I'm thinking Corros would have several priorities:

1) he still needs to do a ton of research on The Sleeper. Hopefully their new game would facilitate access to the local centers of knowledge.

2) with his concerns about the city falling apart, I think he would actually get involved in the politics of rebuilding, as a negotiator if nothing else, what with a Cha of 20 and the ability to speak mind to mind and all

3) seeing how well spells pair with dirty time with Jenna.  Pervert.

Pretty much all I have for Jenna is pray and spend quality private time with Corros. Which will likely lead to more praying. She'd also want to help Corros with whatever research he wants to carry out (really - that's not a euphemism for anything).

When it comes to City politics I don't think her opinion has changed significantly, i.e. it will remain low - if I understand correctly Balefyre first got itself on to the Bloodforged's radar because the City entered into a contract with them, so in effect they brought this on themselves. That opinion may be influenced (positively or more negatively) by what exactly happens over the three months in question (i.e. whether the new Council proves to be more corrupt / less corrupt / more or less as corrupt as the last one. Actions will speak far, far louder than words in this regard).

Nic already has a few informants and potential ones:

Active Informants
Lenore
Shim
Sanja (operations of Toesplitter's crime syndicate)

Potential Informants
Vim Vander (insights into his father's business and politics)

Anyone else he'd wish to cultivate? If not individuals, organizations?
This message was last edited by the GM at 16:10, Mon 28 Nov 2016.

1) That's going to be difficult since the Bloodforged burned Fire Hall. It was also the city's archive and library. He can certainly check it out and see if anything useful was spared. Anywhere else he'd like to check out?

2) There's not too much physical rebuilding to be done. The latest round of elections went pretty smoothly. Probably the biggest issues at present are how to handle accused collaborators- especially with an overstretched police force- and the depressed economy (although it's getting better fast). Anything else he'd like to get into?

3) None of my business.

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Brother Jaro has a gift for Jenna. IIRC, no one's asked him about the Sleeper yet.

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Lenore

Nic's seeing Lenore as more of an assistant and case officer than a simple informant.  She and her late husband were already Throne's Reach assets, so that knowledge and expertise is more valuable if she's out there making contacts or doing logistical support.  Also, delegating important stuff to her will presumably make her feel valued, thereby increasing her loyalty.  He'll probably put her to work cultivating people like Bojidar the White Alchemist - tradesfolk with useful skill sets and questionable relations with legality.

Shim

He'll cultivate Shim and the Drowned Rats as an intel source for citywide street-level goings-on.  They're an early warning network for patterns of bad shit happening.  My impression is that they're basically a youth gang.  They probably already have a loose network of their own among the city's orphans and forgotten children, and he'll encourage them to develop that further.  Kids are ubiquitous and they see everything while not being noticed (or being strenuously ignored).

Sanja

Sanja and her Waterbearers will remain his tripwire for things happening in the neighborhood of Bálint House, as well as local security for minor problems.  Basically, as long as they're the local criminal force on the streets, he's dealing with a known quantity.  And he'll be working on gradually steering them toward more professional-grade criminality to increase their skill sets and revenue while keeping them out of trouble that would attract a Fire Watch crackdown.  But not exerting any overt influence that might make Toesplitter strenuously question their loyalty.

Vim

Vim will get a different sort of treatment.  Nic's higher-class social life over the winter is going to focus on the city's taverns.  He is a decent enough storyteller and singer (Performance proficiency), thanks to his former association with the Ardani bards who were in or affiliated with the Throne's Reach.  So he's going to cultivate relationships among the city's entertainers and their patrons.  He's clearly nothing more than a skilled amateur with a (genuine, not feigned) appreciation for the arts, so it's not like he's a competitor for patronage to piss off the real performers.  But he can move within those circles.  Once Nic is established in that scene, he will invite Vim to join him at some of the select private performances and after-parties.  This will raise Vim's cred with his peers, which, in turn, will give Nic and the rest of the PCs some social access to those peers.

Tradesmen

He'll be looking for ways to get better-connected to the other Fire Council members and constituencies.  The Fishermen's Guild is one big area where the Five haven't done a lot of work and he'd like to get a better handle on them before it becomes an urgent need.  That will tie into a search for reliable intel sources on the docks (longshoremen, etc.) so he can be one of the first people to know whenever a new ship arrives carrying something or someone of interest.

Politicians

He'll extend tentative diplomatic feelers to Veloura Dame and Corlis Bragge, making it clear that the Five are sympathetic to their current straits and didn't intend for any ill fortune to befall either of them.  If they develop into potential sources or patrons, he'll explore that, though he's going to strenuously avoid anything that looks like a nascent coup attempt.  He's not going to involve the Five in Balefyre's internal fuckery if he can avoid it.

Friends

As far as the other PCs' projects go, he'll assist where he has time and aptitude.  He's not a great researcher but he'll be happy to kick ideas back and forth with Corros, especially if the Vim relationship winds up leading to access to anyone's private library (or any lore from the local bards).  He'll definitely help Gronk with training up the Fire Watch - his fighting style isn't really theirs, but that just means he's a good sparring opponent when they need some practice outside their own lane.  Also, he and Gronk fight well enough together at this point that they can definitely drill the Watch in team tactics.

If Ulfgar is still in town (Spartan, are you monitoring?), he'll make a point to keep in contact with that creepy yet endearing skin-dancer.

Does that give you enough, Rae?  :)
This message was last edited by the player at 02:33, Tue 29 Nov 2016.

@All - do we want to invest in Ol' Klem's caravanserai?

@Rae - did we manage to claim any coin and/or loot in the course of the Bloodforged withdrawal and the winter, or are we basically breaking even after we handle our living expenses for the cold dark months?

Sorry, I guess I didn't make that as clear as I could have - when I said she will pray I meant she'd be praying at the Temple, so she should have multiple opportunities to speak to Brother Jaro.

I'm not sure whether it would occur to her to ask Jaro about the Sleeper unprompted. If she is helping Corros with his research maybe it can be introduced that way, either by Corros prompting her to ask Jaro or Corros bumping into Jaro himself when he's come to meet Jenna at the Temple.

---

I don't really have a strong opinion on this one way or the other. Jenna isn't particularly materialistic so the idea of investing purely to try and make a financial profit isn't something that would really cross her mind. When it comes to cash flow her only extravagance would be buying clothes - other than that her only outgoings are likely to be her basic needs (food, shelter, etc), and donations to the Temple.

So to answer the specific question, maybe if it was done so that her share of any profits went to the Temple or other worthy charities then yes. \if it was done purely to make some extra coin I think her response would likely be "you do what you want boys but it's not really my thing"

Corros will probably hit up as many of the temples in the city as he can, looking for info on the Sleeper.  He'll pick through what's left of the Fire Hall as well, you never know what you might find...

As to Klem's venture, I think he'd be kind of excited to invest.  Given his drive to no longer be a street rat, it's also possible he'd start looking hard at the other ways the city makes money and how to strengthen those options.  Like Jenna, he's not real keen on seeing corruption come to the fore of the new/old government and digging up more platinum is not really a long term strategy for survival.

Nic has his own eventual capital-intensive charitable project in mind, so he might actually be the one to point out to Jenna that she could funnel her share of the proceeds into the Temple.

He's not going to be altruistic just yet, though.  As he's previously expressed, money is a tool for accomplishing other goals, and he needs the immediate revenue stream to support his higher-priority agendas.

OK, have leveled up (including the one I missed earlier). I chose Banishment and Stone Shape as Level 4 spells. If anyone thinks there are better options just say.


Is the gift the lessening of her sense of guilt?

In reply to Jenna Drax (msg # 233):

Nope. I want to give the party a magical item that can benefit all but I need to square it with Armism and make sure it doesn't munchkinize Jenna (her AC is already super high). So... I'm still trying to figure out what it's going to be.

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If anyone needs ideas for a backup character...

http://whothefuckismydndcharacter.com/

Nice. I wonder how many times you'd have to refresh the page until every option was exhausted.

Turn is up. Sorry it took me so long. If Andy's ready to play, I'll write his PC into the post. Otherwise, y'all can meet on the road (assuming you run with my adventure thread).

Speaking of 'the road', did y'all decide to invest in Pace/Midway (Ol' Klem's inn)? If so, how much? The benefits are, you'll get your money back plus interests, or yearly dividends, and you'll get free room and board there.

Let me know if you have any questions.

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The impression I got was that Nic and Corros wanted to invest and Jenna could be talked into it if we could show her a morally-upright application for the profits.  So, yes to the investment, unless otherwise directed.

That's an accurate summation of Jenna's position.

Donate it to the temple?

Put it in a charity fund for rebuilding the next time something calamitous happens to Balefyre?

Subsidize the Fire Watch as a lasting investment in local peace?

Temple would be the easiest option to talk her round to. They wouldn't even need to talk her round - she'd be quite happy with that. The Temple could then donate it to worthy causes as they saw fit.

Fire Watch is an option but I think she'd prefer if it was done under the auspices of the Temple, i.e. she donates to the Temple, the Temple make payments to fund the Fire Watch.

Charity fund would be a much harder sell. There's still not much trust there for the Balefyre leadership. Whose to say one of them won't start skimming from the charity fund?

If you guys don't want to accept the current mission, that's fine. I'll try to think of something else but it may take a while.

I can't tell if the PC grumbling is role-playing or player dissatisfaction. I understand that the gov't of Balefyre can be a frustrating patron, and I'll admit that some of that was intended on my part. There's good and bad everywhere and I'd rather my RP'ing reflect that. Gov't, especially, is all about grey areas. If the gov't of Balefyre always made wise and good decisions, it wouldn't be at all realistic (the Bloodforged occupation wasn't really the Council's fault, BTW). A productive platinum mine, regardless of environmental concerns, native rights, etc., is not something most RL governments on earth would turn their back on, nor would all private citizens heed warnings not to dig for it. Yes, it's definitely a "we told you so" situation, as far as the party is concerned. If that bothers you enough, I totally understand you taking the position of "they made their bed, now it's time for them to sleep in it." That said, I was hoping that you'd make enough connections among the citizenry of the city to want to save it, but if that's not the case, I don't want to force the issue.

So, this isn't an ultimatum or anything, but if you're not really feeling this mission, I'd rather know now than finding out when we're deeper in.

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This message was last edited by the GM at 19:51, Sat 10 Dec 2016.

I'm feeling fine with the mission, no worries.  Corros is just feeling a little "I told you so!"
This message was last edited by the player at 20:27, Sat 10 Dec 2016.

As Keys says.  OOCly, I'm fine with this as our next adventure.  Nic doesn't particularly like or trust Vander, but he has his own reasons for keeping Balefyre more-or-less intact.

I'm fine with the mission. And the reported presence of Reaver Priests means Jenna can't ignore what's happening - she would go by herself if the others did turn it down.  When it comes to the Council, as I said earlier her opinion of them remains low.

Am overrun with holiday bullshit.  Will try to get time to post tonight amidst packing for mandatory in-law visit.

It's been a while so I posted a turn. If there's anything specific that you wanted to do before leaving Balefyre, that's fine. Just divide your IC post into Earlier and Now sections.

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I blame Ulfgar, wherever he is:

https://www.reddit.com/r/DnD/c..._shape_the_world_in/