RQG 161 - Terms and Conditions

## Content Warnings

Prejudice against fantasy races (kobolds and dragons), perceived biological essentialism, depression, arguments, recreational drug use, unhealthy coping mechanisms

## Summary

Join Alex, Helen, Bryn, Lydia and Ben as they navigate difficult arrangements before taking flight. This week, Hamid outfits the kobolds, Azu's got ALL the marbles, Cel shows off their model kit, and Zolf takes up the new mantle of chief mediator.

## Synopsis

Before gameplay starts, the players review the items they’ve bought in Hiroshima. Hamid spent about half his money equipping the kobolds with shiny magical breastplates, as he’s worried about their safety. Azu bought a ring of protection; an amulet of natural armour; packs of cards; 50 gp worth of marbles; whistles; and a collapsible bathtub. She also got a tattoo of a flowering rose on the back of her hand, to remind her of her dedication to Aphrodite, which had been wavering for a while. Cel bought a few potions for their alchemical allocation spell (misspoken to be a feat), which allows them to reuse potions; this is the first time in a while that Cel has met other alchemists that they haven’t trained, so it’s an opportunity to get things they can’t make themselves. The potions are stone skin, electric dragon breath (because they were impressed by Hamid), and dark vision (because they have bad memories of being stuck alone in the dark in the Shoin Institute). They also bought a ring of protection. Zolf bought a +3 cloak of resistance, +3 ring of protection, and +2 headband of wisdom.

We start on a late afternoon in the latter half of the week of therapy/ship-building, when Earhart is visiting her ship in the aeroport and meeting Cel, Hamid, and the kobolds. Wilde has been scarce all week and is still not there. The airship is still largely deconstructed, though they’re well on their way to fixing it. Hamid says hello and Earhart responds coldly; he introduces her to Cel, who praises the ship. Amelia’s taken aback by the ship being in bits. She asks after Cel’s accent; Cel responds that they’re originally from the north-east coast of America (although the town was fairly diverse), but has been all over since then. They talk to Amelia in a wide variety of languages, including Portuguese, Spanish, Japanese, and Asiatic gnomish, before Amelia settles for the latter. Amelia starts inspecting the deconstructed ship. Cel insists that the kobolds help explain the parts they built, translating from Draconic. She seems to be very critical of her own creation, apparently because it’s being built from base principles and not industry knowledge. She also provides practical knowledge about layout. Cel and the kobolds have also built the ship for raw power, not for a smooth ride; Earhart approves of this. She eventually starts asking more pointed seemingly irrelevant questions, such as seeking to weigh down certain parts of the ship. Cel, assuming the best of people, can’t quite figure out the reasoning behind the questions.

Meanwhile, Zolf quietly updates Hamid on the situation: Earhart’s doing “bad, but better” and she’s agreed to transport them on the condition that they help her kill Guivres. Hamid hopes that they’ll find a way of curing, not killing infected people, but agrees that if they have to kill Guivres, particularly if attacked, they will. Zolf says that Earhart probably would want to kill Guivres with or without the cure, and may want to keep killing other Meritocrats afterwards. Both agree that they can talk about that later, after they’ve saved the world. Hamid remarks on the strange alliances that the apocalypse has created, and how nothing is the same as it once was. They both anticipate some friction between Amelia and Oscar, and recognize that if the group were to encounter Guivres now, they’ll probably all die. Earhart comes back over with Cel and the kobolds. She says that she thinks the ship can work, although she’ll want to make some customisations. She’s concerned about sourcing elementals, but Zolf informs her that he can. She says they should go back to the hotel and discuss logistics, but first, she asks Hamid about his “little helpers” — Hamid says they’re not his, just with him — and whether they can be her crew. Azu and Zolf can tell that Earhart doesn’t like the kobolds or Hamid, though she’s trying to keep a lid on it. Hamid answers Earhart that the kobolds are very good at maintenance and learn very quickly, so they’d probably be able to be crew.

Earhart addresses the kobolds in middling Japanese: she tells them bluntly that she intends to kill their “grandmother” or “great-great-grandmother”. Cel and the kobolds are confused, particularly because the kobolds are red-coloured and Guivres is a gold dragon, and thus there’s no link whatsoever between Guivres and these kobolds. Hamid ask Earhart what she thinks the relationship between Guivres and the kobolds is; Earhart says she doesn’t care — she just wants to know whether it will be a problem. Hamid says that because Guivres is infected, she’s the enemy. Earhart says she’ll want a contract, and won’t sail with a crew that won’t follow orders. Hamid says that they’re not going to Paris right now and killing Guivres. Earhart agrees, but says that if the opportunity presents itself, she wants to know that people will help her shoot. Hamid is confused about how the kobolds are supposed to help shoot, given they mostly wield spears. Zolf frustratedly clarifies that Earhart’s worried about the kobolds betraying them — they’re following Hamid because he showed draconic lineage, so if a bigger dragon shows up, they might just follow her instead. Azu suggests they talk to the kobolds about it.

Hamid talks to the kobolds about the situation. Skraak says it’s complicated; he tells the other kobolds to go back to their mechanical work, and talks to Hamid privately. He says that the kobolds won’t follow Guivres or betray the party, but they might freeze like a deer in headlights upon seeing what is effectively a god, so they may not be useful in a fight against a dragon. Hamid apologizes for even having to have the conversation, and Skraak says that after everything, this isn’t a high-stress situation. Hamid says he doesn’t want to put the kobolds in harm’s way, and is terrified of hurting them like Shoin, but Skraak waves him quiet. Skraak walks over to Earhart. With Hamid translating, Skraak speaks loudly, for the benefit of the other kobolds: he says that Guivres isn’t a dragon anymore, so it won’t be a problem, so long as it’s just Guivres. Earhart says she’ll hold them to that. Hamid pulls Earhart outside the hangar and passes on what Skraak says about the kobolds freezing up. Earhart says that in that case, she’ll need a bigger crew, and Hamid agrees. Meanwhile, Azu asks Cel what the mega juice from the Shoin Institute does; Cel isn’t sure, but suggests they go out on the town and try it out. [Note: Alex says that the handwriting on the bottle is terrible, and “juice” is spelled the equivalent to “joos.”] Azu suggests that they could try it in her hotel room; in case it makes her get bigger, the room is very large. Cel agrees: tonight they’ll stay up late, get takeaway food, get mega, and then chat.

**BREAK**

Back at the hotel, they’re discussing logistics with Earhart. She talks about needing more crew, and asks Zolf to be first mate just as he volunteers for it. She wants to strip out as much functionality as possible to make way for more weapons, defence, and equipment to capture things. She wants to take away the lounge in favour of a bigger armoury (Azu isn’t on board with this). Earhart also wants to remove the captain’s quarters to make more space for weapons. Earhart talks with Cel about sacrificing the safety of the engine for maximum performance, and asks if Cel can make the entire ship crackle with electricity, even if it would kill the majority of the people onboard. Cel generally objects. They say that statistically, the crackles may not kill everyone, but people don’t tend to operate at maximum capacity if they’re in danger of dying. Earhart says she’s fine with the ship exploding if it’s in a way that’s productive. Azu strongly objects to this, and Earhart says Azu can get off. The conversation continues much in the same way.

They both re-enter the room. Earhart doesn’t care about the sidebar. The negotiations continue: the agree on needing more crew; there will be sleeping quarters and a place to sit inside. We jump ahead to Azu and Cel in Azu’s room that night. Azu takes the megajuice while Cel observes. She wakes: the room is trashed, and Cel, though unharmed, is laughing at her, saying she had a great time.

## Dice rolls & mechanics

* Cel Sense Motive check on Earhart inspecting the ship: 8
* Sense Motive on Earhart disliking the kobolds and Hamid: 7 (Hamid), 23 (Zolf), 21 (Azu), 13 (Cel)
* Azu Fortitude save against mega juice: 29