5tongue's War of the Burning Sky (Inactive)

Game Master GM 5tongue

Okay, well I want to play an orc witch with the scarred witch doctor archetype, and potentially some levels of barbarian or bloodrager thrown in at some point. I don’t really like the flavor of scarred witch doctor though. It’s too evil feeling and the mask is kinda dumb. I was thinking of reflavoring it somehow. Leska’s pretty evil, right? Maybe I was training to be an inquisitor and then Leska took over and I didn’t like how he did things (like the cavalry campaign trait), so I fled to Gate Pass. Then the scar mask could be replaced by like a fetishized bear skin hat/cloak thingie. New hexes could be represented by adding more fetishes to the skin rather than scars. Would that work for you? We are supposed to be against Leska, right?

GM 5tongue wrote:

Orcs, while still viewed as brutes or distrusted by some of the other races, are MUCH more civilized in this setting, much like the half-orcs of vanilla Golarion. The former emperor himself is a half-orc and the bulk of the Ragesian army is made up of orcs. About 13% of the Gate Pass population is orcish as well. That being said, savages still exist.

There you go Jelani, he actually answered that a bit earlier in the thread.

Thanks, missed that!

Preliminary character up. Basic concept is an ex-street rat with a giant ferret companion. Still in progress.

Would it be cool if I refluffed the samurai class into a caste of orc/half orc warriors? The only mechanical change would be to make their weapon expertise feature affect orc weapon familiarity weapons (Falchion, Great Axe, Orc Double Axe) instead of the katana, naginata, and wakizashi. It would keep the longbow option.

My idea is coalescing into an orc who used to be in Ragesian military. At first he was very patriotic and entered training to be an Inquisitor. He was mostly finished with his training in spell casting when Coaltongue died. After Jeska took over he was ordered to do something he didn't agree with, and went AWOL, fleeing to Gate Pass.

Once there he fell in with the thieves' guild as a debt collector and enforcer. While he works with the criminals out of necessity, he continues to study the ancient shamanic magics of his people, and hopes to one day be a warrior shaman like there were of old. He will oppose both Shalesti and Ragesi influence in Gate's Pass (at least initially).

Mechanically, he'll be a melee witch heading for eldritch knight focused on debuffing. His first level is fighter, but the rest will be witch (scarred witch doctor) until he can get into eldritch knight. Any feedback on the idea, or an idea of an order he might have been given that he wouldn't agree with would be appreciated (murder a child? burn a village full of innocents?). Thanks!

Races: Core + Orcs.

Right now I'm toying with the idea of a orc pack lord druid.

I'm interested. Considering an Orc as well.

After reading more about the setting I'm thinking I want to play an orc.

Would it be cool if I refluffed the samurai class into a caste of orc/half orc warriors?

Actual name of this campaign: We be orcs.

"I hope not," replies the Human wizard.

ORC? Is that some new title or something?

My, my, that is a lot of orcs.

DM Jelani: Re-fluffing the fetish mask would be fine. The bear skull masks are of the trademarks of the Inquisitors so having one would probably make it very difficult for any Resistance types to trust you. With regards to a disagreeable order - I'd recommend something to do with stopping magic - perhaps you were ordered to murder a child sorcerer or the village full of innocents was being burned to root out a wizard hiding there. Also I have a small bit of secret Inquisitor information that I'll be PMing you in just a bit.

Kenji Elindir: Those changes work fine.

Can't get my concept for a crafting wizard to work as a PC (would be fine as a NPC but boring to play as a PC). So I thought I would jump on the orc train.

I assume there isn't any problem with me inviting a Sun God shall we call him Helios. Normally revered for glory, light, growth and fertility.

Concept will be up concept will be up soon.

here is my submission Mule.
A idiot but very lucky water merchant. He is very naive and probably doing small jobs for the thieves guild, not that he realises this. (I went Blessed by Dreams trait rather than the thieves guild one since he doesn't realize he is helping the thieves guild and would be helping the temples too.) Additionally he has very warped views on the sun god that some would consider heretical (he is very fearful of the sun god basically as a result of growing up in the desert).

I have taken a feat that is for humans, one of the half-orc racial traits says: Half-orcs count as both humans and orcs for any effect related to race. I don't think what I have done should cause a problem but I am happy to change things if you don't like it.

Here is Kagan Stronghand. No background yet, but the rest should be there.

Hi, this is my first time applying for a play by post. I have not done anything like this before. I created a cavalier. Is having the mount okay? I saw no rules against it. I have the character info and a background that I hope you like. It's not a very far background. It's more in light of the recent events. If I made any mistakes, please let me know. I will get the mount's stats if I should.

Hi Gareth looking good. I don't know if you'll find these useful but I found these pages useful when I started PbP.
Guide-to-Play-By-Post-gaming and Hopefully-helpful-hints-about-pbp-applications hope this helps.

@Gareth The GM commented on Mounts here.

Gareth: Welcome to the boards from another newcomer, Gareth!

To expand upon what I said earlier about mounts, Gate Pass is full of multistory buildings with bridges and walkways crossing between them - not exactly ideal mount territory. You are of course allowed to have a mount, but it will have to remain in the stables for a good bit of the first adventure. You might also find yourself having to leave it behind - if this happens I will of course make sure you have the opportunity to acquire a new one as soon as possible.

Hope this helps.

Tim Woodhams: The human feats are fine for half-orcs.

I'm writing my backstory and I'm curious what the timeline looks like. What was going on in Ragesia twenty years before the campaign starts? I'm placing Kagan in a village a few day's ride north of Ragos, in the forest. Was Coaltongue already finished conquering then? Was the war still raging? How likely is it that Kagan's father would have been pressed into military service? Any info you can provide would be helpful, thanks!

I would be interested in running a Knight of the Aqualine cross with a focus toward self perfection and understanding of all that will see reason.
Fluff wise he would be an inspiring voice on the battle field and a powerful caster of spells.
Mechanically he would be a Evangelist archetype cleric of Irori.
Knowledge domain.
I'd like to know if Flagbearer would be a permittable feat to continue the inspiring presence schtick.
Then Lifting hands Achievement feat (perhaps later on) due to that feats ability to give me a much needed reduction of actions required to heal people in combat. It would be cool if the wings could be re fluffed as a feathered cross of the order.
That is if the feat is permissible. (its requirements are really weird for what it does so I'd love to speak with you other ones for it if you are ok with that.)

Plus he learns about people by punching them. I can't deny the amusement in that.
Not sure on race yet, thinking half orc to take advantage of the fluff about the old dragon though.

DM Jelani and anyone else seeking a rough timeline:40 years ago: CoaltongueAn insurrection frees Gate Pass from Ragesian control in what is the most (and arguably only) successful rebellion in the Empire.

20 years ago: Coaltongue has long since united the orc tribes and seized power in Ragesia as well as finished the bulk of his conquest, thanks to the teleporting powers of the Torch of the Burning Sky. At this point the empire's borders were still expanding, but slowly and carefully. Either in response to outside attacks or under the guise of helping other nations, Drakus made sure his actions were well justified.

Recently: After nearly a decade of inactivity, Coaltongue offered to help the Exarchate of Sindaire put down a rebellion within its borders, and the nation nervously accepted, albeit fearful of being swallowed up by another trick. A few weeks into his military campaign, something went wrong. Ragesia has not heard from its emperor in over two months, or if they have, they have hidden the news.

Being an orc, Kagan's father most definitely recieved military training, but because there wasn't any major war occurring it is up to you whether or not he was actively serving in one of the smaller conquests.

Movin: Flagbearer is perfectly permissible, as is Lifting Hands - although I agree that its prerequisites would need to be tinkered with as they're sort of weird as is. For now, I'd recommend holding off taking Lifting Hands at 1st.

Okay, I figured out a rough outline of her background. It's not presuming too much, is it?

I'm about 95% done with Sheyan. I still want to touch up his fluff, but he's pretty much done. I wasn't sure how long you wanted the background to be so I kept it down to a few paragraphs. Always love feedback!

Sheyan

Also, I'm not quite sure of what I want to take for my first animal companion yet. I'm waffling between a couple of different ideas, but I wanted to ask you: how likely is it that I would be able to get a roc companion?

Kareta Ajie: The presumptions seem fine. Officially, the guards/watch would be against the Resistance as they are following orders to detain all mages. Your father might even agree with the Resistance on some issues, but be more committed to keeping order.

CampinCarl9127: A roc could certainly work. Being nestled among the mountains, you could certainly find rocs living in the craggy peaks outside Gate Pass.

Background finished. Not sure if it is enough.

Sweet, I get to have an interesting companion to start! They're not as damaging as some other choices, but I like that it can fly (later it will be big enough to ride!) and the flavor.

Except for some touch ups on background and the gear for my roc, Sheyan is ready for review. Tell me if you would like a longer or more detailed background; I wasn't sure how much you wanted.

Added a background to Kagan. Apologies for the length...it just kind of happened. He should be finished now. Let me know if you see anything that you'd like changed or any mistakes. Thanks!

OK, so far we got:

“Elianss Duskflare”, Human Swashbuckler (Inspired Blade) – (Nicos)
“Gareth Heese”, Human Cavalier (Order of the Dragon) – (Finarick the Second)
“Gusteelus”, Elf Rogue (Snare Setter) – (Nohwear)
“Kagan Stronghand”, Orc Fighter (Unarmed Fighter) – (WesternWolf777)
“Kallant”, Human Wizard – (Jubal Breakbottle)
“Kareta Ajie”, Human Hunter – (SAMAS)
“Mule”, Half-Orc Brawler – (Tim Woodhams)
“Sheyan”, Orc Druid (Pack Lord) -(CampinCarl9127)

Here is my build.

Thanks for the update Camris!

Notes on background:

Elianss Duskflare: Nice little vignette, but I'd love to know a little more about his actual background. How was his upbringing, did he know his parents, are they still alive, etc.

Gareth Heese: Again, it's a really cool vignette, but I'd love to know more - specifically if there are any other important people who have affected him.

Gusteelus: I'd love to see some more background. How did he become a rat catcher? How does he relate to others? Has he ever sold traps to some unsavory types and regretted it? Really anything you want to tell me.

Kagan Stronghand: You really weren't kidding about the length! I haven't gotten around to reading it yet, but I look forward to.

Kallant: I'd love to know just a little bit more about your tutor from the Monastery of Four Winds - a name and maybe one physical feature or personality quirk would suffice.

Kareta Ajie: The outline looks good - I'd love to see more!

Mule: How did this seeming simpleton get caught up in the Resistance? Why was he chosen for this mission.

Sheyan: I believe you mentioned somewhere that Sheyan was brought up by a paladin. Did religion have any impact on his life? Or does he tend to stick more to revering the forces of nature (I like the primordials tattoos - nice touch)?

Finrod Moruin: The alias has crunch only at the moment, correct? The background notes seem to be from another game.

Sheyan: I believe you mentioned somewhere that Sheyan was brought up by a paladin. Did religion have any impact on his life? Or does he tend to stick more to revering the forces of nature (I like the primordials tattoos - nice touch)?

Ah right, I should bring that up in greater detail. Religion certainly had an impact as his early life in civilization was spent being fed and sheltered by churches. He respects any god (even evil ones) as they are divine figures who should be worshiped, but he believes the forces of nature and the four primordial gods tied to the elements are the most important and deserving of his faith.

I have expanded my background. Sorry that it is so disorganized.

Notes on background:

Mule: How did this seeming simpleton get caught up in the Resistance? Why was he chosen for this mission.

He has been in Gate pass for a while and been has been making a living doing odd jobs, or as he sees it favours for friends. He acquired a reputation as someone who will get a job done quickly, without fuss and follows instructions well. Fundamentally he is expendable, if required he can hold his own while others escape, if captured they doubt he knows anything that will be useful, and if killed it would be shame but no real loss.

I've been feeling something is wrong with Mule for a while but it wasn't until I saw the list of characters I realised what it was. A half-orc simpleton strikes me as too much as a stereotype and his race isn't integral his character. I'm going have a bit of a think and either change him to make the race more integral to who he is or swap to human.

Notes on background:

Kallant: I'd love to know just a little bit more about your tutor from the Monastery of Four Winds - a name and maybe one physical feature or personality quirk would suffice.

Done. Bonus points if know the movie reference.

Couple questions on consistency:
1. Is it the Monastery of Four Winds or Monastery of Two Winds?
2. Is the master invoker/evoker of Gate Pass Gabal from the organizations or Gaben from the campaign trait?

cheers

Ack! Too many typos!

Gabal is the master of the school in Gate Pass and its the Monastery of Two Winds.

I'll fix this in the campaign info tab too.

Thanks for the update Camris!

Notes on background:
Kareta Ajie: The outline looks good - I'd love to see more!

Ask and ye shall recieve! :)

Quick reminder to everyone that the deadline for submissions is coming up this friday!

Mule is now updated, I'm more comfortable with him being human, nothing else much changed.

What time does recruitment actually close. I will have my submission in tomorrow morning. (Friday morning US time.)

Almost done with information. The background is complete. Added childhood, lufe affecting tales that are actually delusions, and mentorship. Only need statistics for the mount. Sorry for any mispelledd words. I only had a Nook Color to use. Don't worry I will have an actual keyboard the rest of the time. Now, time to read other interesting backstories!

KaganJust read Stronghand's background. I promise i didn't steal 'a family member dying of pneumonia' from you. It was honest coincedence. Anyway, great backstory! Nice plot, structure, and vocabulary. I can tell your an amazing writer.

To anyone else: Don't let its length steer you away. Its interesting all the way through. One last time, a good amount of thought went into creating it. Nice work.

I'm not gonna make it. Just no time before deadline.

KaganJust read Stronghand's background. I promise i didn't steal 'a family member dying of pneumonia' from you. It was honest coincedence. Anyway, great backstory! Nice plot, structure, and vocabulary. I can tell your an amazing writer.

To anyone else: Don't let its length steer you away. Its interesting all the way through. One last time, a good amount of thought went into creating it. Nice work.

Thanks, man. No worries about the pneumonia. Happens a lot in medieval societies.

Heh, forgot about this one when I was distracted by other things.
I'll see if I can kludge something together but I doubt its going to happen.

It seems like there are a few last minute submissions - I believe I stated that recruitment would close at 12 noon pacific time - 4 hours from now. I'll be extending this time to 6 PM pacific time, which is 10 hours from now, to make sure anyone who needs to can get all of their affairs in order.

Jelani, did you declare Kagan's Favored Class?

cheers

Jelani, did you declare Kagan's Favored Class?

cheers

It's witch. I added it to his sheet.

Edit:Also caught one minor math error and corrected it.

Work blindsided me, couldnt get it done. Thanks for giving me a chance to try though, I appreciate it.

All right. Here is Arklon Coldblood half orc samurai (sword saint), with a bit of time to spare. If the Kelaquois have their own language, I'll take that instead of giant.

Elianss Duskflare: Nice little vignette, but I'd love to know a little more about his actual background. How was his upbringing, did he know his parents, are they still alive, etc.

Sorry for the delay. The information about the parest was already in there (No parents). I edited it to make that poitn more clear and too add more info.

Well, 6 o'clock has rolled on around and the decision has been made. I was really excited to see some interest for this when I first posted, so I wish I could bring all of you onboard for your support. However, in the end I've had to thin the ranks down to the final six.