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Exiel calls out Lauriel to translate for the group. "Your majesty, we seek... a representation of the death of Baba Yaga, though the precise nature of this representation is unknown to us. Any aid you can grant us will be appreciated. I also could not help but hear you telling Rajet that your people are in need. Perhaps we could lend our assistance?"
Exiel throws up his emergency force sphere. Knowing he's there to buy time, he decides to vary the plan a little. He hovers within the force sphere and readies an action to cast dimension door as soon as his emergency force sphere collapses.
Lauriel sees Mike moving out again and calls out to him. "Mike, Exiel's running behind schedule and is a little pinned-down as well, but he's gonna try to keep the guards distracted a little longer. Are you able to sneak to the fourth tower and clear it for me? I'll go tell 42 and Rhon to start heading towards the monastery, and then meet you at the fourth tower. Exiel will rendezvous with us there and transport us to the cathedral once the tower is deactivated."
Assuming Mike finishes off the guard?: Lauriel flies over to the tower control panel and shift into her small humanoid form, and begins to work the panel base on her perfect memory of what she saw Viktor do and his explanations, as well as her own engineering skills. "I sure hope I'm doing this right..."
"Hold on Rhon. I appreciate your concern for Exiel, but this is still within his ability to handle. I think Mike needs our help just as much if not more. If 42 could make you invisible, you could both make your way to the next tower and help Mike with that. The faster we take those towers, the less time Exiel has to buy us."
GM:
"Well, it so happens that we quite serendipitously found the lantern goat that held his soul even before we knew we needed it. Do we just break it to release his soul? And do you know where his body is?" "And I'm almost afraid to ask... but if he's dead... how exactly are you going to 'make him help us'?"
While Exiel plays medic, Lauriel converses with their new friend. "Hello nice lady, we are certainly NOT friends of Rasputin. In fact, we crossed paths with him and were unfortunately unprepared, but once we recover we intend to try again. This man here is one of... um.... Little Grandmother's Riders, and we are trying to rescue her. If you can give us any help, information or advice, we would be most grateful!"
Seeing 42 stunned and overwhelmed into silence, Lauriel decides to take the lead a little. "Exiel, we can't stay here forever. Rhon's invis will wear off sooner or later, and that's assuming he doesn't get discovered before then." "Hey naked-lady, I can tell you don't really like Rasputin that much. Truth is, neither do we. These two here are her riders, or are part of her black rider... it's complicated. But if you wanna help Baba Yaga and help us kick Rasputin's butt, we'll take all the help we can get. Otherwise, we really need to move on please."
Lauriel senses Anastasia's distress and moves slowly to embrace her, if she is allowed to. "There, there, your highness. Are not angels also sometimes though of as fantasy? And if angels, and dragons, can be real, why not men with extraordinary abilities? As for your brother, I am sorry, but you said you remembered you and your family being lined up to be shot... It would appear that from the time you awoke, that three-headed dragon was impersonating your brother, not your real brother. I am sorry." "But we still don't know how all this came to be. If you will let him, my friend would like to examine you again to make sure that the dragon did not use any other magic on you."
Lauriel gives Exiel a confused look as she gives the rest of the party the translation. "These wings are indeed real, and you may touch them if you wish. But what do you mean, "did Rasputin send us"? Rasputin is the master of this place! He is involved in a plan that threatens our world and we are here to try to find him and stop him. All the horrors you've seen in this place are his doing!" "You appear a little unwell, child. My friend here is going to examine you to make sure everything is ok. Please just stay where you are and don't panic." Concerned by this recent turn of events, Lauriel looks to Exiel, who casts a detect magic spell over the children to see if they are currently affected by magic.
"And whilst this planet is far from Golarion, their home planet, the higher planes are common to all, so perhaps one of your number will recognise what I am - a minor angel, but nonetheless an angel from the higher planes, and one that would never serve or ally herself with one who would deal falsely with you or do you harm if your cause be right. I vouch for this man and his allies, and ask that you put your trust in them."
"Bird stew should be fine for us, thank you, Bescaylie. Umm...and maybe we'll try some of that bork-thingy. Thank you for your hospitality. We will be ready for the conference tomorrow." A necklace with a few potentially-detachable beads (magical)
Realising that she is probably the only one able to understand the alien, Lauriel decides to speak for the group. "Greetings. We are strangers to these lands, but our intentions are peaceful. We've come from afar seeking a two-headed eagle and a bearskin that may have been left behind by an old powerful crone. She would have looked a little like one of these guys with me, but much older. And female. We understand that she is likely in some sort of trouble and are looking to aid her, and we need those items to help her. Would you by any chance be able to point us in the right direction?"
"Exiel has told me much about you all. I am honoured to meet you," the small angel says in a voice that is at once soft, melodious and confident. As she considers the new information granted by Ralph, Exiel takes the opportunity to cast heroism on her to aid her memory. As she thinks, the papyrus of her mask shift rapidly.
Heh, well put, mate. The ability to roll-play and role-play are not in any way mutually exclusive, and are in fact both aspects of a good player. To Vhalas and Zhiyad, thank you for voicing what you feel your present party needs. I'd like to suggest that whilst Wei is not a divine caster, he actually does have the capacity to fill the role of a healer to some extent, and with the advent of the Page of Spell Knowledge in Ultimate Equipment, Wei can now obtain mage armour through the Page, and learn a debuff or damage spell in lieu of Mage Armor. Furthermore, I hope I can also convince you that true strike is actually a surprisingly good debuff spell in the hands of a monk. on the mechanics of infernal healing:
Infernal healing grants fast healing 1 for 1 minute, or 10 rounds. Thus a single casting effectively heals a guaranteed 10 hit points, which is comparable to a 5th level caster's cure light wounds, which heals for an average of 9.5 hp. Also, an extended infernal healing spell heals for 20 hp guaranteed, which extends Wei's effectiveness as an out-of-combat healer. Where he may fall behind in healing is at higher levels, though at that point, Wei should have a few levels in Pathfinder Savant, allowing him to learn a higher-level healing spell. True strike used right:
In my experience, true strike is often best used for achieving certain combat maneuvers. An empty-handed disarm in particular not only instantly deprives the enemy's warrior of his best weapon (essentially functioning as a major debuff), but simultaneously puts it in the hands of one of the PCs. The problem however is that most of the time the character casting true strike either lacks the armor class or hit points to survive in melee range and cop the attack of opportunity. Wei however suffers from none of these problems, having amongst the highest hit points and definitely the highest AC in the party.
Another tactic would be to cast true strike and trap an enemy caster with either a net or a lasso. A creature entangled in a net needs to make caster level checks to cast, and can't move further from the person who cast the net (i.e. stranded next to a melee warrior)-a caster's worst nightmare. Now you may have noticed that Wei has yet to purchase a net, and that would be correct, as I am still waiting for James Jacobs to clarify how the lasso, which serves a similar function, works. Depending on his answer, I will be purchasing one or the other. True strike: terrorising humanoid BBEGs since 3.0. =) Apart from the above points, Wei also has the AC and HP to wade into combat and set up flanks. That he uses a reach weapon only makes this easier. In fact, with his AC and HP, I am expecting Wei to often be the first one in melee, and just as often be the last to need to pull back. Wei will also be stepping up to the plate for buffs and to a lesser extent debuffs, in the near-future learning bless for free and subsequently learning glitterdust, heroism and haste if Zhiyad does not get haste first. I hope the above points will help to convince you of Wei's suitability for the team. If you think that there's a particular 1st level sorc spell you'd particularly like Tuillen to learn, I'm open to suggestions. At the moment, I am partial to Touch of Gracelessness, which reduces dexterity (increases our hit rate) and, if they fail their save, limits their movement substantially. Alternatively, there is colour spray, which Wei can position himself well for since he's a front-liner. =)
Wei is finished. Decided to take infernal healing as a known spell so with that and heavenly fire he can pull healing duty. He's also a high AC and is not afraid to wade into combat. He's got good spot and will be able to craft items. As he gains levels, he will also become much more of a close-range bruiser as outlined in my previous post. Take a look and give me some feedback?
Still fine-tuning my character at this point. Feats have been finalised. Have also decided to use wands for shield, and have him learn true strike for combat maneuvers and sure-hits. Have decided on another monk level for the extra feat. However, his overall build will remain the same. Also just realised that with Pathfinder Savant levels, Wei will be able to learn some healing spells later on if the party feels we need a healer.
Thanks for the positive feedback. I put quite some effort into the backstory, so I'm glad you liked what you've read thus far. The narrative fleshes out Wei as a character, explaining how he came to be a Sohei/Sorcerer, why he left the monastery and to some extent his outlook on life. More recent events may need to be fleshed out with you, as I have not played this AP before, and have no idea whether Wei would have had reason to tell the Shin'Rakorath of the history of Jinin. There are plenty of elements that are related and can be woven into the general plot, however, and I'm happy to RP or flesh out details as you require to fit Wei into the story. Crunch-wise, Wei has been fleshed out in this profile. He will be defined by his spell selection to a large extent, which allows me to customise him for greater offence or defence as the party requires. The end-goal is a character who walks around with several (extended) hour/lvl and 10min/lvl buffs maintained on himself 24/7, with a variety of short term buffs, damage spells and utility spells to round out the selection and keep him versatile. Between quickened and swift action spells, he should never need to devote more than one round to solely buffing himself. Wei will boast a high perception score at all levels, as he will be maximising WIS and perception (between him and Ziyad, they should rarely fall into ambushes). He will be taking craft wondrous item to qualify for Pathfinder Savant, and will thus serve as a crafter as well. Due to the disproportionate number of defensive buffs available to him at lower levels and offensive buffs available at higher levels, he will use item crafting to smooth the curve in his relative offensive and defensive abilities. By the time he gains third level spells, however, his offensive abilities should start to catch up rapidly. His feat selection will be somewhat flexible, but crane style mastery will be aimed for. I have made it a point to leave several spell options open at each level to accomodate for Ziyad's spell selection, so that between the two of us, we should be able to meet the party's arcane casting needs without feeling too constrained. Analysis of Wei's development through the levels: At the moment, he has one of the highest HPs in the party, and the highest AC when buffed with mage armor. His second spell is shield at the moment, but I am happy to change that for another spell depending on the role the group needs him to play (at the moment, it seems he may be designated meat 'shield'). Other options include true strike for a guaranteed combat maneuvers, chill touch to add more punch to his punch (pun completely intended ;p), sleep or possibly burning hands. Holy fire is his ranged attack at the moment, but can double as a mini (ranged) heal in a pinch. If he sticks with shield, his high armor class should enable him to set up flanks for Vhalas' sneak attacks easily, even if he has to provoke attacks of opportunity to achieve it. By 5th level, Wei will have Mage armor, shield, true strike and either stone shield or hydraulic push. His second level spell will be pilfering hand. Again, the choice between stone shield and hydraulic push will depend on the party's need. If the party is happy for Tuillen to play the meat-shield, he will have no problem, being able to generate an armor class as high as 30 through stone shield and crane style. At this level, he will be using his hydraulic push and pilfering hand spells tactically, in conjunction with true strike if required, to procure effective disarms and bull-rushes as required whilst standing right in the midst of battle. Once he gets third level spells, he will start aiming to maintain several long-term offensive buffs on himself. Extended heroism spells will boost his attack bonus whilst monstrous extremities will provide him with extra hoof attacks. Since this is when he starts taking Eldritch Knight levels in earnest, this is also the stage at which his offensive potential really starts to take off. Ablative Barrier and Resinous skin will also be considered, but may give way to haste (if Ziyad does not cast it regularly), vampiric touch or other similar spells. At this point, second level spell slots will be used to maintain long-term defensive buffs like bullet shield and resist energy. Wei's 4th level spells will include boneshatter and improved invisibility. From there, options include calcific touch (delivered via a punch, and since I will be using an Amulet of Mighty Fists to boost my hoofs, it will not be a light punch either). Once he attains 5th level spells, Wei will be using Eaglesoul and Divine Power in combat regularly, which should easily allow him to maintain a solid damage output. |
