Altair Mooncalf's page

Altair moves to the front keeping his eyes open for dangers or traps as they walk.

Altair shrugs at the ivory knight, eyes scanning the water.
" Nothing to indicate it yet but I just saw something in the water. that basin seems much deeper than it looks so be cautious whatever is down there does not look small."

I'll take that examining the other passages dead end revealed nothing.

Altair nods as he looks to the underground waterwheel. " It does have a natural luster. It is possible the catacombs were built underneath this place, or whoever lives here now has shaped the place to their liking."
The man standing near the edge of the cliff and feeling for the direction of the wind before breathing deeply.
Percep: 1d20 + 8 + 8 ⇒ (20) + 8 + 8 = 36
Scent based perception(+8 from Scent ability), does Altair smell the same sort of scents from the beast man camp earlier?

Perception: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (5) + 8 = 13

Altair scans the area frowning as he moves to the dead end cavern
" It seems curious construction for this cavern to end as it does I'm going to see if this conceals something more. If not then I suppose we really only have one direction to go."
Perception: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (15) + 8 = 23

Assuming no hidden path is obvious Altair would continue down the longer path as with the dead end its really the only one available.

" It seems a wonderful gift to have. Sadly my own skills do not extend to Pyromancy." The man replies with a sad smile again shouldering his heavy pack
" I'll go first if no one objects I've a skill for danger finding me. It would be a shame if any of you were to be in its path."

Assuming no objections Altair will go down first. Assuming nobody else decides to do so Altair will keep his mage light up and concentrate on his beasthood sphere to maintain the Scent evolution. It might not be terrifically helpful in a windless cavern but better to have and not need.

Altair finishes a small prayer of his own and after ensuring the Abbots burial says little else.
I can only hope I find my answer for better or worse before I lose myself like that.

" Yes let us delve into the depths, hopefully it will bring more understanding. Sadly the tomes and books the Abbot hid in the pantry were not very revealing to the current events, only the history of this place. " With that he glances over to Shandara
" You have no reason to speak falsehood but I admit I am intrigued by your abilities to heal yourself Firekeeper. It is always useful to have one capable of such after all, Orntorias has already proven to be an asset."

Lets just hope there are no visions of blight town in our futures.

Altair nods at Norowas and then gestures to the kitchen to the back of the room.
"I came down here for supplies earlier. A shame really, you missed out on the stew. There were some texts he seemed to have stored for safe keeping in there as well. I'd thought he was guarding something but it is good to know for sure." The man states as he brushes dust from his pants before looking back to the stairs
" Lets go back and see our host then."

So we head back up to the giantess, inform her that we have succeeded and ask is she knows if the Abbot's religion had any specific burial rites. Anybody else got desires to add to that list?

Altair nods glancing to Shandra and gives a small smile to the white knight " Your lunge also dealt him enough damage that he was uninterested in entering your weapons range again. I know for certain with as much armor as you wear I'd be hard pressed to escape a hole like that. I hardly even grazed the man, seeking arrow of raw magic or not."

" Once we have had a moment to ready ourselves I intend to return to the giantess and ask if she knew the Abbots religion so he might have a proper burial. He guarded this room for quite some time, even if he was mad his devotion is admirable." Altair responds after Norowas speaks
" As to our reasons, we never did get around to sharing much before. I seek a cure to a curse that has no indications of releasing its bearer in any capacity but death."

*shrug* Dark fog is great and I have no complaints if you choose to obtain it later. Altair can see through fog so he'd be much more lethal if someone else could drop fog clouds on people while he butchered them with pouncing sneak attack.

Appologies if it seems like it but i'm not ragging on you about your trait choice but pointing it out for Spooks that the trait in question is discernibly inferior. The campaign traits are supposed to be exceptionally potent and that one is not. So the next time he does a pass over of edits and tweaks to this material it might be one to consider boosting.

" that I do friend, it is good to meet another in this land that still holds tight to their mind. I am Altair and your help was much appreciated." Altair responds as he disperses his cloud walking over to Orntorias to help him out of the hole. A rod on his belt melting and reforming into a saw to remove the more problematic chunks of floor barring the armored mans escape.

removing the barrier and doing all I can to reduce the climb check if he doesn't escape on a roll I'll just give him a climbing tool to boost his climb mod to permit escape by taking 10.

Altair nods earlier suspicions confirmed as the abbot tosses a bolt at him through the concealing fog. The ringing chime of soul arrow again echoing through the room.
soul arrow: 1d20 + 7 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 7 + 2 = 122d4 + 3 + 2d6 + 2 ⇒ (4, 4) + 3 + (3, 3) + 2 = 19

err.. hate to break it to you but Inspire courage isn't a morale bonus.

Inspire Courage (Su): A 1st level bard can use his performance to inspire courage in his allies (including himself), bolstering them against fear and improving their combat abilities. To be affected, an ally must be able to perceive the bard’s performance. An affected ally receives a +1 morale bonus on saving throws against charm and fear effects and a +1 competence bonus on attack and weapon damage rolls. At 5th level, and every six bard levels thereafter, this bonus increases by +1, to a maximum of +4 at 17th level. Inspire courage is a mind-affecting ability. inspire courage can use audible or visual components. The bard must choose which component to use when starting his performance.

Now if you happen to have a spell that grants morale bonuses then great. Otherwise that particular trait feels rather weak when held up against some of the other options.

Hah. Man the last game I played in with a Thaumaturge is one of those things I don't think I'm ever going to forget.
Every single time he powered up a spell with backlash it triggered. And every time it happened the random effect turned out to be drastically more beneficial than his base spell would have been.
Its funny because excepting the times he's kissed by the gods of dice the person running that character can't roll higher than a 5 on physical dice.

I recall that Thaum's are rather lean on new spheres/powers to make up for the ridiculous number of class advantages they have.
It looks like you are going to have quite a lot of fun with the Demon hunter trait and its floating magic talent.
Not really sure how going hollow is going to work for you though.

EDIT:
Yeah the stealth rules in pathfinder are junk.

Far as I can tell the only Extra-sense that is called out as negating concealment is blindsight. Tremor and blind sense pinpoint where an enemy is but don't have the sensory accuracy to let a creature fight as if it could see the for it is fighting.
Scent also has rules for how the "Pinpoint" effect works

I do agree that the tremorsense stuff could use some clarification though. And I can certainly see where your thought on it penetrating concealment would come in.
Regardless I'm fine with either way you rule.

@Norowas
Actual Con burn?
The buffs are nice but thats not a kind mechanic at all.

" Orntorias, I think defeating the Abbot will make this much easier. I shall be back in one moment. Do you have any miracles to strike him from here?"
Altair then rapidly moves behind his summoned wall of fog and fires off a soul arrow seeming unhindered by the chocking smoke.
soul arrow: 1d20 + 7 + 2 ⇒ (13) + 7 + 2 = 222d4 + 3 ⇒ (1, 4) + 3 = 8
sneak attack: 2d6 + 2 ⇒ (2, 5) + 2 = 9 striking through total concealment ought to propagate this but I am unsure if the Abbot has an ability that negates it or not. Hence it gets a separate roll.

No, what I was saying is that the DC would change as the act of removing yourself from a hole is going to get easier with help.

The base climb DC to escape the situation that is.

Regardless we both rolled horrifically so the point is moot.

As far as I can see the climb check DCs get drastically easier with something to brace against/ pull on.

Even assuming Altair is no help with his own strength would that not not still be true?

I'm spending my action helping out knight escape the hole he is in.

@Spooks
I'm not complaining, its based off a souls game. Getting my butt kicked is an expectation.
Never mind the fact that I keep skipping the chances I have to pre-buff.
Having feral mutagen and pounce up at the start of this combat would have made things drastically different.

Altiar frowns at the near miss and the abbots disconcerting accuracy.
" Much as I would love to stay and discuss the differences in our doctrines I see I am needed elsewhere." And with that he makes a rolling dive toward Orntorias
Acrobatic: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (16) + 13 = 29
that decent. I'm going to hope that is enough to beat this guys CMD. If that is the case. Altair arrives next to Orntorias and assists him out of the hole.

The roll pushing him out of danger Altair lands near the collapsed floor his companion was struggling with. The smaller man offering a smile and an arm up
" I think this will be made easier with you above the floorboards, damaged as they might be."
?: 1d20 ⇒ 3 I am unsure what type of check you'd like me to make to assist Orntorias. Whatever it is I spend my standard action doing that.

EDIT: Huzzah, terrible roll at the worst time.

The Abbot is in the process of kicking our collective asses.
Feel free to join us.

K:arcana: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (3) + 10 = 13 does my knowledge give me any ideas as to what the heck this guy is throwing at us?
Altair uses the convenient cover, using the dust and stone to break the abbots line of sight. Adding his own smoke to the mix to ensure his chances.
stealth: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (18) + 8 = 26
Unsure if the pillar is enough to break LOS so I'm adding in a dark fog just to be sure. Plus poison is always fun. DC15- Con track I think.

Don't suppose there is any other convenient masonry in 15ft I could hide behind assuming he comes barreling this way next round?

Outside of flavor with only one target there really isn't much use in firing a AOE effect. All it does is give him a chance to save for half. With Orntorias's focus on reach weapons you ought to be fire regardless.
Altair looks to the man and then to his companions.
" Now would be the time to speak if you've the ability Abbot. I'd hate to slay one uninterested in doing me the same."
Percep: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (12) + 8 = 20
" There is a similar presence to the one we encountered in the beast village. Be wary, it is likely to try something."

With that Altair gestures at the Abbot and conjures a bolt of magic that lances toward a vital spot. The human moving to circle the pained cleric. Move to
Soul arrow: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (6) + 7 = 132d4 + 2d6 + 2 ⇒ (4, 1) + (3, 5) + 2 = 15 [ooc] Guess I'll just have to hope his flat-footed touch AC isn't all that great.

Go nuts. We can get more souls by defeating him after all.
Harder to do that when we are dead.

" Much as cooperation can help in defeating many challenges a single warrior might find difficult after seeing the beast in the flesh I can say avoiding it is an excellent idea." Altair responds as he looks in the direction of the canyon.
" Though if you do encounter it in future know it gives off some manner of poisonous spore. I'm not sure on the distances or potency but assuming the worst is likely the best response in this case."

"We are going to need to deal with the Abbot if we wish to use the tunnel in this building though."

Unless we have anything else to say now that Shandara knows where we are going and has been officially invited to come along I'm cool to segue forward.

"Better to have you then not." the man replies as he stirs the stew. "Before you arrived Orntorias and I were discussing our next path. I had considered the giants road high above us again but we were nearly roasted to death by the canyon's dragon when it saw us up there. Nothing to say it wouldn't attempt the same again were we to climb up there. Our gracious host Lucian told us about the caverns below this land. It might be best to take that path at the moment."

" Do you have any intent to remain in this place Firekeeper? If so perhaps we could all journey together." The man suggests as he glances to his allies.
"Assuming none of my allies disagree with such an idea that is."

I was mostly waiting for another person to post as the last in game thing said was by me.
That said I'm ready to press forward.

You get a +1 to CL as a firekeeper for pyro, right? it progresses at uneven levels so you should be getting 3d8.

Altair examines the giant as she reveals her fragile nature, the mans eyes automatically making an assessment of her.
Knature: counts for heal: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (8) + 10 = 18

" While not needed in my part your spell of invigoration is appreciated Firekeeper. And as to easing our burdens Lucian, I'll say any company to be found in this place makes it lighter. We all knew the dangers of this place before we came here, each day we remain is yet one more we gamble with the huntress." The human replies evenly as he stirs his pot humming a wordless song under his breath.

Additionally you missed a great opportunity with your pet by not having a rock lobster.

From the roll Altair got we know its at the very least a Mature adult magma dragon mutant. (That is to say it has a template)
Its got better armor than its normal brothers and seems to give off some manner of noxious/poisonous cloud.

So crunch wise something like a CR 14 at least

Glad to help.

As the Abbot/ village is the pieces we've heard most about so far I'm thinking it best to look to them first.

I'm semi-interested in finding out where the dragon nests. If only so as to steal any loot it might have while its out hunting.

Sadly there are no blind giants with greatbows lying about to cripple this one for us. Actually fighting it will just result in our death.

Our group hasn't got a specific goal in mind. Explore this land in hopes of finding our various desires I guess. We joined forces because few people are crazy enough to enter this place and its easier to deal with in a group.

Walked on a giant highway for a good length of time, nearly got roasted by an obviously immediately lethal dragon encounter. (adult+ lava dragon with template.)
Get to ground level and find a camp full of insane beastmen, deal with them and rest for the night once its finished.
Find some helpful gear and a clue relating to "seeking a shrine"
Head to the beastmen's canyon city to cross the thing (only available path we could see)
Spirits of the dead start chanting and tries to voodoo us. We decide to get out of the area in the fastest possible way.
Crossing the bridge works but it snaps as our last ally walks over it (Karthan who was unable to continue the game)
We get out of the area and seek cover in the Giant's ruin to avoid getting eaten by whatever passes for grassland predators around here.

then we talk with the giant, Altair sneaks past the abbot to raid the pantry and you came to talk with us afterward.

As for current missions we still have the vague idea of seeking this shrine. (there was a ruin visible under the canyon beast village that wasn't feasible to reach at the time. the abbot guards what is likely a passage underground. It might lead there.)

Figuring out how the inheritor's marks work/ learning more about this place. The giant priestess has been quite helpful in that so far.

Possibly getting back up onto the giant's highway from earlier as it is likely to lead somewhere useful.

Altair nods as orntorias speaks " He was a stalwart man, I'd have liked to had the chance to know him for longer. We hardly even had the chance to become acquainted." The shorter man comments as he rustles in his bag to retrieve a fork, spearing a floating piece of meat from the stew with a rapid strike pushing it up against one side of the boiling cauldron to test it. The man shrugging as he let the morsel drop back into the pot.
" The meat is taking longer to cook on account of it being cured and being stored for a time. If you don't mind it putting up a fight when you try to eat it then be my guest. Otherwise I'd say it should be ready once the sun dips a bit lower. Would you care to take a look at the text I found? I know nothing of the Old Night it references, but it certainly seems important for the abbot to have hidden it."

Altair looks to the masked womans strange companion, takes a sip of his drink and then glances over to his other allies.
Orntorias with his armored wolf.
Tarnia with her alligator, that still seemed to think of him as a snack.
I wonder if its just a symptom of being an inheritor. Will some strange beast come looking to latch onto me next?
He then looks back to the new arrival, gives the spider demon-rock-thing a second glance and shrugs.
*sip*
Slight pause
*sip*

"So its name is Pebble?" he asks Shandara before placing his sights back on the spider thing.
"The stew is not ready yet, I don't know if you eat stew but I'll share some if you desire. No tastes before its finished though." The man says in a level tone to the very strange creature, obviously somewhat unsure of its intellect.
Best to assume its smarter than average with as strange as it looks.

Then lets go ahead and say that Altair's mark is on the inside of his forearm just below his wrist. As to how it looks like, well I'd figured it would be a Tattoo or something.

I don't recall if there was a specific spot the sigil appeared. I'd assume its a mark on the back of the hand or something. So Altair's is likely visible at the moment. Orntorias wears a rather hefty set of armor, though I'm unsure if he wears it all the time.

Altair adjusts the stand his stew pot was propped on, the legs extending to adjust for the newly reinforced fire with a slight metallic popping
" Never a problem, companions make this desolate place easier to bear. "

Bah. post monster strikes again.

Altair finishes stirring the soup and puts down his book to look up at the newcomer. The mans simple longsleeves shirt rolled up to avoid getting in the way of cooking. "Well I have no idea if your path is the same as ours but why not sit down and have a meal. I made plenty to go around. I am Altair, it is a pleasure to meet you." The man smiling at the newcomer, though one edge of the expression snarling on the scar bisceting his right brow from hairline to jawline.

He reaches an arm over and grabs an extra bowl from a pack bulging with herbs,roots,spices and plenty of less identifiable things.
" Its not ready just yet, some of the ingredients still need to cook through."

Would I correct to assume that we still need to select the power to utilize it or is reading the books enough to be able to play with this particular toy?

It has got quite a few other talents to compete with if thats the case.
Exhausted is a good debuff though I can't help but feel its "best" use is the ability to vamp a creature on 1-1 bleed/heal with the hunter trait.

A disturbing yet effective method of healing to be sure.

Well I imagine some of the folks in that recruitment you have for the second table will be interested.
Though our set up does have a few small differences. Hope they notice them.

Question on this Gnaw ability. Does it stack with other bleed damage?
I'd like to know if I could hit someone with a sneak attack followed by this to heal 2 HP per round as the bleed damage would be coming from two separate sources.

Sorry. wasn't sure if you'd had anything else to say on Altair leaving the room.

" Well little of the supplies there were still viable, fortunately the cured meats still look good. There were some strange notes hidden randomly about the room and the floor the abbot was defending looked strange. I suspect something is hidden there." Altair explains as his powers fade and he returns to normal
" I was thinking I'd take a look at the texts while I prepared something. You are welcome to join me in that if you desire."
That said Altair sets about to do so.
Cook: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (13) + 8 = 21

I'd prefer to wait an extra day for Tarina to be honest.
Finding new people that mesh with the current group is going to be more of a pain in the ass than cutting someone who is already part of it some slack.

Weekends are often busy for a lot of people and while I agree our pace as of late has been too slow this doesn't seem like the best solution.

That being said Altair is a rather effective scout and decent tank while buffed.* Orntorias can slaughter things and is a healer. So assuming we can out maneuver our foes we still have a decent chance at dealing with things as a duo.

*If the bad guys could quit rolling 17+ dice to hit that is.

Altair picks most of the cured meats and any spices he knows would be useful or ones he doesn't have. The man also making a point to grab the hidden papers before returning the way he came.

Altair would return to the group and look through the papers.

Altair examines the room to see what features existed in it before moving forward and through the open doorway.
Eyes scanning for dangers I could still step in a bear trap after all.
Perception: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (17) + 8 = 25

Lets see if the sneaky route pays off this time. At the very least it would be nice to know what we are facing before we do so.

Altair sighs and retrieves his more pertinent weapons from the massive pack he brought, leaving the majority where it was.
" I shall see if there is much of value in the place then. I will return once I've sated my curiosity or the abbots perceptions defeat my own skill at stealth. If any of you desire to join me feel free though I would ask you stay back some lest my work to avoid the abbots attentions be spoiled." The human requests as he moves to the basement door and examines the portal as he readies himself.

Activating Hidden body and Hush. burning 2 spell points.
The human resuming the spectral form he had yesterday and an absence of sound as he moves into the room. Doing his utmost to avoid upsetting any denizens.
Stealth: 1d20 + 8 + 4 + 4 ⇒ (20) + 8 + 4 + 4 = 36
Perception: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (6) + 8 = 14

" Well that explains some of what we witnessed in that place. I pray someday that those spirits find peace."
Altair gives the tall one a quirked brow " From the way you phrase it I take the Abbot is not one for conversation anymore? I'd be quite happy to engauge in conversation or trade if he is still receptive but as has already been show this land's inhospitable nature seems to leak into those who dwell here too long. With a few blessed, bright exceptions that is."

Altair listened intently at the giantess provided answers brow knitting before sighing sadly.
" It would have been nice to meet those tribesmen, all we encountered in that place was maddened beasts who only clung to the barest of language and the long dead. Though I think they were aware of us, there was chanting on the winds as we passed through the canyon and something reached out to try and effect some of our company." the human explains as he looks to his companions.
"Regardless I intend to cook something to revitalize everyones spirits. I brought enough supplies to cook something but I don't have much in the way of meat or vegetables. Lady Lucian I offer you to partake of the meal regardless but if you have such supplies I could craft something much more attractive." Altair requests as he places his heavy pack on a nearby wall shrugging a shoulder as the weight is removed. If there is sunlight shining through the hole in the building Altair would make a point to set up where he could stand in it.

K:nature: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (4) + 10 = 14 Don't suppose the reeds outside of this place could be useful as ingredients? figure being a miser with ingredients now will make them last longer as we journey further.

Altair shrugs at the giant
" Well we are in good company then as I have no knowledge of this place either. do you know the history of the village in the canyon? I saw wall paintings there with a concerning image in it and what looked like lower caverns with ruined structures in them. Was that place built on the bones of an older city?"

Altair shrugs at the giant's response. "Well in that case, I seek the path to break myself of the old blood. A flight of madness, I am aware. However I found myself on this path, and with the mysteries that surround this place perhaps I may yet find my answer. As to our groups reasons we are here, on reaching the other side of the canyon this was the only structure aside from the causeway. There doesn't seem to be an easy path back up to the top of it, this seemed the best option to avoid attention if another hunter like the canyon dwelling dragon came to seek the open field this place is surrounded with."
The thin man retrieving his watch and presenting it to the giantess.
" So far this device has given me a path to follow, leading me to this place. Though on reaching these lands it has become less reliable. I think though if I could sum up what I seek at the moment it is a place to rest and find my direction again. After losing an ally to a twist of fate it would be nice to at least give the man a few words. He deserved better."