The Beginning of All Things (Inactive)

Game Master Terquem

The following description is of the Lyphs of Urandoma, creatures of great beauty and mystery (these creatures should not be confused with Sprites as described in the Bestiary and are a different creature all together). In much the same way that the “Big Folk” are divided into separate humanoid races (Human, Dwarf, Elf, et. al.) the Lyphs of Urandoma are also divided into sub-races, two separate types, one of three races, and one of two.

The Common Lyph, or Grass Folk, as they are called, are a tiny people resembling, for the most part, winged human and demi-human folk and are found throughout the land

The common Lyph is naturally one, to one and a half, feet in height, with pale to tanned skin, thick hair that can be straight or wavy with color being predominantly light brown, but blacks, reds and blondes, even platinum, are not uncommon. They have almond shaped eyes that are typically brown or blue, with dark black and green being extremely rare. They live in small isolated communities of five to twenty families with the leader of each community being referred to as the “queen”. Women dominate these communities and females are normally the protectors and hunters of a particular tribe, while male Lyphs usually act as religious leaders. Male Lyphs account for less than 30% of Lyph populations and occur in only one third of births on average. However, it is interesting to note that when Lyph twins are born the occurrence of male/male, as opposed to male/female or female/female, twins exceeds 75%. The male Lyph is known to be practical and very proficient at home crafts and manufacturing, and many disaffected male Lyph youth leave their communities rather than be arranged into a group marriage, a common Lyph practice.

A Lyph lives to be well over 60 in their native environments, but tends to live a sorter life in densely populated areas.

As a player character race Lyphs have the following statistics

1) Ability scores:
Modifiers- (Typical for any Lyph) Str –3, Dex +2, Int -1, Chr +2

2) Base speed:
10’ (Fly 20’) All Lyphs have the Fly Skill (with one rank) as a bonus Skill (and it is a Class Skill, for any Class).

Different “Types” of Lyphs have different Types of wings, and the type of wing affects the skill check bonus a Lyph receives to its Fly skill. [To randomly determine the Type of Lyph, roll d100/% - however for the Woodbridge Campaign setting, some Lyph types are not immediately present in the local area.]

15% or less - Beetle type wings (Altilyph)
Fly Skill bonus +2. These wings can be completely concealed but when extended are highly susceptible to fire damage giving the fairy a –2 save vs. fire affects. An Altilyph can re-grow her wings and this typically takes three to five weeks.

16%-35% - Dragonfly type wings (Nuonalyph)
Fly Skill bonus +3 (this Lyph can hover as a Move action sacrificing all forward movement, and if taking two move actions, can hover and change altitude by up to ten feet). These wings can be folded, but not concealed. They are only slightly susceptible to fire damage giving a –1 save vs. fire effects. A Nuonalyph’s wings take twice as long to grow back, if lost, than those of an Altilyph.

36%-75% - Butterfly type wings (Dakalyph)
Fly Skill Bonus +1. These wings cannot be folded, but are not more susceptible to fire than any other part of a fairy anatomy. A Dakalyph’s wings will not grow back with out the use of magical healing.

76%-85% - Humming bird type wings (Sahilyph)
Fly Skill bonus, +4. These wings can be folded, and are small enough to conceal under a cloak or shield. This Lyph can hover as a Move action, and if using two Move actions in one round, can hover and change elevation by 5 feet. A Sahilyph’s wings will not grow back if lost without the influence of very powerful healing magic.

86%-100% - Heron type wings (Sakalyph)
Fly Skill bonus +1. These are articulated wings and can be folded, but are too large to be concealed. These Lyphs tend to be considerably larger than other Lyphs. Some of these folk have been mistaken for heavenly avatars at great distances. These Lyphs tend to be the most aggressive in nature. A Sakalyph’s wings will not grow back if lost without the influence of very powerful healing magic.

3) Vision: Low light vision.
4) Class Options: (In addition to the Class restrictions identified earlier)
Altilyph may choose to be a “Ninja” or “Samurai”
Nuanolyph may choose to be “Gunslingers”
Sahalyph may choose to be a “Monk”
Sakalyph may choose to be a “Barbarian”

5) Racial bonuses to skills and saves:
+2 to Stealth (all movement types), +1 to Survival, +1 to fortitude saves versus natural poisons.

6) Bonus weapon proficiencies:
All Lyphs are proficient with the spear, and bow.

7) Bonus Feat:
Dodge (All winged fairy folk have this feat)

8) Damage reduction:
When airborne a Lyph receives damage reduction to all physical slashing/piercing/bludgeoning attacks equal to their class level +1. This is due to the ability of the small creature to react suddenly when it detects even the slightest change in air pressure around it, and move with a blow robbing it of some of its power. They receive this damage reduction at all times while flying under their own power, not through magical means, and even when caught flat-footed.

9) Size control:
Once per day (24 hours) a Lyph may cast upon itself an Enlarge Person spell as if cast by a wizard of the same level as the fairies hit die. This is a supernatural ability and its use is a standard action that does not provoke attacks of opportunity. The duration is as per the spell but can be dismissed by the Lyph at will. When ended the Lyph is fatigued for a period of time equal to 10 minutes, minus her constitution bonus in minutes. If dismissed before the natural end of the duration the fatigue effect is doubled. (Note that Lyphs do not perceive this ability to be a magical one, but instead a quiet ordinary and natural one, although it is magical in nature, and when Enlarged a Lyph will have a detectable magic aura).
(This power can be augmented through the application of Lyph specific Feats)

10) Creature type is Fay

Physical Description

Ibbenlyph types

Altilyph are nine to fourteen inches in height. They have dark tan skin and tend to be thick but not obese. They are found in high mountain/plateau regions. They are farmers and herders of long haired rodents (similar to the guinea pig). They are shy and aloof. Their wings resemble beetle wings (some with hard shells). They resemble Dwarves in many ways.

Nuonalyph are eleven to nineteen inches in height. They are often described as gangly, and tend to have slender arms and legs. Their skin color is ruddy and can sometimes be as dark as an Altilyph. They have very fine hair, and also tend to have pronounced receding hairlines. They are the most gregarious of the fairy folk. Their wings resemble dragonfly wings. They resemble Alodoan Elves. Nuanolyphs are found in forests and grasslands near fresh, clear running water.

Dakalyph are ten to eighteen inches in height. They have fair to tawny skin color and among the winged fey folk they have the widest variety of wing shape/size/color. Dakalyphs are haughty and proud and tend to segregate themselves by wing size with those with the largest wings acting morally and intellectually superior to all other fairy folk. They are often the most seductive and alluring of the winged fairies, with only the Sakalyphs being markedly more attractive. Their wings resemble butterfly wings. There is a strong animosity between Sakalyphs and Dakalyphs. They resemble Fair, somewhat “Elven” humans. Dakalyph can be found in nearly any location in Urandoma.

Sylyph types

Sahilyph are seven to twelve inches in height and are the rarest of the winged fey folk. They are fair skinned and have very light colored hair (They are the only fey known to have naturally platinum blonde colored hair). Sahilyphs tend to be nocturnal and are rarely seen in the full light of day. It has been said that they are the most perfectly proportioned of the winged fairy folk. They are extremely suspicious of strangers, but not easily provoked to anger. Their wings resemble hummingbird wings. They resemble Aladoan Halflings. Sahilyphs can be found in deep forests or hilltop glades.

Sakalyph are twelve to twenty inches in height. Rare Sakalyphs have been known to grow to almost thirty inches in height (along the far southern coast of Urandoma). They have tan to dark chocolate brown skin and dark hair. They are among the most beautiful of the humanoid creatures known. They are a curious and an easily agitated people and have even been described as barbaric by other Fay folk. They can be very dangerous opponents when angered as the wingspan/strength of an Enlarged Sakalyph is formidable indeed. They are strong flyers and are adept at spear fishing from great heights. They are usually found along the southwestern and southern coast of Urandoma.

Well, I suppose that didn't go over as well as I imagined it would. Maybe I'll try something different.

No, I wouldn't. I think that it was well-thought out. I just do not think that there is much to argue with. I, personally, am fine with going forward with what you have proposed.

I have developed a mild case of Bronchitis. Taking anti B's and a steroid and I'm supposed to be in bed, but these games mean too much to me, and there are way too much fun, so please be patient with me over the next few days.

Don't panic Terquem, you're not the only one.
I've been sick since monday, playing with a blanket wrapped around me.

makes me glad it's a pbp game instead of a live one. Hope you guys feel better.

Get well, the pbp can always wait for a few days for you to be healthy.

Take care Terq- its just a game. Your health comes first. The only reason I'm lurking about so much is I'm home recovering from surgery. Back to work in April. So I'm expecting to slow down myself next month after I get the ok to be allowed out in public again, and back on shift at work.
You warned us all in the beginning that this game would be slower than we might want, we all knew the job was dangerous when we took it.

Yeah...Np...get well!

My healing kit would have bandages right?

From HeroLab:
Healer's Kit:
"This collection of BANDAGES & herbs provides a +2 circumstance bonus to Heal checks. A Healer's Kit is exhausted after 10 uses."

I assume the item is from the Ultimate Equipment guide, which I don't have...yet.

Okay, sorry I didn't see that.

When we have more time I'll do a Treat Serious Wounds check too. That aparently takes about an hour though.

Getting back to the Fay in Woodbridge- could there be some sort of ancient pact that only the village Elders know or remember? Something like maybe the Fay have agreed to leave the village alone/honor certain limits in exchange for being able to call upon Woodbridge for future aid/favors?
"Once every generation Woodbridge must provide champions for >insert reason here<."?

Very weirdly creepy...The "item" Poseus has brought to Woodbridge is connected just that sort of thing, sort of, well, we'll see soon enough.

Ouch...dem rolls.

So this fight at the bog is my first real experience with the pathfinder rules in action. Oh, I've got and read the books, but we never really sat down and PLAYED here at home. I'm an old hand at D&D, and role playing in general from years back but I've been out of it for too long. I'm finding it really fun to see how everything I've read comes together.

You guys are bringing the magic back! Gods, I forgot how much fun this hobby can be.

Excellent! Welcome back!

The wife and I are taking our youngest and his wife, they are both college students, aww isn’t that sweet, to Las Vegas for a Spring Break get away, and I will be out of town, and off line, mostly, until Saturday. I will try to update the game, hopefully, to round three, today.

@Calex: Retrieving a stored item (scroll in this case)is a Move Action. So, you would still have your Standard Action to cast the spell from the scroll. However, my assessment was likely not completely accurate in the game thread. This would likely prohibit your further movement, unless GM Terquem considers your scrolls to be items that are not actually "stored". His call. Hope this helps? :-)

It does, thanks D.
So this would allow a rogue, for example, to draw his dagger as a move, or a fighter to draw a sword, or mage to grab a wand or scroll that is in a case (as opposed to stuffed in a backpack) and still attack/use said item. That makes sense.

I like Terq's common sense solution to this as well- since we havent yet engaged the critters, and are still positioning, his ruling allows us to skip the mechanics until they become crucial. I've always favored the KISS principle.

Off topic, kinda- YAY! I got HeroLab working on the tablet now! Now the local coffee shop will probably hafta name a table spot after me!

lol...very good...

I would also like to point out that once you have a +1 BAB, you can draw a weapon (and thus, I think it would be fitting to rule that easily-accessible wands and scrolls) as a part of a move action. You can also ready a shield as part of a move action as well like this.

Oh, and did Cara cast Entangle in an area where Welkin and Chance would need to make reflex saves?

I was under the impression that it was beyond us. Thus, we had three, now two, free ones to deal with that are within melee range.

Well SOMEONE is mowing down our enemies lol

Yeah...rolls have been extraordinary. The question is...How long will it last? LOL

Poseus, you can't take a 5-foot step in a round that you move :>

Well then my attack action is a good retcon if that is possible ;)
if else I'm 10 ft behind Welkin and Dieredon, which wouldn't be bad for me, seeing as I'm the squishiest member of our group.

Oh, and bout the action it takes to throw a spear, it depends. Are you using a spear or a shortspear? Shortspear is standard action, spear is full-round action. Hope this clears any confusion up

Thanks for clarifying. I was not sure because I never use them.

Normal spears Chance, so I've read it correctly first time.
So I could either take a 5-foot step and incur two range penalties to throw my spear.
Or take a double move to come 5 feet behind Welkin or Dieredon and wait for round 4 to attack.

Any preferences?

Your call.

ok then I'll take the five foot step and -4 on attack rolls coming at 15, and hope I'll hit

http://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic-items/rings/ring-of-sacred-mistletoe

Cara wants :P

I'm back. Couple of quick things I wanted to point out. First, we had a very evocative scene going, and there was a time when I wanted to point out that we did something very wrong, but I didn't, that thing is the light spell cast of the pebbles thrown about, that was very nice, really added something, but it is not technically allowed by the rules of the spell. You can only have one light spell going at a time, and as soon as you cast it on a second object, the first casting winks out. Second thing is I am really grateful for everyone being helpful in confusing situations, we can all become better gamers this way. Poseus I don't know if it got cleared up for you, but a spear is a two hand weapon in melee and can be thrown with one (in fact I know of no way to "throw" a spear with two hands).
I will try to get caught up and get things moving again.

Welcome back boss! Hope you had a good time!
Just a heads up: I'm back on shift starting on Monday- I work a 12-hr, 4-on, 4-off, 2 day, 2 night schedule so I hope everyone understands if I'm a little late on my postings. I can't see myself missing more than 2 days in a row, and with a 4-day weekend I think I can keep up. If this means I start to slow the game down and be a problem please let me know- I don't want to spoil anything for the rest of you.

Welcome Back!

Crap, I can't believe I forgot that. Sorry ><;;

But about the spears...

Throwing a light or one-handed weapon is a standard action, while throwing a two-handed weapon is a full-round action.

Throwing a light or one-handed weapon, for example a shortspear or a dagger, is a standard action. However, throwing a two-handed weapon, for example a normal spear or a net, is a full-round action. Although it's physically thrown with one hand, the amount of effort it takes to do the throwing is going to be greater than that of throwing a shortspear or a dagger.

I recognized the issue with the Light spell, but I'm not a particular stickler for the exact rules, especially in a context where it's not really critical to the action. Also, the setting and action of the characters in cinematic style is a bit disrupted for a rules check. I'm okay if we just "go with it" to some extent, but will try to abide by RAW unless otherwise suggested.

Glad you're back and I look forward to the resolution of this combat and the aftermath.

Welcome back Terquem!

What Chance said, I found the same rules earlier.

As for round 3, just use my 5 ft step and spear throw at -4 then, hopefully it will hit.

Remember, we're not using a grid, combat is mostly abstracted, and I'm not planning on "catching" anyone with a gotcha situation when it comes to where you might be standing but having said that and in the spirit of making us all better gamers, you cannot normally combine a 5 foot step with any other move action. In order to move, partially, then do something (a standard action for example) and then move again typically requires a special feat

About spears, yes I think were looking at different parts of the question. Full round action for sure, but you do not get the bennifit of using two hands (1 and 1/2 strength bonus to damage)

By the way, I'm in Boise, posting on my touchpad, which isn't as hard as I thought it would be, but I don't want to try a full in game post till I get back home, tomorrow, thanks

Wiscara should hit that Knowledge nature check one more time, but anyway

What you can see in the shadowy light is a Huge, ten-tentacle, one-eyed, behemoth

Your characters, except possibly Wiscara would not know that it is a Huge Cyclopean Decapus. You probably cannot survive an encounter with it. It has a reach of 15 feet. You can try to run from it, good luck!

So you want me to roll nature again in game to know that?

Your recent Knowledge Nature roll was bugged, as far as I can tell.

A 22 would pass?

yes a 22 will tell you that it is a decapus, and the fact that it is huge, is well, obvious, isn't it.

don't know what a decapus is, but I'm certain I don't want to stick around and find out. In the immortal words of Gandalf the Grey "FLY you FOOLS!

LOL I'm loving the fact that our first combat results in our retreat- these games all too often have the heroes win everything. It's not as epic in the end without a true sense of loss, in my opinion. That said- I prolly would have been stupid and stayed if it wasn't for Dierdon's urging. Thanx, D-man!