Morsel's page

Hey all,
I'm really sorry again about my posting delay. It's turning out that I just don't have the free time I thought I did for a PbP game right now. Regrettably, I'm withdrawing. I know you just got through recruitment, but perhaps one of the other applicants will work for you. Sorry again, but I've had a good time with what little I've played with you!

xoxo
mechaPoet

P.S. BBEGM, please feel free to use Morsel in whatever capacity you wish going forward. As an ally, rival, enemy, whatever your heart desires. :D

I love that there are three pets so far in this game, and only one of them is a class feature. :D

Only if you were planning on reading it, or getting it back to Morrow without him knowing it was ever gone. In that case, it's bad for your first plan but good for whatever you want to burn it for!

Morsel’s blank expression flickers with annoyance as she directs her gaze into the middle distance.

Morsel pipes up, “Thurin, believe it or not, I think we agree on that point.” She scurries around the edge of the common room and comes up on the other side of the others before perching on a stool. “It would be foolish to wander into a blizzard at night, though, monster wolf or no. There are still open rooms here. Sleep for the night. In the morning, investigate the house. I’ll even come with you.” She displays a knowing grin, letting her snake-like tongue flick between her teeth. “I’m good with animals.”

Do you think that I could use a Disable Device check to open the envelope? I'm thinking something like using a sharp, thin part of my tools to lift up the wax without damaging it, then carefully melting it back on. The Disable Device skill says it can be used on locks, but can also "sabotage simple mechanical devices." A wax seal seems like a pretty simple device to me.

Hey all, I'm sorry but I've had a rough sick day today. I don't know that I have a gameplay post in me this evening, so feel free to skip my post today or bot me to move things forward.

Morsel keeps a fairly neutral expression as Morrow explains himself, only shooting an annoyed look at Phe before turning her attention back to the strange tableau in front of her. She wanders over to the bar counter and hoists herself up to sit on it near Phe and Katsanóron, feet dangling playfully. “What’s your take, Kat?” she rasps out, leaning over to pull a small bottle and a clean pewter cup from behind the counter. She yanks out the cork and pours herself some mead before she continues, “Ever seen wounds like these? I don’t remember you ever being so busy all of a sudden, no?”

She jumps a little in surprise as Ganzorig’s tentacled visage suddenly appears on her shoulder. Her cup sloshes over and spills some of the mead on the front of her robes. She hisses out a dagger-sharp syllable in Infernal of complaint before grabbing a nearby cloth and starting to blot at the dark, cold stain. She shoots a frustrated look at the gnome, breathing out a huff of hot air in annoyance that leaves the air briefly smelling of brimstone. She closes her eyes and concentrates for a moment, trying to locate where her own mind meets The Thing in Her Head’s. She mentally prods for the spaces in that connection and follows a twisting passageway like a rat through the walls of a house until she emerges at the end of Ganzorig’s broiling consciousness - or at least, that’s how it always felt to her.

When she opens her eyes, there is a glint of something deep and malicious and alien there before it fades. She looks across to Ganzorig, saying nothing.

---

Spending one round of Psionics to Mind Link with Ganzorig. Because of my Lingering Psionics feat, we can mentally communicate for three rounds.

Morsel says nothing in response to Thurin’s mockery, but her tail starts to swish in agitation. She focuses her attention instead on harassing Morrow, who proves to be a much easier target. When he pushes her away and asks his rude question she responds with a neutral expression, “I’m the innkeeper’s daughter - just like in those racy three-copper broadsheets. Isn’t it obvious?” Morsel sits ready to receive the lad’s response, but thinks of something and turns toward the bar to ask, “Hey, Phe, where are Mom and Pop, anyway?”

She turns back just in time to see the boy place a very tempting envelope down the front of his armor. Morsel makes a mental note to investigate later when the weirdness has died down. She shakes her head at the question about the arrows and pipes up after Hob. “Doesn’t line up with anyone or anything around here. And the fey seem unlikely even if they did have arrows that large. They aim for riders, not horses. Sounds like you brought some new danger to town with you.”

She listens patiently to the rest of Morrow’s story, and manages to catch some commentary from the orc girl as well. Straining to hear, she just manages to pick up the message. When Morrow asks for questions, Morsel throws in, “When were you planning on telling us that you tried to break into the mansion? Or did you just plan on leaving that little bit out of the story? Are you burglars in addition to messengers, or did I just guess wrong about which broadsheets you like?”

---

Knowledge (Local): 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (17) + 10 = 27
DC 15 Perception to hear whispered details: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (7) + 8 = 15

Morsel follows the crowd back into the inn, glad to be spared the freezing wind for now as she pushes back her hood. Her rat squirms in her pocket before poking its head out, wriggling out and scampering up her robes to nest in the thick hair draped over Morsel’s shoulders.

She hangs back from Katsa’s healing, slinking over to Morrow. “Go on, answer him,” she rasps out, lowering her head until it's uncomfortably close to the youth’s. She makes brief eye contact with Hob before continuing, her expression flat and inscrutable. “And while you're at it, why were there so many of you out in a blizzard anyway?”

Morsel flinches against the cold wind and pulls her cloak’s hood tighter around her face as she stuffs the bandages into her pocket. She pats another pocket to check that her rat is safely secured in a relatively warm spot and trudges forward into the snow with Ganzorig and Thurin. She trails behind them, seeing that the travelers Ganzorig spoke of have arrived and attracted half the village to them, including Ganzorig’s dog.

Having so many people around, especially so many strange humans, starts to bring up bad memories of the fights Morsel would get into growing up in this cold armpit of a town, so she hangs back and observes. Luckily the humans seem far too injured to be jumpy about her appearance after their ordeal.

She resolves to move forward once Thurin approaches the injured travelers. Not wanting to surprise him with potential danger about, she steps over to him trying her best to suppress her instinct for subtlety and be obvious about crunching through the snow. “You don’t get to demand those things of Katsanóron,” she chides the dwarf. She looks up and aims to make eye contact with the woman. As far as Morsel was concerned, Katsanóron was the other village freak. More helpful, attractive, kind, and generally liked than Morsel was, yes - but the tiefling couldn’t help but feel a kind of connection to the strange half-elven woman. Turning her attention back to Thurin, she adds, “Either ask nicer or offer to pay for a lesson, and don’t interrupt her work.”

I recommend doing it like this.

** spoiler omitted **

** spoiler omitted **

No more confusion

Makes sense to me until we're all together.

...So far was drinking with a tiefling, a gnome, and now in came a blue-skinned...elven plant-woman? Some kind of spell gone wrong, obviously. He'd have to keep an eye on her. And now an orc as well!...

Sorry, I'm confused... Are Katsanóron and Hob in the inn? I thought they were out by Katsa' house.

Morsel follows the conversation silently, picking out old crumbs of something from the table and lifting them up for the rat on her shoulder to take hold of in its tiny claws to chew. She nods at Bashar’s answers. Morsel was genuinely grateful to have someone here from outside for the past few days; Bashar obviously thought she was a freak (and she was probably right), but at least the adventuring sorts would talk to her instead of shunning her or shouting curses. They tended to be blatant about other things.

Morsel blinks at Thurin, then Ganzorig. Missing limbs? Saving lives? What in the nine hells is going on tonight? Briefly, she thinks of a pirate she once met in a warmer place. “You’re going to have to explain that last part, ‘Zo. Besides,” she replies, turning to address the dwarf, “some of us might not in the business of saving lives.” She lifts her mug to her lips while maintaining eye contact with Thurin, and a forked tongue darts into the ale before retreating back behind the tiefling’s weather-cracked lips. “You kill wizards.” It wasn’t a question. “Do you intend to kill Kagen?” she asks matter-of-factly, sitting still and serious except for the agitated motions of her tail.

Got all my gear done! Including a pet rat. It's not magical or anything, just a standard, mundane rat. I'm assuming a little bit of agency for it, hope that's okay. Maybe an effect of the rat bones is that it makes rats like me.

Morsel has a +7 Sense Motive, so she can’t fail to see through Thurin’s bluff. Good try, though. :P

Morsel’s smirk spreads into a mischievous smile as the dwarf recoils and grimaces, clearly put off by her but still trying to be polite. As Bashar corrects her and explains what she knows about the wizard’s mansion, Morsel’s smile fades and she pays rapt attention. She hadn’t heard about all these keys before, and had largely written off the mansion as a boring, unsolvable mystery. If it was actually possible to get in, though, surely there would be very trinkets worth nabbing inside.

From her seat, Morsel points a scarred hand at the drink on the bar, curling it into a claw, and concentrates for a moment. The image of a stray mutt lapping at a dirty puddle flashes through her mind, and she growls quietly. The ale gently lifts off the counter and carefully floats through the air toward her until it reaches her hand. She lifts the mug to her mouth for a drink, before setting it down and looking seriously at Bashar. “So, what, you’re saying Kagen’s still in there? Trapped or something? I thought he left town or something.” Morsel tilts her head quizzically.

Skilled Casting check to use telekinesis.
DC 16 Knowledge (Nature): 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (16) + 11 = 27

At the sound of the front door opening, Morsel quickly turns her head to see who it is, whip-like tail twitching from side to side like a feisty cat’s. “Hey ‘Zo,” she greets the gnome, giving him a lazy wave with her free hand. Why is everyone out tonight? I mean, it’s not like mom and pop don’t need the business… Is this what The Thing was trying to tell me about? She takes another sip. “Anyway, ‘Zo, yes, that Kegan. But also, wait, what’s this about folks being attacked? Also,” she adds, “have you ever paid attention to anything more than halfway?” Her smirk is not unkind, hoping the gnome doesn’t mind a bit of friendly teasing.

Sure, whatever you say, buddy, Morsel silently and wryly responds to The Thing. It had been saying she would “soon” be food for a decade now, so the initial menace had become more of an annoyance to be put up with than a credible threat. Still, The Thing had driven her this far north, and at least its directions were usually good. Morsel felt these things more in her gut than as thoughts, like the gnawing hunger of a starving rat. With a grumble she rises from her warm bed and dresses to go to the common room, simple dark robes and a furred cloak. She reaches out a hand to pick up the rat that had been curled up in the crook of her neck for warmth, placing it in a pocket before heading downstairs.

She looks up from her seat in a battered armchair by the fire, mismatched eyes flicking from the small brown rat cradled in her lap to the well-armed dwarf shaking off snow as he approaches the bar. A dwarf was rare to see in this dumpy little town, but it’s clear from his armor and ridiculous hammer that he’s the adventuring sort, and this inn was where those sorts usually ended up. Morsel prepares to discount him as having much to do with what the The Thing was talking about, but pays closer attention when he asks about the old wizard. She raises an eyebrow (a gesture without much room to maneuver between her eye and the bottom ridge of her horns), disturbs the cozy rat to shift it to her shoulder, and pads over to the dwarf at Bashar’s table in her thick socks.

“What do you need to find the old man for, anyway?” Morsel hisses out as she quickly pulls out and perches on the seat next to Thurin, her voice high pitched and raspy. “Nothing but his old house here now, and no one can get in. They say it’s cursed, you know - turns little kids into things like me.” She smirks at the dwarf and Bashar, or perhaps just at her own joke, before turning to call to the elf at the bar, “Hey, Phe, pour me something, too, okay?”

As far as maps go, I've found Google Slides to be quite useful for these games. Roll20 is nice but I can't access it when I post from my phone. For PbP, I tend to like having a map, especially now because so many of my abilities have specific range requirements. Otherwise I'd be concerned about either having to verbally confirm all of my distances (which I imagine may be annoying), or to be not so worried about that in which case I'd be concerned about ignoring the rules potentially in my favor too often.

So ultimately, I vote a Google Slides map if you (BBEGM) are more concerned about me following my close-range distance rules on my abilities correctly, or mapless/light mapping if you're more concerned about the technical stuff getting in the way of the game flow. We can always switch or try out different things, too.

Ganzorig wrote:

There was a 20000 gp Trapmaker's Sack which I was oogling... I still make the check, but it plants the trap instantly.

Hmmm. To be honest, I'm not sure why that item is so pricy. Approved, unless one of our rules experts can point out something I'm missing.

I think the reason it's so expensive is that 1) it requires a high level caster to create, 2) it has a combined effect of being an extra-dimensional space (it's got a workshop's worth of trap supplies in a 2-pound bag) with the trap creation element, which increases the price, and 3) it creates basically something out of nothing very quickly, which tends to jack up the costs of these things.

That's just my guesses for why it's at the price point it's at, though. It doesn't seem overpowered to me, and it may actually be a way to introduce more PC-trap-using, which is fun. The only change I might suggest is that instead of it creating a trap up to CR 4, instead it can create a trap up to a CR equal to Ganzorig's HD. That way it's a little tamer right at level 3 but it can scale in a nice way once we get to higher levels.

Is there a preferred way you'd like us to do HP? I went with the method used in Pathfinder Society.

Thurin, yeah, that looks great! I'll go with that for now and see if our GM would like to change any of that.

My character sheet is complete except for equipment. I'm also not great at figuring out equipment, so you're in good(?) company, Ganzorig. :P

@Hob: Yep! Morsel is a telekinetic burglar. I'll have the telekinesis and mind spheres, and I'm considering whether to take the warp sphere now or later. I also have some buffs and I think I'll focus on being a kind of support-melee rogue type.