Varis Salani's page

Slightly weary from the day's travels, Varis was almpost asleep when the commoction started. Hearing the count plead for help and then see two barons (he surely must have been sleeping still ?) climb and fall down from the trees was enough, and the tengue took to jumping from the high platform as if it was nothing - spreading his rudimentary wings and shouting "Do not fear my friends! The creature will feel my blade!" before landing slightly shakily on the ground below, as if he had tried an aerial maneuver that didn't quite work out as intended.

In the process he ignored the heavy crossbow laying besides him and drew his rapier, ready to strike and rushes forwards as far as he can get.

Glide to fall safely: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (11) + 4 = 15
Glide movement: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (2) + 4 = 6

Hearing that the men who once died by the tiger's claws were the baron's friends, Varis almost bites his tongue. He had assumed they were merely men he had hired for the trip and made a joke about it back on the ship. Sometimes one should really keep his beak shut.

After the count and the non-combatants left them, Varis helps Guy up the rope as best he can, even though he cannot say that he is an expert. But after one very failed attempt he retreats and lets someone else handle it, accepting some help himself if given.
Climb: 1d20 ⇒ 2 aid another

Climb: 1d20 ⇒ 18 climbing himself

Once atop one of the machans, he sits down with his crossbow besides him, eager to shoot at the animal or drop down atop it if needed.

Eh right, no crit. Somehow I thought he had a keen weapon - but that was a swashbuckler NPC I recently ran in my campaign apparently ^^
parry crit to regain panache is a very nice ruling btw ;)

Also sorry, was a bit busy. Feel free to delay me whenever that happens again.

Quite glad for the fact that his claws did not actually meet the snake's vicious fangs before it literally exploded, Varis rushes towards the elephant, where some fighting is still going on - striking at the closest serpent once he sees it. His aim proves to be rather usteady, after this very dramatic encounter in the undergrowth.

Attack: 1d20 + 6 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 6 + 1 = 9 -> damage: 1d6 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 1 = 5

PS: little snakes are cuter than monkeys in my opinion!

Varis storms towards the big snake as fast as he cans, rapier drawn, but moves warily of its fangs and long body.
Acrobatics: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (19) + 7 = 26 Tumble through the reach

"Bite this you ugly big thing!" he shouts, waving his weapon at the animaland readies himself for an attack.

Double move towards snake, should it choose to attack me: parry and riposte for 1 panache, see roll below

Varis keeps blending in. He feels the need to impress the baron further, but it seems his first hunting venure was a lucky shot.

He really needs to train more with crossbows, you never know when one is needed.

Crossbow: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (5) + 5 = 10

Varis gladly takes one of the potions for later use (unless somebody needs one right now), seeing that he will propably be head to head with a tiger soon.

He will take watch around the perimeter for the remainder of the camp, hoping to scare any monkeys away - so that the situation doesn't repeat.

Varis helps clearing away the monkeys, looking with a guilty expression towards the mahout.
"You did nothing bad here, you even tried to stop us. I am sure your god has watched and knows." he says, trying to cheer the man up.

"Oh my. Holy monkeys are new. I can understand the baron, in the garundi jungle there were only unholy ones." Varis croaks nervously, looking towards Bomande with uncertainity, then watching the charred remains all around him.
"But they were truly harmless, weren't they?"

Not having encountered swarms before, Varis springs into action as usual - drawing his blade and stabbing wildly into the chaos.
"Well, hope they know when to flee!" he shouts between the slashes, taking on a defensive posture that is more suited to single opponents.

Attack: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (20) + 6 = 26 -> Damage: 1d6 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 1 = 2

No parry for poor Varis vs automatic damage ^^

"Never trust a monkey. I learned that in Bloodcove." Varis states grimly and shushes them away without coming too near.

Intimidate: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (16) + 2 = 18

He then looks towards the baron's tent, as he would most likely know what to do in this situation.

"Ah, this should do!" Varis says with a heavy crossbow in hand, swirling it around as if he was born with one - that is until it drops and almost flies against the next tent. "Well, apparently not only the spears are not for throwing, ha!" he says with an emberassed croak, picks the thing up, grabs some bolts and vanishes from sight as swiftly as he can.

During his little expeditions in the name of the count's honor, Varis finally sees the chance he waited for, and gets some crossbow practice at that - hasn't shot one in years!

Crossbow attack: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (14) + 5 = 19

Hunting with a rapier is just silly ^^. I can see it with a spear maybe, I suppose. As long as it is not of the longspear variety one can always throw it - and longspears in the jungle would be even sillier than hunting with a rapier. Not like there is much cavalry to unmount in there ;)

If the stealth approach works:
Stealth: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (16) + 6 = 22

Varis swiftly calmed down once it was clear there was no actual danger. He was about to say some highly intelligent comment on the matter, but was taken aback by Lissanya's comment. Glaring at his claws for a long moment, he simply said "No, I'm not skilled at healing at l sadly." and waits until all leave, to do the same.

Once the count enters the tent, Varis nods knowingly. "I know how you feel, trying to impress the man who may be something of a father to you. I'd love to help, though I do not know much. Maybe I can sneak around, trying to flush out some animals in your path?"
He then thinks through his options for a while, letting the others speak, but no other ideas come to his mind.

I thought about using stealth to help

Once the actual hunting begins, Varis to his horror realizes that he has not remembered to obtain a bow. While he killed his fair share of demon monkeys, that killing was done with his rapier. And "hunting" was only involved if you count striking at rabid monsters that try to rush you down in masses.

He approaches Guy at some point during the morning, obviously embarassed. "I completely forgot to buy a bow for this hunting thing, and would hate to embarass myself to the baron after boasting about my past experiences. The man even showed me how to fire a gun, and I can't even remember to bring a bow, can you believe this? You seem to get along quite well with the count - maybe you could ask him if there were any spares? Or do you have other ideas where I can get a weapon for ranged combat without making a bad impression? I only have this blasted dagger and it doesn't fly far." The bird talks almost too fast to understand him properly and is jittery mess.

Varis jumps up immediatly, not taking the time to put on his armor - this could be fatal in such a situation.
His sword drawn, he squeezes out a "Wake up! Trouble!" to warn his fellow pathfinders, but makes sure to keep the voice quiet enough to not alert what might possibly be the evil tiger!

He hastily leaves the tent and rushes towards the noise, ready for a fierce battle.

AC 14

Varis walks in the front, apparently seeing himself as some sort of lookout. He has some problems with the heat, but refuses to take off his armor as this would mean taking off his heraldry.

Aye! Adventure awaits!"

"Ha! Then we cannot fail!" the tengu croaks out and spreads his wings, then falling back into laughter again.

Hearing Lissanya's comment, Varis fluffs his feathers and stands proudly presents his chest. "Huh! I surely won't fail! But if somebody is taking my feathers, then it might just as well be a friend. You can take one back with you as a memento for dear old Varis! They are great on hats." Varis says with a laugh, poiting at his own hat.

"He is here to get his leg back in a sense! Well not literaly, its long eaten by the tiger, but he will get revenge. But I shall keep my eyes open for evil monkeys AND tigers now! Thank you!" Varis says to the barkeeper and and waitress, then finishes his.

When he notices Guy's uneasiness, he pats the young man on his back reassuringly. "Don't worry friend. You have me with you! I know how to deal with monkeys, they can't be worse than the monkey demons I fought before!" and laughs deeply and loudly.

With all that walking around at the market, I suppose Varis would keep his ears open. But finding the information was never his skill. He was more fond of taking it and using it well ;)

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (19) + 2 = 21

As Varis is almost completely unfamilliar with the food that is offered here, having only eaten fried chicken before (and the recipe was completely different apparently), he walks around the perimeter for a while not able to choose what to try.
He finally decides for the seafood curry, as it seems the most fitting dish regarding they just arrived on a ship. And having eaten lots of this kind of food the last couple months, he hopes for some with a taste unlike any before for a change. At least it smells that way!

"Oh I think I will leave the real hunting, with musk and all, for the baron and you, you seem quite capable. But I suppose a machete sounds quite helpful. And I could sure use something to cover my armor, or it will get scratches. I suppose a compass would help as well, huh?" Varis says laughing.

If Cleo feels like joining, he goes shopping with her and Guy, helping his shy companion find some good boots and lighter armor and finding some things for himself as well.

He also tries to see if there are any regional food specialities he can get a taste while they are still in town. No better way to get personal with a foreign culture than eating their food and drinking their booze.

Buying a machete and a compass

Having learned the hard way that one cannot just walk into the jungle, Varis makes sure to visit one of the local safari equipment shops.

Beforehand, he would ask Cleo to accompany him, as she knows life in the jungle and what is needed to make a journey through it safe.
Well a tiger hunt is propably not the definition of safe, but dying of some fever before the cat even has a chance for the kill would be even worse.

While she is trying to get her fish sold, he approaches her.
"Say, you seem to know how these things go. I was a fool in Bloodcove and my fellow adventurer's as well. We just went into the jungle without much preparation to finish our mission, and let's just say that the jungle is dangerous. Heh!" The tengu strangely stops his talk here for a moment, as if waiting for laughter at this "joke", then continues.
"I hoped you might be able to help me with the shopping. I don't trust merchants, they would sell me the whole building if able, not just what I need!"

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 3 + 2 ⇒ (6) + 3 + 2 = 11

"You speak true, Baron General. But I prefer my sword whenever possible. A lot." Varis says with a merry voice.

He then proceeds to tell him some amusing stories, as people do very strange things when they are confronted with a tengu noble from a taldan house.

"Ah well, it seems I was just lucky to be born with them. While I have not met many of my species, the few I did were not blessed with such sharp claws, themselves prefering cold steel. And while I cannot just climb to the sky like a raven, I can use these things" Varis flutters a bit with his vestigal wings "well enough to not fear heights. Most tengus don't have enough strength in their wings for that feat." he walks around on the deck a bit, nervous of such private talk.
"Seems my parentage is rather primal and barbaric, huh? Good thing my father taught me good manners and truly brought me into the civilization!"

"Heh, thank you for the kind words, General Baron!" he says with a twinkle in his eyes, apparently quite nervous from the subject.
"You are right, my time on the street might be a factor why I took so well to father's teachings. I did have to get by alone before he took me in, many of the human kids saw a monster in me back then. But at least I learned to use the weapons my heritage gave me. I do prefer a good rapier, but these come in handy in a pinch." he shows his claws, that are somehow reminiscent of small knifes when one looks closely - something Varis was quite able to cover in social interactions till now. He never cut anybody on the ship with a handshake.

While he never has shot a gun before, Varis did have training with bows and crossbows and considers himself a good shot. Nowhere near the level of a dedicated archer like Lissanya, but good.
The strange weapon did feel different though. Similar to a crossbow in some regards, but all too different in others. That said, he had lots of fun handling it and appreciated the baron's kind lessons.
Once the man asked the one quesion that silently hang above almost any discussion Varis has had with people with any knowledge of noble houses, he sighted and began to speak.

"Oh well, you are right in that regard. As far as I know, I am the only tengu to call himself a taldan noble. And I was not cursed by a witch or something like that!" he laughs heartily at his own comment - propably having used the joke on more occasions in the past.

"I was adopted in fact. My father Eudoxius found it funny at that point, taking in a tengu orphan from the streets. His idea was to get something akin to a very exotic pet and to become the center of attention for a while in the courts." Varis tells this rather sad detail with a strangly high amount of joy in his words.
"But I didn't care much. The new life he gave me was something I would have never imagined. And my mother Lucia took to the idea without a second though. She treated me like one of her own. In time my father abandoned his initial plans and came to share her views. He made sure to be very open about it, even if it cost him some respect from associates."
At this point, Varis draws his rapier and begins a little fencing performance - without stopping to talk.
"He even schooled me in classical Taldan dueling styles. And I proved to be more capable in them, than his real children. Can you imagine that?" He looks at the baron with a smile in his eyes.
"There was some bad blood with my brother Orvadius, but the others found it rather funny. But even Orvadius had to shut his foul mouth at some point - I have won 213 of our 317 duels!"

"Dear Baron, at least I will not forgot anything. All I need is my blade and a heart full of vigor!" Valan blurts out, slightly drunk.

He then bows - once again, much too deeply - loosing his hat in the process. He picks it up and nervously adds "It was a pleasure to get to know you better, sir. But I fear this bird needs some rest. I wish you all a good night!" and off he walks to his hammock.

In the following days and weeks, Varis seems quite at ease at the sea. He talks with the sailors about the technical details of running such a big ship, the matter having picked his interest during his time in Bloodcove.
He even helps them with some of the menial tasks and seems quite amused doing this - One might think it was a game for the tengu. But thanks to his great agility he is not half bad at it.

He also gives basic swordsmanship lessons to some of the intersted sailors and passengers in the evenings and quite enjoys the fish caught by Cleao.

During one of the Baron's shooting practices, he asks the man very politely if he would be allowed to try his claws at the firearm, never having had the opportunity to use one.

Oh ok, nevermind then

We might get the Baron friendly ;)

I did mean Cleao actually, not Lissanya - bungled up the names.

So we are at 14 for the Count and 13 for the Baron. Not bad. (keeping the same order or rolls as I used, and only counting Cleo's first two rolls)
If Gedulan makes his checks, we will actually beat the Baron DC and be 1 short for the Count!

"Sir, your stories are quite the tales I must say! As fellow demonhunters we will become wonderful tigerhunters surely!" Varis blurts out excitedly, then picks up his ale and stands up.

"To our patron, Baron Bomande. He will slay the beast that once so viciously ravaged his retainers and evaded his aim cowardly in the dark! And to us, who will help him gain the revenge he craves." with that he gulps down the liquid slightly too fast, so that he almost chokes.
"Seems I didn't learn all that the pirates could teach me in Bloodcove, eh?" and laughs heartily.

He then sits down and directs his attention to the count.
"And you sir, we deeply must thank as well. It is with your generosity, that the Pathfinder Society is able to embark upon a great journey that might uncover truths about our destination's history never known before to man or tengu. And what an exciting adventure it shall surely be, though propably not as exciting as the great hunt that awaits us first! A toast on the Count as well!" Varis fills more ale into his mug and gulps it down again a little bit to fast, but this time not choking on it.
"I feel truly delighted to venture in the company of such noble men and will tell of our adventures in the halls of house Salani with much pride! Our dealings were ever with other Taldan houses and nobles from neighboring alnds, never with Alkenstar's finest! Fate has truly shone upon me."

Diplomacy (Count): 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (6) + 2 = 8
Diplomacy (Baron): 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 2 = 3 (Oops, rolled 1d29 at first, had to rereoll - bummer, had a result of 27)

Yes, Varis really feels special ;)
I don't think Varis would go for bluff here, at least if it's used in the traditional sense of lying through his teeth beak.
If you allow it to apply to being boastful and radiant, then just treat all my diplomacy rolls here as bluff rolls and add +4 to the result.

It would be propably a wiser approach for Lissanya to try her own influencing and all others aiding her, if that is possible. It should be really obvious that this bumbling fool of a bird doesn't make that much of a good impression with all this piraty behavior.

After his little duel with Lissanya, Varis mostly just hang around the deck, preocupied with watching the sea and the other travellers, as well as polishing his rapier - even though it hadn't been used. He took one of the crew's weapons, as it was a fairer fight that way - cheap steel instead of masterful Taldan craftmanship.

Once dinnertime was upon them, Varis made sure to arrive perfectly on time. He came fully equipped, brandishing his parade armor so as to catch any light in the room with it.
At first he did listen to what his companions had to tell, which led to him becoming quite entranced, not unlike Guy, in Cleo's very enthusiastic tales of her home. It sounded like the jungle held quite exciting lives even without going on adventures and fighting for glory! He only saw a bit of Garund himself, and most of that time was spent in the company of pirates and people in need of a sword.

He then procedes to tell the very exciting story of how he ended up fighting demon monkeys, pretty big ones at that, as well as dashing tales of pirate-dueling and a few not quite as interesting (to him) tidbits of his life as a young noble in Taldan - in the pursuit of adventures.
He concludes with a not quite serious comparison between Taldor and Bloodcove, in which Bloodcove wins for sheer potential of pirate-duels, bar brawls and sailor songs, but it is very apparent that Varis is quite fond of his homeland.

Once the tiger becomes the topic of conversation, Varis halts his loud storytelling, as he was never on a classical hunt.
"You will have your revenge!" is the only thing he adds to this.

Varis cannot decline the offer of rapiers, eagerly continuing this equisite duel in a more formal way. He is surprised how well the woman spars - as it was apparent that she is focused on raged combat.

"Ha! You are not bad!" he croaks after a while of back and forth, her blocking blows with the buckler quite well, while he manages to parry most of her attacks using his surprme duelling skills.
Even though he has a style advantage, she is able to hold up very well. Experience cannot be ignored after all.

It was quite a show, and he procedes to offer the sylph a sip from his rum-filled hip flask."It was a pleasure of meeting you! Have a taste of what Bloodcove has to offer! Won it from a pirate fair and square!"

"I fear not. But we can manage somehow." Varis sheathes his blade, only to suddenly draw his own dagger from a holster at his thigh and jump forwards at Lissanya.
He makes sure she has time to draw her own before attacking though.

With being a swashbuckler and all, the propability is high that Varis is the better duellist ;)
But he can surely show her some nice parries and effective footwork, even though he may not be the best of teachers.

"Sooo, anyone up for some sparring? What better way to learn others than with the tip of one's sword!" Varis cheerfully croaks while he swiftly turns around, rapier drawn and ready to strike before anyone even had the chance to respond.
He takes his hat off and throws it skillfully to whatever post or bar ist handy and abusable as a hat rack.

Varis looks towards Guy with one brow curiously drawn up, his hat still firmly grasped in his claws.
"You seem like a nice lad, but are you sure this is the right job for you? Lots of violence awaits, aye!"

He puts the hat back on his head, making sure it sits correctly and the feather is pointing in the right angle.
"But I sure as the hells am glad to have you back me up!"

Unless everybody here played 2-02: Before the Dawn—Part II, I won't go into much detail about that specific encounter. Don't wanne spoil the fun ;)

"Aye, good Sir! While the jungle has not been my home, quite the contrary, I did have the pleasure of strolling through one just recently. Bloodcove may not be what you would consider a respectable place, but a jungle is a jungle. And I take it that demon monkeys would count as dangerous predators, aye?" Varis winks towards the older gentleman and takes off his enormous hat, bowing very deeply, even more so than when he met the man's son.
Once he stands upright again, he continues. "Varis Salani, of house Salani of Taldor. I live to serve."

"Quite interesting. I met demon monkeys once. Hope these monkey-gods are friendlier. If that legandary man stayed there for ten years, it must be a pretty jungle."

No questions from Varis left

"Easy mistake to make - with him being legendary." Varis adds dryly to Guy's question.

Listening quite intensly to Valsin's explanation, Varis nods several times and finaly speaks again.
"Ah right, the place with the genies. Heard a pirate sing a song about it, but forgot the name. And I'll show that tiger true Taldan steel!" Varis seems to fight the urge of drawing his rapier and show a performance of his skill - but there is a time and place for such things and he chooses to wait.

He looks to Cleo. "Aye, true. Lovely the jungle is, but deadly too. Hope where we go now, there are fewer demons and more genies. They seemed like a nicer bunch from the stories I heard."

Before leaving, he turns to Ambrus Valsin again.
"And Sir, Master Kreighton did indeed try to teach me painting flowers. He was quite dissapointed to learn that he would have to find a different Tengu to study my people's art. I don't even know nothing bout Taldan art, so I got no idea why he came to me in the first place. Funny man though."

"Aye, wet it is. Can attest that much, just got back from Bloodcove. And a jungle is a jungle, so shouldn't be much different. Where is this Jalmaray anyway?" Varis clatters almost too fast to understand.
"Maybe he somehow thinks all old temples are full of undead? I have no idea, and I hope there are none. Haven't met any yet and I do like it this way."
While Tengu are physically incapable of grinning, you get the impression that Varis does it anyway. Apparently one can grin with his eyes alone.

With his breast raised high, so that anyone can see the crest of house Salani, Varis enters the room as if all inside belonged to him. Seeing the important guest, he draws his enourmous hat and bows deeper than necessary, even though he has not the slightest idea of the man's significance.
"Dear Sir, let me say I am most pleased myself." he croaks out, and then rushes forward, trying to intercept Marros and be the first to shake the count's hand.

Majal here

Character Name: Varis Salani
PFS Number: 93773-4
Faction: Sovereign Court
Race/Class(es)/Level(s): Tengu Swashbuckler 1
Short description: Varis looks very out of place. The tengu wears clothing befitting a true heir of Taldan nobility, including a finely worked rapier. The feathers, claws and beak on the other hand give away that something is off here, as Taldor is not known for its birdman noble nouses. An overly large broad-ripped hat topped with a feather of his own black plumage adds another angle of surreality.
He is a dashing swordsman if there is any, with a louse mouth and the tendency to talk more than necessary.

You might want to make sure this doesn't go against the rules of the Gameday beforehand though ;)

I might stiil switch to my Half-Orc Magus, he's level 3 so this might slightly help in survivability.
Propably gonna decide when the time comes.

@Agirran: So he's basically Graka with a beard :)

Varis is quite the picture-book version of an arrogan Taldan vagabond noble. Everything, from fancy feather-clad hat, overly decorated parade armor with his house crest, rapier hanging from his belt.
Only thing that doesn't quite fit is the fact that he is a big bird walking on two legs.
Well manicured razor-sharp claws, a beak that might slice open throats without much difficulty and feathers black as night complete the scene.

He has the manners one might expect from a person of high standing, and while there is a noticable accent in his speech (due to physical differences of his throat compared to humans), his Taldan is perfect.

"Quite pleased to meet you, fellow Pathfinders!" he croaks out with enthusiasm, bowing deeply with his broad-rimmed hat in his claw.

Is there a sign-up sheet somewhere? I didn't see one, coming straight from the gameday-list

Sertaki here.

Whole trilogy = I'm totaly in :D
Love the multi-part adventures if done as intended.

I'm still not sure if I want to go with my lvl 1.2 birdy, or take my lvl 3 magus.