Seluumiel was the only one to chide Lacey, and she's still apprehensive about rushing in (this will come out more later...)
I think it's completely reasonable for Xavier and Chiron to behave as they do, let's just get this moving forward.

"Talking to the remaining guards he says as he writes, "The children mentioned seeing walking dead. My brother wrote to me before he died of a cleric of Eilistraee that he took under his wing. He said if she ever came into Leaphaven to take care of her. She could probably use the work."

You may recall this as an excerpt from the intro to the campaign. He hired her for her devotion to Eilistraee, and to keep his promise to take care of her and help her out when he can.

But, deep down, he is not only rich and powerful, he feels that only men should be in a position of power. He is a classic example of a male chauvinist pig!

He sees Xavier as childish, strange, and unrefined. Unfit for a leadership role.

He also envisioned the paladin as the leader of the group he has put together, so naturally he will show more favor for Chiron's plans and decisions than anyone else.

The good news is that, after giving directions to get to the house, he did basically give his blessings on following to each their own instincts on how to proceed with the mission.
So once you are free of him, it's up to each of you to agree on a course of action without the interference of the DM or Npc.

Okay, this is my take on it.

Your plan, and Chiron's plan are the same except for one thing.

________________________

Your plan (in my interpretation) consists of:

Get to the house.
Get in to the house.
Save the children.
Get out of the house.
Get back to the city.

___________________

Chiron's plan (again, in my interpretation) is as follows:

Get to the house.
Scout out what we're up against, but don't actually put ourselves at risk.
Come back to the city and supply to fit the need.
Go back to the house.
Get in to the house.
Save the children.
Get back to the city.

_______________________________

The way that I'm interpreting them, they're the same. Except for Chiron's plan consists of coming back before we save the children. Xavier's plan is also the same, only put very bluntly and out in the open. He's agreeing with you in the part that, if we can get in there, and get the children out with no problem, then let's do it. But if we start having too much trouble, he's voting to leave, re-equip and go back, better prepared to face the challenge.

Does this help in the interpretation?

This message is for all of the group presently playing.

Apparently some of you have not Thoroughly read the introduction to the campaign. For if you did you would see the things that the governor knows, thinks he knows, and what is only a rumor to him which he wishes to check out.

One of the guards states, " I always wondered how you knew of so many people even when they don't know of you."

the governor then replies, " I have friends in both high and low places."

It's not being a mind reader, and its not the DM metagaming, but just an NPC having eyes and ears in all the right places (which by the way, is typical of rich politicians).

I requested character backgrounds from each of you for two reasons:

1. To test your role playing aptitude (which all of you passed exceptionally). It was this I was going to base my decision of whom to pick if I had more than 6 entries. By what I've seen so far, I believe if there where more than 6, I would still have picked all four of you.

2. To tailor, and customize the game to the group, to pull you all in and create a small amount of friction to throw in with wrapping your minds around the mission. It was not intended to be used against anyone. I expect great role playing from the group in the face of adversity. Thus far, I believe I've been getting it!

I just want each of you to know that I am not being a vindictive or conniving DM. As DM, I am the NPCs and Enemies in the game and I am Tiamat5774 when I PM you or post feedback in the Q&A. There is no, and will be no transference or confusion as to which is which. Just as you are role playing, so am I. I want to close this by saying, If I haven't said so already you are all doing great! If anyone in the group feels as though I've stepped on any toes or overstepped my boundaries, please accept my apology.

If you want to get an idea of what Prajna looks like, do some google image searches for Percheron (to get the size and build) and palomino (to get the coloring). That combination doesn't happen naturally, but since she's got a touch of celestial, I figured I could make an exception.

I agree with you, Ava, that the governor's knowledge of your race is unlikely, however based on your backstory it is not entirely impossible that someone knows that you're a drow.

For the next few weeks they keep Ardulace captive, they clothe and feed her, and the old half-elf speaks to her every day, but she says nothing in response, merely waiting for her chance to escape. One morning, having remembered a trinket he had stolen years before, he retrieved it from his wagon, and approached the drowses. Extending his hand, he opened it to display a holy symbol of Eilistraee, a silver amulet of the moon with the enameled figure of a dark elf maiden silhouetted on it. Offering it to her, he turned to leave, but this small token was enough for her to break her silence. The two began to speak each evening, and eventually the half-elf took her under his protection despite the protest of his son and several of the other tinkers. The son had intended to turn her in for a large bounty.

There's a whole troupe of traveling merchants that know you exist, so saying that it's NEVER been revealed is inaccurate. They're even the ones that gave you the Hat of Disguise, so it's possible that knowledge has also been spread.

But that's it for the people you've specifically said know about your character's race.

There's also a chunk of people you've hinted at that know you are a dark elf.

Much of the time she has had to use the Hat of Disguise to conceal her race, and usually adopts the form of a half-elf named Lacey when she does so.
While adventuring she has accumulated some small wealth and a few magic items. Though she has found places where she was not killed on sight for being a Drow, she still seeks the place where she will be genuinely welcome, and is determined to find it, even if she has to found such a place herself.

You say that you usually adopts the guise of Lacey when you use the hat, which makes it less likely that the information about you started from the tinkers and spread from there, since they wouldn't know all your faces.

But you do admit that you don't always use the disguise. Even more telling than that is the line about not being killed on sight for being a drow. Someone, somewhere, saw you without the Hat and didn't kill you. Someone from this second group could be the source of the Gov'ner's improbable knowledge.


I have no idea how knowledge of your race made it to Bailash, and the path it took to get there must be very convoluted and rely mostly on happenstance, but based on the history you created I would say that it is most definitely possible (although improbable) that he does know about you.


And if he knows about your being a drow, he might also know about what Chiron did to get thrown out of the Companions, and as far as the paladin knows, only he, Ilmater, and a traumatized gutter-waif have that knowledge.

Ava has made up her mind to be angry with me, apparently.

But in my own defense, no where, and I do mean NO WHERE, in the role playing in the game thread did Bailash nor any of the PCs or NPCs make any mention of Lacey being a drowess.

I may have made a mistake, in retrospect, to even mention the Governor's knowledge of Lacey being a drowess in the Q&A. I didn't know it would blow up into this heated discussion.

How many times must I apologize, huh?

I'm sorry, Im sorry, Im sorry, and I am sorry for being human and making this HUGE mistake. Keep in mind however that the only place info like "Lacey is a drowess" matters is in game and no mention was made about it in game. Now instead of keeping the Q&A hot with this talk, why don't we continue the game?

Either way, I won't be discussing it with YOU
Which is cool. Just wanted to throw my two cents and alternate perspective in. Now that that's done, I'll go stand in the corner.

Boy, I wish we had a ranger.

This is just my perspective, but if the issue has been resolved, then we know the following:

Tiamat should discuss specific details about stories with the players.

We, as players, need to clearly define what happens with our characters.

This is partly my fault. I have not yet finished my backstory. However, my half sister being brought into the game was an interesting twist, and was welcomed by me, even though I hadn't planned on it happening, only using her as a reference. But, it's cool with me.

Now, please, from my point, I realize the reason for this dispute. I get very attached to a lot of my characters, and sometimes things don't go as planned, and I get angry. But I have noticed that when I bring this up in public, it makes the other players uncomfortable.

So can we make it a ground rule, that if there is an issue with character, that you resolve it via PM? This is just my observation, and suggestion.

fine by me

I think that's a great idea. Helps keep it out of the game as well in the long run. I think that unless the issue effects the whole party individual disputes can be better handled one on one anyway. Since I will be new to this game its good for me to know what ground rules you are setting up for play. I'm learning a lot from reading the different game threads tonight.

So I guess I'll only ride about half way there. Once we start to get close I'll dismount and leave Prajna behind, NOT tied to anything though. I want to be able to call for her in case we need to get out quick.

Gboy, I agree with you wholeheartedly. Great idea!

Satya was raised in the desert with her family, the Laasya tribe. All children were taught the ways of the Bedine life, it was necessary for survival in Anauroch. Food and water were things to respect and conserve as the very keys to life. Every Bedine learned at a young age to defend it with their life. Her people were passionate and strong, living every aspect of life to the fullest for no one knew just what tomorrow held in the desert. If a poor beggar were to come in need of water it was given freely yet not foolishly, for if someone were to try and take advantage of the tribe, steal, manipulate, or destroy they would be dealt with without mercy. They fear magic and shun or cast out anyone who wields it. Other than small healing effects (“the favor of the gods”), magic is regarded as a treacherous and dishonorable weapon to use against enemies. Even the most fearless Bedine are wary of those who can work magic, either by spell or item. Her people think a being must be insane, very brave, or very evil to touch – or even willingly draw near – a magic item. Satya was raised to respect the law of sheikh Laasya, to always honor an oath, and that water must be given to the thirsty. To disobey the law of the sheikh meant banishment.
The written word was completely unknown to her. There history and all ways of life were passed down through songs, and dancing, and storytelling. They combined all of these aspects to teach the children when they were young. What Satya realized as she grew that all these things prepared her for survival and battle. How to move quickly and silently, to wield a sword, to sing a little poem that reminded all children of how to survive if they get caught in a sand storm or lost in the desert. And every cycle of the moon her people would celebrate life, a great victory in the desert. It began at dusk with the youngest of children showing off their newly learned feats and progressed through the night.
Once Satya was old enough to stay up late and see the second half of the night’s events she was awestruck at what her future held. Fierce sparing with the young men, retelling great battles, seductive dances by the young women in little to nothing as far as she could tell by the light of the heart fire. It was all so wild and beautiful. She still was too young to understand just what was happening when the men swept in around the fire and seemed to devour the women as they tried to continue their dance. The night air filled with laughter and squeals of delight. She could not imagine any other life but what lay before her.
She had no mother or father to speak of, but many children in the tribe were without one or even both parents much like Satya so she felt no different than her fellow brothers and sisters until she became old enough to understand the whispers and the looks the older ones gave her. One day a young boy lashed out at her and called her an outsider and struck her across the face. He was quickly reprimanded and that was the end of the confrontation. The elders did not tolerate strife within the tribe. Unity had to hold them together and keep them strong. They must be of one mind to survive and children that sought to alienate others were not tolerated. So of course they learned to be subtler so as not to be caught by the adults.
Everything changed for her one late afternoon while practicing her dancing with her bone carved sword on the dunes outside of camp. A small group of boys barely twelve years old were lurking at the top of the dune where she was going through her steps. One of them was the boy that had singled her out just last year, he was bigger now and the other three boys seemed to be following on his lead. At first they yelled insults down at her. First commenting on the color of her eyes, then one said something about her parents. At this she stopped what she was doing and the largest boy stood up and walked down to her
“That’s right!” He yelled at her coming closer as his face was turning red “Your father’s an outsider and your mother’s an outsider loving whore! My dad said that if he had been sheikh when they found you in that little basket he’d have snapped your tiny little neck. Laasya was too easy on your mum and banishment was better than she ever deserved. When they found she had left you here they let you stay. But my….” The wagering tone of voice that the boy was speaking in and all the lies he was spilling out brought on a rage in Satya that she could not control. It scared her because she seemed to have suddenly lost control, a prisoner in her body watching from inside.
*Smack*
The world of sand faded around her, all she could see was the bloody pulp that was the face of the boy that had taunted her. There was a white sword of bone flying in front of her face but it didn’t hurt her, it just kept flying down into the ground smashing into the now lifeless form of what might have been the body of a child.
As the rage subsided and the reality of what just happened settled on her small shoulders she started to cry. This was impossible, but now that little seed of doubt had been planted. Why had no one ever spoken about her mom and dad and how they died, just like all the other boys and girls parents. Not a word was ever mentioned about those that she had come from. As she looked around the other three boys stood in dumbfounded terror at what she had done. But none of them moved. They watched her as she dragged herself back to camp. The whole walk back her head was spinning out of control and she fought to keep from throwing up. That would be a foolish waste of food and water and I’m not even sick. The three boys followed her at a great distance and she could tell as the wind shifted that one of them must have soiled himself. I wonder if they are going to tell anyone.
As the large tent that the sheikh lived in came into view she headed straight for it. Not even thinking her feet steered her to the opening and looked up at the two warriors standing guard, one an old woman with missing teeth and a scar nearly ruining her left eye, and the other a young man with smooth handsome features and the smallest trace of hair growing on his chin.
“I would like to ask Laasya a question please.” She said to the guards as determined and steady as she could manage. The old woman took one look at the bloody practice sword in her hand and stepped inside the tent. The man told Satya to wait. Moments passed as she could see the boys’ running back to their tent, practically slinking in hopes that she wouldn’t do the same thing to them as she did to their big buddy who now laid most likely half devoured by carrion out on the desert floor. She cringed as the bloody mess plagued her thoughts. The old woman came back out and held the flap aside motioning for Satya to enter.
“What do you want to know from me child?” came a rich and deep voice from far within the tent. The sound put her at ease and seemed to shut out the sudden sand storm that had descended on her in a matter of minutes. “I am told you have come to ask me a question and from the looks of it, one of grave importance,” as he indicated the bloody sword in her hand. At the notion of it she dropped it as if it had stung her and stepped away.
“My parents?” she felt her heart quaver as she asked it but her voice held steady. “Who were they?”
The sheikh took a deep breath and slowly exhaled as if waiting for the right words to come to him. “Your mother was my baby sister and your father……”another deep breath. “Your father was a man that loved her very much.”
“Was he what the others say? Was he an outsider?” There was a ringing now in her ears from all the blood that had been racing through her veins and things seemed to be getting darker as strange little stars of light danced before her eyes. She would not pass out she would hold it together.
“He was not of this tribe but he came to be called friend among some of us here. He was a ranger from the south and he came to us during a time of great need. I believe that Elah sent him to us so that we could help him and in turn he could help us. It was during the time when great wars were being fought between many Bedine tribes. We are a small clan now because of it but your father helped us to get out of the fighting. He was found near dead from exposure in the desert so he was brought in and cared for. His body healed but his soul was broken with grief and we could not seem to help him get better. Your mother had just reach woman hood and had not yet taken a man so she was still working with the widows and other young single women taking turns caring for our strange dying guest. She fell in love with him, they say, at first sight. I don’t know for sure, but when she nursed him he came back from the dead. As he recovered he spent much time here with us learning our ways and teaching us new things about the world that we do not get to see in the desert. Your mother went to him one night and that is when you were created. It caused a divide in the tribe. Many did not want an outsider here no matter what kind of man he was, they wanted him gone. Few even plotted to take his life. For my sister’s happiness I made a point of taking him out with me and my guard to scout a new place to move to. I wanted to be sure that our small tribe could relocate somewhere safe. For nine months we searched and found the perfect place. When you were born we were in the process of moving and we were attacked. Many said it was the outsiders fault but I do not believe your father wished you or your mother any harm. So much do I believe, because he went out to fight and led our enemies away as we were given a chance to flee. Your mother was heartbroken that he did not return and was convinced that she could find him. So one night she brought you in a small basket and left you in my tent. I have not seen or heard from them since. There was so much pain surrounding their disappearances that you will get a different story from everyone that remembers what happened.”
At Laasya’s words her world melted. A piece of the child inside disappeared and was replaced by a young woman now uncertain of who she was and what future now lay before her. They continued to talk for another hour until an outcry came from the other side of the camp, just the sound of a grieved mother at the loss of a child. The desert takes lives so easily that death was a part of life here. Satya confided in her Uncle what had transpired later that day; he sat still and emotionless as he listened to the young girl sob tears over what she had done.
This marked the beginning of a mentorship with Satya and Laasya. Every day for three years they went out together and he told her stories of her parents and taught her everything that her father had brought them about survival. Even more so then what the desert teaches. She learned about rain and seasons and tracking and when the tribe camped close enough to the edge of the desert they would even venture to hunt just beyond its borders. This awoke a side of her that she had never known existed, to travel and explore the wild. The boys never wanted to have anything to do with her as she matured because rumor spread of her ferociousness, leaving her even more time for extended adventures away from a home that no longer felt like home any more. At age sixteen when all the other young women were chosen that fateful night she had dreamed of being part of long ago, Satya was alone. Not for lack of beauty or skill simply all the other young men around her had come to fear her much like the outsider her father was. So as evening slipped on to dawn she took what few belongings she had and said good bye to the life she knew and walked in to the life that beckoned her.

Satya of the tribe Laasya
Human: Culture Bedine of Anauroch
Alignment: Neutral Good
Level 4 Ranger
Level 1 Barbarian

Initiative: 4
Base Attack Bonus: 5
AC: 18 =10+ Armor 3 + Shield (off hand weapon) 1 + Dex modifier 4
Touch AC:14 Flat Footed AC: 14
HP: 43

STR: 16
DEX: 18
CON: 16
INT: 13
WIS: 18 gained +1 at LVL 4
CHA: 14

FORT: 6+3=9
REF: 4+4=8
WILL: 1+4+2=7
Grapple: 8 = BAB 5+STR Mod 3
Weapons
MWK Kukri: 1d4 18-20/x2
MWK Scimitar: 1d6 18-20/x2
Armor
MWK Studded Leather armor AC bonus 3 Max DEX +5 No ACP
Special: Ranger
Lvl 1: 1st Favored Enemy: Orc
Track
Wild Empathy +2 for skill synergy
Lvl 2: Combat Style: Two Weapon Combat
Lvl 3: Endurance: Bonus Feat
Lvl 4: PHB II Ranger options Distracting Attack pg 55 (trade out for animal companion)
Special: Barbarian
Lvl 1: Fast Movement
Illiteracy
Rage 1/day
Racial
1 extra feat at level 1
4 extra skill points at level 1 and 1 extra at each additional level
Feats
Two Weapon Defense: Off hand weapon grants +1 shield bonus
Iron Will: +2 bonus on will saves
Indomitable Soul: When rolling Will save against a mind affecting or fear ability, you can roll 2d20 and take the higher roll of the two die.
Skills
(This does not include skill modifiers)
Climb: 3 ranks +2 skill synergy
Concentration: 5 ranks
Escape artist: +2 skill synergy involving ropes
Handle Animal: 5 ranks
Heal: 2 ranks
Hide: 2 ranks
Intimidate: 3 ranks
Jump: 5 ranks
Knowledge Geography: 4 ranks
Knowledge Nature: 2 ranks +2 skill synergy
Listen: 3 ranks
Move Silently: 3 ranks
Ride: 3 ranks +2 skill synergy
Search: 5 ranks
Spot: 5 ranks
Survival: 6 ranks
Swim: 1 rank
Use Rope: 5 ranks

Description

Satya has dark brown skin tanned by years of living in the desert. She has wavy dark brown hair that falls just past her shoulder blades, and green/hazel eyes. She is five feet, eight inches with a curvy figure and hard toned muscles. She is 26 years old and has tattoo markings all down her arms and across her back, of various tribal markings that she has collected over her ten years of travel. She wears studded leather armor and a cloak of dark brown with delicate green embroidery. She still dresses much like her people in the desert because it is more comfortable for her so the dark green wrap on her head conceals all of her hair and her baggy linen pants are airy and unconstrained, unlike the tight pants of the latest fashion. She has spent very little time in the cities and owns little else in the way of clothing. The last dress she owned was one she wore when she was 16 and has long since out grown. She unlike most Rangers has no animal companion, and gets by on the land and occasionally hiring herself out as a scout or guide.