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As a sheet metal worker, the idea of running with an open tool bag is the most horrifying part of this tale. Good story! Looks like Droven's next round of downtime will be focused on "create sealable tool-bag for Whirp (oh, yes - and self, just in case)"... And Whirp is so CUTE!
The 'desperadoes make off with a super starship' is giving me a 'Blake's Seven' vibe. Which can be found here
Apart from Anne McCaffrey - who is more "soft" SF - I don't read SF, but I grew up with Doctor Who. The Doctor always thought his way around the problem, did his absolute best to avoid violence, and was not happy when others used violence to solve problems. He never used guns and was a master of improvisation when needed. He also ignored appearances in favour of intentions by other beings. The revival series has more or less continued in this vein, also adding acceptance of personal preferences (hello, Captain Jack Harkness and Bill Potts!). Yes, Doctor Who may not have promoted STEM, but it promotes thinking around problems, not using weapons, and acceptance.
Isn't there a demon lord who keeps a 13-number clock running with abducted children from across the planes in her realm?
...a very sweet homage to the wonderful Peter Cushing? "Lorrimor" could come from his character in those two modern-day (early 70s) Dracula films, Lorrimer Van Helsing, descendant of the original Professor. Makes sense given his portrayal of the original character in Hammer's first two vampire films.
<delurks> Folks Several hours of fiddling later, here's my conversion of Ileosa; please be nice, it's my first one... </delurks> Warning - LONG: ----------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- XP 307,200 Female devil-bound human aristocrat 2/bard 16 NE Medium humanoid (evil) Init +9; Senses true seeing; Perception +22 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- AC 43, touch 30, flat-footed 34 (+8 armor, +5 deflection, +9 Dex, +4 dodge, +5 natural, +2 profane) hp 230 (2d8+16d6+162); regeneration 20 Fort +23, Ref +28, Will +23; +4 vs bardic performance, sonic, and language-dependent effects DR 10/adamantine; Immune fire, paralysis and other movement-impairing effects, poison; Resist acid 10, cold 10; SR 22 Weaknesses susceptible to Serethtial ----------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Speed 30 ft., fly 60 ft. (perfect) Melee +4 dancing icy burst adamantine rapier +26/+21+16 (1d6+8/18-20 plus 1d6 cold) Special Attacks bardic performance 43 rounds/day (countersong, dirge of doom, distraction, fascinate, frightening tune, inspire competence +5, inspire courage +3, inspire greatness 3, inspire heroics, soothing performance, suggestion) Space 5 ft.; Reach 5 ft. Spell-Like Abilities (CL 18th): At will – minor image 3/day – quickened charm monster 1/day – greater teleport (self plus 50 pounds of objects only), unholy blight Spells Known (CL 16th): 6th (3/day) – geas/quest, irresistible dance 5th (6/day) – greater dispel magic, mind fog, song of discord, shadow walk 4th (7/day) – cure critical wounds, dimension door, freedom of movement, hold monster, summon monster IV 3rd (8/day) – confusion, deep slumber, displacement, gaseous form, slow 2nd (8/day) – cure moderate wounds, detect thoughts, mirror image, misdirection, sound burst, suggestion 1st (9 day; 3 used) – cause fear, cure light wounds, feather fall, grease, hideous laughter, silent image 0 (at will) – light, mage hand, mending, open/close, prestidigitation, resistance ----------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Before Combat When Ileosa notices the PCs entering the Sunken Queen, she casts freedom of movement on herself. As the PCs draw near, she casts stoneskin from her ring of spell storing and uses inspire heroics on herself, gaining a +4 dodge bonus to AC and a +4 morale bonus on saving throws. During Combat Ileosa’s first act in combat after she emerges is to activate inspire courage; she uses Harmonic Spell to weave a greater dispel magic into the activation as well. On this and the two rounds to follow, she hits the PCs with quickened charm monsters as well. On the second round, she uses inspire greatness on herself and two remaining allies, combining it with a mind fog on the PCs. On the following rounds, she uses a bardic suggestion combined with attack spells (common suggestions include, “Lay down your arms and bow before me”, or “Return to Korvosa and hide, you coward!” or (to the appropriate PC) “Return to the floor below to find and take the largest purple gem you see.” She releases her dancing rapier to attack foes as soon as any good targets are within her reach – as she does, the illusion that makes it appear to be a fan collapses, revealing her weapon for what it truly is. Morale Although vain and egotistical, Ileosa knows when she’s been beaten. If reduced to 30 hit points or less, she decides to abandon her goals and flees. Unfortunately for her, the Sunken Queen’s qualities slow her flight somewhat. She flees via dimension door to area B7, physically exits the structure, and then uses greater teleport to flee to Cheliax. If Ileosa escapes in this manner, see “Continuing the Campaign” for some notes on what she might do next. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Str 18, Dex 28, Con 28, Int 15, Wis 13, Cha 36 Base Atk +13; CMB +17; [b]CMD 36 [b]Feats Craft Wondrous Item, Extend Spell, Forge Ring, Greater Spell Focus (enchantment), Harmonic Spell*, Persuasive, Quicken Spell-Like Ability (charm monster), Spell Focus (enchantment), Weapon Finesse(B) *See below for description. Skills Bluff +34, Diplomacy +21, Intimidate +21, Knowledge (history) +18, Knowledge (nobility and royalty) +12, Linguistics +5, Perception +22, Perform (oratory) +24, Perform (string) +20, Sense Motive +20, Spellcraft +21, Use Magic Device +34 Languages Common, Draconic, Elven, Infernal, Thassilonian, Varisian SQ bardic knowledge +8, contingency, contract bound, jack-of-all-trades, lore master, versatile performance (oratory, string), well-versed Combat Gear wand of magic missile[i] (CL 9th, 34 charges); Other Gear [i]+4 dancing icy burst adamantine rapier (disguised as a fan), Crown of Fangs*, amulet of natural armor +5, bracers of armor +8, cloak of flight (as wings of flying, save that the cloak does not appear as wings when in use), gloves of Dexterity +6, ring of major spell storing (contains heal, stoneskin), ring of splendid security* *See below for descriptions ----------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Contingency Ileosa used a scroll of contingency to set up this effect – if she’s ever brought below 10 hit points, cure critical wounds (CL 16th) is cast on her. Contract Bound (Ex) Ileosa has forged a contract with an erinyes devil, granting her the benefits of the devil-bound template. Although she enlisted the aid of a contract devil to get more out of the contract than the erinyes bargained for, Ileosa’s immortal soul remains just as forfeit if she is slain. If this occurs, she cannot be brought back to life without the permission of Sermignatto; if that devil is slain, the contract itself reverts to Sermignatto’s hidden master, the Duke of Hell known as Lorthact. Exceptional Stats (Ex) Ileosa was destined from birth to achieve greatness and glory – it is to Korvosa’s great misfortune that her path took her along one of cruelty and arrogance. Her ability scores were generated using 32 points, rather than the standard 25-point elite array. Additionally, she possesses a potent artifact and her gear was determined as if she were a PC rather than an NPC to account for her vast wealth. These advantages increase her total CR by 1. Harmonic Spell This feat allows Ileosa to weave bardic performance effects into her spellcasting. By casting a harmonic spell, she can activate one of her bardic performance effects as a free action. The bardic performance is incorporated into the spell’s casting time, and its effect lasts for as long as the spell’s casting time plus 5 rounds thereafter. Activating a bardic performance ability with Harmonic Spell consumes 2 rounds of her total bardic performance allotment for the day, but does not affect the effective spell level of the spell being cast. Inherent Bonuses Strength +3, Dexterity +4, Constitution +4, Intelligence +3, Wisdom +3, Charisma +5; all gained at 14th level. Jack-of-All-Trades Ileosa can use any skill, and considers all skills to be class skills. Lore Master Ileosa can take 10 on any Knowledge skill check she has ranks in. Twice per day, she can take 20 on any Knowledge skill check as a standard action. Susceptible to Serethtial (Su) The infusion of Kazavon into Ileosa’s soul has given her an unexpected weakness. Against the weapon Serethtial, her regeneration does not function. In addition, each time she takes damage from Serethtial she must make a DC 25 Fortitude save to avoid gaining a negative level, as the sacred blade carves away portions of the power granted her over the past several months by the draconic relics. True Seeing (Su) Ileosa continually benefits from true seeing, as the spell. Versatile Performance (Ex) Ileosa can choose to substitute her Perform (oratory) or Perform (string) skill bonuses for their associated skills (Oratory – Diplomacy, Sense Motive; String – Bluff, Diplomacy). -----------------------------------------------------------------------
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Phew!! Obviously, GMs out there can fiddle with this as they wish…
Pneumonia - yeeccchhh! Claimed one of our old acting warhorses last week here in Oz - Michael Pate. (worked nearly 20 years in Hollywood, kept being cast as Native Americans in films, about 300+ TV appearances, also scriptwriter, director, producer etc - busy! And yes, he was an Aussie!) Get better soon!! |
