Utu Noranti Pralatong's page

I've actually learned from experience not to focus too much on back story that won't come up in game. It's the story elements that you can quickly and easily use at the table that make things fun.

In this case, Noranti needs to use her wayfinder as her focus component for all her conjuration magic (including healing), so she'll be pulling it out and talking about her haunted wayfinder regularly. I can just imagine trying to heal a paladin or something and saying (in my best old lady voice) "Now just hold still, dear, while I touch you with the haunted wayfinder".

"Well, it sounds like it could be Drognar or Leif. They certainly seem like the type of friendly fellows who might want to help their fellow Pathfinders even from beyond the grave. Does anyone have other possibilities? Faelyn, who was your dead friend?"

I might go with maintaining the mystery, and just have a list of all the possibilities for who it might be, instead of picking one. Noranti could babble about them occasionally, referencing different dead PCs each time.

D'oh! I posted under the wrong character name the first time. This PC "died" on her first mission - my only PC marked permanently dead. I still wanted to play her, so I just added 1 to the character number and started her over.

"Were Drognar or Lief dedicated healers? Or very peaceful people who cared about their fellow Pathfinders, even? Both sound like they could be the soul trapped in the wayfinder. It might take some more research to find out."

One time I played it, my group disobeyed Janira about going into the cave, so we fought the minotaur at higher strength at the beginning. We defeated it, but it surrenders when surrounded and low on HP, so we actually managed to capture it alive. We kept its axe and turned it loose on the promise that it would leave us alone and never come to that area again.

You know you've done a replayable adventure too many times when you have multiple interesting stories from it. :)

I'm always glad when Janira survives. The first time I played this, the minotaur beat us all on init and critted her on the first round, so she was dead before we could even act.

As others have said, thanks for GMing.

How deep is the water?

"I can summon one more servitor today. Maybe a dolphin to block him from being carried to far downstream. Or a pony, if it's shallow enough for such a creature to stand."

Is kineticist really considered complicated? I mean besides actually building one it is pretty straighforward. Gather Power and Blast every turn.

*shrug*

I have a much bigger issue getting my head around occultist's implements and whatever psychic has.

I think it's like occultist that way. If you've got your head wrapped around either class well enough to build one, then you shouldn't have problems playing it.

Re: Champion Mediums

I've got a level 3 medium that focuses on the Marshal spirit that does just fine. Gallant Inspiration is a heck of a class feature.

But even with a taboo, you can only use it 5 times per day. I guess that's my biggest worry about the Marshal spirit - what else can you do in combat when you don't have that available?

"Yes, we can talk later", Noranti responds to Janira. "Now, about that minotaur. Maybe it'll be less grumpy after a nap."

The old elf moves 5 ft closer to the beast and begins casting Sleep.

DC 16 when it kicks in at the start of my next turn, assuming it's 4 HD or less.

In order of complexity, assuming no archetype, from least to most, I'd wager:

Spiritualist, Medium (Champion only), Occultist, Mesmerist, Psychic, Kineticist, Medium (full array)

Really? I thought psychics were pretty much just typical spontaneous casters, just with a different set of spells. I haven't looked that closely, but they don't seem that complex.

I actually have occultist and medium characters. The "champion spirit only" route seems to be the only way to build an effective medium, without an archetype anyway, so that's what I did. Which is a shame, because I love the concept of the class. It's too bad the execution isn't very good.

I've looked at mesmerists and kineticists, and they do seem complex. I'd say occultists are just as complex. As I said above, occultists just require some time to digest the choices and decide on your build. Once you've done the hard work up front, actually playing them isn't that difficult.

It's a great class, bordering on overpowered, but requires careful planning. You can only take a limited number of implements and focus powers, and you have to decide how to allocate your points to be able to spend them on the different abilities. Those limited points are the factor that keeps it from being totally broken. That's why most occultists are elves or half-elves - the racial favored class bonus gives you extra mental focus points.

Noranti runs up to Janira faster than you'd expect from such an elderly elf, and quickly casts a spell to heal the wounded halfling.

Cure Light Wounds: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (7) + 1 = 8

"Janira, wait until we tell you what we found in the cave. Is that one of the gillmen you saw entering the cave in your earlier visits?" she gestures to the zombie shambling forward with the group.

Does Janira look wounded? Since I'm close enough, I might just run up and heal her, if it looks like she needs it.

In response to the GM comment about my servitor: It's a standard action power, even though it's mostly based a spell that's usually a full round to cast:

Servitor (Sp): As a standard action, you can expend 1 point of mental focus to summon a servitor. This ability functions as summon monster I, but you can use it only to summon a single creature, and the effect lasts for 1 minute. At 4th level and every 3 levels thereafter, the level of the summon monster spell increases by 1, to a maximum of summon monster VII at 19th level. You can't have more than one servitor in effect at a time. At any time, you can expend 1 point of mental focus as a free action to extend the duration of an active servitor by 1 minute.

"Oh, this is bad. I wonder if I could use enchantment magic on it. Do minotaurs even speak our language?"

Noranti thinks for a moment, trying to remember the answer to that question, so she'll know if the Obey occultist power will work on it.

knowledge any: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (5) + 7 = 12

She then attempts to jump across the stream. move action

acrobatics: 1d20 + 2 - 2 ⇒ (11) + 2 - 2 = 11

Assuming she makes it, she'll summon another eagle to try and attack the minotaur. The eagle appears next to the minotaur, so no AOO for approaching.

The eagle will then full attack the beast.

bite: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (11) + 3 = 14damage: 1d4 ⇒ 3
talon: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (18) + 3 = 21damage: 1d4 ⇒ 2
talon: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (13) + 3 = 16damage: 1d4 ⇒ 4

The three eyed old elf sees the minotaur attacking Janira and rushes to try and help.

"Don't worry, Janira! We'll save you!"

Double move to get closer - most of my magic is short range, and summoning an eagle would just get chopped down by an AOO before it could attack, anyway.

Noranti excitedly heads to the corner Jean-Robur indicated.

"Oh! Fresh mushrooms! These will be good in my next stew."

She begins picking the fungus and putting it in her pack, oblivious to the hidden hallway that her fellow Pathfinder was trying to point out.

"We could try to sneak it past our gillman friend outside. He doesn't seem that observant."

Noranti watches the back and forth with interest.

"There may be something else in these caves to attack us. Or traps. Or the minotaur outside could come back, if Janira didn't lead it far enough away. I suppose someone who's already did would be more expendable to combat such threats, though it does seem rude to use him that way."

Used 1 charge from Janira's CLW wand. How many charges are left?

Cure Light Wounds: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (7) + 1 = 8

Noranti hits Zaratina with Janira's wand, healing her back to full health.

"Anyone else need healing while I have the wand out?"

How many charges did the wand have? We can keep track on the discussion thread.

knowledge nature: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (6) + 7 = 13
perception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (7) + 6 = 13

"According to his notes, this dhampir was killing the gillmen and turning them into undead."

She slaps the corpse violently. "BAD, EVIL MAN!!!"

Who did we say took Janira's cure wand? I know Zaratina still needs a heal, but is anyone else wounded? I can use the wand on anyone who needs it. We should have plenty of charges for now, and I can use my own spells and wand once Janira's runs out.

Noranti's eagle will attack the blue zombie.

bite: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (15) + 3 = 18
damage: 1d4 ⇒ 3
talon: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (5) + 3 = 8
damage: 1d4 ⇒ 4
talon: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (15) + 3 = 18
damage: 1d4 ⇒ 2

Noranti looks at Zaratina. "You don't look so good, dear", she says, casts a spell, walks up to her (provoking from green), and touches Zaratina with the magic.

Cure Light Wounds: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (6) + 1 = 7

When yellow approaches Zaratina, my readied action goes off.

Noranti summons a servitor eagle behind the yellow skeleton, flanking with Zaratina.

The eagle lets out a cry and full attacks the skeleton, though it's talons go right between the bones. Slashing damage, but the bite does all three types.

bite: 1d20 + 3 + 2 ⇒ (6) + 3 + 2 = 11
damage: 1d4 ⇒ 2

"Use blunt weapons against the bony skeletons, and slashing weapons against the fleshy undead!"

knowledge religion bony things: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (20) + 7 = 27
knowledge religion fleshy things: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (5) + 7 = 12

Noranti moves to where she can see the enemies.

"Oh. Those look undead."

She tells the team whatever she knows about them.

Then, she'll ready an action to summon a servitor eagle after the other Pathfinders enter the room, when she sees a spot where it'll flank with one of them.

Noranti examines her Wayfinder as if trying to determine which way is north. Even though there's only one pathway to go towards the sounds, she nods after a second, as if she figured something out, gestures forward, and says, "That way."

It's the focus component for all her conjuration spells and class abilities, so she pretty much always has it out.

perception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (12) + 6 = 18
"It does sound like some sort of animals ahead. We should be cautious."

"Can you tell if those are magic, dear?" Noranti asks her fellow elf.

perception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (1) + 6 = 7
"Oh, that's not good. We should tell Uori his kinsmen are here, dead. But we should also be weary. Whatever killed them could still be here."

"Yes, we're just explorers. The real question is why are you here?"

Noranti walks right up to the water to examine the miniature Absalom in more detail.

"The craftsmanship on this is really quite excellent. It seems very old. The Society would certainly want to know about this."

She pulls out some paper and pen and starts taking notes, and draws crude pictures of both the miniature city and the gillman.

knowledge (any): 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (4) + 7 = 11
"That looks like a little version of Absalom. Oh, look at the detail! Mr. Gillman, do you know who carved that? It's very nice work", Noranti asks louder than Zaratina, just to make sure she's heard.

Noranti expands on Jean-Robur's explanation, going into a detailed explanation about Aroden's holy book, and the place of these images in the story. She goes on long enough to be truly boring.

When Vorden speaks, she stops her ranting. "Do you want me to take Janira's cure wand to use on the rest of you if you're wounded? Maybe some of you warrior types should take the cure potions, in case I can't get to you fast enough if we're attacked by something down here."

Responding to Evariel

"The spells don't care about my feelings, young one. I just have to be in the right emotional space to cast them."

Noranti would want to examine the cloth from the pit.

"I wonder if this has any special significance. Can anyone here cast Detect Magic? I can cast it, but only once per day, and this doesn't seem like the time to waste it."

Appraise: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (11) + 9 = 20

If it matters, I have all of those skills between +6 and +9. Just went for appraise for variety, since I doubt if anyone else has it, and it's tied with linguistics for my highest.

"It requires some thought and emotion, and I need to use my Wayfinder to channel the magic, but why would I need to make noise to do it? Here, let me clean you off, too."

Noranti goes around showering clean water from her Create Water knack (cantrip) all over the people who got dirty falling into the pit.

"That water looks dirty. Can anyone cast Prestidigitation to clean the wet people off?"

Not waiting for a response, Noranti casts Create Water on Jean-Robur, getting him even wetter as he's trying to dry off.

"There. At least it washed off the dirty water with clean, fresh water."

Noranti will try to help pull the rope up, if someone else takes the lead, and any of the swimmers look like they're having trouble climbing out.

strength check aid another to pull rope: 1d20 + 0 ⇒ (13) + 0 = 13

"As long as one of you are down there, can you grab that cloth floating on the surface? It might be a clue about our mystery gillmen. And if you're good at swimming, you might want to feel around to see how deep it is, and if there's anything else down there worth recovering.

"Oh dear. I'd throw them a rope, but I think mine is in the bag that young elf took from me before he fell in. Anyone else have a spare rope, or should we just drop them the one we were using to get across?"

Mage hand won't work on the cloth in the water if it's magical.

dungeoneering: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (18) + 7 = 25

"Some sort of pit trap. Been here for quite some time. Must be to keep folks like us from following the gillmen in. They probably just swim across.

Noranti will tie off Zaratina's rope at this end.

"No way to get my mule across. We'll be coming back this way when we're finished, right? In the mean time, can one of you stronger folks carry this sack?"

She pulls a sack containing rope, grappling hooks, some sunrods, and oil flasks off the mule, while leaving some of the bigger stuff like her cooking kit and bedroll on the pack saddle.

She'll then climb across the pit using the rope.

If the DC is 10 or less, then I can take 10.

Noranti seems to have already forgotten the previous conversation.

"Scouting, yes. Good idea, if you're stealthy, but that won't work while carrying a light. Better to wait and all go together, just in case there's something dangerous in there."

She starts fumbling around in her backpack.

"Speaking of dangerous, this seems like a good time to put on my armor."

She pulls out a scroll of Mage Armor and casts it on herself.

"Grandmother?" Noranti looks at Zaratina closely, checking out her ears specifically. "I can't be your grandmother. You're not even half elven."

spellcraft: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (8) + 9 = 17

"Oh dear. Minotaurs aren't very friendly. Janira was wise to cast Expeditious Retreat before getting its attention. She seems like a clever girl. I'm sure she'll outrun it and be safe."

With that, Noranti turns and heads into the cave.

Going from memory on what the spell was that Janira cast, since I've GMed this before.

I'm a little confused. Is the map missing a "mini"? Who is that blonde figure to the right of the wolf in yellow? Besides the wolves and my summoned eagle, I think we should have 8 minis (6 party members, Janira, and "Hey You"), but I only see 7.

Noranti's summoned eagle attacks the wolf in yellow again. I'm including flank bonus, though I'm not sure if that figure to the right of the wolf has a melee weapon out, so it may not provide flanking. Also, does it get Janira's inspiration? Not including that, so add +1 to everything if it does.

bite: 1d20 + 3 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 3 + 2 = 7 damage: 1d4 ⇒ 4
talon: 1d20 + 3 + 2 ⇒ (7) + 3 + 2 = 12 damage: 1d4 ⇒ 4
talon: 1d20 + 3 + 2 ⇒ (13) + 3 + 2 = 18 damage: 1d4 ⇒ 4

"Well, that's more like it", Noranti says, as she sees her servitor successfully claw one of the wolves. "How else can I help? Let's see... Daze only works on humanoids. I could try clouding their minds..."

The old woman puts one hand on the necklace around her neck and mumbles some more, and some magical energy touches the wolf in red.

DC 15 Will save. If it fails and has 1 HD, then it's dazed. If it fails and has more than 1 HD, then it's staggered.

She also 5 foot steps into the middle of the pack of Pathfinders, hoping to avoid becoming a target.

"Well then I suppose I should summon a servitor to help", the old woman says, then mutters something incoherent to her Wayfinder.

An eagle magically appears between the nearest wolf and Janira, and attacks it.

bite: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (5) + 3 = 8damage: 1d4 ⇒ 1
talon: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (4) + 3 = 7damage: 1d4 ⇒ 3
talon: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (7) + 3 = 10damage: 1d4 ⇒ 3

Add +1 to everything if Janira's inspiration would affect it.

Upon seeing Janira's Wayfinder, Noranti responds, "I already have one of those, dearie. I use it for my conjuration magic." She pulls the device out to show the halfling.

knowledge nature: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (3) + 7 = 10
"I wonder what type of dogs those are."

Apparently, the dice don't like me in this adventure

"Oh, I thought a nice chowder", the old lady responds, busying herself with making a fire and pulling out pots and bags of foodstuffs from the pack saddle on her mule.

profession: chef: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (2) + 6 = 8

Apparently, some of Noranti's ingredients were sitting in the packs in the hot sun for too long, as the chowder doesn't turn out very good.

The elderly three eyed elf surprisingly has no trouble keeping up, even after a full day of walking, though she does lean on her pack mule for support occasionally.

She spends much of the day talking about a wide variety of topics, adding her own thoughts to whatever Janira talks about. It's obvious that Noranti actually knows quite a bit, but tends to ramble incoherently. She tosses out bits and pieces of information, not actual stories that would put any of it in context or make it interesting. On the few occasions that she does begin to tell a real story, she'll inevitably lose her train of thought and switch topics without getting to the point.

"Lirgen?"

knowledge geography or history: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (16) + 7 = 23

"I've heard of it, of course, but I was never there. I spent most of my life in Tian Xia."

"As I said, I'm from Jinin, the elven nation on the Tian continent. I always thought I'd fit in better with the western elves here in the Inner Sea. My own country modeled itself too much on Minkai, getting all involved in honor, and samurai codes. I was always too much of a free spirit for that sort of thing."

"But in my old age, they finally came to respect my wisdom. They called me Utu, and encouraged me to travel the world, sharing my wisdom with others", she declares proudly.

Some of you begin to wonder if the Jinin elves just encouraged the old woman to travel to get rid of her.

"Oh please, call me Noranti, dear. Utu is more of a title. Where I come from in Jinin, it means something like "revered elder" in your language.

With that, Noranti starts to go on about her childhood in the elven nation in Tian Xia, almost 300 years ago. The rest of the party would probably get pretty bored quickly if they pay attention.

As the group leaves the pub, Noranti collects a mule that carries some of her heavier gear (rope, grappling hook, full cooking kit, etc), and follows the rest of the group, occasionally muttering to herself as she goes.

"Full moons, full moons. Why does that seem significant?"

knowledge arcana: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (14) + 7 = 21

"Maybe it's some sort of lycanthrope custom?" Turning to Janira, she asks, "Are you sure they were gillmen, and not werefish of some sort?"

Agreed that the contract is a great role playing bit. Noranti is just too chaotic to play along.

Responding to Zaratina's comment about her cooking, Noranti looks at her and says, "Oh yes, I'm quite an accomplished chef. Venture-Captain Valsin even encouraged me to get this fine wooden serving platter to bring along when I travel."

With that, she holds out her arm, and adjusts the buckler she's wearing to lay flat, then picks up a mug from a nearby table and balances it on the buckler, smiling proudly.