Status and Active Effects:
Yukio hovers in the air, secure in the knowledge that Avidarel's Shadow renders her undetectable to whatever is approaching. She prepares to strike at the beast the moment it shows itself.
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Here as well!
We were always here. Since before the stars began to shine. Watching, waiting... In time the prophecy shall be fulfilled and we will come forth from the shadows. Not yet, no... soon, but not yet.
RVT! Why must you tempt me so with all the gestalt goodness? Now I've gotta make a character for Carrion Crown!
Here, although you still haven't posted the link! :p
Active Effects and Status:
AC 54/32/33
Spells
"I suspected as much. If they can force those arriving to appear at this obelisk, it would be trivial to make all spells attempting to depart or travel within the plane *also* arrive at this obelisk." Seeing the disturbance in the ground coming, she invokes another spell. "Inky, go find out what it is and if it's alive." she calls out.
Oh, also: Did you get a chance to set up the second Razor Coast thread?
RVT: The final version of Slashing Grace in the ACG includes dex to damage , so I'm swapping out Yukio's Mythic Weapon Finesse for Fabulous Figments if that's alright. Fabulous Figments Benefit: Non-mythic creatures can't identify your illusion spells with Spellcraft, including checks attempted as part of arcane sight, detect magic, or similar effects. When mythic creatures attempt to identify your illusions, add your tier to the DC of those Spellcraft checks. Mythic creatures informed by their allies that one of your illusions isn't real gain only a +2 bonus on their Will saves to disbelieve. Non-mythic creatures gain no bonus to disbelieve.
Active Effects and Status:
Spells
After hearing the description of what's ahead, Yukio nods. "We should cover the remaining ground quickly. I will prepare for battle." Without wasting a moment, she quickly casts a pair of simple warding spells. As she does the ground around her begins to grow darker, and swirling shadows rise up engulfing a region several yards in diameter around her. The darkness only lasts for a moment though before the shadows disappear, taking her with them. To those with magical senses her disappearance is surprising, as not even a trace of magic remains where she stood a moment before. "Aelias, you and Inky stay hidden, I'll call if you're needed. How shall we cover the ground between here and there? I'm still of the opinion we should avoid teleportation." asks Yukio's disembodied voice.
Return to us RVT! We must destroy Da'amaat!
"I agree with the astute observation of Charis. It's clear we arrived precisely where we were meant to arrive. And it's certain that they've planned for the possibility some might try to teleport directly into Da'amaat's sanctum. To attempt to do so would be a grave underestimation of our opponent." She pauses for a moment to let that sink in before adding, "And anyway, where's the fun in that?"
Quick question: Is the lighting in the Desert of Woe dim light? Or Normal?
Yukio chuckles at Trazzle and shrugs when he suggests it's insane to ally with dragons. "If it helps any Trazzle, she's only the shadow of her former self. You should've seen her in life, she was a truly ancient, magnificent umbral dragon. Also as evil as they come, though she's had a bit of a change of heart since then." Sense Motive (DC 20):
You get the feeling that this is an inside joke of some sort. Petrikov:
You recognize 'heart' refers to the fact that Aeliastraza's heart is implanted within Yukio, permanently binding the shade to her. Inky lets out a quick snort and looks at Yukio with "as-if" written all over his face.
When they arrive in the Desert, Yukio takes a few moments to get her bearings and read over the inscription on the obelisk. "Well it seems our host isn't trying to hide at all." she remarks as she finishes reading. She extends her arms and places her hands together palm to palm. As she separates them, the shadow between begins to grow, seeming to move with a will of its own. The elongated shadow takes on the form of a hilt, and seizing it with one hand, Yukio draws an inky black blade out in one swift motion. In the darkness of this place the blade seems to spread out, as if its form is mutable and poorly defined. When lightning flashes, however, the blade retreats, appearing as a finely honed onyx katana. "Shall we see what sort of reception we'll be given?" she asks the others.
"I suppose I'm prepared as I'll ever be. Lets see what awaits us in this 'Desert of Woe'! With that she reaches her hand into the air and the porcelain mask she'd had earlier reappears. As she dons it shadows begin to swirl around her, obscuring her form.
"Will the desert's draining affect those... not living? I would like to be joined by my companions, but I'd rather not risk them if it poses a threat to them." she asks Verana after a moment's thought.
Yukio paused when she heard the city of gods mentioned. Thinking back, she remembered why the name sounded eerily familiar. "Simit-Al... Could it be? The place my brother obsessed about and boasted knowledge of in his few visits to my tomb. This is no coincidence I'm sure." Turning to the others she says, "I know a little of Simit-Al. The city is supposedly situated atop the Tree of Life, the source of all the infinite planes that exist, and from where the Creator breathed life into the multiverse. Apparently souls that have been completely obliterated travel there to be remade--by who or what I don't know--and then sent back anew." Yukio placed a hand on the crystal as well and waited for the warmth to wash over her. When the process finished she said, "We should be prepared for the possibility that Da'amaat may be able to negate these protections. That's the first thing I would seek to do if the terrain was actively hostile to intruders and I wished privacy." Turning to Petrikov she adds jokingly, "We could always try to freeze as much of the plane as possible. I'm certain Da'amaat won't object!" More seriously she adds, "The point about the undead is a good one, it may be helpful to use his own minions against him. While I cannot do much about corporeal undead, if there are any wraiths in that forsaken place we will have some aid from them, or at the very least they will leave us be."
Sure, I might rework the synthesist/soul-knife I built for Zeitgeist for it. Or perhaps a Monk/Soul-Knife or Druid/Synthesist...
Yukio listens to Verana's tale with interest. When she finishes explaining the situation, Yukio looks distracted for a moment. One thousand years I spent entombed within the chamber my brother created for me. I may never had been freed if not for the adventurers who managed to find my tomb. "To take someone's freedom is unforgivable. That alone is reason enough to lend my aid against this wyrm Da'amaat," Yukio says to Verana. She makes some quick gestures, casting a simple spell.
After a few moments of thought she closes her eyes and gestures again, opening a connection across the planes to her servant, Aeliastraza. Aelias, Research the wyrm Da'amaat Anzukhat's history, Simit-Al, the Lost City of the Gods, and the Desert of Woes. I will call for you soon. Shortly afterwards a reply echoes through her mind:
Turning to the others, she speaks "Should we head directly to this Desert of Woes? Or do we wish to gather someplace first and pool our knowledge? Aeliastraza will hopefully have some information to contribute from my library, but I hesitate to summon her here. This is no place for a Shade."
"I must say Verana, it's a shame you weren't looking for help several hundred years ago, I really had nothing going on back then," Yukio says with a sly grin as she walks around the table, examining the finely wrought chairs and their hostess' unearthly beauty. "So, decorum and ceremony... very well." she says decidedly. Stepping back from the chair she chose, she bows deeply and gracefully towards Verana. When she rights herself she says "I am Yukio, known as The Shadow-Binder, the Lady in Black and Thiever-of-Stars. Wielder of Avidarel's Shadow, and she who commands Aeliastraza. It is a pleasure to meet you Verana." Almost as an afterthought, she adds "But of course you already knew that," with a knowing smile. After introducing herself she pulls out her chair and stands before it, waiting for the others before sitting.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but the original premise of the game was that *you* were a planeswalker. From your descriptions it sounds like they added planeswalker cards at some point, but it seems to me that the players' characters should represent the player behind the deck, not a character on a card. Also, I want my icy manipulator and maze of ith :p
MTG would be a really cool setting for sure. My knowledge of the setting is ancient though, I was playing it waaaaay back in '93-'95 :p I loved my white/blue deck though, still have it around here somewhere.
Lost in the symbols floating before her, Yukio barely notices when the images of Lumos reappear in the cathedral. Lumos' request that they follow snaps her out of it however, and with a swift gesture she invokes an arcane mark on the back of her hand to help remind her to transcribe the runes later. "Of course. At this point it's clearly worth going even just for curiosity's sake. The magics floating around this place are sublime, beyond anything I've seen before. Meeting someone who wields magic like this is an opportunity that cannot be passed up," she says with a grin.
I'll probably be interested too, although I want to finish up chars for Zeitgeist and the Psionic Game before I start working on a new character :p
Heard from RVT. She's workin' on getting back to us, still having some issues though.
Sprinkles of Thoon, the Dessert Subjugator!
Sounds like a plan for the final spot then! Woot, you definitely should! Never thought I'd dig steampunk, I really like the setting they put together. Monkeygod: What's Midgard/Deep Magic? Link?
Oh, and on an entirely unrelated topic: RVT, do you think you could talk Silver Prince into running Zeitgeist instead of Razor Coast? After reading through the player's guide I'm really excited about the concept, and I'm not above trying to manipulate the outcome of the vote. :p
I'm perfectly fine with moving on too. If there's someone in particular you'd like to bring in, go ahead, but I agree with Trazzle that we don't particularly need anyone given the range of abilities we have.
The team's back together!
And welcome back RVT! Would've said so last post but it was middle of the night and I saw the activity here as I passed by my comp. Just had to post quick before I passed out again :p
Still here!
Back! Hopefully it'll all sort itself out for the best.
I'll be out tomorrow through the 15th without internet access. I'll check in when I get back, hopefully RVT will have returned.
Thoon, thoon thoon thoon? Thoon! Thoon thoon: "Thoon thoon thoon, thoon, thoon, thoon thoon."
Thoon?
Seeing Charis' reaction after casting detect magic piques Yukio's curiosity. She quickly duplicates the kobold's gestures, wanting to find out what he's seen.
Her eyes glow with a blue light, and almost immediately she recoils from the power filling the room. After adjusting to the intensity of the magic around her, she begins to watch the patterns swirling before her. I've studied some truly ancient magic and rituals in my time, but this... this is something else.
"You should take a look at this Petrikov, this is far more entertaining than your dancing sculptures." she says, teasing the Ice King.
Here and ready to go!
"A pocket dimension might be, but it's something many can do. It doesn't have quite the same impression as being greeted by... him? in this place," she says, gesturing at the gigantic archon and then around the celestial cathedral. "It's likely that our new patron is putting a show on for us as well as providing a private place to speak."
Very cool, I'm definitely looking forward to seeing it.
"That sounds like quite the pastime, although it sounds like the taunting might have gotten a bit out of hand," Yukio remarks to the goblin. "I have slain a dragon or two in my time..." she said, pausing to think back for a moment. The fight against Aeliastraza was certainly a rough one, if we hadn't spent so much time preparing we'd likely not have survived. "I prefer not to provoke them unless absolutely necessary. If they're hoarding something specific that is needed, sometimes it's easier to... borrow the item. Sometimes confrontation is unavoidable though." "Anyway, it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance Trazzle, Camiel and Charis," she says with a smile and slight nod to each. "And you as well Thoon."
Yeah, I think that's a great idea, no reason not to have a good introductory RP while we wait. Kind of what I was aiming for by prodding for introductions. ;)
Hmm, we seem to be missing Thirrion. He's the only one who hasn't posted in the opening yet.
Best wishes to RVT. Hope things get better soon.
Yup yup, everything great so far. I may not be able to do multiple posts every night, but I'll do my best to do more than one when I can.
Yukio looks over the rag-tag group assembled in the room. Quite a menagerie that's been assembled here. Something serious is afoot, all those assembled look like they're not minor players. And this being before us is most certainly not one. It'd be good to have Inki along to get his take on this. Not here though, he'd be miserable here. Striding confidently to the front, she addresses the group and the being floating before them. "Perhaps introductions are in order. While I'm well acquainted with my icy friend here, I must admit that I'm unfamiliar with the rest of you or our host. I shall endeavor to remedy that. I am Yukio, practitioner of shadow-magic, planar traveler and collector of sorts." she says with a smile and a small but respectful bow.
Amidst those who were summoned to the chamber stands the nebulous form of a woman in a white mask. Shadows swirl about her as she stops to admire the ethereal architecture of the cathedral. Letting out a small sigh, she reaches up to grab the nearly featureless white porcelain mask covering her face. As she removes it the shadows surrounding her seem to dissipate into nothingness, revealing her to be a young, raven-haired woman in a simple black silk robe and lacquered black and red haramaki. She gives the mask a quick look, and with a flick of her wrist it dissolves into shadows, vanishing from sight. "So close," she says quietly. Her eyes close for a moment and she appears lost in thought. "Take Inki, return to the library and wait. I'll send word soon." Opening her eyes again she glances about, looking over the other six standing within the room. "Petrikov, it's good you're here as well. Aelias just mentioned that you'd disappeared at the same time I did. This is a rather unusual turn of events, isn't it?"
Welcome back, and no worries, you'll have to try harder than that to lose us after all the work we did on these characters! ;)
Slow and sadly lacking in epic god-making adventures :p
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