It's been about 5 years since I last played SR 4ed, but I enjoyed it immensely. I only have access to the CRB, but would be really interested in generating a rigger (hacker). I'll see if I can get something thrown together in the next day or so.
I'm in MST (GMT-0700, I believe). I generally check my active campaigns several times during the day - a little sporadically based on workload and such, but generally in the morning, around lunch, and several times at night. I'll usually work my way through any new posts in my various PbP's, and post when there's something to post (responding to others' actions and the like, rather than just posting to say I'm doing nothing).
The campaign sounds interesting, and I know I'm on the boards at least a few times most days. Feel free to look over my various aliases and let me know if the writing's up to par - grammar and spelling aren't an issue, but I do tend toward the terse side of things, say, in combat. That said, it might be nice to be challenged that way.
Anyway, I'd appreciate the opportunity and the challenge, if you're willing.
I'm also (almost) completely lost - I mean, I've seen the movies, but never even considered using Hyboria as a game setting, and the rules light is completely new to me. That said, the campaign idea is intriguing, and rules light would seem to lend itself to some pretty good RP. Count me in.
If I were to make an attempt at creating a character (with no knowledge of how this will work mechanics-wise), I'd say focus on agility and mind, mostly a small weapons/ranged combat, stealthy alchemist type (for poisons, mostly). If you've got tips, I'd love to hear 'em.
Okay, so I'm going to give this a go, though I don't know if it's breaking some sort of PbP etiquette if I'm in a couple of Jelani's games already...if so, just disregard. :-)
Anyway, considering the wilderness theme, I'm considering a druid (menhir savant/animal (feather) domain) with a 1-level monk dip.
Str 17
Dex 15
Con 13
Int 13
Wis 18
Cha 11
Or a melee Oracle (probably life mystery, considering the need for healing).
Str 17
Dex 15
Con 13
Int 11
Wis 13
Cha 18
I'll see if I can throw something together.
Reposted as requested. I'm retasking a couple of aliases, and will post with each once the majority of their crunch (but not necessarily equipment purchasing, etc.) is done.
Okay, so I'm going to give this a go, though I don't know if it's breaking some sort of PbP etiquette if I'm in a couple of Jelani's games already...if so, just disregard. :-)
It occurs to me that if the materials are on the picnic tables, everyone should likely have a fairly good view of them. Unfortunately, there is a building to the south blocking the view from the gate that will provide cover to anyone that chooses to duck behind it. Make sure that your spells can cover whatever range you need them to, figure out how to deal with cover, and move your pieces accordingly. For example, I figure Gerran will be more likely to run and jump onto the building south of the picnic tables once fighting breaks out...
For what it's worth, Ancrym would likely be switch-hitting, beginning the game alternating between an earthbreaker for melee and a bow for range, with a couple of shoanti bolas, just in case.
Still very interested, GM, just lurking for now. Let me know if there's anything else you're looking for.
Submitted for your approval - Ancrym "Far-Shot", Human (Shoanti) Urban Ranger/Skirmisher. If you like him, I can throw him into an alias and flesh him out fairly quickly.
Crunch:
Str: 16
Dex: 14
Con: 12
Int: 13
Wis: 12
Cha: 8
Going for archery style, but will follow the basic guidelines of Treantmonk's "switch hitter" ranger, wielding a two-handed earthbreaker in melee.
Background:
Ancrym was born into the Shiikirri-Quah, the Shoanti "Hawk Clan". He spent his childhood in the clan; hunting, wrestling, and mock combat were a daily part of his life. Shortly after he was twelve years old, however, his parents were asked to travel to Korvosa, to act as liaisons to that great city.
When he arrived at the city, he was both awed by its immensity and disgusted by its very existence; having grown up with a nomadic people and living most of his life in tents and the like, the buildings seemed almost grotesque. The people seemed soft, and in his pride, he could not understand why his people hadn't swept them all away long ago. This feeling didn't last long, though. He learned quickly that this was merely a different kind of battlefield, with different rules. Rather than being soft, these people were hard in different ways. He slowly came to learn how to use his skills in this new environment and learned some new ones, besides.
He continued to grow, and several years later, discovered that he had fallen in love. It was quite a surprise, actually; Yalessa was the daughter of a spice merchant that had been supplying he and his family for years. She had been one of the only children that hadn't looked down on his "barbaric" ways, and had defended him when he was the target of their jeers and jests. And so, he supposed, it should have been no wonder that she was there for him when his mother died, when she revealed her feelings for him, and subsequently he for her.
Over the next year and a half, they grew closer together; Ancrym, as a hopeful of the Sable Company, was considering speaking with her father about joining with her. He never got the chance. Now, he has vowed to find the one who took her from him, and bring him to swift justice. Gaedren Lamm, by blood it is sworn. Your days are numbered.
I would agree that it's not stealing at all - if you can make a more appealing character, then by all means, do it. This, of course, assumes that you're going to put a bit of effort into making yours unique. If you're going to make a plain vanilla character that has all the character of a piece of white toast, then honestly, I wouldn't bother.
For what it's worth, I imagine that a GM would much prefer to sift through a few high-quality submissions than several dozen ho-hum concepts - the only exception to this is if there are no good submissions in a particular role.
I would suggest that if you are interested in submitting a character and don't have a particular concept in mind, then submit a well-thought-out, full-bodied character that fills a role that has less-than-stellar submissions thus far.
Okay, I know I said I wouldn't post in another thread (this is Drewan from the Rebellion thread), but this was a thought I had just now, and I wanted to have another option just in case the other one didn't play out. The concept of the campaign is extremely intriguing.
Description:
Abroshtor is about three and a half feet tall, with light brown skin and deep red hair. He has large eyes and nose, but no chin to speak of - in some ways, his face resembles that of a rat. He has done fairly well for himself, but recently felt that he needed to take a more active role in making sure that shipments reach their destinations, as well as other related tasks.
Fears:
Abroshtor is afraid that if his trade dries up, he will no longer be able to perform his alchemical experimentation. He doesn't care about the money, per se, except inasmuch as it funds his research. He is also concerned about his wife, who lives with him in Coran - he does not want his activities to cause her harm.
Background:
While he was growing up, Abroshtor had an odd connection to his fey origins. He didn't manifest his power as a sorcerer, nor did the magical writings of wizards stir in him nearly the same thrill as he got when he saw a simple sunrod burning, or the flare of a tindertwig being struck. His parents were flabbergasted, but agreed that rather than send him to the Tower of the Heavens for a magical education, he would be apprenticed to Zarzuket Sootybottom, a local alchemist.
Once he mastered the basics of the trade, Abroshtor was able to manufacture many useful alchemical items and sell them at Zarzuket's storefront. One day, while working on a batch of alchemists' flasks, he ran out of some supplies. While looking for them, he happened upon his master's old diary, and after reading it for a few minutes, saw something that resonated within him - the power to change oneself.
He is no longer working with Zarzuket - he outgrew his apprenticeship years ago. Since then, however, he has working on formulae to help with the guild's problems, and is looking for a way to test his theories, whether it's joining a caraven for a cross-country journey or dealing with things closer to home.
I'll put in some additional work on this soon, GM, but at the moment, my eyes're awfully heavy.
I also have a pretty good acceptance rate over the past few months since I discovered PbP. I'm not particularly creative, and honestly, I'm learning a lot about Golarion as I go along, but I will reiterate these few points.
First, spelling and grammar are important. In a medium where all you *do* is write, you should put forth the effort to do it well. If you don't, then even if you don't annoy the GM, you'll likely annoy your fellow players. Also - and this is less of an issue, but still relevant - you should read this thread, and use the various guidelines contained therein.
Those times that I have been rejected, I can safely say that it was either I just didn't identify with the character, or because I tried to force the character to fit the campaign.
If you're going to spend the next year or more (in some cases) writing from the point of view of this character, then it should be a character with which you identify. Some aspect or quirk of personality, perhaps, or a class or function that you can really get in character with. If you try to force it, you're likely to come across as stilted, or any number of other terms that boil down to what I would consider "bad acting". That is, after all, what we're doing here, no?
Also, if you know you want to apply for a certain published scenario or AP, create a character *specifically for it*. I have tried to squeeze in race/class combinations because it was something I wanted to play, regardless of how well it fit the campaign. I've altered a background (by changing city or region names) that I had written for another campaign rather than writing a new one. I've written horribly generic backgrounds because I just didn't know anything about the world. In each case, they were rejected.
I'm not saying you can't apply with a character you'd like to play, but you're likely to have much better success creating one character that you identify with that is custom-made for an AP (and if it's not accepted, rework it as necessary and resubmit the next time that AP comes up), than the one that you apply for every AP with. I don't care how much you want to play your synthesist summoner - if you can't come up with a compelling reason for the GM to *want to* accept the application, it isn't likely to get in. Coming up with that compelling reason is *very* different, by the way, from coming up with an excuse that the GM could use to explain your character's presence.
If you have a class that you're dying to play that would be tough to fit into a number of APs, then you have a harder job ahead of you. Consider saving that concept for a homebrew, perhaps. Anyway, sorry for ranting...just pointing out some of the things I've seen, and hoping to make the GMs' jobs easier by preventing some of the cruft that they have to wade through that seems to clog up every recruitment thread.
I'm still lurking, and don't really feel a need to post in any of the other groups at the moment. If there is anything you'd like me to do in the meantime, let me know.
I'm finding it really hard to identify with the character, and I can't imagine I'd be able to put forth my best effort if I were chosen for the game. Rather than cheapen things for everyone else, I'm gonna go ahead and bow out at this time. Thanks for the chance, AZ.
Giving some serious thought to a Catfolk Ranger (Urban) 3/ Rogue (Roof Runner) 2, or some variation thereof, and increasing rogue levels as the game progresses.
Description:
Drewan is just shy of 6' tall. He is strong, but exceptionally lithe and limber. He has slightly pointed and tufted ears, and is covered in grey and black striped fur. His eyes have the vertical pupils, and his legs the backward-facing knees characteristic to his race. He wears light armor, but carries a bow and a large, two-handed blade. He has moved up the ranks of the rebellion in the past few years, and you can see in his eyes that he will continue fighting until the rebellion wins, or he will die trying.
Fears:
Drewan is not afraid of much, but the memories of his childhood home, his mother's death, and the thought of losing his sister in the struggle all stir deep emotions within him.
Background:
Drewan didn't really remember much about his first home. He, his mother, and his younger sister, Milah, had lived on a cattle ranch in the hills northwest of Akleta; he remembered that much, but details escape him when he tries to recall them. He remembers being woken up by his mother late at night; fires, the sounds of battle, screaming. Then a blur of mountains and walking...always walking.
He remembers, too, being harassed on the road south by patrols "ensuring travelers' safety" (as long as they had silver to spare) and exorbitant tolls for the use of bridges to cross the rivers underneath. He later learned the reason for these fines - corruption in the Merchant's Guild, and no punishment for the offenders from the Mageocracy. He was disgusted by their callousness and greed, but could do nothing about it.
His family eventually arrived in the great city of Coran, and once they got settled in, Drewan thrived. His small family, not having much money, lived in one of the seedier parts of town, but that didn't matter to Drewan - he was fascinated by the things he saw around him. He found that when he climbed to the rooftops, the city held new sights and sounds, each one a treasure. When he became comfortable with the heights, he began to explore them, and eventually was running along them, counting on his natural skill and dexterity to keep him safe.
He was approached several times by members of the Thieves' Guild to join their ranks. Drewan, however, knew better than to ally himself with that group - he had seen firsthand the sorts of things they were responsible for. That was not to say that there weren't some members that Drewan might call friends...just that, as a whole, the thieves' guild gave him the chills.
He kept on that way for some time, until one night, while Drewan was out and about above the city, his mother was savagely beaten and killed. His sister was devastated, but Drewan was furious. He went straight to the Tower of the Heavens and beat on the huge wooden doors, railing at the mages and their kind for the crimes that were going unpunished in the city. He spent the next several days in a dungeon cell, seething with anger and vowing to take action.
His anger was largely unsatisfied until a few days after his release. He was approached by a young man and offered a position in the rebellion against the mageocracy. Drewan was definitely interested, but had concerns for his sister's safety if she stayed in the city. So, the next day, he escorted her to Gumlat, promised to visit when he was near, then returned to Coran.
Since then, he has been helping the rebellion fight. Sometimes this pits him against the greed of the Merchants' Guild, or the cruelty of the Thieves' Guild, but Drewan particularly relishes those times that he can punish the Mageocracy for their unfeeling, uncaring ways.
Just dotting and announcing my intent to create an alchemist character. Not sure of the race - I want to firm up a concept first: would you allow the PFS grenadier archetype?
Just came across the thread, and hoping to duck a character concept in there. I would like to submit a Life mystery Oracle of Sarenrae, similar to a character I created for another campaign that fizzled very quickly - the concept was kinda fun, but rather than recycle the character, I feel the need to generate another. I'll try and post something more substantial before the deadline, but you can see the previous character here.
It looks like we're going to have (as far as combat roles):
Ethan Sower, Human Cleric of Erastil------------Ranged Damage/Healing
Portia Jeggare, Battle Oracle 'Golemancer'------Melee Damage?/Ranged Damage?/Spell Support
Morinn Alskazi du'Durazi, Dwarven Rogue---------Melee Damage?/Ranged Damage?
Pedwiddle---Ifrit 'Tatooed' Sorcerer (Fire)-----Ranged Damage/Spell Support
French Wolf---Lycan type Barbarian/Druid--------Melee Damage/Backup Healing?/Maneuvers
LastNameOnEarth---Paladin-----------------------Melee Damage?/Tank?
Personally, with 6 party members, I'd think two members built exclusively for melee, two that can switch between melee and ranged, and two exclusively ranged isn't a bad way to go. That way, we've got your standard 10' corridor handled with everyone able to participate, and we can handle open spaces without too much trouble with flanking, and the melee characters can surround the ranged characters if we're surrounded.
That said, of course, tactics aside, play what you want. :-P
So I was doing a little more research into sorcerers last night, and came upon this combination:
Ifrit Elemental (Fire) Tattooed Sorcerer
I'm envisioning someone from the Sklar-Quah Shoanti clan. Tattoos are big in their society, so it would fit that they'd draw some power from them. Ifrit should be fairly fun to roleplay (I won't make it too annoying) and is fitting (somewhat) with the Cinderlands origin. I'm thinking they'd follow Sarenrae, to keep up the fire theme as well as a path toward redemption.
I have no issues with a common deity or cause, but I'll admit to having some of the same issues with the idea of the 7 virtues as the other players. I'd go along with it if the rest of the group really liked the idea, but am not thrilled with it personally.
Regarding roles, I would say I could be the party face, except that, with only 2+Int skill points, I'm guessing that's not gonna happen. No way I could pump my Int up high enough to get the skills I'd need...
Okay, so for sorcerer, here are my thoughts (please comment):
Male Gnome:
Str 8,Dex 14,Con 14,Int 13,Wis 10,Cha 18
Fey bloodline
Fey seems a better fit for gnome RP-wise, and seems fairly powerful. Might go Sylvan, but the +2 DC on compulsion spells is pretty nice, and the animal companion would be akin to a ranger's companion, which might not be quite as useful as if it were of an equal level.
Female Kitsune (I dunno, I always make my high-Cha characters female):
Str 8,Dex 16,Con 12,Int 13,Wis 10,Cha 18
Arcane bloodline
Arcane bloodline seems to be widely accepted as the strongest. I am interested in several metamagic feats to keep me from needing to use higher-level slots for effects that are merely stronger duplicates of lower-level spells, and this helps that along nicely.
One thing that would help me to decide is to know what sort of functions you each see your characters taking on?
For example - clerics in my mind fit into one of these two molds (probably because of a lack of imagination on my part, but still...): either a wade-into-melee-in-heavy-armor type, or a stay-in-the-background-and-ranged-attack-when-I'm-not-healing type. One means that we've got someone else in the front lines providing flanking, etc., the other means that we need a stronger front-line melee keeping the baddies off the casters.
Another example - rogues could be melee-focused, which would possibly lend itself to having a maneuver-focused front-line fighter or monk (to trip, grapple, etc.), or ranged, in which case it might be handy to have a more acrobatic fighter that can maneuver so the rogue can get a clean shot.
French Wolf:
If you're planning on a druid, I'd recommend reading Peterrco's guide here. Not so much for the optimization bits, but because it is a thorough look at the class and what you're trading out at times when you choose a particular style/archetype.
For most shamans, for example, you're going to have your summoning bonuses be nonexistent at high levels because there just aren't any high-level summons of that type. Also, you're going to be delaying your elemental wild shapes, etc., but there are no higher-level wolf forms to shift into in the meantime. That said, I can definitely get behind you going with wolf shaman for RP reasons - that's what I did with my half-orc wolf shaman...:-P Anyway, I read it and was amazed at how little I really thought about some of the choices I'd made with him.
LastNameOnEarth:
I personally like the Artisan concept...
Esme:
I think the Golemancer concept is pretty nifty - I'd have no problem with you pursuing it.
As far as race/class combos go, I will play anything, but do have some preferences. I'm currently in PbP's with a druid, a rogue, and a bard (as well as another druid app out right now). I like the characters fine, but am toying with the idea of going with some flavor of sorcerer or alchemist, or possibly a fighter, monk, or paladin, and I'd even be willing to go cleric or oracle (life mystery) if healing's needed. Not really thrilled with the idea of playing a barbarian or cavalier, and ranger's kinda iffy (I'd probably go skirmisher or some other weird build).
For stats generation, I'd feel a little better with a 20-point buy (it's actually the "official" standard for PFS). With a 15-point buy, I'd feel more inclined to have a serious dump stat (7 or 8). Granted, I'd be sure to role-play it accordingly, but still...
Just pointing out, the whole social structure is laid out in the setting document, about 3/5 of the way down. It answers several of the questions you've asked. Not trying to be a pain, just letting you know so you're not waiting on DMJ. To answer your question, though - slaves are property. They have no rights.
I took some time and saw that (with the exception of scythe and sickle) most of the druid weapons exist in the document you linked. However, I still have a question about armor/shields. Is leather armor the only non-metal armor available? Is there such a thing as a wooden shield?
First, let me say that it's always nice to see new blood with respect to GM'ing here. I haven't been doing PbP long, but with the ratio of GM to player, it can be particularly tough to get into games that you truly find interesting.
Anyway, on the point of the post. My name's Chris, I'm 38, married with 4 kids all under the age of 10, live in Colorado, and have been playing DnD games since the late 80's. I inherited my brother's stuff (which included the red box as well as several early-edition 1st edition stuff) when he went off to college, and played throughout high school and college (moving through 2nd edition to 3rd in the process).
Since then, RPG activity hasn't been a big part of my life (except for a several-year stint playing Shadowrun 3rd and 4th edition)...that is, until I found PbP about a month and a half ago. I'm currently in 3 PbPs (a Carrion Crown AP, a PFS First Steps, and a homebrew), and think I could take on one or two more easily.
I would be extremely interested in joining a group of folks looking to do some serious RP. I enjoy getting into my characters, putting a lot of thought into backgrounds, motivations, etc., and like it when I have the opportunity to expose some of that to the group. I don't consider myself a writer, per se, but I do make an effort to make things easy to read (spelling, grammar, etc.).
Regardless, if/when you're looking for character concepts, I'd be very interested in submitting one.
I'm totally new to gestalt rules, and it's introduced a whole new level of tough choices...:-P
I like gestalt because it allows more versatility in the characters.
Oh, I agree - I didn't say they were bad, just new to me :-)
Black Fang wrote:
Pedwiddle wrote:
Would a gestalt druid/monk get the Wisdom bonus to AC, or the fast movement (or any of the other monk perks, for that matter) in animal form once they got wild shape?
Unless you are encumbered or are wearing armor, why wouldn't you get the Wisdom bonus to AC from Monk? Same for other Monk class features.
I didn't see any specific reason, just confirming - you know what they say about things being too good to be true...
Black Fang wrote:
Pedwiddle wrote:
In your opinion, do you think that the lower BAB progression of the monk would gimp the animal form too much when compared to fighter? If I got the AC bonus from Wisdom, it might still be worth it; if not, it'd be a tough sell.
Druid and Monk both have the 3/4 BAB progression, so how would the Monk's BAB "gimp" your wild shape ability?
Only when compared to the fighter BAB progression.
At the moment, I'm planning on going with a Dwarf, Tengu, or Vanara Druid/Flowing Monk, with an emphasis on summons, wild shape, and melee/maneuvers. Any preference between the races?
One other question - any restrictions on druid archetypes? Would you allow a Saurian Shaman druid archetype with an animal companion nature bond? If so, how difficult should I expect it to be to find suitable animal companions?
Expressing interest in creating a druid character (either druid/ranger or druid/fighter (archer)). One question - if I were to go druid/ranger and had an animal companion from each, would I get two companions eventually, or would the druid and ranger levels stack for the purposes of defining the companion's stats?
Expressing my intent to create a new PFS Bard (Arcane Duelist). I should be able to finish up and get something posted tonight. I only recently discovered PbP, and this will be my first PFS character, so hopefully that means I'm still green enough to qualify...
I'm hoping to come up with a life mystery oracle character in a bit, but if I don't get it done before you're ready to vote, don't worry about it - it'll be good to have a few extra aliases around (you know, for emergencies). One of my aliases is currently in another PbP, if you're interested in looking at writing style, etc.
@Drosil. I am yet to read through everyone’s information unfortunately but having us meet eachother in the orphanage certainly seems like a good idea to me, we’re about the same age as well. Anton has been there since he was six so he certainly would have welcomed a friend/brother and with our skills in diplomacy we are both amiable enough to get on with most people. The reason I can see Anton getting into mischief is that raised in a caravan to follow Desna, he has a terrible wanderlust and being effectively confined within the orphanage (or even within the city) would not have sat well with him. He has a principle that it is important, wherever possible, to experience or see something new every day.
Let's do that then. I'll update my history here shortly.
Anton Klasnic wrote:
I may drop a skill point from somewhere to add into stealth and scout with you. The major drawback with that is a lack of darkvision.... not sure about that yet.
Yeah, I think you'd be better off leaving it the way it is. While it would be nice to have some company, I think I'll be uniquely qualified to do some stealthy scouting with the way Jelani's going to be handling Stealth w/concealment.
Anton Klasnic wrote:
One question, have you considered some skills in use magic device, even if it’s just to get yourself a wand of invisibility or silence later on?
I hadn't, actually - not because of any particular dislike of the idea, but because the skills I ended up choosing just seemed to fit the character better. Also, I have a terrible habit of not using charged magic items when they're available - what if I use it now and don't have that charge later when I really need it?? :-P
That said, if anyone has a suggestion of a skill I took that they feel I wouldn't really need, I'm more than willing to take suggestions. Likewise, if it would be helpful for me to spend points in Knowledge skills (Dungeoneering and Local are class skills, and I get a +1 to Local and Nature from race), I could do that as well.
I personally don't think that the fact that it requires mislead to create is pertinent to the invisibility/greater invisibility question - the ring and spell have similar effects, in that it is some form of invisibility combined with a decoy (or decoys), but I wouldn't think it was odd at all if the ring didn't confer greater invisibility.
Assuming that it wasn't just an oversight (the intent of the ring was obviously an "I've gotta get outta here" tool, so whoever wrote the description may just have not considered whether attacking would break the invisibility), it comes down to the wording of the ring's power. I'm leaning more towards the 'greater invisibility' side of things, mostly because there aren't any qualifiers on the invisibility in the description other than the duration.
