Still waiting on my computer to be repaired. I have a tentative appointment today - I'm working off a loaner at the moment.

Did the Cinderhorn crew make any progress? I think the other two were Kreo and Veracity, is that correct?

No, actually. I think Kreo is going to have some familiarity with Vera at least but he is not part of the Cinderhorn crew. The third member is Sikuaq's character, who is name TBD as far as I know.

Sikuaq do you need some time still, or should we break off into a PM with Vera to hash things over?

I think I'm ready!

Are you up for just talking it out in OOC? I realize it may include some information not everyone is privy to, but it may also provide some opportunities for others glom on to something.

Still here and still finalizing things, but 90% ready to go. For the sake of starting, I'm trying to think of how a paladin goblin who is dirt poor might know any of the rest of you. Procz, as a lawman (lawkobold?), Frack would hold you in high esteem due to your commitment to law and order.

Maybe we could say that Frack and Procz have met? Some fairly minor incident with a couple of drunkard troublemakers might have been too much for the kobold to handle on his own, and Frack stepped up to help? Procz and Frack could have bonded somewhat over this.

My character is good to go.

Oooh, this would be handy, actually. Procz, I'm thinking that while you may also have had brushes with one or more members of Baz's crew, your proximate cause for being at the factory is actually that a person you're interested in is a worker here. So when you heard there was trouble at the factory, you came in an unofficial capacity, which is why you would have brought Frack for back-up rather than another constable. Does that work for you guys?

First IC post is up! Hopefully we can link up Frack and Procz and then I'll get up posts for them and for Baz's crew shortly.

Yes, absolutely! Sorry, I got wrapped up with other things yesterday.

Baern is roughly 40, still fairly young by the standards of gnomes. I figure he's been on the surface and tied in with Baz's crew for the past five or so years. Baern is exceedingly keen to demonstrate his loyalty to Baz. As an enforcer with the Spark he breaks legs as required of him, but does so with the absolute conviction of its necessity. Being somewhat unusual amongst the Spark's enforcers for his diminutive stature, Baern is quick to put to rest any notion that he can't keep up with the 'big folk'. He tends to receive an outsized proportion of the organization's more clandestine wetwork as he can follow where the more burly enforcers often cannot.

Baern has a gnomish sense of community, but has little patience for laggards and lollygaggers. He believes each should contribute as they are able, and in turn be rewarded according to their needs. He views the Cognelius brothers as parasites that contribute nothing while squeezing the poor and would like nothing better than to drag them off their pedestals. If the Spark is a metaphor for hope it is also the impetus for revolution. Baern may not have been the first to light it, but he is prepared to carry the torch to the very top of the Rim.

In real life I'm having to explain to my roommate what a strike is, how long it generally lasts, etc, as the public service alliance sets to strike tomorrow. All the roommate is concerned about is that he still gets to work (he's contract, so not in the union) and worries the union members he's previously characterized as "lazy" will not see the nuance of him being contract and instead take him for a scab worker.

I recommended he get them coffee. He didn't understand why that would improve their opinion of him

Service visit failed to fix the problem. I have to ship my laptop to Dell. I'm at least another week without my proper workstation although I do have a loaner for the time being.

In reply to Kreo (msg # 70):

What timing!

I've never had to directly cross a line before, so I can understand their concern.  One time I had to cross a picket that was formed at our facility by a union from a supporting company, and I did have training to assume a union position once (warehouse operations - forklift training and that sort of thing) but the strike was averted at the last minute.  That was the closest I ever got.  So good luck to him!

Now, if they'd only extend the tax filing dates...

That sounds good to me. I got some information on a lead in PM from the DM. I'll inform Frack in-character once we get a thread going, if that's okay with Frack's player? I suppose, before we start, I've just asked him to come help me with something without explaining what it is.

That works for me, Porcz. Frack is all for doing what is right! He isn't the brightest bulb on the tree, so he can be hoodwinked into thinking just about anything is right, but I trust none of you fine folks would use that against him.

Very cool start!  I should be able to do an intro post tomorrow.  I still need to finalize equipment first, because we might need some things for the mission :D

For HP levels 2 and 3, you can roll or take average, whichever you prefer. If you roll, you can add 1 HP every other level to put it on par with the average method.

Early inspiration to Vecaal for this great detail. I meant to describe more about the air (literal and metaphorical) inside the caldera in my own posts, but I neglected to do so, and Vecaal nailed it. Of course the steampunk trope is that everything is smoky and sooty and dirty, but Coglinton doesn't actually run on coal, so rust and sweat and sulfur are far more appropriate.

Are weapons allowed to be carried openly in the city? Just wondering if I need to reimagine Baern's warhammer as a heavy wrench or something to that effect.

Only constables are permitted to carry magically and/or technologically enhanced weapons, though of course the laws are rarely applied to ranking members of either Cognelius company. Nor are they applied even-handedly to the city's other residents: possession of even a simple weapon can be cause for suspicion or arrest.

So: it's not against any law, but the laws are not effective limits on what the constables will permit in practice. A heavy wrench would be better when trying to avoid unwanted attention.

So is Kreo causing tension openly carrying a pistol?

It's definitely making a statement, one that could attract the wrong kind of attention. But I think a pistol (as opposed to, say, a warhammer) is small enough to conceal when it's wise to do so, so you wouldn't have to make it obvious you're packing when you didn't want to. Mostly this would be an issue if someone had cause to search you.

On a related note, Baern and I have discussed flavoring his weapons in such a way that they wouldn't present as weapons. So the warhammer is a giant wrench, etc. I'm happy to discuss this with others as well. My intention here isn't to hinder you mechanically, just to add some flavor and authenticity to the city.

I think Kreo's good with making a statement for sure

Procz: Sorry, I need to clarify a few things, and then you can edit your post if you like.

The six "constables" are all pretty close to where you are now. There are more up on the caldera wall but none between you and the workers. The road ahead is mostly empty, with a guardhouse and a few little storage sheds. You haven't detected any movement in or around any of the buildings.

The upshot of this is that, if the constables are going to jump you, they're liable to do it immediately. Anything you communicate to Frack would have to be quick (and subtle, if you want to preserve the possibility of not getting jumped). Whether you have time to cast a spell remains to be seen - we'll need to resolve your communication with Frack and whether one or both of you keep walking past the guards before we see what happens next.