Kaellin Greenleaf's page

"Greyfang, stay close and wait to flank them!" Kaellin orders his companion. He steps up to join the others surrounding the nearest devourer, and slashes with Tahlathria with preternatural speed.

With a delightful grin on his face, Kaellin quickly drops to one knee and hugs his old friend around the neck.

"Greyfang! I've missed you too, girl, you're a sight for sore eyes," the ranger manages to say as the wolf happily licks his face. "But... how did you get here?"

The unholy screeches not far interrupted that line of questioning. Both the half-elf and the wolf quickly turn their attention towards the direction of the source. Greyfang growls.

"Questions later, then, my girl. Time to do what we do best." Placing a hand her the wolf's mane, Kaellin whispers a supplication to the primal spirits, opening his soul to the vastness of nature. Greyfang's teeth noticeably sharpen. Kaellin slips his bow into his quiver, then draws Tathlathria, standing guard towards the the direction of the enemy.

The smell is the first thing that hit Kaellin, and that tips him off that something was definitely not normal. Able to take a second to examine his surroundings, his eerie feeling is confirmed at the definitely-not-normal variety of mushrooms growing in this place. Judging from the reaction of the King and his man, this place was definitely not part of the plan.

On the other hand, stumbling into strange places was part of the fun of being an adventurer. Despite the situation they were in, the ranger can't help the corner of his mouth twitch upward. Sylvie's going to pissed she missed this...

He didn't like to run from a fight, but Kaellin signed up to a duty, so he'll see to it. He follows King Chalm and his retinue, staying at the rear of the group to cover them as they move. His bow is drawn, ready to pick off any enemy that gets to close. As he gets up the stairs, he pauses only for a moment to glance at the other side of the hall. Sylvara, keep yourself safe...

Kaellin continues fire arrows at the devourer as he takes a few more steps towards the king. Being the furthest away from the stairs, he opts to cover the rest of the group as they move by inflicting as much damage as he can in the enemy. This time, he took a few extra moments to make sure his arrows sink into his undead target.

I would like to add that I believe a 2nd Edition to Pathfinder was inevitable.

PF as-is carries too many faults and weaknesses from 3.5 (an unfortunate necessity at the time). Since then however, Paizo team, and players and GMs from around the world, have come up with wonderful improvement and numerous addons to this great game. After 10 years of continuous development, there absolutely NEEDS to be at least a revision of the whole system, and finally fix the faults inherent within.

I just hope PF2 doesn't go down the path of other game systems. Stealing a couple of ideas here and there is fine and all, but PF should aim for a specific style of tabletop rpg that greatly differs from other game systems. You need to give a reason to the people for them to choose your system over the others that just aren't delivering what they want.

Kaellin: ditto; thanks. One thing - you can gain one more attribute point by putting the +2 into dex (starting at 14) and the +1 into Wisdom (starting at 15) instead of both into one of them (thus spending the cost for one starting at 13 and the other at 16). Otherwise, Kaellin done.

Thanks for the tip! I recalculated, and I'd like to reduce Cha from 13 to 12 so I can use the extra point to move Int 10 to 12. That will also give Kaellin 7 more skill points, which I've allocated as follows:

On Sylvara: Since you are putting skill points into it, you must define what form of art your Artistry talent creates. IMO, this is clearly something you're trying to use to put together Sylvara's magnum opus with Oratory, so just going off what they have in Hero Lab, you're looking at criticism, literature, playwriting, or philosophy. If you tell me the thrust of what she might be striving for -- what type of oratory she prefers -- then I can give some advice on specificity. I'm also willing to let you wait with those skill points technically spent but actually dedicated 'to whatever Artistry we nail down', but only so long as you don't use the skill until then.

I envision Sylvara's magnum opus to be a written saga of their adventures, so I think literature would be appropriate.

Working on Kaellin and Sylvara.

RE: feats

RE: favored enemies
Ah, I listed them under "special attacks": human +4, giant +2

RE: skills
I can't remember why I wrote things the way I did, but yeah, made a mistake there. Fey Thoughts should now be (diplomacy, sense motive). I removed the +3 class bonus from Sleight of Hand.

Updated Kaellin's feats:
Removed Power Attack and Weapon Finesse
Replaced with Dodge and Weapon Focus (bows)

No feat changes for Sylvana.

Updated both characters to use Dex for CMB.

Whoops! Kain Gallant chiming in here, sorry for the late response. For some reason, I never notice the PM alert until days later...

I'm still interested in continuing (odd coincidence, the other PbP I was in also restarted after a long hiatus). I'll read over the past couple of pages because it seems there's some feat changes to do.

EDIT: Ah! The Feat Tax changes! Great choice, I've implemented this a long while ago in my own campaign, glad to see it here as well. :)

Hey all, I'm back from vacation, though I see I haven't missed out much. Will be continuing to check the thread preiodically.

Just a heads up: I'll be on vacation and traveling for the next 10 or so days. I'm unlikely to have time to post or have internet connection, so if I'm quiet, that's why. GM, feel free to use my characters to move the campaign along.

No worries! Take whatever time you need to make it feel right :)

Kaellin bristles at the orders. He did not need anyone telling him the obvious, thank you very much. But this is nothing new, he always had a problem with other people telling what to do. He'll do his damn duty and make sure no harm comes to the king and his family. In nothing else, Kaellin always fought for the safety of others.

He did worry about Sylvara. It seems that she did not hear him over the cacophony in the hall. He knows she can take care of herself, but the ranger has never seen these monsters before, and he learned from past experience that first monster encounters means a lot of hurt before the win.

Remaining on the platform, he takes a few steps closer to the king, all while loosing a flurry of arrows one after another with each step at the foremost monster.

Kaellin looses his arrow, then quickly drops his hand to his sword, this time successfully freeing it from its bond.

What the Nine Hells?! Any relief Kaellin had to be back in his regular gear evaporated as instinct took over. He quickly re-string his longbow. He then reached down to remove the peace bond on his sword, but was unable to do so. He spat out a mild curse, while he switched his focus to the horrific monsters bursting into the hall, drawing an arrow from his quiver and readying it to fire. "Sylvie! Get ready!" he shouts to his companion on the other side of the hall.

Also, one option in the Kingdom Building rules is to have the BP-gp conversion rate be gradual as your kingdom grows. When the kingdom is 25 hexes or smaller, you can invest just 1,000 gp for 1 BP. The idea is that when you're starting small, people are more willing to do more for less, and as you grow, you need more gold to grease the wheels of bureaucracy to get stuff done.

:: King Chalm ::
Kaellin is privately impressed by Chalm's blunt assessment of his own cousin's motives. He finds such honesty refreshing in someone in a noble position. His respect of his new king increases, and is a bit of a relief if this is the type of person he'll be serving.

The half-elf nods to Chalm. "It'll be an honor and pleasure to take part in the scouting, Your Highness. My companion, Greyfang, is reliable for both her senses, and her ability to travel far and fast. She should be able to help wih maintaining the lines of communication."

:: EVeryone ::
"I'm not opposed to sending bandits to their deaths, but like Aramil says, not every bandit is a cold-blooded villain. If given the chance, it would be good to add their strength to our own. It would take time and a lot of work, for sure, but I'm willing to take that up if need be. Plus, it should give us a good reputation. We might have an easier time if people think it's better to join us than try to attack us."

"For clearing the road, it might be best to try mundane means as much as possible. Save our magical resources for a last resort, and in reserve in case of emergencies."

Welcome Lessah and Ash!

Kaellin narrows his eyes on the newly transformed half-orc. "What the heck?" The half-elf looked around to see if anyone noticed as well, but the half-orc seems unconcerned about using transformation magic in plain sight. [i]"Is he part of the staff, then?"[i] He turns to Sylvara. "Hey, did you see—ow!"

The visibily annoyed elven maiden does not even bother to face him as she pulls him on the ear, and begins leading him away. "Now that that foolishness is done, we have *actual* important work to do. And gods help me, I *will* make you behave."

Kaellin sighs, but does not resist. He supposes he had this coming. Nonetheless, he commits the half-orc's face to memory, and plans on asking an actual staff member or guard about him.

:: Oath ::

Somewhat awkwardly, Kaellin steps up and kneels before the king.

"I, Kaellin Greenleaf, son of Mirasiel Greenleaf and Xiaowen the Gallant, being of sound mind and without reservation, and excepting only my oaths to Cernunnos, swear fealty of mind, body, and soul to the King and People of Krádira. Should my oaths to Cernunnos come into conflict with my oaths to the King and People of Krádira, I will go to my lord King that I may return unto him the titles, duties, rights, responsibilities, and privileges which he has granted me, that I may be released from the oaths I here swear unto the true and loyal service of Cernunnos. With this sole exception, I swear to bear loyal and true service to the King and People of Krádira, and to honor, preserve, protect, and uphold the laws, justice, and mercy of and for the People of Krádira against all enemies, foreign and domestic, and to bear true faith and allegience to the King and People of Krádira. I swear to faithfully execute the charges given to me, to protect and guide the people over whom I am granted rulership, guarding them in times of peril, nurturing them in times of peace, leading them in times of war, and governing them always with justice tempered by mercy, as the gods give me the wisdom to so do. This I swear to do until my final death, the world's end, or my lord release me."

The half-elf recites the oath as succinctly as possible, thankful for Sylvara's repeatedly drilling.

Kaellin can only give William somber nod in solidarity as he hands back his shirt and watch him leave. Any loss, regardless of the stakes, was a bitter taste to endure.

Sorry for the loss William, the dice gods were against you this time. But at least it makes for some dramatic developments!

Standing by the dueling table, Kaellin intently observes the participants. Though he was eager to witness Aldori swordplay clash against Irrisen's, he is intent on being a good second. He scans Wiliam's opponent, his second, and others in the crowd, looking for signs of ill intent or hidden weapons.

Honestly, Kaellin thinks to himself, they don't seem the type to cheat. Bunch of blowhards, sure. But you never know...

:: The Duel ::

Kaellin nods to William as he accepts the garment. As he begins to make his way to the Council Chamber, Sylvara slides up next to him. The half-elf fails to stop himself from gulping as he can practically feel the icy demeanor of his longtime adventuring companion. Though the elf is walking alongside him, she is not giving him one whit of attention.

"So, uh, I guess I stepped in it pretty badly, eh?" Kaellin tries to quip.

"You just better hope he wins," was the cold reply.

Kaellin starts thinking he should shut up now.

:: The Duel ::

Kaellin returns the grin. "No worries. Nothing gets pass my eyes and ears. You show that blowhard some manners."

I agree with summarizing the oathtaking. Presumably, those of us still here have no intention of derailing that part (otherwise we wouldn't be here in the first place! XD), so I think it's fair to say that part goes smoothly and without any additional incident from us players.

We can play out dinner, where I'm guessing we have the opportunity to alter relationship dynamics or establish new ones that will impact how the politics further on. I agree with not letting it on too long, I think we're all eager to get to some action. :)

:: The Duel ::

Kaellin returns the nod to Wozniacki, and then gives a respectful short bow to Ishana. He turns and walks back to William.

"So that's done. Sorry if I complicated things there. To be honest, I've never been a second before," he tells William. "Most of my challenges always end up with fists flying before talking happens."

"They're currently getting the Lord Mayor's and the King's permission for the fight. In the meantime, we just need stay cool, and not cause any more trouble. You good?"

:: The Duel ::

Kaellin's eye shift back and forth between William and Lazar during the exchange. Nine bloody Hells is this complicated, he thinks to himself. He glances at Sylvara questioningly, but her only response is a wordless expression of exasperation with a slight shrug. Kaellin understood what she meant. You got into this mess, you deal with it.

Turning to Lazar, he says somewhat warily, "Uh... yeah, that's about right."

:: The Duel ::

Kaellin turns half way to look back at William to see if he has any objections, cocking his head towards Lazar.

:: The Duel ::

Gods, a simple 'yes' or 'no' would be enough, Kaellin thinks. It takes every every ounce of self-control not to belt the man in the face right then and there. Putting up with a pompous ass for a minute was less trouble than getting lecture for gross etiquette breaching afterwards from a certain elf.

"We're in agreement, then" he manages to growl out of his gritting teeth. "We done here?"

Heh, it was good. Got together with some old friends who haven't played together in years to play a one-off session. Hope yours was good!

:: The Duel ::

"Well, not to be any more gauche about the obvious, I'd like to just make it clear that this won't be to the death, since this is party and all. Both parties should refrain from delivering a lethal blow at any of the three touches."

"The name's Kaellin Greenleaf of the Reckless. the man who'll be teaching your friend some lessons in respect is William Laswrick of the Shivering Exiles," the half-elf declares, pointing a thumb towards William.

:: The Duel ::

Kaellin bites back a grumble at being called out about the sword. He was eager to get back to being armed, and had hoped they would not pick up on his action. The half-elf would feel a lot more comfortable having Tahlathria within arm's reach.

Addressing the other second, he tells him "Agreed on the healer's presence, as well as regarding ally interference. Also agreed on the 'no spellcasting' rule, with the exception of any permanent enchantments already present on the weapon itself. Only one weapon to be used, and must be a sword, but can be of any type."

Kaellin glances back at William, then back to the other second. "We also agree to duel until one is disarmed, but my... principal is willing to go further beyond first blood. What say you to first to three hits? Unless you think your principal wouldn't be able to last that long."

"And for the record, just who exactly will he be beating? You've already got our names."

:: William, Tomáš ::

Kaellin hears Tomáš' words. He glances at William. "Man does have a point. Would be pretty rude to start a fight in another man's home without at least letting him know." Which reminds Kaellin that he had yet to introduce himself and Sylvara to the King. The excitement at some action gives way to a cold feeling of dread. Welp, she's really gonna let me have it after this...

:: William Lawsrick ::

Kaellin listens to William intently. He nods. "Agreed, no objections here. Let's knock the smug out of them." he says with a grin.

He calls for a guard or servant to retrieve his sword from where it was checked in.

"Sorry, Sylvie, but I think enough words have been sparred already," Kaellin says, without breaking his gaze away from the swordsmen.

He ignores the glare of frustration Sylvara shoots at him. Or is it exasperation? The two sort have blended together these days...

:: William Lawsrick ::

Kaellin narrows his eyes at offending swordsman. It's not the first time that these types in Restov. Although he has only just introduced himself to Lawsrick, his annoyance at these preening idiots and Lawsrick's straight-forward talk makes the half-elf instantly want to side with him.

"Damn straight I will," he growls out. Turning to William, "If you'll have me."

Despite Sylvara's urgings, Kaellin mostly kept to himself after speaking with Amavin. While Sylvara handle the polite greetings, the half-elf forced himself not to look bored or uncomfortable, no matter how much he actually was. He noticed that they had meandered near the mannequins displaying the possessions of each of the expedition leaders. At least here was something he could appreciate. That was when he heard a nearby man speaking about his sword.

:: William Lawsrick ::

"That's a really nice blade," Kaellin said, nodding in appreciation. "You must have a lot of good stories with it. My own is checked in, but that's my bow over there. Hymbrian-made, and a gift from my mother for when I embarked on my own adventure."

Kaellin turned to the other man, and offered his hand. "Kaellin Greenleaf, of the the Reckless. Nice to meet you."

::Aramil Wellys::

Kaellin glances at his companion, then back to Aramil. "Don't mind her when she gets like this. She's just memorizing everything to write it down later," he says. "She's kinda obsessed like that. Urk!" The half-elf grimaces after being poked in the ribs by an annoyed Sylvara.

Re-composing himself, he addresses Aramil. "In any case, I think it's great that we'll be working with a fellow adventurer on this. I was worried we'd be out of place if everyone was a bunch of nobles. I'd be interested in swapping stories, especially about fighting bandits. I used to do a lot of that growing up in Hymbria, and during the early years of our adventuring in the River Kingdoms."

I would guess it has a lot to do with nobility etiquette. It could be taken as a sign of disrespect that you would feel the need to to cast even protective spells on your person, as if you did not believe that the host is capable of securing your safety. Also, could be very suspicious, as in "Why is this guest all enchanted? Are they readying for a fight?"

Regarding gear, I hadn't thought about it aside from the main melee weapons for Kaellin and Sylvara. However, reading the security measures, it's well enough that I didn't worry about them. So for the record, Kaellin and Sylvara did not bring any magical items on their own person.

::Aramil Wellys::

"Well, we've beenadventuring around the regions for several years now until this came along. We thought this might be a good opportunity to try something new, to build a more permanent legacy. It's certainly going to be a challenge I'm eager to take on!" A slight smirk appears on Kaellin's lips.

"How about yourself and the Mageford?"

::Aramil::

Turning to Aramil, Kaellin extended his arm. "That I am! And you must be Aramil of the Mageford. It's a pleasure to meet you!"

Kaellin feels a nudge to his side. "Oh! May I introduce my companion-in-arms, Sylvara Amalur."

Sylvara curtsies before the other elf. "An honor to make your acquaintance, Vitez Wellys."

"Quite the gathering, eh?" Kaellin remarks. "This expedition is going to be quite the something, don't you think?"

Whoops! Not sure how I came to that conclusion. Sylvara's skills have been fixed. I opted to transfer some points from Disguise and Escape Artist. Also, I indicated how many points were moved from adventuring skills pool to the background skills.

"Just... keep an eye on them, all right?"

"You got it, mister Kaellin!" the youth enthusiastically acknowledges.

Kaellin watches Caleb drive the small cart away with pretty much all of his adventuring gear on it. The half-elf is not a materialistic person, but he had spent blood and sweat to get that gear, and they gave him the edge more than once to avoid certain death. He was going to feel naked heading into tonight's gala.

Before entering the Great Hall, Kaellin checks in Tahlathria with a grimace, the only weapon he was allowed to bring. The guard has to tug at the curveblade several times from his reluctant hand before Sylvara jabs him in the side to make him let it go.

"Don't worry, we'll be fine in here," she tells him. As she checks in her own rapier, she whispers "Please don't make a scene. Please don't make a scene." under her breath.

"Introducing Vitez Kaellin Greenleaf, adventurer and leader of the Reckless! Accompanying him is the Żonka Sylvara Amalur of Kyonin!"

The half-elf and the elf enter the hall, with Kaellin holding Sylvara's hand and escorting her just as she taught him. He is wearing a set of well-tailored clothing, if somewhat simple in style. It was the fanciest clothing he can tolerate to wear, and even then he looks awkward in it. She, on the other hand, is a vision of elegant nobility, dressed in an exquisite white gown. Her golden hair is tied in a decorative bun, allowing her to display the elven jewelry she wore.

Kaellin puts in every effort to not cringe at the stares. Thinking back to all the times he faces hordes of ghouls or staring down the open maw of a dragon helps him somewhat. Sylvara, on the other, basks in the attention.

While she was enjoying herself, Kaellin remembered her advice, "This is the time to mingle and make allies!" Gulping, the ranger steps forth.

I was going to have Kaellin and Sylvara go out and start talking to the other groups, but I'd actually prefer to jump to the party and start discussions there. Feels more appropriate to me to use the party to start getting to know the other members.