Episode 2

I feel like I get the gist of what Ez is saying about the "cut weight / max value" program on the bags of treasure. He also mentions a high concern for time and a willingness to accept what is possible to prioritize speed in the effort as well.

So cutting to the chase...

Also going to cut to the chase on escape route, to get this show on the road.

For map references on locations discussed below, go here.

DAMN, y'all.

Fuck you Fates!

Just kidding.
But...Ha!, Jabes.
Which was more of a stress: Devotion of the Small Irons or THIS?

Ha! True. Maybe this edit to blend the two ideas...

I thought I wrote something but I guess I didn't hit post or imagined it. It wasn't too far off what you put, Ez.

I'm probably going to take the 40 pound option, if that option come up, otherwise I'll stick with my former choice of nothing. Ryhim is also traveling extremely light; courtesy of being a prisoner.[

My roll suggestions weren't too different either, I'll add the difference, for more choices. Ryhim has an investigation of +6. +10 with advantage? No, but there isn't a chance that Ryhim's brain will fritz out and make it -10. Something for consideration; everything else looks solid.

Definitely making the bow a last moment change, will cross that bridge when we get there. Would washing be an option or are there nomadic clothes available?

Also, would Kray be able to help Ryhim with the stealth check? They are both high stealthers and are the spear point of the marching order, makes sense one might be able to help the other.

Also, also, Iasu piercing Na'ahma's Pit with his Small Iron has leaked to the main thread that means it's cannon. Sorry, Jabes, but you have to go through with it now; can't have you ruining or altering the timeline

I get it. Take what load you can, for as far as you can, but always try to keep the best loot in the bag in the final escape.

Yes, the Random Encounter roll is rough luck, but also fitting I suppose. At this point, as strange and callous as it may sound, I think it only adds to the legitimacy of this LEGENDARY HEIST.

And on that, I'd like to expand. Ha!
Have been thinking about how this raid on the Adriyalet House has gone. As Ez says, there were choices that could have gone differently, other avenues that in hindsight would have been more optimized - plenty of "What if's...?" to speculate about that might have generated a better moment right now, here at the Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape (SERE) EXFIL.

BUT...no guarantee other routes would have unfolded perfectly either. This place was built to be confusing as fuck, both in it's physical structure and high-risk priority payoff sites AND in it's complexity of dealing with NPCs who HAD to be dealt with to have any options for success.

I read back over the Honor Among Thieves entry on Codes of Honor and enjoyed thinking about it in the circumstance that your characters are in now. These characters may not adhere to this Code as a lifestyle, but at this moment in the DT community and world, they are on the brink of pulling off one of the most legendary thieving raids of a generation, at least regionally to include multiple cultures. It was super secret, but seems inevitable that it will go super-public very soon - whether it is a success or not. And in large chunks of these cultures, where master thievery is like a prestigious profession and successful raiders are like rock stars, ....despite all of the hardship, probably BECAUSE OF IT in fact ... your characters are taking a shot at becoming CELEBRITIES!!! Survival is the baseline goal of course, but being a FAMOUS ADVENTURER in the DT setting would be a really dope stretch goal. Right now, that's DEFINITELY in play.

Thieves' Code: "Trust your instincts."
Thieves' Code: "Be bold."
Thieves' Code: "Share adventure, and spoils, with a worthy companion."
Thieves' Code: "Never give aid or information to the city guard or militia about fellow thieves, even if it costs your life or freedom."

These characters have either already lived up to these ideals or are imminently facing the chance to fulfill them at the highest stakes.

So I love the idea that after all of the frustration and heavy cost, here you are when it all shakes out: having a shot to carry out with heavy bags of tycoon-level wealth, raided from a REMNANT site of an ANCIENT, mysterious, decadent, dark culture.

SO KEEP IN MIND: the amount of loot you get out with WILL be incorporated in to Interim 2 and Episode 3. This includes influence on the lucrative or the conservative final form of DM Fiat Awards of Interim 2 that I think should be pretty fun for those who get there.

No matter what happens in these last down-ramp encounters, checks, entries, to me this is shaping out to be a near-perfect Dark Thrones ending to an extraordinarily long and grueling Episode.

J-Nostalgia

haha!
I admit I wonder what Jabes is thinking in all of this. Iasu is pretty quiet so far.
He might be like "ENOUGH, fellas. This is fucking weird and NOT THAT FUNNY."

Don't worry, Jabes. For the record as you have seen, Na'ahma was a little strong on the intro affection, but hasn't actually offered up the snatch in the canonical writing (such inferences in non-canonical entries will always remain uninhibited however, and as Hyp suggests, those may gradually come to wield unmatched power).
Iasu hasn't yet heard Mommy Dearest's intent on the Next Phase of Cambion integration into upcoming city planning efforts.

On this set of Skill Checks, and in the Skills Challenge Machine that will follow (Spoiler right there), the HELP Action for Advantage on Checks will not be allowed.

It is assumed that the whole team is doing everything they can to make all of these things happen, and following the instructions of whoever is in the lead on each focus skill. Cooperation doesn't really generate a boost on performance for the one guy as much as it the success of one guy who has an opportunity is projected out to the whole team.

In some moment-focused or action-type scenes, the Skill Check Help option is there, but these types of checks are something more generalized and narrative forming, so they'll be required to stand on their own: one roll by one guy.