This is a search for a replacement or two for my Red Mantis assassin game.
Here is the original recruiting thread. The basic character build is the same, except that everyone is now 5th level, with a corresponding increase in wealth.
The basic gist of the game in a nutshell is that the players are all members of a specialized team of assassins for the Red Mantis, performing the special type of jobs that the others can't do. It's globe-hopping, occasionally free-form, and occasionally sandboxy (you get to choose how best to get close to the target and take him out).
The current team is:
Halfling Rogue
Human Slayer
Kitsune Sorcerer
Human Cleric
The team lost its Investigator, who had huge knowledge checks. I think the stated preference would be someone who can again fill that role of support and skills. Further back the team lost its Magus.
FYI, I had a lot of applicants when I first posted this game, so any who submitted earlier will get a strong consideration. Of course, strong backgrounds, interesting personalities and fun concepts will also be more likely selected (I chose a halfling mama-bear "den mother" to the team, for example!)
Also, the team is currently in Riddleport on an assignment. If you want to create a character that has a reason to be in Varisia, I'll link you in there if selected. Otherwise, it might have to wait until after the Riddleport job is done. Not sure how long it'll take, and how long I leave this recruiting open, which will completely depend on the attention this thread receives. I don't need to fill the spot(s) immediately, so you have some time to work on your submissions.
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I would definitely be interested in joining your game. My character concept would be a Vishkanya Geisha who specializes in information brokering and espionage. Her story below. Thanks for your consideration.
"You must find stillness in effort," Yanmei's elder sister instructed, "Be poised and fluid in your movements but look relaxed and welcoming"
Yanmei took her sister's teachings as gospel. It had paid off. The Vishkanya's career as a Geisha was becoming lucrative. Her wealthy clients more than appreciated her companionship. They spoke of her beauty and intellect as a relief from the dregs that plagued the streets. Unbeknownst to her clients, she had been born to those dregs. Her father had provided them with little more than a shabby shack in a cramped slum on his sailing wages. Her mother, just as poor, had seen Yanmei's 5th birthday before she died in giving birth to the third child.
It was her sister, Yanyu, who first sold her self to the Meixiu school in order to feed her brothers and sisters. Yanmei watched Yanyu transform from street urchin to beautiful courtesan and wanted that for herself. After much convincing, Yanyu relented and brought Yanmei to the school. Yanmei excelled but not in the ways Yanyu did. Yanyu focused on the tradition and the health aspects of the Geisha life. Yanmei saw it as a means to an end and began to enjoy it's more manipulative qualities. Her skills in art, academics, and culture would be a distraction for her clients while she took what she could from them. At first, it was gold and shiny baubles. But they did not satisfy the feeling that she could not control her destiny.
It was during her studies that she learned of the infamous Red Mantis assassins. Their story intrigued her. These dealers of death were more than that; they controlled and balanced a person's fate at the edge of a sword. She had little training in weapons but they may have use for something less direct and equally important: Information. She would prove herself by seeking them out. Using her charm and cleverness, Yanmei weaved into shadows of rumor and vague legends to find the truth of the Red Mantis. Much to her surprise, they took notice and as she closed in on their local chapter, they came to her.
Now she sat across from one such assassin, those serrated rapiers balanced across his thighs. Yanmei could not see his face for the red mask, but she would not show the fear that gnawed at her insides. She kept the pot steady as she poured her own cup and returned the pot to its place at the center of the table. Lifting the cup in the palm of her hands, she waited to see if her guest did the same. He did not move.
"I have information for you," with a small smile, she took a sip of the tea, "But it comes at a price."
"Which is?" the Mantis' voice was muffled but deep and menacing. Yanmei set the tea back down and pressed her hands into her lap to keep them from shaking at this crucial moment.
"I want a mask"
Dotting for consideration. I had pitched a Halfling Mouser for the initial recruitment though I would change that up for this re-recruitment taking the current character roster into account.
The initial recruitment was anything Paizo published, and I should get my greedy mitts on Occult Adventures when it releases as a PDF on Wednesday - is that fair game for concept fodder?
This sounds interesting however I'm not sure if I can come up with a concept quickly.
I'd be inclined to try a Dwarf with the offered as payment trait. Seems like a Dwarf thing to do and would allow me to build a non evil assasin, prolly more of a strong arm type.
I was wondering is the use of the sawtooth sabre obligatory for members of the red mantis?
@Mark: I'm not sure if (when) I'll pick up Occult Adventures. I won't say no, but I'm not crazy about learning a whole bunch of new classes, either. That may be discouraging, or a challenge to come up with something good enough that will get me interested in trying them out.
@Alex: The sawtooth sabres are their signature weapon, but in no way are you required to build around them.
DM Stalwart - reading you loud and clear. I'll wait until I can read through it in detail before making a call on whether I can build something that I think might be both a) easy on the DM, and b) pique your interest enough.
It appears that the Tith'Kali trait is still available. Is that correct?
Also, are you allowing Variant Multiclassing from Pathfinder Unchained?
@Hurley: actually, there's a player with that trait already. Similar to my response to Mark, if you have a good idea for a Tith'Kali, I'll consider it. Especially since the game's been running a while now. It might be interesting to further explore the Red Mantis world.
And to follow up on that, note that the Ilizmagorti Native and the Azir Native traits are not yet represented. Just sayin'.
Oh I have a fantastic character for this that will fit your missing role perfectly, and it's a character I've really been wanting to play in a campaign like this. Maldrek Kasidra - Investigator, mastermind, aspiring master spy, and the brains of the operation. He can slit a throat when he needs to, but his true skill lies in being the puppet master, pulling the strings to make the plans go off flawlessly, leaving a trail of unexplainable chaos in the wake of his allies who smile as they are safely extracted. I originally built him for a homebrew Thieves' Guild game that disappointingly turned out to be more of a hack n' slash than a planning game, but this looks like the kind of campaign where he would shine. I would need to nerf him down to level four and change the end of his backstory, but he would remain pretty much the same. Tell me what you think!
I'm still working on the crunch, but I thought I'd throw something up. Partial submission for Gafar, tiefling investigator with the Azir Native trait.
Growing up in a wealthy home, his career as a surgeon and later as a detective with the Pure Legion provided plenty of income to fritter away on expensive pastimes. An inveterate gambler, he is a notorious cheat and sore loser. Gafar considers himself a connoisseur of the best the world has to offer, but worldly pleasures cannot hope to satisfy him for long. He craves knowledge, especially when it pertains to his truest love: inflicting pain on others. It was this dual impulse that drove Gafar to seek out the Red Mantis, and despite his hatred for the gods and all their doings, it is this dual impulse that brings him to his knees in reverence of Achaekek, He Who Walks In Blood.
Finally finding the justification he sought from his parents and from society, Gafar found that it wasn’t enough. Though he reveled in defying the gods, learning to make broken men whole without calling on the aid of those unworthy beings, Gafar secretly preferred the breaking of said men. In surgery, he loved to test the resilience of his patients, but he was always careful never to inflict more damage than he could reverse. And while practicing medicine, he still had access to the vast archives of Azir’s universities. In the day he would see to his patients, and at night he would feed his insatiable hunger for knowledge at the trough of books and scrolls filled with the wisdom of the ages.
It was in these archives that Gafar found texts on long-forgotten techniques for working with the body, for purposes both for good and for ill. Many of the techniques were cruel, almost barbaric, but at once also surprisingly sophisticated. The most interesting treatises originated with an extinct order of hashashin, and as Gafar did more digging into Rahadoum’s past, he discovered that this order descended from none other than the Red Mantis Assassins of legend! Craving more knowledge, he determined to seek out the Red Mantis; he was sure that what he had learned from those scrolls was nothing compared to the secrets the Red Mantis must still keep. He had to find them, infiltrate their ranks, anything he had to do to gain access to their knowledge!
Abandoning the surgical ward, Gafar used his skills in the employ of Rahadoum’s law enforcement, the Pure Legion. Proving his worth in routing out cells of illegal deity worship in Azir, he worked his way into a special unit focusing on religiously motivated crimes and conspiracies. In his work with that special unit, Gafar found his first real lead in the case of a local merchant prince’s murder. Initially believed to have been the work of the Cult of the Dawnflower, it was only after unearthing a cell of the Cult hidden in Azir and subsequent interrogation of the cultists that it was discovered that the they had been methodically framed. Finding himself at an elusive dead end, there were nonetheless certain strange details about the murder that teased at the back of Gafar’s mind. After months of digging, he found a number of similar murders in Rahadoum and beyond. Some of them had been closed, but many had gone unsolved or uninvestigated. Eventually, Gafar was able to connect the web of murders as the work of none other than the Red Mantis!
Gafar spent more years obsessively tracking similar murders, trying to piece it all together. A pattern quickly emerged: they were all connected to the Thuvian auctions of the Sun Orchid Elixir. But even with that connection, it took the better part of a decade to track down the assassin responsible. When Gafar finally caught up with his prey, the assassin gave him the fight of his life, but after besting his foe in frenzied single combat, he finally had the opportunity to petition for a place in the ranks of the Red Mantis.
@Dread Pirate: I haven't looked at the variant multiclassing yet.
@Campin: you would just need to adjust to 5th level, not 4th.
Everyone else: thanks for your submissions so far! I'll probably keep this up for at least a couple weeks, depending on the interest it generates.
Ah good to see you are in no hurry cause I'm having a hard time coming up with a concept :)
Maldrek is ready to go. I've separated out the level 5 and level 8 version of him, updated crunch, and updated backstory. I always appreciate feedback!
I love this concept, and have wanted to play an RMA since before I was born.
Consider this a dot for now; this character was made for a gestalt WotW that never took off, so the stats are murky, but I'll probably stick with Investigator (Infiltrator). The original concept was for an assassin that enjoyed combat just a wee bit too much to be healthy for someone in her trade; while this works for WotW, less so for a crew of actual assassins. That said, I'll probably keep her demeanor relatively the same. If you can derive a sense of her personality from her 6 in-character posts, that's the flavor I'll be going for.
All that said, I also find the Veiled Illusionist PrC to be fascinating. Would you allow for a re-flavoring of the lore to fit a worshiper of He Who Walks in Blood rather than the Goddess of Illusions? It would fit the same character role of knowledge skill utility as well as general spell utility both in and out of combat.
EDIT: Is anyone planning to snag the actual RMA PrC? It doesn't look like anyone snagged the Tith'Kali trait yet, at any rate.
I think I'll reserve feedback for a little later. Since this is a homebrew, I don't want to even subconsciously steer things in one direction or another. I'll just say what I said during the original recruitment: I'm looking for strong personalities, interesting backstories, and motivations beyond just, "I'm evil, yay killing."
@Dhenn: Go ahead and lurk; I don't think there's too much meta-knowledge to be had. Since this is a globe-trotting group, I view it as much more episodic than your typical AP.
@Elara: I'm not sure if it would just take a reflavoring. There would be a lot of retooling to get it to feel more like a PrC of Achaekek. In my view, I think it would end up being a watered-down version of the Red Mantis Assassin PrC.
I should probably flesh out Gafar's motivations a bit more, since it currently reads more or less as "I'm evil, yay hurting people." Consider that a first draft. Since recruitment will be open for a while yet, that gives me time to make some revisions.
@DM Stalwart: Fair enough.
Since I'm tossing out questions and bouncing around concept ideas, here's another question! I'm now considering an Elven Animal Speaker Bard whose seeking of the Brightness has led to her becoming an RMA. The concept is a bit more involved than that (duck, it's an incoming backstory!), but none of the campaign traits entirely fit with the idea I had in mind. The Azir Native trait is close, but the character I had in mind would originally hail from Kyonin.
I have this witch that i can bring I will just need to level her to 5 and figure out gold. And tweek the backstory. She would be great support and have very good knowledges. I will update her after work. Also are the craft wonderous item feats ok?
@Mark: I'm not sure if (when) I'll pick up Occult Adventures. I won't say no, but I'm not crazy about learning a whole bunch of new classes, either. That may be discouraging, or a challenge to come up with something good enough that will get me interested in trying them out.
Wondering_Monster - asked and answered above.
Ok Yonda is updated. If you have any feed back please let me know.
@Elara: I'm not opposed to reskinning the traits, especially if there's backstory to match.
@Yonda: You are certainly welcome to take craft feats, but generally the organization of Red Mantis Assassins is able to provide you with pretty much whatever gear you're interested in.
(Elara here)
Awesome! I'll fiddle with the concept a bit and try to get a background together before the week's end, if not earlier. Further posts will likely be on this character.
Resubmitting Jon-Wyn.
Jon-Wyn grew up on the streets of Magnimar. His pilfering hands and easy con was a major reason why his gang was as successful as it was. In time he came to the attention of the local thieves' guild and was given a test to initiate him. Jon had successfully broken in and retrieved the item he was sent for, along with a few other choice items. On his way out, though, Jon felt he was being watched. He stopped and moving as little as possible, searched his surroundings. There was someone above him. He did his best to stay calm and did not make any sudden movements as he continued leaving the house. Jon was sure that the only reason he was still alive was that he did not turn around.
He soon heard that his mark had been killed. The guild master was furious. He did not want to hear about Jon’s creepy feeling, and threw Jon out of the guild. As he was ducking the thugs sent to make sure he stayed quiet, he had that creepy feeling again. This time he did look around. He saw a man standing in a hidden door. Jon went for it. After escaping, the man, Caldwell, offered to help Jon reach his full potential. With little in the way of real options, he accepted and has not regretted it one day since.
DM Stalwart - in line with your post above about not wanting to be weighed down by new mechanics and such... I thought it would be prudent to do a partial suggestion first before writing up a full blown character.
Medium BAB, Good Fort and Will saves.
4+ Int skills per day, with access to all Knowledges
6 level spellcasting based off of Wisdom
Primary defining ability is to be capable of manifesting a Phantom (similar to an Eidolon)
Phantoms are partially customizable, but only in choosing an 'emotional focus' - which for my character would be Despair. This gives his phantom some emotionally based abilities (such as increased attacks vs shaken / emotionally compromised targets, Aura of despair, etc).
A 5th level Phantom would be a 4 HD, +4 BAB, 8 skill points, 2 feats, with 2 x 1d8 slam attacks.
Phantoms can either manifest as 'incorporeal' or 'ectoplasmic' = physically present. Each form has different advantages and disadvantages - though my character would focus predominately on the ecto form - as that's the one that can most easily attack.
The high concept for the character would be a Half-Elf that was brought up by his elven mother after the human father abandoned her. His mother sank into despair after the abandonment and subsequent shunning by the elven community, eventually giving up and starving herself to death. My character then lived hard, suffering through whispers and voices eating their way into his head. Eventually learned the ability to summon his mother's essence as an emaciated phantom.
From there he pursued and ended his father's life, and came to the attention of the Red Mantis as a piece of unmolded clay. Since then he has been shaped under their care and grown into the level 5 operative he is today.
If you could give me a small indication of whether there is enough of a piqued interest to see a full blown submission that would be grand :)... or if the potential of learning the rules puts you off, feel free to tell me no as well.
Well, for those of you not paying attention to the main game thread, we've just lost our cleric as well. But the good news is that there's still a consensus to keep the game going. Thus, I'm going to pick at least two, and maybe three, players.
Also, to further expand the field of possible applicants (and to reflect the fact that this game's been running for a while), I'm going to allow players to pick a trait outside of the campaign traits that I've already created. The main idea is that I'm opening up a slot or two for someone to join the group who may not yet be a Red Mantis. That is, someone who might be a recruit, or someone swept up in the group's missions and brought along because, well, it's either that or kill them. I've tried to think of a new trait, called Recruit or something, but since the possibilities are nearly endless, I'm not making something special. I'll be open to reskinned or reflavored traits from any source, if that's the route you want to go.
Anyway, by going this route, I'm hoping to create a little more party diversity and encourage more interaction amongst the characters.
@Mark: That sounds pretty freaky. Hmm. I'm intrigued. What would be your reasoning as to why the Mantis would recruit someone like that, if you were to explain it?
@Jon-Wyn: Welcome back!
DM Stalwart - now that the thread of interest is piqued... I'll write the reasoning into my submission :)
It'll be a wee while as I'll build the character in full and use the submission as a means of demonstrating what the character is capable of as part of the narrative.
Dotty dot dot
Lluvia this is an evil campaign with all current players LE assassins. So idk how well a CG character would mesh. Maybe CN?
I just noticed, which is why I deleted the post. :) I thought it went AGAINST the Red Mantis until I looked a little closer. No interest in evil campaigns at the moment. An assassin is about the very last thing Lluvia is.
Here's the breakdown of submissions so far:
Yanmei -- vishkanya geisha
Tiatha Brightleaf -- elven animal speaker bard
Mark Sweetman -- proposing half-elven spiritualist
Jon-Wyn -- Half-elf arcanist-rogue
Yonda -- human winter witch
Maldrek Kasidra -- fetchling investigator
Gafar -- tiefling investigator
I'll give everyone else who has expressed interest to Friday of this week to finish submissions. I reserve the right to invite some of you earlier than that if I think there's a good way to bring you into the game.
Thanks for your interest!
Best of luck everybody, I can't wait for Friday!
So after diving a bit deeper into the Spiritualist... even I'm struggling to come to terms with how all the bits interact!
Therefore I'm going to respectfully withdraw and wish all those remaining the best.
Dotting for interest. So, the two main roles that you are looking to fill are skill monkey/divine caster, correct? I just want to make sure that I'm getting that correct.
Dotting for interest. So, the two main roles that you are looking to fill are skill monkey/divine caster, correct? I just want to make sure that I'm getting that correct.
Hello The Benighted Regent, I'm not the GM but I'm one of the applicants and I've been reading through everything that has been going on. They recently lost their investigator and cleric and need replacements for those characters, so you are mostly correct, except they also requesting having somebody who's good with knowledge checks (which some skillmonkeys are good at and some aren't). However most of the current applicants have been to cover the skillmonkey+knowledge roll, so there is little to not competition for the healer role.
Checking back in. Thanks for your submissions so far.
I want to point out that while having a healer is nice, I think it's less of a requirement for this game. The missions are much more free-form, and the group tends to prefer a stealthy approach rather than just fighting your way to the target.
I don't want to suggest that's the only way to go about it, but that's what it's been so far. I will likely pick the characters who show the most personality, since that's generally what drives good pbp games.
Well, that and strong posting habits. We're at a lull right now, but I'm hopeful to pick up the pace once we've added our new players.
Throwing a dot here,
If you're still taking submissions, I'll try to get something together by friday
If not, no worries!
Moon Papa, I'm taking submissions up to Friday, so there's still time!
Moon Papa, I'm taking submissions up to Friday, so there's still time!
Thanks!
Alright, here's my submission for Gafar al-Jodin ibn-Aghazi aziri Mendassa, tiefling alchemist/monk/investigator. Crunch is finished except for equipment.
Known ailases: Doctor Mendassa; the Healer of Azir; Commandant of the Pure Legion
Height: 5'5"
Weight: 137 lbs
Date of Birth: 11th day of Remebrance Moon, 4682 AR
Wanted for crimes against the Kingdom of Man, including but not limited to: heresy, possession of contraband, defection from the Pure Legion, murder in the First and Fourth Degrees.
From the private journals of Commandant Gafar aziri Mendassa of the Pure Legion
13th Day of the Lover's Moon, 4713
Gafar's private residence, Azir
Subject is a male human, medium build. Minor physical abrasions sustained in subdual. Weeping red sores on R hand, likely linked to subject's activities; fluid samples reek of divine taint. Chakra system intact and functional at outset. Subject is in perfect condition for experimental procedure 17.
Drug, alchemical intervention has no effect on sores.
Disabling hand chakras has no effect on sores. Perfunctory therapy on hand chakras reduces swelling, weeping of sores. Effect is temporary - one hour.
Physical injury to hand has no effect on sores.
Removal of hand causes sores to appear on arm, beginning approx. 3 inches above stump.
Further efforts to affect activity of sores prove ineffective.
Novel procedure enacted. Incision made on R leg, fluid from sores applied. No effect. Root chakra disabled, sores begin to form on leg. Root chakra activated, reduction in swelling, weeping. Again, effect is temporary - one hour. Root chakra again disabled. Sores swell, weep substantially more than at first.
Further efforts to cure sores prove ineffective.
Subject terminated - sores induced directly onto lungs.
For me, this case is bittersweet. Along with the previous cases, it is impossible to deny the interaction between the mortal chakras and divine energy. I have had the rare opportunity to observe the effects of the taint of evil divinity, much more likely to yield results pertinent to my own condition. However, my methods have proven less effective than I am accustomed. My one consolation from this failure was the sweet cacophony of the subject's final moments. From the look of pained confusion as I injected the last of the fluid sample to the final gurgling screams as the lungs blistered and filled with pus, the subject's experience was exquisite, nearly transcendental! He did not seem to enjoy it as much as I did. This does not bode well for him; eternal servitude at the hands of his infernal master is hardly likely to be more pleasant. Such are his just rewards for his irresponsibility. A soul is rightfully entrusted to no one; to do so is a betrayal of one’s own humanity.
Gafar sat upright in his chair as the ink dried on the page. The flickering light from his lamp gave the wet words a red tinge reminiscent of drying blood. He had finished the procedure earlier in the day, but he enjoyed recording his surgical notes and observations into his personal diary in the evening. The ritual enforced a degree of order into his schedule. Some time alone with his thoughts in the evenings settled him down and getting his thoughts on paper reduced time wasted tossing and turning in bed.
With a quick puff, Gafar blew out the lamp, stretching methodically as he stood. His stretches kept him limber; while his colleagues complained of aching backs and joints, Gafar would likely age painlessly in the decades to come. He had the monks' lessons to thank for that, only a small part of the wisdom he brought back from Jalmeray. Gafar did not envy those other men. Azir's finest doctors could do nothing for such pains, which they said were a natural part of the process of maturing. With age came wisdom and back pain; it was just the natural order of things. Even servants of the gods could not escape this fate! Gafar smiled to himself, grateful that his open mind had allowed him to benefit from the wisdom of Vudra, even as the rest of the world around him suffered from the inadequacies of modern medicine. In many ways it had turned out to be a very good thing that his former associates at the College of the Body had turned him out. He mulled this over in his mind as he stepped out onto the balcony outside his bedchamber. A breeze wafted in, warm air mingling with the fragrance of sandalwood from the garden below. The moon hung low overhead, a thick red crescent casting the world in unearthly light.
"A beautiful night. Wouldn't you agree, Commandant?" Starting violently, Gafar whipped his head around. There, on the roof just over his door, sat the source of the voice. A man, dressed in red and black leathers, looking down at Gafar with a threateningly friendly smile. The blood turned to ice in Gafar's veins. Though he had never met this unexpected visitor before, he knew the man in an instant - a Red Mantis Assassin. The man let one leg dangle down and the breeze fluttered back his cape. Red moonlight glinted off the hilt of the weapon at the man's hip, its message clear. "This meeting has been a long time coming," he said casually, ignoring Gafar's silence. "How many years has it been?"
"Seven," Gafar said, even as he fought the rest of himself for control. He had been caught by surprise, but already his body was responding, dumping chemicals into his bloodstream to make him faster, stronger - and stupider. He began a simple breathing exercise, struggling to counteract the effects of sudden terror. Gafar had practically built his career on tracking this man; this single ongoing investigation had been linked to dozens of other cases in the past and present. When he was still a junior inspector, Gafar found a connection in a number of seemingly-unrelated murders, including some unsolved cases going back decades. Each of the murders bore certain subtle similarities that indicated the use of an ancient technique known as the Gods' Touch. This mysterious technique had piqued Gafar’s professional interest nearly a decade ago, when he was still a young doctor at Azir's College of the Body. His pursuit of the Gods' Touch led him to the Isle of Jalmeray on the other side of Garund, and what he discovered there would cost him his position when he finally returned.
"And what fun it's been! Wouldn't you agree?" The man was chattier than Gafar would have predicted. That was good. If he could keep the man talking, he could buy himself some time to come up with a plan. He had been expecting an encounter with this man in the very near future, of course. For almost a year, he had been closing in on the assassin's base of operations and had been dangerously close for months. But receiving a visit at his own home was not would Gafar had had in mind. Suddenly, it became clear why he had been making such progress - the assassin had been letting him. He was being lured, hunted by the very man he was supposed to have been hunting. "You almost had me in Pashow, you know. Truly." For some reason, Gafar doubted that. The overarching theme of the case, the strand that connected each of the murders together, was the Sun Orchid Elixir. It was no secret that competition for the famous potion started well in advance of the yearly auction, nor was it surprising that foul play would occur in the process. The Sun Orchid Elixir had the power to bestow youth upon whomever imbibed it, magically reversing the aging process and reverting the body to its prime. This was a lasting change , not merely wearing off in a matter of minutes; effectively, it granted a second life. Six vials were sold every year in Thuvia, and the profits generated were enough to sustatin the entire country for a full year. The auction was held in a different city in Thuvia each year. Three years ago, it had been held in Pashow. Thanks to a break in the case, Gafar had a lead on potential victims and had gone to Thuvia in anticipation of the auction. The lead had been good; he successfully prevented the assassination, but failed to apprehend the mantis-masked killer. He chased the assassin through the city, but to no avail. Still, his superiors were quick to call this a success, promoting then-Inspector Mendassa to full-fledged Commandant. However, this victory was short-lived; just days later, the would-be target was found dead. On top of this, the shipment of elixir to Pashow had been the subject of a teleportation accident for the second time in a row, foiling the auction. Seeing his opening, Gafar asks, "I have been wondering, were you behind the missing elixir as well?"
Something shifted in the man's expression, and his eyes glinted playfully. With menacing mirth, he said, "Now Commandant, you know how we operate. No funny business, just corpses."
"I didn't ask if you stole it, merely if you were responsible. Accepted as payment, perhaps?"
"Say, there's an idea!" The assassin laughed heartily, as if they were old friends joking over drinks in a tavern instead of adversaries discussing high-profile crime. Then, without warning, the man jumped down from his place on the roof, landing with supernatural grace. Gafar quickly backpedaled, his fight-or-flight response flaring up again, but rather than attacking, the man merely chuckled. "Really, Commandant, you should learn to relax. I didn't come here to kill you." Taking a place near the railing, the man leaned over it, admiring the view. "Lovely garden, I must say. It could use more color though. Some blood orchids, perhaps?"
The reassurance did little to calm Gafar; the casual tone only served to unnerve him. That's exactly what he wants, Gafar realized. "Then to what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?" Keep him busy, keep him talking. Gafar's eyes flicked around the area, appraising his situation. There were three obvious routes - over the garden fence, across the neighboring rooftops, or out the front door. The other man was faster, but Gafar knew the surrounding area; the rooftop was the least appealing option. And if he could make it through the house, there was one better option-
"The Mantis Moon," the man said, breaking Gafar’s train of though. He gestured with one hand to the floating red crescent. "Glorious, isn't it? The way it hangs low in the sky, like a sword hanging over the head of the world. Do you know what gives it that wonderful color, Commandant?"
Gafar responded mechanically, rattling off the answer from memory as the rest of his brainpower was occupied trying to get him out alive. "Alignment of the celestial bodies. The moon is passing through Golarion's shadow, light from the sun casting the red glow as other colors are filtered out by the planet's atmosphere." Modern alchemy had shown that light passing through different invisible gases, such as those making up the atmosphere, cast different colors. It was quite simple, really.
The man, bemused, ignored this. "It is a portent, a sign sent from He Who Walks In Blood. You see, Commandant, tonight a Mantis is born. That is why I have come."
Hearing this stopped Gafar in his tracks. Narrowing his eyes, he said slowly, "I am afraid I do not quite take your meaning. Would you care to explain?" If he could get inside, he could escape through the lab. It was hidden, offering a much better chance at escape.
Smiling ruefully, the man turned to face Gafar. Now up close, Gafar could see the man's irises were as red as the moon. Albinisim? Unlikely, the skin is too dark. Perhaps an illusion, or some fouling of the blood... "Come now, Commandant, it should be obvious. Why should I go to all this effort if I'm not going to kill you? I've enjoyed our game of cat-and-mouse, but you're far too troublesome to string along just for fun."
Again, the man's response instantly refocused Gafar. A sequence of emotions quickly crossed his face, from confusion through understanding, and finally disbelief. He scoffed, "Surely you don't mean me!"
The man laughed in delight, seeing the realization dawn. "But of course! And why not? Your qualifications are terribly impressive. I've seen your handiwork; you're an excellent killer, very methodical. The mantis claws would suit you well, I should think." The man's tone was business-like yet friendly, as if he were a merchant approving a favorable contract instead of an assassin-cultist trying to convert an atheistic law-enforcement officer to his insane religion. He rested one elbow on the stone railing, seeming very at ease.
"What are you on about?" Gafar narrowed his eyes again, glaring at the man as though trying to light him on fire through sheer force of will.
"Oh, I think you know perfectly well what I'm talking about. The cultists? Like the one still on your operating table under this very building?" The man swept his hand out at the floor in the general direction of the underground operating room. Blast! No element of surprise meant no advantage in escaping through the lab. It would have to be the garden. "There's no use in denying it," he said, as Gafar was preparing to do just that. “We’re not so different, really.”
Gafar balked at the accusation. "I am nothing like you! I enforce justice!"
It was the man's turn to scoff. "Is that what you've been telling yourself?" A short, barking laugh erupted from the man's throat. "You don't need to lie to me, Commandant. We both know why you do what you do. It's the same reason you went looking for the Gods' Touch in the first place - causing pain." The man said this all very matter-of-factly, an attitude that was becoming infuriating. Pushing himself up, he takes three slow steps toward Gafar, punctuating his words. "That's why you went to Jalmeray. That's why you joined the Pure Legion. And that's why you've been murdering religious criminals when you think the courts let them off too easily!"
As the assassin closed the distance, it all became too much for Gafar to handle. He lashed out with a quick strike at the man’s solar plexus, aiming to disable his chakra system. The blow struck true, and the man fumbled backward a step, doubling over. Judging by the pain on his face, Gafar expected that the man would be incapacitated for a few minutes, giving him the head start he needed. But the man’s brow knitted together in concentration, and he slowly stood up, chuckling. “You’ll have to do better than that, Commandant.” His technique had failed in the face of a superior opponent. “My turn.”
The man lunged at Gafar, who dodged sideways, throwing another punch into the man’s side. Gafar darted out of the corner he’d almost been trapped in, slipping a syringe from a pocket and emptying it into his bloodstream as he turns to face his opponent. His heart began beating faster as adrenaline surged through his body, engorging his muscles. The assassin, rebounding off the stone railing, ducked under Gafar’s wild punch, landing two sharp strikes into his hardened abdomen. Grunting in pain, Gafar wrapped his arms around the man, crushing him. The assassin, constricted, brought his knee up between Gafar’s legs. Tears welled in Gafar’s eyes, the pain causing him to lose his grip on the man. He dropped to his knees, but not before slamming his skull into the other man’s face. The man backpedaled, holding his head as Gafar collapsed.
But rather than draw his sword and dispatch his foe, the man instead began to laugh. He pulled his arm away from his face, blood dripping from a broken nose. “See? Now that was much better!” He stepped forward, placing a hand on Gafar, who felt the pain in his body quickly subside. As Gafar pushed himself to his feet, the man just stood there watching. When it appeared Gafar had recovered, he said “Again!”
Gafar, growling, threw another punch at the man, who dodged so swiftly it appeared he hadn’t even moved. He followed up with another punch, and another, but each time his fists touched nothing but air. Through the flurry, it dawned on Gafar that the assassin had only been toying with him thus far. A low kick to sweep the legs earned him nothing but a boot to the head. Reeling backward, his eyes flashed to the railing. Escape was his only option.
Sensing his quarry’s intentions, the man darts between Gafar and the railing. “Not so fast, Commandant,” he said, his smile replaced by a fierce scowl. He tapped Gafar’s navel with an open palm, and suddenly Gafar couldn’t feel anything. He was paralyzed, unable to move anything below his head. "Th-the Gods' Touch," he managed weakly.
"Indeed," said the man. "You could learn it, you know. Don't you see? You've studied our ways for so long, sacrificed so much for them already!" It was true, of course. One of the biggest advantages of his station was unlimited access to materials kept in the Vault of Lies, the storehouse of confiscated religious writings kept secure in the Pure Legion's headquarters in Azir. Naturally, Gafar had availed himself of the scrolls and books found within, and not just Red Mantis writings. The collection had proved useful in many an investigation, and in more than a few unauthorized experiments as well. "What would your superiors say if they knew what you'd been up to these past years, hmm?"
"To...hell...with...you..." Gafar snarled through clenched teeth, each word a struggle.
Suddenly, there came a booming knock from below. Somebody was at the door. "It sounds like we have company," the man said, as though he were a dinner host whose guests had finally arrived. Gafar could hear their voices from below. "Commandant! Open up at once! We have a warrant for your arrest!"
"Oh dear," the man said with mock surprise. "How could that have happened? Do you think someone could have tipped them off to your little experiments?" He laughed darkly. "Oh yes, I think it was me!"
Gafar fought against the man's hold, but it was no use. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't move a muscle. His chakra system had been severed.
"I could just leave you like this," the man said, even as the sound of splintering wood filled the air. "Justice will be swift, I’m sure. The tribune will undoubtedly be sympathetic. Would you prefer a swift beheading or is hanging more to your preference? Oh! Do they do crucifixion here in Rahadoum? That has an element of poetic justice, I think, wouldn’t you say?” The man was clearly enjoying this. “But if that’s how you want it, better I just kill you now.” Boom! Another crack from the battering ram.
The looming prospect of death was more upsetting than Gafar had imagined it would be. Having disavowed all religion, his soul would be banished to wander the Graveyard of Souls forever. As that eternity approached with frightening speed, Gafar realized he didn’t much care for the thought of it.
“Or I could mercilessly slaughter each and every one of those men and we could retreat to an island paradise where you’ll be indoctrinated into the holy arts of assassination and be free to perform all manner of gruesome and painful experiments to your black little heart’s content.”
Well, when you put it that way…
A final crash came from down below as the door exploded inward. “I suppose it is time for another career change,” Gafar said solemnly. The assassin grinned, his teeth flashing red in the bloody moonlight. He said nothing as he pulled the mantis mask over his face, and the doomed Legionnaires swarmed into the house.
Okay, sorry for the delay; my Friday got really busy all of a sudden. So I haven't had time until right now to get to the game.
The characters I have selected are:
Jon-Wyn, the half-elf arcanist rogue
Yanmei, the vishkanya geisha
Gafar, the tiefling investigator
If you three would, please pop in to the discussion page to introduce yourselves. I plan on sending you some private messages, since I have some very specific ideas for your introductions. So look for those, since that's how I want to bring you in.
Thanks for everyone else who submitted characters, or who expressed interest. These things are never easy.
Have fun!
Thank you.