Pls continue...
Pls continue...
I know. The thing is, when you hit the 16 base attack bonus, you have 4 attacks IIRC (it could be higher BAB). Almost any character has 4 attacks with its main hand soon or later in the epic levels. The numer of attacks is caped at 4. This makes the melee classes almost useless when you compare them to the magical classes, unless you use a few well placed feats to increase your melee damage to godly levels and increase the number of attacks you can do (quick attack, or something like that, by example)Originally Posted by LeopardBear
I know. I was half tempted to kill the paladin drow in my campaign so my players reincarnate him in something less... anoying for me. I can't use spells against him. With his MR and his paladin saving throws, I have to beat him with physical attacks, and I already used, when they are in level 12, CR 20 threats. My players just curbstomped me U_U. I have to say that I have at least one munchkin (more like three, but this one is more munchkin) who has nerfed his build in order to not curbstomp me even harder and because he wants to roleplay instead of just beat the crap out of anything I throw at them.Actually, he's almost the least scary of our group. Our sorceress was killing ancient wyrm dragons at Level 21 (by herself!), and our monk . . . Kieran couldn't hit the guy. Kieran was just the tank. And the healer. Mostly.
Our dungeon master decided from the beginning that he was going to run an epic campaign, and planned accordingly. He had us face CR 20 threats at level 12. We lost track of the number of times we nearly died on this campaign.
. . . And for those of you who remember "Bleached White," let me assure you - that damned reincarnation spell never worked right in the actual game, either. I did not do it just to screw with things - it's actually canon, so far as it goes.
Spoiler:
Working on the second chapter now.Pls continue...
Which can make you scary in its own right. Yeah, actually, in 3rd edition, Kieran had four attacks - but the way lycanthropy is added in 3.5, along with the sheer power of the legendary wolf, knocked him down to only three.
What you need is a paragon - the template's in the Epic Level Handbook.I know. I was half tempted to kill the paladin drow in my campaign so my players reincarnate him in something less... anoying for me. I can't use spells against him. With his MR and his paladin saving throws, I have to beat him with physical attacks, and I already used, when they are in level 12, CR 20 threats. My players just curbstomped me U_U. I have to say that I have at least one munchkin (more like three, but this one is more munchkin) who has nerfed his build in order to not curbstomp me even harder and because he wants to roleplay instead of just beat the crap out of anything I throw at them.
High level arcane casters, right here. 3.5: fun, but amazingly broken.Actually, he's almost the least scary of our group. Our sorceress was killing ancient wyrm dragons at Level 21 (by herself!)
Actually, we found it worked fairly well - you just need to plan well, and occasionally pile on the overkill. Which can be fun in and of itself.
And without further ado . . .
DISCLAIMER: Lunar Legend Tsukihime, Fate/Stay Night, and all related characters and concepts are the creation and property of Kinoko Nasu and Type-Moon, along with anyone who's happened to license them, like Geneon or Funimation. Dungeons and Dragons is the creation of Gary Gygax et al, and the Forgotten Realms are the creation of Ed Greenwood. Both are owned by Wizards of the Coast. The Familiar of Zero and all related characters and concepts are the creation and property of Noboru Yamaguchi, along with his publishers and anyone who's happened to license them, like Geneon, Funimation, or Seven Seas.
This is a not-for-profit, just-for-fun project - and it’s all Alfheimwanderer’s fault.
Chapter 2
Target Universe
All right, Kurai asked himself as he padded silently through the corridors, what do we know, and what have we learned?
Firstly, he knew that Zelretch was involved in this assignment. Whatever it was ultimately about, it was in his interest and to his benefit that it be done. Given how little he actually knew about the old wizard’s usual activities, personality and motivation, that didn’t really give him much to go on. Second, that the mission parameters called on him to guard his new “master” from threats - though the question became, why would Zelretch care? This didn’t seem to be a Type-Moon oriented world, either past, present or alternate future. Perhaps the threat itself was Type-Moon-based? Could someone like Caster find her way here, and cause difficulty? Or maybe it was important for what Louise would eventually become. Was he guarding a future Heroic Spirit whose presence might someday save the world?
Kurai shook himself mentally. Not being Zelretch, or at all connected to the Second Magic, there wasn’t a way to be sure without asking the old wizard directly - and he didn’t need his insanely high Wisdom score to know that the opportunity just wasn’t going to happen.
Secondly, magic here was apparently based on the five classical elements, similar to the layout in the “Legend of the Five Rings” role-playing game. This setting was distinctly occidental though, with creatures like Western dragons and bugbears - even though the latter looked nothing like the D&D version. Also, judging by the omnipresence of them, working magic here required the use of a wand or staff to channel it. How that would affect his own powers, he wasn’t sure, but he’d be better off assuming that it would. It had happened before - his relocation from Greyhawk to the Forgotten Realms had required him to take a patron deity, because it was a rule that all divine magic flowed from a divine source. Therefore, it was hardly unreasonable to think that he might need a wand or staff to work with while he was here.
Though if Ilya’s extending me the same protections as she does the agency members while on missions, I won’t. I’ll have to find an isolated spot to experiment with. Of course, I might not even have powers, if I’m bound by the local magical rules. I haven’t seen anything to indicate the presence of druids yet - though it’s not likely they’d be based here, either.
It was equally unlikely that Ilya would cripple him that badly, but she might not have had a choice, depending on the effort involved in sending him here . . .
As Kurai stalked the corridors, he passed by a foppish-looking boy sweet-talking a dark-haired girl in a brown robe. They paid him about as much attention as he did them, which amounted to a casual glance, before being dismissed as unimportant. And it was, frankly - but something about it niggled at him, as though it ought to be recognisable. And it was familiar, but not in the sense that it was something he’d experienced. More like something he’d heard about . . . Nope. Whatever it was, it was not coming to mind.
I suppose I’ll have to worry about it later . . . Now, I think this place is familiar, but let’s get back to what I know.
This was some kind of educational facility, judging by the number of rooms set up with blackboards, lecterns, and so on. A university, maybe? In any case, his “mistress” Louise was a student here, and either she was some form of prodigy, or she was older than she actually appeared to be. And while they seemed to speak a French-derived language here, judging by what he’d picked up, the samples on the boards indicated that they wrote using a runic script that looked similar to Nordic. Which officially made it the weirdest language he’d ever heard of, because those two elements rarely ever crossed paths. Though it was possible that the runes were the written language of magic, and not the common tongue, also. This world also had two moons, whose tug he could feel, though as a natural lycanthrope, the lunar cycle had no effect on his shape-changing.
. . . Which reminded him. Lacking the holy amulet he’d had as a third-edition D&D character, he was now infectious. He’d have to be careful, and make certain that he killed anyone he ended up biting - no need to unleash lycanthropy on a grand scale here.
Though I can already “cure disease,” and a “greater dispel magic” apparently functions as a substitute for “remove curse” in 3.5 . . . Nah, better to not chance it at all. Who knows what havoc it might wreak, even if they already have werewolves here? And if they don’t, I don’t want to be responsible for creating them.
Having reached the main entryway, Kurai paused to consider his options. As the door was closed and bolted, he wasn’t getting out without either assuming a human shape (which he couldn’t do for at least another eight hours - maybe longer if Ilya had Extended the spell), or walking all the way back to one of the towers, up the stairs, and jumping off a balcony. Which he could do, but it would leave him trapped outside until they reopened the doors in the morning - and that would no doubt make Louise frantic. Which left the third option, that would help answer at least one of his questions.
Kurai spent a minute extending his senses, making certain that there was no one in earshot, nor liable to reach it. With his divine focus currently melded with his wolf form, his spell repertoire was severely diminished, but this spell had only a verbal component, and a need for familiarity with the location - and he was as familiar with Louise’s room as anywhere else on this world. Now it only needed a trigger word, and in that, he took a cue from the movie The Corpse Bride: “Hopscotch.”
The druid felt a minor portion of his stored mana expend itself. Now that the word of recall was set, speaking that word should teleport him immediately to Louise’s room from wherever he happened to be on this plane of existence. If it worked, he’d have proof positive that his spells could function as normal in this world. If it didn’t - well, he’d have proof of a different sort, and Louise would no doubt be highly annoyed tomorrow. Either way, better to find out now than in a combat.
Kurai immediately set out for a tower to jump either out or off of - he knew there was a forest on the grounds, and that meant potential hunting. And part of his template led him to require a certain amount of meat (preferably raw) on a daily basis. Best to get it out of the way, before some of the students started to look entirely too appetising . . . And then, on to sleep. Sleep was important, and very necessary to recharge his mind, and his mystical energies.
Especially since he had the uneasy feeling that tomorrow was going to be something of a long day.
Louise awoke to the rising of the morning sun, having thought for a moment she heard a man trying to speak to her - but there was no one there when she opened her eyes.
I was dreaming, she thought muzzily. I dreamed I’d summoned this strange familiar who talked, and -
Memory slammed into her head like a runaway horse, bringing with it a jolt of tension that caused her to bolt upright in her bed. From a sitting position, she could easily see the wolf - Kurai, a little voice reminded her - sitting on his haunches in an almost meditative posture, greeting the dawn. She hurled herself out of her bed to confirm to herself that it wasn’t an illusion.
Her sudden impact with almost twice her body weight in furry animal confirmed that yes, the animal in question actually existed. Which meant that yes, she had actually managed to successfully summon a familiar. And also, said familiar had failed to move much at all despite the impromptu flying tackle, reminding her that he was obviously quite strong.
“And what was that for?” he growled - literally.
Strong and grouchy - and as scary as Mother when he’s angry, Louise corrected herself, suppressing a shiver at the reminder.
“I was just proving to myself that you were real,” Louise admitted, feeling a blush rise on her cheeks, and hating herself for it. “It’s embarrassing, but it’s just that I’ve been ‘Louise the Zero’ for so long that - ”
She stopped as the wolf visibly stiffened, every muscle tensing as his eyes narrowed and his jaws clamped down tightly enough that she could swear she heard his fangs grinding together.
“Um . . .” Louise began nervously, fighting the urge to back away from the obviously irritated predator. “Is something wrong?”
“No,” he growled, in a way that she recognised as meaning absolutely when she did it. “No, I’m fine - everything’s just fine. By all means, Mistress, go on.”
Louise was quite sure that everything wasn’t fine, but she was equally sure that ordering him to tell her what the problem was would not be a good idea. She could recognise his mood from her own bouts of temper, and had little doubt that if she did order him, he would’ve been reaching for a whip or a wand, provided he’d had the hands to use them.
She cleared her throat, and continued awkwardly, “Well, it’s just - summoning you was my first successful spell in two years of study. My first piece of real magic - and I was kind of afraid I’d dreamed it all.”
Louise could feel the blush rising to her cheeks even as she lowered her eyes to the floor, and hated herself for not showing the calm reserve one would expect of a noble lady - but on the other hand, it was just her familiar, right? It’s not as though she was embarrassing herself in front of a noble, or even a commoner. Kurai might be intelligent, and capable of speech, but it wasn’t as though he was human!
“I’m quite real,” he assured her, his voice unexpectedly soft, barely audible even for a whisper. That was explained, however, when he added, “And you should know there’s someone waiting outside your door, Mistress.”
“WHAT?” Louise cried. She was halfway to the door in question before remembering that she was still in her nightclothes, causing her to hastily dress herself before the would-be spy either decided to leave or barge in. Once she was suitably attired to greet company (or drive them off), she through open the door with a flourish.
“Kirche,” she growled. “What in the world are you doing here so early in the morning?”
“I decided I just had to see it again for myself,” the Germanian girl drawled. “I just had to confirm that yesterday wasn’t a hallucination brought on by excitement, and that our little Louise actually did manage to successfully summon a familiar!” Her voice was entirely too cheery, both for the early morning hour, and the insulting content of her statement.
Louise growled in a fashion that would’ve done Kurai credit. “You stupid - ! Yes, I summoned a familiar, and he’s right there!”
Kurai was on all fours again, tail wagging.
“Aw, how nice - you have a dog,” Kirche said brightly. “And he is blue - I wondered. You can see why I chalked it up to a hallucination brought on by alcohol -”
Louise found herself wishing that her wand was not on her bedside table right now. “He’s not a dog - he’s a wolf!”
“A dog that thinks he’s more than he is,” Kirche said with a nod. “That makes sense - after all, a familiar is a reflection of its master. Observe - come forth, Flame!”
The hallway was abruptly filled with something not unlike a scarlet alligator, radiating a faint light as it appeared in a rush of hot air.
“Behold!” Kirche said proudly. “A noble salamander, summoned straight from Fire Dragon Mountain itself! Truly, such a rare and powerful creature is a befitting familiar for myself, Kirche the A - Arrrgh! What are you doing?!”
This last was directed at the salamander, which had given Louise and her familiar a cursory, reptilian glance - and was now desperately tugging at the end of Kirche’s shirt, as though trying to drag her off somewhere.
“Stop that right now, Flame!” Kirche ordered. “What’s gotten into you?”
The salamander released Kirche’s shirt long enough to make a plaintive sound, as though begging with its master.
“What do you mean, ‘run?’” the Germanian girl demanded. “You’re a salamander, and I’m a triangle-class mage! Why should I run from anything?”
More frantic sounds emerged from the lizard, which caused Kirche’s head to whip around and stare at Kurai.
The wolf’s jaw dropped open, tongue lolling out as his tail wagged in a friendly fashion, looking like nothing so much as an eager dog waiting to be petted and played with.
I knew that expression meant he was amused, Louise thought, struggling to conceal a smirk herself.
“You’re scared of that?” Kirche bellowed in disbelief. “It’s just a wolf, at best! You could make charcoal out of it!”
Flame immediately assumed a crouching posture in front of Kurai, forelegs clamped atop one another in a position that, combined with the crouching, was quite visibly intended to indicate begging for mercy. Louise didn’t understand the sounds the salamander made, but the stance didn’t make it hard to guess: She didn’t really mean it, I wouldn’t try it if she did - please, please don’t kill me!
Louise’s composure cracked, and she let out a giggle. “I guess you really did get an appropriate familiar, Kirche - it’s smart enough to compensate for your stupidity!”
The bronze-skinned girl scowled in a manner that indicated she was about to blow her top, before she paused, and began to smirk once more.
“I guess you did too, Louise,” she retorted loftily. “You got an apparently powerful and competent familiar, to compensate for being a Zero!”
That was it. Louise spun around behind her and lunged for her wand, before whirling back with a snarl -
But they were already gone.
Louise panted for a moment, before snapping, “Stupid Kirche.”
“I wouldn’t worry too much about it, Mistress,” Kurai said calmly. “I’m quite sure the day will come when you’ll prove to everyone your true power as a mage.”
He said it in such an offhand, matter-of-fact voice that Louise felt herself blushing again.
“Really?” she asked.
“Oh, I’m absolutely sure,” Kurai said, in a tone that seemed oddly dark - but she was too pleased to care about that at the moment. Once more she sprang forward to quasi-tackle the wolf, wrapping her arms around his neck.
“I was right - you’re even better than a dragon!” Then the sun reached her eyes, and she froze. “Oh, no - I’ll be late for breakfast!”
All Louise’s other considerations were hastily put aside to get herself out the door and into the dining hall.
So, the good news was that Kurai could add several items to his “stuff I know” list. His magic apparently functioned as advertised on this world, and he had no problems drawing power from his understanding of nature, and therefore did not need the intervention of a deity to regain his spell energies. He also knew now that he was in the world (or a variant thereof) of Zero no Tsukaima, or “The Familiar of Zero.” He recognised the name, and knew it as a relatively recent anime (and probably a manga, and who-knew-what-all-else) whose characters had occasionally been invoked on the Anime Addventure website he’d often frequented.
Which, naturally, led to the bad news - that being that he had no idea what the hell went on over the course of the series! He knew the characters by name, but not description - the only exception was the blue-haired girl (Tabitha, he thought her name was) because he’d come across a picture of her on the Internet! And the tidbits of the story the Addventure had brought up indicated that she was spying for a foreign power, he thought - but with no idea which one, or why. Mostly, though, he could walk right by a character and not know them. He knew, for example, that the country was ruled by a Princess Henrietta - but hadn’t the faintest clue what she looked like.
Of course, I suppose that the crown and the collection of bodyguards just might be a giveaway, that insufferable corner of his mind noted.
He knew even less about the plot. It revolved around Louise “the Zero,” a supposed failure at magic (though the natural cliche meant that she had to actually be really powerful - a user of the lost Void element, if he’d heard right), and the poor, clueless schmuck -
Well, that part’s spot on, commented the voice in the corner. In fact, it might even be a superior choice to the original.
- that she’d inadvertently summoned as a familiar. Said schmuck was, of course, a Japanese teenage boy, something of a loser himself, as was common in . . .
Oh, bloody hell.
Petite, relatively flat-chested lead female, with an especially short temper and a tendency to violently overreact - that was Stock Romantic Comedy Heroine Design #1, from Urusei Yatsura’s Shinobu on down! Add in Kirche as Stock Shameless Foreign Rival (Oversized Chest a Must), and a Stock Romantic Comedy Hero Design #1 (Hapless Loser With Heart of Gold), and . . .
I’m in a goddamned harem anime! No wonder the girls were so insistent I be the one to do this - Shirou or Shiki would be dragging them back to the mansion by the end. Actually, since they’re H-game heroes, they’d probably be bedding at least one of them inside a week.
No wonder Ilya had wanted him to arrive in animal form . . .
Well, it’s unlikely that any of the girls involved - whoever they all are - are into bestiality, so as long as I keep my transformation abilities hidden, or at least pretend as though they’re more limited than they are, I should be safe from this kind of anime’s tendency to force its lead into painfully embarrassing - or just plain painful - situations. Which, since I’m apparently taking his place, would mean me. I should probably still be careful, though - for all I know, this universe has a particularly kinky and disturbing individual who’d get off on that kind of thing -
Kurai spent the next ten minutes telling himself that his epic-level hearing had, for once, been wrong, and he had not heard an ominous rumbling of thunder somewhere in the distance - despite his weather sense telling him that no storm would arrive any time in the next few days. Nope - false alarm. Utter hallucination. Probably a transport truck passing by - or, he supposed, a heavy cartload, given the technology level in this universe.
Really, really heavy. Like it’s carrying Tabitha’s dragon along with all its relatives, maybe.
It was times like this that Kurai was glad his Will save was so ridiculously high - he needed every ounce of mental fortitude he could muster to force his mind off the topic of his potential future molestation and onto more practical matters . . . Well, more immediate ones, anyway.
He found himself eating breakfast out in the courtyard with the rest of the familiars, served by, of all things, a Japanese-looking French maid. Her hair and eyes were a marked contrast to the more European features of the other people he’d seen thus far - Kirche notwithstanding. He suspected her tan had more to do with her heritage than lengthy exposure to the sun, but heaven only knew what that heritage might be.
I’m so used to knowing who people are, and what’s going on around me - often more than the people themselves do. But this time, I haven’t got a clue . . .
Damn it, Zelretch - some more detailed instructions on what was coming, or at least what you expected, would’ve been nice!
Lacking any idea of what he might be up against, Kurai resolved that all he could do was stay vigilant, and keep an eye on things around him. As such, he took some time to study the familiars he found himself among. Most of them were common animals, at least in form - they seemed to have no difficulties being surrounding by their natural predators or prey, depending on the animals in question - voles and mice nibbled next to cats and hawks without discernable fear. It wasn’t natural, and he found it mildly disturbing, as it conflicted with the expectations of his druid training. And then there were the other, more exotic creatures: like the dragon, the bugbear -
And the salamander, of course, he thought with a lupine grin. Thus far, the mundane animals had no more reaction to his presence than they did to any of the others. Part of that could be attributed to the fact that he knew how to minimise his threat profile, make them calmer around him, and part of it to whatever effect kept them docile among the rest. But he thought, ultimately, that they simply weren’t intelligent enough to realise what he really was. The inherently magical beasts, on the other hand . . . Flame had been able to realise that he was inherently dangerous, even if the salamander hadn’t seemed able to articulate exactly what he was. The others seemed equally wary - not enough to attack outright, but they were seemingly relieved by his deliberately non-confrontational attitude.
Like I’d be anything else. If I attacked any one of them, they’d attack me all at once, and I’d likely end up having to kill them all. And wouldn’t that get Louise into trouble?
Truth be known, the only one that really concerned him was the dragon. Not recognising its species, or how they might be represented on this world, Kurai chose to assume it was like its D&D counterpart - intelligent and capable of magic, on top of being a physical powerhouse.
Its features don’t look too developed, so it’s probably young - but if it has something like a paragon template attached, I could be in big trouble if it came down to a fight. At the very least, I’d have to shift forms.
For its part, the dragon seemed to regard him with curiosity, more than anything else - it actually came over to sniff him. Not knowing what else to do, he gave it a cautious lick, to be friendly. He tasted an improbable mix of leather and summer breezes - just before the dragon suddenly decided to curl up around him as though he was a favourite stuffed toy. Long, batlike wings enfolding over both of them, the dragon closed its eyes and went to sleep.
This is the universe’s revenge just because Louise keeps saying I’m better than a dragon, isn’t it? Or because I accidentally turned Saber into one, or something. I mean, I know I’ve had a tendency to get mixed up with them - but this is ridiculous.
Seeing no alternatives that would end pleasantly, Kurai sighed and decided to sleep, himself. His only hope was that his mistress or the dragon’s would wake them before his impromptu bed partner rolled over in its sleep and crushed him.
At least it doesn’t snore . . .
Last edited by Kieran; April 30th, 2011 at 02:58 PM.
Dawwwwww....
Gandalfrs seem to attract dragons a lot (HoS!Shirou had the same problem), lololololo
Arthur-san is my waifu
[20:57] frantic: I can't even remember what opinions I actually hold about the thing compared to shit I made up to piss people off
[17:13] Airen: Its not an airen character unless gay
Yeah, that was part of it - Kurai's got enough dragon-related influences to attract them (two marks from dragon gods, the lichblade Vanir), and I though Sylphid treating him as her favourite puppy would be cute. Just like I thought Flame begging for its life would be funny . . . I so loved writing that.
Okay, the dragon and the wolf was wayyyy too cute.
Btw, Kieran, do you roll dice while writing?
Because I'm pretty sure you're spamming Nat 20s. I could never write with such a great quality.
Arthur-san is my waifu
[20:57] frantic: I can't even remember what opinions I actually hold about the thing compared to shit I made up to piss people off
[17:13] Airen: Its not an airen character unless gay
Thank you - but I'm just mainly trying to stall while I catch up on reading the novels and figure out what the heck I'm going to do. Those ideas Kurai was floating as to why Zelretch was interested are potential plot ideas - if any of them appeal, vote now!
Voting for the Nasuverse threat plot idea.
Arthur-san is my waifu
[20:57] frantic: I can't even remember what opinions I actually hold about the thing compared to shit I made up to piss people off
[17:13] Airen: Its not an airen character unless gay
Main character had an accident in his world and is laid up in bed unable to answer Louis's summon, all while big bad is getting close to the root and making himself into multidimensional conqueror.
Later on, developed or rediscovered skill will allow Void wielders to start jumping realities. Zelretch wants Grail Works Ltd. to get in on the ground floor and establish good relations with the Void mage most likely to become a non-psychotic hero figure, who also summons a familiar early on enough to provide that oppurtunity.
I like that one - and using Alfheimwanderer's stories as proof, it's even reasonably accurate.
Not to say that I can't use a Type-Moon threat, as well. The question is, who . . .?
AU Gil who won a Grail War and took over the world, AU Alexander that did the same, Crimson Moon, Araya/Kotomine/Roa Troll team (don't know how it'd work, however)... There are probably a bunch of other things.
I would prefer AU Gil; though, the troll team does look appetizing. In fact, why don't we have both with AU Alexander giving us our daily supply of bro?
Spoiler:
What Fate/Stay Night character are you?
Kotomine Kirei
You are Kirei. You've always been a little different from the rest. You probably have low social skills. Whatever, it's not like what they think matters anyway. Ever searching for something missing within you, you probably don't experience the same happiness as everyone else. Good and evil are just labels, you are who you are.
Um . . . I'm kind of in favour of something they could conceivably beat - with probably a lot of work, mind you, but still.
It's an epic level Druid. Team troll is going to be very weak, and he should be able to give Gil and Alexander an even fight.
Depends on how you convert the stats. If it's a straight number shift, then yes - Kurai's got Strength B, Agility B+, Mana A, etc. He's low on Noble Phantasms, but he's on par with a powerful Servant, and might win if he isn't Gate-of-Babyloned. If we convert the other way, Type-Moon to D&D - Gilgamesh is a warrior demigod, and known for fighting gods and winning, with any number of artefact-level weapons and items. Kurai would have a hard fight, at best - but he'd more likely be outmatched and slaughtered. As for Iskander - I don't know him much at all, I'd have to research.
Personally, I was thinking Kotomine or Medea, maybe.
