Book 1: Crownfall, Act 1: All The King's Men

[JohnnyWeird]

"The Voritas would no doubt be gratified to know their sigil could still command such privilege."

Crichton seems to draw comfort at the invocation of an ancient family for use in this unconventional project.

OOC

Spying is sort of Crichton's wheelhouse. If someone else is hell-bent on it, I can Fraud with the best of them.

[Vardaen]

The young man paces the room listening, but he has to keep moving back closer because of the Cricket, and he keeps having to have someone repeat for him. He's like a caged cat, he just doesn't like sitting around. He listens to the plot for a bit, and nods, "I'm in."

Then he paces out to where the figs are, eats a handful, popping them into his mouth one after another in quick succession before returning to the cone of buzzing. "I'll do what I can to turn people's votes in your favor, and if that doesn't work, embarrassing a stubborn fool is always fun." He winks at Lady Lotheed.

OOC

I love the video link!

Politicking and Sabotage and Personal stuff seem to all merge up for me

[Zorbeltuss]

"I very much admire a lady with ambition and the will to act upon it." Mercutio doesn't even have to embellish anything on that account. "And we all want to serve our country as best we can do we not?" He implies that he very much supports the motion, and women could hardly be any worse than men. Besides, the laws are not fear.

OOC

Politicking or (social) sabotage sounds like Mercutio's thing, discovery maybe. But primarily one of those two.

[GuyWithSword]

Aurelia listens thoughtfully, but is not surprised at all by what is said. “Of course you want plausiable deniability. It is kind of my specialty. When everyone’s attention is on me, or parts of me, people tend to forget about other things, or tend to fail to make certain connections. I’m in.”

OOC

Ny preferred order to tasks to do, in terms of likely proficiency, are
1. Politicking
2. Fraud (scandals and such. Aurelia can certainly create scandals if need be)
3. Discovery (if it involves knowledge nobility or local)
4. General aid, delivery of items

With my friends in low places hired as servants, they can actually do a lot of the deliveries for us I bet.

[ManWithDoor]

Her smile turns to one of delight, clearly enjoying this conversation. The Lady notices Theodrix's discomfort, and fiddles with her mechanical cricket. The buzzing dims slightly, giving the man more room to roam without being excluded from hearing what is being said. "Since everyone appears comfortable with my purpose, we can continue on. Besides giving you access to some of the highest names in the Realm, I also promise payment of five hundred pieces of gold, each, for accomplishment of certain objectives." She arches an eyebrow. "To be paid later this week, of course. I won't be throwing you sacks of gold during the Gala every time you report a success."

She begins naming names and stating objectives. Most are rather innocuous - trying to find out which way people are voting, 'overhearing' some conversations, calling in favors, that sort of thing. Others are less honorable - undercutting power by spreading scandalous rumors, and straight up petty revenge to humiliate her estranged family. She never claimed to not be in this for personal reasons as well.

OOC

Alright, I'll give 5 Missions. You don't have to accomplish all of them, but you'll get extra rewards at the end of the Act for each one you accomplish (500 gp per PC, for each accomplished Mission - doesn't matter who got the successful Rolls, this is a team effort). Grimbold is trying to start up character creation this week, so hopefully you'll get another set of hands to help.

Discovery: Martella is confident Eutropia has gathered the votes necessary for her cause, but she hates loose ends. She tasks this agent with uncovering the true dedication of two senators: Duke Centimus and Countess Abrielle Pace. It is unknown if either supports Eutropia’s bid to end agnatic primogeniture, and while their votes will be apparent after the senate convenes, Martella wants the PC to discover their positions in advance, as well as the reasons each noble holds that position. Divining each noble’s motivations requires a Sense Motive or Perception check after at least one member of the party has put the noble at ease with one or more successful Influence checks.

Fraud: Martella needs to discredit a few prominent senators backing agnatic primogeniture—not necessarily to sway their votes, but to undercut their influence after the vote. This agent must create a scandal surrounding one of the major opponents to the repeal of primogeniture. Doing so requires first identifying an opponent, either with a successful Sense Motive check or by coordinating with another PC (such as one taking the Discovery mission), and then by spreading rumors with a successful Bluff check and manufacturing or co-opting damning evidence on the fly with a successful Linguistics check (I'll also allow other 'evidence' checks with fun justification - Rule of Cool on this one, really).

Politicking: The orchestrations of Eutropia, Glorianna Morilla, and Martella Lotheed have swayed a great number of reluctant senators, and Lady Lotheed requires a vast web of influence to maintain that. To that end, she would like this agent to make a strong impression on Baron Nicolaus Okerra and remind him of certain debts he owes her. While Baron Nicolaus Okerra isn’t a senator, his war record and general popularity make him an influential figure—one whose reputation helped sway a number of otherwise neutral votes. The PC can accomplish this task by successfully influencing the baron (using the standard Social Combat rules).

Sabotage: Some senators are too powerful or stubborn for the PCs to influence their votes, but that doesn’t mean they’re beyond some petty revenge. Martella would like to exact some retribution against her more powerful half-brothers, who have contributed a large bottle of rare, 150-year-old red wine from family holdings in the Opparos province, now held in the senate’s kitchens. Martella provides a single syringe filled with a putrefying agent to render the wine embarrassingly undrinkable but warns her agent not to steal the bottle and to conceal any signs of tampering; it must be drunk at dinner and appear to be of terrible quality or—even more scandalously—a forgery. Recognizing the correct bottle in the crowded kitchen requires a successful Appraise check or Knowledge (nobility) check, while injecting the putrefying agent without leaving any trace of tampering requires a successful Disable Device check.

Spy: Martella needs someone to keep tabs on political rivals and update her if they change their tactics, most notably High Strategos Maxillar Pythareus. This agent must stay close to the military commander, watching for unusual behavior or listening for snippets of conversation, and warn her if he takes any unusual actions, all while remaining unobtrusive. Spying requires a total of three successful Perception or Sense Motive checks, but to approach close enough to attempt one of these checks while remaining unnoticed requires the agent to first succeed a Disguise or Stealth check (this check is not considered part of the PC’s social action - i.e. you can Disguise/Stealth and Perception/Sense Motive in 1 Round, but this requires a total of 3 Rounds of successful Spying).

[JohnnyWeird]

The figure slightly raises an eyebrow from Crichton. Five hundred would keep Mrs Qrembik happy until Aroden returns.

"An ambitious agenda, Lady. I have no doubt that we shall prove its equal."

OOC

Spy suits my rolls best. I don't have linguistics or disable device, but I can assist on the other matters.

[GuyWithSword]

The amount offered is good indeed, a princely sum for some, a nice allowance for others. Still, the opportunities of the gala and then details of the jobs intrigue Aurelia the most. It's a grand game, pitting one's skill against the best and the well-connected in brutal social warfare, and it will be thrilling. "Do you have dossiers on some of our targets? I believe I am very well suited to tackle the task of speaking to Baron Okerra, or to manufacture scandal on those who are supportive of agnatic primogeniture."

[Vardaen]

Theodrix stops, "Five hundred gold did you say?"

He looks at the others who seem to think that's a fair sum, so he doesn't say more at this moment.

"How about another glass of wine and a toast to the Gala, to new employment, and new allies."

[Zorbeltuss]

"I would have done it for free, sounds like fun." Mercutio quips "But when someone offers you a nice purse, then you know you should not do it for free."

OOC

Mercutio should be able to do the Bluff part of Fraud well, and IC would have a field day with it, can do the sense motive part, but probably not as good as others. Can do discovery but others are probably better at it. He should have plenty firepower to bring along to social combat for politicking. He can identify the bottle if someone else can do disable device...he is well acquainted with wine.

[ManWithDoor]

The Lady seems to be enjoying the banter, especially with the incorrigible Mercutio. She pulls out a sheaf of papers and spreads them out for everyone to view. "If I knew all their weaknesses and their opinions, I would have already discovered their agreement, or manipulate them to not interfere. Hopefully the spirit of the Exaltation Gala will loosen lips, for your benefit." She gestures to the documents. "Here is public knowledge about each of them. I will have little else to add that isn't already written down."

OOC

I'll update the VIP thread tomorrow with the rest of the public information on the targeted individuals.