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Grand Theft Arcana

ERYFKRAD

Barbarian
Patron
Joined
Sep 25, 2012
Messages
28,237
Strap Yourselves In Serpent in the Staglands Shadorwun: Hong Kong Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire Steve gets a Kidney but I don't even get a tag. Pathfinder: Wrath I'm very into cock and ball torture I helped put crap in Monomyth
Fun

F: Cast a shield around the tweeker to contain the blast.
Possibly with a weak spot in the top of the shield, to funnel the blast upwards and out. Do we know if this is the top floor?

Let's make the weak part on the bottom so that he shoots like a rocket into the sky.
if we make the weak part on the bottom, he'll shoot up and splatter on to the strong parts of the shield. Let's do it!
 

Baltika9

Arcane
Joined
Jun 27, 2012
Messages
9,611
I'd prefer the ground, to be honest.
E. Cast a teleportation spell. Your survival is ensured, but the King's Court is certain to come by, not pleased with the use of banned magic.
Don't want the King's Men showing up to inspect the huge beacon. Had enough of that in Overlord.
 

Cheesecake

Savant
Joined
Oct 7, 2015
Messages
137
A:
B: Storyfag, Kz3r0, (Baltika9), 2(3)
C: Baltika9, 1
D: Taliensin, 1
E:
Grimgravy's F: Grimgravy, Azira, hello friend, Random Word, ERYFKRAD, Gobblecock, Nevill, 7

F: Cast a shield around the tweeker to contain the blast.

Thinking on your feet, you channel your magicka and your mind into pure physical force. You envelop the madman in a cage of reinforced reality. Every muscle in your body tenses, the rush shoots to your head, the rush of magic. You control yourself. You control your magic. Barely.

The man's eyes, his blue eyes. Those are the last things you see of him before he erupts into hateful blue fire. The same eyes your brother had before he was consumed by that same flame.

The force impacts your mind like a thunderbolt. That hateful blue fire dances within its invisible cage, thirsting for release. With every last shred of willpower, you fight the fires of hell itself. You beat it. Barely.

You are sent flying backwards, the flame licks your arms and sears flesh and soul. However, it seems you'd contained the worst of it in your shield. Your head spins. You get on your knees, and get Gruust on his. You check on the women; frightened near to death, but alive. You herd them downstairs, where they sob their thanks to you. You charge Gruust with protecting them as you cast a calling spell to send for your men.

"I need five of you with me. At one of Mage's places, by the market." You look outside the door, seeing if any other manaheads were milling about. "I need you here now."

The coast is clear; no manaheads or mana dealers lying in wait. Though, come to think of it, there's no one here at all. Near the market. At midday. Wary, you go back inside and close the door, but not before you spy a King's Man, looking from afar, himself on a call spell. The fallen leaf of Autumn Hold within the crown of the King stitched onto his tunic, plain for all to see. Plain for you to see. You get Gruust to check the rogue gangmembers; and with one of them was a heavy pouch of silver.

----

"What are you going to do about it?" Mage asks, running her hand through her hair. Concern is thick in her voice, after she heard about what happened to her girls, and to you.

"First week as baron, someone already wants me dead," you say sarcastically.

"They're the first, but definitely not the last," she says. She holds your hand, cupping yours in hers. "You said you saw a King's Man?"

"One of mine. At least, he had the fallen leaf of Autumn Hold." You move your hand away from hers, walking to your balcony, overseeing your land. "They'll try again soon enough."

"Then beat them to it," she says, her eyes like steel. "End this threat before this threat becomes your end."

----

You decide to:

A. Wait and get more information. You have every bartender and innkeeper in your pocket. All the ears in every brother are yours. You have ears on the streets, in the alleys, in the dark. And you have your crystal ball.

B. Fight with blackmail and bribery. You produce and distribute vices galore, and some King's Men are known customers. If these Men were reported straight to the King's Court, they'd find themselves looking at the forest floor, dangling with a rope around their necks. Tattle on them before they tattle on you. At least, threaten to.

C. Strike hard and strike fast. You know their holdings, their businesses, their clients. You know the barracks they're stationed at. Seize their holdings. Drive-by with enchanted carriages, burn their homes to the ground. Execute them publicly.

D. Hire hitmen. Unfortunately, men the likes of the Black Knight and the Necromancer are far, far too pricey. On the bright side, Little Lil, like many halflings, is well known for his cooking. What he isn't well-known for, is the poison that may or may not be the secret ingredient.

E. Something else: ___
 

ERYFKRAD

Barbarian
Patron
Joined
Sep 25, 2012
Messages
28,237
Strap Yourselves In Serpent in the Staglands Shadorwun: Hong Kong Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire Steve gets a Kidney but I don't even get a tag. Pathfinder: Wrath I'm very into cock and ball torture I helped put crap in Monomyth
E. Fake a disappearance, feign weakness in your structure, see what they do, once they tip their hand, move against them.
 

Kipeci

Arcane
Joined
May 22, 2012
Messages
3,027
Location
Vicksburg
A. I'd rather not be too hasty when the are the king's men, that gives them a lot of power to throw around and it'll be easy to screw ourselves if we botch this. Information gathering is one of our greatest strengths with what we have and have funded, and now that we're on our guard we'll know if they start making more hostile movements or plots and be able to prepare. In the meantime, this allows to build up a solid case against them.
 

Taliensin

Educated
Joined
Mar 30, 2016
Messages
78
Location
Secret Moon Base
While E would be good if we were established i don't think it would work now,everyone and their grandmother would move in on our business.So A, its our strength and we should use it.
 
Last edited:

Esquilax

Arcane
Joined
Dec 7, 2010
Messages
4,833
The coast is clear; no manaheads or mana dealers lying in wait. Though, come to think of it, there's no one here at all. Near the market. At midday. Wary, you go back inside and close the door, but not before you spy a King's Man, looking from afar, himself on a call spell. The fallen leaf of Autumn Hold within the crown of the King stitched onto his tunic, plain for all to see. Plain for you to see.

This is just a little too neat for my liking. We deal with these junkie thugs, then right afterwards, there is a King's Man, conveniently in plain sight, who had been brought there by someone. Given how corrupt those guys are, perhaps a few of them were involved, but I'm not entirely sure that this was entirely orchestrated by them. Maybe someone else is involved.

We can't really fake a disappearance given the circumstances, I disagree with the plan. We've been Baron for only a week, and we handled these thugs easily and with no collateral damage. It's a fairly obvious ruse.

I understand that waiting might leave us open to another attempt on our life, but I suspect that there's something more to this than a few disaffected King's Men. Fortunately, information gathering is our strength.

A
 

oscar

Arcane
Joined
Aug 30, 2008
Messages
8,036
Location
NZ
A. Unwise to escalate things too quick at this stage.
 

Cheesecake

Savant
Joined
Oct 7, 2015
Messages
137
A: Kz3r0, Kipeci, Taliensin, hello friend, Grimgravy, Esquilax, Nevill, oscar, 8
B:
C: Azira, 1
D:
ERYFKRAD's E: ERYFKRAD, Baltika9, Storyfag, 3

A. Wait and get more information. You have every bartender and innkeeper in your pocket. All the ears in every brother are yours. You have ears on the streets, in the alleys, in the dark. And you have your crystal ball.

Your council is called and gathered, seated in chairs of woven branches at a desk of polished oak. The council room, though small, is open to the elements; the roof is a canopy of orange leaves, with the sun poking through and dancing its fingers of light on the table. Vast windows usher in the fresh, crisp air. You are seated at your throne of marble and oak, and to your left and right are Mage and Gruust. Little Lil has his head buried in a mound of scrolls, scribbling relentlessly.

Two guests appear as well; Rowan the innkeeper, a savvy and ruthless businessman who had conquered all his rivals and owns a small fiefdom of inns and taverns. Glade, an up-and-coming bandit lord with a promising future, as well as a deep disdain for the hold's King's Men.

"Let's get started then." You click your fingers. Lil jumps with a start, sending parchment flying and falling like leaves.

"R-Right! Well." He clears his throat, his perpetual perspiration raining down his neck. "Someone is moving against Baron Autumn. A hit was made against one of Mage's establishments, in the hopes of luring the Baron, or one of the Baron's lieutenants, to their demise in the death throes of an OD'ed manahead. We believe some of the King's Men had a part in this."

"Should let Gruust hurt them. Should let Gruust send message. But no, instead-"

"Instead we're doing it smart and waiting for the right time," snaps Mage.

"No time is right time to die. Should kill now before they get bolder."

"Enough, Gruust. You'll get your chance soon enough. For now, I need all of you here to help me be my eyes and ears. Master Rowan, I've heard many good things about your inns. Is it true that some of the King's Men have made one such tavern a frequent haunt?"

"Yes, milord. Frequent customers they are, the richest I got. The loudest too," he jokes, laughing raucously. "I've got many an ear in my taverns, milord, we're sure not to miss a word."

"Good. And you, madam-"

"Glade," she says.

"Glade, I heard you've been making waves among the bandits. You've made many enemies, Glade, in the King, the neighboring barons and counts, your rivals. But you could make a friend, if you helped me rob information while you rob gold."

"Aye?" she asks mischievously. "'Tis quite a task, my lord. And as you say, I've many an enemy. Would you help a friend in need?"

You:

A. Say yes, offering to reinforce her men from your own gang, and turning a blind eye to her robberies. Though, business in the Hold is sure to suffer due to the bandits.
B. Say no, telling her to prove her worth first.

----

The meeting concludes. Mage and her women, Gruust and his men, Lil and his brothers, all offer their ear to you. All leave your council room, and a crone as fragile and cold as ice enters.

"Hello, mother." You take her hands in yours and kiss her brittle skin.

"Get on with it, Amadeus." Her blind eyes stare dumbly into yours, but you avert your gaze all the same.

"As you wish, mother. This way."

You take her deep below the castle, where the ground is cold, and the dark echoes and echoes. The steps are wet and crumbling, and you've lost your footing many times. Your mother does not falter. You had her freed from the dungeons discreetly, ten years after your father put her there for witchcraft and black magic. You'd not said a word to her until today.

You arrive at your mother's once-secret lair; almost everything had been confiscated and destroyed, except her crystal ball. She sits down, caressing the ball with fingers like gnarled twigs, whimpering in relief, and gazing with blind eyes.

"Leave me to my work, boy."

"I haven't told you your work."

"You do not need to."

You sigh, and begin climbing the stairs. "I missed you, too, mother."

----

While waiting for information, you decide to spend your time:

A. Hanging out with Gruust, going wild around Autumn Hold like old times.
B. Going on a date with Mage, perhaps climbing one of the old guard towers or walking in the forests. Guarded, of course.
C. Minister your barony. A bit out of character, but perhaps it is time you grew up.
D. Visit your neighboring barons, or the count you swear fealty to.
E. Something else:____

Amadeus Autumn, Baron of Autumn Hold, Gangleader of the Barren Fall. Known as the Barren Baron.

Fit for his age, and taller than most. His hair is the color of autumn leaves, his eyes as green as spring. His features are pale and sunken, like many users of mana.

His skill with magic is remarkable, owing to the fact that he has never had formal training as his brothers had. He is a crack shot with a wand. He can hold his own in a tavern brawl. He is unskilled with swords, and being armored is uncomfortable for him.

His lack of formal education means that he is unwise in the way of nobility, and of academics. However, he is a natural leader, and streetwise. He is a poor tactician, in matters of war, but quite the opposite in the ways of crime.

----

His holdings are Autumn Hold and all its lands. The land is infamous for its sterility, and few crops grow there. The peasantry live off the rivers and lakes, as fishermen and fishmongers. Some live off the forests, daring to go where bandits and beasts lurk, harvesting wood for fire and woodcraft.

On the whole, Autumn Hold is poor, with taxes of 20,000 gold pieces every month.

His criminal ventures are Mage's conglomerate of brothels. Fishermen coming into the Hold from their villages spend their hard-earned coin for a warm night. His profits average 10,000 gold pieces every month.

His total income is 30,000 gold pieces monthly.

----

He owes the King 30% of his wealth, and pays 20% in protection money to the Queen. He pays 1,000 in bribes to the local King's Men.

His dues are 9,000 to the King, 3,000 to the Queen, 1,000 to the local King's Men, and 1,000 in upkeep. His dues total 14,000 gold pieces every month.

----

His treasury currently holds 33,000 gold pieces. In his personal belongings, he has his father's armor, his eldest brother's sword, his elder brother's wand, and a contraband crystal ball.
 

Nevill

Arcane
Joined
Jun 6, 2009
Messages
11,211
Shadorwun: Hong Kong
AC

Hmm. Something is rotten in Autumn Hold. Maybe we should tighten our grip on it a little until we root out the undesireables.
 
Last edited:

Kz3r0

Arcane
Joined
May 28, 2008
Messages
27,012
B.A.
 

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