| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
A small note for all as I recently had this conversation with a couple of people behind the scenes. I view an "average" ability stat as a straight 10. Anything above this is considered "above average" and anything below (in our case, 8 or 9) is viewed as "below average". If someone for eg, chooses to give themselves an 8 in an ability stat and hopes to play it out in game (via rp/narrative and alike) as above average, then I would suggest they please don't. ;) I'm not inflexible, but I do believe in the integrity of characterisation. This is a brief glance into the mind of GM Ariarh. :)
A note on encumbrance: I'm generally not a stickler with this, as long as you keep it somewhat realistic in what you're carrying around with you or attempting to do a task/action/activity. For eg, If you're carrying the equivalent of a grand piano on your back - I may question it. ;) LOL. However, appropriate Armour Check Penalties will apply.
To get a better feel for your characters, once you've finished their build and personality, can you please complete the following short questionnaire and place it on your profiles? This will help me better understand your characters and how you've created them to act/react/speak/feel etc. Thanks, guys. :)
* What does your character value most in life?
* What are their immediate goals?
* What are their future goals?
* What are your character's most obvious blessings/strengths/aptitudes?
* What are your character's most obvious flaws/quirks/foibles/weaknesses?
* Are they any conflicts which may arise from your character's past? If yes, what form will they take and from whom?
* Does your character have a criminal past/record?
* Is there any race, creed, alignment, religion or the like which your character is highly prejudiced for or against?
* Does your character have any significant rational or irrational fears, phobias or paranoias?
--->*a) What, if anything, would it take for your character to overcome this?
--->*b) How does your character react when this fear/phobia/paranoia manifests itself?
* Does your character have any unusual or nervous mannerisms/ticks, which appear when talking, thinking, afraid, under stress, or when embarrassed?
Ok so I think I know what I'm going to make. Since we have 5 characters, I'm going to make a secondary striker type and do a magus. Not sure exactly what archetype but I'm going to start on him today.
So to sum up:
Barbarian
Oracle
Sorcerer
Magus
Ok so I think I know what I'm going to make. Since we have 5 characters, I'm going to make a secondary striker type and do a magus. Not sure exactly what archetype but I'm going to start on him today.
So to sum up:
Barbarian
Oracle
Sorcerer
Magus
Sounds great. I'll be home in about 5 hours and I'll start working on my character. I may do a ranged/skills/trap guy. Possibly bard or alchemist?
Neato :D
Rhi's pretty into herbology, so if you become an alchemist, they'll have herb-picking things to chat about. c:
dot
Rolling gold for unchained rogue. If Immortal has DD and other skills, I may switch to alchemist or bard.
Lower than average, so 140 gp.
Eminem80's Unchained Rogue
So now we have:
* hiyami: Rhialtyra Sunaki, NG, Female, Aasimar Oracle (Life Mystery with Merciful Curse),
* Dain: Connor son of Ceorl, Alignment not provided as yet, Male, Human Barbarian (new Archetype to be announced),
* txturtle: Anila Vayu, NG, Female, Aasimar (Azata-blooded/Musetouched) Sorceress (Wildblooded with Arial bloodline),
* Eminem: Riley "Lucky" Rylin'dar, CN, Male, Half-Elf Rogue (Unchained, Scout)
* Immortal: To be announced - Magus?
Questionnaire done; backstory still needs to be finished.
Meanwhile, I still need to pick Feats, and possibly re-evaluate stats/traits/skills due to reconsideration a few things about his current stat block (which will likely change slightly, though not too much).
More to come soon!
FYI - Riley, your guy looks pretty cool. Rhialtyra, also looks pretty cool :)
I'm eager to get out on the field with you both and I'm also curious to see our other players, soon!
See you when I see you.
FYI - Riley, your guy looks pretty cool. Rhialtyra, also looks pretty cool :)
Thanks. I enjoyed reading your questionnaire. Though our guys are different, I think they will get along well. I am trying to find an avatar to match my portrait. My guy changed in my head overnight. AND I agree...Rhialtyra's character is sweet.
This is probably the best avatar for my guy. If anyone sees a better one, please let me know. Here is his portrait: Here
Thank you both! That's very kind of you to say c:
Connor's personality and history looks interesting. I sense loads and loads of RP potential - especially the juicy kind. It'll be fun to see how things play out!
I'm excited to see what other personalities enter into the mix. c:
Lookin' forward to seeing your character's history/personality, Eminem :D
With that, we'll have 3/5 ready to go and roll about the town :D
lol im still trying to figure out what I want to do lol. Keep going between a magus, archer (divine hunter or Zen archer), and a million and 1 other things lol
lol im still trying to figure out what I want to do lol. Keep going between a magus, archer (divine hunter or Zen archer), and a million and 1 other things lol
My vote would be divine hunter. That was one of my options! Play what you want though!!
@Eminem: I think Immortal's going the Zen Archer route, from my last conversation with him. :)
@Eminem: I think Immortal's going the Zen Archer route, from my last conversation with him. :)
That works too!
Rough drafts of my backstory and questionnaire are up for those who are interested in reading them. Please feel free to offer feedback. ;)
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Ooooh, here's a suggestion - maybe the reason they find out about his dexterity (tent-pitching is more of a strength thing, no?) is because he's being taught how to throw knives? That way Hannibal could've considered another path for him, but ultimately decided on discretion because of his age and size??? Like, he could've been planning on getting Riley to actually be the one to murder someone (how messed up would it have been if Hannibal had ordered Riley to murder Lily and that's why they decided they were done with him?) but Hannibal just never advanced Riley to that stage??
Also, it doesn't make sense for the Hell Knights to be arresting him if it was his screams for help that got their attention. Maybe screams of despair? That way, it would've been interpreted as despair he'd been caught as opposed to despair at having his lover murdered??? I mean, I guess it could also be a legal thing where Hannibal is just really tight with the politicians/guards in that area, but it was just a thought. c:
Who is someone that he has a relationship with (that's positive!) that's still alive? Or neutral, even?
Sorry for the word-vomits. I may or may not have no life. <_< I've been procrastinating on my homework and refreshing this page ever so often so I can do something that's not my assignments. <_<
I really like the way you've got him planned out. He goes from victim, tool, rogue, and now he's trying to blend in and obtain some semblance of normalcy. :D It's pretty tragic, but interestingly set up!
--
Regarding your questionnaire, I'm really eager to see your handling of the atheism. Atheism does exist in Pathfinder, but it doesn't regard those who believe as superstitious as much as it does "weak" or "foolish". Since the gods are rather vividly involved in people's lives, harassing and blessing as they see fit, I'm curious as to how you're planning to do it. It's not as though you can say that a person is blindly faithful when their faith/relationship with a god actually does grant them something - like spells, etc.
As far as part A of fears, I think it might be fair to say that the question is asking what Riley would do to overcome his fear of, say, losing Lily's locket. Would he just always keep it on hand in a specific place that he could check constantly? (just an example!)
This might just be a draft, but I really like it! There's a lot of nifty things you've got set up for Riley c:
Ooooh, here's a suggestion
I love it. Thank you so much for your time. I will definitely add some of that into his story. It was definitely a brainstorming first draft.
He keeps the necklace on his neck and doesn't even like people looking at it. I'll add that stuff as well. ;)
I like the foolish idea about religion. I am hoping Rhialtyra can teach him about faith. I think ultimately he is more bitter than unbelieving. He just doesn't know that.
He doesn't know anyone good. He is all alone. :(
Hiyami/Rhialtyra, Connor and Riley, I've read your questionnaires (and thank you for completing them for me). I've provided some feedback but I still have more to give but I'm working very slowly right now due to illness, so please be patient. The answers weren't a complete surprise based on the backstories you have provided, so that is good and makes sense. But all in all, I am suitably impressed with the thought you have given to each of your characters (this includes txturtle and Immortal, whom I've spoken with via PMs).
Your character has no idea if Silas Gribb could even pay him the coin owned as caravan escort. The smuggler may have been lying and may have had you all killed at the end of the destination. To blame the local Sheriff of Belhaim doesn't seem reasonable on one hand, as Sir Pelle Benhovy was simply dong his duty. The displaced ire makes no practical/logical sense.
Also, Connor is fine with lying and considers it clever when he does it, but it proves other people are untrustworthy? Yes, hypocritical, and a strange philosophy. One would consider that kind of hypocrisy a flaw... Just something to think on.
I think a form of atheism would be not that the gods werent real but that they are unworthy of worship and are just super powerful beings.
I think a form of atheism would be not that the gods werent real but that they are unworthy of worship and are just super powerful beings.
I agree! After reading both of your comments and this, I think I will play him as if he sees the Gods as puppet masters. They are real and powerful, but can't be trusted and are unworthy of his worship/loyalty.
Ultimately, he is bitter towards them for his lot in life.
At the moment, Rhia is rather a "too perfect" (paragon of virtue/mercy) character in that she does not have flaws or insecurities. She is apparently selfless to a fault and that could be considered a flaw/insecurity in itself, but I was wondering how you saw it. What propels/fuels this selflessness? Why is she like this? Is it because her own mother considered her an ill omen and blamed her for their misfortunes? Or that the cousin's wife was such a gold digger and became her arch-foe? But why should such things affect Rhia so deeply? What void is she trying to fill inside of herself? Something would have "made"/"moulded" her this way. Just some things to think on... and would give me a deeper picture of this too-good-to-be-true Aasimar.
Hmm... Well, I had a pretty good response to explain my reasons for feeling the way I do about both the lack of payment and the Sheriff, but (to be fair) Connor probably would keep his feelings about his plans private (and he may change his mind). In other other words, I guess I won't really know what I'll do to either the Sheriff or the caravan leader until after we meet them.
Regarding the truth/lie thing...
To be clear, Connor doesn't really get upset at a person for being dishonest or lying (after all, everyone lies all the time). At this point in his life he pretty much just assumes people are lying to him and does his best not to be bothered by it.
However, what generally upsets him when he catches someone lying is less that they lied, but more that he "caught" them lying. As in; he's more upset about people being so stupid that they get caught rather than being dishonest.
In other words, he doesn't really like people who aren't clever, or people who tend to be stupid. That they lied specifically wasn't a big deal; that they were so stupid about their lie bothers him more.
But in the end he tends to be pretty relaxed anyway; he doesn't often get overly emotional, though he does get intense when he's fighting :)
@Immortal: Yes! That's actually one of the interpretations I've seen, a la Salim Ghadafar, and it's the one that had me thinking about atheism in the world. c:
@Eminem: Oooooh, bitterness could be interesting to see play out, especially in interactions with Rhia. She's not a holy woman per se, but.... c: She has faith in the gods because they're the ones that blessed her, orz
What's up guys?! How is everyone doing?
I'm refreshing every so often, because I'm eager and procrastinating, as usual. c: How about you?
Chilling at home and drankin some Titos and Sugar Free Red Bull. Watching Try Not To Laugh on YouTube with the boys. What type of graduate degree are you working on? Refreshing every so often myself. :)
Not laid up entirely but busy, even sick as I am. Plus I have no comp access at present and I'm posting this from my phone.
There are still three players attempting to finalise their characters and since I gave people 3 weeks in which to do it, so I was giving them some time to finalise.
Can we also please keep posts on this thread about character concepts and development? Thanks, kindly.
Addendum: It's my birthday on Saturday and as such I will not be making any posts over the weekend. I will be checking the thread anew on my Monday (your Sunday). Thanks. :) If players want to discuss their characters over this time, please feel free to do so.
Addendum: It's my birthday on Saturday and as such I will not be making any posts over the weekend. I will be checking the thread anew on my Monday (your Sunday). Thanks. :) If players want to discuss their characters over this time, please feel free to do so.
Happy early birthday, GM :)
Also, my posting may be a bit sporadic on Sunday because I may be busy with a personal errand on Sunday evening (although it is April, reports indicate that Winter is Coming ;)
Meantime I've been doing some back and forth with some of the other players on the concept so far and I've had some great responses.
For those of you who don't know the "angle" my character is trying to go for, the best thing to think of when you think of Ceorl (in terms of personality and attitude with people) is to try to imagine the character of Ragnar Lothbrok from the show "Vikings". So despite the fact that he has no problem in pulping the skull of an enemy beneath his boot, he's generally a nice person to people (or at least tries to be).
Anyhow, that's just a tidbit of who he is and who he tries to be. I hope it helps to get to know him better :)
See you all soon, and GM, enjoy your birthday weekend!
Ahoy!
So as promised to some, more backstory has been put up under the spoiler/short story "Guard Duty" which tells a little about Connor's upbringing, especially under this uncle's instruction. In this story I think you'll get a sense of what type of man Connor is (thanks to his uncle's instruction). Also, you'll hopefully see some of the more gentle and kind aspects that he has (again; largely thanks to his uncle's teaching).
In this story I hope it should be clear that, despite his barbaric nature, Connor learned a lot from his uncle about being friendly and putting the needs of others first (I think that Connor's uncle is a really nice guy; he puts the tribe first and shows Connor the value of integrity and I hope that comes off in the story).
I hope you guys enjoy reading it; also, I put a small video clip to sum up some of Connor's thoughts as well as what will be his fighting style as he advances.
Cool, hope you all enjoy reading it, and special thanks to Eminem and Hiyami for your suggestions and support!
GM - hope you're feeling better and I hope you enjoy reading the information. I'll have the "crunch" done soon, but tonight I've been doing just the backstory stuff. I hope that's cool and enjoy your party this weekend!
Here's DM Immortal's character avatar.
For his charisma of 8 I am planning on playing him as having a slight developmental disability like very high functioning Asperger's or something like that. He will have trouble expressing himself and when he does express himself it may lack the filter that most people are able to have on their thoughts/feelings.
Here's DM Immortal's character avatar.
For his charisma of 8 I am planning on playing him as having a slight developmental disability like very high functioning Asperger's or something like that. He will have trouble expressing himself and when he does express himself it may lack the filter that most people are able to have on their thoughts/feelings.
Zach, I'm really digging your concept via adopted by Halflings (I am kind of partial to Halflings, though ;)
I'm a little surprised your guy isn't move bulky with all those second breakfast's, though; but maybe the portions were smaller :D
When can we see some backstory to go with your character? I've been teaching in the afternoon's lately and I work with several special needs children, including one with high functioning Asperger's Syndrome; I'm curious to know if it's actually possible to teach some Zen Philosophy to him (lately he's been having panic attacks when his mom shows up late; he keeps saying he thinks he's having a heart attack, or that his mom may have been hit by a nuclear attack - learning techniques to help him relax would great!)
I'd chat with you more about stuff like this online, but I've been avoiding a lot of my usual social media contacts due to stupid spoilers for a certain TV show that comes on tomorrow night (seriously, can they go one day without posting crap about it? I mean; dude - I'm so tired of spoilers I don't even read the books until AFTER I've seen the show!)
Anyhow, that's all for now - but I'm eager to see how he plays out (any chance we could get a pic of the guy on your page, too? :)
Finally - HAPPY BIRTHDAY, GM! And may your night be long and full of Birthday Surprises :D
See you all soon - I'm off to work!
@Immortal: I will look over your character sheet this afternoon, my time.
@Dain: Thank you for the birthday wishes. I will look over your backstory tonight.
@Dain: Thank you for the birthday wishes. I will look over your backstory tonight.
No worries, GM!
Meantime, I hope it was a really great time :)
I'm eager to hear your thoughts on the small story I wrote about Connor's youth and what it was like for him to grow up. I did what I could to explain why he became the person he did and tried not to be too direct in how he evolved. I'm really hoping you enjoyed it!
Okay, that's all for now; I have to be awake for work in about three hours so I need to get some sleep.
Have a great night and I'll see all you guys soon!
Hi Everyone,
New to all of this, but here is Anila's info and story. Looking forward to getting started. :)
Hi Anila! Awesome to have you here! :-)
Hi Anila. I enjoyed your story.
Good short story (via dialogue) and answers on questionnaire. So, his Uncle Woden was also Connor's mentor/teacher?
I would like to see the full character sheet for Connor using the template I provided you with. Please place this on your character's profile page. Also, I need to see your character's alignment, hit points, AC etc. Plus where are you placing your extra pt for favoured class?
As a human you have Skilled: Humans gain an additional skill rank at first level and one additional rank whenever they gain a level. Thus, you will need to choose another adventuring skill.
Knowledge: Nature is not a Background Skill, but an Adventuring Skill. Please correct/amend your skills accordingly.
Thank you.
Enjoyed reading the answers to your extended Questionnaire (giving Zach's backstory through the answers).
Regarding your skills: You have two background skills per level, which you haven't chosen as yet. Please list the skills as Adventuring Skills & Background Skills so I can see them at first glance.
I see you've chosen three traits, but I did not see your chosen drawback (to get the third). What drawback did you choose and please include it on your sheet.
And where did your favoured class skill pt go into: skills or hit pts?
Thanks.
* Welcome. :) Glad you'll be joining us.
* Good backstory. I see you've given your character the 'Attached' drawback. Do you mean to have Anila attached to her deceased mother's ring? If so, can you please include it in your backstory? If the attachment is to something else, then please give me some details. (If you want to talk about this privately, we can do so via private messages.)
* You mentioned that Anila dislikes dishonesty. Is there a reason why? She was brought up in a town (Bronze Hook) that saw hard times and fell into more disreputable trade practices (slavers, smugglers, smugglers of exotic creatures etc). Is this where it stemmed from or from her mother's death? Is Anila curious what happened to her father or where he is or if he will track her down?
* Each character gets 2 background skills (in addition to the number of skills granted under the chosen class). Please let me know what background skills you choose and list the skills as Adventuring Skills (with all relevant skills beneath) and Background Skills (with the two chosen skills beneath).
When can we see some backstory to go with your character?
Immortal generally includes his character's backstory via the answers provided in the extended questionnaire. It gives enough information as to where Zacharias is from and who raised him etc.
Questions -
So, his Uncle Woden was also Connor's mentor/teacher?
Yes; Connor's parents died when he was younger. Family is important in Connor's culture (even more important than the tribe) so he was raised by his uncle after his parents died. His father died when he was young, his mother died several years later - but by the time Connor was seven he was being raised by his uncle.
I would like to see the full character sheet for Connor using the template I provided you with. Please place this on your character's profile page. Also, I need to see your character's alignment, hit points, AC etc. Plus where are you placing your extra pt for favoured class?
Regarding alignment, I really don't know what to put. My understanding of alignment often disagrees with most other people. If you have any thoughts on what you think his alignment is, let me know and that's cool. As it stands, I don't really have any idea.
As for his sheet, I'm still unsure on some minor points. For example; Nature is now a "Class Skill" for Connor via his Traits; however, it is not a "Background Skill" (as you mentioned) but I just didn't fix the formatting when I was tinkering with the character yet. I'm still unsure of the current build in many respects, and I hadn't quite decided on certain things - which is why I hadn't finished the sheet. Also, it's one of the reasons I hadn't picked a "Favored Class" ability - as it stands I'm not sure what my favored class might be.
However, that should be adjusted soon - though it may take me some time as Monday is a long day for me and I'm actually working for the next 15 hours - that said; it may not be fully finalized for a bit, though I'll do what I can to get it done quickly.
** spoiler omitted **
Hey GM Ariarh,
Thanks for spotting those. I added knowledge history and linguistics as background skills. Also the drawback is Attached (The longbow he was given by his parents.) The favored class bonus went to skill points as well