Session 3 Notes

People Involved

Here is a summary of the events in the Session 3 transcript:

The session begins with the Dungeon Master (Clay) establishing new table rules regarding player etiquette and the ability to step away if things get too tense.
Because of the chaotic events at the end of the previous session, Joe's character (the aggressive Paladin, Renault) is officially retconned out of existence. Joe introduces his new character: David Humanman, a self-proclaimed “average human fighter” who serves as a retainer for Taspar (Eric).

Taspar, Craig, and David explore the ship's Market District, a bazaar set up under an illusionary sky.
They visit the stall of Mr. Mechanicum, a smooth-talking halfling who sells eclectic clockwork devices and magical wares.
Taspar haggles for a magical “Tincture of Luck” (granting a 1d4 bonus), while Craig purchases a clockwork canary designed to detect poisonous gases. Throughout this, David secretly uses magic to scan the items while maintaining his facade as a normal human.

The next morning, the party heads to the Aether Palace (a high-class lounge) for their scheduled brunch with King Emeritus Dunfrey.
En route, they are intercepted by two strange men: Vane (a tall, blue-skinned Vedalken in a suit with a cane) and Stubb (a Deep Gnome with a pipe wrench and cigar). Vane intimidatingly warns them to stay away from the King and mind their own business.
Ignoring the warning, they meet with Dunfrey. The King expresses concern over the absolute monopoly ARIA Corp holds over the new world. He officially asks the party to act as his secret agents to find a peaceful way to force ARIA Corp to share their technology and influence with the rest of society. Taspar accepts the mission.

The meeting is cut short by a loud commotion nearby. A wealthy, entitled human man is throwing a tantrum, yelling at an associate that he put up good money and that the “Brimari” failed him.
Taspar approaches to confront him for interrupting their meeting, but the man—who boasts of being a “governor's son”—is incredibly racist to Taspar (a half-elf) and demands the staff throw the party out. To avoid a brawl, the staff ushers both groups out of the lounge.

As the party exits into the hallway, they are ambushed by Vane and Stubb. Vane immediately shoots David with a poisoned blow dart hidden in his cane.

The Combat:

Craig casts *Hold Person* on Vane, paralyzing him for the majority of the fight.
Taspar goes into a barbarian rage, brutally laying into Stubb with a two-handed sword.
David uses “finger guns” to secretly cast lightning spells while pretending to just poke the enemies.
Craig executes the paralyzed Vane by shooting a Firebolt directly into his face.
David tries to non-lethally subdue a heavily wounded Stubb with a magical shock, but Stubb bites down on a poison capsule in his cigar and commits suicide rather than be captured.

Looting the bodies, the group finds a cane sword, a cigar case, loose change, and a bank transfer note showing Vane received a deposit of 150 gold coins that very mornin.
As Sam (Craig) has to leave the session early, the DM reveals a final detail: as Craig searches the bodies, he gets a strong feeling that he knows exactly who these assassins work for.