Dead Man Walking! A Way of the Wicked Campaign Phase III (Inactive)

Game Master bwatford

Melphael is sociable and charismatic with others of like mind, but he quickly switches to a ice cold, predatory concentration when dealing with serious things, like combat, minions reporting failure etc. Also, he trusts no one, his life had been ruined upon trusting others...

2. What is your character's role in a group?

Spiritual guidance for the party, he serves as a leader and mentor to fellow asmodeans. He can also pack a mean punch in combat with his flame centric powers.

3. How is your character not as they seems? I want one or two skills that would surprise others if they found out he knows them. Also include personality traits, positive or negative, that would similarly surprise others.

While he may be a psychopathic fanatic, he holds a lot of pain from his past within. He knows what it was like to love and be loved, and while he may abhor the goody-toe shoes ways of Talingarde, he still comprehends why people love and care; he’s simply abandoned all mercy and compassion from his system. Additionally, his training as a diplomat has gained him good skills for interaction and diplomacy with others.

4. What are your character's goals, conscious and, perhaps, subconscious?

To wipe out the line of Darius, whose members betrayed his own; and create a new Asmodean empire, forged from the ashes of the old kingdom.

5. How easily does your character love? Have they been in love?

Melphael did love once… but that love expired when he devoted himself to Lord of the 9th.

6. Is your character racist at all, either now or in their past?

Race does not matter to Melphael. You are either useful, or not.

7. All people believe something that is not true, both about the world around them and about themselves. What lies/untruths does your character believe about themselves and the world around them?

That only through himself, can his dark god achieve dominance of Talingarde.

8. How is your character about material possessions?

Unholy symbols, and relics suit Melphael’s fancy.

9. What does your character perceive their major problems to be?

That the royal family still lives, and he is not controlling Talingarde.

10. What does he perceive the solutions to those problems to be?

Purge the royal line from the world, and take over the country, serving as it’s prophet of darkness.

11. What are your character's religious beliefs?

Fundamentalist Asmodean.

12. What does your character fear?

Failure through death, for the Prince of Darkness punishes those who cannot live up to their end of the bargain…

13. How much of a temper does your character have? What sorts of things set them off?

Failure, and betrayal. When Melphael is angered, he becomes like a snake, ice-cold, and quick to punish those responsible.

2. A few failed games on various forums in the past, usually the GM flaked out, first and only one I have played in on this forum is your own Mummy's Mask.

3. Most importantly I want myself and everyone else to have fun, and enjoy indulging in our darker sides for once.

4. My philosophy, just like in regular Pathfinder is to make sure everyone has the spotlight sometimes and gets to do what they find fun. Coincidentally one of my weaknesses as a PbP player is that I sometimes find it hard to post actions that I think another player would enjoy doing. For myself I love role playing, and PbP is the perfect format for that.

5. As a player in the Mummy's Mask I know you're an awesome GM so that's part of it, but also I've always had a fascination with this AP that I haven't been able to entertain.

6. PbP being text based can lead to roleplaying reading almost like a book, I love it when that happens. I like roleplaying posts to include thought, action and dialogue, since unlike in a in person game player's have time to think out and describe such things. During dungeons short posts are fine IMO, but I love when players can show their character's thought processes as we delve.

7. I've made a character for it in the past in the hopes of playing with some IRL friends but it never got off the ground.

2. Your experience with PbP
I've been doing PbP for only a few months, but in that time I've been in five games (including running one of my own), with hundreds of posts. I think I'm doing a pretty good job of it.

3. Expectations for playing and what you want out of the experience
For me, PbP is something fun I can do in the down-time I often face while running experiments at work. It's a way to get involved in more tabletops without burdening my schedule overmuch, and with new people in the mix.

4. Philosophy as a PbP player
Personally, I think games of all sorts are, or should be, about having fun. I try to play characters strong enough to not cripple the team, but with enough personality or other quirks to stay interesting. I also am a big fan of PbP's ability to let people act in slightly flexible order, discuss plans and actions ahead of time, and just generally allow more flexibility and thought than a regular game.

I also think that the text-based nature of PbP allows people more time and opportunity to add proper description and motivation to their actions, etc. I'm an experienced LARP writer, and enjoy being able to add descriptions and motivations to things is another draw of PbP.

5. Why you are applying to this game?
I'm currently GMing an evil-characters game, but it's been many years since I got to play in one. [u]Also, I've always wanted to play Lawful Evil as an alignment[/u]—a character willing to make hard choices and cause pain, but only within a framework of inviolable principles—and have never really had an opportunity to play in a campaign that leans that way.

6. Define what you think good role-playing is in PbP.
Good role-playing is, at its core, is about being able to separate a character's desires, motivations, actions and knowledge from those that would make sense as a player. Too many people forget this.

(And if you're doing it in a way that makes the game less fun for others, you should probably think of how to avoid that in the future—a good character, to begin with, knows how to "not be a jerk" to other players, even if they're rude to other characters)

7. What is your experience with this adventure path?
Nothing other than reading through the player's guide

A former small-town trader, whose family was killed for their secret belief in Asmodeus. His search for vengeance led to no answers, only grim determination and nihilism; when his god refused to grant him vengeance or powers, he taught himself magic, becoming a criminal and bandit with an unorthodox fighting style.

Drath is a charismatic fellow, despite his size and appearance. His loud voice, lumbering gait and generally slow thought processes make him stand out quite a bit, and he does his best to use this to his advantage. He is used to leading groups of men into combat, and will try and take control of any war party. He will gladly use anyone to further his goals, and those who are of no use to him are either ignored or slain.

2. What is your character's role in a group? -

Drath will be a frontline combatant that buffs and supports the party. He will also be able to use the Intimidate skill to negotiate with others, in addition to having a wide array of knowledge skills.

3. How is your character not as they seems? I want one or two skills that would surprise others if they found out he knows them. Also include personality traits, positive or negative, that would similarly surprise others. -

Despite not being the sharpest tool in the shed, Drath knows quite a bit about a wide array of topics, especially religion- and nature-related. His ability to recall knowledge he has gathered from his travels and the men he has fought with is quite impressive, not being something one would expect from the hulking skald. Another surprising trait of his is that Drath is very protective of animals that belong to either his tribe or comrades. Finding more kinship in pets than he does in people, the tiefling is willing to fiercely defend these animals with his life.

4. What are your character's goals, conscious and, perhaps, subconscious? -

Drath hopes to rise above his role as a simple warband-leader to become a general of mighty armies, and he has no compunctions stepping over people to reach this goal. It is most likely that this goal is so that the tiefling can finally stand above others, instead of being treated like a freak for his half-orcish and Infernal natures. He wants nothing more to be a powerful leader and tactician to make this goal a reality.

5. How easily does your character love? Have they been in love? -

As both a half-orc and a tiefling, Drath has trouble finding people who will even tolerate his presence, let alone love him. The Ironmaw Tribe celebrated him as one of its mightiest warriors, but that was respect and fear. Drath never knew his human mother (a Chelaxian woman who was captured by the Ironmaws) and his orcish father was slain in a raid when the skald was young. It is not that Drath does not have the potential to fall in love, but more that he doesn't have the experience with the emotion.

6. Is your character racist at all, either now or in their past? -

Drath is not racist persay, but he is not going to shy away from pointing out any stereotypes that stick out at him. As a half-orc and a tiefling, he has been subject to differing amounts of racism due to his parentage, and a lifetime of ignoring all of it has made him quick to anger regarding matters of race. He doesn't care if one has three legs and walks on the ceiling, as long at the job gets done.

7. All people believe something that is not true, both about the world around them and about themselves. What lies/untruths does your character believe about themselves and the world around them? -

Drath believes that Talingarde is a ruthless, hateful place full of bigots, thieves and oppressors, and that the Church of Mitra is the source of everything wrong in his life. While it is true that the Mitrans of Talingarde have brutally put down all of the worshippers of Asmodeus, it cannot be said that they didn't earn the church's ire. The skald either does not know or does not care that he and his fellow worshippers may have brought this treatment upon themselves.

8. How is your character about material possessions? -

Drath is very possessive and protective of his belongings. The tribe he grew up in valued spoils of war above all else, and the skald was very protective of all the items he gathered during his warband's travels.

9. What does your character perceive their major problems to be? -

Drath believes his main problem is that society as a whole treats him as a monster. Though they grudgingly accept him and his skill on the battlefield, he is completely unwelcome in society. Beyond this, he believes the ban on Asmodean worship in Talingarde is an affront to the Prince of Darkness.

10. What does he perceive the solutions to those problems to be? -

By becoming a mighty general and raising an army, Drath believes he can destroy the current order of Talingarde. By doing this, he will be able to earn himself a position of great power and influence, and quite possibly instate the worship of Asmodeus as the primary religion of the region. This is his greatest goal in life.

11. What are your character's religious beliefs? -

Drath venerates the God-Fiend, Asmodeus. He believes that his tiefling blood was both a gift and a curse handed down to him, so he prays to the Prince of Law for guidance and strength. He believes that if he follows the way of Asmodeus, he will gain the strength to command mighty armies, and strike down those who stand against him.

12. What does your character fear? -

Drath fears dying an ignoble death in prison or in the stocks of Talingarde. Raised among bloodthirsty orcs, the only true death for him is a glorious end in battle. To be executed by Talingarde would leave him without a legacy or anything to show for his life.

13. How much of a temper does your character have? What sorts of things set them off? -

Drath has a rather short temper, but generally keeps his anger to himself. In the midst of battle, however, he can channel his rage into his voice, using it to drive his comrades into a frenzy. Beyond this, he especially hates when people hurt the animals of his tribe or comrades (even more than when his comrades, themselves, are injured!). At these times, he will drive himself into a fury, a dervish of steel and magic with only the intention of destroying those responsible.

I've played d&d in it's various forms from '91 and have been playing Pathfinder since the beginning, always as a player with one short session as a GM, I think I am pretty rules-savvy and am unafraid to browse the pfsrd.

2. Your experience with PbP

I've been playing various PbP since 2009, mainly on these boards. Longest running game is DM Barca's Kingmaker where I play Berrin Myrdal, recently made Boyar. My experience varies greatly from game to game, most I've loved, both players, my characters and the story molded, but of course there are some bad apples, but the format offers a chance for way deeper roleplaying, character- and story building than I've ever encountered on tabletops.

3. Expectations for playing and what you want out of the experience

I expect a group of group thinking individuals who recognize the difference between evil and stupid and aren't looking for an outlet for childish fantasies, a group of grown ups as you said yourself in the intro post. I've yet to play a deep, functional, long-going evil game as the former has been lacking and the latter in abundance.

What I want out of the experience is to be proven right; that evil can be done right.

4. Philosophy as a PbP player

Have fun, play nice, pick up on the small details as much as possible from both players and the GM an weave a good story with cooperative writing.

5. Why you are applying to this game?

Because you make a good first impression and DM Barcas drew my attention to the game.

6. Define what you think good role-playing is in PbP.

Staying in character using your stats and alignment as guidelines, not crutches. Not mixing character knowledge and player knowledge, posts that give me a good visualization of characters, describe their actions, demeanor and behavior, making them come alive in my mind. Replying to others and finding your own reasons to play along without constantly demanding that others provide you with them.

7. What is your experience with this adventure path?

I've applied for several so I've read the gazetteer several times before re-reading it for this application. I've been accepted into two, one didn't make it out of Branderscar and the other I was accepted as a late comer in a game that only used the vanilla campaign as a guideline so I don't know how much of it was a spoiler. I'll be happy to send you the details of that in a PM if you like.

1d10 + 7 ⇒ (5) + 7 = 12
1d10 + 7 ⇒ (3) + 7 = 10
1d10 + 7 ⇒ (9) + 7 = 16
1d10 + 7 ⇒ (10) + 7 = 17
Focus: Int
Foible: Dex

Yeesh, talk about min-maxing!

OK so that's Str 10, Con 16, Dex 8, Wis 12, Int 18+2, Cha 17

Crime: Consorting with the Dark Powers: +1 to Knowledge (planes) and Knowledge (arcana) checks

Trait: Diabolical Dabbler: Each fiendish animal you conjure with any summon spell gains +1 hit point per hit die for the duration of the spell that summoned it.

Her family is middle class: comfortable, but not wealthy - and boringly, achingly, respectable. Hecate has always planned on escaping from her middle-class destiny: her mother's idea, for her merely to be a Mrs Somebody, was horrifying. She would rather be a Somebody in her own right, and preferably not a 'respectable' (how she hates that word!) somebody. Magic is her way out of this. She would also rather not be one of the serving professionals, as her father (a barrister) is; in her view, she is here to be served. With that in mind, it's perhaps no surprise that she specialised in conjuration magic: both the ability to escape (via teleportation) and the summoning of loyal servants are greatly of interest.

However, Hecate despises her fellow-students' choice of summoning the “cute” celestial creatures - she'd rather summon fiends: they're not respectable, and thus interesting. After a lot of effort and a great deal of surreptitious research, she “liberated” some manuscript fragments from the restricted section of the library (she had to forge several signatures to get access - an ability she keeps quiet about) and has been able to decipher them. She had to teach herself Infernal along the way, but has a gift for languages and this presented less of a problem than it would for many people. The texts themselves were quite corrupt, in many senses of the word, and gave Hecate the impression that the summoning of fiends is linked to the worship of the Arch-Fiend, Asmodeus himself. Luckily(!), there were instructions on how to do this, so she became and has been for a while a cultist of Asmodeus (a cabal of 1 – as far as she knows, she might be the only one in Talingarde).

[Note that this wasn't “luck” at all: unknown to Hecate, someone or something or some group put the documents there for her to find, as a test; if she was worthy, she would find them.]

She practiced in secret, skipping classes in other subjects (mainly abjuration – if she's got to draw circles, then something interesting should happen afterward!) to find time to do so unseen. She would also love to know about necromancy, but could find no books on the subject anywhere, even in the restricted section (barred school - but not by choice!).

It was at the academy that Hecate encountered peers worthy of the name. Although few could truly keep pace with her speed of thought, she has one rival/study fellow/occasional lover: The Honourable Jellicoe Dalcourt, a half-elven noble from a minor offshoot of House Barca. Despite having absolutely nothing in common in terms of background, there was an immediate understanding between them, which increased as it quickly became clear that they were both head and shoulders above their fellow-students in terms of ability. Every prize the academy has to offer their year-group has gone to one or other of them (Hecate is currently ahead, but it's close). They have been lovers for a while, but their first devotion is to the theory and practice of magic; nothing compares to the rush of spellcasting, in Hecate's opinion. What she has learned from Jellicoe is a bit about how the ruling classes live; it sounds like a huge improvement on her own family's life-style and she is determined to make it her own. She is becoming something of a connoisseur of elven wine.

Hecate has not yet told Jellicoe about her extra-curricular study and summoning of fiends (much less her new-found allegiance to Asmodeus!), as she doesn't think he would approve; he tends to take the 'noblesse oblige' ideal that those in power should help those who are not (he's Lawful Good). This annoys Hecate intensely: he's got all this wealth and power and he wants to share it? With peasants and other unworthy types? Needless to say, they don't discuss politics much. But then, why would you, when the mysteries of the universe are open to you?

Hecate's name (and her younger brother Agamemnon's name) was chosen by her father David, who in addition to being a lover of The Law, is a lover of The Classics* (Hecate can hear the capital letters when he says them). Her father (Lawful Neutral) would very much not approve of her choices in studying forbidden subject matter – but would be almost as disappointed by the fact that she got caught. Hecate respects her father and would be sorry to lose his good opinion. She adores her (much) younger brother, who at age 14 is training with the local militia and dreams of being accepted into the Knights of the Alerion – they accept commoners into their ranks, so lack of noble birth is not a problem. Hecate is sure however that he will simply end up following in her father's footsteps as another respectable barrister. She hasn't seen as much of Agamemnon as she would have liked, but he does visit the academy a few times a year. He is the only person whom she permits to shorten her name (usually to "Hec" or even "Hecky") - anyone else who tries this is letting themselves in for a world of trouble.

* I'm assuming that there's a Golarion equivalent to Ancient Greece

As a barrister, Hecate's father is keenly argumentative and many of Hecate's family dinners revolved around the disputation of cases. She hated this – although with her retentive memory, she could readily recall the details of most cases, the whole thing seemed pointless. She would make a capable lawyer but has no interest in the subject at all.

What Hecate does not know is that her late grandfather Saul (David's father) was a priest of Asmodeus, as well as a respected barrister and judge; he was caught up in the purges that took place under the Markadian IV (the Zealot) and had to recant and abandon his faith in order to survive. David himself is only dimly aware of what was going on at the time, as he was shielded from events by his parents; his keen interest in the law and his LN (rather than LG) alignment and inclinations are the only legacy of this. Perhaps Asmodeus however is not finished with this family, given Hecate's recent activities...

[I haven't covered the more recent bit of her background: her actual arrest etc., as I gather we will be roleplaying this part out. I've therefore left it open for the time being.]

Hecate was born prematurely and almost died. She has since grown up to be healthy, but is slightly underdeveloped physically; she is a very young-looking 21. This underdevelopment also manifests itself in a certain slowness of reactions, even clumsiness, as if her brain isn't quite communicating properly with her limbs. In other ways however, she is completely healthy: although not particularly strong, she has a tremendous vitality and rarely falls ill.

Of average height and build, Hecate wouldn't stand out from a crowd - unless she dropped something or stumbled (which she does, on occasion, much to her embarrassment). She does her best to be neat, and if not fashionable (she realises that she is no beauty, although she's not unattractive) then tidy: no ink stains on her fingers, her clothing is never rumpled, although it's fair to say that she dresses comfortably rather than fashionably. Her light brown hair hangs loose and unstyled (too much bother to do anything with it) but is neatly brushed (exactly the same number of strokes each time). She often has a slightly apologetic expression on her face, as if she knows that she's about to drop/break/bump into something or someone and wants to say sorry in advance.

Something of a bookworm, Hecate always has at least two (sometimes three or more) scrolls or books on the go at once; she marks her place and gets very annoyed with people who disturb the markers. In fact, she dislikes disturbance of any kind; mess and chaos deeply annoy her. She loves the order inherent in magic, and particularly in spellcasting. She often wishes that people could be that easily ordered and categorised. That's not to say that she is rude, simply that she lacks (and has not sought) experience in dealing with people. Social skills aren't in the grimoire, after all; although she's perfectly capable of being personable when she chooses to be. It's just that her books offer better company, most of the time. And when they don't, she can always knock on Jellicoe's door...

Hecate's plan once she graduates is to find a good job as a magister to a noble family, or some other position where she can practice and wield magic regularly. She would hope to be able also to wield considerable influence through her advice, possibly even trying to generate converts to Asmodeus. Her longer-term goal is to attain enough power (magical/political) to be able to control what's going on. She doesn't however seek public adulation, or need to be seen as being in control: working from behind the scenes will do her very nicely.

[Once she is caught and imprisoned, clearly this scheme will go out the window. Her short-term goal at that point will be to punish those who caught her and then to seek some way of obtaining enough power to overthrow the current political scene and install something more to her liking. This will likely require allies...]

1. How does your character interact with the others within a group?

Pretty well - she doesn't seek leadership as such and is happy to be in the background, as long as her advice and input will be listened to. Her view is to allocate tasks based on ability and then get on with it. Anyone who can do things she can't is worthy of her attention.

In particular, Hecate does not share the usual wizard's disdain for martial types: she knows that she herself couldn't swing a sword without tripping over her own feet. In particular, anyone who shows high Dexerity (whether using missile weapons or Finesse melee) is likely to be the subject of her admiration.

She does not take well to being ignored or ordered around without explanation. Ultimately however, as long as a particular task is carried out she doesn't really care how, as long as she isn't overlooked when the rewards are being handed out.

Not having much experience of the world (she's only 21, and has spent most of that time as a student), in any unfamiliar situation she is likely to defer to others who look like they know what they're doing. Anyone clueless but confident is likely to fool her for a while before she works it out.

2. What is your character's role in a group?

Knowledge and arcane support: battlefield control, summoning creatures to dish out and soak up damage, utility magic.

Out of combat, knowledge skills and interpretation (she speaks a lot of languages); forgery where needed.

3. How is your character not as they seems? I want one or two skills that would surprise others if they found out she knows them. Also include personality traits, positive or negative, that would similarly surprise others.

Despite her father's profession, Hecate has no interest in the law whatsoever. She has the ability and can argue cases, but it is not a field that she has bothered to study.

She is however an able forger: she retrieved the books from the restricted section of the library by using a 'signed' note from the senior tutor.

She can be slightly obsessive: her hair is always brushed with the same number of strokes each time, for example. Things are stored or kept in a certain way and she won't want them disturbed.

Additionally, her hatred of her background and respectability in general does not extend to her father and brother; she is fond of both and the loss of their good opinion would be a blow.

Her clumsiness can come as a surprise to those who don't know her - she doesn't look particularly ungainly, she's just not very well co-ordinated.

4. What are your character's goals, conscious and, perhaps, subconscious?

Power - to get to a position where nobody can tell her what to do.

Remake the country so that gifts and ability are more important than blood or breeding, or ideals.

Abolish worship of that judgemental interfering busybody Mitra.

[As a player, my proposed story arc is about a promising young student being corrupted by the powers of Hell. At the start, she's just dabbling, but once she gets caught and sentenced then it's for real and she does so willingly.

I want to play this out as being the (semi) reluctant villain at first, but then embrace it as she sees the rewards it brings. Essentially, if Breaking Bad was “Mr Chips into Scarface,” mine is something like “Harry Potter into Voldemort.” Unlike Breaking Bad though, I want it to end well for her, as a major player on the stage.]

5. How easily does your character love? Have they been in love?

Hecate has tried relationships and sex, but prefers magic. She and her fellow student Jellicoe have been lovers, but she found that the study and practice of magic gave a better rush. She has never experienced love of a person in that way. Nor does she seek it, or value it. Power is more useful.

The only person she could be said to love (in the sense that she would actually put herself at risk on his behalf) is her younger brother.

6. Is your character racist at all, either now or in their past?

Probably not, but may have internalised the prevailing views within Talingarde on non-humans and goblinoids/orcs and so on. Generally though, as far as she is concerned people are either useful or not; race is largely irrelevant.

7. All people believe something that is not true, both about the world around them and about themselves. What lies/untruths does your character believe about themselves and the world around them?

Hecate believes that the summoning of fiends is tied in with the worship of Asmodeus. This is not true - arcane magic works regardless of belief - but it is what she has gleaned from the texts that were available to her. She believes that her worship protects her in some measure from the things she summons.

She believes that 'justice' and 'respectability' are concepts created to keep able people down and apologetic, beholden to the less able. She believes in Order, where the most able are in power over those less able. Ability has to be proven.

She also believes that she might be the only current worshipper of Asmodeus in the country; the old texts have been thoroughly scoured and it took her a great deal of time and effort to find any information at all. She is sure that no one else could have done so.

Additionally, she thinks that she may be the smartest person around; with an Int of 20 she isn't necessarily wrong, but there are different kinds of smarts. She does at least have the sense not to say this out loud.

8. How is your character about material possessions?

Never having been rich, Hecate wouldn't mind giving it a go. For the most part though, she believes that possessions are a sign of status and ability; not valuable so much in themselves, but they tell other people that you are considered worthy. Of course, if you can't hang on to them, then you don't deserve to have them in the first place.

9. What does your character perceive their major problems to be?

A lack of status - as a middle class girl (now a young woman), she is expected to get married soon and have children; to be a Mrs Somebody.

10. What does she perceive the solutions to those problems to be?

Power. Magical power, political power - any power that will grant her the status to order her own life to her own liking and ignore those who think she should behave differently.

11. What are your character's religious beliefs?

Hecate is a cultist (cabal of 1) of Asmodeus.

12. What does your character fear?

Being trapped, having to abide by other people's expectations of how she should live, not being in control of her own life.

13. How much of a temper does your character have? What sorts of things set them off?

Hecate is rarely visibly angry; she can however hold a grudge (such as against her mother) for a long time.

What annoys her? Having to bow to other people's expectations, or seeing those she likes do the same: she was furious when Jellicoe tried to explain the concept of 'noblesse oblige' - in her view, if you have power and money and status you should do what you like with them (this didn't go down well).

Chaos, disruption and mess also annoy her deeply - in her view life can be ordered to one's own satisfaction, it just requires a bit of discipline and determination.

Being ignored or overlooked is also something that would provoke her greatly.

Finally, don't - ever - try to shorten her name...

I've played Pathfinder since it was a beta and 3/3.5 D&D at release. I'm very familiar with the rules.

2. Your experience with PbP

I first started messing around with PbP several years ago. I used Google Wave to run an L5R game with my group of friends. I came back to it about a year ago on Paizo's boards and I've been in love ever since. I've been in a few games that have fallen through, but I'm in a RotRL game that's been going for over a year. I've also just started two campaigns.

[1]3. Expectations for playing and what you want out of the experience

The thing that drew me into PbP games is the focus on the story. It's unlike anything I've managed to accomplish at the table. All I'd really expect out of a game is a decent pace (at least one post a day) and a mutual commitment to telling a good story and having a fun time. :)

4. Philosophy as a PbP player

As I explained above, I believe that PbPs are best when they are all about the story first. That doesn't necessarily mean that the huge campaign plot arc needs to be followed all the time though. Character development and interactions are perhaps more important. The RotRL game I play in has gone for over a year and the vast majority of time spent has been on side-missions and minor character arcs. The pace is slow, but it's still a lot of fun.

Plus, all of the standard human decency rules apply: don't be a jerk, tell your GM if you can't post for a few days, etc.

5. Why you are applying to this game?

First of all, I really love the concept behind Way of the Wicked. One of the games I'm running right now is "Throne of Night" which is also from Fire Mountain. I'm a big fan.

I also believe that the initial recruitment post is a good indicator on the quality of a GM and their commitment to making a good game. Yours really caught my eye.

6. Define what you think good role-playing is in PbP.

Good PbP role-playing is about offering fellow players numerous hooks to interact with your own character. It makes for a web of complicated and interesting character interactions and development to be explored down the road of the game and is miles ahead of the "yes and no" dialogue so often seen in IRL games.

7. What is your experience with this adventure path?

I've played in one version of this before, but it fell apart before we even left the first room.

Goals:

Character: Break out. Get even on the guy who put him there. Snap the smarmy guards neck. Get paid. Get laid.

Player: Mainly to just see where he develops and goes. MAybe his ambition will grow beyond his original vision. Maybe he'll see it as the weak foundation that it is. Who knows.

Secrets: He knows a number of the bad nobles who got swept up in the latest righteous purge were more or less missed. MAny of them had hired him at one point or another to deal with a problem.

What he doesn't know is that he's the bastard son of a prince. His mother was a poor tavern girl unaware of the excesses of young rich and handsome men.

NPC's

Minerva Brightly: A prostitute in the city Harlskard was born. IS usually the one that patches him up when he gets torn up and is his "favorite" whenever he comes into money of any sort. Might be love. Might be just an odd compassion streak.

Philip "thumbs" Thomason: The middleman in many of HArlskards dealings. The sort of guy who knows a guy who can get him into some money for bloody work. Called thumbs because his were cut off after making the wrong sort of deal with the wrong sort of people.

Sir Byron of the Eaglecrest: The paladin that is HArlskards sworn nemesis. Whenever he breaks out of jail or slips the noose he's always on his trail and often with a big pack of men to back him up. It's almost a game to HArlskard since Byron is not altogether the smartest of hunters always simply taking him alive when he surrenders.

Quirks/Memories

1. Harlskard is called "The butcher" not so much because of his savagery or his bloodthirst. But because he served for quite a while as the mercenary company's cook when not on the field.

2. Harlskard has no real "preferred" weapon. HE simply uses what's at hand and to great effect. This often makes him more deadly than so called "specialists".

3. Harlskard refuses to kill or harm children.

HE's not there to make friends generally. HE's been a soldier and usually sticks with that reliable mindset when in a group situations. He's there to do a job and live through that.

2. What is your character's role in a group?

Usually he's the guy who gets his hands dirty. While all the other so called killers are getting fancy he's the one actually putting knives in people. (i.e. damage dealer or hammer as I put it)

3. How is your character not as they seems? I want one or two skills that would surprise others if they found out he knows them. Also include personality traits, positive or negative, that would similarly surprise others.

He can cook. And he's a rather decent fellow to people who are decent in a real sense. Though those people are exceedingly rare.

4. What are your character's goals, conscious and, perhaps, subconscious?

To get revenge on those who wronged him. But, perhaps more to simply get out of the hellhole that is his life and find one that requires a lot less killing.

5. How easily does your character love? Have they been in love?

Love is a weakness. It's just a way people get too close to one another. USually ends in tears. Sometimes ends in blood. Not worth it.

6. Is your character racist at all, either now or in their past?

Never had the time nor inclination to think of anyone as more than something to f~%+, kill, or watch out for.

7. All people believe something that is not true, both about the world around them and about themselves. What lies/untruths does your character believe about themselves and the world around them?

He thinks feelings like love, trust, and friendship are fleeting things, mere alliances people make to convince themselves they're civilized. But in the end they're just as likely to kill each other if it means getting the bigger pay out at the end.

8. How is your character about material possessions?

Stuff is nice and he likes to have it. But not too much. You have to be willing to drop everything to keep your skin.

9. What does your character perceive their major problems to be?

Certain people among the living trying to kill or cage him.

10. What does he perceive the solutions to those problems to be?

A dagger inserted just beneath the shoulder blades at just the right angle.

11. What are your character's religious beliefs?

IF there is a god he sure as hell didn't bother to stop any of the bad things that's been done to him or so much as comment on the abd thigns he's done to others.

12. What does your character fear?

Death.

13. How much of a temper does your character have? What sorts of things set them off?

He has a fearsome temper that rarely shows. Typically because when he's mad he gets real quiet and simply kills or maims the source of his anger.

Yet, he rarely gets angry. For him people trying to kill him or hurt him are just part of the job.

The only things that set him off are outright betrayal and the destruction of those things he actually cares about.