Birthday Game 2022 - Summary
Session: 20220917s - 20220917c
- Birthday Game begins with big loot and third watch shenanigans.
Hello, guess what, here comes Lemon for another special edition brought to you by everyone's fluctuating mental health! Just a head's up, this formatting will be 100% a mess! I'm hoping Carissa will help me clean it up later, but you know, if not, you get what you get. (Done)
And while Carissa SAID that we started the game with big loot and third watch, turns out it actually started by someone finding out why we're doing what we're doing, and apparently thinking it's a huge waste of time. Disappointed by the fact that we're only leveling up one person. (Which, if true, I need to speak to my GM because if I'm not getting xp for this adventure, I'm out :P) Those of us who don't have a specific goal are just here for the friendship and adventure! Because like, we're adventurers, you know? Also, just a Lemon note on the general dynamic... many people are commenting on how long things are taking and just like... life is in the journey, not the destination, you know? I personally have really been enjoying this travel time, and the watches, and the interesting encounters. Bixi got to cook some really interesting giant creatures AND save Lanek from a sea puppy by turning him deaf! This is the life, man! Everyone chill out and go with the flow! (I bet Zayden would agree!)
But okay, personal commentary aside, here's what went down.
- Loot happened. BOB started out listing the copper, and everyone was disappointed, but he was building up to a boatload of gold and platinum, and yes, everyone got to keep the skirts the bugbears were wearing. Also 20 spears and 4 battle axes, although that seems less important.
- Watch begins and everyone attempts to come up with a jailbreak plan.
- During this time, we encounter a merman.
(Note, someone please turn merman into this link.)(Done). Talwin gives him some beer and he's just like, "Cool." and then Talwin's like, "Hey we'll give you more on the way back, too!" and the merman is like, "Sounds good bro, catch you later." Very easily swayed. Next time I move, I'm calling mermen to come help (in exchange for pizza and beer, of course). - And then Bixi offended the whole ship by pointing out that BOB has thrown us a few jerk mages doing weird stuff. But Howard got offended and Bixi tried to explain, but everyone seems to have been in an easily offendable mood, so it didn't really work out. And I have to say, Talwin's explanation didn't really make things better, although he was TRYING to, which is nice I guess. And Bixi is like dude, I'm half-mage, why would I insult all mages? And Akilah is like, A half-mage is just a bad mage. And Bixi is like... yep. BIXI NEVER CLAIMED TO BE GOOD AT ANYTHING BUT BOTANY! YOU CAN NOT INSULT HER! SHE IS IMMUNE! And then somehow this devolves into an argument about lists? Everyone on the ship is also offended by lists? Especially Indigo. Indigo HATES lists. Everyone remember that for April Fool's Day. Idk, man, it's an interesting set of characters we got here, that's all I can say.
- During this time, we encounter a merman.
- The group splits up.
- Zayden and Akilah go info gathering. They decide to go watch guard duty at the bridges and see what they can find out.
- Licornah and Craigh go to Craigh's old stomping grounds. Talk to some creeper who's definitely not on the up and up, and he tells them it's not difficult to swipe someone on work duty, and also where to find Fives. A dude who knows about a devil. (And yes, there are about a million links to songs about devils. I do NOT have that kind of energy.)
- Then we head to the gypsy camp. Indigo, Talwin, Thistle, Bixi, Rae, and Howard. Turns out we have to buy a pass to leave the city, AND we have a curfew. Doesn't make sense to me, but it is what it is. Buncha racist "guards" at the camp, (who have a creepy interest in Bixi) but we get in and find out that the two candidates for Wisewoman each want the other to do it. Also there's a third Indigo. This will be brought up many, many times later on. Yes. Three Indigos. Yes, it's apparently a more common name than anyone would have guessed.
- Thistle talks to the Potential Wisewomen (PWs from now on) and finds out what we already knew. Neither wants to do the job. But they do tell her they have three people in prison, and that a bunch of gypsies keep getting killed for literally no reason except racism (the people in the city think the gypsies are causing the weird rain that's been going on for so so so so so long. Six weeks. Very scary stuff, that light drizzle for six weeks in a row). Oh, and hey, just noticed this now, but the last wisewoman passed away 6 weeks ago. So I guess now we get to solve that rain problem. Maybe get to keep our inmates without starting a war or something. And the other PW tells Thistle if she gets something from one of the nobles who got the bad fortune that caused the murder, we might be able to get some info about what that bad fortune was about. (I might have some of this confused, but it's probably close enough.)
- Indigo's fortune is basically "everything's fine, you're good."
- The sword tries to get a word in during the story, but Talwin tells it to shut up. This is foreshadowing a lover's spat later on.
- We meet back up, share some info, and Talwin insists on us getting a really nice, really expensive place for the night... and then he spends the night on the Knarr with Knotty.
- But just before that, Craigh, Indigo, Talwin, and Bixi go talk to Fives. Oh, and Howard. Fives suggests a private conversation, everyone declines, which results in Fives getting the cold shoulder from the barkeep. He probably can't hang out there anymore, scared off the guests with all the Hell talk. But the info we get was... stuff we already knew. Need magical weapons and weather protection. It's probably going to be very hot, but might be frozen. Fives also makes a "devil's in the details" pun about making a deal with a devil. After some nudging from Lisa, Bixi casts know alignment. Fives is mostly lawful and technically neutral, but only because he's good AND evil. Whatever that means for us. At the end of the conversation, Bixi tries to get Talwin to give the guy some money for his time, especially after Howard asks for an object so we can contact the guy again later and Fives suggests reciprocation... but he doesn't get the hint, even after Lemon says OOC to bribe him, and Fives leaves One Howard Handkerchief richer.
- The next morning we split up again. Mental note here, remind me to have Bixi ask Howard about that glitter spell. Do want.
- Howard, Craigh, and Thistle are up first for Prison Break on the Bridge. Thistle sneaks the keys off the guard's belt (just by pickpocketing, get your mind out of the gutter!). Then, while Howard stands back and pretends to be Important, Craigh tries sweet talking the guard. When that fails, he tries bribery. When that fails, he doubles down on the bribery which miraculously works. Very good roll. The two prisoners are released for two hours.
- Next up is Bixi, Zayden, and Indigo. Bixi tries her hand at acting/persuasion, pretending to be a super important priest who wants to do mad scientist magic on some gypsies to make the rain stop. Zayden had some probably better ideas tbh, but... well, Bixi is Bixi, and somehow she ends up doing the talking and pretending that Indigo and Zayden are her acolytes. It might have worked, who knows, but Zayden rolls a 20 so auto failure. And then Indigo gambles for the prisoner, loses, doubles down, and wins. I'm sensing a theme here. But anyway they get the prisoner for an hour.
- Final group heads out to check on Knotty first, then down to some temples to see if Poisedon is doing his rain dance for too long. Oh, but then they remember the prisoner we keep forgetting about. Somehow we're still trying to figure out what to do with him. Licornah wants to toss him overboard still, Rae just wants to let him go, And Talwin has some kind of TOP SECRET PLAN THAT NOT EVEN THE SWORD GETS TO KNOW. Until the sword badgers him into giving up the secret. But at the temples, a centaur is like, "Nope, we know nothing. Good luck, have fun." They did offer to pray and find out about sacrifices so maybe that will be something. They also say something about reconciling the one or something like that. Probs about the PWs.
- The end. For now. To be continued. Etc.
Link of Interest: Information Gathering Notes
Note of Interest: Story chat is done for Saturday. I separated when the group split and moved the planning whispers to those sections so the conversations flow (except for the last section because those whispers were meant to be happening during that section). I also put the Bob answers for each info gathering group at the end of the section so it's all on one page. - Lisa
Quotes of the Night
Akilah bint-Fahkr al Hiyal: We have travelled all this way to see someone in jail and you do not know anything about the circumstances?
Thistle: Kinda like you and the Mist, ya?
Voice in the water: Kill all the lawyers
Talwin: Wow
Indigo: Huh?
Talwin: That escalated quickly
Thistle: Oooh didja try to kill the last one?
Talwin: Why would we kill all lawyers?
Thistle: WAIT you have lawyers were you live?
Thistle: Because now I'm even less interested.
TMO: Peace with ale rather than Piece of Thistle? good trade
Lemon: No one ever gets peace with Thistle :P
Image: Rivers Bend South Bayside
Shislif: Will Zack Morris be there?
Craigh: I'll go out looking for my contacts on my own, but you all can be getting information in other ways too. More hands make light work, after all.
Thistle: You would know, wouldn't ya, Craigh?
Fives: Well, I'd figure out right quick which layer your librarian is on, because at least one layer of Hell is solid Ice.
Fives: Be a shame to show up in your beach shorts and freeze to death.
Shislif (Zayden): layers is key
Fives: "The devil's in the details." Remember that. The big ones like to make deals, and they will abso-damn-lutely screw you on every point they can.
Bixi Fizzlebang: We should have kept the barrister
Bixi Fizzlebang: You need to be nice to him in case we need him later!
Talwin: I was perfectly nice. I even paid for a drink. I said nothing insulting to him at all
Bixi Fizzlebang: Yeah, but he was clearly looking for some cash, mister moneybags
Bixi Fizzlebang: And maybe Howard wouldn't have had to give up his perfectly nice handkerchief
Bixi Fizzlebang: Where's he going to sneeze now?
Talwin: You think I wanted howard to give that up? He's more trusting than I am
Bixi Fizzlebang: That's why I kept trying to get you to give him some cash!
Talwin: Then just straight up say it next time!
Talwin: I didn't even think about it. I was more worried about his focus on the damn book
Bixi Fizzlebang: WHY DID YOU THINK I KEPT STARING AT YOU?
Bixi Fizzlebang: I can assure you it's not your good looks
Talwin: BECAUSE YOU LIKE TO ANNOY ME
Bixi Fizzlebang: WHAT!
Talwin: I IGNORE YOU WHEN YOU STARE AT ME
Bixi Fizzlebang: rolls eyes
Talwin: Pats shoulder
Talwin: But I wouldn't have it any other way
(I also want to add that at this point, BOB says "enemies to lovers" and Michael says "nope" three different ways. So I feel very attractive right now.)
Craigh: How does this sound? You go first, try to get a set of keys off the guard. After you make your run, I'll act and bribe the guard to give over the gypsies into my patron's tender care, with Howard standing in the background as the angry patron.
Craigh: Once we get your cousins into our care, you use the key to get the shackles off.
Thistle: Okay but how ya gonna make sure I don't... ya know, end up like you if I mess up?
Craigh: Craigh points to Howard.
Craigh: He has mega magic
Thistle: I mean he's got some good tricks, sure...
Craigh: And besides, I'm far too handome. You couldn't possibly end up like me.
Thistle: laughs
Craigh: He can set Alarm somewhere to go off as a distraction.
Thistle: All right, all right. I'm gonna trust ya, Craigh. You seem to know what you're doing.
Craigh: He can use glitter to distract them
Craigh: He can irritate them, although I think you could do that too if you wanted.
Thistle: Easily.
GM -> Bixi Fizzlebang: I find it very ammusing that shy little Bixi who does not know how to use spells, one night punches holes in the side of a boat with a watery fist then the next day is calling lightning down on a bridge for a jail break
(In her defense... Bixi's ideas of being good at things hardly ever aligns with reality. Remember that food they fed to Knotty in the night?)
