tries to poke myself in the arm to draw a drop of blood
Fair enough, there might just not be anything.
Oh well, how goes the replacement search?
Does Koldanar have any ideas about what to do with Rugger?
Rugger, what’s up with the Boo (in a loud voice) don’t you WANT glee to trust you?
No blood, no pain.
(Shakes head suddenly, blinks, looks around quickly).
“Sorry guys, I guess I zoned out for a bit there. Must have been that weird chick.”
Hey. I’m the new Antinor. I’ve been following along and have a pretty good handle on our story this far. Let me know if I seem not to know something important.
NAF, do you know any rituals to determine if he’s even alive?
I thought I asked before but I’ll ask again; tdn, do I have any knowledge of a creature like that from either rumor or tribal knowlege?
If you asked before, I missed it. 
It’s well know that the dead walk amongst us, but usually they don’t look like anything substantial. They might appear transparent or misty. That does not describe Santo!
Oh, and welcome Jimmy!
Santo, do you remember anything else about the dream yet?
What about before the dream? Do you remember what happened when the… lady thing… touched you? Do you remember anything before that?
Welcome back, Antinor!
Hiya Jimmy!
GM, on Jimmy’s suggestion…do I know if Rugger is even alive?
Well, he’s moving around and talking. But he doesn’t bleed. And he was sure dead for several hours.
Just a thought – wouldn’t the true test of aliveness be the ownership of a soul? (Perhaps not – the dead have been known to have them, after all.)
That’s what I’m thinking. Obviously something’s gone horribly wrong here. He’s animate, but he’s not human. He’s apparently not your typical undead. But he’s gotta be something.
We don’t know what went on with that Passage of the Soul rite, incidentally. Maybe he “passed on” and we brought him back.
So - can we (can NAF, I guess) detect the presence of a soul? Can we detect the presence of evil? Can we detect curses or enchantments on Santo?
Well, am I able to determine that? It seems like the type of thing I would have trouble with. I did invoke the passage of the soul…so his might have moved on without him. If that’s the case, I am REALLY sorry for leaving you a soulless abomination Rugger.
Really, really, sorry.
I can find nothing that detects souls, evil, goodness, etc. There are some rituals, however, that can bless arms or armor. They only benefit Laranians. At least you might be able to tell if he’s still part of the flock.
Well, I might as well give one of those a shot. Let’s bless his armor.
OK, awesome.
If you invoke the prayer, all of his armor is affected, so at least you don’t have to bless every gauntlet, boot, vambrace, etc., as long as he is wearing it. (If he’s not, then each item must be blessed separately.) If the prayer is successful, it will be toughened against all BEP impacts. It will also take on a reddish hue.
Whether or not it reflects his piety may or may not depend on if he’s wearing it at the time.
You must touch it to bless it.
ETA: Santo, you’re still sitting down in your grave. Do you want to climb out first? And everyone else – how deep is the hole?
It’s deep, but not deep enough to keep anybody in against his will. Had to keep snooping wolves away, right? Your prototypical grave is six feet, so let’s call it that.
Shit, I don’t like any of this. If NAF is going to have to get in close for this deal, let’s get Santo out of there instead of NAF climbing into a grave to do it. If Santo needs help out, we’ll extend a branch or something. When NAF performs the ritual, I’m going to stand close by in case there’s any funny business, hand on weapon.
But not too close. Outside arm’s length, for instance.
Did we know for sure he was pious enough to set this thing off in the first place?
Damn, Jimmy, you are a thoughtful and insightful version of Antinor! (And so was Antinor, of course.)
Santo can’t climb out on his own. (ETA: It’s 6 feet.) He needs a helping hand, or a branch (there are plenty about), or some rope, which you have.
Santo seemed pious enough, to be sure, but the armor blessing has not been tried on any of you. What if – and this is just for giggles – it turned red on Koldanar but not on NAF?
Experiments could be done, but at which point do you test Larani too much, and she rebels? It might be a bad idea to piss off a god, after all!
Hm. Yeah. So we’d risk touching Santo, who may have become some kind of wraith-thing when some other wraith-thing touched him, and not necessarily even learn anything from it.
Well, I’m definitely not acting unilaterally here.
Rugger, anything really un-monsterish to say to the rest of us?
Can Santo climb out of a 6-foot hole? I guess it all depends on his stature/weight/strength/agility/dexterity, right?
For the purposes of pedantry, I suppose I should describe how tall and heavy you all are.
Antinor/Jimmy Ht=66" Wt=160#
NAF Ht=65" Wt=165#
glee Ht=69" Wt=157#
Santo Ht=67" Wt=149#
Kaldanor Ht=72" Wt=170#
Weights may vary, as you’ve all been fasting/gorging on your adventure.
tries harder
Just something about needing to find a priest. I sort of blacked out, kind of like when you stand up way too fast. When I came too, you were all looking at me funny.
Glad to have you aboard, mate!