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"Indeed, devils bring order, maybe not good but they like our country now has order. Not every thing has a hiding devil behind it. Now could we get to the matter at hand and leave matter of state to others?" "I think she means for us to make this state a better one, something we can all agree on." Rakless stroked his beak thoughtfully. "It does seem at times as though this city's perfect order is merely a tool for more...industrious...varieties of evil. To paraphrase something our wizard friend said earlier, there's always a loophole."
Tenze nods. "Indeed. I work for the betterment of Westcrown. But...what is the matter with Thrune?" Rakless leaned closer to her and whispered, "Devils nesting in their chimneys..." hoping she would remember the reference.
Rakless eased back into his seat, exchanging a glance with Tenze and nodding shrewdly. "What do you have in mind, then? Are we to give Westcrown its very own swashbuckling Blackjack?" The Tengu looked over the others assembled. "Perhaps something a bit less conspicuous. We're liable to attract our fair share of attention as it is."
Spoiler:
Rakless cocked his head, studying the woman as she spoke. Something was wrong. As her passion rose to a fever pitch, he sensed that the time for amusement was at an end. He leaned close to Tenze and whispered. Tenze: Spoiler:
"Someone's coming. Be ready for anything."
"Dear Lady," Rakless said, "I am a proud Wiscrani, like anyone here..." He cocked his head, beady black eyes studying her for signs of madness or deception. "But I am no assassin. And all appearances to the contrary, I am neither mad...nor a fool." The Tengu placed his napkin on the table and stood, very slowly. "I thank you for the lovely meal and even lovelier mealworms, but if we're to sit incriminating ourselves while you wait for the Hellknights to come take us away, you'd best tell us now. Some of us have shorter legs than others and deserve a running start." GM: Spoiler: Sense Motive 11 if she makes an attempt to deceive
Tenze laughs. "Yes, it is excellent." She lowers her voice. "Rakless, have you noticed how nervous the lady is acting? She keeps glancing out the window." Rakless followed his companion's gaze to the window and strained his neck to see what the woman saw. "Hm, yes that is strange. It's a very unremarkable view. Hardly Westcrown at its finest."
Rakless went to the table and seated himself near Tenze, adjusting his scabbard as he sat. "Oh, a fine-looking spread. My compliments to the caterer of this production."
Mossi is silent for a while as the exchange goes on, she drifts to the back of the crowd as they ague "The wizard is correct' she says in a flat no nonsense tone "Cheliax has order, Cheliax has law and stability from the chaos of the war. Devils are creatures of order. Evil perhaps but tools none the less of order.' She walks to the table and lifts a bit of cheese off a plate. "A hungry man does not care if an evil man made his meal, he is grateful he has it. The common folk do not care if the army that protects the city has men of evil hearts within it, all they care is that the city is safe." She takes a bit of the cheese savoring the flavor. "If an evil man does a kindness, is it any less of a kindness to you?" Rakless squinted at Mossi. "That's the trouble we've all seen, isn't it? This city isn't safe. The order of evil is a mask, like any other, to help shed goodness of its power. When the darkness falls, evil takes off its mask and orderly escorts you to your doom." The Tengu scratched his neck, uncomfortable. "Well, that's what I read somewhere, anyway."
"What's wrong with this city? More like this country! I'm fairly certain that devils have something to do with all this. This entire city stinks of brimstone."Tenze growls at the magic user. "Order? You call this order? People may leave for work in the morning, and never come back. Tell me, why did you come if not to stop this?""I never said this was a perfect order, did I? Besides, isn't that why we're here? Find out what's going on and stopping it so this city can get on with it's existence?" "Especially the roofs," Rakless added, checking his bare feet. "In fact, I think I tracked a little of it in here." The Tengu extended his foot to the "magic-user." "Oh, you're welcome to scrape some off if you like. I don't do your sort of magic anymore, but I know a pinch or two comes in handy for certain spells."
Camris: Spoiler:
She laughs. Her laugh is high-pitched and tinny, and she speaks with a slight Brevian accent. "Rakless! I didn't know you'd be here, too! I'm sure that the mealworms will be quite lively in a place such as this, but make sure the lady knows you want them in your food. Some strange people happen to dislike mealworms for some reason." She does not seem completely sarcastic. She lowers her voice. "Have you seen some of these other people? That woman looked like her eyes could melt steel, and that man looks like a musician! What sort of job is this woman planning?" Rakless looked about the room, taking in the many strange people assembled. He tapped his beak thoughtfully, matching the small woman's lowered tone. "Perhaps she plans to revitalize the community by opening a musical theater. We have all the elements here. That glowery man with the staff, he could be her choice for theater manager. The big fellow who looks a big impatient might be an usher. Hmm." He glanced around, then looked back at Tenze. "Which of us looks the most brooding? I don't mean to knock this production before it starts, but I don't have a lot of confidence when the writer lacks pathos."
The Tengu entered the tavern and squawked his approval at the sight of the little gnome. Rakless was dressed in the refined garb of an artisan beneath his armor, which only served to highlight the perfectly balanced mix of grace and awkwardness that was his signature. To the other patrons of the tavern, he must have appeared a comical sight: an enormous black bird with feathered arms instead of wings, his right hand resting on the hilt of a sword that looked too big for him, his left gripping a shield that had something--a scroll, perhaps--pinned to the inside. He scraped the top of his beak with he shield a few times, as if sharpening it, then quickly removed the shield and hung over his shoulder, embarrassed by the nervous tic. Rakless made his way over to Tenze. "I wonder how the mealworms are here. I hope they're lively." He clucked his tongue. "Did the mysterious lady invite you, too?" He covered his beak. "Oh, sorry. Don't answer. It's more mysterious that way."
[Rakless plucks mealworms out of his oatmeal, lays them side by side and counts them] "It's okay. I can keep myself busy until then." [one of the worms tries to inch away] "Oh, no you don't..."
GM: Spoiler: "Tenze? Why, she's as upstanding a gnome as ever I've gnome, er, known. And that's saying a lot because she doesn't stand so very tall, but she cares about this city. We both do. I don't know about her, but I've got nowhere else to go. We Tengu are city birds, born and bred. And this city's not right." He tapped his beak. "I've got a sense for these things."
DM:
Spoiler:
Rakless turned his head, watching her with one and the rest of the inn with his other. "Now that you mention it," the Tengu said softly, "I have noticed that the criminal fraternities in this city are a bit more...organized...than in other Chellish cities. In fact, I was just remarking to my friend Tenze the other day, if we weren't roosting in this inn, I have no doubt someone might steal the hay we sleep on in the middle of the night."
Spoiler: Rakless watched the woman enter from his roost, intrigued. It's been quite a while since anyone expressed interest in him, aside from Tenze, without him first frustrating their sanity and composure. It's hardly his fault idioms don't translate from one language to another(or that a popular Chellish insult actually translates to "Dance on my feet" in the Tengu tongue).
He preened his feathers, picking out bits of straw with his beak, fluffing and then smoothing the black feathers until he was ready to meet the day. Then, he slipped his scabbard onto his belt, checked the blade of his bastard sword carefully for imperfections, and made his way downstairs. The Tengu's head bobbed with each step, a little trick he sometimes used to improve his balance on an uneven surface. Wearing a blade as heavy as his required a little caution on the stairs, which he was only too happy to maintain. A lighter sword would have been more convenient, but Rakless loved the heft of a bastard sword. When his older brother taught him the fine art of swordplay, it was always his favorite because he felt like a master swordsman, spinning the magnificent blade in one hand and dancing around his brother. He never landed a single blow with the blade--he was skilled enough to wield it but lacked the upper body strength of Torkress or Nothley, his older brothers--not until he learned the sacred arts and realized a greater power than muscle. Rakless gave the woman a courtly bow and cawwed. "Good morning, my lady. May I recommend the oatmeal? Very fat mealworms in there and if you ask nicely, they'll leave them in." He clucked his tongue. "Very tasty."
"I use my holy symbol to fluff my feathers," Rakless says, shrugging.
"Oh, it's fine to be boring--you'll live longer! Don't they have a curse in Qadira about living in interesting times?"
Tengu love their swords. :) Of course, the odds of him hitting with it are very poor if he doesn't use his cleric abilities, but when he does...it's a scary thing to see a bastard sword flying at you from 30 feet away.
Hmm...we both have Conspiracy Hunter, so perhaps we/I decided that there was safety in numbers and I decided to accompany you and make sure that you don't get into too much trouble?I am almost finished with my character! Only the backstory left!
My stats are done and awaiting approval. I'll add the backstory to the profile tomorrow. Rakless was part of a small community of Tengu as a child and was apprenticed to an Elvish wizard. His insatiable curiosity and tendency toward pranks led to a number of magical mishaps and the wizard's heartfelt suggestion that Rakless consider apprenticing himself to a healer before returning to wizardry(for the health and safety of all involved). Tending to take even the most dry-witted of suggestions at face value(a failing of many Tengu--excellent with languages, not so good with sarcasm), Rakless joined the Church of Nethys and successfully trained as a cleric. Despite his great capacity for wisdom, Rakless found new and unexpected ways to exasperate and aggravate the rest of the clergy(usually by practicing his explosive runes in the prayer books and encouraging the altar boys to sword fight with irreplaceable candelabras). The most senior priest opined that the devil who found himself trapped in Hell with Rakless would sooner give his soul back than suffer through eternity with him. Rakless disagreed, to which the priest suggested Rakless go find a devil and settle the matter conclusively, thus did the Tengu cleric find his way to Westcrown.
I am almost finished with my character! Only the backstory left!
She nods, though her voice reveals that she doesn't agree. "Perhaps. It all comes down to morality. If you murder a man who would have died anyway, is it still a sin?"She shrugs again. "I suppose it depends on the person. If you're willing to deal with devils for a modicum of power, maybe you were heading there no matter what.""You seem to be misinterpreting me. Cheliax was founded on principles that, while effective, have an unfortunate habit of causing their practitioners to be considered damned. If you're doomed either way, you might as well get some power out of it." Rakless tilts his head as he looks at the Gnomish woman. "What sort of silly question is that? If someone's going to murder him, of course he would have died anyway. That's why I always keep a cure scroll pinned to the inside of my buckler. Never can tell when someone's going to get all hypothetical and start murdering people."
The gnome sounds like she is trying to keep from laughing as she speaks. "But when you lose your soul, you go to hell, which for you would be full of squirrels, 'scratch-scratch-scratching' all the time." "Lose my soul?" The Tengu starts rifling through his backpack. "Nonsense, I've got it right here." Small bits of yarn and broken metal trinkets drop out of the bag as his search grows more frustrated. "Well, it's in here somewhere..."
She laughs. "Tanar'ri is another word for devils, my friend." "Oh, Devils. And here I am talking about squirrels. Squirrels scratch-scratch-scratch until the sound drives you insane, Devils just double-talk you into giving up your soul. There's no comparison. I'd much rather have Devils nesting in my chimney."
"Yeah, right. I'm pretty sure that other countries don't have Tanar'ri in the government." "Are Tanar'ri those little squirrels that nest in chimney bricks? I loathe those."
I haven't compared thoroughly myself, but the Bestiary preview has some of the frequently summoned animals and a quick template for infernal/celestial creatures.
Also, the HD are slightly different, with 1-3 being the tier with Resistance 5 and no DR. Probably the biggest change is the swift action smite, which gives the Charisma bonus to attacks and continues until their target is dead or they take a nap. Edit: Now I'm a little worried that I posted that big an excerpt. Not sure if that's cool or not, even though it's a free preview. It seemed conspicuously absent from the Pathfinder SRD site.
Under Pathfinder, you can take Disguise even though it's not a class skill, you just lose that +3 bonus class skills get. I think there might be a trait or something that gives you a bonus on disguise, but it might be in the Cheliax companion rather than the regular traits. Other ideas: Disguise kits give a +2 bonus(up to 10 times) and cost 50gp, and Skill Focus gives a +3 bonus to one skill until 10th level, when it doubles to +6. If you happen to have 1800gp lying around, there's always the Hat of Disguise...
You could be a Finesse-Fighting Ranger, although part of the fun of Rangers is that they don't worry about prereqs when they pick up their combat feats, so you could focus on strength for a Two-Weapon Fighter and less on dexterity... just a thought.
Hmm...I may need to change my armor. What you're wearing counts toward your encumbrance, right? EDIT: Switched to lighter armor. I really need to watch this sort of thing...a lot of players in my group must have gotten away with carrying more than their limit, never realized how little you could carry at basic strength. Everything's done except spell list and some equipment. Would it be okay to scribe some scrolls with what's left of my gold? I can afford the cost of some more items, just not the encumbrance, so scribing some extra cure and utility seems a better way to spend my money.
For my Traits, I'll select Conspiracy Hunter(Stealth) and Dangerously Curious. A perfect combination for a Tengu.
Any interest in a shared background? Bestial races like us have to stick together in Cheliax. = ) I'm thinking of picking up the Firebrand trait, maybe that's how we met? |