The guaranteed success - and use all day long - is one of the reasons I'm increasingly fond of the witch class. XD Only so-so on its own, but excellent in a team.
Camiel couldn't help it - she grinned slightly, though the evidence of magic suggested that her next thought might not have been as effective as it could have been. "As much fun as this is, perhaps we should put the creature to rest." she suggested, allowing a little more warmth to caress her increasingly sensual voice. She glanced down at Charis, appreciating his help in protecting her, then glanced around... what powers might her new companions demonstrate in a situation like this, hm?
I'm sticking with my readied action for the first round, yes. ^^
Camiel faced the creature as she fired off her celestial spell. Perhaps Trazzle's act would be enough to ensure its success - and quite honestly, anything that could reduce the beast's ability to strike at foes or properly defend itself would be a good thing. It was foolish to take on the mightiest of foes and allow them to retain their power - though she was also looking to keep a fine balance here and not reveal her most powerful abilities unless she truly had to. They still had other foes to fight... and she was saving her best for that point. For now, though, she was looking to see how effective their individual strategies were.
That should only matter if you're trying to get close to the beast... which I don't advise. XD Preeeeeetty sure I can hit him without also hitting you, if only because of the range. Also, I prefer DM rolling for Initiative - saves time.
And yes, versatility does help. XD Goodness knows we should be versatile at this level... and Camiel's ready for her opening salvo against this foe, hoping it works to weaken it a bit.
Does Camiel know whether or not the beast qualifies as undead?
It was important to be decisive. Even as the beast rumbled towards them, Camiel focused on her inner powers, then sent a surge of energy into her staff. Power crackled on the edge of it, ready to be sent outwards as soon as the beast was in range. It certainly seemed to be quite a foul enemy... and in a case like this, what she really wanted to do was strike it down with holy might. More than that, however, the power she was channeling had a second purpose - reducing the enemy's ability to see and hear, thereby making it far harder for the beast to successfully strike at anyone. Of course, size alone could be a threat, but she'd be working on dealing with that in a moment...
Ready Action: Use 1 Mythic Power (10/11) to cast Celestial Fanfare through Mihrel, Camiel's staff, as soon as the enemy is within range (270 feet).
Celestial Fanfare (DC 32):
CELESTIAL FANFARE
School: evocation (good) [sonic]; Level bard 6, cleric/
oracle 7, sorcerer/wizard 6
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: medium (100 ft. + 10 ft./level)
Effect: all creatures in a 30-ft. radius
Duration: instantaneous
Saving Throw: Fortitude partial; SR yes
A great blaring of trumpets from on high blasts down upon the area you designate. All evil creatures within the area of effect take 1d6 hp damage per caster level (maximum of 15d6 hp damage) and are blinded and deafened for 2d4 rounds. A successful Fortitude save halves the damage and reduces the blindness and deafness to 1d4 rounds.
Neutral creatures within the area of effect take half damage and are blinded and deafened for 1d4 rounds. A successful save reduces the damage to one-quarter the total and negates the blinding and deafening effects. Good-aligned creatures are not affected by this spell.
Half the damage this spell causes is sonic damage. The other half results directly from divine power and is not reduced by resistance to sonic-based attacks.
And I'm just waiting on gameplay posts. XD I've had... quite a few ideas about how to face our foe, though honestly, most of them basically devolve into "be as dramatic as possible while laughing maniacally behind the screen".
True enough. XD The reason I ask is that it's relevant for one of my powers - if they were commonplace or everywhere, then the change in proficiency requirements will change things for me.
"Hmhmhm. They want us that badly?" Camiel mused, her voice husky. She tilted her head for a moment, thinking, then nodded slightly and held out one of her hands. Something deep within her flickered slightly... before lightning crashed down from the heavens and into her outstretched hand, where it formed a small sphere that she lightly tossed up and down while she kept an eye out for the enemy. "Well, nobody's ever accused me of being unresponsive to desire..." She... really was acting differently than she had back in the celestial realm, wasn't she?
Most probably, hmm? Well, such was the way things went. "Does anyone else have preparations they need to complete?" Camiel asked the others. "I can bring you to another plane and back again if need be." She lifted her staff up slightly, the divine power within it surging slightly at her touch. The best part, however, was that she could use its planar transportation without reducing its ability to cause havoc to the enemy. She knew exactly which spell she wanted to cast on the giant dead creature within the city. The only issue was getting close enough... but Primordial Magic ought to be able to solve that.
@Charis: Worst-case scenario, I can bring you to your demiplane and back again accurately, though that'll use a power I'd prefer to save for our foes. XD I can also do a normal Plane Shift through my staff, with more accuracy than usual - 2-200 miles off, rather than the normal 5-500, and no worries about components. THOON's probably a better choice still, since he can Plane Shift at-will, but those options are available if you want them.
(If nothing else, I suppose THOON could Plane Shift the two of you back and forth until you got a sufficiently low roll... XD)
"Then let's walk." Camiel said as she moved, watching as Yukio disappeared. Ah, yes... a valuable trick, that one, and one she might use herself to help get into the city. "We should be able to cover a few miles quickly enough."
True, but the way you worded it implied Da'amaat was acting... and it wasn't a dragon shooting a laser at her. XD Ah, well. A-marching we shall go regardless, yes?
For a few moments, Camiel considered looking for a way to create a sun, or at least alter the light of the land enough to change back to her other side. Such things were within her power... when she truly put her mind to something, there was very little she could not accomplish. However, going by the actions of the others, that might be a little much... "Our destination is only a few miles ahead, and we are expected." she noted calmly. "It may be difficult to even approach the city normally. Our foe is... hard to miss." Literally. You'd practically have to face the other direction to avoid hitting a foe so... large. Of course, that posed problems of its own, because only so many spells had the reach necessary to hit a foe from too far away. It wouldn't be hard to get close on her own, but she could only take about half of their team with her at the same time, and this didn't seem like a good time to leave others behind. Well, the least she could do was trust in their own powers. For those who cared to listen, Camiel explained what she'd seen in more detail, with an emphasis on the apparent range of their foe's attack. Perhaps one of them would have an idea about how to approach this foe... and in the meantime, she began walking forward. After all, they could just as easily talk about this on the way.
A soft smile found its way onto Camiel's lips as she moistened them, gasping softly as the eternal night of the plane surrounded them. She had no difficulty at all with reading the inscription before them, and a sensual laugh came out of her throat. "What a kind invitation." she murmured, reaching up one finger and plucking the very fabric of the universe itself. "Tell me." she murmured.
Using Primordial Magic [Portend] to discover the precise location of their destination, including how far away it is. Fueling with a 2nd level spell; Camiel has used 1 2nd level and 1 5th level spell today.
Done with that, the godling turned her attention to the newcomers, especially the cat. She'd always liked felines, and actually reached up a hand to pet it. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Ink'kalii." she said, a statement that was friendly, yet somehow... inviting. She straightened and did a quick head-count a moment later. Hmm... too many to take in one trip, though she could always expend more magic as a substitute. It wasn't like her highest level of magic would prove useful against this foe anyway... "What do the rest of you think?" she asked. "Do you prefer to travel the sands in full, or would you rather cut down on the trip a little?" The corrosive nature of this place hadn't taken full effect just yet, but anything that took away joy and passion was an insult to her very existence... and while she didn't mind a bit of pain, it wouldn't be too fun to stay here forever.
Camiel watched the small man change, becoming noticeably less attractive in exchange for what looked like physical ability. "...I'll pass." she said. She wasn't sure how well such things would interact with her body's purification abilities anyway, and one thing she'd long since decided was that she needed to be able to take care of herself. It was a thoughtful offer, though, and she did appreciate that it had been made.
"There's no use in delaying." Camiel said, nodding as she gripped Mihrel a little tighter. It was time to examine this land for herself and do what needed to be done - she'd never been one for waiting around anyway.
"I'll make do." she said, chuckling slightly. "Illumination won't be a problem for us as long as I have Mihrel, and as for the rest..." Her gaze hardened slightly, but she kept her thoughts to herself for now. Indeed, though, she did have something of a condition - a divine heritage that flowed between night and day, changing her strengths and abilities as it did so. In all honesty, her daytime powers were probably a bit more suited to this sort of quest - purification could do quite a lot to resist the negative effects of a plane like the Desert of Woe, but she wasn't so weak that her night-time skills would leave her unable to face a monster such as the one they were called to oppose. Day or Night, she had a multitude of powers at her disposal... and many ways of getting things done.
"What kind of day/night cycle does the desert follow?" Camiel asked. This wouldn't ordinarily be a huge concern, but far-off demiplanes could be strange places... and her own form was strongly influenced by time, even if age was no longer something she had to be concerned about.
Reading Celestial was as easy as breathing - and Camiel looked curiously at it for a few moments before nodding a bit. She was quite used to having things with strange powers appearing on her body... though that was a story for another time. At the mention of the undead, however, she looked at the staff in her hands, gently tracing one finger over it. "Powered by chaos..." she murmured, clearly thinking. Perhaps she would oppose that while she was there, perhaps she would embrace it. Somehow, she didn't think that her most powerful spells would do too much to an ancient undead dragon, so she could convert that to primordial strength. Start with barriers, perhaps, to protect the group from its attacks... "Crossing the desert won't be an issue." she eventually said, her gaze flicking over to the Ice King. "I can't make any promises about the temperature, but I'll do what I can to ensure you don't have to deal with it for too long."
Camiel simply smiled as she examined the crystals, then reached out and touched one of them. It was always nice when others helped ensure things could get done - and really, wasn't everyone helping everyone else the best way for all to be happy? "Entropic, rather than evil?" Camiel asked - with the distinction actually being quite relevant. Chaos was something she was actually quite familiar with... and if it was just that, she did have a few ideas about how to handle it.
"I think I'll be able to manage on my own." Camiel said, smiling slightly. She did have... ways... of dealing with things, and even in the worst case, she could simply use a little more power to add some protections - assuming the negative energy of the plane could even get through her innate resistances. Her body was remarkably resilient. Besides, she ought to have enough time to figure it out one way or another for sure when they arrived, so she wasn't too worried about it just yet.
Camiel nodded thoughtfully, musing over the Empyreal Lord's words. The loss of knowledge was certainly something interesting, though she was seriously tempted to reach into the universe and begin plucking out the answers. There were very few things she couldn't uncover if she could figure out the right questions to ask, but this seemed like it was straightforward enough - and against such a foe, she might well need her magic for other things. Besides, she could always seek the information later. "That is a very... flawed... form of immortality." the godling mused softly. "I accept your offer. I'm ready to leave anytime." She did, after all, have her staff in-hand - and that was the only thing she truly needed. In fact, she could get to the plane all by herself if she really had to, but having an Empyreal Lord do it would likely involve greater accuracy... and she was more than okay with that.
Well, those are the cards... XD And what works with cards won't always translate will to the tabletop. Still! A small set of uniques (either stuff that's always useful or grows with the character) probably would do well. Balance concerns do pop up, though... I'll be thinking about those. ^^
Yeah, it's definitely one of the better locations. XD Though Planeswalkers can be from anywhere, really - but visiting Ravnica, and being associated with the Guilds / getting missions from them, is probably a good way to go for any campaign in that universe.
*Pats shoulder* Negative feelings don't really help. I've always found that it's much better to be constructive instead, and find ways to get what you want (like, say, the return of purchased PDFs). Getting angry just makes you stressed out and stops you from enjoying yourself - and having fun is the point of playing these games in the first place. Don't worry about what they think.
Instead, have a Sneak Peek of the avatar Camiel will use after ascension. ^^
My main hope is for it to really -feel- like MtG, even if that meant changing the appearance and names of monsters while otherwise keeping them the same. XD Anything that works is okay by me.
There were many things she could have said in response... but Camiel simply gripped the edges of her skirt and curtsied as a greeting. The Empyreal Lords, demigods of the celestial planes... much less than a true deity, but still greater than just about everyone else. She wasn't all that different from Camiel herself, really... just a little older, somewhat stronger, and more experienced with the things that went on in the world. With that firmly established, Camiel took a seat, slender fingers lightly gripping Mihrel's shaft. "If matters are truly urgent, then it may be best to get straight to the heart of the matter." Camiel said calmly. "It is much easier to speak at leisure when problems aren't looming over you." Like, say, hordes of obsessed noblemen. What a mess that had been.
-Ditch Alignments and replace them with the colors. Alignment based skills (like "Protection from X") work with colors instead. Emphasize that people should roleplay to their color alignment - but allow plenty of player interpretation within the colors.
-Adapt Ultimate Psionics for the game and reject traditional magic (it's too complicated to easily adapt). Rather than a set pool of points, however, players can split their point gain into colored pools used to cast their abilities - to make things easier on yourself, have players name a color that has to be used for a given ability, and roll with it as long as it makes enough sense for the MtG universe. First person to pick a power decides its color alignment and everyone else will need to use that. This setup means that those who focus on colors can use their abilities more easily, while those who spread too far may find it hard to be consistently useful - which is the point. It allows for variety, but encourages intelligent builds.
-Some things can (and should be) colorless - which means anyone can pick and use them.
-Non-magical things (like, say, most Fighters) don't need much in the way of changes, so we can probably leave them alone.
-If we're playing Planeswalkers, all players should probably have at least one converted Psionic class to represent their inherent magical abilities.
-Focus on roleplay and hold off on combat a bit - at least until you have a good system for adapting MtG monsters to Pathfinder (Each point of Toughness is 2 points of Constitution? Each point of power is two points in their primary casting stat? Discourage weird combos for the sake of simplicity and sanity).
That's all for now. XD
@Thoon: Tons. Starting with the timeline may help: http://mtgsalvation.gamepedia.com/Timeline
"Indeed." Camiel said quietly... though it was true that she had a very different perspective on knowledge than many other people did. In fact, if there was ever anything she wanted to know, she was likely to just pull the information from the multiverse itself. It saved a lot of time and stopped many problems before they began. For now, though, what was in store...?
