Post-gladiatorial trauma

Here's the thread for anything specific you guys do between the night of the arena fight vs. the Boromars and the next night, which is the visit to the Tain Gala. I know Six is visiting House Cannith.

Actually, feel free to post about any other social visits or things you're doing which may occur after the Gala. I presume you will manage not to get killed, arrested, deported or the like there, so you should be free to visit other places and do what you want during the following days.

I'll put something up tomorrow with info about the Gala that Fett (who's been to one) will give you.

Well that was fun. A response will come but we don't have any clue as to who, what, when, where or how. But this doesn't seem to be of much concern to you.

The invitation is as much trap as treasure. Knowing who issued it and what is their motives might clairify which it is, if not both. We might be being maneuvered to embarass ourselves publicly or worst the powerful. Of course it could be a reward and recognition to the heroic Guardain Angels by the Sharn elite. That must be it.

I'll put the warforge on retainer. Give them a year's salary and an oil of repair light damage each. Tell them to stay in the warforge part of the Cogs, near the Inn, until I call for them. Get Fett and tell his about the duel, but leave out the sting aspect of it. After he calms down and stops changing colors, tell him to stay away from the house until this matter is stablized. Arrange a dead drop in the park for messages. If he needs to contact us faster he can send a message or drop by at his discretion.

I would ask the spellcasters help with the hiding of our hires and put guards and wards on the house, but I'm expecting a determined and well resourced enemy. You will need all your strength to defend against an enemy that can attack at anytime, anywhere, with anything for any duration. Shall we prepare for the Gala?

OOC: Shouldn't the plural of 'warforge' be 'warforge'? Sounds better.

Dave W wrote:

Well that was fun. A response will come but we don't have any clue as to who, what, when, where or how. But this doesn't seem to be of much concern to you.

OOC: Who's the "you" here? Gareth?

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The invitation is as much trap as treasure. Knowing who issued it and what is their motives might clairify which it is, if not both. We might be being maneuvered to embarass ourselves publicly or worst the powerful. Of course it could be a reward and recognition to the heroic Guardain Angels by the Sharn elite. That must be it.

The invitation to the Tain Gala comes only from the ir'Tains themselves. Some info, mainly from Fett:

The Tains are the most powerful family in Sharn. An ir'Tain served as first Lord Mayor of Sharn and the first towers were built with ir'Tain gold. Today the ir'Tain's derive most of their money from their vast holdings throughout the city; many of the apartments and complexes are owned by them.

The head of the family is Celyria ir'Tain, the head of Sharn high society, who hosts the Tain Gala. An adventurer known to be a friend of or in favor with her will likely find many closed doors open and may receive invites to other social events and gain other forms of special consideration.

Celyria's son Hass is the heir apparent to the fortune and a member of Parliament. He spends most of his time in the capital, Wroat, but returns on and off to meet the family, usually making his visits to Sharn coincide with the Gala. He's known to not be a supporter of the monarchy.

Lord Dailan ir'Tain II, Celyria's husband, died during the Last War in a shipwreck. Since it occurred in sahuagin territory and the body was never recovered, persistent rumors show up of his continued existence, as a pirate captain, a sahuagin captive, or prince of a lost kingdom in Xen'drik, depending on which story you hear.

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I'll put the warforge on retainer. Give them a year's salary and an oil of repair light damage each.

Okay. That's about 1000 gp all told for all four for a year, so I'll just take the winnings from the gladiatorial match for that.

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Tell them to stay in the warforge part of the Cogs, near the Inn, until I call for them.

So you don't want them guarding the house any more?

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Get Fett and tell his about the duel, but leave out the sting aspect of it. After he calms down and stops changing colors, tell him to stay away from the house until this matter is stablized. Arrange a dead drop in the park for messages. If he needs to contact us faster he can send a message or drop by at his discretion.

Fett actually isn't that exciteable about it, though he does opine that Saidan will be really pissed, and that killing the halflings instead of just beating them down was a dumb idea.

After a little thought, he'll say that he'll stay on at the house. Upper Tavick's is better guarded than any area of Sharn short of Skyway, what with the Deneith Blademark bolstering the Watch and the rich houses having guards posted outside. So the odds on him being attacked there are very low, and by the time he descends from Upper Tavick's, he's already in one of his disguises. So he should be reasonably safe.

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I would ask the spellcasters help with the hiding of our hires and put guards and wards on the house, but I'm expecting a determined and well resourced enemy. You will need all your strength to defend against an enemy that can attack at anytime, anywhere, with anything for any duration.

Actually, the hires would be fairly obvious, due to all the restrictions in Upper Tavick's. I didn't bother playing it out in game, but for Six to bring Block and then the other three warforged to the house and actually have them do some guarding in the guardhouse, he'd have had to stop at the courthouse in Upper Tavick's and get a license for each of them to carry weapons, providing names and list of weapons carried. If it weren't for the fact that you own a house there, Six figures he'd never have got the permissions.

All of the PCs also have weapons licenses by now, and everyone besides Six also has a license for spellcasting, which lists any spell that they might cast in the district.

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Shall we prepare for the Gala?

Please do. This should be entertaining

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OOC: Shouldn't the plural of 'warforge' be 'warforge'? Sounds better.

Actually the plural is "warforged", and so is the singular. There's no use of "warforge" as a term. There's always a 'd'.

Let me know if there are questions about any of the above. And see the following for something that happens at the Burning Ring.

When the arena battle is over and the trio has returned to join Six and Nameless, Hoas Junter announces the next fight, between Korrla (the ogre he spoke to when asking the three Angels to follow him) and a shifter. That fight ends quickly, with Korrla grappling the shifter into submission.

Afterwards, there is a little bit of a break, while the arena is set up for "a brand new monstrosity" that Hoas announces he has, much to the excitement of the audience. While that is occurring, he comes over and asks the Angels to join him in another room.

They follow him through one of the many doors, this leading to a room with a table and a few chairs. A couple of the warforged guards who were standing outside follow them inside. Hoas drops into a chair and says, "Please - sit. Honestly, you folks had me wondering for the first few seconds, but you pulled it off big time. You just might be the toughest bunch we've had in there, though that's mostly because of the magic. We don't get many fighters here who cast spells, leave alone throw that kind of power around. I'm kinda curious how you'd do without all of that to back you up. Anyway, reason I wanted to talk is 'cos I'd like you to come back and fight here. I know today you showed because that guy Halak challenged you, but maybe you'd consider a return. We don't pay gladiators here, but you get the opportunity to bet on yourself, and you could make a tidy sum that way. I can maybe even find a match or two where you could use that magic of yours. Whaddaya say?"

Dave W wrote:

I'll put the warforge on retainer. Give them a year's salary and an oil of repair light damage each. Tell them to stay in the warforge part of the Cogs, near the Inn, until I call for them. Get Fett and tell his about the duel, but leave out the sting aspect of it. After he calms down and stops changing colors, tell him to stay away from the house until this matter is stablized. Arrange a dead drop in the park for messages. If he needs to contact us faster he can send a message or drop by at his discretion.

I am aware of where the invitation comes from. Gareth is aware with his knowledge nobility and royalty -with a lot of ranks in it.

Hold on there. We just hired these guys and you already want to pay them an advance of one years pay while they have barely been here two minutes? The point of having them is to have them gaurd the house -at the very least if we are not there and the house gets attacked they can scream like girls so the watch is alerted. Sending them home with a years pay is foolish, and pointless. Gareth will not agree to that and if that is how things are going to be done with them then we don't need them.

Also, the invitation is not arranged by the Boromar's and definitly not Daask, this is arranged by another family. This event is so big and so important they will not jepordize its reputation or theirs to put us away -nobody could pay them enough to do so. Not everything that comes our way is a trojan horse.

EDIT: Wards have been put around the house, we just have to organize which. For example I have glyphs of warding placed on doors to my room and my lockbox.

Admin wrote:

They follow him through one of the many doors, this leading to a room with a table and a few chairs. A couple of the warforged guards who were standing outside follow them inside. Hoas drops into a chair and says, "Please - sit. Honestly, you folks had me wondering for the first few seconds, but you pulled it off big time. You just might be the toughest bunch we've had in there, though that's mostly because of the magic. We don't get many fighters here who cast spells, leave alone throw that kind of power around. I'm kinda curious how you'd do without all of that to back you up. Anyway, reason I wanted to talk is 'cos I'd like you to come back and fight here. I know today you showed because that guy Halak challenged you, but maybe you'd consider a return. We don't pay gladiators here, but you get the opportunity to bet on yourself, and you could make a tidy sum that way. I can maybe even find a match or two where you could use that magic of yours. Whaddaya say?"

"Well, to deny us the use of our spellcasting is like denying a pure fighters use of some of his abilities. If we have to give up some of our training what will a non-spellcaster have to give up? See the point. I understand the no spellcasting because it may damage the arena, and we can restrict ourselves to that, but we cannot give up our abilities." Stopping for a second and then a thought coming up, "Plus spellcasting of our level is a rare sight to see. How many people in your audience have seen that coccoon that was around me? They were awed by it for sure. If anything it should draw a bigger spectacle.

"Given that, we would like to show up again. That was exhilerating - to have all those people cheer and boo. In fact, we were the underdogs and we came out on top."

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So you don't want them guarding the house any more?

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After a little thought, he'll say that he'll stay on at the house. Upper Tavick's is better guarded than any area of Sharn short of Skyway, what with the Deneith Blademark bolstering the Watch and the rich houses having guards posted outside. So the odds on him being attacked there are very low, and by the time he descends from Upper Tavick's, he's already in one of his disguises. So he should be reasonably safe.

Ah, well the warforged will stay to. Addressing the warforged, You all will have you time off but until the Boromar relations stabilized you shouldn't leave the area. Or you can hide in the Cogs, but going back and forth is a problem we would have trouble solving.

Preparations for the gala event:

Gareth will proceed to get a new tuxedo - properly adorned with symbols of the Silver Flame. When the Gala happens he will have the Endless Blade turn into a small dagger and instruct him that silence at this event is of utmost importance. "I will have some enemies in that room and do not want them to know all of my capabilities. I would rather keep you a surprise. So I ask at an event like this for silence. Also, I am not sure how receptive our hosts would be for an intelligent weapon at their party."

Gareth will arrange high end transportation for the night. It will need to be sized for two people. It should have two bottles of champagne. One for before the gala and one for after the gala. It will pick and drop Gareth/Lalia at the doorsteps to their home. There should also be a gaurd for the stagecoach in case something happens. He is for more of an alert/protect the driver then to fight off would-be attackers. Gareth will also arrange for a flower for his tuxedo and a matching one for Lalia. They should be high-end exotic flowers. Gareth will also go to get his hair trimmed (just the fray), and a manicure.

Gareth will be wearing his mithril chain shirt underneath his tuxedo.

Gareth wrote:

EDIT: Wards have been put around the house, we just have to organize which. For example I have glyphs of warding placed on doors to my room and my lockbox.

Not to worry. The hninja won't stop by before we've completely decided what protections you guys have up. Chances are the group will be bankrupt by the end of it, of course. Two glyphs of warding, for example, cost 400 gp.

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"Well, to deny us the use of our spellcasting is like denying a pure fighters use of some of his abilities. If we have to give up some of our training what will a non-spellcaster have to give up? See the point. I understand the no spellcasting because it may damage the arena, and we can restrict ourselves to that, but we cannot give up our abilities."

Hoas chuckles. "Little paranoid, aren't ya?"

The Endless Blade replies, "Considering the way they got beat on and had to go hide in that cocoon thingy, are you surprised?"

Hoas just looks slightly surprised but doesn't respond.

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Stopping for a second and then a thought coming up, "Plus spellcasting of our level is a rare sight to see. How many people in your audience have seen that coccoon that was around me? They were awed by it for sure. If anything it should draw a bigger spectacle.

This time, Hoas guffaws. "No offense, but you sure weren't paying attention. There was a lot more catcalling than being awed out there." He shrugs. "You gotta understand, most of these people don't understand much about magic, so one spell's just like another to them. And doing what you guys did, though it makes perfect sense and got you the win, just looks a little dodgy to them, since they're more about appreciating the straight up, in your face, hacking and slashing. But they always like a good kill, which you gave them, so it's okay."

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"Given that, we would like to show up again. That was exhilerating - to have all those people cheer and boo. In fact, we were the underdogs and we came out on top."

"Actually," he says, "By the time we got done with the bets, you guys were up 2-1. That's why you made a profit of half what you bet. But, more to the point, I'm glad to know you're interested in being back. I'll see what I can find to challenge you guys."

"The next time we do this'll be in four days. You can get in touch with...." Hoas pauses and scratches his chin for a moment, before saying carefully, "If you don't mind, I got a question first." He looks at Gareth and says, "You're clearly a worshipper of the Silver Flame. We don't get many people of your ... faith here, so I've got to ask - you don't have any problems with this, right? I mean, the whole blood sport thing?"

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Preparations for the gala event:

Gareth's going to have to go to the event with the others, since you have only the one invitation, and you'll never be allowed into the Gala without it. Lalia and Tasra can travel with your group, since they have standing invitations as members of House Deneith.

More info about the Gala:

Fett, having been there once, and Lalia, having been there multiple times, can give the group some info about what's allowed and what's not at the Gala.

No weapons larger than a dagger are allowed at the Gala, nor is armor. Magical items in general are allowed to pass if someone has one or two, esp. something like a cloak or boots or the like, but walking in there loaded down with items means you'll be stopped (they have Houses Medani and Deneith providing very substantial security). Magical storage devices are a big no-no too. In any case, if one is stopped, they'll simply ask you to hand over the items "for safekeeping" and return them as you're leaving. On the whole, suggests Fett, you're much better off to leave the Endless Blade at home, and the same goes for the majority of your magic.

The Gala generally functions like a huge society party, consisting of a number of linked rooms, with space for eating, drinking, dancing, and general hob-nobbing. Celyria ir'Tain always invites some 'unusual' people to these things, such as a poet, or musician, or a group of adventurers, for her guests to meet and be entertained by. There might be a polite request for you guys to put on a weapons demonstration or the like.

* * * * * *

Let me know if there are any questions.

Admin wrote:

"If you don't mind, I got a question first." He looks at Gareth and says, "You're clearly a worshipper of the Silver Flame. We don't get many people of your ... faith here, so I've got to ask - you don't have any problems with this, right? I mean, the whole blood sport thing?"

Nameless will snort and cut loose with a dry laugh. "Show him the money and he gets flexible enough. Especially, if you keep things "uncomplicated" in your choice of his adversaries. Besides we have bills to pay with our new house."

"If it interests you, I can summon a number of creatures the likes of which few have seen. What's more I can polymorph willing subjects into the form of some of the more exotic creatures, we've enountered in our travels. Variety and the new are always draws for events such as these are they not?"

Admin wrote:

More info about the Gala:

No weapons larger than a dagger are allowed at the Gala, nor is armor. Magical items in general are allowed to pass if someone has one or two, esp. something like a cloak or boots or the like, but walking in there loaded down with items means you'll be stopped (they have Houses Medani and Deneith providing very substantial security). Magical storage devices are a big no-no too. In any case, if one is stopped, they'll simply ask you to hand over the items "for safekeeping" and return them as you're leaving. On the whole, suggests Fett, you're much better off to leave the Endless Blade at home, and the same goes for the majority of your magic.

Well, first test of the house guards. Put the stuff in the portable hole along with two warforged and a deck of cards.

Admin wrote:

"The next time we do this'll be in four days. You can get in touch with...." Hoas pauses and scratches his chin for a moment, before saying carefully, "If you don't mind, I got a question first." He looks at Gareth and says, "You're clearly a worshipper of the Silver Flame. We don't get many people of your ... faith here, so I've got to ask - you don't have any problems with this, right? I mean, the whole blood sport thing?"

"No that should not be a problem. There are members of the Silver Flame who visit brothels and drink too much for their own good - but they serve the Silver Flame. What we are doing is not evil - everyone goes knowing the risks"

Dave W wrote:

Well, first test of the house guards. Put the stuff in the portable hole along with two warforged and a deck of cards.

Now that's just wrong

Nameless wrote:

Nameless will snort and cut loose with a dry laugh. "Show him the money and he gets flexible enough. Especially, if you keep things "uncomplicated" in your choice of his adversaries. Besides we have bills to pay with our new house."

Hoas simply nods at the comment, looking slightly uncertain.

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"If it interests you, I can summon a number of creatures the likes of which few have seen. What's more I can polymorph willing subjects into the form of some of the more exotic creatures, we've enountered in our travels. Variety and the new are always draws for events such as these are they not?"

This clearly catches Hoas' attention. "That's interesting. The critters you summon would be able to fight, right? That could make for a couple of entertaining duels, with you summoning things for a couple of the other fighters to battle. Like I said, we don't normally do magic, and the folks coming here want to see some physical fighting, and it sounds like you could handle that in an interesting way." He looks thoughtful.

Gareth wrote:

"No that should not be a problem. There are members of the Silver Flame who visit brothels and drink too much for their own good - but they serve the Silver Flame. What we are doing is not evil - everyone goes knowing the risks"

"Yeah. That's what I say. We're not doing slavery here or anything. If people wanna fight each other and other people wanna watch, what's the problem?" A couple of the Angels get the sense that he's not completely reassured, but he seems more interested in the possibilities Nameless raised. He asks a couple of questions about what kind of creatures Nameless can summon, how long they'd stay around, and how dangerous they'd be in a fight.

Finally, he says, "Thanks. I'm looking forward to seeing you folks here again. Like I was saying, next time'll be the 9th." Hoas gives the group directions to a particular spot in Firelight, where he says a guide will find them and lead them to the next location.

House Cannith:

I'd like to get started on Six's visit to House Cannith and whatever it is that he discovers there. So, Dave, take it away.

And just one question - are you taking any of the others with you?

Admin wrote:

House Cannith:

I'd like to get started on Six's visit to House Cannith and whatever it is that he discovers there. So, Dave, take it away.

And just one question - are you taking any of the others with you?

Six goes to Cannith with his questions three. Tell the group about the trip and the questions. Let's test a theory. Six will go alone, so the rest be prepared for a rescue. The questions are what are the details of the warforged deal and if any problems have arisen? Do they know anything about the harness? Do they know anything about the creation forge (pause) the Lord of Blades was suppose to have? Tell Cannith about the armor bonus of the harness but not the enlarge ability, yet.

Dave W wrote:

Six goes to Cannith with his questions three. Tell the group about the trip and the questions. Let's test a theory. Six will go alone, so the rest be prepared for a rescue. The questions are what are the details of the warforged deal and if any problems have arisen? Do they know anything about the harness? Do they know anything about the creation forge (pause) the Lord of Blades was suppose to have? Tell Cannith about the armor bonus of the harness but not the enlarge ability, yet.

Okay, let's see how much trouble Six can get himself into

* * * * * * * * * *
Six travels to the Cannith enclave in Dragon Towers, which takes up the entirety of the giant tower known simply as Cannith Tower. Besides being certainly the largest of the various dragonmarked enclaves, it is also probably the busiest, with Cannith functionaries as well as customers to the various artisans' shops in the tower constantly entering and leaving. Even though Six visits it early in the morning, when the crowds are relatively lower, it takes some time before he can find his way to one of the booths set up to provide information and directions.

"Yes?" asks the young man there. "How can I help you?"

Hello I'm Six. I wanted to find out more about the offer and componets for warforged. Who might I talk to about this?

Dave W wrote:

Hello I'm Six. I wanted to find out more about the offer and componets for warforged. Who might I talk to about this?

"Oh, the job thing. Well...," says the man, before going into a quick spiel which replicates whatever Six has heard before, except that it makes it sound like a significantly more positive move than others have.

The man runs down and looks Six up and down, noting that he is much better equipped than the average warforged. "If you're interested in components, especially buying them, you can just visit one of the attached artificer shops. But you look like someone who might want a custom job and want some special expertise. Right? In that case, you need to talk to Jerim, two floors down. Here, I'll write you a note. Ask anyone there and they'll show you. He can help you if you're looking for a job too."

Six makes his way down a couple of levels and ends up in front of Jerim d'Cannith, a neatly-dressed man whose office has a number of schematics of warforged components on the walls, as well as a few in a couple of display cases.

He asks Six to take a seat and inquires what kind of components he is interested in.

[quote="Admin]Six makes his way down a couple of levels and ends up in front of Jerim d'Cannith, a neatly-dressed man whose office has a number of schematics of warforged components on the walls, as well as a few in a couple of display cases.

He asks Six to take a seat and inquires what kind of components he is interested in.[/quote]

Hello Jerim d'Cannith I am Mithral Six of Six. I had an adventure in Xendrik where I recovered this harness from ancient warfored. It grants increased armor strength and can not be enhanced with magic. I also can't remove it. Have you seen anything like this or know anything about it?

In the deal offer, has there been any problems in the administration of it? Six thinks I should have done small talk first.

Do you know anything about the rumored creation forge (pause) that the Lord of Blades was suppose to have?

Dave W wrote:

Hello Jerim d'Cannith I am Mithral Six of Six. I had an adventure in Xendrik where I recovered this harness from ancient warfored. It grants increased armor strength and can not be enhanced with magic. I also can't remove it. Have you seen anything like this or know anything about it?

In the deal offer, has there been any problems in the administration of it? Six thinks I should have done small talk first.

Do you know anything about the rumored creation forge (pause) that the Lord of Blades was suppose to have?

A look of interest and recognition crosses Jerim's face as Six mentions his name and then the adventure in Xen'drik, making Six fairly sure that Jerim has managed to place him as a member of the Guardian Angels. The expression quickly changes to partial confusion under the number of questions Six unleashes.

After a moment, Jerim laughs and says, "Wait, let me answer that one at a time. And I'll start at the end. I've probably heard just the same rumors you have, and frankly, I think that's all they are. Even if the Lord of Blades had found a functional creation forge, he'd need somebody with a powerful Mark of Making to run it. I'm sure you know that House Cannith was involved in the expedition that killed him and dispersed his followers, and no creation forge was found there."

"Regarding the offer to the warforged, it's actually going quite well. A large number of warforged have started working for the House and many are in the process of negotiations. Especially those who've been unfairly indentured in the Cogs, whom the House is trying to help buy off their contracts."

"And lastly, I don't think I've heard of the kind of harness you're talking about. From Xen'drik, you say? Interesting. Would you mind letting some of our artificers look at it and see what they can come up with?"

"Actually, let me ask you a few questions in turn. Are you interested in working for House Cannith? And is there any particular reason you're wondering about the Lord of Blades' supposed forge? Do you have any information to that end? Lastly, are you the same Six who's a member of the Guardian Angels?"

Admin wrote:

"And lastly, I don't think I've heard of the kind of harness you're talking about. From Xen'drik, you say? Interesting. Would you mind letting some of our artificers look at it and see what they can come up with?"

"Actually, let me ask you a few questions in turn. Are you interested in working for House Cannith? And is there any particular reason you're wondering about the Lord of Blades' supposed forge? Do you have any information to that end? Lastly, are you the same Six who's a member of the Guardian Angels?"

In reverse order.
Yes I'm the same Six.
I have seen warforged that seem new or misformed in the Cogs. One nearly dropped on me. He was dead. His head bashed in.
I had read about the Lord of Blades and the Archons(?). I wanted to find out that resolution. On both issues this is the first time I've had to pursue these questions. A simple link that the waeforged came from the Lord of Blades is unsupported.
When would the artificers want to look at the harness?
Working for the House would depend on the job. However if it envolves destroying evil, abberations or fights to the death I sure the GA will be interested.

Dave W wrote:

I had read about the Lord of Blades and the Archons(?).

OOC: What's this a reference to? It's not ringing any bells for me. Is it out of one of the books I don't have (I know you've got some Eberron ones, like Magic of Eberron, that I don't)?

Admin wrote:

Dave W wrote:

I had read about the Lord of Blades and the Archons(?).

OOC: What's this a reference to? It's not ringing any bells for me. Is it out of one of the books I don't have (I know you've got some Eberron ones, like Magic of Eberron, that I don't)?

I think he means the other adventuring group from your other campaign the Blades of Arakain?

Nameless wrote:

Admin wrote:

Dave W wrote:

I had read about the Lord of Blades and the Archons(?).

OOC: What's this a reference to? It's not ringing any bells for me. Is it out of one of the books I don't have (I know you've got some Eberron ones, like Magic of Eberron, that I don't)?

I think he means the other adventuring group from your other campaign the Blades of Arakain?

Yup, I heard it as the Blades of Archaon. I thought they were deeply chaos based. Fitting for a PC group.