Yeah, sorry, just not something I want to deal with in my entertainment. Have fun the rest of you! Sorry to waste your time by showing up and immediately dropping out.
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Daniel shrugs at Davin's question. "Might as well. It's not like I have any idea what I'm doing right now." As they settle in for the night, he says to Davin, "I feel like we should catch up or something, but just now it seems more important to ask about this world. Have you figured out what's really going on? I mean, all these quests and everything... is it trying to push us to do something? What's the *real* point of all this? Do physics work the same way here?" He chuckles. "Sorry, too many questions. I've read too many LitRPG's, I guess."
When no one else steps forward to take the bow, Daniel reaches out to accept it. "Mia, was your name? I'm Daniel. I, uh, just barely got here. This world here, not just... here here." He's startled when the Fletcher agrees so easily to take all the goblin children. "All of them, really? That's... a lot. I guess, until we're gone from the area, let us know if you need help with them, okay?"
Daniel actually already has a sling, so he's not weaponless. Locke handed it to him when he showed up. That said, I said he'd take the bow if no one could make better use of it. Given no one's spoken up, that seems to be the case. Daniel will just need someone to show him how to use it for a minute. Speaking of which, @GM_Wolf, would Mental Archive allow Daniel to 'permanently' memorize feats he's observed?
Ah, it's percentile dice for the loot boxes?
Daniel *could* use the longbow, but the way Spheres of Power works he'll basically always be able to use a spell of some kind, which will often be better than using his mediocre attack accuracy to fire an arrow. That said, if there's no one else who would use the bow more, he can get some use out of it.
It's been amusing realizing that I'd probably bounce between excitement and paranoia in a typical Isekai situation. :D A couple notes on Daniel:
"Glad you made it back alive. Apparently we need to talk group tactics at some point," Daniel says, grinning in a way that says he's only pretending to be joking. He makes sure to stand outside the range of Zaidel's channels. He notes as Matthew starts to head in a different direction from the rest of the group and calls out, "Hey, is 'don't split the party' not the general rule here or something? Or are you just overlevelled enough compared to the rest of us that you're in no danger alone?"
"Yeah, that was me! Hang on a sec, were you Almonihah on there??" Davin says a bit excited at the prospect of an actual friendo from earth being here with him. Daniel laughs delightedly. "Yeah, that's me! Man, this has to be the weirdest way I've met someone online in-person..." He trails off as Matthew speaks, then shakes his head. "I suppose now's not the best time to catch up. He's right, it seems like this world works to keep you busy, based on the... ten minutes or so I've been here? Kind of weird, really. Makes me feel like someone's constantly looking over my shoulder." He frowns. "Or wanting to keep you distracted. I keep feeling like all this has to have a... a catch, a trick, something like that."
"Well once we get everyone out of the cave, maybe we can go look for them as a group." Daniel pauses as a thought finally percolates through the myriad other concerns to his conscious mind. "Wait... Davin? You wouldn't happen to have been on the Paizo forums, would you? As Monkeygod?"
"Agreed!" Daniel shouts in response to Jon. He lets his spell lapse as he also turns back to the children and Angelica. "Though admittedly, if anyone is fine on their own it's probably the dragon... do you know, uh..." he trails off as an important question occurs to him. "Can we bring up... a character sheet, or anything? A status?" Distracted by the thought, it doesn't occur to him that 'Davin' is a name he's heard before.
Daniel can't help but make a disgusted face at Zaidel's idea of a good time, though he tries to make sure the cleric doesn't see it. When the group turns a corner and he sees an... orc? Figting a construct of some kind? He looks to the rest of the group. "I'm guessing we're not on the orc's side here?" he asks. "Uh... Jon? You healed up enough to fight?" Assuming the giant says yes, he twists one hand while tapping Jon with the other, calling on the knowledge of magic that was somehow crammed into his brain to speed him up.
Daniel would not be the one in front, so I haven't posted yet. :D
Daniel is caught by surprise when he suddenly burps as Zaidel channels. Quickly putting two and two together, he picks up the pace and gets out of range before the next one, not needing any healing himself. He does shoot the cleric a Look, though. When the next gunshot sounds, he looks concerned. "Should we pick up the pace? I mean... I guess we can't rush the kids, and we need to be gentle with the rescuee, and... okay, maybe we can't rush."
Daniel's first combat in this new world goes about how he thought it would--he was terrified, he froze up for a bit, he just barely avoided panicking, and mostly just ended up speeding up the others with his magic while they killed the goblin. He takes a deep breath and tries to settle his nerves as the adrenaline in his system runs its course. It's only now that he notices that his wallet pocket feels heavier, and reaches in to discover some coins in it. So is this whole quest thing what she meant by a 'system to make us stronger'? he thinks to himself suspiciously. Then the dragon comes in, herding a bunch of young goblins, and Daniel sighs. "Great, we have the goblin baby problem." He pauses, then adds, "At least this means this isn't one of those worlds where monsters appear fully-formed with hard-coded hostility." Then the quest screen pops up. Frowning thoughtfully he says, "If we can *find* a non-hostile tribe that seems the best solution... I kind of doubt there's an orphanage around here that will take goblins, though given I know *nothing* about this world..." he shrugs. Then *another* quest window pops up. "Procedural generation? Or is there a directing intelligence behind it? And if it's an artificial intelligence is there a difference?" he muses to himself. After a moment's hesitation he accepts the quest--given the kidnapping and the fact that they're named Bloody Red Goblin Gang it seems like they're not safe to leave alone. "Speaking of healing, I think he needs some help," Daniel points to Jon. He pauses a moment, then asks, "Was that a gunshot? Did you leave a rearguard?" He ticks with the group, only rushing if they start running.
Ooof, you just can't get a break. Hope things calm down for you!
Daniel reports what he is able to tell about the magic items. "To be honest... I shouldn't take the morningstar. These little noodle-arms of mine," he indicates his thin arms, "Don't have much strength to them." He accepts the Black Wolf quest (figuring he doesn't have to complete it if it turns out it's something else) then notices everyone starting to head out. He hurries to keep up with them, though he does frown a bit when Matthew mentions years of experience. If this were a novel, that would mean he's either the mentor figure who's doomed to die or he's secretly evil, he thinks to himself. Of course, this isn't a novel, so... he *might* not be one of those... He replies to Daniel, "I should outlive you all by like...thousands of years. So I will get it back in time." Daniel grins. "Let's hope we all survive long enough that matters." He slows as the group reaches the room with the cage. The set-up just seems too suspicious to him. An obvious cage with a captive in it? "Doesn't this scream 'trap' to anyone else?" he asks as several other members of the group rush forward. Daniel hangs back and keeps an eye out for trouble.
He frowns as Matthew and Jean go on ahead. "This isn't a game," he states, "Unless you know something we don't?" He looks at Zaidel. "I'm with you. If this world is anything like Pathfinder, goblins are just as sapient and capable of moral reasoning as we are. Did you guys try talking with them?"
Jean cackles with glee and crows out "I am getting a Dragon's Horde...woohoo!". He shuffles all the coins, gold and jewels into his bag and then offers the new guy the glowing morningstar. "Hey, you should probably hold onto this for now unless you would rather not carry a weapon? And Locke, would you like to use the glowing bow?" He asks as he thinks Locke is the only one with arrows.
"What's this?" Daniel asks, an expression of mock surprise on his face. "A dragon giving away treasure? Now I know for sure you're actually human!" He grins and chuckles. "I'll take it after I finish checking the enchantment, but... to be honest I hope I don't have to use it. Not only have I not even started to come to terms with the idea of whacking someone with intent to kill, I'm also much more of a support caster than anything else based on the knowledge I suddenly have as of a minute ago," he explains, the mirth disappearing from his face as he speaks. "I can check if your hat is magic pretty quickly, though." He gives it a quick look. He eyes Zaidel's tankard as the cleric speaks. "I'll save you the trouble and tell you I'll never want any," he states.
Daniel: Familiar *is* an option for a Hedgewitch secret. I'd been debating about taking it at some point... though I'm kind of leaning towards asking about making my animal companion also a familiar at some point. ;)
I believe the Ritual rules give a conversion rate for spell points to spell levels. Looks like it's levels 0-2: 1 spell point, 3-5: 2 spell points, 6-8: 3 spell points, 9: 4 spell points. And the max level I can cast is 1/2 my caster level, basically.
"I..." Daniel begins, then winces as he's just overwhelmed by everything--seeing magic, the quest screens popping up, everyone talking. And the fact that he apparently knows magic now. That's... well, he appreciates it, but that hadn't even been discussed when he was talking with that goddess. She punted him into the portal... and somehow between then and now he knew how to do magic? Well, he'd also gotten the third eye he'd asked for in there sometime, too. I wonder if there was actually more time between me going in the portal and showing up here than it seemed, for all the changes to happen, he muses as he absent-mindedly accepts the sling and stones from Matthew. After all, I didn't recognize it'd been two hundred years since I apparently died, so the fact that I don't remember any time between going into the portal and appearing here doesn't mean there wasn't... aaand I'm getting distracted again. Refocusing on the world around him again, Daniel realizes the other man had asked him a question. "There's something different about you," he comments, then winces. "Sorry, still... mentally catching up. Uh, I can use a sword if someone who knows how to use it spends a minute showing me how. I'm guessing you all got to ask for a cheat skill?" "Oh, and I'm Daniel Newell," he adds, realizing he hadn't introduced himself. "I guess if someone's life is in danger now is probably not the time for me to pick up swordplay. Beyond the eight weeks of saber practice in HEMA I did, that is. For now I'd better get these screens out of my face." He glances through them and finds the one for the quest they're apparently doing--pushing the thought of why are there quest screens aside for later examination--and accepts it. "What's the Black Wolf clan?" he asks as he skims the others. He notes the orgy one and firmly rejects it, then does likewise for the skinny dipping one. The rest seem innocent enough, so he accepts them except for the Black Wolf clan one, which he leaves pending for the moment. Looking over at what the dragon found he sees the glowing items. "I apparently know magic now, so I could take a look and see if I can figure out what those do, and if there's any other magic items to help us here." He walks over to the hoard and scans the area with his third eye quickly, then focuses on the bow and morningstar. They're probably just +1, but best to check... he thinks to himself as he uses skills he didn't have an hour ago to try to decipher their enchantments.
Daniel: I apologize for springing this on you, when I asked about hedgewitch before and you approved I thought you knew how different they were. I'm perfectly happy to teach a bit about them if you'd like--if you haven't done Spheres of Power before at all this page is a good place to start on learning how different it is from the normal Pathfinder spellcasting system.
And in spite of having 'witch' in the name, the Hedgewitch class actually has nothing to do with the base Witch class, including not having a familiar by default. Confusing, I know. :D
Daniel suddenly appears in the cave, stumbling as he hits the ground. Yeah, I definitely annoyed her... he starts thinking, before noticing the group nearby. Okay, cave, several people... dragon, that was a good wish. If that's another reincarnated person. At least bronze scales is a good sign if not... wait, they've probably noticed me. Grinning a bit at himself, Daniel raises a hand in a half-wave. "Uh, hi. Apparently I'm a bit late--I think I annoyed the reincarnation goddess with how long I took to decide on everything. Ummm..." He looks around a bit, wincing as he notices the signs of combat everywhere. "...And I've jumped right into a dungeon crawl in my street clothes, haven't I? I'll try to keep up, but..." He gestures vaguely at himself.
Daniel blinks--with three eyes--as his brain continues to catch up with how quickly things happened. Specifically, about how he's definitely seeing something other than light. Oh, and how he just blinked with three eyes. Right... this is going to take some getting used to. It's one thing to *imagine* having a third eye, another thing entirely to have it. But... I guess I can keep an eye out for magic in the area?
Daniel last notes:
Daniel:
Daniel is a little surprised at how easily the wish is accepted. Should he have asked for more?
Don't get greedy--you still don't know all the rules around this, he thinks to himself as he mulls things over. So I have a group? Probably other reincarnators like me? I suppose I could ask that. But that's really useful--my ability works really well with having a group, since I'll easily be able to learn things from them. Also there's a *place* called New Beginnings? ...how often has this whole reincarnation thing been done? Is there an entire industry around it? Aloud he says, "Is this group some other people getting reincarnated like me? Do they know about me? I think I'll go ahead and show up near them. Don't split the party, after all." He grins. Rules stuff:
Daniel: Daniel jumps a little when the screens start to appear. Okay, *now* this is really seeming like a stereotypical Isekai story... though I wonder if that's because I anticipate it? Is it another translation kind of thing? If it is I want to get at the underlying truth of it sometime...
He shakes his head a bit. Focus, Dan. It looks like you're boring her, and it's probably not a good idea to get on the nerves of the being responsible for your reincarnation. So... Super SSS Accelerated Learner looks *nice*. No idea how easy it will be for me to find books, but if every one I find is a skill point plus other stuff? That's awesome! Though... not that helpful in combat. Daniel grimmaces a bit. Right... combat. I'm going to have to fight. Definitely going for a spellcasting class. I just... don't think I could get in melee. Not right off the bat. Anyway, the rest of this ability will help with that. Being able to copy feats? Amazing. Being able to copy one class feature a day? That'll be... the thing I always save because I might need it even more later. Because that's amazing. He tries mentally telling the screens to close, then turns back to the goddess. "I'm picking Super SSS Accelerated Learner for my ability! So now I just need to decide on a wish, right?" I asked for knowledge, here's where I should ask for wisdom, right? The problem is, wisdom in terms of Pathfinder stats isn't what I'd want, really. I'd want more... knowing what's right, knowing the best solution, knowing the ethical way through a problem, but... if I base that off of Pathfinder, about the closest I could think of to that would be a phlyactery of faithfulness, which is... far short of what I'd want. So, I guess that means it's up to me to develop wisdom on my own, which... well, probably for the best, in some ways. So, if I want to spend my wish on something I couldn't get easily myself, and changing species is surprisingly easy... what would I want? Daniel mulls things over for a moment, before breaking out in a chuckle. Well, I'm already going Brennus halfway, why not go all the way? "Could I wish for a magic third eye?" he asks. "Um... in Pathfinder terms, I'm thinking that it could work like an always-on divination from the Divination Sphere--one I can switch around between all the divinations I know. I guess that's assuming I can learn some divinations pretty quickly. But would that work?"
Daniel: It takes Daniel a while to mentally catch up with that idea. Finally he says, "...Well, I... guess that's one way to not have to worry about that..."
So I guess they just... keep us in stasis that long? I wonder if it's deliberate so we *won't* be attached to our previous lives or if it's a side effect of something else that happens to be useful? "So, that leaves me with deciding..." He turns his attention back to the three cards she'd shown him. Infinity Knowledge certainly *sounds* good, but what would it actually do? Is it infinite in terms of suddenly knowing everything or in terms of continually coming to know things? If it's just injecting knowledge straight into my brain I'm not sure I'd want it... part of the fun is learning and figuring things out, after all, and not just fun, I think it's an important part of the process of truly turning information into knowledge. Skill Master doesn't really sound like what I'm looking for, either... so I guess I'm left with Super SSS Accelerated Learner. At least, that's the one that has 'learn' in it. He grabs the 'Super SSS Accelerated Learner' card. "I think this one's the closest to what I want, by the name. Exactly what would it do?"
Daniel: Daniel notes first, that there *are* rules governing this kind of thing, and second, his curiosity as to what is actually going on ‘under the hood’ that’s getting translated to Pathfinder rules.
Thinking about that might be part of why he’s caught a bit off-balance by her next statement. “Uh… oh,” he stammers, trying to mentally catch up with this. So… if I put off the idea of changing species, I don’t have to spend a wish on it. And wait, there’s a *town* called New Faces? He grins a bit at that thought. Though that kind of implies there’s practically an industry based around changing species… well, I guess with magic it’s not so strange? “It does sound like I’d be better off putting it off, then. Go for what I can’t get any other way through a wish,” he says aloud. “Maybe we should nail down the ability first, then. I want the ability of… Learning, I guess, to be able to learn new abilities by observation, study, and experimentation, not just leveling up. And if that’s already possible--since I’m assuming this whole thing isn’t going to just break my ability to learn--to become much better at it than I am.” “Basically I know I’m a curious guy, who always wants to know how things work, how to do things, what the rules are and what I can do with them… so I want to take this strength and make it strengthen me.” He pauses a moment, then chuckles slightly. “This must be a pretty strange job, but I’ll bet you’ve seen everything. All kinds of people being confused, being greedy, being scared…” In typical fashion, his brain immediately makes a connection between what he’s saying and something he maybe should have thought of earlier. “Wait, my wife! I, uh, don’t remember anything about how I, well, died, so… did… is she okay?”
Daniel: Daniel can't help but be a bit surprised when the cards show up. Reminds me of that one story I was reading recently where the main character got turned into a raven and the world used card game mechanics... too bad I didn't like the characters enough to keep following it, he thinks to himself.
As he starts looking over the cards, he asks the goddess, "One thing I've always wondered--why bring outside help in these situations? I mean, why reincarnate and empower someone from a different world to fight these dark souls instead of, say, reincarnating and empowering someone from the same world? Wouldn't they have an advantage from already knowing the world? Is there some kind of rule against that? Or is an outside perspective just that valuable?" He stops talking enough to actually read what's on one of the cards. A grin breaks out on his face as he recognizes the style of writing. "Wait, Pathfinder? First edition? That's... is this," he points at the card, "Actually written in Pathfinder rules-language, or is it just somehow being translated because that's what I'd understand best?" Okay, this brings up some interesting possibilities. I mean, I know a lot about the system after all. But knowing myself, the first thing I'm going to debate about is switching species. It'd be kind of fun to be a griffon, but... well, not having opposable thumbs would be a huge pain, so I'll probably want to stay in the humanoid type. *But*, if I could shapeshift... well, if I go with Kitsune and use Spheres of Power... "Um, I'm still interested in the knowledge ability, but... could I use the wish to be a kitsune that's particularly skilled at shapeshifting? The natural shapechanger trait, to be specific," he says aloud, still grinning.
Continuing the conversation: She answered my questions without... really answering my questions, he thinks to himself, noting her tone as well as the words. I can't tell if it's deliberate or if she's just... bored with the conversation, wants to get it over with. Beleaguered bureaucrat, maybe? Or playing the part... come on, Dan, you can't just be suspicious forever. Yes, a situation where the other side has all of the information and power is ripe for abuse but that doesn't automatically mean that it's being abused.
...and besides, if there *is* something she's hiding, I don't think I'll get it out of her. I'll just have to keep my eyes open and not assume everything's as it seems. Aloud, Daniel says, "Well, it seems like a pretty good deal, then. So, how do we do this? I get to pick my one thing I bring with me?" He pauses a moment, thoughtful. "Honestly what I'd like is the ability to learn really quickly... or rather, to be able to learn abilities and powers through unusual means."
Okay, I think I'm done tweaking things, so I just need to have my conversation with Alethia!
Preliminary stats ready, obviously still need to get a special power and I need to go and edit a couple things that HeroLab can't easily be convinced to do.
Thank you! That was pretty terrible. XD
*That's* much better.
Hello hello! I am the above-mentioned friend. I'm still working on fleshing this profile out, part of which is rolling stats:
Well, that's... quite pathetic, really. I'll have to see what I can do with that. At least I can throw away the four. XD Starting the conversation: Daniel looks around in confusion, wracking his brain for how in the world he ended up in this void. Before he can draw any conclusions, however, someone shows up to explain what's happening. After a few moments a gorgeous glowing girl appears before you and says in a disinterested voice, "Ah another life cut short before experiencing a full life. Welcome to the afterlife. You are in fact dead." She waits a few moments to let it sink in before touching up her hair and continuing in a prideful way, "I am Alethia, a goddess that guides humans who die young to the afterlife." Okay, this is starting to sound rather like the beginning of an Isekai... Daniel thinks to himself. Which... brings up all kinds of theological questions from my perspective, but...
"Uh..." Daniel stalls as he takes all this in. Definitely sounds just like an Isekai story... but if she does this a lot she's probably gotten that comment a lot lately. "Well... I don't know how much you know about me, but 'work' is honestly what I expect out of heaven. Not having bodies is the odd part," he comments, thoughtfully. "Not to mention you said nothing about any kind of judgment, though that might be because it's already been done? On the other hand, it seems likely that you don't offer this choice to just everyone, which means that you might already know I'd be inclined to go for the whole 'new life in a world with magic' idea..." ...which might mean that she's pressuring me to not think it through since there's a catch, the suspicious part of Daniel adds. Of course, he doesn't want to just accuse this being who seems to hold his fate in her hands of that. On the other hand, sometimes in these kinds of stories the deity can read your thoughts... so I might as well ask 'something'. "So... how many people die horribly trying to face these dark forces? And do they end up going to heaven anyway afterward?" He pauses, then thinks of one more question. "Oh, and is this one of those worlds that has a 'system' of some kind?" |