Of the things to be allergic to, cardamom isn't too bad! Easy to omit in the uncommon case you come across it.
That doesn't sound to the character you are proposing at all. I would say you are proposing a Cleric of Erastil.
At face value, I would agree with you. Let me make my case for the reverse though:
1. Erastil is sometimes at odds with Abadar, per the wiki, not due to being on opposite ends of the good vs. evil spectrum, but because Abadar is too "progressive". The character I have in mind will be a leader, but heroines across the environments in Avistan are progressives at least in a basic sense because of the XX chromosomes in an overwhelming patriarchy. In essence, she would step out of the norms of his clergy. His church seems conservative in regards to gender roles/family values.
2. On a similar note, her cohort, who will be a rather innovative inventor in regards to various beverages and appetite apparati, also sticks-out from what I interpret Erastil's limits to be. Were she an adherent of Erastil, she would be less inclined to take him on, let alone experiment and gain - the utilize - her fame in very civilized areas.
3. She wants people to respect the beauty in nature and grow their lives in tandem with it, not in limitation by it. She wouldn't hate, for example, the idea of a place like New Orleans as long as people recognized the power of the tides to be greater than their levees and didn't trash (not the same as alter) the balance in nature. If they did, such as pouring concrete in a wetland to build yet another mall, she would be angry but assurred in the confidence nature always wins; the people would merely struggle in futility to trump it. Erastil's clergy would take direct devout action against the construction. He keeps the status quo, but she is willing to evolve to a point.
4. I see the flavor description of the archetype as a common way to read into it. My character would not quite adhere to that, instead understanding those water and air systems were crucial to production of great vegetation and stable animal life, not feeling the storms were important in opposition to them.
To be fair, she would get along well with the clergy a good portion of the time, and these differences are small steps in my mind. If the idea bothers you much, I can make her into a priestess who pushes the envelope. It's not the end of the world, but I would worry about her breaking the bounds of the church.
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Druids: Within the purity of the elements and the order of the wilds lingers a power beyond the marvels of civilization.
Ummm... a Druid that wants to be civilized... I have to say I am not feeling it... Again, druids are not people that wants to live in towns, or that are eager to "civilize" the wilderness.
Ok, so I'll go with a royal bastard instead of distant relative... He's going to be less politically savvy and more unsavory. I'm going to build him as weapon master fighter who dual-wields daggers. Still working on what to do for his cohort.
No problem. A priestess pushing the envelope it is! Plant and animal domaims. I'll hammerout the story and mechanical details when I get home.
Okay, here is Phntm888's submission. Aramil Wellys, Elven Magus Swordlord.
Since the Player's Guide said Restov had the largest community of Elves in the area, I took that and the Sword Scion trait to get the base of the concept, and then from there I built the rest out.
His cohort is going to be Porablum, the Gnome Bard mentioned in his backstory, and for followers I'm thinking a scattering of armsmen. I still have to stat all of those out, but I figured I would get this posted to start.
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Aramil looks good. What about bringing his parents along for the ride?
Reading his backstory, I am noticing an "error" I made during the recruitment, about "his Majesty Rupert Surtova". Well, I will see how to fix it. You are not supposed to be so "eager" to help him, as he is a Surtova, and was "imposed" by Brevoy as king of the "recovered" Stolen Lands. But don't worry, we will work on it later.
Ah, so we are not enthused about Rupert. Well, I can tweak that bit of his backstory without issue.
As to bringing his parents along, I was thinking of having them join him later, after things are more established (read: 2nd/3rd level followers). To start, I was thinking 4 armsmen types and maybe a couple of experts of some variety, if that's cool. Maybe a priest of a deity, if I decide on one for him. I hadn't really settled on one, and followers can always be flexible.
Perun is done. His story feat is Nemesis, which is with the individual I mentioned to you in PM before.
...as is his faithful steed who will accompany him anywhere he is allowed/able (until Perun meets a triceratops around the level he takes Mammoth Rider and ditches this guy for a freaking dinosaur)
You know the idea of a storm druid who uses his powers of nature to tend to his fields of crops strangely appeals to me :)
I imagine that a farmer with ready access to Control Weather would be a very successful farmer indeed!
If you did build one, there is the ***Weathered*** feat for extra flavor, and the Hierophant has the Plant grower power which would be epically appropriate :D
As for the unusually of the druid, you can make an intelligent fighter, or even an ugly sorcerer. They say; Adventurers are by definition, an exception to the norm XD
It can also be answered by asking the question on what came first?
A farmer who seeks to grow better crops might decide to learn more of the "Old Ways" and become more in tune with the plants and wind.
A druid might also embark on this expedition to make sure that the others don't cause too much destruction, or "damage control." Or simply to guide the budding civ on how to grow with nature rather then in spite of it.
I dunno, I will have to keep this thought for another time, another recruitment :)
And I just noticed I forgot a Story feat. I will have to pick one. Thanks to Perun for posting about it.
Do cohorts also have traits and bonus story feats?
I have something stewing but keep getting stuck on the lackey (only one with his leadership score of 10).
Helmut is a second son of a middle tier noble family in Brevoy. The way the country works inheritance, he was slated to get close to nothing. However he was trained to be a competent fighter and horseman.
Deciding that adventuring was a good a route as any to make a living (and being a merc didn't appeal since he did have some morals), he went off as a sort of knight errant. He would ride the countryside doing good deeds, and if the evil doer he dispatched had some wealth, well good for his coffers.
After doing this for several years, he has amassed a certain amount of renown.
His lackey is going to be a fairly similar build as a squire, but I am stuck deciding between another fighter or paladin.
Helmut
Human fighter 7
NG Medium humanoid (human)
Init +2; Senses Perception +11
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Defense
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AC 28, touch 13, flat-footed 26 (+11 armor, +1 deflection, +2 Dex, +1 natural, +3 shield)
hp 60 (7d10+14)
Fort +9, Ref +6, Will +6 (+2 vs. fear); +1 bonus vs. and his minions.
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Offense
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Speed 30 ft.
Melee +1 adamantine longsword +15/+10 (1d8+8/19-20)
Ranged +1 adaptive composite longbow +10/+5 (1d8+5/×3)
Special Attacks weapon training (heavy blades +1)
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Statistics
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Str 19, Dex 14, Con 14, Int 10, Wis 10, Cha 10
Base Atk +7; CMB +11; CMD 24
Feats Advanced Armor Training, Advanced Weapon Training, Leadership, Mounted Combat, Power Attack, Ride-by Attack, Spirited Charge, Vengeance, Weapon Focus (longsword), Weapon Specialization (longsword)
Traits seeker, sword scion
Skills Climb +6, Handle Animal +5, Intimidate +4, Perception +11, Ride +8, Survival +10, Swim +4
Languages Common
SQ armor training 2
Other Gear +1 full plate, +1 heavy steel shield, +1 adamantine longsword, +1 adaptive composite longbow, amulet of natural armor +1, cloak of resistance +2, ring of protection +1, ring of sustenance, heavy horse (combat trained), lamellar (steel) barding, 965 gp
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Special Abilities
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Advanced Weapon Training You are specially trained to use your weapon skills in new ways.
Prerequisites: Fighter level 5th, weapon training class feature.
Benefit: Select one advanced weapon training option, applying it to one fighter weapon group you h
Armed Bravery (+2/+4) (Ex) Add bravery bonus to will save, Intim. DC to demoralize you increases by amount shown.
Armor Specialization +1 (Full plate) (Ex) Increase armor bonus of chosen armor.
Armor Training 2 (Ex) Worn armor -2 check penalty, +2 max DEX.
Leadership (score 7) You attract loyal companions and devoted followers.
Mounted Combat (1/round) Once per round you can attempt to negate a hit to your mount in combat.
Power Attack -2/+4 You can subtract from your attack roll to add to your damage.
Ride-By Attack You can move - attack - move when charging mounted.
Spirited Charge Double damage when making a mounted charge (triple with a lance).
Vengeance () +1 to att, dam, and saves vs. and his minions.
Weapon Training (Blades, Heavy) +1 (Ex) +1 Attack, Damage, CMB, CMD with Heavy Blades
Depending on whether or not you've already ruled it out, Cavalier might also be an option for your squire, drbuzzard.
Corsario, I sent you a PM regarding my Story Feat. I also might tweak my items a bit, since my math today is not equaling my math yesterday.
ok, so my bastard fighter's cohort is going to be a dwarven 'cavalier' (still working on the details, possibly a ranger with variant multiclassing for cavalier since he doesn't need leadership at 7th) who will ride a wolf at 7th. He recognizes my claim to noble blood and has sworn me his service.
I do have a question though about the original recruitment: you said each player would play 1-2 characters... did you mean the main character and his cohort, or did you mean that we can apply with 2 separate main characters and potentially get accepted with both? I ask because I still have some fluff ideas kicking around for an Abadarian signing on for the opportunity to bring law abiding society into the stolen lands (which is why I was asking about the bolt ace before) and if I can figure out how to work the crunch I might apply with him too...
Here we have Perun's cohort. I decided to go with his younger brother instead of the shaman of his tribe, since I didn't want to deal with a spellcaster when handling multiple characters. Karan is a scout in his brother's tribe, and intensely loyal to his older brother with no designs to take over the tribe of his own - he's happy to just lead the scouts.
I don't want to go through all the trouble fleshing out the followers, but I would say they'd be a bunch of tribal types, whether barbarians, scouts, or shamans of the tribe, whatever...just villagers who left with Perun and Karan during the schism.
Fra Ezekiel, cohort of Titan Stagson is ready for inspection.
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However I still have to decide on a few things, one of them being his story feat. I could go Dynasty Founder and play up his desire to grow his clan into a dominant force in the Stolen Lands. That and doubling my sweet sweet followers :D
Along the same lines is the Stronghold feat. While I would not get the leadership boost, I could give them "orders" of a sort.
otherwise I would go Champion for the slight boost in combat stats. That and challenging a foe to single combat is a very very martial artist thing to do :)
If you ask me, go for Dynasty Founder. But it's only an opinion. Your character, choose whatever you like the most.
Also his Style Strike. I am struggling a bit with this one and my idea of him being a fast striker who uses mainly his fists. Defensive spin will be the default, but Shattering Strike would be his iron hard fists. Maybe Flying Kick? It probably fits the best if I can reconcile him kicking someone all the time :P
Your thoughts?
I wouldn't know. But I can tell you something: If you character is very good kissing girls, my job as a DM is having a lot of kissable girls in the campaign.
Next up I am going to work a bit on his backstory, here is a very short outline.
It can work... Yes, I can think in a couple plot hooks there.
Really? Why? I haven't heard that one before.
A bonded object can be used once per day to cast any one spell that the wizard has in his spellbook and is capable of casting, even if the spell is not prepared. This spell is treated like any other spell cast by the wizard, including casting time, duration, and other effects dependent on the wizard's level. This spell cannot be modified by metamagic feats or other abilities. The bonded object cannot be used to cast spells from the wizard's opposition schools (see arcane school below).
A wizard can add additional magic abilities to his bonded object as if he has the required Item Creation Feats and if he meets the level prerequisites of the feat. For example, a wizard with a bonded dagger must be at least 5th level to add magic abilities to the dagger (see Craft Magic Arms and Armor feat). If the bonded object is a wand, it loses its wand abilities when its last charge is consumed, but it is not destroyed and it retains all of its bonded object properties and can be used to craft a new wand. The magic properties of a bonded object, including any magic abilities added to the object, only function for the wizard who owns it. If a bonded object's owner dies, or the item is replaced, the object reverts to being an ordinary masterwork item of the appropriate type.
@Corsario: I've noticed that some of the planned characters will be quite similar to each other crunch wise. Will that be an issue at all?
I believe the "cost break" that is being referred to is the fact that enchanting magic items normally costs half as much as the full enchantment price. Since a Wizard can add abilities to his bonded item without the required Item Creation feats (as long as he is the same level as the feat), the question was if the Wizard could pay half-price to put the enchantments on his bonded item.
For this game, since we aren't doing any crafting, paying the normal enchanting cost makes sense.
My interpretation of what the "cost break" is. Not a situation that usually comes up.
Despite spending a ridonkulous amount of time making my characters, I'm going to back out of this one. I just don't want to run multiple characters. If I wanted to do that, I'd just GM another game. Thanks for the opportunity, it seems like it'll be a great game, but I just can't see myself being happy long-term running a whole team. I just wanted one single character in a game where I'm not the GM.
Okay, count me back in, given the message you sent me earlier and the more thorough explanation of how things will be. I'm honestly intrigued to see if the plans can come to a fruition as grandiose as you had in mind. If so, it would be awesome to be a part of that.
I mean, I did spend a ridonkulous amount of time on my characters. Those pretty character sheets don't format themselves. Even with a template it takes forever.
No, but seriously...your messages made a lot of sense.
So, I've been working on the pretty character sheet for my knife fighter but it occurs to me that we seem to have a lot of melee and very little arcane... Am I mistaken? Is anyone keeping a list of what's been submitted/proposed? If I'm wrong about being really melee heavy I'll finish the bastard but if we are I could put together an arcane caster, or do something with my idea for an Abadarian (like either a cleric or inquisitor maybe, with a bolt ace cohort).
My wizard/cleric player likes low magic parties?
That's fine then, I'll get back to work on Stabby McGee
I'm building an Unchained Summoner as my main, so we will have some Arcane support for the main group. Admittedly somewhat less than if the Chained Summoner was permitted.
As for my cohort, I'm building a Cleric of Erastil. Melee focused admittedly, but buffs don't depend on DC rolls.
I imagine by the end of the month, we'll have a good balance. If we're a little light on arcane, we'll manage. I saw someone ask a question about the wizard's bonded item, we have my magus swordlord, and Cosmic Dream Lord's Unchained Summoner. 3 arcane mains out of 8-16 players is a good ratio, with room for one or two more.
Yeah, we might have to actually travel overland instead of teleporting, but that's more an inconvenience factor than anything else.
I wouldn't worry about arcane as I'm still working on a stormborn sorcerer over the past week with a magus cohort. IMO just play whatever character you want to play first, and worry about party balance second.
I wouldn't worry about arcane as I'm still working on a stormborn sorcerer over the past week with a magus cohort. IMO just play whatever character you want to play first, and worry about party balance second.
The only problem with that is that I have at least 3-4 characters in mind that I'd really like to play... Which one I want to play most varies from day to day so things like party balance help me to settle on a concept.