No particular preference on the setting, though Golarion and FR are the only two I'm really familiar with and have actually played in. My knowledge of Krynn is limited to the Dragonlance Chronicles books.
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Though I've largely ceased participating in PF1 things, I'd be willing to entertain an exception for something like Strange Aeons/Carrion Crown/Ravenloft shenanigans - especially with this group of people, who have proven to be wonderful to game with as well as pretty reliable posters outside of any major RL curveballs :)
I'm currently at a con in the mountains of NC so I haven't had much time to really say what I want to say but I do have a moment to pop in and say that I'm here and watching. I'll try to post something a bit deeper and more meaningful in a day or two... :)
Marigold's final post (for now???) has been posted. Once again, it's been a privilege to play with all of you for the last six (!!!) years. Even though I've cut back on some of my PbPing I'll still absolutely be around doing PFS stuff...and who knows, maybe our paths will cross again in the future :)
One by one, Marigold says her goodbyes and watches as the companions who've been by her side for so long take their leave back to their own homes, their own lives. As they wink out of Occipitus, she sighs softly and draws her hand across her eyes. It's not really 'goodbye', you know. More of a 'see you later'. Now alone, save for the proctor and Occipitus' other denizens, she drops her hand and moves to gaze out on what's now hers. Well, hers until a new challenger appears. And they will, eventually, once the tales of her exploits with the others begin to fade in the minds of mortals and immortals alike. Once the dust settles from Adimarchus' demise. But this isn't a new revelation to her, just a simple reality that has been ever-present in the back of her mind since she woke up from death. I'll be ready. Until then... She smiles as she looks out over Occipitus. The road forward will have its challenges, as it always does, but isn't that true for life itself, no matter what sort of life one lives? And hers isn't over yet, with hopefully many chapters still to come. More than ever, she knows she'll need to make the most of them. "O-k-kay!" The little halfling claps her hands together as she turns to address the proctor and the other servants of Occipitus. "There's g-going to hopefully b-be a lot of changes h-here, in t-time, but s-slow and st-steady wins the r-race. H-here's what I'd like to do f-first..." ...there's work to be done.
"Um...I th-think...it's best if I st-stayed, at least for a l-little while," Marigold agrees with little hesitation but with an obvious touch of sadness. "I w-willingly t-took the t-test and now that we've b-bested Occipitus' original r-ruler...well, it's m-my responsibility. And I c-can't let it f-fall into w-wicked hands again." She looks around, her expression weary but hopeful. "M-maybe I can m-make it a p-place of goodness, with t-time. A p-peaceful waystation in the p-planes...c-complete with a Golden Barrels sh-shop," she remarks, returning Maxim's wink with a grin. Her expression turns wistful. "I'll m-miss Cauldron, th-though...and G-Gretchen and Anafa and everyone else..."
Marigold considers this answer...and then offers a low chuckle. "Of c-course, this was h-his originally so I g-guess it's only fitting for him to re-t-turn here to d-die...I sh-should've g-guessed." The answer given, she turns to Kikinnin and nods. "End it."
Still here too! Marigold was hoping to maybe get some sort of answer to her question but feel free to drop a nudge or something if Marigold needs to be firmer or more direct with her questions :)
"W-well, we'd prefer that he stay d-dead. Vhalantru t-too. Why do their b-bodies return here if they a-aren't l-lords of Occipitus?" Marigold answers, genuinely curious and flummoxed by the whole thing.
"I...I d-don't know how it would happen b-but yes, we need to g-go and see r-right now!" Marigold agrees, holding out her hands to the others as she prepares to plane shift them all back to Occipitus.
"I...I th-think so, too," comes Marigold's voice, small and soft. "He t-tried to do a g-good thing in the end, before he was imprisoned and the m-madness took him. It won't b-bring back all the souls he's s-sent to the Boneyard, b-but...it j-just doesn't feel right to l-leave him h-here..." Yet even though she pities their fallen foe, the little halfling still feels a tiny spark of fear in her heart. What if he's not really gone? Silently, she reaches out within her own mind, trying to touch the consciousness that has cast its shadow over her for so long. And hears nothing. Nothing but blessed silence. Slowly, Marigold exhales the breath she hadn't even noticed she was holding. "It's...it's o-over. It's r-really, r-really over..."
Wow... What a ride it's been! I'm actually sort of at a loss for 'words' right now, to be honest. Depending on what other folks (or our fantastic GM) have in mind, I'll try to get a fitting epilogue post for Marigold composed - though I work tonight so it might take me a day or two to get it done. Now I can say that I've played two APs (the first was GM Euan's Mummy's Mask) to completion via PbP :)
Marigold's Round 4 Marigold narrows her eyes as she takes another step back from Adimarchus and adopts a defensive position. "ಮಿತಿಯಿಲ್ಲ? ನಂತರ ನಾನು ನನ್ನ ಕುಟುಂಬವನ್ನು ಹಿಂತಿರುಗಿಸುತ್ತೇನೆ! ನನಗೆ ನಿನ್ನ ಅಧಿಕಾರ ಬೇಡ, ನನ್ನ ಕುಟುಂಬ ಬೇಕು!" Celestial:
"No limits? Then bring my family back! I don't want your power, I want my family!"
"ಮತ್ತು ನೀವು ಕಿಕಿನ್ನಿನ್ ಅನ್ನು ಮರಳಿ ತರದಿದ್ದರೆ, ನಾನೇ ಅದನ್ನು ಮಾಡುತ್ತೇನೆ!" she cries as she channels her magic and beseeches the powers that be - Sarenrae or any of the goodly deities that might be listening - to reverse the maze spell and return Kikinnin to the fight. Celestial:
"And if you won't bring Kikinnin back, I'll do it myself!" ______________
Marigold's Round 3
"ನಾನು ನಿಮ್ಮ ಬಿರುದು ಅಥವಾ ನಿಮ್ಮ ಶಕ್ತಿಯನ್ನು ಎಂದಿಗೂ ಬಯಸಲಿಲ್ಲ! ನನ್ನ ಸ್ನೇಹಿತರಿಗೆ ಸಹಾಯ ಮಾಡಲು ನಾನು ಪರೀಕ್ಷೆಯನ್ನು ತೆಗೆದುಕೊಂಡೆ!" Marigold screams back at the crazed, insane Adimarchus as she once again staggers to her feet. "ನಿಮ್ಮ ಸ್ನೇಹಿತರಿಗೆ ಸಹಾಯ ಮಾಡಲು ನೀವು ಎಲ್ಲವನ್ನೂ ತ್ಯಜಿಸಿದಂತೆ! ಸುರೇಯಾ ಸುಳ್ಳಾಗಿದ್ದರೂ ಪರವಾಗಿಲ್ಲ; ಅವನ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ನಿಮ್ಮ ಭಾವನೆಗಳು ಇರಲಿಲ್ಲ!"
Celestial:
"I never wanted your title or your power! I took the test to help my friends!" "Just like you gave it all up to help YOUR friend! It doesn't matter that Sureya was false; your feelings for him weren't!"
As she speaks she adopts a defensive position once again as bolts of electricity suddenly spill from her body and fire off in all directions, though they bend around her allies and do them no harm.
Ahhh, Marigold was granted a similar boon after her resurrection - though she's good-aligned, she also counts as evil against [evil] descriptor spells and SLAs.
Marigold's Round 2
Though Marigold suffers a painful lashing, she at least manages to resist Adimarchus' magics and maintains her form - and her life. For now, at least. Since there's nothing really for it she stands, invoking further wrath as she does, and takes a step back to put a little distance between herself and Adimarchus.
And with her allies bringing the thunder, the little halfling brings forth the healing as she adopts a defensive position and begins to cast...
...and conjures a wave of healing that washes over everyone nearby.
Posting from the airport lounge, waiting to fly home from my trip. PaizoCon was lots of fun, even in a reduced capacity! I'm hoping to get to go back next year. Once I get home my posting should more or less return to normal. That said, I *also* get to come home and pretty much go right back to work so I may be a bit slow for a few days if things are busy at work.
Marigold's Round 1 Marigold holds her breath for a moment and then slowly exhales. "ಮತ್ತು Graz'zt ನಂತರ ಏನು? ಹೇಗಾದರೂ ನಾನು ಶಾಂತ ಚಿಂತನೆಯ ಜೀವನ ನಿಮ್ಮ ಮನಸ್ಸಿನಲ್ಲಿದೆ ಎಂದು ಯೋಚಿಸುವುದಿಲ್ಲ, ಅಲ್ಲವೇ?" she asks quietly as she returns the creature's stare, finding him exquisitely beautiful and yet insanely horrifying as well. Celestial:
"And what after Graz'zt? Somehow I don't think a life of quiet contemplation is what you have in mind, is it?" ______________
Hrm... Well, they capped in-person attendance at 500 (but there's no way there's 500 people here at any one time, I'd guess maybe a couple hundred at most) and made masks + proof of vaccination/boosters mandatory. I get the sense that a lot of it is probably more for the comfort of Paizo employees though I'm sure some of the attendees also feel better for the restrictions too. Personally, I'm at the point where I don't wear a mask if wearing one is optional *but* neither do I mind wearing one in places that still require it or if it would make others feel more comfortable. People are *definitely* happy to see each other again - I've seen lots of hugs and fist bumps the last few days!
"W-wait...s-save your m-magic for a moment and let me s-see if I can do it," Marigold says as she raises her mace; the weapon having barely seen use since she bought it all those months ago. "I m-might be the only one that c-can..." Once the cage is in position and the group ready, Marigold takes a deep breath and strikes the cage a single blow with her weapon, putting all of her strength into it!
"I g-guess you're right," Marigold nods. Then, with a pensive look, she adds, "H-hopefully me destroying the c-cage actually destroys it...rather than f-forcing me to take Adimarchus' p-place..." She falls silent for a long moment. "B-but in my d-dream, Adimarchus v-voluntarily switched p-places with Sureya...he d-didn't b-break the cage, he w-went into it w-willingly."
"Wh...what is th-this?" Marigold asks, blinking in confusion as she stares at Adimarchus' prison. "This c-cage doesn't look like it could hold a ch-child! L-like I could just reach out and s-smash it with my m-mace..." She looks to the others, confused by their apparent confusion at her words.
Oof...apologies for the silence; work was busy for several days and now I'm out in Seattle for PaizoCon. I'm posting this from my Chromebook but I can't make any guarantees for consistent posting until I get home next Tuesday/Wednesday.
Marigold's Round 2 As JJ moves to engage Dark Myrakul Marigold moves the rest of the way up the stairs and past Kikinnin, quickly taking note of everyone's positions. Hoping to help the others fell the golem quickly so they can come to JJ's aid, she uses her magic to envelop the group in a powerful holy aura!
"L-looks like this is the e-end of the l-line," Marigold remarks with an air finality as they near the top of the stairs. "G-guess it's t-time to sm-smoke 'em if you g-got 'em..." As she speaks, she uses some of her magic to weave protective bubbles around herself and the others; she also grants Kikinnin and JJ a boon to allow them to move freely and ignore impeding effects and magics.
Marigold's Round 1 "ಇದಕ್ಕೆ ಕಡಿವಾಣ ಹಾಕುವ ಸಮಯ ಬಂದಿದೆ," is all the words Marigold has for Dark Myrakul as she grants her allies and herself Sarenrae's blessing of fervor - hopefully for the last time. She then moves into the room, looking to put a little space between herself and the others. Celestial:
"It's time to put an end to this."
"I...I d-don't...I d-d-don't..." Marigold gasps, trembling on her hands and knees as the fire in her eye burns and burns. She looks up at her friends as tears slowly drip from her one normal eye...and sizzle and evaporate from the other. "There was still s-something g-good left in Adimarchus after all...and all it g-got him was a kn-knife in his back and unending t-torment! It's n-not r-r-right!" It takes her a moment to compose herself and slowly climb to her feet once more. As she does, she wipes furiously at her face, her expression one of sorrow and righteous anger. "What h-happened doesn't ch-change the things he d-did before or b-bring back the l-lives lost because of his actions...b-but even Adimarchus d-doesn't deserve such a f-fate. We have to p-put an end to h-him for his own s-sake just as m-much as for ours."
"If...um..." Marigold begins and stops, suddenly and inexplicably shy. "I...I th-think, um, if I'm a l-light...then all of you are m-my anchor," she answers, her voice soft and quiet. "All of y-you and everyone back h-home. L-lights n-need anchors so they d-don't turn into infernos and s-safe harbors so they d-don't go out t-too soon." Her expression remains quite serious for a moment before a slow smile makes its way across her face. "B-but I d-don't know that 'Anchor' would m-make for a g-good nick-n-name for you. M-maybe 'Rock'. That's wh-what you are, an anchoring r-rock for the r-rest of us."
"The p-power of divination isn't s-something that I've b-been given," Marigold responds in the negative, shaking her head. "If he was h-here, that'd be m-more up R-Ryan's alley..." As the group presses on, even Marigold begins to feel somewhat uneasy. "I expected m-more guards...b-but I guess there's n-not much point when there's n-nowhere to go even if you m-manage to escape your b-bonds..."
"Um...we r-really don't know where they're k-keeping Adimarchus, do we?" Marigold points out as they reach the fourth floor with what looks to be no end in sight. "You'd th-think h-high profile p-prisons would be s-somewhere under t-tight security, r-really obvious...but that m-might not be the c-case. If we c-catch anyone that m-might talk, we should p-probably try to f-find out the specifics..."
"O-oh! That chime could c-come in handy if we, um, s-somehow encounter a door M-Maxim can't open," Marigold remarks, rather surprised by the find in general and even more surprised to see that it has so many charges left. Seeing that Nidrama and Kikinnin still have injuries, the halfling beckons them closer. First, she pulls out a scroll and a potion she'd had stockpiled...
...and after a few minutes, has everything taken care of.
Marigold's Round 3 Taking advantage of the hag's prone state, Marigold hustles over next to the railing and conjures a wave of healing energy to bolster Nidrama as well as herself and anyone else within reach.
Marigold's Round 2
Though startled by the hag's swift approach, Marigold still manages to make a strike with her seldom-used longspear!
She then takes a step back and adopts a defensive position as she begins to cast a spell...
...and envelops herself in an overwhelmingly powerful aura! "તમે ઓસીપીટસના શાસક સામે તમારા પંજા સહન કરો છો! તે તમારું પૂર્વવત્ થશે!" Abyssal:
"You bare your claws against the Ruler of Occipitus! It will be your undoing!" ______________
Marigold's Round 1 "ಬೆಂಕಿ ಅವರನ್ನು ನಿಧಾನಗೊಳಿಸುತ್ತದೆ, ಅರ್ಥವಾಯಿತು," Marigold repeats with a nod. "ನೀವು ನನ್ನನ್ನು ಸೋಲಿಸದಿದ್ದರೆ ಒಂದು ಸೆಕೆಂಡ್ನಲ್ಲಿ ಸಹಾಯ ಮಾಡಲು ಸಾಧ್ಯವಾಗಬಹುದು!" Celestial:
"Fire slows them down, got it." "Might be able to help with that in a second, if you don't beat me to it!"
But for now, she cautiously advances forward a few paces before granting another blessing of fervor to herself and everyone she can reach.
"It'll b-be okay," Marigold says as she gives her brother a pat on the arm as she moves to follow the others. "We'll m-make things r-right, one way or another. It m-might take some t-time, but we'll get it d-done."
"Um, I'm n-not opposed to that idea b-but I think it'll n-need to wait a l-little longer," Marigold says, gently. "We d-don't want to tire ourselves out b-b-before we finish what we c-came here to finish."
"M-Maxie...haha! Catnip and Maxie...n-now we just need nicknames for the r-rest of us," Marigold laughs, the brief moment of levity doing wonders for her soul. She moves to follow Kikinnin, filled with a renewed sense of determination.
"P-probably deeper...it's usually h-harder to escape from under-g-ground," Marigold posits as she readies to follow Kikinnin and the others. "Then again, this m-might be the one p-place in the cosmos where it d-doesn't really m-matter."
Marigold's Round 5 Opting to keep her distance from the ugly demodand, Marigold fires a ray of searing light from her palm!
Thanks for the bot GM and the understanding, everyone! Kinda glad to see I'm not alone re: PbP malaise of late. Oh and I definitely find high-level play rather tiresome as well. JJ's also got a good point about the time of year - it's spring in my part of the world and the nicer weather and longer days definitely has me wanting to get out of the house more! Finally, that is a super sweet deal Kikinnin! Kinda jealous, to be honest ;)
Marigold's Round 4 Marigold also barrels through the fog , following along the wall until she manages to reach fresh, non-toxic air and then moving forward to get a better view of the chamber and her allies.
Hey folks, I know I've not been very responsive here the last week or so. Life has actually legitimately been a little busy the past few weeks between work and needing to get things done on my days off. But on top of that I've also been struggling a bit with a waning interest in PbP. Not actively avoiding posting but meaning to get to it after doing X or Y and then running out of time for the day/night or just never getting around to it. I've generally done a little better about keeping up with games where I'm a player but even those have been hit or miss. While this doesn't *feel* like burnout as I've experienced it in the past I suppose it still is, just manifesting itself in a different manner than I'm used to. I know that I definitely don't want to give up PbP entirely but I think I'm reaching or have reached a point where just a couple of games at a time is enough to suit me - and I actually have been acting on this, opting to not sign up for new games when current ones wrap up. But all of that said, I'm still committed to seeing our game through to the end. I'm about to head out of town for a couple of days starting tomorrow and won't be back until sometime Tuesday afternoon. Please feel free to bot or delay Marigold until then, as needed. General priority in terms of spell usage, as per usual, is healing/buffing first and damaging spells second; utility magics as needed.
Also fine for me :)
Marigold's Round 1 "ಮೇ ಸಹ, ನಾವು ಈಗಾಗಲೇ ಒಂದು ruckus ಕಿಕ್ ಅಪ್ ಬಂದಿದೆ," Marigold agrees as she calls upon a blessing of fervor for herself and her friends. Celestial:
"May as well, since we've already kicked up a ruckus." ______________
Seeing that everyone has the means to reach the balcony Marigold does the same, taking flight to land at the corner opposite Kikinnin. Let's hope we can get inside before that thing kicks up enough ruckus to draw attention!
"ಸರಿ! ಮ್ಯಾಕ್ಸಿಮ್, ನಿದ್ರಾಮಾ, ನೀವು ಹಾರಬಹುದೇ ಅಥವಾ ನಾನು ಸೇತುವೆಯನ್ನು ನಿರ್ಮಿಸಬೇಕೇ??" Marigold nods, ready to either conjure a moonlit bridge to reach the balcony or simply fly up there under her own power. Celestial:
"Right! Maxim, Nidrama, can you fly or should I build a bridge??" ______________
Hang in there, friend!
"JJ's r-right...if we can k-keep away from them, we sh-should be okay," Marigold confirms after studying the rooting beasts for a few moments. "That b-big one is a th-thunder behemoth, b-basically a never-ending appet-tite on legs. It'll eat anything, b-buildings, c-creatures, the v-very terrain itself; see how the others k-keep their distance? That's the one we w-want to avoid at all c-costs." When JJ urges the group to follow him quietly she looks at Kikinnin and then herself and snorts. "Ok-kay, sure. At least I can h-hide my footsteps..." Using her own powers she rises a few inches off of the ground and moves to follow after the others.
Marigold - 20th Layer: +10 HP (+5 Base, +4 Con, +1 FCB) +1 BAB +1 Will +1 Intelligence +1 9th Level Spell Known - Overwhelming Presence +2 9th Level Spells Per Day +5 Skill Points (Kn. Arcana x5) +2 BG Skill Points (Kn. Geography x2) |