Absolutely no hard feelings on tabling the campaign. Thanks for sticking with us as long as you did.
Best of luck with your work and family life, these are challenging time for everyone.
Search Posts
Sorry to hear it. Good luck guys.
Opposition school or not, it might be worth picking up Command Undead. That spell would be incredible against the hordes of undead we're likely to run into again.
Banished: Truk'tosh hesitates. He wanted nothing more than to rush to his mother and twin and enjoy the freedom of childhood again but it was not meant to be. He knew in his heart that he was still needed elsewhere. The idyllic vision before him was just a fantasy, one he could not afford when his family and friends were in mortal danger. Somewhere. Grandmother, he thinks. I need her wisdom now more than ever.
Banished: Truk'tosh knew he was needed elsewhere but the details were ephemeral and danced at the edge of his thoughts. Still, comfort rarely took priority over duty for the Firebird warrior. Rejecting the prolific sense of peace, Truk'tosh wills his eyes to open and tries to climb to his feet.
Banished:
For each negative level a creature has, it takes a cumulative –1 penalty on all ability checks, attack rolls, combat maneuver checks, Combat Maneuver Defense, saving throws, and skill checks. In addition, the creature reduces its current and total hit points by 5 for each negative level it possesses.
Truk'tosh groans in pain when the traitor's dark spell saps his strength. Suddenly his movements are sluggish and less sure. The druid continues his assault despite the magical impediment, determined to finish the fiend harrying his twin.
Finding his flames ineffective against the hag, Nethuns trills. The flaming sphere obeys, rolling toward the witch that cursed his master.
Capitalizing on the opening provided by Gruskork, Truk'tosh taps in his weapon's stores of mystical power. Crackling lightning dances up the axe's haft as the druid starts it spinning once again. In rapid succession, a crack of thunder splits the air with each toss.
"Quickly! Strike her down before she can retreat into the aether again!" Truk'tosh warns before sending his axe spinning at the monstrous hag.
Following the druid's lead, Nethuns commands the sphere of flames after their prey.
Still alive. Still quarantined.
Trusting Malthazir's charmed senses, Truk'tosh starts his axe spinning. He waits the span of a heartbeat, watching the air above his twin's head for the shimmer of an invisible attacker. "Sister, duck!"
Nethuns trills, sending the flaming sphere over the oracle's head as well.
Lacking for options to battle an unseen enemy, Truk'tosh tries to determine where the volley of arrows were fired from.
Without an enemy in sight, Truk’tosh relies on his allies to be his eyes and ears. He begins to call a flame spirit, waiting for the word from his twin or Garidan to finish the summoning. "They cannot hide forever!"
Present!
My own personal work-vortex has wrapped up so I should be more available starting in February.
"Archers!" Truk'tosh warns his companions. "Take cover!" His warning given, the druid returns his attention to the traitorous nightblood that has regained his feet. Without giving his opponent a chance to regroup, Truk’tosh springs into a motion, striking with both ends of Morgrym’s axe in a flurry of blows. As he attacks he focuses more and more on the nightblood’s weaker side.
Nethuns twists in a spiral pattern, calling a primal spirit of flame to attack his master’s opponent.
Moving with impossible alacrity, Truk'tosh closes on the other nightblood warrior. At the end of his sprint, the druid pivots on a foot using his momentum to swing the weighted tail of his armor like a flail aimed at his opponent's ankles.
Trusting the knowledge gleaned from his twin's dream, Truk'tosh prepares for war. First, the druid performs a battle-prayer to Mylesar - a short series of gestures emulating the blows of a heavy weapon and a wordless chant. The effect is subtle but powerful as the grip on his weapon becomes tighter and his movements more sure. Second, the druid calls on spirits of air to wrap him in a cloak of winds. The nightblood serving the hag didn't have any archers among them during the last encounter but he wasn't taking any more chances.
***
Trusting the rogue's nose, Truk'tosh prepares for battle.
While the others search the slain giant owl’s nest, Truk’tosh stands guard at its base. Nethuns flits about the open air, hovering near the druid’s shoulder. Recalling how badly injured the spirit was in their last battle, Truk’tosh considers his tiny elemental companion. ”We continue to face greater and greater challenges together brave little Nethuns. You face the same peril as the rest of us but claim little of the reward. Perhaps it is time to see you properly armed.” Drawing on the animate dream’s stolen power, now imbued into Mylesar’s emblem, Truk’tosh coaxes a handful of the bonds formed with spirits of nature earlier that morning from himself to his familiar. Pleased with the offering of elemental power, the mamiwa spirals upward sending droplets of dew through the air.
Specific magic items are incredibly rare in this campaign. Wouldn’t it be easier to create your own piecemeal with essences?
I love all the ideas guys but Truk already has a pretty rad cloak (that I should imbue essences into at some point). Does Garidan have a cloak yet? There’s a few pretty cool cloaks out there specifically for swashbucklers you could draw inspiration from.
@GM: Sweet! Thanks. Truk'tosh has the the mithril cloak already. Would it make sense to attach the feathers to the mithril?
@GM: It occurs to me that the default application for essences imbued into to armor to raise their bonus is enhancement which won't stack with magic vestment. I had been under the impression essences imbued into armor raised the base value of the armor. Would you be open to retroactively calling the essences imbued into Truk's shadowbrood armor another type of bonus? (natural, sacred, etc) Alternatively, would you be open a houserule that allows magic vestment to stack with armor's base enhancement? Similar to have magus weapon boost work? Alternatively-Alternatively, what would the essence cost be to modify magic vestment to work that way?
Amidst the flurry of activity that comes with the party packing their things to depart, Truk’tosh prepares his undonned armor. A flash of memory crosses his thoughts... an oiled cloth used to tend a favored weapon, trod earth from a battlefield, the spoken names of sworn foes. Through the memory, a ritual calling on Mylesar for protection takes form in the druid’s mind. For a moment he hesitates. The great spirit claimed he demands no oaths but Truk’tosh maintained his skepticism. Still, his twin’s warning echoes in his ears. In these dark times, caution and tradition must take second rank to necessity. Clutching a fistful of earth in one hand, Truk’tosh traces a pattern across the breastplate of his shadowbrood armor. He chants the prayer, ”Stone and soil, trod in battle. Leather and iron, christened with blood. Through this armor, protect me from harm and the hag known as the Soul-Bleed and all those in her thrall will be struck down in your name, Mylesar, the Warrior, Great Spirit of War and Vengeance."
*** Hearing the rogue’s suggestion, Truk’tosh surveys the terrain and tries to puzzle out potential nesting locations for such a beast.
The former is fine. I hadn't built Truk'tosh to intimidate and at conception he was intended to be the gentle giant but I'm of the opinion that not every secondary essence perk needs to be a perfect fit. Also, I like the idea that absorbing large quantities of essences fundamentally changes a person over time.
The pages for Truk look correct. Thanks. I really like the move to a shared pool resource-driven system instead of individual uses per day. Did you catch my note about grove of respite? Edit: One small note, Truk recently used those two potions of CLW.
Ah. I misunderstood that whole line of questioning. Yes, I'd like to use the arcane essence for that.
Truk'tosh will imbue all three of his unused ethereal essences into his holy symbol to get the lesser version of familiar spell metamagic. I'm not entirely clear on what I can use the arcane enchantment essence for. The default application is raising spell DCs but Truk doesen't use any enchantments.
@GM: I keep forgetting to mention it but next time we camp, Truk'tosh has been preparing grove of respite. In addition to providing fairly secure weather-resistance shelter, it gives us a bunch of goodberries.
Niyut's warning about how their people would respond to his dealings with Mylesar is wise but not one he is surprised to hear. The Firebird were a pragmatic resourceful people but they had little trust in outsiders and little patience for new ideas. Some part of him wondered if he'd still feel the same way if the Storm hadn't spiritually bound him to a dwarven servant of the great spirit of war. His twin's painful regret on the other hand surprises and shames him further. He had always believed it his responsibility to protect his sister. In addition to again failing to shield her from physical danger, her heart suffered under his watch. "Do not feel that you bear this burden alone. Both of us failed our mother. If I had been swifter, stronger, surer with my axe, I would have defeated the Nightblood in her thrall and struck down the Soul-Bleed before they could escape. I am no hero worthy of glory", Truk'tosh adds after a long pause. "Perhaps there are no heroes left." When the discussion returns to Mylesar's omen, Truk'tosh closes his eyes. He tries to remember the scent of sweat and blood and the vision that followed. He recalls it all as closely as he can.
Once the business with Garidan’s shield is sorted out, Truk’tosh visits his sister. For now, his melancholy was delayed in favor of understanding the Great Spirit’s visit and the mystery behind his warning. He knew none more driven to unravel a puzzle than his canny twin. ”Sister?” he asks in a quiet voice during a lapse in his twin’s studies. ”I have need your council. The great spirit favored by the dwarf bound to me visited moments ago. In a vision he showed me blood and darkness. The darkness gave way to a terrible storm that threatened to consume all life until it was tamed by... our mother. It ended with a warning, ‘Beneath the shadows of Kahae Edhekal, the Blood flows and the Fire sleeps. And the one feeds upon the Arisen may fall before your might... if you claim it.’” The druid hesitates, as if struggling to come to terms with the tale as he shares it. ”What are your thoughts?”
Truk’tosh blinks rapidly as he tries to acclimate himself to the physical realm again. The wisest parts of his subconscious begin to chide him for the bargain he’d struck, even unintentionally, with the Great Spirit of War. His waking thoughts turn to the warning given him by Mylesar. Kahae Edhekal? Did we leave some dark power intact when we left East Gate? Niyut will want to hear about this. "Truk'tosh, if you've got a few moments, I'd like to ask for help with something," Garidan begins as he offers his buckler to his companion. "The magic of this shield is similar to that of my armor, so I believe it'll be possible to add a spell to it that I can make use of myself. And I further believe that it'll be most receptive to the sort of magic that you and Gruskorb wield. As such, I'd be quite appreciative if you'd be willing grant me the use of whatever magic you feel we'd most benefit from in the future." The druid inspects Garidan’s shield closely. As he runs his calloused digits across its smooth surface, the extent of the swashbuckler’s claim begins to take shape. ”Yes, a spirit could be bound to it for a time. When I commune with the elements tonight, I will ask for one suitable to the task. Be warned: Spirits are proud, sometimes capricious, things. There will be limits.”
Thanks. Is that list on the wiki somewhere?
Truk’tosh works in dutiful silence as the party prepares to rest and recover from the day’s ordeals. For most travelers, making camp was a series of time consuming tedious tasks. For the Firebird druid, it was a welcome distraction from his dark thoughts. Verthag’s death and his mother’s near rescue were two more failures that weighed on his heart. He had absolute trust is his sister’s craft, despite their darker turn of late, but that did keep despair’s cold grip from seizing him – Will we get another chance to save her? Suddenly, a crack of thunder pierces the air briefly silencing the ambient wildlife. A moment later, the sour scent of blood and coppery tang of blood is on the wind. All were phenomenon that Truk’tosh was growing familiar with – the presence of the great spirit Mylesar was upon him. What do you want from me? I cannot be the champion you need. I will never be strong enough.
Slowed by the weight of his injuries, Nethuns' flits about much less than usual. Noticing the tiny elemental spirit's suffering, Truk'tosh offers what little healing magic he has remaining.
Hearing his twin's request, Truk'tosh surveys what little he can make of the horizon. "The Forest of Night was a deadly place before the sky broke open and swallowed up the sun and sky. With the dead walking among her trees, safe places to rest will be difficult to find. Do not wander."
5) Pass. In addition to not fitting him, Truk'tosh has plenty of bonds already. I'm still not really clear on the benefits of having tons of bonds. Is there a cap on the number of essences a single bonded item can have? 6) I didn't see anything on the list that stands out as Truk'tosh's responsibility that I wasn't already accounting for. If he's reaching the limits of his carrying capacity, Truk'tosh can pick up some of the load. 7) The only curative consumables I've used were the ones we started the campaign with.
Since it came from a furious enchantment, would the enchantment essence interact well with Truk'tosh's current rage-ish boons?
Truk’tosh assists in relative silence with the funeral rites while his twin directs himself and Garidan. Their people were close enough with the Nightblood that their last rites weren’t entirely foreign to the twins but that didn’t mean he was comfortable with them. The flames of the Firebird’s pyres purified the spirit and returned the dead’s abandoned flesh to the earth and sky. To preserve blood and bones after death struck him as somehow selfish in a way he struggled to put to words. As Niyut finishes, Truk’tosh raps the off-hand end of his weapon on the earth and joins in with their clan’s final words. ”Through flames, we are born anew.”
Truk’tosh looks inward while the others discuss the nuances of magical theory and Garidan’s affliction. Verthag’s death and his mother’s near-rescue are occupy much of his thoughts. Could he have done more? For a moment, despair threatens to take him but the nearness of Mylesar’s presences serves as a suitable distraction. ”The great spirit’s power is still within reach. Gather closer”, he asks his companions.
Feeling the divine power pull away from his fingertip, Truk’tosh frowns slightly – an expression exaggerated by his heavy brow. ”My connection to Mylesar is complex. He… is not like the spirits of flame and wind I’m accustomed to bonding with. His needs are more personal.”
Truk'tosh asks for aid from spirits of succor for himself and his familiar.
I don't know how much extended downtime we're going to get. Is the ritual especially time-consuming?
Using his keen senses, Truk’tosh sets to finding remnants of the battle that might be useful in tracking their prey. He pauses at the sight of the witch’s slain familiar. ”This rat was bonded to the witch. Can you commune with its spirit?”
In an instant the fire leaves Truk’tosh’s blood. His mother was not only alive but she had almost been close enough to touch. ”Do we have magic to follow them? Does the charm you crafted to track them here still work? We were so close...”
I disagree. I think it's fine if they're easy targets, it makes them good distractions.
The art of fusing his elemental magics with Niyut's was something the twins had practiced since they were children. He could never perform such a feat on his own but he was never alone. The spirit of a great dwarven priest was joined to his own. Through him, Morgrym's god's power coursed through his veins and thundered in his blood. With the last remnants of Mylesar's power on his fingertips, a bold plan forms in Truk'tosh's mind. In one outstretched palm, a roiling spirit of flames appears. In the other, Mylesar's divine lightning dances. In a swift decisive gesture, he brings them together pointed at the cloud of swirling mist. A clap of thunder follows alongside a pillar of entwined flames and pure divine wrath, directly into the center of the witch's last known location.
|