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Reign of Fear: A NeoGAF DnD 5e Play by Post Campaign

N

Noisy Ninj4

Member
"Sagishi could put his stealthy talents to work digging into the dwarf behind Rios. If he can find dirt, plans, or an indication of his desires, it would help in our negotiations with him. Perhaps Ludwig could be the face of that operation?

If Fheiss is comfortable in dealing with Mafun, then Galen and I could try some dirt digging into Farni's oppo teams.

Ance should be fairly easy to sway, but we need a heroic figure. Keranos, perhaps?"

Thosar draws diagrams indicating the team splits.

"It's likely we'll have enough time to help each other as well, but this is just to map out who is best where."
 
T

ThLunarian

Member
Keranos lights up (not literally) when Thosar makes his offhand suggestion. While he is perfectly content to work his evangelical magic on the Farni on his own, the thought of having actual disciples who will spread the Good News to other Chambers tickles him in ways that he would be best off not articulating.

"Then it is settled: I will deal with the Farni and win them over to my - to our - cause, thus making their vote a trivial matter. Meanwhile, Thosar and perhaps a few others will perform a similar maneuver on the Ance. If Sagishi is able to persuade the leader of Rios to vote with us, then I see this all being wrapped up with a tidy little bow in a half day's time!"

If the others are unimpressed, Keranos's smug countenance shows no indication of realizing it.
 
N

Noisy Ninj4

Member
The scholar makes a pushing motion downward in response to the godling's fervor. "Farni are more law and order types on the surface but are a bit too two faced for evangelizing. I recommend saving that for the Ance.

The idea is to nab dirt from the Farni opposition teams separately and use what we get to garner votes within that chamber."
 
T

ThLunarian

Member
"But it says right there that the Farni tend to use their superior force to protect their charges. That is precisely how I rule over my people - with a strong hand and a watchful eye. Surely they'll be receptive to my message! And those that won't, will be revealed as the cowards that they are!

"I have no patience for underhanded tactics and behind the scenes scheming. I'll not be a part of such treachery and deception. If the members of Farni really are as two-faced as our resident expert is suggesting, perhaps you're right that my efforts would be better brought to bear on the Chamber of Ance."
 
K

KittenMaster

Member
"But the Chamber of Ance works with Lunus to discuss policy due to its meager budget, doesn't it? They may need to keep the Chamber of Lunus' decision in mind when voting on policy to keep the working relationship intact. It might be better to prioritize the Chamber of Lunus before talking to Ance."
 
N

Noisy Ninj4

Member
"Barrow has the chamber of Lunus in hand, however, so having a friend entreating Ance would allow us to move the two chambers closer to an agreement. From there, we would need only one chamber more from both houses. With several of us working on Farni and working the angles on Rios and Mafun, it should work. As for our war chest, it will be hard to tell how much we would need for each chamber to win them over until the moment of truth.

...would it be against Farni rules to pay for dirt from the opposition groups?"
 
K

KittenMaster

Member
Fhiess frowns, "Oh, that's right. I'm terrible at paying attention."

When the war chest is mentioned he states, still planning on tackling more than one chamber, "I may need some of the money to provide sponsorship when visiting the chamber of Narn. I want to approach their avenue with a legitimate but enticing proposal under the name of Hogan's company."
 
S

Song of Fire

Member
Galen, apparently, has been listening intently to these proceedings, and his gaze moves between each speaker in turn. For some reason, it seems as though he may be enjoying the deliberation between his companions.

At last, though, Galen speaks. “Perhaps,” he muses, “we may have a better chance of acquiring information from the Farni opposition teams if we knew the best ways to appeal to each. What is it that would most benefit each team? Even more, is there any record to indicate who, historically, votes in which way?

“As for Rios, is there anything you can tell us about Mr. Pawthorne and The Gadfly that may shed a little more light on the situation?”


((
Nezumi said:
the effect might not take long enough and he would remember it afterwards, though I have ideas for that as well :D
Click to expand...
Your excitement about these ideas makes me quite interested as to how Sagishi would handle this. Well, more interested.
KittenMaster said:
Fhiess will probably take the ring later once he feels better, but right now he's like the guy from Star Wars Ep. 2 that has to go home and rethink his life.
Click to expand...
This comment is beautiful; my sister and I quote that scene all the time. It's almost as if it's the single best, most important part of the prequel trilogy.))
 
M

Mike M

Nick N
Oliff couldn't say what it would take for the opposing sides of the Farni parties to share their opposition research. It may be as simple as paying them out, or they might want to trade in kind for embarrassing information on other ministers that they could use as leverage.

He's also able to produce a stack of copies of The Gadfly for review. It's a pamphlet that's printed weekly, the front page of which is devoted to a scathing editorial by Lionel Pawthorne where he mercilessly skewers some politician, policy, or bill under consideration with biting wit and sarcasm. The interior has a few more smaller articles of similar nature (though slightly more gentle in tone) and a large number of advertisements for various sponsors. Oliff points out that the ideological overlap between the various stances staked out by The Gadfly is practically nonexistent; By all appearances it seems to be contrarian for the sake of being contrarian, perpetually sowing discontent with the political process.
 
M

Mike M

Nick N
Thosar's attempt to read between the lines doesn't amount to terribly much. Though there is a decided streak of discontent with the status quo in the pamphlets, they're a far cry from advocating the complete overthrow of government or something of that nature. Their general premise could probably best be summarized as "vote the bums out," regardless of who the bums are. Indeed, it doesn't take much effort to find instances where The Gadfly has endorsed a challenger to an incumbent, only to turn around with a list of moral failings and ways they have betrayed their constituency after they've won.

There seems to be no pleasing their contributors. Their campaign to create constant controversy and scandal may be nothing more than marketing tactic to increase circulation and put the advertisements of their sponsors in front of more eyes.
 
N

Noisy Ninj4

Member
Thosar throws up his hands. "Maybe a bigger subscription base would be of interest to them. Giving drow voting rights would mean they are invested in the political process.

I imagine a Jraffa would be far enough outside the norm to be more persuasive than a local to this crowd. I get the feeling he'll need to be carrying some coin to wrap up negotiation.


With Farni, we might need to start with paying for some incriminating information, then using that as a barter for more information on other council members."
 
N

Nezumi

Member
Sagishi nods in agreement as the plan takes form.

"Maybe, if we take care of Farni first, we might use whatever dirt we are able to dig up as a base for negotiating with Rios. A newspaper like that might surely be interested in any kind of gossip discrediting their competition."

((I don't think Sagishi has more to add to the current discussion.))
 
T

ThLunarian

Member
Keranos wanders off as the rest of the party quibbles about minutiae. He knows where he's going, and he knows his mission; that's more than enough to get the job done, right?

His first target is the Chamber of Ance, as promised. After stopping to ask directions from one or two knowledgeable passersby, he makes his way to Ance Headquarters.

As soon as he encounters the first person who seems to be in a position to attend to visitors (whether that's security outside the front doors, a desk clerk in the lobby, or someone else), he flashes his smile and his fancy bronze medallion.

"Good morning," he says cheerfully. "To whom can I speak about tomorrow's vote?"
 
M

Mike M

Nick N
Even being a relative neophyte to the political scene, Keranos is shown an almost surprising amount of deference now that he is an official apparatus of the Foregrun machine, and in no short order he finds himself directed to the Chamber of Ance and its accompanying offices. A gnomish girl with thick glasses sits at desk receiving visitors and pointing them in the way to go. She looks to be fairly young, but Keranos--not having a great deal of exposure to gnomes--would have a difficult time guessing her age.

When the thunder godling makes his desire known, the receptions replies, "You'll be wanting Majority Leader Sahalish. Let me page her for you." She pulls a jointed series of brass tubes ending in what appears to be a speaking trumpet close to her mouth. "Sahalish!" she shouts into it, her voice reverberating through the entire facility. "Sahalish, you have a visitor at the front--oh, nevermind."

A halfling woman with a streak of white hair running through her braided black hair come strolling up to the desk. Her face--lined with the stresses of age--peers down at a slate in her hand. "Yes, Magalia, what is it?" she asks without looking up as she makes her marks and notes on whatever document she is reading.

"You have a visitor, madam Leader."

"Does he have an appointment?"

The receptionist blinks. "An--an appointment?" she squeals. "But... I thought... I was told that you don't..."

Sahalish finally looks up, a smile on her face. "Oh that's right, I don't take appointments. Thank you for reminding me." Turning to Keranos, she adds, "What's the use of interns if you can't have a little fun with them once in a while, hm?"

Tapping her charcoal pencil against her lips, she gives Keranos a quick one over. "Oliff's boy, are you?" she asks, her eyes alighting on the bronze badge of office. "My, but he is taking them young these days, isn't he? And so very... tall."

With no further ado, she brushes past the young champion and begins striding down the hallway at a brisk pace. "Come along then. Walking and talking, walking and talking. Lauslanner! I see you Lauslanner, don't think I don't see you! Don't think I don't know about the meeting you took with Malador! If you value your committee chairmanship, you'll tell him he can take what ever offer he made you and cram it up his arse!"

When people see Sahalish coming, they tend to get out of her way. This doesn't stop her from haranguing and shouting at another half dozen people. "Now," she says during a moment of respite, "what is it Oliff wants of me?"
 
T

ThLunarian

Member
In observing how Sahalish deals with her people, Keranos decides that he likes her very much.

((Insight roll to determine if there's anything that Keranos is missing that might make him reevaluate his opinion of her: [19]+4 = 23))

"Majority Leader, thank you very much for agreeing to see me. I am here to get the lay of the land on the matter of Underdark refugee voting rights. When the matter goes up for vote on the morrow, how do you see your chamber voting as of this moment? I assume the measure already has significant support in your chamber, but will it be enough to pass the two-thirds majority threshold? And if not, perhaps you can help me brainstorm on what must be done to grease the wheels, so to speak?"
 
M

Mike M

Nick N
Sahalish launches into an almost rote recitation of facts, and it seems likely she perpetually keeps all manner of vote tallies and whip counts in her head.

"My party holds 72 seats. It's a broad coalition, though, and it's not always possible keep all of their agreement within the bounds of any given legislation. At the moment, we have 62 votes in favor of the legislation, and the number is dropping daily. And not because of the usual intraparty disagreement, Minority Leader Malador has been picking off my votes, somehow. And he's not just going after freshmen or vulnerable seats, some of those he's poaching are in the party leadership! It's like he's taunting me with it! Maladors and Marthors, they're branches of the same rotten tree and a malignancy on the political process, I swear. I don't know what he could possibly be offering them, how on earth does he convince the majority whip to vote against the very bill he's whipping for?"
 
T

ThLunarian

Member
"Majority Leader, focus your efforts on your whip. I shall deal with this Malador myself, if you would be so kind as to point me toward his office."

Keranos goes directly to the Minority Leader's office and barges in without fanfare, holding his medallion in plain sight as he does so.

(Cast Detect Thoughts on Malador as soon as I'm in the same room as him))

"Malador," he says with authority, "I demand to know how you are convincing people to vote against the enfranchisement of Underdark refugees, and furthermore I strongly suggest that you cease your campaign to do so immediately."

((Subtlety? What's that?


Also, do we know how many voting members each chamber has? I could not find that info just browsing through the thread, so I am not sure what the target number of votes is))
 
N

Noisy Ninj4

Member
"To ensure that none suspect Sagishi, Galen, or myself are working together, we'll want to enter individually. I can communicate using a Message cantrip."

Once the business of dividing responsibilities is done, Thosar begins his trek to Farni, he heads in to their headquarters by himself.
 
K

KittenMaster

Member
As others begin to depart, Fhiess looks to Sagishi, "I suppose we should head to the chamber of Mafun." He lowers his voice to a whisper, "I will need the ring once we're out of the room." He'll leave the area as well after saying that.
 
M

Mike M

Nick N
The gray-haired Malador gives a startled shriek as Keranos barges in, half climbing out of his chair in fear.

Keranos:
Your sudden entrance has scattered his thoughts like a broken pane of glass, but you still manage to pull some general impressions if not exact details. His panic is that of the guilty believing they've been caught, rather than mere surprise, but he recovers quickly and his mind turns toward indignation and anger.

Passive Perception DC 12:
Malador reflexively looks to a wall bearing shelves filled with various items, but primarily looks to be books all of a similar size and binding.

"You--you--you," he stammers before his brain fully processes the badge Keranos is presenting him. The dawn of recognition is followed swiftly by rage.

"You are a lobbyist!" he shouts. "Who do you think you are, barging into my office like this? You have overstepped your bounds by wide margins, you tow-headed imbecile! I'll have you stripped of your license and exiled from Forgerun for this! Security! Where is security? Security!"
 
T

ThLunarian

Member
Keranos's eyes glow neon purple. He locks eyes with the sniveling little man.

"You'll want to rethink that," he says, deathly serious. "Lest security, and others, be made aware of the secrets you keep."

He gestures pointedly at the bookshelf, then uses telepathy to whisper I am inside your mind.

((Attempting to use Detect Thoughts to probe deeper. If I can specify what I'm looking for, it's anything related to blackmail, wrongdoing, and whatever is hidden in that bookshelf.

I think the spell save DC is 13 unless I'm missing anything from equipment; it's 8 plus 3 for my Cha mod plus 2 for proficiency I think))

Also, Intimidate: [14] + 5 = 19
 
M

Mike M

Nick N
((He rolled 14, so you don't get anything, but thanks to your intimidate check he thinks you just got everything.

Write up for that and Thosar's adventures with Chamber Farni coming later today.))
 
M

Mike M

Nick N
Thosar has no problems at all in locating the Chamber Farni. He would note that while it has the same basic layout at Chamber Lunus--that of an enormous central chamber with a ring of 100 offices surrounding it--the decor is notably different. There is a military precision to the placement of benches in the curving hallway, and a decidedly spartan sparseness to decoration. Everything appears purely functional with little regard for aesthetic flourishes beyond the occasional flag or stern portrait of a currently serving military commander.

There is a receptionist desk, but it's unoccupied. More than that, it's completely empty; no papers or parchments, quills, pots of ink, or any of the plethora of materials one would expect for any sort of secretarial position.

A helpful directory is hung on the wall behind the desk; A list of all 100 ministers listed in alphabetical order, and another with them listed by office number. None of the names strike Thosar as familiar from his researches so far, and they're frustratingly devoid of anything that might identify what party any given representative belongs to, or what position they may hold.

Better than nothing, but not by much.

#

Malador shrinks from Keranos's display with an animal whine of terror before moving over to the bookshelf with halting steps. "No need for that, no need. No, never any need for that," he babbles as he reaches a quaking hand toward one of the books and pulls it off the shelf.

"No need for that at all."

Keranos:
Quote post to view actual spoiler stuff ; )

 
N

Noisy Ninj4

Member
Thosar shuffles about the common area, writing down the names of the individual ministers. With little to go on within the chamber at this point, he quietly leaves and begins trying to track down political affiliations of the individual ministers to get a sense of what voting blocs exist and what they tend to vote for.

Perhaps the ministerial voting records section of the archive...

investigation: 1D20+5+1D4 = [16]+5+[1] = 22
 
K

KittenMaster

Member
<I wonder if I should just let Fhiess go to the chamber right away and wait for confirmation on if he got the ring back, just to speed things up a bit. I don't think he would show it off right away anyhow.>
 
K

KittenMaster

Member
Noisy Ninj4 said:
((Just ask yourself WWFD. What would Fheiss do?))
Click to expand...
ackgVuf.jpg
 
N

Nezumi

Member
((Been a busy weekend. Fhiess will definitely get the ring back. Proper post will come once I'm back home tomorrow))
 
T

ThLunarian

Member
Keranos wants to annihilate this man. He'd like nothing more than to tear him to shreds with a wayward gust of wind, to fry his insides with the mother of all lightning storms, and to set him and everything he's ever loved ablaze.

But whatever foul magicks have been cast upon him have forbidden him from doing so.

He could cause a scene. He could destroy this man's belongings while leaving the man himself untouched. But that would attract the wrong sort of attention.

At least.... it would right now.

He puts on a crooked smile. "Yes," he says stiffly. "Of course. As you wish, Minority Leader."

He exits Malador's office.The fool's spell had worked, but in his arrogance, Malador had neglected to consider that he was attempting to influence the mind of a God.


Keranos has every intention of following the instructions given to him, to the letter, as dictated by the magicks at play.

He plans to make the man regret being so lax and sloppy with his wording.

After a bit of wandering through the halls, he finds Sahalish and pulls her aside.

"Majority Leader," he says. "I have been magically compelled by Malador to tell you the following:

He purposely distorts his voice to sound as close to Malador as he can. It's probably not very close, but it's intended to emphasize that this is a direct quote and that the words are not Keranos's.

'That you found me out, that I was blackmailing her party members, but that you have destroyed the material and thus my leverage. You'll inform Oliff that Ance is secured in his favor. I'll even allow some of Sahalish's people to tell her they'll vote in her favor again. She has no idea how deeply I've penetrated her ranks.

Tomorrow, I will introduce competing legislation, one that will normalize our relationship with the Drow Empire. Commerce. Access to trade routes. Mutual protection. Its economic impact will be the single most significant bill in Forgerun's history, even the least of us will be enriched and elevated.All that they ask in return is the rendition of the wanted criminals who live among us. A small price, all things considered, wouldn't you agree?

I already have the votes in Ance, thanks to my delightful little toy. Your job is to ensure that Oliff's bill does not gain traction in the remaining Houses, and that my bill does. Cajole, threaten, bribe them, I care not how you do it. Money is no object.

Another gift in appreciation of our services in this endeavor. If all else fails, convince them to take a meeting with me, and I will work my way with them. Oh, and I want to be Forge Lord, I think. It's time for a change in leadership, wouldn't you agree?'"

He stops for a few beats to allow all that to sink in, and bends down slightly, his hands on his knees and breathing heavily. It was clearly a challenge to get through all that.

"Majority Leader," he continues in his normal voice, though a bit labored. "He did this to me by way of a magical artifact, hidden in a book on his bookshelf. Second shelf, fifth from the right, I believe.

"I don't pretend to be an expert on the laws of Forgerun, but is it not a crime to use such invasive magicks on anyone, let alone an officially sanctioned lobbyist? And judging from what he said, he's using the same artifact on many of your representatives, too. I suggest you send security to his office immediately.I need to get as far away from him as I can for now. Though I have satisfied his instructions for the time being, I don't know what will happen if he tries to get me to do something else.

"Before I go, though, do you have any questions for me? I know that was a lot to take in."
 
N

Nezumi

Member
Sagishi frowns as Keranos simply takes off on his own. He is starting to wonder whether the boy's claims of being a god are really true or whether he is just a misguided teenager with a personality disorder.

He doesn't dwell on the thought very long as it it clear that discussion has ended and the time for action has come. He joins Fhiess on his way out and before the young man has even finished asking for the ring, Sagishi hands it to him.

"You seem to do a lot better than yesterday. I'd feared I'd been too harsh on you. I'm happy that I was wrong!"

He gives Fhiess a most genuine smile that leaves no doubt that the kitsune means every word he said.

"Now, do you have a plan how to go about convincing Mafun to vote for us? Judging by your reaction yesterday I'm gonna guess that you did not know about Hogan's involvement with The Kin at all. But now that you know it, is there maybe something you remember that we could use as leverage. Everything really. We need to be able to offer those people something, they won't care for anything else, and I'm unsure if what little we have to bribe them is good enough."
 
K

KittenMaster

Member
"Yesterday marked a point in my life where everything I knew about my career turned out to be a lie. Nothing I can do now could make it worse." His expression is colder and more distant than it was in the past, and his seriousness is compounded by a slight weariness in his eyes.

He puts on the ring and slips a glove over the hand wearing it, "Can I have the letter as well? Hogan's handwriting is proof of rightful inheritance of the ring."

"Bribery or a paid reward will only be seen as an insult," he states, "I will need to learn how the possibility of voting rights to the Drow refugees would affect the chamber and come up with a way, possibly using my connection to Hogan, to propose a long term benefit. I don't expect to succeed in either case, but we may learn more about the people that wear these rings if they participate in this corner of government."
 
M

Mike M

Nick N
Armed with a list of names of minister members, Thosar goes in search of archives of voting records. It doesn't take long to find them at all; Even by the standards of entire cities built in the hollows of mountains, the voting archives are a cavernous chamber. Bills and votes are a copious affair in Hammerfall, so it stands to reason that any records would be of rather significant volume.

Fortunately, due to his earlier perusal of past issues of The Gadfly, he came armed with foreknowledge of the names and identification number of several pieces of legislation that the irregular opinions of Lionel Pawthorne have both praised and condemned, sometimes with only a single issue between those expressing contrary opinions. Cross referencing against other bills, he's relatively certain he can identify the majority of the ministers as belonging to one party or another, though there are numerous swing votes that frequently stray from the party line.

He's fortunate enough to find a transcript that identifies the Majority and Minority leaders by name, to boot.

#

As Majority Leader Sahalish listens to Keranos's recitation of Malador's instructions--the young thunder god explicitly obeying the letter of his compulsion if obviously not the spirit--her face grows increasingly pale and her lips are pressed together in an increasingly thin line.

No sooner does Keranos finish than does Sahalish release a sharp whistle and wave a finger in a circle above her head. Halberd-wielding guards in elaborately carved plate armor step forward from their posts along the wall at regular intervals and converge on her position. "You are most correct, Keranos. What Malador has done is unconscionable, even by his own miserable standards. To think he would seek to ally himself with the Drow government and ship the Eilistreeans back into their clutches for an almost certain death..."

Turning to the group of sergeant at arms, she informs them of what Keranos has relayed to her, and as one they march off with Sahalish down the corridor to Malador's office. There is a commotion before Malador comes stumbling out the doorway as though pushed. His shouts and protests grow shrill as one of the armed men comes out of the office bearing one of the legal books Keranos had spied on his shelf. The guard dumps the artifact from its concealed place in the book onto the ground and proceeds to strike it with the weighted end of his weapon. On the third strike, the gem shatters in a flare of red light, the crystal remains now as black as obsidian. Keranos feels a psychic weight lift from his shoulders.

Malador shrieks as though in pain and goes limp in the restraining arms of two of the guards. He comes to himself a moment later. "Where am I?" he asks. "What's going on, what are you doing?" He grows hysterical as he is bodily hauled away to wherever Hammerfall tends to such grievous breaches of their rather allowing election laws, proclaiming his innocence the whole while.

"You've done us a great service," Sahalish says after the spectacle has ended. "You may inform Oliff that he may rely on the Chamber Ance to pass his bill."
 
N

Noisy Ninj4

Member
Before returning to the chambers, Thosar walks past Galen and Sagishi to use a message spell relaying his findings. "Majority Leader Taskil and Minority Leader Barns lead the larger parties in chamber Farni, I'll try getting information from the minority leader if you speak with Taskil. I've also left notes on the party affiliations of individual ministers stuck to the bottom a bench, second left from the entrance.

Thosar makes a quick inquiry into the Minority position (especially its leadership) for house Farni with regards to the bill.
investigation : 1D20+5+1D4 = [14]+5+[1] = 20
 
T

ThLunarian

Member
"Any opportunity to root out evil," says Keranos. "You can thank Keranos, God of Storms for helping to restore order to your house." He gives the Majority Leader one of his two remaining holy symbol replicas.

He moves to exit the chamber, but hesitates. Something about the way that Malador fervently proclaimed his innocence made this whole thing seem... unfinished.

"Would it be possible for me to have a visit with Malador? Once he is properly secured, of course? I have some questions I'd like to ask him. I would be happy to return later, if necessary."
 
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