All right, I think I've got a handle on her now. Definitely going Calistrian, and it'll work in that whip everyone's so fond of, too. Nazard, do you have the Calistria article in Pathfinder 17? Do you want to work up a vague idea of what the temple in Lowcleft is like, or would you like me to? I'm assuming it's going to be largely focused on improving the lives of the working girls and boys in the district, while the grander temple would be more into the elaborate revenge schemes the upper classes have the time and money to concoct.
The up town temple would also be for the more high society escort types. On the other hand, the Magnimar nobility is known for its fondness of slumming, so they would frequent both. Besides, even the poor and common folk need to plot revenge from time to time. I don't have the article, but I do have the wiki which has that info.
The article goes much more in detail than the wiki. I'll copy/paste some of the bits relevant to how I see her getting involved.
EDIT: Sent you an e-mail. I'm hoping the temple in Lowcleft is neutral-to-good-aligned, as that's the aspect that appeals to her.
I'm thinking she could run across a working girl getting harrassed in Lowcleft one evening and as she's intervening (making her beach, in Mrs. Brigglespan's words), a couple of Calistrians show up to help. Afterwards they invite her back to the temple and introduce her around. She can start spending time there, get to know one of the male clerics, and by the time she levels again, she'd be ready to officially enter the priestesshood. As all of this is happening off-stage to the main group, we wouldn't have to play any of it out, just agree on the basics and it becomes part of her backstory.
Another option you could consider would be an oracle or inquisitor. An inquisitor of Calistria could be quite frighteningly effective, you still get tons of fluff mechanics, a domain for domain powers, and one judgment per day that lasts for an entire combat (and this campaign will very rarely have more than one combat per day anyways, as you've already seen). Just a thought for you. If you're wedded to the cleric idea, though, that's fine too.
Can't really see Calistria cutting corners for Auriel, though. She's not an elf and due to her human lifespan will never attain to the levels of revenge-served-cold that the goddess delights in. I guess she could just stay a bard and hang around the temple extra-curricularly. Truthfully, being a bard is really boring me. The plain vanilla bard is at least really useful in combat, round after round, no matter how bored I get with the Inspire Courage. The distraction thing isn't proving as helpful as I'd hoped, not least because no one really likes Auriel and wants to work with her. Honestly, joining the temple would be at least partly so she has some actual friends and allies, rather than just co-workers with a mutual toleration pact. Maybe Wisp should have just coup-de-graced her after all. :P
Temporarily slammed here, folks. Will start again soon.
No worries. We can RP a bit.
Joana, don't give Auriel the whip on my account. I like her as she is.
Meh. She's fine up until initative is rolled. Then she can't even do what boring vanilla bards do and hand out bonuses to hit. And adding one of these...
Adjuring Step: You can move slowly and safely and still cast spells, until you move quickly, make an attack, or cast a harmful spell.
Adoration: You gain a bonus on Diplomacy checks and performance combat checks.
Alarm: Wards an area for 2 hours/level.
Animate Rope: Makes a rope move at your command.
Anticipate Peril: Target gains a bonus on one initiative check.
Beguiling Gift: Subject immediately accepts an offered item and uses it.
Borrow Skill: Make a skill check using another's ranks.
Cause Fear: One creature of 5 HD or less flees for 1d4 rounds.
Charm Person: Makes one person your friend.
Chord of Shards: Performance deals 2d6 piercing damage.
Compel Hostility: Compels opponents to attack you instead of your allies.
Comprehend Languages: You understand all languages.
Confusion, Lesser: One creature is confused for 1 round.
Cure Light Wounds: Cures 1d8 damage + 1/level (max +5).
Dancing Lantern: Animates a lantern that follows you.
Deadeye's Lore: Gain a +4 bonus on Survival and move full speed while tracking.
Delusional Pride: Target is penalized on attacks and checks but gains bonus against charms and compulsions.
Detect Secret Doors: Reveals hidden doors within 60 ft.
Disguise Self: Changes your appearance.
Ear-Piercing Scream: Deal sonic damage and daze target.
Erase: Mundane or magical writing vanishes.
Expeditious Retreat: Your base land speed increases by 30 ft.
Feather Fall: Objects or creatures fall slowly.
Feather Step: Ignore movement penalty in difficult terrain.
Flare Burst: As flare, but on all creatures within 10 ft.
Forced Quiet: Target cannot make loud noises.
Fumbletongue: Target cannot speak intelligently.
Grease: Makes 10-ft. square or one object slippery.
Horn of Pursuit: Create three notes heard miles away.
Hypnotism: Fascinates 2d4 HD of creatures.
Identify: Gives +10 bonus to identify magic items.
Invigorate: Temporarily relieves fatigue or exhaustion.
Jury-Rig: Removes the broken condition from the targeted object.
Ki Arrow: Arrow deals damage as your unarmed strike.
Liberating Command: Target makes an Escape Artist check as an immediate action and gains a bonus on it.
Lock Gaze: Compels the target to look only at you for the duration of the spell.
Magic Aura: Alters object's magic aura.
Magic MouthM: Objects speaks once when triggered.
Memory Lapse: Subject forgets events back to last turn.
Moment of Greatness: Doubles a morale bonus.
Negative Reaction: Targeted creature may not positively influence anyone.
Obscure Object: Masks object against scrying.
Play Instrument: Play instrument as if you were skilled.
Remove Fear: Suppresses fear or gives +4 on saves against fear for one subject + one per four levels.
Restful Sleep: Gain more hit points while sleeping.
Saving Finale: Subject rerolls failed saving throw.
See Alignment: Pick an alignment; in your sight, creatures and items with that alignment emit a ghostly radiance.
Share Language: Subject understands chosen language.
Silent Image: Creates minor illusion of your design.
Sleep: Puts 4 HD of creatures into magical slumber.
Solid Note: Creates tangible music note.
Summon Minor Monster: Summon 1d3 Tiny animals.
Summon Monster I: Summons extraplanar creature to fight for you.
Timely Inspiration: Gives bonus on failed check/attack.
Touch of Gracelessness: Subject loses 1d6 + 1 Dex/two levels and is prone to falling down.
Undetectable Alignment: Conceals alignment for 24 hours.
Unnatural Lust: Target is compelled to kiss or caress another.
Unprepared Combatant: Target takes –4 on initiative and Reflex saves.
Unseen Servant: Invisible force obeys your commands.
Vanish: As invisibility for 1 round/level (5 max).
Ventriloquism: Throws voice for 1 min./level.
Vocal Alteration: Disguise target's voice.
Youthful Appearance: Target appears younger.
...isn't really going to help. Especially, as Garidan points out, her Charisma isn't high enough to pick a spell with a saving throw.
Gotta say, unnatural lust would be fun to throw around, though. ;)
Hit points
Go ahead and roll for me, Nazard. Only a one is worse, and then it will be your fault if Auriel dies.
Hit points
Yeah, roll for me, too. A slight risk, but I'll go for it.
Okay, Laya is finally updated to level 2 (apart from hp)!
Auriel:
Laya:
Wait, those are no good. Let me reroll...
Also, please let me know if anybody raised their Perception, Diplomacy, Sense Motive, or Initiative modifiers, so I can update my group lists on the campaign (Paizo) site.
Don't have Auriel leveled yet. Will most likely have her done by tonight.
Also, please let me know if anybody raised their Perception, Diplomacy, Sense Motive, or Initiative modifiers, so I can update my group lists on the campaign (Paizo) site.
Laya's Diplomacy is now +6 and her Sense Motive is +7.
Heward __
Perception +6 = 1 +1 w +4 trait
Sense Motive +7 = 2 +1 w +4 trait
Prestige adjusted.
Right, I lied. Still have to pick a level 1 spell and do skills and Versatile Performance. Try to get it done tomorrow. :P
What am I supposed to do, rent myself out to some aging noblewoman and follow her around touching up her grays all day?"
This was brilliant.
Probably a viable business model, too. I bet there are lots of wealthy older women who have gnome ladies'-maids. Heck, if she takes youthful appearance as her 1st-level spell, she could just retire from MSI and sit back to watch the bidding war among the socialites of a certain age for her services. :)
Auriel is really a much nicer person when she's in Lowcleft. Her walls go up and she gets all defensive around the rest of you. Maybe it's because you're mostly men and she doesn't know how to deal with men other than to seduce them. She gets along fairly well with Laya and Mrs. Brigglespan.
Also, please let me know if anybody raised their Perception, Diplomacy, Sense Motive, or Initiative modifiers, so I can update my group lists on the campaign (Paizo) site.
Leveled. I didn't raise any of her useful skills. :)
Just to confirm, the morning Auriel just woke up at Teeka's place is the 9th, correct, and not the actual day of the funeral?
Pretty sure that wake up is on the 8th. You walked out on Heward on the 7th.
Dax, nice twist there -- siding with Auriel. That'll give Heward something to think about.
I do enjoy RPing with this group.
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You know I've never gotten around to actually writing his background. Awgin was raised in a tribe of orcs. He eventually ran away to live alone in a not-so-neutral-zone between the orc tribes and civilization. Eventually he was captured and made to fight in illegal bloodsport. His 'formal' education came from some of the older fighters who thought it best not to have a ravening beast in their midst. Capt. Percival led the team that assaulted the place and personally freed him. So, for Awgin, it's, "Death happens. Get over it." He raised a glass to the guy. Awgin has now moved on. Now if the Captain were to say something, Awgin would be there.
Really? That seems odd given that the religion's all about birth and death. I would expect just about every Pharasmin temple to have a graveyard (at least a small one), especially one in a place as big as Magnimar. To quote AP#44:
Pharasma’s temples are often gothic cathedrals, usually located near a town’s graveyard, although a single bleak stone in an empty field or graveyard can serve as a shrine. Large temples usually have catacombs underneath, filled with corpses of the wealthy and former members of the priesthood, as burial under the goddess’s temple is believed to raise her opinion of the deceased when it is time for judgment. Even a remote Pharasmin monastery has a large area set aside for burial, and may be the final resting place of generations of wealthy and influential folk—as well as an uncountable accumulation of tomb treasures.
Agreed, but in this case, it's not a cemetery but the catacombs. The catacombs are canon, I've placed the Pharasma Cathedral there myself as that made sense, but given the district, there's just no space for the graveyard. The Catacombs hold a special place in the minds of the Magnimar elite, and the city's history. Magnimar is, after all, the City of Monuments, and the city's greatest hero is buried there.
Ah, I see. Okay then.
"Exactly. In Markiv's funeral we honor him, but we're also showing the city where we stand. What's important to us as a community."
Ironically, if Heward had put it like this to Auriel, she might have shown up. Sounds like a protest-cum-performance art. Of course, no one might have wanted to hear her graveside speech denouncing the bureaucracy and the depersonalizing aspects of authority. :)
I thought about making a similar argument, but then considered that it might be a bit too philosphical for Heward. I was very glad Calatin provided the inpetus for Heward to think about it in that way.
The PCs are probably better off without Auriel's graveside speech, although the players are no doubt poorer for it.
Guy with a 0 Cha modifier put in charge. This should be interesting. :)
Oh, this was totally done solely to piss off Auriel. No question! ;)
"I'll do my best." Heard looks after the departing captain, then at Calatin and Laya.[/b]
"What now?"
That's up to you ... boss. ;)
Good luck getting this group in order.
Yeah. And I don't think he's going to be very good at it. At least not at first. He's got some hard lessons to learn. The captain may need to cut him a lot of slack.
Latenight finds him on the docks watching the moon rise. A pair of fins break the water, and he muses on the rod and reel back in his room. When was the last time I used them? Awgin's got his garden. Calatin's got his books. I really should make time to fish. Hmmm. I wonder what Auriel and Laya do? Or Garidan for that matter...
That line has made me realize that I need to rethink a chunk of Laya's background since she can no longer hang out in the cemetery behind the Pharasmin Temple, since Nazard has ruled that there isn't one there. Hmmmm....
As for Laya's file, feel free to read her background on her page. There's nothing secret in it, although Heward might be surprised to learn she's married. :)
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You know I've never gotten around to actually writing his background. Awgin was raised in a tribe of orcs. He eventually ran away to live alone in a not-so-neutral-zone between the orc tribes and civilization. Eventually he was captured and made to fight in illegal bloodsport. His 'formal' education came from some of the older fighters who thought it best not to have a ravening beast in their midst. Capt. Percival led the team that assaulted the place and personally freed him. So, for Awgin, it's, "Death happens. Get over it." He raised a glass to the guy. Awgin has now moved on. Now if the Captain were to say something, Awgin would be there.
The only stuff that's not in here is that during the time between his rescue and MSI, Awgin earned money as freelance muscle for some of the petty gangs in the city. Captain Percival felt a bit responsible for him plus his new unit could use some streetwise muscle, so he hired Awgin. He hopes that the structure of the Watch will help round out some of Awgin's rough edges.
Thanks for the file info.
Nazard, Is Captain Percival trying to save the entire city by employing them in the watch? :-)
Are we waiting on Garidan? ProfPotts doesn't seem to have posted anywhere since January 4th. Should we either just assume he's at the meeting with us or has been sent off on some errand or other until we know if he's coming back?
Are we waiting on Garidan? ProfPotts doesn't seem to have posted anywhere since January 4th. Should we either just assume he's at the meeting with us or has been sent off on some errand or other until we know if he's coming back?
Assume he comes in late (since Heward has already said he wasn't there. I sent Alex an e-mail, so let's wait to hear from him before replacing yet another player.
I never said replace him. The Prof is a lot of fun. I figured Garidan could always arrive late, and that would give him an IC reason not to go nuclear on Auriel.... ;)