Elysium "Eli" Blackdun's page

So, I guess I'll drop some very unknown-to-most character insight about Eli's decision-making.

Similarly to several others, Eli is very religious... but not in the same way as most folk.

The IC idea, for him, is that "holy places" are places for spirits to reside, not people.

While he intellectually knows he's talking about something different from his own spiritual views, it feels wrongful to him to act in such a blase manner toward a "spiritual" place. Further, he distrusts the hallmarks of "high" civilization, having actually lived through the mostly-ignored "skirmishes" between his people and the people of Theremark (or, more accurately, a few very aggressive, racist, and not-terribly-good folk who were in charge of military actions two generations past). For these reasons, he distrusts staying at the Church, even if he has nothing against the Pope himself. The mayor did no favors, being as coy as he was.

Beyond that, having been an innkeeper in his early life (the closest his folk got to Theramark 'civilization'), he feels more at home with folk that it seems like he could relate to better. An inn is a "safe place" (regardless of its tactical safety) because it's where you have "family" connections: Angelina sent you to one inn, and those folks sent you to another. This is far more serious and "real" to him than vaguely explained religious politics: and thus, in a very different sort of way, inns are a 'spiritual' home (though that is a term he'd never use) to him. He feels kinship, knowing how important it is as an innkeeper to never betray the trusts of those who stay at your place. He may well end up headed straight for "Disillusionment-ville, next stop!" but it is his opinion that, due to the importance of the good nature of folks who run inns, they must be more trustworthy.

Thus he has a two-fold reason: he doesn't trust politics of civilization (and the local church seems to have those in plenty - even if individuals are good), and he has a history (and feeling of kinship) with inn keepers.

OOC: yeah, being at the church would (hypothetically) make the most sense. But, paranoia-meter being what it is, he'd still not allow people to not sleep in shifts, even if it's only him.

(That summoner's gotta be out there somewhere, after all.)

Ninja'd!

... by ~30 hours.

You know, I should really work on that Attention Deficit of mine.

The following has been in my "Submit Post" box for almost three day (sans quote code, naturally):

CATHEDRAL ROOM (3): Cernan, Chap, Azmaria
TALKING TURTLE (3): Eli, Shyness, Arabeth

... huh. Anyone else?

He looks back at Eli.

"I, too, pray for peace in this city, and will take action necessary to serve even those who misjudge my character."

His eyes sweep the lot of you.

"If there is no further testimony, then please, each of you, clearly state your name and current residence for the scribe."

"Your assertion is surly all that can be expected." replies Eli without a hint of emotion.

He bows, his eyes remain fixed toward the mayor. "You may note that I am Elysium Blackdun of the Embishiu an Innkeeper and a Dreamspeaker. Surly my tribal ways seem strange to you. However I once ran for mayor of my village though I surrendered any chance of victory to a more noble candidate. Thus understand the toll such burdens can take upon those who accept such weighty responsibility. As you say all here is a matter of public record." With that, he rises.

The TALKING TURTLE Inn! What self-respecting folk would hole up in a sacred place?! Them places're f'r spirits!

"Your rote platitudes and evasive and limited so-called answers are noted and now part of public record as well." Eli states, flatly. "I will say this. Such empty words are a sign of the empty corruption of civilization. I pray to the spirits that inhabit your city that they stay their hand and wrath and find peace despite the empty gestures issued from those who should be most servile to all."

He watches the mayor for any hint of emotion.

Sense Motive: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (19) + 5 = 24

After a moment, he continues, as if he'd simply stumbled.

"I recognize you are not a wicked man, merely jaded and cynical. I am sorry for your loss and for the pain you endure as you serve others."

He bows low. In "respect".

Bluff: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (9) + 14 = 23 Yeah, this is a total lie.
Diplomacy: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (9) + 12 = 21

"Denied."

Politician. Spin doctor. Potentially the greatest threat and/or villain. Impossible (for me, at least) to read.

WELP.

EDIT 1&2: Just to be clear, I requested an audience because he entirely evaded my question. Which he also evaded. Again. By denying the request. For "reasonable" political reasons. Paranoia meter is through the roof, at present.

"Permission to approach or speak privately." Eli asks flatly, searching for anything.

"Lord John Hawkthorne, whom you now believe to be dead, was an upstanding and charitable citizen of Resplendent. His death, if true, would be a terrible loss to our fine community."

...

...

...

... the "mark of a career politician" indeed.

Well played, madame... well... played...

When first introduced, Eli bows, but leaves his eyes always on the mayors, whether or not that man is looking at him.

He stays carefully neutral in this exchange, asking only to see the journal to read through it in order to know if there is anything else to add.

Eli Aids Another, but also looks into the Lord Mayor's eyes, attempting to follow every movement (or lack thereof).

Diplomacy Aid Another: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (8) + 12 = 20
Sense Motive (or Aid Another): 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (10) + 5 = 15
If someone with a higher sense motive manages to get some insight, I'd totally be willing to help him out.

As he flips through the journal or not, if he's refused, he does stop long enough to stare at the Lord Mayor and give a single question.

"It must be asked," states Eli flatly, "who you would believe stands to benefit from the death of such a lord." Eli says.

Knowledge (arcana) (or Aid Another): 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (1) + 8 = 9
To see if the man has any tell-tell signs of being one who might summon creatures.

EDIT: OOPS. My Knowledge (arcana) is +8, not +87. WELP. (Aaaaaaand no Aid Another for me!)

Eli nods, walking with his cousins to meet the mayor.

Eli taps his masked chin. "Would the general as a fighting man be less inclined to judge us based on appearance or would it be better to go to the hypothetical higher authority displaying our physical distress." Eli... states?... asks?... yes, asks... in his flat monotone.

You might want to look into this character's home-brew "archetype" - so long as you ignore the fact that he's totally anti-optimized, at present (you can see how he plays in-game, if you want to follow most of his posts). Then again, here is a yet another different idea.

H'okay guys. Do we give the ring, or keep it for now? Do we trust this guy enough?

Also, where next?

Where do we stay?

Cernan, you okay with me having left the ring with you?

Perception: 1d20 ⇒ 13 To watch for assassins!

"We will definitely accept your offer of being messengers. However there are more than four of us and we will need to discuss where we are staying. We are honored by your generous offer." Eli says.

"We have no place as of yet. We will inform you. It was our intention to next seek out the General, however. We would inform him, and display the proof of our statements as we have you." Eli nods. "We were also considering speaking to the lord-mayor. What say you about this."

His monotone makes it really hard to tell whether he's making a statement or asking a question. After a moment, it's clear that it's a question.

"To do this, or perhaps to ensure that someone else would be advanced in his stead. Alternately, to cause panic, confusion, fear, and weakness once word spread. What we do know is that the summoner was on a timetable - a timetable we may have upset by discovering the town's destruction. The mayor of Vigilant reportedly sent letters here, though we made excellent time ourselves."

Eli breathes. "He wanted the town destroyed, but did not want anyone to know about it until he was ready, which he was not yet. We also know that our presence marks something he wants gone, or at least the imp as you call the wicked spirit seemed to believe so. It was very confident in the power of this fire necklace to destroy us. It was nearly correct." he says in his normal monotone.

"No." Eli states, flatly, "I do not have it. But I can describe it well. Large chunky gold signet ring with inlaid sapphires. The crest includes an image of a hawk clutching a vine. Shiny, despite the fire. There is a dagger with an inlaid sapphire to match. Exquisite make."

Eli explains, arms wide for inspection to show he has neither.

I'm presuming Cernan has the masterwork dagger and ring, as he was the last one still in the party mentioned with them (at the mayor's office).

Anyone wanna throw anything in there? Liiiiike, say, two-to-three people rolling Aid Another checks?

(Incidentally, I kind of wish Azmaria'd had more time before heading out. I'm presuming for the sake of the current story that she's been horrified into silence by Eli's boorish actions. :I)

Eli hesitates, looks at Gregory, then Azmaria, and Arabeth, and nods.

"We do." Eli says, without emotion.

"You are the first in town to know from us, though the Mayor of Vigilant was quite interested to learn of this information. Very focused on it." Eli says, flatly. "I suspect that others will know soon enough, if only due to politics."

Eli nods, once. "Though acting defensively, you have verbally denounced the actions of your ancestors as evil. It is enough." he says, evenly.

"Most who choose to call themselves pure set their view as their own ancestors acting on benevolence against savages. For one of your standing to even imply that your ancestors were flawed seems impressive to me."

"You ask for information. I will be forthright, but I will keep some secrets, as I have those I would protect from invisible spies. My name is Eli. My mask's purpose is it's own name - Calm." he gestures with his flat voice. "I do indeed hail from the Embishiu. I thought my dress and style would make that apparent, but I can see not. It was no secret in my mind. And I apologize that it came off as such. I hold no malice toward you or your people. But I do harbor suspicion. The more advanced one is politically the more suspicious they seem. It is politics that caused our conflict. And it is politics that caused corruption. But you are correct. There is no reason that a descended must follow the path of their ancestor." All stated without a trace of his actual feelings.

Eli breathes. Then, flatly, continues, "We have discovered that one who was killed in the town was heir to the seat of the high chief. The heir to the empire or kingdom as you say it. A noble named Hawk-thorne was seemingly killed and consumed along with the rest of the citizenry. After a thorough investigation of the area, searching for all the clues we could find, there was nothing but this man. There was no sign of powerful ritual, no sign of excavated treasure or magical force, nothing. No discernible reason for the abominable tragedy, save for the presence of this man. It was the mayor of Vigilant who informed us of his status when we came bearing his ring. We'd found such among the dead within. The words the wicked spirits spoke among themselves confirmed this. They acted not alone but on the behest of another who they wanted to warn, and who was invested in keeping the destruction of Endurant a secret. In the first encounter there was nothing but the spirits. In the next encounter a spirit held this." Eli displays the necklace. "It holds the power to create devastating fire. Hence the state of our clothes and persons and belongings." he explains. "It is only the blessings of our shamans that have allowed us to heal as much as we did on the way here."

His words are delivered with a flat monologue, but are as true as he can make them.

"We have heard from the words of fiends to themselves when they thought themselves victors instead of us. We have discovered the evidence of the same within the town. This is what you should need to protect the people."

Breathing, slowly, he reaches up and removes his mask. His face looks grim, determined, and filled with roiling conflicting emotions barely kept in check. He replaces the mask. "And that is how I appear." he says flatly. "I do not hide this."

I know, right?! :D

And, of course, anyone who wants could, you know, Aid Another on Eli's Diplomacy cheeeeeeck (or Sense Motive, or whatever. Or both. Retroactively!!!). Hint. Hint. Hiiiiiiiiiiint. It's not like you could make it worse*! :D

* Ah, dang. I said it. o.o;

Eli's blank masked face looks at him evenly. "A man who has outlived my parents' death at the hands of the ancestors of your people, outlived my aunt by old age, and raised by my younger cousin. A man who watched one village burn, and another corrupted through the foreign insanity of politics and purified again of the same. A man revered for things he's never done and unknown for the things he does. Or if he is known few care." Eli states without emotion.

"I am a servant of the people and of that which is good. I do not respect authority for its own sake but only for the sake of the people that it serves. I do not care for titles though I have sought them before for fun. I am old but still young. I listen to the spirits and seek balance and peace for the world though violence itself sometimes needs response in kind." All said without a hint of emotion or inflection. Nothing. Calm.

There is a long, drawn out breath, but even that is delivered in a manner that surprisingly gives nothing away as to the emotions of the one delivering it.

"I mean no disrespect but I can think of no other thing to speak than truth. I know that I am nothing but a strange and currently-dirty foreigner with a story to tell and corpses to show. We have exactly one known good deed to our name. I have no authority here but I will not be silent because it is good to be forthright with each other now. I pray to your spirit that you honor this." Eli says flatly.

Eli cocks his head to the side and lifts his hands, broadly indicating the Pope. "I do not know you or know what you are capable of. You are a powerful man. You have mighty magic. These are two things that would be required in one who seeks the power of fiends." He straightens up and says, "More than this, your influence among those who could oppose such is great and you could well be in a position to benefit greatly from grave upheaval as all folk remember that which is spirit in times of crisis. A hero would gain great accolades and clout. Perhaps even be called a saint of his people." Eli explains, one hand on the chin of his mask.

Relaxing and staring, evenly, Eli continues with no hints whatsoever of his emotions on the subject, "This civilization that you have is filled with those who seek their own power for their own insane ambition. They see shouldering a burden and debt to those who choose them as something to be grasped at as a method of exerting power instead of responsibility and honor. I know little of your churches or the politics that goes on within. I know you attained your position by some means. I know that civilization tends to be cutthroat in those struggles. Tell me how you gained power. Who did you oppose and why. Who is now in your shadow even as you spend light. For what purpose. Who did not choose you. How do they feel now. Do any hold power. To what lengths would they or you go to attain that power. Even for a good cause might good men be swayed by their spirit or another's and in this great evil can come about. Show us why we should trust you in this."

All delivered with the same amount of interest as a monotone recitation of the grocery list. No hint of accusation. No hint of malice or hatred. But no hint of anything.

DIPLOMACY (plus "fishing for bonuses" time!)
Bluff: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (13) + 14 = 27 To hide Eli's true emotions.
Intimidate: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (11) + 9 = 20 To impress the gravity of the situation, beyond these strangers.
Untrained Knowledge (local) (INT): 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (8) + 3 = 11 Fishin' for info to use here. E: Hah! Made my maximum untrained DC 10!
Wisdom: 1d20 ⇒ 5 Looking for insight into his basic character. E: lol, no.
Diplomacy: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (8) + 12 = 20 H'okay, that all prepped: to sway the man to accept us as allies. EDIT: NOPE. Takin' the re-roll from my Gregarious trait.
EDIT:
Diplomacy: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (20) + 12 = 32
EDIT 2: Muuuuuuuch better.

Eli looks at the man.

He looks off to the side for a moment.

Then he looks back. "What kind of man are you." he... asks, yes.

"If it were their testimony to us, of course not." Eli explains. "Instead, it was their testimony - their discussion, as it were - with each other, when they believed we could not defeat them, while one fled in cowardice." Eli shrugs. "Again, they were wrong. Foolish creatures, to discuss things openly while presuming their victory. But that is the way of things."

Sense Motive: 1d20 ⇒ 20 To gauge and recognize any responses to anything.

"It is simply a matter of preparing to deal with the invisible." he states, flatly. "We have witnessed the aftermath of the destruction of an entire community, and from the testimony of these fiends we know that there is someone who sent the fiends to do so and discovered a possible sinister motive from the master of these cretins who was warned by them before the one displayed returned to assault us."

He shrugs. "It must be that same one who equipped the one and had it return."

Eli nod-bows, and pulls out the most recent corpse. "We have managed to kill the one who escaped." he says, sans emotion, holding up the corpse from the bag. He returns it. "At least I believe they are the same, as I heard them speaking their own foul tongue twice. This one sounded the same as that other, and seemed to have a purpose of vengeance against us when we next encountered him." he explains.

"That said, we believe we were watched by something other an an imp at least once before." Eli says, flatly. "Our resident expert is-" he looks around, then dully continues, "-not here at present, it seems."

He nods at the man again, and then continues in his monotone, "Also, our apologies. We are not clean as we would be. We felt we had little time, and wished to speak as fast as possible." he gestures at the group, half-bows, and steps back, again.

Eli - sweaty, dirty, still somewhat "ashed" from his trip, as are his comrades - would also choose to enter. He leaves behind footprints on the otherwise pristine floor. Strangely, his neck seems a little more red than usual.

Aside from polite head nods or necessary greetings, he refrains from speaking at this time.

Eli walks to Shyness. He reaches out a hand, and takes her upper arm, firmly, but gently.

"Peace, Cousin." he says without emotion. His masked face reveals nothing. "You have slain evil spirits. You are among family. So long as we are together, there is nothing to fear." he says, flatly. "There are bad people. But that is why we are here." he explains.

Bluff: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (12) + 14 = 26
Diplomacy: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (19) + 12 = 31

He turns, one hand gesturing to the city itself, and one still on Shyness, though looking at each of his cousins. "We are here to stop an evil and save these people. Possibly from death. Possibly from a worse evil. This politics insanity. And this we will do. We will enter. We will convince others or avoid doing so. But we will save them. We will do this because we were too late for Endurant. We will do this because we are destined. We will do this because we are family."

Feel free to ignore any use of the above rolled skills below this point (anywhere, really; the above are for the purpose of RP and persuasion and encouragement in general). I am posting the below in-character, even though I was outvoted out-of-character. Please have your own characters speak up! The below is Eli's opinion.

He looks at his cousins. "There are three places that I believe we should go." he explains calmly. "The first is the Talking Turtle. Though I think that is for comfort and security instead of being of primary importance. The second is the, how you say, military people, like the Captain. The third is where I think we should go first. To see Max Gelthis' cousin Gerry at the Dripping Quill Gazette." - he says the last title awkwardly, but semi-comprehensibly... clearly, he doesn't know what a "[i]Dripping Quill Gazette" actually is - "I believe this is of paramount importance because it is from this that all of our, as it is called, legitimacy, yes, will flow. They are family, as we are. We have saved their family. They will want to help ours. This is the way of things." Eli explains, calmly, and without emotion, as if this were obvious.

"After this, I would say we bring legitimate us to the, hm, military, it is called, and show proof. We have the corpses. We have seen the fires. We have saved a family member of one who lives here. We should be taken seriously, if the one there is unlike reports of the mayor." Eli says. His voice betrays no emotion, and his face is covered entirely. "We will show them how to deal with spirits. Hit them hard enough." he gestures with his staff.

After thinking of it a lot, and revisiting a few older posts, I'm going to solidly suggest Gerry of the Dragon Quill Gazette.

I'm posting it here in discussion, but I'm doing so for two purposes: one, it's our strongest "personal" connection, and two, it makes sense that he'd know most of the town and be able to get us into contact with various other individuals of influence where we might be rebuffed otherwise. This satisfies both Eli's desire for personal connections within such a large area and Tacticslion's desire for having a "base contact" with some (however ephemeral) influence. I'm not able to post in-character at the moment, but will do so later.

Happy Mother's Day!

Third, please discuss, in character, where you're headed first and what you're doing there. Please plan on sticking together as a group for this next section of gameplay.

It's been a while, so, in case you don't feel like re-reading old posts to gather this info, here's a convenient list for you...

Potential Contacts in Resplendent:

Potential Contacts in Resplendent:

1. Alice Treekeep recommends her Aunt Bertha Bethel's Inn The Talking Turtle.
2. Max Gelthis recommends talking to his cousin Gerry, a writer at the Dripping Quill Gazette.
3. Father Peter recommends speaking to Pope Gregory at the Grand Cathedral of the Church of St. Pelor.
4. Captain Ronald suggests speaking to General Garrund, head of Theramark's military.
5. Lord Mayor Vertin of Vigilant suggests speaking to Lord Mayor Lincoln of Resplendent.

You have a letter to each of these five Resplendant individuals from the recommending individual in Vigilant.

Game on! :)

I'm having a super-serious bout of Player v. Character.

Eli wants number one (comfort/security/sensibility/self-identification) or number four (the way to deal with wicked spirits is to hit them: you all have proof they exist, you've seen the fires, they'll totally believe you!).

Tacticslion wants number two (incredibly useful to have the press in your back pocket when dealing with government things/strong relation with strong recommendation from Max Gelthis), or number three (he'll either be our best friend, or is the bad guy uber-summoner himself; either way, I want to see him post-haste).

The two of us are locked into a deep-seated emotional and rational struggle. Naturally, that leads us to conclude that some other option should be the one we pick; there is only one, so that should be easy, option five. Except that's the lord mayor. Both Eli and TL have the emotional response equivalent of a slowly deflating baloon+a hint of whiny disgust just thinking about it; both are convinced that it's a lead that, until we bear more proof/sway/power (like THE PRESS IN OUR BACK POCKET, I'm just sayin', dang it, tribal guy) the Lord Mayor will amount to approximately bupkis.

So... dang it.

"Thank you, Cousin. That is sound advice. However, on the chance we are tasked against more mundane foes, I will continue to bear it for us." Eli states, flatly.

Eli continues to wear the necklace for now.

Perception: 1d20 ⇒ 6

EDIT: Later, to those healing others, he says, still lacking any sign of emotion, "Your grace, light, and gifts are truly a blessing, cousins. I thank you for your assistance. I've never known wounds to mend so quickly or well, or construction to move so succinctly."

"Of course, Cousin." Eli says flatly, handing it over without hesitation.

Probably not; it doesn't make much sense for the character. I can always pick it up next level. Doesn't anybody else have Detect Magic, though?

Well:

- Aeryth: is a Fighter
- Sister Azmaria/Eli/Shyness: does not have spells yet
- Marius/Arabeth/Chap: has no Spellcraft
- Poterol/Cernan: WE HAVE POTENTIAL!
- Everyone else: has left the game!

Moving these over here to continue...

I'm not sure if I see the use of a Necklace of Fireballs in a campaign where all the enemies are fiends...

Yeah, selling it for the wealth would better suit our needs I believe

Also: Fire Resistance

Probably, but Eli honestly doesn't know that. He knows it's a mysterious and powerful talisman of some sort and that the fiends are malevolent and used it to create large and dangerous bursts of fire... which they may or may not be immune to.

This is, in part, due to the fact that I can't remember if Eli learned of their resistant nature, in part due to him lacking appropriate knowledges, in part due to no one telling him, and in part due to the fact that, currently, I'm he's quite fond of the idea of placing the necklace around the neck of the bad guy, and pulling one of the balls and loosing it on him despite the fact that he doesn't know that it works that way, naturally.

A masked Eli makes a nod at Arabeth. "That is a reasonable conclusion." he states impassively.

He turns to Poterol as the man clasps his arm. "I would cite grace and fortune over vigilance, but I am honored by your words and healing, Cousin." Eli states without emotion, but bowing nonetheless.

Sometime in the midst of working with Marius, Eli suddenly slumps, seeming somewhat slower and weaker. He continues collecting the mules, even though he seems very tired, but recovers by the time he sees his cousin Shyness heading his way.

Shyness bends down and grabs the necklace. Looking much worse for wear, she walks it and the skewered imp to Eli. With only the merest hint of a grin, she holds them out to him. "Yours?"

Eli bows and accepts the gifts, a similar slight smile on his unmasked face. "Thank you, Cousin." he says, sincerely. "You fought bravely and well, and I am honored by your presence and gift."

With that, he takes the corpse and mutters something softly, smirking, before placing it in the bag with the others.

Perform (Oratory): 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (10) + 11 = 21

"Cousins! I am grateful we are all alive! Thank you for your strength, courage, and thoughtfulness. Forgive me for the pain you endured, and know that our foe - the wicked spirit who hates the People - has perished and will not return!" he nods, bowing toward them.

Looking around and to the sky, suspiciously under the cart and in all places, with a strange glint in his eye, he intones, "Wicked one! Wizard! Akuo~Orokku! Onimajo! You have failed! And you will always fail! You fail because you are wicked and have no true spirit!" He holds up the bag of imps, as if displaying them to... someone. "None will save you from your fate! You will find peace, by the time this is through. By the Name, Fate, and Spirit of the Emishiu, this is so!"

Intimidate: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (4) + 9 = 13
Perception: 1d20 ⇒ 2

With that, Eli takes a long, slow breath, and sigh, and carefully picks up his mask. "My apologies, Calm" he mutters softly, gingerly, and apologetically, as he picks it up where he dropped it before, moving it towards his face, "there was simply" the mask touches his face, "no time to remove it deftly." He finishes the sentence flatly and without emotion, as the mask once again returns to his face.

With that, he carefully looks at the necklace.

"This is not standard wear for the wicked spirits." he states flatly.

Knowledge (arcana): 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (16) + 8 = 24

Though no expression is visible, the body language is clear, as Eli takes half a step back, holding the necklace at arm's length.

"This is powerful magic." he says, with no verbal trace of emotion. "I know not what type or what kind, but I recognize all the markers of mystical forces within it."

He looks at his cousins. "Does anyone else know how to understand such devices." he... asks, yes, asks. Hm. That'll be hard to understand again.

EDIT: error fixed

Nodding thanks at Cernan for healing Marius and still looking positively beneficent without his mask on (and probably quite strange), Eli claps the latter on the shoulder. "It seems we shall all be avoiding death's door today, Cousin!" he grins at him. Offering him a hand to help him up - curiously seemingly much stronger than normal - Eli gestures, and goes to calm the mules down with Marius.

Handle Animal: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (18) + 9 = 27

Grunting with a nod at Shyness, Eli hurries toward Marius.

He hurries toward Marius - who is not currently surrounded, unlike his cousin Arabeth - and hits his knees beside the man, to attempt to stabilize him as best he can.

Heal (untrained WIS): 1d20 ⇒ 2

EDIT: Sorry, Marius. At least I can't possibly make it worse...

EDIT 2: Oh. Oh, pooh. I... I said it. Sorry! I'm not trying to kill you, I swear! :/

Cool. I'd still just say "a cage" or "a box" works really well (maybe with flour tossed in it), and a few presumptions seem arbitrary (if understandable), but that's probably just different style-presumptions, which makes sense. :)

Cernan the Patient wrote:

It's... very hard to capture, imprison, or interrogate an Imp.

I say kill it like the others.

I am curious as to why? Do you simply mean due to it's change shape? A solid wooden box (sized for a boar, but awkwardly and filled with hoof-size holes at odd angles and locations) or cage would take care of it. It's strength and dexterity never increase due to the rules of Change Shape, and it lacks any sort of Disable Device or Escape Artist.

We don't have one, but I could see "keeping" it well enough, though it depends on a given GM's particular rulings on attended items v. things like cuffs or tied rope.

Regardless, I'm not demanding or pushing for anything above: I was merely describing my tendencies as a player opposing my character's sensibilities. :)

EDIT: for clarity

Mph. Fighting OOC-tendency to try to get an informant (in this case, though, that involves removing both wings and a tail... as well as a necklace) v. in-character strong belief that the thing should be die now.

*waits impatiently to run towards his friends* O.O

*mutter* lousy combat rounds, always getting in the way of makin' heal checks *mutter*

EDIT:

...

...

...

ON THE OTHER HAND, as this was (is?!) clearly a case where the relative CR is more than normal, (see "Ad Hoc CR Adjustments" consisting of both "Unfavorable Terrain" <except to fliers>, and "NPC Gear Adjustments" we get more relative XP, yes? Yes? Yes? Eeeeeehhhh...? :D

* looks at each person with a sideways grin - especially the most gracious and generous GEE-'EMM - and nods once each in a not-at-all awkward way... *

Totally aware we're not exactly using XP, hence the "relative" part of the above...

Perception: 1d20 + 0 ⇒ (12) + 0 = 12 Do I see it? QE: yes.
Intimidate: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (8) + 9 = 17 See spoiler below.
Attack (longbow): 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (17) + 4 = 21
Damage: 1d8 ⇒ 4

Eli's face turns into an... intense expression, somewhere between joy, fury, and madness as he draws his last silver arrow, pulling back and aiming at the wicked spirit.

He looses his arrow and lets fly directly for the fiend, hoping to take it out forever.

Because this came up in conversation, I wanted to explain myself and what I meant:

<snip> I was hoping to be able to adjust to the silver arrow, but hadn't mentioned anything like that, sooooo...).

... was in reference to knowing whether or not I could tell where the creature was.

My original intent for the post was:

- note that I see if I see the creature (which I realized after the fact was probably impossible)

- note whether any of my cousins saw the creature

- attack either the space it had been (with no information to the contrary or to confirming information) or the space indicated by my cousins (if they indicated somewhere different)

- choose which arrow to attack with based on whether or not someone saw the thing, not whether or not I hit (which, in discussing it, I can definitely see it coming off as the latter)

The last part was the thing I'd left out of my description of actions, hence that was what I was referring to in the snipped bit of dialogue above. I am not attempting to (or advocating) choosing which to loose after knowing the dice results (I made my full post without looking at any of the dice rolls, as the edits mostly show).

My sincere apologies if it came off in the other way.

So... uh... Perception checks? Anyone? Anyone? Beuller? Beuller? Beuller? Anyone? Perception?

(Also: don't do what I do. Ahem:)

Also, if you'd like to make a high perception check and wait for my response before posting your action, go for it.

((And the GM has suitably chastised me for my presumptuousness about other things as well. ;P))

I don't hit Chap! ;P