DM Caleth's Bronze Age: Gods Among Mere Mortals (Inactive)

Game Master Saint Caleth

One of my Homebrew Bronze Age games has lost a few players since it started, but the remaining players still seem enthusiastic about it. Therefore I would like to fill the group out again and make things a little more lively.

Take a look at the campaign itself here to see if you are interested.

I am looking for 2 more players to join the 4 remaining. Some rules:

• Characters are level 2 with appropriate wealth (1000gp).
  
• The party consists of a Witch, Paladin, Summoner and Bard. It would be nice to have new party members who complement this group.
  
• Information about the setting and rules for character creation are found in this thread. There is some more information on the setting in this thread.
  
• The new characters will be joining the party in the Eastern Desert, since that is where the party currently is.
  
• Don't hesitate to ask me questions if you have any. As I mentioned in the original recruitment thread, I feel that it is my job as DM to help fit whatever character concept you have into the world within reason. I reward characters which are highly integrated with the setting.
  
• I will leave recruitment open for a few days and then select the best fits for the party with input from the existing players.

What time do you play also how do you play I would love to get in

Its a PbP, see above for the various relevant threads to get an idea of what it is all about.

Given the nature of the setting I'm thinking Hexcrafter Magus would be really good. I see that Magus is tied to the dragonborn, any more on that?

This is the gods group I presume?

The setting looks interesting! Would a monk native to the Eastern Desert fit the campaign? The Flowing Monk template looks especially suited to the desert style.

Given the nature of the setting I'm thinking Hexcrafter Magus would be really good. I see that Magus is tied to the dragonborn, any more on that?

Since there is no writing and thus no spellbooks to prepare from, I have had various NPC's be spontaneous casting magi using the spells per day and spells known of a bard. I am not sure whether this is too powerful or really crappy, but you can try it if you want. Alternatively since you want to play a Hexcrafter specifically, we could work out some way to let you use the witch's preparation mechanic as well to keep the magus as a prepared caster and not have to have anything to do with the dragonborn.

Would a monk native to the Eastern Desert fit the campaign?

That would work wonderfully. If you want I will toss in the Maneuver Training feat from the 3.5 Tome of Battle to your bonus feat list just to give the monk some love.

Oh sorry time zone problem

I like the sound of that. So would I have a familiar instead of a spellbook and gain spells that way? Sort of a spirit guide granting spells form another realm. Seems like a fair trade off, the advvantages of a familiar vs the vulnerability of having a familiar.

Looks like with writing not developed, the Blood Transcription spell will be a useful, if gory, way to get magic from enemy casters.

To start the ball rolling
4d6 ⇒ (4, 2, 4, 1) = 11=10
4d6 ⇒ (3, 3, 1, 5) = 12=11
4d6 ⇒ (3, 2, 1, 6) = 12=11
4d6 ⇒ (2, 6, 3, 4) = 15=14
4d6 ⇒ (4, 4, 1, 1) = 10=9
4d6 ⇒ (2, 1, 2, 3) = 8=7

Ugh! If pointbuy is an option I'll take it!

Wow, is that a 2 point buy?

You should just add points to that to make a 25 point buy. Thats what I had everyone else do.

I hadn't even thought of Blood Transription but now that you mention it that is probably basically the only way to learn spells in this world for witches. That is awesome and unintentionally flavorful.

I was wondering how much time the group will spend in deserts during the campaign? I was thinking of a druid and wondering if I should take the Desert Druid Archetype. I'd take the fire domain for the nature's bond rather than an animal companion.

The idea is for a young half-elf hermit trying to make a living out in the desert on her own after growing tired of the continual ostracism she suffered from the tribe she grew up in.

roll 1 4d6 ⇒ (2, 6, 1, 2) = 11 = 10
roll 2 4d6 ⇒ (1, 2, 3, 2) = 8 = 7
roll 3 4d6 ⇒ (6, 4, 4, 4) = 18 = 14
roll 4 4d6 ⇒ (1, 5, 5, 4) = 15 = 14
roll 5 4d6 ⇒ (6, 4, 2, 6) = 18 = 16
roll 6 4d6 ⇒ (2, 3, 2, 1) = 8 = 7

Well I guess I'll be adding a couple points to equal a 25 point buy as well. Bring it up to: 10, 10, 14, 14, 16, 14 = 25

How long do we have to study and put something together? Your group seems magic heavy but seems to lack divine power or more fighting prowess. I may put forth a Gladiator archetype fighter for this but I need a day or two to put it together.

Wow, is that a 2 point buy?

You should just add points to that to make a 25 point buy. Thats what I had everyone else do.

I hadn't even thought of Blood Transription but now that you mention it that is probably basically the only way to learn spells in this world for witches. That is awesome and unintentionally flavorful.

Ok I'll get started. Using witch method of spell knowledge and development for hexcrafter magus. Should have stats up by morning and basic background, need to read a little more on the world.

If going with the famiiar, witch lore states that it'sent by the patron which is how level up spells are gained. I like the idea of the patron providing a means of facing the dragon lords.

I was wondering how much time the group will spend in deserts during the campaign? I was thinking of a druid and wondering if I should take the Desert Druid Archetype. I'd take the fire domain for the nature's bond rather than an animal companion.

It is likely that with the path the party is on now, they will stay in the desert for quite some time, but it is difficult to say since I am at least trying to keep the plot a little sandboxy.

How long do we have to study and put something together? Your group seems magic heavy but seems to lack divine power or more fighting prowess. I may put forth a Gladiator archetype fighter for this but I need a day or two to put it together.

You have plenty of time, since I only put this thread up yesterday, but I was planning to keep the recruitment open for up to a week before making my choice of who to take on.

Remember everyone, anything which I have not already spelled out about the world I have likely not developed yet. So if you have a question about the lore ask me and we can work something out.

Alright, let's have a go at the monk:

4d6 ⇒ (2, 1, 5, 4) = 12 = 11
4d6 ⇒ (2, 4, 4, 1) = 11 = 10
4d6 ⇒ (1, 2, 1, 6) = 10 = 9
4d6 ⇒ (1, 3, 5, 4) = 13 = 12
4d6 ⇒ (6, 5, 6, 1) = 18 = 17
4d6 ⇒ (3, 6, 2, 3) = 14 = 12

Looks like a decent 17 point buy. Now taking that up to 25:
17,14,14,12,10,10
That's before the racial +2.

DM Caleth:

So far I have been adhering to there being no human rideable horses, but there are still plenty of other things which can be ridden as mounts. I have been pretty lenient with the weaponry, but there are a few things which have not appeared, like blades longer than short swords and most composite bows. But most of the weapons in Pathfinder except for big swords, even crossbows, has been invented in real life somewhere by the end of the Bronze Age ~900-100 BC.

Below are the stats and skill I got for my Druid. The concept is a half-elven outcast living in the desert. She was about 16 when her family was killed during a skirmish between tribes, with no one willing to take in the half-breed she ran off from the tribe and has been living on her own in the desert for the past couple years.

This campaign intrigues me in its concept. For my PC, I'd like to explore the idea of a nomadic, pantheistic (yet possibly atheist? lip service given only?) Oracle Seer of the Heavens. Race is still undecided for me (perhaps half-elven?) but I first wanted to be sure the concept would fit in the world. Her role would be obvious healer and support, most likely a pacifist in that she will not directly attack enemies with her own hand and thus no weapons carried, uses Natural Divination each day, vague prophecies given while star gazing at night...

I'll roll stats, I can always come up with another idea if this is too left-field, as it were. :)

That concept definitely fits the world great. Be aware however, that the Witch in the party is already themed around divination and as a seer. Having two characters like that could really add to the party if done correctly but I should give you a heads up.

Also, Holy crap. It has been a long time since I saw stats like that rolled.

Fair enough warning, thanks! I still like the idea but I'll play with it a bit. I'll have a more fleshed out idea (with crunch) in a bit. :)

Basic outline will add details and background soon

Zaafirah Ism

Born under the 13th new moon of the new year, Zaafirah was raised by her tribe as a whole, her mother passing after giving birth and her father unaccounted for. She was to be taught the ways of nursing, which she took to easily, yet her interest also lied in alchemy and brewing of items. It was while waiting for a particular brew to boil that Zaafirah has her first prophecy while staring into the fire.

"Don't ask, don't say. Everything lies in silence."

That night, her tribe's camp was attacked and ransacked. Zaafirah managed to stay hidden, silent through the raid, though as she watched those she considered to be her family be dragged off or killed in front of her she kept a hand over her mouth. Silent.

Zaafirah spent some time afterward gathering supplies and set out by herself, now haunted by the spirits of her massacred tribe. Zaafirah does not fear the desert and finds herself camping on her own many a night. She makes her way from one tribe to another as she's able, never staying long in silent fear of the same fate coming upon those she stays with.

Just a basic idea. I did not do languages as I could not find information on them currently. I will make an alias if the PC is chosen. :)

I'm going to bow out of this one. Have fun.

DM Caleth:

This is flykiller posting as Bur-Suen, the hermit monk. Most of the crunch is in the profile now.
Still some things to work out - mainly where to spend approx. 990 leftover gp :D A detailed background will follow upon your feedback on the concept from the previous post.

Here is a list of languages spoken in this setting for reference. Italicized. I should warn you that I don't think that anyone in the Party speaks Eresh so it might be difficult to come in with a character who only speaks that language.

Human Languages:
Sharrim-Spoken by tribes in the East
Eresh-Language of Marduk and his followers (spoken by the elite of Eresh-Asha)
Djet-Ancient language from the East
Xaidan-Spoken widely in the North
Karu-Spoken along the far western coast of the world
Camthi-Spoken by the humans in the plains
Brywn-Spoken by most southern tribes, especially the followers of Ramlor
Orcish is spoken my many humans in the south as a native language

Mountain Dwarven
Cave Dwarven
Elven, Draconic and other racial languages remain unchanged.
The elemental languages are likely to only be known by those who summon creatures from those planes.

Which language is typically spoken in the area that the party is in now?

Our present area seems rather partial to Sharrim, though I believe we're entering an area where Marduk is prevalent.

I would recommend knowing at least two languages, as communication has been an issue at times. Despite some of these barriers, we've had a good time with the language system. As the language of one of the more centrally-located people, Camthi is not a bad option.

In the areas that speak Camthi, are there nomadic or seminomadic tribes prone to violent conflict amongst them?

Thanks for the info. I've edited the sheet above again (Reference: Zaafirah) to include languages. I believe with that, the crunch for my PC is completed.

Hey, another current player here.

Just to give you a sense of this game, I'd say that so far it's been very roleplay-centric, and a particularly "atmospheric" game. That is to say, the world is steeped in lore and very mystical/supernatural/spiritual, with a lot of the great moments being characters interacting with the world emotionally rather than epic battles.

So far, the characters (at least the ones left) have all been very in tune with this atmosphere (I've never seen a more reverent dungeon crawl than the one we just completed), but that's not to say a more cynical character couldn't create interesting interactions. Just that I think fit will be determined a lot more by a willingness/eagerness to really delve into the gameworld rather than by mechanics or even backstory relevance.

Really liking the flavor of Zaafirah's backstory, interested to see what the rest of you come up with. (Though the two seers thing could either work really well or pretty poorly)

If chosen I'd definitely want to work with the other PC to make sure no toes are stepped on. :)

Hello sorry thought id ask a couple of questions

Ive been following this for a while cant believe i missed the recruitment the setting is amazing as well as the characters and the story so guess Id just like to ask is the recruitment still going on and if so knowing that there is alot of really well made ones already made *bow to Squeek*
Anyways if someone could get back to me id have a character idea up fairly fast to put forth but of course will bow out if needed :)

*Sigh* this almost makes me want to make my eagle druid with roc companion always wanted to make him but seeing as another has submitted a druid im hesitant on submitting him lol will think on it hopefully something else will come to me :)

Raventhorn, I'm glad that you are excited. I am leaving this thread open for a few more days (probably until wednesday) for submissions and then I will decide on who to take.

The witch (me) was initially conceived as a foil to non-Southern religion and spiritualism, but over time he has developed into the spiritual adviser for the whole party. I would second Caleth's and Samaerew's concern about adding a second heavy spiritualist/diviner into the group. Byarsh is very wary of the new gods, and he is unlikely to embrace them. Instead, he feels that the group can accomplish its goals by staying true to each member's own traditions; everyone has learned to respect Samaerew's ethnic history following our first dungeon crawl, and the most fun I've had with this campaign was learning to appreciate another character's ancient beliefs and using them to tie the group together as we faced unknown challenges.

A foil to Byarsh's fairly anti-divine stance could work well, but I can also see it creating a schism within the group. Like others said, it could go really well or really poorly. Because druidic tradition is probably tied to an older world culture, I suspect Byarsh would be perfectly happy to incorporate such beliefs into the group's growing spiritual melange.

From a balance point, a monk would be a nice addition. We don't have much in the way of party mobility beyond the reach of Timmon's summoning spells. The hexcrafter magus would fit in fairly well, as Byarsh errs more on the side of buffing hexes instead of debuffing.

To me it's important to make sure the enjoyable party dynamic is maintained and our memes/tropes don't overlap too much. On a related note, I'm looking forward to meeting some NPCs so that Tama can have some time in the spotlight.

Will have full profile with history up by tonight

To the best of my knowledge, these are the keys themes being explored by each character:

Samaerew (paladin): Freedom from draconic tyranny, reverence of the ancestors

Tama (bard): The unifying power of language, history as expressed in song

Timmon (summoner): The elements with special interest in Earth

Byarsh (witch): Reclaiming past glory, speaking for spirits who have no voice, wariness of the upstart gods

I can definitely understand the concern, especially with new PCs coming in. My plan for Zaafirah was not so much of a in-your-face-we-must-follow-the-signs! but rather more of a subtle tea leaf reader, lip-service given to whomever seems best at the time and more into inner prophecy and how it effects her than forcing it upon others. She's not particularly religious, having to rely on herself alone for some time, but she has come to realize that religion for many is necessary, so she makes it her business to at least know enough of the Gods to pay lip-service if needed (hence why both pantheistic yet atheist leaning). She is perfectly happy to allow the party to continue on their way to write their own destinies, though may mention a proverb or prophecy she may have heard (made herself even?) at times and choose an action based upon it.

I hope this helps with my character idea a bit more. If the existing players still believe it'd be too catastrophic with two diviners, I'm happy to reconsider Zaafirah's motivations and class a bit. :)

Well I am trying to decide between a druid Eagle shaman, A ranger, or barbarian each with subtle differnces I never try and make waves with a character unless of course Im a crusading paladin lol

Anyways guess best way to do this is roll for abilities and see where they land :)

4d6 ⇒ (6, 4, 3, 4) = 17
4d6 ⇒ (1, 4, 3, 3) = 11
4d6 ⇒ (6, 3, 2, 2) = 13
4d6 ⇒ (4, 1, 5, 1) = 11
4d6 ⇒ (6, 1, 5, 5) = 17
4d6 ⇒ (1, 5, 6, 3) = 15

Wow ok well this doesnt help oh and I guess Eagle shamans cant use Rocs....blah!

DM Caleth did allow some use of 3.5 material and a bit of dabbling in homebrew material, so I wouldn't dismiss the roc and eagle shaman just yet. I'm intrigued to see where the other two character concepts can go, too.

Who my other 2 ideas you mean?

Ah, those would be the ranger and the barbarian.

Well i have a spirit Ranger to keep in touch with the groups dynamics as he contacts the spirits of the world instead of gods

I have spirit totem barbarian again uses the spirits of the world to help harness his power

Then i have the eagle shaman with roc companion if allowed

Ok, I think that I am going to end submissions at Noon on Wednesday (USA Eastern Time) and make a decision by Thrusday. I have seen some great characters and it is going to be a hard choice.

DM Caleth I would ask if you would allow the roc as a companion for the eagle shaman if not I can put together the druid fairly quickly as concept is very much in my head however I would like to know what is more I suppose acceptable the barbarian or the druid submission?

To the best of my knowledge, these are the keys themes being explored by each character:

Samaerew (paladin): Freedom from draconic tyranny, reverence of the ancestors

Tama (bard): The unifying power of language, history as expressed in song

Timmon (summoner): The elements with special interest in Earth

Byarsh (witch): Reclaiming past glory, speaking for spirits who have no voice, wariness of the upstart gods

Akasha's violent history and background lead her to seeing the concepts of an otherworldly force granting her power to fight, alter the nature of fortune itself and wage war agianst her enemies, any who would prey on others.

DM Caleth I would ask if you would allow the roc as a companion for the eagle shaman if not I can put together the druid fairly quickly as concept is very much in my head however I would like to know what is more I suppose acceptable the barbarian or the druid submission?

I will allow the roc as a companion for an eagle shaman. Just be aware that as a bird the size of a person there are some places where it would not be able to follow you and might cause alarm.

Here's Akasha's background.

The daughter if the rare union of the chieftain and the tribe's greatest witch, Akasha was in some ways the closest thing her nomadic clan had to a princess. Trained in the arts of battle as her father would a son, yet gifted in the darker arts, capable of drawing upon the supernatural powers of her mother's domain, her future as a leader of her people seemed assured.

That all changed on the day her world came apart. Returning from leading her first hunting party, laden with the spoils of a successful hunt, the young warrior and her friends were greeted by the sight of their village burning, bodies of both her tribesmen and the enemy scattered across the plain. Stragglers were still preying upon they bodies, looting corpses, defiling those as yet alive, and the hunting party found themselves quickly engaged.

Battling her way towards the center of the village she found her mother's body, surrounded by dozens of dead enemy warriors, a testament to her fell powers. beyond the gruesome scene she found her father's tent. along with the bodies of his blood warriors lay another dozen of the enemy, her father's spear broken off in the throat of a warriors woman whose iron bladed sword was thrust in his chest.

Seeing the brutal scene left her almost in a state of shock until she noticed movement amongst the bodies. A small lizardlike creature unlike anything she had ever seen stared at her intently, intelligence in its eyes. As she met its gaze, the world seemed to collapse in on itself drawing her down until she stood alone and naked in an endless void. Yet she was not alone. With her stood a being that she knew at once to be the true form of the lizardlike creature, unfathomably old and incredibly aware it reached out to her mind. Wordlessly they spoke for what felt like days, Akasha learning of the old powers, far beyond the likes of the Dragon God, who had seen enough of the domination of the world and sought to awaken a lost age of power and awareness. She learned of the bond that would allow her to access greater knowledge through her interaction with Hrsskk the pronouncable name of her companion which she learned was in the physical realm called a compsognathus.

Abruptly she was once again in her own body, her hair having gone shock white, her mind and body infused with purpose. The vengance she sought mere moments before seemed inconsequential in comparison tto the focus that had settled upon her. She looked again at the bodies, and was motivated into action, stripping the woman of her leather armor, donning it as if enveloping herself in the skin of her enemy, and taking up the woman's sword, she cut herself, allowing the last drops of her father's heart's blood to mingle with her own.

Without another thought she left the burning village, leader of a people wiped from the world, a warrior-witch trained to both disciplines, gifted and granted with knowledge and power beyond the ruthless mortals that ruled the plains. She should have feared for her survival, yet with Hrsskk at her side she did not. She would grow strong, gain in power and she would see the old gods, the true gods, return to the world.

Raventhorn, I am interested in seeing your eagle shaman. I 'll give you a little time to put him up if you want.