My illness hit me hard (40 degrees celcius fever) and I've been in the hospital from saturday till today. They didn't find out what it was, but it seems to have retreated enough for now.
Ouch! Keep those fluids up.
Yow! Glad you're still with us, D.
Will try to post tonight or tomorrow.
Back, I think.
Azure, just wondering -- is putting a mind-mark on someone something that an illithid could do relatively 'on the fly,' or is it something that takes a fair amount of time and effort on the flayer's part? Just been wondering that for a while.
Sadly, it's time for me to get some sleep. I'll post a suitably dramatic response tomorrow. 
I'm inclined to think it's a more involved process, requireing the victim to be helpless, for several minutes at a minimum. Not all mind flayers know how to draw marks, in fact they are rarely used outside the tamer creed (clue!). It also depends greatly on the mark itself. A simple mark like "pain" that allows illithids to inflict debilatating pain in the victim as a free action is easier to draw than something more complex, like "dream" which allows the illithids to eavesdrop on the victim's dreams. BTW, Ya'shenn can read qualith. if she was somehow able to see Mim's mark, she might be able to I-D it. Of course, to complicate matters, there are variations, i.e. "think" is different than "imagine", "consider", "visualize", and "daydream". So, a know: Psi check would be in order.
While true, I doubt Ya'shenn will live long enough to provide such information.
Trias the Erratic returns
Erratic- as in sometimes he posts 6 times a day, and other times he goes 6 weeks without posting.
Time to catch up on my thread reading -
HE LIVES! 
Salutations!
I'd be cool to get you back in, Trias. If I give Rey'arteb a side-mission, can and will you post prolificly six times a day?
YES!!!
I'm all up for that!
Since it's the holidays, I'm just sitting around at home - In these two weeks, I'm assuming everyone (or at least myself) can go 3-4 times faster/ post much more frequently than normal.
Omgosh, Trias lives. o.O
Azure -- Ya'shenn would like to go through her memories/knowledge of the various illithids of Sigil, both what she found out through Grazz and whatever may be commonly known in Git'riban. Is there any indication that any of the illithids on that list (maybe Knowledge?) might be Tamers, or does it seem more likely that there's a Tamer not on the existing 'list'?
Qualith is a very tactile language, much like Braille. Possible to decipher the mark by feel?
Azure -- Ya'shenn would like to go through her memories/knowledge of the various illithids of Sigil, both what she found out through Grazz and whatever may be commonly known in Git'riban. Is there any indication that any of the illithids on that list (maybe Knowledge?) might be Tamers, or does it seem more likely that there's a Tamer not on the existing 'list'?
Will, the surviving ulitharid in the triad, was said to be in charge of "aquisitions"
Yes, but it'd be a high DC if you try to do it now, from memory, when there were other 'tactile senses' going on when you felt the mark. Trying it out on the dead Mim will be much easier, but seeing the mark eisier still.
I may be down, but I’m not out yet.
I’ve recovered a good bit and am quite capable of posting on a daily basis (limited by my parents’ pay-per-MB connection, not creative capacity). Thus, rather than going straight for Gy-Nath’s I could have Du’minh respond to the “distress signal” from the duo at Mim’s, if it suits the story.
I figure Du’minh would have set on the move towards Schaaz-Khaal’s kip, considering how last communication from the team there was in pain and fear. On one hand, I suppose for the metagaming purpose of letting Zim and Wei resolve their own sidequest we could say Du’minh is blocked off from comprehensible communication due to the warlock’s reinforced wards (Zim seems to have pretty much defused the situation, anyway). On the other hand, Du’minh might be able to lend a hand with trust issues, at least by virtue of him sharing power bloc allegiance with Schaaz-Khaal (and if things go wrong he might be able to bust the duo out of there, possibly laying down the smack in the process).
Then again, he could also just head to Gy’s as per the plan and chat up the local NPCs, but to me it seems out-of-character for him to receive a signal from allies that something obviously has gone wrong and have Du ignore it. Let me know how you want to play it, Azure.
Oh yeah, I also now have a preference on the next “adventure path” from those provided by our kind/Evil DM: “In the Closet”, busting squiddie-run operations at a seedy gambling den … Sure, there may be more creative options, but I’m a sucker for classic scenes like these.
Beating up phoney cashiers, kicking over poker-esque game tables, doing Arnold parodies… yeah, good times.
Sweet!
In response to what should Du'minh do, he can do whatever you think is in-character. He is down in the Heart of the Void, so at least an 8-12 minute hustle in Du'minh's armor. But it may have been almost that already (or soon). I have told Trias to post too, so you might even walk into the tail end of whatever he comes up with.
BTW they ever catch that virus that hit you with a truck?
Glad to hear you're feeling (at least somewhat) better. :mrgreen:
Just to let people know, I may be a little slow (hopefully not super slow) to post over the next few days, due to pre-Christmas stuff.
Alright, I’ll leave it to my fellow players whether they want Du’minh to get involved with Schaaz-Khaal and Mim. He’s re-broadcasting through the link, so if he’s being told everything is under control he’ll back off. If there’s still no reply or he runs into Rey and his date, he’ll probably stick around and set to find out what’s going on.
Du'minh's reaction is going to be interesting if (when) he gets a good look at Daraz.
Heh, sorry Wei. I'm guessing Daraz is a little more of an action-oriented character, while poor Ya'shenn here gets beaten up by thrall mages. :shock:
Actually, now I get to do a bit more RPing now that there's conflict. (And there will be. I rolled annother 1)
While we're at it, Azure, did Ya'shenn get a good look at the other marks? (I'm not sure of the timing where Miik'ka was concerned, but she was probably very distracted by being gnawed on by Mim, if all 3 hits took place simultaneously.)
Well, actually, what the heck, you got a look at 'em all, if for no other reson than to show how brilliant the DM is and how rich the behind-the-scenes setting in which this all takes place.
Miik'ka' s mark was "Return"
The old sharpener's mark was "Dream"
Well, actually, what the heck, you got a look at 'em all, if for no other reson than to show how brilliant the DM is and how rich the behind-the-scenes setting in which this all takes place.
But, we know that already.
From a Knowledge: Psi POV, would it make sense to speculate that Will (or whichever illithid) might be able to 'listen in' on Mim specifically when he's speaking aloud?
Well, actually, what the heck, you got a look at 'em all, if for no other reson than to show how brilliant the DM is and how rich the behind-the-scenes setting in which this all takes place.
But, we know that already.
From a Knowledge: Psi POV, would it make sense to speculate that Will (or whichever illithid) might be able to 'listen in' on Mim specifically when he's speaking aloud?
Exactly! Though the "aloud" part might not even be neccessary, so long as he's trying to speak. Basicly, the speach center of Mim's brain was broadcasting on 'Flayer Frequency'.
Well, actually, what the heck, you got a look at 'em all, if for no other reson than to show how brilliant the DM is and how rich the behind-the-scenes setting in which this all takes place.
But, we know that already.
From a Knowledge: Psi POV, would it make sense to speculate that Will (or whichever illithid) might be able to 'listen in' on Mim specifically when he's speaking aloud?
Exactly! Though the "aloud" part might not even be neccessary, so long as he's trying to speak. Basicly, the speach center of Mim's brain was broadcasting on 'Flayer Frequency'.
Which certainly explains why he was trying to talk while gnawing on Ya'shenn. Highly probable that Will (or one of Its cronies) was watching Mim TV at the time.
*mental click* So the whole biting thing... yeah. Guess what mind flayers often do if they feel threatened or severely annoyed by someone edible?
That is so creepy. (I wonder if Will enjoyed the sample.)
Which certainly explains why he was trying to talk while gnawing on Ya'shenn. Highly probable that Will (or one of Its cronies) was watching Mim TV at the time.
Bingo! But illithid telepathy is limited in range, especially here in Sigil where they don't have an elder brain. It's unlikely that Will itself is close enough to Git'riban to watch Mim TV, so he probably TiVo's it.
So, there would have to be an illithid hidden somewhere nearby, keeping tabs on the Git'riban agents. Not that hard, considering 3D, and the fact that Void Keys is on the edge of the Git'riban district. Now, it might have fled when it realized Mim was exposed, or it might sit tight and wait for the heat to pass it by ...
Which certainly explains why he was trying to talk while gnawing on Ya'shenn. Highly probable that Will (or one of Its cronies) was watching Mim TV at the time.
Bingo! But illithid telepathy is limited in range, especially here in Sigil where they don't have an elder brain. It's unlikely that Will itself is close enough to Git'riban to watch Mim TV, so he probably TiVo's it.
So, there would have to be an illithid hidden somewhere nearby, keeping tabs on the Git'riban agents. Not that hard, considering 3D, and the fact that Void Keys is on the edge of the Git'riban district. Now, it might have fled when it realized Mim was exposed, or it might sit tight and wait for the heat to pass it by ...
I knew I heard Rockwell's "Somebody's Watching Me" in the background for some reason. Sent you a PM.
Merry Christmas to all! I wonder how intimidating Du’minh would look with a red cap, fake white beard, and jingle bells attached to his flail…
Merry Christmas .. Haaaappy Holidays!!!
(If you were wondering - yes, the n'sync christmas song is my personal fav.) :mrgreen:
Here's hoping we all get illithid calamari in our stockings for Christmas this year. =)
Yes, Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Ramadan (yes I know it's too late for that, Happy Hajj!), I myself celebrate the Solstice (Yule), but I don't go to temple like my brother. I guess I'm a secular pagan, though I prefer to think myself an Agnostic.
Evil DM isn't sure yet whether to believe the rule book and say that mindlink has infinite range. That's what 3.0 Psionic Handbook says, "Same Plane", but I think it's bullocks. That's for a strong, Psi-point draining mindlink. Anyone keeping it up would have to rest eventually (do Illithid sleep?) so it makes more sense for the illithid to either rotate the duty of "listening in" or have a small enclave nearby that colects intel 24/7. Now, Mim wasn't anymore psionic than a normal githyanki, but who knows what that mark did to him, really.
Illithid base telepathy isn't the same animal as the Mindlink power, anyhow. (Do you recall where the baseline stats are for a psionic illithid are? I'm sure I have it, I just don't remember if it's in the MM, LoM, or Psi Handbook.) I'd been figuring that a bog-standard illithid doesn't have mindlink (though it would have the 100' telepathy), and would have to have class levels in Psion (which admittedly many do) to have a shot at Mindlink.
(Yep, flayers sleep, though I wonder whether they dream...or what they'd dream about.)
:twisted:
EvilDM idea!
What, you think I'm going to tell YOU?
Psionic mind flyer stats are in the XPsiH. They don't have mindlink on the typical powers known list.
:twisted:
EvilDM idea!
What, you think I'm going to tell YOU?
I bet it involves the brains of Githyanki psions.
Oi -- Dunamin, you didn't mean to overwrite your original post, I hope? Because I loved that line about "something is here..." Hehe.
He was talking about the spell-casting vampire.
He was talking about the spell-casting vampire.
Yep, I know. It was a PERFECT line to use right before mentioning the ghaik, though. (i.e., Du notices the vampire's aura briefly, then discounts it because Ya'shenn starts saying something about a ghaik)
Love it!
As a psion with something like 3 power points remaining... can we say "ouch?"
She can hardly ignore the existence of a flayer in the vicinity, though. It's a gith thing.
Notice that neither Miik'ka's nor the sharpener's marks required monitoring. Miik'ka had a strong post-hypnotic suggestion to "return", while the sharpener made contact in his sleep, so he could have been using his own psionic strenth to send intel over a limited timespan.
Oh, so there's not a flayer now?
Oh, so there's not a flayer now?
I'm just saying, you don't have to worry about there being three, in three different parts of Git'riban.
Alright you lot, that's it for me tonight! I have duck waiting to be annihilated downstairs!
Bon apitit!
You know, I've thought from time to time that a very, very scary thing would be Azure with Rassthilian's character sheet in his hands.
Just sayin'.
Posting will likely be a good deal less frequent from me for the next couple of days.
My illness hit me hard (40 degrees celcius fever) and I've been in the hospital from saturday till today. They didn't find out what it was, but it seems to have retreated enough for now.