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By the way, for Aaliyah I'm likely to go with the Champion path, probably with Dual Path for some Archmage abilities. Mechanically, it makes no real sense with Touched by Divinity but she's more on the "Dervish" side of Saerenrae worship than the priestly side...just something that I think needs saying.
This character's a bard from a couple of past games that never got past...probably encounter 3-4 I would guess. I think the PB is 20, but even if not that's an easy enough adjustment. Background should be in there.
Aaliyah is just standing by quietly, listening to the whole thing.
Aaliyah looks briefly in her pack. "All I've got left are some dried figs and grapes, and some pitas that have gone dry and stale. But they're still edible. . . "
Aaliyah, calming down only slowly from too many frights this day, finally seems to comprehend what's going on and kneels next to the dwarf, murmuring a prayer to the Dawnflower as his wounds close.
Aaliyah reluctantly draws her sword, the same mist falling over her eyes as before.
Aaliyah grins weakly and holds up the miniature sun from her light spell.
Aaliyah winces slightly. "I'm. . . fine." Although she's obviously still bleeding a bit from the wound.
Aaliyah shakes off the pain as she slowly returns to consciousness. After checking herself over realizing that the fight is done, she stands up. "...ow." Having expressed that rather eloquent thought, she looks to Michael for his answer about the armor.
Aaliyah draws out her scimitar, staring at the. . . things.
Internet's been unstable here for the past day or so - it seems to be an issue with the copper, so no eta on resolution. Battle tactics: No Inspire Courage for this fight, I think, try to get flanks, withdraw to cast CLW on self next round if Aaliyah takes a hit for more than 1-2 points of damage
Aaliyah blinks owlishly at the ceiling in question.
Aaliyah just winces slightly at the rebuke and follows along quietly behind.
Aaliyah winces at Elsbeth's retort. "Sorry...uhm, I can get it." She pulls out her holy symbol and mumbles a bit under her breath.
Aaliyah does that odd little slump again, quickly shaking her head out as she steps back. "...foul little thing. This is . . . a demon?" She looks at it, oddly curious. "Seems rather pathetic."
Finally free to move again, Aaliyah's blade arcs against the beast's hide several times in another whirl of motion and fury. As she does so, the spiritual flame surrounding her scimitar suddenly becomes white-hot and very real, almost as in paintings of the Dawnflower herself.
Aaliyah spends another round choking and coughing, although she spares Michael a completely blank look for a moment before she manages to get herself under control. Carefully bringing up her blade she takes a few careful steps to be sure the noxious fumes are completely out of her system before laying back into the demon.
The girl continues to cough and wheeze for a moment, but seems to be catching her breath. Celestial: "Draw the beast out of its' filth so that it may burn, don't try to confront it in its' own element!
Aaliyah quickly retreats out of the cloud, babbling and coughing although she keeps up her spin as she babbles a bit more. Celestial:
"Foul creature, what is this evil...*hackcough*
If Aaliyah seemed a bit off when fighting the maggots, this time she seems possessed. She twirls about in a mad dance, her outfit fluttering about her in a manner that is almost supernatural, the flames that appear about her weapon brighter and the edge seeming almost keener as she sweeps into the monster.
Note that the sense I'm getting (with the way the movement and checking rules and so on) is that we've been going for a good eight to ten hours already, and started in the afternoon. This means our characters would be approaching a 20-hour day at this point, and things like the Fatigued and Exhausted conditions would start applying to everyone if we don't stop. If this isn't correct, please say so.
Aaliyah swallows back her nervousness, seeing the situation deteriorating. She takes a deep breath, then says, about as firmly as she can manage "What, exactly, is wrong with you? I get that there's some history here, but is now really the time?" She looks to Horgus next. [b]"Also, do you want to think about what you're doing? Sure, she's moving slowly, but that shot was better than anything I've ever seen. A few extra hours here would be worth getting out with that much assurance." "I suggest we make sure the temple here is secure, then settle down for the night. If anyone needs wounds tended, I have some magic for that..."
Aaliyah nods quietly to Michael, drawing her scimitar and holding it up in both hands, the blade wobbling just a little uncertainly...
After everyone else has had a look at the amulet, Aaliyah takes a moment herself to look it over, curiously.
The girl listens somewhat nervously to the story about the children of the first crusade. Strangely, she gives some regard to the beat-up scimitar she carries with her for a few moments.
Aaliyah bites her lip, looking behind the group nervously as if half-expecting whoever made that campsite to be right behind them. Having satisfied her curiosity about whether or not they're living in a horror story, she turns back. "Maybe we should check the other branch first..."
Aaliyah swallows slightly and glances around. [b]"I'm Aaliyah," she says, simply enough. At Jens' prompting, she lifts up one of the scales, freezes in place, and then proceeds to rub out her eyes and look worried. But she tests the others, and (unless someone objects) takes the one that allows her to resist the elements.
Once combat has ended, Aaliyah freezes in place for a second, scimitar high and covered in substances best left unmentioned. For a moment she seems fine, and then suddenly the blade wavers and she has to place her other hand on it to steady it. She takes a few moments to clean it off before returning it to its' sheath. The dragon's scales, however, immediately get a soft exclamation of delight from her in a rather different tongue. Kelish: "Beautiful..."
Aaliyah's reaction to seeing the maggots is . . . well, to go fairly crazy. She starts babbling aloud even more in Celestial, borderline screaming as she charges in. Her scimitar lights with a strange blue flame, and she skips lightly on her feet while moving around the maggots as she swings her blade, not so much in mighty strokes as moving her body around it to generate power her body simply doesn't possess, and guiding it. Celestial:
"Dawnflower burn you wretched spawn of darkness back into the pit!"
Aliyah's head whips around, and as she stares she approaches whatever she sees at a good clip with her scimitar out, eyes wide as if seized by some kind of madness. When she speaks, it's with words in the same flowing, musical language Michael was using earlier. Celestial: "...what manner of demon-spawn beast is this?
Aaliyah has been quite quiet during the debates, however when the last man looks ready to incite a small brawl, she instinctively takes up a position just behind him - like a servant or advisor - and speaks quietly. "M'lord, a little discomfort may be necessary for us to get out of this alive..." However, she gives Anevia a bit of a wink.
Aaliyah just stares in the direction the voices come from, obviously scandalized by whatever it was the man said.
Aaliyah's reaction to the tone is a probably somewhat odd wince, although she gathers herself quickly. "I'm a dervish of Saerenrae, actually." ...although even as Dervishes go she doesn't have much muscle on her, although what she's got is well-toned.
Aaliyah nods slowly, accepting the hand up, then blinks. "...wait, we're a voice short, aren't we?"
"EEP!" Startled by the sudden appearance of another demon, the girl jumps to her feet with a speed that implies acrobatic training, before falling back on her behind. It takes her a moment to recover before she realizes what was said. "...oh...sorry...i'mfine"
Aaliyah groans. The last she can remember she was performing a bit off the Plaza, only giving up and moving in with the crowds as people went to watch. Then, dragon, demon, no time to react...and then here, with a massive headache, and darkness. "...I think so? Unless one of us hit our head arder than we thought."
...*Wince* Yeah, I've been thinking from a certain perspective the Touched by Divinity thing might be too specific but I can't really think of anything short of divine direction that could get a Katapeshi slave to go off to the crusades. And when it's combined with that Paladin-like rider on the archetype...
All righty, good to see everyone, need a quick sound off to make sure we're all here and then I'll be doing a final check/rundown to make sure your characters are all sorted. One last thing, would everyone mind putting their saves, initiative, AC, and a current and total HP in their class and level section to make it easily accessible? *Shambles in*
Just to clear up, Aaliyah's mythic path is likely to be Champion, with the Dual Path mythic feat to add Archmage in. Unlikely to reverse that, might give Trickster/Archmage a look.
Applying here - everything is in the profile, although it needs some minor tweaking that shouldn't take five minutes if accepted.
All right. Aaliyah updated with an extra trait. Everything else is in the profile except for some sample posts, but I'll repost here for reference. Char Sheet:
Aaliyah
Female Human (Keleshite) Bard (Dawnflower Dervish) 1 NG Medium humanoid (human) Init +6; Senses Perception +3 -------------------- Defense -------------------- AC 15, touch 14, flat-footed 11 (+1 armor, +4 Dex) hp 9 (1d8+1) Fort +1, Ref +6, Will +1 -------------------- Offense -------------------- Speed 30 ft. Melee scimitar +4 (1d6+4/18-20+2 fire) Special Attacks bardic performance, bardic performance: countersong, bardic performance: distraction, bardic performance: fascinate, bardic performance: inspire courage, battle dance: inspire courage Bard (Dawnflower Dervish) Spells Known (CL 1st; concentration +4): 1st (2/day)—cure light wounds, feather step (DC 14) 0 (at will)—detect magic, dancing lights, spark (DC 13), light -------------------- Statistics -------------------- Str 8, Dex 18, Con 12, Int 12, Wis 8, Cha 16 Base Atk +0; CMB -1; CMD 13 Feats Arcane Strike, Dervish Dance, False Focus Traits flame of the dawnflower, reactionary, touched by divinity Skills Acrobatics +8, Climb +3, Intimidate +7, Knowledge (religion) +5, Perception +3, Perform (dance) +7, Perform (sing) +7, Sense Motive +3, Stealth +8 Languages Celestial, Common, Kelish SQ battle dance Other Gear Padded armor, Scimitar, Backpack, masterwork (4 @ 6.06 lbs), Drug, pesh (2), Holy symbol, silver (Saerenrae), Trail rations (2), Waterskin, 3 GP -------------------- Special Abilities -------------------- Arcane Strike As a swift action, add +1 damage, +1 per 5 caster levels and your weapons are treated as magic for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction. Bardic Performance (standard action) (7 rounds/day) Your performances can create magical effects. Bardic Performance: Countersong (Su) Counter magical effects that depend on sound. Bardic Performance: Distraction (Su) Counter magical effects that depend on sight. Bardic Performance: Fascinate (1 targets) (DC 13) (Su) One or more creatures becomes fascinated with you. Bardic Performance: Inspire Courage +1 (Su) Morale bonus on some saving throws, attack and damage rolls. Battle Dance (move action) A Dawnflower dervish is trained in the use of the Perform skill, especially dance, to create magical effects on himself. This works like bardic performance, except that the Dawnflower dervish’s performances grant double their normal bonuses, but thes Battle Dance: Inspire Courage +2 (Su) Morale bonus on some saving throws, attack and damage rolls. Dervish Dance Use Dex modifier instead of Str modifier with scimitar False Focus You can use a divine focus to cast arcane spells. Flame of the Dawnflower +2 damage with a scimitar on a critical hit. Hero Lab and the Hero Lab logo are Registered Trademarks of LWD Technology, Inc. Free download at http://www.wolflair.com
Background:
Aaliya el-Amin was not born to high standards, instead the daughter of one of Katapesh's high merchant princes and his slave. Her early years were filled with household toil, for while she was legally free she, along with her brother and sister, were not truly allowed freedom in their father's household. As Aaliyah grew older she was eventually trained as a dancer, singer, and entertainment, while her older sibling wasn't deemed talented enough to waste money on such matters.
When her mother died, Aaliya and her siblings discovered a nasty loophole in Katapesh's laws when her father disowned them, then immediately claimed them as slaves rather than blood. Sold off as a lot, Aaliyah quickly found her siblings' well-being held hostage to her good behavior by her new owner (A situation that was also reversed, leading to undeserved punishments.) As an additional measure to help prevent problems, she was introduced to pesh milk just as she was blossoming into womanhood. But her performances before the elite proved an entertaining enough distraction at various functions that she was eventually allowed some freedom, whereupon she used it to seek escape in the various pleasure dens of the city with her meagre allowance - a place that one as weak as she really should not have been, but nevertheless chose to go as the tiny amount of defiance allowed to her. When these two lives intersected for the first and only time, disaster struck. Seeking repayment for a debt not owed, men broke into her master's home seeking her, and began to kill anyone they found. Guards awoke, battles were fought...and a scimitar fell to Aaliya's feet just as blades were about to fall on what remained of her family. At that moment, something changed in Aaliyah's world. Her pesh-induced stupor was penetrated by a serene feeling of enlightenment and clarity. These men around her, the slaver who would beat others to control one, the thugs who would slaughter a household for the sake of a handful of gold. Every one was beyond redemption by the word. Only the sword could truly give them the just reward for the lives they had chosen to lead. People in the street suddenly heard screams in the voices of angels and men, screaming in fear of cleansing flame and death. The next day, the authorities found a sobbing girl, covered in blood admist the carnage. Everyone who had held a weapon that night was dead around her, most with a neat slash across a vital spot from a single rusty scimitar, alight with a flame that neither burned nor spread. She put up no resistance when the weapon was taken from her hand, and the flame went out. All testing showed it to be nothing more than a scimitar on the edge of being discarded. And strangest of all, she sat in the eye of an ankh of her victim's blood. It should have ended there, but for a stray word at a temple of Saerenrae about the incident. For there is a price for everything in Katapesh, and that includes the freedom of a slave who murdered a score of freepersons in the span of a single evening. While there may have been those whose friends were harmed by Aaliyah's actions, the temple took them on, believing this girl may have been destined for great things. Every day in her cell, they brought to her holy texts and attempted to teach her of their goddess. She heard their owrds, and believed she had understood, but every so often she would say something in the words of angels that seemed nonsensical. Finally, the various negotiations came to an end. Aaliyah could not be simply freed, so instead she was sentenced to journey north. The Pactmasters had devised a particularly ingenious punishment to satisfy all concerned parties - she was to make her way to Mendev, to fight in the Crusades for no less than ten years. There was to be no escort, no way of enforcing the edict. Effectively exile...she was, after all, free to simply ignore it and go where she wished... ...and yet, there was perhaps a destiny involved. Saerenrae had inspired magic from within her soul to come forth, shaped it. It wasn't the truly divine gifts of Her priests, but...perhaps she was meant to do something with it. Recruiting:
"...wait, no one told you I was coming....Yeah, I guess that makes sense. No one really thought I'd be this dumb. Thought I'd just get off the ship and disappear. Why not? Well, I don't really have any other ideas for where to go, do I? ... Does it really matter? I have a sword, and the blessings of my goddess. Does it matter if I'm going to die? .... I suppose that's a point. Well, when I start to get ready for a fight, I start to see the way I should move, the path of the weapon and then...people die. My magic isn't from the goddess, but she gave it to me as part of her gift...so that not all I do is destruction. But it's obvious what She intended for me is to be part of the sword of Her faith, and I can do that here. Yes, I can cast simple healing spells....all right. I'll go grab a bunk." Tropes/personality/quirks:
Aaliyah is primarily a Melancholic/Phlegmatic type, with shades of the Dark Magical Girl archetype to her (Although without much of the flamboyance the genre conventions involved would entail.) With a Sugar and Ice personality, the 'ice' being predominant most of the time, she might seem like she would be prone to being an Ineffectual Loner but she does understand the need to work in groups and will do so without much hesitation. Very definitely The Atoner for her actions the first time she achieved her battle trance. She has aspects to her abilities of the Oracle and Inquisitor classes, and even speaks in tongues under stress. While her pesh addiction may make the battle trances seem Addiction Powered, the truth of the matter is that she really doesn't need it. Appearance:
Aalyiah, at five and a half feet tall, is average in height for a Kellish woman. Her skin is dusky from a long journey, hair long and tied back in a ponytail to keep it out of her eyes. Her clothing consists of a long, heavy cotton robe cut in the style of the desert nomads, hiding a frame that is lithe while still being feminine. With dark, mysterious eyes that seem as cold as the frozen north someone like her would live the farthest from, she seems almost an odd figure to be holding onto the silver and gold holy symbol of Saerenrae now in her posession. At her side she has a scimitar, well-worn by age that hasn't seen the best of maintenance lately, as if it had been given to her while she only barely knew how to care for it. When traveling, she has a simple pack slung over her back. Sample 1:
Aaliyah swallows down her fear. While not usually the outgoing sort, she realizes she had been thinking some rather improper thoughts. Whatever he is he isn't beyond discussion. Even if I never see him again... She makes her way towards the tiefling, knight of Asmodeus, and all-around questionable-looking chap...and promptly gives him a small bow, speaking perhaps a little too softly to be heard in the crowded bar unless one has an unusually good sense of hearing. "I'm sorry for my preconceptions sir." After that, she tries to fade back into the crowd in order to fetch a drink from the bar from her pay. Sample 2: At the suggestion that she stay back, Aaliyah actually bristles a bit. She speaks a long sentence, probably the most anyone here has seen her say at one time, in a flowing, musical language that is almost certainly not Kelish. [spoiler=Celestial]This foul beast will not prevent me from seeing the brilliant light of the sun once again! Charge! BURN THE UNHOLY BEAST! CLEANSE IT LIKE EVERY BLIGHT On the..."
"...land?" Aaliyah's babbling slows to a halt, and the last word is in Common as something seems to 'click' and she realizes there's no danger...well, immediately. The scimitar she is holding suddenly wavers and she has to grab it in her other hand to keep it steady. "...sorry."
Well, this is a character I've been shopping around. She's actually been accepted twice, but once the game collapsed as the first combat was wrapping up, and in the second case one of the other players had been behaving in the thread in a way that made me not feel good about the campaign. Future advancement will probably a dual-path Champion/Archmage. I'm not really planning any multiclass shenanigans right now, but I do prefer somewhat organic advancement. Right now Aaliyah's setup could push her in any of a number of directions depending on party needs and/or campaign events. While I see some dependence on reactions to emulate the 'speedster' type gameplay, for the most part that's going to be around negations rather than hostile attacks (I quite like Mirror Dodge). I'm quite happy to just set a default condition like "Ignore the first critical in the round and teleport to flank if I have Mythic Power remaining" to speed things along. EDIT: Just realized that that kind of amounts to an 'I don't know.' For clarification, early on it's pretty obvious Aaliyah will be a heavy-hitting melee, albiet light on the defenses beyond reflex saves (her low strength means even her AC will be subpar compared to most Dervishes.) Right now she functions as somewhere between a melee inquisitor and a paladin. As for how she can develop, the most likely path is into Bard to continue that path with some loss of effectiveness, but adding in healing and more party-buffs than selfish buffs. For even more magic, she might go full-on Oracle (making her Tongues curse more than roleplay) or possibly Sorcerer if blasting is most needed (but this is unlikely.)
Once again, good luck to everyone!
All right, profile updated and ready to go.
Introduction: Aalyiah, at five and a half feet tall, is average in height for a Kellish woman. Her skin is dusky from a long journey, hair long and tied back in a ponytail to keep it out of her eyes. Her clothing consists of a long, heavy cotton robe cut in the style of the desert nomads, hiding a frame that is lithe while still being feminine. With dark, mysterious eyes that seem as cold as the frozen north someone like her would live the farthest from, she seems almost an odd figure to be holding onto the silver and gold holy symbol of Saerenrae now in her posession. At her side she has a scimitar, well-worn by age that hasn't seen the best of maintenance lately, as if it had been given to her while she only barely knew how to care for it.
She is quiet, almost timid, as she approaches a group of likely-looking crusaders. "Pardon me...I know you probably have better sword-arms, but I'm looking to go out into the Worldwound with a group. I can heal, a bit, so I won't be completely useless. Please...I just need to sign on with a Company." The last is almost in a desperate tone...
Dawnflower Dervish is a different archetype from Inner Sea Magic - on d20pfsrd it's listed as "Dervish of Dawn" for copyright reasons.
Here's a character I've been shopping around for this one - I don't think she quite meets the guidelines set out at the moment, but Hero Lab makes that an adjustment that takes three minutes if selected and this should still give you a pretty good idea of what she'll look like mechanically - a few points here and there won't have a huge effect on the important stuff. Also, while I'm living in GMT-5, I should mention that my schedule is a graveyard shift. This means that my posting times may be a touch unpredictable, but I will post at least once every 24-hours and possibly more, depending on sleeping habits.
After sleeping on things, I'm withdrawing my app.
Actually, just thought of something. Check your PM.
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