Welcome to the Rise of the Runelords game, fellas. Here we go. You all should have gotten here through invitation, so i should have your email address.
For those of you who are new to pbp (play-by-post), this thread is where we will be doing all our out-of-character discussion. Some jokes are best "in the moment" in the actual game thread, and i'm totally cool with that. Let's just be intentional about using this space for the majority of our non-character stuff.
That said, here are the guidelines for character creation (which most of you already know):
25 pt buy
Races: core - ask me if you have one in mind that's not core… i'm a fan of non-conventional… (just ask Biter or Silent)
Classes: anything in the Core or anything in the upcoming Advanced Player's Guide
Starting gold: max gold for your chosen class
Traits: choose 2 from any Paizo product.
One last note:
While not new to gaming, i'm somewhat new to DM'ing - and this is definitely my first pbp as a DM. So I'm employing my +5 Umbrella of Grace here, folks.
Other than that, feel free to ask questions, let's get those backgrounds rounded out and then i'll try my best to get the game thread up and running quickly.
The Lightbringer comes forth ready to kick ass and take names! I'll have to see if I started with max gold, otherwise, she is built to spec.
and that's why you, Priyya, rock the hizzie. Also, you get a cookie for being my first player in.
I do believe I am ready as well... Do I get a half a cookie for being the second?
You get Priyya's crumbs. But i appreciate your timeliness nonetheless. :)
Priyya's watching her weight and willing shares 1/2 her cookie with you. Any latecomers can suck it.
By the by Kord, Bitiborium left the Flask o' Tarrasque on the bar in Limbo for Olivier when he left. :)
Ooooo I need to get back over there again - it's been too long! And thankee for the cookie!
You're most welcome for the cookie. Limbo is definitely going all over the place. Recently, its been a whole set of encounters in the suites, out in Cassomir, all sorts of whacky interpersonal stuff. It would probably be good to get a few folks back in the bar itself... Priyya is thinking about walking over there is short order to 'test her legs' so to speak.
I got me tankard full of ale and spell book dusted off
Priyya does something between a bow and a curtsey, "A Dwarven Wizard? You intrigue me sir..."
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I got me tankard full of ale and spell book dusted offPriyya does something between a bow and a curtsey, "A Dwarven Wizard? You intrigue me sir..."
Gilbere smiles and nods cordially towards Priyya and says "Thank ye lass, put yer feet up and join me for a spell", motioning to the sturdy chair across from him. Regardless of the answer he will continue to sip his ale, absently twirling a finely braided beard lock as he continues to to read his 'Arcana Omnibus'.
Priyya smiles ryely and takes a seat, only stopping to pull her scimitar's scabbard out of the way. Gilbere notes, the scabbard is battered and the hilt looks well-worn. With adroitness, Priyya spreads her robes comfortably and props her feet on a stool across from her... not exactly 'maidenly' behavior. "Is the bar open, or did you bring that with you?" she says indicating the dwarf's ale with a nod of her head and an entirely undemure smile.
*trying to get my stupid dot*
You da man, that worked!
Try using your stormraven avatar on a post...
After finishing his half of the cookie, Kord decides that an ale is definitely in order, and moves toward the bar.
"Two ales, please."
Priyya takes the proffered tankard of ale from Kord, toasts him silently in thanks with the lifted tankard, then blows the head off it and smiles, "Thank you, kind sir. I've traveled many miles thinking about a drink. Pull up a chair. There are no strangers, here."
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Silently mouthing the last memorizations from his daily incantations, Gilbere snaps his Arcanis Omnibus shut with a resounding clap, tucking it away in his backpack.
Leaning forward to give his ale his full attention, Gilbere looks across the table at his newest acquaintances and with a very un-dwarf-like puckish wink says, "So, what venture brings the two of ye here fer? From around these parts are ye frum?" he says raising an eyebrow quizzically leaning forward eying the pair expectantly.
She smiles somewhat hesitantly and says, "I don't know why I'm here specifically. I'm here, generally, because something about this area called to me. Something tells me there is evil here. I mean to root it out. It's what I do." She leans forward as she says the last sentence, almost to add subconscious emphasis to the point.
She sits back again, the intensity dimming, "As to your other question, I am Kelesh, as you may have gathered from my apparel. I come from Thuvia, originally. And you?" Her question seems to be addressed to both or either gentleman.
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"Kelesh and Thuvia, eh..", thinking about the geography parchments he studied in school, "yer far frum home lass.", appreciating the bluntness of the evil hunter.
Thumbing his chest, "Originally born in Janderhoff the jewel of Varisia but fer the last several years just finished me studies at the Acadamae in Korvosa.", patting his spell book in his backpack absently, he continues "a wizard, by trade, seeking lost arcane knowledge of Thassolians. Course till then selling meself out as a spell slinger and alchemist".
She arches a speculative eyebrow, "A Dwarven Mage is a rare thing. At least, I have never encountered one before. A pleasure to meet you, my name is Priyya Surya-ka-Vahaak." She holds her hand out to shake in the fashion of men. Based on the way she emphasized the hyphenated last syllables, you think perhaps they aren't her name. "May I assume you are 'slinging spells' here currently or just passing through?"
Just to make all this conversation worthwhile, you are having this conversation in a tavern in Magnimar, a city in southern Varisia. You are all meeting here because you have paid to have Kord to take you all to Sandpoint. (all for reasons i will email you each individually about.) It is around noon, and you will be setting out as soon as you're all ready (and i am, as the DM).
Kord takes off his hat and joins the unlikely pair at the table.
"Pleased t' meet ya's both. I'm Kord mel'Vakki - the one who's taking ya over t' Sandpoint. As fer where I'm from, I been all over this region, but I grew up here in Magnimar - so's I guess this is close t' home as I got."
He pauses to take a healthy gulp of his ale before he continues.
"We're waitin' on a couple more folks... then we'll be ready t' head out."
heck, i'll just do the setups here… don't peek in other people's spoilers, folks. unless they or I say it's cool for you to do so.
Fortune was with you on this trip, as well, and an old business contact from afar had a proposition for you. A mage from the Academy needed help getting to Sandpoint and was willing to pay. You already have a wagon headed that way… profit. His name's Gilbere, and you're meeting him at one of your local tavern haunts. He's bringing an Ulfen woman with him, plus any gear he has. He's a wizard, be ready for anything, right?
You've already picked up his wagon, loaded the cargo, arrived at the tavern, and met the wizard. Is this dark-skinned woman the other contact? She doesn't look Ulfen to you.
Also, where is Paehz? You didn't pay him to be late.
So you found yourself crossing into Varisian, then into Magnimar. A day of patient wandering and finally you felt it. That same old pull. A tug of something beyond touch or sight, a feeling in your soul that the time has come, and the pull centered on a young man - a local, by the looks of him. You followed him this very morning to this tavern. You know not what Sarenrae has in store for you this day, but this young man is involved. His name, you soon discovered, is Kord, and he's heading out later this day for a small frontier town called Sandpoint… when the Great Lady calls, you answer.
So you went south, and the search stil turned up nothing but dead end after dead end. Then one day you finally heard the rumor. A man at a bar had heard his friend tell of a mage who knew of old things. You couldn't quite understand why the South-lander thought it was so interesting, but for a price, he could point you in the right direction. Desperate or a break, you paid, and it turned out to be fortuitous, indeed. With enough coin, you were able to track down the name of the mage in question… one Gilbere. A dwarf mage, no less. You got a message to him at his academy, and as it turns out, the rune you saw was Thassolian in design, a dead culture, but one in which he also had some expertise. And, even more fortunate, he was leaving within the week for a small town in Varisia called Sandpoint, where he was to study some possible ruins of that very culture. He would gladly meet you there to see the Seven Sided star in person, if you're interested. The note indicated that you should meet him at a specific in on a specific day.
So today you find yourself marching down this odd street in this odd town, the tavern in sight. Hopefully, this lead will turn into something.
You began your preparations to leave immediately, and were only interrupted by an interesting message from some Ulfen lady with a question regarding an old relic. A sketch of the relic was included, and you immediately were taken aback by what you found. It was, in fact, of Thassolian design. The image portrayed a seven-sided star of some kind. Two opportunities in one week! You responded that it was, in fact, Thassolian, and that you'd love to see it in person, but that you wre about to leave on a planned expedition out to Varisian. Lucky for you, she responded and said she'd be happy to meet you there. Your local contact, a young enterprising human named Kord, had given you a location and a time to meet him in the Chelaxian city of Magnimar in Varisia. He'd then take you out to Sandpoint. So you offered her the same information. The Ulfen woman's name is Anneke.
Sometimes, Gilbere, yer' luck's just in!
You already knew and have worked with Kord before. I'll let you two decide if you like each other or not.
Sorry for spelling/grammar.. this was done in haste.
Kord leans in a bit toward Priyya.
"Sorry, m'lass, seems that I thought you were travelin' with our wizard friend here."
Having said that, he turns over to Gilbere.
"I believe, friend dwarf, that we're still waitin' for yer companion? Oh! Now this one looks a bit more like what I was expectin'..."
Anneke kicks in the door practically hoping someone bearing a 7-pointed emblem wants to start a fight. Seeing no takers, she bides her time ordering a tall meade for her drinking horn.
After looking after that priority, she turns to the rest of the room and calls out in a booming voice in rough common, "Dwarf called Gill Beer in hall?"
The blonde Ulfen warrior woman is nearly six feet tall with piercing blue eyes. She wears her hair in two long braids on the sides with the rest pulled back into a loose ponytail that is nearly long enough for her to sit on. Strips of blue leather secure them.
The chain shirt she wears belted around her waist would be big enough to fit even a studily built man, but it is pulled taut across her chest by her large bust. Her helm bears a central nasal, cheek-guards and tall wings arc up from the sides. Her tunic and cape are decorated with runes as are the scabbard in which her longsword rest. Slung across her back is a large round wooden shield and she carries a halberd like a staff when she walks.
Her legs are long muscular, bare under her tunic, and she wears boots that appear to have been fashioned from wolf pelts. While her face is attractive, you can tell from her perpetual serious expression and 100-yard glare that you had better have a reason to talk to her other than her bust or looks if you want to keep all your teeth...
"Seems yer in the right place, lass. M'name's Kord. This here is Gilbere, and this is Priyya, who's just joinin' us fer a drink. We're missing one more, and then we'll be ready t' head over t' Sandpoint."
"Seems yer in the right place, lass."
The woman glares at you like you just called her abilities into question, "You call me what, boy?"
"Seems yer in the right place, lass. M'name's Kord. This here is Gilbere, and this is Priyya, who's just joinin' us fer a drink. We're missing one more, and then we'll be ready t' head over t' Sandpoint."
Priyya sits forward, a strange intensity on her face as she looks at Kord, "Correction, Master Kord. I AM joining you." She's smiles briefly, seemingly trying to put a friendlier face on her previous statement, "Where precisely are we headed?" She says casually.
Tried to do this in Anneke's character sheet, but the dice command doesn't work there...
Kord's eyes crinkle with amusement at the blonde, and then he turns his attention to Priyya.
"Interesting, m'lady. Y'see, I'm the one who's been paid t' put this little jaunt together, and I don't recall you pitchin' in fer the trip. And seems t' me that ye'd know where we's headin' if ye wants to come along."
"On the other hand, if'n ye wants t' chip in somehow, yer more'n welcome. As t' precisely where we're headin', I reckon it's different fer each of us once we reach Sandpoint."
Priyya smiles, "And how much does 'chipping in' cost?"
She eyes the tall Ulfen woman appraisingly. She then takes her well-worn, travel-stained boots off the chair where they were propped, and kicks out a chair near her for the warrior-woman to sit in, before resuming her feet-up position, saying only, "Sit. It seems there is a bit of haggling to happen before we leave."
Kord's smile grows.
"Oh, well, I've already been paid for these other folks, so if they don't mind you tagging along fer nuthin', it's fine wit' me. But there's other ways... don't suppose, fer example, that yer a world-class chef? Or perhaps ye have a couple o' skins of some exotic vintage ye'd like t' share?"
Anneke continues boring holes into Kord's head while she slowly drinking her meade. When the small, dark-skinned woman kicks a stool her way, she nods in thanks to Priyya and sits.
"Anneke," she says simply gesturing to herself with her thumb. Ignoring Kord and looking at the dwarf she asks, "Gill Beer, huh? What do we haggle chips for?" Indicating Priyya and Kord she asks, "And they are...?"
"I know how to cook, but I am no chef. And I wouldn't be enjoying this ale quite so much if I had ANY vintage but stale water on me. However, I am 'useful' in a fight," she emphasized by tapping her scimitar's scabbard against the floor, "and I am a healer. I bear the light of Sarenrae. Are those skills enough for your party, or will coin be more to your, and their, liking?"
Priyya extends her hand to Anneke, in the fashion of men and grips her hand tightly, testing her arm strength against the other woman's . She acknowledges that Anneke is the stronger with a nod "Priyya Surya-ka-Vahaak. Good to meet you, Anneke. I'm glad to see we don't lack for fighting strength." She feels the other woman's bicep in a clinical fashion.
"I am 'useful' in a fight,"
These words get the Ulfen woman's attention and she turns her gaze towards Priyya sizing her up. While compact and much more relaxed and well-spoken, she notes both the size of her wiry arms compared to Kord's and the attentive care that has obviously been paid to the well-worn (albeit oddly shaped) sword she carries. Hmm, I do not dislike this one maybe...
"You like to fight?" Anneke asks.
"Priyya Surya-ka-Vahaak. Good to meet you, Anneke. I'm glad to see we don't lack for fighting strength."
Favorably impressed by the small woman's strength, Anneke nods her head approvingly. "In Linnorm lands, we greet like this."
She demonstrates grasping Priyya's forearm while Priyya grasps hers. She seems equal parts quizzical and amused when Priyya feels her upper arm and makes a muscle for her as she hefts her drinking horn.
At the holy woman's words, Anneke states simply, "The strong fight, with weak behind them."
Kord leans back into a more comfortable position in his chair and regards these two wildly different women.
"The land between here an' Sandpoint is no stroll in the park, so a healer'd be a nice ace up the sleeve, not t' mention the scimitar. And as I mentioned, I've already been paid - so if Gilbere doesn't mind, you're welcome."
Then Anneke's question catches Kord's attention.
Priyya turns her attention fully to Anneke and gives the question serious thought before saying matter-of-factly, "I am a Warrior-Priestess of Sarenrae - I am Surya-ka-Vahaak. Fighting with sword or spell defines me."
Favorably impressed by the small woman's strength, Anneke nods her head approvingly. "In Linnorm lands, we greet like this."
She demonstrates grasping Priyya's forearm while Priyya grasps hers. She seems equal parts quizzical and amused when Priyya feels her upper arm and makes a muscle for her as she hefts her drinking horn.[/b]
Priyya smiles widely at the larger woman, "Thank you for the lesson on greetings. I will remember it, if I ever travel to the Linnorm lands." She claps the other woman on the shoulder and then mocks having hurt her hand.
"The land between here an' Sandpoint is no stroll in the park, so a healer'd be a nice ace up the sleeve, not t' mention the scimitar. And as I mentioned, I've already been paid - so if Gilbere doesn't mind, you're welcome."
Priyya acknowledges the comment with a nod and turns her full attention on Gilbere and Anneke, "May I travel with you then?" There is weight to the words as she says them, clearly it is important to her.
"I am a Warrior-Priestess of Sarenrae - I am Surya-ka-Vahaak. Fighting with sword or spell defines me."
"Sar-en-rae? Sur-yak-vah? Is that god or king, I do not know."
"My king," she continues, "is dead but avenged. I am Shield Maiden, warrior for Torag who gives glory for courage and brave death. I help others find glory in good deaths."
Her serious demeanor seems to lighten a bit when Priyya pretends to hurt her hand clapping her shoulder. You almost think she might have smiled...
Looks like the dwarf's player may or may not have internet access til tonight (at the earliest), so feel free to kick back for a while. We're still waiting on Paezh (spelling?), but he should make an appearance some time today.
Other than that, i'll try to get the other thread ready to go. It'll be this weekend sometime (hopefully) when we switch over.
oh yah, and if you have access to masterwork items, i'm fine with them. I did give you max gold, after all.
"May I travel with you then?"
As if not understanding the point of the conversation that's been taking place, Anneke points to Priyya's sword and indicates her biceps and asks, "You are warrior, not girl, why you ask to travel? Anneke is not god or king."
Priyya takes no offense at the question. "Sarenrae is a Goddess, of the Sun, among other things. She smites evil with her light... among other things, as well." She smiles quirkily at her own strange phrasing. She seems to gauge the group for a moment before continuing. "Surya-ka-Vahaak" she enunciates a little more slowly so Anneke hears it in full, "is from ancient Kelesh, a very old version of my language. It is my mantle... my religious title." She looks to Anneke to see if she explained it well enough.
Paehz enters the tavern and orders an ale at the bar. He has distinctive white hair, though he is still young - in his late 20's, it would seem. Armed with greatsword and bow, he walks with the air of a man
"The gear is loaded in the wagon, Kord."
"Sur-ya ka Va-haak..." Anneke says it slowly as if thinking upon what the exotic word might mean based on how it feels for the mouth to make such a difficult series of sounds. "Is meaning of this man-tell, Surya-ka-Vahaak, a secret? It has an important sound. In Linnorm lands, some men call me Val-kyr-ie, chooser of the slain, is that a man-tell?"
"May I travel with you then?"As if not understanding the point of the conversation that's been taking place, Anneke points to Priyya's sword and indicates her biceps and asks, "You are warrior, not girl, why you ask to travel? Anneke is not god or king."
Priyya laughs heartily. "It is better to travel with people who want you there - they might save your skin in battle. But travel with people who DON'T want you there..." she shrugs, "they may not be as helpful." Priyya turns serious, "In truth, either I will travel with you or I will dog your steps all the way to Sandpoint. I would rather be with you but I leave that to Gilbere. You, Anneke, I think would be fine with my accompanying your group - though I am not so strong."
"Sur-ya ka Va-haak..." Anneke says it slowly as if thinking upon what the exotic word might mean based on how it feels for the mouth to make such a difficult series of sounds. "Is meaning of this man-tell, Surya-ka-Vahaak, a secret? It has an important sound. In Linnorm lands, some men call me Val-kyr-ie, chooser of the slain, is that a man-tell?"
"A secret? No. Just not particularly interesting." She smiles, "Many Priests tend to be long-winded. I try not to be. Inspiring the faithful is not my skill." She taps her sword meaningfully before answering the other part of Anneke's question. "Surya-ka-Vahaak means 'The Lightbringer'. In my order, there are many mantles - titles - if you will. Currently, there are only three 'Lightbringers'... And, yes, with the way you carry yourself, I think Valkyrie is a proud mantle."
"Thanks, Paehz. We're just about ready. It's lookin' like we might have one more joinin' with us t'day, but hey - the more, the merrier!"