Suleiyel's page

It was very different and enjoyable, and I'll miss it. Take care.

A smile plays around the lanky elf's lips. "If I had the cantrip memorized, and she weighed less than a pound, and she weren't as complex as a creature, and her magic wasn't beyond my ability, and we hadn't incapacitated her, and you were willing to stand around in a musty basement watching me chant and gesture for at least ten minutes -- I'm guessing more like an hour or three -- then I could fix her." His expression grows serious as he looks at the doll. "I hate to bring her back like this, but I don't think that we have any choice."

I haven't cast protection from evil yet because I'm waiting for Hathin's response. (Not a prompt -- he appears to be waiting for Shane's response on the butterfly clip -- just an explanation.)

Suleiyel speaks softly. "I was hoping to suppress the ghost without damaging the doll so much. I'm no priest, but I know protection from evil. Do you think that I should cast it on the doll?" He pauses and speaks again. "But how could it possess the figurine *there* from *here*? It seems odd."

It looks like we've done maybe 22 or 29 damage -- and by "we" I mean Hathin and Vasile ;) -- so I'm going to hold off until I know the doll's status, before describing my round 3 action.

This is amusing, how you guys are chatting it up as teenagers while in the middle of a fight.

I thought you might appreciate the Harry Potter-esque touch. ;) I'm deliberately aiming for cinematic, adolescent, and interactive.

Round 2, Initiative 12
AC 12, hp 6/6

Attack with club: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (9) + 1 = 10 Miss
...for 1d6 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 = 4 damage.

"So it seems." Suleiyel draws his club and swipes at the doll's head one-handed, then glances over his shoulder at Vasile. "Can you knock it down again? This isn't exactly -//- what I had in mind." The lanky elf's attempt at being suave is ruined by his voice breaking under the stress, momentarily reverting from its usual baritone to his childhood alto. He blushes hotly.

Looks like we still need Cezar's readied action from round 1 that was triggered at init 4, and Pakak is next in round 2 at init 20, so I'll wait a bit.

"Apparently so. At least it's better than my initial hypothesis."

Now the front is like how I imagined it -- but if you put me back where Cezar is, Pakak where I am, and Cezar where Pakak is, then I think that would fit the RP better. I feel certain that Pakak would've maintained line of sight when he stepped back.

Acid splash: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 2 = 4 Miss
...for 1d3 ⇒ 3 damage.

Suleiyel drops his candle, puts it out with his foot, and casts a common cantrip. A glob of acid shoots from the elf's hand, but his aim is off and it splashes harmlessly into the wall.

Spellcraft to recognize Vasile's spell: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (5) + 10 = 15 Failure
Perception to see that she didn't touch the doll: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (13) + 3 = 16 Success (I assume)

"Trade places, Vasile? I can do more from up close."

If she agrees, would it just take a 5' step from me now and from her next turn for that? If no, how about a move action?

The arrangement isn't exactly how I pictured it, but my position looks fine. Initiative: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (10) + 2 = 12

Suleiyel stays where he is. I wish I knew what was going on, but those things give me the creeps. And it's getting kind of crowded in there.

With Vasile's dancing lights in the other room and presumably Cezar's lit hand too, Suleiyel pulls out one of the candles that he uses to study after dark. Lighting it with his flint and steel, he muses to himself. With all the magic that I know, I could still use a lantern, or at least a lamp.

"What's going on?" Suleiyel whispers to Vasile, since he can't see from where he is.

Already had separate lists of known & memorized. No changes; he wasn't really expecting this when he got up this morning. If you're curious, I could tell you exactly why he memorizes each spell.

Suleiyel's brow furrows. "That is so odd. I can't hear it anymore. Perhaps we could check in the boxes?"

Realizing how that might sound, he absent-mindedly reassures the short human. "کی طرح اپنی بہن کا کہنا ہے کہ ہے، فکر نہ کرو. ہم ایک دوسرے کے ساتھ مضبوط ہو."

"Sounds like it's coming from the room ahead."

The vigilant elf's long ears twitch. "Hear that? A clicking... not like a creature. Reminds me of the machines that the gnomes in Omesta use."

The cautious elf chuckles dryly. "Thank you. I very much appreciate your restraint right now."

For all that it was his suggestion, Suleiyel follows behind, loathe to be in front in such a creepy locale. Nevertheless... "I'm impressed by your control over those lights, Vasile. How does it work? The only light spell I know has to be cast on an object." The curiosity in his voice is clearly genuine.

Suleiyel smiles and nods graciously at the mayflies who tell them where to go. As they get closer, he puts a hand on his club and scowls. I should've memorized "light".

"I think that we should stick together for safety. Look for a basement next?"

"No, but we had just barely started looking. I was thinking that they would've noticed her, unless she's somewhere people don't look, like a basement or attic. I didn't think of the roof."

Suleiyel furrows his brow in concern at the sight of Vasile. "Oh no! What happened to you? And what was that... mess... that fell on the stage?"

Suleiyel starts. "Holy sh... I mean, mess!" The cautious elf carefully approaches the lump on the floor, looking up in case of more falling... messes. He looks the thing over. Suleiyel only has knowledge of arcana and planes. "I have no idea what that is, Pakak. But I think I can guess where the others went." He looks up again. "We should check and see if they're okay."

Suleiyel looks around, wondering where Vasile and her nameless orc-kin companion had gotten to. No doubt the short one is looking at their figures. "Perhaps we should check among the props first, and maybe also see if what's-his-name, Caesar is there. Make sure he's okay."

Sully grins at Pakak. "Not that I really know him -- I'm just guessing, from that scene at Pestico's."

"Maybe you could try looking for auras again? But the 'daughter' that I talked to was rather eerie. She would stand out among people, so would have to be somewhere hidden; perhaps in a basement or attic, or maybe among the props, if she stays still."

Looking back, it appears that Pakak and Suleiyel both left Pestico's back room as soon as they got permission for snooping, although I didn't realize it at the time. (Pakak seems to be RPing it that way, and Suleiyel already had a plan too.) Might as well retcon out anything that implies that he heard the rest of the convo.

Pakak raises a brow as he sees the others are here already, "Looks like we're not the only one on the trail."

"Another remarkable coincidence. They must have learned something from that odd man after all."

On the one hand, I'd like to keep Silyph included for if she comes back. On the other hand, I don't want to go too far in making implicit declarations for her. So, I stopped making direct references to her presence. I'll still try to kind of imply it, for as long as I can.

"Hold on.. I think I got something." He follows the trail outside, then points to the ampitheater, "trail petered, but in that direction. I think I'm going there."

Sully nods and begins walking with the civilized orc-kin. "If a coincidence, then it would be a remarkable one. But still, they could have been wrong." He eyes Pakak speculatively. "What's your specialty, out of curiosity?"

Suleiyel frowns, then looks down at his ring, symbol of his pessimism. Grimacing, the lanky elf rejects the resented and never-used bond. I should've had a cat. "If you want to come back tomorrow, sure. But today, it's all you." As stated above, he doesn't have detect magic memorized; and according to her profile, neither does Silyph.

Suleiyel nods, smiling. "Alright then! Lead the way!"

Suleiyel blinks. "I've... never thought to try. I suppose it would depend on the strength of the aura, and how long it had been? I'm afraid that I don't have it memorized, so I can't help." He shrugs apologetically, then looks up and away, brow furrowed.

After a brief moment, Suleiyel's face brightens. "Ah! Pestico said that they never leave the shop, so all we have to do to distinguish the one we want would be to walk around the shop: if you detect an aura like that outside, then it's hers; and if not then it's too late to track her that way. We could also look for people who might have been around at night, however unlikely."

Suleiyel returns to Pakak and Silyph. "They are very convincing of a personality as he said, but it's kind of unnerving... so close to lifelike that the little differences are a little creepy. Mostly all I found out is that if the missing 'daughter' had an unfulfilled desire, it was not shared universally."

Suleiyel holds his elbow and taps his cheek three times again. "I'm not convinced of the amphitheater bards theory, but it's plausible. After quizzing one, the only way that she could make her own way through the city unremarked is in the middle of the night -- it was just too strange -- but that's when the other disappeared. So, we might as well check it out, but also ask anyone who might have seen what happened."

It's closing in on two weeks since Silyph posted, so I checked, and only one alias has any posts since then: a few on the 16th, and a couple on the 23rd. The rest are all idle too, so I don't think it has anything to do with this game in particular. I would've posted that in the discussion thread, but I didn't want it to be at the top for the next 50 posts, if you know what I mean.

Without the rest of her body moving, the daughter turns her head unnaturally far toward you and replies, "We love the children. Their smiles make us happy." As she talks to you, the daughter's hands continue to work without her looking downward, stitching up a torn doll with jittery yet somehow precise movements.

Suleiyel finds himself fascinated by the movement of the "daughter's" hands, enough so to ignore her general creepiness for one last question. "That's... nice. But is there anything that you want and don't have?"

Suleiyel starts to back away, then forces himself to ask another question. "Okay, uh... What else do you love?"

"Perhaps she still wishes to see the performances?"

"It's a thought. We will do our best." Suleiyel bows at the very old man who is probably younger than him -- such a pity -- and exits the back room. As Vasile calls out for Cezar, the elf puts his plan into action and strikes up a conversation with one of the figurines on pedestals.

"I'm looking for your sister that isn't here. Can you direct me to her?"

Suleiyel looks up and off to the left, resting his right elbow in his left hand, holding his right jaw and tapping his cheek three times thoughtfully.

Suleiyel frowns at the scanty description. "There are a few more things that I would need to know to find your figurine. The first is, what do you think happened: that it walked away, or that it was taken? Different approaches would be more useful, depending; but there are some things that would be good to know regardless."

"For example, how complex is the animation: just predictable reactions to certain things? or can it act in unexpected ways? What is its personality, in terms of what it has attractions to and aversions from? Is it potentially dangerous, and under what circumstances?"

The brown-haired elf's dark gold eyes twinkle as he smiles ruefully. "Sorry for the interrogation. I, uh... had some time to think of questions on the walk over."

Suleiyel looks around in interest as Pakak introduces them, then waves with a grin and a silent "Hi!" at Vasile when he notices her standing there with a strange orc and a tall halfling. Then he does a double-take, remembering how he mistook Pakak at first, and looking for a halfling's pointy ears; sure enough, the evoker's companions could very well be an orc-kin and a short human instead. The gawky elf's brow furrows in confusion before he turns his attention back to Pestico and Pakak's conversation.

Makes sense. I'll just present Suleiyel's perspective, not draw things out.

After Eudomia is gone, Suleiyel discreetly confronts Silyph. "ಆದರೆ 'halfblood' 'halfbreed' ಎಂದು ಜಿಗುಪ್ಸೆಹುಟ್ಟಿಸುತ್ತದೆ; ನೀವು Kyonin ರಲ್ಲಿ ಬೆಳೆಯಲಿಲ್ಲ ಮತ್ತು ಸಿಕ್ಕಿದ ಆ ಸಂವೇದನೆ ತರಬೇತಿ ಪಡೆಯಲು ಬರಲಿಲ್ಲ ನಾನು, ನೀವು ಕೇವಲ ತಿಳಿದಿರಲಿಲ್ಲ ಅನುಮಾನದ ಲಾಭ ನೀಡುವ ಬಾಗುತ್ತೇನೆ , ಇವುಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಅರ್ಧದಷ್ಟು ಸಹ ಲೆಕ್ಕಕ್ಕೆ ಎಂದು ಸೂಚಿಸುತ್ತದೆ ರಿಂದ. 'ಅರ್ಧ ತುಂಟ' ಇದೇ ಕಾರಣಕ್ಕಾಗಿ, ಉತ್ತಮ ಅಲ್ಲ; ನಾವು ಉದ್ದೇಶದಿಂದ ಆಕ್ರಮಣಕಾರಿ ಎಂದು ಬಯಸುವ ಹೊರತು ಹೆಚ್ಚಾಗಿ ನಾವು ಕೂದಲ ಕಿನ್ 'ಬಳಸಿ." He looks up and to the left at a memory, and purses his mouth. "ವೆಲ್, ಅಭ್ಯಾಸ ಶತಮಾನಗಳ ಹಳೆಯ ಎಲ್ವೆಸ್, ಹೊರತುಪಡಿಸಿ; ಆದರೆ ಅದು ಏನು ಅರ್ಥೈಸುವುದಿಲ್ಲ. ನನ್ನ. ಭಾವಿಸುತ್ತೇವೆ. ಯಾವುದೇ." He dismisses the thought with a wave of his hand.

Yes, Suleiyel is accompanying Silyph. I will catch up with events as I'm able.

Congratulations and good luck! And then some more from Anton! :)

Suleiyel finds the rumors equal parts intriguing and disturbing. What if... No, it couldn't be. Could it? Not yet knowing many people on campus, he approaches his study buddy Silyph. "You've heard about the doll shop, right? I can't even decide which interests me more, the money or the mystery. Would you like to check it out?"

Thank you! I promise to RP it to the hilt. 8)

@Shane Gifford, I have an idea: changing the bonded ring into a cat familiar! I know that it's totally against RAW, but it's something that Suleiyel would at least attempt. (Kind of like banishing Treerazer: it should be impossible, but after a lot of research, he'll give it a shot. He's an optimist.)

If you're at least willing to consider it, here's how I'm picturing it: Suleiyel has never used the ring's power, so there's a final bonding step that has never been taken. With his experience getting to know the city's cats, Suleiyel is able to make notes of what he wants and doesn't want.

So, he writes a Find Familiar spell like the one in AD&D. Suleiyel spends a week's activity on it, at the transition to 2nd level. Hopefully, he gets help from Silyph in the tough parts (since it's a conjuration) -- but not enough for her to know the whole thing.

Range: 1 mile/level
Duration: Special
Area of Effect: 1 familiar
Components: V, S, M
Casting Time: 2d12 hours
Saving Throw: Special

For convenience, the result of the spell would be a standard Pathfinder familiar. However, the ritual would still require a brass brazier loaded with charcoal -- however much that all would cost -- plus 10 gp worth of incense and herbs. (The AD&D version calls for 1,000 gp worth, but that's a totally different economy.)

The way I'm picturing it, the only way the spell can be cast is as the first and final use of the (mostly) bonded ring -- which incidentally wipes the spell from Suleiyel's spellbook, as well as reducing his masterwork bonded ring to a completely mundane brass ring of no particular quality or value. (All of its masterwork quality and magical specialness gets transferred to the cat that it summons.)

What do you think?

I am going to argue that Hathin and Suleiyel are both good fits for this game at the same time; partly because the game was constructed to be primarily about the RP, and partly because of the nature of the group. I will try to keep it tight, by deleting irrelevant tangents.

We both submitted these characters because we thought that they would be fun to play in this game. I still think that's true of both. You deliberately made Hathin sub-optimal, even forgoing cantrips that he could've known, because you liked how it fit the character. I went with my usual route of constructing a self-consistent background that supported mechanics that were somewhat optimized. How can they co-exist?

The answer is that we have a good group of people here who like to roleplay, and who like to play team players. The whole study group mechanic -- which was added after-the-fact at player request -- is a reflection of that. Also, even those of us who made optimized characters still put characterization first, or we wouldn't have been interested in a Varisian Hogwarts in the first place.

For example, I'm about to post a question that I actually wrote before you posted your question about Inner Beauty, and that I just wasn't ready to post yet. It's basically about me wanting to waste my character's time and money for RP reasons; now that he's in-play, Suleiyel has his own plans that don't have anything to do with optimization.

Also, I was really looking forward to Suleiyel taking G100 with Hathin. (My in-character reason was going to be just because he thinks that he has all the time in the world, so why not master the basics first.) I can't even imagine yet how our characters will interact, but I expect it to be interesting; and I really hope that you'll stay to see how things work out once more of our characters all know each other better.

Throughout the week, Suleiyel can be seen chatting animatedly (or occasionally whispering) with the tanned, tattooed elf girl -- that is, when he isn't fixing books for one person or another. He appears a bit frantic at times, but manages to get everything done, looking tired yet satisfied by the end.

Week ten?

And now to read three pages of spoilers! (I've been kind of busy lately.) ...huh. A gang of imps, a cougar, and a haunt; it appears I missed some things. This is going to be interesting...