Treesa Lore's page

Treesa wakes before dawn when Rufus hears movement in the hallway. She calms him with a whispered 'bark' and thinks on the changes. She had welcomed the privacy last night and had really enjoyed it. No discussion of what was next, or what had changed. She had gained power, and with it new spells and a new hex. Rayse had skill with diplomacy, but she had gained magical power to surpass what he could do. And she understood what her Patron was doing giving her that power. She could 'chat' with these commoners, ask them questions that they normally would never answer to a stranger. But they would answer her. She would take a job here, probably serving supper and drinks in the evening. The drink would make it even easier. Just insert herself into a conversation, add some hints and queries, and find out the secrets that nobody should know. When she took on her disguise again she'd have to make a couple minor changes. Make herself even less memorable. Just a casual working girl. But first, maybe she could wake Rayse. Who knew where they might be tonight? Plans had a way of changing....

Later when she and Rayse got up she enjoyed the breakfast. She had changed her appearance to a short (5'), slender 17 year old girl in an old serving girl's dress with good but worn shoes. She didn't eat much but did enjoy the good cooked food. Maybe she should learn to cook? When Rayse leaves she moves to speak with Alicia, asking about working there, preferably in the evenings but she could be available in the mornings as well. Alicia took her back in the kitchen to see what she knew and what she could learn. It took about an hour but eventually Alicia did hire her to work the afternoon to close shift. Her food was covered along with board although she did explain that she would be staying in the room with Rayse, 'until he leaves....' Rufus was covered as well, being allowed to 'work security' with Treesa. (Alicia was very impressed with Treesa's control over the dog.)
Alicia's Will save DC17?: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 2 = 4

"Very well. Our orders were no survivors and burn the boat. Now to town. We're walking in. We change our appearance obviously. But we can come in as a group of adventurers, similar to what we actually are. Random adventurers travel everywhere. Once we get in town we can change again and split up to find whatever we can. Three weeks isn't much time, but they aren't expecting the Nessian Knot!"

Treesa nods, considering things. "I was considering seeing if the town has a resident alchemist or mage and offering to work with him or her. But you are right. I can try to get a job in one of the inns. Who pays attention to a bar maid as long as the drinks and food are delivered quickly. And Rufus can explore the town to see if anything interesting is happening. It's possible that some of the soldiers live in town. I'll just have to give him clear instructions on where to look and what to look for." She rubs the back of Rufus's head. "He's far more intelligent than any normal dog. But he's not human."

She glances at Posh. "How well do you know the Mitran religion? Could you fake being an Inquisitor of the church? Seeking out anti-Mitran infiltrators.... Just don't do your job too well and find us!"

When the sailor tries to escape Rufus attacks. Treesa had told him to kill the man, and the man hurt him!

Attack: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (3) + 5 = 8 But he appears to be cursed!

Rufus turns to Treesa and asks whether or not she wants him to follow the man into the water?

Treesa hears Rendylyn just as she was about to cover her with the Protective Luck hex again. Instead she focuses on the captain. "Do you know why you will die Captain? Because you violated the rules of Hell. Greed. Now you are a Klutz, and you cannot resist even simple Magic!"

Evil Eye. -2 to Saving Throws. Will save DC15 or it lasts 8 rounds. I doubt it matters though. Treesa cackles anyway to extend it an extra round.

Treesa hears Rufus and barks out a "No Dear. Stay here and I'll heal your wound. We just have to kill the Captain first. Our Lord commanded it."

I noticed the Last Chance but wasn't sure about that. Thanks.

Note: Treesa had to move and use her standard action to cast the CLW. She could not Cackle to extend the Hexes. The Protective Luck on Rendylyn will end next round on our turn. Did the Captain save back when I used the Evil Eye? If so it will also end next round. If he did not it will still have 7 more rounds.

Rendylyn has Protective Luck. And the Captain still has -2 to hit from Evil Eye.

Rufus growls as he is badly hurt. but his master told him to kill the man....
attack: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (4) + 5 = 9 But he misses again.

Treesa steps forward to cure some of the wound on Rendylyn. CLW: 1d8 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 2 = 4

Treesa points at the port side bowman and barks out a command to Rufus. "That one hurt me Rufus. Kill him!"

Rufus charges forward to the bowman that had shot Treesa. He is AC 20 for the AoO, unless that man is dead.
attack & damage: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (1) + 5 = 6 Oops! That won't work. Maybe the fire surprised him.

"You are dead Captain. Asmodeus has directed it so it must be. Prepare your soul to meet him!"

Treesa sees Rendylyn charge into danger and covers her with Protective Luck, then Cackles to extend the evil eye and the Protective Luck.

Treesa casts a spell protecting Rufus and orders him to attack, then continues Cackling to extend the Evil Eye on the Captain. "If you want to live, surrender. The Captain dies!"

Rufus charges forward to attack the closest man.
attack & damage: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (17) + 4 = 211d6 + 3 ⇒ (4) + 3 = 7 If he hits he gets a free trip attack.
Trip attempt?: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (5) + 4 = 9 Nope...

Two questions
1. Did Treesa using her evil eye hex count as her action in this round? Or being before initiative Is my turn still pending?
2. Is anyone wearing their armor yet?

Treesa stands behind Rayse and stares at Kargeld. Her eyes flash red with infernal fire and her voice is a hiss like a serpent. "You are right Kargeld. Here we part company as our Lord directs us. But if you want to sail south again, you and all of your men will perish. I have seen your future and the path you follow is to destruction. Know that if you draw a weapon against us you will be cursed to forever miss your target." She waves her arms above her head and begins to cackle madly.

Mostly distraction. Using the Boon of the Serpent's Eye and her Evil Eye hex to curse Kargeld, -2 to hit. Duration 8 rounds. Will save DC16 reduces the duration to 1 round, but she cackles to extend it one round.

Treesa speaks, very quietly to Posh's question. "We have a captain and crew to kill, and a boat to burn. And whatever treasure is in the boat should be recovered before we burn it and send it to the bottom."

Treesa stares at Sakkarot, pausing from feeding her familiar. "Answers for you? You need to know our next task as it affects your army. We brought the weapons here. You have armed your forces. Our next step is to take the boat to Aldencross. There we will infiltrate the tower at Balentyne, and open the gate. We will signal so your forces can come through and kill. Whatever pitiful forces they have in the north will have to face your army on the open fields, not hiding behind their walls. You will destroy them easily."

Treesa watches Sakkarot. He appears to be a very intelligent and capable commander. He watches and listens, waiting for mistakes, assessing potential allies, or enemies. She feeds Rufus some more meat, and slowly eats the food herself.

"You know Thorn, and I don't mean 'know of' Thorn. When did you meet him?"

"the PCs.." What other designation would be better? The group? team? Knot?

It was clear what was meant and it wasn't stated in character. "He gestures for the PCs" All good! If that is sloppy I don't know if I could take over!?! I'll be making lots of similar "sloppy" posts....

Taking the offered seat Treesa calls Rufus over to her and orders him to sit beside her. She carves off some meat and feeds it to him before she even takes any for herself. She speaks to him in barks and growls. Feral speech hex.

She adjusts her Medallion so it is open for any to see, and pulls up her sleeves showing her brand as she takes a taste of the meat. "The hordes that you will destroy are weak. They will get what they deserve. Mitrans coddle the weak so they can lord over them. I look around here and see strength. This is welcome."

Just saying…. LOL!!!

Since Treesa is primarily using her magic to light up underwater, can I do her roll as aid perception?

aid perception: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (19) + 4 = 23

Rufus aid perception?: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (1) + 8 = 9

Treesa and Rufus continue watching.

Perception Rufus: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (2) + 8 = 10
Perception Treesa: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (6) + 4 = 10

We're swimming/drowning if my rolls matter!

Familiars start as "genius" level INT for animals, and increase as the caster levels up.

Treesa and Rufus take a position at the bow, helping to spot dangerous ice in the water. Treesa lights up the water using Dancing Lights looking like 4 torches, she sends them under the water to scout for ice that might not visible otherwise.

She watches and tells Rufus to look for any big pieces of ice and tell her about them.

Perception Rufus: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (6) + 8 = 14
Perception Treesa: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (1) + 4 = 5

Rufus has 7 INT. And Treesa has no problem speaking clearly to him, giving him direction.

Treesa has Knowledge-Nature +9
Rufus has Perception +8.... Maybe he could Aid Rendylyn?

Treesa could keep Dancing Lights cast and directed under water ahead to help spot any ice below the surface?

Treesa nods at Rendylyn’s idea. ”Good thinking.” She activates her feral speech hex and translates the commands to bring the champions body back to the surface.

Treesa moves back to her position in the aft section of the ship. "I'll finish up my watch. Everyone should probably try to get back to sleep."

"Rendylyn? Do you have any more scrolls of that spell? I should have thought of that. I can add spells to what I know by a process, basically feeding them to my familiar. Had I thought of it I would have been able to cast it."

All good

@Rendylyn: Hmm.... My very first witch took the cauldron hex, and a lot of points in craft alchemy. Got an alchemist's kit and a Cauldron of Brewing. Add a minor bag of holding and that sounds like fun! I think we might have to take crafting feats to make some of the magic items though. Being persona-non-Grata in the kingdom doesn't lead to just go waltzing into places where we can purchase magic items. The only issue then would be where we get the crafting supplies for crafting the magic items. The rules list gold piece cost for it. But I've never felt that you could just dump a pile of gold on as table and cast the spells, then 'bam' and the item appears? I mean, put a stick and 375 GP down. Say the magic words and the gold disappears and you have a brand new wand of Cure Light Wounds.... ??

Soothsayer with Fortune: No. I don't like the Fortune hex. I would only be using Soothsayer to put Protective Luck on one target.

Trouble finding the hexes on CS: They were under Class. I reorganized and put them under their own spoiler so it is easier to find. Also added how/when they were taken.

...Cook People...

You know, I had forgotten that one cause I never get to play evil characters. That one is really cool if you have a virtually endless line of people to kill/cook! And then it's just "Here's a cookie for you. Takes care of what ails you, or makes you stronger/faster/etc. for an hour!" Is it overpowered? not at that level. I might want to work that in on my list!

So, what you originally said about it. ??

We'll play Soothsayer as written.

So you will not allow Soothsayer for anything other than the hexes listed in it? "evil eye hex, fortune hex, misfortune hex, or retribution major hex"

Just checking so I can leave it, or remove it from my "build plans". (Around level 8 considering other things that are more important....)

And thanks for your patience.

This is lousy writing.

LOL! Yes it is. They've never been known for great rules writing. That's why people are constantly hitting them for FAQs. If you've been playing for as long as I have you know that these rules are actually much better than the original. Those were pretty much, "the DM is in charge" and makes his/her own house rules for anything not covered, and "The rule of cool" sometimes covered anything! But, it's really mostly about having fun, and rules lawyers spoil that.

In a different game I have a witch that uses the soothsayer hex and protective luck but does not have cackle. All of the characters (except the witch since she can't use it on herself) start every encounter with protective luck active. When they get attacked, individually, it is active for one round. Then it ends. If I'm not doing anything else I can target one of the characters again.... This gets REALLY tedious as it makes my 1st level witch a 1-hit wonder for most encounters. Also, I find that I have to track who has been attacked so who still has the PL hex active.

But, it ruins any surprise attacks, so it's not all bad.

"What is best in life?"
"To crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentations of their women"
That's the fun of the game. Crush your enemies!

I'm also trying to play Treesa as growing in to her power with her situation. I chose evil eye and cackle first because she was alone and needed a way to weaken any enemies. Now she has team mates so she needed a hex to protect them, to make the team stronger.

I considered the slumber hex, but I've heard lots of complaints that it is over-powered. It really is a save-or-suck effect as long as someone can CDG the enemy if it falls asleep. I still plan to take it, but not yet.

Looking ahead at the major hexes and grand hexes.... There are some really powerful things there! Ice tomb, restless slumber, withering, animal servant, forced reincarnation....

Lines from:
Soothsayer: "When the witch uses the evil eye hex, fortune hex, misfortune hex, or retribution major hex, she can choose to delay the effect."

Protective Luck: "Hexes that affect the fortune hex, such as cackle, also affect protective luck."

I'm fine with limiting it to a single target. And I agree with Rendylyn. It's powerful at second level. But once our armor classes make it harder for us to be hit there are more useful things to be doing with hexes and spells.

Interesting. I've heard it argued that protective luck was similar to the fortune hex and therefore shouldn't be usable more than once per day on any one person. That is wrong because fortune covers all d20 rolls, not just physical attacks. Also that cackle should only be able to extend one instance of any hex. And finally that soothsayer shouldn't work with it. I prefer your limitation to any of those. The second is definitely wrong since you can hit one target with multiple applications of evil eye and extend all of them.

There are obvious weaknesses to hexes. Protective luck only affects physical attacks. No effect on magic. And I can't move, cackle and do another hex. Personally I hate that one. And, all of my hexes, including cackle are limited to 30'. And cackle is canceled if it isn't heard.

So, Would I be allowed to use protective luck on one ally, and evil eye on an enemy and extend both with cackle? And if/when I take soothsayer, can I use that with protective luck to cover one ally? I'm fine with the limitations. Just need to know before I choose my hex if we survive to reach third level.

Treesa steps forward to the edge of the mist and targets Rayse with her protective luck hex. She kneels down for cover from the creatures in the water and continues her cackle to extend the hex on Vormog.

Treesa moves forward trying to locate Rayse, staying low and moving amongst the cargo on deck. She cackles to continue the Protective Luck hex currently on Vormog.

And she quietly tells Rayse to try and stay close. "I can't activate the hex on you if I can't see you."

FYI for Rayse. Treesa cast Mage Armor on you. So you aren't totally unarmored.

I agree, we need every moment we can get. Tritons are CR2 monsters and we don't know about their leader. They aren't stupid so I would assume the battle is meant to have them target spellcasters first. Any prep time we can get is needed if we are going to have a chance to not have some of us killed.

Treesa moves up to Vormog and applies her protective luck hex, then kneels down for cover and starts chanting.

Any attack on Vormog is roll twice and take the worst roll. Cackle to extend it an extra round.

I think they went below deck. ?? Might be better to do that once a couple of the enemy have been killed. Let him know that we're just asking if he wants to join in the 'mop up'. Might be an easier sell.

That sounds like a job for the Posh man! Bards are all about talking fools into doing things, right?

I plan to boost my Diplomacy. Even plan to take the Charm hex. The Legendary version of it makes Diplomacy a class skill and I will use INT instead of CHA for it. And it makes it so it isn't dependent on language.

Been a while since I played an Inquisitor so I had to re-read it. It does say that with a swift action you can change the judgement type. Does not indicate any cost to do so. So you could start with a protection bonus right now. Switch to a judgement that increases either your to hit or damage rolls. Change it again to healing if/when you get hit. Only one swift action per round.

But, if you get knocked out, the judgement goes on hold until you are brought back into the battle.

Posh? Did you hurt yourself while sleeping? Your status bar shows HP: 17/21.

Posh is easy. He hides below the level of the rail and uses Bard song to buff his allies.

Treesa sees/hears her companions waking up. She ducks down and casts Mage Armor on Rayse. Unable to see the enemy she calls Rufus to her to wake Posh, then stay nearby to protect against any enemy that boards near her.

He has plate armor. Definitely not sleeping in that! I'll start with him then.

After he wakes everyone I'll call Rufus to guard me then.

I agree, but we do have to deal with the one that is already on board. I already told Rufus to wake people up. I can have him attack the one on the bow of the ship. I hate risking my familiar, but, if he's a caster of some sort we probably need to keep him busy.

Treesa will try to use the protective luck hex and cackle, and/or cast Mage Armor on 2 more people?

Treesa barks a couple of times. And ducks if she sees any of the Tritons flinch like they are about to fire at her.

Using Feral speech Treesa orders Rufus to wake the others by running/hopping over them. I'm imagining my sister-in-law's 80 pound dog jumping on someone asleep. Why? Because she has jumped on me/ran over me a couple of times while I was comfortably napping!

Good point.

She would want a warrior up. 1-3 Vormog, 4-6 Rayse: 1d6 ⇒ 3

Regardless of character build we are being ambushed at night so we aren't remotely prepared. And, we are outnumbered with monsters at the same level (or better for the leader) as the characters. This seems like an encounter slanted for a TPK.

The previous encounter seemed similar but at least we had a chance to prepare for that one.

I'm assuming that with the sound of the scales sliding through water, the crew all moving below deck and the captain gazing at me before also moving below deck, I have a round or two to cast a spell for myself? Mage Armor on myself and Rufus?

Treesa steps forward, (stepping on the sleeping men) responding very loudly to the creature that has climbed aboard the ship. "Hello Nerianus, knight of the waves, sworn champion of Mitra. But I think you are mistaken. Why are you speaking of us as servants of the fallen prince, breakers of chains, defilers of light. We aren't the ones committing a dishonorable sneak attack. Where is Mitra's Light as you commit such an evil act!?"

I put pictures of us on the ship.

Treesa and Rufus would prefer the 1st or 5th watch.