Okay, here's the first outing of Finjaq Asks for the Circle of Love D&D crew, with new questions to follow maybe every few weeks or so. The idea is to flesh out our characters a bit between sessions, have some roleplay fun, maybe earn some bonus points from our kindly DM ;)
Just answer in the comments section. You can be brief or be a blabbermouth, but if at all possible, I highly recommending answering in-character. Finjaq's first question is...
"Tell me 'bout yer weapons..."
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2009
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January
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- Finjaq's Beastie-ary, Part 2
- Recap: "Be at peace, Robot Boar, Be at peace"
- Finjaq Asks (1/21/09)
- Epic Realms Recap: 1/16
- Finjaq's Beastie-ary, Part 1
- PC: Quijlardunk "Quij"
- PC: Finjaaqeen "Finjaq"
- PC: Brynn
- Recap: "We always hang in a Buffalo Stance..."
- PC: Bakun-Awa
- PC: Alaric Banebridge
- Epic Realms Recap: 1/2
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11 comments:
There's some folks as keeps their grandpappy's blade 'cause it means somethin' to 'em. Or maybe yeh got a weapon that's all magicked up, spent yer whole life savin's on it. Hell, maybe ye were just sweet on the elf that carved yer bow an' that's why it's yer favorite, ha ha!
Now, ol' Finjaq, I might take ta superstition, but when it comes to weapons I'm more about whatever gets the job done. If I only kept to me Pap's hand-me-downs I'd be fightin' Orcs with a knife ain't never done more than gut a fish! No offense, Da' - ye just weren't no warrior. An' I don't use what most of me tribesman do, neither - greatswords an' spears an' such. No, what I learned from me shipmates is how ta fight fast an' how ta fight dirty. That led me ta take up fightin' with a good, tough short sword in one hand, a wicked li'l dagger in the other.
Me short sword used ta be nothin' special. Sharp enough, but common. Few months back, though, I nicked a wicked blade from the treasure chest of some big Hobgoblin mucky-muck. I figure the blade was Hobgoblin make, too. I hate them buggers, but they make a mean blade an' this had their look about it: tempered black steel, cut ta look intimidatin' as hell an' all carved up with some howlin' ghoulie faces - probably whate'er hell-born spirits the Hobgobs worship. Downside is that it don't match me dagger, a fancy foreign number with a purty jewel in the hilt for ta impress the ladies. It's balanced enough I can chuck 'er and stand a fair chance o' the pointy end stickin' into some beastie, but it just don't match me Hobgob blade, an' that vexes me. Oh, meant to say I also usually keep a few plain ol' daggers as spares in me belt an' boots. I'm a cautious feller.
Last thing I got is me li'l spinner blades, what Easterners call 'shuriken.' Tarsima, the lookout on me ol' ship, the Reef Dodger, taught me how to throw 'em real keen. Couldn't unnerstand a damn word o' her foreign gibberish, but she showed me where ta pitch 'em just fine - 'tween the nooks in armor, in the face an' eyes, into an ungloved hand - like that! I reckon I got pretty good. Nowadays I always keep a bandolier of 'em on me an' I replace 'em when I hit the big cities. Used ta be I had some real nice ones I swiped off a fat loan shark - all etched with designs they was - but I had ta stick 'em into various critters what kept runnin' at me. Ol' Finjaq weren't about ta go fishin' 'em out.
IN PLAIN ENGLISH:
+1 Vicious Short Sword
Daggers (3)
Shuriken (20)
Now normally, I'm all about results. Whatever will leave the biggest hole in somebody, you know? That's why I carry a battleaxe. Chop, chop, down they go, and on to my Queen. That all changed when I found Thirsty. See, Thirsty's no ordinary blade. She's a scimitar, with a curved blade that can tear a wicked hole in someone if you place her just right and turn her on the way out.
More than that, though, Thirsty's got a connection to the Raven Queen that makes her just feel natural in my hands. I don't know who made her- found her among some duergar or hobgoblins or such- but whether she was blessed by a Raven Queen priest or just has an affinity for death, she's a nasty piece of work. I can feel the chill of the grave when I hit vitals, and if I kill with her, I can sense a connection to the Raven Queen that both empowers me and punishes the soul of the dying. Like I said, I dunno who made her, but I firmly believe that I was meant to wield her. Who else but a paladin of the Raven Queen should have such a weapon?
As for other weapons, I carry a dagger and a sling, but the dagger's for eating and the sling's for hunting food. I don't even think of them as weapons. I really should get a hand crossbow, though, for some distance fighting.
IN PLAIN ENGLISH:
+1 Lifedraining Scimitar (nicknamed Thirsty)
Battleaxe
Dagger
Sling (18 bullets)
The GM Presents:
The Tale of Thirsty -
When adventurers hear the name "Raven Knights" now, most don't know what it means. Some, schooled in religion beyond just the names of the 11 gods and their 8 evil counterparts, know that the Raven Knights are the defenders of the Raven Queen's citadel in the Shadowfell.
Only a few living beings know that once, hundreds of years ago, the Raven Knights were an order of holy warriors who swept across the world on a mission from their dark queen, to end the lives of those who had lived too long. Immortals were their favorite target, but demons, angels and the undead were all targets.
Each Raven Knight would begin as squire to another Raven Knight, until their knight fell in battle or decided that his squire was ready for the Raven Queen's Kiss. In a ritual long since lost, the Raven Knights would bring the squire to a place of magical power and reveal to him a weapon that had been created just for him. Sometimes it was a scythe, sometimes an axe, often it was a sword, but it was always a weapon with a wicked curve that was intended not to wound, not to scar, but to kill.
Then, after hours of ritual purification and preparation, the knight would use it to kill the squire. The squire, sent to the Shadowfell, would meet the Raven Queen. If she found him wanting, she would cast him out amongst the other dead, just another soul energy to fuel the cycle of death and life. But if he was worthy, she would grant him a kiss and send him back to the world, an instrument of her will, with a weapon charged by the fusing of the power of his own mortal soul and the one true goddess of death.
No one knows exactly what happens to the Raven Knights, but what was once a feared army slowly dwindled to become a band told of in whispers, which became only one, which finally became none. There were once hundreds, maybe thousands, of these "Raven's Blades." Now, there are a mere handful, most of them lost somewhere until a wandering adventurer, or creature, finds it. Every so often, one finds its way to a worshiper of the Raven Queen.
Who can say if it's mere chance, or the Raven Queen herself, tempting some of her more devout followers to find the ritual and begin again the legacy of the Raven Knights?
The staff? Some wizards specialize in the staff but personally I prefer the wand; it's more useful for aiming. Still, one does occasionally find one's self in hand to hand combat and slapping a foe with an ordinary wand won't keep one alive very long. The staff makes a nice backup. It is a bit drab, much more function than form. Maybe I'll spend the effort some day to find one more suitable but there are far more important things to quest for now.
I picked up this magic wand off of a dead something or other and it's a much more effective implement for targeting spells. In recent months, I've become quite nimble in drawing it. Many folks might consider the wand my primary weapon.
I also carry an eating dagger, elegant, and certainly not for use in combat.
While some would be certain my wand is my weapon, and others may argue the staff, neither is true. No, my weapon is my mind, cunning and meticulous. The wand is helpful, true, but I am just as deadly unarmed for the source of my power is a vastly superior intellect.
IN PLAIN ENGLISH:
+1 Wand
Quarterstaff
Dagger, Eating
18 Int
Ego, plus size
Rock on, everyone! Love the write-ups, and special props to Joe, who, admittedly, has less traditional weaponry than most of us to blab about. An excellent "wizardly" answer.
And I see our DM was inspired by Dan's entry to throw down with some backstory of his own. Therefore, Randy, I grant you one extra action point!
...to give to one of us ;)
Hey, Dave gave me an action point! Guess I'll give that to the monsters to use against you guys or something. ;)
More seriously, everyone who did a write-up for their weapon will get a chip at the game that you can "cash in" for a one-time +1 bonus to hit or to damage.
While not very spectacular in appearance, and having no magnificent magical abilities or brilliant secondary effects that make my enemies head explode when I use it, I am rather attached to my bow. It serves my needs well and has been my most faithful companion through my journeys thus far and I will be loathe to replace it when the time comes, because, while it is the same long bow you would find in most well outfitted weapons shops, this one has been worn by my hand. The wood has smoothed to work in accord with me and now it is almost as if it knows my will and aims true time and time again.
It came into my possession on the day I left my parents and the group that had been my family my entire life. I know not how they came to it, but my fellow tribesmen gave it to me as a parting gift and it carried with it all of their good wishes and their hopes for a safe journey for me. As superstitious as my people are, I sense that they may have truly woven their luck into it, because it has saved my life many a time.
Corran, my old teacher who taught me the ways of the bow and of the trap, told me never to forget that it is my weapons that stand between me and death in battle and to always guard this bow as if my life depended on it, to carry it with me always, and to not let it out of my sights. For with this bow, he explained, you can gain everything back that you may have lost, but without it you can lose everything forever, even the tenuous hold we all have on this life. Because of this you will never see me without my arms; my bow strapped to my back, my sword at my side, or my dagger in my boot.
In Plain English:
Long Bow
Short Sword
Dagger (down to 2)
ps. I do hope to continue with the background of my other weapons soon enough, but had to get this out there before tonight - I gotta get my bonus ;)
I don't expect to get any bonus, but I didn't want to be left out! I would've gotten this up sooner, but the hospital blocks Blogger and anything fun. Here's Bakun's answer:
You want to know about my weapons, eh? Yer not planning to steal 'em now, are you?
Ah, stop yer tale-spinnin', Finny - you know I didn't mean it. Now, I can tell you this: Weapons, like the soldiers who carry them, are tools used to earn victory on the battlefield, so you'd better keep 'em sharp and at the ready.
In the heat of war men are either forged into fighters, or they break under the pressure. I have faith in the people I serve with (good soldiers, all of you) but you'd damn well better believe I place most of my trust in a sturdy weapon I can use to break the ranks of the enemy and put 'em on the Long Path where they belong.
A particularly brutal piece of hardware is this warhammer. This ugly hunk of iron has been with me since my Grandfather Mun took it from his own weapons chest and gifted it to me the day I entered the Army of Raramuri. Sure, it's heavy and blunt, and the warhammer isn't as elegant as a blade or have the range of a bow, but I carry it with pride. The oaken handle here is stout and engraved with the marks of the Hundred Fires kinship, and this band is the copper ring of the Clan Cobre. It might be plain to look at, but its beauty is in its effectiveness. Believe me, it's an honorable and devastating weapon in the right hands. Any hump can swing a hammer, but training's what makes it a weapon. Let's say you're facing a regiment of those gods-damned HoGos; there are few things as satisfying as the crunch of your enemies' bones beneath your swing! That crackin' sound carries across the field, and you'd better believe it has an effect on your enemies and your allies both. Someday, if Erathis sees fit to clear that path, I will someday pass this hammer on to a hatchling of my own or die with it in my claw.
Still, the key to surviving battles is strategy, and lately I have been using a common longsword I bought from a Tiefling weapons monger. Dealing with those devils makes my scales itch, but the longer reach of the sword was an advantage I couldn't deny and it was worth the hiss and piss. When I can I'll replace it with a better blade, or press our wizard friend into somehow charming the hammer. Beside the sword, I carry a crossbow for range and a dagger for utility — standard for any soldier. And like any warrior worth his marks, I have a secret weapon. The Ancients passed on their ability to Breathe to all the Dragonborn, and I'm no exception. Now some of us spit fire, some ice or acid. Some of my cousins even belch with the stink of poison. I Breathe the lightning, though, and I like to think Erathis has blessed me to speak with Her voice. It doesn't have the power of the True Dragons; it probably won't kill an enemy outright. But that humper'll feel it, you can be sure of that, and sometimes that makes all the difference between you gettin' a scar or gettin' the grave.
Ah, well ... that's enough jawbonin'. Get some rest, Fin, we've got a long day ahead.
IN PLAIN ENGLISH:
Warhammer
Longsword
Crossbow (w/20 bolts)
Dagger (utility)
[Dragonbreath - racial ability]
Gah - those double "somedays" are going to bug me now.
Nice one, Max! You'll get your +1 bonus in the next session, and whoever hasn't spent theirs yet will get to keep theirs until they do.
Now I just need to come up with some kind of chip to give you guys to indicate the bonuses. Wonder what 'ol Finjaq has to ask before the next session?
Awesome write-up, Max.
I'll fire off another question in a few days or maybe this weekend. I don't want to overwhelm folks, but my plan is to try and post one between most sessions.
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