@Everyone who doesn't agree with Harter's lead: I agree with you. Harter decides things maybe a bit hastily and is overconfident. This is a personality flaw he's going to have to overcome.
Not really disagreeing, but Piret is a "knowledge is power" kind of person who isn't going to rush into something blindly if she has alternatives for knowing more first.
I'd say she's no leader, but she's a planner. Harter's or Meridith's countervailing habits might give her an ulcer.
Hey! Sarma here left Ridonport holding the champion title in javelin throwing, the mile run, and long jump! She held the title in wrestling for one year and probably could have kept it if weight classes existed!
I'm submitting Veda, a Half-Elf Wind Mystery Oracle with the Cyclopean Seer Archetype.
Veda will be competent enough as a ship crew member, but I'm angling her toward engaging with the cyclopean and Ghol-Gan related parts of the campaign. She has the Ancient Explorer trait, and of course her archetype. She speaks Cyclopean, etc.
I suppose for ship's crew positions surgeon is possible. Sailmaker could make sense for a wind oracle too.
I believe the build is complete now, but I'll need to recheck to see if I've missed anything. I'm still working on background and gear.
I may be slow to post for the next week or so. I work for the Oregon Department of Human Services and we're right on the edge of a catastrophe if SNAP benefits aren't issued for November.
We've been all hands on deck and overtime trying to figure out contingencies to cover the potential losses however we can. Hopefully it won't come to that, but if it does there are some very rough days coming.
I may be slow to post for the next week or so. I work for the Oregon Department of Human Services and we're right on the edge of a catastrophe if SNAP benefits aren't issued for November.
We've been all hands on deck and overtime trying to figure out contingencies to cover the potential losses however we can. Hopefully it won't come to that, but if it does there are some very rough days coming.
When noises awaken Piret, she doesn't immediately comprehend what they are. It's only as they grow closer and intensify that she realizes what she's hearing are the sounds of combat.
She dresses quickly and grabs her spear for protection, but it doesn't seem like a good idea to rush out into the hallway. She can't understand why there would be fighting, or figure out who might be engaged in it. She spends a few minutes by the door of her room, cracking it open occasionally to try seeing something that offer some hints about what is happening.
Eventually Piret is rewarded, seeing several people she recognizes from the earlier parts of the evening moving down the hall together. Piret joins them, deciding safety in numbers is the best move. As she hears about masked assassins everywhere, then sees the messy reality of the attack, Piret can't figure out what the purpose of it could possibly be. But there is very little time to think it over. Soon enough her little group has made it to the to the main hall and the core of the fighting.
Piret quickly finds herself grateful to have Harter and Sven present. She has no experience with human versus human (and much less giant) combat. The worst Piret has ever had to deal with was stubborn wolves after sheep, and she had dogs with her the couple of times teh wolves wouldn't give way when faced with fire, dogs, and her spear. While Piret is saucer-eyed, pale, and sweaty, she forms up as ordered and charges in with the rest.
If joining the fight counts for a great deal, Piret acquits herself well. She isn't in the vanguard, but her spear is long enough to be in the mix anyway. The spear she uses is an odd one. Behind its leaf-shaped head, several other steel "branches" are attached in various places all around the ford third or so of the shaft. These extra extensions also have triangular blades along them, giving the weapon an appearance similar to an untrimmed pole.
Piret only manages to lightly wound a couple of foes, but the bushy spear proves it's value by taking up extra space at the front. By moving it around she gives extra cover for Harter, Sven, and Meridith. At least Piret keeps her wits about her in the fire, noise, and confusion until the end.
Afterward, when Tartuccio levels his accusation against Harter, Piret adds her voice to the others vouching for Harter. She doesn't know what the gnome is up to, but she has a bad feeling about him.
Perception: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (2) + 7 = 9
Sense Motive: 1d20 + 1 + 1d6 ⇒ (7) + 1 + (4) = 12
Spending 1 point of inspiration on the sense motive roll
As applicants in the room begin to lay out positions and opinions about the expeditions, and in some cases lobby for leadership roles, Piret decides she might as well be transparent about her lack of interest in such things.
"I'm here because I want to conduct a regional study the the Stolen Lands. I would like to survey and map the area, and catalogue its flora and fauna. There may be forms of life there that are at this time otherwise unknown."
"I'm not looking for land or title, just knowledge. Therefore, I have no interest in leadership of either of the expedition's groups."
"I would like to make a suggestion though. Working from the assumption we can all agree we would prefer competent leadership by a person or persons who will have our best interests in mind, it seems early to make any decisions. We have barely met one another."
"If we can agree leadership is a product of abilities and skills applied to managing people in order to achieve goals within an ethical framework, I don't think anything anyone can say here at this time matters."
"Instead of choosing a leader now so we have one for better or worse, we should watch for leadership to emerge as we go forward, when we can recognize it for what it is. A good leader will lead even without being predesignated to do so."
Just in case anyone cares, since you'll only see Piret's name written, its pronunciation isn't very intuitive from its spelling.
It's "Peer-et" no accented syllable. It occurred to me it could also seem like "Pie-rat" or "Pee-ret" or maybe even other things. It's an old Estonian name.
Anyway, like I said it doesn't matter since nobody will ever be saying it. But now you know.
Piret takes what the Kobold tells her with a concerned expression.
"Áno, naučil som sa ten jazyk v škole. Obávam sa, že vám neviem povedať, koľko ľudí a iných vysokých ľudí pozná dračiu reč, ale pochybujem, že ich je veľa. Ľudia, ktorí sa tu zhromaždili, pravdepodobne nie sú priemerní."
"Odovzdám ďalej vašu správu o vzťahu koboldov k drakom a nie k jašterom. Je dôležité, aby pochopili rozdiel."
Draconic:
"Yes I do, I learned the language in school. I'm afraid I can't tell you how many humans and other tall folk know draconic, but I doubt the numbers are large. Probably the people gathered here are not average."
"I will pass on your message about kobolds' relationship to dragons rather than lizards. It is important they understand the difference."
Looking up from the kobold, Piret relays his protest.
"He is unhappy with being described as a lizard when he should instead be described as a dragon."
"He is correct. While not all of the best taxonomies agree on the precise relationship between kobolds and dragons, they do agree that dragons are not reptiles, and that kobolds are related to dragons, not reptiles."
Marbyn enjoys herself well enough during the evening. Because she is enjoying herself, Marbyn delays mentioning anything about the itchiness in the back of her brain. It's a collection of thoughts that she can't put to rest. As she ruminates on them more here and there through the evening, she becomes convinced. But, she's really bored of the round and round of the who's and why's of the attack and the goblins, which they've thankfully put to rest for a while.
At the very end of the evening, as the very last thing she does before she makes for the door of the tavern, Marbyn lays out the flaw she sees in what they seem to have settled on the the time being.
"You know, I don't think it's the bugbear who's organized the goblins. Maybe he could organize them, but I don't think he could plan the attack. Partially I don't think so because he doesn't seem the type to be on top."
"He might force himself into controlling one tribe, but he can only be in one place at a time. Intimidation wouldn't be enough to stitch all the tribes together. To get them all aligned and keep them that way would take clever talk and manipulation. That doesn't seem to fit what we know of bugbears."
"But that's not even the big problem. Whoever planned the attack not only united the goblins, they planned an attack that requires good knowledge of the town. What would be happening when on just the right day for it. Where exactly things are. Distances in town, where to enter unseen, and how to get out unseen with the very old corpse of a priest who couldn't have mattered an iota to goblins and bugbears."
"We're looking for someone, or maybe more than one person, of a race that can move about freely in Sandpoint and get to know it at the very least. More likely I think, we're looking for someone who lives in town."
Vigny reels from getting her bell well and truly rang.
Oh yeah, that hurt... she thinks blearily.
She opens her mouth to spit out the blood she tastes and a shocking amount pours out of both her mouth and her nose, which probably isn't a great sign regarding her current state.
F##!ing Sandru hasn't even taken me to dinner yet.
Vigny suspects she's in a one and done situation now. One more chance and then she's done for. She quick casts, which turns her skin the dull gray that's starting to become a familiar complexion for her. Then she raises her sword and takes that one more shot at the rock creature.
Vigny will step 5' if she needs to for flanking with Shunsen. If it would take more than a 5' step she won't risk an AoO so will stay put. Swift action to cast Ironskin with Fervor, +4 AC. Standard action to attack with Power Attack and Furious Focus.
Prax isn't up and about until well after mid-morning. The time between sunrise and noon is the worse of the whole day in her opinion. She doesn't have any particular place to be so she loiters slowly down the street, just sort of watching the people and activity around her.
Having not eaten since sometime yesterday afternoon, Prax begins to feel hungry after a while. She stops by the table where a woman is selling hand pies and asks for two, one with chicken and some vegetables inside, the other filled with blackberries.
It's when she fishes into the purse on her belt that she feels a piece of paper that shouldn't be in there. Prax is quite careful about where she puts things she carries since she knows the tricks for taking the things that other, less careful people carry around. She shifts the paper to the hand holding the pies and pays the woman before moving down a few feet for some privacy. She stuffs about half of the savory pie in her mouth and lays the rest on a window sill while she unfolds the paper, which now bears some greasy spots.
What she reads makes her very uneasy. She supposes she wasn't adequately careful when asking around about Lamm. Prax has never mentioned holding any ill will toward the man, or suggested to anyone she had designs for him. Whoever placed the note on her was very, very good as well. Her purse was shifted to her front where it's extremely hard to get a hand into without her notice. So a good read on her plus excellent finger work.
It hardly occurs to her at all that the offer of some sort of help is genuine. Maybe something got back to Lamm, which would be bad. Prax had really been counting on total surprise, when she got around to doing something that is. It could also be one of the local gangs looking to draft her. Independent operators like her aren't well tolerated most places around the city. Prax has never been tempted to join up with anyone because she never liked the dangerous dues those new, and thus low on the pole, have to pay before they're really in. She also never liked the idea of taking orders. Staying free means no big scores, nothing better than just getting by on the crumbs, and no reputation. Prax has always played by those rules in exchange for going mostly unnoticed.
Whoever might be screwing with her, Prax figures it's better to know who it is, which will hopefully tell her why, than ignoring the whole thing and remaining blind until it might be too late. She starts on her way to the address given immediately. There's plenty of time to get to the place well before sunset and stake it out for a few hours. Once Prax has seen who might be coming and going and what kinds of activities she can suss out, she can decide what to do when she's expected there.
Thanks! If that's a good thing... I never really plan for my character BAP stuff to be so long. But I like having them worked out well enough to be somewhat three-dimensional. I also like to have a feel for what a character would do or how they would react in different situations or circumstances so they have a consistent core to them. BTW, Prax is a Myers-Briggs ISTP. :p
If Divo has been around for a while, he probably would have heard of Prax's family. He certainly won't know she has any connection to the Duvanti family though.
I might pick up a short bow. I've been in too many situations where my party thought we could get by without this or that because of some reason, only to sorely miss it when it (always) became needed. It can't hurt to have it handy.
Teofila hadn't bothered with a readied weapon since she didn't expect there to be anything of consequence higher up. But, now that she has it out she keeps it out.
Whiffing while trying to take care of the stirge that was harassing her and needing to be saved by Cole is a little embarrassing. When she walks by him to move on, Teofila doesn't say 'thanks', but she does raise an eyebrow in acknowledgment. Her face shows a mixture of wryness and ruefulness that communicates it instead.
I'm dreadfully sorry for disappearing without word for so long. We went to Mexico City on vacation. I didn't figure I needed to mention it because we were staying at an Airbnb with WiFi. The place did have WiFi, but the WiFi did not work. Just flat couldn't connect to it. I didn't try posting with my phone because it was on data and we were burning through so much already we kept having to purchase more at a price that was highway robbery. That hiccup aside though, Mexico City was lovely and fantastic. I can't recommend visiting it enough.
Level 8:
BAB +6/+1
Reflex and Will +1
HP +8
+1 Dex
ABP: Armor attunement +1/+1, resistance +2, toughening +1, weapon attunement +1/+1
+1 3rd level spell known: Confusion
Critical Research Focus (Ex): At 8th level, the studious librarian threatens a critical hit on a Research check (Ultimate Intrigue 148) with a roll of 18, 19, or 20. He gains a +4 bonus on Research checks to confirm a critical hit.
This ability replaces dirge of doom.
Skills: +1 K Arcana, K Dungeoneering, K Planes, Spellcraft, Stealth, Swim, UMD.
Background Skills: +1 Perform String, Perform Dance
Marbyn listens to Shalelu and the Sheriff, mostly, sort of. But her mind is occupied by other things. She surreptitiously watches the pair of elves in the room. Marbyn has seen elves before of course, but always in a 'passing on the street' sort of way. Given extra time for observation, she find them kind of fascinating, but draws no conclusions or speculations regarding them.
She selects a small butterfly pin to wear. Everyone seems really pleased with the idea of wearing the pins, like it's a great idea. Marbyn can't make the reasoning behind the pins line up though.
If the idea is for us to be around, out and about to be seen because that will keep people calm (for some reason), there's a presupposition there that people will be calm because they know who we are. The won't explain who we are if someone happens to not know.
Now, the letter or note idea made sense because it could explain who we are and what we can do and have an official seal or a signature or whatever on it. Nobody would need to know anything at all beforehand to understand the letter.
A butterfly pin doesn't tell anyone either of those things. We still have to explain we're wearing butterfly pins because we are well known(!!!). And the wearing the means we can do certain special things they can't, like deputies or rich people.
So, the pin needs to be explained to work, and the explanation is therefore believable because we have the pin we just explained. Seems like it doesn't work unless we're talking to very gullible people.
In fact, maybe I'll test this. On the first day I'll wear the butterfly pin. The day after I'll pin a leafy stalk on celery on. I'll tell people the celery means the same thing as the butterfly pin and see what happens...
Marbyn doesn't want to rain on anyone's parade, so she doesn't say anything about the glaring problems with the pins as a meaningful symbol of anything in particular. Maybe she's missing some key piece of knowledge about small towns that would clear of her confusion if she knew it. Or maybe people in small towns are more interested in being agreeable with each other than having good ideas?
Thinking about the pins eventually morphs into considering rustic people in general. Everyone in Sandpoint seems quite happy, despite a certain lack of many interesting things to do. They also seem to all know each other. Knowing bunches of people like that appeals to Marbyn. On the other hand, it would be easy to run out of new people to get to know pretty quickly. Then things would get boring again.
Especially if one considers that people probably only genuinely like only about 20% (optimistically) of the people they know. Without far more people to meet than a small town could supply, she'd be stuck not actually liking many people forever. It's possible rustic people a able to like more people overall than other people, but she doesn't really buy the notion. Marbyn figures she'd probably not be good at being a rustic person.
"Hey, are we supposed to be start wandering around and making people feel safe right this minute, or should we go get something to eat before we listen to Shalelu again?"
Marbyn is too busy checking out Bulvarius's armor to notice much about Joanna. There's something about the armor that seems a little familiar but she can't put her finger on it.
Marbyn is deep into a game of dice at the Hagfish when she's found. In aggregate she's winning, which would typically mean she would angle for some way out of going, because winning!
But, she's also been doing a fair amount of boasting about her role in thwarting the goblin attack, as well as having earned the regard of the sheriff. There have been doubts among the listeners, after all Marbyn doesn't look at all dangerous or impressive in the ways that earn respect from large men with weapons. Sometimes an intangible win can be more delicious than a tangible one. Marbyn is content to trade the possibility of a little more silver to see the doubters eat crow.
Without looking up at the man, Marbyn asks "so I'm not under arrest?" When the guardsman affirms she isn't under arrest, she picks up her coins and begins to stand. She stumbles slightly though, bumping against the man beside her.
"Pardon me old salt", she says to the sailor, "too much liquor too early I suppose." She gives the man a pat on the shoulder and joins the guardsman.
"All right mister soldier lead on. I'm very anxious to hear what Shalelu has to report to me."
When they're outside and on their way up the street, Marbyn opens her hand to take a good look at the button she plucked from the sailor's vest when she bumped him. It's a nice one, off-white in color with a pearly sheen. Probably made from oyster shell.
"Who's Shalelu?" Marbyn asks the guardsman as she moves the button around to see how it catches the light at different angles.
Sleight of Hand (snatch a button): 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (12) + 6 = 18
Fenna rolls her eyes helplessly at the absolute stupidity of the situation.
"Anyone happen to speak Aklo? No? That's what I expected. Hardly anyone anywhere on the entire planet's surface speaks Aklo. They understand Azlanti but don't utter a word in that language or they'll hate you forever."
I checked. Nobody speaks Aklo because it's not a language anyone would ever choose in this AP.
CHA: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (8) + 4 = 12
Liguistics: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (16) + 5 = 21
Gallant Inspiration Again: 2d4 ⇒ (4, 3) = 7
I'm pretty much done with this scene. That's four back to back high DC checks just to start communicating. I've rolled both and everything for brevity. CHA check fails, and it's not a skill or knowledge check so no Lore Master or Gallant Inspiration for a boost. Liguistics requires a 20 with my +5 bonus so another fail. Gallant Inspiration can be used since it's a skill check so Fenna can get a 28 in Linguistics.
With a little magical help Fenna tries miming at the things without turning them murderous.
If I can I guess I'll do all the stuff then. Gallant Inspiration cast, 2d4 ⇒ (1, 2) = 3 gets me to 22, and burning a hero point will get me to 26 on the Perform Dance check. Taking 20 with Lore Master brings the the K Dungeoneering check to 29.
Fenna doesn't have anything to trade at present. But she does add something in Azlanti that might pay off in the future, and perhaps even improve the impression the Wyrwoods have of them.
"We weren't well prepared for trading since our purpose for coming here is to down the ugothols. But, we now live permanently on the near island and there are more of us there. Perhaps we could come to some agreement that would promote ongoing trade between us in the future?"
Vigny is very tempted to let things break off here as they naturally could. She's hating this whole situation so much it makes her stomach hurt. But, she's built some momentum now, and she's not sure she would be able to work herself up to this point again if she quits now.
There is a new thing as well. Tazio's words are a hard smack to the face for her, even if Tazio didn't intend it. It shifts Vigny's perspective. As she gets up and walks after Tazio, Vigny isn't sure what she will say until she gets there.
"No, I didn't mean I'm sorry about how you feel. I'm sorry because it can't work. I know it can't work because I'm feeling and doing exactly the same things you are right now."
Vigny inhales and takes the plunge.
"Sandru is only interested in women. I know this because he told me when he asked me to make sure you understood this. He has noticed you, and he places a lot of value on you and the work you do for the caravan. He's afraid if he talked to you himself you might quit, and he doesn't want that at all. I agreed to talk to you for him because I feel the same way you do about him."
Vigny tries to come up with some artful way of putting it, but she just blurts out "I love him. I suppose I have for years now. So I did it because I thought if I did what he asked me to, he'd maybe like me more. We're both doing exactly the same things and it can't work. All we will ever get from it is being asked to do more things because Sandru knows we will do them."
"It's not even Sandru's fault either. It's ours for thinking there's a way to slide in to his affections without actually risking anything. All this mess is because everyone is afraid to talk. Sandru is afraid to talk to you so he asks me, and I say yes because I'm less afraid to talk to you than I am to him, and you're afraid to talk to Sandru so you do whatever he says no matter how much you don't like being pushed around by the horses. It's all miserable for all of us."
"I'm really sorry Tazio. I wish I had been braver. We should go talk to Sandru together. Doing it can't be any worse than this. Sometimes you have to saddle up and ride scared when it's the right thing to do."
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Vigny scans the area of the farmstead over and over with pursed lips.
"How do we be careful and clever here...?" she says under her breath.
Vigny frowns slightly at Tazio's unwillingness to talk with Sandru about the situation.
"Sure, what he says goes in an emergency. And he could decide not to change anything if you asked. But, I'm not saying you go demand something or else. He's the caravan leader and you work for him. You can have conversations about things you'd like to see changed. That's not at all some kind of challenge to his authority. It's just a request, part of being free versus being a slave. Give it some thought."
It's about then when Vigny realizes Tazio's face has gone a bit red.
"Oh, it's nothing to get upset about... Oh wait, you're blushing aren't you? Why are you blushing?"
Sense Motive: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (4) + 6 = 10
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Vigny with Orchid:
Vigny's brow furrows with befuddlement as Orchid walks away.
Who's Sandy? Is that the name of one of the horses? No, maybe not since Sandy is taking the horses' mint... The horses have mint? Where do they keep it?
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Vigny takes the captured raider's quite rude refusal to cooperate very well, maybe. She sighs, takes her tankard, and gets up off the ground.
"Well, I've done what I can to help you. You know what you need to if you decide to survive. You might have a few days to think about changing your mind, it's hard to say. Best of luck to you."
Vigny turns to go, but then stops and turns back to add something else.
"You know, your very flowery words about how you refuse to speak to me are funny. Partially because you spoke to me in order to tell me you wouldn't speak to me instead of not simply not speaking. Mostly though it's what you told me with your spoken refusal to speak."
"If I were wrong about you having a boss who is stupid and who finds no value in you and your dead pals, and instead you all just happened by at the right time to impulsively choose disaster for yourselves, you would have told me so to make me look foolish. You didn't so I know I'm right."
"You're unlikely to make it long enough to see for yourself, so be aware of this. We know now that your boss is out there, too stupid to go into hiding or flee before us. We're not going to let an unprovoked assault on us pass unanswered. We'll be going on the hunt for your boss, and we'll be ready now if more attempts against us are made. You've seen what we can do when we're not ready, imagine what we will do now that we are."
Vigny goes down on one knee and takes the man's boots off him.
"These are for the fire. If you think we're the soft waste of dogs beneath the boots you no longer even have, be assured you and the likes of you will be the blood beneath mine. This includes whoever you made that oath to, nothing but cold, rotting meat and blood after we've rolled over them. And you can sleep tonight knowing that your stupid inability to understand the difference between refusing to speak and talking a bunch about refusing to speak is how your oath doomed the person you swore it to."
Vigny walks away carrying the boots and chucks them on the fire.
After Orchid has moved on Vigny leans in close to Taizo and in a low voice says "yikes, right?" with a smirk.
Leanings back she changes the subject away from Orchid, while filing away an observation for later.
"So, you hate dealing with the horses and you're just waiting around hoping that Sandru will switch your duties? Why don't you ask him? Can't hurt right?"
Vigny narrows her eyes, doing the clever expression again. But this time she's almost smug.
"I know Sandru very well you know. He's seems like he's all business all the time. But under the surface he's a big softy. Usually men, actually women too, who are so devastating good looking aren't very nice, but he is. I wouldn't be surprised at all if he changed you to something else if it's possible."
"Until you ask him though, I can help you out with the horses."
With Orchid:
Later in the day Vigny catches Orchid as she skulks about doing whatever it is that Orchid does. She's positioned herself to be leaning on a wagon with her thumbs jammed into her belt looking all casual.
"Hey Orchid, come here for a minute."
If Orchid complies with Vigny's request...
Vigny is smiling when Orchid comes over.
"I think I know what you're doing. You're putting the horses up to giving Tazio a hard time aren't you? If you are, can you stop it please? It's causing problems."
Vigny collects one of the armbands and goes to speak with the new prisoner. She sits down on the ground across from him very friendly and places her tankard on the ground in front of her crossed legs.
"Veistu, þessi litla árás þín var ekki mjög klár. Ég er með töluna núna, átján af þínu fólki eru látnir. Okkur megin, nokkrar skrámur."
Skald:
"You know, that little raid of yours wasn't very smart. I have the tally now, eighteen of your people dead. On our side, a few scratches."
She shakes her head sadly.
"Þetta er algjört sóun. Og það hefði mátt koma í veg fyrir þetta með smá njósnum af þinni hálfu. Þú hefðir fljótt áttað þig á því að þú ættir engan möguleika í helvíti. Þetta yrði aldrei nálægt sanngjörnum bardaga."[/spoiler]
Skald:
"It's a real waste. And it could have been avoided with a little scouting on your part. You'd have quickly realized you didn't have a chance in hell. It wasn't ever going to be close to a fair fight."
Vigny fills her tankard with ale using an enchanted word and gesture. She lifts it and holds it out for the warrior so he can sip.
"Ég ímynda mér að þú sért þyrstur. Drekktu. Allavega, eins og ég var að segja, ef þú hefðir nennt að fylgjast með okkur fyrst hefðirðu vitað að sverð mitt skín skært með heilagri blessun hins heppna drykkfellda. Þessi sem kom og urraði á þig? Hún étur sig bara í gegnum fólk meira og minna. Við höfum líka nóg af galdri. Og við getum barist úr fjarlægð. Við höfum alla mögulega kosti."
Skald:
"I'd imagine you're thirsty. Drink. Anyway, like I was saying, if you'd bothered to watch us at all first you'd have known that my sword shines bright with the holy blessing of the Lucky Drunk. That one who came by and snarled at you? She more or less just eats her way through people. We have plenty of magic too. And we can fight at range. We hold every possible advantage."
"Ég er að vera góður við þig að hluta til vegna þess að það er langt síðan ég hef verið í Linnorm konungsríkjunum og er spenntur að koma aftur. Mér þykir líka svolítið vænt um þig og vini þína og hversu illa þið klúðruðuð þessu, eða voruð klúðrað. Þið eruð öll með þessi armbönd, og þau eru ekki ódýr. Kannski tilheyrið þið öll klúbbi, en þar sem þau eru úr gulli held ég að þið eigið öll yfirmann sem afhenti þau. Og kannski varstu bara að sigla framhjá rétt þegar við vorum að setja upp tjaldbúðir fyrir nóttina. En það er ótrúlega mikil tilviljun held ég. Ég held ekki að yfirmaðurinn þinn hafi verið með þér í þessum bátum. Ég held að þú hafir verið sendur án þess að þér hafi verið sagt nokkuð um hvers konar geitungahreiður þú varst að ganga inn í. Þetta fær mig til að trúa því að yfirmaðurinn þinn sé annað hvort frekar heimskur, eða að yfirmaðurinn þinn meti þig ekki, kannski jafnvel hvort tveggja."
Skald:
"I'm being nice to you partially because it's been a long time since I've been in the Linnorm Kingdoms and I'm excited about coming back. I also feel a little bad for you and your pals and how badly you screwed up, or got screwed over. All of you are wearing these armbands, and they're not cheap ones. Maybe you all belong to a club, but since these are gold I'm thinking you all have a boss who handed them out. And maybe you just happened to be cruising by right when we were setting up camp for the night. But that's an awfully big coincidence I think. I don't think your boss was with you in those boats. I think you were sent without being told anything at all about what kind of hornet's nest you were walking into. This makes me believe your boss is either quite dumb, or your boss doesn't value you, maybe even both."
Vigny sets the tankard back on the ground and sighs with sympathy for the warrior.
"Hvort heldur sem er, slæmur yfirmaður. Ekki sú tegund yfirmanns sem stríðsmaður með sjálfsvirðingu myndi bera hollustu gagnvart. Allavega, það sem ég er að fara að hér er þetta. Það myndi hjálpa þér eins og þú myndir ekki einu sinni trúa því að segja okkur hvers vegna þú mættir og réðst á okkur. Nú, ef þú gerir það ekki getum við aldrei sleppt þér. Nú, ég mun ekki meiða þig, ég hef mín heit til að íhuga. Ég efast um að nokkur annar hér myndi gera það heldur. Með einni undantekningu. Ungfrú tennur og klær, sem heitir Orchid. Ein af okkar fólki sem slasaðist er systir hennar. Ekkert alvarlegt, en það mun ekki skipta Orchid máli. Þegar við drögum þig með okkur, munu allir venjast því að þú sért hér. Á einhverjum tímapunkti mun einhver gleyma því, eða vera kærulaus. En hún mun ekki gleyma því í eina sekúndu. Þegar þessi opnun birtist, mun hún nýta sér það. Hún mun bókstaflega opna þig og hella innyflum þínum á jörðina á meðan þú ert á lífi og horfir á það gerast. Það verður mjög, mjög sárt og ljótt. Ráð mitt til þín, ef þú vilt forðast þá framtíð, er að gera þig að góðum vini núna svo við getum byrjað að finna lausn á því hvernig þú getur losnað við þetta áður en Orchid nær að ná þér. Hvað segirðu?"
Skald:
"Either way, a bad boss. Not the kind of boss a warrior with any self-respect would feel loyalty to. Anyway, what I'm getting to here is this. It would help you like you wouldn't even believe to tell us why you showed up and attacked us. If you don't we can't possibly ever let you go. Now, I won't harm you, I have my vows to consider. I doubt anyone else here would either. With one exception. Miss teeth and claws, named Orchid. One of our people who was injured is her sister. Nothing serious, but that won't matter to Orchid. As we haul you around with us, everyone will get used to you being around. At some point somebody is going to forget, or be careless. But Orchid isn't going to forget for a second. She will be waiting and watching. When that opening appears, she's going to take advantage. She will literally open you up and spill your guts on the ground while you're alive and watching it happen. It will be very, very painful and ugly. My advice to you, if you wish to avoid that future, is to ingratiate yourself to us now so we can get to work coming up with some solution for how you can walk away from this before Orchid can get to you. What do you say?"
The sequence of visions Vigny experiences when the box is opened blows her mind. Aside from the strangeness of the experience itself, the implications are immense. Suddenly what had been almost a lark, a little journey to look into what might lie behind a newly discovered letter to someone she only knew recently and vaguely, has become linked to the fate of a faraway empire.
To be perfectly accurate, this had happened before. What had been a short excursion to deal with troublesome goblins had oddly brought to light a lost history of Ameiko's. But that wasn't so weird. It was a coincidence on the order of seeing a familiar face in a first visit to a faraway city, a 'huh! who would have thunk it?' episode reminding one the world can be a surprising place. This is the kind of revelation that reminds one there are gods.
When the visions have cleared, Vigny summons ale into her tankard and silently passes it around as she mentally chews on what they've seen will mean.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Spivey:
Vigny is good for some things, but handling grief isn't really one of them. She knows Spivey is grieving, and she feels helpless to act in the face of it. She doesn't know what to do or say, and is grateful there are others present who can step in.
Vigny doesn't follow Spivey, unsure if it might be intrusive to do so. Instead she finds a good spot for keeping an eye on things until they are ready to move onward.
"I'll stay here and make sure we aren't followed. We didn't completely check the castle so there might still be something we missed looking for payback."
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Heading North:
Vigny finds she's excited by the idea of traveling onward north, to what she could consider home. It isn't exactly the kind of excitement she might feel returning to Riddleport after a long time away. That feeling would include anticipation for being around people she knew, things she missed, a feeling of familiarity. She has no anticipation for the Linnorm Kingdoms because she doesn't know them.
Her memories of the place are limited to a clearing hacked out of the southern edge of the Grungir Forest so long ago now that she wouldn't be able to find it if she tried. The spot has probably been swallowed by the forest by now anyway. The feeling she has is excitement and uncertainty for a 'what if', a possible alternate life she might have had if things had happened differently when she was a young girl. She's eager to see the 'what ifs' waiting up north, although it hadn't ever occurred to her to go find out before now.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The Nolands:
The feeling doesn't apply to the Nolands though. She does remember that place, and returning affects her. Vigny's demeanor becomes more reserved, and she seems nervous or on edge after the caravan crosses into the region.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Sandru:
As Vigny returns from patrol one evening, she finds Sandru in the wagon's shadow, leaning awkwardly against the wheel. He straightens up as she approaches.
"Do you have a moment?" he asks. Once she stops, he shifts his weight from foot to foot. The behavior is unusual for the normally confident caravan leader.
Vigny turns from her original path and steps on over close to Sandru.
"Sure, what's up Sandru?[b] Vigny is puzzled by Sandru's out of character behavior. He starts to make her feel edgy as well.
[b]"I was wondering if ..." he begins, but then shakes his head and looks out into the darkness. "This is really difficult for me. I can usually handle these things without resorting to something like this." He squares his shoulders and steels his nerve.
Sandru really has Vigny's attention now. She's starting to wonder if maybe she's done something or made some mistake that's a problem.
"I've had to deal with misplaced affections in the past and it's never been as ... uncomfortable as this." He frowns and seems to consider his words carefully.
The blood in Vigny's veins goes ice cold, she practically shivers from it. Her eyes are wide.
"Could I ask something of you? This is going to be a long journey and I really need to nip this before it gets out of hand."
Vigny feels bile at the back of her throat, like she might vomit. She thought Sandru didn't know anything about it. How could he know when she'd only managed to have brief, mundane conversations with him? Vigny thinks it might be better if she broke it and stopped him, apologizing right away so he didn't have to say anything more. But she can't get her voice to work.
After drawing a couple more breaths, he blurts out, "Could you talk to Tazio for me? His is a skill that is invaluable out here, but I just don't share his feelings. This is uncomfortable, but I don't think he knows that I know, so I think it would be better if it came from someone that wasn't me."
He waits expectantly for Vigny's response.
Vigny's blood thaws and her face goes pinkish.
"Oh... Oh, um, alright. Yes, sure. Um, I can do that. I'll talk to him. And... right, I'll think of something so it doesn't seem like this came from you to me... Somehow... Uh, do you have a suggestion for how to do it that way best?"
Vigny puts her hand on the wagon to lean and look casual about the whole thing, but her knees feel weak from her emotional crash and recovery.
If it was me deciding where to place a location agnostic campaign in Golarion, I'd go with somewhere that's seen less traffic and development due to Adventure Paths and Modules. The eastern border of Brevoy and into Iobaria could be cool. There's also Isger. It's a (neglected) Chelaxian vassal state, but also depopulated and wild. Just about anything could easily be dropped into either location due to all the blank space in those areas.
Sorry for being away. Being out of town left me very backlogged at work, and also taking care of my dog while she recovers has been just wiping me out. She's about back to normal now though, at least as far as she's concerned. She'll just need to take it easy a little while longer.
Atsuko reaches out to touch Ritti while chanting a short incantation.
"Udeeya dushtam tvam atra pravishtum na shaknoshi!"
After the spell is concluded, Atsuko backs away to greater relative safety.
Standard action to cast Protection from Evil on Ritti. I'm thinking it might give her a second save against the enchantment she's under? Move 10' to current location shown on the map. Lingering Performance continues Inspire Courage.
So, Protection from Evil gives Ritti a +2 moral bonus on a new save if she gets one. Inspire Courage is giving everyone a +2 moral bonus versus charm and fear along with the +2 competence bonus to attacks and damage. If Torra needs to make a save, she also has +2 if it's a charm effect. Ritti can't stack the 2 bonuses for a +4 unfortunately.
Finally, Atsuko can still deliver the the spell to Ritti if she moves toward the hag-thing. She'll still be adjacent to Atsuko's starting position. If Ritti moves so that Atsuko can't deliver the spell, she will instead move and then cast Allegro on herself.
Things are starting to look a little out of control to Atsuko. She decides she needs to try something to take some pressure off them. Atsuko begins casting, calling out the words for a spell.
"Räjähtävä kiiltävä valopallo!"
As she finishes, a small orb of intense golden light about the size of an egg appears between the two merrows off to Yuto's right. The orb immediately expands into an explosion of dazzling light particles, enveloping the merrows. The particles cling to them like paint, covering them in glowing yellow light.
Standard action to cast Glitterdust as shown on the map. I believe Atsuko can get both the merrows. DC versus blindness is 15. Lingering Performance continues Inspire Courage.
Vigny sees Orchid's charge toward the ogres go badly, and decides a somewhat more measured set of tactics is needed. She waits for the ogres, shifting position if she needs to so that the ogre closer to her is always exactly between the more distant ogre and her. Vigny doesn't want to find herself surrounded.
She asks Cailyn and Shunsen to focus their shots on the same ogre she's engaging so they can take him out of the fight fast as possible. When the ogre gets to her she attacks while trying to build some animus against herself in particular so her ogre will stay focused specifically on her.
"Won't find anything here to eat you won't choke on you greasy lump of s$%%. You know, where I'm from they say every ogre's mother is also his sister. Now that I see you up close, I know why."
Attack: 1d20 + 5 + 1 ⇒ (17) + 5 + 1 = 23
Damage: 1d8 + 4 ⇒ (1) + 4 = 5
Diplomacy (to piss off an ogre?): 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (4) + 6 = 10
Vigny can feel the heat of Sandru's hand through her dress like the sun on her shoulders in the middle of a hot, cloudless day. At least that's what she imagines. It's such an intimate yet gentlemanly gesture that she's sure her face must be flushed now.
But, knowing some things Sandru doesn't yet brings back some of her confidence.
"Oh, I know. Brinewall is your destination I believe? I'm going with you. I was with your sisters when we found... the letter." Vigny leans in slightly toward Sandru when she says the last part so she can whisper in case it's a confidential piece of information.
"All three of us are going, and a couple more as well."
When they've reached the edge of the caravan's encampment, Vigny bids Sandru goodbye for the time being, and adds "If I can help out with getting ready, anything at all you might need, just let me know. I'm staying at the cathedral presently."
Vigny doesn't delay in leaving. Overstaying would be so much worse than leaving Sandru wanting just a little more.
As she walks back to the cathedral to change into more comfortable clothes, Vigny is delighted at how things went, judging her first meeting with Sandru a great success. She feels like she's the one who delivered all the surprises, and pleasant ones at that. After all, the way he placed his hand on her back, even though they haven't seen each other in quite some time, that means something! she assures herself. The dwarf though, what was her problem? Rude! I don't think I like the dwarf.
Atsuko is at a loss for how to approach Inuliak. She doesn't feel confident she would be able to get any information out of him, or be able to tell the difference between true and false if she did. Atsuko also doubts she could shadow him, or do anything else of the sort without him noticing.
Eventually she decides that perhaps she can see if she can elicit some emotional response from him that might reveal something among his nature or character.
She looks for an opportunity to talk with him when starting a conversation would seem natural, perhaps at mealtime or around the fire in the evening. When she engages him, Atsuko approaches the conversation as her describing what the members of her caravan have seen and experienced in recent days, expressing worry and fearfulness (which is no stretch for her really), and asking him a couple of simple questions and opinions from him based on his great local experience.
She tells him of the mutilated undead herds they have seen and had to ward off, the caravan vacant of people but full of slaughtered draft animals.
"There are rumors of a terrible necromancer who roams the area from the mountains to all around the lake and beyond. The rumors say this necromancer is responsible for all this. Have you heard the same? Do you think the necromancer exists?"
Atsuko pauses to reflect, then she adds "We have all thought about it and debated among ourselves, but we can find no logic in what we've seen. Why slaughter animals to just let them roam as the walking dead? How could so many people be taken without a trace of violence against them, but at the very same spot all their animals savagely ravaged?"
"Do you think a person, even a powerful necromancer would act in this way? Why would such a powerful mage inhabit almost empty lands? What else could it possibly be? How long has this been happening? Do you remember a time before these awful things started happening?"
If Inuliak bothers to answer, Atsuko watches and listens for any signs of anger, or shock, or compassion from him. She thinks he will always be careful with the. information he divulges, but perhaps in doing so he might forget to guard his feelings.
Vigny looks over at Flori mouth agape for a second or two before she realizes she's staring and slack-jawed. She snaps her mouth shut and relies "Oh! Really? Huh, small world isn't it?"
She figures the Sandru in question must be the right one. Vigny had given a last name. But, Flori's description is off the mark. Vigny had never known him to be either hilarious or mildly amusing. He's very handsome, as well as dashing and charming.
"Well, I suppose I should drop by and say hello to him then."
Vigny drops the subject. She also hurries to leave when the meeting breaks up, going back to the cathedral and changing into her dress. It's a simple affair, the sort of thing a peasant might wear on holidays or special occasions.
While Vigny was always well taken care of at the orphanage, there wasn't ever much extra to be had. She doesn't have jewelry or anything nice of that sort to add except for her recently acquired hairpin. She judges it to be too fancy for her outfit though. Instead she combs her hair out thoroughly and adds a thin braid at the front on each side. Then, she adds the accessory she does own, a braided leather headband that she ties in the back.
Finally, Vigny splashes some rosewater on the back of her neck, behind her ears, and on her wrists. She has a few basic cosmetics, but decides against applying any of them because it might seem like she's overdoing it.
Vigny ignores the claw scratch, it's to be expected sooner or later. She keeps on bashing with her club.
On the upside (she hopes) Vigny has noticed a couple of things. If she's right (she hopes) there are a couple of advantages they can play on.
The skeleton with the sword is fixated on Shunsen, even though Orchid is the more tangible threat. That, along with the Skeleton speaking to and pointing at Shunsen, who also spoke to the skeleton before this all started, might be very meaningful.
"Flori, get your horse up here to block the tunnel!"
"Shunsen, I think you unleashed a curse onto yourself! Withdraw to help the horse up here! I'm gonna get between you and the one coming at you hard! It wants you, so we're gonna keep it separated from you!"
Attack: 1d20 + 3 + 1 ⇒ (7) + 3 + 1 = 11
Damage: 1d6 + 3 ⇒ (5) + 3 = 8
Oh well, it's been a pretty good run. Had to miss eventually.
Sorry for the delay posting. I had an emergency bathtub plumbing thing to fix, which required also ripping out the tub surround and and then installing a new one. It took the whole weekend+ and it couldn't wait. I'm fond of showers and want to continue having them in the future. :p
Sorry for the delay posting. I had an emergency bathtub plumbing thing to fix, which required also ripping out the tub surround and and then installing a new one. It took the whole weekend+ and it couldn't wait. I'm fond of showers and want to continue having them in the future. :p
Vigny would probably be at the Rusty Dragon when the meeting about goblin hunting is scheduled even if she had no intention of joining up with the posse, or whatever exactly the group would be called. She's spent quite a lot of time in the place over the past few weeks.
Of course Vigny had visited every one of Sandpoint's fine establishments within two or three days after arriving in town, and in her professional opinion the Rusty Dragon didn't win every category by which a drinking establishment could be judged. But, it did win more overall than any of the other places, and it won in the ways that matter most to Vigny.
The White Deer is a very nice place, newer with the best rooms she's seen. Vigny stayed there for a few nights when she first got to town. The food is good, and the drink as well. But it's quiet. The cliental seems to lean toward travelers with money to spend who just a nice clean room and to be left to their own business. Locals don't seem to favor it unless they're old, and the owner Garridan isn't talkative or friendly. Vigny thinks she might have gotten on his nerves a few times.
Risa's Place is sort of the opposite of the White Deer, cozy if a bit cramped, fine enough food but the ale quality is lacking in her humble opinion. Risa's kids run the place, and Vigny suspects they might be watering the drinks to save on their overhead costs. Really the thing though is the place is too local, kind of clubby. She was never made to feel unwelcome, but she did sometimes feel like the regulars there were wondering when she would finally shove off and let them have the place to themselves again.
Fatman's Feedbag is trouble and that's all that matters. Vigny can read a room well enough to know it's the kind of place best avoided. It would just be a matter of time before she would wind up in a fight there, and then possibly jail. It gets more visits from the Town Watch than any other place.
The Hagfish gives The Rusty Dragon a serious run for top spot. But Vigny disqualifies it because it would be bad for her health to spend much time there. Too many sailors and other temptations to drink too much, gamble too much, and otherwise experience blurry and confusing time losses. Vigny has promised herself she will take a shot at choking down a mug of water from Norah's tank and claiming that big sack of coins for doing it. Probably it will be one of her last acts before leaving town. She knows taking the dare will likely end with a tremendous amount of vomiting and no sack of money. Vigny would rather not be around to be hear about it over and over afterward.
So all of this is why Vigny finds herself at the Rusty Dragon most of the time. The food is very good, if occasionally challenging, and so is the drink. The people are friendly in general but know how to mind their own business when it's appropriate. Good mix of locals and travelers.
Vigny would probably just get a room and move in there, but as the days have turned to weeks, she's found her purse getting light. So now instead Vigny has worked out a sort of ecumenical reciprocal arrangement with Abstalar, the Desnan priest at the cathedral. Vigny sleeps there and in return does some chores around the place. She out early each day because Abstalar likes to discuss theology and philosophy and stuff, and gods is it boring.
So, Vigny has fallen into a routine of late. Earlier up than she'd prefer, a quick round of chores, then escaping from the cathedral as soon as possible to the Rusty Dragon for the cheap breakfast. She has one mug of the good stuff, then creates her own refill of okay stuff with a whispered sentence and waggle of her fingers. Another virtue of the Rusty Dragon is the staff seems to either not notice or turn a blind eye. Vigny shows respect by sitting far enough away or in a corner so she isn't doing it right under their noses.
Afternoons are spent on walks mostly. Sometimes she goes down to the docks to watch the ships and stevedors, or out to the cliffs to look at the ocean. She has an old book she bought from The Curious Goblin when she first arrived. It's titled The Peoples of Varisia: Their Mores Traditions and Lifeways, but it must have been written over fifty years ago, and getting through a few pages is murderous. Every now and then Vigny still tries to read a little more of it.
Vigny used to window shop or browse the shops, but doing it daily tended to eventually annoy the proprietors, so not anymore. Early on she would make impulse purchases occasionally but she had to stop to save her money as time dragged on with no sign of Sandru showing up. Besides the only thing that she's still pleased to have bought is the taxidermied fox she bought at The Feathered Serpent, which she decided to name Aldo.
On this particular day nothing has been outside of some version of her ordinary routine, including presently being back at the Rusty Dragon. Vigny gave Flori, who's tending bar a wave as she arrived, and found a table far enough away from the bar so it won't be obvious she refilling her own mug. Vigny does always buy the first drink though, she has standards. Now she playing chess against herself with the board and pieces she also bought from The Feathered Serpent and waiting for the meeting to start.
Vigny is quite curious about what the sheriff or mayor or whoever will have to say about the goblin ruckus. She really could use some excitement. She's reached the point where she's beginning to wonder if coming to Sandpoint without knowing more beforehand was a stupid thing to do.
Cool. Syardis wouldn't claim to have a great sense of direction, so a less than optimal route of travel wouldn't be out of bounds for her. I wanted Augustana if possible because I want to make her family a very comfortable middle class one. The family business is making iron and brass fittings for ships, mostly for the Andoran navy, and that's where the big shipyards are located. The family owns a foundry and a brassworks. Juicy government contracts are paying for Syardis's fancy schools. The family is by tradition Caydenite, but Syardis has switched to Nethys, which is very on trend; or at least it was if there's no whole Almas to be found anywhere anymore.
I'll take a closer look at crafting feats and figure out what I might have room for. I like the Inscribe Magical Tattoo feat a lot, and might be able to pick up another.
For the present day at least, Atsuko won't be going anywhere. She joins Livia fixing the wagon. A broken axle is really bad news, not an incidental repair. Under the best of circumstances, an axle would break right outside the combined wainwright and blacksmith shops located in a lightly forested area. Next best would be on the road in a comfortable and safe wooded location to camp for a few days while the wainwright and blacksmith who happen to among the travelers effect repairs. Both of the above situations allow for the felling of a tree with approximately the same girth as the axle, and the production of an entirely new replacement.
This situation for Atsuko and Livia is among the worst possible. The caravan is in a decidedly unsafe location, and while there are probably trees suitable for an axle replacement, there isn't enough time to make one. Instead the two wainwrights will have to fix the break. This can only be done by straightening the broken axle, refitting the two parts along the break as perfectly as possible, and fixing the break by attaching iron braces, or an iron sleeve, across the break to bind it tight. Afterward, it will be constant prayer that the repair holds until one of the better sets of circumstances mentioned above can be found further along the road, and a permanent fix can be done.
It will easily take a full day. First, the wagon must be lifted slightly to bring the wheels on the broken axle up off the ground enough to remove them. Stones, logs, or whatever can be found will be piled up on each side under the wagon's body to keep it up for the duration.
Next, the iron brackets that attach the axle to the wagon will need to be unbolted on each side so both assemblages can be removed. Then, the freed axle can be moved out to be worked on. The break will be cleaned up, and the sides refitted. If Atsuko was lucky in her previous wagon scavenging, she found an iron sleeve. It would make the stronger repair since it can be fitted fully around the break and bolted in place. If not, iron bars will be bolted across the break, and the whole area will be wrapped tightly with rope, which is glued in place.
Finally, reassembly is the reverse of disassembly. Axle up and bolted back onto the wagon, wheels back on, and the materials holding up the wagon removed to bring the wheels back to ground.
Given the weather and need for quickness, Atsuko's day is really going to suck.
Strength: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 2 = 4
Prof (wainwright): 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (5) + 7 = 12
Well, again Atsuko is largely useless. Hopefully Livia is more competent and Atsuko can aid her.
Woot! Unite in sitting alone in our basements and scrawling away on art in the middle of the night! :p
Actually though, it might be lots of fun to model Nocticulans(?) as a group on Zine culture from the 70's to 90's (if you're enough of an old timer to remember back that far). You do your weird thing, I do my weird weird thing, and we cross pollinate, maybe even collaborate (gasp!). It couldn't be happening at the local used record/tape/cd store, but maybe a second hand bookstore or cheap coffeeshop or pub.
I'll get a post in today when I get a chance, but this week isn't going to be good for posting. Last week and this one might be the busiest 2 weeks of the year for me between work and holidays. Families on my caseload have lots of extra needs due to the holidays. Next week will actually be much better for me even though it's the actual week of Christmas.
1. Hm... I'm not sure. Nocticula also has a place in Cynosure, which is explicitly a CG realm. That being said, her Evangelists' ability works equally well on good outsiders as it does evil... Hm... I'll say tentatively, you're fine there.
I'm not too bothered one way or the other aside from whether there's an issue with her character fluff. In answering the question "why is Tambry the cleric among them?" I went with because she's willing to do the extra stuff nobody else will. She'll take time out for her co-religionists to listen to them, or feed and shelter them, etc. If being more of a giver (she's not a saint about it, but she does more) doesn't trip her over from CN to CG, then CN is fine. After all, one of the anathemas is "deny shelter to the desperate" and she's just not forgetting it in favor of the more fun art stuff.
Also, under normal circumstances CG is allowed for Nocticula's Clerics. It's the particular archetype that requires the exact alignment of the deity.
2. Hm... I am reluctant to do purely mechanical traits, but again, I'll tentatively allow it.
I can find a different trait if you prefer. Even with the trait Tambry won't be competing for party face. She just doesn't have the skill points to keep up over time. However, if you want a reason for the trait, I'll go back to what I just said above. The reason Tambry is willing to do the extra is she has more empathy than most of her other co-religionists, and that makes her a bit less self-interested. So, the reason for the Empathic Diplomat trait is in the name of the trait itself.
3. Sounds fair.
Argh. I've never used the Monk class and forgot about the lawfulness of it all. It won't be Monk, maybe Brawler.
4. I'd say that Nocticula's religion is entirely new to Kintargo - Tambry would be the only divine caster, and might have a handful of interested tieflings from the Devil's Nursery as her "flock" so to speak. Theologically, that seems a sound basis, and I'm totally okay with her being something of a leader of refugees Moses-esque figure.
Cool. I'd not go so far as "leader" though. It's a primarily CN religion and probably mostly CN adherents. No hierarchies! Tambry may have influence, or differential persuasive abilities, but it's a herd of cats who would probably bridle at the notion they had a leader of some sort. Maybe she's the resident expert? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
