Scro

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41 posts (330 including aliases). No reviews. No lists. No wishlists. 8 aliases.


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A question. If, for example, I wanted to play a character who was skilled in disguises and poisons, could I use the Ninja class without having to use the pseudo-asian background and flavor for it? I've seen Monks run as bareknuckle brawlers instead of meditative martial artists, and I think doing something similar would be fairly easy.


*cough* I know I took a day longer on my submission, but I'm well under deadline and should still be on the list there.


I decided to go with the elven fighter. Therefore let me present to you Narliss the swordsman. Background and condensed stats are bellow, I'll be happy to answer any questions.

Stats:
Narliss
CG male elf Fighter 7
Str 16, Dex 16, Con 12, Int 14, Wis 9, Cha 12

Traits: Armor Expert, Warrior of Old
Feats: Weapon Focus (Elven Curve Blade), Power Attack, Dazzling Display, Improved Sunder, Weapon Spec (ECB), Intimidating Prowess, Shatter Defenses, Greater Sunder
Skills: Acrobatics, Climb, Craft (weapons), Intimidate, Swim
Gear: +1 Adamantine Elven Curve Blade, +2 Full Plate, Scabbard of Stanching (APG)

Tale of Narliss:
This is the tale of Narliss, an elf with a simple dream; to be the greatest swordsman in the world. Its simplicity was that it was not the means to any end, but an end unto itself. He did not seek it in order to win fame, or gain wealth, or claim revenge, or protect the innocent. Though others would at times credit his actions to these motivations his goal was always to improve his skills just a little more. Every battle was a chance to test what he had learned, each loss a lesson in his weaknesses, each victory a proof of his achievements.

Out of his home in the cold south he came unto the lands of Waslitch in search of challenges. At that time peace reigned over the kingdoms, and the days of champions forged on the fields of war were past. Not one for mindless bloodshed or needless slaughter, Narliss sought his challenges where they could be found. Early reports tell of his confrontations with bandit gangs or hobgoblin slavers. Once those offered no new lessons he spent a time visiting the cities of Waslitch to learn from those who might match or surpass his skill. Still retold are stories of his narrow loss in a duel with the swordmaster Brelach and how he chased down and slew the assassin Malkin over the rooftops of Kent.

When his tour was complete Narliss turned to the countryside once more, seeking out more remote schools of combat or lost weapons of legend. Alas, there is a danger to chasing rumors, for some are spread maliciously. Such was the case when Narliss rode into the mountains following the story of a hermit who guarded the fabled blade Balefang till one worthy presented themselves. To his misfortune the story was a complete fabrication, started by the red dragon Kavelgas to lure people to her lair for sport. Narliss fought with more ferocity than he ever had before, but after suffering several telling blows Kavelgas tired of her games. From the safety of the air her fiery breath reduced the elf to mere cinders.

How are the events of his death known, you ask? Some say he had a squire who watched from hiding and escaped while the dragon licked her wounds. Others say that Kavelgas regretted how their battle ended and spread the elf's tale in honor of one who had won her game, even if he had lost his life. It is even claimed that the gods disliked such an early end to the tale of Narliss, and so he was reborn in another land where new challenges awaited him. Perhaps if the last is true we will someday hear new stories of a swordsman without compare carried back to us.


I've got two character ideas that I might want to use here. One is an elven Fighter with the dream of becoming the greatest swordsman in the world. The other is a human Rogue/Shadowdancer who's carefully honing his skills as a thief without compare. DM Caleth, do you have any preference as to which might be better suited for the campaign?

4d6 ⇒ (3, 6, 1, 3) = 13 = 12
4d6 ⇒ (5, 4, 2, 3) = 14 = 12
4d6 ⇒ (4, 6, 5, 4) = 19 = 15
4d6 ⇒ (2, 4, 4, 6) = 16 = 14
4d6 ⇒ (1, 2, 3, 4) = 10 = 9
4d6 ⇒ (1, 4, 5, 5) = 15 = 14

Huh, came out to exactly 20pt buy effectively.


Click on the My Account in the gray bar near the top of the page. In the left hand column there's a Messageboard Aliases box. Put your character name for the Avatar Name, select an avatar image that fits your character, and hit Submit Changes. There, it's created. When you start a post you're have a Post As dropdown in the lower left corner, select the character for the game when doing so. It's also common to put your character sheet in the Aliases' profile for easy access.


It's my pleasure to submit Corbrius Jank, a human Magus, for the Arcane Investigator and/or Bodyguard roles. Questions or comments are more than welcome.

Stats:
Corbrius Jank
NG male human Magus (Bladebound) 1
Str 16, Dex 12, Con 12, Int 16, Wis 11, Cha 10
Traits: Focused Mind, Mwangi Scholar
Skills: Climb, Know (arcana), Know (history), Linguistics, Spellcraft, Swim, UMD
Languages: Common, Polyglot, Azlanti, Draconic, Infernal, Celestial
Feats: Weapon Focus (Scimitar), Combat Casting

Corb's Tale:
The young man sits nervously in his chair. He looks no older than 19, with olive skin and dark red hair. "My name? My name is Corbrius Jank. If you insist on hearing my story, you have to understand that it's really as much about her as me." He places his sword on the table and unsheathes it slightly. Though of ancient and ornate design the curved blade has obviously seen better days. Its etchings are faded, its metal a dull gray, and the red gem on the hilt has a crack running down its center. "This is Asilande. She's asleep right now. That's why I have to go to south, to wake her up again."

With a deep breath he begins to explain. "You see, even though my father was the younger brother he inherited the family business. Jank Trading, out of Absalom, you might have heard of it? That's because my uncle Gabber inherited the family responsibility of guarding Asilande. She's supposed to be an Azlanti blade of power, or something like that, but nothing special had happened in generations. Except uncle Gabber didn't just sit around being a guardian. He went traveling, and when they came back she was awake."

"She was different then. I was just a kid, but I'd never seen anything so beautiful." His hand gently rests on the blade. "Black as night with a gleaming red eye, sharp enough to cleave granite, and even if I couldn't hear her voice I could feel the life in her." He pauses as the memories overtake him. "Uncle Gabber said she had a mission for him. That it was why our family had protected her all these years, to help her when she needed to act. So he went south, to the jungles of Mwangi. Only he never came back, and she came back like this."

"I don't know what happened to uncle Gabber, but I think he has to be dead. Asilande wouldn't leave his side otherwise. I also don't think she finished what she needed to do. That's why I've trained in combat and spell work like uncle did, so I can finish what he couldn't." A frown overtakes him. "But she still hasn't woken up again. Maybe I need to be stronger, maybe I need to be somewhere she's needed. If I'm going to find either of those it's by going south, where she sent uncle Gabber."

He looks up with a mixture of pleading and determination. "I can read Azlanti runes and understand the arcane workings that still linger in their places. If you're going to be investigating ruins I can be of help with those. I've also trained enough with Asilande that I can hold my own in a fight, even with her in this state. So please, let me join you on your journey. I promise I'll be of use to you."


Since you say "approval only" would it be okay for me to work up a Magus submission for the Arcane Investigator role? I've been playing for long enough that I always get an itch to try out new classes at least once, just to see how they work out, and I think I've got the seed of a good idea for one.


Best of luck to you all.

For my own reference, do you have any advice for me on my character submission? That is, were you looking for something in the way of a more detailed history or cleaner sheet, or did Kyros just not fit in with the group comp as it developed? I've had rather spotty luck getting into games I'm interested in, and I'm trying to pick up improvements where I can.


And finished the equipment list. I believe my math is right, but feel free to double check if you want.

Equipment:
+3 Wounding Dagger 50.3k
+1 Merciful Human-Bane Dagger 18.3k
+4 Glamered Leather 18.85k

Ring of Chameleon Power 12.7k
Ring of X-Ray Vision 25k

Amulet of Natural Armor +4 16k
Belt of Physical Might (Str/Dex) +4 20k
Boots of Striding and Springing 5.5k
Cloak of Arachnidia 14k
Glove of Storing 10k
Pearl of the Sirens 15.3k
Portable Hole 20k
Sheath of Bladestealth (APG) x2 10k
Vest of Escape 5.2k

Dust of Tracelessness (2) 500
Potion of CLW (5) 250
Secret Chest spell focus 5k
Shelving and ladders for Portable Hole 100
Expensive clothing, mundane gear, food and water, books* 1500
Coins and gems in a wide variety of values* 1500
*Stored in Portable Hole

Total = 250,000

The merciful dagger is named Forgiveness, and Kyros uses it when he needs to incapacitate guards or other people he has no ill will towards. The wounding dagger is named Spite, and its cuts bleed until the last drop of life has escaped.

I always made a couple of minor mechanical tweaks. Ditched the archetype as redundant, switched a rogue talent around. Reposting the sheet just to be complete about it.

Sheet:
Kyros
CG male human Rogue 5 / Shadowdancer 10
Str 12, Dex 22, Con 10, Int 14, Wis 10, Cha 16

Rogue Talents: Combat Swipe, Bleeding Attack, Convincing Lie, Distracting Attack, Fast Stealth

Feats: Combat Reflexes, Dodge, Mobility, Spring Attack, Agile Maneuvers, Weapon Finesse, Combat Expertise, Imp Steal, Greater Steal, Quick Steal

Skills:
Acrobatics +24 (15 ranks + 3 trained+ 6 ability)
Bluff +21 (15 ranks + 3 trained + 3 ability)
Climb +19 (15 ranks + 3 trained + 1 ability)
Diplomacy +21 (15 ranks + 3 trained + 3 ability)
Disable Device +26 (15 ranks + 3 trained + 6 ability + 2 class)
Disguise +21 (15 ranks + 3 trained + 3 ability)
Perception +18 (15 ranks + 3 trained)
Slight of Hand +24 (15 ranks + 3 trained + 6 ability)
Stealth +24 (15 ranks + 3 trained + 6 ability)

Appraise +10 (5 ranks + 3 trained + 2 ability)
Escape Artist +14 (5 ranks + 3 trained + 6 ability)
Perform (Dance) +11 (5 ranks + 3 trained + 3 ability)


I'd like to present Kyros, the most infamous thief in Greece. I've got basic stats and a short background done. Equipment will take a touch longer, but I'll try to finish later tonight. I'll gladly expand on anything if you have questions.

Stats:
Kyros
CG male human Rogue (Burglar) 5 / Shadowdancer 10
Str 12, Dex 22, Con 10, Int 14, Wis 10, Cha 16

Rogue Talents: Combat Swipe, Combat Trick, Convincing Lie, Distracting Attack, Fast Stealth

Feats: Combat Reflexes, Dodge, Mobility, Spring Attack, Agile Maneuvers, Weapon Finesse, Combat Expertise, Imp Steal, Greater Steal, Quick Steal, Improved Disarm

Skills:
Acrobatics +24 (15 ranks + 3 trained+ 6 ability)
Bluff +21 (15 ranks + 3 trained + 3 ability)
Climb +19 (15 ranks + 3 trained + 1 ability)
Diplomacy +21 (15 ranks + 3 trained + 3 ability)
Disable Device +26 (15 ranks + 3 trained + 6 ability + 2 class)
Disguise +21 (15 ranks + 3 trained + 3 ability)
Perception +18 (15 ranks + 3 trained)
Slight of Hand +24 (15 ranks + 3 trained + 6 ability)
Stealth +24 (15 ranks + 3 trained + 6 ability)

Appraise +10 (5 ranks + 3 trained + 2 ability)
Escape Artist +14 (5 ranks + 3 trained + 6 ability)
Perform (Dance) +11 (5 ranks + 3 trained + 3 ability)

Background:
Kyros is the greatest thief in the world. This is perhaps the one statement about him that everyone can agree upon. He steals away truth and honesty as easily as he does physical valuables. So it is that all tales of his exploits are prefaced with “it is said that” to warn the listener that nothing that has come into contact with Kyros, not even a story, can be trusted.

It is said that the first thing Kyros stole was a birthright. His parents had not a drop of divine blood in them, but his swaddling basket was placed next to that of a child of Ikalani the god of trickery and deception. When the divine messengers arrived to deliver their blessing Kyros threw his blanket over the other child and cried out, and so deceived they laid the gifts on him instead.

It is said that Kyros stole the life of Hectrax, the tyrant of Rask, by doing nothing more than tapping him on the shoulder. So hated was Hectrax that the ruled surrounded his bedchamber with a hundred guards, and around those guards were a fortified palace staffed by another hundred guards, and around the palace was a high wall manned by yet another hundred guards. Yet somehow Kyros made it inside without raising a single alarm, and when he touched the tyrant Hectrax was caught by such a frightful surprise that his heart stopped dead.

It is said that Kyros stole something of great value from Melonia the goddess of the dawn. Tellings disagree if this was her favorite tiara, her mirror that reflected the bloom of youth, or her first kiss. Whatever the tale, in her wrath she cursed him that the light of the sun would always flinch away from his presence. But Kyros cared not, and happily stole the secrets of the shadows that clung to him.

It is said that Kyros can wear any face he desires, that he can dance past any lock or chain as easily as a breath of wind, that he can pass unseen by even the most watchful eye, and that he can slip the rings from your fingers so deftly you won't notice till the day after. It is said that he's stolen the treasures of kings across the known world, that he cares nothing for what he takes and does it only for the challenge, and that he turned down an offer to join the ranks of heaven because he'd rather steal himself a spot someday. All these things are a mix of truth, exaggerations, and amusing falsehoods. Many of them spread by Kyros himself, because stealing a reputation is more in character than earning it honestly.


How much detail do you want for a submission? A character profile and race/class, obviously, but what do you want in the way of stats and feats and so on at this point? I only ask because at 15th level there can be quite a bit of number crunching to do.


Question. Is it the standard two traits with one needing to be a campaign trait, or only the one campaign trait?


Okay, first draft of a character submission is done. Presenting Horgun Flintnose, dwarven ranger. Please give it a look over and tell me if you have any feedback.

Stats:
Horgun Flintnose
CN male dwarf Ranger (Falconer Skirmisher) 1
Str 16, Dex 14, Con 15, Int 10, Wis 12, Cha 10
Traits: Goldsniffer, Child of Nature, Earning your Freedom
Feats: Improved Shield Bash
Skills: Handle Animal, Knowledge (Dungeoneering), Knowledge (Geography), Knowledge (Nature), Perception, Profession (cook), Survival
Animal Companion: Argia (female vulture)

Background:
It's not that Horgun is a bad person, truly. It's simply that he decided at a young age what he wanted from life and hasn't been picky about how he got it.

He grew up in the mining town of Tinshield, an isolated and traditional dwarven settlement. Horgun hated it there. All day people would dig rocks out of the ground. At night they'd either make thing from the rocks they'd dug up or get roaring drunk. There was never anyone new to meet, everyone spent all time time in holes in the ground, and he couldn't stand mushroom soup. What Horgun wanted was to travel and see the many places and peoples of the world, and to have enough wealth to do so in comfortable style. As soon as he was of age and had saved enough for a good axe and a cheap breastplate he left Tinshield behind to do just that.

With a sharp eye in the wilderness and a steady hand in a fight, Horgun wasn't short of mercenary work to take him new places. While he found the open sea especially enchanting, with its distant horizon and limitless ports of call, he also traveled as far as the edge of the Mwangi Expanse to the nations up and down its eastern border. He saw strange sights, wooed exotic women, and sampled the cuisine of many races. All of them better than mushroom soup.

Of course, he wasn't simply playing tourist on his travels. These were working trips, and his only requirements were that it paid well and took him somewhere interesting. Anything else wasn't something he bothered himself with. The trouble is that the difference between merchant explorers and bandit raiders often depends on which side of the border you're on, and the line between privateer and pirate is a matter of which flag is being flown. Horgun may not have cared to make such distinctions so long as his contract was respected, but the Katapesh navy did. In fact they cared enough to chase down the ship he was on in a half day battle, execute his last Captain, and sentence him to slavery for the crime of piracy.

The last year has been less fun. Promises of cooperation managed to keep his pet vulture Argia with him, at least. But it's been a boring life of manual labor, pit fights, and guard duty. One man's loss is another's gain, though, since fightmaster Raham's financial missteps have brought him into the arms of Garavel and dangled the promise of freedom before him.

Profile:
Description: Horgun, now 66 years of age, stands four and a half foot tall and weights in at 213 pounds. His skin is a weathered tan from labor in the sun. Clever grey eyes peer around a sharp pointed nose, and his reddish-brown hair is braided with beads from his travels displaying everything from polished bone to verdant jade. His right arm displays a tattoo depicting Besmara the Pirate Queen, his left Gozreh the Ocean Mother, both in a rather more salacious style than many of the faithful would be comfortable with. As a slave warrior he wears simple garments of undyed hemp cloth, though he's been equipped with a good waraxe and a shirt of scale mail with a solid steel shield. His companion Argia is a gryphon vulture from the western mountains, with a brown body and white head. He keeps her well groomed at all times.

Personality: Horgun is very clear about his two overriding goals. He wants to visit exotic places and he wants to acquire personal wealth. Which is not to say those are the only things that will motivate him. He'll stand by his friends. He'll help out someone in trouble, especially if a pretty woman is involved. Once he makes a contract he'll uphold it to the end, though he does make a point of having escape clauses should he need them. But he's run with pirates enough that a good bit of their mercenary attitude has rubbed off on him.

Goals: Horgun's short term goal is to earn his freedom from his current situation. His long term goal is to win enough wealth and prestige that he can be pickier about future associations and avoid a repeat of the last year. But he's impressionable enough that an interesting cause could get him to sign on. Crunch advancement, he'll be going with the Weapon and Shield combat style.


I don't think interest is ever in short supply. I certainly wouldn't mind trying out for it if you decide to run it.


Please allow me to submit Tagal Morith, halfling sorcerer. I think I have everything you asked for, but please ask if there's anything you'd like me to expand on at further length.

Stats:
Tagal Morith
CG male halfling Sorcerer 3 (Shaitan bloodline)
Str 11, Dex 14, Con 10, Int 12, Wis 10, Cha 19
Traits: Mathematical Prodigy, Freedom Fighter
Feats: Elemental Focus (acid), Greater Elemental Focus (acid)
Skills: Appraise, Craft (stone masonry), Knowledge (arcana), Knowledge (engineering)

Background:
Though Tagal was never a slave himself, as a native to Katapesh he's seen first hand how his race labors in the service of the tall people. Some masters are petty and cruel, others are generous and benevolent, but all of them are masters and the halflings only servants. Freedom is a luxury for only the cleverest and most powerful halflings. In this Tagal was born blessed for the Morith family has both traits in abundance. Two centuries ago their progenitor did a great service for a noble Shaitan, who as thanks swore that her children and her children's children would share the power of stone.

In Tagal's case this manifests as a logical mind that delights in the construction of physical things and intuitively shapes the magical energies of the earth to his desires. With his personal fortune rarely in doubt he's been free to turn his attention to the plight of others. And the state of his people nags like a poorly built wall made of cheap stone and badly laid foundations. The flaws in society are everywhere and it feels like a catastrophic collapse is inevitable. His only choice, obviously, is to fix things. After a few false starts on his own, Tagal has fallen in with the Cactus Rose Consortium. At their suggestion he's signed on with the expedition to retake Zolurket.

Motivation:
What: The Cactus Rose Consortium is a spin off of the Bellflower Network. The Bellflowers are the largest halfling organization dedicated to the liberation of halfling slaves and enfranchisement of the halfling people, but their efforts are heavily based in Cheliax. Secrecy limits their organizational oversight to limited geographical areas, so instead of expanding the Bellflower they've begun to seed new organizations elsewhere. The Cactus Rose is one of the first and seeks to curb the abuse of halflings in Katapesh and the surroundings nations though efforts both open and hidden.

Where: The Cactus Rose is centered in Katapesh with some efforts spilling into Qadira and Osirion. Through contacts with the Bellflower they have some connections in the north, but those are kept limited for security reasons.

Who: Tagal's contact goes by Griana, a halfling woman of middle age, though that's likely not her real name. She recruited him after his failed attempt to forward a petition to Katapesh's ruling Pactmasters requesting stricter regulation on the treatment of slaves and indentured servants. So far she's limited his interaction with the larger conspiracy, but he can tell that she stands in the middle ranks. Besides him there are maybe half a dozen others who report to her, and she gets her orders from somewhere higher up.

Why: The Cactus Rose is in need of power bases. Safe havens for escaped slaves to find new homes, way stations when transporting men or materials, fresh opportunities to build economic power in a country that respects money more than anything else. The inner circle believes that Zolurket could be all these things if one of their agents is a member of the group that reclaims and rebuilds it. Tagal has the right combination of skills to survive the reclamation and direct the rebuilding, they hope.


Finished up a character to submit. This game seems like a good fit for a Monk using the Martial Artist archetype, for your typical peasant brawler/wrestler type. So here's Dougal Chalk for your consideration. I'd be happy to expand on anything you have questions about.

Dougal Chalk:
Dougal Chalk
LN male human Monk (Martial Artist) 1
Str 18 , Dex 13, Con 12, Wis 16, Int 10, Cha 10
Traits: Dirty Fighter, Resilient
Feats: Deflect Arrows, Dodge, Improved Grapple, Stunning Fist
Skills: Climb, Intimidate, Perception, Profession (woodcutter), Sense Motive, Swim

Dougal's a man who's good with his hands. It was only to be expected. He was the runt of the Chalk family, with four roughhousing older brothers and three sisters no more gentle. When they weren't picking fights with other kids they're brawl with each other just for fun. Dougal learned how to be quick and accurate with his fists to keep up. That was until he hit his 15th year and late growth finally showed up with interest for time lost, and shot him up to become the biggest and the strongest of the lot.

No one can say that he means ill to anyone. He enjoys a good drink and a good brawl, that's all. It's just most people crumple after a tap on the jaw from one of his fists. Dougal's doing his best to mend his ways, though. He's trying real hard to not break any bones he wasn't intending to, and he's learned that if he scowls real hard and flexes his arms a bit then folks with one too many drinks suddenly get a lot less interested in a scrap.

Now that he's 18 and well past marrying age, his parents have started to worry a bit about his prospects. Sure, he picked up woodcutting real good and there's few who can drag a felled tree without a mule like him. But most of the village girls are more than a bit shy of the “ogre boy” it turns out. So they fixed on a plan to get him traveling so he can land himself a good match. His mother had a few words with the warden's wife, and soon word got put around that the roads weren't safe this year what with the King's death and they needed some stout and honest young man to carry the tax payment to the new King and make sure it got delivered safe. Wouldn't you know but everyone agreed that Dougal would make an excellent choice.


Okay, finished working up a background. Stats are the short version, since it's a lot of work to do a full 7th level character that may never get used. I'll happily expand on anything you have a question about.

Stats Thumbnail:
Jahael Nagel
CG female elf Witch (Hedge Witch) 7
Str 11, Dex 16, Con 10, Int 20, Wis 9, Cha 15
Alt Racials: Dreamspeaker, Spirit of the Waters
Traits: River Rat
Skills: Heal, Intimidate, Knowledge (Arcana), Knowledge (Nature), Knowledge (Planes), Spellcraft, Swim, UMD
Feats: Extra Hex, Accursed Hex, Improved Familiar, Evolved Familiar
Hexes: Healing, Flight, Slumber, Misfortune
Patron: Healing
Familiar: Air Elemental

Background:
The border between Irrisen and the Ulfen lands of the Linnorn Kings is a dangerous place. Not only is there the constant danger of stray monsters crossing over, when one of Irrisen's witchspawn royalty gets in the mood to go raiding for new slaves it's the most likely place for them to assault. Such was the case a hundred years ago when the Scarlet Duke went on a brief but bloody campaign that chased a wave of refugees westward.

Jahael's memories of that time are the confused recollections of a small child. A man and woman who might have been her parents. Fear and hunger on a never ending journey. Arriving in Kalsgard with the other orphaned children. Being taken in by a human couple who had lost their own daughter and were willing to foster an elven girl.

Though her life from that point was more stable, there's good reason that elves raised by the shorter lived races are often known as forlorn. Each time she made friends they'd outgrow her and move on in only a brief decade. Her adoptive parents were kindly enough, but they were already middle aged when they took Jahael in. She watched helplessly as Khosi and Ljora Nagel succumbed to old age and infirmity before she was even an adult.

For a time after that Jahael worked with a smuggling crew. A clever girl who swims like a fish is always handy for slipping packages past the customs officials at the docks. But while it kept her housed and fed it didn't leave Jahael feeling particularly happy. Few things had in her life. As she neared adulthood she meditated often on what the secret of all the happy people she saw was, and the answer she decided on was that the path to happiness was power. If she had power she could succeed in her goals, if she had power she could keep the people she cared about from dying, if she had power then she wouldn't need to endure weakness or failure or loss anymore. So she began her efforts to obtain it.

Jahael found her arms too weak for martial disciplines and her soul too jaded to devote herself to a religious faith, so she turned to the arcane arts for mastery. Though she obtained some tomes of lore that she was about to instruct herself from it proved hard to find a wizardly tutor who would take a student so old and so poor. This bothered her only slightly, since it seemed a very slow and ineffective path. Instead she sought out shortcuts; lost lore, ancient ruins, and questionable pacts. She performed rituals said to bring insight and sampled drugs said to induce revelatory dreams. It was the last that bore surprising fruit.

In the nighttime grip of a heavy dose of dreamtime tea, Jahael was washed onto the distant shore of a dream that was not her own. In an isolated place the shifted from forest grove to sandy island to floating castle she met a being that wore the shape of one of the eldest of the fey lords like a poorly fitting mask. Jahael could not say if this was because she glimpsed the fuller nature of the fey lord behind its polite seeming or if this was something more alien that was trying to assume a pleasing shape. That being praised her for her determination in seeking her goals. It said that the fate she sought for herself was one it found pleasing, and that if she would swear to never waver on her path it would bestow on her a helper for her journey. Jahael did not refuse. When she woke in the dawn a horned owl stared down at her with intelligent eyes, and she knew his name was Woolsh.

In the decade since that night Jahael has left behind the cold north to travel where ever chance will take her. Every corner of the world has secrets to be learned, and Woolsh is there to help her claim and master them. Her power has grown, as has his, and recently he cast off his feathered body to reveal a form of pure elemental energy. As she travels she makes many new friends, which always makes her happy, and occasionally new enemies, which she happily ensures won't continue to offer a threat to herself or her friends.


I've got an elven hedge witch concept I've been wanting a game for. Mechanically she'd fit a healing and support role, and I think her personality would be a good fit for the adventure. Let me roll some stats and I'll work on a write up.

2d6 + 6 ⇒ (6, 6) + 6 = 18
2d6 + 6 ⇒ (1, 4) + 6 = 11
2d6 + 6 ⇒ (6, 2) + 6 = 14
2d6 + 6 ⇒ (3, 3) + 6 = 12
2d6 + 6 ⇒ (3, 6) + 6 = 15
2d6 + 6 ⇒ (1, 2) + 6 = 9


Consider me still interested. I'd probably want to resubmit my earlier elven witch, but since you have a cleric I'd drop the Hedge Witch kit and refocus her hexes to be a bit more combat oriented. Let me work up a new stat thumbnail, revise/expand the background, and I'll get that reposted for you.


Allow me to submit Kendel Frab, a halfling Alchemist and recently freed lackey of a mad scientist. Think of him as an ex-Igor now striking out on his own.

Stats:
Kendel Frab
NG male halfling Alchemist 1
Str 12, Dex 14, Con 10, Int 17, Wis 12, Cha 10
Alt Racials: Warslinger
Traits: Boarded in the Shackles, Magical Talent (Mending)
Feats: Well-Prepared
Skills: Craft (alchemy), Disable Device, Knowledge (arcana), Perception, Profession (cook), Slight of Hand, Spellcraft, UMD

History:
This is not the story Morovius Kline, the infamous black alchemist of Kintargo, though his life and death feature heavily in it. Rather this is the story of Kendel Frab, a halfling born into slavery and raised in servitude, now facing the uncertainty of freedom for the first time.

Kendel was born in Cheliax and as with most halflings in that harsh nation he was born a slave. He was still a child when he was sold off to a new owner, that he might learn his duties while his mind was mailable. That new owner was a human alchemist by the name of Morovius, though Kendel quickly learned never to address him as other than Master.

To people in the right circles Morovius was well known for his willingness to supply whatever vile poison or potent elixir was requested. His obsession was his research, and ethics were of no concern compared to keeping his laboratory stocked. But too often he was forced to waste precious time minding trivial matters; distilling a simple essence, or cleaning a used beaker, or simply cooking dinner for the night. He resolved to take on a servant to free his great intellect for loftier pursuits. This is this role that Kendel was thrust into.

Morovius was an uncaring overseer. He wanted his orders fulfilled promptly with no debate. But so long his demands were met he cared nothing for how, or what Kendel did beyond that. So Kendel learned to be quick and clever, because a capable servant had more leisure and fewer beating than an incapable one. He studied the Master's tomes so he could assist with any task in the laboratory. He skimmed from the Master's coinbox to set aside money for household expenses. He even learned a little magic to fix the things Master broke in his occasional fits of frustrated rage.

As the years passed and Morovius' research failures outnumbered his successes those fits of rage grew more frequent. He slowly turned to alcohol and stranger drugs for solace. Morovius said their freed his mind to greater insights, but Kendel could only see them making him stupid and sloppy. Minor mishaps became small disasters which finally culminated in the great mistake. One of their regular customers, a lecherous noble of high standing, sought an aphrodisiac to slip a young beauty that resisted his advances. In his addled state Morovius had misdone the labels on his stock and instead supplied a fatal toxin. The woman's death was a scandal and Morovius was barely able to flee town ahead of the wrathful noble's assassins. Knowing no other life, Kendel joined his Master in flight.

The next year was a spiraling decline for the pair. Stripped of his laboratory and on the run, Morovius took ever shadier jobs in ever dingier settings. With his great work in ruins he relied ever more on chemical distractions from his sorrow. As circumstances worsened and his Master's disposition soured, Kendel at last began to wonder if he shouldn't consider his own future prospects. It was a frightening thought, the idea of rebelling and directing his own fate. So the planning continued to delay the execution.

In the end, Kendel hesitated long enough that the matter was decided for him. The pair had washed up in the Shackles, where Morovius was supplying drugs that numbed the mind and spirit to slavers. One night Morovius finally snapped. He went on one of his angry drunken rants in a public tavern, where he shouted his disgust for all the pirate filth that he was forced to debase his great talents for. Then he set the place on fire. The resulting brawl claimed his life as half the crowd took the opportunity to knife him in the confusion.

With freedom thrust violently upon him Kendel was forced react quickly. After some consideration he found to his surprise that he had too many morals to join the halfling pirates of Slipcove. Going north risked a return to slavery, which was entirely out of the question. South, however, offered stories of free halfling communities in Sargava. With no better idea of what to do he sold everything he couldn't carry and booked passage on the next ship for Eleder, the Jenivere.

Profile:
Kendel has spent the majority of his life as the lackey of an unstable and unethical alchemist. He's used to following orders and fulfilling unreasonable demands with minimal resources. Freedom is a new and unusual state for him. He still wavers between reflexively obeying a firmly stated command and refusing suggestions just because he can. Still, he is a halfling, and he's already feeling the need to belong to part of a group. Just so long as it's not one where he's at the bottom. The future is still too new and unfamiliar for him to have grand dreams yet, but he knows that he's now free to have dreams of his own and that's something worth fighting for.

If here were an animal Kendel would be a skunk. Friendly, fearless, and harmless looking until danger makes him unleash a chemical assault.


Ah well. At least now I have a well written up character for Jade Regent. Best of luck to you all, and I'll check this thread if it updates with a call for replacements.


Too much time and not enough to do this weekend. So I spent some time thinking about Zangeti's relationships with the four major NPCs, and decided I might as well write it up and add it to my submission.

Relationships:
Koya: As her adopted son, Zan feels a great deal of affection for Koya. He tries to live up to her expectations and make her proud. He does sometimes worry that she's too old and frail to keep traveling for too much longer. But from his perspective, most humans seem weak and fragile. For her part Koya wants Zan to live without suffering from the taint of his birth. Of that dark event, which much brought sadness to old friends, she hasn't spoken to the boy. She'd also like to see grandchildren from her adoptive boys before she dies, and since Sandru never did settle down with that nice Ameiko girl she's set her sights on finding a good match for Zangeti. (Friendly relationship)

Sandru: Sandru is like an older brother to Zan. An older brother that's smarter, more handsome, independently wealthy, and widely popular. Zan can't help but feel like the clumsy idiot child when he stands next to Sandru. It just makes it sting more than Sandru is obviously fond of Zangeti and tries to lend a hand or some good advice whenever they're together. Being in Sandru's shadow is bad enough, but depending on his help on top of that just rankles. Though Zan would never do anything to actually hurt Sandru he'd love to feel like he's better at something than just brute strength. (Competitive relationship)

Ameiko: Zan knows Ameiko as a family friend. She and Sandru would meet up whenever the two were in Sandpoint together, Ameiko joined Koya and Zan for dinner more than once. Zan knows her as someone who tells amazing stories and serves great meals. He's a little disapointed that she and Sandru never got together, he thinks she'd make a great big sister.

Shalelu: The elven warrior always makes Zan a little nervous. She watches everything around her like she's on guard for danger. He heard once about how she helped fight off orcish raiders back before he was born, and is a little afraid she might see him as one of those dangers.


Certainly. I'd given a few thoughts to it, but I like to keep the basic submission concise and focused on the major character traits. I wrote up something longer for you on the topic.

The Story of Wol:
Dreams have always been a source of insight for Tirami. Though all elves respect the wisdom Desna brings in sleep, she feels the connection stronger than most. At night the phantom theater performs to show the past clearly and catch echos of the future. Usually she takes what is offered and asks no more. Except the once.

Tirami's efforts to acquire magical curatives had come to naught. The gods had all turned deaf ears to her self-interested prayers. Even if books of arcane study were available, everyone knew that wizards had no talent in the healing arts. Short on ideas she turned to her dreams for guidance. And when they gave little help she decided to force the issue. A few old favors called and one new one promised procured a dose of dreamtime tea, a mixture from the far south said to produce vivid dreams that brought great insight.

Her sleep that night was tormented by dark and twisting chaos. Images of strange things beyond her understanding danced, as if called up from some deep realm. She knew she was dreaming but could not wake, so instead she fought through them as if she were swimming through a storm lashed bay. Time seemed meaningless, but finally she was cast out upon a calm shore.

It seemed that she found herself in a clearing deep in the green woods. The sounds of animals surrounded her, yet were never to be seen when she turned and looked. And then the others arrived. It appeared at first that she was surrounded by a council of the Eldest of the First World, the dark and terrible fey lords. Hooded Ng, the world serpent Ragadahn, the great Green Mother, and others. But they felt wrong, alien, like ill fitting costumes draped over scarecrows. And she couldn't say if that was because she was deep enough to catch a hint of true nature of the Eldest behind their masks, or if something else was coming to her in shapes plucked from her own remembered stories.

Words came to her. You seek power. “Yes.” You desire command over life and its ending. “Yes.” You wish for the strength to make the world obey you. “Yes.” We can give you these things, but there is a price. “What is it?” An unlocked door swings both ways and is not easily barred again. You were chosen because you are already one who will open the right doors. Always be yourself and let no one sway you from your path. “I won't, I swear it!” Then it is done.

When the inky clouds of sleep finally cleared in the morning there was a horned owl perched above her, staring with intelligent yellow eyes that knew her name. And she knew its name was Wol, and that he would be her guide, and that her dreams had unlocked something powerful. Since then Wol has stayed by her side, teaching her secrets and watching for danger. She considers him a friend who can always be relied on. Though she has never regretted what happened that night, she has also never taken another drink of dreamtime tea.


With half-orcs, you have to at least admit there's something of a narrative hook there. The cliche of the savage warrior race is an old one ripe with potential if done well. Play it straight, play it against type, but there's something there to play with. One that the game mechanics do a decent job of backing up.

Half-elves don't have that. Or at least I've never found their hook. They're kind of like humans, or kind of like elves, but sort of different in a nebulous way. And the mechanics are... well, let's just say that Skill Focus and being slightly less bad at multiclassing have never managed to inspire me with a character to build around it.

Hell, I've been playing some variety or other of D&D for 19 years now. I make it a point of pride to try as wide a variety of character types as I can. And if I've ever developed a half-elf character to the point of actually playing them in a game, they left so little an impression that I have no memory of it now.


Hokay, I've pulled together a character to submit. Tirami Jahael, an elven Witch with a bit of a healing focus. Let me know if you want me to expand on anything.

Stats:
Tirami Jahael
CG female elf Witch (Hedge Witch) 1
Str 12, Dex 16, Con 11, Int 18, Wis 10, Cha 13
Alt Racials: Dreamspeaker, Spirit of the Waters
Traits: Lore Seeker, River Rat
Skills: Heal, Intimidate, Knowledge (Arcana), Spellcraft, Swim, UMD
Feats: Extra Hex
Hexes: Healing, Slumber
Patron: Healing
Familiar: Owl

Background:
The Winter War, when Irrisen was carved out of the northlands, sent a wave of displaced refugees fleeing the icy grip of its new masters. Though the Ulfen speak loudest of what they lost there were other races who also fled that doomed land. Of the elves who inhabited the white forests, many retreated south to the comfort of Kyonin. But others could not, or would not, leave the north. Small families were left to wander the Lands of the Linnorm Kimgs, gradually losing contact as each generation grew more forlorn in their isolation.

It was to one of these families that Tirami was born. Without elven peers she grew up surrounded by human children. But her friends always seemed to grow bored of playing in the blink of an eye. In only a short decade they were more concerned with sailing off to adventure or starting families. So she tried helping play the grown up games they liked. They were happy having around a smart girl who could swim like a fish and was an innocent seeming lookout. So she played the smuggling game and the running from the guard game with her old friends.

That lasted for a couple decades. Then her friends starting getting sick more often. A couple got injured and died, which she didn't like at all. So Tirami learned how to fix her friends. First with simple bandages, then by calling on magic that came so easily she wondered why she'd never used it before. It worked, for a while. But more years passed and they got older, and frailer, and in the end they all died anyway. That hurt Tirami, and she didn't know how to fix this pain.

Tirami isn't a child anymore. She's old enough to understand the difference between elves and humans, and what time does to people. That doesn't make her any happier when people die that she doesn't want to lose. She's decided that since her little magic can fix the little things, if she wants to fix the big things she just needs a bigger magic. There are legends about the miraculous achievements of the Azlanti and the Thassilonians, who overcame all sorrow and loss. All she has to do is find it and she'll never have to be sad again. So she's followed the recent stories about risen Runelords south to the quiet little town of Sandpoint, to see what secrets have been brought to the surface.

Personality:
Tirami is carries an odd mix of idealism and cynicism. She's very eager to have friends and do her best to protect them so they never leave her. She's also grown up in the underbelly of human society and watched a generation of friends succumb to old age while their children squabbled over the inheritance. There are no illusions about how greedy or cruel people can be left. But she doesn't worry about it too much. If there's someone who refuses to be talked out of trying to hurt her or her friends, it just means she has to apply those skills for fixing people in reverse. You put them to sleep and cut here, and there, and they aren't a problem anymore.


What level will this campaign be starting at? It plays a big role in the character background for me, if they're a raw novice starting out or if they've had a few adventures already and are a bit more skilled.


I'd like submit Zangeti Kalderas, half-orc barbarian and adopted son of Koya Mvashti. If you have any questions or comments please let me know.

Stats:
Zangeti Kalderas
CG male half-orc Barbarian (Breaker) 1
Str 18, Dex 12, Con 14, Int 10, Wis 13, Cha 12
Traits: Foster Child (Know:Local), Adopted – World Traveler (Diplomacy)
Feats: Power Attack (working towards Improved Sunder)
Skills: Diplomacy, Intimidate, Know (local), Know (nature), Survival

Background:
Violence left Zangeti without parents when he was still a babe. If violence had also produced him in the first place, Koya Mvashti did not speak. Instead she told him that the bonds of affection were as strong as bonds of blood, and family was something you created by holding close the people you cared about. So she was his mother, and Sandru was his brother, and that was the end of the story.

It was one of many lessons that Koya taught the young half-orc as he grew under her care. She taught him that the world was an immense place filled with wonders. She taught him to value freedom and treat others with respect. She taught him that if some chose to shun him for his orcish blood, they weren't the sort of people he wanted to associate with in the first place. These were not the only things she tried to teach him, but unlike her lectures about the finer points of the healing arts or playing the Varisian pipes these were ones that stuck.

The heritage of his blood was not dismissed simply with words, of course. He grew up quickly compared to a human child, and so very strong. Things meant for delicate hands broke easily under his touch. Excitement brought fits of furious strength followed by an exhausted collapse. But time and patience taught Zangeti a measure of control, or at least the ability to direct his fury as he chose.

Now 16 and a full grown man, Zangeti has started to travel so he might meet some of the many peoples he's heard tales about. Recommendations from Koya and Sandru helped him gain posts with a few caravans in the last year, though he's only gone a little beyond the borders of Varisia so far. Already he's hungry to start roaming further afield. But on his last return home Koya spent less time talking about promising girls of marriageable age and more talking about how she wants to go on a trip of her own. Zangeti is certain that he's not going to let his frail old mother go traveling without being there to protect her.

Profile:
Zangeti, or Zan to his friends, is an impulsive young man with a fierce temper. His motto (because he thinks mottos are cool and spent a week devising one) is “I go where I want and do as I please. If chains hold me down, I'll shatter them. If a wall gets in my way, I'll break through it. That's what being a man is.” Though immature in many ways, he generally means well and is willing to lend a hand to people who need to borrow his strength. As far as he's concerned what he's best at is breaking things, so he tries to find things that need to be broken. His favored god is Cayden Cailen, patron of freedom and good cheer, though he'll also address prayers to Desna for good forture or Calistria for a clever idea.

When given a choice he dresses in bright Varisian colors, mainly orange and blue with touches of red and green. In peaceful circumstances he'll add a long scarf, but when expecting trouble he puts it aside for scale mail and a greataxe. He keeps his hair cut short and sports a scruffy beard he's trying to grow out. So far his Varisian blood has thwarted him. Always quick to smile, the mouth of sharp teeth this displays isn't quite as friendly as he imagines it is.


Hokay, new character ready for consideration for CC. Arkadi Spektor, an Inquisitor of questionable birth. Let me know if you have any questions or comments.

Sheet:
Arkadi Spektor, LG dhampir Inquisitor
Str 14, Dex 14, Con 10, Int 12, Wis 15, Cha 14
Traits: Subject of Study (undead), Divine Warrior (Iomedae)
Feats: Favored Judgment (undead)

Skills:
Disguise +6 (1 rank + 3 class + 2 ability)
Intimidate +7 (1 rank + 3 class + 2 ability + 1 morale)
Knowledge (Arcana) +5 (1 rank + 3 class + 1 ability)
Knowledge (Religion) +5 (1 rank + 3 class + 1 ability)
Perception +8 (1 rank + 3 class + 2 ability + 2 racial)
Sense Motive +7 (1 rank + 3 class + 2 ability + 1 morale)
Stealth +6 (1 rank + 3 class + 2 ability)
Speaks: Common, Celestial

SA: Detect Undead 3/day
SQ: Low Light Vision, Darkvision 60', Negative Energy Affinity, Resist Level Drain
Weaknesses: Light Sensitivity, Negative Energy Affinity

Spells:
0th – Brand, Disrupt Undead, Guidance, Sift
1st – Inflict Light Wounds, Magic Weapon

Background:
Arkadi Spektor has never had to wonder how the legacy of Ustlav's darkest days can cast their shadow over a man's life. He need only look in a mirror.

From his earliest days, Arkadi knew he from different. Once his father Sergei had been mayor of their small town, he knew, not now he was a near outcast living in a too-empty house. The other children would flee from Arkadi, or chase him away, or most disturbingly sometimes bow and scrape for his favor. And no one else seemed to shy in pain from cloudless days.

As a small boy his father would say just that his mother was an exceptional woman who suffered under a great curse, which is why she had left him in his father's care. Only when he was older did Sergei speak haltingly of the beautiful witch of the night that claimed both him and the town as her play thing. Of the heroes who with sword and faith broke her hold and sent her fleeing into the darkness once more. And of the knock on the door, months later, altering him to a crying babe on the step.

There were many sleepless nights where Arkadi wrestled with his hungers and uncertainties. Was he damned by the taint of undeath, or was there hope for him. Was his mother only a monster, or was she a still a woman who wanted a better life for her son. Unable to find answers on his final, he at last resolved to seek out the Mendevian crusaders who had once before liberated his home town.

At first, the crusaders were taken aback by the appearance of a youth of such obviously tainted heritage applying for training. But the sincerity of his words won them over, or at least enough that he was allowed to remain where he could be carefully observed. In between his normal studies Arkadi was often asked to serve as a test case for explorations into the poorly understood dhampirs. Even the famous Professor Lorrimor was called in to assess him, and the two remained in infrequent contact afterwards.

In his years of training Arkadi won some friends and earned more enemies, a continuing pattern from his childhood. The teachings of Iomedae were a great comfort to him, as was the promise of using blade and prayer to bring salvation to shadowed Ustalav. His final tests were completed only recently, and a planned return home was interrupted by the sad news of Professor Lorrimor's passing. The reunion with his father was put off in order to accept the invitation to the Professor's funeral.

Profile:
Arkadi is a tall young man of dark hair and pale features. Though it would be a stretch to call him handsome there's a memorable intensity about him drives people to extreme reactions, positive or negative. His dress tends towards dark colors, but always with a gold and silver symbol of Iomedae displayed somewhere. Rarely is he without his hat, a very wide brimmed fedora that keeps the worst of the sun out of his eyes.

The foundation of Arkadi's faith is that everyone gets a chance at redemption. One. If they turn down their chance at the path of honor they get the justice of the sword instead. He sees his work in protecting Ustalav from the undead and those who dabble in dark magics as his own chance at redemption, and he plans to succeed or die with honor.


DM Acid:
Two ideas have struck me, and since the group is already half formed I figured a nod to party balance might be a good way to decide it for me. One is an Alchemist from Numeria, focused on Knowledge skills and uncovering the hidden secrets of life. A little inspired by Sherlock Holmes with heavier use of chemical thinking aids. The other is an Inquisitor of Iomedae, very much driven to root out and destroy the undead where ever they hide. Perhaps a bit of a nod to the class Dr Van Hellsing model there.


In that case, here's my slightly expanded character stats. I added the skill point I forgot from favored class, listed alternate racial traits, put up saves and such. Just say so if you want any more.

Expanded Stats:
Lorsik Hembler – LN dwarf Ranger (Guide) 1
Str 16, Dex 12, Con 14, Int 12, Wis 14, Cha 10
HP: 12
AC: 11 Touch: 11 FF: 10
Fort: +4 Ref: +3 Will: +2
Alt Racial Traits: Relentless, Rockstepper
Traits: Navigator, Armor Expert
Feats: Two-Weapon Fighting

Skills:
Appraise +2 (1 rank + 1 ability)
Climb +7 (1 rank + 3 class + 3 ability)
Craft (Ships) +5 (1 rank + 3 class + 1 ability)
Knowledge (Geography) +5 (1 rank + 3 class + 1 ability)
Knowledge (Nature) +5 (1 rank + 3 class + 1 ability)
Perception +6 (1 rank + 3 class + 2 ability)
Survival +6 (1 rank + 3 class + 2 ability)
Swim +7 (1 rank + 3 class + 3 ability)


I've gone and grabbed the Carrion Crown player's guide. Seems like an interesting setup. It's always my preference to make a character tailored to the style of the campaign. Do you have any particular desire for me to stick with Kurgash and try to tweak him for CC, or am I free to put together a new submission designed with CC in mind?


DM Rennick wrote:
- I will only consider completed applications. Posting works in Progress are great if you need my input for something, but only people who complete all of what I ask for will be duly considered.

Is a completed application one that answers the specific character questions you asked, or do you also want a full stat sheet with that?


Submitting Lorsik Hembler, a dwarven Ranger with a long history at sea.

Stats:
Lorsik Hembler – LN dwarf Ranger (Guide) 1
Str 16, Dex 12, Con 14, Int 12, Wis 14, Cha 10
Traits: Navigator, Armor Expert
Feats: Two-Weapon Fighting
Skills: Climb, Craft (Ships), Knowledge (Geography), Knowledge (Nature), Perception, Survival, Swim

Background:
According to his family, Lorsik was always a very poor example of a dwarf. He complained that the ceilings of Highhelm were too low. He complained that the horizons of the Five Kings mountain range were too close. He complained that stone and iron were too stubborn to work with. So they shed few tears when he ran away from home at the tender age of 48 to see the world. His first destination was Absalom, reputed to be the crossroads of the world, and on that voyage he fell entirely in love with the sea.

In the many years since that day Lorsik has rarely been entirely out of sight of his beloved oceans. He's crewed for whoever will take him, where ever it leads, so long as he keeps the smell of brine and the cry of the gulls close by. His shirts have worn the naval colors of half a dozen countries. He's swung blades for freebooters and pirates, slavers and smugglers. It never much mattered what the work was. His code was so long as the captain did right by him and the crew, he'd salute and follow orders.

Of course, the energy of youth never lasts forever, not even for dwarves. He celebrated his 110th birthday by swimming free of a wreck with nothing but the clothes on his back. Again. As he shivered on the beach building a fire of driftwood, he decided he was getting on in years a bit and needed to start thinking seriously about a retirement plan. The next thing he did on getting back to civilization was sign on with a merchant trader.

The last three years have been quiet ones. Crewing with a merchantman is easy work, and Lorsik's let his skills grow rusty. There's not so much need for bashing skulls when the worst you're called to deal with is sneak thieves or a stowaway. He'd hoped the growing trade fleet would offer easy promotions, enough that he'd be well set once he hit middle age. Alas, fate has brought excitement back into his life.

Profile:
Lorsik stands four and a half feet tall. His reddish-brown hair, now showing streaks of gray, is braided with beads of every style from ports up and down the Inner Sea. A collection of minor scars testify to the dangers of life at sea. When uncovered his right arm displays a tattoo depicting Besmara the Pirate Queen, his left Gozreh the Ocean Mother, both in a rather more salacious style than many of the faithful would be comfortable with.

It's well known that Lorsik has had a long life at sea, as he's quick with a story from his past relevant to any occasion. The details of how questionable some of those times were is something he usually glosses over. When trouble arises he tends towards the practical, a set of rules for survival he calls the Code of the Sea.. You follow the captain's orders because right or wrong there's no time for debate in a tight spot. If he's wrong too often, you see about getting a new captain. In open water the safety of the ship comes first because everyone drowns together. Any personal problems wait till you're at shore, and anyone who can't accept that gets to leave the ship early. And so on.

Lorsik's current goal is to set himself up with a stash of treasure big enough to be self sustaining. Not that he planned to actual retire any time soon. But it's easier going off on some damned fool adventure when you know you don't stand to lose everything on it. A position of rank and importance might do as well, so long as he didn't have to leave the sea behind.


I've put together a submission for Jahael, an elven Hedge Witch. Main focus is on healing and support, with some direct combat ability to back it up. Let me know if you have any questions.

Rough Stats:
Jahael of the Rain
CG elf Hedge Witch 6
Str 12, Dex 14, Con 10, Int 19, Wis 9, Cha 14
Feats: Arcane Strike, Extra Hex, Improved Familiar
Skills: Fly, Heal, Intimidate, Knowledge (arcana), Spellcraft, UMD
Hexes: Flight, Fortune, Healing, Ward
Party role: Healing, support, and ranged attacks

Jahael Background:
Change is a foreign thing to the Ekujae elves of Mwangi. From time out of memory the tribes have tended their homes, practiced their arts, and guarded the places where dark things sleep. If sometimes they lent the aid of their magic to the neighboring human tribes for news of the outside world, that news was always the same. Empries rise, empires fall, and the Ekujae of Mwangi are not troubled.

That is no longer the case. One of the great spirits has fallen, the bones no longer speak the future, and dark things rattle at their cages. Even the most stubborn now admits that change is come. The next question, then, is what to do about it. The debates were long, often thoughtful, sometimes heated. In the end, the only answer they could decide upon was that they didn't know enough to answer. So it was resolved by the elders to send explorers out into the world. They would need elves with youth, curiosity, cleverness, and a sufficient lack of common sense that they wouldn't rebel at being exiled from their home. One of the first names to be spoken was Jahael of the Rain.

Jahael was a gifted student of the element weavers, whose touch brought health and good fortune like a nourishing rain. Were that all she was known for, her name would not have been spoken at that time. No, what she was also known for was her drive to discover new things, to dig secrets from dangerous places, to learn things long forgotten, and to pull others who ought to know better into helping her with these attempts. For this she was also compared to the sudden deluge of rain that washes people away and leaves debris in its wake.

So it was decided that Jahael would be one of those tasked to venture forth from the homes of the Ekujae. So it came to pass that Merisial of the Dew exerted much effort to appear saddened when she informed her most troublesome apprentice that Jahael was to leave the tribe for a time. And as expected Jahael was most pleased by this news. Many a time around the fires had she listened to stories of the explorers from afar who transpassed the Mwangi, to slay monsters with spell and blade and steal the treasures from the hidden places. Many a time had she wished that she could be one of them, daring great dangers instead of tending to sick animals or sprained ankles. With a few short farewells she took up her hunting bow and happily set out, with every intention of finding one of these bands of foreign heroes and making herself a part of it.


DM Acid:
Mostly hired muscle work. Fill-in as bouncer at a tavern, clear out a few dire rats causing trouble at a dock warehouse, that sort of thing. I'm considering putting ranks into Profession: Cooking as a character thing, depending on how things work out when I do up stats, which would be a fallback source of income.

As for shadow beasts, he's well used to having to watch his back and keep a weapon ready. It doesn't much matter to him if it walks on two legs or four. And as a half-orc the darkness doesn't bother him nearly as much. He's got other things on his mind, and he's not well traveled enough for it to really strike him as unusual, so it isn't something he's paid much attention to yet.


I'd certainly be interested. Probably the High Seas campaign would be my first pick, just because it sounds fun. Of the two adventure paths I think Jade Regent would get my vote.


I was tempted to try working up a cleric, but I had a Cheliaxian character idea sitting around that was too appropriate to pass up. So here's Kurgash Mallorion, CG half-orc barbarian.

Background:
Hazark, savage orcish warrior of the cold north, was outdone in cleverness by a band of southerners patrolling the borders of Belkzen. Being the more mercenary sort they sold the orc into slavery, a justly ironic end to their sense of humor. In chains he passed through strange lands on his way to the slave pens of Cheliax. There his fates took a more happy turn, for instead of being condemned to a slow death in the mines he was taken to the bloodsport arenas to fight for the pleasure of Egorian's jaded nobles. Though his chains chaffed it was not the worst of lives for an orc. He was asked to fight and kill at his leader's command, and victory was rewarded with grand meals and women for his pleasure.

Duvela Mallorion was born to the Mallorions of Westcrown, a noble family of privilege and comfort. Well, less of them than before they'd backed the wrong side of Thrune's ascension. But enough remained for them to cling to their station. Which meant that with the family's leaders were denounced before the courts as traitors and heretics the whole family was held to account. Their assets were seized, their name stricken from the books, and those who weren't executed were sold into slavery. Perhaps it was true, for the Mallorions held many grudges against the winning side. Perhaps it was a careful falsehood constructed by those who would profit from the fall of the Mallorions and pick over their corpse like vultures. Devela was too far outside the seats of power to know, but not so far as to escape. Stripped of everything she became a serving slave in the arenas of Egorian, tasked to cook and clean and given to the champion gladiators as a reward.

Thus was Kurgash Mallorion born in the slave pens to a foreign savage and a disgraced noble. When his father would bother to notice him, he would receive training in how to focus his green-blooded fury. Or sometimes simply beatings for being soft and weak. It was often hard to tell the difference. When his mother was free from her labors she would try and teach him what a proper scion of house Mallorion needed to know, and to instill in him the pride of a true Cheliaxian. Except for the times when she got hold of strong drink to dull the pain, and would rant at length about the injustices heaped upon her and how he was a sign of all her shame.

Two years ago Hazark died in the arena. The orc was older, and slower, and his reign as champion came to an end the only way it could be expected to. A year and a half ago Kurgash was put into the arena for the first time, forced to fight now that he was too old for kitchen tasks or other minor labor. Ten months ago Duvela Mallorion was killed. Kurgash didn't witness it, but the other slaves told him that she was drunk when she recognized one of the noble visitors to the arena. Reportedly she flew into a screaming rage and tried to attack him, only to be slain by his bodyguards. Nine months ago Kurgash resolved to escape.

His early attempts at cleverness were insufficiently clever, and resulted only in him being chained at night. Asking the other slaves drew only little sympathy for the mongrel half-orc, or suggestions that he practice in the arena and attempt to buy his freedom at some future point. So Kurgash turned to an avenue his mother had once recommended, that of prayer. Though he had little direct instruction there had been festivals at the arena where icons of the gods would be paraded around before all bowing to Asmodeus. From them he remembered one with broken manacles dangling from his wrists. Focused on that image he called on blessing of Cayden Cailean, he called on the strength of his father's fury, and with a stone he shattered his chains.

Today Kurgash is 17 years of age. His material possessions are what few weapons he escaped from the arena pits with, what little coin he's made doing minor jobs, and his mother's Mallorion signet ring. Far too small for his own hands, he wears it on a chain around his neck. With little idea what else to do he's made his way to Westcrown in the hope of reclaiming some of his family legacy.

Kurgash is still adjusting to a life of freedom in the outside world. His mother told him many stories about what Cheliax was supposed to be like, in between rants about what it had become. So far he's finding it more similar to the rants. Not everyone wears physical chains outside the slave pens, but the chains of fear and hate and greed seem to be on everyone's wrists. He doesn't think he likes that. People ought to be free to be happy. Someone needs to smash those chains just like he broke his own. And, well, he's pretty good at breaking things. He just doesn't have much idea where to start. So for now he's keeping his head down and his ears open, in between doing whatever work keeps him fed.


I believe I've completed a draft of my full character sheet. Since I haven't done a PbP on these forums before, tell me if there's some private channel I should use to send it to you or if I should simply clean it up and post it to this thread.


Feral wrote:
Buy whatever gear you want using the standard wealthy-by-level chart for a 6th level character.

How do I price items I can craft? As I mentioned I want Rahesh to have a decent arsenal of alchemical item tricks. I plan to have the Craft (Alchemy) skill to go along with that. Do I mark that gear off at full cost, do I use the 1/3 cost for self-crafted items, or do I use the 1/3 price for items I could make while Taking 10 and full for the rest? I've played in games using all three of those before, so I felt I should ask.


It's not that Rahesh hates or fears magic, like the superstitious barbarian archtype. It's not even like he'll turn down the use of magical items or healing. That's just suicidal in the adventuring business. It's more that he's trying to prove he can be just as good while doing things his own way. He grew up in a family with a lot of casual spell use, where people would use Prestidigitation instead of opening a window or reaching for the salt. So he got a lot of pitying looks for being "handicapped" and a lot of scolding for failing to meet the duties of the caste he was born to.

How to put it. He wouldn't have a problem standing with a comrade casting Magic Missile at the same enemies. He would have a problem if that comrade implied that casting a simple and reliable Magic Missile was better than using a complex, expensive, and unstable alchemical device to throw bits of metal around.

As for the second, it's certainly not his favorite thing in the world to go tromping through a hellish jungle full of biting insects and stinking mud. But he's used to a certain amount of suffering in the pursuit of glory by now, and gets a bit of perverse pride from enduring hard conditions without complaint.


Oh cool, a game that isn't starting at 1st level. A great chance to try out some of the new material.

Rashesh of Katapesh:
Rashesh
Human (Vudrani) Gunslinger 6
Str 13, Dex 18 (racial and level bonus), Con 10, Int 12, Wis 14, Cha 10

Gimmick: Combat - ranged attacks and alchemical utility tools. Out of Combat – agile explorer

Appearance: A taller Vudrani man with a close trimmed beard and his hair in a long braid. His garb tends towards the practical, eschewing bright colors for durability. A closer inspection will note small trophies and ornamentation from a variety of sources, souvenirs from his past travels.

History: Rashesh was born in Katapesh to a Vudrani family of the caste of spell weavers and magic workers. However, for the first time in nine generations and against every sign of his birth, he showed absolutely none of his family's aptitude for the arcane arts. It was something of a scandal among the more conservative Vudrani families of the area, and he was quietly shuffled out of sight through a series of minor positions. Cast aside, Rashesh sought for other non-magical skills to better himself with. He first devoted his time to the study of alchemy, and from that field learned of the strange weapons coming north from the Mana Wastes. Some experimentation and a number of minor injuries later he decided these guns were very much to his liking. When he considered his skills sufficient he bid his family a chilly farewell and signed on with the next mercenary band leaving the city. Since then he has blown from one group to another as the winds of chance take him, always seeking a new and greater challenge.

Personality: Rashesh seeks to prove himself and his skills. Partly to his family, partly to the world, and partly to himself. A great and glorious deed would do well, but simple riches work too. He can be sensitive around the magically gifted. Though he does not to begrudge them their power, he tries to manage without their aid when his own skills are sufficient.