Absalom Roll20 is the place to be :-P.
None of the above?
With great reluctance, she'd say Rilee, since that's the incarnation that has become lost to her.
Remember that time when everyone started acting out of character?
I just realized this might have appeared as a dig at someone -- not at all my intention. It was really meant to be a tongue-in-cheek comment on the role reversal of Jeeves and Ryli (what with Ryli being the most recent one ready to abandon the quest). Also, see Zoli's odd comment.
Hopefully I didn't spark any bad feelings. Many apologies if I did.
I took it exactly as you described just there Ryli. Heh.
*continues munching popcorn as the RotR pot stirs itself*
I just realized this might have appeared as a dig at someone -- not at all my intention. It was really meant to be a tongue-in-cheek comment on the role reversal of Jeeves and Ryli (what with Ryli being the most recent one ready to abandon the quest). Also, see Zoli's odd comment.
Hopefully I didn't spark any bad feelings. Many apologies if I did.
I mean, I've never really talked to her much about the details, but I've always been under the impression that Mother just planned to find some quiet place she could hide for like... ten minutes to cast the spell and bring back Setsuna. She never planned to leave Xin-Shalast until Karzoug was dead; I think she just wanted to make sure that Setsuna was brought back in case the Rangers all perished.
That is also what I figured you were up to, Jeevika.
Which raises the question...if you DO that and bring her back...which PC you going to continue as? Setsuna or Jeevika?
I recall Mama Ryli saying Auntie Jeeves cast that wind walk spell that you don't need unless you're planning on traveling really far.
That's easy question to answer. After Auntie Ryli talked some sense into Mother, she decided not to go through with her crazy plan. On second thought, Xin-Shalast (Karzoug's seat of power) just wasn't the best place to bring her back, you know? If Mother brought back my big sister right then and there, then Setsu would have likely just gone through more needless trauma.
@My Favorite Minion: Or really, really fast. Wind Walk was always meant to be a retreating mechanism. As in the flee from losing battles to regroup. I'm pretty sure she told everyone that before the scroll landed on her lap. Giants can't fly at sixty miles per hour. Heck, I don't think dragons can fly that fast.
Okay, so, looks like we have our cast of main characters essentially locked in.
Now we need to do a bit more work on the "State of the World" development, which is not ENTIRELY going to rest on my shoulders. I have some stuff planned that is off limits, which I will state if anyone tries to suggest something that would interfere with it. Otherwise, this is a collaborative effort.
So...
1) Sandpoint - How are things there now? I picture the town has basically rebuilt entirely, maybe even expanded a little. It's still a small town though.
As for the leading council/"Noble Houses":
Valdemar - Old Man Valdemar finally died, leaving his son Edric Valdemar as his heir to his seat and holdings.
Scarnetti - After the destruction of most of his property and the way his House had been viewed and treated with the rise of the "Varisian Rangers," Titus Scarnetti sold off his holdings and vacated the area. It is now owned by William Lightstaff.
Kaijitsu - Vacant Seat?
Deverin - Lady Deverin is getting on in years, and while she has maintained her position as Mayor, this year she has decided to not run for re-election. It is a bit of a focus of the local conversations as to who will fill the role?
Businesses: Glassworks are now "Lightstaff Institute of Arcane Learning." The Rusty Dragon...is it rebuilt? Who owns it?
__________
2) Absalom - Little has really changed here, politically and physically. Argor is on the High Council, Lord Gyr is still the Primarch. Anyone else got some input?
Oy! So much going on...and today and tonight are both soooooo busy! :-0
Briefly though:
- I certainly hope we rescue Ameiko
- Speaking of which, she was kidnapped by the Red Wizards of Thay. Could those be who the Skulks saw in Xin-Shalast.
Zoli would happily get into town politics (with a seat on the council, or as mayor).
The biggest change she's made is setting up one of the most sought after schools in Avistan for Dex-based combat styles. I imagine it's one of the larger businesses in town, and something else to draw folks in.
She'd also be happy to buy out the theater. She would hire a director, and continue with it largely the same...but adding in some of her taste for ancient Thassilonian performances, plus making sure there are many juicy roles for Halflings there (including probably setting a new standard where folks of all races can play any role in a play).
-----
After Karzoug was defeated, Z (with as much of the party as she can interest in it) will have tried both to rescue Ameiko (if she's still lost on another plane) and to stop Alaznist (who she's embarrassed to have released).
I'm 100% fine if she hasn't succeeded at either--and assume Alaznist at least is still at large--but I want to understand why, believably, this plucky halfling stopped, if she did.
Perhaps she (or the party) was tricked into believing we defeated Alaznist? Or perhaps all trails (divination, exploring her old domain, other leads) eventually went dry? Or perhaps they discovered Some Reason that it was truly best for Golarion to let her be....?
Just so long as it isn't "Zoli decided she didn't care about those things anymore"
Even if they (seemingly) disagree on much, Jeevika would definitely lend her assistance in Zoli's crusade to stop Alaznist. That might be a reason Shiloh spent so much time with Argor growing up; her mother was trying to help Zoli track down the Runelord of Wrath, and given how much Lord Constantine helped Sabrina, he was just a natural choice for an ally in the entire endeavor.
Oy! So much going on...and today and tonight are both soooooo busy! :-0
Briefly though:
- I certainly hope we rescue Ameiko
- Speaking of which, she was kidnapped by the Red Wizards of Thay. Could those be who the Skulks saw in Xin-Shalast.Zoli would happily get into town politics (with a seat on the council, or as mayor).
The biggest change she's made is setting up one of the most sought after schools in Avistan for Dex-based combat styles. I imagine it's...
1) We will have to wait and see.
2)3) Zoli could definitely run for mayor if she’d like! I’m curious who else may run!
4) Perhaps that is what took the place of the Rusty Dragon? The Tileani School of Dashing Dueling? And the Tileani Theatre perhaps?
Regarding Alaznist, the most reasonable solution is that all leads dried up. And after all these years of no sign of any further trouble out of her...who knows where she went or what she is doing or if she is even alive or on this plane anymore. Maybe that’s part of what Eugeni is doing...looking for her on other planes when leads on Golarion dried up?
Eugeni checks on Kallie once a day to see how she is progressing. Unless she is excellent, he shows no sign of praise. If she is excellent he may say, "Not bad." or some other minor form of reassurance. Despite her obvious need to connect, he remains emotionally distant, though she thinks its not out of spite. He just seems basically incapable of getting out of the logical part of his brain. His intellect and power are such that normal mortal things like emotion just don't occur to him, he seems puzzled by them if anything. As if he can no longer remember what it was like before Desna remade him into one of the most powerful arcane beings on Golarion.
Kallie has an 18 Intelligence, so she's one of the smartest centaurs in existence, but that's a far amount short of Eugeni's current score. She'll push herself and pick up a few things rather quickly -- especially from the Enchantment school which comes most naturally to her. I'm sure her "breakthroughs" that she comes excitedly to Eugeni to show off are things he'd mastered years ago, but she'll yearn for something that will make him pause and take actual notice of her.
Just because Kallie knows Eugeni's aloofness isn't out of spite doesn't mean it's not going to eat at her. She'll expect that as his child -- even one who's taken a severe detour like her -- she should be able to master the arcane challenges that Eugeni or Titanicus gives her. The problem is, I'll bet she falls short more often than not. (Remember when an 18 was a high score?)
Finally, after several months of "not bad" or "adequate", she storms into his study, hands balled into fists, trembling in hurt anger. "Could you give me a little bit of encouragement? Do you even want me here? I became an Outcast to come to you! I'm floundering, and I don't know if you even care enough to notice! Do you care that I'm your child? Or did you just hand me off to Ryli like I'm some burden and expect me to live like some mare?"
"I conceived you with a different woman, who died. I did not hand you off to anyone! I thought you were gone. Then you were born to a woman I had never made love to, as a race that I have never lived as." Having shown a small amount of ire, Eugeni takes a deep breath.
"My desires are irrelevant. You came here telling me you were an adult, and ready to lead an adult life. Which is it, Kallie? Are you a child that needs your father to hold your hand, or are you an adult who takes responsibility for their own life and decisions? If you want me to command you, I can. I just took you at your word when you said you were grown up. Grown ups do not need cookies to get the job done."
"I conceived you with a different woman, who died. I did not hand you off to anyone! I thought you were gone. Then you were born to a woman I had never made love to, as a race that I have never lived as." Having shown a small amount of ire, Eugeni takes a deep breath.
In that space, Kallie looks at him evenly. "I didn't choose this life for me any more than you did. That's Not. My. Fault."
"My desires are irrelevant. You came here telling me you were an adult, and ready to lead an adult life. Which is it, Kallie? Are you a child that needs your father to hold your hand, or are you an adult who takes responsibility for their own life and decisions? If you want me to command you, I can. I just took you at your word when you said you were grown up. Grown ups do not need cookies to get the job done."
"I came here wanting to learn. To maybe follow in your hoofsteps. I didn't get a goddess to just cram arcane power into my brain, so I have to work at it!" Her hands hang down at her sides limply. "Look at me. I'm over a quarter of the way through my expected lifespan. I'll be lucky to master a tenth of what you can do by the time I'm twenty! Can you help me?"
Okay, a pre-campaign stage has been set. Keep your interactions focused on non-combat, and use this opportunity to get a feel for your characters and their relationships with one another as well as with various NPC's. If you are interacting with someone's old PC, that player can feel free to post as them so long as the RP is very general.
So yeah, let's just all relax and have some fun getting a feel for each of these exciting new characters!
It was. I'm going with a title that was given to him in this alternate timeline. As word spread that he was coming back to reclaim old Thassilon, the common folk simply started referring to him as the Reclaimer.
...at least...that's my BS excuse for the typo that I'm going to stick with because I like it.
"Can you help me?"
"I understand you did not choose this either. I will try to help you. What can I do for you, daughter?"
"Can you help me?""I understand you did not choose this either. I will try to help you. What can I do for you, daughter?"
Kallie looks genuinely relieved -- apparently she had expected to be cast out. She takes a few steps forward and pulls out a spell book from her side bag. "I'd like to learn from you. Not from one of the creatures you made. You."
"I have never taught anyone anything before. Let us start with something simple, and very useful, the spell for invisibility. Here..." With a few gestures and muttered phrases Eugeni conjures an illusory blackboard into the air in front of them. He begins to write out the incantation for invisibility reading it aloud as he does. "Okay. Your turn. Read the spell to me please."
@Shelyn's Dad: What exactly is the idea/point/purpose/context of this training? Showing off our magic? I'm asking so I don't look like a goober. Uncle Argor has standards, you know.
He is just rigorous in teaching his children and insists on doing so directly, as time allows. Even so, he has had to concede and allow occasional substitute tutors to step in from time to time.
It’s basically his average training session where he pushes the school of conjuration on you all. Lol
As a foreword to my first post, I see Shiloh being on friendly terms with her Blakros-Constantine cousins. With a +13 Diplomacy and a natural 20 Charisma, I truly think she would be naturally inclined to desire good relations with them. Yes, Shiloh Kaliani might be the center of the universe, but happy friends and family make Shiloh happy, so she would make the effort to be kind and affable to them.
Key word being them!
"I have never taught anyone anything before. Let us start with something simple, and very useful, the spell for invisibility. Here..." With a few gestures and muttered phrases Eugeni conjures an illusory blackboard into the air in front of them. He begins to write out the incantation for invisibility reading it aloud as he does. "Okay. Your turn. Read the spell to me please."
Kallie tries, with strong focus and a steady voice. However, she flickers back to visibility after only a few seconds
She looks at Eugeni, biting her lip, with a mixture of hope and uncertainty. She smiles weakly.
"I have seen worse."
I have never seen worse.
"You must continue to practice. Like this." Eugeni reads the spell, making the gestures that accompany it. After showing her he says, "You will need many hours of practice. Such is the price of learning the power arcane. I can not hold your hand the whole time."
"I have seen worse."
I have never seen worse.
"You must continue to practice. Like this." Eugeni reads the spell, making the gestures that accompany it. After showing her he says, "You will need many hours of practice. Such is the price of learning the power arcane. I can not hold your hand the whole time."
Nodding vigorously, Kallie absorbs the lesson, then trots off to work on the spell.
Through the course of figuring out the magic, she manages to blind herself for a day, erase her horse half for three hours, flicker on-and-off, and render only her clothes invisible.
But finally, when she thinks she has it down, she tries to sneak up on Eugeni. He, of course, spots her easily.
Exasperated, she looks down at herself. "But-- I thought-- How did you--?"
"Many many more hours of study, items to boost my intellect beyond normal means, wishes, and permanent enchantments. I am no mere mortal any longer, dear daughter. I have traveled far down the path that Desna set before me, and am more akin to the mighty outsiders of other planes than I am with an ordinary wizard on Golarion. I see magic as easily as you see color. There is little still hidden from me, and in time, I will learn of those hidden things as well. The multiverse is vast, little fillie. You have my blood in your veins. If you are dedicated, then one day you might also achieve the levels reached by myself, or Argor Constantine. Always remember, knowledge is power."
Thoughts?"
"Ugh, another one? Tell her to enroll with the other students. I am too busy tutoring my own daughter to take on any more."
"Many many more hours of study, items to boost my intellect beyond normal means, wishes, and permanent enchantments. I am no mere mortal any longer, dear daughter. I have traveled far down the path that Desna set before me, and am more akin to the mighty outsiders of other planes than I am with an ordinary wizard on Golarion. I see magic as easily as you see color. There is little still hidden from me, and in time, I will learn of those hidden things as well. The multiverse is vast, little fillie. You have my blood in your veins. If you are dedicated, then one day you might also achieve the levels reached by myself, or Argor Constantine. Always remember, knowledge is power."
Wide-eyed, Kallie listens intently. "Okay, how do I get any of that? I mean, sure, I'll study. I've been studying, like, ever since I got here. That's not going to stop. But items? Permanent enchantments? Is that something you could do for me?"
"Many many more hours of study, items to boost my intellect beyond normal means, wishes, and permanent enchantments. I am no mere mortal any longer, dear daughter. I have traveled far down the path that Desna set before me, and am more akin to the mighty outsiders of other planes than I am with an ordinary wizard on Golarion. I see magic as easily as you see color. There is little still hidden from me, and in time, I will learn of those hidden things as well. The multiverse is vast, little fillie. You have my blood in your veins. If you are dedicated, then one day you might also achieve the levels reached by myself, or Argor Constantine. Always remember, knowledge is power."Wide-eyed, Kallie listens intently. "Okay, how do I get any of that? I mean, sure, I'll study. I've been studying, like, ever since I got here. That's not going to stop. But items? Permanent enchantments? Is that something you could do for me?"
"I could, certainly. I will not. You must go on adventures, and earn them for yourself. If I merely give you items of power, you will not understand the responsibility that comes with such power and will become irrevocably spoiled. Power is the reward of calculated risk and perseverance. I was not born looking like this. I was a dog-man, an aasimar who nobody understood. I knew only woodscraft and some basic divine magic. Then I died, and was reincarnated as a half-orc. Then I died again and was reborn as what you see now. Nothing about this was easy, child. There will be pain. There will be loss. You might die."
As for gear, go ahead and gear yourselves up with 16,000 gp of gear. Keep in mind though that this should cover homes, unless you live with your parents, live in inns due to traveling, etc. But, realistically, those of you with steady homes would have purchased some sort of private accommodations. Maybe even your own place of business or, say, a team of folks that work for you?
Some quick examples I can think of would be Houses for Embreth and Kallie in Sandpoint, Shiloh a House in Absalom. Abasi I can see still living in Verde Heights. It is a big mansion after all. His sisters still do for certain. And Jaya sounds like a bit of a wanderer. Kallie too though. Again, these are just ideas.
Embreth May even have hired himself a Thieve’s Guild team to aid in some of his nefarious exploits in service to Jubrayl.
Again, these are just spitball possibilities that you don’t have to run with, but would make sense and provide ample RP fodder to work with.
For examples and simplicity, here are some pre-built homes and their prices from the Downtime Rules:
House - 1,290 gp - Sandpoint/Absalom
1 Bedroom, 1 Kitchen, 1 Lavatory, 1 Sewer Access, 1 Sitting Room, 1 Storage
Mansion - 5,160 gp - Sandpoint/Absalom
1 Bar, 1 Bath, 4 Bedrooms, 1 Escape Route, 2 Furnishings (Bedroom and Sitting Room), 1 Kitchen, 1 Laundry, 1 Lavatory, 1 Lodging, 1 Office, 1 Secret Room, 2 Sitting Rooms, 1 Stall, 2 Storages
Keep in mind, I don’t expect Downtime Rules to play much of a mechanical feature in this game, beyond providing some more realistic grounding for RP. Nor am I INSISTING you guys even have to buy homes, teams, businesses, or what have you. But, you know me, I am a fan of things that add a bit of “realistic life” to the game, and some common things a person realistically seeks out in life are a safe place to live and a good steady source of income that doesn’t involve hoping this thing doesn’t eat you so you can grab the shiny thing it’s guarding.
As for legacy items, I’ll come back to that for each of you, likely in the morning, but if you have any humble requests before I get to it, post it here, like “I’d like mine to be a specific weapon type” or “I’d like an item for X item slot”, etc.
Jaya wasn't surprised, but it still stung.
"I'm not here to learn a few cantrips, Master Lightstaff. And the only thing I want to waste less than your time, is my time. I know I look like a normal girl, but I'm not. If you believe calendars, I'm barely 7 years old." She didn't make any gestures, or speak any words, but motes of light began to appear throughout the room regardless. "I know he wasn't born the mage he is, or the creature he is. I know something happened to him before he got his power. I'm not just here for any teacher. It has to be him.
"Please."
Master Lightstaff pinched the bridge of his nose. **sigh** "Can you condense that down to 25 words or less?"
@Thron: What do you think about Elthariel giving Shiloh her Celestial Armor after the archer retires from adventuring? After Rise, I see Ellie and Lorthan settling down for good somewhere in Kyonin. Alternatively, in the event Elthariel perished in Xin-Shalast, she left the armor to Jeeves, who eventually gave it to Shiloh.
Generally speaking, Shiloh is a high "Dex" AC character, so she would really like some armor with a high maximum "Dexterity" bonus. Celestial Armor is the best armor in the game for these sorts of characters; both Zoli and Elthariel wear it for that reason. In terms of cost, it's only 99 gp more than the Sadist's Lash Kallie wants.
Anyway, that's my general request: good armor (e.g. height armor bonus) with a good maximum Dex bonus. My specific request is Celestial Armor. The second best option would be a +Something Mirthal Agile Breastplate, but the Varisian Rangers actually have a storied history with Celestial Armor. If she doesn't have a set now, Shiloh will eventually just buy her own after the first few treasure divisions. We're already pretty close to the level where such armor would become fairly accessible.
If I have a legacy item I'd make it some kind of dagger, or nice bracers of armor. I already bought a +1 dagger though, FYI.
Okay...here are the Legacy Items I am going to be handing down to each of you, as well as listing who gave them to you. If you have a particular bit of RP you'd like to post explaining the hand off of such an item of power, feel free to either post it or give a general description of it:
Kallie: Sadist's Lash, given to her by Eugeni who had recovered it...again...in a later adventure.
Shiloh: Celestial Armor, as above.
Jaya: Ring of Wizardry I, from Auronee. If this isn't to your liking, as the others have all had requests I've tried to fill, by all means say so and I'll try to come up with something else.
Embreth: a Glammered +2 Keen Dagger, given to you by Jubrayl for a particularly heinous job well done that proved your dedication. Doesn't mean he trusts you, he doesn't trust anyone. But you are one of his go to guys.
Abasi: ...I'm at a bit of a loss, honestly. I don't want to be redundant and give out another weapon, and have some out of the box ideas, but they'd either be nifty and not so useful, or easily destroyed, or something like that. Any thoughts?
What am I, like in deep? I picture Embreth as like 19 or 20 and just getting into crime, not some hardened killer. He's probably never done anything truly evil yet. He has definitely stolen some stuff. He would kill someone, but only if he 'had to'.
Oh. Okay then...hmmmm. Well, maybe Zoli found it and gave it to you instead? I had also considered her giving you her old ring of protection she had upgraded to +3 and sustenance, but then saw your dagger request.
Also, I don't think Eugeni will *give* me the lash, considering its negative connotations. I see it more that Kallie discovered it and sort of claimed it for her own.
@Thron: And it just occurred to me that there's about a three foot difference between Ellie and Shiloh. Is it alright to assume that the Celestial Armor was resized accordingly? The existing rules in this case basically boil down to this:
The standard rules don’t allow item creation feats to alter the physical nature of an item, its default size, its shape, or its magical properties. For example, there is no mechanism for using crafting feats to change a steel + 1 longsword into an adamantine + 1 longsword , a Large + 1 chain shirt into a Medium + 1 chain shirt , boots of speed into an amulet of speed , or a + 1 unholy longsword into a + 1 flaming shock longsword. Many GMs might decide that these kinds of transformations are impossible, beyond the scope of mortals, or not as cost-efficient as crafting a new item from scratch. Others might allow these sorts of transformations for free or a small surcharge.
In other words, ask your DM. I imagine Jeevika - with all her power, resources, and influence - could find some way to adjust the armor for her daughter. If it's beyond the scope of mortals, then a Miracle could probably handle it.
Shiloh: There are tons of explanations that could reach the conclusion of it being a small suit now. Traded, magicked, altered, etc.
Kallie: that works. I was just trying to find a way that these were actually handed down from the old game to the new in a more direct fashion.
Oh, are we doing automatic bonus progressions?
Zoli would certainly have some cool item to give you.
Maybe a Holy dagger, to set you in the right direction? ;-)
Shiloh, if you were wearing it when the Permanent Reduce was cast on you, then it would have shrunk with you.
(And that way if your Reduce is ever dispelled, the armor will readjust to your old/new size)
*EDITED for typos
Thought Thron already said no to auto bonus progression?
Shiloh, if you were wearing it when the Permanent Reduce was cast on you, then it would have shrunk with you.
(And that way if your Reduce is ever dispelled, the armor will readjust to your old/new size)
*EDITED for typos
It's somewhat unclear if that would work. While that idea makes a lot of sense, the spell description also says that any items that leave your possession (e.g. arrows and projectiles) return to normal even if Reduce Person is still active.
Now that I have Thron's approval, better to just have the armor readjusted permanently.
I couldn't remember if he said yes or no.
Kallie, he said no, and that he has other plans.
Shiloh, ahhhh, that makes sense. Though it might be uncomfortable if anyone ever hits you with greater dispel magic. :-0