Quote from AlaricBrand >>

"Will the mud stop you tracking him?"

"No," say Madame Damass. "But it will make him harder to see in the dark. Something has happened... I think he thinks someone is after him."

Quote from AlaricBrand >>

 [[ Arbitrary aside. Too hot to think about much. Some death statistics.

[[We installed insulation and an air conditioner for this summer. Last summer was pretty rough for us in this new house.]]

Probability life/death result determined by round 2 is: 9.5%
Probability life/death result determined by round 3 is: 40% (cumulative)
Probability life/death result determined by round 4 is: 76% (cumulative)
Probability life/death result determined by round 5 is: 100% (cumulative)

Probability of Dying/Living: 42% / 58%

Probability of Death in 2 rounds: 4.25%
Probability of Death in 3 rounds: 16% (cumulative)
Probability of Death in 4 rounds: 31% (cumulative)
Probability of Death in 5 rounds: 42% (cumulative)

Probability of Life in 2 rounds: 5.25%
Probability of Life in 3 rounds: 24% (cumulative)
Probability of Life in 4 rounds: 45% (cumulative)
Probability of Life in 5 rounds: 58% (cumulative)

I used to prefer an open ended system where HP are added/subtracted. But I also like the immediacy this system brings. It's an interesting balance.]]

[[I'm going to need come context for the above. Are you talking about Death saving throws?]]

[[I'm going to need come context for the above. Are you talking about Death saving throws?]]

Yeah, on the assumption that 1 = +2 Death; 2-9 = +1 Death, 10-19 = +1 Life; 20 = +2 Life, and the 'objective' is to get to 3 of anything.

"No," say Madame Damass. "But it will make him harder to see in the dark. Something has happened... I think he thinks someone is after him."

"I wonder if he senses you, or if Jon is getting close. We could always hope he's just planning to settle in...though, he's had time to think and might well conclude they were all followed."

[[ Edit: ]]

Brand kneels down and opens his backpack, moving a vile of Stink of Life and spare dagger to his bandoleer. "Should you wish it, I can head to where I think Brax is, but it may all be over by the time I get there...or worse, he may have moved on. It's a pity we have no way to pass on messages."

[[ Though I just read this: "Rolling 1 or 20. When you make a death saving throw and roll a 1 on the d20, it counts as two failures. If you roll a 20 on the d20, you regain 1 hit point." which implies any 20 is an automatic success and my stats are wrong. Is the bold bit correct?

Edit: I have revised the numbers on that basis. ]]

Quote from AlaricBrand >>

[[ Though I just read this: "Rolling 1 or 20. When you make a death saving throw and roll a 1 on the d20, it counts as two failures. If you roll a 20 on the d20, you regain 1 hit point." which implies any 20 is an automatic success and my stats are wrong. Is the bold bit correct? ]]

[[Correct. But as to what that means, I'm a bit unclear. You can be unconscious on positive hit points (ref. Sleep). So does that mean that if you roll a critical when making a Death save you are: stable, on 1 hit point, but still unconscious (and would need to be awakened)? I would assume so, because it doesn't specifically say you wake up, but our regular tabletop ref plays it as you are now conscious and on 1 hit point. Thoughts?]]

[[ Thoughts? ]]

It's pretty rare, so I'd go with conscious since it has the potential to make for heroic (or at least more fun) moments.

I think also, getting to positive HP means consciousness. The normal course of events they stabilize but have 0.

If someone survives in the normal sense I'd probably suggest a roll every 10 minutes plus or minus con bonus (so 5-15 minutes) (?) to see if they regain consciousness; a 20 means they do. The 1-4 hours seems a bit weird to me.

Edit: if you want the same average time as 1d4 hours, then make it 15min +/- Con Bonus, and a person with a 10 Con will (on average) wake after 2.5 hours. Though, of course, they could wake in 15 min...or never

Time passes for the group watching Brax, who now seems to be a little on-edge, occasionally looking back over his shoulder.

Madame Damass's chaperone excuses herself and takes her chair over to a corner and tries to sleep.

However, her chance to do so is interrupted when a bandaged man—who Brand realises must be Tomas Rima—knocks on the door and is allowed to enter. 

"How are things going, sir?" he asks Lord Brand

"You will have to ask one of them," says Koric, sounding frustrated.

Brand is about to say something when he sees the crouching Brax suddenly turn and look over his shoulder and upwards. Madame Damass then gasps at the same time as Brand sees a light crossbow bolt suddenly appears in Brax's neck leaving a nasty jagged wound.

Blood spurts and the man collapses.

"What is it? What's happening?" demands Koric.

Brand nods, a thin smile on his lips, "I think Jon just happened."

"Brax is down at the moment, hopefully dead, but that remains to be seen. A crossbow bolt in the neck, by the look of it. A good, clean shot."

Edit:

Brand glances at Rima, quickly taking stock, then nods to him and says "Very glad you made it" before turning back to the Orb.

As Brand watches the bleeding man, the image in the crystal ball slowly fades to blackness, a darkness too deep for even his darkvision spell.

"He is dead," announces Madame Damass, sitting back in her chair. "The link is broken."

[[ Tempted t say "Supper anybody? I'm famished." but I don't think Brand is quite that far gone yet. ]]

[[ Edit: in case you missed the previous edit ]]

Brand glances at Rima, quickly taking stock, then nods to him and says "Very glad you made it" before ... etc [[ Can do here ]]

[[ End]]

Brand nods and breathes a sigh of relief, then moves a little bit back from Madam Damass to give her some space and looks at his father expectantly.

Koric pours everyone a glass of brandy, a smile of satisfaction on his face. He even hands the youthful-looking Madame Damass a glass, who accepts it willingly, but then coughs a little on taking a sip

Koric then says to her, 'There's still a few things to do, but that needn't concern you. So, I won't hold you up. How much do I owe you?"

"Three hundred and fifty," says Madame Damass's chaperone, from her corner of the room.

Brand's father obviously heard what she says, but doesn't turn towards her, instead keeping his eyes on Madame Damass and a smile on his face. He then says, "I will make it 500, if I can be guaranteed of your discretion."

The young girl smiles at him and replies, saying, "Of course."

Then she gives Brand a sideways glance and adds, "And besides, where would I get such interesting work otherwise."

Brand inclines his head, bowing slightly, "I look forward to our next meeting, Madame."

Then her turns and nods to each of her companions, noting their appearance as carefully as he can.

[[ Does Brand know where to find her?  He wont ask her now.

Does he have any idead of the currency denomination being discussed? ]]

 [[ Updated the statistics with probabilities of ending up awake; overall total 18% ]]

Quote from AlaricBrand >>

Brand inclines his head, bowing slightly, "I look forward to our next meeting, Madame."

Then her turns and nods to each of her companions, noting their appearance as carefully as he can.

[[ Does Brand know where to find her?  He wont ask her now.

[[Yes. She's been in the city for quite a while and her place of business is known to Brand; it is in the Scholar's Ward.]]

Does he have any idead of the currency denomination being discussed? ]]

[[No.]]

As the three pack up their belongings, Koric disappears and returns with a piece of ornate-looking paper that Brand recognises as a standard promissory note from the Bank of Engle, which he hands across to Madame Damass's chaperone.

"I thought, tonight, you'd appreciated funds from a local source rather than the Bank of Sorenden," he adds.

The woman smiles at him but says nothing and then puts the paper away in a leather wallet that she conceals under her clothing.

Brand hears the fifth candle being called as Koric escorts the three towards the residence's front entrance.

Brand turns to Rima, "Well. This is a night we will all remember," he then smiles and adds "at least until next time."

"I'm sorry, where's my manners! I don't think we've ever been introduced. I'm Alaric; you must be Tomas Rima. My father thinks highly of you."

Brand holds out his hand [[assuming either of Rima's hands look usable]].

The young man—who is slightly younger than Brand—hesitantly takes the extended hand to shake, saying, "Yes, I am Tomas, Master Alaric. Your father has been kind enough to take me into the organisation and give me training under Master Lazlo. However, I fear that my performance tonight has not lived up to his expectations."

Brand laughs, "One man against five is not what I would call a fair test, and neither would my father." 

"If he knew Rawl was going to be so brash as to attempt to robe the bank, he would have had a different plan."

"The fact you escaped with your life has probably impressed him, I would wager. How did you manage that, by the way? The Seeker was in the cistern, and I can't see how you would have escaped by the temple."

Brand offers the man a seat, and leans back against the desk, "Sit, you need to rest, or...perhaps you should get a proper rest and this can be a story for another time?"

"I hid from Rawl using my magic," says Tomas, taking the proffered seat. "For a while, I was just one chest among many, but they found me because they weren't just grabbing what loot they could, they were searching for something."

After a moment's pause to gather his thoughts, he continues, "They tried to catch me, but I was too quick and managed to run back along the tunnel. It wasn't till I reached the cistern that I realised why they hadn't chased me. In fact, one of the temple guards—a female sorcerer—almost did for me, and it was pure luck that none of them followed me down the outflow tunnel as I was almost done-in by the time I reached the riverbank."

"I'm impressed; as I am sure my father will be. Do not doubt yourself in this. I did not come for you because of the hand of men in the cistern..and specifically that sorceror, as you say. Perhaps my presence gave them pause in following you, I'd like to think so."

"But your survival and quick wits do you credit. And I am very relieved that you survived -- it was I who told the boatmen to leave because I expected the Seeker to summon help, and it was a hard decision."

Brand nods, satisfied, then thinks for a moment. "You said they were looking for something...do you have any idea what it was?"

Tomas thinks for a moment and then says, "No, but Rawl did mention someone's name—in frustration... He said the name 'Rahni'... and something about 'lapdogs'. I got the impression that this person was an enemy of his and that perhaps she'd been in the vault at some time."

Then Tomas adds, "But what concerns me the most is the rats. There was nothing in the vault for them to eat, so I have no idea why they were there, or why they were so aggressive."