Aolis symbol is a marquise cut jade surrounded by silver vines with a moonstone inlaid tower at it's center. Which turned out to work very well with his overall theme and bonus feat choice, forest's blessing. x)
Are we breaking down into two pre-campaign groups or three? There are enough of us that we could do three groups of 4-5, since 14 people were selected.
I know I've mentioned it, but I still think backstories are the way to go for putting groups together. Something like this:
People from Restov/Rostland: This is people whose backstory has them either spending a significant amount of time in Restov or growing up in Restov and Rostland. They likely aren't huge fans of the Surtova family or Noleski. Aramil would fit in to this group.
People from Issia: This would be people who come from the Issian parts of Brevoy, or don't consider themselves Rostlanders. They may support the Surtovas (or not), but they are still considered Brevic in origin.
Non-Brevic: Feasibly, this could be everyone else's origin. I'm not sure how far word of the decision to colonize the Stolen Lands would have been spread, but it seems reasonable that adventuring groups within a certain distance could have heard of the expedition and joined up.
I think breaking it down like this is the most organic way of bringing the party together. The basic premise of each group can obviously be changed to possibly fit better, but this is just what I thought of.
Azrael would definitely fit into the REstov group... Hareth into the same group really... as he's been there long enough.
Bachu and Trawets would definately be in the Non-Brevic camp. They can work with anyone of neutral or good alignments.
Obviously Merus and Stefan would fit in the Restov group (although Stefan could have ties from before he moved here from Varisia).
As I said before, Elliomander and Micah can partner with pretty much anyone. They're both worshippers/servants of Nethys who are sort of wandering do-gooders (benevolent magic users who hope to show the benefits of magic to commoners and nobles alike). They both have abilities that buff/support other casters, so they'll be most effective when paired with other magic users.
I dislike doing it by geographical location but if it's the consensusthen both Amavin and Ishana are non Brevic
As wanderers we can still be in any group even if they're geographically based. Or, if we're just working on background groups, we could be the connection point and have done stuff with both/all the other groups.
My recommendation for teams (and my one-line blurbs on each character) would be thus:
Amavin: CG. Monster hunter sorceress, diplomat, changeable - acts more on moods, not logic. Nemesis story feat.
Elliomander: NG. General 'aidgiver' (s. Brevoy), priest of Nethys of magic. Prophet story feat.
Ignatius: LG. Half-orc paladin (Iomedae), peacekeeper and redeemer of criminals (keeping order in ... somewhere.) Unknown Story feat.
Titian: LG. Lebeda bastard, could know Merus for a group link. All about nobility, service, leadership. Restov? 'True knight'. Stronghold (castle?) story feat.
The Noble Questors all seem to be sorts who go out to just generally help people - whether that's because they want to learn more, be noble, 'because helping people is a good thing to do', or to keep the peace. So why not do it together? The group is therefore more focussed on Good against Evil than Law against Chaos; Ignatius would likely be willing and able to vouch for Amavin should certain others (looking at you, Rocknose) have a philosophical problem with her Chaotic outlook.
They are split between magic and melee, but it seems a good setup to me.
Merus: NG. Lebeda family member, could know Titian for a group link. Restov Aldori swordsman, carouser, political hopeful. Nemesis story feat.
Aramil: NG. Elf from Restov. Swordlord-wannabe, general adventurer. Truth-Seeker story feat.
Christian: CG. From ... ??? Origin location is unknown to me, but mercenary knight, caravan and merc work. Unknown story feat.
Alexander "Dart" Dumonte: CG. Bastard son (from ... ??? Origin location is unknown to me), bounty hunter and goblin slayer. Unknown Story feat.
Azrael the Avenger: LG. Restov town guard, 'just plain folks' paladin (Ragathiel). Avenger sort; Blessed story feat.
The Plainfolk Battlers each look to be the type to go out and look for fights - because they want to hone their combat skills, they were hired to do so, they were asked to avenge a wrong, or there's a price on someone's head. Merus and Aramil fit well together as an Aldori swordlord and a swordlord-wannabe; perhaps Merus will champion Aramil to the society for admittance. Christian and Dart do well together as essentially mercs; while I haven't taken a look at all these characters' followers (I know Christian's are entirely a merc crew), all together they might compose a pretty good mass of butt-kickers. The group is certainly heavy on fighting and light on magic.
These guys could all actually know each other over a very long period of time - childhood buddies of sorts - should Christian and Dart decide to alter their origin locations to Restov.
Aolis: NG. Medvyed adoptee, quester/adventurer, Stronghold (school?) story feat.
Trawets: NG. From beyond Brevoy (Varisia, Andoran), problem-solver (cures, murders). Unknown story feat, possibly Stronghold (temple)?
Dagit: LN. Adventurer for Order (bringing order to chaos). Unknown Story feat.
Axhammer: LG. Gnome paladin (Abadar), lately from Cheliax; build society up, maybe build a Citadel of Adabar. Apotheosis story feat.
All of these are far-venturing individuals, at least two (and possibly three) being from well beyond Brevoy. Tending to be 'general adventurers' and 'support society' sorts, they could have linked up well outside of Brevoy and, through Aolis, got drawn back into the country to help tame the Stolen Lands - something for his adopted family on Aolis's part, while at least Dagit and Axhammer are of the 'establish justice and law' persuasion. Plus, no CG people to give either of those two fits. ;)
With 2 wizards, a cleric, and a knight, this group leans towards the magic-heavy side.
If I got anything wrong, or if there's a 'oh, HELL no!!' reaction to getting paired with someone, by all means smack me on the nose. But playing someone who's just a guy who can carry the entirety of the dragon's horde out on his back ... I have no dog in the fight, so this is what I'm seeing as a possible solution, based on background-defined common interests. ;)
Plainfolk battlers are a bit melee heavy... in fact they've got nothing but melee characters... seems it would be wise to split them up a bit more evenly... *shrugs*
That is so, though there's a mage and a bard in the Cohort list for those five. I vaguely remembered paladins having an aura that gives some protection from opposing magic? I might be wrong on that. That may be why they have an extra member, as well as the only serious-about-ranged combatant in the entire 16-member party.
And once we all get together and have our dinner with the King and agree that yeah, the two LG 'Order Order Order' guys can get along with the three Chaotic sorts, because a little bit of individuality in the middle of a huge mass of 'let's bring civilization to the wilderness' isn't automatically a bad thing, the parties can be balanced out if it's necessary. This is mostly just to get things moving, because I think Corsario is in part waiting on us to figure out who's with whom.
On an unrelated note, how much for a Zippo lighter? (I've been thinking style, and I decided that Coalhouse smokes cigarillos, one or two a day. And having a lighter instead of having to pay 1gp per smoke for tindertwigs, or 7.5gp per smoke for a Wand of Spark, is just a bloody bad idea when the stupid things cost 4sp for the box of 60. (Cigarillos = 3g of tobacco; tobacco is 1gp/2 lbs, and at 453g/lb ... 4sp for 60 cigarillos.) Unfortunately, going off the basic use-activated magic item cost, it'd be 1000gp - though it could be less, if its cost was based on the Campfire Bead, it might be only 360gp - stiff starting out, but since you can basically only use it to light something flammable ...
Thoughts?
I agree with pretty much everything Wyrm Ouroboros said, both in group selection and in thoughts / opinions
Gaaah!! I SO want to just write out a 'circulating at the party' type of post, just to get RP going.
As I said Aolis is good with whoever pretty much. He does not enforce anything from his views to his agenda. Mostly because they are self motivating and fulfilling, at least more then a few anyways.
Concerning the price of a lighter. I would consider the most basic design to get what you want with the level of technology/magic at hand.
Magical item wise I would say a command word lighter (spark spell) would cost 900 gp. Easy to use in all conditions without fail, plus you can make it as big or small as you want in the style you prefer.
While a non magical version would be a combination of the cost of it's components with maybe a little extra for the crafting. Off the top of my head that's lamp oil (1 sp, 1 lbs), a fuse which is a strip of flammable cloth with no value, an iron vial (1 sp) for a tough container, and a flint and steel (1 gp) to generate the sparks needed to light it. That's a total of 1 gp 2 sp in material, let's throw in another 1 gp for assembly and craftsmanship for 2 gp 2 sp minimum. Round it out to 3 gp for a little style so it doesn't look like a oversized tin can out of a scrap pile. That should give you a non magical lighter, that you will have to replace the fuel and cloth as needed. But with a 1 lbs capacity that's going to be a lot of uses.
My 2 cp
Price: 25 gp
Weight: 1 lbUsing an alchemically-created (ferrocerium) 'flint', the flint-and-wheel lighter is essentially a self-lighting candle. Because the wick does not always catch on the first try, lighting a torch with a lighter is still a full-round action, and lighting any other fire with them takes at least that long.
Though it does have a limited fuel reservoir (typically using a version of lamp oil), the flame it possesses and the amount of time it's left to burn is usually so brief as to permit scores, if not hundreds, of uses between refills.
Lighters are to an extent both waterproof and windproof. In regards to water, like tindertwigs they must be dried before lighting. For wind, if protected they are able to light (and thus in turn light lanterns, etc.) for one round, but are otherwise treated as unprotected flame.
Create: Flint: Craft (alchemy) DC 25; Mechanics: Craft (mechanical, clockworks, or traps) DC 12
The alchemical test to create a flint will create enough material for scores of them.
Well, I'd say that provides a lighter for you, if non-magical. If you want a magical one, that could be your special item that Corsario is giving us.
I like your party breakdown more than mine, since it does more than putting us together simply by place of origin. I could easily work with my group, and it makes the most sense for me.
I could also be moved into the do-gooder group, since Aramil has prior experience fighting bandits and similar sorts, but putting me in the group with Merus is very on point, in my mind.
As I mentioned before, I could easily have been in more than one group at various times if we need/want some interconnection.
I'd personally suggest linking them through the three House members. Merus Lebeda is a member of the family, Titian is his illegitimate cousin, and Aolis Greenborn is a childhood friend of both from just across the river in Medvyed lands. Possible further link might be to connect Aolis and Dart by having Aolis's real (mysterious/vanished) father being Dart's mysterious elf father as well.
While I don't think there'd be working in different groups, I can see the Noble Questors and the Plainfolk Battlers working together on a mission or in a war, especially if it involved blunting the ambitions of a bandit chief in the Stolen Lands. The Battlers are magic-weak, so Merus might well contact Titian to ask for his group's assistance. Or the other way around - the Questors are asked to do something about the bandit's predations, and they need a lot more combat-capable people as backup.
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For any elves or long lived races among us, strictly speaking we could have ties to everyone. If not directly then with a family member. Aolis has really gotten around and is no stranger to recognizing descendants of people he knew.
I updated Merus' profile. My initial build only used 16k gp instead of 24k.
He may still be a young(ish) adult, but at 153, you're all young whippersnappers to Aramil :)
He's only been adventuring for 10 years, though. Prior to that he was training and studying in Restov. So while he may be older, conceivably he hasn't necessarily seen more of the world than others.
The interaction between the ages and relative maturity of different species is fascinating, when you think about it.
Aolis has the body of a young elf (100+ years barely an adult by elf reckoning), the mind of an old man, and the personality of a child in some respects. At least that's what I'm going for, so I hope it will be interesting.
Helps that he has more then a little fey connection so his nature should be in their sphere of traits too. :)
Ishana is an elf, but spend most of her time up until recently being in Kyonin so it's unlikely many people would personally know her unless they met her there or alternatively met her on the road from there to here.
@DM
Huzzah!
@Ishana
You could know Aolis as he went through Kyonin on his way south and/or from his way back north. Maybe even shared the road if the time of your departure lined up with his return trip.
@Dagit
I am going to guess you bought that armor and did not have it made from the red dragon you killed considering the type of armor.
I think those that have the leadership feat will be well know...maybe more so than the well traveled character. The fact that the feat has a bonus for great renown makes me think that those people will be well known. Just my thoughts on the matter lol. Maybe only in certain circles.
I think The Wyrm Ouroboros teams are great, and in any case they dont have to be that balanced, they are not permanent after all
Coalhouse jots down a note. (First thing to do: Pick Dagit's money purse. Looks heavy.) ;)
In any case - if you have another suggestion for how people could have been teamed up, a complete suggestion, with particular names in particular groups, then by all means. I put together the teams the way they are for the reasons I stated beneath each team, and because all anyone else was doing was basically what so many still are - saying 'oh, I could be X', but not providing anything concrete.
By GM plan, I'm already not with anyone, so I don't care - but all of you might, so it behooves you to either agree or come up with an alternate. Out of the 13 of you, there's been what, 4 that have said, 'I'm good with that'? And the one person who suggested something else specific (location-based), is one of those four.
... c'mon, people, it ain't that hard ...
@DM
Huzzah!@Ishana
You could know Aolis as he went through Kyonin on his way south and/or from his way back north. Maybe even shared the road if the time of your departure lined up with his return trip.@Dagit
I am going to guess you bought that armor and did not have it made from the red dragon you killed considering the type of armor.
Worth noting that Ishana is a Magus like your cohort (unless I misread and am mistaken). Possible either Aolis taught her the style or observed the finer points from Ishana which he then passed down
Since Aramil also spent time in Kyonub visiting his family on his father's side, it isn't unreasonable for him to have met Ishana there, either. Especially since he's also a Magus.
In case it needs to be said, DM you can open all my spoilers. Some have rolls in them. ;)
Edit- Again to be clear, Aolis had rats deliver the letters to his comrades. His people have a knack with them. That's right, he has control of the local RCN. Rodent Communication Network. Beware!
Which group is Merus and Stefan in?
That's why you only ever catch a glimpse of their tail at best. Also why Sacha delivered the letters to those unfamiliar with Aolis and his people personally. The rats are not suicidal nor would Aolis condone such a thing. ;)
@Titian
I think you confused Digit for someone on your team.
A refresher for everyone, myself included.
The Blessed Hospitallers
Amavin Zephyra
Ignatius Digenes Akritas
Titian Stagson
Elliomander Ostarian
The Righteous Wanderers
Dagit Downhill
Aolis Greenborn
Axhammer Rocknose
Trawets Aarock
The Restov Coursers
Azrael
Christian D'Elagante
Aramil Wellys
Alexander Dumonte
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@Dagit
I am going to guess you bought that armor and did not have it made from the red dragon you killed considering the type of armor.
Technically yes. The dragon wouldn't be big enough to make medium full plate. Unless how we killed the dragon was through luck, skill, and smart tactical support... like how a raid boss works. If you ask he'll say this, "most of it came from Draxil (the dragon's name) but a good amount of it is from the slain wyrmlings. You see,Draxil was a female, and her eggs had just hatched. We had to nearly drop the cave on top of them! Luckily the wizard with us was fond of ice magic, and taking out the babies was quite easy."
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o.-
Dagit I suggest you not tell that story to Aolis. Killing baby dragons, even reds, will not go over well with him. At least not without a detailed reason as to why you had no choice. Also the size of the dragon it would take to make a medium or maybe half a medium full plate would be powerful enough to threaten armies. So let's just say the chest piece is from Draxil while the rest was on hand by luck. Your dwarven brethren have a proud history of red dragon slaying, mostly because you guys fight over the same resources. ;)
Forgive me but I'm a stickler for fluff at times. I like the fluff, it is fluffy.