Anything But Normal, Sailing the Endless Falls

[Kelleris]

Could be cool. Keep in mind that Nissa doesn't do wars and battles well at all, so she'd never have wound up doing anything at Bluegorge unless dragged there by her party, so if you want her to show up at Bluegorge, she'll need to have met at least a few of the others previously (possibly fighting the crimelord), and they'll have convinced her to come.

Not necessarily. I tried to make sure there was a lot going on in that situation, so you should have some options. Perhaps you were in the area travelling or meeting someone and were responsible for morale-raising, ensuring that there was an army there to meet Narfellanax's horde at the Battle of Reeds in the first place. Or maybe the mysterious instigators of the humanoid uprising were actually the time elemental enemies of your uncle Proteus and you were involved in courtly shanigans that prevented them from restoring the gnoll horde's morale in some way as Lupaz worked to scatter them. No need to be directly on the front lines.

Actually, if the time elementals like Ananke *were* behind it (in an effort to isolate the KoK, perhaps, or perhaps in an effort to force Taala's hand in some diplomatic/miltary way), then Taala picking out the half-dozen people who didn't even know each other but were all crucial to the battle in some way and choosing to reward them for their heroism makes even more sense as the "last straw" that incited the rebellion.

Also, remember that Nissa's theme is that fate and inevitability can be beaten. That may become important if Lupaz's theme is that they can't be beaten

It's actually closer to being "fate can't be beaten 95% of the time, and the rest of the time it's a long shot", so not quite the same as full-on fatalism.

 

[Kelleris]

Huh, actually the drowning ability is worse than I thought it was. I just checked the drowning rules, and the Con check is just to hold your breath. Once you're actually drowning (and the nereid ability skips you right to there), you immediately fall unconscious. So yeah, against air breathers it's essentially an instant, no-delay kill, since unconscious is basically the same as dead in combat and there's no way to save them before they're dead-dead. And your save DC is 20, which is darn hard at this level (a caster would need a 22 casting stat to hit that DC with his very best spells). And you can use it at will.

Yikes. :\

 

[Rystil Arden]

It's actually closer to being "fate can't be beaten 95% of the time, and the rest of the time it's a long shot", so not quite the same as full-on fatalism.

If you want to be awesome, restate that as the equivalent: "Fate can't be beaten except on a natural 20"

 

[Rystil Arden]

Huh, actually the drowning ability is worse than I thought it was. I just checked the drowning rules, and the Con check is just to hold your breath. Once you're actually drowning (and the nereid ability skips you right to there), you immediately fall unconscious. So yeah, against air breathers it's essentially an instant, no-delay kill, since unconscious is basically the same as dead in combat and there's no way to save them before they're dead-dead. And your save DC is 20, which is darn hard at this level (a caster would need a 22 casting stat to hit that DC with his very best spells). And you can use it at will.

Yikes. :\

Oops! For some reason I thought the Con checks counted at drowning. You're quite correct, and that explains why there isn't a listed duration.

I do have to touch them, though (current to hit is +0 unless I take Weapon Finesse to raise it to +7). I mean, at this level a pixie could have Otto's Irresistable Dance easily. Then again, perhaps this means I should take Ability Focus too to get the DC up

As to the caster needing a 22 to have that kind of save, remember that Nissa does have a 24 in the appropriate stat, so it's her stats that do it

 

[Kelleris]

Hmm, I was hoping for some responses to the others by now. Actually, Rystil, what do you think of involving Nissa in the Bluegorge thing, outside of the actual combat, maybe in one of the ways I suggested.

 

[Rystil Arden]

Hmm, I was hoping for some responses to the others by now. Actually, Rystil, what do you think of involving Nissa in the Bluegorge thing, outside of the actual combat, maybe in one of the ways I suggested.

I definitely don't want her to have directly meddled with the time elementals in some kind of courtly intrigue pre-coup--it would muddle up a lot of things for them to have played a hand then. I can definitely see her coming along with friends, but she wouldn't have been involved in a battle or war like that otherwise, on or off the field. She significantly prefers more individualised acts of kindness like freeing the oppressed or defeating a singular entity like the crimelord. Wars, even the nonfighting part like tactics and morale-boosting, she leaves to the Lawful Good sorts.

I was also hoping for more responses by now. I'm sure we'll all think of something great eventually. Fortunately, it isn't crucial to have it completelt formalised by the start (though the longer we wait during game, the more we will have to take into account when we write it)

 

[Shayuri]

I spose I'll do one of these too! Helps to get in my character's head a bit...and to give others an idea of the past interactions...

Brightstar Vaukriel, Angel of Splendor

-- Speculating (to himself) about the origin of Vaukriel's physical oddities is a favorite pasttime of Trebuchet. While he has noted an extraordinary range of physical variance between individual humanoids, Vaukriel clearly transcends the norm. Trebuchet's interest in old writings is also piqued by the strange magic runes that seem to surround the winged human. Though Vaukriel has been lamentably unwilling to discuss the events that led to his alterations, he has been a rewarding conversationalist on the topics of language and symbology. In addition, Vaukriel has shown a certain violent streak when facing certain foes that Trebuchet respects.

Tempest Wintersquall -

-- Tempest remains something of an enigma to Trebuchet. Frequently laughing at his earnest comments as if they were attempts at humor...Tempest is a constant reminder that Trebuchet has a lot to learn about psychology, most especially that of socialization and humor. However, Tempest is nothing if not jovial, and seems not at all offput by Trebuchet's appearance, which he finds gratifying. Now if he could only decipher the strange young man's insistance on referring to him as 'bucket.'

Lupaz, the Hound of Ill Omen -

-- Lupaz was the first blink dog encountered by Trebuchet, and it took some encounters with packs in the wild for him to comprehend how aberrant Lupaz truly was. As such, he feels a surprising degree of kindship to the hound...for he too appears to be unique, forever out of place. The notion of curses and bad luck do not faze Trebuchet much. Luck simply doesn't exist to the warforged; replaced by a complex notion of probability. Curses are classified as debilitating and/or incapacitating magic that does no lasting damage, and are merely another kind of magic. It would be fair to say that Trebuchet experiences something analogous to affection towards Lupaz.

Ianissa, daughter of prophecy -

-- Still remembering when Nissa was afraid of him, Trebuchet tends to be cautious about himself in Ianissa's presence...careful to attempt to be as nonthreatening as possible. Regrettably, his training and programming are precisely the opposite of this, leading to such phrases as, "Do not worry, Nissa! If you stay perfectly still, only those enemies near you will be agonizingly reduced to bone cinders and ash!" Despite such gaffes, he has made significant progress and is pleased about that. He is especially intrigued by her fae nature, as immortals may well remember things that more mortal races have long forgotten.

Oobobooboo -

-- Similar to Lupaz, Trebuchet is hopeful of finding a kindred spirit in the strange ooze. His doing so is hampered however by an unexpected development; fear. Trebuchet finds himself intimidated by the notion of an intelligent blob of acid; no matter how well behaved. He doesn't dislike Oobobooboo, but neither does he feel comfortable around him. He does have sufficient grasp of propriety to attempt to stop this gnawing fear from being expressed...but he's not terribly good at falsehoods or acting just yet.

 

[D20Dazza]

Look under her inventory for "Miera, Protective Water Aeon". Oh, and she typically goes by Nissa, but if he's going to call her Niss anyways, I guess that's okay. However, she definitely doesn't rob from the party to give 'donations' to the poor, though, despite sharing her alignment with Robin of Loxley

I must have spelt it wrong, I did Ctrl-F on the RG and didn't find it. I know she goes by Nissa typically , he has his own pet name for each of the PCs (or at least will by the time we start the game) . Sorry mate, I wasn't meaning to imply she stole from the party, that's just the way Tempest see's it when she 'guilts' him into 'squandering' his own cash on the poor and destitute.

D20Dazza with Tempest Wintersquall - [sblock]As a gift for your service, you were granted a kind of permanent wind about you, enhanced by your elemental nature, that allows you to more easily fly. You no longer merely glide, but can fly in truth, on wind of your own making. You can fly at a speed of 30 ft. with average manuverability, with no need to jump off the crow's nest to do so. You're not as fast as your brethern, but you're not making a controlled plummet either.[/sblock]

[sblock=Isida]But he can still choose to do the 40' glide if he so desires? There may be situations where the 40' glide is beneficial. Might have to look at fly-by attack as a feat [/sblock]

For what it's worth, I can also cast tongues. I assume that "the ability to speak and understand the language of any intelligent creature" overcomes little things like not having the right speech organs. And I would think that Lupaz would be your natural companion for stealth stuff, actually, since I have max Hide and Move Silently as well as things like disguise self, scent, Knowledge (local and geography), and the ability to inflict a -13 penalty on Spot and Listen checks without making a sound.

If you want to bulk up the Bluegorge portion of your backstory, remember that I left a bunch of sneaky water kobold saboteurs and disorganized bands of fire ogres to other people. If you feel like your guy could be of decisive use against one of those threats, feel free to elaborate on them.

I see where you're coming from on the stealth angle, I guess I was taking his heritage and name too much to heart. I'll delete that part from Tempest's 'opinion'.

That's what the ... bit in the draft is for , the beefy Bluegorge bit. I just haven't decided what that is yet. I was waiting for something from someone else to hang an idea off. And, I think you guys have given it to me. How about what Tempest did in Bluegorge involved saving a trade delegation or some such that included Niss. That gets two of us together. After the battle Lupaz (who I think Tempest will nickname Loopy ) hitches a ride back to the capital on the same ship as Tempest and Niss, three of us now know each other.

So, how's about BooBoo? Brightstar? Bucket?

A war seems a natural for Bucket so I see no reason he couldn't have been in Bluegorge. Perhaps even as part of the delegation's gaurd? Shayuri, any ideas?

Voidrazor? Erekose? You guys in Bluegorge or did you meet us on the second adventure against the crimelord?

Hmm, I was hoping for some responses to the others by now. Actually, Rystil, what do you think of involving Nissa in the Bluegorge thing, outside of the actual combat, maybe in one of the ways I suggested.

Sorry dude, I imagine I'm on the other side of the world to you ebing in Australia. Unfortuantely, I don't get a chance to post at work.

 

[D20Dazza]

And the what Tempest thinks now looks like this:

Trebuchet - Strange fellow this one. Tempest gets no end of pleasure from referring to him as 'Bucket'. Got a sense of humour too, and can crack the funniest, most inappropriate jokes at the most inopportune time - a trait that Tempest loves. He also likes the fact that the ironman doesn't eat food and that he normally passes his share of fruit and vegetables the Hadozee's way.

Brightstar Vaukriel, Angel of Splendor - While the winged man gave the appearance of being in control Tempest was wary around Brightstar. He felt that the 'Angel' could loose it at any time. There was something about his eyes that didn't sit right with the Hadozee. He had to admit though that 'Supernova' was a good companion to have in a fight.

Lupaz, the Hound of Ill Omen - Tempest loves hanging out with 'Loopy', one of his favourite sayings is "everything looks brighter when you've got the hound for a companion - there's always someone nearby who feels they're in a worse situation than you". He prefers doing jobs that require stealth and tact with Loopy being present, if there is any chance that something will go wrong for the mark then it ususally will when Loopy is on the case (in fact Tempest had a sneaking suspicion that, as a lark, Loopy might have been responsible for the time he spent in Bluegorge, he vaguely recalled a dog lounging about near where he lost the documents).

Ianissa, daughter of prophecy - 'Niss' was a bit of an enigma to Tempest. He liked her, there was something in her elemental nature that called to him, but she frustrated him. Her insistence on helping those less fortunate then herself meant that several of his plans had been folied and that he had lost a small fortune in '(guilty)donations'. But, he couldn't stay angry with her, he was sure she didn't do it deliberately, didn't do it to punish him, her motivations were too simple for that and he didn't think she had a mean bone in her body. He was also wary around her, he knew about her relationship with Ananke and had recently worked out that he had worked on a ship that she had sponsored. He was afraid of how Niss would react once he told her of the connection.

Oobobooboo - If Trebuchet is weird then this dude is out of this world. Tempest couldn't believe that he was travelling, sharing a camp fire and eating with a spineless, gutless jelly. The bumbling jelly man was funny to watch though, and Tempest enjoyed the way he tried to imitate others. Oobobooboo had surprised Tempest one day by stretching his gelatinous body so that he sported wings not unlike Tempest's. Tempest liked being surprised and enjoyed the jelly's unpredictability. He was also pretty sure that 'BooBoo', as he liked to call him, would prove very useful in helping with a little job he had in mind.

I'll change it as people comment and as they post their own thoughts on whattheir PCs think of Tempest.

Love your work guys

Cheers

Daz

 

[Rystil Arden]

a trade delegation or some such that included Niss

I'm not sure how she would wind up in a trade delegation, since she's not a merchant. Remember, the only prerequisite for what Nissa has been doing since she left Proteus is that it involves solo adventuring and exploring (where 'solo' is a relative term since she does have Anemone and Miera). Any conceivable idea that involves this will work, really, but she didn't have the self esteem yet to be in charge of something and probably wouldn't join in a mundane job with merchants or as a hired guard, plus she needs to have been kept away from the actual court until the plot point of the coup. She could easily be visiting a beautiful location for a fleeting glimpse, exploring an ancient ruins, recovering a lost jewel, freeing an enslaved janni, etc.

This only applies to when Nissa is first met by her comrades. If she had already met Tempest previously and was traveling with him, he could have convinced her to come along.