I should be good to keep playing, though I'm going to need to re-find the thread of the game. Sorry to see Lady L go :(
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I'm good to keep going, as well. Things are pretty slow for me IRL, and I should be able to post as often as I know what I'm doing. Also going to miss Zee! I hope everything goes well for you, Mike!
Shadlah steps onto solid ground firmer than is strictly necessary and, after a moment's thought, tugs off her shoes. Hooking her fingers through the straps, she lets them sit over her shoulder, her other hand on her hip as she surveys the group. "We have much to do, then, so let us get started," she says, her tone typically gruff, but her expression softening as her broad feet flex against the familiar ground of home.
"Joanna!" Shadlah grinds her teeth, a sound like gravel being crunched underfoot. A low thrumming fills the air and the deck beneath her feet rumbles as she opens her body to the plane of earth again, calling on the deepest vaults - not calling on sod or stone, this time, but drawing ore from rock, shaping it with her mind, and sending spikes of metal flying at the foe.
Shadlah staggers away from the creature, squashing the fear starting to rise in her throat. Once she feels the oppressive aura dissipate, she takes a deep breath and lets off a quick blast, just to stay focused.
"The dead do not tend to surrender," Shadlah says grimly, dropping into a low stance, almost a crouch. Keeping her eyes fixed on the polong, she spreads her arms apart, a low drone filling the air around her, then bangs her fists together, creating a blast of earth and stone that flies forward. Then swerves to the side. As she guides it, like a conductor at an orchestra, the matter zips around the last of the crew, dodging and weaving as if alive, before it slams at full force into the creature.
Jo:
"I am not sure," Shadlah muses, watching the small stony creature as it curiously attempts to clamber onto Halli's face. "I do not even know what manner of being gives life to these stones. But it seems to like being here. Perhaps it would get along well with Rowenna." "Not on water," Shadlah says, shaking her bald head. "Water is too difficult to read. If I were standing on the floor beneath it, perhaps, but not like this." She pauses, then rummages in her pack. "My last adventuring band had a habit of going into places where only some of us could see. After a few unfortunate choices, I made a habit of always carrying one of these." She pulls out a small vial of pale silvery liquid, pops the cork with one thumb, and downs the contents. "I almost forgot I had it."
As her eyes swiftly adjust to the darkness, bringing the world into brilliant, colourless illumination, she glances down at the voice coming from Briana's feet. "No, surely not?" she asks Rowenna, feeling very silly for talking to a cat - though if Jo's reaction was any indication, she clearly wasn't the only one who'd heard it.
Jo:
"Grief takes time," Shadlah says slowly. "I do not think enough time has passed for me yet. But it will pass." After pausing a moment, as if to think, she adds, "Thank you." Just before now:
"A ball?" Shadlah asks flatly, eyebrows raising toward her bald crown. "I am not certain that I would do well at such a..." She works for a few seconds to find the right word, before finishing, "At such an event." "Something seems wrong," Shadlah agrees, turning a chunk of granite over and over in her hand. Every second in the boat is uncomfortable for her - the rocking motions, the inability to feel movements around her.
Jo: As Joanna sits and watches, Shadlah only pauses her carving for a moment, before going back to picking the shape of a furry ear out of the stone. The rocky armadillo uncurls itself and waddles over to Halli, sniffing at the dozing wolf with nostrils little more than small dimples in the stone. As Joanna speaks, Shadlah's hands slow their carving, and eventually still. Her grey eyes remain fixed on her hands, her square nails, every crack in her thumbs like sun-baked clay. She looks up as the other woman finishes speaking, just in time to be nearly knocked over by the force of her hug. Unable to raise her arms to properly return it, she lifts her hands as best she can with her upper arms pinned, and awkwardly pats Jo on the waist and back. "I can tell you have suffered much," she says finally, "and I am sorry. The burden of grief is a terrible one to bear. I am sorry that I cannot offer more to help you. "As for my own..." she hesitates, then sighs, her chin coming to rest gently on Jo's shoulder. "I do not know."
Feeling beat after the climate strike today. Spent the day marching in the sun, and my brain's too fried for a good post. I'll get one up tomorrow.
As the time wears on, Shadlah keeps her usual stoic silence. She spends much of her time working with the few pieces of stone she still has, carving rough figures into them - imitations of the sculptures and frescoes from the Lady's Light, various crude approximations of wildlife, rough facsimiles of Halli. She continues to refine the stones forming the borrowed body of her small companion, watching it swirl and scurry. When asked if she has any plans after returning to Magnimar, she only shrugs. "There is little waiting for me."
Just going to have a small vent here because it's been a hellish few days. Spoiler: So, my favourite band is Slayer. No question. Reign in Blood was the first heavy metal album I bought, and I've been a big fan of theirs for well over a decade now. Last year, they announced that their next tour would be their last. Their drummer had quit, their guitarist had died, and their bassist/vocalist had steel plates in his neck after surgery. One last hurrah for those still standing. The first shows they announced in Australia were for Download Festival, in Sydney and Melbourne - both interstate for me. My partner and I decided to bite the bullet and buy tickets for Melbourne, because we didn't know if they'd come to Adelaide. The tickets were $150 each. The flights were another $375 each. Slayer did end up announcing a gig in Adelaide, for two days after Melbourne, but we didn't buy tickets, figuring we'd already spent enough money and seeing them once would be plenty. Three days ago, my partner came down with gastroenteritis after eating chilli sauce he'd left out of the fridge overnight. He's been rugged up on the couch ever since with gastric distress, muscle spasms, full-body shakes, and fever dreams. He'll be fine; he's staying hydrated and getting plenty of rest. But the flight was two hours ago at the time of writing, and we weren't on it. Slayer's gig in Adelaide has since moved to a downsized venue, and no more tickets are available. We can't get a refund on the concert tickets or the flights we paid for, so we're out $1000, and both unemployed. I've missed my literal last chance to ever see my favourite band. I won't say this is the worst day of my life. But it's pretty damn close.
Yeah, PF2 is something I have some strong feelings about. Mostly negative, sadly. Glad you're doing better now!
Sounds good to me. Sorry I've been so distant myself >.>
Shadlah stares at the gluey substance clinging to her upside-down spoon and slowly puts it in her mouth. It's not the worst meal she's had, but it's close. "It has been harrowing," is all she says.
The stigma isn't terrible here, it's just a matter of money, time, and drive. Thankfully, I managed to find a psychologist who bulk-bills through Medicare. He seems okay, now it's a matter of working through everything. I have a lot to unpack, apparently. I'm not expecting it to fix everything overnight (though I *wish* that were possible!) I'm just looking for some kind of help, I guess.
I'm still around, just... kinda stuck. Been in my own slump. About to start seeing a psychologist, which has me feeling pretty "=/".
That is... a lot of hanging plot threads!
I don't really have much of a horse in this race. At this point, Shadlah's just along for the ride, as it were.
Woah, wait, GM Harker died?? I was in his PFS campaign before I (I'm ashamed to admit) ghosted out of it due to life and lack of interest. That's a real blow :/ Glad to hear Zed's well and coming back to us!
Shadlah only offers Joanna two slightly raised eyebrows and a shrug, not certain of whatever magic might be at play.
Not understanding the conversation, Shadlah simply watches, impassive yet alert for any sign of trouble.
Nah, people play entirely unrelated systems here. I've seen threads for GURPS, Savage Worlds, and World of Darkness. We'll be fine. :) I just can't see myself going to any PFS conventions, since I really don't like 2nd edition. I don't see what niche it's trying to fill. It's basically 5th edition D&D, but all the people who like D&D already have D&D, and no other system will *ever* have the marketing power and the cultural pull that Dungeons & Dragons commands.
If BF Sam gets his PhD grant, maybe in 2020 or beyond? Though with 2nd edition being the norm by then and Starfinder holding no interest for me, I'm afraid there may not be much for me at PaizoCon.
*collapses, sobbing and hugging newly-returned laptop* That was two and a half weeks. That was way too long. Let's never part like that again. So, starting in January, then? Hopefully that'll give me time to start thinking of PBP as something I want to do again, rather than this murky "obligation" nonsense.
I've been without a computer for a few days and likely will be for a few more. It keeps going to BIOS and won't boot from my hard drive. I'll get back to this when I can - my phone keeps freezing too much to post reliably, and my tablet has several busted keys.
I can barely find the energy to post most days, so I know I wouldn't be able to run. There's nothing really stopping me *physically*, but... I'm just so much less switched-on these days than I used to be.
Same. Knowing would be good, rather than this awkward limbo.
Rather more bluntly, Shadlah asks, "What is going on here?" her brow furrowed and craggy.
Can I get some input on where to put my physical prowess bonus progression? As in, is my to-hit actually *bad* (and thus I should whack it in Dex), or have I just had a string of bad rolls against high-AC bosses (and can stick it in Con for extra damage)?
Falling to her knees, Shadlah punches the floor beneath her in frustration, leaving a small crater extending a foot from her fist. Her teeth clench and her shoulders sag, before the debris from her blow gathers into the small form of the armadillo that curls around her hand. Taking a deep breath, the Shoanti stands, waiting for those around her to finish their tasks, focusing entirely on her own breathing and the ache spreading through her arms.
Shadlah's level-up
Growling in annoyance, Shadlah whips another blast at the fiend, which again spatters harmlessly against the ground.
Aiming around Joanna and over Teldon as she spreads her arms wide, Shadlah draws from primeval bedrock and sends a burst of matter at the fiend.
Shadlah rips another blast from the walls and floor, but her distance fails her.
I'm around, sick and tired from work, but around. Hoping to get out of this rut.
Shadlah makes a small grunt of annoyance at the difficulty associated with knocking a flying opponent out of the air. Still, she stomps, creating a rumble in the stone beneath her, draws a barrage of earth and stone from the point where the planar barriers are thin, and sends it whipping through the door towards the fiend.
Sorry to hold up the climax with a tactics question, but with the door in the way, do I have line of effect to "Sorshen" from where I am? Can I hit her with a blast, assuming I use extended range?
When Joanna slows down to spend her healing burst, Shadlah digs in her heels and feels for the tiny shockwaves in the ground.
After trying to stay silent and trust the others for what feels like hours, Shadlah finally snorts derisively and shakes her head. "Would one of you care to explain what in the name of the earth is happening here?" she asks, folding her arms across her broad chest with a scowl. "This is neither the time nor the place for such antics!"
Very busy few days, and not sure where to go here. Post coming in the morning. Very sorry.
"Why not show off the powers you possess?" Shadlah asks, almost irritably. "I would say it is a deliberate choice to use magic to move between spaces." She gathers her stones again, but this time, tucks them in her pack and shoulders it impatiently.
As the enemy vanishes, and her own weapon shatters into pieces against Arsith's body, Shadlah's eyes clear and she staggers backward. She stares at the white-haired woman in horror, the apple in her throat bobbing as she swallows. "What happened?" she asks, uncharacteristically softly.
Sorry for the absence, folks; turns out I'm moving house. It all happened pretty immediately. Boyfriend was given two months' notice because the landlord is demolishing the house, and we signed a rental lease last night. Things will be spotty for a few days.
Ignorant to the melee behind her, Shadlah continues to rage and swing at Arsith, her weapon of earth and stone forming and shattering an instant later as it collides against the priestess's hip in a crunching blow.
I hate to be that person, Jo... But given a familiar is called out as being part of you for the spell's purpose, and an animal companion isn't, I think they count as a separate creature >.>
And that's why I was hoping for a successful dispel. Zee, I feel you on the narrative restrictions afforded by d20. I'm currently in three face-to-face games (Exalted 2nd edition, Chronicles of Darkness, and Call of Cthulhu 2nd edition), and all three feel much more freeform. It's very different from what I'm used to, and the option of accepting a botch that drives the story is a thrill.
Shadlah's eyes clear for only a moment as Arsith's spell takes hold, but they fill with fury a moment later. With a wordless yell, she sweeps her arm, an earth-breaker made of stone and earth bursting from her palm, which she swings at the white-haired woman in wild fury. Fortunately, it bursts in a harmless shower of clods against her armour.
I, uh, hope y'all understand if I wait to see if we can get that nastiness dispelled before I post... I'd hate to roll above 75 and smash someone, because if I crit on an earth blast (which I might, knowing my g$%!~~n luck), I don't think anyone here could survive it.
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