CALIMPORT GAME

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Apr 27, 2025 11:11 am
Big Zhad sighs. "I don't see why these newcomers would want to step on our toes," he says. "But it seems like they are. Please figure out where they are quartered, where they have Dalana … and whether they have Garrett. And if you can, why are they screwing with us?"
Apr 27, 2025 11:24 am
"I hear these Thayans are serious bad news. If Garrett is missing and it is down to just the two of us, we might need ... something to give us an edge." Ane says, worrying about how their band is being picked off, one by one.

"I have been trying to learn more magic, as you know, but Thet wants payment, and in magic not in coin. He spoke about books of magic, some even quite simple ones, as though they were things that could be lying around. If you know of anything like that, it would be a great help." She says guilelessly.
Apr 27, 2025 11:44 am
"That's interesting," Big Zhad says. "The wizards of the city sometimes hire folk to obtain such things for them. They are not usually just lying around. Mostly they are carefully kept, in locked private libraries and such." He looks curious. "Cousin Thet …" he smiles and changes the subject a bit. "You recently delivered such a book for our friend the storm-priest." Now he looks mildly intrigued. "It seems like the Thayans have become more interested in us, since we started into that line of work."
Apr 27, 2025 11:49 am
"Did Ginseng know about plans to get into that line?" Ane asks. "Because the Red Robes might have been trying to stop us from getting to him. And that was before the storm-priest." Ane does not want to suggest that Ginseng told more than he admitted, but the idea that the Thayans are working with the city guard is a scary one.
Apr 27, 2025 12:20 pm
Now Big Zhad looks alarmed. "Ginseng got picked up for working … in that line." He slowly shakes his head. "I have a lot to think about."
OOC:
I'm gonna break for the rest of the day so that @chalrytharendir can get into this.
Apr 28, 2025 3:54 pm
Asha
tibbius says:
OOC:
I'm gonna break for the rest of the day so that @chalrytharendir can get into this.
OOC:
Thanks, appreciate it!
Asha takes in all the new info and recalls their first interaction with the Red Robes. She's relieved that she pulled the trigger on that smokey escape instead of waiting to see what they wanted. Otherwise they might be in Dalana's (and Garrett's) shoes already too.

"Sounds like step one is finding where the Thayans are based. Zhad, do you have any more of these deliveries? If so, spread the word that we're going to handle it."

Turning to Ane, Asha asks, "Can you make illusion of our likeness? We can hide/follow behind the illusions. When the Thayans try to intercept us ... your illusions of us ... we can watch from a distance. When you dispel the illusion, they'll think they lost us again, but we can then try to follow them back to their hideout. What do you think?"
Apr 29, 2025 5:58 am
"And make it walk around? And not bump into people?" Ane squeaks at the prospect of such a complex illusion. "I don't know I can do that."
OOC:
It seems like that is pushing the bounds for: 'Conjure an image or sound that appears lifelike, but only at first glance.' But since I can cast these Phantasm Illusions without rolling, maybe I need to roll for such a complex construct?
May 4, 2025 7:48 pm
Asha
OOC:
I hadn't read the details of the spell, but I agree, what I suggested is a bit more than what would be possible without a roll. I do like the idea that you might be able to push that boundary using a roll if tibbius is alright with that. However, I'm definitely okay with an alternate plan if you have any suggestions.
Asha listens and accepts her friend's assessment of her skills, but also adds a bit of encouragement. "You've been making so much progress with the details of your disguise spell, I wonder if it might help with the complexity of your illusions?"

"Otherwise, we might need to do some investigative work to see if we can find out where the Thayans are based. We could start by surveying people on the streets to see if anyone recalls where they are coming and going from. Or maybe your new teacher Thet has some info about them. Any other ideas?"
May 4, 2025 8:15 pm
OOC:
I think you would definitely need a roll for this kind of advance illusion but I'm unclear what the RISK would be and need to think about something plausible in story terms. One principle of 2400 is that a failed roll should advance and escalate the narrative.
May 4, 2025 8:31 pm
OOC:
A major risk might be the red robes realizing it's not real and triangulating the location of the caster allowing them to follow/ambush us instead of the other way around. A minor complication might be they notice, but we realize it's not working before they are able to ambush us and need to decide to run or confront them.
Last edited May 4, 2025 8:32 pm
May 4, 2025 11:39 pm
OOC:
ok, I was thinking along those lines but was sticking on whether it's plausible to locate the casters of an illusion. Let's just say that it is possible for some magic users to visualize the lines that join a caster to their spell, if the tracker thinks to make the effort; and a bad enough illusion might well prompt such tracking.
May 5, 2025 6:18 am
"They are very different spells." Ane points out. "I don't think the Illusions lack 'detail' so much as they lack ... dimensions. They don't move right and you have to look at them from the right angle else they look ... squished." She thinks for a bit. "The Disguise works from all side because it actually changes us. So the moving and stuff is easy.

"The Illusions are ... well I don't really think about them. They come as naturally to me as smoke does to you."

Ane is still thinking. "Anyway, we would need to find the right place to try this ploy. So we have to find their base anyway. We can keep playing with the Illusion idea while we work on that problem?"

Ane is hesitant to involve Thet in their search, talking about the Red Wizards of Thay makes people nervous, but she is resigned to the fact that she may need to do just that, once they know a little more. Thet will also want something in return —Ane is not naive enough to think she can slip that into a casual conversation— so Ane is going to be on the lookout for something to trade with him... Another spell would be ideal. She thinks. That way we both get something out of it.

"They must frequent the magic markets." Ane suggests. "Maybe we do some more 'shopping' and see if we can glean anything about them from what they have been buying or selling? Knowing what sort of thing they are looking for could also give us a clue about their plans?"
May 5, 2025 6:23 am
OOC:
tibbius says:
... unclear what the RISK ... failed roll should advance and escalate the narrative.
That is always tricky. I am not a fan of 'nothing happens', but sometimes it is reasonable to 'waste time'. I don't see this as being particularly time-sensitive, so attempting it, seeing it is not working and having to give up does not add much in this case. If it is bad enough we would know before we even set out, so that would be part of the 'testing and training' phase.

One obvious 'cost' —though it deviates a bit from traditional 'avoid risk'— is that we find that the spell can not do what we are trying to do, cutting off that line of utility (at least until I get get better (by raising my Reason, or by advancing the spell, maybe?). Then the 'risk' is with the spell experimentation, not with the Red Robes.
tibbius says:
... whether it's plausible to locate the casters of an illusion. ...
With my Sixth Sense I can "See" and identify magic effects. So I am sure the Red Wizards would have someone who can do similar and follow it back to its source.
Chalrytharendir says:
... ambush us and need to decide to run or confront them.
It think they are out of our league for a confrontation. :)

Do we want to risk getting captured by them, though? Is that an 'acceptable risk'? Personally Ane would be a little titillated by the attention, and would try to learn as much from such an experience as possible. :) But: Is it feasible to get captured and not alter the whole line of the story? Do we want to go that route? I am easy.
May 5, 2025 1:09 pm
OOC:
I feel like another principle of 2400, that proper planning mitigates risk, applies here. In experimentation phase we've figured out that the proposed plan is too high risk and unlikely to work well. So we need a different plan, which we've arrived at already: Disguise and stalk the red robes in the magic khanduq.

Segueing:
It's a typical sunny morning with the breeze off the harbor carrying familiar scents of fish and smoke up the incline toward Khanduq Ward. The sun gets hot as you proceed up the streets through Wizard Ward and Quill Ward. Perhaps you wonder, as you go, why the magic market isn't in Wizard Ward.

Please describe your disguises.
May 5, 2025 1:22 pm
OOC:
tibbius says:
... proper planning mitigates risk, applies here. In experimentation phase we've figured out that the proposed plan is too high risk and unlikely to work well. So we need a different plan ...
Quite right. Only role to avoid risk... if you can't avoid the risks altogether. :)
Ane has gone with something very different, again. Based on the idea from last time, and seeing how the scribe was treated with respect, she has formed herself similarity. She does not look like that scribe who she accidentally became, but has experimented with putting together a variety of people into one. She needed a little help from Asha to make the mix look right, and not turn out wonky, but, with the scribe's robes, and the random face, and an average body, she does not look like anyone who is likely to be recognised.

It does not take long for Ane to start to regret her choice, the tight, black robes don't allow the airflow she is accustomed to —she briefly tried armor, but felt like she was dying with her limbs encased in fabric— and she is pondering if it would be safe to try adjust things to be a little looser. Her normal getup of one layer of cotton robe, held away from her body by subtle air currents might look out of place on a scribe, though, so, for now, she endures.
May 6, 2025 5:01 am
Asha
Asha asks Ane to disguise her as the modified athletic boy again, although with a similar outfit as Ane's scribe so he'll look like her (his?) apprentice.

As they begin to wander the market, she surveys the surroundings, keeping an eye out for any red robes.
May 6, 2025 6:42 am
It still feels strange to Ane to see that face on her friend, but that boy left years ago for adventure on the high seas. It should not matter that his face looks a fair bit like he used to look, back then, it is still hard to get the 'athletic benefits' if she changes too much.

"We should use different names." Ane says, though she is not at all confident they will remember or be consistent with that. "What do you think? Call me... Mehmen... yeah, why not. What do you want to be called?"

As they browse, Ane asks around, as casually as she can, trying to get a feel for where wizards would go to shop. Maybe they can find someone how deals with the Red Robes, or maybe she can find something worth trading with Thet for any information he may have about them.
May 6, 2025 1:20 pm
Magic trinket stalls are scattered throughout the khanduq. While the strange picture frame at the stall in Wizard Ward was intriguing, items here are somewhat more practical:
• a blue crystal that glows bright as a candle (but cold to the touch) when lightly squeezed;
• a porcelain egg that echoes any language in Calimite;
• a stall of weapons, flanked by two mage amlakkar with dour expressions. "You need a license to shop here," one of them says sternly when you approach.

Nearby the weapons stall, you see a red-robed person "casually" observing the scene.
May 6, 2025 3:01 pm
Ane tries to 'casually observe' the casual observer. Are they watching us? Surely not!

She wonders if she should deliberately ask about something that might interest the Red Wizards, to see how they react, but she is worried about how they might react... Probably best to keep it casual, for now. She thinks.
May 6, 2025 4:31 pm
OOC:
This is a moment when I'm longing for Dungeon Goons because +Skuker v DS 10 would be great for the 'casually observe' action. It's definitely risky but I'm not sure which Stat really applies to it in Legends. I'm gonna go with Presence as the relevant thing. @vaguegm Please roll Presence.
Does the "chili pepper" notice Anemone noticing her?
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