Excalibur: a NeoGAF Pathfinder Play by Post Campaign

"The human who grew up murdering anything they stuck in an arena with him and goes around yelling about how he will kill all monsters and evil doers is giving us a lecture on racism? This is... just... Lets just get on with this already." Draco will make a point to get a list of Leo's trigger words later so they can avoid this next time.
 
"Hey now! I only killed bad guys and wild monsters with no sense of morality in the arena. If I found out I ever killed innocent prisoners or something, that would throw my worldview upside down and leave me not knowing about anything. Luckily, that will never happen."
 
<I think based on what Thaddeus is saying the party has the wrong idea what to expect right now. While normally I would leave that a surprise, I think Thaddeus knows enough to give more accurate info.>

@Thaddeus:
Though you don't know what Dorthlenne looks like, you have never seen a Drow other than yourself inside this facility. The Wizards you know of, which you've neglected to mention so far, are all surface races. Also, the party's story is the first you've heard of the Orphan organization.

@Leo:
Can you use a Caestus? EDIT: Oh, you just tried to attach bolts to your caestus. That would be an improvised weapon which incurs a bunch of penalties and the ammo would break on hit. You're better off just getting an enchanted Caestus
 
KM:
Yes. Leo has a caestus on him, and has weapon focus on it due to his gladiator level. I just never really use it because it does considerably less damage than all of his other weapons. EDIT: that makes sense. I figured whatever it involved would be impractical and stupid. I may burn a few bolts at some point if the opportunity presents itself.
 
In traversing the underground tunnels, a thought occurs to Thaddeus.

"I should be clear that, as far as I've seen, there are no other Drow in this facility. No doubt they are behind what's happening here, but they seem to have recruited surface races to do their dirty work. We'll be dealing with decidedly non-Drow wizards in our mission to rout this place, and likely more kobolds and lizards. Though admittedly, I've never actually seen the gun-wielder, so he could very well be a Drow."
 
"Well, whatever Orphans we run into down here, we'll strike them down."

Walking along, Leo suddenly gets what he thinks is the best idea he's had in a long time. "Hey guys, can you pass me one of those electrified bolts?"
 
"Well, yes, technically, but this is much bigger than simple crossbow use. I've come up with a new special move, and I need a bolt to do it. I just want a single bolt for a trial run of it."
 
Draco
you're pretty sure his experiment is a bad idea.

<Mostly waiting for everyone to acknowledge the claified info about the inhabitants of the building before continuing on.>
 
Sensing the arcane ritual cast by the Drow paladin, Nicholas nods. "He's telling the truth or he has powerful abilities to circumvent magic compelled honesty. Time will tell." Scratching the fur underneath Ozzy's chin, he listens to Dortumn's new orders and the discussion about what remains to be found.

"As dangerous as it is, I'm actually eager to see this firearms master for myself. The technology behind it sounds fascinating." He eyes the Drow with some caution as he relays his tale, but upon hearing his disdain for his own kind and seeing the way the man carries himself, he begins to relax his guard.

"There was a time I considered the Orphans, the only Drow I've ever seen, as perhaps good intentioned. Rebellion is not always evil." He pauses a moment before continuing.

"That was before they kidnapped our friend. Either their organization has been hijacked by lunatics or the Orphans themselves are an untrustworthy bunch. Whether it be Drow or any other race that is responsible, I intend to learn of their ways, wrest their power from them and break their organization for good."
 
"Oh come on Draco, don't be like that! I'm not putting any of us in danger, and this could be huge. Like, really huge." Leo then speaks quietly to Draco, not wanting the others to hear.
Code: 
[url=http://roll.coyotecode.net/lookup.php?rollid=64542]Bluff: 1D20 + 8 = [20]+8 = 28
[/url]
Draco:
"I really didn't want to spoil the surprise, but it seems like you won't give me a bolt without me telling you my special attack, so here it goes. I'm going to attach the electric bolt to my cestus in order to give the punch an electric edge. It's like a punch knife, only lightning charged. I was going to drum it up and make it all dramatic, but there's no reason it shouldn't work, and plenty of reason to believe that it will be effective in combat. I know you think I'm an idiot, but I'm pretty damn good at killing things, surely you can't deny that. And I know how to use a cestus. I've put more thought into this than you think, and worst case scenario, we're down one electrified crossbow bolt."

((Incidentally, the only part of that that's really a bluff is that he put a lot of thought into it, and kind of the parts where he's certain that nothing bad will happen. But hey, Tiberious gonna Tiberious))
 
"...Crossbow bolts are not meant to be used like that. They would break instantly, while likely not even doing anything. Why not just ask a guy to enchant your weapon with lightning? Then you can always be 'thunder fist'."
 
"Yeah, it'll break, but I'm pretty sure it'll still shock and stab them. Besides, crossbow bolts usually break when they're shot anyway. I don't always want to be Thunderfist, that would be a weak gimmick. Using it as an occasional stylish move though? That works. That's why I only want one now, to see how it works."
 
ThLunarian said:
In traversing the underground tunnels, a thought occurs to Thaddeus.

"I should be clear that, as far as I've seen, there are no other Drow in this facility. No doubt they are behind what's happening here, but they seem to have recruited surface races to do their dirty work. We'll be dealing with decidedly non-Drow wizards in our mission to rout this place, and likely more kobolds and lizards. Though admittedly, I've never actually seen the gun-wielder, so he could very well be a Drow."
Click to expand...

<I think I might have to quote this one or two times due to the argument going on.>
 
Draco shoves a crossbow bolt into his hands, not caring whether or not he notices its not a shock bolt, "Here, just play with this and be quiet."
 
Leo looks down at the blatantly normal bolt, then back up at Draco to glare at him. "Really, Draco? When you go down in history as a stiffler of gladiatorial advancements, that's on you."

Leo storms off to go talk to someone else, but not before slipping a shock bolt out of the main supply. The way he sees it, they haven't been formally divied up yet, so he's just taking a tiny portion of what could be his share.
Code: 
[url=http://roll.coyotecode.net/lookup.php?rollid=64562]Sleight of Hand: 1D20 + 5 = [10]+5 = 15
[/url]
Walking over to Thaddeus, he angrily says "It looks like it might be a while before Draco gets over his trust issues."
 
Perception: (1d20+13=16)
Sleight of hand: (1d20+8=13)
Draco catches(barely... got a god damn 3.) Leo's clumsy attempts to take a shock bolt and decides to take it first. No one out skills the skill monkey bro(unless the skill monkey gets shit rolls...).

Whether or not it works though, he hands him a shock bolt anyways, "Fuck it. Take the damn thing. Please, waste our resources so you can show off your new worthless trick, that probably won't even work mind you, in front of a bunch of slack jawed arena patrons who aren't even here to watch it, while the rest of us try to not get ourselves killed. You know what? You could probably tie a torch to your fist as well, and blind you enemies when your punch them. I've got some ink you could splash in their eyes too. Oh man, I've got all these alchemical ingredients I need to use to make my extracts and stuff, but wouldn't it be way cooler if you come up with a stupid idea to throw them on a weapon swing them at enemies uselessly? What the fuck do I need all this bat guano for anyways, right?"

((...I hope this doesn't come off the wrong way. Writing stuff at 6 am with no sleep can get a bit off for me.))
 
((Nah, I liked it, and I think it showed his exasperation with Leo's shit pretty well.))

With the bolt handed to him, Leo's anger immediately drains away, to where he hardly notices that it all seemingly went to Draco.

"I'm glad you finally saw reason! Most of those things sound like good ideas. I'm not so sure about the bat guano though. Hmm, maybe if I used it in some kind of nasty gag attack? Those are always popular. I'll have to get back to you on that one, but in the mean time, hold onto that bat guano a bit longer, ok?"

Leo then excitedly skips off to prepare his new attack, oblivious to the fact that Draco is probably now more irritated with him than the things trying to kill them.

((This also overrides and retcons the bitching to Thaddeus he did in my last post))
 
Thaddeus frowns at the fiasco erupting between Draco and Tiberious/Leo (he hasn't quite worked out which name is preferred). He leans in to say quietly to Dreadstone,

"These aren't military men proper, are they?" He would like to say more, but given his tenuous position of trust at the moment, he refrains.
 
"No," Dreadstone answers Thaddeus. "They ain't at all."

Dreadstone watches the brief argument between Draco and Leo play out, but deigns not to interfere. Draco is of course 100 percent correct and obviously so. But in Dreadstone's experience, there's a certain sort of person who can only learn from the negative consequences of their actions. And Leo kinda seems like that sort.

"Only way he's gonna learn," he mutters before turning back to Thaddeus. "If you can't tell us anythin' 'bout this gunslinger feller, what can you tell us 'bout these wizards? That seems a more 'mediate concern."
 
Thaddeus shakes his head. "Unfortunately, that is the extent of my intelligence, Sir. Even before I was demoted to prisoner, I was privy to very little. The information I have has mostly been gleaned by overhearing chatter among the few Common-speaking grunts who happened near me. The only reason I know there are wizards is that I saw them once from afar and could tell by the way they dressed and carried themselves that they were learned magic users; I couldn't begin to speculate on their capabilities. There are at least two of them, likely more."
 
When the subject of the wizards' capabilities are brought up, it becomes apparent that you are still being scryed for the time being. The headmaster speaks,

Do not worry that you were not able to determine what spells they have prepared. The only way to know for certain is to either witness the spell cast or to understand arcane writing and look into their spellbook. I can tell you that Wizards are masters of diversity; even one that specializes in a school, you may not know what school or exactly what spells he has. My only hint is that there will not be a limit on Necromancy where you reside, not that has stopped Loinel Savis of course.

As for firearms, Dortumn is stating that the Keep had captured a couple in the past, so they knew a little about them. He claims they are essentially glorified crossbows which must be loaded after every shot, and they are prone to exploding on the user which resulted in injuries in testing. I know not much about conventional weaponry, but it seems like you do not have to worry based on his confidence.
 
<I'll just tell you what you do and don't know.

1) Unless one is currently in your party, the concept of a "Gunslinger" as a class is completely unknown to you as they are a select few coming from secrecy and as of right now guns are a technology, not a person.

2) Firearms are a very new, and for the most part only flintlock style weapons exist, and even those are exceedingly rare. As the regent already told Dreadstone in person, the Keep recognizes the weapons but doesn't feel that they would be a good fit for arming their military yet due to their high cost and not exactly outperforming bows and crossbows.>
 
The sudden stream of information is disconcerting to Thaddeus. While he is no stranger to receiving orders from afar through a Sending, he is thoroughly unaccustomed to being monitored so closely, in particular by someone he has never met himself.

The more he thinks on it, the more that the circumstances behind this entire operation seem suspect. The soldiers on the mission were overall capable enough, but each of them had a glaring flaw that would have seen them ousted from the military long ago; in Dreadstone's case, this had actually happened.

And the long-distance briefings. It was rather obvious that whoever was communicating with them had never been a soldier, and that a man named Dortumn was actually running things.

So... why wasn't Dortumn himself giving the briefings? And just who was Dortumn working for? More and more, this was beginning to look like a rogue operation, not in any way endorsed by the upper echelons of the Ruby Keep military. He wonders if this Dortumn character was even telling the truth about the supposed 'cover up' that had erased his adopted family from existence.

All of this Thaddeus keeps to himself as the party wades ever deeper into the caverns beneath this strange, monster-filled island.
 
<Just to make sure I wonder if people know why on an OOC level Dortumn isn't the one talking.

On that note, I'm most likely gonna hold off continuing gameplay since I want to watch Smash Bros stuff today.>
 
Once the controversial inclusion of the Drow into your ranks is made, and a decision over the distribution of the shock bolts is made, you make yourselves back into the hallway.

As if someone had forgotten to tell you, you soon realize you had passed by another hallway earlier. If somebody looks to see where it leads, they will find that it is the hall that leads to the front door that had been rendered unusable.

From the exit of the once guarded room you found yourselves in, the only new exit is to your right, which is already confirmed to have no traps. Once you make your way to the corner, you turn to face the new hallway. After a few paces there is a door on the immediate left, and more doors down the hall on that same side.
 
"That's a lotta ground to cover," Dreadstone mutters when the party turns the corner into a hallway full of doors.

Turning to Thaddeus, he asks, "Just how many more surface dweller types do you reckon were stationed here? We don't got time to clear all these rooms, but we don't wan't no unpleasant surprises comin' at us from our backside.
 
"Wow, there are a lot of doors here. Lots of opportunities for orphans hiding behind them. For the sake of time, I say we start kicking doors down and deal with anyone in there!"

((Disclaimer: we should probably not do that))
 
"I'll scan around for arcane signatures."

Niko casts Detect Magic, his favorite way of pretending to be useful out of combat, to see if it helps choose a door.
 
<For the record you are sure you at most see a handful of doors.>

A faint sense of magic can be sensed in the nearest room. Niko gets the impression based on distance that he would need to be near the doors to check each room without entering them.
 
Stricia finds nothing in peculiar around the first door area.

<I likely don't describe the inside of the room or what the item inside is until tomorrow, I actually want to change things bit.>
 
Draco drinks another extract of heroism, hoping this time they don't waste an hour talking to Dortumn so they can get no actual useful information. He then also looks for traps(or anything else of interest for that matter), because you can never be too careful.

Perception: (1d20+13+2+3=33)
 
<You're pretty sure that room you were being guarded in weren't the only creatures in the building, there is a dense enough Lizardman and Kobold population to expect more. You've also been kept guarded long enough to not be aware of what changes might have been made to the building since then.>

In the near vicinity, Draco notices no trigger style traps, and the closest door does not seem to be locked or trapped.
 
"I'm afraid we're more than likely to come across significant resistance, at the very least in the form more kobolds and more lizardmen. Beyond that I cannot say with certainty. I believe there is a fair amount of coming and going in this facility, and I have been unable to gather much pertinent intelligence since my imprisonment."
 
((Thaddeus would not be the first to move forward *without being directed* and would look to Dreadstone *for a plan of action* first, since he's the one in command of the mission))
 
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