Oy, Discussion thread here, fellas!
I gotta admit I am excited about this.
For one I am getting ready to DM Tyranny of Dragons (Dragon Lance in Faerun) so I want to interact with similar subject matter.
But also I have never played a Kender before. I enjoy the stream of consciousness unfiltered wonder of it.
Here I am.
Hello! So, I'm still working on the prose version of Kali's background, but I do have a summary and I'll be adding sections for what the others know or would have seen as well as a few other things of note, like what has sentimental value to Kali.
That said, I'm excited to play her. It's going to be interesting with this party that's for sure!
- How long have you been in Solace?
- Is there anything interesting that Kali may have noticed about your characters? Odd habits, favored hobbies, distinctive features or items of clothing?
- Do you have a usual at the Inn of the Last Home?
- What was your first impression of Kali?
- If you've known her a while, has she managed to wheedle any stories out of you yet?
- Kali knew a Silvanesti elf Wizard of High Sorcery named Elanthiel. Would Thalasi have known him? If so, when? I'll give more details if needed and if you want to work this guy into your background.
- What does Thalasi look like? How tall is he?
- I'm guessing that you and Na'shok have been in Solace for a bit. What was your first visit to the Inn of the Last Home like? Did the two of you and Kali meet beforehand?
- If y'all did, what was your first meeting with Kali like?
- Not a question but an apology. I'm sorry for kinda railroading you into just arriving. I was just trying to give you an easy in for the RP.
- Have Slam and Kali met before?
- If they have, what did he say to calm her down from the panic attack she started to have?
- How fervent are you in you faith? Do you evangelize?
- I'm guessing they just met in the discussion thread, huh? That makes coming up with questions to ask a little difficult.
- Does she wear any of the items she makes?
- What of Kali's has wound up in your pockets?
- Does he still have anything of hers?
- Have you asked Kali to draw or paint anything for you yet?
- Is Bander a fan of puns?
Kali has been in Solace for two to three years. One of the things those who've been around for a week or so will notice is that she always takes time to write, draw, and paint in a journal and that she's very protective of it, the inks and pens, the brushes, and the watercolors she uses, almost panicking whenever she fears she's misplaced a pen or brush. She's gregarious while performing or serving in the Inn, but at other times is painfully shy, almost afraid to get to know anyone. Those that see her around town might catch a glimpse of silvery rings peeking from the neck of her shirt.
She's a short one, not even five feet tall. Her hair is pale, almost silvery, blonde and falls to her hips when down. She often wears it up in a braid or a tail. Her eyes are an arctic blue that's almost gray in some lights. She's petite in build and has the grace of a dancer. She favors long sleeves, but she has to bear her well toned and muscled arms every now and then. Curiously, her ears are always at least half-covered by a scarf that matches her outfit.
Feel free to ask me some questions. I'm just trying to get a sense of who would know what.
From what I remember the Silvaneati showed up to the tower took their rest and left. Rhey tended not to mingle with the lesser races even the qualanesti.
I'm playing him right now as an outsider. He is an elf in lands where elves are not really trusted especially those who know the Art.
He is about 5 ft 8 with golden hair and hazel eyes. He tends towards being patient and a bit quiet, nor o8t of being a snob but as a diviner he understands all actions and words are connected
Ah, I see.
I think you missed the questions I was asking everyone though. I know you're not really in a position that makes posting comfortable, so I guess the biggest question is how long you've been in Solace?
I'm taking CB it as newly arrived
Okay, so newly checked in at the Inn.
Thanks for answering. I've got some stuff I want to keep track of.
Hello! So, I'm still working on the prose version of Kali's background, but I do have a summary and I'll be adding sections for what the others know or would have seen as well as a few other things of note, like what has sentimental value to Kali.
That said, I'm excited to play her. It's going to be interesting with this party that's for sure!
1- How long have you been in Solace?
2- Is there anything interesting that Kali may have noticed about your characters? Odd habits, favored hobbies, distinctive features or items of clothing?
3- Do you have a usual at the Inn of the Last Home?
4- What was your first impression of Kali?
5- If you've known her a while, has she managed to wheedle any stories out of you yet?
Questions for Bander
6- What of Kali's has wound up in your pockets?
7- Does he still have anything of hers?
8- Have you asked Kali to draw or paint anything for you yet?
9- Is Bander a fan of puns?
1- Bander has been in Solace about lunchtime earlier today. He arrived and wandered around the ground for awhile admiring the trees before climbing up and walking through the tree city. He came into the Inn of the Last Home for a late dinner.
2- If you are familiar with kender fashion the hair that doesn't go into his topnot that frames his face suggests that his family is respected among kender.3- No, but he liked the potatoes before they burned his hand.
4- She seems to be stand-offish at least to kender, but this to him is likely stereotypical of humans. Certainly, her treatment of Bander has been gentle.
5- Just met.
6- Difficult to say. I assume you are not carrying everything you own because you work here. However, I could certainly see him being intrigued by the mallet for your drum.
7- If your drum mallet was on you earlier then I likely have it now.
8- Not yet. He wasn't paying close enough attention to catch your offer to draw for Peregrin. Since then there was a talking warg and a well-dressed ogre. Give him time.
LOL great question. I would imagine he is more of the one to when he catches a pun feels the need to explain it to those not laughing. You literally just made "You see its funny because . . . " a catch phrase of his.
- Not a question but an apology. I'm sorry for kinda railroading you into just arriving. I was just trying to give you an easy in for the RP.
No worries. I was only half paying attention (been trying to keep up with games plus applications plus working on a super-complex character and couldn't get the build to work..so typical gamer stuff)
- Have Slam and Kali met before?
Slam is new to these lands (and interestingly enough has a crystal staff, so he's been fighting a running battle with not-nice people).
- If they have, what did he say to calm her down from the panic attack she started to have?
We'll see shortly =P
- How fervent are you in you faith? Do you evangelize?
Very, but Kiri-Jolith's faith is about word, not deed, so no proselytization.
I have a feeling the party is going to hate us once Kali starts to come out of her shell. :P
She doesn't have the mallet for her bhodran on her, she keeps that in her room when she's not performing. She does have some pencils for keeping track of tabs. I was thinking they may be grease pencils, but charcoal would probably be more appropriate.
I love that you just arrived in the Inn!!!! What a moment? I mean an ogre walks in to a bar. The moment writes itself.
I have a feeling the party is going to hate us once Kali starts to come out of her shell. :P
She doesn't have the mallet for her bhodran on her, she keeps that in her room when she's not performing. She does have some pencils for keeping track of tabs. I was thinking they may be grease pencils, but charcoal would probably be more appropriate.
That is what I was thinking that if you didn't have that on you then I probably found a pencil.
I love that you just arrived in the Inn!!!! What a moment? I mean an ogre walks in to a bar. The moment writes itself.
Ya, he's gonna be bedraggled and out of breath, as if he has been running (he has).
Oh boy, I think I should have been quicker in mentioning that Kali, being the paranoid individual she is, tends to keep her things meticulously packed and ready to go. She's already lost her family twice and her home twice. She's been living as if she'd have to leave any day now for the past couple of years.
Did you have something else in mind?
Not really. That's why I asked. :)
That Kali doesn't know that Peri makes her jewelry is actually a possibility; Solace is about 1000 people, and going by the idea of Dunbar's Number of 150 being the maximum number of real, stable relationships you might have, Kali and Peri could easily only know each other in passing; here is a good (if slightly archaic in style) image of the 'circles' in which we move. You might therefore only recognize Peri, or even have her as an occasional acquaintance -- a once-every-two-weeks customer at the Inn, perhaps you and she have occasionally performed together (Peri dances better than Kali, but Kali's better at every other performance art than Peri is), or possibly passed by her selling her trinkets on a blanket next to the road out of town -- but there's nothing in our past RP that necessarily indicates that Kali doesn't know that Peri makes them, just that she's never asked Peri whether she takes commissions. ;)
Honestly, since the servers at the Inn (using Tika Waylan as the example) have their own treetop homes, however small, it's easy to imagine that Peri hasn't ever brought her work to the Inn before -- this may simply be something she wanted to finish up tonight. And with both of them being generally shy otherwise, the two of them might not even say 'boo' to each other outside of the Inn!!
That said, Peregrine does not advertise her own jewelry by wearing it, perhaps unwisely or unfortunately. What Kali might have noticed about Peri, though:
-- Her singing voice is very beautiful but very mournful; her main 'failure' is that she doesn't project her voice. If she learned to do that, though, she'd be very good.
-- You would definitely have not wheedled much information out of her; from what she's intimated, her stories are all ones of loss. You will have noticed that upon first seeing them (whenever she did), she'll have given each of your particularly impressive items (i.e. your magic items) long considering looks.
-- She is nobody to mess with in a bar fight; at the other tavern in town, the Trough, she's flattened enough handsy men (typically with two or three slaps and a kick or two) that when she goes there, the regulars know enough to leave her the fvck alone.
-- She never eats meat (roasts, sausages, fowl, fish, or anything like that); she does eat eggs and cheeses and, of course, vegetables. (OOCly, Irda are vegetarian -- and some might say vegan, but I'm not going to go that far, thank you very much. I'm even debating internally about the fish.)
-- She also does not wear furs or leather, though she has felts and woolens in her closet.
-- Peri knows a good deal about everything -- but it's likely she read a lot at the Towers of High Sorcery after taking her Test.
-- Peri is always neat, clean, and tidy, and becomes so even shortly after she's been messed up. The effect is clearly magical, and for a time the town's worst urchins were well-known for having fun trying to get her to stay dirty with thrown nastiness of every sort, until a day when she made herself VERY big (gamewise, Huge in fact, not just Large), made the three worst offenders VERY small (presuming they start out Small, she turned them Tiny), and scooped them up in her big hands. For a couple of minutes she rattled them about rather thoroughly, then dumped them into a mud puddle that (at that size) came up to their knees and asked them how they liked it. When the spells ended, they ran crying back home, and she went about her day; the mud- and sh!t-slinging stopped immediately.
-- If she is present (or something is brought to her), Peri will always use her magic to repair something, particularly items she knows have sentimental value for the individual, if her magic makes it possible. If it's something that can be fixed by a craftsman, though, she'll fix it only enough to turn it from 'scrap' to 'I can repair this'; she seems to have a fair sense of the extent of the skills of the local craftsmen.
-- Kali may suspect that Peri may suspect -- or even know -- that Kali is a half-elf, but if so, Peri has never made mention of it.
And thank you for reminding me that I need to have minor things like toiletries and a sewing kit. Yay for details!!
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Character build tweak: adding 'weapon adept' onto the monk; going with the hanbo. Removes Stunning Fist (which won't scale well later in the game, and wasn't even particularly good now), adds Perfect Strike (2/day, 2d20) and Weapon Focus (hanbo); while these don't become better, they also don't become useless. ;)
Future character issue: I need Spell Focus (Illusion or Transmutation) to enter the WoHS PrC; will I be able to retrain my Weapon Finesse feat (likely under Thalasi) in order to do that, or do I need to switch it now? For the record, I would intend on getting Weapon Finesse back at 7th level.
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Character note:
I now realize that the See Magic arcanist exploit requires the expenditure of 1 point out of her arcane reservoir (1 AR) in order to detect magic, instead of the 'always on' I thought it initially to be; while thematically I would like for her to constantly see magic / auras the way Raistlin constantly saw everything as how it was affected by time, I know that that's probably not automatically a good idea. ;)
I'd like to tweak the idea a little, so that while the 'penalty' that the Test imposed on her was /meant/ to be a constant 'detect magic', they didn't count on her Irda control over magic, so she's not entirely overwhelmed by the Test's impact. Perhaps she gets an intuition that something might be magical, a hint that she should therefore allow the Test's 'curse' to take more effect (i.e. cast the spell, use her 1/day ability, or spend the 1 AR to use the exploit)?
Character build tweak: adding 'weapon adept' onto the monk; going with the hanbo. Removes Stunning Fist (which won't scale well later in the game, and wasn't even particularly good now), adds Perfect Strike (2/day, 2d20) and Weapon Focus (hanbo); while these don't become better, they also don't become useless. ;)
Future character issue: I need Spell Focus (Illusion or Transmutation) to enter the WoHS PrC; will I be able to retrain my Weapon Finesse feat (likely under Thalasi) in order to do that, or do I need to switch it now? For the record, I would intend on getting Weapon Finesse back at 7th level.
A1. I'll allow you to retrain weapon finesse on getting your next level. Since reading Dragons of Despair, your supposed to meet Fewmaster Toede by now. (a light combat encounter). But seeming how you all started roleplaying it's better to start in the inn (I have to adjust things a bit for Fewmaster Toede to show up). So don't retrain until you gained your sixth level. That's when you can.
Character note:
I now realize that the See Magic arcanist exploit requires the expenditure of 1 point out of her arcane reservoir (1 AR) in order to detect magic, instead of the 'always on' I thought it initially to be; while thematically I would like for her to constantly see magic / auras the way Raistlin constantly saw everything as how it was affected by time, I know that that's probably not automatically a good idea. ;)I'd like to tweak the idea a little, so that while the 'penalty' that the Test imposed on her was /meant/ to be a constant 'detect magic', they didn't count on her Irda control over magic, so she's not entirely overwhelmed by the Test's impact. Perhaps she gets an intuition that something might be magical, a hint that she should therefore allow the Test's 'curse' to take more effect (i.e. cast the spell, use her 1/day ability, or spend the 1 AR to use the exploit)?
We can reflavor the exploit to be *always on* if that helps with the story. You want to see things like Raistlin does, right?
I still have to figure out how the T%** of High Sorceey mpacted bim.
Kali's been in town less time than Peri has then. She came during the first snows of 349 AC, so not quite two years, but close enough. She was found exhausted, hypothermic, and collapsed outside the door to the Inn of the Last Home. Her arrival caused a stir because of what she said she ran into, a large group of goblins lead by a trio of ogres. Scouting parties found the mutilated remains of her companions, but couldn't see clear signs of the band she claimed to have seen. It would have been the talk of the town for a little while.
Since then Kali's worked at the Inn of the Last Home, living in a small, spare room that would normally have been used for storage on the second floor. I think Peri would have noticed that Kali always seems to have a nervousness about her, like she's expecting the world to come crashing down any moment. She does a good job of hiding it now, but it's still there. Depending on how insightful Peri is, she may notice that Kali seems to have suffered a lot of trauma and loss in her young life.
Unless Peri happened to have caught Kali when she was heading out early in the mornings to practice with her bow, often before the rest of the town was awake, she probably doesn't know that it is enchanted. She may have caught a glimpse of the mithral mail she wears under her clothing when out in town. She may have also noticed that Kali's clothes somehow stay almost new, despite knowing they are the same ones she's had for a while.
I think it's fair to say that they know of each other and may be acquaintances. Kali would probably know that Peri makes her jewelry, but may not have talked about it before now. Maybe Peri sees something of herself in Kali, a person between the life they had and the one that they are heading towards. Maybe Kali sees something of herself in Peri, a person who's dealing with sorrow and grief and is trying to move forward despite the pain. Maybe they're both not sure of what they want, and are hoping the other will help them learn. It's an interesting dynamic and I can see both characters becoming foils for one another and friends.
What I'd like for Kali is to have her move past what has happened and learn to find happiness and joy where she can. I think Bander, Maddock, and Slam are all going to be good influences on her in that regard.
I've added some gear to Kali, just a mess kit and some soap.
I still have to figure out how the T+*! of High Sorceey mpacted bim.
Well, you have the staff of Magius, though I don't know if you have any bad impacts.
Ok
I have to admit I am living in total anticipation of Slam's response.
A1. I'll allow you to retrain weapon finesse on getting your next level. Since reading Dragons of Despair, your supposed to meet Fewmaster Toede by now. (a light combat encounter). But seeming how you all started roleplaying it's better to start in the inn (I have to adjust things a bit for Fewmaster Toede to show up). So don't retrain until you gained your sixth level. That's when you can.
Actually, I just realized that it'd be seventh level that I'd be taking WoHS, because I don't yet have the base Will save minimum of +4. At which point it's 'take the feat, THEN gain the PrC', because you can do that in whatever order you wish. ;)
I'd like to tweak the idea a little, so that while the 'penalty' that the Test imposed on her was /meant/ to be a constant 'detect magic', they didn't count on her Irda control over magic, so she's not entirely overwhelmed by the Test's impact. Perhaps she gets an intuition that something might be magical, a hint that she should therefore allow the Test's 'curse' to take more effect (i.e. cast the spell, use her 1/day ability, or spend the 1 AR to use the exploit)?We can reflavor the exploit to be *always on* if that helps with the story....
Actually, I'm good -- extra-good, kind of -- with her ability to 'tone it down' being unanticipated by the Conclave, and keep the exploit as-is -- so long as that 'intuition' thing is there. ;)
I just recovered my pdf copy of Advanced D20 Magic. This time, I'm not losing it.
Also, I should introduce Toede and his hobgoblins soon.
Do we have a knight?
Do we have a knight?
No. But the ogre and the Minotaur both hit like one.
Was Caramon a knight or just a strong talented warrior? I'm imagining Maddok might be a good fit for that role in the story.
Sturm was the knight.
I love Maddok. I totally imagine Joe Coffee (Michael Clark Dunkin's character) from the Green Mile when he speaks. Simple, direct but a deep wisdom behind things. Caramon was statistically low but the writers always spoke about him being mistaken for lower intelligence simply slow to share his opinion or late to jump to a conclusion but when he did clearly had a good handle on things.
I got that vibe from Maddok as well. I'm liking the way everything's shaping up. It's also going to be interesting to see what role Kali winds up filling.
Also, I'm hoping that someone's got a spare weapon for when the hobgoblins show up.
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I appreciate the comparison Bander! Green Mile is one of my favorite Stephen King movie adaptations.
With Maddok I'm going for a MCU Ragnarok-timeline Hulk. Due to his very limited vocabulary he doesn't speak much and is largely motivated by his base desires. He's simple but high-functioning and that simplicity grants him a certain kind of innocence. He's nott a helpless idiot.
Na'shok is the Rocket Raccoon to his Groot (in fact, I imagine him sounding like Bradley Cooper). He's cunning and maybe a little bit cruel if the situation called for it. He's willing to take advantage of people in the interest of himself and his buddy.
I think, Thalasi, that that was meant to be an indication of Bander having absentmindedly taken the pencil. Pretty much going to be a constant in this campaign -- and I, for one, am going to assume that in general, amongst the group, with his +12 that he's going to succeed. And in my particular case, I'm presuming I'm only going to see him do it if I'm expecting it -- in essence, baiting him into it. ;)
As for who's whom, well ...
Bander is of course Tasslehoff;
Slam is a combination of Sturm and Crysania;
Maddok is a combination of Caramon and Riverwind;
Kalisuel is a combination of Tanis and Tika, and who knows, maybe Laurana;
Thalasi is ... a good question, I don't have a good grip on the character;
and Peregrine is Raistlin, with maybe a bit of Flint.
And remember that the Knights of Solamnia really don't have a good reputation at the moment.
No, they dont but they probably wouldn't be working with ogres either.
LOL yeah Bander has been exploring both those issues.
I don't know if Kalisuel would really care what others thought of the knights, or if she'd have an opinion on them. Her experiences with people have lead her to trust actions more than words. If people act one way, then she'll expect them to always act that way. It's one reason she's still wary of Slam despite his assurances, though his lack of dismantling the place has certainly helped.
And yeah. I have only a passing familiarity with Dragonlance and its books, so I really didn't try to fit into any one character's shoes. Sorry about that. Look at it this way, there's plenty of room for any of those characters.
Actually, I'm good -- extra-good, kind of -- with her ability to 'tone it down' being unanticipated by the Conclave, and keep the exploit as-is -- so long as that 'intuition' thing is there. ;)I'd like to tweak the idea a little, so that while the 'penalty' that the Test imposed on her was /meant/ to be a constant 'detect magic', they didn't count on her Irda control over magic, so she's not entirely overwhelmed by the Test's impact. Perhaps she gets an intuition that something might be magical, a hint that she should therefore allow the Test's 'curse' to take more effect (i.e. cast the spell, use her 1/day ability, or spend the 1 AR to use the exploit)?We can reflavor the exploit to be *always on* if that helps with the story....
Oooo, just had a thought. Can we make it so that the spell / ability / arcanist ability is what turns it off -- that she can 'open up' at any time, but to turn it off she has to focus and shut it down again? (Okay, I'm kind of babbling on about this ...)
That could be interesting.
Also, I kinda forgot that Kali has two magic rings that she does wear that Peregine would have noticed. One's a simple ring of protection while the other is a ring of feather falling.
Not sure if this applies to us or not. My recollection of the Inn in Solace was a delightful place in a carefree town. I remembered its idyllic memory.
Looking back I see that the town is full of hobgoblins and forces led by Fewmaster Toede and as well as the Seekers. Should it be assumed that the rise of the Seekers is ongoing and that there is a force of hobgoblins in the area making things tenser or are we going be introduced to events with may or may not be similar?
Trying to get a feel for what we know and what's going on in the larger area. Whether or not it would be okay to speak about run ins with Seekers or evern avoiding hobgoblin forces. Prior to arriving at the inn.
The opening posts and situation is somewhat changed for us than for the characters in the books (which are those given in the game for players to use); they were all natives of Solace, left for five years to explore the outside world, and were returning. That’s why the Tika thing, and that’s in part the difference/change — they remember it as a peaceful, idyllic place, but they return to find the Seekers ‘religion’ / political movement established, and the hobgoblin forces of the (red?) Dragon Highlord establishing themselves there.
For us, it’s different. Peri and Kali probably both arrived as the Seekers were establishing some measure of influence; the Dragon Highlord forces are rather new. For the others, that would depend on where they’ve traveled, but IIRC the Seekers are to the south in Haven, and much of the area is being taken over by the Highlords, since there’s no organized resistance around here.
Am I posting too much. I don't want to loose other people's actions or input. I work pretty much in front of my computer right now. I know Kender are impulsive, sometimes intrusive and lack any kind of fear which I imagine is immune to social anxiety. Which means he is willing to barge into any conversation. I just don't want to limit others because the character is impulsive and I am available.
No, you're fine. Keep playing your character. ":)
Nah, I think you’re fine. I’m a little worried that we haven’t heard from Maddok in a while.
@Peregine: Sorry, I get ahead of myself sometimes. Kali did ask in character, though that may have gotten lost in that wall of text. As for her dislike of goblins, well, I figured that she hasn't had any run-ins with more respectable goblins. Most of the bands she'd run across when she was adventuring with her original party were most definite of the evil variety. That and to be honest I had assumed that goblins in Dragonlance were considered monsters and vermin. That said, I also know that some settings treat goblins more fairly. Probably my fault for not asking how they were treated. I just assumed and based Kali's actions off of that.
This has me thinking, what are the chances of Kali's only interactions with goblins of any kind being bad ones? I guess what I'm asking is Kali being completely unreasonable or is she justified in thinking that this can only end badly?
I'm around. Much like Maddok, I'm taking it slow unless there's a reason to chime in.
The same. I've already been scolded for trying to interact with Kali, lol.
Sorry, I'm still working (even though it's from home) and we've been more slammed than ever getting something like 6k users set up to work form home. This means I can only really post after work.
Sorry, I'm still working (even though it's from home) and we've been more slammed than ever getting something like 6k users set up to work form home. This means I can only really post after work.
I hope busy means job security for you.
Sorry, I'm still working (even though it's from home) and we've been more slammed than ever getting something like 6k users set up to work form home. This means I can only really post after work.
That's okay, as long as you post.