Hey guys, I'm hammering out the final details on the character with the GM right now.
I've narrowed it down to 2 possibilities and I'm trying to pick the option with the GM via suggestions on PM.
As soon as it's finalized, I'll have something up on the board regarding backstory and connections with the crew.
No worries, Gabryjel. Look forward to reading your backstory and connection with the rest of us.
So Xanxan is Variel's tailor and that business relationship has grown to include a friendship as well over the last couple of years. When Variel and Aneira travel they deliver goods and pick up supplies for Xanxan as well.
Sounds good! Almost everyone needs clothes eventually, so almost every party member should have a reason to have at least met the brave little tailor. ;) How much you guys know about his shadier skills can be debated.
I'm visualizing him as a mix of Robin Hood and Garek from Deep Space Nine. :)
Your avatar just makes me smile, Xanxan. It's quite infectious.
That's cool - there was a buddy of mine who tried to build a guy like Garek for Deep Space Nine in another game I played a while back (to be fair, it was a Star Trek game, but still).
Okay, that said, I'm just waiting on some feedback from the GM and I'll be good to go!
Imm, I can't remember if you're giving us any hero points in this game?
Hey guys - regarding "Traits" - I read over the boards and the conclusion I reached was:
We get 2 traits and 1 additional Campaign Trait (as in the pirate game).
If that's wrong, can someone please let me know?
If we only get 2 Traits in the game I'd rather not take the campaign traits, as there are many that are much more helpful, but I'm not entirely sure right now.
Thanks!
Your avatar just makes me smile, Xanxan. It's quite infectious.
Thanks. One never knows how characters will develop, but I picture him a great deal more optimistic than myself :)
My understanding was that we get 2 traits, one of which must be a campaign trait - that's the information I used when I built my character.
Same understanding here: 2 traits, one of which must be a campaign trait.
What? Only two traits and one has to be the campaign trait?
Yuck, that really sucks.
I wonder why he decided to do that.
Oh well, if that's how he decided to do it, that's how he decided to do it.
Meantime I'm still waiting back on him, hopefully I'll get the go-ahead soon and I'll have things up then.
But now that I need to drop one of the Traits I need to reshuffle things around, sorry again for the delay.
Skills Acrobatics +3 (-1 jump), Appraise +5, Craft (clothing) +7, Diplomacy +6, Disable Device +8, Escape Artist +8, Fly +5, Knowledge (local) +5, Perception +6 (+7 to locate traps), Sense Motive +4, Sleight of Hand +7, Stealth +11; Racial Modifiers +2 Perception
Quick question - given the terrain/temp out here, anyone thinking of getting tents?
If we chip in and score a Pavilion Tent we can fit everyone inside and have a fire, unfortunately it's 50 lbs.
But it may be an investment worth considering for the future, especially if we're all trekking together.
my skills: Acrobatics 1, heal 5, Know arcane 8(9), know planes 8, linguistics 5, perception 6, spellcraft 8(9), stealth 1, UMD 6
my languages: Common, Celestial, dwarven, Skald, Hallit, draconic, Sylvan, Aklo, elvish
I think we are going to start out no hero points and see how things go.
Okay, that's fine about the tent, then.
Right now I have the following few skills:
Craft: Bows (5)
Perception (3)
Ride (7)
Survival (6)
I put up more details on who he is and his personality on his sheet.
I guess we're waiting on the GM now.
By the way, does anyone know what's going on with Waiph?
True, but he hasn't done an update. However, he's pretty busy right now and we'll see something from him soon, I believe, so that's good times.
Sorry, couldn't post earlier as I was tied up.
Aneira's skills are as follows:
Diplomacy +12, Heal +6, Knowledge, Nature +5, Perception +5, Sense Motive +6, Survival +6
She can choose from either Know. History, Know. Planes, Know. Religion and Know. Nature, so I can change that if it is better for the group ...
Gabe, start working your background into the others if you haven't already.
btw, Gabriel - Fey is not a language - good fey speak sylvan, evil fey speak aklo per pathfinder rules anyway
Gabryjel (as indicated on the sheet) has recently returned from being in military service. He’s seen some fairly brutal combat during his tenure, and memories of his past sometimes trouble him with the occasional nightmare and minor signs of Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome.
Therefore he’s eager to put that part of his life behind him. When he arrived at the small town he’s volunteered his services as a trapper, deputy to the local enforcement officer, occasionally doing bounty work and hunting game for citizens.
He spends his time doing work in the town and trying to help people in general. Meanwhile, his opinions on the corrupt nobility in the Taldan government, and the generally insipid military prompts him to generally avoid “noble” types and spend more time working with more of the “common” types.
Therefore he tries to aid the underdog, such as it is, and will do what he can to help out the sick, elderly, animals and children who do not fit well into society as a whole.
Because of this, he tends to be very friendly with non-humanoid races and those who don’t seem to fit in.
He’s become fairly friendly with Waiph’s character, often asking the lad to come with him on hunting expeditions into the mountains, hoping the he'll bring along his young dire wolf cub.
He is also fairly friendly with Variel, seeing the socially dysfunctional elf as someone who deserves compassion and special treatment instead of contempt or scorn and will often ask the elf to come with him into the wilderness as well when he hunts.
He’ll often spend his downtime with Xanxan, having a cold drink and working on projects in the town, specifically some mundane fletching for the purposes of making arrows for hunting.
Other than that, he’s typically a more quiet type, preferring to offer his help to those who need it.
btw, Gabriel - Fey is not a language - good fey speak sylvan, evil fey speak aklo per pathfinder rules anyway
Cool!
Gabryjel would have learned Sylvan during his time in the wilderness, generally helping goodly fey against their darker enemies; adding his efforts to help some of the "natives" against their enemies (such as the Dark Fey).
When evil fey attack the goodly sorts, he'll volunteer his services to help them generally for free as he feels they have a sacred place in the wilderness and wants them to have peace without being molested by enemies.
The link between Gabryjel and Aneira could be their connection to the Fey. She is Fey-blooded and speaks Sylvan, too.
Ah! Venja, I just noticed you have a celestial Artic Hare.
While Gabryjel is generally a bit more quiet and reserved around ladies, especially ladies with such high charisma who are clearly quite lovely (he feels a bit shy around those types), he'll generally search for bunches of fresh clover in the wild to bring back for your Hare as a snack.
He's just a bit shy around the somewhat dominant personality types, and this is also why he tends to avoid Aneira as well.
Being around women who are that attractive and almost "otherworldly" regarding their charisma makes him a bit shy.
But he'll happily bring treats for your hare :)
The link between Gabryjel and Aneira could be their connection to the Fey. She is Fey-blooded and speaks Sylvan, too.
Hmm...
In that case Gabryjel will likely treat Aneira more like an almost regal or noble High Priestess type (think how Sam would have treated Galadriel).
He's done a lot to help goodly fey in the wilds (he sees them kind of like indigenous people whose rights have been trampled on by encroaching colonial types).
The fact that you're extremely beautiful keeps him a bit tongue-tied around you as your bloodline would equate to some sort of sign of high power with the people he's attempted to fight for before.
Although he generally shy's away from "noble" types such as yourself, the fact that you've not only tolerated but accepted Variel as a mate has impressed him greatly as its clear you married him for an actual love rather than being moved by his charm or personality as he does not have those qualities.
Therefore, the fact that you're considerate and patient with someone like Variel (again, rooting for the underdog again) tells Gabryjel that you're likely a goodly person, but as a whole he'll treat you more like modest royalty because of your gifts, your appearance and your power (as well as your connections to the Fey via bloodline).
In short, he'll be respectful and courteous around you, treating you more like a High Priestess with noble rank :)
what no connections to the female characters, Gabe? Never mind, you did Aneira... what about Venja - she is a local healer as well, with a high cha - has many friends in town - and regularly treats pets and farm animals as well as people, making her sort of the local veterinary as well as healer. With your self-proclaimed tie with animals, they might have met over an injured animal, either in town or in the woods... she's also quite close with Waiph's character, too.
what no connections to the female characters, Gabe?
No, no - I just tossed them up.
But he's only got an 11 Charisma, which is pretty pitiful in general.
On top of that he's also only 20 - the youngest in the group I think.
He's spent most of his time hunting and trapping; riding over the plains and several years in the military as a guide to various Fey tribes.
So when he comes back to "The World" and sees a beautiful lass with huge charisma it's a bit off-putting to him.
He's not as comfortable around women as he is men, and the grace, beauty and charm that you both possess is a bit awkward for him. His interaction with you both will probably be a lot more classy and reserved then he might otherwise be if you were more of a tom-boy type who got into fights and drank and swore and that sort of thing.
But he's certainly friendly with you and is very respectful to you, but I just needed to wrap my mind around how he would interact with you all.
But he does spend some time around you (your post was slightly above Aneira). He's still a bit shy around you, but he's much more demonstrative with your Hare, as it's someone he can relate to better.
Also, given that you're the local Vet, he'll happily search for certain herbs and flowers to bring back to you so you can help with the animals you're working on.
So he's not sure how to relate to you very well in a social situation, but when you're both in a working or professional situation he'll be as helpful as he can and sincerely interested in aiding you in whatever way he can.
cool - Venja will have done her best whenever with Gabe to put him at his ease. She may be a bit unusual looking, but she is really a very nice lady. Just very down to earth and professional when it comes to her profession in town(veterinarian/healer).
The familiar arythmc clip-clop of hooves on stone and horribly off-key reed-pipe playing echoes down the street, heralding the approach of the one and only (thank heaven) BECK TAVIS!!!
Beck's a wanderer that looks kinda like a satyr with his cloven hooves and curved horns, but to those who know better he is something else. He's short and rather unkempt, smells of bark and wilderness, but he ends up swimming and chasing river-sprites too much to stink. His hair is dark eyes are bright and skin has a slight color to it like he's been drinking. He hasn't but it looks that way sometimes.
Beck's been around as long as anyone can remember. An odd duck, lacking in tact and wit, does the best to make up for his severe social failings by offering his services. He's over-the-top and in-your-face sometimes, not really doing personal bubbles, but he'll backoff no problem if you ask him (and then remind him when he gets excited and forgets). When really in need of money, he isn't above pan-handling by playing his broken reed-pipes and stopping for donations.
He is a highly skilled Hunter/Tracker/Forager, with a knack for finding direction and his way around the wilderness. Much better with animals than people, he has a pet kitten who's as big as he is named SHeelah whom he loves dearly.
Talked with Venja about this. Beck and she have became friends, as she was able to see past Beck's flaws, and they travel together through the wilds, gathering herbs etc. He is also a healer, so they work together as well, having bonded over many shared traits.
Venja eould have introduced Beck to the Halfelf couple, and at the wedding of Aneira and Variel, he brought a wild boar to feed the guests, and as a special treat didn't play his pipes even once for the whole thing. it was a special occasion after all!
And Gabe is his hunting-bro! they hunt and track and stuff and it's all kinda of cool, as sometimes the silly human doesn't notice things in the wild. He's still cooler than most city-folk tho cause he can find his way around in a pinch.
Not sure how he'd relate to Xanxan tho, come to think of it...
How would a gnome tailor deal with a not-satyr lacking in tact and social graces?
Think im going with a Cat, her name's Sheelah
Well, you are an angel-kin; that kind of is literally divine blood to him, so he's still a bit nervous around you (but more nervous that he'll say or do the wrong thing; he treats you more like a classy lady he may dirty-up, and as for someone like Aneira, he's a lot more stand-offish as if he gets too close to her he's afraid he may "break her" because he's a lot more aware of how crude and rough he is).
Also, you're someone with magic powers; in general he sees magic as something as extremely powerful. It's more powerful than steel, or guns, or even entire armies. Magic is literally godlike, and a spell caster can literally kill someone by uttering a simple word of power like "Kill" - he's seen bloodshed and killing, so he's definitely respectful of magic and those who wield it.
Although people like Waiph is a druid, to him druids are more "natural" (they've also had lots of interaction with Fey, so that helps him a lot because he's seen druids in action).
He's also the same way about Variel's ability to slaughter men with such ease. However, as Variel is so emotionally disconnected around people, Gabryjel doesn't get that intimidated around the elf, but typically does his best to almost "humor" him.
I just realized I never named my familiar - I've got to get on that right away.... what to name a bunny?
The familiar arythmc clip-clop of hooves on stone and horribly off-key reed-pipe playing echoes down the street, heralding the approach of the one and only (thank heaven) BECK TAVIS!!!
Wait, you got rid of your dire wolf cub?
Man, that's too bad! I was all eager for a wolf cub :)
Meantime, as you're so low on the Charisma as well, Gabryjel will likely be treating you kind of like a "special" friend (sort of like Owlbear or something like that).
In short he'll likely be more "gentle" and forgiving around you if you're crude or barbaric.
Hey, so this is kind of a general question, but given that our combined Charisma for the party is less than 11 on average, are we even able to survive if we come into a town?
I mean, other than casting, I know Charisma is the standard "Dump Stat"; but is that going to effect our party much? If not, I may end up just dropping my Charisma a bit and up my dexterity a bit.
Is that something people recommend, or does it even matter?
At this point I had planned on Gabryjel to be a sort of "non-com" in the military, but then I decided that having only an 11 in Charisma was a bit too low for something like that, so I dropped that part of the idea.
Also, during my build I had a spare point laying around, which is why I put it in Charisma. I could have put that into Con and given a 13 so when I hit level 8 or possibly 16 I could bump his stats up for another HP, but I thought that an 11 in Charisma was more in keeping with the concept, so I did that instead.
GM: Just curious here - does Charisma not matter in this campaign other than having our "Face" do the diplomacy check? If it doesn't please let me know before the game formally starts. Thanks!
Charisma will matter as much as any other depending upon how much you use it. If you are trying to intimidate or bluff someone for instance, having a high charisma will help. If you are planning on letting Aneira do all the talking then that's different.
Heading to bed. Have a great night all!
remember with a dex already at 17, assuming it was 15 before your racial add, you'd have to drop a lot of cha to get one point of dex (to 16)
|
Gabe,
The way I look at charisma has nothing to do with looks or attractiveness. To me it is or force of character. As in Variel is not going to be the face or the leader type in this campaign as he does not have the pizzazz for it. That is not to say that always rude or obnoxious but it is just harder for him to do so. Likewise in 5 levels if I max ranks in diplomacy it means that I am trying and learning how to be more diplomatic just not having a natural ability but that would make me better than a person with a 10 cha but no ranks. It's all in how you see cha being used no attributed.
Also I believe that Beck is more of a devil-kin than an angel-kin being a tiefling.
I just realized I never named my familiar - I've got to get on that right away.... what to name a bunny?
Well, in Polish and Russian the word for rabbit is: Królik
Even though we’re starting in what looks like desert culture, I’m guessing that in Irrissan the culture is close to Polish/Slavic and Russian as the flag to the country has the house of what looks like Babba Yaga, an extremely cruel and evil witch (my grandparents are Polish/Slavic, I know a bit about this creature from some folk tales). Anyhow, I’m guessing that the country is more akin to that world.
But for your little guy, as you’re playing a witch (and I typically see witches as Irish/Celtic types) it might be fun to use the Irish word for Rabbit which is Coinân.
Just a few thoughts :)
I'd add to the Cha discussion, not only is it in part Looks, and Force, but also tact. Beck's no looker, but more than anything he doesn't say the right things, doesn't have personal boundries and isn't really taken seriously. Sure i could use ranks to figure out how to lie or frighten people, or even make friends, but that'd belearned, as Var said.
Plus, 11 cha means average (slightly above). You get on fine with people. mpre people get a good first impression than not, at least if they notice you. You don't turn heads, or inspire trust like Dhaavan, but it's not like you necessarily put people off. not most of the time at least.
I'll have to take ranks in Sense Motive eventually... curse this lack of skill-points
Aneira's charisma is 17 and is the face of the party in this campaign. Her Diplo is +12, so I think the party will be fine.
And it's Baba Yaga, with one 'b'. Baba means grandmother in the Slavic tongue.
Real quick before bed. Southern taldor is nothing like a desert culture.
Taldor is more like feudal western europe.
Gabe,
The way I look at charisma has nothing to do with looks or attractiveness. To me it is or force of character. As in Variel is not going to be the face or the leader type in this campaign as he does not have the pizzazz for it. That is not to say that always rude or obnoxious but it is just harder for him to do so. Likewise in 5 levels if I max ranks in diplomacy it means that I am trying and learning how to be more diplomatic just not having a natural ability but that would make me better than a person with a 10 cha but no ranks. It's all in how you see cha being used no attributed.
Also I believe that Beck is more of a devil-kin than an angel-kin being a tiefling.
Venja: – my Dexterity was indeed a 15. But all I’d need to do is drop my Charisma to an 8, that means instead of me spending one point on Charisma, now I’d have an extra 5 points to play with (remember: starting yourself with a 7 in a primary stat gives you +4 points, and I already spent 1 in Charisma).
So I drop my Charisma to 7, let Aneira do all the talking.
With my extra 5 points I’d probably bump my Dexterity up pretty high.
But any way you slice it, I still like your bunny ;)
Variel: Well first; when I mentioned the Angelic thing earlier, I was talking to Venja, not Waiph, as she’s an Aasimar :)
The next thing is – looks and personality are pretty much synonymous with me. In my opinion, a person with a low Charisma is unattractive.
I mean, a person without personality or spirit is just too boring for me. People who “fade in the background’ aren’t the kind of people I find attractive.
I’d rather be with a slightly plain girl who has spirit and passion and poetry in her soul that comes out when she talks, and moves and how she carries herself; rather than a girl who is an attractive supermodel or “hot statue” but has absolutely no personality.
But that’s just me.
The other issue I have is that it looks like people “optimized” their characters and I don’t really like that.
The reason I don’t like that is that some classes only have one main stat – so a player who optimizes can drop everything to negatives (or close to it) then use the bonus point bonanza to pimp out their primary stats and there’s no “in game” penalty for it.
So say you’re an arcane caster with a strength of 7 and can’t even lift anything? No worries, just get a magic item to buff your carrying capacity. You’re a fighter and you've decided to give yourself an Int. and Char. of 7’s; no problem – you don’t need those stats because you don’t do diplomacy checks and you’re not the skill monkey and they don't effect any saves, hp, or anything to do with combat.
The GM ups the CR to deal with players who dish out crazy damage and absorb anything; and if I’d rather not “optimize” then I lose.
So that’s why I wanted to know what’s going on from the GM before I start getting excited about this concept. If stats are just used as mechanism on getting powers and have no direct bearing on the game regarding social RP (except if I need to roll something) then I’ll have to go back and just optimize my character.
I'm hoping that's not the case, but I guess we'll see what happens.
Real quick before bed. Southern taldor is nothing like a desert culture.
Taldor is more like feudal western europe.
GM – sorry for the confusion.
In the Inner Sea Primer they have Taldor bordering Qadira; so I assumed that given the latitude of the placement it would be hot climate; and given the fact that the Inner Sea Primer referenced Taldor’s “nation’s Byzantine bureaucracy” it just seemed like a fairly desert culture for some reason, or at least something like Afghanistan maybe.