I didn't throw up a post in the Gamer Connection forum because I am only starting this game up as a special request from several personal friends of mine. Two of the greatest players I have ever had the honor of gaming with moved away from me last summer and the inability to game together has been heartbreaking for all of us. This saga, set in war-torn Western Immoren, is nothing more than an attempt to rekindle some of that lost flame. My apologies to those who would jump at the chance to be included in this game, but the positions are already filled. As always, comments by lurkers in this thread are welcome and I hope you enjoy watching this tale unfold in the Play-by-Post section once we've gotten a chance to put the character concepts together here.
Ian, Steve, Sasha, and Ali... may the character concept discussions begin!
I have no idea if you have a backup player list, Fatey, but count me in as being quite interested in playing in a PbP game of yours somewhere at some time (this or something else, though I'm intrigued by Iron Kingdoms and wouldn't mind checking this out).
Also, I will now shut up and lurk.
I have no idea if you have a backup player list, Fatey, but count me in as being quite interested in playing in a PbP game of yours somewhere at some time (this or something else, though I'm intrigued by Iron Kingdoms and wouldn't mind checking this out).
Also, I will now shut up and lurk.
Heh, no problem Sean. As I currently don't have anyone in reserve for either of my two Forgotten Realms campaigns, you will be the first to know if a slot opens up in "Fade to Black" (assuming you don't mind an evil game) or "Echoes of Eternity." I strongly doubt that this will be the last PbP I start up here, either. I'm known to be quite the masochist and enjoy finding new ways to obliterate my free time. :D
(assuming you don't mind an evil game)
Not. At. All.
The other thing would be cool, too.
As a random side thought... can anyone tell me what the hell this avatar is supposed to be? I picked it because it was a perfect representation of the IK feel (and it resembles a warjack's head) but I have no clue what it is or where it came from.
Zomg, if only Yfel did not have to die of teh smoosh. I did love her so.
There's nothing stopping you from resurrecting her here, you know. There is, however, no guarantee that she will not be smooshed again. :D
Remember, kids, telekinesis and industrial machinery do not play well together.
I have posted!
What would you like to see in this discussion? Character concept/backstory? Or just game ideas?
I have posted!
What would you like to see in this discussion? Character concept/backstory? Or just game ideas?
I'm mostly focusing on character concepts and backstories for the time being. Once I get a good feel for who and what the characters are, I can get down to working out the plotline that will accomdate the concepts you've developed.
I would advise you to come up with at least 2 concepts that appeal to you because if you are dead-set on one concept and someone else is dead-set on another concept that is very similar to yours, we'll end up with a lot of overlap and that's generally not a good thing from a balance standpoint.
Just a couple of paragraphs to detail where the character is coming from and why they're an 'adventurer' should be sufficient to lay the groundwork. You're going to be starting at level 4, FYI.
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Sucks. Ok. Here we go again. This is probably better for you anyway. The other was pretty stream of consciousness and disjointed.
The Idrian accidental witch bit would probably be PrC'ing to Spellsword if you'd allow it. I'm less and less sold on this char because it's kind of an internal and emo-esque story. Maybe depending on the group though...
Ok, post test to make sure that this is actually going to bother to go through...
I"m going to cry. The site just ate my like 9 page concept spill.
Oh... that's sad. :*(
Long posts have a tendency to be devoured here. I always advocate copying long posts to your clipboard (do they call it that anymore?) and then waiting to see if it actually posts when you click the 'Submit Post' button. If it does, you're golden. If not, Ctrl + V is your savior and you can always retry.
Sometimes, the post will get made but you won't see it immediately and it will magically appear an hour later. This phenomenon is thankfully rare. The random post devouring, however, is not as rare as we'd like it to be.
The Idrian accidental witch bit would probably be PrC'ing to Spellsword if you'd allow it. I'm less and less sold on this char because it's kind of an internal and emo-esque story. Maybe depending on the group though...
No problem with the Spellsword PrC. You might want to check out the Abjurant Champion from the Complete Mage as well. Pretty much anything from the IK books, core books, PHB2, and the Complete Books is cool with me. Obviously, certain PrCs and feats may need to be tweaked to fit the IK 'flavor' and many of the Divine Feats will probably be revised or outright banned (such as the Reserve feat 'Touch of Healing' from the Complete Champion) in order to maintain setting cohesion.
As a general rule, though, most things should be fine.
Oh, and I notice that you decided to jump on the Pathfinder bandwagon too! Way to go, Ian!
Rawr. :)
Ok. Character concept #1: Resurrect Sy'yll. Or rather, recycle, reduce and reuse Sy'yll, since I'm assuming we're going to be back at level 4 again and Sy'yll never actually died, unlike our good friend Yfel.
I recognize that Steve is (or was) contemplating playing a Nyss. If we don't want to have 2 of the damn things in one campaign---or if the character concepts are too similar---I will let Steve have his turn with Nyss-joy and I'll play something else.
What precisely "something else" IS is yet to be decided. I'd like to see whether or not Sy'yll is a go, and if not, what the party seems to be lacking, before I decide what I'd like Option 2 to be...
:)
Resurrect Sy'yll. Or rather, recycle, reduce and reuse Sy'yll, since I'm assuming we're going to be back at level 4 again and Sy'yll never actually died, unlike our good friend Yfel.YES DO IT. We will once again be loathesome buddies!!
<333333 !
Seriously, I wanna. I miss Sy'yll. And Iron Kingdoms. And Yfel. And "little man". And "humans smell".
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I think I really want to play a kind of brash, cigar-chomping, worldly kind of character concept. One with stubble and a good hat. That sounds much more fun and IK-ish to me.
Which is where the Cygnaran pistoleer concept came from.
Additionally however there is:
Son of a Dwarven gunsmith living somewhere in human lands. He is learning his fathers trade though he much prefers field-testing the guns than actually working. One day a human mercenary comes through the shop, blinks at the Dwarf, pulls him aside and asks what he knows of Sorcery. He confides to the shocked Dwarf that he has a knack for sensing arcane talent (via the Witch Hound feat) and if he hasn't started manifesting yet, he sure as hell is going to soon. The mercenary offers to take him on as an apprentice. After some degree of parley, the Dwarf agrees and spends the next several years journeying with his mentor and the mercenaries. Now when I was originally ginning this up I was using it as a backstory for a War-bard, but as I was actually putting it down in the last post, it occurred to me that it works just the same for a gunmage. Quoth the book, "While Dwarven and Elven gun mages are very likely to exist, none have been recognized as such within the human kingdoms." Just sayin'. Either way I get guns, sorcery, and cigars so it's all good. As an added bonus the War-bard comes with a little healing that isn't beholding to the pain of healing rules.
The main drawback of this concept is that they're both utterly exceptional concepts, and I'm not sure how much nonsense you really want to deal with in this game, especially since you've already got a Nyss running about.
And really as cool as it'd be I guess the War-Bard could be human as well, there's nothing actually inherently Dwarven about it. And that would give me an extra feat and some skill points to throw around. And 2 points of Cha. I'm thinking on screen right now. Sorry.
uhm...Evaluate! Readygo!
I recognize that Steve is (or was) contemplating playing a Nyss. If we don't want to have 2 of the damn things in one campaign---or if the character concepts are too similar---I will let Steve have his turn with Nyss-joy and I'll play something else.
Putting two Nyss in the party begins to stretch the bounds of credibility. I suppose that we could have two, but I feel that the party dynamic would suffer for it.
...Unless there were 4...
*nudges Zack* UNLESS THERE WERE FOUR.... :D
Ok. Character concept #1: Resurrect Sy'yll. Or rather, recycle, reduce and reuse Sy'yll, since I'm assuming we're going to be back at level 4 again and Sy'yll never actually died, unlike our good friend Yfel.
Yes, you will be back at level 4 again and, by 'resurrect' I just meant 'rehash the concept.' Obviously, the events of our previous IK campaign will not have occurred in the history of this upcoming one.
Ian, regarding your 'stubble and hat' concepts, I think a Dwarven Gun Mage or War-Bard would be perfectly appropriate, though I would think Gun Mage would be more appropriate since War-Bards get all kinds of Knowledge skills and other abilities that seem quite a bit beyond the scope of a gunsmith, worldly or not.
You do have a good point on the human, though. The extra feat and skill points would go a long way and, as a Gun Mage, that extra 10 ft. of movement might mean the difference between making it to cover and getting shot. Charisma is an important aspect for both classes, so a dwarf might be at a mechanical disadvantage. Not a crippling one, but a noticeable one nonetheless.
If Ali intends to remake Yfel and Sasha re-hashes Sy'yll, you'll have melee combat and arcane magic pretty well taken care of. The Gun Mage would augment the party nicely with ranged combat and a few utility spells that the sorceress might otherwise lack. The bard, of course, would be your skill monkey. If Steve wants to do a ranger or rogue, however, the skill monkey position becomes less vital and Gun Mage becomes the clear choice for you.
I kinda like the idea of a Malcolm Reynolds-style Cygnaran Gun Mage, though. Maybe he was a captain in the Order of the Arcane Tempest and got discharged for some reason or maybe he retired early because he'd spent enough time on the battlefield to end his service contract.
...Unless there were 4...*nudges Zack* UNLESS THERE WERE FOUR.... :D
Yes, if you ALL want to make Nyss, then it won't be such an issue. However, you'll basically be condemning yourselves to a campaign that avoids technology, civilization, and the entire human race. You might as well play Drow. :P
That's not to say I can't develop an intriguing storyline to accomodate this notion, just that if you really want the gritty, metal-on-metal taste of IK, you're not going to get it with a pack of elves.
You guys could all make elves and then Steve could remake "Mad Jack" in the form of a 'battlefield salvage specialist' who is really just a crazy Cygnaran fighter who thinks that "guns are fer sissies."
That party dynamic would be fun to watch for a little while... until it spiralled into a black hole and obliterated itself.
Yes, if you ALL want to make Nyss, then it won't be such an issue. However, you'll basically be condemning yourselves to a campaign that avoids technology, civilization, and the entire human race. You might as well play Drow. :P
That's not to say I can't develop an intriguing storyline to accomodate this notion, just that if you really want the gritty, metal-on-metal taste of IK, you're not going to get it with a pack of elves.
*sigh* But I LIKE the gritty, metal-on-metal taste of IK... :(
Meh, I'll see what Steve's coming up with, and meanwhile I'll start contemplating Concept 2. I kinda want a magic user... but I feel generally ok with just about anything.
Meh, I'll see what Steve's coming up with, and meanwhile I'll start contemplating Concept 2. I kinda want a magic user... but I feel generally ok with just about anything.
You could do a druid, since it doesn't look like anyone is planning a cleric. You aren't exactly the 'healbot' that a cleric is, but in IK, healing is kinda limited anyway. Plus, as you've seen, druids get a fairly nice complement of combat spells that can really mess people up.
Besides, I can say all I need to say about a druid in Iron Kingdoms with two little words:
heat metal.
"Oh, I'm sorry. Is that gun loaded?"
*BLAM*
"Motherf~!!er!!!!" *bleeds profusely as hand has been blown off*
*druid cackles*
Besides, I can say all I need to say about a druid in Iron Kingdoms with two little words:
heat metal.
"Oh, I'm sorry. Is that gun loaded?"
*BLAM*
"Motherf#!@er!!!!" *bleeds profusely as hand has been blown off*
*druid cackles*
O.O
Oooooh, fun! :D
But... wasn't there some "bad" side to Druids that made me lean away from playing one last time?
The notion of a Nyss game intrigues me greatly, if you felt it would be a story worth telling. I want an Ulk if we do it though. Just sayin'.
An Ulk?? Wtf is an Ulk?
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Back on the stubbly hatted char, I was thinking the bard could be the healer if no one else wanted to do it, it would be rough, which would be a good reflection of the setting, and we could invest in a mechanikal wand of cure X fairly early on.
I am not aware of the the Order of the Arcane Tempest, is that in something other than the core book?
Also I never reposted my cleric idea, from the one that got eaten, but I'm not really sold on it.
Cliff notes: Follower of Morrow aspires to be a Paladin but just can't push his NG with Chaotic tendencies over to the Lawful axis so he joins the clergy. Before awfully long he decides that being cloistered sucks so he takes up the mantle of asc. Solovin and tromps out to change the world. Around level 6 or so he'd hit the Battle Chaplain PrC. I have no idea what he's doing outside the church or why or how he's going to become a Battle Chaplain if he's out adventuring. Point being he's still fairly hazy but since he's at least nominally there I figured I'd mention him.
An Ulk?? Wtf is an Ulk?Nyss on Ulk = http://www.privateerpress.com/HORDES/gallery/default.php?level=picture& id=113
Oh. Makes me think "Yak" kekeke.
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The damned boards just ate *another* of my posts. Luckily this one was almost exclusively me quoting.
Ahem. Sasha, "Druids are mysterious figures who are feared by most civilized folk. They represent all that is dangerous about the wilderness and many believe that they bewitch children and kidnap them to gian unwitting recruits."
Also they have Superstitious Dread as a class ability: All social checks against strangers are made at a -4 penalty except Bluff and Intimidate which are made at a +2 circumstance bonus.
The damned boards just ate *another* of my posts. Luckily this one was almost exclusively me quoting.
Ahem. Sasha, "Druids are mysterious figures who are feared by most civilized folk. They represent all that is dangerous about the wilderness and many believe that they bewitch children and kidnap them to gian unwitting recruits."
Also they have Superstitious Dread as a class ability: All social checks against strangers are made at a -4 penalty except Bluff and Intimidate which are made at a +2 circumstance bonus.
So far I'm not seeing this as a negative so much as yet another opportunity to play a b*itchy, antisocial character. ;)
Only problem is, I'm having trouble thinking of a Druid concept atm that, personality-wise at least, is not bascally Sy'yll. Which means maybe I SHOULDN'T play a social outsider type character and instead go for something a little different...
EDIT: Take THAT, censorship!
EDIT: Take THAT, censorship!
Yes, the boards are censored here but, you know what? We can take things in the spirit of Firefly and invent 'Immorese' cursing in order to bypass the filter. It could be fun!
And yes, while druids are typically bitter and spooky, they aren't necessarily bad. If I recall correctly, the same alignment restrictions apply in IK as they do normally (meaning, any alignment with the word 'neutral' somewhere in it). Thus, you could be Neutral Good and just chase people off when they try to cut down your trees. Entangle won't hurt anyone, but you better believe that superstitious lumberjacks will leave those trees the hell alone if the vines and branches start trying to choke them!
Lumber 'jacks, on the other hand......
Only problem is, I'm having trouble thinking of a Druid concept atm that, personality-wise at least, is not bascally Sy'yll. Which means maybe I SHOULDN'T play a social outsider type character and instead go for something a little different...
You could always go against the stereotype and play a genuinely compassionate druid instead? People would still pee themselves when you walked by, though.
New Icon!
The other one was so much better.
You could always go against the stereotype and play a genuinely compassionate druid instead? People would still pee themselves when you walked by, though.
Which suddenly makes me think of Riann...
Still though, I like the Druid class, at least. And I'm sure once I got down to hammering out things like background, a new personality will emerge. They always do......
Idea 1
Nyss wanderer, afflicted with a burning desire to see the rest of the world and unwilling to believe that an entire race was responsible for the death of the elven gods - wants to go see for himself. Finds out early on that his people are known only with a kind of superstition and fear, and is happy enough to stick with that so as not to be too closely investigated.
Still insular and not particularly interested in making human friends as just finding out the truth of things. Skilled in Nyss skirmish tactics and stealth.
Probably Rogue/Ranger, CN
The character's role and fit in the party would be mostly as a wilderness guide and something of a sage and outside opinion. If there's enough flavorful feats to make it work, I'd like him to be mildly oracular - I really have a strong notion that he's some kind of tarot reader or something.
Idea 2
Human, Cygnaran. Pure fighter class. CN. Perfectly willing to step up to the baddest things on the field. Used to be a soldier, discharged for heavy-handed command style and mistreatment of civilians. Fought hard against the Protectorate of Menoth when it first started getting into border skirmishes with Cygnar. Discharged, he started to take up the fight on his own in what ways he could, sometimes brutalizing Menite clerics or faithful in the east of Cygnar, oftentimes 'on principle' and in violation of the law.
The character fits a party by being a warleader and knowing it. He'd know he wasn't a fit 'leader' when the dust settled and the fighting stopped, but his solid, grim determination in the face of enemies would possibly carry them through until then. Physically large and imposing, high intimidation score, heavy armor, shield, bastard sword, possibly a military rifle that he's not amazing with but uses it for potshots if the enemy is dug in.
Wiry black beard, spotty in places where his face is scarred. Keen, steely eyes, mildly paranoid at any given time.
...armor bashed and shattered in places, elsewhere simply replaced with other mismatched bits and pieces taken from salvage heaps. Has the Craft(blacksmithing) necessary to maintain his own gear somewhat and do the same for others.
Hmm..... Bodger? Bodger leaning toward either the pistoleer or rifleman prestige classes? None of which, mind you, I know a whole lot about because I'm relying upon the paltry information available on the web...
Or hell, even Bodger - Gun Mage... could I do that (starting off or eventually)?
PLAY HUMAN SO SASHA CAN PLAY SY'YLL SO I CAN PLAY YFEL.
What you're really saying here is 'Rehash an old concept so that Sasha can rehash an old concept so that I don't have to make a new one!'
I'm not convinced.
On a more serious note, I say you guys should form entirely new characters simply because this isn't a continuation of the old campaign. That way you don't have residual habits/friendships left over from the other game between Sy'yll and Yfel. I don't particularly want to have to fight any character I play into that social dynamic - it's a bit unfair in a roleplay sense, imo. New game, new characters. imo.
Idea 1
It certainly sounds like a viable concept. I can see that the character would bring an interesting world view and several useful skills to the table. You might want to consider the Scout class from the Complete Adventurer instead of going Ranger/Rogue. Scouts get trapfinding and 8 + Int skills as well as a few mobility-enhancing abilities and a fun ability called 'Skirmish' which adds to AC and damage in any round that you move more than 10 feet. The Scout has rogue attack bonus and does not get Favored Enemies or spellcasting, however, and I think gets only a d6 hit die but man that Skirmish bonus adds up. Since most guns only fire one or two shots anyway, you could pick up Shot on the Run and move from cover to cover, blasting people with fistfuls of d6s at every turn (stopping to reload occassionally)!
Idea 2
Ahh... the classic 'disgruntled ex-military' concept. It works, but it lacks a lot of the inherent 'niftiness' of your other option. It could certainly be a fun concept to see played out, but I'm worried that his overeagerness is going to do him more harm than good. Resurrection does not come easily in this setting (indeed you'll be extraordinarily fortunate if it happens at all in this game).
RE: Sasha's Bodger idea -
Multiclassing with Gun Mage is a bad idea. If your want your Gun Mage abilities to matter for anything it's really an 'all-or-nothing' deal. A full Bodger or possibly a Bodger/Rogue or Bodger/Fighter might not be a bad idea if you've got a mind to play a grease monkey. Bodgers have kind of a narrow role, however, and when you're not messing with technology, there's not much else you can do.
On a more serious note, I say you guys should form entirely new characters simply because this isn't a continuation of the old campaign. That way you don't have residual habits/friendships left over from the other game between Sy'yll and Yfel. I don't particularly want to have to fight any character I play into that social dynamic - it's a bit unfair in a roleplay sense, imo. New game, new characters. imo.
Believe it or not, the two characters were just BARELY starting to form any kind of relationship beyond that of less-than-willing comrades. There isn't a whole lot for us to be able to fall back on in terms of how the two characters would interact, and I think being with 2 completely different characters and beign in a different situation would create a different group dynamic... We---or at least I---don't so much want to rehash the old characters in order to reestablish an old character dynamic, but because we'd like to SEE how the characters develop and interact. We were just starting to enjoy the characters as much as the game, but we didn't really get a chance to explore the characters much because the game ended quite suddenly with smashy death.
Multiclassing with Gun Mage is a bad idea. If your want your Gun Mage abilities to matter for anything it's really an 'all-or-nothing' deal. A full Bodger or possibly a Bodger/Rogue or Bodger/Fighter might not be a bad idea if you've got a mind to play a grease monkey. Bodgers have kind of a narrow role, however, and when you're not messing with technology, there's not much else you can do.
Ack, that won't do then. I don't want to be virtually useless when we're not in certain very specialized situations... I guess I'll keep thinking.
...so that I don't have to make a new one!Wrong, the idea isn't that I'm lazy, it's that I *enjoyed* my character, same goes for Sasha. We had fun with them.
I know you did. I wasn't saying it's just because you're lazy. I was saying that it was specifically BECAUSE you enjoyed them that you were going to redo them. Nevermind, it really doesn't hurt anything apparently, because...
Believe it or not, the two characters were just BARELY starting to form any kind of relationship beyond that of less-than-willing comrades. There isn't a whole lot for us to be able to fall back on in terms of how the two characters would interact, and I think being with 2 completely different characters and beign in a different situation would create a different group dynamic... We---or at least I---don't so much want to rehash the old characters in order to reestablish an old character dynamic, but because we'd like to SEE how the characters develop and interact. We were just starting to enjoy the characters as much as the game, but we didn't really get a chance to explore the characters much because the game ended quite suddenly with smashy death.
M'kay. See, I misunderstood. I thought since the game had gone on for a while, you guys were rocking the trust-and-friendship thing. Cool then, no whining from me.
I do think I'm gonna stick with the Nyss though, and probably take up Zack's suggestion of doing a Scout. It sounds like that's exactly the kind of thing this concept needs. The only problem was I was kind of digging the idea of an animal companion too...