Chapter 9: Q&A / Discussions

[Dave B.]

I like the idea of Belarin and Kal sharing the bracers. So go to town. Who wants to have them first?

[Darren]

Me! Me! Me! ;D

[Ken]

Okay, fine with me.

[Dave W.]

Adamant would ask Spindrift if he knows any artificers in Stormreach, but we don't need to play it out... Ready to move on.

[Darren]

I really don't know how you guys have been splitting treasure…

It's pretty easy since Jeff never gives us any.

Seriously, I thought we were finally going to get some treasure, and then Jeff has a damn kraken show up and pull the chest over a cliff! *grumble*

[Jeff]

You're right. A batch of magic items doesn't count as treasure. Shall I take it back, then?

[Darren]

Stop being so sensitive, Jeff. I kid because I love!

[Jeff]

I ain't sensitive.

Now lose your action point.

[Darren]

Awwww, man!

[Dave B.]

I thought we were going to get a better idea of what areas the expedition was heading before we started planting our own rumors.

[Darren]

Okay, we can do that, too.

[Jeff]

As for fabricating rumors and such, I strongly recommend brushing up on a few of the important bits listed here.

[Jeff]

So there's all this in-game talk about you guys coming up with misinformation ideas for Stormreach. Are you really going to do that? If so, do you want to do it in here, or in that threat?

This is good stuff to talk about when the DM vanishes for hours or days at a time.

I'm not actually sure what to do with the main thread at the moment, until I know what you're intent is. This ain't no linear, railroading campaign. You determine what happens next. I run a Choose Your Own Adventure Eberron game.

[Brian]

I thought we were mostly killing time waiting for us to arrive at Stormreach. You know, do some planning prior to disembarking.

I can't remember talking about anything that would derail our arrival.

[Jeff]

Right, but....is this planning/talking not actually going to happen, then? Just something to say you'd do?

[Joe]

Nov 30, 2011 13:10:19 GMT -4 Brian said:

I thought we were mostly killing time waiting for us to arrive at Stormreach. You know, do some planning prior to disembarking.

I can't remember talking about anything that would derail our arrival.

I swear I thought this read: "You know, do some planning prior to dismembering."

Heh.

[Ken]

Nov 30, 2011 13:23:34 GMT -4 Jeff said:

Right, but....is this planning/talking not actually going to happen, then? Just something to say you'd do?

No, it will happen. If all goes well tomorrow, I'll post some ideas for folks to react to in this thread, and any of you should feel free to do the same.

[Dave B.]

I figure that Shorak will be able to offer places on Xen'drik where the artifact may be.

[Darren]

I feel that there are too many things that Kal would know that Darren wouldn't and if I were to try to come up with misinformation that Kal would come up with, it'd be ridiculous and easy to see through.

[Darren]

Jeff, I did some searching, but I can't seem to find it. Somewhere in Chapter 8, Kal and Larest had a conversation basically calling an uneasy truce between them. I wanted to reference it, but I have no idea where it is and there are 50 pages worth of posts in that chapter. Any help locating it?

[Jeff]

What is before or after the attack on Krez's ship? Before or after the Red Atoll (and Kal's reluctance to give Larest back his magic telepathy ring)? That'll help narrow it down.

[Darren]

I'm honestly not sure. I thought it was before the attack on The Patriot, but I went through all of those pages and didn't find it. So it was definitely after that.

[Darren]

Found it!

www.ashlock.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=gameplay&thread=202&page=23#14530

[Dave W.]

I've got a similar issue as Darren; I'm not sure how I would start rumors in a new town. But unlike Kal, I don't believe Adamant would know how either.

I think he would caution against starting too many rumors; maybe limit it to three or so. I'm not sure he's going to be too useful.

[Ken]

Before we go further, a couple of reminders about folks to watch out for in Stormreach: Tyrl Gol Garin and the White Raven.

More info here and here. We don't know how tight they are with Krez or the Emerald Claw, but the dead halfling identified them as allies, so they're likely not friends of ours.

[Ken]

Misinformation Tactics

Belarin, with geographical aid from Shorak, Larest, and possibly Sem, will use his talent for forgery to create two fake maps, as discussed way back here.

Larest says that the Eye reportedly turns up in one of two locations. These maps will detail secret shortcuts through the mountains to get to those locations. Of course, the "shortcuts" are nonexistent. Belarin will alchemically age the paper to look suitably old.

Map #1: Jeff, I'd also like to make one of the maps look a bit "Thelanis-like": some fey iconography, lots of placenames and directions written in Sylvan, etc.

Map #2: This one will look like it came out of the Cyran chest that we just opened. In the remote possibility that Krez or one of his lackeys has been able to spy on us at all, then he probably knows that we recovered a Cyran chest, which would lend the map some authenticity. Even if Krez doesn't know, anything Cyran is bound to have some air of mystery and foreboding to it. Belarin can even attempt to copy any marking or insignia from the chest's contests. For verification, he'll rely on Adamant, and possibly Histra.

Bonus: The map will be attached to another withered, enchanted scroll (sealed) and will carry instructions to say that when the seeker reaches the spot on the map where the magically hidden entrance to the secret passage exists, then -- and only then -- can the seal be broken and the magic phrase be spoken to open the entrance. Voila! Time for Kal's explosive runes.

As stated earlier, Belarin can disguise himself and sneak off the ship with Shorak and -- did we volunteer Condign or Adamant as our "bodyguard"? I don't recall. Anyway, we'll skulk around, try to get a sense of our competitors, and conveniently leave the maps with two different groups. Belarin knows that this will likely require him to get beaten up and have the map stolen from him before his "tardy" bodyguards come to rescue him.

...more later tonight.

[Ken]

Misinformation Tactics, Part 2

Belarin still has his old fake ID papers, one of which might come in handy now. (Concerned that his old papers were seen by Lamara d'Medani -- traitor! -- he was planning to ditch these IDs once he got new ones in Sharn, but our shanghai put those plans on hold.)

Here's what I'm thinking. One of his false IDs is Nerrin Blackwell, a humble scribe (the classic "ink-stained wretch") in the service of House Orien in Aundair. He generally seeks access to historical documents to help the House's research in developing transportation laws. (Obviously, Nerrin looks like Belarin, with the exception of spectacles and a pronounced limp in his right leg.) So, once we're off the boat and we've identified a likely spot where some of the competing groups are hanging out or digging for info, "Nerrin" arrives with his recently hired drow guide (Shorak) and his bodyguard (Adamant or Condign). Nerrin will be the proverbial rube, completely out of his element in Stormreach as he tries to get geographical confirmation of a mysterious map that has come into his possession while on House Orien business.

Now, as with any good rumor, it has to have some truth to it, which is why the maps need to show one of the two locations that Larest has discussed. The maps will simply show a different, i.e., false way of getting to those locations.

Whether through thievery or assault, poor Nerrin will lose his map. Goodbye, Map #1.

Then we lick our wounds, and quickly move to another location across town. Rinse, repeat. And there goes Map #2.

Even some groups that DON'T steal the map will overhear discussion of it. And even if just a few of those groups bite at the lure, it becomes that much less competition for our group.

Misinformation Tactics, Part 3

What to do about Krez? What about the Patriot?

Unfortunately, there isn't much we can do about Krez -- he's likely already in Stormreach, and he probably warned his allies about our ship and us. (That's another reason for Belarin's disguise. I'm guessing that your typical Emerald Claw minion won't be able to tell one drow or tiefling from another, but humans are a different story. Shorak's lighter color as a half-drow might be a problem, but I'm not sure if Krez ever got a good look at Shorak. They were pretty far apart during the vampire fight.)

However, we are getting to port ahead of the Patriot. The Stormreach "Away Team" could plant nasty rumors. For instance, "Nerrin" mentions that he heard a nasty tale just before he left Sharn, of a prominent noblewoman being ripped apart by a vampire cult the night before. Sharn's city watch tracked the vampires to a Karrnathi ship, but before they could act, the ship left Sharn, heading due south. "I wonder if it's coming this way.... House Orien said there's a reward. Is five hundred galifars still a lot of money down here?"

Anything that could slow up the Claw forces on the Patriot would be a good thing.

And this has me thinking now that it might be a good idea to take Histra, after all. If the Away Team gets separated or, worse, spotted by Krez, we may need shelter in a hurry, and the ir'Sorell estate in Stormreach may need to be it.

Any thoughts on any of this? Despite what it may look like, I certainly don't intend to turn this into The Belarin Show. It's simply a) this is what know about my character, and we had discussed some of these ideas back in the spring, and b) it's a good opportunity for Belarin to use skills and stuff that have been on his character sheet since the v3.5 days!

And if there's a way to accomplish something like this (say, 3 PCs do stuff in town while the rest stay onboard) without temporarily sidelining some players, I'm all ears.

[Darren]

I love the ideas, Ken.

Something to maybe add to Part 2, Kal could come into Stormreach with some of the others and "pretend" to be another party interested in finding the Eye. He can show interest in "Nerrin's" maps and rumours, which should help to create buzz and draw interest to what Belarin is offering. The beauty of this is that it isn't much of a lie, so the only people who should really be able to see through it are those who already know that Kal and Belarin are working together.

[Dave B.]

That all sounds good to me. Shorak has no problem letting Belarin take the lead and act as guide and backup.

[Jeff]

Very nice work, Ken, and very nice research.

FYI, if you guys follow through on this and actually proactively pull even some of this off, there'll be XP in it for you. In fact, I love the idea of this driving some of the plot. It would make this DM's heart glad if some of your adventurers weren't just reactive.