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Only partly related, but I once played a gnome whose childhood penchant for dried flowers grew to include dried animals...and eventually reanimated dried animals. He rode a zombie tiger that he decorated with garlands of dried roses and strawflowers. Backstory in the linked profile, if you're interested.
Hoosible strokes Strawflower's neck (matted in dried blood) readjusts her flower wreath, and says "Good job, kitty. You caught the rats!" He then pauses to listen for any sign of the fleeing Tower Girl (or the promised rats) returning.
While Charbondent heals Strawflower, Hoosible gives Remi and Radyx each a tap from the wand.
Strawflower purrs a gurgling, guttoral purr as Charbonardent's unholy fires wash away the rest of her wounds.
Thanks, Charbonardent. Hoos gave Strawflower a tap from the wand mid-combat. When it finishes she'll be at 36/44, so getting a hit from you would be great. Not sure if we're out of combat rounds yet, but Hoos will send her over to you to be healed next round. Anyone else who's injured and wants a tap from the IH wand, just let Hoos know.
The pale dry gnome starts to reply in a matter-of-fact tone, "Oh, Strawflower can lug any corpses, and I'll make sure they don't go to waste--" Then with a startled expression he shifts gears and says, "But you're right of course. Healing first would be wise." With that, Hoosible has Strawflower lope over to Ferit (with Terisha still dangling limp from his jaws). The creepy gnome leans down and zaps the orc with infernal energies, causing his wounds to grow shadowy and then dissolve. "By the way, Terisha is likely still alive, if anyone wants to talk to her. The Wendo animating Strawflower here doesn't really need to eat, and perhaps we have questions to ask of her."
When Terisha tail, Hoosible pats Strawflower on her dessicated rump, sending her off on a chase. The zombie tiger catches up with her in a blur and snaps Terisha up in her jaws. Meanwhile the pallid gnome holds on tightly with a pleased-as-punch look on his face. "Wheeee!!" __________________
Hoosible pulls out their recently purchased wand of Infernal Healing and says the command word, causing dark energy to course through the zombie's fetid body. He then motions for Strawflower to continue mauling the same girl, and the zombie tiger dutifully slashes her belly open, spilling rat guts onto the floor and covering the gnome and his kitten with blood. ___________________
Stats: Hoosible HP 11/11 Spells 4/5 1st level spells Strawflower
Hoosible winces a bit as he sees his precious Strawflower bit into by wererats...though the zombie herself shows not the slightest concern. She rips into one of the girls surrounding her with both claws, but the were-rat's nigh-invulnerable skin keeps her from being shredded. Meanwhile Hoosible tries to stab another of the girls but in the chaos of attacking from tiger-back his spear doesn't even come close. _____________________
Specifically, he asked me to have it trigger off of die rolls, not effects (since I can't know effects when I choose whether or not to use the ability). So written more as pseudocode:
## NOTE, since an Oracle's Misfortune says "take the second roll" not "take the better (or worse) of the two" this will occasionally backfire. For example, if a greataxe wielder rolls 18 to hit, and my "misfortune" makes her reroll and get a 20. (Whoops!) Totally happy to have other suggest modified (or more complex) rules. I suppose we could have something more detailed/precise like
Hoosible stabs at Terisha, piercing her shoulder ever so slightly and causing a small zap of electricity due to Taranna's hex. Meanwhile Strawflower advances into the mist and tries to maul her with tooth and claw...but the rat nimbly avoids the undead cat. _____________________
(Modified from an earlier post, per conversation with Crusty on roll20) For my Misfortune mystery, let's lean toward using it early. Here are my heuristics for you playing it on my behalf:
Unless:
Hoosible once again encourages his cat to leap over the table and this time it succeeds, if only barely. As they fly toward the retreating Tower Girl, Hoosible stabs ineffectually at her with his longspear. Strawflower on the other hand takes a massive bit, catching half her chest and arm in her maw and then shaking her about. Hoosible pats her on her neck. [b]"Good kitty. Hunt those rats."[/ooc] ___________________
Hoosible spurs Strawflower on to leap over the table, hoping to rip into the Tower Girls. Unfortunately, Strawflower isn't quite the jumper she used to be and her knees bang into the table and toss her back into the caltrops, though none manage to pierce her undead footpads. Hoosible looks left and right, not thrilled to have stopped where he is but tries to make the best of it -- stabbing at the girl before him with his longspear.
Hoosible extends a pale gnomish finger and his normally squeaky voice rumbles Where he points a bank of fog appears, atop the barricade.
Hoosible pokes his head around the corner and sees all the rats. He pulls his own rat, Nibbles, out of his pocket and says, "Those rats don't look so friendly, do they? Better send the kitty to deal with them." Hoosible climbs off of Strawflower's back and waits for the fire to be thrown, ready to send in his zombie tiger as cleanup if necessary. Strawflower's tail switches back and forth. Grrrrooowwllluuurrrrggghhl
Unwilling to risk losing his new toy -- or his own life -- Hoosible signals for Strawflower to back up and make room for the others. The undead tiger moves it's nose as though it could still smell, and gives a disappointed "Gaurrrruuughng" but complies.
Hoosible stabs as the tower girl but misses. Anxious to give Strawflower a chance to play, the pallid gnome says, "Ahem. Ferit. Can you make a bit of room here?" As the pallid gnome speaks he nudges Strawflower, who leans forward, crowding in close enough to Ferit that the smell of rotting tiger gets notably stronger...and there's a palpable lack of what (if this were a living tiger) should be hot breath on his shoulders and neck.
Following right behind Ferit, Strawflower stays inches behind the orc. Hoosible (seeing that there's still no way for Strawflower to reach the Tower Girl) takes another stab with his spear. This one, sadly goes far astray as he fails to compensate for Strawflower's sudden stop. "You keep running, you're just sealing your death sentence. Stop and talk and we'll see what we can do for you."
Having shredded one Tower Girl, Hoosible urges Strawflower on to try to stop the one working on the secret door...but she steps through in the nick of time. While she's out of the undead tiger's reach, Hoosible manages to poke her with his longspear. "Ha! Take that, you rat!"
Hoosible squeaks a "YELP!" as he watches the flaming gunk fly wide over his shoulder. Meanwhile Strawflower continues to barrel forward, now focused on the woman before him. The tiger's maw bites down on her left arm and doesn't let go, while Hoos takes advantage of her compromised position to stab her in the shoulder. _____________
Hoosible continues to cling to Strawflower's saddle, grinning as they gain on the rat, finally catching up on the fourth floor. As they catch up, the little necromancer attempts to skewer the rat on his longspear.
Hoosible holds on tight as his mount lurches up the stairs and around corners at blinding speeds.
Hoosible intends to tenderly take care of your corpse, and to help it achieve the perfection in undeath that always eluded it in life.
sounds good to me.
Hearing the rat scuttling upstairs, something feline that remains within Strawflower awakens. Feeling her cold muscles stiffen beneath him, the scrawny gnome's goofy grin widens. He pats her on the back and says, "Chase!" The undead tiger lopes up the stairs with a gurgling, rumbling growl as it knocks past the cyphermages and races up the stairs. "Hurrrhghggrrrllll." A few dried flowers brush off onto the startled cyphermages as they pass.
Hoosible is quiet at first. In the light of the shifting reflections of the torchlight, he gazes once again in admiration at Strawflower's gaunt form. "Kneel," he says, and then climbs onto Strawflower's back as the others start to explore. As the massive (and surprisingly fast) undead tiger rises and starts to carry him upstairs, he feels a quiver of excitement. With a broad, goofy smile he pats Strawflower on the back. "Ready to have some fun, kitty?"
Hoosible will ride Strawflower (who's female, though Hoosible reserves the right to name all his zombies after flowers). Very happy to hear she's not going to be squeezing in 5' wide corridors. This is Hoosible's official vote to buy a wand of CLW. He'll kick in 93.75 GP . he's happy to wield either wand. Proposed Matching order: Radyx & Ferit
(Consider this a straw man to modify/improve)
Hey gang, I was just thinking about healing again. When Crusty first said we have a wand with 21 charges that sounded like plenty.
I figure there are plenty reasons we might have to retreat before we find this next shard... But lack of healing is surely a biggie. With eight of us a wand would cost 93.75 GP each which sounds like a bargain to me. Whaddaya say?
Hey gang, it occurs to me that we don't have a healing wand yet, do we? (I know we have some potions, but they won't go too far). Crusty, can we find a wand of Infernal Healing for 750, if we want it? Team, do you want to split a wand of IH? Or do you have a different preference for how to manage healing?
Strawflower curls in a corner, her fur matted with blood and her many holes stuffed with dried flowers of red, gold, yellow, and pink. Hoosible sits, snuggled into her fur, listening to the description. When Natalya draws her map, Hoosible motions for Strawflower to rise and the 500 pound tiger comes up beside her. The 35 pound gnome looks down from Strawflower's back, tilting left and then right to get the best view over his fellow cyphermages' shoulders. "For the skeletons, people should bring some blunt weapons-- but remember to let me see if I can persuade the wendo spirits that animate them to join my cause first. "But yes, Strawflower and I are ready to go. Aren't you, Strawflower?" The zombie tiger replies with a low, gutteral "Purrrrrhhhunnghh...."
Hoosible replies quite seriously, "The way of the Wendifa is difficult to master, but one day I hope to be able to perfect the Words that will transform a man into a Juju zombie -- perfecting his form while leaving his cunning intact. It's the greatest honor my master knew how to bestow, and he hoped I would learn enough to grant him that gift before he died. "...Sadly, humans live such short lives and he passed on long before I learned to bind his soul and a wendo together." With a tear in his eye, he says, "In the end his body...it just rotted away without anything at all to reanimate it." Wiping his face with his sleeve, he adds, "But I will master it some day. And if you prove yourself worthy of the gift, I give you my word I'll bestow it upon you."
Hoosible takes his share of the loot and just looks at it for a long while. This is the beginning. If I hadn’t met that fellow in Eleder who recognized my gift-- but no, I am a Wendifa. I make my own fate. I would have found another path. It galls me that I can’t yet bind wendo into corpses like my master Gej used to do...but this windfall provides a different opportunity. The pallid gnome quizzes the valet at the Cyphermage lodge, watching the man’s expression grow more and more confused. ”OK, you want to know where to rent a cart and driver by the hour? Certainly, I can help you with that. And yes, there’s an excellent flower shop not far from here. “...And where to buy a tiger? Well I’m sure I don’t know where to buy a dead one, but if anyone in Magnimar has a living one it’ll be the Market of Sails. Sometimes they have beasts for the Serpents Run. Your associate Radyx can certainly direct you there. “...And a scroll shop that would sell scrolls to Animate the Dead? And yes of course I know a temple that can cast Remove Paralysis, but with apologies, is there someone you know who’s paralyzed? And the best saddle shop I know? I’m sorry sir, what exactly do all of these things have to do with one another?” …. After renting a cart and driver, his first stop is the flower shop where he’s fortunate to find a large supply of dried strawflowers. Hoosible buys them out and then climbs into the back of the cart. He asks the driver to take him to the Market of Sails. Meanwhile the little gnome sits merrily weaving in the back as the cart bumps down the road. Hoosible is excited to find a tiger at the Market. He waves down the animal keeper who was just throwing some grey meat into the hyena cage. ”Ahem. Is there any discount for sick tigers? Or a dead one, if you have any?” The salesman scowls at him. ”I’ve got one tiger for sale. He’s in great health. 325 GP.” Hoosible shrugs. ”Hmmm, OK then, I’ll take him. Can you give him to me dead though, if you would? Otherwise, can you at least put him in a smaller cage so that I can stab him to death before I take him?” The salesman begins to shoo the creepy little purplehaired gnome out the door, but stops himself in the end, unwilling to lose the sale. ”OK, what do I care what you do with it. Stab it yourself if you need to. Outside. I’ll leave it in it’s travelling pen for ya. Will that make your conquest unsporting enough for ya?” Outside, Hoosible gives the tiger a gentle look. ”I won’t lie to you. This is going to hurt, kitty, but it’s for your own good. Be brave.” And with that he -- clumsily and repeatedly -- stabs the noble beast with his longspear through the narrow bars of the pen until it finally bleeds to death. He hands the horrified cart driver an extra gold and asks him to help him drag the corpse onto the cart. …. Twenty minutes later, at the temple of Urgathoa, Hoosible buys the scroll and pays a cleric to cast Remove Paralysis for him. Finally ready, Hoosible strokes the bloody fur of the dead cat and whispers, ”Now the exciting part comes. Are you ready, kitty cat?” Hoosible closes his eyes and feels the wendo spirits swarming around the tiger’s corpse like sharks. He unrolls the scroll and starts to chant. It’s not the wordcasting tongue of the Wendifa, but he recognizes the power in it easily enough. At one point he thinks the incantation might be getting away from him…but no, I am a wendifa. I speak the words of power. binding the wendo is my birthright. I will not fail. A scant five seconds after he’s begun to chant and it’s over. Hoosible sees that he has indeed successfully guided a wendo into the body, and now it rises up with a low, ”Purrrrrhhhunnghh” Hoosible gives it a hug around the neck and scratches behind it’s partially attached ear. ”See there, didn’t I tell you it would all be for the best?” …. Hoosible gets back to the lodge not by cart but astride a zombie tiger that seems to somehow move with even more speed than it had when alive (if much less grace). Around it’s neck -- and sticking out of it’s many spear puncture wounds -- are wreaths and bouquets of dried red, orange, yellow, and pink flowers. He proudly pats his steed’s head and says, ”Hello there, I’d like you to meet Strawflower. Strawflower’s very happy to meet you, aren’t you kitty?” The zombie tiger, with bits of flesh hanging from it’s many puncture wounds, answers with a ”Purrrrrhhhunnghh”
Cool, sounds good to me then! and the extra 60 GP is paying a cleric to cast Remove Paralysis before I cast Animate Dead (2nd level spell * 3rd level caster * 10 = 60 GP). The next few days may be pretty crazy but I'll try to write a little vignette (a la Radyx's) for how I'm spending my dough.
Hehehehehe, that's what exotic saddles are for, I suppose. If I ever get a giant flying, belching disembodied head for a mount I'll totally have to take some time to sketch out what that saddle looks like. BTW, I did consider a bloody skeletal tiger mount (an excellent investment since they're basically unkillable)...but just couldn't get behind riding a mount that's constantly covered in blood and gore. Perhaps that's small minded of me. Somehow a rotting tiger seems more palatable.
Looks like I've got my pick of anything but the rat-dog. ;-) I'll probably get myself a fast zombie tiger to ride cuz why not, right? 8 HD and a 60' move (plus 4 natural attacks) for 685 (scroll) + 60 to pay someone to cast remove paralysis for me + 325 for a tiger = 1010 GP total. Though seriously Crusty, just because RAW says it's possible...let me know if you want me to have this now. If you'd rather, I could just as easily just take a wolf + a scroll of Lesser Animate Dead and ride a wolf skeleton around without also having a personal tank/bodyguard. That option would cost me only 300 for the 2nd level scroll (including max onyx) + 100 for the wolf = 400 GP total.
Radyx, Hoosible's happy to share his darlings with you. Crusty, I figured the giant's head was a long shot. :0P Next question: Does Magnamar have any of (tigers, lions, wolves, dire wolves, goblin dogs) for sale? All are listed here with prices...but who's to say what's available in Karzoug's wintery magnimar.
OK, thinking about what to do with my filthy lucre...and how to not be the guy waddling behind with a 15' move for too too long. First, some questions about how scrolls of Animate Dead work. I know that as a rule scrolls use the scroll's caster level (not the reader's). How does that apply to this passage in Animate Dead: "The undead you create remain under your control indefinitely. No matter how many times you use this spell, however, you can control only 4 HD worth of undead creatures per caster level" So I assume that a CL6 scroll could animate 12 HD (as is standard)...but what amount of that can be indefinitely controlled by a 2nd level oracle?
Next question:
...and could I get a saddle made to ride one? (Oh, I *suppose* I should ask if Hoosible can get away with having one or more undead minions/mounts lurching about with him in our Lord Karzoug's Magnamar.)
I vote for option 1 (everyone can claim loot at the sell price). That still gives incentive to make use of the stuff we find (since stuff we keep is worth 2x as much). I think the second option can turn into a severe penalty on those who don't happen to get lucky in the loot lottery. BTW, I really like what you've done with the tracker. If you look at sheet 2 on the loot tracker I made for Thron's RotR you'll see that I've added a way to see what's gone to who as well. (You'll also see that it's not up to date anymore. sigh.)
Hoosible's eyes widen and he grins giddily at Valko's description. "A blob of babbling flesh? Did it's babbling sound anything like 'ការព្យាបាលជិតស្និទ្ធតិចជាង'? Because if so it might be a juju zombie. Or perchance did it groan like 'Huuurrggh!!' or 'Raaaaarrrrrrhh' or 'Ounnnhhhng'? If so, it could well be a more standard zombie. Either one could be quite handy to find. "Oh, and a chance to reclaim fragments of a lost artifact too -- that's really marvelous."
I think we'll need to know what the bracers and red liquids are. I suggest keeping all CLW potions, divided amongst us. I suspect someone (maybe Ferit?) Wants the armor. Otherwise, sell it! Might be worth selling the blood reservoir too. If one of the front liners wanted it it's worth keeping for the boost to damage, but probably not worth keeping just as protection from physical ability damage to Hoosible...
Hoosible's eyes go wide when he holds the shard. He sniffs at it and then rubs it up against the purple fuzz of his beard. Then he sets it in front of him on the table, brings his eyes down to just an inch away, and stares for a minute. As he does, the shard wobbles and vibrates some but he manages to catch it before it flies off the table. After about a minute he passes it on around the table. To Radyx, he says, "Hmmmm, yep, it's sleepytime alright." Turning to Natalya, he says "Before we settle in though, I'd love to hear where you found this impressive little shard though..." "Oh! And Taros, do you by any chance know what these bracers do?"
Hoosible stops fiddling with his flowers and stares in fascination as Taros puts the ioun stone into the shard and proclaims it part of some great artifact of Xin's. As the stone discharges the curse, the gnomish Wendifa -- no stranger to curses -- strains as if to hear if a Wendo has been released from Natalya's lips. He sets his flowers down casually and some unseen force causes them to fly about the room, one landing in Charbondent's hair. Hoosible rolls his eyes but ignores the mischief and asks Taros: "So...does each shard have a curse? Where did Natalya find this one?...Oh and yes, like Radyx says, what's our reward?"
Cool. Goes without saying it would be a treat to have Rob back!
Peanuts, sorry to see you go! Crusty, yeah, seems it's time to tap some folks to come join the fun...and my vote would be to recruit specifically for arcane casters, and/or possibly an archer.
Leveling up. Woohoo!! HP +8 (+1d8 ave=5 +2 CON +1 FCB)
Just two levels to go 'til I can raise my first minion! (though hopefully we'll encounter one I can command first). Speaking of which...Hey gang, if we ever encounter any undead, please give me a chance to command it before you go hurting the poor things!...though I can only command up to a max of 1 HD / my level, so 3+HD undead are fair game.
In response to Ferit's question, Hoosible sighs. "I know, right? I'd love to take them with us too, especially this one with the cheek scar...but I don't have anything immediate to use them for, and we don't have a ton of space at the lodge. I think we're best leaving 'em." Hoosible will content himself with collecting a few fingers and scalps to use in art projects.
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