Sounds interesting. I'll try to come up with something overnight.
EDIT: Just to clarify, if it's on D20pfsrd it should be okay to use with the character? Thinking of doing one of the less-common races, possibly a lizardfolk or something like that.
Sounds interesting. I'll try to come up with something overnight.
EDIT: Just to clarify, if it's on D20pfsrd it should be okay to use with the character? Thinking of doing one of the less-common races, possibly a lizardfolk or something like that.
No. Classes and races are as outlined in character creation, and I am only willing to consider other 3pp stuff (feats, spells, equipment, etc) if it's on d20pfsrd on a case-by-case basis.
No. Classes and races are as outlined in character creation, and I am only willing to consider other 3pp stuff (feats, spells, equipment, etc) if it's on d20pfsrd on a case-by-case basis.
Whoops, I'm sorry about that, I guess I misread that part. I do have another question-it seems like this is going to be primarily a jungle setting, would this unduly hinder mounted classes like cavaliers, especially if I were to decide to try to be mostly mounted in combat?
No. Classes and races are as outlined in character creation, and I am only willing to consider other 3pp stuff (feats, spells, equipment, etc) if it's on d20pfsrd on a case-by-case basis.Whoops, I'm sorry about that, I guess I misread that part. I do have another question-it seems like this is going to be primarily a jungle setting, would this unduly hinder mounted classes like cavaliers, especially if I were to decide to try to be mostly mounted in combat?
Yeah I wouldn't recommend this game for a character who becomes significantly weaker if they can't use all their mounted stuff. In addition to the jungle setting, there will be a lot of courtly intrigue. If a fight breaks out at a coronation ceremony you don't want to have to run outside and get your horse.
That doesn't mean you can't be a cavalier, just pick a jungle-compatible mount (it's hot out there everyone) and don't invest all your feats in it.
I put a crappy map of the area where your new empire will be based on the campaign tab. Eventually I'm going to make a better, "zoomed in" version with more detail.
The Kingdom building thing uses hexes. One hex is supposed to be about 12 miles across, although mine are a little bigger if we want to get super canonical about scale. I'm still using the rules-as-written as though they were 12 miles. I might try and get them closer to 12 miles in the final version.
Abelard Caromarc-Gammel, human wizard (conjurer)
As did all his siblings, Abe grew up with strong underpinnings in both philosophy and theoretical mathematics, along with history, the classics, natural history, and social philosophy. He was primed to become an astronomer from a young age, not just due to his mother's influence but also from a strong desire just to know what was out there, beyond the reach of his telescope or in the blackness between the stars.
It was around the time that his eldest brother joined the fight in Lastwall- he couldn't have been more than 12 or 13- that Abe started having the dreams. He would be looking at the moon, look away to make a note, and then she would be there. A beautiful woman, pale as the satellite she was on. She would gesture and he would look up from his telescope again to see that he was no longer in Leipstadt. If he looked back she would be gone, but the city would remain.
It didn't take long for his dream-self to gather the courage to explore the strange landscape around him. The architecture was different than any he had ever seen or studied, and the empty libraries were full of scrolls- scrolls!- in a language he couldn't even recognize, much less read.
Over the years he had the dream more and more frequently and became more and more convinced that he was seeing a real place. Science couldn't explain it, so he turned to mysticism. Leipstadt is a place of logic, not magic, but there are those who have studied the arcane and are willing to talk to the persistent.
During his new course of study Abe learned he had a knack for magic, particularly crossing the boundaries of the material world, traversing the borders of the planes. Religion had never been his strong suit, and he leaves the question of Heaven and Hell, Nirvana and Abyss to those more suited to the debate, but as far as he is concerned the study of the planes was as much science as any theoretical mathematics.
It was a deep delve into the philosophical and magical natures of the moon that he discovered writing that he recognized from his dreams. Just fragments, but they were labeled as ancient Azlanti and gave the barest hints of a lost observatory far to the south. While he considers himself a man of science, he could feel that this was what he was meant to find and he dedicated himself to tracking down this lost Azlanti city.
That's about as far as I've gotten. It's late and I'm going to bed. I can work on it more tomorrow. If it's not obvious from the 'darkness between the stars' stuff I would love it if the lead quote up top is foreshadowing.
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I might be interested, but I have literally NEVER done one of these before. and I wouldnt want to ruin a party with my greenness. I've tried making my story more presentable. ( i'd rather not take anyone's spot and doubt i will) but here goes,
Rexaxis delved deep into the history of the Orcs, Humans and other races such as elves, which led to his xenophobic father, Torbas to shun and ostracize Rexaxis from the rest of the household.With no mother to speak of Rexaxis ran, and luckily for himself he happened upon a Human caravan whom had just recently came to retrieve dwarven goods to take to market for the Dwarven merchants guild. They agreed to take him on as a guard where he met a man named Lennard rantine, a mercenary who for some reason admired Rexaxis' natural strength and promising mind. He taught him the arts of Swordplay, and even of tactics which Rexaxis studiously followed.The caravan led to the Human land of Andoran, which Rexaxis was very eager to see. Hearing of Human skill in architecture and crafting he had thought his home had come to him.
Lennard had left with the caravan by the time Rexaxis realised his decision was perhaps not his wisest. He had very little coin, and only his clothes, Arming Sword and his battered Coat given to him by Lennard, Rexaxis was unsure of where to go in this new human city. Resting in a local Inn using his last bit of coin, he slept and had peaceful sleep for the first time in months. Dreams of a beautiful half Elven woman of light hair and amber eyes fluttered through his mind, as she strode in a silken alabaster gown, a ruined city of great splendor appeared as if it was a mirage. She smiled to him and as he reached out, his eyes opened and he was back in the Tavern room. Shortly the next day Rexaxis was asking all 'round about the magnificent city, hoping to find the girl with it. A wizened man had told Rexaxis of a story he was told when he was a boy, of Azlant. A great city born of the Moon Goddess that was destroyed by something he called the Earth fall. Quickly setting out to the jungles he had mentioned, Rexaxis had felt perhaps this dream was a prophecy, leading him home at last.
Dot for interest... need to update this guy for the build type et alia (originally created him thinking to play RotR)... and to write in his backstory, which apparently I forgot to do. Anyway, here is a synopsis of Julian's backstory as I envisioned it initially (might tailor it a bit given the new subject matter).
She did this so that he could re bring about a rise of the true Thassilon in the modern era, long after the fall of the empire. Julian has strived in his life since awakening in modern Varisia to both learn of what happened in the eons since he was placed in stasis and to begin getting ready to rebuild the greatest kingdom in the world.
In this setting, I could see him working with these people as like minded individuals... and possibly finding out that it was actually not Lissala that saved him.
Anyway, let me know what you think.
What's your take on the Beast Rider cavalier archetype for medium characters? At level 4, it gives the option of a bunch of different animals (and some dinosaurs, which I was kind of hoping to use) for the character to use as a mount.
However, if you're using Druid animal companion stats for the mount, they're almost all medium animals themselves at level 4, meaning that a medium character couldn't ride it, even though the archetype says that they're acceptable mounts for a medium creature. I'm not sure if Paizo's ever done any explanation/errata for this, so I'm curious to see what you think about it.
Anyway, let me know what you think.
Given the nature of the plot I'd really prefer people make new characters.
What's your take on the Beast Rider cavalier archetype for medium characters? At level 4, it gives the option of a bunch of different animals (and some dinosaurs, which I was kind of hoping to use) for the character to use as a mount.
However, if you're using Druid animal companion stats for the mount, they're almost all medium animals themselves at level 4, meaning that a medium character couldn't ride it, even though the archetype says that they're acceptable mounts for a medium creature. I'm not sure if Paizo's ever done any explanation/errata for this, so I'm curious to see what you think about it.
I hate to say this, but I'm not really up for fixing a broken archetype right now, you're going to have to find something that works out of the box.
I'm way more interested in your character then whether he can ride dinosaurs right now. You're going to get cut a lot more slack if you have an actual character premise that we're trying to make work as opposed to just throwing crunch hypotheticals at me. Please note I'm not even asking for stats at the moment.
We can worry about that once the characters are chosen.
I can work on it more tomorrow.
I hate to single you out, I really do, but if you add more to that thing you're going to have to be succinct, like I talked about before. There's a lot of extraneous details in your backstory that I'm sure seems reasonable when you're writing it but which get in the way of me finding the information I need when I'm trying to choose between a dozen of these things. Your siblings playing musical instruments, the academic specialties of your relatives, descriptions of dreams you had, these are all details you should leave out unless you want them to affect play.
You're giving me the full novel, I want the summary. If I pick your character I'll read as long a backstory as you want to write, but for now I want the elevator pitch.
"My character was the child of professors at University of Liepstadt, so when he began having strange dreams of Azlant he initially approached the problem from a scientific perspective. When the reach of science proved insufficient, he turned to mysticism."
That's what I'm looking for.
Again I don't want to single you out because there's nothing wrong with your actual backstory and I'm not criticizing your writing. It's just a logistics thing.
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You're giving me the full novel, I want the summary. If I pick your character I'll read as long a backstory as you want to write, but for now I want the elevator pitch.That's what I'm looking for. Save the prose for the gameplay.
Would want any of us to shorten ours? I'd go back and edit but it seems there's a limit to post edits. ( i wont clog up the thread anymore)
It's fine, I'll cope. Just keep it in mind for future.
Dotting.
What would be your opinion of someone playing a Cavalier (Huntmaster) and using the Monstrous Mount feat to gain a faithful, if somewhat vicious and malicious Worg as an animal companion?
What would be your opinion of someone playing a Cavalier (Huntmaster) and using the Monstrous Mount feat to gain a faithful, if somewhat vicious and malicious Worg as an animal companion?
Doesn't exactly set my mind alight with possibilities. Why do you feel your character needs to have a giant evil wolf? What purpose will it serve?
Like I said before: you should probably wait until you have a character pitch before asking me about rules minutia because you're going to get a way more favorable ruling that way. I'm far more likely to bend the rules for a character idea I like than when someone just throws hypotheticals at me.
"Hey here's my fun idea, can you help me make it work?"
Gets a better reaction than:
"Go look up some obscure rules so you can give me a ruling on how they interact."
Not sure if you'll allow Skinwalkers, but I had an idea for a rogue type who stole a mysterious orb. Ever since she's been suffering bouts of animalistic change, and is constantly assailed with visions of the apex of a ziggurant deep in the heart of a jungle. A constant keening voice tugging her ever further south, to Sargova.
Read the character creation section, I explain what races are allowed there. Skinwalker is not among them.
Ok, here's my shortened pitch/backstory for Karrin Dibbler, a female Tiefling (possibly Demonspawn, if I decide to take the feat) Cavalier. If it's a bit too long, I apologize-I tried to make it as concise as possible.
This tension reached a flashpoint when it was discovered that Karrin and the son of the tribal leader were having an affair. The son was killed in the ensuing scuffle, and Karrin was barely able to flee with her life, borne away from the only home she had ever known on the back of an animal that had come to her rescue in the nick of time. (Note: This is going to be whatever her mount turns out to be.)
Wandering the world for the next few years, Karrin increasingly became captivated with the strange visions she had been dreaming ever since the night of her exile. Convinced that she has been specially chosen by the goddess Acavna to be her vanguard, she tries to spread the word of the soon-to-be reborn goddess wherever she travels.
If it's a bit too long, I apologize-I tried to make it as concise as possible.
Nope, that's a fine length. I didn't mean to leave everyone too scared to write what they want. As long as you strive to be succinct it should be fine.
I'm still hashing things out but the worg is meant to be a mix of father figure/corrupting force for the boy who is having a hard time at this point trying to decide whether he is manipulating the lad or genuinely wishes to ensure his safety (Evil is not always mean). The boy is a former squire whose master was slaughtered by a goblin tribe that paid the worg homage. The viciousness the boy demonstrated as he defended himself peaked the interest of the worg. The human was an opportunity for the worg to act upon the strange feelings in the air and investigate just what they meant.
The boy is meant to be almost more feral than the worg in many respects. The trauma of watching his master die and the difficulties he has experienced helping the worg looking for the 'god-smell' have left their mark on him.
I intend on the boy starting off firmly at TN and having something of a tugging match between the worg and any good aligned characters in the party.
Hey Captain, Sir Jaan here, from the fish god thing? Yeah, hey, figured I'd see if I get down with this game too. To be upfront I'm not familiar with Golarion at all, I'm not sure what that does for you, but, there it is.
I really like the angle you take on your game worlds and I think I like your snide attitude, but you know, jury's still out on that s&*%. Anyway is it possible to resubmit Sir Jaan for this game? His precognitive/scrying magical pig familiar buddy can be what leads him to the temple, his journey as a paladin is reviving his patron, he's a young charismatic ruler who grows into maturity with his kingdom, it'd be cute. In case you aren't into that idea I'll probably be throwing a monk at you. I've been watching a lot of kung-fu movies lately and have wanted to play the "student who's strayed from the path".
Did a little homework on Acavna, here's some more spitballing for the monk side-concept.
Born to a lowly fishmonger, Han'ei labored on the water for much of his young existence, the moon and the tides dictating his sleep, his work, his life. His life was one of normalcy until at the tender age of 8 his hamlet was set upon by river pirates. He lay cowering in fear within a pile of straw for a day and a night before being discovered by a local hermit, who'd come down from his den up high on yonder mountain in search of sugar. The hermit becomes Han'ei's obi-wan kenobi, bathing him in the glory of Acavna, whose dogma and philosophy he had discovered on his travels as a youth. Through Acavna Han'ei learns to manipulate his ki, the same way the moon manipulates the tides.
Then, I don't know, more plot happens, some oaths of revenge get sworn, things get awesome. I'll do some fleshing and constructive thinking when I'm not sleepy.
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Alright so here is the basic idea
Primarily raise by a family slave an acting patron of the Goddes and brought the stories of her to Asha as she grew, dreams and stories of Acavna lured her away from her people and there teachings, she abandoned the worship of her family's patron in favor of Acavna, when she found herself truly capable of drawing upon the Goddess' divine power she left her home and sought the surface world to seek the moon's glory.
Asha Neutral Cleric of Acavna with the Darkness(Moon Subdomain) and Protection(Defense Subdomain) Domains.
Trying to keep things tight is a bit hard for me I kept having to rewrite my entry as I just kept adding to it making it more a full back story than an overview.
I'll be going with the Priest of the Dead Goddess trait if i get in.
Here's what comes to me
For as long as I can remember, I have dreamed of silver; of a beautiful silver city built around a glorious silver temple all under the radiance of the silvery light of the moon
Shams Al-Badri is from the empire of Kelish and has always had dreams of Azlant. Dreams that he knew in his childhood to be true but as he grew used merely as inspiration for his songs and poems and as a particular interest in ancient cities and topics related to the moon in his voracious readings. The patron goodess of Kelish, the DawnFlower Sarenrae, has always appealed to him but there has always been something tugging at him keeping him from being a true worshipper of hers. Still he feels her presence in the daylight. Lately the dreams have been getting more insistent though and one day he wakes knowing where the temple is and what it represents. The possibility of resurrecting Acavna!. Funding his trip through his fairly generous inheritance and by indulgent patrons he sets out on his journey to the jungle...
So it's the Dreams of Lost Azlant trait married to the Strength of the Sun trait for a bard. Basically as I have thought of him Shams Al-Badri has evolved into a person who encompasses both the sun and the moon. He was a bit of an odd duck in Kelish but never an outcast and he is quite fond of the place and retains a lot of respect for Sarenrae. He doesn't feel this to be in contradiction to his dreams and greater allegiance to the moon though. I quite like him actually. He could be refactored as needed to a Dervish archetype but I'm really thinking of him more as a more classic high CHA support character. I would ask to get the scimitar as a weapon proficiency though (maybe replace the rapier) as it just fits the origin and the curved half moon blade is just amazingly appropriate.
Also he has golden eyes.
Any thoughts, comments? I know you consider Acavna to be malleable in how she'll come back but she will be Good or at least Neutral right? Especially with demon foes who I imagine will get involved either soon or eventually :)
It would be awesome if you get pc from each campaign trait, they're all incredibly awesome BTW.
Dotting as this is a very interesting idea and I like the concept of restoring a dead goddess back to life. I am planning on making a Warrior of the Holy Light Paladin with the Azlanti Royalty trait who has a dream of uniting all of the world under one nation. His name is Wilhelm Athshyoth.
Wilhelm grew up in a simple farming village where he lived with his father, mother, four brothers, and five sisters. Wilhelm's parents never cared about him as much as the other kids so he was able to leave the house. It was during one of these outings that Wilhelm saw a group of priests and paladins of the Order of Knights Griffon who were going out to fight some undead that had been recently spotted in an old dungeon. Wilhelm followed the group until they forced him to go back the village. Five days later the warriors returned exhausted and weakened but victorious. Wilhelm asked a paladin if he could follow and the woman agreed. She told him how the Order of Knights Griffon accepted anyone who would be willing to sacrifice themselves for others and Wilhelm readily agreed. Wilhelms parents seem overjoyed to have him go and they sent him out without anything but the clothes on his back.
The woman introduced herself as Zariana and she became his mentor as they traveled to the order's headquarters. When they got there Wilhelm's life became one of training as a squire. Wilehlm had to train for years and during that time he found that he was best at jousting. Wilehlm was so good that the order awarded him the Lance of Broken Moons. The lance had been used to slay demons for as long as the order existed and it had been a relic in the order. The only clue they had to the lance's origins was the broken phases of the moon that circled the lance. They had given the lance to promising paladin's to use, and Wilhelm was the next paladin to receive the honor. Zariana approached Wilhelm that night and told him that he should seek a quest out in the wilderness for him to follow. Wilhelm trusting the words of his mentor left the order's base to go adventuring.
Wilehlm didn't have to travel very far to find problems in the world that could be solved and he tried to help out but he noticed that no matter what he did the problems kept cropping up. During this time Wilhelm began to have strange dreams where a woman in a silvery cloak began to ask him to help her. Wilhelm was surprised at first, but he travel to Magnimar and began researching on these dreams. When he found out about the sacrifice of the moon goddess Wilhelm knew that he had found his quest. Wilhelm packed up gear and bought some necessary items for the road ahead.
"My character was the child of professors at University of Liepstadt, so when he began having strange dreams of Azlant he initially approached the problem from a scientific perspective. When the reach of science proved insufficient, he turned to mysticism."
That's what I'm looking for.
Fair enough. You've got the elevator pitch right there.
Depending on how open you are to the Lovecraftian/creeping horror feel I'd add that I'm thinking of him as sort of a typical Lovecraft protagonist/victim. He's obsessing about Acavna though he doesn't know the name and is following clues to the lost Azlanti city in search of knowledge long lost to Man, and possibly best left unfound. Of course, if that's not the feel you're going for he'll work just as well as a straight conjuration wizard.
You've got my creative juices flowing now! I'm going to take some time to work up a concept while getting caught up on what has transpired in the thread so far.
What's your view on SLA's counting as spells for Feats and Prestige classes?That seems to be in keeping with the intention of the rules.
Good. It's surprising how many GM's knee jerk reaction is that it should be banned.
I'm thinking that I would take the Royal Azlanti trait, his distant Azlanti ancestor having been rescued by a celestial that eventually become his bloodline ancestor. From time to time the celestial progenitor looks in on his Aasimar descendants, and on one such occasion was just in time to rescue my character when he was a baby; he then brought him up, instilling in him a knowledge of human culture as the celestial knew it (i.e. history, especially Azlanti). By the time he was ready to make his own way in the world, he was thoroughly sold on the need for Law and Goodness and the next natural step was to come forth as a paladin. After a while, however, his bloodline began to manifest in sorcerous powers and he has sought out the means to meld his two vocations: Holy warrior and celestial sorceror, by taking up the mantle of an Eldritch knight.
If he was aware of his distant ancestry as a Royal Azlanti, it would also mean that he would have an interest in the Deities of old, including Acavna, making him wide open to her calling upon his life. It would also create a certain amount of angst (is he to recreate the ancient Royal family, or is this to be a quest solely in honour of Acavna. Should he then deny any ruling position if offered it, or embrace it as his destiny? How would he react if another was offered it?).
There is one question I have to ask; as a Paladin he is supposed to serve a deity. Acavna would be the logical choice, can I assume that he has had some contact with the awakening Acavna for some time, or is that only possible with the Dreams of lost Azlant trait? (if so, I'll change to that)
I must say that I'm kind of sad that Changelings didn't make the cut for playable races. I think their racial archetype Dreamweaver could have worked really well with the scenario that you have laid out before us.
None the less, I am still intrigued by this campaign and will continue to work on crafting a character that fits the rules that you have given us.
Reading up on the various wikis it seems like purple eyes is a clear sign of Azlanti descent and that's probably a somewhat known fact.
Reading the traits I don't think there's anything keeping someone from taking multiples as long as they don't contradict each other. Since Paladins are divine casters really could you maybe take both Royal Azlanti and Priest (*cough* Paladin) of a Dead God? It might keep you from taking another trait though. Of course this is all CaptainMarvelous' call. I just like jawing about this sort of stuff.
Normal rules state that you are not to choose more than one trait from the same trait list. In this case, all of those traits would be considered to come from the same (Campaign) list, which would restrict you from choosing multiples or a Campaign Trait from another source. Of course, as you said, it is CaptainMarvelous' call.
Depending on how open you are to the Lovecraftian/creeping horror feel I'd add that I'm thinking of him as sort of a typical Lovecraft protagonist/victim. He's obsessing about Acavna though he doesn't know the name and is following clues to the lost Azlanti city in search of knowledge long lost to Man, and possibly best left unfound. Of course, if that's not the feel you're going for he'll work just as well as a straight conjuration wizard.
The poem I just thought was appropriate, although I see how you'd get a Lovecraft vibe between that and all the dream stuff. While it wasn't my intention, there's no reason why it couldn't be your character's shtick. Maybe constantly dreaming of a goddess gives you insight into the more primeval, terrifying aspects of a being of such power. To her, you are less than insects.
Any thoughts, comments?
Well one of the main campaign foes is the cult of Nergal, who worship the evil aspects of the sun, so just making you aware of that in light of all your sun business.
If ever there was a game for a high-Cha support character, this was it. You're all going to need to assume some leadership role within the Kingdom (see campaign info) and you'll need some good people with decent Charisma.
I know you consider Acavna to be malleable in how she'll come back but she will be Good or at least Neutral right?
I'm starting to like this "goddess of contradictions, counts as every alignment" idea that's been tossed around, but at the very least in the capacity that she's interacting with you guys she's Good aligned.
Anyway is it possible to resubmit Sir Jaan for this game
Nope, completely different tones and I want new characters in general.
The boy is meant to be almost more feral than the worg in many respects. The trauma of watching his master die and the difficulties he has experienced helping the worg looking for the 'god-smell' have left their mark on him.
This sounds like it could work so I'll okay the Worg situation. He still has to be evil though. Evil doesn't have to be mean, but it does have to be bad. He may be your friend, but he's not a good friend. He's not going to help you move.
I'll probably go through the thread later and try to come up with ideas/suggestions for people's backstories, but if you want my immediate attention with something ask a question and I'll get to it as soon as I see it.
Normal rules state that you are not to choose more than one trait from the same trait list. In this case, all of those traits would be considered to come from the same (Campaign) list, which would restrict you from choosing multiples or a Campaign Trait from another source. Of course, as you said, it is CaptainMarvelous' call.
This. You can't have two campaign traits (not the least of which because they're more powerful than the other traits).
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In case it wasn't clear, I'd be gunning for "Priest of the Dead God".
Well one of the main campaign foes is the cult of Nergal, who worship the evil aspects of the sun, so just making you aware of that in light of all your sun business.
I was thinking of that when I looked up Nergal. From what I'm thinking it's safe to say Sarenrae wouldn't be on friendly terms with Nergal either so Shams would have two reasons to hate Nergal cultists (historical enmity with Acavna AND an insult to Sarenrae). I can see it being a tricky line to walk of course.
Okay, I'm back to officially submit Kaejo (this is Dukeruckley from earlier). Please note that the current build of this character is not in line with your guidelines. I will update him if selected (or earlier if you wish). His trait will be Without a Home.
Kaejo is a wild elf from the Ekujae tribe of the Mwangi Expanse. He exhibited an affinity for the art of Treesinging and trained under the tutelage of his tribe's elder. During one such training session, Kaejo and tribal elder were captured by the Aspis Consortium and enslaved at Whitebridge Station. One day, during their time in slavery, Kaejo stumbled and the slavemaster moved to beat him into submission. But the elder stepped in to protect him and was summarily beaten to death.
The Ekujae eventually mounted an attack on Whitebridge Station, to free the Ekujae slaves that had been there for some time. Though the tribe welcomed Kaejo with open arms, he felt too much grief for the loss of his mentor and friend. He blamed himself for the elder's death, and so he left the tribe to be on his own for some time. It was at that point he felt a pull and a sudden fascination with the moon.
Thanks for considering him!
Captain
Would you allow an Aasimar with the alternate racial trait Scion of Humanity to qualify for the Royalty campaign trait? No worries if negative, just reviewing ideas.
cheers
It was during one of these outings that Wilhelm saw a group of priests and paladins of the Order of Knights Griffon who were going out to fight some undead that had been recently spotted in an old dungeon. Wilhelm followed the group until they forced him to go back the village.
This reminds me of Romance Dawn, the origin story of the greatest hero in the history of fiction, so let's steal some elements from that to spice it up:
Five days later the warriors returned exhausted and weakened but victorious. Wilhelm asked a paladin if he could follow and the woman agreed. She told him how the Order of Knights Griffon accepted anyone who would be willing to sacrifice themselves for others and Wilhelm readily agreed. Wilhelms parents seem overjoyed to have him go and they sent him out without anything but the clothes on his back.
Too easy. If they just let him in like that being a Knight Griffon won't mean anything. Let's make this kid earn it (via the fine art of plagiarism). Here's how I'd rewrite it, feel free to take or leave what you want:
Young Wilhelm perhaps was reckless and headstrong, with a head full of chivalrous stories and very much still a naive kid. The Knights Griffon take a liking to him, but understandably don't allow him to join for fear of his own safety. It wouldn't be responsible to lead such a young boy out into danger.
Wilhelm made several attempts to impress the Knights, mostly with childish "feats" of bravery or martial prowess, but they never took any of it seriously.
One day Wilhelm observes the knights being pestered and somewhat humiliated by a group of local ruffians, which the knights take with gentle good humor. Wilhelm is unbelievable upset and disappointed by this, as he sees it as an act of weakness and cowardice on the behalf of the knights. The knights try to explain their philosophy but Wilhelm runs off, upset.
Wilhelm goes to confront the ruffians, maybe with a wooden sword, only to discover that they're bandits and he's found their hideout. Now he can't be allowed to live.
And that's when the knights show up, and easily slaughter all the bandits. They had never been frightened of them, just unwilling to resort to violence over wounded pride. When they tried to kill Wilhelm, violence became justified.
And you could leave it there, or you could keep going with:
The bandit leader escapes with Wilhelm as a hostage. The knights pursue him to a cave that happens to have maybe a dire bear inside. The bear kills the bandit leader, would kill Wilhelm but the leader of the knights saves him at the last moment, losing his own arm in the process. He reassures Wilhelm that it's a trade he's happy to make.
So with all these lessons learned and emotional bonds forged, it's hard to leave the kid behind but it's still not responsible to take him, so the leader of the knights inducts Wilhelm into the order (effective on his 18th birthday) and gives Wilhelm his (magic item you're starting with, maybe a shield since his arm is gone, maybe that lance) and tells Wilhelm that they'll meet again when he (Wilhelm) has become a great knight, and he can return it on that day (which will happen to be a day on which you have outgrown it for a better item in that slot).
Wilhelm starts training on his own to become a knight, and before he sets out on his own has begun to dream of his own destiny.
(Please note how long this is: my earlier objections to stuff wasn't so much length, but level of detail.)
Would you allow an Aasimar with the alternate racial trait Scion of Humanity to qualify for the Royalty campaign trait? No worries if negative, just reviewing ideas.
I'm not going to look this up: if such an assimar has some kind of "human blood" thing that lets them count as human for the purposes of qualifying for things, then yes. If not then no.
He grew up in the slums of Sargava, his mother a native and father a Sargavan colonist. Their relationship was kept a secret, because his father was a high ranking scout master in the Sargavan military, while his mother was just another low-life native in the eyes of the government. However, the father saw something interesting in her (later it would turn out she had a certain connection to nature, as her ancestors were tribal witches and shamans, before they were purged from those lands). they managed to keep their love a secret,and eventually, the yet unnamed protagonist was born.
As he grew older it was becoming increasingly difficult for his parents to maintain their relation in secret, and our young protagonist barely knew his father. His mother raised him with the values of both of his heritages, eventually realizing that the boy possessed extraordinary abilites and a fine connection with nature, often treading alone in the nearby jungles(against her wishes), and always returning unharmed. Somewhere around this time he meets his animal companion, which I still need to decide upon.
A critical moment happens when a political enemy of his father discovers through spies about his secret life, and about the interesting powers of his child. He then blackmails him, threatening to uncover the truth unless his son is brought into military training, into the ranks of a special team of magically inclined spies/scouts/assassins.
Reluctantly, he is forced to accept the deal, as he is involved in an almost decade long battle against the cult of Nergal, which operates from the jungle and is a long-time threat to the whole region. They were very close to finally making a crushing blow against this fiendish enemy, and he did not want to fail, being so close to the goal.
And so, my character is forcefully brought into service, and there trained in the arts of subterfuge and combat. But at least he got the chance to see and speak to his father at times, when their military duties met. Here is where he found out about the demon Nergal and his corruption on nature and people, and he found this to go against his innate senses. Eventually they actually served together in several raids and interventions.
But this bliss did not last for long, as his father's scouting party was ambushed by a powerful cultist and his minions, during one of their routine patrols. It would have been a somewhat easy battle for them, until the powerful cultist unleashed a summoning spell, which brought upon them a horde of fiends, ultimately slaying them all.
This was a crushing blow to our young protagonist, and soon after he found out that his father was set up by his enemies in the government, and that they were in lieu with the same cultists they were supposed to fight. Enraged and disappointed, he left the military, as he was old enough and had certain connections which allowed him to leave unharmed. His mother was devastated, and for a time he contemplated on his next move, his heart full of anger and a wish to avenge his father.
Somewhere around here his connection to the story can be made, with him finding out about the goddess, igniting his desire to fight and unleash punishment on the forces of evil.
Ofc this is rough draft of the story, still a lot of details to be covered, whaddya think? :D
There is one question I have to ask; as a Paladin he is supposed to serve a deity. Acavna would be the logical choice, can I assume that he has had some contact with the awakening Acavna for some time, or is that only possible with the Dreams of lost Azlant trait?
No, but you can still choose her as your patron deity. She's had minimal contact with all of you in dreams pointing you towards the temple, but otherwise only the dreamers have extended contact.
I'm not going to look this up: if such an assimar has some kind of "human blood" thing that lets them count as human for the purposes of qualifying for things, then yes. If not then no.
So, yes.
I'm imagining a local Lergeni (Aasimar) Saurian Druid from Jaha. His dreams drove him into the jungle and protected him. Need to give him a good hook to focus on saurians. Need to decide on campaign trait, because a couple would work besides royalty.
What's your view on SLA's counting as spells for Feats and Prestige classes?That seems to be in keeping with the intention of the rules.
Good. It's surprising how many GM's knee jerk reaction is that it should be banned.
Its the knee jerk response because errata has stated that they are natural abilities that have the same effect as spells but are not spells themselves.
I only bring this up to let you know why they do it. I personally think that the errata ruling is silly because what is magic beyond the harnessing of an unknown source and channeling it in a meaningful manner. That's exactly what spell-like abilities do, rather than training though, you naturally could do it.
@Captain Marvelous: I think I might just steal that addition to the background if you don't mind.
"Aieshya, what are you doing? Run or you're done for!", cried Micha
"Go on, little brother, take Elsa with you, fly! I'd just slow you down up there."
Micha took an agonized look at Aieshya and the men and tears streaming, grabbed Elas's and scurried up the ladder. Fate sealed, Aieshya felt curiously as if a heavy burden had been lifted and calmly turned to face Haseem and the men, "I am no theif! I paid the same twenty copper you demanded last week."
"That was then little, Sparrow. Now it's twenty five copper, and you're five short which makes you a theif", laughed Haseem nastily. Within moments the men had her restrained and Haseem was well pleased, gloating, "Time to make an example of you, little Sparrow, that your grubby friends won't soon forget!"
Knowing the end was near, Aieshya felt pity rather than anger and sighed, "May the gods show mercy on you Haseem, for one day justice will catch up with you..."
"Justice? There's no such thing as Justice for the likes of you!", laughed Haseem.
Fade to black.
Alright, fair enough. Any feedback on Han'ei? Too much, too little, too specific, too mary sue?