Still alive, still kicking, still want to play more of this.
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Well that's a bummer to hear, though I've been low-key expecting it for quite some time now. I'll go ahead and say right now that I'll still be interested in resuming whenever you can pick it up again, just squirt me a message. Hope things ease up on your end at some point soon, because I've really had a lot of fun with this.
Wait, didn't we get something about a company board meeting last year, and you kind of got eaten by life immediately after? ;p
I hope he's doing okay. I've seen some activity on the campaign wiki, so he's sputtering along at least somewhat. On another matter, what you do (ooc) think of the points Garidan brought up with his questions? About Yrgna maybe not being too keen on seeing Li'luraant becoming her new overgod.
Garidan can't quite stifle the chuckle as Malthazir's words inspire a particular thought, and he shares the thought with a slight smile. "'Nuanced' meaning 'don't cause the ritual to explode catastrophically', right?"
The swashbuckler mulls over this additional information with a slow nod. "I see. Well, I must say that Yrgna sharing any such secret she may possess in trade for her freedom is an awfully risky assumption on Li'luurant's part. If that is indeed her goal, and if Yrgna even has such knowledge to impart, obviously." Still, the frown still creases Garidan's brow, and he asks yet another question. "Would Yrgna be willing to impart such knowledge if she knew of the hag's plans, however? To grant another whatever it is that makes her...," and here, he breaks off for a moment to search for the suitable term, as "immortal" apparently isn't quite right anymore. "Permanent, if the recipient will also possess a degree of power that makes her effectively nothing by comparison?' "I mean, obviously the goal is to stop Li'luurant before any of this becomes a concern, but we came frightfully close to failing in this last fight. It might well turn out that, for all of our best efforts, the hag's plans see some success, perhaps to the extent that Yrgna is freed of her confinement at the least. And facing the pair of them at the same time seems a fool's proposition. So it might be to our benefit to consider what reaction would happen if we were to loudly point out what Li'luurant has in mind and how it would impact Yrgna's newly-gained freedom."
The oracle's response answers much of what Garidan asked, but almost immediately raises another question in his mind, which he asks as soon as Malthazir has finished speaking. "Okay, I can follow that. But where then does the Bonemother's release fit into this? Is she a beneficiary of Li'luurant's plans, an unwitting victim of them, or something else entirely? Because she doesn't sound the sort to stand idly by and let this hag surpass her power. If she is released, somehow, could we find ourselves caught up in a power struggle between them?" While waiting on a reply to that, the young man considers what Malthazir spoke of, this binding. Something about the matter sounds entirely unwholesome, not to mention the danger that the elf himself has mentioned, and Garidan searches his memory for anything he might have learned about the subject, either through his own studies or from his parents' varied topics of discussion.
Restored to proper form, Garidan briefly laments the return of his blindness, but considers the change in vision an equitable trade for no longer being trapped as a small, fuzzy morsel. A bit hesitant in the company of these new people, Garidan mostly stays silent and listens with interest to the lore being shared with the party, childhood memories of Alezra's own tales of such things coming to mind. But something in their words catches his attention, causing a frown to mar his expression, and he eventually raises the matter to the others. "Pardon my interruption here, but there's something I'm not quite getting about Li'luurant's plans. What, precisely, would she possibly stand to gain by further destroying what the Shaping didn't already thoroughly take a hammer to?" The young man waves at the starlit greenery around them for emphasis as he continues. "I mean, this is pretty much the best we've seen since this mess happened, and who knows how long it will last. And there are surely others that would survive whatever she does, take exception to her actions, and be fully capable of expressing their displeasure in a way that she can't just shrug off. So how does she come out ahead in all of this?"
Really do hope things are going well for our GM.
Hopefully everything works out, Val.
Honestly, considering the other campaign, I am not terribly enthused by the prospect of encountering plague zombies. Granted, our levels are high enough that a small group likely wouldn't pose too terrible a threat (especially with the variety of spells we can hose into the group from range). But a larger group that we can't just hit the "delete" button on with a few mass-target spells, or an encounter at close quarters with little room to maneuver? Not a thrilling idea, to be honest. I wouldn't mind visiting the Tower of Conjuration as a sidetrip that takes the form of a stealthy entry, poking around to see what might be left of use there, and seeing how much of it we can take for ourselves before leaving (either quietly or at the head of an angry mob of enemies). It's been a while since we had the chance and the reason to skulk about properly. (I have this mental image of Niyut, Garidan, and Gruskorb doing the sneaky bits, while Malthazir uses magic senses to act as mission controller from a distance, and Truk'tosh guards him, the minion, and our precious ox full of loot).
Might be a good source of spells for Garidan to throw out via scrolls made by someone else.
The first few moments after his body is snatched up are terrible ones for the transformed swashbuckler, as he struggles uselessly against what he believes to be a new threat. Hearing the voice of the one holding him correctly identify him as a person does little to calm Garidan, and he kicks desperately to get free, to no avail. And so, the rabbit is forced to watch and listen as his captor joins up with another and approaches the sight of the recent battle. Finding himself shown off as though a prized pet--which everyone seems to believe is a meal--doesn't make him terribly happy about his current situation. "Still, as humiliating as this is," he muses to himself once he realizes that the one holding him apparently isn't a foe. "It could surely be so much worse. These could be new enemies, or just hungry travelers. I rather think things would end poorly for me in either case. That said, I do wish someone would see to getting me back to my proper form, before something unfortunate happens." Observing with interest--for he can do little else right now--as Niyut restores her mother and explains matters does bring a momentary flash of disgruntlement to the young man, for in her exposition of assorted meritorious deeds done recently, the oracle has quite forgotten him! "Yes, yes, Truk'tosh was pretty impressive, and Gruskorb too. But it wasn't just the two of them down here, I helped!" Whatever his thoughts may be on the matter, the only physical sign is a laying back of his ears; rabbits' faces aren't really meant for showing off sour expressions. However, the sourness fades in the faces of Niyut's obvious distress over her brother's absence, and the rabbit slumps in the grip holding him and looks about as dejected as it's possible to get. "Right, I'd forgotten that for a moment, those two got pulled into whatever the hag did. And who knows how, or even if, we'll get them back again. And I can't even help out unless I can get out of whatever's happened to me."
I guess I wasn't clear on what I actually meant about the essences. It's not that I don't know what my choices are on how to spend them, it's that I don't know which of the many choices available would be best at the moment. As you point out, SR is good. But having a little bit more range on those bone shards would have helped out against Li'luraant (if nothing else, for the reduced range increment penalty). And more AC, improved saves, and maybe even more combat stamina/panache would also be helpful.
Nice to see that our hard victory is paying out appropriately, with such a bounty of essences. Of course, aside from what I've already spent on 'Ruza with the new Solar Bloodline--which I'll note on the sheet once Valjoen acknowledges it--I really don't know what I'm going to spend them on. In fact, I think I might actually be at the limit for maximum essences per item according to character level on some of my items.
And, lastly, Valjoen, I remind you that Garidan had a specific interest in Li'luraant beyond just dropping her in Calledrym's name for his favor. He was also told, back in Haemil, that the hag has the ability to create magical shelters and she might be a source of an essence that Garidan can add to his armor for that specific purpose.
Solar Bloodline (varies, see text): The addition of a fire essence to her vessel has awakened within 'Ruza a lingering echo of her mother's hidden extraplanar heritage, an echo able to transcend even death and 'Ruza's current state of being. She gains the ability to cast powerful spells and empower the spells that she casts with fire damage. By absorbing ethereal essences, 'Ruza can unlock the bloodline abilities of her heritage, which she can share with Garidan as long as she is within reach of him. Her sorcerer level (equal to Garidan's character level -2) determines which bloodline powers she has access to, as well as what improvements (if any) they gain. Each bloodline ability after the first has an ethereal essence cost of 1 + the cost of the prior ability. Solar Caster (Sp): 'Ruza adds the bonus spells of the Solar Bloodline to the list of spells she can cast as a sorcerer, with her sorcerer level (equal to Garidan's character level -2) determining which bloodline spells are available to her. These spells follow the same rules as those granted by the Light Shaper ability; 'Ruza may cast one of the granted bonus spells 1/day, using Garidan's Charisma modifier and Garidan's character level -2 as 'Ruza's sorcerer level for determining their effectiveness. The spell requires no components, is cast on Garidan's initiative count during a round, and consumes Garidan's swift action for that round. In addition, whenever 'Ruza casts a spell with the [fire] descriptor, if it deals damage, it deals +1 point of damage per die rolled. Spells:
Sunsight (Su): 'Ruza gains low-light vision and cannot be dazzled. Friend of Fire (Su): 'Ruza gains fire resistance 5. When in contact with flame or a burning object (including a flaming weapon, lantern, or torch), she adds +1 per die to any healing effect of which she is the target.
+9 HP +1 BAB
+1 Acrobatics, +1 Climb, +1 Intimidate, +1 Knowledge (the planes), +1 Perception, +1 Sense Motive, +1 Survival, +1 UMD; +1 Craft (Alchemy), +1 Craft (Armor) Circling Mongoose
Cutting and pasting while dealing with Paizo's infuriating "backtrack limit exceeded" IS that bad. Because it might pop up after just a couple of tab switches during an edit, or I might be able to switch between tabs for several minutes, do an edit, and have no problems; it's utterly unpredictable, and readily wipes an entire edit just like that.
Pretty sure Valjoen means Unseen Servant as the spell. With a cloak drapped over it, and some noise-making effect.
Gah, I thought that the EP rules were for use with the Last Haven campaign, not this one. I'm not even close to ready to redo Garidan's entire profile to account for the EP change.
Am I safe in assuming the 'Ruza's effective sorcerer level (Gardian's character level -2) must be equal to or greater than the level requirement of the desired bloodline power to select it? And for all level-based improvements to said powers as well? Further, do the granted spells function much the same way that spells cast via Light Shaper--no components, cast on Garidan's initiative, require Garidan's swift action--do? Are they 1/day each, or 1/day for the Solar Caster ability as a whole?
I would remind you that you should probably offer him pray/praise/whatever when you are less of a bunny. Gods seem to like that kind of attention. Well, praying to a deity known as the "Eagle" would be just a bit pushing things while a rabbit, I suppose.
A cinematic wrap of this fight is just dandy by me. I vote against having a new player step in to take over Gruskorb. Aside from not having the same level of investment in the character--and obviously no idea of how the character was to be developed--it'd be entirely unfair to stick them with a pre-made character that's already been developed to such an extent without their input. I am, however, willing to invite a new player in with the idea that they take up, via a character of their choosing, the Sapling plotline. Part of that reason is that we all have our own assortment of dangling and potential character plots already, and adding the tree to those would be a bit much. And the other part of the reason is that we've established that 5 character--plus more than occasional aid from an NPC/minion--is just about right for the threat level we're facing. If Gruskorb hadn't been hanging in that tree like a friggen monkey and snapping away with the whip, I'm pretty sure the hag portion of the fight would have been a lot less in our favor. All that being said, I certainly don't mind Niyut just continuing to NPC Gruskorb if up to the task of managing two characters like that. Also, level 10, huzzah! I hope Calledrym was paying attention and actually accepts this result as fulfilling his mandate regarding Li'luraant. Because I don't think we're getting a second shot at that otherwise. Finally, with regards to Garidan's development, Niyut offered some interesting backstory ideas leading into essence usage, and I'm wondering if you'd be willing to consider them. To summarize the ideas: Alezra Sharpwit's motivation from parting with the Nightblood and going ruin diving was because she had a Solar bloodline (which, as Niyut pointed out, wouldn't exactly be cool among the Nightblood). That Solar bloodline, via essences fed into the ioun torch, awakens somewhat in 'Ruza, at least enough so that she can use it as a bloodline and share it with Garidan.
Seeing the witch's blasted form hit the ground, and Niyut land shortly after, Garidan cautiously hops into view, the ioun torch circling his body and flicking dimly to draw the oracle's eye. His ears are up--through no conscious effort on his part--and his head is turning constantly as he checks for further threats.
Upon further consideration of Alezra's Nightblood roots, I think it would serve to explain why she didn't share much regarding her origins with Garidan and Goruza as they were growing up. I can't imagine that Nightblood have any sort of positive reputation among those who know what the name really signifies, and explaining to a pair of intellectually precocious children that mommy's people essentially worship vampires probably wouldn't go over too well either. And while they were undoubtedly aware of what an orc's natural lifespan is, why would they question mom not aging (or, at least, appearing to age) as an orc would? I know that I've (in real life) often looked at or been around something for a long while before suddenly noticing one detail that was never hidden, but also never really registered on my mind. I don't doubt we've all done that, and it's incredibly easy to do.
'Ruza was at least 15, having just finished up her own training (we'll handwave her starting age to be the lowest possible for a half-orc fighter) and considered "ready" for adventuring by Armant and Alezra.
EDIT: Sorry chaos at my house this afternoon with the wife and kiddo. I thought you were talking about Prisca. She is human, but I inadvertantly marked her as orc. Alezra, Ruza's mother and Garidan's step-mother is a Nightblood. Or some lifespan shenanigans courtesy of being Nightblood--and potentially something else besides--as Valjoen has confirmed she was. Possibly a little bit of all of those things. Lol, this rather interesting, a background element put in while overlooking just one or two details, and it turns into something with a lot of potential. Yes, kin definitely. Origins of random ioun stone housing the wayward spirit of one of their descendants? Probably a harder ask. Though, that creepy, female vampire seems to have some strong divination skills, so maybe she could tell you that too.Wouldn't the Nightblood, with their blatant (and literal) ancestor worship be the likeliest to have some means of knowing when kin are around, even if said kin is just a bit corporeally- and respiration-challenged at the time? Maybe even especially under those conditions? I don't know about you, but if I was leading the Nightblood and had a creepy diviner handy, I'd put said diviner to work sussing out knowledge and secrets regarding the little pack of scrappy adventurers I was going to be using for my work. If she's capable, and has some good sources, she could probably learn all about Garidan's little possessed ioun torch, and just who and what its possessor is. And if Alezra did part from the Nightblood on account of some embarrassing--or, as you put it to my considerable amusement, super awkward--heritage issues, then having her daughter pop up (in any form) would probably merit a little bit of interest, right?
Wouldn't the Nightblood, with their blatant (and literal) ancestor worship be the likeliest to have some means of knowing when kin are around, even if said kin is just a bit corporeally- and respiration-challenged at the time? Maybe even especially under those conditions?
How old was she? And when did she leave? Congratulations, you've just asked two questions for which I have no answer whatsoever. I honestly never fleshed it out, even just in my head, to that level of detail. I do know that, because of how orcs age, she would have been middle-aged at the time of the Shaping, with only a few years left before the physical rigors of adventuring became a serious concern.
Yeah, she was indeed full orc, because 'Ruza was a half-orc. Well then, that's an interesting background tidbit resolved there. Of course, now I'm wondering if there's any of her relatives left among the Nightblood, and if any them maybe can recognize what that ioun torch actually is.
Hold up, all of those essences from just that one enemy?!? And a shiny magic staff too? Dang.
Do we know what the essences came from? I track that, because it's occasionally relevant, and I definitely want an ethereal from the hag. I also need to see if Calledrym is satisfied by how things turned out.
Alezara was a Nightblood? Yes, I imagine that if she had the Solar Bloodline that would be super awkward for her given their leaders are all a special type of vampire. :-p :-p You know, it's been a good long while since that particular background element has come up, and I can't rightly recall which of the various tribes/clans in the First Lands Alezra hails from. Heck, I can't even remember if it's come up to begin with.
Oooo, this is nifty. It keeps to the supporting aspect of the spellcasting, it works with a couple of other abilities she has (via Garidan or innately)--like adding the [fire] descriptor to any spells she casts, which the Bloodline Arcana could then trigger off of--and it does have a nice thematic element to it all. FYI, 'Ruza's magic having the [light] descriptor? That's actually a consequence of her vessel being an ioun torch--that was discarded since it wasn't working properly any longer--once upon a time; the spellcasting comes from mom, the [light] element from the torch. I'm sure there's some suitably dense magi-babble explanation that could be cooked up and slapped on it :D, but that's the gist of it. Still, it doesn't actually negate your heritage suggestion either. If Alezra maybe had something in her background that the rest of the tribe didn't approve of, it could have provided both an impetus for her eventually parting ways and the fascination with old ruins that resulted in her repeated encounters with Armant; she was looking specifically for information that wouldn't otherwise be readily found among the various groups in the First Lands. Then the Shaping, a literal magical cataclysm, happens and all manner of f!#~ery occurs as a side-effect; bound souls being one notable example. 'Ruza's soul ends up stuffed into a busted ioun torch, and various things--the Shaping, her own magical heritage, the lingering magic in the torch--enable her to push little squirts of specific magic out from time to time. Eating essences along the way (omnomnomnom) strengthens and expands the magic available, but there's still a soul in there and that has an effect on things too, and if that soul should just so happen to have a little (unknown) taint of the extraplanar somewhere on it as well...
I'm honestly not even sure what link/map to look at. I honestly can't even keep track of the current threats and their tactical positioning. I think we have like...3 flying threats now? Top map on the sidebar is always the most current, aside from Valjoen occasionally forgetting to update things on his end.
I had an idea last night for how to develop Ruza's sorcery in the future, if you are interested. Well, at the moment, all she can do is spells with the [light] descriptor and, if Divination essences are fed in, spells of that school. And that's all quite intentional in its limits, because she's not supposed to be (or allow Garidan to be) a major source of party spellcasting. Just like Garidan with his armor, shield, and UMD-activated scrolls, it's meant to be support casting; a useful trick from an unexpected source or, as right now so readily demonstrates, a tool of last resort. Now all that said, I'm always up for more ideas, so lay it on me!
@Garidan: While you are a bunny, your sister can still cast [Light] spells. Lol, I know. I was actually writing up post with that very thing in mind when you posted. You know, with this rabbit form, I have the most intense urge to wield a switchblade.
Little Garidan Foo Foo continues his sneaky creep through the underbrush, stopping only when he hears the angered shrieks of their last--or so he hopes--foe as she attacks Niyut. Glad that the oracle hasn't been caught up like Truk'tosh and Gruskorb were, he does the only thing that he can at the moment, directing his sister to unleash a blast of light that catches the witch while just barely avoiding the oracle and wizard. Unfortunately, he's overlooked one small but vital detail; he's a rabbit and can't speak. So his direction is nothing more than rabbit noise that grows increasingly frustrated as the realization that he can't communicate effectively dawns upon the swashbuckler. Still, his angry chitters and paw pointed at the witch seem to get the point across and, with a considerable bit of mental laughter on his sister's part (and both studiously ignore the slightly desperate edge to that laughter), 'Ruza releases the magic within her vessel.
Once the witch receives Garidan's little contribution to the fight, the rabbit resumes creeping along toward safety, the ioun torch tucking neatly under his folded ears for cover.
Garidan doesn't know how he's been turned into a rabbit, or how he'll be getting back into his normal form, but he does know that he's currently ill-equipped to fight much of anything, particularly a foe that he can now see(!) is hovering well out reach in the air above. And, seeing as how it seems to be only himself and perhaps Malthazir still around--as his newly-restored sight hadn't seen the elf drawn into that noxious-looking void--sticking around in the open doesn't seem like the best of ideas. With that in mind, and taking advantage of his current ability to see again to find his way, the man-made-rabbit begins to cautiously creep away from his present location.
I'm dying of anticipation. My money is on Baleful Polymorph for what terrible thing Prisca is doing to Garidan. Why you putting that evil on me? What did I do to you, that you give Valjoen ideas like that?
Nope. It's a planned ability, but the essences to grant it haven't yet come my way. If you a ringing slap out of nowhere, that's likely my facepalm. I can't believe I overlooked that.
Nope. It's a planned ability, but the essences to grant it haven't yet come my way.
Garidan groans in agony as pain wracks him. He knows from the hag's command that someone else has joined the fight, but cannot actually see the new foe anywhere within range of his sister's senses. And so, unable to do anything about this newest threat, he struggles through the pain and keeps focus on Li'luraant. However, considering the imminent threat posed to Niyut, the swashbuckler elects to forgo the usual shard of edged bone in favor of something that will, hopefully, prove a good bit more of a problem for the hag. That shard that flies upward quickly splinters and expands into a lattice of bone that attempts to enclose the hag entirely.
Without pause to gauge the effectiveness of the cage, Garidan is scrabbling at his harness with his free hand, desperately seeking the ever-refilling flask of restorative potion stuffed into one of the loops. The pain, which he suspects is the result of some sort of spell from the unseen foe, is still present and he rather doubts that it won't get worse. Facing it in somewhat better physical condition that what he's currently in seems a smart idea. The flask in hand, he prepares to uncap it as he shuffles closer to Truk'tosh.
ACtually, I used both of my speed surges at the start of this fight, to reach the witch at the fire, remember? That was, of course, last year campaign time, so it's been a while. Also, I don't recall that Valjoen ever got around to actually implementing the EP thing for this campaign. It was mentioned, but that was all. Finally, I'll let my post stand as it is. Retcons can get a little out of hand in this campaign, and I try to avoid causing or using them. I still have a swift action though, which I can use to throw out a burst of radiance at a moment's notice.
It probably would help, a great deal. Almost as helpful would be having a Speed Surge left to do that with :D. And it sucks that I learn this too late to actually edit my post accordingly. Unfortunately, none of the other possible targets for that particular move have an effect that would directly help Malthazir out, or even do anything at all right now. However, my memory was jogged and I do have one other thing that I can throw at her! However, I don't know if Malthazir would appreciate it, since he'd be in the AoE as well. And being blinded or dazzled--depending on his save--wouldn't do him any favors right now.
Growling as the shards hit to no effect, the swashbuckler draws his blade back to try again. But fatigue is catching up with him, and he doesn't think he can strike with the same accuracy as before, not at her current altitude. So, instead, he takes careful aim and sends but a single shard upward at the hag's head. Hopefully, the blow will rattle her and get her attention off of the increasingly ragged-looking Malthazir.
The instant that the hag returns to visibility for the purpose of assaulting Malthazir, the swashbuckler braces himself and lets fly with a double volley of bone shards. The shards are beaten to the target by Truk'tosh's axe, but not by much.
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