Arkwright
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@Wonka- Have you had any ideas for a backstory yet? Your character + Profile pic suggests a jester which might not be appropriate for our group-dynamics; we're a little bit more serious, though our characters do joke a bit.
@Sakura- Could I get a bit more detail in your backstory about why your character isn't Evil with a capital E like most drows? That race is a pretty tricky one to justify and I guess I'd just like to request something slightly more complex then 'he just didn't feel very drow-like'.
| Naberius, "Blast" |
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In the way of spending, check some of what Blast did. Certainly, I spent a fair amount on spells, but beyond that, he's a 3/4 BAB who focuses more on his bombs than actual combat. I spent most of my money on some flavor stuff--things for his room, mostly.
| Toranoko |
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Thinking about how he is shaping up, I think his alignment would probably be Neutral rather than Neutral Good.
Growing up he did all sorts of "evil" things, but not because he wanted to be evil, or liked it, or anything like that. He was just quite pragmatic about these things. Poison this aristocrat, because if you don't she'll kill you. Execute this commoner because Grandmother said so. Torture that slave to get information from her (because if you don't, you'll be tortured).
That sort of thing.
He was never in any danger of getting any real power or authority, so he didn't really feel the need to protect anything other than his own hide. And, since is is "just a boy" -- and not even a warrior at that -- most of the attention was on his sisters.
At this point he wants to be good ... but he's not very good at it. Like, in a recent scene he would have attempted a Coup de Grace on the downed half-elf. Because every Drow knows that that's what you do to enemies that try to kill you -- you kill them before they can succeed. OOC, however, I would be hoping for one of the "goodie-goodies" to go "Wait! You can't do that!". This would, IC, confuse him ... but that's one of the things he loves about the surface world.
In the end, he would probably wind up doing some stuff that would really tick-off the Paladin -- but it would also be clear to the Paladin that he's trying to repent. More than a century of ingrained cultural training can't be eliminated over night, and he's got almost no training on this "good deeds" stuff.
| DM Heterocephalus |
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Hi long overdued but this is the back ground. Warning its gritty and dark.
Razzle Dazzle Razzle Dazzle Razzle Dazzle Razzle Dazzle Razzle Dazzle Razzle Dazzle Razzle Dazzle Razzle Dazzle Razzle Dazzle Razzle Dazzle Razzle Dazzle Razzle Dazzle Razzle Dazzle ....
Wanda hugs her knees as she sits in a corner murmuring incoherently to herself. Recalling her dark memories....
It's your turn next girl ahahaha!!
A half naked man rolls off the bed revealing a naked woman lying on the bed.
You mother ain't half that bad. Now let's check you out.
No!! Not my daughter
Shut up B**ch!!
The hairy chested fat man whipped out a dagger and gutted the naked woman. As the woman coughed blood as her intestines started dropping out she cursed and whispered to her daughter.
Revenge me...
Wanda cried as the large obese men lifted her off the feet and threw her onto the bed despite her screams and resistance.
Razzle Dazzle Razzle Dazzle Razzle Dazzle Razzle Dazzle Razzle Dazzle Razzle Dazzle Razzle Dazzle Razzle Dazzle Razzle Dazzle Razzle Dazzle Razzle Dazzle Razzle Dazzle Razzle Dazzle ....
Wanda took out a locket of a photo of her mother as she cried. A large man lay at her feet snoring away as his companions lie on the floor giggling and laughing mesmerized in a world of their own.
Wanda thanked Desna for the chance for revenge. It is sweet.
After the rape, Wanda was left for dead on the streets of Cheliax. The man who raped her was a Cheliaxian Lord. A traveling troupe came across her and a woman took her in upon seeing her broken form. Her name was Infrit Sovehand, a local clown and jester and also a magician in her own rights. Magic of illusion, that's what people pay to watch anyway. They pay money to see things unbelievable, they seek not to believe what they see but yet the mystery of the unbelievable is made believable to them. Such is the promiscuity of the human mind.
And that is what Wanda grew up and thrived in. Remembering her mother's last words.....
Revenge Me...
She removed the blowdart containing the sleep venom from the fat man's neck. As he stirred from his slumber, he screamed as Wanda gutted his guts and sliced off his penis. She picks up the severed manhood and thrusted it into his mouth as he choked on his own penis.
Satisfied, Wanda smiled and left the room.
Razzle Dazzle Razzle Dazzle....
Time to seek all Cheliaxian Men for their sins.
| Gunser of Biston |
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You know we have a paladin, and a cad who refused outright to kill a very dangerous foe? And we're about to let another guy walk away?
I think we have to talk about just what we intend. Because I don't see one of these pitches working at all, and the other will need to pretty much write with the paladin's player to surf that edge. Which might be very rewarding.
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Arkwright
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@Tora- I realize that playing a bad-ish character trying to be good is often excellent RP material, but we've got some pretty Good players in this group and even pragmatic-neutral actions might be pretty divisive. How would you feel about your character preferring to voice what he wants to do rather than just stepping up and doing it first? 'Better to ask forgiveness than permission' may be a very poor maxim for being in this group.
@DM Hetero- Okay; thus far i'm seeing it as your player needs a therapist and a padded cell rather than to join a mission to down Cheliax. Also the backstory doesn't tell me a great deal about what your character is actually like. Currently I am getting a very very very strong 'serial killer' vibe from the story and I doubt that's what you want to convey. Could you try and edge more on the brighter side of grey?
| Wanda Wonka |
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Now that you mentioned...its really kinda scary and she does need therapy. LOL DID another backstory.
Wanda grew up in a community in the city, Katapesh. The Vishkanya tribe lived in relative peace for a long time in a section of abandoned sewers near the waterfront selling and making poison -- they would venture to the surface every few days and hold a market for rare trading goods and poisons they had made. Wanda’s father was especially fond of poison concoction. It was said that Wanda must have had some talent in him, the way she handled the mixtures of these poisons.
As she grew older, Wanda found himself drawn to the playground that was civilization. Exploring the metropolis above, she observed the nuances of city life with a sort of guarded contempt -- not because he was jealous of their life’s complicated and unpredictable opportunities, nor because she felt entitled in her own, structured existence. Rather, she merely watched and observed, and eventually decided that she could do everything they were doing on the surface, and probably do it better. She learned the ropes of social interactions by eavesdropping and paying close attention to the locals everywhere they went -- eventually, she began making friends.
Because of her race's charismatic talent, she learned to adapt to and fit in with the new culture very quickly, and soon spent almost more time above ground than below. Wanda began frequenting taverns and city markets near the waterfront, where she felt most comfortable. It was here that she was introduced to a group of poor, young riff raff who quickly adopted her.
Unfortunately, peaceful times with friends on the waterfront didn’t last: an especially brutal merchants quarrel broke out one particularly rough year for the market between the Katapesh and Chelexian merchants, and Katapesh’s waterfront became something of a underground battleground. Wanda and her friends were soon picked up by a powerful merchant, Cain Deckerman, who offered them good pay to serve as footsoldiers in the new, bloody, and illegal war. When her friends accepted this chance for fortune and glory, Wanda, who now felt at home with the gang, followed suit.
Wanda found that she was not particularly suited to the open warfare skirmishes that broke out every once in a while, but rather served better gathering information about the enemy’s goals, movements, and, most importantly, their product shipments. She also learned illusion magic from the merchant's Hedge Magician and got herself aligned with the mysteries of the Heaven. After several months of magic training, formal instruction on the art of poisons, and even more standard schooling, Wanda had been sculpted into a powerful tool for Cain’s uses.
The war was not going well, however, and several of Wanda’s friends had succumbed to the battlefield. The Katapesh community was becoming ever more divided, and the city itself was beginning to take sides among the battling merchants. Finally, a substantial bribe from the Aspic Consortium bought over the local law enforcement, who suddenly snapped down on Cain’s operation, citing dozens of infractions that before had been “overlooked.”
The prospects look bleak, and he hired on extra help to move to Osirion. He invited Wanda to come along.
Wanda enjoyed getting to know a new city, meeting new people and another new culture, but unfortunately she would not be there long. Soon, Cain caught word of that some Chelexian Lords is trying to kill him. He paid some bribes, made up an identity, and secured Wanda a slot in the party being sent to Cheliax. Wanda now joins the party under a cover for Cain’s conspiracy.
| Gunser of Biston |
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I don't know if the GM intends new PCs to be outside the Eight, or not.
But if he intends to keep the Eight(or the Seven, or the Nine...) as a conceit of the setting and game, then you really need to read the Gameplay tab from the beginning.
Summary from high up:
Ancient conspiracy against Cheliax.
Eight empowered persons, bound with subtle and powerful magics to each other, and to the mission: tear it down.
The last of them, rots in a Chelaxian prison.
Until fate hands him eight people with nothing to lose, with hatred for Cheliax, and with no other options.
We are the Eight. (And we've got backstory) :)
| DM Heterocephalus |
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how about this? Betrayed by Chelexians.
Wanda grew up in a community in the city, Cheliax. The Vishkanya tribe lived in relative peace for a long time in a section of abandoned sewers near the waterfront selling and making poison -- they would venture to the surface every few days and hold a market for rare trading goods and poisons they had made. Wanda’s father was especially fond of poison concoction. It was said that Wanda must have had some talent in him, the way she handled the mixtures of these poisons.
As she grew older, Wanda found himself drawn to the playground that was civilization. Exploring the metropolis above, she observed the nuances of city life with a sort of guarded contempt -- not because he was jealous of their life’s complicated and unpredictable opportunities, nor because she felt entitled in her own, structured existence. Rather, she merely watched and observed, and eventually decided that she could do everything they were doing on the surface, and probably do it better. She learned the ropes of social interactions by eavesdropping and paying close attention to the locals everywhere they went -- eventually, he began making friends.
Because of her race's charismatic talent, she learned to adapt to and fit in with the new culture very quickly, and soon spent almost more time above ground than below. Wanda began frequenting taverns and city markets near the waterfront, where she felt most comfortable. It was here that she was introduced to a group of poor, young riff raff who quickly adopted her.
Unfortunately, peaceful times with friends on the waterfront didn’t last: an especially brutal merchants quarrel broke out one particularly rough year for the market between the Chelexian merchants, and Cheliax’s waterfront became something of a underground battleground. Wanda and her friends were soon picked up by a powerful merchant, Cain Deckerman, who offered them good pay to serve as footsoldiers in the new, bloody, and illegal war. When her friends accepted this chance for fortune and glory, Wanda, who now felt at home with the gang, followed suit.
Wanda found that she was not particularly suited to the open warfare skirmishes that broke out every once in a while, but rather served better gathering information about the enemy’s goals, movements, and, most importantly, their product shipments. She also learned illusion magic from the merchant's Hedge Magician and got herself aligned with the mysteries of the Heaven. After several months of magic training, formal instruction on the art of poisons, and even more standard schooling, Wanda had been sculpted into a powerful tool for Cain’s uses.
The war was not going well, however, and several of Wanda’s friends had succumbed to the battlefield. The Cheliax community was becoming ever more divided, and the city itself was beginning to take sides among the battling merchants. To end the war, Cain charged Wanda's to use her most powerful poison to silenced off the opposition leader. Remembering her father's unique venom, she stole it and deployed it through a blowgun as it silently struck the Chelexian merchant in the neck on one of his morning walks.
Thus the war ended as Cain emerged victorious, however the Chelexian merchant she killed was associated with the Aspis Consortium as they seek to find the killer. Tracking the unique composition of th epoison, they found that it is linked to the Vishkanya community beneath the city as they send the guard and killed all of them.
Enraged, Wanda approached Cain for his help in deploying the troop to defend her family. Instead, she was ambushed during the meeting by the Aspis Consortium and arrested. Cain just shrugged and remarked.
No offence it's just business and it's the Aspis Consortium we are talking about. They promised me a few trade offers i cannot turn down... you are not good for business. It's the Cheliaxian way.
Filled with hatred towards Cain and the Cheliaxian ways, Wanda was thrown into prison and sentenced to life imprisonment awaiting her unknown fate.
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Arkwright
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@DM Hetero- I like; however, how would you feel about Wanda having spent several years in prison? It would justify the war being over and would mean that Wanda was 'starting fresh' without as much local knowledge, and it would mean that Cain will likely be entrenched in society and ripe for side-quests.
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Arkwright
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Your 'spells known' is off. Level 2 Oracles know 2 level 1 spells, not six.
Can I suggest another slight change to your backstory- generally how Oracles work is that numerous deities or some primeval power gives them their abilities, rather than a specific god; the latter is more for Clerics. But you can devote yourself to a single patron if you wish.
| DM Heterocephalus |
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well my curses gave me mage hand and ghost sound. My mystery give me color spray iand my dual curse Give me ill omen but yea I got it wrong cos I though ability increase spells known buts it's bonus spell used so I am 2 extra.
Well I prefer just 1 deity but I will see what changes I can make.
| DM Heterocephalus |
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Hi Arkwright i updated my profile again to make the oracle abilities innate instead of learned.
I wish to devote to 1 god, Desna only to reflect her specialization.
| Toranoko |
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Ah, okay ... well, I guess I didn't come across as what I meant. Much of the time he would ask (as he has no context for most of what's going on). Sometimes it would be a "needs interrupted" sort of thing.
Hopefully this will give you a better idea of what I'm thinking:
Mirrender watched as the guard went down, but there was nothing in his eyes. No hatred. No desire. Not even so much as a look of recognition. This was something he had done a thousand times; what needed to be done was so obvious -- and so ingrained -- that he simply started to do what had to be done.
Mirrender raised his rapier ...
Next post:
Mirrender relaxed his rapier, confusion evident on his face. The surface world could be so confusing some times ...
---------
The next time something similar happened it would look something like:
Mirrender watched as the thug went down. Out of reflex, he raised his rapier, but then remembered something he was told earlier. He didn't take his eyes off of his enemies, but he relaxed his weapon just a bit.
"Hey" he asked the rest of the group, "am I allowed to kill this one?"
-----
This could be funny if he was asking Bob the Urchin (who, strangely, would have a better handle on Ethics than he does).
So it wouldn't be a continuous "you've got to stop me!" sort of thing. That can get real old, real quick.
Gunser, the reason I RTJ'd here was because I read the oath and I got hooked. The drow "resonates" with me because of the first line of the oath (q.v.).
Oh, almost forgot ...
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Arkwright
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DM Hetero after looking over things I realize there's something I haven't told you and Toranoko. Whoever's character is chosen won't have him/her walk up to the party in the street and join them; we'll be retconning it so that they were one of the group who escaped the prison with them.
You don't need to change any of the backstory DM unless you want to.
| DM Heterocephalus |
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Well my backstory is complete already and probably will not change it and I made her powers more innate and born with it in a way to justify her oracle powers. She could be like gathering info about Cain and his network in the midst and later joins up the original party
| Toranoko |
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If you guys are waiting on something else from me, let me know. Otherwise, I'll keep watching this thread. :D
| DM Heterocephalus |
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Hi DM if I get selected just some head up.
Hi sorry for the slow posting RL have alot of work and my exams are coming up. I will be away for a week for vacation and will have limited access to internet. Just some heads up and will try to post once a day. Will try to get it moving along before I fly tomorrow.
| GM Arkwright |
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After much much much much thought and self-debate, I would like to invite Mirrender to join the game. Post in discussion and Gameplay and answer a few discussion questions to complete the introduction.
Madame Wanda, I really really hope I can rely on you in case we get another drop out.
| GM Arkwright |
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"For thirty years I and a group of the greatest men and women it was my privilege to know fought against the empire. But eventually, the minions of Cheliax killed my friends and captured me in this dungeon. In the long years since, the reason for keeping me has been forgotten, but I still remain, unable to fight, unable to die." He looks at each of you in turn. "For our oath, we receive powers from the human mages who created the group after a Chelaxian massacre of immense scale and depravity. Time has sadly diluted the powers of the Eight, but some vestiges still remain. The power to teleport, a degree of telepathic empathy with my comrades, and…" he gives a small smile.
"rarely, occasionally, sometimes… the favour of the subtle hand of Fate… From what you have described of your escape, and your disgust with the devilry of Cheliax, I believe that Fate has steered you here and given you this choice. If you are willing, I can use the last of my power to anoint you as the new Eight. You will gain powers, and can use them to escape from this place… but you must swear an oath before the men of old and the children of today, to uproot that which is the Chelaxian empire, to the best of your abilities, to the end of your days." The old man's hands clutch the bars of his cell, his fingers growing white as he stares down at the stone floor.
"The Empire has grown beyond imagining in the many years since the Eight were formed, and even more since I was captured and the Eight defeated. None will blame you should you fail."[/b] He looks up at you and there are tears in his solemn eyes. "But if you freely choose to take this duty, then you must swear to try. To attempt to work against the Empire, to strive to protect those who cannot protect themselves, as we once did… as I hope we will again, through you." Wiping his eyes, he crosses his arms and lowers his forehead. "What say you?"
You said yes.
The old man's eyes twinkle as tears rain down his cheek. As the circle is formed, a bright blue mark on his right arm forms and glows brightly beneath Blast's hand, shining through his fingers.
You feel the presence of a mind- dusty and ancient, yet with a long-forgotten power newly coursing through it. As the mind connects with yours, Kamsen speaks, the words springing to your lips in time with his own. As one, you speak the oath.
"From cruelty, we were born.
In fire, we are alive.
The devilry of Cheliax, we will end.
We are the Eight."
"They sow sorrow.
We will sow joy.
Their weapon is cruelty.
Kindness will be ours.
Demons will protect them.
The innocents will stand with us.
We are the Eight."
"Here and now, we are alive.
Here and now, we swear this oath.
Tomorrow, Cheliax will fear us.
Today, we rejoice as brethren.
Now and forever-"
"You are the Eight." The old, old man whispers quietly as the spark in his eyes glows bright as his tattoo, and in unison you respond-
"We are the Eight."
"We are the Eight."
"We are the Eight."
"We are the Eight."
"We are the Eight."
"We are the Eight."
"We are the Eight."
"We are the Eight."
With a bright flash, the same blue mark appears on all your right arms beneath the clasping fingers of your newfound brethren. The wide-eyed children look up at you all in awe as a new power, a new connection is forged between you all. "Here, watch, see, learn..." whispers Kamsen's voice in your mind as you watch him reach into a tiny dot of blue power and gently cradle a portion of it in his hand.
"Goodbye."
He breathes into the small pool, the blue power cascades over you, and as Kamsen steps out of the circle and it closes fully, you feel a tiny thread pulling the top of your head upwards, until with a jerk the room vanishes around you.
As you disappear, the old man collapses to the floor panting, the blue sheen from his eyes fading to grey with his tattoo. As his heartbeat slows he spreads out against the floor, his cold cheek against the even colder stone.
The pounding behind the door rises to a climax and it shatters into splinters, tens of guards now visible stand aside, as robed figures throw globes of fire into the room. The flames lick around Kamsen's old, withered body, and his lips contort into one small, final smile. [b]"We are the Eight..." and light fills his eyes.
Recruitment is now open to fill some open spots in my homebrew campaign. This game was started by Wolfman GM and I took it over after he disappeared.
Your characters will be people captured and thrown in the Egorian jail by the Cheliaxian empire. By a twist of fate, you manage to get free, find an old man and... well... see above.
There are eight spots in the campaign. After a roll-call, three are empty; there is a chance I will need more.
If you are recruited, it will be ret-conned that your character was one of the people who escaped the jail with the existing characters, as opposed to one of the people who have disappeared.
By this point, the existing characters have reached 3rd level, and that is what you will be starting at.
Any Race from Chapters 1-3 of the advanced race guide is allowed, but no customs, and no Drow Noble.
Any paizo class or archtype is allowed, so basically everything on d20pfsrd.com that is specifically not listed as 'third party'.
Humans get +2 to a second attribute of their choosing, but cannot choose dual talent.
Starting gold is going to be a little unusual. You will have found an old safehouse for the Eight, and it has stocks of items and gold. Since that discovery, the characters have been on a shopping trip. This, you have:
-3000 gold to spend on mundane items, ones not too unique to your character (no spending 500gp to get your mother's hand-carved desk, for instance)
-1000 gold to spend on whatever you want.
Alignment wise, preferably Good or non-Lawful. The key point is that your character a. Wants to stick it to Cheliax and b. Will work fairly well with the party.
We currently have
-Bard 2/Fighter 1
-Barbarian 3
-Wizard 3
-Alchemist 3
-Witch 3
| Lady Zaldane |
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Would a Rogue or Fighter mesh, thinking either a Tengu Blademaster archtype rogue, or A human either swordmaster or staff master, Or possibly a Magus Kensai?
| Javell DeLeon |
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@KRNVR: Are you still part of the game, bud? Arkwright didn't list your Magus on there so I was just wondering.
| GM Arkwright |
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Heh; apologies Gunser, I forgot to include you.
We also have Gunser of Biston, a seafaring Magus (Tovenaar) who swings his mighty oar at his enemies like a tree thrown by a hurricane.
@Lady- Hmm another frontliner could work, though apologies we already have a magus.
| Gunser of Biston |
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Still in as far as I know. GM might know something I don't. I'm betting on a typo, though.
(ninja'd)
And Gunser's not really a Magus in the normal sense. More like a brawler growing into his heritage as PRINCE OF ALL THE WORLD'S SEAS!
...eventually. :)
We could use a proper rogue. Or an improper rogue. Or whatever you can play well.
If I had to make a request of new members, it would be to understand the backstory. We've all been together this whole time, and it's like some weird Sci-fi or that one season of Rosanne, where of course it's always been the way it is now. We're the Eight, I mean the Seven. Six? No, the Eight! Unless it's Seven, in which case it's always been Seven...
| Javell DeLeon |
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I'm actually a Barb2/Fighter1, but not too big a difference. I'm a big walking hammer.
HA! Figuratively and literally. :)
@Arkwright: What is the frequency of guns if gunslinger is allowed?
| GM Arkwright |
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@Gunser- 'We're the Eight, I mean the Seven. Six? No, the Eight! Unless it's Seven, in which case it's always been Seven...'- I am writing that down.
@Jelani- apologies, I just scanned the aliases in the Characters tab.
@Javell- Emerging guns.
| Javell DeLeon |
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I'm gonna throw this guy out there. Casey Jayne
Just ignore the mechanics. He was in a Steampunk game when he was killed so his character sheet is gonna need an overhaul.
I'll change it up if necessary. No sense in adjusting if he's not what you or the others are looking for.
I can tell you he'll be going with Musket. With the Musket Master Archetype.
Are there traits?
| GM Arkwright |
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@Javell- I like the look of him a lot. His mechanics look fine. I'm going to have to request some more on Background though, building on 'they're not soldiers'.
| Javell DeLeon |
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I got a basic herolab of him up. It's a lot closer gist of him mechanics wise. It's the information that's not spoilered.
And I've added to the background.
Let me know if there's anything else that's needed.
| aiden hawthorn |
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Just saw this thread was wondering about joinin if it was too late? Maybe was thinking about a grave walker witch, or a unarmed fighter.
Critzible
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I'll make me a Quarterstaff master a farmer, sick of cheliaxian nobility and there devil worshipping ways, and harsh laws
| aiden hawthorn |
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Making a (knife master) rogue I'm almost done with stats and skills will have him posted
Thinking about back story wise against cheliax is My family was enslaved by tieflings they trained me to be their lacky to do there dirty work. To my knowledge my family has all been dead for a few months. New mission get my family's crest and slay the nobles that ruined my life.
| Diran shadow |
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Here's my rogue ( knife master) still have to shop and pick two rogue talents but I have the talents at home that I wan I believe! Thanks.
| GM Arkwright |
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Cheliax is historically bigoted against Tieflings; I'm not certain but my guess is that any Tieflings that took salves would be arrested or such by the guards for getting above the station, possibly more if they tried to act as nobles. Though I'm not certain.
| aiden hawthorn |
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When eradan died the empire tore into three houses most of them worshipped deviltry an fiends. Tieflings love cheliax. And can become nobles through these houses.