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"If anyone sending me mysterious messages has issues with my methods, that's their problem." Miyu said cheerfully, her voice rather more distinct over the speaker system than the further-away Cerise's had been. "I've got another thing to handle, so I'm sending you one of my best enforcers for this one." ...Just how many people did Miyu know, anyway?
Here's the updated sheet. The big thing to know is that she's basically a ranged damage-dealer, with minor debuff and utility options. Regina:
Female eldritch human ethermancer 5
Ether Pool: 18/18 (Regen: 3)
Regina is an Ethermancer - a relatively rare type of caster who can draw energy through a tiny hole in reality itself. This energy lends itself well to simply being hurled in people's faces, and while it can be very flexible indeed - particularly the blast etherheart - it doesn't quite have the same degree of raw power as true sorcery. Of course, that hasn't stopped her from making good use of it. Her main offense - the Lesser Blast etherheart - can be configured in many different ways. Without any particular effort, Regina can set it to slash, bludgeon, or pierce her foes. With a little more effort, she can also deal acid, cold, electric, or fire damage to her targets... and that's not even counting the ways she can twist its form, allowing her to launch it at a distance, spread it as a cone, or even do things like entangle her foes. Blasting usually solves her problems, but when that fails, she has two other etherhearts that can shape her power. The Alteration etherheart can provide her with a series of mild but useful effects (such as concealing herself or moving faster), while she can use the Bestow etherheart to directly inflict conditions on the bodies of others. Less obvious on the surface are the subtle changes that Regina's use of ethermagic has caused. The big part of this is the way that ether can repair and reshape her body - it's no transformation power, but it's slightly improved her overall charm and use of ether while simultaneously making her very hard to kill. She is, however, vulnerable to holy damage (including good-aligned attacks) - these can briefly shut down her connection to the ether as the divine overpowers the mundane source of her powers. ------------------- Example of how this class plays: Combat begins, and we see an enemy flying way above us! Regina, being a ranged attacker, immediately starts doing her thing. Running through her options, she takes aim at the enemy, firing a Lesser Blast (Cost: 2) for 5d3 + 5 damage (average 15, which is perfectly appropriate for a 5th-level character and well below min-maxed range), modified with the Farshaping (+3), Raw Ether (+2), and Athermal Extremes (+1) manifestations. The first lets her attack at medium range to actually hit their foe, the second forces the foe to make a reflex save (if her ranged touch attack hits) or get entangled for a round, and the last is used to convert the damage type to electricity (because zapping a flying foe is funny). As a class that resembles a 6th-level caster, her Save DCs aren't fantastic, so foes have a good chance of not getting entangled unless they're bad at dodging. At the start of combat, she had 18 points in her class resource pool. That blast cost her 8 points from it, bringing her down to 10/18. At the start of the next round, she'll regain three points (bringing her to 13/18), which is enough to hurl another blast like the one she just fired. If she just stood still and kept doing that, she could do this for three rounds in total - at which point, uh-oh, she'd have no energy in her reservoir at all! She'd still regain three points per-round, but the Lesser Blast costs 2 all by itself - so she could either add up to one point in manifestations and keep blasting (which she can do all day), or she could just do a normal lesser blast (effectively regaining one point in her resource pool each round), or she'd have to not use her ethermagic at all (which would let her regain 3 points per-round). In other words, the class has a pretty potent burst at the start of combat, but the fact that it tends to spend energy way faster than it recharges means they're either going to limit their use of manifestations (i.e. operate below full power, but be able to add manifestations for more turns), or quickly burn through it and then get slammed by the inability to do much except toss their most basic attack for awhile. It's ultimately an "all day" class thanks to the constant resource regeneration, but at any given moment, the high cost of its abilities means there's a hard limit on what it can do.
If we're going PFS-style with the possibility for different characters, I wouldn't mind trying to level up Regina, my Ethermancer*, and running her for the Carnival. *For those who aren't familiar with the class, think "Kineticist who can customize their blast and limited by a recharging energy pool".
As she waited for the fey to get out, Miyu held out an ofuda and focused. "You can watch, if you want, to make sure I'm not trying to sneak in anything that would break my word." she told the fey as the celestial script began to appear on her talisman.
Miyu - who'd suggested this particular bargain in the first place, glanced at the others. "Probably best to accept it and not push too much." she advised. "I'll throw in a charm of recovery for your wife - it's not a grand, complete healing or anything, but she will feel better after a night's rest than she would otherwise."
Miyu stared at the fey for a moment. "Your wife assaulted us with magic and glamour when she - and we - were guests in another's home." the exorcist said quietly. "That was not an offense we were prepared to tolerate lightly... but while we could have quite readily slain her for that offense, we chose to spare her life. Indeed, she is only alive because of our care. And lest you think we wouldn't have really done it, given the kind of curse she could try to lay down..." Miyu smiled faintly. "You may have noticed that mortals are stubborn. We're not going to let fear of retribution stop us from taking down those who threaten us. It seems to me, my lord, that she owes the life she forfeit to our mercy." "Now, I feel we both want something here. You want your wife back, and we want to prove someone's innocence. Rather than issuing an ultimatum, my lord, I think you would be better served by striking a fair trade - assistance in our quest equal in value to her life, which would be returned to you, and forswearing grudges or retribution of any kind - direct or indirect - against us for this incident. What is owed will be paid, and her offense will be forgiven."
Miyu kept quiet for the moment, but she loosened a few talismans so they'd be ready to fling at a moment's notice. Fey were pretty tricky creatures, and violence wasn't exactly something they hesitated to use if they thought it could help get their way. After a moment of thought, though, she did slap two talismans onto her legs, calling upon their powers to help shield her from harm.
Well, nobody seemed interested in divinations at the moment, and Miyu just sighed slightly. Well, looking into the future too much could be a problem in its own way, so this was probably for the best.
"Yeah, I'm not going in there." Miyu said with a smile as she slowly backed away. "Let's go ahead and do something else, shall we?"
"You know you get treated better if you resist less, right?" Miyu asked as she looked down at the fey. She didn't really have much pity for the otherworldly creature after what it had done, but... it wasn't like she enjoyed causing pain and suffering or anything.
Well, that saved her from one of her other strategies. In fairness, she was mostly good at getting herself into various places, and decided to be content with watching to see if anyone else was viewing them... with eyes or some technology. They did look like a pretty suspicious group, after all.
For her own part, Miyu kept a close eye on the trunk, scanning it for magic to ensure their captive didn't try anything she shouldn't. She was an investigator, after all, and it would be awfully embarrassing for someone to slip out right under her keen sight.
Well, that was disappointing. She might have been able to pin something if she'd been able to touch it. Even a piece of paper with instructions would have done. Ah, well. It was what it was. No sense getting upset about it - really, if you got too emotional towards the fey, it was probably because they wanted you to do that and you sort of deserved whatever happened next.
Miyu continued to wait patiently. Nurai seemed to be happy to take the lead in questioning, and for now, the investigator was simply paying attention. After a moment, though... "Do you have anything that ever belonged to this... powerful fey who commanded you?" she inquired.
"And do try to avoid weaseling out of sharing what you should." Miyu answered, again rather worryingly cheerful as she kept watch over the fey.
"Off the top of my head? Nnnnnnnnnnot impossible. The fey tend to be complicated about things like that." Miyu noted.
"Never underestimate the power of human stubbornness." Miyu offered as an answer. "Whatever they may think, we are not powerless. They have weaknesses. They bleed. They die. I don't really like fighting unless I have to, but the worst thing you can do when Others are aggressive is bend over and let them do what they want. If you stop taking their crap, then eventually even they will learn to stop trying to give it."
Miyu held up a talisman that briefly flickered with green fire. "Fear? No." she said. "I refuse to be cowed into submission by threats from people like you, and I'll gladly take care of you myself if I think that's the best course of action. We mortals aren't so weak that a few curses are enough to scare us off."
"Our place, huh." Miyu said, sounding distinctly unimpressed. "Funny thing about mortals - we like deciding our own place. If you were really as great as you think you are, you'd never have declined originally. For my part, I blame you - and your master - for the departed's blood." she paused thoughtfully. "And my own. I wonder what would happen if we sent your sworn testimony to the courts..." ...All right, she knew the answer to that one. Politics would happen. But then, that was pretty much always the case.
She was pretty good with her history, but... nope, that one didn't ring a bell. "I wonder what would happen if we convinced the Hunt that you were the real target..." she wondered aloud.
"Enough to keep breathing" could still be pretty darn close to dead. You had to be pretty canny with your questions if you wanted to get a truly honest answer out of a fey who wanted to be slippery. Something like, oh, how much blood had been drained as a percentage comparison to the amount Jared normally consumed.
As Aurora focused on casting, Miyu muttered under her breath, settling another Moment of Prescience over herself as a contingency for... future events. Precognition was often handy that way, and she drew out a talisman a moment later. "If she tries anything, I'll... discourage it." the exorcist said mildly. "And don't trust a fey just because you think they can't lie. Plenty of them are good at telling you exactly what they want you to hear, but not what you're actually asking them about."
"Oh, I have other ways of finding out when people are lying." Miyu said with a bright smile. "Unlike fey, I don't need to screw with people's heads to do it, either... and I'm pretty sure whatever short-term benefit you'd gain from lying now would be vastly outweighed by the trouble it would inevitably cause you. So... I think we can trust you to tell us the truth."
"Yeah, not gonna lie, healing isn't my thing." Miyu noted. Not immediate healing, anyway. She could slap a talisman on someone and help them recover much better overnight, but other than that, she didn't really have any talents in that field. That said... while she hadn't hesitated to smack the fey down, she wasn't going to object if someone else wanted to help them. She'd just make sure the fey didn't cause any... further trouble.
"I'm getting real sick of that." Miyu growled as the fey tried to hit her with some more mind-control magic. She tended to take personal offense to that sort of thing, especially given all the abuses that fey were prone to. Pulling out another talisman, she focused for just a moment. "On ishanaya intaraya sowaka. Strike down the wicked! Celestial Blades!" As the talisman left her hands, it multiplied into dozens of copies of itself. Unlike before, however, they didn't simply aim to wrap around the woman... instead, they straightened out like blades as they fanned out over the short distance.
"Do you know the cost of thinking you can just do whatever you want to mortals?" Miyu countered, stepping out of the Baobhan Sith's immediate grasp. She drew out another ofuda talisman, and it erupted into emerald green flames. "Besides, you're the one who first tried mind magic on me, and then you caused physical harm even when I'd merely restrained you. You're in a mortal nation, ruled by mortal laws, so kindly go **** yourself. You started it, so you don't get to complain. Now... On aganaya in maya sowaka! Let the flames of life burn away the impure!" As she shouted and flung out her hand, her talisman shot at the evil fey and burst over her with the power that infused all of Miyu's techniques.
Miyu has a reputation she wants to maintain. XD That is, she's a good guest, and therefore can get invited to places that might be hard to reach otherwise. (Although as far as drawing a group together is concerned, she's kind of miffed at those who let this happen, but is willing to hear their explanation afterwards before she's genuinely ticked at them.) Also, she was heavily inspired by the Dresden Files, and hospitality is a big thing there. XD
Space continued to hold stable as Miyu maintained her barrier against otherworldly creatures, and she was a bit Shaken at the moment. "If you could stop the summoning that the Baobhan Sith, is doing, I'd appreciate it." she managed to get out. If the monster managed to overcome her ward, she'd probably have to focus on something a little more punishing - but for now, she was simply trying to go with the idea that the easiest fight was one that didn't happen at all.
Is fiiiiine. XD As a GM myself, I know that it happens.
As Jared raged, Miyu looked down the stairs, a distinctly displeased expression on her face. "I appreciate the laws of hospitality as much as anyone else, but your friend is the one who violated them and attacked your other guests." she noted, holding up her hand where blood was dripping down. "First mental magic, then actual harm. I don't take @#$% from people like her, and I've done no worse than hold her down. If you want to attack me regardless, know that I will be perfectly justified in defending myself."
Well, she'll have to at some point, and stopping that from working at all is probably the best thing I can do right now. XD
*Peeks in* I should note that a Magic Skill Check isn't the same thing as a Concentration check, namely in that you don't apply your ability score modifier to it. I think she needs to roll 1d20 + Caster level versus 16 to keep that summon going...?
Well, if there's one thing I'm good at, it's getting information. o wo
Miyu has no idea what's going on - she's just trying to protect herself, really. XD
Miyu twisted away from the magical attack as it was sent her way, as if she'd been expecting that, too. "Enough of that." she said. Another ofuda flashed as she held it up, locking down dimensional travel and summoning within the area as Miyu focused on the talisman's power. This had turned very troublesome, very quickly... but she'd been struck at first, and perhaps just as importantly, she hadn't actually hurt anyone herself. Not yet, at least.
Okay, so... did she actually attack me, then? XD And is she anchored or not? *Not quite sure what this edit means for how Miyu's doing*
Upstairs: As Miyu walked in, she glanced to the side right in time to avoid the worst of the woman's effects... almost as if she'd known it was coming, and knew when to look away so as to avoid being affected. At the very least, she didn't seem terribly surprised by what she saw... but then, she was a pretty hard person to surprise in general. "I don't know what's going on here..." she admitted. "But I think you should stay put." She whipped a paper talisman out of her ofuda holder, and complex celestial script appeared on it as she chanted. "On irotahi chanoga jiba tai sowaka. You are not free to wander this world. Celestial Bindings!" As she hurled the paper, it split and multiplied into several dozen copies of itself that wrapped around the woman to pin her down, growing longer and thicker as they did so. At the very least, they'd probably help Aurora... especially because that looked like a good grapple, which'd make this woman all the more vulnerable. "...Anybody want to explain this to me?"
Miyu raised an eyebrow, then shrugged slightly. "Pardon me." she said, moving to head in that direction. It was a bit awkward to be wandering around in someone else's house, but she was pretty sure they wouldn't have been asking for her if they didn't actually need her for something...
Miyu blinked slightly, not terribly bothered by his admission - she had pretty broad tastes herself, albeit no real time to pursue them. Too busy doing things like investigating dead fey. "...It is best to be careful about relationships with the fey, yes. They're rather... well-known... for having relationships that don't turn out very well for non-fey." And getting eaten was far from the worst that could happen - which would be rather ironic, considering the other one here was a vampire. "You said you pulled away from drinking pretty much right away, correct? Did anyone else seem interested in drinking deeper?"
Miyu listened carefully as the others talked, content enough to hear the conversation and compare what she heard with what she already knew. Listening was important in her job - rooting out the falsehoods and tracking down the source of a problem was most of what she did.
*Isn't, I mean. o_O Bleh.
Right now, Miyu wants everyone to relax a little more - especially Jared - but it's quite charismatic enough to assert herself. XD
Yeah, but undead... Miyu thought mildly as she focused on Jared's words and behaviors to get a better sense of just how truthful he was being.
...Without much success.
Miyu tilted her head slightly as the fellow mentioned that he wasn't feeling well, having gone inside following the invitation. An aftereffect of drugs in someone's bloodstream, maybe...? "I'm not a doctor or anything, but I'm pretty good at finding out what's wrong with people." she said, giving him a nice smile. "If you don't mind, I could probably try to figure it out and figure out what sort of remedy would work." The offer was a sincere one - the last thing she needed to do right now was freak him out with some lies.
Miyu waved slightly as she was introduced, but otherwise didn't do very much - predators tended to fixate a lot on things like prey and movement, and they only had so much attention to go around. Not getting involved meant he could stay focused on Aurora, and was less likely to get all skittish about things as he tried to juggle everyone.
Miyu did catch a ride with someone - quite frankly, it was easier that way, and she looked up at the house with a faintly bemused look. "...Um." she said. "Sweet Yidhra I hate pop culture sometimes." the exorcist muttered. "Do you want to go up first and make friend with him, Aurora?" she asked. "I can give you a bit of good luck if you're nervous."
"Hah, no. I don't think I'm respectable enough for that." Miyu answered with an amused look. "My techniques were based on their style, though, with a couple other traditions thrown in for good measure. There's a lot of weird stuff in the world, after all, and I wanted to be flexible enough to handle whatever popped up."
"Huh." Miyu said, snatching the card out of the air. She tore it in half down the long end a moment later - a used ofuda was no good for other things, and tearing it this way helped to dispel its lingering energies and render it nothing more than a harmless bit of paper. Proper disposal of magical things was quite important. "It looks like trying the peaceful approach would be fine, but it would probably be best to avoid putting too much pressure on him." she reported, not actually explaining how she was getting her information. A girl had to maintain a certain amount of mystery, after all.
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