With a big heaving sigh, Dante calls out, "What is this bullshit? You think this is how all his servants are treated?" He crosses his arms. "If he wanted to kill us, he should just do it. But this... this is sadistic."
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To be completely honest, Dante has no wish to engage in combat with these snakes. His reflexes are dulled, and he was injured grievously by them just a moment ago. He scoffs as his "allies" rush into combat with them. He just stays back, stepping behind even Geborah to ensure that he doesn't have to feel the fangs of such creatures again. He feels no special loyalty for any of these people. Especially not enough to go die for them.
Dante shakes his head. "Just another stupid poem about the weak being contemptible and the strong being worthy or something. I thought it might be some monster behind the door, and I was right. Go me."
Dante sinks to the ground as he slowly starts to become paralyzed by poison.
As much as he appreciates the leg massage, Dante is still suffering.
Dante stands stock-still as the group threatens and tortures a boy. He just stands and watches, unsure of what to do. Should he help? Should he stop them? Should he do nothing? Dante doesn't know. His situation has thrown a wrench into everything he believes. First everyone he thought believed in him left him behind and threw him in prison. Then servants of his country's greatest enemy saved him from death. Then, they were all roped into servitude for life. And then he was bitten by a giant metal spider, and the poison is slowly twisting him up. Ugh.
Dante will dip vigilante if you dip vigilante.
Dante gasps in pain before retreating. "F&@& this," he mutters, withdrawing into another room.
Dante checks the door for traps before opening it up.
Dante hums. "I bet there's some badass enemy behind there," he says. "Or some sick trap where it drops a guillotine on you if you can't hold it up or something. Now, maybe we should get Balam?"
He jerks his head backwards. "Let's go back and try another way, then."
"So, we're not supposed to use this thing pointlessly... And we're supposed to torment our allies... and it's a tool." He throws his hands up. "I guess we find an enemy? There's no passages that we've missed, right?"
Dante clears his throat. "Well, let's start with 'I'm not letting you torture me, Geborah'."
Taking the lead this time, Dante opens the door up, preparing himself mentally to face whatever weird shit was in there.
Dante watches Geborah for a moment. "Aren't you worried about suffocating us?" he asks.
Glancing over his back, Dante steps out of the way as requested before stabbing at the mist again. He grunts in pain as his blood drips out of him, but knows that killing it quick is the only real way to survive.
Dante moves up beside Tatienne, rapier in hand. He readies himself for -what if the creature- moves within his reach.
"I bet it's ignorance, or some basic shit like that," says Dante, eyes rolling.
Dante sighs. He's already tired of this. "We're on a clock, remember?" he says. "I'm not sure we can afford to comb every inch of every room."
As Wrath turns out to have had the solution for this room, Dante raises his eyebrows with surprirse. "Perhaps we won't die pointless deaths down here after all," he says. "Let's go."
"Oh, for f&@!'s sake," mutters Dante. "If you think the door might be trapped, don't touch it." "Doesn't matter that you're 'the best equipped to weather dangers', we shouldn't blindly blunder into traps."
Dante weakly gestures towards the passage in a poor facsimile of a grand welcome. "Mi'lords and mi'ladies, the next 'Lesson' awaits."
Dante rolls his eyes when Jezabel speaks up. "Why this man thinks any of this will inspire any kind of loyalty is beyond me."
Dante wants badly to abstain, but he begins carefully searching the room for invisible traps, invisible doors, secret doors, invisible secret doors, secret traps, and whatever else might be there.
"It's a democracy now..." mumbles Dante. "How about we stop hypothesizing and just do it?"
Dante similarly is not wearing the accouterments of servitude. He listens carefully to Thorn but does not speak. When they leave for the strange test they have slated for them, he speaks: "Three gold says that we have to kill those White Raven folks during this test." It's not a joke, nor something meant to lighten the mood. Just a genuine prediction.
It is the Exalted prestige class that requires Skill Focus.
Dante nods along with Geborah. "I agree with most of what you have to say, girl," he says. "We are on the same team. That I will gladly accept. I just don't want you to be naive about this. This Thorn may believe that our wealth and prosperity grows with his, but he will siphon our every effort in order to enrich himself. He would never chance that we become more wealthy or powerful or lucky than him." "I promise you, if it comes to that, he will snuff us out faster than ants."
Dante always keeps a straight face. Usually, he is frowning. He listens to the insults and fighting between the two women, reminded of holidays at home in the Alighieri household. "I'm here," he says carefully, "because I dared to suggest that a Church's doctrine not play into a justice system, and that holiness shouldn't protect you from the consequences of wrongdoing." "Here being yet another den of religious fools, stuck on some mission for what may be the rest of my life helping one god fight another. Because if I do not, I will die. A gilded cage is still a cage, and that Thorn manipulated us into doing his bidding. I don't like it and I don't have to, but I have no choice at the moment but to play along." "Geborah," he says, "You should know just as well as I do that Thorn worshiping the same lord as you does not make him your friend, or even your ally. To him, w're nothing but more slaves. He will bleed you dry for everything you have to push himself higher - that's why we're here in the first place."
"What do I think of them?" Dante strokes the stubble adorning his chin. He'd have to shave tomorrow morning if he wanted his game face on. "They're exactly what they seem to be. Another group of patsies signed on to servitude. They probably thought they were big-shot a%$&%&!s back home and decided to come out here and share themselves." He sighs. "A name? Gods, what are we, in a children's picture book?"
Hesitantly, Dante links his arm with Jezabel's and explores the manor house with her. For what appeared to be an insane homeless cannibal, she was strangely pleasant. He supposed that he might change his mind if he were to see her eat somebody. Sure, there was Blackerly, but it was only an eye. When the time for the funeral comes, Dante shows up for it. He doesn't really have anything better to do, despite having no connection or care for the small ratfolk he had temporarily shared company with. He listens to Geborah's speech with mild interest. She must have read a coaching book at some point. Maybe her father was a business owner or a politician. He got that impression. She reminded him of his brother.
Dante sighs heavily. "You're right, I know it," he says, crossing his arms and leaning up against a wall. "I don't like being Bound. But we don't have much choice. These brands exile us from Talirean society as surely as if we were dead. We have to take any resources, any allies, any rest that we can, I think." He mutters quietly, "But I do wonder if there'll be a day when I get to be the 'Master'."
Far from avoiding Jezabel, Dante seeks her out for conversation if they run into each other while exploring the Manor. Despite being observably insane, she was the only one that he related to in all of this mess. "What do you think of... all this?" he asks her, gesturing vaguely around at everything. The hallway, the slaves, the ogre, the other adventurers. "It seems just... I don't know how to put it. I just don't buy it." Rolls: Dante also devotes some time (and spells) during this time observing and analyzing the other people in the manor.
Dante also spends time each day observing them with his Third Eye.
Dante wears his chain shirt under his clothes so isn't expecting the stamp to be a problem. At best, it's disguise material. At worst, it prompts a fight but he also has no idea what he's about to be asked to do, so he can't make specific preparations. And ok - I'll adjust my tools to be mwk and buy.. hmm, some silk rope and a grappling hook.
Dante stalks the hallways of the manor restlessly during the three days. He eats meals alone unless he is joined, he avoids Tiadora, and he explores. He opens every door not locked to him, and he explores the manor grounds, if allowed. He notes every point of exit, he notes every dead end and where all of his fellow criminals are housed compared to where he is. "This is insane..." he mutters to himself, "What is happening to me..."
Dante Purchases: sell longsword: +7.5gp buy rapier: 20gp
Dante Level-Up: +1 level of investigator (psychic detective) +10 hp (d8 HD + 1 Con + 1 favored)
+class ability: Psychic Meddler (+1 on saves vs. psychic magic)
+spells:
Dante freezes, watching the exchange between Jezabel and the strange Asmodean. When it comes about that she only signs seemingly because she's taken over by some voice in her head, his heart falls. She was the only other one who was sensible. He supposed that if the man ordered him to kill himself, he would just try to kill him. What would he be if he succeeded? Criminal and Mitran hero? That was confusing. Avoiding the palm of his hand, he cuts across the top of his left arm, then exchanges the knife for the pen, dips it in the flowing blood, and signs his name. Dante's signature is neat and tiny. Then he presses his palm into the small wound and waits for something to happen next. "So now that we're all your slaves and you can do whatever you want to us, what would you have us do?"
Dante purses his lips. The man had a point. What else was he going to do, go and try to assassinate the Bishop alone? Find evidence of Talingardian corruption alone? Re-create justice alone? No, probably not. And if the worst should come to pass, then he could strike out on his own after that point. "Well, f&&~ it. For the record, I don't like this. It's vague and it's exploitative. Of course, I don't know what else to expect from The Dark Prince. But I will sign."
"Hm," is all Dante remarks at first. "So you broke us out of prison in order to manipulate us into being your servants for the rest of our lives? And what are we supposed to get in return?"
Dante sees Balam cut himself, apparently unprompted, and just mutters under his breath, "F&%$in' weirdo."
Dante sensed that he wasn't going to get very much more out of this man. Frustrating, but it was what it was, and beggars couldn't be chooses. And besides, he was right. Talingarde was built upon a monstrous lie - that Mitra bestowed unassailable purity. Purity was nothing next to truth and justice. "Let's see this... pact, then."
Dante listens to the speech carefully. That he had never even heard of this man is not very surprising. If he has well-known, he would probably have been snuffed out. "Thank you for your influence in breaking us out of prison," he says, "But... who are you?" he asks. "I mean, I know you said your name. But who are you?"
As soon as they see their mysterious benefactor, Dante focuses. His years of investigating and his generations of detective work had given him an almost supernatural sense of people... maybe he could learn something about her.
Then, as he is ushered in and to guest quarters, he watches carefully all that happens.
They are led to separate rooms by the strange servants, and given a bath, healing wine (which he smells carefully), hot food and drink (which he tests by having a tiny piece and then waiting to see a reaction) and new clothes. He strips off his tattered uniform and bathes quickly in the water, not wanting to be caught naked in any kind of uncomfortable situation. Then, he dresses simply - gray trousers, leather boots, an undershirt followed by the guard's chain shirt, followed by a gray collared coat. He scratches his head with a bit of confusion before belting on the uncomfortably heavy longsword and waiting for something to happen.
Dante isn't exactly pleased, but he's at least minimally satisfied that the girl saw fit to actually explain what was going on to him. And truly, he has nowhere else to go. So he follows along, going behind Wraith and Jezabel. In the back, if necessary. He'd like to keep an eye on everyone.
Dante is not impressed. "We are standing in a swamp, one of your associates was just eaten by a giant frog, and I have no idea what's happening right now. No, I'm not signing a contract."
Dante listens very carefully to Geborah's explanation, gathering what he can from it. She was still vague, but he guessed it was because she didn't know (despite her confidence and bluster) rather than because she wasn't willing to tell them. To test that theory, he asks, "Who are the benefactors? Do you know anything about their home, why they broke you out of prison, or how they were able to do so? Visitors aren't allowed at Branderscar, so whoever it was must have had some serious political pull..." At Balam's suggestion, he shakes his head. "No." he says. "I am not going to sign some random contract that you - whoever you are - have drawn up to protect this girl when she won't even explain what we're even getting from following her."
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I have 3 questions about item mastery feats:
Id like answers from officials if i can get em... Please dont debate rules here... Give your opinion and perhaps a rules quote to back it up. Feel free to nail that faq button!
If 2 classes grant the same class feature and say their levels stack, what happens when the class feature is gained at a higher level?
Firsr things first: is it possible to have specialty armors in barding form? Like celestial armor?
Can a monk use a shield cloak and still flurry? What about use 2handed weapons? It doesnt seem like it but that move action is only needed once like readying a shield right? What kinds of items or feats can amplify my touch attack damage? Not counting metamagics. Can one use a metamagic rod or other free meta ability on a scroll? Ring of spell knowledge: does the ring need to consume the written source/be hit by the spell witnessed/have the spell cast into it? Or is it kinda a recorder/roadmap? What kind of action is it to have the ring learn a spell?
Benefit: Once per round while using Crane Style, when you have at least one hand free and are either fighting defensively or using the total defense action, you can deflect one melee weapon attack that would normally hit you. You expend no action to deflect the attack, but you must be aware of it and not flat-footed. An attack so deflected deals no damage to you. I had been thinking this allows you to negate 1 melee attack of any kind but a friend pointed out to me that it uses the word "weapon" but it is unclear... does this affect only weapon attacks? Does improved unarmed count as a weapon? What about natural weapons? |
