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I've played a mute character with some success. She had an eidolon capable of speech and used sign language a lot. Two other characters made sure they 'spoke' sign as well and it wasn't a problem. :) I'd be happy to do something like that if selected alongside such a character.
Ahreni is nearly updated for this game, but I have a question regarding aasimar and their spell-like ability. Ideally I'd like to take the 'Lost Promise' racial trait, which seems very fitting, but if I have that then I can't take Scion of Humanity - which I think is important for the character/game. Therefore, could I perhaps take Lost Promise and get the Smite Good tiefling racial trait instead of Maw and Claw? I can give up Skilled as well if you think that would be fair. Otherwise, may I roll on the alternate abilities table?
Also a link to Ahreni's original 10 minute background. It might help flesh her history out a bit.
Thanks for the response re. Unchained classes, GM. I'll be reworking Ahreni here to be an unchained rogue - looking to go into Assassin and then Master Spy prestige classes. :) I played her through part of book 1, which fell apart some years ago, but can be found here, if you're interested. To keep going with the 'fallen angel' theme, can I play an aasimar? I know it's a little odd for this AP, but 'angel out for vengeance' is very much where I'm going with this so I wanted to check. Will likely take Scion of Humanity so she won't look like an angel (not much at least!).
Ahreni curses as she realises she's left the group open and leaps back into combat, trying to take down the undead assailing Sylyn.
She lands a powerful blow and leaps back a few feet, her gleaming blade a menace to any who dare to move!
"Sylyn, the crystal! Use it! We'll keep them off you!" Ahreni calls, "Flori, Rel. Keep her safe!"
Moving through the wind isn't easy but Ahreni bends with the flows, using them to ease her path around the edge of the room to the nearest skeleton. "Sithhud is dead, and he's going to stay that way!" She yells, trying to draw the odd woman's attention onto her.
Ahreni slows to a halt and winces slightly, but Relisha is rapidly leeching away her injuries so the aasimar does little more than nod thankfully towards the tiefling, shoot her girlfriend a quick smile and start looking for the way onwards and whatever danger will inevitably come next!
"You are a worthy foe, but I don't give up easily!" Ahreni declares, before spinning into battle once more.
Ahreni struggles furiously, but her glaive is completely the wrong weapon for a struggle at such close quarters.
"How does it breathe fire in temperatures like this?" Ahreni asks rhetorically before rushing around the beast to distract it.
Ahreni chivvies everyone else on to the platform and then leaps nimbly on just as it reaches the height of her head.
"I think we're relying on your clever types to deal with this." Ahreni says, looking to the young women in the party. She adds a wink for Sylyn once Flori turns away to examine the mechanism.
Ahreni slices at both undead as they close in before weaving away from their frosty blows, demonstrating the wisdom of her not wearing any heavy clothes. She uses this momentum to spin behind the undead and unleash another heavy blow. "All yours Kitasai!"
Ahreni takes a few paces back, hands Sylyn most of a coil of rope and runs towards the gap with the other end in her grasp. With a mighty leap the aasimar sails across the gap as a momentary break in the clouds illuminates her in light for a fraction of a second.
"We'll move quickly and as quietly as we can." Ahreni suggests once the caravan is circled in the lee of the largest crag that can be found. "It's going to have to be a stealth mission, in and out. Lets go while we still have some light and be back before dark - hopefully." Not wanting to be constricted in her movements Ahreni strips down to little more than a light jacket. "I'll be fine." She says when Sylyn starts to protest. "Let's just take it as incentive to move quickly." "And if I get too cold you'll have to hold me close and warm me up." She adds in a more private whisper.
Earlier:
Ahreni doesn't say anything else but pulls Sylyn to her and crushes the ifrit's lips against her own.
Neither of them has any time for the party for the rest of the night... "You always know how to keep things cheerful." The aasimar says with a smile, the flash of teeth showing light in the snowy gloom for a moment. "Shame that isn't going to last." It's curious, the longer they spend in the snow the more important it seems to become for Ahreni to warm up thoroughly at night. This tends to involve Sylyn, a pile of blankets and as much skin to skin contact as can be arranged since, as Ahreni points out, 'wearing layers is just going to stop me enjoying your body warmth'. The moans and occasional scream that accompany this 'warming up' are probably just tricks of the wind.
Earlier:
"Thank you." Ahreni says softly, her lips ghosting over Sylyn's. "So, I hope I know the answer, but did you think about it? About us? I want you Sylyn, and I want you to want me too." Thankfully Ahreni can see in the dark, because this has got to be one of the least pleasant trips she's ever taken. At her insistence, backed by both Relisha and Sylyn, the 'normal' people are more or less confined to the wagons where they can at least be guaranteed a modicum of warmth and shelter. It's a sensible decision, but one that leaves Ahreni out at the front of the caravan for long periods of time and tests her natural resistance to cold to its limit. Thankfully Sylyn's natural warmth and good cheer has been a sustaining force this far.
Ahreni quite enjoys the feast, although the food is somewhat heavy for her tastes. The news... is less good, and somehow it doesn't surprise her that her second trip across the Crown of the World is going to be even worse than the first. "I'm never leaving Minkai again." She mutters to herself, "Or if I am I'm taking a bloody boat!" Still, lots of people are being cheerful and the mood proves infectious so she's soon smiling again. She soon finds herself in a little ocean of space so she takes advantage and casts around for Sylyn. "Hello Sunshine." She says with a smile. "Are you having fun?"
"I'm fine, Sylyn." Ahreni says gently, cupping Sylyn's warm cheek with her own cool hand. "Relisha's fixed me up just fine and we've done a great thing for Iqaliat. Don't worry, I'm fine." With Relisha's healing done she sets to work gathering up the treasure, and splits the loot into two large packs, taking one herself and leaving the other for Kit. "Let's get back." She says with a smile. "There's good news to share."
Ahreni spends a few moments breathing hard as her body processes the adrenaline of the fight and the pain of her considerable wounds before she runs her eyes over Kit to make sure he is unharmed. Having reassured herself that she is the only one who has suffered at all she bends to retrieve Sylyn's arrows, and then spends a little longer to extract one of the dragon's teeth. With a little snow most of the blood and viscera is removed and she offers Sylyn the trophy along with her arrows. "You should keep a reminder of the first dragon you killed." She says with a smile, before turning to Flori and embracing her briefly. "You saved us all." She says firmly. "Thank you."
Stubborness is a defining trait of Ahreni's, and watching Kit make a spectacular fool of himself does not reassure her that now is a safe time to withdraw...
Ahreni would retort, but she doesn't understand what the dragon is saying so she contents herself with a challenge of her own and charges! "For Iqaliat!"
Ahreni, equipped with magical ice claws, is able to scramble down the face relatively easily. She does pause a few times to wait for the others, with a particularly cautious eye on Sylyn.
The aasimar doesn't say anything but one hand snakes out to brush over Sylyn's, and the ifrit can see that Ahreni is grateful for the support.
"I will help them." Ahreni says calmly as the caravan gathers for their evening meal. "I feel like it is the right thing to do. I speak only for myself, assuming the Empress will give me leave to go." She adds with a slight nod to Ameiko. "Any of you who wish are welcome to join me. I would be glad of the company but I don't expect it."
"So... he was crazy right?" Ahreni asks as she examines the pictograms. "Anyone have any idea about any of these?" She clearly doesn't...
Knowing enough about magic to be confident that taking out Tunuak will end his creations, and well aware that he needs to be distracted from the badly damaged Kaijitsu Ahreni repeats her previous tactic - pushing off the wall and leveraging her glaive's long reach to strike!
With their foe visible once more Ahreni leaps up the side of the cave for a push off! "We will free the village of your malice!"
Although being looked to as the solver of problems is gratifying Ahreni takes a few long moments to regain control of her stomach before she can start focusing properly.
"We wait." Ahreni replies, crouched on the cave floor. "Make sure you block the exit." She takes a long, slow breath and lets the distractions of the world fade and her senses sharpen.
"Flying Kit!" Ahreni calls, sprinting forwards. She leaps onto the piled skulls of the altar and pushes off, spinning around in the air with her silver glaive swirling through the snow like a streak of light.
Ahreni waits for it, and waits for it... and then strikes with brutal perfection.
"It doesn't matter especially." Ahreni replies grimly. "I think Tunuak is a lot more than he seems. We should hold our ground here where we have good footing and shot them until they advance. Would you do the honours Sylyn?" She readies herself to strike the first monster that comes within reach.
"How about we try to avoid finding out?" Ahreni suggests, giving Sylyn plenty of room to work. Once the ifrit is done she closes in, having drawn her glaive in preparation. "Kitasai, do you wish to go first? I suspect we will be cramped here so I will be at a disadvantage." She also looks to Flori to provide mage armor for both herself and His-Scowlingness.
"Tell me Tunuak!" Ahreni calls, trusting Sylyn's gut and Relisha's sight. "Whay are you so keen to appease the dragon? Your best chance of ending its reign comes and all you do is try to send them away again? These are not the actions of a man who cares for his people. A leader who cares takes a risk for the good of his flock, rather than cowering in the snow until they all starve in the ice!" She turns to the rest of the group. "Heed not the shaman who screams 'foreigner'. He has not your interests at heart. Battle and bloodshed are now the solution. Don't let him lead you astray. This elder does not speak for me! He's playing a dangerous game. The dragon will show you no mercy. For shame! For shame!"
"We mean you no harm!" Ahreni counters, stepping forward and spreading her hands wide. "On the contrary we intend to fight for you against the dragon which threatens your village! We have considerable power between us, an archer with the power of fire at her command, arcane and divine magic and considerable training in weapons. These are skills we will put to your aid, if you will simply let us!"
"Taking down a dragon is not something to rush into." Ahreni cautions. "We will need to prepare, ambush it ideally and give our resident wizard a chance to prepare the most useful magic she can." She turns to Flori, glancing at Sylyn along the way. "The greatest danger would be if it manages to fly out of our reach. Can you do anything that would stop that happening? If not we may be relying on your arrows Sylyn." The aasimar shoots the ifrit a warm smile, a look that conveys her confidence in the young woman's ability. It is a rare unguarded moment, almost as rare as Kitasai without a frown.
"I'll come too." Ahreni offers, more aware of the less-than-happy looks the caravan are receiving. She cares for both girls like daughters, and for Sylyn in a much less daughterly manner too, but they do have a tendency to enthusiasm, and often a dangerous lack of common sense. Older and wiser heads should keep an eye on them, just in case.
It appears however that the aasimar is too old, too stubborn or too damn into the moment to take any particular interest in the pain of her burns. In the long run she's had worse, and it's been a long time since she tasted anything as sweet as Sylyn's lips.
Ahreni's eyes snap open and one of her hands snakes up into Sylyn's dark hair, holding the young woman close as her lips respond in kind.
Ahreni looks considerably the worse for wear, but doesn't let it stop her taking an active role in getting the caravan set up and putting together the food for a hearty meal. Then she goes to bed, but tosses and turns for hours, trying to find somewhere that doesn't make her burned and tender flesh hurt too much.
Despite the flames Ahreni leaps into battle once more, doing her best to keep the witchfires attention while her team does something useful...
"Relisha! Get Sylyn!" Ahreni calls, "We can handle these!" Boosted by Flori's spell, the samurai moves with blinding speed to close in on the flaming woman in the doorway, intent on distracting her if nothing else. "I believe even ghosts can die!"
Ahreni strikes the nearest wisp and then pulls away, leaving a good fifteen feet between her and the pests.
Ahreni dances backwards and slashes at the wisps in front of her!
"Very generous." Ahreni adds, since someone needs to be more polite than Kit. "But as my companion said we are well supplied. We intend to make another few miles before camping for the night. Our thanks though."
"Then the trick will be to either avoid the ambush entirely, or spring it early." Ahreni replies, inclining her head to acknowledge Sylyn's point. "Perhaps we send someone in to report that they found the caravan destroyed? Or a few of us go in to spread rumors? Or simply to have the trap snap shut on us if someone were disguised as Ameiko..." She doesn't suggest Ameiko actually comes with them. a. She herself wouldn't allow it and b. Relisha would literally kill her.
"Do they know how to find us?" Ahreni counters. "Even if someone is somehow tracking us, which is no mean feat in this terrain, then they would have to know where we are. If we are careful, bypass the towns and send only a couple of unremarkable people in to purchase supplies we should be safe."
"I'm no expert." Ahreni says when she is asked. "The primary risk seems to be discovery. But discovery doesn't matter if we kill ourselves for them by trying a route too dangerous. I would follow the main trail, but I bow to the wisdom of those who know better."
"Eight out of ten." Ahreni replies, turning back to her work. "I've had it from your grandmother so it's hard to impress me, but that was a good try. Well done."
Kitasai had been busy busting the ice blocks down when catches Ahreni approaching. He scoffs and says "Took long enough. These blocks will not break themselves, you know." "Your scowling at them should be sufficient." Ahreni counters with a straight face, setting to work alongside the monk.
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