Session 3 (5/14/21)

Mission 3- Continued

The party continued towards Twoshirts. They got to a large chasm spanned by a sturdy bridge. They saw the people who stole the necklace crossing the bridge (towards them) on horseback. The people were spooked, and the party shot their horses to prevent them from escaping. 

The thief indicated that he sold the necklace to someone who lives in a hut outside Twoshirts and they were allowed to leave.

Arriving at Twoshirts they found the town deserted, houses were smashed in as if the place was attacked, but there were no bodies. They started following the tracks of the attackers and identified that they were most likely hill giants with a large wagon to haul away the people. 

At this point they decided to abandon following the tracks and search for the hut. That night they saw an mind-controlled hill giant walking through the woods and followed it. At one point it bypassed another mind controlled hill giant walking in the other direction.

They followed the giant to a witch's hut where she was wearing the necklace and casting dominate person on the hill giants. They waited an hour to see if she went to sleep, and Vesper snuck into her hut. Inside she saw that townsfolk were being drained of blood for some kind of ritual. She snuck past the crow familiar into the witch's room, where she was not asleep, but was projecting her eyes elsewhere. 

Unskilled in stealing, Vesper snatched the necklace and ran wildly out of the room. Kotkin distracted the hill giant and led it into the forest and hid from him, while Brody and Vesper fled the crow who was watching them and leading the witch to them. They attempted to lose the crow but Brody gave away their position. Realizing he couldn't escape, Brody led the crow and witch away from Vesper, getting captured so that Vesper could escape.

When Vesper regrouped with Kotkin, Kotkin devised a plan to go back to the witch and offer the return of the necklace in exchange for their lives. Vesper warned him that this plan was suicide, especially with his weakness to mind control, but he went anyway. Vesper went back to town to wait for them, but they never arrived. 

Vesper returned the necklace to Zirule, who was saddened to hear of the tragedy and gave an extra 1000 gp to try to make up for it- he had no idea it would be so much trouble. 

Session 2 (5/7/21)

 The Slave Girl

The party was hired by Thrain Horsemaster (a friend of Zirule's) to disrupt the buisness of a rival, Kazmut Charterer. Kazmut owns a shipping company that sometimes moves slaves, and he's had a run of bad luck- many of the slaves he's been sent to pick up have been freed before he got there. He is now trying to enter into a partnership with Walder Baelish of Cheliax in order to gain a more lucrative contract and stay above water. If the meeting can go south, Kamut's debts will come due and Thrain can purchase his ships at tremendous discount.

The party tried to enter Kazmut's estate and found themselves mysteriously back at the Pan Kowalski an hour later. They found that they had been mind wiped. Witnesses saw them leave the estate earlier as if in a daze. Suspicious that Kazmut had psionics or a psion on retainer, they did some research and found that sometimes Kazmut acted strangely, as if he himself had been manipulated at times. Michael paid for a memory modification to restore his lost memories, and remembered entering the estate and telling some slaves that he was there to rescue them. At that point, one of the slave girls had used a psionic suggestion on them to leave, and modified their memories as they left to maintain anonymity. 

Rather than confront her, the party spread the rumor that one of Kazmut's slaves was actually a psion in disguise and was manipulating him (which was true), ruining his reputation as someone who can control slaves and souring the deal with Walder

The watch came with Kazmut to remove the girl, who turned out to be an agent of the Bellflower network- she was undercover as a slave and using her powers to identify slave trade pickup areas, and was sending communication to her other agents so they could disrupt the pickup and free the slaves before delivery. She was arrested and send to a prison somewhere that could handle psionic prisoners.

Thrain was pleased and rewarded for their efforts.

Mission 2:

The party was hired by Zirule to recover an necklace he had purchased, which was pickpocked from him as he watched a street performer. He wants it returned so he can present it as a gift. The watch has been searching for weeks and has been unable to uncover it.

The party learned that a belly-dancing performer was distracting crowds so her accomplice could pickpocket them. The Thieves' Guild was also after them for unlicensed thievery. Vesper used a contact at the jewelry store to identify that the man had a Twoshirts accent- a mining town four days away. They left town.

They saw that they were being watched at a distance by a couple of orcs, but they were not bothered by them. The second day they saw a wounded bear guarding her cubs. Vesper healed her wound and the went on. That night, the orcs, impressed by her healing of the animal, led her to their camp, where they met the chief, Arcus Woodsplitter, who invited them to feast and drink with them, which the party did. Kotkin found himself drinking and being courted by Bonks With A Club- an ogerkin orc with a vestigal fetal head growing out of her neck. After a night of alcohol, he was able to be courted. Vesper and Brody went with the chief to smoke and go on a vision quest, where they astrally projected to a distant world where the sprit of nature was being hunted by local humanoids. Despite being incoporeal, Vesper was able to affect their magic net, and cut the net, allowing the spirit to escape. They earned the respect of Arkus and were named Friends of the Tribe. Arkus said he would watch the stars for signs, and may contact them again in the future. 

Session 1 (4/30/21)

Mission 1: The Date

 The group met up and found Laplace Johnson who introduced them to Zirule Liadon.

Zirule had arranged an upcoming date with Miessandei Emmanuel from Qadira, and he waned to make sure that the date went well, so he hired the party to attack them on their date, so he could fight them off and look good.

The party set up the attack. Little did they know Miessandei was able to defend herself, and she was an accomplished battle dancer. As confusion grew in the combat, the lights went off, as thieves guild members attempted to kidnap her. In the darkness and fog there was no visibility, but Kotkin got off a lucky shot and blasted a kidnapper, while Zirule stabbed another one, his bravery enhanced, thinking it was all part of the act. 

By the time the watch showed up, Miessandei had been saved, and it appeared that Zirue had driven off six attackers. He was very happy with the party's performance. 

Mission 2: The Package

Brody met with Dibbler, a contact with the Thieves' Guild, to try to get the party involved with the guild more. Dibbler wanted the party to retrieve a fragile package from a watch warehouse before Sparhawk, the paladin to whom the package belonged, could get it. Brody disguised himself as Sparhawk and was able to obtain the package, when they discovered that it contained a small cassian angel. They decided to free the angel rather than turn it in to Dibbler. As it left, it revealed itself as an imp, and Dibbler's familiar, who came in and told him all about it. Dibbler revealed that this mission was really a test to see if they could be trusted to complete a mission without being distracted by moral issues- one that the party was proud to have failed. Brody relinquished his affiliation with the Thieves Guild. 

The PCs

Michael Tuk

Human (F)

A friar of the Monastary of the Whispering Winds- a monastic order based on perfection of self. Wandered away from the party out of the blue, citing that she felt the call of her creator to focus on book learning. 

Brody O'Duff

Half-Elf (M)

An associate of the Thieve's Guild. Killed in action distracting a witch away from the rest of the party. 

Kotkin Davieth

Aasimar (M)

A soldier here to defend the city. He died attempting to negotiate for the return of Brody O'Duff from a powerful mind control witch. 

Lady Vesper Nightrune of the Nation of Holly

Aasimar (F)

A woman looking for her lost childhood friend. 

Lord Pending of the Nation of Holly

Tiefling (M)

A bard from the College of Art looking to expand his celebrity.

Lord Nantar of the Nation of Holly

Blue Goblin (M)

A blue goblin with an interest in human religions who focuses his psionic ability on healing others. 

Psionics

 

Psionics is, in many ways, the 3rd type of magic (besides divine and arcane). Unlike magic, which is based on the environment, psionics is comes mostly from within, from your own spirit. In many ways it's the same as magic, in a few ways its different:

How is it the Same:

Most things that detect magic detect psionics also. Same with dispel, spell resistance, etc. Spellcraft is used as "Psicraft" and knowledge arcana can identify certain psionic elements. 

To your average peasant it's the same as magic (especially like spell like abilities that don't have components), so anyone who doesn't trust magic (like certain barbarian archtypes) would also distruct psionics. Most feats that affect spellcasters or casting defensively are equally usable against psions. 

How is it Different:

While there have been wild magic zones, psionics has been mostly unaffected. Likewise some magic dead zones may not affect psionics (though there may be separate psionic dead zones or areas where both are inhibited). 

While there is a huge mage's guild, which studies the "science" of magic, psionics are based more on the internal mind and spirit, and is harder to teach. As such, there are fewer guilds and schools that focus on it. True, there are psions in the mage's guild, and there are some that study at monasteries, but socially it is hard to teach in a classroom setting, so psions are still more rare.  

Thematically, divine magic comes from the gods. Arcane magic comes from the world (though having certain bloodlines may help you access the magic more easily). Psionics comes from the self. Divine magic can go anywhere your divine source is recognized (so certain alternate primes could suffer from a lack of faith in a god). Arcane magic can go anywhere that magical energy exists (so certain worlds may not have magic at all). Psionics can go anywhere you can go. 

While a psion can be mythic, there aren't as many mythic abilities that compliment a psion as there is a mage, and there doesn't appear to be mythic versions of psionic powers, so there's a negative. 

For creating magical items, psions create psionic items and spellcasters make magic items. 

Notable NPCs

 

Laplace Johnson

Any runner who knows anything knows about Laplace Johnson. Mr. Johnson seems to know things- that's his job. One of the big things he knows is people- and how to help people find other people. One of the other thinks most people know about Mr. Johnson is how much he DOESN'T know. He might introduce an "adventurer" to someone who "needs something done", and afterwards he seems to know nothing about it. This strange ability to know exactly where to find people, except when nosy people are asking questions, makes him quite a valuable ally. 

Bellis Zoophile

Anyone looking for Honest Work could do worse then Bellis Zoophile. She runs one of the most impressive zoos in the nation, with various strange animals and beasts, as well as a large museum called the "Companion Menagerie" with rare figurines. Supposedly each figurine is a petrified beast. She calls them her children, and she's always willing to pay top dollar for a new adoption. 

Foul John

It's a rare beggar who becomes somewhat of a minor celebrity. This guy is a beggar by trade- and he's proud of it. He's turned up opportunities to move up in the world, and he refuses to ally himself with the nefarious sorts who find him useful, as well as the lawful sorts who find him useful. Some say he's insane, others say he's brilliant. One thing we can all agree on though, is that he's a good place to go if you're desperate for information. I say desperate, because few people can stand the stench, or stomach the way he picks at his diseased boils when he speaks. And of course when he sneezes one gets the urge to get a remove disease done in a hurry. But still, there's very little that escapes his detection.

Lady Angelica Daedelus

There are the merchants, then the nobles, then the very rich. And then there's Lady Daedelus (or Lady Dee Dee to her friends). She hosts the most elegant parties and despite not being affiliated with any guild, has hosted city officials as well as guild leaders. Rumor has it that for some reason, thieves refuse to do any job related to her or her property. Is she affiliated with the mysterious Thieves Guild, or is her house so well protected that no one dares break in? Or is it that she has the means to get revenge on anyone who's wronged her? All we know for sure is that her family has various business interests outside of Druma that keep plenty of cash flowing in. 

Rogar Hornbreaker

Governor of Garn is Rogar Hornbreaker. While most Druma cities are protected by the Blackjackets, Garn is far enough away from the capital and has too much guild influence for him to keep as tight a grip on things like you'd see in other cities like Kerse. Despite the higher crime, and his apparent inability to keep the guilds in line, the High Prophet Kelldor has made no signs that Rogar is to be replaced. Perhaps he's found some kind of delicate balance that allows him to make enough profit to secure his position, or maybe he's found some way of keeping secrets from the capital. What we do know is that most people who have a meeting with Rogar leave that meeting happy- happy that they were allowed to leave the meeting. As far as what they were meeting with him regarding, they often seem to forget what they were demanding and are happy just to be going about their business. Rumor has it that no guild leader likes Rogar, but that they all fear that any alternative would be worse for them. 

Julietta Rosen

A cleric of Naderi and the leader of the Naderi Player's acting troupe. Julietta puts out tragic plays of love lost, usually ending with the suicide of the lovers who society kept apart. Her plays are quite popular, and usually end with some kind of poem about the power of love and encouragement for people to find acceptance for all kinds of love. 

The Minotaur

Rumors have begun surfacing of a strange vigilante known as "The Minotaur". A sprawling city's streets can easily look like a maze to foreigners, and the Minotaur knows the streets like none other. Some criminals have been found gored, or chopped up brutally with an axe. Sometimes there are witnesses, but accounts are foggy. All we know is that the minotaur seems to only target people in the act of committing a crime- innocents seem to have been left alone during Minotaur sightings. Despite the minotaur helping to clean up the streets, the watch have issued a bounty for his capture. 

Captain Belmarnis Grimes

Captain of the City Watch is Belmarnis Grimes is a runners worst nightmare. While the watch may not have the numbers of the fighter's guild, or authority to enter some guild property for investigations, she knows that criminals have to use her city streets to get from place to place, and she is happy to capture criminals and bring them to justice. She has a major grudge against the guilds, especially since she knows that they (from time to time) are known to hire disreputable sorts to get things done. It's said that the Assassin's guild has stopped taking contracts for her after some unfortunate accidents that resulted in missing assassins. She may be a watch captain, but don't expect much quarter. The law grants her a great deal of discretion in regards to use of force, and she's not foolish enough to yell "Halt!" when a bullet to the leg will get the same thing done. 

The Guilds

 Nowadays there are guilds for just about everything. A farmer's guild, a carpenter's guild- and you can bet the guilds will come down hard on those who perform a trade without a license. There are plenty of organizations you can go work for. 

You get bigger than the guilds, and you get the governments- the city watch, local royalty. They make the laws, and they have the armies. 

Then you have the big guilds. The AAA guilds. These guilds have branches in every country, every major city (and a few minors ones!). They have membership to rival some nations, and some have coinage to match the most wealthy kings!

And these guys defend their lands! Sure they got to follow local laws, but it's hard for your regular badge to show up in the Mage's Guild and demand to look around. If he gets back out at all he might be a newt, or a turnip. Best case is he just comes out with no memory of the incident. 

The Mage's Guild

Might as well start at the top, huh? These guys have dedicated themselves to unravelling the secrets of the universe, and not everyone wants to see what's behind THAT curtain. They have such a monopoly on magical materials they basically set the prices (which is handy when you need an onyx worth a specific amount!) Inside the mage's guild is various factions based on certain school specialties, such as the Conjurers or  the Illusionists. With all this power, you'd think they'd run the world, but once you've unlocked the multiverse, ruling one dimension hardly seems worth the trouble. 

While your everyday muggle doesn't necessarily trust the mage's guild- and rightly so- last thing you need is a stray demon appearing in your backyard! Then again, it's nice to know you got a bunch of guys who can launch siege style artillery if the orcs decide to attack!

The Merchant's Guild

Give me control of a nation's money supply and I care not who makes its laws. The Merchant's guild sums that up. Barely a union or labor guild exists that doesn't pay some form of taxes to the merchant's guild. Their coffers are deep, and they finance many a new business- if they feel it's worth their while. If there's one thing they care about it's maintaining profitability. While the adventurers plunder an ancient tomb worth thousands of gold, they're content to take a small piece out of every grain of rice, every sword, and every tunic made. Turns out, that's the more lucrative business.

The Pantheon

What holds more power than any church in Golarion? All the churches combined! Don't get me wrong, there's plenty of in-fighting amongst the different religions, but that's out in the country where they're sacrificing virgins to devils. Here in the city, the Pantheon keeps the peace- they've discovered that if they work together in big cities, they can set prices for healing services and rake in the money. All those temples, candles, and oils have to get paid for somewhere, and it's odd what a church of Asmodeus down the street does for the church of Erastil! Both seem to magically have more attendance (and tithes) than either would have if they were the only game in town! And here we have the pantheon- the agreement between churches to gather money in small towns, and kill each other out in the countryside. 

The Alchemists Guild

It's not magic, it's alchemy! While the churches focus on magical healing (for the faithful- or rich- only of course) someone has to be out there making plain old antiplagues for the peasants. And a mage might be able to lob a fireball at a horde of charging goblins, but ANYONE can throw an alchemists' fire! With magic dead zones in some areas of the world, and strange wild magic zones popping up, some good old fashioned alchemy can be just the ticket for someone who wants consistency!

The Artificer's Guild

Headquartered in Numeria, this guild is about finding the ancient lost technology and capitalizing on it. Whether it's supplying gunslingers, or trying to clean up radiation links, these guys have become mysteriously right. What have they discovered from the ancient civilizations that they haven't shared? I guess it doesn't matter- as long as they keep supplying the flintlocks! 

The College of Art

Also known as the "Bard's College" this is a multi-national university dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge, culture, and art. They seek to categorize the history of the world, create masterpieces, and put on plays for both commons and nobles. Perform is the most profitable of the labor skills, and these guys know it! It doesn't hurt that archeological digs tend to turn up as much treasure as they do historical research! While the mage's guild studies magic and the churches teach the gods, these guys learn about everything else there is to know. And as they say, knowledge is power! What lengths do they go to in order to obtain that knowledge?

The Thieves Guild

Ever see this symbol painted somewhere? It's the mark of The Hand. Maybe it's like the watch says- that this is just an urban legend that vandals are propagating as a joke. But then, it's all over the world. The very concept of a thief's guild seems counter-intuitive at first. A group of scoundrels that cant be trusted and are after stealing things? But then, stolen things need to be sold, someone's crafting lock pics- and it's not all locksmiths, and someone's passing on the skills to the next generation. They say "The Hand" is the name of the master thief that got everyone together. Of course, it's all just rumors. 

The Assassin's Guild

While some thing it's silly to say there's a thieves guild, everyone seems to agree that there's a shadowy organization that supports killers for hire. It makes sense. People want to get rid of other people, and there's a definite need for skilled workers to meet that need. And unlike the thieves- who are most successful if they are never discovered, the assassins regularly leave calling cards so everyone knows that this was a hit job. Some people report seeing bodies dried up and shriveled, as if the very soul of the target was taken away. But in a world with resurrection, if you want something done permanently, I guess you need it done right! Not to say that there aren't plenty of killers out there that aren't aligned with a guild- but if you've got the money, you might want to pay extra for quality.