This has been the worst day. A catastrophe. A simple and utter catastrophe. Audrahni must be convinced I am an idiot. This is not surprising, since I am also convinced I am an idiot. Why did I even bring up the flowers? And why did the flowers attack me?
Why is everything on land trying to kill me?
I just wish I knew how to talk to it. Him? Her? I wish I understood how to distinguish land dwellers better. I asked Akkumsah, who said something incomprehensible about chest bouyancy sacs and told me to ask Azriel, who said something even more incomprehensible about bees. Anyway, regarding Audrahni, the others seem to call him her. Her her. So he’s probably female. I’ll try to remember that. I really should have asked during our time together, but now it’s too late and it apparently NEVER HAPPENED ANYWAY.
THE STEPPES OF HONGAL – Gozran 26 through Gozran 28
SPECIAL ENCOUNTERS: None
WEATHER: Cool, pleasant
DISTANCE TRAVELED: 96 miles
TOTAL DISTANCE SINCE LEAVING SANDPOINT: 5635 miles
TOTAL TIME SINCE LEAVING SANDPOINT: 239 days
Your journey through the Uqtaal Necropolis has taken you some distance to the east of the Path of Aganhei. Ulf advises you to get back on the road as soon as possible; while the few Hon cities and the roads that connect them are kept safe for merchants and the vast wealth they have brought into Hongal in recent decades, the nomadic horse tribes that control the far vaster part of Hongal are still a bit “old fashioned,” as Ulf puts it, and by the Khan’s law any Caravan not on the roads or in a city is considered the property of the first tribe that finds it – the goods and the people both.
Fortunately, you encounter no horsemen during the two days’ travel it takes to get back to the Path only the vast empty grasslands to one side and the towering mountains to the other. You reach the Path, snaking out of the southern end of the Altan Zuud pass, without difficulty, and turn south to travel another day to Ordu-Aganhei.
A hundred years ago, Ordu-Aganhei was a nameless fort constructed on the shore of a sulfur-rimed lake fed by thermal hot springs. It was built by the Khan of that time to keep a permanent eye on the Altan Zuud pass, in case the Osman, Khorki, or Ulaagor Erutaki decided to turn their attention to raids on their southern neighbors across the mountains.
When the Path of Aganhei became a major trading route, the fort became the last stop for the huge, rich Caravans heading north to Avistan and the first stop for those heading south to Tian Xia. With immense wealth flooding it twice a year – and the nomadic tribes of Hongal never a people to turn down a gift horse – it began to grow rapidly, blossoming from a double-digit garrison into the city of some 9,000 souls that it is today. Not the largest city in the world by any stretch of the imagination, but a perfectly respectably sized town.
It is technically the capital of Hongal, but the true rulership of the land rests with the traveling nomadic court of the Khan. Control of the city is traditionally given to a relative of the Khan, and it is currently ruled by Prince Batsaikhar, the Khan’s younger brother, who is said to relish the comforts and benefits of civilization normally looked down on by the Hon nomads. Apparently called the Golden One by his subjects, he has been attempting to turn his city at the edge of the Arctic Circle into an oasis of luxury and hospitality in the icy desert of despair.
As you approach the city’s north gate, you see the town is surrounded by a stout timber wall some 40 feet high, topped with spikes decorated with the severed heads of bandits who preyed upon the Path of Aganhei. Since no Caravans are likely to be heading north for a few months yet, or south for another several months after that, it is the off season for bandits as well, and the heads are somewhat old.
The exception, of course, to the lack of Caravans is your own. And when you approach the gate, this immediately causes suspicion.
The north gate is a decorated tower with a single 30 foot high reinforced iron door and some 30 guards inside, mostly human and a few tengu. A Caravan approaching from the north in the off-season is apparently an unheard of occurrence, and the guards examine the you, your goods, and your wagons with barely hidden suspicion. Their examination is strict and thorough, dust swirling around them as they work.
They do not look like they believe what you are telling them, and it is beginning to look as if they are not going to allow you to enter the city.
You return to Kalsgard as the sun is setting. This is, of course, still quite early in the evening, given where you are and the time of year. You return the horses, and discover that in your absence, the Caravan has been quietly looked after by its Varisian neighbors in the Caravan park, many of whom know Sandru Vhiski and Koya Mvashti well.
Tomorrow, the city will be in an uproar. A respected merchant named Lute Haggersley will make a series of accusations about the Rimerunners Guild and Thorborg Silverskorr, accusations that will include kidnap, torture, consorting with devils, creating a public nuisance, theft without repayment, failure to announce blood feud, failure to pay weregild, and “being a hideous purple ogre”. After a quick initial check into the claims, King Sveinn Blood-Eagle will immediately suspend all of the Rimerunners Guild’s operations and seize all of their assets. As a more thorough investigation proceeds, the king will publicly distance himself from his former cordial relations with the Guild and its members.
But tonight, none of that is yet known. You have returned with your friends, comrades, relations and loved ones safe and now well.
And the night is young.
And so we begin "The Hungry Storm", Part 1 - To The World's End.
You arrive back at the Caravan and are greeted happily by the companions you left behind, including an awake and hale Ameiko. After introductions are made between them and the four additional people you have brought back with you, you are unsurprised to learn that Sandru is calling a Caravan meeting tonight to discuss the implications of what has happened, and decide what should be done next. It is implied that Ameiko, at least, will have something to say.
However, before that occurs, he has allowed a half hour or so for people to change clothes, clean up, eat some food (or cook it, if they wish), and chat beforehand.
It starts in a tavern. But then, it always starts in a tavern, doesn’t it? But this time, there’s actually a reason why. There’s a story behind it, settle in.
The Licktoad goblins of Brinestump Marsh have grown unusually aggressive of late. The reason for their uncharacteristic bravery isn’t a mystery – the goblins have somehow managed to arm themselves with what appears to be a considerable supply of explosives. Well, fireworks. For a goblin, that’s close enough. Their new armament has made them dangerously brave.
Several merchant caravans and travelers have already been attacked. There have been no deaths yet, but with the last few attacks resulting in severe injuries to three unfortunate travelers, the problem has escalated from an annoyance to a threat. But none of the attacks have yet inconvenienced Magnimar – only Sandpointers and other Lost Coasters have been hit so far – so the forces of the big city have been slow to react. Unwilling to idly sit by and wait for the goblin problem to escalate to actual deaths on the Lost Coast Road, Sandpoint’s leaders have put out the call for goblin exterminators.
But it’s been a number of years since Sandpoint had significant monster troubles, and it has since returned to being a relatively sleepy town. The stalwart adventurers who at one time defended the city against giants and dragons (all right, one dragon – but still) have retired, left to pursue greater adventures, or are otherwise preoccupied with their own pursuits. And Sandpoint’s city watch, always running at a lean enrollment, can’t afford to send patrols into the trackless expanse of Brinestump, although they have stepped up their presence along the Lost Coast Road itself.
The task of wading into the notorious local wetland falls instead to adventurers, be they concerned locals honestly eager to aid the town or greedy mercenaries looking to make relatively easy coin. To deal with the goblin threat, Sheriff Belor Hemlock has restored Sandpoint’s old “goblin bounty” after several years of inactivity – it was suspended when a group of eager but too-young adventurers were swept out to sea while in pursuit of goblin ears. The town of Sandpoint will pay 10 gp for every relatively fresh goblin ear delivered to the town hall – with an additional reward of 300 gp for the group who can bring in the head of the Licktoads’ leader, Chief Gutwad.
A few brave souls have already made the attempt, but nothing has been heard of them in the 3 days since they entered Brinestump Marsh, and just last night, another round of colorful explosions burst over the wetlands south of Sandpoint. The goblins are doubtless readying a new attack. So now there’s a plan.
Two groups of volunteers will head to two different sections of the marsh. One will be a small party of seasoned adventurers, sent to what is thought to be the most dangerous part of the marsh – Ameiko Kaijitsu, Koya Mvashti, Sandru Vhiski, and Shalelu Andosana.
The other group will be a larger, less experienced party, sent to mop up what will probably be goblin stragglers in what is surely the safer section. No doubt they will gain some valuable adventuring experience, and the Lost Coast Road will be that much safer for it.
That would be you.
Both groups are assembling at Ameiko Kaijitsu’s tavern, the Rusty Dragon, to chat before heading out. The four from the first group are already there, as is Sherriff Hemlock, patiently awaiting the arrival of everyone else so he can talk with them about the task before them.
Ameiko, a beautiful but somewhat irreverent woman of Tian descent and Sandpoint’s most unlikely noblewoman, is currently tending bar. Always fond of unusual hairstyles, she has bleached two long strips a snowy white. The snake tattoo on her upper arm seems to writhe in the flickering firelight that lights the tavern. It is a cloudy early morning, and the light and warmth of the fire is welcome.
Sandru, a handsome man now only few years from middle age, sits on a barstool and chats with her, with a quick laugh and an easy wit. His caravan is back in town once again, and he naturally agreed to help out his home.
And with the caravan also comes Koya, a woman in remarkably good shape, physically, for someone well over 60 years of age. She sits at a side table, and appears to be cultivating a mysterious air, although admittedly she doesn’t have to work very hard at it. Mystery runs in her family.
Shalelu, sitting across from her, may give her a run for her money in the mystery department, however. The blond-haired elf has always come and gone for reasons of her own, and few know her well enough to ask her why or where she goes.
Sitting alone and surveying the scene from a corner is the balding Sherriff Hemlock, a stern expression on his face as he glances at the door and wonders exactly what sort of unblooded, overconfident volunteers are about to stumble through it.
Hi, all! As those of you in this game arrive, please answer the following questions –
1) What race and character class would you like to play?
(If you have no strong feelings about it yet, please feel free to post a few possible ideas. If you are relatively new to Pathfinder and do not know enough to venture a suggestion, e-mail me with a vague idea of the kind of character you might like to play in a Dungeons and Dragons type setting and I will suggest some possibilities and discuss them with you. Pathfinder is very flexible in terms of potential character builds.)
2) Would you like to play in “We Be Goblins!” before we begin Jade Regent?
(Playing in We Be Goblins is not a requirement for playing in Jade Regent when it starts.)
Former shaman of the Severed Limb clan, Trial Pathfinder
Strength
7
Dexterity
14
Constitution
14
Intelligence
13
Wisdom
22
Charisma
16
About Aradesh Gorewolf
Backstory:
Born as the daughter of the Orc Warlord Gorewolf, leader of the Severed Limb clan western of Belkzen hold, and one of his human slaves, Aradesh's life was never meant to be a peaceful one. What doomed her, however, was that she possesed exactly what he was looking for in an heir: an intellect far higher than the average orc, along with signs of his own brutal strength. Macabre signs, true, as this strength only manifested in her hair, which she could use as a weapon and did so to kill both rival siblings and others who thought her easy prey, but it was there. And that she was born with the starsign of Gorum on her shoulder was just icing on the cake.
As long as she could remember, she was apprenticed to a shaman named Gromthak. Per the usual measures of Orc teachings, training was brutal, with mistakes being punished by pain whereas successes were merely expected. While she eventually succeeded the challenges, both her father and teacher had been displeased when her spirit animal revealed itself to be a docile life spirit rabbit rather than a fierce destructive beast.
That, in turn, caused them to push her even harder towards violence, as if it were some flaw of her own that they could and had to remove. When she was twelve, she was expected to take part in her father's favorite torture executions of his war victims, where he had the shamans heal a prisoner as his limbs were systematically cut off, and the helpless remains then fed to his rabid pet wolves.
In the rare moments that she was able to visit her mother, whose health had been deteriorating rapidly, she spoke of another place, of one were this cruelty would be unheard of and people lived in harmony. It was her hometown of Trunau, which relied on the bonds and stength of the community to keep them safe from the Orcs, Giants and worse. That was whenever she didn't beg forgiveness for not being able to use her hopeknife fast enough.
When the time was scheduled to duel her oldest half-brother, Hirek, both her main ‘competitor’ but also one of the few siblings she liked, she knew she had to flee to save what was left of her sanity. All this death had indeed grated on her; whether it was simply contrary to her spirit's nature or her half-human one, she didn't know. She just couldn't stand it anymore. And whatever exact ‘deal’ that would bring ‘great glory to the clan’ her father had been planning with the giants of the Mindspin Mountains was one she didn't want any part in.
During a training outing with her teacher, she managed to put him to sleep with the very magic he taught her, then she stabbed him in the chest and left him for dead, fleeing. Eventually, she made it to Trunau, where she discovered that her human grandparents, the Fallit family, were still alive. Saddened by the new's of their daughter's death but grateful that part of her had survived in Aradesh, she was adopted and given the new name of Hannah Fallit. Her mother, Alicia’s, wayfinder was also passed on to her as a keepsake.
She since served with the predpominantly human and militia and the occasional dwarf instructors, aiding other refugees in reaching the village and protecting it against assaults from whatever threat came around.
In her off-time, she worked at the local apothecary of her grandmother and concocts potions and salves with the knowledge she learned from her shamanistic training. She also met her best friend, an apprentice herbalist named Aurelia there.
Unfortunately, this moment of peace didn’t last long, as a few months after her arrival, an alliance of orcs and numerous giants assaulted the only bastion of good and refuge in the orc nation. And while it had stood valiantly against orc raiders since the time of the Whispering Tyrant, the predominantly normal human defenders just had no answer to seemingly organized tribes of giants who could just smash through their fortifications and kill many with single swings of their weapons. Even worse, perhaps, was that she recognized the banners of her own clan amidst those of the Giants and knew what fate would await those who couldn’t use their own Hopeknives to end themselves fast enough.
Aradesh was extremely fortunate in that she had access to flight magic, barely managing to flee the fight that way despite her injuries, using the town’s natural rock formations to the southwest as a flight path where the attacking force had no reason to station forces.
Ashamed for being forced to flee, wondering whether it was her presence that had triggered this attack but also swearing revenge on the Giants and her tribe, she fled further southwest into Varisia, warning the settlements she crossed on the way for potential coming attacks from Giants and/or orcs.
In the end, she learned her mother’s wayfinder signified (once?) membership of the Pathfinders, and it was at their lodge in Magnimar that a venture captain named Sheila Heidmarch directed her towards someone who seemed to be recruiting a group of heroes who could strike back against this new Giant threat…
Appearance and Personality:
Being predominantly bound to a life spirit, Aradesh radiates health and has every aspect of her physique is subtly accentuated by a more vibrant than usual colour. Her recently cut ginger hair is brighter than the fiercest fire while her her eyes are a very light tint of skyblue and tusks a spotless ivory-white. By most non-orc hating humanoid standards, she is quite beautiful despite a plethora of scars here and there implying a harsh prior life. In fact, being very slender for a (half-)orc, she also doesn’t appear as outwardly threatening as her kindred might otherwise be. Her otherwise most notable physical features are her Gorum Tattoo on her shoulder and an old Wolf cloak as a reminder both of her duty to take revenge against her clan and her now probably dead mother.
In actual fights, her hair grows to several times her own length and is directed as a stabbing weapon of sorts, after which she cuts off the bloody ends afterwards. The very real force and sharpness of it easily compensate for her lack of physical strength. Her former orc shaman teacher once theorized that this hair drained her of her normal strength, and that this was why she was otherwise quite weak.
As for her personality, Aradesh is still getting used to living in more civilized society and its new rules of behavior. The right of the strongest is still fresh on her mind, and she tends to be overly direct and brutally honest in her opinions. However, she is fiercely protective of the new family and friends she lost, would do anything to anything to save them if she learned any were still alive.
Party role and build:
Aradesh is a full divine caster with a focus on healing and a combination of debuffing/support/crowd control as well, and fights mainly through her hexes. She can heal lots of hit points and ability damage each day through her healer’s hands + skill unlock (heal) feats and channel energy. However, through her prehensile hair hex, she can actually deal okay melee damage if it comes down to it (her hair is treated as a limb with reach 10 and a str score equal to her wisdom, currently 22, and hits for 1d3 + 10, so it’s not that much, but it’s something!).
As an unsworn shaman, she gets one hex less than a normal shaman and delayed progression on her spirit abilities (= ‘domains’), but she can pick a witch *or* shaman hex at level 1, 4 and 8 etc instead of just shaman ones, and can change them each day for what the party needs. She normally picks at least both Flight and prehensile hair. I stayed away from the slumber hex for now as that is technically a spammable willsave or die vs a high DC (even worse with ability focus: slumber hex) and I wouldn’t select that unless specifically given permission by the GM.
If healing isn’t needed, she prefers to fight from the air with flight hex or with the overland flight spell, and uses said hexes and spells to debuff or crowd control her enemies. She can realistically kill enemies by herself even without slumber by debuffing their willsave, paralyzing a target with hold person/monster or an equivalent and then using her hair for a coup de grace. Which, for a healer, I find a pretty awesome way to fight!
The arcane enlightenment hex allows her to take up to three arcane spells of level 1 to 3 to add to her list. These will be mirror image and two others - which ones she takes depend on the rest of the party and their wants/needs. Choices like create pit and/or glitterdust, haste and slow and such make for good choices. Her feats below are one possible option and focus on Slow and Haste. Aradesh also has access to whatever cleric spells the party wants – as a part human, she can add one cleric spell of a lower than her maximal spell level to her shaman list on each level-up through her favored class bonus.
Finally, her familiar is pretty decent at most knowledge checks.
Statblock:
Aradesh Gorewolf
Half-orc shaman (unsworn shaman) 10 (Pathfinder RPG Advanced Class Guide 35, 112)
NG Medium humanoid (human, orc)
Init +6; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +23
Alternate half-orc racial traits: Sacred Tattoo (+1 luck bonus to saving throws, replaces ferocity) Shaman's apprentice (Gain endurance feat, lose intimidating), Fey ThoughtsDangerous Youth (Perception and Sense motive are class skills, replaces weapon familiarity)
--------------------
Defense
--------------------
AC 19, touch 11, flat-footed 18 (+8 armor, +1 Dex)
hp 73 (10d8+20)
Fort +10, Ref +10, Will +19
Defensive Abilities Endurance, Sacred Tattoo.
--------------------
Offense
--------------------
Speed 30 ft (Flight: 60 ft)
Melee hair +16 (1d3+10)
Special Attacks channel positive energy 4/day (DC 18, 5d6), minor spirit hexes (flight[APG], misfortune[APG], prehensile hair[UM]), cackle/chant*, evil eye, arcane enlightenment).
*From item: cackling witch's bloose. Requires GM approval for shaman.
*Assumes familiar is within reach of her for alertness.
**When using the flight hex, Fly is actually +15, since the hex works as fly which adds good maneuverability (+4) and 1/2 caster level (+5) on all fly checks.
-background skills: Profession: herbalist and craft alchemy.
Skills from familiar Linguistics + 8, spellcraft +15, Knowledge: Engineering/Nobility/Geography/planes: +11, Knowledge: Arcana/Religion/nature/Dungeoneering/history: +16. Knowledge: local +20.
Combat Gear lesser reach metamagic rod[APG]; Other Gear +2 mithral breastplate, belt of physical might +2 (Dex, Con), cloak of resistance +3, headband of inspired wisdom +4, pink and green sphere ioun stone (+2 cha, and +1 will when socketed in wayfinder), wayfinder[ISWG], Cackling Witch's bloose (grants use of cackle hex), coldiron dagger (hopeknife), handy haversack x1, Wand of Heightened awareness (50 charges).
Mundane gear
Potion sponge with potion of air bubble x1 and touch of the sea x1, 7 x tanglefoot bag (350 g), 2 x potion of keep watch (100 g), cold weather outfit, backpack, 37 g of basic travelling supplies (tent, rations, bedroll, backpack, rope with grappling hook, lantern and oil flasks, spare dagger) and spare change, scroll of suppress charms and compulsions x 1 (125 g), scroll of remove fear x 1(25 g), scroll of compr. langauges x 2 50 g, scroll of remove blindness 375 g, scroll of obscuring mist x 2 50 g, scroll of remove paralysis x1 125 g, 1 x masterwork tool; Erastil holy symbol (+2 heal, only when treating deadly wounds via healer's hands feat) (50 g), 225 g for other items.
Familiar
Snow hare named Tyche, always inactive and in Aradesh’ backpack. Grants +4 initiative and the alertness feat to Aradesh while within her reach.
-Her familiar has the sage archetype and can speak to offer advice to her, in addition to getting below bonuses on knowledge checks.
-His intelligence is score is (5+ master’s level), currently 15, and gets 2 extra skill ranks per level along with half his level added to all knowledge checks from his archetype.
-He can speak to Aradesh, but not others, though he can understand common, orc and giant.
-He has a total of 50 skill points.
-3 in linguistics: common, orc, giant.
-10 in spellcraft = +15.
-1 rank in K. Engineering/nobility/geography/planes = +11.
-5 ranks in other knowledges except K: local. = +16.
-9 Ranks in K. Locak = +20.
--------------------
Spells
--------------------
Below list is if persistant spell as a metamagic feat is allowed. Minor changes otherwise; she instead takes the confusion hex instead of this metamagic feat.
Prepared spells (Sample list, using mirror image, spiked pit and slow as extra spells)
Level 1 (6+1:): Entangle x 1, Sanctuary x1, Protection from evil x1, Obscuring mist x1, Shield of faith x 2.
Level 2 (6+1): Mirror image x 2, hold person x2, Barkskin x 2.
Level 3 (5+1): Spiked pit x 2, communal resist energy x1, dispel magic x 1, shield of darkness x 1.
Level 4 (5+1): Blessing of fervor x 2, freedom of movement x 1, divine power x 1, heightened daylight x1.
Level 5 (3+1): Hunter's blessing x1, Feast on Fear x 1, true seeing x1.
**: Preferred spell: Slow: Any spell of level 3 or higher can be spontaneously cast to Slow. Can add metamagic feats to this cast by raising the spellslot used, without increasing the casting time.
Spirit magic (='domain slots') for Life spirit and Lore spirit
. . 5th—; breath of life[S] (DC 21) or contact other plane[S]
. . 4th—; legend lore[S] or restoration[S]
. . 3rd—; locate object[S] or neutralize poison[S]
. . 2nd—; lesser restoration[S] or tongues[S]
1st-; remove sickness[S] or Identify [S]
Spirits (currently) Life, Lore
--------------------
Special Abilities
--------------------
Arcane Familiar Nearby You gain the Alertness feat while your familiar is within arm's reach.
Darkvision (60 feet) You can see in the dark (black and white only).
Deliver Touch Spells Through Familiar (Su) Your familiar can deliver touch spells for you.
Empathic Link with Familiar (Su) You have an empathic link with your Arcane Familiar.
Misfortune (2 rounds, DC 21) (Su) Foe in 30 ft must take the lower of 2d20 for rolls (Will neg).
Monstrous Insight (6/day) (Su) As a standard action, attempt know check to ID monster and gain +2 to att & AC vs. that foe.
Orc Blood Half-orcs count as both humans and orcs for any effect related to race.
Prehensile Hair (10/day) (Su) The witch can instantly cause her hair (or even her eyebrows) to grow up to 10 feet long or to shrink to its normal length, and can manipulate her hair as if it were a limb with a Strength score equal to her Intelligence score. Her hair has reach 10.
Shaman Channel Positive Energy 5d6 (4/day, DC 18) (Su) Positive energy heals the living and harms the undead; negative has the reverse effect.
Speak with Animals (Ex) Your familiar can communicate with animals similar to itself.
Speak with Familiar (Ex) You can communicate verbally with your familiar.
Spirit Animal If spirit animal is slain, cannot use spirit magic or prepare new spells.
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