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Wrath of the Righteous (Closed)

Started by Dakkon, April 02, 2015, 04:25:14 PM

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Latooni Subota

I've got a DELIGHTFUL Jade Regent game IRL, every Monday night. The glorious adventures of Amaya the Aasimar Paladin with her giant adamantine hammer Hraesvelgr! Eledrami, the Elf Druid with a giant wolf (Who I've lovingly named puppy) and the ability to turn into a freaky giant cat monster and eat Oni! And most importantly, Amatatsu Tsubame, Human Rogue/Wizard/Arcane Trickster who is the heir to the throne of Minkai, and utterly utterly useless!

My role in the party is apparently to have cool visions about the plot that she always misunderstands, flirt with the paladin, Ameiko, and Shalelu incessantly, and make magic items while we roll our caravan across the high ice. I kicked the shit out of a Half-Fiend Sylph and a White Dragon though. And then there was that one time (Before I got a sentient sword that yells at me when I try to be too rogue-y and dishonorable) when I snuck up behind the evil witch boss and disintigrated her with a crit/sneak attack scorching ray. I mean, after that her husband impaled me and got me to -8, but then the paladin comforted and healed Tsubame and all was right with the world. <3

ONs and OFFs be here: https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=64984.0

If I'm needed to post somewhere, PLEASE PM me about it. Sometimes I lose track of threads and need to be reminded about things.

TheGlyphstone

Quote from: Pockets on April 04, 2015, 07:20:04 AM
You'd think none of us play Pathfinder Society in our off time.

I haven't had a RL Pathfinder game in about 4 years, and that was one I was running.

Pockets

You should look into Pathfinder Society, it helps. They've got a comprehensive list of what is and isn't allowed. And it gets updated fairly regularly, but the best part if finding a group to run with. Even if it is just one day a month. But it helps connect you to others who might be interested in house games.
08/02 - New A/A Update

TheGlyphstone

The reason I don't have a game is that I lack a local store to play in, or easy transportation to get anymore that might host a game. So I'm PbP-bound for the foreseeable future.

Ghostwheel

Quote from: TheGlyphstone on April 04, 2015, 10:30:43 AM
I haven't had a RL Pathfinder game in about 4 years, and that was one I was running.
Ditto, though more like 3 years for me. And in the country I currently reside in, there are no PF Society games running or FLGS :-\

Blinkin

I've tried looking for a group via PFS. As hard as it may be to believe, there are no games listed within 3 hours of me, and a 3 hour ride would be impossible with current conditions, and way too far to go for a couple of hours of role-playing. I haven't had a table-top game in going on 5 years and while I miss it, you would think that it's back in the 80's when everyone was afraid that being a role-player might get you burned by the local church for satanism.

Hell, I've never seen a hobby shop that carried role-playing supplies that wasn't in the darkest corner of a basement of the worst strip mall you could find. People actually seem to hide from the light of day, so finding a local group to play anything is nearly impossible. There is a D&D 5.0 game going on, but believe it or not, you can't keep up with where they're meeting from week to week and no one seems to actually knows who's playing in it. That's how bad it is here... in a college town with no less than 7 universities within 90 minutes of me.

The world is one screwed up place. I'd kill for a whiff of paper and ink with the raddle of dice.
"I am a Southern Gentleman, which means that I'm a rogue and a scoundrel. When I'm not kissin' the hands of married women, I'm slipping off their wedding rings."
My Ons' & offs'
Absenses & Apologies (Updated 3/02/23)
Blinkins' Thinkin's (Story Ideas)
Yes, I really am blind.
Being Literate is the ability to read and understand a language. When you ask for literate, what you are looking for is Verbosity, which is the ability to use lots of words without actually saying very much... like politicians. I consider myself both literate and verbose.

Thorne

I feel like I should be inviting you guys over to the place I get most of my PbP on ... o.O

Anyway. That is a flaming LOT of arcanists. If I am going to throw a character into the pool, I feel like I would have a better chance with something a little less popular. O_O
'Scuse me while I dig through the bulging folder of characters again.
Writer of horrors, artist of mayhem.

Currently available, frequently lurking.
Ons and Offs
Absences and Apologies
Ideas and inspirations: small groups

Dakkon

Everyone: Countdown is on! 5 days and 13 hours from the time of this posting.
Quote from: Ixy on April 03, 2015, 10:44:59 PM
     
Alyx Ianto
Human Paladin of Arshea




Unfinished...
Traits, especially campaign, are yet to be selected.  If guidance is offered, it would be appreciated.


Exposed to Awfulness or Stolen Fury are your best best for your campaign traits from a story point of view.

Quote from: TheGlyphstone on April 03, 2015, 09:22:06 PM
I'd figure Paizo-designed races would be okay at 13 RP, like aasimar and tieflings - they spend RP on non-optimal stuff, so its actual play value is a bit lower than the number indicates.
Yeah, both of them are fine. The Aasimar irritate me a little, since they have a double +2 with no -2, unlike the tiefling, but they are so iconic to this AP that I wouldn't put a fuss up about it.

Quote from: TheGlyphstone on April 04, 2015, 04:27:18 AM
Add my Gunslinger Paladin to the list as well - background is in progress, once I get it out of my head and into text.

http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=147507



EDIT: Can I squeeze a Drawback in to get an extra trait? Overprotective fits extremely well backstory-wise, and I've belatedly realized I need UMD training via a trait to heal myself with the wand I bought.

Sorry, really don't like drawbacks and you already start with three traits as it is.

Quote from: Blinkin on April 04, 2015, 11:23:14 AM
I've tried looking for a group via PFS. As hard as it may be to believe, there are no games listed within 3 hours of me, and a 3 hour ride would be impossible with current conditions, and way too far to go for a couple of hours of role-playing. I haven't had a table-top game in going on 5 years and while I miss it, you would think that it's back in the 80's when everyone was afraid that being a role-player might get you burned by the local church for satanism.

Hell, I've never seen a hobby shop that carried role-playing supplies that wasn't in the darkest corner of a basement of the worst strip mall you could find. People actually seem to hide from the light of day, so finding a local group to play anything is nearly impossible. There is a D&D 5.0 game going on, but believe it or not, you can't keep up with where they're meeting from week to week and no one seems to actually knows who's playing in it. That's how bad it is here... in a college town with no less than 7 universities within 90 minutes of me.

The world is one screwed up place. I'd kill for a whiff of paper and ink with the raddle of dice.

Man, I'd hate to live where you do Blinkin. All of the FLGS in cities I've lived in are bright, open and happy places.

TheGlyphstone

#83
Damn. I'll have to give up Called then - pity, that 1/day re-roll a natural one would have been real nice to avoid misfires.

EDIT: Unless you really will okay the partially charged wands thing. :D That will let me give up Just Like New, and still start the game with a real pistol instead of a busted-ass one. I just can't scrounge up the cash at level 2 to be able to heal myself (with a full power wand) AND have a functional gun AND armor. A half-strength Inflict Light Wounds wand would last me through to level 3, where I'll get Lay on Hands and be able to take Light-Touched Soul. It's a much less clunky option than hauling around a bag full of Inflict potions.

Rhynarion

Did I get skipped over?

I wasnt tallied on the interested sheet and I didnt get a yah or nah for whether my backstory checks out,

Pockets

*ponders creating another character or two to increase the odds of getting onboard*

I've yet to get past the first act of the first book of this AP, since RL usually prevents us from going too far into the game. I think it would have been a brutal combat though. We had 3 paladins, a Cleric, an Inquisitor, and a Rogue.
08/02 - New A/A Update

Blinkin

I live in the bible belt buckle of the south-east. What makes it suck so bad is that we had 2 universities in the big games in the last month and we have 3 of the better medical schools (Not to mention law schools) in that 90 mile ring. You would think that such enlightened fields as sports, medicine and law would smile upon role-playing... wait... nevermind, I just mentioned people who think Nascaris only watched because a bunch of good ol' boys are driving fast and making left turns... Might as well call them "Duck Dynasty U...
"I am a Southern Gentleman, which means that I'm a rogue and a scoundrel. When I'm not kissin' the hands of married women, I'm slipping off their wedding rings."
My Ons' & offs'
Absenses & Apologies (Updated 3/02/23)
Blinkins' Thinkin's (Story Ideas)
Yes, I really am blind.
Being Literate is the ability to read and understand a language. When you ask for literate, what you are looking for is Verbosity, which is the ability to use lots of words without actually saying very much... like politicians. I consider myself both literate and verbose.

Latooni Subota

I'm pretty lucky. I live and work in Phoenix, which is a pretty SOLID hub of RP of damn near anything. I think my major metropolitan area has like, six different large Meetups depending on what side of the area you live in, which are always looking for new players/gms/etc.
ONs and OFFs be here: https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=64984.0

If I'm needed to post somewhere, PLEASE PM me about it. Sometimes I lose track of threads and need to be reminded about things.

Thorne

Alright. Let's see how this flies.


Arlais the Foretold Maislen
Female archon-blooded aasimar (lawbringers) oracle 2 (Pathfinder RPG Advanced Player's Guide 42, Pathfinder RPG Advanced Race Guide 84)
CG Medium outsider (native)

Arlais has spent most of her life being prepared for a grand destiny. Everyone she has ever known, her entire family and an assortment of others have held her up to high standards, placed her on a pedestal and generally made her out to be a hero of some sort of grand stature.

The reality is rather more down-to-earth, and for an Aasimar, almost ... human.
Arlais' golden eyes are more like amber caboshons, and she takes great pains to conceal the fact that she really can't see very well past a certain distance. Physically, Arlais is a delicate young woman, tougher and faster than she looks, but overall, not an immediate threat; in fact, she barely registers.
Arlais' delicate features are framed by a wavy cloud of vivid red hair, tipped at the ends with gold. She usually wears it pulled back in a neat braid to keep it out of her way, whatever she's doing.
She wears plain clothing, with her family's crest and the symbol of the Dawnflower worked into it somewhere or other.


Arlais is fairly certain that, whatever she is, she isn't a hero. She'd much rather spend a day braiding wire, or hammering silver than practice hitting people with sticks, and tends to spend most of her time in the infirmary, bandaging wounds and listening; she's a good enough healer as a result that no one minds it. She has a strong concept of what is 'right', and a powerful sense of justice from her Archon blood, but given a choice, she'd rather talk than fight. Sent here, practically on the lip of the Worldwound, of all the bloody places, she's not so sure her family doesn't have the right idea; neither is she sure she's the one to strike that hammer-blow, whatever 'everyone' says.

crunch
Init +2; Senses darkvision 30 ft.; Perception +2
--------------------
Defense
--------------------
AC 16, touch 12, flat-footed 14 (+4 armor, +2 Dex)
hp 19 (2d8+6)
Fort +2, Ref +2, Will +3; +2 vs. [evil], +1 vs. charm and compulsion
Resist acid 5, cold 5, electricity 5
--------------------
Offense
--------------------
Speed 30 ft. (20 ft. in armor)
Melee mwk cold iron spear +2 (1d8/×3)
Oracle Spells Known (CL 2nd; concentration +5)
. . 1st (5/day)—bless, cure light wounds, detect undead, protection from evil
. . 0 (at will)—create water, detect magic, guidance, purify food and drink (DC 13), stabilize
. . Mystery Life
--------------------
Statistics
--------------------
Str 10, Dex 14, Con 14, Int 14, Wis 10, Cha 16
Base Atk +1; CMB +1; CMD 13
Feats Angelic Blood[ARG]
Traits adrift, child of the crusades
Skills Acrobatics +1 (-3 to jump), Appraise +3, Craft (jewelry) +7, Heal +5, Intimidate +5, Knowledge (planes) +6, Knowledge (religion) +7, Perception +2, Sense Motive +2, Spellcraft +7; Racial Modifiers +2 Intimidate, +2 Sense Motive
Languages Celestial, Common, Draconic, Elven
SQ oracle's curse (clouded vision), revelation (enhanced cures), variant channeling (protection variant channeling)
Combat Gear oil of bless weapon (2), potion of enlarge person, potion of hide from undead, potion of mage armor (2), potion of shield of faith +2 (2); Other Gear mwk armored coat, mwk cold iron spear, artisan's tools, bedroll, belt pouch, flint and steel, hip flask, masterwork backpack, mess kit, mirror, night tea (10), pot, soap, sunrod (5), tindertwig (5), torch (2), waterskin, 8 gp
--------------------
Special Abilities
--------------------
Adrift +1 to save vs charm and compulsion effects.
Angelic Blood +2 saves vs. evil effects, to stabilize while dying, and 1 damage to evil or undead if bleeding.
Child of the Crusades (1/day) Against possession/incapacitation, free action: Reroll failed save, keep 2nd result.
Clouded Vision You cannot see beyond 30'
Darkvision (30 feet) You can see in the dark (black and white vision only).
Energy Resistance, Acid (5) You have the specified Energy Resistance against Acid attacks.
Energy Resistance, Cold (5) You have the specified Energy Resistance against Cold attacks.
Energy Resistance, Electricity (5) You have the specified Energy Resistance against Electricity attacks.
Enhanced Cures (+2 cap) (Su) For cure spells, any level caps in the spell become oracle or shaman level.
Extended Good Summoning Good summoned monsters remain 3 rds beyond normal duration.
Protection Variant Channeling (±1 Sacred) AC bonus/penalty
--------------------
Hero Lab and the Hero Lab logo are Registered Trademarks of LWD Technology, Inc. Free download at http://www.wolflair.com
Pathfinder® and associated marks and logos are trademarks of Paizo Publishing, LLC®, and are used under license.
Writer of horrors, artist of mayhem.

Currently available, frequently lurking.
Ons and Offs
Absences and Apologies
Ideas and inspirations: small groups

Ixy

Quote from: FallenDabus on April 04, 2015, 12:43:42 PM
Exposed to Awfulness or Stolen Fury are your best best for your campaign traits from a story point of view.

Thank you for that suggestions.  I definitely think you're right, and both traits would work well for her background and overall concept... good may be pretty on the outside, but passion can leave carnage in its wake. 

I can see either campaign trait working for the character--Stolen Fury, I think, would work the best, as there are so many opportunities for cultists to have appeared in a corrupted kingdom.

For Exposed to Awfulness, I'm not as certain, but I could certainly work it out.  By the time she was born, if I'm imagining this right, they would have been far from the wardstones and living in an urban environment, so the thought of being in the wilds and encountering a demon is tough to work in.  However it would have perhaps been possible that she was spirited from the city against her will, or that her mother had tried to flee the city at some point and she was taken.

I plan to select two more traits tonight, and I will write a couple brief scenarios for her backstory, one for each campaign trait.  Thanks again--
______________________
The big print giveth, the small print taketh away.

Blinkin

Just a note, I'm not wed to Exposed To Aweful for Lydia. It was the least favorite the first time around, but seems to be much more popular this time. So, if that's a blocking issue for consideration, I can rewrite the history to use whatever trait isn't being considered by someone else.
"I am a Southern Gentleman, which means that I'm a rogue and a scoundrel. When I'm not kissin' the hands of married women, I'm slipping off their wedding rings."
My Ons' & offs'
Absenses & Apologies (Updated 3/02/23)
Blinkins' Thinkin's (Story Ideas)
Yes, I really am blind.
Being Literate is the ability to read and understand a language. When you ask for literate, what you are looking for is Verbosity, which is the ability to use lots of words without actually saying very much... like politicians. I consider myself both literate and verbose.

TheGlyphstone

It looked like Touched By Divinity was the front-running favorite so far here.

Dakkon

Quote from: Rhynarion on April 04, 2015, 12:54:17 PM
Did I get skipped over?

I wasnt tallied on the interested sheet and I didnt get a yah or nah for whether my backstory checks out,

Sorry, was on a weak connection and just missed you.

Quote from: Rhynarion on April 03, 2015, 11:21:21 PM
Apologies that I didn't get to this sooner!

I had a few ideas, but I was not sure if mastering the lycanthropic curse was possible within the Golarion Setting. Assuming that you are ruling that it is as the DM, I've got one tentative idea.

Now, Veranor lived with the curse for at least a few years; we're talking late teens to however late it could concievably be before he achieved first level. If Scaleheart's didn't take a hit to wisdom, I might have made him a monk instead but that is neither here nor there.

My idea is that after living with the curse for so long and treating it as a disability, he got fed up with his self-loathing lifestyle and resolved to change it or die trying. Now, he was a swamp hermit at this point - not exactly material to walk up to a cleric and beg to be cured. I don't even think it could be undone after seeping into his soul for so long, but he had carried it with him at least long enough to conciously recognize the presence of the were schism of his mind.

So as the lunar cycle begins to wane, he begins intentionally starving himself. Like not eating anything,  but not allowing himself to hibernate either - forcing himself to suffer the hunger as it gnawed at him. By the time that the full moon comes around again, he is half mad from the fasting and the change starts with more pain than he ever felt before. But ironically, this was exactly what he wanted.

He digs deep for some unfathomable force of will and shoves the change / his were side back until it snaps the chains from the stress of his frenzied hunger and the alluring call of the moon. In a metaphorical sense, the twin aspects of his nature go for one another's throat in that instant - except Veranor uses all of this strain to force the two sides to become one.

The curse changed at that point, warped by the perversion of the cycle that he forced. He can't shift into a full animal form any longer, and his mind is strange and alien to civilized creatures. He isn't an aberration, but rather some strange juxtaposition of man and beast. He is no brute, gifted with shrewd cunning and the brutal strength to see his goals realized.

I wanted to take the Stolen Fury campaign trait, since it doesn't seem to be conflicting with anymore. I'm not sure what the payoff for that one is, but it seemed the most fitting as Vera is a big user of combat maneuvers - especially grapple. I would totally dig someone who can get some benefit from me holding a baddie still for flanking.

If you will allow it, I would like your thoughts on my proposed method for breaking free of the moon's curse before I sprinkle in the elements from Stolen Fury - this whole character is a conversion from an OC to pathfinder rules. I originally thought that a witch might have used her patron to break the moon's grip but I personally like this idea better. My only possible concern would be if it is beyond the scope of someone who is at first level or on the cusp of it.

Hmm, it is an interesting idea, and a liberal sprinkling of the reading esoteric texts would make it thematically appropriate to have the physical deprivation of asceticism to unleash a spiritual change, if not breaking, of the curse. It does seem a bit of a stretch for a first level character though... although I suppose that that could be justified by the fact that this character is soon to have a Mythic destiny. It may also help if the change occurred after the Stolen Fury rite.

Quote from: TheGlyphstone on April 04, 2015, 12:47:51 PM
Damn. I'll have to give up Called then - pity, that 1/day re-roll a natural one would have been real nice to avoid misfires.

EDIT: Unless you really will okay the partially charged wands thing. :D That will let me give up Just Like New, and still start the game with a real pistol instead of a busted-ass one. I just can't scrounge up the cash at level 2 to be able to heal myself (with a full power wand) AND have a functional gun AND armor. A half-strength Inflict Light Wounds wand would last me through to level 3, where I'll get Lay on Hands and be able to take Light-Touched Soul. It's a much less clunky option than hauling around a bag full of Inflict potions.
I would be okay with a partially charged wand. I will also point out that if you get picked, you will be getting a very not-busted-ass pistol at about the time you hit third level, and I intend (as usual) for that to come quickly, although we'll see how it goes.

Quote from: Ixy on April 04, 2015, 02:55:22 PM
Thank you for that suggestions.  I definitely think you're right, and both traits would work well for her background and overall concept... good may be pretty on the outside, but passion can leave carnage in its wake. 

I can see either campaign trait working for the character--Stolen Fury, I think, would work the best, as there are so many opportunities for cultists to have appeared in a corrupted kingdom.

For Exposed to Awfulness, I'm not as certain, but I could certainly work it out.  By the time she was born, if I'm imagining this right, they would have been far from the wardstones and living in an urban environment, so the thought of being in the wilds and encountering a demon is tough to work in.  However it would have perhaps been possible that she was spirited from the city against her will, or that her mother had tried to flee the city at some point and she was taken.

I plan to select two more traits tonight, and I will write a couple brief scenarios for her backstory, one for each campaign trait.  Thanks again--
Stolen Fury works then. If you change your mind, keep in mind that while the trait describes the demon that attacked you having slipped past the wardstones, any demon, Worldwound  or not, will do for this trait.

Latooni Subota

Yeah, Touched By Divinity is sort-of the go-to trait for Hierophants, which is super nice for Clerics, Oracles, Paladins, and iirc viable for Rangers and Druids as well?
ONs and OFFs be here: https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=64984.0

If I'm needed to post somewhere, PLEASE PM me about it. Sometimes I lose track of threads and need to be reminded about things.

Chulanowa

Hmmm. well, gnome wizard is a go. All that's left is to decide whether I want to go with a vanilla wizard, or some sort of archetype, and to choose an image for the character. Why oh why are good gnomes so hard to find?

Ghostwheel

Added appearance and personality, character sheet to be added tomorrow. I don't think I'm missing anything else... *ponders*

Rhynarion

Quote from: FallenDabus on April 04, 2015, 05:34:54 PM
Sorry, was on a weak connection and just missed you.

Hmm, it is an interesting idea, and a liberal sprinkling of the reading esoteric texts would make it thematically appropriate to have the physical deprivation of asceticism to unleash a spiritual change, if not breaking, of the curse. It does seem a bit of a stretch for a first level character though... although I suppose that that could be justified by the fact that this character is soon to have a Mythic destiny. It may also help if the change occurred after the Stolen Fury rite.

A question for you, since google wasn't exactly helpful. Do you mean that he would have had to read religious texts ala the bible? Or something from monk traditions, like how they draw strength from the abstinence of what they swear into/against. I would really prefer the latter. I have nothing against organized religions, but I feel like it would lessen my character's struggle if he accomplished this through fasting in hope for the favor of some deity rather than his inner mettle and strength.

I actually imagine him as a bit of a monk-like man, but the curse has made it difficult to properly focus his ki - preventing him from being a monk. (On the OOC side trying to play a monk with a racial negative to wisdom and no dex bonus is weird).

A question on the fact it's a stretch for a first level character. The afflicted were template adds a LA+1 to the afflicted, is it more plausible that he was level 0 when he was afflicted, but achieved first or second level while afflicted - having the levels convert when he lost the template? I did intend for the ritual to involve him happening before he reclaimed himself from the moon's grip. The one that gives him Stolen Fury, that is.

I will be back soon, wanted to ask these before I forgot.


Bibliophilia

#97
Dabus, what's your stance on non-Paizo Oracle curses?  'Cause, there's one listed on the D20PFSRD that would be ideal for this campaign and my character, but it's published by a third-party.

Edit:  I'm a ditz and Darkling saved my patootie.  I'm referring to Branded.

ChaoticSky

#98
Quote from: Bibliophilia on April 04, 2015, 10:48:06 PM
Dabus, what's your stance on non-Paizo Oracle curses?  'Cause, there's one listed on the D20PFSRD that would be ideal for this campaign and my character, but it's published by a third-party.
*psst* Tell him which one :P he wont know if its okay unless he can check it.

As for me, I'm currently fiddling with a few character concepts, waiting on some feedback from FD.

Chulanowa

#99
It's still a work in progress, but here's what i've got so far!


Name: Piper Tillikwhistle
Class: Wizard 2
Race: Gnome
Background Trait: Riftwarden Orphan
Character Sheet: http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=147859



   Concept: Piper's not a crusader. No holy warrior or deed-doer. She's a librarian, a student of spells, who has come to Kenabres in the hopes of learning more about her parents and hteir disappearance. However, after her time spent with a troop of Iomedean crusaders north to Mendev, she's been inspired to see what she can do to help along the way. She has no idea what lay ahead...

Character Background

   Piper was raised in the city of New Stetven, by a pair of gnomes who supplied the city's growing middle class with high-quality glasswork. At the side of Mordelthun and Aidi Tillikwhistle, Piper learned some of the basics of shaping and polishing glass, and the interesting things you can add to it to make new colors or refraction. But as young gnomes are, Piper was too curious to sit and learn to do a job! Especially one that someone was already doing.
   And so, she was often out exploring the city. There was always something new and interesting to see. Unfortunately these adventures had a downside; gnomes as a whole were uncommon in New Stetven, and some saw them as targets... Piper often had to evade one particular band of hooligan boys who thought the young gnome was a fine target for harassment and taunting. it was either that, or stay cooped up inside (what? tell her parents? piper's no snitch!)
   It was one such encounter that would change her course entirely. it was a spring day, and the roads of New Stetven were slick with half-melted slush. Piper ran through those streets as fast as her short legs could go, a foursome of Brevan boys hot on her heels. it was only by the luck of a few tight turns and dives that she had evaded them, and security was just ahead! She ran through a rickety old door, and pressed her back to it, the hems of her garments dripping cold dirty puddles on the floor.
   All around her were books. Stacks and shelves of books. Books bound and unbound. illuminated manuscripts, dusty with age, and newly-written pamplets, often-read. And hunched over a writing desk on the far side, a wizened old human man glowering disapprovingly at the cold, soaked gnome who had just burst into his home. In his creaky voice, he told her to leave; she refused, and just as hte old man stood, the youths outside thumped on the door and demanded she come out, calling taunts and threats.
   Piper gasped at the change that overcame the old man - he stood straight and threw back his wool mantle, striding to the door with purpose. All she knew was that the man spoke in a menacing tone to the boys, and came back in. "They won't bother you anymore, girl. Now clean up and begone." When she spun her cantrip to dry herself and the puddle of meltwater she had brought in with her, the old man lifted a hand. "It's still cold out. Stay and warm up. We might as well find some work for you..."
   And so began her apprenticeship with the wizard Doerval. She cleaned, she organized, she cataloged, all for the price of various glass experiments her father came up with; Doerval was fascinated with light, and the various shades and refraction the gnome glaziers came up with were sufficient for his time. But more than just let Piper be his librarian, he began teaching her the arts; Starting with her inborn gnomish talents, heguided her to further cantrips, and how to imbue these tricks into scrolls. From there, into books... and then more potent spells.
   it was in an old tome that she found something curious; a treatise on guarding against planar incursions, marked with a curious spiral on hte inside cover - a spiral, not too unlike the odd birthmark Piper had on one side of her thigh. Asking the elderly wizard about it just resulted in him covering his eyes and admonishing her to go ask her parents. So she did.
   They weren't her parents.
   No, Mordelthun and Aidi looked at each other uneasily, and sat down with their daughter to explain things. No, they were her great aunt and uncle, on her mothers' side. her mother was Della Tillikwhistle, and her father was Fezorbolt Millerbrot. They were wizards, you see... Riftwardens, and had gotten called away on urgent business not long after Piper's birth. Beyond this, they knew little more, other than the town her parents had gone to was in far-off Mendev...
   She was a little hurt by the fact that hte people she had considered her parents had deceived her for so long... but she understood. So long had passed, she knew that her parents... probably were no longer in this world. And why-ever that is, must be terribly dangerous. But piper was determined to find out more. She's been on the crusader Road with a contingent of would-be crusaders for the journey into Mendev, with little more than her spellbook in hand.