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Finding the Spark (Pathfinder 1E Quest)

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Nevill said:
Hmm, if Serina were a class, which level would she be?
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As a Sand Hag she has 9 HD baseline, so she is unlikely to have classlevels on top of that.

If I wanted to advance her, I'd probably add a caster-template. Sorcerer Creature would be fitting and mechanically good.

Edit: Though Hags also have decent physical stats. Levels in Fighter or Barbarian would be a benefit.
 
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Arc 10: Interlude 5: Fractious Future Proofing New
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    • Fractious Future Proofing​

    6th of Abadius 4708 A.R. (Absalom Reckoning)

    "But I still don't get it... why?"

    The girl, Sirim was forced to admit, asked a lot of questions, too many perhaps. If he had been so bold with his questions at her age he never would have been trusted with the casting of a single cantrip, but still he couldn't quite bring himself to chastise her for her. Hag transformation, the remolding of mind, body, and soul into wholly novel configurations capable of henceforth impossible feats of strength, stamina, and sorcery, had been the lifetime study of more than one of the great thaumaturges of the Umbral Court; seeking to reach beyond the bounds of humanity without abandoning the pleasures of life for the sharper, supposedly more refined, tastes of undeath.

    "One would as soon ask why caterpillars become butterflies. There is no moral impetus to transformations of the flesh, and if there was at some divine plan for these women than it is surely lost to memory now unless one were to suppose that Gyronna's ascension in the River Kingdoms was part of some grand plan, or that only she, unlike other gods, possesses the ability to transform her favored into greater forms..."

    "Law of Exchange. Hags become ugly, don't they?" the girl cut in. "All the books say so."

    "In what is rather dubiously deemed their 'true' form." The shade curled closer to the ground so that the girl could look at him without craning her head. "Tell me, what does 'true' matter when most of them can choose to take on other shapes, as beautiful as can be, or when they can change their voices to be as soft and soothing as they want?"

    "Well, if they walk into a no magic zone..."

    "Very common those," Sirim muttered, knowing that would make her just annoyed enough to think.

    "You're saying the true shape of things doesn't matter, only the most common form? If a dragon should have the power to take on the shape of a man and use that form for a hundred years, does it remain a dragon, or is it just a man who retains the power to change into a dragon? Do you mean the Law of Form applies to everyone, not just Class Six Transformations?"

    "To a... degree, most things that you or I might encounter exist upon a gradient. Leave ideal forms to the bureaucrats of Axis and the vaults of careless gods."

    "You don't like Abadar?"

    "No." Sirim was curious what she would do with a single syllable answer.

    The child went quiet for a bit, hands tucked in her lap, the mark of early training, always have spell reagents to hand. "Alright."

    ***​

    If there was one thing the journey had taught Anippe it was just how big the world was and just how strange some of the powers in it were. It brought into question the notion, previously unexamined, that she would grow up to be just like her mother, maybe a bit more skilled in some things, conjuration and translocation, a bit less so in others, alchemy, but still basically the same, an Archlord of Great Nex. She bet master Sirim's parents never expected him to be a snakey shadow and that princess definitely wasn't supposed to become a hag, but she was still a bit scared of getting too close to her, hags were supossed to eat children after all. Lady Mina was also out since she was talking to said potential child devourer.

    So who did that leave? The young wizard wondered as she wandered among the stars, sailcloth, and rope of a deck magically animated.

    Trying to talk to Master Cob the Goblin was sure to be fu,n but not very elucidating about magic. He claimed to have gotten his power by poking 'the thing with all the crystals and knobs', which was of course a way of keeping the secrets of his peculiar tradition.

    Ooh, the seer, seers liked answering questions like this. She tugged on his cloack.

    "Master Akorian, do you think people like us, people with magic, mostly turn out like we expect, or are we cast adrift on the seas of fate to take on forms unguessed?"

    He looked down from under the heavy lining of his cloak, a frown of confusion on his ashy features, not used to being called out when the sun was out maybe.

    How does Kori answer?

    [] I think this age is rightly named for omens lost, everyone's fate is adrift.

    [] Why do you care so much of fate?

    [] I do not know enough to judge, my sight is not that clear

    [] Write in

    OOC: Enjoy.
     
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    • Hmm, I would personally say life is full of factors in general, your own and others, and that while you can plan and act on your own, also accept unknowns as they come.

    Not even the gods' plans all go correctly after all.
     
    She's a philosophical little girl, isn't she? Deep thoughts for a kid, but then again she's a Wizard that has almost reached 3rd level. You don't manage that by eating glue and sticking crayons up your nose.

    Kori is fairly well suited to answer her question, IMO. His path is very different from what one would expect of your average Caligni. Some of that is because of his power and his curse, some because of circumstances beyond his control, and some due to his own choices. Seems like that could be a good lesson to share with Anippe.

    Nothing profound, just the idea that she can choose her own destiny rather than being railroaded into one by the expectations of others.

    [X] There is no single answer to that question, just as no two people are exactly alike. The paths we might take throughout our lives can have many branches, some of our own choosing, some dictated by other people, and some by the whims of fate or the gods themselves.
    -[X] When given the opportunity to pick your path, choose wisely. If you don't want to be defined by your magic, then make the choice to be different.
     
    Mages have perhaps more control over their fate than most, but that is true of all things that equate to power. If something happens to ruin their plans, generally another magician, they have the tools to either right their path, or to rethink it if necessary, because coincidentally the study of magic requires a certain frame of mind. They are called 'sages' in other settings, and rightfully so.

    I wouldn't scoff at the notion of destiny, seeing how we are the Mythmakers, and fate's own conduits. However, there is enough leeway in how we achieve that fate for us to not feel artificially constrained.

    [x] There are fates and there are destinies, but the kind of person you are is out of their scope.

    Closer to Anippe's intended meaning, or at least as much of it as I understand... you do not need to be an Archlord of Great Nex to work your will upon the world; any mage of great talent will likely leave their mark regardless. That does not mean other paths will be easier than being born into a family with a firmly established magical tradition.
     
    [X] In this Age of Lost Omens, there is no fate, but what we make. Theoretically, at least, but power tends to give broader options. Power shapes the user, as much because the scope of options allowed by it is broadened, as any factor of the source of power itself.
     
    Nevill said:
    Kidnap kids, perhaps? I am not sure how eating children would help turn them. At least that's how they got new members of the coven in Verduran.

    And aren't they reproducing normally, by leaving changeling offsprings?
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    In dnd lore at least, they reproduce by eating a young child, making them sit in their stomachs for awhile, and spit them out to become a new hag/changeling. Could be different for Pathfinder.
     
    I thought Pahtfinder lore just had kidnapping some random male, getting pregnant the traditional way, then try to substitute somebody's child for your own.
     
    I thought they aren't trying to substitute anyone for anything, and just leave the kid with those who they believe will be obligated to care for them, like churches. Which is what Mina got.

    It's not WOD where there is a fetch running around pretending to be human while the changeling is snatched away by fae.
     
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    Nevill said:
    I thought they aren't trying to substitute anyone for anything, and just leave the kid with those who they believe will be obligated to care for them, like churches. Which is what Mina got.

    It's not WOD where there is a fetch running around pretending to be human while the changeling is snatched away by fae.
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    Oh sure, that works too, but a hag who replaces a kid gets to keep the kid as a bonus.
     
    Vote closed.
    Adhoc vote count started by DragonParadox on Feb 4, 2025 at 9:35 AM, finished with 15 posts and 7 votes.
    • [X] There is no single answer to that question, just as no two people are exactly alike. The paths we might take throughout our lives can have many branches, some of our own choosing, some dictated by other people, and some by the whims of fate or the gods themselves.
      -[X] When given the opportunity to pick your path, choose wisely. If you don't want to be defined by your magic, then make the choice to be different.
      [x] There are fates and there are destinies, but the kind of person you are is out of their scope.
      [X] In this Age of Lost Omens, there is no fate, but what we make. Theoretically, at least, but power tends to give broader options. Power shapes the user, as much because the scope of options allowed by it is broadened, as any factor of the source of power itself.
    Click to expand...
     
    Arc 10: Post 42: Strange Scrapings New
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    • Strange Scrapings ​

    6th of Abadius 4708 A.R. (Absalom Reckoning)

    "There is no single answer to that question, just as no two people are exactly alike. The paths we might take throughout our lives can have many branchesl some of our own choosing, some dictated by other people, and some by the whims of fate or the spirits... or of the gods themselves." You frown, the word still foreign on your lips, but continue as best you know how. "When given the opportunity to pick your path, choose wisely. If you don't want to be defined by your magic, then make the choice to be different"

    "What's wise?" the girl asks, with a promptness that makes you suspect she might be teasing. Ah, definitely a smile trying to escape there.

    "True wisdom is knowing when to stop asking questions and start looking for answers," you sweep a hand over the crashing waves, more green than blue today foaming in uneven crests that embrace the horizon.

    "I wonder if it used to be easier in the old days," the wizardling asks after a moment, the eye in the center of her forehead opens just the merest sliver of light. "Before the Empires rose and broke, before man spread out so thick over the land. If you were lucky and found the right secret, clever enough to understand it, then you'd be a great lord and founder, name burned in bold letters across the map. Now we just follow along tracks long since blazed."

    "Maybe you need a different map," you shrug. "Nar Voth is filled with secret passes and chambers no one living has seen in ages of the world, temples to lost powers."

    "Sounds fascinating," she muses.

    "It's also filled with cold, starving folk, fearful of each other as they are of the monsters in the wild cavern or the horrors that clamber up the long shafts from Sekamina or deeper still from Orv."

    Anippe gives you a dirty look, all three eyes this time. "Why'd you have to go and ruin it?"

    "Did I? Sounds to me like those would be the people to write the maps that have your name on them, trying to write each one yourself, arcane fire or no, sounds exhausting."

    "That's not... oh, I get it. You're saying if I want to be remembered I mind those around me, not just ruins and relics."

    ***​

    8th of Abadius 4708 A.R. (Absalom Reckoning)

    Life aboard the ship settles into rhythm of watch shift, sleep, meals, and training interspersed with some taking up the nets to fish in these new brimy waters under the eyes of somewhat bemused Thuvian sailors, none of which had ever seen an iruxi before in their lives, and yet which had cast many judgements upon the scaled ones: lazy, set in their ways, entwined with strange magics that make them as much a part of the land as stone or tree. Most of the stories come from father south still, in what are now called the Sodden Lands and were once carried by the survivors of Lirgen, but the sailors are quick to enough to set them aside when proven wrong. Teaching clawed students how to tie a knot may not be how they had thought they would be spending the journey, but between relief at being rescued and the boredom of life aboard a ship that doesn't need a crew they are quick to change their tune, sometimes literally. The sound of a sea shanty attempting to be sung by a mixed company of humans and iruxi is... difficult to describe.

    It is as sailors and blackscales both pull the nets from the sea that morning that they find it covered with oily yellow ichor, all the contents of the nets dead before they had even been drawn on board.

    "It's like they suffocated...?" Mina looks down caught between curiosity and pity. "Have you ever seen something like this before?"

    Tel shakes his head so hard you're surprised he didn't make himself dizzy.

    "There's more of them glued to the hull of the boat under the waterline!" Cob calls out from the edge. "Wanna go and look?"

    "I'd rather we get out of here," Mina replies.

    "Even if we go if there is something on the hull it will come with us, we must see," Gorok reasons.

    Who goes down into the water?

    [] Just the party

    [] Bring Serina, you have a habit of getting princesses into battle, no reason to stop it now

    [] Bring Anippe, she looks interested

    [] Write in

    OOC: Enjoy.
     
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    • Curse you, random encounter table! 🧐

    We definitely need to investigate, but I don't want to immediately leap into underwater combat

    @DragonParadox, just to confirm the spell still works as it should despite Avarice being special. Sirim can still recast the spell to change out Avarice's Form of the Dragon powers, right? He's got Occult Dragon slotted in for now, but he swap that out for a Dragon type that grants a Swim speed.
     
    Goldfish said:
    Curse you, random encounter table! 🧐

    We definitely need to investigate, but I don't want to immediately leap into underwater combat

    @DragonParadox, just to confirm the spell still works as it should despite Avarice being special. Sirim can still recast the spell to change out Avarice's Form of the Dragon powers, right? He's got Occult Dragon slotted in for now, but he swap that out for a Dragon type that grants a Swim speed.
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    Yep, shadows are malleable.
     
    I choose you Aqua-Avarice!

    This will probably devolve into combat, but it's better to look before we leap, IMO. Avarice with Brine Dragon abilities will be able to swim like a champ, and that combined with his other senses should allow him to see what's going on.

    And if something destroys him, we'll also have an answer.

    [X] Sirim casts Shadow Conjuration to change Avarice's special abilities from those of an Occult Dragon to a Brine Dragon. With his new Swim speed, and Invisible thanks to a spell from Kori and Mage Armor from Pepper, Avarice will slip beneath the ship and telepathically relay what he discovers to the party.
    -[X] Before Avarice investigates:
    --[X] Kori activates his Cloak of Darkness and casts Defending Bone.
    --[X] Mina casts Mage Armor and See Invisibility on herself, then Delay Poison: Communal on the party, plus Anippe, Pepper, and Serina.
    --[X] Pepper casts Mage Armor on himself and Sirim.
    --[X] Sirim casts Magic Circle Against Evil, then casts Reduce Person on Cob.
    --[X] Gorok and Cob each use Gorok's scabbard to enhance their weapons.
     
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    We might as well activate some of our less valuable hour/level and 10min/level buffs before we start poking?


    There's probably more "low cost[1]" buffs, but...

    Um. Kori's Shadow Shield thingy,
    Gorok's scabbard of crits on at least one of Cob's weapons.
    Gorok has put poison in his blade, so he has that ready.
    Everyone should wear a one of the squids - of if you can't breath air while wearing one, then have a squid close at hand ready to put on.

    Oh! As a spontaneous caster, Pepper can drop an Mage Armour or two on someone?

    [1] As in, they don't require a consumable, the resource can't be used for something much more powerful, and if the resource used turns out to wasted, it won't be too upsetting[2], and if everything were to kick off suddenly, we

    [2] An hour of Koir's Shadow Shield, a charge from Gorok's scabbard and one or two of Pepper's level 1 slots feel inexpensive to me.
     
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