Focused Enemy: goblinoids (Vince gains a +2 bonus on Bluff, Knowledge, Perception, Sense Motive, and Survival checks against creatures of his selected type. Likewise, he gets a +2 bonus on weapon attack and damage rolls against them. He may make Knowledge skill checks untrained when attempting to identify these creatures.)
TraitsSuspicious, Ironfang Survivor (Whether you were serving in the military or simply beset by a surprise attack, you barely survived an encounter with the Ironfang Legion, one of Molthune’s infamous monster regiments. Maybe you even survived the horrors of the Ramgate Massacre. You can’t scrub the memories of their brutality from your waking or sleeping mind, and you keenly recall their distinctive fighting styles. You gain a +2 dodge bonus to AC against goblinoids, and once per day when you attempt an Intimidate, Sense Motive, or Stealth check against a goblinoid, you can roll two dice and use the better result.)
More than just about anything else, I enjoy relaxing. Just going out into the wild, where no one can bother me, and just breathing. I’m not really a people person. Too much effort, not enough reward. To that end, I ran away from home when I was 16. My dad had died, and I found out that he was not actually my dad. Turns out my mom had cheated on him. I should have known really. I’m significantly larger and rougher than most of the other Taldans, courtesy of my Kellid father. I got my moms amber eyes and auburn hair though. Guess that’s why I never caught on. Anyway. Took my dad’s old army gear and left without looking back.
Turns out, 16 year olds aren’t known for their excessive competence. Just about died after maybe a week or so. Some rangers from the Wildwood lodge found me and brought me there. I mostly just spent the next few years following them around. They did a pretty regular route from the lodge to Crystalhurst in Nirmathas. They were good to me, and I learned a lot from them. Not enough, however, to avoid the hobgoblin raiding party that nearly took me out. Once again, they saved me.
After that I mostly stuck to the Fangwood. Even though my physical recovery was quick, I still haven’t really gotten over it. Now I mostly just bum around, hunting and occasionally acting as a guide. The Green Faith druids are still good to me, and the ranger pack that I travelled with still visits from time to time, but now I mostly just stay in the little town of Phaendar and wonder what I’m going to do with my life.
Focused Enemy: goblinoids (Vince gains a +2 bonus on Bluff, Knowledge, Perception, Sense Motive, and Survival checks against creatures of his selected type. Likewise, he gets a +2 bonus on weapon attack and damage rolls against them. He may make Knowledge skill checks untrained when attempting to identify these creatures.)
TraitsSuspicious, Ironfang Survivor (Whether you were serving in the military or simply beset by a surprise attack, you barely survived an encounter with the Ironfang Legion, one of Molthune’s infamous monster regiments. Maybe you even survived the horrors of the Ramgate Massacre. You can’t scrub the memories of their brutality from your waking or sleeping mind, and you keenly recall their distinctive fighting styles. You gain a +2 dodge bonus to AC against goblinoids, and once per day when you attempt an Intimidate, Sense Motive, or Stealth check against a goblinoid, you can roll two dice and use the better result.)
More than just about anything else, I enjoy relaxing. Just going out into the wild, where no one can bother me, and just breathing. I’m not really a people person. Too much effort, not enough reward. To that end, I ran away from home when I was 16. My dad had died, and I found out that he was not actually my dad. Turns out my mom had cheated on him. I should have known really. I’m significantly larger and rougher than most of the other Taldans, courtesy of my Kellid father. I got my moms amber eyes and auburn hair though. Guess that’s why I never caught on. Anyway. Took my dad’s old army gear and left without looking back.
Turns out, 16 year olds aren’t known for their excessive competence. Just about died after maybe a week or so. Some rangers from the Wildwood lodge found me and brought me there. I mostly just spent the next few years following them around. They did a pretty regular route from the lodge to Crystalhurst in Nirmathas. They were good to me, and I learned a lot from them. Not enough, however, to avoid the hobgoblin raiding party that nearly took me out. Once again, they saved me.
After that I mostly stuck to the Fangwood. Even though my physical recovery was quick, I still haven’t really gotten over it. Now I mostly just bum around, hunting and occasionally acting as a guide. The Green Faith druids are still good to me, and the ranger pack that I travelled with still visits from time to time, but now I mostly just stay in the little town of Phaendar and wonder what I’m going to do with my life.
Got a LN Human Ranger/Fighter. Will probably take the Ironfang survivor trait. Backstory is he travels with rangers and druids of the Green Faith a lot, usually between Crystalhurst and the Wildwood Lodge in the Verduran forest in Taldor (where he's from).
Got a LN Human Ranger/Fighter. Will probably take the Ironfang survivor trait. Backstory is he travels with rangers and druids of the Green Faith a lot, usually between Crystalhurst and the Wildwood Lodge in the Verduran forest in Taldor (where he's from).
Hey! I'm alive! Mostly! I can't remember what kind of voice I was using, but since I guess this is my first real post it doesn't matter =P
Everything was tense for a while, our dwarven leader silent and what appeared to be surly. But that proved to be a false assessment, as proven by the raucous laughter that accompanied our privacy.
Glifdore wrote:
"That be fer drinks fer ever'on, a treat of the Merc Guild who this ver' night defeat the wizarrd Kathal!"
I know that I'm grinning like some village moron, but I don't even mind as I eagerly (totally not greedily. Just excited, that's all) accept my payment. I did it. Well, we did. But I was involved! Pretty much a badass.
Which is why it takes me so long to notice the lizard man thing who is currently giving me my money. So. That's unusual. But nobody else seems to be freaking out. And it's (he's?) giving me money, so I guess I can deal with it.
"Well, that was fun! Let's do it again sometime!" I laugh, drinking.
Greetings fellow players! I have been invited to join your gameplay it seems, and if there's not too many people I would really like to play. However, due to my personal and work lives at the moment, I will probably only be able to post once or twice a week (mostly on weekends). So I understand if that is not ideal for group cohesion. So I leave it up to you guys. If you do not wish me to join, I will completely understand, nobody wants to be playing with that one guy who always slows things down. But if you don't mind, then I will definitely do my best to make my sporadic posts as high-quality as possible to make up for my lack of quantity.
I see what I assume to be a wand fall from the wizards hand and quickly snatch it up. Even if it's not a wand and just a stick, better safe than sorry.
Speaking of being safe, being killed by a Count is not on my agenda.
Sense Motive:1d20 + 6 ⇒ (1) + 6 = 7 Sense Motive:1d20 + 6 ⇒ (17) + 6 = 23
Well. Looks like Ursus' got everything... covered? I dunno. The wizard seems awfully confident for someone who's being hugged by someone with such large muscles. I narrow my eyes and glare at the necromancer.
Ok. So. Just gonna stroll right up to the crazy necromancer? Yes? Oh. Good. Just what I wanted to do. I cautiously follow Payk, wishing my palms would quit sweating.
My snort of laughter is cut short as the rouge informs us of the incoming necromancer. I duck back down behind the sarcophagus, this time on the other side. Man, why does everything have to be so tense?
"We gonna try and take him or just... uhhh... withdraw?" I whisper-shout to the group.
"What I'm most curious about is who has the money to make a coffin out of silver?" I muse, "I mean, most any metal's gonna rust or whatever, right? So not only do you have to have the money to get one in the first place, you gotta have the money for someone to come in and polish it or whatever. Who in such a little town like this is runnin' with that kinda coin?"
I gently tap on the sarcophagus with the back side of my kukri.
Wow. He just blew through that door like it was nothing. I quickly reevaluate how much I do NOT want to fight him. That's crazy. I roll my neck. What on earth am I gonna do to keep up with that?
Samurai-Jack wrote:
So who wants to go first inside?
Aha! Opportunity knocks!
"I can I guess," I reply, sauntering up to the doors and drawing my blades. I really hope I don't end up looking stupid in front of everybody. I flash everyone a grin and turn, passing through the broken doors.
Video card in my comp died, so my posting may be sporadic until I can afford to get a new one. I apologize in advance.
"I'm gonna nominate the guy who's pseudonym is 'The Breaker'," I say, inwardly congratulating myself on my impressive vocabulary thus far today.
Well it looks like I'm going to have to put a rank in Linguistics now. Also: I'm not sure if I actually know the breaker part of your name, so I may also have to put a point in Knowledge: Metagame >.>
One pristine mausoleum (hah, bet you didn't think I'd know that word didn't you?) amongst the ruin and depredation (or that one!) of nature. Completely not suspicious. I'm sure that a rouge necromancer wouldn't possibly be living in there.
I ease my blades in their scabbards. This is going to be less than fun I feel.
"Not a skill I've ever really picked up," I shrug.
Excellent. Look at all the time I've managed to waste. And it's still early yet! So much more future time to waste! I thank the woman for her time and figure I might as well go to the graveyard and see what, if anything, is up.
"Excellent. Now, let's see here..." I pause to pretend to take a moment to gather my thoughts.
I'm gonna ask a bunch of questions, but in the interest of saving a lot of back and forth, I'm just gonna list them here.
Where were you coming from and going to?
Did you see which direction(s) the undead came from?
Anything else strange about the undead?
How do you feel about the Mayor's reaction to the undead?
Do you know who Kathal is and/or where he might be?
"Good, good, I'm glad to hear it. If it's alright, with you, might I ask you a few questions? It will help to ensure that such an event doesn't happen again."
It doesn't actually take long to find out where she is. Unsurprisingly, she's somewhere nicer than I can reasonably afford. I saunter over to her, giving her my best smile.
"Good morning ma'am. I don't know if you recall, but I'm with the group that fought against the undead last night. Just thought I'd swing by and ensure that you're still doing well. Don't want to leave a job half done after all!"
I grunt and roll out of bed, cracking my neck and back as I stretch out. Stretching first thing in the morning just feels great. I slip into my chain shirt, toss a regular shirt on over it, and strap my swordbelts on. I always feel so badass when I do that. Hah.
I go downstairs and into the bar, ordering breakfast and contentedly devouring it as I consider what to do today. As a side note, it is absolutely divine to be able to eat a breakfast that you don't have to make yourself before the sun even comes up. The world is a much better place after sunrise.
But anyway, Kathal seems to be our best lead at the moment. Well, really our only lead. So I guess we should probably focus our efforts on locating him. I keep eating, hoping the others get up soon.
I sigh and grind the heels of my hands into my eyes, trying to rub the sleep out. This has been an eventful day. I stand up and crack my neck, flexing it quickly from one side to the other. It's nice to be able to do that without dearest mother yelling at me. The little things in life. Hah.
"Well companions, I'm off to bed. Do wake me up if some other monstrosities attempt to murder everyone," I say, waving to the room in general as I pay Hurin and head up to my room. Hopefully something sane will happen tomorrow.
"I think some scouting would probably be a good idea. That being said, even if he hasn't actually killed anyone yet, I can't really think of a benevolent reason one would summon or create or whatever undead. The intent is there, even if the competency isn't, and I'd much rather be safe than sorry."
"It's what I just told you guys, about Kathal raising the dead in the graveyard. I saw him do it a couple of times. Dante's been there too! I've seen him watching a couple of times."
"Wait. Wait. Hold up. What? Seriously? How long have you known about this?"
I can't believe it. Who is this guy? I sigh and rub my temples.
I shake my head in frustration. On the surface what he's saying makes sense. But... it seems too easy. He doesn't seem to be scared enough to instantly turn to running like he is. Just... irritated. And obnoxious of course. I realize I'm scratching thoughtfully. Hah! Unconsciously now! Perfect. I'll be a philosopher in no time at this rate.
I walk over to the table and pick up my sac-o-money, still thinking, absentmindedly tucking it in a belt pouch.
The town guard has investigated. Not found anything. But that's not all surprising. Guard in a town this small is mostly going to be bumpkins with pointy things. Kids who wanted to get away from a life of chores and animals and do something that gave them at least some 'authority'. Hah. So it's not likely they'd know much about magic or whatever it is that makes undead. How 'thorough' could their investigation really have been? We've got at least two magic users right here in the room, which is probably at least equal to the number in the rest of the town.
Something's not adding up. Well, whatever. I don't really care. It's up to Glifdore, not me.
"Well at least now the whole 'having a mercenary guild in a tiny village in the middle of nowhere' thing makes sense," I muse out loud, scratching thoughtfully at my beard. That's the key, always scratch slowly and look thoughtful.
"Sooo.... I don't know about you guys... but I ain't know shit about undead..."
I slip and slide through the rotting corpses and fighting allies, finally finding my way to a zombie. Looking up, I see the Dante guy engaged with it already. Got it surrounded. Nice.
I look around wildly, trying to take everything in. To my left Dante and Ursus are finishing off a trio of zombies, blade and fists covered in putrescent gore. In front of me is a solid wall of my allies, all attacking. Suddenly an opening, well, opens, and I charge through.
Suddenly I hear a scream and everybody's running outside with a combination of grim and confused looks on their faces. I hurriedly copy their expressions and follow them outside, drawing my blades as I go.
I stick a pinky in my ear and twist, trying to get Hurin's voice out. It doesn't quite work. My ears finally quit ringing though, just as some half-elf is talking with Glifdore.
Payk wrote:
“You still have “e” at the end of your name? I got rid of mine years ago.”
I do my best not to fall out of my seat laughing. I can't help but feel that I will be greatly amused by this guys... antics.
Dante introduces himself in succinct fashion, and I make a mental note to not be on his bad side. Then Ursus, a guy just as large but much less armored. Varian, the elf that I'm totally not jealous of. Askrel, who's introduction would be ostentatious if it weren't so distressingly sincere. Then Jack, who is almost as brief as Dante, though not quite so descriptive.
I raise my hand, waving at Glifdore, my other clenched around the hilt of my blade.
I'm not sure to be honest. I'm going to end up with 8 Fighter (Blackjacket/Two Weapon Warrior) and 12 Ranger (Spirit Ranger/Skirmisher). As for how I'm going to get there...? Not sure yet. Eventually he's going to start worshiping Moloch, and I want to leave off the 4th level of ranger for that, since I'm playing his augury ability as him talking to Moloch. But since I'm not sure when that's going to happen, I can't say for certain. Ideally he'll have some near death experience or otherwise traumatic event.
"As for me, I deal with an organization called the Aspis Consortium. We deal with trade around Cheliax mostly but the group is constantly expanding both in region and in purpose. As of late, we have been uniting various mercenary guilds under the banner of the Consortium. It helps the organization as a whole as well as keeping the smaller guilds afloat since there is less competition amongst the guilds. It really is a win win situation and so I've been sent...
Interesting. Aspis. Never heard of them before, but I can't imagine they'd have been interested in my little podunk town anyway.
"Well well! Looks like you're set up for quite the promotion if you manage to pull this off. I wish you luck!" I clap him on the shoulder, though not too hard. Shouldn't hit injured people and all that.
Varian Seldlon wrote:
"Salutations and well met warrior of the bulls! I've always heard a cornered beast is a ferocious fight indeed. At least, more combat than the golden-tongued one here has seen I'd wager"
"Ah man it was crazy! I've seen a mad bull upend an entire grain wagon with just a shrug of it's shoulders. Strong animals, and ferocious with it. Just gotta be quick enough to dodge them, cause you ain't gonna outrun them and you're certainly not going to survive getting impaled," I laugh, remembering how I'd been showing off trying to impress Ellen one time, dodging the bull at the last second then hopping back over the fence, over and over until it got mad enough to break through. She had been suitably impressed, even if I did get beat black and blue for it. She more than adequately tended to me afterwards, so in the end it was still worth it. Hah!
As I'm reminiscing, whip guy (note to self: actually find out these peoples names) launches into a pretty hilarious tale. I'm spellbound. This is way more engaging than stupid lectures from the cleric, or even thinly veiled anecdotes turned lessons from my dad.
"Wow," I laugh, wiping away a tear as I regain my breath, "That was pretty fun. My name's Vince, by the way. And yours?" I look around at the group.
Ah, a diplomat. So I was correct in assuming that he was more important than me.
"My story? Hah. Negligible. Up until a mere two weeks ago I was an illustrious member of the peasantry, expert in all matters farm and field related. I decided that was a terrible career path. Now I am a homeless and penniless vagabond, which is more a step sideways than a step up. Spent all my money on this sword and armor," I pat my falcata, sheathed on my hip. Basically just a usefully sized kukri. Superb weapon.
"And so now I'm looking for a way to recoup my losses, and potentially even surpass them. The merc business seems lucrative."
I shrug and lean back in my chair, sighing and taking another swig of my beer.
"Though if this is my competition, I don't stand a chance. My biggest fights have been against fenced in bulls and country yokels..."
I shrug again, scratching at my grizzle. Need to shave my neck at least. Getting itchy.
"But a diplomat eh? That's prestigious. Who are you diplomating for?"
Yes. Listen to the oracle. He's an oracle! It's destiny :| haha thanks man :)
The Morning Ale. Well, it's not really morning, but I guess some ale wouldn't go amiss. Or food really. Turns out getting food in the wild requires much more effort than buying it from a tavern. Who knew?
I step inside and let my eyes adjust briefly. This place is packed, but not overly rowdy. That's good. Don't want to get in a bar fight before I get in the guild. Plenty of time after that. Hah.
I quickly look over everyone, wondering which will end up being my companions. Over by the bar is a tall fellow, who despite his genial appearance has to be an addict or something, keeps chewing on some leaves. Then I notice the staff and see the tenderness with which he uses his gloved hands. Probably recently got in an accident or something. Makes more sense. Advantage: could probably beat him up. Also, looks to be in constant pain. Disadvantage: he's probably more important than me.
Around the middle of the bar is a well dressed guy with a whip coiled at his waist. He seems to be interested in everybody's conversation and participating easily. Advantage: again, looks like another guy I could probably beat up, though the whip makes me nervous. Disadvantage: prettier than me. Has a whip.
By whip guy is a massive tanned behemoth of a man. He seems to be pretty genial, which is good because he could probably punch a hole through a bull. Advantage: looks too good-natured to be excessively violent. Disadvantage: could use me as a toothpick.
Sitting at the bar and surrounded by a distressing about of empty mugs is a dwarf. He seems to be steadily drinking his way through every drop of alcohol in the village. Oh my. Advantage: not nearly as drunk as him. And given how much he's consuming, probably never will be. Disadvantage: his beard is way better than my jaw-fuzz. And he could probably beat me up.
Drinking with the dwarf is an armed and armored man. Just going by his facial expression he looks like a cocky sob. But given his state of readiness, he probably has reason to be. Advantage: not a cocky sob. Disadvantage: he has probably been in an actual battle. And could kill me. Bother.
On the other side of the man is a little halfling. Ugh. Another of the obnoxiously cheerful and peppy ones too, but something in his eyes makes me reconsider. They're just a little too... I dunno. Then I notice the barmaid and him constantly making eye contact, and the cats grins on their faces. Great. Advantage: not a halfling. Disadvantage: he probably gets laid more than me.
Just inside the doorway is the elf I followed in, being greeted by another elf. The one is more refined looking, with the smooth, charismatic elegance common to their kind. That doesn't detract from the deadly appearance of his sword, or the spellbook I can see poking out of his pack. A mage. Fantastic. I'm already jealous. Advantage: having trouble thinking of one here. Disadvantage: probably superior to me in every way. Fantastic.
The other elf next to him is a stark contrast, with his wild, slightly run-down appearance and obvious sincerity on his face. But his weapons look more than well taken care of, ornate and solid. Advantage: probably more mature than him. Disadvantage: elf, so still probably better than me at everything.
By the time I've finished examining everybody, I've already sat down and ordered some food and drink, quickly devouring it. It's so nice to eat food that you didn't have to skin and gut and cook yourself. I sidle up to the wounded man. He appears to be the best combination of not intimidating and not irritating.
"Is everybody here for the guild? I didn't realize there'd be so many..."
"Behold! For in the dark of the eve a magicked raven, of solid silver, alight upon my sill. Dropped it to me keys numbering six, then departed into shadowy night. Taking up these keys I ventured out, and lo! though beset by inquisitive guardian and confounded by ruse and deception, I at last emerged with my prize, cases lined in lead, guarding magicks I knew not. And yet... upon reflection... mayhaps I did. Brilliant yet soothing, the cerulean wisp entranced me, until memory recalled of memories returned and recognition rent my rapture. After analysis and debate, then arguments more, I settled upon conclusion. Freedom is what we fight for, past and present, and thus with determination I flung loose the recollections, to let them fly where'er they will. And so my story draws to a close, with its current relation, to you."
Nailed it. I grin and do a little fistpump. Spending the entire night rehearsing that was super worth it.
