Yeah, great work :)
It's a deity I've always liked, since she gives off a sense of mistery and even poetry. As to Celine, she has the birthmark of Sivanah and she's your basic young woman who's lost her mother and is rebelling against a father who thinks the best way to show love and affection is to provide safety and riches for his daughter, completely missing the point that Celine is indeed a romantic soul who needs mistery and adventure more than clothes and jewels. This has created a chasm between father and daughter; without a mother to bridge the gap, and with only her birthmark to guide her, Celine has searched and found her own path in Sivanah's faith and service, to which she clings with all her innate stubborness and to extreme consequences such as running away.
Party role and combat plan: healer, buffer, debuffer, possibly face of the group with her charisma, tertiary fighter. She'll wade into melee to apply her debuffs to the enemy. When versatile channeler kicks in (I'm thinking third level) she'll also be able to channel negative energy to harm the enemy. At medium level, her routine in combat will probably be to cast buffs/protection spells - presumably communal versions - then try to soften the enemy with Vision of Madness and mind affecting effects. I'm thinking of going Holy Vindicator for a couple of levels after eight level, but that will depend on how the story and the group evolve.
Please don't hesitate to ask further questions if needed.
Whom I would like in my team:
Melee-> John St.Smythe! Why? First of all, come on, it´s a bond alias! Second, I really like the idea of a Falcata Duelist
Strong contender.. Harbek
Divine-> Celine Moonveil Why? I really like the picture. It starts with a great vibe. Strong contender Dragolan
Arcane-> Very hard. And I mean very hard. All the wizards have potential, but somehow I think I go for Okhosa. Yes he is very weak but....
Skill-> Felix. Why? First, it is never bad to have one mean son of a b. in a group. Who is willing to do the dirty deeds. Second he is a sailor, so he knows quite a bit about ships, being shipwrecked and more. And he can do decent damage, heal if necessary and has many usefull skills.
Think of him as Daryl of Walking Dead. Not beautiful, but damn useful
Celine Moonveil's audition for the Divine part
Why choose Celine? Because she is a misterious, romantic, charismatic young woman who can fill various different roles that will complement the party:
- Healer: with eight channels per day at first level, the party's health will be in good hands
- Tertiary fighter: with 13 Str and the iconic masterwork morningstar, she'll be able to land a few punches at lower levels, but she'll never outshine the fighters;
- Buffer: she'll choose spells that enhance the party's effectiveness (bless, prayer, blessing of fervor and such: work with her and she'll work for you); she'll also (at medium levels) leave some slot(s) open in order to get the occasional "remove" or "*restoration" spell when needed;
- Debuffer: come on, Madness and Trickery domains, need I say more? Vision of Madness is nice at lower levels and devastating at medium / high levels. The domains' spells just enhance and complement this role: madness domain gives:
1st—lesser confusion, 2nd—touch of idiocy, 3rd—rage, 4th—confusion, 5th—nightmare, 6th—phantasmal killer, 7th—insanity, 8th—scintillating pattern, 9th—weird. Nice, right?
- Party face (primary or secondary, depending on the party's composition): 16 Charisma. She's definitely not a broomstick.
- Versatile channeler (third or fifth level): negative channel will be another tool in her box, even if 2 levels lower than the positive one (at least until she finds a phylactery...).
I'll cast my votes after reading the other auditions.
Alain's application has been added to his Alias under the spoiler "Application". I'll hold off on voting until everyone has had a chance to make their pitch. Good luck everyone!
Skill-> Felix.
You should vote for players in your category as well, but you may NOT vote for yourself.
Cheeky cheeky.
I just picked my favourites of each category before realising we were supposed to wait for the individual pitches, so I'll win no points for reading comprehension either. Will work on my submission now. :)
I'll let my alias profile do the backstory part if you want to read that, so I'll just talk about me and why I chose the character.
I'm a huge D&D/Pathfinder fan, it's pretty much my favorite hobby. I've DM'd several campaigns, both online and in person, and as a player was always way more into character development and world building than anyone else in my groups. I decided to start trying out Play By Post and email campaigns because I wanted more character interactions and less min-max'y arcadey style gameplay.
I wanted to make this character because I was originally never a huge fan of Paladins, and the 'I am holy perfection' personality style that still seems to be the standard. Instead I wanted to make a more flawed character, like if someone more naturally inclined towards being a barbarian or rogue had instead been 'rescued' and trained as a paladin. Making a paladin that is first and foremost a warrior of destroying evil no matter what.
So as a result I have a paladin that is not conventional. I had her be somewhat lighter armor and didn't dump stats, so I would be more helpful out of combat (especially in the very physically intensive scenario of a shipwreck!)
Later levels, she'll be a great frontline fighter, plus the nice bonuses of having a backup healer in a campaign so heavily focused on being away from civilization.
I am also going to wait to see auditions, looking forward to some of them. PS, I swear I don't write walls of text like this when posting in character, hahaha.
Harbek hangs over the edge of the rail his face pale, his expression grim. The Jenivere rocks slowly over the waves on its way to Sargava. " Huuurrrghhh " the dwarf straightens as he hears someone approaching hurriedly combing his blond beard with his fingers ' What's this? Carrot?! ' " Hmm What's that? " he says looking up at the sailer he now realises just asked a question. " What a Dwarf like me doing on a ship like this? Well I'm headed to Sargava. Gonna see about getting a job with that Deeptreasure mining company. Maybe spend some time looking around all those ruins in the jungle... Never been to a jungle before, or spent this many hours straight above the ground. " He glares at the sun.
" What do ya mean you don't reckon I'd last three minutes in the jungle? We got some nasty critters in the mines back home. See this scar? " he pulls his shirt up " got this from a Cave Fisher. Snapped me right there with its claws. I can take a hit... Can deal em out to. Got the killing blow on that one took a few of us miners to take it out but it was my Pick that skewered it right through the head. Pinned it into the ground. Ha ha! Good times. Ooh wait a minute. Huuuuurgghhh "
I am missing sooo much sleep lately. Babys can sap strength.
At the moment that was just a little brainstorming. Waiting for each pitch to wage the pros and cons
Okay, this is pretty long, I hope that doesn't put anyone off...
Pitch:
As soon as I downloaded the Players' Guide and read up about the environment, I instantly wanted to make someone whose family origins were from the native Zenj culture, but whose ancestors had been forcibly removed by slavers. I thought it would be really interesting to explore, through a fantasy world analogue, the idea of the descendent of black slaves returning as a free and (relatively) privileged person to their land of ethnic origin, in much the same way an African American might head back to Africa, South Africa in particular (as Sargava seems to be modelled on it).
So, Okhosa was born. I made him a highly educated wizard to exaggerate the differences between his position growing up, and that of Mwangi who have suffered for centuries under the colonists (I'm actually just assuming that the white colonists are better off than the Mwangi, I don't know a whole heap about Sargava - but then again, neither does Okhosa, other than in an academic sense). The idea was for his excitement at exploring his ethnic heartland to give way to despair at the reality of his people's situation, and to fire in him a sense of the world outside of his books and magical theories, turning him from a cloistered academic into an adventuring hero. Again, I don't know much about the AP, so perhaps none of that is really relevant, but if it is, I'd be keen to explore that stuff.
Mechanically speaking, Okhosa is nothing crazy or special - he's a pretty standard conjurer, one that will be focused on buffing, battlefield control, and of course, summoning. I'm usually a GM, so I've never had a chance to explore a PF wizard as a player, and I'm quite excited about the idea, even though he's pretty vanilla.
I've made him Lawful Good as something of a departure from my usual character style. I tend towards CG or N characters, excepting the one paladin I've ever played (Legacy of Fire PbP, didn't get past the first book unfortunately). Okhosa is definitely not a righteous, in your face LG, more of a quiet but steadfast man. I'm looking forward to the wrestling he'd be forced to have with his conscience as he sees the reality of the Sargava situation.
I enjoy good characterisation of PCs, and though I strive to make mechanically decent (at least) characters, and I feel I have a good sense of the rules (years of GMing), I really enjoy a good story. That'll be my focus if I'm selected. I'm also pretty good at rolling with the punches and not whining about stuff or arguing the minutiae (as a GM, that's the worst…).
Okay, that's a pretty big spiel; as someone mentioned above, walls of text are not my usual style either. I like to make daily posts, but I'm not into writing a novel every time either. Hope you all like my submission - I'd like to think that Okhosa would be a very useful party member and add a lot to the story, and I also like to think that I'm an enjoyable person to play with.
Cheers!
PS I'll also be waiting to see everyone's submissions for Round 2 before voting :)
Even in a democracy, a question from El Presidentissimo is still a question from El Presidentissimo, end leaving it unanswered would be nothing short of rude (as well as probably detrimental to one's long-term well-being). So without further ado...
Lhinneth:An interesting backstory, and an intriguing Calistrian build. If Lhinneth is anti-violence, how does she justify her vigilantism? How will she respond to the fighter-types in a group of heroes, where killing and violence are daily occurrences? You see her standing in the back of the melee, using her whip and spells to good effect?
The anti-violence point; a very good one, actually. To clarify, as much as I envision her trying to charm, bluff or talk her way around those who would oppose her, she's under no delusion that would work every time – or even that it would necessarily be the best course of action. Calistria is still the Goddess of Vengeance, after all, and her piety surely doesn't extend to those who don't deserve it or who'd have no use for it. Think of her as a kind-hearted cop, who takes no pleasure from his actions but is still willing to do his job if that helps protecting the innocent (unless we're talking about sadists, tyrants or similar scum: in which case, she will derive pleasure from delivering Calistria's fury unto them). To quote: "Lots of ways to help people. Sometimes heal patients; sometimes execute dangerous people. Either way helps."
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As for my application, I very much concur with Varya. Her personality and build are all included in her profile. Having spent some time properly fleshing her out in my mind before even submitting her, I'm confident I can make all her peculiarities and nuances come to life along the way. I'll try to have an IC post up nonetheless between today and tomorrow, for the fun of it if nothing else (so at least I get to play her a bit if I'm not picked :P ).
As I said in one of my first post in this thread, I'm favorably skewed towards a more narrative approach to RP-ing, and in this spirit I consider mechanics more as a tool to weave a story than a system to be mastered (personal opinion, let it be clear!). I also think that a good writer can tell a compelling tale without necessarily resorting to elaborate tricks or convoluted rhetorical devices if he so wishes, which is the reason why I've kept her as Core as it gets in her build.
This is also the lens through which I've been perusing through the various submissions, by the way. I've asked myself: "Will I enjoy playing along this character, with both his strengths and flaws?". I've now read and enjoyed all the 15 of them, though I'm also waiting for every dotter to finalize his character before making any final decision. (Truly, I've seen many PbPs fall head over heels even during my comparatively short time on these boards, and very rarely it happened because of a TPK – or even an ill-balanced party.)
As a player, I tend to be moderately active (rarely if ever going below the 1-post per day threshold, barring particular events). I consider myself a pusher, though I strive to go to great lengths to avoid overshadowing other characters, delaying my posts until someone else has voice his opinion if necessary and trying to translate suggestions into actions to the best of my possibilities. Even when I disagree with the direction the party's going, I realize that going any direction still beats arguing about it (at least in PbPs; things in RL are, alas, more... complicated).
Ok. I'm done boring you with my Walls of Text – see you later and good luck to everyone!
But hey here is my pitch:
Who am I? I am Felix. Do not look like that I picked the name randomly from a book. My old master had a habit of doing that to his slaves.
What am I?I am a lot of things. A man of many talents. Someone you want on your side.
What did I do for my living?I was born a slave in cheliax, but after being given my freedom, i was pennyless and without a family. So I had to make some hard choices. I stole, I did beat up people, I had 2 little girls running, lately I was a marine in the andorian navy.
Why me?I am not the nice guy. I did a lot of very bad things in my life. But I got away lucky so far. I can fight and I am quite good at it. I have a lot of useful talents and I picked up a few tricks here and there. I can heal and do some crowd control.
But wizards are better casters, Clerics better healer and fighters better in melee. All true. They are better. But I am the backup. If you need someone in melee, I can do. If you need someone to heal in pitch... I can do. And I work best if we do it as a team effort!
For what slot do you apply?In all honesty for the lucky five. And I am the chap who does things, not talks about things. I am the lucky bastard, who might carry you through. And I am the tough bastard who does those things many would not even think about. And being shipwrecked... having one person who is a sailor can make the MAJOR diffrence between living on the island.. or returning home!
"Ahhhh. That sea air! Isn't it bracing?" the gnome booms, to nobody in particular. He claps his gloved hands together and takes a deep whiff of salty sea spray. "What do you mean the crew is still abed? Up and at 'em, boys! You know what they say, 'lose an hour in the morning and you'll be all day hunting for it.'"
The gnome clambers onto the taffrail, walking along it with apparent ease, hands clasped behind his back, and peers down his crooked spectacles at the seasick dwarf as he tells his tale, slipping aside to pat him on the back as he begins to empty his stomach over the deck.
"That's it, get it all up. You know, I once read that the surefire cure for seasickness was... sitting under a tree." the Gnome says, barely managing to disguise his wry smile as he notes the expression on the dwarf's face. " Only playing with you. Only playing. I'd try chewing some ginger root."
He pauses, closing his eyes for a moment, and a chunk of turnip levitates from Harbek's beard, which Shackleton sends soaring into the ocean with a flick of his finger. He spares a glance to the sailor and shrugs. "Oh, that? Old gnome trick."
The gnome meanders off to practice his Polyglot with the sailors. Snippets off his conversation can be overheard through the deck. "... being a gnome and working for the Pathfinders, why, they're too very similar things. You have to have your head screwed on right, for a start. You're either clever, or your dead."
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"... got to keep fit, of course. A spot of jogging. Morning swim. Boxing. Fencing. Badminton. You know it was the Gnomes invented Badminton? You know how bloody hard it is to sew those feathers on? Gnomish ingenuity, that is. That's our speciality."
-------------------------------------------------
"... I imagine they keep me on board for my stimulating conversation rather than my swordsgnomeship. Or maybe the blighters are just happy to empty my purse. Search me."
well thats depressing. Good luck to the others!
I'll be back with my audition in about 11 hours, today is going to be a busy day work-wise.
In light of the new requirements, I am going to withdraw Zuwena's application. I simply do not have time or energy to make a pitch. In addition, out of her section, Zuwena has the least amount of skills, as I had built her to be more of a melee switch hitter.
Thank you for the choosing me for round two DM DoctorEvil, and I wish you luck in this endeavor.
Everyone else, good luck!
In light of the new requirements, I am going to withdraw Zuwena's application. I simply do not have time or energy to make a pitch. In addition, out of her section, Zuwena has the least amount of skills, as I had built her to be more of a melee switch hitter.
Thank you for the choosing me for round two DM DoctorEvil, and I wish you luck in this endeavor.
Everyone else, good luck!
I understand your rationale and accept your resignation. Best of luck to you also.
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Why Mikail should be chose as the skilled guy?
OOC reasons:
- being an Archivist will make him a good buffer. Not as good as a standard bard as he need a successful knowledge check to use the Naturalist ability, but still a very good one.
- decent reserve fighter, he will not do much damage if he is not buffed but he can protect the weakest members of the party
- bards have a solid spell list
- plenty of skills, all useful to survive now and later
- if he get that far he will take craft wondrous items, and that will be useful for everyone.
In character reasons:
Yes, I am sure you have meet plenty of starry eyed “archaeologists” ready to run in the jungle, convinced that they would be the next one to find some crashed Shory flying city or some Azlanti ruin and become rich and famous. And most of them never returned from their expedition.
I am starry eyed? Sure, to live without a dream is to live less. But I know that dreams don’t’ happens, you need to build them. And I am a builder.
I have trained to be a true scholar, not a tomb robber. Whatever I find will be recorded and documented, not plundered. And I have trained to survive a jungle expedition, learning both magical and mundane means to survive. I know that success will require preparation and perspiration, not only luck. and I will never abandon a partner to fulfill my dream.
- * -
My choices between the other characters (only the skilled in this post, I need to read several submissions before giving an opinion on the others):
Felix Season
He is direct competition for me, but he bring an ability that I think will be very invaluable: trapfining.
i was initially perplexed by his character background and him being a Archeologist bard. But he is not meant to be Indiana Jones (nor I, BTW). He has aptly chosen an archetype that give him the abilities he want, without being misled by its name. so I like his presentation very much and think he will eb a invaluable member of a group.
From her observation point from atop the Jenivere's bow, Lhinneth exhaled a deep sigh. As usual, she had left her cabin early in the morning, eager to enjoy the delicate feeling of the dawn breeze blowing on her skin. The scorching Garundian sun was not something her body was used to, and even calling upon Calistria's blessing to shield her from its ferocity, the light alone had been causing her eyes no small discomfort.
The pre-dawn gloom was indeed the only moment she could enjoy a welcome break form the staleness of her cabin, a moment of quiet to meditate on her path and commune with her Goddess. Though as it happens, that day such things were not meant to be. Thence, the sighing.
A dwarf was intent on feeding the fish with most of yesterday's dinner. Truth be told, considering Terillo's cooking, I wouldn't call it a great waste. Still, it was a spectacle that didn't quite fit the peacefulness of the surrounding scenery, and even though it could be easily ignored, the... auditory cues were enough to irremediably break any form of relaxation the soothing sound of the waves breaking against the hull might have brought.
Then, there was the gnome. Goddess, the gnome. From the rigging to the bilges, no place was out of his resourcefulness' reach. He was currently wandering around the deck, filling the air with his incessant chattering. To be frank, he seemed genial enough, and hidden among the endless flow of trivia and minutiae coming out of his mouth, there apparently was a rather enjoyable sense of humor – enjoyable, that is, the rare instances when he was talking in a language Lhinneth could understand. So there she was now, gazing upon the endless sweeps of the Arcadian Ocean, her ears filled with the sound of puking and foreign words whose meaning she couldn't quite grasp.
Resigning herself to the fact that her idyllic moment was now irremediably over, she takes a few steps down to the main deck, her booted feet making a distinctive noise every time they hit the wooden planks. She had thought to dismiss her heavy, leathery clothes once the climate started getting warmer, but after witnessing the altercation between her fellow half-elven passenger and a sailor, she had eventually decided against it. Better not to give the crew strange ideas.
Luckily, heat wasn't a problem. From time to time, she had proposed to share that particular blessing with those who would usually sit close to her while having their meal, an offer which had stemmed from generosity as well as a desire to mitigate the amount of body odors she was exposed to, though much to her chagrin it had fallen to deaf ears. Much more appreciated was her ability to provide a steady supply of fresh water, not to mention the time she had healed the boatswain's leg after he'd fallen down the rigging during a storm. While on board a ship hundred of miles away from the closest sign of civilization, such talents could spell the difference between life or death, and Captain Kovack had offered her a free return trip in exchange for her services – an offer that had gone greatly appreciated, if not immediately, at least in the medium term.
In all honesty, it seems my biggest competition concept wise is with the bards of the group. I designed Lartis in my head to be more of a scholar than a traditional adventurer and sees the adventure as a means to an end. He will have a clinical view of magic, all magic, and seek to figure out the true differences between how the gifts of the gods differ from how a soul can harness raw magic from the ether. I added in the usage of UMD into his skills, but did not want to twink a mechanic opening by taking it as my CHA based skill I could use my INT as the primary stat.
Lartis is a jack of all trade mage and would continue to be so as the game progressed. He would seek to analyze the situation and prepare the best overall useful spell at the moment, trusting his instincts as well as book logic.
From his heritage perspective, I really wanted to show that he is a fish out of water in the "real" world. Being raised by two outcasts, his adopted parents sheltered him from 95% of the real world, so he has never had to deal with issues such as slavery, racial bigotry, social envy and similar. Adding on top of that how would elves react to a half-orc knowing their custom and traditions and wearing elvish tattoos given only to "their" wizards. How would orcs and half-orcs deal to someone who knows the words in orcish, but not their true meanings? The PbP format allows for that type of expression, so I ran with it at full steam.
{break text}
As the man behind the curtain, I have just recently returned to PbP gaming, as well as gaming in general. I have been TDY over 80% of the year for the past four years, but recently changed careers and moved to Massachusetts where my schedule is far different.
I am also a game pusher and try to post anytime it makes sense that my character would add something, but I also know when to zip it and let the other PCs shine. I think that it would be great to game with any/all of you, which brings me to that topic and my votes accordingly:
Melee: Harbek. I just really liked the blue collar feel to Harbek and I think he would capture the roll up your sleeves and lets get this done quality of the dwarves.
Divine: Jord Strumsson. For many of the reasons I liked Harbek, I liked Jord as well. I almost feel he would be a priest you would see challenging people to arm wrestling matches while drinking them under the table to gain converts.
Arcane: Okhosa Vusutan. He has a tie back to the region and that may be very vital as this progresses.
Skill: Shackleton. Any character who wants to mix Mustrim Ridcully and Teddy Roosevelt is one that I would move the heavens above to get into a game with.
So let the chips fall where they may and I think this is going to be a great game to play in or follow depending on how the chips fall.
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I have been TDY over 80% of the year for the past four years, but recently changed careers and moved to Massachusetts where my schedule is far different.
Eyyyy, Massachusetts. You moved just in time to experience all this wonderful wonderful snow we have laying around.
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The other votes:
Melee: Varya Tial - I was uncertain between her and St John Smythe, but Varya post about her motivations has won my vote.
Divine: Celine Moonveil A though one as I know Jaime and will enjoy playing with her. I like Lhinneth description of her character more but Jaime healing abilities are more powerful. At the end the deciding factor where Lhinneth str 8 and cos 10. Sorry, but I feel that those are major weaknesses.
Arcane: Lartis - I liked both his and Okhosa concept, so again the deciding factor where the stats.
BTW, Lartis, you are a Universalist wizard?
I have listed the reasons of my choices and the best contender as, if we play with a group of 6 character, there is space 1 character from each group plus 2 extras.
"Why should I be chosen you ask?!?? What sort of question is that? Why would you consider anyone else since I have applied for this position?
If you must know, I'm the best Rondelero Duelist in my class. As such I am adept at both offense and defense. I also speak what passes for a language of these savages. I am a worshiper of Adabar and you will find none better to bring civilization to these savages. I intend to leave my mark on the land we are going to!"
I didn't realize St. John Smythe was a Bond alias. I don't tend to rewatch Roger Moore as Bond, more of a Sean Connery man myself, and haven't seen View to A Kill since it came out, or when it hit VHS. St. John came from Airwolf and Smythe was an English sounding name.
I check my games usually morning and evening and I'm trying to become a pusher in them.
My votes:
Melee: Varya Tial - like the idea behind her paladin and more healing is always good
Divine: Dragolan Canario - always wanted to see a life oracle in action and I feel Calistran characters are over done. Celine is a close second though.
Arcane: Marik Whiterose - I really like the divination schools abilities.
Skill: Felix "Lucky Gits" Season - I'm in two campaigns with Helikon and follow The Walking Dead of Golarion ever since I didn't get into it and really like his gameplay. I really recommend The Walking Dead of Golarion if you don't follow it. The story has been great.
Wow, this is tough. Pretty much every character is really cool. I'm searching through each submission trying to find reasons to not select people that aren't completely arbitrary...
The other votes:
Melee: Varya Tial - I was uncertain between her and St John Smythe, but Varya post about her motivations has won my vote.
Divine: Celine Moonveil A though one as I know Jaime and will enjoy playing with her. I like Lhinneth description of her character more but Jaime healing abilities are more powerful. At the end the deciding factor where Lhinneth str 8 and cos 10. Sorry, but I feel that those are major weaknesses.
Arcane: Lartis - I liked both his and Okhosa concept, so again the deciding factor where the stats.
BTW, Lartis, you are a Universalist wizard?I have listed the reasons of my choices and the best contender as, if we play with a group of 6 character, there is space 1 character from each group plus 2 extras.
Lartis is an Universalist wizard.
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Wow, this is tough. Pretty much every character is really cool. I'm searching through each submission trying to find reasons to not select people that aren't completely arbitrary...
Now you see how my chair feels. I have been answering PM's from non-selected players all day asking about what was wrong with their submission.
Sometimes, its what I like about others more than what's wrong with yours. That can be hard to express
Why? Because Jord is the biggest and the strongest, in all things "Ha! Ha! Ha!
"I have wine with me most of the time, the quality is not always the best... but....
"I will be there alongside you swinging my Earthbreaker or giving out fists to face! and if you get possessed I'm great with taking you down quickly and not badly hurting you and I can take prisoners easily as well"
"I'm also a cleric of Kurgess how often do you see them, i'll be able to help out with healing and with Travel domain when we get inhibited by stuff.."
Bludgeoner feat allows use of bludgeoning weapon.. earthbreaker for non lethal without the neg 4. Plus 18 str is awesome.
Me I've been playing for 30 years and this character will be a challenge but he's a healer that will be there with you and not just useless when his spells run out.
I don't think we'll get any more submissions coming in, so I might as well get this going...
Martial: | very interesting build, and one I'd too like to play some day (let me know if it works!). Weaving her traits into her backstory while consciously creating some sort of flawed character are very strong points. Even more so when it all adds up to a deliberate deconstruction of your standard goody two shoes paladin. Kudos!
Divine: | a life oracle is probably the best healer Pathfinder has to offer, period, but it wasn't that which draw me to him (indeed, it is my firm belief that such things as healing capabilities and high constitution scores are ultimately meaningless to determine how long a PbP will run – but I've already bored you to tears with this so I quit, I promise). Instead, it's his well written snippet that caught my attention, which in turn evoked the picture of this jovial fellow munching on whatever monstrous meat he and his starving fellow castaways have managed to hunt against all odds... and complaining about its lack of proper marbling.
Arcane: | the nice things about wizards is that you can be as un-mixmax-ey as you want, as long as you have at least 18 INT you're probably going to be a very effective character nonetheless. Very nice backstory tying him both to the 'civilized' guys and to central Garund where the AP takes place, solid choice of skills (though perhaps not as solid as Marik's, admittedly). Lastly, anyone who puts a rank in Profession (leatherworking) has my vote.
Skill: | probably my easiest pick. A small character who is nonetheless larger than life; 10/10 would flee from a rolling boulder with.
Wow, this is tough. Pretty much every character is really cool. I'm searching through each submission trying to find reasons to not select people that aren't completely arbitrary...Now you see how my chair feels. I have been answering PM's from non-selected players all day asking about what was wrong with their submission.
Sometimes, its what I like about others more than what's wrong with yours. That can be hard to express
Sorry :)
And thanks for your prompt and helpful reply. Because how are we to do better next time without constructive criticism?On the upside, I don't have any difficult choices to make :)
Really tough. I wanted to vote for just about every character - great work everyone! I'd be more than happy to play with any of you if I were to be selected. Sigh. Okey doke, here goes...
Martial: Varya Tial
I like the flawed nature of this paladin, and I enjoyed the backstory. Mechanically, paladins are very strong, so I'm always happy to have one in the party. Also, I must admit that posting up all the links to the Round Two applicants showed a willingness to put in that I appreciate in a fellow player.
My second pick would St John Smythe, mainly because the RP potential between his unashamedly exploitative colonialist and my returning Mwangi activist would be huge.
Divine: Lhinneth
Great concept and excellent writing won me over here. Perhaps (like Varya) not the strongest mechanically, but that's a secondary concern for me.
Arcane: Alain Shadestrom
Again, not the strongest option in terms of raw power, but to me the most interesting and the most solid sense of character.
Skill: Shackleton
This was the toughest section for me - all three of them are great. Shackleton wins out because of the sweet concept and writing style. Felix's Trapfinding will be missed if he's not selected, and I have a lot of respect for Mikhail's player, a longtime poster on these boards, but this gnome is just too cool not to pick.
Martial - Varya Tial something about this character. .. plus I like Paladins and Jord would get along really well this Tank.
Divine - Lhinneth.. Calistrian priests have something.
Arcane - Alain Shadestrom .. verdant sorcerer just seems to fit this game, plus I really like the trip build.
Skilled - Mikhail Ruben has knowledge and buffing a very useful build i like a toolbox.
Gaah...I had to go to school and now so many people have voted and I haven't submitted yet. I think I'll do one for in character and one for out, anyway.
Well, I guess there wasn't too much to be said out of character. But read on....
Sigh, I don't feel like that went to well, but maybe it's just me. My votes will be here shortly.
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In light of the new requirements, I am going to withdraw Zuwena's application. I simply do not have time or energy to make a pitch. In addition, out of her section, Zuwena has the least amount of skills, as I had built her to be more of a melee switch hitter.
Thank you for the choosing me for round two DM DoctorEvil, and I wish you luck in this endeavor.
Everyone else, good luck!
I am tardy saying it, but I am sorry to see you leave.
Arright, my vote is ready:
Martial: St. John Smythe - I like this guy, he's nice and flavorful with a way of looking at things that could prove very interesting.
Divine: Lhinneth - Powerful and versatile, with a background I'd expect from a Calistrian priest but both less and more twisty than one would think.
Arcane: Marik Whitethrone - Very creepy with plenty of potential for cool twists in the future. The dreaming part I loved.
Skill: Felix - I had him tied with Zuwena with no idea how to choose, and Zuwena bowed out. Seriously, though, the mark of a skillmonkey is versatility, and Felix had definitely got it.
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As has been said above Marik has a great deal storytelling potential. What does his dream mean? That's why he attended the Stone of the Seers academy to learn more about it. Who was the Old Man? That's still a mystery. Where do his metaphorical paths lead?
I see Marik as an naive young man to whom everything will be a new experience. Fresh from the Academy he has an idealized, romanticized idea of adventure that he's only read about in books. The rude awakening that he's in store for would make for fun roleplaying amongst the group.
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Just wanted to point out that Shackleton is perfectly capable of finding traps and disabling all but the non-magic kind. His Perception score (despite appearances) is going to be maxed as we progress.
I suppose it's about time to cast my votes, so here they are.
Martial: I really enjoyed Harbek's in-character post, and am rather simple in my tastes. A Dwarf who likes gold just appeals to my sensibilities. Also I feel like he's the best thematic fit for the path, which disqualified Varya in my eyes. Serpent's Skull seemed less tireless battle against evil and more puply jungle adventure. (And while St. John is a good fit I feel like he and Shackleton wouldn't jibe well. Not that that wouldn't make for some interesting roleplay in itself, but I digress...)
Arcane: I'm rather torn between Okhasa and Alain for his really freaking cool manuever-focused build. But I'm going to cast my vote for the former.
Divine: This was easily the most difficult category for me. But Dragolan has my vote for similar reasons as Lhinneth. He looks like he'll be very comic and very fun, and the idea of trying to usher the corpulent Chelaxian into one of Shackleton's morning jogs is just too good to pass up on. Lhinneth was an easy second choice, although I'm surprised at the number of low-strength, combat manuever and support characters in the running. I thought Shackleton was really breaking the mould.
Skill: I had never seen the Archivist bard before. It looks incredibly interesting. Mikhael has my vote for skill based, although I'm a bit leery of that low strength score I'm guessing he'd make up for it with spellcasting. I also once played a wizard named "Ruben" in a one off. Began a long running joke of wizard characters named after various lunch-meats.
Boy this is tough.
Melee: St. John Smythe. The flavour has been the deciding factor here, since the others were just as strong mechanically. Although... man, it's Abadar, not Adabar. Your deity, I mean. Never mind, a lot of people get it wrong. Morgrym is a very close second. Infact, I'd love to see a front line with both of them.
Divine: Dragolan. IRL I've been playing an oracle of life for 3 years now, and counting: in the long run and with the right choices, it can be a healing machine, so if healing is the main concern that is the best choice (to tell you the truth, I was tempted to submit an oracle of life at first and didn't do so because it's not a Core class and for versatility reasons). I also like the fact that his stats are so balanced and well rounded. Lhinneth (my choice as a runner-up) has more flavour and as a cleric she's more versatile, but there's only so much min-maxing one can do without hindering the character. 10 Con and 8 strength? Two big no-nos in my book. Sorry, imho flavour is important but a mechanical weakness in a PC is a weakness against the party.
Arcane: Lartis, great flavour there (and no painfully dumped stat!). Second best is Okhosa Vusutan. A well thought character with a strong flavour (although: 7 str? Ewww, that's tough, even for a wizard). Also, I love summons.
If I could assign a tie, this would probably be it.
Skill: that's easy. Mikhail Ruben is well thought, well rounded and suited for the role. I know Diego both as a GM and as a player: as a GM he's firm but fair, as a player he's definitely a team guy and one of the best thinkers-out-of-the-box I've ever played with. His tactical mind and knowledge of the system will be of great help.
Nice work everybody and good luck to all.
Quite a group of applicants; I don't think I could make a bad party out of that list if I tried. After a very busy day at work, though, my eyes are glazing over--I'll get my choices up tomorrow.
Voting time... This was hard.
Melee: Morgrym Seareaver. I love Dwarves and a Drunken Dwarven Barbarian is great. Loved the IC post.
Divine: Celine Moonveil. I like her backstory. Celine and Harbek would be able to relate with each other a little over the expectations of parents and running out of arranged marriages.
Arcane: Okhosa Vusutan Very interested to see the decendent of former slaves returning to his ancestors country.
Skill: Felix That backstory was a great read. Love the Tats.
@Harbek
Thanks! I get pretty self-conscious about that sort of thing and that makes me feel better about it.
I am sure you are all keeping a running total of the votes. I am just trying to make sure everyone has posted and voted right now.
As of my notes, I didn't see a sales pitch post from Dragolan. Did I just miss it somewhere?
As far as voting, I show that while most have voted, Varya, Dragolan, Marik, and Alain have not. With 4 votes still out there, it is still anyone's game. No one has been eliminated or locked up a spot yet.'
In my mind, this is progressing fabulously, and we should have a party selected, and possible start the game by the weekend. Keep up the very good work, and I look forward to running with you all.
I've been rereading everyone's posts to make a couple difficult decisions between candidates. It'll be around shortly.
This has definitely been the most interesting and in depth campaign joining process I've ever seen, but I'm willing to bet that that means the campaign will be great! Good luck to everyone.
Edit:
Alright here they are.
Melee - Morgrym
This category was really hard because I liked all of them for different reasons. I really liked Harbek's IC bit, and thought that Smythe had a really well written backstory, but in the end I'm a sucker for unique concepts, and I liked how Morgrym's backstory and personality were both very dwarf themed, but took it in a different direction than I usually see.
Divine - Dragolan
Once I took the time to read that long backstory scene you wrote I was a fan of the character. I forsee some fun and memorable scenarios when you defeat a particularly delicious looking creature.
I also think Varya and Jord would get along famously, and I wish both could be in.
Arcane - Alain
Alain stood out to me because I have just plain never seen a verdant sorcerer be played before. For the campaign it's thematically perfect. I did like that your backstory was tied in pretty well, something I had a bit more trouble with in a campaign starting with a shipwreck.
I also really liked Lartis's character concept, and how he wrote his backstory. Like "gnawing on spent wands" is both super adorable and really showing for the character. There are too many good submissions here, I hate choosing.
Skills - Mikail
I feel like you really captured the spirit of the bard class in your backstory. A lot of times people play them comedically, but I think you got it right - someone who grew up reading about adventure, and truly wants to follow that path even when they learn it's not all heroes and great deeds like the stories.
Ok my final vote.
First was mere thoughts.
I choose based on.. whom do I want on a lost island trapped with me, backstory and gut feeling!
Melee -> This was actually the VERY hardest to pick. Gut feeling told me one, backstory another one and whom do I want on a lost island with me. The pitches were soo very excellent. In the end I go with gut.. for good or bad. I wanted on an island the Salty sea dog barbarian. Why? He will be good even with a club, where Morgrym and Smythe rely on their weapons. I think Morgryms backstory has a lot for her. But I will stay with Sir Smythe. Also I know him and I know it will be awesome with him!"
Divine-> A lot easier. A divine is often the rock to lean on. As a an escaped slave Dragolan would be great roleplaying opportunity and he has a more well rounded char than some others, I stay with my gut feeling for a great concept, and also I think clerics are more useful in an isolated region. Also for a divine I wanted a woman. I am of opinion it is always good to have a woman on board. Why? you never know when we meet a woman and it might be extremly useful to have one in your team. And I have had sooo very bad experiences with calistrea clericsCeline
Arcane This was also hard, as most are quite similar.. and then still very diffrent. All have pros and cons but after a lot of consideration I vote for Marik. Why? Here my gut told me.. if you want to leave an island have one who knows how to read a map.
Skill was easy and hard. I vote for Mikail
Alain stares out over the ocean digging his nails into the ships rail, "I'm definitely going to have to learn how to teleport. All this waiting is driving me out of my skin!" He turns with a grimace, "Staring at the ocean isn't going to move us any faster. It's like watching a pot, waiting for it to boil!
He sees that most of the passengers are up on deck, escaping the cramped confines below. "A lot of these people seem to be off in search of adventure. Maybe I could talk them into a rescue mission? I'm sure dad will be willing to finance a small party. But who to ask?"
He lets his gaze pass from face to face considering his options. Varya Tial seems like a good sort. Someone who can defend herself but not out to start meaningless fights. She's a bit rough around the edges but that's not a bad thing once you're out in the bush. Then there's Jord Sturmsson. A good man who looks like he can handle himself in a tight situation. Lartis seems like a decent spellcaster... for a wizard. I probably won't need him though. On the other hand Mikhail Ruben would be useful addition. The archeologists my brother was guiding were apparently looking at ruins and Mikhail would know the sort of things they would be interested in.
He pushes himself away from the rail with purpose, "That's enough for now. If any of them say no, I'll just have to figure out another choice. Trick is to find out what each of them wants and figure out a way to offer it..."
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Thanks all for timely responses. We might get this closed by Friday yet.
Still awaiting two votes - Dragolan and Marik Whiterose. ONce we have those, I will reveal the results, and see how things shake out.
Still vaguely considering the possibility of running two groups of 5 for this now that I am attached to all the applicants...
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I am amused that 'Only the Strong Survive' has taken a new meaning, right away!
"I dunno about only the strong survive... Jord is the Strongest!!! and I'm not doing so well in the voting."
Just need votes from Dragolan. I will give him until tomorrow AM, and then I will make decisions without the last ballot.