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Far west of Tamran, in the foothills of the Mindspin mountains, the conflict between Nirmathas and Molthune is more far off tales of war than everyday reality. When the kingdom sundered, no-one was quite sure on which side of the border one lone, swampy, unnamed valley stood, and even fewer cared. So the Castellan of the keep ordered all flags lowered, all signs of loyalty hidden, and waited for someone from one side or another to come to give him orders.
He's still waiting.
So the Castellan maintains a ragtag garrison as best he can, mostly old soldiers, younger sons of local farmers, drifters and those looking to leave their past behind. He pays them from charges levied on travelling merchants whose wagons make the long, slow trek up the valley, taxes on scattered dwarven prospectors staggering back triumphantly with a pouch full of nuggets, and from selling 'charters' to scattered groups of adventurers who find their way to the Bree-Yark Inn, drawn by vague legends of the goblin-infested Caves of Chaos, and the whispered wizard hold of Quasqueton. Such groups rarely stay more than one season, but their charter fees, beer money and the rare treasures that they manage to liberate from the local goblinoid tribes just about meet the Keep's maintenance costs and the garrison's pay.
But each year, the Keep's walls crumble a little more, the garrison's blades get blunter, and fewer soldiers are levied to wield them. The howls outside the walls at night get louder, and vague shapes are seen moving in the morning mists. And the Castellan, fretting in his tower, wonders if perhaps those orders from Tamran or Canorate will come too late...
With the spring snows melting, and the road from the lowlands now open, the Castellan looks out down the valley to see who will make the trek up country this year, to seek their fortune at the Keep on the Borderlands.
I'm looking for a game for Minah here, my Shoanti Druid. I'll change her backstory a bit to fit the campaign but she's self sufficient, headstrong and looking for adventure!
I have a few ideas on a Nirmathas Ranger. Is this going to be 5E or PF rules set?
Red Box D&DPathfinder rules.
I love old-school modules. I'm not sure I ever played B1. I have an elf ranger focusing on ranged combat I created for a different game that never got started I'd like to play. Hopefully, he'd be able to carry an elven curved blade for melee when needed (assuming someone can craft one). I could work in some craft (bows).
Edit:Lol, Filios ninja'd me on the ranger concept. That's the problem with trying to respond at work, start to reply and then get sidetracked. I'll have to come up with something else - probably another martial type or possibly arcane.
I would certainly be interested. Thinking more along the lines of a rogue (unchained preferably).
Background is fairly well set, but certainly could be tweaked, for Lucian Faucon.
Obviously some rebuild (traits in particular?) would be in order based on build requirements of the campaign.
PF Rules - I am out - this would be awesome as a 5E adventure. Enjoy!
PF Rules - I am out
Then I'm sticking with my ranger.
I have a couple of ideas I would love to try out in this adventure.
1) An eccentric but likable human sorcerer who uses his charm to get through life, unable to count on his wit. He would specialize in debuff magic against enemies and skills in diplomacy and the like. Wears outlandish clothing and odd charms because he believes that style accentuates internal magical potential.
2) An oddball dwarf witch, neutral to moral codes but with a tendency toward enlightenment and discovery. He/she would provide a buff/healing role for the party while using an array of magic and hexes to thwart their enemies.
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How about an elvish woodland witch?
She never really wanted to leave the hills but the tribes blamed her for the death of a chief's son. No longer able to live in the Mindspin mountains, she is looking for a way to prosper and forget her past. After all it was not her fault that the scroll backfired!
Perhaps somewhere in her adventures, she can learn enough of making potions and scroll making so that the witch can return to the Mindspins and repair her poor reputation.
My witch will be a support healer and survivalist. Never played one before so it will be my first opportunity to see how good they can be compared to all the wizards and clerics I've run.
Cheers
FW
Would a hobgoblin be at all feasible for this adventure, with the whole Caves of Chaos thing going on? Having a goblinoid in the group might open some avenues for a more diplomatic approach. I'm thinking of an alchemist, a grenadier who has recently deserted from the Molthuni army. He would be able to craft potions and alchemical items for the group.
Is this just an interest check, or a recruitment? :)
Throwing a concept here, pending knowing if this will be Golarion or not to drop specific directions and names:
A former soldier who suffered a grievous wound to the head in battle far from home, barely surviving it but losing his memory in the process.
After the usual battlefield thieves freed him of his mortal possesions, a group of pilgrims found him drifting and close to death.
With no memories and no shield to look for heraldry, he took the roads in search of anything that would spark his mind and remember where was his home.
He would have arrived at the Keep as a guard on one of the merchant wagons.
As for class, I can see it as a fighter or barbarian but obviously the concept is loose enough so he can double as anything -even cleric if the only item he retained was his "bible" and a holy simbol. Anyway, axe and shield frontliner.
Oh, and he is called Maxxson. He does remember that... or does he?
Interested in playing this profile. Blaughter is an old worn down solider, jovial and kind natured, tired of seeing good lads fall in wars began by men who've never even seen a battlefield.
Or at least that's the lie he's been living the last few years. The truth is, well...something less heroic. He wasn't so much a soldier as a hired killer, and, at least at the time, he didn't care a bit for the young men who didn't make it home. That was a long time ago, though, and he's a different man now. Changed for the better. Even dedicated his life to serving the goddess Desna.
Or at least that's what he tells himself. But sure enough, an old "friend" came sniffing around for him, offering a big sack of coin for a job that came as natural as breathing just a few years ago, and Blaughter said yes just out of reflex.
;) I don't want to play a bad guy in this campaign. Backgroundwise Blaughter's been hired to take someone in the keep out (the Castellan perhaps...maybe someone on one side doesn't want to risk him taking orders from the other), but if selected he isn't going to go through with it. It's just his reason for going out that way, and once there he's going to decide doing whatever adventurey type stuff we have to do is going to be his second chance.
Though I remember very little about it, I played a dwarven cleric in the original about 100 years ago. I'll try to recreate that character. Just a standard cleric (What pantheon are we using? sitting out from his homelands due to a calling from something or someone. Typical gruff dwarf, but loyal to a fault, and totally devoted to his god and his cause. He was named Ichabod Ironbottom.
Thanks for the vote of confidence, Jesse!
@GM_Ragged: As Jesse mentioned above, we play in a number of games together (including one I DM) and you would really have to search to find a better player in terms of reliabilty and roleplaying effort than Jesse.
@Jesse: Do you have a preference among the three concepts? I know I had suggested a rogue (and oddly enough had considered a hunter), but I'm not dead set on it if you were really wanting to play the gnome.
I'd like to run a Forgemaster Cleric for this. The child of Forgemaster's, he learned metal working young and when he came of age devoted himself to Torag. When his training was done he felt called by Torag to come to the keep to renew their weapons and armor.
@Jesse: I'm fine with that. Fellow travelers might work better with Lucian's family background.
Some answers to questions:
Is this an interest check or a recruitment? Sort of both - I'm trying to find out if people are interested in playing, and if the characters they are interested in playing are interesting enough for me to want to run the game. It seems like there is sufficient interest, so I'll turn it into a formal recruitment thread soon.
Is this Golarion? Yes, but that shouldn't matter. Part of the nature of the scenario is that you are in the wilderness, days travel from anywhere important, in a crumbling old keep whose Castellan is well aware that any authority he has only extends as far as the end of his men's swords. It's a semi-closed sandbox. The Runelords/Pathfinders/Rovagug won't be popping up.
What does 'self-sufficient' mean? You won't be reduced to building things out of sticks, but resources will be limited. There is no magic shop, the Keep's blacksmith probably can't make you a set of full plate, but he probably can refurbish that rusty chainmail you took from the bandit. Silver or cold iron probably requires placing an order, cash up front, with one of the merchant caravans that turn up occasionally. There might be a few flasks of alchemist's fire gathering dust in the Keep's armoury. So having Craft(Alchemy) ranks, Craft(Armour) or Brew Potion might be a useful way of spending your downtime at the Keep.
Hobgoblin?Hmm, it's a bit far from the feel that I'm trying to create. Probably not, but I'd take it on its merits.
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OK, so since people are asking for build guidelines...
2nd Level - anyone coming to the Keep probably has a history.
20 point buy
or roll 4d6 (in this thread) drop the lowest six times, arrange as you like, since we are being old school.
1000gp wealth, which you can spend on any equipment you like, but keep in mind the resources issue. If you build a character that is heavily dependent on her bow, what are you going to do if you run out of arrows? Or it gets sundered? Consider Craft(bowyer) or Craft(fletcher).
Paizo sources only please, simply because I can look them up in the SRD if I don't have it.
If you can find a campaign trait somewhere that really suits you, feel free to take it.
A couple of paragraphs of character background - show me how interesting your character is!
Ask if you are unsure of anything.
Hobgoblin?Hmm, it's a bit far from the feel that I'm trying to create. Probably not, but I'd take it on its merits.
Well, I'm going to give it a try. All of the other concepts so far have been pretty standard, so having one party member be the odd one out/native guide/Spock of the group might be interesting.
Ask if you are unsure of anything.
How many traits do we get in total? Just the one? Drawbacks?
Are background skills in use? My alchemist wouldn't really need them (being an Int-based character) but since we are expected to be crafting a lot, it would be fair for fighters and other classes that get fewer skill points.
Do you mind if I take the Fire Bomber archetype? It's technically meant for goblins, but it seems like it work equally well for their larger cousins (who share their obsession with fire, albeit in a more methodical fashion).
2 Traits. You can take a Drawback and a third Trait if you wish, but try to avoid blatant min/maxing.
Background skills - no, for two reasons. Firstly, as long as you choose sensibly, you will get direct benefits from your Craft, Profession and Knowledge skills. Secondly, I'm relatively generious in allowing skill checks to gain circumstance bonuses when trying to do stuff that's vaguely related to a skill.
Fire Bomber - go ahead.
Yes. Dice rolling always sucks me in as well.
10
9
16
9
10
14
Oh Well. That's the roll of the dice. I'll give it a shot anyway, as Clerics can survive...Maybe that's why the rest of the clan wasn't too upset when he decided to leave.
GM, what are your thoughts on crafting pre-start? Since Wizards get Scribe Scroll at level 1, could I feasibly have some self-scribed scrolls?
I don't see why not. Let's say that you can spend up to 25% of your starting wealth (so 250gp for most people) on things you could make at their cost, rather than their price.
So your wizard could spend up to 250gp on scrolls at their cost price, but only on 0th and 1st level spells.
Similarly someone with Craft(armour) could buy armour at half price, as long as it's not more than 250gp.
Max for 1st level, half a die plus 1 for 2nd level OR roll in this thread, which seems to be wildly popular. Maybe I should bring back alignment languages, earspoons and THAC0 too? :)
Any alignment restrictions?
@GM_Ragged: Now that this is a full blown recruitment thread, how many PCs do you intend to take forward?
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Any alignment restrictions?
Co-operate with the other characters. Don't be an arse.
LE hellknight with a strong code of ethics would probably work. LE "I'm going to charge the party members for my services" probably won't.
NE who takes the long-term view and realized its better for them not to screw people over might work. NE "I do what the hell I like and damn the consequences" probably won't.
CN (carefree and whimsical edition) might work. CN (disruptive jerkass edition) probably won't.
@GM_Ragged: Now that this is a full blown recruitment thread, how many PCs do you intend to take forward?
Probably 5. I might stretch to 6 if party balance requires it.
Quick question, seeing that some of the rolls are on the awgul spectre... would you allow some kind of point buy if the rolls suck big balls?
Maybe not the full initially offered, but some cut version just in casethe rolls can't live up to the concept.
If your rolls are truly awful, then use point-buy instead.
And here is Phntm888's submission. Presenting Henris Flynn, Transmuter Wizard and Jeweler.
Please, review him and let me know if there is anything he needs.
I'll keep recruitment open until the beginning of next week.
= 8
= 16
= 18!
= 17!
= 9
= 14
Interesting stats! Character crunch to come later based on these rolls.
Was it something I said?