War of Honor (Inactive)

Game Master Arcmagik

Mamoru snorts, cleans his spear on his dead foe, and ignores the retreating spider. He glances around for additional threats, and finding none turns to face his ward.

He pulled his sheathed katana free of it's sash, knelt on the floor and laid it next to him.

Then he drew his wakazashi in a reverse grip and rested it across his thighs. The blade was thick, forged of a blackened metal. It's hada, the irregular line that marked the edge of the grain, gleamed brightly. It was more jagged than the traditional wave pattern, it's tip more of a harsh chisel than a gentle sweep.

He looked straight ahead to Seori, his head level with her while he knelt.

"I have failed you."

That thing has quite some honour.

Takeshi us baffled for a few seconds, before turning to the spider and releasing an arrow down the hallway, striking the creature in the back.

Attack: 1d20 + 3 + 1 ⇒ (19) + 3 + 1 = 23
>> 1d6 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 1 = 5

Well i am glad that Frakking worked so well that creature had it be able to full attack someone he would have died. she says putting down her "gun" hand.

grr the system eat the post I made last night! Following the giant spider as far as the door of the tea room Hiriko moves past the unfolding drama, draws another bolt and allows it to be directed by her spell at the fleeing creature.
Bolt: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (7) + 3 = 101d8 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 1 = 5

sonofa...I had a whole monologue typed out to stop Mamoru's obvious Seppuku, too. WTF, forums? I'll be back to retype it later! DON'T MOVE.

Well, the thing about Seppuku is that in in the case of failure, it generally has to ordered by a samurai's lord. Mamoru is ready to kill himself for his failure, but he has to wait for your permission.

Now wouldn't it have just dropped your jaw if I had permitted it? Lucky you I like having a massive bodyguard, heh heh.

Seori flicks the blood from her blade before sheathing it, spattering fluid across the floor. the sound of another blade clearing its own sheath spins her around, leaving her face to face with her yojimbo, kneeling with a blade in his lap and shame in his eyes. It takes only a moment for her to realize what he intends; it takes a longer moment for her to gather her composure and her thoughts before she crosses her arms in her sleeves.

Gods above! Not even for a moment can I forget my heritage now! Not a week ago I could barely start a conversation with this warrior, and now he kneels, ready to kill himself for a danger no one could have possibly predicted! This cannot be all that awaits a samurai; much less an Empress...

"Mamoru Onitora. I know the weight of your oath, and the sting of the treachery we have just endured, but you slew our poisoner before I could even order you otherwise. If there was any stain on your honor, it will wash away as surely as the blood on this floor. Unless I lack the breath to say otherwise, I expect you to forgo seppuku, even for the most direct dangers. I am not a helpless child, but I--we will need your strength; it would be the greatest failure to die before your Empress needs you most, would it not?"

Years of training are all that keep Seori from recoiling at her own words. Even as she speaks them, a hint of distaste clings to her throat.

Birthright or not, I cannot believe I just spoke with such arrogance! As if he were nothing more than...than a...

Fighting the urge to compare someone's life to an object, yet struggling to fight the right words, Seori's eyes reflexively look down in thought, stopping on the exposed wakisazhi. Her incomplete thought finishes itself, and the distaste in her throat instantly turns to disgust at her own mind.

It's as if he were nothing more than a sword, to be replaced when broken...

The Oni met her eyes and processed her words. Whatever she thought of them, they were clearly the right ones to him.

"Hai." He said, stonefaced. He knelt only a moment longer before sheathing his short blade, picking up his larger one and rising.

He said nothing further, but he was still clearly upset. Or, perhaps that was simply his normal state of being. It was difficult to tell.

So that that little Frakk of a negotiation is done. I believe there is still a castle to "clean" up? Be careful now cause i can't use that same magic again. it was spent.

Mamoru carefully tucked his sheathed swords back into the wide silk band that wound around his armor. The tension of the previous moment was forgotten. He looked down at the two dead bodies for a moment, then around at the rest of the room.

Mamoru would never stoop to looting bodies, but as a player I feel like I should remind those of you that aren't stodgy samurais that there might be loot in front of us.

Takeshi's arrow plants in the spider and it falls the ground and twitches as ichor leaks out from it.

Ok, so what's everyone's actions now? Combat is officially over. Also, the placeholder map was linked a few pages ago, if I recall.

Seori takes a moment to consider the state of her group and their newfound knowledge. With one less force vying for control or promising interference, it meant one less chance to be surrounded; it also meant less inhabitants to turn against their foe. As she folds her arms to think, a slight rustle reminds her of the prayer tag, given by their now deceased host. Retrieving it and holding it aloft, she smiles.

"Perhaps we should settle accounts with a certain noisy wall, and see what Kikonu has hidden behind his atrocities?"

Mamoru looks around for something big and heavy...

Sophia will cast a detect magic and look around if she sees interesting stuff

DM in the campaign info tab in the first box put all the link to battle map / loot table etc.. they well remain available on top of each pages for easy access

Takeshi gives himself a mental high five, before trying to replenish his lost arrows as much as possible.

"So, the castle is clear except for that door that won't open? I'm sorry, I feel like I'm missing something!"

Just fluff, no worries.

Mamoru looks around the room. His eyes alight on the two heaviest things in the room: the massive table everyone sat at and a large statue reminiscent of Hakano Jyunitchi, one of the '7 Warriors of Heaven', legendary guardians of the Tengoku Emperors said to be immortal. The massive armored stone statue stands eye to eye with him, sword planted in the base of the statue and head bowed in solemn contemplation. The base of the statue reads 'Hakano Jyunitchi, Warrior of the Warding Earth'. There is some strange script below this that you cannot quite make out, strange flowing runes forming what seems to be a short phrase.

Mamoru would never deface a statue of a fellow warrior, unless he knew said warrior did not deserve the honor. This 'Hakano' would receive the benefit of the doubt.

He'd already upended the table during his furious lunge at the traitorous fae. Now he simply lifted it to his shoulder.

Sophia will move toward the massive table and recover a rock from under the teakettle

Wu Fen if I notice the script at the base of the statue I will investigate it. Otherwise I will try to replenish any bolts unrecoverable from the combat with those from my pack and scan the room to see if anything would be immediately useful. Such as weapons, wands, potions etc even if we can't make use of them now we can at least deny their use by our enemy.

"What's everyone looking at? Something magical on that statue or somesuch? If so, can you move over and let me have a look?"

Takeshi is walking around, looking at everything closely. He will want to investigate the unopenable door for himself, feel around the edges and knock on the wood.

Mamoru hefts the dining table over his massive shoulder, going to give that wall some payback.

Takeshi, unopenable door? You mean the locked one? :P

Exactly.

That Frakk of a statue is laced with powerful magic that lies dormant, it's a combination of abjuration and transmutation magic. Better be careful with it.

Hiriko try's to calm herself the prospect of deciphering the text on the statue bringing out her natural curiosity and readies her equipment for another confrontation before closely examining the statue. The celestial tongue I haven't dealt with the written form in a bit hmm what was that verb rule again when dealing with sentence structure? Hiriko reads over the script several times to ensure that she has the proper translation before speaking the translation out for everyone's benefit. The statue's script reads 'Behold Hakano Jyunitchi, Warrior of Earth and protector of the Emperor. Here his body stands, still as the stone he commanded, until the Imperial Blade commands him from his sleep to serve anew. Pray to the Warding Earth with offerings of stone and receive his blessing, a share of his power to all within his gaze.'

After completing her translation for the party Hiriko pulls out a quill, ink and parchment from her backpack to copy the translation for herself. I should research the name and title when time permits.

Ha that is Frakking Easy then Sophia will kneel in front of the massive statue, pray to Abbadar and offer the magic stone.

Kn Religion: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (10) + 5 = 15

"What is she..." Takeshi says while he's on his knees, trying to find a way to open the lock.

"Oh god, there's no way this could go wrong, right?" he adds sarcastically.

"The imperial blade? Protector of the emperor? Then he knew my ancestors..."

Seori turns to Onitora with a knowing smile, drawing comparisons in her mind.

"If he protected the emperor, then it would seem you are his successor, in a way."

She ponders the meaning behind the statues verse, searching through memories of her studies for mention of the warrior or the blade of which his inscription reads.

knowledge history: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (9) + 5 = 14
knowledge nobility: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (2) + 5 = 7

Mamoru's clan was an earth-clan. He had never read the ancient scrolls. He was simply chosen for his loyalty and given his duty.

It was entirely possible that this statue depicted one of his predecessors. Perhaps even the first Mamoru.

Strange that the statue did not seem to be of an Oni. For the first time in his life, Onitora found himself curious about something.

As Sophia places the stone before the statue and finishes her prayer, the statue's eyes alight with a yellow glow and it's mouth moves, words coming out in a resonant baritone, "The earth, savage and unforgiving though it be, protects and shelters all things living. Air may lash the earth, fire may try to consume it, and water may smash against it, but ever shall the earth endure; shield, womb, and foundation all at once. Receive you now, supplicants, the blessings of the earth. May it protect you as you walk in accordance with the Will of Heaven." The stone spins into the air and explodes, sending golden glowing particles racing through the air. The particles drift towards each person and settle on them. The particles tingle as they fade into the skin, which momentarily takes on a stony appearance before returning to normal.

You receive the Blessing of Earth! It is an SQ that provides +1 to CON, +1 to AC, and, once per day when you would be reduced to below 1 HP, you remain at 1 HP and gain a stony skin that absorbs damage equal to three times your HD in damage and lasts for seven rounds if it is not depleted first. Also, out of Earth, Fire, Air, Water, Wood, Metal, and Void, would anyone select this as their 'element'? Note that only one element will 'synch' up with your character, so ONLY choose it if you would prefer it's powers and possibly it's flaws over the others!

Takeshi, you may take 20!

Knowledge Nobility and Royalty: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (1) + 6 = 7

Mamoru would definitely be an Earth character.

Is that AC bonus a natural armor bonus, or untyped.

Oops, Natural AC! Think supple flesh, but harder to damage!

Oddly enough, the energy continues to coalesce around Mamoru And anyone else choosing Earth as their 'synced element', dropping the table to see exactly what is going on. Instead of sinking into flesh, the golden motes of light coalesce into the form of majestic dragon of stone that wraps around him and sinks into his skin. He drops to his knees, hands touching the stone floors. He grunts slightly as his body glows with orange light, which pulses in rhythm. Everyone's heartbeat seems to synch with the pulse. Without warning, he raises his harms and slams the ground, light exploding from his form as the very floor around him ripples and shatters.
You can describe what you do now! You gain the Embodiment of Earth SQ in place of Blessing of Earth. It grants you +4 CON, +2 AC, the conditional ability listed above (Warding Stone, for use in stat blocks,), and the ability Shatter the Earth (1/day + 1/day per CON modifier, as a full-round action, you may charge a melee weapon, natural or manufactured, with energy and strike a stone surface, breaking stone and creating a miniature shockwave. This causes all foes within 5 ft. per 4 HD radius, minimum of 5 ft., to take damage as if struck by your melee weapon and they must make a FORT save against DC10+HD+CON or be knocked prone. The area affected, irregardless of enemy saves, is treated is difficult terrain until repaired. Alternately, the energy can be more tightly focused, dealing maximum damage to all earthen surfaces or constructs struck and ignoring hardness. If used in the latter way, it also deals the damage against all adjoining areas equal to the radius previously listed, if so desired.). Sorry about the wording, posting from my phone. I should have the more... well-worded version up by tomorrow! So, do you like it? And trust me, compared to how this campaign will go, it is NOT OP! You will gain an additional ability every level, as your power grows.

We each get an elemental ability? What is the element associated with wisdom?

Takeshi is more of an air character, as he is easily distracted and I can see him go "where the wind takes me".
However, I will gladly let anyone else take "air" so that everyone has a unique ability, to enahcen roleplay some :)
Knowl nobility: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (16) + 2 = 18

"Hey, this remind me of that story about this guy, who shielded the Celestial Emperor with his body. He was a normal farmer, but he took an arrow for him, and they say that as a thanks for his selflessness the Celestial Emperor granted him something new. His skin and his hands became hard as stone if he chose them to be. I believe his name was Jyunitchi, and he became one of the Seven Warriors of Heaven.'

He rests his head a second on his hands, thinking, before continueing to finick with the lock.

More mumbling than talking, he is heard saying: "Of course, the story could go differently, that's just how I remember it being told. Who knows, the man could just have been eating dirt all his life and the gods decided to teach him a lesson..? It's funny how these stories evolve throughout the years!"

--
Sophia: I would imagine stone or wood. Just pick one that you like your character to match, not "wisdom" to match your powers :p
I can see Sophia taking fire, as she is quite "frakking" volatile ;)

Sophia, an elemental ability at the corresponding shrine. Everyone gets a 'blessing' but only those who choose the element become an 'embodiment' of it. For reference, just on the ability score questions: Fire=Intelligence, Air=Dexterity, Earth=Constitution, Metal=Strength, Wood=Wisdom, Water=Charisma, Void=None, but it has it's own powerful boon for embodiments. Every 'embodiment' features an attack as the first power. After that, the powers are very diverse.

EDIT: Takeshi is correct, you do not have to pick one with an advantageous ability score bonus, unless you want to. Power-gaming is fine, but personal choice is better. When the rest of the shrines come up, just pick whichever you like the best. No one will judge if you don't power game and if they do, well, they'll get a 'GM says step into his proverbial office moment, would you kindly'!

Mamoru stood slowly, pushing up the sleeve of his robe.

An orange dragon's tail now coiled down his arm. It seemed etched into his blue skin. Not like a tattoo, it had a raised quality that was more like a brand or a scar, but it had an intricate detail and vibrant color that no scarification could match.

Mamoru's brows knitted together and he dropped his sleeve, pulling his cuirass off and his robe open to look at his own chest.

More dragon.

It's neck came up and over his shoulder and it's snarling head roared above his heart. A claw came up over his other shoulder, looking like it was gripping his broad pectoral muscle.

He looked at himself for a long moment then back up to the statue. He slowly got to his knees respectfully and bowed his head.

"Doumo arigatou gozaimashita" he rumbles in his own tongue, giving thanks to the spirit within the statue. "I accept this."

And then he stood with purpose and began towards the stairs.

Yes i know but she was Frakk'ing right about the statue :), her two major elemental affinity are fire and water anyway. But she will go with Fire...

Sophia will reply to the statue Indeed the Master of the first Vault and keeper of the rampaging god has to endure.

Seori is still examining her own skin when Onitora's body glows and he splits the earth not ten feet from her. She dodges backward, gazing at the shattered floor with a mixture of shock and awe.

"Dragon of Earth..."

Is this Jyunitchi's blessing? Or is this the gift of a Mamoru? So many mysteries the spirits leave for us...

She then follows Mamoru toward the stairs with the prayer tag tucked into her sleeve.

"Come friends. Let's put those tortured spirits to rest and put and end to Kikonu's madness."

Little reminder poke: did Takeshi succeed at opening the lock by taking 20?

wait i am not complety done here. she points to an area in the wall there should be a secret thing inside the wall right there if someone can find it and open it.

mamoru is intent on going upstairs to use his new earth shattering power on a certain wall. The rest of the group can look for secret doors. By the time they finish, I hope to have destroyed that haunted chunk of the castle.

Takeshi's lockpicks lift the last tumbler and a small CLICK is heard.
Leaving it up to you to open the door or accompany someone else.

Seori and Mamoru, decurse or smashy-smash the wall? Waiting to see which of you take the lead. The spelltag may be less structurally damaging, but the 'Mamoru Smash!' approach oozes flavor!

Mamoru is destroying that wall. It embarrassed him and made him run. It dies.

Mamoru, in that case, post it! The wall, despite being haunted, has the stats of a normal stone wall.

Noticing the activities going on around her Hiriko blows on the paper with her notes to hasten its drying before putting it away and makes herself ready to continue. Sorry will need to look further into its history when I have more time.

"Aaahhhh finally," Takeshi says as he hears the tumbler click.

He waits a few seconds, getting up and putting his tools in the appropriate cache in his bags.

Upon seeing Mamoru coming towards him, he is glad he's not alone. He pushes the door open slightly as he approaches, understanding too late the giant has something else in mind.

"..."

From upstairs the rest of the group heard a terrible crash.

20 damage to the wall, ignoring hardness, in the area I hit, plus all areas 5' around it (a 15x15 area?)

will save (in case the haunt activates before I can hit it): 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (13) - 1 = 12

Resolve, in case I need to reroll the save: 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (17) - 1 = 16

About to go to sleep. Almost 5:00 A.M.! @_@ Now, Mamoru, you shorted yourself on uses of Shatter the Earth. It's 1/day + 1/day per CON mod. So you could use it 5/day. Also, you are correct on the damage/effect portion of Shatter the Earth.