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"I think we have enough to sail now Atajay. Just not enough for a prize crew. Only a couple shy by my count. Maybe we take one more shot at some of the lubbers. We could always take on a couple of the more trustworthy crew from any ships we catch too."
"Me too. Desna likes to keep me on the move. New experiences and all that."
Chavakala whispers to Amaric, "Looks like the captain could use a little practice. Too much time at sea. Or more likely too much time on land."
Blergh. Looks like I didn't get that first Infamy check with my natural 1. Sorry, folks... That's all right! It's rolled (and not assisted) so you're not expected to make it every time. We'll achieve our reputation soon enough.
Quara, now that you're back, can you go ahead and make the Infamy check. LOC has posted the mechanic a couple times above. Looks like your Perform (Dance) is the best skill in the group for the check.
"Of course your fortunes will change! You're sailing under Desna's star now! May the Lady of Luck bless our ship's disguise and see us well away from this Harrigan. He sounds like a foul sort!"
"Sounds like a few of the captains I have had the misfortune of meeting between Riddleport and here. I'm glad to hear that Captain Quara is an improvement."
"From the north Amaric. I was born in Riddleport. A colder and slightly more settled Port Peril far north of here. The weather here certainly appeals to me and there have been all manner of different sights to see. I'm happy with the path that Desna has set for me."
Atajay still has you beat with a +9 Intimidate. Quara's got a +11 Perform though so I think she will probably be our Infamy lead. Interpretive dance is an interesting route to infamy!
Atajay, this isn't for recruiting. This is for embellishing reputation. The two are separate rolls. And I don't think there is a mechanical difference if you use Bluff, Intimidate or Perform. They all have the same effect. And the way I read things, we can assist when recruiting, but only one person can roll the Infamy checks. They are all or nothing so we should have whoever has the biggest bonus roll them.
I am at best a +2 in any of those.
Quara, I think you're the one that needs to make the infamy attempts as our leader. Something tells me that shouldn't pass up these opportunities.
"Recruit for sure, but let's not miss a chance to secure our reputation too Captain! Let them know that this crew is dangerous to our enemies, but looks out for our allies."
Even though Atajay and Quara seem to be doing everything possible to help Pete recover, Chavakala kneels and tries to do what she can to help. "A water naga? Further down the river? I wonder if we should go speak with them once we make sure this boy will survive."
Chavakala clambers out of the water and goes over to Pete, making sure that her channeling took care of most of his injuries. "I don't know what that creature was, but it is gone for now. Hopefully it will find new prey away from the town." She describes it to the townspeople in case any of them recognize it from earlier encounters or know what it might have been.
Chavakala kicks forward, continuing to be supported by Desna's divine aid. Coming in quickly, she aims her boarding pike and tries to spear the snake lady on the fly.
Meanwhile the golden squid continues to bite and try to entangle the dazed creature.
Reaching the surface and handing over Pete, Chavakala releases a burst of healing energy, then quickly dives back under the water, ready to lend her spear to the fight against the snake lady.
The golden squid moves five feet back up right after the snake lady and all of her friends and tries to bite and lash at her once again.
Knowing the squid will keep attacking the snake lady and that she can probably best help Pete due to her ability to move freely in the water, Chavakala swims effortlessly toward the man. She grabs him and begins pulling him toward the surface.
The golden squid waves its tentacles and swims easily back up to the snake lady before attacking her with bite and tentacle.
Chavakala waits for the celestial squid to appear, "I can't tell which of those creatures I need you to attack so I will jump in the water with you. When I do, I will point at the one I need you to attack with Desna's grace." Then Chavakala jumps into the water. Swimming easily, she looks toward the two blobs that are not Quara and points to the half-woman/half-sea snake drawing her own weapon as she goes.
The squid sees her point and goes racing toward the creature she directed it to.
"I'll summon a squid to help save him!" Chavakala begins a prayer to Desna, praying for her to send a squid blessed with her power to help rescue the local.
Celestial Squid Stats: Celestial Squid XP 400 Celestial squid N Medium animal (aquatic) Init +6; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision; Perception +7 -------------------- Defense -------------------- AC 13, touch 12, flat-footed 11 (+2 Dex, +1 natural) hp 13 (3d8) Fort +3, Ref +7, Will +2 Defensive Abilities ink cloud; Resist acid 5, cold 5, electricity 5; SR 6 -------------------- Offense -------------------- Speed jet, swim 60 ft. Melee bite +4 (1d3+2), tentacle +4 (1d4+2 plus grab) Melee (smiting) bite +4 (1d3+5), tentacle +4 (1d4+5 plus grab) Special Attacks smite evil -------------------- Statistics -------------------- Str 15, Dex 15, Con 11, Int 2, Wis 12, Cha 2 Base Atk +2; CMB +4 (+8 grapple); CMD 16 Feats Improved Initiative, Lightning Reflexes, Multiattack [b]Skills Perception +7, Swim +10 -------------------- Special Abilities -------------------- Ink Cloud (5' radius, 1/minute) (Ex) Emit an ink cloud, which provides total concealment. Jet (240 feet) Move in a straight line with no attacks of opportunity.
Ok, sounds like a good plan. Thanks!
Litany of Curses, a question on Summon Good Monster. By RAW, the Diehard feat that is granted is worthless since summoned monsters go poof at 0 hp. Wanted to see if you want to go with RAW or allow creatures that would be affected by that feat to gain the benefits of Diehard and not go away until they fall unconscious or die. Summon Good Monster still has other benefits that make it worth taking, but wanted to check on how you want to play that aspect of things before we get into a combat situation that might be affected by it.
May as well take this as the opportunity to mention that this is Gen Con week. I'll be out of the picture from sometime on Wednesday until late Sunday or possibly Monday. Feel free to bot me as needed to keep things moving.
The red-headed woman calls out, "I'm Chavakala." With events quickly spiraling into a party, she climbs down from the barrels and greets Quara, Atajay and Amaric. "Friends now or friends after the party." she smiles. "I'll see what I can do to round up a few more crew for you." In the morning, she heads to the dock. Chavakala wears practical traveling clothes with touches of rich gold, blue and purple that signal her devotion to Desna. At her neck, she wears a beautifully carved wooden butterfly and under it, you can see the edges of a tattooed butterfly that covers her upper chest and collarbones. She wears a well-worn backpack and carries a tall boarding pike that looks quite well-made. Another spear is strapped to her back, this one with a weighty ball of iron at the butt end. "Good morning! Those of my faith are fond of saying 'feet are for walking' but today I think that 'sails are for sailing' might be more appropriate. Where are we bound?"
I'm going to go ahead and go the Tattooed Mystic route (although it won't kick in until we all gain two more levels). Will be fun to give it a go. I do have to make some adjustments to my profile as a result. Probably won't be tonight, but I'll get it squared away over the next couple days. Biggest change will be swapping in Spell Focus (Conjuration) and Varisian Tattoo (Conjuration) for Combat Reflexes and Improved Initiative. I still need to decide if I'm going to leave the Dex at 14 or drop it to 8 and put more points into Wis and Cha. BTW, I'm not planning to go Sacred Summons so we don't have to decide whether it applies to Celestial creatures (RAW it doesn't). Instead her standard action summons won't come along until she gets her second level of Tattooed Mystic and she can get the Pouncing Beasts Mystic Tattoo. I will probably plan to research creation of additional types of magical tattoos. There are a pretty limited number of them available in the books right now, but since she'll be picking up a number of abilities related to their creation, it seems like a good plan. Its a few levels before that kicks in too, so plenty of time to bounce around ideas.
Chavakala had been sizing up the new crew since they arrived in town, inquiring discreetly about the leaders and tales of what preceded their arrival. They sounded like a very different sort than their old leaders, men all too familiar to the Varisian woman, men that seemed to be as common as fish in the Shackles. The half-elf and their sorcerer were cute too. Her mind mostly made up, she decided to hear what the captain had to say that evening. Perching herself high on a pile of barrels, she listened to the captain's pitch. The talk of dreams felt like a sign from Desna. Her dreams were certainly not those of the captain. Settling down was not in her blood. But a home port to return too was smart. Hunting the Chelish slavers and devil-worshipers held great appeal. And there would be adventures and maybe even a ship to call her own one day. It felt right. As the captain finished, she stood. Red hair streaming in the evening sea breeze and glimpses of her many tattoos standing out in the firelight, she spoke clearly and with great confidence. A voice used to delivering sermons of her own. She smiled. "I stand with you captain!"
I'll do that and will also add my most common options onto my profile page too. The upcoming drunken recruiting event sounds like the perfect time to join up! :)
She'll be worshipping Desna. Liberation domain. I think the traveling aspect of Desna fits well with the themes of the AP and helps explain how she has gotten here. I figure she grew up in Riddleport. I'l give the Tattooed Mystic some more thought while we travel today.
I think I'm close. Core idea is a summoning focused cleric, but one that could still provide a wide range of divine support. I'm using the Herald Caller archetype from the Monster Summoning Handbook Player's Companion for the basic chassis. I've been really up in the air about two things. First is whether to go with a reach cleric build or simply go with a strength build. I'm leaning toward the reach build you see here. Its definitely MAD, but figure I can make up for what I'm lacking in WIS and CHA down the road. I also gave some real serious consideration to planning to go with the Tattooed Mystic prestige class. I've always wanted to try it, but with the small group, I think the straight up cleric will probably help more. There are a couple of required feats for entry that would cause me to skip combat feats and it also gives up a few levels of spellcasting relative to just sticking with cleric. I've got a little more gold to spend, but figured I would open it up for thoughts or comments before wrapping things up.
Are the alligators gone...or coming back? With Vyshael next to her, she decides he needs to be the first priority. She lays her hands on Vyshael's wounds and sweeps her arms toward him like she is drawing something out of the shadows. "I have need of you again. Another friend is wounded." Thin shadows rise out of the darkness below the fishery and drift wisp-like into Vyshael's wounds.
Seeing the wounds begin to close, she turns and walks over to where Gethric has fallen.
I really hope you feel better soon Patcher. Definitely sorry that you're not feeling well right now. I think you've got a pretty committed group here, so don't worry if you miss some time here and there. We can keep up some banter among ourselves when we need to.
Chavakala hears Lamm curse and the splashing inside the fishery. "What the... She moves up past Yenrry to enter the fishery and then continues past Vyshael and Vesera.
Seeing Gethric isolated, she is torn between continuing to take down Lamm and helping her teammate. "Gethric, you sure do have an unnatural attraction for large sharp-toothed critters tonight." She whirls her sling around and lets a stone fly at the alligator.
Chavakala takes several steps back, slipping past Vyshael to give her more melee-focused colleagues room to advance. She draws her sling from her belt, preparing to fire on Lamm should he stay in the doorway.
Chavakala stands defiantly in the middle of the boardwalk, eyes blazing at Lamm in the frame of the door, looking to see if Lamm is alone or has his cronies behind him.
Luck of the lady! I'd hoped we'd find him, but how fortunate to locate him so quickly. It appears our initial disaster has righted itself truly. "Yes Lamm, it is us. Your days of terrorizing the innocent of this city are over. We've come to end your wicked acts. Never again will your shiver peddling take young lives from their families. Take him now!" Suddenly the shadows under the dock seems to pull together and stream toward Lamm. Tiny points of light swirl in the shadow as it rushes and surrounds him. Milena feels a deep chill pass her as the night itself seems to race by.
Chavakala takes several steps back, slipping past Vyshael to give her more melee-focused colleagues room to advance.
Chavakala moves out onto the lower boardwalk and waits for everyone to move into position. A moment later she begins whispering into the dark, "Join me now, I need your assistance in rattling the latch on that door." She gestures at the door and you think you catch a glimpse of something moving in that direction.
The latch rattles as Chavakala's spirits tug at it. She immediately draws something from the shadows around her again, "Remember the sound of children laughing at play after they have tried a joke on the elders. The sound of feet running on a wooden dock. Bring that sound from the door, past me, toward the hole in the ship."
The sound of a small group of laughing and then running children fills the air, starting at the door and then moving past Milena, Chavakala, and the others as it moves toward the end of the boardwalk.
"Good thinking. We didn't feel it creaking and groaning like before, but it was only the three of us." "Ok, so let's put Milena in front and spread everyone out a bit more."
"I think hiding is going to be tricky unless we stick someone our there on their own. Here's what I'm thinking. Gethric, if that door opens into the fishery, we could see if you can squeeze between the doorframe and the edge of the boardwalk. Otherwise, I think we need to pull you back because we don't need you falling back in with the shark."
"Vyshael, I think we put you with your crossbow near the end of the boardwalk to take a shot at Lamm or one of his cronies when they come to the door. Once you've shot, you keep shooting or charge for the door."
"Yenrry, we put you at the end of the boardwalk ready to shoot at the door."
"Milena, I think we put you next to Yenrry, ready to throw your stars or run for the door."
"Vesera, I think you and I go next to Milena and prepare to use spells to help our allies or strike at our foes."
"If we run into trouble, we fall back into the hull and see if we can ambush them there." "If any of you have other ideas or skills that I don't know about, feel free to suggest modifications."
Chavakala nods to Vyshael, "We may have, or perhaps we can use this to our advantage. Milena, what have you heard? I'm thinking of a trick we might play on our friend at the door if there is only one. I could send my spirits to tug on the handle. Then, I could use them again to make the sound of children laughing and running from the door. We then position ourselves to attack whoever comes to the door."
Chavakala whispers, "What was that? I think we better get the others down here right away in case someone is coming. I can bring more light, but I'm afraid they'll see us." She listens for the sounds of anyone approaching.
"Yes, there's door that Milena was checking out...oh, and she's coming back now."
Chavakala looks up toward the moonlight. She hisses up toward the opening, "Vyshael, Yenrry, Vesera. We're down here. Do any of you have a rope or anything to try to come down?"
Chavakala feels at the gap in the wood, hissing "Gethric, Milena, over here. I think I've found some sort of door into the boat. Perhaps we can get it open and find the rest of our comrades." Chavakala continues to explore the opening, seeking a way to open it up.
"No problem Gethric. It'll be good to have you and your knives when we face Lamm. I want the holes in him, not you. I really wish I'd thought to bring some rope along. Chavakala joins Milena and Gethric searching for any way up the side of the boat.
She puts her hands to his wounds and draws the spirits to her. Gethric and Milena can hear her say, "Come to me and heal my companion." Gethric feels a deep chill penetrate his wounds and then, suddenly, they begin to draw back together.
After a brief moment, Gethric's wounds close completely and the chill fades from his body. "Well, let's see if we can find a way back to our companions."
"Gethric, Milena...I'm right here. If you can hear me, come here and I'll help you up." Chavakala continues looking out over the water for Gethric and Milena, grabbing them and pulling them onto the dock if she can see and grasp them.
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