of a headache.

As mentioned before, there are some hitches during rewatching the memory, but rewatching the normal version ends up with you filling in the exact same answers as you did initially. Once you've enhanced it though, you're picking up on a lot more things,, like minor details in texture that you kinda tune out in foods that you're sued to, as well as little distractions, like nearby conversations and noises from outside that you tuned out when originally making the memory. This feels overwhelming, as if you'd taken a potion that significantly enhanced all your senses at once and leaves you with even more of a headache. The answer to the questionaire do seem to be all correct, however.

Regarding the checking of the integrity of your mind and memory, there are facilities to do so on the campus, but unless you're willing to pay (a good 80gp), or show signs that you really need to be checked out (which you don't, unless you try faking them), you're told to make an appointment for about a week from now.

So far you're also down about a 1000 gp in supplies, and you reckon you'll need about 500 more to perfect things.

----------


## Sønderjye

What does perfecting things looks like? Fixing the time issue?

Happy to pay the 80gp for getting checked up now. Z is a little worried about the headache.

I assume the 1000+500gp are the crafting cost(i.e. not using the -50% reduction for crafting it yourself but before cost reduction feats)

Also, and unrelatedly, how are dwarves born in this setting? Carved out of stone and breathed life into? Hatched from stone eggs? Born like normal boring hoomans? @Prehysterical your character is a dwarf, got any oppinions?

----------


## DeTess

> What does perfecting things looks like?
> 
> Happy to pay the 80gp for getting checked up now. Z is a little worried about the headache.
> 
> I assume the 1000+500gp are the crafting cost(i.e. not using the -50% reduction for crafting it yourself but before cost reduction feats)


The 1000+500 is material costs, but if you've got a way to reduce the costs of materials, you can apply it to these values. Perfecting in this case would mean solving the temporal issues you're seeing in reliving the memories (not as relevant if you want a broad impression, but if you want to try to study a memory in detail it could be an issue), as well as making the whole rig a bit more portable (right now it's separate parts spread across a workbench).

I'll put an IC post up regarding getting yourself checked out.




> Also, and unrelatedly, how are dwarves born in this setting? Carved out of stone and breathed life into? Hatched from stone eggs? Born like normal boring hoomans? @Prehysterical your character is a dwarf, got any oppinions?


They''re probably mostly like normal humans, but if prehysterical has some intersting opinions on this...

----------


## Prehysterical

Considering that my character was born out of wedlock between a dwarf merchant and a clockmaker, I can assure you that they are very much humanoid with all the associated impulses and baggage.  :Small Tongue:

----------


## WindStruck

Um. Seems like I was skipped over.  But I understand, we were winding down the conversation.  Shandara still hasn't even introduced herself yet..

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## DeTess

> Um. Seems like I was skipped over.  But I understand, we were winding down the conversation.  Shandara still hasn't even introduced herself yet..


Ah, sorry! I'll correct that in a bit once I'm fully awake.

edit: @elbeyon, could you roll me another perception check for scouting out the hallway and seeing if you can determine some sort of pattern?

@prehysterical, could you roll me a knowledge (arcana) or a spellcraft for your research in magical ways to control your rig and the possibility for a magical power source (one roll for each topic, pelase).

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## WindStruck

Oh, right.  These rolls would determine if Shandara even knows what she needs.

craft (alchemy): (1d20+9)[*14*]
profession (cook): (1d20+6)[*21*]
lore (drow): (1d20+13)[*30*]

----------


## Elbeyon

Sure!

I'll include the +1 from trapfinding
(1d20+19)[*22*]

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## DeTess

@Windstruck, one of the more popular intoxicating drinks in the Underdark can be brewed from a blend of local mushrooms. As most of them also have alchemical properties you could get those in more specialized stores. There are a  lot of variety to this wine, with different blends of mushrooms used in the fermenting process, as well as different additives. The additives range from particular spices to things like highly diluted spider venom. The additives tend to serve a dual purpose as well, both changing the flavor, but also serving to neutralize a selection of the poisons more commonly used in Drow society.

You remember enough of the brewing process that you reckon you could create a batch yourself. The brewing process is somewhat lengthy (you'd have to start within the next two days or so to be ready in time for the festival), but only requires your direct input at a couple of points, so you could easily work on something else at the same time.

@Elbeyon, careful testing on the first row of tiles in front of you reveals that all of them have some kind of pressure plate or mechanism below them, as they start depressing slightly when pressure is put on them), though you can't access the mechanism without some way to remove the tile. However, you note that of the 5 tiles, 2 (the one on the far right and the one one tile from the left wall), have slightly more resistance to being pushed down. You're not certain whether this is an indication of them being trapped, or of them not being trapped, however.

There is absolutely no sign of any mechanism to turn off the traps at this end of the hallway.

----------


## WindStruck

Alright, and considering that it's a "novelty drink" contest, do you think there's anything Shandara can think of that might be rare or bizarre, even where she was from?  But hopefully not too dangerous or made with too many suspicious or illegal components.

(Yeah sorry, as much as I wanted to play a drow, it's not like I was all too deep into the specific lore itself. Maybe I could make something up that is plausible?)

The part where you mention many additives neutralize poisons is actually a very good touch.  It totally makes sense!

----------


## DeTess

> Alright, and considering that it's a "novelty drink" contest, do you think there's anything Shandara can think of that might be rare or bizarre, even where she was from?  But hopefully not too dangerous or made with too many suspicious or illegal components.
> 
> (Yeah sorry, as much as I wanted to play a drow, it's not like I was all too deep into the specific lore itself. Maybe I could make something up that is plausible?)


You definitely can come up with something nice that sounds plausible. To give you some ideas though, there are some varieties on the drink with mild (or less mild) psychedelic effects, generally by either getting specific mushrooms into the mix, or through additives of spider venom. There's also a version that due to a particular blend of ingredients is rather non-uniform in it's alcohol content. You could pour a bottle out in a number of identical glasses, but some would be as potent as a light beer, while others would kick like heavily distilled drinks.

----------


## WindStruck

Okay, I'll be trying to think of something.   :Small Smile: 

And do you want to do anything in Raspugobble's Emporium, or nah?

----------


## DeTess

> Okay, I'll be trying to think of something.  
> 
> And do you want to do anything in Raspugobble's Emporium, or nah?


I'll be keeping them in mind if anyone ever needs something truly shady, but nothing interesting springs to mind for right now.

----------


## Sønderjye

Here's a few design ideas

*Spoiler: Designs*
Show

Design 1a: A big blue crystal that are able to copy memories from other crystals into it for storage, able to copy memories stored in it into other memory crystals(henceforth refered to as mnemonic crystals), and able to delete some memories stored in it to get more space. It can copy a memory, either from a crystal into storage or from storage into the crystal, once every 5 minutes. It is also capable of overwriting memories in existing memory crystal
Design 1b: As above but instead of one big crystal it's multiple interconnected crystals.

Design 2a: A magical lense that allow a user that currently is experiencing a memory from a memory crystal to change the process of that experience. They can speed up, slow down, pause, skip, decrease and increase the detail(i.e. to reduce sensory stress) both of the overall experience and of specific parts.
Design 2b: As 2a except it allows the editing of a memory that is currently stored in a memory crystal. 

Design 3a: A device that is attuned to a specific skill upon creation. It is able to scan memories stored in mnemonic crystals and uses clairsentience to identify which part of the memory that are relevant to the attuned skill. Can be used along with 2b to edit a memory down to a memory that only contains important knowledge about some skill.
Design 3b: As 3a however instead of searching a memory in a memory crystal it searches for important memories in the mindscape of a person.

Design 4: A fuzzy, somewhat sugary drink that have been infused with (cheap?) crystal as part of the brewing process. It is safe to drink, fairly bland in taste, can store memories as if it was a memory crystal(though it doesn't contain any memories upon creation and have to have memories put into it such as by design 1), and the consumption of it allows one to experience the memory stored in it through.

I am using mnemomancy, derived from _mnēmonikos -_ the greek word for memory - same origin as mnemonics if you're familiar with that, to describe memory magic. I think I'll try to use similar terminology later for inventions because I think it sounds more fancy.

WindStruck, if design 4 works and I can infuse memories into fuzzy drinks, would you be more exciting about collaborating on a drink or competing against each other in the drink contest? Z is pretty object oriented and knows virtually nothing about how to get something to taste good.

----------


## WindStruck

Uh.. I'm not feeling up for that, for multiple reasons. Mainly, because I was just doing my own thing on this little side project, and Shandara isn't going to want to deviate from her plan once she starts it. And I mean, just putting memories in drinks seems like a little much, imo. Makes me wonder, where do these memories come from? From whom and about what?

A lot of extra weirdness and collaboration, when all Shandara wanted to do was try recreating a drink from where she was from.  Sorry.

----------


## Sønderjye

I'm interpreting that as you're not interested in collaborating, rather than you're not excited about collaborating and also you're not excited about me participating in the competition. And that's fine, you do your thing.

To answer your question I didn't have any particular memories in mind. Drows are colloqually connected to spiders so perhaps a flash of an exotic spider. Or perhaps a glimpse of some majestic drow construction or something else that's prototypical of drow culture, in either case we'd base it on a memory of Shandara or hunt down another drow in the city. Though it would have to be palatable to the culture of Vaungate.

----------


## DeTess

@Sonderjye,

Design 1a and b could both  work, but b would be more cost effective, but also a bit more complicated to build. There's something about memories that make them easier to move around than to directly copy, so you will have to work on a method to retain the memory in the original crystal while only transferring a copy to the storage crystal(s).

2a is definitely possible, and you've already got some concrete ideas for it based on your current design. Since time elapsing seems based on the experience of the one that made the memory, you think there should be ways to fake a 'bored' or 'interested' state for speeding up ans slowing down. Pausing should be fairly easy as well, skipping with accuracy would be more difficult. If you can find a way to split the subconcious part by sense you could also design a way for a user to activate or deactivate the extra information of the senses you're looking for.

2b is theorethically possible, but editing a memory, especially in a way that looks somewhat believable is going to require far more effort than just rewatching one (it's the difference between making something that can play a film, and designing something that can edit it, and unless you have a massive database of memroies to draw on, you'd need a way to create new bits of memory from nothing). This is definitely something that's more long-term.

3a and 3b are likewise theorethically possible, but more difficult to achieve. If you where to ask your new elvish friend he'd explain that the way their methods work allow them to see the integrity of the mindscape as whole, but they can't really see the contents of any individual memory, beyond getting a rough impression of how long ago it was made, and how big the memory is. Your device can capture specific memories because you personally push the memory in question the forefront. You'd need a fairly quick method that could actually read someone's mind and then determine which bits of a memory are relevant, and which aren't, which isn't exactly trivial.

You've got some ideas about how you might be able to store basic impressions (like tastes, or sights, or smells) this way, but a potion with a more complete memory, while possible, won't ever be cost-effective enough to be able to sell it as a novelty drink ( or at least, not for the next couple centuries).

----------


## Prehysterical

> @prehysterical, could you roll me a knowledge (arcana) or a spellcraft for your research in magical ways to control your rig and the possibility for a magical power source (one roll for each topic, pelase).


Sure thing. Considering that the modifiers are actually identical, it doesn't matter which one.

Control: (1d20+12)[*21*]
Power: (1d20+12)[*29*]

----------


## Sønderjye

@DeTess, 

Thanks!
A few points of clarification:

If I'm understanding it correctly the reason you give for why design 3 doesn't work(that the mindscape is vast and I'd need a very quick method of scanning deep memories) is only for why design 3b doesn't work. It doesn't seem relevant to design 3a since in that case I only have a single memory. Does design 3a work then or do I need to specifically explain how it figures out which parts of the memory is relevant

For the fuzzy drink, when you say impression that seems to include senses. Does it also include the internal feeling of the donor of the memory? Additionally, how much is a single impression drink, a double impression drink, and a drink with the entire memory?

----------


## DeTess

> @DeTess, 
> 
> Thanks!
> A few points of clarification:
> 
> If I'm understanding it correctly the reason you give for why design 3 doesn't work(that the mindscape is vast and I'd need a very quick method of scanning deep memories) is only for why design 3b doesn't work. It doesn't seem relevant to design 3a since in that case I only have a single memory. Does design 3a work then or do I need to specifically explain how it figures out which parts of the memory is relevant


You are going to have to come with some way to decide which parts of a memory ar relevant, and I'm not entirely certain it's actually possible to reduce things like that for a skill, especially on crafts (you may surprise me with an insight I hand't thought of though).




> For the fuzzy drink, when you say impression that seems to include senses. Does it also include the internal feeling of the donor of the memory? Additionally, how much is a single impression drink, a double impression drink, and a drink with the entire memory?


So an impression is just a single thing. Like a taste, or a sight, but without any further things associated with it. It could also be an emotion, like a feeling of awe or the like. For a drink that holds a single impression, think a couple of GP (about 5 in materials), but that's without the memory infused, which might be a lot more valuable.

A drink with a full memory is going to be significantly costlier ( probably a couple 100 GP), and you're going to have to figure out a way to keep something as complex as an entire memory intact and viable inside of a liquid.

@prehysterical,

for the control system, it'd definitely be possible to make something that reacts to the force the baron can still exert, though as you noted, that's not really futureproof. Something like a crown that reads his intentions might be ideal, but you're not really sure how to go about making that. You might want to see about getting some help from an expert in that area if you want to go that way.

'Manual' controls for fine movement in a small control box that can easily be closed off would probably be the simplest, and you think you could probably create some pre-programmed things that could be implemented with a single button (things like walking straight ahead, climbing a stair, sitting down or standing up and the like).

For powering it all, animating the entire thing with magic would be quite expensive, both in amterial's needed and required power, but given your knowledge of clockwork, you don't really need to do that. What you'd need is essentially a fairly simple effect that can keep the gears turning or a spring wound. A decent size gem could probably hold enough power to do that, and recharging it could be done entirely on ambient energy. There are several standard designs for turning magical energy into physical force, and you reckon you can probably make those quite small. The most ideal material for this is an exotic gem known as Ghost's Crystal. depending on the way these are cut they turn any magical energy infused into them in a force on the crystal itself, so you could get one cut so that it'll rotate clockwise when infused with energy, thereby getting you the movement you need. ghost Crystal is quite expensive, but you reckon you won't need that large of a piece if your gearwork is sophisticated enough so only the bare minimum of power is needed to get it all moving.

----------


## WindStruck

It's not like I care one way or another if you want to participate in that competition, but I just didn't feel like a colab.

By the way, maybe your memory could just be of some other drink. Maybe the best drink you ever had, or just something at a certain place when you were in a certain mood that gave you a specific feeling. Some kind of nostalgia.

That's just an idea I'm offering as a player.

Shandara really doesn't have any memories she wishes to share.

----------


## Prehysterical

> @prehysterical,
> 
> for the control system, it'd definitely be possible to make something that reacts to the force the baron can still exert, though as you noted, that's not really futureproof. Something like a crown that reads his intentions might be ideal, but you're not really sure how to go about making that. You might want to see about getting some help from an expert in that area if you want to go that way.
> 
> 'Manual' controls for fine movement in a small control box that can easily be closed off would probably be the simplest, and you think you could probably create some pre-programmed things that could be implemented with a single button (things like walking straight ahead, climbing a stair, sitting down or standing up and the like).
> 
> For powering it all, animating the entire thing with magic would be quite expensive, both in materials needed and required power, but given your knowledge of clockwork, you don't really need to do that. What you'd need is essentially a fairly simple effect that can keep the gears turning or a spring wound. A decent size gem could probably hold enough power to do that, and recharging it could be done entirely on ambient energy. There are several standard designs for turning magical energy into physical force, and you reckon you can probably make those quite small. The most ideal material for this is an exotic gem known as Ghost's Crystal. depending on the way these are cut they turn any magical energy infused into them in a force on the crystal itself, so you could get one cut so that it'll rotate clockwise when infused with energy, thereby getting you the movement you need. ghost Crystal is quite expensive, but you reckon you won't need that large of a piece if your gearwork is sophisticated enough so only the bare minimum of power is needed to get it all moving.


Cool beans. Is there a section of the Society that deals with things like telekinesis and other "mental magics" or should Bolten head over to the Psionics Department?

----------


## DeTess

> Cool beans. Is there a section of the Society that deals with things like telekinesis and other "mental magics" or should Bolten head over to the Psionics Department?


The psionics department could help, as could the artificery department. You could also put up a notice on the commission board for some help.

----------


## WindStruck

*Spoiler: GM Note*
Show

psst.  Since I've gotten my first level in wizard, Shandara knows alarm, and while it only will last 2 hours for now, she'll cast the silent mental alarm on her house before she goes to the archives.

----------


## DeTess

> *Spoiler: GM Note*
> Show
> 
> psst.  Since I've gotten my first level in wizard, Shandara knows alarm, and while it only will last 2 hours for now, she'll cast the silent mental alarm on her house before she goes to the archives.


Noted. I'll have to keep that in mind :P

edit: also, how much are you trying to make of the mushroom-wine? A small keg (think 10 liters or so) would cost you a full day of work and two half days of work over the next two weeks, and could be done with fairly standard alchemist equipment. You reckon if you really put the work in you could probably make up to a 100 liters of the stuff (that take two full days to set up, and two times a day and a half over the next two weeks for further processing), but you'd need to get some more equipment for that as well. 

material would cost you about 1.5 gp per liter, but anything over 20 would require specialist equipment that'll set you back about 50 gp as well (but is reuseable for future projects, of course).

Edit2: on destroying the souls/animating force of an undead, positive energy is generally regarded as by far the best way to do it. Weapons enchanted to strike at ghosts can also inflict harm, but is a lot less effective (one writer describes the difference between the two as the difference between hitting a marble column with a sword, or a butter column with a flaming sword).

Regarding unbinding the sould of an undead, it is not neccessary if you can guarantee your attack will destroy it in it's entirety, but if even a small bit remains than the binding could keep it in the mortal realm, where it might either regenerate, or devolve into some lesser kind of undead. Unbinding it first means that catastrophic damage, even if it isn't quite enough to destroy the soul, will still cause it to go beyond.

During your research you also find an interesting treatise on the ritual for destroying Deathless Kings. In ti the author states that the current ritual isn't perfect, merely good enough, and that quicker and more efficient ways could be devised. The author states that even with the inverted circle against good keeping the power in, a lot of the channeled positive energy is still wasted. The author describes a theoretical variation on the inverted circle against good that could be applied directly to the Deathless king, after which a smaller amount of positive energy could do the job once the king's defenses are broken. Smaller would still be the equivalent of about 2 3rd level spell slots worth of energy. This treatise is entirely theoretical, however, and though the math does appear to check out, the author does make some assumptions on the amount of energy that is needed to actually destroy a deathless king that they don't provide a source for.

another edit: @prehysterical, you can roll me a knoweldge (local) to see if you know anyone in person that could help you. If you're going to try to find your way in the building you could roll me a survival check for not getting lost, or you could just ask at the reception desk right there :P

----------


## DeTess

@Elbeyon, how exactly are you reaching underneath the tile? The seems are quite flush, though you might be able to fit a very thin tool between them. This isn't a 'you can't do this thing', as I assume you brought tools for disabling traps that would be applicable, but your exact method might have some consequences. Are you working blind based purely on feeling, do you remove the tile (risking triggering some kind of anti-tamper measure), do you have some other method that allows you to see underneath it...

Either way, could you roll me a disable device?

----------


## Elbeyon

Ah, alright! Vision is a problem,  :Small Red Face:  hm. I did masterwork thieves tools! How flush exactly? Would the periscope be small enough to look? If something flatter is needed, perhaps, a small mirror would grant vision? Zeal currently has darkvision if light is an issue beneath the tile. If nothing will fit between the tiles, Zeal does have a small drill. Zeal could drill into the floor beneath her and use the periscope to look from the floor to underneath the first row of tiles. She will make a seal around the drill while she works in case of accidents.

Disable Device! Includes +1 trapfinding
(1d20+23)[*38*]

----------


## DeTess

> Ah, alright! Vision is a problem,  hm. I did masterwork thieves tools! How flush exactly? Would the periscope be small enough to look? If something flatter is needed, perhaps, a small mirror would grant vision? Zeal currently has darkvision if light is an issue beneath the tile. If nothing will fit between the tiles, Zeal does have a small drill. Zeal could drill into the floor beneath her and use the periscope to look from the floor to underneath the first row of tiles. She will make a seal around the drill while she works in case of accidents.
> 
> Disable Device! Includes +1 trapfinding
> [roll0]


The seems are too small to get a periscope through,a dn though a flat mirror can fit through, you wouldn't be able to see the mirror. Drilling is an option, but time-consuming, and though these hallways aren't actively patrolled, that doesn't mean a guard won't take a look once in a while.

That having been said, with that roll you're actually fairly confident with your exploration of the trigger by touch with your tools. There appears to be a trigger mechanism in place, which has some kind of cap on top of it that keeps it from moving all the way down. This cap seems to be causing the slightly higher resistance to being pressed, as removing it makes the tile as easy to press down as the three easier ones. In the process you lost that cap though, and can't seem to find how to replace it. From the way it all seemed to move together you think what you've just done is 'arm' that specific tile, which means that all the tiles that are slightly more resistant to being pressed down are safe tiles, while the others are trapped.

If you wan to use this knowledge to feel your way across, please roll me one more perception to see if you get them all right, as well as how long you're willing to take to traverse this hallway at the maximum.

----------


## WindStruck

I think a small keg is the maximum I'd make.   I was only really thinking of making enough drink for like... one or two wine bottles.  Which is far less than 10 liters.

Eh, let's just say I make 2 liters of the stuff. But I still haven't made counter-poisons for the three I selected anyway...

I guess I'll need to make some rolls soon.

--

edit:  How sure is Shandara about that information you gave me?  I was also thinking of perhaps, seeking out an expert in the subject just to be sure.

----------


## DeTess

> edit:  How sure is Shandara about that information you gave me?  I was also thinking of perhaps, seeking out an expert in the subject just to be sure.


I assume you meant the info on undead? You're sure on everything but the contents of the treatise. That one is well-argued, but it's clearly written as a theorethical argument, rather than something the author put in practice.

Edit: and yeah, a cooking roll would be nice. A quick note though, apart from needing a larger bottle or keg, the amount of work for 2 or 10 liters of the stuff isn't that much different. It's when you go beyond that that scale causes you to need to put in more effort in addition to more ingredients.

----------


## WindStruck

...you know what. As cute and charming as a Thrush is, I think that would just be a problem with the empathic bond during the day.

But I think an owl is pretty cool. How the heck does Shandara befriend an owl, though? Maybe a cat? That's pretty compatible too. Maybe an "unlucky" black cat?

Yeah, I don't know.  But I'm not feeling like a spider or a bat.   :Small Tongue: 

Maybe I should just hold off and not pick a familiar just yet.

----------


## Prehysterical

> another edit: @prehysterical, you can roll me a knoweldge (local) to see if you know anyone in person that could help you. If you're going to try to find your way in the building you could roll me a survival check for not getting lost, or you could just ask at the reception desk right there :P


Yeah, we're gonna try Knowledge (Local) first. Survival with Bolten is a desperate move indeed.
(1d20+7)[*18*]

----------


## WindStruck

here's profession: cook.  Sadly, if it's not craft(alchemy) no bonuses from spells.   :Small Big Grin: 

...or should I just take ten?  Taking ten probably isn't a bad option. That's a 16.

But this all probably depends on how quickly Shandara will know if she messes up.  If it's pretty immediate, perhaps rolling the d20 for a little extra risk wouldn't be so bad.

----------


## Sønderjye

@Prehysterical, happy to colbarotating on the crystal thing. If you look in the Crystal lab 2 you could find Z. I am just remembering that you are only allowed to craft one magic item per day so it'll have to wait until tomorrow.

@DeTess, given that I rememembered that I can only craft one item a day so lets say that Z created the basic version first, tested it, and added the modules for enhanced memories afterwards. That way we'll stick to the one item without having to change results or conversations. 

Also design things

*Spoiler: Design*
Show

For the memory storage and copier: Would it work if the copying process involved playing/'experiencing' the memory to itself and noting in realtime impressions in the memory in realtime. As such, instead of copying the memory per say it creates a collection of impressions that combines into a functional memory? The types of impressions that are copied have to be specified on creation.

For the memory editor: Could I create a single impression memory lasting 3 sec for the drink if I 
1. Hold the lense
2. Mnemonic crystal A sends a long single impression memory to me
3. I experience the memory until some desired part(say 3 minutes in), then pause with the lense
4. Make mnemonic crystal B extracted the currently playing memory as soon as it was experienced, then start playing
5. After a few seconds I cut the connection to A then B, thus stopping both the experience and the extraction.

I would lose the rest of the memory of course.

----------


## Elbeyon

@DeTess Knowledge was gained!  :Small Big Grin:  Another trap created.  :Small Eek:  Giving a maximum time is really hard. Zeal believes this hallway is filled with magic traps? That makes moving with any haste difficult. I do want to use the knowledge, but having learned more about the tiles I believe there is a better approach than my previously described method, Zeal making a sand bridge over the safe tiles. Knowing the tile trigger is compression, Zeal could filter sand through the tiles and support herself and the tile from underneath with the psychic sand to prevent the tile from compressing. My idea is she could make a path out of the tiles by 'jamming' the triggers and turning traps into regular flooring. That should allow her to get through the mundane traps faster. The sand being hidden underneath the tiles too which may help with the next part. The magic traps will slow her down. There is a lot of area to search, but if she is ready for someone to check the hallway she could potentially avoid begin caught out in the open. I doubt there is much room to hide in the hallway and I'm not sure if stealth would allow her to hide on the ceiling like a spy/thief movie. That probably leaves her leaving the hallway to find cover, waiting for the guard to check, restarting the time before a guard rechecks the hallway, re-opening the door, then continue searching/disarming magic traps.

----------


## DeTess

> @DeTess Knowledge was gained!  Another trap created.  Giving a maximum time is really hard. Zeal believes this hallway is filled with magic traps? That makes moving with any haste difficult. I do want to use the knowledge, but having learned more about the tiles I believe there is a better approach than my previously described method, Zeal making a sand bridge over the safe tiles. Knowing the tile trigger is compression, Zeal could filter sand through the tiles and support herself and the tile from underneath with the psychic sand to prevent the tile from compressing. My idea is she could make a path out of the tiles by 'jamming' the triggers and turning traps into regular flooring. That should allow her to get through the mundane traps faster. The sand being hidden underneath the tiles too which may help with the next part. The magic traps will slow her down. There is a lot of area to search, but if she is ready for someone to check the hallway she could potentially avoid begin caught out in the open. I doubt there is much room to hide in the hallway and I'm not sure if stealth would allow her to hide on the ceiling like a spy/thief movie. That probably leaves her leaving the hallway to find cover, waiting for the guard to check, restarting the time before a guard rechecks the hallway, re-opening the door, then continue searching/disarming magic traps.


A quick note, because I might not have made that clear before. There's a pair of hallways, the first one filled with mundane(ish) traps, and the second one with magical ones. Your idea with the sand is good, but it will require some very fine and precise control because you want to avoid having the sand accidentally trigger the mechanism instead. Unless the item specifically calls out that such fine control is always possible, I'd like you to roll your choice of a spellcraft check or will save if that's the way you go.

----------


## DeTess

@prehysterical, a couple of weeks ago a notice had been put up by a Rufus Fallowhide, a researcher associated with the Artificery department. He was looking for some test subjects to help with testing 'an innovative way to control automatons'. You vaguely remember that the notice mentioned him having an office on the third floor somewhere.





> here's profession: cook.  Sadly, if it's not craft(alchemy) no bonuses from spells.  
> 
> ...or should I just take ten?  Taking ten probably isn't a bad option. That's a 16.
> 
> But this all probably depends on how quickly Shandara will know if she messes up.  If it's pretty immediate, perhaps rolling the d20 for a little extra risk wouldn't be so bad.


In this first step, you'll know pretty quickly when you mess up and can correct (though you'll lose a portion of the ingredients), if you mess up at the later stages then it'll be a lot harder to salvage given teh deadline.




> Also design things
> 
> *Spoiler: Design*
> Show
> 
> For the memory storage and copier: Would it work if the copying process involved playing/'experiencing' the memory to itself and noting in realtime impressions in the memory in realtime. As such, instead of copying the memory per say it creates a collection of impressions that combines into a functional memory? The types of impressions that are copied have to be specified on creation.
> 
> For the memory editor: Could I create a single impression memory lasting 3 sec for the drink if I 
> 1. Hold the lense
> ...


That could work for a copying mechanism. It does mean you'll suffer some decay in quality of the memory for every step further way you get from the 'original' though, but as long as you don't go further than copies of copies then it should still be fine.

Picking specific bits out of a memory that way should be doable. It'll require a bit of research into how to identify and split out the impression you're looking for though.

edit: @windstruck, you've got solid designs for the first three gems. It's the last gem that worries you a bit though. Given the amount of power it'll need to hold, and the speed at which it needs to discharge that power on command the tolerances on cutting and enchanting that gem are going to be very tight, and if you get it wrong the power might leak away before it is used, or might not discharge quite the way you're looking for (such as in a big explosion). Your design is solid, but the execution will have to be near perfect as well.

----------


## Elbeyon

> A quick note, because I might not have made that clear before. There's a pair of hallways, the first one filled with mundane(ish) traps, and the second one with magical ones. Your idea with the sand is good, but it will require some very fine and precise control because you want to avoid having the sand accidentally trigger the mechanism instead. Unless the item specifically calls out that such fine control is always possible, I'd like you to roll your choice of a spellcraft check or will save if that's the way you go.


Ooh, the magic traps are latter. I wasn't entirely sure. The sand does seem faster and, I think, more unique. I will roll for fun! The sand seems pretty precise since it can be used to make like hammers, watertight waterskins, or fortresses (assuming enough sand), but mistakes always happen.

----------


## WindStruck

So, *was* it possible to take a ten on the cooking check?   Well, considering what you said about the first part being easy to correct, I'll yolo it and probably have to buy some more ingredients the next day if this fails...

(1d20+6)[*16*]

As for the 4th gem, if the execution still has Shandara worried, I could perhaps alter her initial plan to needing to leave the longsword lodged into the Deathless King over a full round or so, so that the 'explosion' isn't quite an explosion, but more of a deluge.. if that makes sense?

----------


## DeTess

> So, *was* it possible to take a ten on the cooking check?   Well, considering what you said about the first part being easy to correct, I'll yolo it and probably have to buy some more ingredients the next day if this fails...


Yeah, you can take 10 (and a string of 16's will get you a decent enough result, but you doubt it'd win you the contest). On your first roll, you think you're doing decent enough. You haven't had to deal with this process in a long while, so there's a lot of double-checking and looking things up, but once you've gotten everything bottled up and ready frot eh fermenting process it all looks and smells as you think it should




> As for the 4th gem, if the execution still has Shandara worried, I could perhaps alter her initial plan to needing to leave the longsword lodged into the Deathless King over a full round or so, so that the 'explosion' isn't quite an explosion, but more of a deluge.. if that makes sense?


Yeah, that makes sense. That'd definitely make things a bit easier in realizing the design of the sword (and a it more difficult for the captain, as it means the Deathless king needs to be pretty much immobilized for the last step). The last gem is still going to be the most tricky part, but this alteration gives you a bit more room for mistakes.

----------


## DeTess

Sorry for the double-post, I need to do a roll here (1d10)[*8*]

(and another couple for good measure, just in case: (5d6)[*20*] and (1d20+3)[*16*]).

@Elbeyon, your method for crossing goes well, until you reach a point almost at the end of the first hallway. There something seems to have gone wrong in your blocking method, and the tile you step on depresses with a slightly audible click. Immediately a number of darts are launched out of the wall at your location with a gust of air. If 16 beats your flat-footed AC, make a DC13 fortitude save against drow sleep poison. If it beast your AC by 5 or more, make that save twice instead.

edit: also, you take 1 or 2 pints of piercing damage if you get hit or hit twice.

----------


## Sønderjye

> That could work for a copying mechanism. It does mean you'll suffer some decay in quality of the memory for every step further way you get from the 'original' though, but as long as you don't go further than copies of copies then it should still be fine.


What's causing the decay in quality?




> Picking specific bits out of a memory that way should be doable. It'll require a bit of research into how to identify and split out the impression you're looking for though.


Research like digging through the archieves? In that case I suppose Z will be do that for the rest of the day.

----------


## DeTess

> What's causing the decay in quality?


Basically, every time you replay the memory there's a risk that small details get lost, or incorrectly stored. Each link in a copy-chain means you're losing a bit more detail, which explains the decay.

And yeah, for that research, could you roll me a knowledge(arcana)?

There are also other ways you could approach finding that out, of course, butspending time in the archives working on it is a fine approach.

----------


## WindStruck

Okay. And how long has it taken Shandara to draw up the designs for these four gems?   ...also taking into consideration the time Shandara has spent on her hobby brew thing, and a possible day she may have needed to spend enchanting some pipes for the sewer project.

----------


## DeTess

> Okay. And how long has it taken Shandara to draw up the designs for these four gems?   ...also taking into consideration the time Shandara has spent on her hobby brew thing, and a possible day she may have needed to spend enchanting some pipes for the sewer project.


I'd say altogether (designing the gems, step 1 of your hobby-brew project, and spending a day enchanting the pipes) you're about a full week further now.

----------


## Sønderjye

> Basically, every time you replay the memory there's a risk that small details get lost, or incorrectly stored. Each link in a copy-chain means you're losing a bit more detail, which explains the decay.


Fair enough. What thing causes the risk of that loss? 




> And yeah, for that research, could you roll me a knowledge(arcana)?
> 
> There are also other ways you could approach finding that out, of course, butspending time in the archives working on it is a fine approach.


Sure thing. Taking 10 for 25.

Other ways like what?

----------


## DeTess

> Fair enough. What thing causes the risk of that loss?


Could be a lot of different factors. Small impurities in the crystal creating an issue during the re-recording, fluctuations in ambient energy causing small hitches, that sort of stuff. You could minimize it by accounting for those outside factors, but you'd still eventually have some degradations over successive re-recordings an



> Sure thing. Taking 10 for 25.


Anyway, with a 25 you find some information on the topic, describing how the different sense can often be found as different 'threads' in a memory. There are some theoretical musing on how these threads might be separated, but with the practical work you've done you reckon you could do something like that using a specially cut psi-crystal to kinda act like a prism does for light, except for memory instead. The information you find is rather vague on how you could actually tell the difference between the threads without re-experiencing them, but if you could get the prism to work to output the senses to different crystals, it should work quite consistenty with what goes where, meaning that with some trial and error you should be able to consistently determine which sense goes where in the proces.




> Sure thing. Taking 10 for 25.
> 
> Other ways like what?


Talking to your new Elvish acquaintance, trial-and-error, finding some way to trade your soul for that knowledge...

----------


## Elbeyon

@DeTess Zeal doesn't have that kind of AC.  :Small Eek:  She will get hit twice (Touch 11)! Fortunate for her, she may not have many construct immunities, but she is immune to sleep! A good old restless dynamo. Luckily, they were using nonlethal methods.  :Small Eek:  Oof, she isn't giving up yet though if she can finish the hallway.

Rolling in case!
(1d20+4)[*8*]
(1d20+4)[*12*]

----------


## DeTess

> @DeTess Zeal doesn't have that kind of AC.  She will get hit twice (Touch 11)! Fortunate for her, she may not have many construct immunities, but she is immune to sleep! A good old restless dynamo. Luckily, they were using nonlethal methods.  Oof, she isn't giving up yet though if she can finish the hallway.
> 
> Rolling in case!
> [roll0]
> [roll1]


Hmmm, It's kinda a tossup on whether the immunity to sleep applies or not.... I'm going to go with the more interesting answer though, and say you're fine. Those darts where designed to knock out more fleshy targets. You're close enough to the end of the hallway that you could just make a sand-bridge to skip the last few tiles. Next is a switch-back stairs leading down about 10 meters and then another, slightly shorter (40 feet) hallway. It has the same kind of flooring, but the walls are covered in mirrors.

----------


## WindStruck

Seems like Shandara will be going forward with the plans for the sword. So.. she will need help from another caster to put magic in the gems, right? And to scribe some backup scrolls as well?

Oh! And estimated material cost for everything? Plus like 300gp to commission a masterwork sword, I know that much at least.

----------


## DeTess

> Seems like Shandara will be going forward with the plans for the sword. So.. she will need help from another caster to put magic in the gems, right? And to scribe some backup scrolls as well?
> 
> Oh! And estimated material cost for everything? Plus like 300gp to commission a masterwork sword, I know that much at least.


For the scrolls specifically, yes. You think you could do 3 of the 4 gems on your own (but it'd be easier if you had a powerful caster with knowledge of the ritual on hand), but charging the positive energy one is going to require a cleric of sorts.

----------


## WindStruck

Is there any sort of sword material that would be a good conductor for positive energy or magic spells, by the way? Perhaps, if it was just in the core of the sword running down to the hilt...

Arcana: (1d20+16)[*18*]

Planes: (1d20+8)[*22*]

Or some other roll?

----------


## DeTess

> Is there any sort of sword material that would be a good conductor for positive energy or magic spells, by the way? Perhaps, if it was just in the core of the sword running down to the hilt...


Copper is often found to be somewhat easier enchantable than other metals, but it's not a particularly suitable metal for making weaponry. Components of a magical creature (things like dragonbone and the like) could be used for a lot of enchantments, but these tend to not work as well for when you need to channel positive energy. The standard solution for weapons that need to channel a lot of energy is a copper-mythril alloy. It's quite tricky to work, but it's almost as solid as mythril, while channeling energy more easily than most other materials.

----------


## WindStruck

Alright.  Copper-mithril sounds pretty good!  Should not only be excellent for the first three gems, but probably very effective for the last as well!

I just need a price tag for all of this.

The actual long sword needs to be commissioned. I'm sure it needs to be masterwork, and I doubt the materials for the sword alone will be cheap.

Then there's the gems. And then help channeling the spells into them, and maybe help crafting the gems, too. Perhaps members from the rangers guild would help with this free of charge?

Then there's also the scrolls, if the captain wants a backup option.

Just like.. need a price on all the raw materials, plus labor that has to be outsourced.

----------


## Prehysterical

> @Prehysterical, happy to collaborating on the crystal thing. If you look in the Crystal lab 2 you could find Z. I am just remembering that you are only allowed to craft one magic item per day so it'll have to wait until tomorrow.


I will keep that in mind, though Bolten will be paying a visit to this Rufus fellow first. Since Z is currently busy, maybe they can stumble into each other over the next few days.

----------


## DeTess

> Alright.  Copper-mithril sounds pretty good!  Should not only be excellent for the first three gems, but probably very effective for the last as well!
> 
> I just need a price tag for all of this.
> 
> The actual long sword needs to be commissioned. I'm sure it needs to be masterwork, and I doubt the materials for the sword alone will be cheap.
> 
> Then there's the gems. And then help channeling the spells into them, and maybe help crafting the gems, too. Perhaps members from the rangers guild would help with this free of charge?
> 
> Then there's also the scrolls, if the captain wants a backup option.
> ...


Alright, I'm just going to split this up in the various parts, and for each part I'll give the 'full' price. That is, the price you'd have to pay if you outsourced it. Making it yourself means you're down to half cost or less for materials.

copper-mythril alloy masterwork longsword: 2400 gp (affected by the current scarcity in myhtril, normally this'd be a fair bit cheaper).

Gem 1,2 and 3 are 800gp each. (cost split evenly between cutting the gem and enchanting it, if you need help with only one of those).

Gem 4 is 2000 gp (1200 gp for acquiring a suitable gem, 600 for enchanting, 200 for charging it with positive energy).

The scrolls for the spells in the first three gems would be 525 gp each.

----------


## Sønderjye

> I will keep that in mind, though Bolten will be paying a visit to this Rufus fellow first. Since Z is currently busy, maybe they can stumble into each other over the next few days.


Sounds good to me

Also unrelatedly I am ready to move to the next day so I can craft more things.

----------


## DeTess

@Sonderjye, just a quick bit of background, there isn't really an 'adventurer's guild'. You can find the headquarters for a variety of mercenary groups in the port district, but most of what you'd think of as 'adventurer business' is handled by the Ranger's guild, and the guildhouse here is their main location. 

However, given that most of the serious threats are at the empire's borders, this is also why the guildhouse was so quiet when Shandara visited. The senior command staff is based there, as are generally 1-2 ready units (each unit consisting of 6 rangers) just in case, and then generally 1-2 more units that have returned to recuperate after a mission, but the vast majority of Rangers is always out and about at the edges of the empire.

----------


## Sønderjye

Is there something like an explorer's guild for whoever explores the old ruins and whatnot? If not I'm happy just to head to the ranger's guild HQ.

----------


## DeTess

> Is there something like an explorer's guild for whoever explores the old ruins and whatnot? If not I'm happy just to head to the ranger's guild HQ.


There is. The Imperial Cartographer's guild has a major office and archive in the harbor district.

----------


## WindStruck

I think the biggest bottleneck we have is the crafting time for the sword, right?

I'm estimating it could take like two months to make the sword, assuming the uninflated cost is 1000 gp and using alternate crafting rules, managing 16 gp a day??

Still seems to take a long time just to make a freaking mundane sword....

----------


## DeTess

> I think the biggest bottleneck we have is the crafting time for the sword, right?
> 
> I'm estimating it could take like two months to make the sword, assuming the uninflated cost is 1000 gp and using alternate crafting rules, managing 16 gp a day??
> 
> Still seems to take a long time just to make a freaking mundane sword....


Yeah, I'm going to say that it won't take that long. About 2-3 weeks feels about right for a master-smith with a good workshop and a handful of capable assistants sounds more realistic.

----------


## DeTess

@Elbeyon, the stairs lead down, not up :P

The stairs themselves are not trapped, and from your quick magical peek into the hallway beyond you can see that the floor and ceiling seem fine, but the walls are completely covered in enchantments. That's all your quick peek tells you though, and further information will require further study.

----------


## Sønderjye

Just as a headsup I'm handing in my thesis in 2 weeks time so my posting will be eratic these next few weeks. If you want to do a time skip Z will do a mix on putting in work to make a drink using the memory stuff and make the memory devices previously discussed.

----------


## DeTess

> Just as a headsup I'm handing in my thesis in 2 weeks time so my posting will be eratic these next few weeks. If you want to do a time skip Z will do a mix on putting in work to make a drink using the memory stuff and make the memory devices previously discussed.


Good luck with your thesis! I remember being a mess time-wise when I was finishing off mine as well.

----------


## Prehysterical

> Just as a headsup I'm handing in my thesis in 2 weeks time so my posting will be eratic these next few weeks. If you want to do a time skip Z will do a mix on putting in work to make a drink using the memory stuff and make the memory devices previously discussed.


Best of luck to you! Also familiar with how much of a nailbiter that can be.

----------


## Elbeyon

@Detess I remember reading the stairs went down.  :Small Red Face:  I'm not sure why my auto-pilot had the stairs going up. I remember thinking how the stairs going down is a good idea to prevent access from the second floor. The vault being underground is generally more secure from attacks.

*Edit* I thought my post might allow me to search for traps without triggering them. Zeal will get as close as she needs to disable a trap!

----------


## DeTess

@Elbeyon, try as you might, you can't find any way to get a tool underneath the tiles. Nor for that matter is there any sort of give to them, suggesting that they might, in fact, be just a normal floor.

There aren't any obvious magical symbols or the like on the mirror, but the double mirror walls do look very unnerving even when seen through your own hand mirror. You can see reflections upon reflections upon reflections of yourself going both to your left and right. There is no obvious off-button or other way to shut down the magic aura you perceive on the mirror, but so far at least nothing bad has happened either.

Note: The mirrors give off auras of the enchantment and the conjuration schools. Quite powerful auras too.

----------


## Elbeyon

@DeTess Ah! So, they might not be traps. Hm. Could I roll spellcraft to try to identify the mirrors if they are magic items?

----------


## DeTess

> @DeTess Ah! So, they might not be traps. Hm. Could I roll spellcraft to try to identify the mirrors if they are magic items?


You can. Doing so through your mirror reflection trick will make it a lot more difficult than if you directly observe them, however.

----------


## Elbeyon

:Small Eek:  Zeal might already struggle to identify the item. Idea 1. Detect Magic works through up to three feet of wood. Zeal could block her vision with paper to try to identify the magic items  without seeming them (except f0r Detect Magic). Idea 2. Zeal looks at the side of the mirrior, like the frame, without looking into the mirror. Idea 3. Mirror to Mirror viewing like how Zeal wanted to find a trap.

Here is my spellcraft!
(1d20+16)[*33*]

----------


## DeTess

> Zeal might already struggle to identify the item. Idea 1. Detect Magic works through up to three feet of wood. Zeal could block her vision with paper to try to identify the magic items  without seeming them (except f0r Detect Magic). Idea 2. Zeal looks at the side of the mirrior, like the frame, without looking into the mirror. Idea 3. Mirror to Mirror viewing like how Zeal wanted to find a trap.
> 
> Here is my spellcraft!
> [roll0]


With indirect viewing it'll just not be as easy as when you get to look directly. However, that's a pretty solid roll.

The mirror's magic triggers when someone looks at the mirrored surface more-or-less directly. It doesn't do much when seen from the corner of your eye, but anything more than that will trigger the magic. The enchantment portion is very clearly meant to ensnare the mind and keep someone Fascinated (DC15 will save), probably until guards arrive to take the person into custody.

However, there is another part to the enchantment involving conjuration magic, and you're just not certain what that's supposed to do. It seems to be a more powerful effect than the enchantment effect, but also more conditional on when it will trigger. You can tell that it's some form of teleportation-ish effect, but definitely not something as straightforward as just teleporting someone from one place to another

----------


## WindStruck

So what does Shandara know about ghost crystal?

arcana: (1d20+17)[*22*]

craft (jewelry) (1d20+13)[*25*]

----------


## DeTess

> So what does Shandara know about ghost crystal?


You know that Ghost crystal is often used as a way to turn magical energy into mechanical force in smaller applications, but the amount of power it can deliver is fairly limited.

The way it delivers this energy depends on how the crystal is cut before being infused with magical energy. Some ways of infusing cause it to move in a specific direction, while others might cause it to rotate for example. Cutting these crystals is a bit tricky (but not beyond your ability for most applications) as it needs to be done fairly precisely, but the precision needed does depend on the application (using it as a rotating power source for example is a bit easier, as it generally doesn't matter too much of the crystal also pulls a bit to the left or the right).

@Sonderjye, could you roll me a diplomacy?

----------


## Sønderjye

Ah, my best roll (1d20+2)[*20*]. Wow, that was actually a pretty good roll.

----------


## DeTess

@prehysterical, Bolten would know that a mythril-copper alloy is often used for swords that need to channel a lot of magical energy. It is the more all-purpose solution, so for positive energy there might be a better specific solution (Elysian bronze isn't it though. It isn't worse, but not better for this option either). The reason the copper is alloyed with mythril is that copper is a fairly bad metal for making swords out off, so you need something pretty strong to even it out. Copper with steel works as well, but is noticeable weaker than standard steel, while copper/mythril is stronger than steel.

If you want, you can roll me your choice of knowledge(planes), knowledge (arcana), or a craft (weaponsmithing) check to see if you remember something that might be particularly good for positive energy.

----------


## Prehysterical

All right, I will go edit my post to reflect that. In the meantime...

Craft (Weapons): (1d20+15)[*17*]

...Really?

----------


## Sønderjye

^That is like the reason I consistently take 10 when take 10 gives good enough results.

----------


## Prehysterical

> ^That is like the reason I consistently take 10 when take 10 gives good enough results.


True, but the DC for this could be 30 and I wouldn't have a clue.

----------


## Sønderjye

Ah yes, that is a good time to roll  :Small Tongue:

----------


## WindStruck

Yeah, Shandara didn't roll too much better on that subject. However, I'm guessing that even if we hit a high DC, the information revealed would be an even more rare and/or difficult metal to work with.

----------


## WindStruck

I'll make a knowledge arcana check for Bolten's idea about runes to direct positive energy.

They probably need a bit of power, and maybe if I'm lucky a bit of that positive energy can be utilized to direct the rest to where it should be going, but that kind of feels like a wind turbine using the energy it gained from wind to push the flow of a hurricane back the opposite way.

I'm guessing that even if this idea worked, or some idea for "magic runes" worked, it would make this sword even more expensive and _also_ be another difficulty.

arcana: (1d20+17)[*26*]

----------


## DeTess

@Prehysterical, you feel like there should be something that might be better suited for channeling positive energy, but as much as you rack your brain you can't think of anything that'd do a better job than the proposed copper-mythril alloy.

@Windstruck, runes and similar enchantments can be very useful for getting generic magical energy to do what you want, such as setting a sword's blade on fire or similar. However, for channeling the positive energy you're not really trying to do anything like that. The energy is already exactly what it needs to be, you just need it to go from the crystal into whatever the balde is stabbing. You could devise a series of enchantments to do so rather than relying on a suitable material, but that wouldn't really reduce complexity or costs (it actually might drop costs a bit, but it'd be a difference of maybe 300 gp, and that only because of the current scarcity of mythril) of the overall project, just move it around.

@Elbeyon, the tossed marble seems unaffected in any way. The mirrors cover just about the entire wall on both sides, so unless you can turn yourself into something as small as a mouse, you won't be evading them that way.

----------


## WindStruck

I've actually legitimately got a concern, now.

We only have so much time to work on these projects.  It's estimated to take like two weeks just to forge this sword Shandara needs.

But Bolten was also asked that his clockwork leg apparatus be done by time the harvest festival begins.  I think we've only got 3-4 weeks until then.

Is it really possible to finish all this in time?

----------


## DeTess

Bolten could finish both projects, provided he can get his hands on half a dozen capable assistants. He won't be able to do both on his own though.

Edit: @elbeyon, could you roll me a disable device and a strength check? If you brought a crowbar it applies to the strength check.

----------


## Prehysterical

In that case, is Bolten going to have to rent a larger space? Or will his own facilities be sufficient?

----------


## WindStruck

Like how much is it going to cost to hire all these workers as well?   :Small Big Grin:  If there really is a time crunch for all of us, there's no harm hiring out someone else to craft the stuff we need done, right?

Um. OH. By the way.   The estimate cost I gave the ranger captain?  It's actually off by 4,000 gp.

I thought the price for an effective +2 magic weapon was only 4,000 gp, but that is the cost of armors.  A +2 magic weapon costs 8,000 gp.  SO... the total for this sword is actually around 17,000 gp, not 13k.

I figure since this is just a lapse on my part, maybe we can just say Shandara gave the right price? Or does it even matter?

----------


## Elbeyon

@DeTess Sure!
Disable Device. I included the +1 from trapfinding.
(1d20+23)[*40*]

Strength Check. Zeal has an anytool so she can make a crowbar on demand! I included the +2 from the crowbar. If it matters, Zeal has stonebreaker acid as well. It specializes in melting through stone.
(1d20+2)[*11*]

----------


## DeTess

> In that case, is Bolten going to have to rent a larger space? Or will his own facilities be sufficient?


I don't think they are, unless you got an unusually large workshop. Workshops on the campus are generally free to use, but for a project like this you'd need to actually reserve one for your use for a couple of weeks, which'd set you back 15 gp a week. You'd also be looking at somewhere between 2 and 10 gp per day for the people you'd need to hire, the number depending on exactly how skilled you'll be looking for (2gp would be students in relevant fields, 10 would be roping in craftsmen near your own level).




> Like how much is it going to cost to hire all these workers as well?   If there really is a time crunch for all of us, there's no harm hiring out someone else to craft the stuff we need done, right?
> 
> Um. OH. By the way.   The estimate cost I gave the ranger captain?  It's actually off by 4,000 gp.
> 
> I thought the price for an effective +2 magic weapon was only 4,000 gp, but that is the cost of armors.  A +2 magic weapon costs 8,000 gp.  SO... the total for this sword is actually around 17,000 gp, not 13k.
> 
> I figure since this is just a lapse on my part, maybe we can just say Shandara gave the right price? Or does it even matter?


Let's assume you quoted the correct amount the first time (and you can edit your post to reflect this). I'll edit the response to reflect this.




> @DeTess Sure!
> Disable Device. I included the +1 from trapfinding.
> [roll0]
> 
> Strength Check. Zeal has an anytool so she can make a crowbar on demand! I included the +2 from the crowbar. If it matters, Zeal has stonebreaker acid as well. It specializes in melting through stone.
> [roll1]


The mirrors are really flush against the wall, with seems that are nearly invisible. That is no match for your tools though, and you can easily make a big enough opening to get your crowbar in for leverage. However, the mirrors are also attached really well, and you can't get more than a tiny bit of movement out of this one. However, that did show you something useful. Though the movement had no effect on the fascination enchantment on the mirror you where working on, the unidentified conjuration effect turned off as soon as the mirror moved more than a couple of millimeter. It's not gone, just completely dormant. There is probably some kind of safety function that turns it off when the mirror is being moved.

----------


## Sønderjye

I have no idea how to pay the orc per extracted memory. Any suggestions? 10gp?

----------


## Prehysterical

> I don't think they are, unless you got an unusually large workshop. Workshops on the campus are generally free to use, but for a project like this you'd need to actually reserve one for your use for a couple of weeks, which'd set you back 15 gp a week. You'd also be looking at somewhere between 2 and 10 gp per day for the people you'd need to hire, the number depending on exactly how skilled you'll be looking for (2gp would be students in relevant fields, 10 would be roping in craftsmen near your own level).


So, assuming that Bolten rents out the necessary facilities and hires competent craftspeople for 10 gp a day, how do you want me to the dice rolls for the weapon and the legs?

I imagine that I have to make a Craft (Clockwork) check for the schematics of the legs themselves, but am not sure what is needed beyond that.

----------


## DeTess

> I have no idea how to pay the orc per extracted memory. Any suggestions? 10gp?


You can discuss that with him once the first tests has been done. He hasn't mentioned a reward yet.




> So, assuming that Bolten rents out the necessary facilities and hires competent craftspeople for 10 gp a day, how do you want me to the dice rolls for the weapon and the legs?
> 
> I imagine that I have to make a Craft (Clockwork) check for the schematics of the legs themselves, but am not sure what is needed beyond that.


Just because I wasn't entirely clear yet, it's 2-10 gp per person per day.

As for rolls, I'd like a craft(clockwork) for the design, a craft (weaponsmithing) or similar for the sword, and depending on what level of craftsmen you hire a choice of a relevant profession skill, diplomacy or intimidate. If you're spending the full 10 gp per person you can skip that roll. In that case you'll have people on nearly the same level as your own, and you won't need to spend too much effort managing them.


@Elbeyon, there are indeed quite a few mirrors. I assume you'll be trying to slightly offset all of them to turn off the teleporting effect? In that case could you roll me another disable device to see how fast you can progress. Also, what'll be your strategy for avoiding looking in the mirrors to avoid triggering the other effect when you advance further down the hallway?

----------


## Prehysterical

Yeah, that's pretty pricey, but Bolten's got money in the bank and this is a necessary expenditure to get the projects done before the festival. He will go ahead and rent the space and hire as many skilled workers as needed to get the job done. He can call it a manufacturing expense. (This will need to be included in the quote that he gives Eduard. Also, just as a reminder for you and me, DeTess, Bolten gets a 5% discount when manufacturing magic items. Doesn't affect the crafting time at all, just the cost of the materials.)

For both Craft checks, Bolten will be casting Crafter's Fortune to get a +5 bonus (luck, I believe) on the checks. For the legs, I am assuming that they count as a Wondrous Item instead of a Construct for the purposes of crafting time progression.

Craft (Clockwork): (1d20+26)[*28*]

Craft (Weapons): (1d20+22)[*25*]

Wow... A 2 and a 3... Good thing the modifiers are stacked.

----------


## WindStruck

I believe modifiers would technically be higher due to all the help?   :Small Big Grin:

----------


## Prehysterical

Not for the schematic, but probably for the weapon. Still, that's only another +2 on top even with Aid Another from the assistants or the Cooperative Crafting feat...

----------


## WindStruck

It should be +2 for each assistant helping, up to a certain point.  :Small Confused:

----------


## DeTess

@prehysterical, those are some... unfortunate rolls XD

I checked though and crafting a masterwork sword, even if I add an ad-hoc extra 5 to the DC for the difficulty of working the material still doesn't go over DC 25, so that's fine.

For the legs though, you're running into a bit of designer's block. You're a good 80% of the way there on the design, but the final bit is eluding you, and time is starting to run out. Choose one (or suggest another interesting consequence):

1. compromise on the control system. Getting the mental control to run is difficult, and you can easily finish the design if you drop that aspect.

2. Compromise on the power system. You can't get the gears to work quite as efficiently as you need it to. You either need more ghost crystal and a bulkier housing to run the system, or the legs will have only enough power for about 3 hours of continuous locomotion per day.

3. compromise on the aesthetics. Getting everything as small as you wanted proves too much of a challenge. The legs will eb quite a bit bulkier than initially envisioned because of this, and graceful movement is off the table.

4. Take a gamble. You're certain enough about what you've got so far that your employees can being production while you finish the design. You make another roll (DC30, but you can't take 10 unless you can do so under pressure). If you fail that roll though, you're either going to have to settle for two of the above compromises, or miss the deadline.

----------


## Prehysterical

Since I am guessing that this is over a period of time, would Bolten be able to use Crafter's Fortune on this next check? That will influence my decision.

----------


## DeTess

> Since I am guessing that this is over a period of time, would Bolten be able to use Crafter's Fortune on this next check? That will influence my decision.


Yes, you can.

----------


## Elbeyon

> @Elbeyon, there are indeed quite a few mirrors. I assume you'll be trying to slightly offset all of them to turn off the teleporting effect? In that case could you roll me another disable device to see how fast you can progress. Also, what'll be your strategy for avoiding looking in the mirrors to avoid triggering the other effect when you advance further down the hallway?


That is exactly the plan!

I'm not sure something like Smoke Googles or Vigil Cap is sufficient. If the periscope doesn't count as directly viewing the mirrors, I would say a (sadly) silly option is to only use those mirrors to see and block the other eye. Zeal basically needs something that is 100% effective for avoiding looking at the mirrors as she surrounds herself. A blindfold is simple and effective, and she can use detect magic to guide herself. Since the mirrors are so flush a little stonebreaker acid to open a small pit for the crowbar will likely speed things along.

Disable Device, including +1 Trapfinder
(1d20+23)[*37*]

----------


## DeTess

> I'm not sure something like Smoke Googles or Vigil Cap is sufficient. If the periscope doesn't count as directly viewing the mirrors, I would say a (sadly) silly option is to only use those mirrors to see and block the other eye. Zeal basically needs something that is 100% effective for avoiding looking at the mirrors as she surrounds herself. A blindfold is simple and effective, and she can use detect magic to guide herself. Since the mirrors are so flush a little stonebreaker acid to open a small pit for the crowbar will likely speed things along.


So which of those options do you settle on? Just how well you'll be able to see does affect the speed of your progress.

----------


## WindStruck

So, Shandara will be visiting a bank (maybe the same one Zeal is breaking into!) but yeah, probably won't interact with her in any way or even hear about anything. Then she'll be needing to buy some gems...

Do you want to RP anything, or shall I just cut straight to making some crafting rolls?

----------


## DeTess

> So, Shandara will be visiting a bank (maybe the same one Zeal is breaking into!) but yeah, probably won't interact with her in any way or even hear about anything. Then she'll be needing to buy some gems...
> 
> Do you want to RP anything, or shall I just cut straight to making some crafting rolls?


Probably not the same bank, as the one Zeal is visiting isn't open yet. If there's anything in particular you want to try and do or play out we can RP it. Otherwise, you can skip ahead to the crafting rolls. i want to see a roll for the gemcutting (craft jewelry, or similar) and a roll for the enchanting (spellcraft).

----------


## WindStruck

Yeah, I'm guessing greeting bank tellers and going through all that process, and finding, inspecting, and haggling for gems aren't really all that exciting..  unless there happened to be any particular npcs you wanted me to meet or other events.  I wouldn't mind.

Still, I guess I'll just roll.

Shandara can use her magewright spells to get quite a hefty bonus to her craft checks.  And I'll assume she uses them repeatedly when working on the gems.

craft: jewelry   (1d20+25)[*26*]

And then for enchanting them, it would be nice if she could refer to stuff in the archives, like how she had planned out the enchantments for the sewer pipes before, though I guess there may be limitations to this.  Still, she'll use investigative mind to help out.

spellcraft:

(1d20+16)[*36*]
or
(1d20+16)[*18*]

We can add +2 to these if utilizing the archives is possible.

----------


## WindStruck

Interesting.. a 1, a 2, and a 20...

I still hope 26 is passable for making those gems.

----------


## Prehysterical

In that case, I will take Option 4.

Craft (Clockwork): (1d20+26)[*43*]

That's more like it.

----------


## DeTess

@windstruck, You've got a few doubts about your cutting of the positive energy gem. However, during the enchantment phase you figure out a way to add some enchantments to strengthen that gem in particular without needing to acquire more materials, so you're still confident in the end result.

@prehysterical, yeah, it takes a couple more days of hard work to finish the design, but eventually it works as envisioned.

I'll leave the write-up for your work up to the both of you. Between designing and enchanting them you're busy for quite a while though, with both projects finishing up about 3 days before the harvest efstival. Which reminds me, @windstruck, could you roll me a further two craft (cooking) checks as you finish off the fermenting process of your drink, add the extra ingredients, filter it before bottling, etc.? You may take 10 on those.

----------


## Elbeyon

> So which of those options do you settle on? Just how well you'll be able to see does affect the speed of your progress.


Zeal's priority is not triggering all the sight traps. Speed is next, so whatever method gives her a sure shot while allowing her to move the fastest.

----------


## DeTess

> Zeal's priority is not triggering all the sight traps. Speed is next, so whatever method gives her a sure shot while allowing her to move the fastest.


Blindfold it is then. Of the proposed options, that's the only one that's guaranteed not to trigger the sight traps.

Working through the entire hallway takes quite a bit of time, but eventually Zeal makes it to the other side without getting affected by the magical traps. Beyond is a large rooms with walls covered with smaller vaults. However, just as you arrive, you hear a faitn crackling noise followed by some muffled cursing coming from upstairs.

----------


## WindStruck

I think I'll just take 10 on the cooking checks.  It's not like Shandara is trying to be a master brewer here and try something innovative.  She doesn't have the time to experiment, and she's just sticking with what she knows. Her goal is just to make a decent enough drink, and hope it's just exotic enough on its own merit.

So taking 10s will make 16.

Also, I don't think I actually made rolls for Bolten's project (the ghost crystal gears). So I guess here's another craft check for that, and hope I don't roll a 1 again.   :Small Tongue: 

(1d20+25)[*33*]

----------


## DeTess

> I think I'll just take 10 on the cooking checks.  It's not like Shandara is trying to be a master brewer here and try something innovative.  She doesn't have the time to experiment, and she's just sticking with what she knows. Her goal is just to make a decent enough drink, and hope it's just exotic enough on its own merit.
> 
> So taking 10s will make 16.


Allright. A quick taste chec on teh end result shows that it tastes exactly as you remember. It seems decent enough.




> Also, I don't think I actually made rolls for Bolten's project (the ghost crystal gears). So I guess here's another craft check for that, and hope I don't roll a 1 again.  
> 
> [roll0]


Yeah, that'll do the trick. Ghost crystal is a bit tricky to cut, but the most difficult part is that it needs to be done without any sort of magic tools or magic aid, because it tends to absorb that magic and start moving under it's own power.

----------


## Sønderjye

I am waiting for the next day so I can continue crafting. It does work out nicely with how the deadline for a big project is Tuesday so I don't mind. Just wanted to share about the silence on my end.

----------


## WindStruck

> Yeah, that'll do the trick. Ghost crystal is a bit tricky to cut, but the most difficult part is that it needs to be done without any sort of magic tools or magic aid, because it tends to absorb that magic and start moving under it's own power.


So I guess the spells Magecraft and Crafter's Fortune didn't mess them up?

----------


## DeTess

> So I guess the spells Magecraft and Crafter's Fortune didn't mess them up?


Crafter's fortune would only affect you, so that's not an issue. Magecraft would be, but even disregarding that bonus you rolled high enough to make the item.

Sorry, I should have explained that aspect a bit earlier. I hinted at it in the description, but I should've mentioned it before the roll -_-

----------


## WindStruck

Finally got a post up, though I guess Shandara may be a bit early. Still, considering the time it would take to put standard enchantments on the blade after it is finished, the little drink contest could still wind up happening before the sword is actually delivered.

Anyway. I just wanted to get events moving along.   :Small Smile:

----------


## DeTess

> _No sense in accidentally damaging the product during the final... leg of the trip._


That pun is _horrible!_

----------


## Prehysterical

> That pun is _horrible!_


That's what makes it so great.  :Small Tongue:

----------


## WindStruck

I'm actually pretty excited for Bolten's invention.

Let's see how it works out!   :Small Big Grin:

----------


## Prehysterical

I wish Shandara the best of luck with the brewing contest. The Curator sounds like a real critic!

I'm also interested in seeing if Zeal manages to get into the vault, as well as Z's attempts to recover the memory that he himself erased... Just the very thought gives me a headache.

----------


## Sønderjye

I'm noticing that I'm losing motivation to keep up with the various plotthreads when I'm just sitting around and waiting. Would someone mind shooting me a msg when we get to the following day if I'm not around?

----------


## DeTess

> I'm noticing that I'm losing motivation to keep up with the various plotthreads when I'm just sitting around and waiting. Would someone mind shooting me a msg when we get to the following day if I'm not around?


Sorry, yeah, you're definitely good to go ahead a day or more. Generally, you can move ahead to the next day unless I specifically ask people to hold on for a bit so I can get everyone synchronized again.

edit: which reminds me, @widnstruck, @ prehysterical, I'd like to get everyone sycnhronized time-wise again when the harvest festivals tarts, so that'll come up for you in a couple in-game days. Just a heads-up there.

----------


## Prehysterical

That's fine. To get us there, however, I need a breakdown for Bolten's expenses from the project to give the baron an actual figure.

----------


## Sønderjye

I was reading through the IC and I don't understand this




> "Ah, and another contestant arrives, just in time!" he greets her jovially. "Or rather, about two days early, but if you all had arrived the first day of the festival as asked, I doubt even I would have survived the amount of alcohol being presented to me. Well then, what have you brought?


The original post about the harvest festival said that it was in 3 weeks. These people are arriving way early, why is he saying 2 days early?

----------


## WindStruck

We've time skipped a lot with the sheer amount of crafting that has been done.  And now that is probably why our characters are going to be on hold while everyone else continues their thing.

----------


## Sønderjye

I've been saying for posts that I was waiting for people to finish their tasks for the day so we could move to the next day and noone bothered to tell me that you guys had skipped two weeks ahead? That feels bad.

----------


## DeTess

> I've been saying for posts that I was waiting for people to finish their tasks for the day so we could move to the next day and noone bothered to tell me that you guys had skipped two weeks ahead? That feels bad.


I'm sorry, I must have missed that. In fact I thought you where several days ahead as well, given you spend a day studying, another working on your invention, some time visiting both the department of psionics and the cartographer's guild, etc? 

However, unless I specifically indicate I need everyone to synchronize timewise, you're free to move to the next day if you filled a previous day with work, just as in the previous 'episode'.

----------


## Sønderjye

I see. I guess I just misunderstood how it worked. I'm glad it's settled now.

I was imagining that those things were done during the same day. My first post after the timeskip did say that he was researching until noon and I was imagining that to be followed by 8 hours of crafting and the chat happening in the evening. I'm fine with that having taken 2 days instead.

In that case 5 days to make two extra two devices might be a little optimistic. Mind fuzzing the time as appropriate?

----------


## DeTess

> That's fine. To get us there, however, I need a breakdown for Bolten's expenses from the project to give the baron an actual figure.


Material-wise (before any reductions your feats or other abilities might give you) you're down 3500 gp for the legs (you could have gotten an advance for that form the Baron's son if you needed it).

Renting the workshop and hiring the help would have set you back another 945 GP (renting out a workshop for three weeks, hiring 6 skilled craftsman for 15 days fo work) int toal for both projects.




> I was imagining that those things were done during the same day. My first post after the timeskip did say that he was researching until noon and I was imagining that to be followed by 8 hours of crafting and the chat happening in the evening. I'm fine with that having taken 2 days instead.
> 
> In that case 5 days to make two extra two devices might be a little optimistic. Mind fuzzing the time as appropriate?


You could have your original design finalized and made decently portable in that time, as well as finished a single array of your storage/copy device as you proposed it, though it still has some quirks, most notably that attempting to remove a memory isn't one hundred percent successful, with little bits of the memories staying behind in the crystal, or even randomly appearing in the other crystals. This mostly seems to be an isolation issue, which you reckon you'll be able to resolve, given some more time.

----------


## Prehysterical

Yeah, Bolten would have needed an advance to afford the materials, or else he wouldn't have had the funds to rent the shop and hire the workers.

For cost reduction, Bolten only has 5%, so that would shave off 175 gp for a total of 3325 gp. Combined with labor and work space, that comes up to 4270 gp in costs.

Does the Society have a standard rate or percentage for their services? Bolten will surely have valued his work before the presentation; taking 10 on Appraise would have given him a result of 24. He's trying to give a fair price for his work.

----------


## DeTess

> Yeah, Bolten would have needed an advance to afford the materials, or else he wouldn't have had the funds to rent the shop and hire the workers.
> 
> For cost reduction, Bolten only has 5%, so that would shave off 175 gp for a total of 3325 gp. Combined with labor and work space, that comes up to 4270 gp in costs.
> 
> Does the Society have a standard rate or percentage for their services? Bolten will surely have valued his work before the presentation; taking 10 on Appraise would have given him a result of 24. He's trying to give a fair price for his work.


A rate isn't mandated, but for something like this (one-off mostly new design delivered in a pretty short time) you know you could generally charge an additional 50-100% of the material and labor costs. Less would be considered charitable (or with suspicion that it isn't as good as it appears), more might be considered greedy or arrogant. Since you asked for an advance you'd be expected to skew a bit closer to the lower end, but you know your work is good enough to ignore that expectation if you so wished without risk to your reputation.

----------


## Sønderjye

> You could have your original design finalized and made decently portable in that time, as well as finished a single array of your storage/copy device as you proposed it, though it still has some quirks, most notably that attempting to remove a memory isn't one hundred percent successful, with little bits of the memories staying behind in the crystal, or even randomly appearing in the other crystals. This mostly seems to be an isolation issue, which you reckon you'll be able to resolve, given some more time.


I'll just throw in a reminder that Valet familiar allows me to craft in double the usual speed. With that, would it be possible to have worked a few more kinks out as well as having made a lense that when held automatically adjusted the experienced speed of a memory and adjust the sensational details such to the highest available that doesn't give people headaches? Hopefully the lense can be changed to allow the user to manually adjust those things later but for now that'll do as a prototype. If so, what's the cost for those two items?

----------


## DeTess

> I'll just throw in a reminder that Valet familiar allows me to craft in double the usual speed. With that, would it be possible to have worked a few more kinks out as well as having made a lense that when held automatically adjusted the experienced speed of a memory and adjust the sensational details such to the highest available that doesn't give people headaches? Hopefully the lense can be changed to allow the user to manually adjust those things later but for now that'll do as a prototype. If so, what's the cost for those two items?


Could you roll me a spellcraft for the limiter lens? You'll definitely be able to work out the kinks in that case.

----------


## Sønderjye

Taking 10 for *30*

----------


## DeTess

Allright, limiting the senses itself is quite doable, and though your current design just dampens them all together to manageable levels you've already got some good ideas for how to go about prioritizing individual senses. The function for stabilizing the flow of time to real-time does work, but it's fairly noticeable when it kicks in. 'Slowing down'  the boring parts results in an overall reduction in the sensation, and even colors lose a bit of luster. Meanwhile you notice that the dampening function draws a lot more power when the time function stabilizes a moment where the memory would have gone slower than real-time, likely because it has to deal with what would otherwise be a sensory overload (I'll leave it up to you whether you discovered that part because of the extra power draw, or because you first tested that function without the limiter and ended up with another massive headache). These moments in the memory also tend to be a bit disorienting (and if your character is prone to motion sickness, slightly nauseating). Imagine  watching a scene in a movie shot in slow-motion sped up to real-time. The motion looks correct but the camera work, in this case the mind processing impressions at an accelerated rate, isn't exactly pleasant.

Price-wise, you're looking at another 1500 gp in supplies for the copying array (this si before any reduction you might have from feats and the like). Enchanting the lens is a fairly complicated process, but it only requires 600 gp worth of materials (most of which is in the fact that to work best you actually need to cut the lens out of a psionic crystal).

----------


## Sønderjye

Hmm. Given the confusion about the time could we retcon to say that they met 8 days instead of 5 and that he worked out the kinks of the lense in the extra 3 days?

----------


## DeTess

> Hmm. Given the confusion about the time could we retcon to say that they met 8 days instead of 5 and that he worked out the kinks of the lense in the extra 3 days?


Working out the kinks in the lens won't be quite that quick I'm afraid. The issue you're running into has to do with essentially compressing and stretching out bits of memory so they fit objective timekeeping. To fix that, you'd need to be able to actually edit the memory itself. It's not impossible, but it won't be done in three days.

----------


## WindStruck

I'm actually pretty happy to continue some little RP conversations as we are waiting for the others to catch up.  Speaking of which....  I don't think we've heard from Zeal for a while, have we?

----------


## Prehysterical

Elbeyon hasn't been online in a week. Don't know if that's a good or bad thing, but that's why. Hope everything's going okay.

----------


## WindStruck

Hm, still waiting...  and still present!

I'm wondering if there's anything else we could possibly do that wouldn't push time forward too much.

Maybe even something in the past?   Shandara would have needed to meet Duncan, and probably some other arcanists from the ranger's guild, I think.

----------


## DeTess

Yeah, I'm planning on using the start of the harvest festival as the synching point, so you've still got two days.

I also think the sword is done, but I don't think you've delivered it yet.

----------


## Sønderjye

Just a headsup that I will be really busy for about a weeks time and might not have a lot of time to post.

----------


## DeTess

> Just a headsup that I will be really busy for about a weeks time and might not have a lot of time to post.


Thanks for the headsup, and good luck with your busy week!

----------


## WindStruck

> Yeah, I'm planning on using the start of the harvest festival as the synching point, so you've still got two days.
> 
> I also think the sword is done, but I don't think you've delivered it yet.


The sword still needs the standard enchantments  (+1 and undead bane), and I think that alone would take 8 days even after the sword is physically completed.

I'm also wondering if there is anything else known (would definitely need to be a flat-cost enchantment) that just increases the hardness of the weapon?

----------


## DeTess

> I'm also wondering if there is anything else known (would definitely need to be a flat-cost enchantment) that just increases the hardness of the weapon?


Yeah, enchanting an object to be stronger than it normally is is actually a fairly common enchantment and is used with some regularity in the more ambitious construction projects. I'll just put the cost for the sword at (0.5*hardness)^2*200 (so adding a single point of hardness is only 50 gp, 2 points is 200 gp, 4 points is 800 gp, etc.).

This might be undercosted when compared to a similar official effects, but I'd expect 'how do we use magic to make things sturdier' to be one of the first things the artificers of the Society figured out, as it makes so many other things possible.

----------


## WindStruck

I think 4-6 extra points of hardness is pretty reasonable.

..I hope the Ranger's guild wants to cover that, too.

----------


## Sønderjye

Just another headsup that things were postponed so I'll first have time to post Tuesday next week.

----------


## DeTess

Allright, thanks for the update. I've also had a message from Elbeyon that she's dropping out:




> Hey
> 
> The game is amazing! I love the world. The characters and players are great! I wasn't really rping or talking with anyone so I got bored. I'ma going to drop out, but I wish everyone a great time and lots of fun!

----------


## WindStruck

I kind of felt this way sometimes.  Would be like, just posting by myself describing things done and actions, but nothing would really happen, so I'd just have to post again, describing more actions...

It's too bad though..  that harvest festival was coming up, and I'm pretty sure we could have all had a little get together then..

----------


## DeTess

Yeah, that was part of the point of the festival, being a social thing where everyone got a chance to easily interact with the others. I'm also planning on putting up some commissions that should require some cooperation in the future, now that I've got a slightly better idea of where all of you are taking your characters, but ti's still up to you whether you want to go after those or not.

----------


## Prehysterical

Hope that things are going well, Sønderjye.

That's too bad about Elbeyon. I was really looking forward to finding out more about Zeal. Still, if she's not having fun, can't blame her.

----------


## WindStruck

So it's been a while...

Are there going to be any contingencies to continue on at some point if we can't get this game going at a reasonable pace again?

What would you think about trying to recruit another 1 or 2 players for this type of game?

Or, I wonder if I could convince Elbeyon to come back once the harvest festival part starts up?   :Small Big Grin:

----------


## DeTess

> So it's been a while...
> 
> Are there going to be any contingencies to continue on at some point if we can't get this game going at a reasonable pace again?
> 
> What would you think about trying to recruit another 1 or 2 players for this type of game?
> 
> Or, I wonder if I could convince Elbeyon to come back once the harvest festival part starts up?


At this point I'm thinking of just starting the harvest festival sometime this weekend so you and prehysterical have something to do.

----------


## Sønderjye

Ok I'm finally back.

I don't want to hold the game too much by being behind. @DeTess, can we say that Z gets the memories from the sailor, taking reasonable measures to keep the sailor happy; generally spends time refining the memory items such that he's ready with the fancy impression drinks, and maybe spends 2-3 days making and selling items?

You can just pick impressions that would work well for the fuzzy drinks but certainly both feelings and views would probably be sensational.

Also I support the idea of re-recruiting.

----------


## DeTess

> Ok I'm finally back.
> 
> I don't want to hold the game too much by being behind. @DeTess, can we say that Z gets the memories from the sailor, taking reasonable measures to keep the sailor happy; generally spends time refining the memory items such that he's ready with the fancy impression drinks, and maybe spends 2-3 days making and selling items?
> 
> You can just pick impressions that would work well for the fuzzy drinks but certainly both feelings and views would probably be sensational.
> 
> Also I support the idea of re-recruiting.


Sure, that's fine. Could you roll me your choice of a spellcraft or knowledge (arcana) check to see how far you get? Oh and a profession (cook) check for making the drinks slightly drinkable in addition to holding memories. I'll kicking things forward to the harvest festival sometime tomorrow then

----------


## Sønderjye

Sure. Taking 10 for spellcraft for 30. Can I substitute a profession(cook) with a craft(alchemy)? Regardless the roll is (1d20)[*14*]. If I can't that's a 16 and if I can it's a 31.

----------


## DeTess

> Can I substitute a profession(cook) with a craft(alchemy)? If I can't that's a 16 and if I can it's a 31.


Craft (alchemy) would be for making it functional, but since I specifically asked for a roll on whether you could make it tasty, it really has to be cooking in this case, sorry. Still, a 16 isn't bad. It won't win any competitions on taste alone, but it's palatable enough.

I'll give you a full breakdown on what you manage to achieve in the weeks of work tomorrow.

----------


## Sønderjye

Sounds good. I'm looking forward to it.

----------


## Prehysterical

Looking forward to it as well. Glad to have Z back.

By the way, if anybody cares, Happy Easter.

----------


## WindStruck

Yeah, happy easter!

I'm glad to see the game moving again.

So, one question..  after completing the sword job and covering all expenses, how much profit did Shandara make from it?  Hm. The quote she gave them would have been around the price normal adventurers pay for such an item, and given the fact that when you normally craft something you pay half material cost..  she could make a lot of money.   :Small Eek:

----------


## DeTess

@windstruck, yeah you're set to earn a decent amount of money here.

@all, I've set up the basic scene of the first day of the harvest festival. If people want, I can start throwing minor things your way, or you can just do as you wish isntead.

@Sonderjye,

with the extra time taken, you manage to refine the time-keeping issues you had with the memories a bit. You've figured out how to deal with the issues caused by condensing time by targeted removal of specific 'frames', condensing the memory down so that it can be experienced in real time with no issues. As a consequence of this you've also developed an array that allows for targeted removal of small bits from memories. It consists of an array of about 24 small psionic crystals that you can run segment of memory into,a dn then you can prune it by emptying specific crystals, before reforming the memory segment from the remaining crystals. This does require you to manually edit the memory though.

 Dealing with the cases where experienced time is quicker than real time still eludes you. you suspect you could try an inverted version of your process for trimming down memories, but just creating extra copies of memories segments doesn't help, so you'd need to design a way to create new memories.

Lastly, you've designed a way to split a memory out along the senses using a specially cut prisma and a set of psicrystals to catch each separate impression(sight, sound, smell, taste and touch with a separate track for someone's 'inner voice'), but you've noticed that  about 40% of the time, smell and taste get mixed up, with taste ending up where you'd expect smell to go and vice-versa. You've also noticed that these memoreis on their own aren't as vivid as you'd expect them to be, but when you combine them together again you get the expected experience.

You also said you where going tos pend a couple of days just crafting for money. Do you want me to split out both the costs of what you've made and the money earned this way, or is it okay if I just say that you earn enough this way to cover the material needs for your personal project?

----------


## WindStruck

Right.. that's good.  Just tell me how much I can add to my bank account.   :Small Big Grin:

----------


## DeTess

> Right.. that's good.  Just tell me how much I can add to my bank account.


Well let's see. Let's say it came down to 18k all told including the hardness enchantment.

Off these, there where the following unusual costs:




> copper-mythril alloy masterwork longsword: 2400 gp (affected by the current scarcity in myhtril, normally this'd be a fair bit cheaper).
> 
> Gem 1,2 and 3 are 800gp each. (cost split evenly between cutting the gem and enchanting it, if you need help with only one of those).
> 
> Gem 4 is 2000 gp (1200 gp for acquiring a suitable gem, 600 for enchanting, 200 for charging it with positive energy).
> 
> The scrolls for the spells in the first three gems would be 525 gp each.


Assuming you and Prehysterical swapped work for work you'd just pay for the materials of the sword, which are 1600 gp (more than half due to the scarcity of mythril), though he might have charged you part of the cost of hiring people as well, you'll have to check with him.

IIRC you needed some help with the scrolls, so let's say you only run a profit of 100gp on those. Add to that the rest of the enchantments you'd made, and I come out at 7712.5 gp profit, minus the additional cost for hiring people Prehysterical had if he decides to partially transfer that to you.

Of course this might change if you had any cost reductions, but that's the math I end up with.

----------


## WindStruck

Wow, that's a huge chunk of money.

And yeah, I can split some of the labor cost with Prehysterical.   :Small Wink:

----------


## Prehysterical

Eh, I already took care of the labor costs, so we're not going to worry about it. As far as Bolten is concerned, it is the cost of doing business. He came to Shandara with the idea, so he would feel like it's on him.

----------


## DeTess

I'll see if Sonderjye posts anything, and otherwise I'll probably throw something at you two during the weekend (though don't let that stop you from continuing the RP you already had going).

----------


## WindStruck

Well we're only really talking about cheese at this point.....    :Small Big Grin:

----------


## WindStruck

I have a feeling that Goliaths are pretty rare?  I'll just make a roll here to see how familiar Shandara is with them.

knowledge local: (1d20+8)[*23*]

----------


## DeTess

> I have a feeling that Goliaths are pretty rare?  I'll just make a roll here to see how familiar Shandara is with them.


They are pretty rare. Most Goliaths remain in the mountain ranges where they where initially discovered, either continuing their tribal lifestyles within the empire's laws, or setting out to make their living in mining towns and the like. The tribes did give the empire quite a tough time conquering their homes, but there just weren't enough of them to be more than a temporary speed-bump, and they eventually surrendered.

Goliaths are valued primarily for their ability to easily carry and move as much as several grown men and they're generally seen doing manual labour, which has gotten them a reputation  for being rather slow and dim-witted. Whether that's deserved, however...

----------


## WindStruck

> They are pretty rare. Most Goliaths remain in the mountain ranges where they where initially discovered, either continuing their tribal lifestyles within the empire's laws, or setting out to make their living in mining towns and the like. The tribes did give the empire quite a tough time conquering their homes, but there just weren't enough of them to be more than a temporary speed-bump, and they eventually surrendered.
> 
> Goliaths are valued primarily for their ability to easily carry and move as much as several grown men and they're generally seen doing manual labour, which has gotten them a reputation  for being rather slow and dim-witted. Whether that's deserved, however...


I'm guessing this goliath that broke the clockwork lion is an example of a stupid one.  But hey, there are actually lots of stupid people in the world already! I'm sure many other races have people capable of such a mistake.

*Spoiler: image*
Show

----------


## Prehysterical

Knowledge (Local) roll for posterity's sake: (1d20+7)[*14*]

----------


## WindStruck

Thankfully, the roll I bombed for the jewelry was only really the "knowledge" roll...

Or at least, how I envisioned it.

If Shandara might get to crafting on that crystal at some point, we'd also be getting +2 bonus from masterwork tools I hope, and better bonuses from her crafting spells!

Unless it's a ghost crystal again...

*EDIT:*

A big question on my mind is:  will the Mending cantrip work on the gem?

----------


## Sønderjye

If mending doesn't work, does the crystal count as a construct (for the purpose of repair light construct) or as an armor (for the purpose of Armor Enchancement, Lesser)?

----------


## DeTess

@windstruck, what's your caster level on mending?

----------


## WindStruck

It'll be 6, coming from the magewright class.

----------


## DeTess

@Sonderjye, as for your question, it counts as a wondrous item, but to repair a magic item using mending you do need to have a high enough caster level, which Shandara just managed to have.

----------


## Prehysterical

Second opinion Craft check, I guess:

(1d20+19)[*39*]

----------


## Sønderjye

Cool. Well I can't think of anything to respond to. Want to meet up at the drink tasting thing that we made drinks for?

----------


## DeTess

> Second opinion Craft check, I guess:
> 
> [roll0]


It looks solid, though you think he'd better be right about those crystal's ability to keep the contraption stable, as a conventional clockwork design would have to be incredibly sophisticated to keep the design in this sketch standing. Feel free to add any minor improvements or suggestions you can think off though.

@all, You've heard that for the final bits of the contest, the curator has moved to a large open-air café bordering the Herdsman's market, and by all accounts it's turning into quite the event, so feel free to head there when you're done here, if you wish.

----------


## Prehysterical

> Cool. Well I can't think of anything to respond to. Want to meet up at the drink tasting thing that we made drinks for?


I'd be cool with that. You and Shandara get exposure and Bolten might find himself a new favorite drink.

----------


## WindStruck

Shandara already had submitted her drink and said her peace. I honestly didn't think she was interested in that event anymore.

But hey, if it's, like.. _right near_ where she's walking, maybe she'll see what's going on.

----------


## Prehysterical

Starting tonight, I am moving into my new house. My availability is going to be limited until Saturday night, if not Sunday.

----------


## DeTess

I've quickly set the scene at the herdsman's market for those that where planning on heading that way. Feel free to continue the scene with the clockwork contraptions a while longer if you wish, of course.

----------


## WindStruck

Seems like we'll be heading there, then!  I'll wait for a response from Prehysterical.

Oh, I am also interested in some games!  I always thought those little carnival games were fun.. even though they were like scams.

I wonder if there is a particular game that will catch Shandara's eyes...  or a prize?

----------


## DeTess

> I wonder if there is a particular game that will catch Shandara's eyes...  or a prize?


Regarding games, they're mostly fairly typical fair. Ring tossing, ball throwing,there's ones tand that has a series of small targets set up that customers can shoot at with some fairly small and weak looking crossbows they provide, that sort of stuff.

Amon the prizes, is there anything that'd catch your attention? Most stalls have fairly typical prizes, stuffed animals, cheap jewelry, rough wood carvings and the like. there are some that promise more substantial prizes, but those are also the ones less likely to be playing fair.

edit: @sonderjye, i'll wait with the IC judging of your drink for the others to be in the area as well.

----------


## DeTess

@Sonderjye, could you roll me a craft(alchemy), or a knowledge(nature)? Pick one, please.

----------


## Sønderjye

Here you go. Alchemy: (1d20+17)[*22*].

----------


## WindStruck

Well, I guess in that case..  maybe Shandara won't be so interested.

Children?  Oh I bet they'd love it.  But Shandara is pretty grown up.   :Small Big Grin:

----------


## DeTess

@Sønderjye
*Spoiler: on the more alchemical brews*
Show



The descriptions of the more mind expanding brews tend to indicate mildly psychoactive substances, probably mushroom and herbs that make people's brain chemistry go slightly different than they normally would. It's all clearly intended for recreational purposes, however.

The drinks that temporarily cause the drink to see the world either mirrored or upside down are more difficult to place though. Z can't immediately think of any particular substance that would cause that effect. The bottles are fairly plain, suggesting that the creators of the concoctions are probably hobbyists. The name of the brewer of the left-right perception swapping bottle is Melvin Garret, while the brewer of the the upside-down perception altering bottle is called Polina Avar.

----------


## Prehysterical

Sorry, folks, just got my Internet back. Sadly, they weren't able to get me on last Friday, so I had to wait until today. I will get a post up ASAP.

----------


## Sønderjye

I don't have a clear idea of how the drinks are presented but I guess it'll be more fun if you get to try tasting it so let's run with the framework allowing that? The drink is dry and taste a little of lemon. As it lingers in your mouth (or if swallowed) the real effect kicks in, at which point you experience an intense feeling of wonder and awe. The feeling fades after about a second.

----------


## DeTess

> I don't have a clear idea of how the drinks are presented but I guess it'll be more fun if you get to try tasting it so let's run with the framework allowing that?


Yeah, it differs a bit per drink. Some people are presenting samples of their drinks for others to try as well, while others have only provided samples for the judges. It's perfectly fine for Z to be in the latter category.

----------


## Sønderjye

Just as a point of clarification. You don't actually see the spires. The drinks would get too expensive if I included more than one sense in them so the spires one is only the feeling. The other drinks are sight and sound, for sea drake and sirens respectively.

----------


## WindStruck

False advertisement.  I want a refund.    :Small Annoyed:

----------


## Sønderjye

"Here you go" *hands over air*

Also I think I misinterpret your prior post, I thought the 'Z... did you make this?' were because Shandara tried it and was surprised.

----------


## WindStruck

No, she didn't try it.

Actually, I thought it was established that all of our characters knew each other already. So I think Shandara just was caught off guard that she was talking to Z. She wasn't expecting that.

On the flip side, Shandara is probably easy to pick out and remember...

If there happen to be a few other dark elves in this city, who knows.  Hopefully they don't get confused with each other.

----------


## DeTess

Hey guys and galls, Apologies for not posting much in the IC thread this week. Unfortunately I've been quite busy, so the earliest I'll be able to post anything substantial will be this weekend.

----------


## WindStruck

Guess that's ok.  We've been interacting amongst ourselves for the time being.   :Small Smile:

----------


## Prehysterical

Aw, and here I thought Bolten was going to be inspired with wanderlust. Ah well...

Plot twist: Shandara has a doppelganger creeping around the capital.

That's fine, DeTess. Life happens.

----------


## Sønderjye

I wonder, is this a project that you guys would be interested in collaborating on? If so, this could be an opportune time for Z to suggest that. The current long term goal is skill copying but we're far from it but we're currently far away from reaching that if it's at all possible.

Also, no worries DeTess. I was in a similar situation not too long ago.

----------


## WindStruck

> IIRC you needed some help with the scrolls, so let's say you only run a profit of 100gp on those. Add to that the rest of the enchantments you'd made, and I come out at 7712.5 gp profit, minus the additional cost for hiring people Prehysterical had if he decides to partially transfer that to you.
> 
> Of course this might change if you had any cost reductions, but that's the math I end up with.


Circling back to this, I'm thinking the amount of money seems a bit predatory for a commission of this importance. I dunno.

Maybe Shandara will cut them some slack. I only added 7000 GP to her bank balance. I'd like to think she increased the weapon hardness by like +5. Maybe we can say that's something extra she did just to help ensure it doesn't get trashed like the captain's other sword.

By the way, what was the name of the Arcanist in the captain's unit who perished?

Nooo reason in particular for asking.   :Small Smile:

----------


## DeTess

> Circling back to this, I'm thinking the amount of money seems a bit predatory for a commission of this importance. I dunno.
> 
> Maybe Shandara will cut them some slack. I only added 7000 GP to her bank balance. I'd like to think she increased the weapon hardness by like +5. Maybe we can say that's something extra she did just to help ensure it doesn't get trashed like the captain's other sword.


noted.




> By the way, what was the name of the Arcanist in the captain's unit who perished?
> 
> Nooo reason in particular for asking.


... I could have sworn I'd canonized this already somewhere, but I can't find it now. Her name was Adda Tieza.

----------


## Sønderjye

> I wonder, is this a project that you guys would be interested in collaborating on? If so, this could be an opportune time for Z to suggest that. The current long term goal is skill copying but we're far from it but we're currently far away from reaching that if it's at all possible.


Reposting this because I think it's better to talk about OOC than IC. I imagine the project consist of brainstorming goals for what we want the mind things to ultimately do, find ways of breaking that down into subproblems, and brainstorming how to solve those sub problems. Checks this far have been spellcraft and knowledge(arcane), both of which are skills your characters have maxed. 

If you don't want to collaborate on it or have concerns, that's fine but let's take it here. If the concern is IC I'm sure we can find a way to make it work.

----------


## Prehysterical

I just don't see Bolten getting involved in this kind of research. If Z needs him to _make_ some kind of apparatus, that would be fine, but Bolten isn't greatly interested in the theoreticals when it comes to mind magic. He likes to work with his hands.

----------


## Sønderjye

It's is fine if you don't want to do this but I struggle to comprehend that answer. The work does involve working with your hands and I don't see how it's significantly more theoretical than what Bolten have been doing this far. 

If it's because you want Bolten to work on clockwork exclusively we could always research how to put memories/personalities into clockwork?

----------


## Prehysterical

Memories sound a little SOMA/Ghost in the Machine for my taste, but personality in clockwork sounds right up Bolten's alley. He still needs to make his sapient familiar.

When you put it like that, the idea is exciting. I have just been burned in the past by party members in other games (obviously nobody here) who completely hijack my character's subplot to serve their own and my guy/gal becomes a glorified NPC.

So long as the help goes both ways, I am all for it.

----------


## Sønderjye

I get being burned by something and being hyperaware of it. I can promise you that it's not my intention to hijack your subplot and ask that if you feel you to speak up if you feel that's the trajectory we're going. My motivation is just that I think it'll be fun to brainstorm together on something, I'm excited for this project, and I think there's enough to it that we can find an angle you/your characters would enjoy.

I'm also happy to just assist your character in figuring out how to make a construct with something like an artificial mind that can hold both a personality and the memories it forms, and use the knowledge Z gets from being part of that in the memory project.

----------


## WindStruck

My own two cents:

I'm always going to view it as your project.  And Shandara will of course view it as Z's.  While I guess it's a great excuse to get together and do something, and maybe we can trade favors, I don't want to make it her main focus.

Alchemy has always been a bit more of a hobby to her. Even moreso, when it comes to brewing drinks. The field of meddling with people's minds and memories seems pretty dangerous to her. It's intriguing, but she doesn't want to test this stuff on herself, nor be held liable if something goes wrong with another willing test subject.

What I'd like for Shandara to do one day is have her own little magic shop. To include you guys, she could maybe also sell some Clockwork products or other proven memory potions ..   Anyway, having a magic shop has been one of the things I'd like her to accomplish.

Ultimately, I have liked how we have been able to work on our own things, and the whole thing with commissions. None of which are forced upon us.  We voluntarily choose which one to pick, if any. I've really liked the more solo feel of this game.  It's truly a sand box.

While I wish you luck with your own endeavors, I really can't guarantee any prolonged aid from Shandara.  If you need some advice in the field of arcana, she can offer it.  If you want her to do some serious research on a particular matter, there's a price.

----------


## Sønderjye

So to sum things up: 
No to collaboration on the big memory project. 
Yes to collaborating with Bolton on building a a sentient construct?
Yes to requesting a custom spell from Shandara? This far Z have been testing the memory stuff on himself but that probably won't be able to fly long term. I would rather like to avoid experimenting on volunteers or animals as it leaves a bad taste. Do you think Shandara could think of a spell that could let him make experiments without having to do that? Maybe a kind of divination spell that allows the user to get the information they would have gotten if they had done the experiment? Maybe something else? Based on the judges reaction Z will soon be swimming in coin have a few coppers to spare.

----------


## WindStruck

I'm not sure..  maybe something like a scrying pool?  Or rather a bowl?

Pour the memory liquid in, perform the arcane ritual, and the memory unfolds around you, in an external sense such that you can experience it through your own senses and have your own mind process them, rather than have something pretty much implanted in your brain??

I'm not sure if I've even got what you want fully understood.

----------


## Sønderjye

Not quite. Z can already do that. 

In the past memory transplants have made people insane because their mindscape have expanded beyond their capacity and snapped, resulting in a ruined mindscape with memories and connections in a mess. Z will eventually look at trying to do that without people going insane but he'll need to test his approaches to see if they work. And he would rather cause animals or people to go insane. 

So maybe a spell could be made that could replace the experiment itself? Maybe we can cheat and have a divination spell that goes something like: if you have all of the stuff you'd need to do this particular experiment, what would the result be, thus getting the information from the experiment without actually doing it. Augury could kind of do that but the chance of getting a meaningful reply is too low and the results are too vague. Maybe something like that but more specialized?

Alternatively maybe one could create a simulation of a mind that isn't actually a mind but could be experimented on as if it's a mind? Idk how that would work out, just spitballing ideas.

----------


## WindStruck

Yeah...  I have no idea if such a thing would work or would even be possible.   imo it's probably a whole other knowledge branch that is *not* arcana...

But I think it should probably be discussed IC.

----------


## DeTess

Windstruck, if you're going to post about the big rush on Z's creations, what am I supposed to do? :P

But yeah, there's indeed quite the rush on Z's stores (though I also think the liquid memories aren't something you could easily mass-produce yet, so your stores'll dry up sooner rather than later). Are you just going to keep giving samples away, or will you start charging for it?

----------


## Sønderjye

We haven't really talked about the production rate of Impressions(liquid memories was something else), but sure let's say there is a limited supply. Z will keep some in spare in case the judges want a second or someone important needs to try it but won't charge anything. He considers it a long term investment to let people try it. 

He'll take the time to talk to brewers about how it could hypothetically be used with their own merchandise.

----------


## WindStruck

Sorry DeTess.

I guess you could still elaborate on that a bit more? lol

----------


## Sønderjye

To keep the ball rolling. Want to do a time skip? For Z I am seeing a possible later scene in which he talks to the Curator or makes a pitch to Bolton and/or Shandara for projects.

----------


## DeTess

> To keep the ball rolling. Want to do a time skip? For Z I am seeing a possible later scene in which he talks to the Curator or makes a pitch to Bolton and/or Shandara for projects.


The curator won't really be available until after the festival. 

Unless people still want to do things this day I'll skip forward to the evening festivities a bit later this week (probably Thursday or friday)

----------


## Prehysterical

I'm fine with skipping ahead to the evening activities.

----------


## WindStruck

Yeah I guess we can skip to evening.   :Small Smile:

----------


## Sønderjye

Sounds good to me  :Small Smile:

----------


## Sønderjye

I can't think of much to comment on in the current IC aside from how it all looks nice.

We could have the players talk business over a meal or we could skip to something else?

----------


## DeTess

> I can't think of much to comment on in the current IC aside from how it all looks nice.
> 
> We could have the players talk business over a meal or we could skip to something else?


Yeah, you could do something like that, or for those interested in clockwork the aprades could be itnersting.

I'm probably going to post a schedule fro the rest of the festival sometime soon (though I'm affraid it'll be towards thrusday/friday), so you all can indicate what bits your character would be particularly interested in.

----------


## DeTess

@prehysterical, could you roll me a craft(clockwork) or similar to see how much you can figure out based on what you see? Either way,a t some point during the evening yous tumble across the parade containing Banbas' creations. While you'd a;ready figured out that they where well made from your look at them earlier, seeing them moving is something else entirely, given just how incredibly lifelike they move, down to the smallest details, like the way the shoulders on the lion move as it walks, or the way the tail on a large bull swishes back and forth arithmically.

----------


## Prehysterical

Sure, let's see...

(1d20+17)[*24*]

----------


## Sønderjye

I guess we're not doing that then. In that case Z will look for some of the people who did the perception changing potions.

----------


## DeTess

@prehysterical, you see a lot of tiny little tricks and innovations that you might be able to use in your future designs, but you don't spot anything that you could use to truly jump your own craft forward. Still, a lot of little ideas could still be of use in the future. On your next project you'll get a +1 bonus to all craft(clockwork) rolls.

----------


## Prehysterical

> I guess we're not doing that then. In that case Z will look for some of the people who did the perception changing potions.


We can still do that. It's just that trying to get Bolten away from the clockwork constructs is like trying to take a steak from the jaws of a hungry lion.

I'll post something tomorrow, but we can either have Z meet up with them to go someplace or have them stumble into him at whatever restaurant they choose.

----------


## DeTess

@sonderjye, could you roll me a gather information or a survival for trakcing people down? if you happen to have the urban tracking skill that's very relevant.

the schedule for the next three days of activities:
day 2: Carnival and games. There'll be shows showing off all kinds of daring stunts and exotic animals, as well as both casual carnival games, and more serious contests of athletic skill.
Night 2: general festivities (drinking, eating, having fun)
Day 3: Guild contests:Guilds all over the cities hold contests to show off the skills of their members. the artificery society also holds a set of public contests as well, which involve artificers of a variety of disciplines being given a task to create a solution fro a problem within a day (the contest starts at sunrise and ends at sundown) withe limited resources (imagine a scrapyard challenge). There's a small monetary prize, but the contest is mostly meant in good fun.
Night 3: the commoners ball: a large ball is held in the herdsman's market, free for any and all to attend.
Day 4:Day four is more for general festivities. there's a market, though smaller than on the first day. However, on this day the emperor and higher nobles also hold an open court for all to attend and bring forward requests for judgement or aid.
Night 4: closing festivities and the large fireworks show. The show itself is legendary, the product of a year's work of alchemists and artisans from all over the empire.

----------


## Prehysterical

...Are we having Junkyard Wars in our game? Awwwww, yeah!

----------


## WindStruck

Oh, very interesting!  But.. we're still on day 1, right?

----------


## DeTess

> Oh, very interesting!  But.. we're still on day 1, right?


Yes, we are

----------


## Sønderjye

@DeTess, Sure (1d20+2)[*22*]

@Prehysterical, no preference on what resaurant to use. Feel up for choosing one?

----------


## DeTess

@Sonderjye, 

After some asking around, Z finds out that Melvin Garret and Polina Avar ar both senior members of a student society that frequents bar near the Artificery society campus called the 'Brass kettle'. They'll probably be there most evenings, and if they aren't, someone there will know where to find them.

If you want, i can set up the scene for the brass kettle right now, but you'll be able to find them there another day as well if you're going to meet up with Bolten and Shandara.

----------


## WindStruck

Haha, all the references to RL restaurants are great...   :Small Big Grin: 

Shall the I move us over to The Mushroom Garden, or should I wait for DeTess?

----------


## Prehysterical

Give it a bit longer in case Z decides to tag along on our way over.

----------


## DeTess

> Haha, all the references to RL restaurants are great...  
> 
> Shall the I move us over to The Mushroom Garden, or should I wait for DeTess?


I'd give Z a moment to catch up if he wants to, but otherwise you're fine to move things to the restaurant.

----------


## WindStruck

I was just trying to help with world building, but if you want to change anything let me know.   :Small Smile:

----------


## Sønderjye

Hi folks. Sorry for my absense. Life is really busy right now and I don't expect that to change until the end of the month. I'll need to take a break until then. Sorry for the inconvenience and I hope you have gotten to craft some wonders by the time I get back  :Small Smile:

----------


## DeTess

> I was just trying to help with world building, but if you want to change anything let me know.


I thought I'd already responded to this, but apparently I hadn't -_-. It's perfectly fine to add little locations like this. Inf act, I like it when people do that, because there's no way I can fill the city on my own XD

@Sonderjye, I'm sorry to hear that, but I get that real life happens sometimes. We'll see you pop back up sometime next month!

----------


## WindStruck

> Hi folks. Sorry for my absense. Life is really busy right now and I don't expect that to change until the end of the month. I'll need to take a break until then. Sorry for the inconvenience and I hope you have gotten to craft some wonders by the time I get back


Ouch okay.   Well, I guess we can say Z declined going to the Mushroom Garden.

What are we going to do from here?  DeTess do you have anything to add, or should Bolten just..  I don't know.  Say something?

Or maybe now that Sonderjye will be absent, it's not worth RPing out the restaurant?

I guess I don't mind either way, but up to you guys.

----------


## DeTess

> What are we going to do from here?  DeTess do you have anything to add, or should Bolten just..  I don't know.  Say something?
> 
> Or maybe now that Sonderjye will be absent, it's not worth RPing out the restaurant?
> 
> I guess I don't mind either way, but up to you guys.


I think it's up to Bolten right now. If you're both fine with just a 'we had a nice dinner, let's go to the next day' that's fine too.

----------


## Prehysterical

> Ouch okay.   Well, I guess we can say Z declined going to the Mushroom Garden.
> 
> What are we going to do from here?  DeTess do you have anything to add, or should Bolten just..  I don't know.  Say something?
> 
> Or maybe now that Sonderjye will be absent, it's not worth RPing out the restaurant?
> 
> I guess I don't mind either way, but up to you guys.


I leave the ball in your court. I have just been waiting to give Sønderjye a chance, but it sounds like IRL must take precedence for right now.

If you want to RP the dinner, that's fine. I can have Bolten strike up a conversation in that case. If not, we can do the "skip ahead to the next day" bit. Your call.
*Spoiler: Contingent answer for the "Your Decision" Infinite Loop*
Show

We can continue the scene in the restaurant and come up with some dishes.

----------


## WindStruck

Yeah, maybe it might be fun to come up with some dishes. Something interesting happening in the restaurant might actually be fun too.  There's a lot of parody.  Maybe we could have a rat hiding under one of the chef's hats, piloting him around too.   :Small Wink: 

Just another wacky character concept.  Like the player who's character is a bear but no one realizes.

----------


## Prehysterical

All right. If I don't get to it tonight, I will tomorrow.

Who votes for a bioluminescent dancing show? Or, at the very least, a dancer with glowing body paint?

Could also have a chef who is a zombie or comatose person being piloted by a rat king worn as a crown. The personality is of the rat king itself and it's convinced that it actually runs the kitchen and not the duergar guy.

----------


## WindStruck

Just so you know, Elf Fingers is not some sick cannibalistic treat.   It's more like a fantasy take on Lady Fingers.  Lady Fingers should also exist, but elf fingers are even more thin.   :Small Smile:

----------


## Prehysterical

> Just so you know, Elf Fingers is not some sick cannibalistic treat.   It's more like a fantasy take on Lady Fingers.  Lady Fingers should also exist, but elf fingers are even more thin.


Oh, good... I was, uh... a little confused.

----------


## Prehysterical

Just a heads-up: I will be gone for the next four days because I am traveling for my little sister's graduation. I don't know if you want to speed things along or just wait until I get back, but I will be AFK that entire time so do what you will.

----------


## WindStruck

I appreciate the heads up, and I don't mind waiting.

I... do wonder if DeTess is actually getting bored, though?    :Small Confused: 


Sorry.  Seems we've just been puttering around without you, and I sort of stole your job.    :Small Big Grin: 

(would kind of love if you'd get involved in some way to throw in some interesting turn of events)

----------


## DeTess

> I appreciate the heads up, and I don't mind waiting.
> 
> I... do wonder if DeTess is actually getting bored, though?   
> 
> 
> Sorry.  Seems we've just been puttering around without you, and I sort of stole your job.   
> 
> (would kind of love if you'd get involved in some way to throw in some interesting turn of events)


Don't worry about it, I've been loving things so far, and I've been scheming something to throw in as well, but I'll get to that sometime tomorrow.

----------


## DeTess

Feel free to either do something with this, or just move on after that little disturbance. This was mostly me setting the scene for stuff for later. Either way, could both of you roll either a spot or a listen when next you post in the IC thread?

----------


## WindStruck

I forgot we used pathfinder, so spot and listen fall into the all-encompassing Perception.

I'm honestly not sure how to react to it.. Even if Bolten hears everything like a bat, I've still no idea what's going on presently.

And if we both bomb our rolls, I'm thinking the fact that they probably used some magic to dampen their own conversation isn't going to warrant any unique behavior from us.

----------


## DeTess

> I forgot we used pathfinder, so spot and listen fall into the all-encompassing Perception.
> 
> I'm honestly not sure how to react to it.. Even if Bolten hears everything like a bat, I've still no idea what's going on presently.


Oops about the first  thing. yeah, that should eb perception, sorry.

About the second thing, this is just setup, there'll be some significantly more obvious things in a post or two, so if you screw up your rolls, all you're missing is some early information. If missing the rolls meant nothing interesting could happen, I wouldn't have asked for them.

----------


## WindStruck

Oh I see.  When you said you were setting up a scene for later, I was under the impression that it was more long-term and we may see them again in the following days of the festival.

It seems to me what you mean is, this is just the beginning of a scene.   :Small Wink: 

Oh, also.  I was also remembering that shady half-orc that was following Shandara around and writing stuff down. It's been like a month of in-game time with nothing having come of that.  Was *that* a long-term setup for something? Still rather baffled.   :Small Confused:

----------


## DeTess

> Oh, also.  I was also remembering that shady half-orc that was following Shandara around and writing stuff down. It's been like a month of in-game time with nothing having come of that.  Was *that* a long-term setup for something? Still rather baffled.


Yeah, it was, and I'm going to bring it back at some point. Just remind me off it after the festival, and when you do, roll me a perception :P

And yes, this is just the beginning of the scene.

----------


## WindStruck

Had a thought.  Suppose this dwarf is well-known or has some kind of reputation.  Would knowledge local help?   :Small Big Grin: 

(1d20+8)[*17*]

----------


## DeTess

> Had a thought.  Suppose this dwarf is well-known or has some kind of reputation.  Would knowledge local help?  
> 
> [roll0]


Interesting idea. You're reasonably certain you'd have heard at least something about this dwarf at one point or another if he was a local, but you haven't.

----------


## WindStruck

Oh well.  Not like I was hoping to cheese anything. It's not like knowledge local should just tell you stuff about a completely random person, even if they are local. I think the point of it is that they already have to have some kind of reputation.

But of course, if they're not from around, I guess you wouldn't know anything about them either..   Unless they were *really* famous.   :Small Big Grin: 

Makes me wonder how people knew what someone important looked like back in the day..   you think the emperor has had many portraits made and distributed?

----------


## Prehysterical

Back from my trip, but completely wiped after the 13-hour drive. Will post Bolten's response tomorrow.

----------


## WindStruck

13 hour drive is kinda crazy.

Hope you had a good time.   :Small Wink:

----------


## WindStruck

I reread the info I got before about those crystals, so instead, I'll say I'm just waiting to see the result of Bolten's roll, and if his actions change accordingly...

----------


## DeTess

@Windstruck, @prehysterical, I'll throw the next thing in once you've had your appetizers, so you can use that to pace stuff between my plans, and your own banter and character-building.

----------


## WindStruck

So the perception roll wasn't to immediately notice something about the dwarf?  It was for later?

----------


## Prehysterical

> I reread the info I got before about those crystals, so instead, I'll say I'm just waiting to see the result of Bolten's roll, and if his actions change accordingly...


Well, now you got me curious...

(1d20+12)[*24*]

----------


## WindStruck

I was referring to the perception check. What exactly are you rolling for now?   :Small Confused: 

Stal Faux is some kind of underdark spider.  It's body is rather shaped like a skull, and the nests it dwells in also tend to look like giant skulls or skeletons.

It's said that their legs are very tasty and can add a kick of flavor.

Oh right, in addition to the small amounts of juice, meats, and flavors the stal faux offers, I think the soup could also come with a couple complimentary legs hanging out of the bowl...    :Small Big Grin:

----------


## DeTess

> So the perception roll wasn't to immediately notice something about the dwarf?  It was for later?


Yes, it's for something still coming up. You'll see/hear... Or maybe not :P

Edit: detect poison finds nothing. As for the waiter, you'll notice that he actually spends far less time on the larger group than expected after his first visit, and in particular he checks up on them far less than the other tables. So he'll remain available for you.

----------


## Prehysterical

> I was referring to the perception check. What exactly are you rolling for now?  
> 
> Oh right, in addition to the small amounts of juice, meats, and flavors the stal faux offers, I think the soup could also come with a couple complimentary legs hanging out of the bowl...


I was rolling Spellcraft for Bolten.

Also, you are _evil_.

----------


## WindStruck

> I was rolling Spellcraft for Bolten.
> 
> Also, you are _evil_.



 :Confused:

----------


## Prehysterical

> 


Poor Bolten is going to be mortified by seeing the legs poking out of his chowder.

Also, as a heads-up, I will be gone starting tomorrow for the next four days. I know I skipped town just last weekend, but my cousin is finally getting married to the woman he's been living with for ten years and I am not going to miss it.

----------


## WindStruck

> Poor Bolten is going to be mortified by seeing the legs poking out of his chowder.
> 
> Also, as a heads-up, I will be gone starting tomorrow for the next four days. I know I skipped town just last weekend, but my cousin is finally getting married to the woman he's been living with for ten years and I am not going to miss it.


Aw man.  Bring a phone and make a post if you ever get really bored.    :Small Tongue: 


--

Imagine if you had a bowl of clam chowder, and the soup also had lobster in it, and it had a couple lobster legs on top with succulent meat you could suck out, or dip into the soup or.. something.

I don't know.  I thought it would be kind of fancy.   :Small Big Grin:

----------


## Prehysterical

Oh, it's fun. And now I really want seafood...

Bolten's just a scaredy-cat. The box is so nice, comfy, and safe; why leave it?  :Small Tongue:

----------


## WindStruck

Oh right, I should see if Shandara hears this fun thing I did..

(1d20+6)[*13*]


Oh!  Maybe we could also say eating the firetoad things is a DC 10 fortitude save, or, well.. you start coughing and really have a bad time.

Nothing lethal, though if a combat were to suddenly break out right then there would probably be a few penalties involved...

----------


## DeTess

@prehysterical, for the check Windstrucks put in, you can either roll perception again, or use the 16 you rolled before, as this is also pretty much where it becomes relevant (and if you roll again, I'll use that roll instead of the 16 for the other thing as well).

----------


## Prehysterical

> @prehysterical, for the check Windstrucks put in, you can either roll perception again, or use the 16 you rolled before, as this is also pretty much where it becomes relevant (and if you roll again, I'll use that roll instead of the 16 for the other thing as well).


I'll just stick with the 16, then.

Sure, I'll roll the Fort save when I make my post.

----------


## WindStruck

Ouch, looks like Bolten just barely failed that fortitude save! He, uh..  I guess he's really regretting taking a bite now.

I was really expecting Bolten would succeed and Shandara would fail.  Given how he must be negatively reacting, I'll, uh..  I don't know.  Shandara would probably ask if he's alright and then take a tiny taste of the sauce, touching it with her finger and licking it.

But the sauce itself probably isn't quite as spicy as the whole fritter. I don't know.

In advance: (1d20-4)[*1*]

Think it's time for DeTess to do her thing!

----------


## DeTess

@Prehysterical

*Spoiler*
Show


Bolten hears a skittering noise, first passing under his chair, and then going up the divider separating you from that mystery larger party, before the sound suddenly gets swallowed by whatever spell they cast to dampen it. If Bolten looks up, he can see what appears to be a large black beetle (about as big as your hand), with some kind of mechanical apparatus mounted to its shell sitting right at the top of the divider, but still on your side.




I was originally going to put this in an IC post, but I think Bolten  (and Shandara, based on that fort save :P) might need to take a moment to recover from the spicyness first.

----------


## Sønderjye

Heya. I'm back again, at least for now. I'll be reading through things but if anyone want to give me a summary of where we are in the festival I'd be grateful  :Small Smile:

----------


## WindStruck

Not much to summarize.  Bolten and Shandara went off to a restaurant to eat for the evening and are still there.

As for Z, well, I guess you did whatever it is you were going to do after passing out all your drinks.

----------


## Sønderjye

Thanks!

I guess Z could have sought out some of the hallucinagenic crafters, could have been approached by someone who wanted to make an early deal about the fuzzy drink, or could have said he was going to join the PCs for dinner and just arrived late?

Any preferences?

----------


## DeTess

> Thanks!
> 
> I guess Z could have sought out some of the hallucinagenic crafters, could have been approached by someone who wanted to make an early deal about the fuzzy drink, or could have said he was going to join the PCs for dinner and just arrived late?
> 
> Any preferences?


I certainly don't have any preferences in this regard (though if you're not joining the others at the restaurant it might be till thursday/fridayish week before I can give you a comprehensive update on your other activities). Shandara's and Boltens visit to the restaurant will probably continue for at least a bit longer, so there's plenty of room for you to join them if you wish (and they're fine with that, but Shandara did invite you along earlier).

----------


## WindStruck

I'm really not sure.  Was expecting this restaurant scene to be done by time you got back, but we've had several slowdowns.

So what's going on with that other dwarf and the party next door?  I was under the impression something would be happening now that the appetizers came.

----------


## DeTess

> I'm really not sure.  Was expecting this restaurant scene to be done by time you got back, but we've had several slowdowns.
> 
> So what's going on with that other dwarf and the party next door?  I was under the impression something would be happening now that the appetizers came.


There is something coming up, but the first thing is the result of prehystericals check, and with the hot food coming by first he hasn't done anything with that yet.

----------


## DeTess

@prehysterical, could you roll me a craft(clockwork) and a spellcraft if you're trained in it?

@windstruck, If shandara is interested she can roll a spellcraft and knowledge nature (and craft(clockwork) if you're trained).

----------


## WindStruck

Well if it's clockwork, maybe some knowledge engineering may suffice?

spellcraft: (1d20+16)[*36*]

nature: (1d20+8)[*15*]

engineering: (1d20+8)[*15*]

----------


## Prehysterical

Craft (Clockwork): (1d20+17)[*37*]

Spellcraft: (1d20+12)[*30*]

*grabs the spy by its shirt collar*

"Tell me your _secreeeeeets_."

----------


## DeTess

@windstruck, you're not seeing anyone unusual, but with the way the restaurant is arranged, the beetle's owner could be sitting pretty close by without you being able to see them.

And you do think you can see the needle vibrating in response to you talking or other nearby sounds.

----------


## WindStruck

Oh, interesting.  I'll make a little edit.

----------


## DeTess

@prehysterical, your post got a chuckle out of me. And by 'chuckle' I meant a proper supervillain laugh  :Small Big Grin:

----------


## WindStruck

That doesn't sound good.   :Small Eek:

----------


## DeTess

@windstruck, @prehsyterical, you can take control of Spinel once again. Next thing to happen will be when you've gotten up to leave, unless you go out of your way to make something happen beside eating a tasty meal and having a nice conversation, of course.

----------


## DeTess

Speaking of surviving dinner...
@windstruck, @prehysterical, could the two of you roll me a perception check?

----------


## WindStruck

Sure.    :Small Eek: 

(1d20+6)[*12*]

----------


## Prehysterical

Perception: (1d20+1)[*7*]

----------


## DeTess

Time to roll a stack of dice, I suppose :P
S1: (1d20+8)[*24*]
S2: (1d20+8)[*27*]
S3: (1d20+8)[*18*]
Id: (1d20+14)[*22*]
dBd1: (1d20+7)[*13*]
dBd2: (1d20+7)[*16*]
dBd3: (1d20+7)[*21*]

In case one of those dBd rolls succeed
SohD:(1d20+8)[*16*]

----------


## WindStruck

Oh interesting.  When all this is over, I'm really curious what all those abbreviations are for.  For now, I guess they're going to be secret!

knowledge history: (1d20+8)[*16*]

knowledge local: (1d20+8)[*10*]

----------


## DeTess

@windstruck

*Spoiler: extra information on clan Ironmonger*
Show


Shandara would know from her time in the Underdark that clan Ironmonger is quite well known among the Drow. In addition to the fact that they keep the most direct route to the surface for a number of large cities sealed off, they're also know to be willing to actually engage in Underdark politics, both the kind that involves talking to their underdark neighbours, but also the kind involving daggers and poisons. Unlike most dwarven clans who stick to a somewhat rigid system of honor, clan Ironmonger is quite willing to train assassins and deal with threats in a very proactive way. 

This has of course earned them many enemies, but there's also something almost approaching a grudging respect among the Drow houses for clan Ironmonger. They're hated because they're enemies, but the Drow also recognize that these enemies are willing and (surprisingly enough) capable of playing by the same rules of engagement as the underdark Drow houses do, and you have heard of an incident or two in which they'd provide aid to one house of Drow nobles in their conflicts against another.

There's also something about the name of this Dwarf. Shandara could swear she has heard it before somewhere, but she doesn't remember where or why.

----------


## Prehysterical

Knowledge (History): (1d20+7)[*20*]
Knowledge (Local): (1d20+7)[*24*]

Does Bolten get a bonus for being a dwarf? I'm guessing that the dwarven clans of the Empire are a pretty tight-knit bunch.

----------


## DeTess

> Does Bolten get a bonus for being a dwarf? I'm guessing that the dwarven clans of the Empire are a pretty tight-knit bunch.


Those rolls are plenty enough already without an extra ad-hoc bonus :P

*Spoiler: extra information on clan Ironmonger*
Show


Clan ironmonger holds a somewhat strange position among the dwarven Clans. On the one hand, they keep the other clans in the Barrier mountains safe from raids by Drow or other underdark denizens, and on the very are occasions that a raiding party or slaver manages to slip through, they'll move mountains to get back the things and people that have been taken. 

On the other hand though... the dwarven clans tend to be very conservative. The dwarves in the clans tend to belief that there's an honorable way to go about things, and a wrong way. Clan Ironmonger bucks this trend, especially where warfare and diplomacy is concerned. Acts of espionage, sabotage and assassination are considered very dishonorable by most clans, yet clan Ironmonger uses all of these tools, and not just when dealing with the denizens of the Underdark. Their actions have made them the most powerful dwarven clan in the Barrier mountains, but they have few allies among the other clans. 

However, all of this is part of the internal politics of the dwarven clans. Among the wider empire, clan Ironmonger is generally well regarded as they keep an important trading route safe and open. They've got a reputation for being ruthless in their dealings with others, but it's only by dwarven standards that they're considered an anomaly.

Also, this particular dwarves name sounds faintly familiar to Bolten, though you can't place it. (You did roll well, but the DC for figuring this one out is significantly higher for someone not born in the Underdark)

----------


## WindStruck

I also threw in a sense motive roll in my IC post for..  maybe a tiny bit more information.

Our knowledge rolls might give an idea for this guy in broad strokes but sense motive..  I hope 20+ will give me an idea for him individually.

----------


## DeTess

> I also threw in a sense motive roll in my IC post for..  maybe a tiny bit more information.
> 
> Our knowledge rolls might give an idea for this guy in broad strokes but sense motive..  I hope 20+ will give me an idea for him individually.


Right, I'd spotted that. I want to give prehysterical a moment to post, and then I'll give you some information on your sense motive roll as well.

----------


## DeTess

@windstruck

*Spoiler: sense motive*
Show


There's something about this dwarf that reminds you of a dangerous predator, but you're not picking up on any killing intent coming from him. It seems he's really only after a quick chat with you guys.

----------


## WindStruck

Do you think I could try to cast investigative mind to try for that second knowledge roll, and see if I can actually remember something?

----------


## DeTess

> Do you think I could try to cast investigative mind to try for that second knowledge roll, and see if I can actually remember something?


That spell is something you need to cast before making the roll if I'm not mistaken. When I ask for a roll you can then indicate you're first casting that spell, but unless you've got a way to hide the verbal and somatic components, it'll be obvious you're casting a spell of some sort, which might have consequences.

edit: though if you wish, you can roll me another perception.

----------


## WindStruck

Yeah I suppose that's fair. Though.. I should also mention the spell doesn't _specifically_ say it has to be declared first, and it also apparently would have *6 uses* for different checks before it expires. Maybe consuming all of them for one reroll would be fair...

On the other hand, maybe it's still not worth it. But I was thinking about casting the spell when you had first mentioned knowledge checks. However, at that time I was thinking casting a spell might be a bad idea. And you may be right.. if there's no way to hide the spell, there could still be some consequences.

Oh well.  Maybe the guy will just enlighten us since Shandara asked, or if she really cared she could probably search for some news articles or documentaries about it later.

For now, will I see two or three other ninja dwarves in the shadows?

perception: (1d20+6)[*11*]

Well, I guess not.

----------


## DeTess

> Well, I guess not.


Nope, sorry. No dwarven ninja's make themselves apparent to you. You do pick up on one more detail about the dwarf in front of you though, and that is that you can see a small part of a tattoo in his neck popping out over his collar. It's pretty much entirely hidden by his suit, but you now know there's something there.

----------


## DeTess

@windstruck, you may reroll your knowledge local check to see if you can figure out why that dwarves name sounds familiar to you if you wish.

----------


## WindStruck

Are you sure about that?  I was seriously planning on just hitting up a library later for a bit if it bothered Shandara that much.  (and perhaps it does)

I should not only be able to get a library bonus, but also legitimately reroll that twice.

----------


## DeTess

> Are you sure about that?  I was seriously planning on just hitting up a library later for a bit if it bothered Shandara that much.  (and perhaps it does)
> 
> I should not only be able to get a library bonus, but also legitimately reroll that twice.


It's mostly as a result of the little tidbit he let slip. You can also leave it at that if you wish though, and do some research later. I'll leave that up to you.

----------


## WindStruck

Guess I'll try one more time.. then.. and probably prefer if Bolten answers this first.   :Small Big Grin: 

local: (1d20+8)[*19*]

----------


## DeTess

@windstruck,

*Spoiler: what Shandara has heard about Dukkear before coming to the surface*
Show


Dukkear's mention of exaggerated stories finally allow you to make the connections. Dukkear of clan Ironmonger is a bit of an Underdark boogy-man, and a bit of a modern legend. A Dwarf that supposedly can go toe to toe with the very best of Drow assassins, and one that has pulled off many missions and supposedly wiped out a Noble house or two by himself. 

He's supposedly well over five foot tall, with fires burning in his eyes due to the demonic pacts he's made to gain his exceptional skills. His hands are reportedly stained dark red with the blood of his many victims. Or to put it in other words, the Dukkear you'd heard off looks nothing like the one now standing in front of you now. 

There many stories about him, some extremely outlandish (such as those relating to the aforementioned demonic pacts, claims that he took out 3 dozen skilled assassins send to take him down in a single ambush or the fact that he's supposedly married to a Drider), while other stories about him are somewhat more realistic, marking him as the leader of clan Ironmongers covert operations and a very skilled killer, unusually so by Dwarf standards, and still quite respectable by Drow standards.

----------


## WindStruck

Has Sønderjye still been around?  I'm wondering if Z would like to get in on this meeting as well.

----------


## Prehysterical

> Has Sønderjye still been around?  I'm wondering if Z would like to get in on this meeting as well.


Not since the 7th. I'm hoping that life is okay and hasn't thrown a major curveball.

----------


## DeTess

> Not since the 7th. I'm hoping that life is okay and hasn't thrown a major curveball.


Yeah, same here. And yes, Z's definitely welcome to join in on that if he's around by then.

edit: also, that stack of dice I rolled earlier were three stealth checks for some people you didn't see, 1 intimidation check and 3 checks to see if the sneaky people where suitably intimidated ('dbd' stood for 'don't be a dumbass'), which they were. If more than one had been unintimidated there would have been a short fight, Otherwise Dukkear would have sent the unlucky grunt packing before addressing you.

----------


## WindStruck

So SoHD might stand for Such a Huge Dumbass?  But I have the a and o wrong.   :Small Big Grin: 


Oh yeah, I'm still thinking about familiars.  Maybe an owl would be really fitting since they are also nocturnal. And I mean, look how cute this is!



--

edit: Also wondering.  Is the Xlotl's Nest in a bad part of town?

----------


## DeTess

> So SoHD might stand for Such a Huge Dumbass?  But I have the a and o wrong.


Nah, that was actually a sleight of hand check for Dukkear. If he'd needed to step in he'd have attempted to make it look like an accidental run in in the street (while disarming his target and leaving them with some really nasty bruises).




> edit: Also wondering.  Is the Xlotl's Nest in a bad part of town?


It's not in a good part of town, but also not in a bad part. It's on the edge of the harbor, near a district mostly inhabited by of reasonably well-to-do craftsman.

----------


## WindStruck

Quick question!  Who is 'the other' that Bolten is talking about when he says "Then we can meet up for breakfast in the morning and make sure that the other is all right."

----------


## Prehysterical

Oh, must have been awkward phrasing on my part. He just meant that the two of them (Bolten and Shandara) would have breakfast together to make sure that no one got spirited away in the dark of the night.

----------


## DeTess

Anything else you two wanted to do this evening? Otherwise we'll skip over to the next morning.

----------


## WindStruck

I'd say we're good to go to the morning.

----------


## Prehysterical

I'm ready for the timeskip.

----------


## WindStruck

Oh, I've been putting this off:




> *Adda's Fury*
> Long Sword
> 
> A bejeweled sword with a lustrous, silvery sheen, tinged slightly gold. Named after a fallen arcanist, this weapon has but one purpose: to put down the anomalous threats known as the Deathless Kings - and to exact revenge. The workmanship is flawless, and it is far more durable than it looks.
> Damage: 1d8+1  (2-9)
> Critical: 1920/×2 
> Type: Slashing, Magic
> Material: Mithril-copper
> Hardness: 14 + 5 magic
> ...


I was kind of just making these stat blocks for fun, but let me know if you'd like any numbers or effects tweaked.

As a note: since we are E6, I notice that even effects like Undead Bane say they require a CL 8.  I'm assuming since you gave the okay for undead bane, that maybe artificery works differently, and with a high enough spellcraft check and/or cooperation with other mages, it's possible to achieve effects that are considered higher than CL 6.

edit: ... This weapon is so very close to having 20 hardness, which would be hard enough so that adamantine can't damage it easily.  I'm a bit disappointed in that.  Maybe I can retroactively ask if I could improve its hardness by +6..   :Small Frown:

----------


## WindStruck

> I'm ready for the timeskip.


Okay.  I wonder what will happen!  This is supposed to be day 2.

day 2: Carnival and games. There'll be shows showing off all kinds of daring stunts and exotic animals, as well as both casual carnival games, and more serious contests of athletic skill.
Night 2: general festivities (drinking, eating, having fun)


Lots of sights and games..  and nothing really academic, I assume. It may just be a good day to stay home.. or only stick to the good parts of town.

----------


## DeTess

> Oh, I've been putting this off:
> 
> 
> 
> I was kind of just making these stat blocks for fun, but let me know if you'd like any numbers or effects tweaked.
> 
> As a note: since we are E6, I notice that even effects like Undead Bane say they require a CL 8.  I'm assuming since you gave the okay for undead bane, that maybe artificery works differently, and with a high enough spellcraft check and/or cooperation with other mages, it's possible to achieve effects that are considered higher than CL 6.


Looks nice. Also, don't worry about the caster level, that's not actually a hard requirement in the pathfinder crafting system (it helps set the DC, nothing more). The spell associated with it is actually summon monster 1, which is definitely available.

I'll have a post introducing the next day up hopefully some time tomorrow, but If I don't manage it then there's a good chance I won't have it up any earlier than next week, sorry.

----------


## Prehysterical

Just FYI, I am finding myself hosting my grandfather at my place this weekend, so replies will be nonexistent until Tuesday. I wish I could have given more warning, but you are only getting slightly less than I did.

----------


## WindStruck

Okay.  Well have fun with that.

Hey DeTess.  Shandara is probably planning to be back at her home around 10 am to try to actually rest.  In the mean time between breakfast and then, I am wondering if she can buy a light crossbow and maybe something else to check on that owl.

I figure that she's going to be paranoid and try to see if that owl has magic on it or is someone's familiar. Or if not.. well, then that gives her a great idea.  If the owl isn't someone's familiar, maybe she should turn it into hers instead.  But how to catch the owl?

----------


## DeTess

> Okay.  Well have fun with that.
> 
> Hey DeTess.  Shandara is probably planning to be back at her home around 10 am to try to actually rest.  In the mean time between breakfast and then, I am wondering if she can buy a light crossbow and maybe something else to check on that owl.
> 
> I figure that she's going to be paranoid and try to see if that owl has magic on it or is someone's familiar. Or if not.. well, then that gives her a great idea.  If the owl isn't someone's familiar, maybe she should turn it into hers instead.  But how to catch the owl?


Getting your hands on a light crossbow shouldn't be much of an issue. If you want we can play through that, but it's not a aprticularly tricky weapon to get unless you're looking for all kinds of fancy features. How difficult getting 'something else' would be depends :P

----------


## WindStruck

Well honestly, I have no idea how one would go about catching an owl in real life.

----------


## DeTess

> Well honestly, I have no idea how one would go about catching an owl in real life.


I'm honestly not sure either, which means that for this game, if you come up with a sensible sounding approach (maybe drugged bait, or something involving a net?), it'll work if the dice don't disagree.

----------


## WindStruck

Well you see, this one highly reputable fellow in a back alley told me I could attract owls with this magic all-purpose bird calling kazoo...   :Small Big Grin: 

---

In all seriousness, the method I'd catch this owl would not make it want to dislike me for it..

Ah I know.  What would you say about some kind of charm animal spell?  Probably would involve buying a scroll or some other from a ranger, but the problem is rangers don't have the same spell list as wizards and magewrights.

Unless there's some arcane version of this somewhere, or some other way to replicate the spell..

PERSONALLY, I feel that if a spell like charm person and charm monster exists as an arcane spell, then you'd think any kind of charm X spell that only targets one category of creatures should work....

Yes, animals do have very low int scores. Though they still aren't mindless.

----------


## DeTess

Yeah, that could work, though every single caster that seems to know charm animal is a divine spellcaster of some sort, which could cause some issues, as an arcane caster couldn't cast a divine scroll. There might be other items with a similar effects that aren't locked away like that though, or something created by an artificer or through some other method to make it work for arcane casters.

If this is the solution you want to try, could you roll me either a knowledge(local) (if you're trained in it), to see if you know of a suitable place to buy somethign like this, or a diplomacy for gathering information to see if you can find a suitable store or similar (that second option would involve going out on the streets to ask around though).

----------


## WindStruck

I figure that Bolten and Shandara are already out and about on the streets today..

local: (1d20+8)[*26*]

diplomacy: (1d20+9)[*29*]

----------


## DeTess

Okay, you reckon you might actually find something looking over those stalls near the waffle place. Shandara remembers hearing of this particular contest. The small range being set up within the city walls is only for the qualifiers, the real contest will be held outside the city walls, and it tends to attract some of the best archers and hunters in the area, and the stalls would sell high-quality equipment including magical tools (and light crossbows, though most that you'll find here will be a bit more well-made and therefore more expensive than what you'd find in a standard weapon shop in the city).

----------


## WindStruck

Hm, I'm a bit confused..   you think these guys that are going to participate in this contest would know how to tame an owl or have a magic scroll or something?

That's.. that's what the rolls were for. Not finding a light crossbow.

----------


## DeTess

> Hm, I'm a bit confused..   you think these guys that are going to participate in this contest would know how to tame an owl or have a magic scroll or something?
> 
> That's.. that's what the rolls were for. Not finding a light crossbow.


No, sorry for not making it more clear. There's a bunch of market stalls with tools and stuff used by hunters and rangers and the like. Something for attracting and charming animals might very well be among them.

----------


## WindStruck

If the man allows her to hold the flute a while, Shandara will cast investigative mind and follow up with detect magic and spellcraft and appraise.

Spellcraft: best of (1d20+16)[*27*] or (1d20+16)[*31*]

Appraise: best of (1d20+10)[*17*] or (1d20+10)[*12*]

can potentially make 4 more knowledge checks with advantage if something comes up within the next 10 minutes.

----------


## DeTess

> If the man allows her to hold the flute a while, Shandara will cast investigative mind and follow up with detect magic and spellcraft and appraise.


I mean, he has already handed it to you for inspection, so that shouldn't be an issue.

The enchantment on it is unusual. it is most definitely _not_ arcana magic. It's definitely divine in nature. Maybe a blessing by a nature god or similar. The enchantment is relatively low power, but it seems somewhat capricious. The enchantment definitely seems to have ways of evaluating its surroundings and will fail to activate if certain conditions are present, but the actual logic being used for this is difficult to parse, mostly because it seems almost entirely absent. There's not nearly enough magic in there for the item to be sentient, so it might just ask for approval elsewhere before activating.

Underneath the main enchantment you can also see a second one woven into the flute. That one is a lot simpler in design, but could potentially channel more power, and seems to be activated by playing the flute in certain ways.

The flute itself is of high quality, though nor all the way up to masterwork. Still, for the flute alone you'd expect to be charged in the range of 30-50 gp at most stores. It's hard to appraise the enchantment. If it was arcane in nature it'd likely add at least a couple 100 gp to the price, but for lack of a better word it seems more like the flute has been blessed, which _might_ be easier to do? You'd put the lower bound for it's reasonable price at around 80 gp, and the upper bound closer to 400gp.




> When played  by someone that's fairly calm and while they or those around them do not intend harm to the type of creature the flute is attuned to, the flute's effect will activate. There are no daily limits to activating the flute, though it might fail to activate, and then remain inactive for a time, if the aforementioned conditions aren't met.
> When the flute's effect is activated, it'll charm the nearest creature of the type the flute is attuned to and call it to approach the one playing the flute. The creature will be calm, and will remain charmed as long as someone is paying the flute and no one takes hostile actions towards it, and for about a minute after the playing stops. Even once the effect ends the creature will have a positive disposition to the musician, provided they showed the creature some kindness.
> 
> The flute will generally guide the musician's fingers in creating a nice-sounding tune, but someone skilled at performance can try ignoring this and playing a tune of their own to gain a slightly different or more powerful effect of the above, such as calling more creatures, or a specific creature, or creatures from a slightly different type than what the flute is meant for (using a flute for dogs to call wolves, or a flute for owls to call hawks, for example). This will involve a performance check, the DC based on what the user is trying to do. On a failure, the magic of the flute will go inactive for 1d4+1 hours. 
> 
> A musician can also intentionally play the flute without activating its magic, in which case it is merely a high-quality instruments that grants a +1 circumstance bonus to the perform check.
> 
> If the user has the bardic performance class feature (or something similar to it), they can use the flutes to gain some further effects (which I'll detail if it ever becomes relevant).

----------


## WindStruck

Well that's a lot of nice info.  I wasn't sure what to do, so I edited the last IC post and added more of a response. One that can be responded to!

----------


## WindStruck

Third use of the investigative mind...  what do owls like to eat?   :Small Big Grin: 

knowledge nature: best of (1d20+8)[*16*] or (1d20+8)[*26*]

But if she still has no idea I suppose she may just ask.

----------


## WindStruck

sorry, have to post again to make some new rolls.

I'm thinking, let's also see what we know about this place called Kemrin.

geography: (1d20+8)[*26*] or (1d20+8)[*24*]

----------


## DeTess

> Third use of the investigative mind...  what do owls like to eat?


Barred owls are predators, and eat pretty much anything smaller than they are. Mostly rodents, but they also sometimes eat small birds and reptiles.




> I'm thinking, let's also see what we know about this place called Kemrin.


Kemrin was a small forest kingdom that got absorbed by the empire during its expansion westwards about 3 centuries ago (It's about two weeks travel by horse). From what you've heard, the traditional Kemrin way of living has been slowly dying out ever since, as young people start moving towards the cities and farmlands of the wider empire where life is easier than the hunter/gatherer focused life of the inhabitants of Kemrin's forest. A couple small tribes remain, but the Kemrin forests are now mostly uninhabited by intelligent beings, and the forests themselves have been slowly but steadily shrinking due to logging and the reclaiming of woodland for use as farmlands.

----------


## DeTess

So, have you already figured out where/what you want to do next? I see a pair of suggestions, and I can set up a scene transition either way, or somewhere else if you have other ideas (or nowhere else if you wanted to talk some more, that's fine too).

----------


## WindStruck

Are both things possible?

----------


## DeTess

> Are both things possible?


Definitely. It's reasonably early in the morning yet.

----------


## WindStruck

We could seek out someone that knows more about the contest either... now or in the early after noon after Shandara finishes resting. And I would assume go to the Xlotl's nest at night.

----------


## Prehysterical

Yeah, let's investigate the contest first.

----------


## DeTess

Alright, are you going to do that now, or after Shandara has had her rest?

----------


## WindStruck

Might as well try right now.

----------


## DeTess

I'll set up the new scene sometime tomorrow> no need to roll anything right now, as it's not actually all that hard to find the organizer.

----------


## WindStruck

Think I'm ready to politely thank the guy and get out of here.  Shall we reconvene later in the evening?  Perhaps at the Xlotl's nest?

----------


## Prehysterical

> Think I'm ready to politely thank the guy and get out of here.  Shall we reconvene later in the evening?  Perhaps at the Xlotl's nest?


Sounds good to me.

----------


## DeTess

I'll do the transition to the xlotl's nest probably friday or saturday-ish.

----------


## DeTess

I'd been planning on going a bit further than just putting you two in front of the door, but there's a couple of things about the Xlotl's nest that I want to give the two of you a chance to guess at before you're right in the middle of things.

----------


## DeTess

@windstruck, yeah that's fair enough.

----------


## WindStruck

I don't know.  Did we see those specific clockwork things? I noticed that clockwork animals were mentioned in the parade.

----------


## DeTess

Did you go out of your way to see them? Otherwise probably not. There where a lot of different parades all over the city, including ones with clockwork animals, as that's part of the tradition these days.

----------


## Prehysterical

Hey, all. Currently hosting my grandmother and sister this weekend, so I won't be able to contribute much. Windstruck can ask her questions about the constructs and I can read about them later this week before having Bolten jump back in.

----------


## WindStruck

So how's it looking?  I was hoping you'd be back by now, and it seems like it's a good time for Bolten to chime in.

I don't think I have any more questions for Vaigr, though maybe it's time for that dreaded show and tell, telling the others about ourselves?  Actually Shandara would rather avoid that.   :Small Tongue:

----------


## Prehysterical

Yeah, sorry, they just left earlier today and I had to work.

Let me catch up on the reading and I will get something up tomorrow.

----------


## Prehysterical

As evidenced by my slow posting this week, I am experiencing difficulties with my job which are draining my ability to engage creatively with the conversations.

Is there any chance that we can just move on to the next morning's challenge? I really don't have anything left to contribute at this point.

----------


## WindStruck

I guess that's fair, unless something else interesting happens here at the xlotl nest.  Other new people to meet perhaps?  I dunno.

Shandara also has something else to do tonight.  She'd like to buy some fresh meat (maybe from this place's kitchen) and.. yeah.  Go catch an owl.

----------


## DeTess

All right, if it's okay with you two I'll close of the Xlotl's nest scene for now, get into some owl-catching with Shandara and then we can move on to the next morning's challenge

----------


## WindStruck

Sounds great to me!   :Small Smile:

----------


## DeTess

I'll get to that sometime tomorrow , sorry. I don't really have much time to do a post today.

----------


## DeTess

@windstruck, you can basically advance the scene till Shandara's back home, but I am curious about the meat you're going to procure and what kind, so if you could mantion that, I'd appreciate it. Unless you're looking for something incredibly exotic or unusual it won't be that hard to find though.

----------


## DeTess

just a random meat-scraps roll: (1d20)[*14*]

----------


## WindStruck

I have no idea if she's eaten any.  Well I guess we could say high is more likely and low is unlikely

(1d10)[*4*]

----------


## WindStruck

I don't know if I am catching or even befriending this owl tonight.

Would you like to split scenes and do two simultaneously?  One can continue on with the owl, and the other can be starting with the competition in the morning.

Shandara would have _tried_ to get some rest earlier and prepare for it, however, she would still be arriving pretty tired.

----------


## DeTess

> I don't know if I am catching or even befriending this owl tonight.


It's definitely fine to stretch this out over a couple evening (and if you let the owl leave now, that's not a loss. It'll probably turn up a gain at a later date if you paly the flute again).




> Would you like to split scenes and do two simultaneously?  One can continue on with the owl, and the other can be starting with the competition in the morning.



I'd prefer not to, especially since it might make a bit of a difference if you have a familiar by the time the competition rolls around or not.

----------


## DeTess

@windstruck, @prehysterical, at what time where you going to arrive for the competition? Early to try and recruit some more team-members, or just in time to sign up and get settled in before the start?

----------


## WindStruck

I think going early is a good idea.  We should at least try it to maybe meet some prospective new team members.  It doesn't necessarily mean we HAVE to take anyone else though, but more options would be nice.

----------


## Prehysterical

Same. Bolten would also be there early to make absolutely sure that he would not be late.

----------


## DeTess

Just FYI, I'll be on holiday from tomorrow till Sunday, so no posts form me in the next four days.

----------


## DeTess

Bolten, Shadnara, you can make a knowledge (local) check regarding the shipwright's tattoo if you wish.

----------


## WindStruck

Alright, let's see!

local: (1d20+8)[*15*]

----------


## Prehysterical

Knowledge (local): (1d20+7)[*26*]

----------


## DeTess

*Spoiler: windstruck*
Show


You've seen a tattoo similar to what he has before, always on the arm of seemingly well off craftsman in the harbor districts. The amount of anchors seemed to vary though, and you're fairly certain older craftsmen and craftswomen tended to have more anchors.



*Spoiler: prehysterical*
Show


Tattoos like that are often worn by the higher ranking shipwrights and shipdesigners, those people responsible for making the designs and turning those designs into reality by managing and instructing the work crews and handling the most difficult parts themselves. Each anchor represents the completion of a major ship, and the anchors would have small flourishes attached to them signifying the type of ship and the client.

----------


## DeTess

Quick knowledge local to see if Ulrik has heard of you two: (1d20+7)[*23*]

----------


## DeTess

Is there anything else you want to do before the actual challenge begins? otherwise I'll move ahead to when you're all signed up and the reveal happens.

----------


## WindStruck

Yeah, I think we're good for the reveal!

----------


## Prehysterical

Yes, I am ready to proceed.

----------


## WindStruck

Oh.  Where/what are these stations?   I was under the impression we had materials waiting for us inside the hull of the ship?  Or were actually supposed to salvage stuff from it?

----------


## DeTess

> Oh.  Where/what are these stations?   I was under the impression we had materials waiting for us inside the hull of the ship?  Or were actually supposed to salvage stuff from it?


Sorry, that was a figure of speech (though there are workbenches set up for the teams to use). And yeah, you're supposed to get your stuff from inside the ship or from the ship itself.

----------


## WindStruck

Okay I mean.. I guess we'll find this out in mere moments, but like.. it wouldn't really be a competition unless it was fairly even, right?

Are there like, bins marked off for each team to use, or are we supposed to fight for materials hunger games style? Well, without the killing.

----------


## DeTess

The materials are first come, first served, but there is no room for stockpiling materials. Anything you're currently working with or carrying around obviously won't be taken, but if you leave a crate of reagents lying around somewhere there are no rules against someone else helping themselves to what they need.

----------


## DeTess

Could both of you roll me a perception (or another skill for finding useful materials if you can think of one), as well as your choice of a fortitude or reflex save, or an acrobatics check, as especially in the early stages it's going to be pretty busy in and around the ship, and making your way around quickly and efficiently will require some finesse.

----------


## WindStruck

Well I'm not going to have Shandara make a fortitude check if she can help it because..  that's something she's probably going to fail.   :Small Tongue: 

reflex: (1d20+3)[*13*]

I guess if I can only have a choice of one or the other, first it would be arcana: (1d20+17)[*18*]

Looking for any special materials that may be useful for making enchantments.

If I can also roll perception: (1d20+6)[*23*]

---

And just to clarify with the rules:

We can't use magic tools, but...

We can use magic abilities ourselves, if we possess them?

The final product can be magical in nature, provided we followed all the other rules?

----------


## DeTess

> And just to clarify with the rules:
> 
> We can't use magic tools, but...
> 
> We can use magic abilities ourselves, if we possess them?
> 
> The final product can be magical in nature, provided we followed all the other rules?


Yes, you can use your own magical abilities and create a magical device for the competition, and if creating your magical device requires the use of magical tools that's fine as long as you create them using the resources provided by the competition.

----------


## Prehysterical

Would Bolten be able to make a Craft check in either clockwork, armorsmithing, or weaponsmithing to find decent metal? I have to imagine that part of the skill is being able to parse good metal from bad when it comes to shaping it.

Fortitude save: (1d20+5)[*20*]

----------


## DeTess

> Would Bolten be able to make a Craft check in either clockwork, armorsmithing, or weaponsmithing to find decent metal? I have to imagine that part of the skill is being able to parse good metal from bad when it comes to shaping it.


Hmmm, you know what, roll me your craft check of choice and a perception check then.

----------


## Prehysterical

Craft (clockwork): (1d20+17)[*32*]

Perception: (1d20+1)[*3*]

----------


## DeTess

You're about half an hour into the competition now.

Bolten has found the following: 1 badly rusted crowbar, the ship's compass (about 4 pounds of pristine brass, iron and bronze, but it'll take some work to disassemble), and if Bolten stopped he could have salvaged about 4 pounds of badly rusted iron from door fittings and the like during his search.

Shandara: 3 small lead pipes (about 2 pounds of material all told), a pouch containing 2 ounces of a mystery but very shiny dust, and a pouch containing 4 gold, 22 silver and 15 copper coins, all badly tarnished.

You all can continue search around if you wish (roll me another perception and a skill appropriate to the stuff you're looking for if you're looking for something in particular), or you could return outside to try and regroup and start making a plan. It definitely seems to the both of you that it's getting less busy in the ship, though there do seem to be plenty of stuff left.

----------


## Prehysterical

If Shandara is going to keep looking, Bolten will too, since he's not sure what he can do with those things just yet.

Fortitude: (1d20+5)[*11*]

Craft (Armor): (1d20+13)[*32*]

Perception: (1d20+1)[*21*]

----------


## DeTess

Further search cost you another half an hour, so the competition ahs been going for an hour by now.

@windstruck, could you roll me an appraise at some point for that jewelry to determine what parts are useful gemstones, and what parts are fake?

@prehysterical, You didn't mention it specifically, but obviously it's fine if you join the rest as well. You could continue searching, but you're reaching the upper limit of what you can easily carry (maybe not in raw carry weight, but definitely in volume), unless you have a solution for that, of course.

----------


## WindStruck

Okay, first, let's use investigative mind!

Then I'll make appraise for jewelry:
(1d20+10)[*25*]
or (1d20+10)[*15*]

and then I could detect magic and spellcraft to see what kind of residual enchantment used to be on this grate:
(1d20+16)[*18*]
or (1d20+16)[*30*]

----------


## DeTess

@windstruck,

For the jewelry, you end up determining that you've got about 3 ounces of actual silver, a sizeable amethyst and aquamarine stone, and 2 small rubies. All other parts of the jewelry is colored glass or cheap metal covered in the thinnest possible layer of gold or silver

For the grate, you're fairly certain that it was once part of a device meant to turn seawater into drinkable water. The grate itself is enchanted to simply attract salt, which is why it's encrusted with salt. This would pull the salt out of the water, though it'd likely take several passes, or several such grates, to make the water completely drinkable.

----------


## WindStruck

I think you've been doing a great job DeTess. Not sure how you are coming up with things, random or otherwise, but there is still a nice amount of detail with the IC posts!

----------


## WindStruck

Ah one last thing.  Could I check out the mystery/shiny dust with detect magic?  Does that show up as anything?

...I guess not though.  Seeing as it's just dust.

But I guess the next part of that is figuring out just what exactly the dust is.  Reading the description of finding it again, perhaps we'd get a better clue in slightly better light (but not too much better  :Small Big Grin:  ) and using one of those jeweler monocles that magnify things.

----------


## WindStruck

I've got some general questions regarding the enchantment process.  Let me know if you actually want some rolls.   (could still use investigative mind if I find it necessary)

Would separating out the dust into pure diamond, pure glass, and pure quartz components improve their effects?  As in, do they operate better mixed together, or without impurities?

Second would be, how difficult is it to modify an enchantment that has already been placed?  For example, instead of drawing out salt, we draw out bacteria and viruses?

----------


## DeTess

> Would separating out the dust into pure diamond, pure glass, and pure quartz components improve their effects?  As in, do they operate better mixed together, or without impurities?


The glass is useless, it just ads volume. Quartz is used for enchantments, but it can't carry much power at all. As mentioned before the diamond dust is very very useful and can carry just about any enchantment, but probably only a small part of the dust is actually diamond. Filtering out the glass would definitely help, separating the diamond and quartz might leave you with too little diamond, meaning the mix might be more useful, depending on how you want to use it 




> Second would be, how difficult is it to modify an enchantment that has already been placed?  For example, instead of drawing out salt, we draw out bacteria and viruses?


Modifying or piggybacking onto an existing enchantment is difficult in terms of skill, but you'd need fairly few resources to do so as you could use portions and of the existing enchantments web of runes rather than needing to draw new ones, but you would need to figure out how to twist what's there into what you want it to be.

----------


## WindStruck

> Modifying or piggybacking onto an existing enchantment is difficult in terms of skill, but you'd need fairly few resources to do so as you could use portions and of the existing enchantments web of runes rather than needing to draw new ones, but you would need to figure out how to twist what's there into what you want it to be.


Ok, I'll see if Shandara can figure out how to do this.

Spellcraft: (1d20+16)[*24*]

or  (1d20+16)[*30*]

Also need to take into account the fact that we do have limited resources to work with.  If it's possible, then it would also be good to know what other sort of materials we might need to find, or alternatives, if we are lacking.

----------


## DeTess

Okay, so both pieces of the grate your recovered are damaged, but with the silver from the jewelry a skilled smith or jeweler should be able to patch it without needing to melt down the entire thing (which, as you surmised, would wreck the existing enchantment). Silver could carry most of the power for the enchantment without trouble, but there are some holes in the enchantment's framework that'll need patching and filling in (think of teh enchantment is a sequence of runes around the grate's outer edge, where that edge is missing the enchantment is gone too).

You know of two ways to change the current enchantment. One is to selectively erase parts of the enchantment, and put in new parts there that do what you need it to do. This is easier, but a bit more resource intensive. The other is to convince the enchantment that its actually supposed to do what you want without changing the enchantment itself, which is harder but less resource intensive.

To explain the above a bit more, the enchantment is essentially a rune sequence  with the instruction 'attract all salt in the passing liquid'. Method 1 is erasing the runes explaining 'salt' and replacing them with the substance you want to pull out of the water. Your replacement runes would be an integral structural part of the enchantment and would have to carry a decent amount of magical power. Method 2 is using the fact that salt has been fairly loosely defined for this enchantment (the enchanter was either not skilled enough, or didn't want to write what would amount to a three-paragraph essay to explain what salt was) to create an addendum that changes the meaning of 'salt' into whatever you need it to be. This'd be a lot more tricky, but your addendum wouldn't be part of the main enchantment (it'd generally consist of a small plate with a kind of sub-enchantment attached to the grate, and could therefore be made with far worse materials).

I hope that's somewhat clear, but I'll happily try explaining it more if it isn't.

For method 1 you're a bit short on materials. For best result you'd need to purify the diamond/quartz mixture a bit and use that to fix the enchantment on the grate, but that'd leave you short on materials to edit the enchantment. You could grind up some of the gems you've found, but you'd likely need those to function as the enchantment's power source. You reckon you could lay this enchantment in about 2 hours if nothing unusual happens and you have all the materials you need (not including time to physically fix the grates) (DC25 spellcraft to get it in 2 hours, 1 hour extra for every 5 below, half an hour less for every five above to a minimum of 1 hour).

For method 2 you have everything you need. You'd still need to purify the quartz/diamond mixture to fix the overall enchantment, but you could use the quartz left over for your addendum plate, and turn a section of the lead pipe you'd found into the plate in question. You'd reckon this'd take you at least 3 hours though to figure out how to 'word' your arguments for salt being something else (not including time to physically fix the grates) (DC30 spellcraft to get it in 3 hours, 1 hour extra for every 5 below, half an hour less for every 3 above to a minimum of 1.5 hours).

For both DC's, if you're less than 5 below the target, it'd take half an hour longer.

I'll also have an IC post sometime tomorrow.

----------


## DeTess

Next post will likely be on thursday. @prehysterical, are you accompanying Shandara?

@windstruck, adapting the enchantment to draw heat is possible, but using method 1 you'll need more material as you need to rewrite more material, while the dc for the second method goes up by 5, as you're really going to be stretching the limits of this enchantment.
 You'd also need some way to cool it (could be magical, but could be a physical heat-sink as well), as otherwise it'll keep drawing heat untill it melts.

----------


## WindStruck

Oh, I was almost expecting the questions Shandara had would be glossed over, but I guess having a little RP encounter with the judge(s) also works.

----------


## DeTess

> Oh, I was almost expecting the questions Shandara had would be glossed over, but I guess having a little RP encounter with the judge(s) also works.


Yeah, for _reasons_ I do want to make it a little RP encounter.

----------


## Prehysterical

> @prehysterical, are you accompanying Shandara?


Yes... for _reasons_. *thunder cracks and organ music plays in the background*

----------


## DeTess

@windstruck:




> But whatever the enchantment pulled into it, it only had so much range. Perhaps far more range above ground, though there wasn't likely to be much of anything for it to find up here. *It certainly was not going to pull anything out of a living creature.*


This thought will probably keep nagging at Shandara for a bit. Just how certain is she that it wouldn't do that? The definition for what sewage was for the enchantment would be precise enough that it's unlike to take anything out of a living creature that the creature needs (it shouldn't cause any harm), but did she remember to include any other fail-safes to exclude the bowels of living creatures?

----------


## WindStruck

> @windstruck:
> 
> 
> 
> This thought will probably keep nagging at Shandara for a bit. Just how certain is she that it wouldn't do that? The definition for what sewage was for the enchantment would be precise enough that it's unlike to take anything out of a living creature that the creature needs (it shouldn't cause any harm), but did she remember to include any other fail-safes to exclude the bowels of living creatures?


I'm pretty sure.  :Small Smile: 

Note the OOC spoiler in that post:




> Qualities I'd be interested in (and I am probably not thinking of some things):
> Maximum range of the spell
> Maximum volume or weight that can be transferred
> basic constraints like (no living things, nothing inside a container, *not inside a living creature*)
> Fine-tuning what counts as "sewage"
> Other constraints (ordered from what I think is easiest to hardest):
> limiting range of the spell
> restricting sewage summoning to only "below ground"
> excluding some specific substances
> ...


This was something I did consider beforehand.  It would probably be very jarring, uncomfortable, and probably even unhealthy for the crap to be sucked right out of someone's bowels.

----------


## DeTess

Whelp, completely forgot about that -_-

Okay, nevermind on that minor glitch/complication then. Good thing this came by before I made anything canon then.

----------


## WindStruck

Well, uh, sorry if I ruined the fun.  But poop jokes kind of stink anyway.   :Small Amused:

----------


## DeTess

> Well, uh, sorry if I ruined the fun.  But poop jokes kind of stink anyway.


Nah, it was a small background detail I'd planned for later, not much more than that, so no big loss.

----------


## WindStruck

On the other hand, you could always say they tried making a few modifications to Shandara's original enchantment.

For example, the thing about only searching underground...  that's not really going to work if the enchantment is above ground is it?  or at least, it may have unexpected results if left as is.

----------


## WindStruck

I kind of like the idea of trying to barter with other teams.  It's probably allowed in the rules, right?

I wonder, would Bolten be up for the challenge of trying to negotiate a deal?   :Small Big Grin: 

And meanwhile, Shandara could probably go back to the ship for another search.  She does have the Locate Object spell, so perhaps she may be able to use it for trying to locate any type of gemstone?

---

edit: And I forgot. She *also* has the Mending spell, which would probably be superb for finishing off anything else wrong with the grate.  After she finishes patching it up and modifying the enchantment, she could cast Mending and this grate should be in pristine condition!   :Small Smile:

----------


## DeTess

> I kind of like the idea of trying to barter with other teams.  It's probably allowed in the rules, right?
> 
> I wonder, would Bolten be up for the challenge of trying to negotiate a deal?


Yeah, that's definitely allowed.




> And meanwhile, Shandara could probably go back to the ship for another search.  She does have the Locate Object spell, so perhaps she may be able to use it for trying to locate any type of gemstone?


I think that could work, if you're going for the general object option.

Also, for your rolls, which of the two suggested methods for adjusting the enchantment are you using (or are you coming up with a third option?), that way I can properly resolve the result of your rolls.

----------


## WindStruck

I was going with the first method you listed.  Takes a shorter amount of time, *and* has a lower DC, but it needs more materials.

Also, see the edit I made above about Mending.  Though I'm not sure how much effect that would have.. Fluff if anything. At least, since I would be saving that for the end, there may be a better application for it.

----------


## Prehysterical

How are we bargaining, exactly? Bolten is not a good negotiator (0 in Diplomacy). Are we trading items or are we trading labor for different contraptions?

----------


## WindStruck

I don't think it's right to be trading labor.  But items/materials, yeah.

Hmm...

I mean... Shandara *does* have some ranks in diplomacy, and charisma.  I just thought.. people might be more willing to negotiate with a dwarf, rather than a drow...   :Small Tongue: 

Then again, it's not like I've had too much trouble with people in the city.

In any case, it may involve trading extra materials we may have. Or scrounging around for something else useful on the ship. Perhaps, even if we don't find what we need, it'll be something that someone else wants?

----------


## DeTess

> edit: And I forgot. She *also* has the Mending spell, which would probably be superb for finishing off anything else wrong with the grate.  After she finishes patching it up and modifying the enchantment, she could cast Mending and this grate should be in pristine condition!


You'd probably want to cast mending before redoing the enchantment (as mending doesn't fix enchantments), but yeah, this would work.

----------


## WindStruck

Hm, I'm not sure.   I mean, I already rolled quite well in craft jewelry for fixing up the grate anyway.

And I was hoping using Mending might add a bit of quality to it, regardless.   But as I said, I think I will save Mending for later, in case it's needed for something more important.

I assume the results of my rolls will be in the IC thread later?   ...  I guess everyone else has gotta be making rolls for their part.  And I would assume someone with a high architecture and engineering roll is most suited for coming up with a good overall design structure, right?

I guess it's confusing though.  I have made rolls which would cover actions that take up hours, and/or would be done in the future.  But I am still talking about doing stuff in the more new future.

How do we want to proceed?

----------


## DeTess

> I assume the results of my rolls will be in the IC thread later?   ...  I guess everyone else has gotta be making rolls for their part.  And I would assume someone with a high architecture and engineering roll is most suited for coming up with a good overall design structure, right?
> 
> I guess it's confusing though.  I have made rolls which would cover actions that take up hours, and/or would be done in the future.  But I am still talking about doing stuff in the more new future.
> 
> How do we want to proceed?


I'll give you an indication of how well you're doing when next I post in the IC thread (which'll be after Prehysterical has posted, or sometime this weekend, whichever comes earlier), but obviously I'll only describe the end result once you've gathered the necessary resources and invested the necessary time. Those rolls do stand though, so if you stop to do something else and then return to that project, you won't have to roll again.

----------


## Prehysterical

Messed up the Knowledge (Engineering) roll: (1d20+12)[*16*]

----------


## DeTess

@prehysterical, It seems to be sound design to you. The longer the water spends around those magical grates, the more work they can do. Depending on the consistency of the sewage, it might not work as well for the fabric Filters though, as you might actually need some force to push the water through if you want to have any sort of decent flow of water through the machine.

----------


## Prehysterical

DeTess, if Bolten goes to fetch some of his more specialized smithing tools from his place, how much time will that eat up? I have no idea how far his home/workshop is from the contest or what the traffic conditions are like.

----------


## DeTess

> DeTess, if Bolten goes to fetch some of his more specialized smithing tools from his place, how much time will that eat up? I have no idea how far his home/workshop is from the contest or what the traffic conditions are like.


You had your own place a bit outside the campus, right? Should take you about half an hour to make the round-trip, assuming you're walking.

There are tools you can borrow on the plaza, but those are all standard quality, and I assume yours are masterwork.

----------


## WindStruck

It might depend on the kind of job he needs done, but I assume that for most, if not every engineering roll to build something here, that +2 could help, right?

Also I suppose Bolten hustling to go about twice as fast may be viable.  Or another alternative.. something akin to taking a cab?

----------


## DeTess

You could rent a carriage if you can find one, which would cut the trip down to about 10 minutes plus some time to find one, but it'd cost you a couple silver pieces.

----------


## Prehysterical

Yeeeah, we're going to skip the dwarf sprinting today. Time is money and Bolten has a lot more of the second than the first. Do I need to roll anything for finding the carriage?

----------


## WindStruck

Eh, I'd just roll something like this, where each dot on the die is an interval of 15 seconds.

for instance: (3d6)[*12*]

So that would be 3 minutes.  But I think the time is very negligible, and we probably shouldn't even bother.

----------


## DeTess

> Yeeeah, we're going to skip the dwarf sprinting today. Time is money and Bolten has a lot more of the second than the first. Do I need to roll anything for finding the carriage?


I was going to roll a dice fir it once I figured out what was appropriate, but windstruck beat me to it :P

Let's call it 15 minutes all told, including checking in and out, and 3 silvers for the carriage driver

----------


## Prehysterical

Knowledge (engineering) for Ulrik: (1d20+12)[*31*]

----------


## DeTess

Thanks, if you could do something of an IC post including making the sketch and handing it over, as well as what Bolten's next plan is? 

@windstruck, what is your plan for getting the remaining ingredients you need?

----------


## WindStruck

Shandara will try using Locate Object for gemstones inside the ship. If that initial search proves fruitless, she could perhaps use its range (640 ft) to determine if another group may have some gems...

HOPEFULLY, it doesn't find jewelry that someone else is wearing but uh..  anyway!  I think I liked the idea of trying locate object first.  I mean, it's a ship, right??  Maybe there is something very very sneakily hidden away, someplace...

----------


## DeTess

Fair enough. Just out of curiosity, is Shandara wearing any jewelry herself? :P

Could you roll me a perception check? Your spell should tell you the direction what you're looking is in, but I don't think it tells you how exactly to get to it if it's hidden or stashed away.

----------


## WindStruck

Hm. You know, it's possible she could be wearing a few trinkets with some gemstones. Hopefully we could say she at least would know to take them off and leave them with, uh..  let's jut say Bolten for now, before trying this.

I also do think that by moving around, it's possible to "pinpoint" the location of any such items, if they do exist, and if there isn't too much blocking the direct line to them.  But yes, it might prove difficult extracting them!

perception: (1d20+6)[*20*]

----------


## DeTess

messed up and did some random rolls in the IC thread.
results where 21, 18 and 8.

----------


## DeTess

@windstruck, could you roll me another perception?

edit: and a fortitude save, please

----------


## WindStruck

What, is someone going to put poison in my coffee?   :Small Eek: 

perception: (1d20+6)[*19*]

keep in mind bright light penalties if applicable


fortitude:  (1d20-4)[*10*]

----------


## DeTess

@windstruck, the fumes coming from Ash's cauldron seem to have some side effects. It'll take Shandara a bit (about 20 minutes) to fully clear her head, and she'll probably want to get out of the fumes to do so. Untill then, you take a -2 to pretty much everything, as if you're sickened.

@prehsyterical, could you roll me another smithing check?

----------


## Prehysterical

> @prehsyterical, could you roll me another smithing check?


Sure thing.
(1d20+15)[*35*]

----------


## WindStruck

Not really sure what else to say or do, so guess I'll ask in an OOC fashion...

What else do we have left to do?   Or might there be some other ways we can help improve this contraption?

----------


## DeTess

> Not really sure what else to say or do, so guess I'll ask in an OOC fashion...
> 
> What else do we have left to do?   Or might there be some other ways we can help improve this contraption?


You're mostly done with your initial design, yes, but you've still got some time before things are done, so you could try adding something, or run some rudimentary tests to see if any issues arrive.

----------


## WindStruck

Yeah a test sounds good.

----------


## DeTess

Water should be easy enough to get in significant enough quantities for a test. Will you try adding anything else to the water (dirt for example is easy enough to get as well)?

My next IC post is unlikely to be today, btw, but I'll try to have something up tomorrow regarding the test.

----------


## WindStruck

A bit of dirt (not too much) is good enough.  I think we could probably trust the aparatus at the beginning to work when it comes to properly sieving.

Not to say that nothing could go wrong either.  It just seems like a hassle to get some appropriate material, plus clean it up after.

----------


## DeTess

Is there anything you two want to try to do before the judging phase of the competition begins?

----------


## WindStruck

Well... assuming Bolten approves, maybe Shandara could give the water a tiny sip.

I'm curious about the oily feel to the water.  Kind of.. hard to imagine, you know?

Is that something Shandara can study/analyze to make sure it's not a problem?

----------


## DeTess

> I'm curious about the oily feel to the water.  Kind of.. hard to imagine, you know?


Best way I can think to describe it other than that is that it feels like it leaves a thin film or similar in your mouth. No real taste or anything to it, just feels like it leaves a residue normal water wouldn't.

As for analyzing it, fi you've got any spells for that purpose that's fine. Otherwise you're going to have to quickly brew up some alchemical tests from non-ideal components. Not entirely impossible, but that'd be a craft (alchemy) check with a DC in the mid-thirties. Or if you have some other idea for analyzing it...

----------


## DeTess

quick roll for tasting: (1d20+6)[*16*]

----------


## DeTess

@windstruck, @ prehysterical, is there anything else you two want to try to do before I call time and we move on to the official test and the judging?

----------


## WindStruck

I don't think so.  As long as Ulrik's got the leaks, and we can fan dry or whatever the cloth Ash treated...

Doesn't seem like anything else to do but see how we did!

----------


## Prehysterical

I am ready to go to the judging.

----------


## DeTess

IF there's anything else either of you want to say to the judge, now's the time. Otherwise, I'll have a post up sometime this weekend going ahead to the announcement of the wining teams.

----------


## Prehysterical

Bolten has nothing to add, so I am all good. If WindStruck wants Shandara to add anything else, that's fine.

----------


## WindStruck

I don't have anything else to add.  Think she explained it pretty well!

And I didn't mean any offense to Bolten.  I assume that was just engineering pride being RPd or something.  By no means do I mean to belittle his work.  Just saying, as far as mechanical objects go, especially for engineering, a sieve with a hand crank agitator is pretty simple compared to all the clockwork stuff Bolten normally makes.   :Small Big Grin:

----------


## Prehysterical

> I don't have anything else to add.  Think she explained it pretty well!
> 
> And I didn't mean any offense to Bolten.  I assume that was just engineering pride being RPd or something.  By no means do I mean to belittle his work.  Just saying, as far as mechanical objects go, especially for engineering, a sieve with a hand crank agitator is pretty simple compared to all the clockwork stuff Bolten normally makes.


Oh, you're perfectly fine. Bolten is just feeling embarrassed right now about the whole piling gunk on the sieve situation and he's more sensitive to things than he otherwise would be.

That, and I thought it would be more interesting narratively than just "Bolten nodded his head up and down in agreement.".  :Small Tongue: 

I could just see him saying, "You gave me _six hours_ to construct a functional sewage purifier with materials from a _wrecked ship._ The fact that it even worked at all is a miracle in and of itself, notwithstanding the contributions of my compatriots' ability to spin straw into gold!"

----------


## WindStruck

I admit the results seem fairly disappointing..  You'd think with some high engineering rolls, one of us would take something like a way to get rid of excess crap into account...

I also recall Shandara asking specifically about what kind of volume they were to expect, but we never got a straight answer either.

I understand we can't always expect to win at everything, but it still does feel a bit disappointing because no one explicitly mentioned such a feature. Well, regardless, assuming we don't win, I can only hope it goes to some people who came up with a truly ingenious and creative solution.

And you can be sure, I'll be interested in seeing how it works!   :Small Big Grin:

----------


## DeTess

@windstruck, you're assuming that (given the massive time and material constraints) you did badly, which isn't the case :P. I do apologize for not getting around to answering the volume question, though if I had, the answer would have been the rather unhelpful 'as much as your machine can take'.

Anyway, quick dice-roll for reasons: (1d20)[*17*]

----------


## WindStruck

Well, color me tickled pink about those results.  I was almost 100% sure we weren't going to get first!  Maybe not even in the top.

I guess I'll have to say thank you both in the IC thread and the OOC here as well..   :Small Tongue:

----------


## DeTess

> Well, color me tickled pink about those results.  I was almost 100% sure we weren't going to get first!  Maybe not even in the top.


As was said in the beginning of the competition, perfection was never expected. If you'd been able to anticipate all possible issues and create a more or less perfect solution it'd have been a first for the competition as a whole. So yeah, your an into some issues in the end, but so did pretty much everyone else, and your design was really pretty good.

----------


## DeTess

Just a quick headsup, my next post will likely be wednesday at the earliest, and might end up being next weekend

----------


## DeTess

@windstruck, @prehysterical, quick question, how in-depth do you want to RP the victory dinner? I don't have anything in particular planned, but it could be a good opportunity to get to know your team-mates better.

----------


## WindStruck

Well I guess I don't mind simply glossing over it, but I also wouldn't mind spending some time getting to know them better.

Just as long as I don't have to start making up the menu, and the host, chef, etc.    :Small Big Grin:

----------


## DeTess

> Just as long as I don't have to start making up the menu, and the host, chef, etc.


I'll take care of that this time around.

----------


## Prehysterical

I am all for getting to know Ulrik and Ash better. Might serve as potential resources or job hooks.

----------


## WindStruck

Hah, you know what else we need to figure out?  Who gets to keep the trophy??    :Small Big Grin:

----------


## Prehysterical

> Hah, you know what else we need to figure out?  Who gets to keep the trophy??


See, you're not thinking like an engineer. *puts on pretentious spectacles*

Bolten can make a mold of the trophy, downsize it to four replica molds, melt down the metal, and _everybody_ gets to take home a trophy. It's like a participation trophy, but it actually means something this time!  :Small Big Grin:

----------


## DeTess

@windstruck, the Ruby crown is considered the very best restaurant in town. The only place you'd get better food is if you where invited to dine with the emperor himself. However, that excellence does come with a similarly exorbitant price, and you need to reserve a table well in advance. Generally it's only Nobles and rich merchants that eat there, but there's always some slightly less well off people (think skilled craftsmen and artificers and the like) that might go there once in their lives after having saved up, just for the experience.

----------


## Prehysterical

Just as a courtesy notice before I forget, I will be out of town this weekend for a wedding. My time will be spent either driving or helping with the wedding, so I don't anticipate having an opportunity to post until I get back.

----------


## DeTess

@prehysterical, quickly checking, I couldn't find any mention of a bronze dragon in your background or my list of ongoing hooks. Am I forgetting something, or is this an interest of Bolten's not directly linked to anything already established? Nothing wrong with it if it is the latter, of course, I just want to make sure I'm not forgetting anything.

----------


## Prehysterical

You did not miss anything. I have been meaning to raise some long-term character goals for Bolten for a while now, but we have been so busy that there never seemed like a good time. This conversation, however, was the _perfect_ jumping off point.
*Spoiler: Explanation (Spoilers)*
Show

My single biggest character goal for Bolten has been to create something entirely of his own design. I want Bolten to create the first ever Clockwork Guardian, a homebrew that is in my signature. (99% of it is done with monster creation rules straight from Paizo material, with slight liberties taken for the clockwork repairs and sniper aiming mechanics.)

I certainly don't plan to do this any time soon since the materials are so costly and the magic is even harder to get in a game like this. For a while now, I have thought about appropriate story hooks for Bolten to acquire the materials that he needs for his magnum opus. Since one of the required spells for the construct's creation is _dragon's breath_, and since clockwork is electricity-themed, it made perfect sense to me that a low-level caster like Bolten would need literal dragon's breath in order to breathe sentient life into the guardian. Bronze dragons seem like the perfect fit for it.

There's still a bunch of stuff that Bolten needs to do to make this happen: figure out how to capture dragon's breath, visiting and/or negotiating with the dragon, seeing if any are even alive at this point because of the Empire, and finding a way to safely incorporate the arcane elemental ingredient into the apparatus.

I'm not attempting to derail any potential plans you might have for events in the future. This is just a passion project that Bolten has been working on and this is one of those rare moments where he feels like he can trust someone even slightly to tip his hand.

If I've crossed a line here, you can message me and we can have a discussion about what would be appropriate.

----------


## WindStruck

Just for the record...   is our new friend's name Ash or Ashe?    :Small Tongue:

----------


## DeTess

> Just for the record...   is our new friend's name Ash or Ashe?


It should be Ash, but I might have misspelled it once or twice >.<

----------


## DeTess

@prehysterical, could you roll me a knowledge nobility or a knowledge nature?

----------


## Prehysterical

Knowledge (Nature): (1d20+11)[*23*]

----------


## DeTess

Okay, you can't put your finger on it right now, but something about the strange dragons Ulrik described sounds vaguely familiar, maybe something you cam e across during earlier research into dragons. You'd have to spend some time in the archives to refresh your memory though.

----------


## DeTess

I'm starting to run out of conversation topics on my end. Is there anything in particular you want to discuss? Otherwise I'll probably skip ahead to summarize the food (which is very good) and the rest of the evening, and then on to the next day.

----------


## WindStruck

Yeah I guess I don't mind going ahead!

But before you skip to tomorrow, I think Shandara has some more shenanigans she wants to try with that owl that frequents near her home...

----------


## DeTess

> Yeah I guess I don't mind going ahead!
> 
> But before you skip to tomorrow, I think Shandara has some more shenanigans she wants to try with that owl that frequents near her home...


That's fine, I'll make certain to reserve time for that.

----------


## Prehysterical

I'm okay with finishing dinner and doing the time skip.

----------


## DeTess

Allright, I'll skip ahead then in my next post, though that might end up being sometime this weekend, depending on a bunch of stuff.

----------


## DeTess

If there's anything you want to say or do before splitting up, now is the time. It's fairly late in the evening, but with the festival on there'll be entertainment going all night for those interested. Otherwise, after any owl related and/or other nightly shenanigans are done. We'll go to the next day.

----------


## WindStruck

To get a rough idea for how much stuff costs, would you say 1 copper is 50 cents, 1 silver is five dollars, and 1 gold is 50 dollars?  About??

----------


## DeTess

> To get a rough idea for how much stuff costs, would you say 1 copper is 50 cents, 1 silver is five dollars, and 1 gold is 50 dollars?  About??


Probably a bit less in my estimation, more like 3-4 dollars per silver (so 30-40 cents per copper and 30-40 dollars per gold) ? Though it's unlikely to be completely consistent for that either. For the meal, I based it on the cost from the pfsrd for a good meal (5 silvers) and added costs for plenty of good drinks.

----------


## WindStruck

I guess we are inching closer to getting an owl familiar.

One thing I note is that there is a special ritual involved, and it costs 100g in magical materials.  But I know literally nothing else about what may be involved.

----------


## DeTess

Shandara would know what it entails, or would be able to figure it out quite easily with a trip to the library. You're free to make up something appropriate, or I can come up with something if you want.

----------


## WindStruck

Guess I'll think on it.  Probably involves keeping the animal in a magic circle of some kind...   for at least an hour, plus other stuff.

We can skip ahead to the next day, though I imagine Shandara will be taking it easy, rest more/early, and won't be active till the afternoon.

----------


## DeTess

Okay, @prehysterical, what are your plans for the next day? No point in introducing the early morning if neither of you have plans until alter in the day.

----------


## Prehysterical

Bolten will probably sleep in before going to the library to research that nagging feeling left by Ulrik's story about the foreign dragons.

Also, with it being Thanksgiving week, I will be out of town and replies will be slow.

----------


## WindStruck

I might be interested in visiting the palace just to hear the various petitions.  If that's allowed...

Shandara doesn't have anything to gripe about to the people in charge.   :Small Tongue:

----------


## DeTess

> I might be interested in visiting the palace just to hear the various petitions.  If that's allowed...


That should be fine, I'll introduce your arrival at the palace in a bit.

Edit: just checking, you hadn't yet delivered the sword yet, right? Or had you done that right before the festival?

----------


## WindStruck

Yeah that sword we worked so hard on for slaying Deathless Kings should have been delivered to the ranger's guild master.

Also, you remember that whole stat block I wrote about it, right?   :Small Tongue:

----------


## DeTess

> Yeah that sword we worked so hard on for slaying Deathless Kings should have been delivered to the ranger's guild master.
> 
> Also, you remember that whole stat block I wrote about it, right?


Yeah, I have the full statblock (who knows, I might throw the situation at an irl group one of these days), I just remembered some uncertainty about when it would be done, but couldn't find the confirmation one way or another. 

Good to know that it's done though. Not that it has any relevance to how easily they'll let you into the palace. Nope, none at all...

----------


## WindStruck

> Yeah, I have the full statblock (who knows, I might throw the situation at an irl group one of these days), I just remembered some uncertainty about when it would be done, but couldn't find the confirmation one way or another. 
> 
> Good to know that it's done though. Not that it has any relevance to how easily they'll let you into the palace. Nope, none at all...


Okay.   :Small Wink: 

But I'd wonder why not anyway?   Does no one ever just watch what happens in there?    :Small Confused:

----------


## DeTess

> But I'd wonder why not anyway?   Does no one ever just watch what happens in there?


Plenty of people do, but as this is an event in which the emperor appears to the public, there's very heavy security present, and unfortunately the drow have a bit of a reputation...

Anyway, I updated my last post in the IC thread, rather than double-posting again.

----------


## WindStruck

> Plenty of people do, but as this is an event in which the emperor appears to the public, there's very heavy security present, and unfortunately the drow have a bit of a reputation...
> 
> Anyway, I updated my last post in the IC thread, rather than double-posting again.


Oh.  Right.

lol honestly, I've been so used to Shandara being treated fairly and equally that it rather slipped my mind.  Yeah.  Emperor.  Drow...  what could possibly go wrong?

I guess now that I think about it, usually Shandara would have that dagger with drow poison on her for self-protection.  Though, if she applied just a little bit of common sense, she might think it a bad idea to bring it to this occasion.

Oh yes!  She does have nice clothes too listed in her inventory.  She should probably wear that as well.

----------


## DeTess

> I guess now that I think about it, usually Shandara would have that dagger with drow poison on her for self-protection.  Though, if she applied just a little bit of common sense, she might think it a bad idea to bring it to this occasion.


I expect she would know better than bringing that weapon, though there would also be something of a large place just outside the palace gates where people who would normally carry weapons and the like could leave them behind (obviously with some kind of ticket system or similar to make it easy for people to get their own stuff back). People would often travel quite far to go here for judgement, even if they couldn't attend the rest of the festival, and the area around the city isn't quite that safe that travelers would go about entirely unarmed.

----------


## DeTess

@windstruck, how long are you planning on sticking around to watch proceedings in the throne room? They'll continue accepting petitions until sometime after sundown.

----------


## WindStruck

Hm. I imagine Shandara would have been arriving in the afternoon in the first place.  She may as well stay until sundown?  Or at least, perhaps unless she starts feeling _incredibly bored_.

----------


## WindStruck

Well, I'm sure most people have their limits when it comes to sitting in once place for a time.

Let's say 2 hours + (20d6)[*75*] minutes.

----------


## DeTess

Okay. Could you roll me a sense motive or a knowledge (nobility)? Just to see if you can pick up some of the more subtle undercurrents of the proceedings.

----------


## WindStruck

Uh...  should I do both??  Might as well.

Sense motive: (1d20+4)[*11*]

Nobility: (1d20+8)[*10*]

----------


## DeTess

@windstruck, could you roll me a perception?

----------


## WindStruck

Alright.  (1d20+6)[*25*]

Assuming no overwhelmingly bright lights in the palace.   :Small Tongue:

----------


## Prehysterical

Okay, I'm back. Should my next post be about heading to the library for research? Or should we just do that with a roll and proceed to our evening rendezvous?

----------


## WindStruck

We had an evening rendezvous?   :Small Big Grin: 

So what was on the agenda?  Being blinded by fireworks?    :Small Amused:

----------


## DeTess

> Okay, I'm back. Should my next post be about heading to the library for research? Or should we just do that with a roll and proceed to our evening rendezvous?


that's up to you.

----------


## Prehysterical

> We had an evening rendezvous?  
> 
> So what was on the agenda?  Being blinded by fireworks?


Don't we need to meet up with that sketchy dwarf guy? The one from the restaurant? Or is that not until the next day?

----------


## DeTess

> Don't we need to meet up with that sketchy dwarf guy? The one from the restaurant? Or is that not until the next day?


the date he set was two days after the festival, so it would be the day after tomorrow.

----------


## Prehysterical

Gotcha. Must have gotten mixed up. I will get a library post up shortly.

----------


## WindStruck

What did happen to dragons in or around the empire?  Killed, run off, or hiding?  Or I imagine, a lot of it may be secret as well. But just wondering that the common knowledge version of it is.

----------


## DeTess

The chromatics got killed off or left. Sightings of metallics just became rarer and rarer, but no one really knows why. It's generally accepted that they left too for their own reasons.

----------


## DeTess

@prehysterical, could you roll me a knowledge(geography), or a knowledge (local) (but the dc is higher on that one)?

----------


## WindStruck

Hm. What do you all want to happen for the evening of this day?  I didn't really have plans.

Shandara might just go home for a bit and leave her window open in case the owl wants some refuge from all the fireworks.

She might go out and watch them, I'm not sure...

----------


## DeTess

That's up to you two as far as I'm concerned. The fireworks will be visible from just about anywhere in the city, but there are of course better and worse places to watch from, if that's what interests you. And if you aren't, that's fine too.

----------


## Prehysterical

> @prehysterical, could you roll me a knowledge(geography), or a knowledge (local) (but the dc is higher on that one)?


Knowledge (Geography): (1d20+7)[*27*]

I'm honestly fine skipping ahead until our clandestine meeting. Didn't really have anything else in mind for Bolten.

----------


## WindStruck

Hmm.  So no significant plans for Shandara this night, aside from what I had already outlined...  which was leaving a safe space available for the owl to retreat, and perhaps watching some of the fireworks.

When the fireworks are all over and people are going to bed, and there's little else to do in the dead of night when Shandara would be active, I think maybe she could begin trying some research on the nature of souls or.. shall we say, birth of spirits via impressions of other souls over a long period of time. It's likely to come up dry, as I am sure no one knows what is going on and hardly even has any theories.  But I do think there might be another recorded instance of something similar happening.  Perhaps even "sentient" magic items?

(1d20)[*5*]    or    (1d20)[*3*]   Good thing we also have a library bonus...   :Small Eek: 

I'll use investigative mind for this check, but I'm not sure what exact category it would be in. Shandara's knowledges range anywhere from +8 to +17, though this could be a very obscure topic where neither may apply...

Oh crap.  I also forgot doing a bit of research for what she needs for that familiar ritual.

But more importantly, I am sure there must be some new postings on the Society bulletins, for commissions and stuff, so Shandara would like to take a look at the board bright and early.

----------


## DeTess

okay, I'll try to have a post up on Sunday, but I'm visiting family for festivities this weekend, so no promises.

Also, do you two want to  see about recruiting 1-2 more people? If so, I'll get the ball on that rolling soon as well and delay introducing the newest set of commissions and notices until new blood has arrived.

Also, when the festival ends, you all can gestalt another level.

----------


## WindStruck

Yeah I don't think I would mind adding in 1 or 2 more people.   :Small Wink:

----------


## Prehysterical

I don't mind adding another person or two. Can't imagine it will take long to find someone looking for a game.

----------


## DeTess

@windstrukc, @prehsyterical, you both find with skipping ahead to the meeting with Dukkaer (after touching on Shandara's owl-related adventures and the first results of her research, of course)? Or is there anything else you want to do before the festival is over?

----------


## WindStruck

I mean the festival was just about over, so I guess that's it...

The only other plans, aside from the two topics of research, were the notice boards..  which I think you had said you wanted to wait for some other players first?

----------


## Prehysterical

I am fine with skipping ahead.

----------


## DeTess

Allright, updated my most recent post in the IC thread.

----------


## WindStruck

Hey DeTess! I saw your new recruitment thread! Looking good!

Would you like me to post there? I don't know if it would be much. Just my own thoughts on the game, and an endorsement.   :Small Tongue: 

Maybe at the very least I could wait a bit to "bump" the thread if necessary.  Yeah, maybe that's the better way to go.

----------


## Prehysterical

So you said that we could go ahead and gestalt to level 2, right?

----------


## WindStruck

Yes, we should have a 2nd gestalt level now.

Question. When we get those gestalt feats, is that like, every other gestalt level?  I know I've got one written down for this first level of wizard, so I assume no feat for the 2nd level.

----------


## DeTess

It's not so much a gestalt feat as me also handing out an epic feat with that level. To keep it simple I might just continue doing so, so have another feat as well :P

----------


## Prehysterical

I was looking over the OOC thread to double-check the gestalt rules and it turns out that I did actually bring up the dragons before.



> Edit: Speaking of the captain's comment, what is the Empire's relationship with metallic dragons? I have an idea in mind for how Bolten overcomes the spell level limitations of making clockwork constructs, sooooooo... no ulterior motives at all he lied.





> Dragons as a whole are quite rare. The empire isn't exactly on bad standing with the metallic dragons as a whole, though there are individuals, especially those leaning more towards the chaotic side of the alignment axis that have grudges regarding the empire conquering a pretty big piece of land. There are a couple of places where metallic dragons are known to live. These are often the leader of some kind of monastic order or similar group of people that seek to retreat from the world and pursue perfection in one way or another. These dragons are sometimes sought out for counsel, but they're fairly picky on who they actually wish to see.


Made me wonder if there have been some adjustments in the setting since that conversation.

----------


## DeTess

Oops -_- That's what I get for not noting stuff like that down initially. Let's go with my second ruling on that for now. The metallic led monasteries do exist, but are located outside the empire and would therefore take quite a bit of effort to travel to and fro nd.

----------


## Prehysterical

So, as I was finishing that post, I just realized... If this guy is the dwarven equivalent of James Bond, does that make Bolten Q?

----------


## WindStruck

> So, as I was finishing that post, I just realized... If this guy is the dwarven equivalent of James Bond, does that make Bolten Q?


Haha!   :Small Big Grin: 

Well...  I think at the very least you need a whole room full of interesting gizmos!

But rather, when we first met him I was not thinking of James Bond.  More like Chuck Norris.  :Small Tongue: 

edit:

With all that being said, now I totally want to bring him into a room full of cool stuff then show how it all works.  I think we both will have to be Q.

----------


## WindStruck

Oh by the way.  A special picture I found for Prehysterical!  Everyone else can look too.

*Spoiler*
Show

----------


## Prehysterical

> Oh by the way.  A special picture I found for Prehysterical!  Everyone else can look too.
> 
> *Spoiler*
> Show


Yes, the Doc Ock comparison was very much in my head after I wrote that.

----------


## WindStruck

Hm.  This would be to help provide a time estimate and a price quote...

Engineering:  (1d20+8)[*13*]  or  (1d20+8)[*19*]

Appraise: (1d20+10)[*25*]  or  (1d20+10)[*20*]

So it looks like we'd have a tail, 2 pincers, maybe even 2 extra legs to help hold onto walls, superior climbing ability...

Shandara would plan on enchanting the tips of the legs with silence so they don't make sounds when digging into rock.  An adamantine coating on the tips would also prove extremely useful.  Grappling hook in the tail, maybe poison. And Bolten has already done a thing with legs that are mentally controlled, so maybe we could sort of base it off that...

----------


## DeTess

This would most likely be the most complicated project either of you have worked on so far. Time estimates are difficult at is point, but it would probably take around a month or thereabout, maybe a bit quicker (three weeks or thereabouts) if you can get  the design correct the first time around, rather than needing to make revisions as you run into trouble down the road.

----------


## WindStruck

Also was looking for a price tag?  Admittedly, an appraise of 25 might not even be enough...

----------


## DeTess

> Also was looking for a price tag?  Admittedly, an appraise of 25 might not even be enough...


You won't be able to put a proper price-tag to it until you've at least done your first proper design pass, but first estimate would be somewhere between 15 and 40k, depending on a lot of different specifics (including material choice, exact list of features to be included, etc.)

----------


## DeTess

I'm not ending the Dukkear scene here quite yet, but I am setting up the new commissions and the like for the new players already. Hope that wasn't too confusing.

----------


## MrAbdiel

Hello fellow craftspeople!  Delighted to be here.  I'll probably try to get a post out tomorrow, and when I do, I suppose I'll speak in... oh, let's say, *a nice, saddle brown.*  Do all members of the society use the communal dorms until they're permitted to make an alternate arrangement?  One of the things Aiden would want to do right away is start using his downtime to build his own workshop, but I imagine that it might be pretty competitive for space.

----------


## DeTess

> Hello fellow craftspeople!  Delighted to be here.  I'll probably try to get a post out tomorrow, and when I do, I suppose I'll speak in... oh, let's say, *a nice, saddle brown.*  Do all members of the society use the communal dorms until they're permitted to make an alternate arrangement?  One of the things Aiden would want to do right away is start using his downtime to build his own workshop, but I imagine that it might be pretty competitive for space.


Yes, there are communal dorms and workshops that you can use, but those often aren't quite as nice as your own place, and the workshops can get quite busy at times. Space is at a premium, but it depends on how close to the campus you want to be. The further away you go, the easier (and cheaper) it is to get your onw place.

----------


## DeTess

@mrabdiel, could you roll me a perform (you can take 10 instead if you wish)? I know you said it was mostly for the fun of it, but this is the kind of thing that can also grow one's reputation, good or bad.

----------


## WindStruck

Hello, and welcome!

As a reminder, yes, you do start off with a considerable chunk of money.  I think some of us had started off with a purchase of our own workshop/residence.  You could totally have done that if you want.

Anyway, looking forward to you being here, MrAbdiel..  expecting nothing but the best, seeing how you are doing with your warcraft M&M game.   :Small Big Grin:

----------


## Prehysterical

Welcome to the Society, Mr. Abdiel! Been many years since I made it down to Brisbane.

I can understand the appeal of your character making his own workshop. What you could do to get the best of both worlds is have building that workshop be part of your backstory. You would spend only half the amount on materials, have it ready to go for the game, and you don't have to juggle that project's downtime with getting your own space. Having your own dedicated workspace would also save you from having to rent warehouse space or work around scheduling in the Society member workshop spaces. That would also also leave you with more starting money in case you need to buy materials to start a major project or are saving up for something special of your own. (Me, I'm having to save money because of the massive investment it takes to craft any kind of construct.)

----------


## MrAbdiel

> Hello, and welcome!
> 
> As a reminder, yes, you do start off with a considerable chunk of money.  I think some of us had started off with a purchase of our own workshop/residence.  You could totally have done that if you want.
> 
> Anyway, looking forward to you being here, MrAbdiel..  expecting nothing but the best, seeing how you are doing with your warcraft M&M game.


Thanks!  :)  Seeing this IC thread bounce up and down with your username on it was the major reason I decided to overcome my Pathfinder aversion and check it out!  So, you know, right back at you!




> Welcome to the Society, Mr. Abdiel! Been many years since I made it down to Brisbane.
> 
> I can understand the appeal of your character making his own workshop. What you could do to get the best of both worlds is have building that workshop be part of your backstory. You would spend only half the amount on materials, have it ready to go for the game, and you don't have to juggle that project's downtime with getting your own space. Having your own dedicated workspace would also save you from having to rent warehouse space or work around scheduling in the Society member workshop spaces. That would also also leave you with more starting money in case you need to buy materials to start a major project or are saving up for something special of your own. (Me, I'm having to save money because of the massive investment it takes to craft any kind of construct.)


Thanks!  I expect Brisbane hasnt changed much since you were last here - though with the Olympics now on our horizon, well go as mad as any other city with harebrained expansion projects.  Pity us, oh traveller!

Thats a neat plan for the house, but I both like the idea of exposing this character to frustrations of the daily grind (so he can thwart that frustration with his impenetrable good nature) and I might save for a good spot very close to campus.  I guess I need to look at a pricing catalogue for the land!




> @mrabdiel, could you roll me a perform (you can take 10 instead if you wish)? I know you said it was mostly for the fun of it, but this is the kind of thing that can also grow one's reputation, good or bad.


Ooo.  Ive been bitten by perform checks before, so I SHOULD take 10

Ah, who am I kidding?  Im not here to not roll dice.  The worst I can get is a 16, so here we go:

(1d20+15)[*25*].

Edit: Quibbles then rolls a 10 anyway.  Now thats just good writing. :)

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## WindStruck

Oh nice, a "memorable performance"!  You've actually got a pretty decent perform check, and can pull those off all the time by taking ten.

Well I will tell you one thing. That means Shandara would certainly be remembering Aiden. If she's ever come across him playing. But that must be the case.

Well anyway, as DeTess said, our PCs would still sort of know each other. How much and to what degree would be up for us to decide.

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## MrAbdiel

> Oh nice, a "memorable performance"!  You've actually got a pretty decent perform check, and can pull those off all the time by taking ten.
> 
> Well I will tell you one thing. That means Shandara would certainly be remembering Aiden. If she's ever come across him playing. But that must be the case.
> 
> Well anyway, as DeTess said, our PCs would still sort of know each other. How much and to what degree would be up for us to decide.


Well, since I just got here, itd work well for me if Aiden had been a little aloof for his tenure so far - not antisocial, but prone to unremarkable carpentry projects that dont really exploit the power of the Society until he starts branching out just now.  Perhaps shes seen this unusually content, fiddle playing human serenading the artisans a few times, and theyve exchanged names and greetings, but theyve had no cause to work together.  The IC getting-to-know-you, when it comes, will help me grasp the other characters as well as flesh out my own.  Works for you?

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## WindStruck

Yes, it would make sense if they have briefly exchanged names and greetings - and that's all. That's perfectly fine.

Just a bit of warning, it does seem Shandara and Bolten will be wrapped up in their own little project for a while. Maybe even two projects. One of these is even related to spooky Underdark intrigues!

I'm saying this now because it may be unlikely that we work together on much right away. And, if I'm honest, I would probably have some of my own character's goals and be picky. It's not one of those games where all the PCs stick together constantly and all share the same goal. It's very diverse and sandboxy, and I like it that way.

So I don't mean to be pushing you (or anyone else) away.  When or if we do ever end up sharing a goal or a project, it should be fun, though.    :Small Tongue:

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## Prehysterical

Should we just go ahead and proceed past the dinner with Dukkear? If Windstruck wants to do a little RP, that's fine, but I feel like most of the conversation is going to be "classified". It would also let us get cracking on this literal monster of a project.

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## DeTess

@prehysterical, @windstruck, If both of you want to skip past the dinner once Shandara's last question is answered, that's fine.

@mrabdiel, I assume it's fine to introduce you to the granary at a later point that day when next I post, or was there anything else you wanted to do first besides playing great music?

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## MrAbdiel

> @prehysterical, @windstruck, If both of you want to skip past the dinner once Shandara's last question is answered, that's fine.
> 
> @mrabdiel, I assume it's fine to introduce you to the granary at a later point that day when next I post, or was there anything else you wanted to do first besides playing great music?


That's the main thing - he'd like to see the area and walk around it before putting together his prototype.  But if before that he can talk to a realter about buying the right to build somethere near (or affordably far) from the campus, that'd fill his morning out!  But in the interest of keeping things moving, I'm happy for that to be super abstract.

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## DeTess

@mrabdiel,

You find (10d12)[*79*] copper coins and (5d6)[*19*] silver coins in your instrument's case after your performance is done.

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## DeTess

@prehsyterical, @ windstruck, so did you want to skip over the rest of the dinner, or play it out further? Either is fine with me, but I would like to know which direction to take it.

@mrabdiel, regarding making your own place, you can use the following price lists for furnishing specific rooms and the like: https://www.d20pfsrd.com/gamemasteri...oms-and-teams/

Buying the location to fit all this in will cost between 1000 and 5000 gold pieces or thereabout, more if you want a big place in a prime location. If you just want a workshop and don't mind it being a decent walk from the heart of the campus that'd only be a 1000Gp (plus costs for outfitting the place), but if you also want living space attached to it you'd soon be looking at around 2000GP (plus cost for outfitting the workshop), and if you want it to be in a good location (useful if you also want the place to be a store to sell things from) that'd add 1-2k gold more.

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## WindStruck

Those rats sound scary!  I think they would be a very interesting subject of study...

Not sure what I want to do about the dinner. Guess I don't mind skipping over the dinner..  There's not too much Shandara would want to pry about, or reveal about herself. Feels like small talk might be oddly nonexistent or unproductive as well.

If you can think of some interesting stuff to do or say I don't mind.

I guess a question is, when we skip ahead, where/when do we end up next?   :Small Big Grin:

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## DeTess

> Those rats sound scary!  I think they would be a very interesting subject of study...


 :Amused: 




> I guess a question is, when we skip ahead, where/when do we end up next?


Skipping ahead would just be to the next morning/afternoon (or to directly after the dinner if you and Bolten want to start working immediately). I don't really have anything else planned for the dinner at the moment.

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## Prehysterical

> Those rats sound scary!  I think they would be a very interesting subject of study...


*"Yes-yes, silly elf-thing, we have much-much to teach you. Please, step-scurry into dark, shadowy alley here..."*

Bolten would be so wound up that he would want to immediately start drawing up the plans after dinner. Shandara could either be there to bounce ideas off of or she could go home while Bolten figures out the initial mechanical design and they hash out the magical details later. Whatever works.

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## WindStruck

Yeah, Shandara can go with Bolten in the evening. I'm sure she'd be up far later than him..   :Small Tongue:

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## MrAbdiel

*Spoiler: Operation: Rat-Splat - Info Desired!*
Show

There's no good way to set a trap for rats like this without knowing what makes them so amazingly special, but Aiden can do some prelim work while he's here.  He wants to know...

1. The area of the facility he is ratproofing, specifically the radius from the middlemost point, for the purpose of gaging the range of any broadcast effect he might employ.
2. The height of the tallest structure.
3. If the problem is bad enough that the rats are scumming about in daylight like they own the place.

The next step is to figure this rat nonsense out, and and that'll require a specialist.  Aiden is going to look to hire someone - probably a young, affordable ranger - to skulk about the granary to get info on the rats.  They'll need to be knowledgeable about vermin, able to sneak, and able to converse with animals (thus a ranger is ideal!).  If the ranger can just interrogate a rat to find out its weird secrets, that's even better; but even if they come back with a report that the rats seem normal, that's atleast one approach to information gathering Aiden will know won't work.

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## DeTess

@mrabdiel

1. You could fit all storage facilities into a 100 foot radius dome.
2. The silos are the tallest structures around, at about 50 feet high.
3. Roll me a perception check please.

Regarding the person you want to hire, how do you wish to go about finding them? Do you want to put a notice out on the various market and notice boards throughout town (will definitely get you someone, will cost you a handful of silver pieces (let's say 12 all told) and might take a day or two to bear fruit), do you want to track down a suitable guild to contact them (knowledge(local) roll then, if you please), or do you have some other cunning plan?

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## MrAbdiel

Lets go with the notice board plan; Aiden isnt a man prone to hurry and he supports the independent contractors!

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## DeTess

Could you roll me that perception check as well? And could you include the text for your notice either in your next IC post (after I describe anything else you notice about the place), or in the OOC thread?

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## MrAbdiel

Sure!  *Perception* - (1d20-1)[*8*].  He's, ah... Well, there's a reason he's outsourcing the observation stuff!

*Spoiler: Ranger/Druid Help Wanted!*
Show

*Ranger/Druid Help Wanted!

An artificer and pest control contractor requires help finding humane solutions to a problem with urban wildlife.  Specifically, I need someone who can devote a few nights to discretely observing vermin that are exhibiting unusual behaviours.  The job is not dangerous, just specialized.  The successful applicant will have:

- Good attention to detail
- Ability to work as part of a team
- Self-starter
- The ability to talk to rats, either by use of a spell or other reliable means
- Knowledge about the habits of rats and urban vermin
- Patience
- Good communication skills
- Talent for avoiding the detection of the aforementioned vermin
- Freedom to work nights

Desirable, but not essential factors include:

- No need to sleep
- Perfect vision at night
- An animal companion; owl or similar

Contact Aiden Sorveaux, at the Royal Artificer Society Campus.  Job has an immediate start.  Pays in good silver!*

_On each of the dozen or so of these postings Aiden has fixed to job boards, he includes a silver piece delicately held to the paper by three stitches of thread, as if to demonstrate how real the reward is.  This, of course, is remarkably foolish; and each of those 'example' coins is likely to be vanished by opportunists long before anyone reads the advertisement in full!_

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## DeTess

@mrabdiel, It'll be (1d3)[*3*] days before someone drops by in reaction to your notice. If you've got extensive plans to fill in that time I'm happy to play it out, if you're just planning on spending some time doing some preliminary research in the archives or something like that and want to quickly skip over it, that's fine with me too.

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## WindStruck

Hey MrAbdiel.  I think you may have forgot to mention in your advertisement that this job is an entry level position.  And it requires at least 5+ years of experience working with rats.    :Small Amused:

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## Prehysterical

Okay, the nat 20's on the Crafting rolls are starting to get ridiculous...

Speaking of constructs, I had an idea for how to finally get Bolten's clockwork familiar into the picture. DeTess, the goliath spirits that inhabit the animal automatons... Any chance we could arrange so that one of those ancestral spirits becomes Bolten's familiar? I had the idea for the familiar to be a clockwork armadillo, anyway, so it fits thematically and explains why it has a personality.

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## WindStruck

I'm not sure how to help Bolten here.  I could maybe try to "aid another", though I think I'd actually need at least a rank in craft (clockwork) right?  But then again, even Bolten could hire out an unskilled laborer, which would also grant a +2 bonus.

But Shandara also still has some knowledge rolls, she could also cast crafter's fortune on herself or bolten, and she also has magecraft (personal).

In any case, it's obvious Shandara would be helping in some capacity, but I'm just not sure how to go about it mechanically.

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## DeTess

> Speaking of constructs, I had an idea for how to finally get Bolten's clockwork familiar into the picture. DeTess, the goliath spirits that inhabit the animal automatons... Any chance we could arrange so that one of those ancestral spirits becomes Bolten's familiar? I had the idea for the familiar to be a clockwork armadillo, anyway, so it fits thematically and explains why it has a personality.


Could be a possibility, you'd have to discuss that with them though 




> In any case, it's obvious Shandara would be helping in some capacity, but I'm just not sure how to go about it mechanically.


The idea was that you'd add your magical expertise to the project, right? Maybe roll a spellcraft, and I'll base an ad-hoc bonus on your roll.

Edit: also, @prehysterical, @windstruck, could you give me a run-down of all the features and things you want to include in both projects?

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## WindStruck

I'd consider Prehysterical as the lead design here.   :Small Big Grin: 

But I guess from what I understand, it's going to be some thing that fits on his back via a harness.  I imagine it has 4 climbing legs and 2 pinchers (which also can help climb but also attack) and apparently a tail now that shoots a grappling hook.  Why not load poison in it for good measure too?

Not sure what Bolten would have had in mind.  I was thinking the legs/arms were kind of noodly and flexible machine parts, not sure how exactly they move.  Clockwork, hydraulics?  I'm thinking the inspiration was definitely making it look like Doctor Octopus, though. It's supposed to have a mental control thing like how Bolten made the legs for that one noble, and _also_ a manual control?  Or was it just that Dukkear didn't want the machine running off on its own without his input?  I would have thought mental control would be fine. Guess it's unclear.

One idea I had in mind was that for all the tips of the legs, or anything we'd plan to contact stone, like the grappling hook or even the pinchers, we could coat the tips in adamantine and also put a very tiny silence effect on them. So that way, not only could they dig into rock easily, but it would not make a sound!

Well, that's my brainstorming for now...  and a spellcraft roll!

(1d20+16)[*17*]

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## MrAbdiel

> Hey MrAbdiel.  I think you may have forgot to mention in your advertisement that this job is an entry level position.  And it requires at least 5+ years of experience working with rats.


Haha!  Yes indeed.  Additionally, they will be paid in _exposure._




> @mrabdiel, It'll be [roll0] days before someone drops by in reaction to your notice. If you've got extensive plans to fill in that time I'm happy to play it out, if you're just planning on spending some time doing some preliminary research in the archives or something like that and want to quickly skip over it, that's fine with me too.


Three days it is!  Aiden has a couple of things he intends to do in the downtime.

*Spoiler: Downtime Crafting!*
Show

He already has an idea of his Plan A for this - he wants to make a clever trap that self cleans and can last indefinitely with only periodic maintenance.  Here's the idea:

The device relies on the repeated, automated use of the _Call Animal_ spell.  The idea is to call "the nearest" rat to come to within 5ft of the spell's casting - an exposed, elevated place - and then another, separate casting of the spell to summon the nearest owl.  After that, nature takes its course.

In Aiden's estimation, spellcasting devices are easier to make the more ways you limit it.  Some thought will be required once he has the proof-of-concept about how many times a night the spell needs to be effective.  But what he knows he'll need are some wooden flutes, probably to be integrated into a kind of weathervane which harvests the wind coming off the sea to make their sound and activate the stored spell.  So he's going to be making a few masterwork wooden flutes - one for Call Animal (Rat), one for Call Animal (Owl), and one for Call Animal (Mouse), even though rats seem to be the major problem, since the commission wanted a solution for those too.  If he ends up having to rethink his design because these rats are all trained or supernatural in some way, he can always sell the masterwork flutes since they're masterwork flutes! :D

He can, and will, take 10 for 30 for Carpentry to make such devices, or to make as much of them as he can manage while he's waiting for his ranger-helper.

As for the house - Aiden has all the skills to make his own home/workshop, and plans to, so for now he just has to buy a plot of land (either with no building on it or one with a building of negligible or negative value).  He'd want a large downstairs workshop/showroom, and an upstairs he can fill out with living space, with a barn on one side for large projects, and for Ambrose's shelter.  All of that, I can bash out in a design before I submit it as a crafting project using the rules you provided.  But as for the price of the land, I guess that's going to qualify as a "large" land purchase.  Not large like a noble's estate or a straight-up farm, but large enough for a big house/workshop/showroom/storefront, and also a small barn.  How much is he looking at, for a "Large" plot in a good location?  It's no concern if it's an hour's walk from the campus.  Two hours would be pushing it.

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## DeTess

@mrabdiel, I like the flute idea. could you also roll me a spellcraft for crafting the magic into them? You should be able to finish a prototype of each in the three days you've got(please do put in an IC bit describing a bit about your process, the materials your character would use, etc. between the high quality wood and components needed for enchantment you'd be short about a 800 gp in materials for all three flutes).

Regarding a place to call your own, since you also want it to be a store, does that mean you want it to be somewhere where people pass by enough to attract a decent amount of business? If so, that's going to drive up the price (probably around 4-5k gp, but in that case there will already be useable building there, so you'd just have to convert the interior spaces to suite your needs). If that's not required, what other requirements do you have, would it for example be fine if it was in one of the poorer areas? Shouldn't be too hard to find a cheap but sizeable place in the recently plague-hit Stormdrains district, for example, but that means security and sanitation aren't exactly great (you could get a suitable bit of land in the stormdrains for 1k gold, but you'd probably need to demolish the current building and start over fresh).

Another option is to get a property in one of the harbour districts. Plenty of traffic, not too unreasonable prizes (2-3k), but security won't be great. A suitable area in one of the middle class residential areas would set you back about the same, but you'd have less people passing by for the store, but the area would be safer.

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## MrAbdiel

...You know what, Aiden is Wisdom 8, making him a bad judge of character too blissfully oblivious to see longterm problems.  If he can get a chunka-chunk of land in the Stormdrains for cheap, he'll go for it - decrepit building and all.  Can I get security NPCs using the same rules to build a "Team" or two for that?  And perhaps apprentices to staff the workshop/storefront, when it's up and running?  I find the idea of him opening up an artisan craft shop in a community of people who absolutely can't afford it very funny; and perhaps charming if, over time, enough folks who can afford his goods venture into the recovering district to shop there, maybe providing the area with a sliver of revitalized interest.  It'd be good if it could get plumbed into the sewer system (I assume the Stormdrains is well plumbed, all things considered).  But that's basically all Aiden would think to need - his very own flushable toilet, space for Ambrose, and then a big area he can fill with a large workshop/storefront/showroom area on ground floor, and living spaces upstairs.  I'm mocking up a plan using the Rooms rules right now.

As for the spellcraft roll!  I, perhaps foolishly, envisioned that Aiden is fairly new to crafting magical things, so he's only barely self-taught in spellcraft - I intend to populate it with more skillpoints as he levels.  If he can Take 10 for a 17, he'll do it - otherwise, it's a (1d20+7)[*10*] for Spellcraft.  If it's not enough, he'll content himself with making the physical items and then look for some help (maybe from Lynette when she drops in to the game!)  I'll add an IC post shortly.

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## DeTess

@mmrabdiel, actually, the Stormdrains is not particularly well-plumbed at all... yet. The first set of commissions in the game involved coming up with some solutions for that, so in a week or 6 in-game time it will be fixed. You could definitely hire both security and apprentices, exact costs depending on the skill involved. Skilled apprentices will start at a one or more gold pieces a day (depending on skill level, complete novices requiring a lot of training would cost less to art with), security depends on whether you just want a tough in front of your door, to keep opportunists at bay (a couple silver a day), or something more along the lines of a proper bodyguard (which'll cost significantly more).

A 17 on spellcraft should be just about sufficient for what you're trying to do, though there might be a minor glitch or two in your first design.

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## MrAbdiel

> @mmrabdiel, actually, the Stormdrains is not particularly well-plumbed at all... yet. The first set of commissions in the game involved coming up with some solutions for that, so in a week or 6 in-game time it will be fixed. You could definitely hire both security and apprentices, exact costs depending on the skill involved. Skilled apprentices will start at a one or more gold pieces a day (depending on skill level, complete novices requiring a lot of training would cost less to art with), security depends on whether you just want a tough in front of your door, to keep opportunists at bay (a couple silver a day), or something more along the lines of a proper bodyguard (which'll cost significantly more).
> 
> A 17 on spellcraft should be just about sufficient for what you're trying to do, though there might be a minor glitch or two in your first design.


Sounds good.  Hopefully I can get enough return out of my apprentices making nice furniture that they pay for themselves and the security! :D

EDIT: Spreadsheet for the house build he's planning.  Costs are all in Purchased Capital.  Cost of Land not included.

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## WindStruck

Your idea for the rat trap does seem interesting, although I am worried those rats might be so smart that they  start figuring out what is happening to their friends and either wreck the trap or start systematically killing the owls too...   They do sound that intriguing and scary.

Another question:  does the stormdrains district location have even worse security than the harbor?

I do think the idea of trying to RP that 8 wisdom is funny...  I really just hope you don't shoot yourself in the foot too badly and things become unfun.

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## MrAbdiel

> Your idea for the rat trap does seem interesting, although I am worried those rats might be so smart that they  start figuring out what is happening to their friends and either wreck the trap or start systematically killing the owls too...   They do sound that intriguing and scary.
> 
> Another question:  does the stormdrains district location have even worse security than the harbor?
> 
> I do think the idea of trying to RP that 8 wisdom is funny...  I really just hope you don't shoot yourself in the foot too badly and things become unfun.


Nothing's Unfun for Aiden.  He's the happiest man in the world! :D

Also, you're right about the smart-rats being the fly in the ointment.  That's why I'm trying to get ahead of that by hiring a noob-ranger to spy on, talk to, and capture rats for me so we can figure out what their deal is.  It might be as simple as killing a were rat, or as difficult as discovering this is a breed of rats with intelligence 8.  But any solution is prone to failing if the rats continue with problem solving behaviour.

Maybe there's a bunch of rats in a little Rat Artificery Society, paying their best and brightest in cheese to overcome problems like "Delicious Poison Routinely Offered When Hungry" and "Huge, Murderous Felines Need Strategic Solution".

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## WindStruck

I think if we were really smart, we would begin communicating with the rats and start trading with them for the grain they want..   :Small Big Grin:

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## DeTess

> Another question:  does the stormdrains district location have even worse security than the harbor?


They've got different security problems. In the stormdrains, vandalism and petty theft are more likely to be issues. The harbor district you might be more likely to run afoul of more organized crime, but it'd be lan issue less often.

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## Prehysterical

I'm fine with discussing the project with them, DeTess, but I was hoping that the narrative would be that Bolten volunteers to build a prototype just because he feels sorry for them and the spirit in that prototype decides to stick around with him. Bolten would be making a friend in the true sense of the term.

As for project details, let me divide them up this way:
*Spoiler: Spybug*
Show

The spy drone would be a six-legged clockwork construct in the shape of a beetle. (Would need to do research on which species of beetle live in the Underdark.) The legs would be thin, relying on delicate clockwork gears for proper positioning of the legs. Armor on the legs would need to be minimal, designed more for keeping the cogs clear than deflecting blows. Like Windstruck suggested, the plan is to have adamantine tips on the claws with a silence effect to reduce noise. The clockwork gears themselves might also need some treatment to hide the whirring and clicking. It would be magically programmed to be either operated remotely or to have limited self-operating ability. A gyroscope in the center would be essential for the construct's balance as it climbs on walls or the ceiling. Whenever it is operating independently, it would follow a set of simply instructions, e.g. "follow that individual" or "start recording in the presence of drow". Rather than the twinned dangling needle, Bolten will experiment with putting scratch marks into a stone or metal plate. These grooves, when properly traced, would "echo" the sound recorded by the spy drone. There would probably need to be a tiny arm inside the carapace that is tipped, again, in adamantine to perform such a recording. The listening device inside of the drone would only be accessed with the proper command word, which will open the drone's back for record retrieval. Should anyone attempt to brute force the drone open, the drone would scratch the disk willy-nilly and render the recording useless. (It may be that there is an easier magical solution, for which Bolten would consult Shandara.)

At the moment, Bolten is trying to figure out if there is a feasible way for a remote operator to see and hear through the drone. Perhaps a special set of earmuffs and goggles? The big obstacle are the distances involved and all the interference from solid rock and various scattered metals with that rock. There is also the matter of camouflage, testing how much of the concealment will come from specifically shaping the outer carapace to blend in and what painting patterns or magics are necessary to increase stealth.

*Spoiler: Scorpion*
Show

The entire assembly would technically be two different parts. The easier part is a special harness fitted to go over Dukkear's (or a dwarf's) body with a knob sticking out of the back. That knob would fit into a slot on the construct's back, maintaining either a fixed orientation or keeping the operator upright. Since the construct would require a gyroscope for its climbing, a separate gyroscope in the assembly would be responsible for the pilot. Should the operator need to suddenly disengage in an emergency, a button or switch on the harness would activate a loaded spring in the gyroscope assembly and cause the knob to pop out to free the operator.

As for the construct itself, it would consist of two forward claws, six climbing legs, and a prehensile tail. The forward claws are designed for grasping, manipulation, and occasional bulk lifting. They are not meant to be combat weapons. Similarly, Bolten has no plans for a poisoned stinger for the backpack. This is meant to be a mobility reconnaissance tool, not an assassination rig. The tail will contain a pulley/winch system and a dual-ended tail stinger hook assembly. This system will pull double duty: the same winch cable that allows for maneuvering and lifting of objects will also be the reel for the harpoon grappling system. The tail tips will be specially designed for their tasks with the grappling stinger being tipped in adamantine and retractable spikes for securing grip and the loading tip being a simple curved metal hook that is rugged enough to drape some sort of handle or rope over. The pulley system will be engaged either via mental command or by a fold-out crank tucked away within the tail apparatus.

Like the spy drone, this backpack scorpion will be using clockwork to provide rotation and smooth movement for its legs. Because of the higher weight demands, however, the gears and cogs involved will be much beefier and necessitate a tougher leg assembly. As stated with Dukkear, Bolten will be aiming for three systems of control: direct control of the legs via the operator's conscious will, a directive command where the construct obeys mental commands to move in a certain direction, and full remote control via a mental band where the construct is instructed to perform simple tasks like lifting, climbing, or retrieving. Bolten plans to reuse a lot of what he learned with the Baron's leg apparatus and the mental control circlet to make this idea work, though it will be interesting to see if the magic and mechanical design can handle three different inputs. It should go without saying that the grappling spike tip and the ends of the scorpion's legs will be enchanted to be silenced for stealth.

The rope for the grapple/loading winch may prove to be a challenge. Normally, everyone just springs for giant spider silk in projects like these, but that seems like a recipe for disaster and dead dwarf in this case. Bolten will have to workshop some sturdy kind of metal fiber alloy that will support a great deal of weight while still retaining flexibility.

These are the plans from a mechanical design standpoint. There are surely magical complications that I am not aware of, but these are all of the difficulties that I can think of in the design phase at the moment.

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## WindStruck

About the beetle:  I wasn't suggesting adamantine for the beetle.  I think it's wholly unnecessary and makes the crafting more difficult for others to replicate.  Also, a silence spell on the beetle is going to interfere in its own sound collection, so I imagine it would be either infeasible in the normal usage, or Shandara would have to come up with her own version of that spell which specifically just filters out metallic whirring sounds.

The recording disk is a good idea,but you still might also want a way for it to send data back remotely to a listener as well, should retrieving the beetle be an issue.   Also.  What do you think about a self-destruct command?


Scorpion:  emergency eject button is good, though I think we need 2 that need to be pressed simultaneously.   Either way, it's a feature we want, but not one we want accidentally getting pressed.

----------


## DeTess

> I'm fine with discussing the project with them, DeTess, but I was hoping that the narrative would be that Bolten volunteers to build a prototype just because he feels sorry for them and the spirit in that prototype decides to stick around with him. Bolten would be making a friend in the true sense of the term.


We can definitely do it that way as well, storywise.

Regarding the designs, remote viewing of the spybug is not impossible, but would require some fairly complicated enchantments, as there's no way to do this mechanically (maybe use a similar twinning trick to pair a set of glass lenses so one can see through them, for example, but feel free to come up with another approach as well). For the spybug, you're definitely feeling pretty confident you'd be able to pull it off as designed with minimal trouble.

For the climbing backpack, in addition to the cable for the winch, the power source is a bit of an issue that needs resolving (either by going with one of the following trade-offs, or spending some more time designing something special), as something existing that can run that system will be either very, very costly (big energy crystal), very bulky (small steam-engine using magic for heating or similar), or won't run long at all (ghost crystals like you used before won't be ideal for this bigger rig, but could still run it for shorter periods). Bolten also knows that the gearing is going to be tricky, as it's both going to have to take quite a bit of strain, while not being able to be super big or heavy. Not outside of Bolten's abilities, but it might need a couple tries tog et right which might result in some delays.

----------


## Prehysterical

I'm confused, Windstruck. If the spy drone doesn't have adamantine-tipped claws to climb on the stone walls and ceiling, how is it going to stick to the wall? You do have a point about the silence spell. If Shandara could workshop a version of the spell that just tunes out metallic sounds, that would be very beneficial. Harder to develop, but maybe less magic-intensive.

I suppose the enchantment could be twinned to a similar mechanical arm tipped with adamantine to write on a similar disk simultaneously. (I realize that we are basically inventing a record player in this universe.) It would definitely be less sensitive than the needle model, but the disk (depending on the material) would either need to be replaced or reforged to remove the scratch marks. I did consider a self-destruct button, but Bolten would not want to implant a feature that could be so potentially dangerous. Maybe the gears could be spun into overdrive and the entire thing just melts into slag metal? The double-button eject is a reasonable suggestion.

To DeTess:

Yeah, twinning a set of glass lenses sounds like the easiest way to get it done. I do need some clarifications about the scorpion, though. For "designing something special", does that mean changes to the pulley tail or the power source itself? Also, when you talk about runtime, how short is "short"? Would it be enough for the operator to at least fully retract and get a secure grip on the wall before the whole thing falls? I'd still like to find an optimal power source, if possible, but shorter usage duration may be the best compromise. 

What do you want for the Knowledge check? Arcana? Engineering?

----------


## DeTess

> Yeah, twinning a set of glass lenses sounds like the easiest way to get it done. I do need some clarifications about the scorpion, though. For "designing something special", does that mean changes to the pulley tail or the power source itself? Also, when you talk about runtime, how short is "short"? Would it be enough for the operator to at least fully retract and get a secure grip on the wall before the whole thing falls? I'd still like to find an optimal power source, if possible, but shorter usage duration may be the best compromise. 
> 
> What do you want for the Knowledge check? Arcana? Engineering?


Short would mean no more than an hours between significant periods of recharging in this case. 'something special' mostly refers to you coming up in character with something specific for the power source. Some time spent studying possibilities in the archives with a suitable knowledge check would certainly help with that.

----------


## WindStruck

Regarding something special:  I've suddenly had some idea that may or may not be similar to a portable nuclear fusion reactor.  Basically it involves using an ooze which eats organic material. You stuff just about anything into a small compartment, really. It gets fed to an ooze trapped in a pressurized container. But it has nowhere to grow, so, uh..  I guess when pressure builds up after a certain point, it can be released, which then would power a turbine much like a steam engine apparatus might, but this should be more portable and easier to come by on fuel?

About how the bug would climb without adamantine.  Well.  I guess the same way other small bugs climb without adamantine?

 :Confused:

----------


## Prehysterical

Honestly, that kind of mileage doesn't sound bad for something that's not an essential function. Still, Bolten would at least attempt to find a suitable power source.

That's certainly a novel idea for a power source, Windstruck, but what measures would be in place that would allow food to be put in and keep the ooze from trying to escape? If there is just an alternating door lock system where the ooze door opens when the exterior door is closed, what stops the ooze from squeezing and staying in the feeding space? Is the ooze driving the pistons? For the growing and release, is only a bud of the ooze shunted into the turbine and the "mother" ooze is left in the pressurized compartment?

Regular bugs aren't also made of solid metal. I guess I will roll an Engineering check and ask DeTess whether the adamantine is necessary or not for the claws. Bolten will take Shandara's suggestion for alternative materials for the recording disk into consideration.

Knowledge (Engineering): Taking 10 for 22.

----------


## WindStruck

Well I was under the impression that when creatures like insects are so small, it's very easy to climb surfaces because they are imperfect in some way.  Their legs have very tiny claws and hairs that help them climb.

While on that subject, if it is at all possible to make the spybug smaller than the trained beetles we encountered, we should do so.  Not only would that make them harder to notice, but this should also make it easier for them to climb surfaces.

----------


## DeTess

> While on that subject, if it is at all possible to make the spybug smaller than the trained beetles we encountered, we should do so.  Not only would that make them harder to notice, but this should also make it easier for them to climb surfaces.


That should be possible, yes, but not that much smaller. It'd still end up being the size of a hand, just more the size of Shandara's hand than Bolten's.

@prehysterical, Adamantine would probably be ideal, but not necessary. Hardened steel will do the job just as well, though it might need replacing once in a while.

@mrabdiel, anything else you want to do in the day ahead of you, or will you be waiting for more info on the rodents?

----------


## MrAbdiel

> @mrabdiel, anything else you want to do in the day ahead of you, or will you be waiting for more info on the rodents?


Mm.  I feel like I don't want to invest much more in the solution until I have these rats figured out, so I guess it's a "free" day.  so Aiden is going to start working on masterwork leather armor for Misha, acting on the presumption she's going to be as useful as she said.

If we're using the base crafting rules for non-artificer crafting, then...

Leather Armor = 100sp, DC 12, 3 gp 3sp 4cp to start working.

Masterwork Component = 1500sp, DC 20, 50gp to start working

Take 10 Leatherworking for the armor = 26*22 (accelerated for +10) = 572/7 = 81.7142 silver of the 100 silver base completed on the first day.

...Damn, I didn't know how slow it was gonna be making masterwork stuff.  That 1500sp is is gonna take like ... 21 days.   ._.

----------


## DeTess

> Mm.  I feel like I don't want to invest much more in the solution until I have these rats figured out, so I guess it's a "free" day.  so Aiden is going to start working on masterwork leather armor for Misha, acting on the presumption she's going to be as useful as she said.
> 
> If we're using the base crafting rules for non-artificer crafting, then...
> 
> Leather Armor = 100sp, DC 12, 3 gp 3sp 4cp to start working.
> 
> Masterwork Component = 1500sp, DC 20, 50gp to start working
> 
> Take 10 Leatherworking for the armor = 26*22 (accelerated for +10) = 572/7 = 81.7142 silver of the 100 silver base completed on the first day.
> ...


Yeah, stuff like that can take a while, especially if you're doing it alone, rather than bringing some people in to help.

----------


## WindStruck

Maybe you had better just settle for making the armor out of some rarer/quality material and just like, emboss pretty images of mice on it or something.

Go for a 20 gp item not a 60!

Wait, why were your calculations saying 50.gp = 1500 sp?  That should be only 500, for a total of 600 sp.

----------


## MrAbdiel

> Maybe you had better just settle for making the armor out of some rarer/quality material and just like, emboss pretty images of mice on it or something.
> 
> Go for a 20 gp item not a 60!
> 
> Wait, why were your calculations saying 50.gp = 1500 sp?  That should be only 500, for a total of 600 sp.


The leather armor is 10gp, and any masterwork armor is 150gp but I ONLY HAVE TO PAY A THIRD OOOOOOOO I see what you're saying now, that's much less galling.  Whew!

----------


## WindStruck

Oh wait, that IS correct.   Yeah, masterwork armor is 150gp...

So, you only have to pay a third of the cost?  But does that actually translate to 1/3 of the crafting time??

----------


## Prehysterical

He only pays 1/3rd of the cost, but he still uses the full cost for crafting time evaluation. (Crafting time modifiers such as feats and favored class bonuses are really useful for reducing the grind.) You pay 50 gp in materials for the masterwork component, but you still have to do the full 150 gp of work.

Yes, making stuff can take quite a while, but that's the nice thing about this game. What would be unreasonable or even impossible downtime commitments in a standard dungeon-diving adventure is business as usual here. It's common for characters to be holed up for weeks working on commissions and personal projects.

For the bug leg tips, Bolten can come up with two different quotes for the device based on which material is used. He will let Dukkear's employers decide if they want to pay now or pay later when it comes to upkeep. For both projects, what are we looking at for upfront material costs and a timetable? Bolten will be sending Dukkear the details so that the advance payments can be made and give the spy a time window for when to be back in town.

Edit: I realize that the scorpion could have a significant increase in cost and construction time if an alternative power source is found for the tail, but the pair can work on the spy drone first while Bolten researches for the other one. Just giving Dukkear an idea so that he doesn't get impatient.

----------


## MrAbdiel

> He only pays 1/3rd of the cost, but he still uses the full cost for crafting time evaluation. (Crafting time modifiers such as feats and favored class bonuses are really useful for reducing the grind.) You pay 50 gp in materials for the masterwork component, but you still have to do the full 150 gp of work.
> 
> Yes, making stuff can take quite a while, but that's the nice thing about this game. What would be unreasonable or even impossible downtime commitments in a standard dungeon-diving adventure is business as usual here. It's common for characters to be holed up for weeks working on commissions and personal projects.
> 
> For the bug leg tips, Bolten can come up with two different quotes for the device based on which material is used. He will let Dukkear's employers decide if they want to pay now or pay later when it comes to upkeep. For both projects, what are we looking at for upfront material costs and a timetable? Bolten will be sending Dukkear the details so that the advance payments can be made and give the spy a time window for when to be back in town.
> 
> Edit: I realize that the scorpion could have a significant increase in cost and construction time if an alternative power source is found for the tail, but the pair can work on the spy drone first while Bolten researches for the other one. Just giving Dukkear an idea so that he doesn't get impatient.


Oh.  Well.  That was an emotional rollercoaster.  And you're right!  It's the right game for it, and I'm here and ready to do it all.  Aiden is the kind of guy who would miss a couple of weeks of potentially more productive work to make a personalized gift for a contractor who did work for him one time.  The fact that he could just _do carpentry_ and then use the proceeds to buy a masterwork armor in a third of the time isn't the point! :D  So it's all good.  At some point I'll get some magic items I've been eying off that will make productivity better for these little side projects, God and DM willing; but I'll just have to make a jillion gold first.  Better solve this rat problem!

----------


## DeTess

> For the bug leg tips, Bolten can come up with two different quotes for the device based on which material is used. He will let Dukkear's employers decide if they want to pay now or pay later when it comes to upkeep. For both projects, what are we looking at for upfront material costs and a timetable? Bolten will be sending Dukkear the details so that the advance payments can be made and give the spy a time window for when to be back in town.
> 
> Edit: I realize that the scorpion could have a significant increase in cost and construction time if an alternative power source is found for the tail, but the pair can work on the spy drone first while Bolten researches for the other one. Just giving Dukkear an idea so that he doesn't get impatient.


For the bug, you're lookin at about 500 gp in material cost with steel toes, and with the current scarcity around 600gp with the adamantite tips. It should be noted that because of the precision work required for the small bugs labor is going to take a bit longer than the material costs might indicate (and feel free to quote accordingly).

The scorpion at your current design is estimated at around 12000 gp in materials, provided you don't need to shell out on the power source.

----------


## DeTess

@mrabdiel, I assume you'll follow your routine for the next day again (playing music in the plaza in the morning)? Then Misha will know where to find you.

----------


## MrAbdiel

You have assumed correctly, my liege.

EDIT:  Oh snap I forgot to let the Granary folks know that there was going to be a strange druid druiding around.  If I can retcon telling Misha to check in with Overseer Evans, I'm all over that.  If not... well, sucks to be wisdom 8, hope there's no terrible consequences!

----------


## DeTess

> EDIT:  Oh snap I forgot to let the Granary folks know that there was going to be a strange druid druiding around.  If I can retcon telling Misha to check in with Overseer Evans, I'm all over that.  If not... well, sucks to be wisdom 8, hope there's no terrible consequences!


I wouldn't worry about it too much, Misha knows how to get around unseen.

----------


## Prehysterical

> Oh.  Well.  That was an emotional rollercoaster.  And you're right!  It's the right game for it, and I'm here and ready to do it all.  Aiden is the kind of guy who would miss a couple of weeks of potentially more productive work to make a personalized gift for a contractor who did work for him one time.  The fact that he could just _do carpentry_ and then use the proceeds to buy a masterwork armor in a third of the time isn't the point! :D  So it's all good.  At some point I'll get some magic items I've been eying off that will make productivity better for these little side projects, God and DM willing; but I'll just have to make a jillion gold first.  Better solve this rat problem!


*shifts eyes as hands are stuck in trenchcoat pockets*
"Hey, Mac... You want some Wondrous Items, you come see me, eh? I'll give you a good deal..."

Seriously, though, Bolten can make certain items cheaper than the other vendors, so he may offer you a better price. Just don't question why the shy, uptight dwarf is now a shady street dealer.

Edit: Also, @DeTess, you didn't answer about the timetable for the two projects. If the scorpion has a 12,000 gp cost just in materials, won't that mean it will take like... 3 or 4 months to complete? I'm asking based on the experience with the clockwork legs.

According to the Craft Construct feat, the base progression for these would be 1,000 gp per day up to the market price of the item. (So, 1,400 gp per day with the Favored Class Bonus and shaving off 25% of that time, not counting increasing the DC to accelerate.) For comparison, the clockwork servant and clockwork familiar have the same material costs as the spy drone, but the familiar takes nearly double the crafting time as the servant (14-15 days base as opposed to the servant's 7 or 8 days).

----------


## MrAbdiel

Oh, neat!  Im definitely come acalling for anything I can cram into the catagory of weapon, armor, or clockwork!

----------


## WindStruck

@Prehysterical

Is there anything you wanted to post in our IC thread?

Otherwise, not really sure where to go from here...

Since we have the opportunity for direct comparison, wouldn't taking even a month to craft complex clockwork mechanisms seem strange when it takes nearly as long to make a masterwork leather armor?

Is there something broken with this system?   :Small Confused:

----------


## Prehysterical

> @Prehysterical
> 
> Is there anything you wanted to post in our IC thread?
> 
> Otherwise, not really sure where to go from here...
> 
> Since we have the opportunity for direct comparison, wouldn't taking even a month to craft complex clockwork mechanisms seem strange when it takes nearly as long to make a masterwork leather armor?
> 
> Is there something broken with this system?


I was writing my IC post literally as you were asking that question.

As for that last question, yes and no. The system is deliberately designed to stop PCs from becoming the premier source of magic items in the world. Paizo wanted people to go out adventuring for shiny things, not make them at home, so they make you pay for those items with downtime.

Edit: @MrAbdiel It doesn't necessarily have to be for _exactly_ those things. DeTess let me make a Cloak of Resistance using my armorsmithing capabilities, so we can get creative with your item needs.

----------


## DeTess

@prehysterical, sorry for forgetting the time-table stuff. Let's go with a week for the spybug (takes relatively longer because of all the precision work it requires), and two weeks for the scorpion provided you can work out the design issues (time table assumes involvement of Shandara to help out with all enchanting and similar bits).

----------


## DeTess

@prehsyterical, @Shandarra, could you give me a rough indication for the ideas you're going to research at the archives roll me (an) appropriate knowledge check(s) for them?

----------


## MrAbdiel

Amazing.  I'm 'bout to solve this case by paying a teenage druid 6 gold.  That's just _value._

----------


## DeTess

> Amazing.  I'm 'bout to solve this case by paying a teenage druid 6 gold.  That's just _value._


We'll see, but she definitely gets you info you'd be hard-pressed to get yourself.

Edit: you definitely don't recognize the symbol right away. What kind of direction will you be looking in the library? As in, under what rough subject do you hope to find more information?

----------


## MrAbdiel

Gonna start with alchemical symbols under the suspicion that someone is testing potions on rats!  Failing that, itll be time to start asking librarians and being as charming as possible.

----------


## DeTess

It's not an alchemical symbol, so I suppose it's time to turn up the charm. Could you roll me a diplomacy(in addition to posting in IC what exactly you're going to be asking)?

----------


## WindStruck

I think today Shandara would be looking into ways to modify the silence spell so that it only filters out mechanical noises.

arcana: (1d20+19)[*22*]
spellcraft: (1d20+18)[*31*]

This is just for the morning session I guess.  I could probably get another roll or two for afternoon, when investigative mind is up again?

Is there any chance Bolten and Shandara will meet Aiden in the library?   :Small Big Grin:

----------


## DeTess

> Is there any chance Bolten and Shandara will meet Aiden in the library?


time-wise Aiden is a bit ahead of you (I assumed he took the commission the same day you had your meeting, so he's four days ahead of you at this time). Then again, Aiden might have come by the library for some research while making the flutes, so it's not impossible.

----------


## DeTess

D20 rolls for reasons
N:(1d20)[*17*]
SOT:(1d20)[*9*]

----------


## Prehysterical

> @prehsyterical, @Shandarra, could you give me a rough indication for the ideas you're going to research at the archives roll me (an) appropriate knowledge check(s) for them?


Bolten will be investigating two possible sources: materials that can absorb the ambient magical radiation from the Underdark and a sort of thermal battery that can be charged by exposure to heat (such as lava, geysers, et cetera). He will also be looking up resources on Underdark geology and ecology that might reveal some new possibilities to him.

Magic radiation collector: Knowledge (Arcana) (1d20+12)[*13*]
Thermal battery: Knowledge (Engineering) (1d20+12)[*28*]
Underdark geology resources and anomalies: Knowledge (Geography) (1d20+7)[*27*]
Underdark ecology and phenomena: Knowledge (Nature) (1d20+11)[*13*]

Unsurprisingly, Bolten has much better luck with the thermal battery.  :Small Tongue:  Not to mention a 1 on Arcana and 2 on Nature... Bolten's role on the team is pretty clear.

----------


## WindStruck

Heya, regarding Bolten's thermal battery idea, I am reminded of that silver grate Shandara was enchanting, and one idea was absorbing all heat...   :Small Smile: 

I think such an enchantment could remarkably speed up the whole process.

----------


## DeTess

@mr abdiel, could you roll me a knowledge (nature) and a knowledge (arcane)?

----------


## MrAbdiel

Because I am a bard yes I can!
*nature* - (1d20+4)[*22*]
*Arcane* - (1d20+4)[*24*]

Holy smokes.

----------


## DeTess

@mrabdiel, could you roll me a sense motive? I think both you and Aiden has it mostly figured out, but your roll will tell me how much of the subtext to make explicit in my next post.

----------


## MrAbdiel

> @mrabdiel, could you roll me a sense motive? I think both you and Aiden has it mostly figured out, but your roll will tell me how much of the subtext to make explicit in my next post.


(1d20-1)[*2*].  Hahaha, sense motive.  Should have saved my Luck for this!

----------


## Prehysterical

Merry Christmas, all!

----------


## DeTess

Merry Christmas everyone!

On that note, I will be quite busy tomorrow and back at work starting Monday, needing to catch up on a week's worth of work, so my next post might end up being sometime Tuesday.

----------


## WindStruck

Merry Christmas!    :Small Smile:

----------


## DeTess

Rollin some dice because Aiden is being mean :P
Sense motive: (1d20+6)[*25*]

edit: let me check what happens when sense motive and bluff tie

----------


## MrAbdiel

> Rollin some dice because Aiden is being mean :P
> Sense motive: [roll0]
> 
> edit: let me check what happens when sense motive and bluff tie


Yes! The lie has set me free!

----------


## DeTess

> Nine out of ten artificers would be binding the ghosts of cats to hunt them, or building mechanical spiders, or hypnotising them into drowning themselves.


Well, these do all sound like things other artificers might have come up with :P

A quick note I want to make, because it might not have been clear, the rats that where being a massive problem (including hunting the cats set to hunt them and turning attempts to poison them back on the granary workers where an issue from several years ago, and as far as you could tell from the papers you've read, the first batch of these rat wouldn't have been set free more than a year or so ago.

----------


## MrAbdiel

> Well, these do all sound like things other artificers might have come up with :P
> 
> A quick note I want to make, because it might not have been clear, the rats that where being a massive problem (including hunting the cats set to hunt them and turning attempts to poison them back on the granary workers where an issue from several years ago, and as far as you could tell from the papers you've read, the first batch of these rat wouldn't have been set free more than a year or so ago.


Well that does complicate matters.  Hmm!

----------


## WindStruck

That whole fake story with making sentences with sticks in a barn had me laughing a bit.

----------


## WindStruck

When Bolten mentions "heat venting" is he talking about just the energy of the thermal crystal leaking out on its own, or the thing becoming too hot because it absorbs too much temperature?

----------


## Prehysterical

> When Bolten mentions "heat venting" is he talking about just the energy of the thermal crystal leaking out on its own, or the thing becoming too hot because it absorbs too much temperature?


Both. If heat starts escaping from the crystal, that might heat up the metal casing. If said casing is in contact with the operator's back, there's a potential for burns. We could encase the crystal in a special heat-dampening material, but that might be tricky.

----------


## WindStruck

So I wonder if the physics/knowledge of items like a "thermos" exist yet? It can at least be possible to preserve the vast majority of heat and keep it trapped within by utilizing vacuums.

----------


## WindStruck

Sorry for a double post.  (again!)  But I need to for a roll..

This will be to see if Shandara knows anything about vacuums or otherwise how to properly use them or something else to help store and isolate heat.

engineering: (1d20+9)[*17*]

----------


## MrAbdiel

With the new info, Aiden is changing tack.  Hes hoping to use one of the flutes he made, but instead of enchanting it to be Call Animal (Rat) usable once an hour, it needs to be Call Animal (Rat that specifically has been exposed to the experiments), and once a day would be plenty.  Throttling the target of the spell like that will require some refinement, but I figure its possible if we can use that residual magic aura or the lingering potion in their system or even the tattoos as a kind of mystical filter.

----------


## DeTess

@mrabdiel, yeah, they definitely loan you all the gear you need, and all rats are marked in the same way as the two described to you.

You could definitely try adjusting the flutes to do what you want, though it'll be tricky if you don't have one of the critters to study (fairly high DC spellcraft check).

----------


## MrAbdiel

Then he'll wait and check in with Misha, and see if they can't get one to start with!

----------


## WindStruck

Oh, hey. I'm still waiting to see if Shandara knows anything about using vacuums or if items like thermoses exist yet ..

----------


## DeTess

> Oh, hey. I'm still waiting to see if Shandara knows anything about using vacuums or if items like thermoses exist yet ..


Oops, sorry!

Creating a vacuum is pretty difficult. I'll say you know that theoretically it could function for isolation, but that it will be very difficult to create and keeps table in practice with the current state of (magi-)technology. Vacuums are something being studied, but there have been no practical applications yet.

----------


## Prehysterical

In that case, Bolten will make a Knowledge roll to see if he can come up with a casing that can withstand the heat and possibly even minimize energy loss. This might be where dwarf fire-forged steel comes in handy. Alternatively, maybe using a casing with trace amounts of cold siccatite to contain the crystal heat. Just for fun, I will also roll to see if anything from the Elemental Plane of Fire might be useful as far as materials.

Knowledge (Engineering): (1d20+12)[*19*]
Knowledge (Planes): (1d20+7)[*10*]

----------


## DeTess

@prehsyterical, based on that roll, pick 2 for your design (or spend at least a day mulling it over and doing further research for a reroll):
-the design minimizes energy loss
-the design minimizes wear and tear due to the extra heating
-the design remains cold and comfortable to wear for periods longer than an hour or two

----------


## Prehysterical

Bolten will spend the extra day to try and figure out something.

Would it be okay if Bolten put in a four-hour work day on the clockwork spy drone to get it started? If the research with Shandara only took 8 hours, then I will make it a regular eight-hour work day, but I somehow suspect that it took longer than that.

----------


## DeTess

Yeah, given the amount of stuff you wanted to look into You've definitely been studying for over 8 hours so far. If you want to get a first round of tinkering in, be my guest, but do keep in mind that 12+ hour working days aren't really sustainable long term.

----------


## WindStruck

Unless you are an elf?    :Small Tongue:

----------


## DeTess

> Unless you are an elf?


I might be wrong, but I don't think pathfinder elves actually need less sleep, at least as far as I could find by quickly perusing the PFSRD.

----------


## WindStruck

Wait...  WHAT???



That is definitely news to me.  But apparently, consensus seems to be either pathfinder is vague or conflicted about it, or it all just depends on the "setting".

For instance, check the bottom of the Nightmare spell text. Or the Dreamspeaker alternate racial trait...

So I guess it's going to be your call, DeTess.

----------


## DeTess

I think that might be a reference to elves going into a kind of trance, rather than normal sleep. I'd say you'd still need a normal duration resting period (and therefore have similar problems with running super-long working days) as any other race, though your sleep-alternative might make it a bit easier to work on problems in your head while resting (I'll make a more concrete ruling when a situation comes up where for whatever reason you want to do a lot of work in very little time).

----------


## Prehysterical

> Yeah, given the amount of stuff you wanted to look into You've definitely been studying for over 8 hours so far. If you want to get a first round of tinkering in, be my guest, but do keep in mind that 12+ hour working days aren't really sustainable long term.


Oh, I am aware of that, but it would be nice to get the spy drone done as soon as possible so that we can focus solely on the scorpion backpack.

By the way, in my next post, do I need Bolten to swing by Dukkear's contact, or are we keeping that as window dressing?

Rolling preemptive Craft (Clockwork) for an accelerated drone assembly session (including Crafter's Fortune): (1d20+26)[*38*]

----------


## DeTess

> By the way, in my next post, do I need Bolten to swing by Dukkear's contact, or are we keeping that as window dressing?


If you want to play it out you can, but you can keep it as window-dressing as well. Either works for me.

----------


## DeTess

@prehysterical, do you just have the blueprints for the spybug with you, or also for the part of the scorpion you had already worked out?

----------


## Prehysterical

Bolten would have both in his book, but he would explain that the scorpion is not a final design.

----------


## DeTess

@prehysterical, could you roll me a sense motive?

----------


## Prehysterical

Oh no...

Sense Motive: (1d20+1)[*13*]

----------


## DeTess

You note that Junya speaks Dukkear's name with a certain fondness. Though Dukkear only referred to her as an 'associate', she certainly seems to think of him as a close friend. Or at least, it sounds that way to Bolten.

----------


## WindStruck

Ah, very interesting.  Do you think that while Bolten is out wrangling the necessary materials and beginning work on his designs, that Shandara can seek out one of those security companies?

Was any actual price estimate written down for the Mythril Wardens, or is Shandara going to have to find out what contracts cost after going there herself?

I'm also wondering if it may be possible to combine protection from the Midnight Guard with the intelligence of Grayson Security..  or if all that winds up being about as effective as the Mythril Wardens anyway.

edit: oh yes.  you also wanted me to remind you about that half orc that was following Shandara around and writing stuff down.  I wonder what will come of that.

----------


## DeTess

> Ah, very interesting.  Do you think that while Bolten is out wrangling the necessary materials and beginning work on his designs, that Shandara can seek out one of those security companies?
> 
> Was any actual price estimate written down for the Mythril Wardens, or is Shandara going to have to find out what contracts cost after going there herself?
> 
> I'm also wondering if it may be possible to combine protection from the Midnight Guard with the intelligence of Grayson Security..  or if all that winds up being about as effective as the Mythril Wardens anyway.


Yeah, you can definitely go and check up on those. Dukkear did provide you with some price estimates on the note he gave you. Mythril Wardens would set you back 1800 gp/month for a standard security detail (three shifts of two guards, 24/7), Midnight guard clocks in at 500 gp/month for a standard security detail (two shifts, one guard each, night shift will need to be given accommodations to live in the same house), or 300 gp/month for protection only during the day or the night.

Dukkear only provided rough estimates for Grayson and Valadiel, indicating that he reckoned a contract with them would probably only come down to about 50gp a month or maybe even less, but with a likely hefty surcharge for when they actually need to send out guards, which he guessed would be somewhere in the 50-100gp per day range.




> edit: oh yes.  you also wanted me to remind you about that half orc that was following Shandara around and writing stuff down.  I wonder what will come of that.


Yep, keeping that one very much in mind is all I'm saying for now :P

----------


## DeTess

just a wee little dice roll:
(1d20)[*19*]

and some more for good measure
(1d20)[*20*]
(1d20)[*13*]
(1d20)[*15*]


Edit: @mrabdiel, I hope you don't mind the little added detail about your dissappearing bread there. I rolled, and checked your perception, and I'm fairly certain you can't beat a 26 on sleight of hand :P

----------


## WindStruck

Wow.  Mithril Wardens is damn expensive!   So much so, I'm afraid I don't think Shandara has the income to sustain that and realize her dreams.  Or at least, live comfortably.  Perhaps one day!  ..if she ever gets a shop running it may be more feasible.  Though I guess they aren't really appropriate for deterring shoplifting and vandalism.

Well, I think I DO like the idea of going with both Midnight and either Grayson or Valadiel.  Is there any known difference between those last two companies?

knowledge local: (1d20+8)[*23*]

----------


## DeTess

Valadiel has a slightly cleaner image than Grayson. Like, both companies thrive on information to do their job, and it is more widely known that Grayson takes an active hand in gathering this information. Presumably Valadiel employs spies as well to get the information they need, but this is less of an established fact than with Grayson.

In capabilities they should be about equal though.

----------


## DeTess

@mrabdiel, any other things you want to do that day?

----------


## MrAbdiel

Hmm!  I guess I'll throw another day into that armor.  And again the next day, if there's no successful capture.

----------


## DeTess

Roll for a reason: 
(1d20+2)[*13*]

@mrabdiel, that beats your flat-footed AC, doesn't it...  :Small Tongue:

----------


## MrAbdiel

Heck, that beats my armored AC!

----------


## WindStruck

DeTess, you want to do anything with the owl? Or, at this point, should we just say Shandara eventually completes that ritual?  I'll be deducting the price of the components, crossbow, and bolts next update, whenever that is.

I guess by time Shandara finishes her business for this day and tames an owl, she'll be getting back with Bolten?

----------


## DeTess

@windstruck, I don't have anything particular planned for the owl from this point forward. AS you're ready to bond it you can start treating it as an NPC pretty much fully under your own control. And yeah, after that you can meet up with Bolten again for another day of designing and working on clockwork.

@mrabdiel, what are your plans for the rest of the day, and what exactly will you be doing with the captured rat for now?

@everyone, also, you may have noted I posted significantly more over the past week than I generally do. This was due to an incredibly slow week at work, but that's over now, so I'm back to my usual +- 1 post a day, and usually none on monday.

----------


## MrAbdiel

> @windstruck, I don't have anything particular planned for the owl from this point forward. AS you're ready to bond it you can start treating it as an NPC pretty much fully under your own control. And yeah, after that you can meet up with Bolten again for another day of designing and working on clockwork.
> 
> @mrabdiel, what are your plans for the rest of the day, and what exactly will you be doing with the captured rat for now?
> 
> @everyone, also, you may have noted I posted significantly more over the past week than I generally do. This was due to an incredibly slow week at work, but that's over now, so I'm back to my usual +- 1 post a day, and usually none on monday.


Congrats/Condolences on work picking back up, depending on whether or not you hate your job!

Aiden is going to keep bashing away at that leather armor he's making for Misha - getting close to the point where he'll need measurements to fit it properly at this point.  He'll keep the rat's cage uncovered so it can see out, in the workshop, near him most of the time, in full view of sceptical peers.  He will talk to it as if it can understand him even though that's not something that he should assume; being very conversational; feeding the rat a tiny, rat portioned meal of whatever he's having for dinner.  Let's say beef pie, with a side of carrots and peas.  He threads little bits of each element of the meal through the bars.  He's holding off on his proposition about the fate of the rats until he can hear a response with the potion; so he mostly just tells the rat who he is, and what he does, reassures that he's in no danger, asks if it wants more pie.  You know; the way people talk their pets even know they know damn well the pets only understand their tone.

----------


## WindStruck

Well if I was being  held hostage like that, I would think Aiden is affably evil.   :Small Tongue:

----------


## MrAbdiel

> Well if I was being  held hostage like that, I would think Aiden is affably evil.


He's affably something! ;)

----------


## DeTess

another little roll: (1d20+4)[*16*]

----------


## Prehysterical

...Oh, right, I'm supposed to be rolling for Bolten's research for the next day, aren't I? Sorry, it's been a rough week.

Knowledge (Engineering): (1d20+12)[*17*]
Knowledge (planes): (1d20+7)[*12*]
Knowledge (Arcana) because why not: (1d20+12)[*19*]

Well, it looks like the dice are against me. Looks like we will have to make some compromises to the design.

----------


## DeTess

> Well, it looks like the dice are against me. Looks like we will have to make some compromises to the design.


Seems so, yes. If you've got a different idea for a compromise than what I came up with feel free to propose it as well.

----------


## Prehysterical

How about supplementing it with some kind of consumable fuel source? Not my final answer, but wanting to know if that's on the table.

For the energy loss and wear and tear options, could you please provide a more detailed explanation of those drawbacks?

----------


## DeTess

> How about supplementing it with some kind of consumable fuel source? Not my final answer, but wanting to know if that's on the table.


Something like that could work? Maybe the design uses water to keep cool, but this slowly evaporates and needs replenishing every couple of hours.



> For the energy loss and wear and tear options, could you please provide a more detailed explanation of those drawbacks?


Energy loss means the device needs recharging at a suitable thermal energy source every two days even when completely not in use, and will have lost half its charge after the first day even with little to no use.

For wear and tear, after about 40 hours of actual operation the parts of the reactor would need to be replaced, or risks of misshaps start coming up (with any use past 100 hours being very inadviseable).

----------


## Prehysterical

> Something like that could work? Maybe the design uses water to keep cool, but this slowly evaporates and needs replenishing every couple of hours.


...Create Water is a cantrip. Could we integrate a little magical tank that generates more water when depleted?

----------


## DeTess

> ...Create Water is a cantrip. Could we integrate a little magical tank that generates more water when depleted?


Then it wouldn't be a trade-off, would it :P

----------


## WindStruck

Well. I rather disagree. There's a tradeoff from a pure engineering standpoint.

But Bolten would be getting help from someone skilled at enchanting.

----------


## DeTess

> Well. I rather disagree. There's a tradeoff from a pure engineering standpoint.
> 
> But Bolten would be getting help from someone skilled at enchanting.


You know what, fair. I'll let you make a spellcraft roll to see if you can make that solution to a design issue work.

----------


## WindStruck

Oh boy..  well I suppose I could make a single attempt at the roll, see if Shandara can do it off the top of her head..

Or if not, she'll probably have to spend a day in the archives again trying to figure out that divine magic crap, but I'd definitely go all out with investigative mind,too.

spellcraft: (1d20+16)[*19*]

The dice sure hate me for this project, don't they?

----------


## DeTess

> The dice sure hate me for this project, don't they?


Seems so. I'll give you the day of research for a reroll, but otherwise between the two of you you're stumped on how to do this without some kind of unavoidable compromise.

----------


## Prehysterical

Aw... Maybe Aiden can find a nice rose bush for his new friends to start under so they can establish a little underground civilization for themselves. They're even talking about using swords already!  :Small Big Grin: 

Okay, NIMH reference aside, maybe a long-term plan that Aiden could do is when he buys the land for his house, he might be able to give the mice their own little space underneath.

----------


## MrAbdiel

> Aw... Maybe Aiden can find a nice rose bush for his new friends to start under so they can establish a little underground civilization for themselves. They're even talking about using swords already! 
> 
> Okay, NIMH reference aside, maybe a long-term plan that Aiden could do is when he buys the land for his house, he might be able to give the mice their own little space underneath.


Thats a good idea, if Merce doesnt have something in mind!  Im starting to think the winning solution is to employ these rats as rodent ombudsmen/shepherds.  Might be a solution to rat problems far and wide!

----------


## MrAbdiel

This is going better than expected.  Aiden is going to need to find a lawyer on short notice to draft "The Hamelin Accords".

----------


## DeTess

@windstruck, @prehysterical, anything else in particular you want to do the current evening, or should I be setting up things for Bolten to go and visit Vaigr and Banbas?

----------


## WindStruck

I was just wondering about that.  I'm not sure if there's any other discussion to have, or schematics to share?

Also, were we not going there together for the first visit?

----------


## DeTess

> Also, were we not going there together for the first visit?


Right sorry, misread/misremembered. If the two of you have nothing else to discuss I'll set it up for the two of you (though that will be tomorrow)

----------


## Prehysterical

Yeah, there's no other schematics or anything to discuss. Not since Bolten couldn't figure out a solution on his end. (Shandara can introduce her new owl friend later, unless Windstruck wants to do that this very meeting.)

He won't be rolling a Craft check tonight. He's going to get some sleep before he commits fully to the drone.

----------


## MrAbdiel

Hooray!  Happy ending for the rat community maybe!  Glossing entirely over the possibility that the intelligence may be hereditary, and the possibility that this is a race of super rats to perpetuate forever, this might be the peaceful solution Aiden hadn't expected to require, but is glad was possible.  After this, he ought to go to the Granary and speak to Overseer Evans.  That'll be an interesting conversation, since Aiden might have worked himself out of actually qualifying for payment! Hahaha.

----------


## DeTess

@prehysterical, could you roll me a craft (clockwork)? @Windstruck, could you roll me a knowledge religion and either knowledge(arcana) or spellcraft?

----------


## WindStruck

religion: (1d20+8)[*12*]

arcana: (1d20+17)[*35*]

----------


## Prehysterical

Craft (clockwork): (1d20+26)[*27*]

Wow... Good thing I pulled out the spells and everything.

----------


## MrAbdiel

I _think_ I'm gonna have to buy that property and build things on it, a piece at a time; barn first, which will accommodate Ambrose and the rats well and Aiden _just fine_ while he works on the house proper.  How much for a bare property, or even a property with a dilapidated building on it, in the Stormdrains district which covers, say, 10000 square feet?

----------


## DeTess

> I _think_ I'm gonna have to buy that property and build things on it, a piece at a time; barn first, which will accommodate Ambrose and the rats well and Aiden _just fine_ while he works on the house proper.  How much for a bare property, or even a property with a dilapidated building on it, in the Stormdrains district which covers, say, 10000 square feet?


10000 square feet is really going to cost you. That's enough area to start a sizeable storage/shipping business, or build a noble's mansion. You won't find that anywhere empty, and prices will be in excess of ten thousand gold. 

Just how much in excess of ten thousand gold depends on the area. A dillapidated set of warehouses in the bad part of the harbor district might knock you back 10-15k, while in any residential district with mansions that big you'd be looking at 50-100k.

The only place you might get it for less is if you can get an unscrupulous landlord in the slums to evict a bunch of people, and I have a feeling Aiden might be opposed to that.

It also seems a bit excessive for what you need though... Like, a barn for your horse and home for the rats could fit in an area less than a tenth the size of that, and you could build a residence and workshop on top of that if you wanted.

----------


## MrAbdiel

...I wonder if we have a conflict of terms or something, here.  10000 square feet doesn't seem that big to me!  That's 100ft to a side, a little shy of a 1000 square meter block of land which is a modern house in the suburbs with an impressive front and back yard, but nothing breath taking.

I punched out the footage of Aiden's house design, which comes out as 146 5ft squares for the lower floor of the house and a small barn; and with every 5ft square being 25 square feet, that pops up to 3650 square feet.  I blew it out to 10000 because I figured it'd be good to have enough space again for a horse to plod around and (in the magical future in which the crappy stormdrains dirt grows grass, as Wisdom 8 Aiden imagines it) graze.  But this is a tight urban area rather than a sleepy suburb, I guess!  Average modern warehouses crop up around the 25k square foot mark, though I'm sure ye olde ones were closer to the 10k.

Now, if we were looking for property that was 10000ft _squared_ instead of 10000 _square feet_...  Well, that would be madness.

Has something been lost in translation, noble and powerful DM, or am I just trying to juice too much out of this tight packed, gritty slum?

----------


## DeTess

Well, we're talking about a densely populated renaissance city here, a modern suburban house without a garden would be for a pretty well off merchant or poorer noble, and trying to add the garden would easily push it into the footprint of a small mansion.

For comparison I used the apartment I currently call home, which covers about 80 square meters, which comes down to about 860 square feet, and this is a place I actually call a bit too big for just me.

----------


## MrAbdiel

> Well, we're talking about a densely populated renaissance city here, a modern suburban house without a garden would be for a pretty well off merchant or poorer noble, and trying to add the garden would easily push it into the footprint of a small mansion.
> 
> For comparison I used the apartment I currently call home, which covers about 80 square meters, which comes down to about 860 square feet, and this is a place I actually call a bit too big for just me.


Alright, no worries.  When you mentioned a _set_ of warehouses, it threw me and I wanted to make sure we weren't talking about two different size scales.  I submit to your authority, world-shaper.

Alright.  Well, let me sling alternative sizes.  How about something that catches the minimum size for my ideal build - 2650 square ft? (I messed up my earlier estimate, apparently throwing in 40 extra 5ft squares for no reason.)  And, while I'm forcing you to make me all these quotes, how about one at just 1600 square ft - enough to build the barn, and then build the house as two floors up over that?

----------


## DeTess

Alright, for the 2650, assuming you're buying land where you'll basically need to start from the foundations(and in the slums you might want to check those as well) I'd say about 2-3k in the harbor district or one of the slums, around 4k in more well-off residential districts. The 1600 square foot area. Will come in at 1-2k and 2-3k depending on whether you settle for a slum or middleish class residential district.

----------


## MrAbdiel

> Alright, for the 2650, assuming you're buying land where you'll basically need to start from the foundations(and in the slums you might want to check those as well) I'd say about 2-3k in the harbor district or one of the slums, around 4k in more well-off residential districts. The 1600 square foot area. Will come in at 1-2k and 2-3k depending on whether you settle for a slum or middleish class residential district.


Awesome.  Sitting on about 3000gp presently, so the day after the signing of the Treaty of the Alley, Aiden is going to start looking for available land in specifically the crappy, recovering Stormdrains district.  It's gotta cover the 2650 square feet, and the _crappier_ the state of the street it's in, the better.

This is the beginning of a goal I'm setting for Aiden - ignite the Stormdrains Renaissance. ;)

----------


## DeTess

> Awesome.  Sitting on about 3000gp presently, so the day after the signing of the Treaty of the Alley, Aiden is going to start looking for available land in specifically the crappy, recovering Stormdrains district.  It's gotta cover the 2650 square feet, and the _crappier_ the state of the street it's in, the better.
> 
> This is the beginning of a goal I'm setting for Aiden - ignite the Stormdrains Renaissance. ;)


Where you planning on going by the eastwharf grannary first to check in there, or stopping by professor hoplum to see how much financial support they are bringing to the table?

----------


## MrAbdiel

Ah.  You are of course right!  Steps, in order:

1. Congratulate Misha on a job well done and invite her perpetually to breakfast, using rat business as a pretext to dispense generalised fatherly doting.

2. Sleep because its evening in game.

3. Regular morning charitable busking

4. Visit the Granary to explain the situation, which is reasonably complex, so thats definately a scene!

5. Visit Professor Hoplum re: rat monies and also to encourage him to continue his research in this new more ethical way.

6. Probably get a good nights sleep.

7.  Scout properties.

----------


## WindStruck

You can actually accommodate a horse in a quite small "barn". Basically, a roofed stall that's like 5ft by 10 ft should do at a minimum.  But then if you want extra space to store hay, tools, and of course rat lodgings, you'd need more space.

However, I am basing this information off of the fact that a couple horses I am familiar with that have such a small shelter actually have a large field to roam around and graze in.

edit:  wait.. where did my post go?  I swear, I had made a post yesterday but it's gone..

----------


## MrAbdiel

> Ah.  You are of course right!  Steps, in order:
> 
> 1. Congratulate Misha on a job well done and invite her perpetually to breakfast, using rat business as a pretext to dispense generalised fatherly doting.
> 
> 2. Sleep because its evening in game.
> 
> 3. Regular morning charitable busking
> 
> 4. Visit the Granary to explain the situation, which is reasonably complex, so thats definately a scene!
> ...



That's 1 done.  If you want, DeTess, I'm ready to handwave past 2 and 3 and get to the interesting 4 and 5!

----------


## DeTess

> That's 1 done.  If you want, DeTess, I'm ready to handwave past 2 and 3 and get to the interesting 4 and 5!


Feel free to do so!

----------


## MrAbdiel

Cool! I edited in that little jump, so he's knock-knock-knockin on Evan's door, hey, hey, hey hey hey; knock knock knockin' on Evan's door.

And so on.

----------


## MrAbdiel

Ahhhhh.

The catharsis of things working out the way I wanted them to is _wonderful._

----------


## DeTess

@mrabdiel, I'd say a sizeable sack of grain would set you back about two silver pieces for a 10 pound bag

----------


## MrAbdiel

> @mrabdiel, I'd say a sizeable sack of grain would set you back about two silver pieces for a 10 pound bag


Sounds good to me!

----------


## Prehysterical

Bolten is going to check if there are any alloys tied to the Elemental Plane of Air that might help in this case:

Knowledge (Planes) (1d20+7)[*10*]

----------


## DeTess

> Bolten is going to check if there are any alloys tied to the Elemental Plane of Air that might help in this case:
> 
> Knowledge (Planes) [roll0]


With that roll, not that you know off.

----------


## MrAbdiel

Wow!  Who doesnt love getting paid twice for one job? :)

Now to speak with erm ye olde Realtor?

----------


## DeTess

@windstruck, is there anything in particular you want to find out while conversing with the crystal this way, or are you just seeing where this takes you?

just a quick warning, it might be a day or two so before my next IC post. I was already dealing with tiredness, and just got my booster shot, so I'll have to see how hard that hits me.

----------


## WindStruck

To be honest... I really don't think there's much of anything that I can find out, is there???

Can you conceivably think of anything?  Because it seems like all Shandara and Muud can do is exchange emotions, but..  I don't particularly see much being learned here, aside just from the general experience provided from touching these crystals.

Shandara might also make another request of Vaigr which involves studying the crystals in a different way.

So far other ideas I have are:

using detect magic and identify

taking a very close look with magnifiers

asking if she can attempt to scrape off a sliver from the exterior of the crystals for more indepth study of composition

The last bit, not sure how that might go over.  Of course, she'd want to frame it in a way that is not demanding or inconsiderate.  She really doesn't know what it's like. Could be about as harmless as trimming one's nails or hair.  Or it could be as detrimental as ripping off a chunk of skin.

----------


## DeTess

> To be honest... I really don't think there's much of anything that I can find out, is there???
> 
> Can you conceivably think of anything?  Because it seems like all Shandara and Muud can do is exchange emotions, but..  I don't particularly see much being learned here, aside just from the general experience provided from touching these crystals.


I can't really think of anything either, but I wanted to check whether you had a cunning plan instead of just shooting down this approach.

----------


## DeTess

@windstruck, yeah, I've done and brought up pretty much all the things I could think off for your visit to Vaigr and Banbas, if you want to return to the office and give some input on Banbas and Bolten's conversation, be my guest.

----------


## WindStruck

Alright, I edited in going back to the office.   :Small Smile:

----------


## DeTess

@mrabdiel, I'm fine with skipping over the exact details of exchanging pieces of paper representing gold for pieces of paper representing land.

----------


## MrAbdiel

> @mrabdiel, I'm fine with skipping over the exact details of exchanging pieces of paper representing gold for pieces of paper representing land.


Woohoo!  Alright, great.  Then I think hes gonna do all that, sleep, wake, and head to the property, deed in hand the next day!

----------


## DeTess

@prehsyterical, I was leaving a moment for you to react to Shandara's suggestion, but fi you want Banbas to speak up first, I can do that.

----------


## Prehysterical

Banbas can speak up first, otherwise Bolten would just be repeating Banbas's concerns over flight runes and such.

----------


## MrAbdiel

Awesome.  Time to make a house for some rats.

Currently Aiden has 5 of 22 days of labor invested in Misha's armor, but that'll have to wait.  Rat hutch is top priority.  Clearing the land and building the actual domicile will take a while, so we need something more temporary...




> Create 3 Goods, 2 Labor (100 gp); Time 3 days; Size 24 squares
> 
> Upgrades To Lavatory, Storage
> 
> This no-frills wooden shelter contains a simple table, pallet bed, and stool. One person can build a shack with simple tools and basic materials. For an additional 1 point of Goods and 2 points of Labor, you can construct a brick or stone hut instead of a wooden shack.


That should do.  Aiden can generate 3 Labor points in Carpentry in his sleep (or rather in a solid day of Take-10 work).  So here's my plan:

*Current day:* Take 20 to Search through the rubble all day, salvaging any usable wood.  He wants to find anything important left behind by those who fled the fires; and also to save on supplies for the build.  Perhaps, parallel to the search, you'll let that count as a day spend generating Goods.  Carpentry seems like the right skill to harvest useful lumber from a burned building - if he can get all three points from there, he'll take it; but obviously he's limited by the source and how applicable you decide the skill is to generate goods, rather than merely skilled labor.

*Next day:* Buy between 0 and 3 points of Goods needed to complete the rat-shack, and spend the day generating 3 points of Labor - 2 to complete the shack himself, 1 'banked', let's say, helping a neighbour by fixing up the boundary fence in exchange for future help on the greater build.

Once that shack is complete, he can fill it with grain, send Misha to alert the rats that it's ready, until the proper thing is up and running.

On the third day, he'll try to pull together a work crew from the unemployed folks in the neighbourhood - but one thing at a time.  If that's all sweet to go, DeTess, then I'll post it up; and also I'll throw in my new idea on how to get Aiden to meet the other artificers.  Without something as clumsy as a chance encounter, too. ;)

----------


## DeTess

That all looks good. You can salvage the equivalent of 1 goods from the remains of the building. You don't find any keepsakes or other things belonging to those that lived here before. Likely they salvaged all that themselves.

----------


## MrAbdiel

Behold my obvious crossover bait!

----------


## Prehysterical

Been a busy week for everybody?

----------


## DeTess

Certainly has been for me. Though I think you three are currently up, especially Bolten and Shandara? I might be being dumb and missing something though.

----------


## WindStruck

Oh, I think I did miss your update.  But on the other hand, I feel we're just about wrapped up there as well.

----------


## DeTess

> Oh, I think I did miss your update.  But on the other hand, I feel we're just about wrapped up there as well.


That's my feeling as well, but if so, it's up to you to decide what to do next :P

----------


## WindStruck

I guess at some point we'll run into Aiden.  Though I do feel like we've got a full plate at the moment!   :Small Big Grin:

----------


## MrAbdiel

Alright, no worries.  I tossed up Aiden's 'quick job' posting as a possible meet vector, but if they're not looking for contracts at all while they're on the one presently, there's not much to do there!  Aiden's gotta start buildin' that house, too.  I'll take some time to plot the timeline of that endeavour soon!

----------


## DeTess

So what is everyone planning on doing next? Aiden will be building, and I think Shandara and Bolten will return back to their project for Dukkear?

----------


## WindStruck

Yeah we do have a client who is the equivalent of James Bond and Chuck Norris, and it would be best not to keep him waiting.   :Small Eek: 

Uh..  I think the next thing I needed to have Shandara do was hit the archives (with that lovely spell prepared) in order to shore up that arcana roll she didn't roll well in.

----------


## Prehysterical

Yes, the spy drone and the scorpion backpack are going to be taking up our attention for the next few weeks. Happy to help with the Rat Reconciliation Rapport, but Bolten's plate is basically overflowing with work right now.

Just so that he doesn't cramp Shandara's style, Bolten is going to try and meet with that eastern ambassador about his dragon gift idea.

----------


## DeTess

@prehysterical, I completely forgot about it, but there was that special material included with the shipment of materials for the spy drone to help with the cable issue. it is a strand of rope-like material about as thick as Bolten's thumb and about half a a meter long, consisting of many tiny strands. It is light grey in color and reasonably flexible looking at it closely, it seems to have a structure similar to silk rope, but it isn't quite as flexible and a bit heavier, and more importantly, a _lot_ stronger. Any other properties you'll have to figure out through some experimentation.

Anyway, I'll set up the eastern embassy in the embassy district for you.

@windstruck, feel free to set up the archives scene for your research and make the roll whenever you want.

@mrabdiel, is there anything in particular you need me to set up for you right now?

----------


## Prehysterical

Is it possible for Bolten to make a Knowledge (Geography) or (Nobility) check so he's not walking into this meeting completely blind?

----------


## MrAbdiel

Nothing precisely yet, unless there's some events that disrupt the building!

Here's the building as I see it.  Here is the document I charted it out on, if you want the detail.

I figure if you're buying labor, you're hiring a crew to work on the whole thing at the same time - so each room will be taking its construction time simultaneously.  That'll cost me 2070 in purchased capital to make happen.

Aiden personally can reliably generate 3 points of _carpentry related labor_.  I could use that to save gold, but honestly I and Aiden both want the house done more quickly!  So I might have him work for 13 days, generating 39 points of labor, and using it mostly to reduce the project time on the rooms.

If I target the rooms with the longest build times and use Aiden's labor to double their invested labor, I can half their build times, chopping all the 20's and 16's down to 10's and 8's.  The longest building remaining at that point 12 days, so Aiden is finishing up the work on his own on the final day with one labor point to spare - maybe, spent take several hours tarping up the bare beams that will one day support the second floor, so the rain doesn't just pour in!

That's 2070 gold and 13 days accounted for for construction.  BEFORE that, though...

I need a crew to do the demolition and clear the foundation of the burned structures.

I don't know what it'll charge or the time it'll take to clear the foundations - I don't think there's rules for it exactly - ut allow me to make a humble suggestion:

Repairing a room from broken to functional costs half the investment it would take to build it.  Considering that demolition is simply removing and not adding anything new, it might be fair to discount completely the "goods" cost, and consider all of the labor and influence to be the removal of debris.  Without forcing you to profile out this defunct property, if we assume it has a similar profile to the house Aiden is building on it, that'll be (47 Labor and 3 Influence) halved; or (940+90)/2=515gp and 10 days.  I don't think Aiden's skills will assist greatly in clearing the grounds, so he'll just put those 10 days of labor into the armor he's making for Mischa, bringing that up to 15 of its 22 required days.

If this is an agreeable formula, it costs 515gp and 10 days to clear the ground; then 2070 and an additional 13 days to build the first floor.

Does that seem alright so far?

EDIT: Hmm.  If all that works out, I still have the budget to get the exterior things - barn, stall, garden - sorted too.  If Aiden spends 3 days laboring on those projects and hires a crew to do the base cost, he can cut the construction times down to 8 at the largest, and then spend the 5 remaining days of construction ALLLmost finishing that armor.  Construction cost for that would be 550.

At that point, Aiden is almost completely penniless.  Though by that point, the Wharf should hopefully have concluded the the rat problem is over and he'll get that windfall which might complete the rest of the house!

----------


## DeTess

> Is it possible for Bolten to make a Knowledge (Geography) or (Nobility) check so he's not walking into this meeting completely blind?


Yes, you can.

@mrabdiel, that all looks reasonable. Don't forget to apply the rebate for hiring local labour. Especially for the clearing of the wreckage that should apply without issue. You could hire local labour for everything else as well, which reduces labour cost by 30%, but as they are at best a little bellow average, there might be some long-term issues (like a leaky roof or other small defects). If you just hire local for the unskilled bits you can still drop labor costs by 10% (or alternatively, not at all, but gain some local goodwill).

----------


## MrAbdiel

Heck, I'll hire local labor and pay them full price.  I've been fundraising for these guys!  Time to put Aiden's money his mouth is. If there's long term issues, Aiden can fix 'em - and the cache with the local people is more valuable than a night trying to smoke possoms out from the porous roof.  With that spent, along with 21 days passed.. he's down to 77 gold!  But now he has, like, half of a house!  And a barn in which the rats can more comfortably spend time, hanging out with Ambrose.  Awesome.  Before I knock up a post describing that building time, does the Eastwharf Granary make contact in that time?

----------


## DeTess

You get a letter about halfway through informing you that everything is looking like it has been settled (no more signs of rats in their stuff), and it sets a date for the final assessment which is conveniently just after you expect to be done with building your house.

----------


## MrAbdiel

Great!  I'll do a little post montaging that process then!

----------


## WindStruck

Feels like I've been cursed on this site lately and can't roll anything above a five.  This goes for other games as well.

I await the results of the rolls, but at least I think it is possible to retry rolls when using a library, right?  Then again, that seems a bit too cheap, so maybe it should actually cost even more time with some kind of experimentation or something....      :Small Tongue:

----------


## MrAbdiel

> Feels like I've been cursed on this site lately and can't roll anything above a five.  This goes for other games as well.
> 
> I await the results of the rolls, but at least I think it is possible to retry rolls when using a library, right?  Then again, that seems a bit too cheap, so maybe it should actually cost even more time with some kind of experimentation or something....


Sounds like _you_ need a good luck charm who can play a mean fiddle.

----------


## Prehysterical

Knowledge (Geography) for the eastern kingdom and its customs: (1d20+7)[*8*]

"What the... Why are there no chairs in this lobby?!"

----------


## MrAbdiel

Bah!  My phone chewed up my punctuation again.  Ill clean it up after work with my PC!

----------


## WindStruck

> Knowledge (Geography) for the eastern kingdom and its customs: [roll0]
> 
> "What the... Why are there no chairs in this lobby?!"


My condolences on the recent theft!  Imagine the nerve of some people to do such a thing during the Festival! Don't worry, I have a good carpenter friend that can make you some exquisite chairs!

----------


## MrAbdiel

> My condolences on the recent theft!  Imagine the nerve of some people to do such a thing during the Festival! Don't worry, I have a good carpenter friend that can make you some exquisite chairs!


Free of charge, too; a damn shame when someone is so poor they cant even replace stolen chairs.  Thats why its so important to have a supportive community.

Also, PS Windstruck:  I am a dumb dumb.  I am only a level 2 bard, and therefore dont have inspire competence yet.  But still have the +8 Bestowd Luck!

----------


## DeTess

@Shandara, I'm affraid those rolls weren't good enough or crack your problem, and I think this was your second roll already. I will say though that you find something to point you in the right direction, such as the name of a professor who specializes in this area of research, or a type of rare material. Something you can act on, but it will require some effort to progress. I can make it more concrete than that, but if you have any suggestions for what it should be I'm quite willing to work with that.

Alternatively, Shandara can notice that it feels like something (like a malignant magical effect) is actively inhibiting her concentration and making it more difficult for her to work on this project. If you choose this avenue you will be suffering a penalty on rolls related to the project untill you find a way to clear it, but after you do you can make another roll as whatever is getting in your way stops bothering you. (Just for the record, this is only a thing that is occurring if you choose this route, otherwise it was just bad luck, rather than some curse being in play)

----------


## MrAbdiel

> @Shandara, I'm affraid those rolls weren't good enough or crack your problem, and I think this was your second roll already. I will say though that you find something to point you in the right direction, such as the name of a professor who specializes in this area of research, or a type of rare material. Something you can act on, but it will require some effort to progress. I can make it more concrete than that, but if you have any suggestions for what it should be I'm quite willing to work with that.
> 
> Alternatively, Shandara can notice that it feels like something (like a malignant magical effect) is actively inhibiting her concentration and making it more difficult for her to work on this project. If you choose this avenue you will be suffering a penalty on rolls related to the project untill you find a way to clear it, but after you do you can make another roll as whatever is getting in your way stops bothering you. (Just for the record, this is only a thing that is occurring if you choose this route, otherwise it was just bad luck, rather than some curse being in play)


Oof.  Im in too late with the luck boost.  Alas!

Edit: actually, that Bestow Luck can be spent retrospectively for a +4.  But maybe not after the results are known.  Hmm.

----------


## WindStruck

Well, second roll or not, I didn't think there was a limit when it came to library research, right?

I kind of like the idea of a malignant force however because.. why wouldn't Lloth be intervening somehow?  It kind of makes sense if weird things were already happening to Dukkear that were related to spiders.

I also don't mind the idea of finding another expert (though of course this likely takes more time, money, favors, and compromises the secrecy, which Shandara wouldn't want).  Actually, I'd still also like to go the route of research as well?

Hmm..  what kind of malignant force would stop one from researching in some archives though?   :Small Confused:    Would Shandara have seen some cobwebs on a bookshelf and just subconsciously avoided those books?

edit: I think I'd like to go the route of extra research at first.  Maybe convert some place in Shandara's home or rent out a place with the Society where she can try playing around with planar circles and stuff, and it may not be a big deal if the place becomes flooded or she accidentally summons an angry water elemental.

----------


## DeTess

> Hmm..  what kind of malignant force would stop one from researching in some archives though?     Would Shandara have seen some cobwebs on a bookshelf and just subconsciously avoided those books?


You'd run into lots of small irritants making it harder/impossible for you to focus, plus Shandara herself might just feel a bit more tired than usual, somewhat out of sorts and the like.




> edit: I think I'd like to go the route of extra research at first.  Maybe convert some place in Shandara's home or rent out a place with the Society where she can try playing around with planar circles and stuff, and it may not be a big deal if the place becomes flooded or she accidentally summons an angry water elemental.


That works for me as well. Reckless practical experimentation with a slight chance of explosions/angering water spirits/opening a permanent portal to the elemental plane of water is always a good way to kick a stuck project loose ;P

----------


## WindStruck

Alright!  Hey, I don't mean to be reckless, but ..  whatever!

If I keep bombing rolls related to this subject, I think Shandara will have to conclude she has been cursed.  On that subject, what about Bolten?  It might make sense for him to be cursed as well.

Also, rather than taking a penalty on dice rolls, what would you say if I literally roll a 1d5 rather than a 1d20?  That's what it freaking feels like lately, honestly.

*Last question (and most important):*

Where does Shandara go to get a temporary place for experimenting?  And.. are there fees? Wait times?

----------


## DeTess

There are special labs you can hire out for magical experiments that have the potential to be a bit volatile. Costs vary depending on how extensive the lab needs to be, varying from 1-10 gp a day, with a deposit of fifty times that. For what you're planning you'd be looking at about 2 gp/day with a 100gp deposit.

You'd generally drop by the facilities office on the campus to book a lab like that, but there usually isn't a waiting list for anything except the highest tier of these labs.

Edit: I'll work out the exact mechanics for the curse if you decide that's something you're going to deal with, but it could definitely extend to Bolten as well.

Also, I might drop of the map for a couple of days (at least one, might be a couple more), just fyi.

----------


## WindStruck

Okay!  I'll plan to finish up my conversation with Aiden, then I think Shandara will see about booking one of those labs.  If there's no wait, I'll try to reserve it for the evening that same day (after Shandara's rest).

I imagine I will also need some magical supplies, which will cost more money too!  So a trip to the bank seems like a must, though I assume that trip need not be on screen.

----------


## WindStruck

If you'd like, do you want to skip ahead to later that afternoon, where Shandara will try to conduct her experiment?

----------


## DeTess

That is fine.

----------


## DeTess

Just a quick heads-up everyone, my energy levels outside of work have been close to zero these past few days (mostly due to me returning to work when I really should have scheduled a couple extra days of bed-rest), which means my posting is going to be erratic until at least around the next weekend. I don't expect to completely drop of the map, but if I do, I should be back in a bit.

@windstruck, regarding material costs, for the testing phase I'd say it is only around 50 gp or so (more if things end up going badly), but you'd need more to turn a temporary enchantment into something more permanent.

----------


## DeTess

@windstruck, the damage tot eh grating is mostly not too bad, but one of the spars seems to have been cut almost straight through. If you've got a way to fix this, that's fine. Otherwise It's just going to cut 10gp off of your deposit (it's not a hit to your reputation or anything like that, these labs are rented with the expectation that some damage might occur, which is the reason for the deposit in the first place).

----------


## WindStruck

Thankfully, Shandara did have Mending (usually always) and Make Whole prepared that day, and I don't think I'd mind using those spell slots to try fixing it.

----------


## DeTess

> Thankfully, Shandara did have Mending (usually always) and Make Whole prepared that day, and I don't think I'd mind using those spell slots to try fixing it.


In that case, once you're done with the lab you get your entire deposit back.

----------


## DeTess

You definitely don't remember the gnome, and the humans you aren't sure, but you don't think you've seen them. There's a lot of humans in this city, so it's far easier for them to blend into the crowd.

----------


## WindStruck

That's good! No point wasting/losing gold (I'd still think of that amount as anywhere from $200-$500)  or wasting the spell slots either.  Or at the very least, 10 gold is quite a few good and tasty meals.

It could also be wasted labor and materials as well on behalf of the department.

So anyway I'll deduct 58 GP from the gold total! 

..but admittedly, I haven't really been keeping track of the stipend she gets, or food and stuff.   :Small Big Grin:

----------


## DeTess

@windstruck, 
regarding the adamant legion: They're renowned for taking the roll of the imovable object against intruding armies, pinning hostile forces in place and slowly but implacably grinding them into dust. Quite literally, given that they mostly have to contend with the undead.

regarding Xavier, you haven't heard of him in person, but you know that 'Firmhold' is a common name used to indicate noble's bastard child. The name specifically refers to the Firmhold academy, a school used to train knights and officers, and where bastard children would often end up due to anonymous sponsorship by their noble parent.

----------


## DeTess

@windstruck, regarding accents, Shandara can have an accent if you want but she doesn't have to. As most people around her speak common without accent she would definitely notice if someone does speak with an accent though, even if it happens to be the same accent as hers.

Also, if you where to think of common as English, in my mind elvish-accented common sounds like really posh British English.

----------


## DeTess

@prehysterical, do you need me to set up anything for your next activities?

----------


## WindStruck

Might be interesting to see what else Bolten has planned.

If nothing significant and you want to move ahead with designs and productions, maybe we could do a thing where I split my attention.

It seems like talking with all the people at the Midnight Guard may take quite a while, but I think I could split up timelines and also move forward to meeting up with Bolten at another time/place to discuss her findings with the water production component.

If we meet during the daytimes, there won't even be a need to have any particular bodyguard selected, seeing as I think they were only in it for the night shift.  Unless we just kind of handwave it for now and treat  them as passive or invisible.   :Small Tongue:

----------


## Prehysterical

I feel like at this point, Bolten will just be buckling down and trying to finish the spy drone. The scorpion pack, learning a whole new language, workshopping design improvements for the avian spirit, trying to link up with Aiden at some point... It's a lot to keep track of right now. When Bolten is not working on the spy drone, he will be trying to study the scrolls sent to him. (I can make a Linguistics check or whatever is necessary for that.) Do you still want a Craft check for Bolten's progress for the rest of the week on the spy drone?

----------


## MrAbdiel

Y'know, I've been sitting here for days, growing worried as to what was going on with Aiden's thing and if I should ask or if I shouldn't expect a posting schedule more rigorous than I, myself, can maintain.

And then I read back and realised that you, DeTess, absolutely DID respond to my post, and in short order.  So in brief, I am _the dumbest guy_; and will respond soon.

----------


## DeTess

> Y'know, I've been sitting here for days, growing worried as to what was going on with Aiden's thing and if I should ask or if I shouldn't expect a posting schedule more rigorous than I, myself, can maintain.
> 
> And then I read back and realised that you, DeTess, absolutely DID respond to my post, and it short order.  So in brief, I am _the dumbest guy_; and will respond soon.


Hey, if you think I might be missing/ignoring you, don't hesitate to (politely) ask. I'm hardly infallible either and might very well have missed something. No one is helped by the both of us waiting on the other XD

----------


## DeTess

@prehysterical, yes, I would like a relevant craft roll for the spybug.

----------


## Prehysterical

Crafter's Fortune, tools, yadda yadda yadda.

Craft (clockwork): (1d20+26)[*36*]

----------


## WindStruck

Wow, very high modifiers!   I'd hope a 35+ does the trick!  Was that roll for the WHOLE spybug?

When do you think Bolten would meet up with Shandara again?

----------


## Prehysterical

I imagine it was only for the clockwork parts. Shandara will still need to do the enchanting stuff.

Bolten would be a good partner and check in with Shandara when he feels ready to hand it off to her to work her finger-waggling.

----------


## DeTess

@prehysterical, that's a solid roll. You succeed in making it as you designed it, and you can add either one more minor feature (I'm open to suggestions), or design things in such a way that Shandara's subsequent enchantment-work will be a bit easier.

----------


## DeTess

@windstruck, based on what you heard Jacob say before to Jess you'd guess one more? Maybe two if Jacob throws his own hat into the ring.

----------


## WindStruck

Ah, okay. I guess I wouldn't be opposed to hearing Jacob out either, if he was in fact interested.

----------


## Prehysterical

Windstruck, what is your preference? Do you feel comfortable enough with Shandara's enchanting abilities for us to squeeze in another feature, or would you rather have the safety net of an easier enchanting check?

----------


## WindStruck

Really depends on if I start rolling 1s and 2s again.    :Small Mad: 

Also what other minor feature would you have in mind?  Would it even be worth it?

----------


## DeTess

Break is a 1st level spell, so the counterspell identify check is DC16: (1d20+13)[*21*]

----------


## WindStruck

Quite honestly, I am not sure how the exact mechanics of this all works.  I swear opposing caster level checks is a thing too. But hey, I rolled so crappy that surely Jay gets this!

I think this just seemed really fun pulling vaguely combat-related rolls out of nowhere.   :Small Big Grin:

----------


## DeTess

> Quite honestly, I am not sure how the exact mechanics of this all works.  I swear opposing caster level checks is a thing too. But hey, I rolled so crappy that surely Jay gets this!
> 
> I think this just seemed really fun pulling vaguely combat-related rolls out of nowhere.


I'll be honest, I needed to check it as well, but if I read it right, it's a check to identify the spell (after readying an action) and then you need a spell that's appropriate for countering it (either the same spell, or a suitable 'opposite' effect). The rule says that in general only the same spell can counter it, but that makes counterspelling so limited as to make it useless, so I'll be a bit more generous in that regard, if you ever want to try to counterspell something in the future.

----------


## WindStruck

Well I thought Dispel Magic had a specific use for countering, right?   And an actual spell named Counterspell?




> Counterspell: When dispel magic is used in this way, the spell targets a spellcaster and is cast as a counterspell. Unlike a true counterspell, however, dispel magic may not work; you must make a dispel check to counter the other spellcasters spell.


Alternatively, spells like mending or make whole should also be useful for countering Break?

----------


## DeTess

> Well I thought Dispel Magic had a specific use for countering, right?   And an actual spell named Counterspell?
> 
> 
> 
> Alternatively, spells like mending or make whole should also be useful for countering Break?


Yeah, definitely. Dispel magic can always be used for counterspell except when it explicitly can't, and stuff like make whole, mend the like was what I had in mind for countering with an opposed effect.

----------


## Prehysterical

The only other feature that I can think of (that's mechanical) is if the spy drone could actually be folded up into a more compact form so the legs aren't sticking out and it's easier to conceal. Maybe disguise it as a really fancy clock?

----------


## WindStruck

That actually does seem pretty useful! Perfect spy gimmick to have it disguised as something else.   :Small Smile:

----------


## DeTess

That's also a completely acceptable feature to add as a bonus.

----------


## Prehysterical

Let's go with that, then. WindStruck, do you want me to wait until you're done with the security people before having Bolten talk to her?

----------


## WindStruck

No I'm good. Like I said, I could split my posts into two timelines if necessary.

----------


## Prehysterical

All right, cool. DeTess, I reiterate my earlier question. When Bolten receives the scrolls, can he make a Linguistics check to represent him learning the language?

----------


## WindStruck

Well, uh.  I guess there is probably some DC of perception check to tell if the "clock" is what it appears.

perception: (1d20+7)[*11*]

engineering: (1d20+9)[*17*]

----------


## Prehysterical

Since this is just for RP:

Nothing immediately jumps out at Shandara, but she knows enough about how a clock is built to know that there are some bulges where there don't need to be.
*Spoiler: If Shandara decides to physically investigate the clock*
Show

She notices that the clock face can actually be depressed...

----------


## DeTess

> All right, cool. DeTess, I reiterate my earlier question. When Bolten receives the scrolls, can he make a Linguistics check to represent him learning the language?


Oops, my bad for missing that! Yes, you can. It'll take a chunk of time either way, but a good roll will help cut down that time.

----------


## Prehysterical

Linguistics: (1d20+3)[*23*]

"Finally, a written language that makes _sense_."

----------


## DeTess

> "Finally, a written language that makes _sense_."


Actually, no. It uses no fewer than two different sets of symbols that function more or less like the alphabet you're used to in addition to a far more complex (and large, several thousand of them) set of characters/symbols used for writing most words.

In addition, every single one of the characters in that last set has at least two different readings, and often it's closer to four. And that's not even getting into how these readings can change depending on the preceding character.

It is a pretty good language for making puns though, given the vast amount of homophones compared to dwarvish or the common you're used to, but how much if an advantage that is in learning it...

 (what, no, this is a completely original fantasy language, and not a vehicle to make bolten share in the troubles I'm suffering learning Japanese)

Though it does take some serious effort, and Bolten thinks it'll take far longer to be anywhere near fluent in listening to or speaking it, about 6 weeks of regular study (about an hour a day) should have him have a pretty decent grasp on reading and writing it.

----------


## WindStruck

Doesn't mean the language is "easy" but I guess Bolten does pick it up pretty well.    :Small Big Grin: 

...relatively speaking.

So uh, just checking.  Too busy with work for the IC responses?

----------


## DeTess

> Doesn't mean the language is "easy" but I guess Bolten does pick it up pretty well.   
> 
> ...relatively speaking.
> 
> So uh, just checking.  Too busy with work for the IC responses?


Mondays are almost allways too busy, but I should have something up this evening. If not this evening, then tomorrow evening.

----------


## DeTess

@windstruck, the contract doesn't have any hidden catches or anything. If there is something you want me to spell out in detail I will, but otherwise I'll leave it at that.

----------


## WindStruck

Something I am wondering about is, what happens if the person they are supposed to protect dies anyway?

I'd think this means there is technically a breach of contract, but who does compensation (if any at all) go to?

----------


## DeTess

> Something I am wondering about is, what happens if the person they are supposed to protect dies anyway?
> 
> I'd think this means there is technically a breach of contract, but who does compensation (if any at all) go to?


This takes up the better part of a page, but can be summarized as: 'if something does happen to you, they'll do an internal investigation to determine it's cause, or cooperate fully with an external investigation if you (if you survived) a close friend or family member of yours requests it and designates a reputable group to do that investigation. If the conclusion of that investigation is that your bodyguard could or should have done more to protect you, a suitable compensation and punishment is decided based on the severity of their failure.' 

In other words, if Shandara gets shivved by a drunken sailor then the bodyguard is clearly negligent, and there'll be hell to pay all around. If Shandara dies because a dozen assassins jumped her and the bodyguard without warning and the bodyguard clearly did whatever they could to try and get Shandara out then it's a shame, but not actually breach of contract.

----------


## WindStruck

Yeah that seems fair enough.    :Small Tongue:

----------


## DeTess

@prehysterical, the eastern empire refers to itself by a term that can be translated as 'sunrise empire'. You've seen this come up a couple times in the study text you've gotten.

----------


## WindStruck

Well we are still visiting over tea. Can only imagine at some point when we run out of meaningful stuff to talk about.

You can feel free to call it quits, or maybe Xavier popping in again would be interesting. I don't know.

----------


## DeTess

> Well we are still visiting over tea. Can only imagine at some point when we run out of meaningful stuff to talk about.
> 
> You can feel free to call it quits, or maybe Xavier popping in again would be interesting. I don't know.


Feel free to end the scene when you feel you've discussed all you want. I might provide some background stuff with Xavier if I feel it fits during it all, but we'll see.

----------


## Prehysterical

I'm ready to move on, myself. I will make one last response post and then we can go forward.

----------


## DeTess

> I'm ready to move on, myself. I will make one last response post and then we can go forward.


That's fine, what will Bolten be doing next then?

----------


## Prehysterical

When he's not studying the new language, he will be adjusting his schematics to take Shandara's water-generating addition into account. Want me to make another Craft roll to see if he does it smoothly?

----------


## WindStruck

I think during this time Shandara will study the spybug Bolten has left at her house, and she'll work on trying to get a tiny silence spell around it.

Oh yeah, and the ... optic mind link thing?   :Small Confused:

----------


## DeTess

> When he's not studying the new language, he will be adjusting his schematics to take Shandara's water-generating addition into account. Want me to make another Craft roll to see if he does it smoothly?


Yes please. IF this does go smoothly I think you've got most of the serious issues worked out.




> I think during this time Shandara will study the spybug Bolten has left at her house, and she'll work on trying to get a tiny silence spell around it.


Could you give me either a spellcraft or appropriate craft (small detailwork) check for that? You've done most of the preparatory work already, at this point it's just a matter of properly integrating it into the actual bug.

----------


## WindStruck

What would craft (small detailwork) be?  Like would her work with jewelry count?

----------


## DeTess

> What would craft (small detailwork) be?  Like would her work with jewelry count?


Jewelry could definitely be used. Sorry, that description was vaguer than I intended, I meant that as 'use any craft roll that could reasonably be associated with doing really small and precise stuff.'

----------


## Prehysterical

Integrating the water supply

Craft (clockwork): (1d20+26)[*37*]

----------


## WindStruck

Thankfully I could use crafter's fortune and magecraft to boost this roll significantly.

(1d20+25)[*41*]

----------


## DeTess

@prehysterical, with that roll you've got  a good handle on how to integrate Shandara's enchantment in the design. And with that, I think all that's left at this point is to actually build the prototype

@windstruck, that's a great roll, the silencing enchantment and related work all goes off without a hitch, silencing it's movement and clockwork operation without compromising it's spying abilities. You even manage to make it so that the whole assembly ticks as if it was a normal clock when in clock-form, but becomes completely silent when it transforms to bug-form.

----------


## Prehysterical

Well then, in that case, let's get this done... Also, Bolten is not going to forget to incorporate the experimental cable into the tail-winch of the design.

Craft (clockwork): (1d20+26)[*35*]

----------


## WindStruck

Nice! Glad to see we are making lots of progress!

Hm. Where do you think we'll wind up next..?    :Small Confused:

----------


## Prehysterical

I want to get these commissions out of the way so that Bolten can start interacting with Aiden's projects. Also, now that Bolten has more of a cash injection, I can _finally_ start trying to build his familiar that I have been waiting so long for. I've got an idea for the flying bird spirit and I plan to make an armadillo chassis for the spirit who will become Bolten's familiar.

----------


## DeTess

@prehsyterical, I'd say that with that roll, combined with the other work you've already done in preparation you should be able to have the scorpion finished on schedule. You suspect that after the first field test you'll probably need to correct a bunch of small stuff to get it working 100% correctly, but it should go well.

Is there anything you or @windstruck want to do before the presentation of your work?

----------


## WindStruck

You mean a presentation of the clockwork tick and scorpion backpack thing to Dukkear?

I guess it depends on how long we have until then.   Still got that ritual to go to regarding the crystals..  is it before or after?

----------


## DeTess

> I guess it depends on how long we have until then.   Still got that ritual to go to regarding the crystals..  is it before or after?


Yeah, that'd definitely be before, good that you reminded me. I think it'd still take a couple weeks to finish the scorpion, so that'd definitely happen first.

----------


## Prehysterical

I feel like Bolten and Shandara promised to demo the tick as soon as it was finished as a show of good faith.

Also, potentially stupid names:

Scorpack?
Clockwork wallcrawler?
Scouting Clockwork Observation & Retrieval Platform?
Pulleytail?
Clawed carrier?
Stonewalker?
Gyroscorp?

I'm going to stop now.

----------


## WindStruck

> I feel like Bolten and Shandara promised to demo the tick as soon as it was finished as a show of good faith.
> 
> Also, potentially stupid names:
> 
> Scorpack?
> Clockwork wallcrawler?
> *Scouting Clockwork Observation & Retrieval Platform?*
> Pulleytail?
> Clawed carrier?
> ...


If I had to pick one, I'd go with this.

Doesn't Shandara have other stuff to do as well with the SCORP?  Like find a more sustainable and permanent source of power for it?   And fine tune the settings?

----------


## MrAbdiel

...I'm not sure what I expected was going to happen when I rounded out that scene with Aiden!  I just wanted him to make a model ship, lol.   He'll take 10 for a 30 result on carpentry to make some models.  It'll probably take him a day or two, because he needs - 

- 2 copies of the interlocking catamaran, so they can... you know, interlock
- 1 abstract but functional hull of a fairly standard galleon.

So Aiden will bash those out, feed his rats and horse, and prepare to return to his new friends, if there's no interrupting events!

----------


## DeTess

> ...I'm not sure what I expected was going to happen when I rounded out that scene with Aiden!  I just wanted him to make a model ship, lol.   He'll take 10 for a 30 result on carpentry to make some models.  It'll probably take him a day or two, because he needs - 
> 
> - 2 copies of the interlocking catamaran, so they can... you know, interlock
> - 1 abstract but functional hull of a fairly standard galleon.
> 
> So Aiden will bash those out, feed his rats and horse, and prepare to return to his new friends, if there's no interrupting events!


No interupting events, so feel free to drop by the workshop with the models.

----------


## DeTess

@prehysterical, outside of working on the scorpion, is there anything you want to do before it is finished?

It might be a bit before I can get my next IC post up, Saturday at the latest. I'm aiming to do so a bit earlier, but can't promise anything, sorry.

----------


## Prehysterical

As I mentioned, I would like to demonstrate the tick's function to Dukkear's contact.

----------


## DeTess

> As I mentioned, I would like to demonstrate the tick's function to Dukkear's contact.


Okay, I'll set that up in my next IC post as well then. @Windstruck, I assume Bolten can pick up the enchanted bug at your place without any issues, or would you want to play that out?

----------


## WindStruck

Hm maybe.  How hard would it be to put a Magic Aura effect on it?

A spell like detect magic could easily thwart the bug's stealth since it is utilizing magic to remain quiet.  So being able to hide its aura would actually be very helpful as well.

----------


## Prehysterical

Isn't the Underdark soaked with ambient magic? Or am I misremembering?

----------


## DeTess

> Hm maybe.  How hard would it be to put a Magic Aura effect on it?
> 
> A spell like detect magic could easily thwart the bug's stealth since it is utilizing magic to remain quiet.  So being able to hide its aura would actually be very helpful as well.





> Isn't the Underdark soaked with ambient magic? Or am I misremembering?


There's quite a bit of ambient magic, but the bug might still stand out to someone actually searching with magic-o-vision. @windstruck, if shandara knows the spell then it would be fairly easy to create a permanent effect, no rolls required, just consumes about 25 gp worth of materials. If shandara doesn't know the spell you'll first have to acquire it somehow, or roll spellcraft to create a custom effect for the bug.

----------


## WindStruck

> There's quite a bit of ambient magic, but the bug might still stand out to someone actually searching with magic-o-vision. @windstruck, if shandara knows the spell then it would be fairly easy to create a permanent effect, no rolls required, just consumes about 25 gp worth of materials. If shandara doesn't know the spell you'll first have to acquire it somehow, or roll spellcraft to create a custom effect for the bug.


It's not in her spellbook.  More than happy to just go out and buy/scribe it into her book for the standard price, or RP getting the opportunity to do that if you want.

----------


## DeTess

> It's not in her spellbook.  More than happy to just go out and buy/scribe it into her book for the standard price, or RP getting the opportunity to do that if you want.


It is a fairly simple spell, so it should be easy enough to just buy somewhere.

----------


## WindStruck

Okay if I'm looking at this correctly, it would only cost 5 GP fee to copy a 1st level spell. And then 10 GP cost in materials, so 15 gp total.

One thing does bother me.  Are you *sure* it would only take 25 GP to make Magic Aura permanent?  That reaaally seems cheap.  I'm looking at the Permanency spell, and not only is that a 5th level spell itself, but all the GP costs are extremely expensive.

----------


## DeTess

> Okay if I'm looking at this correctly, it would only cost 5 GP fee to copy a 1st level spell. And then 10 GP cost in materials, so 15 gp total.
> 
> One thing does bother me.  Are you *sure* it would only take 25 GP to make Magic Aura permanent?  That reaaally seems cheap.  I'm looking at the Permanency spell, and not only is that a 5th level spell itself, but all the GP costs are extremely expensive.


The reason I'm putting a fairly cheap price on it is that it already natively has a days/level duration and has a very simple effect. With the advances in enchanting already existing in this world I imagine it's already known how to extend a small effect like this for the long term.

If you feel like it should be more I think something like 100 gp isn't too extreme either. I'm currently putting an ad-hoc price on it based on it's actual effect, rather than going by what it would cost going through permanency.

----------


## WindStruck

Well, yeah, I suppose since it lasts 1 day per level, that makes quite a bit of difference.

I guess 100 GP sounds reasonable then idk.   :Small Tongue:

----------


## DeTess

@prehysterical, I'll have your meeting set up a bit alter today, but I just ran out of time to get it all in a single post.

----------


## DeTess

@prehysterical, got your scene set up as well. If Bolten is just going to take a seat and wait around things will progress after a fairly long wait (about half an hour or so), but if there's anything you want to do, especially given the odd atmosphere currently in the building, be my guest.

----------


## Prehysterical

Ha

Haha

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

----------


## DeTess

A rather appropriate picture, @prehysterical XD 

There will be a little more happening in the office, but the question is whether Bolten will still want to be sitting there with the magic glasses on his face when this guy comes tearing through the reception area.

----------


## WindStruck

So if I'm reading what you said right, we could leave the circle as is, but Shandara must contribute some power to it?  Like..  spell slots?

If the circle is changed so she won't have to contribute power, she won't be able to see what is going on as well?

I wonder, is there a way to change it so that you wouldn't have to contribute power, but still observe just fine?

----------


## DeTess

> So if I'm reading what you said right, we could leave the circle as is, but Shandara must contribute some power to it?  Like..  spell slots?
> 
> If the circle is changed so she won't have to contribute power, she won't be able to see what is going on as well?
> 
> I wonder, is there a way to change it so that you wouldn't have to contribute power, but still observe just fine?


Yeah, you understood that correctly. Adjusting it to have it both ways is difficult, and would probably require some big adjustments. By contributing power you're directly connected to the casting rather than just observing it.

 Imagine it as the difference between watching a cooking show and actually cooking along. You'll learn something from just watching, but doing will teach you more, even if you're just copying what the chef does 1-to-1.

----------


## DeTess

@windstruck, could you roll me a spellcraft and your choice of a will or fortitude save?

----------


## WindStruck

Spellcraft: (1d20+16)[*18*]

Will: (1d20+7)[*18*]

----------


## WindStruck

> Junya Orlof's office is a large and lavishly decorated room. The large windows set behind the desk look out on a garden. The walls are decorated with all kinds of tapestries, as well as a an oil painting showing a beautifully painted *cavescape*. Junya Orlof herself appears to be a human. At first glance she appears to be fairly young, in her early twenties maybe, though there is a timeless air to her more commonly seen with *elves*, suggesting she's older than she appears. She has long, shimmering black hair, and eyes so dark in color they appear to almost be black as well, though the light brings out a brown note in them. She appears quite beautiful, though in a slightly otherworldly way


Hm.  If I had to guess, a disguised drow?   :Small Tongue: 

Oh gosh, that's funny.  If you think about it, who might be a better contact for Dukkear Ironmonger?

Either way, all this intrigue (this is intrigue, right??) is exciting!

By the way, do you think we're missing out on a key feature to the spybug?  It would be nice if the person watching through its eyes could hear as well.  And the recording is a very big plus as well for evidence.

----------


## Prehysterical

That's my first thought as well... but watch her be a mind flayer or something, instead, while DeTess snickers in the background.  :Small Tongue: 

I actually mentioned earmuffs/earphones in my initial design for the tick's headwear, but I forgot that particular feature over the past several weeks. Bolten will talk to "Lady Orlof" and get a minor extension so that they can add that last missing feature. So far, the tick has performed swimmingly and she will no doubt see it as money well-spent.

----------


## WindStruck

Oh my gosh, I don't know what to say Prehysterical...

I guess, thanks for sticking up for Shandara so much!  It's quite touching!  My only fear is that.. well, I recall you said you had a fear of something before. Where the character you played just became a secondary piece to another player's character.  I really hope that doesn't turn out to be the case here.

Or perhaps you just came up with a really good justification to get more information out of this 'Lady Orlof'?   :Small Tongue:

----------


## DeTess

@prehysterical, I'd considered either outright OOC telling you that pushing lady Orlof more than you already had was a bad idea, or at least asking for an insight. I'm happy I didn't though, because you managed to say exactly the right things here!

----------


## DeTess

@mrabdiel,  you could use some fairly cheap wood, maybe even reuse some left-overs from building your house for the model, which would basically be free, and it would do a decent enough job. However, this model will probably be presented to demonstrate the viability of your combined ideas, and it might pay to invest a bit of money into some high quality wood (around 10 GP or so) to make sure the model looks 'nice' rather than 'functional'. Better quality materials will also improve the quality of the end result a bit as you don't need to fight the material quite as much to get the shapes you need.

----------


## Prehysterical

> Oh my gosh, I don't know what to say Prehysterical...
> 
> I guess, thanks for sticking up for Shandara so much!  It's quite touching!  My only fear is that.. well, I recall you said you had a fear of something before. Where the character you played just became a secondary piece to another player's character.  I really hope that doesn't turn out to be the case here.
> 
> Or perhaps you just came up with a really good justification to get more information out of this 'Lady Orlof'?


Bolten's not the kind of guy to put on an emotional show to manipulate people into getting what he wants.

Let me explain my thought process this way:

Bolten and Shandara are currently partners. Not just in terms of being in business together, but they actually _work_ together. They complement each other's projects, have similar elements in both backstory and coming from subterranean societies, and share some common interests. Shandara does her own thing, Bolten does his own thing, and they sometimes work together. It's fine.

What I was referring to in a previous game was my character's entire story arc being hijacked and reducing him to the role of plucky sidekick in someone else's _harem anime_. Totally different circumstances.

Also, when Bolten and Aiden finally meet, I feel like things are going to be ride-or-die between the two of them. Aiden is a precious cinnamon roll that must be protected.

@DeTess, no reveal? You tease!  :Small Tongue:

----------


## MrAbdiel

> Also, when Bolten and Aiden finally meet, I feel like things are going to be ride-or-die between the two of them. Aiden is a precious cinnamon roll that must be protected.


Bro!  Bro.

<3.

And @DeTess, Aiden will spend that 10gp!  Heck, well make it 15 because he has gained spontaneous inspiration for another addition Ill detail in a post tonight, if Im clear to open the scene of Aiden rushing back to show off his toys.

----------


## DeTess

> Bro!  Bro.
> 
> <3.
> 
> And @DeTess, Aiden will spend that 10gp!  Heck, well make it 15 because he has gained spontaneous inspiration for another addition Ill detail in a post tonight, if Im clear to open the scene of Aiden rushing back to show off his toys.


Yes, feel free to do so!

----------


## WindStruck

I think we could improve the spybug design in a few ways. For starters, adding sound for the viewer isn't a bad idea. Like, if you were wearing headphones, you can still hear sounds around you (assuming what you listen to isn't loud rock music). Even then, we could have a one earpiece design. Maybe we could also make it so the viewer can use one or both lenses too.

Also... did the spybug have some kind of camouflage?

I also have one other idea for a new feature.  A once per day invisibility that the controller can activate in an emergency if the spybug is found out.

How difficult would it be to make these modifications? Any rolls required?

----------


## Prehysterical

...I think Bolten forgot the camouflage. If all else fails, maybe some flakes of rock could be glued to the framework to break up the outline?

The emergency invisibility sounds like a cool idea, but I'm worried about how intricate these magics are getting with this little bug.

----------


## DeTess

> I think we could improve the spybug design in a few ways. For starters, adding sound for the viewer isn't a bad idea. Like, if you were wearing headphones, you can still hear sounds around you (assuming what you listen to isn't loud rock music). Even then, we could have a one earpiece design. Maybe we could also make it so the viewer can use one or both lenses too.
> 
> Also... did the spybug have some kind of camouflage?
> 
> I also have one other idea for a new feature.  A once per day invisibility that the controller can activate in an emergency if the spybug is found out.
> 
> How difficult would it be to make these modifications? Any rolls required?


allowing the user to rely on only one lenses is quite doable, and all it requires is a slight modification of the glasses themselves. Adding eh live-listening function can be done pretty easily too at this point (no rolls required, requires about 50 gp worth of materials).

The 1/day invisibility is a bit trickier. It's definitely going to require some costly ingredients, and you might run into complications depending on your spellcraft roll.

----------


## WindStruck

> allowing the user to rely on only one lenses is quite doable, and all it requires is a slight modification of the glasses themselves. Adding eh live-listening function can be done pretty easily too at this point (no rolls required, requires about 50 gp worth of materials).
> 
> The 1/day invisibility is a bit trickier. It's definitely going to require some costly ingredients, and you might run into complications depending on your spellcraft roll.


Okay.   It seems like a good thing to try to add, but if it's so costly, I feel like we should maybe run it by them to see if that's a feature they want.

----------


## DeTess

@prehysterical, where is Bolten off to next?
@windstruck, was there anything in particular you wanted to do or ask here, or shall I wrap things up for that scene?
@mrabdiel, the total work to get the full model set up is about 7 half days, though they don't need you to be there for more than half of them. Mieveur ends up being the bottleneck as he needs to create a lot of clockwork, though access to the workshops stores means he mostly needs to fit things together from pre-produced parts. Was there anything in particular you wanted to do or suggest before the models are complete (besides making the Banjo, of course)?

----------


## WindStruck

The only things I had in mind specifically were going over the various rituals being performed or mentioned.

The first is the one we just participated in, where all the spirits came together into a spirit world and communion.

We could also look into maybe building a more permanent spirit world for them.. somehow.  Not sure how it works.  Ideally, you'd think it would always be up, and then someone would have to stand in a certain spot and maybe do a ritual and consume some power to temporarily join the rest of the spirits.

Third thing is looking at the ritual Vaigr uses when he puts the spirits in their mechanical bodies.  Shandara is also very curious about that, since they don't even notice the wires. Something interesting is going on, for sure!

----------


## DeTess

@windstruck, yeah, your earlier roll allows you to know exactly what went wrong. You can magic-babble it if you want to, or I could fill something in.

----------


## MrAbdiel

> @mrabdiel, the total work to get the full model set up is about 7 half days, though they don't need you to be there for more than half of them. Mieveur ends up being the bottleneck as he needs to create a lot of clockwork, though access to the workshops stores means he mostly needs to fit things together from pre-produced parts. Was there anything in particular you wanted to do or suggest before the models are complete (besides making the Banjo, of course)?


I can't thiiiink of anything I'm missing.  Next step is completed models, and I guess some kind of presentation to get funding to make full size prototypes; then a process of devising crew protocols and training them.  But models first!

Banjo is go.  Did you want me to slate that up as a procedure using the standard crafting rules, like the armor from before?

----------


## DeTess

> Banjo is go.  Did you want me to slate that up as a procedure using the standard crafting rules, like the armor from before?


If you could? If it ends up being too long a period I'll see about cutting it down some.

----------


## MrAbdiel

Okee dokee!

Masterwork instrument is 100gp, translating to 1000sp for crafting formula.  Craft DC is probably equivalent to a "Complex or Superior Item", DC 20.  Aiden pays 333SP and 4CP for materials.

Take 10 for Woodwork is 32, for future reference.  I can pop the crafting DC up to 30 then, comfortably enough.

32*30=960.  So a week of work would get it almost done; needing just another day (or half day) to push it over the 1000sp threshold.  If 7 days pass, and Aiden has to devote half of 4 of them to group work, that leaves 3 and 4 halves, (total 5) days of work.  So that'd get the banjo to 5 out of 7.5 days time investment!

This process alerted me to the fact that I think I had a bunch of phantom money - I had recorded the reward given by Overseer Evans as "350 PP" where you had described it as "A bag of platinum pieces to the value of 350*GP*".  I have rectified this and am appropriately poor again.

----------


## Prehysterical

Sorry, the end of this week was hectic. I will post tonight what I plan for Bolten to do next.

----------


## DeTess

> Okee dokee!
> 
> Masterwork instrument is 100gp, translating to 1000sp for crafting formula.  Craft DC is probably equivalent to a "Complex or Superior Item", DC 20.  Aiden pays 333SP and 4CP for materials.
> 
> Take 10 for Woodwork is 32, for future reference.  I can pop the crafting DC up to 30 then, comfortably enough.
> 
> 32*30=960.  So a week of work would get it almost done; needing just another day (or half day) to push it over the 1000sp threshold.  If 7 days pass, and Aiden has to devote half of 4 of them to group work, that leaves 3 and 4 halves, (total 5) days of work.  So that'd get the banjo to 5 out of 7.5 days time investment!
> 
> This process alerted me to the fact that I think I had a bunch of phantom money - I had recorded the reward given by Overseer Evans as "350 PP" where you had described it as "A bag of platinum pieces to the value of 350*GP*".  I have rectified this and am appropriately poor again.


That should be fine. If you want, you can set up a post just summarizing what you're up to over the week, and then Ill later set up the Escribano workshop with the completed model and the next steps.

Once that all is done I'm going to see about getting you and the others all in the same place, time-wise. You're quite a bit ahead right now, but once the scorpion has been built and tested it shouldn't be that far off.

----------


## Prehysterical

Sorry again, I had to do yardwork yesterday before the storm comes tonight and my allergies stuffed me up.

In the interests of getting us all toward the same place and reducing time snarl, would it be okay if Bolten just goes nose to the grindstone with the SCORP? He can do the linguistic studies during his off-time.

Also, he would report Lady Orlof's favorable reaction to the tick to Shandara. Windstruck, I don't know if you want to play that out or leave that as a background thing.

----------


## WindStruck

Hah, not sure either!  Though I did want to make some improvements and the tick and also have the invisibility idea discussed, in case they want that as well.

Also yeah, the SCORP...   I don't know what else to do, but uh, would love to be there when it's finished and we show it off to Dukkear all 007 style.

----------


## Prehysterical

I was going to wait and see how Lady Orlof's field test goes before we get too worried about making improvements.

For the SCORP, I believe we still need the control headband made for directing its movements mentally. Shandara would need to do the enchantments for that.

----------


## DeTess

@prehysterical, its fine to focus on finishing the scorp.

Regarding the field test, the tick is delivered back to you 4 days after your meeting with lady Orlof, together with a letter describing an overall positive view of the tick. It mentions one flaw she'd like to see corrected though, and that is that the lenses  can get fogged up by mist or covered by soot, blinding the operator.

Also, the plate on which the recordings are made has been swapped out (I assume this is easy enough to do, if not, making this operation easier is another requested improvement).

----------


## DeTess

@everyone, just a quick headsup, my next post might end up being on Thursday. Just had a bit of a terribly busy day at work that sapped all my energy, and tomorrow is likely no better.

----------


## WindStruck

No problem!    :Small Smile:

----------


## DeTess

@mrabdiel, I assume you're fine with moving to the proper presentation next? If so I'll likely have that up sometime this weekend, as it'll be a fairly big post that I don't want to do while mentally exhausted after a long day at work.

----------


## MrAbdiel

I am fine with such!  :) groundbreaking advances in core ship design to make the vessel lighter is going to become a project, but not one to hold the presentation up over.  If our design gets a foot in the door with the navy I guess, there will be of time to blow their minds completely with that secondary advance.

It may even have to wait until the strange, distant days when we level up , so I can put more points into Craft: (Shipwright)!

----------


## DeTess

@mrabdiel, It ended up being a slightly shorter post than I'd planned, but I realized as I was writing that both Albert and Mieveur would probably prefer it if Aiden gave the actual presentation

----------


## MrAbdiel

I will give you _such_ a presentation.  I presume it'll desire a persuasive roll, too.

----------


## DeTess

> I will give you _such_ a presentation.  I presume it'll desire a persuasive roll, too.


Looking for ward to it. And yeah, fi you could make a roll on the side as well?

----------


## MrAbdiel

I have posted!  And rolled.  I'm a little sad the roll wasn't SUPER DUPER, but with Aiden's skills and feats, the least he can get on something this important is "pretty damn good".  Maybe the excitable salesman pitch will kick it up a notch.

*Spoiler: Sales Inspiration*
Show

----------


## WindStruck

Not really sure where to go from here, if you want to call it.  I gotta work on the mental controller for the SCORP now I guess, and the details are fuzzy.  I kind of feel like I need to see the prototype first, but I dunno.

THEN AGAIN.  Didn't Shandara already help do something to the effect of helping an old duke walk?

----------


## DeTess

> THEN AGAIN.  Didn't Shandara already help do something to the effect of helping an old duke walk?


Yeah, you could use a similar control method, though since the scorp is a lot more complicated the control mechanism would be as well, and you might want to consider ways to simplify it a bit to avoid excessive mental strain from controlling a bunch of extra limbs.

----------


## MrAbdiel

We've hit a good pause point for Aiden now, DeTess.  With the exception of 2.5 days worth of effort to finish the banjo maybe, I'm happy to wait for the timeline of the others to catch up!

----------


## Prehysterical

> Yeah, you could use a similar control method, though since the scorp is a lot more complicated the control mechanism would be as well, and you might want to consider ways to simplify it a bit to avoid excessive mental strain from controlling a bunch of extra limbs.


If I may interject, I would argue that the magical programming is more akin to "telling the SCORP where to go" than going full Doctor Octopus with the control schemes. It would be more like "take a step forward" than "I shall now move the third left leg forward".

----------


## WindStruck

Hm.  So it appears you have a whole lot of AI you need to work on for the SCORP yourself.

I'm kind of thinking, you "tell" it where you want to go, and it just kinda goes that way. Probably have to give it some guidance first so the whole pathing algorithm doesn't get too complex or impossible, but like if you want to hang on the ceiling, you probably first think going to one corner of the room, then up the wall, then along the ceiling to the spot where you want.  The SCORP should be able to figure out how to move the arms to grab onto surfaces at least?

----------


## WindStruck

Okay I'll do another crafting jewelry roll for the mental controller part of the SCORP.  I'm still assuming there's more work to be involved, as there's guesswork trying to integrate it WITH whatever is actually controlling the legs.  But for now a roll.

(1d20+25)[*37*]

----------


## DeTess

The gem-cutting itself presents no problems whatsoever, though you'll likely want to meet with Bolten to figure out exactly how to design it. From looking into the theory behind the earlier design you know that as it stands, mentally controlling more than about 12 of these little gems poses some difficulty, and it requires an incredibly disciplined mind to go over 20, with the most controlled with any accuracy on record being 24. When it was just a single pair of legs it was pretty easy to stay within that limit, but it'll be trickier with something more complicated like the scorp.

----------


## WindStruck

Yeah I guess that was all just the roll for the materials, but I'll need like, an arcana roll later?

I was still planning on having Shandara meet up with Bolten to see what he has so far, so she would have a better idea of what to work with.

----------


## Prehysterical

Okay, now that we are caught up on the timeline,

What does Bolten need to do? Is there any sort of design shenaniganry he needs to pull with the crystal layout for the headset, or does Shandara just need a dwarven head model?

----------


## WindStruck

Well you've got to start working on the SCORP at some point...   :Small Big Grin: 

So far Shandara has already introduced a magical thing that will supply water for the steam engine. And you've got that special material to work with for cables or whatever.

The thing's just got to be concretely designed and made.  Yeah, Shandara could use a dwarven head model.  She could also seriously use some additional input as to HOW to design the controls to fit how the SCORP is supposed to operate.

----------


## Prehysterical

The SCORP is basically done. I made those Crafting rolls in the first week of April. The water tank and the crystal are already integrated. The cable tail is already done.

Now, providing input on how to design the controls for the SCORP, _that_ Bolten can help with. I will try to get something up later today.

----------


## Prehysterical

So yeah, about that post...

There has been a death in the family. I am flying out in less than six hours. Let's say (conservatively) not to expect anything out of me for the next few days or even up to a week.

----------


## DeTess

> So yeah, about that post...
> 
> There has been a death in the family. I am flying out in less than six hours. Let's say (conservatively) not to expect anything out of me for the next few days or even up to a week.


My condolences!

----------


## WindStruck

Uh. Okay.....      :Small Frown: 

Sorry to hear that.

And I guess I'm just going to be waiting around for you till then.

----------


## MrAbdiel

Sorry, man.  Do what you gotta do.

----------


## Prehysterical

So, update:

I am going to be staying at my mom's place through next week to help her deal with the loss and all the paperwork. I am going to _try_ to find some time to sit down and make a post, but it might not be today.

----------


## DeTess

> So, update:
> 
> I am going to be staying at my mom's place through next week to help her deal with the loss and all the paperwork. I am going to _try_ to find some time to sit down and make a post, but it might not be today.


Don't push yourself. RL stuff like this always has priority, and we all understand that

----------


## WindStruck

Hey all. Still here btw.

I have no idea how long Prehysterical will be gone...

Do you think some more solo RP scenes, or a little get together with Aiden might be in order?

----------


## DeTess

> Hey all. Still here btw.
> 
> I have no idea how long Prehysterical will be gone...
> 
> Do you think some more solo RP scenes, or a little get together with Aiden might be in order?


I was planning on throwing something your way, but last week has been a bit chaotic and I haven't gotten to it. If you can think of something to do with Aiden that would be good too.

----------


## MrAbdiel

Im game, if were happy to wiggle the time constraints to work.  Is there another board posting we could collaborate on, Windstruck?  Or did you want to just make something, starting at the brainstorm and getting on from there?

----------


## Prehysterical

I am back, slowly trying to claw my way back into "normalcy". I simply could not find the headspace last week to do anything but grieve and comfort my family.

Shandara and Aiden can still do a meet-up, but I will be sending Bolten over to Shandara's place to coordinate for the final portions of the SCORP.

It still hurts, but I love this game too much to quit. It gives me something else to think about. I can't grieve 24/7.

----------


## WindStruck

Oof, again, sorry for your loss.  I did not realize the death was so close...

I'm glad to have you back here though.

----------


## Prehysterical

It was my dad and he died unexpectedly... I didn't want to get into specifics because you didn't need that dumped on you, but I hope it explains why the past two weeks have been hell for me.

----------


## MrAbdiel

That's truly awful, mate.  Condolences to you and your loved ones.  If PbP stuff is a welcome distraction rather than a troublesome one right now, then that's at least something we can offer.


Unrelatedly...




> "Oh, apologies. I was not sure what exact time you were coming. Would you care for some apple-cinnamon tea today?"





> "That sounds absolutely lovely! In fact, that will go perfectly with the honey buns that I brought for us to share!"


...These two are my favourite British TV show.

----------


## DeTess

@windstruck, if you have ranks in it, could you roll me a knowledge (nature) as well?

@Bolten, you reckon you might be able to redesign the bug to have a couple different 'hidden' shapes like the clock one, which could make camouflage easier. Apart from that, you're not striking any massively original ideas. There are always camouflaging spells, but incorporating those in the design will be quite costly.

@mrabdiel, is there anything you want Aiden to do while we wait for the others to catch up, time-wise? Obviously, it can't be anything time consuming, but if there's like a place you want to visit or something else roleplay heavy, we could definitely do that.

----------


## MrAbdiel

Wouldnt mind inviting Misha over to visit the rats and receive her armor! That could be fun!

----------


## DeTess

Sure, go for it. Send out the invite, and I'll make sure she makes some time to drop by.

----------


## WindStruck

Shandara's knowledge nature: (1d20+8)[*11*]

surprise surprise, no investigative mind right now!  I imagine she'd have that prepared when expecting to make a researching trip to the archives or something.

----------


## DeTess

> Shandara's knowledge nature: [roll0]
> 
> surprise surprise, no investigative mind right now!  I imagine she'd have that prepared when expecting to make a researching trip to the archives or something.


And when she needed the investigative mind most, it vanished...

No particular tricks for using the natural world come to mind.

----------


## WindStruck

I think the best bet is a dark, neutral color, perhaps with a little bit of speckling (kind of like camouflage patterns) that stands out least in dark vision?

----------


## DeTess

> I think the best bet is a dark, neutral color, perhaps with a little bit of speckling (kind of like camouflage patterns) that stands out least in dark vision?


Yeah, something like that would definitely work to at least some degree in most outdoor environments in the Underdark.

----------


## WindStruck

...though if we are spying, wouldn't we be in 'indoor' environments most likely?   :Small Confused: 

It kinda makes me a bit unhappy thinking about it at first, as there's no perfect solution here (I guess also as is practical in real life) outside of expensive magic, but I GUESS on the bright side, we could potentially manufacture different models. One meant for one type of 'outdoor' environment, another for another 'outdoor' environment, another bug for spying 'indoors', and I guess we could have the super/ultra model that magically camouflages anywhere, and let's give it the invisibility 1-3/day thing too for good measure.   :Small Tongue: 

I'm just imagining Bolten starting up a partnership (or maybe more accurately a racket) with the Ironmonger clan as he markets a bunch of superfluously different models of spy bugs now.

----------


## Prehysterical

> ...These two are my favourite British TV show.


Is Aiden going to be Kramer, that guy who everyone cheers for when he shows up on screen?

Having multiple disguises for the tick is not the worst thing in the world. People might catch on quick when there's a random clock sitting in a cave.

As lucrative as military contracting would be, Bolten's more in this job for the challenge of making something new and useful than printing out money by revolutionizing imperial espionage.  :Small Tongue:  For a dwarf of his talents, Bolten is incredibly bad at the capitalist practice of squeezing every copper he can out of his products.

Besides... I have spicy plans for the future, with unintended consequences for the world at large. *evil laugh*

----------


## MrAbdiel

I hope his Kramer-ing introduces less chaos into Shandara and Bolten's lives than the original article.

Also, I have posted!  DeTess, I have taken some liberties with the rats; I assume you didn't want me checking you for every detail of their reaction to things, but if I ever overstep, let me know and I'll edit.

----------


## WindStruck

Well I will say, I very much enjoyed the scene with the rats!   :Small Big Grin:

----------


## MrAbdiel

> Well I will say, I very much enjoyed the scene with the rats!


Well thanks, I enjoyed writing it!  Just wait until everyone gets the choreography down and we're able to take the show on the road.

----------


## WindStruck

Got a 22 for alchemy.   So there's probably some ideas there. I just don't know how good the ideas would be.

If 22 isn't high enough, we might have to look in the archives or phone a friend.  Maybe we could try and track down Ash!   :Small Wink:

----------


## DeTess

> Got a 22 for alchemy.   So there's probably some ideas there. I just don't know how good the ideas would be.
> 
> If 22 isn't high enough, we might have to look in the archives or phone a friend.  Maybe we could try and track down Ash!


With a 22 you have two ideas that mostly fit the bill.
The first one is a fairly simple and cheap (5 sp in material costs) concoction that is often used to prepare equipment for experiments and the like, but will need to be reapplied every couple of months.
The other one will be basically permanent but is significantly more expensive and difficult to make, running at 25 gp in materials and a check to make it in the high twenties.

----------


## WindStruck

I think I could try going for the permanent solution, just because it's cool.   :Small Tongue:   It should be pretty easy with skills like magecraft and crafter's fortune (and tools!) supporting Shandara.

Although now that I think about it, is the particular crystal lens we use tied to that specific spybug?  Or if the spybug got lost, stolen, or destroyed, could you use the same lens for a different spybug?

----------


## DeTess

> I think I could try going for the permanent solution, just because it's cool.    It should be pretty easy with skills like magecraft and crafter's fortune (and tools!) supporting Shandara.
> 
> Although now that I think about it, is the particular crystal lens we use tied to that specific spybug?  Or if the spybug got lost, stolen, or destroyed, could you use the same lens for a different spybug?


The lenses are tied to the glasses. If you lose the spybug but recover its lenses you can reuse them, but if you need an entirely new spybug you'd also need a new set of goggles, or re-enchant the current ones.

----------


## WindStruck

So it sounds like we should definitely go with the cheaper option then that has to be applied every few months.  You can't possibly expect that nothing happens to these bugs, unless they have powerful camouflaging or invisibility magic constantly.

----------


## MrAbdiel

Oh boy!  Probono work! :D

Alright, let's see what this boat will require.  Obviously DeTess, I'm gonna need you to make some calls here!

A 2 man rowboat costs 50gp.  But this boat seems large enough to have a sail - even if it's not the sail they have - which, of the stuff on the SRD, most resembles the Ship's Boat.  That's for a single masted vessel with between 2 and 5 sets of oars, with a hull between 16 to 30 feet long - at the stately sum of 500gp.

I could build such a boat going through the normal crafting process.  But if you'd like to knock some percentage off that starting price, I can use the reduced cost as the base to generate the timeline for how long it will take to fix it and how much investment will need to be made to get it up to snuff!

Or alternatively, you can just say "It'll take this much money and this long" and we'll go with that!  But as for Aiden's disposition, he's keen to help, and is pretty willing to ship-of-Theseus this thing - replace almost the entire thing bit by bit so the enterprising yoofs feel like they found a ship that got fixed up.. rather than they found some scrap wood that Aiden incorporated into an entirely new boat for them!

----------


## DeTess

@mrabdiel,

There's a couple approaches you could take. The absolute minimum that needs to happen is to solidly plug the gaps that have appeared and re-tar the hull. That'd only run you like 3 gp in material, but would take a day or two of work, even assuming you get some help from the boat's owners. This would also be a mostly temporary solution, the plugs would eventually break, though probably not catastrophically, so no risk of the boat suddenly sinking, unless it got caught in really bad weather.

A more comprehensive approach would involve replacing the panels on the hull that are warped in the worst way. Costs for that would start at 30 gp and a bout a week of worth, but if you can get the planks you need pre-shaped, rather than needing to cut them yourself out of wooden beams you could cut it down to 4 days of work, but costs would go up to 60 gp (including everything else you need) This should be good for a couple years provided the rest of the ship is maintained, but eventually the rest of the hull would need replacing, and doing it plank by plank as they need will be more work than doing a full overhaul.

The full overhaul would involve replacing something like 80% of the hull. This'd take a lot of time and be quite costly, think around 180gp in materials and several weeks of work, plus you'd probably need to rent a small drydock or similar to do it in. The other options could be done right there on the little gravel beach.

----------


## DeTess

Just a quick FYI, I'm on holiday from tomorrow till tuesday, so won't post in that period.

----------


## MrAbdiel

> @mrabdiel,
> 
> There's a couple approaches you could take. The absolute minimum that needs to happen is to solidly plug the gaps that have appeared and re-tar the hull. That'd only run you like 3 gp in material, but would take a day or two of work, even assuming you get some help from the boat's owners. This would also be a mostly temporary solution, the plugs would eventually break, though probably not catastrophically, so no risk of the boat suddenly sinking, unless it got caught in really bad weather.
> 
> A more comprehensive approach would involve replacing the panels on the hull that are warped in the worst way. Costs for that would start at 30 gp and a bout a week of worth, but if you can get the planks you need pre-shaped, rather than needing to cut them yourself out of wooden beams you could cut it down to 4 days of work, but costs would go up to 60 gp (including everything else you need) This should be good for a couple years provided the rest of the ship is maintained, but eventually the rest of the hull would need replacing, and doing it plank by plank as they need will be more work than doing a full overhaul.
> 
> The full overhaul would involve replacing something like 80% of the hull. This'd take a lot of time and be quite costly, think around 180gp in materials and several weeks of work, plus you'd probably need to rent a small drydock or similar to do it in. The other options could be done right there on the little gravel beach.


Aiden's not the kind of lad to give scrappy street kids anything less than the most help he can.  I'll cross off 180GP for the materials.  But ooh, ooh!  I don't think I'll need the drydock . It's only a smallish single-sail fishing boat.  I can get a wagon with a long bed to put it on, and tow it back to the barn - part of the reason I had a giant barn built on Aiden's property was to be able to tinker with small seacraft and use his points in Craft: Shipwright!

In fact, because playing a low wisdom character is a great excuse to be unwise, I can spend even MORE money! And do even MORE crafting!  But I don't want to wait a week of crafting to  start working on this boat, so I'll pay (5g?) to rent a wagon for this purpose, and put making my own wagon on the project list for downtime.

*Spoiler: The Wagon Project!*
Show

Let's call a Heavy Wagon a _complex item_, since there's swingles and moving parts in this wooden arrangement that sets it apart from just a table or chair complexity.  Heavy Wagons cost 100GP, which means it requires *1000SP worth of labor* and a financial investment of *33gp 3sp 4cp.* Complex items are DC 20 to craft; I can take DC 30 to accelerate the crafting easily enough, and take 10 on my carpentry checks to hit 32 with my master crafted tools.  So I can punch out (30*32) 960SP of woodcrafting labor a week if I take 10.  With odds like that, I'll roll the check to see if I can luck out and finish it in one week.  Or if I can extort some work our of Markel and Cliff for a measly +2 bonus, and also teach them a skill in the process, it can be done as a sure thing.

That will wait until after the boat, though.  This is just a post for me to look back on later!

----------


## DeTess

> Aiden's not the kind of lad to give scrappy street kids anything less than the most help he can.  I'll cross off 180GP for the materials.  But ooh, ooh!  I don't think I'll need the drydock . It's only a smallish single-sail fishing boat.  I can get a wagon with a long bed to put it on, and tow it back to the barn - part of the reason I had a giant barn built on Aiden's property was to be able to tinker with small seacraft and use his points in Craft: Shipwright!
> 
> In fact, because playing a low wisdom character is a great excuse to be unwise, I can spend even MORE money! And do even MORE crafting!  But I don't want to wait a week of crafting to  start working on this boat, so I'll pay (5g?) to rent a wagon for this purpose, and put making my own wagon on the project list for downtime.
> 
> *Spoiler: The Wagon Project!*
> Show
> 
> Let's call a Heavy Wagon a _complex item_, since there's swingles and moving parts in this wooden arrangement that sets it apart from just a table or chair complexity.  Heavy Wagons cost 100GP, which means it requires *1000SP worth of labor* and a financial investment of *33gp 3sp 4cp.* Complex items are DC 20 to craft; I can take DC 30 to accelerate the crafting easily enough, and take 10 on my carpentry checks to hit 32 with my master crafted tools.  So I can punch out (30*32) 960SP of woodcrafting labor a week if I take 10.  With odds like that, I'll roll the check to see if I can luck out and finish it in one week.  Or if I can extort some work our of Markel and Cliff for a measly +2 bonus, and also teach them a skill in the process, it can be done as a sure thing.
> 
> That will wait until after the boat, though.  This is just a post for me to look back on later!


Yeah, renting  cart and towing it t your barn is also an option. If you just need the wagon for a day it'll only cost you 1 gp (and a 25gp deposit,. but I doubt that'll be an issue and you'll get it all back afterwards), but unless you have some pretty powerful telekinesis or strength-buffing magic (or some other trick up your sleeve), you'll need some help to get the boat up from the gravel beach. hiring a couple dock-workers and a small mobile crane would set you back another 9 gp.

----------


## MrAbdiel

As a matter o fact, I began play with a belt of heavy load, which gives me the effect of the Anthaul spell!  Which triples carry/drag capacity.  Typically he lets Ambrose wear it because hes an old horse and Aiden notices hes getting tired and slower, but Im sure between Ambrose, Aiden in his belt, and a bit of rope, they can get it up to wherever they can mount it on a wagon!

----------


## DeTess

Yeah, that ought to do the trick as well then.

----------


## Prehysterical

@Windstruck
We can move on from the Britcom. I just realized that I never actually wrote Bolten drinking the tea that sounded so good to him. I'd actually like to get those projects done so that Aiden can be brought in and Bolten finally gets paid enough to work on his clockwork familiar that I've been wanting for several months now.

@DeTess
Bolten will try to get in touch with Lady Orlof to see if there is a way that he can get Dukkear's measurements. Not just for the helmet, but also for the gyroscopic harness that he has to make to attach to the SCORP.

----------


## DeTess

@mrabdiel, how exactly are you planning to go about finding a cook?

@bolten, where you planning on dropping by Lady Orlof, or simply send her a message with a request for the information?

----------


## WindStruck

As for me, I'll need Shandara to actually enchant, or "program" the controlling gem.  Shall I make an arcana roll?

----------


## Prehysterical

Bolten's pretty new to the spy game, but he will drop by in person to pick up the measurements.

----------


## MrAbdiel

> @mrabdiel, how exactly are you planning to go about finding a cook?


I figure he'll go around to the local hands who helped him build the house, and ask if there's someone they know who has those skills who could use a job.  Word of mouth!  Because his own knowledge local is garbage, you see; he must rely on the friends he has made.  Rolling persuasion seems not quite on the mark here; but let me know if you want a roll of something!

----------


## DeTess

@windstruck, yes, if you would?

@prehysterical, if you want I could do a bit of RP around it, but otherwise there's little issue getting the measurements. However, lady Orlof is pretty busy when you get there, or so you're told, and you don't get to see her in person, instead one of her employees quickly gets you the information you asked for.

@mrabdiel, Diplomacy can also be used for gathering information, so that would seem an appropriate use of that skill.

----------


## WindStruck

Okay. Shandara will think on it, prep some, and then attempt it the next day with good old Investigative Mind.

(1d20+17)[*19*]  or  (1d20+17)[*25*]

----------


## MrAbdiel

> @mrabdiel, Diplomacy can also be used for gathering information, so that would seem an appropriate use of that skill.


Then BRACE YOURSELF FOR MY GENIUS.

(1d20+15)[*30*] Diplomancy to fight a skilled and deserving cook/maid/housekeeper.

----------


## DeTess

@mrabdiel, you where planning on looking around in the poorer districts, right?

----------


## MrAbdiel

Indeed; specifically near to his house and moving outward from there (thus starting by asking the workers on the crew who helped build it).  If there's someone who has kids and needs to be within walking distance of work, or something, that would work in their favor.  But yes, starting with Stormdrains people!

----------


## Prehysterical

Yeah, no need to RP such a simple interaction. Bolten will pick up the measurements from the employee and is on his way.

In the meantime... Bolten is going to think about any potential material for the helmet that might help with conducting mental energies.

Knowledge (Arcana): (1d20+12)[*24*]
Knowledge (Nature): (1d20+11)[*27*]
Knowledge (Planes): (1d20+7)[*10*]

----------


## WindStruck

At the very least, the helmet should be sturdy so it provides some protection.. yeah?    :Small Tongue:

----------


## Prehysterical

> At the very least, the helmet should be sturdy so it provides some protection.. yeah?


...Are you really armor-splaining right now?  :Small Confused:

----------


## WindStruck

Uh.. I don't know?   :Small Big Grin: 

Just saying I think I'd prefer a material that is strong and protective, rather than something that is conductive to mental energies but has the strength of tin foil.

On the other hand, I think a material that would block out mental energy is bad too.

----------


## DeTess

@windstruck, you mention tog et your side of the controlling design done without issue, as it is quite similar to the work you'd done before for the clockwork legs

@mrabdiel, you do a bunch of asking around and learn of 3 promising candidates.

Eva Golino runs a small communal kitchen project not too far from where you live. A bunch of local laborers contribute either ingredients or a little money and she uses it to prepare food for them all.

Ross Vouivre is a retired fisherman living across the street from you. He doesn't seem to have much to do and is probably just living out his final days on whatever savings he might have. However, you noticed before that he does tend to spend a lot of time in the kitchen and the various sea-food based dishes he makes smell delicious. You doubt he's looking for a job at this point but if you like seafood, it might be worth a shot tos ee if he's willing to make food for you as well.

Marian Page used to work as a maid for a rich merchant, but an incident left her with horrible burn-scarring to her face, which has made it pretty much impossible for her to find new work. She can apparently cook, and should be able to help with many other household chores besides, but from what you've heard the incident has left her depressed and fearful, so getting her to work for you and regain some confidence will be quite the project.

@prehysterical, most materials suitable for channeling mental energies are pretty much unsuited for making helmets. There is a large variety of crystals that can function like that, and you know that grinding them up and alloying them with copper or mithril should result in a suitable metal, but you'd be sacrificing protective properties to get there.

----------


## MrAbdiel

> @mrabdiel, you do a bunch of asking around and learn of 3 promising candidates.
> 
> Eva Golino runs a small communal kitchen project not too far from where you live. A bunch of local laborers contribute either ingredients or a little money and she uses it to prepare food for them all.
> 
> Ross Vouivre is a retired fisherman living across the street from you. He doesn't seem to have much to do and is probably just living out his final days on whatever savings he might have. However, you noticed before that he does tend to spend a lot of time in the kitchen and the various sea-food based dishes he makes smell delicious. You doubt he's looking for a job at this point but if you like seafood, it might be worth a shot to see if he's willing to make food for you as well.
> 
> Marian Page used to work as a maid for a rich merchant, but an incident left her with horrible burn-scarring to her face, which has made it pretty much impossible for her to find new work. She can apparently cook, and should be able to help with many other household chores besides, but from what you've heard the incident has left her depressed and fearful, so getting her to work for you and regain some confidence will be quite the project.


Excellent.  Eva seems like she's already doing God's work out there; and Ross seems like someone I will keep in my rolladex to hook up to Markel and Cliff later when I am suddenly possessed of the desire for a broader, ocean-to-table culinary endevour.  I want to _be friends_ with all of them, but Marian is defiantly the one who seems like she could most use the break.  So I'll take a swing at convincing her to consider the opportunity.  I'll do a little IC thing!

----------


## DeTess

Apologies for going MIA for a bit, my holiday just ended which meant I had to catch up on two weeks worth of work.

----------


## WindStruck

Do you think Bolten and Shandara will run into any other issues with completing the SCORP?

We've also just had a RP of meeting up so. Hm.   :Small Confused: 

Maybe we need to give it a good field test perhaps?  Or maybe we can get straight to a demonstration for Dukkear? I'm still definitely looking forward to that.

----------


## DeTess

I think you're mostly good to go at this point. Whether you want to do a test of your own first or skip straight to the live demonstration I'll leave to you.

----------


## Prehysterical

Doing a field test first seems more prudent, but my gut tells me that Bolten would want Dukkear present to see the SCORP in action for the first time. Of course, since it was his idea, Bolten would have the dubious privilege of serving as the test pilot...

----------


## WindStruck

Maybe we should just find a nice secluded place to give it a few test runs?  Of course, not doing anything too dangerous.  But I do think it would be best to test it out as much as possible before presenting it to Dukkear.

After all, how often is it that things go perfectly on the first try?

----------


## Prehysterical

We can do that. (Don't know why you suggested taking it straight to Dukkear, then...)

We probably need something like a bridge. Guessing that there aren't many natural caves nearby. A warehouse is not really a representative test.

----------


## WindStruck

Well I guess what I meant was, going straight to Dukkear in terms of scenes.

Obviously, we should have tested it prior...

----------


## Prehysterical

Is that something you want to RP out or do you just want DeTess to tell us how the contraption works out?

----------


## WindStruck

That, I'm really not sure, but I'd always be up for what is most intereseting.

One question for starters.. just how big is this whole contraption going to be?  Assuming we do go out to test it, it would probably be fairly hard to conceal right?

----------


## DeTess

> One question for starters.. just how big is this whole contraption going to be?  Assuming we do go out to test it, it would probably be fairly hard to conceal right?


Someone wearing it would be large-size, so would be pretty easy to spot if you did it somewhere crowded. There are a couple of places not that far form the city that are often sued by artificers wanting to test gear away from prying eyes though, like a couple old quarries and the like.

----------


## WindStruck

> Someone wearing it would be large-size, so would be pretty easy to spot if you did it somewhere crowded. There are a couple of places not that far form the city that are often sued by artificers wanting to test gear away from prying eyes though, like a couple old quarries and the like.


Sounds like a nice little field trip we could have.  Maybe rent out a wagon to transport it and ourselves, bring some lunch/dinner or something with us.

I'm assuming if we were to do this in broad daylight, Xavier won't accompany us right?  I am afraid testing at dusk or at night would be a bad idea.

Hm. Maybe I could swing by the Midnight Guard office and see if there was anyone available for a few hours job.

----------


## Prehysterical

An old quarry sounds perfect. 

Actually, would it matter if we tested at night? After all, the test is being simulated in the Underdark. Might as well get the full experience. We do want to take Xavier with us, if for no other reason than having some muscle in case Bolten falls from the ceiling and has the entire apparatus crushing him.  :Small Eek:

----------


## WindStruck

Testing at night _could_ be possible, but I just want to emphasize all the heightened risks involved.

As you already would know, more undesirable people come out at night. Though I can expect we'd be driving the wagon through more of the main streets to get out of the city, which shouldn't be too bad, we'll then have to be leaving via the gates. I couldn't help but feel we would seem quite suspicious, and we might have to explain more than what we would like to about our project.

I also think that anybody traveling out of the city at night is also just asking for trouble. Don't you think bandits and highwaymen would be waiting right outside? Even with Xavier with us, I feel we would be easy pickings. And for this occasion, I think I would honestly have to start loading Shandara up with a bunch of combat spells and stuff just like in a conventional d&d game.

Then of course, there's the animals. I'm sure Shandara's familiar wouldn't mind the dark, but what lurks outside the city? Lions, tigers, bears, wolves? Visiting an abandoned quarry at night is probably not the smartest thing to be doing. I think the only thing we have going for us is that we can all see pretty well in darkness..

With all that said, I am not opposed to going out to test the machine, and I'm not opposed to bringing a bodyguard. I do think we'd be a lot better off going in the day, though. The fact that it's intended to operate in the Underdark is true, but light levels have absolutely nothing to do with its functionality.

----------


## DeTess

> I'm assuming if we were to do this in broad daylight, Xavier won't accompany us right?  I am afraid testing at dusk or at night would be a bad idea.


His contract wouldn't require him to, but if you discuss this he'll indicate he is fine with a bit of (paid) overtime, especially if it means you do this during the daytime.

----------


## WindStruck

> His contract wouldn't require him to, but if you discuss this he'll indicate he is fine with a bit of (paid) overtime, especially if it means you do this during the daytime.


His contracts is for the nights anyway, so..  of course if there was any overtime, it would have to be during the daytime?

----------


## DeTess

> His contracts is for the nights anyway, so..  of course if there was any overtime, it would have to be during the daytime?


I more meant the 'especially if it means you do this during the daytime' in the sense of 'you don't take unnecessary risks for this test'.

@mrabdiel, could you roll me either a bluff check, a will save or a fortitude save?

----------


## Prehysterical

We can do it doing the daytime, but I will point out how that will make us even more conspicuous... especially to Shandara's rival. No option is perfectly safe and secretive. That's just the nature of developing tech for spies, unfortunately.

I guess if anyone asks what's in the wagon, we can make up a story about two star-crossed lovers going for a romantic weekend retreat in the countryside.  :Small Tongue:  Everyone will be so put off by the idea of a dwarf dating a drow that they'll be too busy working their heads around that to worry about what is in the wagon.

----------


## MrAbdiel

> @mrabdiel, could you roll me either a bluff check, a will save or a fortitude save?


For a minute I was trying to figure out what the hell that test could be for, but I got it now!  Versatile Performance means I can bluff bigly, so: (1d20+15)[*18*]!

Edit: bad roll but still, 18 aint nothin to sniff at.

----------


## WindStruck

> We can do it doing the daytime, but I will point out how that will make us even more conspicuous... especially to Shandara's rival. No option is perfectly safe and secretive. That's just the nature of developing tech for spies, unfortunately.
> 
> I guess if anyone asks what's in the wagon, we can make up a story about two star-crossed lovers going for a romantic weekend retreat in the countryside.  Everyone will be so put off by the idea of a dwarf dating a drow that they'll be too busy working their heads around that to worry about what is in the wagon.


Oh no no no.  I really think you have it backwards.  Going out at night is _definitely_ more conspicuous.

We might get some questions during the day about what our business is...  but we will certainly get questions if we head out at night.

If we do get questions, however, hopefully we can just say we're members of the royal artificery society and want to test a device we made someplace remote and away from the city. Hopefully that covers it, and hopefully they've heard far crazier things than that.

In any case, I'm glad you agree with the idea.  So, DeTess, are you going to make a scene, or shall we?

Uh, also.  I think I should prepare for this outing.  Maybe I should have Shandara add some spells to here book and prepare something more for combat or emergencies today.  Her spell book is pretty dreadfully empty for a respected wizard! Well, kind of a wizard...

----------


## WindStruck

If it's alright, I think I'll learn the following spells and put them in Shandara's spellbook:

Shield
Mage Armor
Color Spray
Cause Fear
Burning Disarm

And I'll throw in a wand of mage armor too.

I believe the total cost would be 825 gp?

----------


## DeTess

> In any case, I'm glad you agree with the idea.  So, DeTess, are you going to make a scene, or shall we?


Could you or Prehisterical do that? Either set it up at Bolten's place where the Scorpion is presumable stored if you want to discuss some stuff, or else as you're approaching the outer gate. Please include what kind of equipment you're bringing along and the like.




> If it's alright, I think I'll learn the following spells and put them in Shandara's spellbook:
> 
> Shield
> Mage Armor
> Color Spray
> Cause Fear
> Burning Disarm
> 
> And I'll throw in a wand of mage armor too.
> ...


That looks about right. If you want, you could do some checking around to see if you can find any mages willing to exchange spell knowledge (that way you'd only pay costs for the inks needed to scribe as you're essentially trading spells known). If so, could you roll me a diplomacy check?

----------


## WindStruck

If I'll be perfectly honest, I am not so sure if Shandara has much worth exchanging.  There may be other wizards who don't have spells she does, but then what are the odds that she has spells that they want?  And I am not sure if I'm even saving that much money.. a lot of money to the average commoner for sure, but I think it's less than her monthly stipend.   :Small Tongue: 

Well, anyway.  I guess it's worth a shot rolling if that's what you're offering!

diplomacy: (1d20+10)[*15*]

----------


## DeTess

@windstruck, Shandara does some asking around and finds a chemist that's willing to allow you to copy over the shield spell in exchange for learning windy escape from you. If asked, he explains that he often works with volatile substances, so having more ways to get out of trouble if something blows up is always nice in his opinion.

You have no luck in finding someone to trade for the other spells with.

----------


## WindStruck

> @windstruck, Shandara does some asking around and finds a chemist that's willing to allow you to copy over the shield spell in exchange for learning windy escape from you. If asked, he explains that he often works with volatile substances, so having more ways to get out of trouble if something blows up is always nice in his opinion.
> 
> You have no luck in finding someone to trade for the other spells with.


Okay. So if the writing cost for level 1 spells is 10 gp.. then I think I only saved 5 gp trading spells with that guy.   :Small Big Grin: 

How much will Xavier's overtime cost today?  Then I think I'll have a finalized total to deduct from my sheet.

----------


## DeTess

> How much will Xavier's overtime cost today?  Then I think I'll have a finalized total to deduct from my sheet.


Depends on how long you expect to take. Overtime comes down to 5gp an hour, but if it's more than 4 hours (It is doable within that time limit if no issues appear, but only just) than there's an additional 40 gold surcharge, mostly because Xavier will have to get a potion to make sure he remains fully alert and ready.

----------


## WindStruck

I'm not expecting any more than the 4 hours.  We'd be leaving in the early afternoon I imagine, and hopefully arriving back around dusk. Dusk is around when his normal shift would start anyway.

Oh, also, I forgot about a fee for renting a wagon/animals. Just for the day, or half the day.

The IC post is up.  Much like when one does go on a trip.. I hope I didn't forget anything.   :Small Eek:

----------


## MrAbdiel

Oh, hey... how many days in a year in this world?  365.25, as per normal?

----------


## DeTess

> Oh, hey... how many days in a year in this world?  365.25, as per normal?


Yeah, I have no compelling reason to mess around with that, so it's just the standard 365.25.

----------


## WindStruck

Hey Prehysterical, I can only assume you are busy with real life work and stuff, but I'm just checking in regardless.

I don't intend for Shandara's little blunder to dominate the scene.  I just thought it might be more interesting and maybe a little realistic, considering she hasn't really handled horses much before? But anyway, were you planning on having Bolten jump in or say or do something that would influence the events here? Or shall I just have a little 1 on 1 with the guards myself?

----------


## Prehysterical

Yeah, sorry, I just haven't been able to think of anything more interesting than "Bolten sits there gawking". He's not a dwarf that likes confrontation, after all.

Shandara can have her one-on-one with the guard. If Bolten hears something that makes him want to step up in (like something that rhymes with spacism), then he can interject.

----------


## WindStruck

Alright. I'll assume Bolten is just about as flustered and nervous as Shandara, but letting her handle the situation.   :Small Smile:

----------


## DeTess

Sorry for being MIA for a bit again, had an unexpectedly hectic couple of days, but things should calm down again for the next bit.

@mrabdiel, I think your current scene is about done, anything in particular you wanted to do next? Do you want to make a scene out of Maria's planned visit the next day?

----------


## DeTess

@windstruck, could you roll me something suitable for looking harmless and innocent? I think diplomacy makes sense, but if you have something else that you think fits you can use that instead.

----------


## MrAbdiel

> Sorry for being MIA for a bit again, had an unexpectedly hectic couple of days, but things should calm down again for the next bit.
> 
> @mrabdiel, I think your current scene is about done, anything in particular you wanted to do next? Do you want to make a scene out of Maria's planned visit the next day?


As always, no sweat on the MIA.

As for the next day, sure; Ill set up a scene when I get home.  I do want to earn Marias trust, after all.

----------


## WindStruck

Oh, I didn't see that you wanted a roll.  Well, I guess diplomacy is it.

(1d20+10)[*26*]

----------


## Prehysterical

Oh, is the new avatar Shandara?

----------


## WindStruck

Oh, it is!  (Kinda)  For one thing she wouldn't be caught dead in pink heels...

----------


## WindStruck

lmao I noticed those typos too, but I figured that they were just that:  OOC typos...    :Small Big Grin:

----------


## Prehysterical

Oh, I know they are, but I thought that would be a natural occurrence in such a scene.

----------


## DeTess

Ugh, you just had to point out the typo's IC so I couldn't fix them OOC so now there needs to be an ic reason for them... 

Well, I have an idea or two anyway XD

----------


## WindStruck

I know!  It's so evil!   :Small Tongue:

----------


## DeTess

@windstruck, you're able to identify that this spell uses a metamagic you've read descriptions of before called Denuvos' Rigourous Masking, which makes a spell take significantly longer to cast but also far, far harder to determine what it is actually supposed to do if you can't see its effect. Unfortunately, you can't tell anything more about it than that.

edit: oh, and lets say renting the covered wagon and horses sets you back 3 GP, with a 40GP deposit.

----------


## WindStruck

Ah, well that's a cool metamagic thing I've never heard of before.   :Small Big Grin: 

And I guess thankfully, I learned at least that much.   I think because of that, no matter how high Shandara may have rolled on spellcraft, I guess she wouldn't have learned anything.  That's the most silver lining I've ever gotten out of a pesky 1 before.

I'm guessing that maybe it's just a divination spell that counts how many unique objects are there, or something along those lines...  either way!

Anything else to do in this scene, or will we be moving along?  I do intend to have Shandara ask Xavier what that all was about, though I have some guesses as well.

----------


## DeTess

> And I guess thankfully, I learned at least that much.   I think because of that, no matter how high Shandara may have rolled on spellcraft, I guess she wouldn't have learned anything.  That's the most silver lining I've ever gotten out of a pesky 1 before.


You could have, but it would have required a natural 20 with your current bonus. If you ever feel like learning this metamagic yourself, it essentially adds +20 to the spellcraft check.

edit: there is one more thing to this scene once you're ready to leave. I think you are, just waiting if Bolten has anything more.

----------


## MrAbdiel

Re: Maria, Ill spend the 1/3 of 1gp needed to make a fresh uniform for Maria.  Itll only take three hours and 3s, 4c to do, so hell knock it out overnight.  Hell put in time to make furniture and so forth for Marias room over the next week, but since the build of the room includes furnishings and thats all paid for in time and cash, we might just handwave that if youre happy to do so, DeTess.

Also I think Aiden will need to get an artist from the Society to help him design a logo (itll end up as a crossed Fiddle and Saw) and probably pay for it with an owed favour you can call in at whatever interesting time you like.!

----------


## DeTess

> Re: Maria, Ill spend the 1/3 of 1gp needed to make a fresh uniform for Maria.  Itll only take three hours and 3s, 4c to do, so hell knock it out overnight.  Hell put in time to make furniture and so forth for Marias room over the next week, but since the build of the room includes furnishings and thats all paid for in time and cash, we might just handwave that if youre happy to do so, DeTess.
> 
> Also I think Aiden will need to get an artist from the Society to help him design a logo (itll end up as a crossed Fiddle and Saw) and probably pay for it with an owed favor you can call in at whatever interesting time you like.!


It's fine to just handwave that. Do you want to make a scene out of looking for an artist?

@windstruck, @prehsyterical, if you wish, you may roll a perception check.

----------


## WindStruck

Sure I'll try.  (1d20+7)[*11*]

----------


## Prehysterical

Perception: (1d20+1)[*15*]

----------


## MrAbdiel

> It's fine to just handwave that. Do you want to make a scene out of looking for an artist?


But.. you'll just make another compelling NPC I'll feel obliged to adopt!

...

okayfineyoutwistedmyarm

EDIT:  I did some fantasy accounting because I wanted to.  For combined expenses (as per the SRD) of Cost of Living , wages for Maria, a 2 silver a day retainer for Misha's ongoing help, food for Markel, Cliff, Aiden and Maria with the assumption Maria is making it from fresh ingredients, and fodder for Ambrose and the rats (assuming the combined rats eat about as much as Ambrose), I'm looking at 2.3 gold per day or 839g5s5c per year.  These are rookie numbers.  I need to pump up these numbers.

----------


## WindStruck

Are you waiting on a post from Prehysterical, or is his roll of 15 simply enough?

----------


## DeTess

> Are you waiting on a post from Prehysterical, or is his roll of 15 simply enough?


Nope, just slowly dying from the heat, which has been sapping a lot of energy. I'll get a post up today, but then I'll be gone for a couple days due to a short holiday. I should be back next friday.

edit: @windstruck, @prehysterical, feel free to kick things forward to when you reach the quarr (which is about a 20 minutes drive at your current pace) and start setting up for your tests.

----------


## WindStruck

Uh.  Just a reminder, I did say somewhere in one of those OOC things that the wagon was a covered wagon. Not sure if anyone could still easily peek into it, but I don't think weather should be an issue?

Hopefully it's a correct assumption that we just get there without incident.  Like, I hope DeTess isn't secretly rolling on random encounter tables...   :Small Big Grin:

----------


## DeTess

> Uh.  Just a reminder, I did say somewhere in one of those OOC things that the wagon was a covered wagon. Not sure if anyone could still easily peek into it, but I don't think weather should be an issue?


Yeah, that's a safe assumption.

And I'm not rolling for random encounters this close to the city, so don't worry.

Edit: @prehysterical, could you roll me something to represent non-magical focus/concentration, a will save for example?

----------


## WindStruck

Oh no, the spell Shandara wants to cast...

It would help, but will it be too late?   :Small Tongue:

----------


## Prehysterical

I will hold off on the roll for a moment. Bolten would trust Shandara to give him a bit of a helping hand with magic.

----------


## WindStruck

lol this is kind of funny.  I was choosing cantrips and thinking, "hmm this would probably be useful to help Bolten or somebody (but probably most likely Bolten when he tests the thing).

Now I'm doubting myself and check the sheet.  Welp, Bolten already has a cloak of resistance!  But did Shandara know that?  I doubt it...

Oh well.  Continue on, my wayward dwarf!

----------


## Prehysterical

Eh, moral support is fine.

Will save: (1d20+7)[*14*]

----------


## DeTess

@prehysterical, can you roll me another one of those concentration rolls, but add an additional +1 for slowly getting used to the device's quirks.

----------


## WindStruck

You know I was thinking.  In 3.5 d&d they had a concentration skill.  But pathfinder replaced that with something like a caster level check + the casting stat.  I think...

I wonder for controlling something like the SCORP, could either will save or (class level + wis modifier) work?  But maybe only for an appropriate class.

ALSO, I think we all know what the roll modifiers for Bolten would be. 7+1 is 8.  Any issue with just.. rolling it yourself?   :Small Confused:

----------


## DeTess

> You know I was thinking.  In 3.5 d&d they had a concentration skill.  But pathfinder replaced that with something like a caster level check + the casting stat.  I think...
> 
> I wonder for controlling something like the SCORP, could either will save or (class level + wis modifier) work?  But maybe only for an appropriate class.


Yeah, but that's explicitly for spells which is why I felt it wasn't as appropriate in this case.




> ALSO, I think we all know what the roll modifiers for Bolten would be. 7+1 is 8.  Any issue with just.. rolling it yourself?


I could, but I prefer people to roll themselves. If people indicate they're fine with me rolling for them in situations like this, I will do so in the future.

----------


## Prehysterical

Will save (adjusted): (1d20+8)[*21*]

----------


## WindStruck

Excellent roll!

Not like I want to take the fun away from you.  If this was a table top game, the idea of snatching dice out of someone's hand to roll for them would be pretty silly, maybe even rude. But I hoped the idea would be more understanding in a pbp setting.

Either way, it was just a suggestion.  Whatever you all want to do!

----------


## MrAbdiel

Man, I look forward to joining up with you guys for some kind of project.  I don't know what it'll be - we cover a lot of ground between us, and it's hard to imagine a task that requires all we can do all at once - but we'll find it.

Incidentally, DeTess, with the art job squared up and the party two weeks in the future, and the boat-repair cooking in the background, and Maria set up and uniformed, I think we're back to 'pumping the breaks on Aiden to let the _Tea and Crumpets Power Hour_ duo's timeline catchup', which is okay with me!

----------


## WindStruck

Oh, do we have to catch up to you now? It's so hard to tell...

----------


## DeTess

> Oh, do we have to catch up to you now? It's so hard to tell...


Yeah. Shouldn't be too long at this point I think.

----------


## WindStruck

Lets try using Shandara's 2nd casting of resistance on herself, for trying to control this thing.

will: (1d20+8)[*17*]

----------


## WindStruck

Hey, just checking in...   everything ok?

----------


## DeTess

> Hey, just checking in...   everything ok?


Sorry, I fell ill last weekend and am still recovering (though doing far better). Next post will be no earlier than coming weekend, I think.

Sorry about this.

----------


## Prehysterical

Not a problem. Just rest up and get better.

----------


## WindStruck

Ah, okay.   Get better soon!    :Small Big Grin:

----------


## DeTess

This illness is festering longer than I'd hoped for. I'm getting better slowly, but it'll likely still be a couple of days before I post. Sorry about that, and thank you for your patience.

----------


## MrAbdiel

You just hit that illness with all the rest and remedy you can.  Well be here when youre better!

----------


## WindStruck

I said..  GET BETTER SOON!!!    :Small Furious:

----------


## WindStruck

Welcome back, DeTess.    :Small Smile:

----------


## DeTess

@windstruck, @hysterical, anything in particular you still want to do in the quarry?

----------


## WindStruck

Hmm...  not get mugged.   Chat with Xavier?

Or we could just wrap it up, yeah.  Not feeling anything too compelling.  Let's see what Prehysterical thinks.

----------


## Prehysterical

I think we can wrap up. Didn't know if Xavier had anything to say or if we were going to be jumped at the quarry by some unknown party. Happy to just end it.

----------


## MrAbdiel

You spend all day every day not getting mugged.  This is your best chance to try something new; like getting mugged.

----------


## DeTess

sorry for being quite for a bit again. This illness is still not quite over. For expedience sake, I rolled a perception check for both Bolten and Shandara. if I missed a modifier, please lt me know:
e
Bolten: (1d20+1)[*8*]

Shandara: (1d20+7)[*10*]

----------


## WindStruck

One of these days, maybe Shandara will pass her perception check like those Drow are fabled to always do!

And I'm not really sure what we should do.  Nothing and hope for the best?  Shoot it?  Color Spray?

Or perhaps defer to Xavier...  problem is, I'm not so sure if he's the most skilled at encountering wild animals!   :Small Eek:

----------


## WindStruck

Hmm knowledge nature:  (1d20+8)[*27*]

Just to see what Shandara may know.

----------


## DeTess

> Hmm knowledge nature:  [roll0]
> 
> Just to see what Shandara may know.


You know these bears are pretty strong and very territorial. However, you've also read some studies on megafauna wildlife near the capital that stated that animals living fairly close to the capital or other major centers of habitation show reduced territorial behavior and would tend to stick mostly to growls and displays of size to ward off intruders, at least as far as humanoids are concerned. The reason for this, according to that study at least, is that animals that behave too aggressively and attack indiscriminately would get hunted down in short order. The way this bear is approaching though suggests it is very much readying to attack you, which suggests there must be some additional reason for its behavior beyond merely being territorial.

----------


## WindStruck

Interesting!  Very interesting indeed!

I had already posted IC and don't think my post really changes much..  there's only so much time to say and do stuff, and I think what's there is most important.

Could be an afterthought that maybe someone was stalking us and _sent_ a grizzly bear after us?

----------


## Prehysterical

Before I post, might as well do this in case I somehow get a better result than Windstruck:

Knowledge (Nature) (1d20+11)[*22*]

Nope, Shandara's got the expertise on this one.

----------


## WindStruck

If Shandara does have time to replace the bolt currently in her crossbow with the poisoned one, she will do that, but presently she's more concerned with being ready to cast Color Spray and/or listening to Xavier's instruction.

edit: There's 2 poisoned bolts, so I figure one for each crossbow.

----------


## DeTess

@windstruck, you wouldn't really have time at this point to dismount, close the distance and cast the spell before the bear starts charging, though you could ready the spell to cast it as soon as the bear gets within range.

----------


## WindStruck

> @windstruck, you wouldn't really have time at this point to dismount, close the distance and cast the spell before the bear starts charging, though you could ready the spell to cast it as soon as the bear gets within range.


That was the whole point of the readying the action part.

----------


## DeTess

> That was the whole point of the readying the action part.


ah, fair enough

----------


## MrAbdiel

Excellent.  This is like that episode of _East Enders_ where a bear wandered into the pub.

----------


## Prehysterical

At a conference right now. Internet is not great, so I will post when I think I can. May not be for a few days.

----------


## Prehysterical

So, here's a thought... If I cast _Grease_ directly under the bear, would the wagon be able to ride by without the horses getting into the grease?

----------


## WindStruck

Um...  How about you save the grease for AFTER we pass the bear?  If we do pass it.   :Small Sigh: 

For the time being, I think Bolten has got two crossbows at his disposal loaded with poisoned sleep bolts.

Edit: something else I realized.  If Xavier is getting down from the wagon, I think we'll definitely need someone to keep the horses in check too.  They'll probably go wild and crazy with a bear charging at them.

----------


## DeTess

The problem is that the road you're on isn't very wide. Right now there is just enough room to squeeze past the bear if it is incapacitated. Grease would make that more tricky, especially if the bear is flailing around in the grease trying to get up.

----------


## WindStruck

Yeaaa common sense would indicate that, though I suppose it was questionable how wide the road is. And now that's been answered.

So anyway, here's the thing.  Color spray is probably only disabling the bear for about 2-5 rounds.  The drow poison might only knock it out for a minute. We might only have barely enough time to get back on the wagon and get the horses moving around an incapacitated bear. If it happens to wake up and begins chasing us, _then_ I believe grease would be the perfect thing to slow it down or deter it.

I'm also wondering if this bear is actually just some druid who doesn't like us.   :Small Confused:   Or maybe a foresty person sent a bear after us...  It just might be persistent!

Shandara nailed that nature check pretty handily, and Bolten came pretty close to that too. But in any case, I think we'll have to give her a few seconds to connect the dots and let her paranoia start bleeding into everything, which is what Drow are good at.   :Small Tongue:

----------


## Prehysterical

Then I guess Bolten will ready an action to fire his poisoned bolt at the bear if it tries to charge us. I will go ahead and roll the attack just to save some time.

Attack: (1d20+6)[*16*]
Damage: (1d10)[*8*]

Don't know the poison's stats.

----------


## WindStruck

Stats are here.

DC 13 fortitude save required upon hit (and I think you did hit it!).

If it fails the initial save upon hit, it will be unconscious for a minute. The next minute (or two) failing the save again makes it unconscious for 2d4 hours.

----------


## WindStruck

The bear is fairly likely to make its fortitude save...   if it _does_ charge us and the poisoned bolt doesn't stop it, Shandara will cast color spray at it when it gets in range. (her readied action)

That will be a DC 15 will save.

----------


## DeTess

That was indeed a hit. Let's see if this'll go easy or not:

fort save: (1d20+8)[*9*]
will save: (1d20+2)[*21*]

----------


## DeTess

let's see if the bear takes a long or a short nap : [roll]/1d20+8[/roll]

----------


## DeTess

let's try that again: (1d20+8)[*15*]

----------


## WindStruck

Well, I think the good news is, Bolten's first shot did the trick, and Shandara didn't bother wasting her color spray.

On the other hand, perhaps that will save roll means if she tried to use it on the bear later it would just auto-fail?    :Small Big Grin:

----------


## DeTess

sorry for the multi-post, but I need one more roll: (1d20)[*8*]

----------


## DeTess

Ah, the eternal DM debate. Do I go with what I had initially planned, or do I take a look at the player's speculation and say 'you know, that sounds good too' :P

----------


## WindStruck

Heh.

Honestly, I'm not sure what else to make of that high knowledge nature result you gave me.   :Small Tongue:

----------


## DeTess

> Heh.
> 
> Honestly, I'm not sure what else to make of that high knowledge nature result you gave me.


No, I get it. You both got unlucky that that perception check I rolled whiffed, as it would have made it a lot clearer, but that does leave me some freedom in changing the actual reason it was angry at you for something potentially more interesting.

----------


## WindStruck

Huh, now I'm getting more confused and curious.  Who was making a perception check and why.. the bear?  Something else? Maybe it's better left a mystery.

Leaving it as is, or actually changing things works. I guess there's nothing wrong with the boring old thing too. Just let Shandara be very paranoid.   :Small Tongue:

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## WindStruck

I guess real life is at it again!

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## DeTess

Yeah, sorry, still that illness coming back to kick my but. I'm doing better again, but still very tired. I'll try to have some sort of post tomorrow.

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## MrAbdiel

Just checking in to say Im still here, still reading and still happy to chill until both real life troubles and IC timelines are resolved.  Wishing I had been there to charm the bear with soothing banjo music.

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## WindStruck

That WOULD have been nice... or maybe, at least, you'd have made a suitable distraction, or your instrument a nice chew toy.   :Small Big Grin:

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## MrAbdiel

I have it on good authority that bears, at least in the country, enjoy a good jamboree, thank you very much. :)

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## WindStruck

Now that I think about it...  maybe the bear just wanted our picnic basket.    :Small Smile:

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## DeTess

Just to make sure I don't stretch out the coming scene into 8 posts when it could be 1, @windstruck, @prehysterical, apart from, you know, not getting into trouble with the guard or getting mugged, is there anything else you want to do while going through the entry procedure? Maybe take another shot at figuring out that spell, or anything else I haven't thought off?

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## WindStruck

I'll pass on figuring out the spell.  It intrigued Shandara a bit, but it's something she'll feel ultimately isn't that important.  Until of course, a situation arises where it later might be.   :Small Big Grin:  

I think I'll pass on getting mugged and causing trouble with the guards.  But, I think I'd just like to report the presence of a particularly vicious bear near that abandoned quarry....

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## Prehysterical

We've made our Jim Henson carpenter friend wait long enough. No need to stretch this out. Go ahead.

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## DeTess

Alright, I think the next thing on the docket for you two was presenting all this to your employer, is that right?

@Mrabdiel, I think the next thing you had planned was working on that small sailing boats for those kids in the harbor district, is that right?

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## WindStruck

I think that's true, though we have some last minute adjustments to make, I believe.  And Shandara intends to enchant each tip of the climbing claws with tiny permanent silence enchantments... similar to the beetle, but it should be much simpler since it can be a blanket ban on all sounds, rather than trying to filter out certain sounds.

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## MrAbdiel

> Alright, I think the next thing on the docket for you two was presenting all this to your employer, is that right?
> 
> @Mrabdiel, I think the next thing you had planned was working on that small sailing boats for those kids in the harbor district, is that right?


Yeah!  I had a loose plan to invite the lads over daily to work on their boat and have Marian cook meals for them while they do.  I want them to wake up one day and realize they've been tricked into nourishment and a shipwright's apprenticeship under the tutelage of Banjo-Dad.

Aiden also has a secret side project - he's putting together a fantastic dress for Marian, now that has her measurements from the uniform.  But he'll hide that from her and present it to her at an appropriate time.  I did the crafting calculations for it somewhere, too.

Oh, and Aiden had agreed to entertain at a party that his graphic designer recruited him for!  Though I didn't know if that was going to be a campus wide event or like a coffee shop jam.

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## Prehysterical

Yes, we are planning to present both projects to our employers. Since Bolten cannot think of alternate forms for the clockwork tick (besides the clock), he will just ask what Dukkear prefers as alternate disguises. Oh, and the tick will need camouflage, so that needs doing. If my memory serves correctly, didn't Bolten still need to develop some way to transmit sound live from the tick per the Lady's request?

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## DeTess

@windstruck, @prehysterical, in addition to silencing the SCOPRS steps, what other things do you want to try to adjust.

@mrabdiel, what do you want to do first, spend some RP on working on the dress, or have the lads over for work on the boat?

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## MrAbdiel

Boat, I reckon.  Presuming they're both easily persuaded to do so - but Aiden's offering his time and skill effectively for free, so I hope so!

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## WindStruck

Well before I forget, I'll have Shandara cast either Mending or Make Whole on the wagon to make it as good as new. I know it was at least scraped slightly on the front corner with her little mishap, and who knows if anything else got jostled up when we were running from the bear.

Then, another confession: I haven't really thought about and have neglected the costs for our work, I think.  I'm sure I've got enough money for the materials and such, but I don't know what the costs would be for everything. You think it would just be simpler to just ballpark our net profit from the project when it's all done and been paid for?

---

I think, aside from what you have just said, I want to confirm: does the SCORP have a reliable power source that will last a long time? At least I know we practically have infinite water for the steam engine...

In addition to better camouflage for the Tick that Bolten was working on, did we ever decide to do something like a 1/day activatable invisibility charm on it? I still really think that would be immensely helpful should it ever be accidentally discovered.

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## DeTess

> Then, another confession: I haven't really thought about and have neglected the costs for our work, I think.  I'm sure I've got enough money for the materials and such, but I don't know what the costs would be for everything. You think it would just be simpler to just ballpark our net profit from the project when it's all done and been paid for?


IIRC materials where being arranged by the Orlof merchant house, so that's already taken care of




> I think, aside from what you have just said, I want to confirm: does the SCORP have a reliable power source that will last a long time? At least I know we practically have infinite water for the steam engine...
> 
> In addition to better camouflage for the Tick that Bolten was working on, did we ever decide to do something like a 1/day activatable invisibility charm on it? I still really think that would be immensely helpful should it ever be accidentally discovered.


The power source as it now stands is pretty reliable yes. As far as I know you haven't done something like the invisibility you just mentioned.

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## Prehysterical

> @prehysterical, in addition to silencing the SCOPRS steps, what other things do you want to try to adjust.


Since you stated previously that Bolten's design for the tick is so tight that he can include a couple of extra forms for disguises, he will do that. I can't think of anything beyond the clock, so just go with whatever Lady Orlof recommends/requests.

I'd also like to work on the audio receivers for the tick's glasses, per Lady Orlof's request from the test drive.

@Windstruck We never discussed that, but it's not a bad idea. If it's at all possible, might be worth considering. The only thing that I worry about might be if that would tip its magical signature too far.

Knowledge (Arcana): (1d20+12)[*13*]

"Durr, it magic."

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## WindStruck

Well, I already have the tick permanently covered by Magic Aura to hide magical auras, so I'm  not very worried about the invisibility thing showing up.  There's already the silence enchantment on it as well, which filters out mechanical noises of the tick...

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## MrAbdiel

You guys: We will create a suite of magi-tech spy goods with overlapping enchantments and mechanisms such that the world has never seen

Me, an intellectual: I makin a banjo!

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## WindStruck

Hey DeTess, do you want any more rolls from us?  I think Shandara should know how to do silence each little leg thing..  just, there's 6 of them, so it may be a bit tedious.    :Small Big Grin: 

As for the invisibility idea, that's something a little new.  At least it's already a known spell.

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## Prehysterical

> You guys: We will create a suite of magi-tech spy goods with overlapping enchantments and mechanisms such that the world has never seen
> 
> Me, an intellectual: I makin a banjo!


Bolten: "I didn't choose the spy life. The spy life chose me."
*loudly slurps tea*
I'm basically having to hold myself back from having Bolten perform the entire Industrial Revolution. He's already threatening to make record players, printing presses, and reconnaissance drones. That's not even getting into the possibility of mech suits and mobile artillery...

Meanwhile, Aiden is just trying to make people's lives better.

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## DeTess

> Hey DeTess, do you want any more rolls from us?  I think Shandara should know how to do silence each little leg thing..  just, there's 6 of them, so it may be a bit tedious.   
> 
> As for the invisibility idea, that's something a little new.  At least it's already a known spell.


The silence will go fine, but I do want a spellcraft or know(arcana) for the invisibility.

Once again my apologies for being sporadic in posting. I've been ill with a never-ending flu since early September, and this has been sapping a lot of energy.

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## WindStruck

I guess there's no difference between either roll, right?  I'll assume Shandara will prepare the investigative mind spell to help her, and she will be using the archives because I know invisibility is already a spell, and I'm already pretty sure something like this should exist already somewhere, be it on a magic trinket that can cast invisibility 1/day or something. So the only real issue I think is getting that effect to activate remotely when the user deems the bug to be in danger.

arcana: (1d20+19)[*24*] or (1d20+19)[*21*]

Also sorry you are not feeling well.  Being sick for two months straight is not natural...

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## WindStruck

Not stellar rolls. I'll assume it isn't quite enough?

Just to maybe get this over with, you think we can just hire someone else out to do it since Shandara is struggling for whatever reason?

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## DeTess

> Not stellar rolls. I'll assume it isn't quite enough?
> 
> Just to maybe get this over with, you think we can just hire someone else out to do it since Shandara is struggling for whatever reason?


It's not that tricky, so a 24 will do the trick.

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## DeTess

Okay, so just to confirm I've got the right things in mind.

@prehysterical, @windstruck, you can get your modifications done, shall I set up a demonstration at the Orlof merchant house next?

@mrabdiel, I'll set up the workshop with the boat and the two orphans, how do you want to gets started, just at the beginning with them arriving, or shall I move things slightly along and set things up to start during a little break?

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## WindStruck

I am fine to move on with with demonstration, if our modifications work as planned.   :Small Smile:

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## Prehysterical

Yes, please!

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## MrAbdiel

> @mrabdiel, I'll set up the workshop with the boat and the two orphans, how do you want to gets started, just at the beginning with them arriving, or shall I move things slightly along and set things up to start during a little break?


If you give me the lads bright eyed and bushy tailed ready to learn, I'll give flyover of Day 1 on the Boat Restoration Project, getting us up to snack time.  Then it will be my land; my tea!

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## WindStruck

Ah, there *is* one last-minute thing I seem to have forgotten.

Could I purchase the rights to a featherfall spell to add to Shandara's spellbook, and then prepare it for today?  Featherfall in addition to resistance (which PROBABLY DOES have a high chance of overlapping) would be really good safety precautions should someone want to try it out themselves and suffer a mishap.

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## DeTess

> Ah, there *is* one last-minute thing I seem to have forgotten.
> 
> Could I purchase the rights to a featherfall spell to add to Shandara's spellbook, and then prepare it for today?  Featherfall in addition to resistance (which PROBABLY DOES have a high chance of overlapping) would be really good safety precautions should someone want to try it out themselves and suffer a mishap.


Yeah, you can.

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## Prehysterical

I'm saying this now so that you aren't left wondering... My museum's non-profit reaccreditation is happening tomorrow, so I'm not in much of a writing mood right now. I will try to catch up in a few days after the storm has passed. Hoping for clear skies and not more thunderclouds.

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## WindStruck

your museum's what now???  I take it you don't own a museum.. so you work at one?   :Small Big Grin: 

Do you plan to have Bolten say something or react at this time, or might it be okay for me to continue a little conversation using just Shandara?

I think at the very least, it is reasonable to assume Bolten may shyly introduce himself and say hello.

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## Prehysterical

Yes, I work at one.

I'll work on a proper post now.

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## WindStruck

I made one long spiel.  Don't mean to steal the scene.  It's both our character's work after all.

My only worry is that Bolten might have had his heart set on presenting the Tick rather than the SCORP but..  well, I think he's more suited to give a live demonstration, isn't he?

Still willing to scrap or modify whatever you all deem necessary.

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## Prehysterical

Hey, so, between the servers being down over the weekend and me being surprisingly busy at the end of last week, I didn't mean to just snooze through the prompt. I'm packing tonight to fly out tomorrow, so I will try to find some time to get a reply up.

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## MrAbdiel

Posted!  Aiden is conceiving yet another plan; this one more likely to backfire than any before!

Question for you, DeTess.  Of Aesha Silvertear's office, when Aiden was there last - I didn't ask at the time, but what was the general state of the place?  The façade out the front, and the furniture inside, particularly?  Aiden might make her a desk or a bookshelf or something to thank her for her help before he asks for it again.

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## DeTess

> Posted!  Aiden is conceiving yet another plan; this one more likely to backfire than any before!
> 
> Question for you, DeTess.  Of Aesha Silvertear's office, when Aiden was there last - I didn't ask at the time, but what was the general state of the place?  The façade out the front, and the furniture inside, particularly?  Aiden might make her a desk or a bookshelf or something to thank her for her help before he asks for it again.


The place was clean and well-maintained and all furniture seemed to be of decent to good quality, but lacking decoration, and some things did seem to be getting on in age. You'd have noticed her desk has quite a bit of wear and tear on it that renewed layers if paint or lacker couldn't quite hide.

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## MrAbdiel

Aw yiss.  Im gonna make a nice desk.

This is an unusual escapist fantasy for me but do I ever dig it. :)

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## MrAbdiel

Putting this here, for later reference.  The Desk Project.

*Spoiler: The Desk Project!*
Show

Let's call a Desk a _Typical Item_, at DC 10 because it's a pretty simple construction all things told, not requiring much in the way of special skills.  I might kick it up to a _High Quality Item_ at DC 15, because I'm trying to make a very _nice_ desk and you can't really 'masterwork' things that aren't armor, weapons, or tools.

Next thing to guess is price.  The SRD lists items for Tables, but it only lists weight; the prices are unclear.  So we'll have to extrapolate.  Comparable items with large wooden parts and minor mechanical elements equivalent to drawers include:

Portable Altar (250GP, 40lbs)
Ornate Coffin (100gp, 50lbs)
Huge Chest (25gp, 250lbs)
Rowboat (50GP)

Well, that's unhelpful.  The Altar blows out the averages, but I think we can reasonably write that off to the altar also being a religious requirement for certain rituals and devotions, I guess?  Eliminating that, about 50GP seems the right place to go.  Since that's about the value of 2/3's of a year's wages for a common laborer, it seems good 'nuff.  Willing, of course, to be corrected.



50GP means it requires *500SP worth of labor* and a financial investment of *16gp 6sp 7cp.* High Quality items are DC 15 to craft; I can take DC 25 to accelerate the crafting easily enough, and take 10 on my carpentry checks to hit 32 with my master crafted tools.  So I can punch out (25*32) 800SP of woodcrafting labor a week if I take 10.  With odds like that, I'll roll the check to see if I can luck out and finish it faster - there's only a 2/20 chance I beef it and take longer than needed.

So many crafting projects.  I really need those magic crafting tools so I can do stuff like this quicker...

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## WindStruck

I wish I could give you luck, or some kind of reroll...

alas, I don't even think feather fall can help Bolten.  Still, I'm on standby just in case.   :Small Smile:

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## WindStruck

In case you are waiting on me, I don't really have anything to add at this time.  Shandara is just standing by to see the results of Bolten's demonstration.. and the reactions.

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## DeTess

No, just had a very busy and tiring long weekend. I'll try to post today or tomorrow.

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## DeTess

random roll: (1d20+10)[*29*]

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## WindStruck

Not sure if it will help, but Shandara could offer a Resistance cantrip, which will last the first minute or so of testing.  But chances are if Bolten already has a resistance item, I'd bet Dukkear does as well.   :Small Big Grin: 

Now, I really forget how the device is actually powered.. I know there's a steam engine of sorts, and Shandara has at least managed to get it a constant supply of water, but as for the actual source of power, I am drawing a blank..  probably because I should be going to sleep, and not staying up.

Maybe I will dig through all our post histories tomorrow!   :Small Tongue:

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## WindStruck

How have your holidays been? Busy? Hope you all had a pleasant time!

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## MrAbdiel

Perfectly idle, as holidays should be.  :)  Hope yours treated you well too.

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## Prehysterical

Holidays have been nice, but been distracted the last few days. We traded in our phones and my mother lost years of text message history from my late father, so I have been trying to console her and work with tech support. I might be able to get something up this weekend, but don't be surprised if it takes until next week.

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## WindStruck

How long ago did they trade phones?  I mean.. they probably still physically have the old phone somewhere, don't they??

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## DeTess

My holidays have been fine as well, health feels like it might be getting a bit better, maybe.

And I hope they're able to recover those messages, prehysterical. Those are bound to still be available somewhere, right?

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## Prehysterical

We traded the phones just after Christmas. We kept the old phone, so we were able to recover the messages (thank God). Our problem was that the backed up messages only went back to this past September. My brother used to work in electronic retail, so we were able to work with her, but you can't exactly tell a grieving widow that she just needs to be patient... doubly so if she is your mother.

I will get a post up shortly.

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## MrAbdiel

Glad you had even that much success, Prehysterical.  What an awful situation.

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## Prehysterical

Bolten will Take 10 on Appraise for a roll of 22 to set a reasonable price.

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## WindStruck

Hm. I have some ranks in appraise too but idk.  I think we should be able to tell, based on the cost of materials used and how much time we spent working on it?

I think our characters would have a far better idea of what to expect, rather than us.  No clue how much these gizmos should be costing.

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## DeTess

The material cost was paid for in advance, so it's really your time and genius you'd be putting a price on, which is difficult to quantify. Given the nature of the work you know that anything less than 6000 gp total would be grossly underselling your work, and going over 20000 gp would be grossly overselling it. Where exactly you fall in that range would depend on how your characters value their skills and how well you can sell it.

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## WindStruck

Hm. I guess I could try starting high.   :Small Tongue:

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