D&D 3.5 - Planescape 2010 - In the Birdcage

Three months have passed.

For their efforts so far the guild now offers full membership to Korr, and associate trial membership to Drakvar and Silvana. Naughty Velenur remains on trial, apparently there are a few existing members and staff who object to his inclusion...

Tza'rok, you have particularly impressed and are offered a position as vice chairman of the accounts committee, which meets monthly to deal with the allocation of guild finances. One of the perks of this is free accommodation in the Guild building, where there are a series of smallish rooms reserved in one of the wings for members with official appointments, they being otherwise voluntary and unpaid.

Full members are issued with a pin, and now you find you are trusted enough to be told of their helpful properties. The pins are small, gold and in the shape of a septer, with a very small semi precious stone set at one end. You are informed that the tiny stone's colour corresponds to where you are in the multiverse and are as follows:

Red: Outer Planes
Grey: Ethereal/Astral Plane
Blue: Inner Planes
Green: Prime

Finally, placing a pin on a flat surface will cause it to quickly spin and orientate the sharp end of the pin to true north.

Your next appointment is a Summer Ball, which House Da'Alfbourne has arranged to hold this year at the Guild building as thanks for help in recent times. You have arranged to meet Elvanshalee on arrival for the ball where she promises that there will be some nice suprises for those who have entrusted her with their hard earned jink and weapons.

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OOC.

Ok, in the three months before that happens there is an opportinity for folks to advance any ideas for their characters they have. It could be buying stuff, joining factions, or doing faction business, background research, whatever you fancy.

In fact, for anyone who hasnt sent me a mail by sunday on the above will have me asking them to send me a quick whisper at the start of the session with a couple of lines as to what they have been up to, just so I have an idea.

I suggest that any PCs who are currently factioneers should at least allocate some of their time in doing some pro-bono graft for their faction as I dont think anyone has earned much of their keep in that way thus far.

Coolio. Any queries dont reply here just send me a email.

From Iain:
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Korr will spend a couple more days in Sigil, drinking rather hard with Velenur and anyone else that wants to join them. Roughish bars mostly, Blood and Brime being one of his favourites now.

Then he's off on a crusade to slaughter all the kobolds in the bloody sewers (that he promised to kill), including little Timmy (age is no excuse!). Anyone that wants in is invited and welcome along, but he'll go solo and slow if required. (i guess just check if Trom is fine with that).

After the kobolds are been mucho-slaughtered, he's off to Merresentia to his cabin for a month or so, anyone that helped in the sewers is welcome to join him. Not much in Merresentia, just some rest and relaxation. Wilderness walks, swim a bit, chop wood and kill the odd orc that's been troubling the farmers (I envisage him, all muscule bound on a cold hill, chopping wood when the mayor turns up and says Merresentia needs him and the president's daughter has been kidnapped and asks if he's a bad enough dude. Where upon he dons a red bandana and goes rambo).

After about a month or so there, he's off back to the cage to look for a gateway to either Elysium or it's gatetown (either really) to spend a little bit of time around there and try to purchase a small amount of varied magical arrows.

He's then off to the astral plane (if a portal can be found), so he can have a little dig around the place for Githyanki locations and such, but doing fuck all about it, just some scouting. He won't be there long, but that can eat up either no time or lots of time in a snap.

Then he's back in Sigil for the remaining few weeks, where he's happy to go with the flow and see what everyone else is doing.

He's happy to join the guild, providing they don't try to make him wear a different style of clothing, talk differently or act differently (or get a haircut!).

Whilst back in Sigil and chilling, unless people require his help, he'll spend a little bit of time pouncing around the festhall (maybe with Tzar?) and otherwise the lady's ward looking for the berks that burnt the lizard-creature alive in the Hive. If found he'll beat them to within an inch of their lives (when the law ain't about!).

Korr.

Drinking Operations.

Your drinking bender with Velenur extends into a week, including hangovers, but is otherwise quite a success. You have a couple of run ins with the hardheads when you venture out of the Blood and Brime, but nothing more serious than a night in the bub tank and a light fine for being uncooperative - 200gp spent on carousing, 50gp fine.

You do however get to know the B&B and its staff and are beginning to realise what a dangerous place it can be. Pretty much no-one in there is unconnected and 95% of the clientele are downright dangerous. You are fairly sure by now that the establishment is connected with some kind of vicious crime syndicate, in turn quietly backed by a faction or two most likely for a percentage.

Kobold Operations.

With a nasty hangover you get stuck into the infestation around the gate to Merssentia. The little bastards breed fast and are wily opponents and adopt hit and run tactics. You get Elvanshalee helping out for a evening which is helpful and a locate object spell on a deliberately 'dropped' small bag of dried food locks you onto a big nest. You destroy a good portion of them and within a few days you are hunting remnants. You find enough valuables to wipe out your drinking expenses in the past week or so. - 200gp and a potion of Jump.

Your month in Merresentia passes without event which what you hoped for, and allows you to regain some fitness after the excess of previous weeks.

Elysium.

To make it to Ecstasy, the gate town to Elysium, gate towns being fairly easy to find portals to from the cage. Its quite a place, and after a few days of some extremely nice people you enter the plane proper. You enter Amoria -

'An untroubled land of woodland and meadow. There are several trading towns here, strung like pearls along Oceanus's banks - the largest of these is Release From Care. Scattered throughout the layer are the huts of Ciphers, who make this plane their headquarters. Unlike other factions, the Ciphers don't maintain a permanent citadel on their home plane. Instead, they gather at each other's homes or in clearings as needed. Isis maintains a realm on this layer, and it's famous for the firefly lanterns that line the river's banks. Meanwhile, her sometime-rival Ishtar maintains the City of the Star, a metropolis lit by a brilliant star set in the top of the city's highest tower.'

You bounce around the trading towns on river boats and have a short lived two day romance with a cipher who gets you an almost instant invite to join the faction. You never make it to the City of the Star, although you get a look at it from a few days away and resolve to return some time. Elysium is fantastic and very relaxed but possibly the worst place in the multiverse to buy weapons, however 50x billy basic +1 arrows are available at 150% prices.

Astral.

You do some looking into this and after conversations with numerous cutters, including Elvanshalee and Tza'Rok, you are strongly, strongly advised not to travel there alone, it being dangerous to the uninitiated to the point of foolhardyness. 'Particularly being a warrior' they say - and you arent really sure what they mean by that. You give it some thought and elect not to take the chance for now, and are satisfied with an agreement with the drow that when the group is together again that she'll support it as a suggestion in the future.

Sigil and the Guild.

You join the guild which has no dress code happily, its members being far too varied and independent for things like that. Velenur is up to the same old tricks and you spend another few days with him in the lower ward, where he's discovered some of the oddest bars in the Multiverse. Elvanshalee isnt much fun, being consumed with enchanting things and is only really seen on trips to and from the Great Foundry - conveniently in this case her faction headquarters. Tza'rok is likewise involved in some kind of arty nonsense although you get him out for a night. But overall by the time the Summer Ball has arrived you feel like you are all overdue a group beer up.

Costs: All told you are -150gp for the three months, have a potion of Jump and have knowledge of a gate that works on every 3rd Wednesday to Ecstasy.

Tza'rok

Tza spends most of his time by and large holed up in his new rooms at the Society. Whilst anyone can visit, he's largely impossible to entice out for any activities as he is 'working on something'.

About 2 months later he emerges from his isolation and announces he is staging a small exhibition of experiences at the Festhall. This is mainly aimed at his Sensate brethren, but it's open to anyone who wants a taste of some unusual and in some cases disturbing experiences.

Together with each Sensate memory stone, Tza'rok has produced a painting related to the experience on display, perhaps to illustrate somewhat how the reality (in the memory stone) is so much more vivid and real than any rendering into artwork.

The series of experiences are titled and exhibit as follows -

1: Inside

The putrid slimy awfulness of being trapped within the bowels of a dead and rotting black dragon corpse.

2: Fire

The feeling of utter cold overcome by the spellbound wonder of volcanoes erupting in Gehenna.

3: Despair

Drinking yourself half blind in Precipice, when all hope appears lost.

4: Adrenaline

The rush of fast paced combat against the crocodiles in the Pit of Stink.

5: Bringing the Light

Firing up the beacon atop Poisson Lighthouse, just as dawn is starting to break.

6: Red Ice

Sunset casting red light over the ice mountains, reflecting in the snow.

7: Loss

The rush of emotions watching a friend falling to certain death, fighting a yeti.

8: Ancient Prison

The sights of the icebound ruins, wherein Tekenkama was magically bound.

The exhibition is up for about a week, and on the final day only a new experience, with the corresponding painting is available.

9: Exhibition

The experience (good or bad, depending how it went and how well received) of holding a small Festhall exhibition. Even if a complete failure, it's an experience all sensates should want to try!

Tza'rok.

Artwork.

You spend most of your time working on the art exhibition, turning your small freebee room at the guild into a bombsite of paints and exotic canvasses. Eventually you decamp the lot to the Festhall, where you book a room out gratis.

Materials for it are expensive, and a lot depends on how your exhibition is received so you are nervous when the exhibition opens, one balmy Sigil Evening.

Emra and Elvanshalee are present, offering moral support as the notoriously fickle and critical Sensate dominated Sigil Art Scene move around the various rooms you have your installations in.

A prominent Doomguard critic wanders around it all before loudly denouncing the lot as bourgeois fatuous nonsense and your heart is in your mouth. Then a Godsman critic sticks up for you, stating that it speaks of the evolution of the soul and is predictably backed by a small crowd of studenty looking junior Sensates (some of them off their tits already) and the crowd quickly erupts in scuffles and violence.

You are bundled out of the room as various factioneers try to either destroy or protect your art work and you find yourself sitting outside on the grass, nursing a head wound from a Sinkers concealed knuckleduster.

Sensate security, lax though it is eventually restores order and you discover your work is more or less intact.

A few days pass...

News of the riot works to your advantage and many more bodies than you hoped for end up seeing your artistry, all of whom of course have a mad variety of opinions on it. The Society of Sensation makes a point of advertising it and a wealthy Factortum agrees to buy it for the Society from you. You are not expected to make money out of this but all in all you cover your costs and are decidedly up in the end, about 500gp to be precise.

Your standing in the Faction is enhanced, and are invited to mentor some new applicants at the Festhall, giving weekly talks about the meaning of experience.

Velenur

Vel spends most of his time drinking in various taverns and bars all over with Korr (while he is there) and anyone else who is on a booze cruise. He feels a newer sensation when he walks into the rough bars, not the terror and caution he once displayed but now he seems more relaxed and dare i say it ... at home.
His wounds on his face have healed as much as they possibly can but still his face is a mess and scarred very deeply from the fireball he recieved and almost died from. He's found that he gets more attention now from ladies, although he's still not sure of what to make of it. Maybe it's the scars that seem to draw their attention or maybe he's just beginning to open his eyes to all that's around him and notice things he had missed before. He spends money on useless things and way too much on drinking (i'll let DM decide how much to deduct for his duration of drinking sessions) but he seems reluctant to go anywhere near the society halls, except to visit Tza a few times to try and get him drunk, but with no luck.
He does, of course, attend the exhibition that Tza holds because he is his friend but he doesn't really appreciate it because art is not his thing. The memories bring back feelings of sadness, especially the one on Loss, as he still feels kind of responcible for Korr almost dying and the fact he couldn't stop him falling. He studies them all well and studies himself too, asking questions of himself and his actions. Does his actions always seem to put his friends in danger?
If so, why do they keep him around?

On a more personal note, he still feels like the outsider than feeling like part of a collective (the society) so for the moment that suits him better. He has no-one to answer to with his actions and only has to look out for himself and not the reputation of the society. It makes him feel more of a free-bird, although he knows deep down that he wouldn't be anywhere without his complanions within the party.

You smash it up for three months in Sigil, rich as you have ever been, you get lots of fake friends and hangers on. Low class trashy girls in bars take advantage of you but they are sometimes fun too.

You spend a lot of money, 2000gp at last count.

So what have you got out of it?

Well, you finally know you way around the birdcage, you are happy with planar cant and can start to use the lingo, standing out less like a clueless sod. You also now know good bit about Sigilian bars and are on nodding terms with the staff in a few places. You are also now fairly happy with all the factions and what they stand for, and can be in the early stages of joining one if you fancy it. I would say that bleak cabal, doomguard, athar are good candidates for Velenur atm.

Delete 2000gp
Add Knowledge, Sigil - 2 ranks.