Planning & Preparation

[Ebiris]

Sometimes you'll want to do stuff that can easily be arranged between sessions, like asking around over leads, rolling knowledges, or just chatting over strategies for what lies ahead. This is the thread for it, so that we can have everything lined up neatly to dive right in when we start the next session rather than having it take up time of our valuable once a week session.

[Corwin]

Right-o~

I want to gather info on our target, miscellanea about the port (say on the Harbormaster and on how you'd apply for a job there and how security tends to be handled) and on the family situation/inheritance of our client. Can I do that sort of prep without drawing untoward attention?

[Ebiris]

It takes 1d4 hours for each gather info check, and you've outlined 3 of them. Do you want to do each before next session? This can have an impact on what time you start at, assuming you intended to immediately investigate the seized ship.

If you do then feel free to roll for them in whichever order you feel you'd want to tackle them. As far as untoward attention goes, there's no way to know what attention a question will draw until you ask it.

[Carthrat]

PLAN

1) Go to dockside taverns
2) Find someone who knows this Soller guy
3) Get him totally smashed
4) QUESTION TIME - What's Soller been up to lately? How many friends does the guy have? What's he got going on that boat?

[Corwin]

So to confirm, you're outlining how you'd go about the info-gathering rather than stating a desire to RP all of this solo or somesuch?

It covers my first GI target and I can live with not knowing much about our client for the time being. Thus! Time to show incredible interest in the workings of the port, smile prettily and be properly concerned over security.

If we're met with moderate success on these we should be able to act afterwards. Thoughts?

[Carthrat]

Well yeah, information-gathering like this isn't so much fun to RP, but it's how I'd want to do it, you know?

[Ebiris]

Getting info on dockside workings is simple enough and can be done with a usual GI check.

Getting public gossip on Soller Vark can likewise be done with a simple GI check, but if you want to specifically find a buddy of his and get the dude wrecked so he spills information that may otherwise be kept quiet, that's a bit more involved and would be a good place to start next week's session.

For timing reference it is 5pm when you leave the Vanderboren estate, and events will continue apace regardless of what you happen to be doing, up until you interfere with said events. We may have started with a railroad to get you together, but things are now moving in real time rather than at the speed of plot.

[Carthrat]

Hmm. Alright, I'll gather the public gossip on Vark for now. How do we do this? I'll take 10 if possible (19, whee), but otherwise just roll for me whenever you're resolving it, Diplo mod is obviously +9.

[Corwin]

Seems that it's settled. I'll use that very time to gather harbor miscellanea (harbormaster, security, procedures, etc). Taking 10 is awesome (+10 mod), but if I can't I'll roll this evening.

[Ebiris]

Taking 10 for gather info consumes the full 4 hours.

Rudy asks around the docks about the man named Soller vark, and picks up a few things.

"Soller Vark? Yeah, he comes in here sometimes," a well endowed young redheaded tavern wench at the Blue Boar snorts. "Always bragging about that scar that he got 'duelling a hook handed pirate'. S'all shite, if you'll pardon my Elvish. He got it in a brawl over at the Crooked Lantern. Used to work there myself and I saw the whole thing. He kept putting on a big production like he was some champion of war, and I guess he knocked a few guys out, but then he got conked on the back of his head with a bottle and gouged down his arm with the broken glass," she seems quite amused at this last part. "So, hey, I get off work at midnight... you doing anything?" she concludes her tale with a sidelong look at Rudy.

Whatever Rudy's reply to the hopeful young lass, he ends up at the Crooked Lantern shortly afterwards. "Hear Vark's got something big going down tonight, saw one of his buddies in here yesterday talking about paying off her tab after her big payday," a grizzled old dwarf tells Rudy in exchange for a tankard of spiced rum. "Haven't seen Vark or any of his cronies in here at all today, though. Smart money says he's smuggling something, but you didn't hear that from me."



Meanwhile Henrietta prowls around on her own errands to learn more about the Harbour and learns a trick or two herself.

"The Harbourmaster? You mean Lord Islaran?" a bald headed and robed acolyte of Posiedon asks as he collects today's offerings left at the statue of the Sea Father by superstitious sailors and reconsecrates it for another day. "It's a terrible shame, he's dying, some chronic problem with his lungs - even with magical healing it just resurfaces a month or two later. Wouldn't be surprised if he just stops bothering sooner or later, he strikes me as that type. You hardly ever even see him, these days, and he used to be so energetic."

"Hah, the Islaran family might claim Lordship of the harbour, but between you and me, it belongs to the thieves and crooks," a snappily dressed young man tells Henrietta, buying her a drink as they chat in Old Nancy's Tavern. "'Course, the Islarans are too out of touch to crack down, and the Watch doesn't care so long as the thieves prey on each other more than they do honest folks. Still, best to keep a close hand on your coin purse down here, and watch which way the wind blows - sooner or later, one of the guilds will get an advantage over the rest, and then things are going to be bloody."


Assuming nobody else has anything to do, it will be 9pm when the next session starts.

[Ebiris]

Before you left her estate, Lavinia will have told you that her ship is the Blue Nixie and is docked at pier 5 near the Smith's guildhall.

[Carthrat]

Hey Yuth, you need to memorize some spells!

[Yuthirin]

...facepalm. On it.

Edit: Already did it, just didn't indicate it clearly. Kind of.

[Ebiris]

The sack that Maril gave to Rudy happens to contain lots of platinum coins! 93 of them, to be exact!

Searching the captain's quarters, Rudy comes across a hidden panel which contains a golden ring adorned with what could well be the signet of the Vanderboren family. Threaded through the ring is a scrap of parchment which has four pictures of a compass on it, arranged in a collumn from top to bottom.

The first compass has a triangle drawn around the East arrow in red.
The second has a square drawn around the West arrow in red.
The third has a pentagon drawn around the East arrow in red.
The last has a triangle drawn around the West arrow in red.

Trucy and Shug (the smuggler rescued from the Rhagodessa) are both at the party's mercy right now, so it's up to you guys what you do with them.

[Carthrat]

[23:06] <@Erin> roll 1d20+9 diplo
[23:06] * +Hatbot --> "Erin rolls 1d20+9 diplo and gets 24." [1d20=15]

GIing on Brissa!