Bad Business - 21/11/2023 - Archie’s Extracts
Nov 22, 2023 23:04:40 GMT
Velania Kalugina, stephena, and 1 more like this
Post by Andy D on Nov 22, 2023 23:04:40 GMT
On Providing a Detective Service as an Adventuring Party
It was the second time I was in an adventuring party aiding Lady Vemillion, a yuan-ti information broker of Sigil.
The first time, I had to participate in Sigil’s very popular entertainment show, The Greatest Show In Doors and win the top prize, a priceless portrait. The party that time contained a more varied talent pool. This time round, Lady Vemillion required adventurers skilled in detection and crime-solving. There had been a murder, and though in fact innocent, Lady Vemillion was chief suspect.
The adventurer and OMTC business owner, Mr. Heret Velnnarul, was charged by Lady Vemillion to solve the murder case, and had invited an impressive, and familiar group of adventurers to join him.
Together; Heret, Sorrel, Velania, Vox and I formed a remarkably talented detective team of highly; perceptive, insightful and investigative individuals. And together, we solved the murder, providing evidence for the Harmonium (Sigil’s policing soldiers) , releasing Lady Vemillion from suspicion.
Detective work as an adventurer is something I would be pleased to involve myself in more frequently. Or, I should say, detective work for a wealthy employer is something I would be pleased to involve myself in more frequently. The Lady rewarded us handsomely with 900gp each.
The murder case of Hailey Rococco, employee of the 9th Sensation sensorium was of course a grim matter. But then, most adventuring tasks usually are, and usually they involve combat. Detective work, by the very nature of the role, does not come heavily front-loaded with the expectation of battle to achieve success at the task. Therefore, detective work, it could be said, offers adventurers a less live threatening pursuit. I am in favour of that.
On Memory Orbs and Sensoriums
Memory Orb - a palm-sized crystal-like orb that, with the right magical skill, can have placed in it a magically transferred memory. By holding a memory orb containing a memory, an individual can experience the memory contained within, as if they were presently experiencing the orb’s memory.
Sensorium - a bar where people can go to experience other people’s memories from memory orbs. Memories that tend to be popular experiences for customers of a sensorium include; thrilling memories and pleasurable memories, and memories a customer is unlikely to experience in their own life for risk averting reasons or lack of opportunity.
For obvious reasons, a memory orb containing a debaucherous experience is likely to be very popular for customers of sensoriums. Also popular would be the memories of heroic individuals in battle. More moderate and yet also popular memories might include an individual’s experience on another plane of existence. For most people, planeshifting is not a recurrent feature of their lives.
It is, I feel, a missed opportunity for memory orbs to not be abundantly present in educational environments. How professors have longed to be able to take their understanding of a subject matter and force it into their students’ brains.
For the purpose of using memory orbs in aiding comprehension for a student, I would advise professors not to put their first memory of a learning material into a memory orb. Instead, I would suggest installing in a memory orb the memory of a particularly well delivered, and often repeated, lecture. One lost lecture of many will not be significant for the instructor.
With such a memory orb in the possession of a student struggling with learning, they should be able to, for a brief moment, find themselves understanding the subject matter as well as their professor delivering the lecture, as they remember the lecture as if they delivered it themselves!
Though the memory experience will be brief. One would expect it would then help the student better grasp the material they study.
I also envision memory orbs being terribly useful during matters of heated discussion - they could provide deep insight into the thoughts of one’s ‘opponent’ and may increase levels of empathy between both sides - one would hope.
On Trying to Find a Good Occasion for the Mislead Spell
Mislead - A 5th order illusion spell - casting the spell enables the caster to become invisible at the same time that an illusory double of the caster appears where the caster is standing. The double lasts for an hour, but the invisibility ends if the caster performs an action such casting another spell, or engaging in hand to hand combat.
The caster can make the illusory double speak, and behave in whatever way the caster chooses. The illusory double can move up to twice as fast as the caster, if desired.
The caster can see through their illusory doubles’ eyes and hear through its ears as if located where the double is located.
The caster can switch from using the double’s senses to using their own, or back again. However, while the caster is using their double’s senses, the caster is blinded and deafened in regard to their own surroundings.
I think this spell is magnificent and provides fascinating and useful scouting opportunities where the caster’s illusory double can scout and interact in areas which might be fraught with peril, but no harm could come to the caster. I would suggest an ally accompany the invisible, and near senseless caster during said moments. Although such a strategy for the Mislead spell does not provide opportunity to make use of the invisibility attained as part of the spell, I feel the benefits it does provide in the outlined strategy are many; scouting, harm-avoidance, misleading an adversary (and ambushing the adversary, through allies, or the caster themself, if they wish to use the advantage provided by the invisibility).
Despite what the spell has to offer, I could barely find a good use for it during my detective work in Sigil - most upsetting.
In the end, I resorted to casting the Mislead spell merely to use the illusory double to run to Lady Vemillion’s manor and escort her to the Golden Throne. The simple benefit to me being so I could be both with my party and request Lady Vemillion’s presence at the same time. I think a caster with the Sending spell could have achieved more or less the same thing with less movement and with a lower magical order spell. I could have equally sent my owl familiar with a note, at an even greater reduction of magical expenditure!