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Despite surface similarities, I think Jolstina and Laori are very distinct sorts of cheerfully creepy. Jolstina is obsessive; at this point in her life, very little really exists for her besides Rolth's whims.
Laori, on the other hand, is surprisingly enough a relatively well-balanced person. Her bubbly personality isn't dedicated to any specific individual--she's just legitimately happy-go-lucky and friendly, with the caveat that she thinks flaying someone's skin is a perfectly reasonable, pleasant past time. (There's also no doubt a degree to which she revels in pain as a way to fill a void inside--to feel alive, and not feel lonely.)
I have a question for the GM's out there who've gone through that part of the campaign already: I love Jolistina and Laori, but it seems to me that they are very similar characters. By default, I would tend to role-play them in the same way, but I'm afraid that, since Jolistina is to be encountered first, by the time the PC's encounter Laori, they will be a bit jaded and go "all right, here's another crazy elf chick... how many of them are we going to meet?" And since Laori is destined to have a much larger role to play in the campaign, I think that would be a shame. I want her to be really original.
How have you guys handled this?
I'm thinking of playing Jolistina as a more visibly disturbed and creepy person (who hates everything and everyone except Rolth), and Laori more as a "cheerful but with psycho undertones" person. Also, I much prefer the art that was given to Jolistina, so in my campaign, I'm actually using that one for Laori and the Laori art for Jolistina.
I just gave Jolistina a much more "Mwahaha, burn! Burn!" and insane attitude. She still survived, because the "neutral" elf Wizard spirited her away to Kyonin. Laori got a much more cheery characterization from me, which ( barely ) prevented the group from just killing her at first contact.
I like Laoris original manga-esque art better than Jolistinas.
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I just gave Jolistina a much more "Mwahaha, burn! Burn!" and insane attitude. She still survived, because the "neutral" elf Wizard spirited her away to Kyonin. Laori got a much more cheery characterization from me, which ( barely ) prevented the group from just killing her at first contact.I like Laoris original manga-esque art better than Jolistinas.
Oh really?? I would actually go so far as to say that Jolistina is, for me, one of THE best pictures in all the Paizo adventures I've seen. Not only just for the quality of the art, but also because it evokes so vividly the character it depicts.
Laori's art isn't BAD, but I find it below average compared to what else is out there. And the manga is cute, but it kind of clashes with the rest of the adventure path's art, IMHO.
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Heh, I really wanted to have those two meet to play with the similarities, but the PCs put a stop to that.
Jolistina in our game was heavily influenced by some off-hand remarks here on the forums comparing her and Rolth to Harley Quinn and the Joker, combined with all the stuff that was already there in the text, especially the pesh addiction angle. When the PCs first met her, she was just really odd. Friendly enough, but apparently going through life in a dreamy state. Nothing really seemed real to her except her drugs of choice(pesh and her bad-influence boyfriend). She just couldn't connect with people or reality. There were some strong manic-depressive vibes going on with her too. The one thing that was really clear to the PCs when they met her again at the manor was that she was completely out of her gourd, to the point that they considered her a victim herself just being used by Rolth.
Like the others said, Laori comes across seeming much more well-adjusted in comparison. In our game, where Jolistina just lives in her own little world, Laori wants to be part of other peoples' lives and does try to connect with people, but she's fundamentally warped in her approach. She does want friendship and acceptance for what she is, and she's certainly gotten some of the latter from her god and church(who have only further warped her), but like Revan said she's definitely still trying to fill a void in herself. ZK and his church have given her the stability she wants, but something is missing.
Laori is cracked at the foundation, but Jolistina is completely bonkers. Laori's cheerfulness is more genuine, with a strong undercurrent of desperate want underneath it. Jolistina's cheerfulness is a manic, empty thing that distracts her from how empty her reality truly is. That's just how I've been running them at least.
On the art, liked 'em all for what they were. :) The first Laori pic really was jarring when taken with the rest(and then there was her spine) but it definitely set the tone for her. I'm really fond of that twisted smile on the second version personally. It's just obvious that something is wrong there. :D As for Jolistina....insane jester girls juggling dangerous objects are always a win.
Oh really?? I would actually go so far as to say that Jolistina is, for me, one of THE best pictures in all the Paizo adventures I've seen. Not only just for the quality of the art, but also because it evokes so vividly the character it depicts.
Laori's art isn't BAD, but I find it below average compared to what else is out there. And the manga is cute, but it kind of clashes with the rest of the adventure path's art, IMHO.
Oh, make no mistake, Jolistinas artwork looked fantastic to me, too. But I just liked that open cheerfulness of Laoris original look so much more.
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Thanks a lot for your input, everyone!
I don't know if it's the same for you when you play your NPC's, but I find I have a number of "templates" I use to portray them (voice, accent, mannerisms). I have many templates, but there's a finite number (which is growing as I watch more movies or interact with more people in real life, incorporating them in real life). It just so happened that, by default, I would've used the same "template" (cheerful, creepy and dangerous girl) to portray both of these characters, despite their behind-the-scenes differences.
But now I'll make sure to portray Jolistina as darker and less cheerful, so Laori's cheerfulness stands out more in comparison.
Here's another example of a "template" to illustrate my point; I would use the same voice and mannerisms for the character in this "Powerful and/or wise and honorable woman" template: Field Marshal Kroft, Sabina Merrin, Maidrayne Vox, Zellara, Tayce Soldado.
But since they are more "mainstream" characters, it's not so apparent.
Of course, since I'm a guy, I have a harder time coming up with subtle differences in the acting of female NPC's than male NPC's.
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Good idea on the cards....really should start doing that...
Of course, since I'm a guy, I have a harder time coming up with subtle differences in the acting of female NPC's than male NPC's.
One of the things our group has pretty much agreed on is that when the GM is voicing NPCs of the opposite gender, rather than try to do a "male" or "female" voice they're better off on just changing their tone and inflections. Not sure if that's the best approach or just another option, but you'll keep a large chunk of your "male" options that way.
Heh, this subject is probably worth its own thread actually, just to see how different GMs approach the issue. :)
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UPDATAN
The underground revolution continued with the situation in the city rapidly escalating. The morning of the Longacre raid, the crew gathered together some of their followers most suitable for the situation and had Laori tag along for the ride, partially to keep an eye on her after the cutting incident. They entrusted Sabina Merrin with going into Longacre topside to cause as much of a distraction as possible.
They managed to get some wagons into the Vaults and traced their way back through the tunnels they had first run through during an earlier attempted breakout by some of Rolth's derro to get Jolistina out, way back before Escape from Old Korvosa.
After managing to get past the bolstered defenses that had been put in place(lots of devils and infernal traps) they fought their way into the prison's underlevels and found where the "rejected" Gray Maiden recruits and those currently going through brainwashing were kept. There they reunited with an NPC ally that had gone missing back during Seven Days To The Grave, now plenty scarred and aching for payback, and saw just what was being done to make the Maidens.
After the initial shock, Bogs tried to put a bit of a guilt trip on Laori as they herded out those prisoners able to walk and carried those unable. The others hushed him while they focused on the business at hand, Laori remained uncomfortably quiet as she helped with handling the broken victims of practices rooted in Kuthonite ways.
There was a close call as they reunited with Sabina and made their escepe just before infernal backup arrived, complicated by the top brass among the Maidens in charge of the prison were disguised handmaiden devils. Then Mavrokeras' brother showed up. After that extremely close battle, they managed to get away entirely.
After regrouping back at their temporary HQ, they immediately got to work with tending to the liberated prisoners. Those that were able and willing to fight were brought into the fold, the rest were taken into the tunnels below to be tended to by Kirielle's followers, who pretty much the group's medical staff. Laori quietly joined them, using her expertise in the field of torture to offer what assistance she could give in treating it. She didn't have much to say to the group during that as she worked with the human wreckage below, feeling a mixture of her usual morbid fascination and discomfort with being faced with people who were definitely not better off because of pain, dismemberment, or having metal pushed into their flesh.
Some of the prisoners are put on suicide watch by the more experienced healers.
Then the PCs got distracted for the rest of the night due to old vengeful enemies being summoned back from Hell taking some of their friends as hostages(via specialized devilry involving Eidolon mechanics). Lamm, Devargo, Dr. Davaulus, and Bahor. After being split up across Korvosa on a merry hunt and low on spells, Bogs and Voharius went to the fishery where it all started and banished alligator-Lamm back to Hell to rescue the orphan they had taken in at the very beginning of the AP. Dorinvil and Sarz had a knockdown dragout fight at a warehouse with Shiver-poisoned spider-infested Devargo and diseased mantis-man plauge-doctor-masked Devaulus at abandoned warehouse to rescue Majenko, resulting in a burning building and a severely CON-damaged Dorinvil having to make his way back to safety across Korvosa after Sarz used his last emergency teleport to get Majenko out of harm's way. Tarouk and Tris'kah tracked winged rakshasa-mishmash Bahor back tot he roof of Arkona Manor, who was looking for revenge on the now-absent Sashka and ruined his day by beating him to death, DR be damned.
Recovering from that mess, they managed to put some clues together and came to the conclusion that their location in Korvosa was now severely compromised thanks to Rolth and Devaulus(who had tracked a wounded follower back to their HQ). The group decides that it's now or never and makes arrangements to have all of their followers still in Kaer Maga to come over to Korvosa, and they get in touch with Cressida Kroft to let her know it's going down.
Late that night, while everyone is getting their heads together for all-out warfare in the morning or getting patched up(especially poor Dorinvil), Voharius and Tarouk check on the prisoners-turned-patients down below. They arrive on the scene to see Laori struggling past a number of healers to get at one of the patients, a horrifically scarred woman convulsing on her cot and coughing up blood. Vo and Tarouk run up to the scene and at this point Laori's got her fingers jammed down the woman's throat while a number of the healers are trying to wrestle her away(while not getting cut on the crazy woman's armor). They understandably have a "what the hell is going on?" reaction, Laori angrily states that she's trying to save the woman's life and asks if they trust her to do it or not. Vo and Tarouk get the rest of the staff to back off and let Laori go to work. One close Heal check later and Laori pulls out the jagged chunk of metal out of the patient's throat and immediately calls the healers over to use their magic. Realization dawns on the staff as they get to work, both healing and strapping the woman down while Laori storms off to her tent. They admit to Voharius that they had tried using healing magics repeatedly on the woman, never realizing what she had done to herself.
Vo sees to the patient, Tarouk follows after Laori. He manages to get her to stop stomping towards her tent long enough for her to vent her frustrations at him. She asks if any of them truly want her there, especially with the (understandably) judgmental attitude of the healers throughout the day and her not knowing how to take Bogs criticism earlier. She keeps going, holding out a fresh rose she found sitting in front of her tent, demanding to know who left it. Tarouk is a bit taken aback, not getting the relevance. Laori tries to explain it as best as she can, clearly uncomfortable with how shaky she now finds her own understanding of Zon-Kuthon and Shelyn's history. Tarouk assures her that none of the group put it there, and that he still considers her a valued ally. He continues to offer her a place alongside his own group in his hopeful eventual task of pushing the orcs of Urglin out of the Cinderlands, thinking that it would be a comfortable scene for her. She's assured somewhat, but Tarouk's continued talk from a purely neutral stance about her god, Shelyn, and the other deities leaves her with more questions.
(They still haven't had time to ask who put the rose there. It was actually one of Bog's followers, Philip, a Shelynite who simply put it there as a token sign of compassion and has been determined to keep his distance from her after her reaction to it. Imagine Ray Gillette from Archer with the goodness bumped up a notch and that's pretty much him.)
That morning, everyone is gathered, speeches are made, an emergency sending from Cressida Kroft alerts Bogs that their informant on the inside has warned that Neolandus is coming into Korvosa via the Vaults and is headed straight for a trap at Marbledome. A large portion of the followers stay behind to guard over and protect the wounded. The rest set out into Korvosa to carry out their various missions, the PCs head for Marbledome for the second time in the campaign.
The group gets there in time to find Neolandus and dwarven mercs form Janderhoff being set upon by Gray Maidens and the resummoned Gaedren Lamm. A number of the dwarves are already dead, covered in familiar darts of derro-design. Neolandus is able to get across that they had been informed that Marbledome was in rebel control and that the fighting had already started, which gives the PCs enough time to realize one of two groups set Neolandus up as bait before the horned devil Mavrokeras arrives on the scene. The group is spread out throughout the opera house fighting both Lamm and Marvrokeras(who is weilding a screaming mace with the petrified head of Voharius' fellow priest of Sarenrae, Kethru, upon it), noting that a lot of the chairs had been cleared out and that something had obviously been stored here for a time(the blood samples). They can also hear faint and light footsteps in the outer halls.
After some vicious fighting, Lamm is seemingly taken down and Voharius and Bogs rush to help fend off Mavrokeras on the stage while more Gray Maidens come pouring through the main entrance. Lamm gets back up after playing dead, taking aim at the backs of the two orphans that had sent him to Hell in the first place.
Then the stained glass window at the top of the dome shatters, a giant construct of rune giant bones, metal, and sinew comes down right on top of Lamm, crushing him flat. In the cockpit made of a Thassilonian artifact, a kind of crystalized Emergency Force Sphere, is Rolth talking all manner of s@#$ and happy to have his hated enemies in front of him. He calls out his crew and Jolistina and a bunch of derro burst out onto the balconies, dumping carrion golem dogs filled with explosives and bloody skeletons onto the floor. From then on it's a brutal three way fight, each group absolutely having a hate on for the other two. Mavrokeros eventually goes down, Voharius recovers the head of his fallen brother, Dorinvil forces Jolistina into dimension dooring away, and Rolth's Russian Doll approach to necro-mecha design frustrates his enemies long enough for him to nearly escape, only truly escaping when Sarz hits his cockpit with a dispel effect that actually allows Rolth to teleport to safety.
The group rushes out of Marbledome to find that a large number of their followers have secured the immediate area surrounding it and that the fighting is heating up elsewhere. They're just about to give orders when a shopkeeper comes screaming at them that a horrible rat-faced man and some madwoman dressed like a jester just killed her husband and stole his wagon. The group immediately commandeers a wagon and sets off in pursuit.
We revisit the chase rules from Edge of Anarchy, the group gets a good look at the fighting going on throughout the city, Bog's goblin followers offer an unintentional hazard to both Rolth's tarped wagon (Jolistina in the driver's seat), and the party's. They eventually get close enough to throw spells at each other, furiously dispelling direct attacks and setting up hazards in front of each other. Then finally, just as they start crossing the bridge leading to Korvosa's east gate, Sarz gets a direct hit on their wagon with a fire spell. Rolth is thrown to his knees on top of the burning tarp, catching himself on the side of the wagon. Rolth and the party finally make their perception checks to read the sign on the side of the wagon. "Fewell's Alchemicals".
Bogs pulls their wagon to an immediate stop, throwing both himself and Vo out onto the street ahead. Rolth has enough time to berate Jolistina for stealing the wrong wagon and tries to strangle her. She's all smiles and laughter. Wagon explodes, the blast radius just barely falling short of Bogs and Vo. There's nothing left except a gaping, crumbling hole in the now unstable bridge and a smoking hand with an outstretched middle finger falling out of the sky to land on Bogs. (his player honestly thought he was going to have to fight the hand the moment in landed on him)
At this point, a crowd has gathered. The group announces that they're taking back the city for all of Korvosa's people and that the queen's rule is coming to an end. It's on now.
Roaming urban warfare has completely broken out by the time the crew hooks back up with the followers at Marbledome. By that time, runners and mages have gathered enough intel so that the followers can be split up to go where they are most needed. Bogs sends Kirielle to back up Kroft at Gray District, Tarouk sends Tris'kah and some Burn Riders to meet the Gray Maiden cavalry in the streets of Midland, Majenko is sent to whip the pseudodragon population into a imp-killing frenzy, and so on. Meanwhile the group storms the castle, taking Sabina Merrin(who knows the place pretty well) and Laori Vaus with them.
Laori is offered her choice of tasks to see to, and she seems hesitant to go with them to the castle, but when that offer is made, she reluctantly takes it. What they don't know is that she got her divine connection with Zon-Kuthon back the previous night, and that the Brotherhood of Bones has made contact with her, clarifying what her current mission is now and that this would reconfirm her faith in the eyes of her true family. She is to acquire the Crown of Fangs and return them to Nidal by any means necessary.
The group notes that she seems hesitant, but they welcome her along anyway.
They invisibly storm the castle through the top, using the dragon-exit Zaggy used. After that, they work their way down, getting ghost-whispers from Venster, running headlong into the Red Mantis' lair and forcing Katlyana to admit defeat and word of recall back to Mediogalti, they set the castle on high alert, drop into the throne room and kill the false queen much to their disappointment, take on the almost the entirety of the castle's forces by digging their heels in and controlling the corridors, recover Ishani Dantri's body, put Devargo and Davaulus down again, push the belier devil out of Togomor and interrogating him(imagine a very upset gnome slapping that guy around), and eventually tracking down and killing Sermignatto(he held the advantage up until the dice turned against him, and at that point it went downhill too quickly for him to get away). Togomor immediately dimension doors out and uses his new lease on life to run home to Kaer Maga. The party just barely misses the summoners that had been throwing their dead enemies back at them.
After all this they gather what clues they can as they quickly explore the castle, trying to track down any clue to the queen's whereabouts. They find Queen Domina's study, find a book written in Infernal that none of them can read and an infernal contract. They get the basic gist of the contract, and Laori offers to read through the book to see if there are clues in there. Bogs thinks such reading is an immediate process but Laori keeps telling him that it's going to take time for her to read it all. She's in truth putting off the inevitable as much as she can, especially after she's been given a delay on having to make her choice between her new friends and her old family, by way of the false queen.
They head down tot he treasury, knowing that that's where the queen found the Fangs, but find nothing save for new mysteries and Venster's bones. They take those back to the ghost, and the exposition bomb happens. Venster admits his part in Eodred's death, and tells all he knows. He also makes note that he knew Bog's mother. A few dramabombs here and there and reassurance from the party that Venster has suffered more than enough for his crime, the tiefling and Zellara join their power to make the Deck.
This is the part of the AP I had been most worried about, as far as the risk of derailing or taking characters completely out of the game. I only really expected Sarz to draw a card, what with being a gnome. But with the way Zellara and Venster stacked the deck, ALL the PCs present drew cards.
Bogs lost a level and grew Large. He discarded and avoided switch to an opposite alignment. He's immediately wondering how this is going to complicate his relationship with Kroft.
Voharius rolls initiative twice now. He also accidentally brought a vanquished enemy back to life. (general consensus among the players is that it's Rolth)
Tarouk gained a level and must battle an air elemental or be taken to another plane.
Dorinvil got a wish and the ability to scry one target(which will detect him automatically).
Sarz got a noble title and a gender switch. That latter part probably doubled his life span.
Sabina Merrin declined the offer to draw from the deck, especially after seeing the strangeness breaking out around her.
The party asks Laori if she wants to draw. She hesitates, but shen she does, a couple of them make their Sense Motive checks. She looks like she's desperately looking for a way out of her curent situation.
She draws one card, one that grants an enemy a powerful fiendish ally. She discards it for the sake of the others, knowing that there's no takebacks for the card she has to draw in its place. The card she gets allows her to ask one question that must be answered truthfully.
She's really thinking about that question now. One of the PCs is going to be put on the spot soon.
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<incredible awesomeness>
Wow. Just wow. I hope things turn out well for Laori.
Oh, and for the party, too. Heh.
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Ah, Laori. When she first offered me the skull of a orc, I offered her a skull too. That was our relationship. We switched skulls-I needed them for spellcasting and for anatomy lectures, she needed them for fun. Perhaps a most disturbing, most beautiful (Sorry Thalyn) and most funniest elf ever. Zon -Kuthonites..you never know what thay do next :D
I have a question for the GM's out there who've gone through that part of the campaign already: I love Jolistina and Laori, but it seems to me that they are very similar characters. By default, I would tend to role-play them in the same way, but I'm afraid that, since Jolistina is to be encountered first, by the time the PC's encounter Laori, they will be a bit jaded and go "all right, here's another crazy elf chick... how many of them are we going to meet?" And since Laori is destined to have a much larger role to play in the campaign, I think that would be a shame. I want her to be really original.
How have you guys handled this?
I'm thinking of playing Jolistina as a more visibly disturbed and creepy person (who hates everything and everyone except Rolth), and Laori more as a "cheerful but with psycho undertones" person. Also, I much prefer the art that was given to Jolistina, so in my campaign, I'm actually using that one for Laori and the Laori art for Jolistina.
I dont really see them as similar at all. I played Jolistina as certifiably insane. My party wizard is an Acadame grad and I set Rolth up as his rival from their school days, and Jolistina as his girlfriend even then. Once the party learned of Rolth at the end of EoA they were 100% conviced he was behind the plague and set out to track down his GF as a way to get to him. That really made that scene rock. In the end the party didn't kill her out right, I think they even felt a little sorry for her. Instead they captured, interogated and had her tried and inprisoned in Long Acre. Evil Dm laughing!!
Laori is far from insane. In fact, I read her as quite intelligent and cunning. My party met her Friday for the first time. I portrayed her as a goldie hawn personality in a dominatrix outfit lol. At any rate, where Jolistina is a psychopath of the first degree, Laori most certainly, as written, not. She would make a great femme fatale for the right PC, perhaps seducing and manipulating him from her introduction to the very end when he gives over the "final prize" to her.
Woot, necro here. I've been following your story with Laori and tried something similar, no one wanted to bite though the elven Mystic Theurge of Correllon Larethian is the object of Laori's affection. While the player says his character is interested in redeeming her and forming a relationship, the player hasn't really done anything.
The one person that's been the center of role playing is my best friend and he's playing a dwarven shadowdancer named Grendel Shadowbeard. Before the flame ford assault, he got wasted during the party, slept with a Shoanti women, got tattooed, shaved his head (kept the beard) and now considers himself Shoanti. Then, during the fight, he went the entire battle completely naked with the exception of a chest plate made out of animal bones, and his axe.
Krojun, Caresir (Arcane Archer and primary damage dealer), and the newly recruited Barbarian (his characters remain nameless now, he's literally died every session due to bad luck and bad player decisions) all died. Kratchet, a cohort Cleric/Paladin, was detained putting out the rampant fires in the camp, and it all came down to Trinia, the Theurge, the Oracale and the naked Dwarf to fight off the remaining 3 Assassins and Cinnabar (whom had killed the Archer with 6 sneak attacks and Prayr'd Krojun). He was signing songs in Shoanti, swinging with his axe, and cursing in dwarven while the three casters stood behind him and buffed/healed him. The player of Grendel has been considering making his character fight naked at all times. I told him if he did, he should consider going Monk then as he's got a high dex and wisdom and could pull it off fairly easily.
Whoops, tangent there, but anyway. I look forward to re-united Laori with the group as they've actually gotten along fairly well with Sial. He saved their lives on an occasion or two (against Cindermaw), but the players have all loved Laori.
By the way, have you finished up CotCT yet? If so, what happened to Laori and the party?
I'd be interested in knowing that as well. ^^
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Oh snap, kind of fell behind on that! Yep, we've been finished for a while now. I'll try to get it summed up ASAP!
Love that the Shoanti have really caught on with people. Awesome dorf, Tels. :D
Another idea for those looking to differentiate Jolistina from Laori: For Jol, check out the television series Archer, and play close attention to Cheryl Tunt. Mixing that with Harley Quinn is probably pretty close to the mark...
(and man, I wish Faiths of Corruption had been out while we were still in Skeletons of Scarwall. Dat opening picture with the ZK-crew...)
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So...
After securing the castle, the group met some of their followers leading an invasion force right at the front door and welcomed them inside. The small army the players brought with them, the general city guard that had joined with the rebellion, and a number of nobles that got in on the action quickly moved in, further securing the place. Kroft returned, information was shared, and Castle Korvosa quickly became the rebellion's headquarters for the duration of the crisis which seemed to be almost over. Most everyone was under the impression that the queen had been entirely routed, but the party and Kroft knew better.
Alot of things started happening at once:
Everyone kept moving. Voharius and Laori took care of raising Ishani(with the former making sure the priest was in a good place mentally after his ordeal). They then arranged for an armed escort for the Abadaran cleric to get him safely to the Bank of Abadar, to take care of business there. The party then split all over the place, a number of them chasing down reports of lynchings in progress. After Kroft informed them about it, Voharius, Boggs, and Dorinvil/Jack had to rush to save a cleric of Asmodeus they had met earlier during Seven Days to the Grave, Daina Holstaff, during an inter-faith meeting between Korvosa's various temples on how to handle the plague crisis. That informant on the inside Kroft had been using earlier? It was her. After saving her from an angry mob and hearing her explain herself, they rushed her back to the castle, shared more information on what she knew about the blood sample project and any other dealings the queen had with the Church of Asmodeus. Afterwards, they sent her back with a heavily armed force to the Church of Asmodeus, after she announced her intentions to wrest control of it from the current high priest who had sworn loyalty to the queen and put Asmodeus' house back in order. (truth of the matter, Asmodeus backed both his high priest in Korvosa and Daina, who was a sort of insurance policy as far as keeping his church in town. If Ileosa held power, the Asmodeans were proven ever loyal. If Ileosa were ousted for her rampant and non-self-sustaining cruelty, the Asmodeans had a vital role in taking her down)
Fighting throughout the city continued sporadically. What forces would remain loyal to the queen(primarily the Grey Maidens) were quickly being forced underground or out of the city entirely. Nobility and common folk alike swarmed about the castle, everyone wanting to be sure that bad times were past and to know what was coming next.
Neolandus and Anton Jeggare, along with a small cabal of nobles that the players had met with earlier upon re-entering Korvosa, had convened and introduced the party to Bogs longlost sister Alastaisa, fully intending to put her up on the throne. Unfortunately they did this as Bogs(who hadn't met her yet) publicly announced his royal parentage and ensured the people that things would soon be changing for the better. The long separated siblings were finally reunited later, with some severe awkwardness on the side as a number of nobles just had a monkeywrench thrown into their carefully laid plans. They knew Alastaisa would listen to their counsel, Bogs not so much. And the public and a number of nobles had already been taken with him. That didn't matter too much to the siblings at the time though, as they shared what little they knew of their parents and tried to make up for lost time. (Alastaisa was hinted at early in the game, and was kept in the background as another sort of insurance policy for Bog's player if he didn't want to shackle his character to the throne, with her being heavily trained in diplomacy and politics to actually be prepared for the role. As it turned out, he felt taking the throne would be the best way to do the most good for Korvosa.)
Kroft has Sabina Merrin placed under arrest and kept secure in one of the upper chambers of the castle. Merrin complied silently with no resistance. The party wasn't really happy about this, but they understood. They were much less thrilled when Kroft informed them that the public, nobility, and courts would likely see her hanged along with many other of Ileosa's top brass, and that Bogs' place as king was far from certain and secure enough for him to stop that. She wasn't happy about that either, but that's the way it was. Bogs and most of the party pressed that any trial would have to wait until things had truly settled down. Dorinvil/Jack was later approached separately by Vencarlo and later Grau, who both subtly asked him to do what he could to ensure Sabina's safety and that if push came to shove, they would do what they had to to get her out of Korvosa alive. Dorinvil was tight with both of those guys, and promised that whatever happened, he had their backs.
And the night went on. Everyone was wrapped up in their own matters and the troubles of the city, and Laori hadn't been heard from in a while since she locked herself in one of the upper rooms to study that book. Until she opened the door, palpable shadows leaking out of the darkened room as she poked her head out excitedly and called Voharius and Tarouk to come in. While everyone else and the followers had to ease worries from everyone else present over the scary spike woman in the castle, Vo and Tarouk went on in, both noting, the former with a bit of concern, that the room felt like she had been communing with her god.
She seemed more than a little uncomfortable, and both of the PCs picked up on that, as she launched into an explanation of what she had learned from the book and Ileosa's notes in the margins: The queen had learned of the blood sacrifice used by Runelord Sorshen to attain eternal youth. It had taken the lives of an entire city to power it. And it had been performed at a site in the Mushfens called the Sunken Queen. Vo and Tarouk immediately caught on to how this was relevant to their current situation with all the blood samples. The entire table went "OH @#$%" actually. They immediately resolved that they had to take out the queen and stop this ASAP, and they needed to make every preparation they could that night. Laori promised to further research the location of the Sunken Queen to see if there was any clue that could get them there faster via Sarz' teleportation. Vo and Tarouk thanked her for her help and were about to rush to inform the rest of the party when Laori finally took the leap and used the gift the harrow deck had granted her: One question that had to be answered truthfully. She called out to Voharius, hesitated, and then asked him if he truly believed anyone could change for the better, even a god. That last bit threw Voharius a bit, but he told the truth as he saw it: Anything's possible.
The two men rushed off, leaving Laori to her research. She had been researching a number of other subjects that had turned up in that Thassilonian text besides just blood rituals and ancient pyramids. She had found old mentions of Zon-kuthon's earliest days, and perspectives of Dou-Bral outside what she had always known. Those seeds of curiosity and doubt were stirring something fierce She also truly had been communing with her brethren. They had a way for her to prove her loyalty to the Brotherhood of Bones and her god, she was to carry out one final mission in Varisia: Recover the Fangs of Kazavon and bring them back to Nidal. So when Tarouk told her she was an honorable and true companion before leaving, she winced.
Vo and Tarouk told the party, and after they had their expected reactions they elected to keep that knowledge to themselves, Bog's cohort Kirielle, and Cressida Kroft. Otherwise panic would spread like wildfire. Once the inner circle knew what was up, they made their plans. Everyone knew their roles. Kroft would stay in the city and keep things in relative order while the party would teleport as close to the Sunken Queen as possible, get in quickly, and take down the queen even if it killed them. Bogs had Kroft promise Alastaisa would be place on the throne if he didn't make it back. Jack was particularly grim. He knew his mother's blood had been taken. He rushed home immediately after; he had to see her that night.
There was a public announcement that the heroes of Korvosa, as they were viewed by the city at large, would face Ileosa whereever she was hiding and would bring her to justice. That drew applause. Bogs also publicly announced his parentage before the entire city. That drew mixed results. Korvosa was still very "proper" about these things, and this was beginning to smack of someone taking the throne by force to some.(Bog's diplomacy roll for that bit didn't quite cut it). Ishani came to make the rebound, stepping out of the crowd and loudly proclaiming that the Church of Abadar had indeed confirmed his heritage. Guy had gotten to work fast once he was back among the living. That got the crowd firmly in the PC's court. At least the people of Korvosa could rest easier that night.
Later, everyone tried to get what rest they could. Mostly though, people were unable to sleep. Tarouk and Tris'kah talked about their future plans for their clans, regardless of what tomorrow brought. Sarz spent time entertaining the followers that had been with them for most of the campaign. Voharius and Father Sellen, the elder priest as the temple of Sarenrae discussed matters involving the Grey Maidens and what needed to be done with them and the other victims of Ileosa's regime. Dorinvil spent that night with his family and the Varisian refugees his mother had taken in during his absence. Bogs went around, reassuring his followers and taking his sidekick Kirielle aside, promising the wide-eyed idealist paladin that whatever happened, they'd see this through together. He later spoke with his sister, awkwardly trying to boost her confidence just in case she did have to take his place on the throne. And finally he met up with Cressida Kroft on one of the castle walls, where they could get some time away from the crowd.
Kroft was tired, ready for all of it to be over already. Both promised each other they'd do everything to see each other and their city come through this intact. It was then Bogs finally popped the question to the lady he had been smitten with since the second session of the campaign. He proposed. She stared in dumbfounded shock before shaking her head and saying "gods damn it, Bogs" as she had innumerable times before when he did something Bogsian, and accepted. Hollywood romantic moment.
Black shadows flowed together in the sky above them, dispersing and revealing a gigantic figure of cold iron. It looked essentially like a Grey Maiden-stylized golem, jangling with chains and flying with steel-bladed wings. Emblazoned upon its "forehead" was an emblem representing the Crown of Fangs. It said nothing.
From where she was, Ileosa had been able to see almost all that the PCs had done. All that had transpired in her city. She saw them as no real threat. Her victory was imminent. But they had angered her with their impudence. She didn't want to kill them. She wanted to hurt them.
The creature's torso opened up like an iron maiden, revealing shackles and tools of torture within. Those shackles shot forth, trailing spike chains behind them, and locked onto Cressida Kroft. It was pulling her inside.
But Bogs had been playing with a Harrow Deck of Many Things. He was a bigger man than he was a day before, and he held onto Cressida tightly, refusing to let her be dragged off. It was a desperate wrestling match, with blows traded back and forth before Bogs finally managed to pull Cressida free(without tearing her arms out of their sockets) and the creature flew up and away. They were both relieved, Bogs quickly falling back into form and taunting the queen by proxy, when he saw the metallic angel change direction and immediately angle towards one of the castle towers. The one where Alastaisa was staying.
The jokes stopped immediately and both he and Kroft ran full tilt around the castle walls, yelling for everyone in earshot to take action. The PCs were roused from their sleep, the followers and guards were already in motion, even Laori was tearing out of her chambers at full speed trailing shadows behind her, and the group finally made it to Alastasia's tower. They found her there, staring in horrified shock at the night sky along with a number of the group's closest followers, all of them wearing the same expression. The PCs were grateful to see her safe and sound, but they looked where the others were staring. Streaks of shadows rose into the air, already fading, and ending suddenly as if whatever left them simply vanished. Then the players realized that someone wasn't among them, someone that had been at their side constantly since they took her under their wing.
Alastaisa stammered that "She tried to protect me...but it didn't go after me. It seemed to be after her...Kirielle."
Ooooh. Looking forward to the "final chapter!" :)
I hope everyone has a happy end... well, outside of Ileosa, that is. I hope Laori can make it without betraying the group.
I'm really hoping Laori makes the right choice in the end.
Curses, foiled again. Damn you Real Life!!!!
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You guys are in for a treat when he gets around to it. We really had a spectacular end to our CotCT campaign with tons of memorable moments throughout the whole thing.
As the player of Tarouk, I really have lots of fond memories of things that happened during this campaign. Being the only 'neutral' member of our party often put Tarouk in a odd place of mediation for the party and Laori, who frequently drew criticism from Bogs(Lets face it, Bogs was rather hypocritical and bullheaded his best of days.... but thats Bogs and we loved him for it) and most of the others were hesitant to chime in on any moral issues.
I really enjoyed playing these interactions from a Shoanti's perspective. There was a pretty serious disconnect between Tarouk and Laori's ability to relate on the spiritual level. Because Tarouk viewed the Tshamek "gods" as little more than powerful spirits, no different(but much more complicated) than the more primal spirits he worshiped. He saw Laori's strength as something a bit more than just her connection to her god, and in his gruff/fatherly way tried to point out her value to her.
The scene with the rose was particularly amusing, as I played up the fact that Tarouk did not inherently understand the possible romantic/religious implication that the rose stood for and his puzzlement at her frustrations in attempting to convey it.
Good luck trying to get the rest of the story into one more post Mikaze! There are so many little details to fill in still. I particularly enjoyed the bit at the end of the Sunken Queen and look forward to hearing it over again! We can only hope my Jade Regent campaign can end with such an equally well liked cast of characters!
Very much looking forward to seeing how this story concludes.
Bump
C'mon, Mikaze. Stop cuddling Orcs long enough to give us the final part. ;)
You think maybe we should all PM Mikaze?
He's in heated battle on an alignment thread with (in my personal, non-judgmental opinion) a condescending self-righteous so-and-so. It's gotten pretty nasty, so I think we may be waiting here with bated breath until that thread hits 400-500 posts.
(Yeah, my wife's been sick so we haven't gamed in 2 weeks, so I'm actually reading alignment threads. Pity me.)
P.S. Oooh -- happy to see you back, Mikaze! I am SOOOO sorry you got stuck as the main "champion of good" on that thread. Got quite unpleasant.
That's because the majority of players are guys, and guys have their fantasies.
I know one player and all of his characters are exactly the same in function, and only differ slightly in some choices. Every character he uses, wields a greatsword, has high acrobatics, and focuses on melee attacks. Even his sorcerer.
The only real difference in his character (beyond the limitations of the class he has), is that the males are emo and want to die in battle, and the females are all lesbians.
The point being, for the common player, they aren't going be comfortable branching out of their personal role playing experiences. Most guys won't be comfortable playing a girl, that is attracted to men. The one time I ever played a female (also the first character I ever really played), I had this same problem, but I grew out of it. I'll tell you, as a male, I had great fun doing illogical things and blaming it on my monthly cycle.
Before I put my CotCT on hiatus, I had Laori set up to become the Mystic Theurge's love interest. She was attracted to him because of his commanding personality, and because he is capable of inflicting harm through matrial, arcane, and divine methods. He was interested in her because (changed her slightly), she was a a neutral character, worshiping an evil god, but thought she was making the world a better place. I played her out as enforcing the saying, "Whatever doesn't kill you, makes you stronger."
She caused pain, but endeavored to kill as little as often, because killing stops their advancement. She'd use lethal force in battle, but when it was outside of combat, she endeavored to save as many people as she could. That way, she could tear them down (torture), to build them up again (gaining xp/levels). The Theurge, as an elf, wanted to redeem her and teach her what it meant to be an elf in a human world.
Keep in mind, this mostly happened before they even ended History of Ashes. The Theurge would send letters and magical messages to her, use his contacts to set up gifts to be sent etc. It was really fun to send back messed up things, like a rose fashioned out of finger bones, then with a note, "Don't worry, no one permanently lost and fingers when I made this". Then I would slowly tone it down to represent his writings paying off.
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I don't want this thread to keep getting bumped but, seriously, Mikaze? Can you PLEASE post what happened next in your campaign? I really want to know!
Family in the hospital has absolute priority, IMO, so please don't let our thirst for more good stories stop you from attending to that. You'll write the rest when you want and can, that's good enough for me.
Sorry, things have been crazy work and life-wise lately. Family in the hospital.
I'm going to try and get this done during the day tomorrow, or at least get the bulk of it written up to copypaste over.
Again, sorry for the delay.
Oh, dude, if that's the case, then don't worry about it. I never meant to come off like you should drop everything and post an update. Especially if it's an emergency like family in the hospital. Apologies.
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Thanks guys, and don't worry about it Darwyn. It's just been going on for a while, hence why I haven't had much time to actually post productive stuff and have probably seemed irritible in some other threads. We actually got some really good news today.
Working on that post off and on when I can, hopefully that can get it done faster than just waiting for a chance to get it all in one sitting.
Did life and work ever decrazify and hopefully the family is healthy?
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Hey Mikaze, please finish the story, I know I want to hear how it ends.
It should be noted that Laori Vaus is currently an NPC in my current game which has absolutely nothing to do with CotCT, though I assume it went through to completion for her backstory.
An Appeal to Mikaze
This is the Laori Vaus song I posted around the boards here somewhere. Back in 2008?! I think 0.o
Sung to 'God rest ye merry Gentlemen'
First, I didn't try to compose this, it just popped into my head. It actually took me a little while to realize what song it was I had set it to. I am seriously disturbed. Good thing my wife likes me that way.
Your blood and tears
don't fret my dears
Your pain is for our gain!
Reveal your sins
and flay the skins
Your life we take away!
Your bones we crack
The rod will smack
Your teeth we break away!
For all our sendings are
sufferin' and pain
sufferin' and pain
All our sendings are
sufferin' and pain...
Rip out the nail
the sweat in pails
until your roastings done!
Points pierce the flesh
now eat it fresh
Feast on you just for fun!
We let the pain
drive us insane
until it becomes joy!
Its time to play
Don't scream today
Now that your just my toy!
For all our sendings are
sufferin' and pain
sufferin' and pain
All our sendings are
sufferin' and pain.....
OMG! I sprayed Pepsi all over my screen Yasha! That was hilarious! If I ever get to have my Game continue, there will definitely be a scene of Laori humming that song!
Hmm, won't let me edit...
You should post your song on the James Jacobs thread. I think Laori was one of his creations.
My group just started Chapter 5. She gave them Orc Tusk necklaces. Next comes the brownies while humming this song!
Brownies? Dare I ask?
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We had a discussion of what would make a cheery bad guy even creepier, and the whole idea that everyone goes running and the cheery bad 'girl' is standing there alone saying, "But I made brownies!" came up. I decided when we got to the Way of the Wicked campaign, my PC would definitely like baking sweets for the party, and i decided to add it to Laori as well to try it out.
Also, it fits with the adage "Come to the Dark Side, we have Cookies!"
Laori is just so excited to see her 'friends' again, she wants to do nice things for them. She's going to likely keep the bone meal out of the first batch at least.
I originally posted that long before there ever was a JJ thread. I still like pulling it out once in a while. Hopefully it will help convince Mikaze to finish the story. Glad you folks liked it!
Hey Mikaze, its almost been a year! Is this ever going to get finished?
^ +1 ^
You know.... if we wanted to be really mean, we could... encourage... Mikaze with Wrath of the Righteous spoilers. Not saying we would, but it is an option. :D
J/K Mikaze, we would never do that!
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I would say something about Thread Necromancy, but since it was active just a month ago, I don't feel so bad.
ANYWAY... my wife and I were players in Curse of the Crimson Throne - until the DM crapped out and stopped running right after "Escape from Old Korvosa."
A year has gone by with no attempt by the DM to continue. So, I have decided to DM a parallel game for my wife. We do this often - one of us runs, the other plays the PC, and we each run an NPC for a 3 person party - so that's nothing new.
When I say parallel, I mean that our original PCs all existed and did their thing through Escape from Old Korvosa. After that, my character in the original game - a Hellknight Paladin who secretly joined the Gray Maidens - betrayed the party (believing them to be traitors to the rightful ruler of Korvosa) resulting in a TPK - except for my Gray Maiden character.
Thus, my wife's PC will be taking over for them - with Blackjack and Laori as her party.
So yeah, I'm about to run a solo version of the last four adventures with Laori as the primary healer and a main character. I actually came to this thread to get more in touch with her character. I want to thank Mikaze for all the great ideas on how to make Laori more sympathetic, compelling, and human.
... and to suggest that, perhaps, if possible, we'd all like to see how the story ends.
P.S. Oh, and if anyone has comments, ideas, or suggestions about running a game where Laori is a main character and the party doesn't have the haunted deck, feel free.
P.P.S. Also, I'm actually starting the game a little earlier than that so that my wife's PC can level up the necessary amount to be able to handle later adventures. I was planning to start during the plague and run some of those side-bar encounters that our original party never dealt with. Laori is going to be around for all that - she's only going to leave briefly to meet with the original PCs and then return to the other party and continue onward from there.
Oh, and if anyone has any ideas about a good Reaper brand miniature to represent Laori, I'm all ears. I know she doesn't have an official mini (which is sad) so any thoughts on a good one for her would be helpful.
Update (just in case anyone cares):
So, my wife's PC - a Dervish Dancer bard who trained under Vencarlo (alongside Sabina) - has done the following things:
Cleared Scarwall of undead (except for the Dance Macrebe).
Accompanied Laori to meet Zon Kuthon.
Recovered Serithial (which turned into a scimitar for her).
Returned to Korvosa.
Talked the "rebels" out of a revolution. After all, Ilosia is possessed.
Skipped all "street" encounters by teleporting directly to Ilosia's bedroom. And then killed the devil there.
Battled Sabina and her mount inside the castle - and then recruited her (initially as a guide, and then as a party member after Blackjack got Wished to Hell).
Led an attack on the Sunken Queen with Laori and Sabina as her only backup.
Soloed Ileosa while Laori was Held (nat 1 save) and Sabina fought off the rest of the minions. She went non-lethal for the second half (once Ileosa had a few negative levels), knocked her out, and removed the crown.
And then returned to Korvosa with Ileosa and installed her as Queen (with Sabina and Neolandus getting the kingdom back in order).
Laori now wears the Crown of Fangs (I'm not letting her use the Regen, but she gets the stat boosts and Foresight), a fact which thrills her.
And...
After getting things settled in Korvosa, she asked for an audience with Zon Kuthon and pledged herself to him. She turned over Serithial to him (Zon Kuthon stuck the sword dedicated to killing him in a portable hole, wrapped it up, and put it in his pocket), he gave her the only Kazavon artifact in his possession (I switched it from the Shredskin to the Bound Blade to replace Serithial) and tasked her with finding the remaining Kazavon artifacts so they can be brought together once again.
My wife's PC rebuilt (with a little divine help) as a LN Paladin (with the Hellknight Smite Chaos, and everything else refluffed to the Law axis rather than the Good axis) Holy Vindicator PrC. Now she can cut herself (sigmata) as a move action to gain combat bonuses.
WHY did she do this? Well, when she escorted Laori to see Zon Kuthon back in the Star Tower, she asked Zon Kuthon why he did what he did. And, long story short, Zon Kuthon replied that the battle with Rovagug terrified him - and that, during his wandering, he learned that Rovagug was not alone. The knowledge drove him mad - the sight was so awful he cut his own eyes out to avoid looking, and then started on the rest of his face out of sheer horror. When he finally recovered himself, he was reborn as he is now - a pain-forged weapon against the ultimate chaos lurking in the Dark Tapestry.
See, the Smite Chaos ability from Hellknight specifically targets Chaotic Aberrations (instead of Evil Dragons) for extra damage. Plus, she took Oath Against Corruption for more anti-Aberration focus.
So yeah... my explanation for Zon Kuthon (when put on the spot) was that Zon Kuthon was driven insane by the Lovecraft mythos and became a pain god to A) deal with that and B) defend against it.
Part of this was inspired by the Zon Kuthon cleric from Doomsday Door who claims that Zon Kuthon martyred himself to save Sheylin from a worse fate. That cleric is unclear on exactly what that fate was. My answer was Rovragug.
Oh, almost forgot - she got Ileosa to make the worship of Zon Kuthon legal in Korvosa and plans to found a church there - one focused on a more positive (LN) interpretation of Zon Kuthon. She and Laori are now looking to recruit new Zon Kuthon clerics.
First off, however, they have to save a Zon Kuthon cleric from CE cultists at... the Doomsday Door. I figured I had to read it anyway, and it isn't that hard to crank up the difficulty. Plus, since he was the inspiration for my interpretation, I figured Gein would be an appropriate recruit for their new Zon Kuthon church.