... trips on a slightly upturned plank, but gracefully catches himself, looking for all the world like an ugly, boil-covered, pirouetting ballerina. He leans nonchalantly against Roan’s bench and smooths out his hair, trying to appear as though he meant to do that.
“Ahem... I suppose they might let me in... as long as they’re not too zealous. Ilmater or Sune? Even in this condition...”
He leaves the thought unsaid, though it is clear he’s uneasy about the matter for either temple.
Wow! That plug-in is awesome! Thanks for the tip, @JuliusBorisov ! That was pretty cool.
"I supose I don't have a better idea. But I owe you guys most of the pay for our next job." *Fiora turns to Guston* "I recommend Ilmater. They actually care about people. Sune is far to concerned with what is only skin deep."
How do we want to handle dice rolls? Would us providing our rolls make it easier or harder for you @Nimran ?
Though Guston respects Fiora’s opinion more than anyone, probably more than anyone alive, for he cared for him when he was broken, he still has his reservations. He’s not really pleased by the prospects of either of these gods, considering his curse... but, then again, he realizes ruefully, that is the point of the curse.
“Very well, Fiora, I will seek Ilmater’s blessing,” he says. “Perhaps through him, I might make communion with Chauntea. Anyone wishing to join me may... I will meet you all back at the inn, so we may leave in the morning.”
With that he walks out the door, bidding Roan (but not Starlen or Emeril) a good night and thanks.
...Igna (just realized Ignatius, is that playful for "ignite" as in pyromancing @Rik_Kirtaniya?? You do seem to love setting things a flame, hehe.. ).
Yeah, you're right, @Skatan! The name "Ignatius" is derived from the Latin root "Ignis" (Fire), and roughly means "the fiery one". As you've seen, Ignatius, like a fire, can both warm as well as burn--- warm his friends with hope and courage when they are in the cold of distress, and burn his foes when he is provoked or his friends are attacked. He can also be impulsive sometimes, but those impulses are more derived from his instincts, rather than random illogical motions. Like a fire, he seeks to give light and warmth, and burn all elements of evil he confronts, cleansing the world in his wake. He is fire incarnate, not fire uncontrolled.
Don't know for sure why, but I've always liked fire-based spells among all the elemental spells. Something aesthetic about it...
Ignatius has remained silent all this time, but now he voices his concerns:
"If on this mission, all of us are gone, Then who shall be there to protect the town? 'Tis not wise to leave the townsfolk alone, For then, to great danger, they will be prone.
Someone must stay back here, to keep vigil, For without any sign, can come evil. And hence, the town's safety we must ensure, For prevention is better than a cure."
“I’m pretty sure the city guard can handle whatever comes up,” says Guston as he approaches the door. “Besides. we’re mercenaries and adventurers, not the protectors of this town. Not sure what you would expect the five of us to do in the case that there was such a big threat that it would affect everyone in town.”
And with that, Guston walks out the door for the temple, not looking to see if anyone follows him.
I just split the party! Gah!
(I put this monologue in spoilers so as not to make my post too long.)
Guston walks quickly for the temple. His mind is racing. He may be an ugly, unpleasant jerk at times, but he is a thinker, smart, even wise (though usually self-serving and impulsive), and the significance of their little adventure into Chauntea’s tomb was not lost on him. Now that he is free from the fear of impending death and has time to focus, his mind chews on what has happened.
He knows there is some significance regarding the tapestry. He doesn’t know what, and wonders if it has anything to do with Chauntea. Erica, a priestess in her favor, certainly seems to think so.
But more so is the ring. He could feel its magic when he wrestled with that gnome for it. That ring could have been the key to a cure, it’s possible. But @Anduin wasn’t telling him the whole story.
And then Chauntea spoke to him, or at least one of her lower level avatars, right as he was about to die. She is still granting him spells despite her curse on him. Is this ring the way she wishes for him to be cured? He still has no idea how to accomplish that.
He enters the temple of Ilmater stealthily, with his hood pulled up and his head down, and makes a donation at the altar. Kneeling down, he prays for the first time in many years. He gives thanks to Chauntea, sincere thanks, for sparing him in his hour of need. He certainly would have been dead had it not been for her mercy.
And then a vision of the families he starved during the famine comes to him. Their faces, and their names, their nuances, their laughter. He knew these people... their children had been his children, as the caretaker of the flock. Their families had been his family. And he had betrayed them.
The haunted, gaunt faces of the women and children in their homes as they faithfully, cheerfully donated their tithes into his care, overcomes him. He sees their dead as he officiated the funerals of children and mothers, having just eaten a decent meal himself, while he hypocritically claimed that the Great Mother will provide to the faithful who tithe.
He looks up to the image of Ilmater above the altar and knows their suffering souls cried out to the crying god because Chauntea had vicariously failed them through Guston’s own greed.
Shame courses through him, and he weeps silently in bitterness and regret, the puss of his curse mingling with the tears of his sins.
Did we decide on the split then? I guess no one objected so I will assume we did as said.
The idea of the sash seems good as well, but I don't remember the contents of the store, so I don't recall it's price. I'm gonna go back and see if I find that page.
Personally I believe @nimran should do the dice rolls for us, but I'm cool with whatever. I did like how @mashedtaters incorporated it into his narrative about Guston though.
Edit:
Found it on page 13
“Here we have a belt that acts as a persistent Blur spell, a sword that moves on its own with a command word, and this thing.” She holds up a frayed sash that has a dull red color. “It acts as a persistent Haste spell.”
“The belt is 4500 gp, the sword is 9000, and the rag costs 1500. And no, that is not negotiable.”
So the sash of haste is 1500 gold. Vaga has zero left since he gave it all to the temple, hehe..
It’s probably best if I decide the outcomes of the rolls. That said, if everyone is fine with using their own rolls, we can do that. I’m okay with doing it either way, though.
Did we decide on the split then? I guess no one objected so I will assume we did as said.
The best thing I can suggest is that we let Erica and the other NPC fellows go on this futile errand, while we stay in the town on some excuse. Maybe we can tell them that we will go as a backup later, as Roan had mentioned earlier:
“We were actually thinking of sending you, as backup in case things go sour,” Roan says. “Of course, this is kind of important, so we’ll be going ourselves.” He gestures to Emeril and himself. “The siblings and Miranda will also be coming. We aren’t taking any chances here...
Let us just simply agree to him. And since Roan (the boss, hmm?) himself has proposed this, so if we too support it, we can easily stay back, and consequently be in the right place.
Did we decide on the split then? I guess no one objected so I will assume we did as said.
The best thing I can suggest is that we let Erica and the other NPC fellows go on this futile errand, while we stay in the town on some excuse. Maybe we can tell them that we will go as a backup later, as Roan had mentioned earlier:
“We were actually thinking of sending you, as backup in case things go sour,” Roan says. “Of course, this is kind of important, so we’ll be going ourselves.” He gestures to Emeril and himself. “The siblings and Miranda will also be coming. We aren’t taking any chances here...
Let us just simply agree to him. And since Roan (the boss, hmm?) himself has proposed this, so if we too support it, we can easily stay back, and consequently be in the right place.
The split I was referring to was about the loot, not about splitting the party, hehe
I think we should go with the flow, let's go meet the druid-esque halfling and the scorpion man!
I also agree with @Nimran doing the rolls, though it’s fun to use Minion for unimportant character description stuff. @Nimran You could use either Minion to roll or whatever system you’re currently using. I’ve DM’d both with visible dice rolls and dice rolls behind a screen. The Minion rolls are visible. We don’t know what you’re using to roll the dice now, so that’s hidden. There are advantages and disadvantages to both, but I don’t want to go into them in detail because I don’t want to spoil the affect for the newer D&D players. You decide. I like it either way.
After a few hours of wrestling spiritually, Guston leaves the temple, having not come to any term with his conscience or his god. He heads for the inn so that he can be ready for the adventure in the morning.
I also vote for going with the flow and following the NPCs. It’s what Guston would do, and for now it makes sense.
Just want to be clear, we are still level 2, correct?
@Nimran For the second choice, I'd like to take Detect Thoughts, but I don't know if it would be game-breaking in any way. If you think that it is so, then tell me, and I'll change it to something like Web or Flaming Sphere.[/spoiler]
Since the spell description states that the Area of Effect is a "Quarter circle emanating from the character to the extreme of the range", I suppose I'll be able to detect the thoughts of multiple nearby creatures with one single casting of the spell?
Everyone gets a Will save: Fiora: Will save: 18+2=20 (succeeds) Kaled: Will save: 3-1=2 (fails) Vaga: Will save: 20+3 (succeeds) Emeril: Will save: 8+4=12 (fails) Roan: Will save: 3+6=9 (fails) Kaiser: Will save: 6+4=10 (fails) Starlen: Will save: 7+5=12 (fails) Miranda: Will save: 14+2=16 (succeeds)
Emeril’s surface thoughts: I’ll need to tell Lissa that I’ll be going soon. Dorin can watch her while I’m gone. Roan’s surface thoughts: Damn, I really wanted that donation. Kaiser’s surface thoughts: Did that kid just cast a spell? Starlen’s surface thoughts: I can’t wait to get my hands on that gargoyle scumbag.
Holy crap, Vaga is master of will saves but a true commoner for the combat rolls, haha
And btw, since the spell was a quarter of a circle, kinda like a big cone, we must all have stood very, very close hehe..
"What would you barter these boots of speed for, my friends?" Vaga adresses all of Erica, Roan and Kaiser since he just don't know who of them would be interested in potentially bartering for them. He believes Erica is the most likely candidate though.
Anduin's surface thoughts: I just love scrying on Fiora. If only I was a younger gnome... Ooh! Ooh! I will be soon. I can go a courting again! I could take her out to th-
Anduin's surface thoughts: I just love scrying on Fiora. If only I was a younger gnome... Ooh! Ooh! I will be soon. I can go a courting again! I could take her out to th-
This is the most valuable piece of information we have received from this casting of the spell.
I’m assuming Ignatius is in the back of the group, so he could see everyone. It helps me to not have to figure out character placement.
Erica is already upstairs. She’s currently destroying a certain cursed stone.
Asking Roan is actually a good choice for Vaga.
“You’re a monk, yes?” Roan asks with an amused smile. “I suppose I have an old set of bracers I could give you.” He reaches into his back pocket and pulls out a folded bag made of velvet, unfolds it, the reaches into it an pulls out a pair of fine leather bracers. “Here we have Roan’s patented Dancing Hands!” Roan announces boisterously. “They’re beautiful, aren’t they? Just slip them on, and your hands will move faster than they’ve ever moved before!”
"That's.. that's.. way too much. I cannot accept such a magnificent gift."
Vaga looks at the braces, guilty that he wants them so much, fighting those urges and trying his best to remain calm and disassociated with the craving of "owning" things. He's a novice monk, but the teachings of that owning things often make things own you went straight into his core, his very fabric. Suddenly, being so close to things he actually covet, makes him doubt his previous convictions.. they will undoubtedly make him a better monk, thus he can better serve his purpose.. damn, if only he knew what that purpose was! But with these bracars.. and a sash of speed.. Yes. He's sure now, it's his path to accept this gift, don those bracers and better serve whatever God and Path he was set on this soil for.
"..ehh.. " his usual neutrality and calmness now giving way for a new side of Vaga. "Thinking about it I do accept this gift of yours. It's a magnificent gift, as said, worthy of a king. I will wear these bracers until I have served my purpose, and then I will return them to you, or your offspring. You humans tend to live so short lives." The last sentence is said with objectivity, as a neutral fact, not as a joke or a gibe.
"So, when should we go meet the Halfling and that adorable dog?"
Okay, level 3. I can now cure disease and TURN UNDEAD. Yay!
*Fiora catches Guston coming out of the temple*
"Guston, I uh, wanted to ask you something. Since our latest mission, the gods have granted me a new ability. I can cure diseases. I don't expect it will work on your curse, but I would at least like to try. If, if, thats okay with you."
So, with everyone’s improved equipment, let’s update those Attack Bonuses and AC:
Fiora: d20+4, AC 20 Vaga: d20+4, AC 18 Kaled: d20+4, AC 12, 17 with Shield Guston: d20+1, AC 14 Ignatius: d20+1, AC10 If Kaled gives Fiora his +1 short sword, her attack bonus goes up to +5.
Fiora would refuse to take the weapon. She has been more than she feels is necessary.
@ThacoBell She should actually take it (of course, only if Kaled decides to give it to her) because Kaled is now wielding the Varscona +2! (And unless he is dual-wielding, which is probably not the case, the short sword +1 will not be used at all, and it is better to use the weapon rather than leave it in the backpack.)
Who knows if we might face some creature immune to normal weapons? And then it would be handy to have our best tank hit the monster effectively!
As a role-playing reasoning, Fiora is using the weapon to be better able to protect her friends! Nothing guilty about that!
A question to @Nimran about the attack rolls, say, if someone is attacking from Invisibility (or Hidden in Shadows condition), will that character get a +4 to their attack rolls?
EDIT:
Also another thing, if Ignatius keeps on using his Psychic Blade (+1), what's the attack roll? 1d20+5 or 1d20+4? (+4 from INT and +1 from enchantment)
I thought on giving the short sword to Fiora too. But
Kaled is now too busy with preparing his mind for scribing the scrolls. At morning he will give the short sword to Fiora, and will insist on accepting it.
Comments
“Ahem... I suppose they might let me in... as long as they’re not too zealous. Ilmater or Sune? Even in this condition...”
He leaves the thought unsaid, though it is clear he’s uneasy about the matter for either temple.
That was pretty cool.
*Fiora turns to Guston*
"I recommend Ilmater. They actually care about people. Sune is far to concerned with what is only skin deep."
“Very well, Fiora, I will seek Ilmater’s blessing,” he says. “Perhaps through him, I might make communion with Chauntea. Anyone wishing to join me may... I will meet you all back at the inn, so we may leave in the morning.”
With that he walks out the door, bidding Roan (but not Starlen or Emeril) a good night and thanks.
Don't know for sure why, but I've always liked fire-based spells among all the elemental spells. Something aesthetic about it...
Ignatius has remained silent all this time, but now he voices his concerns:
"If on this mission, all of us are gone,
Then who shall be there to protect the town?
'Tis not wise to leave the townsfolk alone,
For then, to great danger, they will be prone.
Someone must stay back here, to keep vigil,
For without any sign, can come evil.
And hence, the town's safety we must ensure,
For prevention is better than a cure."
“I’m pretty sure the city guard can handle whatever comes up,” says Guston as he approaches the door. “Besides. we’re mercenaries and adventurers, not the protectors of this town. Not sure what you would expect the five of us to do in the case that there was such a big threat that it would affect everyone in town.”
Guston walks quickly for the temple. His mind is racing. He may be an ugly, unpleasant jerk at times, but he is a thinker, smart, even wise (though usually self-serving and impulsive), and the significance of their little adventure into Chauntea’s tomb was not lost on him. Now that he is free from the fear of impending death and has time to focus, his mind chews on what has happened.
He knows there is some significance regarding the tapestry. He doesn’t know what, and wonders if it has anything to do with Chauntea. Erica, a priestess in her favor, certainly seems to think so.
But more so is the ring. He could feel its magic when he wrestled with that gnome for it. That ring could have been the key to a cure, it’s possible. But @Anduin wasn’t telling him the whole story.
And then Chauntea spoke to him, or at least one of her lower level avatars, right as he was about to die. She is still granting him spells despite her curse on him. Is this ring the way she wishes for him to be cured? He still has no idea how to accomplish that.
He enters the temple of Ilmater stealthily, with his hood pulled up and his head down, and makes a donation at the altar. Kneeling down, he prays for the first time in many years. He gives thanks to Chauntea, sincere thanks, for sparing him in his hour of need. He certainly would have been dead had it not been for her mercy.
And then a vision of the families he starved during the famine comes to him. Their faces, and their names, their nuances, their laughter. He knew these people... their children had been his children, as the caretaker of the flock. Their families had been his family. And he had betrayed them.
The haunted, gaunt faces of the women and children in their homes as they faithfully, cheerfully donated their tithes into his care, overcomes him. He sees their dead as he officiated the funerals of children and mothers, having just eaten a decent meal himself, while he hypocritically claimed that the Great Mother will provide to the faithful who tithe.
He looks up to the image of Ilmater above the altar and knows their suffering souls cried out to the crying god because Chauntea had vicariously failed them through Guston’s own greed.
Shame courses through him, and he weeps silently in bitterness and regret, the puss of his curse mingling with the tears of his sins.
The idea of the sash seems good as well, but I don't remember the contents of the store, so I don't recall it's price. I'm gonna go back and see if I find that page.
Personally I believe @nimran should do the dice rolls for us, but I'm cool with whatever. I did like how @mashedtaters incorporated it into his narrative about Guston though.
Edit:
“Here we have a belt that acts as a persistent Blur spell, a sword that moves on its own with a command word, and this thing.” She holds up a frayed sash that has a dull red color. “It acts as a persistent Haste spell.”
“The belt is 4500 gp, the sword is 9000, and the rag costs 1500. And no, that is not negotiable.”
So the sash of haste is 1500 gold. Vaga has zero left since he gave it all to the temple, hehe..
I think we should go with the flow, let's go meet the druid-esque halfling and the scorpion man!
@Nimran You could use either Minion to roll or whatever system you’re currently using. I’ve DM’d both with visible dice rolls and dice rolls behind a screen. The Minion rolls are visible. We don’t know what you’re using to roll the dice now, so that’s hidden.
There are advantages and disadvantages to both, but I don’t want to go into them in detail because I don’t want to spoil the affect for the newer D&D players.
You decide. I like it either way.
After a few hours of wrestling spiritually, Guston leaves the temple, having not come to any term with his conscience or his god. He heads for the inn so that he can be ready for the adventure in the morning.
Just want to be clear, we are still level 2, correct?
1. Invisibility
@Nimran For the second choice, I'd like to take Detect Thoughts, but I don't know if it would be game-breaking in any way. If you think that it is so, then tell me, and I'll change it to something like Web or Flaming Sphere.[/spoiler]
Ignatius casts: Detect Thoughts in the room
Fiora: Will save: 18+2=20 (succeeds)
Kaled: Will save: 3-1=2 (fails)
Vaga: Will save: 20+3 (succeeds)
Emeril: Will save: 8+4=12 (fails)
Roan: Will save: 3+6=9 (fails)
Kaiser: Will save: 6+4=10 (fails)
Starlen: Will save: 7+5=12 (fails)
Miranda: Will save: 14+2=16 (succeeds)
Emeril’s surface thoughts: I’ll need to tell Lissa that I’ll be going soon. Dorin can watch her while I’m gone.
Roan’s surface thoughts: Damn, I really wanted that donation.
Kaiser’s surface thoughts: Did that kid just cast a spell?
Starlen’s surface thoughts: I can’t wait to get my hands on that gargoyle scumbag.
Kaled must now share his thoughts.
And btw, since the spell was a quarter of a circle, kinda like a big cone, we must all have stood very, very close
"What would you barter these boots of speed for, my friends?" Vaga adresses all of Erica, Roan and Kaiser since he just don't know who of them would be interested in potentially bartering for them. He believes Erica is the most likely candidate though.
“You’re a monk, yes?” Roan asks with an amused smile. “I suppose I have an old set of bracers I could give you.” He reaches into his back pocket and pulls out a folded bag made of velvet, unfolds it, the reaches into it an pulls out a pair of fine leather bracers. “Here we have Roan’s patented Dancing Hands!” Roan announces boisterously. “They’re beautiful, aren’t they? Just slip them on, and your hands will move faster than they’ve ever moved before!”
Vaga looks at the braces, guilty that he wants them so much, fighting those urges and trying his best to remain calm and disassociated with the craving of "owning" things. He's a novice monk, but the teachings of that owning things often make things own you went straight into his core, his very fabric. Suddenly, being so close to things he actually covet, makes him doubt his previous convictions.. they will undoubtedly make him a better monk, thus he can better serve his purpose.. damn, if only he knew what that purpose was! But with these bracars.. and a sash of speed.. Yes. He's sure now, it's his path to accept this gift, don those bracers and better serve whatever God and Path he was set on this soil for.
"..ehh.. " his usual neutrality and calmness now giving way for a new side of Vaga. "Thinking about it I do accept this gift of yours. It's a magnificent gift, as said, worthy of a king. I will wear these bracers until I have served my purpose, and then I will return them to you, or your offspring. You humans tend to live so short lives." The last sentence is said with objectivity, as a neutral fact, not as a joke or a gibe.
*Fiora catches Guston coming out of the temple*
"Guston, I uh, wanted to ask you something. Since our latest mission, the gods have granted me a new ability. I can cure diseases. I don't expect it will work on your curse, but I would at least like to try. If, if, thats okay with you."
Fiora: d20+4, AC 20
Vaga: d20+4, AC 18
Kaled: d20+4, AC 12, 17 with Shield
Guston: d20+1, AC 14
Ignatius: d20+1, AC10
If Kaled gives Fiora his +1 short sword, her attack bonus goes up to +5.
Who knows if we might face some creature immune to normal weapons? And then it would be handy to have our best tank hit the monster effectively!
As a role-playing reasoning, Fiora is using the weapon to be better able to protect her friends! Nothing guilty about that!
EDIT:
“Very well,” says Guston. “Though I believe it’s a curse, not a disease... I’m open to trying!
“And... thank you.”