Apparently the stars were not right for this game. Sigh.
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Kralus: Well said! There are great secrets hidden in the shadows, where the timid and near-sighted fear to look! Jhanek is coming to regret that third tankard of ale he had before coming here tonight, as he is feeling a head-ache coming on; and will Renaurd not put that dam stone away!
Have we lost our Ref?
Kralus snorts derisively. A legend meant to frighten those seekers of truth who followed after him: there are accounts of him living a long and comfortable life. Anyway, we are not timid old fish-wives to rattle our prayer-beads and lock our shutters tight when the sun goes down! Ossaneus continues to absently play with his gray stone. Is the wind raising outside? Jhanek is distracted by something white that fluttered by the room's one narrow window.
Jhanek takes a seat at the table. He sees cadaverous Renaurd, sitting to the left of wan Cyameana, fidgeting with a small cube of dull grey...metal...stone? Ossaneus closes the door softly behind him, and takes his place at the table. For a moment, nothing is said, and then, without preamble, Kralus begins. So, Jhanek was able to provide me with a copy of Mihrond's Night Beyond Night, which I have found, very illuminating. In it he says that 'The Veiled Realms' are always close; the vast masses of humanity have trained themselves to not see that dominion, or its inhabitants. Mihrond...hmmm, didn't he burn out his own eyes with acid? Renaurd interjects, a sly smile on his thin lips; with the cube between the first two fingers and the thumb of his left hand, he raps the dusty table-top. Yes, Cyameana coos, But the visions he had hoped to shut out still continued to come to him; isn't that true Jhanek, or do I remember wrongly? Jhanek nods grimly.
So if anybody would like to create some occult 'seeker' NPCs for the circle; go ahead. Think of your typical horror movie fodder; young, conceited, thrill-seekers playing with forces that they cannot understand. All we need is a name, and perhaps a line or two of descriptive text.
Kralus stares, somewhat haughtily, at the brash young man. I am Kralus. I cannot imagine what it is you have to tell me that I would find the least bit interesting. His voice is dripping with icy sarcasm. Seeing the color raise in the Taldane's face, Jhanek speaks. I have it a on a good authority that he has...'unique' powers, which might possess some efficacy in alleviating your sister's distress. It would almost be worth it to let Kralus continue to insult Master Hutchinson, who I'm sure would re-pay that pompous jackass with a good thrashing; but I'm sure that is not why Mistress Winter sent him here tonight. Kralus appears to dwindle within his cloak. Ahh. Interesting. We'll have to talk about this later then. Please, take a place at the table Samuel Hutchinson of Taldor.
Jhanek frowns, as, cloaked and cowled, he ascends the narrow stairs to the upstairs room where 'the circle' gathers. There is portly Kralus. Hmmm, is it just the dim light, or does does the debris of many a ruined night's sleep show in the dark rings beneath his eyes? And of course Cyameana is here, inky locks of hair spilling out from under her hood, framing her pale, bloodless face. Could it be true what she hints, that she has a lover who is an 'aristocrat of the night'?
Within the cloak-room Jhanek and Ossaneous both start at the knocking. That's probably him now!
The brisk, frosty air soon clears his head, as Jhanek makes his way to
I hear that the Queen in Red may dance here tonight? Upon hearing the agreed upon pass-phrase, Ossaneus opens the door, admitting Jhanek into the dusty back-room of his shop. Has a strutting popinjay of a Taldane shown up here tonight? Jhanek asks, as he accepts a hooded cloak from the old book-seller; really a silly affection, Jhanek thinks, as pretty much everyone here knows each other.
Curse that woman, and her infernal schemes! Jhanek mutters to himself, as he drinks. That Taldane will be sorry that he got caught in her infernal net! He pays his bill, and staggers out into a night that already promises a frosty morn. I had better see what trouble Kralus is getting up to!
Squaring his shoulders, Jhanek makes his way to a hole in the dive tap-room, where he orders some of their cheap, bitter ale.
Jhanek is the medieval equivalent of a nerd: thin, sallow, in ill-fitting clothes that look they could use a good washing. Mistress Winter strides away, like war galley sailing to battle. Osyck stands alone, in the middle of the square, the very picture of irresolution.
Well Jhanek, I believe that the literary circle that your friend Kralus has organized, is meeting tonight, why don't you introduce our Taldane scholar to them? Smiling, she gives directions to a private club, where Kralus and his 'circle' are to meet.
Osyck quails at this intrusion, looking terrified. Smiling Mistress Winter turns to the busker: Ahhh, you are a patron of culture and learning then?
We could 'round-robin' gaming her; if you have any direction you want to take her in...She's enigmatic, dangerous, and stirring things up in Lepidstadt's occult circles.
Ok. I'm going to play with my backstory a bit; as a reluctant intermediary in the forbidden book trade, if you want to riff along. I give you Mistress Winter, mysterious and shadowy benefactor to the city's many occult cliques.
There's no trickery: its a kind of magic that draws upon the power of the mind. Turning, Osyck glares at the woman who had slipped behind him: a somewhat glacial and distant beauty in the conservative dress of a well-to-do merchant woman. Mistress Winter. Osyck makes a small, stiff bow. Did our friends like their gift? Osyck visibly pales, before answering, in a whisper. That was Morallon's Whispers of the Void , the unexpurgated first edition! Yes, a very entertaining read; I could get you a copy, if you like. The chapter about 'The Shrouded Court' is very edifying.
Osyck sees a crowd, gathered in front of an impromptu stage. Wandering over, while stuffing his face with greasy gobbets of meat-pie, he watches Hutchinson finish his act. He scrutinizes the crowd, trying to pick out this man's accomplices, no doubt casting spells through some kind of enchanted talisman. .
As he strolls across the campus, the first stars of the night appearing overhead, Jhanek becomes aware of a growling emptiness in his belly. After checking his pockets, and finding a few coins there, he makes his way to a certain seller of meat-pies.
After several hours in his cramped and dingy room, studying; Jhanek decides a brisk walk around the campus would help clear his head.
Jhanek Osyck : "Well it will give me a little more time to read, or suffer through, this preposterous treatise on Deskari demonism among the Sarkorisian shamans that Rehagalhen of Taldan has inflicted on us. This is what passes as scholarship these days! It is the worse kind of drivel! The fly specks on an unwashed wall make up a more coherent reading!"
Hmm. Done save for the wealth. I see Oscyk as having his room and board provided by the school, as a kind of scholarship; otherwise he's pretty much impoverished. Otherwise, I guess he has 105 GP. 56 minus the cost of dagger, crossbow, 20 bolts, and armor. Let's make it an even 50, and assume he's bought some good wine, to drink while poring over his books.
Hmmm. Just a couple of things that occur to me about the psychics and spell components discussion. You could have a psychic who thinks she needs her 'lucky stone' to manifest her powers. Or a flim-flam man who wants people to think that he is just a typical sorcerer/wizard.
Oops. Missed that. Pathfinder/D&D 3.5 is not my primary system. So, Linguistics (Ancient Kellid glyphs) 1, Profession Scholar 1, and Local Knowledge 1. Which then means I have 4 points unspent.
Background Skills: Ancient Kellid funerary practices and The field of scholarship in Ancient Kellid studies, both 1. Class Features : Master of Disguise (replacing Trapfinding, to reflect Infiltrator archetype).
But as I took 2 Skill ranks in Lore:Kellid Funerary Practices (to reflect this character's obsessive and monomaniacal focus) that should use all my BG Skills?
Jhanek Oscyk, doomed scholar. 27 yr. Old hu. Male. LN Investigator (Infiltrator) STR 13 (+1)
Hit Points: 9 Saves: Fort +1 Ref +3 Will +3 BAB: 0 Armor Class: 13 Trait: Scholar of the Great Beyond (+1 Bonus to Knowledge:History, Knowledge:Planes) Background Skills:
Skills:
Feats: Persuasive (+2 Diplomacy and Intimidate) and Skill Focus: History (+3). Proficiencies: Simple Weapons and Light Armor. Class Features: Inspiration: pool 4. Alchemy Trapfinding: 1 Weapons: Punching Dagger Dmg: 1d4 Critical: 3x
Armor: Leather (+2) Possessions: A small room in the scholar's dormitory of the University. Writing desk and writing utensils. A collection of reference books dealing with Ustalav's ancient history. A set of dingy and very well worn clothing. Jhanke Osyck is junior lecturer at the university, and the author of several monographs on Kellid funerary practices. He became aware of a vigorous trade among some students and scholars at the university in pamphlets dealing with the blasphemous secrets of the Dark Tapestry. He went to the proper authorities, and was reluctantly recruited to spy on these groups. He discovered that these delvers into forbidden lore were pretty much bored dilenttantes, with no connection to a larger network; however his handlers won't let him walk away, instead, they have had him turn over some staggeringly dangerous tomes to the members of these cliques. He is beginning to suspect that he is the bait in some trap being set for some-one, or some-thing, in the occult under-ground. Personality: Pedantic and self-centered, with a inflated sense of self-importance. He is becoming increasingly paranoid and anxious. He is obsessed with Ustalav's strange and bloody history; and could become a star in the academic circles that study such things: if fate allows it. |