I am looking for a couple of a replacement players in a fairly long running PbP (over 2 years now).
This is a PvP oriented game with multiple factions of players. Original recruitment thread with details is here.
Current active players is a synthesist summoner, a cleric/inquisitor, and a ninja. Looking for 2 additional players to seek out vengeance for the thieve's guild. Starting player level is now level 7, with 23500 starting gold.
Post your characters back stories following the specifics outlined in the original recruitment thread. Crunch is not required at this time (though you are welcome to post it if it helps you build your back story).
At present the thieves are looking for some pay back on the mages (there has been some back and forth there), need to exact vengeance against a rival gang, and owe some pay back against a certain merchant in particular (though some trouble for the merchant's guild in general would not be a miss), and a certain drow in the clutches of the city guard has been marked for death by the guild.
The thieves are currently prowling Coran. Gumlat has been attacked by a rival nation, backed by demons according to the rumors. And most recently a murderer known as Radgar the Butcher has made a reappearance after being gone for 10 years, and is now systematically killing off members of the city guard.
Hmm, very interesting. Considering a Sandman Bard. Basic concept outline is a character that set out to "steal" magic, which interestingly enough combines well if there is currently an issue with some mages in the game.
Double Posting with character backstory
Character "Jacket" or "Teaser":
Adrienne Leila is a name that very few people know. As a young, attractive human female, perhaps many might wish to know her, but the only company that Adrienne keeps is herself. No-one really knows her early history, only that an attractive female appeared on the streets as a young girl, with a remarkable talent for stealing things. People whisper that perhaps somewhere in her bloodline her ancestors had been tainted by a Rakshasa, and perhaps it is this that allows Adrienne to talk her way into high society events, where she makes off with something in secret, before casually making her escape. Occasionally, if Adrienne wants to keep a low profile, she attends events pretending to be a singer, a dancer, or perhaps a musician playing the harp, something that comes naturally to her, as people have often expressed disbelief that the singer at their party was a master thief in disguise. Despite this, Adrienne makes no secret of the fact that merely stealing material wealth is boring to her, its lack of a challenge has led her to look at other interests. Stealing information for instance, is her current favourite pastime, but recently Adreinne has decided to set her sights higher. With the manifestation of her arcane spell power, Adrienne believes there would be no greater achievement than stealing magic from an enemy, and what Adreinne sets her sights on, she often gets…
Birthplace, Significant Other, Aspirations and Fears:
Adrienne was born in Coran, but due to being abandoned by birth, with no indication as to where or who her parents were, she ended up in an orphanage. Typically, Adrienne doesn’t discuss her early childhood, as living in such a building, clamouring to be chosen by a couple who you had little knowledge of was still a prospect she found distasteful. As it turned out however, life at the orphanage would end up granting Adrienne the skills she would rely upon to survive. Quickly realising that couples adopted for various reasons, Adrienne worked hard to become a “mirror”, hiding away her true personalities and feelings behind a mask which she used to reflect what she felt people wanted to see and hear. The talent became second nature to her, such that no-one remembered the girl that she was before, no-one besides Kerry, the only friend that Adrienne had ever made at the orphanage.
Kerry and Adrienne had arrived at the orphanage and became fast friends. Both of them were alike in many ways, and perhaps that is why Adrienne never “mirrored” Kerry, she reminded her too much of herself. As Kerry and Adrienne grew older, they gradually grew further apart, primarily due to Adrienne isolating herself, directing her energies towards being more self-reliant and independent. The two girls never truly fell out however, and as luck would have it, both of them were adopted roughly within a week of each other.
Adrienne was initially happy at being adopted, it was an opportunity for her to start a new life after all, but quickly realised her new parents were altogether harsher, stricter, and generally nasty individuals. Furious and upset at the opportunity of a new and happy life effectively being stripped away from her, Adrienne waited until the dead of night, before burning the house down, with herself and her parents inside it. Adrienne reasoned that if she deserved a new life, then she would escape the fire unharmed, and as fate would happen, she did, although her parents were not so lucky. Effectively “dead”, Adrienne subtly broke into the orphanage and quickly destroyed any records petitioning to herself, attempting to remove all trace that she ever existing, determined that nothing would stand between her and a new, happy life. She tracked down Kerry, hoping that she could “rescue” her friend from her new parents that Adrienne hoped were as bad as her own foster parents had been. Unfortunately, watching from affair, Adrienne determined that this was not the case, and that Kerry and her foster parents were in good hands, all were happy and Adrienne could not deny Kerry the very thing she herself wanted.
Adrienne roamed the streets, becoming an accomplished thief in her own right in order to survive, always looking for a challenge, while trying to stay a step ahead of anyone who might track her down. Adrienne knew that Kerry was the only remaining link to her childhood and to who she had been before, and was aware of the potential weakness. For someone used to ‘mirroring’ everyone else, it’s possible Adrienne couldn’t quite bear to cut ties with the only link to her “true” self and thus, she always observed and watching Kerry, unseen, and usually acting as a guardian angel of sorts. She even went one step further, talking to her old friend, although always wearing a disguise to prevent her friend recognising her.
If Adrienne has a weakness, it’s her willingness to push the boundaries, to “live on the edge”, because that is where she feels most alive. No challenge is too great, and Adrienne is always looking to be challenged, or the next big project. She has since moved up from petty theft though, usually acting as an information trader, stealing what her clients might be after, trading it for alternative information, sharing it with valuable parties in exchange for favours and so on. Adrienne is all about creating connections and information, always looking ahead. Stealing “Magic” is her primary challenge, and its likely a challenge born out of her dislike of her foster parents. As far as personal fears go, Adrienne feels a certain amount of protectiveness towards Kerry, despite her attempts otherwise, and thus looks after her from a distance. Obviously, she also worries about getting caught, and this new life being stripped from her, although she takes great pains to limit this from happening.
Physical description:
Adrienne is around 5”5, has long dark black hair, brown eyes and olive coloured skin. In general, Adrienne prefers to wear dark clothing, usually black or brown leather or any other tight fitting material, although she will generally wear whatever clothes might appeal to her target, or best suit her mission. This means that Adrienne is very comfortable in “high society” gear, gliding around in heels and a flowing dress, at home in these clothes just as much as her preferred “casual” wear.
Would monks robes give a hungry ghost monk an extra punishing kick, since they swap out stunning fist?
Would monks robes give a hungry ghost monk an extra punishing kick, since they swap out stunning fist?
Technically no, according to RAW, but I would not have a problem with allowing it. I don't see punishing kick as any more powerful than stunning fist - just a matter of different use.
Looks good ginganinja.
Would monks robes give a hungry ghost monk an extra punishing kick, since they swap out stunning fist?Technically no, according to RAW, but I would not have a problem with allowing it. I don't see punishing kick as any more powerful than stunning fist - just a matter of different use.
Then I'm thinking straight up LN Hungry Ghost Monk Level 7. Law in this case being balance and "an eye for an eye", precision, planning, limiting collateral damage... decorum, honor, celestial order.
And, not so closely cleaving to "temporal law", although that is followed and respected where and whenever... possible. Definitely no chaos, randomness, self-indulgence, rebellion for the sake of rebellion, etc...
Is that an acceptable Lawful Neutral?
Other factions had a hand in the destruction or attack on his temple, where his masters were injured or maybe died (or maybe he himself, why his STR/CON is low). Driven by an oath of vengeance (lawful, justice, balance)? Not a literal gameplay oath, just the idea for background.
Movin, that would certainly be acceptable, with some very interesting tie ins to the Mageocracy itself.
Djack, you'd need to be LE instead of LN, so some slight tweak to your outlook on life.
I expect to make a decision on Friday. So those interested have till then to put together a back story.
Evil... ewww. Bowing out.
dotting this one
Movin,
ACG is open for use.
No schools are completely banned, not even necromancy. Only the raising of undead is forbidden. Though individuals in the Mageocracy have varying opinions on that matter. But there are too many sides, and to much bureaucracy for laws governing magic to be easily changed.
Some possible things you could add to a back story (or something of like nature).
There was some suspicion that the magical accident wasn't entirely your doing. If true, the question is, was someone else after your teacher, or after you?
You witnessed (spying either intentionally or unintentionally) on one of the mages practicing the raising of a the dead, or making a pact with a devil or demon, or something else that would be appalling to the general populace.
You would have also witnessed first hand a few creatures brought in from the wilds and taken into the tower, never to be seen again. As a student though you've never been allowed into the tower itself, only in the various buildings near the edge of the grounds used for training and study.
ginganinja,
Along the theme of stealing magic, you have good reason to believe that rare and odd magical items are occasionally uncovered in the Chaggath Spine and brought to the tower for study. Lifting such an item before it gets sealed behind the tower doors could be one option for something your character is after.
Thats actually a really good outlet for my character GM. I read a book recently about how a resistance group stole magical items to eventually weaken the Mages in control of the city, and id love to explore that. In addition, stealing magical items is a really nice transitional outlet for her to eventually steal entire spells from mages, the links there are pretty strong, and stealing magical items is definitely something I could see herself doing.
RPG Superstar 2010 Top 16, 2011 Top 32
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I am interested in this. I've been kicking around an idea for a character who calls himself the Jade Monkey, a second-story climbing thief. He would be the child of immigrants, whose parents died when he was very young, leaving him homeless and orphaned on the streets. He started as a lookout for a gang of thieves and eventually moved up to second story man.
If he's joining the group, he will probably be seeking vengeance against the mage's guild for some slight they committed against one of his friends. Plus he's going to want to build the name of the Jade Monkey as a force of criminality.
Movin,
I'm fine with the alternate heritages. You don't even need to roll for one, just pick one that fits your background.
EDIT: Oh and reading the recruitment thread I see that a few of your players had an elf mage in their background. Would such a character be a reasonable target for my described characters backstory?
I'm assuming he would be high enough level to have a clone or some other wizarding 'get out of death' card waiting in the wings.
Forgot to comment on this. I don't think any of the players in the game used this in their background, so probably just some of the applicants.
James,
You still have time to get together a back story - but not much. I'm looking to make a decision tomorrow night.
Oh, alright cool. Here is a post with the profile, it is currently empty but I fell in love with the profile picture so decided to roll with it.
If I'm allowed to pick one then I'd like to select the one that lets me speak to insects. Grabbing the extra racial bonus to Charisma to remove my penalty sounds quite useful but a bit gamey in my opinion.
Also having read the campaign a fair bit I want to say she is from the Issut Hold's criminal group recently left on a personal matter. She finessed her boss into getting the Mistress to receiver her and in exchange for working for Mistress while she is in town she will receive help in her own work.
@Ginganinja
The fun thing about spell steal is your allies can also grant you spells by failing the save. It can become quite useful in a group with paladins/rangers or summoners who have low level higher power spells.
I would also be interested in working some tie in with our characters, a skill focused bard/social butterfly and a mage that thinks at right angles could be an interesting pair. Feel like collaborating on some shared events?
Character Alexia Hebert "Bishop"
Alexia Hebert was once a rising star in what some call the foot of heaven. The college that trained eager young mages in the shadow of the great city's tower. Now though she exists as an entity in the Issust Hold, a member of the Usturn commonly called in to deal with significant problems and provide magical expertise. She is more interested in lore than people, suspicious by nature and experience. She solves problems by coming at them from unconventional angles seeking to maintain a professional distance but still indulging in the occasional sardonic remark.
Birthplace and history:
Alexia does not know where or to who she was born, though divination into the matter show that she has the lineage of an ancient outsider in her veins. its true nature being hidden by powerful defensive magic beyond her ability to pierce.
Alexia was found squalling in the desert by one of the desert hermits, he brought her to one of the village leaders of Issust Hold, Barnabus Gralrund. The man took in the infant and raised her, perhaps not like one of his two other children but well enough. While Barnabus's children drifted out of Alexia's spheres of influence Barnabas followed though and got her all the way to young adulthood. She demonstrated an uncanny grasp of magic and a local tutors services were purchased, she swiftly outpaced them in what they could teach moving to others until she sent an Arcane thesis to the Tower of heaven academy hoping to become one of the three students selected each year to attend the school on a scholarship. She managed to gain such a lofty gift over the hundreds of other applicants on her second try. At a young age she left the only place she knew as home to become a student at the greatest home of learning in the world. Her father was furious that she would dare to leave home, that she felt herself better than her brother and sister who had found work in Issust Hold. She departed from home in tears, knowing that such a glorious establishment as the Tower of Heaven would take her in with open arms.
Alexia arrived and was inducted into the student body, stars in her eyes and a song in her heart. She made several friends in the a mousy young woman named Tabitha and an old orc blooded groundskeeper who referred to himself as 'Turn'. It was at this time she also met someone who she would eventually consider more fondly than even her family. A newly arrived teacher of the Conjuring arts that dabbled in many things the bald headed human had a boisterous laugh and welcoming smile.
It was Professor Abu that provided Alexia the additional schooling she needed to overcome her non-magical background, who provided answers and gentle nudges for spell casting methods. Over the two years she spent at the campus she grew closer to the man as her common background and opinions ground against the upper crust sensibilities of her class mates. She was swiftly labeled a bad student and others perpetuated the rumor, warning others of her dangerous nature. With such limitations, lack of peers to work with and inability to turn to family for help Alexia found herself at a crossroad. She began leveraging her familiar a Rat she had named Barbatoreum to spy on other students and teachers using magics to see through his eyes or understand his words and learning magic that way. She saw many things in those whispered sessions indiscretions and dark magic being the major themes. Inevitably her spying was discovered and all of the bad things whispered about her legitimized.
It was at that point she started working almost entirely with Durain, her other teachers often making it a point to single out her flawed areas and hammer on them. Pushing her until her already stressed facade would crack or she would leave half way through the lesson. It was the last week of her second year that is all changed, a transmutation gone wrong and a massive blank in her memory. Waking in a hospital ward under guard, chained to the wall. Her terrified screaming woke the night shift and she was swiftly dressed in penitents rags. The questioning she received was brutal and her trial a closed court, she was charged with the murder of Durain Abu Professor and foreign visitor. The funeral had been last week, a closed casket affair the professor had no relatives and was buried at the cost of the tower.
Even with mind fogged over in vibrant shades of grief, agony and confusion Alexia knew leading questions when she saw them. They wanted her to shoulder the blame, she managed to demand a cleric of the city arrive and administer a zone of truth. With such a public presence she was able to get a fair trial, with no other witnesses to present evidence and Professor Abu's body damaged beyond use they could only present circumstantial evidence. They could not prove she was the culprit but after the inquiry she was presented with the costs of the third years tuition and informed that Students with scholarships were not permitted to have altercations with the law.
So, with her bright future in ruins, the teacher she considered a father and any friends she might have still had in the campus gone Alexia wrote a letter of resignation and left in the dark of the early morning.
She discovered Durain's familiar Xabu had stowed away in her belongings a bright spot for the grief stricken girl.
She arrived home to find a sympathetic ear in Barnabus who had heard of her treatment in Coran. It was at this point she was offered a job to come and work with her adoptive father and learned that he had been a leading man in the Hold's criminal world for many years. With her rocky trip home she accepted and began a gradual entry into crime, helping with prep work at the start and progressing from petty theft to full robbery, assault and magically assisted murder.
Whatever scraps of innocence Alexia might have had before her journey to Coran was assuredly removed from the descent into crime. The years in ilicit services taught her that much of what she had been taught in her schooling was incorrect. The kind did not prosper, the strong did and with all the knowledge in the universe unless one could leverage it you would still die with a knife in your gut.
She obtained more teachers for her mystic arts by hook or crook, digging into every contact she could find and learning a dozen different concepts of magic by the end of it. Be it a Demon, undead, abberant monster or simple corrupted man if they had knowledge she wanted Alexia would do everything in her power to get it.
It was eight years since the events in Coran, and Alexia journeys again to the towered city with her possessions. The month before she had been sent a transcript of several conversations in the Tower by Tabitha Fairsbrook, head clerk of the towers legal division. Along side an apology for taking so long to bring such to light. Seeing it himself and knowing from some of her tales how much she had trusted the professor Barnabas presented her with the option to work in Coran for a time, making nice with the local night guild.
Durain had uncovered a secret from one of the masters, he had been a mere breath away from obtaining a seat himself and swinging the powerblock that kept the more progressive of the Seven in check. Apparently one of them even knows who her actual parents are.
Flaws and Loved ones:
Alexia has several weaknesses but the defining flaw is her controlling nature. Alexia does not like going into situations blind, she learns all she can finds the gaps in her enemy and exploits them to the fullest extent. The problem being that when an enemy catches her off guard her first interest is escaping them, she does not fight battles she has a chance of losing. She also has a burning desire for Political and Knowledge based power to ensure she is never stuck in a situation like he time at the academy. Beyond this is a lack of self-esteem and the haunting specter of killing her favorite teacher making her a distant and cold person.
As to people she represents a major guild in Issut Hold, Barnabas his family and many people who work in the town. She is known there and were events to happen in the hold she would take notice.
Durain Abu's gravestone, which has received a well preserved purple cactus flower on March 14th every year (this day being his birthday being unknown to effectively everyone.)
And with the newly delivered lead on Durain's killer Tabitha Fairsbrook has become someone Alexia would do quite a lot for.
Physical description:
Alexia is 5'7'' with light red skin, hazel eyes and dark brown hair. She is often mistaken for some strange variety of half-elf due to her long pointed ears and having pupils(which normal elves do not) but the learned know she is a tiefling. Alexia wears a high collared duster of fine leather over common street clothes, though her tastes in clothing tend more toward male fashion than female fashion finding it easier to be taken seriously in a suit rather than a dress. She wears a pair of glasses though does not truly need them finding they help when reading the smaller text in older books.
I would also be interested in working some tie in with our characters, a skill focused bard/social butterfly and a mage that thinks at right angles could be an interesting pair. Feel like collaborating on some shared events?
Sure, we can collaborate. Your character's goals do slightly align with mine so their isn't really a reason why they couldn't work together, plus, we tend to compliment each other skill wise. Adrienne really does excel in high society events, and as mentioned in my backstory, she is currently acting an information broker of sorts, which could be one outlet for Alexia to gain slight political power, or at least an edge at some point.
Getting some feedback from the current players to decide between ginganinja and Alexia "Bishop" Hebert.
Originally I thought I had room for two players, but one player who had had to drop a while back due to real life has also returned, so I only have one opening.
It's not going to be an easy decision.
Alexia (Movin), if you could please stat up your character and join us in the discussion thread
Wish I had room for both of you, I found both backgrounds quite intriguing with some good solid tie ins that could be made in the storyline at present for both proposed characters.
Grants Movin, well done!
Thanks, I had thought you had it in the bag. I feel you are a much better writer, best of luck in your next recruitment and I sincerely hope GM Ascension thinks of you if we end up with another player gone missing.
@GM: aye aye.
If ginganinja is interested, I will certainly contact her if we get another opening.
sure thing!