Eshkeval, the Card Archivist's page

Before Eshkeval leaves Aemur, he will grab Aemur's hand in an attempt to stop him for a while longer.

"Look, I know I said that it might not be the best idea to let the parents know the full details of their children's fate. But I've been thinking on what you said, and I think I agree. They do deserve to know. Just let them know that we're on the case. If they can place their faith in us, we'll make sure to right the wrongs that have been committed. Just let them know that, okay?"

Eshkeval's previously dull eyes shine brightly with a reserved determination. After hearing confirmation from Aemur, he'll transition into a hand shake, and then let go, turning back towards the Baron's building.

---

Once he gets inside of the building though, Eshkeval's demeanor will immediately shift and his eyes widen. So many art materials! So many notes on the nature of magic! His darkened demeanor instantly lifts into a jolly mood, as his frown is turned completely upside down.

Eshkeval will turn to Kolmac, momentarily resuming his previously stoic expression to give him a small nod to reassure Kolmac that his feelings have not wavered, before returning instantaneously to "fanboy" mode and leaving to scour every inch of the architectural building.

<<Assume this is where Eshkeval attains his +1 to INT from levelup, heh.>>

I wonder if Inure works with Versatile Evocation? But then, I wonder what the base seed effect would be. Either way, I'm somewhat excited about the possibilities of such a seed spell.

Also, I'm still not sure I can see the new rules on preparing spells on the google drive. I'm guessing Kirth is compiling a bunch of changes to make one massive update, then?

"While I do think that the parents of the young children would appreciate the update, do you guys really think that they'll stay silent on the issue?" Eshkeval asks Aemur.

"Chances are they might not be satisfied without the full details of the story, and when we can't even assure that we can trust the local constabulary, could we perhaps be putting them in harm's way if we let them move forward with such sensitive information?" Eshkeval continued.

"Honestly, I'm not sure how safe we are now, armed with this knowledge. We have no idea what we're up against!" Eshkeval exclaims, with a tiny hint of panic beginning to seep through his voice. But just then, the panic vanishes and is replaced with a look of tepid realization.

"We have no idea who we're up against, but then again, whoever is hiding this information has no idea who they're up against, either...Theoretically, we may still yet have the element of surprise. From here on out, we need to gather as much information as possible about our potential culprit, while simultaneously staying out of our culprit's radar."

You'd need to have 10 levels of Rogue for Network of Contacts as well as 9 levels of Fighter for Warlord. Not impossible to make work, especially with all of the Multiclass Synergy in Kirthfinder, but I personally prefer the benefits of just staying in a single class all the way to the end.

That said, I don't really think anyone needs to dip into a martial class to be more effective in combat. I'd suggest just taking a look at all of the feats that are available to you, and quite a few of them should make it easier to hit and deal damage if that's what you're after. Remember that thanks to your Combat Opportunist ability, you basically count as full BAB for the purposes of combat feats and the like.

And if you would like to dabble in spellcasting but don't want to deal with all of the spellcasting rules, may I suggest the feats, Magical Talent, and Magical Talent Array, to get spell-like abilities on demand? Depending on your choice for spells, you could also drastically increase your combat ability.

But these are just my suggestions.

Eshkeval will eventually gain the Rune Domain at level 5, which gives him Linguistics as a bonus skill. He'll probably focus on the "planar" languages, I guess. He is a divine caster afterall, so it makes sense.

As for combining damage and status effects...looks like you want Cascade Spell, Kolmac. Though I guess the Fell Metamagic line also works if you want to focus on a specific effect with all of your spells. Cascade Spell is just a bit more versatile, though.

Fighter Class Skills: Bluff, Concentration, Craft (any), Diplomacy, Disable Device, Handle Animal, Heal, Knowledge (linguistics), Perception, Perform, Profession (any), Spellcraft, Survival.

Consider Perform (Act), perhaps? It's the new Disguise, and that might be useful in a scenario where we might have to hide from the Baron, or go under cover in order to obtain more information.

Alternatively, Bluff probably works. It IS a super useful skill now, subsuming Intimidate and Sense Motive into itself, afterall. I would just assume that Dairkal already has Bluff covered. If not though, I'd heavily advise on getting Bluff, which together with Diplomacy makes you our party face.

Okay, so my HP ACTUALLY goes up by 7, so I'm looking at 18. nice (though I don't know how to calculate the wound stuff)

18 HP = Max HP

Were we supposed to get the Baron's architect involved with this?

After several seconds of gazing at the forsaken amulet, Eshkeval will continue to speak in a reserved tone, "From what I can tell, there does not appear to be any magical wards on the Eye of Deception. That said, I strongly suggest not mentioning the name of this holy symobl's deity while holding, lest we attract said deity's attention. But aside from that, it should be safe enough to pick up and take with us. "

When preparations are done, and the area is successfully mapped out in it's entirety, Eshkeval will Dimension Skip the party up to the ground floor for them to exit.

"If you guys have any other business in this house, I suggest that you take care of it now. I do not want to have to come back here more times than I deem necessary."

Streetwise? Nope. It's what Rogues use for their Network of Contacts / Leadership ability. Bluff and Stealth can both be used to enable sneak attack. Escape Artist...I guess you could say it enables Evasion, though I admit that one is a little bit reaching.

Is it possible for him to gain a +1 to Wis via the numen system? If so, I think I want to do that, as I feel Dair's awareness of the larger world/cosmos around is growing.

All you have are cheap items like a Rogue's Kit and a weapon, right?

If so, these should count as mundane items, purchasable by actual gold rather than numen. If that's the case, then you have just enough numen to purchase a +1 to a stat (LVL 2 Par = 1000). Enhancement Bonus to Attribute Scores = 1000 * (Bonus^2).

I don't fully understand numen and the WBL for Kirthfinder. Can somebody give me a simplified, layman's terms crash course?

It's why Dair only has a rogue's kit(plus his combat gear), as I didn't really get the system.

Numen is basically Wealth By Level, only separated from actual gold (allowing you to basically be wealthy and own stuff like land and titles without having to trade that stuff for better gear).

What really makes Numen better though, is that you can basically buy anything with it, from basic bonuses to constant spell effects, even feats etc. Furthermore, any item can have any bonus, with zero penalties for stacking multiple bonuses on the same item.

Numen is separated into 3 separate values: Min, Par and Maximum.

Below Min makes you considered CR - 1 (which you currently are, I believe). It's basically NPC wealth.

Par is generally where you should be as a PC, and if you are below this number, then you can basically "will" items into existence that make up the difference. Nothing else is needed for this ability. This is what you can and should do right now.

Maximum is Par + Overflow. Taking advantage of Overflow numen is the main advantage of Crafting (which no longer halves costs). No feat is necessary if you have ranks in the skill. That said, whatever item you build to give you bonuses must have some relation to the Craft skill being used, and must be authorized by the GM.

Going above Maximum numen is possible (mainly with found items/gear), but whatever item brings you above that amount will inevitably be lost due to story/plot reasons. This allows you to use artifacts and any GM-granted item to accomplish specific goals, but after those goals are attained, say goodbye to the artifact.

"That thing..." Eshkeval spits out with disgust, "represents the Eye of Deception, the unholy symbol of Graz'zt the Demon Prince. As much as I would want us to burn it and this altar to the ground, we will definitely need evidence, and it might be wise to take it with us," Eshkeval continues.

Eshkeval will also cast Identify on the object, to make sure there are no magical traps or anything else on it. Normally identify gives a +10 bonus to spellcraft checks, but IIRC, the bonus is capped by caster level, so I will roll my spellcraft at a +2.

Spellcraft: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (17) + 10 = 27

Like before, this includes the +1 INT tattoo, which I might not yet have crafted, so feel free to subtract 1 from the result.

For my Combat feat, I've picked a few options, but am not sure which of them to go for. would yall have any advice on it?
1: Inspirational victory
2: Combat Reflexes
3: Improved Critical
4: Power Attack
5: Rallying Strike

I (personally) don't place a lot of weight in damage boosters like Inspirational Victory and I place infinitely less weight on ones focused around crits like Improved Critical. Power Attack is the best of the three since it's the least conditional, but I really feel like damage isn't something you have to worry about as a Kirthfinder Fighter, IMHO.

Between the Heal skill, Take a Breather, and Channel Energy, I think we're fine for now, so Rallying Strike might not be needed, though it's certainly not a bad feat, IMHO.

Combat Reflexes is really good, especially with Kirthfinder's revised action system. You should definitely take it at some point IMHO (doesn't have to be right now if you have something else better in mind). Remember, you can hold part of your movement or attacks to use out of turn with immediate actions. And you do still get attacks of opportunity on top of that. Given you are our Vanguard Tank, being able to stop multiple people from directly reaching the squishier members of our party is pretty darn useful, I'd say.

Also, I'm a bit concerned about the fact that I have very little I can do outside of a fight (I mean if there's ever an Animal or Person you need someone to like, I'm your guy for that, or if you need some warfare knowledge.) How might I be able to remedy this and make sure that I'm always able to help?

Diplomacy is basically low level mind control. I'm not even joking, stuff like Suggestion or Charm Person have basically been replaced with Diplomacy buffs IIRC, so feel free to abuse this as much as possible.

Ey, I chose Racial Heritage (Defiant Luck) for story reasons too, you know. I was originally planning on getting Augment Spell for more metamagic shenanigans, lol.

Also, Kolmac, I should probably note that I took Dispel as a seed spell, though I guess having Create Food and Create Water as extended main stays along with Ritual Dimension Skip, I guess I don't really have a lot of space to really make use of it, lol.

That said now that I think about it, I will eventually gain access to the Variant Channeling for the Magic domain, which allows me to dispel/counterspell stuff IIRC, so it is something I could have covered if you wish. I think I also get like, Dispelling Touch as a bonus feat at 8th level or something.

@Kirth,

1 more thing. I had the thought of leaving one of my spell slots blank and then preparing it during the day so I could better make use of stuff like Restore Condition or Bestow Feat.

But then I realized that there doesn't appear to be rules for such a thing in the Cleric/Archivist section, nor in the Wizard section, nor even the Spells section. Is it actually possible to partially prepare spells for the day and leave a spell blank in Kirthfinder?

My questions might also have been overlooked. Namely these two:

1.) Can I switch/retrain the position of my level 1 feat, "Domain Access (Time)" with my level 2 Archivist feat, in order to take the feat, "Racial Heritage (Defiant Luck)," as my level 1 feat instead?

2.) The Archivist states that I get a new cleric spell every level. Can I choose seed spells instead?

Knowledge (The Planes): 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (17) + 6 = 23

This includes my level up bonus, one of which is a tattoo that gives me +1 INT. I might not have that in the story yet, so feel free to subtract 1 from the result.

I'm just gonna take average HP, rather than rolling. That out of the way, I would like to make a slight change that I think is basically a free retraining.

At level 2, I get a Bonus Feat that can be used on Divine/Domain feats. I would like to switch the feat I got at level 1, Domain Access to the Time Domain, with this bonus feat (so I would still have the feat, just in a different feat slot).

Instead, I would use my level 1 feat on Racial Heritage for the human racial ability, "Defiant Luck." Effectively, I want to have gained "the power to change fate" from my own human heritage.

The thing I was speaking to...was essentially myself. My greater, cosmic self, if you will. Or perhaps it's a personification of the indomitable human spirit. Maybe both.

Is this accurate? Also, how many seed spells do I gain as I level up?

Eshkeval's eyes widen as he covers his mouth. Such a terrible horror to befall innocent children. What kind of unjust world would allow such a thing to occur?

Swallowing the breath he didn't know he was holding, Eshkeval steels his nerves and steadies the shaking in his hands. There was still work that needed to be done.

"I'm... I'm going to take a picture of this. We need some way to recount this scene. Even if nobody else believes us, we need to have as much information as possible. I'll do my best to make sure it's all 100% accurate."

With a heavy heart, Eshkeval takes out his sketch book, and begins to sketch the scene of the crime, taking into account as many details as possible, noting every size and statistic to the closest of his ability. He will also draw a schematic of the building, as well as a map towards the area.

Eshkeval will be busy taking 20 on all of this unless something happens to distract him.

"It's possible that whatever we're looking for was intentionally kept sealed, unable to enter the outside world. But then in that case, why the warning?" Eshkeval ponders. "It probably would have been better to leave no note and thereby invite zero curiosity, wouldn't it?"

"I'm guessing there's probably some sort of secret device or compartment."

Eshkeval will begin searching around the room.

I assume that we all take 20 on our Perception checks to find anything that could get us down there. Whoever has the highest modifier (Dairkul @ +6) gets an aid another bonus from everyone else. IIRC, that's +2 for the first person and +1 for every other aid another. That gets us 20+6+2+1+1+1 = 31.

"I can try teleporting somebody downstairs, but I'd prefer not to since it's impossible to know what might be down there and it'll take too long to get them back out again. I think we should try to excavate a small hole for us to go down, or look for some hollow floor boards-- being careful not to fall in ourselves, of course."

I'm actually not trained in Planar Sense, lol. Probably why I didn't get anything, heh.

Hearing Aemur's concerns about an otherworldly prescence, Eshkeval thinks back to earlier in the day, where he felt a surge of cosmic power flow through him. Maybe if he concentrated, and tried to replicate that feeling of cosmic awareness, he could get some sort of idea for what Aemur was talking about? Afterall, it couldn't hurt to try.

Planar Sense: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (14) + 3 = 17

According to character sheets, it seems Kolmac was smart enough to take the Light spell. Being in the middle and having no need to hold anything with 2 hands, he's also the perfect person to make use of such lighting abilities.

Also, Aemur, looks like you've got some checks to roll. I really hope that we aren't fighting any incoporeals right now, even if I can deal damage to them with Channel Energy. Healing ability damage and stuff isn't easy at this level.

The group heads inside.

As per our marching orders, Cayden is first. Followed by Kolmac, who is flanked on both sides by me and Dairkul. Aemur brings up the rear.

Dairkul's Disable Device is a +7, I believe, making his total check a 27. Let us know if we need to roll for aid another.

"Well, we've come this far. Turning back now would be...unfortunate. Besides, I'm pretty sure we have the blessing of the Baron anyway, so I'm sure things should be alright, right?"

I guess the other alternative is to give up on the game and become potatoes farmers until the plot inevitably catches up to us. But that sounds like it might take even longer.

It's probably best to have Dairkul pick the padlock. Take 20 if he needs to. If that fails, then we'll have Cayden try and bust in, and if that should fail, we'll rely on my Ritual Dimension Skip.

"Well," Eshkeval exclaims, "standing here isn't going to help us. We got this far together, I'm sure we'll be able to handle anything we might see inside. That said, let's stay in formation from now on, to make sure we aren't too taken aback by anything we may meet."

With that, Eshkeval will explain the "+" formation to the group, before gesturing for Cayden to open the door. Once he does so, the entire group will enter.

This might also be a good place to try active perception checks, guys.

Perception: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (20) + 3 = 23

Still reclaiming his bearings after that last attack, Eshkeval reads the line about the Carnivorous plants, and can't help but to wonder aloud, "Hmm, were those trees from before...trying to eat us?"

It all happened so quickly, Eshkeval thought. One second, they were walking through the woods and in the next second, two of his compatriots were down, having been struck viciously by a pair of what could only be described as tree beasts.

No! It wasn't supposed to be like this... Eshkeval could hear them screams, he felt a wave of emotions from surprise to terror wash over him. It threatened to engulf him completely in it's icy grip. But as he clutched his hand, he felt the grasp of his holy symbol pen.

No. I reject this. "I REJECT"

A rush of power poured out of him just then, far beyond any parlor trick he had been able to muster at that point. It took every ounce of concentration he had to channel that power through his pen, which he then slashed out with in a full circle around himself.

From that slash, a rainbow colored paint emerged from his pen and enveloped the area around them. His friends were enveloped by it and healed. His enemies were enveloped by it and screamed out in pain, one of them glowing rainbow colors before being transformed into a regular tree. The other, of tougher resolve, managed to hold on to it's physical form, but was greatly weakened by the blast.

As Kolmac and Cayden tried to finish off the remaining beast, Eshkeval fell to the ground, having greatly overtaxed his power. During this brief period of unconsciousness, his spirit left his body. He saw his friends. He saw his town. He saw his continent. He saw his world. He saw his galaxy.

Out in the infinite depths of the universe, he came into contact with an indescribable being.

"..."

"What?" Eshkeval spoke/thought. "I don't understand..."

"..."

Eshkeval woke up.

Well, it's been a few days. I'll assume that Cayden charges forward with his +1 broadsword, swinging wildly! (That said, I'm not sure if there's enough distance for him to charge, so we can add the +2 after the fact if need be).

attack: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (3) + 6 = 9
damage: 1d8 + 5 ⇒ (5) + 5 = 10

I doubt that even an 11 hits, so let's move on to Aemur, shall we? After that, it's the start of the round anew.

I should note, Aemur, Cayden and Dairkul: all of our turns are after the enemies turns, so barring special circumstances like expecting heals and buffs, feel free to just post what you'll do on your turn, for the sake of expediency.

Did I actually fall unconscious? I assume I did, and thus fell prone, right? If so, I need to spend an action(move?) to get back up, yeah? Just trying to figure out what exactly I can do with my turn. If I'm correct, and need to spend a move to stand, I should be able to still toss a dagger.

Judging from Kirth's response to Aemur, I think you did indeed "fall" unconscious, and must then spend an action to get back up before attacking. You have a high Sleight of Hand modifier though, so you should be able to quick draw anything you need as a free action without hassle.

Turn order: Enemies (22) --> Eshkeval(18.4) --> Kolmac(18.1) --> Dairkul(6) --> Cayden(5) --> Aemur(3).

It's currently your turn, Dairkul.

Eshkeval puts everything he has into his channeling. Something responds -- whether a deity or force of the universe is uncertain, but he rides the connection and invokes a far mightier effect than he would normally be capable of, and even then, he nails it.

Yes, additional hero point for saving the party. Hint: If you'd like, you can spend it on having the effects of the Planar Channeling feat also apply to that channeling. I 'll hold off describing the effects of Kolmac's bolt until we resolve that.

Ooh, Planar Channeling? Yes please! If the damage is enough to kill them, I'd like to fluff it as Eshkeval "rewriting" reality such that the tree monsters are just regular trees now. Effectively, he used his holy symbol pen to "paint over" reality, rejecting the current reality and imposing in its stead, a picture of his own reality.

So the game is randomly on hold, no communication whatsoever from the GM, then suddenly comes back to life. Okay, cool. But I miss not even two days and my Initiative gets rolled for me, and I'm apparently penalized for having a name close to the beginning of the alphabet. Oh, and apparently, D comes before C....

GM rolled a 1 and a 3 on a d5 to determine who to attack.

Seeing the trees viciously attack his allies, Eshkeval will snap to attention and attempt to aid them. Seeing Aemur and Dairkal go down so quickly, Eshkeval will channel every once of energy he has into his holy symbol pen, attempting to rewrite his fallen friends back into fighting condition on pure will power alone!

Full Round Action: Channel Positive Energy w/ Hero Point boost.
2d6 + 3 ⇒ (6, 6) + 3 = 15

Initiative: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (14) + 4 = 18

Eshkeval would have been drawing a map chronicling their travels, annotated with images of any interesting landmarks along the way. Upon seeing Kolmac's unease, he will trade out one of his decoy writing utensils for his magical spell-writer/holy symbol pen. As always, he'd be drawing in his sketchbook/prayer book, so he should be ready to respond to any surprise ambushes at the drop of a hat.

Oh boy, I must have been tired when I wrote that last message. Please do assume that I caught up with the rest of the group along with Kolmac.

Eshkeval will return with Kolmac to the inn, and attempt to get ready a portfolio of his ideas for the meeting with Syrell, which should make the meeting go well. How swell!

Can you increase the caster level of a Spell Like Ability? Like say, with an Orange Prism Ioun Stone?

Baron Garstang nods at Kolmac. "I think we'll use Syrell Forwith for that; he's the fellow I was seeing right before you two arrived at the Bengal Palace."

"I'm sure that Syrell Forwith will be swell for it.

Eshkeval asks the baron, "Does that mean we have the authority to buy more hands for this venture? More hands should lead to faster work, I think."

"Oh, well here are a few of my preliminary ideas. I really like this one..."

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (14) + 3 = 17

Add the +5 for helpful and the +5 for simple request. As you can see, I'm not particularly trained in Diplomacy.

It's probably best to compare Spheres to Psionics. Martial Focus fufills the same purpose as Psionic Focus, while magic talents powered by spell points is pretty similar to powers known powered by power points. If you can understand Psionics, it shouldn't be too difficult to understand Spheres, IMHO.

Eshkeval will use this moment to discuss with Baron his new idea: a house with no windows. Or rather, a house where the walls themselves are the windows. If they put in a few beams and pillars, then they can take the load off from the walls. That could allow for a huge amount of artistic freedom in how the walls look. And it greatly increases the amount of light inside the house...

He's gonna continue to go off about this idea for a while, probably long after everyone else has gone.

It's almost like the GM is trying to keep us split up, lol.

Eshkeval will back up Kolmac, unfurling one of his ready-made flyers/artistic renditions of the creature Aemur and Cayden described.

"Yes, from my research a bite or a claw attack from one of these ghouls can easily spread a most virulent disease. People who succumb to this, 'ghoul fever' lose their humanity and become ghouls themselves, only to go on and spread the virus ever further. If we rest our laurels on the assumption that there are no more ghouls, only for such an assumption to be false, there may yet be hell to pay. I suggest magical support. Surely the constabulary has a higher level mage or cleric who may yet divine the method of the beast's creation? If it were the first, then crisis averted. However if this curse was bestowed by another, then..."

...and with that, Eshkeval trails off.

Paillard is at the far northwest corner of South Province (where it says "Almoraine" on the campaign map in Chapter 1 - that's the duchy of which South Province is one county) -- I'll try to put up a more detailed map soon. Major population centers in Aviona are (a) the whole river valley that feeds the estuary on which the City of Hylore is situated; (b) the non-forested areas of South Province, around Sovalles and Vayonnes; and (c) around Oceanbrook, on Talvar's Bay. Directly north and west of Paillard are sections of the large forest that covers most of West Province -- the Forest of Trevallaine, which has an unsavory reputation owing to remnants from the Days of Darkness.

However, if Eshkeval's ambition is equal to the Baron's, he might be thinking of converting that area to civilization, thereby expanding the baron's prestige considerably, not to mention his lands?

Woops, I made a mistake. Just replace everything I said about South with North and vice versa. Eshkeval isn't high on ambition yet, except where it comes to art.