Martina Tristram's page

"I am Martina Tristram, and I aim to be the most well-known monster slayer in Taldor. I'm on a pilgrimmage to the grave of Tula Belhaim, the greatest dragon slayer on Taldan history. The town is named for her, though I believe it has since fallen into obscurity. Too many forget the glorious history of our empire."

Her tone is friendly, but a little imperious. Martina's manner and speech are typical of the idle wealthy children of Taldor's countless petty houses.

"Renault, to me." she called out, and the horse soon emerged from the roadside brush and waited patiently as she mounted with practiced ease.

"I will gladly ride with you into town. Your goods will be safer than ever before, and you needn't think of paying. I was, after all, already heading in this direction." she says with a smile.

Martina had stopped beside the road to rest her horse and stretch her legs. Now that she was in sight of the town, she felt no particular rush to arrive. The land was lovely in this part of the country, and she knew that Renault preferred the fresh food of the wild to the standard feed he'd be eating once he was stabled.

Catching sight of the caravan rolling by, she waved to the men as they passed.

"Hail, travelers! What brings you out this way?"

Martina Tristram, Taldor's finest monster hunter, arrives at the edge of a small town. To some, this hamlet is beneath notice, but Martina knows it as the site of a monument to a famous dragon slayer, a woman that Martina has admired since childhood. It seems fitting that her journey into Taldoran legend should begin here...

I keep checking in here every day; haven't seen him.

damn, forgot to confirm the crit
confirmation roll: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (9) + 7 = 16

Still Power attacking, of course: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (20) + 7 = 271d8 + 6 ⇒ (4) + 6 = 10

gasp! a crit!
crit damage: 1d8 + 6 ⇒ (6) + 6 = 12

Martina draws her sword and meet's the construct's unblinking gaze.

"Finally, a Goblin that can look me in the eye! Have at you!"
declaring my Challenge against the Construct; +1 damage, plus another +1 if I'm ever the only person threatening the construct. IIRC, the construct is still prone, correct? So +4 to hit it?

Power Attack: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (13) + 7 = 201d8 + 6 ⇒ (3) + 6 = 9

Huddled behind her shield, Martina turns to Barrakhan.

"I thought I heard Goblins! ...Are there any goblins?"

Martina's muscles grow taut as she springs into action. Rushing forward ten feet, she drops her torch directly in front of her and takes a defensive posture.

full defense, current AC 23

I'm just saying, this is how every Romantic Comedy starts. One person who doesn't know how obnoxious they're being, and a sane person trying desperately to ignore them. :)

I can't help but feel that somehow, we're all witnessing the "meet cute" story of Martina and Jubal. :P

Anybody out there?

"You said it, little buddy!" Martina says with a grin, slapping Jubal on the shoulder with a friendly chuckle. Looking down at him for a moment, she bites her lip and gives him a guilty look.

"whoops, sorry about that li--err, Jubal. Let's get going"

Martina leaves Oakley with enough feed to keep him comfortable, and a blanket to ward off the cold.

"Well then, that's the best we can do for him for now. Let's map the rest of this place and see if we can do something about this damned darkness...I still think we should start by heading south from camp, though."

I'm assuming that Martina took the second/last watch here, since she's the other non-caster

Martina stood up and stretched, her joints popping softly in the dank air of the ruined tower.

"Rise and shine, sleepyheads! Let's get started on finding a way out of here!" she said, waving a fresh(er) torch.

"I'm thinking we should try the south door, since we already came through from the west, and we know poor Oakley can't fit through there. I went back to feed him while you were all asleep, and he's got as much air in there as we do, but I'm still rather worried about him"

Martina sighs. "Well, I suppose it can't be helped. I've still got energy to go, but I can't blame you for being tuckered out. I remember taking a nap around this time when I was your size, after all..." she says, gathering up her torch again. Walking around slowly, she takes a careful look at the room.

Perception: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (9) + 3 = 12

Martina grits her teeth as the spear slips between the scales of her armor and pierces her side. Eyes flashing with rage, she chases the goblin into the dark and swings

I think she may have a miss chance due to concealment here
Miss chance: 1d100 ⇒ 84
Power Attack: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (2) + 3 = 51d8 + 5 ⇒ (8) + 5 = 13

Martina turns to Jubal with a smile.

"With pleasure, little buddy!"

Power Attack: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (16) + 3 = 191d8 + 5 ⇒ (3) + 5 = 8

Martina looks down at the small, ragged cut on her thigh where the goblin broke through her defenses with a mixture of embarrassment and disdain.

"Enjoy this moment, Goblin; it is the last time your kind will get the better of Martina Tristram, Bane of all Goblinkind!"

Power Attack: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (17) + 3 = 201d8 + 5 ⇒ (2) + 5 = 7

Martina's eyes narrow in the flickering torchlight, staring daggers at the toothy abominations arrayed before her. She drops her torch to the ground and draws her sword, slicing the goblin that Rilka had wounded.

Normal attack: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (10) + 4 = 141d8 + 3 ⇒ (8) + 3 = 11

"Archers!" Martina cries out. Moving in the direction of the arrows, she prepares to attack.

Moving to the northwest until she sees a goblin; if possible, attacking

Power Attacking w/Shield Bash: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (1) + 3 = 41d4 + 5 ⇒ (2) + 5 = 7

Dax returned the gnome's smile. She had been practicing, and appreciated that Benton never seemed to recoil from her. "I just had a drink two seconds before you entered. Following our last conversation, I have begun randomizing the intervals to look more natural. Congratulations on your most recent salvaging. Morale would have decreased significantly without a functioning still."

As Rana and Kinna entered, Dax ventured to lower her hood, now less worried about drawing attention to herself. They were an exotic group, even in a town as relatively cosmopolitan as Torch.

"I have already packed my things. I believe we should hurry. The longer that Baine is gone, the more likely it becomes that Val may do something unwise, such as go searching for him herself. I will not, through inaction or otherwise, allow their lives to cease. We are all well-suited for an underground expedition. We have a much greater chance of success than the other groups preparing to enter the caves at this time."

Am I being robbed? Damn Halfling thieves! :D

On one hand, I feel like I should update my portrait, since it clearly shows an Andoran Eagle Knight, and Martina is Taldan. On the other hand, the facial expression and body language is just perfect.

"Yes, I'm definitely being attacked over here. I think it's one of those Goblin knights."

Martina grimaces. "Great. There are more of them. Martina Goblinbane it is..."

She cautiously moves forward 10 feet and takes a defensive stance, creating room for the rest of the group to enter the room behind her.

move forward 10 feet, full defense

Martina checks to see if the door is unlocked; if so, she opens it and peers inside.

Martina is already in the tunnel, guys

"I really wish you hadn't pulled that." Martina says with a frown. "Now we've got no choice...and if we're attacked in that tunnel, I won't have room to swing a sword. Plus, you've basically buried poor Oakley alive; he'll never fit through that tunnel. You owe me a horse, Barrakhan."

Having said her piece, Martina hunches down and enters the tunnel, holding her shield in front of her.

Martina looks at the tunnel, and then back to Red.

"...You're kidding, right? I can barely even fit in there. Besides, aren't you...you know....more of an expert in this area? I mean, one of you guys has to be a burglar, right?"

I figure a Cockatrice cavalier with the "bully" trait has to be kind of a jerk, even if it's unintentional on her part :)

Martina says nothing, but looks expectantly at the three Halflings.

"Do we really have to go in? It's probably just a goblin nest...and I can barely fit in there. Why don't we just block up the entrance so they can't sneak out on us, and finish exploring this place? I'd really like to find some way of turning off this damned darkness."

Are there any sconces in the walls where Martina can put her torch?

Martina calls for Oakley to join her, then carefully creeps north to explore.

This is strange. I haven't been seeing any updates for this game so I haven't posted in awhile. But now that I look, you guys have been playing.mi wonder why my campaign tab isn't showing any updates.

This happened to me once. I suspect it has to do with the cookies being used to track whether you've looked at the thread since the last post, and whether you happened to have a tab open on one computer, while accessing the site from another one.

Martina snickers. "The Society works with anyone who can get the job done. Sczarni thugs, Chelaxian diabolists, and apparently, a group of unemployed barflies like us."

"Now if you're all done talking about imaginary goblins who aren't tiny psychopaths, I think we ought to start moving on" she says, moving to the east carefully with her torch.

If you are going for a dex-based melee build, consider taking Form of Flame as your 3rd level revelation. It will help you hit more, raise your AC, give some free damage/fire effects, and if nothing else, darkvision (or more specifically, the lack of darkvision) is one of the big weaknesses of humans and Elemental Body I or higher solves that. Its also suitably non-clericish, as your typical cleric will not be shapeshifting into living campfires. Other good and non-clerical revelations include Wings of Flame and Cinder Dance.

For level 1, I'd go with the 16 in Cha and Dex. For weapon choice, for a slightly stronger and equally thematic attack, you could use a Cestus. Better crit range, more damage types, same glove feel. If you do play this in PFS, I'd spend some of that 40gp on an Oracle's Kit and Grappling Hook, and optionally a Crowbar (a surprisingly useful object to not appear in any of the standard kits).

Thanks for the advice. I'm actually a big fan of the cestus, can't believe I forgot about it here. If I had more feats to play with (Fighter dip?) I was thinking of picking up TWF/TWD and ditching the buckler, but at that point I might as well just go with a Brawler and dip into Oracle later.

I think this build, with the suggested tweaks, could be fun and playable.

Martina shrugs. "...well, maybe there were others watching, and they ran away, and they can tell the story..." she says, finally locating her discarded torch. "How many goblins do you think I'd have to kill to start calling myself Martina Goblinbane? I think it has a nice ring to it. I'd originally planned to become the bane of something larger, but now that I think of it, everyone hates goblins. Maybe we can get some free drinks back in town out of this..."

Martina proudly thrusts the impaled goblin into the air with a triumphant laugh. "I think this is the last one. These savages will not soon forget the day they challenged Martina Tristram, Bane of Goblinkind!" she announces, then flicks the blade down and allowing the goblin to slide off. After a quick cleaning, the blade returns to its scabbard.

Squinting in the dark, she asks "has anyone seen my torch?"

Martina quickly steps forward and throws her weight behind a hard thrust of her sword, hoping to skewer the toothy abomination.

Power Attack: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (19) + 3 = 221d8 + 5 ⇒ (8) + 5 = 13

EDIT: Crit threat!

Confirmation: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (7) + 3 = 101d8 + 5 ⇒ (4) + 5 = 9

Martina moves in front of her horse and, if possible, moves into melee and attacks

power attack: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (19) + 3 = 221d8 + 5 ⇒ (1) + 5 = 6

if she is close enough to attack, she will drop the torch and draw her sword to attack; if not, she will keep hold of the torch and full-defense.

Ooh! looks like it could be a crit

crit confirmation: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (16) + 3 = 191d8 + 5 ⇒ (1) + 5 = 6

Martina slowly backs out of the darkened room from her place near the entrance and calls Oakley over again, retrieving another torch from her pack and lighting it. Returning to the entrance of the ruin with the torch in her sword hand and her shield at the ready, she peers into the darkness.

Perception: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (11) + 3 = 14

"Curse this unnatural darkness! I can hardly see a thing in there, and I know one of those bastards got away."

Martina nods to Red with a playful smirk, then steps into a strong overhead chop at the remaining Goblin Dog

Power Attack: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (15) + 3 = 181d8 + 5 ⇒ (3) + 5 = 8

"Oakley, come up here with me"
Handle Animal: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (3) + 5 = 8
She is ordering Oakley, her horse, to move up and defend her, so that they can form a vanguard to protect the group
Oakley, it seems, is not too eager to enter the cave.

"By Abadar's Golden Balls my luck is foul today!"

Martina says nothing, but nods gratefully to Jubal before turning her attention back to the feral beast that nearly killed her. She throws her full weight behind the blow, hoping to fell the thing in a single shot.

Power Attacking: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (2) + 3 = 51d8 + 5 ⇒ (3) + 5 = 8

Using her remaining move action, Martina calls for her Horse to "defend" her

When the tale of our deeds is being told in a crowded tavern, Martina respectfully requests that you all leave out the part where she was felled by a Goblin Dog ;)

I missed updating my HP when Jubal channeled; Martina should have had 9HP, so she's currently at 0. So at least she isn't dying, right? :)

looks like the AoO was a crit, so I'll roll the double damage

Crit damage: 1d8 + 3 ⇒ (8) + 3 = 11

oops, forgot to roll confirm:

crit confirm: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (11) + 4 = 15

Martina gleefully strikes at the fleeing goblin

AoO: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (20) + 4 = 241d8 + 3 ⇒ (2) + 3 = 5

She then turns to her original quarry and thrusts her sword, trying to impale the creature. "This one belongs to ME!" she bellows. "I'll have his skull for a parlor decoration!"

AoO: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (14) + 4 = 181d8 + 3 ⇒ (1) + 3 = 4