Dark Sun ala Fabian - To Save a Dying World (Inactive)

Game Master Fabian Benavente

Dark Sun played with Pathfinder Rules (and a healthy dose of house rules) focused on the on-going story of an unlikely group of heroes called to destiny.


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Character creation wrote:


Magic/Psionic Items

Decanters of Endless Water do not exist.
Similar items which produce endless food and water do not exist either.
Most items are either psionically imbued or created with divine magic. Items requiring arcane-only spells to create are hard to find (Unless you craft them yourself) and illegal in most city states.
Potions take the form of enchanted fruits (but are mechanically identical)
Magical and Psionically imbued weapons and armor do not have the fragile quality

So, can we have magic weapons and stuff or not?

What about spells that produce food and water?


male
Karmic Knight wrote:

Hey Fabian,

Apologies for not staying up to date with the thread. It is probably best that I withdraw from the game as I probably won't be able to give your game the dedication it deserves and needs.

Have fun all and apologies again.

KK

Hey KK,

Glad you are okay and wasn't swallowed up by 'the ennernet'. :)

Sorry you couldn't make it with us but keep in touch.

Game on!


male

@Hayato:

Yes, you can have magical weapons/items (within your wealth).

Any spell that produces food or water only creates 1/2 of the result, and in the case of cantrips/orisons can only be cast 1/day (but may be cast as 1st level spells).

Decanters of Endless Water do not exist. Similar items which produce endless food and water do not exist either.

Other questions?


Female Elf Slayer 1 / Oracle 4

Ok, profile created for Ala'a, but still background work to do and then to get it all into Fabian's character sheet. On the progress side, I did find some nice elven curses in Elves of Athas so I can address all you otuuk fe! as you deserve to be addressed. ;)


Is there another slot opened now?

...do you want me back baby?

lol. If not then cool, but if I come back in I won't be 'flirting' with it, I promise. I'll stay with it consistently.

I can have him ready to play by this weekend if that is when you want to start. I'll make him not the strong silent type either. I have the mechanics done, save for feats, and I'll keep the build the same unless you want me to change it. If you want a legitimate short story I can make that happen too. I read a good portion of that 4e pdf and can read the rest of it and get him all ready by the deadline.

But if you're not open then no worries, just lemme know


male
Ala'a Windchaser wrote:
Ok, profile created for Ala'a, but still background work to do and then to get it all into Fabian's character sheet. On the progress side, I did find some nice elven curses in Elves of Athas so I can address all you otuuk fe! as you deserve to be addressed. ;)

Great, love the 'curses' touch.

So I take it you'll be running by the side of the caravans. Good; you probably couldn't be trusted with a mount anyways. :)

Game on!


male
Reaubalt of the Sands wrote:

Is there another slot opened now?

...do you want me back baby?

lol. If not then cool, but if I come back in I won't be 'flirting' with it, I promise. I'll stay with it consistently.

I can have him ready to play by this weekend if that is when you want to start. I'll make him not the strong silent type either. I have the mechanics done, save for feats, and I'll keep the build the same unless you want me to change it. If you want a legitimate short story I can make that happen too. I read a good portion of that 4e pdf and can read the rest of it and get him all ready by the deadline.

But if you're not open then no worries, just lemme know

Sure, we'd love to have you back. Like everyone said, your PC was turning out to be very DS appropriate.

Only one caveat. Like I gave my word before, I did it again. I opened up the last spot to 'competitive submittals' so that means that your PC 'may be' compared to others and a decision will be made.

I'm saying 'may be' because you may be the only who submits anything.

So if you don't mind some potential competition, then by all means get back to your PC.

Game on!

The Exchange

No peeking, please Rarely Accountant 2/Auditor 4/Waster 30

Hi Fabian. I replied to your PM but it looks like you have someone in the frame already.


Male Human Slayer 4/Rogue (Thug) 1 | HP 40/40 | AC 20, Tch 13, FF 18 | CMD 22 | Fort +6, Ref +9, Will +4 | Init +4 | Perception +10 | Intimidate +14

Obviously, I am unaware of the contents of your PM Aubrey, but considering Fabian's post above, the fifth slot still appears to be very much open.

However, I will say that I am feeling quite intimidated that every Dark Sun GM on these boards appears to be interested in this game, haha!


I'm all about competition. I'll have him fully formed and email you. Game on.

The Exchange

No peeking, please Rarely Accountant 2/Auditor 4/Waster 30

:-) I very rarely get to play! I'd really consider myself an Eberron DM with side interests.

Well, since creating PCs is fun anyway, I'll have a go at fleshing out a character - I landed on the concept of a half-giant brawler (since hybrid characters definitely are in this season, judging by the other PCs) and even if I never play him it'll be fun to draw him up.

Today and tonight are a little challenging (the trains failed this morning so I got to work a spectacular 2 1/2 hours late, and I have a work call tonight) but I'll see what I can do. Obviously, please don't feel constrained if I don't manage to step up in time.


male

Like Valsavis said above, this fifth spot is very much open at this time.

I'm going to receive submissions until this Sunday February 1st at noon and I'll make my decision that same day.

We'll take the following week to tidy backgrounds (shared?) and whatever is left (stats?) up and I'll send out Turn 000 no later than Saturday February 7th.

A half-giant brawler would be very appropriate so I look forward to reading about your PC.

BTW, this game is NOT intimidating. On the contrary, having so many people that have DMed before will make everyone's life easier. DMs are nothing if not reasonable so I'm actually looking forward to a great game. I'm sure I'll learn plenty while having a great time.

Questions?

Game on!


Male Human Slayer 4/Rogue (Thug) 1 | HP 40/40 | AC 20, Tch 13, FF 18 | CMD 22 | Fort +6, Ref +9, Will +4 | Init +4 | Perception +10 | Intimidate +14

Background is still coming along, approaching 1300 words now, but will probably require some editing. I very much look forward to next week when we begin discussing integrating our backgrounds.

I took a rank in linguistics to make Valsavis literate. I worked it into his story that the old preserver taught him to read as he nursed him back to full health. Mainly this is so Valsavis could read the summons from the old man.

I might add in some detail about his time spent in Tyr, but I'm not quite sure yet. If I am being true to the timeline Valsavis would have spent 20 of his 22 years in Tyr, so realistically he would probably have more allegiance there than to Salt View. On the other hand he was a slave, so I'm not sure if he'd resent his roots there.


male
Valsavis wrote:

Background is still coming along, approaching 1300 words now, but will probably require some editing. I very much look forward to next week when we begin discussing integrating our backgrounds.

I took a rank in linguistics to make Valsavis literate. I worked it into his story that the old preserver taught him to read as he nursed him back to full health. Mainly this is so Valsavis could read the summons from the old man.

I might add in some detail about his time spent in Tyr, but I'm not quite sure yet. If I am being true to the timeline Valsavis would have spent 20 of his 22 years in Tyr, so realistically he would probably have more allegiance there than to Salt View. On the other hand he was a slave, so I'm not sure if he'd resent his roots there.

I'm looking forward to shared backgrounds as well but mainly as nothing much more than passing acquaintances. It will be better if you are all thrown together and 'forced' to work as a team with all the issues of trust in DS (and cursing elven wenches). :)

I'm Ok with the literate part but I will ask you to be creative with your summons (don't tell me now!). Maybe your summons came as a vision on the shore of the Silt Sea, you heard a very young mul singing it while he trained in the arena, you heard it from a crodlu farting, an erdlu left it written in the sand as he pecked at an insect, etc. You'll have to get creative.

You could have Valsavis be a slave for only a few years and then wandered in the desert or Salt View the other years. It's up to you.

I know Ala'a is well advanced as well; how are the other PCs coming?

Game on!

The Exchange

No peeking, please Rarely Accountant 2/Auditor 4/Waster 30

Progressing. I have his stats down, need to think about his background a bit more.

EDIT: OK, system won't let me create a new avatar. Annoying.


I´m still trying to read some stuff about DS halflings somewhere and Urik to get the flavor running.

Normaly for level 1 charakters i neither write nor require expensive backgrounds, since they are pretty "fresh" and young most times.
A bit of an outline where they come from, why they are there and some formative events maybe. Not too detailed and much though, so you can tell it in the game. A list of adjectives about their character, how they would handle some different situations and why, as well as possible goals, that´s it mostly. Perhaps some remarkable phrases they can say.

A level 5 character is a bit different though and requires some more, especially with that background we chose here. That´s why i want to get some more of that halfling feeling of Athas.

While playing around, i had a new idea:
Since we don´t have anyone ranged combat yet, i was looking at that.
Halflings go a long way with slings in my eyes, but it´s pretty difficult. Of course i could always use a bow, but that´s very ordinary^^
There is a nice gunslinger archetype, the bolt ace, that uses crossbows.
Now handcrossbows have the same stats as slings nearly and light crossbows as slingstaffs. What do you think about using that for an halfling slinger?


male
Hayato Ken wrote:

While playing around, i had a new idea:

Since we don´t have anyone ranged combat yet, i was looking at that.
Halflings go a long way with slings in my eyes, but it´s pretty difficult. Of course i could always use a bow, but that´s very ordinary^^
There is a nice gunslinger archetype, the bolt ace, that uses crossbows.
Now handcrossbows have the same stats as slings nearly and light crossbows as slingstaffs. What do you think about using that for an halfling slinger?

How about javelins, darts, blowguns.

I would stay away from gunslinger halflings. I thought you were set on a hunter.

I wish there was a good way to do poison in PF because that would be the way to go; there's plenty of mention of it in the original DS. But PF poison either sucks (1d2 DEX) or is prohibitively expensive.

Any of you find a way to work poisons into DS?


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Some of the best info on Urik and halflings was in the "Chronicles of Athas" novel series.

Three of the books (The Brazen Gambit, Cinnabar Shadows and Rise and Fall of a Dragon King) were written by Lynn Abbey (of Thieves' World fame) and follow a renegade templar-turned druid from Urik. Lots of information about the city, as well as several halfling characters (mostly antagonists). Cinnabar Shadows, particularly, features a story arc that sends the protagonists into the Forest Ridge to deal with a halfling cult.

Lynn Abbey caught some flak for not adhering to established canon (mainly in Rise and Fall of a Dragon King), but I think those three are easily in the top five Dark Sun novels, the others being the first Prism Pentad book, The Verdant Passage, and the 4E-era novel Death Mark.

You can pick them all up used online relatively cheaply, although probably not in time to meet the character creation deadline. But I definitely recommend them.


male

Thanks for sharing. I read quite a bit of those books back in the day.
I only have the 1st book of the Prism Pentad with me but I think there may be a box in my parent's place with some other books.

I had forgotten that a couple of the books were based on Urik and environs. I'll try to get a hold of them and read them again.


I read some DS novels, but not those unfortunately.
One definately was of the newer ones, but can´t reach them so fast now.
And ordering online takes time too, since i´m in europe^^

But thanks for the info, will look into it.
Halfling cult sounds more like going into shadowdancer and getting that shadow^^

I suggested the bolt ace archetype, because it targets AC, not touch AC like normal gunslingers. But nevermind, just brainstorming.


male

So just a little timeline here so we all know where we stand.

On Sunday, I will receive complete 'fluff' (and crunch in 'pretty decent shape') in order to make a decision on the 5th spot. A 5th player will be picked that day.

We'll then take the rest of the week to iron out minor details, work on limited shared backgrounds, and take a closer look at the crunch.

No later than Saturday Feb 7, I'll send out the first turn so we can start playing.

It looks like we'll have three submissions for the 5th spot: Aubrey, Jerrys (submitted via PM), and That Other Guy; but there may be a last minute entry.

Of the four PCs accepted, two are 'done' but I'm a little concerned about the other two.

Cronax: PC was being fleshed out but I haven't heard anything since Saturday. Are you still with us?

@Hayato: Apparently undecided on PC. Will you have time to put a PC together?

Other questions?

Game on!


I´m only undecided on details. Will be ready in time.


male
Hayato Ken wrote:
I´m only undecided on details. Will be ready in time.

Good deal; I'm looking forward to reading about your PC.


Hey guys -

This is the anemic story I have put together so far for Barega, a halfling druid. I'm not as familiar with Athas as I would like, suggestions or corrections are appreciated.

---

Barega hails from a border tribe/settlement in the Forest Ridge. Early in his youth, he discovered an affinity and a sort of joy in the Wind, and he has followed its fickle direction for most of his life.

A great turning point in his life came when he, as a young hunter, set off on a on a walkabout that turned into many years spent "chasing the Wind". He chased it far and wide, and spent considerable time learning its ways in the Alluvial Wastes. During this portion of his walkabout, Barega was approached by a stranglely ageless man (a "tall one"). After getting past a somewhat tense initial encounter, the two men traveled together for some time. Barega found, to his great surprise, that the man was a sort of kindred spirit, another chaser of the Wind.

[Undecided if this should be a human, or another halfling instead. I originally wanted it to be a man, to sort of make it easier for Barega to go around with the other PCs. But Fabian thought it is implausible. I think he should have some sort of mentor, though, as I don't think Druidism would be easy to self-teach.]

In fact, the man was a Druid who had been stealthily observing Barega's progress and natural talents for many days. Barega was enthralled by the man's stories about the Land Spirits, and the Blue Time, and by his deep knowledge of the Wind and the Land. They traveled together for many years, during which the man taught Barega his ways, and they performed together many minor yet valiant acts of resistance against various defilers.

When the man judged that Barega had learned sufficiently, the two parted ways. Barega returned to his tribe wise beyond his years, and with an uncommon (if minor) tolerance toward the Tall Ones. He grew once again into the community, taking a particular joy in teaching his youngers and the preparation of holiday meals. He felt he appreciated it more for his years of solitude, but his fellows noted forever thereafter a bit of an oddness about him, who had once willingly spent some alone and in the company of Men.

With his unusual intimacy with the land and the Wind, Barega eventually came to find himself leading bands of his fellows in violent actions against intruding Defilers, with a fair degree of success. It was on one such excursion a few years back, where he met the Preserver.

Barega and a band of his hunters had been tracking Dhojakt, an ambitious up-and-coming Defiler with whom they had tangled several times in the past, through the jungle for many days. When they finally cornered the Wizard and launched their attack, they discovered that they had been chasing an illusory decoy. Dhojakt had spotted them, and sent them off after his illusion while he doubled back to hit the tribe's settlement (whose defenses had been thinned to populate the hunting party).

Furious and terrified, the hunters ran for a day and a night through the jungle, losing many of their number along the march, in an attempt to catch the Defiler in time to assist in the defense of their village. Their progress was slowed by Dhojakt's minions (whom they slew with their best brutal efficiency, but who still cost them time and men). Finally, exhausted and almost certainly too late, they made it back to their settlement.

But they did not find what they expected. There was a tall one, an old man, who had intervened and slew [or chased off?] Dhojakt in the hunters' absence, when it seemed that he was about to overwhelm the remaining halfling fighters.

Humbled and ashamed at his lack of caution, Barega pledged his service and gratitude to man. They spoke at length, during which the man revealed himself as a Preserver, and then the man left.

Barega learned a sort of caution from this experience, and would no longer allow the hunters to accompany him on his actions after this. He took to splitting his time between performing priestly duties at the village, and going on extended solo patrols around the perimeter. He never truly forgave himself for foolishly exposing his family to such danger, and he continuously looks for opportunities to redeem himself.

One day as he was preparing a succulent Baazrag chilli, a messenger from the Preserver found him...

---

Barega:
- is creeping toward middle age, but still has many years
- is more comfortable and trusting around "tall ones" than most halflings (which makes him a better adventurer)
- is somewhat more individualistic and comfortable with solitude than most halflings (which makes him a better adventurer)
- is generally jovial and collegial (as anyone on Athas is, anyway), but there is an element of restraint and introspection to him
- is deeply committed to restoring the land
- listens to the wind, and often heeds its advice
- deeply enjoys eating meat, feels a moral aversion to eating Athas' scarce plants
- hopes to one day meet his Druidic teacher again (he never did learn the fellow's name, he just called him "Man" for the several years. The man got a sort of kick out of it.)


male

Hey Jerrys,

I can't find any 'issues' from your story. It could certainly use some more Athas-specific 'stuff' but that is to be expected from a new but enthusiastic fan.

I'd like for you to come up with personality and description (pic?) for this guy and see where that leads.

Game on!


Male? I'm actually a half-turtle. Antipaladin 8/Paladin 12

Hey guys, I'm bowing out, again. For real this time. I'm running a game and need to focus on that before I do any big excursions, and this week I've not been able to keep up with any of the games I'm in. So, sorry for the flip-floppery. I wish you luck in Athas. I won't be posting in this thread again.


My wife works in a library. I gave her a "librarianship challenge": to find me some ebook versions of "D&D novels in the dark sun setting, probably from the 90s, about halflings, that aren't terrible."
She said, "I can't promise that!" We'll see what she turns up. :)


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male

@That Other Guy: Sorry to see go, again. :) We'll be here if your time frees up.

@Jerrys: Novels are great; see the one recommended a few posts in this thread. However, with the fluff in the 4th edition (book I linked on the Campaign page) and the fluff from the DS3_r7.pdf (from Athas.org); you should be fine.

When you do personality; think of quirks, mannerism, likes, fears. Even Indiana Jones feared snakes! And what did the 'DM' do? He put in a pit full of snakes! :)

When you start thinking that way the things come up. OK, so why does he fear snakes? Why is he passionate about ancient relics? Stories come up from those questions.

Game on!

The Exchange

No peeking, please Rarely Accountant 2/Auditor 4/Waster 30

OK, I'm going to have to do this a bit freehand here, since the site won't let me update an avatar for it:

Gbaji, Half-Giant Brawler 5

Spoiler:
STR 18 (+4)
DEX 13 (+1)
CON 17 (+3)
INT 7 (-2)
WIS 10 (+0)
CHA 10 (+0)

AC 18 (DEX +1, Armour +5, Dodge +2)
BAB +5
CMB +6
CMD 18

HP 55
Fort +7
Ref +5
Will +1

Alignment: Neutral
Hero Points: 3

Skills: Acrobatics +7 (3 ranks), Climb +8 (1 rank), Intimidate +13 (5 ranks), Survival +9 (1 rank)
Feats: Combat Expertise, Dodge, Improved Unarmed Strike, Intimidating Prowess, Power Attack, Toughness, Wild Talent
Traits: Brute (Racial), Poverty-Stricken (Social)
Languages: Common

Racial Features
Giant Blood (counts as both giant and human)
Low-Light Vision
Fire Acclimated (+2 save v fire-based spells and effects)
Powerful Build (counts as Large for CMB and CMD, for special attacks based on size affecting him, and for weapon size)
Naturally Psionic (Wild Talent bonus feat)
Stomp (1/day, ML 2, DC 10)
Survivor (+4 to Survival checks)

Favoured Class: Brawler (+5hp)
Class Features
Brawler's Cunning (INT counts as 13 for meeting feat prerequisites)
Martial Flexibility (5/day, 1 minute duration, as move action gains benefit of combat feat he does not possess, must meet the prerequisites)
Martial Training (levels in Brawler count as levels in Fighter and Monk for feat prerequisites, counts as both Figher and Monk for magic item effects)
Unarmed Strike (full STR bonus for all unarmed strkes, lethal or non-lethal damage, counts as natural and manufactured weapon for spells and effects, enhanced damage)
Brawler's Flurry (gains use of Two-Weapon Fighting as a full round action when using unarmed strikes, monk weapons, close fighter weapons, full STR modifier to damage, can substitute tip, sunder or trip manoeuvres for unarmed strikes)
Manoeuvre Training (+1 to CMB for grapple attacks, and +1 to CMD to defend against grapple attacks)
AC Bonus (+1 dodge bonus to AC and CMD while wearing light or no armour)
Knockout (1/day, must announce before attack, if attack hits and deals damage target must make Fort save DC 16 or fall unconscious for 1d6 rounds, does not affect creatures immune to critical hits or non-lethal damage)
Brawler's Strike (unarmed strikes count as magic for DR)
Close Weapon Mastery (base damage for close weapons = unarmed strike damage for level minus 4)

Psionic Talent: Conceal Thoughts

Unarmed Strike / +10 to hit /2d6+5 damage
Heavy Crossbow / +6 to hit / 2d8

Equipment: Studded Leather Armour +2, Masterwork Heavy Crossbow, 20 Bolts, Amulet of Mighty Fists +1, Healing Fruit (Cure Moderate Wounds), 200cp

Gbaji was just growing into manhood when the slavers raided the desert village where he lived with his family. Although he and the others fought desperately, they were swiftly overwhelmed by the better equipped raiders. The village elders, including his father, were killed before his eyes and he, his mother and sister and those others of saleable age and strength were marched out of the only home he had ever known and into captivity.

On the long march to the slave pits of Tyr many died, their bodies left for the scavengers. But Gbaji stayed strong, to honour his father and to spite the men who had taken him. When they reached the stink and clamour of the city, he was sold off to a gladiator school. His mother and sister were sent elsewhere - he never saw them again.

The school was owned by a templar of Kalak named Creshed. He was pitiless, and the training under his supervision was hard and brutal. Creshed would call instructions from his covered balcony, where he sipped sweet wines and munched on dates, while the trainers would see that his whims were carried out. Many buckled under the regimen, or rebelled against the cruelty. But for these there was only one punishment - to fight Creshed's unbeaten champion, a blood-crazed mul named Bor - and only one result - death.

Although far from being a thinker, Gbaji took well to the training. He was very strong and reasonably agile, and his size and reach were also advantageous, so he was taught to fight with his hands rather than weapons. While resentment burned in his heart he kept that locked away. Instead of rebelling, it simply spurred him on to excel. He survived and, in time, became one of Creshed's prized stable of gladiators and often fought before the baying crowds.

Then came the revolution. In the upheaval that accompanied Kalak's overthrow Gbaji sought out Creshed where he cowered in his palace from the angry rebels. He strangled the templar to death with his bare hands - vengeance for the cruelty of his training, vengeance for the life and family he lost, and vengeance for his father's blood.

But life after the revolution was complicated. Gbaji was used to the gladiator school and being told what to do, where to go. He wasn't used to thinking for himself. His only real skill was the ability to twist a man's head off with ease but he refused to return to the arena. Instead, through his own gullibility, he ended up falling in with the criminal gangs which surged up in the chaos following Kalak's fall.

For a while he earned good money scaring shopkeepers to hand over protection money to the Toothcutters. At first he felt little pity, for these were the same people who had cheered with bloodlust while Gbaji risked his life on the arena sands. But in the end the work began to sicken him - it was not warrior's work to prey on the weak - and he noticed he didn't seem to receive much of the proceeds anyway. He tried to find out what had happened to his mother and sister, but discovered that all the records in the slave market had gone up in smoke during the riots and no one seemed to know of them.

Then events took a turn. As a gang turf war broke out in the Warrens Gbaji found himself caught in the middle. Not sure who to trust and who to fight, he found himself surrounded. Alone at night in the maze of cut-throughs and passages, hooded figures stabbed and cut at him like a mekillot at bay. There were just too many - even as one went down under his fists, another sprang up.

As he began to wonder if this was the end - surviving the gladiatorial bouts only to die in some nameless alley - someone uttered a word of power. Half of his assailants promptly fell to the ground, insensible. Another word, and crackling lightning chased the rest away to disappear into the dark.

Of course, Gbaji had heard of defilers before. But he just couldn't match the mental image of utter evil with the kind-faced old gentleman who helped him to his feet. He tried to thank his rescuer but the man just it waved away, simply smiling and saying, "One day I will have need of your help. I hope you will be able to return the favour." Then, just before he left, he added, "Your father would be proud." Before Gbaji could reply or ask how he knew his father, the man disappeared as if swallowed by the night.

Gbaji didn't have to wait too long. A few month later he had found honest work, carrying heavy loads of bricks and wood, on the ongoing reconstruction of buildings destroyed during the revolution and the subsequent war with Urik. Then he received a message - he was needed in Urik. He grabbed his gear, the small amount of money he had saved, and set off with the next out-bound caravan.

****************************************************

Gbaji isn't too bright. He's usually the last one to get a joke. Problems that can't be fixed with fists tend to confuse him. However, he is good at taking instruction and finds it easier to let others do the thinking while he does the physical stuff. He tends to keep quiet and not make a fuss, something he learnt to avoid drawing unwelcome attention to himself in the gladiator school, and also because he prefers to wait for someone else to come up with the ideas. As a result Gbaji comes across as taciturn. He prefers simple solutions and direct action. He is stoical - he's survived bad times, he expects more to follow, and expects to survive those too. He is also single-minded and stubborn - adversity only makes him try harder to win.

He has lost much: his old life in the desert, his family, his freedom. He tends to hold what he does have dear. He is keen to trace his mother and sister, but has no real idea of how to start. He takes a long time to trust new people - he's been let down a lot in the past, and he realises he isn't a good judge of character. But he also wants something, and someone, to believe in. He is a warrior and believes that he should do something worthy of his skills. The problem is, he can't really think of what that is...


male
Aubrey the Malformed wrote:

OK, I'm going to have to do this a bit freehand here, since the site won't let me update an avatar for it:

Gbaji, Half-Giant Brawler 5

Wow! Good job. :)

I'll take a closer look at the stats later but the 'fluff' is very nicely done.

Game on!


male

Ok, I know you’re going to be very happy because I brought back some iconic items that were missing from this version of Dark Sun.

Among other things, I brought back dwarven focus, swifter elves, stronger half-giants, wiser halflings, and stronger psionic in humans. Don’t thank me just yet…

How? Well I changed my mind with regards to racial traits. [players grumbling…]

I went back to the Pathfinder 1.1 conversion for races but improved the psionics of each race by providing their racial psionic power and also a 0-level psionic talent. Details are on the character creation document linked in the campaign tab (and here). I think this is change that will improve the game. I know you are all grumbling about having to change your character sheet but please do so at your earliest convenience. :)

To counter balance, I will consider the party’s APL to be one level higher so APL=6 instead of APL=5 for our current situation. Remember that I will use the ‘APL thing’ to stat the encounters. We’ll see how that works and adjust as necessary. I like to make you guys sweat but it’s all about the ‘heroes’ in the end. If it’s anything to go by, we just finished the 2nd book in the Carrion Crown AP and only one PC has died from the original five we started with.

That being said, are there any glaring red flags with the conversion? Although I don’t want to make this into a conversion thread (we are close to start playing), please let me know if you think something ought to be changed.

Questions, comments, and/or suggestions?

Game on!

BTW: No stats below 10 or above 18 'before' racial adjustments.


Female Elf Slayer 1 / Oracle 4

Cool. Ala'a feels a speed boost coming on. Will get background finished finished tomorrow and update stats (and fill out the Word character sheet).

Also, welcome Jerrys and Gbaji!


Male Human Slayer 4/Rogue (Thug) 1 | HP 40/40 | AC 20, Tch 13, FF 18 | CMD 22 | Fort +6, Ref +9, Will +4 | Init +4 | Perception +10 | Intimidate +14

Doesn't do anything for me, glad to see others are getting a buff though!

Higher APL kinda scares me though, Dark Sun is already a pretty brutal place, haha.

@Aubrey: Glad to see Gbaji has a name and a personality. I'm excited to have a big lumbering brute to flank and stab things with. We've both got roots in Tyr so maybe we can have some loose ties together.(if you make the cut, which seems like a certainty at this point?)

Valsavis and his father and sister were slave performers owned by a minor noble of House Shom. The noble was mysteriously murdered and Valsavis and co. fled the city in the dead of night. I'm not on my laptop or I'd give you a bit more detail. We can pick up the discussion next week.


male
Valsavis wrote:
Doesn't do anything for me, glad to see others are getting a buff though!

Now, I'm disappointed. :)

You didn't read the document and merely jumped to conclusions. Humans is one of the reasons I changed the racial traits.

Here's what humans get (in addition to the psionic talent and 2 PP that everyone gets):

At 1st level humans can choose any single 1st-level power from the psion/wilder list. The manifester level for this effect is equal to the human's level. The DC for this power is equal to 10 + the power's level + the human's Charisma modifier (unless the human has psionic class levels, in which case a more favorable ability score is used). At 5th level a human gains a 2nd-level power from the psion/wilder list.

Now if you don't want these then that's OK too.

Game on!


Male Human Slayer 4/Rogue (Thug) 1 | HP 40/40 | AC 20, Tch 13, FF 18 | CMD 22 | Fort +6, Ref +9, Will +4 | Init +4 | Perception +10 | Intimidate +14

Ah, I see what happened. I was trying to open it on my phone and it didn't load the additional pages. I most certainly read it, it just didn't load properly, haha. Very excited to get minor metamorphosis back!

The Exchange

No peeking, please Rarely Accountant 2/Auditor 4/Waster 30

Those changes will require a bit of a tweak to Gbaji, but it should be OK. INT 5 - hmmm, that'll be interesting to RP.

As an aside I wanted to ask - I gave his unarmed strikes the benefit of Powerful Build, but it's not explicit that is legit (since he is medium sized, and the description talks about weapons rather than unarmed attacks). Could you confirm you are OK with that?

Also, I gace him the Brute trait. That's actually a half-orc trait, but the flavour was appropriate, there are no orcs in Atahas, and anyway the same mechanical benefit (+1 to Intimidate) comes from a number of other traits. Just wanted to mention it.


male
Aubrey the Malformed wrote:

Those changes will require a bit of a tweak to Gbaji, but it should be OK. INT 5 - hmmm, that'll be interesting to RP.

As an aside I wanted to ask - I gave his unarmed strikes the benefit of Powerful Build, but it's not explicit that is legit (since he is medium sized, and the description talks about weapons rather than unarmed attacks). Could you confirm you are OK with that?

Also, I gace him the Brute trait. That's actually a half-orc trait, but the flavour was appropriate, there are no orcs in Atahas, and anyway the same mechanical benefit (+1 to Intimidate) comes from a number of other traits. Just wanted to mention it.

OK, let's see.

Unarmed strikes as large: OK.
Brute trait: OK.
INT of 5: not OK.

What I meant above is that you should arrange your stats to be between 10 and 18 (i.e., no dump stats) before applying racial adjustments. So the lowest your PC's INT can be is 8 (arrange it to be 10 and then apply the -2).

I don't know if you've read the thread but I like my heroes to be well rounded and not be too focused. I would rather all the PCs had at least 10 in their stats after racial adjustments (breaking the stereotype of a dumb half-giant can also presents lots of RP opportunities) but I won't press that too hard.

Questions?

The Exchange

No peeking, please Rarely Accountant 2/Auditor 4/Waster 30

On the other hand, playing intelligent is quite easy for me - playing stupid is more of a challenge. You say nothing about stats in your character generation notes and he was created in accordance with that. And his INT is already built into his background.

The Exchange

No peeking, please Rarely Accountant 2/Auditor 4/Waster 30

OK, I just realised there's an error in Gbaji's stats anyway. However, the gist of my suggestion is essentially: if I reduce his unmodified 16s (STR and CON) to 15, it frees up points I can put into INT (and correct the error I just noticed with his DEX score). His unmodified INT is 7 - I'd like to put that up to 9, which isn't 10 but close enough, hopefully (he is described as pretty dumb so slightly below average for a half-giant seems reasonable). I think that is probably better all round than INT 5 - that's not a bit thick, that's mentally subnormal and probably pushing things a bit too far.

So, unmodified stats:
STR 15 7pts
DEX 15 7pts
CON 15 7pts
INT 9 -1pt
WIS 10 0pts
CHA 10 0pts

Modified stats (using the new house rules) plus the stat increase at lvl 4:
STR 19
DEX 13
CON 18
INT 7
WIS 10
CHA 10

Hopefully that is OK. I wouldn't want to mess around with his physical stats too much as there was a reason he was selected for gladiator school, namely being a magnificent physical specimen. But the new ability mods play to his strengths so I can ratchet them down a tad for balance. However, being institutionalised in that place would have stunted his intellectual and spiritual growth, hence his less than magnificent non-physical stats.


male
Aubrey the Malformed wrote:
On the other hand, playing intelligent is quite easy for me - playing stupid is more of a challenge. You say nothing about stats in your character generation notes and he was created in accordance with that. And his INT is already built into his background.

Hey Aubrey,

Yes, you are right about the stat not being on the character generation; I fixed that now.

You'll notice that I also very recently changed my mind on character generation racial traits (in fact that happened yesterday). Therefore, you are not by any means the only person that needs to adjust (i.e., I'm not picking on you).

I asked and am hoping that we can all adjust as needed. I don't have to tell you how much work goes into DMing and even more so when we will all be 'converting' things on the fly. Luckily, PBP gives us time and you guys will just have to cut me some slack as we find that middle ground where things are challenging but not overwhelming (unless of course you guys screw up).

It's always a challenge to play the 'soft stats' and I have never (nor will I ever) shot down a great idea from a player even if his character's INT would not have allowed him to come up with such a great idea.

So if you want to play a dumb half-giant (and keep the good background you wrote), then you are welcome to it. Just bring his INT to 8 (after the -2 racial adjustment). The new racial adjustment are better so you should able to 'juggle' things around and still come out ahead.

Questions?

Game on!

The Exchange

No peeking, please Rarely Accountant 2/Auditor 4/Waster 30

OK, please see the comments above.


male

oops, we crossed emails.

Since ending up with DEX 12 or 13 won't make much of a difference, why don't you start with:

STR 15 7pts
DEX 14 5pts
CON 15 7pts
INT 10 0pt
WIS 10 0pts
CHA 10 0pts

and then end up with

STR 19
DEX 12
CON 18
INT 8
WIS 10
CHA 10

And that leaves an extra point that can go to either INT, WIS, or CHA (your choice).

The Exchange

No peeking, please Rarely Accountant 2/Auditor 4/Waster 30

DEX 13 gives me access to Dodge, so it makes quite a big difference, I'm afraid.

I should also point out that I'd quite like to play the character I want to play, rather than the character you think I ought to play.


male
Aubrey the Malformed wrote:

DEX 13 gives me access to Dodge, so it makes quite a big difference, I'm afraid.

I should also point out that I'd quite like to play the character I want to play, rather than the character you think I ought to play.

I also want players that are very enthusiastic about their characters; it's the only way to have a great game.

But honestly, will you play your dumb half-giant any differently whether he had INT of 7 or 8? Whether his AC is 18 or 19?

I know you are saying the same thing about me, right? Will you DM a character any differently whether he has INT 7 or 8? My answer is probably not.

The only reason for me to request 'well-rounded' stats is because I don't want players to focus too much in one area. It's been my experience that characters that are too focused tend to outshine other PCs in detriment of the overall game. Although that may still happen; I try my best to prevent it.

Would this have been an issue if it had been there (in the character generation rules) from the start?

I'm not sure if I made myself clear but the rules (and guidelines) are there to serve the game. It's probably not the last time I change them or adapt them to our game. However, do keep in mind, that I do this for the improvement of the game (make it simpler, better, more dynamic, more balanced, whatever).

Anyhow, the character creation rules are there for everyone and if I didn't let other players dump stats before, I don't think it's right to do so now.

See if there's another way for you to conform to those guidelines. In the end, of course, he's your PC so you make sure that you are happy with what you end up with.

Questions?

Game on!


Welp, looks like my concept won't really work with those new Mul racial stats. (Not to mention the hell of a time I've had trying to get your Word Doc character sheet to work)
There is a small chance I'll figure out something else to submit by tomorrow, but it's not very likely.


male
Cronax wrote:

Welp, looks like my concept won't really work with those new Mul racial stats. (Not to mention the hell of a time I've had trying to get your Word Doc character sheet to work)

There is a small chance I'll figure out something else to submit by tomorrow, but it's not very likely.

Good to hear from you!

What do you mean the mul racial traits don't support a preserver?

Here's a mul preserver:

STR 10 0pts
DEX 14 5pts
CON 14 5pts
INT 16 10pt
WIS 10 0pts
CHA 10 0pts

apply racial traits, +2 CON, -2INT, +2ANY (choose INT) and you get:

STR 10
DEX 14
CON 16
INT 16
WIS 10
CHA 10

and then you have your +1 from 4th level which will probably go to INT so,

STR 10
DEX 14
CON 16
INT 17
WIS 10
CHA 10

I think that's pretty good.

If not, you can go 'human' or 'half-elf' and change your story slightly.

or you can come up with something else.

Anyway, whatever you do, please let us know before tomorrow at noon so we can finalize PCs selection.

Questions?

Game on!

The Exchange

No peeking, please Rarely Accountant 2/Auditor 4/Waster 30
Fabian Benavente wrote:
Aubrey the Malformed wrote:

DEX 13 gives me access to Dodge, so it makes quite a big difference, I'm afraid.

I should also point out that I'd quite like to play the character I want to play, rather than the character you think I ought to play.

I also want players that are very enthusiastic about their characters; it's the only way to have a great game.

But honestly, will you play your dumb half-giant any differently whether he had INT of 7 or 8? Whether his AC is 18 or 19?

I know you are saying the same thing about me, right? Will you DM a character any differently whether he has INT 7 or 8? My answer is probably not.

The only reason for me to request 'well-rounded' stats is because I don't want players to focus too much in one area. It's been my experience that characters that are too focused tend to outshine other PCs in detriment of the overall game. Although that may still happen; I try my best to prevent it.

Would this have been an issue if it had been there (in the character generation rules) from the start?

I'm not sure if I made myself clear but the rules (and guidelines) are there to serve the game. It's probably not the last time I change them or adapt them to our game. However, do keep in mind, that I do this for the improvement of the game (make it simpler, better, more dynamic, more balanced, whatever).

Anyhow, the character creation rules are there for everyone and if I didn't let other players dump stats before, I don't think it's right to do so now.

See if there's another way for you to conform to those guidelines. In the end, of course, he's your PC so you make sure that you are happy with what you end up with.

Questions?

Game on!

I understand why you don't want dump stats, and I understand that you need a baseline. And a half-giant is already a fairly over-the-top sort of PC race (and probably a bit over-powered - 2d6 from a bare-handed slap is the same as being hit by a two-handed sword). So "mild-ing" him down seems fair enough. But rather than drop DEX, I'll drop a point of STR. He'll still have a +4 STR bonus and he can increase his INT to the threshold. So his modified stats would be:

STR 18
DEX 13
CON 18
INT 8
WIS 10
CHA 11

And he'll get some extra skill points to the bargain. In the end that's actually better than he was under the previous version of half-giant so it's all good.

The Exchange

No peeking, please Rarely Accountant 2/Auditor 4/Waster 30
Fabian Benavente wrote:
Cronax wrote:

Welp, looks like my concept won't really work with those new Mul racial stats. (Not to mention the hell of a time I've had trying to get your Word Doc character sheet to work)

There is a small chance I'll figure out something else to submit by tomorrow, but it's not very likely.

Good to hear from you!

What do you mean the mul racial traits don't support a preserver?

Here's a mul preserver:

STR 10 0pts
DEX 14 5pts
CON 14 5pts
INT 16 10pt
WIS 10 0pts
CHA 10 0pts

apply racial traits, +2 CON, -2INT, +2ANY (choose INT) and you get:

STR 10
DEX 14
CON 16
INT 16
WIS 10
CHA 10

and then you have your +1 from 4th level which will probably go to INT so,

STR 10
DEX 14
CON 16
INT 17
WIS 10
CHA 10

I think that's pretty good.

If not, you can go 'human' or 'half-elf' and change your story slightly.

or you can come up with something else.

Anyway, whatever you do, please let us know before tomorrow at noon so we can finalize PCs selection.

Questions?

Game on!

An alternative to mul might be dwarf. You get +2 to CON and the +2 to WIS is also quite handy (Will saves and so on) and the -2 to CHA is not really a problem for a wizard as their class skills don't really go in that direction. The background wouldn't need to change much (both muls and dwarves are typically slave races) either. And dwarven focus looks pretty useful to a caster too (boost to spell DCs, to hit rolls and so on).

The Exchange

No peeking, please Rarely Accountant 2/Auditor 4/Waster 30
jerrys wrote:

Hey guys -

This is the anemic story I have put together so far for Barega, a halfling druid. I'm not as familiar with Athas as I would like, suggestions or corrections are appreciated.

---

Barega hails from a border tribe/settlement in the Forest Ridge. Early in his youth, he discovered an affinity and a sort of joy in the Wind, and he has followed its fickle direction for most of his life.

A great turning point in his life came when he, as a young hunter, set off on a on a walkabout that turned into many years spent "chasing the Wind". He chased it far and wide, and spent considerable time learning its ways in the Alluvial Wastes. During this portion of his walkabout, Barega was approached by a stranglely ageless man (a "tall one"). After getting past a somewhat tense initial encounter, the two men traveled together for some time. Barega found, to his great surprise, that the man was a sort of kindred spirit, another chaser of the Wind.

[Undecided if this should be a human, or another halfling instead. I originally wanted it to be a man, to sort of make it easier for Barega to go around with the other PCs. But Fabian thought it is implausible. I think he should have some sort of mentor, though, as I don't think Druidism would be easy to self-teach.]

In fact, the man was a Druid who had been stealthily observing Barega's progress and natural talents for many days. Barega was enthralled by the man's stories about the Land Spirits, and the Blue Time, and by his deep knowledge of the Wind and the Land. They traveled together for many years, during which the man taught Barega his ways, and they performed together many minor yet valiant acts of resistance against various defilers.

When the man judged that Barega had learned sufficiently, the two parted ways. Barega returned to his tribe wise beyond his years, and with an uncommon (if minor) tolerance toward the Tall Ones. He grew once again into the community, taking a particular joy in teaching his youngers and the preparation of holiday...

Hi Jerrys, I had a read of your background. Barega sounds like a great character. Obviously I'm not the DM, so anything I say can be gladly ignored and anyway should be passed by Fabian. Nor am I a great expert on Athas. However, I had a few comments which you can take or leave.

Halflings in DS are quite xenophobic. Clearly some of them wander, but their main reputation in the broader world of Athas is as murderous cannibals. Clearly Barega's wanderings would have "socialised" him a bit more, buy this is probably something you need to consider - a halfling is a bit of an edgy choice in Athas given their general proclivities. Also, I wouldn't say that he necessarily needed a mentor - the spirits of the land in Athas are quite strong, and it could be they revealed themselves to him or he worshipped them all along (worship of nature spirits is quite compatible with a tribal halfling background). It could be that Barega wandered to perfect his skills and understand more about the spirit world by meeting with other druids in different places where the spirits are strong, and thereby met other people and cultures that mellowed him somewhat in the cannibalistic/murderous stakes.

The episode with Dhojakt doesn't really explain who Dhojakt is/was and what he was up to and why he felt the need to destroy the halfling village. Given the general remoteness of Forest Ridge he'd need some sort of reason to be there (maybe trying to drain the power of some powerful spiritual site that the halflings worshipped/tended/sacrificed passing strangers to before noshing on the left-overs). Likewise, there isn't an explanation for what the human preserver was doing in the village (following Dhojakt?) and why he wasn't eaten. Also, most of the hunters dying in their own forest makes them sound a bit incompetent. It might work better if Barega and his cohorts pursued the defiler out of the forest and into the desert lowlands (for some reason - had he taken something precious or damaged something that needed to be avenged?) and the hunters died in an unfamiliar environment. Also, the presence of the human preserver is less problematic if it happens outside the Forest Ridge. And it might be more fun if Dhojakt is still alive...

Like I say, no need to heed any of the above, but these thoughts presented themselves.


male
Aubrey the Malformed wrote:

I understand why you don't want dump stats, and I understand that you need a baseline. And a half-giant is already a fairly over-the-top sort of PC race (and probably a bit over-powered - 2d6 from a bare-handed slap is the same as being hit by a two-handed sword). So "mild-ing" him down seems fair enough. But rather than drop DEX, I'll drop a point of STR. He'll still have a +4 STR bonus and he can increase his INT to the threshold. So his modified stats would be:

STR 18
DEX 13
CON 18
INT 8
WIS 10
CHA 11

And he'll get some extra skill points to the bargain. In the end that's actually better than he was under the previous version of half-giant so it's all good.

Great to hear!

I'm glad 'it's all good'. :)

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