For the last four millenia The Isle of Jalmeray, a former outpost of the faraway kingdoms of Vudra, has long been an isolated pocket of Vudrani culture in the Inner Sea. Its location in the Obari Ocean between Nex and Qadira makes the "impossible kingdom" more accessible than the far flung eastern reaches of Casmaron. The inhabitants of Jalmeray include an unusually high number of monks, and other mystics. The island is home to dozens of monastic orders. The prowess of their martial artists is renowned across continents, and the three Houses of Perfection (the Monastery of Untwisting Iron, the Monastery of Unfolding Wind and the Monastery of Unblinking Flame) are the most sought-after monasteries of the Inner Sea region. To qualify for training at one of the Houses of Perfection, the potential applicant must complete daunting entrance trials, such as racing a djinni that is as swift as the wind, wrestling a stony shaitan, and outwitting a cunning efreeti. The many who fail to pass these rigorous tests but still show potential can find training at one of the "lesser" centers of martial learning on the island. One such place is the secretive House of Five Elements. Few have heard of the monastery, and even fewer are allowed to study there. The House of Five Elements is the foremost place in the Western hemisphere to train students in the art of elemental magic called kinesis. Master kineticists of all elements reside there, where they strenuously test potential students for the most capable of elemental channelers. Rather than learning to use their bodies as weapons, the monks in the House of Five Elements channel raw elemental power in combat. You are one such monk. You have spent decades in training, learning to channel and control your chosen element. In the long tradition of the East, mastery was passed down to you through strict monastic discipline and rigorous training. For most of you, the monastery dominates your memories of the past, having spent most of your lives there. But even the strictest of masters must eventually allow their students out into the world.
All five of you have been called together by Master Roshi, the aged Minkaian abbot of the House of Five Elements. It is whispered among the students that Master Roshi has mastered all five elements. He is rarely seen, and even more rarely heard. A summons to his chambers was enough to set your stomach churning, and your heart fluttering. Had you done something deserving of punishment? The master sits cross-legged on a simple woven bamboo mat in his plain chamber, a small brass bowl of burning incense on the floor before him. His skin is withered with age, his body thin and wiry. Despite this he sits as straight as if his back were made of iron, eyes closed. He is bald, and has a magnificent, long white beard. He does not move until all five of you are in the chamber, then his eyes snap open. "Sit!" he commands. Once all five of you are seated cross-legged in front of him, he continues. "As you all know, we dwellers in the house hold ourselves apart from the outside world. It is not the way of the elements to interfere in the balance of things. However, sometimes imbalance must be corrected. As you may have heard, a cult of Dhalavei is active in Jalmeray."
'I have been approached by a member of the Maurya-Rahm. He is convinced that the House of Five Elements can be trusted because we separate ourselves from the outside world as much as possible, and seek to play no role in politics. Lord Raheem Pandisar has requested that I send a team of my best acolytes to aid him in rooting out and destroying the cult, before their corruption ruins the balance on Jalmeray forever. He feels no one else can be trusted, for the rot might be anywhere." Master Roshi looks at each of you in turn. "You are the five I have chosen for this task. You have been with us for many years, and each of you has learned to master your own element. Will you agree to go forth and represent our monastery in the outer world, to redress the imbalance which is rotting Jalmeray from the inside?"
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The Game
I am going to run Cult of the Ebon Destroyers, a 32 page Pathfinder Module for 8th level characters set on the island of Jalmeray. The twist is that the party will be all kineticists, one of each element. I am looking to recruit five characters for this game. I am an experienced PBP GM and will be using Roll20 for maps. Check my profile for examples of my games.
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You
You are an experienced PBPer, who can commit to posting at least once a day every weekday until this module is completed. People who cannot post at least once each weekday need not apply. I will be enforcing posting frequency. If the game drops more than one player, I will end it.
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Character Creation
Races - core (except gnomes and half-elves), geniekin (sylph, oread, ifrit, undine, suli), vanara, samsaran, ratfolk, kitsune, nagaji, hobgoblin. Why this random spattering you ask? Because I'm a PFRPG racist. These are just the races I like and think are thematically appropriate for this module. Nothing else will be allowed, don't ask.
Class - Kineticist only!!!!! Archetypes need approval by me, ask first.
Level - 8
Ability Scores - 17 point buy. Nothing lower than 8 or higher than 18 after racials (ABP and level advancement bonuses can raise stats above 18 after level 1)
Wealth - 16,500 GP (Keep in mind item restrictions from ABP)
Traits - None, unless you take a drawback, then one trait.
HP - Max at first, half hit dice+1+con modifier at every level afterwards (like PFS)
Note: The defualt language on Jalmeray is Vudrani, not Common. Many NPCs in this module will only speak Vudrani.
House Rules
Automatic Bonus Progression - Yes, kinetic blast can be your attuned weapon.
To submit a character please create an alias for them with a completed stack block in Paizo (or HeroLab) format. I also want a description of their appearance, and a brief backstory. Your backstory should tell me several things:
-Who is your characters family? Where are they now?
-Where are you from?
-When/why/how you got to Jalmeray
-How you found out about and entered the House of Five Elements
-Who your master in the House is/was
The backstory is how I will judge your writing ability, please do your best. I will be looking for strong writers, your stats will have little influence on getting picked (as long as you follow the rules, and make sure there aren't a bunch of mistakes).
Recruitment will stay open for two weeks from today. I reserve the right to close recruitment early if I see five characters that I really like. If I don't like a proposed character concept, I will tell you via PM to avoid you wasting time on completing a submission. Thanks for looking, and please let me know if you have any questions!
PS:Please do not post any RP in this thread. If you want to provide an RP sample for your character, write it and post it in a spoiler, but DO NOT RP WITH OTHER APPLICANTS. Thanks :)
This looks interesting.
Can we multiclass or are we only relying on kineticist?
This sounds rather good. I'll put something together in the next couple o' days. I've never played ABP before but it looks nice.
I assume not, but do we need to stay purely to our element when it comes to 'expanded element'?
L
I'm going to dot in fairly tentatively - I'm definitely interested, but time and energy are somewhat lacking for me right now. If I'm able to get an applicant together, she'll most likely be a dwarf geokineticist. (Mostly because I have some character art I've been dying to use, and this seems like the perfect chance. Plus I <3 dwarves, but it's hard to find characters that benefit from their bonuses. Kineticists, however, find them fabulous.)
Dot. I need to learn more about Occult!
This looks interesting.
Can we multiclass or are we only relying on kineticist?
I was considering allowing a couple of levels to be in other classes, but I want the majority (6/8? 5/8?) to be kineticist. What do you have in mind?
This sounds rather good. I'll put something together in the next couple o' days. I've never played ABP before but it looks nice.
I assume not, but do we need to stay purely to our element when it comes to 'expanded element'?
L
You do not have to stick entirely to one element, no.
Theres a 6th element you know: Void. You should allow 6 players including that one :D
Theres a 6th element you know: Void. You should allow 6 players including that one :D
Void and wood do not count. We are looking at the five Vudran elements.
Oh I forgot about Wood entirely.. I wonder why.. maybe because it suuuuucks.
Carry on.
dotting.
I was considering allowing a couple of levels to be in other classes, but I want the majority (6/8? 5/8?) to be kineticist. What do you have in mind?This looks interesting.
Can we multiclass or are we only relying on kineticist?
I was thinking about healing and trapfinding in particular. Kinetic healer is not the best, even with Kinetic Chirurgeon. we're going to need to invest heavily in condition removal and get lots of wands for healing.
There's also the idea that having a little other stuff lets you personalize your character more, since many aspects will play the same.
If I were doing this, I'd do it as gestalt with full kineticist on one side and something else on the other.
...
Personally, I'm thinking of an aetherkineticist/rogue
This is VERY interesting. I will work on a concept in the next few days.
EDIT: Would you allow the Kinetic Chirurgeon archetype for a water kineticist who will focus on healing?
Definitely, go for it.
I was considering allowing a couple of levels to be in other classes, but I want the majority (6/8? 5/8?) to be kineticist. What do you have in mind?This looks interesting.
Can we multiclass or are we only relying on kineticist?
I was thinking about healing and trapfinding in particular. Kinetic healer is not the best, even with Kinetic Chirurgeon. we're going to need to invest heavily in condition removal and get lots of wands for healing.
There's also the idea that having a little other stuff lets you personalize your character more, since many aspects will play the same.
If I were doing this, I'd do it as gestalt with full kineticist on one side and something else on the other.
...
Personally, I'm thinking of an aetherkineticist/rogue
Well, ABP should free up quite a bit of wealth for consumables. As you say, kinetic healing is not the best, so I would certainly reccomend healing items. I'd be open to an aetherkinetcist/rogue submission, as long as 5/8 levels are kineticist.
Well, ABP should free up quite a bit of wealth for consumables. As you say, kinetic healing is not the best, so I would certainly reccomend healing items. I'd be open to an aetherkinetcist/rogue submission, as long as 5/8 levels are kineticist.I was considering allowing a couple of levels to be in other classes, but I want the majority (6/8? 5/8?) to be kineticist. What do you have in mind?This looks interesting.
Can we multiclass or are we only relying on kineticist?
I was thinking about healing and trapfinding in particular. Kinetic healer is not the best, even with Kinetic Chirurgeon. we're going to need to invest heavily in condition removal and get lots of wands for healing.
There's also the idea that having a little other stuff lets you personalize your character more, since many aspects will play the same.
If I were doing this, I'd do it as gestalt with full kineticist on one side and something else on the other.
...
Personally, I'm thinking of an aetherkineticist/rogue
I believe he was asking about gestalt, where he would essentially level up in both aerokineticist and rogue. Are you ok with that?
I want to combine kin with bloodrager or barb. Some cool ideas in mind :)
RPG Superstar 2014 Top 16
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Definitely, go for it.This is VERY interesting. I will work on a concept in the next few days.
EDIT: Would you allow the Kinetic Chirurgeon archetype for a water kineticist who will focus on healing?
How about alternate racial traits? Any restrictions there? I'm planning to go VERY water themed with this one, and Undines have some really fun alternate ratial abilities.
are we allowed to take void or wood with our expanded element?
Will adapt this Pyrokineticist for your campaign.
Sounds like fun!
I believe he was asking about gestalt, where he would essentially level up in both aerokineticist and rogue. Are you ok with that?Well, ABP should free up quite a bit of wealth for consumables. As you say, kinetic healing is not the best, so I would certainly reccomend healing items. I'd be open to an aetherkinetcist/rogue submission, as long as 5/8 levels are kineticist.I was considering allowing a couple of levels to be in other classes, but I want the majority (6/8? 5/8?) to be kineticist. What do you have in mind?This looks interesting.
Can we multiclass or are we only relying on kineticist?
I was thinking about healing and trapfinding in particular. Kinetic healer is not the best, even with Kinetic Chirurgeon. we're going to need to invest heavily in condition removal and get lots of wands for healing.
There's also the idea that having a little other stuff lets you personalize your character more, since many aspects will play the same.
If I were doing this, I'd do it as gestalt with full kineticist on one side and something else on the other.
...
Personally, I'm thinking of an aetherkineticist/rogue
No, abolutely not. No gestalt. I am just offering to allow a little bit of multiclassing.
How about alternate racial traits? Any restrictions there? I'm planning to go VERY water themed with this one, and Undines have some really fun alternate ratial abilities.Definitely, go for it.This is VERY interesting. I will work on a concept in the next few days.
EDIT: Would you allow the Kinetic Chirurgeon archetype for a water kineticist who will focus on healing?
Should be fine...if something appears too over powered I may ask you to pick something else.
are we allowed to take void or wood with our expanded element?
No, I want to stick to the five Vudran elements for this (fire, earth, air, water, spirit aka aether).
Oh, are you interested in using background skills?
Very interested in this. Would it be safe to assume the Elemental Ascetic Archetype (essentially a monk kineticist) would be allowed?
I need to read it, I'm not at my computer now, but it should probably be fine. I will check it out and let you know later.
Edit:Yeah, had a look. That archetype is fine.
Oh, are you interested in using background skills?
Yeah, sure. Let's go ahead and use background skills from Unchained everyone. You can find the rules for them here:Background Skills
I've found that background skills only enhance a campaign.
Somonti will be an Air specialist Samsaran Kineticist, crunch to follow...
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I started with Nalina's crunch and will be working on her backstory now, but I thought I'd post her profile.
General backstory is she's been a nurse/midwife in a small Vudrani town for most of her life, but recently there was some cataclysmic attack that killed off most of the town, and she witnessed several children that she had helped birth die, so she wants to punish those responsible, and even though she's not terribly good at combat, she's learned ways to heal her allies and keep them out of harm's way.
She'll be using kinetic healer of course, and she's also taken a few useful utility wild talents like kinetic cover and watersense. She'll also be using the Treat deadly wounds action most nights after adventuring is done to heal up her allies.
Okay, here's Drake. Aetherkineticist 6/Rogue 2
Dra'Kuran's earliest memories are visions of fire. No specifics, just pain and heat and noise. After that, it was the sisters at the orphanage enforcing their rules. They kept him and the others alive, but worked them hard, reading from various scriptures abut duty and service while the children toiled. Even before his powers showed up, it was clear that he couldn't stay here. It wasn't as much the work as the moralizing. It seems the sisters all followed the boring and strict gods and kept trying to one up each other on the virtues of their gods and the failings of the others.
Living on the street took wits, daring, speed, stealth and occasionally a strong stomach. He had enough of those to get by and as he started to grow he found another. Spirit. These powers just came to him and he used them well. With them, stealing became easy - he'd hide in an alleyway and bring the goods to him. If they were seen, nobody could tie the theft to him. With practice his mind's hand grew in strength and finesse. Almost as quickly as his ego.
This ego became his undoing and his salvation. For he chose to pocket the purse of the wrong person. The lift was perhaps not his best, but few would have noticed. Fewer still would have tied it to him. But Master Taran was a rarity. Dra'Kuran found himself being lifted into the air, wrapped in bondas of invisible Aether. "Ah a child. Talented, but not skilled enough. I don't know if I should be impressed that you've learned this much untrained or angered that you've stolen from me." He struggled, but couldn't escape. He found his own pockets emptying, his stolen possessions floating around him.
The crowd had stopped and was watching with laughter. Soon the guard came up to see what was the matter. They recognized Master Taran and asked him what the situation was. "Ah, I must say that I am as yet unclear on this. One one hand, this may be the case of a thief who must be punished. Though he is a child, he has skill in manipulating Aether and should be kept in an iron mask to keep him from seeing anything. On the other hand, it may be the unruly apprentice whose punishment is the responsibility of the master to whom he swears."
Drake was no fool. He swore and became an apprentice in the House of Five Elements. Master Taran was eccentric, but skilled. Drake was trained in the classic methods of the art, but the skills he had picked up on the street became ways to test his control. Picking pockets, opening locks, and manipulating devices were all tests of the art.
As he grew to be a journeyman, Mastar Taran accepted that his student may not always follow the straight and narrow. He chose not to emphasize moral philosophy in exchange for more practical rules. "Respect the other students of the house. The arts of the elements are rare. We will generally stand with one another, so long as you stand with them. Don't piss them off and don't take from them. If you get caught, the house won't save you. Don't prey on people just getting along. There's enough greedy bastard that deserve it to fill dozens of vaults." These weren't rules from the high heavens, nor graven words of old. It came as advice from somebody who may have walked the line in his youth, and that made sense to young Drake. He found ways to express himself profitably without drawing attention to the house.
Dra'Kuran "Drake the Streetrat"
Male hobgoblin telekineticist 6/rogue (unchained) 2
Note: abilities include Elemental Overflow
N Medium humanoid (goblinoid)
Hero Points 3
Init +6; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +17
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Defense
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AC 25, touch 17, flat-footed 19 (+5 armor, +1 deflection, +6 Dex, +1 natural, +2 shield)
hp 104 (8d8+46), 18 NL damage, 15 temp HP
Fort +12, Ref +14, Will +5
Defensive Abilities evasion, fortification 15%
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Offense
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Speed 40 ft.
Melee dagger +12/+7 (1d4-1/19-20)
Ranged telekinetic blast +14 (3d6+13)
Special Attacks kinetic blast, metakinesis (empower), sneak attack +2d6
Kineticist Wild Talents Known
. . Defense: force ward
. . Infusions: extended range, kinetic blade, snake
. . Blasts: telekinetic blast (3d6+13)
. . Utility: basic telekinesis, telekinetic finesse, telekinetic haul, telekinetic invisibility
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Statistics
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Str 8, Dex 22, Con 20, Int 14, Wis 12, Cha 10
Base Atk +6; CMB +5; CMD 22
Feats Accomplished Sneak Attacker, Deadly Aim, Divine Deception, Expert Sniper, Weapon Finesse
Skills Acrobatics +10 (+14 to jump), Appraise +10, Bluff +4, Climb +3, Diplomacy +4, Disable Device +20, Escape Artist +11, Intimidate +4, Knowledge (dungeoneering) +6, Knowledge (engineering) +7, Knowledge (religion) +7, Linguistics +6, Perception +17, Sense Motive +6, Sleight of Hand +17, Stealth +26, Swim +3, Use Magic Device +11 (+16 with Divine items); Racial Modifiers +4 Stealth
Languages Common, Draconic, Goblin, Vudrani
SQ burn (2 points/round, max 8), elemental overflow +2, gather power, hero points, infusion specialization 1, internal buffer 1, rogue talent (trap spotter), trapfinding +1
Combat Gear potion of remove blindness/deafness, scroll of lesser restoration, lesser restoration, lesser restoration, lesser restoration, wand of cure light wounds, wand of infernal healing (50 charges); Other Gear +1 mithral shirt, darkwood buckler, dagger, dagger, boots of striding and springing, cloak of elvenkind, eyes of the eagle, handy haversack, blanket[APG], canteen[UE], chalk, flint and steel, marbles[APG], masterwork thieves' tools, mess kit[UE], silk rope (50 ft.), 229 gp, 2 sp
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Special Abilities
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Burn 2/round (8 nonlethal/burn, 8/day) Burn HP to gain greater effects on your wild talents.
Darkvision (60 feet) You can see in the dark (black and white only).
Deadly Aim -2/+4 Trade a penalty to ranged attacks for a bonus to ranged damage.
Divine Deception You gain a +5 bonus on Use Magic Device checksn to use divine spell-trigger or spell completion items or to emulate a divine class feature.
Elemental Overflow +2/+4 (Max +2, +2 CON, +2 DEX, 15% fortification) (Ex) Gain a bonus to hit and damage with your blast when you use burn.
Evasion (Ex) If you succeed at a Reflex save for half damage, you take none instead.
Expert Sniper Reduce sniping penalty for staying hidden to -10.
Extended Range Kinetic blast has range of 120ft.
Fortification 15% You have a chance to negate critical hits on attacks.
Gather Power (Su) Move: reduce the burn cost of a blast by 1 or Full-round: reduce the burn cost of a blast by 2
Hero Points Hero Points can be spent at any time to grant a variety of bonuses.
Infusion Specialization 1 (Ex) Reduce burn cost of blasts with infusions by 1
Internal Buffer 1 (Su) Store burn for use later
Kinetic Blade Create a blade of pure energy.
Kinetic Blast (Sp) The kineticist can unleash her kinetic blast at a range of 30 feet at will.
Metakinesis (1 burn: Empower) (Su) By accepting burn you affect your kinetic blast as if using a metamagic ability.
Snake Blast can bend around corners.
Sneak Attack (Unchained) +2d6 Attacks deal extra dam if flank foe or if foe is flat-footed.
Telekinetic Blast (Sp) Level 3; Burn 0
Telekinetic Finesse (Sp) Use telekinesis to perform Sleight of Hand and Disable Device checks.
Telekinetic Haul (Sp) Move an object that weighs up to 100 lbs. per kineticist level.
Telekinetic Invisibility (Sp) Grants invisibility
Trap Spotter (Ex) Whenever you come within 10' of a trap, the GM secretly rolls for you to find it.
Trapfinding +1 Gain a bonus to find or disable traps, including magical ones.
I'm starting to mull over my dwarf geokineticist more closely - a woman from Five Kings Mountains who made the journey to Jalmeray after discovering that rigid dwarven tradition couldn't quite explain the strange power she wields over stone nor help her in learning to control it. With Jalmeray's residents being so well-known for their communion with elemental forces, it seemed the best place to come for answers, and indeed her time in the House of Five Elements has honed her skill immensely. Mechanically, she'll be a relatively tanky switch-hitter, able to mix it up both far away and up close.
I had a question, though - would the Stonesinger alternate racial trait be allowed to apply to a geokineticist's powers? Part of me wonders if it would have included a relation to geokineticists, if kineticists had existed at the time the racial trait was written.
Some dwarves’ affinity for the earth grants them greater powers. Dwarves with this racial trait are treated as one level higher when casting spells with the earth descriptor or using granted powers of the Earth domain, the bloodline powers of the earth elemental bloodline, and revelations of the oracle’s stone mystery. This ability does not give them early access to level-based powers; it only affects the powers they could use without this ability. This racial trait replaces stonecunning.
The difference I noted first off is that it would increase the power of my kinetic blast at level 8, since the blast's damage increases by 1d6+1 for every two levels beyond first and the racial trait would give it an effective level of nine, which is one of the breakpoints. (I'm sure there's other changes that could emerge, but I'm still very much learning the kineticist, and I don't know what they are yet.) If you don't think the alternate racial trait would be fair, I'm perfectly fine with skipping it, but if you see fit to allow it, I think it'd be highly thematic. I could also see limiting it to particular abilities, such as only increasing effective level for kinetic blast and not for wild talents and such.
Yeah, it's thematic, and not a huge deal. Go for it.
Well, it looks like we have a good concept for four of the five elements. If we get fire, then we've got the whole set. I've always thought that elemental annihilator would go well with pyrokinesis. I could also see an overwhelming soul kitsune fire fox.
Cool! I'll build her with that in mind, then.
Side note: Wow. Kineticists are elaborate, especially when you're going straight for higher levels. Maybe it's just that I'm used to playing lower levels, but it seems like a ton of moving parts. Very neat, but a lot to take in.
I'm still working on the air bend... sorry kineticist. Air really is a tough one though, I'm set on the background etc, just the crunch proving tricky. I hear what your saying Rennaivx!
Once you get a handle on them they aren’t too bad. They are less complex than an eigth level caster anyway. That’s why I made the recruitment period so long, to give people plenty of time to build these beasties.
I have interest although not familiar with pccult stuff. I am running this mod in july at a con so would like to play it. I will look at this more after work.
Which element are you missing? Since i am unfamiliar with the class i could just fill the void...sort of speak.
Which element are you missing? Since i am unfamiliar with the class i could just fill the void...sort of speak.
So far there have been no fire applications.
I am about to finish the first one.
Can I make Sokka?
In seriousness though, would you allow the use of variant multiclassing? It could be a good way to add some diversity without losing the focus on kineticists...
Well...the whole point is to not allow diversity. I wanted a short, bounded campaign which will show whether a group of Ks is viable. I already approved 3 levels of multiclassing per PC up above. So, no to variant multiclassing.
I also don't like variant multiclassing because one look at it and 15 overpowered character ideas pop into my head. Kineticists are already high on the power level scale, don't want this to be a cake walk.
Apologies but life happened last night so i wont be able to study the class until after work today. I am definitely interested.
That's fine, recruitment is open until March 24.
I am trying to study it at work but it is extremely chewie...i like it. I have a pyro-melee concept in mind but not sure how feasible it is yet.
Kinetic blade...HP, damage etc. all off Con. What's not to like? Make secondary stat Dex...oh wow, your blast hits well and your AC goes up. Only remaining weakness....will save. Tertiary stat, wisdom.
Lol. I just found kinetic vlade. Looks like 4d6+4 plus Con mod. With infusion special 2 that eliminates the burn? Both empoer and blade?
My to hit is based off Dex? Its like getting weapon finese free?
And apparrently he eill be from Ustalav since my b's look like v's...lol.