GM Birch's Council of Thieves

Game Master Birch33

I wanted to start with an apology. You see I'm about to rant endlessly. My PbP recruitment process inspires this outpouring. What follows is not so much a set of rules to apply for a position by – as a necessary sharing of thoughts and emotions.

My 'other' job is in HR and I get tired of the number of times I have to tell prospective job hunters the cardinal sin they commit when they send out their standard cv/resume. Yes it's quick to email/upload - and that allows you to apply for 20 jobs an hour – but as a recipient of such a document, I know it's your standard, unmodified, unthought-of resume.

Some organisations won't accept standard resumes. They insist on you filling out application forms and make you write answers to questions – the sort of questions that make you think. Questions that start with why or how. Why? (See what I did there?) Because it puts off people who just want to send you their uploaded resume. The people that can be bothered to spend an hour (and then some) filling out that form really do want to work for you.

Where am I going with this? The recruitment process that inspired this is one I went through that put me in mind of that sort of job-hunting. It's easy to plug in HeroLab and cut and paste some crunch. It's even easier to present 'one I made earlier but can tweak if I'm accepted.'

The process made me think long and hard about the character I was creating. I started with an idea and I worked on it and worked on it until I had something substantial. I cared about the character – enough to be devastated if she didn't make the cut.

As a player, it has historically taken me a while to get into character in PbP as I need to think through motive, character and personality past the two or three bullet-points I had in mind initially. This time round, I already knew what this character would say in any given situation. Sure she'll change - I expect her to have a story-arc through the levels - but circumstance will alter her, not me changing my mind about her personality. And the GM knows who she is too – and can plan accordingly.

I can understand if you think this process seems a little detailed and long-winded but it's not supposed to be scary. Instead it is my way of letting you know what sort of game you will be getting into – and I’m hoping that players who get what I’m trying to achieve here won’t be put off. What I hope comes across is my love of fluff and aversion to crunch. If you desire a rules-heavy GM, I'm not your guy. I want to tell a story first and foremost. I also like a fast-paced game with lots of posts and banter.

Example: I'm flexible about the use of skills. In a game I’ve played in, the GM said only knowledge arcana can yield any information about the creature we'd seen. If I were the GM, I'd be looser. Perhaps the character came across one in a dungeon crawl one day? Get a good roll and it can be the case. Or perhaps this area is plagued with them. Knowledge local then. You see I don't ignore the dice but I don't let them rule the game. That doesn’t make me right and the other GM wrong by the way – we’re just different. Which is my way of saying, if you like crunch-based/rules focused role-playing, I’m going to disappoint you.

I'm also English, so if you're offended by the 'correct' spelling of words like colour, grey or armour - you may need to look elsewhere! Rest assured, I'm OK with the trans-Atlantic spelling of words.

For what it's worth, I've GMed on the boards and played for some time now – and if I’m honest, it’s taken me a few years to get into a groove. Unlike face-to-face where you can get the feel for a group in a couple of sessions, I’ve found PbP a slower process. Or perhaps it’s the same in terms of actual hours spent playing?

As I eluded too before, in my opinion the difference between success and failure (well over half the games I've played died out within a month or so) is not just getting good players – it’s getting players that match the style of the GM.

Council of Thieves.

There are a few tweaks along the way. Book One was pretty vanilla and that was a challenge for me. It needs some more oomph and I’ll have to work on that. It also needs some more RPing – rather than jump from fight to fight – and you’ll have to work on that.

You need to consider how you’ve ended up as part of the group (feel free to read the posts and speak to the other characters in the Discussion Thread).

I'm a story driven GM and will always ensure that the fluff of a character is what drives me to recruit them. And, in my experience, a lack of effort in recruitment leads to a lack of effort in the game. I tried this very recently to backfill a position in an ongoing game and it a) reduced the number of people applied and b) substantially improved the quality of the application.

I'm looking for strong role-playing, so pick your class wisely. Paladins that shoot first and ask questions later or rangers that care nothing for killing animals are not (in my opinion) in character.

So where’s the crunch? The truth is I want you to know about the stat rules before you commit any time to the process but I don’t want to see any stats yet. Once I agree to a character, then we can look at the crunch. But I accept you’ll need to know some of the mechanics rules before you can work on your character.

Character Build:

25-point buy
3rd Level
Max starting gold for a 3rd Level character
Max starting HP, thereafter average (max HP/2 rounded up)
Races – Core Rulebook only (I’m an old-fashioned GM that way – plus non-core races are often chosen because they’re a sneaky way of min-maxing)
Classes – Core Rulebook, Advanced Player’s Guide only (archetypes are allowed) – NO SUMMONERS
Magic - Magical items are rare and GM approval needed to purchase
Weapons - No firearms
Feats - Two (one Campaign)
Alignment - No evil characters

So what do I want?

I’ll start with some don’ts

Don’t:
- Create a character that strikes me as purposefully min/maxed – it will likely get passed over
- Worry too much about who else you know at this point (that can come once the characters are chosen and before we start the game)

And now what you should do:

Do:
- Create a profile/alias and include relevant information inside
- Provide a physical description
- Describe the character’s personality
- Describe the character’s background
- Tell me why the character is part of this group
- Spend time telling me about your character’s backstory – why do you have those skills and languages and why are you that class?
- Tell me about your character's overarching aim in life. This will help with selecting appropriate encounters (or treasure). You may not want other players knowing what it is – so you can PM me if you wish. An overarching aim is to be knighted, marry a handsome prince , create the ultimate spell-book or discover the Sword of Gryffindor – rather than to simply get rich or be a specific advanced class. Basically, what plot hook would have you forget any common sense and rush out to fight a dragon single-handed?

The extra mile

Thanks to GM Beazy for this one…
Write a story or compose a ballad about your character. This is your chance to impress me that you really want a spot in this adventure. It’s not absolutely necessary but it does show you really want to be part of this game. Plus it adds to the character’s background.

I'll be honest with you in terms of character submission and will post that feedback on the boards (hidden only by a spoiler) - so shy, retiring types might think twice. I am honest and fair with my feedback I believe and only want to maximise your chance of getting a spot in the game.

I’m likely to start with too many players as people dropping out is always possible and it's easier to manage attrition this way than stop and recruit every time we fall below the set amount. So up to seven may end up the number we begin with. Regardless it would be x different classes as I don't want two rogues fighting over every trap. And I have a rogue waiting in the wings - so my advice (if you choose to take it) is not to submit a rogue.

I would expect at least a daily input but the pace of the group is key. If the majority of the players are posting more regularly, it can be really frustrating to have to wait 24 hours to continue - especially in combat. And posts in combat don't have to be verbose. A few lines will do if that's all that's needed.

I do prefer longer posts in general (but please don’t hog all of the limelight)

One of the slowest parts of play-by-post is combat. I intend to run as much as possible from my iPhone and iPad and so will always simplify combat i.e. describe the situation and ask for your response. This will mean no alpha-numeric maps to determine who can see or reach whom, and no waiting for the person with the highest initiative to decide what to do before you can decide your move (although actions will always follow initiative order).

1. I have no firm house-rules at present (but reserve the right to change that later ; p)
2. Speech in” bold” and thoughts in’ italics’ please.
3. I won't be tracking XP, but instead will level up as and when it's appropriate for the encounters. The published modules are explicit of the appropriate level and I'm not going to throw in random encounters to get you there - rather I'll amend the adventures to make sure you have enough 'experience.' For me it’s a story, not a board game.

So, you've made it this far down the post, and I presume you're still interested. My aim is to close applications when I have the right players. Recruitment will stay open until at least Friday and I’ll give 48 hours notice when I think I’m close to finalising the spot.

In my experience, people who create outstanding applications don't always post frequently or well – so I’ll be looking at posting frequency and interaction with other applicants as part of the process.. How often you post here (and add value) will be a factor in choosing the final party. As will how often you post elsewhere (I will have a look to see what is your style and frequency).

It is therefore useful to let me know if you are an existing player on the boards, which alias best reflects your playing style.

Now, what do I need on this thread? Dotting for interest is OK. Otherwise please use the Discussion thread for questions (the ability to follow directions is another factor in selection!). Post here with your character concept.

General concept:
Heiress socialite by day, masked vigilante by night.

Background of House Aquila:
House Aquila was a major house of Westcrown in old Cheliax under the God Aroden with many of it's leading lights served as generals. House Aquila's fortune was linked to Aroden and his death meant the slow death of the house. That was until Elenora's father Lucius Aquila. Lucius come to power over the suspicious death of his father Marcus, a proud man who head of house with a great name but no power or finance, who kept faith with a long dead God.When Lucius came to power he lost no time, forging deals with not only with the church of Asmodeus but also with one of Asmodeus's more ambitious devils underlings. As a result of coupling House Aquila to this fiendish path Lucius has acquired much of the house's old power and wealth but also a daughter born of devil mother, Elenora.

Background Elenora Aquila:
Born into luxury Elenora had little to worry about. Her nanny and maids served her every whim as a young child and later governesses and maids served the increasingly lazy young woman. Her father, Lucius, distressed by his pride of joy’s lack of motivation tried various methods to motivate her (Long talks about duty, forbidding her to go to partys, taking away money and toys, hitting her etc.) until he found the key. He kidnapped and sold her best friend into slavery, leaving enough evidence for her to know it was him.
It worked, with revenge as her driving force she threw herself into her studies of martial and magical studies. Not only learning to make the most of her quick mind and body but also as much as she could about her father’s business.
What she learnt scared and horrified her. He used the poor and defenceless, particularly young woman to make a fortune (PG13 version). Her vengeance her father gradually widened to a wish to help those he or similar people in the city had hurt.

Now:
She has been training and preparing for this for a while, she has the magic and skills, she has a disguise and nom de plume. Now is time she starts to put everything in action.
Lucius who has been monitoring his daughter’s development decided last night to give Elenora a push. He manipulated the conversation in dinner to cause her to get into a heated argument and leaving into the night fuming.

Appearance as Xeno:
Xeno wears simple tight black tunic and breeches along gloves, boots and a veil. Altogether the only part of her physical body that is visible is an occasional lock of red hair poking out from under the veil. On her belt is the thin blade of a rapier and pouch. If given the chance to observe close up the material used in all her clothing is of a very high quality.

Appearance as Elenora Aquila:
Elenora wears elaborate dress, delicately embroidered over its entirety in red and gold, with the occasional touch of black and white for highlights. As if the house colours were not enough prominently embroidered over her chest is the gold eagle flying in a red sky of house Aquila. The dress is long and voluminous from the waist down and on the sleeves but tight around the chest and stomach and her neck and shoulder are bare to show off her jewellery.
Draped across her neck and shoulders are a number and gold chains of and a gold chocker containing a large red stone, one assumes a ruby. Her hair is fire red is interlaced with more gold in many small plats and gathered together by a hair net of gold studded with many small rubies. Poking through the hair are two small horns, the only obvious sign of her demonic heritage.
Around her waist and almost lost in the fabric of her dress are a rapier and two purses attached to a belt.

Goals and motivations:
Destroy her father's businesses and wealth leaving him a beggar or similar. Defend the defenseless (particularly females) and punish the immoral. She will give people a chance to surrender and if they do let them off a warning. Anyone who has had a warning get no more chances or warnings.

Notes on gender:
I am male, and generally avoid playing female characters out of respect and the fact most males play females as asexual or sexual fantasies. I will try to play Xeno somewhere down in the middle (and PG), at least a dialed down from the portrayal of Zorro in film (Zorro being one of the major inspirations for Xeno). If there are any females in the group firstly I apologize and secondly I would appreciate any advice (or criticisms) on how I am playing her.

Elenora Aquila AKA Xeno AKA The black widow
Female Tiefling magus 1
Chaotic Good Medium Outsider/Native

Init +4
Senses Perception -1 (60ft Darkvision)

• Defence
AC 17, touch 14, flat-footed 13 (+4 Dex, +4 Studded leather armour)
HP 22 (14 Con + 8 first lv)
Fort +4, Ref +4, Will +1
CMD 14
Resistances: 5 vs cold, electricity and fire

• Offence
Spd 30 ft.
Melee
Rapier
Normal Spell combat
Normal +4 (3 18-20/x2) +2* (3 18-20/x2)
Arcane pool enhanced +5 (4 18-20/x2) +3* (4 18-20/x2)
*Option: may take up to -4 of attack roll for equal bonus to concentration
Dagger +4 (2 19-20/x2)
Ranged
Dagger +4 (2 10ft 19-20/x2)

• Statistics
Str 10(+0), Dex 18(+4), Con 14(+2), Int 18(+4), Wis 8(-1), Cha 10(+0)
Base Atk +0; CMB +0; CMD 14

Favoured class: Tiefling +1/4 per lv to arcane pool. (Current = ¼ = 0)

• Racial Traits
+2 Dexterity, +2 Intelligence, –2 Charisma: Tieflings are quick in body and mind, but are inherently strange and unnerving.
Native Outsider: Tieflings are outsiders with the native subtype.
Medium: Tieflings are Medium creatures and receive no bonuses or penalties due to their size.
Normal Speed: Tieflings have a base speed of 30 feet.
Darkvision: Tieflings see in the dark for up to 60 feet.
Skilled: Tieflings gain a +2 racial bonus on Bluff and Stealth checks.
Spell-Like Ability: Tieflings can use darkness once per day as a spell-like ability. The caster level for this ability equals the tiefling's class level.
Fiendish Resistance: Tieflings have cold resistance 5, electricity resistance 5, and fire resistance 5.
Fiendish Sorcery: Tiefling sorcerers with the Abyssal or Infernal bloodlines treat their Charisma score as 2 points higher for all sorcerer class abilities.
Languages: Tieflings begin play speaking Common and either Abyssal or Infernal. Tieflings with high intelligence scores can choose from the following: Abyssal, Draconic, Dwarven, Elven, Gnome, Goblin, Halfling, Infernal, and Orc.

• Skills (2+4 ranks/level=30 ranks) (Armour check penalty = -1)
Acrobatics 1 rank = +4 (+1 from Trait, -1 Armour)
Bluff untrained = +2 (+2 from racial trait)
Climb untrained = -1 (-1 Armour)
Disguise 1 rank = +1
Intimidate untrained = +0
Knowledge (Local) 1 rank = +5
Knowledge (Nobility) 1 rank = +5
Perception untrained = -1
Perform (Dance) 1 rank = +1
Sense Motive untrained = -1
Spellcraft untrained = ---
Stealth 1 ranks = +10 (+2 from racial trait, +1 Trait and class skill, -1 Armour)

*Armour check penalty applied

Concentration = +7 (+1 Caster lv, +4 Int and +2 Trait)

• Languages
Taldan (Common), Infernal, Abyssal, Draconic, Osiriani, Halfling

• Traits
Focused Mind:
Your childhood was either dominated by lessons of some sort (whether musical, academic, or other) or by a horrible home life that encouraged your ability to block out distractions and focus on the immediate task at hand. You gain a +2 trait bonus on concentration checks.

Conspiracy Hunter (Stealth):
You’ve long heard rumours of dark deeds afoot in Westcrown. Shipments of valuable cargo that go missing with nary a trace or question asked. People who disappear as though they never existed. Lords of business and nobles who speak in veiled references and accidental slips of masters even they must obey. What lords rule the Westcrown underworld? Do the tales of far-reaching criminal organizations hold a hint of truth? Could the fabled Council of Thieves, said to have been purged from the city ages ago, have somehow survived or reformed? And what hold do they hold over the city today? You don’t know, but you’re determined to find out! Choose one of the following skills: Bluff, Diplomacy, Knowledge (local), Perception, Sense Motive, or Stealth. You gain a +1 trait bonus on this skill and it is always considered a class skill for you.

• Feats
Weapon finesse:
With a light weapon, rapier, whip, or spiked chain made for a creature of your size category, you may use your Dexterity modifier instead of your Strength modifier on attack rolls. If you carry a shield, its armour check penalty applies to your attack rolls.

• Special abilities
Arcane Pool (Su) 5 points/day:
At 1st level, the magus gains a reservoir of mystical arcane energy that he can draw upon to fuel his powers and enhance his weapon. This arcane pool has a number of points equal to 1/2 his magus level (minimum 1) + his Intelligence modifier. The pool refreshes once per day when the magus prepares his spells. At 1st level, a magus can expend 1 point from his arcane pool as a swift action to grant any weapon he is holding a +1 enhancement bonus for 1 minute. For every four levels beyond 1st, the weapon gains another +1 enhancement bonus, to a maximum of +5 at 17th level. These bonuses can be added to the weapon, stacking with existing weapon enhancement to a maximum of +5. Multiple uses of this ability do not stack with themselves. At 5th level, these bonuses can be used to add any of the following weapon properties: dancing, flaming, flaming burst, frost, icy burst, keen, shock, shocking burst, speed, or vorpal. Adding these properties consumes an amount of bonus equal to the property's base price modifier (see the Magic Weapon Special Ability Descriptions). These properties are added to any the weapon already has, but duplicates do not stack. If the weapon is not magical, at least a +1 enhancement bonus must be added before any other properties can be added. These bonuses and properties are decided when the arcane pool point is spent and cannot be changed until the next time the magus uses this ability. These bonuses do not function if the weapon is wielded by anyone other than the magus.

Spell Combat (Ex):
At 1st level, a magus learns to cast spells and wield his weapons at the same time. This functions much like two-weapon fighting, but the off-hand weapon is a spell that is being cast. To use this ability, the magus must have one hand free (even if the spell being cast does not have somatic components), while wielding a light or one-handed melee weapon in the other hand. As a full-round action, he can make all of his attacks with his melee weapon at a –2 penalty and can also cast any spell from the magus spell list with a casting time of 1 standard action (any attack roll made as part of this spell also takes this penalty). If he casts this spell defensively, he can decide to take an additional penalty on his attack rolls, up to his Intelligence bonus, and add the same amount as a circumstance bonus on his concentration check. If the check fails, the spell is wasted, but the attacks still take the penalty. A magus can choose to cast the spell first or make the weapon attacks first, but if he has more than one attack, he cannot cast the spell between weapon attacks.

• Magus Arcana
None

• Magus spell casting
Cantrips (DC 14) In Spellbook: Acid splash, Arcane mark, Dancing lights, Daze, Detect magic, Disrupt undead, Flare, Ghost sound, Light, Mage hand, Open/close, Prestidigitation, Ray of frost, Read magic, Spark.
Memorized (3): Arcane mark, Mage hand, Prestidigitation

First level spells (DC 15) In Spellbook: Grease, Infernal Healing, Reduce Person, Shield, Shocking grasp, True Strike, Vanish
Memorized (1+1): Shield, True Strike

• Equipment weight of carried gear 25 lbs; spare coin 0.89gp
Worn/Carried by Xeno
Rapier 20 gp 2lb
Studded leather 25 gp 20lb
Spell component pouch 5 gp 2lb
Dagger 2 gp 1lb
Traveller’s outfit (Xeno costume) 0 gp
Coin 0gp, 8sp, 9cp 0.89 gp

Normally Left at home when dressed as Xeno
Noble's Outfit 75 gp
Jewellery 100 gp
Spellbook 0 gp
Ink 8 gp
Inkpen 0.1 gp
Paper 5 sheets 2 gp
Perfume (common) 1 gp
Whetstone 0.01 gp
Traveller’s outfit (Everyday clothes) 1 gp

Carried on her If dressed as Elenora
Rapier
Spell component pouch
Noble's Outfit
Jewellery

I loved the back-story and can see him playing a role in the group as his reason for joining them is apparent. What I didn't see was how the sorcery manifested itself (outside of the crunch). I know at the end you reference it being a work in progress and it's a good one. I'd like to see how it looks when polished (if you're happy to invest the time that is).

I enjoyed the back-story overall. My first test is always to do something else, come back and see what I remembered. Although the story was well-written the only bits that stuck was the part about his staff and the fact he didn't like necromancy. I exaggerate for effect but his life for one so old seems a little uneventful - especially for an L3 character.

It's fine as it is, but if you had the time, I wouldn't object if you developed it a bit more. Of course it's up to you.

It's been a slow manifestation that's really only accelerated in last year or two in the wake of his wife's passing and his resurging temper. It's still something he's sort of in denial regarding, as it's almost like a second puberty of sorts and for a dude who's been around for 75 years - changes like that after so long are a bit alarming.

The first time it manifested was when an ember from his forge leapt from the fire and landed by a small bundle of greasy rags. Before he could stamp it out, he cooled the ember with a panicked ray of frost. The second time, he'd lost his temper and chased a slimy hustler from his shop. As the unscrupulous fellow left in a huff, Travigan meant to slam his fist into the trimming board but instead raked his hand down the length of it and left a series of jagged furrows in the wood. In both cases, the manifestations alarmed him and, embarrassed by them, he kept them to himself. So, at this point, his uses of spells or his bloodline power are more instinctual rather than willful decisions.

I see it as a way for him to really bond with the rebels, as he could really use someone to lead him through the changes and help him understand what's happening to him and, after a time, to master it and bring it to heel. For someone who's likely to fill a fatherly/uncle-y roll for younger party members, it'd be a fun juxtaposition for him to play the role of a frustrated, unseasoned student some of the time.

I hope that gives a good idea for where Travigan is coming from. As an additional note, I plan to drop a skill point in Linguistics later as a sign of his draconic heritage awakening further. So his learning Draconic won't be from practised study but another aspect of his blood quickening and changing him.

House Aquila was a major house of Westcrown in old Cheliax under the God Aroden with many of it's leading lights served as generals. House Aquila's fortune was linked to Aroden and his death meant the slow death of the house. That was until Elenora's father Lucius Aquila. Lucius come to power over the suspicious death of his father Marcus, a proud man who head of house with a great name but no power or finance, who kept faith with a long dead God.When Lucius came to power he lost no time, forging deals with not only with the church of Asmodeus but also with one of Asmodeus's more ambitious devils underlings. As a result of coupling House Aquila to this fiendish path Lucius has acquired much of the house's old power and wealth but also the most beautiful woman in the city as wife and with his wife one child a daughter, Elenora.

Born into luxury Elenora had little to worry about. Her nanny and maids served her every whim as a young child and later governesses and maids served the increasingly lazy young woman. Her father, Lucius, distressed by his pride of joy’s lack of motivation tried various methods to motivate her (Long talks about duty, forbidding her to go to partys, taking away money and toys, hitting her etc.) until he found the key. He kidnapped and sold her best friend into slavery, leaving enough evidence for her to know it was him.
It worked, with revenge as her driving force she threw herself into her studies of martial and magical studies. Not only learning to make the most of her quick mind and body but also as much as she could about her father’s business.
What she learnt scared and horrified her. He used the poor and defenceless, particularly young woman to make a fortune (PG13 version). Her vengeance her father gradually widened to a wish to help those he or similar people in the city had hurt.

Xeno has been operating for a year now. Dealing with farther's business or any of the institutionalized immorality of the city has turned out to be much more difficult than she had suspected. Taking out the odd corrupt or evil individual within an organisation at most times isn't difficult however, they are just replaced, usually by someone just as bad. The kingpins who control these organisations are either too well protected, or hard to identify.
Her father's businesses are the same if not worse, even striking at the middle people are hard. It is as if the demons Lucius has deals with give them warnings. She has spent several evenings waiting on a roof top on the route that the Madam of one her father's brothels always uses to go home only to find on that night she used a different route. She has freed a few of the slaves that work for him but half the time they turn to old work just as a way to earn a living.
As a result she has mostly been dealing with individual thieves, muggers and rapists rather than making the large impact to Westcrown that she would like and hoped to make.
Lucius is, of course, having her watched and followed and is secretly proud of what he has made of his daughter, she has the skills to make family Aquila famous again. His spies have even have mislead the authorities to avoid her being caught by the Hellknights, or created a distraction to stop from trying to interfere with a crime being perpetrated by people with vastly more skill with the sword than Elenora possesses. He doesn't want her killed during her rebellious youth before she settles down to kills him and take control the the family businesses.
Xeno has come to the conclusion that she needs help. She need to find or make a group of like minded individuals and together make the changes that need to be made.

Rumours of Xeno have spread in Westcrown. Most of the rumours are among the poor where she is usually called The Black Widow, both because she dresses like a wife in mourning but also because of the black bite marks she leaves behind which some refer to as black widow bites or simply as spider bite (she leave black X's left using arcane mark).
When she is referred to as Xeno it is generally only by those that have had direct contact with her and even then quietly like it is her real name that they are secretly privy to. Few if any that have heard her referred to as Xeno have the knowledge of ancient languages to understand it.
The rumours of her vary from the truth to the ridiculous. It has been claimed that she: A demon opposed to Asmodeus, an angel dedicated to Aroden protecting his ancient city, or a rebel Hellknight. However the most persistent rumours of her origin relate to the Black Widow clothing. They claim that she is either a ghost of young wife killed by her husband or that she killed her own husband (some say on their wedding night) because of something he did to her and either way is now out for revenge on all men.
The Hellknights know of her but as yet she hasn't made enough of a problem to be worth hunting for, however any of them capture or kill her for the chaos she represents. The standard city guard are more varied in their opinion. Most are happy to let her do their job and bet with each other about how long until she turns up dead having irritated the wrong person. Others are greedy for fame and reputation they would acquire if they captured her.

Xeno wears simple tight black tunic and breeches along gloves, boots and a veil. Altogether the only part of her physical body that is visible is an occasional lock of red hair poking out from under the veil. On her belt is the thin blade of a rapier and pouch. If given the chance to observe close up the material used in all her clothing is of a very high quality.

Elenora wears elaborate dress, delicately embroidered over its entirety in red and gold, with the occasional touch of black and white for highlights. As if the house colours were not enough prominently embroidered over her chest is the gold eagle flying in a red sky of house Aquila. The dress is long and voluminous from the waist down and on the sleeves but tight around the chest and stomach and her neck and shoulder are bare to show off her jewellery.
Draped across her neck and shoulders are a number and gold chains of and a gold chocker containing a large red stone, one assumes a ruby. Her hair is fire red is interlaced with more gold in many small plats and gathered together by a hair net of gold studded with many small rubies. Poking through the hair are two small horns, the only obvious sign of her demonic heritage.
Around her waist and almost lost in the fabric of her dress are a rapier and two purses attached to a belt.

Destroy her father's businesses and wealth leaving him a beggar or similar. Defend the defenseless (particularly females) and punish the immoral. She will give people a chance to surrender and if they do let them off a warning. Anyone who has had a warning get no more chances or warnings. Find people to work with towards the common goal of purifying the city.

I am male, and generally avoid playing female characters out of respect and the fact most males play females as asexual or sexual fantasies. I will try to play Xeno somewhere down in the middle (and PG), at least a dialed down from the portrayal of Zorro in film (Zorro being one of the major inspirations for Xeno). If there are any females in the group firstly I apologize and secondly I would appreciate any advice (or criticisms) on how I am playing her.

That works for me. As a GM, I now know more how he’ll react to things and it’ll be fun to GM a character that’s learning to control his powers rather than be assured. Not sure who’s the responsible one to keep you in check though ; )

An excellent improvement. Lots for me to remember and I enjoyed the story with the poisonous spider. I get the feeling I now know more of his approach to life and how he’d come at a situation. Definitely darker than the other PCs but that’s not a bad thing.

Dervish dance? It’s fine for a rapier. I see it as a feat to include a scimitar as a rapier is covered by Weapon Finesse anyway. I like using dexterous characters as fighters and often go this route – but prefer the extra stopping power of the scimitar.
Hat of disguise? Since you ask so nicely, that’s also a yes.
Now the grade…first of all the tiefling aspect hasn’t been removed entirely – she has horns! Next I loved the back-story and really enjoyed reading it. The only problem is that Zorro has stuck and all I read is Zorro. I didn’t get a feel for the arcane at all. I presume she’s still a magus?