S&W Game Play Journal: Hatching a Plan

Our weekly game was almost canceled due to real world demands, but we've agreed to continue gaming with the expectation that our sessions will be shorter...

Picking up from where we left off, the party had to rest for a good five days in order to heal from the giants rats attacks from the last session. It was decided that it wasn't worth the additional promised 50 gold in order to finish the extermination job, and the party went looking for employment elsewhere.

They visited the docks and paid the harbormaster a visit - Wagstaff tried to gauge interest in "rat pelts", and the pencil pusher really didn't know what to say or make of the suggestion that there might be money in the rat pelt trade! Taking their leave of him, Wagstaff suggested that more underhanded efforts at acquiring gold might be in all of their best interests, such as making a raid on merchants traveling out of town. Olav the dwarf took his leave of the party, saying that he bore them no ill will and would keep his mouth shut, but wanted nothing to do with this plan.

The others (all of whom are chaotic in alignment) were eager to hear more of this idea of Wagstaff's - they went back to the inn themselves to discuss the matter further, where they found Olav deep in the ale... Wagstaff let the barmaid (also the tavern proprieter's wife) know that they were again seeking employment as guards, and she assured them she would let the merchants eating and staying there know about it. A while later she returned with news that there were two looking for accompaniment, but that they only needed a couple of guards - the barmaid had already put in a good word about the dwarf (better known locally as a regular patron at the tavern), and so they were interested in his services as well as those of one more individual.

At this point, Wagstaff suggested that he take employment with Olav to ostensibly protect the merchants, but that they all figure out a good place for the others to raid them and for a fake fight to be put up, whereupon they would all split the loot. Olav wanted to take no part in killing, but Wagstaff said that if the others were well disguised and the fake fight went well, it wouldn't be necessary to kill the merchants - the now drunk dwarf agreed, and the details were worked out in terms of where and when the ambush should take place.