Water, thought the little lizard as he watched the shrine from afar. Need water soon. He lay flat amidst a trio of grey rocks, watching the humans enter and leave. For two days, he had been working up the courage to sneak in, grab some food and leave. Today he had no choice - he would either move or die of thirst. He didn't like being so exposed, and knew he didn't have much of a chance if he was caught.
Go now, he thought. Go now or bake, no choice! He stood, the sand sliding off his small form, his thin tail bristling as he begins to move forward. Slowly he crept towards the shrine, step by step, always keeping out of sight. He was about to go inside when he heard a commotion at the riverside - a splash of water, a woman's scream. He turned his head.
That's when he saw the vision. A beautiful serpentine form, brilliant emerald scales and the power to turn people into stone. He was in awe - she was magnificent to behold.
He saw that the people rushed towards this immaculate creature, and that's when he tore his gaze away from her to steal into the shrine. He grabbed a few offerings of fruit placed before the statue and crept back to his hiding spot, mostly to watch the snake lady.
For the next few days, he watched this woman. She had strange friends - a human lady wearing priestly garb and a man partially made from stone. He must have been around her for a long time, the kobold thought. Then the fire man came in - his voice loud and booming, like a thunderstorm in the desert. He didn't like the fire man, since fire could cause a problem with his powder. But he heard an important word, one that he remembered from the days before his tribe cast him out.
PROFIT.
A chance to be with the snake lady, and a chance to gain wealth! This was too much to pass over! Overcoming his urge to hide and scavenge from the edges, he crept into the shrine again, behind the fire man.
"Erm, can Slurk come?"
Ashar stepped further in to the room with a flourishing bow to allow him to better view the curious woman that had... erm... stepped forward. When the high pitched voice sounded so close behind him, his bow turned in to a leap and spin that would have looked awkward on anyone but a trained dancer.
With a booming laugh at his own surprise, the ifrit spoke My what a sneaky little fellow you are! Turning to the human woman that the others seem to defer to, The courage and variety of your followers do you credit Lady Priestess. May I know your name? If you and your mighty guardian gesturing at the stony figure of Q'urtaz, stand with us, we will be much ahead of my schedule. We could perhaps use that time to demonstrate our skills to one another and properly equip our selves. The time may give us an advantage over others that may seek the same prizes.
The eager Ashar continued with his assumption of camaraderie before exclaiming But I get ahead of myself, before we can properly perform as an adventuring troop, we must have a proper name! Perhaps something involving gems or a prism perhaps, oh, but to condense the essence of a group with such varied and powerful bloodlines into a mere handful of syllables!
It would seem that this would-be benefactor has listened to perhaps too many romantic adventures.
She had strange friends - a human lady wearing priestly garb and a man partially made from stone. He must have been around her for a long time, the kobold thought.
It would seem that this would-be benefactor has listened to perhaps too many romantic adventures.
Slurk leapt away as the fire man bellowed with laughter, scampering several feet away to hide behind a nearby pillar. He instinctively sought out the shadows, and his dull blue scales helped hide him in the darkness. "Ooooh, gems! Slurk like shiny gems. Rubies and sapphires and diamonds and garnets and pearls and...all gems. Good offerings to Mammon!"
The courage and variety of your followers do you credit Lady Priestess. May I know your name?
Bes looks to the cleric expectantly, assuming the iffrit to be addressing the medusan priest.
(At this point, I should probably state that Bes' features are delicate, but could easily be those of an effeminate male, or perhaps a sign of distant elven ancestry. This is not to say Bes *isn't* a woman, but...)
Illuria savors the moment that all eyes are upon her. It happens so rarely. She moves with sinewy grace a measure forward, and smiles lightly beneath her veil. The small lizard creature's sudden appearance and quick withdrawal did not seem to bother her. She had been suspecting a lurking presence for some time in and around the Shrine of Wati. Although most of the time it was children of the city defying parents in the hopes of stealing a glance at the mysterious medusa of the temple, she was quite certain there was one other, though skilled enough to remain out of sight even when she baited it by turning her back.
I am Illuria Euryale, fire-kin. She takes a few sidelong glances at those the ifrit had referred as followers. Perhaps he had mistook Lady Bes as a priestess as well. I am flattered that you would be so bold as to invite me to join your endeavor. In fact, I would be most appreciative of the chance for a change of scenery and do some exploring. I do not think Wadjet would mind me taking an adventure. What do you think, Bes?
Hee haw!
Combat Gear oil of bless weapon, scroll of air bubble, comprehend languages, comprehend languages,
magic weapon, magic weapon, scroll of cure light wounds (4), acid (4), alchemist's fire (4), antiplague,
antitoxin, caltrops, healer's kit, holy water (2); Other Gear animal harness, backpack, chalk (2), compass,
crowbar, flint and steel (2), grappling hook, ink, black (2), inkpen (2), mapmaker's kit, marbles, mirror,
paper (10), powder (4), rope (3), sack, sack, sack, sack, sack, salt tablets (10), scroll case, shovel, soap
(5), tent, large, torch (2), trail rations (10), waterskin (6), whetstone (2),
inches + 2.5 ft.
lbs. + 25 lbs.
years + 14 years.
Totals: 19 years old, 3' tall exactly, and 28 lbs. He's scrawny and lanky, just how I hoped he'd be!
I think we are just about ready to go. I'm looking to get the first post in the actual game thread up as soon as tomorrow. But there is still one last piece of information we need...
...so about that name?
After some discussion of our roots and abilities...
We each represent a bloodline of great antiquity and power, though some do not fully realize it yet glancing at the blue scaled kobold in the corner and we are a rather colorful bunch, so i propose that we capitolize on the common reverance paid to the sun in these realms with something like the "Scions of the Ascendent Sun"
just testing the dice rolling text, please ignore
No Know (geography) that I see, but your lovely medusa cleric is trained in Survival...
Bes is updated, though there is still money left over. I expect Bes is probably wearing it as some sort of jewelry.
Illuria's hair coils languidly as she considers the ifrit's compliments and his suggested name for the group. In thought, she brings her hand up and lets a couple snakes wind around her wrist absently.
Hmm. A little ostentatious, perhaps. But I have no better alternative to offer.
Slurk shrinks a bit under the scathing gaze of the fire man, as if expecting to be cuffed for his presence. When it becomes clear that he's directing a question to him, his little eyes bulge in surprise. "No one ever ask what Slurk thinks," he says with obvious surprise. "If snake lady think the name is good, then Slurk think the name is good!" He grins, showing a row of sharp white incisors, and his tail flits about in excitement.
The oread shrugs, says, "It is a name," and looks at Bes.
"You are not a tree, dear. Of course you should join us - you will not grow if you stay rooted in one place! Thank you for extending the invitation to our friend, Sir Shirazi." Bes nods to the ifrit appreciatively, never once considering that Ashar would not want the services of a necromancer.
"It is a name that conjures memories of our dynasty's exalted past, and inspires us towards a glorious future. Well done!"
Oh my... look what we have here...
going to need to do some thinking on Bes' spiritual leanings.. Anubis does not react well to skeletons wandering around, apparently.
Meanwhile, in an alternate dimension...
...Slurk-With-A-Goatee does even worse than Slurk Prime.
Just a quick note: I got my hands on the Advanced Class Guide last night. As of this morning, I am ready to hear any proposals for rebuilds people might want to make to take advantage of the new material.
I don't know about a rebuild other than squaring up with the final rules. Anything significant that changes for a first-level warpriest?
The big difference was previewed on the blog; there's no BAB bonus for your sacred weapon. However you might want to re-spend your ability score points, as Charisma is no longer even a little bit relevant to warpriest class abilities.
How about rebuilds based upon old material? I think I'd like to trade out Rapid Reload for Point Blank Shot. I found the beneficial bandolier, and I'm going to start saving up for that, right after I purchase some masterwork thieves' tools. Taking PBS now means I'll have Precise Shot at level 3, rather than 5.
Short version: can I shoot into melee before Book 2, please? :)
The big difference was previewed on the blog; there's no BAB bonus for your sacred weapon. However you might want to re-spend your ability score points, as Charisma is no longer even a little bit relevant to warpriest class abilities.
I did not commit a lot to Charisma, but I think I will reallocate once I have my ACG in hand.
and the new book lets me cast fireball. I think we can all agree that is a glorious and terrible idea :)
"Slurk thinks it is a good idea. May Slurk request to not be set on fire again?"
I'm heading out to GenCon starting early tomorrow, so I probably won't be posting much of anything until next Monday. See you then!
Back from GenCon. New posts tomorrow.
I didn't get terribly deep into ACG - I just don't have time and there's a bit of feature fatigue setting in - but I did try to look to see what applied to Q'urtaz. As you mentioned, the Charisma score became less important, so I trimmed it in order to gain a point on the Wisdom modifier.
Too bad the Weapon of the Chosen doesn't apply to sacred weapons rather than favored weapons - I was hoping to use the scimitar as my primary weapon rather than the flail, so the feat tree isn't that attractive.
As always, if someone has something they think I should consider, I'm all ears.
At my house we are in the final run-up to our annual fall adventure. This year, we will not have access to wifi for at least four days. In addition, pressure at work related to my anticipated absence and ongoing major project may take me out of the game earlier than that and may keep me off the boards for a while after.
I wanted to post this to all my games while I could to explain that I may go silent for a while. I may get a few more posts in - I'm not sure when radio silence will begin. It could start as early as today - probably late tomorrow - and might run through the 26th if the project goes poorly.
Please don't let my absence stall the game. Bot me as necessary and we will pick up the pieces (or roll up my new character) when I return.
Peace.
Back from the trip. We hiked rim-to-rim at the Grand Canyon. It was hard, it was amazing, it was worth it, and I can't wait to return to do it again.
Will see tomorrow what work holds in store. That's going to impact posting availability - I just hope the vacation was enough to keep me sane over the next couple of weeks.
I have posted already in a couple threads about closing down threads, and I think this one is going to have to be one I end as well. I'm sorry, but I just don't have the time or the energy to deal with them fairly.
No worries, no regrets. It's always a pleasure to game with you.