Chapter 1 - A Den of Thieves

"Alexandria is an enchanted city. She was founded by one of the greatest men in history as a place of culture and learning." Norris continues speaking about bits of rather trivial facts about the city (obviously trying to show off) and takes his time finishing his drink. After about ten minutes, a finely dressed Egyptian man rings the bell and says "dinner is served."

As you take your seats... you are served a magnificent feast of several local culinary delights. Norris waits until the staff have finished serving the food and drinks and then nods to his Egyptian butler. "now Ibrahim". The butler nods slightly, pulls a rather old looking key from his pocket and locks the service door. He then walks to the main doors and closes them, using the same odd key.

Perception checks please

Elliot perception check: 1d20= 15

JT looks about and thinks to himself, "Now where did that porter go?  I am sure I saw another guest enter the room....."

Perception

Roll(1d20)+11:
11,+11
Total:22

+2 if it involves stone
+2 if it involves undead

Result of the throw of dice "1d20 +9" :

11 + 9 = 20

+2 if it involves unusual stonework, secret doors, etc

---

Totally forgot about my hound. I dont imagine I would have brought him inside for dinner...so we'll say he is out front on the steps, if thats cool.

"The pleasure is all mine, gentlemen. Never before have I ventured to this great and historic land. But still, I am wondering, why were we summoned?"

Olivia pulls out a hand from her robes and tosses a series of bone fragments onto the table. They clatter and roll and stop in a certain arrangement. She studies them for a long moment.

"The spirits of fate determine that many of our questions will soon be answered."

Perception check: Result of the throw of dice "1d20" : 13+11 = 24

The key that is being used on the two doors glows with a pale blue magical light when Ibrahim uses it. Norris also has moved his hands in a way, and murmured under his breath, magic is definitely in use here.

Spellcraft for those that wish to. I will update later on today... have to get off my butt and go swim for a while and take of some business.

Olivia's Spellcraft: Result of the throw of dice "1d20" : 20 + 4 = 24.

Nice, but I hope I haven't used all my good rolls in out-of-combat.   

JT is getting nervous.... he picks up his steak knife, slices a piece of meat and casually maintains the knife in his hand while he chews

Chris wrote:JT is getting nervous.... he picks up his steak knife, slices a piece of meat and casually maintains the knife in his hand while he chews

This is not lost on Elliot, who is also getting nervous with his host locking the party in.

He takes a sip of his wine, and then casually unbuttons his dinner jacket in the pretense of getting more comfortable. His Colt.45 is still comfortably out of sight, hanging heavy and secure in his left armpit with a full magazine and a chambered round.

He knows it's rude; unbuttoning at a formal dinner and in the presence of a woman, but he believes nobody will notice or comment.

After all, nobody really expects a yank to have good table manners..

Alan, did your guy stay for the dinner? I'm just making sure... (GM note: it's better if you don't poke around this guy's house right now)

ok, assuming that CRIII did not commit a faux pas and go sneaking around...



Norris looks at all of you, "Please do not be alarmed, I have had to be secretive and overly cautious for reasons that I will now explain."

"I would imagine that all of you heard about the explosion that occurred at the Customs office the other day? The story that is being told was created by the OMP" he says with a sad look. "One of the OMP's officials was there questioning a new arrival to the city... a man suspected of belonging to the Circle of Apophis"

"I don't think that I need to tell you that anything involving those murderous psychopaths is taken quite seriously by the OMP and his majesty's government. As you might have guessed, I am skilled in the arcane arts. I work with the OMP on many occasions but in a unofficial capacity. My war contacts with the Khedive of Egypt proved useful in establishing a base of operations in Alexandria." He pauses, stands up for a moment and goes to get a small box out of a nearby cabinet.

"I contacted you several days ago because, from the limited information available, there is something brewing in the deserts of Egypt and it involves the Circle of Apophis... (with a brief, worried look) and possibly others. Each of you has abilities and powers that have attracted the attention of the OMP for various reasons. They left it to me to ask you for your assistance, trust and discretion in this delicate matter. After all, the Khedive, though a well meaning, pleasant enough fellow, is also rabidly superstitious about magic. He can be fooled and distracted but there is only so much that the OMP can do while not risking his wrath. The OMP has asked me to fund and direct a mission to find the origins and meaning of this item."

He opens the box and it has, what appears to be, a small fragment of a very old looking map. It appears to only show a settlement of some sort, there is no writing that has survived.

"This is all that is left from the explosion in the Customs office. We are unable to figure out what the original map would have looked like, or even how old it is."

Pause for you to look and ask questions

and no, you're not in the middle of a dance hall.   

What do we know of the CoA?

"The desert is a big place.... any idea where this settlement might be?" (damn, never a satellite-image around when you need one)

What did Spellcraft check reveal?

Olivia looks at the map. "Where was this map discovered?" she asks.

You're pretty sure that something akin to Dispel Magic was just cast. Not at you or your companions though.

The CoA is pretty nasty. Check the Groups page in the world.. for your part, you've probably heard that they seem to be active in revolutionary activities in various parts of the world. Assassination, murder, terrorism, mayhem... those are their hallmarks.

I'll wait for the others to chime in before I say more about the map.

Elliot considers for a moment.

"Were there any survivors from the explosion?"

CRIII is a proper manservant and has never gone "sneaking" in other peoples houses.  He simly goes where servants are wont to go.   

Finding the servants entrance, he knocks (or rings).

 He plans to engage the help in polite shop talk to learn more about this playboy host of ours.

What is CRIII's first impression of the tallent and professionalism of the staff?

navyik wrote:CRIII is a proper manservant and has never gone "sneaking" in other peoples houses.  He simly goes where servants are wont to go.    
Finding the servants entrance, he knocks (or rings).
 He plans to engage the help in polite shop talk to learn more about this playboy host of ours.
What is CRIII's first impression of the tallent and professionalism of the staff?

I am sorry Alan, I love CR3, but I can't take him seriously while looking at your Winne the Pooh avatar.  Pooh was perfect for Griz, but in my mind all I can see is Pooh bear padfooting about with Christopher Robin's luggage  

With a pop gun!

Servants entrance Rob... But thanks.

Yeah Alan, quite messing with Chris' immersion   


Olivia hears CR3 knocking. "The bones say an omen of good fortune is at the door now." She goes to see who it is.

Do you speak Arabic CRIII? If so, they seem to like him quite a bit... if not, they have no idea what your asking them and look rather confused.

There were no survivors from the explosion.

"This was found amongst the debris. There were two operatives of the OMP there to question this man... I can only surmise that he used arcane powers to immolate himself to try and avoid detection of the Circle's activities."

"I believe this might have been a map to some archeological treasure in the deserts outside of Cairo but that is only a guess. There is one in Cairo that I know would be able to provide more information. Unfortunately, he is difficult to for me or any other member of the OMP to speak to right now due to a rather unfortunate misunderstanding some months ago..." He trails off, obviously rather embarrassed.

"This is where all of you come in. The Office of Magical Phenomena has authorized me to put this mission in your capable hands. I would like you to contact Abu-Saed Fadlala at his nightclub, the Blue Parrot. It's a rather seedy establishment but it's popular with ex-patriots and other foreigners in Egypt. Fadlala is a shrewd, and some say corrupt, business man and he has no love for Britain or the OMP... but he does like money and doing 'favors' for people.. strings attached of course."

"I can give you 2000 pounds with which to negotiate with Fadlala to find someone that can translate or identify what this fragment means. He knows everyone in Cairo so it should be an easy task... assuming that Fadlala "plays ball" as the Americans would say."

"The bones say that something is amiss. How do we know we can trust you?"

pause for comments until this afternoon... as an aside, if I ever stop commenting, it's just due to having a heart attack while swimming laps. lol...

best smoking cessation tactic that I've tried yet   

whit10 wrote:pause for comments until this afternoon... as an aside, if I ever stop commenting, it's just due to having a heart attack while swimming laps. lol...

best smoking cessation tactic that I've tried yet   

good on ya, mate

Robyo wrote:"The bones say that something is amiss. How do we know we can trust you?"

JT chimes in, "Mistress Ormande, so far we have no reason not to trust our host either.  He has not suggested that we do anything more than go and talk to someone and gather further information.  He is providing 2000£ for greasing palms, not asking us to front the costs, which is a good sign."

JT looks about at the others to try and sense their level of suspicion.  He continues, "Our host told us the OMP has authorized him to fund this 'shadow run' as we say on the streets.  The only element missing at the moment is the topic of our compensation.  Mr. Norris, what are you offering for us to gather this information?"

"A salama likum," CRIII pantomimes with broken arabic, feigning a lack of fluency.  (His time arround India's many muslim inhabitants exposed him arabic quite thoroughly).

Bluff to play dumb 19+11=30.

You succeed in playing dumb.   

"I know that it is difficult for you to take my word for anything and, for now, the most I can offer is my home and hospitality, my resources and certainly the gratitude of the OMP. I must ask you to trust me. " He hesitates somewhat...

"The circle is up to something in Egypt. There have been far too many recent excavations that have yielded magical artifacts. Howard Carter had three people die during the excavation of Tut's tomb when they handled an ivory figurine that was found there...the papers, of course, did not mention this. It could be something more mundane, like a map to a cache of money or guns... but I doubt that one of their members would blow himself up to protect something like that." He hesitates and look somewhat unnerved... there has been rumors in this country for years. Recently, we have heard that the Circle is looking for a lost tomb or city.. something that has great power or artifacts but has been, well... lost. (half-smile) The OMP is no longer capable of dealing with all of the occurrences and possible threats within the Empire and it's Commonwealth. They lost two people the other day, the rest are in the south right now or can't be spared.

I have also, if needed, been authorized to pay you a contract fee of 20 pounds per day for your own trouble."

If you decide to go, and I will allow you to discuss it in private, I will put a car and driver at your disposal... or just the car if you prefer. Please, have another drink if you wish and discuss it amongst yourselves." He rises up and goes to the door, but then turns suddenly.. "If you agree to do this you will earn my personal gratitude. One of the men killed the other day was a good man and a true friend. I would like to know what he died for." He says grimly.

Olivia collects the bone fragments on the table top and shoves them in her pouch. "Until this fellow proves his intentions otherwise, I will go along with his plan and this... shadowrun. The fee seems fair, anyways." She quaffs some wine and quickly pours another glass.

Corbett considers this all quietly....

---

Just got a chance to check in, drove 600+ miles today. Will chime in the AM...

Showing the bottle of wine, CR continues in broken arabic mixed with pantomime and extra loud english words that would be commonly recognizable:  "the master of this house, he must pay well no?  This wine is for his cellar." CR pauses to read their attitude to alcohol.

"He has commanded me to assist you if you like; I didnt bother telling him that this would be somewhat insulting.  Not a bad man, but a bit...how would you say?  (Gesturing with spinning finger around his ear), eccentric?"

whit10 wrote:
I have also, if needed, been authorized to pay you a contract fee of 20 pounds per day for your own trouble."  

 He rises up and goes to the door, but then turns suddenly.. "If you agree to do this you will earn my personal gratitude.  One of the men killed the other day was a good man and a true friend.  I would like to know what he died for."  He says grimly.

Before Norris leaves, JT pipes up, "20£ per person, per day, you pay all travel expenses and we keep anything we find.  I can live with that.  I have always fancied a poke around in the Pharaoh's cellars."  JT adds looking at Elliot, "I am sorry to 'ear about your mate.  We both lost many mates in the War."

"Quite happy to assist the OMP once again, Sir Norris. What can you tell us of this contact, and the misunderstanding between you? "



Using "Discern lie" when he answers.

Discern Lies (Sp): At 5th level, an inquisitor can discern lies, as per the spell, for a number of rounds per day equal to her inquisitor level. These rounds do not need to be consecutive. Activating this ability is an immediate action.

You know if the target deliberately and knowingly speaks a lie by discerning disturbances in its aura caused by lying. The spell does not reveal the truth, uncover unintentional inaccuracies, or necessarily reveal evasions.

Elliot has a potential plan. He speaks up.

"I may have a plan." After a sip of wine he continues. .

"Sir Norris, thank you for the invitation and your hospitality. However, I cannot agree to assist you."

He pauses for this to sink in.

"Instead, I will refuse your fee, and go see this man on my own. I will not tell you whatever I may learn from him."

Nodding to Corbett..

"Mr. Corbett arrived with his manservant- no doubt a loyal and capable man. Since he is not present, he has not agreed to help you or the OMP either. Mr. Corbett will instruct him to take me wherever I wish to go, and to aid me in all ways as he would Corbett himself."

Elliot pauses again for a sip of wine.

"I will meet with this man, and be able to tell him truthfully that I am not working for the OMP, and need to learn what this map fragment means before the British do. Through a bit of double talk and misrepresentation, I can tell him the truth about my purposes. That is an advantage, since we all know how common lie detecting magic has become."

Elliot surveys the room for any reactions before he continues.

" Mr. Corbett will also instruct his man to report exactly what I do, whom I meet with, and everything discussed. He will then report to Corbett about my actions. That way, I have not assisted you, and you still learn everything I learn."

Elliot rubs his chin thoughtfully.

The advantages my plan? Well, I'm sure not a Brit, and it's true that I have rebuffed the advances of the OMP once before, in France. This may give our gentleman extra incentive to assist us. Perhaps I can take Ms. Olivia with me as well. The rest of our group can be positioned throughout the area where we meet him."

Elliot looks once again about the room.

"That's my idea. Does anyone else have one?"

Arcturus2 wrote:
"Instead, I will refuse your fee, and go see this man on my own. I will not tell you whatever I may learn from him."

The rest of our group can be positioned throughout the area where we meet him."

Elliot looks once again about the room.

"That's my idea. Does anyone else have one?"

JT adds with a chuckle, "Sounds like a clever plan, I s'pose. You can pay the rest of us 25(£) in lieu of paying Elliot, ledger it as 'azard pay to watch his back"

"Right clever! I'm certain that Rothchild will perform his duties faithfully."

Um, remember, nearly all spells have somatic and verbal components (to say nothing of material) Are you going to cast a spell in front of him when you ask him a question? Just something to think about Matt.

I'll respond to the rest in a bit here... long and busy damned day.

whit10 wrote:Um, remember, nearly all spells have somatic and verbal components (to say nothing of material)  Are you going to cast a spell in front of him when you ask him a question?  Just something to think about Matt.

I'll respond to the rest in a bit here... long and busy damned day.

Its not a spell, its a class feature...as per the information I copy/pasted into the original entry, it is an immediate action, it doesn't get "cast", just "activated".

MAS wrote:
Its not a spell, its a class feature...as per the information I copy/pasted into the original entry, it is an immediate action, it doesn't get "cast", just "activated".

    that would be a pretty worthless ability if the subject knew you were doing something to discern lies

"Hang on, Mr. Ork, I need to make sure you are telling me the truth..."

Discern Lies (Sp): At 5th level, an inquisitor can discern lies, as per the spell, for a number of rounds per day equal to her inquisitor level. These rounds do not need to be consecutive. Activating this ability is an immediate action.

This is the text of that ability. I'll allow for it to be used without the hand gestures and words and so forth but it's still use of a spell.

You're going to do this when he returns, yes, Matt?

Elliot... (assuming you say that to Norris). "If I may, I have doubts about that plan. Fadlala is suspicious of everyone but he likes money more than anything, and he knows that I have it. I will be leaving Alexandria for a few days, so it will not be possible for you to contact me until next week. You are free to turn me down, of course, but I cannot then lend you any aid should you need it in the future. Fadlala and I have conducted business in the past, he should be amenable to speaking with you... just be discreet. It is your choice, of course. Fadlala only does favors or provides information for cash, however."

...and just from GM to player... Dan, how would Elliot know what magic is common? I don't see Knowledge Arcana on your sheet. Just wondering (unless he's just shooting off at the mouth, which is totally fine). Not to pick on you, I just wondered...

whit10 wrote:Discern Lies (Sp): At 5th level, an inquisitor can discern lies, as per the spell, for a number of rounds per day equal to her inquisitor level. These rounds do not need to be consecutive. Activating this ability is an immediate action.

This is the text of that ability.  I'll allow for it to be used without the hand gestures and words and so forth but it's still use of a spell.

You're going to do this when he returns, yes, Matt?

Elliot... (assuming you say that to Norris).  "If I may, I have doubts about that plan.  Fadlala is suspicious of everyone but he likes money more than anything, and he knows that I have it.  I will be leaving Alexandria for a few days, so it will not be possible for you to contact me until next week.  You are free to turn me down, of course, but I cannot then lend you any aid should you need it in the future.  Fadlala and I have conducted business in the past, he should be amenable to speaking with you... just be discreet.  It is your choice, of course.  Fadlala only does favors or provides information for cash, however."

Elliot got the impression that Fadlala wouldn't want to help the OMP. If that was a mistaken impression, then it's rendered moot as a possible plan.

He's happy to go along with whatever the group wants to do. If we can just walk up to Fadlala and ask him, all the better.

And to your next post- no, knowledge: arcana isn't something that Elliot put ranks into yet. I just figured that fell under the purview of extremely common knowledge, not like identifying a spell or an artifact. I figured knowledge of something's existence was different than knowledge of how to use/do it.

If that's not the case, then nevermind. No problem.

Elliot nods his acquiescence.

"Very well, if we can just walk up to him and get our answers, that's even better."

whit10 wrote:Discern Lies (Sp): At 5th level, an inquisitor can discern lies, as per the spell, for a number of rounds per day equal to her inquisitor level. These rounds do not need to be consecutive. Activating this ability is an immediate action.

This is the text of that ability.  I'll allow for it to be used without the hand gestures and words and so forth but it's still use of a spell.

Spell-Like Abilities (Sp): Spell-like abilities, as the name implies, are magical abilities that are very much like spells.  Spell-like abilities are subject to spell resistance and dispel magic. They do not function in areas where magic is suppressed or negated (such as an antimagic field). Spell-like abilities can be dispelled but they cannot be counterspelled or used to counterspell.

it isn't actually use of the spell, it is a special ability that just happens to function in exactly the same way as a spell, thus "spell-like".

In essence, instead of re-inventing a mirror ability, they just use the text of the description of the spell.  It doesn't say anywhere that (Sp) use any somatic, verbal or material components.  They are just activated, as Matt said.  This one in particular goes at "Immediate" speed.  

I think it is also worth noting that (Sp) cannot be countered.  It isn't implicitly stated , but to me that means that there is no tell-tale gesturing and mumbling in draconic, which is what gives you the Spellcraft check (free) to identify a spell before you attempt to counter it.

whit10 wrote:
You're going to do this when he returns, yes, Matt?

Norris hasn't left yet, we all interrupted him from leaving and he remained and continued to speak, if I am following the thread so far.

Out of game, to the GM- Actually, I just looked in the core rules.. says humans gain an additional 1 skill rank/per class level.. something I totally forgot about when building my guy. If we're using that rule, I have an additional 6 unassigned skill ranks to use.

With your permission, I could retcon those into knowledge:arcana, since we're really pretty much still in the intro phase.

Or, I could add them in when we level up. Or I could just flat out lose them since I forgot about them initially.

It's up to you, GM. No hard feelings, however you decide it.

That's fine with me. No problem at all... I'm pretty lenient on that sort of thing unless it's during an encounter. I assume you're going to take ranks in Knowledge Arcana? lol

Ok, I'm sorry if I gave the impression that Fadlala was hostile to the OMP, he's more indifferent, if the money is right.

You're right about the Sp Chris

... there is always Sense Motive, since we're on the subject. DC 20 check for a Hunch

whit10 wrote:That's fine with me.  No problem at all... I'm pretty lenient on that sort of thing unless it's during an encounter.  I assume you're going to take ranks in Knowledge Arcana?  lol

Lol yeah, seems to make sense.

Thank you, oh wise and benevolent GM  

If CR3 thinks his colleagues in the kitchen might fancy a dram, he will whip out a second bottle, (port), and share liberally, hoping to eithee engage the staff or overhear them as they think he doesn't understand.

from what you can discern, CRIII, the staff is mostly talking about mundane things... the price of dates, how much wine they have left... something about the 'old cellar' that probably doesn't make sense to you.

I'm sorry if I've missed it... are you all agreed on the 'mission' or would you like to discuss more details with Norris?

whit10 wrote:from what you can discern, CRIII, the staff is mostly talking about mundane things... the price of dates, how much wine they have left... something about the 'old cellar' that probably doesn't make sense to you.  

I'm sorry if I've missed it... are you all agreed on the 'mission' or would you like to discuss more details with Norris?

Elliot is good with it.

"Should we make an appointment, or can we just show up at his establishment?"

Olivia is on her fifth glass of wine and feeling quite tipsy. "I am fine with the plansh ash they preshently are. One can only make preperashionsh for sho long before itsh time to take acshion. Let ush take acshion!"
She raises her glass as if to toast, but slumps back in her chair and guzzles it down.