Chu: How's this sketch?
Pencil Chu
Yep, that captures his essence pretty well!
I've always tried to get my wife, who actually has a degree in Illustration from Parsons in NYC, to draw me cool characters, but I've never had any success.
I can relate: my husband's degree is in journalism, but I can't get him to write an article or a blog post when I could use the help. My ex-boyfriend years ago was a massage therapist...same deal. It's my impression that the freebies get wearying when you're professionally trained.
Perhaps if we paid your wife some money to do a professional group illustration, then she might be interested. :D
Ok. Kyras image will get colored tonight, and then I'll see if I can somehow combine him with the red dragon...because I'm lazy and don't want to draw it all over again (or go buy another pencil to do it). I'm much happier with this image of Kyras.
@DRA BTW that was some awesome! info you typed up earlier. I mean holy cow! You need to make a website devoted to your awesome world man!
Seriously! I'd buy the book!
Aw hey, thanks man. You're too kind. ^_^ And hey; you're helping write the book! It can't happen without y'all.
So, um, given that little interlude of fluff scenery from our GM... Who's revved up to get trapped beneath the city!! Let's see a show of hands!! Woo hoo!
*hides forever*
Very nice Azami! I love it. Thank you very much! =D
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So, here's a question - what sort of thing would you see behind him? Shadow/symbolic?
He has the draconic lineage sorcerer bloodline, which I chose Gold Dragon Bloodline.
So upto you, a normal shadow or a gold dragon shadow. Either or will be very neat. Thanks =D
Mmm, the dragon bloodline of Chu is not quite the type of thing I was thinking. But I think I have an idea. >:)
Is there any info I can get on how serpentfolk normally act. Alignment, society, etc. Or is it pretty close to what they are like in Parthfinder?
Go ahead and go along with the Golarion description. That's what I've been using anyway.
Colored Kyras, without dragon behind.
On to Chu's background!
Smirky Kyras is awesome!
@DRA: Roger that, that was my MO already but I wanted to confirm it with you. :)
Nice save, BTW, with your "I'm out of here" post. :-) You didn't have to do that, but it does help get us all back on the same page quickly.
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Well I got my timetables all messed up and thought we were having tea with shoto in the evening and then I reread things and was like... Doh! (For some reason I thought Chu wasn't invited... Still trying to figure out how I thought that.)
That is why Chu is chewing on himself. Three things are high on his list: Keeping on schedule. Knowledge and making contacts. Which he's not having much success...
So I didn't want to drag anything out. Besides if you had anything to tell me you would have put it in an awesome post as always. ;) Which, btw, Professor Yeo is really cool, although she gives me the creeps for some reason. o.o;
Alright, it's not as good as its predecessor, and it's chock full of lazy passive language, but the entry to the Gossamer Palace is posted.
Sorry.
Dude it's awesome! Stop apologizing! I love it. Let this maybe be a lesson to compose your posts in like notepad or something and then c-n-p them in. ;-)
But yeah, this is great, exactly the kind of intro to Shoto-Land I was hoping for. Can't wait to see how everyone reacts.
@Chu: assume you get there in time to be let in with the others.
I have to chuckle at Kyras' shot in the dark. I am not sure the Shoto will grant you points for trying, but on the upside, we might give lend you our spy...erm...cooler..no, I mean escort for the evening.
: b
Hey, he rolled a 20 and has a big investment in Bluff. There's a good chance he can get something here. It's not like he rolled a 1 or has a total of 15. Even if the lie is "impossible", she has to roll a DC 15 Sense Motive, and 25 for far-fetched or 30 for unlikely. Considering that Kyras is invited, it's possible if unlikely that Imuri would trust Kyras with such information.
Well, except remember; Skill checks neither Crit nor Fumble. So the 20 isn't a crit, though it is an awesome roll.
It occurred to me to wonder if this servant/courtier/etc. would have this info, but then I realize it doesn't matter since really, she would likely go to Imuri (or similar) to ask how to deal with what the big, cute gaijin was asking for, so it'd get run up the flagpole eventually.
One way or the other, I'm fascinated to see how this plays out, especially with such a high Bluff check. Imuri do you have this girl statted out at all?
If she doesn't personally know, there's a high possibility that she can pass on rumors or point Kyras to someone who would know. But, by her description, she is at minimum a mid-level courtier, and might possibly know something quite useful. With his wording and roll, it's certainly possible (if she fails to realize it is a lie) that she would just go ahead and go with it. After all, Kyras would seem to have combining knowledge of the situation and Shoto Imuri's blessing, so why wouldn't she go right ahead and fulfill the request rather than go request some micromanaging?
She's probably going to get whacked for this if she spills the brand,beans but that is not something Kyras would have even considered.
DRA:
The only people who know anything about what Kyras is really asking are himself, the Spider samuria who commit sepukku this morning, the Scarecrow's jailers off-site, and Imuri's parents. I was thinking of telling Hoturo-sama after tea. Part of the loyalty schtick is that functionaries don't need to know. They just do.
And this works both ways. If she comes to Imuri saying "he asked about a special guest', I can use that. If I'd told her before 'tell me if the gaijin asks about a girl', he might pick up on her familiarity with the question with a good Sense Motive check.
In this case, Kyras' role is fantastic, and should lead him to the (correct) conclusion that Lin Ming has no idea what he's talking about.
I did not yet tell you, Imuri is waiting in another room, listening through paper walls for a few moments to gague everyone's mood or responses. I didn't want to be late for my own party.
Ooh. To be fair, Swift doesn't know the details, but he might place 2 and 2 together if he overheard Kyras.
I could give her some stats to show you what a reliable Shoto hottie is like if you give me an ECL to work with. Since they are trained at the same dojo, it makes sense that the block could be a template that applies to multiple women.
I am just a player in this game, so however the story unfolds is how it unfolds. But I guess my input would be that those who work for the Shoto understand the loyalty first gig, and do only what they know is acceptible. A political family would hopefully understand constant attempts at phishing, and be wary of the dangers of letting details slip. So if she or Daisuke or anyone else were to be in this situation, they might believe the lie, but be afraid to jack up the boss' plans by giving something away unsancioned. If the great lie does manage to pry loose Shoto lips one day, I'll be sure to take full advantage. : }
Convincing her that he is part of the loyalty/trust circle is part of the lie. Hopefully, as if he were a trusted lieutenant or ally, she would give something away instead of running for supervisory permission. (Doesn't need to be the whole shebang, but a good piece of the puzzle would be a nice reward for a freaking 35 Bluff check. I'd understand that she won't divulge everything for the reason stated above.)
Kyras is unpredictable, which is his strength when it comes to intrigue. He also is bad at long-term planning, which is his weakness. He doesn't think three moves ahead, but rather starts playing Monopoly in the middle of a chess game. This was an intrigue attack of opportunity, and rather unorthodox. Who attempts to seduce the enemy ninja at a tea party, am I right?
Another thought I had, we are merchant folks, and so while some might apply a hefty penalty to social dealings for a gaijin, the Shoto penalty is probably not as bad.
..And she wouldn't get whacked just for spilling beans when she knows she shouldn't. She'd get a special little ceremony where she can recite some of her own poetry, and she'd get to kill herself with her own ancestral wakizashi. We're not barbarians, you know. : b
I'll have a post up today in response to all of this. Taking some time to craft in between other tasks.
I'll post Shoto Hottie #1's response tonight. At work right now, running sound at a really weird but also really cool gig.
Imuri, I'll also give you a basic stat block to work with for other, similar functionaries.
Make that two posts - one to deal with arrival, and one to deal with Kyras. Like ya do.
Thank you! ^__^
Damn Kyras and his fondness for women! I have a feeling that her response will have him genuinely interesting in taking her (to the dinner), and likely taking a real shine to her.
Your Bluff check birthed a story arc. Funny how that happens. ;-)
aaaaand that's the way, uh-huh, uh-huh, Shoto liiiike it, uh-huh, uh-huh.....
aaaaand that's the way, uh-huh, uh-huh, Shoto liiiike it, uh-huh, uh-huh.....
*drinkspew*...dude. Not while I'm having my morning tea!
Imuri is such a tease. Nice post!
Awwwkward.
Tokine wishes she could be like Azami about right now. Or maybe more like a 12 year old, and just blurt everything out. "I need to talk about this AND THEN I want to talk about this AND THEN Did you guys see that? AND THEN What about that thing? AND THEN..AND THEN...AND THEN"
She has A LOT on her mind. Once I'm off work, I should make a list here just to make sure all topics are touched on....depending of course that all topics are indeed openly touched on. ;-)
And Azami is trying to be more like Tokine while here in Shoto's house. Both Tokine and Azami are fidgeting with their sleeves. It's so amusing.
Making a list sounds good: frankly, each character could make a list at this point, each one of us has so many little plot twist questions.
PLOT TWEESTS! YYYYESSSSSSS!
<_<
*swirls cape*
>_>
*disappears in puff of smoke*
I am still checking in a couple times a day, of course, you guys are just in the driver's seat ATM.
Azami is holding off to see what Imuri says...*burns willpower*
Well..I was waiting for everyone else to get a chance to post..but here goes...
Just a question while I contemplate exactly how Azami will over-react to that response - it was my understanding that it can be considered polite to refuse gifts when offered. Is that something we are considering a part of the culture? (not that she really did that, but I'm just weighing details)
Well...that's DRA's call. If it varies from family to family, I prefer that the Shoto courtier way to be to politely refuse twice, and then accept on the third offer. The point of the ritual is to test the sincerity of the gift-giver and attempt to display humility. Inpractice, it also becomes an opportunity to give advice, back-handed compliments, outright insults, veiled threat snd more. SO it's a marvelous roleplaying opportunity.
However, on a play by post format, it might also be cumbersome. So we can skip that except in more dramatic scenes, or we can spoiler additional refusal or insistence to get past the ritual, but still enjoy it and convey personality.
Last comment on this, if Azami is intending to politely refuse the gift, the proper time to do that, if we were doing the courtier thing, would be when the gift is offered to her directly. And again, this is only insofar as I undertand the ritual, or the importance of ritual in bushido. Someone else might have better kung fu. And even if my thoughts on it were good for the Shoto, Azami might not care one bit, being a woman of action and originally a gaijin.
Feel free to react or overreact. We're telling a great story either way.
No, I don't think she was intending on being polite, but was doing her best to think of what she should do in order to not be offensive. So, I wanted to know some of the thought around the cultural aspect of refusal. (We have seen some of that self-downplay in DRA's fluff, and now you have given me further thoughts that are also helpful.)
Also here, I don't want to ruin something that could be fun for you & your character by being a bull in a china shop entirely.
I've got to really think about this scene, though, because Imuri's response is /so/ pointed and arrogant in response to what she feels was an even, fairly diplomatic (for her) way to say something. But the goal is to speed things up, and so will battling him cause /more/ delay? (so much for trying to be nice in a thoroughly uncomfortable situation.)
Gonna go have a cup of tea on it. Anyone else, don't feel like you have to wait for me to respond if you think you'll have a more immediately reaction. :)
Also,Shoto/Steven: Did you have feedback on your character's appearance to the questions I asked earlier? If I was to draw him, I'll need some answers to those questions. Thanks!
I didn't get time to think about it much, but I am super interested. I'll try to come up with more about his appearance soon. I know he's tall, with long black hair and is pretty without being affeminate. I do not know how to describe that idea further. He's left-handed so his daisho is on his right side. I have described a few mons and color schemes. I just wish I were more helpful at faces and such. Did I ever describe him as having green eyes? I'd like that to be a trait of the Shoto nobility.
As far as the polite refusal thing goes, Imuri believes in courtly behavior, because he thinks the more we get to know each other, the better the Empire is served. Of course, different strokes and all that. Asking him to abandon tea ceremony and get on with things is like asking him not to be a samurai, and to spend time with people who don't care about the Empire. Certainly I know not everyone thinks that way. So Azami will do her thing and later, Imuri will remember the day she almost stormed out of Gossamer Palace. Or did. However you like.
Exciting buildup to a scene though. I think day three will be fantastic!
Each House would have their own ceremonies and rituals when it came to gift-giving, and there would be what an observer could see, on the outside, and then the multiple layers of subtlety and/or subterfuge going on underneath. Each house would tailor their ceremony to reflect their values and ideals; House Oda would require an artistic presentation, possibly with dance, a hand-painted box, etc. House Motomo would require a flashy and ostentatious display of wealth, etc. All of these rituals would be overly complicated and rife with opportunities for sleight-of-hand and secret communications to be sent and received, the better for one house to put another ill at ease or at a disadvantage if they so chose, when having visitors.
Are y'all waiting on the gifting ceremony? Imuri, did you need to kick that off? Feel like we've lost momentum here.
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Na, work has been hectic again. Long hours and little sleep. I am able to keep up in the other Pbp but I have to try and get some sleep and then post in Mists of war when I have time. I am really enjoying this scene but until this friday my time is limited. =/
Other then that it is a good time =) hopefully Imuri is doing alright. =(