House of Ainsley: Out-of-Character Discussion

Always ready!

Oh and I think there might be something wrong with my character sheet. As much as I hate to admitt it, I think Karnoz has too much gold.

I can go back and do a top-to-bottom number-crunch, if you like. He did get a few good chunks of coin so far, and I tried to keep an accurate count of his money in the Party thread, but it doesn't hurt to make sure.

Well, I don't think the 500 was deducted for the two 50 GP potions and the 400GP skunk water I paid for at character creation.

Oh, you did decide to get that skunk water? I'd better go back and double-check my Character Creation math. And what were the two 50-Gold potions again?

*runs off and has a look*

...oh, yes. Spider Climb and Jump. I don't remember the post where you asked for them, but I probably overlooked it. Thank you.

*deducts 500 Gold from Karnoz's total and adds the three potions to the paper copy of his character sheet*

So...as a measure of gratitude for your honesty, would you care for an extra Jump potion? Or a Spider Climb potion instead? I'm sure that Karnoz (and, perhaps, through him, his cohorts) will find a good use for it.

The House of Ainsley wrote:

Oh, you did decide to get that skunk water? I'd better go back and double-check my Character Creation math. And what were the two 50-Gold potions again?

*runs off and has a look*

Yes and the potions were jump and spider climb I think... practically useless really, but with the skunk water, i can turn them to poison

So I would definatly like another one, One more for the tainting.

*coin toss*

One more Potion of Jump it is.

And I remember that you ultimately didn't take any of the stealth suits, but Karnoz will probably have a chance to get one later anyway. Will there be anything else, then?

The House of Ainsley wrote:

*coin toss*

One more Potion of Jump it is.

And I remember that you ultimately didn't take any of the stealth suits, but Karnoz will probably have a chance to get one later anyway. Will there be anything else, then?

I actually did factor the stealth suit into my purchases after you told me about them. The mistake came because I thought I got all the magical items that were originally listed. When you noted the mistake and explained that I needed to purchase them, I picked the potions, but that 500 was never deducted by accident.

So he never got any of the stealth suits because he chose the potions instead? That sounds fair enough; for his Level, his Hide and Move Silently are plenty high anyway. I'll go back one more time and make sure I didn't miss anything, though.

The House of Ainsley wrote:

So he never got any of the stealth suits because he chose the potions instead? That sounds fair enough; for his Level, his Hide and Move Silently are plenty high anyway. I'll go back one more time and make sure I didn't miss anything, though.

Negative. I did deduct the 110 GP for a stealthsuit. You had mentioned them in a PM back when we were finalizing Karnoz's charater sheet. I had mistakenly thought that I got all the other stuff as well. i later only took the potions and the skunk water.

Heh... Skunk water.....

Nifty little item that...especially if you're a bad guy with a mind for being up to no good...

I still need to do this itemizing thingie to figure out what I might have overlooked, don't I? Dang it.

But yeah, that skunk water can be nasty. Just pour it into any liquid and wreak havoc. The poison it creates isn't really deadly, but it's the kind of poison that will cause you considerable physiological distress. It's hard to run, fight or do much else when you're doubled over with horrific stomach cramps and spewing your lunch out both ends of your digestive tract, after all. And it's a cheap way to ruin some temple's holy water font, too; it won't make the water any less holy, but would you want to be the priest responsible for bottling something that reeks like a faceful of rotting skunk? Yeah, me neither. And you can pretty much forget about using it to anoint your paladins before they head off into battle (or in search of the dirty little rogue who poured skunk water into their holy water font).... o.O

There we go. I almost forgot that Karnoz's Point Blank Shot feat not only gives him a +1 bonus to Attack (when using a ranged weapon to attack someone within 30 feet) but a +1 to Damage as well. A dagger does 1-4 Damage with each attack--plus all applicable damage bonuses--and a critical hit with a dagger results in two damage rolls--complete with damage bonuses--added together. Karnoz critted and lucked out with two 4's...8 Damage. Add his +1 Strength bonus for each of those rolls (as non-Mighty bows and crossbows don't factor Strength bonuses into damage, but thrown weapons do) and the damage rises to 10 points. And then Point Blank Shot adds another +1 to each Damage roll, for a grand total of 12 Damage from Karnoz nicking the highwayman's left ventricle with a well-placed throw.

Unlike most weapons, daggers can inflict critical hits with natural rolls of 19 or 20, not just a natural 20. And while using a ranged weapon--even a thrown weapon--in melee provokes an Attack of Opportunity under normal circumstances, the highwayman just couldn't help but flub that. Not that a parting shot with his quarterstaff could have killed Karnoz first anyway, not even with a critical hit....

Neat, huh?

I was wondering why there was an attack of opportunity on Karnoz... Still, I have a much better chance to hit by throwing rather than stabbing.

Wraith wrote:

Stick around lads

I honestly believe that's the first time that this Yank has ever been called a lad.

Come to think of it, why is it that Canada, Australia and the USA all came from England, yet we Americans are the only ones who spell it "paralyzed" while the English and the rest of their descended cultures spell it "paralysed"? And that's not the only Z-instead-of-S word, either. Did Noah Webster really think that tweaking the American version of English would be an excellent way to spite the British (along with all the other petty little changes; "armour" and "armor," anyone?)? Or was he just being a bored old prat who wanted to leave his petty little mark on the world? Or did Webster just catch the blame for some other jerk who actually did Americanize English?

This mind wanders the range of possibilities....

GoldenDrakon wrote:

I was wondering why there was an attack of opportunity on Karnoz... Still, I have a much better chance to hit by throwing rather than stabbing.

Yeah, that is kind of a funny thing that his Feats give him better Attack bonuses with daggers if he throws them rather than if he stabs and slashes with them. Weapon Focus: Dagger? +1 to hit with a dagger. Point Blank Shot? +1 to attack with a ranged weapon and hit anyone within 30 feet. So throw that dagger at someone within 30 feet and that's a +2 to hit. Attack that person within 30 feet from hiding, from a flank or from behind and you can even get a Sneak Attack out of it...no Attack bonus for a Sneak Attack (though negating all Dexterity bonuses to a victim's Armor Class is useful), but the Damage bonus (combined with that of Point Blank Shot) is sure to add insult to injury.

And that's not even counting that other great divide between Karnoz stabbing and Karnoz throwing: +1 to hit in melee (from Strength) versus +4 to hit from range (from Dexterity). Of course, picking up the Weapon Finesse feat (with which Karnoz could apply his Dexterity bonus instead of his Strength bonus to dagger-stab someone in melee) would narrow this gap somewhat.

Okay, I'm nodding off now, so it's bedtime for me. I'm glad that I covered what I could tonight. See you after sunrise!

Aww, I was hoping to finish the fight at least...


You are seeing the plan I had with Karnoz and his multitude of daggers. Keep the opponent just out of arm's reach and I can pin cusion the poor sod. And even having a dozen or more of the things can be much more useful that having one big weapon. Kinda makes that disarm skill worthless too....

GoldenDrakon wrote:

Aww, I was hoping to finish the fight at least...

Well, I'm back for the attack now.

GoldenDrakon wrote:

You are seeing the plan I had with Karnoz and his multitude of daggers. Keep the opponent just out of arm's reach and I can pin cusion the poor sod. And even having a dozen or more of the things can be much more useful that having one big weapon. Kinda makes that disarm skill worthless too....

Sir Holymont Goodkind the Just: *Disarm*
Karnoz "Raven Murder" Tellen: *Quick Draw*
Sir Holymont Goodkind the Just: *Disarm*
Karnoz "Raven Murder" Tellen: *Quick Draw*
Sir Holymont Goodkind the Just: *Disarm*
Karnoz "Raven Murder" Tellen: *Quick Draw*
Sir Holymont Goodkind the Just: *Disarm*
Karnoz "Raven Murder" Tellen: *Quick Draw*
Sir Holymont Goodkind the Just: "I suspect that we'll be at this all day!"
Karnoz "Raven Murder" Tellen: "Keep it coming, paladin. I have exactly 127.35 daggers left!"
Sir Holymont Goodkind the Just: *Disarm*
Karnoz "Raven Murder" Tellen: *Quick Draw*
Sir Holymont Goodkind the Just: *Disarm*
Karnoz "Raven Murder" Tellen: *Quick Draw*....

Wraith wrote:

ahhhh noooooo.....

I CRIED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

*sob sob SOB*

Anyway, glad I could catch you long enough to say Good Night

The Doctor Who episode turned out to be a real tearjerker, huh?

Well, whatever his reasons were, it sure makes American English look kind of quirky, doesn't it? As if we didn't have enough quirks in the language, like how we toss in random words from other languages without even bothering to assimilate their spellings into English phoenetics first. And whose very recent idea was to treat every last English word beginning with the letter H as though the H is silent? "An homage"? "An historical precedent"? "An heretical belief"? Why did the hard H become so unfashionable all of a sudden?

And as for another kooky American English pet peeve of mine, I still prefer to spell "judgement" with the E in the middle, no matter how firmly popular culture tries to shove "judgment" down my throat. I was brought up in a strict Catholic school where we learned that the "dge" combination is pronounced with a J sound. D-G-E. Not D-G. We have words spelled like "fudge" and "budge" and "hedge", not words spelled like "fudg" and "budg" and "hedg". So I look at the "modern" spelling of that word and it looks like it should be pronounced "JUD-guh-ment", not "JUJ-ment". Bloody hell, who comes up with this stuff?


Anyhow, drifting back to the topic, Corwin c/o SEAMUS! I've been overlooking this for a while, and I thought I'd run it past you. You and I never finished coming up with the Woodwitch's crew under Corwin's command, so here we are:


Mr. Heron Stevens (First Mate)
Human Nellowswannian Male, Age: Late 20's.
Lean and wiry build, light tan skin, dark blond hair (cut very short), green eyes, carries himself rigidly and speaks crisply and with authority, prefers to dress himself in fine wools and cashmeres.
A practical sailing man who hails from five generations of seafarers, some of whom were privateers and navy folk, and a few who turned to piracy. Stevens is simply upholding the family legacy, though less of any great love for the sea and more because sailing is both a source of good income and was almost all that his father ever taught him. Without even a trace of humor in his daily affairs, his facial expression hardly changes no matter which mood he finds himself in. Contrary to expectations, his pokerfaced demeanor has not hindered his social attractiveness but has instead enhanced it; he is the eye of the storm, capable of calmly barking orders and reassurances even as the storm rises, the ocean swells and the seawater blasts across the deck around him. He allows no amount of personally felt anger, grief, joy or fear to tremor his tone, and that--coupled with his blunt honesty--lends Captain Ainsley all the assurance he needs that the captain's orders will be delivered--and the responses to such orders conveyed in all frankness--regardless of circumstance.
Level 3 Expert
STR 15, DEX 12, CON 14, INT 15, WIS 14, CHA 16

Mr. Aldoner Rankin (Sailor, chronic drunkard and frequent brig warmer and tester of whipping post restraints)
Human Amethyne Male, Age: Early 30's.
Tall, stocky and portly build with obvious muscle in the less fatty parts, ruddy complexion, dark brown hair (badly thinning and receding), dark blue eyes, bushy eyebrows, crooked nose (which has been broken more than once), swaggers when he walks (doubly so when drunk, which takes a lot of booze to accomplish), prone to spending all of his money on wining and dining and whoring around, speaks with a perpetual slur as if his tongue were too large for his mouth.
A former roustabout and day laborer, Rankin was the son of a farmer family in Amethyst Coast, kicked out of his home at an early age for being too lazy and eating too much. He turned around and improved his life--though not by much--in various unskilled trades, never lasting for long in any job before getting fired. When he's handy (and sober), he's very handy indeed; too bad that's not as often as most employers would like.
Level 3 Commoner
STR 16, DEX 15, CON 16, INT 10, WIS 5, CHA 14

Mr. Territon Launce (Sailor)
Human Nellowswannian Male, Age: Early 20's
Lean and firm build, fair complexion, brown hair (kept in a short ponytail), brown eyes, very fussy over cleanliness, quick to belittle or criticize others.
The son of a Nellowswannian knight, his knightly father held himself to a very high personal standard and held his son to that same standard ever since the latter could walk...and was quick to berate Launce quite loudly and at great length whenever the far younger Launce inevitably fell short. Seeking an escape from the stuffy and nitpicky nobleman's life, he cast all else aside and took to the sea at 15 years of age, beginning as a cabin boy and working his way upward. Unfortunately for him--and despite his disdain for his father--he inherited much of his father's overbearing personality and often alienates his crewmates.
Level 2 Aristocrat/Level 1 Expert
STR 14, DEX 15, CON 16, INT 9, WIS 11, CHA 9

Ms. Famma Covery (Sailor, former port-haunting prostitute)
Human Nellowswannian Female, Age: Late teens
Slender and wiry build, milky complexion with light freckles, black hair (waist-length and usually kept in a single braid), green eyes, speaks with a light sing-song tone, curious to the point of being nosy, fascinated with magic and wizardry.
An orphaned street urchin as a little girl, she found a home with the local Thieves Guild in Windwater, picking pockets and committing acts of petty theft throughout her early years. As soon as she matured into her teens, the Guild took advantage of her unusually good genetics and traded her off to a portside brothel...where she also continued to pick pockets and commit acts of petty theft, in addition to the usual harlot duties. One of her clients in that time was a seafaring wizard, an elementalist who went on at length about his trinkets and baubles, one of which was a tourmaline with the power to summon and control small water elementals. He no longer had the tourmaline by the time his drunken, erotic rendezvous with her was concluded. After covertly playing with water elementals and enjoying their company for weeks afterwards, Covery lost the tourmaline to another thief in turn. She promptly left the brothel and joined a sailship crew, hoping to find her lost tourmaline...or maybe even something better. Rumors about crystal bowls capable of summoning and controlling large water elementals persist....
Level 3 Rogue
STR 11, DEX 18, CON 13, INT 8, WIS 10, CHA 14

Mr. Rirtiil I'hicadeer (Sailor)
Wood Elf Fallowvalian Male, Age: Early 60's (roughly early teens, in human terms)
Thin and slight build, puffy cheeks, sickly and patchy complexion, gold hair, sapphire blue eyes, speaks barely above a whisper, obsessed with collecting coins and relics.
I'hicadeer was born very sick and weak, unusual among wood elves. The village seer and his grandmother both expected him to die in infancy, but with ample care and attention he survived. Yet he never fully recovered from his condition or grew into vigor, and his clanmates could never help but pity him for it. The belittling pity grew stifling before long, and I'hicadeer parted ways with his village and his clan to escape it. He came to the cities of humankind and, as many elves do, became fascinated with how such a short-lived race could accomplish so much with such short lifetimes. Each coin, each obsolete weapon or armor piece, each rune-etched brick, each primitive work of art...these and more represent people who have gone before, living, siring new generations and dying with the passage of the ages. His collection of such bygone relics is very small now--a few coins from the unification of Karkova, a peasant's etched tin ring from an unknown point in Omikoros' history and two flint arrowheads from the Serg barbarian tribe who tilled the earth of primeval Bardosylvania before Bardos Ainsley came--but he is young. He can wait..wait, man the crow's nest, fetch the water ladle for the crew and polish Captain Ainsley's boots for the eleventh time that day, whatever it takes to happen across any small and ancient prize for his collection. And his collection will grow vastly with the centuries to come. He is certain of it.
Level 3 Commoner
STR 9, DEX 12, CON 7, INT 9, WIS 6, CHA 12

Mr. Islah Al'Benzaradin (Sailor, former mariner)
Human Prime-Lebeqi Male, Age: Early 40's
Tall, fat and stout of limb, light brown skin, black eyes, bald, long black beard (breast-length, trimmed thin and kept in five beaded braids), thick and drooping black moustache (chin-length), azure tattoo of crossed crescents on forehead, always wears a black turban held together with a small lapis lazuli pin, speaks in a trembling bass voice with deep breaths, keeps a silver coin in its own hip pouch and is quick to draw the coin and flip it to help overcome tough decisions.
In his native Lebeq Prime, Al'Benzaradin supported his family as a date farmer. But one very bad year, while he was selling his dates at a marketplace miles away, a band of pirates with a tattooed half-orc leader put to the shore, descended on his seaside farm, beheaded all of his family, took everything they could carry and put the rest to the torch. Left with nothing more than a heavy pouch of silver coins and the horrified accounts from his neighbors, Al'Benzaradin buried his wife and his children, abandoned his ruined farm and enlisted with the Prime Lebeqi Navy as a mariner, hoping that he might one day find the pirates and their orc-bred captain across the endless waters and claim his vengeance.
Level 3 Fighter
STR 14, DEX 15, CON 15, INT 7, WIS 12, CHA 7

Ms. Luzendra Ilsangria (Sailor)
Half-Elf Bardosylvanian Female, Age: Early 40's (about her Early 20's in human terms)
Broad-shouldered and slender build, pale skin, dark auburn hair (shoulder-length, not styled, often decorated with red roses or other red flowers), light gray eyes (irises appear to have red veins when viewed under moonlight), small red-ink tattoo of a dagger with a single red drop dribling from its point on the left side of her neck, speaks with an airy and gentle voice which others often perceive as being forceful and compelling.
Always the loner in a crowd, Ilsangria is the sort of person whom everyone welcomes and befriends...but once she leaves, warm words become disparaging, gossiping, backbiting whispers. The rumors which seem to follow her whenever she sets foot on land are often equally unkind; though the name of the Bardosylvanian city or village always changes, the story's essence insists that her father's father--the town's mayor or burgomaster--was a vampire, and that once his masquerade was broken, he was put to death at the stake by a pair of vampire hunters and a great mob of angered and horrified townsfolk. Ilsangria herself is no vampire; otherwise, her days of working under the sun and falling into oceanwater would have ended her years ago. Yet her bloodline is decidedly anomalous, perhaps even cursed; though she strives to conceal her sorcerous powers, at times she has been seen conjuring light in the darkness or weakening a ravenous shark with a mere gesture. But whether she is dhampir, descended from a dhampir or wholly mortal, she will not say; she simply keeps pulling rigging lines and raising anchors with physical strength well beyond her apparent lithe stature, chain-vomiting and breaking out in hives after eating garlic, and calmly asking Captain Ainsley if she can work the night shift.
Level 2 Ranger/Level 1 Sorcerer
STR 17, DEX 13, CON 15, INT 12, WIS 12, CHA 13

Mr. Exenus Di Neverine (Sailor)
Human Fioriallian Male, Age: Late 20's
Average build, tan complexion, sandy blond hair (curly and cut short), brown eyes, always speaks with flurries of hand gestures and long, intellectual-sounding words...which he laughably misuses most of the time.
Di Nevarine hails from a long line of senators, diplomats, military officers and philosophers, all people of great charisma, insight and learning. Unfortunately, Di Nevarine himself inherited none of the traits which made his forebears so great and influential. But, like the donkey who pretends to be a warhorse, his utter lack of brilliance or savvy has not deterred him in the least. He still carries himself with a statesman's air and speaks in long, flowery speeches peppered with oodles of long, polysyllabic words. And, being as ignorant, slow-witted and stupid as he is, he almost always gets the usage and definitions of these words entirely wrong, saying "presumptiously" or even "precipitously" when he meant "presumably," and so on. What charm and social grace he has can be attributed to his self-awareness: he knows that he butchers and bungles his language with embarassing commonality, and yet he has the good humor to take the chagrin in stride and laugh at himself in joining with the ensuing ridicule. He's a very poor intellectual and he knows it...but he'll be damned if that stops him from trying. In the meantime--until he successfully grows some fresh brain tissue--the rest of the crew continues to find him a recurring source of amusement.
Level 1 Aristocrat/Level 2 Expert
STR 12, DEX 9, CON 12, INT 7, WIS 8, CHA 13


We can suss out their Skills and Feats and such in a little while. So...how does Corwin's crew look so far?

Wraith wrote:

Oh... I've forgotten my feats again haven't I?

Yes, you have.

Wraith wrote:

Hmmm.... can you remind me what to do please? Sawwwies....

The number of Feats a character has depends on a combination of that character's Race, Class and Level. As a Level 5 Elf Cleric, Sylvea can take two Feats from this topic. Bear in mind that the Cleric class already comes bundled with Simple Weapon Proficiency, all three of the Armor Proficiency feats (Light, Medium and Heavy) and Shield Proficiency, so Sylvea doesn't need to take any of these.

The only Feat category that's entirely off-limits to Sylvea is the Monstrous Feats; she would have to be undead or some other monstrous type of creature to access the Monstrous Feats. Other than that, the Feats available to Sylvea are limited only by their requisites; Clerics are spellcasters--which gives Sylvea access to the Item Creation, Metamagic and Divine Feats as well as the Extra Turning feat from the Special Feats section...but Sylvea still couldn't take Craft Rod (since she's not a Level 9 spellcaster yet), Energize Spell (since she's of Evil alignment and can Rebuke undead) or Profane Vigor (because her Charisma is less than 11).

So other than these limitations, go crazy. But choose wisely, as her Feats will define her character as much as every other facet of her character sheet or backstory does. If she has Run, how did she come to run so fast: training, heritage, a magical blessing or just a random gift from her birth? If she has Tomb-Tainted Soul, how did she become that way in the first place? Did Sylvea's mentor somehow corrupt her soul with the same dark magicks that he used to kill Ariean, has Sylvea simply courted the undead for so long that she has become saturated with their dark metaessence, or was she simply born "terribly wrong"? Or if she has a Mother Cyst, how does she view or regard the tumor of undead flesh growing inside her body: with maniacal glee, abject horror or chilling indifference? Possibilities for character history and intrigue abound.

Thanks so much! I'll think carefully on it and hopefully not forget it this time As I remember, there were a few to choose from.

Ainsley;

Had a question for you that's been making the back of my neck itch for a few. regarding your award of XP for 'acts of alignment', Karnoz recieved 100 XP for pickpocketing the fisherman back in Kurvoss, and also 100 XP for the method of killing the highwaywoman. Should this be correct based on your own standards?
Not that I am bucking for extra XP, nor is it why I wrote what I wrote, but I am curious to why petty theft would equate to a rather flamboyant coup de grace.


On a side note, I noticed that there is no listing for the purchase or selling of traps in your supply and equipment list.

GoldenDrakon wrote:

Ainsley;

Had a question for you that's been making the back of my neck itch for a few. regarding your award of XP for 'acts of alignment', Karnoz recieved 100 XP for pickpocketing the fisherman back in Kurvoss, and also 100 XP for the method of killing the highwaywoman. Should this be correct based on your own standards?
Not that I am bucking for extra XP, nor is it why I wrote what I wrote, but I am curious to why petty theft would equate to a rather flamboyant coup de grace.

It's basically like this: these are minor awards for roleplay, which may or may not include compliance to Alignment and/or compliance to the character's established personality (or the further development of it). The content of the acts themselves is mostly irrelevant; it's how they establish Karnoz's character and place in the world that matters. I would not have awarded either bonus if Karnoz had done something completely against character, like giving the highwaywoman some healing and allowing her to leave in peace without having an ulterior motive for doing so.

In the case of the fisherman, Karnoz stole money from an already impoverished man. Karnoz had a motive for the theft, of course: his own personal gain. And the fisherman's loss and any suffering resulting from that loss didn't matter to Karnoz. Thus was Karnoz further founded as a selfish, callous and potentially cruel person, and his success at the theft gave him a smidgen more incentive to succeed at all of his endeavors, no matter who suffers because of his efforts.

In the case of the highwaywoman, what Karnoz did was not particularly evil in and of itself. The robbers knew well the potentially fatal risks of their chosen profession, and those risks were realized through their encounter with Karnoz. Some people might even call the act of killing the highwaywoman justice or self-defense, even if she was killed while in a helpless or submissive state; otherwise, nothing may have stopped her from later hunting down Karnoz and taking a literal stab at revenge. So the half-elf's death or the morality of the act is not what matters here; what matters is how Karnoz did it. He could have mutely slashed her throat and continued on his way, but that would have contributed nothing to his personality or his purpose, and the award would not have been given if he had gone that boring old route. Instead, he expressed himself. He took the opportunity to give a speech, express his disdain with the robbers and pose a signature question and answer to her before finishing her off.

So in this case, the latter 100 points was a bonus for roleplaying style. Killing people or monsters in combat or other manners of confrontation is rewarded through standard combat experience (and Karnoz had already been "paid" for defeating both of the robbers) and, as I had mentioned, the roleplay value of what he did could not be conveyed through Alignment or compliance to it. The act of murder or killing someone could be seen as monstrous, repulsive, irksome, unremarkable, acceptable or even laudable, depending on circumstances. So it was chiefly an award for flair, and Karnoz would have received the same reward whether he gave her his speech and trademark question, left a white rose on her chest as a calling card, challenged her to one last double-or-nothing gamble with a roll of a pair of dice, offered her a chance to buy her freedom with the severance of her right hand, or did anything else to make the execution more interesting and compelling.

But if moral comparisons must be made, what Karnoz did to the fisherman might even be considered more evil than what he did to the highwaywoman. The robbers threatened Karnoz with loss, injury and possible death; thus, they provoked Karnoz and brought their fate on themselves. But aside from giving Karnoz a "watch where you're going" look, the fisherman did nothing to antagonize Karnoz...yet Karnoz punished him with theft, loss and the strife of deepened poverty anyway. Both acts defined Karnoz as a character, just in equal but separate ways (equal and separate as far as I can see, anyway).

I hope that helps.

GoldenDrakon wrote:

On a side note, I noticed that there is no listing for the purchase or selling of traps in your supply and equipment list.

That's because traps are usually built and set by the trappers themselves; trap kits in stores are purely a Neverwinter Nights invention and are not included as trade items in D&D 3. Characters can buy the pieces and components for building a trap (or scrounge the components from their surroundings for free, in some cases), but that's only for the materials; the pieces must still be crafted and assembled to form a trap.

So what Karnoz found in the highwayman's pack was not a trap but a bundle of items which could be used to make a trap. The highwayman likely gathered those components himself and bundled them into a "trap kit" for his own convenience. But stores which actually sell traps and trap "kits" are pretty rare...rare enough that the merchants can usually charge whatever they want to charge for a trap. And a possible reason for this is that traps must be adaptable to their environment if they are to work; a rockfall trap that works perfectly fine in the mountains won't be nearly as functional in an overgrown jungle, and a snare trap designed for use in the jungle might look and function differently from a snare trap designed for use in a swamp, a badland or a dungeon. This is just one more factor that makes traps a troublesome and not-so-profitable commodity, as the merchant cannot know exactly where a customer will build and set his trap...and a merchant who sells forest traps in the forest probably won't have what the customer needs if the customer intends to place his trap elsewhere.

But Karnoz is always free to hunt down whatever odds and ends he needs to build his own trap. It might even become a quest if the trap is epic enough....

There we go! I'm still not sure why it took so long for me to get back to Sylvea (my own mind's kind of mysterious like that, I guess), but I figured that if I'm going to make Wraith wait an uncharacteristic 2.5 weeks for a reply, I might as well make it good. Better than I had first planned, even. And I think I now owe Wraith a speed-posting day or three, too.

Also, bearing in mind Wraith's original wish to have Sylvea hail from Bardosylvania (and she later moved to Nellowswann only because the Cult of the Twilight Candle has no temples in Bardosylvania and they bid her to come with them to Nellowswann as their price for returning Ariean from death), I oh so subtly inserted a little something into the details of Sylvea's backstory. And if Wraith has any disagreement with the details I tossed in, she's free to thump my nose with a newspaper so I can edit the post and make any requested corrections. I'm reasonable like that.

Okay, where's Karnoz? One down, one to go....

We wait with bated breath. And don't forget to pick up those dishes.

But I'm off to bed now. I'm actually in a bit of a sucky mood right now. I overlooked locking up the henhouse in my mad rush to get to work last night, and Yogurt and Cuddles--the two chicks I'd just gotten a few weeks back--apparently jumped out of their cage again because they were getting into that "restless little explorer" age. Unfortunately, I've also been having problems with a "super raccoon" coming around; I can't catch the bastard with any of my traps, and he won't give me a chance to shoot him. And, as you can guess, sometime last night my two little chicks--who should have stayed in their little cage high up in the henhouse, but didn't--jumped out of their cage, and the raccoon came in, ate the top half of Yogurt's body and killed Cuddles for no apparent reason...just bit a hole in her chest and didn't eat any part of her. When I couldn't find Cuddles right away, I was hoping that she might have survived. But she didn't. She had gotten back behind the hay bale, and the raccoon came in after her. If only the ten grown hens could have driven the raccoon off; you would think their territorial and social instincts would have kicked in the moment they saw that raccoon stick his head inside--resulting in a mob of angry chickens descending en masse with beak and claw--but no.

So I just got done burying my two baby hens who weren't even a month old, I'm going to bed, I'm going to wake up before sunset and I'm going to put that raccoon in the ground, whatever it takes...baiting and shooting, rigging that spring-loaded cage trap that he keeps ninja'ing the bait out of with a string so I can trigger the trap from afar, the old rat-poison-in-the-Alpo trick...whatever. I've put up with this raccoon for too many months as it is, he finally crossed the line last night and I want him gone. The sooner he's gone, the sooner I can get two new chicks to replace Yogurt and Cuddles. They were such pretty little chicks, too; I was pretty fond of them.

Damned raccoons.