Search Posts
Sorry for the delay. I’m moving across country (leaving tomorrow) and thought it wouldn’t get in the way of posting. Just finished scrubbing the fridge and I’m exhausted. Just don’t have any mental energy (doesn’t hurt that I’m doing this solo with 2 small children) I’ll get a post up as soon as I can
Marillo walked through the familiar streets of the redroof district. Hey was in considerable pain. Since the rebellion have started he had his ribs broken several times, had been mauled by dogs, shot by crossbows, and healed each time. It was taking a toll on him, physically and mentally. He could feel the anger bubbling up at the thought of the red jills threatening his family. It took all of his will power to calm himself. He thought about Lurio then, his good friend who had fallen off the face of the earth. Was he dead? The Thrune’s had found out about him, a complete nobody. What would their spies be able to do when it came to a nobleman? He shuddered, and made a prayer to any god who would listen for the safety of his family and Lurio’s. Without realizing it he came to his famiky’s home. He hadn’t spoken to them in weeks, and now he had to explain to them that because of his choices their lives were in danger. They were both government employees for crying out loud. He didn’t want to go in, to break the news. But he had to. Slowly, but resolutely, he made himself enter the house.
Marillo nodded. ”I’m going then. The Jills won’t wait long. I’ll be back with them as soon as I can. We’ll be able to move quietly along I think...that, and I’ll need to explain to them what is going on. Gods, I never thought I would get them involved like this.” Marillo tilted his head back, staring at the ceiling. After a moment collecting himself heap started walking a to the door.
”Maybe. But what if they find this hideout? And what kind of life would they have, afraid to Step foot outside? Why, mother would go crazy. No. I need to get them out of the city. And fast...”
Marillo follows in, glumly. ”Yes. But I need to get my family to safely first. Preferably out of the city. These bastards work for Thrune. They are after me. So the Thrune will know of my family as well.” With that he fell silent, staring coldly into the distance.
Recovering his sword, Marillo looks at the party, shaking slightly. ”I-I’m sorry. I don’t know what came over me. My family, my sword...I don’t know what to say. Thank you all.”
Bleeding heavily and with the rage gone, Marillo almost fell to his knees. Instead he forced himself to run after the retreating leader. Realizing he couldn’t catch him, Marillo threw his dagger...
...as the dagger left his hand he called out in a hoarse voice ”My sword!”
Filled with supernatural rage, as well as normal anger, Marillo lunged at his attacker. If wasn’t the cleanest of blows, but it was done with force. One hand grabbed the tiefling’s shoulder and the other stabbed viscuously with his dagger.
Filled with rage, Marillo went straight for the tiefling with *his* sword.
His anger and pain was greater than any semblance of control, and the blow was wild.
Crying out in surprise and pain, Marillo fell to his knees. Grimacing, he rose to his feet he rushes towards the man with his blade. Fear, anger, hatred, all were clearly written on his face.
This seems like a pretty natural time for Marillo to bugger off, actually. He lost his sword, which I saw as being a large part of his identity as part of the resistance. He also has been confronted with the very real possibility of his family being targeted. I think it is pretty natural for him to head home, come clean to his parents, and get them out of the city before any harm can come to them. And of course, at that point the new PC can come in.
Marillo's sword vanishes, and he stares with disbelief. He had come to see it as an extension of himself. Of his 'alter identity' of a freedom fighter, as opposed to being a mere civilian. Seeing it leave after his surrender was like a blow to his very soul. He suddenly felt much, much smaller than he did before.
After a long pause Marillo takes out his sword and throws it on the ground. ”I’m taking it with me. This blade was a gift. But I won’t fight.”
At the mention of his family, Marillo tensed, his insult dying on his lips. "You know my family. I know yours. It's a close neighborhood. We all know each other. It would be best for everyone involved if we stay good neighbors."
Marillo shrugs. "With raven birds, yes. Better than running with trash. Have you got anything worth saying, or are you just here to embarrass yourself?"
Marillo strolls in, standing next to Pakuzzo. He stood there with his arms crossed, waiting to see what happens.
Upon hearing that these thugs would handle the ‘riff raff’ of his home district, Marillo’s face twisted into a sneer or anger. ”Oh yes, we should look into this. As soon as we possibly can.”
Glad you are still around. No rush, look forward to continuing.
Bump.
Marillo slapped Crady on the back.
Great! I'll send a pm shortly.
"Fine by me. I'm ready to collapse. Wake me when it's my turn."
After thoroughly looting the place, Marillo says "Let's get some sleep. But let's set a watch first. Unpleasant surprises are best faced when we are awake."
As tempting as the alcohol was, Marillo returns with the water and food. Offering it to the rescued tiefling he said "Water. Stale bread. Roasted meat. It isn't gourmet, but it'll have to do."
"I'm on it."
Marillo looks about, his eyes piercing through the darkness. He looks around for any way out besides the stairs, should flight be needed.
"Get her inside. I'll keep watch outside. If you hear me yell 'Martha, where are you' then it means we have to run."
Marillo nods and stays silent as the creatures go by.
"Maybe hide somewhere for the night? A tavern or inn...let the heat die down. Get a room, let her rest. Go out and get food, water, bandages. We can move with her in the morning."
"No, I don't. Nor do I think she can swim. Are you sure we can make it? I could make a distraction at the bridge, so you can sneak her across."
"We need to get out of here. Thrune is going to come down on us hard." Turning to the woman he said "Can you walk? We need to get you out of here."
No, I don't believe that you did. But that is certainly as good a reason for any. Congrats on being put in charge. Don't burn yourself out. We'll be here.
Bump...hope you are alright GM RePete.
"Nice shot!" He yells it out as he runs to the cage. Then, to the tiefling: "Don't worry. We'll get you out of here in no time."
Throwing this out here. For my rebuild, here is the fluff that I came up with: Fluff:
Name Sendi Race Changeling Originally from the outskirts of the city of Korvosa in Varisia. As a changeling, she never knew her real father (for he was eaten by her hag mother), and she was of course abandoned by her mother to be raised by others. Changelings were never raised by their mother, rather upon reaching maturity, they would receive the 'calling', and if heeded they would return to become a hag. Left outside of a wayside inn, the child was taken in by the owners. They were Chelish merchants who hailed from Kintargo, having left their homeland in the hope of seizing opportunity on the outskirts of the Chelish world (and, though they never said it, to escape the shadow of Asmodeus). As they were unable to conceive themselves, they took the abandoned child to be a gift from the gods. As they operated an inn where travelers frequented, they thought little of finding an abandoned child, assuming that the child had been left by a traveler. They gave her the Chelish name of Sendi. When they found her, they thought her to be a half-elf, given her pointed ears, miscolored eyes (one blue, the other gray), and the general prejudice against half-elves in the region. To them, this explained why the child had been abandoned. Growing up, she assumed this to be the case as well. That is, of course, until she came of age. All changelings experience 'the calling.' It started for her when her nails began to grow and harden. No matter how often she cut them, they grew back after a night. She grew stronger. Far stronger even that her father or his laborers. Her skin, while still looking pale and smooth, hardened to the touch. And her eyes, always keen (from what she assumed to be elven blood) began to change as well, until she could see clearly in the dead of night. And worst of all, there came the dreams. A hypnotic voice that beckoned her to come. At night, she dreamed of running deep into the forest, to follow the voice that called to her. To return to her mother. She told this to her parents, and they were left with few good options. Half-elves already faced prejudice in Korvosa, but this was something different. They feared that, at best, she was a tiefling. At worst, that she was being possessed. They knew that they could not keep her in their home, for they feared at what she might become. And they also were afraid to ask the authorities, or even any of the local churches for assistance, as they were just as likely to 'purify' her as they were to offer assistance. So, they did what they thought was best. Her uncle was a priest of Irori, in Kintargo. Once a merchant like her father, when his business went under he turned to faith and self-perfection. Her parents decided that such self-discipline would be invaluable for her, and that with their family connections the priests were the most likely to actually take her in. And of course, in a large city like Kintargo, she might better avoid the scrutiny she would face in Varisia. As such, having just come of age, she left her home and with a letter of reference and a donation, she joined the cult of Irori. As the years went by, she grew into a young adult, and the calling passed. She learned to live with her claws (preferring to wear gloves to conceal them) and focused on the tenants of self-perfection. Never knowing what she was, she (as well as the monks) assumed that she was a tiefling, like those who lived in the slums. It was the best explanation she could think of. Life went on, as it was wont to do, and she even came to love her adopted city of Kintargo. Unlike Korvosa, it was far more tolerant of her. Looking like a half-elf did not carry with it the same social stigma, and the art and culture of the vibrant city was eye opening. Life, however, would change for everyone within Kintargo when House Thrune placed the city under martial law. Lord-Mayor Bainilus was driven out, and then...came the Night of Ashes. Thrune agents attacked dissident groups throughout the city. This act included the targeting (and outlawing) of the cults of Calistria, Cayden Cailean, Desna, Milani, and Sarenrae. It also led to attacks on the cults devoted to Milani and Irori. The attack on her cult was overwhelming. The Dottari were merciless, and in that night the leaders of her temple were all either arrested or killed. Among those missing was her uncle. Sendi managed to escape, killing one of the Dottari in the process, before fleeing to the streets. While most of the surviving members of her order fled, Sendi remained behind, unwilling to abandon the city she loved so much. Nor was she willing to leave without knowing what happened to her uncle, for she held hope that he was still alive. When the protests happened, Sendi was there. There, she saw again how Thrune dealt with dissidents. She also saw a group of citizens whom she would come to see as heroes, who fought back against the injustice. And, if that were not enough...she eventually learned the fate of her uncle. She did not witness it herself, but she saw the aftermath. He was among the prisoners who were publicly killed by 'dog housing', as he refused to recant his faith. Now, more than ever, she has resolved to stay and defend the city. To do anything else would be an insult to the memories of her lost brothers and sisters. With word beginning to spread of a group of rebels forming, she has decided to join them in the fight for their city. Probably Crunch:
Perfect Scholar Unchained Monk (1) Cult Leader Warpriest (x) Natural attack build. At lvl3 she will get feral combat training, allowing her to make flurry of blows with natural attacks, thus giving her 3 attacks at full BaB. Cult Leader Warpriest levels give sneak attack damage, sacred weapon scaling, and stealth abilities. Of course, being a warpriest means being able to contribute to party healing, so that Crady doesn't need to dedicate the majority of his spell slots to healing our wounds. This should provide good damage output (at lvl 4, with sneak attack and divine favor, she'll have 3 attacks at +9 to hit, that do 2d6+6 damage each. This build seemed alot more interesting to me than the usual power attack for damage builds), good AC (21ish), and average HP (Changelings get -2 Con, +2 Wis and +2 Cha...that doesn't help with a d8 HP class). Overall, she'll bring some tanking and close combat fighting to the party, while also providing some party support If anyone wants to read over the fluff and offer criticism/advice on how best to integrate her, that'd be great. Also, Pakuzzo. While you don't need a rebuild...have you considered taking the alternate racial trait claw attack? Right now you have swordtrained. But you already have martial weapon proficiency, and are only using a scimitar. Thus swordtrained doesn't seem like it will be giving much to you. You also have a bite attack naturally. So having claw attack would give you 3x attacks at full BaB. While they only do d3 damage base, that's still 3 attacks. It also means that Pakuzzo will never really be unarmed. So if Thrune agents ever catch him off guard (such as when he is sleeping) he will naturally be able to defend himself better. And finally....Luthor seems to have gone innactive. So we have 3 players here. Should we open this up to some more people? We are at the stage now where the rebellion is growing. So it'd make sense for new people to join.
Seeing the guard getting away, Marillo ran as fast as he could at him, his sword drawn. As he neared the man he raised his blade...and failed to see the rock at his feet. It was all he could do to not fall on his own blade, as all thoughts of actually landing a blow vanished.
Marillo takes off in a dead spring after the man, attempting to catch him before he can get away and bring more guards.
Rolling to see what I have to work with: Ok. Wow. I think I know what I'm going to do with this. The dice have blessed me, so it's time to do something fun and to start writing
Take care. It sounds rough over there on your end. Take care of what you have to do. I will of course finish this arc with Marillo. And I'll get full fluff and crunch up in the coming days.
So right now we have... An urban druid
This means we have healing covered, and ranged covered. But we are missing someone who can actually tank. I was thinking of a dusk knight paladin (stealth, survivability, and can give the party darkvision) or an unchained monk (ex-slave half-orc). Both could sneak with everyone else, but could stand on the front lines easier.
Aye. I hear you. He was fun...and is fun. But I'm just not "feeling" him. Though I love the group and our GM is great. So if I can't re-roll I'll stick it out. But yeah...I'd like the option.
Welcome back. :) On an unrelated note...without Lurio, I'm not "feeling" Marillo as much as I was before. I'm really tempted to re-roll with a different character. Would that be allowed, with Marillo fading into the background as a support npc? I figure that as we are in the recruiting phase, such a move wouldn't be too improper. Thoughts?
Surrounded and on the defensive, Marillo parries a blow and makes a wild counter thrust, before stepping five feet north to interrupt their flank.
Marillo shook his head. Get in the game. Get your heads out of the clouds. He hadn't really been in the present. That had to change. Rushing at the nearest guard...
I have returned!!! I'll get up to speed asap
Possibly no, probably very little, internet for the next 2 weeks...
"If I were them I would strike back at those who did that to me. Let them rest and if they wish to defend their city, they can join us."
"Agreed. I...have had enough excitement for one day as well. Let's get us and our new friends to safety."
Grimacing in pain, Marillo says "Thank you. I...I got carried away there. Almost died. Need to stop making a habit of that."
|
