[[ Brand will hurry his bath rather than luxuriating, hoping to catch up with his father before the 'event'; and to have a small chance to clean his armour. Not that is probably needs much cleaning.]]

 [[ Question about Invisibilty stone: if using the Greater Invisibility, do I need to keep stone in hand, since it's a one-off ability? eg. can he use it, put it away, then fight for 1 minute with both hands?

And...when invisible, how does he see? Can he see people by their auras, or does that only work for mages?]]

 [[ Question about Brand character sheet: Rogue gets 2 x Expertese, I can see 'Stealth', but I can't see the other; if there IS a second one to be had, my vote would be perception ]]

Quote from AlaricBrand >>

 [[ Further to my previous post: so details about the property would help:

- Does it have river access?

[[Yes. It looks out over the river.]]

- A jetty?

[[A small dock with a boat that can be rigged for sailing, but which is rarely used.]]

- On a hill?

[[No. But the land does slope up away from the river's edge.]]

- View of the palace?

[[Yes.]]

- Far enough up the river to mostly have fresh water?
- Far enough down the river to always have salty water?
- in between the two?

[[Estuarine, though the tides are not normally very severe.]]

- If built in a delta, then is it like a swamp, with houses on stilts, and rotting foundations that are continually repaired?

[[There are some low-lying areas where houses are on stilts. There are also areas where levies have been built to keep the river in its banks. And, as with the Brand residence, there is some higher ground that the river flows around.]]

- Is it prone to flooding?

[[The spring thaw combined with a high tide can cause minor flooding in certain parts of the city, but the majority of the city is safe from flooding.

- Made from rock or wood?

[[I presume you mean the house here. It is mainly made of wood but the side of the house that faces the river it is built on a raised earth foundation made of earth and stone paving.]]

I tried for stone, but some distinctive element would be good!]]

 [[ Re: names, best I have so far is "Tidewater Lodge" or just "Tidewater"; I'd probably prefer a place named for something of significance to Koric, but that's hard for obvious reasons. Still thinking. ]]

Quote from AlaricBrand >>

Brand does a double-take, then nods. "I trust your instinct. Armour it is. What are our guests wearing?"

Mikkel replies that he'd be surprised if those who arrived wearing armour would change out of it for dinner as he did not see them carrying other clothes.

"And don't worry, I always planned to go to dinner tonight, your warning may not have changed that, but I will be more prepared than I might have otherwise been."

Brand considers for a moment, "Perhaps you could also ensure my swords are discreetly placed in the [[Room 1 next to dining room]] and [[other room next do dining room]], perhaps in the [[linen press]]/[map cabinet]/[[other places that guests would not look in or go to]]".

Mikkel nods and says, "I will do this now and come back and tell you where they are hidden."

 

DON'T DO THIS: "Also, you might tell Abrams that I asked you to mention your concerns to him. He is probably already aware, but it never hurts to be sure. He needs to keep the staff safe."

"One more thing...the guards my father hired. Do you know where they are now?"

"There were two billeted in the storeroom up here in the attic," Mikkel says, "And there was the fellow who had this room. He's in the stables now."

[[ I don't know layout, but there's probably a 'servery' at one end of the room, and perhaps a 'lounge' at the other, just guessing]]

[[I don't think a sword is likely to be weildable IN the dining room (let me know if misaprehension), and would be hard to avoid another person taking it if seated at dinner (let me know if misaprehension). He will have daggers.]]

[[ Let me know if sword is wearable AT dinner while seated ]]

[[Not sure what you mean by 'wieldable' above. The room is large enough to fight in, if necessary, but the dining table is not really large enough for people to be wearing swords at dinner.]] 

[[He won't pull apart the sword hilt]]

[[Kit for dinner: Standard City gear PLUS bag of ball bearings in belt ]]

[[ Brand will hurry his bath rather than luxuriating, hoping to catch up with his father before the 'event'; and to have a small chance to clean his armour. Not that is probably needs much cleaning.]]

[[While Brand is bathing, Mikkel is going to try to hide the swords.]]

[[ Question about Invisibilty stone: if using the Greater Invisibility, do I need to keep stone in hand, since it's a one-off ability? eg. can he use it, put it away, then fight for 1 minute with both hands?]]

[[No. The stones have to remain in contact with his hand, though he has discovered that he doesn't need to completely close his fist. This is why the glove trick works.]]

And...when invisible, how does he see? Can he see people by their auras, or does that only work for mages?]]

[[He sees normally, but in addition he sees the particles of magical mana also in the surroundings. Innate sorcerers are easy to spot when using the stone because they keep their mana in auras about their heads. Normally people do not have such auras.]]

 [[ Question about Brand character sheet: Rogue gets 2 x Expertese, I can see 'Stealth', but I can't see the other; if there IS a second one to be had, my vote would be perception ]]

[[I gave the second Expertise proficiency to 'Thieve's Tools' because that match his original skill bests. Happy to change it to 'Perception' if that is what you want.]]

[[While Brand is bathing, Mikkel is going to try to hide the swords.]]

Before Mikkel leaves, Brand will ask him to deliver a message that Brand would like to see his father before the event, to discuss various matters. It won't take long, but is probably important, and ask when and where we should meet.

[[ Question about Invisibilty stone: if using the Greater Invisibility, do I need to keep stone in hand, since it's a one-off ability? eg. can he use it, put it away, then fight for 1 minute with both hands?]]

[[No. The stones have to remain in contact with his hand, though he has discovered that he doesn't need to completely close his fist. This is why the glove trick works.]]

I may have misunderstood something. With Invisibility, he concentrates to cast, then just needs to maintain contact. If he attacks something, he reappears, but can become invisible again by concentrating (is using the item and action or bonus action, or even a reaction?). With Greater Invis, he does all the same things, but does not briefly reappear...is that right?

[[I gave the second Expertise proficiency to 'Thieve's Tools' because that match his original skill bests. Happy to change it to 'Perception' if that is what you want.]]

That makes sense. I might think on it, if that's OK?

Brand is just about to leave the bath when there is a rapid knock on the bathroom door and Mikkel slips in carrying one of Brand's swords.

"Sorry, Master Alaric," he says looking nervous. "I managed to hide one of your swords under a piece of furniture in one room, but the room on the other side of the dining room had people in it.

Then he goes on to say that Brand's father would like to have a word with him, and he is expected in his father's bedroom as soon as possible.

[[Mikkel gave Brand all the detail about which room and which piece of furniture. It is the plain scimitar he has hidden.]]

[[It is the plain scimitar he has hidden.]]

[[ Well boo. Children keep leaving their toys lying around. ]]

Brand nods, and starts to dress quickly and as he does so he asks "Do you think you might be able to hide both in the same room, or  does that bring a risk of being discovered?"

He then starts walking to his father's room, listening to Mikkels reply as he walks.

[[Sanity check: my belief is that Brand is in bath house, and his armour is in attic? If they are together, then he will be strapping it on as he goes.]]

Quote from AlaricBrand >>

[[While Brand is bathing, Mikkel is going to try to hide the swords.]]

Before Mikkel leaves, Brand will ask him to deliver a message that Brand would like to see his father before the event, to discuss various matters. It won't take long, but is probably important, and ask when and where we should meet.

[[It would seem that Brand and his father are on the same wavelength.]]

[[ Question about Invisibilty stone: if using the Greater Invisibility, do I need to keep stone in hand, since it's a one-off ability? eg. can he use it, put it away, then fight for 1 minute with both hands?]]

[[No. The stones have to remain in contact with his hand, though he has discovered that he doesn't need to completely close his fist. This is why the glove trick works.]]

I may have misunderstood something. With Invisibility, he concentrates to cast, then just needs to maintain contact. If he attacks something, he reappears, but can become invisible again by concentrating (is using the item and action or bonus action, or even a reaction?). With Greater Invis, he does all the same things, but does not briefly reappear...is that right?

[[The normal use of the Stone of Unseeing doesn't require the Concentration that would need to use for the normal spell (i.e, Brand can use both the Stone of Uplifting and the Stone of Unseeing at the same time, something a spell caster with the equivalent spells can't do because they are both Concentration spells), but it does take an Action to become invisible. If he attacks something, he would become visible and it would take an action to become invisible again. The Greater Invisibility version means he doesn't become visible if he attacks something. It also means he can't be seen by people using the See the Arcane cantrip. However, it only lasts for a minute, not the hour the normal Invisibility spell lasts for.]]

[[I gave the second Expertise proficiency to 'Thieve's Tools' because that match his original skill bests. Happy to change it to 'Perception' if that is what you want.]]

That makes sense. I might think on it, if that's OK?

[[No worries. I think this is going to have to be it for me tonight. It's almost on 1am and I have a busy day tomorrow. Night.]]

[[ Another stone question: if he has 3 in one trouser pocket, can he tell which is which by just touching them quickly, or does he need to hold it in his hand, ready to use it before he knows? In either case, if he has 3 in a pocket, how long (worst and best case) would it take to find and activate a specific one?  ]]

Night.

K, cya on the morrow.

Quote from AlaricBrand >>

[[ Another stone question: if he has 3 in one trouser pocket, can he tell which is which by just touching them quickly, or does he need to hold it in his hand, ready to use it before he knows? In either case, if he has 3 in a pocket, how long (worst and best case) would it take to find and activate a specific one?  ]]

Night.

K, cya on the morrow.

[[Quick answer (Today will be busy because the new CEO is starting at the office): Brand can tell which is which by touch because he is attuned to them. He couldn't tell one from the other until after after he had attuned to them, which takes an hour.]]

[[Quick answer (Today will be busy because the new CEO is starting at the office): Brand can tell which is which by touch because he is attuned to them. He couldn't tell one from the other until after after he had attuned to them, which takes an hour.]]

So, if he has 3 in one trouser pocket, can he, as a single action, reach into the pocket and use one of them? If not, what if his hand is already in the pocket?

Quote from AlaricBrand >>

[[Quick answer (Today will be busy because the new CEO is starting at the office): Brand can tell which is which by touch because he is attuned to them. He couldn't tell one from the other until after after he had attuned to them, which takes an hour.]]

So, if he has 3 in one trouser pocket, can he, as a single action, reach into the pocket and use one of them? If not, what if his hand is already in the pocket?

[[Yes, he could reach into a pocket and activate one of them in one turn (i.e., the reaching into the pocket and grasping the stone would be his one free action, while the activation of the stone would be his action), and his hand already being in his pocket would not make much difference. However, if he was already holding something in his hand it becomes tricky. Literally dropping whatever is in his hand would allow Brand to do the movement in one turn (according the the current rule's adjudication). However, sheathing a sword (for example) would use Brand's free action, which means reaching into his pocket and grasping the stone becomes his action, which would mean he wouldn't be able to activate the stone.]]

[[ Re: Stones, that makes sense as an abstraction; it's kind of like drawing a weapon, I guess. A bit surprised you can sheat a weapon as part of normal movement, tho, but that seems to be the rule.

Edit: now I think about it, I once had a thong on a sword, iirc. That seems the soution here, drop dagger, ferret in pocket, then when I want to fight again, dagger is handy still. Dagger bouncing around next to arm might not be so goo tho... I knew there was a reason he carried so many spares...]] 

[[

EDIT: Note: If papa is NOT trying to persuade him to but-out, then these questions are a much lower priority...

Question and Observations about Koric & Co:

1. Brand has met some of them: they smiled when they saw him.

2. I have difficulty contextualizing Mikkel's warning (that he thinks it is dangerous, is clear. What that actually means, I have no idea).

3. In a real-world context, Brand would have a sense that these people all operated  at his kind of skill level, or above/below it.

4. Mikkel (and Brand) have no context that says "These are hard men and women with years of experience that have known many battles"

5. Yes, I am effectively asking what level range they are in, but in a culturally respectful way ;-)

If Brand thinks they are just a bunch of blokes in or around his skill level and experience, he'd so no reason not to go. ie. his father is just being protective of his dynasty.

If he sees them as people way above his sphere of experience and skill, then he'd be a little more inclined to follow Mikkels advice.

I am slightly concerned there is a risk of a substantively non-shared world view again, and just want to be clear that we are as close to possible as being on the same page...

Another relevant consideration: I don't know if Brand's father has been an administrative spy-master all his life, or has had many years leading punitive raids and patrolling border  and/or working under cover. I'd guess that they have sometime sparred with weapons... ]]

Quote from AlaricBrand >>

[[ Re: Stones, that makes sense as an abstraction; it's kind of like drawing a weapon, I guess. A bit surprised you can sheat a weapon as part of normal movement, tho, but that seems to be the rule.

[[It's the free action rule. A character can interact with one item per combat turn as a free action. If the player wants to have them interact with a second item, then it has to be as their actions.]]

Edit: now I think about it, I once had a thong on a sword, iirc. That seems the soution here, drop dagger, ferret in pocket, then when I want to fight again, dagger is handy still. Dagger bouncing around next to arm might not be so goo tho... I knew there was a reason he carried so many spares...]] 

[[Not sure how effective the above would be, it would certainly prevent you losing the weapon, but having a weapon dangling off your wrist would have to impose some sort of disadvantage to certain actions.]]

EDIT: Note: If papa is NOT trying to persuade him to but-out, then these questions are a much lower priority...

Question and Observations about Koric & Co:

1. Brand has met some of them: they smiled when they saw him.

[[True, but he has also seen a number of people in the house he doesn't recognise.]]

2. I have difficulty contextualizing Mikkel's warning (that he thinks it is dangerous, is clear. What that actually means, I have no idea).

[[Brand would have to ask Mikkel what he means.]]

3. In a real-world context, Brand would have a sense that these people all operated  at his kind of skill level, or above/below it.

[[He hasn't see all the people in the house, so I can't completely answer this question. However, perhaps a little surprisingly, of the people he has seen and recognised, they tend to be older and more involved in the area of information gathering and strategy rather than action. As to gauging their capabilities, this is much harder in this campaign by the fact that all characters have a high chance of having a feat and may therefore perform at a higher apparent level than their simple level would indicate.]]

4. Mikkel (and Brand) have no context that says "These are hard men and women with years of experience that have known many battles"

[[The above is more of a statement than a question, can you rewrite please.]]

5. Yes, I am effectively asking what level range they are in, but in a culturally respectful way ;-)

[[Because of the possibility of characters having feats even as a 0th level character in this campaign setting, this is probably impossible.]]

If Brand thinks they are just a bunch of blokes in or around his skill level and experience, he'd so no reason not to go. ie. his father is just being protective of his dynasty.

If he sees them as people way above his sphere of experience and skill, then he'd be a little more inclined to follow Mikkels advice.

I am slightly concerned there is a risk of a substantively non-shared world view again, and just want to be clear that we are as close to possible as being on the same page...

[[Brand is probably a little surprised that there aren't people in attendance that he would expect to see, mainly the younger people.]]

Another relevant consideration: I don't know if Brand's father has been an administrative spy-master all his life, or has had many years leading punitive raids and patrolling border  and/or working under cover. I'd guess that they have sometime sparred with weapons... ]]

[[Brand's father was a soldier, but he has never sparred with him; that's what Vosel is for. He probably knows that his father doesn't train with Vosel.]]

4. Mikkel (and Brand) have no context that says "These are hard men and women with years of experience that have known many battles"

[[The above is more of a statement than a question, can you rewrite please.]]

[[Is there some information that you can provide that gives a sense of where the people he recognized in the office fit within the context of experienced operator vs administrator, specifically in relation to how long and how well they have been doing what they do.

I get the whole anybody-is-special-because-of-feats (or items) thing, but in a game that attempts to achieve balance based on the concept of levels, I'm only really asking for a broad classification. In the coarsest sense, if they are all level 6+, then Brand would/should have some sense of that for the people he knows, at least if he's ever talked to them about anything he or they do, which I assume he has, otherwise the smiles would seem unlikely. Or perhaps the smiles themselves were "benign doting and much more experienced uncle" smiles vs "friendly greeting" smiles etc.

Or, perhaps better, if what you are after are specific questions (ie. deriving information from game-info rather than being spoon-fed), then some background would help: can you list the people he knows, how he met them, and describe what he and they talked about, and the conversations he had with his father about them afterwards. These are all things that would have happened (even for a passing acquaintance that his father introduced him to); I'm just asking for the context he got from those interactions, within reasonable limits I think. If he has met them more than once, then can we get details of the second meeting etc. At the moment, he seems to be at risk of living his life with amnesia, but I need to make judgements based on things he should 'know', at least to some extent.

In a similar vein:]]

Once dressed Brand pauses in the bath house and turns back to Mikkel, "Tell me everything you saw and heard from these visitors today. You have me concerned."

He will then start walking to his fathers rooms.

[[Brand's father was a soldier, but he has never sparred with him; that's what Vosel is for. He probably knows that his father doesn't train with Vosel.]]

[[Does he know if his father trains with anyone, and with who? In sparring with Vossel (or talking to his father), has he ever asked why he does not train with Vossel? At least as a child, I'm sure he would have been curious to (a) spar with his father and (b) watch him train]]

Quote from AlaricBrand >>

4. Mikkel (and Brand) have no context that says "These are hard men and women with years of experience that have known many battles"

[[The above is more of a statement than a question, can you rewrite please.]]

[[Is there some information that you can provide that gives a sense of where the people he recognized in the office fit within the context of experienced operator vs administrator, specifically in relation to how long and how well they have been doing what they do.

I get the whole anybody-is-special-because-of-feats (or items) thing, but in a game that attempts to achieve balance based on the concept of levels, I'm only really asking for a broad classification. In the coarsest sense, if they are all level 6+, then Brand would/should have some sense of that for the people he knows, at least if he's ever talked to them about anything he or they do, which I assume he has, otherwise the smiles would seem unlikely. Or perhaps the smiles themselves were "benign doting and much more experienced uncle" smiles vs "friendly greeting" smiles etc.

Or, perhaps better, if what you are after are specific questions (ie. deriving information from game-info rather than being spoon-fed), then some background would help: can you list the people he knows, how he met them, and describe what he and they talked about, and the conversations he had with his father about them afterwards. These are all things that would have happened (even for a passing acquaintance that his father introduced him to); I'm just asking for the context he got from those interactions, within reasonable limits I think. If he has met them more than once, then can we get details of the second meeting etc. At the moment, he seems to be at risk of living his life with amnesia, but I need to make judgements based on things he should 'know', at least to some extent.

In a similar vein:]]

Once dressed Brand pauses in the bath house and turns back to Mikkel, "Tell me everything you saw and heard from these visitors today. You have me concerned."

He will then start walking to his fathers rooms.

[[Brand's father was a soldier, but he has never sparred with him; that's what Vosel is for. He probably knows that his father doesn't train with Vosel.]]

[[Does he know if his father trains with anyone, and with who? In sparring with Vossel (or talking to his father), has he ever asked why he does not train with Vossel? At least as a child, I'm sure he would have been curious to (a) spar with his father and (b) watch him train]]

[[Brand has never seen his father train. In fact, Brand is fairly sure his father doesn't train at arms at all. His father is not unfit. He is an active rider and will occasionally go hunting for pleasure. He is also very disciplined in his diet and normal health routine.]]

[[With regard to the men that Brand has seen in the house since his arrival that he recognises, who aren't members of the household, there are four.

I will not be giving you any relative 'level' information because I don't see how Brand can possibly know such information without being involved with these people for a long time, which he hasn't been. What I will give you is what he knows about them from his past limited experience with them. However, this will take some time for me to do as there are other things I need to do over the weekend; the life of a contract editor is not easy.]]

[[One thing Brand already knows is that none of the people his father is involved with at the moment have any obvious connection with the government of Engle.]]

[[More soon-ish.]]

Associate #1 Gerard Assam: a stout Sorian male of middle age who owns and runs the Wing & Prayer Candle Calling and Messenger service.

Brand saw Gerard Assam briefly earlier today in his father's study and has previously only seen the man at formal dinners held at the family's city residence. He is a rich, well-respected Sorian business man, and this is the first indication Brand has had that this man is also somehow involved in his father's more secretive activities.

Brand has never seen this man carrying a weapon of any sort, but he is always conspicuous in displaying symbols of his faith in Mithras.

Wing & Prayer Candle Calling and Messenger service.

[[ A huh. Is phone tapping legal in Sorendon? ]]