Your aching bones awaken you... or was it the nightmare you were having. What time is it? What day is it? Maybe if you had a window, you would know. Your eyes adjust to the torchlight coming from the sconce in the wall, as you survey your surroundings. Yeah, you're still in the same place. The hay on the floor that serves as your bed, the bucket in the corner for your biological needs. All is in the same place where you remember. You try to stand but your bones creak from the pain, courtesy of the daily beatings, and you fall to the floor, your leg jerking from the manacle attached to it. You stay on the floor for a few seconds, praying for death, but it does not come. You sit up, your lips chapped and dry, your body covered by only a loincloth, caked in dirt and grime. No, whatever nightmare you just had, it certainly couldn't compare to the hell you've faced here for the past five years. Suddenly, movement from multiple figures coming from outside the door. "Move back degenerate! Door opening!" The reinforced wooden door opens and you see your normal jailer, the one responsible for the beatings, always out of your reach. This time something is different, he's not alone. He's accompanied by two men in robes. The jailer smiles at you, showing you the gap in his front teeth. "Relax, it's your lucky day!" Both men start casting magic and seconds later, sand falls on you, closing your eyes little by little. The last thing you hear before you doze off is the jailer's laughing voice, "Luck! You're gonna need it!" Ahhh.....more dreaming! You awaken again, but this time not from pain. Your memory of the past few days is hazy. You remember the spell then waking and being bound and stuffed on a wagon with guards and then more magical sleep. This kept on for days, as you heard the rolling wagon on the road. This time, however, as you awaken, there is no wagon. You are lying on a bench, covered by the same loincloth. Your bruises and wounds have been completely mended, though you feel a burning pain on your neck. However, as you look forward, there are still iron bars and you are still in a cell. You walk up to them and see numerous other cells arranged in a circle. You hear other prisoners awaking in their cells too. What the hell is going on?
Welcome all to my homebrew campaign, inspired by numerous movies and literature, including Hunger Games, Age of Worms, Challenge of Champions, Escape from New York, Way of the Wicked, and some Japanimation flick that I saw years ago whose name I can't remember. Whatever you may think of it, the beginning will be definitely be different than any other PbP you may have applied for/played. And no, this is not my version of Way of the Wicked.
The good:
If you follow the instructions for the submission of the application, depending on the number of applicants, the acceptance rate of this PbP will be high, as I plan to accept between 10-20 applicants.
The bad:
Throughout the course of the tournament that follows, all but five of you will die, either at the hands of the challenges you will face or ultimately, at the hands of your fellow players. Hence, only the fittest will survive. And I feel less guiltier rejecting players, as your survival is in your hands.
Broad Concept:
Set in Golarion, your character has been in prison for the past five years with no contact with the outside world, serving a life sentence, whether justly or wrongfully convicted. You have been brought to this tournament to undergo a series of challenges, which you must survive in order to prove your mettle and be recruited for a dangerous mission.
Application:
No arcane casters/alchemists/gunslingers will be picked for this PbP and you will eventually learn why in the course of the game. That leaves the following classes available: antipaladin (yes, that's right!), barbarian, cavalier, cleric, druid, fighter, inquisitor, monk, ninja, oracle, ranger, rogue, and samurai. All alignments allowed except no LG and no CE (no rapists/child molesters, etc.). If you are good aligned, I will assume you were wrongfully convicted. Antipaladins are Lawful Evil not CE. 1st level, max hps, 15 point buy, 2 traits. No equipment to start. Your application must consist of a character sheet (or link to it), alias, and background (what crime did you commit and why are you in prison) and personality and physical description, as well as a pick for a weapon 10 gp or under (monks do not get to pick). It pays to be creative as the top three creative backgrounds will receive bonus equipment at the start. Core races allowed but open to other races on case by case basis This is kill or be killed so you cannot have a problem putting another player down, if it comes to that. Survival is the number one goal.
Last comments:
1. All the challenges in the tournament will force you to use your brains as well as your brawn, stats, skills, and the die roller. And this game will reward creativity, guts, and passion.
2. This game is gritty and there is no denying all but five of you will die, so be prepared for that possibility.
3. Frequent posters will be rewarded as their characters will move ahead through the tournament faster (may die faster also) so if you're a slow poster, know that I will not NPC your character and you will be left behind.
4. Though you may think the start is like WWF/WWE battle royale, I am looking for good role players also, not just meat shields. There is a story and campaign after the tournament after all.
Really last comments!
I run a few games on these boards so do not doubt the deadliness of my games, but the majority of the players in them also have lots of fun. I am really excited to see who survives and how this concept works. I know I'm asking a lot: to spend time on a concept and a character sheet for a character you may grow to like only to have him die shortly thereafter. But imagine how much you will love him/her if you survive! High risk, high reward! This will also be my first non-Pathfinder/Dungeon AP game, so there's the element of the unknown for players where this game will go.
Any questions, let me know and let the dying begin. Hope there's some interest in this.
I'd like to join ... I've been working on a few ideas.
Question 1) would Equipment Trick(heavy blade scabbard) from Armory be OK?
if not skip question 2
Question 2) The cheapest heavy blade I can find is double chicken saber for 12g. Could I get a single chicken for 10? (tip broken so it loses disarm property)
I would like to join with this character, i assumed that core, apg, um and uc would be available since you did not mention anything special.
Full character sheet and background are in the spoilers, this is my first PbP application but i can easily commit to 1 post a day.
Let me know what you think and if anything needs changing, like i said not sure on the archtypes as you didn't metion any specific books.
Darklight: Yes, drow is a concern. Normal elf would be fine.
Salu: Yes to Question 1.
Menas: Your assumptions are correct, looks good.
Hmmm, guess PbPers don't like killing each other. We'll see if recruitment picks up.
It's monday morning (and you posted the recruitment sunday evening). Give it some time. :)
Thanks Eben, I was being tongue in cheek, though tone is hard to pick up in writing. :)
This seems like a good game to apply to with Emilian, here. He's quiet and shy off the battlefield (until he's been loosened up with a few drinks and good laughs), but a consumate performer on. He's a good fellow (NG mostly) but is guilty of the murder he was convicted for. There's a lot Emilian can take with a care-free smile, but betrayal isn't one of them.
Hm, sounds interesting. I'm thinking of an orcish Shapeshifter Ranger, who will end up fighting with tooth and claw.
Er. How do you feel about cannibalism? Outside of mechanical purposes, I mean.
Emilian: Good stuff, like the background and use of a shield as a weapon and defense.
Orthrik: For this game, no problems with cannibalism. Cool concept. Can you make it a half-orc instead of orc? I have problems allowing +4 Str race.
I can work with that, the penalty to wisdom looked like it would hurt anyway. And it lets me take the racial trait for the teeth.
Looks like emilian and myself are both going for the imp shield bash approach, i wonder how well we will stand up the prospect of PvP though.
Salu: I see the number crunch. Looks good, missing the background.
I statted up Orthrik, still need to whip up a backstory though. Should have it sometime tonight. Let me know if there's something wrong with the crunch.
I read your description on this one and could not resist! I'm not sure how long little Kwin here would last, especially since he has no means to heal himself. But it is certainly worth a try.
Hey MoB, glad to have ya! Nobody has any means to heal themselves and so far only one cleric has applied, so no worries there.
Looks like emilian and myself are both going for the imp shield bash approach, i wonder how well we will stand up the prospect of PvP though.
I should ask: Lucendar, are you okay with or planning on using the Performance Combat rules? Eventually, Emilisn would take the feat that lets him treat any combat as a performance combat, but in the beginning, if this is some sort of tournament, he would actually be able to take advantage of them from the outset.
Let me read them over and get back to you. Not too familiar with all the UC material.
Summary of Applicants so far:
Darklight - elf cleric: concept stage only
Salu - CG human fighter
Menas - CN human barbarian
Emilian - LN human fighter
Othrik - Half-orc ranger (no CE alllowed, change to LE/NE)
Kwin - NE halfling rogue
Need at least 4 more victims..I mean players! :)
Still deciding if I have the bandwidth for this.
Would it be safe to assume that druids and cavaliers do not have their animal companions?
Correct.
Updated profile with my backstory. Admittedly, I had a bit of a Predator thing going on, minus the obsession with fetishes and trophies (primitive barbarians suck).
Hey stupid hooman! How Bug git out o' here?
Yes, I am applying with a goblin!
Of course he would prefer a bow, but he could make do with a dogslicer.
Nice story, Othrik, very gritty!
Emilian, yes, I will use the combat performance rules for the all-out bloodbath at the end, if it's necessary.
Bug, you forgot 2 traits and that stealth score is sick!
*Edit: Stealth: +5dex+4size+4racial+1rank (stealth is not a class skill for fighters)= +14 (yet Herolab calculates as +17...odd!)
Bug, you forgot 2 traits and that stealth score is sick!
*Edit: Stealth: +5dex+4size+4racial+1rank (stealth is not a class skill for fighters)= +14 (yet Herolab calculates as +17...odd!)
It appears to be giving it a +3 for being a class skill. Hrmm... and I was waffling on a ranger build...
"Okay hooman! Bug ready to kills things!"
Whistles innocently about his stealth ability
I felt the Cad archetype fit him better, and as an added bonus gave him stealth as a class skill. Then came a nifty goblin trait...
Good, because that +3 imaginary class skill bonus was starting to bug me (no pun intended)!
"I be tellin' ye, I ain't done nothin' wrong. Ye bastards been pers, perseketing, persketing, been harassing me since the day I was born! All I done was live in the wilds!"
Welcome Kazmuk! Getting a nice variety of classes and races!
Updated Summmary:
Darklight - elf cleric: concept stage only
Salu - CG human fighter (obsidian scimitar)
Menas - CN human barbarian (heavy wooden shield)
Emilian - LN human fighter (heavy wooden shield)
Othrik - NE Half-orc ranger (cestus)
Kwin - NE halfling rogue (small dagger)
Bug - NE goblin fighter (small dogslicer)
Kazmuk - NE dwarf druid (battleaxe)
Would you be okay with a Lawful Evil Half-Elf Hungry Ghost Monk?
Sure.
I do love an evil character. Alias will be up tonight with crunch and background.
Coming up with evil cleric of Zon-Kuthon.... I really dwell and drool for idea of serial killer and psychopath with ill interest toward his victims :P
Just wanted to post my interest. I'm planning on drafting up a Monk as soon as I can. Still working out ideas in my head for race and back story.
Look forward to reading all your concepts!
*EDIT - once I have 10 complete characters ready to go, I'll post a deadline for any further submissions.
Morgthar the Ravenous meditated within his cell, allowing the business of the prison to go on around him while he let his focus sharpen within.
Sure, I don't know who's going to survive so you can play whatever you wish, as long as it's in accordance with the application ground rules.
After all my rejections I thought I was done with PbP, but you all just keep pulling me back in!
Lucendar, this one seems staggeringly spectacular. I'll have my character concept ready to roll right away.
No rejections at this PbP, maybe only death! :)
Will submit a cavalier later.
Remember rule #1: Always note where your money is stored on your body!
This is one is easy...no money to start!
Voice of laugher and maniacal giggling was echoing in the cell and rebound to nearby ones. Had the one in that cell already become mad or was he like from beginning...
Varos was kidnapped in a young age by slavers and sold to Zon-Kuthon clerics. These priest did not sacrifice him but rather taught him the art of torture, preaching to him the glory of darkness and death, filling his head and dreams with pleasure from agony and screams of the victims.
at age of 19 he had already took lives of many victims, celebrating his God on the defiled bodies of dead victims, mutilated beyond recognizing after hours of slashing and piercing, cutting and crushing. Ah, so sweet was the screams, the sorrow on their face, the agony of women when he lusted after them while using his skills to pierce their arms and hands.
However, during one faithful nights, the paladins of Iomedae were able to surprise him and take him as a prisoner, while he was too focused of torturing a family in a nearby abandoned temple, defiled to Zon-Kuthon cause.
Instead of executed immediately on that place, he was send to some prison... and he cackled on his cell as he waited for the darkness to fall. The true horrors lies there were no human can see and he was the one with it, the unholy servant of god of Darkness, The Dark one, who controlled the night. Soon he would get out and oh, that sweet melody of voice, aah, which would fill the air with its beautiful sound... the screams of innocent, good-natured, evil... no one was save from him.
The voice drops in volume and soon fades away but a eerie, dark song replaces the crazy and maniacal gaggling but this time it sounds worser and promising death...
...The Dark one, hear my voice as I sing,
the lullaby of night is my favorite thing,
the fall of darkness, when Moon wont shine...
is the time, when I will DINE...
The sorrow of innocents is unheard of here,
since souls of them will travel there,
where light wont shine and horrors sleep,
to the darkness of deep... the endless SEA...
The time is coming and soon it will hit,
when they will fall to my pit,
the clock soon will turn to midnight,
because that is the time of darkness MIGHT...
I submit Kor, a Half-Orc Monk of the Four Winds. I will post the rest of his stats as well as his backstory soon. I aim to have him be what is appearing to be the closest thing to a "good" character yet to be submitted.
Staggering from his place amongst the rags on his cell floor Menas shouts, "THESE KUTHITE'S WOULD BE PLEASANT COMPANY IF THEY WOULD JUST BE SILENT!" Gaining his feet and grabbing hold of his cell bars he continues "The night is for sleep, love... and revenge. Since at the moment the only option we have is sleep I would much rather spend my time on that than listening to your prattle. Now I see two options in our futures, either I come over there and tear out your tongue so we can all sleep peacefully or you let me focus my anger on the Jailer and hope i gloss over you in the bloodbath. Choose!"
As the final clamour of his outburst and the sound of his bars shaking subside he drops back to the floor into the oblivion of sleep once more.
Righty then. What do you think of tieflings?