The Strangler of the Shadow Moor (Inactive)

Game Master Terquem

Melee, unarmed: 1d20 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (16) + 1 + 1 = 18
Damage (non-lethal): 1d3 ⇒ 3

Marvin repeats the reload action precisely, scanning for another target but finding that current trajectories have a low of probability of hitting.

A dash moves them closer to the giant Rydwen and they lash out with a fist at one of the creatures stuck to her.

Reload with paper cartridge, 5-foot-step up to C,-6 and then unarmed attack at one of the tentacruel stuck to Rydwen.

*Move to E,-11 and attack creature in B,-12*

Chuckin: 1d20 + 2 + 1 ⇒ (6) + 2 + 1 = 9 Pain: 2d4 + 6 ⇒ (3, 2) + 6 = 11

Round 5

His previous victim having been destroyed, Ribat takes a step forward and attempts to tangle the creature in front of him in his net.
5 ft. step to (D, -13).

attack roll: 1d20 + 3 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 3 + 1 = 8 vs. touch AC

Xor, we'll change your action target, but keep your original roll, and I'm a bit confused by the Crit roll. I think you have a chance at a crit only if you roll a 19 or 20, not if your roll, after modifiers, is a 19 or 20.

Thursday Night (turn 132), Outside Two Barrels Tavern

Round 5

The stranger, fires another arrow, only this time it misses all of the monsters

Ribat yanks his net free, and then targets another monster. The net isn’t neatly folded making it difficult to throw, and he misses

throwing a net that has been already thrown once in combat, without taking 2 rounds to fold it up again, imposes a -4 to hit penalty

Marvin quickly, with the practiced efficiency of a machine, reloads his stick with some kind of magical charge, and then steps forward and slaps one of the strange pyramid shaped objects off of Rydwen. The thing falls to the ground and is still.

The skeleton attacks Diarmal
Melee Scimitar Attack: 1d20 ⇒ 8
Damage if >17*: 1d6 ⇒ 4

*Protection From Evil

But he is protected from the evil creature by the armor of his faith

The Tentacruel advances and tries to trip Felicia
Melee Bash attack: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (15) + 3 = 18
Damage, Non Lethal, if > 13: 1d4 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 2 = 6

Felicia is tripped and falls prone from the lashing of the tentacle and she feels a welt form on her leg. She can gtake a round 5 action, to crawl away or try to stand up, but that will provoke an AOO

Sasithorn
Meero
Paulina
Diarmal
Tess

The above get round 5 actions.

If no one else acts to heal Rydwen, the NPC Tess will do so on her round 5 action

Xor steps to the side and chucks a rock at the skeleton. The stone smashes the head into fragments and the skeleton falkls to the ground destroyed.

The Zombie attacks Rydwen again
Melee Slam: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (13) + 4 = 17
Damage if >14: 1d6 + 4 ⇒ (6) + 4 = 10

Rydwen is punched hard in the gut and topples to the ground unconscious

Rydwen goes to -5 HP!

The Giant Tentacruel advances, staying in the zone of darkness.

Xor, we'll change your action target, but keep your original roll, and I'm a bit confused by the Crit roll. I think you have a chance at a crit only if you roll a 19 or 20, not if your roll, after modifiers, is a 19 or 20.

Yeah you are right, it is a nat 19 or 20. I was still in vacation mode

Jazz fires off another arrow at a target attack: 3 + 1d20 ⇒ 3 + (4) = 7
damage: 1d8 ⇒ 3

Out of the corner of his eye, Diarmal sees his giantess cousin tumble forward and hit the dirt.

Reflexively jumping forward, the rest of the battlefield blurred into an indistinct image as he ran to her side. "Rydwen!" Laying his hands upon his cousin's tree-trunk sided arm, Diarmal closed his eyes and reached out for Aisling's graces.

Great Lady, do not let my cousin join you in the fields of eternity this day.

CLW: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (6) + 1 = 7

Moving to (C, -8), and spontaneously converting bless into CLW.

woo hoo. Rydwen is conscious at 2 HP

Sasithorn smirks as he dances across the pier. "Once again, 'strength magic' betrays its hollow core...."

I move to -B,-6 and cast Arrow of Dusk at the zombie at A,-9.

Darkness teases itself from behind and beneath the ambient light, and at Sasithorn's will, assaults the zombie, it's moment of glory past for now.

ranged touch attack: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (5) + 4 = 9

Sadly, they just barely manage to curve around at disappointing angles and spare their target.

"Oh, glare!" Sasithorn snaps a distinctly Wayang epithet.

Hovering between the chaotic night and the darkness of slumber eternal, Ryd can barely process what is going on around her. She knows only that the threat nearest her, whatever its strange nature, must be stopped.

She will attack the zombie in A,-9 if still "alive," and if not her spear now reaches the spider-icon in A,-10.

[dice=Melee, "Short" Spear]1d20+4[/dice]
If Hit, Damage (for normal enemies): 1d8 + 3 ⇒ (4) + 3 = 7 (piercing)

She then manages to lurch eastward, instinct alone seeming to give her body strength.

If an enemy is still adjacent to her after her attack, and she's allowed to take a 5 foot step to the north east, she will. If none are, she will do her full movement to the east...not quite sure how far that is in giant form.

EDIT: Many apologies, it's been awhile. I just remembered that she's not using her spear, but rather her dagger. It still has the same reach though. It actually does:

If Hit, Damage: 1d4 + 3 ⇒ (2) + 3 = 5 (slashing)

Thursday Night (turn 132), Outside Two Barrels Tavern

Round 5, wrap up, sort of?

The dark skinned stranger slinks about in the shadows and summons another missile of dark matter, but his aim is off

Diarmal rushes to the aid of his unconscious cousin, and channels life saving energy into her. She shudders, and stands ready to fight even though she is sorely injured
I will apply Rydwen’s attack, for round 6, in another post
The Halfling seems transfixed with fear, as The Gymnaga girl and Paulina go into action

”Marvin!” Tessrimea shouts, as she looks around to find him in the dark. When she does, she slithers over to him and bows her head as she speaks a soft prayer

Castin Guidance on Marvin

”I just hope that stick of yours can do something against those wall like creatures. We already know it doesn’t seem to work on the tentacle creatures.”

”Look out for those tentacle monsters they can knock you right off your feet!” Paulina shouts as she rushes to attack the tentacle monster that knocked Felicia down

When Rydwen’s attack is worked out, the one she already rolled, she will get a +2 due to flanking!

Melee Bash, Flail: 1d20 + 4 + 2 ⇒ (7) + 4 + 2 = 13
Damage if > 15: 1d8 + 3 - 5 ⇒ (2) + 3 - 5 = 0

The flail passes through the shadowy substance of the monster harmlessly. It is unreal how the stuff of the thing rolls around and over the weapon only to rejoin the body as if nothing happened

Thursday Night (turn 132), Outside Two Barrels Tavern

Round 6

The stranger with the bow fires another arrow into the dark and misses
Ribat and Marvin get round 6 actions

The tentacle monster attacks Diarmal
Melee Bash Attack: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (5) + 3 = 8
Damage if >17*: 1d4 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 2 = 6

Diarmal hears Paulina's warning and he jumps up in the air at the last minute as the tentacle passes under him with no effect

Felicia and Xor get round 6 actions

When the Players above have posted actions, the Zombie, if it is still alive, and the Giant Tentacruel will go, but here is Rydwen’s round 6 action

Rydwen stands on shaky legs and reaches out with the large dagger to slash at the tentacle monster near her

The monster seems distracted by the sudden approach of the dwarf girl and the blade removes a chunk of the shadowy substance and the piece dissolves in the light

Damage from large Dagger: 1d6 + 3 ⇒ (5) + 3 = 8

The tentacle creature opens its mouth in a silent scream and begins to fragment into shadowy puffs of material that sizzle and disappear.

another bow attack bow: 3 + 1d20 ⇒ 3 + (4) = 7
damage: 1d8 ⇒ 6

Ribat steps towards the tentacle monster and attempts to make it easier pickings for his friends.
Move to (B, -12) and make a melee attack with my net aganist the Tentacruel's touch AC.
attack roll: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (11) + 3 = 14

The net makes it even easier for Rydwen to destroy the smaller Tentacle monster

The map has been updated. I'm not showing the 50' radius of the Bless Spell centered on Xor. I am showing a darkness spell centered on a Whapwhop, and Ribit is now in the darkness. Also showing a 20' radius Light spell centered on Diarmal

Marvin
Xor
Felicia

waiting on Round 6 actions

Moving to A,-11, taking the long way around to avoid AoOs. Attacking the red wall.

Marvin gives Tessrimea a quick nod before moving forward, dashing up to end in front of one of the wall-like creatures. They raise their musket, already adjusting their aim by minute degrees, and fire with a burst of startling light and sound.

Musket (Ranged Touch): 1d20 + 5 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (15) + 5 + 1 + 1 = 22
Damage (B&P): 1d12 ⇒ 9

Having seen the intriguing, but under the circumstances, quite inconvenient, effect that his magic has on the tentacled-sack-creatures, Sasithorn tries to prognosticate whether the same would happen to these greater quadrangular entities.

My work computer is not showing the map

*Attack nearest baddie*

Rockin: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (10) + 3 = 13 Thwack: 2d4 + 6 ⇒ (2, 3) + 6 = 11

Ah, I forgot about my point-blank shot. Please add another +1 to both my attack roll and damage roll.

Thursday Night (turn 132), Outside Two Barrels Tavern

Round 6, continued

The Red Wall-like creature has partial concealment from the Magical Darkness, which reduces the Normal Light from the various Light Spells around the area to Dim Light Conditions. Marvin’s bullet will hit unless I roll 01 to 20 on this roll
Partial Concealment?: 1d100 ⇒ 86

The stick in Marvin’s hand belches smoke and fire, and a loud boom echoes through the night. Across the beach something small strikes the wall-like creature almost exactly dead center. The impact of the projectile shatters the wall into thousands of fragments that resemble shards of shadowy glass and as the fragments fly apart they dissolve into nothingness

the red whapwhop is destroyed!

Xor seems to be in the zone as he steps to the side and side-arms another rock toward the Zombie. The rock strikes the creature in the side of the head and though a blunt object would not normally be the right weapon, the rock connects hard and shatters the Zombies head, and it falls to the sand destroyed.

The Giant Tentacle creature, now exposed to the light of several spells, shudders and turns toward Nathaniel. It lashes out at him with a powerful tentacle
Melee Bash: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (5) + 6 = 11
Damage if >16: 1d4 + 4 ⇒ (2) + 4 = 6

But Nathaniel is quick on his feet and avoids the blow
As Sasithorn ponders the nature of these monsters he realizes that due to their Shadow Nature, they have some limited immunity to shadow based magic, and a direct physical assault might be the best approach
Rydwen’s Round 6 action has already been detailed – So Meero, Paulina, Diarmal, Tess and Sasithorn may take round Six Actions, then the Remaining Whapwhop will go, if it is still up

I move to C,-9 and cast Black Candle (light) on one of Diarmal's arrows.

"Try..." Diarmal hears a voice behind him as one of his arrows begins to emit ultraviolet fluorescence. "That one!"

Thursday Night (turn 132), Outside Two Barrels Tavern

It has been a long battle, and everyone tried to stay with it as best they could, but I feel it is time to wrap it up, don’t you?

Arrows fly, positive energy is channeled, and heroes fight with blades, flails, nets, rocks, and strange devices that few understand at all.

Eventually the mysterious shadow creatures are destroyed. There are no traces left behind by the creatures. Whatever it was that bound them together on this plane was unraveled, but the remains of the skeletons and zombies still lie on the ground.

One of the zombies is carrying a bow, and the bow looks like it is in remarkable shape.

The night has gone quiet. The flames from the overturned boat on the beach leap and light up the night.

You stand, injured, tired, but victorious.

What will you do now?

If anyone be hurtin, come on ova.

*I have 1 CLW*

Heal: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (7) + 1 = 8

Weary and bloody, Diarmal breathes heavily as he and his new allies stand around in confusion. He casts a quick glance around at the others to see if anyone else is injured, then nods at the dwarf.

"Did any of the townsfolk get caught in the battle? I've got a bit of Aisling's graces left in me as well, if they're hurt. I'll admit it was... a little hectic. Hard to keep an eye on everything."

He paused, then realized no one had asked the obvious question yet.

"What were the bloody things? How did they manage to disrupt Lady Aisling's power, if even for a moment? She's... she's more powerful than anything else I could dream up. What could falter a goddess?"

Diarmal, my new comrade, I submit that there is only one way to find out. Let's head in the direction from whence they came. Oh, by the way, do any of you have an objection to me appropriating that creature's bow? It will be a little awkward for me to use, but perhaps it may allow me to be of at least some use on occasions when my net is less than appropriate.

Panting from the trauma of the night, Nathanial approaches Ribat

My friend, please, take the bow, but it looks large for you, perhaps someone with the right background should examine it first.

Stretching his back, Nathaniel looks around at some of the strangers.
Some of you just arrived and weren’t here earlier when some of those strange creatures attacked the barmaid, Holly. I’m not sure she is doing all that way from the experience. And then there is the issue of the strange weapon you are carrying, he says to Paulina

It is late, and we all need rest before we do anything else. I for one know that it is the right thing to do that we take this matter to the Shire Reeve, even though I can only guess that he will be as rock hard in his stubbornness as he was before. We need to clear this beach, do something with these bodies before anyone else wakes up and before we know it there is a wide spread panic in the village.

Sasithorn's attention is drawn to the bow. "If I may?" He gestures for a closer look at it.

I cast Mystic Reflections (detect magic) and, if I see it's magical, try to sort out its properties.

Spellcraft: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (1) + 9 = 10

It is definitely magical, but you cannot decipher the complex aura

Rwyden is the one most hurt and should get the heal.

Marvin takes a few moments to care for their weapon, checking for any damage and reloading it with a ball and gunpowder in anticipation of a future battle.

Satisfied with its battle-ready state, the android begins scanning the area for anything of note, musket still in hand. Despite the darkness, Marvin's optical sensors work efficiently to interpret everything it receives within a certain range.

Taking 20 on perception. Have darkvision (60 ft.) and low-light vision also if that affects anything.

Perception: 20 + 10 = 30

Finally finished, Marvin returns to the others and catches snippets of their conversation. "Nathaniel's proposal is logical. Suggestion to retreat to the inn to recoup for the moment, as well as investigate the detected anomaly in Holly's eyes."

The android turns to face Paulina. "Agent Southmiller, this unit requests a mutual transfer of information."

Marvin has 11 non-lethal damage so even a single punch at this point could get them unconscious. Also, we can get to know each other!

Diarmal couldn't help but scratch his head. He knew Lady Aisling had sent him on a pilgrimage to see the world... but damned if he hadn't stepped right into the middle of the strangest folk he'd ever met. A friendly bullywug that wasn't really a bullywug, a short fellow that seemed to ooze magic, and a red-haired man that would have been a perfect fit back in the highlands... at least until he opened his mouth.

"I think a 'mutual transfer of information' might be in all our interests, at this point. Plus, cos's a bit banged up, and following the trail of creatures of darkness best wait 'til the sun's up. Hate to run into more of those buggers."

Thursday Night (turn 132), Outside Two Barrels Tavern

As everyone moves closer to each other, offering shoulders to lean on, and begin limping back toward the tavern, the strange Longbow (that somehow managed to survive being lost in the bogs for over a century) gets handed around for everyone to see

Diarmal, would you please make an Untrained Knowledge History check, the DC, naturally, is 10

Knowledge is Power: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (12) + 1 = 13

Thursday Night (turn 132), Outside Two Barrels Tavern

The group, with a few exceptions, stagger back into the tavern, and immediately discover something is amiss.

Nigel is lying on the floor in the center of the tavern, in a pool of blood and Holly is nowhere to be seen

Rushing to Nigel’s side, Tessrimea announces

He’s alive, but just barely.

If no one took the CLW I cast earlier, I will cast it on Nigel. If not I will cast stabilize.

Before entering the tavern.

As the strange bow makes its rounds, Diarmal turns it over in his hands several times. The markings were familiar... but could it really be? With a quiet prayer to Aisling, he concentrated his thoughts on the weapon and confirmed his suspicions.

"By the great peak of Gwarnok... This is MacLowrey's bow. The Lightning's Hand! However did those beasts come into possession of this? And, good non-bullywug, I implore you to treat this weapon with the respect it deserves. It is a legend - along with its original owner - among my people.

And then, at the tavern!

Diarmal's eyes go wide at the scene before him. He'd seen a few beasts try things like this before. Whatever they'd fought outside had just been a distraction. The real target was right here, dying on the floor. Racing forward with the dwarf, Diarmal kept his eyes peeled for any signs of what may have happened.

Perception: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (18) + 4 = 22

Marvin remains alert, scanning the area for anything dangerous, and possible traces of where Holly went.

Perception: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (13) + 10 = 23

Indeed, I will

Maintaining the integrity of sun-fed flesh not being his strong suit, Sasithorn tries to make himself useful by looking over the area with Mystic Reflections (detect magic) in case the culprit is of the supernatural (and possibly still present) variety.

Thursday Night, late, Two Barrels Tavern

Ribat – it is a Bow sized for a medium Creature

Xor – your CLW would have been great for Rydwen, but it appears she has dropped from the site entirely and is not responding to messages, so we will wake up Nigel with the spell

Tessrimea finds a small stab wound on Nigel’s lower back, and dresses the wound. The bleeding has stopped and it looks as if Nigel will recover.

Xor speeds Nigel’s recovery with a wave of magical healing that helps to close the wound.

While Diarmal, Sasitorn, Marvin, and Nathaniel begin examing the room. Nigel explains

”Right after you folks all scurried out into the night, Holly seemed to get better. She stood up and began looking around the room and I couldn’t get her to talk to me. She went behind the bar, I was watching from the door what was happening outside, and then she stabbed me in the back with a bar knife. I turned and try to wrestle the knife away from her. Hells of Depth, I’ve been stabbed before, it wasn’t my first time, so I think I surprised her. We spun around the floor for a while, She was powerful strong, but she couldn’t get the upper hand, until she finall broke my grip and made a run for it. By them I was sort of blacvking out, don’t remember exactly, but I think she went out the front door.”

Marvin and Diarmal do not find any clues, and Sasithorn does not see any lingering auras.

Paulina approaches Marvin, after he is finished looking over the room.

“This weapon,” she shows Marvin her flail, ”has been modified to include a recording device.”

She turns to address the rest of the crowd

”That means it can recor – I mean remember things that happen near it.”

She then turns back to Marvin

”I uploaded the recording of you entering the tavern, as soon as I saw you, and then remotely sent that recording to an orbiting station maned by agents of the IRS.”

Again she turns toward the rest of you

”I shouldn’t be telling any of you this, but given what has happened tonight, I think it may be a moot point, for now. Anyway, the IRS, it stands for Interplanetary Relief Society, is an organization of people from many different worlds, all occupying this reality, who have agreed to work for the common good of all intelligent races. This planet, this world, you call Hamth, is just one of similar worlds within the Candle System, that’s a designation we use to keep track of worlds. A System is made up of many worlds and…”

She pause and scratches her neck

”Well, there’s no way I can explain it all in one night. So I’m just going to have to ask you people to trust me. I’m not from this world, but I’m not from another plane of existence. There are other worlds, in this reality, this universe, and there are other universes, although the wizards and scholars of your world call those other universes planes, and some of them are actually planes, places where the laws that apply to regular universes don’t work, but I don’t know much about them, while other universes, planes, are other material universes that act just like this one. It’s complicated.”

”I volunteered to join the IRS when I was twenty years old, and since I look like one of your Holdandun people, a dwarf, I was assigned to this world as a field agent. I’m supposed to observe this world, collect information, and keep the IRS comprised of any unusual changes. These things that we’ve seen tonight, well, they’re pretty unusual, and our friend here, Marvin, if he hasn’t introduced himself, is an android. That’s a kind of machine that can be almost like a living thing. I’ve never seen one of his type before, it’s pretty old, and I have no idea how he got here, but he shouldn’t be here.”

” You see, because of the way this world is connected, very much in ways unlike any other worlds except for a very few, to other universes, other planes, you know it as magic, but it is something far more than that, this world is off limits to most everyone else in our universe who can reach this world with ships that can travel between worlds, though space. The IRS is one of the organizations working to protect this world from visitors, and, well, protect visitors from this world. There have been some problems in the past, but nothing like what I’ve seen tonight. Those creatures, well, that’s not what I’m talking about. Things come and go on this world from other planes all the time, it’s part of what you all know as magic, nothing too surprising. But Marvin, and that gun he is carrying, that is different.”

”let me see if I can tell the story right. You see, a few thousand years ago, not too far from here, there was a civilization that was quiet advanced for its time. They had roads, a few advanced machines, aqueducts, plumbing, and even some very large dams. Now at this time one of your wizards was experimenting with chemicals, natural components, looking for ways to improve his spells when he came upon the discovery of a normal compound we, people from other worlds, call gun powder. Gun powder is what makes that weapon of Marvin’s work. I’ll explain that later, but you see, this wizard made a lot of this gun powder and was developing ways to put it to use. He hadn’t come upon the idea of using it as a weapon, but he was close. This wizard was explaining his discovery to a few friends, but unfortunately one of those people was not a friend at all, but a terrible person, a person with no real ambition in life other than to cause death and destruction wherever she could. She had made a deal with a demon, a being from another plane, not from another world in this universe, to be clear, and the demon promised her unimaginable power if she could kill thousands of people in one terrible act.”

As Patricia goes on with her story, most of you sit down.

”So it was that this woman stole barrels of the gun powder from the wizard, and used it to blow up, destroy, a large dam and the resulting flood killed almost ten thousand people, including almost everyone the wizard knew and loved.”

”The wizard dedicated his life to undoing this terrible deed. He hunted down the woman and the demon and destroyed both of them. Then, when he was very old, after researching different spells that can alter reality, he himself summoned a powerful entity from another plane and forced this entity to grant the wizard a wish, a powerful wish. That wish, well, I only know the story, and no one knows exactly how it was phrased, but it was supposedly something to the effect of , ‘I wish that the explosive powder was never invented’ and the results of that wish were not what he expected. It seems that these entities that are in the business of granting extremely powerful wishes always seem to find a way to turn them around, one way or another. The wish did not change the fact that the dam was destroyed, it only altered the method, and it seems that the new method turned out to be related to several large elemental creatures, but it did have one dramatic effect. Gun powder stopped working. You can mix it, just like the wizard originally did in his laboratory, but it will not explode. Nothing has ever changed that for thousands of years. On this world, gun powder does not work, until today.”

”And I want to know why.”

Huh

Though he has never heard it spoken of in quite this manner, at least some of what Paulina has said is not news to Sasithorn. He tries to see if he knows the answers to some of the more obvious questions her explanation has brought up:

If Hamthian magicians were to themselves visit one of these less fortunate worlds, would their magic not work there?

Sasithorn knows Hamthian Alchemists are perfectly capable of utilizing mundane powders and liquids to generate small explosions (he may have even seen them doing it firsthand; that night on the party barge seems like a strange, distant dream, now). What exactly goes into them he's not sure he knows, but it certainly sounds much like what Paulina's describing - which would mean that perhaps the secret has been rediscovered, perhaps in a new way...or perhaps the ancient wizard's wish no longer holds any power? Could the "powerful entity" this wizard extracted the wish from have decided enough was enough? Did something happen to this entity? Sasithorn should at least know about how long Hamthian Alchemists have been practicing their craft in its presently-recognized form, surely.

If I don't know the answers to some of these questions, I'll try posing them to Paulina out loud once I've figured out what I do know.

Slowly, Diarmal reaches out a hand and pats the dwarven fellow beside him on the back.

"Couldn't'a said it better myself. That's all... a bit much to take in."

In the back of his mind, a horrible thought cropped up. He'd never heard of MacLowry's bow ever being found, or passed on to another. Who was it that had emerged with that weapon...?

Thursday Night, Two Barrels Tavern

Nathaniel nods as Paulina tells her story, then he stands and says

”Well, that’s a lot to try to understand, it’s late, and we’ve been through a lot.”

He moves to stand by the door to the tavern, and then turns and addresses everyone

”The last thing we want, I think, is for the people in this village to wake up and find bodies on the beach. And at this point, I think it’s safer if we only travel around at night in groups. I suggest this. Paulina, Tess, and I will clear the beach as best we can, while the rest of you see if there are rooms available in the Inn.”

I will find a room and rest for the night

A Mystery

The country is called Vologna, and it is found in the northwestern parts of Ibalnd (a small island continent off of the West Coast of Emalia). It is a place of windswept mountains, deep mysterious valleys, and treacherous bogs.

The Town is called Connie’s Bright, and it is a coastal town on the Bay of Mericalnd.

The Tavern is called Two Barrels, and it is near the pier, a stone’s throw from the flat, stone wall that extends out into the bay where Connie’s Bright Lighthouse sits.

The Barman is called Nigel. The barmaid is called Holly, and there are three patrons in the bar tonight;

Nathaniel Boote, a Halfling, and a man of the law

Tessrimea Neissomat, a Gymnagaopthian priestess, from the north coast, a land called Drasbia

Paulina Southmiller, a Dwarven woman, from across the sea, a place called Holdandun

These three sit separately, quietly, and each is deep in thought

Four people have been murdered in the last three weeks. Their bodies found just outside of town, to the northwest, near a place known as the Shadow Moor.

The Shire Reeve of Connie’s Bright will not talk about the murders beyond saying, “the people were not locals. They were all travelers. They were all strangled to death, and their bodies defiled.”

Originally this game was running in the “Paizo Community | Forum Games” forum, but was moved recently to “Campaign Games” by someone of the Paizo Staff without any warning or reason given. So now, here I am thinking…

Why Not? as Xor so easily reminded me

The game ran to about 100 posts, and described an introductory encounter with some unusual monsters. There were four players who joined the game, but as of right now I’m only aware of one of them willing to come back and keep playing.

Would you like to play?

This game will be a short (maybe) adventure set in a cold, coastal village and nearby moor. The original Build requirements went like this

Create a first level character, with an 18 point build, no restrictions, 150 starting gold, any race (from the PRDs), and any class.
Enter the tavern of Two Barrels and talk to the people who are there. You’ve just arrived, on a ship from the south or from the east. The mountains to the north of Connie’s Bright, are rumored to be rich with ruins filled with treasure, or so you’ve heard, but something dangerous prowls the nights. Can you help the town end the reign of terror of the Strangler of the Shadow Moor?

Any Questions?

Please take your time and don’t be afraid to ask a lot of questions. And most important of all, have fun!

Newbie not fully sure of forum recruiting protocol, but I wanted to save a spot as I'd been speaking about this with GDM on another thread. Making someone as we speak!

Welcome! Take your time. This is a very helpful and generous community. We'll work out all the details, and then work into the game when you are ready.

Apologies for the incredibly newbie question, but as far as the PRDs are concerned, does anything in this table of contents generally count? Things like the Advanced Race or Players Guides? No worries if not, I'm usually prone to pick a classic races anyway. I just wanted to make sure I learn what PRD entails, since I see it mentioned often! I think the word "advanced" is throwing me off.

Certainly! As long as I can get to it on one of the computers I use during the day, and as long as you are willing to teach me when I am not up to speed, everything that is included in the prd is welcome here.

My latent Scottish DNA - and an old character idea - are starting to bubble to the surface when you mention bogs. Would a ranger with a focus on swampy environments be okay to play, or would that make any of your encounters too lopsided? I certainly wouldn't want to rock the boat, I just haven't heard "bog" in awhile. If allowed, would such a character live on Ibalnd?

Ah well the elves of the highlands of Drasbia, the northern third of Ibalnd, are supposed to be somewhat modeled on what you could call "Hollywood" Scottish Highlanders and they are known for their outdoorsy style. These elves are slightly taller than normal humans, have pale, often freckeled skin, and light to sometimes red hair. They do not live extrodinary long lives, as is often rumored, but sometimes live to be 125 years old.

What's the take on dwarves in this setting? He's either going to be a mercenary or a treasure hunter.

Dot.

Dotting my interest.

I'll try to get something made today. Leaning towards a divine caster of some kind at the moment. These highlander elves have me intrigued...

Compass Rose here. Not quite finished yet but I'll post her so far since it sounds like we're starting to form up. What do you think of this direction, GDM? Party peeps, feel free to take a look.

Party's Ranger

A few questions for you GDM:

1) Are you sure it's okay that I play one of your Drasbia highlanders? If something I jotted down doesn't mesh with your race, just let me know!

2) This was a name from an elf generator. Is there anything you'd prefer to more closely match your race?

3) What favored animal would you suggest for the terrain, particularly as Swamp will be her favored environment? I figured the basic Animal would be a decent call, especially if she has to hunt for her tribe/clan.

4) I wasn't sure if we were using Traits or not. I currently have 3 plus 1 penalty one, the most "Hollywood Scottish" things I could find lol, but just let me know if you like to go traitless.

5) Any particular weapons the Drasbia elves favor? Is it the same as the elven things in fantasy, or more celtic? I'm leaning towards something in the spear realm at the moment...seems to make sense that she could use it to poke around in the foggy bogs to find her way, and spears have long been popular for hunting.

Also a new player here. Have only played one homebrew campaign before. Would like to try pbp gaming. I was thinking of making a witch but i'm open to suggestions

Sounds interesting :)

I was thinking of playing a cleric of sorts. This brought up some questions :
What deities exist in this world?
Do they have fixed domains?
If not, how do we go about picking domains?
Just to make certain, with an "18 point build", you mean following the general point buy rules, right?

Now some general info/question I think is always nice to know for any PbP :
Do you have a minimum posting requirement? I'm usually ok with approximately 1 post/day.
What is your timezone? Mine is CEST (Central European Summer Time) or UTC/GMT+2. So that means I'm usually not on at the same hours as most people I play with (or so it seems to me at least)
Are there any houserules you work with? For example, do we need to keep track of encumberance? Do we need to keep track of food/water? Rules for hp at lvl 1 and after? ...

That would be all for now. Probably more to follow after you answer the questions :)

Dotting for interest. Not currently set up for this build but would love to play this druid!

Should have a Bard up tomorrow.

Well, I was not expecting so many responses. Let me see if I can answer all the questions.

CAUTION – wall of text ahead, proceed at your own risk!

Redshirt#3302 - Dwarves, in this setting, are from far away, a land called Holdandun. Their culture is loosely based upon “Hollywood” idealizations of Japan in the early 19th century (think “Seven Samurai” or other Kurosawa films). They tend to be between 3’ 10” and 5’ tall, built thick, but not obese, and have thick, silky hair that is often brown to black, but can be red (blond is not natural, but some Dwarves do color their hair). They are taciturn and suspicious, but are often curious about other cultures. They do not live inside of mountains, and they are as likely to know stonework as well as any other craft. They are known throughout the world as experts in pottery and glasswork. Their country is divided up into “States” ruled by clan leaders. In times of national emergency, the clans will come together to elect a single “Head of all clans,” called a Hyin Wo (this will be a powerful and wealthy family, and the head of this family will act as the leader of the countries armies or volunteers, in the case of a natural disaster). Family comes first, and rarely do individuals marry outside of the social class that their family occupies. A Dwarf, in Ibalnd, will have come to this land, most likely, to escape the strict class structure of their homeland, to avoid an arranged marriage, or possibly to act as a spy.

Helio – the Highland Elves worship three Deities. These are two brothers, and a woman who is the object of their pursuits (and in their traditions, both of the brothers have at one time or another, been husband to the woman). Clerics of the Highland Elves are wanderers. Though they may have a “home” in some small village or town, they travel the Highlands doing good deeds and acting as messengers bringing news to remote cottages in exchange for a meal and a bed.
Compass Rose – Your Drasbian Ranger looks great! And don’t worry about taking liberties, nothing about my campaign setting (“Hamth”) is carved in stone (well, except for those two novels you can buy on Amazon or Barnes and Noble, but I don’t bring them up very often and they are set on the other side of the world from this adventure). The logical choice for an animal companion to a Drasbian would be a large hunting dog, such as one of the wolfhound breeds, but other animals would work as well, such as the fox, badger, weasel, owl, falcon, or even a goat, but if you are looking for something exotic, you could choose a river otter, or even something like a capybara (though we would have to do some building of the animal’s statistics).

Lycrosis – a witch in Ibalnd is most likely going to be an Eshian (which is the racial identity of “Halflings” in this setting, and most likely from the Republic of Basconde, the southern third of Ibalnd). But could also be a human or an elf. A witch in this setting would be highly respected.

Theorytyhmus – Yes, the normal point buy rules of the PRD, using an 18 point buy. The religions of this setting are well established, and not too far removed from old school D&D material. Ibalnd has a population of Halflings, Humans, and Elves all with their own religions, and there are representations of other races from the west (humans from the United Kingdoms of Anthandra, dwarves from Holdandun, the neighbor to the UKofA, and Tradians from Tiridth south of the UKofA) as well as the Beauvingians (half-orcs) and Eysturluns from the east, Emalia the largest continent of this world, just 75 miles to the east across the sea from Ibalnd. Now, I don’t need to go mon and on about these things, but if you are interested we’ll work out something simple that you can enjoy playing.

Theorythmus also brings up some good general questions

Posting Requirements

I original launched this game to be something less than completely serious (though I always take playing D&D serious, sometimes my games have a less than serious tone). I usually try to post every day, at least once, but can at times skip a day or two when I am cranky. I try to do my best to keep the game fun for everyone and I will probably bump a Player with a PM if you haven’t been around for a few days.

I am in the north western United States (Idaho)

things to keep track of

You should track things like ammunition, food, and other consumables, and your own experience points. I know it seems antediluvian, but I like players to keep track of their own experience points. We will be using the fast track of experience points and leveling. You would start this game with 100 experience points, thereby justifying some limited knowledge of what it means to be an adventurer.

Hit Points

Max at level 1 through 3, then we start rolling, and we always reroll 1’s

House Rules

I’ve been playing D&D for 38 years, okay we can call it Pathfinder now if you want to, and as far as this edition of the rules is concerned, I love it and I hate it. I have a lot of problems with blanket “Knowledge Checks” and “Perception Checks” being expected to be used to make me simply tell you everything you want to know.

In games I launch that I think will be serious campaigns, I always apply a house rule that modifies Perception (changes it to be an Intelligence based Skill), and change Sense Motive to be a skill called “Intuition”, but I won’t do that here, so if I ask you for an “Intuition” roll just politely remind me that we aren’t using “House Rule #1” and I’ll remember.

I can be expected to house rule a lot of monsters and situations (I make up a lot of rolls to determine how unusual things will work out), but at the same time I love to learn more about the game of Pathfinder and I will gladly listen to any player explain to me how something is supposed to work, so we get it right.

I do not like using material that is only available on websites other than this one (I use a few different computers, and some of them cannot access those third party rules), but that doesn’t mean I will automatically rule against it. If you are excited about something you found on a third party site, just promise to be patient with me if I need to do my home work.

A Little More about the Setting and the Game Tone

Idalnd is located between the 40 degree and 48 degree northern latitudes of the world of Hamth and has a climate similar to England, Wales, and Scotland. However, it has flora and fauna more similar to the Magellanic Subpolar Forests, and Valdivian temperate forests of southern Chile and Argentina.

I was delighted to have players join this game when I suggested it in the open forums, and I would like to keep the tone light, and a bit fantastical (there will be elements of Science Fantasy). I will try to use maps as often as I can, but as most of my maps of this world were drawn by me when I was a teen ager, they are not very good and I would be embarrassed to share them, and really I should just pay someone to redo them with today’s modern map making technology and get over myself.

My first and foremost rule is

Play like you don’t need to win

I hope I answered your questions. Please don’t hesitate to ask more if you have them

A wanderer sounds perfect. I'd wanted to do something along the lines of a cleric of Desna anyway.

Would it be possible to get a little more information on the Drasbian Elves' pantheon? Names and portfolios/domains?

For this adventure, why don't we make "Desna" an Elven Goddes, the female of the three elven Gods, and keep most of her "trappings and rules" the same, it sort of fits in with the theme of her being on the move, and not getting tied down to one of the two brothers. That way you can build the cleric as you like, and if it doesn't work out for you here, the character should fit in to any Golarion setting game easily.

How does that sound?

That sounds great. Thanks for the quick response, should have something finalized soon(ish).

Hey guys I am a player in this game and just wanted to say that it is pretty unique and fun so far. I made a character that is going to focus on throwing rocks. So I would encourage you as you are making characters to lean fun/enjoyable over optimized.

Many apologies, I'd meant to type Favored Enemy! :D Silly Megan. I chose Animals as a safe bet, it's certainly one I can be happy with.

I won't get a true animal companion until level 4 so we can cross that moor when (if) we ever come to it. My first thought actually was hunting dog (some friends have an Irish Wolfhound, it's awesome and BIG!) but I worried it might spend too much time dog paddling, depending on how wet I happen to get. Possibly a heron, or some other long legged "wader bird?" Don't see too many long legged birds as companions. Long beaks for piercing marsh. Plus I could always go with the option to skip an animal buddy, instead granting my favored enemy bonuses to the entire party. But that's really far off heh

I also hate the dumbing down of knowledge and perception. If it's all right with you, I'll redo my skills with the perception / intuition in the back of my mind, in case I ever get to play her in the future. I'll have to keep it in mind, since rangers need perception but mine is a bit unintelligent on purpose!

What do you think about elven names and weapons? I found some wooden armor (rustic and buoyant) as well as an entry for kilts. Names and weapons I'm still wavering on, though. If I keep thinking of her as Rydwen, I'll get too attached to it! :D

@Helio, if you're a highlander elf too just let me know if you'd like to dip into the family traits or teamwork feats. Even if you're a wanderer, it might be neat to be part of the same "clan." But no worries if you've already got plans for those precious few purchases haha

@Xor: I hear you.

Don't worry about any modification to how Perception works (according to the rules that is). I don't intend on asking players to rework existing characters because I want to impose a House Rule that I didn't make clear right from the start.

I do hope that interested players are kind enough to read the game thread, up to now, so they have a feel for what has just happened, even if they were not involved. And when you think you are ready we'll work out how we get you into the scene as quickly as possible.

Also, not that it is really all that important, but there are Humans who are native to Vologna, and they are fair skinned, and fair haired (they resemble Northern Europeans, i.e. Scandinavians), while Humans who are from Anthandra (some 6,000 miles to the west, across the sea) are olive to dark skinned and dark haired, they resemble Mediterranean Europeans and Moorish peoples

These comparisons are purely cosmetic, and I hope to not be accused of cultural misappropriation in anyway. These comparisons are given only to help you “visualize” the people of the world of Hamth.

Helio checking back in:

I present Diarmal Illsutra, wanderer and general do-gooder of the Drasbian elves. He's more of a utility caster and otherwise helpful cleric, rather than a direct fighter. I'd like for him to focus more on the magical and fantastic aspects of cleric-dom, though those are a bit limited at 1st level. Let me know if I messed anything up, or if something doesn't jive with the Drasbian elves' style.

@Compass Rose, I'd much rather spend my purchases on flavor and things like that. I hadn't planned on going into any feat-heavy builds, anyway. I'd be good with pretty much anything, so what were you thinking of?

@GDM, I hadn't even realized that the gameplay thread was already linked up to this. I gave it a read through, and very much enjoyed what it looks like. And now I need to know how Mr. Andersen is tied to all of this...

I'm seeing some really great character builds. Thank you guys for being attentive to details!

And it reminds me of something important I overlooked.

I never mentioned Trait restrictions, so let’s get it cleared up

I'm allowing

Three traits, from the PRD documents here at Paizo, and one Drawback (? I’m going to have to do homework on Drawbacks, never used them before, but let’s use them).

If you created a character that has already participated in this game, you might need to adjust accordingly.

I am statting out my character right now. What do you think about my halfling being a simpleton and the familiar(who is actually a polymorphed witch) is the one who calls the shots?

Sounds tricky, but it is a good hook, and a solid trope that I'm familiar with. I will want to see the details, and as long as you don't pull too many "rabbits out of the hat,” I think it could work.

You'll be responsible for two separate aliases, though, will that be alright with you?

Thankfully they're easy; drawbacks are just "bad traits." Instead of taking the standard 2 traits, you can take a 3rd if you compensate with 1 drawback. That being said, from what I've seen the drawbacks all feel way worse to me numbers-wise! I'm not complaining, I wanted to pick one up for the roleplay and the challenge. But if I was making a more hardcore or survivable character, I might just stick with the 2 feats. (I already RP weaknesses with all my characters, and some of those drawbacks are quite severe.) Drawbacks are listed at the very bottom of the traits page.

Well, thanks, I just scanned over them, and there are some good RP hooks built into those.

I think Diamal and Rydwen are about as ready as they could be to join in the game thread. Do you have any more questions? When you are ready, just give me the word and I will throw up a short introduction for you.

Other's please take your time, and don't worry, the rest of the night at Two Barrels will be spent introducing people as they enter the tavern, and find a crowd gathered around an incapacitated barmaid, and the real adventure will begin when everyone is up to speed.

Marvin
Xor
Sasithorn
Could I get a check in from you in the newly established Discussion Thread?

Let me take a quick look at possible kin connection stats to use with Diarmal (they're things we might both have to get, if we opted to go that direction). I'll shuffle my skill numbers and finish buying gear. I should be ready very very soon, though!

Hey Helio, I wanted to change my last name before I made too many posts and wasn't allowed to anymore lol. However close that kin connection happens to be, though, could be anything.

As for the family features, there's not as many as I thought! I might have been looking at some third party thing somewhere, or just never seen them all together before and thought there were more; as it stands I haven't been able to track much down. We might want to just keep what we already have.

That said, there are three possible traits. Kin Guardian, Kin Bond, Family Ties could all add flavor. The teamwork feats begin to turn more roll over role play. Shielded Caster could help protect your cleric; I don't cast yet but I'm happy to "tank" in this way. Lookout would certainly make sense for elves. I believe these feats just require us to be adjacent, which seems a lot easier in a PBP than trying to figure out specific squares on a map? (Newbie question!) Otherwise I'll pick up something for swampy terrain.

I was wondering, are you still looking for people, and if so, what does the current party look like?
From what I can tell, at the very least you have a ranger, cleric and a stone oracle, right?

You know, I'm not sure, hold on a minute

Okay, there is an Android Gunslinger, a Dwarf Stone Oracle, and a variation on an Eysturlun Shadow Mage-like person, those are the originals

Now we are adding an Elf Ranger, and an Elf Cleric, maybe a bard, and a witch

There are NPC's that helped in the first encounter

A halfling paladin, a Gymnagaopthian Cleric, and a dwarf fighter.

Does that help?

Oh, and I will probably allow anyone who wants to join, to join, until at least the end of Friday.

I'd been wondering which drawback to pick up (if any), and Family Ties seems like a good fit. I'll probably grab Kin Guardian as my 3rd trait, since that'll give another way to contribute to a fight without having to personally dirty my hands! As for our relationship, I suppose it would depend on the size and organization of the elven families - which is GDM's territory. Cousins might be a safe bet regardless, though. Not too close, not too distant.

If the game runs far enough, I'd consider picking up Shielded Caster, but I don't see any reason to blow early feats on it. Lookout's also great, but perhaps not for a first level feat? Ultimate Combat also has a few that might be good - Back to Back and Shake It Off, maybe?

I also noticed that you took the cold resistance racial trait, so I'm going to follow suit. It's perfect, and I overlooked it completely.

I'm interested in joining (if there's still space that is).

Let me know if you have the room, as it looks like a lot of people have already signed up.

Sounds tricky, but it is a good hook, and a solid trope that I'm familiar with. I will want to see the details, and as long as you don't pull too many "rabbits out of the hat,” I think it could work.

You'll be responsible for two separate aliases, though, will that be alright with you?

I'm ok with that. Mechanically the familiar would just be another witch that was baleful poly-morphed but still maintained it's persona. All it would be able to do is be my familiar, give me advice, and criticize me along the way for being a simpleton

Sounds fun!

Riyah – there is room, as long as you do not mind a large cast of characters.

Lycrosis – Help me understand this better, is the Halfling (Eshian/Basconde) doing the casting as a “witch” character (and is officially your PC) or is the familiar doing the casting as a “witch” character? Which witch is the witch which is the PC, gawd I’ve always wanted to say that!

Felicia – is this your druid character? Cause if it is, I’ve got some crazy things to share with you about Gnomes, if you are interested, or if it is too much “Home Brew-ish” we can just play it as is. The desert environment works well, and we can say she is from Kyjzta, to the south east, and might even know something about Marvin’s origin!!!

Riyah – there is room, as long as you do not mind a large cast of characters.

Lycrosis – Help me understand this better, is the Halfling (Eshian/Basconde) doing the casting as a “witch” character (and is officially your PC) or is the familiar doing the casting as a “witch” character? Which witch is the witch which is the PC, gawd I’ve always wanted to say that!

Felicia – is this your druid character? Cause if it is, I’ve got some crazy things to share with you about Gnomes, if you are interested, or if it is too much “Home Brew-ish” we can just play it as is. The desert environment works well, and we can say she is from Kyjzta, to the south east, and might even know something about Marvin’s origin!!!

The witch is the halfling. The familiar gives out advice and snarkiness.

This sounds like the opportunity I've been waiting for to play a grippli. The concept I have in mind starts off as a lore warden fighter for about three levels (to pick up the net feats) and then multiclasses into some form of divine spellcaster (druid, maybe?). Is that OK?

I don't know if a Grippli is going to work, so let me do some homework before you get too far along, okay. Thanks!

Any chance I could try a Psion? If not I'll keep working on my bard.

The Psion does not appear (at least to my searches) in the PRD here, so I am going to have to say no to that.

sarpadian - Looks like the Grippli is a go, so if that is what you want to try, go ahead.

Looks like I might need to ask for a halt to new request. let's see how many of these "ideas" are followed through on. Will be a big crowd, if that isn't your style, please let me know.

Finally finished. ^_^ Read through the previous turns too! This sheet's officially finalized. I purposefully just ran out of trail rations, and have meager funds; it's her hope to buy or barter for some more when she reaches Connie's Bright, or wherever the next chapter begins.

Riyah – there is room, as long as you do not mind a large cast of characters.

Thanks, how do I add myself to the characters/playing part of this thread?

I'll upload a character/background in the next day or so.

Riyah - I see you are new here, so take a minute to get aquainted with the way things work. There are a lot of people who will help. I'm going to ask you to create an "Alias" if you don't know how, we'll walk you through it. Once you have an Alias constructed, with all the information I need to spy on so I can be a sinisted DM, I'll ask you to post, as your alias, in the Discussion thread, to introduce yourself. Then we will introduce your character to the Game Thread, when you are sure you are ready to get on this ride

*no refunds*

I will be giving new players to this game one of two options

Option A: You are guest of The Blue Roof Inn, and you were soundly sleeping when the “event” occurred. You woke, met with other guests, and learned that “something” happened in the alleyway between The Blue Roof and Two Barrels Tavern, and people are now gathering at Two Barrels, will you go?

Option B: A Ship, in the harbor (the coast here near Connie’s Bright is too shallow for large ships to tie at the pier), called the Tertian Rose, is having a birthday party for the first mate, Polly ‘Green Shirt’ Lassin, and the crew is getting rowdy, drunk, and having a real good time. You paid for passage on the Tertian Rose to take you all the way to Cutter’s Island, in the south, part of the Republic of Basconde, but the party is keeping you awake. The Captain of the Tertian Rose has agreed to send a small boat ashore, with his paid passengers, and make them comfortable in a local Inn. Your boat has just arrived. A crowd is gathering at a local tavern, with two small casks suspended above the door.

Dang it! It looks like i am just a little late to get in on this :(
Pity as i have a really neat idea i would like to run with.
On the off chance that i am allowed, he will be a human rogue (charlatain) "priest" who has never managed to convince himself to believe in the divine yet realized that a cushy job as a priest/pastor would give him both an easy life and prestige, as well as mindless followers to boost the ego from time to time. He dosent believe at all what he preaches but is content to mislead the masses when he unexpectedly finds himself in the midst of trouble. Can he lie his way out of this one?
He will have skill focus: bluff and catch off guard. He has no belief of his own so he needs to lie to "preach the good word" an he dosent use weapons. Instead he has a holy book he could bash you over the head with or perhaps a pulpit? Candlesticks?
He will have the godless healing and the rough and ready traits (+drawback +1 trait?).
I will flesh it out more :)

I assume this is a homebrew? If so I want to sign up, most of my homebrews got cancelled. I'm in 3 APs and 1 homebrew, and that 1 homebrew is starting to go inactive.

Also you said any race? Is any race going to be discriminated against or some attacked on sight?

Oh, this is deeply Home Brewed.

I suppose you got me in a tough spot now, because, originally I set this game up as something very much not to e taken too seriously and invited any race, but that might not work now. Can I ask that we exclude monster races, for now? If you have something in mind, go ahead and ask.

How is everyone coming along?

This isn't my alias for this game, I'm not using the gargoyle in doublegolds alias.

I'm looking at either suli, Lasahunta, or assimar.

suli
assimar
lashunta

Also, lashunta says females look almost human, but males do not, though I'm asking for romance roleplay purposes that males look almost human or almost elf.