Nectanebo the Vulture's page

So how's the Geomancer kit been working out for you, Papa Òxọ́lé?

“'Why are you focused on old stuff?' Well, I’ll tell you: For the same reason that, when I want to pull a tree out of my yard, I don’t pull the top branch. I pull the root.”

― Walter Kirn

(ManOWar... AleStorm... GloryHammer... Cradle of Filth? Got it.)

For the record, if you're implying you think "Flesh'N'Blood" is AleStorm, it's not; it's Oingo Boingo.

Over time
I've come to feel
That everything must come apart, it seems
From the little child
To the man of power
From the beggar to the angel of my dreams!

I'm not gonna give up the ghost, NOOOOO!
not gonna give it up!
I'm not gonna give up the ghost, NOOOOO!
not gonna give it up!
I'm not gonna give up the ghost, NOOOOO!
not gonna give it up!
I'm not gonna give up the ghost, NOOOOO!
not gonna give it up!

It was Leng, right?

I am still interested in the questions I tried asking Hrethnar and his warden.

"Well, *I'm* game!" Nectanebo chimes in brightly. "Not sure what it is about this place...always something new...or old...or ancient...or outright eldritch." He gives Hrethnar a look of genuine sympathy. "I could always bring back something from the Land of the Living, if you like. A few books? A casque of Arcadian cactus-liquor...?"

Diplomacy, for the heck of it: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (17) + 4 = 21

Interesting choice, Puppetmaster - not that it matters anymore, BUT that sound burst would've done 9 damage thanks to Intense Focus!

SO: Did we manage to accomplish either of the following in this adventure?:

Successfully conclude—such as with violence, negotiation, or coercion—an encounter with an elemental creature. If slain, the elemental must have a Challenge Rating at least equal to your character level.

Participate in an adventure that includes at least two encounters that do not take place on the Material Plane.

Reading it again, I'm pretty sure we did indeed manage the 2nd one, but I'd be rather interested whether those oozes could count for the 1st.

Nectanebo's smile quickly inverts itself, and he folds his arms and shifts his posture toward Faroon as he puts two and two together.

"You," he says simply.

"Your gaoler was quite the miser, at least where mind and spirit are concerned. Can you tell me, is this truly the legendary plane of Leng?"

"For how long have you been a prisoner here?"

"Do you know ought of your warden? Why does it serve Sevenfingers in this capacity?"

"WHY were you imprisoned in the first place?"

"Your warden told us that neither your freedom nor your death was acceptable; I must admit I am curious as to what state that leaves you existing in. Normally, Humans are like bananas: Two days unripe, one day ripe, three days rotting, and by the seventh day dead."

Diplomacy, gloom: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (20) + 2 = 22

Nectanebo then turns to the Elven woman with a small, cryptic smile.

Thoroughly fascinated by both the monster and the opportunity being presented, Nectanebo gets busy with The Adventurer's Greeting (AKA "pestering strangers with questions"):

"Is this truly the plane of Leng?" Don't bother with this one if my earlier Knowledge (Planes) roll was actually good enough.

"For how long have you been guarding 'the traitor'?"

"Why do you guard him? Do you do so by magickal binding, by volition, by incentive, or something else?"

"WHAT WAS Hrethnar's treachery?"

"Why is neither freedom nor death acceptable?"

"In what state of being does Hrethnar remain imprisoned?"

aid someone else's Diplomacy, gloom: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (15) + 2 = 17

Knowledge (Planes), gloom: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (3) + 12 = 15

Nectanebo stares into the gloom overhead, perhaps a bit too entranced by the possibility that he knows where they now are (while also being frustrated by not being entirely certain about it).

"Could we really be in...the legendary realm of Leng???"

That off his chest, it is around this time that he finally takes a look somewhere other than the sky or horizon.

"Uhh...FELLOWS? Are you doing alright down there...?"

He begins his cautious descent...until he sees IT.

"...WHOAH."

One nice thing about old pirate-ships, though, Nectanebo reflects as he peers over the staircase...

"Ahoy there, mate; stretch your sea-legs a spell, we need all hands...!"

...you can always find spare skeletons lying around!

Another Focus spent, another Necromantic Servant (13 hp, BAB +4, bonus +3 damage, will last up to 1 hour).

Nectanebo's newest recruit stands up in a momentary shower of unguessably-old dust, salutes its 'cap'n', and staggers cautiously over to the slumbering horror, interposing itself between big monster and the little alchemist, but takes no rash action...yet.

Full defense, just in case.

Thanks to false life, that only took me down to 14/39.

Cure light wounds wand (my own):
#1: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 1 = 6
#2: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (6) + 1 = 7
#3: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 = 4
#4: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 1 = 2
#5: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 1 = 2
#6: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 1 = 2 Are you kidding me?!?
#7: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 = 3

"Vicious pieces of work, those slag-things...."

I've only seen GMs track hit points when nonlethal dmg is involved; otherwise it's usually the player's responsibility. If you have difficulty tracking hit points...

I never said I did; if the DM's content to count on players to correct him when necessary, I suppose that's good enough for me.

See the "Spoiler"? :)

I only track damage dealt by the enemy, so you have a running total of how much you need to heal. If someone has an easier to use system, let me know.

Yes, but that can get confusing (even running the risk of accidentally "killing" those who should not be dead) with temporary hit points, a very common mechanic with many, many sources - the easiest thing to do would be to tract player HIT POINTS (e.g. I was at 51/39 before that hit, now I'm at 36/39) rather than damage. I know it's a bit more work, but not too much more if you just add each player's hit points to your initiative-block template.

Fortitude Save: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (5) + 6 = 11

Nectanebo screams a string of cursewords in Elven and certain...darker languages at the shock and pain; despite that, he still seems mostly uninjured.

@DM: You might consider an alternative method of damage-tracking; that one doesn't track temporary hit points well. I am now down 3 ACTUAL hit points.

"Behind you," Directs Nectanebo tersely, gently poking Mykel with the tip of his own sword before pivoting it in the still-clearly-present ooze's direction.

Mykel finds something singularly entrancing about Nectanebo's sword - as he gazes along its spectacular jeweled hilt and the subtle starlight-gleam of its edge, he feels time seem to slow down around him...

Mykel, I am spending 1 Focus from the Guidingstar to bestow upon you Quickness (like haste, but +2 to AC and Reflex saves) for the next 6 rounds. Use it wisely.

"OW!" Nectanebo gasps as the nasty molten goop assails them. "Well that's...interesting...."

Knowledge (Dungeoneering): 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (10) + 8 = 18

While his faithful companion endeavors to cover him...

skeleton aid Nectanebo's AC: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (4) + 6 = 10

...he jets backward as carefully as the slimy floor will allow him, the motion and his coat momentarily making him look like a (somewhat lethargic) jetting squid.

Full withdrawal, hopefully my Careful Combatant trait applies to difficult terrain.

Seeing Kahwen venture forth, Nectanebo moves in to join him.

Does getting any closer help my Knowledge check above? What else could I try?

I can auto-aid Kahwen's Disable Device roll (assuming that's doable - if ever there were a skill to which "too many cooks spoil the broth" applied...).

Nectanebo purses his lips in consideration of Ellismus's suggestion. "I've heard worse ideas," He says, and gives a snap of his fingers for his skeletal flunky, which begins dipping its metacarpals in the ooze and carefully applying it to Nectanebo's breastplate.

Nectanebo's jaw drops in shock and wonder - Elven eyes aren't known for 'bugging out', but his may be coming close.

"HA! Now THIS...THIS sort of thing is why I keep coming back here! Show me your secrets, Gloomspires...!"

He tentatively edges closer to the machine-of-non-mineral-kingdom in order to study it...

Knowledge (Engineering)...?: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (19) + 14 = 33

"Amazing," Nectanebo breathes simply. "It's full of Beyond-the-Stars...."

Nectanebo's aforementioned skeleton 'matey' moves forward to escort the humanoid sea anemone...somewhere.

"Well THAT'S scary," Nectanebo remarks when he hears Ellismus's diagnosis. "Better her than us, right?!? Nice of her to do us a favor, I suppose, but after all I've seen of Cheliax, I only have so many tears to shed for Asmodeans. Question is, what do we do with what's left of her...?"

He casts a sidelong glance at the remarkable sphere; tempted as he is to do otherwise, he approaches no closer...a cursed Crystal Ball, perhaps? Or perhaps one that worked TOO WELL....

Spellcraft to identify magic item, Elven Magic, Sovyrian Pantheist: 1d20 + 17 ⇒ (17) + 17 = 34

@DM: If I'd need to come closer to it to try this, I won't.

"We can go nowhere else. We are bound to guard the throne from intruders." The sludge-filled sockets turn towards the gathered Pathfinders meaningfully.

"Damn," Says Nectanebo matter-of-factly, then gives an affable shrug (shrugging being a singularly impressive affair with a coat like his). "Well, at least we'll know where to find you if we need you!"

"Let the watchwords be 'antiquity' if I seek only your knowledge or skills of peace, 'necropolis' if I return with immediate need of an illusion, or 'Tian finger-trap' if I am luring to you a foe I wish your aid with."

Grandmaster TOZ wrote:

"They will become guardians, as I am. The master bade it so."

"I don't think so," replies Ellismus. Waiting for his pilfering friends to complete their tombraiding rituals, the alchemist requests that the bodies be lined up side by side. Then, uttering a quick prayer to the gods, and upon getting the affirmatory nod from each adventurer, he lights the funeral pyre with a practiced alchemist's fire toss.

"Good idea, but one moment!" Nectanebo interjects. He stands before the assembled bodies, and as he does so, the shredded tails of his coat seem to begin dancing on a breeze that should not be down here, waving in a manner reminiscent of beckoning fingers.

"AHOY, lads! Before you shove off to Fiddler's Green or the Seawraith or wherever else your next port-o'-call may be, I offer you one last chance at ADVENTURE! Any takers?"

With that, one of the bodies explodes anticlimactically as its skeleton wrenches itself free of the confines of pickled flesh and leaps before Nectanebo with a naval salute!

1 Focus spent from the Skull of Azrael to create a Necromantic Servant. Its statistic are as above, save that it has 13 hit points, a BAB of +4, and a +3 bonus to all damage rolls. It will last 1 hour at most.

"I know the name of the illustrious Captain Sevenfingers, if it's really that simple; I was simply making certain. I've been here before, and never seen your like."

"This," Nectanebo handles the mail with expert care and reverence. "Now THIS is armor. I'd be interested in trying it on for myself, but..." He raps his breastplate gently, producing a couple of hollow *tings*. "...let's say I've got a bit of an investment in this."

He turns back to his mummy dearest. "I could take a guess or two, but would you mind sharing with me the name of this 'master'?"

"Iiiiinteresting!" Nectanebo announces as he looks over Kahwen's find. He turns to their new 'local guide'. "I don't suppose you could tell what all this is for, or by whose hands?"

Yay, I don't have to figure out how many hit points a skull has for sundering purposes!

!!! THAT would've been a b@@~+.

Did you catch my disrupt undead?

Taken the liberty of recoloring Reverend Green (while leaving its outline) to indicate it now serves...THE VULTURE!

Sensing the being (the one who isn't being snippy) actually do as it's told, Nectanebo allows himself a quick, awed double-take at his own implement (he'd only tried this once before, and it hadn't worked so well that time) before returning his attention to his new "friend".

"YOU WILL NOT HARM MY COMRADES," He instructs, his voice now bearing a faint, creepy resonance it never had before - and almost like a bad ventriloquist's act, it's less than certain where his voice is even coming from: Him...or the little dragon-skull? "HEED ME, AND LIKEWISE NO HARM SHALL COME FROM THEM TO YOU."

Charisma check: 1d20 ⇒ 13 I don't suppose the DM would see fit to grant any bonus for offering a compelling bargain?

A voice like a thousand different creatures speaks. "Bold you are to command a denizen of Leng."

"They embalmed YOU with extra 'salt', didn't they?" Nectanebo retorts to the other mummy as he turns around and points the skull at IT - those who were to look closely would see an eerie glimmer of something-like-light flash within the skull's eye-sockets.

disrupt undead (ranged touch) vs Red Dead Beyond-Redemption, shaken: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (13) + 4 = 17
CL vs SR, Elven Magic: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (13) + 7 = 20
positive energy damage: 1d6 ⇒ 6

I believe a potion or scroll would only last a few rounds due to minimum caster level.

Fair enough; I'll take the scrolls in any case.

+2 on the off-chance this somehow counts as a 'curse':
Will save vs fear #1: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (9) + 6 = 15
Will save vs fear #1: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (11) + 6 = 17
seems like a good time for a FOLIO REROLL!: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (19) + 6 = 25 SAFE!

Knowledge (Religion): 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (20) + 14 = 34 +4 if it can be argued to be a check regarding the Old Cults
Okay...what DIDN'T Ellismus already cover for us? 'Weaknesses' (that haven't already been mentioned), 'feats', and 'magical powers' would all be good.

"Ahhh-ah-a-HA!" Nectanebo stutters as he carefully withdraws from the (admittedly REMARKABLE!) horrors. "Now THIS is a welcoming party!"

"Far be it from me to come empty-handed for the hosts, you know..." He says as he rifles through the seemingly-impenetrable recesses of his coat to pull out what could only be the polished skull of a very young black dragon.

"...I BEAR THE SKULL OF AZRAEL!" He demands, his charming tone suddenly becoming a bellow. "YOU WILL YIELD BEFORE ITS POWER!"

CL vs SR, Elven Magic: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (18) + 7 = 25
That ought to do it; command undead versus Reverend Green, DC 18 and at a -2 penalty.

Truly, terribly sorry to have been AWOL so long; is there any reason I couldn't have settled for a feather fall potion - or better still, SCROLLS? UMD impresario here, don't forget.

I wish I'd thought of that sooner; had another 'worse than usual' past few days, I can't even track WHY anymore.

Not sure what to do; any ideas? I'm not inclined to do what Toral did.

In that case, if feather fall is an option, I see no reason not to avail myself of it!

Nectanebo shrugs at his 'fellow' carrion-bird.

"More for us, right?...Hey, this is good on its own merits...!"

He partakes of the black moss, then descends as carefully as he can.

If the rope is good and knotted, taking '10' for a total of '9' (10 - masterwork breastplate + Strength) should do it, right?

Nectanebo sighs, suddenly jolted out of some macabre reverie, as if he'd been communing a bit too deeply with the chamber's furnishings. "I wish the answer was 'yes'...buuut it's not." He looks down at his extensive panoply. "Last time I had to do serious climbing, it got a little awkward."

"OH!" He adds, as though his self-appraisal had jogged his memory. "Before we go any further...."

He draws forth a wand, one that takes the form of a slender piece of maddeningly intricate clockwork with components made from tin, electrum, platinum, bismuth, and uranium, which he directs at everyone in turn; as he does so, you each experience a strange, fleeting premonition:

Pathfinder Society has been brought to you today by the lucky numbers...:

myself: 1d20 ⇒ 15
Kahwen: 1d20 ⇒ 6
Mykel: 1d20 ⇒ 2
Toral: 1d20 ⇒ 9
Ellismus: 1d20 ⇒ 18
Comme ci, comme ça.

Nectanebo tightens his coat around himself as they ascend.

Invoking false life, using my roll from earlier, if I may.

Knowledge (Engineering) auto-success.

He barely glances at the errant rift before answering Kahwen. "No, and for good reason - looks like someone came here with one honeyed hell of a battering ram. I guess our rivals have done some of our work for us."

NB: I have the Gloomspire Explorer Boon from "Halls of the Flesh-Eaters".

Nectanebo relates some of his extensive familiarity with Gloomspire lore....

Knowledge (History) RE:
the Gloomspires: 1d20 + 17 ⇒ (17) + 17 = 34
Sempet Sevenfingers: 1d20 + 17 ⇒ (12) + 17 = 29

...familiarity that has grown considerably after his previous adventures here.

"One of the things I'll always remember is the bas-relief of what I can only call 'Our Lady of Autophagia'...

BONUS OOC DIRECTOR'S-CUT MATERIAL

I'll be taking tomorrow off from responding thanks to a hand injury. Single hand typing is no fun.

Must...not...make...naughty...JOKE...!

I should've asked before: What kind of Knowledge check for this Galvos thing?

Nectanebo is ready for the boarding-crew.

"AVAST, swabbies, who said ye could just walk-the-plank on over?!?" He greets them in his best 'penny-dreadful pirate' brogue.

"Ye call that a sword...?"

Bilgewater suddenly turns to business as he slashes with unnatural speed with his splendid Elven blade!

Guidingstar, Quickness: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (3) + 8 = 11
damage: 1d10 + 4 ⇒ (3) + 4 = 7
Guidingstar, Quickness: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (9) + 8 = 17
damage: 1d10 + 4 ⇒ (3) + 4 = 7

Regrettably, this is a power it has only recently revealed to him, so he still has much to learn about fighting at this speed.

"OUR HOVERCRAFT IS FULL OF EELS!" Nectanebo exClaims as the emergent swarm takes him by surprise.

Well, at least swarms don't (NORMALLY) provoke, so...

"Gents, Cap'n," He finally acknowledges present company with a blitz but polite nod before backing away, drawing his magnificent sword as he does so, and taking a moment to concentrate upon it so intensely that time appears to slow down all around him....

Spending 1 Focus from the Guidingstar to empower myself with Quickness (i.e. 1-person haste-plus).

If it makes sense for your character to have used his 6 hour buff while on a ship all day long for the last week, then yes. I would assume hi would either have spent it at wake up and possibly had it expire already or wait until there was actual trouble. My characters usually wait until they have a duration that lasts all day before it becomes a daily buff.

Sounds like an 'ix-nay', then?

In which case, may I at least hang onto the roll I made in the spoiler for when I actually do it?

I've taken the liberty of giving all the PCs a distinctive colored boundary - hope everyone approves of my selections!

How about my having false life on beforehand? Yae, or nay?

book of puzzles Intelligence check: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (1) + 6 = 7

Would an "hour/level" power at CL 6th count well enough as a "daily buff"?

A slight, incongruously-dry chill in the air heralds the arrival from below deck of a tawny-skinned Elf with deep lavender eyes and long silver hair; he wears a long overcoat the color of tarnished silver that makes him look a bit like a wraith despite his toned physique, and a massive, beautiful jeweled sword rests across his back - he currently has a frustrated look on his face as he finishes tucking away one of those big books of brain-teasers that get published out of who-knows-where from time to time, but recovers and strikes a somewhat dashing pose as he stands against the gloom and spray.

"Gloomspires! We meet again!" He declares as if in general challenge less to the pirates and more to the place itself.

"I see you've seen fit to extend us a proper greeting this time," He continues almost as though the giant stone columns are his only peer present. He then flourishes his latest acquisition - a stout, baroque scepter made from red gold and decorated liberally with gems in byzantine fractal patterns. Its edges shimmer and crackle with energy that stands out like a beacon in the gloom.

"Forgive me for not formally announcing my return - hear it NOW!"

Where the head of the scepter points, there is an abrupt raucous thunderclap!

sound burst, DC 18, Intense Focus, targeted to catch as many of the enemy as possible (hopefully all of them): 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (7) + 1 = 8

My apologies; the game's timing was less than ideal, since I wasn't feeling up-to-snuff on Friday (the first post in a new game is always the hardest for me), and - keep this in mind going forward - I now make it a rule to abstain from the Internet every Saturday.

Let’s leave politics out of this game.

That would be easier if the boundary between "politics/not politics" weren't utterly arbitrary (was it ever not so? Hard to say). :/

I'll concede I tipped the scales with the last line, but consider the rest a matter of "I happen to know much more about mental health and social psychology than most people, and people are searching for that in unusual numbers right now and finding a lot of really bad advice, so I had to say something".

I've said it now, though; carrion.

Warning/Disclaimer: Ellismus has a very low Charisma, and is the embodiment of 'grumpy old man'. If, in-character RP, he spits in your general direction or expels other audible sound or gas emissions, would this offend you as a player? if so, please say so now and I will tone down the Family Man / Homer Simpson factor down a few notches.

Personally, I don't like toilet humor (I mean, unless maybe it would be too spot-on to pass up - Lachen Über Alles!), but it's "trigger warning/affirmative consent culture" that I find much more offensive. :)

If you'll forgive a bit of soapboxing:

There's no place in life for the level of onion-skinned preciousness - and worst of all, humorlessness (which, as the bearer of an authentic psychology degree, I am 100% serious and 0% exaggerating when I state my conclusion that "humorlessness" belongs as a recognized pathology in the APA's next DSM, and should be considered as grave a problem as suicidal depression and psychopathy) - that has been creepily cultivated and enabled over the last few years, and to anyone who's ACTUALLY suffered, it's actively counter-helpful, and pretty insulting, to boot.

This site wants to be "a fun and friendly place", but it also wants to be a so-called "safe space" - it needs to come to terms with the fact that it cannot be both. The core folks pushing the second concept are the antithesis of "fun and friendly" (believe me, I've met them), and the many more who, for various reasons, support or sympathize with them at present would actually all be better off without them.

Bear in mind we have spent the last 5-7 years living in a moment that just about embodies the following pearl:

"Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity."
- Martin Luther "When I Talked About Race, They Harassed Me, Once I Shifted to Class, They Killed Me" King, Jr.