A Hero, lost in the dark, shall be found (Inactive)

Game Master Terquem

After five and a half years running, Palace of the Vampire Queen

Palace of the Vampire Queen

has come to an end

Okay, sort of

This game has seen many players come and go over its course, but one of the original players is still with us, Hallister (played by Doomed Hero) and this character was just captured by one of the villains of the Palace.

Now I am shutting down that game, but not technically ending it.

For this recruitment I would like to get three or four players interested in participating in an adventure to rescue Hallister, and if the game is a success, it could pick up the quest to end the plans of the Vampire Queen once and for all

First – no player will be expected to read the old thread. Your character does not need to know what has happened up to this point. It will be assumed that the remaining characters, a gnome witch, a goblin ninja, and a goblin sorcerer, will escape the palace and search for heroes to hire in order to aid them in the rescue of their friend.

Character Creation will be highly restrictive, and I know that will turn away a lot of players, but I want to keep the setting as it was begun

As part of this recruitment thread, I have asked the existing characters to join in the effort, for in the setting the three remaining heroes have agreed to set out to find help to rescuer their friend

Character Creation

Only Dwarven characters should apply

Initial character level is randomly determined by the roil of a d4+1

HP will be max at level 1, rolled for each other level, always reroll any roll of a “1” when rolling for hit point

Ability Scores

Character creation will be by “purchase” with a minor modification. Points will be set at 18. No character may begin the game with a Charisma score below 8 (not allowed to be lowered below 10 during creation, for Dwarven characters).

Race

As noted above, all characters will be Dwarves. Dwarves will be as per the Core Rulebook but will not have a +1 modifier to attacks against “orcs” as no such creatures exist within the Empire.

Classes
Class will be restricted to the following list

Fighter
Ranger
Paladin
Bard
Cleric
Druid
Wizard
Rogue

(the current party has a Witch, a Sorcerer, and a Ninja)

Starting Equipment

Beginning Gear for Player Characters at level 1
The common Dwarf carries from five to fifty copper coins at any time (5d10), and a meal in a tavern, or a few beers, will normally cost only a couple of copper pieces. It is very rare for anyone to carry silver or gold coins (in fact there are rumors among the common folk that wealthy Dwarves on the island are hording gold and silver coins, but the truth is not so simple).

To begin play each 1st level Player character will have:
250 Copper Pieces

A set of good quality clothes, boots, a hat, cloak, belt, and a leather shoulder bag (the shoulder bag will hold one square foot of goods weighing up to twenty pounds)

A long knife (comparable to a standard Dagger)

All characters start with this gear – to determine the gear your character has when joining this game use the standard wealth by level guidelines

2nd level 1,000 gp
3rd level 3,000 gp
4th lvl 6,000 gp
5th level 10,500 gp

You can spend this gold on any items in the core rule book, but when you are done equipping your character convert all gold coins remaining to copper coins, dropping any silver from the remaining value you have

When purchasing equipment or goods in the campaign setting (as a role play activity) copper coins spend much like silver or gold coins depending on the specific situation, what you are trying to buy and who you are trying to buy it from

Magic items are extremely rare in this setting

The adventure is set on an Island, called Karrita Morianna, which is part of the dwarven empire of Atharosse, an island chain off the west coast of a northern continent of the world of Riom

The current situation on this island is that dwarves and goblins get along reasonably well

In this campaign setting Gnomes are the offspring of goblin/dwarf relations

The primary goal of the adventure will be to penetrate down to the third level of the Palace of the Vampire Queen, and rescue Hallister.

I’ll stop here for now, to see if there is any interest, and as always I’ll be happy to answer any questions that come up

Thinking ranger.Level: 1d4 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 1 = 5

HP level 2: 1d10 ⇒ 7
HP level 3: 1d10 ⇒ 6
HP level 4: 1d10 ⇒ 8
HP level 5: 1d10 ⇒ 5

Having read Doomed Heros guide several times I feel I have an obligation to try to rescue him.

I have a couple of questions, are archetypes available? Background skills? Traits?

Edit: coppers: 5d10 ⇒ (3, 10, 10, 5, 9) = 37

I will consider traits, only two, must be from the Pathfinder books

I'm going to make a confession here, I'm not up to speed on all the pathfinder rules that are now available, so something like background skills sounds and archetypes sound harmless, but I'll have to do my homework to find out what affect it will have on the game

I've been running fantasy RPGs for over forty years. I prefer simple games, with simple rules.

I want to be very clear about one thing

I do not support or allow things derived exclusively from the d20psfrd website. If I cannot find it on the PRD here at Paizo's website, I am not going to allow it.

Having read Doomed Heros guide several times I feel I have an obligation to try to rescue him.

My hero. :)

As a note, goblins in this game are nothing like the homicidal pyromaniacs of Golarion. They are still xenophobic and tribalistic, but much more akin to dark and mysterious unseelie fae than the psycho nutjobs most of us are used to.

Sounds fair, thanks.

I'm interested - I have a Stonelord Paladin I'd love to rejig for this - but I just wanted to enquire as to whether things have settled down for you, Terquem, before I apply. I know you had some hiccups earlier this year.

Level: 1d4 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 = 4

You had me at “Only Dwarven characters should apply.”

So then...

Initial character level is randomly determined by the roil of a d4+1

1d4 ⇒ 4

HP: 1d10 ⇒ 3
HP: 1d10 ⇒ 3
HP: 1d10 ⇒ 1
HP: 1d10 ⇒ 8
HP: 1d10 ⇒ 8

HP from rolls: 22 (PFS rules would have it at 24...could be worse)

Making a Mutation Warrior (a Dwarven brewmaster!)

With lvl4 bonus he’ll be at...

Str (18) Dex (12) Con (14) Int (9) Wis (14) Cha (8). Will get an alias with crunch up

Grumbaki

so wait, you rolled five times, so we can drop the 1, and have 22, added to max hp at level 1 makes 32, +10 con bonus for 42 (for a 5th level character)

Right

I'm not sure I know what a Brew Master is, so please inform me

Jon

I'm a 54 year old grandfather of two, and a daughter who lives in Cambodia, and she is getting married in February on the Island of Oahu - settle down, bwahahaha

No, things will probably always be a bit go and slow for me here, but there is nothing I can foresee that would shut me down completely (God Forbid, right). This game will pretty much run like all my others, I try to post about once every other day, but I post more frequently when players ask questions in the game thread, and more infrequently when players do not make decisions on what they want to do next.

Thanks

It was more the health issues you were having last year that were worrying me, but the pace is fine. I do plenty of stuff on here, so it never hurts to have a game that runs a little slower (or faster) than the norm.

I'll see if I can throw a little something together.

Grumbaki

so wait, you rolled five times, so we can drop the 1, and have 22, added to max hp at level 1 makes 32, +10 con bonus for 42 (for a 5th level character)

Indeed! Not bad. :)

Right

I'm not sure I know what a Brew Master is, so please inform me

Just the mutation Warrior archetype of Fighter. Fluffed to be gaining strength due to potent Dwarven alcohol.

Grumbaki here. Still ironing out some details. But a pretty solid Dwarven fighter for your consideration.

When he drinks he has a solid AC27 and has +13 Hit with 2d6+17 damage. Also against magic he has decent saves (+12/+8/+10). So a good tank and beat stick. Outside of combat all he can do is make alcohol and help with Perception tests. But as a fighter what else do you expect?

Will write up some fluff

I'll need to be told where this archetype comes from so I can read up on it

Edit found it

Could you show me how you get the 27 AC?

Mutation Warrior Fighter essentially gives up Armour training for a limited version of the Alchemist's Mutagen ability.

In case you need it, here's the Paladin Archetype I'm planning to take - Stonelord.

You've piqued my interest. My thoughts are bending towards an aged patriarch who served in the navy(?) in his younger days but is long since retired. He stayed close to the sea, building a family in a coastal town/village as fisherfolk. Recently (maybe 5-10 years ago) he lost his family in some tragedy, such as to disease, pirate raid, storm, or some combination thereof. Left alone on the wrong side of 160, he views himself as a failure and has become reclusive, spending more and more time fishing alone in dangerous waters. He would see the request to go on a dangerous rescue mission in the palace of the Vampire Queen as a chance to accomplish something of lasting value in what little time he has left.

If this concept sounds workable, I'll draft a proper character sheet for you to review :)

10 (base) + 1 (dex) + 10 (+1 fullplate) + 3 (+1 buckler with shield focus) + 1 (Ring of protection) + 2 (mutagen for 50 minutes at a time) = 27 AC

And for his combat stats..

To Hit: +5 (BaB) + 4 (Str) + 1 (Weapon Training) + 1 (+1 Weapon) + 2 (mutagen) = +13
Damage: 2d6 (Earthbreaker) + 6 (str) + 6 (Power Attack) + 1 (Weapon Training) + 1 (+1 Weapon) + 3 (Mutagen) = 2d6+17

Background

Kurgan Kegstalker. Who is he? It depends on who you ask. Some call him the Hero or Krag’s Gate, for when he held back a tide of the walking dead for over an hour. Some call him a dangerous madman, who it was he who unleashed said horde of restless dead looking for ingredients within their tomb.

Kurgan is a dwarf on a mission. He comes from a long line of experimental brewers. Each and every brewmaster or his clan has created a beverage that made their name. His great grandfather made Ogdin’s Howl. Brewer with werewolf blood, his ale would literally put hair on your chest. His grandfather made Kazzok’s Challenge. The mead, made within the skullpan of a troll, would refill itself of not drunk fast enough. His father made Beardling’s March. He didn’t know what his father made the beer with, but it requires a trip to the plane of fire, and once drunk it made the poor dwarf unable to sit due to a fire being lit under his arse. It sold well with the army.

But what of poor Kurgan? He has made it his goal to create a brew which will increase thhis strength of the drinker...and he has almost done it. The problem is that if anyone else but he drinks it, then that person becomes violently ill. As such, he has resolved to not rest until he perfects it.

Like his father and his father before him, Kurgan is a prolific adventurer. For how else could he perfect his art? Especially when he is fairly sure that what is missing in his brew is vampire dust from an elder vampire. Such a catch would be far beyond most mundane brewers....

Jon

I'm not overly find of d20psfrd builds, are the same rules available here in the pathfinder pts reference?

Official paizo references:

Stonelord

Mutation Warrior

Thank you, Tick. And yes, yes they are.

Perfect, thank you

Thank you tick :)

I would be interested in playing in this campaign. Character details upcoming

I would be playing a Fighter using the Brawler Archetype. My goal would be making a character that exclusively uses a shield as a weapon.
Brawler-using archive, they quote and cite the book. Not familiar with the source you mentioned. Is this alright?
Starting Level: 1d4 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 1 = 2

Hp 2nd Level: 1d10 ⇒ 9

Edit: Is each character starting at the level the rolled or are we somehow averaging it? Because if people are starting at 4 and 5 and I'm level 2 I'm going to be outmatched the whole game, lol

Looks like it comes from Ultimate Combat, which is in the PRD here on this site, easy to access when I am updating the thread.

No we wont be averaging the character levels, unless I see that one character is the only one behind in levels

Things could change, but for now I'm going to see what kind of characters are created by this initial recruitment.

Thanks

I would like to submit a dwarven cleric of a sea god with the Ocean subdomain. On the Palace campaign page I see a list of Goblin deities, but no dwarven ones. Does an acceptable sea deity exist in your campaign? Was hoping to pick up either Air, Knowledge, Travel, or Weather as my other domain.

yes there are many dwarven deities in that campaign, I'm not sure why they are missing from the campaign info tab. I'll dig it up and post it here. Give me a couple of minutes

Dropped the +1 from his weapon, the ring of protection, and his Wayfinder. Picked up this:

http://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic-items/magic-armor/magic-armor-and-shield-spec ial-abilities/comfort/

“Armor of comfort sheds dirt and sweat as they accumulate, and remains as comfortable as weather-appropriate clothing regardless of environmental conditions.

A suit of armor with this enhancement always looks immaculately clean, can be slept in as though it were light armor, and does not cause a penalty to the wearer’s saving throws to resist the effects of extreme heat. In cold weather, it counts as cold-weather clothing. In addition, the armor’s armor check penalty is reduced by 1 (to a minimum of 0).”

-1 AC, -1 Damage, -1 Intimidate, -1 Will saves. Worth it to have a proper suit of ancestral armor that works well for the adventuring dwarf.

——

Also heavily considering dropping him down to a lvl4 mutation Warrior fighter and lvl1 cleric. This would be to give him access to the spell enhance water. So he can turn water into mead when on the road.

This means less HP, and losing weapon training. But I like the flavor of it a lot.

If I do this, are there any deities that would give him travel and protection domains?

Hmm.

1d4 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 = 3

If you prefer keeping your games strictly Paizo Pathfinder, Archives of Nethys is a great source. He keeps third party sources out of what he posts and references where mechanics come from.

Curiosity as to level: 1d4 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 1 = 2

First a very important house rule that was not mentioned right from the beginning. Dwarves in this campaign setting do not live to be hundreds of years old, but do live longer than the average human or elf. The longest lived dwarves in this setting reach ages between 155 and 165 years old (this is considered extremely rare) with average old age dwarves living to between 125 and 135 years old, this alone creates the impression among humans that dwarves live for “many generations”.

Religion on Karrita Morianna

The Empire of Atharosse (the Dwarven Empire) is relatively young, as compared to other empires and kingdoms of this campaign world, and was created out of older dwarven city states which held rule over individual islands or island chains in this archipelago. There are many “old world” dwarven deities, and some are represented by different names on different islands, but are actually the same deity across the archipelago. The official deities of the Empire of Atharosse are discussed first.

The regular dwarven “Gods of the Empire” are worshipped on the island of Karrita Morianna, with some small sects around the outer villages which still worship older deities, and on this island a growing following of a merging of an old dwarven god with a new incarnation.

The Gods of the Empire are:

Trembor and Yillise (Homedweller): The Great Father and Mother of all Dwarves

Trembor is lord of all domains, and protector of the island archipelago (A powerful Sea God)and his wife Yillise is the goddess of creation.

Ismaea: The World Witch

She is the sister of Trembor. She is difficult to describe and has an older interpretation that suggest she is the older sister of Trembor, but in modern times is seen as a twin to Trembor. She is often regarded as the creator of the dwarven race (not to be confused with Yillise who is seen as the Mother of all dwarves, but not as the creator of the dwarven race). Ismaea is called the World Witch, and the Good Goddess (not because her nature is “good” but because she is said to be good at all things, and can control all aspects of magic.

Jaskor and Muyella: The ‘First Son’ and the ‘Noble Wife’

Jaskor is the god of strength, law, and obedience, his wife is the goddess of the home and hearth

Pineya: The First Daughter

Pineya is goddess of arts, and medicine

Porineylla: The middle child

Porineylla is the goddess of prophecy, and arcane magic

Dennari ‘Ismaea’: The Youngest (The Woman of the Maul, She who pounds the earth, The Patient Goddess)

Dennari (Empire/Modern Pantheon) is a unique exception in this setting. She is officially a modern deity and part of the Gods of the Empire, but her followers on Karrita Morianna have taken a unique approach to her. Many who still worship Ismaea are slowly transforming their view of the old goddess into a following of a different interpretation of Dennari.

Ismaea is, possibly, the oldest Deity of legend among the Dwarven people, and her personification as “Dennari” by the Empire is not experiencing any opposition, unlike some of the other older gods/goddesses who have been excluded from adaption into the religious rituals of the Empire)

Dennari is a goddess of agriculture, and is worshiped as a protector of cultivated lands, hunters, and farmers. Ismaea means “Good Rain” in the oldest Dwarven language and is often spoke of as the “Mother” of the Dwarven race; the two personifications of this deity differ in their iconography by age, with Dennari represented as a very attractive young and powerful Dwarven woman, and Ismaea as an old crone

There are also “older” dwarven gods worshipped in conjunction with the “official” gods of the Empire. Practically any individual aspect of deity can be created by a player for their cleric, naming an old god as their patron, and adjusting domains to suit the player’s ideas.

Old deities which have been established already are:

Praggul Strongfist and Freeda Songwind

He is seen as a god of war and she as a warrior woman who sings soldiers into the highest halls of heaven. These two deities are representative of the “older” pantheon and are symbolic of the more war-like past of the Dwarven race

Lorenze and Bescort, (The Brighthair) (the Shaper, and the Fire Maker)

These two are lovers, keepers of the forge and flame, Lorenze is seen as an old dwarf of powerful body and keen mind, and his lover Bescort is seen as a wild (possibly deep) Dwarven girl with an explosive nature. It is possible that Bescort is carried over from an even older Dwarven pantheon, the same group that originally included Ismaea, and some say that Bescort is a childless sister of Ismaea. In some places, Bescort is worshiped as a volcano goddess

Evil, or ‘dark gods’, are rarely mentioned by name, but are sometimes mentioned by their realms of influence. These deities will not have any sort of regular followers, or places of worship that are known to Player Characters.

Golnstring Ergrize (The Gold Hider)

He is the god of greed

Sirrindi Panomae (The Betrayer)

She is the goddess of lust, and deceit

Mafolin Romorra (The Helmsman of Death)

He is seen as a god who shuttles dwarves to the afterlife (he is usually talked about as an omen of ill will and a sign of doom and is held in contrast to Freeda Songwind who is seen as the goddess of the “heavenly afterlife” of Dwarves who have passed from this world with good hearts)

Death is not personified as a Dwarven deity, but is spoken of as a greater all encompassing force that has power over all living things.

In this regard death is spoken of as Karuk, and the belief in Karuk is common among many races. Karuk is an impartial quasi-deity, and has many assistants, some evil and some good.

Most of the religious festivals, holy days, and ceremonies carried out in the village churches revolve around the goddess Dennari, who is seen as a protector of the Dwarven race and the Dwarven Empire

Alright! Great info.

Dropping Kurgan down to being fighter4/cleric1. Cleric of Dennari ‘Ismaea’. She seems like the best fit for a brewer/adventurer.

Rolling for 1 level of cleric HP
1d8 ⇒ 5

Updating character now.

And character updated. Lost killing power. Gained much more flavor.

Quite happy with him now. Especially as how he can summon his own clean water for brewing, can create ale/beer/mead when on the road, and how he has ancestral armor to wear. :)

Great build, I am a little concerned about anything drawn from the d20psfrd (just because I use many different computers to access my games, and not all of them can access that site, so doing research at times is difficult, plus, my experience with some of the things from that site are not always happy fun timey experiences, some things seem poorly balanced, if balanced at all and often lead to combinations with other rules from that site that flat out break things, in my opinion).

I expect, hope, for at least a couple more submissions and a final selection for new characters for a new game will happen over the next week to possibly the end of next week.

The actual game will launch soon after January 1.

Level: 1d4 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 1 = 5
I'm thinking a druid with the Menhir Savant archetype.

HP: 4d8 ⇒ (7, 7, 2, 2) = 18

would a dinosaur animal companion be out of place in this setting?

Hope everyone has a Happy Christmas, and I'll be around to answer questions and will be monitoring this thread.

Thanks, you too! Will have something submitted this weekend.

1d4 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 = 3

So I've been lurking and I'm thinking about possibly applying. I definitely have time for a slower game but I have a few questions before I commit the time to building a backstory.

I see a lot of people have rolled 5 for their character level. I personally previewed my roll, saw it was 3 and decided to come back later. If I had rolled 5, I probably would've dotted the thread right away. I wonder how many others did the same. I don't mind playing a level 3 character here, but I had a couple concerns since a level 3 character would be much weaker mechanically than your level 5 submissions.

First, the current group is all support/utility. If the story really is them looking for help, they're looking for muscle. Can a frontline character survive at level 3 against level 5 challenges?

Second, why would the characters or you, the GM, pick a level 3 character when there are multiple viable stronger options?

I spend a lot of time on my characters so I'm just trying to make sure I'm not wasting my time.

Thank you for your time!

I rolled a 5 right off the bat. However, I played in home brew for years where new PC's were brought in at lower levels but they usually caught up pretty quickly and were able to stay at APL or APL-1. It didn't effect game play much. Hope this helps.

@terquem - any word on the animal companion?

It would be a stretch to introduce a "true" dinosaur companion into this setting (such creatures just haven't been discussed)

maybe some sort of hybrid design that satisfies the flavor of a dinosaur could be created and explained as a typical, but somewhat rare typ4 of fauna, possibly from the east of the island (this game is set on the west of the island, so introducing an animal that is not common to the region could be done).

What kind of dinosaur are you thinking?

But then again, I'm sort of a pain in the ass when it comes to the verisimilitude I want to maintain. it would have to be an animal companion with Dark Vision, or the party would need a constant light source.

Which reminds me, to solve a long on going problem, I am house ruling that Gnomes in this setting have Dark Vision.

There, that's off my mind now.

As to the party level, I am starting to change my mind

I wanted to begin the game with an atmosphere of a random group of unemployed dwarves in a tavern, they are approached with a job offer. If everyone in the tavern is 5th level, it seems a little forced, but, if there are enough concerns that creating a lower level character is the one and only thing keeping you from taking a interest, I must reconsider my position.

However I think the disparity in levels could force some characters to make bonds or allegiances right away, simply to be aligned with a protector or friend who's got your back.

I'll decide soon.

we need at least one solid healer in the group, I feel.

Not saying it is the most balanced approach, but a lower level character could have a higher point buy.

18->20 or even up to 25, depending on level severity. Weaker initially, stronger in long run. Could be a decent trade off.

hmmm, none of the animal companions on the PRD have darkvision. There are a few on d20pfsrd but they are all bugs, and that doesn't really feel right with my concept. I was originally going with a spinosaurus because I was looking for a fighting companion. My ideal would be something like a badger or a mole but I also need it to be combat viable.

Side note, I'm not a dedicated healer but I'm sure I can find room in my budget for a wand.

I love playing healers. I'll cook something up that can work at 3 or 5.

I appreciate your response. I feel like you'll be mindful of my concerns and so my time won't be wasted.

Also, I looked in on the discussion thread for the original game. I would like to second the suggestion for the automatic bonus progression rules. They really allow you to run a gritty, low treasure game without running into major balance issues.

Still working on my sea priest, should be done by tomorrow night.

Terquem, you stated above that you'd consider only two traits. Would you allow the Additional Traits feat to be taken to get another two? I'm still going with an old dwarf concept (though obviously no longer 160+ years), so fluff-wise they'll represent his depth of life experience.

In case you're wondering, the first two traits I'm taking are Focused Mind (Magic) and Poverty-Stricken (Social). If the feat is allowed, I'd like to get modified versions of River Rat (Regional) and Eyes and Ears of the City (Religion). My thought was to change River Rat crunch to only granting the Swim related benefits (removing the bonus to dagger damage) and the fluff to reflect growing up in a coastal region. The Eyes and Ears of the City benefits would remain the same, but be more an Eyes and Ears of the Ship reflecting his time spent in the crow's nest as ship's priest on board dwarven imperial vessels. Traits link.

Also, it's about time I made those rolls:

Level: 1d4 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 = 4
hp@2: 1d8 ⇒ 5
hp@3: 1d8 ⇒ 8
hp@4: 1d8 ⇒ 1
hp@4 reroll: 1d8 ⇒ 2

And I had such high hopes for that re-roll :)

I keep coming back to this idea of a female dwarf with a connection to the spirits of the land.

Would you consider allowing the shaman class? It's really fitting for dwarves, ties to ancestors and all, and would make an effective healer.

If not, no problem.

Couple things

I am reviewing the Automatic progression rules, I'll get back to that when I have educated myself

I tend to create custom monsters, I'm not good at it, but then again, did I mention I'm old and have been doing this for a long time, anyway, I like to think that if I can custom build monsters to be challenging to the characters given the limitations I've placed on the game, everything will be fine. I am learning that that is not the case, so I need to get up to speed on alternative rules, but at the same time I don't want to add something I don't understand completely then have it complicate the game in ways I cannot manage.

As to the extra traits, I don't have a problem with what you are asking to do with the character, I would just like to know how you might be thinking it will help the character in the game?

I don't want to prevent a player from realizing the build they want to try to achieve, within my restrictive requirements, that's a goal I think is worthy. I just don't like ignoring things like light sources for things that cannot function in total darkness, so we may have to "invent" an animal companion that has dark vision which fills the role you are looking for, or you may have to find a magical solution to the problem.

It's always been one of my gaming "flaws" that I get bothered by a party that just takes for granted that they can see and hear everything they should be able to see and hear, regardless of the environment that they are adventuring in. As a young man I did some cave exploring in rural western Kentucky. Cave darkness is a kind of darkness most people never have any real idea about. It's a darkness that will freak a newcomer right the heck out.

I did some caving in California when I was young and it really does put a new perspective on darkness. It was so closed-in, sound was eerily dampened as well. I remember feeling like there really was nothing beyond my flashlight. Just emptiness. It's vastly different than darkness outside, where you can feel the air move.

We used to squeeze past areas where we literally had to slide on our backs and empty our lungs to fit our ribcages through low passages.

We were crazy kids.

Would you accept this as an animal companion?

The other option is to just spam the light cantrip all the time , but that seems weird thematically for a dwarf.

All of the vermin companions have darkvision. I could see a dwarf taming a giant beetle.

Edit: I just looked at that badger mole. Where did you find those stats? That might be the most powerful animal companion I've ever seen.

Edit2: The giant mole companion from ultimate wilderness gets tremorsense which makes it fully functional in darkness. Could consider that.

The ability scores were based loosely off of the spinosaurus, which is what I was originally going to use. I took the strength and dex down a little, and removed an extra natural attack. I'm open to tweaking though. Vermin companions seem strange to me since they're mindless but if that's my only choice I'll take it.