This is a character who made it a short way into a previous Carrion Crown campaign. I'd love to take another crack at it.
His background story is in his profile.
@Victor: Solid stuff. I get kind of a Lake Bodom murders vibe off of the situation, and that's some good s$*&, and the book is a solid and easily integratable kind of plot hook. If I pick up Victor I'm likely to colour in a lot of information about that book and sort of explain back to you elements and appearance and stuff, but I'll keep the events of what happened very much intact and write around that. Only thing I can take issue with is the nitpicky fact it's Lorrimor but that's an easy CTRL+H fix. And then there's the gun stuff I mentioned above, which you can bounce around with and adapt to as you wish.
Spelling corrected and he is no longer a VMC Gunslinger.
Okay I will go with the Weretouched Shifter (Bat).
That aside Emilia grew up well educated not only in the ways of nobility but in how to run and care for a farm. They were one of the few decent producers in the region of local food which brought in money to pay for soldiers and steady protection for there caravans.
Emilia, however, was not a normal girl. Growing up she was bitten while quite young by a bat. it was seeking to drink from the blood of her body. Her parents were concerned and sought out a strange healer. This healer a Kellid named Daqua'Ot was a strange woman who lived in a small copse of trees with her only companion a large saber-toothed cat. heavily tattooed and having eyes of two different colors she asked to take the young two-year-old. The parents reluctantly gave her over to the woman and for ten years Emilia was taught the ways of the Green Faith,something she holds dear to this day. In fact not only was she bestowed one of the stepping stones of her faith she was taught the secrets of the druid as well as a way to control the monster within. The ritual began to alter her in strange ways. Ways that fused her soul with that of the Bat. Her body was able to access the raw power of the strange bond making her gaze into the darkness. She can even manifest claws. Her teacher even told her that over time she would become more in tune with the bat within. Emilia would become something more than just human or bat but something between. It was hard training but when she finally returned her parents where a bit unsure about her.
They locked her away during her teenage years letting only tutors teach her the proper things of not only the family business but the ways of nobility. She hated it but not wishing to alienate her parents she did as she was told. Her only friend during this time was her maid a girl a bit older than her named Lucille. Her and Lucille would spend nights out under the stars often drinking a bit of the family wine or tea while reading or with Emilia listening to the day to day adventures of Lucille. At 18 she was supposed to be married off to another noble family but instead on her Journey she met Professor Lorrimor. Having struck up a conversation she learned much. At the end, he offered her a chance to see a bit of the world and took it. For a year she aided the Professor getting strange items and learning a bit more about her affliction. She even began to have a grasp on Chrioptreans or bats. It was also in this time she learned the religion of Desna and Erastil who also began to temper her mannerisms. In the end, she left the Professor after a year as she heard that her oldest friend Lucille was getting married. She went and attended her friends' marriage and faced her parents who were furious at her rejecting her arranged marriage. In the end, Emilia told them that no one would understand her or her affliction, no one. In the end, Emilia left the castle and sought solitude in the grove of her mistress. It was there after a few months she was given a letter from a very frightened messenger. It was from the Daughter of Professor Lorrimor. A message that said he was dead and She Lady Emilia Vosk was named in his will. Intrigued she grabbed her gear and left for his estate. She traveled only at night and often shrouded with preferably few fellow passengers. For she did not want to have the unnautral features be noticed and in turn ridculed or even shunned by those around her. For the people in this land were not kind to the unnatural.
Okay, inspired by the second kitsune picture, the basic concept is a Nine-tails Inheritor Kistune Spirit Binder Wizard, with her familiar containing the soul of either a romantic interest or a sibling. She ran from her home lands after trapping the soul out of fear of persecution for such an act. Blaming herself for the death, her ultimate goal is to resurrect the soul in her familiar. Traveling as she searches for leads and information to that end she even ventures to other lands. Willing to do whatever it takes she uses her nature trickster nature and magical abilities to her advantage.
I just wanted to put this up to get your input before going any further.
G~*$##n, I came over to check what posts came up when I was asleep and could not answer them fast enough to keep new ones from popping up. Which I guess can only be a good thing but my caffeine was not strong enough for this.
@Barek Noson: Interesting, but there's a few places I'm curious about you expanding. His time proper with the Pathfinder Society and what he's been up to for all those years is all very quickly glossed over. I don't need pages on pages of things he's done, but if you could maybe throw some general idea of what he's been up to, perhaps things that might tie back well into furthering his "place" as it were tonally here? The other is his second goal, because I'm not entirely sure how he came across an interest in [REDACTED]. As far as a fear to play on, fire is definitely an interesting one, really normal and straightforward, but there's lots of opportunities to be able to play with that. I dig it.
@Fifteen: I'm curious how the presence of multiple souls in her works. Is it something where Anastasia is the primary voice and it's all just fragments of the others in there? That could be interesting to play around with on my end. But aside from that, absolutely sort of reflavouring I was looking for, so you have the go ahead from me on the crunch front.
@Asmodeus's Advocate:
1) Ru-Shi are allowed. It's not totally setting-accurate, but I won't say no to it, just need a reason for why you're running around as a Tien-style vampire.
2) Yes, you would be allowed to do that, the (X) Maneuvers feats are designed to bundle all those feats up and make maneuvers more flexible, so taking away the combat tricks would kind of go against that.
3) I use the errata version. For accessibility of Masterwork Transformation, I would say that early into book 2 is where you would have access to spellcasting services to get that, but there's always a chance a scroll may turn up in some scrap loot.
4) Considering Artful Dodge is supposed to be Dodge But Int, I would say yes you can consider Artful Dodge to be similarly merged.
@Alana Brienne DeVere: Well for one any character whose first impression is "f~#%ed in a graveyard" has my attention immediately. That's some goth aesthetic ideals right there. As for your backstory, the elements there are fine, but there's some bits I kind of feel missing, as far as what she does given the whole Bard thing and what her life is outside of the devil situation, but also in motivation. What are Alana's goals? What scares her? What does she want to do and how does what happened to her shape her actions? I imagine it's something tied to her predicament, but the specific form of it is what I'm after. As far as specific rebuilding, don't worry too much about it; I let people make whatever changes to their sheet they want up to their first die roll, so with characters already made to other specifications I'm fine with holding out until they're accepted. Characters get started for other recruitments or want to change some elements around because the Bard and Wizard both have a similar starting spell and one wants to switch it out. It's all good.
@Tairan Avel: I'm not really feeling much horror connection there, and that's what I'm really after with characters in this recruitment. Having psychic magic be an emergent field that's not really understood is solid and can be interesting, but I'd want to see a bit more depth in those directions and some things that better play into the horror themes, as well as sharper motivations.
@Lady Emilia Vosk: Bat is an interesting choice, but neat. What's there looks fine, but it's missing some motivations or goals to drive Emilia as a character.
@spacefurry: Lingering on the fence on it, but one issue I see is that Nine Tailed Heir is a Sorcerer archetype, but without it you've got just a Spirit Binder Wizard, who doesn't really "need" to be a Kitsune as it were.
This sounds like a fun AP. I'd like to add Elisa as an option.
I think I've created her according to your suggestions GM. Let me know if their's anything you want more details on or if you think something should be changed.
--------------------
Elisa normally lives in Caliphas, the current capital of Ustalav. Her mother, who worked as a barmaid in a tavern in the city, gave birth to her 9 months after meeting a charming and mysterious stranger, who called himself Elias. The stranger showed up out of the blue one night and persuaded Elisa's mother to go on a whirlwind tour of the city, stopping at places normally reserved for noble folk and coupled with his charm and good looks, completely swept Elisa's mother off her feet. As quickly as he appeared that night, he vanished before dawn the next morning, leaving Elisa's unsuspecting mother pregnant. When her grandparents found out her mother was pregnant, they were disgusted and threw her out of the household, leaving Elisa's mother to fend for herself. As a result, Elisa and her mother barely scraped by and it was always a struggle to get enough food and pay the bills.
Elisa was an unusually graceful and charming child, traits her mother always claimed she inherited from her father. Growing up she never liked being out in bright sunlight, which often caused her to become disoriented. This coupled with her graceful and charming nature caused the superstitious folk of Caliphas who knew her to be unsettled and was constantly whispered about behind her back. This made life even more difficult for Elisa and her mother and she eventually began to steal to survive, a fact her mother never liked. Fortunately, her grace and charm worked to her benefit when it came to her clandestine activities and she found she was rather talented in this area, often bringing home more than her mother could earn in the tavern. She continued to hone her abilities until one night, a boy, who worked in the kitchens in the same tavern as her mother (and was infatuated by Elisa), delivered her a message from her mother. Her father had come back to town again and she was to go back to their small dwelling in the city to meet him. Curious about her mysterious father, she decided to return home to meet the man.
As she neared her home, she felt a strange sensation coming from it, almost like she could detect a person inside, something she had never felt before. As she quietly entered the house, she was shocked to see a stranger apparently kissing her mother's neck while her mother moaned with pleasure, something her mother would never normally do, as she was quite chaste. The strange sensation seemed to be coming from the stranger. At the same time, a delicious smell, that caused her mouth to water, emanated from the area where the stranger and her mother were located. The combination of these sensations caused her to gasp, alerting the stranger, who whirled around and hissed at her. Elisa was stunned both by the reaction of the stranger but also at the sight of blood on her mother's neck and on the stranger's mouth and chin. As a result, she was entirely unprepared when the stranger attacked her, knocking her out cold.
She came to several hours later, her mother and the stranger both missing, with another strange man in her home. It was here where she met Professor Lorrimor, who explained to her what had happened and was also fascinated by her condition, which he also explained to her. She spent the next few years learning all about the creatures who attacked her and her mother with her ultimate aim being to find the same creature again and, hopefully, also her mother. The Professor also introduced her to a woman who was capable of training her to fight these undead creatures, another of his many contacts. With the aid of Professor Lorrimor, her new training and her old contacts in the criminal underworld of Caliphas, she began to search for clues to the whereabouts of her father. It was in the middle of this search that she heard the news about the death and funeral of Professor Lorrimor, who she had grown to like and trust.
Elisa is an attractive woman with pale alabaster skin. She has piercing blue eyes and lustrous shoulder-length black hair. She has an athletic body with toned muscles as a result of both her condition (being a dhampir) and training.
Her deprived childhood and later success at thievery leads her to enjoy life as much as she can, whenever she can and she is not above cheating or stealing from someone to make her life better, if she can get away with it. She prefers not to steal from or cheat the needy if possible, as her own upbringing gives her an understanding of how difficult it can be for the poor to survive and a rich mark provides more gold anyway. However, her struggle to survive imparted a strong sense of survival of the fittest and she will take advantage of others if she feels she needs to. She detests evil undead, particularly vampires, because of what happened with her mother. At the same time, she has learned prudence from her years interacting with the criminal underworld and will not let her dislike show if it will give her a disadvantage to getting what she wants.
@Elisa Salazar: Everything looks to be in order, very straightforward but straightforward isn't bad. Solid stuff, easy to sink those hooks into the game proper. Not really left with any questions or things to ask you add.
Just wanted to bring Lahrehn here to the mix as my submission. @DM, I'm still working on his story, so I'll copy and paste from Word when I finish, before the deadline. Cheers :)
@Alana Brienne DeVere: Well for one any character whose first impression is "f$#+ed in a graveyard" has my attention immediately. That's some goth aesthetic ideals right there. As for your backstory, the elements there are fine, but there's some bits I kind of feel missing, as far as what she does given the whole Bard thing and what her life is outside of the devil situation, but also in motivation. What are Alana's goals? What scares her? What does she want to do and how does what happened to her shape her actions? I imagine it's something tied to her predicament, but the specific form of it is what I'm after. As far as specific rebuilding, don't worry too much about it; I let people make whatever changes to their sheet they want up to their first die roll, so with characters already made to other specifications I'm fine with holding out until they're accepted. Characters get started for other recruitments or want to change some elements around because the Bard and Wizard both have a similar starting spell and one wants to switch it out. It's all good.
Alvaren was a bright, carefree lothario, living a charmed life in a region of Ustilav that is notoriously crumbling into disrepair and ruin. He was naturally gifted and showed boundless potential. In just about every pursuit he tried, he excelled. He enjoyed delving into crypts and catacombs, exploring the rich history of the region. In retrospect, it's clear that his luck was the devil's own -- every trap he set off just barely missed or failed to activate, every crumbling floor held together just long enough for him to leap to safety, and every hidden danger failed to materialize as he ventured past.
I chose the Archaeologist Bard archetype because it has a "jack of all trades" quality to it. Magic, skills and a bit of combat prowess plus that luck that stays with her even now. Plus, it's an archetype that doesn't automatically lean toward the performance aspect of the Bard, since I don't really see her going on stage and singing or dancing. The Bardic music is converted to the luck power, and it's not shared. (I sometimes call the Archaeologist archetype the Selfish Bard.)
Obviously, I've chosen a "curse" for her that has a blessing attached. So long as she's Alana, she's safe from the devil that's waiting in the wings.
Her long-term hope is to somehow free herself from her Grandfather's contract. (Also note that I never said whether her grandfather is alive or dead...) But that sort of destroys the theme of the character if that is ever lifted. So it's one of those Gilligan's Island sort of dilemmas.
As for what scares her, her new body gives her plenty to fear -- we don't need to go into graphic detail (I'm grateful to see that in your opening post) but innuendo and suggestion can go a long way. Obviously, the devil and what is waiting for her if he should be able to collect his due. Furthermore, Alvaren's charmed life up till now has left her with a romanticized view of exploration and discovery. She hasn't experienced true undead horrors before, so that'll be a rude awakening.
As far as how she'll get along with the group, she'll first be focused on finding out whatever the Professor knows or knew. I know he starts off dead, so he'll be basically a dead end, but I'll make sure to look for hooks and reasons to stick around with the group. Despite her curse, she still manages to find moments of joy, especially if allowed to delve into ancient crypts and ruins.
Any other questions?
@Lahrehn and anyone else who's dotted with a half-finished character saying they've got s&*& to work on: All good, just make sure to post telling me you're all set up when you're done.
@Alana: Alright, that ties up the "why" of the Bard quite nicely. The grandfather's contract is a solid push, but as far as a Gilligan's Island dilemma, would that mean that a toward-the-end resolution of that would not be something you would want to get into, and if this game were to run to the end, you would want her to be left hanging on still having to sort that out?
Goal: To Master the burgeoning beast inside her, and to establish herself her own home.
Reputation: Is THought to be a Vampire or at least a spoiled Debutant
Friend: Lucille her Maid is her Only true friend.
HOme: Nighthallow
Signature Item: Her Umbrella(The only item given to her by Lucille that she managed to keep with her)
Problem: Her Curse and it's obvious tell her Golden Eyes
Secret: Aside from her Curse, it's her Secret love affair with her friend Maid Lucille.
Brave:To conquer the beast inside her, making sure she doesn't become a monster.All for her.
Father:Baron Aton Vosk,(Aristocrat/Warrior) worships Erastil
Mother:Baroness Ivanka Vosk,(Aristocrat)Worshipper of Desna
Siblings:Lord Grayson Vosk(Cavalier)is older and Heir Apparent
Countess Fatima Gregori(Aristocrat/Expert) Younger sister Married to Count Kraglin Gregori(1/2 orc Barbarian)
Half Sibling:Svoka (1/2 Orc Slayer)Sister born of her father and orcish maid Keeva
Tongi(1/2 Orc Bard)Sister born of her father and orcish maid Keeva
NOble Brith to Baron and Baroness VOsk of Nighthallow
Magical Gift: Her curse is a gift from the Bat Spirit
Beastlord: While growing up animals seemed more comfortable around her,especially bats
The Lover: Emilia's first and so far only love is that of her Handmaiden Lucille, a young blonde woman who is now married off to the families stableboy Gunther
One Significant Relationship: THrough it all Lucille was the one who loved her and cared for her. Her Teacher did it because she was paid, her siblings either hated her or envied her and her parents feared her.
@Alana: Alright, that ties up the "why" of the Bard quite nicely. The grandfather's contract is a solid push, but as far as a Gilligan's Island dilemma, would that mean that a toward-the-end resolution of that would not be something you would want to get into, and if this game were to run to the end, you would want her to be left hanging on still having to sort that out?
It's hard to say. I don't see what the endgame is going to be like, because what truly matters will be the journey. What sort of sacrifices will she have to make? What relationships will she develop? What about her own self-discovery? There's so many ways it could play out. If we reach the end (and I've been on these boards long enough to know that that rarely happens), I expect I'll know based on whatever's happened along the way. But right now? No idea.
@Lady Emilia: Alright, that helps tighten things up a little, thanks.
@Alana: Alright, not a problem. Obviously it's way too early to judge, I was just wondering if it was the kind of thing where you definitely didn't want that to ever possibly become resolved or dealt with.
I understand. And I hadn't known there was a sorcerer archetype for that, I was looking at a racial trait variant for kitsune but I just realized it was a 3pp variant so I wouldn't have been able to use it. I have to come up with a different race.
Hope to get my crunch done sometime in the next few days. Might redo my equipment.
I wouldn´t mind some feedback, if you have some time.
Oh s#&$, my bad; when you first posted it didn't seem like everything was done, so I was just waiting for you to tell me it was all finished and didn't know you were done. I will check that out in like an hour's time, trying to finish up some work at like 4 AM because my life is in shambles.
@Fifteen: I'm curious how the presence of multiple souls in her works. Is it something where Anastasia is the primary voice and it's all just fragments of the others in there? That could be interesting to play around with on my end. But aside from that, absolutely sort of reflavouring I was looking for, so you have the go ahead from me on the crunch front.
I don't really mind - I planning on building a (very odd form of) Psychic, so one part of having multiple soul fragments is an explanation of how I have every knowledge as a class skill.
I see Fifteen mostly as something very similar to Echo from 'Dollhouse'. She's fundamentally a composite identity, formed of all the souls Keqe merged. There's more of Anastasia than the rest, since she died much more recently than the others - however over the years since Fifteen's 'birth' she's balanced out the soul fragments, becoming a concrete identity of her own (much like how Echo was Caroline Farrell, but grew into being Echo - who was more than the sum of her parts).
That of course may manifest in all sorts of ways - there's an artificial calm which dominates Fifteen's mind (the result of Keqe removing Anastasia's hatred of him) but all those individual personalities would have their own loves, hates and fears which could all manifest under the right circumstances! Should be plenty of GM fodder!
I'm just going to drop a reminder here and advise people to read the page on making a Horror Character just to kind of reinforce the ideas in play, because I've seen a handful of apps now where I've harped back on the same general ideas and that page really establishes a lot of the things I want to see. Not singling out anyone I'm responding to as a reason to prompt me for it, I just felt like it bore repeating. The strongest submissions so far to me have been the ones that have strong horror hooks and backstory elements I can play off and interact with, and suitably, the most common "add this" comment has been asking for it from people, so I just really wanna stress that motivations, backstory events, and fear are elements are all big. These aren't just things I can put into the game, these are intentions and they are how I will be looking at characters and making my final selections. Please don't take my asking for more as a criticism or complaint; gotta stress that the more I have for a character, the more into them I can get, and I want you all to have that fair chance at getting in by feeling like there's ample ground for everyone involved.
@Ariane Aurelian: What's there looks fine, but it's missing a bit. I would like to know what she's doing "now", and what her goals are. Being part of the Order of the Palatine Eye in particular should be something with a bit of heft to it, given they're an Ustalavan society fighting the undead in an Ustalav game with a lot of undead things. It's a good base, but it needs those hooks that help make it feel horror-ey.
@Fifteen: Interesting, I would definitely think about playing around with those elements sometimes. I was definitely going to want to push on the idea of individual fragments being able to feel the fears in play and leaning on those here and there to prey on the horror a little bit, with Anastasia's obviously being the strongest core.
@Fifteen: Interesting, I would definitely think about playing around with those elements sometimes. I was definitely going to want to push on the idea of individual fragments being able to feel the fears in play and leaning on those here and there to prey on the horror a little bit, with Anastasia's obviously being the strongest core.
Perfect - magic makes Fifteen (more-or-less) immune to fear, but even the most comprehensive magic can't possibly quash the fears of fifteen different souls! [I always like it when fluff can explain mechanics and this neatly explains the expanded fear rules and why Fifteen can still be scared, just not as easily!]
Quick Question: Do you allow story feats, specifically Glimpse Beyond. I like it for showcasing the good and bad sides of Fifteen's divided psyche, and the goal is actually achievable in a game like this!
Yeah, having some kind of means of making her not immune to fear effects was big; an Android who remains completely impervious to fear would not have been long for consideration.
Yeah, having some kind of means of making her not immune to fear effects was big; an Android who remains completely impervious to fear would not have been long for consideration.
And, frankly - dull!
Is glimpse beyond ok? I edited my last post so I thought you might have missed it... :)
I did miss that, yes. Opened the tab and then took a bit too long to peek at it. Yeah, I'd say that's a story feat that can reasonably come up in-game, go for it.
Updated things. Changes in spoilers below:
Despite his skill with blade and sorcery he was more often called to play diplomat, learning how to use his natural intelligence to talk his way through missions. That method failed when he ran into some worshipers of the Whispering Tyrant, looking for ways to get into Lastwall and begin to break out the great lich. Among their possessions was a treatise, written from the perspective of the Whispering Tyrant, though clearly re-written and annotated through countless iterations. What caught Barek's eye, was the promise of power able to do anything, even break the curses of those who followed the Tyrant.
Fifteen is completed - crunch is now in the alias.
Hope you like!
@Barek: That's what I was looking for, thanks.
@Fifteen: Looks fine, although if you could also put the backstory stuff into there, that would be much appreciation. Having everything in one central location when I do The Thing at the end of this will be a lot easier.
I'd just like to expand a bit on the fear side of things for Elisa, as that will obviously be pretty important in this AP ;).
Elisa, like most people, would have some level of fear at the various hideous and/or terrifying creatures that may be present in this AP, particularly if she feels helpless against them (i.e. restrained, incapacitated etc. or just plain unable to do anything to defend herself). She would be terrified, for example, if she was chained to a wall while a hideous creature approached her or if after dealing a grievous wound to a creature, it rises back up as if nothing had happened. Being pretty perceptive, she would also get a fright if a creature came from nowhere and attacked without her noticing its approach. This could manifest in different ways like running away in terror, freezing in place and unable to move because of her fear or even attacking uncontrollably without thought for defense because of her panic. I'd be happy to work with the GM on how this could manifest.
One fear particular to her is that of loss of control, something she only had to worry about after the attack and disappearance of her mother. The helplessness and fear she felt when her father attacked, coupled with the smell of blood from her mother awakened her previously dormant dhampir instincts and she now is drawn to the smell of blood, a fact that confuses and disgusts her. She now occasionally struggles with involuntarily moving towards bleeding or helpless living creatures. For example, during a training session with her fighting tutor, she accidentally cut her tutor across her arm. Before Elisa was aware of what happened, she had dropped her rapier and grabbed her tutor's arm, raising it towards her mouth. Her tutor had to slap her across the face with her other hand to get her attention. The loss of control thoroughly unsettled her and she is now afraid she could lose control in a similar situation. This was one aspect of her condition which Professor Lorrimor found fascinating and he performed experiments to see when it occurred and to help Elisa control her urges. However, she still doesn't have full control and is terrified she could lose control again and hurt someone she cares about. I'd be happy to RP this with the group and the GM if they're onboard.
@Viola de Lacriomosa: I'd be happy to tie in with you if we're both chosen.
Dotting in with Ellie, who is filling the innocent abroad/damsel-in-distress/cowardly hero(ine) role, with a dash of "there must be a rational explanation for all this" and a soupçon of "consumptive/mysterious curse" who is going to (reluctantly) discover just how brave she really is...
Background is up, working on personality and crunch, but just wanted to check that this is the sort of thing you're looking for? Apologies for the wordiness, it got away from me a bit.
In terms of game progression, I'd ultimately like to see her become the next Professor Lorrimor - fearless know-all and guardian against evil. (Without the whole dying-in-your-hometown thing. That would really put a damper on it) :-)
Would you be ok with altering the flavor of a campaign trait slightly? I'd be looking at Making Good on Promises. The idea is that my character, who will be a Coldborn Skinwalker, owes the professor for saving him and his mother before he was born.
The idea is as follows. My character's pregnant mother and her traveling Varisian family were attacked by bandits on a road skirting the western edge of the Shudderwood. They were saved by a family of Werebears but my character's mother was accidentally scratched by one of them, infecting her with lycanthropy. Only at the next full moon was it discovered she had contracted lycanthropy.
As even the family's elders did not know how to deal with it they called in some old favors and ended up at professor Lorrimor. He provided my character's mother with wolfsbane, curing her of the curse. While the cure ended up not fully extending to her unborn child, as that initial transformation had already had an effect on him, the wolfsbane did stop the curse from fully taking hold of the boy, instead leaving him a Skinwalker.
My character would have been brought up with talks of how Lorrimor saved him and his mother and, though he only met the man a few times while still a little child, he feels like he owes his life to him.
Beyond that I'm looking at making him a Feral Champion Warpriest, as mentioned before, who is devoted to Sarenrae and I might also look at the Dawnflower Anchorite PrC later. The idea is that he turned to Sarenrae because he fears the night, the moon and the darkness, afraid that the curse of lycanthropy still lies dormant somewhere within him.
Added some to the backstory, and will write a description after my training.
But not Ariane. Nothing makes her happier than reading old tomes, cataloging osiriani artifacts, studying thassalonien runes.
That happens if you are the only child of scholars and cultists and spend your childhood in libraries and workshops.
But Ariane would not change her life a bit.
Her mother Helenia Aurelian is an expert on ancient osiriani history and artifacts, her father Aloisian Aurelian specialises in ancient Thessalonien magic, especially on Runelord Zutha, the Lord of Gluttony in the prestigious Calipha University.
Other children would play with their toys, Ariane would set next to her father, investigating runic tablets. The would stroke fluffy animals, Ariane would touch and feel ancient osiriani grave offerings. And while they dreamed and longed for sweets, she learned ancient languages and requested books from her parents.
The order of the Palpatine eye watched and smiled.
Ariane would have never left their house, if not for her uncle Theodorian, who took her out once a week to do more.. childish things. Like going to the fair, or for a picnic.
He was also responsible for her martial studies, a field she tried to ignore, but any please would fall on deaf ears. Theodorian would drag her to the gymnasium and insist that she would run her laps and do her chores. She would never have the strength of a trained warrior, or the grace of a burglar, but she could hold her own in a fight.
An ability often needed, the palpatine eye´s research often dabbled in dangerous fields and their enemy´s are many.
Ariane grew up as a woman of knowledge, but she had a pretty lonely life.
She never learned to make friends and so she was rather shy. Not bad looking, she rarely attracted the eye of young men, and those that did very often were turned down by her intellect and meticulous personality.
Her best friend was a pen-friend, an erudite scholar himself, Professor Lorimar.
She had met him during his time at the university and he had impressed her immensely.
The old man and the young girl listened to a lecture about ancient Osirion by a young and rather uninspired student. Her snarky comments made the old man smile and when the student try to belittle the woman her stood up in her defence.
Two years ago the other members of the order declared her ready for her first assignment.
Leaving Calipha for Lozeri, investigating the Devil in Grey, a mysterious beast haunting the palpatine. Together with two others, the sellsword Andrej and the Inquisitor Pjotri they conducted research. While their investigations did not unearth the lair of the beast, they did instead found a family of ghouls. A family of 3 infected children living with their mother Natalya, a cleric of Urgotha. The mother masked as a goodwive and scouted lonely farms and villages, for her three children to pillage in the night.
Together the three followed the bloody trail of despair and finally managed to trap them. That day Ariane learned that book learning not really prepare you for the horrors the lurk the night. While Andrej charged the first child, nearly beheading it with his enormous sword, Pjotri managed to distract priestess. It was Ariene´s turn to fling a magic stone at the closest ghoul.
But Ariane froze. The carefully laid plan was for naught and the resulting chaos resulted in disaster. In the end Andrej and Pjotri managed to kill the ghouls, but Natalya could flee.
And Andrej was gravely wounded and had lost his left eye.
Ariane was devastated, wracked with guilt. Her failure had dire repercussions and she vowed to herself to never be weak again. And together with Andrej and Pjotri they hunted down Natalya. In the end it was Ariane herself who took the black cold iron dagger and rammed it right into Natalya´s black heart.
Ariane has kept the dagger since that day.
Two weeks ago she has returned to Caliphas to visit her parents. It should have been a happy meeting.
It was obvious from the first moment Ariane entered her parents house. There was an evil smell in the air, a smell of rot and decay. Drawing her dagger and fortifying herself Ariane slowly climbed the stairs, seeing in horror the red stains on the boards.
With care she opened the doors on after the other till only the bedroom was left. And there she found them. Nailed upside down to the wall with her entrails hanging down. Between them there was a word painted in red on the wall. NATALYA
One week later Ariane was sitting alone in her in her small apartment. In the gloomy room, just lightened by a single candle the young woman was sitting at a shoddy table, holding a necklace with an open amulet in her hands, looking at the pictures of her parents painted in the amulets inside. Feeling the guilt, as she felt that she was responsible for the murder of her parents. She had sold her parent's house and donated everything to the order.
The old house had been despoiled, defaced, destroyed and was no home anymore.
It was Pjotr, her old comrade. He informed her that with some help of the other cultists they had found the assassins. And killed them to the last woman.
Natalya cried the whole night on Pjotr´s shoulder.
But in the morning she felt better after he had dressed and left. It had been an affair of despair but she felt better.
Then she received a letter from her old mentor.
All done as requested. :) Have fun 'Doing the Thing', there's so many good characters here that I'm sure it will be most... enjoyable... :P
Asmodeus's Advocate here, with Diomedes Ilika, dhampir fighter (steelbound). I'll get a more complete backstory up when I finish drafting it, and I'll be adding stats to his alias some time tonight.
He dresses in drab colors and tries not to call attention to himself, with the exception of his bright yellow red ribboned straw hat. And the monster of a scythe that he usually carries slung over one shoulder, or drags behind him, though it can be strapped to his belt. Other than that and the hat, he doesn't stand out at all.
He walks with a stiff shuffle-hop gait, which tends to unease people.
Takes were doubled, and the optical illusion shattered. There was a man beneath the hat, a short grey man. His skin palid, his long hair white as dirty snow, his threadbare traveling cloak grey and brown in patches. The overall effect was that of not existing, exepting his hat with it’s striking red ribbon, the man faded perfectly into the dreary Ustalavian landscape.
In Ustalav, it doesn’t pay to trust strangers. YOu can never tell who may be a withch, a witchwolf, or worse. The stranger eyed the people sitting on their stoops with equal distrust. That was probably a good sign. Meant he was unsure of himself.
Stiffly, the strange man with the strange hat clamored up the steps of the general store. He opened the door softly, closing it behind him.
Curious and wary eyes turned back on themselves and each other. Words were spoken, murmured, hushed. The silence remained unbroken.
-
Diomedes Ilika sits crosslegged on a rock as the sunsight lights the sky orange and red.
He stares intently at the scythe laying flat in his hands. It’s impossible to mistake this weapon for a farm tool. The blade, an impractically sized crescent of some blood-red metal. Likely stained steel. Dio didn’t know. The haft black and polished, though in all the years he’d carried the weapon Dio’d never so much as run a rag over it.
Gibeous, Lorimor had named it.
Idly, Dio wondered what the scythe was thinking.
Of course, he had no way of telling. The scythe’s mind was it’s, and Dio’s was his own. For all the good it’d done him.
He had the professor to thank for that.
”I’m not doing this for charity,” the then young wizard had said, those decades ago, interrupting Diomede’s profuse gratitude. ”I might need your, and Gibeous’s, talents at some future date. I trust you’ll come through for me.”
Debts come due, Dio thinks to himself, standing abruptly and casting Gibeous to the ground. Almost imediately, his hands start shaking and a dull throb builds between his temples. Fumbling, he draws from his cloak a flask, taking a drink to steady himself.
He stands, swaying, with Gibeous at his feet, and watches the sun fall beneath the horizon. Fists clenched, knees shaking, until the last bit of day gives way to the night. Only then does he retrieve the scythe, weakness and headache immediately relieved.
With a hand loosely bracing the cursed weapon on his shoulder, Diomedes Ilika shuffles towards Ravengrow, straw hat standing out against the night.
@Elisa Salazar: Sounds good, I dig the idea of dhampirs having problems with blood even if there isn't much mechanical backing for that sort of thing.
@Eldarel: You won't hear me complain about wordiness or a long backstory that gets away from you, believe me. I've got no right. As for Ellie, you're on the right track there and that's an interesting hook to play around with. You're on the right track, she's got a means to play around with horror and something that can be played on in the game. By all means, keep on with the process. I'm guessnig she's a wizard?
@Cuan: Sure, I'd say that would be a fine reflavouring of things and keep the core of it there.
@Ariane: Alright, that helps flesh things out a bit, thanks.
@Kendren: So far so good, but my one quibble would be that his one "fear" as it were is basically just "the monsters he's gonna fight". And that's fine, these things should be scarier and not as mundane as they might be in a normal adventure, but for the sake of having a bit more of an edge to things, I would like some kind of other fear, worry, past trauma, or just another kind of thing that can be played on here and there. A scholarly sort too cooped up to really experience anything fantastical is fine, but it does lead to a bit of a complicated time tailoring specific fears and scares that aren't just combat encounters.
@Diomedes Ilika: I'll hold off until you post the total back
And at this point I should probably list out the everything we've got going here, for everyone. These are only the characters I have at least part of, so interest checks and "this is the alias but I need to overhaul/retool it" aren't listed here. If you feel you're not on the right list, check back to make sure I haven't asked something you for something to add or change, and if you have already done that, then I guess let me know.
Complete:
Alana Brienne DeVere, Human Archaeologist Bard
Ariane Aurelian, Human Esoteric Initiate Cultist
Barek Noson, Human Bladebound Magus
Elisa Salazar, Dhampir Unchained Rogue
Fifteen, Android Psychic
Shai'essa Eluvight, Human Possessed Oracle
Victor Windlass, Human Unchained Barbarian
Incomplete:
Cassandra Blackmoore, Changeling Oracle (follow-up additions)
Eldarel Japhol (crunch)
Kendren Nollt, Human Bard (follow-up additions)
Lady Emilia Vosk, Weretouched Shifter (crunch)
Tairan Avel, Human Psychic (follow-up additions)
|
I have a few questions before I decide to dig into character development, and they may be related to "secret" information depending on character concepts, so I'm going to spoiler them for now.
|
I have an idea for a mesmerist, a young inexperienced con-man from Caliphas that the Professor saved from being arrested, for what reason he doesn't know(Making Good on Promises trait). Just give me some time to write up a complete backstory.
Also, when you said "Starting gold as standard for your class", did you mean roll or take average?
Sadly, I think I'm going to retract my bid. A lot of people already have awesome characters built, and I'm still trying to decide whether I want to play a human or a dhampir. I don't think I'll finish in any reasonable amount of time.
Best of luck to the rest of you!
@Raisse: That could be a good fit, if it's gone the tone of things right. It's certainly tied to some of the general elements of things, and knowledge is definitely a great area to play with in horror stuff, it's just a matter of finding a good wavelength on making it fit in. The tone/slant are very much Gothic Horror and a pseudo-Victorian aesthetic to tie it all up in a neat bow.
@MattZ: Average.
I'd like to throw a hat into the ring. Hopefully this fits with your aesthetic. I tried to avoid doing a direct Lastwall-esque crusader or something like it. Let me know what you think!
Background (10-minute):
Background
1) Marin is a Royal Accuser working for the royal house of Ustalav.
2) Marin is a cheerful, friendly, and trusting varisian male from the County of Varno in Ustalav. Marin is handsome, with a close-cropped black beard and a scruffy head of similarly colored hair. His complexion is tanned, and his eyes are hazel.
3) Marin was raised without a permanent home in a Varisian caravan that travelled around Varno. Marin is a follower of Desna, and has “itchy feet” if he stays in one place for more than a short time, though this is usually sated by a few days travel. Marin got a thrill from scary stories that his parents told him about the history of the country, and constantly tried to explore nooks and crannies to find odd creatures and unexplained phenomena, sometimes with life-draining effects.
4) Marin managed helped Prince Aduard Ordranti III when the prince was visiting the county on one of his tours. The prince found his caravan stuck in a rut on the road, a rut that was caused by a haunt that Marin had become familiar with. This haunt liked to play jokes on nobility that used the road. Marin and his family were camped in the woods nearby and Marin spotted the prince’s wagon. He convinced the haunt to let the Prince go, who noticed and appreciated the teenage Marin’s help.
4) Marin was conscripted for a “scholarship” by one of Aduard’s advisors to train at Lepidstadt university as a thanks for helping and to conscript a recruit with a different perspective than some of the typically dour Pharasmans into the Royal Accusers. Realizing that a Desnan with a touch of the divine would not easily fit in with the science and logic oriented populace of Lepidstadt, the advisor had Marin’s education supplemented by the occasional teachings of Azra, the wandering Desnan priestess.
5) Marin dropped out of the university before accomplishing much in the realm of medicine or arcane magic, but he learned enough to appreciate the knowledge that is required to be an Accuser. He learned much of his monster lore from Professor Lorrimor when the traditional teaching methods did not sit easily with Marin. Lorrimor came across a valuable book cursed with a haunt, and it was only Marin’s natural expulsionist abilities that managed to repel the ghost long enough for Lorrimor to seal the haunt away. Lorrimor said that he was forever in Marin’s debt for Marin’s help and they finished their tutoring.
Goals
1) Marin would like to explore the haunted and dangerous parts of Ustalav and meet to as many creepy undead and other monsters as he can. He gets a thrill from danger and fear.
2) It would be cool if Marin could gain the Prince’s favor.
Secrets
1) Marin has gotten into some fights with hellknights and has a poor reputation among the lawful societies in the western part of Ustalav. His sponsors in the palace are not aware of this.
2) Marin is less brave than he thinks he is, he puts on a good front for his companions but he has been recently worried that his positive outlook may not be enough. Lorrimor opened up Marin’s eyes to the true extent of the horrors of Golarion, and it’s shocked Marin.
NPCs
1) Marin knows Azra, the priestess of Virlych, and learned a great deal about Desna from her.
2) The minor chancellor to the Prince, Nicolaj, is frustrated that Marin wasn’t able to finish the university education, but is supporting Marin’s endeavors as a Royal accuser, even though Marin has yet to do much more for Ustalav beyond dealing with minor possessions and trickster haunts.
Other
1) Marin tends to treat the undead in a friendly way, as all of the undead and haunts that he’s happened to meet have appreciated it.
2) Marin has a small stone ball that he rolls on his fingers absentmindedly when thinking. He found the stone while exploring his home county. The stone is extremely cold to the touch, regardless of the amount of ambient heat, and seems to tire most people who handle it.
3) Marin has a crush on Azra and has no way to express himself nor any way to easily travel to Virlych. He tends to ignore any romantic overtures as a consequence of this unrequited crush.
Statblock:
Human (Varisian) inquisitor (expulsionist, royal accuser, sanctified slayer) of Desna 1 (Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Inner Sea Intrigue 45, Pathfinder Player Companion: Haunted Heroes Handbook 14, Pathfinder RPG Advanced Class Guide 99, Pathfinder RPG Advanced Player's Guide 38)
CG Medium humanoid (human)
Init +5; Senses Perception +7
--------------------
Defense
--------------------
AC 16, touch 13, flat-footed 13 (+3 armor, +3 Dex)
hp 9 (1d8+1)
Fort +3, Ref +3, Will +4; +2 trait bonus vs. death effects
--------------------
Offense
--------------------
Speed 30 ft.
Melee longspear +2 (1d8+3/×3) or
. . morningstar +2 (1d8+2)
Ranged shortbow +1/+1 (1d6/×3)
Space 5 ft.; Reach 5 ft. (10 ft. with longspear)
Special Attacks channel positive energy 5/day (DC 13, 1d6), studied target +1 (1st, move action)
Inquisitor (Expulsionist, Royal Accuser, Sanctified Slayer) Spells Known (CL 1st; concentration +3)
. . 1st (2/day)—divine favor, heightened awareness[ACG]
. . 0 (at will)—detect magic, disrupt undead, guidance, oath of anonymity, sift[APG]
--------------------
Statistics
--------------------
Str 14, Dex 16, Con 12, Int 13, Wis 14, Cha 14
Base Atk +0; CMB +3; CMD 15 (13 vs. dirty trick)
Feats Agile Maneuvers, Alignment Channel, Precise Shot, Rapid Shot, Turn Undead
Traits chance savior, inured to death, sacred conduit
Skills Bluff +6, Diplomacy +6, Knowledge (local) +5, Knowledge (religion) +5 (+6 to identify the abilities and weaknesses of haunts and incorporeal creatures), Perception +7, Sense Motive +6 (+7 to determine whether a creature is possessed, under the effects of an enchantment or curse, or otherwise magically controlled), Stealth +6, Survival +6
Languages Common, Undercommon, Varisian
SQ expel spirit, expulsionist lore +1, finesse weapon attack attribute, meticulous inspection +1, naive, rules changes
Other Gear studded leather, heavy wooden shield, arrows (20), longspear, morningstar, shortbow, backpack, bedroll, canteen[UE], masterwork backpack[APG], spell component pouch, trail rations, wooden holy symbol of Desna, 4 gp, 2 sp, 1 cp
--------------------
Special Abilities
--------------------
Agile Maneuvers Use DEX instead of STR for CMB
Alignment Channel (Evil) Channel Energy heals or harms outsiders of the chosen alignment.
Expel Spirit (Su) You can channel energy, but only to harm or turn evil outsiders or undead.
Expulsionist Lore +1 (Ex) Bonus to notice haunts and incorporeal creatures, identify their abilities and weaknesses.
Finesse Weapon Attack Attribute The “light weapons” category has been renamed to “finesse weapons.” Characters can choose to use either their dexterity bonus or their strength bonus to hit with these weapons, no feat required. “Finesse” is also now a weapon attribute li
Inquisitor Channel Positive Energy 1d6 (5/day, DC 13) (Su) Positive energy heals the living and harms the undead; negative has the reverse effect.
Meticulous Inspection +1 (Ex) +1/2 level to Perception
Naive -2 to AC vs. improvised weapons.
Precise Shot You don't get -4 to hit when shooting or throwing into melee.
Rapid Shot You get an extra attack with ranged weapons. Each attack is at -2.
Rules Changes By all metrics, Pathfinder is the most satisfying pen-and-paper game I’ve ever played. The class balance feels good, the math isn’t overwhelming, and the community support is outstanding. However, it suffers from one syndrome that haunts the crea
Studied Target +1 (move action, 1 at a time) (Ex) Study foe as a Move action, gain +1 to att/dam & some skills vs. them.
Turn Undead (DC 13) Your Channel Energy can make undead in 30 ft flee for 1 min.
Dotting. I have run Carrion Crown twice, throwing that out in case it disqualifies me, but I've never gotten the chance to actually PLAY my favorite AP. =)
@Marin Grigore: I would like to see a bit more depth in the horror area; what's there is a good base, but as much as "likes to be creeped out" is good, I want to see something happen that can actually twist the fear a little bit. Some kind of failure or situation gone wrong that might leave him with lingering scars instead of an adrenaline withdrawl. A character who likes scary situations is fine, but there's got to be times where the scary is too much for him, otherwise it takes out a bit of the narrative fun out of putting him into those.
Also I'm not sure "Rules Changes By all metrics, Pathfinder is the most satisfying pen-and-paper game I’ve ever played. The class balance feels good, the math isn’t overwhelming, and the community support is outstanding. However, it suffers from one syndrome that haunts the crea " was meant to be in your special abilities, but I can assure you that Marin will not be heading an inquisition powerful enough to enforce house rules
@Storm Dragon: Doesn't disqualify you, although I'm curious how far you got both times. I'm going to change things here and there, but you'll still have seen how the sausage is made.
That's a good point. My original plan was for Marin to get his first experience with real danger early on in the game itself but it would be better if he didn't run away automatically in the first encounter and leave the other PCs hanging. I'll think about it and get back to you if I can come up with anything appropriate.
Sorry, that bit of text was accidentally copied from the mod that I used for HeroLab that applies the elephant in the room house rules. I don't know why it gets exported to the stat block, it shouldn't have been included.
I don't want to tell you where to build, but the haunt stuff would definitely open up some good angles for Marin to stand out in his horror element. Something personal also wouldn't hurt there.
And no I figured it was some weird error and f*%# if I haven't made plenty of them myself, I was just poking fun.
A change to the previous entry on Lorrimor:
So, this changes the character a bit, and I'd swap out the drawback “naive” for “bitter” due to his bitterness at his own failure and at the university for shifting blame on to him for what was a tragic accident. Marin is still haunted by the death of his friend, though most of the time he acts boisterous and overconfident, he has a lingering fear of tentacled things (-2 on saves vs fear effects created by tentacled creatures?) and while he is obligated to continue working for Nicolaj he does so with some reluctance. He is still valuable as a royal accuser due to his unique abilities as an expulsionist, but he is watched carefully by his superiors lest he be found wanting again. He chafes under their more diligent eye, and secretly resents having to document his actions as extensively as he does now.
Personally I find tentacled stuff pretty gross and creepy (despite liking most actual cephalopods - tentacles belong on *them* thanks) so it might be a good hook to weird me out. I'm not sure if that comes up in the game, but since you're modifying some things maybe if I were chosen it would be included. The mild optimizer in me doesn't want to give my character additional drawbacks, but this makes a bit of sense if the additional background information is interesting.
@Storm Dragon: Doesn't disqualify you, although I'm curious how far you got both times. I'm going to change things here and there, but you'll still have seen how the sausage is made.
Through Book 2 the first time, and to the end of Book 5 the last time recently. I ended up having to shut it down due to burnout; half my players disappeared into the ether (I still don't know what happened to one; the other was without internet for 7 months) and even though I found good replacements and soldiered on for the last part of Book 5 my motivation didn't survive the abrupt shattering of all the great character dynamics the previous party had.
I'd like to dot in and add Sofia into the running if it isn't too late for new submissions. I think I pinned down everything necessary about her in her profile. I would have dotted sooner, but this was my first time attempting an occult class and wasn't sure the idea would gel. Hopefully Sofia is suitably interesting!
May toss a Shaman with the Possessed Hand line of Feats into the mix.
Have changed avatar image to something less martial and more haunted.
Here are additional details concerning Victor
1) Survivor of a Magical Massacre
2) Because of his experiences he will become an unrelenting Demon and Undead Hunter
3) Disgraced Heir to a Gun Company
4) Guilt over sister and friends deaths
5) A bit of a nerd for a barbarian. Always consulting books.
1) Due to his experiences at the cabin, he is a firm believer in the mutilation of corpses to prevent them from returning.
2) He is slightly manic in combat. Reveling in the blood and gore, only regretting it later.
3) Deep down, he truly believes that everyone is good. This continually comes back to haunt him.
His sister coming back would definitely unhinge him. Also any isolated cabins or similar structures trigger an unreasoning terror.
@Marin: Alright, that's a lot tighter, thanks.
@Phntm888: Better, and I can dig the angle, but let's see about maybe deepening it a little bit more. I don't want to dictate your character to you, but he is a cooped up and scholarly sort so; what if he were to be kind of mildly germophobic because of his experiences with the plague--with the life of an adventurer often going into dingy, dismal, dirty places of all sorts--and having not only nightmares about what happened, but issues then with sights of illness and decay to a not-really-body-horror-but-similar line? Plague is a good fear, but his fear of it should be something that can be played around more in the field.
@Storm Dragon: Oh wow, much further than I thought. As long as you can know to separate player from character knowledge we're all good there, although hopefully any changed content will stack up well; my bigger fear for someone who knows the book is for someone who knows what I changed to go "What is this utter clownshoes b~$&+#$~?" and flip the table.
@Sofia Covanu: Not too late, no. And alright, I dig it; interesting choice of horror to have in the background, but abberations can definitely be pants-s@@*ting and you picked a solidly weird and unsettling one for it. Medium can open up lots of potential for different manners of f!+&ery and just be warned I may take an interest in doing things with that here and there when an area's spirit might be of some kind of importance or have their own s%&# going on.
@Victor Windlass: Noted and appreciated.