I just recently heard about The Great Blog Roll Call over at Dyvers Campaign. This is an excellent listing of RPG blogs for your reading pleasure and I suggest you take a look. I've already found a couple new ones I like.
Oh, yeah, and mine just got added =) Dyvers had some very kind words for my blog in the description.
Sunday, December 8, 2013
Saturday, December 7, 2013
Challenge Accepted (sort of): The White Monk Class for ACKS
Okay, so I did a post recently on some quick and easy alternatives for divine classes if you ditched the cleric class. This was based on some interesting musings on the cleric over at Rachel Bonuses. But in a response to that (which I totally can't find now to link for you) I was chided for my lack of real creativity in coming up with alternatives to the cleric. Point taken. One of the reasons I play Pathfinder is what I call "completeness". There's so much material already there that you can usually modify or mix-and-match existing stuff to get where you want to go--and then get on with play.
But then I thought that maybe I should take that up as a challenge to create something. Well unfortunately Pathfinder suffers from the same core problem which has plagued all editions of D&D since the beginning: there are no built-in in mechanics for building stuff. If you want to make a new class, or magic spell, or monster there are few guidelines. It's as much an art as a science. But not so with the retro-clone Adventurer Conqueror King System (ACKS) which I have been perusing of late. The ACKS Player's Companion includes a great DIY toolkit for making new classes. So I decided to use this as an opportunity to try making an ACKS class.
But instead of making some sort of cleric substitute, I decided to do a version of a class which has fascinated me for some time: the White Monk from Final Fantasy Tactics Advance. The White Monk is a blend of monk and paladin--not coincidentally one of the classes I proposed for my preferred entries in the upcoming Advanced Class Guide for Pathfinder.
So, the first thing with a new ACKS class is that you start with 4 Build Points (BP) which are allocated to the main class characteristics. I figured one should go into Hit Dice Value because they are a tough melee fighting class, two into Fighting, and finally one into Divine.
So 1 BP into Hit Dice Value buys a d6 for HD per level:
Hit Dice Value: d6 [1 BP; 500 XP]
HP per level after 9th Level: 2 HP
Then since the White Monk is primarily a melee fighter type, 2 BP into Fighting:
Fighting: 2 [2 BP; 750 XP]
And that led to some modifications of the characteristics for Fighting 2 because a monk is a specialized type of fighter:
Attack Throws Weapons Armor Styles DamBonus Cleaves XP Cost
+2/3 levels Restricted* Forbidden 2** +1/3 levels 1/level 1000
*Weapons: claw-weapons (see below); dart,bolas, net
**Basic Style: claw-weapons; dart, bolas, net
Reducing the Weapons by 3 buys 3 custom powers, reducing the armor by 3 buys 4 custom powers, and reducing the styles by 1 buys 1 custom power, for a total of 8 custom powers (which we'll get to in a moment)
Because the White Monk is a holy type, I put my final BP into Divine (I put no BP into into Thievery or Arcane).
Divine: 1 [1 BP; XP 250]Divine 1 allows the class to cast spells as a cleric of half current level, with a spell list of 5 spells per level; I also eliminated the Turn Undead ability, which bought another custom power
Saving Throws: as Cleric (since it's a holy class concept)
Prime Requisite: CON (monks should be tough)
Now came the tricky part: the custom powers. From my not-necessarily-correct calculations above I came up with a total of 9 custom powers. Since some of the custom powers are actually essentially proficiencies used as class abilities I skipped ahead to throw together a set of 28 proficiencies (a standard amount) selected from the Cleric and Fighter lists and then put together a list of candidate custom powers which avoided duplicating anything in the proficiency list. So far, so good. However, there is a very non-intuitive chart which allows you to trade off taking skills at a certain level (this section confusingly uses "skill" and "power" interchangeably) in exchange for more skills at higher levels. For instance you can trade one initial skill to gain one skill at 5th and another at 9th, or one skill at 10th level for one each at 12th and 13th. I found this trade-off chart both helpful and confusing. But here's how my calculations and powers for the class's levels came out:
With 9 custom powers to start (from calculations above), then some trade-offs:
-1 initial skill to gain 1 skill at 2nd and 1 skill at 12th level
-1 initial skill to gain 1 skill at 3rd and 1 skill at 11th level
-1 initial skill to gain 1 skill at 4th and 1 skill at 10th level
-1 initial skill to gain 1 skill at 5th and 1 skill at 9th level
-1 initial skill to gain 1 skill at 6th and 1 skill at 8th level
Selecting powers appropriate to the class and allocating them to the levels results in:
1 Flesh-Runes (counts as 3 skills), Aura of Protection
2 Arcane Striking
3 Meditative Focus
4 Initiative
5 Lay on Hands
6 Spell Storing
7
8 Blade Dancing
9 Battlefield Prowess
10 Savage Resilience
11 Resistant to Illusion
12 Longevity
13
14
Proficiencies: (28, drawn from Fighter and Cleric)
Acrobatics, Alertness, Battle Magic, Berserkergang, Blind Fighting, Combat Reflexes, Combat Trickery (force back, overrun, sunder), Command, Contemplation, Divine Blessing, Divine Health, Dungeon Bashing, Endurance, Healing, Intimidation, Knowledge (philosophy), Laying on Hands, Leadership, Manual of Arms, Martial Training (darts/bolas/nets), Prophecy, Running, Sensing Evil, Skirmishing, Swashbuckling, Theology, Unflappable Casting, Weapon Focus
Then the spell lists. Putting 1 BP into Divine allows casting as if a cleric of half that level. By my inexpert reckonings that comes out to:
Spell Lists (from the Cleric lists)
1st Level Spells (gained at 4th level)
Cure Light Wounds
Detect Magic
Light
Protection from Evil
Resist Cold
2nd Level Spells (gained at 8th level)
Bless
Hold Person
Resist Fire
Silence
Spiritual Weapon
3rd Level Spells (gained at 12th level)
Cure Disease
Feign Death
Remove Curse
Speak with Dead
Striking
Each class gets a stronghold. The chart for this makes it clear that you go with the class in which you have the most build points. The White Monk, being a divine type really should have Fortified Church (monastery), but instead must do with a Castle instead. It's not a big deal, but doesn't feel right for the class. So I'll just rename the castle a "Fortified Monastery".
Stronghold Type: Fortified Monastery (Castle)
XP Per Level
So now we calculate XP per level for advancement using the base costs from Hit Dice Value (500 XP), Fighting (750 XP), and Divine (250 XP):
1 0
2 1,500
3 3,000
4 6,000
5 12,000
6 24,000
7 50,000 <-- rounded up to 50,000 from 48,000 according to the smoothing rule
8 100,000
9 120,000
10 120,000
11 120,000
12 120,000
13 120,000
14 120,000
White Monk Special Weapons
White Monks primarily use hand techniques (punches) and have developed a set of weapons worn like gloves with claws on them to use with these techniques. There are also magic versions of these unique weapons.
Hard Knuckles 1d4
Cat Claws 1d6 (requires extra training at Level 3)
Tiger Claws 1d8 (requires extra training at Level 7)
Dragon Claws 1d10 (requires extra training at Level 10)
Holy Claw Weapons
01-40 Cat Claws +1
41-45 Cat Claws +1, constant Resist Cold on wearer
46-50 Cat Claws +1, constant Resist Fire on wearer
51-55 Cat Claws +1, of Striking
55-60 Cat Claws +1, can cast Cure Light Wounds on wearer once per day
61-64 Cat or Tiger Claws +2
65-68 Cat or Tiger Claws +2, constant Resist Cold on wearer
69-72 Cat or Tiger Claws +2, constant Resist Fire on wearer
73-76 Cat or Tiger Claws +2, of Striking
77-80 Cat or Tiger Claws +2, can cast Spritual Weapon once per day
81-84 Cat or Tiger Claws +2, can cast Cure Light Wounds on wearer twice per day
85-88 Cat or Tiger or Dragon Claws +3
89-91 Tiger or Dragon Claws +3, of Striking
92-94 Tiger or Dragon Claws +3, constant Resist Cold and Fire on wearer
95-97 Tiger or Dragon Claws +3, can cast Spritual Weapon three times per day
98-100 Tiger or Dragon Claws +3, can cast Cure Light Wounds on wearer twice per day
But then I thought that maybe I should take that up as a challenge to create something. Well unfortunately Pathfinder suffers from the same core problem which has plagued all editions of D&D since the beginning: there are no built-in in mechanics for building stuff. If you want to make a new class, or magic spell, or monster there are few guidelines. It's as much an art as a science. But not so with the retro-clone Adventurer Conqueror King System (ACKS) which I have been perusing of late. The ACKS Player's Companion includes a great DIY toolkit for making new classes. So I decided to use this as an opportunity to try making an ACKS class.
But instead of making some sort of cleric substitute, I decided to do a version of a class which has fascinated me for some time: the White Monk from Final Fantasy Tactics Advance. The White Monk is a blend of monk and paladin--not coincidentally one of the classes I proposed for my preferred entries in the upcoming Advanced Class Guide for Pathfinder.
The White Monk for ACKS
.jpg) | |
| Bangaa___FFTA2___by_CrazyCowCo (crazycowco.deviantart.com) |
So, the first thing with a new ACKS class is that you start with 4 Build Points (BP) which are allocated to the main class characteristics. I figured one should go into Hit Dice Value because they are a tough melee fighting class, two into Fighting, and finally one into Divine.
So 1 BP into Hit Dice Value buys a d6 for HD per level:
Hit Dice Value: d6 [1 BP; 500 XP]
HP per level after 9th Level: 2 HP
Then since the White Monk is primarily a melee fighter type, 2 BP into Fighting:
Fighting: 2 [2 BP; 750 XP]
And that led to some modifications of the characteristics for Fighting 2 because a monk is a specialized type of fighter:
Attack Throws Weapons Armor Styles DamBonus Cleaves XP Cost
+2/3 levels Restricted* Forbidden 2** +1/3 levels 1/level 1000
*Weapons: claw-weapons (see below); dart,bolas, net
**Basic Style: claw-weapons; dart, bolas, net
Reducing the Weapons by 3 buys 3 custom powers, reducing the armor by 3 buys 4 custom powers, and reducing the styles by 1 buys 1 custom power, for a total of 8 custom powers (which we'll get to in a moment)
Because the White Monk is a holy type, I put my final BP into Divine (I put no BP into into Thievery or Arcane).
Divine: 1 [1 BP; XP 250]Divine 1 allows the class to cast spells as a cleric of half current level, with a spell list of 5 spells per level; I also eliminated the Turn Undead ability, which bought another custom power
Saving Throws: as Cleric (since it's a holy class concept)
Prime Requisite: CON (monks should be tough)
Now came the tricky part: the custom powers. From my not-necessarily-correct calculations above I came up with a total of 9 custom powers. Since some of the custom powers are actually essentially proficiencies used as class abilities I skipped ahead to throw together a set of 28 proficiencies (a standard amount) selected from the Cleric and Fighter lists and then put together a list of candidate custom powers which avoided duplicating anything in the proficiency list. So far, so good. However, there is a very non-intuitive chart which allows you to trade off taking skills at a certain level (this section confusingly uses "skill" and "power" interchangeably) in exchange for more skills at higher levels. For instance you can trade one initial skill to gain one skill at 5th and another at 9th, or one skill at 10th level for one each at 12th and 13th. I found this trade-off chart both helpful and confusing. But here's how my calculations and powers for the class's levels came out:
With 9 custom powers to start (from calculations above), then some trade-offs:
-1 initial skill to gain 1 skill at 2nd and 1 skill at 12th level
-1 initial skill to gain 1 skill at 3rd and 1 skill at 11th level
-1 initial skill to gain 1 skill at 4th and 1 skill at 10th level
-1 initial skill to gain 1 skill at 5th and 1 skill at 9th level
-1 initial skill to gain 1 skill at 6th and 1 skill at 8th level
Selecting powers appropriate to the class and allocating them to the levels results in:
1 Flesh-Runes (counts as 3 skills), Aura of Protection
2 Arcane Striking
3 Meditative Focus
4 Initiative
5 Lay on Hands
6 Spell Storing
7
8 Blade Dancing
9 Battlefield Prowess
10 Savage Resilience
11 Resistant to Illusion
12 Longevity
13
14
Proficiencies: (28, drawn from Fighter and Cleric)
Acrobatics, Alertness, Battle Magic, Berserkergang, Blind Fighting, Combat Reflexes, Combat Trickery (force back, overrun, sunder), Command, Contemplation, Divine Blessing, Divine Health, Dungeon Bashing, Endurance, Healing, Intimidation, Knowledge (philosophy), Laying on Hands, Leadership, Manual of Arms, Martial Training (darts/bolas/nets), Prophecy, Running, Sensing Evil, Skirmishing, Swashbuckling, Theology, Unflappable Casting, Weapon Focus
Then the spell lists. Putting 1 BP into Divine allows casting as if a cleric of half that level. By my inexpert reckonings that comes out to:
Spell Lists (from the Cleric lists)
1st Level Spells (gained at 4th level)
Cure Light Wounds
Detect Magic
Light
Protection from Evil
Resist Cold
2nd Level Spells (gained at 8th level)
Bless
Hold Person
Resist Fire
Silence
Spiritual Weapon
3rd Level Spells (gained at 12th level)
Cure Disease
Feign Death
Remove Curse
Speak with Dead
Striking
Each class gets a stronghold. The chart for this makes it clear that you go with the class in which you have the most build points. The White Monk, being a divine type really should have Fortified Church (monastery), but instead must do with a Castle instead. It's not a big deal, but doesn't feel right for the class. So I'll just rename the castle a "Fortified Monastery".
Stronghold Type: Fortified Monastery (Castle)
XP Per Level
So now we calculate XP per level for advancement using the base costs from Hit Dice Value (500 XP), Fighting (750 XP), and Divine (250 XP):
1 0
2 1,500
3 3,000
4 6,000
5 12,000
6 24,000
7 50,000 <-- rounded up to 50,000 from 48,000 according to the smoothing rule
8 100,000
9 120,000
10 120,000
11 120,000
12 120,000
13 120,000
14 120,000
White Monk Special Weapons
White Monks primarily use hand techniques (punches) and have developed a set of weapons worn like gloves with claws on them to use with these techniques. There are also magic versions of these unique weapons.
Hard Knuckles 1d4
Cat Claws 1d6 (requires extra training at Level 3)
Tiger Claws 1d8 (requires extra training at Level 7)
Dragon Claws 1d10 (requires extra training at Level 10)
Holy Claw Weapons
01-40 Cat Claws +1
41-45 Cat Claws +1, constant Resist Cold on wearer
46-50 Cat Claws +1, constant Resist Fire on wearer
51-55 Cat Claws +1, of Striking
55-60 Cat Claws +1, can cast Cure Light Wounds on wearer once per day
61-64 Cat or Tiger Claws +2
65-68 Cat or Tiger Claws +2, constant Resist Cold on wearer
69-72 Cat or Tiger Claws +2, constant Resist Fire on wearer
73-76 Cat or Tiger Claws +2, of Striking
77-80 Cat or Tiger Claws +2, can cast Spritual Weapon once per day
81-84 Cat or Tiger Claws +2, can cast Cure Light Wounds on wearer twice per day
85-88 Cat or Tiger or Dragon Claws +3
89-91 Tiger or Dragon Claws +3, of Striking
92-94 Tiger or Dragon Claws +3, constant Resist Cold and Fire on wearer
95-97 Tiger or Dragon Claws +3, can cast Spritual Weapon three times per day
98-100 Tiger or Dragon Claws +3, can cast Cure Light Wounds on wearer twice per day
Monday, December 2, 2013
Kicking the Cleric to the Curb, Pathfinder Style
Okay, so I was just reading an interesting ramble free-form essay over at Rachel Bonuses on her dissatisfaction with the D&D style cleric and whether you could just get rid of it. I don't often hear people wanting to get rid of the class altogether. More often it's a question of how to fix it. I've never been happy with D&D style clerics because even with the addition of domain spells they are much too generic. I like playing the class, but I want holy priestly types to be more focused on their deity's portfolio.
An obvious retort to eliminating the class is who's going to do the healing then? Well, without a cleric it's down to the paladin, ranger, and druid for heals. Fine, but for me the paladin class is really a companion to the pseudo-Christian cleric so it would seem odd to have paladins if there were no clerics. And what if you're doing an urban campaign? Rangers and druids are an awkward fit. And anyway the limited healing from these three classes will alter play in ways which might not suit you.
I think that if you're getting rid of the classic cleric class (and maybe classic paladin as well) then you should look at the oracle and witch classes as in Pathfinder. In my buddy Steve's game I'm playing a healy witch (which I've blogged about here and here) and my friend Kirk is playing a healy type oracle. And that's actually working out quite well. Okay, we do have a cleric in the party but she's lawful evil and doesn't do healing.
But healing aside there is the wider question of being a holy type person for various deity-like entities, large or small, in a polytheistic setting. The witch and oracle classes address than quite weill. The Pathfinder witch class has "patrons" which are essentially single-domain deities; there are a lot of them:
Agility
Ancestors
Animals
Boundaries
Death
Deception
Devotion
Elements
Enchantment
Endurance
Healing
Insanity
Light
Moon
Occult
Peace
Plague
Portents
Shadow
Spirits
Stars
Strength
Time
Transformation
Trickery
Vengeance
Water
Winter
Wisdom
At every even level the witch learns an extra spell from the patron's themed list. You could give the patron deities wider portfolios by giving deities several patron "domains" and then the player selects one spell from the multiple "domains" available--a sort of hybrid gestalt class. In addition, the DM could declare certain arcane spells and/or hexes to be mandatory or off-limits based on the patron theme. A witch with a Shadow patron must take any darkness-associated spells or hexes and may not take any light-associated ones.
Pathfinder oracles choose a "mystery" from a listing which presents natural "domains"; and these could be doubled-up as for the witch to make for more multi-faceted deities. There are plenty to choose from:
Ancestor
Battle
Bones
Dark Tapestry
Flame
Heavens
Juju
Life
Lore
Lunar
Metal
Nature
Occult
Outer Rifts
Spellscar
Stone
Time
Waves
Wind
Winter
Wood
So right there you have an easy way to replace the classic way-too-generic cleric with very non-generic holy types. To that I'd add Pathfinder druids but make them take a domain for their "nature bond" rather than an animal companion.
Another option is to consider the summoner class as a clerical type. The class description notes: "This practitioner of the arcane arts forms a close bond with one particular outsider, known as an eidolon...Over time, the two become linked, eventually even sharing a shard of the same soul." Yeah, I'm pretty sure that "eidolon" is actually some sort of demon. So that would make summoners actually demon-worshippers who've sold their souls! Nice.
An obvious retort to eliminating the class is who's going to do the healing then? Well, without a cleric it's down to the paladin, ranger, and druid for heals. Fine, but for me the paladin class is really a companion to the pseudo-Christian cleric so it would seem odd to have paladins if there were no clerics. And what if you're doing an urban campaign? Rangers and druids are an awkward fit. And anyway the limited healing from these three classes will alter play in ways which might not suit you.
I think that if you're getting rid of the classic cleric class (and maybe classic paladin as well) then you should look at the oracle and witch classes as in Pathfinder. In my buddy Steve's game I'm playing a healy witch (which I've blogged about here and here) and my friend Kirk is playing a healy type oracle. And that's actually working out quite well. Okay, we do have a cleric in the party but she's lawful evil and doesn't do healing.
But healing aside there is the wider question of being a holy type person for various deity-like entities, large or small, in a polytheistic setting. The witch and oracle classes address than quite weill. The Pathfinder witch class has "patrons" which are essentially single-domain deities; there are a lot of them:
Agility
Ancestors
Animals
Boundaries
Death
Deception
Devotion
Elements
Enchantment
Endurance
Healing
Insanity
Light
Moon
Occult
Peace
Plague
Portents
Shadow
Spirits
Stars
Strength
Time
Transformation
Trickery
Vengeance
Water
Winter
Wisdom
At every even level the witch learns an extra spell from the patron's themed list. You could give the patron deities wider portfolios by giving deities several patron "domains" and then the player selects one spell from the multiple "domains" available--a sort of hybrid gestalt class. In addition, the DM could declare certain arcane spells and/or hexes to be mandatory or off-limits based on the patron theme. A witch with a Shadow patron must take any darkness-associated spells or hexes and may not take any light-associated ones.
Pathfinder oracles choose a "mystery" from a listing which presents natural "domains"; and these could be doubled-up as for the witch to make for more multi-faceted deities. There are plenty to choose from:
Ancestor
Battle
Bones
Dark Tapestry
Flame
Heavens
Juju
Life
Lore
Lunar
Metal
Nature
Occult
Outer Rifts
Spellscar
Stone
Time
Waves
Wind
Winter
Wood
So right there you have an easy way to replace the classic way-too-generic cleric with very non-generic holy types. To that I'd add Pathfinder druids but make them take a domain for their "nature bond" rather than an animal companion.
Another option is to consider the summoner class as a clerical type. The class description notes: "This practitioner of the arcane arts forms a close bond with one particular outsider, known as an eidolon...Over time, the two become linked, eventually even sharing a shard of the same soul." Yeah, I'm pretty sure that "eidolon" is actually some sort of demon. So that would make summoners actually demon-worshippers who've sold their souls! Nice.
Sunday, December 1, 2013
The Journal of Katherine, Entry 43, Part 1 "Blood and Guts"
The lovely Katherine continues her recollection of recent events...
Entry 43
In the morning we meet refugees from the north. A dirty woman approaches Trevor and he is taken aback, pushing the woman elsewhere - no compassion in him - I am shocked. Then a group of men want to join us because we will fight the goblins. Brute scares the poor leader into not going. Would Brute have behaved like that to me? I ask Brute to not be so mean. He wants me to tell the next one who wants to join: "no."
Our sixth day away from the city, and we pass the village we saw before. Not much has changed. We continue our way and make camp near night fall, off of the road. We sleep in rotation, so that we have a constant watch in the night. Trevor and I on the first, Kull and Boomtock on the second, and Brute and Ohm Uri on the final.
On our watch, I hear something approaching. We quickly wake the others, and they see one human form limping towards the camp. Brute calls for me and I rush up not knowing what to expect. I see Brute carrying young Faylen, and her injured leg is the cause of the limp. I call upon the Light to heal this good woods-woman, a defender and keeper of the children we escorted a few days past. I add more energy into the healing this time. This feels good to me. A wonderful.
Brute gave me the task of persuading the next one not to come with us. Young Faylen is the next one. Once she is able to talk and listen, I give her the options of either going to Aden, the city, or to go back to her cave. She chooses to go back to her cave, since she doesn't like the city.
However, at the mention of the goblins we are going to fight, she tells the tale of Clifftown, where most of the goblins are. Faylen says it was a modern place. Located on the edge of the lake, it had an abundant supply of trade. All lay in waste now. The goblins have ransacked it. She talks of abominations of humans with animal heads nailed to trees. And of horrible monsters with open sores on their skin. The goblins refer to them as avatars. Faylen continues with a story of how the druids casted spells to hold the rocks back from falling on the town. If we can find the druids to cancel the spell, the rocks will crush the goblins. Then I ask if she could guide us to the druids?
There are two ways to get there, by land or by sea, Faylen adds. Land would take a long time, and sea would be a day. We must get a boat, though. Brute plans to take a few sneaky ones, like Ohm Uri Boomtuck and Faylen, past the goblin guards and float away with a boat. Seems too easy.
Kull, Trevor and I wait in the rain by a little lagoon for the others to get the boat. I thought this could be a good time to talk to Trevor about us. So I clear my head, prepare mentally, get ready to start with a big question, walk towards Trevor, and he vanishes. If I could curse! I try my whisper, no answer. I call out to Trevor, still no answer. Did something happen to him? I detect magic and get a faint glimmer. Was it foul magic? Then I see something written in the mud, but cannot tell what it is. Next, I feel a tap on my shoulder, Instinct gave in, so I swing round with my mace and into thin air, for I see nothing there. Then I hear Trevor's voice saying it's me. I say, "You told me that you didn't know invisibility. And now you do. Why? I could have hurt you." He replies, "I found another ring in the folds, but I cannot get it off." Kull remarks "You should not use magic if it is unknown." Trevor replies basically, that he takes chances. Then says he will go and help the others. And it is quiet. I call out to him, and no answer. He just left. Or I think so. Sometimes, he makes me so upset. If I could curse. I could have hit him, and I wanted to ask him my questions, but now, I really want - stop.
I wait with Kull in silence. I close my eyes to focus on hearing. Nothing but the rain. What seems like hours, Kull then states "They are here." I see the ship materialize from the fog. It seems all too easy.
I find Trevor...
I ask him to remove it. Now he says that since he is dry he might be able. And he tries and says it is still stuck. I say, "Put your hand out. I will touch you." I didn't want him reaching out to touch me - anywhere. I put my fingers on the ring and gently pull. It easily slips off. What is he talking about it being stuck? Once I have it, I move to keep it for a "piece of mind." And Faylen agrees with me, we do not want him snooping around and not respecting our privacy. But Kull and Ohm Uri side with Trevor. Reluctantly, I give the ring back. This is not over yet.
Brute's patience runs out. We load our gear in the boat and Boomtuck stays behind with the cart and horses.
I look back at Boomtuck, as we slip out into the night. Kull has stated a number of times that he does not like water. He hugs the mast. I find a place in the front, and hunker down. Slipping through states of consciousness in the night, I lean my head over the boat. I see little glowing or flashing things occasionally. This water world is most strange. Is it real, or am I imaging? I look up and see the night sky. Somehow, young Faylen is able to guide the boat. We all trust her.
We travel all night and it is morning now. No land in sight. I did not mind. The wind is blowing steady and stronger now, and the boat has picked up speed. Sailing is wonderful. I like the front. The wind in my face, my hair blowing back, the sound of the water against the wooden planks, and the spray as the boat goes up and down plowing through the waves, these are treasures of the adventure. These cannot be bought with coin, they must be experienced. I move to sit with my legs dangling over the side and look into an endlessness of the water depths. Every so often I see a slice of silver flash as a fish swims past. This is the free spirit - the wayward traveler. My mind wonders of other seas to travel.
Trevor joins me in the front of the boat, and I point out the wave patterns on the water and the silver flashes of fish. I show him where the water appears darker the wind is stronger, because it adds to the ripples. Trevor mentions the fish, and Ohm Uri soon has six and we all have a meal. I ask for some wine, Rose I say. The ride seems a little bit more refreshed. But, I am still upset about the ring business.
We continue until about mid day. So quickly it happens. My intentions are instinctive. Ohm Uri sees land and in his excitement, climbs the mast of this thin boat. The boat leans and we over compensate, sending the boat over to the other side. I see water coming over the gunwales and Trevor and Brute loose their grip. Kull grabs Trevor. I manage to have a solid grip on the ore handle and with my free hand reach out and grab Brute. I under estimate how much the boat leans and Brute hangs free. All of Brute's mass is put on my small frame. I will always remember the pop sound when the handle just slips right through my fingers. I sail overboard into the clear greenish water trailing Brute.
With my earlier fascination with the water, I did not think I would be this intimate with it. The water is cold at the initial shock, but now, it feels warmer. Brute, always so kind to me, tells me to grab his shoulders, and to hang on. He started to swim after the boat. Now I can swim, although I am not the best, but Brute, with the reflexes of a savanna cat, grabs a tossed rope, and pulls us closer to the boat under sail. Water is spraying everywhere, that I must turn my head so I can breath. Once we are close to the boat, his free hand pushes me up and Trevor, who is looking rather smug, pulls me into the boat. Now I realize, I am in my rather fine dress soaking wet, and it is clinging to my body, revealing my form a bit more than I'd like. I look at the rest of the men, they are staring at me, mouths open, and I am over my comfort level. Faylen is laughing hysterically. Once Brute is back, he is quick to have the rest turn their heads, so I wrap up in a blanket.
Trevor offers to use his conjuring to dry my clothes, but I cannot take that. First, he tricks me into touching his hand when I took off the ring, and now, he wants to press dry my clinging wet dress with his magic. I know he can sense the touch when he uses that spell, and the thought of him wanting to do that when I am vulnerable - I expected more from him. I simply say, "I just want to be alone." I huddled in my blanket, teeth chattering, lips blue, trying to close out the wind...
The boat lands and I am somewhat dryer, now. We make our way inland, and we hear birds chirping, but also see them up close, and deer came right up to us. They are tame. Then it gets quiet, too quiet.
I call out "We come to seek the aid of the druids. We want to speak, to parley." Out comes this man, right from the wood. I introduce myself, "I am Katherine, of the Temple of the Light, and we seek aid. This is Kull, and Ohm Uri, and..." "The amazing Trevor," Trevor adds. And I continue with "... and this is Brute." This man interjects, "The Great Brute? The one that has killed multiple minotaurs in a single battle..." He continues with the stories, of killing and such, most seemed a bit too unbelievable. I zone out. Finally, he introduces himself as Daymond. And he agrees to help, if his friends come along: a wolf, a weasel, and a bird.
We pile back into the boat and Ohm Uri has an idea to rig the sail so it catches the wind, but will pull the boat into the wind. Maybe Trevor is correct in knowing Ohm Uri is a magic user, for this does seem like magic: to make the boat move into the wind with the sail. We all agree to let him try. Brute pushes off and we move about in a huge half circle, heading right back to the beach! Brute has enough of this. We row. The trip back takes longer.
The weasel, one of the druid's friends, curls up around my leg. I ask if I can touch the wolf, but Daymond advises against it. The wolf routinely growls at Trevor. Good girl, I'm thinking. Maybe it senses that "cursed" ring.
Under the cover of the Daymond's fog conjuration, we make it safely back to the lagoon where Boomtuck is waiting. Wasting no time, the druid knows where to go. We all make it up to a part of the cliff away from the town and the rock fall. But the last of the trip is a shear 100 foot climb. Only Daymond, Kull and Brute will climb it. I turn to Brute and Trevor, and ask about the people down in the town. They will get crushed too, I add. Both assure me they would have been killed already. I look at the amount of rocks being held back. I did not protest this idea before, as I did not fully comprehend the magnitude. The creatures in the town will be crushed beyond being recognized. I again move to protest, but the druid is out of site and Brute is half way up. I can only wait for the job to complete.
Then I hear Kull shouting and making a ruckus. He is challenging the goblins and their king. Then everyone must hear the rocks. I get sick, knowing the deaths of possible humans may be near. Deafening is not enough to describe it. The ground shook underneath my feet, so much I am almost knocked down. My heart felt the power and force released. The dry dust rose so thick that I cannot see the top of the cliff. I hear only a ringing sound. Then, Instinct kicked in again as I see Kull lowered by rope through the dust, and as I thought Kull must be near death. He is bleeding bad from his shoulder, his arm is limp. I call the Light to aid him, and reach into the pool of energy I have and put my hands on his wounds. Then I feel it like flood. A strong pure surge of Divine goodness flows through me. My eyes are shut, yet, I see beyond the stars. I feel a bliss. I open my eyes and see red blood seeping through my fingers, contrasting against the blueish light from the cure. I sense under my hands, the mess of flesh and muscle form and join where it was torn and cut, veins and tissue reattach to make whole. The worst of the wound heals.
Instinct gives way back to Death being so close and great. I melt out of myself. I see dust hanging in the air, and I see myself kneeling over Kull, my hands and clothes stained with blood. I see Brute say something, but cannot hear anything. Then a darkness envelopes me, as I comprehend the magnitude of the destruction...
(Entry 43 will continue)
Entry 43
In the morning we meet refugees from the north. A dirty woman approaches Trevor and he is taken aback, pushing the woman elsewhere - no compassion in him - I am shocked. Then a group of men want to join us because we will fight the goblins. Brute scares the poor leader into not going. Would Brute have behaved like that to me? I ask Brute to not be so mean. He wants me to tell the next one who wants to join: "no."
Our sixth day away from the city, and we pass the village we saw before. Not much has changed. We continue our way and make camp near night fall, off of the road. We sleep in rotation, so that we have a constant watch in the night. Trevor and I on the first, Kull and Boomtock on the second, and Brute and Ohm Uri on the final.
On our watch, I hear something approaching. We quickly wake the others, and they see one human form limping towards the camp. Brute calls for me and I rush up not knowing what to expect. I see Brute carrying young Faylen, and her injured leg is the cause of the limp. I call upon the Light to heal this good woods-woman, a defender and keeper of the children we escorted a few days past. I add more energy into the healing this time. This feels good to me. A wonderful.
Brute gave me the task of persuading the next one not to come with us. Young Faylen is the next one. Once she is able to talk and listen, I give her the options of either going to Aden, the city, or to go back to her cave. She chooses to go back to her cave, since she doesn't like the city.
However, at the mention of the goblins we are going to fight, she tells the tale of Clifftown, where most of the goblins are. Faylen says it was a modern place. Located on the edge of the lake, it had an abundant supply of trade. All lay in waste now. The goblins have ransacked it. She talks of abominations of humans with animal heads nailed to trees. And of horrible monsters with open sores on their skin. The goblins refer to them as avatars. Faylen continues with a story of how the druids casted spells to hold the rocks back from falling on the town. If we can find the druids to cancel the spell, the rocks will crush the goblins. Then I ask if she could guide us to the druids?
There are two ways to get there, by land or by sea, Faylen adds. Land would take a long time, and sea would be a day. We must get a boat, though. Brute plans to take a few sneaky ones, like Ohm Uri Boomtuck and Faylen, past the goblin guards and float away with a boat. Seems too easy.
Kull, Trevor and I wait in the rain by a little lagoon for the others to get the boat. I thought this could be a good time to talk to Trevor about us. So I clear my head, prepare mentally, get ready to start with a big question, walk towards Trevor, and he vanishes. If I could curse! I try my whisper, no answer. I call out to Trevor, still no answer. Did something happen to him? I detect magic and get a faint glimmer. Was it foul magic? Then I see something written in the mud, but cannot tell what it is. Next, I feel a tap on my shoulder, Instinct gave in, so I swing round with my mace and into thin air, for I see nothing there. Then I hear Trevor's voice saying it's me. I say, "You told me that you didn't know invisibility. And now you do. Why? I could have hurt you." He replies, "I found another ring in the folds, but I cannot get it off." Kull remarks "You should not use magic if it is unknown." Trevor replies basically, that he takes chances. Then says he will go and help the others. And it is quiet. I call out to him, and no answer. He just left. Or I think so. Sometimes, he makes me so upset. If I could curse. I could have hit him, and I wanted to ask him my questions, but now, I really want - stop.
I wait with Kull in silence. I close my eyes to focus on hearing. Nothing but the rain. What seems like hours, Kull then states "They are here." I see the ship materialize from the fog. It seems all too easy.
I find Trevor...
I ask him to remove it. Now he says that since he is dry he might be able. And he tries and says it is still stuck. I say, "Put your hand out. I will touch you." I didn't want him reaching out to touch me - anywhere. I put my fingers on the ring and gently pull. It easily slips off. What is he talking about it being stuck? Once I have it, I move to keep it for a "piece of mind." And Faylen agrees with me, we do not want him snooping around and not respecting our privacy. But Kull and Ohm Uri side with Trevor. Reluctantly, I give the ring back. This is not over yet.
Brute's patience runs out. We load our gear in the boat and Boomtuck stays behind with the cart and horses.
I look back at Boomtuck, as we slip out into the night. Kull has stated a number of times that he does not like water. He hugs the mast. I find a place in the front, and hunker down. Slipping through states of consciousness in the night, I lean my head over the boat. I see little glowing or flashing things occasionally. This water world is most strange. Is it real, or am I imaging? I look up and see the night sky. Somehow, young Faylen is able to guide the boat. We all trust her.
We travel all night and it is morning now. No land in sight. I did not mind. The wind is blowing steady and stronger now, and the boat has picked up speed. Sailing is wonderful. I like the front. The wind in my face, my hair blowing back, the sound of the water against the wooden planks, and the spray as the boat goes up and down plowing through the waves, these are treasures of the adventure. These cannot be bought with coin, they must be experienced. I move to sit with my legs dangling over the side and look into an endlessness of the water depths. Every so often I see a slice of silver flash as a fish swims past. This is the free spirit - the wayward traveler. My mind wonders of other seas to travel.
Trevor joins me in the front of the boat, and I point out the wave patterns on the water and the silver flashes of fish. I show him where the water appears darker the wind is stronger, because it adds to the ripples. Trevor mentions the fish, and Ohm Uri soon has six and we all have a meal. I ask for some wine, Rose I say. The ride seems a little bit more refreshed. But, I am still upset about the ring business.
We continue until about mid day. So quickly it happens. My intentions are instinctive. Ohm Uri sees land and in his excitement, climbs the mast of this thin boat. The boat leans and we over compensate, sending the boat over to the other side. I see water coming over the gunwales and Trevor and Brute loose their grip. Kull grabs Trevor. I manage to have a solid grip on the ore handle and with my free hand reach out and grab Brute. I under estimate how much the boat leans and Brute hangs free. All of Brute's mass is put on my small frame. I will always remember the pop sound when the handle just slips right through my fingers. I sail overboard into the clear greenish water trailing Brute.
With my earlier fascination with the water, I did not think I would be this intimate with it. The water is cold at the initial shock, but now, it feels warmer. Brute, always so kind to me, tells me to grab his shoulders, and to hang on. He started to swim after the boat. Now I can swim, although I am not the best, but Brute, with the reflexes of a savanna cat, grabs a tossed rope, and pulls us closer to the boat under sail. Water is spraying everywhere, that I must turn my head so I can breath. Once we are close to the boat, his free hand pushes me up and Trevor, who is looking rather smug, pulls me into the boat. Now I realize, I am in my rather fine dress soaking wet, and it is clinging to my body, revealing my form a bit more than I'd like. I look at the rest of the men, they are staring at me, mouths open, and I am over my comfort level. Faylen is laughing hysterically. Once Brute is back, he is quick to have the rest turn their heads, so I wrap up in a blanket.
Trevor offers to use his conjuring to dry my clothes, but I cannot take that. First, he tricks me into touching his hand when I took off the ring, and now, he wants to press dry my clinging wet dress with his magic. I know he can sense the touch when he uses that spell, and the thought of him wanting to do that when I am vulnerable - I expected more from him. I simply say, "I just want to be alone." I huddled in my blanket, teeth chattering, lips blue, trying to close out the wind...
The boat lands and I am somewhat dryer, now. We make our way inland, and we hear birds chirping, but also see them up close, and deer came right up to us. They are tame. Then it gets quiet, too quiet.
I call out "We come to seek the aid of the druids. We want to speak, to parley." Out comes this man, right from the wood. I introduce myself, "I am Katherine, of the Temple of the Light, and we seek aid. This is Kull, and Ohm Uri, and..." "The amazing Trevor," Trevor adds. And I continue with "... and this is Brute." This man interjects, "The Great Brute? The one that has killed multiple minotaurs in a single battle..." He continues with the stories, of killing and such, most seemed a bit too unbelievable. I zone out. Finally, he introduces himself as Daymond. And he agrees to help, if his friends come along: a wolf, a weasel, and a bird.
We pile back into the boat and Ohm Uri has an idea to rig the sail so it catches the wind, but will pull the boat into the wind. Maybe Trevor is correct in knowing Ohm Uri is a magic user, for this does seem like magic: to make the boat move into the wind with the sail. We all agree to let him try. Brute pushes off and we move about in a huge half circle, heading right back to the beach! Brute has enough of this. We row. The trip back takes longer.
The weasel, one of the druid's friends, curls up around my leg. I ask if I can touch the wolf, but Daymond advises against it. The wolf routinely growls at Trevor. Good girl, I'm thinking. Maybe it senses that "cursed" ring.
Under the cover of the Daymond's fog conjuration, we make it safely back to the lagoon where Boomtuck is waiting. Wasting no time, the druid knows where to go. We all make it up to a part of the cliff away from the town and the rock fall. But the last of the trip is a shear 100 foot climb. Only Daymond, Kull and Brute will climb it. I turn to Brute and Trevor, and ask about the people down in the town. They will get crushed too, I add. Both assure me they would have been killed already. I look at the amount of rocks being held back. I did not protest this idea before, as I did not fully comprehend the magnitude. The creatures in the town will be crushed beyond being recognized. I again move to protest, but the druid is out of site and Brute is half way up. I can only wait for the job to complete.
Then I hear Kull shouting and making a ruckus. He is challenging the goblins and their king. Then everyone must hear the rocks. I get sick, knowing the deaths of possible humans may be near. Deafening is not enough to describe it. The ground shook underneath my feet, so much I am almost knocked down. My heart felt the power and force released. The dry dust rose so thick that I cannot see the top of the cliff. I hear only a ringing sound. Then, Instinct kicked in again as I see Kull lowered by rope through the dust, and as I thought Kull must be near death. He is bleeding bad from his shoulder, his arm is limp. I call the Light to aid him, and reach into the pool of energy I have and put my hands on his wounds. Then I feel it like flood. A strong pure surge of Divine goodness flows through me. My eyes are shut, yet, I see beyond the stars. I feel a bliss. I open my eyes and see red blood seeping through my fingers, contrasting against the blueish light from the cure. I sense under my hands, the mess of flesh and muscle form and join where it was torn and cut, veins and tissue reattach to make whole. The worst of the wound heals.
Instinct gives way back to Death being so close and great. I melt out of myself. I see dust hanging in the air, and I see myself kneeling over Kull, my hands and clothes stained with blood. I see Brute say something, but cannot hear anything. Then a darkness envelopes me, as I comprehend the magnitude of the destruction...
(Entry 43 will continue)
Chronicles of the Amazing Trevor: Chapter Nine (The Fall of Cliffside)
In which our hero goes very much incognito, experiences a vision, and helps an army get stoned....
The wine was delightful but I longed to bring something far more heady to my lips. The cool breeze lifted Katherine's long golden tresses and sent them flowing. Entranced, I simply enjoyed the moment. I relaxed there in the meadow not far from the road from Adan, cup in hand, and made no plans. We chatted, Katherine and I, finally together for a short while. But then it was time for the company to continue its journey.
After a few days we reached the small traveler's rest at the crossroads where we would again turn north for the long-dreaded encounter with the goblins. To my surprise it was actually quite crowded. Instead of a modest selection of motley travelers and scruffy locals there were several dozen people of all ages. We soon learned that they were all refugees fleeing the goblins.
But for some reason they were preternaturally drawn to Brute. Indeed they treated him as though he was some sort of celebrity. Small children crowded around and marveled at him. Grown men asked in tones of awe about his defeating a minotaur, and vanquishing a cyclops, and ridding the world of three witches, and similar nonsense. Several young women stood off to one side and ogled him unabashedly. Granted, for them our Brute was likely a cut above what they were used to, despite his extraordinary lineage. But it was still all a bit odd.
The refugees generally looked as if they'd been dragged through the mud behind a wagon for a mile after escaping from a leper colony. They were bruised, bandaged, filthy, scabby, and also filthy. You would think they'd have noticed there was a river nearby. Suddenly one of the women advanced on me with dubious intentions. My earlier peevishness at seeing Brute getting all the attention vanished in an instant. She approached and began pawing at my new garments with grimy hands, mumbling something or other. Who was this woman? Some rustic relation of Veronica's? "Madam, unhand me" I gasped. "I say, steady on! There is a well over there, please make use of it promptly." She retreated. With a few deft arcane movements I restored the dignity of my new velvets, then moved off smartly and rejoined the others. Honestly, one must have some standards.
Pooling the bits of information we'd heard around the place we ascertained that the goblin army had actually conquered the town of Cliffside up north. The name was vaguely familiar from my early days with the carnival. But I remembered little beyond the massive cliff looming directly behind the town and a large lake just in front of it. There were wild rumors of fearsome "man-beasts" created by attaching the severed heads of animals to the bodies of decapitated humans. One wretched specimen even described them as "avatars of the Lords of Chaos". This was most unwelcome news if news it was. Marching straight into the face of certain violence was a madcap venture at the best of times but this apparently involved demonic monstrosities. Brute, predictably, was keen to get cracking so we set off again on the north road.
We passed the charred ruins of several farmsteads and the ravaged village where we'd battled goblins only a few days earlier and camped as night was falling. Katherine and I were on the first watch so that we would have sufficient uninterrupted sleep to be able to ply our arcane talents on the morrow. I was looking forward to having some quiet time with my K, but not long after the others had finally fallen asleep we heard movement in the woods--something was approaching. We woke the others but the intruder turned out to be our acquaintance the young woods-woman Faylan.
She stumbled rather than walked into our camp, her already obviously-homemade clothing was torn and stained with her own blood. The young rustic had several wounds but the worst was from a horrible deep stab. We made her comfortable as best we could. K called upon the Light and Faylan's injuries were well restored. Although exhausted she was keen to relate her recent misadventures. Faylan explained that she and her dog had gone to scout out the situation at Cliffside. She found "tons and tons" of goblins and also at least four of the foul animal-headed monstrosities we'd been warned about earlier. Unfortunately she was spotted and attacked by goblins. Faylan herself barely escaped with her life, but her dog was not so fortunate. I vaguely remembered her canine companion from the cave. If memory serves it was part mutt, part mongrel, and part mange. Well, at least now we were spared the unenviable possibility of having to eat it if we were stranded somewhere without supplies.
But as she related the scene at Cliffside additional memories from my long-ago visit surfaced. The massive eponymous cliff towered some 300 feet, looming directly over the prosperous town. At some time in the past falling rocks from above became a serious threat and the townspeople entreated some druids for help. The druids from a nearby place known simply as The Grove agreed to help on condition that the grove and its environs be unmolested ever after. The people of Cliffside agreed and the druids placed a set of enchanted stone menhirs atop the cliff to stabilize it. The blue glow from the menhirs could be seen from all around Cliffside thereafter.
That led us to The Plan: find the druids, get them to disenchant the menhirs, and let the ancient cliff collapse onto the army of chaos below! Faylan wasn't entirely sure where The Grove was, but she thought it was across the wide lake from Cliffside. We debated finding a boat or making our way through the woods with wagon and horses. Since the goblin army might depart at any time the boat trip would be shorter.
Brute, Faylan, Uhmri, and Boomtock went ahead to scout. Waiting back with the Katherine and Kull, I absent-mindedly played with the small horde of magic rings in my pouch. They were each a treasure but the embroidered silk and velvet pouch from the witch's secret mirror room was also a fine piece in its own right. The construction was as elegant as it was complex, with small interior pockets and many deep folds in which to...hmm, it seemed there was something tucked into another corner fold. A few moments fiddling and yet another mystery ring emerged from the interior. Given that all the other rings (by the gods that woman was fond of rings) bore weirding this one likely did as well. After a moment's inspection I decided that boldness should be my policy and slid it on.
My companions stood nearby chatting but suddenly they and everything around us turned blurry shades of grey and lavender. At first I wasn't sure what was happening. Was I in a shadow realm or some aetherial phase? Sounds were muffled and wavered in tone and intensity. Then my companions looked over at me and looks of concern appeared on their faces. Then I smiled. They were unable to see me. My dream as an illusionologist was one day to achieve this: invisibility! Well, actually it was the ring rather than my own skills but still the feeling was glorious. I enjoyed teasing them for a bit but then revealed all by taking the ring off.
But no. It wouldn't come off. Well, this was a most unwelcome discovery. Damn. Damn. DAMN! I knew it! Eventually we would come across some fascinating item planted by the witch with a curse on it to punish transgressors. I paused for a moment and looked out at the lake, now all muted greys and purples shifting and wavering amidst the quiet hushed sound of the rain falling. Drops of water beaded on the edge of my hat and dripped down. Was this to be my future? Stranded in this realm of neither-here-nor-there? I yanked frantically at the cursed shackle on my finger imprisoning me here but to no avail. Well, I thought, might as well make the best of an odd situation until something turns up. I left Katherine and Kull waiting by the wagon and caught up with with the others near town.
Our mission was to secure maritime transport at the docks. The town came more into view and we could see now that it had indeed fallen. The buildings were mostly burned and goblins were camped all throughout the ruins. Huge pyres of corpses burned in the main square. Nearer the outskirts were wooden frames with headless bodies nailed to them. It was hideous but at least we knew for sure that the army was still here and apparently planned to stay a while longer.
We made our way over to the docks and I took advantage of my "condition" to slip over to untie one of the boats. Getting to one of the larger boats was easy, but a small group of goblins was hanging about and not far away the monstrosity was inspecting another group. Then one of the nasty little swine in the nearer group began mocking the monster with pantomimed gestures while its back was turned. I quickly used a bit of the old ghost sound to make a rude noise in his vicinity. The stag-headed thing swung round and caught him in mid-caper. It crossed over more swiftly than I expected, spitted his victim on his spear, and tossed the body out into the lake. The toss was nothing to it; it could easily do the same to me if I was discovered.
Quietly I drew my dagger and began slicing carefully at the thick rope securing the boat to the dock. I hoped to make it look as if the rope parted accidentally. The dagger wasn't the sharpest and I began sawing harder. Then the monster turned towards me and began sniffing. I froze, holding my breath. It was close now and there was little else here to cover my scent. The thing looked as much dead as alive. Its stag's head looked like it had been cauterized onto the body of a human man. The head and body were both covered in pustules as though it had the plague. A vile, malodorous ooze leaked from the pustules, occasionally falling in drops on the ground. Flies surrounded it, drawn perhaps by the stench.
I had to do something quickly. There were a couple barrels piled nearby on the dock. I used a deft bit of prestidigitation to bump them together, hoping for a distraction. It peered over, unsure. I glanced around but did not see any other opportunity for a distraction. Any further magic would require me to speak, giving away my presence. To my great relief it sniffed a bit more and then plodded back down the dock.
Quickly I finished cutting the rope and boarded carefully. The boat drifted out and Uhmri swam up quietly to join me. The goblins were confused but did not raise an alarm. We had done it. Night was falling and we maneuvered away and beached it back near our companions. I was still invisible and at night it was difficult to see with the odd arcane effects of the spell. We discussed the situation and then Katherine asked to try removing it, hoping a combination of her innate magic and The Light might do the trick. Also the rain had stopped, which I felt might help. I put my hand in hers, so soft and delicate. She found the ring--and it came off my finger straight away. The world returned to normal.
But then Katherine decided that the ring would be better off in her possession! This was unacceptable! I was the master illusionologist here so who better to make use of the power of invisibility. Yes, there was the awkwardness of how to remove it but I was sure there was some trick to it which would become apparent with time. After a bit of discussion, Kull and Uhmri joined me in persuading her to give it back. I placed it back in the pouch with great care. Katherine, however, was not happy with that outcome. I hoped that her new foray into the arcane arts was not going to her head and making her a rival for every magic curio we came across. Her skills were quite good for a beginner, but some things are best left to the professionals.
With that resolved, at least temporarily, we boarded the boat and set sail into the dark with Faylan at the helm. Kull was not at all happy with our mode of transport. The poor fellow was clearly terrified and clung to the mast with quiet desperation. Frankly, this was my first time on a proper sailing vessel as well and it took a bit of getting used to. I offered him one of my bottles of wine but he decided against it. Later he downed an entire keg of ale and slept for a while. I spent some time with Katherine in the bow enjoying the ride. Uhmri reconnected with his roots as a fisherman and caught half a dozen lovely fish for dinner.
We sailed on into the next day and about midday Uhmri sighted land. Excited, he climbed the mast for a better look. Alas the boat was much too small for such a maneuver. His weight caused the boat to lurch precariously to one side. We all scrambled to counter but Katherine and I were flung over the gunwales. The mighty Kull snatched me from certain doom and hauled me back aboard. Brute just managed a grip on Katherine's wrist but she slipped from his grasp and went in. Quick as a flash Brute dived in and brought her back. We were all most relieved to see our K back safely. Once again our two odd-fellows had proved their worth as members of the company.
But then things became rather awkward. Katherine had earlier stopped wearing armor, due to its deleterious effects on her magic, and today had on a fetching white dress. Alas, white linen dresses cling closely to the figure and become almost transparent when wet. We members of the male persuasion were momentarily transfixed by the vision before us. Even wet her hair shone like a river of gold and she glistened like a fey princess. A bit of spray shot up behind her and a rainbow appeared briefly in it as if to confirm the presence of the divine. And the thin fabric clinging to her breasts left no doubt that...suddenly Brute handed her a blanket and the moment passed. I offered to magically whisk away the dampness so she would not catch a cold but she preferred to hunch in her blanket. Apparently she was still sulking over the affair with the ring.
The rest of the voyage and hike through the woods to The Grove were uneventful. This bit of woods was clearly a magical place and we met a druid by the name of Damian. Oddly, even here in the middle of nowhere he had heard the same astonishing rumors about Brute's legendary exploits. It did not seem in Brute's nature to spread rumors about himself but the string of feats of valor attributed to him seemed to be everywhere. The druid then proceeded to ignore everyone in the party except the allegedly heroic odd-fellow. The sylvan codger insisted on bringing a small menagerie with him which consisted of a raven, a weasel, and a wolf. The scruffy canine stared at me intently the entire voyage back for no apparent reason. It was quite disconcerting. I considered asking Uhmri to make me a pair of gloves out of it.
We sailed back across the lake and landed near the docks while it was still light. The next step in The Plan was to ascend the massive cliff but in broad daylight we were sure to be spotted. Then the druid stepped forward and began a sort of belch. I wasn't sure what he was up to at first. I thought perhaps he wanted to challenge his hero Brute to a contest of rude bodily noises. And indeed he launched into a series of noises and abdominal movements apparently learned from watching an asthmatic moose give birth. But after a few moments wisps of vapor emerged from his distorted visage. The vapor rapidly thickened into a dense fog. The fellow kept at it and the fog poured from him in prodigious quantities. In a surprisingly short time the entire town under the cliff was smothered in an impressive fog bank. Well done old chap, I thought. I now consider it a feat which my magical skills must emulate at some point in the future--albeit in an appropriately refined style.
The climb was perilous but when we arrived near the mass of magically-restrained boulders at the top the view was magnificent. The fog had dissipated, revealing the town laid out below us and the vast lake sparkling beyond. Lovely green forests stretched for miles in all direction. But it was also clear that the town was devastated and we saw no sign of surviving townspeople.
The druid prepared to remove the enchantment from the set of menhirs holding back untold tons of loose rock dislodged over the years. We could see the goblin encampments in the ruins and there was no sign of alarm. But then Kull decided that we should make sure that the enemy was gathered to receive our blow. Brute tied a rope around his waist for safety and he clambered onto the mass of rock which would soon fall. Raising his axes in heroic fashion he issued a deep roar of challenge which rolled out across the town. The goblins and monstrosities poured out from their hiding places to gawk in surprise, a sea of hideous faces upturned. As they pointed and chattered the druid completed his ritual and the runes on the menhirs ceased to glow. The mass of stones shifted and groaned slightly, then descended in a torrent of death. Kull swung down on the rope. He was bruised and somewhat battered but elated. His ploy had worked perfectly! I gladly handed him my last bottle of wine and he celebrated with it above the drifting clouds of dust.
The wine was delightful but I longed to bring something far more heady to my lips. The cool breeze lifted Katherine's long golden tresses and sent them flowing. Entranced, I simply enjoyed the moment. I relaxed there in the meadow not far from the road from Adan, cup in hand, and made no plans. We chatted, Katherine and I, finally together for a short while. But then it was time for the company to continue its journey.
After a few days we reached the small traveler's rest at the crossroads where we would again turn north for the long-dreaded encounter with the goblins. To my surprise it was actually quite crowded. Instead of a modest selection of motley travelers and scruffy locals there were several dozen people of all ages. We soon learned that they were all refugees fleeing the goblins.
But for some reason they were preternaturally drawn to Brute. Indeed they treated him as though he was some sort of celebrity. Small children crowded around and marveled at him. Grown men asked in tones of awe about his defeating a minotaur, and vanquishing a cyclops, and ridding the world of three witches, and similar nonsense. Several young women stood off to one side and ogled him unabashedly. Granted, for them our Brute was likely a cut above what they were used to, despite his extraordinary lineage. But it was still all a bit odd.
The refugees generally looked as if they'd been dragged through the mud behind a wagon for a mile after escaping from a leper colony. They were bruised, bandaged, filthy, scabby, and also filthy. You would think they'd have noticed there was a river nearby. Suddenly one of the women advanced on me with dubious intentions. My earlier peevishness at seeing Brute getting all the attention vanished in an instant. She approached and began pawing at my new garments with grimy hands, mumbling something or other. Who was this woman? Some rustic relation of Veronica's? "Madam, unhand me" I gasped. "I say, steady on! There is a well over there, please make use of it promptly." She retreated. With a few deft arcane movements I restored the dignity of my new velvets, then moved off smartly and rejoined the others. Honestly, one must have some standards.
Pooling the bits of information we'd heard around the place we ascertained that the goblin army had actually conquered the town of Cliffside up north. The name was vaguely familiar from my early days with the carnival. But I remembered little beyond the massive cliff looming directly behind the town and a large lake just in front of it. There were wild rumors of fearsome "man-beasts" created by attaching the severed heads of animals to the bodies of decapitated humans. One wretched specimen even described them as "avatars of the Lords of Chaos". This was most unwelcome news if news it was. Marching straight into the face of certain violence was a madcap venture at the best of times but this apparently involved demonic monstrosities. Brute, predictably, was keen to get cracking so we set off again on the north road.
We passed the charred ruins of several farmsteads and the ravaged village where we'd battled goblins only a few days earlier and camped as night was falling. Katherine and I were on the first watch so that we would have sufficient uninterrupted sleep to be able to ply our arcane talents on the morrow. I was looking forward to having some quiet time with my K, but not long after the others had finally fallen asleep we heard movement in the woods--something was approaching. We woke the others but the intruder turned out to be our acquaintance the young woods-woman Faylan.
She stumbled rather than walked into our camp, her already obviously-homemade clothing was torn and stained with her own blood. The young rustic had several wounds but the worst was from a horrible deep stab. We made her comfortable as best we could. K called upon the Light and Faylan's injuries were well restored. Although exhausted she was keen to relate her recent misadventures. Faylan explained that she and her dog had gone to scout out the situation at Cliffside. She found "tons and tons" of goblins and also at least four of the foul animal-headed monstrosities we'd been warned about earlier. Unfortunately she was spotted and attacked by goblins. Faylan herself barely escaped with her life, but her dog was not so fortunate. I vaguely remembered her canine companion from the cave. If memory serves it was part mutt, part mongrel, and part mange. Well, at least now we were spared the unenviable possibility of having to eat it if we were stranded somewhere without supplies.
But as she related the scene at Cliffside additional memories from my long-ago visit surfaced. The massive eponymous cliff towered some 300 feet, looming directly over the prosperous town. At some time in the past falling rocks from above became a serious threat and the townspeople entreated some druids for help. The druids from a nearby place known simply as The Grove agreed to help on condition that the grove and its environs be unmolested ever after. The people of Cliffside agreed and the druids placed a set of enchanted stone menhirs atop the cliff to stabilize it. The blue glow from the menhirs could be seen from all around Cliffside thereafter.
That led us to The Plan: find the druids, get them to disenchant the menhirs, and let the ancient cliff collapse onto the army of chaos below! Faylan wasn't entirely sure where The Grove was, but she thought it was across the wide lake from Cliffside. We debated finding a boat or making our way through the woods with wagon and horses. Since the goblin army might depart at any time the boat trip would be shorter.
Brute, Faylan, Uhmri, and Boomtock went ahead to scout. Waiting back with the Katherine and Kull, I absent-mindedly played with the small horde of magic rings in my pouch. They were each a treasure but the embroidered silk and velvet pouch from the witch's secret mirror room was also a fine piece in its own right. The construction was as elegant as it was complex, with small interior pockets and many deep folds in which to...hmm, it seemed there was something tucked into another corner fold. A few moments fiddling and yet another mystery ring emerged from the interior. Given that all the other rings (by the gods that woman was fond of rings) bore weirding this one likely did as well. After a moment's inspection I decided that boldness should be my policy and slid it on.
My companions stood nearby chatting but suddenly they and everything around us turned blurry shades of grey and lavender. At first I wasn't sure what was happening. Was I in a shadow realm or some aetherial phase? Sounds were muffled and wavered in tone and intensity. Then my companions looked over at me and looks of concern appeared on their faces. Then I smiled. They were unable to see me. My dream as an illusionologist was one day to achieve this: invisibility! Well, actually it was the ring rather than my own skills but still the feeling was glorious. I enjoyed teasing them for a bit but then revealed all by taking the ring off.
But no. It wouldn't come off. Well, this was a most unwelcome discovery. Damn. Damn. DAMN! I knew it! Eventually we would come across some fascinating item planted by the witch with a curse on it to punish transgressors. I paused for a moment and looked out at the lake, now all muted greys and purples shifting and wavering amidst the quiet hushed sound of the rain falling. Drops of water beaded on the edge of my hat and dripped down. Was this to be my future? Stranded in this realm of neither-here-nor-there? I yanked frantically at the cursed shackle on my finger imprisoning me here but to no avail. Well, I thought, might as well make the best of an odd situation until something turns up. I left Katherine and Kull waiting by the wagon and caught up with with the others near town.
Our mission was to secure maritime transport at the docks. The town came more into view and we could see now that it had indeed fallen. The buildings were mostly burned and goblins were camped all throughout the ruins. Huge pyres of corpses burned in the main square. Nearer the outskirts were wooden frames with headless bodies nailed to them. It was hideous but at least we knew for sure that the army was still here and apparently planned to stay a while longer.
We made our way over to the docks and I took advantage of my "condition" to slip over to untie one of the boats. Getting to one of the larger boats was easy, but a small group of goblins was hanging about and not far away the monstrosity was inspecting another group. Then one of the nasty little swine in the nearer group began mocking the monster with pantomimed gestures while its back was turned. I quickly used a bit of the old ghost sound to make a rude noise in his vicinity. The stag-headed thing swung round and caught him in mid-caper. It crossed over more swiftly than I expected, spitted his victim on his spear, and tossed the body out into the lake. The toss was nothing to it; it could easily do the same to me if I was discovered.
Quietly I drew my dagger and began slicing carefully at the thick rope securing the boat to the dock. I hoped to make it look as if the rope parted accidentally. The dagger wasn't the sharpest and I began sawing harder. Then the monster turned towards me and began sniffing. I froze, holding my breath. It was close now and there was little else here to cover my scent. The thing looked as much dead as alive. Its stag's head looked like it had been cauterized onto the body of a human man. The head and body were both covered in pustules as though it had the plague. A vile, malodorous ooze leaked from the pustules, occasionally falling in drops on the ground. Flies surrounded it, drawn perhaps by the stench.
I had to do something quickly. There were a couple barrels piled nearby on the dock. I used a deft bit of prestidigitation to bump them together, hoping for a distraction. It peered over, unsure. I glanced around but did not see any other opportunity for a distraction. Any further magic would require me to speak, giving away my presence. To my great relief it sniffed a bit more and then plodded back down the dock.
Quickly I finished cutting the rope and boarded carefully. The boat drifted out and Uhmri swam up quietly to join me. The goblins were confused but did not raise an alarm. We had done it. Night was falling and we maneuvered away and beached it back near our companions. I was still invisible and at night it was difficult to see with the odd arcane effects of the spell. We discussed the situation and then Katherine asked to try removing it, hoping a combination of her innate magic and The Light might do the trick. Also the rain had stopped, which I felt might help. I put my hand in hers, so soft and delicate. She found the ring--and it came off my finger straight away. The world returned to normal.
 |
| Trevor Sees the Light (internet pic, not mine) |
With that resolved, at least temporarily, we boarded the boat and set sail into the dark with Faylan at the helm. Kull was not at all happy with our mode of transport. The poor fellow was clearly terrified and clung to the mast with quiet desperation. Frankly, this was my first time on a proper sailing vessel as well and it took a bit of getting used to. I offered him one of my bottles of wine but he decided against it. Later he downed an entire keg of ale and slept for a while. I spent some time with Katherine in the bow enjoying the ride. Uhmri reconnected with his roots as a fisherman and caught half a dozen lovely fish for dinner.
We sailed on into the next day and about midday Uhmri sighted land. Excited, he climbed the mast for a better look. Alas the boat was much too small for such a maneuver. His weight caused the boat to lurch precariously to one side. We all scrambled to counter but Katherine and I were flung over the gunwales. The mighty Kull snatched me from certain doom and hauled me back aboard. Brute just managed a grip on Katherine's wrist but she slipped from his grasp and went in. Quick as a flash Brute dived in and brought her back. We were all most relieved to see our K back safely. Once again our two odd-fellows had proved their worth as members of the company.
But then things became rather awkward. Katherine had earlier stopped wearing armor, due to its deleterious effects on her magic, and today had on a fetching white dress. Alas, white linen dresses cling closely to the figure and become almost transparent when wet. We members of the male persuasion were momentarily transfixed by the vision before us. Even wet her hair shone like a river of gold and she glistened like a fey princess. A bit of spray shot up behind her and a rainbow appeared briefly in it as if to confirm the presence of the divine. And the thin fabric clinging to her breasts left no doubt that...suddenly Brute handed her a blanket and the moment passed. I offered to magically whisk away the dampness so she would not catch a cold but she preferred to hunch in her blanket. Apparently she was still sulking over the affair with the ring.
The rest of the voyage and hike through the woods to The Grove were uneventful. This bit of woods was clearly a magical place and we met a druid by the name of Damian. Oddly, even here in the middle of nowhere he had heard the same astonishing rumors about Brute's legendary exploits. It did not seem in Brute's nature to spread rumors about himself but the string of feats of valor attributed to him seemed to be everywhere. The druid then proceeded to ignore everyone in the party except the allegedly heroic odd-fellow. The sylvan codger insisted on bringing a small menagerie with him which consisted of a raven, a weasel, and a wolf. The scruffy canine stared at me intently the entire voyage back for no apparent reason. It was quite disconcerting. I considered asking Uhmri to make me a pair of gloves out of it.
We sailed back across the lake and landed near the docks while it was still light. The next step in The Plan was to ascend the massive cliff but in broad daylight we were sure to be spotted. Then the druid stepped forward and began a sort of belch. I wasn't sure what he was up to at first. I thought perhaps he wanted to challenge his hero Brute to a contest of rude bodily noises. And indeed he launched into a series of noises and abdominal movements apparently learned from watching an asthmatic moose give birth. But after a few moments wisps of vapor emerged from his distorted visage. The vapor rapidly thickened into a dense fog. The fellow kept at it and the fog poured from him in prodigious quantities. In a surprisingly short time the entire town under the cliff was smothered in an impressive fog bank. Well done old chap, I thought. I now consider it a feat which my magical skills must emulate at some point in the future--albeit in an appropriately refined style.
The climb was perilous but when we arrived near the mass of magically-restrained boulders at the top the view was magnificent. The fog had dissipated, revealing the town laid out below us and the vast lake sparkling beyond. Lovely green forests stretched for miles in all direction. But it was also clear that the town was devastated and we saw no sign of surviving townspeople.
The druid prepared to remove the enchantment from the set of menhirs holding back untold tons of loose rock dislodged over the years. We could see the goblin encampments in the ruins and there was no sign of alarm. But then Kull decided that we should make sure that the enemy was gathered to receive our blow. Brute tied a rope around his waist for safety and he clambered onto the mass of rock which would soon fall. Raising his axes in heroic fashion he issued a deep roar of challenge which rolled out across the town. The goblins and monstrosities poured out from their hiding places to gawk in surprise, a sea of hideous faces upturned. As they pointed and chattered the druid completed his ritual and the runes on the menhirs ceased to glow. The mass of stones shifted and groaned slightly, then descended in a torrent of death. Kull swung down on the rope. He was bruised and somewhat battered but elated. His ploy had worked perfectly! I gladly handed him my last bottle of wine and he celebrated with it above the drifting clouds of dust.
Saturday, November 30, 2013
New: Tug's Letters Home
I'm currently playing in two games and running a third. One of the games I'm playing in is my friend Kaiser's Castles & Crusades game, write-ups of which appear here in the Chronicles of the Amazing Trevor and the Journal of Katherine. The other game is my friend Steve's Pathfinder-based game. I haven't been writing that one up, mostly because there are so few sessions per year. However, my friend Kirk (who is also in both of the aforementioned campaigns, the C&C one as Katherine) has begun write-ups of Steve's game done as letters home by his character Tug, the oracle.
Dear Papa,
I traveled to this large city, called Tower Rock. When I arrived, everyone was talking about the "giant slayers". I found an inn, a reputable inn called The Leaping Shark, where I will stay while I inquire at the temples here. I could only afford a meager bed in the common room. Betsy, my riding horse, is fine in the stables. I'll put away my writing instruments and go down stairs to the eating room and see if I can find any information about the giant slayers.
Dear Papa,
I must add to the note before I send it, I met the giant slayers!! They are an interesting lot. They all seem to be older than me. Let me describe them:
An outspoken man, Pierce, has suggested that I spar with him, since after we met, that I told them of how you taught me to use the sword and shield. He also invited me to join in with them on the next outing. That will be fun. However I also mentioned of the healing I performed. And that of my injury to my leg. Tam'Rash has a breastplate and a great axe. He is half man and half orc. Laura is an elf, about the same size as me. She works in this inn. Elarsil is a tall elf with dark brown hair and has leather armor and carries a long bow. Bren Hightower is very tall, and he carries a long sword. Karista is a halfling with very red hair. Joe, is similar to me, as he is average, but doesn't walk with a limp. And Luriana, a young half sea-elf, carrying a crossbow, mace, and many herbs.
Then, at one point the mayor of the town comes into the inn and starts talking with the giant slayers. The next thing I know, he is giving coins to them for their work. And then offers a job for them to map a city tower. Since I already had parchment and ink and pen, I offered my services to make a map. Can you believe it? These slayers have connections, to be able to talk with a mayor of this city!
I will sleep tonight knowing that the next days will be awe filled.
Dear Papa,
In anticipation of the afternoon sparing, I wanted to relax, and so, I search for the hospital and watch the healers work. What they do there is not what I would do for injured. This work is day after day caring for the sick and dying. I could do nothing but watch and learn of the healers.
Then my first and only sparring with Pierce, who really put my fighting skills to a test. This slayer was very hard to hit, for all my best efforts, I was not able to hit him. Before I knew, I was on the ground, rolling and dodging the next blow. I took a sharp blow, and I knew I was not going to last long. I dodged a little more and then conceeded. I have fought my last battle with men. I knew you would be upset but ever since my injury, I cannot fight. I am much more suited to heal. That is what I did next. After the matches, I healed the injured so they could fight in the next sparring. It came naturally to me, only this time, I didn't try to control it, it just came natual. Amazingly, the injured were healed very well.
Then there was a custom, called: "Blessing of the Harbor". Strange customs they have here.
Dear Papa
We completed the tower mapping. Placing the parchment on my shield, I was able to draw the tower map. Light was not an issue, as one of the group, made light from their herbs - this is a most strange crowd. Many traps existed, but since we had the keys, one was to disarm the traps, and the other was to open the doors, we simply used the keys and walked around. A few times we forgot to disarm the traps, and some felt the shock. I was also able to relieve their shock.
In the cellar of the tower, there was a woman, called Bearnia, held captive by shark people and we rescued her, but we had to battle the shark people first. We had the advantage, because we had time to plan an ambush, before they came back. It took a while to come to an agreement with what we could do. We set an ambush from equipment that we found at hand. We located ourselves at one end of the corridor, in a position to rain arrows and crossbow bolts at the intruders. It was bad for the shark people, for they were cut down fast. It is easy to see how these giant slayers dispatched the giants so easily. Last to be defeated was a large fellow, if one could call a half man- half shark a fellow, that seemed to be telling us something, but we could not understand. Once we got to the woman, she said she knew of more places where shark people were hiding.
In an upper part of the tower, we were attacked by blood sucking huge stirgens. I got hit by one and do they hurt. They stick on and suck blood, and their bodies swell, and eventually fall off and head back to where ever they came from. Our party was close to being killed by these monsters, if not for a quick coordination between Laura and me. Laura does the opposite of me, harming instead of healing. I have my reservations about this, but when it is put to good use, it does have benefits. This hurt the party, but also hurt the monster stirgens. Then just as she did hers, I reach deep inside of myself and blasted the healing from me as best as I could, but only into our party, not the stirgens.
That was enough to awaken most of our party, but there were some that required special attention. That was a close encounter with death for our group.
But not the last. For we had very little time to regroup, when we saw shadows, spirits from another world. Again, once more, I called upon the healing force and let it flow from me, healing us, and it seemed that this harmed these shadow spirits. We banished them from this place, but they are not far. We must revisit this with more powerful person than me or any one else in the slayers.
Anyway, I am so glad the slayers allowed me to come along on this excursion. I feel I helped in the mapping and with healing, when the group was really in trouble. I hope they will let me stay, as I may have found my place. I am not the fighter or guard you wanted me to be, Papa, but I know deep inside, I'm a healer.
Your son Tug.
Dear Papa,
I traveled to this large city, called Tower Rock. When I arrived, everyone was talking about the "giant slayers". I found an inn, a reputable inn called The Leaping Shark, where I will stay while I inquire at the temples here. I could only afford a meager bed in the common room. Betsy, my riding horse, is fine in the stables. I'll put away my writing instruments and go down stairs to the eating room and see if I can find any information about the giant slayers.
Dear Papa,
I must add to the note before I send it, I met the giant slayers!! They are an interesting lot. They all seem to be older than me. Let me describe them:
An outspoken man, Pierce, has suggested that I spar with him, since after we met, that I told them of how you taught me to use the sword and shield. He also invited me to join in with them on the next outing. That will be fun. However I also mentioned of the healing I performed. And that of my injury to my leg. Tam'Rash has a breastplate and a great axe. He is half man and half orc. Laura is an elf, about the same size as me. She works in this inn. Elarsil is a tall elf with dark brown hair and has leather armor and carries a long bow. Bren Hightower is very tall, and he carries a long sword. Karista is a halfling with very red hair. Joe, is similar to me, as he is average, but doesn't walk with a limp. And Luriana, a young half sea-elf, carrying a crossbow, mace, and many herbs.
Then, at one point the mayor of the town comes into the inn and starts talking with the giant slayers. The next thing I know, he is giving coins to them for their work. And then offers a job for them to map a city tower. Since I already had parchment and ink and pen, I offered my services to make a map. Can you believe it? These slayers have connections, to be able to talk with a mayor of this city!
I will sleep tonight knowing that the next days will be awe filled.
Dear Papa,
In anticipation of the afternoon sparing, I wanted to relax, and so, I search for the hospital and watch the healers work. What they do there is not what I would do for injured. This work is day after day caring for the sick and dying. I could do nothing but watch and learn of the healers.
Then my first and only sparring with Pierce, who really put my fighting skills to a test. This slayer was very hard to hit, for all my best efforts, I was not able to hit him. Before I knew, I was on the ground, rolling and dodging the next blow. I took a sharp blow, and I knew I was not going to last long. I dodged a little more and then conceeded. I have fought my last battle with men. I knew you would be upset but ever since my injury, I cannot fight. I am much more suited to heal. That is what I did next. After the matches, I healed the injured so they could fight in the next sparring. It came naturally to me, only this time, I didn't try to control it, it just came natual. Amazingly, the injured were healed very well.
Then there was a custom, called: "Blessing of the Harbor". Strange customs they have here.
Dear Papa
We completed the tower mapping. Placing the parchment on my shield, I was able to draw the tower map. Light was not an issue, as one of the group, made light from their herbs - this is a most strange crowd. Many traps existed, but since we had the keys, one was to disarm the traps, and the other was to open the doors, we simply used the keys and walked around. A few times we forgot to disarm the traps, and some felt the shock. I was also able to relieve their shock.
In the cellar of the tower, there was a woman, called Bearnia, held captive by shark people and we rescued her, but we had to battle the shark people first. We had the advantage, because we had time to plan an ambush, before they came back. It took a while to come to an agreement with what we could do. We set an ambush from equipment that we found at hand. We located ourselves at one end of the corridor, in a position to rain arrows and crossbow bolts at the intruders. It was bad for the shark people, for they were cut down fast. It is easy to see how these giant slayers dispatched the giants so easily. Last to be defeated was a large fellow, if one could call a half man- half shark a fellow, that seemed to be telling us something, but we could not understand. Once we got to the woman, she said she knew of more places where shark people were hiding.
In an upper part of the tower, we were attacked by blood sucking huge stirgens. I got hit by one and do they hurt. They stick on and suck blood, and their bodies swell, and eventually fall off and head back to where ever they came from. Our party was close to being killed by these monsters, if not for a quick coordination between Laura and me. Laura does the opposite of me, harming instead of healing. I have my reservations about this, but when it is put to good use, it does have benefits. This hurt the party, but also hurt the monster stirgens. Then just as she did hers, I reach deep inside of myself and blasted the healing from me as best as I could, but only into our party, not the stirgens.
That was enough to awaken most of our party, but there were some that required special attention. That was a close encounter with death for our group.
But not the last. For we had very little time to regroup, when we saw shadows, spirits from another world. Again, once more, I called upon the healing force and let it flow from me, healing us, and it seemed that this harmed these shadow spirits. We banished them from this place, but they are not far. We must revisit this with more powerful person than me or any one else in the slayers.
Anyway, I am so glad the slayers allowed me to come along on this excursion. I feel I helped in the mapping and with healing, when the group was really in trouble. I hope they will let me stay, as I may have found my place. I am not the fighter or guard you wanted me to be, Papa, but I know deep inside, I'm a healer.
Your son Tug.
Tuesday, November 19, 2013
My Advanced Class Guide Mashups for Pathfinder
Okay, so to follow up on my earlier review (pre-review?) of Paizo Publishing's upcoming Advanced Class Guide I thought I'd throw together a list of ten hybrid/mashup classes I'd like to see:
Avenger (ninja + paladin)
- a sort of paladin commando or holy ninja; first you sneak up on them invisible, then Backstab with Smite Evil; maybe looking like Storm Shadow from G.I. Joe.?
Hexguard (paladin + witch or paladin + oracle)
- obviously not suitable for all deities, but a nice alternative to plain-vanilla paladins; could also be a specialized type within certain paladin orders, like each company of paladins has one
White Monk (monk + paladin)
- yup, swiped the idea from Final Fantasy Tactics Advance; how about Stunning Fist with Smite Evil cast on it? White Monks use only hand/fist weapons like claw gauntlets, spiked gauntlets, cestus, etc.
Valkyrie (paladin + sorcerer/celestial bloodline)
- female-only angel-paladins; however, you move the Wings of Heaven bloodline power down to 5th level to replace the paladin's mount
Grenadier (alchemist + gunslinger)
- the new heavy assault version of the gunslinger
Hexblade (witch + magus)
- first you curse them, then you bring on the flaming sword
Hexbolt (witch + gunslinger)
- hexes, curses...and a bullet to the face
Arcane Brother/Arcane Sister (monk + sorcerer)
- this is from my earlier idea for an all martial arts gestalt campaign; check out some possible sorcerer combos at Righteous Cloud Temple.
Gun-Fu Master (gunslinger + ninja)
- Yup, just like in those Hong Kong action films; just swap out the shuriken for a pair of quad-barreled wheellock pistols and you're good to go.
Pokemaster (summoner + alchemist)
- in this mashup the alchemist's mutagen type abilities only work on her eidolon
Avenger (ninja + paladin)
- a sort of paladin commando or holy ninja; first you sneak up on them invisible, then Backstab with Smite Evil; maybe looking like Storm Shadow from G.I. Joe.?
Hexguard (paladin + witch or paladin + oracle)
- obviously not suitable for all deities, but a nice alternative to plain-vanilla paladins; could also be a specialized type within certain paladin orders, like each company of paladins has one
White Monk (monk + paladin)
- yup, swiped the idea from Final Fantasy Tactics Advance; how about Stunning Fist with Smite Evil cast on it? White Monks use only hand/fist weapons like claw gauntlets, spiked gauntlets, cestus, etc.
Valkyrie (paladin + sorcerer/celestial bloodline)
- female-only angel-paladins; however, you move the Wings of Heaven bloodline power down to 5th level to replace the paladin's mount
Grenadier (alchemist + gunslinger)
- the new heavy assault version of the gunslinger
Hexblade (witch + magus)
- first you curse them, then you bring on the flaming sword
Hexbolt (witch + gunslinger)
- hexes, curses...and a bullet to the face
Arcane Brother/Arcane Sister (monk + sorcerer)
- this is from my earlier idea for an all martial arts gestalt campaign; check out some possible sorcerer combos at Righteous Cloud Temple.
Gun-Fu Master (gunslinger + ninja)
- Yup, just like in those Hong Kong action films; just swap out the shuriken for a pair of quad-barreled wheellock pistols and you're good to go.
Pokemaster (summoner + alchemist)
- in this mashup the alchemist's mutagen type abilities only work on her eidolon
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