Or now since I apparently can't sleep.
Step 1: Write 5 background and concept elements that you feel are important to your image of the character. These can be a concept overview, a list of important life events, a physical description, a personality profile...whatever you need to get an image in your mind. 5 is just a minimum...more elements are encouraged!
1. Aleda is a cursed princess that was chased from her kingdom by powerful nobles whose toes her prophecies had stepped on.
2. Aleda is an empathetic person. Even when she was a princess, she was sensitive to other's moods. After running from her pursuers for 8 years, she knows what it's like to endure hardship and having to fight for your next meal, or even just to survive the next few minutes. She tries to see things from other people's point of view.
3. After so many years on her own, Aleda is a bit affection starved. Most of the time she wears a melancholic expression, but she lights up whenever someone gives her a hug or a pat on the back, or the head.
4. While most of the time Aleda can exude the effortless grace and regal bearing of her upbringing, when it comes to trying to establish a telepathic bond, she turns into a flustered mess.
5. She's a smallish young woman with dark hair and bright blue eyes. She wears her hair up most of the time, but when she let's it down it goes to her knees.
6. She loves all manner of fluffy critters.
7. She loves music and especially singing in all of it's forms. She can't sing herself, but she does know how to play several stinged and wind instruments as well as dance.
8. She loves to paint, but rarely has the chance to on the road. The painter's tools she carries are a gift from her second eldest brother when she turned twelve.
9. She doesn't like conflict, choosing to run away rather than confront something or someone.
10. She still carries the fancy dress, jewelry, and signet ring her head maid had packed for her, despite never having a chance nor need to wear them.
11. She loves to learn new things and started to learn how to bake and cook before she was chased from her home. Those skills came in handy when she needed to support herself after running away. Despite being a bit squeamish at first, she actually enjoys butchering her kills and learned more about the profession from the husband of a baker she worked for for a little while.
12. She absolutely terrified of spiders.
Step 2: List at least two goals for the character. At least one of these goals should be one that the character has, while another should be one that you, as a player, want to see developed over the course of the game.
Character Goals:
1. Find a place to call home. She's been running for eight years, and she's tired of it.
2. Find people she can trust and not endanger. The people hunting her are far from discrete in their methods most of the time, nor were they above trying to take advantage of her naivety early on. She had several close calls, and unfortunately, she also ran from a few places after the people that had taken her in had been slaughtered.
Player Goals:
1. I think I'd like to see some of the less used skills I picked up get a chance to shine. I mean, how many times does a profession skill come into play in an adventure?
2. This one's silly, but I'd like for her to be involved in some incident that involves fluffy critters. A cult of bunny worshipers, demonic kittens, infernal puppies, getting her hands on a bag of infinite tribbles, something that has a touch of whimsy and ends with her having a horde of fluffy critters to come back to and relax with. (I'm not looking for combat pets, this is just supposed to be funny. I know that the tone of the game's supposed to be more serious, so I also know that this one's probably a long shot.)
3. A less silly goal is that I'd like for Aleda to realize that she's allowed to be happy and joyful.
Step 3: List at least two secrets about your character. One is a secret the character knows, one is a secret that involves him but that he is not actually aware of yet. This will help me in creating plots that center around your character. I will also be creating a third secret which you as a player will not be aware of, so expect some surprises!
Character-known Secret:
Player-known Secret:
Step 4: Describe at least three people that are tied to the character. Two of them are friendly to the character, one is hostile. If you like, you can include an enemy of yours here as well, so I have an instant NPC nemesis to throw at you.
Step 5: Describe three memories, mannerisms, or quirks that your character has. They don't have to be elaborate, but they should provide some context and flavor.
1. Not long after running from home, Aleda was chased by a mercenary that used giant spiders to harry their bounties. She escaped, barely, but that night of horrors left a mark. She's terrified of spiders.
2. Aleda mainly uses a chalkboard to communicate with, though she can communicate telepathically.
3. Aleda will sway or dance to any music that she hears.
4. When Aleda is really happy or really enjoying something, she'll start humming or singing in her head and moving along to it with her eyes closed.
I get that way too, once my brain starts thinking about things I have to finish if I have any hope of sleeping. I fall asleep fine, but then am up an hour or so later.
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I think we are waiting on a fireball from our wonderful cleric, if you are up for it and agree, Gavin.
Aleda, where are you getting the mute curse from? I checked the archive/srd, and d20pfsrd and can’t find it… it seems like maybe it’s 3rd party (which we aren’t using at all)?
It's from the Jade Regent AP. I can swap it out if it's an issue. (Kinda surprised it never made it into one of books. It's a pretty cool curse.)
I know you were kind of looking forward to being mute but I would prefer to limit things to what I have access to on the official srd (AoN), please.
Alright, tongues it is!
Sorry for the trouble. I'll have the change done in a bit.
Tongues seems like a good compromise- it still would have been isolating for much of her life (especially if she found many social interactions generally stressful and, therefore, was only able to speak celestial, or whatever, much of the time), but there’s several linguists in the party so their ability to talk to her even when that happens will/could help her find a sense of belonging/acceptance with them she likely hadn’t experienced before.
As for the 10 minute background stuff, the NPCs and even secrets may not have much impact at all on the campaign (since they’re usually connected to the life left behind outside the Tower). I just wanted you to think through them some because in at least one of the trials you’ll have to make decisions that seem pretty arbitrary and/but I’m hoping they’ll really be made based on which thing your character would feel most drawn to. That said, if you want to talk about an NPC and/or secret that could have some bearing on your present/future feel free to shoot me a PM.
And, let me know when you’re ready to go and I’ll get things moving on your super-streamlined trip through the trials.
I stumbled upon this handy shapechanging guide and thought it might be useful for those of you (like Maximus) who have the ability to change form but rarely use it because figuring out what to change into can be a pain in the ass.
edit: I also added the link to my profile (along with the polymorph rules) ease of future reference
Lol! Yeah, no joke! Tell me about it! Freaking dicebot! We are sworn enemies. Have been for years. The jerk. :P
And mine and Lyra's rolls never got out of single stupid digits. All the while, DM guy is rolling nothing less than a freaking 17! HA!
Oh man, what a beating. Both literally and figuratively. Ugh.
Its the vampire all over again :)
Lol! Yes, yes it is. Ugh. Stupid vampire.
Luckily, the snake wasn't nearly as dangerous as Captain Markil, lol.
Alrighty! Sorry for the delay, but I got a chance to work on this after talking with the GM about this a little bit. There's still some stuff that's waiting on some information, and I'll probably do one more pass on it, but I think most of it's how it'll be in its final form.
I did move a couple of background skill points around to Perform(Sing) since she isn't mute now. I also changed one of her Intense Artist bonuses form Perform(Wind) to Perform(Sing). Other than that, her stats should be the same.
Aleda Helene Kath
Female azata-blooded aasimar (musetouched) oracle (seer) 7/ranger 2/sorcerer 1 (Pathfinder Player Companion: Blood of Angels 22, Pathfinder RPG Advanced Player's Guide 42, Pathfinder RPG Bestiary 7, Pathfinder RPG Ultimate Magic 59)
NG Medium outsider (native)
Init +4; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +19
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Defense
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AC 26, touch 17, flat-footed 21 (+8 armor, +2 deflection, +4 Dex, +1 dodge, +1 natural)
hp 112 (10 HD; 1d6+7d8+2d10+30)
Fort +10, Ref +12, Will +11; +1 trait bonus vs. illusion effects.
Resist acid 5, cold 5, electricity 5
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Offense
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Speed 30 ft.
Ranged endless ammunition darkwood composite longbow +12/+7 (1d8+2/×3)
Special Attacks combat style (archery), favored enemy (humans +2)
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 10th; concentration +14)
. . 1/day—glitterdust (DC 16)
Bloodline Spell-Like Abilities (CL 1st; concentration +5)
. . 7/day—laughing touch
Oracle Spell-Like Abilities (CL 7th; concentration +11)
. . 1/day—automatic writing
Oracle (Seer) Spells Known (CL 7th; concentration +11)
. . 3rd (5/day)—beacon of luck, clairaudience/clairvoyance, cure serious wounds, sacred bond[APG] (DC 17)
. . 2nd (7/day)—bull's strength, cure moderate wounds, detect thoughts (DC 16), hold person (DC 18), shield other
. . 1st (7/day)—bless, cure light wounds, endure elements, identify, magic weapon, obscuring mist, protection from evil
. . 0 (at will)—create water, detect magic, guidance, light, mending, purify food and drink (DC 14), spark[APG] (DC 14)
. . Mystery Lore
Sorcerer Spells Known (CL 1st; concentration +5)
. . 1st (4/day)—feather fall, gravity bow[APG]
. . 0 (at will)—dancing lights, ghost sound (DC 14), mage hand, prestidigitation
. . Bloodline Fey
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Statistics
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Str 15, Dex 18, Con 14, Int 12, Wis 14, Cha 18
Base Atk +7.75; CMB +9; CMD 26
Feats Alertness, Cunning, Dodge, Eschew Materials, Precise Shot, Skill Focus (Stealth), Toughness
Traits hardly a fool, intense artist
Skills Acrobatics +8, Climb +14, Craft (painting) +8, Diplomacy +6, Disguise +14, Heal +8, Knowledge (arcana) +7, Knowledge (dungeoneering) +7, Knowledge (engineering) +6, Knowledge (geography) +6, Knowledge (history) +6, Knowledge (local) +7, Knowledge (nature) +7, Knowledge (nobility) +6, Knowledge (planes) +7, Knowledge (religion) +7, Perception +19, Perform (dance) +13, Perform (sing) +12, Perform (string instruments) +11, Perform (wind instruments) +11, Profession (baker) +7, Profession (butcher) +7, Profession (cook) +7, Sense Motive +12, Spellcraft +10, Stealth +27, Survival +10, Swim +13; Racial Modifiers +2 Diplomacy, +2 Perform (dance), +2 Perform (sing), +2 Perform (string instruments), +2 Perform (wind instruments)
Languages Auran, Celestial, Common, Sylvan
SQ bloodline arcana (+2 DC for compulsion spells), oracle's curse (tongues [celestial, auran]), revelations (automatic writing, gift of prophecy[UM], natural divination), scion of humanity[ARG], track +1, wild empathy +6, woodland stride
Other Gear mwk mithral agile breastplate[APG], endless ammunition darkwood composite longbow (+2 Str), boots of elvenkind, cloak of elvenkind, gloves of swimming and climbing, handy haversack, hat of disguise, ring of feather falling, artisan's outfit (3), bedroll, belt pouch, blotter (0.2 lb), chalk (8), chalkboard[APG], cold weather outfit, cutting board, wooden (2 lb), explorer's outfit (2), flint and steel, golden holy symbol of Shelyn[UE], hot weather outfit[APG], inkpen, jewelry[UE], journal[UE] (2), knife for cutting quills into pens (0.5 lb), knife, cutting (0.5 lb), ladle (0.5 lb), masterwork painting tools, noble's outfit, pen nibs, pigment for making ink (0.2 lb), pot, ruler, small (0.1 lb), seasonings, local (0.5 lb), signet ring, skewer (1 lb), skillet[UE], small tent, soap (2), tinder packet (0.5 lb), tripod, iron (3 lb), vial, waterskin (4), winter blanket, 203 gp, 3 sp
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Special Abilities
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Automatic Writing (Divination - 90%, 1/day) (Su) Use commune as a spell-like ability.
Bloodline Arcana: Fey (Ex) +2 to save DCs from spells of the Compulsion subschool.
Darkvision (60 feet) You can see in the dark (black and white only).
Energy Resistance, Acid (5) You have the specified Energy Resistance against Acid attacks.
Energy Resistance, Cold (5) You have the specified Energy Resistance against Cold attacks.
Energy Resistance, Electricity (5) You have the specified Energy Resistance against Electricity attacks.
Eschew Materials Cast spells without materials, if component cost is 1 gp or less.
Favored Enemy (Humans +2) (Ex) +2 to rolls vs. humans foes.
Gift of Prophecy (1/day) (Su) Once per day, you can enter a trance to gain a glimpse of the future. This trance lasts for 1 minute, which must be uninterrupted and during which you can take no other actions. 3rd - Augury @90%, 5th - Divination @90%, 9th - Commune
Laughing Touch (7/day) (Sp) As a standard action, if melee touch hits, foe can take only move actions for 1 rd.
Natural Divination (2/day) (Su) You can gain a bonus to a save, skill check, or initiative roll which must be used within 24h.
Precise Shot You don't get -4 to hit when shooting or throwing into melee.
Scion of Humanity Count as a human for any effect related to race. Pass as human without using disguise.
Tongues (Celestial, Auran) You can only understand and speak two languages in combat.
Track +1 Add the listed bonus to Survival checks made to track.
Wild Empathy +6 (Ex) Improve the attitude of an animal, as if using Diplomacy.
Woodland Stride (Ex) Move through undergrowth at normal speed.
Step 1: Write 5 background and concept elements that you feel are important to your image of the character. These can be a concept overview, a list of important life events, a physical description, a personality profile...whatever you need to get an image in your mind. 5 is just a minimum...more elements are encouraged!
1. Aleda is a cursed Tengwar princess that was chased from her kingdom by powerful nobles and clergy whose toes her prophecies had stepped on. Her sorcerous and oracular powers were a threat to both the nobility and the ecclesiarchy since neither had control over them.
2. Aleda is an empathetic person. Even when she was a princess, she was sensitive to other's moodes. After running from her pursuers for 8 years, she knows what it's like to endure hardship and having to fight for your next meal, or even just to survive the next few minutes. She tries to see things from other people's point of view.
3. After so many years on her own, Aleda is a bit affection starved. Most of the time she wears a melancholic expression, but she lights up whenever someone gives her a hug or a pat on the back, or the head.
4. While most of the time Aleda can exude the effortless grace and regal bearing of her upbringing, when it comes to trying to establish a friendly bond, she turns into a flustered mess.
5. She's a smallish young woman with dark hair and bright blue eyes. She wears her hair up most of the time, but when she let's it down it goes to her knees.
6. She loves all manner of fluffy critters.
7. She loves music and especially singing in all of it's forms..
8. She loves to paint, but rarely has the chance to on the road. The painter's tools she carries are a gift from her second eldest brother when she turned twelve.
9. She doesn't like conflict, chosing to run away rather than confront something or someone.
10. She still carries the fancy dress, jewelry, and signet ring her head maid had packed for her, despite never having a chance nor need to wear them.
11. She loves to learn new things and started to learn how to bake and cook before she was chased from her home. Those skills came in handy when she needed to support herself after running away. Despite being a bit squeamish at first, she actually enjoys butchering her kills and learned more about the profession from the husband of a baker she worked for for a little while. It was while doing this she learned she could read the animal's entrails to gain insights into the future.
12. She absolutely terrified of spiders.
Step 2: List at least two goals for the character. At least one of these goals should be one that the character has, while another should be one that you, as a player, want to see developed over the course of the game.
Character Goals:
1. Find a place to call home. She's been running for eight years, and she's tired of it.
2. Find people she can trust and not endanger. The people hunting her are far from descrete in their methods most of the time, nor were they above trying to take advantage of her naivety early on. She had several close calls, and unfortunately, she also ran from a few places after the people that had taken her in had been slaughtered.
Player Goals:
1. I think I'd like to see some of the less used skills I picked up get a chance to shine. I mean, how many times does a profession skill come into play in an adventure?
2. This one's silly, but I'd like for her to be involved in some incident that involves fluffy critters. A cult of bunny worshipers, demonic kittens, infernal puppies, getting her hands on a bag of infinite tribbles, something that has a touch of whimsy and ends with her having a horde of fluffy critters to come back to and relax with. (I'm not looking for combat pets, this is just supposed to be funny. I know that the tone of the game's supposed to be more serious, so I also know that this one's probably a long shot.)
3. A less silly goal is that I'd like for Aleda to realize that she's allowed to be happy and joyful.
Step 3: List at least two secrets about your character. One is a secret the character knows, one is a secret that involves him but that he is not actually aware of yet. This will help me in creating plots that center around your character. I will also be creating a third secret which you as a player will not be aware of, so expect some surprises!
Character-known Secret:
The high clergy and nobility of the kingdom had become corrupt and many had lost their divine gifts, if they had them to begin with.
Player-known Secret:
Her eldest brother, the crown prince was the one that was hunting her.
Step 4: Describe at least three people that are tied to the character. Two of them are friendly to the character, one is hostile. If you like, you can include an enemy of yours here as well, so I have an instant NPC nemesis to throw at you.
1. Dalonar Valous Kath, Second Prince of TBD (Friendly) - Dalonar was always there to protect Aleda from the machinations of the court. However, just before the Crown Prince, Ludon, chased her out and tried to have her killed, he sent Dalonar out to tour the border forts and give a report on their condition. Dalonar was the one that gave Aleda the painting tools she cherishes.
2. Ludon Hierophantus Kath, Crown Prince of TBD (Hostile) - Ludon was the eldest of the royal scions. When it was discovered that Aleda could see things that she shouldn't know, He knew that she would be a threat to him. He was a conniving young man that was using the corrupt clergy and nobility of the kingdom to undermine his father's influence and build his own powerbase. He chased Aleda out, only to learn after she was gone that she could be a vaulable asset, so began hunting her down for his own purposes.
3. Thames of the Golden Rod, High Priest of TBD (Hostile) - Thames is one of the rare self-made men in the high clergy of TBD. He clawed his way to the top spot within the church and left behind scores of ruined lives in his wake. While he lacks the divinely granted abilities of a true cleric, he does have some skill in spell casting that he's able to use in fooling his enemies. He's the one that avised the Crown Prince that he should use Aleda to further their goals.
4. Skye of the Ash Hills (Friendly) - Skye was a middle-aged ranger that lived and roamed the forests of Westfall. She taught Aleda how to defend herself and hunt after she found the poor girl half-starved and exhausted in the woods the ranger called her home. After Aleda could look after herself, Skye helped her leave the kingdom's borders. The Ash Hills she comes from are known for their large groves of ash trees.
5. Marella Stone (Friendly) - Marella was Aleda's handmaid and closest friend. She was the one that learned of the plot against the young princess and got everything prepared and helped Aleda escape. Aleda never learned what became of her, though she suspects it was nothing good. Ever since that day, Aleda has missed her friend and sometimes prays that she'll see her again.
Step 5: Describe three memories, mannerisms, or quirks that your character has. They don't have to be elaborate, but they should provide some context and flavor.
1. Not long after running from home, Aleda was chased by a mercenary that used giant spiders to harry their bounties. She escaped, barely, but that night of horrors left a mark. She's terrified of spiders.
2. Aleda's fondest memory is when her brother, Dalonar, gave her a set of painting tools for her twelfth birthday. She cherishes his gift and takes extremely good care of them. If they were to be misplaced she'd be distraught for no telling how long.
3. Aleda will sway or dance to any music that she hears.
4. When Aleda is really happy or really enjoying something, she'll start humming or singing and moving along to the song with her eyes closed.
Sorry to hear that, Joe. Get better soon! I jacked up my back (again), so that's slowing me down some (because I can't really sit at the computer for very long), but I think I should be able to keep us moving along at our current pace.
Huzzah! Glad to hear it, welcome back.
Okay, after reading this, all I get is Doctor Who vibes and a terrible headache. This "wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey" business just causes me to stare blankly at the screen and blink a couple of times.
I think I would just go with "Yes" as my final answer.
:P
Through running (an abridged version of) the attunement trials, Adam/Aleda has realized they don’t really have enough free time to add a game this high powered/complex. I’m hoping we’ll get the Witness back soon but if you’d like to have a 5th we’ll have to go back to the drawing board (or recruit an NPC to tag along and help you). I know you still haven’t fully committed to the research institute but, assuming you’re all okay with continuing to work with them, I’ll probably keep Joska with you on expeditions as the substitute party mage until the Witness returns.
I've got no strong preference either way.
While having more people helps (especially with banter), finding someone for a high-level game with a lot of backstory is hard. So I don't know.
John Gs makes a good point. It does sound like a LOT of tiring work.
Personally, I'm good with the idea of Joska running with us until Witness returns. Overall, I don't really think we need a 5th.
Ultimately, I can go either way on it but I do lean toward what I said above.
I’m sorry I haven’t gotten a gameplay post up in a few days. Two people from my work died last weekend. I wasn’t especially close with either of them but it’s made for an unusual and busy week. I should be able to post something this afternoon/evening.
I have a PM out to the Witness, hoping he might be ready to hop back in (or at least make an appearance) before I send you back out on another mission. Obviously nobody wants to RP with Joska but (as I said in my last post) please feel free to post returning to Redwatch and starting anything you might want to do tonight (or even the next morning) while we wait to here from him.
Still no word back from the Witness...
Is there anything anyone wants to do inside the Tower or should we jump ahead to the next outing? Or, go on hiatus until the Witness is back (or, at least, until Gavin has some more time again)?
I'd like to check the mailbox and gather info at Redwatch before accepting another job, but if there's nothing of note with either of those, I'm ready to continue.
Continuing is good with me (once Gavin is good to go), but I am fine if you wish to hold off too.
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Greeting & salutations folks - I won’t be able to jump back in on the regular until sometime next month, but I’ll get a gameplay post up this week. W giving an unprompted, rambling, wizardy lecture on the spatiotemporal interaction of T-space and regular prime space seems likely.
Also, hope all is well with y’all :)
Alright, sounds good.
@Gavin- go ahead and make a gameplay post doing those things and I'll post what you find (please remember to include what you're trying to gather information about along with your roll).
@Twins and Maximus- I'll assume you're following Gavin around unless you post otherwise. Feel free to roll an assist, or jump in with some RP while we wait for the Witness' post.
@Witness- Thanks for popping in, I'll look forward to your lecture (before you return to your spell research--off camera--until you're ready to begin regular posting again).
Yep, that works for me.
That works perfectly sir.
Describing how I believe The Tower “works” is a little tricky, so I decided not to use wizardy timey-wimey language.
Thanks, Witness- I look forward to reading it.
Gavin had a death in the family that has kept him otherwise occupied the last week or so- we'll likely wait for his return before we move on at all.
my apologies for the delay. I should be back to regular posts now. :)
Hey, folks, my Dad's in hospice care so the bulk of my time has been spent with him. I've barely been home. Pretty much only to sleep. About to head back to the hospital after I grab some breakfast.
He's been asleep since last Saturday so he doesn't really have much time left.
Just giving you all a heads up for my absence.
I am very sorry to hear that sir. I have absolutely no words that will help in the least, but will still send as many comforting thoughts to you and yours.
Yeah, man, that’s hard. I’m sorry. Take all the time you need.
I want to thank y'all for your kind words. I really appreciate it.
About a couple of hours after my post, we - I've a brother and a sister - lost our dad. He suffered from dementia and lost so much weight and muscle mass, he could no longer walk on his own. Unfortunately, that did not stop him from trying to walk and he wound up falling twice within the last month/month and a half, both times hitting his head and causing bleeding to the brain.
He managed to recover from it the first time, but the second time - which was just a couple of weeks ago - was just too much.
You know, even when you are expecting it, it still doesn't make it any easier. You'd think it would but it doesn't.
It's been an exhausting weekend, to say the least. Will get something out there tomorrow/the next day.
Anyway, thank you all again.
I have been lucky so far with my parents, but all my grandparents have passed, all with different degrees of quick with no notice to years without recognizing any of us. All of it sucks.
I can't get close to feeling your pain at this moment, sir, but I will send all the empathy toward you.
Thanks, fellas. I appreciate it.
And I may very well take you up on that, Joe, so watch out. I could strike at any time. :)
I'm just popping in to say/show that I'm still here. With Gaius awol, the Witness still afk (as far as I know), and Gavin and Maximus both dealing with family stuff, I don't want to force any posts.
It's been about a month since the Witness said he thought he might be able to rejoin us 'next month' so if I don't hear anything from him in a week or so I'll try reaching out again. In the meantime, Gavin and Maximus please let me know when you're feeling up to posting again and maybe we can get moving a little, when you're ready. Seth/Lyra- I don't want to get into too much action without everyone else, but if there's any NPCs you want to have a conversation with or anything, feel free to post and we can RP it while we're waiting.
Ready to roll, Arbiter.
Cool, welcome back. I’m waiting for an hvac to show up at my house but I’ll try to post something this afternoon too.
My condolences, Javell.
I hope to resume posting this Sunday, and ideally get back into a regular posting rhythm from there.
Thanks, Witness. Much appreciated.
[/sigh] Sorry, work's been crazy this week (there were some changes at the global level that're causing all kinds of problems locally). I'm hoping to have a post up tonight but, if not, I'll definitely have one up tomorrow during the day.