Miscellaneous stuff

[Anastasia]

Rock's up. It's not 100% done, but all the important parts are there. I'll polish it sometime during the week.

[Anastasia]

Some stuff from chat tonight. Cross-posted on B3.

1. Savras

<Nephrite> Dune, this may be a spoiler and I understand if you'd rather not say, but OOC have you ever posted any info on Savras? I think it's the first I'd heard of it, even perusing the Balmuria fluff stuff.
> Very little.
> He's a servant deity to Mystra and hasn't come up much.
> Alicia met him in person at the very end of B1, when she had already become a deity. I believe he's a demipower or a lesser power, but I'd have to look.
> Just one of those that hasn't come up a lot.
> As a servant of Mystra, he'd have at least polite ties to Sylica and the other powers of Dweomerheart.
> Generally, he deals with scrying, prophecy and that sort of thing. I'd have to look up more since I don't use him much.
<Nephrite> Okay. So the higher-tier Celestia folks would probably at least be on cordial terms since he doesn't sound like an evil power.
> He's not evil. N or NG, if I recall. In fact, let me look it up.
> LN, actually.
<Nephrite> I'm just always curious about these things, but I suppose I can always find out IC anyway.
> He'd be on reasonably decent terms with them.
> OOCwise, he'd at least have a working rleationship with Erathaol of Celestia. They touch on some of each other's pursuits.
> Generally, Dweomerheart's authority is this: Mystra at the top, Azuth below her and Velsharoon and Savras beneath him.
> She's pretty good at delegating and they deal with Azuth as much if not more than Mystra.
> Alicia would be theoretically equal to Velsharoon and Savras, but she has mor eindependence due to her unusual situation. But in any serious accounting of the divine, she would be considered part of that group, even if she has her own place.
> (Alicia and Seira both went divine realm and then divinity, which is the opposite way of doing it. Hence both are very independent.)
<Nephrite> Gotcha.

2. Lathander and Misty Harbor

<Nephrite> Well, hopefully we can meet some Lathander...ites? Lathanderians.
> Lathanderites is usually what I use.
> Names vary a bit. Dawnbringer's a common title too, both an exact clerical rank and someone used more casually.
> There's a fair bit of nobility tied up in a particular church, so egos tend to be a thing.
<Gatewalker> sunbros
> This sometimes leads to silliness like someone claling themselves a High Dawnbringer or adding some other descriptor.
> Pretty much, Gate.
> Lathander only bothers sending an omen to knock it off if it gets silly, like Super Supreme Dawnbringer or the like.
> Some boisterousness from his flock's expected.
> A good group for undead bashing, parties, fun, getting full body tans and so forth.
> Granted, the ones in Misty Harbor are likely to be a bit more subdued since the church is having a bad time of it, but they're also optimists.

[Anastasia]

I will be running things tomorrow and possibly Sunday. Solo things mostly, maybe a bit of paired stuff. We'll see how I'm holding up.

[Anastasia]

T's shenanigans.

> T stuff. Rolling this now so Annerose and Neph can see for verification purposes.
> roll 1d20+11 diplo for gather information
> Argh. One moment.
* Kobot (~dunefar@ip68-10-229-242.hr.hr.cox.net) has joined #dunes
> roll 1d20+11 diplo for gather information
<Kobot> Kowork rolled 1d20+11 diplo for gather information --> [ 1d20=5 ]{16}
> roll 1d100 vs ??? for odds of being noticed
<Kobot> Kowork rolled 1d100 vs ??? for odds of being noticed --> [ 1d100=50 ]{50}
> roll 1d20+11 diplo for gather information
<Kobot> Kowork rolled 1d20+11 diplo for gather information --> [ 1d20=13 ]{24}
> roll 1d100 vs ??? for odds of being noticed
<Kobot> Kowork rolled 1d100 vs ??? for odds of being noticed --> [ 1d100=83 ]{83}
> roll 1d20+11 diplomacy not gather info
<Kobot> Kowork rolled 1d20+11 diplomacy not gather info --> [ 1d20=9 ]{20}
> roll 1d20+7 ???'s bluff
<Kobot> Kowork rolled 1d20+7 ???'s bluff --> [ 1d20=12 ]{19}
> roll 1d20+10 T sense motive
<Kobot> Kowork rolled 1d20+10 T sense motive --> [ 1d20=19 ]{29}
> roll 1d20+11 T counter  bluff
<Kobot> Kowork rolled 1d20+11 T counter bluff --> [ 1d20=15 ]{26}
> roll 1d20+8 ??? sense motive
<Kobot> Kowork rolled 1d20+8 ??? sense motive --> [ 1d20=19 ]{27}
> http://www.soulriders.net/forum/index.php/topic,103554.msg1058934.html#msg1058934 Relevant loot post.
> roll 1d20+11 diplo meeting someone and sweet talking
<Kobot> Kowork rolled 1d20+11 diplo meeting someone and sweet talking --> [ 1d20=9 ]{20}
> roll 1d20+6 ???'s sense motive against T's sweet talking
<Kobot> Kowork rolled 1d20+6 ???'s sense motive against T's sweet talking --> [ 1d20=19 ]{25}
> roll 1d20+9 counter diploing for bullshittery by ???
<Kobot> Kowork rolled 1d20+9 counter diploing for bullshittery by ??? --> [ 1d20=4 ]{13}
> roll 1d20+10 T's sense motive
<Kobot> Kowork rolled 1d20+10 T's sense motive --> [ 1d20=11 ]{21}
> roll 1d20+8 K:L for relevant info here, DC 16
<Kobot> Kowork rolled 1d20+8 K:L for relevant info here, DC 16 --> [ 1d20=10 ]{18}
> roll 1d20+8 K:R followup T again
<Kobot> Kowork rolled 1d20+8 K:R followup T again --> [ 1d20=15 ]{23}
> roll 1d20+16 T bluff (+5 circumstance)
<Kobot> Kowork rolled 1d20+16 T bluff (+5 circumstance) --> [ 1d20=3 ]{19}
> roll 1d20+6 ???s sense motive
<Kobot> Kowork rolled 1d20+6 ???s sense motive --> [ 1d20=11 ]{17}
> roll 1d20+11 diplo T trying to finish 'em.
<Kobot> Kowork rolled 1d20+11 diplo T trying to finish 'em. --> [ 1d20=1 ]{12}
> roll 1d20-9 not the time for a natural 1
<Kobot> Kowork rolled 1d20-9 not the time for a natural 1 --> [ 1d20=9 ]{0}
> roll 1d20+5 intimidate his target is not amused
<Kobot> Kowork rolled 1d20+5 intimidate his target is not amused --> [ 1d20=4 ]{9}
> roll 1d20+7 T
<Kobot> Kowork rolled 1d20+7 T --> [ 1d20=13 ]{20}
> roll 1d20+11 trying to salvage with pure bribery
<Kobot> Kowork rolled 1d20+11 trying to salvage with pure bribery --> [ 1d20=16 ]{27}
> http://www.soulriders.net/forum/index.php/topic,103554.msg1058935.html#msg1058935 Relevant post.
> roll 1d20+21 diplo, +10 bonus due to sheer bribery
<Kobot> Kowork rolled 1d20+21 diplo, +10 bonus due to sheer bribery --> [ 1d20=11 ]{32}
> roll 1d20+18 stealth to make a smooth getaway without being unneededly noticed after the fact
<Kobot> Kowork rolled 1d20+18 stealth to make a smooth getaway without being unneededly noticed after the fact --> [ 1d20=7 ]{25}
> roll 1d20+11 he'll do some more gather infoing, see if he can parley what he got into more discreetly
<Kobot> Kowork rolled 1d20+11 he'll do some more gather infoing, see if he can parley what he got into more discreetly --> [ 1d20=15 ]{26}
> roll 1d100 vs ??? to be noticed
<Kobot> Kowork rolled 1d100 vs ??? to be noticed --> [ 1d100=97 ]{97}
> Oh my.
> Dragon.
> One moment.
> roll 1d20+4 ??? stealth
<Kobot> Kowork rolled 1d20+4 ??? stealth --> [ 1d20=17 ]{21}
> roll 1d20+10 perception
<Kobot> Kowork rolled 1d20+10 perception --> [ 1d20=4 ]{14}
> OOC: Perception is T.
> roll 1d20+15 ??? intimidate
<Kobot> Kowork rolled 1d20+15 ??? intimidate --> [ 1d20=1 ]{16}
> roll 1d20-5 it's only fair
<Kobot> Kowork rolled 1d20-5 it's only fair --> [ 1d20=5 ]{0}
> roll 1d20+7 intimidate failed T's roll
<Kobot> Kowork rolled 1d20+7 intimidate failed T's roll --> [ 1d20=20 ]{27}
> roll 1d20+6 counter intimidate T due to the failure, +4 circumstance
<Kobot> Kowork rolled 1d20+6 counter intimidate T due to the failure, +4 circumstance --> [ 1d20=3 ]{9}
> roll 1d20+12 autopass
<Kobot> Kowork rolled 1d20+12 autopass --> [ 1d20=9 ]{21}
> roll 1d20+16 bluff T 5/6 inspiration, +6 bluff
<Kobot> Kowork rolled 1d20+16 bluff T 5/6 inspiration, +6 bluff --> [ 1d20=2 ]{18}
> roll 1d20+10
<Kobot> Kowork rolled 1d20+10 --> [ 1d20=4 ]{14}
> roll 1d20+18 stealth T
<Kobot> Kowork rolled 1d20+18 stealth T --> [ 1d20=14 ]{32}
> roll 1d20+13 perception ???
<Kobot> Kowork rolled 1d20+13 perception ??? --> [ 1d20=19 ]{32}
> roll 1d20+18 stealth T reroll, don't want a tie here
<Kobot> Kowork rolled 1d20+18 stealth T reroll, don't want a tie here --> [ 1d20=11 ]{29}
> roll 1d20+13 perception ???
<Kobot> Kowork rolled 1d20+13 perception ??? --> [ 1d20=16 ]{29}
> roll 1d20+18 stealth T reroll, don't want a tie here round 3
<Kobot> Kowork rolled 1d20+18 stealth T reroll, don't want a tie here round 3 --> [ 1d20=16 ]{34}
> roll 1d20+13 perception ???
<Kobot> Kowork rolled 1d20+13 perception ??? --> [ 1d20=20 ]{33}
> roll 1d20+13 +3 inspiration T, ??? is flatfooted
<Kobot> Kowork rolled 1d20+13 +3 inspiration T, ??? is flatfooted --> [ 1d20=8 ]{21}
> roll 1d4-1+3d6 stab
<Kobot> Kowork rolled 1d4-1+3d6 stab --> [ 1d4=2 3d6=9 ]{10}
> roll 1d20+6 init T
<Kobot> Kowork rolled 1d20+6 init T --> [ 1d20=15 ]{21}
> roll 1d20+3 ???
<Kobot> Kowork rolled 1d20+3 ??? --> [ 1d20=12 ]{15}
> roll 1d20+13 +3 inspiration, 4/6, 3 points spent for +3d6 cunning strike SA 1/6 left
<Kobot> Kowork rolled 1d20+13 +3 inspiration, 4/6, 3 points spent for +3d6 cunning strike SA 1/6 left --> [ 1d20=11 ]{24}
> roll 1d20+8 +3 inspiration, 0/6 left
<Kobot> Kowork rolled 1d20+8 +3 inspiration, 0/6 left --> [ 1d20=18 ]{26}
> roll 1d4-1+6d6
> roll 1d4-1+6d6
<Kobot> Kowork rolled 1d4-1+6d6 --> [ 1d4=2 6d6=19 ]{20}
<Kobot> Kowork rolled 1d4-1+6d6 --> [ 1d4=4 6d6=19 ]{22}
> roll 1d20+18 stealth escape?
<Kobot> Kowork rolled 1d20+18 stealth escape? --> [ 1d20=10 ]{28}
> Well, T is going to have one hell of a story.

[Anastasia]

Today's tidbit: Emmia's death was randomized, with slowly growing odds each day. She died early by bad luck, but odds are she wouldn't last more than a few more weeks. She really was at the end of her journey, 103 is a fantastically long time to live.

[Anastasia]

From a PM discussion with Neph:

1. Emmia's final fate + a few bits on Savras

<Nephrite> Well, maybe the Balmuria 3s will meet Emmia at some point if she becomes a servant of Savras! I think they had some ties to Mystra?
> A few.
> Savras isn't so cold as not to reward someone who he dumped on hard like that.
> She'll end up as some sort of minor but favored servant for the crap she got put through.
<Nephrite> I'm sure the prayers of some good folks will help her on her journey.
> Savras employs a lot of seers as part of what he does and she'd join them - albeit with her sight restored.
> She basically did what he wanted and kept at it, so he has no complaints with her performance.
> They wouldn't hurt, no.
<Nephrite> Well, I imagine her role may change from direct to more subtle with the heroes.
<Nephrite> Savras pretty clearly has been planning the arrival of them for some time, or at least has been planning with her.
> Well, she likely wouldn't impact much with y'all. Without spoilers, you usually don't go back to doing in the afterlife what you were doing in life (unless you became an outsider under your own power or are a special case). Even after the week's travel time in the Well of Souls, it's usually about recovering, changing and adapting from mortal life. (Assuming you keep your memories, which Emmia might.) If Savras chose to influence or direct the party further, he'd be more likely to use another source or method than Emmia. She did her time.
<Nephrite> Ahh, gotcha.
> She's free of her past life, free of her pain, misery and lonliness. For most, this includes being born anew with no memories of mortal life. Even those who retain their memories usually go through this in some manner - a new start, a chance to grow and understand further. To move past the problems of mortality.
> It's not impossible to meet her again (It happened in B1 and B3, though it took forcing it in each case), but there's usually a fairly stark divide between mortal life and what lies beyond.

[Anastasia]

I'm working on things. Here's a few previews.

1.

Selune, the Moonmaiden

Domains: Chaos, Chastity, Dream, Good, Insight, Moon, Night, Protection, Sky, Transformation, Travel

Divine Rank: 16

Her domains aren't final yet. Anyway, the main point is that she's a greater deity instead of an intermediate one. She's really straddled that line in Balmuria, to the point where she feels like a low end greater deity instead of a top tier intermediate. With how some of her powers work, greater deity fits better as well. Plus it makes certain pairings and synergies with Lathander work better.

2.

Balmuria takes the concept of avatars and expands them, as they are important for more reasons that merely being a shadow of a deity. The main purpose of an avatar and the intended use of one is to allow a deity to interact with the Prime Material Plane. A deity's true form would cause unthinkable spiritual wounds to the Prime and altogether devastate it, as the Prime Material is unable to withstand the purity and intensity of spirit a deity represents. An avatar does not threaten the Prime Material in this way, as it does not create spiritual wounds at all. This is all designed, as the Three Incarnations created the concept of avatars for precisely this reason.

That being said, avatars are used for far more. They are useful tools to attend to divine business across the planes. An avatar can fulfill virtually any role the deity desires: a diplomat, a warrior, a zealot of the faith, a wanderer or countless other tasks. They provide more power than all but the greatest servants or proxies as well as a personal touch. When a deity commits an avatar to an event, she is committing to it wholly.

A write up for how avatars work in Balmuria and the rules behind them, as well as how deities can make unique avatars.

3.

BREAKING ENTERTAINMENT: HEROES DISTRIBUTE FOOD TO THE NEEDY IN LEMMEN!

By Cryssa, Pixie Reporter.

Be afraid. That is all.

[Anastasia]

http://www.soulriders.net/forum/index.php/topic,103074.msg1059048.html#msg1059048

New bard class option is available. Not really worthwhile for 99% of PCs, but I find it useful to have. Sometimes I want a bard but not all the spellcasting that comes with it. Especially if you're just dipping bard for bardic music.

[Anastasia]

Alignment update

Helena has shifted from N with CN tendencies to N with NG tendencies.

[Anastasia]

This is half OOC info and half flavor post. I'm putting it here since it doesn't fit anywhere else. Neph was fairly curious about it and it's interesting to peel back the curtain behind the afterlife a little bit. D&D's good for that.

Emmia's Final Fate

Once Emmia died, her spirit lingered over her body for a several seconds. She then departed for the Well of Souls, where she currently is engaged in a week's travel to the bottom. As of now, she sees once more, yet her vision is lost in memories of the past. She relives her life in deep trance, all she did made manifest to her. Once this week passes, she will find a portal to Dweomerheart, where she will find herself there and in full command of her memories, rather than reborn as a minor outsider.

Emmia will be greeted by a servant of Savras (a trumpet archon named Clarity's Call), who will answer her questions and train her to see the paths without losing her sight. As fitting of a favored of Savras, she will also be trained as a wizard specialized in divinations. This is joined by a period of adjustment and acceptance, where she will come to accept her final fate. Unlike most, her suffering and sacrifice gives her the option of retaining her mortal memories. This is not common, but Savras considers it fair compensation for the burden he placed on her. Over time, Emmia will choose to keep her memories.

It will take several years for her to finish her training with Clarity's Call, mostly likely 7 to 10 years. Once that is done, she will be directed to join a group of seers. Savras oversees divination, many of his servants focus on aspects of the past or future. In this case, Emmia will join The Tenth Eye, a small group focused on the Prime Material. They inspire and direct visions to mortal seers, as well as occasionally using magic to send omens to accomplish the same. They primarily work at the direction of Savras and his servants, though they sometimes accept freelance work.

Emmia will end up a unique outsider on one side of the gestalt and a wizard (diviner) on the other. She'll probably end up stabilizing around 5 to 10 hit dice and end up lawful good, thus becoming an archon servant of Savras. She'll end up with a job and purpose she was trained for and likes, without the crippling drawback that marred her mortal life. Her teammates in The Tenth Eye will become dear friends, as they all understand the burdens they work under. In the fullness of time, her mortal life will become a faded memory, much like childhood is to an adult. Yet she'll remember a few remarkable friends she met at the end of that time, ones who may yet change the future of Malana.

[Nephrite]

Doubt it matters, but minor correction:

<Erad> OOC: Sure. Erad will try praying again over the course of the trip
<Kotono> OOC: Make a wis check to cover that in the meantime?
<Erad> roll 1d20+2
<Serith> Erad roll for Serith < 13 > [d20=11]

I rolled Int and not Wis here, so the roll should have been a 16. I doubt that actually makes any difference, but wanted to post anyway.

[Anastasia]

It doesn't in this case, but thanks for letting me know.

[Ebiris]

Inari levels up!

+4hp, +1 bab, evasion, +1d6 foxfire damage, +1 spell resistance, mirage arcana sla, +1 1st level spell known (protection from evil), skills.

Evasion is nice at least.

[Anastasia]

T reaches level 7!

- Swashbuckler 1 and Factotum 7.
- 10 on a d10 for a total of 13 hit points and a grand total of 66 hit points.
- +1 BAB for a total of +7.
- Gains a 3rd spell with AD. He'll select magic missile so he has a ranged option.
- Fort save rises by 2.
- Skills go up as normal.
- Gains Weapon Finesse as a bonus feat from Swashbuckler. He'll retrain his human feat into Subduing Strike.

Okay level up. Swashbuckler is to free up a feat so he can grab subduing strike, though going to level 3 would make sense sooner or later. He almost went martial factotum as well, but it didn't really work out.

[Nephrite]

Monk 7 and Kensai 1

3 on a d10 (bleh) for a total of 6, up to 74 HP.

Retraining Swim into Ride, putting 5 points into Diplomacy and the rest into Knowledges and Perception.

Saves don't go up, BAB goes up by 1, gain Wholeness of Body, damage goes up to 3d6 due to Monk's Belt.

Dune, side question, does the +5 levels from Monk's Belt affect Draconic Fist? I don't know if the belt was created with ACFs in mind and I ask because the ACF replaces Stunning Fist, so it's really the same "tier".

I'll need to talk to you over the weekend about what Kensai actually does for my damage, if anything.