@GM-F
Perhaps deep into the wilderness to the west of Klathzgar near the southern tip of the mountains is where the Monastery resided (this proximity helps explain why Zask knows dwarvish, trips for supplies throughout his years?).
When Zask left the Monastery after the last of his mentors succumbed to death he sought to understand the world and the teachings of Silver Fist. Others of the order have done the same and Zask is unsure of their whereabouts or exact numbers.
Indeed as you suggested they were a secret order. Their mantra "Through Chaos Comes Order" is engraved throughout the Monks bodies through series of intricate tattoos and geometric designs which aid in channeling Ki.
Zask has his doubts about the morality of the teachings of Silver Fist, he seeks knowledge of the Godswar and Tiamat to confirm or deny his uncertainty of the Monk of Legend. As such his mission is a quiet one, he holds the secrets of his order close to heart and would not share them openly.
Perhaps, the Imperials were there only to collect only a few specific tomes? Took what they wanted, put the scholars to the sword and the library to the torch. A dying Vhaezil makes his way to a hidden room, full of forbidden knowledge. Surrounded by the crackle of flames and smell of smoke, he pledges his soul.....
....and finds himself in the Bibliotheca Infernalis, the great library of Hell, surrounded by stacks of his still smoldering books. Vhaezil is bound as a procurer for the library, sent searching for tomes and artifacts for the Dukes of Hell. Details hammered out, he reappears amongst the blackened ruins of the library, his book of shadows clutched tightly to his chest.
Thoughts?
Heheh. Love it. However he doesn't receive his Pact Boon until 3rd Level, but perhaps he gained one of its pages as a scroll for use as his arcane focus?
@Lichen: I have indicated in my post that I recognize you from my travels around the countryside. Are you ok with that, or would it not be likely?
Lichen has recently and reluctantly come out of his wilderness seclusion with some task he must accomplish. So if you have seen him it has been recently and likely on his way here. Perhaps we met on some unlikely trail and even traveled here together?
@GM Fanguar: i was thinking that Cole's assignments are sanctioned by the Duke, but they are not always public knowledge. They sometimes are accomplished in association with the activities of the Duke's spymaster, but he reports directly to the Duke. The primary purpose is to investigate and scout any threats to the Duchy of Krain by any faction throughout the lands of Vordune. So, he could easily be looking into either a threat at the border of a neighboring Duchy, either originating from the other duke, or potentially any third party as a hook.
Sounds good.
My thoughts on Cole's current mission. It's a missing person case. A minor member of the nobility has gone missing (a third son to a cousin to the Duke or something, let's call him Rupert). The man was a priest and a scholar, who specialized in studying the histories of Vordune's regional saints and traveled extensively. Now banditry has been on the rise ever since the fall of the old kingdom, even more so in Carinthia, since the deaths of the ruling family, and the wealthy make a tempting target, but more for ransom than a knife in the back.
Information found in Rupert's room indicate that he was currently studying the life of St. Augustine, a monk that worked hundreds of years ago trying to bring faith to the heathenish wildings that once occupied the woods.Rupert was looking into something called "The oubliette of Augustine." Following his trail has shown that he had been stopping in at every church of St. Augustine and asking about it, before moving on. Now his trail leads across the Stikine and into Carinthia.
Heheh. Love it. However he doesn't receive his Pact Boon until 3rd Level, but perhaps he gained one of its pages as a scroll for use as his arcane focus?
Good point. With instructions on how to build the tome, perhaps? Or maybe just his arcane focus.
Yes. Went with Hermit. Wondering about what his discovery might be that drove him from hims secluded and beloved wilderness and back into the world of men to take action at last.
Deep in the mountains to the west, there is a hole in nature, where the balance holds no sway. It is an abomination, a wound in the earth. In your meditations, you can feel its dissonance affecting the natural harmonies of the region. You've ignored it for years, but perhaps curiosity has finally gotten the better of you?
@GM-F
Perhaps deep into the wilderness to the west of Klathzgar near the southern tip of the mountains is where the Monastery resided (this proximity helps explain why Zask knows dwarvish, trips for supplies throughout his years?).
When Zask left the Monastery after the last of his mentors succumbed to death he sought to understand the world and the teachings of Silver Fist. Others of the order have done the same and Zask is unsure of their whereabouts or exact numbers.
Indeed as you suggested they were a secret order. Their mantra "Through Chaos Comes Order" is engraved throughout the Monks bodies through series of intricate tattoos and geometric designs which aid in channeling Ki.
Zask has his doubts about the morality of the teachings of Silver Fist, he seeks knowledge of the Godswar and Tiamat to confirm or deny his uncertainty of the Monk of Legend. As such his mission is a quiet one, he holds the secrets of his order close to heart and would not share them openly.
Ok, thanks for the elaboration. One thing, the mantra makes me think that the teachings promotes chaos as a means for achieving order, which doesn't feel right, for monks or Tiamat. Is that what you were intending?
Yes. Went with Hermit. Wondering about what his discovery might be that drove him from hims secluded and beloved wilderness and back into the world of men to take action at last.Deep in the mountains to the west, there is a hole in nature, where the balance holds no sway. It is an abomination, a wound in the earth. In your meditations, you can feel its dissonance affecting the natural harmonies of the region. You've ignored it for years, but perhaps curiosity has finally gotten the better of you?
This works, except he needs some reason for going where he is going: some belief or at least hint that answers lie in that direction.
Good point. With instructions on how to build the tome, perhaps? Or maybe just his arcane focus.
Heheh. Love it. However he doesn't receive his Pact Boon until 3rd Level, but perhaps he gained one of its pages as a scroll for use as his arcane focus?
This works - scroll is both... his arcane focus, and ultimately instructions on how to find/ build his tome. At present words and information might be missing or obscured by scorches and burn marks. As he gains in power these wil be revealed - and it allows you to potentially place the Tome as a personal treasure item :)
@GM-F
I think that the mantra is the one i'd stick with. It motivates Zask's journey. He sees the truth (or seeks the truth) of Tiamat's true nature and is doubting his monks order and perhaps his life's work to this point. I think that confusion that you might be feeling could relate to how Zask feels himself.
@Lichen: I like it. Let's just say we met not long ago, and shared thd road to the inn, speaking about our common affinith for nature.
This works, except he needs some reason for going where he is going: some belief or at least hint that answers lie in that direction.
Not sure exactly what you're getting at. Like, how does Lichen know which way to go? If that is the case, then I would say that meditating for an hour is sufficient to feel the natural harmonies and pick out the dissonance, which gives him a rough compass.
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Dont know why I thought the wars were only a thousand years ago...you are correct he could not have been part of that group!
As such, I am thinking that the passage between the Feywilde and this world is a very tricky thing, only opening for short periods of time at random intervals (since the end of the war). Also I do not see the elves actually living in large towns or cities, but rather small groups scattered throughout the forest. The town could be a meeting and trade hub where a few trusted humans and half-elves deal with the running of foreign affairs and trade. Many elven crafts are treasured, even though it might take years to produce a single item. As such, the "town" acts as a place for purchasers to come and see what is available. Otherwise, straying into the forest is not recommended. Not only elves can come through the portals from the feywilde, and a dedicated group of elven warriors patrols the borders keeping visitors out and 'unknown threats" in.
How does that sound??
Apologies, RL got in the way , still working on my rogue.
@Daniel: I think that fits. It also make elves a little more mysterious and separate from the business of the the other races. Any thoughts as to why Erlmander is mucking about in Vordune? Spy? Anthropologist? One last hurrah among the mortal before returning to his desk job in the feywilde? He doesn't really need a proper motivation (especially right from the get go), I'm more curious as to why he would get involved in the day-to-day grunt work which characterizes low level adventuring.
@Spaz: No worries. Thanks for the update.
@GM: I think maybe the original reason might still work. He is a representative of the Seelie court who has been sent into the "human" lands to learn what is going on. He might have another agenda, but whatever it might be, he is keeping it to himself and those who sent him.
Yup that's fine, just make sure to let me know ahead of time if you are planning anything crazy.
@GMF
Been thinking about the backstory of Zask. Do you have any more info on what Tiamat was like in your universe and how the other children of UR viewed him/her. What was the world like under Tiamat's control and guidance. You said that Tiamat was the god of order, was the world peaceful and calm?
@GMF
Been thinking about the backstory of Zask. Do you have any more info on what Tiamat was like in your universe and how the other children of UR viewed him/her. What was the world like under Tiamat's control and guidance. You said that Tiamat was the god of order, was the world peaceful and calm?
I'm sure that there might be some that believe that, but there is just no way to be certain. That is why for my little setting blurb I put 'this is what every child knows'. Is it the objective truth? Only the Gods know for certain and even then, their perspective would be biased. I'm sure that for some, it was paradise. Are things better now? That's subjective. What I will say is that Tiamat is not evil, none of the Children of UR are inherently good or evil. I see them as being beyond morality. At the ground level, Tiamat is reviled for her defiance of UR, the lifegiver.
As for details of the Gods themselves, I'm trying to keep them fairly nebulous. How can a mortal know the minds of the divine. This is why I'm using Saints, individuals that exemplified aspects of the divine, as the basic focus of worship. They are easier for the mortal mind to process.
Like the idea of the gods/religions being open to different cultural/regional interpretation.
Makes for some pretty fun theological discussions - one region may focus/worship a specific aspect of the gods portfolio etc.
Course for the damned its more straightforward lol (least that's what The Fiend wants you to think... ;)
On the subject of all things diabolic - figured Lawful Neutral is a good shout for Vhaezil (he's not completely damned yet - but as he progresses in power I do see him sliding into Lawful Evilness)
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Yea, Vhaezil and Lichen are gonnna get along smashingly. :)
Oh I'm sure they will Skorn :) - the black ram and the good shepherd lol.
Also forgot to roll for my trinket: - A 1-ounce block made from an unknown material... Mmm.
Agree with the above. Also allows for us to carve out out own ideas about the pantheon and allows our gm to play off it.
Even though Erlmander hasn't posted in the gameplay thread yet and Spazmodeus is still working is character, I've decided to kick things off to get some forward momentum going.
As long as the party is still in town, they can easily be integrated later.
Yeah, mostly done. Just sorting out background, motivation that sort of thing.
A candle that can’t be lit
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I gotta say, quite interested in Vhaezil (the way he's played) and his backstory. Looking forward to rest of his story as it progresses maybe one day we will travel to the hells and break the shackles of servitude!
Finally got this guy done, Fanguar.
I've introduced an organization but haven't really defined them. I'll leave it up to you what's really going on with them :) Or I can remove those references entirely....
I gotta say, quite interested in Vhaezil (the way he's played) and his backstory. Looking forward to rest of his story as it progresses maybe one day we will travel to the hells and break the shackles of servitude!
Cheers mate - still finding my feet with him - he's a very different character than I normally play but I'm having a gas with how I'm portraying him (not evil, but not good neither).
Appreciate the feedback :)
Finally got this guy done, Fanguar.
I've introduced an organization but haven't really defined them. I'll leave it up to you what's really going on with them :) Or I can remove those references entirely....
I see no problem with having such an organization, but I'm going to make you do some more leg work. What do you think the goal of this organization is? What is its alignment? Is it independent, or affiliated with a larger organization? How large is it (i.e lots of members, only a few, etc?). I'm trying to get a feel for what I'm dealing with, are we talking about the Night Masks, or the Harpers here?
Man, this site has been having a rough couple of days.
I'll have a gameplay post up in a bit.
There's one thing I want to mention regarding Dragonborn. In discussion with Scranford about Daryl, I've decided that the Empire has been collecting Dragonborn
I'd like to think that in the beginning this was more of a paid recruitment drive, but in the last ~5 years or so it been moving more towards direct apprehension. Official agents of the Empire will arrest a Dragonborn on sight. Rewards have been paid for information regarding the presence of a Dragonborn. In rural areas, this is mostly an non-issue, as there's never been Ducal proclamations or anything, but in the cities, where there is much more direct Empire influence, you are more likely to run into trouble.
Anyways, you should think on whether or not your PC is aware of the Empire's policy. It's recent enough, that Lichen and Zask would have no reason to be aware of it. For everyone else, it's kind of up to you. Dragonborn are rare enough, that you wouldn't suddenly notice if there weren't any on the streets anymore.
Is it too late to roll?
18
15
13
18
12
13
What do ya think boss?
Damn. That is some good rolling. If this was point buy your character would have twice the points as mine, maybe more.
I'd like to think that in the beginning this was more of a paid recruitment drive, but in the last ~5 years or so it been moving more towards direct apprehension. Official agents of the Empire will arrest a Dragonborn on sight. Rewards have been paid for information regarding the presence of a Dragonborn. In rural areas, this is mostly an non-issue, as there's never been Ducal proclamations or anything, but in the cities, where there is much more direct Empire influence, you are more likely to run into trouble.Anyways, you should think on whether or not your PC is aware of the Empire's policy. It's recent enough, that Lichen and Zask would have no reason to be aware of it. For everyone else, it's kind of up to you. Dragonborn are rare enough, that you wouldn't suddenly notice if there weren't any on the streets anymore.
Mmmm. I'll give it some consideration - Vhaezil is no lover of the Imperials... however Mammon teaches us that coin is coin ;)
Is it too late to roll?
What do ya think boss?
You're a little late to the party, but I can probably squeeze you in. Just a note that this game is running a pretty fast clip, so if you don't check in that often, you're probably going to be a little lost.
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Perhaps I should probably look at making a different character, or changing my paladin vows... because I don't see any "good" scenario that playes out where we let the girl go through any more terror than she already has. I'm not whining and trying to be a primadonna here, just can't see how letting her stay in the Goblins grasp, because it might be dangerous or inconvenient for us is heroic and/or good. In all honesty could your players live with their conscious if the girl dies when there was an opportunity to save her? Daryl could not... or he could go along with the group, and become a morose "I'll never be able to redeem my inaction" character... which doesn't sound like much fun to play.
Perhaps this might be a situation where we split the party at level 1, because Daryl must go on.
It might work out. There may be no chance of her dying tonight, or she might already be dead. I know that as a player... not as Daryl the Pious.
The good thing about this particular group, is that we've got strong players, with strong characters. The bad thing about this group is we've got strong players with strong characters....
Lichen is with Daryl in this. Lichen has to try. No way should you make a different character either. I know its difficult to split the party for the GM but he can handle it.
OOC I honestly think we will loose the trail and be forced to return to the barn. And Cole not coming increases that chance. At least that is what the odds suggest. Not sure how often we have to make survival checks to keep the trail. I guess I am fine just ruling that in a few hours the three who went on come back, wet and muddy and fatigued, having lost the trail in the dark. Here are some rolls.
While those are better than I expected, a 12 likely looses the trail in the second set of rolls, unless someone with Lichen can do better.
Actually if Erlmader has the "Survival" skill. He could assist Lichen which would be an advantage, and the disadvantage would be removed resulting in 22, 19, and 22 as the result.
I am all for being heroic, and my character is torn here, but if we lose the trail, end up tracking in the wrong direction, or frankly show up with multiple levels of exhaustion, we are useless to the girl, alive or dead.
Look, I do not want to be the one to jold all of us up. I thought we were in agreement with the GM that majority rules. If the others are not going to dig their heelx in, then maybe we can reach a consensus without splitting the party. However, wr cannot do this with every party decision, or the gsme will bog down.
Exciting stuff.
Ok, couple of things:
1. We can split the party.
2. At the moment, the goblins have a 7 hour head start on you.
3. Tracking reduces movement speed and without your Ranger, the terrain also reduces movement speed.
4. Tracking is at a disadvantage at the moment. Lichen's roles allow you to follow it for a least an hour, but after that *Shrug* If you lose it, you can roll to find it again, but that takes time. Keep failing the rolls and you'll get lost.
5. Somewhere out there is a young girl. She may already be dead, but you have no way of knowing. I will say this though, I will never force the party to make a decision where the outcome doesn't matter. (You don't know why the goblins took the girl, so you don't know what those outcomes are.)
Lichen made rolls decision made.
Its an interesting conundrum this one...
As a player GM-Fang's early warning that there will be consequences to actions, that time will not stand still in a stasis-encounter until we kick in the dungeon door, resonates strongly.
Most likely the girl will end up goblin chow and the heroes amongst the company should indeed risk life, limb and level up to save her.
As the token basterd of this motley group of circumstancial protagonists Vhaezil can sourly stand apparently uncaring through it all lol.
Scran nails it where we do have a strong group of players, with strong characters and if we are to run with the opportunity presented in this game (and I personally think this could be an epic one) then looking to GM-F to railroad us at the first hurdle wouldn't bode well.
Splitting the party does create a real threat to those carrying on with the night rescue, but they do have the rest of us to act as cavalry if things (when) things go south.
EDIT: Ninja'd by the boss lol.
From a mechanical standpoint...
Aiding a character for a skill check gives advantage... correct?
It doesn't matter how many advantages / disadvantages you have if you have one of each they cancel out correct?
For future reference.
From a mechanical standpoint...
Aiding a character for a skill check gives advantage... correct?
It doesn't matter how many advantages / disadvantages you have if you have one of each they cancel out correct?
For future reference.
I'm only going to allow the help action if you are proficient in the skill (as a form of niche protection). So yes, if you are proficient is Survival, you can counteract the disadvantage on Lichen's future rolls.
Also, to all, in the future, do not roll in the discussion thread. If you do so, I just assume you are trying to cheat.
From a mechanical standpoint...
Aiding a character for a skill check gives advantage... correct?
It doesn't matter how many advantages / disadvantages you have if you have one of each they cancel out correct?
For future reference.
I'm only going to allow the help action if you are proficient in the skill (as a form of niche protection). So yes, if you are proficient is Survival, you can counteract the disadvantage.
Also, to all, in the future, do not roll in the discussion thread. If you do so, I just assume you are trying to cheat.
That's what I thought. Daryl doesn't have the skill, but I believe Erlmander does.
I'm all for the party being split at this point. Everyone posts enough that even this discussion and decision making didn't take that long and to be fair i don't think it would be at all satisfying to keep the characters with a strong conviction with the rest of the group in the barn. The characters don't know each other enough that one person's opinion has enough respect in it to stop another's action at this point.
Quite happy with the decision made here.
Agreed. Let's move on.