#Mau Ornelos-Servos | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

parasite-core · 7 months ago

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253 characterization questions - Mau

This will probably be the last one I do for a while since this was an exercise to flesh out my most recent Pathfinder PCs

Part One: The Basics 1. What is your name? Mau Ornelos-Servos

2. Do you have any nicknames? If you do, who gave it to you and why? I do not. Not unless you include Donyoku calling me ‘kitty cat’, which I pointedly do not.

3. How old are you now? 26

4. When were you born? I do not know the exact day, I was too young when my parents died to remember.

5. Where do you call home now? Sandpoint, a charming little town I settled down in a number of years ago.

6. To what social class do you belong? Working class

7. What is your eye color? Yellow

8. What is your hair color? Dark brown

9. Do you have any distinguishing facial features? I’ve recently gained some claw scars on my face from…a rather unfortunate incident involving a haunted house and hallucinations caused by its haunts.

10. Do you have any birthmarks? Where are they? I do not.

11. Do you have any scars? How did you get them? See facial features above.

12. Do you have any tattoos or other markings? How and why did you get them? It is difficult to have a tattoo when you are covered in fur, unless you want me to get one in my ear or on my paw pads. Which I would not do because that sounds excruciating.

13. Do you have any allergies, diseases, or other physical weaknesses? I am…rather ironically…allergic to cats. Actual cats, not catfolk.

14. Are you right or left handed? I was right handed, but have had to learn to maneuver my left hand equally well, as I have to use my cane in my right hand.

15. What does your voice sound like? Tired. I have been through too much lately and I can’t be bothered to pretend I’m not exhausted.

16. How do you dress most of the time? An orange coat with a nice yellow pattern on it. And a light armor underneath, given our recent ventures. I also need glasses.

17. How do you dress up? Well, in the dream casino I generally have a nice suit and a top hat. Which I think is rather fitting of me, so if I have to be dressed formally in the future I will likely take inspiration from that.

18. How do you dress down? A simple tunic without my coat.

19. What do you wear when you go to sleep? A simple dressing gown.

20. Do you wear any jewelry? Not really. I’ve taken to wearing some protective magical trinkets, but if I were not adventuring I don’t believe I would wear any of it. Jewelry mostly just gets in the way when I’m working on formulae.

21. What words and/or phrases do you use frequently? Do I use any particular words frequently? If I do I have not taken note of it. Except I get a certain pride in calling my mutagenic concoctions ‘Mewtagens”.

22. Do you have any quirks, strange mannerisms, annoying habits, or other defining characteristics? Well obviously my body language isn’t quite the same as humanfolks’. My ears and tail are more of an indicator of my mood than facial expressions, which could be difficult for someone not well versed in Catfolk body language.

23. Do you have any bad habits? If so, what are they and how do you plan to get rid of them? I suppose getting caught up counting random things would be considered a ‘bad habit’. I don’t see a problem with it—except that sometimes it takes my focus away from more important matters.

24. Do you have a lifelong dream or aspiration? I just want to live a nice quiet life while studying alchemy and working on some concoctions.

25. Do you own a car (or other form of transportation)? Why or why not? Describe it. I have a horse. Her name is Morrigan II. I cannot wait to introduce her to Morrigan the original, she’s going to hate it.

26. What is your current state of mind? Honestly? Stressed to the Hells and back. I have nearly died something like six times in the last week. That is almost one near-death-experience daily. It’s not good for my heart.

Part Two: Family 27. How close are you to your family? I love my family. I keep in contact with my mothers. I haven’t really seen Morri, Laila, or Keir since leaving home, but seeing as I may be going home soon I might at least see Laila.

28. Do you have a spouse or significant other? Describe them. I do not.

29. Have you started your own family? Describe them if you do. If not, do you want to? Why or why not? I have not. I am a bit of a recluse. I like my alone time. I’m more interested in working on my alchemy than in having a relationship or starting a family. That…sounds exhausting.

30. Who was your Father and what was he like? I don’t remember, he died when I was very young, and my brother Cailin didn’t like talking about our parents.

31. Who was your Mother and what was she like? My biological mother is the same as my father. But I was eventually adopted by my mother and ma. My mother is a graceful and smart woman. It was from her book collection that I first learned a bit about alchemy and herbalism. My mother was also former nobility. She absconded with some of her family’s fortune, to marry the woman she loved in a small village away from Korvosa, and she uses her wealth to help children in need as I and my siblings once were.

My ma is graceful in an entirely different way—she is a swordswoman and former adventurer. She taught myself and my siblings all we know about swordplay. She insisted that we needed to be able to keep ourselves safe once we left the nest.

32. Who are you closest to in your family? My mother and Morri. Mother has always been very supportive of my alchemical pursuits, and provided me with everything I needed to learn. Morri is one of my younger sisters. We can butt heads over things, but ultimately she’s someone I trust more than anyone else. Not that I would ever tell her as much. She knows.

33. Is there someone in your family you wish you were closer to? I wish I’d had the chance to be close to my biological brother. He was good to me when we were children, but we were separated when he was adopted and I was not. I was bitter towards him for a while as a child. But now I just wish he could see how much I’ve made of myself despite my physical ailments.

34. What was your parent’s marriage like? My mother and ma have what I’d consider a fairytale romance. An unhappy noble got swept off her feet by a charming traveler, and knowing that their romance would never be accepted by the nobility, they stole the part of the fortune they were owed and then disappeared into the night to live a simple life in a small village while also helping those less fortunate than themselves.

35. Did they remain married? If not, how did that affect you? When did they split? Yes, they are still married. I cannot imagine them ever splitting.

36. Do you have any siblings? What are/were they like? My biological brother was named Cailin. When I was a child and my leg first started giving me trouble, he was always there to support and protect me. Until he wasn’t. I haven’t seen him again since he was adopted. I have no idea where he might live or how I could ever track him down.

My adopted siblings are Morrigan, Laila, and Keir.

Morrigan is an aasimar who my parents adopted to protect her from the zealous priests and clerics of various temples, who would raise an aasimar as some sort of paragon of virtue and celestial values. Instead, she got to grow up to be a sword fighter with a penchant for healing and smiting in equal measure.

Laila is a drow who was abandoned on the surface by her people. She’s never said why she was left to fend for herself outside of the drows’ cavern homes, but it must have been bad. Laila is only my younger sister by technicality. Drows age so much slower than us, she was a teenager when I first came to live with my new family, and she is still a teenager now while myself, Keir, and Morri have grown up. She’s maybe a little wiser than your average teen, but for the most part she’s just like any other teenager.

Keir is a Stryx with a malformed wing, who was left for dead by his tribe as a result. Keir and I have something of a rivalry, maybe because we were the only boys in a house otherwise full of women. He and I always strive to outdo one another. But we also always have the other’s back if anyone else tries to screw with us. That goes for the girls, too. We had more than a few spats in which Keir and I worked together on principal against Morri and Laila.

37. What is the worst thing one of your siblings ever did to you? Laila hid my cane once when she was mad at me for some stupid little thing I don’t even remember. Morri pranked me with a cold water bucket over my bedroom door. My fur was soaked through. I got her back though. I put a sneezing powder I cooked up in her makeup powder. She was sneezing non-stop for the rest of the day. It was priceless.

38. What’s the worst thing you’ve ever done to one of your siblings? Nothing worse than pranks I knew they could handle. Like the sneezing powder story above.

39. When’s the last time you saw a member of your family? Where are they now? When I left Turtleback Ferry somewhere around five years ago. I still write to my mothers, and I get news about them and occasionally my siblings. Keir and Morri also left home to travel. I’m not entirely sure where they might be presently. Laila was still at home last I checked.

40. Did you meet any other family members? (Aunts Uncles, etc) Describe them. My mother is estranged from her family (stealing part of their fortune and all that), and ma doesn’t have any living relatives.

Part Three: Friends and Relationships with Others 41. In general, how do you treat other people that you have just met? I am generally cordial and try to give others the benefit of the doubt, although I am perhaps more suspicious of people’s motives than I like to let on.

42. Does your treatment of people change depending on how well you know them and if so how? It is inevitable that different facets of your personality will shine through with those you are close to. It becomes easier to admit fear to them, you trust them with more than a surface level understanding of your life. That is merely natural.

43. Who is the most important person in your life and why? It is hard to choose. My mothers made an enormous difference in my life. I would not be the man I am today or living the life I have without both of them. However I would hardly say I am not close to my siblings as well. Morri is perhaps the person I confide in the most. Keir and I have a sort of playful rivalry. And Laila is a fountain of wisdom despite her apparent young age.

44. Who is the person you respect the most and why? That would definitely be my mother. While I love my mother and ma equally, it is my mother who really shaped my worldview. It is also she who had the idea to begin adopting children in need, whom the system and society would otherwise fail. She has a deep sense of kindness, and a want to give back to the world for the privilege she has been fortunately enough to have. I think it’s a little bit to spite her family as well. Nobles are not known for their generosity, except perhaps on a superficial level.

45. Who are your friends? Describe them. For some time the only person I could have called a friend in Sandpoint was Ameiko Kaijitsu. She is one of the local tavern owners. A strong willed and good-hearted woman, who can make a brew that will knock most people on their asses.

However, I have recently made friends with a quite diverse group. Krysa, Tabot, and Nanel. Krysa is a ratfolk wizard, with a command over magic that is both delightful and terrifying. They are not what one usually expects when they hear ‘wizard’. While they are knowledgeable, they are also a force of chaos, bitingly blunt when they want to be, and rather promiscuous. Tabot is a rabbitfolk, and a paladin of Aroden. You did not read that incorrectly. They are somehow a holy warrior of a god who has been dead for a century. While I am skeptical that Aroden is somehow not dead after a hundred years of Iomedae claiming his domain, I also cannot deny that he has power from somewhere. He has saved my life on multiple occasions with this power, it is very real. But who or what he is drawing on—be it really a dead god revived, or some other force—I cannot say. Then there is Nanel. He is the only one I was passingly familiar with, as he was also a resident of Sandpoint. Nanel is…complicated. He had clearly lived a hard life. And he has a…being…sharing his body, who claims to care for him and protect him. I am very wary of this Donyoku. He is a parasitic creature, and any protection he offers Nanel is as self-serving as it is benevolent. I do not trust that Donyoku will not try to turn Nanel against us if our wants and needs ever clash with his. On the other hand, Donyoku has on at least one occasion saved my life, just as much as Krysa, Tabot, and Nanel have in other instances. I feel…conflicted about him. I do not trust his motives. But I can see why Nanel is so charmed by him.

46. Do you have a best friend? Describe them. I cannot say at the moment that I have any one person I would call my ‘best’ friend. Growing up that may have gone to Morri or Keir. Now that I am out on my own and have not seen them in a number of years? I am a very solitary person by nature.

47. Who would you turn to if you were in desperate need of help? Well I turned to Krysa, Tabot, and Nanel when my home was burned and I needed help tracking down the culprets. My what a labyrinth of events, villains, and motives that choice uncovered. If I needed help again…it would depend on the context. My three companions have very unique skill sets, so I may turn to one in one situation, but another in a completely different event.

48. Do you trust anyone to protect you? Who and why? All three of our merry band have protected me in some manner. Be it slaying a beast that had me fighting for my life, or using holy magic to cure a fatal disease, I am still here because of the acts of all three of them (I suppose, credit where credit is due, all four of them.)

49. If you died or went missing, who would miss you? My family certainly would, although they would never know if something happened to me or I just quit reaching out for some reason. That is…a very sad thought. I would hope that the others in our little menagerie would also miss me, at least a little. I would certainly miss any of them if they were slain or walked out of my life forever.

50. Who is the person you despise the most, and why? See, that is difficult. Because the person who has hurt me the most is whoever sent Nualia and the goblins to burn down my home. But I have no idea who that might be. It is…frustrating. I know that someone is either out for my life or trying to warn me away from being involved in the mysteries in Sandpoint. But I could not begin to fathom who it might be.

51. Do you tend to argue with people or avoid conflict? I do not typically find conflict productive. Finding a middle ground is more to the benefit of all involved than gnashing your teeth at each other and trying to be the one who is objectively ‘right’.

52. Do you tend to take on leadership roles in social situations? Oh, no, not at all. That sounds horrible. I do not want everyone looking to me to make decisions. I prefer to do my work in peace (alone) and let what comes of it be how I help others. Leading the pack would be a waste of my talents elsewhere.

53. Do you like interacting with large groups of people? Why or why not? No. Absolutely not. Going to the Swallowtail Festival was more because it was unavoidable than out of a love for crowds and loud celebrations. I prefer the comfort of quiet and a nice alchemy lab to work on my concoctions.

54. Do you care what others think of you? Not particularly. People may make whatever judgement calls they wish. I know who I am and where I stand in the world. Whether others see it or not is of little concern to me.

55. What habit do others have that annoys you the most? Being needlessly loud and argumentative. Passing judgement on others without all the facts, and stubbornly sticking with such judgements even if new evidence comes to light that conflicts with the initial judgement. Doing needless harm to those who do not deserve it.

56. What is the most important quality you look for in a friend? Loyalty, I should think. If you have no loyalty to those you claim to care for, then what good is that care?

57. What do you most value in your friends? Each of my recent friends bring something different to the table. I respect Krysa’s power and intelligence. I think Tabot is a bit young and naïve, but his idealism and decisiveness can be his strongest attribute just as much as it can be a flaw. Nanel is clearly very loyal to those he cares for, and as I said above I find loyalty to be one of the most important traits you can have amongst friends.

Part Four: Growing Up (Childhood) 58. Where were you born? Riddleport, I would assume. At the very least, that is where the orphanage my brother and I were left in was.

59. Where did you grow up? Riddleport during my young life, then Turtleback Ferry during my late childhood and teenage years.

60. How would you describe your childhood in general? It was a mixed bag. In the orphanage I was scared and bitter after my brother was adopted and I was left alone. I was as mad at my brother as I was these people who rejected me for being ‘defective’. Wrongfully, perhaps, but I was young and all I could see was that my only family and only friend had left me alone to fend for myself when I could barely hold my weight on one of my legs.

However, after my mothers adopted me, everything changed. I lived in a new, much smaller village. My mothers did everything to help me succeed despite my bad leg. They helped me learn to walk with a cane, they taught me how to brew a tea that helps with pain and inflammation. They were the first people to really show me kindness since my brother was taken. Not just kindness. Belief in me. Belief that I could succeed despite the things that tried to hold me back. Belief that I could be whatever I set my mind to, so long as I had the right tools. I don’t think even my brother believed in me, or had hope for my future. He protected me. He shielded me. But he never indicated that I could be anything more than a fragile creature who needed to be cared for.

61. What is your earliest memory? It's not a specific memory. I just remember pain. So much of my young life was pain because of my leg. And as a child I wouldn’t have known how to cope with it the way I do now.

62. What is your fondest childhood memory? I will give you two: one from the orphanage and one from afterwards. Since both parts of my childhood were so disparate. My best early memory was of my brother and I going to the docks to watch the ships. We didn’t like the water, of course. But my brother had aspirations of getting out of Riddle Port, and being something more than some unwanted child. I remember dreaming about running away on a ship with him, to some distant corner of Golarian. My other fondest memory is of the day my mothers started showing me how to properly use a cane. I had been suspicious of my new family when I was first taken in—I believed that no one could possibly want me without an ulterior motive. I was very much waiting for the other shoe to drop in the first weeks living with them. This was when they showed me that there was a tool that could help me, so that I could walk without leaning on someone else. So I could have the freedom to do and go where I wanted, with fewer limitations. It was a revelation, and a complete overturning of what I thought my life would be. I will forever be grateful to them for that.

63. What is your worst childhood memory? My brother being adopted when I was not. That was…crushing. I believed that the entire world was against me. No one could possibly care about me. I was just this defective thing with no future who was wasting everyone’s time, food, and air. I refused to die, out of stubbornness and spite more than anything.

64. As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up? At first I believed I’d be lucky to even live to adulthood, much less actually manage to make something of myself. Then the world opened up to me. For a short time there were a hundred different things I thought I wanted to be, just because I now could. Eventually, however, I found my passion for alchemy. And that never faded.

65. As a child, what were your favorite activities? When I was very young, I was just happy to be included in any game my brother and the other children played. Later, I found my own ways to amuse myself, now that I could do what I wanted. I explored the town and the wilderness just outside of it with Keir—never going too far, because there was always a threat of giant or ogre attack the farther you got from town. I also played at swordfighting with Morri. At first using sticks, and later our ma’s training sabers. I also read with Laila, sharing in fantastical journeys to strange and distant lands.

66. As a child, what kinds of personality traits did you display? I could be suspicious and willful. I had a lot of anger when I was young. But I’ve also always been endlessly curious. And as the bitterness fell away, it was replaced with joy, gratitude, and a bit of a mischievous streak I had never been able to indulge in before.

67. As a child, were you popular? Who were your friends, and what were they like? I was decidedly unpopular when I was in the orphanage. No one wanted to play with someone who couldn’t keep up during the games, or who constantly needed a shoulder to lean on. In Turtleback Ferry, I was a bit of an oddity, as the other kids had never seen a catfolk before. But I was an oddity in a good way, if there is such a thing. I was the kind of strange and different that made the other kids curious and excited to play together as opposed to how I was treated before.

68. As a child, what was your favorite toy? I liked toys that didn’t require a lot of movement to use. Stuffed dolls, wooden toy soldiers, and art supplies were my go-to, as opposed to things that required a game, and other children, and a lot of running around to use.

69. As a child, what was your favorite game to play? I didn’t like games very much when I was young. I would join in if my brother offered, because I desperately wanted to be included. But trying to keep up with the others kids was painful, and having to lean on my brother for support was humiliating. When I was a bit older, I still didn’t participate in many games that involved a lot of running. And Hide-and-seek is difficult when you have to hide a cane as well as yourself. But I got really good at prank wars between me and my siblings. And games that didn’t require too much strenuous movement were always wonderful to be introduced to.

Part Five: Growing Up (Teen/Young Adult) 70. How much schooling have you had? Once I was taken in, my mother insisted on handling my education. I was far behind, as there was hardly a consistent schooling program for foundlings, and even if there had been, I would likely have cut classes with my brother. That’s not to say I didn’t like learning—quite the contrary. But I wanted more than anything to fit in, and since my brother was more the sort to skip classes or entire school days to do something more fun, I would tag along behind him any time he offered to take me too.

My mother’s schooling focused on a mix of relevant life skills—including my first introduction to alchemy, when my mother was teaching me how certain herbs and tinctures could be used to help with my pain. My ma, on the other hand, focused on my physical education. She insisted that it was important in the world we live in to know how to defend one’s self. She taught us a variety of common weapons. Morri and I both took to sabers and similar blades.

71. Did you enjoy school? I enjoyed learning. Before I was adopted, though, school often meant sitting around in an uncomfortably crowded room, with lots of little distracting noises, being told to sit still and pay constant attention for hours at end. Even if I hadn’t frequently followed my brother skipping classes, I don’t believe I would have learned much in that environment.

72. Where did you learn most of your skills and other abilities? My mothers, as discussed previously.

73. While growing up, did you have any role models other than your parents? Describe them. When I was young, I looked up to my brother. I thought he was the coolest and most amazing person in the world. That was shattered when he was taken and I was left behind.

74. While growing up, how did you get along with the other members of your family? As stated above, I adored my brother and always followed his example for the time we were together. Once I was adopted, I was a model child for my mothers. Except when I wasn’t. Keir and I had a few spats, usually over stupid things like who won a game or if one of us was a cheater, or over a toy we both wanted to play with. Morri and I generally got along, but we tried to one up the other’s pranks, doing some damage to the house or yard on a few occasions where we didn’t think things through (for example one time Morri accidentally released a rat into the house because she was trying to sneak it under my pillow. On another I accidentally ruined the wood floor by Morii’s door when I tried to splash a dye I’d made on her by dropping a bucket on her head).

75. How old were you when you went on your first date? Describe the date. I haven’t. I’ve never been interested. Maybe it’s just because I’ve been surrounded by humans and other non-beastfolk humanoids. Or maybe I would just rather not be bothered when I could be working on my alchemy instead.

76. What is your favorite memory from your teen years? The first time I made an alchemical concoction completely on my own, not following a recipe in a book or getting help from someone else. I was so proud of it. It was a fairly simple curative.

77. What is your worst memory from your teen years? Nothing sticks out as particularly horrible, after the much harder time I had when I was younger. The worst that happened to me were the usual teenage drama. Getting in trouble for doing something stupid, sneaking out and getting caught, the difficulties of having a social life as the novelty of my being a catfolk had long since worn off, and I was not particularly adept at the upkeep necessary to have close friends.

78. When and with whom was your first kiss? Never and no one.

79. Are you a virgin? If not, when and with whom did you lose your virginity? Correct.

80. Describe any influences in your past that led you to do the things you do today. The most obvious are my mothers, who taught me that I had the freedom to go out into the world and do as much as anyone else, so long as I had the support and tools to get me there. Keir also taught me, indirectly, that I should never accept less than others or make myself smaller just because I have a disability. Watching Morri taught me to be wary of those who might try to use me for their own gain, and to be my most authentic self even if it brushes against what others believe I ‘should’ be.

Part Six: Past Influences 81. What do you consider the most important event of your life so far? The most life-changing event would, of course, be me being adopted. It completely changed the trajectory of my life.

82. Who has had the most influence on you? My mother.

83. What do you consider your greatest achievement? I’m rather proud of the creation of my Mewtagens.

84. What is your greatest regret? It's irrational. But I regret never looking for Cailin. Back when I was still in Riddleport, I didn’t have the physical or mental fortitude to go looking for a needle in a haystack. Assuming he was even still in Riddleport. And once I moved to Turtleback Ferry? I might have had the ability then, but he could have been anywhere in the world at that point.

85. What is the most evil thing you have ever done? I would like to believe no actions I’ve ever taken was *evil*. The meanest thing I’ve done were probably some of my more vindictive pranks—that’s not to say my siblings didn’t give as much as they took though. It was never out of cruelty. Sometimes it was just for a laugh, to see how they would react. Sometimes it was because they’d gotten me, so I *had* to get them back.

86. Do you have a criminal record of any kind? No.

87. When was the time you were the most frightened? Probably that first night after my brother left. I had never been without him. I felt lost, or like I was trying to wade in the ocean with weights strapped to my legs.

88. What is the most embarrassing thing that ever happened to you? Morri covered my fur in honey once when I was sleeping (I think it was payback for the dye if I remember right). It wouldn’t wash out, so we had to shave it. Being furless for a while was humiliating. I’m pretty sure I got her back, but I don’t rightfully remember what I did anymore.

89. If you could change one thing from your past, what would it be, and why? I would have been less angry about my brother being taken. It wasn’t his fault. He didn’t plan for someone to take a shine to him but reject me. For all I know he argued with them in favor of my coming, and got shot down. But at the time it had felt like the biggest betrayal of my life.

90. What is your best memory? Besides the good memories I have already recounted above, there was also when my ma gifted me my cane-sword. It was when I was planning on leaving home, following in Keir and Morri’s footsteps, to make my own way in life. Ma gave me the sword-cane, so I would always have a means to defend myself close at hand. It was her way of protecting me, even though I would be far from her. As always, providing me the tools I need to do things myself.

91. What is your worst memory? Besides Cailin being taken from the orphanage, probably when Keir left home. He was the eldest, and the first to want to find his place in the world. I…kind of backslid when he told us he was leaving. I couldn’t help but feel like it was Cailin all over again. That my brother was going to disappear into the aether, and I would never see him again, and my family would be a little smaller once again. I have since come to the realization that I can choose to keep in contact with my mothers, and through them my siblings. I will see Keir again, as I will see Morii and Laila as well.

92. When and where were you the happiest? Maybe not every moment after I was adopted, but certainly as a whole they were the best years of my life so far.

Part Seven: Beliefs and Opinions 93. Are you optimistic or pessimistic? I have chosen to be optimistic, although my initial instinct is often suspicion. I choose to push aside the suspicion and give people the benefit of the doubt, until they prove they don’t deserve it.

94. What is your greatest fear? I mean…dying, of course. Isn’t that the greatest fear of all living mortals? It is unavoidable, and keeps us moving forward and striving for greatness in the short time we have. But being judged in the Boneyard, not knowing where Pharasma will send you until she makes her decision…it’s a scary prospect. No one really knows how their deeds will weigh at the end of their lives, and the price of not balancing out the bad with the good is an eternity in Abbadon, Hell, or the Abyss—or worse, being fed to Groetus.

95. Have you told any one your fear before? Why would I? As I said, it is a natural fear. Why state the obvious, when it is the more base fear of all mortal-kind?

96. Who would be the one person you’d never tell your fear? I don’t know, someone trying to kill me?

97. What are your religious views? I am a follower of Shelyn, the goddess of art and beauty. The goddess of creativity. And what makes a good alchemist if not creativity? Shelyn’s domains are vital to the continued progress and works of wonder mortal-kind can produce.

98. What are your political views? I hate politics. They’re more often than not just puppet shows with the nobility pulling the strings. No guard in Korvosa would bat an eye if a hired killer were sent after my mother for “disgracing” her family name and “taking part of their fortune” (which was the portion that was rightfully hers anyways).

99. What are your views on sex? Other people seem to like it. It seems…kind of messy and like too much needless effort. There are other things I’d rather be doing with my time, and someone flirting with me while I am doing those things will only make me shut the entire things down even faster.

100. Are you able to kill? I’ve had to. Goblins attacked the town, hurting and killing people. Ghouls were committing ritualistic murders at the behest of a madwoman.

101. Under what circumstances do you find killing to be acceptable or unacceptable? Self-defense, obviously. It shouldn’t be the goal of self-defense, but sometimes what happens happens. There’s a grey area where trying to prevent others from being hurt might or might not be acceptable, depending on how much evidence you have that the person in question is going to be hurting or killing others. If it’s merely a suspicion with nothing to back it up, it’s time to reevaluate rather than immediately spilling blood.

102. In your opinion, what is the most evil thing any human being could do? Well, murder is pretty high up there. I think betraying a family member or close friend is up there too, though. Harming or killing someone who trusted you—someone who showed you their back because they trusted you to watch it, only for you to stab them in the back instead—is one of the greatest cruelties I can imagine.

103. Do you believe in the existence of soul males and/or true love? Not really? But I’m probably not the best person to ask about that.

104. What do you believe makes a successful life? I think each person’s success in life of failure is entirely up to their own perception. For me, that means having a quiet life creating things that can help people. For someone else, that might be training and becoming the best in their field. For someone else it may be the accrual of money. Or living up to the ideals of your god. People are variable. I might not agree with what someone believes success to be, but that does not mean they are not successful by some measure.

105. How honest are you about your thoughts and feelings? (Meaning do you hide your true self from others and in what way?) I am typically honest. Being deceptive and dancing around subjects really does nothing in the long run. Either people will find out what you are trying to hide, or you never confide in them and keep dancing around the subject or flat out lying forever. And I feel no need to hide who I am. I am exactly what you see.

106. Do you have any biases or prejudices? Obviously I try not to, but everyone does. I mean look at the fact that we killed all of the goblins in Thistletop. Was it vital in protecting the town from raids—or worse a demonic ‘goblin god’? Yes, absolutely. Was it a little hypocritical to go into their home and kill their people in retaliation for them doing it to us first? Arguably, yes. I don’t think we made the wrong choice. People were going to die either way, and they were going to awaken something horrible in the name of the Mother of Monsters. I think, hypocritical it may be, but it was a necessary action none-the-less.

107. Is there anything you absolutely refuse to do under any circumstances? Why? Well harming innocents is fairly high up on that list. Also abandoning or betraying people who care about me or are relying on me. The first is self-explanatory. The second, I think is also fairly obvious, given what I said earlier about betrayal being one of the cruelest things you can do to a person.

108. Who or what, if anything, would you die for? (or go to extremes for?) Well I have very nearly died for the people of Sandpoint and our weird little group about…six times now? Whether I particularly want to die fighting for them is an entirely different question. Preferably, only those trying to do harm would be the ones dying.

109. What is your best feature, in your opinion? My intellect.

110. What do you think of drugs and alcohol? Are there any types that people should never do? Why or why not? I do not personally use any drugs, although I know how many are made from my readings. The closest would be the various teas and tonics I make to help with my leg pain. As for which drugs people should or should not use…that is none of my business and I also couldn’t care less. If someone wants to take a drug that will make them hallucinate, or give them a dopamine high, or whatever, that is their choice. My decision to not take drugs is in no way an indicator of what other people should do. I do drink alcohol occasionally. I have a very high tolerance, as Ameiko can confirm from her latest concoction. However I usually prefer something with less of a kick. Honey mead is my personal poison, so to speak.

111. What is your idea of perfect happiness? Me, in a fully stocked alchemical lab, and no one bothering me for at least three days so I can just focus entirely on my work.

112. What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery? Being abandoned.

Part Eight: Likes and Dislikes 113. What is/are your favorite hobbies and pastimes? I enjoy reading (both scientific volumes and works of fiction), working on various alchemical experiments, and sketching in my journal or writing down ideas for new creations.

114. What is your most treasured possession? My cane-sword.

115. What is your favorite color? Why? As my dress may suggest, I am fond of warm colors. Orange, red, and yellow. I don’t have a particular reason, except I find them pleasant to look at.

116. What is your least favorite color? Why? You know the swampy brown-grey you inevitably get if you mix a bunch of random paints together with no regard for what the end result will look like? I don’t think there is a single pigment uglier.

117. What is your favorite food? Why? Fish in general. Tuna, mahi-mahi, swordfish, trout, salmon…oh, Ameiko’s curried salmon in particular.

118. What is your least favorite food? Why? I am not overly fond of strong citrus-y flavors. Or cilantro. It tastes like shoving a bar of soap in your mouth.

119. What is your favorite sound? Why? The small subtle noises of alchemy at work. The small crackling of an open flame. The bubbling of boiling liquid. The small clink of glass. It’s meditative to me, to be surrounded in silence only broken by these little things.

120. What is your least favorite sound? Why? Anything loud. Loud music, loud yelling, thunderstorms, doesn’t matter. I find them overwhelming.

121. What is your favorite smell/scent? Why? If you’ve ever been to the Rusty Dragon, you know that Ameiko’s cooking is objectively the best smell (and taste) in the world.

122. What is your least favorite smell/scent? Why? I mean the obvious things, spoiled milk, anything rotten or moldy, that kind of thing. But as above, I don’t like citrus-y smells. They are overpowering and sting my nose.

123. What, if anything, do you like to read? All sorts of things. Everything, if I had the time. History, fiction, scientific research, the works.

124. What is your idea of good entertainment? Krysa striking fear into people who deserve it, despite their tiny stature, is always amusing to watch. But as far as actual ‘entertainment’ made for such a purpose? A theatre production.

125. How do you spend a typical Saturday night? (answering for Golarian’s equivalent, Starday) The same way I spend every night, if given the choice. Curled up with an interesting book drinking some turmeric tea. With a nice warm fire going if it’s the colder months.

126. What makes you laugh? Things that are funny. Our little band have had a few amusing exploits. Before it turned out she was a serial killer, the way that Tabot handled Sheyliss when she was hitting on him was astounding. The way I couldn’t even tell if he knew she was coming on to him, and he just kept going about Aroden, and you could see the desire in her gaze just completely die.

127. What makes you laugh out loud, hysterically? I don’t tend to laugh that hard, to be honest. I’m not saying nothing could provoke me into raucous laughter. I’m just saying it would take something particularly and uniquely hilarious.

128. What makes you cry? Tragic stories.

129. What makes you cry, hysterically? I haven’t cried that hard since I was a child. The first few days after my brother was taken, I cried and cried. Eventually I ran out of tears, and that’s when the bitterness began to set in.

130. What, if anything, shocks or offends you? Using alchemy—or any science really—as a means to exploit or harm others, as opposed to using that knowledge for the betterment of society.

131. What would you do if you couldn’t sleep and had to find something to amuse yourself? Stay up late reading. Which is a dangerous game—that ‘one more page’ cycle will get you and you’ll stay up intil the sun is rising and mister awaits that day.

132. How do you deal with stress? Sequester myself. Breath. Think about alchemical formulas. Breath some more.

133. Are you spontaneous or do you always need to have a plan? I strongly prefer planning ahead. There is a time and a place for the spontaneous, of course. But a good plan, or even just a framework, can make all the difference.

134. What are your pet peeves? I feel as though I already answered something to this effect? People being loud to the point of rudeness, and people with no loyalty for the people they surround themselves with.

135. Where do you go when you’re angry or depressed? Well I used to go to my alchemy lab in my home. When I had one.

136. What do you do when you’re bored? There’s generally something amusing to do if you look. Or there’s always taking a cat-nap.

137. What type of music do you like? Favorite bands or musicians? Hm. We don’t really have much in the way of bards in Sandpoint now that you mention it. I have a song, I don’t quite remember where I heard it. Maybe it was some of the sailors on the docks when my brother and I would go there. It certainly has that kind of beat that sea chanties tend to.

138-141 were too modern to be answered by Mau in any meaningful way.

142. What is your favorite stage play? Why? There is a play about a young prince meeting the ghost of his father, who bids him to avenge his death at the hands of the prince’s uncle. It’s a tragedy, as the prince spirals and causes the deaths of virtually the entire cast—himself, his love interest, and his uncle included. It’s by a rather famous playwright I believe. The elven playwright Siliram Whakespeare, I think?

143. What is your least favorite stage play? Why? It would have to be The Trials of Larazod. I only read the script once in a book of Chelish operas, but it was absolutely horrific. And to my understanding, they don’t use special effects for the majority of it. People fighting their way through summoned devils, carnivorous worms, and being dumped in acid hardly make a play. More like a torture relay.

144. What is your favorite book? Why? Oh, I have read so many books. On so many subjects and so many genres, trying to choose one favorite is impossible, as many are so far apart in subject manner and style that comparing them is virtually impossible.

145. What is your least favorite book? Why? The same can be said about my least favorite book. I have read such a variety of books, I’ve inevitable come across some rather horrifically written examples in virtually every genre.

146-148 are about television and are not relevant to Mau’s lived experience.

149. What annoys you more than anything else? Loud noises. Especially at night or when I’m trying to work.

150. What time of day is your favorite? Why? Dusk. That quiet time, when it’s not quite time to sleep, but that time is nearing and everything is quiet.

151. What time of day is your least favorite? Why? Why would I have a least favorite time of day?

152. What kind of weather is your favorite? Why? A nice warm spring day. Not too hot, not too cold. Flowers and herbs beginning to return from the long winter.

153. What kind of weather is your least favorite? Why? Rain or snow. Anything that will end with me having sopping wet fur.

154. What is the most beautiful thing you have ever seen? Have you ever seen the way you can light up a room using colored liquids in glass containers, set out on a windowsill—or anywhere that will have direct sunlight. The colors are splashed across the room like an aurora.

155. What is the most awful thing you have ever seen? We’ve seen some pretty horrible things. A disembodied monster head with bat wings, that can infect others by ripping out a part of who you are, making them almost certainly destined to become a new one of those creatures. A woman fighting against Lamashtu’s influence severing her own demonic arm. A young woman who allowed herself to be turned into a ghoul in revenge against a simple heartbreak.

156. What is your favorite drink? Why? Honey mead. Because it is sweet and pleasant.

157. What is your least favorite drink? Why? I can’t say I’ve run into terribly many drinks I wouldn’t drink again. Most people are bowled over by Ameiko’s concoctions, but I have partaken in them a few times. To be fair, I put much less pleasant stuff down my throat when testing my alchemical formulae.

158. What is your favorite animal? Why? I am fond of reptiles, particularly snakes. Have you ever seen the alchemical symbol for immortality? It is a serpent biting its own tail.

159. What is your least favorite animal? Why? Opossums. I do not like the way they play dead and then hop back up.

160. What sorts of things embarrass you? Being the center of attention for anything I was not prepared for ahead of time.

Part Nine: Self Image 161. Describe a normal day for you. Before I lost my home, a normal day was waking up, eating a nice little breakfast, working on my alchemy, maybe going for a walk. If someone had a potion or tonic they had requested, I would work on that and deliver it to them on said walk. After lunch I would usually read or work on notes for new formulae ideas. Then I might see about creating some more concoctions. Then dinner, sometimes at the Rusty Dragon, and then a little more reading of a more leisurely nature before bed. Since my house burned down and I lost virtually all of my worldly possessions, I have had to find other ways to spend my time. During the day, my companions and I have frequently been chasing down clues about those who orchestrated the attack on Sandpoint, or recently helping Sheriff Hemlock with catching a serial killer. There a lot more travel and excitement currently. Not always a good kind of excitement.

162. How do you feel when your routine is disrupted? Disgruntled and stressed. I like to be able to follow my routine. This last month being nothing but my routine being utterly shattered has…not helped my mood any.

163. What is your greatest strength as a person? I am intelligent and have a strong sense of self.

164. What is your greatest weakness? Other than my obvious physical maladies? Socializing, making convincing arguments (or lying), anything that requires a strong grasp on intersocial relationships.

165. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be? I learned a long time ago that wishing a part of yourself away will only lead to resentment and misery. I am fine as I am.

166. Are you generally introverted or extroverted? Very introverted.

167. Are you generally organized or messy? I am impeccably organized. How could one work with dangerous chemicals and not be? That would be a safety hazard.

168. Name three things you consider yourself to be very good at. Alchemy, swordplay, and trivia

169. Name three things you consider yourself to be very bad at. Socializing, providing comfort, anything vaguely romantic in nature

170. What are your reasons for being an adventurer or heroic? Are your real reasons different than the ones you tell other people in public? If so, detail both reasons. I am no hero. I am just a person who was at the wrong place at the right time. I am merely doing as much as I can with the skills I have. And trying not to die. Honestly, I just want to find out who ordered Nualia to burn down my house, and why. I’ll probably continue this path to the end, simply because some very dangerous things seem to be brewing. If it should come to pass, I think it would hardly be safe wherever I may go, much less for my family. I don’t want any of them getting hurt.

171. What three words best describe your personality? Intelligent, focused, and meticulous

172. What three words would others probably use to describe you? Why wouldn’t they simply use the same three words? They are an apt description.

173. What about you is heroic? As I said above, I would not consider myself heroic. So by that same logic, I do not find anything about myself heroic. I am merely doing what any good person with my skillset would.

174. Are you a better lead or follower? Why? Follower. I severely dislike being the center of attention. I severely dislike conflict management. I have no interest in people obeying my commands or whatever.

175. What is your responsibility to the world? Why? To the world? I do not owe the world as a whole anything. I will not even meet the majority of people in the world, much less do anything that affects them. To those I come in contact with? I owe them the benefit of the doubt, and helping in whatever way I can if they are in need and my skills can be of assistance.

176. What do you like about yourself? That I am intelligent and diligent.

177. What don’t you like about yourself? I try not to fixate on things I’ve historically disliked about myself. I am all of who I am, and fixating on hating some part of myself is foolish.

178. What do you find most relaxing? (not stress relief, but something that actually calms you down.) Working on a personal project, or having a nice cup of tea

179. What talent would you most like to have? Glass blowing would be useful, to make my own potion bottles instead of buying from the Glassworks.

Part Ten: Occupation & Finance 180. What is your occupation? (If you don’t have one, where does your money come from?) I am a local alchemist. People commission me to make particular tinctures, curatives, or other useful potions. A potion of bull’s strength, for example, is excellent for someone building a home or otherwise lugging around heavy materials.

181. Do you like your job? I wouldn’t want to be doing anything else. I am happiest when I lose myself for hours working on my formulae.

182. What is your boss/employer like? He is me.

183. What are your co-workers like? I don’t have any, and thank goodness for that. I would not enjoy working constantly in the presence of others.

184. Do you get along with your co-workers? See above.

185. Which co-workers don’t you get along with and why? See above.

186. What is something you had to learn that you hated? People say knowledge is power. Knowledge is so much more than power. It is the key to understanding the world we live in. There is no knowledge that is useless. And so, I have always enjoyed learning anything and everything.

187. Do you tend to save or spend your money? Why? I spend money on alchemical supplies and food, mostly. Sometimes books if I see something that really catches my interest.

188. If you were to gain an obscenely large sum of money, what would you do with it? Rebuild my house, obviously.

Part Eleven: Drug & Alcohol 189. Do you smoke, drink, or use drugs? If yes, why? Do you want to quit? I drink on occasion, but nothing more than that. Why? Because I enjoy unwinding occasionally, but prefer to mostly keep my head on me. A little alcohol is enough of a buzz for me in moderation.

190. How old were you when you had your first drink? Did you like it? Why or why not? I tried some beer in my teenage years. I did not like it.

191. How old were you when you first got drunk? What was the experience like? I’ve never actually been drunk. It sounded unpleasant, so I always minded how much I drank.

192. Do you drink on a regular basis? Not like every day or anything, but a few times a week, sure.

193. What kind of alcohol do you prefer? Honey mead is my favorite. Certain wines are good. And I’m not above a shot of whiskey.

194. Have you ever tried any kind of “mood altering” substance? Which ones? Describe the experience. Not personally. I know how to make some of these “mood altering” substances. But I’ve never had much interest myself.

Part Twelve: Sex & Intimacy 195-210: we are skipping this section as it’s not relevant to him.

Part Thirteen: Morality

211. What one act in your past are you most ashamed of? How horribly I thought of my brother when he first left. That bitterness was unfair to him, or even just the memory of him.

212. What one act in your past are you most proud of? I traveled from Turtleback Ferry to Korvosa, and then from Korvosa to Sandpoint, on my own. It was hardly an easy journey.

213. Have you ever been in a physical fight before? Over what, with who, and who won? Many more in the past month than in the rest of my life. I had a few spats with Kier, and Morri and I had a few swordfights (and one legitimate fight where she thoroughly trounced me). In the last month, though? We fought goblins, demons, ghouls, wild beasts, you name it. I came out barely surviving on more than a few occasions.

214. What do you feel most strongly about? People ought to do their best to actively make others’ lives better, not worse. Those who harm others, especially for petty reasons, deserve the scorn of those who surround them.

215. What do you pretend to feel strongly about, just to impress people? Do you think me a child? That sort of thing is sure to backfire. A false façade will inevitably fall away, and everyone will know the person in question to be too insecure to own up to their true beliefs.

216. What trait do you find most admirable and how often do you find it? Kindness is key. If everyone did their level best to show kindness, then many of the world’s problems would not exist. Alas, too many people are under the impression that they have to screw others over before they get cheated in turn.

217. Is there anything you think should not be incorporated into the media or arts? (i.e., sex, violence, etc). What and why or why not? Who am I to tell an artist what they can and cannot do with their artistic vision? Art can explore any subject, and sometimes those subjects might be dark or uncomfortable. It is up to the viewer to look away if the imagery upsets them.

218. Do you think the future is hopeful? Why or why not? I believe the future is hopeful, because it must be. If I did not see the potential for hope in dark times, then there would be nothing more to strive towards.

219. Do you think redemption is possible? Why or why not? I certainly do. Sometimes when people are hurt, they lash out. Sometimes, when life is hard, people try to find an easy solution, even if it will hurt others. These people are not ‘evil’, merely hurt or desperate. Give them the tools they need to make their life better without doing more harm, and many would choose a good life.

220. Is there something you think is absolutely unforgivable? What is it? I think everything depends on context. Something may sound unforgivable with few details, but when you learn the situation surrounding the events, it might shine a different light on things.

221. Is it okay for men to cry? I should hope so, I wouldn’t claim to have never cried before.

222. Is it okay for you to cry? Yes, while I won’t claim I frequently do, I would not be ashamed if events transpired that caused me to.

223. What do you think is wrong with most people, overall? Many people think only of themselves. If they extended beyond the selfish, and truly saw that other people are equal to them and deserve the same treatment, there are so many woes that could be avoided or eliminated.

224. What is the worst thing you could ever do to someone you hated? I do not know. Hate is infrequent, to me. Anger, sure. But hate? It would take a lot for me to hate somebody.

225. Do you have feelings that disturb you? What and why? Not particularly. Having a variety of emotions is healthy—even the more negative ones.

226. On what occasions do you lie? When it is necessary. If choosing not to do so would bring more harm than good, I believe lying would be the correct choice.

227. Do you think it is okay to lie? See my answer above. I think it’s situational. Sometimes a lie is necessary. I don’t make a habit of lying—as I said before I prefer not to hide any of myself—but I also will not feel guilty if a lie was necessary for the greater good.

Part Fourteen: Supernatural Awareness

228-234 are not relevant to Mau’s life, as he has no supernatural abilities and never went through a specific training regimen, except training with his ma.

Part Fifteen: Goals and Future 235. What goal do you most want to accomplish in your lifetime? At the moment, I just want to find out why my house was burned down, and who was behind it. After that, my goals are humble. I want a new home, a peaceful life, and a place to make my concoctions.

236. Where do you see yourself in five years? Hopefully back in Sandpoint, returned to my normal routine.

237. If you could choose, how would you want to die? Peacefully, and not at someone else’s hand. I’d like to live until old age and die naturally, ideally.

238. If you knew you were going to die in 24 hours, name three things you would do in the time you had left. Visit my mothers if I was close enough, or write them a letter to say goodbye. Pack away as much of my stuff as I can, so I know it’ll have been organized and handled gently. Then…I don’t know. Sit on the beach and watch the sunset, I suppose.

239. What is the one thing for which you would most like to be remembered after your death? I don’t want to be famous. Not even for my alchemy. I’d rather the people I knew personally remember me. And remember me the way they thought of me in life.

Part Sixteen: Misc. 240. If you could, what advice would you, the hero, give to the villain? Or If you could, why would you, the villain want the hero to be at your side or part of your team? The problem here is, I don’t even know who the villain of my story is. Someone wanted to hurt me, or scare me off, by burning down my home. But who and why are unknown to me, so I don’t have the information necessary to even imagine what I would say to them.

241. What was the worst injury you’ve ever received? How did it happen? A monk punched my chest and shattered a few ribs. A firepelt cougar mauled me. A bunch of Norgorber worshippers nearly eviscerated me. I’ve been getting a concerningly large number of severe injuries this last month.

242. How ticklish are you? Where are you ticklish? I can’t say I’m terribly ticklish. I think the fur helps to pad it out enough that no particular touch tickles.

243. What would you wish for if you ever found a genie? Jokingly, a new house. In reality? I don’t know. It seems frivolous to use a wish to get something I could get on my own without a genie. The wish would need to be something big. Something impossible to do without it. Like…something like seeing Cailin again.

244. If your house burned down, what one thing would you want to save? That’s not funny. I didn’t manage to save anything.

245. Describe yourself sitting in your favorite spot. My lab, the window open and letting in some nice warm sunlight. I’d be sitting on a stool, working on whatever project had my interest that day.

246. How do you go to sleep and how do you wake up? (position, routine, etc) I tend to sleep early and wake early. Some alchemical herbs are easiest to gather in the first rays of sunlight. Also it means I can work on making my daily preparations in peace.

247. What is a dream (during sleep) that you have often? I didn’t typically get recurring dreams, but lately I’ve been having a very strange one. I share this dream with my companions. We are all four pulled into the heavens by a giant spider. When we reach the spider, we are within a small room leaving out into a golden casino. We are all dressed in fine clothing, befitting the surroundings. No matter where we choose to go, the four of us always end up at a card table. There is a man there. One whose face we are unable to look at. Something just keeps my eyes looking down. Twice he has played a card game with us, and used it as a means to explore our personalities. First, we played poker. Second, we played Werewolf. I do not know what will be third, but I know there will be a third dream. The man said it would be the ‘third and final time’.

248. What is a day dream that you have often? I daydream about being back home sometimes. Especially recently, when things have been so difficult.

249. If you were to die and come back as any person or thing, what or who would you want to be? I don’t know. I suppose life would be easier as a human. No one stares at humans like they are a curiosity. Humans can just blend into the crowd and go about their daily lives with no one even taking notice of them.

250. What is your motto? I don’t have a particular motto. I suppose if I had one it would have to be something like ‘everyone deserves their first chance, and anyone can earn their second’. Although I supposed that more of a mantra than a motto.

251. If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be and why? I chose Sandpoint because it perfectly met my needs. I see little reason to go elsewhere permanently. The grass only looks greener from afar.

252. What time period do you wish you could have lived in? Why? (This is not a chance to change history.) What appeals to you about this era? Any point in history? I don’t know. I am fascinated by Ancient Thassalon. But to be honest from what I know about it, historically, I do not believe I would have lived a terribly good life if I’d been born in their time. See the problem with going back to the past is that progress, by nature, goes forward. So any historical place I could visit would be in some way lesser to the time I have been born. Just as this time will likely be inferior to some future day.

253. If you could go back to any point in history and change something, what would it be? Hm. It would be grandiose to go back and warn the Thassalonians about Starfall, or go to the days before Aroden and become the one to pull the Starstone from the sea and be granted its gift of godhood. But the ways in which that could twist and destroy reality as I know it, and put something unpredictable in its place…I would prefer to focus on making the future better rather than the past.

#Mau Ornelos-Servos #pathfinder #my ocs #oc questions

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parasite-core · 1 year ago

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Last night in Pathfinder we returned to Rise of the Runelords. Well, two of us returned, while we introduced two new players to Pathfinder and our GM played the beginning of the campaign he joined for the first time at the end.

Once upon a time two fighters, a cleric, and a ranger came together in Sandpoint and became world saving heroes. Now, again, a group of adventurers come together in the sleepy town of Sandpoint during a festival. Whether they will become heroes or a footnote in history is yet to be seen.

@scarlet-the-girl

The campaign unfolded as Sandpoint’s Swallowtail Festival began. Speeches were made—notably one Lonjiku Kaijitsu was absent from the speech he was meant to give, having claimed illness, although many in the crowd believed he was feigning it to get out of making a public appearance. Amongst the crowd were two travelers and two locals—our heroes. First is Tabot, the fresh faced and good willed rabbitfolk paladin of Aroden—a god well known to have died a century ago. He had come from out of town, going where the wind takes him, seeking a place to belong. Next is крыса (pronounced Kyrsa, and I will spell it as such going forward only because my phone cannot type Slavic letters so I would have to copy/paste their name every time). They are a small ratfolk wizard whose entire den was wiped out by a giant and who is now traveling seeking revenge. The two locals are Nanel and Mau Ornelos-Servos. Nanel is a human oracle with an unusual plant pinned to his ragged shirt. He eats people. But his…oddities…have gone unnoticed thus far. And Mau is a catfolk alchemist with a noticeable limp who walks with a cane—which doubles as his weapon as it conceals a blade within.

These four each found themselves at the festival. Nanel, Mau, and Kyrsa all separately made their way to the food stall of one Ameiko Kaijitsu. Tabot played tug of war and won easily with a Herculean show of strength. Ameiko greeted Mau and Nanel as familiar customers, and offered a sample of the fish curry she had made to serve at the Rusty Dragon later. She also told them about an alcoholic concoction she had brewed up. Mau took the challenge, stating that he was keen on ‘concoctions’. Nanel and Kyrsa followed suit. Mau drank the mixture down without flinching—he’d done worse to himself with his own alchemy. Nanel and Kyrsa were both a little queasy as the alcohol hit them. Mau chuckled and told Ameiko that it packed quite a punch—to which Ameiko decided to call the concoction Punch, and she offered Mau a jug of it since he’d handled it so well. She asked if any of them felt up for another. Mau accepted, and the other two refused to be outdone by the alchemist so they accepted as well. Mau once again drank it down without batting an eye. Nanel was ready for the alcohol’s kick this time and handled himself much better.

Kyrsa darted off and hurled in the nearby bushes as the alcohol was too much for the poor little rat.

The soon-to-be-heroes milled around some. Tabot made his way to a fencing range for a sword fighting contest. Kyrsa followed Nanel like a baby duckling to a game called Liar’s Dice. Kyrsa had immediately bonded with Nanel—unbeknownst to Nanel—due to Nanel also having trouble with the alcohol initially. Mau went to play a trivia game.

Tabot was given a practice blade by the town sheriff and sent into the ring to face a woman with some skill of her own in fencing. First point went to Tabot as he struck her right out the gate. They were separated, and this time the woman struck first. She did not strike Tabot—but instead disarmed him. Tabot, without considering the consequences, drew his actual blade. The sheriff immediately broke up the fight, told Tabot to get his practice blade, and disqualified him from that round, giving his opponent the point. However, final round Tabot took the woman’s technique and turned it back on her, disarming her and leaving her without a means to strike back. She yielded, giving the victory to the rabbitfolk.

While that was happening, Nanel and Kyrsa were playing dice. Each took a turn trying to trick the others, rolling hidden dice and either revealing the number or bluffing. Nanel won his round, and he also won Kyrsa’s round—calling their bluff. Kyrsa had a comeback, however, and won the house’s round. There was no prize, unfortunately, except bragging rights. Well—no prize officially. While the showman wasn’t paying attention Kyrsa snatched a small pouch off his belt and found themself a bit richer as it was filled with shiny expensive gemstones.

One person did win a prize legitimately, however. Mau found himself at a trivia game, where people had to name the number of residents in Sandpoint. Mau has a good head for numbers and a bit of a counting compulsion, so he gave the exact number. He won a potion of cure light wounds—something he would generally make for himself, but it never hurts to have an extra on hand as he would soon learn.

Tabot and Mau continued milling about the festival.

Kyrsa asked Nanel if this town had a brothel. Nanel just so happened to have been raised in the local brothel so he knew it quite well, and led the way. Nanel spent the next 45 minutes catching up with people while Kyrsa had some…intimate time…with a handsome halfling man with big naturals.

They returned to the festival just in time for Father Zantus to begin his speech, which would lead into a meal.

Or it would have. If he hadn’t been interrupted by the sound of a woman screaming and then many voices chanting:

“Goblins chew and goblins bite,

Goblins cut and goblins fight.

Stab the dog and cut the horse,

Goblins eat and take by force!

Goblins race and goblins jump.

Goblins slash and goblins bump.

Burn the skin and mash the head,

Goblins here and you be dead!

Chase the baby, catch the pup.

Bonk the head to shut it up.

Bones be cracked, flesh be stewed,

We be goblins! You be food!”

Everything descended into chaos as buildings and stalls were set ablaze by dozens of rampaging goblin raiders. Three made their way to where our party awaited, stunned for a moment by the sudden violence that had erupted around them.

Kyrsa reacted first, turning and throwing a spike of ice at the nearest goblin, staggering it. It limped forward, trying to muster up the fortitude to strike at the ratfolk, but couldn’t do anything as it dealt with the magically induced injury.

Nanel stepped up next to Kyrsa and asked them if they could keep a secret. They agreed. Then Nanel lunged forward and attempted to bite the goblin. His jaws closed around nothing but air as the goblin jerked away, but Kyrsa saw sharp inhuman teeth in that mouth.

On the other side of the battle, Mau drew his blade from his cane and took out a flask of a liquid that looked like bottled lava. In the goblin language Mau told the goblins that they were louder than the actual festivities, and to shoo. The goblins replied that since he spoke their tongue they’d cut out his tongue.

Mau took that as all the go ahead he needed to throw the flask. A string attached went taught and then broke a seal between two different liquids within the flask, making it volatile. When it hit the ground between the two goblins, it exploded violently. They leapt out of the way but still flames licked at them.

The two goblins charged in—one at Tabot and one at Mau. Tabot’s managed a small slash across his leg, while Mau’s left a rather nasty cut across his face—trying to make good on his threat.

Kyrsa backed away from the goblin threatening them and pulled out an alternate means of attack—a crossbow.

The goblin lunged at Nanel. But then Nanel stepped back, and with everyone but Kyrsa distracted with their own fights, he shot out a storm of thorns which punctured and killed the goblin that was attacking him, and also brutally injured the one attacking Tabot.

Mau turned and struck down the goblin that had attacked Tabot—having made a quick judgement call on which to attack based on it appearing more injured than the other. His attention to detail paid off, at he sliced straight through the goblin, leaving only one more in this particular batch.

The goblin struck Mau, leaving him bloodied, but it was his final act as Tabot stepped in and finished him cleanly.

There was no respite to be had, however, as the party heard more chanting and laughing and turned to see four more goblins setting a wagon on fire. One was the source of the chanting.

Once again Kyrsa acted most quickly, turning and trying to hypnotize the chanting goblin. Unfortunately he was too wrapped up in his chanting to be affected by their attempts to enthrall his mind.

Nanel dove under the nearby stage so no one would be able to see as he let his patron, Donyoku, take over, becoming a being of vines and a snapping maw.

Mau limped towards the fighting, and as he did he pulled out a vividly green concoction, which he downed. The mutagen caused him to take on lion-like features, becoming larger and stronger than before. He took a stand next to the stage, facing the goblins with blade at the ready—unaware of Donyoku beneath the stage mere feet from him.

Tabot charged forward and took a swing at the nearest goblin, striking it down.

Kyrsa decided to forego magic and instead aimed their crossbow at the chanting goblin. They landed a devastating blow against him.

Two of the goblins ran for the stage, having seen Nanel dive under it. One crawled under, saw Donyoku, and yelled that he was going to ‘kill it with fire’.

The goblin in question got eaten by the plant moments later. Mau heard disturbing eating noises coming from below the stage but had no idea what might be going on down there.

Instead he worried about the problem at hand, and stepped forward to meet the second goblin lingering near the stage, striking him down with a well-placed strike.

All that was left was the goblin who had been chanting. His chanting fell silent as he ran out of stamina to continue his bardic performance.

Tabot stepped forward and swung at the goblin, but swung wide over the smaller combatant.

Donyoku flew out from beneath the stage, pushing past Tabot with an ‘out of the way, pretty boy’. He attempted to chomp down on the goblin, but his vicious teeth clamped down on nothing but air as the goblin dodged again.

Mau made his way around to the other side and tried to strike the goblin down, to equally ineffective results. Kyrsa’s bolt shot true, however, leaving the goblin bleeding badly but still standing. After another ineffective bite from Donyoku, Mau decided the traditional method they were using was clearly not working, so it would be insane to just keep swinging his sword and hope it would work this time.

Instead he stepped back, and produced another explosive. The goblin had conveniently stepped back into the bushes, leaving a relatively clear shot for the alchemist to throw his bomb—only Donyoku would have to avoid the backlash, and quite frankly Mau didn’t know what that plant thing was, or if it was actually a friendly or just conveniently fighting the same creatures for now.

He threw the bomb right in the goblin’s face and the goblin ignited, leaving little of his body and nothing of his head remaining.

Father Zantus gathered our group together. He thanked us and called us heroes—The Heroes of Sandpoint he named us—and he offered his healing prowess before we returned to the fray, as we could still hear the sounds of violence elsewhere. We agreed, and he channeled positive energy enough to top us all off.

Kyrsa told the party that they heard something approaching from one of the roads leading to the square. We prepared ourselves for another fight. Mau handed over two potions of Cure Light Wounds to his current allies, one to Nanel (who had stealthily returned to normal and slipped back into the group, claiming he’d been attacked under the stage) and one to Tabot, as they were the ones who had taken the most punishment last fight.

Not long after we took our positions a nobleman and his dog ran for their lives from more goblins. He introduced himself as Aldern Foxglove, then said he was going to hide while we took care of these nasty things.

Chasing him were two more goblins on foot and a goblin commando atop a goblin dog mount.

Kyrsa opened the fight shooting a bolt at the rider, but it shot wide.

The goblin commando and his mount rushed in and brought Nanel low, knocking the oracle unconscious.

Tabot darted in and used his own potion of Cure Light Wounds to heal Nanel, awakening his unusual new ally.

One of the regular goblins ran at Kyrsa and landed a dangerous strike against the ratfolk, leaving them bloodied and looking a breath away from toppling over.

Mau hurled a bomb at one of the goblins on foot who was menacing Nanel on the ground. The bomb shot wide, but this may have been a boon as the radius of the explosion caught both the goblin he’d been aiming at and the mounted commando.

Kyrsa stepped away from the goblin attacking them, dodging around his blade and getting farther away to cast mage armor on themself. The goblin hassling them lunged forward with killing intent—but their blade clanked off the newly summoned mage armor harmlessly.

The commando and his mount split their attacks between Nanel and Tabot. Nanel was looking like he was on his last legs. Nanel tossed him his own potion of Cure Light Wounds, calling over ‘trade you!’, since Tabot had used his own on the oracle moments before. Then, while Tabot was distracted catching the potion, Nanel turned and bit off the goblin commando’s head, leaving his mount riderless.

Mau turned, and seeing the precarious situation Kyrsa was in, he left Nanel and Tabot to finish dealing with the goblin dog and made his way over to help the ratfolk. He swung in with his blade, delivering a devastating blow against the goblin, although not the killing blow. However now he had the goblin’s attention, giving Kyrsa some breathing room.

Tabot was barely hanging onto consciousness. He heard a voice in the back of his head telling him it wasn’t yet his time, and to make the wise decision.

Despite the voice encouraging him to take a moment to heal, Tabot attacked, striking at the goblin dog. A moment later Nanel finished it off with his quarterstaff.

Nanel then made a beeline for where Mau was fighting the last goblin while Tabot drank his potion, causing the voice to sound relieved before fading away.

When Nanel came up behind the goblin, Mau requested his assistance. Nanel agreed, and slung his quarterstaff around the goblin’s neck. Mau skewered the goblin—with enough fine control of the blade to not send it through Nanel as well.

The streets grew quiet, the sounds of chanting and violence finally fading away, only the lingering roar of the still burning fires in the distance breaking the sudden emptiness in the air.

Over the next few hours, as clean up began, the party were hailed as heroes—Father Zantus’ title for us, The Heroes of Sandpoint, getting around. Ameiko told us anyone who would like could stay at her inn for free for the next week while we figured out where we were going from here. Tabot and Kyrsa immediately agreed, as travelers with no other lodging, as did Nanel, whose normal living conditions were…not great. Mau didn’t intend to join them, as he was more of a solitary person and he had a home of his own to return to, but he did assure Ameiko he would still drop by for a visit, and maybe another drink.

The party split up for a bit, going about their business in town. Tabot went straight to the inn and met the tavern’s maid, a halfling woman named Bethana Corwin, who was holding down the fort until Ameiko got back. She showed Tabot to his room, which was a good sized room with two beds even though he only needed the one. Tabot asked her if she could give him a smaller room, with the intention being that this room would then be available for the inn to rent out to someone else and they would make more money.

Bethana was taken aback, but she told him she’d talk to Ameiko about it when she got back. Then she asked about the holy symbol emblazoned across Tabot’s tabard—the symbol of Aroden. She noted she hadn’t seen any Aroden worshippers in about a century, most had converted to Iomedae, and pointedly asked him if he was insane. Tabot assured her that he was perfectly sane, and he hoped that soon she would be seeing more worshippers of Aroden again. Bethana said she believed him that he had all his mental faculties, but that made her question just what else she believed.

Nanel and Kyrsa went back to the brothel to check up on everyone there. Everyone had been safe—they had barricaded the doors the moment they heard the commotion, and the fire hadn’t touched their building. Satisfied that his family was safe, Nanel went to his own home to gather his things to go spend a week at the Rusty Dragon. Kyrsa followed. Nanel lived in a small hovel—leaky, dirty, small, and hardly fit for a person to live in. Kyrsa acted as though it was the height of luxury. From their perspective, compared to the dens they’d lived in with their hundreds of family members in tight quarters, this seemed huge and homey.

After Nanel gathered his things, he and Kyrsa made their way to the Rusty Dragon. Again, the halfling maid showed them both their rooms. Kyrsa was intimidated by the side of their room—it was too big and empty. They asked Nanel—while Nanel was pushing the two beds together to make one big bed—if they could sleep with him. He said no, he needed his privacy, but suggested that if they were afraid of sleeping alone, maybe Tabot wouldn’t mind the company.

Kyrsa scurried away and found Tabot. They asked him if they could share a room because their room was too big. Tabot said he felt the same, that the room was too large. Kyrsa wanted to sleep at the foot of Tabot’s bed—not in a separate bed—because they didn’t want to sleep alone. Tabot was taken aback at first, but then agreed, if Kyrsa was fine with Tabot still asking Ameiko for a smaller room since they’d only need the one bed. Kyrsa agreed.

While all this was happening, Mau was selling the excess loot they had taken off the goblins—he had a good head for numbers so he’d felt he’d be best to sell the miscellaneous items and split the funds between them. As he finished the final store he needed to visit, a messenger stopped him. He told Mau that he had some bad news.

Mau’s house had burned down in the attack.

Mau and the messenger made their way to where the alchemist’s home had once stood, Mau in a shell shocked silence. They arrived to find a burnt out husk. The messenger said that they were going to go through and try to find anything that had survived the fire…but it didn’t look hopeful.

As Mau looked over the wreckage of what had been his home, he saw something suspicious. He picked his way into what would have been the interior of the home, and uncovered a wrapped torch deep within the rubble. Not thrown in through smashed glass or set ablaze from the outside, but placed *within* his home.

This wasn’t the behavior of a goblin raiding a city, causing random violence. This had been purposeful.

There was someone else pulling the strings. Someone with a grudge against the alchemist.

But try as he might, Mau couldn’t think of a single enemy he’d ever made.

But he knew one thing for sure—he was determined to find who was behind this and bring them down. And he knew just the allies to help him.

Tabot, Nanel, and Kyrsa came together in the Rusty Dragon, getting some food and drink. As they were talking, Mau entered the establishment with a stormy disposition. He told the others what had happened, and asked if they were planning to look into the goblin attacks further. They asked why they’d be looking into the attacks, and May told them about the evidence he’d found that someone besides the goblins was behind the attack. The others agreed that they would be looking into it in that case. Mau said he had a proposition, then, and offered to get them potions for half the cost they’d get them from the stores, which the others agreed sounded like a good deal.

As they were talking, Sheriff Balor Hemlock entered the inn. He thanked the party for their heroics the other day, and confided in the party that he suspected fowl play. Mau told him that he suspected the same, and told the sheriff what evidence he’d found. The sheriff asked the party to keep this on the down low for now, since we had no suspects yet it could be anyone and we didn’t want them catching wind that we were on their trail. We agreed.

The sheriff then let us know that wasn’t the only troubling news today. Father Zantus was to consecrate the tomb of the previous head priest of the temple, Father Tobyn, but he had noticed that after the attacks the door was ajar. The sheriff had convinced the cleric to stay away from the mausoleum until he could get some adventurers to look into it first and make sure it was safe. Those adventurers were, of course, us.

We agreed, thinking we might find a connection between whatever was happening in the mausoleum and the attack.

The sheriff noted that he knew Mau and Nanel as locals, but he wanted to know more about Tabot and Kyrsa. He asked them what they had travelled to Sandpoint for. Tabot told him that he was just traveling where the road took him, seeking a place where he might belong. Kyrsa bluntly said their entire family was dead, and they were looking to avenge them. The sheriff seemed to feel a bit awkward after that revelation, and left soon after. Not before letting the party know they had free reign to investigate the town—and he’d look the other way for minor transgressions done in the name of helping learn the truth of this attack—but don’t take advantage of his trust, no stealing or murdering or anything like that. Mau assured him that he didn’t believe any of them would do anything of the sort. No one gave Nanel or Kyrsa a second glance, completely unaware of how very wrong Mau was.

An hour later, Ameiko returned. She agreed to give Tabot and Kyrsa a smaller room—after some miscommunication between her and Tabot about his and Kyrsa’s relationship in which Ameiko was almost certainly yanking Talbot’s chain and Talbot kept making things more and more awkward.

The party bedded down for the night and slept soundly—unaware of someone scrying on the four of them somewhere far off.

The next day, Mau got up early, prepared his extracts, and then left the inn before the others got up. He wandered around town until he got close to the area where his house had been, then he downed a Disguise Self extract, and began asking around about if anyone had seen anyone suspicious around there that day or during the goblin attack.

Most people gave him little to go off of—everyone wanted to talk about the Heroes of Sandpoint but no one had any useful information about Mau’s burnt home. Until one man told him that he’d seen a cloaked figure surrounded by six goblin, and he could have sworn he saw the figure go into Mau’s house—although things were so chaotic who’s to say what really happened? Maybe it was Mau himself being chased by goblins?

Mau, of course, knew this not to be the case. So he had his first lead, vague as it was. It was definite proof that there was someone in league with the goblins, who had targeted him for some reason.

Mau returned to the inn not long after the others had gotten up and were eating breakfast. He joined them and told them what he’d learned.

The party agreed that their first priority should be looking into whatever was going on in the mausoleum. So they went to the temple of Desna, spoke to Father Zantus and Sheriff Hemlock, and then they approached the open mausoleum. They saw footprints leading into the crypt—one set human sized and six sets goblinoid, exactly the same as had been described to Mau in his investigation. Mau approached the open door, cautious but not hearing or seeing anything.

Until it was too late.

Two skeletons sprang from around the corner, both stabbing Mau, leaving him struggling to keep his footing as his blood spilled down his front.

Kyrsa sprang into action, shooting the one they could see most clearly with a magic missile. Unfortunately, it remained standing, if just barely. It was held together by negative energy and malice.

Both skeletons lunged at Mau again with swords and claws—and the cat alchemist crumpled in a heap at their feet, bleeding out.

Tabot darted forward, went through Mau’s pockets, and fetched a Potion of Cure Moderate Wounds he’d known the alchemist had taken off the last goblins they’d faced. As he poured the liquid into his mouth, his hand glowed, and the healing potion seemed exceptionally effective. All of Mau’s wounds closed as if they’d never been there, and his eyes flickered open, returning to consciousness.

Nanel moved past Tabot and Mau, taking it as the skeletons swung blades at him, and then he turned and tried to bludgeon the nearest skeleton—but his swing went wide.

The skeletons now had more than one target. One continued trying to remove all of Mau’s blood, while the other turned its blade on Nanel.

Nanel fell.

Mau determined that he needed to take these skeletons out NOW. So he took a gamble, recklessly scrambled to his feet—leaving himself open to attacks from both skeletons, but they both scraped against his armor rather than striking true, then he leapt backwards, pulled out a bomb, and threw it directly in the middle of the two skeletons. Both were caught in the edges of the blast, and were blown apart.

The party took a moment to catch their breath. They searched the tomb and found a used up Cloak of Bones. They also found Father Tobyn’s coffin—empty.

As the party reconvened with Sheriff Hemlock, Kyrsa voiced a troubling truth.

The attack had been a diversion. The real goal was something else entirely.

#pathfinder #rise of the runelords #RotRL redux #PF weekly

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