*Notes scattered around Shadowdale*

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The zhents are no good to this town!

They care not for shadowdale, they care only for murder!!!

They even made a pact with a lich, to allow him to scavenge for an artifact inside the city limits!!

They practice necromancy as many have seen, they slay anyone whom they don't like, they are a curse to the city of shadowdale!!

Gather arms and strengthen yourselves adventurers, the Zhentarim time on shadowdale draws nigh!

And much gold is to be had from their deaths!

Darkaryan
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occ notes: These are not posted on the boards, they're scattered around the city every now and then, if you catch someone dropping a note, its probably a local farm kid(and never the same one, they don't get hired twice) who received a gold from a "masked man in a white armor and green cloak" to drop a few notes around town.

When that fails, dogs , cats and other animals are usually tied up with notes and set loose towards the city (mostly during less patrolled times, and from less patrolled areas

I assume this is enough to not be "meta gaming the guards", since even if the guards caught the animals and kids, some notes will probably have been dropped
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\\Yeah its too bad about the hundreds if not thousands of troops in or around the city, dont think the 5 guys you see walking around is all there is. Heck they could probably say one of their troops or informers saw you and have you beaten

//

Riei wrote:

they're scattered around the city every now and then,

Beli, Riei has clearly taken the guards into account and it's clear these notes are not all the time, hundreds, every day. I do think some notes could be scattered

But the farm kids would be in for a beating, for sure.

DM Dormouse wrote:

//

Riei wrote:

they're scattered around the city every now and then,

Beli, Riei has clearly taken the guards into account and it's clear these notes are not all the time, hundreds, every day. I do think some notes could be scattered

But the farm kids would be in for a beating, for sure.

((I don't often disagree with your Mouse but are we allowed to talk for NPCs and animals and say what they do. Would I be allowed to follow up with:

As the green cloaked man give the note to the child he screams for the guards grabbing hold of the man in seconds the sky mage appears and has the man dragged to hell from where he never returns.

Cause by doing it like this it is impossible to catch as such as no one noticing a man chasing local cats to tie notes onto them. Then assuming it would even be readable once the cat has scratched it off or the dog has rolled around in the mud or the child would be willing to take the notes in the first place))

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err, you do realize you can buy "pet trained" dogs , cats, pigs etc? and he wouldn't give the notes to the kids in town... its like *hey kid, wanna a gold coin? yes a WHOLE gold coin? then follow me

lets remember we don't live in modern day and age to have all those "don't take candy from strangers" thing, specially when the "candy" is gold, instead of copper and silver


and a gold coin, or 10, to a farm local boy would be a GREAT incentive, and they might stop accepting taking the notes after a beating, but he would just have moved to another kid

so for a few days the kids would work(and not all kids would take a beating, as "dropping a piece of paper here, another there, another over there, from under their clothes" is something that can happen

the zhents is an army, and an army is filled with individuals, specially slacking individuals


as for the kids beating, well Riei is evil, you want to take some good points from him for doing that, go on I don't mind ^^

finally about notes readability, once the first notes are dropped by (from kids) the ones from cats, dogs, and other animals are irrelevant, they just there to show that theyre still being delivered

the important is the gossip that will start

and lets just remember that you also assume that green robed man is Riei, when it can clearly be a total random stupid stranger that received 1k gold to deliver the notes(show that to a commoner in d&d and you will have seen him do anything

PS: if the dms want to subtract an amount of gold from my char, youre welcome to do so, he is not an organization, but he can afford this
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///ok fair enough to ask, Kor

Riei was careful to specify that it was only every now and then. Yes some animals would loose the note, but others might drift loose and be picked up just fine.

The children on the other hand? well, a few beatings would get known pretty quick ... though families are also desperate for gold with the way the zhent bleed them.

so ... lets say the number of notes goes down as fewer kids are willing to risk it. But a few still get through especially out of town, where the guards are obviously spread less thickly. Tehre could be qutie a few of these notes on the fields, but only seen by the odd farmer ofc, or passed hand to hand at the pub in the evening ... and maybe falling into the hands of collaborators, = a quick execution for said farmer.

I do think any occupied region would have -some- posters and notes around, less ofc in the heavily populated / patrolled areas.

A dark cloaked man is seen talking to the northern farmers and the old lady that sells pets and animals, as he ruffles the head of one of the pets he nods and hands over a sack of gold informing her that she is not to sell pets to masked men within Shadow dale. If any more such notes turn up on her pets she will be taken to the cells. It has been against the law since the Zhentarim were asked to guard the town and she is lucky to still breath by not to ask people to remove their masks. Taking down what she could of the man, he quickly turns to the guards and asks how a masked man got passed them when the old lady is clearly visable on their patrol and anyone purchasing pets is to be questioned and their masks to be removed.

He speaks among the children handing out coin and promising more when the man that handed them the notes is found. Quickly he travels to the well where the woman are drawing water for the evening meal, explaining to them that any child taking coin from masked men will be killed and the family like wise. As he faces off against their looks he explains that in times of drow raids and all manner of undesirables he finds their parenteral ability is lacking it could well have been a drow to which they were speaking never to return. Is a few gold really worth it. Handing over more gold he assure them that when whoever is dropping the notes is found there will be plenty more. That this man would do best to turn himself in or he will be killed on sight.

Finally he calls upon one of the Sky Mages who patrol the sky giving the description and to keep an eye for him. That he is to be brought the the barracks if found and killed if he resists and his body to be returned so it may identified.

((I have taken it the man buying the animals was masked but I don't think the merchants sell to masked people and the guards on patrol would hopefully have noticed that and asked the mask removed. Please when next on can a DM remove 10,000 gold spend on bribes though I think it more likely fear would keep the people in line and why children would not have been warned of drow or monsters and masked men is beyond me given how much danger such pose not to mention angering the Zhentarim.))