Merian Seiche's page

Casting: Linda Cardellini (Lindsay Weir from Freaks and Geeks TV series)

Theme Song: Evvy, "Got Me Movin"

Character Inspiration: Dolphins! I had a very strong impression of playfulness and excitement that I've had, but I couldn't put my finger on it until recently when I took a boat trip out to the Channel Islands National Park in California, and a school of dolphins just ran alongside our ferry and frolicked in the wake.

Merian hovered dutifully by her poster, "Ultralow Frequency Oscillations in the Mid-Latitude Arcadian Ocean." A stream of azarketi swam by, with a few passers-by making a few inquiries. Once in a while, someone would take a longer look, and Merian would jump on the opportunity to guide them through her research.

On this occasion, an elf with swim fins came by, and immediately stopped. to read though. Merian followed the elf's non-purple eyes, noting they went from the Abstract right to the Methods, skipping the Background. An elf who was familiar with - or was arrogant enough to think they were familiar with - the basics of hydrology. Interesting.

The elf's eyesight hampered by the water, they leaned in closer to look. Bangles, they're checking out the statistics. Even before the elf opened her mouth, Merian knew she was in for a tongue-lashing.

"You've used parameterized variance analysis," the elf remarked, disdainfully. "That assumes the data follows a normal distribution." Merian stumbled through a half-hearted response, dancing around the truth that she had assumed a normal distribution because it made the math easier. "This is high quality data," the elf snapped back. "Don't drag it through the silt with sloppy math."

Merian was about to defend herself further, but the elf cut her off and continued. "There are some land-based symposia that need to see this paper. I expect the statistics to be corrected, but you are invited to submit your abstract directly to the Pathfinder Society in Absalom."

"This matter is more important than you realize, and you should reference previous work on standing waves in your background section," the elf continued, not allowing Merian a word edgewise. "It's possible that someone has discovered the resonant frequency of the entire Arcadian Ocean. Setting up a standing wave would be an unprecedented feat of engineering - or magic - but it would be virtually undetectable before it causes an undersea environmental catastrophe of proportions similar to Earthfall on the overland."

The elf didn't wait for any questions. "Nice work," she said before swimming off. It was the best compliment Merian received all conference, and Merian didn't even know who the elf was.

1.1. 1-06 Lost on the Spirit Road (GM)
1.1.1. B08 The Tireless Path
1.1.2. B05 Winter Witch's Holiday
1.1.3. B09 Fishing in Anthusis
1.1.4. B10 Hillcross Roundup (GM)
1.3. 99-01: The Second Confirmation
2.1. 99-02: United in Purpose
2.2. Threshold of Knowledge (pregen)
2.3. 2-19 Enter the Pallid Peak (GM)
3.1. 2-06 The Crashing Wave
3.2. 1-14 Lions of Katapesh
3.3. 4-01 Intro: Year of Boundless Wonder (GM)
4.1. 3-13 Guardian's Covenant
4.2. 4-05 The Arclord Who Never Was
4.3. 4-10 Arclord's Abode
5.1. 1-23 Star-Crossed Court
5.2. 2-02 Mountain of Sea and Sky (GM)
5.3. 1-20 The Lost Legend (GM)
6.1. 2-17 Lost Maid of Anactoria (GM)
6.2. 5-14 Poisonous Council
6.3. 4-04 To Seek the Heart of Calamity

katana (U, 2 gp)
bubbling scale (U, 5 gp)
Ganjay book (U, 10 gp)
seeking bracelets (U, 12 gp)
oxygen ooze (U, 15 gp) [LO:IL]
battle lute (U, 15 gp) [AP164]
lion badge (U, 15 gp)
book of translation (Tien) (U, 25 gp)
brooch of shielding (U, 30 gp, limit 1)
dusty rose prism aeon stone (U, 50 gp)
wordreaper (U, 55 gp)
demon mask (discounted 79 gp, limit 1)
wand of widening (1st) (discounted 94 gp, limit 1)
+1 striking flintlock musket (U, 100 gp)
dagger of venom (discounted 140 gp, limit 1)
wand of manifold missiles (1st) (discounted 150 gp, limit 1)
jade serpent wondrous figurine (Item 7, 340 gp)

Big Game Hunter: Whenever you roll a critical failure on a check to Track an animal, you can check a box next to this boon to get a failure instead. [ ][ ][ ]

[ ] Seasoned Diplomat (advanced): You have navigated the courts of Ekkeshikaar, honing your skills as a diplomat and researcher. You may check the box next to this boon at the beginning of an adventure to become trained in Diplomacy and Society for the duration of that adventure. If you are already trained in one of these skills, you instead become an expert. If your proficiency level is higher than expert in either of these skills, you treat any critical failure rolled with that skill as a failure and any failure as a success for the duration of the adventure.

Second Confirmation Wayfinder: In recognition of your accomplishments and your new rank within the Pathfinder Society, the Master of Scrolls awarded you a wayfinder, a magic compass that also functions as an informal badge of office for Pathfinder Society agents. You gain a wayfinder (Pathfinder Core Rulebook page 617). This wayfinder has an effective price of 0 gp for the purpose of resale. This wayfinder comes with a personalized thank you note from the Pathfinder initiate Rain in Cloudy Day. He's going to have fond memories of your exciting adventures together as you helped him with his Confirmation! This may impact future interactions with the grateful Pathfinder.

Traveler of the Spirit Road: Whenever you would critically fail a check to Hide, Sneak, Sense Direction, or Track while in a forested area, you may check a box next to this boon as a free action to treat that check as a failure instead. [ ] [ ] [ ]

Waters of Warlock's Barrow (2 actions): The purified waters of Warlock's Barrow surrounds your weapons, now harming undead instead of the living. You cast disrupting weapon as a 1st level innate spell, except the spell also has the water trait. [ ]

Heroic Aegis (Verdant Wheel): As a member of the Verdant Wheel, you have spent time contemplating the cycles of life and death that make up the natural world, and you are able to hold fast to your defenses even in your most vulnerable moments. When you spend your Hero Points to avert death, you gain a +2 status bonus to AC and saving throws until the end of your next turn.

Hireling: You have recruited a non-combat hireling who can assist you with a certain set of skill checks. This ally performs the selected skills with a total modifier equal to 2 + your level, and they are considered trained in the skills. You must expend any actions and be in range to perform the action yourself, and any consequences of these actions affect you (such as falling when using Athletics to Climb). The hireling doesn’t have or use its own ability modifiers and can never benefit from item bonuses, status bonuses, or fortune effects. Abilities that grant you a circumstance bonus do not grant that circumstance bonus to your hireling even though you are using your action to attempt the check. You cannot aid your own hireling. You cannot use the hirelings skills except recall knowledge in combat, and the hireling cannot be affected by, or affect combat, and cannot be harmed unless willfully endangered, and has no effect other than performing the selected skill checks. When you purchase this boon, you select one skill as well as one Lore skill. The hireling can perform only these skills checks.

Hireling, Expert: When you gain this boon, select one Hireling boon you possess. The selected ally’s proficiency for their selected skills improves to expert, and their modifier to skill checks increases to 4 + your level.

Hireling, Professional: When you gain this boon, select one Hireling boon you possess. The selected ally adds a second Lore skill to the list of skill checks they can attempt. In addition, select one skill feat whose prerequisite is being trained in one of the hireling’s selected skills. The hireling gains the benefits of that skill feat when attempting skill checks.

Natural Skill (Verdant Wheel): If you are at least trained in Nature, you gain a bonus skill feat from the following list: Natural Medicine, Quick Identification, Recognize Spell, or Train Animal. If you have already selected one of these feats, you can freely retrain your selection.

Treasure Bundle Insurance (4 AcP): Even when your careful searching doesn’t uncover all of a site’s valuables, you’re able to appraise, repair, and certify what you did recover to maximize their value. You can check a box that precedes this boon at the end of a scenario when you and your allies recovered 9 or fewer of the adventure’s Treasure Bundles. Increase the effective number of Treasure Bundles recovered by 1 for the purpose of calculating the group’s gold piece rewards. The total number of additional Treasure Bundles provided by this boon cannot exceed the adventure's maximum (10, for a typical scenario) [ ] [ ] [ ]

Worldly Mentor: While working with less experienced Pathfinder allies, you help your less experienced colleagues recognize danger and withstand danger. For any PCs benefiting from a Level Bump and whose levels are lower than yours, you increase the Level Bump’s modifier to Perception checks and Initiative rolls to 2. (Normal: A Level Bump increases a PC’s Perception modifier by 1.)