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I can just line through that negative boon on mine myself; no need to redo it for me. It was indeed a great run, and don't fret over the ending. I too am moving on to 2e more, and SF2 soon. This was my only PF1 table going, and playing Holan-Ji here is a nice ending. Thanks to you all, and I hope to see you at other tables in the future.
Holan-Ji whips up a simple plate of sliced meats, breads and carrots for the team as Maria and Hep tend to Vilk. But when his stomach growls after the light snack, he leaves the ladies to their tender ministrations and goes in search of "the good stuff." He returns about 30 minutes later with a basket of piping hot food. The mixed aromas of grilled meats, sauteed veggies, and hot gridle cakes fill the room as he removes the covering towels. "Hungry?" he asks Vilk and the girls with a grin, knowing full well their answers. "I found this little alley just off the main square. Called Alabang Alley, and it's full o' food carts and little hole-in-the-walls. I'll take you all there tomorrow if you want." As he speaks, he begins setting out the various dishes and describing each along with stories about the seller or the cart or even that stray orange cat he met. "Yeah, he* wasn't sure what ta' make o' me at first, but a skewer o' Goka chicken made him my best friend. At least for a few minutes," he laughs as he passes Vilk the last Goka skewer. But there's something in that laugh and the faraway look in his eyes just then that makes one wonder what else he's thinking about....
Having caught his breath and shaken off the tiredness that follows an all-out battle, Tiger follows the orders of his leader. Joking - it wasn't an order, it was a nicely phrased request, and he is happy to comply. "Good thing I stocked the safehouse with some noms; I'm famished. And eatin' might help him recover, too." He easily hefts the retired Pathfinder onto one shoulder and adds, "Feels like he could stand to put on a little weight anyhow."
As the werewolf's body slumps to the ground, Holan-Ji steps back. Panting from the exertion, he dismisses the Tiger God's hold on his psyche and follows Vilk to the ground, albeit just onto one knee. "Damn, he's tough. We heal him, he better not get back up and start again. I don't think the three of us alone can take him out twice. But maybe you two can tie him up just in case, while I take a little breather." He watches Maria try to patch him up and chuckles, his exhaustion showing through. "Heh, yeah, the bodies of us shifter types ain't exactly normal. But don't worry, I got this." He reaches to the small of his back and draws a black wand with red runes on it. Tapping Vilk first and then himself and then Hep, he lets the infernal energy slowly knit all their wounds.
The only thing Holan-Ji hears is the roar of the Tiger God within him as he looks at Vilk. Somewhere a high-pitched voice says "just finish this," and he assumes it's just another voice in his head among the many. He roars in agreement as the Tiger's claws extend from his hands and he steps up to face the Wolfman. The Tiger God roars in unison and wreathes Holan-Ji's claws in fire as a gift while together they bite and tear into Vilk.
As the hound drops, Holan-Ji sees an opening that'll allow him to at least get on his feet. He lets the Tiger God go, shifting his body back to his normal form. Safely beyond the reach of Vilk, he stands and calls the Tiger God within him to grant just a small bit of its power for now. He cracks his knuckles and prepares to finish this fight.
"Oh no you don't! You're gonna give shape-shifters a bad name!" Holan-Ji yells as he emerges from the sewer. "Well, worse than we already got, anyway." Determined to catch Vilk, he puts his shoulder down and slams into the door,
He then climbs up and over the opposite side wall of the next collapsed shack
Holan-Ji dips a toe into the dirty water and immediately withdraws it as that small act stirs up an even fouler scent. "I think I'm done being Tyger for now. Too big and too furry," he says as he surveys the size of the tunnels. Shifting back to human/oni form, he rolls his shoulders, cracks his knuckles, and bends down to one knee to look at the walkway more closely and try to discern where the werewolf went.
"I won't assume there's no traps, but I kinda doubt they took time to set any. I'm thinkin' the blood-crazed werewolf ain't careful and calculatin' like a kobold." He turns back towards the doorways and stares into the gray-scale darkness. "I can probably track 'im. Won't turn down any concoction you got that'd make my nose as sensitive as it is when I'm tiger-ing," he interrupts himself to laugh, "Is that a word, tiger-ing, wait, no don't answer."
That depends. In humanoid form, Holan-Ji has darkvision (tiefling), as he does in dragonfly form (vermin shape), but in tiger form he only has low-light (beast shape). Looking at that map, not sure where we're coming in from or where the "three jail cells" are. Oh, or is that the sewers? Either way if it looks narrow, he'll likely just shift back to humanoid.
Holan-Ji playfully swats Hep's butt with one enormous paw as he passes behind her. "Happy Spanky's Day!" he laughs. "You know, I bet that's a real holiday somewhere. Everyone spanks each other cause you can't spank yourself, then they have a huge feast." He laughs again, the roar echoing off the marble walls. But when he reaches the door, he stops laughing, gets serious (but chuckles one last time as the image of Spanky's Day returns to his cat-brain), and moves on through to continue the chase.
Holan-Ji is the last to enter the room. He doesn't want to scare the frail man, and he really doesn't want the man to get the wrong idea about why they're here. But he figures he should at least try to help. He steps in behind Hep and puts a hand on her shoulder. "Yeah, you got the right of it, we're Pathfinders, and ain't nobody bolder than us. But like Hep says, we're here to help." He tries adding a reassuring smile, but it really doesn't help.
Tien: "If playin' nice don't work, I'll go Bad Cop on him." he whispers to Maria.
Holan-Ji moves into the foyer of the townhouse, squeezing his massive frame through the door and past the "butler" without threatening the man. He does start to give a toothy grin, but then realizes that's probably a bad move given how large and sharp his teeth are. So he just smiles and nods pleasantly instead.
Holan-Ji picks up the cue from Effie and groans inwardly at the implication but does put on a smile for the "butler."
They said this guy's rep had taken a hit, so maybe he's answering' his own door and just pretendin' to be a butler. [b]"Can you have him show us in, maybe," he suggests at Maria's question, before wincing at Hep's. [b]"Oh, you meant do that to him." His normally red tinted skin goes an even deeper shade of crimson at the thought of the girls doing those things to himself.
"Sorry, Hep, but I'm tryin' to save up for some cool gear," he says with an indulgent laugh. "I'm not gonna go blow 500 G on an outfit I'll only wear once. But those," he points to Effie's bangles, "that's not a bad idea, especially given how many times we gotta dress up for these missions." He then gets the name of a magical gear seller from Erudyta to get himself some of those sleeves. But maybe ones made to look like sleeves and not sparkly and jangly bracelets. With those in place, he follows the girls shopping and copies the look of a nice men's outfit. And carries the girls' bags, of course, cause he's wise enough to know his place on this particular part of the mission.
Holan-Ji's ears perk up at the possibility of "interviewing" a courtesan, but he visibly deflates when it becomes clear that said courtesan is male. Then he realizes that he may have to take the lead anyway given the nature of the man's clientele. "We can start there, with Rutowski. Where do we find him? I guess I get us in the door, but maybe one of you gals do the talkin'?" "Though the more I think about it, ain't it gonna seem weird that six* of us want an audience, and the majority are women? Is he even gonna see a group like us?"
Sorry if I missed it, but how long do we have until the moon rises? Please confirm gender of Markov Rutowski. GM posted "She is a half-elf..." but then "...gain an audience with him." It wouldn't normally matter, but they're a courtesan, so it would affect Holan-Ji's options and suggestions for a course of action. Lastly, has anyone reached out to Hawthwile?
Holan-Ji catches Maria carefully eyeing Hepsubia. Man, I will never understand what goes on in those elven heads. Elven female heads at that. Nope, not even gonna speculate... "Ooh! That place smells great! What's the name of that inn there?" he excitedly asks Ryado while stabbing a long arm in the direction of the mouth-watering aroma wafting into the carriage. "What? We can't fight on empty stomachs. And he just said, ahem, 'Vilk’s rampage must end tonight.'"
"Hiya' Soddy," Holan-Ji greets the little leshy lady. "You a carnivore, vega-vore like Maria and Jobu, or a little bit a both? I'm not tryin' to pry, but one o' the things I do is find the best places for the team to eat, and I gotta account for everyone's tastes." It's then that he realizes that like Zithembe, the Grandfrogger too is missing. "What happened to jobu? He finally retire to a nice lily pad in the jungle somewhere? Dang, that crazy familiar o' his gonna drive him crazy," he finishes with a guffaw and a shake of his big head. "Anyway, I won't be needin' any silver. These," he pauses for dramatic effect as he transforms his fingers into razor sharp claws, "work just fine 'gainst both fey and were's." En route to Ardis, true to his word, Holan-Ji does indeed find the best street food markets, hole-in-the-wall locals-only places, and even one fancy place in Caliphas that normally requires reservations. But he somehow gets the team past the snooty maitre de simply on charm. On the docks of Ardis, Holan-Ji lets Maria take the lead with Ryado as he's sure she'll have (many) questions for the young man. Meanwhile, he focuses on keeping an eye on the surroundings as he doesn't trust the locals not to cause problems for Pathfinders and were-tyggers.
A "towering wall of a ..." tiger-demon-man bursts into the room and with a whooping laugh grabs Hep, Effie and Maria each in a huge hug as if he hadn't seen them in forever. But then, when you live completely in the moment and only for the joy of today, it likely has been "forever" to him. He notes the two new faces and introduces himself to them before suddenly turning somber. "Hey, where's Zithembe? He's okay, right? He didn't re-die or whatever while I was away?" When the others assure him that the jade paladin is fine, he relaxes. "Okay, good," he says a little embarrassed as he scratches behind his neck. "I mean, I know we kinda seem like we rub each other the wrong way sometimes, but he feels like a brother to me. Like an opposite-twin. I dunno. Anyway, you'll have to tell me all about your last missions on the way to this one. Ustalav, huh?"
"Werewolves? And wererabbits?" he says with a side-eye and chuckle at Effie. His tail begins swishing the air. "Are the locals gonna have an issue with a weretiger? I mean, that ain't what I am, o' course, but are they likely to think that anyway? And then go and do somethin' hazardous to my (and then their) health?" "Either way, we find Vilk and put a stop to the killin'. Can he be cured, ya' think?" he asks Maria.
Sometimes I'm not sure who is more Chaotic, the PC or the Player. ;) Occultist is a great 1-level class. Legacy Weapon from Transmutation lasts a minute, and since we all have magic weapons, you can use a standard action to give Bane (Whatever) to someone. And then do it again the next round to someone else. +2 to attack and +2d6+2 damage! Oh, one minor detail. There's a class feature called "Mental Focus." I don't think Hep can use that. ;) --------- Ninja'd. Alas, so the dice have spoken.
I think I celebrated Spanks-giving this year. I spent 30+ hours flying from Korea on Thursday to Shanghai then Alaska then straight back to Korea, arriving Friday evening. Nary a turkey or slice o' pie anywhere. But I really can't complain, as after a quick layover, I'm now in Manila. I'll be diving in Palawan by mid-week and get to see both of my gf's within the next 2 weeks. So I do Give Thanks for the job and lifestyle that lets me do those things, for sure.
Hehe. I think my Halloween was (unsurprisingly) quite different than y'all's. I was in Bangkok over the weekend, and nearly every bar was having costume night for their bar-girls, and the discos were packed with costumed revelers. It was pretty crazy. Then on Monday, I flew to Siem Reap, Cambodia. The main party district is Pub Street, and it was full of families and people, many in costume. But "Trick-or-Treating" isn't a thing here; Halloween is just an excuse to dress up in a costume and party. (Then today, I saw a huge swarm of small dragonflies at Angkor Wat, helpfully eating all the mosquitos now that the rainy season is over. Reminded me of a certain Tygger's other form and my friends on this table.) I hope GM got rid of all of her candy successfully!
Yes, I'm playing in 6 Online games over the next 3 days. I put the PBP table that I'm running on pause until Monday, especially since one of the players is GMing all weekend at Indy, and we were about to go into combat. But I'll do my best to stay engaged here; I just didn't want to have to GM a combat. There's a shabti boon on the GenCon charity auction. High bid is only at $15 now.
I got a very good friend who could use it for his meals-which are quite impressive. Do you have a Tyyger's spoon and a Tyyger's knife? No need for a Tyyger's plate, he hits mostly what he kills. Tyyger sends his love!!!!! <3 <3
Holan-Ji leans against the wall only really half-listening as he waits to get back to the party. He agrees with the others, but knows he's not eloquent enough to help them make their case. When Zithembe finishes, he nods and steps away from his wall. "What they said. Make 'em pay, but treat 'em fair." Having given his simple input, he returns to the fray of the celebration searching for Rya, the aasimar woman from the last party. Some time later, Holan-Ji, Rya, and another couple head out together. The tengu male and another local aasimar female laugh at something Holan-Ji says as they all make their way back into the woods. ============================ Days later at the Tianjing port city of Zetang, the Pathfinders prepare to board their ship for the return to Avistan and the Inner Sea. Holan-Ji regales them with the story of his last few days getting the tour of the city from Rya and his other new friends and finding all the best places to eat.
Though to be fair, he didn't really know the city that well, so in the end he just got a couple free meals out of the group. As they board, he suddenly calls out to a samsaran boarding the same ship. "Hey, Doc! Whatcha' doing here?" After chatting with the blue-skinned man for a few minutes, he introduces him to the team. "This here's Doc. Doc, this is Zithembe, Maria, Effie, Jobu, and the Totally Awesome Lil' Hep (just Hep for short)," he says in order. "Doc was out here visitin' them samsarans up in Zi Ha, and Zetang's the closest safe port to sail outta'. Him an' Hogo are gonna sail with us at least as far as Jalmeray." The samsaran bows to the team and expresses his pleasure at meeting everyone while the animated thorny vine on his shoulder also rises up and imitates a bow. Holan-Ji takes the samsaran by the shoulder and leads him towards the kitchen and mess hall chatting in Tien and catching up with his old friend.
With Effie getting swapped out for Lucky Lee or Malachi, both of those add martial prowess. In that case, I think I'll leave Holan-Ji home, and bring Doc O'Mayga, a level 5 arcanist support caster. It would let me level Doc up to 6 afterwards in case we need him again later. Plus it would also give a little room in the level calculation for Malachi, since I'm subbing a 5 for my 6. And in that case, HJ would not be slow-tracking on either of these 2 chronicles since he's skipping this one. Sorry GM, if you've already started the chronicles. "Yeah, I'll pass on soakin' my fur in salt water. I'll go nap on the beach, drink mai-tais, and have the servin' girls bring me grilled fish, thank you very much."
I played Waves with my undine ninja/monk, and as I've said I'm fine burning replays for this group. I've got a merfolk oracle/bard but he's only level 4 {sigh}. HJ's next form was going to be crocodile for the swim speed, but he won't get that for a while. Just like getting his dragonfly form after we went to the Plane of Air. {second sigh} It's been 4 years since I played it, and I seem to recall that water breathing was provided for, but movement and damage were the big issues (for the rest of the party, not so much for my undine.)
I'm sure we've all played Tome before, but FWIW I've done 3 of the variations Done: but have never done Scales, Bones, and Tusks... Not Done:
Scoundrels. I don't know if that's because folks find the other 3 more fun/interesting/challenging, or easier to prep, or what, but just thought I'd throw that out there. Also, I'm Slow Tracking this chronicle (Clash) and the next (Tome) for sure to let the others catch up to HJ a little.
Hey folks, I know this is a long shot but do any of you happen to have an aasimar boon floating around? Noral is looking to trade for one but I've already used the only one I had. Thought I'd check and see if any of you could help them out. Thanks! Nope. The only aasimar I ever got I used for Zarnel.
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