Pathfinder - Ralen Bek

Despite the fact that we were told this task would be difficult, we encountered no such thing. There were some minor problems with some kind of monster, a catoblepas I think. It does not matter really as it died quite fast due to an attack by the rogue. The farm of the ogre druid was quite easy to find. This is probably due to the fact that the ogres were expecting more goblins and had been experiencing no problems with them.

I kicked down the unlocked gate as the rogue sneaked over the fence and so drew the attention of a boar with some gourds that grant the ability to breathe fire to those who consume it. We calmed it, took the gourds from it, and then killed it. The dwarf then stated his desire to ride every animal that was present. He succeeded at this.

We sent the rogue to scout out the place and he returned with news of a ferret, an owlbear, and the two ogres we knew to be there. We quite simply walked up to the house then, and killed the owlbear with some difficulty. The fight with the owlbear drew the attention of one of the ogres and the ferret. The dwarf, true to his word, rode the ferret while I killed the ogre with ease. Sidenote: the dwarf also rode the owlbear.

We all went into the house then and examined the first level. The elf threw up when he opened the door to what appeared to be the younger ogre’s room. The rogue and I ascended to the second floor, the floor with the ogre we had been sent to kill. The rogue struck first and then I smote him, cutting the ogre in half with one strike. We grabbed his items and then left the house so that we could set it on fire. I acquired a flaming spear and an elk skull mask with one antler. The rogue took some new armor while the cleric took an amulet of natural armor and the dwarf took some more of the fire gourds along with the owlbear pelt, some gold, and a stuffed dire corby.

We went back to the tribe then and I decided to call a moot of the local goblin tribes. I was told it would take a few days and so I sent out a call for assistance to my god. A few paladins arrived some days later along with the goblins tribes. and we had talks. I pointed out how if the tribes worked together that they would present a stronger threat to those who threaten them, like ogres or humans or giants. I also pointed out that they would be a stronger economic force and that the quality of life that they all had would increase. It took a decent speech but I managed to get the tribes to assemble themselves into a confederation with each tribes leader getting a vote on important matters.

I wonder how long this confederation will last. Perhaps I will use it to depose the deranged god that the dwarf helped put into power.

Pathfinder - Ralen Bek

The calamity continues. We watched the city come down hard, destroying a significant amount of land in the process. Can’t say that I particularly care as it was in the area trying to start a war. Needless to say we left quickly, heading into the mountains away from where the city had crashed. This was also the direction that the city we needed to return the ambassador to was in.

Some giants, goblins, and wolves were encountered on the way back, all of which were easily dealt with in various manners. We also acquired another member for the group, an ifrit sorcerer. The return to the city was very awkward as it appeared that the ambassador had been written off as dead by the local power and a burial was taking place when we arrived. We got paid but a war might be in the works still. Who knows? At least then the war would a better reason for occurring.

We accepted another job then, this one from a goblin to deal with an ogre mage of some sort. I figure this will be an easy job as I have dealt with one of these before. We split up then to whittle away the time until we left the next day. I went off and had tea at the local mages academy. The cleric and fighter went off to deal with some thieves while the rogue and cleric went off to deal with some revenge for the cleric as he had been swindled by a local shopkeeper.

I set off the next morning with the rogue and the sorcerer while the fighter and cleric dealt with some leftover business. A fight of honor of some kind I believe. They caught up and we reached the goblin village by the end of the day. We were given a place to rest and then we were put through a series of test to become a chieftain for the tribe the next day. The first test was a blind arrow shoot at birds which none of us did well at. The next test was one of balance and killing stirges. The rogue did the best at this naturally. The final test was being placed in a pie with the tasks to kill four birds and/or escape. I killed all the birds and thus, have become chief of this tribe.

We split up the treasure in the chieftain’s chest. We will go deal with this ogre next I think. I have no idea what happens after this with the tribe.

Ralen Bek Level Twenty

On a whim I planned out exactly how I would exactly Ralen Bek would advance to Level 20. Here are the results. (Fear Sprinkles!)

Ralen Bek

Male Human Paladin of Mitra 17/ Oracle 1/ Mammoth Rider 2

LG Medium humanoid (human)

Init +3; Senses Perception +0

Aura Aura of Courage (10 ft.), Aura of Good (Overwhelming), Aura of Justice (10 ft.), Aura of Resolve (10 ft.), Aura of Righteousness (10 ft.)

Defense

AC 43, touch 21, flat-footed 37 (+14 armor, +8 shield, +6 Cha, +5 Deflection)

hp 270 (2d12+17d10+d8+70)

Fort +31, Ref +37, Will +31

Defensive Abilities Divine Grace, Divine Health; DR 5/evil; Fast healing 2; Immune charm, compulsion, disease, fear, bleed; Resist fire 10, cold 7; SR 44

Offense

Speed 30 ft

Melee +5 Holy, Icy Burst, Keen, Impervious, Dueling Longsword +30/+25/+20/+15 (1d8+11/17-20)

+5 Impervious, Spellstealing, Dragonbane, Dueling Holy Avenger +30/+25/+20/+15 (1d8+11/19-20)

Ranged +3 Holy Distance Impervious Thundering Icy Burst Composite Longbow +28/+23/+18/+13 (1d8+9/x3)

Special Attacks Channel Positive Energy 16/day (DC 31, 9d6), Smite Evil 6/day (+13 attack and AC, +17 damage)

Paladin Spell-Like Abilities (CL 17, Concentration +30)

At Will - Detect Evil

Paladin Spells Prepared (CL 14, Concentration +27)

4th - Eaglesoul, Eaglesoul, Stay the Hand, Forced Repentance

3rd - Dispel Magic, Prayer, Prayer, Archon’s Aura, Heal Mount

2nd - Eagle’s Splendor, Eagle’s Splendor, Fire of Entanglement, Fire of Entanglement, Fire of Entanglement, Fire of Entanglement

1st - Sunmetal, Sunmetal, Sunmetal, Sunmetal, Sunmetal, Word of Resolve, Word of Resolve, Word of Resolve

Oracle Spell-Like Abilities (Cl 1, Concentration +14)

At Will - Mage Hand

At Will - Ghost Sound

At Will - Levitate

At Will - Minor Image

At Will - Telekinesis

Oracle Spells Prepared (Cl 1, Concentration +14)

1st - Burning Disarm, Summon Monster 1

0th - Mending, Detect Magic, Guidance, Create Water

Statistics

Str 23, Dex 12, Con 18, Int 12, Wis 10, Cha 37

Base Attack +19; CMB +25; CMD 48

Feats Toughness, Extra Lay on Hands, Greater Mercy, Ultimate Mercy, Extra Revelation, Leadership, Radiant Charge, Critical Focus, Power Attack, Bleeding Critical, Mounted Combat, Great Fortitude

Skills Diplomacy +36, Handle Animal +25, All Knowledges +17, Linguistics +24, Craft (Bows) +5, Profession (Soldier) +5, Profession (Architect) +5, Ride +13, Spellcraft +10, Survival +8

Languages Common, Celestial, Draconic, Abyssal, Aklo, Auran, Aquan, Dwarven, Elven, Giant, Halfling, Ignan, Infernal, Protean, Sphinx, Sylvan, Terran, Undercommon, Treant, Orc, Necril

SQ Aura of Good, Divine Grace, Lay on Hands (10d6 25/day), Mercies (Shaken, Diseased, Cursed, Poisoned, Blinded), Lore Keeper, Sidestep Secret, Divine Bond, Constant Light from Halo, Wild Coercion, Colossus Hunter

Combat Gear Explosive Arrows (50)

Other Gear Ring of Regeneration, Ring of Splendid Security, Headband of Alluring Charisma +6, Belt of Physical Might +6 (Str, Con), Dragonfoe Amulet, Winged Boots, Ioun Stones (Magenta Prism, Pale Green Prism, Pink and Green Sphere, Crown of Conquest, Bracers of the Merciful Knight, +5 Rallying, Determination, Champion, Impervious Celestial Full Plate; +5 Reflecting Clangorous Celestial Shield, Horn of Valhalla

Sprinkles the Horse

Effective Druid Level 19

Celestial Good Huge Heavy Horse

Init +10 Senses Low-Light Vision, Darkvision, Scent; Perception +9

Defense

AC 29, Touch 17, Flat-Footed 21 (+8 Dex, +1 armor, +12 natural, -2 size)

HP 254 (10d8+9d10+120)

Fort +19 Ref +19 Will +11

Defensive Abilities DR 10/evil; Improved Evasion; Resistance Cold, Acid, Electricity 15 ; SR 53

Offense

Speed 50 ft.

Melee + 30 Bite (d6+13)

+28 Hooves (d8+8)

Special Attacks Smite Evil 1/day (+1 to attack, +19 damage)

Statistics

Str 33, Dex 26, Con 26, Int 13, Wis 19, Cha 13

Base Atk 19; CMB 29; CMD 47

Feats Light Armor Proficiency, Intimidating Prowess, Skill Focus (Intimidate), Improved Natural Attack (Bite), Improved Natural Attack (Hooves), Power Attack, Improved Bull Rush, Improved Overrun, Improved Evasion, Multiattack

Skills Acrobatics +8, Climb +16, Escape Artist +13, Fly +13, Intimidate +32, Perception +9, Stealth +13, Survival +9, Swim +16

SQ Tricks (Attack, Come, Guard, Defend, Heel, Down, Watch, Menace, flank, Seek, Track, Work, Breakout)

Free writing - Session Two

She felt hollow inside now. Death would soon be upon her here. Of course, she didn’t particularly care at this point about the matter of her life at the moment and was unlikely to develop any concern for it ever again. She had been here seventeen days now, holding this mountain pass against the invaders of the land that she and so many held dear.

She and five others had been here at the start of the attack. Now there was only her still alive in the fortification… well, not only her. There was the army camped outside that could count technically. She grimaced as she looked down at her wounded leg again, wondering if she could get to the battlements of the small fort without too much pain. From there she could fire her bow at the enemy a few more times. Down here, she could only die or be taken as a prisoner. She wasn’t really sure what would happen to her if the enemy came across her like this, there being few solid facts on what happened to those who clashed with the enemy beyond vague rumors.

She shouldered her bow then and stood, using her sword as a support for her wounded leg. At a crawling pace she moved across the small courtyard, her voice as soft as the wind that day as it offered up a prayer for assistance. She doubted anything would come of it but it couldn’t hurt could it. She reached the stairs and paused, taking a moment to gather herself before moving up one step at a time. Clack. Clack. Clack. Clack. Clack. Clack.

She was halfway up when she heard the sound that had been her nightmare for the past seventeen days. The horns of the enemy were being blown. They were coming. This was it. Clack. Clack. Clack. The names of the four others who had died her ran through her mind and she smiled. Soon she would be with them but first, she would take a few more of the enemy to the grave with her. Clack. Clack. Clack. Clack. She wondered whether or not the soldier she had sent to warn others had succeeded or not. She hoped he was okay as she reached the top and looked out and down the mountain pass at the enemy.

She calmly counted the banners that were displayed and smiled. There were three new ones down below and they did look quite fancy to her. She wondered who they represented and then shrugged. She took her bow off her shoulder and drew an arrow. A glance at the flag to her right and then she lifted the bow and fired. Everyone froze then as it fell back to the ground, everyone watching the arrow as it stated how far exactly the forts defender could fire at the moment.

She eyed the distance and nodded to herself then frowned. The enemy was moving forward now in a completely new formation compared to what she had seen the previous sixteen days. Shields were everywhere, covering everyone. She blinked as she pondered this development. She doubted her arrows could get through a shield and armor unless the enemy was really close and then it would be somewhat pointless.

The shielded formation passed by the arrow she had fired and then steps later she fired, another shot coming every second. She knew that the arrows couldn’t do anything but perhaps she would get lucky. Either way, the arrows falling amongst the formation would slow it to a crawl and indeed they were. It felt so good to get respect.

One of the enemy fell at last, a small victory for the lady on the battlements but it was just one fish in a sea and all present knew it. The formation pushed on and despite the now dangerous arrows raining down on them reached the walls. A ladder was put up, a ladder the lady could not push away, and the group started to work their way up one by one. The first to reach the top got an arrow to the throat, the second an arrow to the leg, the third an arrow to the chest, and the fourth received no arrow.

It was over now. The lady laid there, what was left of her life slowly draining away, a smile on her face. She blinked as someone knelt in front of her, as someone examined her. The person stood and the words he spoke were a strain for her to hear. Give this woman full burial honors. Burn the rest.

She shuddered and then closed her eyes, hoping that others had received a warning.

Pathfinder- Ralen Bek

Calamity has befallen me. As I traveled along the roads I found myself shift through realms and in the process lost a bit of the power that my god had given me. I find myself unable to cast spells or to summon Sprinkles, my horse, once more. I do not know how it happened but I ended up in a city that had recently undergone a religious revolt in the name of some serpent god.

I found myself conversing with the king of the nation state when out of nowhere a dwarf rocketed through one of the windows and demanded something from the king. This was quickly followed by a catfolk rubbing his hair. I do not understand that. The dwarf got what he wanted but had to pay for it and then rocketed out of the room through another window. I accepted a quest and went off on my way, only to find that the dwarf and catfolk were with me now.

I have been tasked along with the fighter and rogue to rescue a diplomat from a city built atop five dragons. This will be an interesting task. We decided to go stock up on magical items and so went shopping for a little bit. I acquired gauntlets of the merciful knight so that I could lay on hands more. After I bought the gauntlets a voice spoke to me and asked for help. It appeared that this fellow was stuck in hell and I assisted him in escaping with the purchase of some demon’s blood to make a portal. A devil tried to come up with the elf but the fighter dropped a crate on it so it fell back down. Apparently this elf fellow jumped into hell to kill a demon so that the rest of the party would survive and won.

That little fiasco done we went to sleep and the next day took a balloon up to the city. We were asked to undergo a test there and all but the cleric complied. The test was to fly through a cloud. A bolt of lightning tried to strike me, a cloud snake flew around the rogue, and the clouds turned red for the fighter. I do not trust the dwarf very much due to this and later actions. All but the cleric moved along to the next part of the city. We examined several magical shops and then were about to move on to the next part of the city when it became apparent that the cleric had snuck into the city through some means. The guards were less than happy about this and attempted to arrest him. The elf managed to talk his way out of it and then joined us on the way to the next part of the city.

At the next portion of the city I blessed a priest of the local religion and then moved on to find some tea. I did find some tea and had some with the local prophet along with the elf who I had rescued from Hell. The dwarf joined us and we conversed on several matters then the prophet asked us to bring the rogue to the hall. We all agreed we had no idea where the rogue was and so the Prophet used a magic staff to ascertain his location. We all followed and it appeared that the rogue had found the missing ambassador. The ambassador was again detained and the four of us were lead back to the hall to have more tea.

Everything was amicable until one of the city’s constructs returned from raiding. This construct had been accidentally activated by the dwarf and the Prophet was less than pleased to see this. Hostilities broke out and I slew the Prophet while the rest of the group dealt with the guards. It quickly became apparent then that the Prophet had been the one keeping the city organized and the dragons under control as the city started to plummet.

We found the ambassador quickly and then the rogue and the ambassador jumped, their safety ascertained with a cloak of gliding. I followed, having been given that ability to fly by my Celestial Armor. The dwarf apparently summoned a demon of sorts and was hurtled off the city at an extremely high speed. The elf took an escape eagle.

The rogue noticed that the dwarf flying at extremely high speeds was not normal and attempted to intercept the fighter. He was successful in this and apparently stopped the dwarf from killing the ambassador but could not escape the grasp of the dwarf then. The two of them made a decent sized crater in the ground. I arrived then and punched the dwarf into unconsciousness before the cleric and I healed the rogue.

We are now stuck out here in the wilderness with no idea where we are. What an adventure.

Free writing - Session One

A man stood alone in the darkness, the wind rustling everything around him. He knelt then and poked at something in the dirt beneath him. The object was hard and cold in his fingers and he brought it up to examine it carefully. There was little doubt in the man’s mind as he ran his hands over the coin that his quarry had indeed come this way though whether or not they knew they were being pursued was another matter. Perhaps the coin was a trap. He looked around with suspicion but did not see anything out of place. Two steps back were taken into the shrubbery as a voice sounded out close by.

"This way, it’s this way."

"No, we’ve been that way before. Face it, we’re lost here." The sounds of someone sitting reached the man in the shrubbery.

Well even if we are lost we can’t stop. There has to be someone hunting us. The man shifted his foot then and froze as a stick cracked beneath it. Everything froze then and the man had to strain to hear the whispers. "There’s someone out there… What we gonna do?"

The man slowly drew a shortbow as he waited to hear a response and then blinked as the darkness vanished, the light of a ball of flames illuminating the area. He muttered something under his breath as he switched out his bow for a club, his eyes tracking the ball of flames as it flew by his right side. He could see them clearly now, the one he was hunting and his companion. It had complicated his mission when he had run off like this into the wild after accidentally burning down a house or two.

He sniffed, excited that this mission was close to its end and watched as another ball of flames flew by him. A quick prayer to the Maker and a spell to hasten his actions and then he charged, erupting from the shrubbery. The distance between him and the pair was quickly covered, far too quickly for the pair to react in any meaningful way. He casually swung the club in his hand into the girl’s stomach, propelling her backwards into his target. The hunter watched as the pair tumbled to the ground and then swung again, this time at his target.

He smiled under his helm as he saw that both of his strikes had knocked out his targets and quickly went about binding their hands. The girl he gagged as well for her ability to speak was irrelevant here, the boy was the target. The hunter dragged the pair over to a tree and sat them up underneath it. A second later and his right hand clasped the boys shoulder and a blue light glowed in the flame light clearing. The boy jerked awake and the hunter smiled as he stepped back. "Jarvius of Redwater, you have been called to present yourself as a possible for becoming a Magister of Auctor. How do you answer?"

"I errr what?"

"You have the talents necessary to become a Magister. You displayed those talents quite recently." The hunter looked over at the charred brush then back at the embarrassed face of the boy.

"But… but… Auctor is thousands of kilometers away, in the north."

"We do not discriminate. I have a teleport scroll to use. What is your answer?"

"I… can my friend come with me?"

The hunter looked over at her and then back at the boy, "Does she have any useful talents?"

"She’s quite useful in a fight." The hunter nodded. "Alright, I’ll come then."

The hunter looked once more at the charred brush and then pulled out a piece of paper. He recited the words on the paper and then the trio of humans vanished from the forest.

Pathfinder- Ralen Bek

Day 20

Today was a busy day. We awoke and consulted our list of suspects and then went off to find the one that struck us as the most odd, an elf that the guild had no information on. Despite this lack of information, we quickly found him in an apartment in the noble district and after a very heated conversation with the gnome landlady and her pet owlbear we acquired access to his room.

Sadly, he was not our suspect despite the numerous maps and artifacts that he had in his possession that pointed towards a lifestyle of assassins. We let him go as it was quite easy to see he wasn’t responsible and then moved on to the mages college to make sure that whoever was going to be assassinated would stay alive. We contacted the one we felt most likely to be the target and then gathered the ones least able to defend themselves. As nothing was happening we sat down for some food and waited for this killer to emerge.

Naturally, our presence set everything awry and some beast escaped from its cage in the labs. The rest of the group went to deal with while I looked after our bait and they came back up pretty fast. We quickly left the building along with most of the mages college and watched it as the place got destroyed. The rest of the group informed me that they did not do it.

We headed back to the guild then and after some consulting with the leaders, went off to find another suspicious person. Kroze started a riot on the docks and we watched a prince get his money stolen from him. We also found the explosives expert we had set off to find and returned him to the guild. He was not responsible but he was able to point the way to a group who had been looking for someone to take the job. We convened with the leaders about this group and then called in the guard to assist us with their capture.

We set off for the house that this group was at and quickly forced our way inside. Several guardsmen died due to magical traps but we eventually got our way into the hidden areas of the place. We discovered then that the group was fleeing and so Sol went massive and chased down one of the groups with Kroze at his side. I confiscated some tomes that were present in the house and went off to meet them.

We took the leader of the assassins with us back to the guild hall and were enjoying a fine dinner when one of the leaders went down, dead due to poison, a very fast acting one at that. The hall was quickly locked down and we went about investigating, only to find that there was a being of chaos from the negative energy plane present. I drew up a protective circle around the main group while the rest of the group looked for something useful.

Sol acquired an upgrade to his eye that allowed him to see planar people and it was soon apparent that much of the group that was not us was possessed. I used a holy device that Kroze had found and seared many with holy light but that was not enough so I broke the device and an angel appeared. A low ranking one mind you but an angel none the less. Said angel took one look at the main focus of the possession and charged. It quickly lost that fight and so Sol and I took over while Kroze healed the angel in some way. Shortly after that, we drove the being from the body it was possessing and the angel struck out again while Kroze handed me the device that had held the angel. I quickly used it to seal away the chaos being and then it was over. Most of the guild was dead and so when given the choice, Sol, Kroze, and Zaraki opted to leave while they could. They shook down the place a bit, taking a few magic items with them and then we left, only to confront a massive crowd outside. We quickly decided to leave the city and the entire empire for other lands only to have Kroze draw a card from the deck of many things he had picked up. A dragon appeared and then he dropped the rest of the cards only to have them all activate.

We were all transported than to the realm between realms I believe. We all went our separate ways to talk to someone and I would up with my god. He thanked me for all I had done and then gave me a gift of a halo to forever light my way and keep me alive. The others got gifts as well I believe though I know not what they are. We were transported then back to the spot that we had left and found that the dragon was still there. Kroze quickly charmed it and ordered it to leave and then we went on our way to the east.