OOC and Character Creation

Amberly insisted he should be present when Max talks to her, allegedly to make sure Max doesn't upset her or try to swindle her. He has dirt on Max and can influence Mrs. M, but has no real authority (or a reason, as far as you know) to stop the investigation.

That works then

@Dr_B I realise I don't give you much to work with in my last post, but there's nothing else he can get from the staff at the moment. Let me know if you want him to go somewhere else/talk to someone else (he was asking about the view at the courtyard, there's also that lock-keeper Henry was talking about). He could also join Max and the doctor.

No worries, I'll come up with something

The dice luck in this game is downright atrocious 😅

I was actually meaning to ask if you'd agree we make a few forged-in-the-dark-inspired changes - namely partial success/success with complication on 4 and 5 where applicable. A couple of weeks ago I had a very frustrating Year Zero game where we'd sometimes throw up to 10 dice with zero successes. It's fun at the beginning but soon gets demoralising...

I'd be okay with giving that a shot 🤷‍♀️

Sure, let's try it

The situation is:

For the time being you need to keep out of Mrs. Tubbs's sight. You need to make sure the servants don't rat on you.
As far as you are aware, Mrs. Tubbs doesn't know you are actually staying in the house and that you have your horses and carriage with you. You could take the carriage and all your stuff with you when you leave, or just make a show of riding away (or go on foot).
You have two locations of potential interest - the back garden (the so-called "fairy forest") and the lock (or rather the lock-keeper).
You may also have items in your inventory which could provide you with additional clues.

So, what's the plan now?

regroup and trade notes first, then lock-keeper?

Need a reminder, what is the Belasis's Scopus book focused on? Why did we carry it with us (currently in Edward's custody, but assuming it is Adelaide's)

It's basically a "detect magic" spell given to you by Norrell. The PCs have tried using it in the past and it has yet to produce any results, but there's no way of knowing if it doesn't work, if you can't do it properly, or if it's past its shelf-life. Or, you know, if there's no magic to be detected.

Max' plan is to talk to the lockkeeper next, getting them out of the house. I'd say full retreat and then small-scale return later, but I'm not the brains in this operation

I need you to answer a few questions:

Do you take Henry into your confidence? Do you do it yourself or do you let Amberly deal with it?

Do you take Elsie into your confidence? Do you do it yourself or do you let Amberly deal with it?

Do you make any excuse for leaving to Mrs. Murgatroyd? Do you do it yourself or do you let Amberly deal with it?

Depending on your answers I'm going to make me some hidden rolls and after that I can move you to the lock keeper.

Henry and Elsie: Edward's approaches with both has been friendly, but with the change in circumstances he wouldn't have occasion to deepen those links further for now.

He thinks that once Elsie sees he kept his word not reporting/covering her attempted nighttime escapade, she could be more open with him in the future.

From his PoV, cultivating these contacts is postponed for now (and in the future it might need to happen outside the Tubbs residence)

I meant something more immediate.

At the moment no one knows that you've been kicked out except the doctor and he's willing to keep Mrs. Tubbs confined so you may return and keep snooping. You can literally exit through the front door so she can see you through her window (if she is looking at all) and then loop back and jump the fence. Having the servants on your side would be helpful, the maid especially, because they could give you up by not knowing your presence is supposed to be a secret.

If you just gather your things and leave with no explanation, you can be sure that both the servants and Mrs. M will make up their own explanations and the chance of you being welcome back become very, very slim.

So, let me rephrase my questions - do you tell anyone you are leaving and why? Do you tell the truth or make up a cover story? Or do you ask Ambely to make up a cover for you?

Max' idea was to try and not let the staff know they've been kicked out and hoping that Amberly will serve as a buffer to not let them mention anything to Mrs. Tubbs that they're not supposed to

Ok, and I'm assuming that you've communicated that to Amberly, so he knows what's expected of him. What about your excuse for leaving?

Just to be clear, there are no right and wrong answers, I just need to know because you'll be leaving the house for some time and there are things that may or may not happen while you are gone.

Yes, I'd say so. As for excuse... maybe if someone asks, Amberly can just say that we've decided to investigate some things away from the house for now, which is true, just not the full story.

Ok then. If we are in agreement, I'll move you to the lock keeper later today.

Agree with the cover story.