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You're right I hadn't added in the 3 knowledge skill points since Nature is the only knowledge skill Xaveer has as a class skill I've gone ahead and added them in there. I took +1 hp for first level and +1 skill for the other two, so there should be 17 skill points used not including the 3 knowledge ones which are now added in. I rolled in Hero lab for the HP, a 5 and a 10 for Xaveer, and 3, 7, 4 for Knibbles, but if you prefer I can redo it in here.
Alright jus about ready to go. Have my main stats and what not. Going to flush out skills and equipment. Mhmm.
PSA: I'm back from Paizocon! Was very fun, and very tiring. I'll get back to posting shortly.
Can I make a roll of some sort to help me narrow in on good questions? RPin craftier folks can be difficult if you don't have a base to build from.
That bit was mostly to keep the thread alive while we waited for you. It was a here's your chance to ask the Curator some questions about stuff your PC would want to know.
As it is, I will probably get a post up about why he has called you all here now that your PC has appeared, ODV.
Ooooohhhh fiiiiiine
And thus the story begins in earnest!
However, if anyone feels so inclined to write a fun description of his/her initiation night spent alone in the Staff Lounge (I decided it is a true rumor) I am willing to give 5 RCs (possily more!) for a neat and descriptive story. Not required, but what I am looking for will be something unique, some kind of test of character that your character presumably passes on their own merit. Supernatural, mystical, and other events may occur in your telling, but ultimately they should lead your character towards their motivations for joining the Forae Logos Apocrypha. If the result binds them into a feeling of camaraderie for the Apocrypha staff, even better.
See the first and second gameplay thread posts to understand what I am talking about if you're lost.
And don't worry ODV, Arielle is not being forced into the situation. Her appearance here is merely for flavor and oddly appropriate based on what her actual backstory is...but I am not going to spoil anything by explaining that. :P
...if anyone feels so inclined to write a fun description of his/her initiation night spent alone in the Staff Lounge... Not required, but what I am looking for will be something unique, some kind of test of character that your character presumably passes on their own merit.
Challenge accepted.
Caorann's initiation in three vignettes:
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It's the boredom that gets to you, Caorann reflected. Not responding to the lures whose danger you knew or could reasonably suspect. Always standing a step behind oneself to watch for outside influence. In the warm glow of the Staff Lounge's eternal lamps, the robed figure prowled like a caged tiger. The room echoed, ever so faintly, with the soft rustling sound of words adjusting themselves to their meaning. Her footfalls were all but silent on the heavy rugs.
She paused before a roughly human-sized statue in banded onyx. It appeared non-representational, but the artist had a true knack for shapes that... suggested when seen out of the corner of ones' eye. The glance that had stopped her seemed to depict an aboleth doing something unspeakable to a humanoid of unclear species. Or at least, not clear any more. Caorann found herself rather glad that was the case. Upon examination, the inscription picked out in gold leaf on its base of dark-lacquered wood read "What do you love?" - Caorann's stomach lurched. She grimaced and looked aside.
It was a mistake. This time, the shapes and their reflection of lamplight made dancing shards of flame. The ridges and pits of stone for a moment resembled the architecture of the Wise Quarter, burning. Her head snapped back around to the statue, eyes wide in shock. The amorphous lump of stone remained inscrutable. On a hunch she checked the inscription, but the words were no different.
It clicked in her mind. She muttered, "You bastard," leaving unclear whether she meant the object or its creator. This time she closed her eyes, turned her back, and strode away.
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In the incongruous light of a window that looked upon the Elemental Plane of Fire, the Nethys-masked woman ran her fingers along the row of leather-bound spines neatly arranged on a shelf, pointedly ignoring the one that bit her. Instead, she pulled out a worn folio of decaying parchment and flipped through it.
The first pages held a lineage - Caorann's own pedigree, beginning in the earliest days of Taldor. Interesting that names of those who failed to inherit were struck out. Including her own, of course. After that, dire prophecies of the fate of her family's lands and vassals with a cousin at their helm rather than herself. And then one for her personally, with the scales of judgment weighted by her flight from the chains of honor and duty. Caorann scarcely noticed the room fading away around her. She was confronted by a demon watching over petitioners as they approached the Abyss. The vast limbless creature had a woman's face and body, but her torso split into countless snakes at the waist. A tail slammed into the ground behind her and she staggered as the substrate of the Plane trembled beneath it. Another struck the ground in front. Each one was thicker than Caorann was tall. The demon's mocking grin loomed nearer overhead.
And then she was standing in front of the bookshelf, folio held closed between her hands. Her heart raced with the thunder of blood in her ears. Nonetheless, she meticulously straightened the folio's pages, gaze fixed straight ahead to avoid looking at any of them. Once Caorann had caught her breath, she whispered to the book, "You have the wrong person. That one died at her own choice, so that I could live." Her tone was sad, but there was also steel in it. "I will not dishonor her memory by trying to wear her life like a snake crawling into another's cast-off skin." She slid the folio back into its place among the books with the finality of an executioner's axe.
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The masked priestess in her harlequin robe rested on the ornate couch like a tethered falcon. Though her arms were outstretched along its back, her shoulders were hunched, and she glared up at the faded and slightly moth-eaten tapestry on the opposite wall. It was so close and she longed to touch it. Caorann was certain that was precisely what its enchantment intended. But it was far from what had raised her ire. No, the reason for that was far more simple than any magic. She had watched it for these long hours with every sense she could muster, painstakingly applied all the lore she knew. And still it refused to yield up its secrets.
What had the weavers' intention been, making an image of Nethys with his blasted and whole sides reversed? Was it a warning? Evidence of an ancient or marginal dispute over doctrine? Merely the artist thinking it looked better that way? It did show an interesting impression of his ascent to divinity… but its inaccuracies left the rest suspect. Why, for example, was His Omniscience portrayed as a woman? Handedness and gender were nearly the only two invariant properties in his depictions.
Dawn crept through the windows, but this was merely another piece of information - the tapestry appeared the same in daylight as with the lamps. Caorann started halfway to her feet when the Curator cleared his throat behind her. "That piece originated in Azir before the Oath Wars, and came to us by way of Cheliax. I do not recommend attempting to make use of it; others who have done so have yet to return." Curator Vhrest regarded the priestess levelly while she struggled to assemble her shattered thoughts into words. After a long moment, she simply nodded.
"However. You are here, and you have succeeded. Congratulations."
Another nod, still speechless.
"Now, may I suggest breakfast? And perhaps sleep?"
"Ah... Yes. Thank you." Caorann hurried out, more shaken by the sudden interruption than all the potential theologies that had been running through her head.
Curator Vhrest watched the priestess' hasty retreat. She was a curious one. But well suited, he thought.
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Excellent scene, Jssra! Please add the 5 RCs as promised. Also, I offer you the choice of adding +1 to Caorann's Will Saves against either: disbelieving illusory effects or against mind-affecting compulsory magic. Well done. :)
In regards to the camaraderie concern: My comment was meant to indicate that if your characters felt inclined to feel more "included" and automatically more trustful towards others who had undergone a similar experience, that would be a great result of your character's time in the Lounge.
The camaraderie doesn't have to be explicitly described in the scene you present.
Yay! I'll go for +1 vs. magical compulsions.
Seeing people who've gone through the initiation as more reliable for Apocrypha business is entirely reasonable and likely.
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Before him fatalistically the bead of wax meandered it's way down the yellowed tower, drawn forth by the inexorable force of gravity.
Whilst atop, the candle flickered. The conflagration consuming that which surrounds it, a vain attempt to free itself - however the viscous substance just flows in, smothering and cloying the rebellious light.
The flame started to fade, almost out... until a fine pin pierces the waxy barrier allowing another stream of molten beeswax to flow - giving relief to the gluttonous candle.
Zayn's thoughts slide away from his duty, to what the curator said when he entered to lounge earlier.
Entering the dark lounge Zayns' eyes slowly accommodate the dark. At his side is the curator, a lantern to hand. Reaching a red leather-topped desk Vhrest lights a candle and leaves quietly - having previously given the initiate his orders to spend the night here. The silence seems to stretch out on punctuated by a boom as the doors close.
Zayn glanced down at the new candle, then back to the tutor. 'He means for me to ensure the candle doesn't go out, nor does it burn this dry and aged library down. Lest he wouldn't have used a new candle or lit it. Shouldn't waste those things.' He thinks remembering his austere upbringing, when such items cannot be used in a profligate manner.
'I suppose this teaches me that no-one can do it all by themselves, sometimes they need the help from others to do their duty.' he thinks as the hints of sleep drag at the sides of his eyes. The shadow from a nearby statue seems to shift slightly in the revived luminance.
Taking his role as guardian of the lodge seriously, for despite his care-free exterior he know it was a serious duty, Zayn circuitously slid across the thick carpet towards his target. Feet intimately following the curving lines of the weave, making not a sound - for a moment his hand slips to his side and a pang of regret for his missing katana. Instead lean practised fingers subtly move to the rear waistband of his belt, to touch the edges of the darts concealed there. Made from the hardwood of the oldest tree in Hautpool, it was the first weapon he'd ever used. Intricately carved - for no violent action should be undertaken without consideration, so Father Roberts had said - into a symbol of his peoples' faith, capable of being concealed from the authorities both episcopal and legislative.
Merely human, his eyes have trouble with the depth of shadows - but behind the onyx statue there seems to be movement. Zayn immediately stops, muscles relaxing in readiness to leap into action.....
I like that. Waiting for the next installment with bated breath. :)
Ooh!
DUN DUN DUNNNNNNNNNNNN!
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Hey! Sorry for the absence. I spent a week at my mom's and she had her computer disconnected. I'm back now, so I will get an updated post up soon. :)
Hey, stranger! I'd wondered where you got to.
Talk to me about RoW soonish, hm? :)
So...the next post from me is pure story about the specific details of the play (length, subject matter, characters). I admit that I am still working out all the details. If anyone wants to have their PC ask questions of the Curator regarding those subjects, it might help jump start the creativity I need to get that sorted.
On another note, I seem to recall a few people promising their initiation nights in the Staff Lounge...still hoping to see those. As it stands, I believe Jssra is already almost to enough RCs to get a free feat if she wants! Trust me, I am not going to be shy about challenging you guys, so RP away and get some RCs for the bank. It may save your PC down the road....
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So...I have been drinking some awesome wine, and I feel I should tell you guys something.
My game is going to be super cerebral and RP focused...maybe you have already figured that out. My point though is this. I plan to put you guys in situations in which your PCs may literally die if you misunderstand with what your dealing. I didn't add that "free" Knowledge skill for nothing. I really want you guys to have a chance at not making stupid mistakes.
So...why is drunken GM telling you this? Because I really want this game to be awesome, and now that I have turned over the narrative to you I expect this to get cre-cre (did I really just type that?). The Forae Logos awaits! The resources of the PFS are yours! Don't wait for me to spell it out. The time for you guys to make Absalom your b~#%$ is right now.
Oh, Mahorfeus seems to be on the approach for playing. :D
So no matter when he joins up, assume the Curator or someone else in the Forae Logos Apocrypha has got him up to speed.
Also...I am super open to suggestions about the crazy-ass s#~! in the Apocrypha library. RCs to anyone who feels inclined to post random stuff about the library itself. I own Arielle, the Staff Lounge, and the Curator's office; but go wild with descriptions of the rest. If there is anything you feel is too crazy, PM me. Chances are I am going to say "Sweet!"
One of my favorite GMs always opened things up to us as the players to describe and suggest and make the world our own. I have always been amenable to that which is why I asked for those posts about the initiation night. It helps me out, too! So bring it! Let's play!!!!!!!!!!
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Eyes straining against the light to identify the shifting shadows, all Zayns' senses are calling for action - for defence against what horrors are about to confront him. Nerves stretch slowly as the moments glacially glide towards him...
... the shadows start to shift, to coalesce into a form. Or maybe it's something emerging from them to take his soul away. With a lithe grace it emerges....
...a fluffy cat!!!
Zayn relaxes, he'd heard such strange stories of the library and it's atmosphere had set his nerves jangling. Letting out a tension across his shoulders, blood returns to his knuckles from where he'd clenched his fists.
Then his eyes are drawn to the strange patterning of the fur as the feline stalks forwards, the glisten of silver upon the claws. Zayns' eyes widen searching closely to what appears to be a marshals badge hidden beneath the plush fur. 'The stories about this place are true!' Zayn realises.
With uncaring but sentient gaze the cat turns to him, tilting it's visage upwards: "Beware the zoogs." It seems to call, whilst turning to counter an unseen threat.
From a dreamlike haze, pale amorphous forms start to materialise. Teeth and claws all to apparent, as from a horror play rather than a living creature. With martial stance the feline leaps into action, silvered claws tearing into the rubbery misty flesh with military precision. Gape mouthed the human watches on, until on of the multitude of pale forms slice at his leg. Pain flickers like the candle in his hand, he leaps into action. The flurry of the fight leaves a haze in his cortex and him breathing hard.
However in the aftermath of the conflict he looks around in a dream, his trousers have distinct tears but there's pale lines upon his legs that are quickly fading scars. The cat and the creatures have faded away....
Zayn looks at the flickering candle incomprehensibly.
Sorry for the delay in response. I just wanted to give more people a chance to post, so Vhrest can address several questions at once.
Also, Zayn, have you finished your scene? I promised 5 RCs, so go ahead and take them, but feel free to finish up if you have more to tell of Zayn's night.
Well, guys, it looks like interest in playing has dropped to zero, and I know we have lost a few players outright.
I guess I'll shelve the game until any interest returns or more people join us. I'm sorry I failed to keep this one alive. :(