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"The creature is dead, and we have learned what we can. In time, we may learn more under better circumstances. Karlak, your quick thinking and your strength have protected us and we are grateful. Andelis, I admire your studious nature. I hope that in time, your notes will help us determine what is going on. For now, I think Mama Cas has the right of it. Those of us who can, let us rest and continue our mission with fresh minds."
"Well, that was worth a try. If no one else has any ideas, I have another spell of burning hands prepared to help clean this up. We still have Svetlana, after all, and Oleg might have something for us when he comes around." Lemnis wipes his hands and dagger clean as he stands up and steps back from the egg sac.
"That's something. So they don't seem to be implanted in a host as eggs, but find their way in after hatching. Let's see if we can get a closer look." Lemnis selects one of the eggs and sets to carefully slicing it open with his dagger.
With the sack cut down, Lemnis nods his thanks to Leo and carries it back outside. "Let's cut this thing open and see what these things look like. The sack is pretty light, so I'm thinking either eggs or some sort of larva." He looks at those gathered around. "Be ready in case anything jumps out." Once everyone is ready, he pulls out his dagger and slices open the web sack.
"We may be able to learn more with less risk to ourselves or Svetlana. Remember the web sac over Oleg's bed? If we bring that out here and cut it open we may find some clue about the nature of these creatures. It may give us some idea of what to look for." Lemnis studies Svetlana's prone form with a clinical interest, and complete lack of compassion. "If we do proceed with cutting something out of Svetlana, I'd recommend severing her head just above the shoulders. That way we can more easily contain both throat and brain, just to be safe." He glances around at the rest of the party. "Who would like to come with me to get the egg sack? I might need help cutting it down and dragging it out here. I think Karlak, for one, should stay here. You've proven excellent in emergencies and you may be the best suited to prevent further trouble from her."
Lemnis held his cloak awkwardly. "Well done, Karlak. It seems we had much the same idea, but I have to admit your method was very direct; moreso than mine. I approve, whole heartedly!" Turning to Gideon, "Mama Cas may be right. We do have a few pressing matters, but I too am very interested in your transformative nature. When we have time, I should like to learn more about it. However, I won't pry if it makes you uncomfortable. So, we have a wounded Oleg, and a strange coccoon. I agree we should try to rouse Oleg first."
Action:
If I can manage it, Lemnis tears his cloak off and throws it over Isen's head and neck, hoping to interfere with whatever explodes from Isen's throat. Lemnis dives for cover,
"Well, this has been interesting!"
"Let's bring the coccoon, or whatever it is, out here. I'd like to see it cut open so that we might better understand these creatures. My guess is that it's an egg sac, but it might well be another creature entirely. I'll stand ready with more fire in case whatever it is becomes hostile or tries to escape."
Lemnis twists to one side, avoiding the spraying mucus. "It seems I owe several of you an apology. You were right to be suspicious of Svetlana. "Nurvorst!" He points a finger at Svetlana, firing a ray of frost at her.
Lemnis moves into position and spreads his fingers toward the oddly mutated Svetlana and Isen. “Sisun Bezroku!” A gout of flame sprays from his hand, washing over them.
Lemnis drops his end of Oleg and follows Szemyan out of the house, already shaking out his hand and limbering his fingers in preparation for a fight.
"If we're doing this, it's best done quickly. Nice work Gideon. Be careful."
Lemnis glances around, specifically at the coccoon, hoping to glean a few clues, as he wraps the blanket snugly around Oleg's legs and lifts from that end.
"I'll come too. I may see something that helps unravel this mystery
"I do not disagree that Oleg's condition is likely worsened by proximity to that coccoon and Svetlana, regardless of her intention is not helping him. There is much we still don't know. I am not opposed to confrontation, but I am entirely for gathering information. A verbal confrontation may give us what we need without inflicting undue harm. There is no need to rashly do that which cannot be undone."
Lemnis pinches the sleep from his eyes. "Let's not leap to hasty accusations. It's clear that there is a potentially dangerous mystery here. We have not been directly threatened, but it was wise to post a watch. Gideon, I am glad you were able to bring us this information. It might well save our lives. Perhaps we should continue watch, getting what rest we can. With the morning we will be gone from here and this Fasen Jennic may have more information. Additionally, we may find further evidence of such cocoons. If it is some sort of transitory stage of insectile life form, there may be new creatures about the area." A distracted expression comes over his face. "How interesting. Could we be looking at a profound ecological shift? Some new life form preying upon or perhaps laying eggs in humanoids... His voice trails off, but his lips continue to move as he follows this line of thinking internally.
"I agree with Szemyan. Svetlana owes us nothing, yet has offered hospitality. Let her have her privacy, but let us be wary. A watch is a good idea. I prefer either first or last shift, personally."
Lemnis was quiet during the conversation. As an elf, he was accustomed to patience. He had long held that if one listened long enough, others would say what needed said. He waits for a lull, then speaks. "This Fasen Jennic sounds like an excellent source of information. I believe we will seek him out shortly. I intend to ask him as well, but have you noticed anything different in recent years? A shift in the natural order such as new creatures, or familiar creatures acting differently than they used to, perhaps? And as to your husband's illness, have you identified the particular malady? It may be that some among us have healing skills." He glances around at his traveling companions. He was acutely aware of a gap in his education. Medicine of any kind was beyond him.
Lemnis' keen elven senses are clearly focused in a completely irrelevant direction. He senses Ornil's excitement and smiles.
Lemnis removes his pack and sets it at his feet, ready to swing it back onto his shoulders when needed. He nods in greeting to the man who welcomed them, and if Mama Cas is mounted he offers her a hand down. Gideon's jokes and legends had made the trip pleasantly entertaining. Lemnis envied the odd man's facility with sound effects. Lemnis could only manage a frog and and elephant, himself. "Ornil, survey the area if you would. Keep an eye out for the usual." The little bird flutters off and dwindles to a dot as he climbs high and circles the area.
Lemnis passes the charters out to everyone and shows them the map. Then he dons the satchel and gathers his belongings, getting ready for the trip ahead.
Lemnis shifts position where he stands serenely smiling as Ornil flutters back to his shoulder, beak full of bread. The motions are so seamless and simultaneous it is difficult to tell which of them initiated it. This shall indeed be an interesting trip. What fascinating people.
"Agreed. The pursuit of knowledge, combined with the opportunity to ensure the safety of others and possibly secure political favor are each reason enough for this undertaking. I will accept your charter."
It sure looks like it! That was an excellent story. GM, great start! I am intrigued.
Lemnis smiles at his cheeky little friend. "Ornil speaks for himself, as you can see. Thank you for your consideration." Nodding gratitude to Karlak, he turns his attention again to the Magister. "Indeed, he and the jester both make a point. Any additional information you give us will only contribute to our success, to everyone's mutual benefit."
"It seems to me that a decline in banditry should be a good thing, but it does beg the question of whether there is a greater threat, perhaps preying on the bandits. This sounds like worthy work, as well as a chance to see something new. I would gladly accept such a charter"
"I'm sure she does, but manners, Ornil." Lemnis smiles at those gathered. "Please pardon my chattering friend. I'm pleased to meet you all. I do not yet know the full details of why we are assembled, but I look forward to working with each of you."
The elf has been standing to one side, reading a thick book while a small bird perched on one shoulder occasionally chattering in his ear. Oddly, he would sometimes murmur something back. At the sudden commotion, he looks up curiously. "I believe so, though that would of course depend on what you think the right place is. Hello. I'm Lemnis. Can I assume that you are also here with regard to a charter from the Swordlords?" He glances at those who have already arrived, a friendly expression of polite interest on his face.
Similar with mine. I posted the information, but the profile has much more background detail. I've been quiet for a few days, just thought I'd chime in.
Lemnis Recinsier, Admixture Wizard 1. Statistics:
Str 10, Dex 16, Con 10, Int 19, Wis 10, Cha 10
FeatsSpell focus:evocation (Society play rule, replaces scribe scroll), Spell specialization: Burning hands Traits Magic lineage(Fireball), Metamagic master(Fireball), Noble Born (+1 CMD, +1 Diplomacy "High Above") 2. Lemnis could be played by James Phelps (Fred Weasly from Harry Potter) I see Lemnis as light hearted, but very capable and determined. Maybe a bit of an anarchist. 3. I originally made Lemnis for another online campaign that went nowhere. This is one of my favorite builds. He's a versatile blaster and a walking library. 4. Lemnis has a penchant for wordplay and dry wit. He appreciates riddles and clever solutions, even when they work against him. He is insatiably curious and if time allows he will dally in libraries, museums, or consignment shops. He likes to collect small oddities and examine them. Once he understands them he cares about them much less. If he currently had a home, it would have boxes of knickknacks stuck in the back of his closet. Old puzzles, long solved. He is a little impatient with things that fall outside of his immediate interests, which is why knowledge and blasting are his two main foci. The one clears the way for the other, while the other improves the one. Socially, he prefers to observe and chime in with an occasional witty comment or insightful remark, rather than hog the spotlight. However, he has a rich internal monologue. His thrush familiar, Ornil, often carries as much of the conversation as he does.
I'm a big fan of Maptool for tabletop play. I run two instances on my laptop, projecting the player view onto the table so I have fog of war for the players. There are libraries of artwork available on their website, and you can copy screenshots of anything on your screen and modify them in a paint program for new maps and images. For example, I've rotated video game views to top down and hit print screen, then tabbed out to a photo editing program to paste and clip out the surrounding terrain to make new minis for the program. You can also swing around to the front of your character and attach a portrait to the mini. Campaign Cartographer has a free version, as well as city and dungeon tools. They even have interior maps you can link to the city buildings. These tools aren't 3D, but they're very versatile. For a 3D view, I've actually taken the time to build things in Minecraft on creative mode. It takes a long time, but sometimes you just gotta have 3D.
Two things to watch out for. First, when a wizard gains a level, as written he can choose two new spells to learn, so he may choose the spell you don't want him to have. Second, while the rules for it are a bit scattered, (ultimate magic, core rulebook, game mastery guide) spells can be researched from scratch and new spells invented. You could say that a wizard can't research spells, including the ones from leveling up, without access to some sort of library or spell research lab. In this case, any spells they gain would have to be custom placed by the DM. To keep it fair, you would have to place at least two scrolls or spell book writings per level. Depending on the theme of your island, the spells in question could be engravings on the walls of ruined temples, stone tablets, embroidered into tapestries or on tribal tattoos of enemies. This is a bit rough on the player, but I think it could also reinforce the "stranded on some island" theme that you're going with. It adds a sense of desperation for the wizard to escape.
Thank's for weighing in, Saethori. I'm open to either interpretation, truly. Reading other threads on this question, the slight majority opinion is that it should have the ACP and max dex of a breastplate, but I can see both interpretations. After all, it can be easily destroyed by heat, which helps to mitigate the bonuses. The ambiguity comes from: 1. It creates a suit of armor which must be donned, rather than a simple armor bonus. 2. The material, 5 gallons of water, weighs 41.7 lbs. A breastplate weighs only 30. If anything, it should be more encumbering. At the least, there's a strong chance of putting a character into the medium weight encumbrance category (20' speed, +3 max dex, -3 ACP) which is very nearly the breastplate's encumbrance anyway. Spell failure is still an important unanswered question. So the question is whether the different hardness, HP, and swimming bonus are the only aspects of the spell besides armor bonus, or whether they are the only exceptions to a standard breastplate. That's why I'm hoping a developer will clarify this somewhere. The effort to save word count leaves ambiguity.
Bump on this. This just came up in my game and I have the same question. Is there an official ruling or errata yet?
"Absolutely correct!" Lemnis smiles at the barbarian's joyful attitude towards destruction. "I'm sure the tree has the best idea of all that the cracking noise entails, but I doubt that it is happy with the perspective. I'm sure the other trees appreciate their viewpoints much better than the tree who is being smashed. If we were to ask a druid what they think, I'm sure they would say they much prefer their distance from said smashing. Perhaps we can smash things together sometime, and compare our viewpoints afterward."
Lemnis raises his coffee mug toward the barbarian with a smile before taking a sip. "I have also come for the festival. The freedom of the wild cannot be matched, but it is refreshing to enjoy the occasional civilized merriment. And, of course, some needful things are best obtained from skilled craftsman. One in my profession does benefit from skilled bookbinders, for example. I also enjoy a good smashing," he adds, loud enough for Barbarian to hear, "though preferably at some distance."
I plan to use dazing fireballs as my mainstay, admixing for best effect depending on enemy resistances.
Lemnis smiles at Fyn's dubious diatribe. He doesn't take Uli at his word either, he seems more like treasure hunter than a professor, but there is little harm in letting someone talk in a pub. Besides, he had known other professors who did their best work with a bottle in hand.
Lemnis flushes at the rebuke.
Lemnis sits back, surprised by Uli's sudden animation.
"Let us speak the common tongue. I would not wish to insult this fine host town. I do appreciate your kindness of speaking to me in my own language."
In Elven: "No apologies needed, your assistance is welcome. I don't actually know this man, but it did not seem appropriate to leave him on the floor. In fact this is my first time in Sandpoint.
My name is Lemnis. I am pleased to make your acquaintance. Are you a local?"
I don't mind having mine read either. If something is especially private we can pm the GM or put a comment next to the spoiler to warn each other off.
"I could hardly have missed it. I’d best see if he’s alright.”
Lemnis steps to one side of the doorway, so as not to impede the other patrons from coming and going. He scans the room, looking for any sign of the proprietor or other noteworthy figures.
The speckled bird's head darts this way and that, taking in the room for itself.
Lemnis smiles at his familiar's ever-cheerful nature and makes his way toward the bar. Perhaps a more central position will draw the proprietor's attention. A simple cantrip would suffice for clearing the dust of travel, but what he really wanted was to soak in a bath. Perhaps just one drink as well...
I believe my character is ready, subject to Mathpro's approval. |
