I've made a run at Kikinnin's Backstory. I can elaborate, but this should be a good start.
Kikinnin's Primary Motivator is Beneficence. I hope it clear enough through his backstory and current choice of work :)
Kikinnin's good with associations with JJ and Marigold through the Orphanage, and Renn and/or 'Tom through the militia. Sounds like 'Tom' might be encountered in both groups at different times :)
Sounds good! And yes, not everyone has to be or have been at the orphanage or in the militia at the same time. I like the idea of several of the characters at least 'knowing' each other; sometimes it works to have PCs starting off with a stronger relationship (friends/lovers/family) to each other at the start but other times it can seem a little contrived for everyone to already know everyone else really well, depending on the setting, individual characters, etc.
So, she'd probably know JJ (and possibly 'Tom') the best, Kikin so-so, and Renn maybe in passing or not at all unless 'Tom' has mentioned him at some point.
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Okay, I've got the first run of Marigold's background on her profile. It's separated into three spoilers for ease of reading and I'll post them here as well, along with her personality section.
Born to the Montajay family of Cauldron, Marigold's early life was as ordinary as you would expect for a small halfling family. Her parents were Marbin and Marra and the pair worked together at the Brass Trumpet inn; Marbin as a cook and Marra a barmaid. Though they were employees they got on well with the owners, Gavin and Elena Haventree and as a child Marigold often played with their daughter Lyssa; the pair constantly finding themselves underfoot and into all sorts of childish mischief. Once he was old enough, Marigold's little brother Milo was allowed to join them.
It was a good life and Marigold was happy. As she entered adolescence she didn't give much thought to what sort of path her life would take, assuming that it would follow a similar path as that of her parents - she would go to work, likely as a cook or some such herself, eventually meet a nice halfling lad, settle down and have a family. However, all of that changed during her 13th year when Cauldron was gripped by a plague of filth fever. Her entire family succumbed to the illness, leaving her alone. Though her friends the Haventrees managed to weather the difficulties and emerge without having lost any of their own, losing so many of their staff combined with the sharp drop in customers as a result of the plague meant that they were forced to close the doors of the Brass Trumpet for good.
With no family to care for her and the Haventrees barely able to make ends meet to feed themselves much less anyone else, Marigold was sent to the Lantern Street Orphanage to live once the priests of Pelor declared her to be recovered and free of illness. There she spent the next seven years, living among her fellow orphans, many of whom had also lost their families to the plague. It was a difficult period of adjustment, but eventually Marigold settled in and began to work towards moving on with her life. She had always enjoyed reading and took to her lessons well, finding enjoyment in learning of the history of Cauldron and the various faiths of the region. As she grew older, she realized that she would not be able to stay at the orphanage forever and began to give some thought to her future.
At first, she entertained the notion of perhaps joining the town militia or Pelor's clergy to repay them for the care she and her family received during the plague. She had actually already put out possible feelers in both directions, attending the militia's preliminary training classes as well as a small seminar on first aid at the Church of Pelor, when Headmistress Gretchen gently suggested that she should look into the path that would be the best for her, rather than pursue a path that might turn out to be ill-fitting out of a feeling of obligation. Having noted that Marigold had always enjoyed reading and learning, she suggested that perhaps the young halfling could pursue some sort of employment with the Bluecrater Academy. Though there was no way that Marigold could afford to attend as a student, Gretchen did offer to put in a good word for her with the Academy's staff. Marigold happily accepted Gretchen's offer and soon went to work within the Academy library. Although she wasn't taking classes, the job did allow her much easier access to a variety of books than she would have had otherwise. It also helped that she enjoyed the atmosphere of academia and being able to assist the wide variety of students and staff in finding just the perfect book for a research project or to borrow for an evening of light reading.
Marigold's years at the Lantern Street Orphanage were largely without incident, except for one thing. Not long after she came to the orphanage, there had been an incident in which the young halfling had found herself as the butt of a rather unpleasant prank by a couple of the older girls, Abella and Carista. They had slipped a small amount of dye into Marigold's bathwater while she was distracted, turning the halfling's skin a shocking shade of blue. In her distress, she found herself crying and babbling in what Gretchen and the other children thought was simply an incoherent manner. However after Marigold had calmed down, she suddenly realized that it hadn't been incoherent at all. She knew, inexplicably, that her babblings had been part of a language all their own, a language that now seemed to be seared into her brain and came to her as easily as Common and her own native tongue. Over time she came to discover that whenever she was feeling especially stressed, only the strange language would pass her lips - any attempt to speak in a different tongue simply did not work, as if someone had flipped a switch in her mind that locked access to other languages.
Though she had the sense to realize that such a thing was clearly not normal, Marigold pushed it aside and simply did her best to keep control over her own emotions so not to cause alarm or draw the curious stares and japes of her peers. She only broke this rule once, when a young human boy named JJ overheard her strange ramblings. Thinking that the halfling was playing a game of some sort, he begged her to teach him her silly 'made up' language. Unable to resist, she gave in and did her best to teach him to form the words and utter the same sounds that she did. Hearing it spoken from another's lips sounded almost...unnatural, somehow, but she pushed her misgivings aside.
It wasn't until she'd been working at the Bluecrater Academy library for about a year when she stumbled across something that horrified her. While idly flipping through a book of languages, something caught her eye and she stopped, returning to the previous page. There, on the pages, was the very same language that lay buried with her mind - Abyssal, the language of demons. A language that she should have had no possible knowledge of. And though she wasn't aware of it at first, it was this realization that she would later look back on as one of the moments where the path of life was irreversably shifed. After making her discovery, her sleep was restless and uneasy as she wracked her brain trying to come up with some sort of explanation for it all. These nighttime wonderings served little purpose, except to cause her to lose more sleep. Unable to come up with anything on her own and unwilling to confide her troubles with anyone else, she simply attempted to carry on with her life as she always had...though she did keep her eyes open for any sort of tome or hint that might enlighten her as to how someone would 'learn' a language without even trying. However, she couldn't help but feel uneasy, as if there were more to her strange little predicament that was yet to come...
Despite the hardships that Marigold had faced in life, she counted herself quite blessed in that she still had a large number of people that she would consider her friends. Although the Haventrees were struggling to put their own lives back together after the closing of the Brass Trumpet, Gavin and Elena still brought Lyssa around to visit her at the orphanage whenever they were able. Marigold always looked forward to these visits and the chance to catch up with her oldest friend whenever possible. As they grew up, they remained close friends although diverging interests and duties made it more difficult for them to properly stay in touch. Rather than step into the business world as her parents had done, Lyssa instead chose to pursue a life entertaining others. She had always had a lovely singing voice and began to put it to work in the local taverns, hoping to one day become famous. Though she currently sings at the Tipped Tankard, Lyssa has confided to Marigold that she hoped to one day work her way up to performing at the Cusp of Sunrise, the most exclusive club in the city.
Marigold had other friends, too. She had always gotten on well with Gretchen during her time at the orphanage as the elder halfling appreciated the young's desire to learn and her quiet demeanor. Her fellow orphans were something of a mixed bag; though she got along with most of them well enough, she'd really only spent a large amount of time with JJ and another halfling girl named Anafa. She had grown close with Anafa, who reminded her a great deal of her brother Milo, and she became something of a surrogate sister to the younger girl. Even after moving out of the orphanage, Marigold often made it point to try and come by to visit her little sister when she could.
There was also the dwarf, Kikinnin Rouradont. He was a bit of a strange one, though kind-hearted. Though he'd always told the children that he was just a simple ratcatcher, Marigold had heard some of the older ones whisper that he was actually a knight who went off and had all sorts of adventures when he wasn't stopping by the orphanage to visit. She wasn't sure how much stock she put in the tales, but she had always been happy to see him when he happened to drop by.
Marigold's job at Bluecrater Academy also afforded her plenty of opportunity to meet the staff as well as a wide variety of students that passed through its halls. Though they were often busy, there were the occasional slow moments that allowed Marigold the opportunity to get to know some of her coworkers better, like the elf Losriel Tanaas who shared her appreciation for dry humor and the gnome Zinli Yeziver who always had a book to recommend.
Marigold has been through quite a bit in her short lifetime. Though she was able to weather the deaths of her family and the upending of her life in the aftermath of the filth fever plague, her recent discovery of the nature of the mystery language that imprinted itself in her mind seemingly out of the blue has brought on some subtle but very real personality changes in the young halfling woman. She had always been rather quiet and somewhat shy but now she feels a persistent sense of unease, the sort of unease that comes when you have a feeling that bad news is coming your way. As a result, her manner now has an air of anxiousness to it that has caused some puzzlement among those that know her best.
Though her parents had been raising her and her brother to follow the faith of Yondalla, Marigold has only somewhat continued to adhere to the faith, finding it difficult to connect with fellow worshippers after being sent to the orphanage. She still largely believes in her teachings, but has also found much to like within Pelor's faith as well and looks to the beliefs of both to guide her through life. While she'll gladly share her outlook with anyone who asks, she's not inclined to proselytize.
Hopefully I've addressed everything that was mentioned as needing some explanation or expanding upon, including where she picked up certain skills (Healing) and her weapon and armor training. I left actual connections to most of the other PCs a little vague until everyone else has a better handle on their own backgrounds. I made up a few friends for her to know but I'm happy to switch gears or make adjustments if you have other possible NPC contacts in mind, Rutseg.
* Lyssa Haventree, singer at the Tipped Tankard Tavern
* Gretchen Tashykk, headmistress of the Lantern Street Orphanage
* Anafa, young halfling orphan
* Losriel Tanaas & Zinli Yeziver, fellow librarians at Bluecrater Academy
* Kristof Jurgensen? Marigold might know him from occasionally paying her respects at the Church of Pelor. He might also have been one of the priests who helped take care of filth fever victims during the plague, perhaps as a junior member of the clergy at the time.
* Jasper Drundlesput? Marigold probably at least knows him in passing from working at Bluecrater Academy.
* Terseon Skellerang? If Marigold looked into joining the local guard, she probably at least spoke to him.
If anyone has any feedback, I'd love to hear it! Just be gentle, please... ;)
@GM do you want a whole sheet now, or is the sketched out stat block in the profile okay? I was thinking of holding off final choices until we knew final party composition in case there are some areas that need to be filled out.
The sketch is ok. That said, if you have the time for a complete statblock at some point I will appreciate it too.
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@Marigold/JJ Completely missed he was picking the same trait i'll look into it.
I like what you have, very interesting stuff :P
I agree about us not all needing to 'know' each other its good to have a little connection, but the true flavour of the charter and friendship comes as we work together.
Settling into a routine favoured Renn, he know what he had to do and he knew it well. It was drilled into him from a young age, his father being part of the town guard and Militia. He train his son expecting him to join up when the time was right, he grew up with all his father's friends all looking out for each other. But then there were rumblings of plague starting from the lake, it was never the cleanest but it didn't hurt anyone.
Then the plague hit, people where dyeing everywhere, if you didn't have the money you would die. He cared for his family when his mother first got infected that slowly spread through his family. Renn being the only one to survive he lost his entire family to an invisible killer one he couldn't protect them from. Before she passed away his mother reminded him as she always used to 'Remember you have Surabar Spellmanson blood in you, do great things.' He grew up with her saying that feeling proud even if the other kids didn't believe him, but now it didn't help him nothing did.
After the plague he had a crisis of faith how this could fall on cauldron how he was hit so hard he spiralled for a while, only cleaning himself up when he knew no one else would help him.
He was never a religious man but gives a prey to Pelor in passing, more in habit from when his father and mother used to when they hoped for something or really needed guidance and strength. The gods had never done anything special for him, more pain than happiness he doesn't hold them in high regard.
He was good with a bow, his father always said it. He kept his eye on his goal and didn't take stop tell it was dead. He fell into becoming a Fletcher, he needed arrows for his bow they were expensive. When he would build up a stockpile he would start selling them off, never making loads but supplementing with all the other little jobs he would do around town.
He then met his wife, a grade higher than him in the social standings but she had a lot of sisters and her father wanted them wed. Then came his son, he had never been happier the day he saw him. They called him Gabriel after his father.
Things were always rocky between his wife and him. Renn was never well off, he worked hard for everything he had and she just wanted more, their relationship ended when she confessed to cheating on him to planning on leaving him. It broken him, it was never perfect but it was a routine he set himself into something to fall back on when he had a bad day now taken from him again, she left with his son.
Renn is a simple man, quick to action when it is needed. Always willing to help out(although recently times have hit him hard), level headed to a degree but when it comes to those around him he can get very personal and protective as he has lost a lot in his life and will fight to keep it.
He was told for a young age he had greatness in his blood, descended from the founder of Cauldron. With that in mind and his own training and dedication has taught him a lot, not to go charging off but to study the situation understand it then strike when the situation presents itself. That greatness comes to those not seeking it but those that are ready to embrace it when the time comes.
With everything that happened after the plague he is standoffish with new people not looking for too many close friends, but his son is changing how he feels about the world again. It reminds him of the times he trained with his father.
He stands just under 6 foot, not a big man but one that would stand out in a fight with his brutish looks. His face shows him to be a working man, not so concerned about a bit of dirt. Picking up a few cuts and scars along the way with long hair showing signs of his age.
Terseon Skellerang - Friendly, learnt some of my skills from him. Renn sees him as a person to trust.
Beppo, fruit seller. - Helped him with small jobs.
Kristof Jurgensen - Came to him after the plague to get some understanding of why my family was taken, friendly but not on the best of terms.
Kikinnin Rouradont - We know of each other, he's an interesting man but they never stuck up much of a friendship. Renn has respect for the dwarf.
Skie Aldersun - Trade with him and offer up arrows.
Places
Tipped Tankard Taven - spend most of my evenings here now with no family also hope to get some contact to help find my son
In the days since Renn's sons disappeared he's spent time at the Lantern Street Orphanage hoping he might turn up there or they have heard anything.
Town Guard Barracks - I'd spend some time there with some old friends/train and offer up some help.
Skie’s Treasury - Spent time here looking for work/ trade for goods.
Last bits of backstory should be set down by tonight.
I like what you folk are doing with your characters' stories! I'll try and model a summary as you folk have done. Can't believe it's already Tuesday...
Okay, I added another small spoiler section to Marigold's profile when I realized that I never actually stated a reason for her to care about these disappearances or take an interest in them - d'oh! Also updated her profile to reflect changing to the Tongues curse and adjusted her equipment slightly. Since there's a little time left, if it's felt that Marigold needs a stronger reason to get involved in things than just curiosity, I can elaborate on that or simply change to one of her friends or acquaintances going missing as well (probably Lyssa or Anafa if I went that route).
I've tried looking over what everyone else has posted and seeing if there's anything I can suggest or comment on. There's not a huge amount that comes to mind, but let me see...
Maybe elaborate a bit more on the relationship (if any) that he has with his ex-wife and her family? You mentioned she was a step up on the social ladder from him; I'm not sure if that would equate to her being 'middle class', 'wannabe-nobility' or actual nobility but if it's the second or third option then Renn may find that his reputation/name precedes him in certain circles. Same for his ex-wife, especially if she's earning a reputation for being a tramp. It might also be interesting to know how her parents feel about Renn; it sounds like he tried very hard to provide for his family so that might have softened their views toward him somewhat (or not).
I like the general lukewarm feeling he has regarding faith and possibly Pelor's in particular. That might prove interesting when paired with Kikinnin and Marigold and anyone else who happens to follow one of the gods.
It sounds like he's basically sort of an 'odd jobs' man, right? In addition to Beppo and Skie, he might also have had dealings with the various warehouse owners (Maavu Arlintal, Adrick Garthun) - maybe working as hired labor to haul goods around the city?
I like the character; sounds like potentially a very troubled and conflicted man, albeit one with a good heart.
Going on what you've got written so far, which I understand may not be the final draft, it looks good! I like how the childhood encounter + bearing witness to the filth fever plague inspire him to his current path. Off the top of my head I can't really think of any additional suggestions for contacts and you've shared enough to get a feel for his family and past life in Malachite.
Same as Kikinnin, I can't think of much else to add right off since I feel like I've got a good idea of his general personality and history/motivations. If he's got a contact or two in the Last Laugh, maybe that could be fleshed out a little unless Rutseg already has something in mind for that.
I'll hold off on 'Tom' until JamZilla is back and has the time to flesh the character out further, but the outline given seems solid to me. Admittedly I've not looked too hard at everyone's statblocks but I'm not too terribly concerned with anything. With 7 PCs to be in the final party I think we'll have all of the most important/relevant skills covered by at least one person. Things like spell selection can be adjusted as needed once the party is chosen and everyone is making final preparations. We seem to largely have the basic 'roles' accounted for: skills, healing magic, a frontliner, a trapfinder, some arcane, and a ranged attacker. There are feasible ways for each of us to know or have run across others in the group prior to the start of the game and people seem to have their contacts/reasons for getting involved mostly set. And based on backgrounds and backstories I foresee plenty of potential common ground as well as points of contention between the different PCs. I can't think of much else that we need :)
Oh and keep in mind the timezone regarding Rutseg's deadline. Since I believe it's midnight GMT on Wednesday that would mean 6pm for me, for example.
Initial thoughts on statblock
m NG Human Rogue, Level 1, Init 2, HP 10/10, Speed
AC 16, Touch 13, Flat-footed 13, CMD 15, Fort 3, Ref 4, Will 1, CMB +3, Base Attack Bonus 0
Shortsword +3 (d6+3, 19-20/x2)
Studded Leather (+3 Armor, +2 Dex)
Abilities Str 16, Dex 14, Con 13, Int 12, Wis 13, Cha 12
Condition None
^ *thumbs up*
Oh! I did just have a thought; does JJ have any idea about the heavenly essence in his blood or do you think that'll be something that reveals and/or manifests itself during the first part of the adventure?
(And that reminds me...aside from the Abyssal, Marigold is not aware of her other powers just yet.)
Thanks for that Marigold, I'll take on your feedback and add some later when i finish up my profile.
About Maavu Arlintal, Adrick Garthun - I was unsure if i should add them in they sort of fit but i was going more friendly terms but knowing them and being known by them will work.
I'd also think maybe you would know of me at least in the past few days? I'd be quite frantic looking for my son, going to the orphanage.
Looking good JJ.
JJ doens't know why he has a natural bent for healing, but he does know that sometimes when he looks after hurt creatures they get better much faster than expected.
I guess that might be another thing that he and Marigold can bond over.
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Kikinnin hails from the Malachite Fortress, dwarven stronghold deep within the earth, positioned against the forces of the Underdark. Kikinnin grew up there with his parents Pocca and Mirna, and sister, Gemma. He tried to integrate with the military, but found himself shunned for his congenital defect. With the support of his mother and sister, he grew patient and caring. With the support of his father, he grew strong with training, and vigilant. Always vigilant. His departure from Malachite was largely independent, but he did travel in a group of merchants who ensured their mutual survival to the surface.
The dwarf enjoys people-watching, and interactions, most of which are friendly. He's had his share of dirty looks, but he brushes them off as water from a duck's back. He is comfortable turning his own back on those who don't respect him merely for being dwarven-born. The hypocrisy of the fact that he bristles inwardly on anyone of orc blood is lost on him.
His work ethic is strong, so he wakes early and goes to sleep late. He covets magic that would allow him to avoid sleep, in fact. Rats never sleep, so neither will he.
He strongly appreciates the infrastructure of the city, and was deeply distressed when the flooding damage occurred years ago.
Kikinnin is mostly all-heart, and a night owl. He is slow to anger, a patient listener, and tries to bring humor into the darkest of situations. Speaking of humor, he has an odd sense of it, from physical manifestations such as someone tripping, to obtuse double entendres. His laugh is loud, and staccato. His understanding of 'personal space' is dim. He forgets sometimes that headbutting is not a Cauldron welcome. He has had a handful of crushes on various maids about town, is quick to compliment, but slow to act, hence, several unrequited loves. If someone does him right, he's quick to bury a loyalty tree with their name on it. He only holds a grudge against one man. One grudge is enough.
His associations with those in this group are as of yet superficial.
With Marigold, he sees something of his sister in her, so is quick with a smile and an inquiring word of her well-being when they cross paths in and around the Orphanage.
With Renn, a mutual respect, as he's seen the man in action during practice sparring in the Guard. Even wooden practice weapons can leave a mark.
With JJ, as with many of the orphans made good, he has a misplaced sense of pride with any of the youngins that have thrived despite their circumstances.
With Tom, well, there's more to be seen now, isn't there?
Kikinnin is largely a free-roamer, so will have set down slow roots with Terseon and Alex. He feels a loyalty to the Guard for time-served, and something that stirs within him tells him that Alex is something of a kindred soul, especially after Alex showed him how to sense the nature of evil in things. He tries to spend time with both men when he feels he's not a burden to their daily errands.
Time finished. During this new day I will set up the list of the final characters to face the adventure.
I hope you have enjoyed the process, and I am very sorry I cannot run the adventure for all of you.
Regardless of how it turns out, it's been a lot of fun to work together with everyone to create characters. I'm looking forward to seeing the final result and I want to say good luck to everyone - both this table and the Gate table :)
Good luck to you all too! I enjoyed reading your backstories.
Good luck all it has been a great process I look forward to playing with you either in this PbP or another on the boards.
Likewise y'all.
It's been a fun experience making up JJ, and working with you all to come up with a cohesive and fun background.
I don't envy Rutseg this next task one little bit.
It's been very differnt and a lot of fun to get this far, I wish everyone the best of luck! Now the wait, it's always the worst part :P
You have worked very hard on your characters, some of you very intensely, and that makes me hate not rewarding the effort for all of you.
In general you all worked together very well and maintained a good environment in the threads despite a small conflict some days ago. One of the groups ended up with the 3 most frequent posters of the ten and that is clearly reflected in the post count and number of interactions. That said, the other group kept organized and developed all their characters despite having 2 of their players missing most of the last week.
I established I would pick one of the groups. But I had not previewed I would feel not comfortable accepting someone just because it ended up into a group I overall like more. First of all I want everybody including myself to feel comfortable playing.
Thus, after thinking about it during days, I have decided to not pick a group and instead choose 4 people from one side and 3 from another. I apologize for this change. The final list after taking into account interest sprung by the character and to a smallest degree party composition (both party and player-wise) is:
Congratulations to the final party!
And sorry to the 3 that found no place in the party. You are all good players and I am sure you could have done a lot to make this game enjoyable and memorable for everybody. But yet, I cannot pick 10 and need to drop someone. One of the reasons I wanted a 7 characters game is I find large party games more resistant to player drops. Still, that might happen and is probable I will look back to you 3 if a slot opens. Anyway I have plans for your characters as NPCs, and I would be glad if you were ok for me to use them in this game.
If any of you wants more feedback I will be glad to provide it through PM, as some decisions may strike your head without knowing what was going on in my thoughts. From my side I would like to know how have you felt about the recruitment process. Strengths and weaknesses, as well as any improvement you would suggest to other GMs following a similar method.
Thanks all for participating, accepting my creation rules and taking the effort to create a character so thoughtfully!
The game will start during Tuesday of the next week so I have time for a personal trip and you can finish your statblocks and adjust them taking into account the final party composition.
This one will become the campaign discussion thread.
Gratz to all chosen and a fun game.
Feedback:
After putting that much time and effort in, i can´t say i´m not disapointed.
Right from the start i had that impression that the GM was a bit more inclinced towards the tower group, what kinda prooved right.
Another thing - what also reflects my experience in PbP recruitments - in tower group are 3 people who are in a lot of games together. Some of them having a real great number of games going on.
Of course they went into one group together quickly and makes for a very different group building dynamic. Besides me there were other players who noticed that and we talked about it, but chose not to talk about it in the recruitment thread.
What went on behind the scenes can only be speculated about.
Looking at the choosing and some things stated before, perhaps some preferences should also have been made a bit clearer. Changing the conditions without calling it out is also not the best tone i think, but of course a GM has to be comfortable too.
I feel it´s also a bit weird that some people get chosen who only posted their stuff last minute. This feels like a game of bluff a bit.
I really enjoyed the brainstorming and group building process though.
No hard feelings or offense though.
Have fun everyone!
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All your points are very understandable Ken.
The Tower group was formed very fast, and yet you managed to create a very good dynamic in the Gate one.
I tried to be neutral, but as you say, most of the topics and plot arguments discussed in the Tower group cached better my interest and made me feel more comfortable.
I do not know if it serves as a relief but I am sure there was not a proper answer to the question "what is the best 7 party".
You have a PM with more personalised feedback on your case.
Oh well, I gave it a go.
It was an interesting process.
Good luck everyone!
@Juraan and Ikkyu: Really enjoyed the creative process with you both. Stoked to be selected but gutted your characters won't be joining us. Hope to be lucky enough to game with you both down the line.
Cheers
BD
Need to admit this is by far the most difficult moment in a recruitment process.
I hope you had at least some fun during these days. The extra intensity of being so close makes it even more painful in my opinion. Trust me or not, for me also, we have been working together on something for some very intense days.
Let's hope we have the opportunity we find some opportunities in the future for playing together.
Congratulation to those of you that were picked, you have a good game on your hands each and everyone of you deserves your place. I enjoyed reading everything you came up with and look forward to seeing where you take it from here. Maybe Rutseg will take Renn and make him worth something to the game.
As i've said many times I really liked the interesting take on recruitment I suppose it helped you a lot in picking out the players you thought would fit. So thanks for the opportunity Rutseg good luck with your game.
I definately had fun and i also learned some new stuff.
Putting groups together like this with strangers, but also with people who knew each other before seems like a good process for me.
There are also really no hard feelings towards anyone here, i think all people involved have great potential and are nice people.
Just remember im no native speaker and belong to a different culture, where people are a lot more direct it seems^^
Maybe we´ll stay in contact and other good things will come of this.
Have fun!
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Hey guys. Just got back a short while ago and tired from the journey but wanted to pop in quickly.
Thanks firstly for the selection Rutseg, very much looking forward to the game.
I have to be honest and say I feel like I deserved the selection a lot less than others who put in significant effort to some great characters. So genuinely feel bad for those who have some frustration/disappointment at the decision.
That said, I think we've all found some great potential players for our future games and look forward to having the opportunity to play with you all.
Thank you GM Rutseg!
Congrats to the other successful applicants, and commiserations to those who didn't quite make it. I started running an AP a couple of years ago that had a lot of very good applicants, and made the mistake of taking more than I intended, thinking there would be drops outs. There wasn't. It ended up being just too much work for me. So a good call by GM to limit it to seven.
Looking at who we have:
• JJ - Rogue
• Marigold Montajay - Life Oracle
• Maxim Snaphånce wizard (P.S. another fan of Abercromie here)
• Ryan Taskerhill - Cleric
• Dandarrion Brokenhill bard
• Tom JamZilla - bard
• Kikinnin Rouradont Paladin
Echoing other's thoughts here so sorry ....
Thank you GMRutseg for the selection looking forward to this game getting it's feet under it and moving forward, however I will be looking for those who didn't make it in future games.
I thoroughly enjoyed the collaborative effort that went into making the characters, and honestly think it should be used more often. I learned a lot. Glad, I didn't have to make the decision as to who to cut though.
As we move forward..
Ryan's backstory will already have him in contact with most of the members of the group already, having been at the Church of St Cuthbert for the past 6 years and a frequent visitor at the orphanage over that same number of years. While he may not be a friend, his face would likely be known. Perhaps more so to JJ and definitely Kikinnin.
Yes, thank you for the selection. As others have posted, there were great characters all around and it was good to see all the fun that everyone had with putting them together. I look forward to playing with those selected and I hope to get the chance to play with everyone else in the future sometime. Since a couple of things were mentioned and I think directness is appreciated, I'll try and address them real quick.
Though I promise it was not planned that way when any of us posted interest in the initial recruitment thread, JZ, Ictoo, and myself did gravitate to the same thread after preselections were done since we do have some experience with playing together (which I mentioned to Rutseg when the first round of PMs were sent out with the list) and we were allowed to sort ourselves as we saw fit. To be honest, I didn't see anything wrong with this as I'm fairly certain most people would do or would have done the same. There were several others who posted interest that indicated that they already knew each other as well, so unless steps had been taken to select 10 people with none of them having any experience with any of the others, there would still have been some degree of pairing of people who'd played together before no matter who had been selected. However, I do wish something had been said sooner if was an issue for anyone and perhaps a different arrangement could have been made. If someone were to try this method of recruitment in the future it might just be better for general morale to randomly assign groups or just put everyone in one thread. Both of those options would have their own problems of course, but it might make for a more comfortable atmosphere for everyone.
I'm also aware that compared to most of the other preselected I have several active games. This was something that was discussed with Rutseg early on and both of us were comfortable that I would be able to keep a posting commitment to the game if selected as well as make a character that would be just as unique as my others. Otherwise, I would not have applied in the first place.
Hopefully that will address/answer a couple of things and help to show what my own thought processes were. I'm still very sincere when I say that I think any of the 10 would be great fun to play with. Definitely no hard feelings on my end and I hope there aren't on anyone else's part either.
Moving forward...
Re: character classes (and to help get the ball rolling I guess) - Although I currently have Marigold set as a Life oracle, I'm happy to adjust that a bit depending on what Ryan would like to do. With a cleric, an oracle, and a paladin I think we've got healing/condition removal/etc. pretty well covered so that leaves a little more room if someone wants to be more battle focused or blasty or whatnot :)
On the class front I was also noting we are a little light on up front melee, so was considering moving JJ over to ranger from rogue. That provides a little more punch and survivability at lower levels, while keeping the stealth angle covered.
With two bards in the mix, I think we probably have the skill-monkey department well covered.
Any thoughts from the wider team?
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I think you're right on the skills front JJ and a Ranger would definitely shore up that front line.
I'm building my bard as a combatant as well although as a d8 and 3/4 BAB class he isn't going to have the longevity to stay and trade.
Having said that, I am really torn on which archetype to take to best bolster the warrior aspect of this character - it's basically a toss up between Arcane Duelist or Archaeologist.
On the one hand, the Inspire Courage of an Arcane Duelist would stack with Dandarrion's archivist ability and be a real force multiplier in a group this large. But... it just doesn't quite fit with my vision of the character as a selfish, self-sufficient rogue (in terms of personality, not class mechanics.) The archaeologist abilities are perfect for my vision though. Their ability is a self-only inspire and I would fluff the knowledge aspects of the archetype on the basis that in order to be a successful conman bluffing is only going to get you so far - you need to know your stuff! So I would have him be self-taught and have a good general knowledge across a range of subjects so he can sound more convincing when trying to get someone to invest in whatever scheme he had cooked up. Plus he would get trapfinding and rogue talents if JJ switches to Ranger - it just fits better.
So basically the choice is between more of a team-player or a more selfish but I think more reliable combatant. At the moment I am leaning toward archaeologist but would welcome your opinions.
Have been debating on whether I needed to rethink the variant channel option I originally took.
Justice/Law Variant Channeling (±1 Sacred) Perception, Sense Motive, attack & save bonus/zone of truth
It is a sacred bonus so will stack with the bards bonus when used but it's only good until the end of my next turn. The down side being it takes half of my channeled heal. So max channeled heal will only be 10d3 at lvl 19-20. Group question is the sacred bonus worth it?
@all, will be an interesting 36-48 hours. winter storm moving through the area and I work for local electric co. So will possibly be exceptionally busy with RL. Will do my best to keep an eye on things and post as possible.
@GM - enjoy your trip
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Ryan - given that we have a Life Oracle I think the variant channelling is definitely worth it. I really like evangelist clerics and they can make great use of variant channelling since they have diminished channels anyway.
Personally I think Justice/Law and Bravery/Valor are the best options for the buffing side. Bravery/Valor adds a bonus to AC and attack rolls on a charge which with a Ranger, Cleric, 2x Bard and Paladin in the group would see a lot of use.
@Jam Being able to bolster the group as a whole is good. At higher levels when characters get multiple attacks, all those small +1/+2s start to add up to quite a bit of extra to-hit and damage. That said personal damage output is important too! If the character feels more natural to you with one archetype over the other, that is probably the way to play it.
@Ryan, normally I'm not a fan of variant channeling (too many madness folk with level 1 clerics causing mass confusion) - and for a healer the big hit in damage cured is nasty. We however look to be pretty heal heavy - cleric, oracle of life, paladin, two bards, and JJ can even do a little himself. If ever there was a good time to try out variant channeling this would seem to be it.
@JZ - I think that if you feel the Archaeologist is more suitable to the character concept as a whole, then that's the one you should go with. Either way, he'll definitely be pulling his own weight I think.
@Aer - If you think switching to a ranger would also fit with your concept of JJ, then go for it! Would you still be looking into taking wizard levels or do you think you'd take a different approach?
Re: variant channeling - I'm game to give it a shot if that's what Ryan would like to do. Marigold's options are pretty flexible. She can easily stay a Life oracle and her channel revelation can help to make up for Ryan's diminished one if need be. Or she could be slightly less heal focused and take a different mystery. I don't really see her as much of a melee combatant so melee-focused oracle mysteries probably wouldn't suit her, but mysteries like Heavens or Lore (especially given she's a librarian) would suit her fairly well.
Wizard levels... to be honest they have never been much part of my main plan. Part of JJs for sure. But wizardry is a means to an end - defeating demons and getting respect in the town.
Currently learning wizardry look like being unobtainable to JJ, so he views wizards with quite a bit of awe and thinks learning wizardry will solve all his problems. Obviously he's wrong about that. Whether he learns that before he takes a level in it..who knows? You can be pretty sure he'll be looking over Maxim's shoulder whenever he gets a chance.
In our earlier party mix we were very arcane light, so it gave a nice IC way to build up the arcane side a bit as we progressed. We have a specialist wizard and two bards now so there is less need for it. If I wanted to do much as a wizard, I'd have to bolster his INT quite a bit to make it worthwhile which probably isn't doable :-(
Evening, all! Group's set, a little night music as folk ruminate over mulled wine about one's role in life. Deliberate nods to all sitting 'round the table.
Looking forward to this. Currently reading up on backstories not read yet. Finding the weave between the characters, or the threads that will eventually come together. This one's a constant man of the church, these folk carried the Lantern...
Hope you find your passions in what aspects of your characters haven't been set in stone yet. Looks like it's basically taking care of itself, but I'm sure everyone's strengths will come to light. Toilday can't come soon enough, if you ask me.
Hello all, must admit this is bitter sweet for me. I really enjoyed the collaborative process with the members of the gate.
Hope to build the same level of comradeship withe the combined group going forward. As I said earlier I really enjoyed reading your backstories and it appears we have the ingredients for a successful run at this AP.
@Ryan I agree with Jam variant channeling is the way to go especially with the current party makeup
@JJ are you taking an archetype?
@Jam I think there is good party synergy if you go with AD. I would say go archeologist if jj does not pick an archetype that is able to disarm magical traps.
Also, Dandarrion is currently built for Melee I think I will be changing to a ranged build. Any advice/ input would be appreciated.
Stats:
S: 14 D: 16+2 C: 12 I: 10 W:8 Ch:14
Thoughts?
Connections:
@Marigold plenty of opportunities for us to know each other from the academy, what do you see their relationship being?
@Kiki perhaps through the guard?
@Jam depending on how your background turns out I some options.
@jj ideas?
Dandarrion quick synopsis: been a member of the guard for the past 3 years, prior to that he ran with the alley bashers for a year, he spent a lot of time in the academy library reading as his mother worked there cleaning.
JJ has been doing some work with the town guard, learning the ropes mostly. But he may have met Dadarrrion at the academy where he has sneaked into the odd class from time to time.
I wasn't thinking of an archetype. An archaeologist can ironically do that better than a rogue.
That said if both our bards take archetypes that remove inspire courage it would be a bit sad. :-(
Lots of posts to review and muse, you lot are a chatty bunch lol.
As far a Maxim goes, I'll not be your typical wizard as he will be as focussed on the gun as he will be on the mage element.
I'm planning to take dips into Gunslinger every 4-5 levels, so bear that in mind when thinking about builds etc (not that it matters too much lol)
That being said I will be picking spells that try and hit that balance of serving the spellslinger and the group at large (skewed 30/70 in favour of the group ;)
Down the line I'll be exploring Crafting far more, so hopefully Maxim will be churning out items (mainly weapons, some alchemical stuff but plan to diverse into armours and Wondrous Items too).
On my companions I'll have a proper read through on the above posts and offer up my thoughts.
Interesting this is the first time I've noticed that Kiki is a paladin - realised he was a ratcatcher and auto-presumed he was a Ranger with the vermin favoured enemy! Books and covers and all that lol.
Will try and pitch up musings soon - looking forward to this one though :)
@Jam just looked at your background ideas again, he does indeed have more of an archeologist feel to him. If you go archeologist I will change my archetype to one that doesn't lose inspire courage (it is better than what I currently get)
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I feel your backstories are well rounded at this point. Thus, although I will provide a little more info for you on the start date, I will focus now on build options you are discussing:
, ranger can easily represent the slayer concept! I think it is a good option.
, It seems my inclination for bards and divine casters showed up a little in the selection :P. Although your backstories and personalities make you different, I think it is better for you if you chose different archetypes (or classes) as you will feel your characters more unique. One option is the Arcane Duelist (I have never seen that one in action and I am curious), I think a clear winner is also going ranged as you only have Maxim at the moment (in my opinion the base bard excels at this, as he can inspire and/or buff the group in the first round as he does not have to approach the enemy). Yet another option if JamZilla wants to go the roguish route is, why not to directly go for the rogue class? They make for a good melee helper and can be built as a charismatic lover character too and fill the spot left by JJ changing to ranger.
, the bonus seems nice as others stated. That said, it is only 1 turn and only affects Lawful creatures. It forces your companions into an alignment and can provide the bonus to your lawful enemies too unless you look for a very high selective channeling charisma. In my opinion if you chose the frontliner route you have nice other options to spend channels like taking Channeled shield wall (only a swift action so you can use it during combat) instead of Selective Channeling and you can still use channels to heal out of combat which will come handy on the low-levels.
, it seems Marigold wants to go more the buffer/controller route while Ryan the melee one, and I think you have good opportunities to synergize and enjoy those other aspects if you both assume a secondary healing role without forcing the other to be an only-healer bot. With 7 allies combats will probably not be long and thus healing during combat not that important. Having the cleric/oracle to participate in the combat through control/buffing/damage/debuffing in my experience results usually on not having to heal during combat. In case of emergency Marigold can probably help a near-fallen ally with a well placed cure spell, and once you got access to, in my opinion cure mass spells are even better than channeling during combat because they are more reliable and you can chose better whom to affect without burning a feat. Also Ryan can help with the heal on an emergency and out of combat and Life Link, even if very powerful, it is very dangerous for the oracle, especially if you overdo in a 7 people party. Whatever the route you wish to chose, I say try to avoid being healing all the time on combat, that is boring in the long run and there are probably other funnier things you can do to avoid the party being damaged.
, I think your 30/70 will work fine. I am also very curious to see how this crafter/merchant story will result :)
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@Dandarrion - I have recent experience of an archer bard and have found them to be more than capable at ranged combat. I honestly think the vanilla bard does an excellent job at this whilst retaining all the goodness of bardic knowledge and performances.
With human the archery build should be fairly straight forward -
1 - Point blank shot
1 - Precise shot
3 - Rapid shot/Deadly Aim
5 - Deadly Aim/Rapid Shot
7 - Improved Initiative
9 - Manyshot
11 - Discordant Voice
13 - Clustered Shots
15 -
17 -
19 -
Taking Improved Initiative at 7 means you will likely go first with your naturally high Dex and take advantage of your amazing action economy.
Move action = Inspire Courage
Swift action = Cast a buff spell via Lesser Metamagic Quicken Rod(Good Hope for example)
Standard action = Cast another buff like Haste (or just take a shot)
In your single turn you could provide the entire team with +5 to attack, +4 damage, +2 on saving throws, ability checks and skill checks as well as an extra attack and improved movement speed.
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OK here is my build so far;
Human bard (archaeologist) 1 (Pathfinder RPG Ultimate Combat 32)
CG Medium humanoid (human)
Init +2; Senses Perception +3
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Defense
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AC 18, touch 12, flat-footed 16 (+4 armor, +2 Dex, +2 shield)
hp 11 (1d8+3)
Fort +2, Ref +4, Will +1
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Offense
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Speed 30 ft.
Melee longsword +3 (1d8+3/19-20)
Special Attacks archaeologist's luck 6 rounds/day (+1)
Bard (Archaeologist) Spells Known (CL 1st; concentration +3)
0 (at will)—daze (DC 12), ghost sound (DC 12), light, prestidigitation
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Statistics and Skills
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Str 16, Dex 14, Con 14, Int 12, Wis 8, Cha 14
Base Atk +0; CMB +3; CMD 15
Feats Lingering Performance[APG], Skill Focus (Intimidate)
Traits fate's favored
Skills Acrobatics +2, Bluff +6, Diplomacy +6, Escape Artist +2, Intimidate +9, Knowledge (arcana) +2, Knowledge (dungeoneering) +2, Knowledge (engineering) +2, Knowledge (geography) +2, Knowledge (history) +2, Knowledge (local) +6, Knowledge (nature) +2, Knowledge (nobility) +2, Knowledge (planes) +2, Knowledge (religion) +2, Perception +3, Perform (oratory) +6, Sleight of Hand +2, Use Magic Device +6
Languages Common, Halfling
SQ bardic knowledge +1
Other Gear lamellar (leather) armor[UC], heavy wooden shield, longsword, 14 gp
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Special Abilities
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Archaeologist's Luck +1 (6 rounds/day) (Ex) Gain Luck bonus to attack, damage, saves, and all skills.
Bardic Knowledge +1 (Ex) Add +1 to all knowledge skill checks.
Lingering Performance - Bardic Performances last 2 rds after you stop concentrating.
Level 1 – Skill Focus (Intimidate)
Level 3 – Power Attack
Level 4 – Combat Trick from Archaeologist – Weapon Focus
Level 5 – Dazzling Display
Level 7 – Cornugon Smash
Level 7 alternative if CS is banned – Shatter Defenses
Level 9 – Great Fortitude
Level 11 – Discordant Voice
I would swap out Discordant Voice if Ryan ended up taking it.
GM - I have included Lingering Performance as my level 1 feat. I consider this as essential since the Archaeologist archetype doesn't get increased performance rounds like every other bard archetype. I remember reading a developer post that stated this was likely an oversight but given the rules as written, I would only ever have 6 rounds of performance. Would you consider allowing the performance to increase at the rate of other archetypes? If not, I will most definitely take Lingering Performance at level 1. Also, I have selected Cornugon Smash at level 7 which is from a banned source. Let me know your thoughts on that but I have included an alternative if it is a no go.
Spell selection to be determined and likely will be done in concert with Dandarrion/Marigold so we can maximise our limited spell selections.
My skills are really stretched. The concept I have makes use of basically all the social skills which means I don't have much to spare for Disable Device or Knowledges. That would still be covered by Dandarrion (knowledge) and JJ (trapfinding) if he went Rogue or Urban Ranger. The problem with this is I am not making good use of the archaeologist special abilities in relation to trapfinding and knowledge which is a little annoying but the combat utility of a luck bonus when I perform plus a morale bonus when Dandarrion does is really, really good and hard to pass up. Plus Uncanny Dodge and Evasion are also excellent where the Arcane Duelist gets a bunch of mage-killing feats and heavier armor later on. The armor I am less interested in because by that level I will be looking at magical means of protection such as Blur and Mirror Image.
I think Ruben will be an effective combatant and later will be excellent at debuffing groups via Intimidate because that is going to end up pretty high with Skill Focus.
How does that all look so far?
I think the Archeologist Luck is good enough as written and do not need a boost to number of rounds. Lingering performance, Extra performance and charisma increases seem to me enough ways to extend the number of uses per day.
As for the Cornugon Smash, we can talk about it again once we are at level 7, but for now I do not want to open the source selection any further. I think your characters have already plenty of options available and your power level is very high for the AP, so I do not think you need any boost in that regard. Also, with so many players I need to keep the number of rules limited so I can manage to more or less know how your characters work rule-wise so you do not have to be continuously remembering me about it and I do not have to spend hours to resolve a post checking sources ;)
I think Shatter defenses is a very good replacement.
Finally, I think it would be nice if you talk first with Dandarrion in order to make sure he is ok with the fact you change your archetype to one he had build his character upon first. I would not like the change to make you compete in the same niche, nor I want he to feel pressed now to provide inspire courage because you dropped the idea. Please, resolve the conflict before you go further on defining your statblocks. As I am partially responsible of the situation by choosing 2 bards, I will try to help with the solution.
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OK great, Shatter Defenses is a good feat anyway and with all sources being open I would have looked to take both so losing Cornugon Smash is not much of a loss at all.
Lingering Performance is necessary so that stays at level 1 for the archaeologist.
Working on fleshing out the backstory over the course of today and tomorrow.
In regards to Dandarrions bard - these guys are going to be uniquely different. Whether he remains as melee or switches to ranged and if he stays as Archivist, I see no conflict. Please note he was originally built as an Archivist, not Archeologist so I shouldn't be treading on his toes hopefully.
As an archivist his version of Inspire Courage (Naturalist) provides an insight bonus and would still stack with luck so the options are really open. In fact Arcane Duelist becomes even better if he stays Archivist because the team all gets double bonuses then (from insight and competence) rather than just me benefitting as an Archaeologist. Make sense?
For example, at level one with Dandarrion as an Archivist and myself as a Arcane Duelist, the entire team gets +2 bonus to attack, +1 bonus to damage, +1 bonus to AC, +1 bonus to saves against charm and fear and a further +1 bonus to saves against the exceptional, supernatural, and spell-like abilities used by creatures he has identified. And again, this only gets better as time goes on.