Vashiro Hitaki's page

Vashiro uses his watch to recheck his blades, honing their edge for the expected troubles ahead. He keeps his eyes on the small cluster of lights as it floats off into the distance, but offers no chase as it would leave the rest of the company without guard. As the dawn rises and summons his companions from their rest, he offers his report.

"Gan, Kenoichi, and I observed a traveling group of lights overnight, coming from the west and heading east along the road we traveled. It's possible they were coming from our destination, but given our intentionally hidden campsite, we felt it better to remain unnoticed by whatever the group may have been. I am going to slip down to the trail now to see if any clues remain."

Vashiro goes to the travel route and examines if for signs of horses, bootprints, or anything of the sort.

Perception: 1d20 + 12 + 2 ⇒ (15) + 12 + 2 = 29

Sorry all, my laptop bricked about 2 weeks ago. I was able to cobble together a desktop last week, but it performed poorly and the crazy holiday hours have had me at work for long hours. I received my big Christmas present today from My Wife and parents, a brand new laptop. As such I'm no good to go. You Can Count Me In, and I'm okay with a slow posting rate.

Hope and prayers are with you sir.

As they assemble camp and prepare to bed down, Vashiro offers his thoughts on the challenges of the day. "Given the harsh weather we have encountered, it may be prudent to travel tomorrow without the encumbrance of our armor, allowing our bodies to cool themselves more efficiently."

Overnight, Vashiro will prepare Endure Elements in his single Ranger spell slot

fort save: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (12) + 7 = 19
fort save: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (18) + 7 = 25
fort save: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (19) + 7 = 26
fort save: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (12) + 7 = 19

After the first day's ride, Vashiro sees about setting a solid camp for the company to take rest. Building a fire, he sets back, drawing a small knife and whittling a piece of wood. "I will take the late watch, during the witching hours - past the moon, well before the sun." He also makes sure his horse is relaxed and recovering well from the day's ride.

Vashiro raises an eyebrow at Sung Wo's jest. "Honorable glory? As I understand you bested a lot of drunken brigands, nothing more. Though it is curious that they came seeking you, Master Wo. Is there anything else we should be aware of from your past? Perhaps another vengeful kinsman seeking retribution for your mechinations? After all, we needn't have our journey delayed further."

Food poisoning is never fun, sorry to hear Nate. Get better!

Hope the surgery went well!

Finally, he caught my stare. Now we can go find our companions, and help deal with these whispers. I swear, sometimes I think that boy is- Vashiro's train of thought hits an abrupt wall as Hiro offers drinks for all in the tavern.

After several moments, he simply shakes his head... then slides his cup toward the barkeep for a refill. "Here's to you, Hiro!" It's going to be a long night.

Despite his efforts, Vashiro's tongue seems to be of little use in this town, as it's secrets remain hidden to him. Heading to the tavern to reconnect with Hiro, he walks in and smiles, seeing the large crowd of townsfolk and drunkards spilling their life stories to Hiro over several drinks. The lad always had a talent with words...

As he sits down at a nearby stool, he gets the strange feeling that something, somewhere, is not quite right...

Apologies, spent the weekend at NC State Veterinary Hospital with my Malamute who ended up having intestinal surgery. She is doing well and posting will return to normal.

On the other side, crappy first skill check for me. Boooo.

"The more we know about the town, it's inhabitants, and those bringing misery to it, the better we will be prepared to handle the challenges that lie before us. While not a master of words and their meanings, I can likely get some information from the folk here regarding this Dyerville. Master Tawa and I, we are used to the road and require little else before departing. As such, I will be off into the town."

With his concluding words he offers a curt nod before moving off among the townsfolk. He keeps his questions loose and calm as he works to learn more of their pre-determined destination.

diplomacy (gather information): 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (2) + 8 = 10

Prior to Hiro's arrival

As Sung Wo questions Vashiro, the subtle smirk remains on his face, "You don't know much about me? But indeed, why would you? For would it not be foolish for stories to be told about an agent of subterfuge? Given that I have trained to protect against and hunt for those who hunt others, my realm is one of secrecy, stealth, and careful manipulation. A tinkerer by birthright and a swordsman by training, I walk with the footstep of a wraith and the eyes of a hawk, under the guise of the unnoticed."

Seeing his wayward master approaching, Vashiro smiles and laughs. "Master Tawa, it would seem you did not get entirely lost after all. I was afraid perhaps that an Oni had caught you unawares during your quest for the perfect flower." His words are intriguing, both offering respect for his liege, yet also jesting with him as one would a friend or brother.

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After Sungo Wo's offer

Vashiro listens to Sung Wo's words carefully. He shakes his head slowly, a stern look across his face as he recalls the fall of his lord's house. "There are far too many ills in these lands, two many who would prey on others. As Master Tawa has already pledged, we are there for the cause."

It takes the gathering warriors several moments to realize that one of the passing peddlers has stopped and approached their company. A gray traveling cloak is wrapped around his shoulders, with faded blue garb beneath. Yet to the keen observer, something is off. The pale blue is criss-crossed with countless stitching, creating small hexagons - the tell tale sign of kikko armor. The man's stature is slight and unassuming, standing under five and a half feet, and save for a larger dagger on his belt, he carries no weapon. Still, the walking stick in his hand moves precisely, with a second, matching staff strapped to the tinkerer's tool adorned pack. His long hair has long since gone gray, yet his face barely shows any age on it. Beyond that, the man radiates an intense awareness, as though a predatory feline stalking its prey.

As he steps fully into the circle, he pulls down the scarf that had been across his face. "Greetings Wise Sung Wo. I must offer my apologies, my master dispatched me yesterday to attend to several details on our way here and I have not seen him since last night. I presumed I would arrive after him. Shall I head back out to locate him, or wait here with you? He was likely distracted by a local flower, its spring blossom opening for the first time." A small smirk crosses his lips as he stares at Sung Wo.

The Temple of One Thousand Skulls is a legendary place of horror, nestled in a hidden valley far to the west of Hiroguo. The cannibalistic indians that reside in the valley are known as the Fangs of Kotiri, after their bloodlust-filled diety. Among their horde of wealth amassed from countless humans sacrificed laid the mythical Rain Drop's Whisper, a relic katana of a lost era. The Phoenix Emperor sought to have it brought to his throne, and so it was that the bold and daring Hiro Tawa, accompanied by his ghost like servant Vashiro Hitaki, crossed the twice cursed Kadatodo River, discovered the lost caves leading into the valley, slew a hundred Fangs, and finally bested the Herald of Katiri, a four-armed behemoth who could remove a man's head with a single swing of one of his four axes...

And so it was that Sung Wo sought out the duo...

Hiro and I are still working out the details

We could have been away from your family's lands when the wizard attacked, leaving us with that lingering "what if..." sense of failure.

@Nate: sorry, still have limited internet in the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew. I am all for GMPCs, they work as great tools to assist the flow of a storyline and balance a party's weaknesses. The magus is a good option, but would a bard present as a better option? They are the epitome of skill monkeys, especially regarding knowledges, and something like the Arcane Healer archetype would also make the character a solid 2nd healer (and human favored class bonus grants extra spells). And if you wanted to give it extra martial flair, it could be built as a bard (arcane healer) 5 / unchained monk (sensei) 2 (that said, bards get proficiency with longsword, so their is your sword regardless). I would be happy to stat it out if you were interested in seeing a proposal.

Hiro I think we would be a perfect match. Depending on who I paired with, I saw the possibility as the protective uncle to the naive young noble scion, the advisor/agent of a bold confident hero, or the watcher/mess-cleaner for a troublesome wayward inheritor. Sounds like the 3rd it is. An addditional spin could be if your family has been wrongfully killed. What are you thinking?

Everyone I did an analysis of all our skills and found the following:
Skills with No Ranks: Fly, Profession
Skills with Limited Representation: Appraise (+4), Knowledge (Geography) (+5, +4), Perform (+2)
Skills that Could Use a Little Boost: Knowledge (Planes) (+7, +3), Knowledge (Religion) (+7, +3)
Otherwise, we are in pretty good shape on skills. If you spent 1 point on multiple knowledges, I would encourage selecting one to focus on instead (I opted for Knowledge (engineering) as it fit with building and disabling traps). We are also likely over-represented on Perception, but it is generally viewed as the most important skill in the game, so that is probably okay...

Wanderer82, tagging in with my finished character, Vashiro Hitaki. Master of the twin blades and ghost on the wind, Vashiro is a hunter of men, capable of tracking a foe to the ends of the world then striking them down silently in the dead of night. Just do not call him a ninja...

Wow, I just realized there are no substantial applications that use the samurai class...

This is Wanderer82's submission. Started as a straight ranger, evolved into a ranger/rogue during the build process, definitely still accomplishes the swordsman role. Sadly, Paizo.com decided to eat my background and appearance, so I need to retype those, but I at least wanted to get my crunch before GM Lange for review.