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"It's been a few years since I've been to Augustana, but I can remember a few details. The poorer districts were along the west wall, and there's less likely to be as many soldiers there. Based on where we entered... this way." He points down one tunnel. "We should get above, get ourselves cleaned using Orthaniel's magic, and find out what they're searching for. Time is against us... the longer we linger, the greater chance of discovery and the loss of our mission."
Can it be? Did they not see us? I can scarcely believe our luck after that... atrocity at the gate. Tal grabs Jack's arm as he passes with a meaningful stare. "No time," he whispers tersely. He heads into the tunnel, arrow nocked in his bowstring and ready to fire, in case the guards spot their trail. We need to get above and into the city before they realize they should search the tunnels, he thinks.
"NOW, men, if you have any desire to complete this mission, let's get out of here!" Tal whistles, his wolves rushing to his side as he moves toward the sewage pipes. Tal looks to Alexander. "If you can conjure mist, darkness, or a summoned distraction, now would be the time! Cover the gates!"
Once inside the pipe, he produces a thin rod, seemingly a spent arrow shaft with tied reeds forming an intricate design along one end. He touches it to Geri's side as a soft glow emanates, sealing the wolf's injuries.
It's not really the success of our mission I'm worried about - it's healing the rift between Tal and Jack. Tal is never going to trust Jack after this. He's going to assume that Jack is always a single impulse from ruining any plans the group makes, and is never going to feel like the barbarian can be relied upon. I'm really impressed with how well everyone is talking this out, by the way. Yeah. It's a very good sign.
We will also need to wait for the others' input on a rewind. If Goldmyr says it's okay but the others aren't interested, we shouldn't force the issue. I will need to get my notes on Tal to get his backstory on the sheet but I will work on that tonight. I would prefer a leader, yes. We're in an army - our commanding officer should have placed one of us in tactical command. It's weird to be a military team going into battle with no clue whose orders we should follow, or whose decisions take precedence.
@Goldmyr, I agree completely. I am very glad Jack's player is as willing to discuss it maturely as I am, and that alone has removed my worries about the campaign. I don't care how much our characters might hate each other, if the players can get along, we're gonna do fine. @Jack, I tried not to be backhanded. I meant what I said - I was pretty frustrated and it took me a few hours to figure out why. I'm willing to adjust my expectations of the game to meet the group - I'm not inherently opposed to a high-fantasy ass-kicking marathon (especially with this group), I was just going into it with a different thought process at first. As far as rewinding, that's up to the GM if he's comfortable with it. I'm in favor of it - I don't like where this is going, and I hardly think we're going to escape this without some kind of deus ex machina. Tal would have been fine with the 'distraction' if the group had known about it beforehand. Based on Jack's boasts, it seemed much more like he would foolhardily charge in and fight them alone, and Tal's never seen him fight. He's got no reason to suspect that Jack is the superhuman warrior his character sheet suggests - there's a lot more braggards who can't back it up than fourth-level powerhouses who can. He also figured that the guards would spot the group if Jack approached from their direction. As for continuing to play, there is no question. I am loving the feel of this game. Actually, how cool it is probably contributed to how upset I became when I thought it might have been ruined by a crazed barbarian.
*sigh* I thought about why I was so angry again and I've figured out why your actions bothered me so much. I came into this game with the (perhaps unreasonable) expectation that it would be a mature-style game with people roleplaying as soldiers fighting for a cause of defending their homes and country. Perhaps we'd get some interesting roleplay out of it, and people would play tactically, knowing the high stakes of the mission and how dangerous it could be. Jack's actions (and really, the attitudes of most of the group) seem to indicate that most of the players prefer a "big damn heroes/hack 'n slash" style of story, where they are infallible, they expect perfect success at all junctures, and can win any fight. Jack is rushing into a battle that he knows compromises the entire reason we're here. He's not worried, not careful, and not concerned at all that he has, realistically, doomed all of us to death and certainly failed the mission. Sure, it's a game. I betcha that we survive - the players are the protagonists, after all. But there is no way in hell even one of our characters, no matter how much of a superhero Jack thinks he might be, thinks they're getting out of this alive without turning tail and running for the hills. Jack is living in a fantasy world, and I don't mean Golarion. Nobody that suicidal makes it to level four. To make a long post short, I think we had very different expectations about what sort of game we wanted to play, and perhaps we should discuss that before my desire to play one type of game gets even more conflicted with your desire to play a different type. I don't think I'm wrong when I say that Jack wants to repeatedly fight tough enemies and win against them in a triumphant and cinematic victory. I was just sort of hoping we'd play more like a realistic war story than a superhero adventure.
Tal is furious with you but he still considers you an ally and fellow soldier and is going to try to save your ass with all his might. I'm not breaking character at all, and I never plan to. OOC, I've gotten over it entirely and am already enjoying the fight. In the moment, I was very annoyed with you OOC, but I'm past that. Tal is not - but IC disagreements are actually really fun to play out. So the issue has been resolved. I actually am looking forward to this impossible group coming to trust one another - a bit like The Avengers. They are not an inherently compatible group by any means - they have to overcome their differences to become an effective team. This group is no different.
Tal wonders what he did to deserve being sent on this mission. Why did the Commander select these men for this mission? If I searched Avistan from top to bottom for fifty years I couldn't find a group with less subtlety. His quick prayer to Erastil sharpens his eyesight and steadies his hands, ensuring his arrows will better find their mark.
Tal draws his recurve bow, nocking an arrow and setting his sights on the guard armed with a bow. "Geri, left! Freki, right! Kill, quiet," he says, the wolves rushing forward to attack, running low over the ground. As the wolves are on their way, Tal looses his arrow at the Chelaxian archer.
Tal addresses Jack directly. "While obviously you would defeat the two guards easily, their screams of pain as you slaughtered them would surely alert the Chelaxians to our secret mission. Even if they fell so quickly their screams were muffled, when their disappearance is noticed, it would also cause these devil-lovers to realize something is amiss." He looks to the pipes. "I would rather slip within the city's center before they even knew they were infiltrated."
"I have no fear of dirt or blood, but we will need to move in the city without looking like we swam through a lake of blood. Alex, can your magic clean us after we have passed through? I know many wizards are capable of such simple incantations." He looks at their mounts. "We should release them, and not near the walls. There is no guarantee we will be able to return the way we came. I can explain to them with my magic where they must go - it is likely they will make it back to camp."
On the journey, Tal never seemed to sleep. Even when one of the others was on watch, the woodsman's eyes were open and alert, often working on small woodcarvings to pass the time. One of his two wolves would stay up with him at a time while its sibling slept. - At the city, he surveys the walls, hoping vainly for an unguarded path in. "Haste has its merits, but I see no easy way into the city. If all else fails, Erastil can cloak two of our number in invisibility, but it will weaken my magic greatly." Tal makes sure to stay out of sight. He quirks an eyebrow at The Great And Powerful Alexander. "Perhaps your formidable magics can aid us further in this regard?"
Tal approaches his horse and seems to be whispering in its ear. It whinnies and neighs in response. Though the conversation is too quiet to be overheard, Tal introduces himself to her and tells her that he will need her help getting to his destination for the next few days. She asks whether he will be as clumsy as her last rider, and he apologizes that unfortunately, he has not done much riding lately, but he will do his best. With a whinny and a snort, she says that she figures that's better than nothing, and holds still so he can saddle her up. He makes sure to get the stable boy's help to ensure it's done properly. A few minutes later, he brings Geri and Freki by, and introduces them to his mount, assuring her that the two wolves don't mean any harm. The wolves eye one another and keep a close watch on the others as they go about getting their steeds ready for the trip.
I wonder if these others realize how dangerous this mission is going to be, wonders the woodsman as he packs for the journey. Inside an enemy-held city... and this lot isn't the most subtle I've ever met. He surveys the rather boisterous companions he's been saddled with. Deadeye give us stealth, he prays.
A rugged-looking man approaches the tent shortly after the others, flanked by a pair of wolves which move more like trained hounds than feral beasts. With a simple hand signal, they sit calmly beside the entrance to the tent, watching the nearby soldiers intently, and their master enters the tent. He sits silently throughout the briefing, a silver holy symbol of Erastil clinking against a lightweight breastplate, resting against the curve of a longbow slung over his shoulder. He stares at the brazen display of aggression demonstrated by the feral-looking man. Is he such a brute, to threaten his allies? he thinks. "Tal Levie," he says by way of introduction. "I bring the wrath of Erastil down upon the Chelaxian devils. I travel with my wolves, Geri and Freki - they're smarter than any hound you'll have met, and they'll sniff out danger before any of us see it coming." At the supply wagon, he glances at the supplies and says simply, "Silvered arrows for putting down the literal devils."
Tal is a jack of all trades - he will provide some damage, some healing, and some magical support, and he can sneak too. His wolves will flank with everyone and trip things. Summoned creatures are some of the best tanks ever - expendable and often with big reach and ways to get in the way of enemies.
Oh, it's third-party. That explains it. And it's... yup, Super Genius Games, which has no sense of balance whatsoever. I'm not one to avoid min-maxing (combat optimization is fun) but using clearly unbalanced third-party material is... well... Your character will eviscerate literally anything which attacks it in melee combat. Anyone who full attacks you will miss three times, and you will hit them three times instead, with a +3 to hit, since your armor class is ridiculously high for this level. It all depends on how the GM plans to challenge us, but let me tell you - if one player is far stronger than the others, to challenge him, the GM will need to build monsters which will slaughter the rest of the group, or tailored to his weaknesses to make him not even get a chance to fight. Just an FYI.
Here's the alias for Morphling's submission - still fine-tuning the character sheet, and finishing the backstory/personality. As it turns out, statting out a martial-capable spellcaster with a pseudo-multiclassing archetype and two animal companions is kind of complicated, heh. I am getting the final details put together now, and should be entirely finished shortly. Named after Andoran's patron celestial, the avoral Talmandor, Tal has always found himself drawn to the worship of Erastil. Popular in the region, the faith of Old Deadeye has led to Tal's love of the wilderness, of archery, and of the companionship of animals. His closest friends are two wolves - runts of their litter, and raised by the caring human almost since birth. Both have become well trained, and his teaching has bestowed both of them with far greater cleverness than their more feral brethren. |
