So I've started the next chapter. I'll be adding to what's there over the next few days so please do not post anything in IC until I give the go-ahead.

Sure.
Sounds like we would check out the winery, and of course check on the trading group.

Um, that winery is a very long ways away. It's in Lu'Zan, a very large country quite a distance from where you are, just so you know.

Just out of curiosity, should we be using this OCC now?

Given that he managed to sneak in once, it seems possible to go back. Placing a listening device seems like a good idea, but he points out that it is also a serious offense that, if discovered, the Chapter Master would likely go through a great effort to find ways to track the source.

oops, I just noticed this new OOC.

It's really risky, I agree. I was surprised you were willing to pull it off the first time, tbh.
I had a couple thoughts,

one: it may take time for him to notice the bottle missing. Once gone missing, however, I think measure of security will rise, closing off this option again. This means there may be a window still to work within.

two: ordering a bottle was an awesome idea, because we can then compare the two liquids.

Btw, is it possible the wines are just a bribe (attempted bribe), and the Chapter Master doesn't even really drink wine? Just doing it to humour the gift-bearing man? That would also explain the stock pile.

Far away sounds fun to Vanyra!

Also, can you Notice post this thread Mike so it goes to the top?

The answer to #3 is certainly yes; you know very little about the Chapter Master and why he has all this wine. Could be he really likes it and is ordering directly from the importer to save money, or could be a bribe.

OK, so I think that pretty much brings up the IC thread to where we need to be. You've got most of the information about that wine that you can uncover in Ossylia done. There's a chance someone in Daedalum, with the correct equipment, could tell you guys more about the odd molecules or cells floating about in it, but you'd need to a) find such a device or someone with access to it, and b) gather enough influence to actually get it done.

Yuu has considered a plan to that end that should strike off many of his family-related check boxes. First will be to check-in with the local Freelancers about jobs coming out of Daedalum, particularly ones involving the research institutes or academies there. This would give them direct access to some well funded researchers, provide money, and satisfy his mother's desire for him to put his learning to some practical use.

Secondly, if they can find such a job, then he could escort Qwe to Daedalum and provide a measure of assurance for her safety and getting her properly setup in the foreign city state.

Lastly, once in Daedalum they may discover any number of other investigation avenues that could shed light on the wine.

That's the basic premise I've got to get you guys out into the rest of the world; if you have any comments or questions about that let me know. Otherwise we'll move forward in that direction.

Vanyra's happy moving out into the world in that way.
This message was last edited by the player at 02:56, Mon 21 Jan 2019.

Sure, it may be good to stay away for a while, even though Zelpuz doesn't seem to be in immediate danger, and this seems to be the only avenue to look into. Zelpuz will check in with the merchant that may be able to get another bottle first though to get an updated estimate if or when he can get the bottle of wine to see if that would also be 'contaminated' before they head out.

It would take at least a 30 days or so for a bottle of that wine to come in, maybe more, depending on how the supply and shipping schedule looks in Zu'lan. At any rate they don't have Amazon Prime there so it'll be a while. Obviously that bottle would be held for Zelpuz though.

Wasn't the bottle being delivered to the Jin residence?

Were we taking the 30 days in Ossylia in the meantime, to do all the research and prep that's been going on?

It would be at least 30 days from when he placed the order. If you guys want to wait around for the bottle that's fine. I'm more interested in what you're doing after that.

If you wan to wait around, we'll just jump ahead the 30 days and go from there.

Which contract do you want Geological Institute one or the Science & Tech one?

The Science and Tech one sounds more interesting and plays to our respective strengths.

Definitely agree, the Science and Tech sounds fun, with the involvement of Nether and remote dig sites.

Also, is that guy bringing the wine bottles only to the Order, or does he bring them to other places as well?
This message was last edited by the player at 17:05, Wed 30 Jan 2019.

Yes, good question, we had a month time to observe him, with several trips to the Order, he must have had other trips, who else does he frequent (and does he ever bring wine)?
And I agree with the Tech, we may even get some cool stuff at the end, sounds fun, but we may have to kill everyone in the end because we realize they are digging out something extremely dangerous that would put the world at risk ;)

Good line of investigation there; I've added comments to that in IC.

The characters have about a week before they head out, so if there are any preparations you want to do let me know. This would mostly involve purchasing gear, either permanently with character points, or for temporary use using money/wealth.

In total you can expect to be gone up to 100days or more, so plan accordingly. From what research you can do about the general climate of where the dig is taking place it should be more temperate than Ossylia, more like northern mountainous regions of the kingdom than the coastal lowlands.

How many days will we be on the boat and can Vanyra research flora/fauna before going?

Vanyra wants to get some basic gear to help with survival and make sure that the others have appropriate gear themselves, including appropriate clothing and sleeping gear/packs.  She doesn't need her teammates getting hypothermia or anything like that.  Firestarter, water containers, utility knife, etc.

Normally, she can get enough food water for herself and several people while still traveling as fast as a normal person, but this will be a bit bigger.

There would probably be some books at the Academy Library about the flora and fauna in that general part of the world, though it may be difficult to get much on that particular island.

I'm not sure how long you'll be on a boat, as that depends if you're travelling by sea-going boat or an air ship.

Also, I'm travelling up to Calgary tomorrow for a ski trip and thus will be MIA from Thursday to Sunday. Then on Monday I'm leaving for a business trip to Japan until the 17th, so I'll be intermittent during that time as well. I'll try to stay on top of posts as much as possible though.

Was there any way to determine if he appears to be just a messenger, or which contacts he seems to be bringing new/gifts/messages to, and which ones he may receive instructions from? Any way to observe some of the meetings? And what is the frequency he interacted with each group? Is the Order his most frequent contact?

As for equipment, a bit of terrain specific adjustment of survival kits and clothing seems reasonable. I assume we'll get what we need, if there is something special we should 'pay for', let us know. So far, I have not tracked Zelpuz' wealth/money at all. I assumed he had sufficient funds to buy food and drinks etc, but had no lump sum of money he has in a bank where I added/subtracted anything. Should we keep more track of this or keep handling it fluently?
Also, I am not quite sure how the tradeoff between equipment, money and points is. E.g. if we say I have $1000, then it should be possible to trade $500 for walkie-talkies without adding points for equipment, right? And if we were to find a magic sword that we (can) keep that's worth $10,000, I think that should be possible without having to pay points for increased wealth, but that's my interpretation/opinion. Could you clarify?

And have fun skiing and in Japan.

So you have a wealth rating.  Objects also have a rating.  You basically make a roll modified by your wealth against a DC for purchasing the object, so higher wealth makes it easier to buy things.  These things are considered temporary for the most part, and get turned into equipment points if they are used all the time.

If the meetings that guy has with the Order house are regular, we could plant one of the bugs Yuu made and listen in on the conversation.

Yuu will want to hit up the local libraries as well, to cram as much information about Daedalum and its surrounding territories, with a focus on maps and terrain. He'll geek out a bit on local histories and traditions, prep himself for the fun ahead.

He's cool letting Vanyra plan equipment, as he's not so much as gone camping in his life. He would know academically what to bring, and could probably discuss the finer details of fire starter kits down to the nut, but to actually have used one?

Yeah, she's not advocating for any fancy 'kits'.
This message was last edited by the player at 04:17, Thu 07 Feb 2019.

So maybe some stuff to make fire, skin a rabbit, and of course oregano for seasoning.
Maybe some flash light etc, too, do we need to bring tenting equipment? Basically everything I would bring on a longer camping hike, incl. fishing equipment.

Other than that, are we going to plant a bug (or try)? Are they ready? Can they be traced back?

In game reality check... you have someone who can summon demons and another that has a magic stick that shoot fire balls, I think you don't have to worry about simple things like how to start a fire. Some simple gear like tents, some rope, proper backpacks, maybe some vaccinations/medicine, etc. is what I am thinking of that you guys may need to pickup.

Basic outdoor survival gear you can get without an issue since none of you are poor. If you're looking for anything that would convey a special ability or feat, like a ghillie suit, then let me know, as that would necessitate a wealth check or equipment points.

Some of you may already have a survival kit in your equipment that contains canteens, water purifier, thermal blanket, a small nether battery, two weeks of MREs and signal flares. That whole kit costs 1 equipment point.

I vote for a tent. Just in case it rains. I hate sleeping in rain, or even worse, the kind of weather we are having right now.

Vanyra's thoughts: where's the subtlety in fireballs?!

They make pretty colours!

And you don't need to cook your food anymore.

Sorry I've been MIA here, I had a work trip to Denver and then guests for the whole weekend and now I'm scrambling to get caught up at work ahead of more guests coming down in a couple of weeks.

Anyway, I hope to get mostly caught up this weekend so I get this next chapter kicked off.

You could plant the bugs if you wanted, but considering you'll the thousands of kilometers away they won't do you a whole lot of good while you're gone. You can do so in the period before you leave, but then you'd have to go extract them as well.

So if there's not any extraordinary equipment you're sourcing (ie. stuff you'd need to spend equipment points on or doesn't make immediate sense why'd you carry it on such an expedition), then we'll assume you get the basic provisions.

I imagine someone, like Yuu's friend Marcus, would also recommend a number of vaccinations before you go, just in case. There may be some temporary discomfort afterwards, but that'd all be gone before you got on the boats. The vaccinations will provide immunity to most of the common diseases known in the area, and give everyone a +2 vs. contracting others.

Also how are you getting there, regular ship or air ship? One is notably cheaper and slower, while the other is just the opposite. You've got time to take a regular ship, it would just cut into your time in Ossylia, and likely you wouldn't have had time to wait around for that bottle of wine Zelpuz ordered. There's in between options as well that could serve, like multi-stop airship route or a higher speed sea catamaran vessel; split the difference in speed and cost of the other two.

Let me know what you want to do there. Yuu's sister Qwe will be taking an airship so she can spend extra time in Ossylia since she just got back, and she doesn't have to be there until the start of the school semester in Daedalum.

As points of reference here's the relative cost (Wealth Check) and time associated with each transportation method:

Direct Airship: 14 TV for wealth, and 1 day travel
Multi-stop Airship: 12 for wealth, and 2 day travel
Direct High Speed Ship: 10 for wealth, 1 week travel
Regular Coastal Ship: 8 for wealth, 2~3 week travel.

Is it reasonable to make a wealth check right now and have that be the equivalent of checking our pockets to see how much we have access to?

I'm sure we have some family contacts that operate airships, maybe Yuu could ask his parents to get us on one? Or if he knows himself.
This message was last edited by the player at 16:32, Wed 13 Mar 2019.

To Erik's question, that is essentially what you'd be doing with the wealth check. It really just determines if you have the money, based on the result you can then decide if you want the ticket or not.

As for Yuu he's got the Wealth perk and could use that; the perk simulates the money and connections his family has that they are willing to spend on him. So his check would determine if they could obtain passage on the air ship. To buy airship tickets for the 3 of them I'm going to say the TV is 16.

Hmm, I guess Zelpuz will wait in the city for them to come back. I only got a 6, I don't think he has any modifiers.

The base level is +4 for Mike's game unless you took 'poor' in character creation.

Vanyra's a little strapped for cash since she hasn't been getting as many contracts lately (got an 8, rolled a 4)

Just clarification the TV of 16 would be for 3 tickets on the direct airship, while the milk-run route would be a TV of 14.

Yeah, everyone has +4 from the start unless you have modifiers like the Wealth perk. Each rank of the Wealth perk gives you +4 to wealth checks.

You have to roll on Wealth checks, you cannot take 10 or 20. If the item you're buying has a TV more than your bonus then if you can buy it your wealth bonus is reduced by 1 temporarily until you can accumulate more money.

Vanyra paying the rent seems to have depleted hers :P

So it looks like you are all taking the slow boat unless Brett wants to make a Wealth check roll for Yuu, given his bonus it is pretty much a given he could get tickets for everyone on at least the multi-stop airship if he so desired.

I should be able to secure us some air ship tickets, that'll allow us to stay in Ossylia longer. Yuu likes his cushy life.

So is that one day in the air the entire time?  Vanyra's going to be bouncing off the walls, can't wait.

Yes, pretty much a whole day in the air... you're travelling thousands of kilometers.

Brett please make a Wealth check, and let me know if you want the direct airship or the slower one.

Sure, before I do, can you just confirm the PM, please?

Also I think one that has a couple stops along the way might be fun. See some sights on the way south-eastward.

So unless there's any other particular preparations you guys need to do we'll jump ahead to the departure.

Wait, Zelpuz will quickly get that thing that we will need half way through the adventure and would be easy to get here but impossible there and we all think that we should have thought of that. You'll know what I am talking about when we get to that situation.
Besides that, do we still have/keep those walkie-talkies? A simple communication device over (short) distances seems extremely useful.

Brilliant - good thinking!

You can keep the radios since you guys paid for them.

Plus spare batteries.

So I've added a new map that details your travel route to Daedalum. Go to Game Map, then scroll to the bottom and select map 5 from the drop down.

It'll be a 3 day trip:
Day 1: Ossylia to Escarmina in the Equatorial City State Alliance
Day 2 morning: Escarmina to Byzantier, two different city states in the alliance.
Day 2 afternoon: Byzantier to Vargrun (an independent city state at the head of the Hakran River)
Day 3: Vargrun to Daedalem by going around the Gorgomnema Mountains.

You'll only have a couple of hours in Byzantier, but you'll be staying overnight at the other places. There are some berths on the airship, but they cost extra. Otherwise you can arrange accommodations at the destination cities; the airline can assist in that. It will actually be more pricey to stay in the airship berths that most of the places you would be able to get in the destination cities. Only if you're staying at top-tier places would it be the same or cheaper.

If you guys wish to do anything, see anything during these short stopovers let me know. But if you're just going to stay on the airship then there's little possibility of anything happening.

I assume we (and esp. Vanyra) want to get out at the stop overs. And taking a look around would not hurt. Might be a good opportunity to check in with the local Order there and see if I can send a note to the headquarters (or if I am on the wanted list). Maybe I can even contact Myrria somehow.

Other than that, see the most important sight-seeing sites and see what the hot topics in the local pubs are.
This message was last edited by the player at 02:47, Wed 03 Apr 2019.

Yuu would like to pick up a guide book to these places, definitely explore a little time allowing.

Even if Vanyra doesn't realize it right now, after hours in a confined space, she will want to get out and about.

OK, Sounds good. We'll move ahead with the first stopover then. I'll have something for up hopefully tomorrow night.

Also, I'm heading to Japan next Thursday through the 22nd on vacation, so I will not likely be posting during that time.

Just a heads up I'm heading out 7 hours to Japan so I'll be MIA for a while. I'll try to continue this thread in the downtime while travelling.

How many hours do we have here? I know our flight out is the next morning, but just a general hour count.

I'm back.

You'll have about 30 hours in total in this city before you fly off to the next one. It's just after morning now.

Did I sign up as a Freelancer, too, or is Zelpuz just 'tagging along'?

My understanding is that Zelpuz is not actually a Freelancer.

Being a member of the Order of Ashes somewhat precludes him from being a regular member of the Freelancers, but he could have an independent contractor's license with the Freelancers.

Is 100 Marks a lot?

It's about a hundred times what Vanyra has on her right now.

It's a significant amount of money, equivalent to about 25 equipment points. In our world it would be the equivalent buying power of about $500,000.
This message was last edited by the GM at 19:06, Sun 12 May 2019.

Yikes, very suspicious. But also very tempting :)

Quite, even for those with money to burn 100 Marks for a package delivery is a hell of a lot. Likely it is a very valuable package AND there are those who would like to acquire said package... though the Atherian pretty much explained as much at the start.

If you guys want to hash out anything when he's out of the room you have about a minute in game. Otherwise you can just wait for him to get back.

Practical question, assume we take the job and actually get paid in full, do we have to spend character points? How many? What if we don't have enough?

You'll be getting paid in money, not character or equipment points. I just said the equivalence to equipment points as a reference in case you want to buy a piece of equipment. If you split the money 3 ways it would be 33 Marks a piece, which would give you a +8 bonus to a wealth check, or 2 cp for a device, or 10 equipment points of equipment.

Sounds very much like the typical form you fill out on planes:
"Did you pack your bag by yourself? Did you not take any items from anyone else?"
How are the 'typical' import/export security questions in that world?

Given that Yuu could probably blow up the plane by thinking about it and that Zelpuz is carrying around a rifle that shoots magical fireballs, who cares about a package?
This message was last edited by the player at 14:13, Wed 22 May 2019.

Good call to leave the package here until we depart in the morning.

To Jan's question, every place is quite different. Customs and Immigration are much more lax in this world than our own, and with the presence of magic there's little they could do to really stop people bringing stuff in. Rather it's more about immigration, asking who you are and why you're coming to their place, and then customs for merchants and traders to ensure goods are not stolen and are properly documented and taxed.

Part of the questions of course will be if you're here for business or pleasure. As Freelancers most places will let them through without issue because of the power of the guild. Most Freelancers are carrying all sorts of weapons and stuff, but again the guild vouches for them. Order of Ashes is in a similar situation.

Yes, I thought we wanted to do some sightseeing, might be harder with the package. But he didn't answer that question yet.

Do we have any other questions? Or should we just say we'll pick the package up in the morning and do the delivery, then do some sightseeing and rest well before an uneventful journey to the next place?

There, I updated the response to answer the questions.

:)

But that was not allowed as only response, I had to add 'meaningful text'.

So yes, you can pick it up in the morning before you depart if you so choose to accept the contract.

Is there anything in particular you guys want to do in this city during your layover? The ECAS is quite eclectic compared to the other states in Kahluyn since it's really an amalgamation of independent cities. As one of the northern most cities and a port Escarmina is famous for it's port and harbor market, where goods from the north, east and west hemispheres are often brought and bartered on their way to other states. Likewise it is also famous for its food culture, a clash of cuisine from other cultures and local, unique spice mixtures and flavors. It has a lot of seafood, being a port, but a whole mix of terrestrial meats and vegetables as well.

Explore the city, taste various foods, look at some interesting magical artifact shops and their inventory, maybe something useful shows up that Zelpuz may be able to afford soon.

Pretty much that.

Eat seafood, enjoy foods, watch culture and new peoples.

If you've any other questions for him before you set off into the town, now would be the time. Of course there may be some time in the morning when you pick up the parcel as well.

My concern with this run isn't us not being able to deliver the package, but that the package gets damaged in the process.

I have an idea that might help. We sneak a fake box that looks the same into the office tomorrow. Set it up, then you two walk out with it towards the airship terminals. I'll go in a half hour later to collect the real package, bringing a wooden crate, dressed like a local courier. I'll put the package in the crate, transmute it to appear like something else, then put it in a transport vehicle, before taking it to the airship. In the meantime you two can fend off whatever attacks get made, and not worry so much about damage.

Not exactly bullet proof plan, trying to come up with something. Thoughts?

Zelpuz has a bag of holding. I don't think it will get too hurt in there.
This message was last edited by the player at 20:42, Fri 31 May 2019.

He does..? Oh yeah... didn't we hide someone in it?

Yeah, he has a dimensional pocket. And you often put people in it for transport. It can easily hold the package.

The idea with the fake box is a good one though, as whoever is looking to run down the box will be looking for it, and if there's no 'apparent' box they may tail everyone who enters and leaves. Whereas if you had a decoy box that would divert attention.

Did you guys make a reservation for accommodations before leaving Ossylia, or were you just going to look for something when you got here?

Yes, I was counting on the dimensional pocket for safekeeping, as long as we are fine, the package should be fine.
Might be a good idea to do a test run though, we could check in to a hotel, then place two of us on some rooftops and one of us to go in and pick up an empty package.
We can do the same in the morning, with you two going to pick up a fake package and Zelpuz picking up the real package and leaving without a (visible) package in his hands shortly after. Then you can just visibly drop the empty box somewhere and go to the airship. That should divert some attention.
But if we try the fake package now already, we are likely targeted at night, too.

Before any test package runs, Zelpuz will check in at the local Chapter of the Order, too.

Should Vanyra take and transport the fake?  The methods she would use to avoid detection would make it appear very sincere (like climbing up and using the rooftops and acrobatics)

Sounds good, let's check out the area first, so we know what to expect and where good meeting points are etc.

So just need to know what you guys actually plan on doing come morning; you can play it out in IC or break it down here in OOC.

I like playing it out, but it may be more efficient in OCC.

Basically, we have a few options:
1) Just wait till morning, pick up the package, store it in the dimensional pocket, dash for the airship (or try to escape detection)
2) Add a diversion, with one of us (or all 3 of us) taking turns leaving the guild carrying some empty package.
3) Do a 'dry run' this evening, with Vanyra pretending to pick up the package and us located on some rooftops to see what's happening.

Anything else?

PS: I like the perfect wine bar location.

Yeah, I was referring to discussing the plan, you can do that in IC or OOC. The plan will definitely be executed in IC.

For #2 and #3 were you going to create/purchase a dummy box for the decoy?

Purchasing possibly gives away what we are doing if anyone is observing, so any dummy box should be created.

Vanyra thinks she could provide a solo distraction as the dummy carrier, and she could do a better job of that by herself.

Sorry, been quite busy last couple of days.

In regards to Yuu's suggestion you guys wouldn't know really where in the Freelancer office the package is kept, though you're pretty sure it's kept in a safe/vault of some sort. Without some sort of prior arrangement it is highly unlikely you'd be able to show up at some random hour of the night and get the package. If you make some prior arrangement with Harrel though that is a possibility.

So they aren't open all night?

Vanyra's suggestion?

Sorry, been distracted and my brother-in-law was in town this week.

The Freelancer's office is not open all night; it's a regular place of business.

Night security?

I suppose there's someone around in the back at night, handling communications or alerts from the various chapters, and/or collating data from the day's events.

We could arrange the package collection from them.

Yes, if you rush back there to do so you may make it in time before Harrel leaves for the day. Remember you arrived in later aftereve, so it's already near night by now.

I don't suppose we have phone types thingies? =P
But yeah, otherwise I can head back and make arrangements. We probably wouldn't be too far away anyways, considering we probably were discussing this topic as we walked out the door.

But do we still have our walkie talkies?

We do, yeah. I was just thinking if people can call stores and businesses, rather than having to visit in person.
If not, I should totally invent something like it and get rich  =D

There would be some sort of phone system in a city like that, but it would be more akin to the phone system in the 1940s and such versus today; so land lines and such versus mobile phones. Also there wouldn't be a "Yellow Pages" where you could just look up places to call, though there may be a directory of businesses you could purchase. Also you're really pushing the common business hours of shops, again this would be more like turn of the 19th century city versus Tokyo in 2019 in the hours places keep.

So basic idea is that you're heading back to the Freelancers to grab the package and then staying somewhere for the night. Then in the morning back to the airship via a short stop a the Freelancers.

Anything missing?

Vanyra still disagrees with all that.  She feels that it should appear that she is given the package so that any followers will tail her.  She is the most likely visual candidate for someone trying to lose a tail, and you are leading people on with what they expect anyway.  Noone is expecting a magic-bag-of-holding-teleporting-Mespah, which makes Zelpuz the best candidate to actually have the package - the package will not be visible and can get away quickly and easily.  This is a decoy who will be very hard for people to follow, but also someone who is good enough to make sure any followers don't quite lose her. Using this method, they should just get it in the morning and not risk any night encounters with strangers in a new city - trying to hang onto it all night at a disadvantage isn't the best choice.  Getting it in the morning means a quick trip to the plane and boom, they get to the transport fast and leave.
This message was last edited by the player at 04:39, Wed 03 July 2019.

Either option sounds good, but I do like not having to worry about the night.
Let's have Vanyra pick up a fake package in the morning, Zelpuz can maybe phase into the building to join her. Yuu can keep a lookout. Then Vanyra leaves, Zelpuz waits, Yuu is on lookout.
We should probably still be wary about the night and expect visitors.

You're right, no one is expecting a magic-bag-of-holding Mespah. So when we walk in, and then walk out with nothing, what tail could we possibly expect? They're after a package. If they don't see one, and don't have access to one, then... what possible interest could they have in us?

My initial worry was the package getting damaged in some kind of tussle, so I tried to think of some complicated plan... but I totally forgot about the magic bags.

I'll go with whatever you decide though, it'll be fun regardless =D

That's why you came up with the decoy idea.

Maybe its better to have no decoy, but if we want a decoy, Vanyra can have the faker and let herself get followed around.  I mean the airship or arrival are still danger spots anyway.  Unless the freelancers want to fake that we didn't take the job.

Ok, so the plan now is:
1) Go to Freelancer guild in the morning and obtain the package
2) Zelpuz puts the package in his dimensional pocket
3) You guys leave with 'nothing' and head to the air ship.

Right?

Things I'm uncertain about:
1) Will there be a decoy box and a decoy carrier of that box?
2) When you go to pick up the package are you just going to walk in and take it or is there some special plan for picking it up?

I came up with the decoy idea because i forgot about the magic bags of holding. I thought we'd be walking around with this stupid box in our hands, and something like that is an easy target. Hence the decoys. But if we can just hide the thing away in a magic bag... problem solved.

Either way works for me. I thought picking up in the morning would limit the amount of time we have to be (more) vigilant. But happy to go either way.
What time is the plane going and what time does the Freelancer guild open?

If people are that serious on damaging the package, they are going to assume or find out we have it though, right?  Even if they can't see it, what might they do?

We'll say the guild is open at the 8th hour of morning, which is midway through the morning period of the day.

The airship will leave at the 10th hour of morning, giving you a couple hours to get there. It should only take you about 10~15 mins of walking to get from the guild to the ship.

So it sounds like two options, pick up in morning and go straight to ship, or pick up in morning and use decoy.  The decoy doesn't have to look right, it could just be a box of about the right size hidden in a visible bag.  I'm fine either way.  Vanyra liked the idea of the decoy.

Pick up in the morning with decoy? That means we have to split up, unless we move along two roads in parallel and can help each other in seconds. Are there two roads that go somewhat in parallel?

Basically, I think our best bet is if we have two of us walk with the package together, and one go along the rooftops for cover.

Alternatively, we could also use the bag of holding to get one of us into the guild without being seen, then take the package into the bag, and have 3 of us leave in some configuration.

Anyways, I think it's best to stick together.

There are certainly two roads that more or less run in parallel to each other towards the air ship. You're in a fairly dense urban area right now, so lots of crisscrossing roads.

I have an idea that may be the best of both.... decoy, and us sticking together.

We create a decoy, and stick it into the magic bag.
We hire a courier for a pick up outside the Freelancer guild.
We go in, get the package, and swap it with the decoy.
We give the decoy to the courier.
We head to the ship.

Just so everyone's aware but Erik's laptop screen died, so his responses will be delayed/few as he's temporarily using his TV as a screen, which isn't ideal.

Still just want to know what the final plan of action is for getting the package on the air ship.

Don't want to spend money to make money and we have a teleporter and an invisible girl who both make good decoys.

One issue with hiring the courier would be that IF someone is watching the Freelancers to intercept this package they would very likely know the Freelancers would not sub-contract out a delivery to a regular courier. You're character would likely know that the Freelancers are known to handle their contracts internally with their own members, and not subcontract it out, unless there's some stipulation the allows/requires it.

I vote to just go in, pick up the package in the morning and go to the airship in either of these configurations:

1) we just go all together, assuming we can handle what's coming

2) Yuu and I go pick up the package, Vanyra hides on the roofs to provide cover if necessary.

3) We go in with Yuu in the pocket. He takes my clothes, I phase out to some rooftop and you two go pretending to have the package (or not). Zelpuz provides cover from the roofs.

4) something more complex.

A courier would cost fractions of a penny on the dollar, and if that's how Freelancers really do it... it would hilariously confuse anyone watching.

But let's just go with 2) Zel and Yuu will go in, grab package, Van can stalk from the roofs.

Sounds good.

OK, let's do that. We'll pick one of the roads that has the easiest and best cover for Vanyra on the roofs. And we'll check the roofs out before to look for others waiting there.

I'll need Notice checks from everyone, and a Stealth check from Vanyra (assuming she doesn't want to stick out on the roof)

Vanyra is using blending.

Notice roll of 33. Natural 19 in the dice roller!

Stealth got a Natural 20 in the dice roller, so 31+30 = 61 ?!


That means she can notice some things at a difficulty 10 from 2300 feet (700m) away, and I don't even know what it'll take to spot her.  Someone was anxious to do this!
This message was last edited by the player at 02:36, Wed 24 July 2019.

Nice, the dice are with us right now. I got 28 (18+10) for a Notice.

So you guys are on the airship heading to Byzantium, where you need to deliver the package. The ship is only stopping there for 4 hours, so there will be a definite time limit. You have the address where you're supposed to deliver it, but you'll still need to find out where that is.

Ah, now comes the tricky part. We should have looked that up on a map before. Does the plane have some sort of Google Maps, or just old style maps of the area that they hand out by request?

I'd suggest we try to get away from the plane quickly once it lands, maybe to the next bar (which hopefully has a back door), or something similar.

Yuu is just looking for a basic lay of the land, anyone looking oddly in his direction, and where the cabin stewards seem to be congregating.

There's definitely no Google Maps. You'll have to find an actual physical map.

The cabin crew are walking about doing their duties, when/if they do congregate it is in the galley area.

Can we find our destination on the map? And determine a few ways that seem like a good route?

Yes, it's not too hard to find the estate to which you're to deliver the package. It's a little ways from the airship docks, up on a hill northwest of the docks. It's about 5km as the crow flies, but about 7km if you take the most direct streets. Given your mobility it should not take you too long to get there though.

You can see the streets well enough and some of the larger landmarks on the map, but you don't have any details on buildings (size, height, etc.). The area you are going to is composed of all estates, so you have a vague idea what to expect there, but not on the way there.

The airship will be docked for 4.5 hours in total.

Sounds good.
Simplest plan: We try to get off the ship quickly and just run, ideally with Vanyra on the roofs.
Or we just walk along a main road, maybe following some sightseeing tour that looks at something close by.
Or, we go to some pub with a bunch of people, then offer everyone in there 500 coins to escort us.

Can Zelpuz teleport himself and Yuu?

He could probably go quite fast using this method of transport right?

Zelpuz can teleport himself and up to a total of 500lbs, so Yuu would definitely qualify. He can certainly move quite quickly, if he went flat out (with a double move per round) he'd be traveling about 100m/s. Given he'll be in an unfamiliar and crowded environment a regular move action per round would be more appropriate, but that still means he's moving at 50m/s. So he could likely teleport/phase all the way to the place in about 2 minutes.

And Vanyra can hide in the pocket :)

Or Vanyra can be teleported and Yuu can go in the pocket. :)

(though technically, Yuu and Vanyra should easily be under 500 lbs)
This message was last edited by the player at 01:57, Fri 09 Aug 2019.

Can we get out of the 'pocket' ourselves, or does it require Zelpuz to 'remove' us?

Yes, I don't see why either of you have to go into the pocket dimension unless you want to. You guys don't weigh that much.

As to leaving the pocket dimension, unless Zelpuz wants to keep you in there, you can leave any time you want. Normally if you trap people in there they get a WIL save each round with a cumulative bonus each round until they are out. When you got Lasrane he stayed in there because he was unconscious and thus couldn't make a save.

It would be a pretty crazy surprise attack against someone if Zelpuz put Vanyra and Yuu in the pocket dimension and summoned them forth like pokemon when the opponents think he's all alone. Could be useful in a future situation.

Yuuchu, I choose you!

Cool, imagine getting trapped in there because Zelpuz got himself killed or comatosed.... lame way to go.

I'm good with stepping into Zelpuz' holding closet, and just zipping across the city.
This message was last edited by the player at 13:29, Mon 12 Aug 2019.

Yeah, I'd have to double-check the exact terms of the power, but usually if you're rendered unconscious or killed the power stops. But I'm pretty sure you're safe from that instance has it takes effort to keep people in there, and even then they'll eventually breakout.

So the plan is for Yuu to enter the dimensional pocket and then have Zelpuz teleport across the city to deliver the package?

Is Vanyra doing anything during this time?

Vanyra wants to go with Zelpuz, she's just not happy about going inside a pocket.

She moves pretty fast on her own, so that could be okay right?

That sounds like the plan. Let's see how things go. I assume something will interfere with that plan somehow.
How easy is it to maintain the pocket and phase Vanyra and myself at least the first few jumps? Or all the way?

Just for clarification Vanyra is nowhere near as fast as Zelpuz's teleport ability; he can move 1000ft as a move action, and Vanyra's normal run speed would give her 88ft per round, or 176 as a double move, or 354ft in an all-out sprint; which would be very dangerous in an unfamiliar city on rooftops, and also would preclude leaping from buildings.

There's an entire order of magnitude of difference in their movement abilities; Zelpuz has teleport at rank 10, while Vanyra has Speed at rank 1. That's why it's such an extreme difference.

Also Zelpuz would not be limited by the distance between buildings for his movement, whereas Vanyra would need to pick a path where the buildings are only 20feet apart.

If you're going to teleport it would be easiest for Zelpuz to just teleport Yuu and Vanyra with him (outside the pocket) and maintain only a small pocket (rank 1) for the package. He would be able to move up to 800ft (240m) per move action with his companions, the package would be hidden, and he would not be strained enough to risk nether corruption (though he'd be on the limit). So you'd still get there in a couple of minutes.

That's some serious speed...

Well his teleport is limit to short range too; with the regular teleport power you can do a "Long Range" teleport, which at rank 10 would allow you to move 200,000 miles in one go! Which is pretty insane; rank 10 speed would let you run 10,000 mph... which is also insane. The movement powers scale up really quickly.

Never said she was as fast as Zelpuz :P  Just pretty fast in her own right (fast enough to cover a few kilometers quickly).

On an average running long jump though, she will hit 110 feet (41 feet long from standing - on average).  She's got leaping and speed.

OK, so the plan is, we step off the plane, Yuu in the pouch Vanyra jumping around? We can outline a route, Zelpuz will transport there, wait for Vanyra, go to the next stop and so on.
Should we jump as soon as the door opens? Maybe all together to avoid potential customs proceedings? Or is that a potential red flag and get the whole town guards on us?
Do we know anything about the city? Is it free? What are the immigration procedures/regulations etc? Seems like something we should have asked about, not sure if we did?

I thought Zelpuz would just teleport everyone, with or without anyone in the pouch he can easily handle the weight.

And I was curious as well whether we should just teleport off the ship or debark normally first.

Well if you want to break any and all immigration and customs laws you could just teleport into the city without clearing them. That's up to you.

Zelpuz would have no issue teleporting everyone without using the dimensional pocket.

Ah, OK. so teleport it is. Let's try normal immigration procedures? We still have to board the next plane and teleporting into that is probably not very accepted.

I totally forgot about Mike the former customs and border agent. ;)

So we deboard and reboard normally, but use fancy means for travel in the city.

Yeah, anyone leaving the ship will be screened by the Customs and Immigration people here, just like the last city. Unlike modern airports it won't take very long since there's a lot less air travel.

Once through that and into the city you can move about however you like.

If you're a Freelancer you'll have a Freelancer ID, which is probably your best/easiest way to gain entry. For Zelpuz he would have a similar document/badge for the ORder of Ashes.

As to the declaring the nature of your stay I'll leave that up to you.

We plan to leave again in a few hours, right? So I assume they have regular short term visitors with a job in the next town. So a 'quick tourism tour' until take-off should be common. We now even know a bunch of sites we want to visit.

Yeah, that's common. You don't need a visa or anything.

So you guys are through, what do you want to do now?

Teleport travel there - with or without Yuu in the pocket.  Zip Zoom.  We can beat that young couple there if they are the ones trying to interfere (says the paranoid group member).

So you're about 150m or so from the actual gate itself, or about 125m from where everyone is arriving and being greeted by staff. Let me know how you wish to approach.

OK, i should have read the in game message before, answered all my questions i had here.

Next, I say we jump as close as possible to the gate without startling everyone, so the alley on the other side of the street or so. Then walk quickly but not too rushed to the guards.

If someone jumps at us, what's the plan? Dash? Teleport everyone away? Stand our ground? Burn everything to the ground?

Also, Zelpuz quickly checks his bag to make sure the package is still there.
This message was last edited by the player at 01:53, Sat 24 Aug 2019.

The package is still there.

Yeah, you guys can emote in IC what you're doing to approach the estate. That will obviously determine how you are received.

Is there a person to whom it is to be delivered?  Or is it just the address?

There is, but you have a pretty solid idea that whomever this person is you will not be meeting the directly.

The package will say who it is for and from who it was sent. You're not familiar with either of the names though.
This message was last edited by the GM at 19:19, Tue 27 Aug 2019.

So we will want to get confirmation of some sort.

I rolled a notice check just for fun. Although the last one was pretty good, but it was a while back.

I'm back from Montana. In addition to the package you'd also have received the standard Freelancer waybill for the package, which will require a stamp or signature by the collecting party. You'd then turn this into the Freelancers as confirmation the mission was complete.

In this particular case, since it is a wealthy family, they are expecting the official house seal on it. Before receiving the package you were shown a picture of this crest and a sample of a seal just so you can confirm it is the right one. Since both Yuu and Zelpuz have photographic memories they have no trouble recalling it.

I just paused there in case you had any questions about where she's leading you to and such. If not we'll continue.
This message was last edited by the GM at 02:22, Thu 05 Sept 2019.

Give me a Notice, Forgery, KNOW: Heraldry/Nobility check as appropriate. Just pick one skill, with the Notice being the highest TV and Knowledge being the lowest.

Vanyra only has Notice of those skills.  She got a 19.

Vanyra will be using her Empathy and Sense Motive to make sure things are on the up and up.  She is having a hard time believing this to be so easy given the nature of the job.
This message was last edited by the player at 22:19, Sun 08 Sept 2019.

Yes, I agree.
BTW, what is the standard regulation if you 'fail' a Freelancer job?

Maybe we should try some mind reading? Surface thoughts with pointed questions from the Vanyra and Yuu.

And is there a knowledge default for other knowledge skills, I assume not (wouldn't really make sense), so Notice it is, but 28 is not too bad. And potential Sense Motive is always a good addition.
This message was last edited by the player at 01:47, Mon 09 Sept 2019.

I'm going to ask the obvious question, this is House Shi-Fain, right? I assumed something would be obvious towards this, but the assuming part has the inner diabolical gm part of me laughing maniacally.

If you fail the contract you don't get paid and your reputation may suffer as a result depending on why the contract was failed.

If you guys provide me with the necessary Notice, KNO: Heraldry, etc. skill checks I can confirm or not confirm whether you've got the correct place, based on what you've seen thus far.

I would assume that we would have seen the crest before and our memory features would help recognize the symbol, plus my notice was not bad.

Yes, you were shown a copy of the house crest when you picked up the package.

It is obvious from the banners, flags, insignia on the uniform and the seal on the waybill that this is either House Shi-Fain or an extremely over-the-top con job.

Zelpuz would also notice with a 28 that the ink of the seal has an extremely faint Nether glow about it.

I don't believe Vanyra would roll for any empathic probes, though a Sense Motive roll yielded 25, in case she gets to apply that combination of approaches to look for deception of some sort.

She detects none.

OK, so to the best of their judgement, they actually delivered the package to the right place, right?
Or does the faint Nether glow suggest that the ink is just an elaborate magic ink that disappears in 2 hours?

Still suspiciously easy, even though we did not make it easy to stop us. Should we probe some more? Should we try a mind read? I could even 'ask' and say that it's part of our confirmation process and I guarantee to only scan for thoughts about the delivery.
Were there any other special instructions that we were given?

Vanyra thinks you should probe more, she's been probing herself.

You were not given any special instructions besides deliver the parcel to the estate in time for the party and have the waybill signed/stamped as usual.

The ink certainly is unusual, but Zelpuz is the only one to have noticed it and he's not a specialist in such things. Though he is standing beside someone who IS a specialist in all manner of nether-tech, if he were to ask.

While I appreciate the healthy skepticism and paranoia,at this point your characters know you are at the right place, according to the map, confirmed by all the paraphernalia around and the arriving guests. From what they've observed if this was some kind of ruse it would be a truly epic, next-level con-job, considering they've interacted with 4 different people who in turn have interacted with other household staff without any suspicious behavior. I'll add some additional IC text to highlight this.

So you guys moving along or what?

Just so you know my modem died yesterday on account of a problem with its power unit. I hope to get the replacement today, but if not I may not be checking the forum until Monday or whenever I do get it and my home internet is backup and running.

I emoted departing the estate... Yuu wants to site see before flight out.

Seems like we finished our job. Let's put the receipt back in the bag for safekeeping?
And yes, then let's look at stuff.

Can everyone give me a notice check please?

Average notice, 22.
Also, still keeping an eye out for the people from the plane, any that we can remember, i.e. saw there, just as a precaution until we leave this place.

26 Notice (not including possible modifiers)

Unnatural 20. We should probably stop at the local Freelancer branch before returning to the airship, to get our pay.

Vanyra is heading in to the fray.  She's doing her chameleon thing and charging in fast.  How far away are they?

I'm assuming we have our headsets on still?

So how far away from the estate are we? How much time passed? We walked around, went for food, talked to a baker and were considering seeing the space needle?
Or have only a few moments passed and we are within earshot of the estate?
And does that have to do anything with us? We finished the mission, right? But Vanyra is charging towards more trouble and vanished into the background already, right?
I guess all that we can do is take one last bite of the food, sigh and follow her (teleport to the closest rooftop with a good view of the crossing). If Yuu wants a teleport, we'll go on opposite sides of the street if possible.
This message was last edited by the player at 03:55, Thu 26 Sept 2019.

That's a lot of questions.

You've literally just walked down the street from the estate, maybe 15~20mins. They're not attacking you, so it probably has nothing to do with you. There's just an event going on near you.

Ok, can I get an initiative check and a basic description of what your character is doing for each of you?

Rolled initiative (15 without potential modifiers).

Zelpuz plans to teleport to a good spot, ideally on a rooftop with some cover, to oversee the scene. And be ready (i.e. get his rifle ready) to potentially act, depending on what else is happening down there. And look around the rooftops for potential cover of the attackers on the street.

Can we make out what happened to the cart? How was it stopped, what's this Nether-like smoke?

Since you'll be on a roof there not really any cover beside the extreme angle of being up that high.

The cart is essentially ensnared in a magic net.

Can Zelpuz see who or what is maintaining the net? And are the people in the cart trapped or just stunned and intimidated by the guns?

Vanyra got a 25 on initiative.  She is heading towards the 3 approaching the carriage, intending to sneak attack.

To Jan: Zelpuz has no idea what made the net, but as a sorcerer himself he would know that unless he saw someone casting the spell or using the device there's no way for him to know.

He also cannot see into the carriage so he cannot guess as to what their state is. The carriage is essentially like a car, so it's covered, there are no horses, etc.
This message was last edited by the GM at 16:11, Sun 29 Sept 2019.

To Erik: I need you to make a Stealth check for Vanyra

28 on Stealth for Vanyra.

So they have not yet noticed Zelpuz or Vanyra, and while they may have noticed Yuu he's too far away to be of concern. So you guys kind of have a 'surprise' round, but all the covering guys have been holding actions so they could react after you. But in other regards all of them will be considered flat-footed against Vanyra and Zelpuz.

You guys have initiative:
1) Vanyra
2) Yuu
3) Zelpuz
4) Assailants

So you can act in that order. It's been a while since we've done any combat so a brief refresher on the course of a combat round:
1) Initiative determined - this order applies through the end of combat (not re-rolled each round)
2) Each character goes in order of initiative for the round. Once everyone has gone the round is done and a new one starts.
3) Action Phase - You get one move and one standard action, or two move actions in your turn. Some special actions may require a full action, which means you don't get a move action, like Aiming.
4) Your action phase is fully resolved before moving onto the next character, unless someone was holding an action and interrupts it or has a reaction move, in which case they also go.

Vanyra is first going to blunt weapon attack the one who is going for the door that appears to be the ringleader - hoping to incapacitate him.

If that requires a move and attack, then that is all she is doing.  (Attack 18, damage 7).

If that only requires an attack, then she will use a full-round action to do an iterative attack (Masterminds Manual) on the guy - doing a trip attack first and then hitting him to knock him out when he is on the ground (at -5).

In this case, the trip attack is a result of 22 (improved trip included) and the follow-up has a result of 5...


Now I'm hoping she still had to move in and that him being flat-footed is enough to get knocked hard.

No, it's definitely a move and attack. She'll only have the one attack.

I was also unaware we were using the Iterative Attack Option in this game. I don't think it's really necessary here given the type of campaign and power levels involved.
This message was last edited by the GM at 23:36, Wed 02 Oct 2019.

Erik I need you to make a straight up D20 roll for the effect of concealment; no modifiers. Just once

Can I get an updated scenario description?

There are two attackers in front of the vehicle, one on each side, how far apart?
There are two behind the vehicle, both on the same side as Vanyra and the knocked out guy both next to the door. How far apart are they?
And which ones have the best shot at Vanyra? I assume the two behind the vehicle?

I'm going to hold my action for now. If I see something actually threaten Vanyra, I'll act on that.

In reply to DJShirow (msg # 206):

Rolled, got an 18.

Do I need to make a new stealth check?  or does that use an action?

Removed the iterative attacks thing.  It was part of the section in the manual that had other things we were using, which is probably why I took it down.
This message was last edited by the player at 12:19, Thu 03 Oct 2019.

Zelpuz also can activate his concealment field and still fire at the people, right? They might see where the shots come from, but not who fires them. Although that may be wasting an action at the moment.

He could, but he already has partial cover from his position on the roof so the concealment filed wouldn't be that much help. It would take an action to activate since it's a spell.

So basically Vanyra has KO'd the one guy, and was fired at by the guy next to him with the nether-caster. He only missed due to the concealment effect of the blending field; if you roll 17+ on a D20 they miss due to chance... so good thing you rolled that 18.

The person who was at the front of the carriage is now coming around to the assist the guy that fired on Vanyra.

Both Zelpuz and Yuu have actions left.

Well, given that Vanyra just started to jump in a hornets nest, I guess he'll fire on someone, whichever looks most dangerous to Vanyra, or ideally, if he can hit two even better, somehow I am missing one guy in the description.

There's only 5 guys in total: one was at the front of the carriage, one covering the driver, two near Vanyra (one of which is KO'd) and the last one on the far side of the carriage, opposite where Vanyra is.

Zelpuz could definitely hit one. Two would require some AOE, which is not advisable given the situation. Probably the guy with the Nether-caster right near Vanyra would be best.

All targets would be within about 100m of where Zelpuz is, so depending on what he's using to attack with there may be a range penalty involved.

OK, given the last time I tried a fire blast, how well can I contain that? 100 yards doesn't seem like a big distance, any special modifiers? Seems the Stun Blast would only incapacitate the guy for at most a few rounds, so that seems not efficient enough. I should invest in some intermediate spell that takes people out for a longer time without killing them.

Yeah, the stun blast would not be the best choice if you're looking to take this guy out quickly. We'll say the guy is 80m away (270ft) from Zelpuz, which means with a pretty powerful blast at rank 10 you'll be at -2 to hit (range is power rank *25ft since he has the Sniper feat). Zelpuz has a total bonus of +7 to attack with his rifle. Plus since this is a legit sniper attack he will be catching his opponent flat-footed, so easier to hit.

One question; does he have his stealth field on or not? The more abilities he has active the more difficult the sorcery check will be. With the full stealth field (sight & hearing) the fire blast will require a Sorcery check vs. a TV of 23, with just a sight stealth field that'd be a 22 instead. Zelpuz has a bonus of +10 to make this check.

He could also elect not  to have the stealth field up and the TV would only be 20, or to lower the power of the blast a bit (rank 8 vs 10) and have the stealth field up for the same TV 20.

Instead of shooting the guy Zelpuz could also try to shoot the nether-caster out of his hands instead. Since he's such a good shot there's not penalty to that.

Just let me know how you want to proceed.

Given that Vanyra ran off so fast that there was barely any time to react, it is unlikely that Zelpuz would have the stealth field on already. He could spend a round to activate it, but at the moment it seems more useful to help Vanyra.

And let's say Zelpuz aims for the hand (disabling the hand, not just flicking off the nether caster so it'll be harder for him to just grab the caster and shoot again).

Now, I know I should remember the combat rules, but I have to look it up every time, I guess I am getting old. and I am running against a few deadlines at work. I tried to find the correct pages quickly, but didn't, if you could point me to the pages to look for the casting/range combat rules and modifiers again, that'd be helpful.

I think to hit the hand, a power of 8 should be sufficient. So I would have to roll a 18 for the spell (D20+10) and an attack roll with a +5 (plus flat-footed bonus)? Did Zelpuz have enough time to spend on preparing and aiming or taking 10?

Sorry, I was travelling up to Calgary for Thanksgiving so I've been MIA. If Zelpuz is aiming for the hand he's attempting a disarm effectively.

The power level of the attack determines the damage of the blast, and the TV of the Sorcery check. Each rank of Sorcery used increases the base TV (10) by 1, so yes it would be a TV of 18 if you only used a power level 8 blast (no stealth field, no dimensional pocket active, etc).

For ranged attack you roll a D20 then add your ranged attack bonus then factor in the modifiers (range, cover, target size etc.). Since Zelpuz is such a good shot (feats) he suffers no penalty for a ranged disarm, negates up to -4  in range penalties and by aiming Zelpuz gets +2 to strike (total +7). The target would be flat-footed, but even if they were aware of Zelpuz he could do a ricochet shot and potentially surprise the target that way.

So roll a D20 or take 10 for the Sorcery check, and then roll a D20 add 5 (+5 attack, +2 aim, -2 range) for the attack roll.

My dimensional pocket is by default on (it's where i keep my rifle).

So let's say I aim for a power of 5, plus pocket, means I should roll a 6. I assume a power of 5 should be sufficient for a hand or arm.

Well, that didn't work so well...

I'm not sure if you needed to roll the Sorcery?  It sounded like Mike said you might be able to do it automatically by taking 10.
This message was last edited by the player at 04:30, Wed 16 Oct 2019.

Ah, well, in that case I would always take 10 and i wouldn't even have to reduce the power level.

Also, do you sometimes have trouble accessing this site? Some days I just can't connect.

I'm still keeping up on the threads btw, just waiting to see how things go before Yuu reacts.

Ouch, that's a pretty bad roll. Zelpuz misses his shot, only just though.

Yeah, two bad rolls, the next ones should be great ... statistically.

It's Yuu's turn now. If he continues to hold we'll roll into the start of the next round.

So Vanyra took down one, someone shot at Vanyra and just missed her shoulder. And Zelpuz took a shot at someone and missed? Are the 2 that were unengaged near-ish eachother?

Depends on what you want to do, this is the scene (a few posts back):

There's only 5 guys in total: one was at the front of the carriage, one covering the driver, two near Vanyra (one of which is KO'd) and the last one on the far side of the carriage, opposite where Vanyra is.

Zelpuz could definitely hit one. Two would require some AOE, which is not advisable given the situation. Probably the guy with the Nether-caster right near Vanyra would be best.

All targets would be within about 100m of where Zelpuz is, so depending on what he's using to attack with there may be a range penalty involved.

So the one that was in front of the carriage ran around to assist the guy that shot at Vanyra, so there are two with fairly close proximity (3m). There's a third guy still covering the driver who is only about 5m away. Lastly there's the guy that ran over to the other side of the carriage that Yuu cannot see, and is presumably still there.

Ok, I'm going to put a force field over the guy holding the gun to the driver.

Good idea, unfortunately that's not how that power works. The force field power is a personal protection ability only, so it is only useable on your person and it only prevents things from getting through from the outside (protective). It does not stop you from attacking through it, so even if you could put a force field around the gunman all you'd end up doing is providing him with some serious protection.

There's a completely different power called "Force Constructs" that allows you to create completely separate geometric sharps of pure force that have a Toughness rating equal to the power rank of it. Currently Yuu does not have this spell.

If you want to have Yuu suddenly develop a new spell you can either a) spend a Hero Point for it or b) commit to using Extra Effort which would result in Yuu being Fatigued starting the next round (-2 Dex and Str, -1 Attack/Defense).

Afterwards if you wanted to keep the spell permanently you'd just have to pay the character point(s) for it.

Hm, alright, darn. I may have to consider that one for later.

I'd like to transform the guy's gun... the metal parts into water.

OK. Yuu will have to make a regular move action to get in normal range, then a Sorcery check. Since the gun is pretty small he'll only need a Rank 3 transform, or 8 ranks of Sorcery, so the TV of the Sorcery check is 18.

Yuu will also have to make a ranged attack roll against the guy to hit the gun. If Yuu doesn't want to make a move he can make an aimed strike with the spell, which will nullify the range penalty (-2), but he'll lose his dodge bonus for defense.

An obvious question, but just for reference... how would they know it's me who cast the spell? I understand Yuu needs to gesticulate a little and mumble off a few choice syllables, but with a spell going off, I wouldn't be gesticulating like an idiot still.

I don't think he meant you would automatically be under attack - just that the act of aiming removes the dodge part of the defensive bonus.

Yeah, I was thinking to  nullify range penalty, and lose any dodge bonus... I might now become an easier target. But if I'm mixed in with all the other pedestrians, if they can't easily determine the source of the spell, than my dodge bonus isn't that important anyways.
This message was last edited by the player at 17:09, Sat 02 Nov 2019.

Sorry, I was in Portland over the weekend. Erik has the right of it, the act of aiming involves concentration, just like some sustained abilities/spells, and concentration means you lose the general combat awareness in the game that's captured by your "Dodge Defense Bonus".

If no one attacks you then it doesn't really matter. The same applied to Zelpuz for his aimed shot, he lost his dodged bonus but it was a calculated risk given his distance, firing position and the fact that all assailants were looking the other way.

For example, if Yuu does cast the spell, hits the target and transforms the gun into water, then the assailants know that some magic is being used and may look around for the mage. Given the distance and the crowd it would be fair to think they would not notice Yuu on the other side of the intersection. Unless they have a sniper of their own somewhere that's watching this all go down, but then Yuu wouldn't get his dodge bonus anyways since it's a surprise attack.

Long story short, I was just explaining that any time you aim you lose your dodge bonus, but in most cases that's probably a decent gamble.

So does his gun melt? Anything else happening or can I shoot again?

Still resolving Yuu's action

Sorry gents, I'd originally planned on the force field, so hadn't thought much of it, otherwise I'd have asked Mike what I've been busy messaging him sooner.

OK, next up the other guys, right?

I believe Vanyra is the start of the next initiative.

She is going to use a move action to leap over the carriage to the other side and attack the guy over there.  Hopefully this move will allow her to be hidden to enemies without a new perception check (concealment is still on) and gives her the element of surprise.

Does she need to make a Notice roll or Acrobatics roll?  Stealth?  She might be able to take 10 with some.

Attack roll?

Vanyra's vertical is 5 feet, which would not be sufficient to clear the carriage, which is essentially as tall as a large SUV (Tahoe, Escalade, etc). I'd say she could make a move and acrobatics check to do a handspring vault over the carriage and land on the other side, but she would not be able to attack. She may have avoid detection and achieve the element of surprise by doing so though.

She would also need to make a notice check to figure out where this other person is since she cannot see or hear them from where she is now.

Acrobatics check: 23 (rolled an 11 and a 2)
Notice check: 24 (taking 10)

So she'll do a charge attack (+2 attack -2 defense for her) in that she's heading over the carriage and will attempt to attack the guy on the other side this round.

This should let her concealment hide her again and hopefully give her surprise against the guy on the other side (removes his dodge and gives an additional -2 defense penalty to the guy).

Assuming the attack goes through as a charge, she rolled a 20 result (+7 damage if surprise, +5 if not).  This doesn't include any extra modifiers you may apply to attack or defense.

Can you provide me a Stealth check as well to see if the target can detect Vanyra's movement; it's a free action vs. the target's Notice.

Also just for the sake of combat organization, each combat round will proceed as follows:

1) Vanyra
2) Assailants
3) Zelpuz
4) Yuu

22 Stealth

Cool. What is Vanyra attacking with? HtH or with her weapon? I'm assuming just HtH in this case.

Also, the 3 assailants are in total cover versus Zelpuz and holding their actions.

It is now Zelpuz's turn. He cannot directly see any of the 3 attackers, but he knows where they are and also knows one of them took the driver hostage.

Zelpuz may be able to pull off a ricochet shot since he has the Bank Shot feat by firing under the carriage and striking one of them from below. It won't be an easy shot, but it would definitely be unexpected.

I was thinking bludgeoning with the weapon.  The weapon is +2 of the +7 damage.

Any chance I can make it explosive with a small radius to potentially hit more than one?

You don't have any explosive attacks with your rifle; something you could purchase later. You could use your kinetic burst power and fire a burst of blasts that ricochet up to hit multiple targets though. This would be a full action though, so you would not be able to aim it.

I also noticed none of your attack powers were dynamic, meaning they would not be usable with your other powers like teleport and stealth field. You had 2 cp left so I made your fire blast and kinetic burst powers dynamic, so you can use them while your stealth field and such is up.

Also remember that your magic rifle gives you an additional 10 ranks of sorcery, though if you used them all at once it would be a very difficult sorcery check (TV 30). It also gives you +2 on all attack/to hit rolls, so Zelpuz would normally have a +7.

IF you want to due a burst ricochet you could possibly hit all 3. You roll attack against each target, you're at -2 to hit each one due to the spacing. But your rifle gives you a +2 bonus and your kinetic burst is an accurate power so that provides another +2.

Target TV =10+2(1/2 cover)+2(target def)+2(walking fire)-2(rifle)-2(power)
Target 1 TV = 12 (you need to roll 7 or higher)
Target 2 TV = 12
Target 3 TV = 12

If you miss any one you can still hit the others, so just give me 3 straight rolls.

Sounds good. According to the rolls, I missed the last ricochet, like in pool, the last bounce is the hardest. None of them awesome rolls that make the shot go into history though.

The character sheet you sent me a while back had a few check marks (that means those are dynamic, right?), but not on these spells, I should put that on my list for next round.

I also noticed I looked at the wrong sheet for a long time, I got some of the features I wanted to add already! Should use my abilities more.
This message was last edited by the player at 01:39, Tue 19 Nov 2019.

I'll email you an updated copy of the character sheet. The abilities with up/down arrows are the ones that are dynamic.

It's Yuu's turn. He's got a fairly open line of site to the guy that's making a run for it.

What happened to the guy holding the driver hostage with a sword?

He got taken out by Zelpuz's blast, he was the first guy of the 3.

I'll try to telekinesis him into the air.

Ok, give me a ranged attack roll to hit first (this shouldn't be too difficult since he is not aware of you it seems), and then a grapple check in case you hit. You can take 10 on these rolls if you want since this is a minion-class character.

If you hit then you're essentially grappling the target with telekinesis, though you cannot damage him. So he can try to escape your grapple in an opposed roll each round: Attack Bonus + Str Bonus. For you the Strength Bonus is equal to your telekinesis rank, so +8.

If you win you can pin the target so they can't move, or you can throw them somewhere. Pinning them makes it harder for them to get out; they essentially need to beat you in two rolls over two rounds instead of one.

I did the rolls earlier, not the best rolls, but still over 10.

I'll roll for the attack and str, and try a pin. I was thinking of simply holding them in the air... not sure if that's considered a pin.

Ok, you've got him. You're essentially 'pinning' him in the air. Pinning just means you've focused on locking down the target from movement or escape, which makes it more difficult to get out. You don't have to pin them against the ground.

So all targets are down or restrained; what do you want to do next?
This message was last edited by the GM at 21:58, Mon 25 Nov 2019.

Vanyra is using ESP to be inside the wagon and make a Notice check to determine what's going on in there.  She has to roll concentration and...she failed her concentration check, so she cannot turn on ESP.

So, she makes a mundane Notice check by taking 10 for a result of 24.

--------------

3000th post :)
This message was last edited by the player at 02:03, Wed 27 Nov 2019.

I wasn't going to ask for a notice check if Vanyra was just going to look in the window, but I will ask for an INT check.

Int check of 14, sure there's no applicable skill?

Did she hear anything from them?

Yeah, I'm positive, otherwise I would have asked for it. And hearing doesn't have really anything to do with the roll I asked for.

She would hear talking inside, the type of conversation you'd expect from regular people who just got ambushed by terrorists/thieves/bandits.
This message was last edited by the GM at 22:37, Thu 28 Nov 2019.

What are the people and vehicles that were on the street doing?

Zelpuz activates his stealth field while scanning the area from his position.

Sorry I was MIA there, I was upgrading my desktop and ran into some issues with a faulty motherboard, and then I had some guests down for the Thanksgiving weekend.

At any rate people have mostly vacated the streets or hunkered down behind cover. What few vehicles that could fled once the shooting started, and others are just stopped in place.

You've got a suspicion that authorities will likely show up shortly.

That whole combat and this dialogue will have only taken a minute or two, so you still have a fair amount of time to site see if you like.

Also let me know how you're vacating the area.

How much time before we have to board again? And how long to get back?

Well it took you about 5~10minutes to get from the ship to the manner, and you spent a bit of time there and walking back before the ambush, so I'd say you have about 3.5 hours left. It could take you up to 30~40mins to walk back to the ship, depending on where you are at the time.

OK, so we could spend a little bit of time trying to figure out what's going on. But might as well look at some sightseeing sights and head back leisurely.

Up to you, but it is a pretty safe bet that you're going to dragged in for questioning if you stick around this scene.

Well, we made our moves, Zelpuz is waiting for Vanyra's next actions.

The guy the Yuu telekinesis'd... how does it work, when I walk away? Does the power break, and he get released? Or can I maintain it until I decide to release?

Yeah, that spell is sustained duration, so as long as you spend a free action to maintain it the spell keeps going. But if you move out of range then the spell drops.

To have things continue once you're out of range requires some modification to the spells/powers typically.
This message was last edited by the GM at 00:20, Sat 14 Dec 2019.

So just wondering if there was anything else you guys wanted to do, otherwise we'll move this along?

I think we want to just get going again, back to the original task and trying to avoid delay. After all, we have another mission waiting.
So check out this statue, this tower, a few bits of the local cuisine, and back to the spaceport.

Yes, everything is fine the way it went.  Happy to turn in whatever we need to and get going.

Hey, I've been running all over for the holidays. So you're wanting to turn in the receipt of delivery to the local Freelancer office and collect your pay, and then check out a couple of stops. If that sounds good I'll type it up in IC and we'll get moving along.

Sounds good.
Get well into the New Year everybody.

That's a lot of money, wow.  Buying permanent items still has to be paid with character points, right?

Yeah, let's bring it to the first bank we see. I feel we might loose it quickly otherwise ... something seems too good to be true.

Yes, buying permanent items needs to be paid for with points. But you can buy useful gear with money, but if you use it up or it gets broken or damaged then it's gone. With a point-bought piece of equipment it would be much more difficult to nullify it in the game.

Can we upgrade our seats?

Other than that, what kind of shops are there in town? Any special technologically advanced items that would be more difficult to get elsewhere? And maybe we can upgrade our walkie talkies? They seem to be an essential piece for us to communicate in tricky situations. Any other survival kits, special breathable teflon (or better) armor to wear under our clothes? Maybe some night vision goggles.

And does anyone here sell the kind of wine we were looking for?

Yes, you can upgrade your seats.

No, this place wouldn't have any crazy tech that wouldn't be available elsewhere. You're on your way to such a place in Daedalum, which has a very high tech level.

Getting better communicators is possible. Basically every Mark is worth about 1 equipment point, but it scales up fast with more expensive items. So a piece of equipment worth 10ep is 10 Marks, but 15ep would be 25Marks, and 25ep would be 125Marks.

You got 150Marks total, so that's only 50 Marks each.

Sounds good, so we'll keep the $$ for the next town, maybe they'll have something nice worth 10-20 ep...

So you guys are in Daedalum now. This is where your contract holder is. You technically know where to find the contract holder and could go there directly if you can get directions, alternatively you can check in with the local Freelancer office and get information from them.

Daedalum is quite different from Ossylia or the other cities you've been to, it is almost exclusively tech based. It'd be like going to Tokyo, with all the lights, tech, trains, etc. and as such could be quite a shock to those unaccustomed to it. It's not any more crowded than the other cities you've visited, in fact it's quite spacious in comparison, though it feels much busier.

So let me know what you guys want to do in the morning. You've got some time before the expedition was to head out, so you can spend time time checking out the city first, or go straight to the contract holder and check in.

I'd say we take a look at the tech here and try to find useful gadgets for the job, for staying in touch (walkie talkie like), maybe some nice tagging/following devices, bugs to listen in on people, etc. Where's the next spy shop?

Vanyra would be interested in checking out the Freelancer Guild office as stated.

Funny thing about spy shops is they don't advertise. You have no idea where to find surveillance equipment in a city like this.

What? They don't advertise?
Well, a typical toy shop or outdoor sports shop should feature a couple of items of interest. And maybe the Freelancers would know be willing to give us a hint.
I'd also like to drop by the Order's building, just to check in, and maybe they have some information on the town, the area, the spy shops...
And maybe a Streetwise roll might help? I rolled a 23.

I think it makes sense to check in with the Freelancers first, confirm timings and itinerary, then go shopping for bits and bobs. They can give guidance on what and where. Same if we visit the Order after the Freelancers.

So you you know where to go for the mission check-in. You also have the names of some shops for tech devices. If you're looking for weapons and armor the Freelancers have a selection you can peruse, unless you're looking for something really odd.

Zelpuz can go to the Order office whenever he likes.

So just as a brief recap, we are here because the Order Master (or was who was it?) was getting strange bottles of wine from a winery here somewhere, right? And then we accepted this mission to have a mission and get paid. And our 'side' mission starts tomorrow morning (with the primary being to figure out what was happening with the wine).

Did I miss something or remember things wrong?

Oh yeah, I'd totally forgotten the wine bottle thing. Exactly why we'd signed up for this...

Well the wine did not come from here. The wine is Lu'Zan, a large nation to the southwest of Ossylia. It was from a small, distinguished winery there. It appeared and tasted like a regular wine, a nice one but that is it. You did find some very odd bacertial/cellular structures, at the microscopic scale, with the help of Yuu's friend Marcus. Unfortunately, the limitations of the technology in Ossylia prevented further investigation into the wine, which lead you to Daedalum. Daedalum has the most powerful research technology on the planet so you were hoping to find someone to assist in checking out those cellular structures in the wine. The mission was just a way to get someone to partially pay for it and to curry favor with those in a position to grant access to the devices needed to examine the wine more thoroughly.

The actual mission you're on will take you far from Daedalum though.

Reading back - the only place we could get two comparative samples of the wine analyzed properly was in Deadulum.  We (Yuu) needed their advanced technology to analyze the molecules or cells in it.

We also wanted to get out and about and the job seemed good, with a longer time frame and profit/technology sharing from the rewards.

To quote Mike:
"You've got most of the information about that wine that you can uncover in Ossylia done. There's a chance someone in Daedalum, with the correct equipment, could tell you guys more about the odd molecules or cells floating about in it, but you'd need to a) find such a device or someone with access to it, and b) gather enough influence to actually get it done.

Yuu has considered a plan to that end that should strike off many of his family-related check boxes. First will be to check-in with the local Freelancers about jobs coming out of Daedalum, particularly ones involving the research institutes or academies there. This would give them direct access to some well funded researchers, provide money, and satisfy his mother's desire for him to put his learning to some practical use.

Secondly, if they can find such a job, then he could escort Qwe to Daedalum and provide a measure of assurance for her safety and getting her properly setup in the foreign city state.

Lastly, once in Daedalum they may discover any number of other investigation avenues that could shed light on the wine."

Ah, right, Qwe was with us the whole time, I sat next to her on the flight...

OK, so I'll check in at the Order, asking if they know any good scientists to analyze molecular or cell samples. We can ask the same of the Freelancers, and then we head out to do our mission.

Right after we setup Qwe.

Thanks for checking. I know it's all somewhere in our pages of game, but often get distracted before I can find what I am looking for.

Qwe was never with you guys. The quote was just me summarizing the situation at the time, you guys proceeded on your own once you put in for the contract.

The Order does not keep up with current trends in science in Daedalum; their interests reside in other areas, so they cannot help you there.

If you as the Freelancer's they'll simply tell you to go to the Daedalum University or one of the technical institutes in the city state.

If you have a particular item of information you want to uncover you'll need to make Gather Information checks, unless it's part of the underworld, then Streetwise.

Should we check in with the people leading the expedition?  The Freelancer Chapter pretty much said we should.

I'll clarify my previous statement, the Freelancer's said go the university if you want to learn about molecular biology or whatever you were asking about. They're essential a private military company, so they do have a much expertise in scientific research.

It just so happens you did take a contract for a university funded expedition with the dual purpose of a) getting contacts at a place that could help you and b) making some money while doing it. So going to the university makes sense, you can meet your employers and also ask about where and how to get the wine analyzed.

Sounds great. If they need time to analyze, we can get the sample analyzed while we have fun on the expedition and when we get back we get the results. But now it was late, right? So we should go there early in the morning so we still have some time.

Morning now, Mike already has us get a night's sleep.

For Zelpuz is there anything in particular he'd like to know about Daedalum?

For Yuu and Vanyra they can go to either contact, but they are on different floors so unless you want to split up pick the one you want to go to first. Also let me know if there's anything in particular you want to know from either of the professors about the expedition.

Not really, he'll ask about how people react to using Nether-manipulation and if there are any restrictions on it. Other than that, he'll inquire about general affairs of the Order and if he heard any news from any of the other Chapters. Then he'll start heading back and looking for the others.

OK. I'll just update the response to answer these questions.

IS there a particular contract contact you're going to see or just try to find the one that's closest?

One that is closest.

If you had any questions pertaining to what was said you can ask, otherwise the doctor will continue with this abridged explanation.

She'll probably mention these things in the briefing, but nice having this overview before hand.

Not sure if there was a misreading somewhere in her description of the mission, or if I'm misunderstanding Yuu's question, but seems a bit odd that Yuu would be asking about the state of a place that no one has been to yet. She cannot answer what state the place is in because she's never been there, nor has anyone else that she knows of. I reckon he'd infer that it's derelict, but the level of preservation would greatly depend on a LOT of factors over the centuries.

For clarification when she stated that no one has been there for some time, that 'some' was in an archaeological time frame, so hundreds of years. So you'd be the first people there in a long time... in theory.

Ah ok, I think it was clear in what you had her say, but I think my brain picture went somewhere else with it.

I guess context of other structures that have been found dating to the same time frame, and their states, would be what Yuu was going for. Because he would have little idea of even what to expect.... piles of earth, or stone pyramids of ancient humans, for example.

Let me reword the question to make more sense.

In the meantime, Zelpuz just meanders around the city and looks for things that could be useful or interesting.

Hey guys, I'm heading off to Japan tomorrow for a week. I don't think it'll impact my response time too much, but just wanted to let you know.

So there's a few options for the analysis:
1) Core Campus - Chemistry Faculty: while it seems the more direct it is also the most difficult for you guys to access

2) East Campus - Medicine & Biology: Dr Ulaar and/or Dr. Vaanhaak could possibly provide some references there you could get appointments with. Depending on how that goes you may be able to get the sample analyzed there. Yuu's experience with academia would let him know this may be a quite the process.

3) University Test Lab: Use the external-facing lab company at one of the campuses and pay to get the sample analyzed. This is probably the fastest, but also the most expensive method.

Depends on what you mean by fastest. Shortest time for us to wait around for paperwork before we can hand in the samples? Then I would go for 3, assuming it's less than we will get paid here. If it's just the wait time after we hand in the samples, any option since we probably will be out for a while anyways and only need the results when we get back.
But I am not there, so no input from me :)

Correct in relation to 'fastest.' It also means the fastest potential results after analysis, depending on how much you pay. The other methods would require you getting in touch with the right people and then getting the opportunity to get the samples tested at some point, which may have low priority versus other projects.

Anything in particular you want to ask Dr. Vaanhaak, or just a meet and greet?

Just meet and greet, then off to the lab

I am going to assume Zelpuz, being done with his business and having some time, has already headed into the city to be near our planned meeting location at the Central Campus.  This should hopefully put him in the 8k range.

Well if he wasn't in range before he is now.

Were you planning on going over to the East Campus now or another day? Doesn't really matter in game, just want to know for narrative purposes.

May as well go over now, since we're in the area.

Ok, you guys going to finish the in-game conversation first, or do you want me to just interject with some narrative?

Depending on how long it takes to get out and to go to the other campus, we can jump ahead and Zelpuz either joins them or waits in the city.

Erik started the response, so was just going to let him finish. I can intercede though if he's a bit afk atm

Might as well. Just add a note where you're going and then you guys can all meet up there and we can move things along.

I think the wine lab is next?

So when do you guys want the results by? The shorter the time frame the more costly it is going to be.

Secondly, what type of report did you want? Do you want just pure data and images or some level of interpretation? The pure data is the cheaper option, though you may not know what you're looking at.

Sounds good. Full report with interpretation, full bells and whistles.

Can you remind us on the timeline? When are we supposed to leave? I thought it was the next day, but now seems to be a few days from now?

It's a few days until the briefing and then some time after that, which you'll find out after the briefing. Given the mission distance and objective you'll be gone several weeks.

10 days may be after we leave, right? And unless we expect highly time sensitive information from this, which would make us abandon our mission here to return back, we may as well wait for after the mission, which will take a while. We can ask for normal speed and potentially ask for speedier results after the briefing if we are told the mission will only be 5 days or so.
This message was last edited by the player at 23:52, Thu 12 Mar 2020.

It would be tight for sure, but we'll say you'd get it in time for the departure. The bigger factor is you've signed up for a contract with the Freelancers... you can't just bail on that, unless you're dead or something. So in any case you're going on the mission contract.

The professor said we'd be departing in 12 days time. So... 10 days would fall within that.

Obviously it also depends on their services. If 5 days is their longest wait time... then I'd ask for that. But up to the 10 days was fine.
This message was last edited by the player at 11:17, Sun 15 Mar 2020.

Sounds good, what's the price difference between 10 days and 5 weeks? I assume we have to come back here anyways, right? But since we just got a lot of money, we can spend some, too.

What is the difference between finding out two days before our expedition and finding out the day we get back?

It's already in IC. Basically it'll cost you 125 Marks to get it done before you leave, versus 20 Marks to have it ready when you get back. That mission you did paid you a total of 150 Marks, so almost all of it would be eaten up to have it ready before you leave.

Not that I had big plans for that money, but 100 Marks difference seems a lot. Let's ask for the results when we come back.

It is a lot. Ten days is not a lot of time to do a full analysis; they'd have to bump other jobs and commission extra help and overtime to get it done so you pay the premium.

I meant that I was questioning the point of doing it really fast.  I don't see the point of finding out two days before our expedition or the day after we get back.  In the scheme of things, it can't make much difference.

That's why I asked what the difference was.  It was a question to my teammates.

One of the things on the form would be a address or means to contact you once the analysis is done; a hotel or something would suffice or an apartment if you're interested in renting on while you in Daedalum. Just let me know which way you want to go.

After this is there anything you guys want to do while in Daedalum prior to the mission briefing?

Not really, other than checking out anything special the city has to offer, tech, sight seeing, etc.

Sight seeing and exploring!

OK. So if you can wait a few hours you can drop off the wine sample today at the lab. Then you're free to hang out and explore for a few days before the briefing. After the briefing you'll likely have a better idea if there are any supplies you think you'll need.

As for a contact address for the lab test, you could also use the Freelancer guild; they will hold messages and mail for you while you're on a missionn.

Freelancers sounds good for the response, the Order would probably work, too. But let's go with the Freelancers.

That includes Lara.

Sounds good, unless something else comes up, they'll just go get some equipment for various temperature zones, some extra ropes, and the usual camping/McGyver tools, first aid kits etc. Maybe some hunting gear, torches and flash lights etc etc.
And then hit the library looking for information on that general area that we'll travel to.

Yuu will take his cue from Zelpuz' list of supplies... being he doesn't have much personal experience running off for extended expeditions. He'll also want to research the data that the explorers are using that led them to believe the location of this facility is where it is, and it's value; maybe learn a bit of the local language.

Give me some Gather Information checks for researching what the local area is like; flora, fauna, climate, etc. Then also give me some Survival checks; that will be for your characters to determine what best they need for the given area. You guys can do a group check on this if you want; just let me know if you are or not... it is generally beneficial if you do (and can) as this will make it go faster and/or uncover more info.

Pretty much all languages are derivatives of the same one the pre-dates even the Zhen Halan Empire. The difference was that Zhen Halan made an official dialect that everyone had to learn which skewed the centralized the various planetary and regional versions. Now it's crept away from that unified version a bit, but regionally you may experience a difference akin to Italian vs. Spanish or Portuguese within the same system. If you cross to different worlds it may be as different as French and Portuguese for example. So it would be pretty easy to pick up on the local tongue once you're there, but unfortunately where you're going is essentially in the middle of nowhere so no one is going to be teaching their local dialect or even documenting it beyond a passing note somewhere.

As for researching the facility it will be quite difficult since your employers are not sharing the source documents they used to organize their mission. The best Yuu could do would be to investigate the area as far back as possible and see what he turns up.

I think group checks make sense since we are more or less collecting things together. Do we pick the best skills and get a little bonus for group-sourcing? My survival is +7, Gather information +1.

I see gather information as a Cha skill, but the way we're using it isn't communicating with people... but researching with books and documents. Would it make sense to use Int or Wis for bonus?
This message was last edited by the player at 11:37, Sun 29 Mar 2020.

For Gather Info use it as an INT skill. Not sure why they felt the need to only limit it to questioning people versus doing research. The Investigation skill is notably different since that is actual detective work type stuff.

For both checks use INT for these (Gather Info and Surv). For the group check you all make your own individual rolls and then I tally up the degree of success from everyone, so just go ahead and put your rolls here.

For Gather Info the TV will be 15. For Survival the TV will be depend on how well you do on the Gather Info check, base is 15, but that will lower if you sufficiently succeed in your research efforts.

Well, a rather good roll on Survival, but I probably also found out that there are elves that live on trees and guard the area.
This message was last edited by the player at 05:02, Tue 31 Mar 2020.

Rolls made. Strange I didn't have gather info skill.... guess I need more time in the university library.

GI: 14
Surv: 15
This message was last edited by the player at 10:34, Tue 31 Mar 2020.

Well the official description of Gather Info is a social skill so back then it may have not made any sense to take it. I'm co-opting it as a Research skill instead.

Just wait for Erik to make checks and then proceed.

BTW, I added 10 for spending lots of time on it, well, as much as we have. Subtract 10 from my rolls if we can't add 10.

Yeah, you can't add 10 to these rolls for taking extra time. It takes a lot of time just to do this.

Basically with those results you guys are getting the Coles' notes on the area geography at best.

If there's something specific you wanted to pick up before departure let me know. With the reward from that last mission you can easily pay for the basics I described in IC; that would come to a total of 7 Marks.

The warm weather clothing will provide a +5vs cold environment saves and +5 to Stealth checks (visual); we'll assume it's a suitable camo pattern

The climbing gear will provide a +5 to all Climbing checks

The general electronics kit will act as a set of Masterwork Tools, providing +2 to craft with them if you're making some sort of electronic-nether device.
This message was last edited by the GM at 21:44, Thu 02 Apr 2020.

Sounds good, the usual foldable shovel and utility knife etc. Did they say they provide tents or so? Otherwise we'll get some of those.

They've planned for the sleeping accommodations and the food, so you don't need that.

So I'm thinking this may be a good place to start a new chapter in the game, one dedicated to this mission.

Any questions about what is happening that we need to tie-up before proceeding?

Sorry, life's been insane.  Working like 50 hours a week at my normal job, which is in the middle of the insanity, and then my tutoring has become more teaching and moved online because of school being out and me not going to their house because of isolation rules.  And when I don't have those, I have my kids to let their mom work.  So.... insane, yeah.  One tired Erik.

Gather Information: 14
Survival: 18

Definitely looking to understand the flora and fauna and natural hazards/weather in advance.  As well, finding out information about non-natural dangers would be bonus.

Vanyra would be looking to make sure we have enough survival tools, including heat, cooking implements, cutting implements (saws, knives), various ropes/cords/lines for securing various things on site and other tasks (also good for setting up extra secutiry), lights, medical stuff (which she doesn't know much about), appropriate clothing, and things like that.

I'm assuming they have various implements for digging and opening stuff (like crowbars) as it is an expedition.
This message was last edited by the player at 02:57, Sun 05 Apr 2020.

The amount of info gleaned about the area will stand at what is in IC; you guys didn't have much success navigating the libraries of Daedalum.

Vanyra can get a copy of the expedition equipment manifest from the leads; there will be a ton of stuff on there she has no idea about, but the general types and quantities for basic supplies seem correct in her estimation for the size and duration of the mission. Each member is supplying their own clothing, so that's on you guys and it's pretty much already been covered in IC.

Each person will essentially be equipped wit a survival kit from the expedition's supplies (no cost to you), which has very basic tools and gives +5 to survival checks. This will be in addition to the general expedition camp supplies.