Corco's Villa (IC)

[TGLS]

Originally Posted by the_matrix_walker

"I'm sure there are enough establishments to go around, you can only go to so many lodge houses in a night, and taverns are generally more fun! Why don't we stay close and investigate neighboring establishments so we can compare notes and provide backup."

"We're kind of on a narrow time window; we've got, what, three days until the apocalypse? I think spreading out and covering more ground could be prudent. And I really doubt that if one alehouse gets a rumor, another won't. Besides, it's only 10,000 people; visiting two establishments separately probably means visiting all of them."

[ericthered]

Originally Posted by the_matrix_walker

If I understand Deduction in MH2, the GM makes the deduction roll in secret to conceal the skill they're using, but the player/party call for the roll or keeps looking for clues to add to the cumulative bonus, is that right? Or does the bonus Persist and it takes a new clue to trigger a new roll?

The highlighted version.

And I have enough for an IQ+2 roll for a deduction on the Who? I'd be delighted!
Success by a margin of 8

success by 0! -- vague information about social position:


The culprits are certainly wealthy/prominent citizens of Tuguk. Gather more clues and succeed higher to get more precise.

Can you elaborate on the physical area?

Tuguk is built up against a mountain range, with a river flowing between two mountains. to the north of the range and on top of it are snow fields, to the south is a desert. Amid the range and at its foothills are small pockets of greenery and life. Tuguk is built next to the mountain, just on the east side of the river. To its north are three mining districts, built into the mountain on old dwarven tunnels, though only two are in use at the moment. Farms line the river banks, fed by canals. on the south end of the city, as the farms start, is a moderately sized dam that ensures the water flow is constant. Most miners live in the city, as do the smiths and traders. The grain is stored on the south end of the city. The city has massive walls 50 feet high that the stone melders built, but has grown outside of them since then (about 6,000 people live inside of the 10,000). smaller communities, with more modest walls, are found 4 miles and 8 miles down the river.



The surrounding desert is mostly scrub: it has low, widely spaced plants that look like they're dead, but somehow manage to grow a little each year. The terrain is sculpted, with lots of hills and sitelines of about 200 yards.

Oh wow, you're right... You and I did it for Monster Hunters I have it on Marcus Savage's Character's sheet at +14 CF and I assumed it was standard somewhere. If it was house-ruled, it was your house! :) It was 36K in sig gear!

SO... you just tell me. Vassarious will simply take what is given when they ask as sweetly as can be for good protection that won't upset the locals on a casual inspection.

wow, that was a long time ago. I think I just trusted the gear lists followed the rules if all the modifiers were listed like that.



I'd prefer to keep what we have (vest, plus double DR sleeves). I'll run through building titanium mail/plate using pyramid 52 though, so it may be available later.

Can we use a crystal on a necklace/tether as a communicator (or have we picked something else already)?

We have already picked ... ummm... a crystal on a necklace.

[ericthered]

The Dragon and the Tendrioloid walk up through the caves, looking for all the world like a pair of orcs.



The light stones have been pried out in some stretches, the two are able to make it most of the way to the surface before running into any locals. The stone floor is impossibly smooth and either flat or expertly sloped.



Then they turn a corner and see a busy tunnel ahead. Handcarts and buckets full of rock are being moved. There is shouting and noise: the perfect place to blend in.

[TGLS]

Originally Posted by ericthered

Then they turn a corner and see a busy tunnel ahead. Handcarts and buckets full of rock are being moved. There is shouting and noise: the perfect place to blend in.

Once we decide where we're going, I split off from V and blend into the crowd.

[the_matrix_walker]

"Based on what we know, the perpetrator is likely rather affluent..."

Vassarious proposes they meet back up in a few hours to compare notes and perhaps venture out again in cycles to gather clues. Vassarious poses as A male merchant specializing in higher-end goods looking for buyers and sellers and acting as a middle man in arranging trade (so they need only stories and no goods).

[TGLS]

Originally Posted by the_matrix_walker

"Based on what we know, the perpetrator is likely rather affluent..."

Hm... How many rich people are there in town? 100? Do I have enough surveillance microbots to bug all their houses? If they can see just fine in the dark I suppose there's little reason to wait for the cover of night.

[ericthered]

Originally Posted by the_matrix_walker

"Based on what we know, the perpetrator is likely rather affluent..."

Vassarious proposes they meet back up in a few hours to compare notes and perhaps venture out again in cycles to gather clues. Vassarious poses as A male merchant specializing in higher-end goods looking for buyers and sellers and acting as a middle man in arranging trade (so they need only stories and no goods).

Give me a tradecraft roll to pass this off.

Originally Posted by TGLS

Once we decide where we're going, I split off from V and blend into the crowd.

I'm still not sure who is heading where... but hopefully I can give you the information to get that.

Originally Posted by TGLS

Hm... How many rich people are there in town? 100? Do I have enough surveillance microbots to bug all their houses? If they can see just fine in the dark I suppose there's little reason to wait for the cover of night.

visiting two establishments separately probably means visiting all of them

ok, so I've got to count the ale-houses (and other establishments), count the "rich people", and count your microbots.


The alehouses are the easiest to count. There are 10 (one per thousand, which is a bit sparse). the "rich people"... That's not known yet (to you), but 100 is probably not a bad guess.



For the surveillance bots... those literally don't have a weight listed. The hive for each one is 10 lbs, which is quite a bit. Its billed as a charging station, but it probably also works as transport and control. After the base investment of the hive, I'll let you have one swarm per 2 lbs of weight.



We need a max weight for what you brought: Medium encumbrance sounds about right... which for you is just shy of 265 lbs. Remember a bunch of that is earmarked for explosives... so you don't have 100 swarms, but you do have at least a dozen and I'd give you 20 without balking. I'm assuming the swarms are solar powered for now.

[TGLS]

Originally Posted by ericthered

I'm still not sure who is heading where... but hopefully I can give you the information to get that.

I think I decided I was going to be heading to an alehouse and asking around about rumors.

Originally Posted by ericthered

For the surveillance bots... those literally don't have a weight listed.

I guess the idea is that the swarm can move itself so the encumbrance is irrelevant.

Originally Posted by ericthered

The hive for each one is 10 lbs, which is quite a bit. Its billed as a charging station, but it probably also works as transport and control. After the base investment of the hive, I'll let you have one swarm per 2 lbs of weight.

So do I need to find a place to put the hive somewhere in town, or would where we stashed all the other high tech equipment work? I mean, if the swarms or I need to visit the hive semi-regularly, someone could end up wondering what's down there.

Originally Posted by ericthered

We need a max weight for what you brought: Medium encumbrance sounds about right... which for you is just shy of 265 lbs. Remember a bunch of that is earmarked for explosives...

Wow, that's a lot of explosives; conservatively like a 100+ pounds.

Originally Posted by ericthered

so you don't have 100 swarms, but you do have at least a dozen and I'd give you 20 without balking. I'm assuming the swarms are solar powered for now.

OK, so each swarm is enough to cover one building all day (I figure some of the swarm is charging while the rest is running). So not enough to cover every rich person's house but more than enough to cover all the alehouses. Probably not going to get anything useful in the general area of an alehouse; maybe I could create an access point for the swarms in a private room of an alehouse?

[the_matrix_walker]

Vassarious will help carry any extras and lend their encumbrance.

Cover Story - Tradecraft - 3d6
5 + 2 + 4 = 11

[ericthered]

Originally Posted by TGLS

I guess the idea is that the swarm can move itself so the encumbrance is irrelevant.

Maybe. Of course, that doesn't let you know how many you can stuff into a suitcase or in the cracks of a battlesuit.

So do I need to find a place to put the hive somewhere in town, or would where we stashed all the other high tech equipment work? I mean, if the swarms or I need to visit the hive semi-regularly, someone could end up wondering what's down there.

Its a fair mile trek from the arrival area to down. the crawlers will take... 10 minutes to get back to the hive. They're a lot faster than I expected. You can talk to a swarm when its within 200 yards, or talk to the hive via radio. So if you want remote access to the spying data, you'll want the hive not buried underground without radio. Or you can check on them when you are nearby them. 200 yards is actually a fair distance, as the town itself is about 700 yards across and 1500 yards long.

Wow, that's a lot of explosives; conservatively like a 100+ pounds.

Originally Posted by the_matrix_walker

Vassarious will help carry any extras and lend their encumbrance.

I mean, you don't HAVE to take the maximum... but after the last mission, I suppose packing a lot of explosives feels nice.

OK, so each swarm is enough to cover one building all day (I figure some of the swarm is charging while the rest is running). So not enough to cover every rich person's house but more than enough to cover all the alehouses. Probably not going to get anything useful in the general area of an alehouse; maybe I could create an access point for the swarms in a private room of an alehouse?

I don't know that the private room will be in an alehouse... but yes, rooms for travelers are be a thing. You can certainly leave your stuff in your room.

I think I decided I was going to be heading to an alehouse and asking around about rumors.

give me a roll for collecting those rumors...

Vassarious proposes they meet back up in a few hours to compare notes and perhaps venture out again in cycles to gather clues. Vassarious poses as A male merchant specializing in higher-end goods looking for buyers and sellers and acting as a middle man in arranging trade (so they need only stories and no goods).

Cover Story - Tradecraft - 3d6
5 + 2 + 4 = 11

Vassarious goes out as a merchant, finds the market, and passes off their identity fairly quickly as a seeker of the wonders of Tuguk. V is told that metal is flowing out of the mountain at a good pace, but that the wondrous artifacts of the dwarves are not being found... steel sells better right now. Prominent collectors/sellers of items include sir Yorik of the Glacier, sir Salidran of the Hammer, and architect Uglin.

That's a +1 what clue, for a total of +2, if you want to roll vs IQ.