Fevered Dreams

Game Master JonGarrett

Website of Fun
Museum and Library - Ground Floor
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Eh, depends on where you look. I never heard any particularly bad stories about Hestia, for example. XD


Personally I like Prometheus, he is a bada$$. Best titan of the bunch if you ask me. ;)


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I hear he makes the best liver and onions.


Yeah I guess that some of them were kinda nice.

Prometheus was a titan though and a pretty cool one at that imho, I agree.

I'm not sure if he enjoys making them though Tark :p

The Exchange

Do I have the only Westerner? And the only scientific theme?


Maybe the only scientific theme but not the only westerner.


Norville is pure American, though the only real science he does is working the computer for references and stuff. It was always his wife Velma that did the heavy science stuff...

The Exchange

Oh thank goodness. I was starting to think I missed a memo.


Rednal wrote:
Speaking of the list... do you have any idea when you might want to close recruitment?

March 4th. I was going to do it on the 3rd, but I decided to do my Birthday instead.


Right-o! I'll try to ensure we have a fully up-to-date submission list late on the 3rd, then. ^^


Ok I think I made a first draft of the character, I worked on the personality\background so far and started thinking about a build that I'll likely finish tomorrow together with an expanded background.

10 Minutes Background:

James “Istaqa” Curley

Five facts:
1. James Curley was born in 1990, son of John and Pauline Curley, of Native American origns, but whose family had largely left the traditions behind. The family is wealthy, his mother is a partner in a powerful law firm, but James’ older sister Angelique is the one who looks like would carry on their legacy due to her great determination and talent.
2. Lacking a sense of direction, he spent most of his youth and college life jumping from one thrill to the next, exotic vacations, extreme sports, getting into trouble.
3. During his Somophore year he left college, against his parents’ wishes, to go on a ‘big road trip’ through the states, getting by with what money he had left in his pockets, taking odd jobs and cheating at cards\pool. 4. While strolling through the crow reservation and having just relieved a poor family men of his last penny he caught the attention of an ‘Old wise man’. The man, not before goading him into losing even the shirt on his back, turned James into a werecoyote and mode locked him into his beast shape until he was satisfied with the punishment (it did take a while).
5. When the ‘old wise man’ became satisfied with his punishment, after a score of misadventure, he gave James back his form and became a sort of mentor figure to him. Teaching the young man about the Other Side and sometime sending him around the country to run strange errands, many time just cruel or playful lessons, others dealing with rogue spirits, occasionally mysterious for him, or even pointless (his mentor has an evil sense of humor) It was during one of those missions that he met Simmons…

Two goals:
1. James had seen a lot of weird s~&! from the Other side and wishes to keep everyone he could safe from it.
2. He also wants to find a way to playfully ‘get even’ his mentor for all the troubles that he has caused him, but the ‘old dog geezer’ as he calls him had so far managed to turn the table every time that James tried something.

Two Secrets:
1. James can’t fully control his feral nature all the time, he does his best to hide it though, generally he loses control when the Old Man who cursed him, would find it more amusing though rather than dangerous.
2.Once, while on a mission for his ‘old man’ dealing with a rogue supernatural, James screwed up, he acted sloppily and an innocent man died, he still doesn’t forgive himself for it.

Three People:
1. Angelicque Curley, James’s older sister, the only one in his family that he still talks with. She doesn’t really understand why James had cut ties with the rest of the family, but still loves her brother and the feeling is mutual, despite some rivalry in their youth.
2. The ‘old geezer dog’ an old shaman from the Crow Nation, maybe even a spirit in disguise, Joseph mentor in the supernatural and the one who cursed him. He sees him as a sort of father\cool grandpa figure, but the two are not always on the friendliest terms.
3. Peter Michaels, one of James college friends (and a notorious stoner), he is from Fever, the two are kinda close and James ‘might’ have told him a few secrets that those not initiated should not know about the Other Side.

Three Memories:
1. His father straight telling him that he was not suited for his family business, his sister trying to cheer him up after the deal.
2. The old Man playfully laughing as James got turned into a coyote, just after humiliatingly scamming him out of most of his stuff.
3. The cheerful smile of the people he had helped deal with an angry spirit problem after getting his eyes opened on the supernatural.
4. The lifeless eyes of a man he failed to save, cold, yet still accusing him from the afterlife.

Personality:

Formerly selfish, lazy, hedonistic, with a devil may care attitude to life, James had actually started to grow into a sense of responsibility, even if a leopard can’t lose his spots, so he is frequently prone to go back to his old self, especially when he is under some sort of stress that he can’t manage to deal with. He is generally an optimistic person, friendly, playful, tends to follow his guts more than his head when making important choices. He is bold at words, but not exactly lionhearted when things starts to go south. He likes a good prank and doesn’t mind too much when he is the object of one, but that doesn’t prevent him from plotting revenge of course.

Appearance:

looks

James is a twentysomething young man, athletic, roughly 5’ 11’’ tall, with dark eyes fashionably ruffled hair and a tanned complexion. He tends to dress casually, he is a Jeans and T-shirt type, wearing a baseball cap and biker leather jacket when appropriate (or if he has to hide something). He has a few tattoos, a series of tribal ones, stylized wildlife starting from his right shoulder until almost his elbow. He got another with small, stylized coyote and a magpie on his left shoulder, rarely visible with the shirt on however. There is a sort of feral vibe in the way he moves thought that people occasionally find off-putting.

Hobbies & Quirks:

He is a sucker for games of chance and kinda of an adrenaline junkie, had tried snowboarding, deep diving, parachuting (just once though), rafting, nothing really professionally however. He likes making bets and isn’t a bad gambler. He is an outdoorsy type and a pretty good Pool player. He had been in college, but saying that he is not that well educated would be an understatement. He has some very vague reminiscence of law though, the kind of thing that you can’t avoid hearing while half asleep or the bare minimum you need to pass a test.

Build Ideas:

Human Werecoyote, Ranger 1, Hunter (Feral Hunter, Roof Runner) 4, his shapeshifting representing animal traits that he ‘stole’ from other beasts a trick thaught by his mentor. He would have shapeshifting hunter as a talent and likely evil outsiders\undead as favorite enemies. Likely Chaotic Good. Wild shape will likely replace the were-creature shapeshifting soon, making it a bit less of an advantage. Better physical than mental stats, I’ll try to scrape some points for a moderately decent charisma even with the -2 from being a werecreature. Spells would mostly be buffs\utility and the rest of the feats will likely be to boost attacks of opportunity\give him some combat maneuvers, perhaps using Dirty Fighting in place of Combat Expertise to represent his fighting unconventionally\playing tricks. Planning to take natural spells at level 7.


Speaking of science stuff, anyone pick up any modern skills?


Miyu has Knowledge (Computers). o wo/ Didn't figure she'd be the one doing any crazy driving or anything, though.


Computers fall under Knowledge (Technology) I'm pretty sure. Amon picked it up, he hacks. Mostly to shut down cameras and other forms of detection.


Everest has a scientific background and is trained in Knowledge (computers), as well as Knowledge (engineering) and Knowledge (nature). He used these skills to implant a magically enhanced computer chip in his brain, granting him most of his mutant abilities.


@JonGarrett: Any comments on the problematic issues with Arnar Jonson?
I'm thinking Nascent Monster is the least problematic, probably followed by Hel's Boyfriend.

I've updated Arnar Jonson with more information on the least problematic options.


Realized i severely underspent money on thomas. Going back to fix it now.


Yeah, money does help. XD

Character Submission List

Amon Strom (OmniChaos) - Inveigler Incanter - Battlefield Control/Social
Aurora Goodberry (Sapiens) - Chooser of the Slain Warpriest - Melee/Healing/Weather
Daniel Solomon (D-Kal) - Psychic Investigator - Skill/Battlefield Control
Everest Palmer (Avoron) - Mutant Rogue/Spirit Binder Wizard - Arcane/Skill
Father Genevieve Blackfeather (Simeon) - Umbral Sorcerer - Arcane Casting
Joseph Zaidel (TheWaskally) - Holy Mighty Godling - Melee
Keeve "Snipe" (Saashaa) - Monk/Gunslinger/Rogue - Ranged Damage/Skill
Larkin Everett Blashford-Holmes (Philo) - Savant Incanter/Symbiat - Battlefield Control/Ranged Attacks(?)
Miyu (Rednal) - Psychic Incanter - Flexible Role
Norville "Shaggy" Rogers (DekoTheBarbarian) - Fortune-Blessed Ranger - Ranged Damage/Companion
Risbeth Von'Hogmede (mdt) - Thunder Child Brawler - Melee/Ranged Damage
Thomas Cooper (TarkXT) - Haunted One Gunsmoke Mystic - Ranged Damage


Almost done, hehe got some spare time today at work, still thinking about a melee weapon that could be practical, yet incospicuous to bring around without raising too much attention.

I have to say though that I could have likely done a better job in optimizing a thing or two here and there, I hope I haven't invested too much in 'fluff'.

I'm on a train at the moment, but I'll be back home in 3-4 hours, I hope I'll be able to finalize everything in the evening :)


Collapsible batons are nice, but can be considered a concealed weapon.


Realistically if you're not carrying a pistol or a knife you're pretty much stuck with improvised weapons in terms of reasonable self defense options.


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Unless we're in texas where a greatsword is your god given right as an American.


Oregon Law (Paraphrase) wrote:


What is Legal to Own
It is legal to own a dirk, dagger, or other stabbing knife
It is legal to own a Bowie knife
It is legal to own a switchblade or other automatic knife
It is legal to own a ballistic knife
It is legal to own a gravity knife
It is legal to own a Balisong, or butterfly knife and Balisong trainer
It is legal to own a stiletto

What is Illegal to Own
Oregon law does not restrict the ownership of any type of knife for those who have not been convicted of a felony. As a matter of fact, in 1984 in State v. Delgado, the Supreme Court of Oregon found that former Oregon statute § 166.510(1) was unconstitutional because it prohibited the mere possession and mere carrying of a weapon. The Court believed that restricting the possession and open carrying of weapons for non-felons was a violation of a person’s right to bear arms under the 2nd Amendment to the Constitution.

Oregon Gun Laws

Basically, you can own pretty much any thing you want as long as the Feds won't come after you for it, and you can open carry it. If you don't have a criminal record, you can get (automatically) a conceal carry permit if you are a resident. And if you have one, local municipalities (with very very few exceptions) can't restrict you from carrying your gun.

There are a few places you can't open carry, mostly in the big cities, but you can still conceal carry.

Liberty's Edge

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"Gravity Knife" sounds much cooler than it actually is.


Meh my train is struck (there is another train in front of us with technical issues) and I have no idea when it's going to start again... I fear I have been too optimistic in assessing the chances of finishing the character tonight :(

Anyway yeah I guess some sort of knife and an easily concealable gun could work. Than maybe something a bit less acceptable in an Handy haversack (assuming I have 2k to spare) could be nice in case some nasty critter shows up :p


*Rubs chin* Also, I have one more question, GM. One of the things Miyu gets from her template is use of the Legend Lore spell - but only for things she's touching. Would you say that - given the Psychometer's overall theme of understanding what they touch - it can be used with any item she's touching, or just stuff that's normally "legendary"?

(Either way works for me, but the details will have some effect on how I flavor her usual investigative work. XD)

@Nerdzul: Well, you have at least through tomorrow... although I totally understand wanting to finish a character and not quite being able to. Here's hoping there are no other travel delays!


TarkXT wrote:
Realistically if you're not carrying a pistol or a knife you're pretty much stuck with improvised weapons in terms of reasonable self defense options.

Or you can be like Everest and just use a hanbo as a cane.


JonGarret wrote:
Let's work on the assumption that people have a home, basic possesions, a form of transport and such in keeping with there background and that the money for your character is for adventuring gear.

So does that mean I start with the Mystery Machine? Also, I have ranks in Drive.


Rednal wrote:
*Rubs chin* Also, I have one more question, GM. One of the things Miyu gets from her template is use of the Legend Lore spell - but only for things she's touching. Would you say that - given the Psychometer's overall theme of understanding what they touch - it can be used with any item she's touching, or just stuff that's normally "legendary"?

Let's go with just legendary, and if that proves too limiting we can discuss opening it up further down the line.

Harakani wrote:

@JonGarrett: Any comments on the problematic issues with Arnar Jonson?

I'm thinking Nascent Monster is the least problematic, probably followed by Hel's Boyfriend.

I've updated Arnar Jonson with more information on the least problematic options.

I'm sorry, I thought I'd replied to this.

The King is the Land - The bulk of the game will take place in the town, but there will be bits going out of it. We can either play with the downside (he gets the mojo to leave, but he's on a timer and gets sicker as he goes) or you can play another character during those episodes.

Nascent Monster - Yeah, things like Fear Aura will be suppressible. An NPC will have the Smoke creature template, and won't walk around like a one being smoking ban.

Hel's Byfriend - Fire Mountain Games has a feat, Mortal Visage that would work for Lich's.

Mythic - Valda is a Magus/Wizard.
I've played with Mythic before, so it's likely doable.


Hmm... actually, you know what? o wo I bet I can get something appropriately close with the Psychic Sensitivity feat. Occult Skill Unlocks are a very Miyu-ish thing to begin with. *Goes to shuffle things around and try to make that work*


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DekoTheBarbarian wrote:
So does that mean I start with the Mystery Machine? Also, I have ranks in Drive.

TheWaskally gets on his hands and knees and begins to grovel at JonGarret's feet.

"PLEASE! Please! Please! Please! Please! PLEAAAAASE can Shaggy have the Mysery Machine?! Oh, PLEASE!"


Risbeth's new Bike


Norvill & Companion?

Best Mystery Machine I ever saw


@mdt: I love those. That Mystery Machine is awesome, wish we were in a setting I could use it lol


I've bought Genevieve a hat of disguise, generally taking the form of an earpiece when he changes his appearance. It'll help him blend in when he needs to appear completely human.


Happy Birthday Weekend, JonGarrett! Hope you have an awesome time!!


(sigh) I know I got the funds to get more gear, but I don't think I can do it thematically. I can't afford glamered weapons, and Joseph isn't a big gun nut, so the revolver is just fine for him. At least, he can take my own vehicle to Fever instead of the Greyhound.


Indeed happy birtthday Jon.

Hopefully I'll be able to finish writing everything today :)

@Rednal yes indeed


Happy B-Day


Here is a first pass at the crunch that I have done yesterday, I think I'd like to find some trick to raise his damages a bit when not shapeshifted though.

Hehe I also keep changing the name, but I guess I'll settle on one this evening when I post the whole character, I want a common american name as his family, despite their NA origins has 'westernized' their names.

CharacterCrunch:

Jason “Istaqa” Curley, Neutral Good.
Male human natural werecoyote Hunter (Feral Hunter , Roof Hunter ) 4, Ranger 1
NG Medium humanoid (human, shapechanger)
Init +3; Senses Perception +10 (lowlight vision, scent,)
--------------------
Defense
--------------------
AC 14, touch 14, flat-footed 11 (+1 deflection, +3 Dex in casualwer) or 18 (+1 deflection, +3 dex, attuned hidden vest +1 +4)
hp 39 (4d8+1d10+10)
Fort +9, Ref +10, Will +6
DR : 10/silver
--------------------
Offense
--------------------
Speed 30 ft.
Melee +7 switchblade (1d4+4) or +8 attuned tomahawk (1d8+5)
Ranged Heavy Pistol +7 (2d6)
Special Attacks favored enemy (aberrations +2, evil outsiders +4)
Spells (CL 4th; concentration +6, +10 on defensive)
. . At will— detect magic, detect poison, mending, light, read magic, stabilize
. . 4/day— faerie fire, magic fang, obscuring mist, resist energy, summon nature’s ally I
. . 2/day— barkskin, summon nature’s ally II, vine strike
Alternate Shapes:
Coyote (Str 18, Dex 16, Sta 16, Cha 12, wis 15, Int 10) AC 17, +4 Natural Armor +3 Dexterity +1 deflection, Attacks: Bite + 8 (1d6+4 + trip), lowlight vision, scent. Speed 40 ft
Hybrid (Str 18, Dex 16, Sta 16, Cha 12, wis 15, Int 10) AC 20, +4 Natural Armor +3 Dexterity +3 vest +1 deflection, Attacks: Bite + 4 (1d6+4 + trip) attuned tomahawk +9 (1d6+5), lowlight vision, scent. Speed 40 ft
Jaguar (wild shape) (Str 18, Dex 16, Sta 14, Cha 12, wis 15, Int 10) AC 15, +2 Natural Armor +3 Dexterity +1 deflection, Attacks: Bite + 8 (1d6+4), 2 claws +8 (1d4+4), lowlight vision, scent.Speed 40 ft
Eagle (wild shape) (Str 16, Dex 18, Sta 14, Cha 12, wis 15, Int 10) AC 15, +1 Natural Armor +4 Dexterity +1 deflection, Attacks: Bite + 7 (1d4+3), 2 talons +7 (1d4+3), Fly (30 ft) lowlight vision Speed 40 ft
--------------------
Statistics
--------------------
Str 16, Dex 16, Con 14, Int 10, Wis 15, Cha 12
Base Atk +4; CMB +7; CMD 20
Feats Dirty Fighter, Iron Will, Ouflank, Power Attack, Shapeshifting Hunter
Weapon and Armor Proficiencies: simple, martial, light and medium (ranger)
Traits: Fast Talker, Touched by Twilight
Skills Acrobatics* (5 +3 dex) +11, Bluff* ( 5 +1cha +1 trait) +10 Climb* (2+3 str) +8, Heal* (2+2wis) +7, Knowledge (nature)* (3) + 6 Perception (5 +2 wis) +10, Drive* (3+3 dex) +9; Spellcraft* (1) +4 Stealth* (4+3 dex) +10, Survival* (2 +2 wis) +7, Swim*4 (2+3 str) +8 Fly (1+3dex) +4 Background Skills Craft* (1 Mechanics) +4, Knowledge (geography)* (1) +4, Linguisitcs (3, Crow, French, Sylvan), Sleight of Hand* (1+3dex) +7, Profession* (gambler 1 +2 wis) 6, Profession* (Pool hustler) (1+2) 6,
* Class Abilities.
Languages English (US), Crow Language, French (Canadian), Sylvan
SQ change shape (human, hybrid, coyote; polymorph), lycantropic empathy (coyote), track +1, wild empathy (+5), feral focus, natural leaper (+2), Wild Shape (1/day 5h, beast shape I), Precise summoned animal.

Other Gear an Handy Haversack (2000) with most of his possessions, a few changes of clothes, including a business suit, heavy leather clothing (50), an attuned bulletproof vest +1 (20) to hide under a jacket, an heavy pistol(1000), a tazer(4), duct tape(10), a Swiss army knife(10), an Any-Tool (500g). A switchblade (10), three tomahawks (axe) modernly forged (256 one is the attuned weapon +1, the other has an alchemical silver treatment on the blade 96, the last one is cold iron 12) 1.032 $ Non adventuring gear an old, but well-kept sport Motorbike (A Ducati monster maybe), laptop, smartphone, few change of clothes.


*Hums and updates the list*

For Miyu, I wound up exchanging her Cantrips feat for Psychic Sensitivity, so now she's got Psychometry once a day (and some other stuff she may occasionally bother with, but that's less of a focus).

Character Submission List

Amon Strom (OmniChaos) - Inveigler Incanter - Battlefield Control/Social
Aurora Goodberry (Sapiens) - Chooser of the Slain Warpriest - Melee/Healing/Weather
Daniel Solomon (D-Kal) - Psychic Investigator - Skill/Battlefield Control
Everest Palmer (Avoron) - Mutant Rogue/Spirit Binder Wizard - Arcane/Skill
Father Genevieve Blackfeather (Simeon) - Umbral Sorcerer - Arcane Casting
Jason "Istaqa" Curley (Nerdzul) - Natural Werecoyote Hunter/Ranger - Melee and Ranged Damage/Support Magic
Joseph Zaidel (TheWaskally) - Holy Mighty Godling - Melee
Keeve "Snipe" (Saashaa) - Monk/Gunslinger/Rogue - Ranged Damage/Skill
Larkin Everett Blashford-Holmes (Philo) - Savant Incanter/Symbiat - Battlefield Control/Ranged Attacks(?)
Miyu (Rednal) - Psychic Incanter - Flexible Role
Norville "Shaggy" Rogers (DekoTheBarbarian) - Fortune-Blessed Ranger - Ranged Damage/Companion
Risbeth Von'Hogmede (mdt) - Thunder Child Brawler - Melee/Ranged Damage
Thomas Cooper (TarkXT) - Haunted One Gunsmoke Mystic - Ranged Damage

Scarab Sages

@JonGarrett: The Dream Creature template has an ability called Dream Spellcasting that increases caster level for certain types of illusions (figment, glamer, pattern). Being a Hedgewitch, Rayna will have only sphere casting, not any spells with those labels. Can we translate it somehow?

To follow the pattern of some SoP classes and archetypes, maybe we would make her a High-Caster for the Illusion sphere (remaining a Mid-Caster for all others). I'm not sure if that might be too strong, though. I've always had the impression that a caster level increase is a stronger thing in SoP than in Vancian magic, so if you wanted to change this to just an increase to Rayna's Magic Skill Bonus and Defense for all abilities/talents of the Illusion sphere, I'd be fine with that.


*Peeks in* If it helps, the Wiki has a Schools to Spheres conversion table under Rituals:

Abjuration = Protection
Abjuration (good, evil, lawful, chaotic) = Fate
Conjuration (creation) = Creation
Conjuration (healing) = Life
Conjuration (teleportation) = Warp
Conjuration (calling, summoning) = Conjuration
Divination = Divination
Enchantment = Mind
Evocation = Various(1)
Illusion = Illusion
Necromancy = Death
Transmutation = Enhancement
Transmutation (polymorph) = Alteration
Transmutation (earth, air, fire, water) = Nature

(1) Evocation includes so many different types of spells that a simple conversion isn’t possible. (Light) spells would be the Light sphere, (Darkness) spells would be the Dark sphere, but others could be Destruction, Weather, Mind, or even Creation depending on the spell in question. GMs should use their own good judgment to determine which sphere an Evocation spell should use.

Also, a Caster Level bonus isn't stronger in Spheres, per se. In fact, most casters are sort of expected to have at least a little bit of that in their favored Sphere(s), thanks to Staves. XD


Treat it as being two caster levels higher for the Illusion Sphere.

Scarab Sages

JonGarrett wrote:
Treat it as being two caster levels higher for the Illusion Sphere.

Sounds good!

On a different note, I just discovered the Possessed Hand line of feats. This is fantastic--all 4 of my feats have been determined in a flash.


Someone was watching too much Vampire Hunter D when they came up with those feats. :)


I think I have finally finished, I changed a few things to the build and background, but nothing too drastic.

Rednal I'd say that the character is more of a melee damage\support, he does carry a gun, but it's mostly to avoid 'bring a knife to a gunfight' situation than really being that proficent with it :p

By the way I'm kinda new on this forum and I must say I have been reading a lot of cool character ideas here.

Jason "Istaqa" Curley

10 Minutes Background:

Five facts:
1. Jason Curley was born in 1990, son of John and Pauline Curley, of Native American origins, but whose family had largely left their traditions behind. The Curleys are wealthy lawyers, but distant parents, Jason being the least favorite son and kinda of a screw-up especially compared to his much more talented older sister Angelique.
2. Lacking a sense of direction, he spent most of his youth and early college life jumping from one thrill to the next, exotic vacations, extreme sports, getting into trouble. After a first college semester he decided to run from home to ‘find himself’. Living off his wits, taking a few odd jobs, but mostly relying on small cons and hustling to get by.
3. While journeying through the Crow reservation and having just conned a poor family men of his last penny he caught the attention of an ‘Old wise man’ a shaman, or a spirit perhaps. The man, not before goading him into losing even the shirt on his back, after a misguided attempt by the young man to get even by robbing him, turned Jason into a werecoyote and mode locked him into his beast shape until he was satisfied with the punishment (it did take a while).
4. During the time of his ‘punishment’ the old shaman and the young man became sort of friends, in fact the first took him as an apprentice, shifting his way of life, connecting Jason with his upbringing and involving him with the Other Side. Under the shaman’s guidance Jason became a sort of ‘spiritual troubleshooter’ dealing with rogue beings from the other side while he wasn’t busy in some other errand that his mentor provided him, many whose final purpose was unknown to him.
5. Growing proud of his skills and taking his ‘job’ mostly as another source of adrenaline rush Jason ended up botching one of his ‘hunts’ the deal ended with the death of an innocent man, the father of a little girl who had been kidnapped by a lesser demon. Jason dealt with the creature and saved the girl, barely surviving himself, but the man died. Shortly thereafter Jason left the company of his mentor, but he didn’t fully abandon his new vocation, in fact, he delved into it with renewed effort, roaming the States hunting. It was during one of those hunts that he met Valda Simmons.

Two goals:
1. Jason had seen a lot of nasty things from the Other Side and had witnessed the death of someone under his care, he wants to keep more people from meeting the same end.
2. He also wants to find a way to playfully ‘get even’ his mentor for all the troubles that he has caused him, but the ‘old dog geezer’ as he calls him had so far managed to turn the table every time that Jason tried something.

Two Secrets:
1. Once, while on a mission for his ‘old man’ dealing with a rogue supernatural, Jason screwed up, he acted sloppily and an innocent man died, he still doesn’t forgive himself for it.
2. Jason can’t fully control his feral nature all the time, he does his best to hide it though, generally he loses control when the Old Man who cursed him would find it more amusing though rather than dangerous.

Four People (I know I’m cheating):
1. Angelique Curley, Jason’s older sister, the only one in his family that he still talks with. She doesn’t really understand why Jason had cut ties with the rest of the family, but still loves her brother and the feeling is mutual, despite some rivalry in their youth.
2. The ‘old geezer dog’ an old shaman from the Crow Nation, maybe even a spirit in disguise, Joseph mentor in the supernatural and the one who cursed him. He sees him as a sort of father\cool grandpa figure, but the two are not always on the friendliest terms.
3. Mee-nah-tsee-us ‘Mya’, the daughter of the man whose loss of life is a strain on Jason’s conscience, they keep in touch, trade letters and
4. Peter Michaels, one of Jason college friends (and a notorious stoner), he is from Fever, the two are kinda close and Jason ‘might’ have told him a few secrets that those not initiated should not know about the Other Side.

Three Memories:
1. His mother straight telling him that he was not suited for his family business, his sister trying to cheer him up after the deal.
2. The old Man playfully laughing as Jason got turned into a coyote, just after humiliatingly scamming him out of most of his stuff.
3. The cheerful smile of the people he had helped deal with an angry spirit problem after getting his eyes opened on the supernatural and the lifeless eyes of a man he failed to save, cold, yet still accusing him from the afterlife.

Full wall of text Background:

Native American by blood, but hardly by culture, as his family had broken their ties with their ancestors soon after they got married raising him in California. Jason had grown up with largely absentees parents, plenty of money, as both John and Pauline Curley were successful lawyers, with the latter being a partner in a powerful legal firm, but little guidance. Besides what little attention they had for their kids, was mostly awarded to their firstborn Angelique, whose brilliant academic results and great determination made her the ‘golden child’ especially compared to the more ‘screw up’ Jason, who had far from stellar performances. Strangely enough though brother and sister were pretty close, with Angelique trying to reach Jason whenever he delved into more self-destructive behaviors.

Free to do pretty much whatever he wanted, wealthy, unsupervised, Jason spent his youth getting in trouble, consorting with the ‘wrong’ kind of cliques, jumping from an adrenaline high to another, from a messy sentimental life, to a passion for extreme and dangerous sports, even a brief foray into drugs, fortunately quickly quashed, mostly thanks to his sister. After a far from brilliant first semester in college, one he got in due to his mother money not certainly for his skills, Jason got fed up with the subject and decided to leave to ‘find his own path’. With little more than the clothes on his back and whatever cash he could abscond with, the still barely more than teenage boy decided to embark in a ‘grand adventure’ through the States. Living off his wits proved to be harder than he thought, but all in all, Jason managed to keep himself afloat, taking odd jobs, using his natural charisma and good reflexes to con people out of their money, becoming more cynical and exalting his pre-existing selfish nature. Much likely, he was doomed to end splattered on a rock after one of his questionable athletic adventures, or stabbed in a back alley after being caught cheating on a game of chance.

It was a couple of years later, when he was visiting the Crow reservation, when things changed. The young man was there mostly out of curiosity, to learn about the people his family had left behind, unimpressed and needed to raise a bit of cash, Jason busied himself hustling at pool a poor and almost drunk fellow out of his earnings when he met a local wise man, an old shaman who had witnessed the whole deal. Jason never knew exactly how he had attracted the attention of ‘Old Coyote’ as the shaman called himself, perhaps it was a whim, or maybe the whole deal was his design.

The shaman found him in the process of smugly explaining the pleading fellow that what was done was done and the money where dutifully lost. There was something weird, surreal perhaps, in the stranger looks when he offered to win the sum back from Jason, but the young man didn’t mind. Sure, the old guy cryptic babbling or out of time attires must had been just for show and the taunting about the way he was spending his life just to get under his skin… Besides he was betting a pretty expensive piece of jewelry, far more valuable in fact than Jason’s gains. For him it was a win-win. Their game lasted the whole night, the two of them traded words, jokes, drinks, maybe an advice or two, Jason’s confidence waning with every loss, putting more and more of what he had on the platter every time, his ego or perhaps the old shaman trickery, preventing him to stop the game. Once it was finally over, Old Coyote had cleaned out Jason of his money and the majority of his possessions, in fact the young man would have bet away even if pants if it wasn’t for the shaman’s compassion. Unwilling to let the matter slide and besides, finding himself penniless and stranded, Jason decided to get even by robbing the old shaman back of his stuff, taking a bit of extra as interest perhaps. Not unlike the evening before he had little luck outsmarting the shaman though. Caught in the act, he was prepared for the man to call the local police, not exactly worried given that he was not a citizen of the reservation and would have had little power to punish him anyway. The man though had something different in mind. Revealing his sorcerous nature, the shaman turned the young would be thief into a coyote, promising to turn him back once he had learned his ‘lessons’.

It turned out that he needed months before the Old Coyote considered the deal to be over. During the time they shared together, some even mercifully spent as human, even if always repaid with grueling chores, Jason started to bond with him. In fact the Coyote showed the young man a different side to life, one that had meaning, even a way to put his talents and willingness to risk his neck to a ‘good use’. Not that the man definition of ‘good’ was always conventional of course given the nature of his new mentor. Jason’s mind was exposed to a new world, his heart craving for a purpose in life satisfied, Jason became a sort of apprentice to the old shaman. In fact he even managed to pick a bit of magic himself, figuring out how to turn the Coyote curse into a blessing, how to steal the gifts of the beasts of the world, that the shaman claimed he ‘had created’ to use them as his own. Under the old man guidance, Jason working for his mentor and his people sometimes keeping the hostile inhabitants of the Other Side in place others following the mysterious designs of Old Coyote, even earning a sort of ‘honest’ living out of it, together with the ‘Itsaqa’ moniker, son of Coyote.
The better he become, the more confident in his power and abilities he grew, in fact, he started to take his ‘job’ not unlike the entertainments of his youth, a distraction an adrenaline rush. It wasn’t however going to last, one day, while hunting alone a ‘rogue’ spirit, a minor demon perhaps, Jason had too much bravado and was unprepared, sloppy. The creature had kidnapped a little girl Mee-nah-tsee-us ‘Mya’ for short, bringing her in the woods to its lair for some nefarious purpose. Jason had been on the pursuit, followed by the girl’s father, one that the hunter couldn’t care to convince to stay put. While the creature was defeated and exiled back to the place it came from and the child saved, Jason just barely survived and the girl’s father didn’t. In fact the young hunter still has nightmares of the cold eyes of the man he had failed and the ones full of tears of his daughter.

After the accident, Jason didn’t stay in the reservation for long, perhaps a part of him couldn’t bear to see the family whose trust he had somewhat betrayed, or maybe he felt that there was little he could do there to help. When he decided to leave the Old Coyote didn’t stop him, in fact, the shaman was nowhere to be found. When Jason left though, he didn’t forget what he had learned, in fact, he kept hopping from place to place where he could find supernatural disturbance, doing his best to do his ‘job’, most of the money he earns going back to Mya and her family.

To this day, Jason still runs errands for his mentor, who contacts him sometime in dreams, others by phone (Jason playfully calls him ‘geezer’, but the shaman seems to be pretty modern thinking for a man who seems to remember historical events of the last century). It was one of them had lead him to Fever and to Valda Simmons, just a few months before his invitation.

Personality:

Originally a roguish type, selfish, lazy, hedonistic, with a devil may care attitude to life, Jason had actually started to grow into a sense of responsibility. Still playful and far from immune to temptation, as a leopard can’t lose his spots, he does manage to focus though when he knows that something important is on the line. He is generally an optimistic person; a bit reckless perhaps, he tends to follow his guts more than his head when making important choices. He has a tendency to run away when things go really south, but he is doing his best to fight it, especially if someone else’s skin is on the line. At times he is a bit arrogant and overconfident, life trying to teach him his when he is wrong in the hard way however had started to change him, making the young man a bit more cautious.
Generally, he keeps up a good mood and doesn’t like to thinks his problems through too much if he has something better to do. He likes a good prank and doesn’t mind too much when he is the object of one, not that he wouldn’t take some kind of revenge in tone though.

Appearance:

Appearance

Jason is a twentysomething young man, athletic, roughly 5’ 11’’ tall, with dark eyes fashionably ruffled hair and a tanned complexion. He tends to favor comfort over looks; he is a Jeans and T-shirt type, wearing a baseball cap and biker leather jacket when appropriate (or if he has to hide something), but he’s not above ‘dressing up’ in a business suit if the need arises. He has a few tattoos, a series of tribal ones, stylized wildlife starting from his right shoulder until almost his elbow. He got another with small, stylized coyote and a magpie on his left shoulder, rarely visible with the shirt on however. There is a sort of feral vibe in the way he moves thought that people occasionally find off-putting.

Hobbies & Quirks:

He is a sucker for games of chance and kinda of an adrenaline junkie, had tried snowboarding, deep diving, parachuting (just once though), rafting, nothing really professionally however. He likes making bets and isn’t a bad gambler. He is an outdoorsy type. He is a good Pool player. He had been in college, but saying that he is not that well educated would be an understatement. He has some very vague reminiscence of law though, the kind of thing that you can’t avoid hearing while half asleep or the bare minimum you would need to pass a test.

Stats:

Jason “Istaqa” Curley, Neutral Good.
Male human natural werecoyote Hunter (Feral Hunter , Roof Hunter ) 4, Ranger 1
NG Medium humanoid (human, shapechanger)
Init +3; Senses Perception +10 (lowlight vision, scent,)
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Defense
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AC 14, touch 14, flat-footed 11 (+1 deflection, +3 Dex in casualwer) or 18 (+1 deflection, +3 dex, attuned hidden bulletproof vest +1 +4)
Hp 44 (4d8+1d10+10 +4)
Fort +9, Ref +10, Will +6
DR : 10/silver
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Offense
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Speed 30 ft.
Melee +7 switchblade (1d4+4) or +8 attuned tomahawk +1 (1d8+5)
Ranged Revolver +7 (1d8)
Special Attacks favored enemy (aberrations +2, evil outsiders +4)
Spells (CL 4th; concentration +6, +10 on defensive)
. . At will— detect magic, detect poison, mending, light, read magic, stabilize
. . 4/day— faerie fire, magic fang, obscuring mist, resist energy, summon nature’s ally I
. . 2/day— barkskin,lesser restoration, summon nature’s ally II,
Alternate Shapes:
Coyote (Str 18, Dex 16, Sta 16, Cha 12, wis 15, Int 10) AC 17, +4 Natural Armor +3 Dexterity +1 deflection, Attacks: Bite + 8 (1d6+6 + trip), lowlight vision, scent. Speed 40 ft
Hybrid (Str 18, Dex 16, Sta 16, Cha 12, wis 15, Int 10) AC 20, +4 Natural Armor +3 Dexterity +3 vest +1 deflection, Attacks: Bite + 4 (1d6+4 + trip) attuned tomahawk +9 (1d6+5), lowlight vision, scent. Speed 40 ft
Jaguar (wild shape) (Str 18, Dex 16, Sta 14, Cha 12, wis 15, Int 10) AC 15, +2 Natural Armor +3 Dexterity +1 deflection, Attacks: Bite + 8 (1d6+4), 2 claws +8 (1d4+4), lowlight vision, scent.Speed 40 ft
Eagle (wild shape) (Str 16, Dex 18, Sta 14, Cha 12, wis 15, Int 10) AC 15, +1 Natural Armor +4 Dexterity +1 deflection, Attacks: Bite + 7 (1d4+3), 2 talons +7 (1d4+3), Fly (30 ft) lowlight vision Speed 40 ft
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Statistics
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Str 16, Dex 16, Con 14, Int 10, Wis 15, Cha 12
Base Atk +4; CMB +7; CMD 20
Feats Dirty Fighter, Iron Will, Ouflank, Power Attack, Shapeshifting Hunter
Weapon and Armor Proficiencies: simple, martial, light and medium (ranger)
Traits: Fast Talker, Touched by Twilight
Skills Acrobatics* (5 +3 dex) +11, Bluff* ( 5 +1cha +1 trait) +10 Climb* (2+3 str) +8, Heal* (2+2wis) +7, Knowledge (nature)* (1) + 4, Knowledge (planes) (1) + 1 Perception (5 +2 wis) +10, Drive* (3+3 dex) +9; Spellcraft* (1) +4 Stealth* (4+3 dex) +10, Survival* (2 +2 wis) +7, Swim*4 (2+3 str) +8 Fly (1+3dex) +4 Background Skills Craft* (1 Mechanics) +4, Knowledge (geography)* (1) +4, Linguisitcs (4, Crow, French, Sylvan, Infernal), Sleight of Hand* (1+3dex) +7, Profession* (gambler 1 +2 wis) 6, Profession* (Pool hustler) (1+2) 6,
* Class Abilities.
Languages English (US), Crow Language, French (Canadian), Abyssal, Sylvan
SQ change shape (human, hybrid, coyote; polymorph), lycantropic empathy (coyote), track +1, wild empathy (+5), feral focus, natural leaper (+2), Wild Shape (1/day 5h, beast shape I), Precise summoned animal.
Other Gear an Handy Haversack (2000) with most of his possessions, a few changes of clothes, including a business suit, heavy leather clothing (50), an attuned bulletproof vest +1 (20) to hide under a jacket, a revolver (500), a tazer(4), duct tape(10), a Swiss army knife(10), an Any-Tool (500g). A switchblade (10). Three tomahawks (axe) modernly forged, one is his attuned weapon with ghost touch +1 (1256), the other has an alchemical silver treatment on the blade (96), the last one is cold iron (12). 532 $ Non adventuring gear an old, but well-kept sport Motorbike (A Ducati monster maybe), laptop, smartphone, few change of clothes.


mdt wrote:
Someone was watching too much Vampire Hunter D when they came up with those feats. :)

Honestly, my first impression when I found those was the movie Idle Hands.

Also, happy b-day, Jon!!

Scarab Sages

Well, shoot. I don't think I'm actually going to get this done in time. I don't have any real writing done, just some choices picked out from Ash's Personality thing.

Anyway, I had fun imagining the character. Maybe I can follow the story once you all get going, I think it will be interesting!


Nah, Idle Hands was not helpful. Vampire Hunter D's hand was very helpful, and attacked, healed him, and if I remember correctly, moved him at times.

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