Good afternoon Mr Valence Niels d'Geiger,
I'll be withdrawing my application, just as the character concept I'd been working on hasn't taken a life of it's own, and as I'm leafing through the Gestalt rules (Never played it) I don't believe I'll have the time to build the character.
Happy Gaming!
|
Good afternoon Mr Valence Niels d'Geiger,
I'll be withdrawing my application, just as the character concept I'd been working on hasn't taken a life of it's own, and as I'm leafing through the Gestalt rules (Never played it) I don't believe I'll have the time to build the character.
Happy Gaming!
Same to you!
|
|
Re: Skills - You have to have some means of transportation, or method of driving a wagon. It wasn't an initial requirement, but as too few had a way, I was kind of being forced into selecting them out of necessity, something I don't like. The pool has now been sufficiently broadened that, if you opt not to have some way of driving, I'm not as hindered as before when it comes to selecting you.
Re: Wagon - Some people have one, some people don't want one. Everyone selected will get extra money for one; those who already have one will get a different benefit. Those who opt not to have one will also have a different arrangement.
Don't worry too much about it, but keep in mind, there will be combat involving your caravan train, so having means is always better than not.
Bringing this here since it's stuck at the bottom of the last page.
She dresses most often in ratty, tattered clothes that have been stitched, patched, and sewn numerous times. Lulubelle tends to favor a colorful traveling outfit of purples and blues, with a dull mauve longcoat that’s just a little too big for her, and a matching tophat -- both patched with gaudy, mismatched fabrics.
(More to come)
”So, what do ya wanna know..?” she asked the figure seated across from her. ”I dunno… Why d’you even wanna know about me? I’m not a big fancy adventurer-er, not yet anyway. I’m gonna be! Then I’ll have a story! But...you wanna know where I’ve been so far? Ok...”
Lulubelle tapped her chin and thought. ”Well, I guess I’m from Nisroch, down in Nidal. I dunno if I’m from-from there, but it’s the first place I ever remember being.” She took a long sip from her tea, while it was still warm. ”I remember the slave auctions. They used ta parade us out and there was talkin’ an’ shouting...but nobody ever wanted the funny-lookin’ halfling kid. But eventually I got sold to some Kuthite priests with a bunch of others, and I grew up in the temple. It was pretty bad, but I guess it coulda been worse. They had me cleaning and scrubbing all the drains, gutters, and crawlspaces…you know?” She propped her elbow on the table, and her chin in her palm. ”Anyway, there were always rats n’ bugs n’ things in the walls, but there were some pretty nice hiding places in there. The smells were pretty bad, and some nights the other slaves made me sleep on the other side of the pen. Sometimes I’d hide all night in the walls, and curl up with the rats! They were pretty nice.”
An odd smile crossed her lips, almost nostalgic. It melted away as quickly as it came. ”Yeah...anyway, I was mostly underfoot, out of sight, and kinda ignored a lotta the time. The first time I escaped it was way easier than I thought it would be! But Nisroch is big an’ everyone’s mean, an’ I guess there ain’t a lotta halflings that look like me.” Lulubelle gave an exaggerated shrug, and sipped her luke-warm tea. ”I escaped like three or four times. It took some time an’ practice -- and you don’t even wanna know how long it takes fingernails to grow back! -- but I ran away for good. I thought Nisroch was the world back then, thought I’d always be running an’ hiding. But there was a gate, an’ boats, an’ wagons an'they hadda be going somewhere! I stowed away on one of the carts, just hid right in a crate… I got caught a couple times, but did you know if you sit really still, don’t breathe and don’t even blink...people think you’re just a toy!
“...Well, they think I’m a toy, anyway.” She drank her cold tea and frowned, and topped it off to freshen it up. ”Outside was SO nice! Trees, grass, birds n’ bugs, the whole big shebang! I thought I’d be in so much trouble when those guys saw me out and movin’ around, but they were just scared. The ones that saw me move got laughed at by the ones that didn’t, and one night they just left me on the side of the road.”
Lulu paused to drop a few sugar cubes into her cup, to get the bitter taste out of her mouth. ”I wandered, I met people. Found out about towns an’ things, and places,” she sighed. ”Boring stuff, fun stuff… I got to Varisia, I like it here. But the carnival menagerie was my favorite! Colorful wagons, colorful people doing tricks and things, so many different animals! They were sad though, all in cages...but I got to stay with them. The people were nice, they’d let me work, they paid me an’ fed me, and we traveled everywhere and saw everything!
“That’s where I met Pumpernickel and Bitterbeak.” Lulubelle lifted up her tophat to show off the colorful parrot perched on her head. ”WAAK!!” the bird screeched, wings aflutter. ”GOTOSLEEP! GOTOSLEEP! WAAK!!” She set the hat back down. ”I dunno where the weasel wandered off to. But that’s Bitterbeak, he’s not just a parrot y’know, he’s my spirit guide! He taught me all about magic an’ stuff, and he whispers secrets to me, and we got a real connection, y’know?”
”Waak! Hateyou! Hateyou!! Waak!” Came the muffled response under the hat.
”I hate you too, li’l guy,” she said with genuine tenderness. ”What were we talking about? Ooh yeah! The carnival. I was with them for years an’ years. I learned so much! We went so many places! I got to tend the menagerie, train and feed and clean the animals, all that stuff. We had bears, and lions, an’ tigers an’...horses! Some with stripes, some with spots an’ long necks. We had heffalumps, too. On show nights some other guy pretended he was the tamer, whipped them like a big meanie, and made them do tricks. I didn’t like that part. And the animals didn’t like it either…”
Lulu leaned across the table. ”They were slaves! Just like I’d been!” she whispered, and sat up straight. ”Also everyone got really, REALLY mad at me when I set them all free.” She rolled her doll-like eyes. ”Maybe also ‘cause the lions ate the other tamer guy. And maybe I stole his coat an’ hat. And I might have accidentally told the lions to eat him...and the knife-throwing guy, ‘cause he was mean to the bearded lady… Anyway! I had to leave the carnival after that, and Sandpoint, and most of the animals went their own ways. Except Pumpernickel and of course Bitterbeak.”
”Waak!”
She looked around the tavern, still not sure where Pumpernickel was. She was sure he would have snuck in, after the mean guy realized what a bad idea it was to make her put him in the stable with the horses…
She sighed and sipped her cold, too-sweet tea. ”That’s when I became an adventurer! Me, and Bitterbeak, and Pumpernickel the Giant Wonder Weasel! We made friends sometimes, and went to caves and ruins, and saved towns from monsters and mean people. It was a lot of fun! One of the ruins Bitterbeak and Pumpernickel didn’t like, it had all kinds of ghost people, y’know? Pumpernickel hid in the woods outside...I told Bitterbeak he could too, but he said he hadda stay with me ‘cause it was important.” Lulubelle paused, but her hat was quiet. Her tone was much softer, now. ”Most of my friends got scared wandering through that place. Some of them ran away… I think our fighty-guy peed himself. Pretty soon it was just me and the ghosts. Some were pretty mad, some were just scared. They were slaves too, you know..? But their chains were also ghosts, I guess. I couldn’t set them free...I really tried, but I could only save a few of them.”
Lulubelle shrugged. ”Bitterbeak said not to do it, but I let some of the spirits hide inside me so I could smuggle them out. That’s how I got my brain-friends! They teach me things, too. Bitterbeak gets jealous now that I have more spirit-friends, but he’s still my spirit guide so it’s okay.”
She poured herself some more tea, and sat back in her seat. ”So…” she said. ”Can I go north with your caravan?”
Where can we find those caravan rules and the price of these wagons? (And animals, and food, and...)
|
|
Where can we find those caravan rules and the price of these wagons? (And animals, and food, and...)
You can't. The Jade Regent Player's Guide has the standard Caravan Rules, but I'm modifying them; if you want an idea of how it originally worked, take a look. Prices for wagons and items and such will be largely the same as buying them straight (book costs, etc). However, please don't spend any of this money on it; once selected I'm going over the wagon stuff with everyone, and you'll get the money for it then.
I love jade regent it was the first AP I ever played. I will have a proper look at this tomorrow.
I have one question that I'm sure I missed when do you plan on closing submissions?
I'm going to go with hiring a driver. I've oodles of skill points so that isn't an issue, but I don't get very good mileage out of WIS skills so better to turn things over to a pro. Besides I don't want to try to work it into Ersica's background, it's already tightly packed.
If I'm going that far I'll go ahead with a wagon too. In for a penny in for a pound. Would a heavy wagon allow bringing and using a full alchemist's lab, or just portable?
Ok, I think my submission is complete. I will create the alias if selected.
Today I introduce Jalesca Xalmirath.
Female human (Taldan) bard (archivist) 4/oracle (seeker) 4/gestalt 4
N Medium humanoid (human)
Init +2; Senses Perception +8
Defense
AC 18, touch 13, flat-footed 15 (+5 armor, +2 Dex, +1 dodge)
hp 20 (4d8)
Fort +1, Ref +6, Will +5; +4 bonus vs. magical traps, language-dependent effects, and symbols, glyphs, and magical writings of any kind
Offense
Speed 30 ft.
Melee +1 rapier +6 (1d6+1/18-20) or
dagger +5 (1d4/19-20)
Ranged mwk light crossbow +6 (1d8/19-20) or
dagger +5 (1d4/19-20)
Special Attacks bardic performance 14 rounds/day (countersong, distraction, fascinate [DC 16], inspire competence +2, naturalist)
Bard (Archivist) Spells Known (CL 4th; concentration +12)
2nd (2/day)—enthrall (DC 16), hold person (DC 16)
1st (4/day)—biting words, comprehend languages, ear-piercing screamUM (DC 15), expeditious retreat
0 (at will)—detect magic, light, mage hand, prestidigitation, read magic, unwitting allyAPG (DC 14)
Oracle (Seeker) Spells Known (CL 4th; concentration +12)
2nd (4/day)—cure moderate wounds, lesser restoration, tongues
1st (7/day)—bless, cure light wounds, identify, magic weapon, shield of faith
0 (at will)—create water, enhanced diplomacy, resistance, sotto voce (DC 14), stabilize, vigor
Mystery Lore
Statistics
Str 10, Dex 14, Con 10, Int 16, Wis 12, Cha 18
Base Atk +3; CMB +5; CMD 16
Feats Agile Maneuvers, Amateur Investigator, Combat Expertise, Deadly Aim, Dodge, Power Attack, Tool Optimizer
Traits eye for the wondrous, monster scholar
SQ +1 skill point, +2 to one ability score, bardic knowledge +2, bonus feat, lore master 1/day, magic lore, oracle's curse (reclusive), perform, revelation (lore keeper), seeker lore, skilled, trapfinding +2
Skills
Acrobatics +6,
Appraise +7,
Bluff +8,
Climb +0,
Diplomacy +8 (+10 if consult codex when communicating in a language you do not speak),
Disable Device +13,
Disguise +8,
Escape Artist +6,
Fly +2,
Heal +5,
Intimidate +8,
Knowledge (arcana) +11 (+15 spells),
Knowledge (dungeoneering) +11 (+13 to navigate underground),
Knowledge (engineering) +10,
Knowledge (geography) +11,
Knowledge (history) +11,
Knowledge (local) +11,
Knowledge (nature) +11,
Knowledge (nobility) +10,
Knowledge (other) +6,
Knowledge (planes) +10,
Knowledge (religion) +11,
Linguistics +10 (+12 if consult codex when communicating in a language you do not speak),
Perception +8,
Perform (act) +9,
Perform (oratory) +11,
Perform (sing) +9,
Profession (driver) +7,
Ride +2,
Sense Motive +5,
Sleight of Hand +6,
Spellcraft +10 (+12 to identify magic items or decipher scrolls, +14 spells),
Stealth +2,
Survival +1 (+3 to avoid becoming lost)
Swim +0;
Languages Ancient Osiriani, Azlanti, Common, Draconic, Thassilonian, Tien, Varisian, Vudrani
Equipment
Weapons dagger, +1 rapier, mwk light crossbow with 20 bolts,
Armor and Defense +1 mithral shirt
Gear handy haversack (traveler's any-tool, bedroll, oil (5), canteen (2), ), bandolier (potion of cure light wounds), belt pouch (candle (5), chalk (10), charcoal (10), compass,, expanded linguist's codex, flint and steel, grappling bolt, ink, inkpen, journal, masterwork thieves' tools, measuring cord (10 ft.), mess kit, mirror, paper (10), parchment (10), powder, scholar's outfit, scroll box, sealing wax, signet ring, silk rope (100 ft.), soap, spell component pouch, twine (50'), torch (5), trail rations (10), whetstone, wooden holy symbol of Irori, 33 gp, 3 sp, 5 cp
Tracked Resources
Amateur Investigator (3/day) - 0/3
Bardic Performance (standard action, 14 rounds/day) - 0/14
Crossbow bolts - 0/20
Dagger - 0/1
Lore Master (1/day) (Ex) - 0/1
Potion of cure light wounds - 0/1
Torch - 0/5
Trail rations - 0/10
Special Abilities
+1 Skill Point FCB (4) +1 Skill Point
+2 to One Ability Score (Charisma) The selected attribute gains a +2 racial bonus.
Agile Maneuvers Use DEX instead of STR for CMB
Amateur Investigator (3/day) Your knowledge is more than plain smarts - it's inspired.
Armor Proficiency (Light) When you wear a type of armor with which you are proficient, the armor check penalty for that armor applies only to Dexterity- and Strength-based skill checks.
Armor Proficiency (Medium) When you wear a type of armor with which you are proficient, the armor check penalty for that armor applies only to Dexterity- and Strength-based skill checks.
Bardic Knowledge +2 (Ex) Add +2 to all knowledge skill checks.
Bardic Performance (standard action, 14 rounds/day) Your performances can create magical effects.
Bonus Feat Humans select one extra feat at 1st level.
Combat Expertise +/-1 Bonus to AC in exchange for an equal penalty to attack.
Deadly Aim -1/+2 Trade a penalty to ranged attacks for a bonus to ranged damage.
Dodge +3 to AC vs. AoO provoked by moving out of or through a threatened area.
Lore Keeper (Ex) Knowledge Skills become CHA-based.
Lore Master (1/day) (Ex) Can take 10 on any trained knowledge checks. Activate to take 20 as a standard action.
Magic Lore +2 (Ex) +4 save vs. magical traps, language-dependent effects, symbols, glyphs, and magical writings.
Mystery (Lore) Deities: Abadar, Irori, Nethys. Class Skills: An oracle with the lore mystery adds Appraise, Spellcraft, and all Knowledge skills to her list of class skills.
Power Attack -1/+2 You can subtract from your attack roll to add to your damage.
Reclusive Allies must succed with melee touch attack to affect you with touch spells, and must attempt save vs. all spells not cast by you.
Seeker Lore (Ex) +4 to Knowledge (arcana) and Spellcraft checks related to bonus spells.
Shield Proficiency You can use a shield and take only the standard penalties.
Simple Weapon Proficiency - All Proficient with all simple weapons.
Skilled Gain 1 additional skill rank at 1st level and 1 additional rank whenever they gain a level.
Tool Optimizer Improvised tools give no penalty.
Trapfinding +2 Gain a bonus to find or disable traps, including magical ones.
Jalesca was born in the great city of Abselom. Her parents were both librarians. She grew up an avid reader, soaking up any knowledge she could find. A gregarious youth, Jalesca was constantly sharing tales she had read with anyone who would listen. She studied the journals of great adventurers and the bestiaries of great hunters. She yearned to travel the world and see these things for herself.
When she was old enough she traveled to Jalmeray to learn the stories of the Vudrani and the art of telling them. While there she was waylaid by man claiming to be a nobleman seeking unique tales. After several days at his residence, she attempted to leave, only to learn that he was actually a rakshasa.
Jalesca was held captive by the rakshasa for several months before her salvation was made clear. Her captor treated her as an object to be displayed and admired, but always made sure she was "put away" every night. Each day he would take her out, sit her on his knee like a child, and have her examine objects from his collection. They would discuss what he knew of the history of the item and what she could glean of its function.
One night she had a vision of a man in plain robes who spoke at length with her about the search for knowledge. In her dream he taught her many things about herself and her captor. When she awoke it was not yet morning. She found she retained those details and was able to remove her shackles and open the locked door of her room.
As morning arrived, the details of her granted knowledge faded, but not its import.
She may have escaped, but her captivity has left its mark. She can no longer bear the touch of others and shies away from personal contact. Whenever possible she keeps others at arms length or further.
Since then Jalesca has scoured Golarion for lost tales and tales in danger of becoming lost. She also searches for tales of Irori and the origin of Oracular powers. Her journeys have taken her all over Avistan, around the Inner Sea, to the deserts of Osirion, even along the Lost Coast in search of history and future history.
She encountered the leaflet in Magnimar and her heart lept at the chance to explore Irresen and the Lands of the Linnorm Kings. She gathered what she could and left her studies of the Irespan to join the caravan gathering at the Brinewall Castle.
Hi, this is Inara's submission, an Un Rogue (Scout)//Re-birth Psychic with lots of talking skills and performance - looking at the Entertainer role as part of the caravan.
Gear still needs to be finalised, but I've (provisionally) paid for a hireling to help with driving and what-not.
Very excited! :)
Thanks for clarifying about the caravan stuff.
Grial has Handle Animal and Feral Speech Hex, so he should be fine. I've also Favorited your completed submission post. Looking forward to any feedback.
Another submission!
Presenting 'Baba' Zhena, an elderly halfling woman who has spent her life in pursuit of the roots of magic. She is old, experienced, an expert reader of harrow cards and a well-practised fortune teller, who brings her own wagon!
Mechanics-wise she's a Nature Oracle/Rapport Psychic so brings lots of buffing to the party. I'm experimenting with the Words of Power sub-system which should make her more versatile than the average spontaneous caster, especially later on when she can access more of the good shape-changing words.
(I hope it's obvious I'm trying to fill in the 'Fortune-Teller' role in the caravan?!)
Couple of things left to do if I'm selected (like statting up my animal companion) but the main crunch and the backstory (much more important!) are there.
Hope you like!
Just curious as I'm late to this game. Are you open to 3pp?
I'm going to be in a car for the next 18 hours, so I won't be able to post, but this is 'Lo's page.
Bastard daughter of a noblewoman, adopted into the family. Her adopted father has died, so her mother has to re-marry. Realizing having a bastard half-orc daughter would make it not viable, they both decided to send her off on a grand adventure, as she had been trained in Wizardry and alchemy, and had already garnered something of a name for herself among Magnimars' noble elite for sussing out mysteries.
I'll add more to her page, and finish up purchases once I'm somewhere not driving, but as the deadline's tomorrow, I figure having the crunch out in the open is probably a good idea.
Is there a specific time on the deadline? It's been a somewhat busy week so far.
I'm back with a couple simple corrections. Em's eidolon should only have 13 Dex.
He'll start out as basically just a guard or a spellcaster, but I think that I might want to switch some ranks over to Survival and be a scout, or just start taking them after the beginning of the adventure.
As for equipment, I'm going for a ring of sustenance, a cloak of resistance +1, a traveler's translator, a masterwork cestus, sleeves of many garments, and a large selection of potions and scrolls, plus basic adventuring gear. He won't wear armor due to his shroud of water defensive ability. A few magic items seems fine to have, especially since he probably stole them or took them from monsters whose caves he slept in.
I'm thinking that his collection of potions and scrolls will be pretty mishmash but mostly healing or utility. I can detail them later, and I will re-post a full statblock later on if there's time.
Bringing this here since it's stuck at the bottom of the last page.Re: Skills - You have to have some means of transportation, or method of driving a wagon. It wasn't an initial requirement, but as too few had a way, I was kind of being forced into selecting them out of necessity, something I don't like. The pool has now been sufficiently broadened that, if you opt not to have some way of driving, I'm not as hindered as before when it comes to selecting you.
Re: Wagon - Some people have one, some people don't want one. Everyone selected will get extra money for one; those who already have one will get a different benefit. Those who opt not to have one will also have a different arrangement.
Don't worry too much about it, but keep in mind, there will be combat involving your caravan train, so having means is always better than not.
OK, I am still willing to adjust if you need me to.
I am going to swap out veil of mists for kinetic healer on Em. That should be the last change that I need to make.
Here's this!
And now we wait.
Good luck everyone!
Good luck!
Everything but my crunch is finished, and I favorited the post from page 2.
Crossing my fingers.
Alright, everything is complete except for some minor purchases and spells known.
As for caravan jobs, Ersica has a hired driver and would do well as a guide, scout, trader, or cook.
Good Luck Everyone!
Hmmmmm.
Gonna throw something together here.
And apparently this is the last day for it! I'll hustle.
One question; are crafting feats in play, and if so, may we enter with reduced cost gear?
This is Lazyclownfish's submission, Kazrek Norn, Chaotic Neutral Slayer/Reluctant Cleric of Milani. I don't have the crunch done yet, but he'll be a dual-wield slayer and focus on group buffing with his cleric side. He'll have a good modifier on Profession(Driver) as well. I'll have his sheet ready later tonight.
” Some debts are hard ta avoid. This one I earned many times over.”
In most cases, the skills of a smuggler are used for ill-gain. Stolen goods. Illicit products. Occasionally, legitimate goods passed without taxation. All in the name of personal profit. It’s a high risk, high reward business. And for the best smugglers, it pays off dividends. But things are different now for Kazrek Norn. All over the world, there are tyrants and despots, some with a legitimate claim. Others, not so much. And in each of those places, there is a people oppressed, controlled, even enslaved. A people without hope, desperate and lost. But every great once in awhile, there is a spark of hope. The tiniest flame, kindled to become an organization that could fight against its oppressors. But this kind of organization never survives without help. It needs food, supplies and weapons. And Kazrek can bring them these things. He supposes he’s something of a revolutionary. It’s not a role he chooses, but it’s one he accepts willingly. He owes that much at least.
Kazrek looks for the white mouse wherever he goes, the sign he first received from Milani, the Goddess who saved him. Always, there is someone in need where the white mouse leads. It doesn’t pay as much as his previous job, but when a Goddess ‘hires’ you, you can’t exactly quit. And Kazrek isn’t unhappy with his situation. There is something rewarding about making progress on a debt owed and Kazrek intends to pay it off, if it takes his entire life. Plus, he’s fairly certain She’ll keep him safe as long as he holds up his end of the bargain.
So, when a small white mouse perches atop a fallen flyer before darting beneath a building, Kazrek smiles. His next assignment.
”They’re always glad ta see me. But just as glad ta see me gone.”
It’s always been an asset that Kazrek is fairly average for a dwarf. Smugglers don’t want to draw attention to themselves. Average height and build, with brown hair and brown eyes, the dwarf really is rather unremarkable. When on business that might be less than legal in whatever country he’s in, Kazrek dresses as plainly as possible. Plain tan linen shirt and plain brown trousers with a traveling cloak. His holy symbol is well-hidden wrapped around his forearm under his long-sleeve shirt. When on a long or dangerous road, however, Kazrek doesn’t look terribly out of place wearing his weapons and armor, a plain breastplate and lots of axes. He’s a dwarf after all. And an unarmored driver of an unguarded wagon would spend a lot of time fending off bandits.
Kazrek doesn’t follow his own moral compass. He’s learned the hard way how much trouble that can get him in. Instead, he does a lot of guessing. Kazrek is a little uncomfortable with his current role in life. He’s not one of the good guys. Not really. But he has good reason to act like one. So he goes to the meetings, offers his advice when relevant, but he doesn’t cheer and he doesn’t console. It’s almost like he’s guilty that he’s even there.
On the road though, he seems a different person. Something about the open air cheers him up and Kazrek jokes around and chats with anyone traveling with him. Probably a symptom of spending so much time alone. Unapologetic, Kazrek will joke with someone right up to the moment, that moment when he realizes he needs to kill them. At least Milani still lets him kill people. The ones that deserve it anyway. And sometimes people need to die; no sense dwelling on it. What’s one life compared to the freedom of a hundred? Besides, nobody ever heard of a peaceful revolution.
Suffice it to say, Kazrek makes a lot of the other revolutionaries nervous.
”I don’t think She wants me ta be good. She just wants me ta do good. I should be able ta do that.”
Kazrek was abandoned as a babe on the streets of Magnimar. That he managed to survive is a testament to his toughness. He used to wonder why his parents left him. Did they do it on purpose? A lot of the other kids used to say he was bad luck and that’s why his parents left him. It was a really common insult among orphans, but Kazrek thought they might be right in his case. He was probably the worst orphan there ever was. He got caught every time he tried to steal food, nobody thought he was cute enough to take pity on, and he was just a little too wide and clumsy to make the getaways the other kids could. It’s a wonder he survived at all.
As a result of his inadequacies, Kazrek spent a lot of time working for free. Sometimes they would feed him, but usually not. You’d think if he had to wash the dishes because he got caught trying to steal food, he should get something to eat for it. Not the case. At least he got to lick the plates.
Eventually, his luck turned around somewhat. Or maybe his luck got worse, depending on your perspective. He was picked up by a couple dwarves, members of the Night Scales, Dagra and Thorak Norn. They were smugglers and they needed a new cover. And who would search the wagon of a happy dwarven couple and their young son? A useless young dwarf like Kazrek would be perfect for them. They dressed him up and told him to act happy. He didn’t have to act. This was the best thing that ever happened to him. Quite literally.
Dagra and Thorak weren’t parents, exactly. They weren’t patient with him. If he did something they didn’t like, they’d just throw him out until they needed him again. If he messed up on a job, they’d beat him and then throw him out. He learned pretty quickly how to behave.
Finally with some semblance of a stable life, Kazrek discovered something about himself. He had a keen eye for detail and he could learn things to a very deep level. He started asking questions and mimicking Thorak. Thorak was the type who could talk about his job all day and especially because he couldn’t really talk about his job with anyone else, he started teaching Kazrek. “Smuggling is an art,” he’d say. “You have to be subtle.” Kazrek could learn to do subtle. And he did.
Over the course of several years, Kazrek learned everything there was to know about the art of smuggling. He also grew to be very strong when he came of age. He managed to earn himself a spot in the Night Scales as an enforcer. Dwarves weren’t usually taken on for their subtlety and though he had that to some degree, he still had to work his way up. Kazrek took to the job with an uncommon relish. It was good to be good at something, and Kazrek was really good at making sure the Night Scales’ business partners did exactly what they had agreed to do. And for several years, he did just that. He’d take on the occasional smuggling job, but he preferred getting his hands dirty. And they were quite dirty.
But that all changed with one job, gone horribly wrong.
----
It was a cloudy day, not unusual in the City of Monuments and for the kind of work that Kazrek and his crew had ahead of them, it was more than appropriate. Osgood was late on his payment again and it wasn’t because he couldn’t pay. Apothecaries did really well in this part of town. Kazrek was there with a pair of humans, Tomi and Martin. Tomi was to do all the talking and Martin was driving the wagon today. Kazrek was mostly there to look tough. Well, he wasn’t really there to look tough. He was there to be tough. There’s a significant difference.
”Ya think he’ll make it easy on us and jus’ pay up?,” Kazrek asked, grinning at Tomi. They both knew the answer to that question.
”You don’t have to enjoy this so much, you know, Kazrek?” He and Tomi had had this conversation before. Kazrek didn’t see what was wrong with enjoying his job. Tomi was just a little unsettled by the ease at which Kazrek hurt people. He just needed a few more years under his belt is all.
They rolled up on the apothecary's shop and everything seemed normal. Martin stayed with the wagon while Tomi and Kazrek headed inside. Osgood was there and looked suitably surprised, but something was off…
Just as Tomi started his spiel, Kazrek noticed it. There were other people here, a lot of them. But before he could react, crossbow bolts started flying every which way. It was complete and total chaos. Kazrek wasn’t sure how many there were, but he was sure it was way too many to handle.
”Tomi, run!,” he called out, as a crossbow bolt embedded itself in his upper arm and a few grazed his torso, just as Tomi took one, and then two to the chest and fell over. His companion down and he clearly outnumbered, Kazrek sprinted out the door, taking another pair of bolts to the back.
”Martin! Get…" but Martin was slumped over in a pool of his own blood. The whole world was turning red. Kazrek jumped into the wagon and pushed Martin off, his vision starting to blur as he kicked the horses into motion.
Gods, please let me live. I’m not ready to die. I’ll do anything… anything.
His vision a blurry collage of reds on red, the dwarf mumbled a mantra, over, and over, and over. ”Please… anything... please… anything." And just before he passed out, there it was. In the middle of his unfocused, monochrome vision, clear as day, sat a little... white... mouse.
One of the gods had taken him up on his offer.
Okay. I'm working on a Weapon Master Fighter/Bladebound Kensai Magus to fulfill my fantasy of playing a badass magic samurai.
I'm about to pass out though. I will be finished by 5 PM PST tomorrow!
Withdrawing my expression of interest, can't settle on a character I'll be happy with.
Dotting in. Breach is a Breaker Barbarian / Nature oracle with the Wrecker curse.
|
|
Good luck!
Everything but my crunch is finished, and I favorited the post from page 2.
Anyone who hasn't done this, please do so. I'll likely miss your app if you have not, as this is my list.
@Crafting Feats - Sure, but aside from the initial benefit, the feat won't help you as much. Valence here is a cheese crafter, for all your Magic Mart needs.
@Kevin O'Rourke - Best of luck in your other games!
I'll be submitting Phaender Fuzzankle, a Filidh Bard and Druid and his grizzly bear companion Dorffurd. Phaender is a middle-aged Bleachling Gnome.
He is found here though at the time I post this I'm still working on the crunch.
The background ends a few days before seeing the poster calling for adventurers.
In time they added a cousin to their group as a singer and the three of them together would draw large crowds from all over Whistledown. At the urging of several visiting merchants they decided to expand their playing to the area beyond Whistledown. First starting with other small towns they quickly found themselves playing inns and taverns in Magnimar. This continued for many years with the three slowly expanding ever outward. This way they quickly discovered that while the many Shoanti Quahs of the Storval Plateau appreciated their music, as long as they didn't disrupt holy sites, the Orcs of Urglin were less interested in their music. Similarly they found that both Kaer Maga and Korvosa weren't as welcoming as Magnimar and Riddleport. Whereas they could play anywhere in the latter two there were few places interested in their music in the former two.
In time they even ventured forth to the Land of the Linnorm Kings to play, though there their music was more a curiosity than something people came to enjoy. Still, all these forays into unknown places provided ample opportunity for the three to learn and experience new things and Phaender quickly discovered he had a knack for learning new languages, new instruments and new ways to play music.
Several times a year the three would still make their way back to Whistledown where they played for their extended families, letting them hear all the new things they learned while travelling.
It was a little more than two decades ago that things went truly wrong for the small troupe. When travelling north from Whistledown they were ambushed by a band of Ogres. Seeing there was only one way any of them could make it out of there, Phaender decided to distract the brutes so his kin could make their escape. He played for them, drawing their attention, and they surrounded him. But while he expected them to quickly kill him the Ogres did no such thing. Instead they took him with them to their stinking hovel. There he was forced to play for them for hours on end while they got on with their, often repulsive, business. His time with them wasn't to long though as within two weeks he found himself being traded away to a group of stone giant bandits.
For them he also was to play and when they travelled he was packed away on one of the bears their group used as pack animals. From that vantage point he could see he wasn't the only captive the stone giants trailed along. For days they marched until they arrived at the stone giant clan's holdings in the Wyvern Mountains. Once there Phaender quickly discovered what the reason was for all the captives: they were meant as sacrifice for the giants' dark god. So he continued to play his music. Every time the moment for sacrifice came he played and the giants picked another captive. Soon he was kept separately from the other captives, set aside as if being saved for a special occasion. It so happened that the place they used to set him aside was the bear pen. There he quickly discovered his music didn't just sooth giants, it also soothed the bears and they took a shine to him. This was made very clear when the giants had finally decided it was his time to die. When the giant priest headed into the pen to fetch him the bears blocked his way. When he later tried to sneak in and take Phaender he had to pay for his transgression with one of his eyes. So the giants left Phaender there and he was stuck. As long as he stayed in the pen he was safe but he could not leave or the giants would get him.
While he was initially quite OK with the situation. He liked the bears just as much as they liked him and he could easily survive sharing their food. Yet soon his very nature caught up with him. He had been stuck there for five years and while he loved his ursine companions and he could still make music he was still bored and boredom in a Gnome can be lethal. It wasn't long before he found the first stark white hairs on his scalp and panic started setting in. Sensing his discomfort the bears tried consoling him but while it did put a smile on his face it did nothing to assuage the fear of his own impending demise.
Many more years went by in which Phaender slowly lost all color. First from his hair, then from his skin and ever so slowly it also drained from his mind. Eventually he laid comatose among the bears, a colorless shell of a gnome. He laid there for two whole days with the bears keeping constant watch.
He laid there for two whole days before suddenly, in the middle of the night, he awoke. In more ways than one as he would later recall. He heard not just the snoring of the bears around him but he could also hear the giants in the next room and over all that something else. It was like a song playing underneath all of it, that pervaded everything. A tune played by the world itself. The bears also heard something else or perhaps they smelled it. Intruders were coming into the giants' lair. It wasn't long before the sound of fighting could be heard from all around as the intruders were doing combat with the giants. Phaender worked hard to keep the bears calm but when the wounded adventurers stumbled in there was very little he could do to stop them from tearing them apart. Several of the larger and more aggressive bears were killed while almost all of the invaders perished. Phaender patched up the one remaining survivor, a young cleric of Desna. Once the woman was capable of walking she, Phaender and the last two living bears, a mother and her cub, made their way out of cave. The rising sun stung in his eyes after spending more than fifteen years with nothing but torchlight. Together the four of them slowly made their way down the mountain.
When Phaender and the two bears arrived in Whistledown, the cleric had left them in Ilsurian, none were willing to speak to him. Bleachling were both a miracle and a horror to the town's gnomish residents and the local humans simply followed their neighbours' example. It was at his family's home that he finally foun d someone willing to speak to him. His youngest half brother who had just hit puberty when Phaender had vanished opened the door. Clearly conflicted on what his next course of action should be he called in the entire family. They were all confronted with the same duality. On the one hand they were overjoyed that their long lost brother had returned but he had returned a Bleachling. So none hugged him or kissed him and only the sister he used to tour the land with would even shake his hand, but only while wearing gloves. They were however willing to listen to his story. Still, it did not take long for Phaender to find that while he had longed for his return to his family it was no longer his home and he left, leaving behind an elaborate letter of goodbye.
Jumping in, with my submission for Aeron Carden. Barbarian/Slayer - a brute of a man, looking homeless and wild. He lives on the outskirts of Sandpoint and is looking for something more interesting to do.
I have done the easy parts - I'm now just finishing up his backstory and hope to get it done and posted very soon!
|
|
Got called in for a shift this evening, though hopefully a short one.
Still, it's the final day, so might as well be official about it.
So, midnight for you Pacific folks.
Everyone should have favorited this post by then; if you are not entirely complete at that time, post and let me know, but please still favorite. I'll be going over the completed applications upon getting home, and will finalize the process after recruitment, or when I wake tomorrow.
Then, given that it's a holiday for me, you probably won't hear a response until well into the evening tomorrow (4-5 PM EST). If I am unable to make a decision, or need to ask some questions, I will do so around that time as well. You can expect, barring any major complications, for the campaign info to be presented to the selected players no later than this Friday.
Thank you all for the interest and applications.
Lots of interesting builds, and, more importantly, lots of interesting characters. I don't envy you having to pick only a few. Good luck everyone!
Good luck y'all!
Favorited. Crunch and background in the alias.
Sorry for it being a bit brief; I'm in a time crunch.
Good luck, everybody. Lots of interest on this one.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Phaender's crunch has been finished.
He travels with two bears at the moment, a medium-sized adolescent grizzly bear that is his companion and large grizzly bear that is it's mother. I used my gold to buy the second bear though technically it wasn't bought. The second barding is worn by mother bear (and makes sure I have large barding ready when my companion grows).
I also grabbed 1 more thing from Ultimate Wilderness, assuming you are ok with it. It is the Demolish trick for my animal companion.
Demolish
The companion can be commanded to attack and damage objects and structures. A companion must know the attack trick before it can be taught the demolish trick, and the companion must be trained to attack creatures of all types. The companion’s handler can direct it either to make natural attacks against the object in question or to make a Strength check to attempt to break it (if applicable).
I haven't done crunch for bear nr 2 but it isn't intended as a combatant, though she'd probably defend herself, her cub and my character (and any other characters she takes a shine to). The tricks she'd know would reflect that (come, down, guard, heel, stay and watch being a likely list)
Added a bit more to the backstory. Personality doesn't seem to be gathering together, but I find that characters don't coalesce until they actually hit the pavement.
Either way, she just needs a spellbook/infusion book prepared,
Ok, crunch is ready except for mundane gear. I'll finish filling out the mountain of useful items Kazrek keeps in his wagon in the morning.
Well, yeah, I'm sure there's some gear I'm forgetting, but I guess I can always purchase some extras after the selection, if I happen to be picked (which seems quite hard given the number of nice applications).
Edit: Good luck to everyone and all that jazz (but specially good luck to me :P)
|
|
Alright, good morning and happy Thanksgiving to those who celebrate! Recruitment is closed, and I managed to crash Chrome last night looking through all of these apps. It's gonna be a tough few choices; if you're not finished and missing anything crucial, you have about six hours to point it out to me before I post my choices.