Orientation (Part 1)

[Mild Scribe]

Nazira "Naz" Amar

---

Seeing the tie score Naz allowed herself a small chuckle, she was standing out again it seemed. As she doffed her own weapons and picked up the unusual staff Naz spoke a few words and a glimmer of magic encased her briefly. Now ready she stepped in the ring. Sadly her opponent if quick seemed a bit lacking in enthusiasm and Nazira easily side stepped his wide strike.

"That's too bad, I've always preferred a live opponent especially for a friendly match," Nazira said in a teasing tone "If you can't muster up anything I'm afraid I'm just gonna have to draw this out though."

With that Nazira swung the staff across her shoulders and stepped to the side begining a dance around the ring, not attacking but daring Louis to chase her about the ring, darting in a new direction if he closed in. A dangerous game in the close space of the ring, if either of them made a misstep it momentum could carry them out of the ring.

---

HP: 12/12 AC: 1613 Mage Armor
+3 Dexterity
[No Shield]

OOC

Before Match: Cast Mage Armor

Action: Constested Acrobatics for a ring out.

 

 

Edited November 16, 2023 by Mild Scribe (see edit history)

[BobtheWizard]

"Lou" Louis Dufray (Goblin Ranger) sheet

---

AC: 16 | HP: 12/12 | Initiative: +3 | Passive Perception: 17 | FeaturesAdv. on saves vs. charm
60' Darkvision
BA Hide or Disengage
Fury of Small: 2/2 LR
Favored Foe: 2 /2 LR
Hit Dice: 1 / 1d10+2 LR
Conditions: none

---

Lou doesn't even try to counter her assault. She's a big human and he's a gunner. Hand to hand combat is never his choice. He let's her push him out of the ring, and then does a somersault to try to land on his feet, but that doesn't work well either. When she throws him, he rolls into Lazuli, crashing into the plasmoid.

He stands up, shakes himself off and congratulates his opponent.

"Nice job, Naz."

---

Mechanics Main Hand: Empty Off Hand: Empty Move: none Manipulate: none Action: acrobatics to land gracefully Bonus Action: none

 

Edited November 17, 2023 by BobtheWizard (see edit history)

[Cointhief]

The two opponents burst into action, both with near supernatural reflexes. Lou quickly changed his grip, intuiting the center of gravity and allowing him a certain degree of refined handling for the unfamiliar weapon. But he was not used to the intense degree of footwork required to counter-balance that same object in motion.

Nazira laid a masterful feint, and the audience was on the edge of their seats. Even Ruby the Lubey had abandoned greasing his prized shaft for a closer look at the epic battle, the cilia constituting their sensory organs at maximum extension. But Lou had a moment of civility, refusing to take part in the barbaric bloodsport...or perhaps had simply made the strategic decision to save his energy, focusing on more important upcoming orientation trials. Perhaps he simply thought everyone was an idiot.

"Forfeit! Match to Corps Cadet Nazira. And our high score for today..." Officer Bojangles announced, holding aloft some kind of sports drink as prize. The crowd was disappointed, but slowly a chorus of applause resonated for both combatants.

"Wait, I haven't gone yet!" interjected Popsicle, tying his shoelaces and tucking them into his big fluffy striped socks before running full speed into the mystical explosions, the fuse of the dynamite stick happily erect at his belt and leaning into the wind. Luckily the concussive blasts which scattered the element of midnight's slick feathers and cracked the penguin's wishbone in certainly not his favor didn't have the heat to ignite it. Luckily he had no idea when falling into the electrified waters the interesting new dangers of dampening said dynamite stick. The flightless bird knew how to use rope, that much was clear...but Ruby's slick stem claimed another victim in the end.

Nazira, your prize is Milk Squared, a single use potion. Once imbibed, your next kill grants you 5 temporary hit points and an immediate Action.

Edited November 17, 2023 by Cointhief (see edit history)

[KingGoblin]

Lazuli Lazali Lulura, AKA Squishy

AC 17 | HP 11/11 | HD 1/1 | Inspiration Yes | P.Perception 15

Saves: Str -1 | Dex +3 | Con +1 | Int +2 | Wis +5 | Cha +0

Resistances: Acid and Poison

---

Lazuli monched her goodberries while watching the fight, offering them around to the others as they may want them, especially Celsior since he seemed injured. She assured everyone that her balls were safe, and tasty, and very very good to eat.

 

During the fight, she cheered for both sides. After, she caught Lou happily in her squishy embrace, as that seemed to be her role in these things. "Good job, everyone! Have one of my balls! Everything is going so well."

 

When the prize was given, she attempted to start everyone in a chant. "Chug the milk! Chug the milk! Chug the milk!" hoping that Naz would enjoy her prize as much as she had enjoyed watching the show.

 

Actions

Move: -

Action: -

Bonus: -

Reaction: -

6 goodberries remain, for anyone to eat.

 

[Mild Scribe]

Nazira "Naz" Amar

---

Louis didn't rise to Naz's goading but seemed to lose interest even more. Well that was a bit disappointing, the quick little goblin seemed like he could provide a nice match, she'd have to get him some other time.

"Uh thanks," Naz said to the instructor as hands her a rather dubious reward. A potion not merely a drink it seemed, interesting but probably not for right now. It wasn't that she thought it was harmful or ill made, but she had seen her cousins trying out enlarging potions only to discover the effect didn't include clothing before it made you fifty feet tall.

Watching the dohwar go after their little match Nazira sighed. The bird really didn't do too badly here and there, if only he could focus that a little more. As they fished out Popsicle she walked up and helped haul him out by his flippers. As Naz did her hands briefly glowed with a faint blue light and Pop would feel a cool rush of magic course through as his wounds were healed.

"Good try Pop, you know if you calmed down a bit you'd probably do better. Everyone has to run their own race before they can run it against anyone else."

With that she left the bird and return to the group, a few were rather beaten up but Naz was no cleric and her gifts at healing were at best still token measures like she'd used on Popsicle.

"Maybe something a little calmer for our next stop? I'd like to at least see what this Nexus business is about if I can before they slap us with loading boxes on the dock."

---

OOC

Using Lay on Hands healing Popsicle for 5 HP

[JubalBreakbottle]

Celsior Loriniscil, Prince of Alfheim

Inspiration Yes | HP 8/8 | HD 1/1 | Step 2/2 | Shield 1/1

Recovery 1/1 | 1st-level 2/2

---

Wounded of both body and pride, the prince accepts four Goodberries if allowed. They make him feel rejuvenated, and he would keep eating them until fully recovered.

He watches the final combat with a green envy monster nesting on his shoulder. Nazira reminds him of his cousin to which everything came easy. The prince had traveled several dimensions to separate himself from her and the way she made him feel. But now, here it is again.

Cel-sore realizes that the feeling of inadequacy had accompanied him like his shadow.

Mechanics

Active spells: Familiar (stored)

Action: Consume 4 Goodberries to heal HP 4/8 to 8/8

[The Eyeball Kid]

Still suffering the effects of being gut-punched back in the dormitory, Chaeek takes two goodberries. He examines them closely, not out of suspicion, but curiosity, before eating them slowly, examining the flavor and sensation of their effect.

"The Nexus sounds good to me. Would the Corp Cadets want to observe, or should we meet up on the docks afterwards?"

[DM-Tareth]

Yahs Anirys Plasmoid Monk 1 CG

AC: 16 | HP: 9/9 | HD: 1/1 | PP: 13 | Inspiration: Yes | Speed: 30 ft
Str 11 (0) Dex 16 (3) Con 12 (1) Wis 16 (3) Int 11 (0) Cha 9 (-1)

Attacks: Spear (P)1d20+5;1d6+3 | Unarmed(B) 1d20+5;1d4+3 | Sling(B)1d20+5;1d4+3 | Quarterstaff-Mop(B) 1d20+5;1d6+3
Magic: Sacred Flame (DEX vs DC13; 1d8) | Shield of Faith(Bonus; +2AC)

---

Still feeling squeamish from having to slither across Ruby's pink form, Yahs is more than happy to simply sit and watch the other's as they are put to whatever test the Spelljammer Nexus has to offer.

 

 

[Cointhief]

Under normal circumstances, the experimental space laboratory within the Spelljammer Nexus would be a massive point of interest for anyone even vaguely interested in the arcane or technomagical. Under normal circumstances, the Spelljammer Nexus' library of navigational and astronautical references would nurse the tiniest mote of wanderlust into a life long passion for travel.

But there was something much more interesting here: Spelljammer Helms.

Within the training chamber not one but eight ornate, high-backed chairs stand mounted onto mechanical gimbals that encircle a thirty foot high orrery depicting the celestial bodies of Realmspace.

A pair of security officers greets you at the entrance, with a reminder "Only Spelljammer Cadets past this point. Corps Cadets can observe from the gallery." Motioning to a ring of windows overlooking the orrery.

Within the Nexus, a blond-haired man with a massive pompodour strides forth, piercing your soul with eyes of mercurial silver. Referencing a fresh missive, he seems to be matching names and faces "So, fresh recruits. Lalura, Pitchwife...and...Ah, Prince Loriniscil I assume? Allow me to introduce myself: Saerthe Abizjn, master of the Spelljamming arts." producing a formal bow. "I use that word not lightly, cadets. It is an art, unlike any other spell you've ever known. It will test what you allow to linger in your mind: memories, regrets, desires. Such things have a certain whimsy, and you will find yourself inside a granite asteroid unless you learn to be their master. It will change how you perceive the connection between body and consciousness. You will transcend form, reaching into the farthest depths of space with naught but a single precise thrust of ego."

"Your first attunement will be with one of the smaller ships in the orrery. Do not let their reduced scale fool you. The sensation will be just as overwhelming as a 50 ton Hammerhead...only slightly more forgiving. You are free to choose which vessel will be your first to assimilate. Choose wisely, you will never forget your first...it will become part of you."

There are a number of Spelljamming ships you might select: damselfly, lamprey, scorpion, shrike, squid, star moth, galleon or hammerhead. No two Spelljammers can select the same.

"Your task will subsist of reaching the Astral Sea, id est the bounds of the orrery...without any physical or mental mishaps. You are not being scored here. However, your performance will influence who is assigned the Helm on your next simulation mission tomorrow, and your first real mission into Realmspace the day after. Now, I suppose you have questions so now is the time to ask." he begins donning a pair of tight, black leather gloves and pulling a series of levers which brings the spinning orrery to life. The chamber vibrates with a surge of violence, before idling to a fine-tuned hum of scintillating sound and light.

[The Eyeball Kid]

"I'll take the squid if you all don't mind", Chaeek says.

He looks around awkwardly for a moment, scratching behind his ear with one foot, then shrugs. He's going to either look foolish for asking the question or for getting into the helm with no idea what he's doing. He'd might as well learn something....

"So..., how does this work?"

[JubalBreakbottle]

Celsior Loriniscil, Prince of Alfheim

Inspiration Yes | HP 4/8 | HD 1/1 | Step 2/2 | Shield 1/1

Recovery 1/1 | 1st-level 2/2

---

Celsior starts to breathe deeply when he steps within the Spelljammer Nexus. Everything he had dreamed of living was right here. His recent failures melt away when the master addresses by his title and he nods with pride.

He smiles at the choice of the hadozee and offers, "I would take the star moth." These ships are constructed by astral elves, so he feels culturally connected to them.

Mechanics

Active spells: Familiar (stored)

Action:

[KingGoblin]

Lazuli Lazali Lulura, AKA Squishy

AC 17 | HP 11/11 | HD 1/1 | Inspiration Yes | P.Perception 15

Saves: Str -1 | Dex +3 | Con +1 | Int +2 | Wis +5 | Cha +0

Resistances: Acid and Poison

---

Lazuli spent some moments admiring the options before them. The damelfly looked fastest, but the lamprey had those cool teeth. The squid was beautiful, but the hammerhead looked just so tough.

 

it wasn't hard to make her choice. "l want to fly the scorpion!" she exclaimed, wetly. "Those claws! That tail! So majestic!" She could only imagine the joy of running that thing across the land, snapping trees in half, before jumping into the sky.

 

Or perhaps she could do more than imagine. She was going to fly!

 

Actions

Move: -

Action: -

Bonus: -

Reaction: -

 

[Cointhief]

With the orrery cycling its mechanical motion, Saerthe turns to crystals and incense. Muttering a few standard incantations, you feel a tingle at the back of your minds "I will guide you through the attunement process. You must allow every iota of magical energy within yourselves to become the motive force of the vessel...not a drop left behind! There may be some part of yourself that resists this submission, at least initially. I will be monitoring your progress, and offer psychoanalytical questions in an attempt to fine-tune the state of your connection."

He paces a bit, choosing his words carefully before going further "If attunement succeeds, you will feel a bifurcation of consciousness. On the one hand, you will remain as you are now...your body and its needs, your regular sensory awareness. On the other hand, you will become the ship. Every micrometer detail, every knot in the wood and fiber in the rigging...a hyperawareness that extends on both sides of the gravity plane and to the full extents of the air bubble. A second self, coexistent with the first."

He holds up a glass of some blue fluid, plopping within a tiny chemical sphere "Most describe their first experience as being submerged to the neck in a thick fluid, and it can be frightening. Still, in this state, moving the vessel at tactical speed can be done by mere will. When you begin to visualize the distance and direction (as you or your navigator have determined) you will feel as if moving a limb that has fallen asleep...it may not want to move, but rest assured it is part of you and it can move."

Saerthe takes a drink of his mysterious cocktail, the quicksilver in his eyes now creating a complete mirror surface. With these unique orbs he looks over your ship selections with approving nods, before launching into another erudite delivery:

"Scorpion class. One of the most ancient Orc designs still in use, able to run on land as fast as it flies. Heavy, the iron-hard dead scorpion husk is able to take a beating. They've been nearly hunted to extinction by elves. This model is a replica of the Gauntlet, flagship of the company of the same name that eradicated slavery in Realmspace...acting primarily in the Tears of Selune under the command of Kyriel Alathar Pellinore in the mid-14th century."

 

"Cephalopod-class Brig, more commonly Squid class. A fusion of human and illithid elements, created by escaped prisoners of a mind flayer slave-world. Popular with privateers and pirates alike, amphibious. This model is a replica of the Morkoth,  sea-bound prison of Storm King Hekaton." He points just below the aft castle "The helm is located here, directly beneath the captains station. A speaking tube runs vertical here, enabling constant communication."

 

"Star Moth class, formerly Man-o-war. Like the smaller Cutter class, an Elven crystal ship. Quite fast, and quite versitile due to this large domed area here. It may serve as a garden, barracks, cargo bay, or even hanger for smaller craft. Note the lowest decks are situated below the gravity plane...you feel both orientations quite strongly. This model is based on the Queen of Spheres, who ultimately met its demise in the heart of a space vortex."

"Of course, Spelljamming speed is comparable for all vessels. 100 million miles in 24 hours will be at your command...you need only slow to turn. Objects less than 10 tons will be captured by your gravity plane, while the helm will automatically slow for anything above 10 tons...making you vulnerable to other ship's weapons. Of course in a real situation, there could be any number of other hidden anomalies...but those are more fun in the simulation chambers. Today, we will simply focus on movement and your mental state."

 

"Please, when you are ready, take a seat. We will begin in orbit around Sol, and proceed beyond H'catha."

If you choose to go through with it, describe what your character is thinking and feeling as they begin to attune.
 

Edited November 18, 2023 by Cointhief (see edit history)

[Mild Scribe]

Nazira "Naz" Amar

---

Nazira made her way to the observation gallery eyes wide. She took a seat as close to the lecture as she could and listen with rapt attention, leaning forward to the edge. Just how amazing was magic? Flying through the stars, ahh she couldn't wait. If only she'd been born with more in the way of magical talent she might be down there in the orrery.

Listening to the lecture Nazira kept in mind the contrast with vessels familiar to her. Her last ship had been a skyship and the Amar family had something of a family trade of them. She could see why 'spelljamming' had never caught on with her people though. Few enough saw need to travel in the first place, for all the fame and awe their skyships inspired Naz's people were isolationists who rarely left home. And while their famed skyships were the work of wizards, were maintained by magewrights, and for one to be owned by a 'lesser' without magical talents was unheard of, but they did not need a caster's intervention to soar and sail.

No doubt they'd regard time away from their studies merely to convey themselves as far too akin to being a horse tied to a cart.

Well no matter. At least one Halruaan had been an exception to that, and if Naz had her way with Mystra's blessing before too long she would make that two.

---

 

[BobtheWizard]

"Lou" Louis Dufray (Goblin Ranger) sheet

---

AC: 16 | HP: 12/12 | Initiative: +3 | Passive Perception: 17 | FeaturesAdv. on saves vs. charm
60' Darkvision
BA Hide or Disengage
Fury of Small: 2/2 LR
Favored Foe: 2 /2 LR
Hit Dice: 1 / 1d10+2 LR
Conditions: none

---

Lou follows the others to the Nexus. He growls a little when told he could not participate. He's seen enough spell jamming in his life to know that if he were given the chance, he'd be able to do it. Despite his jealousy, he offers encouragement to the Spelljammer recruits, and asks whoever separates us a question.

"Good luck. I am sure you will all excel. Sir, could you endeavor to enlighten us on what class ship we'll be taking on our first soiree into Realmspace?"

Instead of watching the competition with jealousy, he turns to leave the viewing area.

"I'll be in the library. Come get me when they're done. If anyone else wants to learn more about these ships, you are welcome to join me."

He goes to the Spelljammer Nexus' library and reviews the navigation charts, comparing them to his existing knowledge. He also looks for any books on repairs and weapons for the ship we will be using, trying to learn as much as he can about it.

---

Mechanics Just role-playing his proficiencies in Spelljammer ships and navigators tools Main Hand: Empty Off Hand: Empty Move: none Manipulate: none Action: none Bonus Action: none