The outskirts of Korvosa are bustling with life. Tinkers, peddlers, fortunetellers, everyone is working to help build the famed Umbral Carnival, only held during a new moon, always in a different location, always shifting.
You fiddle with your Harrow deck absent-mindedly. Without looking, you already know what card you would draw, the Carnival has been consistent in the last days. The cards told you the way, guided you here for an unknown reason, but you have seen the power of a reading one time too many, you would not dare to fight when destiny pulls so hard at you.
There are chairs on the lawn, a low-bodiced Varisian girl is waltzing among them, carrying frothing mugs of ale from a wagon.
You'd love a drink right now.
Walking up to the open tavern is a rabbitfolk dressed in black studded armor and decorated in a few strings of beads on his head. An ornate harrow carrying deck is strapped to his belt, next to it is a beautifully crafted starknife. A simple wooden circle hangs from a leather thong around his neck, carved with the symbol of Desna. He has gray fur and a fluffy white rabbit tail and expressive big blue eyes.
He drops into a seat, holding up a hand. "I'd love a drink." he says, his voice mellow and low-pitched. "And if you can tell me a bit about what's happening this carnival, I'd appreciate it."
The girl turns towards Basil, widely grinning. "Izzit your first time at the Umbral Carnival, Fluffybun? It's always the same, always changing. There are those who will sell most every thing known to man, those who will sing and dance for you, and especially those who will take all your gold for a spin of the dice, or a flick of the coins. Then there's me, who'll sell you ale for two coppers, and ale that's not muddy water for five. And of course, if you're looking for someone or something, I could give you advice, for a small price..." She looks at the rabbitfolk inquisitively, as if she were appraising his worth.
One of Basil's ears twitches at the mention of 'fluffybun', but he doesn't take offense to it; he's spent a long time among humans. "Yes, I just got here. I would love something that's not muddy water, please." he sets a silver piece down. "And a refill, when the time comes. Also, if you have advice... I'm sure you're familiar with the Rabbit Prince?"
The waitress tilts her head and looks at Basil inquisitively. "The Harrow card? Sure, lotsa folks round here cast the cards, looking for the future or for some easy win at Towers. Are you a harrower?"
She pockets the silver, then heads for the wagon and comes back with a mug of lukewarm but genuine beer.
"Tell you what, you read the cards for me and I'll tell you where to find our best harrower. Not to say he isn't a fraud, of course, but he's a good fraud and a better storyteller."
Basil will open the ornate harrow deck case on his belt. He withdraws a beautifully worked deck of harrow cards. He clears a space on the table to lay down his harrow mat. "Shall we begin?" he asks, the cards dancing between his furry fingers.
"Sure! Tell me, tell me..." She looks upwards, trying to think what to ask the cards. "Oh, just tell me what the road has in store for me on my next trip." She sits on a chair and looks at the rabbitfolk, an indecipherable expression on her face.
Basil shuffles the deck, drawing a three cards.
"Oh my..." Basil hums, playing out the cards. "It's going to be a quick journey that may end in wealth, but with the fiend... You may be witness to a terrible event soon. If you can't keep your head above the water, so to speak, you'll... be seeing your god. Real soon."
The serving girl pales and her eyes go wide. "I-I see. I'll have to be careful, then. My-my turn to tell you. All-seeing Hajeck has that tent over there, although she'd be sleeping right now. I've seen many learned folks go to her, perhaps she'll help you. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have other clients."
She walks away from the table, slightly shaking.
After securing her horse to the post near the tavern wagon Gisele finds a close-by seat to wait patiently for the serving girl. She takes a quick measure of her coin pouch, not many left. She would need to find a coin paying job soon. Looking around at the almost completed carnival setup she wonders if that was what her deck was pointing at. Perhaps she could find temporary work here.
As she scans the surroundings her eyes briefly fall on the back of the man currently walking away from the tavern wagon. Where those rabbit ears?
The Varisian serving girl approaches Gisele, taking note of her exotic appearance. She looks mildly shaken, but keeps a smile on her face. "Hi there! A traveller, are you? First time you come to the Umbral? Need help finding your way?"
"Yes, I was... guided here, you could say." Gisele says with a smile. She retrieves a few coins from her pouch. "I just arrived in town, I could use something wet to remove the dust of the road. I'm also looking for work, do you know if the carnival is looking for any labor?
Gisele takes note of her slightly shaken appearance, "I'm sorry, but are you OK? Did that man say something to upset you?" She nods in the direction long-ear'd man walked.
The girl pockets the coins. "Oh, no, it's nothing, just a bad Harrow reading. Some say it's a superstition, but I've known the cards to be powerful. About work, you'll have to ask around, but people are always in need of some help. Maybe Cioran, our magician, could do with a stage assistant. Then again, you have the look of someone who traveled far, there was a scholar around a couple days ago. Meloigne something, he was called. Perhaps he'd give you some gold for your tales."
"Thank you, I will ask around." Gisele gives this girl another copper for the information. "This scholar, do you know where he went or can you discribe him?"
"Why, sure" says the girl after pocketing the copper and grabbing a mug of beer from her wagon. "He was asking questions about some kind of rare Harrow deck, so he went to All-seeing Hajeck, our cartomancer. Huh, weird, you're the second one this morning to ask about her. Haven't seen him in a couple days, though, perhaps he left. He was a plump fellow, nice clothes and lots of books. Oh, and he wore glasses. Well, if you wanna ask her, Hajeck's tent is that one. She might open up shop any time now."
Gisele thanks the woman again and sits back to enjoy her drink. While watching the people milling around working to finish erecting the carnival and its finishing touches, she wonders, Now that I'm here, will the cards draw differently?
She slips her hand into her pocketed scarf and draws up a random card.
Gisele raises one eyebrow as she grins at the card. This could be very interesting indeed.
Gameplay thread is up! This discussion thread is now to be used for OOC, planning, or pop culture reference.
Yay! I've really been looking forward to playing with all ya'll. Cool characters, all around. :)
@GM Sappy: I have some money left over from the character creation. Do you mind if I buy a partially depleted wand?
Partially depleted wand is alright. Everyone, shop now because you may not find any stores for a looooong while.
As a witch, can I buy scrolls to add to my spells known/spellbook-familiar? This cost usually represents some new spells picked up over time and while adventuring.
Since it works as a wizard, I say you can add a spell to your deck from either a spellbook, another witch familiar or a scroll. However, adding the spell will cost you according to this table in addition to the cost of the spell, or any other cost you may incur.
The two spells you add an each new level, as well as the patron spells, are free. These represent those picked up over time.
This should be fun. I'm already kitted out with gear and supplies.
Also, I apologize if my character's initial actions seemed callous.
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Found a good resource for interpreting/meanings for Harrow Cards:
HERE
OK! Crossed the Ts and dotted the Is.
Edda is as complete as I can think of.
Fair warning, my work had someone connecting to the internet wifi with their phone and doing naught things (not me!), so now they have added extra security on our internet. Down side, this blocks websites by content groups, and 'games' is one of them. This majorly cuts into my forum and srd browsing time. I still can do so on my phone (like now), but typing on my phones tiny keyboard is a lesson in futility. I will do my best to keep up on any daytime posting, but my spelling will likely suffer because of the tiny tiny touch screen keyboard.
Alright, I understand, don't go risking your job because of the game. If you want, I can slow down a bit my frantic rate of posting. In any case, if you prefer to post in the evening it's OK, since I make my main posts in the morning (at least, Central Europe morning).
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My job is secure. No need to slow on my account. Thats why we invented smart phones.
Edda stands back quickly from the fracas trying to asses the situation better, and taking a moment to get 'hairy.'
Oh, the puns! Have mercy! D:
The "Pun-ishment" is only beginning!!!
*Evil Laugh*
Party interaction is fun ^_^
I think it's been great fun!
OK, I'm a little confused...
I asked:
"Hajeck? Look at me quickly. Do I look familiar? My mother...she was supposed to have known you many years ago? Traveled with you? A sorceress?" Edda pulls her Harrow deck, fans the cards and quickly shows them to the strange woman. "My mother's cards! I'm looking for my Varisian family. You are the closest I've found so far! Did you know her?"
and her response was:
"Heh." Hajeck coughs a short laugh. "My mother, Esmeralda Marcescu, gave me a deck looking just like that when I left my home in Kaer Maga. I lost it, stolen by a thief, I only noticed after... After I had sent it over, to the Realm. I'm sorry, sister. I don't know anything more."
So is she saying my mother and hers are the same? Or that my mother stole the cards from her? Or is she saying she had cards of similar make once? What is the 'it' she sent over to the 'Realm'?
I seem at a loss here? Was her response meant to be this disjointed? If it was intended...Kudos to the GM because that was a truly good non-response response IMHO. So if the response was to get Edda to want to know more, then she will want to know more.
Whoops, my bad. "It" should have been "him". Basically, her mother had given her a deck looking just like your mother's. A thief had stolen it, but had gone over to the Harrowed Realm (with the deck). It was meant to be a little disjointed, not this much ^^
Just a small ping to reassure you that I'm here and reading, even if I didn't post anything in two days. Take all the time you want to plan.
Sorry for holding things up! I'm out of town until tomorrow, and posting from a phone is torture...
@GM Sappy: Are we supposed to be able to see a map of some sort? The Google Drive link in your profile says I don't have the rights to view it.
You're right, I forgot to set up the sharing.
It should work now.
Okay, thanks!
@Edda: Since using a hex is a standard action, you can't withdraw. However, you can make the equivalent of a 5'step upwards and backwards, or take a move action (provoking an AoO).
Also, remember to use the cards wisely. Usually there will be something in the environment that will clue you on which card, or cards, to play. The Cyclone has no effect in this zone, it's wasted.
Oops, I just realised I'd picked Improved Feint without taking Combat Expertise. If it's okay with you, I'll just switch Piranha Strike for Combat Expertise. Being able to be a bit slippery fits Niklos better, anyway.
Also, do we get to know the effects of the cards we play? I'm intrigued.
Your game and your ruling, and checking the mesageboards they mostly seem to agree with you, but I was going by the "Unless otherwise noted..." part of that rule.
The Feather Fall is At-Will, Levitate is specifically called a spell-like ability (therefore used as a standard action), and actual Flight is mentioned simply as if it is a natural ability (with the normal limitations of the Fly spell) with a set duration limit. My mistake.
As far as the card is concerned, we really don't know if or when to use one until we try something, right?
So now we know...and knowing is half the battle! *Geee-Eyeeee-Jooooeeee!*
=)
Alright, you can swap, no problem.
About the cards, I can tell you the results here, in character you'll only notice a few apparent ones (but you'll know when they work) and when they don't. The Crows card gave you a +2 on attack rolls, weapon damage and save DCs against the tengu.
The Crows card gave you a +2 on attack rolls, weapon damage and save DCs against the tengu.
Just me, or everyone? I edited my post to reflect this, for your convenience.
@Edda: Yes, hexes don't provoke AoOs, and you didn't, but activating it to fly still takes your standard action, withdraw is full-round.
Of course, you're welcome to use the cards, it was just a reminder that they are situational, not flat bonuses (except one that can be used any time)
@Niklos: You all get the +2. Thank you for the edit :)
By the way, if you have any suggestions on how to improve the game (for example if you'd prefer me to track group initiative, or something like that), or if I'm doing something wrong, be sure to tell me.
So far things have been great!
Block initiative would be nice. Not a requirement, but nice.
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