Hattori Aiko's page

Aiko finally reappears, having found no signs of a tail. At some point she took the opportunity to change back out of her adventuring garb and into her entertaining garb, meaning that she has switched to a form-fitting Minkaian-themed acrobat's outfit with a colorful trailing sash and exuberant makeup. Eat your heart out, weebs.

She enters the store in complete silence and takes up a position behind the (taller) party members with a brief and wordless bow.

As the group is making its way to Fynn's shop, Aiko says, "You all keep going. I'm going to break off into the crowd and watch for anyone trying to follow us."

The ninja vanishes into the press of bodies.

Stealth: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (15) + 12 = 27
Perception: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (5) + 10 = 15

No objection!

We do. I'm not sure why the armbands weren't mentioned.

Zaraleva worships the majesty that is Ameiko. She's such a legend. She has developed a weird relationship with Aiko too, often being annoying and chaotic while Aiko is so smooth and responsible. She considers Aiko to be her best friend although she's pretty awkward about it. (See the hug scene)
Kelda is a badass and I thought Byron might be interested in having her do more than battle. If the player hates the idea of some flirtatious banter, we can totally drop it.

Aiko tends to have a flat affect because she grew up learning to guard her persona and her expressiveness as part of the bodyguard training she received from her father, but underneath all that Stoicism she considers Zaraleva a dear friend. She just doesn't talk about it or display it openly.

1. Checking enemies for useful stuff is pretty standard adventuring M.O., though in the case of Brinewall Castle mostly we've been fighting dire corbies that don't carry anything. We've been trying to find out more about these "Frozen Shadows" so looking for clues is a pretty high priority.

2. I don't think the last two DMs were using the relationship subsystems as a numerical barometer. It was likely that things are going to be fluid anyway due to composition. (Can Ameiko have two lovers? What kind of soap opera drama are we going to have? We'll find out!)

3. Can't help you there, chief.

4. Kelda's been cool so far so I am always happy to have a DM mouthpiece in the party to remind us when something is a terrible idea.

Aiko seems flatly neutral as the group heads to the next settlement. Crossing the Crown isn't common and it's going to draw attention no matter what they do.

Great, another miscommunication of the highest order.

We do need a DM.

Sent a PM to karlprosek in case he left the campaign and stopped watching this thread.

I'm in for the long haul.

Agreed.

"We need to be cautious, then," Aiko says. "Keep a low profile. People are looking for us, if we show up into a town and stand out and ask lots of questions and talk about Minkaian heritage we're going to be noticed immediately."

Aiko lets out an epithet in Minkaian.

"They must be under some kind of death-curse. Shinobi... like my father and my grandfather before him."

She crouches and looks over one of the bodies.

"Not a poison. Someone, or some thing, was watching them, and considered them expendable."

Aiko puts her naginata on her shoulder and looks at Zaraleva with a curious expression. She seems unsure of how she is supposed to carry a half-dozen swords while also carrying a pole arm that can't be sheathed. Finally she spins the naginata around on its axis, shoves it into the dirt, winces at the damage that she's doing to the blade, and collects the armload of swords (carefully).

Since she can outrun the brigands, Aiko decides she might as well hit them while Lyraesel is also in pursuit, and she races after them with her pole arm.

Aiko has a base speed of 40.

Naginata attack: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (11) + 6 = 17
Naginata damage: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (8) + 1 = 9

Aiko pivots but, lacking darkvision, has no expectation of being able to hit the fleeting foes with a ranged attack under cover of darkness.

Aiko tries to move into a position from which she can (dishonorably?) use her naginata against a foe who's otherwise occupied. (That is, maneuvering for a flank with a reach weapon.)

Naginata attack, bless: 1d20 + 6 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 6 + 1 = 8

Naginata damage: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 1 = 2

Nope, not sure what all buffs we have at the moment.

Aiko remains silent as she lashes out again, now no longer hidden.

Naginata attack: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (9) + 6 = 15

I'll assume another miss.

?

Aiko emerges from the shadows, moving with uncanny speed, to ambush the ambushers.

Naginata attack: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (4) + 6 = 10

To no avail.

I was waiting my turn after going into stealth mode, and since people have been called up when their turn comes, I was waiting for that.

The link worked, but I don't have access to move my token.

I got the same error message as Lyraesel.

"I'll show 'em quiet."

Aiko loads up on her weapons and sneaks off away from the campfire into the darkness.

Stealth: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (11) + 12 = 23

Aiko furrows her brow. Frozen Shadows? Sounds ominous and edgy, like something she might've come up with when she was six years old and pretending to be a ninja going on dangerous adventures with her father.

Forgot to make the Perception roll while typing my essay.

Perception: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (3) + 10 = 13

Strike that bit about the spies in my last post.

Aiko goes about her bath rigorously, scrubbing away as much dirt and grime as she can, washing her clothes, and only then taking a moment to simply relax and enjoy the fine weather, the beautiful natural scenery, and the cooling rest on over-exerted muscles. She spends quite a while brushing out her hair, returning it to a lustrous black sheen, long and glittering in the sun.

~~~~~~~~~~

As the caravan continues on its way, Aiko idly decides one night to put up the small tent that she took from Brinewall. The tent has embroidery in the Minkaian style, which piques her curiosity. To her surprise, she discovers that once the tent is set up (taking about ten minutes), it's larger on the inside! A 10'×10' tent on the outside, the interior is 30'×30', and better still, the inside has three (small) separate rooms as well as a main section, and it stays warm even in the cold.

Definitely a good find as the weather turns sour and the temperature plummets.

~~~~~~~~~~

Aiko sniffs and nods her head at the birds. "Spies, I'd wager," she says with a hint of paranoia.

Aiko pats Adrian on the shoulder and whispers some advice to him before she leaves the camp for the river, carrying her change of clothes.

With a bit of a grumble, Aiko heads off to the river to clean up. She brings a change of clothes and her favorite comb.

Well you don't have to make a scene with it, Aiko is just tired of being grimy. She was raised with Minkaian fastidiousness!

Aiko cocks her head and says, "Why is everyone so focused on my bath? It's not as if I'm even the most shapely person in the crew. I'm just going to clean off the grime of those mucky dungeons, it's not like I'm putting on a show." She rolls her eyes.

"We'll have to trade some of the valuables that we wrested from the dungeon, purchase food, and then head to Kalsgard. If we're lucky then maybe along the way we'll run into something interesting that could help."

Well, it starts as the Bath of Aiko Hattori, but yes.

"I'm going to head up to the river where it enters the bay and get a good scrubbing with fresh water, including washing my clothes. Slashing one's way through a dungeon is grimy work."

"Agreed," says Aiko as she fluidly returns to standing.

"And while we sort that out, I'm going to take a bath."

"Then we need to supply our little caravan and head north to... actually, I don't know how to get to Kalsgard. Anyone here good at geography?"

I'll mention two important points here:
1. The caravan rules in Jade Regent are not good.
2. The trip to Kalsgard's most direct route from here is through Jol, then either we cut through the faerie woods to go straight north, or we head east to the river and then go downriver until we reach Kalsgard.

In spite of exhaustion, injury, and an uncertain future, Aiko hurls herself to Ameiko in a ferocious hug, resting her head against her long-time companion and charge. "Moon over river/has nothing to compare to/the soulmate's visage," she says extemporaneously. Then she backs up from the fierce embrace a step so that she can fluidly go down to one knee, still holding one of Ameiko's hands, which she presses to her face.

"If by my blade or by my life I can deliver you to the end of your quest, you shall have it," she says solemnly.

I think we've agreed to put stuff back in the chest, secure it, and haul everything back to camp to check on Ameiko, yes?

Wow Aiko, that was above and beyond helpful. Thank you!

a +1 mithral reliquary breastplate (5,450 gp).

Wouldn't a +2 be 8450 and thus within the 9000 limit?

Also, I really hope you guys aren't all waiting for me to post. Mine is a lot like Lyraesel's... BAB, Fort, Will, a 1st and a 2nd.

Please continue the IC stuff.

Sure, you could go straight to +2 armor!

Level 4: Samurai (warrior poet) 2

+1 Charisma
+7 hit points
+1 BAB
+1 Fort saves

Order ability: Aid Another bonus goes up to +3 for allies

Skills: +1 each of: Acrobatics, Bluff, Disable Device, Disguise, Perception, Sense Motive, Stealth; Linguistics, Sleight of Hand

Language learned: Giant

Magic item: An expedition pavilion (6,400 gp). Originally used as part of the imperial retinue on the trek from Minkai, this was left behind during the fall of Brinewall. Of course, its function is not immediately obvious, and it will need to be identified by the team later.

I love that item choice, Adrian. Don't forget to adjust your hp.

Now what item should I get?

What do you want to do?

HEALING STUFF
Specialized healer's satchel (3k gp) has a ton of out-of-combat healing uses, including things like subbing your Heal skill for the target's save on a save vs. poison or disease, curing ability drain (which is normally really hard and takes a 4th-level restoration spell or more, unlike more usual ability damage), and turning your treat deadly wounds Heal skill ability into some good bonus healing. I always take one of these on healbot clerics.
Note that it comes in two flavors, "normal" and "specialized," and you want the specialized version, which is 3k gp. Definitely #1 in the miscellaneous stuff in your budget if you want a heal-booster.

Healer's gloves (2.5k gp) are a very cheap +5 to Heal checks, if you do that a lot. Get the satchel first if you have a choice.

Cloak of heavenly fire (6k gp) gives you one bonus cure moderate (5th level) per day and also triggers a 1d8+5 fire damage (double against evil creatures) as an immediate action in response to a melee hit once per day. This would keep you from wearing a cloak of resistance, though.

Dawnflower sash (2.5k gp) gives you an extra cure light wounds once per day, and can feather fall once per day as well. Also gives you endure elements against warm climates only (probably useless to us) and light on command. Overall pretty minor, and would prevent you from wearing a belt of physical prowess.

Saliharion (3k gp) is a Sarenrae-themed holy magic book that lets you add Wis or Cha to your Heal checks and Knowledge checks to identify monsters. Probably more useful to the inquisitor class, which gets monster lore, but still handy because it doesn't take a slot: You get the bonuses just from owning and carrying it, and it's a nice "flavor" item.

Pearls of power let you re-prepare a spell that you previously cast. Note that this is not the same as "bonus spell slot," it's just "cast the same spell again." For 9k you can get a 3rd-level spell slot, which is too high for you to use now but will pay dividends later. You could have an extra healing spell, a battle spell, or even use it to cast magic vestment with enough duration to keep it going all day on your otherwise nonmagical armor.

FIGHTIN' CLERIC STUFF
Reliquary shields are normally made with a feat +250 gp, which serves as a shield + holy symbol combo (but you still can't cast spells that require a somatic component if you have this in one hand and a weapon in the other). If you want your best value, I would say make it a +1 impervious poison-resistant heavy darkwood reliquary shield (7,507 gp). This has no armor check penalty, weighs 5 lbs., and counts as a holy symbol (prominently has the symbol of Sarenrae on the face). Note that the poison resistance bonus is typed as a resistance bonus so it won't stack with a cloak of resistance, if you have one, but still, a flat +3 bonus vs. poison on a cleric means you are gonna make those saves, and the impervious quality means it's really hard to damage or destroy the shield. You can even upgrade the magical bonus of the shield later!

Dawnflower chain vest (6,950 gp) is a +1 chain shirt that lets you cast light and stabilize at will (so you can prepare other cantrips instead), and has spell storing, usually to keep another healing spell handy. Doesn't scale well with levels, though.

If you want a la carte armor instead, you could do a +1 mithral reliquary breastplate (5,450 gp). Simple but effective. Armor check penalty -1, no speed reduction, weighs only 15 lbs., +7 armor (6 from the breastplate, +1 from the enchantment). Later you can improve the enchantment or get comfort added on for 5k, which removes the last point of that armor check penalty, lets you sleep in it (though I guess technically it counts as light armor so you can sleep in it anyway), and helps mitigate temperature problems with the armor and even counts as cold-weather clothing. Includes a holy symbol of Sarenrae emblazoned on the front. For pure armor class, this is the most bang for your buck right now.

Dawnfire (5,315 gp) is a Sarenrae-themed +1 scimitar. Like all fixed-power items it doesn't scale well with level. Lets you shoot an arc of fire from your other hand once per day while fighting with it, but only if you have a free hand, so it's mostly made for clerics who use the Dervish Dance feat to finesse a scimitar in one hand while leaving the other hand empty.

For a more custom weapon, a +1 mithral scimitar with effortless lace (6,515 gp) counts as a finessable weapon (but you'd need to buy into Weapon Finesse), weighs 2 lbs., and can penetrate DR/silver. If you really want to be a scimitar fighter you may find it more useful to simply go down the feat-hungry road of taking Weapon Finesse and Dervish Dance, though then you have to ditch your shield; if you use the effortless lace, you still need Weapon Finesse to make it work, and you don't get Dex to damage, but you can use a shield (though if it has an armor check penalty, that applies to your attack rolls, meaning you want to get a masterwork or magical darkwood shield to get rid of those penalties). I have found, though, that at higher levels, clerics tend to spend more of their actions casting spells than swinging weapons. (Technically this is two items, but effortless lace bonds to the item to which it is attached and becomes part of it, so the DM might squint and allow it.)

BORING BUT PRACTICAL STUFF
Ring of protection, cloak of resistance, headband of inspired wisdom

Since the DM is giving you a little leeway to make the item "yours," give it some flair, a name or history, a little customization flavor.

I think as long as we both have trapfinding running, we get a lot of utility out of having a double chance to spot anything before we trigger it. Aiko's Perception skill isn't as high as Byron's, but getting both of us to roll is still good.

There's not too much reason, I think, to go hard into traps beyond that unless you want to be the all traps build that uses traps as a weapon, but I think just stabbing things is probably simpler for a slayer.

"Demon-ogres, what's the word? Oni," says Aiko. "From Minkai. They killed the emperor, tried to hunt down the royal family, but the imperials and their retinue stripped themselves of their goods and their identities, fled here to Varisia. The castle was destroyed by the oni's minions, but the family escaped to Sandpoint... ugh! To think that Lonjiku was their heir, the rightful emperor of Minkai! Pfagh! No wonder my father was so tight-lipped about his relations with them. But Ameiko... she is the Empress of Minkai. And those creatures will stop at nothing to kill her, to wipe out the Amatatsu line and end any challengers to their despotic rule."

Aiko also has trap spotter, so we should be getting double mojo.

Aiko breathes in sharply.

"I understand!" she says suddenly. "I understand it all! I understand what my father did, and why. I understand how we got here and why Ameiko is in trouble and how this is all connected."

She drops one end of dancing wasp to rub her face and says, "Oh, such a secret. But now the secret is out of the box... literally! We have to grab these chests and hurry back to camp. If everything in the vision is right... Ameiko should be awake now!"

Aiko keeps her eyes peeled for traps or ambushes while Byron opens the chests.

Once the bars grind down, Aiko pulls out dancing wasp and sets it slowly spinning again. She moves cautiously into the chamber, keeping an eye out for anything out of the ordinary, checking corners, floor tilings, even the ceiling for holes, slits, discolorations, or lack of dust.

"The door there, Byron—you on it?"

Easy enough to say I have both?

Aiko produces the matching disks.

"Now we know why these were so out of place. Someone made this deliberately difficult to access."

Aiko places the sun disk on the left side and the moon disk on the right side.

Lesser restoration would also clear that up.

"But shinobi are not endemic to Varisia. As far as I know my father and I were the only ones within a thousand miles of Sandpoint! There may be a few hiding here and there in the big cities, but a castle full of them? Out here? It is a strange mystery," Aiko explains.

Aiko says gravely, "Indeed... but what are a cohort of ninja doing attacking this castle, so far from Tian Xia? And where did they go after they left behind, with the bird-creatures taking this as a lair?"

Aiko rolls up the chain for dancing wasp and adds, "We should probably take the poor unfortunate's remains and give them a proper burial in the graveyard."