Fimbulvinter

[TheMeanestGuest]

Wait. How many times are we supposed to roll? You posted 'roll a 1d10 times' and I'm not sure what that means.

[Ghostman]

When one may automatically know a particular rumor, is that in addition to whatever was rolled (if not the same)?

[Superfluous Crow]

I'm a bit on the fence about whether to go with Mila being "East European" or stick to my Nordic roots and make her maybe Kvenlandic. I don't want her to disrupt the tone of the setting too much.

[Steerpike]

Sorry, I had a typo there!  I corrected it.  Here's how it works:

1) Roll 1d2.

2) Roll a d10 either once or twice, depending on the result.

3) Read the corresponding rumours.

4) If your tribe necessitates that you already know a rumour, you know 1 rumour automatically and may nor may not get a second rumour (roll a d2 - on a 2, roll a d10 as per normal).  If you automatically know one of two possible rumours, just pick one and read it.

5) Reroll duplicates results.

Make sense?  I'm probably being a bit precious with this - just thought it was a cool way of distributing rumour and maybe provoking some character interaction.  If I was doing this at a table I'd be writing the rumours down on slips of paper and putting them in a hat.

EDIT: I can understand not wanting to do the Eastern European thing, Crow - it was just a random idea.  Norse is cool!  And after all, it somehow makes sense that our only actual Scandinavian play a Scandinavian.  You could always have her revert to "Siiv."

[Kindling]

Ooh, 2, 5 and 6. Lovely :)

[Xathan]

2, 6, and 10 here!

[Superfluous Crow]

So, I think I finished my character, the seeress Sirje Isrelund.

note: as to the HP hack, it would require me to take Oracle as my first level which prevents me from spending my feats on extra hexes (but allowing me to take extra revelations instead). Since hexes are essentially handy travel-sized infinity spells as far as I gather, they are way more powerful (and useful) than the Oracle's revelations which are often only usable once per day.

Q: while we are talking feats, does Spell Focus: Enchantment apply to relevant Hexes (e.g. slumber which copies sleep)? Otherwise I might just take another hex since they are so damn useful. Admittedly, I might do that anyway, just felt like I was exploiting the system with all those hexes. Can't find anything else even half as good to spend my slots on.

EDIT: Notice that Winter Witch gives her a permanent Endure Elements - Cold effect. Isn't that powerful enough to keep her warm for the most part?    

EDIT: Clouded Vision is technically only that, clouded, but thought that it would be cooler if she was actually blind, sensing the world through other means. Mechanically she retains darkvision out to 30 ft. or something like that. That isn't too much of a stretch, right? Or are you planning to have us fight a whole bunch of medusas and basilisks?  

EDIT: Would I know the Hrafnii rumour? I think I have been alone for a couple of years, so I might be a bit out of the loop.

[spoiler=Sirje Isrelund]
Sirje is a  spindly starved-looking Kvenlander  with long dark hair. She was pretty, maybe even beautiful, once. Her eyes have been plucked from her skull and the empty orifices remain mercifully hidden away behind a ragged cloth blindfold. Despite bearing the marks of hard life on her face and the marks of thralldom on her back, she carries herself with an eerie elegance.
She is distant, in both personality and demeanour, and sometimes cold, unused to the ways of men. Her pale flesh follows this predisposition remaining strangely cold, even when warmed by fire.
She wears a gray dress and a thin cloak, seemingly too cold for the dark winter, but never shivers. She is followed everywhere by a white raven.    

Sirje was born into a secluded fishing village in northern Kvenland. She was taken in by the völva of the village from a young age due to an uncanny talent at reading the omens sent to the village by their patron Eslen the Blind Huntsman, a mythical figure strangely remniscent of Odin, the southern god.
At the night of her first moon's blood, she was taken to the sacred well Mirmulnir and offered her left eye to its waters as the price for wisdom, as was customary among the völva of her people.
She slept unsoundly that night and was awoken by screams and fire, echoing her dreams, as an unkindness of Hrafnii raiders tore through her small village in the pursuit of wealth and thralls.
She was taken. The Hrafnii were quick to note her predilection for prediction and the chief of the warband kept her as a personal pet and unwilling advisor on the long return journey home.
She tried lying, but the lies caught in her throat, and the chief would always know whether she spoke truth or falsehood. Whenever she lied she was given to the soldiers as punishment. She tried escaping. The first time they caught her they took her other eye. They argued that if one eye was the price for wisdom, two eyes should give her enough wisdom not to try and run again.
She ran again and again, but, blind and starved, she never got far. They took to keeping her in a cage. It was here she was first visited by Samran, the White Raven. She knew the Hrafniis' own scarred völva kept one as a pet, feeding it choice morsels from the battlefield, and had nothing but contempt for the animal and what it represented, but this one was different. It talked to her. Told her secrets. It spoke of the future.
Sirje was brought to the chieftain again. For once, she told the truth of what she had seen, and heard, but the chieftain did not believe her. He was used to her lies.
That became their undoing. They fell into a Blodbard ambush and Sirje was forgotten in the chaos. The raven came to her again and it led her through the darkness, fleeting from tree to tree until she was safe and the screams distant.    
She made her life in the forest, under the tutelage of the White Raven, secluded from the outside world. But now the spirits-that-be are telling her to leave. She senses it in the cold, cold air. Sees it in the unseen flights of birds above, hears it in the rustling of leaves, and feels it in the innards of her animal prey. Samran tells her it is time, but yet she stays, waiting for a final sign.
[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Mechanics]
human seer 1/winter witch 1 (nature mystery, portents patron)

STR 10 +0 (0)
DEX 12 +1 (2)
CON 11 +0 (1)
INT 16 +3 (5)
WIS 12 +1 (2)
CHA 14 +2  (5)

HP: 11 (1d8+1d6)

BAB +0
AC 11

CMB +0
CMD 11

FORT +0
REF +1
WILL +5

Speed: 30ft

Melee attacks:
Dagger +0 1d4 19-20/x2
Quarterstaff +0 1d6 x2

Skills (5+7 points):
Bluff +4 (2)
Diplomacy +6 (1)
Intimidate +7 (2)
Knowledge (Arcana) +8 (1)
Knowledge (Nature) +7 (2)
Knowledge (Religion) +7 (1)
Heal +5 (1)
Sense Motive +5 (1)
Survival +2 (1)


Special Abilities:
Oracle's Curse (Clouded Vision)
Patron (Portents)
Witch's Familiar (white raven)
Ice Magic (+1 cold DC)
Cold Flesh (Endure Elements - Cold)
Revelations (1)
Hexes (2)

Feats:
Extra Hex (Slumber)
Spell Focus (Enchantment)

Revelations:
Natural Divination

Hexes:
Evil Eye
Slumber

Oracle Spells (spontaneous):
Orisons - Detect Magic, Light, Detect Poison, Spark
1st (4) -Cure Light Wounds, Murderous Command, Charm Animal

Witch Spells (prepared):
Cantrips (3)  - Daze, Message, Dancing Lights
1st (2)-Frostbite, Charm Person

Equipment:
Ragged blindfold
Bone charms
Bone-handled knife
Grey dress and thin travelling cloak
A small satchel (containing herbs, flint & steel and other essentials)
A fur blanket for sleeping
Food for a week
A bag of etched rune stones
[/spoiler]

[spoiler=*For Steerpike's Eyes Only*]
Was thinking they could encounter me in the woods (insert blizzard if necessary) and seek shelter in my house. I would then guide them/join them/follow them depending on their initial reaction.
[/spoiler]

[Polycarp]

Well, I hope this is all legit.  If my luck on my hp roll holds out, how can I lose?

Edit: I do have one question - Druids are supposed to know Sylvan.  Since Sylvan doesn't exist, are there any bonus languages that I do know on account of my druidity, or is it just scrapped?

[ic=Kylfa]Kylfa the Kvenlander
Male Human Druid (Bear Shaman) 3
XP: 7,770

Initiative +2
AC: 18 (+2 Dex, +4 Hide Armor, +2 Large Shield)
HP: 27 (3d8+6) [21/27 Currently]
Fort +5, Ref +3, Will +5
Speed: 20 ft.

Melee Attacks:
Club +4 1d6+2 x2
Bite/2 Claws +4/+2/+2 (1d6+2/1d4+1/1d4+1)
Ranged Attacks:
Sling +3 1d4 x2 50 ft.

Str 14, Dex 14, Con 14, Int 10, Wis 14, Cha 8
BAB +2; CMB +4 (+6 grapple); CMD 16 (18 vs. grapple)
Feats: Improved Unarmed Strike, Improved Grapple, Multiattack
Skills: Handle Animal +5 (3 ranks), Heal +8 (3 ranks), Perception +8 (3 ranks), Knowledge (Nature) +8* (3 ranks), Survival +10* (3 ranks), Swim +8 (3 ranks)
Armor Check Penalty: -5

Special Abilities: Nature Bond (Strength Domain), Nature Sense*, Wild Empathy (+4 vs. bears and wolverines), Woodland Stride, Strength Surge (5/day), Totem Transformation (3 mins/day), Trackless Step

Orisons (4): Know Direction, Spark, Mending, Purify Food and Drink
1st (3 + domain): Cure Light Wounds, Shillelagh, Goodberry, (Enlarge Person)
2nd (2+ domain): Frost Fall, Aspect of the Bear, (Bear's Strength)

In sack:

Hide Armor
Winter Blanket
Cold-weather Outfit
Furs (Bearskin Cloak)
A pouch full of berries
Dried reindeer jerky
Clay jug
Spell component pouch
Signal Horn
Necklace of various animal teeth
Engraved comb made from reindeer antler
Knotted club
Crude hide-covered wooden shield

Kylfa is a large man, great in height and breadth, but he is often slightly stooped.  His face is wind-beaten and his brow craggy, but his brown eyes are soft and calm-looking.  His hair is dark brown, nearly black, and is tied in a ponytail behind his head, though this is rarely seen beneath the face of the bearskin that he wears over his body and head.  His beard is long, unkempt, and typically matted with twigs and leaves (sort of like this picture, except not grey).  His voice is low and rumbling, and he often grunts when thinking, annoyed, pleased, or confused, or really anything else.

[/ic]

[Steerpike]

Cool characters!

You're right about the endure cold effect Crow - my mistake.  I like the missing eyes thing, so keep that, no worries.  There won't be any medusae.  And I'll leave it up to you if you want to learn the Hrafnii rumour.

[Steerpike]

First session is completed!  It went very well - some close scrapes but with cleverness and coordination, no one died and the party escaped their captors.

Everyone who participated gets 600 xp.

The party is currently heading north, searching for shelter.  The settlement of Wulfheim is probably nearby, Ironwood to the east, and the Orm-Fells to the northwest.

[Xathan]

Just wanted to say I had a great time, and cannot wait for the next session!

[Steerpike]

Me too!

Crow made an interesting suggestion about the possibility of running a game every two weeks or so, maybe alternating with my regular CE game.  If I were to do that, how many people would be able to make Monday at around 12 EST?  I know that my CE players (Ghostman, TMG, Crow, Kindling) can all make that day.  Xathan, you said you could make Monday afternoons - would that be too early?  How about Leetz and Polycarp?  If we could make it work, that would give us a pool of 7 players which is almost ideal, since even if half the people don't show up there's still enough people to play (especially if I rope in random drop-ins from the chat) but if everyone shows up it's not a total brouhaha.  This way I'd also get to continue the regular CE game without having to worry about devoting an excessive amount of time to one over the other...

[Polycarp]

That will probably be fine for me.

[Kindling]

I'd be cool with that. Also, are we using the slow medium or fast xp progression?

[Steerpike]

Slow progression, since if we go much faster everyone will top out too quickly with 8 being the level cap.