- Neko Bijin
http://hsk.acsage.com
Harvestgain Lifemage

I knew I'd like Neko Bijin before we even met. Previously she had written me under the name "Nitpicker" about the proper pronunciation of vitae. I am always well-disposed towards anyone who gives me a chance to show off my knowledge of Classical Latin. It is seldom that one is presented the opportunity! Bijin, of course, means pretty woman, literally "beautiful  person" in Japanese. (Yes, I am just pretending to know Japanese. Neko Bijin told me that. :)

Neko Bijin is one of the rarest creatures in Dereth: a Life Mage right out of the box! She says she dropped alchemy though, because she couldn't figure it out. That was, of course, "back in the day, when all was new and wondrous," before all these awful spoiler sites popped up on the web. ;-)

I recently had a request from a visitor to add people's stats to the Runway page, so others could get an idea about how they crafted their character. Neko Bijin graciously. She says there are no trade secrets to her template. She specialized Mana Conversion and Arcane Lore, and kept Assess Creature, Assess Person, and Healing trained. She may be one of the last mages in Dereth with Item or Creature, but she loves her character too much to start over.

Since she's Sho, she has Unarmed as a freebie skill. Below she's posing with her Hamud's Pyreal Katar and a gorgeous Gold Yoroi set. Her skill is actually high enough to use the weapon. It's very effective, she says, after a nice Imperil VI. She also has the Impious Staff in her possession, but it's only for show.

Neko Bijin tells me that she wasn't always monarch of her allegiance. Her Patron actually swore to her when she leveled past him. I almost didn't mention that because I don't want Ned Cleversun getting any silly ideas. ;-) I asked her a little more about her allegiance. Was there anything about them she'd like to mention? Yes, she said. They're the coolest group on Harvestgain. And the smartest, most polite, most humble, etc. etc.... :)

At one point while we were hanging out, fooling around, Neko Bijin exclaimned about some comment or other, "Dereth is full of wonders!" Made me laugh. That's one of her appealing characteristics. She makes them laugh and then they swear allegiance to her. It's certainly as good a system as I've ever heard! She says she does her best to bring mirth to the dour world of powerleveling.

As a Life Mage, powerleveling others is her specialty. 

Neko Bijin tells you, "I've raised up a bunch of scrubs into the powerful army now at my command!"
Neko Bijin thunders.

I was appropriately impressed!

Some other items Neko Bijin offered to show me were some of her orbs and her Fez collection. She's just a few points shy of using her Life V Silver Orb. The Velvet Gloves are the ones she's been using since she lost her Unarm Vs on the Obsidian Plain. We were having a great time, passing stories back and forth about this and that. Soon, however, it was time to stop the Show and Tell and go have dinner.

You tell Neko Bijin, "Thanks for posing! You will make a good page!"
Neko Bijin tells you, "Best compliment I've ever gotten in the game."
Neko Bijin tells you, "Except of course for, Hey Sexy!  Wanna be my vassal!?!"

Well, it sure beats, "u ned a patron?" Thanks again, Neko Bijin. You *did* make a good page! Congratulations on attaining Rank 5!!!

Neko Bijin's Armor:
Type	Gold Kabution	Gold Yoroi Cuirass	Gold Yoroi Sleeves	Gold Yoroi Leggings	Gold Scale Gauntlets	Gold Sollerets	Suikan Life Mast Robe
Craftsmanship		finely	finely	well	exquisite		finely
Value	5881	11470	7015	?	3131	2842	45600
Burden	635	1903	668	1074	750	562	200
Armor Level	182	151	149	154	118	130
Spells	Imp V, Arm Exp II	Imp II	Imp IV	Imp V	Imp IV	Imp III, Acid Bane IV	War, Item Cret Inept O III, Imp IV, Life Mast O IV, Will O III
Spellcraft		46	153				270
Max Mana	723	196	489	566	480	312	416
Duration	1/24	1/59	1/29		1/30	1/29	1/8
Difficulty	52	13	66	204	62	149	150
Restrictions/ Comments	Melee 278+, Sho	Missile 66+, 4 Tourmaine	Melee 173+		Missile 164+, 2 Gr Garnet		Sho, Life 190+
Neko Bijin's Equipment:
Type	Torch	Hamud's Pyreal Katar	Ivory Orb	Silver Orb	Ivory Orb	Impious Staff	Onyx Bracelet
Craftsmanship		exquisite		nearly flawless			well
Value	10	2500	2939	7865	5615	12000	2480
Burden	135	120	50	50	50	50	60
Damage	1-2 Fire	3-7 Sl/P				61-120 P
Speed/Range	(40)	(15)				R: 80
Spells		BD III, SK II, HS II, Quik O III	Life IV, Rej III	Reg V, Life V	Strength  O V, Life III	Force Bolt VI	Mana Conv IV
Spellcraft		150		220	203	250	146
Max Mana		300	1050	1945	1528	3600	834
Duration		1/10	1/24	1/20	1/30	Cost:150	1/24
Difficulty		135	148	220	203	50	146
Restrictions/ Comments		Unarm 175+	1 Amber	3 Sunstone	4 Amber	Gharun, War 270+	1 Red Jade
Neko Bijin's Equipment:
Type	Silver Necklace	Gromnie Hide Shoes	Velvet Gloves	Velvet Fez	Wool Fez
Craftsmanship		nearly flawless	finely	magnif	finely
Value	2554	2870	1272	1399	624
Burden	45	90	38	23	23
Armor Level		10
Spells	Arcane Enl S IV	Sprint S III	Unarm III	Magic Item Exp III	Item Exp III
Spellcraft	138	102	101	99	102
Max Mana	900	436	343	347	294
Duration	1/24	1/30	1/30	1/30	1/30
Difficulty	138	102	101	99	102
Restrictions/ Comments	4 Moonst	2 Peridot