Almonihah's page

Technically I’m an aasimar (a native outsider) not a human. I wouldn’t normally bother to correct that but, given Rahlmaat’s commitment to amassing knowledge, it seemed like a distinction she’d pay attention to, lol. Also, for a spontaneous caster, I do have a decent understanding of spellcraft.

Ah, I saw "Last of the Azlanti" and assumed human without looking closer. XD Yeah, Rahlmaat would notice the difference... though she might get pedantic and point out that 'aasimar' is not really a separate species, given their clearly proven ability to interbreed with their humanoid ancestry...

Rahlmaat wouldn't really care about a grasp on spellcraft, it's the deep secrets of the universe she's after. If you don't know physics, mathematics, biology, geology, history, the planes, religion, and more to a level greater than elves who have spent most of their lives studying the topics, she thinks your understanding is too shallow.

She's a bit arrogant.

Benedetto watches Drook and Gull until he has to pay attention to where he's going again. Riding up to the canopy reminds him of just... was it yesterday? The day before? So much has happened it's hard to keep track...

He tries to shake off the thought and focus instead on the present. There's a lot going on, and then there's Dowanhowee's question. He obviously isn't the one being asked, but it does get him thinking about what he knows about his new companions. Samen seems quite... certain about a number of things, but how can he *really* know?

Benedetto puts the thought aside for now. There are people who need help, and he has a lot of work to do to help them. There'll be time for deep philosophical thoughts later.

Okay, I *think* I have most of Rahlmaat's build here, now. I still need to decide on the contents of her spellbook, though...

Well, it seems kind of unlikely that you’re going to choose two 10,000+ year old magic users—or, at least, in any other game it would seem unlikely, lol—but I think Ethulfel and Rahlmaat could have a really interesting relationship/background connection. Like, after a thousand years or two they ran into each other (probably because I was in her area exploring), and they aren’t super similar in outlook or goals but there’s only so many immortals kicking around in Golarion so I started showing up once a century just to catch up. After scores of meetings, they still wouldn’t see eye to eye on a lot of things but they’d be sort of weirdly good friends. That seems like it would be fun to explore.

Rahlmaat probably heckles Ethulfel about how he's wasting his immortality every time she sees him (because he still doesn't have every Knowledge skill in existence like she does--except nobility because who cares about the brief lives of mortal nobles until they become history--and accumulating knowledge is of course the only worthy goal for an immortal life), but probably does secretly appreciate the fact that there's at least one more person she knows that's as old as she is.

Happy new year!

I'm going to be away from home today through the 30th, so my responses may be sporadic.

Wait, is this crew "Xevras and a bunch of people who barely come up to his knees?" XD

I suppose Half-Right is probably at least 5' tall, but we have so many Small characters, and then there's Xevras on the larger side of Large... :D

Will: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (17) + 10 = 27

Benedetto crosses his arms and stares at Samen for a few moments before speaking. "I was hoping he'd get the point after the previous one."

He turns to the assembled warriors. "Now, unless anyone else thinks we need to keep comparing blade sizes, maybe we can get on to an actually productive conversation. How many elens do we have? Do any of you have experience with arranging logistics?"

Will: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (12) + 10 = 22

"Wait here!" Benedetto cries to his squire as he sprints after the possible-phoenix. He tries to use his acrobatic skills to nimbly leap over or otherwise bypass any obstacles in the way.

Acrobatics: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (1) + 9 = 10 Or... he could faceplant. XD

I chuckled at the "sun-yelling thing" XD

Just remember an improved invisibility potion would only last seven rounds, and there's several hundred feet of cleared area around the camp that anyone without crazy stealth skills would have trouble not being seen in.

The Coffin Man has another coughing fit.

At least, it's probably a coughing fit. Surely he's not laughing at Kalchine, right?

"You still do not understand this game," he says, "And if you ask that question, you still do not understand Baba Yaga."

Benedetto watches Aisling's display silently, deep in thought. He almost envies the sylph's zeal, but... well, while he's certain the Phoenix is well-intentioned, after Benedetto's own experience with such religious zeal he's... rather reluctant to give himself over to it again.

That said, as long as the Phoenix was giving him the ability to fight the Dark and defend the innocent, he was hardly going to complain. He did kind of wish he had a better idea of what his new patron's doctrine actually was, though. He wonders if maybe the Phoenix has been too occupied in holding back the Dark and the Moon from Hearth to do much else... if so, he doesn't mean to complain.

Maybe he should put some of these thoughts into a prayer? Benedetto files the thought away for when he's somewhere private. It's... well, it's been a while since he's really prayed.

Hmmm... Benedetto would like to spend a bit of time figuring out just what being a paladin of the Phoenix actually means. :D From my understanding, he would have viewed the Phoenix as some kind of elemental servant of Volcano before, right? But now it's feeling more like the Phoenix is its own thing, and he needs to figure out how he feels about that (and just what it wants of him).

Long-term he definitely wants to return to Light and free it from Moon's madness.

Brennus will do more talking when we return triumphant to the city. :D Right now, he's just had his life upended, been rather violently transported a great distance to a place where he knows noone, and decided out of some sense of desperation to throw his lot in with the first bunch of adventurer-types he spotted. Once he's had to time to ingratiate himself with this new group build trust with his new comrades and hopefully start building a positive reputation in town, he'll be much more eager to talk to people. But for now he's eager to see if there's any interesting magic to be found where we're going... oh yeah, and maybe rescue that one guy, he definitely is very focused on that... <.< >.>

He did show up... but he never said what his name was. Hence asking for a description, since Benedetto *would* recognize that.

"That's... a lot," Benedetto says, stunned. Where did that put him in all this? Was Phoenix actually a servant of Volcano, or was it something else? And where did all this leave him now?

Well... fighting to protect people from the corruption sweeping through Hearth, of course. That hadn't changed.

"Any idea if we should expect more problems here under the Temple? And the name Ky La doesn't seem familiar, but we've fought enemies who never gave us a name. Who are they?"

"All good questions," Benedetto agrees, "But what I most want to know is, what was that?" He gestures with his free hand at Samen's pack, where that light had gone. "And what is a 'Sun'? It's nothing like the Moon, is it?"

In spite of his questions, when he sees Samen trying to drag the corpse of what had apparently once been a friend, he sheathes his blade and moves to help.

Deflect Arrows doesn't work on machine gun bursts, no, since they're representative of several bullets hitting you almost simultaneously.

Benedetto is... startled, to say the least, but he's not going to deny that the command sounds right. His rapier isn't exactly the best weapon for breaking things, but he gives it his best swing.

Attack?: 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (1) + 15 = 16 Oh dear XD
Damage?: 1d6 + 5 ⇒ (5) + 5 = 10

Checking in before continuing--is everyone having fun? The camp is supposed to be a difficult nut to crack, with opposition that reacts to you and tries to counter your tactics (and knows exactly what your goal is before you even do), but it's not supposed to be impossible. Are you feeling like it's been the right level of challenge?

Benedetto helps Aisling out as best he can. He can aid another easily, even if he rolled a one.

"It's a skill that saved my life a few times," Benedetto non-answers. "I had to pick it up myself, though, if that's what you're asking. Some tips here and there."

"A few more, can you get better use of them than me?" Benedetto's voice is oddly calm for being swarmed by shadowy rats.

He gets another flask of alchemist's fire out and just pours it over himself, unconcerned about the fairly weak fire.

Fire damage on swarm from last round: 1d6 ⇒ 3 Since it burns for a round

Fire damage for pouring the alchemist's fire over himself, which I figure damages the swarms on him too: 1d6 ⇒ 5

Etiquette for a tiny dragon is a bit different than for humanoids... but Terexaltherin, of course, has plenty of practice with it.

I will *never* be bored by visiting a giant library, he protests at Ari's words.

He's thoughtful, however, when she proposes their next mission. We do need to be attacking them, not just reacting... let's see... maybe I could be some sort of shapeshifting assassin for hire? Between my skills and the circlet I've been using I could pull it off pretty well, though it might be even better if we expanded what the circlet can do... maybe make it invisible, too. Spread around some stories about me sneaking past entire legions of guards and advanced security systems and wards to assassinate some major planar government leaders or something. That could work.

"We're here because part of the Temple is part of the problem," Benedetto replies, warily. "As it seems like you found out. What do you mean, you're an agent of Sky, though? Has Sky come back to life in the middle of all this Moon madness?"

Hey guys, checking in. I’m rather lucky getting a chance to log in today, but in the next week or three (depending on the orientation stuff) I’ll be starting a new security post. If all goes well, I’ll be able to start posting regularly at that point.

In any case, I’m sorry about being missing lately. Good luck everyone.

Good luck to you, too!

As far as Kalchine claiming the boar spear, I'll need a GM judgement call.

Technically, I'm not proficient since Druids aren't actually proficient with all weapons in the Spears group but only a specific list of weapons which include some spears.

I don't see why boar spears would be any different for a druid than other spears, go ahead and have proficiency with it.

I'd be fine with still letting Selena teleport you in and out.

Zilvazaraat does typically take a couple of days to get back to you after you send him a message. He has to travel the planes, getting the best deals on what you've ordered, and wrap up whatever business he was in the middle of.

I'd be fine with putting those two things back into the party stash.

The difficult checks are basically meant to make sure you have to at least explore enough of the camp to realize you need to resurrect Viktor and to actually do it. I'm not going to make you fail just because you haven't got the right skills.

"If I had a blade..." Benedetto mutters as he rushes out.

But wait, he's a paladin of Phoenix, right? He no longer has to depend on just his weapons.

He runs to Chasso and places his hands on the corrupted wood, where he thinks he needs to in order to free the oread.

"Forgive me for bringing flame here," he says, then says a brief prayer to Phoenix...

Casting burning hands, Fire damage: 5d6 ⇒ (1, 5, 3, 3, 6) = 18

Dowanhowee takes you underneath the great branches of the Elder. She gives a small signal, and a large basket is lowered down. Standing inside is the oread that River and 'Detto recognize from last night's battle. He is surprised and delighted to see you. "You came! And you found Mistress Dowanhowee! Now all will be well." Using a combination of root magic and orean strength, the el lifts you all in the basket, carrying you on ropes and roots to the first set of the Elder's branches.

"I'll be here when you are done. Let me know if you need anything. My name is Chasso."

"Good to see you... and to get your name," Benedetto says with a grin. "I hope you've been well. We'll talk more when we get back, I'm sure."

He looks around the massive tree with interest. While he's somewhat nervous about the heights, it seems safe enough... and besides, isn't he the paladin of Phoenix, now? What fear does Phoenix have for heights?

Dowanhowee's limping gait sets an easy pace for the party. Breathing in the crisp spring air, she looks back at all of you and asks, "What do you think of Hearth so far? Her current face, that is?"

"It seems like a smile trying to hide a grimmace of pain," Benedetto replies, maybe taking the 'face' thing a little to far. "As if we didn't have enough trouble already, the tension is so thick it seems ready to explode."

Probably three bears, and they're larger than normal. Also, it's going to be awfully hard to lead anyone around behind the approaching group--the Hut is right at the edge of the "No-Man's Land" of cleared area around the camp, and they're approaching from the camp, so there's only twenty or thirty feet of forest cover before you're in open land that would be hard to find anything to hide in for those without special stealth abilities..

Welcome! I suspect I know the rough location we'll be meeting your character. :D

Benedetto give's Drook's shoulder a light pat. "It's fine. It's hard to hear other people make light of things you find important. We have to practice every day how to set a good example instead of getting down in the mud, too."

He glances towards the kitchen. "It smells like that because we're leaving soon, I think," he says. "We had an invitation. Maybe we should go see about it."

He's referring to the oread we saved.

Benedetto doesn't sleep in as much as he'd like, given how tired he feels in the morning, but he gets up and sees what Drook is doing. After a moment he interrupts his squire for some morning devotions. Given he doesn't quite know what kind of prayers and such to make to Phoenix, he has to... improvise a bit for them, but repurposed Warrior rituals are probably fine, right?

Hope is exactly what you need when circumstances *aren't* gentle, Benedetto thinks to himself, but for now he simply nods his head and turns to leave.

Wait, I wasn't done with Irila! :D

Okoteck nods thoughtfully. He searches in his pack for a moment and pulls out a sheet of parchment and his quill and ink. Sitting down cross-legged on the ground, he starts writing.

"Let's be organized about this. Our ultimate goal is, most likely, to get to the bottom of the actions of the angakkuk, which may well be related to the disappearance of the virloga. To do that," he nods towards Irila, "We must strengthen our connection with the spirits enough to be able to face the tuunbaq, yes? And the spirits have asked us to banish this shadow, likely both because it needs to be done and because its geistsäure can be used to further strengthen our connection."

"To accomplish this, we need this liquid light, which requires acquiring both volcanic borax for the lens--and the lens itself, once we have that component--and phosphor for the contents. We shall need to ask any miners, blacksmiths, or glassblowers in the Keep about how to acquire these components, as well as needing at least the help of a glassblower for the lens. We may additionally wish to speak with the priests of Morghast about the situation."

"In addition, Jade would like to investigate the coast to the north for the wreck of the Stormweaver and any survivors thereof. I would like to find more information on the fate of the virloga, though I'm not quite certain how. Perhaps there are those who knew of their habits we could speak with? I also feel it would be best to think of ways to interfere with whatever the Tuluruq are doing, but I will admit to not having any ideas as to what we could do."

He pauses a moment, writing furiously to catch up with his thoughts, then continues, "There is also the matter of the naiad Naïssala and her captors." He looks up at Irila again. "When we arrived to hunt Whitefang, she was trapped in an iron cage in the remains of a hunters' camp. Apparently the hunters had come prepared and captured her, only to be slain by the bear. Given Naïssala seemed to have some possible connection to the grimstalker Athanas they may have simply seen her as a threat, but I cannot help but feel there is more to it."

He looks around at his companions, Hyggiandi, and Irila. "Did I miss anything?"

***************************

Okoteck nods at the dagger when Othek asks about it. "We were, apparently, not the only hunters to pursue Whitefang recently. There were remains of a camp and the bones of three humanoids there when we arrived. This dagger was in their camp, and we thought perhaps someone here would recognize the device on it."

He pauses, then adds, "They seemed better prepared to capture the naiad of the spring there than to face Whitefang, as she was caged when we arrived."

Sending Internet hugs!

...Unity hugs would be quite something. XD

Benedetto sighs, "Drook, honor isn't something that can be spit on. You're getting it confused with reputation. Reputation is something other people think about you. Honor is between you and your ideals... and mine needs a lot of work. It's possible to stand at the head of a parade, cheered by all, with your honor tarnished and broken, or to stand in chains facing the jeers of a crowd with your honor as brilliant as the greatest flame."

He looks where the sylph ran off to and scowls. "But did you hear that last bit? 'I bet you'd take my family too'? What are they doing to these people here?"

The paladin turns his scowl towards the Temple, and shakes his head. "I do think we need to return quietly, under cover of dark, and see if we can find out the truth."

Benedetto hesitates at the Arch. He's... a paladin of Phoenix now, right? So... well, but phoenixes are servants of Volcano, right? So there's no issue with it. He walks through the arch and makes the sign of Volcano.

When they reach the Temple, Benedetto looks around anxiously for anyone he knew from Light among the refugees.

After finishing his camp chores, Drook finds Benedetto later. Shyly, almost afraid he's bothering the knight, he asks, "Could we practice swords? I want to be worthy of the blade."

"We can definitely practice. Using a sword isn't a matter of worthiness, though. Unless you count skill as being worthy. Lots of unworthy people use swords."

Benedetto pauses, thoughtful. "I guess that's part of the problem, sometime. Still, we won't start you with sharp steel. Let's see... just a stick or something about the right length would be good. Help me find one."

As he starts looking for something that matches his requirements, the warrior continues, "Learning to fight actually starts with your feet. You need to be able to get in your weapon's reach when you attack, get out of theirs when you need to defend, and swinging your sword is really a full-body activity..."

Benedetto frowns fractionally at the mephit's resilience, then suddenly remembers he has his paladins powers back. ...but is it really worth it to use them now? It seems a bit late, really. So he just jabs twice at the mephit.

Rapier: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (14) + 14 = 28+2 if flanking
Damage: 1d6 + 5 ⇒ (5) + 5 = 10+6 precision Sneak Attack: 3d6 ⇒ (6, 6, 3) = 15
Rapier: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (1) + 9 = 10+2 if flanking
Damage: 1d6 + 5 ⇒ (5) + 5 = 10+6 precision Sneak Attack: 3d6 ⇒ (4, 5, 3) = 12

...no idea where I got that name from. XD

"We'll start on that when we have a chance to stop again, don't worry about it, Drook," Benedetto says.

Benedetto reaches out to embrace Drook.

"I'm not planning on dying," he says, his voice rough. "And with us both blessed by the Phoenix we should be much harder to kill."

Benedetto takes Zephyr's hand and helps him to his feet. "And I should thank you for the assistance in the fight. It seems that we have to keep watch for madness most everywhere now."

He looks over to Drook. "Of course I'll take you as my squire. After all that's just happened... well, I think it would be foolish of me not to."

The ifrit looks over the assembled elen and sighs. "It seems we could all use some patching up, and I'm afraid I'm rather... rusty with healing magic. If everyone gathers around I can do at least a little more, though."

He waits for everyone to gather and channels the healing warmth he'd so recently gained.

Channel: 3d6 ⇒ (1, 4, 3) = 8

Benedetto holds a moment, watching the fallen maybe-elen for signs of movement, then sheathes his blade and runs over to Leonardo. He checks the elen for a pulse while calling out to the other elens, "We'll need to do introductions, but for now, does the sylph live? I've healing still if... well, if Leonardo here can't use it any more."

Wait... if this was working... there was one thing they really wanted to know...

"Time since Unity was Created?"

It helps if I remember that regaining his paladin powers actually raises his saves... that should have been just barely a success, but oh well.

Will: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (10) + 10 = 20

Benedetto feels a warmth in his mind, and it's as if his vision clears. Right... he knew these powers. He should heal himself first. Summoning the warmth to himself, he feels some of his burns fade.

Lay on hands: 3d6 ⇒ (6, 3, 5) = 14

Then he switches back to his blade.

"Far better, yes," he states as he charges towards the half-faced elen, rapier-point first.

Rapier stab: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (17) + 14 = 31
Damage: 1d6 + 5 + 6 ⇒ (1) + 5 + 6 = 12

Bennedetto is surprised when the mephit appears near him, but that surprise turns swiftly to horror as the mephit tranforms into lava. Dropping his bow he lunges forward and tries to grab the boy before he sinks into the lava.

Not sure if I need to roll something here? Reflex save maybe? Reflex: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (20) + 11 = 31

It would make the Flurry of Blasts wild talent seem unnecessary if you could full attack with a kinetic blast without it. I thought being able to full attack with it was one of the main points of using the Kinetic Blade wild talent. But this is from me reading things, I haven't played a kineticist myself.

"Sky I've heard of, but what's Sun?" Benedetto mutters to himself as he keeps firing at whichever mephit seems most injured, hoping he can keep River from getting herself killed. He almost tries to reach for the warmth of Volcano's power before remembering again how long it's been since he could.

Longbow: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (3) + 13 = 16
Damage: 1d8 + 2 ⇒ (5) + 2 = 7
Longbow: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (7) + 8 = 15
Damage: 1d8 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 2 = 6