Jodah's page

I pointed my PCs in the direction of Hannah, the elven midwife, for part of the backstory; the details of the birth, at least. She's been a midwife for decades, and this one still haunts her

"it was...it wasnt human. Or elf, or orc, or anything I'd ever seen. Thank the gods it was stillborn, for its sake and ours. But the worst part...you could still see it was a baby. I tried to sheild it from her view, but wasnt quick enough with the blanket. the sound the poor girl made when she saw it..."

Jodah wrote:

The movement of political correctness is, I feel, constrictive and anti-critical. I'm tired of saying factually defensible statements and being shushed down for being "culturally insensitive." You know what? Alot of gay people have aids. You know what? "gangsta" culture is really, really stupid. like, real stupid. I mean, sideways guns? Now, arguments arent based on facts, but on who might be offended. As a great fan of argument, I call shenanigans on that.

Psst... a lot MORE straight people have AIDS than gay people and a lot more gay people don't have AIDS than do. Just so you know...

Ooops. Damn, I've been hit by a stupid-stick. should have done the research instead of going off of high-school health class bias.

researching....

I amend my previous post. Shutting up, now. I need to avoid posting on topics like this; I often wind up putting my foot in my mouth.

HMMM I guess i am homophobic. Not a crime i guess. In todays enlightened society it seems hip to ridicule anyone with any kind of moral center or religious belief. And homosexuality is so mainstream now it is as if it is the "in" thing all of the sudden. Invading even the most innocuous of arena's, Dungeons and Dragons.

Don't get it twisted though. I am not here to judge anyone. But pardon me if i don't bow and scrape to the politically correct crowd. It is the beauty of democracy, that you can give your opinion, i can give mine and armed storm troopers won't hunt either of us down and take us to task for it.
I do apologise for invading this rather disturbing thread,and if any one person was offended by anything i may have said, i apologise for that as well. On a parting note ,if there is room in PFRPG for a gay iconic, there has to be room for psionics as well. And for the record i do not condone the mistreatment of gays or psions in any way shape form or manner. Thank you.

I get where you're coming from. I can honestly say that I'm a little bit homophobic. and a tiny bit racist. And, I also have a deep, deep distaste for religion. And there's reasons for it;

all the Hispanic dudes I've ever met were meat-headed a*~~%%#s hopped up on their own ego. They made my time in high school that much more unpleasant. I was shoved, mocked, and actualy spit at, just for being "that quiet kid who reads alot". I certainly dont hate hispanic people, just those particular guys, but I cant say that knowing them didnt affect me, and my unconscious opinion of hispanic people in general.

religion started to bug me around middle school, when I heard about things like book burnings (a deep stab at my heart). and then I dug deeper, and found more and more horrible things, all the while learning more and more about science, and eventualy decided "Well, thats it. Those churchy folks have got it wrong, and I'm damn well not going to let them interfere with the way my life, my education system, and my country is run."

as for the sleight homophobia: it comes from living in a small wisconsin town, and never actually knowing firsthand any gay people (that I knew of, anyway). Also certain portrayals in the media have rather grated on me (the partying e-crowd). But, that's just media portrayal, so it's really just ignorance. I dont consider homosexuality to be unholy or anything, I'm just not crazy about it. I dont wayt to get in the way of anybody's happiness, but I kind of wish that the gays were a little less noisy. "you like men, I get it!" But, from a political perspective, I'm all for things like gay marriage, given the people who are pissed off about it ;)

And, I have no patience for the current idea that being a minority automatically makes someone A) morally superior, B)a victim of the white majority, C) right, D) immune to any criticism, and E) more deserving than someone else of equal ability.

The movement of political correctness is, I feel, constrictive and anti-critical. I'm tired of saying factually defensible statements and being shushed down for being "culturally insensitive." You know what? Alot of gay people have aids. You know what? "gangsta" culture is really, really stupid. like, real stupid. I mean, sideways guns? Now, arguments arent based on facts, but on who might be offended. As a great fan of argument, I call shenanigans on that.

The reason I'm saying all this is to give perspective that just because someone isnt a wholehearted liberal fan of homosexuality doesnt mean they're a evil, republican, religious bigot incapable of empathy or independent thought.

As for gay NPCs and pre-gen characters in Pathfinder, which is the point of all this, I'm perfectly fine with it. Obviously, however, there's no need to go overboard.

All people are people, first and foremost.

Well, I'd say that a house qualifies as "great" when they can claim to be great and no one laughs at them. On the books, the Peerage Council is probably "a council of upstanding citizens of noble blood selected by the current council, with the initial council appointed by the king." Getting in is a matter of the other families letting you in. And you can only get them to let you in by being powerful enough to put pressure on them.

I dont like congenitally rich people. Too much British literature.

Well, the Peerage Review technicaly has Zero power. Erodred was a nice, doddering monarch genuinely interested in caring for his city, even if he wasnt particularly effective or skilled at it. Thats why he listened to them. Ileosa, on the other hand, is rather the opposite in every conceivable fashion. So I can imagine that when the peerage council comes up to the palace to discuss some pressing concerns they have about the recent increase in rowdyness among the working classes, and how this interrupts their buisy social lives and gives them headaches from all the screaming, they're going to be shoved off with a promise to "look into the matter." If they approach her later, when she starts wearing the

Honestly, I dont see how atheism is that big of a deal, even in a fantasy setting where the gods do exist. So there are gods; what of it? I'm going to take a page out of Discworld here:
[Paraphrase]
"Most wizards dont feel the need to beleive in gods in the same way that other people dont feel the need to beleive in, say, tables. They exist, and they probably have a place in a well-ordered universe, but wizards dont see the point of going around saying "oh great Table, without which we are as naught!" And, when you consider the caliber of most gods, you might as well eat off your knees, so to speak."

Really, I'd hate to see a bit of confusion and argument here dissuade anybody from having atheists in Golarion.

Here's a side treck/random encounter, suitable for use in korvosa, with two different stat blocks, depending on party level.

Avras Nathemis was a brilliant but cruel acadamae student, a prodigy of evocation who invented several force spells, and also dabbled in the arts of necromancy. He was very nearly a sorceror, so great was his connection to magic; a natural. He loved to fighten lesser humans with his power, and often snuck out after dark to carouse and intimidate. So, when he fell for a plain but spunky and intelligent varisian girl with sorcerous powers, things went bad. Arsheli's family was renting a small flat in Waydon Street She wasnt interested in a nasty, egotistical, if handsom chelish mage, and he treated her as more of an abstract ideal to be obtained than an actual person. Eventualy, he tired of what he say as her "playing hard to get" and attempted to abduct her. It didnt go well. Arsheli's brothers beat Avras to death and dumped him in a sewer. An otyugh came along, excited by the smell of fresh meat, and was rather shocked when the corpse sat up, screamed, and shot bolts of magic at him. Avras jittered and jerked to his feet, as his skin dried and turned brittle from the massive arcane energies pulsing through his body.

It took a week to get out of the sewer, using his magic to drive off the denizens of korvosa's waste disposal system. Avras clawed his way back into the now-wretched sun, his rotten eyes blinded by it. the world looked different. All the beauty had drained from it, every touch of feeling and emotion was gone. He could see every grand monument, every pretty girl, every bustling square was the same, but there was no joy to be had from them. He set off to find something to hurt.

That was many years ago, and Avras is now a minor terror. On occasion, people in Old Korvosa hear a knocking on their door in the dead of night, and a dry, cracked voice asks to be let in, to "sit and yarn for a while, and maybe have a bite of your soul." The voice hangs about for a while, often for hours, always chatting eloquently in it's dry, cracked way from outside. Those who rush outside to confront the voice are never seen again. On occasion, those traveling the nightime streets see a figure lurching toward them down an alley, a thin arm raised and arcane power crackling along it. Most make it home to bolt the door behind them. Some dont.

Avras loves the terror he inspires, and seldom bothers to kill anyone right away. He picks a mark, and stalks them for days at a time, moving in for a slow kill, hounding them wherever they sleep. His driving force in undeath is to find and kill Arsheli, but since her family long ago packed up and left, the trail is completely cold. Now, he spends his time terrifying the poor and continuing his studies. His creativity and genius have left him without Avras even noticing, and he wastes a massive ammount of magical supplies pointlessly aping arcane research. In his self-absorbed madness, he doesnt perceive that his mind is dead and dry. To keep himself in newt eyes, he does occasional work for crime lords, as a strong-arm intimidator. He maintains a lab in the basement of a abandoned building on Waydon Steet, filling it with necromantic traps and hoarded arcane bric-a-brack.

Down a dark street, a rag-clad figure lurches and staggers toward you, a dry hissing on it's cracked lips. A wide hat sadly does not obscure it's face, and as it steps into the light, you can see the grey-brown, tight, mottled flesh, covering a jittering skeleton awash with motes of crackling blue light.

The Waydon Street Lurcher CR 3
Advanced Deathlock
NE Medium undead
Init +8; Senses darkvision 60 ft., Lifesight; Listen +8, Spot +8 Defense
AC 15, touch 13, flat-footed 12 (+3 Dex, +2 natural)
hp 25 (4d12)
Fort +4, Ref +4, Will +5
Defensive Abilities +2 turn resistance, undead traits Offense
Spd 30 ft.
Melee Bite +2 (1d4)
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 4th)
At will—detect magic, inflict minor wounds (DC 13), read magic
3/day—cause fear (DC 14), magic missile, summon monster 1
2/day—ghoul glyph (DC 15), blast of force (+5, 2d6, DC 15 or fall prone)
Tactics
During Combat The Lurcher is cruel, sadistic, and cowardly. It tries to keep foes at a distance with summoned monsters, while it uses ranged magic, starting with Cause Fear on a heavily-armored foe such as a fighter or barbarian. If faced with a serious melee foe, it attempts to kill it with a blast of force.
Morale If reduced to 10 hp or less, or faced with a serious melee threat, the Lurcher flees back to it's lair, leading any persuers over a previously-cast ghoul glyph. It heals itself at every opportunity.
The Lurcher always attempts to flee rather than stand and fight.
Statistics
Str 11, Dex 16, Con —, Int 14, Wis 13, Cha 16
Base Atk +2; Grp +2
Feats Improved Initiative, Lifesight
Skills Concentration +10, Hide +10, Knowledge (arcana) +9, Listen +8,
Spellcraft +9, Spot +8, Use Magic Device +8
Languages Common, Abyssal, Infernal
Gear Eternal Wand of inflict light wounds, black onyx gem worth 50 gp,
37 sp, 5 gp, 21 cp, scroll of blast of force, scroll of identify.
SQ Turn Resistance +2

The Waydon Street Lurcher CR 6
Advanced Evolved Deathlock
NE Medium undead
Init +8; Senses darkvision 60 ft., Lifesight; Listen +5, Spot +6
Defense AC 18, touch 13, flat-footed 15 (+3 Dex, +3 natural, +2 armor)
hp 43 (6d12+6), fast healing 3
Fort +6, Ref +5, Will +6
Defensive Abilities +2 turn resistance, undead traits
Offense Spd 30 ft.
Melee Bite +4 (1d4+1)
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 6th)
At will—detect magic, inflict light wounds (DC 15), read magic,
3/day—scare (DC 16), magic missile, summon monster III
2/day—ghoul glyph (DC 16, paralysis for 1d6+2 rounds), manyjaws
(DC 17, 6 jaws, 1d6 each)
1/day—Contagion (DC 17)
Tactics
During Combat The Lurcher is cruel, sadistic, and cowardly. It tries to keep foes at a distance with summoned monsters, while it uses ranged magic, starting with Scare on a heavily-armored foe such as a fighter or barbarian. If faced with a serious melee foe, it inflicts a disease upon him.
Morale If reduced to 20 hp or less, or faced with a serious melee threat, the Lurcher flees back to it's lair, leading any persuers over a previously-cast ghoul glyph. It heals itself at every opportunity.
The Lurcher always attempts to flee rather than stand and fight.
Statistics Str 13, Dex 16, Con —, Int 14, Wis 13, Cha 18
Base Atk +3; Grp +3
Feats Improved Initiative, Lifesight, improved toughness
Skills Concentration +13, Hide +12, Knowledge (arcana) +11, Listen +5,
Spellcraft +11, Spot +6, Use Magic Device +13
Languages Common, Abyssal, Infernal
Gear Eternal Wand of bull's strength, empowered spellshard (magic missile), black onyx gem worth 50 gp, 37 sp, 5 gp, 21 cp, scroll of manyjaws, scroll of identify, bracers of armor +2
SQ Turn Resistance +2

Attic Whisperers arise from neglected children, not stillborn fetuses. babies cant speak, they dont make creepy rhymes or play jumprope. They crap and spit up, and whine. It would be a different sort of undead monster, if you really wanted something that messed up.

A better option would be to point them in the direction of the Midwife. The elven woman who does that sort of thing, whats-her-name. The party could sit down for tea while she spins a quietly distrubing tale about that strange night. It would give background on nualia, since she would remeber her quite well. and she could be disturbingly vauge on the subject of the child.
"it was a mercy the poor girl didnt didnt bring it to term. I've seen some unfortunate births, but this...it wasnt a baby. it was a thing."

Personally, I felt that this encounter was a little bleh, so I spiced it up a bit by showing off the Faceless Stalker's abilities to greater effect, and creating an interesting "fake-out" encounter. I figured I would share it in case anyone else was looking for ideas. I also added an aditional faceless stalker, to make the "assassination attempt" more beleivable

When the PCs enter Alderns townhouse, allow them DC 25 Listen checks. Those who suceed hear, from upstairs a voice say quietly "they're here. Be ready."

On the second floor, they can make another DC 15 listen check to hear the clink of glass bottles and a soft feminine giggle. When they reach the top floor, they see what look like three young humans in affluent clothes lounging about in the empty house. One is relaxing on the couch, drinking from a glass wine bottle. the other two, a young man and woman, are sitting close together on the bed, making out. when they see the PCs, they yell in surprise, and the young woman hides on the other side of the bed. Obviously, they're just a bunch of bored rich kids hanging out in an empty house. They can explain to the PCs that the place has been empty for weeks, and that workmen boarded it up some time ago. The three act very impressed by the PCs, and ask them all sorts of enthusuastic questions about their investigations.

The young woman actually comes up the handsomest-looking Male PC and shyly says her name is Andrea Karlov, and offers to show him around Magnimar, since he's new in town. Allow the PCs Spot checks versus her Sleight of Hand check to notice that She has palmed a long knife from inside her sleve. Those who make the check get to act in the surprise round as she abruptly Sneak Attacks the PC she was talking to, a sweet smile on her face. At this point, the other two stalkers Draw their weapons and Assume their natural forms, Sneak attacking PCs who still have not acted yet.

The young man stands and draws his filigree'd lowgsword, an odd expression crossing is face, as though he was having intestinal trouble. The expression clears into one of sudden releif as, with an abrupt suddenness, his features puff up and bulge out, his arms extend, and all previous evidence of humanity is erased in an instant. (show them the Picture of a faceless stalker). He rotates his shoulders bonelessly and gives a sigh of contentment. "damn, that felt good."

The Stalkers then follow the listed tactics, fleeing once the first one dies.

The encounter went very well last night, and was a good way to finish up the session (with the sawmill and Xanesha saved for the next one). One player said, upon seeing the picture
"wow. they're as flexible and strong as gumby and herculies combined"
to which another PC replied "Gumberculies? I love that guy!" They got nice and pissed off after the fake-out and all the combat feinting, and so when the last surviving Stalker slithered out the window and onto the street below, the wizard ran up to the broken window and Fireballed her spongey ass as she tried to escape.