(The skeletal monk, once abbot of the Ming-Yo temple complex, is well satisfied with the honesty and forthcoming nature of the supplicants who have entered his sanctuary. These are his words, more or less...)
The noble Tsuruchi Zenako, showing the true spirit of the samurai, was quick to admit that her ancestral honor and family obligations would not allow her to properly bear the burden and honor of the Jade Yari. For this we honor her and the Tsuruchi Family -- may their arrows fly ever true to their targets.
The nezumi Til'k'chek, far from his own lands yet fighting fiercely as a Champion of the Temples here in the Empire, also showing the dedication of purpose required of such a champion, was quite honest and also declined the honor of bearing this burden. For this we praise him and honor him for his dedication -- we believe his aid will be a great boon to whomever does take up the burden of the Jade Yari.
The humble monk Isaku, although apparently startled that he might be chosen for such a boon, is willing to give up his arsenal of weaponry and accept the Jade Yari. (We also note that he has apparently taken up the burden of the Kimono of the Ki Warrior as well, once worn by one of our subordinates, may he finally have found peace...) But the monk seems to defer to his imperial companion -- is this true humility, or is the monk simply defering to the sorcerer out of social custom? For let it be known, although the Miya family name is well honored by us, the Jade Yari does not require one of high born status as a wielder. And it is clear that, although some shamanistic capabilities are also pusued by this monk, that his preferred activity is combat with his enemies. So perhaps Isaku is the appropriate choice? The Jade Yari could find much use in his hands.
The imperial Miya Hatori, showing the grace, style, and diplomatic ability which is the hallmark of his ancestry, is a sorcerer, true -- but sorcery is no manufactured weapon, any more than are the empty hands and shamanic spells which Isaku might wield. The Jade Yari would not object to such a wielder, provided that wielder also proved to be willing to use the Jade Yari as well. And from what we have heard, although not a warrior in the sense of a samurai, sohei, or monk, nonetheless this sorcerer is no stranger to combat -- we believe he would use the Jade Yari in a reasonable manner as well. Yet as a sorcerer, even in another form, he may fall below the standard of excellence that the Jade Yari would seek in a wielder... Perhaps Hatori might be willing to train a bit more to increase his combat abilities? To train for a while as a sohei, gaining the martial prowess and further discipline of a temple warrior (and a weapon focus feat in some particular sized version of the yari), under the tutelage of his sohei companions? We believe that training as a sohei is appropriate for the members of the Imperial Vassal families still, and such training would provide sufficient martial prowess for the Jade Yari to be pleased to have him as a wielder... (With the rest of Winter ahead, Hatori could train heavily with Zenako and Til'k'chek, there would be enough time to gain the abilities of an entire new class, and I am certain that both Zenako and Til'k'chek would be honored to train Hatori in the necessary discipline.) One additional concession that the Yari might make of him is that Miya Hatori summon only Lawful creatures to fight for him with his summoning spells. Is this a further sacrifice the imperial sorcerer would be willing to make?
Yet there is one more among you -- a lady who seems somewhat uneasy in our presence. Has she anything to say for herself? (Ashiko, this means you!) It seems that her nature may not be fully in tune with that of the Jade Yari -- yet despite this, she has shown the Will to enter our presence, and bears the noble bearing and proud countenance of a Scorpion Shugenja... Does she, perhaps, wish to bear the burden of the Jade Yari as well? For it would take some time, but eventually, if she was willing, her nature would come into alignment with that of the Jade Yari and her abilities would match those she now has... Yet as a shugenja, perhaps unlike Miya Hatori, she would be less interested in engaging in combat and more interested in pursuing her goals of gaining greater harmony with the elements?
It seems to me that, of the five of you who have come here, two stand out as quite acceptable candidates at this time. It also seems that Isaku is willing to defer to Miya Hatori in this matter. Both appear to be much in tune with the nature of the Jade Yari, but Miya Hatori appears to be more interested in seeing that the Celestial Order be maintained, whereas Isaku appears to be more interested in perfecting his martial skills. Miya Hatori would, if he continues to act according to past tendencies, often take a form which is, although apparently rather inhuman, nonetheless that of a powerful lawful creature of large size, and would be able to use the Jade Yari in its greatest form -- and even likely to do so -- but is perhaps a little too focussed upon spellcasting at the expense of combat ability...
(The skeletal monk meditates for a while, and then continues -- assuming that Ashiko does not chime in begging for the chance to take up the Jade Yari herself.)
It is our decision that, if the imperial Miya Hatori is willing to foreswear the summoning of any non-Lawful creatures to do his bidding, and is further willing to sacrifice one level of spellcasting prowess to become more capable in combat, swearing to train to gain the discipline and martial prowess demanded of a sohei, that the sorcerer indeed be granted the honor of bearing the Jade Yari.
If such training and sacrifice are not palatable to the imperial sorcerer -- and there is no dishonor in holding to his current plans, merely a slight incompatibility with the desires of the Jade Yari itself -- then it is our decision that Isaku, willling to forego several weapons, including one of Mighty Smiting, be granted the Jade Yari to wield in the service of Law and Order.
Thus it is the choice of Miya Hatori -- to serve as the bearer of the Jade Yari himself under those conditions, or to reward the humble Isaku with that honor. Which shall he choose? Please feel free to discuss this amongst yourselves, for it is no trivial choice, to be sure...
(The skeletal monk bows and awaits further discussion and/or replies.)
(GM interpretations of Eric's/Hatori's responses... And thanks for discussing with Orion the option. Had Ashiko not made her save and not been able to approach, obviously she would not have been considered to be a supplicant -- but the skeletal monk was not about to dismiss her out of hand simply because she appeared somewhat uncomfortable! The monk bows in the elegant shugenja's direction, clearly respectful of the divine spellcaster and her responsible adherance to her own Path.)
Hatori muses for a while, perhaps discussing his choices with his companions, and then approaches the skeletal monk. He explains that he is willing to accept the limitation on his summoning of creatures, agreeing that it IS a sacrifice, for some of his intended summonings would have been elementals, which are apparently unacceptable to the Jade Yari. Yet for the honor of bearing the Jade Yari, Hatori will accept that limitation willingly.
However, Hatori, although quite respectful of the sohei he has seen in action, suggests a slightly different approach to the idea of sacrificing a level of sorcery to gain a level of fighting prowess, and suggest to the monk that Eldritch Knight might be a suitable class as well. The monk, unfamiliar with the details of such an exotic path of advancement, wishes to know the details, and Hatori gladly describes the class.
The monk considers this path for a while, perhaps getting reactions from the Jade Yari itself. His initial suggestion of sohei was made for the purpose of increasing the imperial sorcerer's ability to engage in melee through the obvious boons of the Frenzy, which although it would not increase Hatori's base attack bonus, would nonetheless increase his number of attacks etc. and thus result in an immediate and effective increase in ability -- after which he assumed the sorcerer would continue to advance in the arcane arts, whether as an oracle, sorcerer, or whatever. However, the path of the Eldritch Knight does appear to offer its own advantages -- it offers the sorcerer a path which after the initial investment in combat ability alone, allows the sorcerer to advance in both melee and magical capabilities...as well as providing an immediate increase in the sorcerer's ability to strike things. Thus it would seem to be a class that provides some definite initial combat advantages -- though not as much as a single level in sohei -- and then continues to provide combat advantages through time, should the sorcerer continue to follow that path.
Hmmmm... That sounds like a proper path to take. If Hatori is willing to devote a significant investment to training as an Eldritch Knight (say at least 1 level out of every two, starting with the next level, for as long as he bears the Jade Yari), then the monk agrees. It shows suitable respect for the art of combat and the purpose of the Jade Yari, and sacrifices a level of sorcery, which is the intent of the monk's conditions. He might even have suggested it, had he been more familiar with the possible paths an arcane caster might take to achieve some modicum of combat excellence... :)
Thus, if Hatori agrees to forego the summoning of non-Lawful creatures, as he has said he would be willing to do, and agrees to train as an Eldritch Knight for at least half of his advancement from here on out (for as long as he bears the Jade Yari), starting with his upcoming level, the monk will present the Jade Yari to him. (Alternatively, Hatori may train for a single level as a sohei and similarly satisfy the Jade Yari's desires.)
OOC Rulings:
Yep, can take whatever level, sohei 1 or eldritch knight 1, instead of oracle 4. In this campaign at least, I am not requiring characters to specify their new class beforehand, though I definitely appreciate it when characters do know what they are working towards, as it helps with some of the more nebulous aspects of understanding the characters.
MQ1 -- Nope, sorry, sohei spells are divine in nature and unavailable to be learned as a sorcerer. What a single level as a sohei WOULD allow would be the use of scrolls and wands of sohei spells. Scroll success would be used at 'caster level 0'. (I think in 3.5 they may have made paladins and rangers able to use such items only once they officially get spells and a level/2 caster level, but in 3.0 a single level of such a class does allow the use of spell completion/trigger items, which is why at a lower level Mulan was able to get and use a wand of CLW.) So if you think that would be enough inducement, and don't want to commit to too many levels as an EK, then you could take the Sohei level and then worry about it later.
As for the EK commitment -- assuming you intended to hold on to the Jade yari for the rest of your life (and perhaps beyond) -- then you would be committed to taking at least 6 such levels by 20th level, i.e. 10th, 12th, 14th, 16th, 18th, and 20th. You could take more levels, or take some of the EK levels sooner and then go back to something else, or whatever -- but it would be a 6-level-minimum commitment, leaving only 5 other levels able to be taken in other classes. But that would still enable getting up to oracle 8, eventually, if that was a continuing focus as well. And since every level of EK beyond the 1st does advance your spellcasting as a sorcerer, that is probably acceptable.
MQ2 -- Well, most weapons cannot change form, so this probably isn't a question that has come up in the past! The question is, can someone actually train in such a manner? If able to gain a +1 to hit with the Jade Yari in shortspear form, why wouldn't the character be able to use that bonus with a normal shortspear? I could see it perhaps gained as some sort of divine boon -- but not through normal training. So I gotta say no on this one too...
However, the Weapon Focus is a pre-defined level 1 bonus feat for a sohei, intended to provide members of that class with a weapon at which they start out at least equal to normal warriors in terms of total bonus to hit with general weapons, making up for the +0 BAB at 1st level. So as a sohei, the feat was locked into one option, and the monk (and Jade Yari) would be affronted if it was taken in some type of weapon that the Jade Yari could not take the form of! So that is why it was specified as part of that deal.
But as an Eldritch Knight, the character's normal options would be much less limited -- any fighter bonus feat that other prerequisites are satisfied for would be possible. The +1 BAB gained at first level plus the fighter bonus feat provide a sufficient amount of devotion to combat as to satisfy the monk (and the Jade Yari itself) that the sorcerer is serious about his commitment, which is the point. Therefore, subject to the Jade Yari's approval (i.e. run the choice past the GM first), Hatori may have his pick of the feats on the fighter bonus feat list, including those added to the list from O.A. I.e., if Hatori's INT is 13+, the Jade Yari, being a Defending weapon, would certainly not object to Expertise. If DEX 13+, Dodge feat would be fine. If keeping the missile weapon powers it currently has, i.e. Returning and Distance, then Point Blank Shot would have been acceptable, though since you already have it that isn't a choice. And so on...
So Hatori could accept the 'new deal' without needing to specify a specific feat today -- just be aware that the Jade Yari MIGHT object to a fighter bonus feat that it considered trivial or inappropriate. Essentially, when you work out your EK level details, you would just need to run your choice past me, I'll probably say 'no problem' and that will be that. But obviously something like "Weapon Focus (Ray)" would not get past the Jade Yari's BS-detector... :)
With respect to the imperial sorcerer's wakizashi...the Jade Yari would accept Hatori bearing it simply as a badge of status appropriate to his rank, but drawing and wielding it would be a no-no! As a symbolic acceptance of this, Hatori could essentially 'bind' the Wakizashi into its scabbard with a cord, a nice silk cord with tassels perhaps, that would effectively 'peace-bond' the weapon.
Also, a question you haven't asked yet but which I can answer in advance -- would the Jade Yari object to being 'helld' in the Glove of Storing? CAN it be held in that manner? Although it is an artifact, I would think so, unless the item itself (or the description of artifacts) specifically prevents it. HOWEVER -- it would not be able to be mentally commanded to change size, nor would it grant the Initiative bonus or free use of the Blind-Fight feat, while tucked away in that manner, or provide the ability to Detect Chaos, or anything else that it can normally do. Not to mention it might be somewhat insulting to be hidden away where its glory cannot be seen! So it might well object on principle to being placed out of action in that manner, that would kinda defeat its nature to some extent.
SO -- Miya Hatori, descendant of a great Celestial Dragon, Oracle and Sorcerer, what say you? Sohei and weapon focus? Significant dedication to the Eldritch Knight path? Make your choice!
-- Ernie III / DrakaraGM