Lunar Sloth's Second Darkness

Game Master Slothsy

• Bullying:
  Why does it seem disconnected with the rest of the story? You never indicate why other than that you don't seem to like it. And before you claim that this is a random personality bit I threw in, please read the following: "Because she was weaker than the other children, she was bullied frequently. She tried to deflect their taunts and jabs as best she could, though she was not always successful. The experiences were valuable, though, because out of them she developed patience and a steely inner strength." Sounds like a valid reason to hate bullies. Unless you feel that childhood events shouldn't influence her as an adult.

• Elven Society:
  What story point brought you to the conclusion that she was raised outside of elven society? I'll tell you this much, no such point exists because I never made it, either explicitly or implicitly. She lives in the city with other elves. Being that Absalom is a diverse city she would have been exposed to children of other races. There are many large groups of elves that live in an urban environment, and this is no exception. Please, kindly provide your reasoning as to why you have this concern.

• Elven Knowledge:
  As to her knowledge, I direct you to something: "She was given access to any material she desired (not that she really studied with a gift such as hers), from those pertaining to her race, to literature pertaining to the religious." Sound familiar? It should as this is in her story. Divine knowledge is a real concept in the game. I accounted for this in the mechanics by making her an Oracle. I also draw your attention to a sentence in the opening paragraph that describes the Oracle class: "These divine vessels are granted power without their choice, selected by providence to wield powers that even they do not fully understand."
  

If you are going to provide feedback then you need to tell potential players your reasoning so we can see your point of view. Not doing so means that it looks like you merely don't like something rather than having a legitimate concern. Save time and post ALL relevant info so the best decisions can be made from the beginning.

You seemed to glossed over the story on several points. This led you to jump to some conclusions regarding such. For the sake of all players, don't. Instead of assuming something you should always ask first. Less stress overall.

In my head Hisao's past isn't very far behind him and he just arrived at Riddleport. He heard it's a good place to get lost and start fresh and being Chaotic Neutral kinda it fits his personality to a T. Really though he leans a bit more towards CG than CE.

I thought that you were Forlorn, as Absalaom, while a very diverse city, doesn't have many elves or a elven society within it. Lore keepers, in particular, are more associated with Kyonin. In my copy of the Guide to Absalom, it says that elves are actually rather uncommon, and tend to be either the Forlorn or adventurers leaving their home town.

Thank you for pointing out that part of your backstory. I hadn't made the connection earlier.

I apologize in advance for the long post! I hope you enjoy reading it and that it answers your questions about Aviara's feelings and interaction with the world.

The loss of her family has left her with a complicated guilt-trauma complex. There is the sadness of losing many of the people she loves and now being alone in the world, as well as a sense of that it was her fault. This guilt comes from two sources. First of all, she grew up being told that she is a sign of good-fortune. Second, she did not kill her original captor when she escaped from him.

When it comes to the beliefs surrounding her divine sign, how much her presence in the world influences things. She is doubtful that much that was prophesied about her is true. Yet, the sign does have power, and to be treated as a living boon, it is difficult not to have it go to your head.

Regarding her escape from her first captivity, she believes, in hindsight, that she did not behave as a good jarl's (grand)daughter should. While it may have been risky, her captor may have woken up, she should have killed him in his sleep, to ensure that he did not make it back to his clan. In truth, the other clan may have descended on her people anyway, but she has convinced herself that had she only killed the brute who had carried her off, she would have prevented this terrible thing.
Further, there is much shame about her fleeing from her people, especially when the enemy was there because of her. In hindsight, she wonders, if she had simply let the enemy clan take her, when they arrived, maybe her people would have been saved.

The process of grieving goes through a number of stages, starting with denial, then anger, and then bargaining. However, I doubt the process goes cleanly and unmixed. Aviara has mixed feelings of denial, anger and often bargains with herself. Every day and night as she goes to sleep or wakes up, she attempts to convince herself that some of her family must still be alive somewhere, waiting for her. She believes that one day she shall find them, if only she should go to the North again. Sometimes she tries to convince herself that nothing like this really happened, that her entire life up to this point is a bad dream, and she is often angry. She carries feelings of wrath especially for the man who first captured her, anger at the greed and folly of humanity, but mostly, she has moments of anger for herself. If only she had not run away!

She believes that before she can face the North again, she must somehow redeem herself. She must become stronger, learn who she is in her own way, and prove to herself that she can face adversity, and overcome it, rather than running away. She has vowed then: never again shall she run away from an enemy, unless she is the last person in a group to run. Should an enemy be at her mercy, she shall not let him run free ever again, even if it is risky to kill him, or somehow place him under captivity. Finally, there is a dept to pay. When she finally returns to the North, she must find that first man who captured her, and be the one personally to send him to the Boneyard. She takes care to constantly remind herself of his appearance, and his name, so she may hunt him down eventually. She must avenge her family, or right her failure so long ago. And she must find anyone who survives of her family, even if they are now thralls. However, how can she face them, until she has made herself a better woman, and killed the man who first wronged her, who wronged them?

Finally, there is the issue of her heritage as a half-elf. She grew up in an Ulfen community. However, she knows next to nothing about the elven half of her heritage. Her being half-elven was a big part of her perceived divinity, because the elves are considered almost spiritual beings, regard to be more like fey, among the Ulfen. She is convinced she must learn more about the elven people, and what it means to be an elf, or a half-elf, in order for her to understand everything that has happened in her life. Exactly how she shall do this, or exactly what she shall learn, she is uncertain, but she "knows" that she must.

At present, in Riddleport, she is mostly lost. She wishes for redemption, to learn about her elven heritage, to become stronger and seek vengeance; however, she is unsure how to do any of this. The opportunity with the Golden Goblin Casino is something she would likely seek, merely because she doesn't know what else to do, but she has to do something. At least there is danger here, and this time, she is walking into to danger with back-up rather than running away alone.

Thank you so much for reading all of that! It seems I may have to re-write Aviara's personality tab to incorporate all of this, though probably in summary. Does this cover what you are looking for, or do you feel I am still missing something?

Let me know.

If you still want your character to be from Absalom, we can still tie that in. For example, your parents could be from an elven society originally that moved to Absalom. It's not that big of a deal.

As luck would have it though Riddleport was perhaps the best place for him. His dark mood matched the city's atmosphere well and there was enough risk just going down the street that Variel had to pay attention constantly just to remain alive.

Each day Variel would spend a portion of the day along the Wharf district looking for work among any of the ships that were sailing out or as a guard for any of the warehouses that were storing supplies. None of the ships needed another hand and the warehouses just laughed at the look of Variel. Variel couldn't blame them as being an elf his build was more slender then a human, half-orc, or dwarf. That and Variel had no references to prove he was trustworthy and wouldn't steal from them., Nonetheless Variel kept trying each and every day as his supply of money from selling their, well his now after the death of his wife, house would not last forever.

After spending the morning fruitlessly obtaining work, VAriel would then spend the rest of the day walking around town getting to know the lay of the city. He didn't know how long he would stay in Riddleport at this time as the first job offer may take him elsewhere but it would be good to know where things were in the meantime. VAriel visited the free coin district and watch the games of chance that were popular by many, With such limited funds though VAriel refrained from drowning his sorrows in ales while gambling his money away. He once paid to enter into one of the facilities, The Dragon's Hoard, to watch others entertain themselves. All Variel saw was poverty and squalor trying to get lucky and escape their fate. Variel knew that from experience that the gods did not smile down on people or bless them in such ways. Only the ignorant that did not suffer the hardships he did believe that the gods actually helped people. NO, these people would rot here gambling their life away. Variel's life, as harsh as it was and as cynical as he sometimes was, was better than theirs. He left shortly thereafter and never returned since.

Variel is still looking for work and following his routine.

Lawful Neutral: A lawful neutral character acts as law, tradition, or a personal code directs her. Order and organization are paramount. She may believe in personal order and live by a code or standard, or she may believe in order for all and favor a strong, organized government.

Lawful neutral means you are reliable and honorable without being a zealot.

From Kavaki's background: his master contributed a suggestion to help him with his first steps, by stating, "to understand peace, you must experience chaos." Kavaki's not exactly sure how to interpret his master's wisdom, but Kavaki has set out to to find an answer. Not knowing any real profession, he has found his intimidating size and monk training helpful to put some coin in his pouch as well as keep up his practice.

. Highlighted some key aspects of my alignment, followed by an excerpt from my background.

. The "neutral" releases him from living in the confines of acting upon written laws, and into the confines of his "personal code". High in his personal code is the role of his monk master. Should his master have instructed him to carry out an unsavory request he would most likely done exactly what was asked of him. He could easily perceive the crime boss as a "master outside the monastery", and would handle requests in the same mannor.

. The "experience chaos" quote from his background could be viewed as an understanding of his master, that he may need to do things Kavaki would not normally do, during his time away from the monastery. A monk is required to be "Lawful" in alignment which can fall under Lawful Good, Nuetral, or Evil.

. Depending on what happens during the campaign, he may shift at times between all 3 of these, but we can only find out what will become of Kavaki, IF he is accepted into the adventure.

I hope this helps answer your "interview" question. If I missed anything, or you have further questions, please follow up with me. Thank you.

When she left the clan, Riddleport was the closest settlement, so she hooked up with another Varisian clan that was passing by and accompanied them to Riddleport. She traded her skills in healing to pay her way.

Now that she is in Riddleport she has heard about the dark blot blocking the sky and stars, and feels that Desna would want the mystery solved, so she has begun to investigate. She is staying in a modest inn, but is thinking about taking a job soon to pay her way. She heard a friend she made while trading in another settlement is going to be at the the Gold Goblin Gambling Hall, and is hoping (s)he might be able to help her find a job or assist in solving the mystery of the blot.

Velisa is a devout follower of Desna, and especially believes in the power of harrow decks, thinking of following in her mother's footsteps. She is kind to others and more trusting than one would expect from a travelling Varisian.