Above the central courtyard shimmers an illusory canopy of scintillating colors, but viewed from above, looks only like the empty stone floor of a barren courtyard, preventing prying eyes feom seeing in from the heights if rhe Tower of Blades. The courtyard is bright as daylight, even at night. On the east side of the courtyard sits a large glass viewing area.
Open arches line the courtyard, three on each side, regularly spaced, allowing access to the north south and west, the glass viewing area dominating the east wall.
(ooc: didn't Chadderlay get his badge back during the last meeting at the Embassy, before he was sent to find out about the giant lizard fight in the meat grinder?)
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
"A rightful place awaits you in the Realms Above, in the Land of the Great Light. Come in peace, and live beneath the sun again, where trees and flowers grow."
— The message of Eilistraee to all decent drow.
"Run thy sword across my chains, Silver Lady, that I may join your dance.”
(ooc: didn't Chadderlay get his badge back during the last meeting at the Embassy, before he was sent to find out about the giant lizard fight in the meat grinder?)
No. He asked and was declined. The embassador noted it gad no use outside the embassy anyhow and left unsaid the fact that, while he is loyal to Szazz Tam, there has been a surge of authentic rebellion in Mulmaster.
Overall, the Thayans use a foreign Legion strategy, sending Red Wizards and traders throughout Toril to do whatever Tam commands, but if they get caught, they're not really there ad official representatives of Thay, and Thay disavow them. In Mulmaster, the former ambassador D'arlon Ma has openly declared himslef Zulkhir of Enchantment in an alternate Council of Zulkirs. The position on the official council is deliberately left vacant by Tam.
In this environment paranoia is totally reasonable, and wirh his Aunt Morwena at the keast MIA for quite some time and possibly seen in the company of Darlon Ma, who still makes his hime in the city, he would at least out if an abundance of caution wait until tomorrow after the items are transported to return Chadderlays badge.
(Above the table: you're like 20ft from @Ikarbano's PC right now. She's stuck in the library, but she's got an arcane eye roaming the halls. She may have seen you by now).
<Nobody is waiting on me, right? Isn't there someone patrolling around here at regular intervals? Not implying game time to irl time correlation, but, given the opportunity, I might become ... inspired.>
Main entrance, VIP entrance, dining hall, stables, and staff entrance.
Spiral staircases to the second d floor are suppressed by guard (yellow) and ambassadoroal (red) badges.
Stairway down to catacombs alarm suppressed by red badge only.
Formally, thee doors aren't locked, they just trigger alarms or in the case of stairs, there's a web spell with a pass word
Looking for the artifact, notes on same, rift research (e.g. the planar (elemental) rifts open in the city during princes of the apocalypse) and, for the theives guild, blackmail material on the guard captain. In order of priorities, this last one seems low, but note that you owe them a debt, and they will come to collect, without warning, so there's that for motivation.
Realistically, Chadderlay would know a bunch of stuff, so I'll put it in the spoiler, but it kind of detracts from the 'game' part of the adventure, (which was never designed to have a red wizard in the party), but it won't really help that much. Things are probably about where you'd expect them to be. There have been clues for these things throughout.
<Above the table: one of you is in the library and if you move 5ft, he'll definitely see you, (unless you're all invisible, I suppose). So, let's just say he sees you there and for expediency sake, he recognizes that you don't belong. he might even guess the theives' guild sent you.>
@Ikarbano: you see them sneak in via you're arcane eye, but you didn't see hiw they got in, juat rhat they came from the hallway, through which lies only the service door.
The guard captain has his quarters on the second floor. If you hope to incriminate him, the evidence is probably in his quarters.
Research on the rifts might be in the vast libraries you've already heard were in the Monastery before the Thayan occupation. Or, it might be down in the catacombs where the Ambassador spends most of his time. He's probably been down there since the courier arrived with little exception. That would explain the recent long lines of petitioners waiting to meet him.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Seeing others in the embassy, his first instinct was to hide and observe them. As they advanced, he would follow - there were lots of corners to stay behind and the eye would always keep in contact with them anyway - and try to stay hidden.
<A not on following; without a badge (we csn retcon in PM still, for now) crossing the threshold of the library unacompanied will sound an alarm. Thsts why I said you were stuck in there, without saying explicitly why. Beavaue you joined late and we are backfilling story, I was waiting for you to get one somehow, like Angus did, or in a totally different way, or just cross thresholds wirh them, which would also work. If you just do it anyway, it will raise the alarm. Its a magic mouth spell on the doors. >
<A not on following; without a badge (we csn retcon in PM still, for now) crossing the threshold of the library unacompanied will sound an alarm. Thsts why I said you were stuck in there, without saying explicitly why. Beavaue you joined late and we are backfilling story, I was waiting for you to get one somehow, like Angus did, or in a totally different way, or just cross thresholds wirh them, which would also work. If you just do it anyway, it will raise the alarm. Its a magic mouth spell on the doors. >
Is it dark in there Dm or is they some form of lightning
This seems like info he would have been told, so he could prep and get a badge.
I am beyond certain I've mentioned security badges a few times. Thieves' guild doesn't know what they do, though. They're your PCs only contacts. I've even offered to retroactively fill in the how. For Angus I woukd have asked for one to hit to knock out a commoner, but it seemed like the conclusion is inevitable. He wants to take out a commoner, the 11th level paladin succeeds. By waiting until the evening of the heist, it ensures the porter won't be missed. No roll there either.
<A not on following; without a badge (we csn retcon in PM still, for now) crossing the threshold of the library unacompanied will sound an alarm. Thsts why I said you were stuck in there, without saying explicitly why. Beavaue you joined late and we are backfilling story, I was waiting for you to get one somehow, like Angus did, or in a totally different way, or just cross thresholds wirh them, which would also work. If you just do it anyway, it will raise the alarm. Its a magic mouth spell on the doors. >
Is it dark in there Dm or is they some form of lightning
Light in halls and common areas is better than in servant only areas. All oil lamps and candles. The central courtyard is magical daylight.
Chadderlay would definitely know that the badges are a security device and that they are needed to suppress the alarms on doors.
I recall Angus took a blue one. I think that's it, though.
Central courtyard, (additional details):
Above the central courtyard shimmers an illusory canopy of scintillating colors, but viewed from above, looks only like the empty stone floor of a barren courtyard, preventing prying eyes feom seeing in from the heights if rhe Tower of Blades. The courtyard is bright as daylight, even at night. On the east side of the courtyard sits a large glass viewing area.
Open arches line the courtyard, three on each side, regularly spaced, allowing access to the north south and west, the glass viewing area dominating the east wall.
(ooc: didn't Chadderlay get his badge back during the last meeting at the Embassy, before he was sent to find out about the giant lizard fight in the meat grinder?)
No. He asked and was declined. The embassador noted it gad no use outside the embassy anyhow and left unsaid the fact that, while he is loyal to Szazz Tam, there has been a surge of authentic rebellion in Mulmaster.
Overall, the Thayans use a foreign Legion strategy, sending Red Wizards and traders throughout Toril to do whatever Tam commands, but if they get caught, they're not really there ad official representatives of Thay, and Thay disavow them. In Mulmaster, the former ambassador D'arlon Ma has openly declared himslef Zulkhir of Enchantment in an alternate Council of Zulkirs. The position on the official council is deliberately left vacant by Tam.
In this environment paranoia is totally reasonable, and wirh his Aunt Morwena at the keast MIA for quite some time and possibly seen in the company of Darlon Ma, who still makes his hime in the city, he would at least out if an abundance of caution wait until tomorrow after the items are transported to return Chadderlays badge.
(Above the table: you're like 20ft from @Ikarbano's PC right now. She's stuck in the library, but she's got an arcane eye roaming the halls. She may have seen you by now).
<Nobody is waiting on me, right? Isn't there someone patrolling around here at regular intervals? Not implying game time to irl time correlation, but, given the opportunity, I might become ... inspired.>
No takers?
(we are searching for artifacts, and evidence that something is fishy with the rift research, right? Are we looking for a specific person?)
(Can Chadderlay tell Angus which doors will open with his blue badge?)
Main entrance, VIP entrance, dining hall, stables, and staff entrance.
Spiral staircases to the second d floor are suppressed by guard (yellow) and ambassadoroal (red) badges.
Stairway down to catacombs alarm suppressed by red badge only.
Formally, thee doors aren't locked, they just trigger alarms or in the case of stairs, there's a web spell with a pass word
Looking for the artifact, notes on same, rift research (e.g. the planar (elemental) rifts open in the city during princes of the apocalypse) and, for the theives guild, blackmail material on the guard captain. In order of priorities, this last one seems low, but note that you owe them a debt, and they will come to collect, without warning, so there's that for motivation.
“Welll, lead on” tetrevess whispers. “Any idea where we should start?”
There's a map on the campaign page.
Realistically, Chadderlay would know a bunch of stuff, so I'll put it in the spoiler, but it kind of detracts from the 'game' part of the adventure, (which was never designed to have a red wizard in the party), but it won't really help that much. Things are probably about where you'd expect them to be. There have been clues for these things throughout.
<Above the table: one of you is in the library and if you move 5ft, he'll definitely see you, (unless you're all invisible, I suppose). So, let's just say he sees you there and for expediency sake, he recognizes that you don't belong. he might even guess the theives' guild sent you.>
@Ikarbano: you see them sneak in via you're arcane eye, but you didn't see hiw they got in, juat rhat they came from the hallway, through which lies only the service door.
The guard captain has his quarters on the second floor. If you hope to incriminate him, the evidence is probably in his quarters.
Research on the rifts might be in the vast libraries you've already heard were in the Monastery before the Thayan occupation. Or, it might be down in the catacombs where the Ambassador spends most of his time. He's probably been down there since the courier arrived with little exception. That would explain the recent long lines of petitioners waiting to meet him.
Seeing others in the embassy, his first instinct was to hide and observe them. As they advanced, he would follow - there were lots of corners to stay behind and the eye would always keep in contact with them anyway - and try to stay hidden.
Stealth 26
<A not on following; without a badge (we csn retcon in PM still, for now) crossing the threshold of the library unacompanied will sound an alarm. Thsts why I said you were stuck in there, without saying explicitly why. Beavaue you joined late and we are backfilling story, I was waiting for you to get one somehow, like Angus did, or in a totally different way, or just cross thresholds wirh them, which would also work. If you just do it anyway, it will raise the alarm. Its a magic mouth spell on the doors. >
Is it dark in there Dm or is they some form of lightning
This seems like info he would have been told, so he could prep and get a badge.
Fine I will just sneak up to them using the above roll
Badges also allow the bearer to command any of the 50 skeletons in the embassy, as long as they are above ground (so not in the catacombs).
I am beyond certain I've mentioned security badges a few times. Thieves' guild doesn't know what they do, though. They're your PCs only contacts. I've even offered to retroactively fill in the how. For Angus I woukd have asked for one to hit to knock out a commoner, but it seemed like the conclusion is inevitable. He wants to take out a commoner, the 11th level paladin succeeds. By waiting until the evening of the heist, it ensures the porter won't be missed. No roll there either.
Light in halls and common areas is better than in servant only areas. All oil lamps and candles. The central courtyard is magical daylight.
Edit: spelling (oil)