I got it :) (well, the shipment is made, so I got the PDF access, along with the awesome new campaign setting!)
Oh man. Barcas where's your copy? I'm pumped to get this game rolling :D
Still waitin'. Tell them to hurry up.
Oh, it's in my box now! Gotta download it when I get home in 2.5 hours!
Yep. Got mine as well.
I also got the pdf. Will get the hardcover too. I'm going to put the entire campaign aside until we've played through though.
No need for changes to be made. I'm sure the otheres are the same.
I've already brainstormed a few interesting changes.
You guys are gonna have a lot of fun.
I've already brainstormed a few interesting changes.
You guys are gonna have a lot of fun.
Sweeet! So you know you don't really need to sleep tonight. Just stay up and read enough that we can start tomorrow :P
Probably tomorrow night. Sometime suitably late. Hopefully it will storm.
Also, I think (after seeing some of the awesome art in the PDF) the game style/theme should closely model the harrowing, haunting and horrifying aspects. Scare the sh!t out of us and make us live on the precipice of eternal damnation! What do the others think?
Sounds cool.
A big part of that is on us actually.
We should be afraid of things. Disgusted by the undead, horrified by wierd monsters. Occasionally outclasses in combat for possible deadly results.
Maybe everyone should give a specific fear their character has?
Aydan will have a deathly case of Ophidiaphobia, the fear of snakes. In keeping with Indiana Jones inspiration for a Pathfinder and my own personal phobia!
As the party's fussy and slightly OCD scientist, being disgusted by things will come pretty naturally to Run. :-D
Since she basically wants to be a ghostbuster, though, I'm still working on her angle for that in terms of whether she has an academic interest in the undead/incorporeal, or a hatred for them, or is terrified and lets that motivate her to want to destroy them, or what. Hmmmm...
You guys are gonna have a lot of fun.
Well hopefully you will, too. ^_^
Oh, didn't see the question - of course I won't read it (til we done). But I did look at the pictures (in a quick browse through).
Duron is claustrophobic. I think I mentioned that already, but maybe I didn't. Either way, waking up buried alive will do that to you I suppose.
Melk's story is definitely going to have to be modified a bit. Harrowstone definitely burned down 50 years ago (which is fairly non-negotiable, unfortunately, as it is a plot point). It's also pretty much a supermax prison for insane serial killers, so it's doubtful that he would have been able to grow up normal there.
When it was destroyed, there were likely others that picked up some of the prison slack. He could easily have grown up in one of those, in the care of the county until he turned a certain age.
Azuk'ai may have to change slightly as well. Ravengro is a very small town. There's no way his parentage would remain a secret. A big part of the first book is trying to gain the trust of the town, so a local in the party would not be remarkably conducive to that.
How about Caliphas? It's the largest town in Ustalav. Perhaps his mother passed through Ravengro, as it is in fact the closest town to the Hold of Belkzen, and moved on later? The citizens can try to put two and two together. Alternately, the other border villages are Tamrivena, Renchurch, and Courtaud. Lepidstadt would also be a good choice. It's also the location of the second book in the AP.
When everyone is crafting their intro post, keep in mind that this is supposed to be your first time in Ravengro (population 311).
I'll wiggle Melk's story to have it centered at a prison in Lepidstadt later. Work is being very demanding today. Workticket week is never fun...
"It is a dark and stormy night."
Hahahaa, awesome.
Lepistadt it is.
Passing through Ravengro on her run from the orc's his mother was refused aid by the citizens was and forced to move along but after Azuk'ai's run in with the ghoul and geting to know the professor he frequented the town to visit professor Lorrimor making his face recognized by some. Sound ok?
Note I changed the orc tribes location from Belkzen to the Skull Eater Clan who lurk in and around Whisperfell Pass in the final draft of Azuk'ai's background.
umm.. If Azuk'ai spent time in Ravengro visiting the professor wouldn't he know his daughter? Is it ok if I write her up in his background as well?
Sure, though it shouldn't be more than acquaintances. Being a (relative) stranger in town is a big part of this chapter of the AP.
Azuk'ai is the only child of the half-elf Aliene born in bondage to the orc warrior Toruk of the Skull Eater Clan who lurk in and around Whisperfell Pass, preying on Ustalav. Beeing the sole child born to that inception Azuk'ai was ritualisticly scarred only a few months old. His mother escaped with him during the morning after the ritual and fled into Ustalav. Her first stop was the town of Ravengro where she arived in the dead of night to the deaf ears of it's inhabitants. Forced to spent the night huddled outside she was discovered by the towns inhabitants and brought before the clerics residing in the local church. Uncomfortable that her lies regarding her own and Azuk'ai's background were not bought by the clergy she moved on to the next town to finally arrive in Lepidstadt where she made her home and raised Azuk'ai.
His mother tried to raise him with elven principals but his blood would out. Growing up incredibly fast, reachin full maturity at the age of 15, coupled with his hot orc blood caused many a clash with both his peers and his mother who tried to home-school him in the hopes of raising out his vile blood. In that regard she was only moderately successfull, always troublesome as a child she revealed his heritage to him in an heated argument when he was 10.
Devastated at the revelation Azuk'ai became more recluse and took to the streets more often, staying out late and avoiding contact with most people. Coming to terms with the information in a few days of sulking he returned home to his mother and vowed he would try to restrain himself for her, locking up his impulsive nature he struggles with it to this day.
Outwardly calming down after that he actually grew wiser and paid better attention to the lessons presented by his mother, though he had little interest in most of them. Having found solace in the streets he braved them more often than he had, getting to know the locals by reputation and sight.
Growing up quickly in the next two years he grew big enough to train with the militia, partaking in sparring and archery were much better suited to Azuk'ai's tastes. But an event, and a man, that would shape his life were soon to arrive in his life.
Skulking the streets one night Azuk'ai ran upon a creature rumaging through what apeared to be some trash in an alley. Observing it for some time the creature came to notice him and Azuk'ai saw a ghoul chewing on the corpse of a bum. Furious at beeing interupted the ghoul whent after Azuk'ai who by some miraculous maner escaped it, running blindly through the night untill he made it to concecrated grounds, but not with out the ghoul clawing him once.
It was accociated to his elven heritage that Azuk'ai had resisted the paralizes but he knew better, he had survived through sheer luck.
The event drew the attention of Professor Lorrimor, a prominent citizen of Ravengro, and his warm fatherly manner warmed Azuk'ai to him and he actually ended up confiding his true heritage to him wich led to them keeping in touch and the professor helping him out several times, including aiding him with practical information regarding the killing of undead. Azuk'ai visited him often in his home in Ravengro and spent days pouring over manuscripts and passeges in obscure tomes the professor thought interresting to an aspireing undead hunter, his visiting caused much whispering of the locals who held long memories of strange tidings in their town as the one of the scarred babe.
The event led to Azuk'ai developing a deep hatred toward things undead and also a deeper understanding of the dangers presented on the streets of Ustavalite cities during the night. After theese events Azuk'ai spent many nights hunting the things that go bump in the night.
I decided to leave her out directly, I think it's safe to assume their aquantance is casual at best as he'd have more of a sibling feeling for the daughter of the man who was his father image.
Have the questions in this thread ever been answered? I have a shaman in a home game, and we have one here.
Have the questions in this thread ever been answered? I have a shaman in a home game, and we have one here.
Actually I just found yesterday that it has been resolved. Shamans Wild Shape just like the Terrain Druids, not getting the ability until 6th level.
Have the questions in this thread ever been answered? I have a shaman in a home game, and we have one here.Actually I just found yesterday that it has been resolved. Shamans Wild Shape just like the Terrain Druids, not getting the ability until 6th level.
Awesome! Thanks!
I'll probably simplify how it works, as one of my players convinced the new player to be a wolf shaman. I don't want to overload him too much, its his first RPG and he's just getting spells, fights and companion down!
Ah failed my will save versus wall of text! Downrightamazed can you please insert some paragraph breaks in that text? I am afraid I cannot read that in its current form.
Ach, sorry mate. Just saw this now, well past my edit window. :-(
Melk's background is a bit modified - including a bit of a change to how Melk and Lorrimor relate to each other.
So tell me more about Melk speaking random bits of German here and there in his speech.
I kind of think of Ustalav as Germans-speaking territory. Take Melk's hometown: Lepidstadt sounds pretty German. I know that a knee-jerk reaction is to think Transylvania, but that itself formed part of the Austria-Hungary K-und-K (Kaiser und Königreich) which is again largely German speaking. The history of Ustalav could fit many places in real-world terms, but the additional note of "A conglomeration of loosely affiliated counties, each run by feuding nobles vying for power and influence" again gives it a historically speaking strong German overtones.
To put the final nail in the coffin: Ustalav = Uberwald (Terry Pratchett) in my final reckoning. Which is also exceedingly German, both in name and content.
Surprise paper! Gonna be a little slow for a few days while I finish this up.
Go go go! Write paper and retaliate with emails!
Well, that didn't take nearly as long as I thought. I basically ranted for 8 pages about how Texas law is insufficient in deterring DWI offenses, since they basically throw up a billion statutory roadblocks and allow absurdly ridiculous scenarios as defenses. Even if you muck your way through all that for a conviction, it's basically a slap on the wrist relative to the seriousness of the crime. It wasn't a hard paper, just a surprise.
Sorry for the relatively slow start. Between this paper and finishing my taxes, my weekend was pretty tightly packed. I'm about to embark on my usual Saturday-Sunday routine, in which I only get enough time off to get some sleep and go back to work, but I'll try to stay on top of things with my phone. I'll get you some excitement soon. Has it been sufficiently creepy?
The creepiness is good - it only suffers from lack of players respect for it; who do the inane introduction thing instead. PCs! Bah! ;P :) I think we need to still switch gears mentally and become a bit more apprehensive and terrified.
The Thunderstorm link is great by the way.
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Its quite nice to start off slowly in this instance, I'm still feeling Wesh out as a character. Wesh is fairly irreverent and like many young men is very concerned with what people think of him while desperately wanting them to think he could not care less - hence if he is afraid he is likely to bluster instead of showing it up to a certain point.
The theme music is exellent! Myself, I'm trying to get a little creeped out to fit in wiht the paranoia theme.
FYI - I'm on vacation this week so posting will be sporadic.
So sorry. My internet was gone. It may still be sketchy over the next few days. I'm very sorry. Gonna catch up now.
Two teenagers, one a half-orc, one a charisma seven guy, two elfs, one mad one more mad, and both prejudiced against as much as the orc, and a uninterptreatable stone faced monk! Aydan has his work cut out as the BARBARIAN face of the party!
Hahaaa, at least Duron is well-spoken. Mari's at least not utterly crackers, just socially awkward. But yeah; Aydan's totally our face man.
Also, for some reason I'm really enjoying the way Wesh is relating/referring to his animal companion. I'm picturing Ramon like a hyena in the Lion King, hanging out in the woods pointing and laughing at what Wesh has to go through 'cos he walks on two legs.
Incoming! (Eventually)
I support this one.
Another flash of lightning illuminates the night outside the window. As Melk and Azuk'ai look out towards Harrowstone, a spectral face appears for the briefest of moments in the window in the space of the thunderstrike's illumination. Its skeletal countenance is partially obscured by a hood pulled down over its eye sockets and what appears to be a gag placed in its partially detached jaw. Its bony hands, still stiff from the grave, press against the window. Just like that, as the lightning subsides, it is gone, only the ominous shadow of the Harrowstone in the window again.
Okay - we've officially crossed the creepy line and are in horror territory now