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I think I have been overly ambitious already. Some IRL changes for me mean I'm struggling really hard to keep up with all the games I've committed to over the past few months/years and I just don't think I have the bandwidth, or will again in the near future. I've struggled with this decision but I think I'm going to have to bow out of this campaign. Thank you so very much for including me, and I hope you all go on to have a great time.
Apologies all but I am probably going to be quiet for the next couple of days. We're about to get slammed with awful weather over the weekend and we still have to get the furniture moved over to the new house. I should be able to start posting normally on Tuesday and I'll do my best between now and then but no promises, sorry again. Thanks for your patience!
A bit better fortified against the stench this time, Jiro leans around the corner and shouts encouraging words into the room.
"A sensible approach," Jiro's head bobs in agreement when he sees Mitsuru hanging back, assessing the situation. "Let us see what falls from the tree when they finish shaking it, hmm?"
"Oh blessed Heavens, I can taste it!" Jiro draws his katana and level it at the foe. "Will they smell even worse dead? I rather doubt it, but let us find out! At them, heroes!"
"Oho, what have we--gack!" Jiro hops from foot to foot as the grotesque odor washes over him, but still manages to choke out a prayer to Shizuru.
Peering over Mitsuru's shoulder, Jiro blinks his birdlike eyes as they dart around the room, alert for danger. "Not especially. Mostly just dusty," he adds her observation.
Jiro is silent for a time, considering the question. "Divinatory powers are strange even by the usual standards of magic--the forms it takes and the costs it extracts vary from person to person." Shaking his head at the poverty of information available to him, the tengu priest continues. "I do not get the impression that Lady Kaijitsu has ever displayed oracular powers before, but it is not impossible that this bout of sleeping prophecy is an inborn power, not an effect of the castle. That would at least explain why only she--and not her siblings--was affected."
ah, right there with you Kage Ref saves and BAB went up by 1 Skill points in Perform (Oratory), Perception, and Sense Motive for FCB point Augment Summoning feat--eventually Jiro will be able to summon swarms of buffed archons as a Standard Action :D He'll take Sacred Summons at 5th, Superior Summoning at 7th, and Evolved Summoned Monster at 9th. That will be a while though! Jiro can also now Channel a d6 for when we need a little pick-me-up 4/day
"A poor choice of prey, lobster-thing, as I've a claw of my own!" Jiro cries, raising his katana above his head and stabbing down at the reefclaw.
Stepping back to put some distance between himself and the water, Jiro draws his katana and levels it as the bizarre aquatic menaces. "Into the fray, brave ones, the castle awaits!"
"Greetings, Spivey the graveyard guardian. I am Jiro Fire-Raven," Jiro bows deeply in greeting to the butterfly-winged spirit. "You say that the castle is home to "bad things," could you be more specific? What manner of evil makes that place its home?"
Just a heads-up but I'm having some trouble with my laptop's battery so I'm taking it to get a new one on Monday. The guy at the shop guestimated it could take anywhere from a couple of hours to a day or two. I should still be able to update the games but it'll be slower. I'll keep you all posted!
Jiro clears his throat softly in the silence. "Have either of you any notion of what dreadful family secret awaits the Kaijitsus? It seems strange to me, that such an oppressive-feeling place would boast a shrine to Desna. She has always struck me as a fiercely kind being, if a bit undisciplined."
Hey all, I'm sure many of you are in a similar situation, but my posting rate is going to be very low from Thursday through Sunday. Should be back to normal starting on Monday though!
"What a gloomy ruin," Jiro says, surveying the ghost town and tumbledown castle solemnly. "What was this place, before?" He nods at Mitsuru's suggestion and turns to walk around the inlet in to the village proper.
When Ameiko starts feeling listless and weak Jiro steps in, hovering nearby as his eyes warily flicker all around for signs of danger. "We approach a grim place. Whatever secrets your family buries here are likely not pleasant ones." When Ameiko collapses the tengu catches her, carefully helping the others ease her into the wagon while trying to find the cause of the malady.
"Sanduro, can you pull the caravan back? Whatever foul miasma hangs over Brinewall it doesn't appear to affect the rest of us as badly. I fear if we bring her closer the eldest Kaijitsu may perish. Let us go on ahead and investigate while the caravan keeps its distance."
"By the Empress! Are the trades routes always this clocked with violence and villains? It's a wonder anyone leaves their homes!" Jiro huffs as he carries another box of trade goods to the wagons.
Jiro listens raptly to Misuru's folktales, asking questions about the characters and the cultures the tales originate from. The tengu also makes efforts to introduce himself to Ameiko and her younger sister as well as the caravan master Sandru. "Why name yourself for the oni?" he asks Rin abruptly one morning. "They are wicked and vile things, unworthy of admiration or emulation. Why create a warrior persona centered around a being who would happily see you and all you hold dear murdered or enslaved? Are there not other mighty warriors you could style yourself after?"
Jiro accepts the praise with a gracious bow. "You are!" the tengu replies with a soft croaking laugh. "Are goblin bandits a frequent menace in these parts? They don't show their faces often around Kalsgard."
Jiro continues his exhortations even as he strides forward. "Behold the wages of villainy! Even now they collapse in the face of our righteous fury! Drive them back! To victory!"
Hopping off the wagon, Jiro gestures towards the goblins with his sheathed sword, exhorting these new allies to greater deeds of righteous wrath. "Do not let these wretched bandits delay our cause! Strike them down and send them running--put the fear of the Empress' fury in them!"
Rising to his feet on the wagon bench, Jiro points dramatically at the cluster of goblins. "Friends and fellow travelers," the tengu booms in a thunderous barritone. "The road beneath your feet is leading you to a grand destiny--and it does not include these villains! Sweep them aside into the dust of history, there to be forgotten!"
Following Rin out to the caravan with no one objecting to his presence, Jiro shrugs and tucks his backpack into the nearest wagon. He studies the faces and voices of everyone in the caravan to the greatest degree possible, especially the Kaijitsu siblings. When Mitsuru starts wheedling for other players the tengu quietly joins in. "Better luck next time, Talios" the tengu chortles after making an illegal move that also puts him in a worse position than before.
Jiro blinks in surprise. "It must not be very secret," he offers, wondering if this strange young woman was joking. Empress--your signs are rarely so...blunt. If you are throwing me a bone I am grateful. He turns and studies the hooded figure a moment, then turns back to Rin. "I am called Jiro Fire-Raven, of the Heru roost in Kalsgard. You said my timing is good--are you in need of a priest? Why is your family poking at an old and dangerous secret in Brinewall? For that matter, what is Brinewall?"
Jiro takes a long draught of his mead before setting it down. He regards the young woman before him seriously. "A longship," he says solemnly. "As for why: the Empress of Heaven sent me. Something momentous is stirring, for good or ill, and She has brought me here that Her will be done." He takes another drink as one taloned foot nonchalantly pulls his pack closer--he'd noticed Rin eyeing his sword. "I saw many wagons being prepared for a journey. Will they be headed north? Or south?"
The door to the Rusty Dragon Inn blows open, as a raven-headed warrior in a wolfhide cloak steps into the common room, sharp black eyes survey the room's other occupants as the newcomer makes his way over to an empty seat at the bar. Pulling a seat, the tengu lays a laden backpack and sheathed sword--the hilt wrapped in dragonhide and wire--to the ground as his feet. "Spiced mead, if you have it," he asks the serving girl, his voice soft and almost melodic. Lacing his fingers together, Jiro waits patiently for a sign from Shizuru.
Jiro's equipment is completed! I'm reading through all the posts so far, how will Jiro be introduced to the party?
GM, is okay if I assume Lvl2 WBL?
I had a foot-in-both-worlds idea for him; short version is that his granddad was a Linnorm-lander caravan guard who settled down in Minkai (or thereabouts) with a Shizuran tengu; when the Jade Regent came to power they fled back across the crown of the world to take shelter with that side of the family. So Jiro grew up in Ulfen lands but with a strong Minkaian influence, including the worship of Shizuru. Visions from the Empress of Heaven have led Jiro south in search of their source. He's probably not entirely sure what it is he's looking for just yet.
Alright, here is Jiro all stated up (pending approval of a Traits question) except for gear. Should he begin with the full wealth of a 2nd level character? Also, how is the party on healing? A partial wand of CLW or a scroll of Lesser Restoration might be good items for Jiro to have on hand.
Oh yeah that's left over from when this profile was a human Steelblood, the traits haven't been updated yet! Very much an incomplete profile right now
Here's the beginnings of the profile I put together over lunch, I'm at work in CST so I won't have it finished until later this afternoon/evening.
That's true IRL and on the boards, alas. I tried my hand once at GMing a PBP campaign but it didn't last terribly long since I have two live games I GM already. Just don't have the bandwidth for more.
Build Progression:
Jiro will stay as a Steelblood throughout Lvl3: Raging Vitality Lvl5: Bulette Charge Style Lvl7: Bulette Leap Lvl9: Bulette Rampage Lvl11: Greater Overrun Lvl13: (TBD) Background: Jiro was born in Sandpoint, the child of a Minkaian caravan guard and an Ulfen shieldmaiden. Mostly growing up on longships sailing up and down the Varisian coast, Jiro has developed something of a reputation for being a bleeding heart but also a riotously fun carouser when on shore. An incident in Kalsgard several seasons ago saw Jiro in a hurry to get out of town, and the caravan of one Sandru Vhiski, with whom the half-Tien warrior has traveled for the past several seasons.
I present to you, Jiro Fire-Raven, a Steelblood sword-and-board caravan guard who's spent several seasons traveling with Sandru's caravan. I haven't yet added his backstory or build advancement but I'll get to that in the next day or two. It will center on Bulette Charge Style & trampling in general, plus some intimidation feats if I have any to spare. My other concept was a dwarf beast-rider cavalier from Zavaten Gura, who would ride a mammoth and be a Beast-Rider-Gendarme4/Evangelist1/Battle-HeraldX so please let me know if you'd like to see that instead/as well! |
