*Facepalm*
That's what I get for being drug-addled and not reading the IC thread.
Thanks for keeping me in there DMB.
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Berrin is next. I currently have the initiative of an old shoe.
Hi kids. Currently doped up on painkillers pretty hardcore atm (injured my arm). I'll try and knock out a post soon (24 hours or so).
"Gods. That's a hydra!" He yelled, dropping into the deep water as he gave his horse a smack. Through his clouded eyes, Nikolai could see that Jemini was slap-bang in the middle of the ford. It was she who was in the most danger. I'll go back to hell before I let anything happen to her. He thought to himself, determined to see her safe. "You two, get away from the bank. We need to get clear!" "Berrin, Taisper, go back! Get out of the water! You want to get eaten?" There was a sudden shift to the large man, like an echo of the Stag Lord that still flowed through his voice and posture. "Hells woman. Jemini, get out of the water! You need to swim. MOVE!" As he neared the Paladin , Nikolai continued to speak. "We need fire. Fire or acid. It's the only thing that'll kill it for good." Nikolai fought down the fear that bubbled inside him. Not for himself, but for the woman caught in the middle of the river. This was it. This is the moment.
Okay. So I get to act now (presumably just a standard action), and then we move to normal inititive? No problem. EDIT: Jemini saved Nikolai in the underworld. Now it's her turn.
If all you do is try and get your horse out of the river, how long does it take? And yes, it was kind of funny. And I figure if Jemini gets herself into trouble, that's going to be impetus to draw on his magic instinctively.
Nikolai forded the river easily, thanks to both his own impressive height, and the matching size of his destrier. "Much nicer than the last river we traveled." The big man said, obviously talking to Jemini. "At least this one won't kill-" He stopped mid sentence as he saw the ripples moving towards them. "Oh hells." He spat out. "Jemini? The rest of you? We need to get out of the water. Now." Making good on his words, Nikolai urged his horse out of the river.
"If you truly want to secure it, you should build a bridge here, and a watchtower to guard it. I'm surprised Davos stayed as long as he did. Yanna and his brother were particular fans of taunting the ferryman." The big man said, recalling boisterous nights around the fire. "Crossing at this place without a boat would be foolhardy at best. Fatal at worst." He told the priest.
"Something obviously large did this." He said, referring to the wreckage. "What, exactly, I have no idea."
IC excuse for an OOC stuff up? Booyah!
If Nikolai heard Berrin's snigger, he didn't say anything about it. "How long have we been riding?" The big man asked, in all seriousness. "My sense of distance is fine, but it seems my sense of time is hampered. The afterlife doesn't exactly keep to a mortal schedule, you understand." If Nikolai heard the snarkyness, he didn't react to it, his words calm and casual. Give it time, Nik. Time. Of course, you might not have messed up were you able to see the sun properly, but what can you do? At least you're not totally blind, you ungrateful bastard.
O.o Except, as a newly-arrived NPC-come-PC, I'm probably NOT close to level 5. But that WOULD be awesome.
Fair enough. Just a thought. :)
Nikolai laughed, long and loud as Jemini taunted Verik. "I've seen those little booklets before. They are...interesting. And a man should be familiar with such things if he is to entertain a lady. So study up, Adbarite, lest your 'key' get rusty." Nikolai grinned at Jemini. A good-natured ribbing had been shared between them more than once after the walls had come down. It was good to not being alone. "At least the slavery in Axis is much nicer than other places." He said as the mood turned. He didn't really want to think about Hell. Or the River. Or any of the other terrible sights they had seen. But he couldn't switch it off. He couldn't unsee. He shook the dark mood from himself. "We're not far from my stash if you want to stop there for a moment." He offered, seeing the cleric's discomfort.
...to a suitable cause. To your close personal friend, Nikolai? :P But more seriously, just 'spend' the last gold by having the stuff you want be in Nikolai's stash of goodies.
Yay! And you make an excellent point Jemini. Nikolai and Jemini have quite possibly spent more chronological time together than the rest of the group has. That's rather interesting for the whole dynamic.
Nikolai grunted in response to the priest's words. "A new start?" He asked, his tone laced with doubt. "I thank you for your kind words. But would that it was that simple. I've no doubt I'll be earning a lot of forgiveness for the rest of my life. There are a lot of people who I need to seek forgiveness from." He rode silently for a few more moments, meeting no-one's gaze except the lady's. "I was the Stag Lord. And I can't change that. I don't even think I can ask for your forgiveness. I was the Stag Lord, and those crimes are mine. No excuse I can give will free me from that truth. I don't pretend that this process will be easy. While the last memories you have of me alive are of me...killing Lady Jemini, my last memories of life are of you all killing me. There's bound to be some difficult feelings all around." He paused for a moment. He hadn't spoken this long to anyone except Jemini in a very long time. "But I trust Jemini, and her faith in you all. I hope that, in time, you can feel the same about me." Good. Now she can't say you didn't try. You've done what you can now with words. What comes next has to be action. Are they ready, Nikolai? Are you? Nikolai didn't have the answers. Not yet, at least. But he was looking forward to learning those answers with Jemini. All could see that while Nikolai was still a giant of a man clearly capable of great violence, he seemed...peaceful. Calm even.
"I sit in the dark and brood darkly on my dark tortured soul in the dark. I look out at the people, in the dark, who can't understand my darkness. Darkly." "Wherever there are masks, wherever there's tomfoolery and joy, I'm there. But sometimes I'm not cause I'm out in the night, staying vigilant. Watching. Lurking. Running. Jumping. Hurtling. Sleeping. No, I can't sleep. You sleep. I'm awake. I don't sleep. I don't blink. Am I bird? No. I'm a bat. I am Batman." Community. How I love that show! But seriously, Sociopathy is a pretty difficult condition to display with tact and without falling into an 'archetype'. Taisper does fulfill the Batman archetype due to being a damaged character. To be honest, I looked at the previous five-man setup through this filter. Jemini is "The Hero".
Having not read the entire thread, there's a chance that Verik and Zander could swap places, mainly because I've seen Verik played for more humor than Zander (which is the traditional role of the Smart Guy). Thanks to Nikolai's previous status as "The Dragon" and his subsequent Heel Face Turn, he now exemplifies "The Sixth Ranger". I'd like to play my missus for introducing me to this particular website. It has ruined fiction for me!* So there you have it, the gang as written by speculative fiction for centuries. All Tropeishness aside, the story you guys have developed together leaves me in awe, and I can't wait to see how it pans out. *Not really, I just wanted to make a big statement.
I'm sure he will. But Nikolai might need to save his ass a time or three. If it was going to be easy, he wouldn't be as easy to play.
Yeah, I expected that. But it's not my fault Berrin is twelve kinds of insecure. Okay, one kind. :P Didn't your mother ever tell you it's not the size but how you use it? No? Just me? Huh.
IC it is! ANYONE would laugh at that exchange, so it gave me the perfect excuse to react.
It starts off slow. A quiet, rumbling noise. At first, the rumble of six sets of hooves masks it, but it builds slowly until the noise is unmistakable. Nikolai is laughing., his deep baritone voice echoing out as he fights the convulsions to stay atop his massive roan destrier. When the fit is over, he speaks for the first time since their departure, still wiping the tears from his eyes. "For what it's worth, I'm glad it waas you lot who killed me. Folks as joyus as you should never be put to the sword." He pauses for a moment, flicking a long glance Jemini's way. Go on, you coward. She told you what to do. She gave you the words! Just say them, dammit! "I wanted to...thank you for what you did. What you all did. Defeating me, Keeping Akiros alive, sparing those who surrendered, all of it. You helped show me a better path. A path that.. Jemini helped me walk down. If not for you, I would be trapped in damnation as we speak." The massive warrior seems somehow small as he talks. While before there was a constantly simmering rage, now there is...something else.
For descriptive purposes, Nikolai is riding a massive Destrier - since not many horses can carry a six-foot-seven man. I'll wait for Jemini to post before leaping in with Nikolai, but he's pretty close to her. He's currently unarmed/armored at the moment (since I'm assuming we can avoid combat until we reach his stash. All his gear (mundane and magical) is hidden away in his stash. Jemini, if you want, Nikolas could give you a new item or two that you've chosen after the wealth boost from that hidden stash. But only if you want. DMB: Do you want me to just make up how far away it is/how its hidden?
Okay, so I'm going to run with the idea that Nikolai has a hidden stash of goodies located on their way. Perhaps some consumable items (like the odd potion), along with his 'backup' +1 Greatsword, a +1 Ring of Protection, and some mundane gear (backpack, bedroll, rope, etc). Sound good? Nikolai's sheet already lists the magical gear, but perhaps we should assume that the gang have equipped him with their old mundane items (bow and greatsword, in particular)?
So I can't use it as an excuse to have an Amulet of Natural Armor?
Perhaps the aura only manifests in Nikolai's presence? Just a thought.
The ring was a child sized signet ring bearing the insignia of house Rogarvia. Ah! That's what it was. Well it could be that he puts it on a chain around his neck, and it functions as a Amulet of Natural Armor +1. EDIT #1: Who has the ring at present? EDIT #2: This is how he looks in my head.
Since he's blind (although we're never discussed exactly how blind he is - are we doing the 30ft. thing?), a longbow isn't going to be of much use. And he currently lacks a 24 strength with no way to attain that. Okay, so 6000 gold. Here's the shopping list. Leather Armour +1 (If you guys have his original set, he'll take that)
EDIT: One idea I had for gear backstory is that Nikolai leads them to a stash he had hidden away on their way to face the trolls. It could also prove to give plots reasons for the new gear that Jemini gains. Just a thought.
No doubt. But can they compete with a king? I agree that the dynamics will be pretty awesome. And hey, now the group has a mini-giant. Being 6'7" is pretty cool. But I imagine that they'll find Nikolas a changed man. How quickly they come around, that remains to be seen. I've started Nikolas out as a True Neutral alignment, to denote his tabula rasa. As the story progresses, we'll see where his actions land him. I don't know if he'll ever be lawful, but he'll certainly become good. He wants to validate Jemini's faith in him, and kindness towards him. The question is, can we kit him out before the group goes a-troll hunting? Because that'll be his first great chance to prove his worth. Since him running around with a greatsword was a fairly iconic part of the character, I'm going to switch out Combat Expertise for Martial Weapon Proficiency (Greatsword), and thus try and keep as much of his old style as close as we can (with the obvious loss of a few levels). Which brings me to another build point: As a PC, he scores two traits. Any suggestions? And does one need to be a Campaign trait? Should we make up a Noble Born: Rogarvia trait? Or just hit him up with 'Bastard'? And then his second trait. Thoughts/ideas?
Okay, so I just finished reading all the stuff from the day before Stagfall up to now. Admittedly I didn't read all the 'real world' stuff, I mostly skimmed it. But I did read all the 'Beyond the Veil' stuff. And may I just say: Wow. I feel extremely blessed. I'll Roll HP and see how I go: Better than the average, so I'll take it. I like the first portrait you put up, I think (other than my one). He just has this impression of size that the others don't. @Jemini: Okay, so Nikolas and Jemini spent the better part of two years (but also an eternity, and an instant) in each other's company. I don't know about you, but I've personally experienced that such confined company (and considering her role in his redemption), that one of two things can result. Loathing, or love.
I'm going to go out on a limb here, and say that Nikolas probably loves the princess. Even if he doesn't know it himself yet. And while Jemini is as steadfast as ever, Nikolas is a changed man. Gone is the rage that defined him before his death, and it has been replaced by something he doesn't fully understand. Jemini is likely going to need to coax and guide him along in life like she did after death. And she's the only one who trusts him. So he's gonna follow her around like a lost puppy. A really big puppy. With teeth. Let me know your thoughts.
Here's the first draft of Nikolai's sheet, which assumes full HP, and no gear. Any suggestions for a portrait? |