Looks like a great crew! Congrats and have fun!
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Well, that all depends on the captain's cut, now doesn't it. Because the house always gets theirs.
"Nothing wrong with making it look good... not that I would know what makes a human female look good. They've got no fangs, fringes OR horns, looks ridiculous to me..." "Father always said he preferred his women with large, curvaceous tusks. And he was human, so he should know what looks good." Lazha winks. "Of course, mother wasn't. So maybe not."
Fair enough. Consider it re-refluffed (unrefluffed?) into a dagger birthmark on her left forearm. Here's a (rather long) RP scene which should give a sense of how Lazha would play out. Lazha at Work: It was a nondescript wooden stall in the Port Peril market, hung with faded scarves of black and gold to soften the lines. The sign said "Counseling" in hand-lettered formal Taldan script, and beneath it sat a striking young half-orc in a red floral dress.
"I don't understand," said the sailor, scratching his chin with weathered hands. "Where's your Harrow? Or your crystal?" "I'm not a seer," she replied,"or a mystic. I'm a counselor. You have problems, we talk, and arrive at a solution. If you're satisfied, then you pay me." The half-orc shook a red glass bowl that sat by her right hand, rattling the silver and copper inside. "But how do you use the magic?" "No magic. Just wisdom." The woman smiled. "Think of me as a very young elder. Now sit." She indicated a chair with worn but comfortable-looking padding that sat across from her. "I'm Lazha. And you are..." "Rennison," the sailor said, lowering himself into the chair. "But I don't have a problem. Not that anyone can solve, leastways." "Of course not." Lazha looked the sailor over from head to foot with a gaze at once friendly and piercing. At last she said, "What's his name?" Rennison spluttered. "I don't know what you mean. There's no--" He was interrupted by Lazha clearing her throat in annoyance. "Yaril. His name is Yaril. How did you--" "Tell me about Yaril. What's he like? Where did you meet? "At the tavern. The Formidably Maid. But I'd seen him working around on the docks before, unloading freight." Rennison looked around to make sure no one else was listening in. "He's got this smile, like a, like a sunrise. He knows all sorts of stuff, and he's devilishly quick. And he's strong -- well, for his size." "For his size?" "Yes, he's -- well, he's a halfling. But that ain't got nothing to do with anything. I don't go for young boys or anything like that. Yaril's just, he's just special." "Of course not. There's nothing wrong with loving someone of another race. Goddess knows, my parents were happy enough. But people talk. Believe me, I understand. It can defeat you, but it can also make you stronger." "Oh. Of course. That makes--" "And what does Yaril think?" "He -- well, he said we had some laughs, and there was some good times and all that, but he's not ready to have a steady fellow. He wasn't mean, he just--" Rennison looked down at his hands. "I just miss him, and I ain't sure how to live without him." Lazha nodded. "I understand. Sometimes everything seems impossible, like you are trapped in a colorless world with no escape. But I tell you this. Love is the strongest thing there is. Properly nurtured, it can overcome all barriers -- barriers of race, of time, of strife, even of death. If you and Yaril are meant to be together, then you will be. This is what I do, counsel couples in love but beset by the vagaries of fate and help them achieve their destiny together." Rennison nodded slowly. "That sounds -- lovely. But what if Yaril, what if he won't--" "It may be," Lazha said softly, "that it is not your destiny to be together. And if that is true, then I can help you find...other ways of escaping the pain. I promise you that I can keep you from living a loveless life." Rennison sat up eagerly. "So what do I need to do?" "Come to my house tomorrow, just after sunset." Lazha handed him her card. "Talk to Yaril tonight. If he will come with you, then we will all talk, and you will start to build your lives together. If he won't--" Lazha shrugged. "Then come anyway. I will help you heal. Either way, bring ten gold, for my fee." "Yes," Rennison stood and shook Lazha's hand enthusiastically. "Yes I will. And thank you, I had given up all hope." Lazha watched as Rennison disappeared into the market with a new spring in his step -- the power of love made manifest. She wondered idly what his fate would be -- red or black, love or death. But now it was in the hands of Naderi, and would be as it must. To Lazha, it made no difference at all.
Everything appears to match your creation guidelines, but I'll do a once over to see if I need to make changes. Tell me if you see anything that looks off. I think there are only two things I should probably ask about. Any problem with using the Water Variant Channeling? (She channels positive at the moment, but I do intend for her to go Versatile Channel eventually, so check out the variant negative channel as well.) I refluffed her Birthmark trait as Stigmata. Instead of a dagger-shaped birthmark, she starts bleeding at the wrists whenever she channels or casts spells. Seemed much more Naderi-flavorful, but let me know if you'd rather I did it straight. Everything else looked pretty straightforward, but again, let me know if you have any questions.
I'll put an RP sample up tomorrow. Lazha's pretty well-rounded, so her role is going to depend on who else is in the crew. I expect her to be a primary healer/buffer, and secondary face and combat.
I'd like to submit Lazha Slicksheen, a Half-Orc Cleric of Naderi. Lazha was in an earlier PbP S&S game which unfortunately died a very early death. Crunch is all in the Profile. I've put the Background here so it's a little easier to see. Everything appears to match your creation guidelines, but I'll do a once over to see if I need to make changes. Tell me if you see anything that looks off. Background: Slicksheens have been pirates for over ten generations, since Capt Gorak earned the name from the shimmer of blood trailing behind his storied ship, The Maw . Lazha's mother, Bonkru Slicksheen was the last captain of The Maw, and she fit the usual mold of ruthless orcish piracy, until her fate changed twenty years ago.
After a routine boarding, Bonkru spared the life of a delicate young Taldan nobleman. She'd intended to ransom him back to his family, but by the time The Maw made port, they had quite improbably fallen in love. This was Lazha's father, Selvi. Bonkru was charmed by his winsome ways, while he became enamored of her curvaceous tusks. They were an odd couple, but somehow it worked, Bonkru scourging the seas while Selvi raised Lazsha at their seaside home in Port Peril. But shortly after Lazha's fourteenth birthday, Selvi's family learned he yet lived, and sent adventurers to rescue him. But when the adventurers discovered his situation, they mocked him instead. That night, overcome by shame, Selvi leapt from the widow's walk of their home into the sea, while Lazha watched from her bedroom window. Bonkru flew into a rage and pursued the adventurers, but in her recklessness sent The Maw into a storm it could not weather, where it sunk without survivors. Lazha adored her father, and began her worship of Naderi as a way to honor his final choice. But as her faith has deepened, she has grown to see her role as more than that -- it is about advising all those who walk difficult paths, whatever strange choices they shall make. "You shall not die alone" is the promise she makes to those she watches over.
I'd like to submit Lazha Slicksheen, Half-Orc Cleric of Naderi. She was in a former S&S PbP that unfortunately died very quickly. I'll need to do a once-over to make sure she meets your character creation guidelines, but she should be very close.
Have fun, everybody!
Yes, pretty much that. Except of course, with Naderi you eventually say, "Today, please." So what does it say about me that whenever I hear someone talk about George RR Martin, the first thing I think of is "Wild Cards"?
Sweet Naderi, Who teaches that ultimately our fate
Please deliver us from your element,
Lazha Slicksheen is a Half-Orc Cleric of Naderi who I created for a PbP S&S game that fell apart before we ever hit level 2. All the stats and background info are on this profile. Updated stats would be: = 15
So lets say ST: 15
Lazha ought to spend her time making more friends, but maybe arm-wrestling would be just the thing to break her sour mood. She'll wager four gold in a match against anyone who'll take her on.
"No, this is my first one. I spent a lot of time on Mom's ship, but only in fair weather." Lazha looked at fish she'd ruined and put down the knife in disgust. "She died in a storm. The whole ship went down. I wouldn't mind drowning -- it's a holy death. But I'd rather not today."
Lazha straightens things up as best she can. "Maybe take it easy on the bottle, then? Wouldn't want you to fall and hurt yourself." Lazha could feel herself growing tense and wondered at it. I guess everyone gets nervous at their first storm.
Lazha smiles at Conchabhar. "Not to worry, good sir. I fully understand how a person of your obvious stature would be discomfitted by one of my ilk. I also apologize if my stench has offended you -- I find the bathing facilities on this ship leave a lot to be desired." That evening, Lazha will approach "Cog" Cogsward for an influence attempt. She knows next to nothing about Varisia, but recognizes that his headscarf is from that land and tries using that as an opening.
All right, I'm off to WorldCon so I'll be incommunicado until Tuesday. Feel free to play Lazha as you need to -- she's concentrating on influencing unfriendly people.
Lazha does her best in the kitchen to cobble together some food.
Afterwards, she will look around for Conchobhar Turlach Shortstone the gnome to try and influence for her daytime action.
After enjoying the hearty congratulations of her compatriots for a few minutes, Lazha pays Badger back her initial stake with many thanks and heads back to her hammock.
Lazha wagers 8 gp on these tosses.
It takes her a few throws to get the hang of it, but at least one of them carried pretty well.
"Of course, sir." Lazha hands Plugg the sheathed dagger, hilt first. "Bringing a club to a fist-fight doesn't quite seem sporting, though. Or was that the point?" After that Lazha will check on Octavia, to make sure she was all right after the fight. Then she'll take Badger up on her offer of a bit of coin to use as a wager, and will look around for Slippery Syl. "Haven't seen you around, hon. Are you feeling all right? I've missed our talks, and your sparkling personality." Lazha grins slyly. I don't even think I'm being sarcastic, either. "I've a bit of coin burning a hole in my pocket. I don't s'pose you'd be interested in a game of hog lob, with a wager on the result? Or maybe a wrestle?"
Lazha flails her arms and tries to intercept the lazy toss, or it least deflect it to Owlbear's bad side. "Hey, I've got money on this fight. No cheating!"
Lazha will maneuver around to be between Scourge and Owlbear. If Scourge manages to pick it up and toss it to Owlbear, Lazha will try and knock it down . If Scourge can't pick up the club, Lazha will kick it away into the crowd. Either way, as she acts she will say, "Hey, I've got money on this fight. No cheating!"
Actually, I've had second thoughts. I want to hold off on Murderous Command a little while longer, but I do want to be prepared to cast it if Plugg intervenes further.
If Octavia was hit by the club and Owlbear doesn't drop it, then Lazha will look for an opportunity to cast Murderous Command on Owlbear. She only wants to cast it if the closest person to Owlbear is Plugg. Or, if Plugg is staying safely back in the crowd, she would settle for the closest person being one of the four thugs who attacked us earlier. Murderous Command:
School enchantment (compulsion) [mind-affecting]
Level antipaladin 1, cleric/oracle 1 Casting Time 1 standard action Components V Range close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels) Target one living creature Duration 1 round Saving Throw Will negates; Spell Resistance yes You give the target a mental urge to kill its nearest ally, which it obeys to the best of its ability. The target attacks its nearest ally on its next turn with a melee weapon or natural weapon. If necessary, it moves to or charges to the nearest ally in order to make this attack. If it is unable to reach its closest ally on its next turn, the target uses its turn to get as close as possible to the ally.
Wow, that was impressive. There's obviously a lot more to Octavia than she's been letting on.
"I bet this dagger on Octavia!" Lazha indicates her standard dagger (not the silver one). "She's going to take the Owlbear apart." It would probably be smarter to bet against her -- she'll get plenty of coin if she wins, after all. But it's more important to make a show of confidence, win or lose.
"Very good...Antonius." Lazha winks back. She channels energy twice. Channel 1: healing
Just when I thought I was getting the hang of this cook business. I can't even pretend this is any good. As bad as the food was, Lazha was still surprised at the attempted attacks on her. She scrutinized the crew trying to figure out who might have swung the rope at her.
Lazha stares grimly at Plugg and the large man he brings on deck. Always upping the stakes, aren't you. One of these days you'll lose, and lose big. But I don't know that that'll be today. "Antonius, if you feel like doing this, I'm not going to say no. Most of my tricks won't work one-on-one. Besides I might bite him if I get desperate." She pauses, then asks, "Are you feeling in top shape? Do you need any healing before the fight?"
Lazha goes fishing in the skiff. Survival:
Lazha does her best to extend the fish she does catch into a meal. Maybe I can use some of the leftovers from the night before? Intelligence check:
"Aye sir." Lazha drags the unconscious cook back to his hamm,ock, then goes and fetches her nets. If Mr. Plugg is still there to give instructions, she listens to those, otherwise she heads to the little boat, planning to do the same as she had done last time. I've a bad feeling about this. But I'm probably just being a worrier, as usual. Before she actually gets into the boat, though, she examines the nets, just in case they need mending, or have been tampered with. Perception:
Lazha listens to the officers making sport of Kroop. As they are making toasts, she will listen for an opening, and then loudly raise her glass to "Ambrose Kroop. Master Cook and Free Soul." Then she drains her grog in one sip. Charisma:
After dinner, she looks around for Badger to influence again. "Cheliax, huh. Antonius is from Cheliax, I know. I've never been out of the Shackles, myself. Though I hadn't done much fishing until I started working for Kroop here. Any pointers you care to share?" Diplomacy check:
"Thanks for the offer. I think I'd like both my daggers, and both my pouches (spell component & book/mirror/brush/whetstone), but I'll leave the armor and the satchel (healing kit & waterskin) with you." Back in the galley, Lazha tries her luck cleaning the rats.
Why those don't look half bad...but I still don't think I can get excited about eating rat.
So I'm posting a link to the Campaign Journal I'm writing for the face-to-face game I'm in, just in case any of y'all are interested. We're doing the Jade Regent Adventure Path, so there are spoilers for that, and for the module Feast of Ravenmoor. We're not making very good time -- 12 sessions so far and we haven't finished the first book yet. Viriel's a very different character than Lazha. She's a young Half-Elf Rogue/Witch working her way towards Arcane Trickster, with a personality I would describe as a cross between Willow (from Buffy) and Elle (from Legally Blonde) with a touch of Catwoman thrown in. And it is very much an in-character journal -- there's more than a little bit of unreliable narrator.
Following Antonius' lead, Lazha won't take any action before the lashing. Afterwards, she will cast Cure Light Wounds (in place of Endure Elements) on her, unless Sandara provides healing first.
Lazha listens intently to Antonius as he -- no, she -- relates her tale. She bit back several responses she might have given in favor of allowing the bard to say all that needed saying. So much for asking Antonius to read Chelaxian love poetry in that beautifully expressive voice of his. "First of all," Lazha said, "You are safe. You have friends here, so no one will attack you because of your gender. If they do, they will die. Dress however you are most comfortable, and however you feel safest, but whatever you choose, don't be afraid. And do tell me the name you wish to be called. " Such a shame. Antonius makes such a pretty man. "As for what kind of priestess I am. Naderi is the goddess of the Foolish Choices. Of 'It Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time.' Whenever you are staring at the right way and the wrong way to do things, Naderi is the goddess of the Third Way. "Naderi is not a goddess for everyone, or for every moment. But in light of what you've told me, I think you would do well to consider her teachings with regards to your parents. "Your mother made choices. Your fathers made choices. They may have been glorious choices, or terrible choices, or foolish choices, but they were all made and the consequences were what they were. Without those choices you would not be here today. You should meditate on those choices until you can accept them. You need not like or agree with them, but you must accept the role they played in your parents' life, and in yours. "Once you have done that, you will be ready to begin deciding what kind of half-orc you are." Lazha had given some version of this advice many times. The Shackles were home to more than its share of half-breeds, and many of them were drawn to Naderi, just as Lazha had been. But as she considered the bard lying in her hammock, successfully fighting off tears, Lazha thought perhaps she owed Antonius more of herself. "Orcs can be very loving, you know. Despite what humans say. My parents were very happy together, until my father's family convinced him he was shamed. He was such a gentle man, Taldan, and always worried about doing the right thing. Sometimes there is no right thing, and then there can only be tragedy. "But you are an opera singer, so you already understand. Tragedy is the fuel of the soaring heart." Lazha reaches into her belt pouch and pulls out the book of poetry she'd just reclaimed from the ships stores, and handed it to Antonius. "Here is your assignment, should you wish to accept it. This is my favorite collection of love poems. It spans many lands, and many years. Some are famous, and some obscure. I want you read through it, and find the poem that your mother would have read to the father of your body, and the one she would have read to the father of your mind, and the poems they would have chosen for her. When you have memorized those, you can perform them, if you wish, and return the book to me." Lazha paused for a moment. Oh, why not. I might as well ask. "And if you want, pick a Taldan poem for me. I enjoy poetry read by a skillful tongue."
"Never seen rats that size before. They must be eating better than we are."
After collecting her things, Lazha will lock all of it in her locker except her spell component pouch, her silver dagger, and the large pouch with the whetstone & book of poetry. Then she'll hurry down to the galley and help finish getting dinner ready. And when we get to the evening, Lazha is definitely interested in talking with Antonius.
"Aye sir." Remind me to make sure he gets an extra helping of rat tonight. On her way back to the galley, Lazha stops by the quartermaster's for her equipment.
"Thanks, Jack. I wasn't looking forward to hauling those back to the galley." Lazha looks over her compatriots, all of whom sport rat bites. That was a lot harder than I expected. Who knew rats could be so fierce.
Healing: Lazha hands the dagger she borrowed back to Antonius. "Thank you so much for this. I guess I should stop by Grok's on the way back to the galley and get my things back. If I do lad, I may have something to show you."
Owww! Stupid rats! I don't know what it is, but I just can't seem to swing a dagger today. Maybe I should just try to make us all feel better. Lazha channels energy, excluding the rat from the effects.
Lazha steps up and attack the wounded rat that has been attacking Antonius. Attack:
Hang in there. We've almost got these beasts.
Lazha switches back to the knife and swipes at the rat she's missed twice before. Attack:
Let me know if your wounds are dire and you need healing.
Lazha grimaces at the pain in her arm. "Naderi," she say, "Help me put these creatures down." Lazha touches the rat that bit her, using Gentle Rest.
Gentle Rest: Your touch can fill a creature with lethargy, causing a living creature to become staggered for 1 round as a melee touch attack. If you touch a staggered living creature, that creature falls asleep for 1 round instead. Undead creatures touched are staggered for a number of rounds equal to your Wisdom modifier.
Lazha takes the proferred dagger from Antonius, and follows him as he descends the ladder. The rats attacked him before she had reached the water, and she watches as Antonius and Jericho kill two of them. I'd thought to stun them, but since there's only one left I might as well kill it. Lazha moves between Antonius and Jericho and slashes at the remaining rat.
Attack Roll:
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