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16:53, 30th April 2024 (GMT+0)

(Baeran, Vecall, Veracity) The Job.

Posted by The TinkererFor group 0
The Tinkerer
GM, 72 posts
Sun 30 Apr 2023
at 14:28
  • msg #44

(Baeran, Vecall, Veracity) The Job

"Look, it's just a bad idea, all right? It's not about what I'll do. It's just..." Irritation flashed across Gail's face as the rasp interrupted her again. "You need to leave!"
Baern Snagglehorn
player, 34 posts
Sun 30 Apr 2023
at 16:10
  • msg #45

(Baeran, Vecall, Veracity) The Job

"I hope you don't mind my asking, Miss Gail, but is everything alright? I get that you don't want us here, although I can't say I understand it. You don't seem to care one whit about the picket outside, but this don't seem like company loyalty either. More like... compulsion."

"If you're in some sort of trouble, Miss Gail, you can tell us."
Veracity
player, 26 posts
Mon 1 May 2023
at 01:59
  • msg #46

(Baeran, Vecall, Veracity) The Job

Not-Veracity clapped the half-orcess's shoulder in an amiable gesture of reassurance between friends, "No sorry needed.  Appreciate you lookin' out for us, Gail, even if you can't say why.  The name's Roxie, by the way."  Veracity was interested by the half-orcess's inability to articulate the factory's function beyond 'building'.  Silently she whispered in reply to Baern, [She's under compulsion to keep quiet, for sure.  I'd surmise all the workers are, judging by that vague chant outside.  J.P. has someone strong in the Cunning on his payroll.]

Gail roundly refused Baern's inching closer to an insistence to head upstairs, and when she demanded they leave Vera raised a calming hand and said in a soothing tone, "Hang on, now!  Let's all cool off, right?  Gail, since we're friends I think it's past time to bring you into the fold."  The tiefling made a show of glancing about for anybody watching, then leaned in and said in a conspiratorial tone, "Listen here.  We joke about J.P. payin' for our trouble, but as a matter of fact, he is.  We're specialists, you see, sent on a special mission up there.  They called us in for the exact reason nobody else is supposed to go up, and we're not to speak of it either."  It was even true, in a sense.  They were specialists for the Sparks and J.P. would be paying them, just that he didn't know it yet!  "Now, now, I know you've got orders to guard the stairs, and doin' a fantastic job of it.  It's okay though, because we got a secret code phrase, straight from the top.  You're to let us up there, and nobody should bother about it... but IF any official asks you just have to say it and you're off the hook, no questions asked.  Ready?  Here it is."  Vera gave a dramatic pause, then said, "The code phrase is, 'Happy rockslide'.  Just say that, they'll get the message and you're in the clear.  Got it?"

'Roxie' the secret J.P. specialist grinned and said, "I know you got it, Gail.  Don't worry about us, now.  We totally know what we're doing, and you're in the clear so long as you remember the code phrase.  We'd better get up there now, alright?"

Deception check w/ advantage from charmed to convince Gail to let us by with this absolute hogwash about a code phrase:
  • 18:51, Today: Veracity rolled 25 using 2d20+7, dropping the lowest dice only with rolls of 18,12.  Deception (advantage charm).

The Tinkerer
GM, 77 posts
Mon 1 May 2023
at 12:50
  • msg #47

(Baeran, Vecall, Veracity) The Job

Understanding dawned on the half-orc's face. At last, everything made sense. Gail took a deep breath. "There's something else you need to know, then. There's the... thing. The one we can't talk about. And then there's..." The rasp cut her off, and she frowned in annoyance. "I don't know how much of this I'll be able to say. Are you familiar with... The Gearlord?" Gail, looking guilty, lowered her voice. "I've been... serving him, here. Unbeknownst to our employer. Things are maybe... a little out of hand. Up there. Which I guess is what they called you in for? Although I don't know how they know that. Serves me right for underestimating J.P. Cognelius, I suppose. I don't know what to tell you to expect, exactly. It's just... the factory is..." After being repeatedly cut off by the rasp, she kicked a beam in frustration.

"I guess that's all I can say. Oh! But I can give you something to help." She reached into her tunic, withdrew a cog-shaped pendant on a thin wire, and held it out to Veracity. Then, turning to Baern, she said, "I can also bless that wrench of yours, if you would like."

The Cog of Luck grants the wearer +1 to Intelligence and to all saving throws. It does not require attunement.

Baern, if you accept the blessing, I'll tell you what that does.

Religion DC 10:
Spoiler text: (Highlight or hover over the text to view)
In recent years, a small cult celebrating constructs and machines has been gaining steam (heh heh) in Coglinton. They worship The Gearlord, a technology-focused deity.

Religion DC 15:
Spoiler text: (Highlight or hover over the text to view)
Some members of the cult believe in the supremacy of machines over mortal creatures. Much like the dragon cultists who yearn for a return to draconic rule, they are pessimistic about the prospects for mortals to co-exist and govern themselves. But rather than yearning for the past, they look to a technological future where machines maintain perfect order and unity.

Religion DC 20:
Spoiler text: (Highlight or hover over the text to view)
The tinkerers and artificers drawn to the cult of the Gearlord strive to grant sentience to constructs and machines. Judging by Gail's guilty behavior and cryptic comments, she seems to have done something like that here.

Baern Snagglehorn
player, 35 posts
Mon 1 May 2023
at 13:29
  • msg #48

(Baeran, Vecall, Veracity) The Job

Baern had heard of the Gearlord. Its followers believed in the nobility of machines, or some such - believed they had spirits of their own. As someone who had spent years below the surface bargaining with the spirits of stones and tunnels, this was a notion that resonated with him. Obviously they had spirits. Baern just didn't understand their language the way he could suss out the ghosts in the mines.

"Bessie?" he asked, swinging his pipe wrench up and letting the haft fall against his open palm. "Yeah, alright. Supposin' she could use a blessing. And a bit of grease around the hookjaw if I'm being right honest."

He raised the tool up towards Gail expectantly.

09:19, Today: Baern Snagglehorn rolled 12 using 1d20-1.  Religion.
This message was last edited by the player at 13:30, Mon 01 May 2023.
The Tinkerer
GM, 79 posts
Mon 1 May 2023
at 13:41
  • msg #49

(Baeran, Vecall, Veracity) The Job

With six precise strokes, Gail's hand inscribed the shape of a hexagonal gear in the air above Baern's outstretched wrench. "May the perfect unity of the machine guide your mind along with your hand, that your thoughts may be in harmony with your actions." She repeated the gesture, then withdrew her hand and dipped her head in a slight bow.

You gain proficiency with tinker's tools and your wrench counts as tinker's tools. You also gain advantage on Intelligence checks and saves when interacting with constructs and machines: identifying them, repairing them, disabling them, fighting them, etc.
Baern Snagglehorn
player, 37 posts
Tue 2 May 2023
at 00:26
  • msg #50

(Baeran, Vecall, Veracity) The Job

Baern received the blessing with appropriate reverence and seemingly genuine sincerity. "Thank you," he said, lowering Bessie to midtrunk height and turning the tool over in his grasp with a speculative look.

"We should probably head upstairs," he said, looking up at Vera and Vecaal after a few moments.
This message was last edited by the player at 00:26, Tue 02 May 2023.
Veracity
player, 27 posts
Tue 2 May 2023
at 02:29
  • msg #51

(Baeran, Vecall, Veracity) The Job

"Sure am familiar.  Can't deny the Gearlord makes a sensible case."  It was true enough that machines tended to be more reliable and logical than people, but Veracity liked people because they were flawed.  It's a lot harder to dupe, trick, and bamboozle a machine!  It seemed that Gail was a devotee, however, so she'd keep those thoughts to herself.  It wasn't exactly clear what relevance the Gearlord had to the present situation, but perhaps that would become clearer once they got a bigger picture.

'Roxie' assured the frustrated half-orcess who had just kicked a steel beam, "Hey, no call for that, now.  Your hands and tongue are tied, we know."  Gail then offered both a lucky Cog and a blessing, which was surprisingly generous considering how this interaction had begun.  Then again, Vera had forged them a magical friendship, and wasn't this what friends were for?  The tiefling took the pendant with a reverence that she played as religious, whereas it was more avaricious.  "That's mighty kind of you, Gail.  I'll be certain to put it to fine use.  Raise an oil can to the Gearlord!"

Returning Gail's bow, 'Roxie' agreed, "We'd best be about it, then.  Much obliged for everythin', friend.  You take care, now."  She gestured to the stairs and began to lead the others up to the factory proper, being sure to get quiet before reaching the top.  Best to assess the situation before blundering right into it!

As they ascended, Vera silently conferred with her companions, [Well, that was both informative and not.  Seems the strike is only the start of whatever misadventure is afoot in this place.  Starting to think that there'll be more value to be found in dirt on J.P. than in any materials.]

17:03, Today: Veracity rolled 19 using 1d20+3.  Religion.

Stealth to ascend quietly:
  • 19:27, Today: Veracity rolled 24 using 1d20+5.  Stealth.

The Tinkerer
GM, 81 posts
Tue 2 May 2023
at 13:07
  • msg #52

(Baeran, Vecall, Veracity) The Job

The cacophony of banging metal and humming machines only grew more intense as the trio ascended the metal staircase to the factory floor. The lights hanging from the ceiling high above them appeared to have been busted out, so that they now emitted no light save the occasional rain of blue sparks. Beams of sunlight entered from the large windows toward the top of the walls, illuminating all the dust and other particles that filled the air.

Rows of machines extended back into the distant darkness, where more space for the factory had been excavated from the very wall of the volcano. The machines carried on cutting, shaping, welding, assembling, and polishing despite a lack of workers to operate them. Large cranes slid along tracks in the ceiling, retrieving and delivering materials. The machines moved with precision and speed, seemingly oblivious to the party's presence.

Sings of the workers' discontent - or perhaps the factory's discontent with them? - were evident not just in the shattered lights but in the broken tools scattered around the factory floor and the metal staircase which once led up to an office high above the factory floor but was now broken, a precarious mess of twisted iron.

The factory had seemed abandoned by its workers, but in fact a few were still visible at the furthest reaches of the machine room floor, going about their business as if nothing were amiss. From this distance it was not possible to make out any discerning features about them, of age or race or anything else. Indeed, they could hardly be seen at all for all the darkness and dust.
Vecaal Alifras
player, 17 posts
Tue 2 May 2023
at 16:02
  • msg #53

(Baeran, Vecaal, Veracity) The Job

Throughout the exchange with Gail, Vecaal had remained silent and watchful.  He did not trust her, even after Veracity had fooled her into being a friend, but he couldn't deny they were learning something from the exchange.  That was, until the talk of the Gearlord commenced.  While Baern and Veracity smiled and bobbed their head, Vecaal simply looked at all three like they were crazy.  It almost sounded like they were venerating machines!  At one point he couldn't silence his thoughts, no matter how hard he tried.

[It's a gear.  A hunk of metal.  Sulfur and ash, have you both lost your minds?]

Finally Veracity ended the uncomfortable encounter and they made their way up to the main floor of the factory.  Larger than he'd expected, Vecaal took it all in with his customary precision.  The strange machines moving on their own gave the dragonborn pause, almost enough to make him think Gail might know something he did not, but he quickly shook off such a ludicrous idea.  He spied the twisted stairway leading upward and assessed it for climbing, and also noted movement in far reaches of the factory floor.  More workers that had not joined in the demonstration.

[Do we go up, or sneak over to those other workers that way?] he asked.  His initial preference was to climb and find something of value, but Gail hadn't been completely a waste of time and perhaps these other workers might have additional insights into the importance of the factory.

OOC:
11:48, Today: Vecaal Alifras rolled 7 using 1d20.  Religion.
Baern Snagglehorn
player, 38 posts
Tue 2 May 2023
at 19:11
  • msg #54

(Baeran, Vecaal, Veracity) The Job

[Don't see what that's got to do with anything] Baern thought. [Lots of things have spirits. Only stands to reason machines can too.]

Making his way upstairs, Baern had much the same reaction is Vecaal.

[Pretty sure we're going to have to make our way up there sooner or later.] He nodded at the foreman's office and the ruined stairway leading up to it. [Might be a good idea to see who's down here with us first. Think you could get closer to them without them seeing you? Something don't seem right to me.]
Veracity
player, 28 posts
Tue 2 May 2023
at 21:03
  • msg #55

(Baeran, Vecaal, Veracity) The Job

Veracity gave a chuckle at Vecaal's psychic indignance, [Can't say whether a latrine-scrubber bot has a soul, but our girl Gail back there seemed the sort to think so.  Playing along with a little foolishness convinced her to welcome us in with blessings and a magic gift.  Know your audience, Vec!]

The stairs gave out onto a cavernous factory floor made dark by shattered lights, yet the machines still toiled on with flawless exactitude.  Vera squinted at the workers off in the distance, still up to something.  [Funny that there's still workers in here, or perhaps more Gear-disciples.  I see no need to bother them.  Remember, we're not here to fix this place nor stir a ruckus.]  She turned lavender eyes up to the elevated office, with its staircase reduced to a gnarled wreck.  [I'd rather get a look at what's to be found up there, although getting up will be a trick.]

Veracity crept closer to the ruined staircase and poked around for any alternate ways up.  Perhaps a ladder or something else climbable?

Investigation to look for alternate ways up to the office:
  • 13:01, Today: Veracity rolled 23 using 1d20+3.  Investigation.

Also, how high up off the floor is the office?
The Tinkerer
GM, 83 posts
Tue 2 May 2023
at 22:45
  • msg #56

(Baeran, Vecaal, Veracity) The Job

It's hard to judge from the ground but looks like 80-100 feet? The ceilings are really high to accommodate the cranes gliding along the ceiling. Speaking of which, it might be possible to hitch a ride on one of them, if you could figure out how to control them. Climbing the twisted ruins of the staircase is still an option, it will just be tricky. (DC 12 Climb check per Move/Dash action, with failure = a fall).
Vecaal Alifras
player, 19 posts
Tue 2 May 2023
at 23:35
  • msg #57

(Baeran, Vecall, Veracity) The Job

Vecaal snorted at Veracity's admonition, as though such accommodations for addled people were beneath him.  Then he examined the staircase one more time, sniffed the air, and nodded.  [I can climb it,] he declared confidently.  [Do you want me to lower a rope?]

OOC:
Would Vecaal judge the workers (or self-directed automatons, if that's what they really are) would be able to see them as they climbed the staircase?  Do they have a sightline to it, from where they are working?
The Tinkerer
GM, 84 posts
Tue 2 May 2023
at 23:41
  • msg #58

(Baeran, Vecall, Veracity) The Job

Vecaal Alifras:
OOC:
Would Vecaal judge the workers (or self-directed automatons, if that's what they really are) would be able to see them as they climbed the staircase?  Do they have a sightline to it, from where they are working?


Yeah, presumably they could see you as well as you can see them, which is to say they might notice silhouettes moveing in the distance. Or, they might not - they seem pretty absorbed in their work.

You can choose to roll Stealth while climbing, but you'll move at 2/3 speed (which might mean having to make an extra Athletics/Acrobatics check or two to reach the top).
Veracity
player, 29 posts
Wed 3 May 2023
at 00:03
  • msg #59

(Baeran, Vecall, Veracity) The Job

Veracity grinned and nodded to Vecaal, [Spectacular.  A rope would be welcome, because I wasn't looking forward to scaling that wreckage.  Wonder what did that, anyhow...]  She looked up to the office high up above and psychically asked, [You have this length of rope on you?]

Does the stair destruction look like it could have been done by average workers with tools, or does it seem like something stronger did it?
The Tinkerer
GM, 85 posts
Wed 3 May 2023
at 00:06
  • msg #60

(Baeran, Vecall, Veracity) The Job

Veracity:
Does the stair destruction look like it could have been done by average workers with tools, or does it seem like something stronger did it?


Stronger. I don't know that your characters know what a wrecking ball is, but this is wrecking ball levels of smashing.
Veracity
player, 30 posts
Wed 3 May 2023
at 00:36
  • msg #61

(Baeran, Vecall, Veracity) The Job

Knowing that, here's an Investigation to find the controls for the crane with a wrecking ball on it! :D (or any potentially ride-able crane would do)
  • 16:36, Today: Veracity rolled 9 using 1d20+3.  Investigation.

Vecaal Alifras
player, 20 posts
Wed 3 May 2023
at 01:04
  • msg #62

(Baeran, Vecall, Veracity) The Job

Vecaal nodded, but then checked the height again.  [I have rope, but it won't reach all the way to the floor.  You'll need to climb part way, or we'll need more rope.]

If Veracity or Baern had additional rope Vecaal took the coil and attached it to the pack beneath his cloak.  Then he approached the stairway and mentally charted out his route before reaching up and starting his ascent.  He wound his way upward sinuously, clawed hands and feet reaching confidently from one point to another as he negotiated the twisted metal.
Baern Snagglehorn
player, 39 posts
Wed 3 May 2023
at 04:08
  • msg #63

(Baeran, Vecall, Veracity) The Job

[Yeah, alright] Baern unhitched his rope and handed it across to Vecaal. The dragonborn really did make it look easy. At more than a few junctions, Baern knew he wouldn't have been able to advance alone - he simply couldn't manage Vecaal's reach.
The Tinkerer
GM, 86 posts
Wed 3 May 2023
at 11:07
  • msg #64

(Baeran, Vecall, Veracity) The Job

As Vecaal began scaling what remained of the staircase, the three felt what could only be described as a shift in the "mood" of the room. It was like a little hitch, an interruption in the turning of gears and machining of parts so miniscule that none could have said what exactly it was that felt different. The distant workers did not pause in their labor, but the two ceiling-mounted cranes abruptly halted, changed direction, and began to converge on the wreckage of the stairs and the dragonborn dangling form it, the heavy loads they carried swinging precariously as they came.

Everyone please roll Initiative! If you beat a 16, you can post your action now.

Vecaal gets 30' up before the machines start moving, so it will take him two, maybe three (you're still not quite sure exactly how high up the office is) Move or Dash actions to reach the top. One of the cranes will reach him this turn, one next turn.

Veracity's Investigation did not reveal anything about how to operate the cranes. Baern can attempt an Investigation of his own, and the blessed wrench will help with that, but it will require an action to do so.
Baern Snagglehorn
player, 40 posts
Wed 3 May 2023
at 13:16
  • msg #65

(Baeran, Vecall, Veracity) The Job

"Uh.... Vecall...." Baern said aloud, not bothering to communicate through thought as the cranes diverted course and converged on the stairs. The sound of his voice seemed small in the midst of the cavernous chamber with its whirring machinery.

Though not one ordinarily given towards inquisitiveness, Baern cast his gaze around for some means of controlling the cranes. If these cranes had spirits of their own - and at the moment it certainly appeared as though they did - Baern needed a way to converse with them, and fast. Oddly enough, the weight of Bessie in his grasp seemed to help him focus.

Modestly better than Veracity. Hopefully good enough.

09:07, Today: Baern Snagglehorn rolled 13 using 2d20-1, dropping the lowest dice only.  Investigation.
The Tinkerer
GM, 87 posts
Wed 3 May 2023
at 13:25
  • msg #66

(Baeran, Vecall, Veracity) The Job

I rolled initiative for Baern and got a 4, so I'll resolve that Investigation after the cranes act. The Tinkerer, on behalf of Baern Snagglehorn, rolled 4 using 1d20+2.  initiative.

I realized I should explain a bit more what these cranes are: they are like giant hooks mounted to tracks on the ceiling, carrying presumably heavy materials in sacks that swing and dangle from the hooks (the image I have in my head here is sort of like how The Stork is often depicted delivering a baby). The tracks enable the hooks to move back and forth, side to side along the ceiling. They are also capable of raising or lowering their cargo. The impression you get is very much that they intend to use their cargo as a weapon, swinging it at Vecaal and/or the stairs he's clinging to. By default the cargo dangles roughly 80' above the factory floor but they'll need to lower it some in order to use it for that purpose.
Veracity
player, 31 posts
Thu 4 May 2023
at 00:14
  • msg #67

(Baeran, Vecall, Veracity) The Job

Veracity hadn't given much credence to Gail's implications that the machines might be running amok, but that concern suddenly seemed quite a bit more plausible.  It felt almost as if a mechanical giant with a thousand eyes had caught notice of them, and it was not a great feeling.  Looking up to their nimble dragonborn companion scaling the wreckage of the stairs, she warned across the psychic connection, [Seems you've caught notice of the cranes, Vec.  We'll try to get them under control down here while make a snappy ascent.  Fortune favors the audacious!]  Trying to keep a low profile on the darkened factory floor, the tiefling joined Baern in scrambling to find any possible way to shut off those cranes!

  • Initiative 18
  • Bonus action to grant Vecaal Bardic Inspiration, which is a d6.
    quote:
    Once within the next 10 minutes, the creature can roll the die and add the number rolled to one ability check, attack roll, or saving throw it makes. The creature can wait until after it rolls the d20 before deciding to use the Bardic Inspiration die, but must decide before the DM says whether the roll succeeds or fails.
  • 19 Investigation to look for an emergency shut-off switch, a plug to pull, or something to disable the cranes!
  • Reminder that I previously rolled 24 Stealth that I think still applies(?)

15:55, Today: Veracity rolled 19 using 1d20+3.  Investigation.
12:41, Today: Veracity rolled 18 using 1d20+4.  Initiative.
The Tinkerer
GM, 93 posts
Sun 7 May 2023
at 11:32
  • msg #68

(Baeran, Vecall, Veracity) The Job

Locking now. Please post in the Chapter 1 thread.
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