*the figures part and state:*
"In war, victory" *the one the right says*
"In peace, vigilance" *the one on the left says*
"In Death, sacrifice" *Seith says as he leads you into the main hall, a man clad in black full plate with a crest of two griffons walks up to Seith*
"Report warden"
*bows his head*
"I went to escort the new recruits back, only Arziay remained alive, the other two, ravaged by darkspawn and Desmond was not there, his body, nor the joining chalice were there. Heythe didn't survive the trip back, the darkspawn were tipped off as to our path."
*the commander considers, he looks to be a man in his 40's silver/black hair, down to his shoulders, one blue eye, the other covered with a golden patch, wielding a two handed axe on his back with a wicked sharp doubleblade, in a non conventional design*
"So Arziay eh? As the first foretold. Did he go through the joining?"
*Seith Responds*
"No liege, I do not believe so."
*The commander responds*
"Did you collect a sample of blood?"
*Seith nods*
"Off the Orge Commander that killed Heythe"
*The commander nods*
"I shall get the chalice"
*he heads off through the double doors in the center and comes back, liquid already in a bright silver chalice, and has Seith pour the blood into it*
"Take of the chalice like your brothers and sisters did before you Arziay"
*he offers it to you*
I take the chalice, and, looking first from one man, then to the other, not hesitation from fear, but from the awkwardness of being in a situation you don't fully understand. Then, I hold my breath, tip the cup to my lips and begin to force myself to quaff as if this were medicine or alcohol, expecting a malodorous, foul-tasting brew.
*You place the chalice to your lips and drink, it is defiantly tainted tasting blood mixed with what can only be described as peppermint mouthwash, if such a thing existed here and you go down like a ton of bricks*
*Resistance roll 20, failure*
*You awake later in a bed in a small room, Seith keeping vigil on you*
"You survived the joining, welcome brother, now I do believe there is that business of a destiny, and I am to excort you to the vaults."
*he waits outside your door, for you to get yourself together*
*he leads you through a maze of passages, and town two sets of stairs, to a set of golden yellow doors, with what look to be two runed Iron Golems standing guard on either side*
*He looks them each on the eyes and then presses on the door to open it up and leads you in. You see piles of gold, weapons, armor, jewels, relics and books on shelves, chests and on the ground, he heads to one chest in the center and opens it up. Inside you are surprised to see the following three items. A 24 inch flatscreen TV, a Xbox 360, and a Wireless Xbox 360 controller. Seith picks up a book also in the chest*
"The first said someday a Warden with the name of Arziay would come and know how to use these devices, and become what he wished to become. He would also be presented with a set of arms and armor befitting him of his choices."
*pauses and waits for you to activate the "arcane" device*
lmao. well, assuming it isn't already ready to go, I know generally how to set up a game system; I've never personally set up an xbox 360, but based on the assumption that it's generally the same as other systems, I shouldn't have too much trouble getting it ready to go, assuming there's a power source here of some sort with an outlet. I'm assuming that I am able to get it up and running and that I can choose between three classes, mage, fighter, and thief... I'll choose thief if those are the options.
*You see the cables are plugged in, the power source if is a rigged blue potion, the power cords are dangling in it. You turn it on like any gaming system and TV, and they come on. You push the button on the controller and you are able to move around, and it goes right to the Dragon: Age Origins, new game screen, and it's chosen automatically, it also chooses your name, and your race, human automatically, as well as the most appropriate appearance and voice automatically. You see a stat allocation screen, you have 100 pts to distribute between Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Willpower, Magic, and Cunning, with bases of 10, and 3 points to distribute between the following specialties: Assassin, Bard, Ranger, Duelist, Legionnaire Scout and Shadow*
((OOC: Feel free to cheat and look up what the skills and specialties mean on websites, to save me the trouble))
Ok... so, I've researched more than I'd intended to figure out what I want, and my choice is the same as my initial feeling went, all three points to Shadow (unless I can only spend one in each or something stops me). stat allocation... will end up with strength 30, cunning 60, dexterity 30, will power 15, consitution 15, and no change to magic, leaving it at ten (presuming you meant that I have 160 points total counting those automatically allocated to stats; if you meant I have 100 points tota and 40 to distribute, those will be different similar values, prime cunning, secondary dexterity/strength, tertiary constitution/will power, last and least magic). EDIT: OOC: These stats are not current, as later in this thread they were altered.
*The points are activation trees, so one into Shadow to activate it, and you have 2 others for 5 more specialties*
duelist, assassin
*You glow with a bright yellow light for a moment and you feel stronger*
*Hand/Eye +1, Agility +2, Resistance, +1, Str +2, Willpower +1, Stamina +1, Charisma +2, Persuasion +2, Animal Mag +2*
*You now go to the general skills section, and are provided with 16 points to distribute*
((http://dragonage.wikia.com/wiki/Category:Skills and here http://dragonage.wikia.com/wiki/Category:Awakening_skills for information on those 16 points and what to spend them on))
coercion, combat training, herbalism, poison-making. 4 in each.
*Skill Silver Toungued, will look it up 2@5 Psi skill of some level, Herbalism Package 2@5, Combat Training will be reflected in future Martial Arts*
*You are now presented with a screen to select your specific rogue talents, you have 30 points, use the following wiki for insite: http://dragonage.wikia.com/wiki/Rogue*
um... I take it all cost one each, since I don't see values listed? or do higher level skills cost more points and still require the prerequisite skills? by my count, my dexterity is high enough for only 16 of the 22 talents listed. edited: now I see, there are talents for the proficiencies as well. hmm....
Yup so if you need to rethink your point buys go ahead, I didn't make sheet changes yet, and can edit my post when you edit yours. For a rogue, Dex is good all around, Cunning is good if your using two daggers, and Str is good for going Main Hand Sword or Axe, and offhand Dagger. Just some hints.
okay, you answered another question simultaneously, whether or not dual weapons are available... so... hmm... I suppose that I'll go ahead and edit.
Just let me know when edits are done, so I can proceed. Each of your specializations also have skills. If I remember building correctly, you have 16 rogue skills, 12 specializations, 16 melee, and 16 ranged to choose from.
alright, I hope it's easier to understand this way; I'm going to post my """actual""" stats down here and we'll ignore my """pretend""" ones which were posted further up. str 20, dex 36, wil 10, mag 10, cun 72, con 12 (I believe that adds up to 160). proficiencies/skills the same. talents: dirty fighting, dual weapon sweep, dual weapon training, flurry, below the belt, momentum, combat movement, dual weapon finesse, deadly strike, dueling, coup de grace, lethality, dual striking, riposte, dual weapon expert, evasion, upset balance, mark of death, exploit weakness, lacerate, keen defense, feast of the fallen, pinpoint strike, whirlwind, cripple, punisher, dual weapon master, stealth, stealthy item use, combat stealth. THERE. That should be thirty.
(double post)
*Going to put this off till tomorrow, seems I have to make a few styles*
Take however long you need.
I'm going to cheat a bit, and make one style, and a host of abilities.
*Hand/Eye +1, Agility +2, Resistance, +1, Str +2, Willpower +1, Stamina +1, Charisma +2, Persuasion +2, Animal Mag +2*
2@1 Thief Package 0@X
2@1 Dragon Rogue, Fast Weapon Dependent, RF:3, +30 Damage. This fast weapon style requires use of a weapon in each hand, designed for killing with weapons.
2@1 Dagger 7@1
2@1 Longsword 7@1
2@1 One Handed Axe 7@1
2@1 Momentum 7@2
2@1 Combat Movement 7@2
2@1 Mark of Death 7@2
2@1 Dueling 7@2
2@1 Dual Weapon Sweep 7@3
2@1 Whirlwind 7@3
2@1 Flurry 7@3
2@1 Lacerate 7@3
2@1 Keen Defense 7@4
2@1 Evasion 7@4
2@1 Exploit Weakness 7@4
2@1 Riposte 7@5
2@1 Crippler 7@7
2@1 Dirty Fighting 7@7
2@1 Below the Belt 7@7
((I will fill out above when/if needed, but the general gist is there))
*the system shuts down and fades out of existence*
*GE roll 23, this was mainly to see if you were going to get the best of the best, not going to happen, but going to be very good*
*he hands you a full set of leather armor, but seems tougher than steel*
"It's made from dragon wing, I've seen better, but not by much"
Trickster Armor Set: -40 CV
*he then hands you two daggers*
"This is Talon of the Skies, a dagger made of Dragonbone, it's enchanted, does fire damage and other things to help your thief abilities"
*pauses*
"The other is Tooth of the Mountain Father, a dagger made of Volcanic Aurum, it too does fire damage*
Talon of the Skies, Damaging, +2 Intensities of Fire Damage per hit if used by it's name when drawn and when used in a pair with Tooth of the Mountain Father
Tooth of the Mountain Father, Dangerous, +2 Intensities of Fire Damage per hit if used by it's name when drawn and when used with Talon of the Skies
*He also hands you a backpack, bedroll, tent, some pots called healing poultice, food, water, basic dungeonering equipment*
*he smiles*
"Looks like you have a vocation now Arziay"
*he gives you a moment to put the items on*
I dress myself, and see to it that my daggers are sheathed in easy proximity to both of my hands. When I'm ready to go, I look to Seith and nod. "I hope I can be of more help to you now, brother. In war, victory; in peace, vigilance; in death, sacrifice. All the same, let's hope the same sacrifice as our brother made yesterday is not our fate for some time to come."
*Seith smiles*
"The darkspawn hold the fates of all in their grasp, every blight that comes, humanity teeters on the precipice, your quest is simple, find and locate the source of the Blight, while the rest of us try to keep the darkspawn's attention away from you, no pressure."
*walks you upstairs to the common dining hall, and grabs two plates of food to sit at the long benches with you, and you remember how long it's been since you've ate*
"Looks like Turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy and green beans, not a bad meal" *he gets back up and brings back two mugs of honey mead, suitable for drinking with a meal*
Mead! I've always wanted to try it. Ehhh... alcoholic. But I'll try not to get too drunk. I eat like a freakin beast, scarfing it down without any regard for politude. During the meal, I'll ask Seith around a mouth of food, "Any idea where I should start looking for the source of the blight?" Then, later, "Am I going myself, or will there be anyone with me to take some of the hits for me if I end up getting jumped?" If he can't understand me, I'll swallow first and repeat my questions.
*Honey Mead is a sweet tasting lightly alcoholic drink, it's watered down enough here to be close enough to water with taste. Water is hard to clean, and the easiest way to kill bacteria is to mix alcohol with it. It tastes a lot like a watered down honey sweet tea with a kick, it would take a lot to get drunk*
*shakes his head to both accounts*
"More than one person would cause suspicion, and the more Grey Wardens you have together, the easier it is for the darkspawn to find you. There are way too many places in Feralden to worry about, but off the top of my head, got three to the north, 3 to the west, and two to the south."
*Denerim is on the coast with the sea to the east*
Jhiaxus
"Alright, how's the 401k, benefits, do I get an expense account? I'm only kidding." Later still, "What about other warriors who aren't wardens? If I come across them in my travels, could I bring a couple along? Just to take the hits or provide some spell backup, I mean. Or do you think that, too, would be suspicious, even if I were to keep my identity as a Grey Warden played close to my chest -- ah, secret from them, I mean."
*he looks quizzically*
"What is a four oh one k? Is that a company of soldiers? Oh traveling money, I almost forgot.
*hands you a bag of many dozens of gold coins*
"That's 100 gold soverigns there, some of the finer weapons cost that and more, but that could feed a town for a year, so we like to keep humble."
*grins as he eats*
"If you can find people to travel with other than yourself, with or without telling them what your doing, more power to you."
*takes a swig of mead*
Alright. I'll finish eating my food, then ask, "Am I to stay here the night, then leave come morning, or leave tonight and begin the quest?"
*says with a straight face*
"If I were you I'd stay, the female Grey Wardens like to put the new guy through the ringer."
*continues eating his food not looking up*
My mind flashes back for an instant to Kyler's fiancee and daughter, who I can expect never to see again. I force them from my mind, remove the ring from my finger and place it on the table for a moment, then think better of that and place it in a safe place in my on person equipment (a pocket or a pouch will do). Then I tell him, "You bet I'm staying."
*sees you do that and feels bad about the joke*
"I didn't mean to cause that to happen, I should have noticed the ring before, the joke was in poor taste."
*looks down for a moment*
"I don't know your situation, but the female wardens are just like the men, we share quarters, we fight, and we die together. I have no doubt that we are closer to each other in a lot of ways than most husbands and wives. We are still human.
*considers*
"We do have people here assisting us that aren't wardens, there was a pretty young mage that took an interest in you. Women being women, warden or not, word has gotten around. I know your looking for people to travel with, this might fit the bill in more ways than one."
*Three women, 24 Failure vs Animal Mag, 20 Failure vs. Animal Mag, 14 strong success, looks like you got the Mage on the hook*
I smile and shake my head. "No, really, don't apologize. The ring isn't mine; you could say I 'acquired' it, but it didn't belong to me. It bears no meaning. This young mage, though; I'd certainly love to get to know her," I nudge him, grin, and lower my voice, "in more ways than one, if you catch my meaning, eh?" I give a little chuckle. "Any idea how I can go about meeting her?" I look around for her in vain and ask him, "Is she here now, or are we all wardens here, or...?"
((GE roll: 14, Intuition Check: 14 Pass))
*You look around the dining hall, and it's hard to miss her, you look her direction and she was looking at you and turns her attention back to what appears to be a female fighter and female rogue at the table and starts talking*
*she is wearing a mismash of armor and cloth clothing, almost garish*
*Seith looks at where your looking*
"Yeah thats her poor girl, cute, but still working out the whole armored mage thing. The warden commander during the last blight was a Mage Arcane Warrior, Spirit Healer, and a woman, so you can see her influence.
*The other two girls sneak a peak, but you can tell it's more to answer the mage's opinion, and it's clear they don't think you something special*
*he thinks*
"maybe you could find the keep armorer, and see if you can buy a set for her, and perhaps a sword and shield, you might have to give him all that, and owe him, but would be worth it, and besides, killing darkspawn yields armor, weapons and money"
"I agree, cute." This regardless of what she looks like; "Thanks again for everything, Seith. We will meet again. In war, victory." I salute him with a fist to my chest and head over towards the girl. Description would be much appreciated as I'll be eying her up on the walk over, and when I get to where she's sitting, I open the conversation, "Hello, this must be the table reserved for the beautiful women. I'm Arziay; might I inquire what the botanist who discovered these three gorgeous roses in this desert of beauty called them?"
*Seith watches this happen, he has the "I am about to witness a trainwreck" look on his face, if he knew what a train was*
((Lots of rolls 20, 9, 21 pass persuasion, fighter 16 pass, rogue 19 pass, mage 23 failure))
*she's 5'9 Red Hair shoulder length with some braids, she's about 160 curvy, 1@9 Animal Mag the fighter is 6'0" Long Blonde Hair Blue eyes, 170 Muscular, 1@7 Animal Mag, not that curvy, Rogue is 5'0" Elven 2@1 Animal Mag, Thin, maybe 100 soaking wet, Brown Hair, Green Eyes, facial tattoo*
*you see the fighter chick throw up a bit in her mouth, the elven rogue, is staring blinking like she is stunned, while the mage melts and gets a goofy smile*
*the other two roll their eyes and the fighter speaks*
"Your kidding me Cassandra, that's gotta be the lamest pickup line I've heard in awhile."
*the rogue speaks*
"I've seen whetstones be smoother"
*the mage gives them daggers of death eyes*
"I think it was very sweet, I'm Cassandra, Cass for short, and my two rude friends are Jennah, and Gelidrasil, nice to meet you Arjiay."
*Jennah is motioned to be the fighter, Gelidrasil is motioned to be the mage*
*the fighter is looking you up and down*
"He doesn't look like much in a fight"
*the rogue says*
"He might like to take em from behind"
*Cass stands up and takes her food and glares at the two and walks to your table*
"I'm sorry for their rudeness, they are....protective."
I walk with her, confident that I've broken her away from the others. "A rose wouldn't be a rose without it's thorn, Cassandra; that is, I've found that the more beautiful a thing is, the more highly evolved its defense mechanisms. You, however, seem rather the exception than the rule; beautiful and gentle-spirited. I would love to speak at length with you;" as we arrive back where Seith is, if he's still present, I introduce him as my brother-in-arms Seith. "Please, tell me about yourself, Cassandra. Are you from these parts?" if not "Where are you from? What brings you here?" either way "You're a mage, in armor? That's very interesting to me. What kind of spells do you use?" That should be enough for now.
*Seith has a look on his face that screams that shouldn't have worked...at all, but he recovers*
*she swoons at that*
"You are quite the silver tongue, Arziay, gentle spirited, I wouldn't go that far, They don't call me Ground Zero Cass for nothing." *winks and smiles*
"Nice meeting you Cassandra." *says Seith*
"Likewise Sir, Grey Warden." *says Cass*
*chuckle* "No need for that, we all do our work against the darkspawn."
*she smiles and looks lost in thought*
"Well most of my spells are defensive in nature, or allow me to wear this armor, or should allow me to wear a full set if I had one. Basically, I start off throwing a fireball, that usually engulfs the monsters and party members, they are half dead, and we are a quarter dead, and well I sit there, and take all the hits. I know Rock Armor, Flame Blast, Flame Weapons, Fireball, Arcane Bolt and my four Arcane Warrior spells that allow me to wear armor, use weapons and go halfway into the fade."
*she eats her food, she isn't a dainty girl, and she looks like she is more athletic than out of shape, but to be wearing armor, probably comes with the territory*
"'If' you had a full set? You make it sound like you want one. Well, I've got a little bit of money," at this point I motion to the pouch of 100 gold coins, "but maybe we can work something out with the smith. I'll help you anyway, just because I want to, but the truth is, I've been wanting to explore a few places around Feldaren, but with the blight going on, I'd be crazy to venture out there on my own. If you would accompany me; and if your protective friends would go with you; do you see where I'm taking this?"
*considers*
"Well I would like to get a full set, but I don't have that kind of money, and a real sword and shield, maybe if you could help I can work out a deal."
*she nods*
"I do see where your taking this, but I don't think the girls would be into a foursome, but can always ask"
*Seith spits out some food*
((Intuition check 17 success))
I'm confused for a moment by her terminology, and hope she is on the same page with me. If not, it's going to start getting very strange as I continue. "Well, I was actually thinking more along the lines of you telling them that you're going with me; if they are as protective as my assumption, they won't want to see you get hurt and may accompany you if they fear you'll be in danger."
*smiles*
"Oh I thought you wanted to have sex with all of us.....at the same time"
*she grins*
"My mistake, I suppose I can ask them"
*Seith is just deer in headlights*