((Hey guys, sorry that it’s taken so long to get back to this. With the busy period of the holidays behind me, I’ll try to be a bit more consistent with things like, you know, updating more than once every few weeks. >_>
OK, for Aloisturm’s background, I’m going to do my best to balance effort and reward. Instead of the standard knowledge check rules, here’s how I see things going:
Each library (or source of knowledge) will have a random set of pieces of knowledge from a list I’ve been putting together. These will have a difficulty value assigned to them, but unlike with a normal knowledge check, your efforts are cumulative, so spending a few days on research will net you knowledge, unless you roll particularly badly each time. I’m sort of winging this, so there may be adjustments in the future, especially based on your feedback.
Because you’re all working on the same source of knowledge, Etoile and Steven’s aid comes in the form of Aid Another bonuses to Aloisturm’s check.
The library doesn’t have much in the way of geographic resources. The general library that Etoile works at can help with that question, though.))
Aloisturm, Etoile an Steven
With Etoile and Steven’s help, the three spend hours going through the extensive library.
((Steven – Aid Another: *roll* 1d20 + 3 : 19 Success
Etoile – Aid Another *roll* 1d20 + 1 : 18 Success
Aloisturm – Knowledge: History *roll* 1d20 + 2 + 4 (Aid Another bonuses) + 4 (Library) : 20))
After a great deal of work and many false leads, the three of you begin to discover something promising. Among the many nations of the world, none was more advanced in both science and magecraft then the mighty empire of Azlant. However, a mage known as Xin fled the empire for reasons the author of the book does not discuss and eventually settled on the wild and untamed reaches of the mainland to the northeast of Azlant. Others followed him and his example, and while many were mundane, many others were gifted spellcasters. Together, these mages knew many of the secrets of the Azlanti knowledge of magic, including the crafting of magnificent golems.
The volume found ends on this note, but the next one in the series is missing, a folded note in its place noting that a ‘Brodert Quink’ was allowed to borrow it about a week ago.
This won’t prevent the three of you from pursuing other possible leads in the library, but pursuing this further will require finding this man and retrieving the book.
Kal
Madam Mavashti passes a hand over his claws, muttering to herself. She peers at them closely, and forces him to flex and unflex his fingers, watching their movement as he does so. Several times, a tingle of magic energy passes over his hands as she inspects them carefully, before she moves on to inspecting the rest of him just as thoroughly, peering in his eyes, checking his ears, even checking his teeth!
Leaning back in her chair, Madam Mavashti sips her tea, looking at Kal gravely over the rim of the cup. When she lowers it, she begins speaking.
“Well now. When you get as old as I am, you pick up a bit of knowledge if you put any effort into learning from what you run into over your life. Now, you’ve had a good teacher, so you have at least some idea of the many heritages that fire our blood with magic, and leave their marks on us. You act and sound like you found out your grandfather was a necromancer, or dallied with the infernal. But from what I can see, everything points to your bloodline having a dragon somewhere in it, and probably one of the metallic at that.
Now, that’s not saying that every metallic dragon is a saint and has done no wrong deed, but what do you mean ‘bad blood’?”