"I have a couple of spells that could be useful in the right circumstances - I can put a small group of people to sleep, I can make an individual do what I ask, I can light up a street, or make a small illusion. I can use this sword if those things don't work. I notice a couple of the guards took crossbows. I don't have any skill there."
"But you can see magick, yes?" asks Handleader Wallus, gesturing for Guilliame to take a seat at the guard post's outside table. "That would be the most important thing... Though I must admit being able to put people to sleep could be useful."
She then takes a seat herself and adds, "This area of the Ward is generally pretty quiet: the odd bar fight and some theft of livestock... However, none of us are magi, so there could be all sorts of things going on that we know nothing about... This controlling of people, for instance..."
She then points a finger at Guilliame and says, "And, do not do that while you are working with me, or we might have problems."
Then, before Guilliame can respond, Handleader Wallus brings something up from below the table and places it in front of Guilliame. "What can you tell me about this?" she asks.
In front of Guilliame is a coil of thin wire.
[OOC: I will leave it up to take it from here. If you want Guilliame to make a skill check, make a d20 roll without any modifiers and tell me which skill he wants to use. I will take the appropriate bonuses into account when I give the answer.
Also, I am working on creating a map of the guard post for possible future reference and will add it to the World Anvil page when it is done (seehere for the page).]
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
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Tyrus Mountson: Lvl 3 Dwarvish Bard; Waterdeep Campaign (Dragon Heist) Nanoc the Younger: Semi-retired Lvl 2 Rogue / Level 2 Barbarian Human; The Knuckle, Mror Holds, Ebberon. The Honourable Jaden Fellan: Level 3 Human Eldritch Knight; Band of Sunswall
AKA: Phillip Berrie: writer, editor and academic thrillseeker—a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.
[OOC: See the Arcane is a cantrip, not a skill. However, I will presume he is using See the Arcane so he can see if the wire is magickal, which will make the skill check a Perception check for which he only gets a +1 bonus. And... a total of 4 is a fail, so Guilliame can roll again for experience.
If he wants to continue investigating this piece of wire, Guilliame cannot use Perception again, but he does have other skills that might be useful (e.g., Investigation, Arcana, Nature).]
Based on what Handleader Wallus had said, Guilliame had expected the piece of wire to be magickal in some way, but his Mage Sight reveals it to have no more magic that the table it is sitting on.
"I can inspect this at my premises," he says, a little confused, "... or get some things from home and come back and look here, but either way it will take me 20 minutes or so."
Handleader Wallus frowns and then asks, "But is it magical? I found it at the site of a fire."
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
---
Tyrus Mountson: Lvl 3 Dwarvish Bard; Waterdeep Campaign (Dragon Heist) Nanoc the Younger: Semi-retired Lvl 2 Rogue / Level 2 Barbarian Human; The Knuckle, Mror Holds, Ebberon. The Honourable Jaden Fellan: Level 3 Human Eldritch Knight; Band of Sunswall
AKA: Phillip Berrie: writer, editor and academic thrillseeker—a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.
[OOC: On the other hand, however, this is a good roll. Guilliame would remember that theAlarmspell that he himself knows uses silver wire as a spell component. He would also know that there is a cantrip calledMessagethat uses a small piece of copper wire as its spell component... He is also aware that there is a more powerful spell of a similar sort to Message that also uses copper wire, but he doesn't know anything more than that.
Basically, while Guilliame cannot tell if the wire is itself magical, he knows that it could very well be something used for doing magick, depending on what the wire is made of. If you cannot think of a way to do this yourself, Guilliame can roll an Investigation check against a DC of 8 to try to determine what metal the wire is made of.
Later: Just a clarification. The wire is heavily oxidised and so could be made of copper or silver, or something else like bronze, iron or even steel.]
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
OOC Given it most of the uses Guilliame knows involve this being a spell component a little bit could be scrapped clean or a small section cut-off and check the cross-section to determine the metal. If the metal is silver it should be clear if a See the arcane is used(?)
Here's an Investigation roll if that doesn't work:
[OOC: Guilliame's Investigation check is definitely successful given your description.]
Guilliame picks up the piece of wire and scratches at it with a fingernail revealing a silvery coloured metal under the layer of oxidation. Having picked it up, he can also tell from the feel of it that one end of this short piece of wire has been softened by heat, which means it is unlikely to be made of iron or steel. He is now pretty convinced that this is a piece of silver wire.
[OOC: From his Arcana check, Guilliame would also know that silver wire is quite often used in the making of spell foci and is better for that purpose than copper or bronze.]
"So, what can you tell me?" asks Handleader Wallus.
[OOC: FYI, I have added a plan of the guard station to the World Anvil page for it, which you can seehere.]
"It's silver. This could be used to cast a number of spells. One I know is an Alarm spell that alerts the caster of someone entering a circle but there are probably others besides."
Handleader Wallus nods and then says, "Makes sense. I found it near the entrance to Negress Black's burnt-down warehouse. He is a magus like you... So are you saying this could have been part of some magickal warning system?"
[OOC: Handleader Wallus says Negress Black's name as though she expects Guilliame to recognise it. If you don't, here is alinkto Negress Black's page on the World Anvil site.
FYI, I have also update the description of the guard station to better explain what it shows... As you can probably tell, I have been experimenting with some new software and graphics resources.]
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
---
Tyrus Mountson: Lvl 3 Dwarvish Bard; Waterdeep Campaign (Dragon Heist) Nanoc the Younger: Semi-retired Lvl 2 Rogue / Level 2 Barbarian Human; The Knuckle, Mror Holds, Ebberon. The Honourable Jaden Fellan: Level 3 Human Eldritch Knight; Band of Sunswall
AKA: Phillip Berrie: writer, editor and academic thrillseeker—a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.
"Not that I have heard," replies Handleader Wallus. "I believe they have set the Death Stalkers on his trail... I would not want to be in his boots at the moment."
Then, after thinking for a moment, she asks, "So, could that piece of wire have been part of some sort of warning system?"
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
---
Tyrus Mountson: Lvl 3 Dwarvish Bard; Waterdeep Campaign (Dragon Heist) Nanoc the Younger: Semi-retired Lvl 2 Rogue / Level 2 Barbarian Human; The Knuckle, Mror Holds, Ebberon. The Honourable Jaden Fellan: Level 3 Human Eldritch Knight; Band of Sunswall
AKA: Phillip Berrie: writer, editor and academic thrillseeker—a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.
Handleader Wallus nods and says, "This is why I think your joining us is a good thing. Your ability to see magick and your knowledge about such things may be invaluable to us."
Getting to her feet, Wallus moves over to the door of the little hut. "I have a char urn in here and am going to make up a brew for the others when they come back. Would you like one?"
She then adds, "Oh, and do you have any questions?"
[OOC: Just to fill you in with some background information, the guard station is on the eastern side of the main northern road and there has been traffic along that road during the previous conversation. Nowhere near as much traffic as during the day, but the guard station is a public place and though covered it is still possible to see and be seen by passers-by.]
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
---
Tyrus Mountson: Lvl 3 Dwarvish Bard; Waterdeep Campaign (Dragon Heist) Nanoc the Younger: Semi-retired Lvl 2 Rogue / Level 2 Barbarian Human; The Knuckle, Mror Holds, Ebberon. The Honourable Jaden Fellan: Level 3 Human Eldritch Knight; Band of Sunswall
AKA: Phillip Berrie: writer, editor and academic thrillseeker—a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.
"I would love a cup of tea. I'd certainly like to do my bit for the city by helping out. There are a couple of troubling recent incidents I'd like to find out more about if you know anything. A few nights back I was attacked by some stirges. Has that happened more recently. Do you know where they came from?"
"Stirges!" says Handleader Wallus, surprised. "You were attacked by stirges! Stirges are only found these days in the King's Reserve across on the southern bank. Where in Grod's name were you?"
[OOC: Like yourself, Guilliame knows the name 'Grod'. It is likely Handleader Wallus has mispoken, because Grod is one of the recently outlawed gods of the Stemian peoples.]
Perhaps unaware of what she has said, Handleader Wallus disappears into the small hut attached to the guard station and reappears with a large, fire-blackened copper kettle.
"Was this somewhere in town?" she asks as she starts putting dippers full of water from the water butt into the kettle (see updated map).
"On the way between the Scholor's Ward and the residential area west of there. There were three. It was a dark rainy night." (OOC I think that's right but if not then let me know)
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
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"I have a couple of spells that could be useful in the right circumstances - I can put a small group of people to sleep, I can make an individual do what I ask, I can light up a street, or make a small illusion. I can use this sword if those things don't work. I notice a couple of the guards took crossbows. I don't have any skill there."
"But you can see magick, yes?" asks Handleader Wallus, gesturing for Guilliame to take a seat at the guard post's outside table. "That would be the most important thing... Though I must admit being able to put people to sleep could be useful."
She then takes a seat herself and adds, "This area of the Ward is generally pretty quiet: the odd bar fight and some theft of livestock... However, none of us are magi, so there could be all sorts of things going on that we know nothing about... This controlling of people, for instance..."
She then points a finger at Guilliame and says, "And, do not do that while you are working with me, or we might have problems."
Then, before Guilliame can respond, Handleader Wallus brings something up from below the table and places it in front of Guilliame. "What can you tell me about this?" she asks.
In front of Guilliame is a coil of thin wire.
[OOC: I will leave it up to take it from here. If you want Guilliame to make a skill check, make a d20 roll without any modifiers and tell me which skill he wants to use. I will take the appropriate bonuses into account when I give the answer.
Also, I am working on creating a map of the guard post for possible future reference and will add it to the World Anvil page when it is done (see here for the page).]
---
Tyrus Mountson: Lvl 3 Dwarvish Bard; Waterdeep Campaign (Dragon Heist)
Nanoc the Younger: Semi-retired Lvl 2 Rogue / Level 2 Barbarian Human; The Knuckle, Mror Holds, Ebberon.
The Honourable Jaden Fellan: Level 3 Human Eldritch Knight; Band of Sunswall
AKA: Phillip Berrie: writer, editor and academic thrillseeker—a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.
Start with a See the arcane.
"I can inspect this at my premises or get some things from home and come back and look here, but either way it will take me 20 minutes or so."
3
Based on what Handleader Wallus had said, Guilliame had expected the piece of wire to be magickal in some way, but his Mage Sight reveals it to have no more magic that the table it is sitting on.
"I can inspect this at my premises," he says, a little confused, "... or get some things from home and come back and look here, but either way it will take me 20 minutes or so."
Handleader Wallus frowns and then asks, "But is it magical? I found it at the site of a fire."
---
Tyrus Mountson: Lvl 3 Dwarvish Bard; Waterdeep Campaign (Dragon Heist)
Nanoc the Younger: Semi-retired Lvl 2 Rogue / Level 2 Barbarian Human; The Knuckle, Mror Holds, Ebberon.
The Honourable Jaden Fellan: Level 3 Human Eldritch Knight; Band of Sunswall
AKA: Phillip Berrie: writer, editor and academic thrillseeker—a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.
Experience roll: 13
Use Arcana: 9
Experience roll: 2
[OOC: Bad luck. No experience, I'm afraid.]
Use Arcana: 22
[OOC: On the other hand, however, this is a good roll. Guilliame would remember that the Alarm spell that he himself knows uses silver wire as a spell component. He would also know that there is a cantrip called Message that uses a small piece of copper wire as its spell component... He is also aware that there is a more powerful spell of a similar sort to Message that also uses copper wire, but he doesn't know anything more than that.
Basically, while Guilliame cannot tell if the wire is itself magical, he knows that it could very well be something used for doing magick, depending on what the wire is made of. If you cannot think of a way to do this yourself, Guilliame can roll an Investigation check against a DC of 8 to try to determine what metal the wire is made of.
Later: Just a clarification. The wire is heavily oxidised and so could be made of copper or silver, or something else like bronze, iron or even steel.]
---
Tyrus Mountson: Lvl 3 Dwarvish Bard; Waterdeep Campaign (Dragon Heist)
Nanoc the Younger: Semi-retired Lvl 2 Rogue / Level 2 Barbarian Human; The Knuckle, Mror Holds, Ebberon.
The Honourable Jaden Fellan: Level 3 Human Eldritch Knight; Band of Sunswall
AKA: Phillip Berrie: writer, editor and academic thrillseeker—a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.
OOC Given it most of the uses Guilliame knows involve this being a spell component a little bit could be scrapped clean or a small section cut-off and check the cross-section to determine the metal. If the metal is silver it should be clear if a See the arcane is used(?)
Here's an Investigation roll if that doesn't work:
14
[OOC: Guilliame's Investigation check is definitely successful given your description.]
Guilliame picks up the piece of wire and scratches at it with a fingernail revealing a silvery coloured metal under the layer of oxidation. Having picked it up, he can also tell from the feel of it that one end of this short piece of wire has been softened by heat, which means it is unlikely to be made of iron or steel. He is now pretty convinced that this is a piece of silver wire.
[OOC: From his Arcana check, Guilliame would also know that silver wire is quite often used in the making of spell foci and is better for that purpose than copper or bronze.]
"So, what can you tell me?" asks Handleader Wallus.
[OOC: FYI, I have added a plan of the guard station to the World Anvil page for it, which you can see here.]
---
Tyrus Mountson: Lvl 3 Dwarvish Bard; Waterdeep Campaign (Dragon Heist)
Nanoc the Younger: Semi-retired Lvl 2 Rogue / Level 2 Barbarian Human; The Knuckle, Mror Holds, Ebberon.
The Honourable Jaden Fellan: Level 3 Human Eldritch Knight; Band of Sunswall
AKA: Phillip Berrie: writer, editor and academic thrillseeker—a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.
"It's silver. This could be used to cast a number of spells. One I know is an Alarm spell that alerts the caster of someone entering a circle but there are probably others besides."
Handleader Wallus nods and then says, "Makes sense. I found it near the entrance to Negress Black's burnt-down warehouse. He is a magus like you... So are you saying this could have been part of some magickal warning system?"
[OOC: Handleader Wallus says Negress Black's name as though she expects Guilliame to recognise it. If you don't, here is a link to Negress Black's page on the World Anvil site.
FYI, I have also update the description of the guard station to better explain what it shows... As you can probably tell, I have been experimenting with some new software and graphics resources.]
---
Tyrus Mountson: Lvl 3 Dwarvish Bard; Waterdeep Campaign (Dragon Heist)
Nanoc the Younger: Semi-retired Lvl 2 Rogue / Level 2 Barbarian Human; The Knuckle, Mror Holds, Ebberon.
The Honourable Jaden Fellan: Level 3 Human Eldritch Knight; Band of Sunswall
AKA: Phillip Berrie: writer, editor and academic thrillseeker—a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.
"I take it there is still no word of Negress?"
"Not that I have heard," replies Handleader Wallus. "I believe they have set the Death Stalkers on his trail... I would not want to be in his boots at the moment."
Then, after thinking for a moment, she asks, "So, could that piece of wire have been part of some sort of warning system?"
---
Tyrus Mountson: Lvl 3 Dwarvish Bard; Waterdeep Campaign (Dragon Heist)
Nanoc the Younger: Semi-retired Lvl 2 Rogue / Level 2 Barbarian Human; The Knuckle, Mror Holds, Ebberon.
The Honourable Jaden Fellan: Level 3 Human Eldritch Knight; Band of Sunswall
AKA: Phillip Berrie: writer, editor and academic thrillseeker—a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.
"That's certainly possible. There are other uses but that makes sense around a commercial enterprise. I certainly have things in place."
Handleader Wallus nods and says, "This is why I think your joining us is a good thing. Your ability to see magick and your knowledge about such things may be invaluable to us."
Getting to her feet, Wallus moves over to the door of the little hut. "I have a char urn in here and am going to make up a brew for the others when they come back. Would you like one?"
She then adds, "Oh, and do you have any questions?"
[OOC: Just to fill you in with some background information, the guard station is on the eastern side of the main northern road and there has been traffic along that road during the previous conversation. Nowhere near as much traffic as during the day, but the guard station is a public place and though covered it is still possible to see and be seen by passers-by.]
---
Tyrus Mountson: Lvl 3 Dwarvish Bard; Waterdeep Campaign (Dragon Heist)
Nanoc the Younger: Semi-retired Lvl 2 Rogue / Level 2 Barbarian Human; The Knuckle, Mror Holds, Ebberon.
The Honourable Jaden Fellan: Level 3 Human Eldritch Knight; Band of Sunswall
AKA: Phillip Berrie: writer, editor and academic thrillseeker—a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.
"I would love a cup of tea. I'd certainly like to do my bit for the city by helping out. There are a couple of troubling recent incidents I'd like to find out more about if you know anything. A few nights back I was attacked by some stirges. Has that happened more recently. Do you know where they came from?"
"Stirges!" says Handleader Wallus, surprised. "You were attacked by stirges! Stirges are only found these days in the King's Reserve across on the southern bank. Where in Grod's name were you?"
[OOC: Make a Religion check versus a DC of 10.]
---
Tyrus Mountson: Lvl 3 Dwarvish Bard; Waterdeep Campaign (Dragon Heist)
Nanoc the Younger: Semi-retired Lvl 2 Rogue / Level 2 Barbarian Human; The Knuckle, Mror Holds, Ebberon.
The Honourable Jaden Fellan: Level 3 Human Eldritch Knight; Band of Sunswall
AKA: Phillip Berrie: writer, editor and academic thrillseeker—a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.
12
Perhaps unaware of what she has said, Handleader Wallus disappears into the small hut attached to the guard station and reappears with a large, fire-blackened copper kettle.
"Was this somewhere in town?" she asks as she starts putting dippers full of water from the water butt into the kettle (see updated map).
---
Tyrus Mountson: Lvl 3 Dwarvish Bard; Waterdeep Campaign (Dragon Heist)
Nanoc the Younger: Semi-retired Lvl 2 Rogue / Level 2 Barbarian Human; The Knuckle, Mror Holds, Ebberon.
The Honourable Jaden Fellan: Level 3 Human Eldritch Knight; Band of Sunswall
AKA: Phillip Berrie: writer, editor and academic thrillseeker—a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.
"On the way between the Scholor's Ward and the residential area west of there. There were three. It was a dark rainy night." (OOC I think that's right but if not then let me know)