Adventures in Kara-Tur

Game Master FabesMinis

I've listed the available languages on the website - there's no Common, it's replaced with Kozakuran. All looking good so far. ooChai - that's not a Kozakuran name... interesting.. how did he acquire that? There's a story there.

@Jiro - adjustments for being 50 yrs old - At middle age, -1 to Str, Dex, and Con; +1 to Int, Wis, and Cha - I'll understand if you want to move points around.

I've listed the available languages on the website - there's no Common, it's replaced with Kozakuran. All looking good so far. ooChai - that's not a Kozakuran name... interesting.. how did he acquire that? There's a story there.

@Jiro - adjustments for being 50 yrs old - At middle age, -1 to Str, Dex, and Con; +1 to Int, Wis, and Cha - I'll understand if you want to move points around.

ooChai is a phenetomorph of a nick name, it translates as something close to black hate.

He doesn't know his real name

Cool. :)

It also means 'high' in Punjabi apparently. So that threw me. I better watch out if there are Japanese experts in the group... :)

Cool. :)

It also means 'high' in Punjabi apparently. So that threw me. I better watch out if there are Japanese experts in the group... :)

Heh, not I

I know oo is black from ooLong tea which i like

something that sounds like Chai is hate, in one oriental language or another, not sure which, or the proper spelling...

Really it is a nick name his master gave him, kind of like piss-boy, or n00b

I am now ready to reclaim my homelands.

With the exception of the remaining cash, Daidoji Yorinaga is ready.

Can anyone tell me the cost of lamellar armor?

"Hail, Ran-Tan Kani. Perhaps, you can allow me to show you why our goals follow the same path?"

Alright, my character will be a standard bard (rather than a divine bard).

He is a wandering story-teller and scoundrel, the younger son of a minor noble or samurai family from a distant province. He has decided to attach himself to the group’s samurai (or perhaps another “powerful” seeming character) as his chronicler / herald in order to gain himself a measure of respectability, fame and protection.

His perform skills will focus on Oratory, and/or perhaps Song.

Does this seem suitable for a Kozakuran bard?

I will likely be using this avatar.

Hello, Sorry to interject, but I saw on another thread that you may still have an opening for a character in this game?
If so, I would like to indicate my interest.

I just got started playing PbP in JSL's runelord's thread, (trying to get my fix any way I can!)
And I am having so much fun that I would love to get into another game, Especially a game with as much possible flavour as Oriental Adventures!

SO,
1) Do you still need a player?
2) If so, what classes are you short on?
I prefer spellcasting classes, but can easily be talked into whatever would be most useful at this point. (Especially if it still involved being a caster of some sort.)

Thank you,

-Rags

Hi Rags, we're full for this one, I'm afraid (with 6)... but I'm seriously considering running another game, maybe another Oriental Adventures one (since interest has been good, although it takes a lot of setting up), or Dark Sun (again, lots of background and new rules for players to digest) - I like the obscure settings!

You'll definitely have first dibs on a spot.

@Mothman - seems ok to me!

Character is pretty much done.

Take a look and tell me what you think.

@Yorinaga - lamellar is 150gp

@Jiro - looks good. Nice job.

@Masatoki - no rapiers here, sonny-jim. Longswords and shortswords are available though.

FabesMinis, my sincere apologies, but I think I will need to step aside from this game. Various other commitments are preventing me from putting as much effort into this as I would like, and I think me continuing on in a rather half-assed fashion would be unfair to yourself, the other players, and all those people who are looking for pbp games.

This game is shaping up to look very good, and I have been wanting to play in an OA game for a long time, but I just don’t think the timing is right for me at the moment.

Again, my apologies, and I hope you do not have trouble finding a replacement player.

Sorry for being so slow this week. It is my last week at this job, and I have been distracted.

I just need to formalize my background, and pick my spells and starting gear.

Mothman, I completely understand - sorry to lose you.

ooChai - you've got too many HP - If you're using Int at first level for bonus HP (thanks to MInd over Body), you should have a total of 8, not 10.

Hello Fabes (and all),
I got your message. Thank you, I'll be happy to join if you'll have me! ;)

So, what do we have already? What are the books we're using? And do you have any info/references I can use online? Otherwise, I have friends that own almost everything ever printed, I'm sure I'll be able to find/borrow most anything I'll need.

Looking forward to this, I've always wanted to play OA, never got the chance. (Just like Spelljammer & Al Qua'dim)

-Rags

OK, here is the website with all the game info - it has a breakdown of allowed classes and race. You don't need Oriental Adventures to play but it might be helpful. Please take a look especially at the naming conventions (real-world Japanese names for humans and spirit folk, and possibly some hengeyokai; only the nobility have family names, everyone else just has a personal one) and the cultural background .

I reserve the right to veto any culturally unavailable equipment and ask you to replace it with an equivalent.

So far we have:

Radavel - Daidoji Yorinaga - Human Samurai
Gavgoyle - Ran-Tan Kani - Korobokuru Barbarian
Stunty_the-Dwarf - ? - ? Shaman
Dragonmann - ooChai (crazy name, crazy guy?) - Human Wu-jen
Thalyn - Jiro - Human Monk

and now Ragadolf as well.

meh... busy week.... I'll get a charcater up shortly.

No probs. I'm still hashing out background to the initial adventure, but it's coming together - have got Jiro and Kani sorted out for intros, and Yorinaga + possibly ooChai

Great! Thanks for the info!

I'll do some quick research and let you know what i'd like to play.
OB-viously it probably be a caster of some sort. It looks like we have 3 'beaters' & 2 'casters', so another caster will keep it "balanced"? Or do we need a stealth-type? I'm not the best at playing those, (I'm much better at crazy-casters!) But I can play almost anything and enjoy it!

Thanks for the oportunity, I'll try to get up to speed asap.

~Rags

You don't need a stealth person necessarily but they can be useful, and yes, I know you love your crazy casters! ;)

A ninja would be nice. They played a vital role during the warring states period of feudal Japan.

Moreover, they can peforms the necessary deeds without fear of dishonor.

You don't need a stealth person necessarily but they can be useful, and yes, I know you love your crazy casters! ;)

OK, I know I have seen (SOMEwhere) classes that allow casting (or Kai powers?) that stack with monk or ninja levels? Or am I smoking again?

If anyone can help point me toward some of those, that would be great. Otherwise I'll pick from the basics. Let you know what I find tomorrow, 1:30am here, getting T-I-R-E-D.

Thanks again all,

Well, I ain't got it! So... it's kind of difficult for me to adjudicate if I don't have access to it...

No probs. I'm still hashing out background to the initial adventure, but it's coming together - have got Jiro and Kani sorted out for intros, and Yorinaga + possibly ooChai

I'm doing a little more work on the back story. Let me know if it doesn't jive with your intro.

@Rags - I found something similar in Complete Adventurer - Ascetic Mage: Sorcerer and Monk levels stack to determine AC bonus (other stuff as well); sacrifice spell slot to add spell level to damage etc

Ragadolf, are you referring to the sacred fist prestige class from Complete Divine? Levels in the PrC stack with the divine spellcasting class as well as monk levels for purposes of unarmed damage.

ooChai - you've got too many HP - If you're using Int at first level for bonus HP (thanks to MInd over Body), you should have a total of 8, not 10.

+1 per meta magic feat, which i took two of

This is my shaman.
I had the profile finished, and when I hit preview, it @$%^ing disappeared.
I still have magic and possessions to do up, but there's not much of either, so it won't take too long.

FabesMinis wrote:

ooChai - you've got too many HP - If you're using Int at first level for bonus HP (thanks to MInd over Body), you should have a total of 8, not 10.

+1 per meta magic feat, which i took two of

Apologies. You're quite right. I forgot that part. Doh. That'll teach me to post when distracted.

OoChai was born as a minor cousin of the noble house. The only signifigance of his birth being that he was the seventh son of the seventh son of the old Daimyo.

When he was four, an unnatural plaque swept the land. Stones rose in the fields, water receeded, fires were fitful to start, but burned violently out of control once lit.

Shingo Yamamoto, a Wu Jen, and one of the spirit folk appeared one day, and offered to calm the angry spirits, in exchange for me.

At Shingo's insistence, I was branded and tattooed with the family crest, so that I would be known.

The next fifteen years were a whirlwind of abuse and training. My friends were the trees and the rocks, and the other elemental spirits. Shingo was harsh, never uttering my real name, nor any praise. Instead each and every movement, and sound were rigidly corrected until I had mastered all he desired to teach me.

Finally, in the darkness of a new moon, he simply left me on the gates of my families compound. A scroll bearing an odd wax seal, meant only for the master of the house was my only posession.

I was greeted with a cold familiarity, grateful that the lost son had returned, but fearful of the changes his ordeal had wrought. Though I walked the halls as a full member of the family, I did not fit in, nor did I attempt to. Instead I savored the difference, talking to the stones, and flames, and making them my friends, as I always had.

I was given a boon of gold from the house coffersm though I knew not what to spend it on. Instead, from the armory, I drew a single long spear to carry as my weapon.

I savored the opportunity to get away from the house, the lord had tasks to do, adventures were the whispers in the halls, and so I volunteered. Most were just as glad to be rid of me, though my companions may not savor the opportunity to place their lives in my hands.

---

My starting possessions are a set of clother, a spell component pouch, and a long spear, and the balance of my starting gold.

Hello,
Sorry I haven't posted, been a crazy weekend for being "off". Thppt!

OK, All of my Dragons are in storage. And I mean in the BOTTOM of storage, so I can't find what I was probably thinking of. (I remember some "Class Acts" with variant uses of the Ninja's KI power, stuff like that.)

OK, here is what I have so far. I want to play a caster, but don't want to duplicate our current roster. AND I usually play sorcerers, don't want to fall into my "usual" play style, want to take advantage of the setting.

SO,... I will probably play a Monk/Sor or Ninja/Sor. (If Monk/Sor, will probably take 'Aestetic Monk' as soon as I qualify.) But I can see both combos being very useful to each other.

THIS is where I let my new playmates know that I am about the farthest thing from a 'power gamer' that you have ever met. And in the interest of NOT slowing you all/US down any more, ask you for build advice.

I'm mainly looking for the following (and any related info you care to add)
1-Would it be better to start as Sor and add Ninja/Monk, or the other way around?
2-What spells (in the OA, let's keep it in theme here) would 'best' help the combo?
3-Ditto #2 for feats, etc.

I have a basic starting background. IF Monk, I was sent to the monastary to learn to 'control' my obviously spirit-granted 'gifts'. If Ninja, the family took advantage of above-mentioned gifts and trained me to solve problems 'honorably' for the family, without having those pesky bushido codes to worry about.

I'll work on this and get it posted & up to speed asap. Thanks (again) for letting me join, and your patience!

I'm finished.

From what literary references I've ever seen on monk/sorcerer, ninja/sorcerer, it's always looked to me like the martial artist came first and the magic came later, so from a flavor standpoint, I'd recommend that strat.
From a purely mechanical standpoint, it works as well. 1st level sorcerers run out of juice pretty quickly, but 1st level monks (or ninja, I guess) can usually hold their own in a fight for quite a while.
As far as the party's needs are concerned, I think either strat will work. We're strong in warriors, and we have magic covered pretty well. If you're going to multiclass anyway, you're going to end up backup for both of those groups.

Just my 2 yen.

By the way... the only thing I've found so far that allows any hot monk/sorcerer combo action is Ascetic Mage Feat from CAdv.

Not to shove, but if you are interested in a combat/caster type character you may want to look at the sohei.

Has some monk mixed with some barbarian for fighting style (ki frenzy is a lot like barbarian rage), and starting at 4th level they can start casting some divine spells.

Bonus, they can use magical items to heal starting off (scrolls and wands)

And if you want to make mondo bad arse squared, go for a Sohei/monk mix...

DM:

Suggested background/intros (to be fleshed out by me in the intros in the game thread):

For Jiro and Shinko:

For Ran-tan Kani:

For Daidoji Yorinaga:

For ooChai:

Ragadolf

Suggested background/intros (to be fleshed out by me in the intros in the game thread):

For The Celestial One!

Hey Rags, glad you like it! I understand about pressures - now worries. Due to your character's background he will most likely not have a family name, just a personal name.

@Yorinagi

Hey Rags, glad you like it! I understand about pressures - now worries. Due to your character's background he will most likely not have a family name, just a personal name.

@Yorinagi

** spoiler omitted **

Thanks for the background jump-start!

I can still use help with a name. (hint)
I am thinking that with Ninja needing high Wis (for KI power) My "spirit powers" class might be Favored Soul instead of Sorcerer. Just thinking.

Here are the BASICS of Mamoru, whose name means "Protector".

Have a lot of blanks to fill.
But I will get there.

For some reason my browser can't access the spoilers. I'll check them out later and post accordingly.

Thank you for the update. It seems that Yorinaga is off to the estate of Uncle Razan.

Hope my resources is sufficient to maintain my retainers.

@ The Celestial Dragon:

@ Jiro

Sounds good.

@The Celestial One-

Everyone's looking pretty sorted so far... are we nearly all done?