Xianhue lands a little later than she'd originally promised. "Sorry I'm late but there were some nasty downdrafts coming from the mountain and I should've paid attention on the way down and I didn't see the Mayor but his butler was really happy we brought the berries and he gave me this for all of us..."
She holds up the basket without quite pausing in her tale. "So I thanked him for their generosity and waved at the crowd and headed back and I thought you were going on ahead and have you checked what's in the cave yet and didn't that bird guy give us a letter we should read?"
Xianhue bows as she accepts the basket. "Than you for your generosity; we were glad to help."
With that, she turns to bow at the crowd while snapping out her glider, then leaping into the air as she straightens up again, catching a thermal and starting her flight back up the mountain.
Xianhue circles a few times as she studies the crowd, curious about what's going on, before mentally shrugging and swooping in to land on the mayor's doorstep and knocking on his door.
"Hi, I brought some of those juniper berries you needed to cure your flu!"
GM:
While Xianhue tends to appear somewhat flighty and empty-headed, she is paying attention to the crowd and ready to lift off at a moment's notice if the crowd turns out to be a mob.
Xianhue smiles brightly and snaps out her glider staff. "No problem I'll be back before you know it I'll just follow the road so if you want to keep going just send up a flare when you see me overhead take care!"
With that, she spins in place while crouching to call an updraft just as she leaps into the air, riding the thermals back to the village.
Xianhue nods gratefully and digs into the stew with evident relish before pausing to look up and around at the others. "So we'll check out the mayor first just in case it's not actually dragon flu he's got and if it is we go on into the forest to look for those herbs he needs?"
Xianhue gives Su Jian a worried look, walking backward in front of her so she can look the other girl over. "Are you okay? You look like you didn't sleep very well, was something wrong with your bed?"
She asks her questions with her usual rapid-fire style, then suddenly pauses and sniffs as the smell of bacon wafts upward. "... Do you smell something?" she asks, then curls her fingers in a beckoning gesture that pulls more of the scent toward the pair...
"We'll be fine," Xianhue cheerfully assures Su Jiang. "Spirits aren't usually bad as long as you treat them with proper respect. Come on, let's get some rest before tomorrow!"
Xianhue nods. "That could be useful especially if we wind up travelling through the forest for longer and it's not that expensive," she replies, then pauses to look at Quin. "... Is it?"
Xianhue attacks the stew with obvious relish, then looks at the others. "Does anyone know what Juniper berries look like?" she asks, then looks back at the innkeeper. "Haunted? Ghosts or angry spirits or something else?"
Yeah, I know. I had to create a new feat with the same name, but for some reason I can't find the option that tells it to count it as improved unarmed strike. for feat prereq purposes.
"Maybe you're not, but if they've got soft beds I want one," Xianhue counters, bouncing lightly on her feet before turning to Su Jiang. "Do you think they'll have hot baths here? Probably not, I guess but we could ask..."
YAAAAAAAAAAARGGH *slams head down on desk several times*
Hokay. I've got the basic Herolab file set up to the point where I'm willing to invite alpha tests and feedback. Download it here (Select Save As... if you're not sure how to handle it) and place it into c:\ProgramData\Hero Lab\Data\pathfinder\, then load up the pathfinder module in herolab.
HOW IT WORKS: The "Child of..." feats just screw REALLY badly with the way the leveling system works, and upon more mature consideration, moving each Bending style into its separate archetype has been saving me a considerable number of headaches while I was setting this up.
Right now, I've only got Airbenders and Earthbenders set up; I'll add water and fire at some point, perhaps tomorrow.
WRT metal, lightning and bloodbending: Sorry, no. Just looking at the data dump put into each single element kata feat makes me want to stab my eyes out. Have the original author split them out into a set of Metal Element Katas and I'll consider adding archetypes for the styles (HL allows you to have more than one archetype as long as the prerequisites aren't mutually exclusive; the Metalbender archetype would require level 13 and the Child of Rock ability as prereqs.)
Anyway, it's well past my bedtime and my head HURTS from trying to sort through this. Let me know if you encounter any egregrious bugs, and please don't mind the dust...
Xianhue looks askance at the dispersing crowd, then shrugs and banks in a wide arc to return to the others. "It's not much of a town, but it's also not very far south. There was a big crowd standing around but they're all dispersing already so I don't know what they were doing..." she informs the others as she touches down lightly, snapping her glider staff closed at the same time.
Xianhue jerks awake when Dionoclese yells her name. "Those fruit pies were like that when I found them!" she yells back instinctively, then blinks, looks around, and blushes. "Er... Okay, I'm awake."
She hops down from the branch, another puff of wind cushioning her landing. "So are we going to check out that town today?"
I'm currently looking mainly at the Airbender katas, and I'm seeing "DC 10 + chakra level + Cha modifier" more than once, but you may be right -- maybe it's an artifact from earlier versions where you could choose an increase in Chakra level instead of a new kata...
Okay, starting to figure out the interface better, now to yell at the class' author and make a command decision: Instead of the "element feat" at the root I'm separating the class into four 'base' archetypes, one for each element, and said archetypes contain the "Child of..." special ability, which conflict internally so you're not allowed to pick "waterbender" /and/ "airbender" -- if I ever get around to adding metalbending/bloodbending/lightningbending/etc they'll be additional archetypes that require the "Child of" the appropriate element ability.
Still nowhere near ready for even alpha testing, but hey, progress is progress...
I've finally figured out how to handle automatic class abilities to a custom class, but let me just say AAAAUUUUUUGH for a moment at the lack of useful documentation to herolab's editors.
Progress remains slow, but I'm making /some/ at least. Even if I wind up having to remove and rewrite half of the stuff every time I learn something new...
Xianhue blinks again as Omi vanishes. "... How'd he do that?" she asks aloud, then looks back at the others. "I suppose we could at least check it out - if there are bandits in those caves, someone should go there and stop them."
She smiles brightly at Dionoclese. "That's okay, I'm used to sleeping in the trees and the Fire Nation people can use the tent so you can make another shelter for Kamiko and we should be okay for the night!" With that, she crouches, then leaps upward on a puff of bent air, alighting on a sturdy-looking branch where she quickly makes herself comfortable.
Acrobatics: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (14) + 8 = 22
"You said there's a town to the north?" She calls downward at Quin Jee. "What kind of town? Is it a big one? Do you think they'll have a good inn with soft beds and hot baths?"
The other girl doesn't look much more conventional; her saffron and ochre robes and the elaborate staff she leans on indicate an Air Nomad, even though the nearest Air Temple is far to the north. She gives the bird-masked man an odd look as he speaks, then tilts her head and leans forward to peer at the mask. "Hello have we met before because I don't think I remember seeing you there but this is the first time I've been away from the temple and I don't know how you knew to call me here maybe we met in a previous life or something because I'm sure I'd have remembered..."
She trails off as she realizes she's getting some odd looks, then stands straight, breathes, and bows formally. "Hello, I'm Xianhue, formerly of the Northern Air Temple. I was going to travel to see the world when I received your message. How did you know where to find me?" she asks.
One last question before we start: What's the verdict on Xianhue having a glider staff? It's not a big problem either way, but it'll affect how I pose in, so...
Are you people TRYING to send me into a breakdown before I'm even getting well and started with the base class? :)
More seriously, I'd look at sandbending and plantbending as additional kata for the appropriate elements; Toph can bend sand, as it's essentially earth -- it's just that it's sufficiently unfamiliar that she has trouble doing so effectively. And Hugh is a Waterbender that figured out how to bend the water inside plants.
Spoilers for Book 3:
... Which was something of a Chekov's Gun for Hama figuring out Bloodbending while imprisoned in a later episode.
Yeah, working as an archetype forces you to make way too many exceptions. I started by copying over the monk and making a new class. The whole "Elemental Kata" mechanic doesn't exactly make it any easier, either...
I've started tinkering with the herolab file editor. I think I might be able to set up Elemental Master as a class, but don't expect miracles on short notice -- it's fairly tedious and I'm having to teach myself a new scripting language at the same time -- but early results are encouraging...
Hokay, here's my first pass at the stats -- I'm using Hero Lab but ignoring its various error messages to cram in the adjusted class feats. Sorry about the mess; I think it conforms to the guidelines...
Also, changed the name to Xianhue; it just feels better.
Boring stat stuff:
Xianhue CR 1/2
Female Human Monk 1
CG Medium Humanoid (Human)
Init +3; Senses Perception +6
--------------------
DEFENSE
--------------------
AC 17, touch 17, flat-footed 12. . (+3 Dex), +2 Child of the Wind.
hp 9 (1d8)
Fort +2, Ref +5, Will +4
--------------------
OFFENSE
--------------------
Spd 30 ft.
Melee Unarmed Strike +2 (1d6+2/20/x2)
Special Attacks Flurry of Blows -1/-1
--------------------
STATISTICS
--------------------
Str 14, Dex 16, Con 10, Int 10, Wis 14, Cha 14
Base Atk +0; CMB +2; CMD 17 (18 vs. Trip)
Feats Chakra level 1, Child of the wind, Improved Unarmed Strike, Monk Weapon Proficiencies, Wind Blast Kata
Traits Child of the Temple: Knowledge (Religion), Log Roller (forest)
Skills Acrobatics +8, Fly +4, Perception +6, Sense Motive +6, Survival +3
Languages Common
SQ AC Bonus +2, Unarmed Strike (1d4)
--------------------
SPECIAL ABILITIES
--------------------
AC Bonus +2 The Monk adds her Wisdom bonus to AC and CMD, more at higher levels.
Flurry of Blows -1/-1 (Ex) Make Flurry of Blows attack as a full action.
Improved Unarmed Strike Unarmed strikes don't cause attacks of opportunity, and can be lethal.
Unarmed Strike (1d6) The Monk does lethal damage with her unarmed strikes.
The "Log roller" trait may sound unthematic, but the +1 bonus to acrobatics is very much in line with what we see the monks being taught in Aang's flashbacks. Also, I realize that the Elemental Monk has K: Religion as class skill already, but Child of the Temple is just too appropriate not to pick.
EDIT In terms of gear, I really can't think of much she'd be taking along; between the clothes on her back, her glider.
Edit 2: There are two tables for unarmed damage on the element master monk page, and they contradict -- is 1d6 or 1d4 the correct damage at level 1?
Hero Lab® and the Hero Lab logo are Registered Trademarks of LWD Technology, Inc. Free download at http://www.wolflair.com
Pathfinder® and associated marks and logos are trademarks of Paizo Publishing, LLC®, and are used under license.
For Yiang Wei, I'm thinking one set of clothing, plus her glider staff (if that's acceptable; in Aang's flashbacks they're damn near ubiquitous, as well as one of the very few viable ways to get to and from the air temples...)
As to more regular levels of bending, Toph is a terrible example; she's the Greatest Earthbender In The World, and that's no hype. In PF terms she's at least level 10 when the Gaang meets her.
A much closer example would be Katara at the start of the series, as she needs a great deal of concentration just to lift a small ball of water with a fish in it. Of course, she learns astonishingly fast (and cracks an iceberg while yelling at her brother in the same episode)... But then, that's what usually happens when you're the protagonist.
As for non-combat applications of bending, the Earth Kingdom has the most examples -- for instance, almost the entire infrastructure of Omashu, with its chutes and stone carts, is obviously dependent on Earthbending, but it's also safe to assume that most of the Northern Water Tribe's home was bent rather than carved out of the ice, and of course the chaps from the Foggy Swamp that waterbend some speed into their boats.
There are a lot of scenes like that, but they're generally very nicely understated because in-universe these things are regarded as perfectly common occurence.
So I wouldn't need the Wind Rider kata unless I'm planning to fly in combat?
Also, am I understanding correctly that you can take an additional Chakra Level instead at any time you can pick up an Elemental Kata -- sacrificing some versatility to improve the tricks you do know?
(PS: Didn't realize Yiang Wei was a real name, actually. Just mumbled chinese/tibetan sounding names to myself until I had one that sounded right. Haven't finalized the spelling, either -- might go with Yianhue instead)
Hokay, scrolling through the other submissions we've already got more than a few fire nation residents, I'll go with this young Airbender.
Background:
In all fairness, it must be said that Yiang Wei did at least try to learn to act like a proper Air Nomad monk, to detach herself from worldly concerns and dedicate herself to a life of asceticism, pacifism and enlightenment.
It just didn't last very long.
It's not really anyone's fault; Yiang Wei's temperament simply was never meant for the Northern Air Temple's peace. Even as a child she was spirited, energetic and insatiably curious about everything. She didn't just want to learn about the world from tomes, books and lessons; she wanted to see it. All of it by preference, but she'd settle for as much of it as possible in one lifetime.
The elder monks are of course used to a certain degree of youthful independence, and various time-honored methods generally manage to curb and contain these impulses until the children gain maturity's wisdom, but by her fourteenth birthday it was becoming more and more clear that there wasn't going to be any way to contain her short of incarceration -- which is anathema to the element of Freedom that air represents.
There really wasn't any alternative: gentle persuasion would not sway young Yiang Wei, and forcible methods would do far more harm than good. The only option that remained was to permit her to leave, and hope that once her experiences in the world beyond the Northern Air Temple would teach her the wisdom they could not, she would return.
So far, there seems to be little chance of that; while Yiang Wei has encountered the occasional hardship, it hasn't dimmed her wanderlust or her curiosity. And right now, she's intrigued what the bird-masked man may have in mind...
