Gaming Outpost Discussions

1. 

   M. J. Young
   Moderator

   When you arrive at work the next night, Sherlock says, "Well, we have what might be a development. About an hour ago, three men disembarked from The Apple Blossom, one of them thought to be the captain. One of the men followed them, the other doubling back here to report, asking the harbormaster to keep a watch on the ship briefly in case someone else left it. I'm assuming no one did because I sent Rob back to the dock and have not received another report. Thing is, we have no idea where Michael went, so we don't know what's happening."

   --M. J. Young

   Sat Jun 20 2009 12:57 am #
2. 

   johnosevens
   Member

   "With your permission, I'll head down to the dock, and see if I can get anywhere. If anyone has news, I'll be back as quickly as possible and find out here."

   If he agrees, I'll head down to the docks and try to get my Bloodhound Olfaction going again. This time I'd like to try an overdriven mode like I do with my night vision: focus for a full minute on getting it going. I don't much care about increasing the duration, I just want to take my time shifting my perception in order to make the shift itself more reliable, even if it doesn't last much longer. An hour is enough time for a scent trail to get a bit weaker, but I might be able to pick out Michael's scent if he's someone I've worked with before.

   If he does not agree, I'll sit tight here at the station and wait for anything more to blow in.

   Sat Jun 20 2009 2:55 am #
3. 

   M. J. Young
   Moderator

   "Hey, I'm going home; you're in charge of the investigation now."

   For your one minute of concentration, are you closing your eyes or holding your breath?

   You pick up Michael's scent, and begin to follow it.

   In about fifteen minutes you spot him, just as your nose is returning to normal (along with your other senses, which had been reduced). He is watching a dark saloon. He sees you approach.

   "Blimey, you're good. How did you find me?"

   --M. J. Young

   Sun Jun 21 2009 8:41 pm #
4. 

   johnosevens
   Member

   Closing my eyes and breathing deep and rhythmic.

   I follow.

   When he asks, I tap the side of my nose and give him a grin, as though teasing him about sniffing him out.

   "What did you find?"

   Sun Jun 21 2009 10:21 pm #
5. 

   M. J. Young
   Moderator

   "They went into that pub, sir. The place is closed, and I did not think it wise to follow, particularly as I didn't know what it was about and couldn't get backup without alerting them to my presence. Unless they slipped out the back, they're still in there.

   "It was three of them, one was the captain.

   "So, any idea what this is about?"

   --M. J. Young

   Thu Jun 25 2009 4:19 am #
6. 

   johnosevens
   Member

   "None, but it's the first move we've seen them make since the murder. If they were involved, it could be important.

   We need to drum up some backup, and you were right not to use your whistle to do it. Stay here and watch for any sign of them. I'm going to see if I can find anyone else. I'll meet you back here as quickly as I'm able."

   If I can see any of them through the tavern windows without being obvious about it, I'll attempt a Read Surface Thoughts on them.

   If not, I will slip off to try to find more redshirts, starting with this corner and walking in a widening circle until I spot someone, then flag them down. By hand. No whistles.

   Fri Jun 26 2009 2:42 am #
7. 

   M. J. Young
   Moderator

   The tavern windows are all shuttered and the downstairs appears dark. There is some light from a second floor window.

   It takes you more than half an hour to track down a redshirt, and he's not from your office but of course he recognizes your braid. He asks how he can help. He also offers to head back to the local office to get more help there.

   --M. J. Young

   Fri Jun 26 2009 11:22 pm #
8. 

   johnosevens
   Member

   I'll ask him to do that - go to my office and summon help. Again, no whistles until he's far enough away not to disturb the tavern.

   Once that's done, I'll go back to Michael at the tavern and see if he has seen anything new.

   Sat Jun 27 2009 4:50 am #
9. 

   M. J. Young
   Moderator

   Actually, he was going to go to the local office for help. It makes more sense for the local branch to give you support than for you to move your people from across town.

   In half an hour, you've got five more redshirts (in addition to your own two) and another junior investigator from the local office. He's hoping you'll brief him on this, and he has heard something of the murders in the inn across town (and does not envy you having caught that case), but he's following your lead on this.

   --M. J. Young

   Sun Jun 28 2009 8:05 pm #
10. 

    johnosevens
    Member

    Help from the local office is fine. I forgot the docks are halfway across town from my office.

    I will brief my fellow junior investigator, including what I got from Michael, giving him credit, as we head back to staking out the tavern.

    I will send one redshirt around back. If they try to sneak out, and it is obvious they are sneaking, he is to follow them.
    I will send one redshirt around the side. If the first one sees anything, this one is his relay to me at Michael's stakeout spot across the street.
    I will send two redshirts down to the docks, one to watch the ship itself (do I still have a redshirt doing that? If so, then this one I will keep), and one to alert the customs master that that ship crew we were suspicious about is up to something.

    If I have one redshirt left, I will keep her with me.
    If I have two redshirts left, I will keep one and have the other relay word to my office about all of this and then join the very first redshirt in minding the back of the tavern.

    Are any of these guys not in uniform? If we caught an off-duty redshirt out of colors, I wouldn't mind sending him into the tavern in order to get the feel of the place in a nonchalant, undercover sort of way.

    Mon Jun 29 2009 4:28 am #
11. 

    Brock
    Member

    Sorry to interrupt, but I'm wondering something. You haven't really slept in like, forever. Do you think your character might be getting a psychological addiction to magically-aided sleep deprivation? I remember when you first used it you were saying "my gods, the power!"

    Just a thought.

    NOTE: a psionic detective with clerical abilities and great skill with shortswords that never sleeps in the days of high piracy? Brilliant!

    Tue Jun 30 2009 10:30 am #
12. 

    johnosevens
    Member

    Brock - It's possible. The only time Verser-me has slept since he discovered that spell was the one time he knocked himself out using a spell that was magically exhausting as a component. Considering I'm kindof a stimulant addict and hate to sleep in real life, it would surprise me not at all.

    Your note amuses me greatly.

    Tue Jun 30 2009 11:48 pm #
13. 

    Brock
    Member

    I thought the note would. And, should memory serve aright, you actually slept four hours to pass the time when you were in some port or other, and as to the exhausting spell you restored your mental fatigue and laid down for half an hour to make your muscles stop being sore, then got up.

    EDIT: I, too, hate to sleep. That is why I only sleep between 4-6 hours a night, and even that much I dislike. I have never used a stimulant of any kind, and am not even sure what stimulants actually exist. I haven't ever used any kind of drug except morphine derivative in the hospital either. I don't smoke or drink either, though the lack of drinking has to do with my age being 18 more than anything else.

    Wed Jul 1 2009 12:51 am #
14. 

    WilliamTWodium
    Member

    I have never used a stimulant of any kind,

    Not even the caffeine in tea or coffee? Even chocolate has a bit of caffeine (from the cocoa beans), though I don't know that I'd call that "using stimulants" unless you were chowing down on the beans themselves (like a Loompa).

    Wed Jul 1 2009 2:48 am #
15. 

    Brock
    Member

    I wouldn't call that 'using stimulants' either, but I have had coffee 3 times before. I drank tea....twice I think. Usually, I just drink water, and for special occasions I drink moon water. That reminds me, I still have a case of blue moon water in my room, waiting for a REALLY special occasion.

    Wed Jul 1 2009 2:51 am #
16. 

    WilliamTWodium
    Member

    . . . moon water, as in water from the moon?

    Wed Jul 1 2009 3:02 am #
17. 

    Brock
    Member

    No, water you place outside during a full moon to imbue it with moon-energy. It makes it remarkably cool even in warm conditions, though it may just be the expectations of the one who makes it. It's a pagan practice, but we should move this out of Harry's thread.

    Wed Jul 1 2009 3:17 am #
18. 

    M. J. Young
    Moderator

    I do coffee, but it has not kept me awake since college, when the girl's curfew would kick in at eleven and the guys would walk up to the IHOP and drink a dozen cups each from a bottomless pot while eating dessert and talking. It never kept me awake, and does not do so now. I joke that I used to have a terrible Coke habit--two to three liters a day. I still indulge in the beverage at fast food places, and I just had to buy one of the new two-liter bottles because I love the Coke iconography (e.g., glasses, bottles, logos). My game character also drinks Coke, and carries some with him from verse to verse. (My other character, the Architect, is quite a bit younger, and drinks Pepsi, and carries some of that with him. It's a long and strange story that revolves around the introduction of New Coke, but this is not the place.)

    Harry, you had two of your own redshirts; I don't know whether you left one at the docks or not, but if you didn't you have him at the tavern.

    All of them are in uniform. You are not, apart from your braid, and neither is the other investigator, who has his braid in his pocket. However, it's well after midnight and the place is closed, so anyone going inside would have to get through the locked doors.

    I'll assume you are in place. Are you doing anything other than waiting?

    --M. J. Young

    Wed Jul 1 2009 3:45 am #
19. 

    johnosevens
    Member

    Is anyone in the place still up? If I see anyone moving, I attempt a Read Surface Thoughts.

    If it seems like only the innkeeper is up, I'll take the other Investigator and go tap on the door. "We'd like to ask you a couple of questions, if you've got a minute."

    If it seems like someone is up who is not the innkeeper but is one of our pirates, I will again Detect Surface Thoughts.

    For now, I will sit tight and wait to see what happens.
    In fact, I will spend the next half-hour (assuming nothing happens to interrupt me) adding another version of Remove Fatigue to my spell list. This one will require that I speak appropriate words, though they are sotto voce, one eye closed for Odin, my left hand on my sword for Thor, my right hand on my heart for Baldur, and a single gold piece in my right palm for Loki. Loki's gold piece will be destroyed in the process. I'll put on it a requirement that it only work in a time when vigilance is significant, as on a stakeout, military patrol, forced march, or that sort of thing, and that I must be aware of that significance. It will affect everyone within thirty feet who is joining me in this endeavor (30' because I am a D&D player, and 30' is the standard radius of pretty much everything). In this particular case, everyone but the two redshirts on the other side of the building. This one will not require a Holy Ground to work, but will require that it be night (or the local equivalent thereof). This is Alliance Holy Magic, as per my usual. And... I don't think I left anything out.

    It is possible that this will affect people in the surrounding buildings, if they happen to feel that they are allied to my cause of truth, justice, and the Durnian Way.

    In the interest of expedience, I will not answer questions about this spell - anything that I did not cover assume results in a +0 modifier.

    Wed Jul 1 2009 4:36 am #
20. 

    Brock
    Member

    Problem: you may determine someone is up inside from hearing them, but without a visual link OR familiarity with them, I don't think you can read their surface thoughts. That means that unless they walk by a window or something, you can't.

    Want to save you wasting a day discussing specifics.

    Wed Jul 1 2009 6:27 am #
21. 

    johnosevens
    Member

    Oh I know - I meant if I should happen to see someone in the window or some such. Though you give me an interesting idea for a psionic power to try next time...

    Thu Jul 2 2009 12:17 am #
22. 

    M. J. Young
    Moderator

    I believe I mentioned that there was light in a second floor window. Shutters are closed, so you can't see anyone. Also, you have a Read Surface Thoughts skill, which as Brock correctly observes works if you can see the person or know their mind already, but you do not have a detect thought skill of any kind that I see, so you can't scan for minds in that sense.

    You cast your spell.

    After about an hour, the front door opens, and three men emerge, talking with a fourth who is inside. The conversation seems amicable. One of the three is the previously identified captain, and the other two very likely his crewmen from their look. They are armed much as the dead men, and the captain is wearing his sword.

    --M. J. Young

    Thu Jul 2 2009 1:37 am #
23. 

    johnosevens
    Member

    Figuring it would be better if the captain - who probably knows my face - didn't see me, I'll keep to the shadows.

    I'll drop a Read Surface Thoughts on each of the three now that I can see them.

    Once they're done, I'll ask the other inspector and one of his redshirts to have a few words with whoever was inside. Tap on the door if necessary. I will take the rest of the redshirts and follow the captain home, seeing if he does anything else, or if I can overhear anything useful on the way.

    Thu Jul 2 2009 2:06 am #
24. 

    Brock
    Member

    Okay, this will be my last interruption unless I have something important to point out, like my last post. Do you know about the magic worksheet, osevens? It lets you ascertain all the details beforehand, and in the long run will enable you to make your spells fully defined before you post them. I looked, but I couldn't remember what post I saw it in. ask MJ about it.

    Thu Jul 2 2009 2:09 am #
25. 

    johnosevens
    Member

    I have a hard copy of it somewhere, but even with it I always manage to leave something out, and then MJ blows three days of my updates hashing out trivial details, usually based on things I put in more for flavor than mechanical effect. If I sound a bit snippy when posting new spells, that's why - a history of spending a week explaining that, no, I don't intend to consecrate my bed as an altar, it was just a cool visual effect. That kind of thing. Like MJ says, a five-minute conversation, or a week of updates...

    Thu Jul 2 2009 2:27 am #
26. 

    Brock
    Member

    Oh, OK. I guess I misunderstood. Well, if I ever make a spell, I will post it in double format. Mechanics first, including details that are actually part of the spells, then 'flavor text', as it were. Maybe you should try it?

    Thu Jul 2 2009 3:11 am #
27. 

    JohnA1nut
    Member

    Brock, I thought you said you were going to stop posting in other people's game threads.

    (Doing Therapy)

    Thu Jul 2 2009 3:20 am #
28. 

    M. J. Young
    Moderator

    As long as the discussion is happening here, I'll mention here that the magic skills worksheet can be found in HTML format on our support site here (and for referees, the quick key is here). There are a lot of other things people can do to impact their numbers, though, so it doesn't cover everything.

    You succeed it tapping into the thoughts of the captain, and you retain the connection as he walks back toward the docks.

    First, he thinks that that went well, and the captain is going to be pleased. Then he thinks that he's very tired and glad that it's over. Then he thinks that he's going to have to make arrangements to leave port tomorrow, and hopefully will be able to catch a good wind out into the Greater Syndic to look for the ship. He wonders whether the captain will let him keep this ship, and imagines himself captaining a pirate ship.

    Then his mind is blank for quite some time, until he turns his attention back to finding his way to the dock in a less than familiar town. He wonders who is going to run the new place and how the captain intends to handle that.

    He's almost back to the ship, and thinking about getting in bed and sleeping.

    --M. J. Young

    Thu Jul 2 2009 9:55 pm #
29. 

    johnosevens
    Member

    I'll let him return to his ship. I have nothing to arrest him or hold him on, and I don't want to let on that I know anything.

    Once he's back on the ship, I'll go to the harbor office where I've dealt with the customs inspectors and harbor masters before, and tell them everything I 'overheard him talking about' while I was following him. They are pirates, and they're leaving port tomorrow to go look for another ship. They're part of a larger pirate fleet.

    It might be beneficial to stop them.
    It might be more beneficial to follow them.
    It might be devastating to infiltrate them.

    I'll need to speak with both the customs master and my boss. Does Durnmist even do undercover cops? And to think, I 'retired' from the sea for less than six months...
    Arabelle, forgive me for the foolish things I do in pursuit of truth, justice, and glory that may echo in history...

    Fri Jul 3 2009 1:48 am #
30. 

    M. J. Young
    Moderator

    No one has ever heard of anything like undercover cops, but the idea is interesting. Your chief wants you to elaborate on the idea for his boss; he also recognizes that time is short, and he doesn't know whether he can get permission for something like this at all, never mind how long it might take.

    I believe you sent the other investigator to talk to the guy still at the tavern. He won't have taken much longer than your eavesdropping session, I expect, if as long as that.

    --M. J. Young

    Fri Jul 3 2009 9:25 pm #

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