Takesh's page

Takesh bats an eye at Seraphina's mention of Mama Graymand, but keeps quiet about it. When she does speak up, it's to say "Lot of ambition between those distinguished guests. Any one of them could prove... problematic"

Takesh nods at Abel, pleased by his summation of the appropriate tactics. "Abel has the right idea," She begins, slithering slightly closer to him. "Right now it is about information, and the more we know, and the less our opponents know, the better position we are in."

She cocks her head at Jean. "If they do start something, let them have it. Better they think now that they are in a stronger position, they will be less guarded."

More information on house Vilendross would be great!

"Most recently House Vilendross," Takesh says, meeting Morgana's eyes, and ignoring the others in the room. "Though, I imagine it would not surprise you from my appearance to know that I'm also acquainted with the Dovarah clan."

She cocks her head, a smile spreading across her face. "I cannot say more than that. Many things said behind closed doors are still heard, and I must be a vault. Were I to tell you now information that someone else hired me for previously, how could you trust me? No no, my lady, there are rules. I am paid for what I can find out or what I can do, not what I already know."

"I can tell how everyone else in this room has interacted with individuals of my caliber from a glance, it's part of my job. Work I am quite good at. What is your experience in high-society? I want to hear it from you."

Takesh smiles, her fangs clearly visible. "My job is to mesh," she begins, speaking more plainly than she was necessarily accustomed to. Something told her to be straightforward with Morgana. Besides, it would be good for the others to know her talents - well, some of them at least. With everything she could say, there were two or three more things that she wouldn't. "Which I am doing well if you cannot pin me down so easily. But to answer your question, my upbringing was one of nobility. I'm well-educated in art and music, and can play the violin quite well. I've had... let's say encounters with more than a few noble families. It's a balancing act, to be able to meet your opponent on their terms, without them even knowing that you're at war... In short, Mama Graymand wouldn't have sent me if I wouldn't be of value to you."

"I am called Takesh" the Slanaad says by way of introduction, but offers nothing else about herself. Unlike Jean-Guy, she had quite a few secrets, and wasn't much in the habit of saying too much to strangers.

Takesh is somewhat taken aback by, well... everything that's happening around her. It was one thing for Lady Ainsworth not to have a moment to chat with her, but for her to seem bored, tired, distracted, it made Takesh even more uneasy with the situation. And that there was an important dinner? Mama had mentioned nothing of the sort. In the waiting area she glances at Abel and Seraphina, aware that she's already drawing their attention.

The man's tendrils and fins made him look as out of place as she did. Clearly someone not from around here, she thinks, noting that he carries no visible weapons. For some reason, that knowledge does not make her more at ease. Perhaps it was the knowledge that she, too, did not carry visible weapons, and knew what she was capable of. He was an unknown. Her eyes flicked over to the woman. Dark skinned, muscular yet lithe. They were both disciplined. Something else with her, though. Glowing purple spots. Brands? Takesh wasn't sure. Something felt familiar about her eyes, though. Takesh was sure she'd seen them - or ones like them - before.

"Seven Hells," Takesh curses, "she doesn't have a weapon, either." She thought back to the man in the elevator, how much he stood out with his large weapon and rough attire, and how much she'd prefer that sort of company right now. The kind that was straightforward, predictable. She looks back towards the entrance in time to notice the same man walking towards the shop, looking considerably cleaned up. "Even he's part of this? Just what is going on here?"

Perception: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (19) + 8 = 27

Takesh slithers out of the elevator, amused by the stranger's needless aggression towards the guards. Still, it was easy to see how things could escalate. Arriving on 34, she quickly picks Lady Ainsworth out of the crowd. Studying those around the Lady for a few moments, Takesh begins her approach. "Lady Ainsworth, I presume? My name is Takesh, I believe you were foretold of my arrival."

Takesh nods her thanks to Jean, slithering into the elevator and careful to position her tail such that it wouldn't be trampled. "Much obliged" She says with a smile, thinking all the while 'Who the hell is this guy?' She hardly expected polite manners. 'Maybe I'm reading into this whole thing.' It was possible that none of this was related, that he was just some soldier on a mission that didn't involve her, didn't involve her contacts, that their paths would never cross again.... But somehow she doubted it. She nods to the elevator controls, "34, please."

Takesh eyes the grumbling man with some curiosity. Large, built like a soldier, old enough to have seen real combat, not some green kid trying to make a name for himself. No, he looked like someone with purpose and an earned confidence. And getting past security with such a large rifle clearly designed for murdering living creatures was no small feat. "First Boron, now this guy. What is going on here?"

Feeling incredibly exposed and vulnerable, Takesh decides to take the initiative and see what kind of trouble might come up. She watches him press the call elevator button. "Now that's a big gun." She says, doing her best to look impressed. "You come here often?"

Sorry gang, still recovering from surgery, will have a post up tomorrow.

Takesh laughs openly at Jerald's comment. "Mr. Brill is right," She admits. "Word of advice, kid. If he does come back, make sure his money's real, and keep an eye out for any merchandise missing." She raises an arm, clad in silk with a robe over it, and briefly exposes a hidden blade, a smile spreading across her face as she does. "The reason the poor are able to manage is by improvising." Tossing a wink his way, she adds, "Be seein' ya" and slithers away, heading towards the next floor.

A frown is on her face as she wonders over Boron being there. It could simply have been a coincidence, but with Mama Graymand sending her, with whatever had gone down between them over the Roarks, how active the Roarks were now, she sincerely doubted it. Still, it was worth keeping an eye out for him. First, though, she had an appointment to keep.

Kn Local: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (15) + 6 = 21 (22 if Kn Nobility instead of Local)
Do I know Boron?

Takesh shakes her head. No, no that's fine. Hopefully I'll be back before too long." Touching the box longingly once more, she turns from the shop, prepared to move along. Turning back briefly, she asks one last question. "Boron... Do you know why he didn't buy them?"

The urge to steal the glasses was nearly overwhelming. It would be easy, she knew. Some slight of hand, a bit of lying, some altered memories if it came to that. For a real challenge, she could convince the boy to part with them with nothing but empty promises.

Takesh picks them up and examines them, looking through them at the world around her, how much more clearly she's able to see. They were even stylish, at least enough for her tastes. They could be hers.

A fairly victimless crime. The shop could certainly afford the loss, the kid would be berated over his mistake, and she would have something useful. The dogs watching her the entire time would only make it more impressive.

"This is what separates me from the others." She reminds herself, putting the glasses back down into the case. The Roarks, the Silent, even Morgana Ainsworth may not blink to do something like that. When you operate outside the law, it's easy to not have one. It was harder to have rules.

Takesh runs a hand over the Goggles of Night before snapping the case closed again. "One day," She mutters to herself. Frowning, Takesh digests what the boy said, and looks back up at him. "The customer you had earlier - can you describe them for me?"

Takesh shifts her bag to the other shoulder. Despite it only weighing five pounds, she'd been carrying it all day, and her shoulder had begun to ache. Despite seeming like she was looking at the glasses, Takesh was really simply deep in thought, wondering what Morgana Ainsworth might have in store for her. Whatever it was, she hoped it would have an impact on the Roark Family and the Silent, and she could get back to her usual work. The only problem with working for the big families, she noted, is that they would come to feel like they owned you. And no one owned her. Not anymore.

The boy interrupting her thoughts gets a very brief glare, and then a wide smile. Why not, she had some time. "I'm on an errand for my master, who is looking for some thing..." She eyes Jerald as though he's a snack. "... particular. Do any of these allow the wearer to see, even in darkness? I thought that if anyone had something so terribly useful, it would be you."

Hi everyone! I am excited to be here.

.

Takesh, I just remembered that the drider's Black Magic move has a slightly different list of tags, which always bugged me, so you can use the Mage tag list if you want. Only differences are that the debilitating tag is -1 damage instead of half, making your spells subtle is an option, and you can use any element instead of just using fire. I'm also fine with any of the motivation/alignments you have listed. I Am The Last sounds especially cool.

Cool, I'll use that "Drive". And sorry, which Mage are you referring to?

Takesh is puny and foolish, but amusing to me.

Takesh looks suspicious to me.

I sang stories of Takesh long before I met her

And I think I'll go with these:

I plan to kill Yizid one day, but not today.
Ropetail impresses me, for a lesser creature.
Tublat doesn't think highly of me. How foolish of them.

Black Magic: 2d6 + 2 ⇒ (4, 6) + 2 = 12
Damage: 1d8 ⇒ 2

Seeing the disgruntled prisoners charging towards them, Takesh narrows her many eyes. "You should have stayed in your cells." She mutters, throwing up one of her hands. A blast of force flies outward, throwing one of the prisoners back.

Using tags Near and Forceful.

Takesh leaves the club where it lies, studying it (and the handprints) with her many eyes before straightening up. "A curious amount has been stolen." she mutters, noting the difference in foot prints as well. "Looks humanoid." She remarks, casting her eyes back to the others, quickly looking at the sizes of their feet and counting the fingers on their hands. It wasn't anything personal, she just didn't know them very well. And one never could be too sure.

Ignoring Yizid for his inability to speak his mind, she cocks her head towards the small mouse. "Picked over is right." She points with one of her many legs into the room, keeping her hands near her weapons. "Both the feed and sacks are all gone. There are many footprints, a handprint in a pool of blood." She gestures to the club. "There's also that. Some kind of fight, perhaps?"

Takesh, how do villagers and other more humanoid races react to you?

Probably a degree of reverence for those who know the legends / history of the Driders / The Umbra, but for the average villager who hasn't, I expect a large degree of fear. Taking these two things (spiders and humans) and combining them in this way looks horrifyingly unnatural.

Takesh frowns at the scene, feeling grateful (and not for the first time), that her several strong legs remove her need to ever use a horse.

When Kas had sent word, she initially anticipated that it was being blown out of proportion. Small towns like Hardwheat, rarely experiencing any kind of change, or excitement - it was easy to imagine the people being superstitious, easy to imagine them concocting a story. Some kind of bogeyman to scare the younglings.

Takesh's many eyes flick around the scene, her legs gripping the door frame of the stable as she leans in, and she thinks to herself that there is no way that this is something that villagers concocted. Turning from the scene, Takesh skitters over towards the coup, narrowing her red eyes at the pigeon corpses, as well. She pushes a long strand of white hair from her face, and considers what would have done this.

Taking a few moments, Takesh studies the scene before her, realising that she would have to talk to the villagers soon, and wanting to have an idea of what to ask them. With luck, they wouldn't think she was a demon and try to light her on fire. She laughs, but without amusement. You never really knew how people would react.

In the meantime, she'd ask the coup if it knew anything. It would probably prove to be more useful, anyway.

Discern Realities: 2d6 ⇒ (6, 1) = 7

What here is useful or valuable to me, where "useful/valuable" involves what killed these pigeons or how.

A lot has happened while I was gone! I just walked in the door from GenCon so I'll try to get my answers for things up later tonight or early in the morning.

I was going to not submit since there are a lot of great submissions and I'm going to be away from a computer until Monday, but fuggit, here's my submission for DRIDER TIME.

Sweet, thanks! I'll make up a character tomorrow.

Also, not familiar with The Stalk. Mind elaborating on that?

Saga is a Space Opera comic written by Brian K Vaughn. Pretty largely influenced by Star Wars and Flash Gordon. The character Stalk is a bounty hunter (think Boba Fett), a huge badass but also vulnerable at times. And remarkably sexy for a spider-creature. NSFW

Any chance you'd allow the Drider? Here, page ~18. I was thinking of a character similar to The Stalk from the comic Saga, if you're familiar with the comic.

Hey sorry, busy few days for me, I'll have a post up tomorrow.

Day 1 Takesh

The scout Klakest shifts uncomfortably at Takesh's gaze. Great One. I dare not venture close, as I'm am unworthy of divine revelations. The ocean of sand parts to reveal. I tell you now, They are of clear stone that glint in the sun. The black stone with writing stands like a spear in the center. It was hard to tell if he was only showing deference to you, or full of fear at the sight. Maybe portions of both. He tells you it was less than 2 miles from the current path you travel on.

Takesh nods at the scout as he talks, attempting to put him at ease. "You've done well." She says when he finishes. "Our god may not have shown you the statues if you were unworthy, but you were right to return. It is something we should explore together." She continues, taking special note of him. While the tribe tended to act as much like a hive as possible, there was no discounting the idea that the orcs were not all created equally, and had strengths and weaknesses.

Whether simply afraid, not curious, or knowing the queen's interest, the scout had chosen to not investigate himself, and that was largely to be applauded. The loss of a single worker was always preferable to risking the queen, but a missed opportunity was worth several workers. "It may be a trap, or it may well be of interest in our mission. In either case, the result is the same. The Hive does not fear, for we are strongest together" She frowns, considering for a moment the significance of the black stone and written words. "We will leave immediately."

Takesh stares at the scout for a long time, weighing his words and considering her options. It occurs to her to ask Azeban about the statues, but she suspected that even if he knew, he wouldn't tell her. Besides, it didn't look good for a high priestess to consult a scorpion with every little thing - even though the tribe generally did accept him as being more than a scorpion. His intelligence was certainly undeniable.

"For it to not disappear in the sands," she begins. "It must be something. Tell me, of what race are the statues?"

Regarding the map, what's the (rough) size of each hex in miles?

Takesh stands on a sand dune as the sun begins to rise, looking at a forest in the distance with an expression of concern. This was the closest she had been to it in years - within viewing distance, that is - and while it was still miles away, it felt suffocatingly close. The world in general had felt smaller as of late.

As she stares, a large black scorpion skitters across the sand, and stops alongside her, surveying the scene ahead as well. It makes sounds with a mixture of clicks and rubbing legs against its carapace. 'You have again had the dreams.'

It isn't quite a question, as if the scorpion already knows the answer. Clicking her tongue and rapping her knuckles against her armour, Takesh makes sounds to respond. 'Yes. I do not know what they mean.'

Though Takesh and Azeban had been together for years, it occurs to her - not for the first time - how little she knows about him. For instance, she couldn't say where he had come from, or how he knew how to communicate. It was one of the many mysteries that surrounded him, like how he knew that she had been having dreams. How he knew about Apollyon. What Takesh knew, she had learned from him, and she believed him when he said that Apollyon had a plan for them. She supposed that this was what it meant to have faith.

"In the dream," She begins. "It is night, and I am following a star. there are orcs on either side of the path I am walking. A swarm of flies is with me, but it does not obscure my vision. The bones of others crunch under my feet, and these orcs demand that I move faster, that I leave more bodies in my wake. I look for you, and though I cannot see you, I know you are with me. You are the orcs, and the flies. You are the path, and the moon. Though I walk alone, it is with purpose, and I am never truly alone." She frowns, and shakes her head, trying to clear it from her mind. "I always wake up before we reach the star. I don't know what comes next."

Azeban's several eyes scan the horizon, seeing more than Takesh could even dream of. He is silent for several seconds, and she wonders first if he does know what comes next, and second, if he'll even respond at all. Finally, he clicks his legs against his shell. "It is time."

And she understands. The years have been leading up to this. The star is the future, and the bones underneath will be those of the humans. She turns from the view of the forest, the direction she now knows she must walk, and looks at the dozens of tents in the distance behind her. The Tribe had followed her for this far, had believed in Apollyon. And her. But there was believing, and then there was doing in service of that belief. "Are they ready?" She asks, without taking her eyes from the tribe.

"Yes. You all are."

.

Happy to be here! I will have a post up tonight or in the morning. Ping me if you want to have us know each other ahead of time. :)

I like the flavor and detail. Does your tribe have any annual celebrations? Any rituals of child to adulthood? Are all conflicts within the tribe solved with combat or are some offenses brought to Tribal leader for judgement? Are there any taboos at all?

Oooh, good questions. Okay, let's see.

I'd be happy with 4 or 5 posts per week per player. A little less or a little more is ok. If we hit a time sensitive situation. Like group combat. I will resolve combat round at least 2 days after starting round post, boting those who did not take a turn. If I don't hear from someone for over a week, I'll assume they no longer wish to continue. They and their tribe will go 'nomadic'

That sounds great!

I still have more that I want to do with my background stuff as far as personality and fleshing out the tribe some more, but I think the core idea is there. The idea is roughly a desert-dwelling tribe that worships the god of Pestilence. Going with kind of an undead / vermin / sickness / religious vibe. Would definitely love some feedback on it.

@takesh, unfortunately I will have to say no to psionics mostly because it would make the party unbalanced. That being said I may allow characters to gain psioniclike abilities. But no psionic classes. Also yes take as many rerolls as needed. So ur second result is applicable.

Totally understandable, thanks! I'll have something else together soon.

Super interested in this idea.
Are psionics allowed?

Also, let's see about those rolls.

Just said I was waiting on more setting details before solidifying my story into something more specific than "Survives in the wilds of <Insert location Here> because he neither understands people very well nor do they understand him, and he developed reactive shapeshifting powers to help him survive".

Also need basic plot/campaign details to fix that up into a coherent "But now he has a reason", or scrap it entirely and rebuild story-wise.

Yeah, mine's pretty absurdly vague at the moment, too. Figure I can patch it up as more information becomes available.

I expected way more applicants for this game. Has everyone just kind of wandered of? Although I suppose a lot of them may be waiting for Race information as well.

Takesh reporting in for consideration.

Takesh's first concern is for Wildheart, and she opens her eyes quickly, looking over to see if he is injured.

Perception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (7) + 6 = 13

Takesh's next immediate concern is the metal helmet that's limiting her powers. She'll want to see if there's a way to release it.

FortSave: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (12) + 3 = 15

Awh crap I totally missed the part where you said it in Ekuna...guess you were so dizzy you only thought you said it in Ekuna, but it came out in common...yeah thats the reason, yeah.

Oooh gotcha, I thought you could speak Ekuna. Yeah, Takesh is pretty out of it, haha.

Takesh looks back and forth between the halfling and the human. The movement makes her dizzy and she wishes so badly that she could rub her eyes. She tried to remember the last time that she had seen a halfling, but couldn't. Deciding she was too tired to think, she gave up, and after taking a moment to relax her mind, she cleared her throat.

"Sizerox is a good, strong name. As you translated, my companion is Wildheart. I am called Takesh. Takesh the Whisper to my people."

Please tell me I get to throw the halfling at something/someone at some point. Fastball Special style.

Please?

Omgyes do it.

Takesh, if Wildheart ever verbalizes, I'm going to do so in Telugu, as translated by Google Translate. I figure it's alien looking enough to pass for Enuka.

Example:

వైల్డ్ హార్ట్

I love this idea. Secret language, go!

Takesh's head was filled with a throbbing pain. She couldn't remember a time when she felt so isolated, so cut-off, so weak. Struggling to reach the thoughts of those around her only made her feel worse. Hate ran through her blood. Hate for the metal on her head, hate for the mechanical booming voice, hate that she had been stupid enough to get caught in the first place.

She forced her eyes open and looked around the room at the others, seeing the same expressions of pain and confusion and fear on many of the faces. She hated that her own was no doubt betraying her own feelings. Her eyes finally met those of the Ekuna, and she forced a smile.

"Wildheart" she whispered in Ekuna.

More than anything else, she hated that she hadn't been able to save him.

Ready and willing!

Takesh is all ready to go!

I didn't change anything aside from the language (as we'd talked about) and adding a few more sentences to the end of the Background.