Session 35: Shopping Day in Absalom and the Book of Free Archetypes

S35 Recap: Shopping Day in Absalom and the Book of Free Archetypes

TL;DR

A full downtime session in Absalom with no combat. The party shopped the magic markets on a thin budget: Venris finished buying his mechanical replacement hand (named "Money," with his Kukri embedded in it) and a reading ring, but most items were too expensive. Veve charmed a wealthy dying old man, refusing his coins to bank a connection instead. Venris ran a quick invisible break-in (Veve casting Invisibility, Venris disabling an alarm trap) and then worked a tavern contact named Butch for a lead on a thieves' den, the "Knackery." Cid got stuck at the closed city gates needing a permit. The headline: studying the new book (Armadvion's spells) magically granted the whole party Free Archetype — Venris locked in Ghost Hunter and became a (Charisma-zero) spellcaster who can now use wands and scrolls; the rest are still deciding. They confirmed they now hold all four relics for the door back at Otari.

Previously on

The party recently came out of a brutal crypt fight where Venris lost a hand to the rot. They traveled to Absalom to shop and to chase down a book Abbas needed from the library, and to get Venris a prosthetic replacement for the lost hand.

What happened

The session opened mid-shopping. Venris had secured his mechanical hand on layaway, leaving roughly 425 GP between the party. They browsed shop after shop but found most magic gear far beyond their means (the cool armor Veve wanted, the Vine of Roses chain whip, a memory palace, runes, chakrams, a tri-bladed guitar). They bought only cheap items — Venris grabbed a reading ring (~15 GP).
Abbas confirmed the relic count at the library: the party now holds all four relics for the locked door at Otari — the key (from Otari), the rapier (carried by Cid), the cloak, and the book Abbas just retrieved.
Veve went looking to perform and make connections, spotted a rich, dying old man, and used a dropped letter as a pretext to approach. She refused his bag of coins, pushing it back to ask for friendship and an invitation instead — banking a social connection over immediate gold. The GM called it "the most expensive hero point of my life."
Venris cased a building. Veve cast Invisibility on him and on herself, watching the corner while pretending to tune her guitar. Inside, Venris (as a thief) automatically spotted an alarm trap with a high chance to trigger; the plan was to grip his cloak and run while invisible if it went off. He worked the alarm with Thievery and the pair slipped away clean. Cid wanted no part of the "heist." Afterward Venris and Veve agreed on an "invis signal" hand gesture so she can instantly cloak him on future jobs.
Venris found a tavern (a queer-coded bar, "more my kind of place"), did a coded knock, bought a drink, and showed off his new metal arm with the embedded Kukri while posing as an honest monster-hunting adventurer. He met a contact named Butch and fished for directions to a thieves' establishment, the "Knackery," that a friendly street thief had pointed him toward.
Veve, still invisible, got lost in the enormous city, uncloaked in an alley, balked at a 600-GP-a-night hotel, and failed to trade a performance for lodging. Cid hit the closed city gates and learned he needed a permit; he name-dropped the Otari guard captain (Lardis, who once served in Absalom), mentioned the party's work against the monsters at the Gauntlight, and vouched for his missing companions to the guards so they could leave together in the morning.
Back at the inn the next day, Abbas relayed that Venris had been having nightmares — making noises, thrashing — about being "eaten by that thing from the catacombs." The party debated whether this dread is the same as the "empty death." Abbas recalled it isn't identical but "works the same way," and rolled Occultism (poorly) to learn whether it's a permanent affliction needing a cure/ritual or just a passing side effect of the lost hand. No clear answer.
Venris laid out his haul and noted most of it lacked finesse (better for Cid), hoping their freed craftsman could make finesse versions later. Then the big reveal: studying the new book grants the whole party Free Archetype, with the option to take the book's archetypes or any archetype they want.

Leveling: Free Archetype choices

Venris (Venris) locked in Ghost Hunter: Investigate Haunting (trap-finder for haunts), haunt lore, and innate occult spellcasting — turning him into a spellcaster. His Charisma is zero, so offensive spells are useless, but he can now use wands and scrolls without Trick Magic Item, and picked minor utility spells (Read the Air, Time Sense, Seashell of Sound, Unlucky Number).
Abbas (VisaGock) is leaning Eldritch Researcher (lore tied to Zarmavdian), but didn't finalize.
Cid took champion feats: a 15-ft Champion's Aura, basic devotion / divine-health saves, a champion reaction granting allies resistance equal to 2 + level, and a blessing granting +5 ft speed and a free property rune (he plans to put ghost-touch on the Rose Sargentes).
Veve dithered among Dandy, Celebrity, Oracle, and Familiar Sage and left undecided, torn between social/flavor picks and wanting more combat impact.

Decisions made

The party spent conservatively, buying only cheap items and declining to steal in a city where they have no standing yet.
Veve chose friendship/connection over a coin reward from the wealthy NPC.
Venris and Veve established a recurring "invis signal" cooperation for future thefts.
Venris committed to Ghost Hunter and the spellcaster path; Cid built out champion feats.

Open questions / reminders for next session

The party holds all four relics — next step is the locked door back at Otari.
Venris's nightmares / lingering dread: is it a permanent affliction tied to the "empty death" or a passing side effect? Unresolved.
The "Knackery" thieves' den lead from Butch is dangling — Venris has directions but hasn't acted.
Veve still needs to finalize her free archetype.
The threat the GM calls "Bilcora" (Belcorra) and the monster trouble at the Gauntlight loom as the real mission behind the shopping trip.

Scene timeline (11)

00:00:00	Pregame chatter and shopping setup Players banter (vampire character jokes, modding Final Fantasy) and re-establish where everyone is: this is a downtime/shopping day in Absalom. Recap of last loose ends — Venris managed to buy his mechanical replacement hand on layaway, leaving roughly 425 GP in his pocket to spend; he was at the prosthetics shop, Veve at a music/instrument shop, Abbas (VisaGock) at the library after a book, and Cid 'babysitting' the others. The GM struggles to read back the magic-item names because the ASR garbles them ('anchoring' = the rune 'calling'). [S35 · 00:01:39 · turn 0014 · scene 001]
00:09:00	Window-shopping the magic markets of Absalom The party browses Absalom's magic shops at length, weighing items against their thin budget (Venris ~410 GP after the arm). Discussed/considered: a reading ring (bought by Venris, ~15 GP), the Vine of Roses chain whip (Marshal, two-hand 1d8 — passed over), a memory palace, snagging runes, burnished plating, reinforced cords, twinning chains, chakrams, a tri-bladed guitar, a piranha knife, and a fancy suit of armor Veve covets but can't afford. Venris (a thief) muses about stealing but decides against burning their fresh reputation in a new city. They settle on small, cheap items only. [S35 · 00:24:58 · turn 0168 · scene 002]
00:31:46	Inventory check: the four relics While settling the book interaction at the library, Abbas confirms the party's relic tally: they now have all four relics needed for the locked door back at Otari — the key (given by Otari), the rapier (held by Cid), the cloak (recovered earlier), and the book Abbas just retrieved. Cid is joked to be 'about to lose the Rapier.' [S35 · 00:34:34 · turn 0215 · scene 003]
01:11:30	Veve works a crowd and befriends a wealthy mark Veve wanders Absalom looking to perform for coin and to make connections, and clocks a rich, dying old man and his entourage. She picks up a dropped letter and uses it as a pretext to approach, introducing herself ('my name's Vee V, I'm fairly new to the city'). Rather than take the offered bag of coins, she pushes it back and asks for friendship and an invitation instead — making a social connection at the cost of immediate gold. The GM calls it 'the most expensive hero point of my life.' [S35 · 01:21:14 · turn 0464 · scene 004]
01:36:26	The invisible heist and the alarm trap Venris eyes a building to break into. Veve casts Invisibility on him (10 minutes), and casts it on herself, keeping watch around the corner while pretending to tune her guitar. Venris sneaks inside, but as a thief automatically spots a trap — an alarm with a high chance to trigger. The plan: grab onto his cloak, run together while invisible, and bolt if the alarm sounds. He attempts to disable the alarm with Thievery (using his Kale/infiltrator key) and they extract without being caught. Cid declines to join the 'heist' and heads back. Afterward the pair agree on a hand-signal ('invis signal') so Veve can instantly cloak Venris in future thefts. [S35 · 01:38:17 · turn 0530 · scene 005]
02:10:42	Venris at the tavern: meeting Butch and the Knackery lead Venris finds a bar (one with a rainbow-painted door 'more my kind of place'), does a coded knock, buys a drink, and chats up the bartender. He shows off his new metal arm — into which he's already embedded his Kukri — passing himself off as an honest adventurer who lost the hand to 'ghosts, zombies, monsters.' He name-drops a place a friendly thief mentioned (the 'Knackery'), and meets a contact named Butch. He fishes for directions to the rival/opposing thieves' establishment despite being warned off it, and leaves with a lead and directions back to his inn. [S35 · 02:23:26 · turn 0698 · scene 006]
02:37:38	Veve lost in the city; Cid stuck at the closed gates Veve, still invisible, gets turned around in the huge city with no landmarks, uncloaks in a dark alley, and tries to find an inn — balking at a 600-GP-a-night hotel and trying (unsuccessfully) to trade a live performance for lodging. Meanwhile Cid finds the city gates closed and learns he needs a merchant's or permit to pass, since he's on an errand from Otari. He name-drops the Otari guard captain (Lardis/Lesmin) who once served in Absalom, mentions the party is helping with monster trouble at the Gauntlight, and vouches for his missing companions ('BB Hal' the bard and her friend) to the guard so they can leave together in the morning. [S35 · 02:53:09 · turn 0806 · scene 007]
03:00:42	Reconvening at the inn; Venris's nightmares and the empty-death dread The party regroups the next morning. Abbas tells the others (and consults Abbas's own knowledge) about Venris having had nightmares — making noises, moving a lot — about being 'eaten by that thing from the catacombs.' The party debates whether this lingering dread is the same as the 'empty death': Abbas recalls it isn't exactly the same thing but works the same way, and tries Occultism (a poor roll) to learn whether it's a permanent affliction needing a cure/ritual or just a side effect of losing his hand. No firm answer; the worry persists. [S35 · 03:06:02 · turn 0867 · scene 008]
03:20:35	The book grants Free Archetype Venris lays out his shopping haul on a bed and notes most of it has no finesse (so it suits Cid more than him), hoping their freed jailbird craftsman can later make finesse versions. The big reveal: studying the new book (Armadvion's spells) magically grants the whole party Free Archetype — they can take the archetypes the book offers or any archetype they want. Cid jokes the only reason to keep Abbas/VisaGock alive (free archetype baked into his build) is now gone. [S35 · 03:26:41 · turn 0943 · scene 009]
03:27:30	Archetype shopping: Venris becomes a Ghost Hunter (and a spellcaster) A long out-of-character leveling discussion as everyone picks a free archetype. Venris narrows from Ghost Hunter / Undead Slayer / Eldritch Researcher and locks in Ghost Hunter: he gains Investigate Haunting (trap-finder for haunts), haunt lore, and — crucially — innate occult spellcasting, turning Venris into a (weak, Charisma-zero) spellcaster who can now use wands and scrolls without Trick Magic Item. He picks cantrips plus a few minor spells (Read the Air, Time Sense, Seashell of Sound, Unlucky Number). Abbas (VisaGock) leans Eldritch Researcher (tied to Zarmavdian). Cid takes champion feats: a 15-ft Champion's Aura, devotion/divine-health saves, a champion reaction granting allies resistance, and a blessing granting bonus speed and a property rune. Veve dithers between Dandy, Celebrity, Oracle, and Familiar Sage and leaves undecided. [S35 · 04:23:52 · turn 1310 · scene 010]
05:11:13	Session wind-down and table chatter The session winds down with the GM signing off ('I'm gonna have breakfast. Good run.'). Veve keeps deliberating over Oracle (its mysteries, curse-bound revelation spells) and combat-focused options versus her social-bard identity. Side chatter about whether the campaign will continue with the same characters after the dungeon (the GM suggests a break and possible retraining), plus joking and Veve's in-character flavor lines to close. [S35 · 05:14:17 · turn 1633 · scene 011]

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