Markus Swick's page

Markus finds himself wishing the dinosaur gets free and doesn't get too hurt in the fight. He thinks it's unfair to be used like that. Still, he understands the advantage, so he says "I think we help the dinosaur if it needs help."

After making sure Vrosi is well, he joins the others in hiding.

Markus hurries to Vrosi and bandages him quickly.

Battle Medicine: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (13) + 13 = 26
Heal for: 2d8 + 10 ⇒ (5, 3) + 10 = 18

He then renews his magical shield.

Glass shield.

Markus releases flying metal needles that fly towards the most hurt enemy. Then he renews his shield.

Attacking Red (7 HP left) with Needle darts. Glass shield.

Needle darts: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (10) + 11 = 21
Piercing damage: 4d4 ⇒ (1, 3, 1, 2) = 7

Here's a round I haven't played in a loooooong time in RPGs...

Markus, being too slow to react to the fight, sees that things are getting out of hand. He starts chanting a spell. When it finishes, a big blazing ball leaves his hand in the direction of the guards.

Fireball!!!! Then glass shield.

Fire damage, basic reflex DC 21: 6d6 ⇒ (1, 6, 4, 1, 4, 5) = 21

Markus looks carefully at the mud.

+11 on Arcana for secret check. +11 Occultism and +10 Religion. +12 Medicine, if it helps. Don't have Nature trained.

Markus says "Maybe I can help with that."

He proceeds to magically clean Resa's hair carefully.

through Prestidigitation.

Markus says to Resa "Frankly, I'd avoid touching waters where pillars can control peoples' minds. I don't know, maybe a pillar turns the water into hair spoiler?"

Heads up: Tomorrow I'll be traveling with my family for summer vacation. My posting will probably suffer a lot until the week of the 23rd.

I can't explain why, but your post immediately made me think of that Pen Pineapple Apple Pen video.

Markus is a bit astonished that the group managed to take down the pillar so fast this time. It takes him a few moments to properly get out of the combat mentality. Then he watches as the exchange develops.

Assuming my detect magic on the pillar came back positive.

Markus quickly moves to try his dispel again. He recalls the spell from his mother's ring.

Dispel Magic from Arcane bond recast.

Dispel Magic: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (9) + 11 = 20

Markus tries to detect magical auras coming out of the totem.

Markus asks Resa to take a look.

Medicine to Diagnose: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (6) + 13 = 19

This is just for RP purposes, maybe Markus can tell that the blindness is temporary.

Markus says "Maybe Renali can scout further south?"

Maybe we go F2 and she goes F3~4?

Whoa, he'd only fail on a nat 1.

Markus looks around and says "Phew, that was intense! Everyone all right?"

After, he thinks they should keep going east.

E3?

Seeing how tough the creature is, and how it resists to his spells, Markus sees that his team is doing well in attacking it. However, since it is about to return the strikes, Markus decides to try and push it.

I imagine that all our melee has attacked it already. So, my plan is to push it away so it has to spend actions getting closer.

Markus repositions himself and strikes the creature, pushing it away.

Stride, Cast Kinetic Ram, 2 actions. DC 21

Markus' eyes widen as he sees Resa fall, but Netkin is fast in healing her. He runs forward and casts a spell on the creature.

Stride, cast Slow. DC 21

That's great news!

Markus, finally catching up to the situation, says "Oh, stinky rats ass, I'm sorry, I can help, I can help!"

He moves and starts casting a canceling spell.

Stride, cast Dispel Magic.

Counteract check: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (6) + 11 = 17
Hero Point reroll: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (5) + 11 = 16

Unfortunately, Markus is being too affected by the heat, and can't concentrate hard enough.

Markus seems very attentive to a flower when everything goes down. As the statue talks and attacks start rushing, he says "Wait, what?"

Markus takes a good quality healer's toolkit and sets up to explore things in the heat. He makes sure to always renew his water when he gets the chance.

Took expanded healer's toolkit. Let's go D2!

Opinions:

I am thinking of two possibilities.

First, we've already faced fire, so I imagine that we'll see a lot more of it. So Charm of Resistance (Fire) makes sense for the campaign, and also for the elves to have. On the other hand, a Lesser Midday Lantern seems like a good thing to have against an entity called THE DARKNESS.

If anyone cares to give an opinion, I'd love to hear it.

Markus mentions "I do pay tribute to Shelyn, but I'm not clerical in the... ways that count."

Markus finds it strange to hear the elves being so direct all of a sudden. However, he agrees "We will investigate." He feels this Dahak is something that could threaten his sister and his newfound freedom, and it's better to stop the cultists early on in their plans.

Markus gets up immediately and approaches Ardoinel, however he is hesitant to touch the man. But eventually he finds the strength to and squeezes his shoulder, knowing very well that the dwarf could turn him into a pulp if he so wished. He says "You're all right. All are friends here." He looks to the elves and says in Elven "There is no danger. He is stronger than this... curse...."

Markus is entertained by the elves storytelling ritual. At first he is too distracted to realize that the moths aren't actually moths but conjurations. As Nketiah's story starts to take shape, the mage refocuses and listens attentively. He hopes he never has to face such a Darkness.

Look at all this foreshadowing!

After Vrosi tells his story, Markus feels relieved as it concludes. He means to ask the orc later about it.

Seeing a moment of opportunity, Markus feels the sincerity in the air. He mimics the moth capturing ritual and says "Oh look, here's a moth carrying a story." However, his face becomes somber and sad as he says "This is the story of the worst monster of all. It's not a dragon who eats virgins, or a creature from another plane."

Looking down, he says "The monster is the friend, the brother and sister who would sacrifice their loved ones for promises of power. Worse than that, an entire piece of land where this is not only commonplace, but expected. How does one fight this monster?"

Taking a moment to breathe, Markus tries re-steadying his voice "This country that I speak of is a place of sorrow. One who is born into it has only two possible destinies: a master or a servant. And what is left for the servants? Escape... Running, and hoping to find a better life. And not looking back."

He looks at all present and offers a comforting smile "But that's not all. Just as goodwill teases the wicked, oppression will always find resistance. This story ends with an entire city being liberated from the tyranny, becoming independent. Hope still exists, and freedom will prevail."

Letting his magical light snuff out, he relaxes and sits again.

Gsus Vrosi, you rock!

Markus tries to keep up with his friend Vrosi.

First: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (16) + 8 = 24
Second: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (10) + 8 = 18

Second recover: 1d20 + 8 - 1 ⇒ (4) + 8 - 1 = 11
Deception: 1d20 ⇒ 19
Second recover, try again: 1d20 + 8 - 1 ⇒ (1) + 8 - 1 = 8
Deception: 1d20 ⇒ 16

Despite feeling confident, Markus can't keep up. The second pepper makes him pause. He tries to recompose. At first he keeps calm, but then a small piece of pepper that was stuck in his teeth gets loose and gets stuck in his throat. He starts coughing until he can't breathe. It takes many minutes for him to recompose himself.

Hopefully this will distract the elves enough to give my friends a bonus in deception?

Markus raises his eyebrows at the elven youth and says "My friends, I've lived in Cheliax all my life. All I've ever eaten is spicy." He now expects to receive spicy food for dinner.

Markus spends the hour before dinner trying to figure out who is responsible for building the elven city. He would like to hear some of their wisdom in building. He knows there's not enough time for a proper conversation, but he tries to at least find out where to find them to talk to them when he has time.

Markus doesn't realize that the elves are disappointed in the group's hunting abilities. He had fun in the activity and it made me put his mind away from the heat for a while. Since he already dismisses Akosa as an up-nosed elitist, he just goes with the group, feeling safe.

At the sight of the lioness, he instinctively steps behind Vitus.

My child is sick. I'll probably disappear until next week.

Markus knows how to sneak around.

Stealth: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (10) + 10 = 20

Although he does speak and understand Elven, Markus doesn't switch to appease the huntress. He talks to Vrosi while the others discuss things in Elven. He has spent too much time in his life bending to the will of others. Now that he's a free man, he decides that if someone won't respect him by acknowledging him, ha can choose to withhold his respect as well.

The mage doesn't really care what there is for dinner, he is thankful to be fed. However he does join in on the hunt, at least to see what it's about.

Perception: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (16) + 12 = 28

Markus gets back from his shopping spree about the same time that the group finishes the dance competition. Feeling sorry he missed it, he sits down with the others. He adds "I'm Markus, an architect."

Sorry Vrosi, I found another option I like more.

@GM: Buying and adding to my spellbook Exploding Earth. The 12 gp leaves me too poor to continue my shopping spree.

@Team: Would anyone benefit from being enlarged?

@GM: Is it ok if I just subtract from my money and add spells to my spellbook?

Whenever he is not with Vitus translating, Markus will browse the selection of magical scrolls in the elven shops.

Need to expand my spellbook.

Thanks, that's great info!

Is there a secret to taking Assurance on Athletics that I don't know? Two characters in this game have it...

With the heat, Markus has trouble remembering if has prepared a spell that allows him to rise to the tree top. Considering his repertoire is meant to help him shape stone walls, he recons it'll be safer if he refrains from using magic at the moment. He takes the elevator and his mood starts to improve immediately. The architect gets distracted by the elevator mechanics and wonders if he could implement something similar in Citadel Altaerein.

As they sit in a room with a breeze and fresh water, he feels he can finally relax. He says "I apologize for my behavior earlier. I am not accustomed to this climate and I lost control of my manners."

Realizing that Vrosi is a bit lost in translation, he offers "Hey, we can walk here together, I'll help you communicate. I need to practice my Elven anyway." He also gets more serious when Ella asks about the cult of cinders, suddenly remembering what brought them here, and awaits the answer from the elf, translating everything to Vrosi.

Markus complains the entire way to Akrivel. However, arriving there, he is amazed at the view. He could never have imagined this kind of architecture. He just says "This is incredible!", forgetting how much he's sweating.

Society: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (7) + 11 = 18

Markus says "That's awful. Can you tell us what you know about them so far? Maybe if we put our heads together, we can go farther." He would prefer to sit down somewhere and discuss this over wine, but his life as a slave trained him to not get what he wants.

Thanks, she's back up and making the usual mess.

Back in the passage

As Markus starts his incantations to protect the group from the magical contraption, Ellaeaanda manages to soothe the fake dragon. He stops his incantations midway and thinks "Oh, that was good!"

Later, with the elves

Markus has a jump scare when the elves appear. He watches the scene unfold while sweating, both from the stress and from the humid air. While the others talk, he keeps wondering if it's possible to change the exit of a portal to make the weather change a bit less contrasting.

He realizes people are making introductions and says "I'm Markus Swick. Did you... did you build this?", motioning to the gate itself.

Sorry for disappearing, my child got really sick and just as she got better, she had horrible belly gas pains.

@GM: I have Safe Passage prepared. The wording of the spell is a bit unclear. Would it protect the party from the fake dragon? If yes, I totally cast it. If not, I'll have to think of another turn.

A bit scared, Markus is the last to enter the portal. He walks behind the others, observing.

Explo mode Detect Magic

Markus feels warm in the heart and says "Thank you." to Ardoinel.

I may be lost. Are we in Breachill, Altaerein or the aiuvara complex?

Markus can only think of Ella's blessing and how to first approach the aiudara. He says, completely oblivious to the current context "Maybe Voz had something in her library that would help me conduct these rituals better."