"Oh?" Taranna asks in a tone that suggests honest curiosity. "You've heard about our fleetness and flexibility? And how does this exactly mean we hold the line?" Tarrana shakes her head and waves a hand dismissively. "Don't answer that. I don't expect you to understand the nuance's and particulars of Elven strategy and tactics. But how about we wait until we actually know where we are fighting and under what conditions before we formulate strategy yes? Otherwise I believe the generous general might have already formed a grand battle plan with all of us present. In the meantime I have to mobilize my forces now before they break out the instruments. They do get so sour if they have to move out in the middle of a tune. And it is commander, by the way."
When Tarrana receives the crystal she is greatly intrigued by it and spends some time familiarizing herself with all the features.
Not looking up from her study Tarrana responds. "Any reconnaissance is better than none. Does anyone have any mages of sufficient strength to scry the enemy in any capacity?"
"Ain't natural is what it is. Where does the food come from?" Karthan sees someoen already about to answer when he waves his hands dismissively. "Don't answer that. Let's just get this stuff copied down like Kazmuk suggests. Mess cook gave me an ugly look when I ate a big breakfast this mornin. Not regretting it now."
Gear
MW. Rifle
HAndy HAversack
Adventuring Kit
Studded Leather
Gunslinger's Kit (Minus torches)
Bayonet
41 Metal Cartridges
Uniform
5gp spare
2 Alchemists Fire
1 Wand of Cure Light Wounds
1 Wand of Obscuring Mist
2 Oils of PAss Without Trace
2 Oils of Abundant Ammunition
1 Level 1 Adept
MW. Rifle
HAndy HAversack
Adventuring Kit
Studded Leather
Gunslinger's Kit (Minus torches)
Bayonet
41 Metal Cartridges
Uniform
5gp spare
2 Alchemists Fire
1 Wand of Cure Light Wounds
1 Wand of Obscuring Mist
2 Oils of Pass Without Trace
2 Oils of Abundant Ammunition
3 +1 Undead Bane Metal Cartridges
2 Level 1 Experts (Gunsmiths, Mechanics, Alchemists)
MW. Rifle
Handy Haversack
Adventuring Kit
Studded Leather
Gunslinger's Kit (Minus torches)
Bayonet
41 Metal Cartridges
Uniform
5gp spare
2 Alchemists Fire
1 Wand of Cure Light Wounds
1 Wand of Obscuring Mist
2 Oils of Pass Without Trace
2 Oils of Abundant Ammunition
3 +1 Undead Bane Metal Cartridges
100gp Worth of material for ammunition crafting.
12 Level 1 Warriors (Marksman)
MW. Rifle
HAndy HAversack
Adventuring Kit
Studded Leather
Gunslinger's Kit (Minus torches)
Bayonet
41 Metal Cartridges
Uniform
5gp spare
2 Alchemists Fire
2 Oils of Pass Without Trace
2 Oils of Abundant Ammunition
3 +1 Undead Bane Metal Cartridges
Adventuring Kit
This kit includes basic adventuring
equipment that might be carried on your person. The kit includes
the following items (and their quantity): backpack (1), bell (4),
bedroll (1), winter blanket (1), candle (10), chalk (10), fish hook
(10), flint and steel (1), bullseye lantern (1), small steel mirror
(1), pint of oil (1), signal whistle (1), soap (1), torch (2),
waterskin (1), whetstone (1).
Gunsliner's Kit(Minus Torches)
This includes a backpack, a bedroll, a belt pouch, a flint and steel, a gunsmith's kit, an iron pot, a mess kit, a powder horn, rope, trail rations (5 days), and a waterskin.
Everyone is elven.
325gp has been set aside purely for food and cooking purposes. Everyone has handy haversacks. We can stuff a lot of food in our packs.
Tarrana cocks an eyebrow. "Let us hope its only a matter of tactics then. Living soldiers get hungry, grow bored, lose focus, long for home, need to do basic things like eat, s@~%, and breathe. The undead suffer none of these detriments. Perfect soldiers. Implacable killing machines." Tarrana says the last line with a hint of admiration.
"Such a feat is doable. But what of logistics? I cannot recommend such a journey to the mountains or the deserts beyond without proper supply lines. And such a pace means leaving behind the heavy artillery." Tarrana said in an even tone.
A lot of my stuff is probably going to change in light of this follower/cohort windfall. among other things. Definitely more emphasis on fighting a modern war.
As for our melee guys keep in mind magic and sheer toughness can help you approach the enemy a the very least. I wanted to make a shooty army with the potential for construct support later on.
"The journey was boring." A thin, armored elven woman with a complex looking rifle holstered across her back responded plainly. "We encountered none of the enemy on the way here."
Behind her another elf, a male, rolled his blue eyes.
"They believe death gives them power. Let's give them everything they wish for."
Follower Budget:
Leader Ship Score 14 (12 +2 for fortress)
Cohort Level(I'm thinking he's a spellcaster) 8th: Budget 12,000gp
Ring of Protection +1
Amulet of Natural +1
Handy Haversack
Wizard's Kit
1000gp dedicated to spell book
Cloak of Resistance +2
Rod of Ectoplasmic Spell
Potion of Cure Light Wounds x4
10 Alchemists Fire
79gp Spare
Uniform
This kit includes basic adventuring
equipment that might be carried on your person. The kit includes
the following items (and their quantity): backpack (1), bell (4),
bedroll (1), winter blanket (1), candle (10), chalk (10), fish hook
(10), flint and steel (1), bullseye lantern (1), small steel mirror
(1), pint of oil (1), signal whistle (1), soap (1), torch (2),
waterskin (1), whetstone (1).
Their's a bit of redundancy in soldier kits but that's on purpose.
Backstory and the Nation of Steel:
Long ago after the fall of the Nephilim but before Man had risen from its hunter gatherer roots there lived the Elves. In tune with nature and powerful in magical talent the elves were still ugly and weak compared to their fey masters. These ancient elves were clever and quick but could not match their otherworldly power. They were little mroe than slaves tied to the whims and cruelties of immortal and alien rulers.
However something happened. The legends are not particularly clear on this next part. Some read that a creature of earth first took pity on the wretched elves and whispered the secrets of metal into their dreams. Other say it was the dwarves. And still some say it was a fey lord or lady wishing dominion over all her kind who mistakenly slipped the secret to the slaves in a bid for power.
Whatever the case when the power of metal slipped into hands and minds of the slaves they rose in a great torrent of fire and rage and smote their masters with an umatchable fury. Powerless against elven iron and desperate rage the fey retreated out of the mortal realm with what loyal slaves they had left.
And thus the Nation of Steel was born. No longer would Elf bow to any creature, man, fey, or beast. No longer would superstition and fear of the unknown cloud their judgment. The Nation of Steel became a bastion of scientific and magical progress whose desires for conquest are squelched by slow birth rates and a general lack of bloodthirst in the Elven race.
This nation has stood for more than a millenia facing off conquering empires, alien horrors, and more with grit, magic, and the power of metal. And now it faces it's greatest threat.
From this nation arises Commander Tarrana. Inventor, tactician, and marksman Tarrana leads the 12th Infantry Batallion the Fire Bringers stationed out of Fort Ironblood.
Tarrana is a no nonsense woman more at home with tools and oil than trees and spells. This attitude has made her less than popular with the traditionalists who favor being in tune with nature and advancing magical research. However her understanding and utilization of modern weaponry alongside technology as well as compassion for the plight of the common soldier has made her more than worthy in the eyes of high command and her subordinates. More than one horde of zombies or petty necromancers have been cut down in sudden hails of gun fire from the top of a hillside or blown apart in booby traps set the day before in their apparent path. A famous general once said that war is hell and Tarrana intends to bring all of it with her.
Despite her apparent popularity their are fewer close to her than her on again, off again lover and permanent second in command Cicero. A rocky in relationship in part because of her command and in part due to their differences in birth. Cicero is noble born and among the upper classes of the Nation of Steel. Tarrana is a commoner given her position purely through merit and military achievement.
Personality wise I'd say she's a bit of Jack Churchill mixed in with a bit of Patton and Ellen Ripley.
Turns out I was about 2,457 over budget. Adjusted to fix.
"Can't really complain either way." Tarrana says. "But sooner or later the throw ourselves at the swords and hope we kill them first trick isn't going to pan out."
"Think you're being cute huh? At least pull a knife if you're going to fight me." Stepping forward Tarrana's fist crackles with the power of the storm as it slams in the direction of the acid tossing woman.
Moving forward Tarrana senses the air around her and with a simple plea Terisha suddenly lights up in the fog.
Terisha must make a DC16 Will save or suffer a sparking aura. Though this does not harm the creature, it does cause the creature to emit light like a torch, preventing it from gaining any benefit from concealment or invisibility. Furthermore, while the aura lasts, whenever the target is hit with a metal melee weapon, it also takes an amount of electricity damage equal to +1. The sparking aura lasts a 1 round. Once the aura ends, the creature cannot be the target of this hex again for 24 hours.
Tarrana keeps her own council letting the men bicker and fret like young children. Instead she finds the other tower girl and more out of curiosity and decides to search her as well.
Tarranna moves in spear in hand towards the middle of the first room letting the "bruisers" go forth to get bruised. No point to push herself forward yet. The air was wet and alive more like the dampness of a coastal cave than some forgotten ruin.
Her companion a lizard like chicken thing roughly the size of a housecat pokes it's head from its traditional place in her backpack giving a complaining chirp. Realizing he's just weighing her down here she takes him out and places him down next to her where he waits patiently warily watching the dark corners of the room.
Tarrnna pulls out her own pack of weathered harrow cards and idly plays wiht them as she leans back in thought. "Agreed. I don't feel like watching a man get cut to ribbons as he gets bruises up front. And I don't fancy having a werewolf at my back either. We should pack enough silver to make a dwarf's fingers twitchy."
"I'm Tarrana" The short red haired half elf girl says from her seat at the table a longspear resting not far from her hand. "I'm just here to help get the job done. Beit it through magic, violence, or whatever else."
Crunch was messed up for soem reason. Must not have saved. Fixed now.
Brief Backstory:
Born The daughter of a Varisian merchant and a temple prostitute Tarrana was given up immediately to be raised among other half elves in a special orphanage set up for the children of mixed dalliances.
While her caretakers (both elven and human) were kind she found the strict rules and routines chafing to her sensibilities. By 12 her connection to the other world of spirits had grown to a point where she had a vision as to who her father was.
Fleeing the orphanage and eventually coming across her father she presented herself to him as his daughter. Savagely beaten and left for dead on the side of the road she always felt that was the moment where she developed her fatalistic viewpoint of the world.
Taking refuge by traveling from village to village and doing oddjobs here and there Tarrana took to the worship of Pharasma and used her talents to make a quick few gold pieces and flee whatever vilage and town she was in before fate inevitably caught up with her and threatened violence and death once more.
Convinced that death and misery was her fate and ultimate end she came across a group of monks making a pilgrimage through the mountains to meditate upon the heavens and fast for a full month. Worshipers of the Empyreal lord Korada she followed them for a time and watched as they bore whatever terror they came across with pure serenity.
From them she learned that whether or not there was such a thing as multiple paths during the journey of life it is up to her to decide the shape of herself as she passes through it. No man or spirit had better control of herself than herself and thus she should learn to accept that the only real choices she had all involved how she reacted to the world and handled the consequences.
This changed the way she thought in many ways. Fate may not be malleable but how one meets it is entirely her own choice and in the end judgment is based nto on what her fate is but how she comes to it.
Ever since she has used her skills and her connection with the spirits mostly to serve herself. Taking the horrors of the world with a stoic calmness she understands that her fate is entirely her own and no matter what ancient terror or terrible villain arises Pharasma meets all things at the end of their lives.
Soemthign quick and dirty to build on later so we can go ahead and get introduced. I don't want to hold people back.
I think she'll turn out to be something of a Desna worshiping flower girl who sees the current problems as simply an age of bad like many other ages of bad before.
Tarrana crosses her arms and has not seemed to notice the diferences in her appearance yet. She looks dangerously between the two not doign too well to hide her jealousy 7 wisdom and all that.
"Indeed Gaius you should know better than to offer strange stars to strange women." She scowls.
