Hardlight Ventures Private Investigation Firm
You want something found? Need to shed light on the truth? No job too mundane or too dangerous for us.
Hardlight Ventures is a P.I. firm dedicated to the pursuit of truth and to providing the best possible service, regardless of the job's nature. From missing persons reports to infiltration and even reconnaissance, Hardlight has services available for all your needs. Looking to be a part of our team? Contact any member of administration (Riley Fox or Robin Crawford) and arrange for an interview at your earliest convenience. For any inquiries, our offices at the Goblet (ward 18 plot 7) are always open.
[If you're interested in presenting our firm with a job or doing a joint RP event make sure to contact one of us in game or through discord at haze#9615 (Robin Crawford) or Rare#4130 (Riley Fox) and we will get back to you shortly.]
Hardlight Ventures Private Investigation Firm
Want something found? Need to shed light on the truth? There is no job too mundane or too dangerous for us.
Previously, On Hardlight Ventures of our lives...!
The Hardlight firm goes out to celebrate the induction of their new members and head out for a social night out on the town. The outing is a success, however Robin can't shake the feeling in the back of her head that they're being watched. While Riley and the others are enjoying themselves, Robin and Anne break away from the group and head to a quieter area of the club. They exchange glances and signals. Someone is following them, a figure they can't quite make out in the dense crowd and dim lighting, but the figure makes no discernible hostile moves so they sit there and watch. Squeeks grows suspicious of the pair's disappearance, and the rest of the group follow her and approach their table. Robin and Anne say nothing, but it seems like the figure is joined by three others and they leave.
Back at the house, everyone is kept up to date on the figure's movements. They come to the conclusion that the figure watching them was looking for Robin specifically and they increase security on the premises while they find out their next moves. Riley and Z'cadra, the newest member, have a meeting regarding the woman's safety and the reasons she could have been targeted. Knowing full well the extent of her secrecy in her affairs, they decide on digging into her past without her knowledge. The best place to start? Ishgard, her birthplace and hometown.
But before they even have the chance to pry, the nosy party notices a pair of lowlifes clearly up to no good while walking through the highlands of Coerthas, and after a fight, they chase one of the goons to the ruins of the Steel Vigil where a small army of archers are lying in wait, poised to pincushion the Hardlight crew if they so much as twitch aggressively. From the large, dilapidated gateway emerges a Duskwight woman by the name of Doelle Terrechant, a prominent player in black market weapons sales with her crew, the Tea Leaves. Normally, they ask no questions about who they sell to since their wares are of dubious origin, but one of their caravans in Southern Mor Dhona was ambushed, and that is an affront that cannot go unanswered.
To that end, they sought out Robin, the administrative head of the firm, in secret so that other criminals would not catch wind of their hiring a PI firm. They presently suspect a crew known as the Collar Jockeys, led by a snow-white Hellsguard by the name of Dancing Buffalo, reputable for pillaging border settlements and selling captives into slavery. The mission is not for the firm to defeat the organization, but to seek proof of the company's involvement, or a lack thereof, at their nearest known hideout in Northern Thanalan. With every Tea Leaves shipment, they leave a singular teabag containing a particular blend of chamomile citrus tea in place of a document which could be traced back to them, and so if the Collar Jockeys are guilty, that teabag will be in their hands.
Leading a party of five through the aetherically-saturated wastes North of Camp Bluefog, Riley and the combat-capable members of Hardlight approach the minor encampment with the intent of having a look around, regardless of the means. With the protection of Nald'thal priestess Reis, and the skillful shooting of Squeeks, they successfully sow enough chaos to make the goons lose their nerve and flee. Finding that teabag, the crew hastily teleports back to HQ to celebrate a victory well-earned.
To be continued...
[Next RP Event - 10/27/2019 5:00 PST]
Hardlight Ventures Private Investigation Firm
Want something found? Need to shed light on the truth? There is no job too mundane or too dangerous for us.
We present to you the members of Hardlight Ventures! Starring...
ROBIN CRAWFORD
Hardlight Ventures co-leader and partner. Ishgardian born and raised, she has a natural penchant for the finer things in life. Ambitious and driven, she's determined to make something of herself without the help of her influential family's gil. She founded the firm alongside Riley Fox, mostly taking care of the higher level administrative tasks.
Riley Fox
Hardlight Ventures co-leader and partner. Lead investigator. After the Calamity, Riley moved to Ul'dah and became a Free Paladin in the name of stamping out ne'er-do-wells across Thanalan. After finding some success writing a book on a category of magic he coined 'Hardlight,' Riley co-founded Hardlight Ventures with Robin Crawford, to make a more stable living off of his passion for sorting things out.
Squeeks Squibblesworth/Septina Quintilia
"Squeeks" is employed as Hardlight's secretary. Her job is allegedly to keep track of the calendar, greet visitors, and handle some of the day-to-day chores in the office. Whether these tasks get done or not remains to be seen. She comes off as a delightful, but shallow, dimwit. Her history before showing up for the job is mostly a mystery.
Update: The whereabouts of Squeeks, real name 'septina', are now unknown. after a stake out at an old fishing hole she frequents, septina is approached by a Garlean unit that serve as her handlers. As far as Hardlight knows, she's always been a Garlean spy although whether or not this is willing remains to be seen.
Famhair Ciuin
Security personnel and investigator. Raised in an orphanage in Limsa, he learned quickly how to survive on his own. That if he wanted something he had to grab it with both hands and take it. A philosophy that carried through to his adult careers. He also learned he had a knack for fighting. Brawling at a younger age turned to soldiering and mercenary work. Anything to enjoy that thrill of adrenaline in the heat of a fight. He lives in that grey edge of society and would do anything for those he deems friends. “Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.”
Anne Brooks
Researcher and investigator. A fledgling P.I. with a passion for helping people and the lack of social skills to be able to work for herself. Anne was forced to take over her family’s failing practice. Her father’s mind began to deteriorate at an alarming rate, and he would soon forget names, places, and eventually his own family. The loss of his mind directly resulted in his brother’s death; this was their last case. Now, Anne battles her own cowardly nature to make a living for herself.
Z'cadra Tia
Z'cadra, often referred to as Zack, wandered into the Hardlight HQ one day in search of employment. It's been his tentative home ever since. Deprived of his sight since birth, he styles himself a genius detective, and often proves himself more than deserving of the title. His acerbic nature and bone-dry sense of humor often put him at odds with his coworkers, and his lack of enthusiasm for cases not to his personal interest can put up the occasional, unnecessary blockade. It's not often he speaks of his past, and even rarer when he does so sincerely. His deductive skills are second to none, and likely serve as the sole reason he maintains the others' tolerance.
Quinn Locksley
Courier for Hardlight Ventures. And occasionally, Forensics teacher. How did this come about, you say? Well, college in ul'dah is incredibly expensive and with a single mother and 6 younger siblings, you gotta pay the bills somehow. After finishing school, Quinn came to the realization that nobody was in need of someone with a criminalistics degree. She came to work for hardlight after swiping a 'help wanted' sign from a bulletin board, making this her third job. Rumors say she runs on 2 hours of sleep a day and Basilisk Energy Drinks.
Sabine Lionsong
Capable of producing lifelike portrait sketches in a matter of seconds, Sabine immediately won over the members of Hardlight with her amazing talents and found herself with a full-time position in their employ after a single drawing.
Izuma Theto
An amnesiac from Bentbranch sporting skills from the Far East, Izuma joined up with Hardlight in the middle of one of their missions, believing they might be able to help him unlock the secrets of his past.
Reis Okeyo
A priestess of Nald'Thal, Reis is a gentle, kindly soul who happened upon the crew in the middle of a mission in coerthas. In exchange for compensation and a donation to Nald'thal, she agreed to come along and keep the reckless investigators alive. Following the end of the case, Riley extended full-time employment to her, and she joined up with Hardlight.
Brandt Stormseeker
bio pending.
Khloe Ashawa
bio pending
Star Dream
bio pending
Angelica Noelle
bio pending
Hardlight Ventures Private Investigation Firm
Want something found? Need to shed light on the truth? There is no job too mundane or too dangerous for us.
Hardlight Ventures’ RP system is designed with enough detail to provide a realistic experience for your character and enough simplicity so that anyone can jump in. We use the in game /random roll system to make things easier for everyone and we’ve set certain measures of ‘success’ so that a character isn’t completely incompetent during one battle and an absolute warrior god the next. In essence, if your character rolls low you aren’t necessarily relegated to completely butchering what you had in mind for your character’s action, it might just turn out to a lesser degree. In addition, ‘stat’ blocks will boost your character’s strengths and make it so that a character that is generally considered to be adept at a task has a boost in their rolls and a barrier against critical failures.
Right now the system is being tweaked and worked on so there may be changes along the road, so please bear with us! If you have any questions or suggestions be sure to send them over our way, we’d love to have input.
Character Features
Your character level is considered "Combatant" and therefore you start with 10 HP points. In order to reduce the randomness of the encounters and combat, players will get modifiers to their rolls. Each player gets a +200, +150 or +50 to three stats of their choice which you cannot combine.
Character Example
Name: Riley Fox
Health Points: 10 HP
Stat: +200 Combat
Roll Example
Riley rolls using his combat stat to attack a city guard
Roll: 335(Base) +200 Combat(Modifier)= 535(Partial Success)
Total damage: 1
| Roll | Outcome |
|---|---|
| 100 or under | Crit Fail |
| 101 to 300 | Fail |
| 301 to 600 | Conditional Success |
| 601 to 900 | Success |
| 901 or higher | Crit Success |
| Success | Base Damage |
|---|---|
| Fail | 0 Damage/Heal |
| Partial Success | 1 Damage/Heal |
| Success | 2 Damage/Heal |
| Crit Success | 4 Damage/Heal |
Helping Your Character Grow
Battle System
The flow of combat starts with everyone rolling for turn order with a /random, highest number getting priority and working down. A player starts with /random to see if their attack will land or not and to what degree. Outcomes of success are shown in the table on the right.
Example: Player wants to throw a spear at NPC.
Roll: 387, the spear misses the target.
Roll: 572, the spear doesn't miss but barely grazes.
Roll: 771, spear hits the target and is lodged into its body.
Your rolls are modified by your stats and you can pick different a stat to roll for depending on how you want to approach a situation.
Example: Player wants to scale a wall. They are adept at acrobatics but physically weak. They can use either their DEX modifier instead of their STR modifier.
| Tier | Difficulty | Example | Hit Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Non-Combat Creatures/Pests | Rats, Birds, etc | 0 |
| 2nd | Civilians/Lesser combat creatures | Wolves, Merchants, etc | 2 |
| 3rd | Lesser Combatants | City Guards | 7 |
| 4th | Combatants/Adventurers | Player Characters | 20 |
| 5th | Skilled Warriors | Magnai, Scions, etc | 30 |
| 6th | Enhanced Warriors | Zenos, Smaller Bosses | 40 |
| 7th | Monsters | Dragons, etc | 50 |
| 8th | Primals | Tsukuyomi | 80 |
| 9th | Legendary Monsters | Bahamut | 100 |
| 10th | World Breakers | Gods, etc | 150 |
In order to promote activity and to reward those who are active, we've decided to install a reward system in which players are rewarded points for various FC related activities. These activities can range from attending FC events, doing dungeons/maps/raids with other players from the FC, recruiting other players or being active on the FC linkshell and discord. At a certain amount of points, players can use these points to grow their characters, either by providing HP to their character's combat abilities, increasing their combat modifiers or other rewards.
Hardlight Ventures Private Investigation Firm
Want something found? Need to shed light on the truth? There is no job too mundane or too dangerous for us.
Currently being updated. Changes pending until the introduction of patch 5.1.