I suppose what it means is that Sevak is in dire need of a friend.
I agree. Expect a day or so of slow posting as I plot out the story.
That ok with you?
Yep! Take all the time you need.
I wondered if Paq had slipped out...
What do you think of the 'journey of enlightenment' idea?
Going around Tian Xia sounds like a great idea, but it needs a bit more...oopmh to it. besides, we need to get your eyes back first.
I am thinking we may have a short time skip. Assuming it happens and you are still blind in the jungle (but safe), what would Sevak do with his time?
Hmmm... learning to get along while being blind would be a big one. Coming to terms with what he's done would be another. Processing what he's realized about the unfairness of naga society... well, he'd start on that. Beyond that, trying to get himself back in touch with nature, really paying attention to the jungle instead of just being a druid because Iskassala said so, that would be another activity. And just... living life.
Would you want to post the timeskip and what is going on in Sevak's mind, once we get that far?
I could certainly do that.
Hmmm... think maybe during the time skip Sevak could retrain Dodge to Blind-Fight? Dodge isn't doing him much good blind...
Do you want to be blind enough for that to matter? I know that is total meta-gaming but you seemed to indicate before you didn't want to linger this way.
Not really, no, but I'd like him to bear some mechanical lesson as well as the role-playing lessons from this time. Blind-Fight comes up often enough even for seeing people--invisible creatures or creatures that throw darkness spells around are common enough, after all.
On the other hand, he really needs his AC, so if it's going to be brief he could just stick with Dodge. I was just thinking Blind-Fight was a good way to represent him starting to figure out the whole functioning-while-blind thing.
Want to just have a swap then I'll let you swap it back for free? It is hardly a big boon since I blinded you and knocked you out of your class! I don't think you are going to be OP..
Yeah, that would be good. I don't know if I'll swap back to Dodge or not--I do like the idea of him forever remembering how to focus on his non-visual senses when sight fails him.
If you do that, I promise to let you use it later. It might come in handy if your spiritual quest takes you to some dark places...
Indeed. I"m definitely leaning towards it, as you can tell.
Works for me. I think you'll like the next segment.
I say take the deal, and double down.
Being blind does suck, you know.
Somehow Sevak doesn't agree with that... :D Well, he does agree that being blind is terrible, but doesn't think that's good reason to take another deal with a devil.
Also, I am enjoying this segment. ;)
I am glad you are enjoying things!
A few questions before making my next post:
*Does it sound like anyone is left in the room other than the two nagaji, Paq, and Sevak?
*How are Spirit Naga generally viewed in Nagajor? Like demons? If so, would they be more the kind to fight against or run screaming in terror from?
*How violent would the response to news of a Spirit Naga in town be? City-wide manhunt kind of response?
1. You, Paq and maybe a few other ratfolk (not many).
2. Nagas are always respected in Nagajor, although Spirit Naga are considered dark barely whispered villians. I think, depending on how you speak, you could get them to fight or run in terror.
3. Without proof? I think people would assume they are crazy. If it got back to your mistress though, she may put two and two together.
So, are you enjoying this game?
Assuming you'll have eyes again soon.
Oh definitely. :) Though, I am looking forward to when Sevak again has combat options beyond attack rolls. But really, it's the role-playing I live for, and this situation has been very rich in good character development, so I don't want it to end *too* quickly. ;)
As for combat, plans are in the works...
Uh-oh, should I be concerned? :D
Can I really do anything worse then blinding you and taking your class levels?
He could be blind, not have his class features, and lose his soul!
...Okay no, I'm not really worried, I'm just joking around.
Man, this fight is going no where fast!
Well, Paq is losing hit points steadily... XD
But yeah, Sevak's had some terrible luck. It happens.
Oh, I wanted to ask--would it still be possible for Sevak to use his Wand of Cure Light Wounds in spite of not being able to cast spells right now? I'm not sure how being an ex-druid and using spell trigger items interacts.
I will rule a yes.
Fits into my plans later anyway!
All right--it seems like that's going to be an issue here shortly. XD
So any ideas of places you want to go, assuming you get the chance?
Oh, lots of places. :D He'll probably head north when he leaves Nagajor, so he'll end up in Po Li. I'm not sure there's anywhere in particular he wants to visit there, though he might spend some time in the Chang Liao jungle for the sake of getting the feel for a jungle outside of Nagajor. After that, I was thinking he'd sail for Tianjing--fighting qlippoth to save the woods would sound like an appropriate penance to Sevak for what he's done, not to mention he'd hope to learn some wisdom from the Aasimar there. After that... he might make for Zi Ha, hoping to gain admittance to one of the mountaintop cities of the Samsaran, hoping to learn something of the wisdom of lifetimes from them.
Other than that... visiting the elves of Jinin could be interesting, and he should definitely visit Goka sometime now that Paq's brought it up. :D Some of the monasteries of the Wall of Heaven could be neat to visit, too, and if Sevak could speak with the kami of the Forest of Spirits, that could be interesting too. So yeah, there are a lot of options. :D
It would also be neat for him to talk with some unusual creatures--imperial dragons, kami, kirin, and the like.
Lots of excellent ideas here....Would you like more then one sidekick NPC?
Good question... it does seem like it would be interesting, especially if it were someone with another contrasting life philosophy to Sevak and Paq. On the other hand, it would also be interesting to have a variety of temporary companions--I'm definitely imagining Sevak getting caught up in helping a lot of people with their problems as he travels seeking enlightenment, so perhaps he'd go through extra companions as he solved their problems? On the other hand, the three-way banter of three very different people who've become friends through long experience can be a lot of fun. Either way would be interesting.
A few more ideas I've been mulling over. I certainly don't expect all of the ideas I'm throwing out here to be used, I just figure it's better to give you more suggestions than you can use than too few.
*I definitely want to play around with his naga form more. Perhaps it will slowly change as he learns and masters himself, or perhaps there could be one dramatic moment of transformation due to some particularly important moment of character development? Either way could be interesting... but it does suggest the need to force him to use his naga form more frequently so the changes can be noticed, which may be a bit tricky given how afraid he is of it at present.
*I really like the idea of Rasthiss showing up to save the day, much larger and stronger than he was when he left (due to the additional druid level). Though if we put off his heroic rescue moment until Sevak gains one more level, I was thinking of taking the Boon Companion feat at 7th level, which would make him dramatically stronger than when Sevak last saw him. It seems like it would suggest the snake had been having adventures of his own while separated from Sevak. It seems like there's some potential to that idea, though I'm not sure how to weave it in.
I'm also going to keep putting Rashthiss's stat increases from increased hit dice into Intelligence, so he might almost be an NPC in his own right by high levels. :D Feel free to accelerate that process.
*I was also thinking that, since Automatic Bonus Progression will make sure Sevak gets the minimum necessary numeric bonuses to stay competent, it would be neat if Sevak didn't get a lot in the way of gold and magic items--just enough for him to cover his expenses, more or less. Perhaps because the rest of what Sevak might be getting is disappearing into Paq's pockets. :D Instead, he could get some unusual benefits from his dedicated pursuit of enlightenment. It would be fun for him to actually gain a point or two of Wisdom (beyond his normal every-four-levels progression) from learning some particularly vast insights, but I was actually thinking of this because I was thinking over how some monk class abilities are basically implied to be due to having some kind of supernatural understanding of the universe--things like Tongue of the Sun and Moon or Abundant Step, for example. So it would be neat as Sevak progresses in his journey towards enlightenment if he gained some abilities like those.
In addition to monk class abilities, some oracle revelations, cleric domain abilities, and the like could probably be flavored as abilities gained from supernatural insight into the structure of the universe. Some changes to his naga form might fall under this, as well.
*I was also thinking I should read up on some Asian philosophy and religion so I can be ready for the kinds of insights Sevak should be having here. XD
*I'm also wanting to intertwine his search for enlightenment with his connection with nature... still thinking on how to do this, though.
On a completely unrelated note, how many other players have you had that would have enjoyed having their character blinded and stripped of class abilities? XD
Some more assorted thoughts:
*I was realizing that Sevak lives in a universe where you can literally visit Nirvana. Clearly he should do that sometime if he can.
*This journey may take years. We may have to take into account the fact that ratfolk are much shorter-lived than nagaji.
*Probably the culmination of Sevak's journey would be to return to Nagajor and trying to change the culture there for the better.
Can you tell I'm excited about this? XD
All of these thoughts are good and give me a feel for what you are looking for. Some of them I had planned, some I now have planned and some I plan to subvert.
I'm just glad I know what I'm looking for now. I apologize for how long it took to figure that out--I have a feeling you've had to throw out some plans along the way.
I look forward to whatever twists come Sevak's way. :)
Was it a worthy scene?
Yes, it was. :) Thank you!
Thank you? It wasn't that good!
Consider the thanks for the whole journey thus far. ;)
One thing I've been uncertain about--how much would Sevak know about drugs? It seems like he'd at least have some vague notion of addiction, but I'm not sure how much more he'd really know.
I hope you don't mind. I just didn't see the appeal of a month long jungle trek right now. Sorry if it makes Sevak look foolish!
Not a problem. I should have asked about where Iskassar is before assuming. :D
So are you thinking of multi-classing Sevak then?
I'm still leaning towards a couple of non-druid levels, yes. Depends on exactly how the story goes.
I need to team you up with an elf so you feel like a snot nosed kid.
I *was* actually thinking it would be interesting to have a spread of lifetimes like that. :D