Suggestion 2011/07/07(Thu)15:12 No. 323025 ID: 543375
File 131007676715.png - (4.06KB , 300x222 , 0002.png )

A small adamantine ring with strange white runes he picked up as a bonus. He was told it’s an intelligent ring, and he intended on sending it to his brother in Absalom as a gift before leaving Taldor. Not much use it would be to him here anyway, magic doesn’t work. But still… It is a nicely crafted ring… He slips the ring onto his finger…

<<The ring is worn, the voices are free again.>>

[shrink to snugness so it cannot be removed]
HAHAHAHAHA, we are free! who awakes us!

Sweet, another host!
You're cursed now dwarf, though, some will say blessed but really having so many crazy voices will do odd things to you.

Here is the rundown, now that you have use, some crazy stuff is gonna go down, that or we are gonna get you doing something crazy.

Like healing the scar, or destroying the world.

Us voices do both, me, I'm likely to voice for you to do "good" deeds.

Crazy ones too!

AFTER 10000 YEARS I'M FREE. IT'S TIME TO CONQUER EARTH

Hello Igmar, we are the voices of the ring, and we're going to be with you a while as we NOW OWN YOUR SOUL! Hahaha, no I'm joking we're actually just here to give varyingly crappy advice.

The startled dwarf nearly falls from his pony.
>Igmar: “By Torag! What- Who? Who’s voice!? In my head? The Ring!? Here? How? Who- Who are you?”
The Dwarf climbs back into his saddle while talking to himself. Good thing nobody is watching, or they might assume the bloke’s gone mad.
He struggles to remove the ring… It’s stuck.
>Igmar: “Curse? Magic? In the Wastes? You want to… conquer the earth?”
He looks around a the barren wasteland around him, devoid of all life.
>Igmar : “The earth around here looks pretty worthless, honestly. And by Torag’s anvil how do you manage to work HERE of all places? Magic is dead here. And why can’t I take you off?”

put something in the subject so your updates have red words on them, makes it easier to see
oh it's obvious, we are getting mana directly from YOU not from the dead air. am willing to be that when a god tries a spell on this place it doesn't just hit a invisible wall but slowly dissipates. as the area sucks the energy out of it. but since we are not outputting mana into the air we work.

and most likely we bonded to you, by magic.

>>323035
I don't actually know why you can't remove us, or why we work here, but just give us a while and you wont want to take us off. Seriously we can be very useful and have a large amount of knowledge at our, and therefore your, disposal. Although if we start giving you relationship advice I suggest you just cut your finger off.

Well one of us tightened the ring around your finger.

As for how we work, well it may be no magic is involved at all...

That or we run on something older.

Oh yeah, by the way, guy who told you we are an intelligent ring, kinda liked, we can be quite stupid at times. That and we are voices bound to the ring, rather than being the ring.

but anyway, you may call us the voices of the ring.

Or Cacophony if you prefer.

As for conquering the earth, well might be entertaining, well let that be a warning, us voices will often suggest what we find entertaining...

Wait this world is not earth?
Ok new plan, conquer this world and use its resources to find a way to earth.

>Igmar: "Oh wait. You're just stuck on my knuckle... Alright. I'll humor your company until I can find me a pot of grease to pry you off. The name is Igmar, of Clan Blackstone. I'm a gun broker, merchant, and adventurer of sorts way back. But Selling guns is all I do now."

You realise we could pobably srink to your fingerbone, no amount of finger grease would help you then. But enough unpleasantness.

Who do you sell guns to?

well see, if we work with direct skin contact. maybe you could climb inside one of those old war machines and power it up.

Ok ring this time, that’s new but it seems to work the same. Basically how it works is it puts you in touch with us voices The most common way we aid you is by giving advice, now keep in mind that individually we probably are not that much smarter than you, but due to the way we perceive time we have a long time to think things over. We also have access to a rather large, though somewhat erratic knowledge base. There is also no grantee that any given voice will stick around for any length of time. The turnover in voices can often be a bit of confusing, being asked the same question multiple times and such. One last thing, some voices are either very stupid or think they are funny, and will purposely give you comically bad advice. Bad things have happened when we had earned allot of trust from our bearer but only the jokers were around when they needed advice

>You realise we could pobably srink to your fingerbone, no amount of finger grease would help you then. But enough unpleasantness.

Igmar: "Like I said. The ring hasn't changed, it's just stuck."

>Who do you sell guns to?

Igmar: "Most anyone the Gunworks allow me to. the keep a strict control over guns leaving Alkenstar. I rarely ever handle more than two or three guns at a time. Though this last deal was a big one. Ten Muskets and Pistols each to a Taldan Baron, Baron Dalsine. I suspect he may have something to do with the Lion Blades."

>well see, if we work with direct skin contact. maybe you could climb inside one of those old war machines and power it up.

"I'd rather not risk leaving the road to play around in those foraken death traps and risk the gnolls out here."

>most common way we aid you is by giving advice

Igmar: "You give me advice? Let me give you some advice, I've been traveling around Golarion over a hundred years! You think that a bunch of voices in my head are gonna boss me around? You better listen real good-

Hold on there's something- Someone in the road."

we are also bound by fate. you putting us on just now was no coincidence. slow down and try to see who it is from here.

Dude, chill. We said advice. Not orders. You don't have to listen to our advice.

Igmar approaches a distant shape lying in the road. He pulls his pistol from his holster and readies it as he approaches. It appears to be a humanoid, he looks wounded or dead.

be ready for zombie. get a stick and poke it.

>be ready for zombie. get a stick and poke it.

Igmar: "Nonesense. Necromancy don't work out here... Normally."

He cautiously approaches, scanning the horizon and leading his pony on foot. Once he gets closer he can clearly make out some details. It appears to be an elf, no gun but a sword and light crossbow. He's bleeding heavily from a wound in his back and his breathing is light. underneath him he's gripping a battered tome and a scroll case. Around his neck is a wayfinder.

Igmar: "A Pathfinder...?

Well, remember what I said about crazy stuff going down?

Hehehe.

So the question is can you avoid this encounter, and do you even want to?

Avoiding Fate can have unpleasant consequences...

So will you investigate? Or will you flee?
I'd suggest investigation

Igmar kneels over the Elf's body. Without medical treatment he's not going to last long. Alkenstar is about a 20 minute walk from here.

>Igmar: "Of cource I'm gonna help him. Lem'me just check him out before I move him. He's not conscious. Looks like the bullet pierced his lung... but it went clean though... Drastic blood loss. Even if I can get him to a healer, I doubt he'll make it.

Igmar closes the wounds as best as he possibly can and then begins loading the elf and his possessions on the the pony. Surprisingly he's very light.

Suddenly gunshots from the distance and the unmistakable haunting laughter of a hyena in the distance as bullets strike the rock and dirt.

>Igmar: Slavers! Four of them! Must be the blokes that shot the poor bastard.

get on that horse and drop everything that may weigh you down. and then full speed.

RIDE THAT PONY. FULL SPEED.

>RIDE THAT PONY. FULL SPEED.

Igmar: "I agree with that!"

Igmar takes a shot at the gnolls with his pistol, wounding one in the leg with a lucky shot before cutting the belt off the saddle bags. As his gear hits the ground he mounts the saddle and spurs the pony towards Alkenstar and furiously reloads his pistol. Three of the gnolls take pursuit and are closing in fast due to their bestial physique, but are unable to reload their battered muskets while running.

Igmar: "Hang in there Elf! It's going to be a rough fight!

Five minutes to Alkenstar and the gnolls are only 20 yards away and closing. The pony seems to be burdened with the weight of the dwarf and elf.

Should Igmar shake them or fight them?

shaking thm would be for the best. we need a distraction though... do they like gold? if so then drop some gold. if not then take another shot.

They are SLAVERS. Shoot another! They may give up. Then again, Gnolls are bastards.

Kill them. Kill them all.

>drop some gold

Igmar:"Never!"

>take another shot

Igmar: "Always!"

Igmar leans back and lines up another shot, aiming carefully. A bullet finds itself lodged between the eyes of another gnoll as it slumps to the ground in a crumpled, twitching mess.

The gnolls are closing in and are almost within melee when he's finished reloading his pistol.

something's wrong, they have taken too much damage for a dwarf and a half dead elf. they can't be slavers. do you have a flash bomb? a bomb of any kind? if not then need to get creative. if you have one then use it, if not then drop you powder container and shoot it.

that wouldn't cause the gunpowder to explode. to get powder to explode you need fire not impact.

well then we better hope igmar has a explosive.

>they have taken too much damage for a dwarf and a half dead elf

Igmar: "Pah! I'm one of the greatest legendary gunslingers of Alkenstar! A couple of drooling dogs can't take me down!

He leans over and puts his pistol within inches to the face of the first gnoll to close in on him, pulls the trigger and with a mighty flash it backfires on him, severely burning the left side of the gnoll's face.

Igmar: "Damn!"

The burned gnoll falls back from pain, but the last and biggest gnoll finally closes in on the dwarf and swings the butt of it's musket against Igmar's temple, knocking him clean from his saddle and hitting the ground with a loud thud.

Panting and cackling, the two gnolls flank the dwarf as the pony runs further on towards the direction of Alkenstar with the elf still on it's back. Igmar picks himself up and draws a handaxe as he wipes the blood out of his eyes. He may have broken a rib on the fall.

Igmar: "Ok magic ring. If you have any advice, now is a good time. I don't think they're too keen on taking me alive after what I did to them."

why should we? so far you have outright ignored everything i say.

sigh. fine. the gnoll with the burned face should be blinded on the side with the burn. so attack him from that side.

>>323245
In your next life, SHOOT THE BIG ONE FIRST.

Also, your teeth are level with his groin. IMPROVISE.

>Igmar: "Right... The big one... He's the major threat here. That other one I can probably-"

The two gnolls lunge for the Dwarf as he tumbles forward, landing on his feet, he dodges their claws and manages to sink his hatchet into the blind side of the burned gnoll, right between it's ribs and slicing open it's lung. It collapses from pain as it bleeds out, slamming into the large one, throwing it off balance. But the hatchet is stuck in the gnoll and Igmar is now disarmed, his pistol was thrown from his person, but not that it would do much in the fist place since its currently misfired and needs to be cleared before it can fire again.

The large gnoll throw's it's dying partner unceremoniously to the side and stands on it's hind legs, towering above the stout dwarf gunfighter as it lets a malicious growl rumble from it's sternum.

>Igmar: "Go for the rocks you say?"

yeah. kick it a few times in the nuts.

Igmar charges the Gnoll, kicking it's rocks is out of the question, but the Dwarf happens to be at the perfect level to deliver a crushing blow from his right fist into it's... Clam?

How awkward.

She lets out a terrifying yowl an falls to her knees. She looks stunned, bout not enough to stop her clawing at Igmar's face. Several bloody lacerations are ripped across his "delicate" features.

>>323305
Ah, well that makes things easier.
Initiate seduction.

yeah no, don't think that would work. smash it's face in a bit.

Pathfinder Suggestion 2011/07/07(Thu)21:48 No. 323317 ID: 543375
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The two stagger about in circles around each other in a bizarre courtship ritual. The Gnoll clutching her loincloth and the dwarf stumbling blindly with blood in his eyes until the trips over the dead gnoll.

Wiping his vision clear with his hat and throwing it aside, he grabs his hatchet and rips it from the ribcage with an unpleasant crack.

>Igmar: "Hello Madam, might I AXE you out to dinner?"

He says as he let's it fly forth, landing it into her Carotid Artery.

>Gnoll Matriarch: "Sputter sputter gurlgle hack gurgle belch."

She has plans later this evening, apparently she is going to bleed out then have her carcass feasted upon by scavengers and her bones left to bleach in the sun.

hmmm... are gnolls ever interrogated? can they be? she led this attack, and they can't be slavers. slavers don't try to kill their target.

Congratulations Igmar; you have found the only time in all history ever where that pun will be acceptable.

>Igmar: *groan* "You know... I saw some gnolls in Quadira. They were ugly. But these mutants." *Groan* "These mutants we got out here. They make the orcs look kissable."

Igmar picks up his hat and pistol. That first gnoll is limping towards the carnage, using his musket as a brace. He stops about a hundred feet from Igmar and watches as he leans on his musket. Eventually he turns around and walks back down the road from the direction he came from.

Igmar: "Looks like he's done. Thanks. My first instinct would have been to bolt it, and they'd surely cut me down, but, you know you saved me; I guess."

He picks up the musket that the Gnoll Matriarch was wielding.

Igmar: "Interesting piece she had here... Andoran Oak, Steel Barrel; the firing mechanism is new too. Looks like it can fire metal cartridges as well as ball and wad. Needs some cleaning and repairs."

new? two ways to get that. stole it from someone, or are being supplied. let's see how your elf is doing.

>new? two ways to get that. stole it from someone, or are being supplied. let's see how your elf is doing.

Igmar: "Yeah, the gun is new. These mutants tend to attack anyone coming in or out of Alkenstar. The Gnolls usually take them in as slaves then eat them after a while. Ain't nobody supplies them."

He loads the musket then draws a bead on his target, checking the iron sights. After a second he pulls the trigger. The limping gnoll in the distance collapses on the road into a puddle of blood.

>>323361

Breechloader or muzzleloader?

He picks himself up and begins to limp towards Alkenstar. Dizzy from blood loss.

Igmar: "Muzzle. Pretty much all guns that come out of Aleknstar are. Occasionally we let a more advanced design out, but we keep a tight control over the exports of guns. Though I'm surprised you even know about them."

no, you see, why would someone wealthy enough to have a gun like that of been caught? in fat, does the OTHER gnoll have a similar gun? if so then that means a wealthy MERCHANT was traveling with no guards through a hostile area.

>>323374

Right. It can manage powder and wad, and cartridge... must be a needlegun design. That is, the pin is elongated to pierce a cartridge and hit the primer nestled against the bullet. Works just fine through a thin wad too.

You fellas developed automatic repeaters yet?

>why would someone wealthy enough to have a gun like that of been caught?

Igmar: "Lot's of rich morons buy these as toys and think themselves invincible. At least until they miss their shot an can't reload it fast enough. Pah! I'll ask around later, right now I need some healing."

It takes twenty minutes of limping before he reaches the entrance to the city. The air is choked with ash from the gun works and a small crowd of guards are attending to what looks to be the Elf. One of them turns around and gestures to the other that another wounded traveler is approaching. Igmar attempts to hail the soldiers, but he finally collapses.

Everything fades to black.

>Igmar: "Lemme see, slip it on and... Hey? You voices still there?"

>>323385
Yep! Been a while. What's up?

Igmar: "Elf's Dead, going over his stuff right now. Got me a face full of scars too! Ha!"

Igmar has four deep gashes with suture marks still surrounding where the wounds haven't healed all the way.

Igmar: "I took him in myself once I was back up. He woke up this morning suffering from delirium from a fever that the doctor couldn't reduce. Died in a basin of cold water about an hour ago mumbling something about a black dragon. Looking over this stuff it appears to be notes, some of it I can't decipher but others I can. It looks like he used to be a Pathfinder, or came across a Pathfinder. Also he seems to have been a wizard by this spellbook here. I can't imagine why a wizard would come out here."

The Wizards possessions are stacked on a table: several books, a couple wands, a wayfinder, crossbow and a spellbook.

well now, see here is where things get tricky. what happens if you try to use one of them wands while it is ALSO touching us? just hold it in a way that it would touch us while evoking it.

>>323391
Is it really a good idea to try using unknown wands inside his own home?

Would you mind refreshing our memory on what wayfinders and Pathfinders are?

Igmar picks up a wand and swirls it in the air while it touches the ring.

Igmar: "I wouldn't even know how to use one if we were outside the scar."

He continues to flick and twirls the wand half-heatedly while he reads the Wizard's journal.

>Would you mind refreshing our memory on what wayfinders and Pathfinders are?

Igmar: "Pathfinders are sort of a Society based out in Absalom. They're Scholars, Heroes, Grave Robbers and Villains. Mostly depending on who you ask.

They do a lot, but some of the more famous ones are known for tangling with demons and braving death trapped filled Osiriani tombs the the Mwangi jungles in search of treasure. Though most of them are just bookies, researchers and glorified librarians.

And wayfinders are their identifiers. Though not all Pathfinders wear them, and not all who wear them are pathfinder. They're basically compasses that also have a light enchantment on them."

He picks up the wayfinder and attempts to activate the spell with he ring. Nothing happens.

by the way, this is the first time allot of us have been in this neck of the multiverse, so we don't know that much about your world or the surrounding cosmology.

>>323403
By which my colleague means that strangely enough, we have knowledge of many worlds, but if your world we know only what we have seen while with you. (Either you were our first wearer, or we lost our memory at some point.)

>>323403
While this is indeed true, and at times will lead us to be very out of touch with your world, we do in all likelihood have access to higher level weapon schematics and design principles than even you do. Unless you have self-loading machine guns designed for automatic fire with dozens of bullets fired per second? Or here's a question-do you have machines that build other machines according to preset conditions? Automated assembly as it were?

Just curious.

>Igmar: "Alright, alright. I'll do my best to fill you guys in when you need to. You're in Alkenstar, currently we're the only country in Golrion, what we call this planet, to use firearms as anything more than a novelty.

>My ancestors developed the basics before the Mana scars and remained isolated until about a century ago when a human fleeing Geb, the country to the south. That human made contact with my ancestors and together they founded the nation of Alkenstar nestled here in the Manawastes.

>Technically we are under the territory of Geb, but without any magic to threaten us, we're well armed and able to repel most threats. The reason we use guns here is because the wastes have a lot of strange things lurking about out there and without wizards and clerics we've had to rely on our own mettle.

>Guns give us that advantage out here, but the rest of Golarion still has access to magic and treats firearms as a novelty for the extremely wealthy. Not that they're really that expensive to manufacture but the government keeps prices artificially inflated and we only produce a single firearm a day.

>We can actually produce hundreds of them daily, but most effort goes into research and development. I see you're familiar with more advanced designs, but in the mean time we don't have the technology to produce the precision parts for most of them. And if we did, we'd never let them out on the market.

Oi! What's this?"

A Map falls out of the wizard's spellbook.

oh, may have points of interest circled or something.

>Igmar: "It's a map of Cheliax... Uh... It's a country to the north. The whole country is run by devil worshipers, but it's safe enough assuming you aren't there to start trouble with the Hell Knights. They're obsessed with upholding the law to the letter."

He leans in for a closer look at the map. Several notations are made on the edges written in Elven. A course is carefully plotted out, leading to the mountains and a large X on a particular range that isn't named on this map.

>Igmar: "It looks like a treasure map. Or something similar."

ohh, everyone loves treasure. anyone you know that you may be able to wrangle into an adventure? and yes actually going will be worth it. may not know much about your world but we do know fate, and fate just told you to go there.

>Igmar: "It's looks like a treasure map, but It's likely an archaeological expedition. But for a Pathfinder it's one in the same often times."

He spends a few minutes translating the writing in his head.

>Igmar: "Ah, It's a Dragon's den... A Black Dragon's den. Apparently it's nestled itself inside some ruins."

if its in the scare it might be vulnerable to large numbers of guns. If I recall correctly there ability to shrug of mundane damage is negated in an anti magic field.

>>324045
maybe, it could also have super hard scales that make steal seem like paper.

Igmar: No, no. Cheliax is far outside the Manawastes. And they do have a population of Black Dragons. I supposed that one could have pursued this Wizard and that's why he fled the Manawastes. But I can't really be sure. he may have been looking for an artifact, this country has a long history with Wizards and the wastes are littered with the remains of constructs.

Of course this map is hand drawn and he could have been just a cartographer as well. His journal is written in code except for these notes on the map.

But I'm not sure of what to make of it. But the good news is we might get an answer, I've got a delivery to make to Absalom, uhh, big city in the center of a sea that's important and whatnot. The Grand Lodge is located there and I might be able to get some answers, or at least figure out who this fellow is. Also my little brother is a cleric serving in the Temple of Torag."

What are dragons like in this world? Do have breath attacks? How intelligent are they (how willing are they to deal with humanoids if they are intelligent)? And can they cast spells apart from the breath thing?

i have to wonder what WE would do once we leave the wastes. i mean, we may be running in super low energy mode. and once we get to more energy w do something else.

Igmar: "Yeah, Dragons are intelligent. Very. And Black Dragons breath acid. They're not too keen on visitors either nor do they keep treasure hordes like other dragons. They live to corrupt and destroy. They're about as evil as you can get.

There are other dragons too. Good and evil. They can be summed up based on their appearance. Generally Chromatic dragons, ones that have chromatic scales like black, red, blue... They're evil while the good ones are Metallic, Gold, Silver, Copper... There are other kinds too but they're not too common around the inner sea. I know of primal dragons and across the world there are more kinds than I know of in Tian Xia.

And when I said they were smart, I wasn't kidding. They're physically powerful but they're also some of the most dangerous creatures in Golarion in magic ability. Many dragons are Sorcerers, some are even wizards. Most human sorcerers outside of Cheliax have dragon blood in them and that's where they get their magical affinity. Dragons, especially Metallic like to take human form and occasionally they result in a bastard child. Though I've also heard of powerful wizards becoming dragons themselves.

But only a few dragons routinely interact with other creatures. They think of themselves as superior and rightfully so."

Yeah, all that power usually makes raging jackasses.

I'd recommend you find a god or something to help you decipher the notes. Or a decent wizard. You know what this means: ROADTRIP.

>Igmar: "I happen to venerate Torag, the creator of my people. And You don't need a wizard to translate these notes... Well, except for the magical spells in the spellbook anyway. A linguist should to do the job or another pathfinder."

Somebody knocks on the door.

>Igmar: "Ah, that should be the undertaker. I'm taking his remains with me to Absalom. Listen, I'll check in with you fellows later. I've got an elf pickling in my tub to take care of."

Igmar deals with the Undertaker and together they carry the elf out to his wagon. All the while Igmar attempts to haggle a lower price from the undertaker with the undertaker insisting that he charges a flat rate per body.

Eventually as he's pulling away he settles for a ten percent discount to shut the dwarf up so he doesn't follow the hearse down a road negotiating with him.

Pleased with himself. The Dwarf turns back to enter his home to realize he's followed the undertaker quite a ways. The market is around the corner.

>Igmar: "um... So! Let's head to the market then now... Just like I planned on it... Yes. I uh... need some supplies for my trip."

right right.

you should get a revolver to replace your other pistol, if they have them. should be low tech enough to be made.

>>324714
Igmar: "I can't afford a revolver. Even if I could I'd need special permission from the gun works to even touch one. Besides, this baby means something special to me... Though she has seen better days... I suppose I could pick up a new piece while I'm there."

Igmar steps into the shop. A human merchant greets him by name and Igmar greets him back, curiously not mentioning his name. Probably because he forgot what the merchant's name was a long time ago and is too embarrassed to ask his name again. The merchant has probably caught on, but he's too kind to point it out.

In the displays are several kinds of guns that most any citizen can buy.

The First Display shows an array of fancy dueling pistols. Each come in a pair and are highly decorated and really cool looking with etched barrels of dragons, holy symbols or women in lewd poses.

The Second Box contains Muskets, Similar to those the gnoll was using but in better condition. They're made for hunting and combat. The stock is reinforced and the muzzle has a mount for a bayonet attachment.

The third case contains some of the newer, but more expensive firearms to come out of the gunworks. The pepperbox. It's a six barreled pistol that you rotate by hand to ready the next barrel. It's not as reliable as a pistol and fires a smaller caliber bullet, but it allows you more flexibility in the kinds of ammo and the number of rounds you can fight without reloading.

The last case contains a Blunderbuss. Not particularly elegant, but they have some serious short range firepower and are more suitable for less experienced gunmen.

Hmm, a musket will be fine. The hunting one is all we need for now, maybe pick up some buckshot for it too.

>>324758
Get a mosquito. I mean a musket.

A musket with a bayonet would be nice.