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Submitting Omoro for consideration again. Full disclosure: I played him in a previous run of Shattered Star about a year or so ago. He only got to second level before it ended - we were on our way to getting the second big objective item before it all ended. If selected, I'll drop him back down to first level. Description: Omoro is taller than most tengu, but that's where non-tengu stop being able to describe him. Like virtually all of his people, he has black plumage and a matching beak, with beady black eyes that look like deep shining wells. When listening intently, his head lists to one side. He usually doesn't wear much in the way of affectation - that sort of thing tends to get you recognized - but he does keep a gold dragon pendant around his neck. Personality: When not on a mission, Omoro is prone to introspection. He is deeply faithful, and his quiet words are usually filled with deep insight. When on a mission, though, he becomes insularly focused. Nothing but the mission, and the completion of it, matters. He tends not to have many close friends, but those who he accepts into his life he will fight and kill for. Backstory: "You offend me with this tribute, swine!", Lo Ban Wo shouted. He kicked the peasant before him, sending the basket of silks tumbling into the mud after its owner. Around him, his men chuckled at the poor peasant's plight. "My lord, Ping Tai Xhou, surely deserves better than the trifles you offer!" The peasant groveled before Lo Ban Wo, and his children followed suit. "Please, lord, this is all we have to offer. We have not had time to replant our fields since your invasion a few months back, and can only offer the silks we have brought. Please, give us some more time, and we shall pay tribute to Lord Xhou as he deserves." Lo Ban Wo scoffed at the peasant's plight. "Perhaps, muddweller. We shall take these silks for now, but they are a paltry tribute. We will have to take something else as collateral." He gestured for his men to grab the children. The peasant attempted to resist, but a blow to the head sent him tumbling back into the mud. "They will be returned to you in three months' time, assuming your tribute then will be enough to purchase them, once you have paid your debt to Lord Xhou. Take him away!" Lo Ban Wo's men grabbed the peasant by his arms, and drug him out of the encampment; the rest took the screaming children further into the camp, towards the prison. "Put them to work in the morning. They can pay off their father's debt. All except the eldest." A terrible smile crept across Lo Ban Wo's face. "She can begin paying off the debt tonight." * * * * * Lo Ban Wo finished off the last of the wine. It was a foul vintage, but it got the job done. He had shed his armor, and reclined on a pallet in his personal tent. He grinned as he heard the cries of a woman - one of his men was bringing the eldest to his tent for the evening pleasantries. The tentflap opened, and a guard shoved the girl into the tent. She was no more than sixteen summers of age, a perfect flower of youth. Lo Ban Wo rose, approaching her. "Leave us," he said to the guard. "I will need to...interrogate her. Personally." The guard made no motion to leave, and Lo Ban Wo looked up from his bounty towards him. "I said leave us!" In response, the guard collapsed to the floor. A growing pool of red around him revealed his reason for staying. Lo Ban Wo started, and glanced around for his attacker. He reached for his sword, but it was conspicuously absent. "What is happening?" "You have been marked for death, Lo Ban Wo," came a voice from the shadows. "And from what I have seen, the only one who will miss your death is your lord, Ping Tai Xhou." Lo Ban Wo grabbed a knife at his belt, scanning the room for his attacker. The girl cowered in silence, backing away from her captor. "Show yourself, assassin!" "In due time. Don't you want to know why you are being killed? It's an honor - you have been too successful. Lord Xhou will have to replace you with a different lieutenant, and that replacement will likely be less competent. In six months time, this land will belong to the people you took it from again. And your name will be forgotten to all." At that moment, the shadows parted, and a small form darted out from them. Lo Ban Wo gurgled as a blade protruded from his chest, and he fell to the ground next to his guard. He tried to shout for his guards, but he found his voice suddenly silenced. "Can't speak? That would be the poison I slipped in your wine. Paralyzes the larynx. I knew you wouldn't call for the guards first - you're arrogant enough to think you had a chance. This is where you die, Lo Ban Wo. No one shall mourn your passing." The sword came down again, and Lo Ban Wo's head was removed cleanly from his shoulders. The shadowy figure approached the girl. "Go. I have already released your siblings from their imprisonment. I will cover your escape." He reached a hand towards her to help her up. She accepted it. "Who are you? Who has saved me from this brigand?" The figure came into enough light that his black plumage and beak could be seen. "Names are unimportant. Only deeds are remembered. Now go!" * * * * * "You have been successful in your assignment, Omoro," said Hiroru Saibankan, master ninja of the Golden Dragon clan. "With Lo Ban Wo's death, Lord Xhou's men will be rudderless for a time. We will be able to harry their forces far more effectively, now that their head has been removed." Omoro remained kneeling before his master. "I thank you, lord. I only wish to serve." "I know," Hiroru said. "And that is why I have chosen you for a unique mission. Rise, and be seated. There is much we must discuss." The tengu rose, and sat down next to his master. The ninja master regarded his avian pupil for a time. "You are familiar with the Pathfinders, yes, Omoro?" "Of course, lord. Has one of their number been marked for death?" "Undoubtedly," Saibankan replied, waving a hand in dismissal. "But not by us. No, there has been word sent from distant Varisia that the Pathfinders are in need of assistance. We have learned that Venture-Captain Amara Li has sent word for Tian Xia's Pathfinders to congregate in Magnimar. It is my desire to send you there, and act as our eyes and ears within the Pathfinders. There has been much happening in Varisia of late, and though we have largely been insulated from it in the east, we can no longer afford to remain apart from that world. Go to Magnimar, pledge yourself to the Pathfinders, and assist them in whatever they are investigating." Omoro was silent for a time. "Why me, lord? Certainly, there are other operatives who could be sent." "There are, Omoro," Saibankan nodded. "But they are not suited for such a high-profile job as this. This requires a relative unknown, such as yourself." "Very well, master. When do I leave?" "At dawn. Oh, and take this." Saibankan handed Omoro a book. "It will help get you acquainted with some of Varisia's most important historical figures. You have a way with tongues, so I expect you will master its contents by the time your voyage is complete." Omoro glanced at the book, and ran his fingers over the curious seven-pointed star on its cover. "Yes, lord. I live to serve."
I'm very sorry to see this one go, Shade, but I totally understand the decision behind it. I wish you the best in your therapy - depression's a very pernicious beast, and you need to focus on yourself first. I wish you the best in your recovery, and hope to meet you in another game some day in the future, either here on the boards or maybe even in meatspace.
Omoro simply nods at Len's description of the Tower Girls' stash. "That can be dealt with later, once the blight here has been cut away. Lead on." Spending time looting their hoard eats into our precious time. We must keep going while Raven-san's spell holds out. As Len describes their options, he looks back to Nadja. "North?" He readies his silver knife, lightly pressing a feathered finger to the tip.
Cursed Internets and its contextual limitations! I wasn't complaining about our actions - far from it! I was joking around at our actions. What I was trying to say, and I think it'll be a hard time to prove otherwise, is that we're not nice people. We're sort of the Leverage crew - it takes bad guys to catch bad guys. We're just the better sort of bad! Omoro doesn't have any qualms about killing. After all, he's been trained to infiltrate locations and kill key targets. Killing is just one of many tools at his disposal, and like every tool, there's a time and a place to use it. If he has to kill the Tower Girls to achieve the goal, then so be it. If they can be spared using non-lethal methods, or through subterfuge, then that's just as good.
Omoro shields his eyes from the scintillating colors that Raven conjures, then whips back around. A smile comes to his beak as he sees one of the Girls on the ground, unconscious and helpless. Excellent, it's all going according to plan. Time to play my part. He steps forward, releasing his grip upon the arrow's shaft and letting it fly towards the remaining Tower Girl. Mechanics: The Girl is flat-footed, so I should get sneak on her.
"The Tower Girl informed us that this was the path they took in here," the tengu replied to Jotune. "They probably just kept it hidden, trusting that the obvious way would draw the eye. A classic bit of misdirection. This will also make a good indicator of how much we can trust those instructions." Once everyone is across, the tengu climbs the ladder as well, pulling his silver dagger again and preparing for the next time they make contact with the Tower Girls.
The tengu swings back over to the platform, and begins looking over the ladder and revealed entrance to find additional security. If he finds none, he bites down on the sunrod while he climbs, trusting it to illuminate the passage beyond. Mechanics: Taking 10 on Perception to check out the ladder and immediate passage.
Omoro is satisfied with his examination, but still has doubts. He affixes his grappling hook and line to the spike, and tosses the end back over to the group on the other side. "I'm relatively certain it is safe, but no sense risking life and limb on that when this is a far better plan." Swinging back across, he pulls the rope from the relative safety of the far perch.
"There it is," Omoro says, pointing out the trap door. "They might have used the piton to lever open the door. I'll check it out when I get there." He tests one of the ropes before swingig across to the platform. Mechanics: Taking 10 to make sure the rope I'm using is tied off well, probably with Perception, but if not, use whatever roll you'd like for that. I autosucceed at the Acrobatics to swing across, and once there I'll check out the trapdoor. Taking 10 gives me a 19.
DING! HP increases by 6 + 1 from favored class (new total 16)
Skills (9)
Ki Pool gained! (3 points) Ninja Trick gained! (Wall Climber)
Omoro mutters something in Tien and drops his bow to the floor. Retreiving his silver blade, he leaps into a position to threaten the wererat from an angle opposite Calendir. "Listen to what our tsukai says, Tower Rat. You'll not be walking away from this." Mechanics: Free: Drop my bow. Move: Pick up my silver dagger. Standard: Move to flank the wererat, Acroing my way there if necessary.
The tengu squawks in pain as the blade opens a wound on his face, instinctively backing away and clutching a hand to the bloody wound. He feels a sudden warmth, however, as Teeth presses a wand to him, and muscle and skin knit themselves back together. As Calendir steps in to distract the Tower Girl in front of him, the tengu steps away from the pair, dropping both his blade and sunrod and pulling out his shortbow. You'll raise no alarm if I can help it, he says to himself grimly. He quickly snaps off a shot, hoping to end the Tower Girl before further reinforcements can be brought to bear. Mechanics: 5' step away from the Tower Girl (preferably towards the fleeing TG). Dropping both my dagger and sunrod, pulling out my shortbow and firing at the Tower Girl who's escaping. This is quite literally a shot in the dark! I think this misses, but either way, it doesn't drop her. Dangit!
Omoro watched as Nadja threatened Teeth. Things would need to be addressed once the Irespan invasion was finished, there was no doubt of that. Teeth's addition to the team was already causing problems - some sort of trust would need to be built amongst the team, or this would be their constant battle while in the field. But that was a battle for another time. He shook his head, his feathers rustling, and continued forwards, eyes silently scanning for threats.
Omoro glances with idle curiousity at the mural, but only makes a mental note to come back after it once the attack is done. He silently treads up the stairs, keeping an eye to the shadows for movement. "Be wary. When they attack, it will be done obliquely. We will not face them directly. You know what we face in here, so ready yourselves accordingly."
Omoro curses under his breath and returns to the group. "I am sorry, Nadja-san, our presence is known in these walls now. The mission has now gone from intrusion to invasion. We will meet readied resistance from hereon in. The Tower Girls know we are coming. Do we retreat for now? Or do we press on?"
First rule, DM: Take care of yourself first. Depression is a mean disease, and treatment is always ongoing. I hope you find someone that can help you with it, and that this black cloud lifts for you sooner rather than later. Every game's a bit different, so it's natural for things to take a bit longer as we iron everything out. I think that system you're describing will help clear up confusion on who's going and where the holdup in resolution is at.
The tengu is about to take aim at the rat when he hears skittering up the stairway. He winces as he hears Teeth's shrill voice crying out to kill the rat again. "Che'! We've been spotted!" He rushes up the stairs to the next floor and tried to see the source of the noise. If I can silence it before it can raise the alarm... Mechanics: Move up the stairs, and try to see if I see anything. If I do, I'll shoot it!
Omoro debates taking some of the poison, but decides against it for now. He lays down one of his arrows by the stairs pointing to the left wall, then another pointing towards the second set of stairs. Nadja will be able to puzzle out what that means, he reasons, and continues on up the stairs, also checking for traps.
Omoro turns up his beak at the room's stench. "I've had enough of sewers and privies. Let's head up the stairs." He returns to the steps, and takes a moment to build a small arrow to indicate the direction they went out of the rubble. He then creeps up the steps, listening intently for any sentries.
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