"There is," Admits Professor Babar, "But the Chronicles I have here don't give me enough knowledge to teach them. You'd pretty much be on your own, trying to pick it up from legends and the townsfolk alongside what I teach here, which might split your focus a little. You're not being graded like the standard colleges, but still." He nods at Zaigou, "A lot of those ended up being a natural part of the person, growing up and adapting to the role. Since I, personally, haven't: and neither did those in the portraits, I can't really teach you that."
"Well, I could try to teach you, but it wouldn't be very useful in the long run." He chuckles, "A friend of mine is so familiar with the spells he studies that he's pretty much got them whenever he needs them, without need to re-study them every day. He calls it intuative wizardry. I'll be the first to admit I have no idea how he does it... it also goes against what we know about magic." The feline shrugs, still smiling. "I suppose we don't know all there is to know."
Celir smiled at Ayala. She glanced at the others and just stood listening to what was going on for a moment before she returned her attention to the elf standing before her.
"I'm kind of hoping to be a ranger, but I can be a fighter to, she paused. "I think." Her attention once again bounced over to Professor Babar as he answered first Xavien's question and then Zaigou's. She unnoticeable crinkled her nose a little as the conversation came to gods. She hadn't ever really picked one over the other. She wasn't too big on any of the ones her family had babbled on about. She had always put them off with an 'I don't know' when it came to discussing them. Her eyes traveled over to the one who had come in, quite literally, spinning.
"Do you know him?" She inclined her head at the half-orc in question, but directed the actual question at the elf before her. She thought for a second then shrugged and gave Ayala another smile. "Shall we go say hello?" She asked before walking towards him. She came to a stop and pushed some of her bangs behind her ear.
"Hell, my name is Celir. What's yours?" She asked politely. "Do you know what path you'd like to study yet?"
"Curious..." The half-elf mused. "Thank you professor" He stated after a moment, almost backhandedly as a social grace that was nearly forgotten in his thoughts. When he turned back to face his companion, he noticed that she had seemingly wandered off. With a shrug he looked about the room before spotting the Gnome. "Xavian wasn't it?" He asked rhetorically, "I'll let you in on a secret mate, don't let what you are influence who you are. I met an Orc Wizard back in my hometown once. A quite successful one at that. Just because it's not common, doesn't mean it can't be done." He told him with a light smile. Of course, a half-elf rogue fit quite well within the standard of what half-elves were like, but it wasn't for the standard that he desired the rogue. He was a gambler and a tactician. He didn't care for close quarters combat very much, and even when he did practice rounds with his close friends, he tended to lean towards precision over anything else.
"I assume you mean half-orc wizard," the Professor scoffed, "Orcs don't really have the mental capacity for wizardry. The human blood gives them the push that most of them need to actually do something beyond being raiders and destructive forces." He continues, "I suppose an orc shaman or something is likely, but a successful orc wizard... well, the Society would be forced to investigate that, wouldn't we?" The feline gazed upon the half-elven youth with a little amusement, though the last statement seemed a warning, "Doubly wouldn't think of any hometown with close enough ties to the elven race being fine with an orc in their village at all. Even the 'birthplace of democracy'- Andoran - has some standards."
"Of course, forgive me, I tend to cut words when I speak occasionally" Zaigou retracted. Of course, he was lying, he forgot that much of the world was still rather closed minded. It had of course been a full orc. An oddity of an orc, but an orc nonetheless. The man had stayed near the village only for a day, and made sure to leave shortly after arriving, but not before making it clear that he wasn't to be bothered. Zaigou had never seen an Orc casting magick before, so he had snuck into the Orc's tent while he was away and searched through his things. Among them he'd found a book of spells, and other various wizarding supplies. In his amazement at finding such things, he lost track of time, and the Orc caught him. Instead of reacting with anger though, the orc seemed amused, and that was when Zaigou took his first lesson in the basics of magick. "Of course you're right, Orc's could never manage a Wizard's work. Regardless, as I was saying, there's no reason to limit yourself just because you don't fit in with the standard that's been written."
Everybody seemed preoccupied enough to not notice him, except for the...talking cat who was a teacher? That was strange but interesting, Aurok responded with raised eyebrows and an "Ok" before the cat continued. He listened to the cat as he introduced the people in the portraits. It seemed they were going to have to choose a path to follow based on one of these heroes. Aurok paced between the Fighter and the Barbarian, which appealed to part of his nature.
He was walking down the line of portraits and about to turn around and make his decision when he heard some one speak toward him. Looking around, and a bit down, he saw a Half-Elf greeting him. Well that was nice. "Hello Celir" he rumbled with a tusky smile "My name is Aurok." He was going to express his interest in the Barbarian path when he heard the cat and one of the others mention an Orc and couldn't help but overhear.
They weren't talking about him directly, he knew, but they were talking about where he came from. What he came from. Aurok ran a hand over his coarse hair and down his bestial face as some unpleasant memories flashed across his mind. They made him angry and sad, it was crucial though that he never let it get the best of him. He should focus on what he was he was here to do.
Aurok looked up and noticed the portrait he stopped in front of was the portrait of Sajan, the Monk. He looked so calm, peaceful, in balance. That's what he wanted. "I'm choosing this path."
Smiling she really did like the half elves for some reason " Nice I am choosing Druid wich I will have to let the professor know in just a bit." she replied this one was quiet talkative that's for sure, Ayla thought to her self. "um no i dont know him although he had a very interesting entrance." she mused as she fallowed along with the elf girl. As she listened to Celir bombard the man with questions, she tapped the elf girls shoulder and told her she would be right back. She then walked over to the professor and waited her turn to tell him the class she has chosen.
Celir smiled and waved 'bye' to Ayala as the elf walked towards the professor. She turned back to Aurok and looked up at the picture he had chosen.
"The Monk?" She asked, her head tilting as she stared up at the artwork. She looked back over at Aurok. "Any particular reason why?" She asked him. "I'm leaning towards the Ranger myself." She continued. She recognized the somewhat nervous babble escaping her lips, but couldn't seem to stop it. "My dad used to tell me stories about Harask." She glanced over to look at the picture of the dwarf before looking back at the half-orc. She flashed him another smile. "So why did you come to the academy?"
As the professor kept talking, Xavian nodded and nodded. Sometimes he listened and nodded, particularly when he heard a god he recognized such as Desna and Cayden Cailen, but other times he just waited until he heard the next god named, wishing he hadn't asked the professor for more information. And then the conversation turned to wizardry and that of orcs. Orcs were rather fun to provoke, though it was perhaps a dangerous hobby on the best of days.
"Ah yes," he said, contemplating the half-elf's words. "I've heard that before. Not about the wizard, but the general idea." He looked at the portraits again each in turn and re-evaluated each. Across the room he heard the words druid and monk come out. "I think," he said turning to the professor and the half-elf, "That cleric might be the path for me, but only if I can take the Goddess of Illusions as my patron goddess. And uh," he continued, now directing his attention to the half-elf, "Did you ever say what your name was? I must have missed it."
"Forgive me, I suppose I arrived too late for introductions. My name is Zaigou, though I've aso been referred to as The Gambler before, for uh... Obvious reasons." He responded tapping the deck of cards in his jacket. "I caught the end of your introduction, it is a pleasure to meet you." Zaigou stated politely. In his mind though, he was questioning the value of a Cleric. Cleric's frequently irritated him, although much less so than Paladin's, so he supposed a Cleric wasn't too bad.
"The Goddess of Illusions? The Seventh Veil?" The Professor smiles, "Yes, I think that can be arranged. Should have known you'd be a fan of illusion magics. They take a lot of imagination to use well: something I lack, personally. Illusion is one of my 'restricted schools' as a wizard. Otherwise, I'd just put an illusion over myself and pretend to be what I used to be while I taught you. At least until someone figured it out." He chuckles.
"From what I've witnessed... Celir intends to walk the path of the Ranger. Zaigou's... already started on the path of rogue, but we'll be helping him go further. Xavian's headed towards being a cleric - and good on him, healing is valuable in our line of work - Aurok is becoming a monk, Ayla shall become a druid, and... well, that just leaves Mirella, doesn't it?" Babar thinks about it for a moment, "Let's see... If Celir and Aurok focus on taking care of things close-up to enemies, Xavian with them to do as needed... Zaigou moving around to troubleshoot enemies or take them out faster... Ayla supporting with nature magic... I suppose that only leaves a source of magical damage, for a true 'balanced' set."
Mirella tuned out the others' chatter and concentrated on the portraits. She paced in front of them, her boots clomping loudly. She glanced over the half-orc whats-his-name, pausing at his swift decision. He seemed to know what he wanted, though perhaps a bit hastily. The discipline of the Monk would do him good. She continued her pacing. What did she really want to be? Yes, she had to watch for the group, but one couldn't be successful doing something ill-fitting. Unable to make up her mind, she tried a different tactic; she stopped randomly in front of a portrait and opened her eyes. The smirking face of the bard seemed to mock her for her foolishness. She scowled at Lem and continued her pacing.
Mirella's fine ear picked up the professor's wisdom from across the room. Magical… She immediately looked up at Seoni. The sorceress appeared to be smiling at her. The elf cocked her head at the portrait – was she really smiling at her, or was she simply an amiable woman in her day?
Did she just wink?
Mirella rubbed her eyes and ambled over to the professor, being careful not to step on him or his tail. "Professor Babar, I have determined I shall be a sorceress."
Aurok grunted absent mindedly, wondering what the way of the Monk held and where the path would lead. It occurred to him that he should probably give Celir a real answer. He turned his head and saw the Elf walking away to talk to some one else, then looked down to Celir and said "I came for a more hospitable lifestyle, a way to make a fortune, adventure, the same reasons anyone else comes I suppose. The path of the Monk may help me keep people safe." He gave her a small smile. "You would like to be a Ranger? They know many things about animals and beasts and I hear have been proven in combat, that can be helpful."
He looked over Celir briefly to see the other Elf, the final one to decide what path she would follow. "It looks like everyone has picked."
Celir nodded. She had turned some to look at the rest of the room as well.
"I wonder what happens next?" She asked aloud. Her eyes drifted up to the feline professor. She glanced back up at Auroc next to her. "Ya know, I think you might be the tallest person here." She gave him a grin before she tilted her head towards the group. "Come on." Not waiting for a reply and assuming he'd follow her. She turned and walked back to stand by Zaigou, bumping into him on purpose with a glint of playfulness in her eyes. She was always trying to bug the constantly calm man. It still proved to be rather impossible. She tugged at the half elf's sleeve to get his attention. "This is Aurok." She introduced the half-orc to her friend. She turned back to see if Aurok had followed her speaking as she did, "This is Zaigou." After that she turned her attention to look at the professor to see what would happen next.
"And pleased to meet you Zaigou the Gambler," Xavian replied with a bow and a flourish. "I prefer just card tricks myself. Do you know any?" He had seen a fair share of gambling when he had been at the inn, but he had always preferred the card tricks that could be performed. Of course, there were few that would want to play against him at cards once he showed them a trick or two, but that was fine by him. Every time he tried his hand at gambling, he always ended up losing.
"That's the one," he confirmed when Professor Babar tried to clarify just which deity he wished to follow. "And maybe someday I'll be strong enough to sustain one on you." Then again, Xavian had no idea what the professor used to look like, and he doubted he'd be able to resist something like giving the professor long eyebrows or maybe cat ears or antennae.
Just as the professor tallied up their classes strengths and determined their short-coming, Mirella stepped up to fill that role. Xavian found himself grinning. This, it seemed, was a good start for a bunch of strangers ... well, people he didn't know. It seemed that Zaigou and Lyte knew each other to some degree already. Talking about which, here came Lyte introducing the half-orc. Even from quite a few steps away, Xavian found that he had to crane upwards to look at the half-orc's face.
"Hi... Aurok," he said with no little uncertainty. "I'm, erm, Xavian." Another one he hadn't recognized from the round of introductions they had had. "I heard you picked the way of the monk," he added by ways of trying to make conversation. Really, it was hard to think of the half-orc as a calm-faced monk, but who was he to really judge? Hadn't he himself considered Sajan's path simply for his story? But then again, maybe there was a way out of conversing with the half-orc who was quite probably twice as tall as he was. Xavian turned to the professor, asking, "So now we've each picked a hero, what happens next?"
"Well, the next part is a little strange and exotic." Babar admits, leaping from his desk. He turns, swishing his paw to the side: the wooden wall in the back opens up in painstakingly slow speed. With a great deal of smoke, it appears that there are a variety of thumb-sized bottles in different colors: Red, Yellow, White, Green, Orange, and Purple. He trods back over to it, looking up at it. "You see, in order to support what will eventually be your powers... well, we'll need you to have bodies capable of doing so. It's this point where transmutation magics come into play. These are very rare to come across: you see, these potions permanently alter your body or mental abilities. They're very dangerous to use in large amounts, and they're easier to take for younger individuals, such as yourselves."
"These red ones are Extracts of Power. They add muscle tone and the knowledge of how to use it. The yellow ones here are Extracts of Quickness. They'll improve your reflexes and manual dexterity. The white ones here are Extracts of Life. Very important! They'll improve your health. The green ones are Extracts of Sentience: I'll be honest, I was tempted to take a few of these, myself. They'll increase your mental abilities. The orange ones here are Extract of Senses, and will increase your ability to perceive the world and contemplate what lies beyond. The purple ones are Extract of Fame. They'll increase your ability to turn your personality into a force. Now!"
"I think that your bodies will be able to handle... oh, twenty-five of these potions. They do have a bit of a... oh, what's the term I'm looking for... declining profits? No, no... well, it takes more to improve, the more you take of a single type. I suppose then, the question is what you should take!" He nods, "Well, for those of you who intend to enter close combat with an opponent: you'll want the Red, Yellow, or White. More physical might to strike things with swords or fists, greater dexterity to better aim a bow or dodge attacks, or perhaps a greater endurance to attacks? For those of you after a more studious sort of profession: you'll want to take the Green, Orange, or Purple in various amounts. An expansive mind will help you adapt skills. Becoming 'in tune' with your surroundings is helpful in a great deal of cases... finally, getting what you want through nonlethal means: talking rather than fighting, is always helpful."
"I've also found that several poisons increase your ability to imbibe these potions, but they reduce something." He gestures at a few darker, nastier-looking colored vials arrayed in the same way. "So it's possible to become weaker in order to improve upon something else, if you so desire."
"As always, I will be right here to answer your questions and offer advice."
Ability Scores!
Each character has six ability scores that represent his character's most basic attributes. They are his raw talent and prowess. While a character rarely rolls a check using just an ability score, these scores, and the modifiers they create, affect nearly every aspect of a character's skills and abilities. Each ability score generally ranges from 3 to 18, although racial bonuses and penalties can alter this; an average ability score is 10.
We'll be using the Purchase variation of generating ability scores. Each character receives a number of points to spend on increasing his basic attributes. In this method, all attributes start at a base of 10. A character can increase an individual score by spending some of his points. Likewise, he can gain more points to spend on other scores by decreasing one or more of hisability scores. No score can be reduced below 7 or raised above 18 using this method.
In the context of the game, you're all starting as completely average, and altering yourself with these potions.
Now, every score starts at 10: you don't need to add points to it to have a score of 10. However, that offers no bonuses or penalties to any skills or magic attached to it. The higher, the better! Since you have 25 points to spend, you've got a little bit of leeway in how you want your character to start out. The chart for how much a particular attribute costs is below:
Aurok looked around and it did look like he was the tallest here. He followed Celir toward the other students and stood near the Cat Professor with them and was introduced to them by Celir. His voiced rumbled out as he said "Hello" to Zaigou and tilted his head down to look at the Gnome. He could see that he was nervous, something he saw all too often. Aurok inclined his head to the Gnome, Xavian, and rumbled a "Hello" to him as well. Part of him detested the fear some people expressed upon seeing him, yet reaffirmed a part of himself. It caused him to grimace inwardly.
Now that everyone was set in their way it was time to move onto the next step of Herodom. The Cat Professor did something that made a piece of the wall move and exposed a lot of little potions. Apparently these were going to help make them Heroes. "So" he started speaking to the Professor "we drink them?" the Professor had said they would be beneficial, and they had access to poisons that would reduce one faculty to increase another, he had his doubts. Stepping closer, brushing past one of the Elves, he picked up a vial of red potion, Extract Of Power. It looked much smaller in his hand.
"That's correct," Babar nods, "The effects should take place immediately. Now, I will warn you that the transformations appear to be..." He pauses for a moment, "Entirely random." He continues, "As far as I have been told, their taste and the feeling they give you is entirely based around your own personality and upbringing. Your memories and interactions with others. The individual who made them: a half-orc individual like yourself, is a rather... unique sort of demi-caster known as an Alchemist. He refers to the body-altering potions as mutagenetic extracts. The ones that alter your mental facilities are mutacognitive extracts."
"I wouldn't worry, however. All of them are consumed: and none are dangerous... well, save for the poisons. I'd consider four to be the maximum you should drink of those. Anything more and you might end up... well, I'd have to stop you before then." He chuckles, ears drooping a little, "We wouldn't need students in horrible permanent-nightmare comas."
Zaigou did some quick calculations. He knew he would need to be stronger as an adventurer, but as a rogue, his speed and stealth were of top priority. He considered himself in fine enough health as it was, and didn't care to bother increasing it. Knowledge was a blessing, and he knew he'd need it, but he also had to keep in mind his limits. A small boost of logic would do him good as well. Lastly, well, who wouldn't want to be a smooth talker? Zaigou had made his choices. Although he desired to increase his dexterity to insanely high odds, he couldn't bring himself to weaken himself in the process. So instead he made do with what he could and decided on training to make himself better.
Startled a bit as the Orc brushed past her she decided she wouldn't worry about it and distract her self, it was probably an accident being all excited and what not with the potions. Fiddling with her piercings on her ears Ayala thought about the potions and which ones she needed and wanted. The red ones were to increase strength and the inky nasty looking ones were to decrease in something, with the poisons we can only have four with out hurting our selves. She continued to think to herself trying to decide what to do and it turning out the way she wanted. Getting a bit frustrated she folded her arms, yellow increases dexterity, white is health ill definitely need that one. she went through what each color was mentally figuring out which ones would benefit her more being a druid.
