I sent a personal message to DM Pendin Fust discussing this very issue as I am also very worried about Ravana.
I did a lot of research on Sarkoris, Mendev and the Crusades when making Ravana. She is a Sarkoris survivor, kidnapped as a child and then enslaved in the abyss where time runs differently. Once she escaped/was released, she fled to the city above us, but was then run out by the descendants of her people - the Kellid.
She fled to Mendev where she fell in with a group of evil druids that fight to save their country from the Crusaders. Despite sharing a common skillset and outlook on nature, she doesn't share their hatred of the Crusaders the way she hates the demons and the Kellid, but she doesn't really like them either. They are foreigners. They don't belong here.
So that is Ravana. Her character history is extremely detailed and online where it's easy to find.
I wanted to play her at a crossroads in her life - unhappy with everything/everyone and trying to find her path in the middle of the apocalypse.
I did not assume that we needed to want to join the crusades when I made my character and that is not something she is interested in at all. She could possibly be brought around to wanting to work with them, but would need to be convinced instead of pushed, which she is being now.
So, you're right, Ravana has no motivation to stay with the group once we reach the surface. Our exchange in the Mongrelmen city actually drove her further away from wanting to work with the Crusaders rather than closer.
There is no way to know what you're in for when making a character for an AP. I make the character I am interested in playing and then submit it, assuming she will not be selected if she's a bad fit. So far, Ravana is a really bad fit but I don't know if that will change or stay the same.
I must stress that Ravana is simply a character, she's not me and doesn't represent my personality at all. I assume the same is true for all of your characters, although that may not actually be the case. This would be a great campaign for my Fey Paladin from RoW, and it's kind of ironic, because her campaign is way too dark for her, with her being a paladin in what seems to be a neutral/evil group. Still, it has been fun playing her resistance to the cutthroat tactics of the group she is with and we've all had fun.
Will we have fun in WotR with Ravana? I hope so. I'd rather make a different character than continue to play her if were just headed for a bunch of conflict however. There is a lot more to Mendev than the Crusades and the native Kellid do not like the Crusaders much at all. If you haven't read the background from some of the other books, you might want to check it all out.
Thanks for taking the time to discuss. Aero isn't particularly interested in joining the crusaders either but seems to be falling in that direction.
Ravana has lots of cool background and I think we can come together as a party, it just seemed prudent to discuss things early before they truely became a problem.
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Related to that I think we should solidify our short term goals a bit, either in or out of character and I think that will help a lot.
I think (but am happy to hear other opinions) that our primary goal should be to reach the surface. I feel like that's a goal all the PCs could work towards (although the crusader NPC may not be happy). If we have to kill some demon worshiping mongrelmen to do so, so be it. But I think they shouldn't be our primary goal.
Thank you once again everybody for being willing/interested in discussing potential issues.
Well, hopefully some motivation develops between now and our arrival at our surface. If not, I assume it'd be fairly easy to introduce another character if you think you need to (I've had a few characters that I ended up feeling like I was forcing to stay in the game when they'd have wanted to go elsewhere, and it's frustrating). Might be hard to have him be mythic, but I'm sure you and the GM can work that out.
Yep, Ravana PM'ed me. I personally LOVE Ravana's backstory and am working to write in some better things TO motivate her. Hopefully Aero as well.
Getting to the surface is where it kind of all hinges though. I have a couple of exchanges for underground that should be good for Ravana (and Aero...I haven't forgotten your character).
I do have a question or two for the group though in regards to changes I am playing with.
I am debating throwing a couple of extremely significant events. I am also thinking of changing enough small things that it would be pretty different from the AP as written.
Would you all be ok with some broad custom changes (that shouldn't affect the overall AP storyline just make it different in the specific) or would you prefer smaller changes that are pinpointing specific character backstories?
I'm fine with either (tho am waiting to find out if ill be picked for a jury, which could slow my posting for a bit). My bigger concern would be what's faster. I'm a big believer in momentum being critical for a PBP so would really like to see us getting our posting rate up, especially during combat.
I'm also fine either way: You've been an excellent GM and I trust you to make changes that will make the game more fun for everyone.
Ok, in that case I'm ready to continue. I've got my ideas to really give some motivation to Ravana and Aero's characters. Bear with me until we get out of the underground and I think you will be pleased.
I'm happy to give you all the time you need. I've had no complaints with you or my fellow players. I will continue to check the thread every day and post at least once daily.
I just finished the first of my finals and I'm wiped out with a splitting headache. I was up all night studying and so I'm going to sleep now. I will catch up and post later tonight or in the morning.
Sorry to fall behind. I'll catch up asap.
PS: Pretty sure I passed that one. One more on Thursday and then it's back to the States for Clinical Rotations!
So I have two battle plans in my head.
First option is we draw Hosilla out in a showy way: Have Nebbin break up the altar. When she comes through the door, we start fletching her with arrows, while the melee crew takes on the bodyguard. I favor this plan if I'm right that the slab in a demonic altar.
Second option is we take Wendaug up on her offer to draw Hosilla out: We hide along the north wall where she's not going to look right way. This is probably the more sound plan, as it is more likely to get us a surprise round. On the other hand, it probably leaves Wendaug in melee, when she's probably more valuable as an archer. I like this plan more if the slab is just a table - There's no value in destroying it in that case.
I strongly suspect the room to the south is where the Baphomet cultists with the glaives have been living. I want to lay caltrops in from of that door, and barricade it with the chairs if it is actually a door (I can't tell from the map if it is a proper door, or something like a curtain or divider.)
[ooc]All the "doors" thus far have been curtains or dividers...no proper doors.
OOC, obviously, Nebbin breaking up the altar (and if you need someone to break some stones, Nebbin's your man!) will probably end up getting him in the fight a lot faster. Obviously he's going to be a serious melee combatant once we get to that point, so that speaks in favor of that plan.
Not getting Wendaug killed is probably a benefit, as I suspect she could take over the leadership vacuum.
I'd think we'd still get a surprise round to fire arrows in that situation...
Depending on your planning and execution, yes I'd say you would likely get a surprise round.
I'm very sorry that I disappeared for two days. I just finished my last exam. I am super crossing my fingers because it was seriously tough.
Not really tough in a "pulling your hair out" kind of way, but more like tough in a "pulling your fingernails out" kind of way.
Yikes! I hope it ends up well...let us know!
That sounds...painful. Good luck!
I got all of my results today. I passed all of my courses as well as the program. No more four hour lectures, pointless lab sessions and mindnumbingly frustrating questions written by people who speak poor english.
YAY!!!!!!!
We leave the island Thursday for the States where I will be sequestered until March to prepare for Step One of my Boards. I will have a short vacation then until May when I will begin Clincial Rotations in NYC.
So, I should have far fewer problems making my one post a day for the next six months. 8)
Remind me which island you're on, Ravana? My gf is looking at island schools now...
I'm in Grenada at St. George's University.
Deciding which school to go to is a pretty tough choice. I'd avoid Ross altogether because Dominque is supposed to be absolute Hell. If I had it to do over again, I might have chosen AUC on St. Martin's although I'm sure I'd have hated it there by the time I'm leaving as well.
The smartest thing I did when coming to the island was to bring my two large, black, dogs. If she doesn't have any, I'd get some on the island, although they are expensive here. The locals are terrified of large dogs, especially black ones, and I've tried to foster that at every opportunity. Mine have saved my wife from packs of dogs on four occasions, from human animals at least twice and God knows how many times the sight of the dogs has stopped someone from trying something.
The schools all put "police reports" on their web sites to give the impression that while petty theft is rampant, violent crime is rare. The reports are thoroughly scrubbed, terribly out of date and would get them sued in the US.
Naturally, if she wants to be a doctor badly enough, she will go through what she has to and no warnings will stop her. This is the way it should be, but she should still be warned.
We've had at least five home invasions this term and probably more unreported for fear of crossing the school. One almost ended in a rape and the last left a student severely beaten and robbed. We had an employee of the school try to take a student hostage who was saved by another student, thank God. The locals, including most of the school staff, steal everything that isn't bolted down and lie over even the smallest things if they think they can benefit. Not even the smallest things are safe and some of them will try to steal items right out of your hands. There is very little stigma to theft here and none at all if they are stealing from a Caucasian. Be prepared for police harassment, periodic fines for no reason at all and unfairness at every level which you can do nothing about.
The students, not the school mind you, finally caught the burglary ring in the dorms. Ten of the maids and fifteen of the security guards were arrested but they'll no doubt be working here again once the current first terms have graduated. I refuse to believe that 20% of the school security force was involved and the head of security wasn't. To the best of my knowledge, none were actually tried, but they were at least put in cuffs and escorted off campus.
On the flipside, if these things keep someone from trying to become a doctor, then they didn't want it badly enough anyway, here or at home. It takes more than you can possibly imagine to make it through an MD program and its worse for residents.
I'd heard that St. Martin has worse violent crime, but I no longer believe that. From what I've seen, all of the islands are the same.
Needless to say, I have no idea why anyone ever wants to come here on vacation.
Sorry to be so negative, but forewarned is forearmed I guess. I skipped the worst, but then, she'll have her own stories once she comes home and I wouldn't want to cheat her out of them.
Congratulations!!!!!!
Where in the states are you planning to be? And what's your focus going to be as an MD?
Also, in celebration, you get 1 free reroll of your choice.
Everyone else, I offer the same on your birthdays as a present. If you had a birthday since we started you retroactively gain a free reroll :)
Ravana, thanks for the information. She's actually looking at St. George's right now, though I don't know if she's narrowed it down to just that or not. I think AUC might also still be in consideration.
Ross, or anyone that would know really, who could I talk to about including a PDF or a file of the character art assets Paizo puts in there PDF versions of the AP? It would be super nice and awesome if I could get a file of all those cool character images without having to bungle the background coloration when I erase text.
You could post a request in the Website feedback forum, but with a decent PDF reader you should be able to extract images without needing to screenshot and erase text.
If I had a copy of the pdfs I could remove the images easily. If you can't do it, I'll find a way to get them.
Thanks for the reroll and the congrats! I'll save it until I fail the Save of Doom.
I am from Atlanta but my school only offers NY, NJ, CT, CA, Detroit and Miami for clinical rotations. We put in for New York and then California. I'm a huge dog lover so I'm considering combining work in psychiatry with trying to use animals to help people with problems. Cat Cafes are very popular in Japan as places to go and relax and so I thought perhaps something similar could be done on a clinical level.
I'm still working on the idea and will do a lot more research in the next five years before I can open my own practice.
My father has psychological problems and I've hated psychiatrists my whole life. Surprisingly, or not, I'm really good at psychiatry after all the years of taking care of my father and I've really excelled at it at school. I'm beginning to think that there are a lot of people out there that need help and that I shouldn't abandon them just because I didn't like the ones taking care of my father.
So, that's what I'm looking at, specialty-wise.
Ross, as to your girlfriend, there are many factors to consider when picking out a medical school. If she's looking at St. George's because it's the top Caribbean school, that is the reason I picked it. What I didn't know however, is that residency directors rank schools in the following manner:
1) US MD Schools ranked top to bottom
2) US DO Schools ranked top to bottom
3) US Citizens from their state in all other int'l schools
4) US Citizens from another state in all other int'l schools
5) US Resident Aliens in all other int'l schools (usually Canadians)
Non-citizen, non-resident students are not allowed to do US residencies.
Please note that the lowest DO graduates are ranked higher than even the highest int'l MD school. Please also note that DO and MD graduates do the exact same residencies in the exact same hospitals.
If I had it all to do over again - 1) I would have gone to be a PA instead and 2) if I had still decided on med school, I'd have gone to a US DO school.
As I said before however, everyone is different and everyone has to go their own way. We sacrifice everything to be doctors and if you don't want it more than anything you can imagine, don't start.
Every day I thank God for my wife because without her, I would not have made it this term. 8)
And that was almost the MINIMUM damage he can do!
He's gonna be epic! No, wait, mythic! : )
Kind of glad Uziel stabilized. Lucius is going to want to have...words with him.
Also kind of surprised that he kept coming on without his sword.
He's got some interesting story as for his motivations...
Please feel free to RP this out...it's a big moment for Nebbin. And the group as a whole.
I am in the States but have Denge Fever. I can't write right now but ill in 3-4 days. sorry
Wee. If pointed in the right direction, Nebbin should fight now. Now it's just wait and see until he actually rages! : )
Yikes! Denge!!!! Get better soon!
Aero, you can keep that roll for the next part...when you DO discover a sword :)
Could you let him make the Knowledge (History) check just off the name? He'd be able to tell us what we're looking for, or figure out what the bad guys want it for.
Yep there are lots of ways to identify it.
Merry Christmas and Christmas Eve. I will have a post likely Christmas night.
Yes, it would help immensely if someone volunteered to be Treasurer.
I can do it. I'll pull stuff together tomorrow when I have some time on my hands. I'll put it in a Google doc so we can all make edits when appropriate.
I'm loving the irony of Soairse saying she's not holy enough for the sword, right after giving Nebbin a pep talk for essentially the same sentiment.
Hah!
By the way, that dagger is masterwork.
And then the reaction when she actually picks up the sword!
As a note finding things like the sword is great for getting Aero more interested in what's going on.
Good...glad to hear it. I've got some other things planned that will tie into Ravanna's plotlines I have in mind as well.
Trying to wrap up some freelance this weekend: sorry I haven't gotten to treasury duty. Will still happen eventually.
No worries! This is also holiday(s) time so slower than normal posting is to be expected.
Oooo which freelance stuff????
Oooo which freelance stuff????
Sekrit.
Thank you very much for the well-wishes. I'm afraid to say that I spent so much time in the hospital that I'm going to have to drop my online games to catch up for my board exams. 8(
I really had a great time playing with you guys and I really wish you the best with your game. If I make it back to the boards in April, I hope we can run into each other again. 8)
Well crud. But you've got the right life perspective Ravanna!
Moving forward, do you all want to continue with 4 or open up recruitment for a 5th...or do you know someone that would fit well with the group?
Sorry to see you go, Ravana. Best of luck.
I generally prefer five players, personally. I have a small slew of folks I've gamed with that I'd certainly recommend...
Our party would probably survive with four long enough to see if Ravana can rejoin us in April. PbPs aren't exactly known for being fast paced.