Skye, Shaman of the Lyrune-Quah's page

Folks, I'm taking a few days off from gaming to consider whether or not to continue to support this company and its platform.

Paizo has poisoned the well with empty political virtue-signalling, and I'm deeply disappointed.

All lives matter, including black ones. To me that's not a banal slogan or a conviction that ought to be the sole purview of any one political ideology.

Not looking for an argument. Just... done.

"Okay." Skye nods at the suggestion to replace the ring next. "But at some point, we'll have to return here and head north to repair the damage Lemketul did to the coffins."

Before leaving, he detects magic on the pool, then dips a finger into the water and tastes it.

Skye moves the crowd still in the hallway and enters the chamber. The shaman casts burst of radiance, placing the brilliant flash of shimmering light so as to avoid his companions.
Damage vs Evil, No Save, SR Yes: 5d4 ⇒ (3, 1, 1, 3, 4) = 12
Rounds Blinded, Reflex DC17 for Dazzled instead: 1d4 ⇒ 3
Rounds Dazzled, if Save Succeeds: 1d4 ⇒ 2

Skye activates his wand, casting bless on the team. Then he rummages around in his handy haversack, pulling out any of the relic weapons he might have been carrying. "We've still got the wooden bow, earth breaker, and klar."

(34 charges remaining)

Skye shakes his head. "No idea, though according to Lemketul's notes, the room has water or had it in the past."

The shaman calls out to the paladin, who's taken point. "What do you see, Serge?"

Knowledge (religion) DC20: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (7) + 8 = 15

"I've no idea what it is." Skye says, drawing his wand of bless.

PbP: I would be up for rotating GMing duties for this group, if that would make our 'campaign' more sustainable and lessen the burden on you, Kristin.

Cats: With multiple cats, the issue is often the smell, especially if your space is limited. Cleaning a one-cat litter box is important. And wet, canned cat food can make your home smell like a filthy, frat house after a homecoming game. Cleaning for two cats seems to more than double the work load. We often watch our daughter's two cats, I love 'em, but they're a handful to clean up after.

Games: I love the Witcher series. Have you tried playing those?

Skye's refers to the documents Venture-Captain Valsin gave the team. "According to Lumketul's entry in the Chronicles and his notes, it looks like he found nothing in the 'maze room' to the west except two 'lightning dogs.' But to the east, he found a 'water room' where he looted four wooden weapons."

"Why don't we start there?" he asks, heading up the stone steps to the door in the southeast corner of the entry room.

"Looks like it'll take about five applications of the Scavenger's Stone to fix this broken seal.

"But maybe we should restore the artifacts to their proper places, before we repair the damage," Skye wonders. "And we should make sure the ogres don't have more friends elsewhere in the shrine."

When the ghost of Hearth Keeper asks about a map, Skye rummages around in his handy haversack. "Our venture-captain gave us a copy of Lumketul Simset's map and his notes."

The shaman shows them to the ghost. "These clues should help us restore the artifacts to their proper places."

Take 10 Knowledge (religion) for 18
"Greetings, Hearth Keeper of the Shriikirri-Quah," Skye says. "Allow me to share what we know."

"About one year ago, one of our colleagues, a Pathfinder named Lumketul Simset returned to the Grand Lodge with notes on a rather exciting discovery: a Thassilonian ruin, tucked in a remote area in the Iron Peaks in Varisia."

"However, thanks to Cousin-to-All, an ally from the Shriikirri-Quah, we learned that what Lumketul claimed was a Thassilonian ruin was, in fact, the sacred Shoanti burial site known as the Muschkal Sepulcher. Shadde-Quah leadership contacted the Skoan-Quah, which sent out their boneslayers to confirm the reports. Thanks to their efforts, we learned that Lumketul had damaged and plundered the sepulcher."

"We've returned the sacred objects that Lumketul looted: four carved wooden weapons, a bolas, a bow, an earth breaker, and a klar, as wells as a small stone statue of a wolf cub and a ring stylized as a scarab beetle."

"Our Society has also sent us here to restore the sepulcher to its proper state. Our leaders gave us an artifact, the Scavenger’s Stone to enable us to repair anything that has been broken."

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (13) + 12 = 25
"Greetings spirit-cousin. I am Skye, shaman of the Lyrune-Quah." He bows with respect.

"We wish to repair the harm done to this sacred place."

No changes from my perspective. Skye's Initiative mod is +6; his Perception mod is +16 (+2 with heightened awareness)

Sova's Perception mod is +15.

Detect magic, Guidance, Take 10 Spellcraft for 10+9+1=20

Calling upon Desna's guidance, Skye examines the items Meredith hasn't yet identified. "These are cloaks of resistance +1."

He pockets one of the potions of cure light wounds, happy to give the rest to his companions.

Then he helps Quang Chi clear away the animal bones and rotten viscera obscuring the large stone plate set into the floor. "Looks like something's written on it. Anybody able to read it?"
Linguistics: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (5) + 2 = 7

If no one can decipher the script, the shaman retrieves his wand of comprehend languages and activates it.

"Whoah, that was close, dude." Skye says. He examines the room and the fallen ogres.

"Gnarly scarf." He loops it around his waist a couple of times and ties it off. "Groovy."

Detect magic, Take 20 Perception for 38.

Skye kicks himself. I really need to spend some time studying humanoids and their many variants.

"Heaven's leap?" Skye offers to get Caller as close to clobbering range as the enlarged man would like to be.

If the battle oracle indicates his assent, Skye calls upon his spirit’s abilities. His eyes turn pitch black and the colors around him drain for a brief moment, as he creates tiny tears in the fabric of space, and temporarily stitching them together to reach other locations through a limited, one-way wormhole.

Heaven’s Leap (Su): As a standard action, the shaman can designate himself or a single ally that he can see who is within 30 feet of him. He can move that creature as if it were subject to jester’s jaunt. Once targeted by this hex, the ally cannot be the target of this hex again for 24 hours.

Keeping to our general SOP for clearing the dungeon is my preference.

I almost always keep heightened awareness up for the bonus to Knowledge checks. I can't remember the last time I used it for the Initiative bonus.

During the overland trek to the sepulcher, Skye asks, "Would someone else prefer to carry the Scavenger's Stone?"

Inside his handy haversack, the artifact doesn't seem to be a terrible burden.

When the sepulcher comes into view, Skye prepares himself for what may lie ahead. The shaman casts barkskin, false life, and heightened awareness on himself.
Temp HP: 1d10 + 6 ⇒ (5) + 6 = 11

Skye nods in agreement, when Frankie whispers a warning. "Lumbering footsteps and strange crunching sounds from somewhere just inside the sepulcher."

He draws his wand of bless and activates it, before stowing it again. (35 charges remaining)

Relieved that the quahs have agreed to let the mission proceed, Skye sits down on a comfortable stone next to the crackling fire. Perched on a nearby ledge of the cave, Sova keeps a wary eye trained on Memory Tender's vulture.

The shaman digs around in his handy haversack and the pockets of his robes, drawing out his waterskin, pipe, and pouch of Shoanti Special Blend No. 7. Pulling a branch from the fire, he uses the burning ember to light the pipe and takes a long pull with a pleasant gurgling noise. Closing his eyes for a few seconds, he releases his breath in a blue-gray smoke ring.

Holding forth his pipe, Skye smiles at his companions and the gathered representatives of the quahs. "Smoke?"

Ah, okay.

I'll let my post stand then.

I'd thought the GM's earlier update indicated Lake-at-Dawn was already supporting the team.

Figuring Meredith noticed something I missed, Skye approached Lake-at-Dawn.

If that's incorrect, Skye can instead approach one of the other Shoanti representatives.

Skye had thought Lake-at-Dawn was already convinced that the Pathfinders have made an effective case. (But if that's not the case... )

Guidance, Mentioning Ancestors Bonus, Knowledge (religion): 1d20 + 6 + 1 + 2 ⇒ (18) + 6 + 1 + 2 = 27

The shaman approaches the portly man clad in a cloth tunic and cloth shorts, wearing handwraps and sporting a man-bun.

"Greetings, Lake-at-Dawn," Skye says with a bow. "I am Skye, a shaman of the Lyrune-Quah, though my ancestors were Jadwiga white witches from Irrisen and Kellids from the Realm of the Mammoth Lords. The Shoanti who took me during a raid eventually adopted me, accepting me into the quah and training me as a shaman and guiding me along the spiritual path of Mother Moon."

He points his chin in the direction of the holy Shoanti relics. "We have returned what was stolen from you and convey our apology for the transgression of one of our Pathfinders."

"We accept responsibility for that sin, and seek to atone by restoring the damage to the sacred site of the Muschkal Sepulcher. We seek your blessing in this endeavor."

It might make sense to go after the lowest hanging fruit first, Frankie leading the way with Memory Tender, then Quang Chi taking the lead with Togimal-in-Shadow, saving as many guns as possible for Payah, with Caller, Denair, or Serge leading and the rest of us using the Aid Another action.

"Let's see how successful everybody else is first, maybe," Skye suggests. "Payah's going to be a tough nut to crack, I fear."

"Feels like we're runnin' outa time, guys." He considers what to do. "Maybe we should focus on one of 'em at a time."

"Frankie, you've got the gift of gab. Maybe you could bullsh - er, bluff (+16) - Memory Tender with one of your tall tales or fabulous fibs. Wanna give it a try?"

"Quang Chi, your excellent survival skills (+11) might convince Togimal-in-Shadow. Maybe Meredith can aid you (+8)."

"Or you could try to use your knowledge of history (+6) to help Frankie with Memory Tender."

"Seems a show of muscle and teamwork (+2 to Aid Another Attempts) stand the best chance of swaying Payah-against-the-Wind."

"Caller and Serge are pretty brawny, (+4), and they chance to succeed." Skye flexes his scrawny biceps. "I'll attempt to help, since I've already done what I could with Togimal-in-Shadow and Memory Tender. Perhaps one or more of you guys could aid us as well?"

*EDIT* Casting Heightened Awareness before making Knowledge checks, please.

Having already shared with the team the various ways to influence Togimal-in-Shadow, Skye considers what his companions have to say about the other Shoanti elders.

"I'll go talk to Memory Tender."

He approaches the stout, tattooed woman. "Greetings, Memory Tender," Skye says with respect. "I am Skye, a shaman of the Lyrune-Quah." Perched on his shoulder, a snowy owl flaps her wings, exposing the downy feathers of her breast, accurately reflecting the stars that would be visible in the night sky. "This is Sova, my companion and spirit animal."

"Your vulture companion and your tribal markings are powerful totems of the Skoan-Quah," he observes.

"I was born in the borderlands between Irrisen and the Realm of the Mammoth Lords, the son of an exiled jadwiga White Witch and her Kellid lover from the Night Hunt following." He shows Memory Tender his stone fetish. "A saber-tooth tiger, my spirit animal guardian."

"As an adolescent, I was taken prisoner from a trade caravan out of Irrisen by a Shoanti raiding party. Later, my captors, the Lyrune-Quah, adopted me."

He indicates the sacred relics the team returned to the Shoanti and shows her the egg-shaped rock that emits a warm, red glow. "We hope to repair the damage to the Muschkal Sepulcher with the help of this Scavenger’s Stone."

Heightened Awareness, Guidance, Knowledge (history): 1d20 + 5 + 2 + 1 ⇒ (12) + 5 + 2 + 1 = 20

Skye mutters another prayer to Mother Moon and makes his way again over to Togimal-in-Shadow.

"If you've a moment, I'd like to show you something interesting." He displays his wayfinder.

"This is a wayfinder, a magic tool used almost exclusively by members of the Pathfinder Society, so much so that the small device is a calling card of sorts for the explorers and chroniclers known as Pathfinders."

"The device functions primarily as a magnetic compass," Skye demonstrates. "And they can can emit light when instructed." He shows Togimal-in-Shadow how to activate it.

"It contains at least one slot that fits an ioun stone, and magical wires that channel and amplify the stone's power. Such augmented ioun stones conflict with each other, preventing someone from holding multiple augmented wayfinders, though some wayfinders have multiple independent ioun stone slots. When a wayfinder includes an ioun stone in this manner, it also reveals new behaviors that vary between wayfinders and ioun stones."

"Wayfinder designs are derived from ancient Azlanti artifacts, and a few such Azlanti devices still exist. While most experienced magical crafters can build a new wayfinder, many date back decades or even centuries and are handed down across generations."

"Most modern wayfinders are manufactured in the Pathfinder Society's Oppara Lodge, by the lodge steward and arcane crafter Muesello."

Skye hands her his wayfinder. "Please, accept this as a gift. May it help you navigate the best course for our people of the Lyrune-Quah."

Guidance, Survival, Wayfinder: 1d20 + 9 + 1 + 2 ⇒ (11) + 9 + 1 + 2 = 23

Returning to his companions, Skye shares what he's discovered about Togimal-in-Shadow. "The surest way to impress Togimal-in-Shadow is to demonstrate your hunting prowess, or demonstrating an understanding of the Lyrune-Quah’s history of hunting, or showing general knowledge of wilderness survival and navigation."

"I'd like a chance to sway Togimal-in-Shadow." He looks back at the representative of the Lyrune-Qhah. "Kinda my sister-brother from another mother."

Skills to Influence:
Profession: Hunter (Easy Difficulty)
Knowledge (local or geography) or Survival (Moderate Difficulty)
Diplomacy (Hard Difficulty)

+9 Survival to show general knowledge of wilderness survival and navigation with Survival.

Skye's Diplomacy modifier is +12, guidance making it +13.

After a prayer to Mother Moon for guidance, Skye approaches Togimal-in-Shadow, who reminds him of Ally Sheedy in Breakfast Club.

"Greetings Togimal-in-Shadow. I am Skye, a shaman of the Lyrune-Quah." He introduces himself to the Shoanti leader with respect and appropriate humility and deference. "The Pathfinder regrets the actions of its agent Lumketul Simset and his deceit. We wish to make amends and right this wrong and restore the sacred Shoanti burial site known as the Muschkal Sepulcher."

"Lumketul cut ties with the Pathfinder Society over a year ago. We seek Lumketul and will hold him accountable for his thoughtless actions and accept no excuses."

Skye empties the sack with reverence for the objects it contains, four carved wooden weapons mounted on simple bases: a bolas, a bow, an earth breaker, and a klar as well as a small stone statue of a wolf cub and a ring stylized as a scarab beetle. "Lumketul took these from the Shoanti. And we return them to the Shoanti as a gesture of goodwill and our first step towards atonement."

"Venture-Captain Ambrus Valsin also gave us this." He shows her, er, him, er, the person-who-prefers-third-person-plural pronouns the egg-shaped rock that emits a warm, red glow. "it’s a Scavenger’s Stone - if you touch it to a broken object, it will gradually repair it. It won’t last forever, but it should have enough magic left in it to restore the damage done."

Guidance, Sense Motive for Discovery (Influence): 1d20 + 8 + 1 ⇒ (11) + 8 + 1 = 20

"Can you tell us anything about Togimal in Shadow?" Sky asks the two Shoanti leaders. "Though I was adopted into the Lyrune-Quah and trained as one of their shamans, I don't think we've ever met."

I made that mistake once. I'd come home after a long run. Took a hot shower, then rubbed a generous amount of capsaicin cream over my aching feet, shins, and calves.

Still in my bathrobe, I grabbed a cup of coffee and sat down in something like a seiza-style position to watch the morning news.

A few seconds later, I leapt from the chair, shrieking in burning pain. I raced to the shower to wash away the cream from my holy-of-holies. That only made it much worse.

A painful lesson learned.

Cool.

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (1) + 12 = 13
"Greetings, Cousin-to-All. Rollicks-in-Waves." Skye flashes them a two-fingered sign of peace. "I am Skye, shaman of the Lyrune-Quah." He reaches out to embrace them in a bro hug.

Skye hasn't played #8-22 Wrath of the Fleshwarped Queen.

I played that scenario with 'Slam' Duncan, my oread monk.

Knowledge (local) Untrained re gifts: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (8) + 1 = 9
"The Shoanti who raised me were raiders, reavers. They captured me during a raid on a trade caravan. If we've got something they want, they won't be bashful."

Skye hooks a thumb at Serge. "We'll probably just have to rely on the Paladin's charm and good looks."

"The confusion is entirely understandable, Quang Chi." Skye rubs his temples. "Golarion sensibilities being what they are, humanoid gender is not considered a genetic or biological trait."

"One solution - probably proposed by some overfunded and overprivileged pesh addict somewhere in Taldor - was to 'simplify' things by using non-gender-specific third-person plural pronouns. "

"It varies from culture to culture. In some places, your identity is determined by whether you're on the 'giving' or the 'receiving' end of things, so to speak." The shaman ponders two hares rutting in the bushes nearby. "Thank goodness, the rest of Nature doesn't seem to give a crap, and goes about its business as it always has."

Skye takes another gurgling pull on his pipe. Although I did have a dog once that was deeply confused about its gender...

In most PFS situations, the GM usually has some leeway to grant up to a +4 circumstance bonus, especially for creative roleplaying.

Skye forces his dilated eyes to focus and leafs through the dossiers.

"Togimal in Shadow will represent my clan, the Lyrune-Quah," he notes. "I don't think we've ever met. But I hope he's cool."

The shaman runs a hand through his long dark hair, trying to recall anything he can about the man.

"I kinda remember the in-Shadows runs a family-operated business, Duck Commander."

(Thinking of the real-life characters of my favorite TV family from Duck Dynasty. Got Uncle Si to sign a book for me.)

"Are you one of them inquisitor types, dude?" Skye asks the little guy. "Don't judge me, bro."

"My weed makes you mellow, man." He shrugs, indifferent to the criticisms of the ignorant. "Opens your mind up to all kindsa possibilities."

"And it kinda makes you hungry, too," he says, rummaging around in his pockets and pulling out some dry rations. "Where'd I put that Chelaxian salsa-guacamole, the one Zarta made me?"

Diplomacy (gather information): 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (18) + 12 = 30

Skye was born in the borderlands between Irrisen and the Realm of the Mammoth Lords, the son of an exiled jadwiga White Witch and her Kellid lover from the Night Hunt following. He carries a stone fetish resembling a saber-tooth tiger, representing his spirit animal guardian. As an adolescent, Skye was taken prisoner from a trade caravan out of Irrisen by a Shoanti raiding party. He was later adopted by his captors, the Lyrune-Quah, the Moon Clan of the Storval Plateau in Varisia.
His midnight blue eyes sparkle like starlight, and he exudes an aura of otherworldliness. When he calls upon the Spirit of the Heavens, his eyes turn pitch black and the colors around him drain for a moment. Skye’s familiar, a snowy owl he calls Sova, might not be often seen, but she is never far from him. Sova is half-blind during the day and a bit clumsy as a result, but she’s at her primal best at twilight. She can also be a bit absent-minded, but Skye loves her all the more for it.

---

Having heard he'll be joining a mission heading north into Shoanti lands, Skye recalls what he heard while serving as a shaman among the Shoanti of the Lyrune-Quah.

When he meets the rest of the team in Venture-Captain Ambrus Valsin's office, he shares a few pertinent tidbits.

"Some of you probably know that the fierce Shoanti are spread throughout the Storval Plateau in northern Varisia, where they eke out a living in harsh, inhospitable conditions."

He pulls a pouch of tobacco from his belt, digs around in his robes, pulling out a cylindrical pipe, and grabs his waterskin from his handy haversack. He fill the pipe with water and packs in a fair amount of tobacco, then fires it up, taking a long, gurgling pull. He holds it a few moments, before releasing his breath in a large, blue-gray smoke ring.

"But you might not know that the Shoanti formerly inhabited much of southern Varisia, until they were forced northward into the Storval Plateau after bloody conflicts with Chelaxian colonists. This violent history has led to many Shoanti being mistrustful of outsiders."

"Shoanti Special Blend No. 7." The shaman offers to pass the pipe around. "I grow it in the flowerbeds of the Dark Archive."

"Despite seeming xenophobic, Shoanti are not completely closed off. Many outsiders have been known to join their ranks, but only after a history of demonstrating loyalty to their clan and dedication to its principles."

"Oh, I'm Skye," he adds, having forgotten his manners. "'Ssup?"

Chronicle's good to go. Thanks for GMing, Bret.

Thanks for running the session. Sent you a PM with my email address.

Boon?: 1d20 ⇒ 19
Which?: 1d4 ⇒ 1 Inheritor of Ghol-Gan (earn a grippli over the course of 12 games.)

*RETCON*

Skye pulls his head out of his fourth-point-of-contact and calls upon the Song of Spheres. Stardust materializes and settles upon the creature, causing it to shed light like a silver candle.
(-2 on attack rolls and sight-based Perception checks for 3 rounds. No save; SR Yes.)

WILCO.

I totally screwed up. (Skye doesn't even have silence prepared.) Cranking out too many posts in too many scenarios in too hurried a fashion.

If you'll permit the retcon, Skye would have used blindness vs a creature using gaze-attacks.

*EDIT* He knew they are undead, so no blindness. He'd use his stardust ability. -2 on attack rolls and sight-based Perception checks for 3 rounds.

Bless, Will vs Red: 1d20 + 11 + 1 ⇒ (15) + 11 + 1 = 27
Bless, Will vs Green: 1d20 + 11 + 1 ⇒ (17) + 11 + 1 = 29

"Your shrill shrieks are killin' my buzz, bro!"

Skye casts silence at a point on the ground behind the creatures.

After catching his breath, Skye casts false life and barkskin on himself.
(AC20/10T/20FF)
Temp HP: 1d10 + 6 ⇒ (2) + 6 = 8

CLW: 1d8 + 5 ⇒ (2) + 5 = 7
Attack; Force Damage: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (1) + 9 = 101d8 + 2 ⇒ (7) + 2 = 9

"Don't tap out yet, man." Skye casts cure light wounds on Mun, and the starknife takes a swipe at the undead.