Strange Aeons: In Search of Sanity II [IC - Group #2]

[lostsole31]

DAY 11

The next morning everyone performs their daily rituals and has breakfast. Unfortunately, Jean wakes up sick.

Spoiler: Björn

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Releasing Hardened Strikes [Piercing], Björn continues to explore and customize and is able to put a very-low level psionic field about himself - which transfers in combat to any melee weapon held. Any creature resistant to weapons but harmed by psychically-, psionically, or magically-charged weapons are now affected by Björn's sword or gauntlet strikes.

Mechanics: Björn has opened the Psionic Attacks customization. All of his melee attacks are treated as magic for the purposes of overcoming DR, even if any weapons he wields are "mundane." In addition, any weapon wielded by you while this customization is in effect is treated as a masterwork weapon. This basically gives you a bonus on your attack roll on all weapons you currently wield except the silver dagger (since it is already masterwork).

Spoiler: Brother Jaume

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Brother Jaume, knowing that you are dealing with undead - ghouls, specifically - and what you know of them so far from fighting them. Do you wish to adjust your spell selection for today?

Spoiler: Dorn

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Meditating on the mysteries of akasha, your daeva shows you how to deal with an entirely new weapon, one relating to copper dragons. A shimmering array of translucent scales girds your neck and trails down your back and shoulders that then disappear from sight.

Mechanics: You have unlocked (specifically) Gorget of the Wyrm [acid]. As a 15-foot cone or a 30-foot line (your choice each time you use it), you can breath a thin spray of acid that does 1d4 acid (Ref DC 15 half). This ability may be used as a standard action, and unlike normal dragons there is no recharge time.

Also, knowing your likely enemy hanging out in that area, do you change your spell selection?

Spoiler: Jean

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Do you keep the same lineup for your abilities?

That said, you are sick, but not like anything you may have had before. You have suffered 3 CON and 1 DEX ability damage.

The assumption is that the seance for Bjorn and the others will continue with the Sheriff (Champion Spirit) as before?

After a medical check, Dorn is able to determine that Jean has fallen prey to the deadly disease known as "ghoul fever."

[Blackhawk101]

BJ will stick with the same spells.
He is obviously concerned with Jean’s Condition. Someone should be providing him regular medical attention. Can he receive that here at the chapel?

[BuckGodot]

Yes. Björn will continue his current spirit status.

[PSinger]

Dorn will likewise aid (or be aided by) Brother Jaume concerning Jean. "Well, do we wait for him to shake this off? How do you feel Jean, besides 'sick?'"

In addition, Dorn will want to check on the person we saved from the tribals yesterday.

Spoiler: Spells

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I don't have enough spells to matter. I want to keep my charm person, even though it isn't useful against grays, because we don't know what we'll find here.

[pfm1995]

Sitting on what passes for a cot in this blighted asylum, Jean's face is worn and haggard as he answers, slowly. "Sweaty. Feverish. Cold." His stomach rolls, and he bends over an already-defouled bucket and emptied what little he had managed to stomach during breakfast. "Hungry. Very hungry."

[Blackhawk101]

“He needs constant medical attention to hopefully overcome the disease. Who is the best qualified healer?” BJ asks the group.

[PSinger]

"I think between the two of us, you have the compassion but my knowledge might just give me the advantage," says Dorn tactfully. "We are now in the territory of the Tribals, and these ghouls are no joke. We need all hands on deck. I don't think we should go out without Jean (and Javert). We still have two-and-a-half weeks of food. Let's not let our terror of running out of supplies make us be hasty. Brother Jaume, if you could work with me to give Jean the best fighting chance possible. In the meantime, we will use today as a good day for downtime - weapons training, meditation, checking out books from the library, etc.

"Does this sound good to everyone? Winter, anything to add?"

[BuckGodot]

Björn nods his assent.

[Blackhawk101]

​“I agree. Let’s get Jean back on his feet as soon as possible.”

[lostsole31]

Because Dorn can make an effective case in his favor, Jean - having ghoul fever - has a disease that is only transmittable after specific events were to occur (i.e., he dies, becomes a ghoul, then bites somebody himself). To that end, he does not have to be cloistered outside of the chapel.

Over the course of the day, Winter herself will check in on Jean. That is when that the group's healers (yes, Dorn seems to be the lead, Brother Jaume just behind) realize that Winter Klaczka is actually a gifted physician herself - moreso than either. In the end, it is Dorn that exists Winter in helping Jean convalesce. Jean, for his part, rests all day instead of engaging in any heavy meditation or study of any kind. It turns out that Winter dabbles in a field of secondary training (after her priestly training) called a "solacer" - which is someone that learns to use art to act as therapy for others.

Nadya spends the morning interacting with the other survivors. Gaye works on her singing skills. Björn meditates, attempting to learn more about his psychic power. Brother Jaume spends the morning in prayer. When not working with Winter and Jean, Dorn engages in extreme calisthenics he learned from someone named "Alewalker."

In the afternoon, Björn fine tunes his meditations, focusing on high-speed observations. Gaye and Brother Jaume work discuss general "white necromancy" vs. positive energy as used for healing, a discussion that Winter and Dorn end up joining.

After dinner, Gaye goes off for arcane meditation, taking Nadya under her wing. Winter takes a few books from the library that deal with mining, metallurgy, and volcanism. Björn meditates on the connection between himself and his suit. Dorn and Brother Jaume do weapons training together; the former working on his overall form with the warhammer, and the latter working his power strikes with the quarterstaff.

Dorn, you automatically aid Winter. Jean, roll a Fort save vs. disease for the next morning to see how you've done against the ghoul fever.

Spoiler: Jean

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You get a +4 bonus to the save courtesy of your healers. Note, you have to make 2 consecutive saves (not to saves in general), and you haven't made any yet. Roll here IC, spoilered, please.

[Blackhawk101]

Brother Jaume will check on the man they brought back with them.

[pfm1995]

Jean spends another day in bed, Javert watching over him with a predatory gleam in his black eyes.

Spoiler: Rolls

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Fort Save - (1d20+9)[10]

[lostsole31]

Brother Jaume, Winter has already worked to help heal him. You can throw some extra on him before you go to bed, if you wish. Unfortunately, as a former resident-guest of this august and exclusive establishment, he is not very talkative. He is not catatonic, but suffers from severe depression (and now PTSD to boot). However, the nurses recognize him as "Ilki Volost" ... who suffers as described: chronic melancholia. He will tell the brother he was there for days, but he otherwise trails off and doesn't add anything that might be helpful.

---

DAY 12

Spoiler: Björn

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Knowing he will have a lot of time on his hands, Björn takes his time with his aegis customization this morning, and it yields incredible results. He is able to form an extra pair of arms from the intercostals section of his armor (below the underarm, side of the torso). These are simple, non-combat capable grabbers that are not prehensile in and of themselves. Basically, thing "comes with cupholders."

Spoiler: Extra Arms [Lesser

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Customization]The aegis’s astral suit has an extra pair of arms with limited function. Each arm can hold, but not use, any one item that can normally be held in one hand. Items held in this way count toward the aegis’s carrying capacity. The aegis can retrieve any item held by his extra arms as a swift action. The aegis does not gain any mechanical benefit from items held by these arms, such as a shield bonus to armor class.

Spoiler: Dorn

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In meditation with your deva today, you get rid of the gorget connecting you to the copper dragon. This time, you are shown a similar gorget, but one calling upon the silver dragon, for this one is cold damage.

This morning, Jean wakes up even worse than yesterday, having suffered 2 DEX and 2 CON. However, Winter is prepared with a spell to lessen some of the damage, casting lesser restoration on him to heal him of 2 CON (basically negating today's CON loss). Jean is still healthier than an average man, but he is slightly clumsier than average. More bed rest for him and Winter and Dorn will tend to him throughout the day.

For morning training, Dorn will take everyone (except) Björn and run folks (even Winter) through grueling exercises as taught him by the mysterious "Alewalker" (and Gaye is familiar with them as well). Lacking specialized training, making the bodier healthier overall is the best way to prevent disease, rather than trying to fight disease after the fact. Björn spends the morning in psionic meditation and creating these semi-vestigial arms from his suit.

In the afternoon, Nadya socializes with the other survivors. Dorn is in prayer. Björn continues yesterday's attempt to merge observation and psychic ability through psychic meditation. Gaye is in arcane meditation. Brother Jaume tries his hand at ki meditation.

In the evening, Dorn gets into a discussion with Nadya about his role as an emissary of his faith, and sometimes how the non-believer must be cowed. It's a discussion that fascinates Björn, though more for battlefield applications. Winter reads a work concerning experimental medicine. Gaye likewise reads about abnormal pathology. Brother Jaume works on his power-striking technique, but this time for unarmed technqiues.

Jean, your physicians (Winter and Dorn) did a great job today, but it is still up to you. Roll a Fort save with a +4 bonus.

[pfm1995]

Another day in bed, tossing and turning and sweating...

Spoiler

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Another roll, per lostsole's request.

(1d20+9)[20]

[Blackhawk101]

BJ will provide healing for Ilki.

[lostsole31]

DAY 13
This morning, when Jean gets up and Winter and Dorn check him, he is still sick, but his condition did not progress. Winter casts lesser restoration on him to give him 2 CON healing. They'll continue to treat him throughout the day and hopefully he will kick the fever by tomorrow.

Spoiler: Björn

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As he has another day of sitting around, Björn will be able to take his time on some interesting developments with his suit. Nothing that can seem to help him in his current situation, but over the course of the day and messing around, he will unlock two astral suit abilities that could help him in aquatic environments.

Spoiler: Swim

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Swim: He gains a swim speed equal to his base speed. This includes adjustments to base speed for the Speed customization.

Spoiler: Underwater Breath

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He can breathe safely underwater as long as he is wearing his astral suit.

Spoiler: Dorn

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This morning, your deva tutors you in modifying the gorget of the wyrm to draw on the righteous wrath of gold and brass dragons. You have unlocked gorget of the wyrm [fire].

While Björn focuses on his suit customizations (and whatever daydreams of "how cool it would be to..." with them), Brother Jaume holds an exercises session in the morning for everyone else, utilizing a different style than Dorn did yesterday. In the afternoon, he goes through low-impact stretches and agility training for everyone (including Björn) except Gaye. For her part, Gaye works with survivors to provide a soothing presence.

In the evening, Brother Jaume will focus his attention on the now physically healed Ilki. At her request, Björn gives Gaye combat training. Winter and Dorn talk preventative medicine.

Jean, give me a Fort save with a +4 bonus due to the quality of your medical care.

[pfm1995]

Feeling better, at least, Jean manages to stomach a bit of broth without doing his best mother-bird impression.

Spoiler: Save

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Fort Save - (1d20+10)[23]

[PSinger]

Dorn's focus now is long-term care to help Jean get back his mobility. Physical therapy! He makes sure Jean understands that outside of his physician-approved PT sessions, he is still on complete bedrest.

[lostsole31]

DAY 14

Spoiler: Björn

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For his morning meditations, Björn unlocks an ability to put in a transparent overlay for his eyes. Something is different, but he can't quite tell what ... until he looks into around and peers into a poorly-lit corner of the sanctuary (fuel has to be conserved, so the entire place is not lit up super-bright). He is surprised that he can see into those dim to dark areas just fine!

Spoiler: Darkvision

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With the Darkvision customization (1 pt, as with the others), you can see out to 60' in complete darkness.

Spoiler: Dorn

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Your deva teaches you the last passion veil ... another gorget of the wyrm, but this one channeling the bronze dragon. You now have unlocked gorget of the wyrm [electricity]!

Jean wakes up fine the next day, his fever having finally broken in the night. He's only a little tight the next day, and with Winter's healing Jean no longer has any lasting effects from the ghoul fever (DEX and CON normal).

With Jean back on his feet, Winter tells the party that Captain York has done an inventory. With rationing, they think only another two weeks or so of food and supplies remain. She does not tell the patients this, but does make sure that the other guards and staff know.

Björn (no doubt) conducts a full-party seance to call upon the Sheriff.

With everyone AUR, what is the intention? Head back to tribal territory?

[Blackhawk101]

BJ thinks that they should continue to explore the tribal area and eradicate that threat to the group and to find food for the larger community.

[PSinger]

Dorn definitely agrees with that. However, Brother Jaume should not be standing on the front line when Tribals are first discovered, Dorn mentions. We can't afford to lose anyone, of course, but we definitely can't afford to lose him to a paralysis+coup de grace. Dorn thinks he and Bjorn should be front tier against them, with Bjorn in the lead in tighter confines.

[Blackhawk101]

*nods agreement*

[lostsole31]

DAY 14 (Again...or is it Day 10?!)

Spoiler: Björn, Gaye

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You wake up as normal, and nothing seems different about your environment. And yet, in the little corner of the sanctuary that the party has set up for themselves, other than Gaye, you don't see Brother Jaume, Dorn, Jean (or Javert), or even Nadya, but you DO see a batch of new faces. Or at least, new-ish. Several of them (but not all) you remember from your first terrifying dream in what seems so long ago, and there are a couple that you might recognize as having been with you before the strange dimensional shift at the Argus Wall.

Spoiler: Corbin, Flair

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You don't know why, you don't know how, but it seems that Bangs, Maeni, and Zoo have been returned safely to you. And they seem fully healed! Did Heck do .... wait, where the heck is Heck?!? And there is this really brawny northman in the group's area that Corbin doesn't remember, but Flair does from before the Argus Wall incident (as well as the terrifying dream that is your first memory, albeit not actually "waking memory"). And there are tiny things which seem different about the Sanctuary. For one, the corner that has group supplies seems a little less than you remember it being before you went to bed last night.

Spoiler: Bangs, Maeni, Zoo

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You each wake up to find two important truths ... unless this is the afterlife. First, you are alive. Second, you are fully healed!

As you each look around, you see Corbin and Flair, as expected, but there are two others. The first is a brawny northman that you may or may not recognize (depending on what your original group might be) ... and definitely from the terrifying dream that had the man in rags killing you. Only Maeni seems to not know him at all.

The other is a slender, beautiful woman with strange features (description forthcoming) that you KNOW you don't recognize.

[digiman619]

Flair rises. He's a tall, lanky human, his skin lightly tanned. He is moderately handsome, more pretty boy than beefcake, but what's more striking is his eyes. They have a sense of cunning and calculation behind them; this is a man who has seen some things and does not back down from them. He wears a leather cuirass and striking red boots, and though you see no weapons at his hip, you do see a spell component pouch.

The first thing he notices are his companions, he smiles when he sees Maeni, there was one less woman that he lost. Halfway to his feet, however, he notices something. Something's wrong with the chapel. It's shade is oh so slightly off, like he was seeing it through lightly colored glass. He rubs his eyes, but the chromatic aberration remains. He runs up to the nearest wall, placing his hand on it. His hand remains its appropriate color, so it's clearly not his eyes, so that can only mean one thing.

"No, no, no. Not again..." he says, a sense of defeat in his voice. He slumps to ground, his head in his hands for a few seconds. He closes his eyes, takes a deep breath, and stands, his eyes now filled with clarity. He starts by talking to his crew. "Okay, I see Snips didn't make the jump. If you guys made it, it seems probable that she is alive back in our version. How do you all feel? You obviously don't remember the jump, but are there any other huge gaps in your memories that wasn't there yesterday?"

Once he gets a satisfactory response, he turns to the two... well, he was going to say "new arrivals", but it was his group that were new. Still, he went up to the two of them and introduced himself. "Hello, I am Flair. It seems that you don't recognize us, but that's actually a good sign. Something's weird about this place, and not just in the "There's a fog outside that prevents us from leaving" way you were told. There seems to be many versions of this place running in tandem and it's possible to be swept from one version to the next, which is what has happened to me and my associates." He smiles, with a slightly exasperated smirk

"But other than that, I'm not doing too bad. You?"

[SwordChucks]

Zoo puts a hand to his head. "There was a frying pan and things were going poorly... and now I'm here."
Looking around and noticing the change in company, Zoo says "Where's Snips? And Akbar?"

Spoiler: Zoo's Description

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Zoo is a fairly tall, wiry, and unkempt Garundi man. He has long black matted hair, held back with grime. He wears a tattered Briarstone patient's uniform and no armor. His only other possessions are a well made backpack and cooking supplies.

[BuckGodot]

Björn takes a half step back from the... stranger?... his hand straying to his sword but listens intently...

Blonde-haired, blue-eyed Björn is the epitome of the chiseled-chinned youth of Northern Europe with a charming smile, straight white teeth and an incredible physique. However, the smile rarely appears these days and his haunted eyes dart around, searching the shadows. If you peer closely you can see he has an almost hunted look about him. He moves with great caution, checking every corner and crevice as he moves. His rippling muscles appear to always be in a state of contraction, like a tightly wound spring, ready to move in the blink of an eye. He seems to be wearing a suit of armor with an extra set of arms beneath his own but he moves as though he is still adjusting to their presence.


With a shake of his head, Björn sighs and says "It figures... I am Björn Vinter. Who..." and he gestures at the others...

[ClockworkCorvid]

Corbin looks wild-eyed at the stranger, his "lost" friends, and the slightly changed surroundings. He's some kind of humanoid, black feathered bird, with a dark, cracked bill and wicked looking talons on his hands and feet. While short and skinny, he has the wiry, athletic build of someone who gets into and out of a lot of trouble. A heavy knife is tucked into his belt, and his chain shirt is looking like it's seen better days.

"Wait, somethings not right. Everythings different. Off slightly. And how'd you all survive the crazy people? And who the hell are you two!?"

[lostsole31]

Björn might know her, but the newcomers do not. There is a woman among you whom you do not recognize. She is tall for a woman (5' 9"). Though slender, she possesses enough fatty tissue in all the right places albeit of an incredibly alluring nature that she weighs in ~135 pounds. She wears a courtier's dress, mainly purple but adding tones of black, indigo, and lining of cyan and turquoise, and she has quite a bit of various jewelry. A closer look reveals that part of her dress is actually is studded leather. Despite her clothing, she wears a rapier to her left. She wears a backpack that seems to have a full load of equipment. What's more, she has a bedroll ... not like the institutional winter blankets the rest of you have been using (sans the older man that also just appeared).

She is brimming with sensual grace and natural charm. If your characters are attracted to women, she is particularly arresting. Though naturally a dark readhead, she has her hair dyed a purple with cyan feathering and trim, designed to go with her naturally gray eyes and pale skin.

"I am Gaye Kóbor, which means 'Happy Wanderer' in Varisian. I am formerly of the Karcau Opera." Her voice tinkles alluring with a soft mezzo-soprano. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Flair. I have never heard of Snips or Akbar. And you are ....?"

This last seems to be addressed to the man in black feathers, and he is not sure if her unspoken adverb is "...whom?" or "...what?"

[digiman619]

Flair shakes Bjorn's hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Bjorn." He then quickly introduces the rest of the party, starting on his avian teammate. "This is Corbin. He's a Tengu, an avian race that tend to be survivalists. Corbin's a crack shot with a crossbow and a generally nice guy." Next he turns to Maeni. "This is Maeni." He frowns slightly, a bit unhappily "I don't really know what race she is, but she's our primary caster. And this is Zoo", he said, moving over to him "He can shapeshift, though not into anything humanoid thus far." He whispered something into his ear before continuing. "And finally, this is Bangs. He's our healer, though his power is psionic rather than divine."

After his introduction, he turns to Gaye. "De ce salut acolo. Eu sunt Flair, și este o plăcere să întâlnești pe cineva cu astfel de talente într-un loc ca acesta. În timp ce, din păcate, nu am prea mult de cântat, am iubit întotdeauna teatrul. Poate că odată ce ați terminat toate astea, ați fi dispuși să ne permiteți să auzim tonurile voastre dulce?"

Spoiler: What he whispered

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"Remember how I appeared at the Argus Wall? Same thing, only the four of us ended up here rather than just me."

If you want to continue this conversation, you can take it to the IC Interactive.

[silphael]

The lean and tall, odd woman with milky white skin looks around, seemingly famished, yet somewhat healthy. Throwing her lavender gaze around, she seems bothered. As she turns her face around, you can see small coppery scales around her neck.

As she finally focuses her eyes on the people around her, you can see her formerly limpid eyes fill up with anger, hunger, and anguish. She seems to recognize some of the people around, then speaks in a cold voice :

"W- What happened ?"

Quickly recollecting her thought.

"I'm Maeni Lioredn, and I'm not sure from where I'm from."