The Grail Works Mission Dossier (Discussion & Ideas)

[Incarnite Azurnum]

You going to roll the die or are you going to choose the race again? If you roll, make sure you give us a link.

[Kieran]

You going to roll the die or are you going to choose the race again? If you roll, make sure you give us a link.

The dice came up "human" for Miyu (just as well, she'll be traumatised enough), and "half-elf" for Kuro - and if she was a half-drow, it would explain her colouring . . .

[Xamusel]

Er, now that I'm curious, what links are there for the random selection of player races in Pathfinder?

[Kieran]

*Shrugs* I honestly have no idea.

[Incarnite Azurnum]

I don't think there is a randomiser for player races, not one that I know of at any rate. There might be one for core only races though, just look for a 3.5 version as the core races are the same.

On d20pfsrd, they have 40ish races if we include some of the splats they have up. That's excluding the monster races that are player usable which bumps it up to hilarious numbers. Its easiest to have a concept and then choose the race based on that concept.

There are lists online so you could just assign numbers and then use a rng.

Here's a list of player races accurate as of 2012

[Xamusel]

Hmm... I see what you mean.

[Kieran]

So . . .

While trying to organise and write the next chapter of "Trinity," part of my brain is trying to sort out "Reign of Winter." Thus far, I've come up with the following puzzle pieces:

* The beginning stage will either begin in "Ever After High" or "Frozen" (as the linked segments indicate). Of the two, "Frozen" is better-developed in terms of a story.

* Miyu, having merged with the Saber Class Card when she was reincarnated, will show up as a paladin for the purposes of this story (the drawbacks of dimension-travelling without a paradigm shield).

* The third and fourth sections of the Adventure Path need to be replaced. One section will involve the "Castlevania" world (probably the "Lords of Shadow" version), since a version of Baba Yaga is already part of the game. The fourth section, I was actually considering the Bayonetta universe, since witches are such an integral part of the setting. If so, I considered doing my character as a Lumen Sage (which I think I can actually translate into d20, unlike the Umbra Witches) - but I'm afraid that might be too powerful . . .?

* Alternatively, since my character is otherwise going to end up as an investigator, I might pull a page from Elf's playbook, and make him into a PI character I've been trying to write for a while - from that fairy-tale mystery series that keeps popping up in my head. Or as a redo of my "Jack O'Lantern" idea.


. . . Thoughts, opinions?

[fsnfan]

What about a setting in Dark Souls 1/2 or Demon Souls? If it's adventure, they're quite suitable I think.

[Incarnite Azurnum]

The issue is what the characters are meant to do/find/obtain in those sections. Trying to obtain a cold related artifact in, say, Dark Souls is an extremely strange move as it runs against the grain of the way things work in the universe. Not to mention chances are it would have been annihilated by the rekindling of the first flame. Or gods forbid in Exalted where chances are it would be in the hands of the Deathlords or the Sidereals.

[Kieran]

What about a setting in Dark Souls 1/2 or Demon Souls? If it's adventure, they're quite suitable I think.

I don't own either - and what I've read of them makes them sound hideously complicated. More to the point, however . . .

The issue is what the characters are meant to do/find/obtain in those sections. Trying to obtain a cold related artifact in, say, Dark Souls is an extremely strange move as it runs against the grain of the way things work in the universe. Not to mention chances are it would have been annihilated by the rekindling of the first flame. Or gods forbid in Exalted where chances are it would be in the hands of the Deathlords or the Sidereals.

. . . There's this to consider.

The basic purpose of the "Reign of Winter" Adventure Path is a giant fetch quest: you travel through worlds, collecting items leading to Baba Yaga's prison (and eventually, the keys to open it), fighting off the forces that imprisoned her (and seek to bring eternal winter), and/or the random problems that each world has to itself. The worlds are linked to Baba Yaga, thematically, in one of three ways - they're either extremely cold (like a certain ice planet in Part 4), quasi-Russian (such as Irrisen, or World War I-era Russia itself), or heavily involved in witchcraft.

Arendelle fits the first criteria, and the Rus people who founded Russia were Vikings, according to one theory, so that works. Castlevania might be a bit of a stretch, but it has a history of witchcraft and adopting mythologies - plus, as noted, Baba Yaga is already a character there. Likewise with Ever After High; it might be a lighter setting than fits with the rest, but Baba Yaga is part of Russian folk/fairy tales, and that's what the series is about. Of the two, mind you, I suspect Castlevania would work better.

Bayonetta, on the other hand - well, as noted, it deals with witches. And if its continuity can stretch to adopt Joan of Arc, Cleopatra, and the mother of "Devil May Cry's" Dante as Umbra Witches, then surely Baba Yaga can be included. More than that, though, Baba Yaga is believed to have originally been a Slavic goddess who dealt in fate and time - both things the Umbra Witches and their counterparts are involved in, as well.

[Kieran]

DISCLAIMER: Lunar Legend Tsukihime, Fate/Stay Night, Fate/Kaleid Liner Prisma Illya, and all related characters and concepts are the creation and property of Kinoko Nasu and Type-Moon, along with whoever’s happened to license them. Dungeons and Dragons is the creation of Gary Gygax et al, and the Forgotten Realms are the creation of Ed Greenwood. Both are the property of Wizards of the Coast. Pathfinder and all related characters, creations and concept are the property of Paizo Publishing.

This is a not-for-profit, just-for-fun project.








When the time came to examine how it had happened, with all the details behind all the mechanisms involved were known, the blame fell mostly on Ilya. Not that she had intended any such thing, of course; but meddling with the reincarnation spell the way she had, combined with the curse Baba Yaga had laid on its caster, was bound to have consequences — even when fixing them.

In restoring Arturia Pendragon to human form, the spirit of the Holy Grail had essentially used her power and skill as a scalpel, cutting away the rest of the spell’s aspects until what remained of its intent and effects was more akin to a resurrection spell than reincarnation. The fragmented spell, however, didn’t dissipate. Instead, Baba Yaga’s curse sustained it (though it was less than it had been) — and prompted by the curse’s own nature, it sought to act maliciously against the one who interfered with it.

Once, Kurai had needed to act to stop that from happening; this time, Ilya was better prepared, and the attack’s power less than before. As a result, it effectively bounced off her defences — deflected, but not dissipated. Instead, Baba Yaga’s curse sought an indirect route, using the spell’s original purpose: to reincarnate a soul — but seeking one connected to Ilya, whose reincarnation would mean trouble.

And with the connection to Kaleidoscope that the Works maintained, its search did not take long . . .








Another world

Not so long ago








As the Class Card disintegrated, her own energy waned, and she could feel the chains settling upon her — dragging her down into the darkness. Once again, the disguise her mother had wrapped her almost from the moment of her birth enveloped her, strangled her; forcing her to do nothing but watch her life being lived by a person that answered to her name, but denied her existence.

It wasn’t fair, and she hated it —

“Wandering soul, plagued by strife;
If ye be willing, return to life.
To tread anew in flesh reborn,
The path from which you were torn.”

Coming from somewhere far off, she heard the words — and while she understood them, she wasn’t quite sure of what she was hearing. The words echoed in Japanese, German (her other native tongue), English (which she’d begun learning in school) . . .

It was logically impossible for the chant to be all those languages at once, but try as she might, she couldn’t conclusively identify the echoes’ source as being any specific dialect. But if she didn’t know how she was hearing it, she was still able to understand what it was that she was hearing. It was a warm voice, saddened by her fate, and gently offering to ease her pain.

More than that: it was an invitation, a chance to be free — to be Ilyasviel von Einzbern for herself . . .

Under other circumstances, she might’ve questioned things a bit further. Being offered the Third True Magic’s gift was unlikely, to understate the case, and any other means of manifestation that she knew of were far more costly — such as the fact that those who were capable of them were more often inhuman monsters than not.

But the relative freedom granted by the Archer Class Card was ebbing fast and her re-imprisonment was imminent — there was no time for questions or debate. That being the case, she reached out to the source of the voice, to accept.

And though she had no real sense of her own body, never truly having been allowed one of her own, she couldn’t rid herself of the feeling that followed: the sensation of a warm, larger hand gently clasping her own, and tugging . . .

“Heed now the spinning wheel of Fate;
I entreat ye, REINCARNATE!”

Before the spell could complete its function, however, the other aspect of Baba Yaga’s curse manifested. The Witch Queen had vanished, and its bearer had not been responsible; therefore, as directed, it brought the curse’s bearer to her aid — and the one in whose fate he had been meddling (however unknowingly or indirectly) was dragged along for the ride.

As a result, when the reincarnation spell began to build a new body for the soul of from the elements of the Material Plane, its composition would be wildly divergent from what she was accustomed to . . .








She found herself in someone’s arms, being held against their chest; specifically, it was a male someone, from the pectoral definition and general scent. Those warm hands were still there, though on her back rather than clasped in her own, holding and supporting her as she was carried — somewhere.

To be honest, it felt . . . Well, nice. She had plenty of memories of being carried around when she was small, but that was when the fake was in control. This was the first time since she was an infant, before the seal had been placed, that someone had honestly held her. Almost unthinkingly, she burrowed closer against the other body, relishing the feel of its warmth against her bare skin . . .

Wait — bare skin?

Her eyes shot open as she abruptly registered that the fact she was naked, and cuddling against a man whom her even a token glance confirmed was not her father or brother — and that being the case, there was only one possible response.

“AAAAAHHH! LET GO OF ME, YOU PERVERT!”

She was abruptly released and falling before the last word was fully out of her mouth, and landed hard on all fours, butt-first, in snow-covered ground that rose up past the level of her wrists and ankles.

“ACK! COLD!” she exclaimed.

“No kidding,” said a sardonic voice, in thickly-accented Japanese. “That’s why I was trying to keep you warm.”

She looked up, and beheld a Westerner who looked to be about Shirou-niichan’s age, with thick brown hair and blue eyes. He was wearing a short-sleeved shirt that hung loose on his frame, and was of the “button-down” variety; or at least, it was supposed to be. At the moment, they hung open, and she realised that he’d been holding her against his own bare chest, which was currently exposed — and so was she!

“AHH! Don’t look!” she cried, bringing up her arms to cover herself and trying to scrunch into a ball before demanding, “Where are my clothes?!”

“When I found you, you didn’t have any,” the boy said, his eyes focussed above her head. “And I’m not dressed for this, either — I was trying to get to some kind of shelter before we both froze to death.” He paused. “And why do you speak Japanese?”

“Why wouldn’t I speak Japanese?” she countered.

“Because I’d have expected you to speak the language of the People.”

She blinked. That last phrase hadn’t been in any language she knew of, but she’d understood it all the same. What the heck . . .?

The wind chose that particular moment to start blowing, causing her already-freezing body to stiffen in pain as it stripped away the little warmth her body was generating.

The boy sighed. “Look, you’re in no state to walk, and neither of us can take it out here much longer. If you don’t mind, I’ll just continue carrying you until we can find a village, or a cave, or somewhere out of the cold. At least with you awake, you can hold on to me yourself.”

As much as she didn’t like the idea, she was unable to refute his logic, particularly in the face of another wind-gust that set her teeth chattering. Still, she blushed, mortified, at the sudden realisation that she’d have to cling to him like a baby or a monkey — huddling skin-to-skin . . .

Ahem. It was sheer mortification, and that was all it was.

Red-faced, she grumbled, “All right — but watch where you put those hands!”

“Don’t worry — I don’t have a lolicon complex,” he said as he scooped her up again, wincing as her snow-numbed hands and feet found purchase on his bare back.

She scowled into his shoulder, not liking the implied insult even as she noticed a particular irritation in his tone at the statement. It sounded like it was an old, sore subject — and that gave her an idea for some payback for this humiliation . . .

“Oh, really?” she said, in an arch but innocent tone. “You’re sure about that?”

To punctuate her question, she wriggled a bit, like she’d always wanted to do with Shirou — and drawing a yelp from her would-be rescuer.

“Cut that out!” he cried. He pulled her back to stare. “I thought you were worried about being molested?”

In a prim tone that Sella would’ve been proud of, she quoted something she’d heard almost every adult female she knew say at one time.

“It’s a woman’s prerogative to change her mind.” She flashed him a feline grin. "Besides, if you really don't have a lolicon complex, then I've got nothing to worry about, right?"

He made an exhalation that was halfway between a sigh of frustration and an angry growl. “You little imp — I should’ve left you to freeze . . .”








Additional Notes: Because she really would not leave me alone . . .

[Vigilantia]

*Watching from Avalon*

Nathan: I would have left here right then.

Rin: What?! But... Ilya would kill you if you did that.

Nathan: Nah... I don't think so. I'd be chewed out... I've been chewed out before.

[Kieran]

There would be a couple of points where he asked himself why he's putting up with her . . . And then she goes and does something cute, or so sad that his objections melt away.

I kind of see Kuro as being a mix of Rikku and Rin, to be honest.

[Xamusel]

So... how's the progress on your stories, Kieran?

[Kieran]

I'm about 4 pages into the next chapter of "Trinity," which makes me hopeful I can have it up on time. Then I can focus on starting "Reign of Winter," at last - assuming that Kuro doesn't hijack my imagination again, or something else along those lines happens.

[Xamusel]

I see what you mean... hopefully you can finish the next chapter of Trinity soon.

[Kieran]

Given my SI's habit of picking up strays (Rikku and Miyu, for examples), I've been looking at other possibilities for companions - particularly wolf- and/or werewolf-related ones, given his nature at the moment, and potential future nature (though it doesn't necessarily count, if he becomes a Lumen Sage). That's part of why "Ever After High" has been appealing: Cerise Hood's an obvious candidate, and easily rendered as a shifter.

Still, I think I could actually translate her, and she could use some friends - I suspect she and Miyu would have a lot in common:






. . . What do you think?

[Xamusel]

I think... yeah, you got a point, Kieran.

[Kieran]

And she's relatively easy to translate, all things considered; a shifter barbarian with the young and dhampir templates would basically equate to a lycan/vampire hybrid - and giving her a mythic rank would cover the "immortal" aspect. Group-wise, she'd probably be the heavy hitter - which would cause my SI no end of chagrin.

[Xamusel]

Huh... makes a lot of sense when you put it that way.