Btw, I have the race/class/gender template set up, but they don't appear in recruitment threads. Once we have a discussion or gameplay thread, I can post them.
So, for purposes of writing backstory, I'm assuming the highland folk will be traveling to somewhere in the vicinity of Byrthelm? I'm thinking my characters will probably meet in Rydwyrna, shortly after Talbert's expulsion from the Arcane Academy (perhaps after some alchemical mishap destroys the academy's alchemy lab).
As for "Dutch"'s origin, I'm hoping to reuse some elements from the backstory of one of the PCs (who is loosely based on Arya Stark) that I built for the in-person game I'm DMing. This character is the youngest (but only surviving) daughter of a duke who was deposed and murdered by his subjects (for racist reasons, she's a half-elf). Would this work better in Tindar, or some outlying territory of Byrthelm? I suppose I might also be able to adapt the story to Alderanyë, and say that the revolt happened because elven subjects were angry about her noble elven parent marrying a human, if you think that would work better.
So I have to find a place between Rydwyrna and the Highlands that both sets of characters are looking to find... I can do that. I'll get to work on the details this weekend.
As for Dutch... First, love the picture you picked. Second, the elven nobility in Eafphqu is matriarchal, so it would have had to have been her elven mother that married a human man. The assumption of your tale would put a rather barbaric wrench into my own imagining of the heightened civilization of the elves... The overturning of noble houses in Tindar is pretty normal though, so that would be a better place to go. I can easily see the Tindarians thinking that a half-elf daughter would open up their empire to infiltration by the elven noble houses, so easy narrative explanations for deposing/slaughtering the perpetrator of the infiltration. There are regular ships from Tindar to both Tradebay City and Rydwyrna, so she could have just hitched aboard a vessel that was run by someone still loyal to her father. I love that back story because it provides three things: 1) Tindar as an almost definite location of travel after Dutch has amassed some political influence and power; 2) A character that could, if she succeeded in taking back her deposed father's noble house, amass an army, should "global" conflict become part of the narrative; 3) a character that has a "foreign" cultural background that she can draw on, which creates some great RP potential. :)
So, let's say human half is Tindarese, which means she should start the game speaking Tindarese, Elven, and Common. It also means she comes from a culture where personal honor is a tangible and quantifiable thing. Being a rogue, though, does not, in and of itself, equal dishonor. Being stealthy and stealing secrets is actually an honorable calling in Tindar (ninjas and so on...).
Sound good?
So do we want to start the game in the combat where the two groups meet? Or do we want to, as suggested, start in two separate locales, Highlands and Rydwyrna, and set up some of the back story elements with actual role play? I'm fine either way, I just want to try and get a handle on which locations and NPCs I need to more thoroughly flesh out.
Speaking of! Syrus, you'll want to decide a clan name, the examples I have in setting so far are: Craggon, Ragnhild, Aldholen, Ghaundar. One of the things I've been longing to do in the setting is come up with some of the other clans. So, please, come up with a clan name for your characters. I'm assuming they are from the same clan, yes? Cryptic McExhermit was gone on self-imposed exile, but returns to the elders of his clan to ask for help, yes? And Brash McReckless, lover of large women, is the one they send along just to get him out of their hair for a while?
Tindar it is, then. One caveat, some of the background options I chose assume that she can plausibly pass herself off as a close relative of a (fictional) Byrthelm noble. Tindar seems to have a strong Japanese influence, and I just wanted to make sure that heritage wouldn't have ethnic implications would make that a non-starter.
If Tindarian (I think you've used "Tindarese", but I don't think that follows the rules of demonym formation... Tindari would be a possibility, though...) people have distinctive features (like epicanthic folds, for instance) that might be a problem, though maybe the elven heritage covers it up?
If, however, the ethnic differences were more akin to those between Americans or western europeans and Russians, it would be easier to explain how she can pass herself off as a relative of Byrthelm nobility. Sounds like there's even some cold war potential there. Plus, the idea of samurai and ninjas speaking with russian accents sounds awesome to me. It's your world though, so I don't want to try to dictate the details of it for you.
If that's too far from your vision, maybe there is a distinct ethnic group in Tindar that was once a separate nation, but was brought into the empire recently enough that the region is still ethnically distinct from the rest?
I've never thought about what the correct name rules are, I've used Tindarese, Tindaran, Tindarian, and now you've offered up Tindari. I'll probably use them all interchangeably. ;)
In my imagining of Tindar, I did ascribe an ethnicity much like Chinese, Japanese, and Korean culture have. Being a "half-breed" though, we can easily write that off to her mixed background making her indiscernible in terms of ethnicity.
Also, importantly, Byrthelm doesn't have nobility. Power in Byrthelm is distributed to the Senate, and those rich members of society that help pay for their campaigns. Any "nobility" in Byrthelm would either be members of the government, or high ranking officials in the Orders. So you might have to reword/rework that particular part of it.
So, one of the features of my her background is that equipment includes "tools of the con of your choice (ten stoppered bottles filled with colored liquid, a set of weighted dice, a deck of marked cards, or a signet ring of an imaginary duke)." I chose the last of these options, and chose several personality traits to compliment it. Any suggestions for what type of fictitious person the ring should belong to? I don't imagine the senate would be big enough for her to slip a fake person into it, maybe some type of regional governor?
Wait, she is actually the daughter of a dead Tindari duke, or she is pretending to be? Or, she IS the daughter of a deposed Tindari duke and she's trying to pass herself off in Byrthelm as of being of some important family within the Republic as well? Because if that is the case, I'm thinking she should pretend to be a daughter of one of the Highland nobles! There are enough clan nobles that pretending to be a daughter of one of the clan lords could easily be accomplished with the right chicanery. Plus, that would give us the hook of her trying to pretend with the actual Highlanders that she meets. Depending on how good she is at deception, she might even be able to convince a Highlander that there's a noble lord they've never heard about. There are, after all, clans that have been granted lands and titles by Haedwulf for seemingly very little...
Does that sound good? With such deception and disguise, she could easily still wield some influence among educated people in Rydwyrna. The Highland Realm and the Republic are tenuous allies, and therefore people wouldn't want to upset the tense diplomatic relations. :)
Sound good?
That might work. To answer your question, she is actually the daughter of a Tindari duke who was murdered by his subjects, which technically makes her a duchess in exile. She is in hiding as such, though, and will be extremely reluctant to reveal her true identity.
She also has the background option "Scam: I put on new identities like clothes." and has the aforementioned signet ring, which she uses to impersonate a relative of some powerful person who would be recognized as such in Byrthelm (but who, in fact, is fictitious, or at least not easily contacted to verify her story). If there are strong diplomatic relations, someone (supposedly) from the highlands might work.
I'm thinking that to steal the book, she posed as an advance representative of this fake person, who wanted a tour of the archives and would be visiting soon. She was allegedly assigned to do a walkthrough for security purposes, which is how she got access. Maybe she was just planning to case the joint so she could sneak in at a later time, but while she was there, the alchemy lab blew up (the fault of someone else she will soon meet), and she saw an opportunity to snatch the book and escape in the confusion (this also serves as a plausible reason that the noble visitor never shows up).
I was thinking of some Byrthelm official, but maybe a diplomat from the highlands would work?
Yeah, diplomat from the highlands would be much more plausible as a ruse, since it is far less "traceable." That's funny, the way you put the story together is the way I put it together in my head too. Macklutz, knowing he was "skating on thin ice," as the expression goes, and having just caused one of the most horrific and costly mishaps the Arcane Order has seen in recent memory, is rushing out of the compound, and he, quite literally, runs into Dutch, who is also running out of the compound but for different reasons. In the scuffle, the book flies out of her belongings, and he sees it, and, maybe because he's spent some time in the dustier portions of the library, where no people are likely to harass him, he can actually read the letters that are gilded into the book's cover... He recognizes the letters as a dead language, a language he doesn't even know the name of, and since she can't read it, but has heard it is somehow connected to a giant hoard of treasure, she decides to partner up with him, while they both seek to discover more about the culture that spoke that language, and what secrets the book holds...
Also, Dutch has a very Daenerys Targaryen vibe to her, as well as Arya. Only heir to a once powerful noble line, in other-imposed exile. She's constantly on the lookout for assassination attempts, and people from whom she can bargain power and influence. :) I've only ever read the books though, I don't have any frame of reference for those characters from the show. I'm still trying to gather my strength to watch it. I've got such clear pictures in my head of the characters, I've watched the first seven minutes of the show twice now, and both times, I look at Daenerys and Drogo and my head just goes: "NOPE!" They are not at all how I pictured them while reading. I'll get over it eventually I'm sure. When all the shows I'm binging now are fully consumed.
We've clearly got the characters here that are going to make a great story!!! I'm already having a blast, and we're still in character creation mode. :P :D
Daenerys definitely goes through a transition (or several) over the course of the series.
I hadn't thought of her as an analog, but I definitely had Arya in mind as an influence. If you've seen Leverage, I'm also drawing significantly on elements of Parker (especially from later in the series, after her own transition) and a few from Sophie from that show.
Unlike Daenerys, dutch isn't in any hurry to return to Tindar. Not until she has some reason to, at least, and even then she'll be reluctant. She regularly impersonates a noble, but the fact that she actually is one is a deep, dark secret (it was actually hinted in at least one episode of Leverage that this might be the case with Sophie, though I don't think they ever gave a straight answer about it).
Btw, your idea about them (literally) running into each other running away is certainly an easier way for them to meet than the road I was going down. I was actually struggling a little to come up with a good way for Dutch to figure out that she should talk to Talbert, so that would solve that problem.
Btw, since Talbert is supposed to be kinda inept, while Dutch is a total badass who needs a lot of skills across several different abilities, I decided not to even out their arrays as much as I had previously considered, though I did transfer the 17 over to him. Here are the arrays I ended up with:
17, 15, 13, 12, 9, 8 (equivalent to a 22pt buy in pathfinder)
18, 16, 16, 15, 9, 7 (equivalent to a 39pt buy in pathfinder)
So, Talbert knows Common and (some) Draconic. He gets two more languages. What languages are in common use in Eafphqu?
It looks like the official list for 5e includes:
Abyssal
Aquan
Auran
Celestial
Common
Deep Speech
Draconic
Druidic
Dwarvish
Elvish
Giant
Gnomish
Goblin
Gnoll
Halfling
Ignan
Infernal
Orc
Primordial
Sylvan
Terran
Undercommon
Some of these probably don't exist in Eafphqu, plus there are additional human languages. It would be nice to know what languages might actually be useful (and, of course, what he would have the opportunity to learn).
Interestingly, this page also indicates that some languages share a common script.
Kairon, in case you haven't decided on skills yet, here's a quick list of the ones that neither of my characters has covered: Religion, Animal Handling, Medicine, Survival, Intimidation, and Performance.
Not sure which background you chose for your barb, but the hermit background for the warlock means we can check off Religion and Medicine as well. Between your two concepts, I figure at least one of them probably has intimidation. In fact, we may end up with everything but Performance covered... unless of course your barb moonlights as an entertainer ;)
Just realized that Talbert was one skill short, since one of his comes from variant human. So now Religion (at least) will be an overlap skill between our party's two casters (unless you've since changed your mind about the hermit background, I guess).
** spoiler omitted **
If you have a problem with how Daenerys is portrayed in the early episodes, just watch this scene (spoilers, obviously) from S03E04.
Murrlinn MacEerie will be keeping the hermit background, and will have Medicine, Religion, Intimidation, . . . and I forget what else. All my documents are currently unavailable.
Getting Animal Handling and Survival on Brash McReckless will be easy enough, I think. Performance may be a bit of a stretch, though!! lol
Though I *could* make him a part-time gigolo . . . . Big girls, small girls, in-between girls . . . . He'd probably be a fan of 'em all!
Anyhow -- I *should* be finalizing my 'rough draft' paperwork on each over the next few hours, and then I'll start building the profiles and such.
(For the record: this system is *still* weird. Two rocks in the same shoe, kinda.)
----------
RE: GoT and Daenerys -- Mended, Illiam's sample video above is a *fine* example of how much spine has been found in the character as the seasons have progressed. Emilia Clarke is doing a reasonable job of playing the role. As far as she is concerned (character, not actor), if you can make it through season one, you'll probably "get there".
I've read the books, too, and I can only say that Martin's work is only slightly less taxing than trying to watch The Walking Dead (*shudder*), but that's probably just because his atrocities aren't as fresh in the mind as AMC's are . . . .
I mention this just because it is *necessary* to be able to lay aside (This . . . is . . . necessary / This . . . is . . . necessary // Life . . . feeds on life . . . feeds on life) the written story in a *major way* roundabout the end of season 3/beginning of 4 on the show -- but it *is* worth it! I recommend it!!
Winter is coming! (Yup -- House Stark, through and through. Maybe a hint of Martell . . . .)
----------
Welp!! Breakfast!!! And then builds!
About the "reswap" of ability scores, no problem with that.
Languages...
Page 123 of the PHB has a chart that lists Standard and Exotic languages, their speakers, and the script they use. Eafphqu's distribution follows that as a guideline. One of the things I like about that chart is that it leaves off Druidic, which is only spoken by Druids, and is not a language that is widely shared.
Thank you all for your opinions on GoT. I value your opinions highly, and will certainly be readjusting my attitude toward the show based off of your input. :)
Syrus, I'm intrigued by the thought of Brash taking Performance as a skill with the idea that he's a gigolo... A flirt, able to read people's body language... There're some hooks there that could play interestingly.
Have I said I'm excited about this yet?
Dr. Whosawhatsis... Do you want to start your roleplay just after the two characters run into each other? Cause, you don't even really need me for that, which is another one of the things I wanted to happen when I imagined this game. You two, posting, back and forth, with very little need for me at all. It provides a vastly intriguing dynamic where you are having conversations with yourselves and each other that are driving the action of the story, and all I have to do is sit back, watch, and react if the world needs to.
Just wanted to make something clear to you both as well. Whosawhatsis will not be surprised by this. I'm going to be using Hero Lab to build your characters so that I can double check all the mechanics, and so that I have easy record keeping. So when your profiles are completely done, I'll start that building process. I'll let you know if I find anything that doesn't hash, and we can figure out how to rectify at that time.
Excited!!!!
. . . which is another one of the things I wanted to happen when I imagined this game. You two, posting, back and forth, with very little need for me at all. It provides a vastly intriguing dynamic where you are having conversations with yourselves and each other that are driving the action of the story, and all I have to do is sit back, watch, and react if the world needs to.
Had to reply/quote this so there's incontrovertible proof that Mended is encouraging multiple personalities (disorders). :D
Two Rocks, One Shoe --
Actors/stage players would sometimes put a small stone in one shoe or the other to remind them of a limp their character was to portray. Normal step/hitch step/normal/hitch/etc. 5E just doesn't flow for me. Yet. It could happen. I still feel off-balance in trying to get the mechanics grasped in such a fashion that both story *and* "cogs and wheels" are more . . . seamless. That's all.
XGE errata question:
Rules text for Ancestral Guardian shows 2d6 as the damage reduction amount; the *table* shows 2d8 (or it might be the other way 'round . . . .). Which one is accurate?
And it looks like the only reasonable way for us to get the Performance skill is if Brash takes the Prodigy feat at 1st level -- bawdy humor? seduce female? I dunno what we'd call it . . . . But it could tie in just fine with the bond that demands he make babies to sustain the tribe . . . . "Bar-baby-ans", I'm calling 'em.
But, another toolset proficiency and a *fourth* language can't be bad . . . .
My physical book shows 2d6 on both the table and in the descriptive text. Must be a PDF problem...?
I have to say, the fact that you brought up a feat that seems almost entirely a flavorful option tickles my DM heart. Don't forget that prodigy also gives you expertise (double proficiency bonus applied to all rolls) with one skill you already know, as well. You have my promise, if you take the Prodigy feat because it gives you access to Performance (seduction), I will make sure that skill comes into play with importance.
As to the two rocks. I think I see what you're saying. For me, coming to 5e it was like a breath of fresh air because I feel like the developers have specifically written into the rules that the rules are designed to be the springboard of great stories, changed (within guidelines and reason) to fit our desires. The "spectral warriors," for example, can be whatever we imagine them to be. They could manifest as nothing more than a faerie fire type flame erupting around your character, or your blade. We could manifest them as actual ghosts if we so choose, the point is, the mechanics of disadvantage for attacks that aren't against you, and DR for your allies from any attack they make that actually hits. The mechanics are, you're protecting them through primal and ancestral power. The flavorful narration of that power is ours to choose. Does that make sense?
It might be that that is what the developers/authors of Pathfinder intended as well, but I never *felt* it in there. That might just be my hang up, but there was so much friggen math involved all the time that I tended to feel like I was taking an exam, not telling a story. You know? Just my 2cp. Thank you for making the effort. I am very much appreciative.
Also, yes, I am advocating multiple personalities, but not disorders. Internal dialogue is the hallmark of the sanest of people. Leastwise that's what my inner voice keeps telling me. ;) :P XD
Forgot to say, consider bar-baby-ans coined and minted. Good show.
A lot of stuff about 5e didn't make sense until I read up on "bounded accuracy". They also seem to have done a lot of what they did with the intention of curtailing minmaxing (and, in doing so, curtailing the need for minmaxing, just to keep up with the Joneses). I mean, each class has one (maybe two, but there's much less MADness) ability that they need to pump to be effective, but you're really limited in how far you can pump that one. With more ability bumps to be had and a hard limit on how high you can use them to pump your primary stat, you're forced to broaden your character's focus as you go rather than narrowing it.
I'm disappointed that there is nothing you can do outside of class and race selection to give a character access to more skills (until level 4, and then you have to trade that all-important ability bump for it), but at least the system does allow you to build a low-int character without giving up on having any skills...
Oh, I just remembered WHY I was one skill short with Talbert. I wanted to trade one of his skill proficiencies for a tool proficiency (alchemist's supplies). I figure he was at the academy training to be an alchemist, not a wizard, and it's only with this powerful ancient spellbook that he can barely read that he starts to develop any wizardly power. Need GM approval on that switch, though.
I will be writing backstory that includes Talbert and Dutch's first meeting. I have a lot of the plot points figured out, I just need to sit down and start writing. I'm currently on contract for my next two books and developing scripts for a video training course, so my time to sit down and write has largely been spoken for, but I should have some time today.
All I was trying to express is this: it's very much like adjusting to a new vehicle -- swapping to a truck after decades of sub-compact use is kinda weird. They both drive, they both use fuel, A/C, lights, and so forth, but nothing's where it "should" be. These systems can be used to lay out the same narrative, but the motion, scope, and scale aren't the same.
For the sake of illustration: 4E was an easier transition for me than 5E. Brand new ride, yes, but it felt more like the previous one than going to 5E from 3.x/PF did.
But you're exactly right, whosa -- 5E *forces* one to "go wide" with broader options, rather than honing in on "that one thing". . . . . Right now, it kinda feels like the crunch dictates the 'organic' nature of character progression, rather than making the crunch through 'organic' progression.
Bah. I can't explain it. Anywho.
Will have some aliases built today/tomorrow.
The bounded accuracy system combined with no inherent need to ever acquire magic items (and thus no wealth-by-level table) also makes the game feel like it has an inherently lower power level. I know that a lot of the level progression has shifted to increases in damage as a character progresses rather than accuracy, but it still feels like the gap between a first-level character and a 20th-level character in 5e is closer to the gap between a first-level character and a 3rd- or 4th-level character in pathfinder. Of course, I haven't actually played a character beyond second level in 5e, so that may be a wildly inaccurate assessment.
If I was going to send a thousand level-1 peasants armed with improvised weapons to fight an ancient dragon, I would like their chances under 5e rules a lot more than I would under pathfinder rules.
One thing I don't like is that it makes a lot more sense for a wizard to use damage-dealing spells in 5e than in pathfinder. Pathfinder has a huge number of spells that, if you use them cleverly, make you FAR more effective than a blaster build.
Combat seems to last longer on average (even WITH Mended's max HP rule, combats were usually over in a round or two in PF), and spells/day seem more limited, but having damage-dealing cantrips that remain relevant (and even comparable to a fighter's DPR) forces even wizards to be just another damage dealer most of the time.
As an aside, someone from my in-person group once tried to get me to play Diablo (whatever the most recent game in that series is), and I put down the controller and walked away when I realized that the biggest difference between playing a wizard and playing a ranger was the color of the projectiles that you use to shoot things over and over and over. 5e has a significant element of this as well, which is why I spent so much time entertaining the idea of NOT playing a wizard (though at least it's not 4e).
Who... that skill switch is perfectly fine with me, and I, now, even know how to adjust that in HL with ease.
@Both, as I napped (fighting off a virus my kids brought home, and right now the virus seems to have more action economy) I realized what you both have said as well. In 5e rounded characters, designed to do many things pretty well, and perhaps one or two things really well, but who also have flaws (see the 8 in their suggested standard array), and therefore must have other people around to complement what they lack, is cooked (for lack of a better word) into the rules. Yet the game also makes it possible for just about any set of characters to go out and successfully adventure, and therefore any story can be told, and told well. Which is to say, for my money, a good narrative is the focus, and the rules lead you to that road.
Dutch's backstory is almost ready. You want us to just post them in the gameplay thread? You'll have to create one first, obviously...
I think somewhere in all this we just skipped over the fact that Dr. Whosawhatsis is working on two books and a script for training videos, and yet puts a priority on writing back stories for these characters. I admire your ambition, and am humbled by the priority you've placed on the game. I'll be opening Gameplay and Discussion here shortly. :)
On the 5e casters are blasters. I do believe that part of that might actually be a bit of a backlash specifically against Pathfinder where wizards of low levels seemed to have very little to offer in combat, but were nonetheless important because in later levels they were the power of the game. 5e has dealt with both of those issues by giving even 1st level casters something to contribute to combat, and severely restricting the power of magic (i.e. concentration spells) as the game progresses. I do also think that part of the way 5e is designed is for combat to really be a small part of the game, a part that helps tell the story, but that is NOT the focus of the story. Funnily enough, I think in our other game, Quint's game, a lot of the players (not you obviously) are confounded by what to do with their characters outside of combat. Not sure if that is because they think all RPGs should be nothing but moving from one combat to the next, or if they don't have the ingenuity and creativity necessary to help imagine a story that isn't based around killing everything and taking their stuff...
Discussion and Gameplay are open.
Need to fill in some names, then I think this story is ready. Do they do the whole sirname-first thing in Tindar?
Not when I imagined it, but I don't care really. If that's how you want to do it, I'm fine with making it so. :)
Actually, I'd rather not. I just wanted to make sure that I wouldn't be creating a discrepancy by not doing so.
Dutch is up, now to start on Talbert...
I see you have a battle grid link up. It's not editable yet.
I came up with some interesting tricks for building a battle grid, let me know if you want me to share some of the assets.
First, I made a transparent grid. This is used as an overlay so that you can add a grid to a map that doesn't already have one. That's useful by itself, but you can also overlay it on another map that does have a grid as a guide so that you can scale maps to match the same grid size. This allows you assemble a bunch of different map elements to make more elaborate scenes.
Second, I made a transparent black image file, which you can drop over another map (make sure to layer it between the map and the tokens, so that you can still select and move them) to turn a daytime scene into a night scene.
This map shows these elements in action (it's a big one, be sure to scroll around).
Waaaaaaitaminnnitttttt . . . . .
We aren't killing everything and taking their stuff??
>.>
<.<
Uuuuummmmmmm . . . .
Whew. For those keeping score at home, that's just shy of 3300 words. I may have gone a bit overboard.
We aren't killing everything and taking their stuff??
I intend to both kill things and take their stuff. It's just that those are the least interesting things I'm hoping to accomplish :P
Oh, also, who-ster, don't forget that in order to multiclass a character has to have met the prerequisite ability scores for both the class they are "leaving" and the class they are gaining. Fighter/rogue has to have a minimum 13 in both STR and DEX.
Just looking back over stuff. A Fighter requires 13 strength OR dexterity. Monk requires 13 wisdom AND dexterity. Dutch has a low STR, but high DEX and WIS, so she would qualify for either.
Oh, also, who-ster, don't forget that in order to multiclass a character has to have met the prerequisite ability scores for both the class they are "leaving" and the class they are gaining. Fighter/rogue has to have a minimum 13 in both STR and DEX.Just looking back over stuff. A Fighter requires 13 strength OR dexterity. Monk requires 13 wisdom AND dexterity. Dutch has a low STR, but high DEX and WIS, so she would qualify for either.
I completely missed that "or" in there. You are right. Also kudos on the walls o' text. That's one of the most epic beginnings to the story of two characters I've ever seen in a PbP. :) Looks like the gauntlet has been thrown down Syrus!
On murderhoboing... Talbert/Dutch is right, of course there will be some killing of things, and some taking of their stuff, but that is just a byproduct of the story, not what's driving the story. Again, one of the major reasons I wanted both of you is that I knew you'd be much more involved in the moments between the battles and that you'd be tactically efficient, so that the battles would not be long, drawn-out, messy affairs.
I see you have a battle grid link up. It's not editable yet.
I came up with some interesting tricks for building a battle grid, let me know if you want me to share some of the assets.
First, I made a transparent grid. This is used as an overlay so that you can add a grid to a map that doesn't already have one. That's useful by itself, but you can also overlay it on another map that does have a grid as a guide so that you can scale maps to match the same grid size. This allows you assemble a bunch of different map elements to make more elaborate scenes.
Second, I made a transparent black image file, which you can drop over another map (make sure to layer it between the map and the tokens, so that you can still select and move them) to turn a daytime scene into a night scene.
This map shows these elements in action (it's a big one, be sure to scroll around).
Yeeee ikes!!! That is a lot of work... While I appreciate the quality of the map and the ability of a map like that to help with immersion, I'm of a mind that since we're imagining things anyway, the maps can be simple. Which, you've obviously seen in the other game. :) At my tabletop game I use Pathfinder's larger basic flip mat and dry erase crayons to set simple barrier lines (like simple circles for tree trunks). Otherwise, everything is up to our imagination. :) So, for now, I'll say, I'm impressed, thanks for the offer, but let's keep things simple... for now...
Oh, also, I changed the permissions to any one with the link can edit. Let me know if you still can't edit it.
Yeeee ikes!!! That is a lot of work... While I appreciate the quality of the map and the ability of a map like that to help with immersion, I'm of a mind that since we're imagining things anyway, the maps can be simple. Which, you've obviously seen in the other game. :) At my tabletop game I use Pathfinder's larger basic flip mat and dry erase crayons to set simple barrier lines (like simple circles for tree trunks). Otherwise, everything is up to our imagination. :) So, for now, I'll say, I'm impressed, thanks for the offer, but let's keep things simple... for now...
That one is a particularly elaborate example. I went to the extra trouble on that one because it's not just for a single encounter. The PCs are in the middle of a series of encounters, some of which specifically involve trying to sneak in unseen, so I figured I needed a map that would give them the freedom to come up with whatever plan they wanted to achieve that.
I wouldn't expect a map that elaborate, I was just pointing out that some of the techniques I used for it might be useful, and offering to share the assets that made it possible.
In the name of complete and utter madness:
50 Gold to start for a barbarian is not too shabby actually (with the 5e equipment costs being what they are). 90 for a Warlock is tolerable, since they don't need a spell book, and you can just by an arcane focus instead of a component pouch...
I'd suggest having Murrlinn actually buy a burglar's pack, it is the most versatile for the price... :) Then Brash can buy a plain ol' Explorer's pack (only 10gp).