Scenario 2
I am thinking
of introducing another cast member for this scenario. A halfling scion of house
Gholander. She acts as something of a troubleshooter for the house – an
assassin who specialises in discrete removal of unwanted guests.
Enter Jolene
d’Gholander, disgraced (but useful) scion of her house.
The Problem: The lord of blades is gathering an
army/Hospitality can be eternal
What if the
Warforged agents are using house Gholander hospitality as a cover for their
murderous schemes? Why, they would call in a troubleshooter to extend their
offer of hospitality to become permanent, thats what…
Will she assassinate the warforged agents?
Will she discover the warforged plans?
Will she track down the head of the warforged
agents?
Can she infiltrate the warforged operation?
This looks
like it might be shorter and more direct than the previous scenario. A bit like
Jolene herself…
Scene 1
Can Jolene
gain the trust of the warforged and infiltrate their operation?
Jolene
saunters across a bar run by her house. It is easy to spot guests here as they
tower over her kin who run the establishment – humans, elves, the occasional
bestal shifter - All are welcome in the halls of her family, and all are eating
and drinking merrily, enjoying the performance by Victer Evensong, as he belts
out a raucus ballad above the din of the crowded bar. Below and between them,
Halflings scurry, carrying drinks and meals and empty glasses to ensure their
guests are happy and fed. Jolene herself could almost be mistaken for another
employee of the house – just another childsized halfling host, easily passed
over and dismissed unless some need was not yet catered for. Almost but not
quite. The confident manner in which she prowled across the room dismissed any
notions one might have that she was in any way a subservient hostess.
Likewise, her
quarry was easy to spot. It almost fitted in amongst the tall patrons and
revellers who crowded the bar – almost but not quite. Before it sat an
untouched tankard of ale, and a glance was enough to see that it had no need of
the famed Gholander sustenance either. It had the size and form of a well built
man, but it was an approximation at best, fashioned from burnished Iron like a
suit of armour given life. In fact,
Jolene mused as she drew closer, that was pretty much what it was. Forged to
wage war during the long and bloody last war, and now cast adrift on a fragile
sea of peace.
“I hear you
are looking to put a team together.” Jolene casually slid herself up onto its
table, resting her feet on the bench it was sitting at and leaning back on one
arm casually while regarding it with a cocked head.
“I have a
team.” It replied curtly.
(so
this is going to be a challenge. The most obvious skill here is Rapport, which
she doesnt have, so lets get a bit creative and start with a retro use of
stealth which she used to follow it earlier and discover the identities of its
team. All against a difficulty of 2, like in the last scenario. So she rolls
2+2=4, for a success.)
“With
respect, you have a toolbox full of hammers and cleavers. What you need is
subtlety. Lucky for you, house Gholander prides itself on fulfiling the needs
of ALL our patrons – even those whose needs are shall we say more specialised
in nature.”
(So
now she has his ear, she needs to make him believe she actually knows what he
wants and that she can get it. Sounds like Deceive for a roll of 1+3=4, and
another success)
“What would
you know of my needs halfling? I requested nothing but a place to stay, and
discretion with regards to my dealings. Something I paid handsomely for.”
“And
discretion is what you have.” Jolene pouts, “Its you Im talking to after all
isn’t it? No details have passed my lips. But we both know that in order to
succeed in your goals you need something more. You need discrete help in
getting things done – the kind of discretion that lumbering cans of metal find
difficult, but that comes attached to skills that are hard to find. You need
people who can get things done silently. In short..” She smiles her most
winning smile, “You need me.”
(Nearly
there. What is needed now is a demonstration that she can be useful to it. How
about Notice for a roll of -1+2=1. She will pay a Fate point to invoke ‘My home
is open to all’ and spot a fortunate arival for a success.)
“And what can
you offer me Girl, that cannot be offered by beings forged in the heart of
conflict?”
“For a
start.” She nodds towards an unusual pair who have entered the bar and chosen
an out of the way table where they can discuss their business in relative
privacy. That is not unusual in itself – plenty of people have sensitive
bussiness to discuss. What marks these two out is their uniforms – a halfling
dressed in the livery of the city watch, and a bearded human dressed in armour
bearing the markings of the Silver Flame. “I hear those two have been making
enquiries into warforged bussiness in the city. Perhaps that bussiness is
yours, perhaps it isn’t, but our discretion can extend to making sure they
don’t get any closer.”
Jolene has
been steadily leaning closer and closer to the warforged as she says this,
taking on a conspiratorial air laden with hidden meaning and suggestion. She
doesn’t actually have the clout to force the city watch to back off if it comes
down to it, but hopefully her bussiness will be concluded before they put too
many pieces together. If they do close in then she will hopefully be able to
cut some sort of a deal to keep her houses reputation out of it, that deal
won’t extend to the warforged of course but it doesn’t need to know that, and
anyway her job is to make sure things are cleaned up before that becomes
necessary.
She stays
leaning in, holding her head inches from that of the warforged, waiting expectantly
for his nod of ascent. “OK. He concedes. Bring your team to the fountain
tomorrow, and we will discuss business.”
“No.” she
shakes her head lightly and drops down from the table “You dont meet my team,
they don’t meet you. Secrecy is the key to discretion. Your instructions go
through me, and I will ensure they are carried out.”
It holds her
gaze for what seems a long time, steady and unblinking as though taking her
measure, and then nods ascent. “Tomorrow then.”
Success.
Jolene has gained employment with the Warforged agents operating in the city.
No comments:
Post a Comment