Drexon, you pull up your atlas and try to match the map with the map on the atlas. At a glance, it seems familiar enough. The zigzag lines look like the perimeter of the city on the atlas. With a closer look, it seems that the void that has a faded flower in it is in the vicinity or close to where the Crimson Smash is on the atlas. Using the atlas, you can see that the other void in the east corresponds to the general area of the ranch and farming subdistrict. The void in the south corresponds to the general area where the Twenty-One Jack is located. You are unsure which building corresponds to the north and west void. There are a number of buildings close together near both voids. The Silver Sable Tavern is close to the west void, but so does a couple of other notable buildings and businesses in the area. The one that is in the north overlaps with a residential subdistrict.
Cob, you press the button on one end and the rod extends the other way, forming a 10-foot pole. Pressing the button again retracts the pole, turning it back into a rod. Clicking the button seems to change the rod into a pole and vice versa.
{{I owe you all an apology. I was away on a sort of holiday and i honestly forgot to check in here regularly, something which i definetly could have done. It has also happened before. It really disrupts the flow of the game and for that i am sorry. It also wont help that i have an important work project in about a month which will, when it starts, take most of my focus. With that being said i will really try to post more frequently or at least give notice when i am unable to}}
Karm purchased The Color Theory and The Frozen Tome at the Grey Heap
Question about the paper: "If i had the ink" does that imply that i would need to purchase ink with a significant value or just any ink and the cost for transcribing would be handled by the paper?
{{Karm, that will be 30 coppers for both books. Mark that off. Check the spoiler for more info on the books.}}
The Color Theory. This book details the significance of spell color in enhancing the spell's power. Within the book is two notable spells called Color Spray and Chromatic Orb. When you touch the book, your vision becomes a bit muted. It returns when you put the book in your bag. It seems that the book has a bit of a curse to it.
The Frozen Tome. This book explains and illuminates the art of using ice magic for combat. It also gives you a rough guideline on how to convert a fire-based spell into an ice-based one for those who don't like using fire. It contains four notable spells called Chromatic Orb (Ice only), Snilloc's Snowball Swarm, Ice Storm, and Cone of Cold. The book also gives a general step-by-step guide to developing a counter to the Fireball by using its equivalent ice variant called Ice Bomb (We can homebrew this if you are still going the path of cold damage, changing the effect of fireball's fire spread to causing a difficult ice terrain. I added this so Karm can have a reason to develop Melf's Minute Meteor but with cold damage, as per your idea). When you touch the book, you can feel your hand getting unbearably warm. It is made worse when it travels along your scar. It disappears when you put the book in your bag. It seems that his book also has a small curse to it.
{{Sorry about the ink. I will have to retcon that a little. I recently made myself a wizard PC and read the full and complete description of copying a spell. It would be a hassle for both of us to make or find an ink of significant value. So, here's what we'll do instead. The price of a standard ink bottle is 10 gp, which translates to 10 copper in this campaign. So, to copy a spell, you will have to provide this 10 copper ink and 40 copper worth of high-quality paper (or 15 copper with the savant feature) per level. You just got 60 copper worth of high/spell-quality papers.}}
After concentrating on the rod for a while, you begin to understand what the rod is and what it can do. It is not a powerful magical item that would shatter the earth or something. It is a simple Pole of Collapsing, a modified 1-foot rod that can transform into a 10-foot pole and return with a click of a button. Usually, this rod is used by shepherds to herd a large number of animals as a replacement for crooks, but entertainers also use it to perform acts of daring. Sometimes, it can also be used by construction workers to be a temporary supporting beam.
{{Just a reminder to everyone that the box on the table is still closed. I swear it is not trapped. Maybe...}}
"It seems these voids on the map correspond to where the Verdant Masons have their stashes", Drexon informs the others.
"If I could borrow something to draw with, I can highlight them in our atlas, discretely of course. Which just leaves the box I believe. Anyone care to help me check it over? These were a secretive bunch, it wouldn't surprise me if they left a surprise or two".
With that he turns his attention to the box, whispering his words of focus and checking it over for any mechanisms and locks.
Drexon, the box doesn't have a lock. It has a sliding cover. You look for something that would tell whether the box is trapped or not and find nothing. When you slide it open a bit, the smell of salt and seawater immediately permeates the room. You can see 6 candles submerged in seawater.
Well, while im at it... Karm turns around on the table facing towards the box and has a closer look, bowing down. Dont think thats where you'd usually use a candle.He puts his hand holding the feather and pearl into the box and identifies the candles while keeping them completely submerged, just in case.
Karm, after looking at it and casting your spell, you get the sense that you have seen such candles before. When the spell finishes, you know immediately that this is the candles that the people in the Archive would use to mark the perimeter of the Frozen Teardrop island when the night is particularly dark to prevent ships crashing the cliffside or into the rocky shore. It is called the Candle of the Deep and it stays lit underwater. The one that the Archive use is about five foot tall and can last up to 8 hours. The one in the box, however, perhaps can only last about an hour or so.
"Why would they need underwater candles here?", Drexon muses out loud. "Might there be another exit, through water?", he asks of everyone, his gaze landing on Qayne as the one most likely to know.
When Eremoz asks where they go next, he nods. "Yes, if the kids are being kept in the city, they will likely be in one. And we know how to gain access to the one at the Lucky Ranch, that would make sense as our next stop", he says, before frowning at the candles again.
{{ I have assumed Karm told us what he found out about the candles so we can keep moving }}
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
{{Ye, Karm would have said something. You can consider any information about magic items he finds out as being shared among the group unless stated otherwise}}
So, when we get there and happen to stumble into a room where they keep them, what is the plan?
Karm begins to scan the floor for hatches and trap doors and such. He lifts up rugs, should there be any. Investigation: 9
"Could be the sewers," Qayne says. He looks at the map on the table and shrugs. "Could be sewers and water pipes. This building sure doesn't have any of them. We have to get water from the neighbor's pipes and our bathroom is at the far back of the building, possibly to connect to the closest sewer line there."
Karm, the floor is dusty. You lift anything you could to look for clues but there is no sign of hatches or trap doors on the floor. However, your persistence is rewarded when you notice that some places on the floor have a shallower dust layer. Cleaning it a bit, you notice a pair of scuff marks in front of one of the cabinets. It appears as if that cabinet is often pulled from the wall when the room was still in use. You can feel a very, very faint breeze from the back of the cabinet.
Karm, when you move the cabinet, you see that it has been covering a crawlspace that is descending into a partially submerged tunnel. It is pitch black apart from the faint reflection of the water surface and you understand the need for a submersible candle to traverse the space. The smell that comes from the crawlspace is foul. It definitely leads to the sewer. It seems that the Verdant Masons don't want anyone to know about this escape tunnel and never put it on the map on the table.
The crawlspace is about 2.5 feet wide and 1.5 feet high. It descends down a shallow slope for about a dozen feet before it levels again. The level part is submerged by muck and water to nearly half the height of the crawlspace.
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{{ Does one of the voids correspond to where the Crimson Smash is? Or are the voids much bigger than a shop? }}
"Looks magical. Probably your area of expertise more than mine, Karm", Drexon says regarding the rod, as he focusses more on the map.
Cob look over the scroll paper.
"Nice quality stuff," Cob says. He pats his back and the large tome inside it. "But I've more paper than I know what to do with right now."
If Karm isn't investigating the rod, Cob plays with it a bit.
"What if we just push a few buttons and see what happens?"
Drexon, you pull up your atlas and try to match the map with the map on the atlas. At a glance, it seems familiar enough. The zigzag lines look like the perimeter of the city on the atlas. With a closer look, it seems that the void that has a faded flower in it is in the vicinity or close to where the Crimson Smash is on the atlas. Using the atlas, you can see that the other void in the east corresponds to the general area of the ranch and farming subdistrict. The void in the south corresponds to the general area where the Twenty-One Jack is located. You are unsure which building corresponds to the north and west void. There are a number of buildings close together near both voids. The Silver Sable Tavern is close to the west void, but so does a couple of other notable buildings and businesses in the area. The one that is in the north overlaps with a residential subdistrict.
Cob, you press the button on one end and the rod extends the other way, forming a 10-foot pole. Pressing the button again retracts the pole, turning it back into a rod. Clicking the button seems to change the rod into a pole and vice versa.
Cob nods at the rod as he clicks buttons a few times, seeing how quickly he can make it change from a one foot rod into a 10 foot pole and back.
"This could come in handy," he says.
Then while Drexon figures the map out, Cob starts flipping through the book to get an idea of what it's all about.
{{I owe you all an apology. I was away on a sort of holiday and i honestly forgot to check in here regularly, something which i definetly could have done. It has also happened before. It really disrupts the flow of the game and for that i am sorry. It also wont help that i have an important work project in about a month which will, when it starts, take most of my focus. With that being said i will really try to post more frequently or at least give notice when i am unable to}}
Karm purchased The Color Theory and The Frozen Tome at the Grey Heap
Question about the paper: "If i had the ink" does that imply that i would need to purchase ink with a significant value or just any ink and the cost for transcribing would be handled by the paper?
Let me have a loot at that wounderous stick. This will take me a moment, so enjoy the dust while we're here. Karm will sit onto the table with crossed legs, the rod in his lap while he presses his new pearl on it and traces its shape with a feather
Olloray Dim - Limbo's Pit
Gunther Korroden - Nightmares in the Mist
{{Karm, that will be 30 coppers for both books. Mark that off. Check the spoiler for more info on the books.}}
When you touch the book, your vision becomes a bit muted. It returns when you put the book in your bag. It seems that the book has a bit of a curse to it.
When you touch the book, you can feel your hand getting unbearably warm. It is made worse when it travels along your scar. It disappears when you put the book in your bag. It seems that his book also has a small curse to it.
{{Sorry about the ink. I will have to retcon that a little. I recently made myself a wizard PC and read the full and complete description of copying a spell. It would be a hassle for both of us to make or find an ink of significant value. So, here's what we'll do instead. The price of a standard ink bottle is 10 gp, which translates to 10 copper in this campaign. So, to copy a spell, you will have to provide this 10 copper ink and 40 copper worth of high-quality paper (or 15 copper with the savant feature) per level. You just got 60 copper worth of high/spell-quality papers.}}
After concentrating on the rod for a while, you begin to understand what the rod is and what it can do. It is not a powerful magical item that would shatter the earth or something. It is a simple Pole of Collapsing, a modified 1-foot rod that can transform into a 10-foot pole and return with a click of a button. Usually, this rod is used by shepherds to herd a large number of animals as a replacement for crooks, but entertainers also use it to perform acts of daring. Sometimes, it can also be used by construction workers to be a temporary supporting beam.
{{Just a reminder to everyone that the box on the table is still closed. I swear it is not trapped. Maybe...}}
"It seems these voids on the map correspond to where the Verdant Masons have their stashes", Drexon informs the others.
"If I could borrow something to draw with, I can highlight them in our atlas, discretely of course. Which just leaves the box I believe. Anyone care to help me check it over? These were a secretive bunch, it wouldn't surprise me if they left a surprise or two".
With that he turns his attention to the box, whispering his words of focus and checking it over for any mechanisms and locks.
Investigation: 20+2=22
Investigation (if helped): 17+2=
19Guidance: 1
Total: 23
Drexon, the box doesn't have a lock. It has a sliding cover. You look for something that would tell whether the box is trapped or not and find nothing. When you slide it open a bit, the smell of salt and seawater immediately permeates the room. You can see 6 candles submerged in seawater.
"Well, that I was not expecting. Anyone have any idea what they are, or mean?", Drexon enquires, a little taken aback.
Well, while im at it... Karm turns around on the table facing towards the box and has a closer look, bowing down. Dont think thats where you'd usually use a candle. He puts his hand holding the feather and pearl into the box and identifies the candles while keeping them completely submerged, just in case.
He also shares his discoveries about the rod
Olloray Dim - Limbo's Pit
Gunther Korroden - Nightmares in the Mist
Karm, after looking at it and casting your spell, you get the sense that you have seen such candles before. When the spell finishes, you know immediately that this is the candles that the people in the Archive would use to mark the perimeter of the Frozen Teardrop island when the night is particularly dark to prevent ships crashing the cliffside or into the rocky shore. It is called the Candle of the Deep and it stays lit underwater. The one that the Archive use is about five foot tall and can last up to 8 hours. The one in the box, however, perhaps can only last about an hour or so.
Cob plays with the rod a little more, testing out its strength when it pops open.
He looks at the candles for a moment too but doesn't have much interest in them.
"Nice few goodies here, but no real lead on where the children are." Cob says. "But maybe one of those other voidy bits."
“Cool toy.” Eremoz looks to the others. “Do we go to one of the other stashes next?”
"Why would they need underwater candles here?", Drexon muses out loud. "Might there be another exit, through water?", he asks of everyone, his gaze landing on Qayne as the one most likely to know.
When Eremoz asks where they go next, he nods. "Yes, if the kids are being kept in the city, they will likely be in one. And we know how to gain access to the one at the Lucky Ranch, that would make sense as our next stop", he says, before frowning at the candles again.
{{ I have assumed Karm told us what he found out about the candles so we can keep moving }}
{{Ye, Karm would have said something. You can consider any information about magic items he finds out as being shared among the group unless stated otherwise}}
So, when we get there and happen to stumble into a room where they keep them, what is the plan?
Karm begins to scan the floor for hatches and trap doors and such. He lifts up rugs, should there be any.
Investigation: 9
Olloray Dim - Limbo's Pit
Gunther Korroden - Nightmares in the Mist
"Could be the sewers," Qayne says. He looks at the map on the table and shrugs. "Could be sewers and water pipes. This building sure doesn't have any of them. We have to get water from the neighbor's pipes and our bathroom is at the far back of the building, possibly to connect to the closest sewer line there."
Karm, the floor is dusty. You lift anything you could to look for clues but there is no sign of hatches or trap doors on the floor. However, your persistence is rewarded when you notice that some places on the floor have a shallower dust layer. Cleaning it a bit, you notice a pair of scuff marks in front of one of the cabinets. It appears as if that cabinet is often pulled from the wall when the room was still in use. You can feel a very, very faint breeze from the back of the cabinet.
Maybe not underwater but probably dark still.
Karm tries to push the cabinet to the side
{{As a sidenote, i did not expend slots to cast identify which means we've been down here for at least 22 minutes}}
Olloray Dim - Limbo's Pit
Gunther Korroden - Nightmares in the Mist
Karm, when you move the cabinet, you see that it has been covering a crawlspace that is descending into a partially submerged tunnel. It is pitch black apart from the faint reflection of the water surface and you understand the need for a submersible candle to traverse the space. The smell that comes from the crawlspace is foul. It definitely leads to the sewer. It seems that the Verdant Masons don't want anyone to know about this escape tunnel and never put it on the map on the table.
Cob sticks his head down to the entrance to the crawlspace to determine if there's any gaps for air down there or if it's all "water."
The crawlspace is about 2.5 feet wide and 1.5 feet high. It descends down a shallow slope for about a dozen feet before it levels again. The level part is submerged by muck and water to nearly half the height of the crawlspace.