Guard's page

Karkalla wrote:

"Permission to come aboard Captain?"

Ardanto is standing on the main deck, overseeing the loading of the cargo when the call comes out, he looks at Amelia, noting her big grin and nods for her to grant permission. He then turns, looking for Guard and gives him a questioning look as he mouths the words "Black Soul?"

Concentrating on the shifter when she comes close, he notices no tendrils of evilness, and thus shakes his head slightly.

A rogue eh? Spying on us all along... ;)

Well, I certainly don't mind.

I'm okay with it.

Guard will not go on land as well, guarding the plank when Finn isn't.
Everyone boarding the ship will be scanned for evilness and he will talk to Ardanto against taking up new sailors that he detected to be evil.

Concerning the 'origin' topic:

Why do superhero flicks seem to have special rules assigned that other action movies don't? Most action films simply jump into the story and maybe do a flash back or two if it's important to the current predicament. Heck, even in the comics they don't usually get into the character's origins until issues or years into the story.
And why not have more than one villain in a movie? Most mainstream action movies have several villains plying to be the one that takes out the good guy; besides most comic book super villains are pretty much just thugs with super powers and that's how they should be treated on the big screen--not everyone needs a deep and compelling back story--sometimes they're just there to get their butts kicked by the good guys; which is ok by me because that's what happens in the comics and every other action movie I've ever seen.
Just to throw an example out there: Dare Devil would have been a waayyy better movie if they hadn't of slowed things down with an origin story. I would have been ok with a flash back or having Matt Murdock simply explaining what happened through dialogue.

One superhero movie that didn't explain origin first: Hancock.

Jumped right into the story (gods, what a story...).

If Finn and Guard allow him, he will join in on any sparring sessions, feeling a need to keep his hand in and also to show the crew that all of them can handle themselves.

Guard won't refuse to spar with Ardanto as well. The captain seems to have an edge over Guard, when it comes to fighting, but that comes with Guard working on his meldshaping and his work in the shop.

"That's a thing for the captain to clear. Now go down, to the brig."

"That's it. You're going to the brig." Guard speaks, laying a hand heavy on the sailos shoulder. "Saver for you, saver for us."

"Why did you kill him?" he asks on the way down, "Tell me. What happened?"

Knowing that he isn't that social suave, Guard will just act menacing during any possible interrogations, that Ardanto, Daurros or someone else are going to make happen.

He will also go into any brawls that might break out, acting as divider, but not to defend someone, just to make the fights not last too long (or if possible, not to let them start at all).

He will carry no weapons (appart from his fists), for the next time.

The other ship is not too far away, is it?
Those evil sailors don't have auras, right?

"I'll gladly help whereever I can." Guard throws in, going on: "I can detect evilness, if there is such."

He then turns to Amelia, thanking her for her insight regarding the 'evil sailors', asking further: "So, Baldie's one of the suspects again. How did he get into your crew?"

Thinking about the situation a bit more, the warforged asks one more question, directed at noone in particular: "Shall I walk over to the other ship, reporting this incident, maybe warning them of a like situation?"

... good enough seamen though...

'That's what she said...' *snicker*

"Same here. I plan to go to Amelia afterwards, to check with her."

Guard

** spoiler omitted **

DM:

Finn:
"You already got your spear at hand, fancy some more practice?" the warforged invites the Half-elf, then looking to Daurros as well.
Guard fights unarmed this time, tries some combat maneuvers, mostly grappling.
During one of the grapples, he will whisper:
"I sensed three evil crewmen after the mephit-fight."

'It wouldn't taste very good I would think. Not very good at all' he says poking the now dead mephit.

Only hearing the last words because of concentrating on his detection of evil auras among the passengers, Guard replies: "Oh, I wouldn't say so... On the other hand I only tried vinegar once. Liked it though, because of the strong taste. It was one of the more rememberable things."

Having most of the persons on deck of the ship, Guard tries again to sense evil among them.
Detect evil

Finn's eyes narrow. "Until this culprit is found, we must be on Guard every hour of the day."

"Hmmm... I doubt that I can carry all of you, all day long." the warforged says with a straight face (like always), then starts laughing, while walking over to the druide (Urol).

"Do you have any more knowledge of such a creature? What can we do to ... relieve it's spirit?"
While he talks with the gnome, he secretly concentrates on detecting evel auras aboard the ship.
detect evil
Why didn't I think of using that earlier? I would have had the time...

"Which brings us to the question, who did it?
For starters I would leave members of the crew out of the suspects... Which leaves that strange guy Lavinia boarded on our ship. What's his name? Skeld, or something?
I somehow doubt it was one of Avners servants, though we can't be sure." mumbles Guard, then speaking up more loudly, but not too loud:
"A sea mephit eh? Hello-o! We are at sea! Why would it come from that jar?"

Guard wasn't the first on deck, and may not have looked around that much, but did he remember seeing Skald on deck when he arrived?

Snem can't do much from that far away, so he just hovers over Guards shoulder, like he usually does.

Guard sees only one true opportunity to help, unarmed and all. He uses his Cerulean Sandals that he shaped for the trip, for what they are good for and steps out of the boat, walking on the open sea over to where the two boats are closest and tries to stabilize both of them as to not have someone drop into the ocean. Not even Avner.

Guard's armored hide should be pretty much unharmed, so it should not need any more tidying up.
If noone else does it, he invites Father Feres to the dinner.

The greatings of Lavinia and the Jade Ravens are returned in the same manner.
"Up until now, the trip was unspectacular, aside from getting Thunderstrike aboard. Let us just hope, it keeps that way." Guard replies to the question of Lavinia.

To Guard: Finn looks surprised. "Oh! I assumed that...Snem...was some sort of familiar spirit, or perhaps a creature of light that you had befriended or summoned, like the angels and archons Lord Thoven has told me of. I had no idea that all of these things were made of incarnium. If you discover more about this unusual substance, let me know. Maybe you could even teach others how to become incarnium sorcerers some day!"

============

To Ardanto, et al.:

Finn is earnest as he responds: "If Avner is willing to travel on the other ship -- of his own volition, mind -- then perhaps that would be the best solution for all parties involved."

Helped you out there... ;) ... Though maybe you meant what you wrote?

To Finn Guard clarifies: "I can try it even now, if you like to learn how I do it.
It's more of a mind thing to gain access to it, as far as I came to know it anyway. No intricate hand weaving, no arcane formulae to learn.
I had a little help there," the warforged nods to Snem, "but all I really had to do was concentrate on what I liked to achieve."

Concerning the dinner, he speaks: "Still, even if Avner goes over to the Nixie, we would be stuck with the horse, right? I rather not have the horse without him (or his slaves) caring for it. At the end of the road he might accuse us of not handling it properly."

"The Delirious Tiger style is unique, in my experience. Although I should note that my master Osric focused more on unarmed fighting; adding maneuvers with the pike is my own innovation that I have been working on with the other gladiators at the arena.

However, I genuinely envy your hard metallic armor at times. Sadly, my ability to shrug off blows is much more limited, as I'm sure you have seen! Hopefully the magical wand I purchased will be able to protect me more in the future.

And speaking of magic, how is it you are capable of summoning a hammer from nothingness, or turning your skin into a sheet of flame? It resembles no school of wizardry that I'm familiar with, and it seems to be very useful, to say the least."

"Didn't I tell that?... Must have forgotten to tell that story to any of you then.

Well, the hammer and the mantle of flame, and these bracers and sandals that I wear now... they all are made of the same substance as Snem here is. What's it called? .. Incarnum.
To tell the truth, I don't know exactly what it is, but I think it to be ... materialized thoughts. They guide me, like the bracers guide my hands around the ropes.
I have to concentrate to get the thoughts I want to shape into a physical object, like those bracers or the hammer. But once that is done, the incarnum is solid and I can use it.

But it's not like I concentrated on a hammer to get it. I ... requested a weapon to guide my cause, that got me the hammer. I wanted to punish those that attack me, which led to the mantle of flames.
I thought of my trip with the ship and that I wanted to help, that shaped the bracers here, and so on.

Snem here though... he has another story. He basically was a being of Incarnum, a sole living thought. I'm not that clear on how he came to our plane, but he was near death when I found him.
I could not help him though. When I tried to pick him up, he kind of became a part of me.
Later on I was able to focus on this part of me and in return, his body got shaped anew. He's bound to me now. He teaches me the things he knows about this Incarnum stuff. ... I guess that's about it." Guard explains to the half-elf.

The warforged laughs at Ardanto's comment, then replies: "I can try to throw him, if his Lordship is afraid of getting wet feet."

Guard enjoys to help the crew as good as he can with his strength.
He is glad to be able to train with Finn on board as well, and in a quieter minute he will tell him: "To think I might have brought my anvil with me... heh.
Nobody would be able to sleep with me hammering on that thing. I don't miss it a bit too. I have had enough tinkering in the last months.
But you still seem to like the fighting you've done.
And your fighting style is interesting. Never seen anybody fight your way. You got an advantage with that reach the spear gives you, but if I get into that reach, it's easy for me to hit you.
Then you change your routine and attack with your fists and feet. You probably surprise some of the better fighters out there with that. ..."
He discusses their fighting with the half-elf.

On another day he will speak with the priest, Father Feres.

Guard will be glad to help out the crew as good as he can, with his bracers guiding his work.
He will also spar with Finn or whoever might take up his challenge, if there is place on deck.

"I would have expected no less from our Captain, Lord Thoven. This will be a fun trip. I can see that."

Guard doesn't need a bed. ;)

He only needs to rest to shape a new soulmeld, so when the journey is over he will take 8 hours to get his Incarnate Weapon and Mantle of Flame again, but that's it.

"Lady Vanderborn didn't tell any one of us, on which terms and conditions our passengers should be transported, did she?
Such information would be rather needed, I'd say." Guard asks around, looking at Ardanto, Daurros and Finn respectively.

Finn mutters in Guard's audio receptor: "Well, that was a pointless exercise in dick-waving. Uh...you do know what a dick is, right?"

"Short form of a Richard?" Guard asks back, then waits a second and chuckles before Finn can reply anything.

"I've heard that before. I know what the term stands for. But why wave it around?
But, I don't think it was pointless. Needless maybe.
At least now we know that that horse has two $#*+ holes on it."

Ardanto's reaction to the noble's threats earns him some huge points in Guards oppinion. Still, they are bound to Lavinia as she is to that noble's family.

"As much as I hate it, I think Lord Thoven is right. Let him get aboard, then place him in his chamber, where he can rot if he wants to." he speaks silently, so that Avner won't hear him.

"What? Nobody taking my bet?"

"Ahh, this makes sense, they are exiling him, getting out of the way while the scandal blows over." he smiles at Daurros, "if he has even half a brain, then he will apologise and get on the boat, otherwise he is going to have to head back to mommy and daddy and explain why he is not on the trip." Smiling to him self, he adds, "we can always cook the horse if rations are low."

"10 gold say he won't apologise. But Daurros has a point. If his family paid, we probably should get him on board. We could have gotten out if we sailed an hour ago, probably, but now? ..." the warforged speaks, coming close to Ardanto and Daurros.

Guard is going to help the crew out where he can. (His Sailor's Bracers soulmeld should help him a bit there.)

The warforged will talk to Father Ferres while waiting for Avner Ir'Meravenchi to arrive.

Guard just informs Kerinith of his trip, making him responsible for keeping the shop running.
Appart from that, he's got not much to take care of.
He uses the time to train with Snem, shaping some other soulmelds that might be useful.
For the time being he unshapes his flaming mantle and his warhammer, opting for Soulmelds that Snem calls 'Cerulean Sandals' and 'Sailor's Bracers'.

He's working with different ones too, trying to find a nice setup for the trip on ship.

"Some hours to arrange for my leaving, but nothing that will take more than a day." Guard states.

"Well... seems like most of the Millenium Falcons are in, and so am I.
I mean, you pay us to run errands and to keep you save, how could we not partake in this adventure?
Finn's probably right too, with his warning of Vanthus activities towards you."
Guard is as excited as Finn to get off his butt and out of the city. Even though the shop is bustling with work and live, and even though he likes to work metal and produce something for others (and make a little money out of it) he sure takes the opportunity to get out of town once in a while.

Ardanto Valanto wrote:

It is noticed that Ardanto still looks uneasy in Sassarine, jumping at loud noises and nervous around strangers. He confesses as much to Daurros over a beer, "My friend, I fear this legitimate trading may not be to my taste, while it is good money, I do not feel I could take the monotony of life as an honest man." he downs a beer and calls for a refill for everyone. "I miss our days on the open seas, you can take the pirate off the sea, but you can't put the same pirate back on the sea and expect him not to do some pillaging and looting." "I think my next voyage may not be as legitimate as the last."

Daurros laughs a bit, then confesses, "Too true. While the research has been ... interesting, I could also use a bit of action. I think the real pirating days may be over, though; I'm afraid our new-found fame would turn to infamy very quickly."

I suppose this is taking place before Lavinia summons the Millenium Falcons...

"I know I made myself rare in the last months. If you go on your next journey, pick me up.
Don't get me wrong, I like what I do on the shop, working metal, giving people things to do, stuff out the city guards and all... but 6 months of this... I need some change.
Even an 'uneventfull' 'trading' trip looks like a wonderful opportunity." Guard falls in line with Daurros, sipping on a glass of beer.
Even though he doesn't get drunk, he likes the taste of it.

Over the summer Guard has made it a habit to use the cannals as main route for his travels throughout the city, if he doesn't have to look 'dressed up'.

To attend the summons of Lavinia, the warforged doesn't take that path, but walks along the streets and bridges of Sasserine.
He is quick to follow her call, only taking time to pat Kerinith on the shoulder lightly, letting him know that he's going to be out.

Some days after the banquet Guard hauls a cart, loaden with throwing axes, some leather armors and clubs towards the main office and(/or) trainingsground of the city guards. Kerinith, walking besides him, looks confident, if a bit nervous.

The warforged seeks an officer he can talk to, about the weapons and armor they gathered from the bullywugs attack at Vanderborn manor.
He wants to sell them in bulk, and also establish a business connection of his shop and the city guards.

Though it was Guard's idea to sell the equipment to the city guards, Kerinith suggested to build up an extended business relationship, making Guard's shop (hopefully) the sole supplier in all things out a forge.

That would mean for the shop to grow, seeking a place in the city where there would be more space, hiring more workers and so on.

Thanking him for this good idea and for his work and support, Guard promotes Kerinith to be his partner, requiring his help in the negotiations with the city guard.

@Bryan/Daurros:

How much would you charge for the Bracers of the warsmith?

5th level feat: Is 'Got your Back' from BoXM okay Seeker?

Reworking the character page to include the Belt of Physical Might.

Material costs per masterwork Longsword: 105gp.

So, if Guard would work for free, you would save 210gp per sword.
According to RAW, a PC can sell an item for only half base price max, that would come to 155gp, you'd save 160gp per sword and Guard would make 50gp out of one sword.

Daurros is more than happy to make a wondrous item, provided he meets the caster level and spell requirements (and Guard pays the bill ;-)).

Guard details the outlet of what he has in mind for the wondrous item, hoping that Daurros knows a crafter to be able to make this.

See OT-Thread

Guard will bring the remains of the black pearl to Daurros, like the handaxes before.

Back in Sasserine he will ask the other members of the Millenium Falcons if anyone of them knows a capable artificier or other arcane spellcaster that he could ask to make a custom wondrous item of his choice.

"As for the non-magical weapons and armore we found on those frogmen... Think we can sell those to the city guards in bulk? Surely they could use that mass of weapons and armors. They might not be the wealthiest customers, but I think that would make a nice gesture. If noone objects, that is." he speaks, addressing no person in particular.

After having finished the clean up of the estate and not being needed immediately anymore, Guard leaves the picked up weapons behind, heading off, on the grounds of the canals walking, back to his workshop.
(He gives the two magical ones to Daurros, for Identifying and savekeeping)

Back at his workshop, he tells Kerinith to go his own way for some time.
Kerinith and the rest of the Millennium falcons never encountered Guard in such a mood, but he is nowhere to be found for the next day or two.

Only after that time he is back in his workshop, and Snem is at his side again.

On the banquet of Lavinia, he thanks the Lady for the money and gladly takes it, as well as the raise.

I think I'm flanking now too... Hope I still got an action point, but it might be my last...

"Basterd! Fight someone who's as big as you are! Come, hit me! Show me what you can!"
Incarnate Warhammer, Fighting defensively, flanking, Aid another: +2 AC to Lavina
1d20 + 8 - 4 + 2 ⇒ (17) + 8 - 4 + 2 = 23 Success! Lavina gains +2 AC against attacks from the fat Bullywug.
If possible, I take the Action point for a second attack:
1d20 + 8 - 4 + 2 ⇒ (12) + 8 - 4 + 2 = 18 won't be a hit, with flanking it could be though. 1d8 + 6 ⇒ (6) + 6 = 12

Edit: forgot flanking, adding that in.

Not having an immediate opponent before him, Guard moves on to the next bullywug, Shield raised, Hammer out to strike at him.
Attack with Action point 1d20 + 1d6 + 8 ⇒ (7) + (3) + 8 = 18 Damage: 1d8 + 6 ⇒ (4) + 6 = 10
Smashing the hammer finds his enemy.
"I've had enough of you..."

After fending off the first attack of the strange beast, Guard swings his warhammer down on it:
1d20 + 8 ⇒ (6) + 8 = 14 Probably missing
With an effort the warforged turns the direction of the swing and attacks a second time, before the beast brings a hit in:
1d20 + 8 ⇒ (11) + 8 = 19 Damage: 1d8 + 6 ⇒ (1) + 6 = 7

Post to see Daurros Post

"One or two charges should suffice for now. I can repair the rest in my shop, or ask for some more repairing magic later on. Thanks."

Guard would take the handaxes, if noone else wants 'em.

Guard calms a bit, after finishing the bullywugs in the room, but immediately afterwards concentrates on detecting further evil around, as to not be surprised, should they attack the group.
He can't help the dwarf, or the other injured, so he let's Lord Thoven handle that on his own.
Silently he keeps as close to Lavina as possible, without hindering her.

Seeing the smoker move on, Guard shifts his focus on defeating that bullywug. Taking the momentum of his turn to aid in his swing with the warhammer, he smashes the head of his weapon against the side of the leader of the evil creatures:
1d20 + 8 ⇒ (5) + 8 = 13

1d8 + 6 ⇒ (3) + 6 = 9
Not having found a hole in the defense of the smoker, Guard tries another attack, bringing the warhammer with a quick move up to hit the smoker from below: Using an Action point for a second attack
1d20 + 8 ⇒ (19) + 8 = 27

1d8 + 6 ⇒ (2) + 6 = 8

We could both go with Dazzling Display.