The Dwarf is as always open in his cheap shack
Dwarf: You're still alive?
Rax: Still am, need information, top 5 drow who were most vocal about crushing us, and exactly what the Drow houses know.
Rax: How much
Dwarf: It's not exactly hard to find out. Two hundred gold.
Dwarf: But it's going to be five thousand for me to not turn you over.
Rax: Sense motive, would he do it and is anyone else around?
Rax: [SKILL] Sense Motive [1d20+4 = 15]
-> Rax: He would totally do it and he's pretty confident he could do it
Other Dude: Of course he'd fucking do it what the fuck are you expecting
Other Dude: 99% of people in Edge would sell us out immediately
GM: and this guy pretty much defines shady
GM: He lives in and never seems to leave a cheap run down shack and will sell you anything
GM: retrieving goods from a trapdoor under his desk
Me (Rax): God, the choices here.
Campaign saved.
GM: Well decide quickly
Rax throws him 200, when he catches it, quick draw, hand crossbow and knife of intimidation
Rax: You shout, I fire. Give me the information, your life is the 5000.
He catches it
Me (Rax): *worth about 5000
Dwarf: Well. You did pay for the information. We'll talk about the second matter afterwards.
Me (Rax): Even better.
Me (Rax): Wait
Me (Rax): That sense motive, is he now stalling for time
Dwarf: Essentially the investigation into the events of the Drows main merchant house getting completely wrecked revealed your involvement.
Rax: Nope. He really doesn't seem to be intimidated
[w] Rax: Interesting, must have a back up plan.
Dwarf: They then linked you to the death of the daughter of a prominent Drow priestess. She had been capturing criminals in a magic maze.
Me (Rax): Heh
Me (Rax): Now I remember her
Dwarf: They'd been talking about what to do about you
Dwarf: Then they heard you stole their take from a number of merchants they controlled.
Dwarf: In the middle of these discussions.
Dwarf: So they decided a show of force was necessary
Dwarf: They approached pretty much every mercenary group currently in Edge. They plan to not only kill you and your associates but completely level the place you've been hiding out and kill anyone they find there. The Drow houses have decided to send a message.
Dwarf: On a related tangent I'll throw in for free. Your goblin friends are trying to negotiate with the Drow on your behalf with the promise of returning the money you stole.
Rax: Associates, got a list?
Other Dude: Oh gobbos.
Dwarf: When the Drow say associates they generally mean anyone who has the misfortune to be near you.
Me (Rax): God bless those little Jew bastards
Me (Rax): But in this case, unnecessary
Rax: Hm, who are the most outspoken about making example? How many on the council?
Dwarf: This isn't the underdark you idiot. There is no council. It's an agreement between the houses involved.
Me (Rax): Man, the leaders of the houses working together, sounds like a Council to me
Rax: Which houses then.
GM: council implies formality and regularity
Dwarf: All of them. The commerce houses are pissed and for once agree on something.
Rax: Hm.
Rax: Local Knowledge, how many houses?
Rax: [SKILL] Knowledge (Local) [MOD:INT] [1d20+14 = 32]
Me (Rax): Including the Illict ones that aren't mentioned outside of drow circles
GM: Four commerce houses exist in Edge
GM: They're all like the one you took down. Multiple houses from deep in the underdark pooling resources to run a business
Campaign saved.
Me (Rax): Well then, 4 leaders.
Me (Rax): 4 major houses
Me (Rax): ...This is gonna be interesting, what do they each do?
GM: House Venaka deal in slaves, Gloriatha do weapons and armour, Envolock do magic items and Adonweire do all sorts but mostly alchemical stuff. They're the ones you trashed
Me (Rax): Well then, they're about to get trashed again.
Me (Rax): Also, hey, if I bring down Slaver house, can I get a bonus on my Leadership?
GM: Possibly
Me (Rax): Groovy
Rax: Hm. Need some gear, I'll throw in 2500 for your silence and buy the rest from you.
Dwarf: The price to not turn you in is five thousand. All purchases will be at the usual 1.3 times current market price.
Rax: Shame. Anything else important about the houses; are they rallying their own mechs? What're they planning if we outlast?
Dwarf: The houses don't really have mechs and they can't afford to send the one they're sponsiring as a defender for Edge.
Dwarf: As for what will happen if you outlast. Well it's anyones guess. They'd be more inclined to listen to the goblins probably.
Me (Rax): Just to check, perception, is the Dwarf using any illusions, disguises, so on.
Rax: [SKILL] Spot (+2) [1d20+15 = 27]
GM: Can you spot magic disguises with that?
GM: If so yeah there's totally something fishy there
Me (Rax): Yep; well what's Fishy about him?
Everything
Me (Rax): And positive it's magic?
GM: If you can tell then yes its definitely magic
Rax considers for a moment before cutting the crap 'What are you?'
Dwarf: You can't afford that information.
Dwarf: So you'll have to accept that I'm a simple Dwarf who lives in a shack.
Me (Rax): Spot the Devil everyone
GM: Rax does have a habit
GM: of running into weirdos
Dwarf: So pay up and clear off or pay up and buy something.
Rax: Whelp, quick draw, critical strike swift cast, sneak attack since he doesn't expect me to have the balls to do it probably. This'll either go very well, or Terribly
GM: initiative
Me (Rax): Surprise round Bro
The bolt passes right through him
GM: Now comes the fun part
GM: first you have to roll me DC 24 will save
Me (Rax): Fucking...I asked if it was an illusion bro
GM: I'm not even sure you can detect magic like that
Me (Rax): You get a roll to disbelieve it before hand
Campaign saved.
GM: Huh so you do
GM: ok retconning that then
The bolt hits him
GM: Guess we'll do this the funnier way
GM: But you're not getting the sneak attack
[A bit of rules related fucking about]
Me (Rax): So.Rax: Oh and as my last swift action, knock the lights out with a mix of shadow haze and Shadow Veil, here's hoping I can pussy out
GM: So he passes the saves
The light gets knocked out
Me (Rax): Well give me time to find it man
GM: now DC 24 will save
Campaign saved.
Other Dude: You know you should really just make a fuckin' note
Other Dude: With references for everything
Other Dude: Because much as I love Rax shenanigans, all these pauses every time he uses something are really getting old
GM: they are
GM: especially when its obscure as fuck stuff
GM: You're a 3.5 hipster Me
Me (Rax): Whelp, can't find it, fuck
GM: "It's pretty obscure. You probably haven't heard of it"
Rax: [SAVE] Will [1d20+5 = 24]
Me (Rax): Suck dick GM
GM: Lucky man
Me (Rax): All of it
GM: initiative time then
Me (Rax): In that case man
Me (Rax): He's flat footed
Me (Rax): Guess who gets their sneak attack bonus
GM: Yeaaah...see there's kinda something that has to happen first
There's a loud crash and the sound of splintering wood all around you
GM: I forget can you see in the clusterfuck you created?
Me (Rax): I can
Me (Rax): Since dark vision
Me (Rax): Why the /fuck/ would I ever blind myself around a devil?
GM: Oh well fun
Other Dude: Well, actually
Other Dude: For sight-dependant things, blinding yourself is sometimes a good choice.
Other Dude: Better eat concealment than get rekt by horrifying visions, for instance.
Campaign saved.
Me (Rax): I swear GM, if this is some CR 97 moose-goblin lord
Well as expected the Dwarf suddenly stops being a Dwarf, growing considerably and growing a substantial pair of wings. He's also getting fat. Very fat. Tall too. So tall in fact that he's just gone crashing through the roof
Other Dude: It's a fucking Pit Fiend I bet
Me (Rax): It probably is
Other Dude: Although they aren't fat.
Other Dude: So no.
Pit fiends generally aren't this morbidly obese
Me (Rax): Or it's Dagon himself, because fuck you
Other Dude: It'd be, hm...
Other Dude: I have ideas, but I can't remember the names.
And it stinks. It reeks of brimstone and rotting flesh.
Me (Rax): Whelp
Rax: [SKILL] Knowledge (Planes) [MOD:INT] (+5) [1d20+11 = 21]
Other Dude: It's a Greater Daemon of Nurgle.
Me (Rax): The things Rax probably doesn't know
It stands nearly 20 feet high, but its height is overshadowed by its massive obesity. Heavy, batlike wings sprout from its back.
Me (Rax): Could be a Hezrou
Me (Rax): But they aren't 'I rampage through your city' tall
Me (Rax): Wait.
Me (Rax): Tall
Me (Rax): BRING IT FAGGOT