In "The Elemental Fields" there are two challenges that state "Note how many PCs succeed within 3 rounds." The actions in the challenges (swim or climb) can be done multiple times per round, so was the intention really to give the party members 9 attempts to get 2 or 3 successes?
note it takes more than 1 success to do some of the things, depending on PC's speed/if they have to sheathe things to free hands to climb, etc.
I wish the writers would be more engaging in these threads to shed some light on these hiccups.
That's understandable, though it isn't the author's job to monitor the forums, and we developers generally prefer that they leave such questions to us.
Transparently, I've been quite busy with PaizoCon prep + GenCon scenario development. I'll loop back with more specific, bullet-point responses as soon as I can, but it looks like the issues that have been raised here are typos and other errors. Apologies!
Hate to be a bother, but did this fall through the cracks? Been a while and as a repeatable, this gets run a lot....
The new PC1 text of Underworld Smuggler no longer references finding downtime jobs any easier. I know we are supposed to use the new version of the feat as errata, but as there is nothing in the sanctioning document referencing this and the CrB sanctioning document still has the text The Experienced Smuggler skill feat (page 261) allows you to Earn Income using Underworld Lore with tasks of your level –1, instead of the normal level –2. , does it still give the level -1 downtime task in PfS?
If not, can that line be taken out of the CrB sanctioning document?
We have the following text in the remaster sanctioning under witch familiars: Familiars must have line of effect for their new abilities to affect creatures. As such, in order to use a familiar’s ability in combat, they must be represented by a token on the battlefield. from the PC1 sanctioning limited to the new combat abilities? In other words, if you just have the old master abilities that let the familiar do stuff to you like give you a focus point back or heal you, do they need to have a token?
If it is all abilities, is this limited to just witch familiars, or all familiars? If it's only the new abilities, can a witch's familiar who doesn't use the new combat abilities still use the old ones without a token?
Alternate domains were printed in Lost Omens: Gods & Magic, not in either the Core Rulebook or Player Core 1. Unfortunately, PfS sanctioning says a newer Core rulebook overwrites older Lost Omens content.
Does this mean that the core 20 deities suddenly lost their alternate domains, while all the other deities who have then get to keep them?
If the answer is yes, does this only apply to new/rebuilt characters, or are currently existing characters who are making use of those alternative domains (Either through the Syncretism feat or the Expanded Domain Initiate feat) suddenly invalid?
Simple request...can the frequent shopper boon for Frequent Shopper's name be changed to include the words "Grand Bazaar :" so it's easier to search for in the FAQ for full boon text?
Falendral nods in response to the instructions, but then pauses to ask. In case we determine a cursed object, do you have some form of container we can transport it in to shield us from it's impacts?
Falendral's at -1 diplomacy. But hey, +3 intimdidate, and +6 nature if someone has to calm the horses...but he'd much rather be on his own two feet (35 movement speed....can't wait until next level and 40 feet, with 20 feet mobility no AoO strides!)
Okay, I think I got everything in, space separated...I don't think I have the patience for bolding/unbolding/etc, but hopefully it is readable? Fortunately a level 2 character doesn't have that much!
Okay, I think I have the basic stuff on the after name formatted....I have a pathbuilder PDF of the stat block, is there a way I can provide that, or do I need to get the various things into the character "sheet" on the profile section?
Sorry, this is my first time playing on the forums. Getting on board now! (and I guess my 2 glyphs aren't needed, harumph!). I could use some pointers as to what to set, where....I think I have the slides info (First time using that as well), I have no idea how/where to set the character sheet info.
Okay, I've done play by discord, but not play by post on here....so, can someone point me to relevant info? How to set avatar, style guide (if different from the PbP discords), how to find my game (GM Super Zero's PF2 1-04)?
Once again necrothreading, I'm getting a lodge started for Pathfinder Society in Palm Beach & Broward County. Still in the getting organized/interest phase, going to be setting up first meetings/games next month.
A boon to add things to the Champion's steed ally, as per the existing rule "You can select a different animal companion (GM's discretion), but this ability doesn't grant it the mount special ability.".
Specifically, for some strange reason riding dogs are not available as animal companions. Without actual new rules elements, at a minimum a boon could be created to allow a re-skinned wolf to be taken as a champion steed that looks like a riding dog! Currently only goblins get that option, even though riding dogs have been iconic to halflings since forever.
I saw the rules for having access to 2 ethnicities or 2 regions, but I couldn't find any clarity on whether it was okay to just have a character of an ethnicity that is not at all common from their region? The specific thing in mind I am looking at is to have a Nidalese ethnicity character with the Alkenstar region, story background being his parent were immigrants there so he was raised in Alkenstar.
The obvious mechanical benefit is the combination of access to Nidalese feats for low light/darkvision and firearms.
So I've only bought and read the first adventure, and it looks like there's only the initial show in the timeframe of the adventure. Several of my players are very interested in playing SimCircus, so I was just wondering how many actual performances can they expect to have? Is this something that I would just add more of in between the 6 adventures?
I'm just starting the first adventure in the arc and I have players who want to further build their backstories as part of growing up in the Celestial Menagerie. In the first part of the AP, it gives 3 members of that circus and says that more will be detailed in the second adventure. I'm not ready yet to buy that (I want to make sure my group finishes and wants to continue from the first).
Are there any notable performers and/or other circus-folk for people to hook their backstories in?
Couldn't find this answered elsewhere....in the affliction rules is the following:
"If a failure or critical failure would increase the stage beyond the highest listed stage, the affliction instead repeats the effects of the highest stage."
My question is, lets say the max level is 3 and you fail at 3 and would go to 4. Do you go to condition stage 4 that has the EFFECTS of stage 3 (So you still need to recover from a stage 4 affliction), or does your stage number stay at 3?
It looks like they are cumulative. The encumbrance penalty is actually phrased as increasing your armor check penalty by 2, or giving you a penalty of 2 if you don't currently have an armor check penalty. As such, it seems both rules as written and rules as intended imply that the speed reduction from being encumbered also stacks with that from heavy armor.
I'd be far more okay with this if heavy armor only reduced speed by 5 and encumbrance only reduced speed by 5. This is something that should happen anyway because heavy armor is way too punitive as it currently stands. With both speed penalties sitting at 10, it's brutal.
Agreed, that's how I read RAW...but yeah, what with full plate being 4 bulk, even a max strength fighter has to be careful with carrying extra stuff to avoid being at a crawl
Speaking as both a player and a DM, treating time as an infinite resource strikes me as lazy. The PCs don't operate in a vacuum. Things react to their presence, NPCs have their own time schedules in which they make patrols/etc....
Right now, in my pathfinder I campaign, we just finished a mission to save some children from an evil cult. We didn't even take the time to loot everything, we had so much time pressure.
Sure, sometimes there won't be any time pressure at all...but in my experience, that should be the exception, not the rule.
So, in PF1 (And 3.5/3.0), you took the worse of the two penalties from your encumbrance and your armor. So far, it seems like in PF2, they combine. Is this the case/supposed to be the case? Is a fighter in full plate who is also encumbered moving at the speed of a snail?
I couldn't figure out the right sub-forum for this. Anyone have a clue on what the land speed of a laden camel should be? And no, I don't know if it's African or European!
I couldn't figure out the right sub-forum for this. Anyone have a clue on what the land speed of a laden camel should be? And no, I don't know if it's African or European!
So I just skimmed the 2.1 document (Yeah!), and I was wondering if a change log is available? I.E. a list of where the document has changes from 2.01 to 2.1?
As always, great food for thought. A couple of comments:
Liveoak: This spell specifically requires a healthy, Huge Oak. Obviously this is DM and campaign specific on just how available these are....but I know that if a player was recasting this every day because he kept getting his treants killed, I'd certainly start limiting the availability...
Summon Monster 1 Riding Dog...there's a recent post on the rules forum about downgrading it to the normal dog.
So, finally got around to buying and flipping through a dead tree format of the Bestiary. First two questioned popped up on everyone's favorite pal, the Rust Monster.
1: Its antenna is listed as a primary attack, yet only has an attack bonus of +1, 5 less than its claws, as if it was a secondary. Err?
2: Its carapace is listed as having the rust effect, yet I don't see anything in the rules about applying the rust effect to metal weapons that strike it. Double Err?
You have to choose one. You could be crazy and choose one then ignore it and never do your faction missions.....but that'd limit your buying ability and bonus equipment pretty steep.
So, finally taking a look at the rules for item creations...I highly advise craft wand on a bard, considering you can easily keep grinding out level 1 wands without even taking downtime (Using the craft during adventuring rules, easily taking the +5 spell DC). Your level 1 spells are quite good at CL 1 ...and 50d8+8 healing for 375gp can't be beat for pretty much always being at full health between encounters without using up any of your combat resources.
the only big complain I have gotten so far is the change to exp, my players are not happy about the slower progression.
Assuming you're using the "medium" column on the chart, there should be no noticeable change in progression speed. The numbers are very carefully balanced to be identical to the 3.5 numbers (13.3333... encounters of a level equal to yours per level).
Your correct I think the problem lies in that the numbers have changed and none of my players have bothered to do the math, witch is not a surprise really.
XP is no longer a resource that can be spent on anything, it just accumulates until you level.....which makes it even easier to use my favorite XP method...don't hand it out at all. Tell the party when they level :).
Ah, yes, sorry. I forgot we house-ruled all those away. The Strength check on entangle is especially stupid, because it's fairly easy to get it to "impossible".
On the plus side, while they didn't change the escape artist table, they did change the text on the pathfinder entangle to make it less utterly broken....all the rolls to get out of it are now the same as the original save DC, not crazy high 20+s for a level 1 spell.
Basic example: The DC of a CL 5 Wondrous Item would be DC 10. A Wiz with a 18 Int has (+4) ability modifier, and presumably 5 skill ranks of Spell craft, for a total skill of 9. They only need to roll a 1, and automatic failure actually only applies in combat and saves (but I houserule it in anyway). Using the other methodology, the DC would be 15, and the wizard would have to roll at least a 6..
Your example missed out on the +3 trained class skill modifier...level 5 wizard, 4 int, 3 class skill, +12 spellcraft. So would only need a 3 to succeed on a 15.
On a side note....I haven't looked up the rules in detail. Is there anything to indicate that you can't take 10 during item creation? I mean, it's not in a stressful/combat situation (usually...)
The current system (since 3.0), onward, supports a simple int check the same way as every other d20 check.....roll 1d20, add your int mod, try to reach a DC.
The problem with this is that unless you're a Wizard, your int mod is going to be +1 or +2 at most. That means the result of the roll is entirely random. That's just pure silliness. There's a reason that there's no such thing as a pure-stat check in the default rules. Stats are always added to some other scaling modifier to determine your bonus, never used by themselves (the obvious exception of untrained skill checks just prove how silly it is to treat memory as an untrained skill check).
Rolling under your ability score provides a means to roll a viable stat check. It's unfortunate that stat checks rolled the normal way just are not viable in a mathematical sense, but that's the way the cookie crumbles.
Umm...Just to contradict you, there are several places where pure stat rolls are made. Strength check DCs to destroy objects/break free from entangle/etc. Constitution checks to stabilize.
I know in 3.5, there was a whole second in the rules talking about the philosophy of when to have something be a stat check vs a saving throw vs a skill check, for how much you wanted levels to impact the relative ability of people to make the roll.
The silliest part of this spell/ruling, is that you can take a hair off yourself, then cast alter self to turn into...yourself. And get a +2 dex or strength bonus. Now, system wise, this isn't at all broken for the level of the spell..but it is pretty silly.
On the other hand, it's been discussed on the previously mentioned thread _why_ they did it like this, and for simplicity's sake, its a good implementation.
I was originally going to do it as an Int check, but that is always a pain due to new role players and being told to always roll OVER a target number and now being told to roll UNDER a target number ... it's just confusing for some people.
Really like the gut-check mechanic. Thanks!
Never, ever have someone do roll 'under' their stat.....that's going back several editions to the land of craziness. The current system (since 3.0), onward, supports a simple int check the same way as every other d20 check.....roll 1d20, add your int mod, try to reach a DC.
Thanks for stepping up to the plate! One of these years I may actually dip my toe into one of these.....but for now, perfectly happy to make use of all your efforts, and just add my commentary :).
First, on your skill list, I feel that perception should probably be added. It's just one of those pathfinder skills that every character should see about squeezing points into. Especially since if you're playing at later levels, where the stat modifier and the class skill become less and less of a factor compared to # of ranks.
Second, commentaries on the Elementalist bloodline:
I'm aware that both you and Treatmonk don't like blasters...I'm aware of the math and the arguments behind them. I'm also aware that if a player does want to play that kind of char, they're going to come to one of these two classes to do it in, and it's worth at least a comment.
Given that, There's one minor feature and one major feature of the Elemental bloodline to point out. The minor is you get burning hands and scorching ray as whatever element you chose, not fire. The _major_ is the bloodline arcana I feel you highly undervalue. You get the choice of changing the element of your blast spells at cast time, each time. This effectively doubles your blast spells known for versatility in getting past resistances....and since as a sorcerer, you're only going to know a few blast spells total..even for a non blaster type, it's quite useful. Say your element is electricity...take a fire blast spell, a cold blast spell, and an acid blast spell as your 3 different blast spells at different levels....and if any of those aren't appropriate, you can sub it to one that is. Since as far as I can tell, Energy Substitution hasn't made into pathfinder, this is pretty unique (For games not using 3.5 content)
I would like clarification on the "Wizards and Their Spellbooks" section of The Guide.
1. Does successfully scribing a scroll found during a scenario remove it from the wizard's chronicle? That is, can a wizard scribe a spell then ALSO buy the scroll of that same spell? Should the GM cross it off the chronicle?
2. Would successfully scribing a scroll during a scenario remove the scroll from OTHER characters chronicles, since it was consumed?
3. A general chronicle access question: Can multiple consumables be bought when listed on a chronicle? When a potion of cure moderate wounds is listed on the chronicle, does that mean we can buy just one or do we have the option to buy two or more, assuming we can afford it?
I know the answer to 3 is yes, as I've explicitly had that answered..unless an item is listed as limited on the sheet, you can buy as many copies of it as you want during the current/previous two chronicle sheets. I've also been told that even if an item is consumed during a mod, you shouldn't take away its treasure value/access on the sheet, so I'm 99% certain that the answers to 1 and 2 are no.
I play a level 2 melee battle cleric in PFS...and I suffer the 1 AC hit of using a buckler instead of a large shield, specifically so I have the option of using that hand (and losing the AC), if I need to cast. Still, I spend quite a few rounds with nothing in my other hand so I can keep that AC...I do a lot of sheathing, redrawing, switching, and other oddball stuff....
Personally, I find that aspect of playing the character fun. It adds the need for a lot more thought and planning to deal with the limitations of needing that free hand. As for game balance....I think it's perfectly balanced to say you can't cast when gussied up like a line combatant. If you're a primary caster and want your AC, just don't have a melee weapon out. If you're a primary melee combatant and want the option of casting, suffer the 1 AC hit and use a buckler....so in an emergency you don't have to drop something to free up your hand.
As per rogues taking extra feats instead of talents, no can do, more than one combat and one general feat.
page 68, rogue talents: A rogue cannot select an individual talent more than once.
That text is included in the description for Rogue Talents, but NOT for Advanced Talents. Also, the wording for the bonus feat for the advanced talents implies that it may be taken repeatedly.
I just reread the rules....and all it says on 'advanced talents', is that starting at level 10 you can take them in place of regular talents. Nothing to indicate whether the that's intended to follow or not the rule on regular rogue talents. However, the Skill Mastery Advanced talent does specify that _this_ special ability can be taken multiple times, which leads me to believe that in general, you cannot.
Typically, you start with 2 traits, one of which must be a campaign trait, the other can be any one of the other 4 types.
Also, I'm pretty sure one doesn't have to be from the campaign specific list...I know in PFS it doesn't (Though the wording on the 2.01 document was very poorly done, IMO, and gave me that impression.....)
Between only needing a single rank to get an extra +3 in a class skill, and the combination/elimination of skills.....I personally think there's plenty of an increase of skills for everyone. Even my int 7 human cleric is liking his 3 skill points per level very much :).
As per rogues taking extra feats instead of talents, no can do, more than one combat and one general feat.
page 68, rogue talents: A rogue cannot select an individual talent more than once.
Quite frankly after a certain point, parties don't need to be showered with treasure. D+D scenarios and playing style still seem to be influenced by the old paradigm that experience depended on treasure that was looted. Other fantasy RPGs like Amber, Ars Magica, practically any superhero rpg aren't bound by this incessant need to feed greed. In a heroic campaign... defeating the big bad should be it's own reward.
And that' why they're guidelines.... not rules.
Agreed.
That is why made sure to specifically use the term guidelines.
My point was more in response to a GM trying to shaft his players by using the bonded item as a loop hole.
So, to clarify the intent of the statement that started this diversion.....
There's times where as a DM/GM/what have you, you've got this wonderful idea for this neat challenge for the party to have to overcome...but then you hit that "Ut oh, afterwards the party will end up with the Thing of Doom! that made it challenging" problem...which can quickly build into an arms race. Players defeat X, take X's stuff...now you need Y to be even more powerfully armed to challenge them....a few cycles of this can lead to very silly games.
This happens to be a built in mechanic in the game that lets you avoid that arms race while still challenging the party with something that you ordinarilly don't want in player's hands.
It's a tiny bit off topic, but one of the "Evil" (TM) things about arcane bond magic items is the 'usable only for creator'. Nice for the GM who wants to make a nice challenging fight for his party, without then giving them the Amulet of Roxxors that made the fight challenging in the first place (And thus making it even harder to challenge in the future....)
Cantrips
[-] Dancing Lights
[-] Mage Hand
[-] Prestidigitation
1st Level
[ ][ ] Shocking Grasp
Mia Curseborn:
Mia Curseborn
Female changeling magus (bladebound, hexcrafter) 1 (Pathfinder RPG Bestiary 4 29, Pathfinder RPG Ultimate Magic 9, 47, 48)
CG Medium humanoid (changeling)
Init +2; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +0
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Defense
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AC 17, touch 12, flat-footed 15 (+4 armor, +2 Dex, +1 natural)
hp 12 (1d8+3)
Fort +2 (+5 circumstance bonus vs. cold weather), Ref +2, Will +2; +2 vs. death
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Offense
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Speed 30 ft.
Melee dagger +2 (1d4+3/19-20) or
. . fraendi +2 (1d8+3/19-20) or
. . longsword +2 (1d8+3/19-20) or
. . 2 claws +2 (1d4+3)
Ranged longbow +2 (1d8/×3)
Special Attacks arcane pool (+1, 3 points), spell combat
Magus (Bladebound, Hexcrafter) Spells Prepared (CL 1st; concentration +3)
. . 1st—shocking grasp (2)
. . 0 (at will)—dancing lights, mage hand, prestidigitation
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Statistics
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Str 15, Dex 14, Con 10, Int 15, Wis 10, Cha 9
Base Atk +0; CMB +2; CMD 14
Feats Fey Foundling[ISWG], Toughness
Skills Craft (armor) +6, Craft (blacksmith) +6, Craft (bows) +6, Craft (leather) +6, Craft (weapons) +6
Languages Aklo, Common, Draconic, Elven
SQ hex arcana
Other Gear chain shirt, arrows (20), dagger, fraendi, longbow, longsword, armorsmithing tools, backpack, bedroll, blacksmithing tools, blanket[APG], bowyer tools, cold weather outfit, flint and steel, leatherworking tools, magus starting spellbook, spell component pouch, trail rations (4), waterskin (2), weaponsmithing tools, wooden holy symbol of Desna, 1 sp
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Special Abilities
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Arcane Pool +1 (3/day) (Su) Infuse own power into a held weapon, granting enhancement bonus or selected item powers.
Darkvision (60 feet) You can see in the dark (black and white only).
Fey Foundling Magical healing works better on you
Hex Arcana You can substitute Hexes for Magus Arcana.
Spell Combat (Ex) Use a weapon with one hand at -2 and cast a spell with the other.
Background:
The day Mia was found was considered no blessing by the three woodsmen that ran across the tree in the Border Woods where she had been laid. The first refused to go near the babe and walked around the tree towards their destination while his two companions tried to discern the nature of the strange sight. His panicked cries sounded as soon as he had gone out of sight, the howling of wolves and the snapping of bone a macabre accompaniment to the symphony of pain and fear he performed. The second turned and started to head back to Heldren. He had walked not more than seven paces before sinking into what seemed to be solid ground like it was a bog. He uttered not a word as he disappeared.
The third looked around, wondering and fearing what doom would befall him. He swallowed and approached the babe. She slept as peacefully as if the shrieks of the first woodsman were an elven lullaby. With trembling hands he picked her up. With trembling steps he made his way back to Heldren. With a trembling voice he told Elder Natharen Safander, the local priest of Erastil, where he'd found the babe and what had happened as he handed her over. He was found the next morning with his manically grinning head on a spear made entirely of wood five paces from where his headless corpse lay. Her founding had cursed three men to die. A babe born of a curse, and an epithet that would follow her the rest of her life.
Mia did not spend long in the care of the local church to Erastil, an old hermit, a wizard by the name of Galvinius Octarius, who'd moved into an abandoned watchtower nearby came and adopted the curse-born babe. Galvinius gave her a name and spent the next few years weaning her. A cantankerous old man, Galvinius often berated Mia, throwing the epithet Curseborn at her whenever she proved too slow or emotional or anything more than a doll that did his bidding perfectly and without question.
Once Mia had learned the basics of reading and writing, Galvinius began to prepare her for the true purpose he had adopted her for. Galvinius was a man obsessed with the First World and the eternal youth of the fey, youth that he sought to steal for himself and find immortality outside of the path of a lich. He trained her to be his bodyguard, hiring a mercenary to train her in the art of the sword, and probed deep into her mind to learn what secrets she could reveal about the fey. His meddling nearly broke her mind for good. He hardly cared and was positively giddy when Mia began to speak in Aklo, the tongue of the darker fey, after a grueling session where he'd broken through a mental barrier searching through her memories and thoughts.
Between his delves into her mind, Galvinius taught her of the arcane arts, how to cast spells and see the patterns in magic. At first Mia enjoyed the lessons, but slowly came to hate them as Galvinius pushed her harder and harder. He was growing older, and he felt time slipping past. He began to punish her even when she did well if the results did not match his ever heightening expectations. He made the sessions where he delved into her mind more painful after she failed in a lesson. Mia's already fragile pysche began to crack and she'd sometimes spend hours afterwards giggling madly to herself even as she wept from the pain.
She was twelve when he went too far. She'd failed in a lesson, a difficult lesson even masters of the arcane could struggle with. Galvinius went past words and promises to torment her during his next trip into her mind and memories and beat her until his rage was played out. As she lay on the floor, bloodied and bruised, after Galvinius had gone to bed, she snapped. My, he would look amusing choking on his own blood with a second smile under his beard, she thought. She got to her feet and grinned wickedly as she went to where the weapons she'd been trained in hung. She stifled a giggle as she pulled out a keen-edged dagger.
Galvinius woke unable to breath. His voice was a blood-filled gurgle as he tried to beg for his life and to curse Mia for an ungrateful child that would be fodder for the whorehouses of the nearby cities were it not for him as the mis-matched-eyed fey grinned at him from her perch by his bed. His pleas fell on deaf ears, and Mia giggled as he flailed about. The giggles turned to laughter as she capered about and sang as her tormentor died choking on his own blood.
Mia came to her senses as the light left the hermit's eyes and he fell still and silent. She looked at the blood on her hands as horror filled her. She dropped the dagger and ran from Galvinius' tower. The night was cold, and snow fell thickly as she ran away from what she'd done. She could his voice on the wind, cursing her and the day she was born. She ran to get away from that voice, but no matter how far she ran, she could not escape it.
Varisians on their way to Heldren found her, miraculously alive the next morning. She clutched a satchel she had left back in Galvinius' tower, the one that had her spell book and components in it. She never knew how it had gotten into her hands, but even with all of the terrible memories bound up with those items, she could not bring herself to throw them away.
The Varisians brought her into one of their vardos, the one their wise woman, Esmeralda Viscecu, used, and got her out of the cold, wet clothes she wore so they could warm her up. For a couple of hours, they feared the young, frail girl would die from the cold, but as the day passed into twilight, Mia's breathing grew stronger and the warmth returned to her limbs. The snows had slowed the Varisians, and it would not be until the next day that they made Heldren. Mia slept until they were moving again the next morning. Distraught and ashamed of what she had done, Mia confessed everything that had happened the night before the caravan had found her to Esmeralda, telling her everything that had happened. The wise woman comforted Mia, soothing the girl's broken mind and heart. For the first time in her short life, Mia felt safe and slept peacefully after crying herself out and eating a hot meal.
Winter set in fully after the caravan reached Heldren. With the snows so deep and the next town on their route more than a few days away in good weather, the caravan master decided to wait for the spring. During those months, Esmeralda taught Mia about Desna, the Starsong, and the stars the goddess had put in the sky as she helped the girl put her mind back together. It was a hard road full of nights and days where the young girl tettered on the brink of madness, but in the end, Mia did regain some of her sanity. She felt better, more whole, than she ever had while with Galvinius.
Still, she felt something like panic at the thought of leaving with the caravan when spring came. Esmeralda understood and gave Mia a carving of Desna's symbol her grandson had done. The caravan master, at the wise woman's request, called in some favors to find Mia a place to stay and work to help her keep it and feed herself. Mia thanked the caravan master and Esmeralda for their help when she said her goodbyes to the caravan the morning they left for the next leg of their journey.
Over the next few years Mia grew interested in and learned a number of crafts, from leatherworking to smithing to bowery. None of the craftsmen in Heldren were looking for a full apprentice, the blacksmith, Isker Euphram, in particular was focused on training his daughter, Xanthippe, to take over the smithy, but were happy for the help Mia offered. The coin was enough to keep a roof over her head and food in her belly. She'd even developed a friendship with Xanthippe Euphram over the years.
The last year, however, have seen things turn strange for Mia. Odd figures following her home at night, haunting whispers in her dreams, and strange things appearing in the flames about her have her worried she is going mad. Despite how it makes her skin crawl, she has been preparing spells, something she had not done since killing Galvinius, in case she needs them. Memories of the madness that took over that night almost five years ago have her worried that she'll kill someone again, and that this time, she won't come back from the madness. The fears and deepening paranoia are things she tries to hide even from her friends, but it's become increasingly obvious that something is bothering Mia.
Personality and Appearance:
Mia is a helpful, if somewhat awkward, young woman. She keeps to herself, but can be found at festivals and feasts sitting or standing at the fringes and watching the people of Heldren as they dance, sing, and laugh. It's been clear, though, that something has been changing over the past year, with her becoming more skittish and even paranoid. Something is obviously bothering her, even if she cannot or will not say what.
She's a short (5' 1"), slender (95 lbs.) woman with dark hair and pale, almost translucent, skin. Her eyes are mismatched, one (right) green and the other (left) blue. Despite her seeming fragility, she's uncannily strong and tough.
Whenever her claws come out, her eyes change color, the right one turns from green to blood-red and the left one turns from blue to a steely gray.
