Male Dhampir (Moroi-Born) White Necromancer 7/Archmage 2 | hp 51/51 (healthy), AC 12, touch 10, ff 12, CMD 15 | Fort +3, Ref +2, Will +7, various bonuses | Init -1, Perception +2, low-light, darkvision (mythic power 7/7)
Looks like we'll get our skeleton horses after all, folks.
We return to camp. They see the skeletal horses, and everyone starts freaking out. "There was an accident... their skin fell off. But they got better."
Male Dhampir (Moroi-Born) White Necromancer 7/Archmage 2 | hp 51/51 (healthy), AC 12, touch 10, ff 12, CMD 15 | Fort +3, Ref +2, Will +7, various bonuses | Init -1, Perception +2, low-light, darkvision (mythic power 7/7)
Can swarms damage other swarms?
Pre-rolled action:
Markus hops out of the caravan, a welt spreading where Hinagiku had nailed him. He frowns, but draws a vial of acid as he goes. He's not sure that the holy water will be effective on the swarm, but he's pretty sure that acid will be.
Nevertheless, he wants to try out one of the Words of Power rattling around in his head. This time the words spill out like air rushing from a cooler - 'fragor glaciem'.
In response, a burst of freezing cold air appears amidst the bees, spreading amongst them and coating each infernal insect with rime.
Casting burst frost fingers, a 2nd-level spell. They're entitled to a DC 18 Reflex save for half damage.
As the spell takes effect, he yells out a few commands - "Ehren! Any elemental magic you have would be wonderful right now! Everyone, spread out so it has to pick targets, and never stop moving!"
Male Dhampir (Moroi-Born) White Necromancer 7/Archmage 2 | hp 51/51 (healthy), AC 12, touch 10, ff 12, CMD 15 | Fort +3, Ref +2, Will +7, various bonuses | Init -1, Perception +2, low-light, darkvision (mythic power 7/7)
Okay, cause I noticed that Ehren has mad monkeys prepared. So.
Awww, I was imagining this little tiny girlmonster holding up a picture of bees and screaming in abyssal.
Actions:
Fire-toss (BAB, Dex):1d20 + 6 + 2 ⇒ (14) + 6 + 2 = 22I'm not sure where Ary's alchemists fires are. I'd think she'd still have them in her pack though. Soooo, it may not be possible for her to reach them at the moment. Fire Damage:1d6 ⇒ 1not that it matters. :p
From her position, Ary pulls her backpack off, not thanking Annabelle just yet. She digs into her backpack, even as she moves away from the swarm, drawing out an alchemist's fire. 5 foot to the upper left, to spread away from allies. If someone moves up there... try to move Ary 5 feet in a direction that keeps her from being 'contiguous' with her allies.
As she finishes drawing the alchemist fire, she lights it and hurls it into the huge swarm of creatures. She's not sure how fire will work on them, given that they're from the abyss... but she really doesn't know anything about these things.
Re: Monkeys v. Bees: Pick them out of each other's fur and eat them. Also, carpet bombing with you-know-what.
Ride:1d20 + 3 ⇒ (19) + 3 = 22
Isilme digs out the wand that Markus had charged along the way and aims it at the group. She utters the phrase activating it, blessing them with supernatural alacrity. Haste: Val, Ary, Hina, Markus, Ehren. +30 ft enh move, +1 attack / round, +1 dodge AC and reflex.
Might tweak my action later if I get time, but today is going to be really busy.
Hah! I enjoy giving you guys some horribleness to start your day with. *evil grin*
Well, yes, they can be blinded but they'll still automatically deal damage to anything they're enveloping (they ignore both concealment and cover). They'd just suck at actually finding prey.
However, targeted effects aren't very useful against swarms. It would need to be some sort of bursty blindedness.
Quote:
A swarm is immune to any spell or effect that targets a specific number of creatures (including single-target spells such as disintegrate), with the exception of mind-affecting effects (charms, compulsions, morale effects, patterns, and phantasms) if the swarm has an Intelligence score and a hive mind. A swarm takes half again as much damage (+50%) from spells or effects that affect an area, such as splash weapons and many evocation spells.
Note that this swarm, being a vermin swarm, is still immune to mind-affecting effects despite its weird hive-mind. I'm playing it off as a.. malign sort of intelligence, rather than a true intelligence.
Swarms made up of Diminutive or Fine creatures are susceptible to high winds, such as those created by a gust of wind spell. For purposes of determining the effects of wind on a swarm, treat the swarm as a creature of the same size as its constituent creatures.
What actually happens to creatures when subjected to a wind is under Gust of Air:
Quote:
This spell creates a severe blast of air (approximately 50 mph) that originates from you, affecting all creatures in its path. All flying creatures in this area take a –4 penalty on Fly skill checks. Tiny or smaller flying creatures must make a DC 25 Fly skill check or be blown back 2d6 × 10 feet and take 2d6 points of damage. Small or smaller flying creatures must make a DC 20 Fly skill check to move against the force of the wind.
As an aside I'm totally bummed that the wasps have hivemind and are immune to mind-affecting spells. I missed out on the opportunity to knock out a swarm with a joke :P
Got a couple minutes here, gonna re-evaluate my action.
Isilme digs out some holy water, intent on using it on the wasps. Knowing they'd likely rush her and Val if they were too close together she nudges Cyno back a few feet as she retrieves the vial. "Spread out everyone" she calls out as she gets ready for the wasps charge. When they begin to close she waits for them to be within easy throwing range for the flask and then tosses it at them.
Mv Act: Retrieve Flask, Free Act: 5' mv back with Cyno, Std Act: Ready attack for when wasps get within 10'
If I can arcane pool enhnace the vial, I will totally do that! Add +1 to hit in that case (doubt it adds to damage, but feel free to add +1 if you want ;) ) Ranged Touch Attack (Holy Water):1d20 + 7 ⇒ (8) + 7 = 15 Damage:2d4 ⇒ (4, 1) = 5
10 foot increment. Not max range. She suffers -2 at 20 feet, and -4 at thirty feet. Even if she misses, it is almost guaranteed to splash the target for two damage, as it should land nearby.
If it was out of range she definitely would not throw it.
Edit: should finish reading. I had already included dex penalty of you added it again. Don't want to post outside of the time you can edit in.
Yep - if you check the rolls I did it correctly. You're incorrect in your calculation though, at 35' it is a -6 penalty.
Quote:
Any attack at more than this distance is penalized for range. Beyond this range, the attack takes a cumulative –2 penalty for each full range increment (or fraction thereof) of distance to the target. For example, a dagger (with a range of 10 feet) thrown at a target that is 25 feet away would incur a –4 penalty. A thrown weapon has a maximum range of five range increments. A projectile weapon can shoot to 10 range increments.
Oh,no, your 35 was right. I didn't look at the map to check the range.
But 2 dex damage is only a -1to hit, and I'd already included it in her to hit. :) that's why I separated dex out, so you'd see I used 2 instead of 3. So... my to hit is 2 higher -if it matters- if not, them's the breaks.
Male Oread (Kellid) Legendary Druid 11/Hierophant 4 | HP 85/137 | AC 24, T 23, FF 19 | Fort +8, Ref +6, Will +18 | CMD 27 | Resist Acid 10 | SR 13 (evil outsiders), 17 (demons) | Init +2 | Perception +22 | MP 0/11 | LP 2/2 | PM 6/11 | SP 5/10
Next Action!:
As everyone else piles out of the wagon with clear minds, Ehren climbs out onto the driver's seat through the front. He looks down at their poor horses, covered in horrible stings. Even if he could save them, the lives of his friends had to come first.
"Valaria, get out of there!" he calls out to the tiefling, his advice speaking volumes about his wisdom.
Once she is clear of the swarm, Ehren points a palm at the flying vermin. A flash of divine brilliance explodes from within the swarm, engulfing each and every one of the vile insects.
Readied action to cast burst of radiance once Valaria is out of the swarm. Damage:5d4 ⇒ (1, 3, 3, 4, 2) = 13Total of 19? Reflex DC 17 or be blinded for... Duration:1d4 ⇒ 2rounds
Speaking of, my kineticist in face to face just learned to do the windy thing. And the crowd goes wild!
Level three is a very good level for kineticist. My damage all-but-doubled, and I got precise shot. With a better element, I can only imagine how good that level would have been. :)
Kineticist is one of the big reasons I'm looking forward to the new book. All the abilities that didn't fit into the first will probably be in there... *swoon*
Honestly, just the little bit I have seen is amazing. Like a Psychic Bloodrager that does some spiritualist things... you know, where he is the spirit.
They also added a void and plant kineticist, but had to trim them back (hehe), cause they'd take up a ton of space.
That's how I always run readied actions. You can just 'abort' them to return to normal initiative.
And actually, void and phyto -are- lacking according to the dev. Doing triple-element would be kind of nasty. They didn't even add a composite plant-plant blast 'Because it would be the same, just more damage'. Which is just kind of silly.
If you cancel your readied action now, you will keep your spot in initiative, but you won't get a turn until it comes up. You will have effectively lost the action.
GM Kiori, I went through the list of things you asked for I think I should have everything. If one element seems missing, don't hesiate to tell me to clarify it.
Thus I present:Hinagiku who is basically a human (Tian) Champion of Irori (monk/paladin) who will concentrate on defending others (bodyguard/stand still/trip other similar). Consequently, she will be entering the Guarding Mythic Path crud competing against thunderbeard
Also, even though some of my posts might have given the impression that I did not read the player's guide, I swear I did. At least twice!
On a side not, is it okay to take an archetype with the unchained monk if all the replaced abilities are still present in the unchained version?
No, the unchained monk is explicitly non-compatible with any archetypes. There is a 3pp book that updates most of the archetypes for unchained... here it is but you would need to purchase it at $2.99. If you did, I would allow it.
(note: please don't go out and buy stuff for a campaign you haven't been selected for yet ;) I would feel guilty if you did not make the cut after doing that.)
Alternatively you could go with the core monk. I am not requiring the unchained monk for precisely that reason - incompatibility with archetypes.
I'm curious as to why you began as a cleric and not as a paladin or monk? Is it purely for flavor reasons? It seems that your background would support her beginning play as a monk or paladin just as well as a cleric, and it might not be the wisest thing to wait too long before your Champion of Irori build is online. As the Guardian, the group will be relying on you to stand in the frontline and take damage, and you should be aiming for the ability to handle mythic enemies by level 6 or so.
The leather gloves are fine as a cosmetic thing.
Stuff about your background:
It would make more sense for the demon that spawned her to have been summoned by a cultist outside of the Worldwound. Unless this happened around 100 years ago, the wardstones would have prevented the demon from leaving the Worldwound. A very,very powerful demon can cross the wardstones (I'm talking CR 18+), so if that was your intent to make that demon that powerful, that is fine, I'm just pointing it out.
I love the concept that she has a scar that echoes with the magic of the Worldwound. It'd be interesting if it was more akin to an open wound (or at least swollen and painful) so that if she managed to close the Worldwound, so would her injury finally heal up and give her peace. Dealing with this unhealable pain for so long would also help explain her own ability to endure injury as a Guardian.
She's dripping with gorgeous wuxia flavor, and you did a good job of fusing a disparate character concept (Tian Xia flavored character) with the Worldwound setting. Nice job.
Thanks for the in depth reading. It's nice to see such an interested/invested GM.
About monk archetypes: I will probably buy the pdf, the unchained monk's d10 and new abilities will definitely help with the survivability of the character.
About the choice of class: When coming up with the character idea I faced challenges to make it viable at low levels. First, the champion of Irori is madly MAD witht the only two less needed ability scores being intelligence to a lesser degree. Second the idea of putting strengh as her highest stat (to make it a good hitter) just did not feel right. So to give her a chance to participate in combat as early as 1st level, I decided to aim for the guided hand feat (with the mythich guided hand later on). This decreases the madness of the PrC but requires a 1 level dip into cleric. Which truthfully I like, it gives the character the 1st level Lore domain ability, which I think fits perfectly.
Background:
About the demon: From my reading of the Wardstones, they only protect Mendev's border, so an escape through the land of the mammoth lord would lead directly close to the crown of the world. Also, it does explain why her saviors did not seek refuge with the other members of the crusade.
I like the idea of the open wound, I will add it to the background if selected for the campaign.
While not explicitly stated in the Inner Sea World Guide, James Jacobs has stated on his big faq thread that there are wardstones all along the border except for along the Crown of the World. They occur more frequently along the Mendev border (because the demons assault that border the most), so being along Land of the Mammoth Lords would make sense, thanks.
If it strikes you as weird that the demons would fling themselves at wardstones rather than go around through the Crown of the World, that is intentional, not an oversight.
@Celtic (and anyone else interested in a paladin-who-punches): If you're concerned about being MAD, there's the Iroran Paladin/Enlightened Paladin archetype which lets you add Cha to AC while still wearing armor, though you'd need some other way to get Smite Evil if you wanted to go Champion (such as the Chevalier prestige class). Still, Paladins can qualify for Guided Hand without any Cleric levels (channel at level 5), and you could easily wear armor up until then and then multiclass into monk at that point if AC is what matters to you, but the Champion of Irori appears to be a PrC designed to use armor and shields (which certain Monk archetypes can do as well).
@GM Kiora: interesting about the crown of the world and weird. Are the players likely to learn the answer while playing the adventure path?
@thunderbeard: I thought only a single PrC was allowed by character. If you mean that there is the option of totally dropping Champion of Irori, it is true, however there are some really cool defensive and offensive abilities in that Prc (which I would not give up)!
Also, for Guided hand, I though about getting if from the paladin, however, during 5 levels the character would have to rely on strenght to incrase his chance of hitting... which really hurts when a character has 13 strenght.
Indeed, the Champion of Irori's design does not lend itself well to an unarmored style figther, but I will try to make it work!
@thunderbeard: I thought only a single PrC was allowed by character.
Is this a thing? I've never seen it anywhere—I thought the only restrictions to PrCs is that some require you to join an organization. I was actually considering dipping into two for my character (Brightness Seeker and Horizon Walker both seem to make sense).
Your choice of such a high Wis instead of Str is a little unusual when it affects only your very, very high Will save, which is why I mentioned the armor thing—but if you prefer to play a very, very wise character, go for it (when recruitments run too long I tend to deal with the waiting by offering unsolicited build advice, which is a habit I should probably stop).
Hi, gyrfalcon here. I'm excited to introduce Unafe Rua-Ngakau (or Unafe Two-Hearted, in the Common tongue) who will one day walk the path of the Hierophant. She is a Shaman of the Goapeke tribe who live amongst the great saurians in the tropical Mokoweri valley in the Tusk Mountains of the Realm of the Mammoth Lords.
Crunch and latest Fluff in profile, but I'll paste her background here as well for convenience. One of the things I like about this recruitment (and mythic in general) is the story potential, so I had some fun. GM Kiora, I think all of your questions are answered within but let me know if there's something missing or unclear.
Feedback welcome!
Background:
HISTORY: THE DWELLERS WITH THE GREAT SAURIANS
Near where the Realm of the Mammoth Lords meets the icy Crown of the World--and far too close to the Worldwound for comfort--lies the Mokoweri valley, characterized by oddly tropical ferns, hot springs, volcanic vents...and thundering saurians. According to tribal legend, the Goapeke /HWA-pe-kay/ (or “Dwellers with the Great Saurians” in their native strain of Hallit) have lived amongst the dinosaurs there since before the Starfall. They tell tales of Namane the Wise -- the first of the saurian shamans -- and how he was taught by Gozreh herself how to coexist with the great saurians and how to join one’s spirit to theirs. They learned to thrive in a locale which other humans fled due to the prevalence of dinosaurs (and occasional twisted things crawling out of Sarkoris) and as a result their tribe existed largely untouched and unchanged for millennia.
Not that the tribe hasn’t faced great challenges through the years: One of the biggest threats in the Goapeke’s tribal memory was in the early years after Aroden had driven Deskari North into Sarkoris. A cult dedicated to the demon lord grew there, became attracted to the power of the great saurians, and sought to harness that power toward their own thirst for bloody war and destruction. The tales say that the spirit of Namane returned to protect the Goapeke, and pushed the Deskari cultists back to the cold and twisted East.
Since that time they have lived with relative stability for many centuries...but that stability has been steadily crumbling since Aroden’s death and the blossoming of the Worldwound.
EARLY CHILDHOOD: MARKED FOR GREATNESS
Unafe /OO-na-fay/ was born into the Goapeke tribe seventeen years ago, in 4696. At Unafe’s naming ritual the current tribal shaman, Old Aye, saw that she was Two-Hearted--that she had the reborn spirit of a great ancestor within her. Though it had been many generations since one of their shamans had been born Two-Hearted, it was known to all that a Two-Hearted would awaken to her Ancestor Heart when she reached womanhood or manhood, at which point it would be known which ancestor spirit she shared, and her two hearts would be joined. To prepare her for the burden, Old Aye took her for his own as soon as she was weaned and began to train her in the ways of the Saurian Shaman.
When Unafe was seven, Old Aye saw in his dreams that Unafe was not just Two Hearted; he saw that her Ancestor Heart was none other than the reincarnation of Namane the Wise. It was wonderful news for the Goapeke tribe, who knew that Deskari’s forces in the Worldwound were growing bolder again after many centuries and feared a new confrontation. Old Aye assured his people that Unafe was Namane reincarnated, and that she would protect them from the coming danger.
As a young child she played with the other children of the village, but by the time Aye shared his prophetic dream, most families kept a respectful distance from her. When she wasn’t studying with Aye, she spent more and more of her time alone in the jungle or running with the great saurians that were never far from the Goapeke. Old Aye taught her that when she reached womanhood she would regain all the memories and powers of Namane The Wise, and would use her might to set things right again for her people. In the mean time, he taught her to channel the power of her ancestors, of Gozreh, and of the spirits of the great saurians.
ADOLESCENCE: THIS WASN’T SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN
When Unafe’s woman’s-blood first came in her 12th year, she, Old Aye, and the whole village waited breathlessly. Within a moon she should regain the memory and might of Namane The Wise, and soon thereafter step into her mantle as their protector. That month past, as did another and another, growing into more than a year. She continued to study under Aye and to grow in skill, but no memories returned from her Ancestor Heart. Old Aye couldn’t explain it, but he continued to train her, and told her to have patience; Namane’s might and memories would come.
The next four years were increasingly difficult. Everyone could see that she had the gifts of the Two-Hearted, that the saurians listened to her, and that she had a shaman's power to heal and to shape magic. She had called a young kauae huatau to her (or ‘compsognathus’ in the Taldan tongue) who followed her everywhere. Yet everyone also knew that the Two-Hearted received their ancestor’s full blessing when they reached adulthood. She had become a woman in her 12th year, but at 16 still had yet to regain the memories or power of her Ancestor Heart. Meanwhile, Deskari’s cultists to the Worldwound were indeed on the move. They were getting bolder by the month, increasing their range with a grim inevitability. Old Aye was resolute: Unafe’s Ancestor Heart would reawaken, it would be Namane, and it would happen in time.
THE MOMENT OF TRUTH: RUN WHILE YOU STILL CAN
As Unafe approached her 17th name day, scouts from Deskari’s cultists started to appear in their valley. While Aye and the tribespeople managed to slay a few scouts, within weeks Aye’s Pteranodon companion warned that the cultist were barely two days march away in full force. They came with demonic servants and scathing fires, laying waste to all in their path. Old Aye and Unafe retreated into prayer, calling to Namane and all the ancestors, and to Gozreh, and to the spirits of the saurians to bring Unafe her full power and deliver the Goapeke once again from the forces of Deskari.
After an hour, Unafe’s prayers were met with silence. She felt completely unmoored and ashamed. Was there some weakness or unworthiness in her, that kept Namane from returning? Was Old Aye’s Great Dream wrong, all those years ago? Certainly she felt less like a wise hero now than ever in her life.
Forty minutes later, with manic eyes, Aye awoke from his own trance and commanded her to flee. He still knew with zealous faith that Unafe’s Ancestor Heart was none other than Namane The Wise...but it was also clear that no great awakening of power was coming that day. He declared that he’d received a new prophecy: that the Goapeke must scatter and abandon their ancestral home or die, and that Unafe must flee her tribe, and the Realm of the Mammoth Lords, and travel alone along the edge of the Crown of the World, to find the Keepers of the Shattered Stone. There (he claimed he was sure) she would meet her destiny, and awaken the memories of her Ancestor Heart...and in the end return to defeat Deskaril’s cultists and to renew the Goapeke people.
Unafe cried bitterly, resisted loudly, and then finally accepted reluctantly. She had no idea if she would ever unlock her Ancestor Heart, or if she was in even a reincarnation of Namane The Wise. What she did know was that something crowded inside her head...and that since before she could remember she’d always followed Aye’s instructions.
EXILE: FAILED, WANDERING, AND DESPERATE FOR ANSWERS
After months of hard walking, protected from the cold by her magic, hiding from demons and cultists, she and her kauae huatau (who she took to calling Tuturutanga, meaning “certainty”) made their way along the foot of the Crown of the World--hunting for what food they could find--and eventually South into Mendev. All along the journey she's seen signs of the building chaos and destruction. At night she thinks of her people, knowing they are likely dead or worse. Her faith in Aye’s prophecies balances precariously on a cliff, but in the end she has nothing else to cling to and so she’s come to Kenabres, rudderless, ready to grasp onto whatever she can.
APPEARANCE
Unafe is a tall, scrawny seventeen year old with radiant walnut skin and thick, wild brown hair. Her face is full of emotion and uncertainty: passion, wonder, rage, joy, sorrow, and doubt. She paints her face with white and red clay, and wears a hide shirt made from the skin of a stegasaurus. Over that she wears a colorful orange-dyed fur robe, with spinosaurus teeth stitched into the seams.
Peeking out from under her robe is a two-foot long obviously predatory bipedal dinosaur. It’s hide is covered in copper feathers with a spray of bright blue under it’s chin. It stands just over 12” at the shoulder on powerful legs, and needle-like teeth are visible between it’s gums.
PERSONALITY
Since childhood Unafe has been told that she was the chosen one, the return of Namane the Wise, who would protect her people in the coming storm.
Since puberty she’s known that Something Was Wrong, that the prophecy hadn’t yet gone as planned.
As of the last few months, she knows she’s failed, her Ancestor Heart never materialized, and her people are scattered or worse because of it. Now she’s amongst unfamiliar people, trying to make sense of her life and find her path.
Currently she’s a conflicting tumult of emotion and perspectives. At her best moments she still feels her connection to the natural world, her love of its beauty, and her knowledge that she has something to contribute to it. At her worst she’s cracking under the stress of knowing that her Ancestor Heart never came, that she failed to save her tribe, and that the future that was prophesied for her has been derailed. Through those cracks -- for the first time since her early childhood -- a bit of the regular seventeen year old girl in her is showing through as well.
PATH, DRAWBACK, TRAITS, STORY FEAT
MYTHIC PATH: Hierophant.
DRAWBACK:Doubt There was a golden period in Unafe’s youth where all was certain. Then things began to go wrong as unquestioned prophecies failed to materialize. When she fled, lacking the strength or wisdom to protect her people in their hour of need, a deep doubt settled on her heart.
TRAIT:Reincarnated At turns tantalizing, emboldening, and maddening, Unafe has always felt the presence of another heart and history beating within her. She is now racked with doubt as to whether her Ancestor Heart is in fact Namane the Wise and if it’ll ever manifest as promised, but it’s painfully clear that previous generations crowd inside her heart.
TRAIT:Seeker All of the Goapeke learn to stay on edge, surrounded by giants, warring tribes, wild beasts, and twisted threats from the Worldwound. As the shaman charged with protecting her people, Unafe was raised all the moreso to be constantly vigilant.
TRAIT:Desperate Resolve Aye taught his apprentice to stay focused, and she was always a diligent pupil...but since the failure of her Ancestor Heart to materialize her focus has taken on a driven, desperate quality. The worse things grow, the more she refuses to accept defeat.
STORY FEAT:Forgotten Past Who or what gives her her Ancestor Heart? Is she truly a reincarnation of Namane, as Old Aye prophecied? And whether she is or she isn’t, why have her Ancestor memories failed to emerge from the fog?
@GM Kiora: interesting about the crown of the world and weird. Are the players likely to learn the answer while playing the adventure path?
@thunderbeard: I thought only a single PrC was allowed by character. If you mean that there is the option of totally dropping Champion of Irori, it is true, however there are some really cool defensive and offensive abilities in that Prc (which I would not give up)!
Also, for Guided hand, I though about getting if from the paladin, however, during 5 levels the character would have to rely on strenght to incrase his chance of hitting... which really hurts when a character has 13 strenght.
Indeed, the Champion of Irori's design does not lend itself well to an unarmored style figther, but I will try to make it work!
Thanks for the feedback.
I have a suggestion - it would keep you from using the Unchained Monk, but the only thing you lose out on is an average of one hit point and 1 point of BaB:
Play a Sensei Monk. Sensei 3/paladin 2 gets you access to the Champion of Irori class, gives you Wisdom to hit, Charisma to saves, smite evil, etc. Everything you want and you don't have a dead level in there. You can even take Believer's Boon and Believer's Hands for the domain ability you want and a scaling (albeit slowly) lay on hands ability.
Hahaha, dinosaurs?????? You've peaked the interest of my inner five-year-old. Love it for that reason alone.
There was a post by James Jacobs that I dug up at one point that talks about how some of the mega-fauna in the Realm of the Mammoth Lords have been tainted by the abyssal energies of the Worldwound and caused problems for the natives there. I naturally attempted to think of a way to incorporate a freaking awesome mythic demonic t-rex encounter into the campaign but failed to find a natural place to put it. Maybe your PC is the key?
I like that you took the time to go over your traits and tie them back into your story. (The CelticCircle did this as well). Also, I love story feats. They're great to work with and don't get used nearly enough at my tables.
Your story is fantastic, as well as incredibly unique. Thanks for the detailed submission.
ok finally got something together. took a while with work, and wanting to be sure I researched the region in the sourcebooks.
everything is in the alias. and will be competing for the Marshal spot.
Sorry for the wait, I had to wait for a time today where I could sit and read through it instead of just skim.
Some initial thoughts:
You're going to need to do some work to fit the city into the setting's preconceptions. The biggest issue is that Taams needs to be a Sakorian city, and therefore, to a certain extent, connect with basic Sakorian culture. Taams as you have presented it, feels like a classic Mendevian city. Sarkoris was not an analogue of medieval Europe. It is more like an analogue of Cimmeria from Conan the Barbarian.... with a heavy dose of classic D&D druidism splashed in.
Basically, take a look at the Paizo iconic, Amiri the Barbarian. She is a Kellid. The Sarkorians were the first Kellids. That's the feel a Sarkorian character/nation should go for.
I don't fault you, you've done a wonderful job thus far of researching within the Paizo line. There isn't a whole lot on Sarkoris in the Player's Guide (which is a weird oversight...I mean a Sarkorian descended character makes a lot of sense in the campaign.) Most of the stuff about Sarkoris is in Lost Kingdoms and Lost Cities of Golarion... which I would rather you not go off and read if you haven't already because they are very much GM books with details on encounters, enemy statblocks, magic items, and maps for adventures that I would likely run with your PC in the party.
I'm gonna spoiler out the rest of this Sarkoris-related lore.
Sarkoris stuff:
First of all, having aasimar be the rulers of a Sarkorian city is incredibly apt. Sakorians were mostly known for adhering to the Green Faith (indeed, they are the first known practitioners of the faith in Golarion) but they were also known for worshipping Empyreal Lords, such as Pulura (the biggest one worshipped there). Perhaps your aasimar family could be descended from an Empyreal Lord, which was worshipped in the city? Perhaps your aasimar family were even worshipped by the (relatively) primative Sarkorians themselves?
Which leads me to my second point... It doesn't make sense for people in Taams to worship Iomedae because she simply was not worshipped in Sarkoris.
Sarkorians were a barbarian race. They were much like what you'd expect out of a Conan the Barbarian story. Low technology. Lots of mysticism and ritual. Shamanism and druidism were common and prolific.
Sarkorians did not worship a lot of deities. Unlike the "southern nations" as they thought of them, they didn't need some cleric "proving" their god's existence through divine magic. They worshipped on faith alone - often spirits, totems, their own ancestors, or nature itself. The few gods they did worship were Pharasma, Gozreh, Desna, Gorum, and Lamashtu. This means that the southern nations, such as Iomedaeans, tend to view Sarkorians as well... simply ignorant of the "truth". The concept of worship on faith alone is lost on the majority of the Inner Sea.
Part of the reason why Sarkorians resonated with Empyreal (and indeed, also Demonic) Lords is the fact that those demi-gods can still personally visit the Material Plane and gain followers. This garners a lot more worship and reverence from them than some prissy deity saying "well I won't ever show myself to you, or even ever talk to you, but if you pledge yourself to me, and do what I say, and pray really hard, I might give you cleric powers".
Sarkorians had a general distrust of arcane magic. This goes hand in hand with the fact that they were not as technologically proficient as other nations. They did not have knowledge on how arcane magic worked, and generally outlawed the practice of wizardry, not trusting their brand of science. In contrast, summoners, were viewed as "god-callers", and their eidolons were viewed as literal gods.
So in summary I would rethink the flavor of city, making it less "Arthurian medieval" and more primal and nature-oriented. I would suggest shifting your deity of focus from Iomedae to Pulura (or a different Empyreal Lord) - this would allow you to retain your "holy warrior" motif you are going for with Sabrina, but still make sense in the Sarkorian setting.
Your other option is to shift the timeline somewhat and make the city instead a Crusader fort, built at some point between the First and Second Crusades. Basically a fort similar to Drezen. This would allow you to keep the Iomedae stuff pretty much as is, though the concept of a "king/queen" would need to be replaced with a Lord-Commander type role (they would have sworn allegiance to Crusader Queen Galfrey, as all Crusaders do).
Other than the setting mis-match, your submission is good. I particularly like the amount of effort you put in to make sure everything lines up with the timeline.
Hahaha, dinosaurs?????? You've peaked the interest of my inner five-year-old. Love it for that reason alone.
Eberron had Velociraptor-riding Halfling rangers. I've yet to find a region/AP in Golarion where that makes sense, but, someday... the whole megafauna thing in general with Sarkoris and the Linnorm Kings works pretty well, since the only difference there is that, unlike Stone Age Earth, Golarion didn't hunt its megafauna to extinction.
There was a few ways I really thought dinosaurs could exist in Golarion was that if there was a secluded island that didn't undergo the whole extinction or re-magicing of the world that produced Golarion. (See Dinotopia)
OR...the lizardmen and other scalykind interbreeded too much pulled a de-evolution kind of thing (See Mario Bros. The Movie).
I admit, I never really asked why there were dinosaurs in Golarion. I always figured it was just a quirk of the setting. Plus, who doesn't love dinosaurs at least a little bit?
I would buy the hell out of a "Dinosaurs Revisited" or "Dinosaurs of the Inner Sea" campaign setting splatbook.
That said, I believe the official setting explanation for dinosaurs is that they survived the prehistoric days in a giant underground cavern in the Darklands called Deep Tolguth which exists directly under Mendev/the Worldwound/the Realm of the Mammoth Lords....except like 10,000 feet below the surface in a giant solid cyst in the mantle. Dinosaurs then migrated from Deep Tolguth to the surface through tunnels, which have long since caved in.
Keep in mind that this comes from Into the Darklands which is a very old campaign setting book and might be outdated by now. Mostly because this does not explain the mega-fauna that are in Garund. Perhaps there are multiple areas like Deep Tolguth?
There's also a Saurian Shaman archetype Druid, and I believe a few other classes have similar ones as well. I like to think there's one Jurassic Park fan at Paizo who just keeps slipping Dinosaurs into things when nobody's looking.
Okay, I think I'll give it a shot. First thought that comes to mind: An Aasimar Dragon Disciple who is the son of Apsu. Aasimar for the good outsider heritage, Dragon Disciple for the connection to dragons. Could potentially fill different mythic paths depending on how I build it.
There's also a Saurian Shaman archetype Druid, and I believe a few other classes have similar ones as well. I like to think there's one Jurassic Park fan at Paizo who just keeps slipping Dinosaurs into things when nobody's looking.
Crunchy stuff still to come (that's the easy stuff), but here's the fluffy:
Chosen skills: Lore: Abyssal Hierarchy (Notable Demons) and Knowledge (History)
Is this Lore skill OK?
Traits: Reactionary and Fencer.
Concept and Personality:
Ven'Jar is the son of Abraxas. His mother's faith in Iomedae is so strong that this seems to have overcome the will for Ven'Jar to give in to evil. On the outside, he is a jovial trickster who gets along with everyone, but on the inside he is constantly fighting with the voice of his father and the values instilled by his mother.
Appearance:
5'8" Tall, 150 lbs. Red skin except for a black birthmark that looks like this on his back (which is always covered). He wears a black cloak with hood up when being inconspicuous, but in social situations he'll have the hood down revealing his short black hair and two lovely little horns just above his hairline. He wears leather (or studded leather) armor and has an ebony-handled dagger somewhat hidden behind his cloak. His cloak is almost long enough to cover a long, agile tail which seems to have a life of its own.
Alignment:
Chaotic Good: Being the son of Abraxas, Ven'Jar has a constant struggle with good and evil. His mother's faith in Iomedae and love for her son have, so far, kept him on the path of good. There is no neutral for him. If he gives in to the demon side of him, it may be too much for him to come back. He's a bit spontaneous and sometimes on the "wrong" side of the law, but his real destiny lies at the Worldwound. He is on a crusade to prove once and for all that his father's will is not as strong as his own.
Background:
Prelude: Isaac and Reyna Frisch lived just outside the town of Vigil in Lastwall. They have known for many years that an accident Reyna had as a child had rendered her unable to have a child. This didn’t keep her from praying to the gods that one day she would have a child of her own. One night, a shadowy figure came to her in a dream. “Your prayers over the years have not fallen on deaf ears. Tomorrow, when you waken, you will be with child.” Isaac woke in a start to Reyna’s cries of pain (or was it pleasure). Try as he might, he could not calm her or wake her. Finally, the fits died down, and all was quiet. Then next morning when Isaac woke, Reyna was already up. “It’s a miracle! I’m pregnant!” Could she be showing already? In six weeks, an unnaturally short gestation period, Reyna gave birth to a baby boy. “His name is Ven’Jar. He told me last night.” Ven’Jar (Ven for short) was born with completely red skin, with the exception of the markings on his back which looked like this. “It’s unnatural! it can’t be mine!” Isaac cried out. Reyna held Ven close and looked Isaac right in the eyes and with a strong yet soothing tone, “This is our son. We will love him, raise him, and teach him right from wrong.”
Growing up: Ven’s first several years were quite pleasant. He was too young and naive to see how the world viewed him and to know how different he really was. Sure, he had red skin and two nubs growing on the top of his head, but all he really knew was that he was loved. Isaac had grown accustom to his son, though their always was a lingering resentment, he had suppressed it for the time being. Ven got into his share of mischief, though his mother stayed on him about the differences between right and wrong.
At the age of seven his parents sent him to the local schoolhouse. Here is where his resolve started to be truly tested. He got kicked out of the classroom the first day for fighting as another boy teased him. That night his mother had a long talk about with him about fighting and that under no circumstances should he ever strike someone. He listened to his mother, and walked away when the others started to tease and make fun of him, this was no easy task as he always had a voice in the back of his mind telling him to strike the other down, but Ven usually heeded his mother’s voice (he slipped once in a while, but kept the fighting to a minimum) getting better and better using his words and cunning to talk his way out of trouble. When possible Ven kept mostly to himself, finding solace in the dark corners of the school yard. He was a good student, especially when it came to history and the wars of the past.
The recurring dreams: At the age of 10 he started having recurring dreams. These dreams would come to him nearly every night for the next three years. The shadows on the wall would come to life, a deep dark voice (the same voice that told him to do the things his mother told him not to do) would speak to him, narrating the workings of the abyss. Speaking to him of great wars and battles between demons and mortals. As terrifying as this should have been, the shadows were soothing, the stories reassuring, and the voice seemed to give him strength. This was a strength that both excited and terrified him. The dreams would all end the same. The shadow armies on the wall would stand at his attention as if waiting for orders. The voice would say, “You are the chosen one. You are the one who will bring glory. Great armies will fight for YOU. It’s your destiny. You will not follow, you will lead. Your strength will lead to victory.” Then right before waking up he has a vision of his mother lying on the floor with a stab wound. Ven is holding a beautifully crafted dagger with an ebony handle covered in his mother’s blood. He then wakes up with a start.
His 13th Birthday:The morning of his 13th Birthday went as expected. His mother woke him up with his favorite breakfast. His parents doted over him as parents would do on their son’s birthday. His mother and father both had gifts for him. He opened his mother’s gift first. She had given him her symbol of Iomedae that she had always worn around her neck. “This is my reminder to you of the values we have instilled in you and the miracle you are to me. Whenever you need strength Iomedae will be there to help you find it.” He thanked his mother and his father handed him his gift. Ven opened the box to find a shiny ebony-handled dagger. Upon seeing the dagger, Ven dropped the box and went pale (or as pale as a red-skinned tiefling can get). “Careful with that! That was my grandfather’s dagger. I figured it’s about time you learned to use one.” Just as Isaac finished that sentence the sky went black. A booming voice filled Ven’s head, the same voice from the dreams. “The time is now! Your destiny awaits you! Kill them! Kill them both!” Without thinking Ven had already picked up the dagger with his tail, and in an instant it was in his hand. He then plunged the dagger into his mother. “Excellent!” Boomed the voice. “Now finish her.” Ven started forward, then his mother smiled at him. There was something else . . . he was holding the symbol of Iomedae. The symbol seemed to sear his hand, and at that moment he had a choice. His father lunged for him, but he easily dodged his failed attempt to grab Ven. He looked at his mother covered in blood on the floor, the ebony-handled dagger in his hand. It was the vision from his dreams. “I’m sorry mother.”
“FINISH HER!!!” Boomed the voice again.
“NO!” Ven called back outloud. He then focused and the room went dark. Ven’Jar left the house and never looked back. Just before he left he heard his mother whisper, “I love you son, and good luck to you.”
Coming to terms: As he left his home for good, he put the symbol of Iomedae into his pocket. The symbol had burned a scar in his hand with remarkable clarity in the symbol’s shape. Ven headed northeast into Ustalav, keeping to the shadows of the trees and rocks off the roads and traveling mostly at night. About a week in, Ven came across two bandits attacking a small caravan. Ven was about to make his way around when he overheard one bandit tell the other, “If he won’t give you the key, just kill him. I’ll get the lock undone myself if I have to.” Ven’s conscious got the best of him. He could almost hear his mother’s voice in his head. Ven stealthily made his way through the trees, then as he started for the bandits he conjured darkness around him and in a whirlwind, the two bandits were dead. When the darkness dissipated the members of the caravan were in awe, though in his head Ven heard, “Kill them all, you earned the spoils. You’re better than them. Kill them all.” Ven raised his dagger, then took a deep breath, grasped the symbol of Iomedae and placed it around his neck. The caravan thanked him, and asked if he would join them on their way to Starfall. They also offered Ven the small chest as a reward, but he would have to open it, not break it to gain its contents. Ven accepted. He took a cloak, some armor, daggers, and tools from the dead bandits, and traveled to Starfall. The caravan were a group of entertainers. They stopped at several towns along the way. It took nearly six months for them to get to Starfall. When he wasn’t trying to pick the lock of the chest, Ven spent most of his time with an elderly elf by the name of Farahan. Farahan was a dervish. He taught Ven how finesse, not strength were the keys to wielding a light weapon like the dagger. Footwork, quickness, and precision are the key, not strength and power. Farahan also told stories about times long past, and the wars leading up to the one that seems to be coming. The day before they arrived in Starfall, Ven finally opened the chest, it it was but 1 silver piece. Farahan smiled, that was all that was in there. They were going to kill the driver over a single silver piece. Once they got to Starfall, Ven parted ways with Farahan, and the gypsy caravan. He spent the next 5 ½ years in Starfall. He found that, though he still didn’t fit in, he could earn a living. He made a living performing with his daggers as Farahan taught him, and taking whatever odd jobs would come his way, most were just delivery jobs, others were a step on the other side of the law. This experience left him with a bit of a knack for spotting trouble before it happened. He seemed to always be one step ahead of anyone who would disapprove of his work.
On the outside he was friendly, jovial, a bit of a jokester, and charming. On the inside he was still battling with that voice of his father in his head. Then, one night he almost lost control.
He came out of his favorite drinking hole one night (or was it early morning) to a fight in the street. It wasn’t much of a fight as it was just an armored man grabbing a small, frail looking man by the collar, nearly lifting him off the ground. The armored man then grabbed the pouch the frail man was holding. Ven recognized the ring coming from the pouch, it was a coin purse. Ven moved quietly to step in. “He’s stealing from the weak,” the shadowy voice in his head told him. “How many other times has this man bullied poor, helpless folk. You need to do something. He needs a taste of his own medicine.” With that Ven snuck up behind the armored man pulling his dagger quietly as he moved, and just when he was about to bring the dagger to his neck, the holy symbol of Iomedae burned his chest. Ven, startled, kicked a rock in the street and the armored man turned around. “Stab him in the neck. Do it NOW!” The voice told him, but just before he was about to strike, he recognized the symbol braised on the chest plate of the man standing in front of him, it was the symbol of Iomedae. The man’s name was Baldrik. He was a crusader, leaving in the morning for the Worldwound. The coinpurse actually belonged to an elderly lady who was walking up to Baldrik now. Ven apologized. Baldrik asked if he would join him. In the morning Ven would head to Kenabres with Baldrik and company. He had a war to fight, and had to prove to himself once and for all his resolve is stronger than his father's influence.
To the Worldwound: The trip to Kenabres was an uneventful one. Ven spent a lot of time listening to the others tell stories of the old crusades, and the heroics they’ll all perform in the upcoming crusade. He also spent a lot of time with his own thoughts, reflecting. The voices were quiet during this trip. The last night before reaching Kenabres, Ven had a dream:
It started like the ones he had as a child with the shadows around him forming into armies heading into battle. He was the leader of entire battalions ready for battle. “I’ve brought you here, son. This is your destiny. You will be the hero of this war. Your strength and cunning will bring victory. I have given you strength and resolve, now you will fulfill your destiny.”
He woke up ready to walk the last little bit to Kenabres. It was the morning of his 19th birthday. It was a long journey to get to where he is at, but it’s only the beginning.
Hahaha, dinosaurs?????? You've peaked the interest of my inner five-year-old. Love it for that reason alone.
There was a post by James Jacobs that I dug up at one point that talks about how some of the mega-fauna in the Realm of the Mammoth Lords have been tainted by the abyssal energies of the Worldwound and caused problems for the natives there. I naturally attempted to think of a way to incorporate a freaking awesome mythic demonic t-rex encounter into the campaign but failed to find a natural place to put it. Maybe your PC is the key?
I like that you took the time to go over your traits and tie them back into your story. (The CelticCircle did this as well). Also, I love story feats. They're great to work with and don't get used nearly enough at my tables.
Your story is fantastic, as well as incredibly unique. Thanks for the detailed submission.
Thanks for the kind words! And speaking of...something I ought to spoiler...
Fires over Blackcrag spoiler:
One of my few character deaths on these forums (and the first mythic character I played) was a badass halfling cavalier who got swallowed by a mythic t-rex
I'd happily get the chance to settle that score (or, just as likely, see another of my characters die helplessly in one's jaws.) ;-)
EDIT: Btw, I went back and forth about whether to build Unafe as a Shaman or a Druid (Saurian Shaman). Both had a ton of potential (and an early version of her in a homebrew mythic campaign went the other route). I think this party isn't likely to need a front-line "Spirit of the Beast"-style druid, and while Saurian Shamans are great summoners, I'm excited by the Shaman's versatility. Fingers crossed!
Reading over your lore on Sarkoris makes me very, very sad. I've had a concept of a tribal Barbarian-turned-synthesist summoner for a Very, Very long time. You know, the type that wears his totem on his sleeves. And face. And tail. But alas, unchained only and even then, probably 'no' to synthesist (in any campaign). :P
Though... maybe I could build a barbarian as a second submission and simply up the flavor of the totem there (or does spiritualism get trumped by the empyreal lord fluff? Celestial totem is neat, too!)? I have time... and while I don't want to detract from Ary, I also -really- want into a WotR... so it'd probably be worth it.
Either way, thanks for the inspiration!
Also: @TheCelticCircle: Nothing wrong with bumping a thread with several days to go so that other folks see it and can get a submission in. :) More submissions means better options, which means a better experience... in theory. Even if it's an experience without me.
Reading over your lore on Sarkoris makes me very, very sad. I've had a concept of a tribal Barbarian-turned-synthesist summoner for a Very, Very long time. You know, the type that wears his totem on his sleeves. And face. And tail. But alas, unchained only and even then, probably 'no' to synthesist (in any campaign). :P
Though... maybe I could build a barbarian as a second submission and simply up the flavor of the totem there (or does spiritualism get trumped by the empyreal lord fluff? Celestial totem is neat, too!)? I have time... and while I don't want to detract from Ary, I also -really- want into a WotR... so it'd probably be worth it.
Either way, thanks for the inspiration!
Also: @TheCelticCircle: Nothing wrong with bumping a thread with several days to go so that other folks see it and can get a submission in. :) More submissions means better options, which means a better experience... in theory. Even if it's an experience without me.
Summoners in Sarkoris had a very specific function in their society - they were known as god-callers. Sarkorians viewed eidolons as literal gods. A synthesist summoner would would have likely be worshipped as well. Of course, this is so long ago it might not be true for a modern synthesist summoner sarkorian (say that 3 times fast) but they'd be aware of it, and I'd want to know how they felt about the ancient practice of god-calling. Do they consider themselves a god-caller? Have they so assimilated into southern culture that they view it as silly now? Lots of interesting ways to build.
I thought synthesist summoners were compatible with unchained? If so, they're welcome. Unchained pretty much solves all the issues I had with the class. (And even then, the issues were gone if a player willfully avoided picking all the obviously power options, but it isn't fair to ask someone to do that.)
It's better to think of Sarkoris as an immense nation inhabited by disparate tribes, towns, and a few cities. They all had different leaders, and different religions... really just linked by common cultural truths (more chaotic than lawful, nature-oriented, distrustful of arcane magic). So some tribes would have been Empyreal cults. Others had a "worship your ancestor" thing going on. Others might be based around a single god-caller. Most tribes were into the green faith, though.
Feel free to rock out a second submission if you have the time/inspiration :P
From my perspective, unchained modifies the Eidolon... and that's the way everyone I've seen read it. They treat Unchained stuff as Archetypes and that innately invalidates most Archetypes due to changing things (in summoner's case, the eidolon and spell access is the only thing I noticed). I'll look everything over, especially if that's how you're ruling it. :)
Synthesist... never really made much sense to me in the scope of things, but it is very cool—I've got one I play in a game where he's primarily the comic relief, but it turns out it's pretty hard to be an eight-foot four-armed snake man in polite, civilized society, and I'm not sure how I'd pull something like that off in a campaign where it actually mattered what bystanders saw.
...That said, charging a Mammoth into the Worldwound might also raise some eyebrows. Although there's always Carry Companion for that.
* * *
If you're familiar with it, I've generally imagined Sarkoris (and other similar barbarian nations, like Conan's Cimmeria) as politically organized similarly to the second-generation Mongol Khanate successor states—you've got your Tengri Khans in Cumania, and the Ilkhanate, and the Golden Horde, and the Timurids, and Kubla Khan doing his thing, and while they're all sort of nominally the same country they have different religions and languages and fight each other as much as they fight anyone else.
That "god-caller" bit is pretty cool, especially when you consider Sarkoris was ultimately done in by called demons aspiring to godhood.
From my perspective, unchained modifies the Eidolon... and that's the way everyone I've seen read it. They treat Unchained stuff as Archetypes and that innately invalidates most Archetypes due to changing things (in summoner's case, the eidolon and spell access is the only thing I noticed). I'll look everything over, especially if that's how you're ruling it. :)
Unchained summoner is compatible with archetypes that dont mess with the eidolon base form.
My copy of herolab allows adding the archetype to unchained summoner so it seems legit ;)
I would buy the hell out of a "Dinosaurs Revisited" or "Dinosaurs of the Inner Sea" campaign setting splatbook.
That said, I believe the official setting explanation for dinosaurs is that they survived the prehistoric days in a giant underground cavern in the Darklands called Deep Tolguth which exists directly under Mendev/the Worldwound/the Realm of the Mammoth Lords....except like 10,000 feet below the surface in a giant solid cyst in the mantle. Dinosaurs then migrated from Deep Tolguth to the surface through tunnels, which have long since caved in.
Keep in mind that this comes from Into the Darklands which is a very old campaign setting book and might be outdated by now. Mostly because this does not explain the mega-fauna that are in Garund. Perhaps there are multiple areas like Deep Tolguth?
Have you read Called to Darkness by Richard Lee Byers? It's one of the Pathfinder novels about a barbarian who follows an enemy into the darklands and Deep Tolguth.
Lore is good. It'd view it as a kind of K.Nobility focused on demons. Also you have great fluff supporting its use.
I love the background. The only thing I don't like is the character doesn't really feel like a son of Abraxas. I could definitely see Abraxas throwing a wrench into Deskari's plots for his own amusement, so that works. It's that Abraxas would probably father an arcane caster. He's the demon lord of forbidden lore and magic, and I'm not really feeling that from the entry. There isn't much about his physical appearance that reflects Abraxas either, apart from the birthmark and his snake-like tail. You sure there isn't a more appropriate demon lord to use here? Shax comes to mind, especially with the whole "make him murder his mother!" plot.
I do love the attention to detail you gave as to how he learned his roguely skills, and your smooth transition from Lastwall to Mendev. Also props for working in Reactionary. ;)
I would buy the hell out of a "Dinosaurs Revisited" or "Dinosaurs of the Inner Sea" campaign setting splatbook.
That said, I believe the official setting explanation for dinosaurs is that they survived the prehistoric days in a giant underground cavern in the Darklands called Deep Tolguth which exists directly under Mendev/the Worldwound/the Realm of the Mammoth Lords....except like 10,000 feet below the surface in a giant solid cyst in the mantle. Dinosaurs then migrated from Deep Tolguth to the surface through tunnels, which have long since caved in.
Keep in mind that this comes from Into the Darklands which is a very old campaign setting book and might be outdated by now. Mostly because this does not explain the mega-fauna that are in Garund. Perhaps there are multiple areas like Deep Tolguth?
Have you read Called to Darkness by Richard Lee Byers? It's one of the Pathfinder novels about a barbarian who follows an enemy into the darklands and Deep Tolguth.
Nope, but if I ever do a Darklands campaign I'll definitely pick it up!
Whether or not my character is any good, I'd like to mention to everyone that Kiora is the real deal. I'm in her Andoran game and her effort and consistency is up there with the best of my other pbp dms since 2007.
At level 1, an Unchained Rogue and CRB Rogue are almost identical, except the Unchained Rogue gets Weapon Finesse free. Beyond that, things start to change a bit but that's something to worry about later.
If you have a chance, I'd say get Unchained, it's a really useful book with some neat stuff in it.
Whether or not my character is any good, I'd like to mention to everyone that Kiora is the real deal. I'm in her Andoran game and her effort and consistency is up there with the best of my other pbp dms since 2007.
Aww, you're making me blush.
Level 1 rogue changes:
You can sneak attack a creature with partial concealment now.
They get Weapon Finesse as a bonus feat at level 1.
Unchained stuff should be coming to d20pfsrd eventually. I saw a post on their FB page that indicated they were working on it.
In an hour I am running my home face to face group for the first time in a couple of months so we're doing a longggggg 8 hour+ session. So I obviously won't be on here to answer your questions until tomorrow. Just sit tight!
Here is the total:
Archmage: 2/3 (Arcane Caster): BossBedlam (Alchemist), Leinathan (Moroi-Born dhampir death mage), phntm888(human blood arcanist) Champion: 2/3 (Martial): Vincent Fleming (nagaji brawler (wild child)), kamenhero25 (Tiefling pitborn swashbuckler flying blade), Orannis (Paladin
Guardian: 2/4 (Tank): Thunderbeard (Elf Lore Warden/Martial Master Fighter), TheCelticCircle (human cleric going into Champion of Irori), Choant (human warder), WabbitHuntr (aasimar warder (zweihander-sentinel))
Hierophant: 2/3 (Divine Caster): Mahorfeus (human druid menhir savant), Gyrfalcon (Shaman) , Ash.. (cleric of Shelyn)
Marshal: 4/4 (Support): Hotaru of the Society (Human Ranger of Iomedae), Xantrius (Tiefling Paladin of Shelyn/Pharasma) kamenhero25 (Tiefling pitborn arcane duelist bard) Edward Sobel (aasimar angelkin paladin of Iomedae, oath against fiends, oath of vengeance) Trickster: 4/6 (Cunning/Subterfuge): Llaelian (Rogue), Eric Sklavos (Tiefling Rogue/Shadowdancer), kamenhero25 (Tiefling pitborn arcane duelist bard) A. Drallidur (Rogue/VMC Magus), Rory”the Story” Lincoln (Halfling Bard) French Wolf (Rogue)
If you are missing from the list, let me know ASAP or you won't be considered when the time comes.
Italics denote complete submissions.
I hope there will be plenty of new stories for me to read on Sunday! :)
I love the background. The only thing I don't like is the character doesn't really feel like a son of Abraxas. I could definitely see Abraxas throwing a wrench into Deskari's plots for his own amusement, so that works. It's that Abraxas would probably father an arcane caster. He's the demon lord of forbidden lore and magic, and I'm not really feeling that from the entry. There isn't much about his physical appearance that reflects Abraxas either, apart from the birthmark and his snake-like tail. You sure there isn't a more appropriate demon lord to use here? Shax comes to mind, especially with the whole "make him murder his mother!" plot.
I had a lot of fun putting this character together, and tried to convey my idea without writing a complete novella. The Abraxas connection was the only thing that was bothering me about the character as well. After reading your suggestion I really like the Shax connection, I'm a little disappointed in myself for not catching this the first time around. I was looking for another demon lord, and must have over looked him. I toyed with Nocticula, but didn't like the way it played out. Consider Shax the father instead of Abraxas. I'll rework his appearance a bit to fit Shax better too. Thanks for the suggestions.
Hrut Ingvarson hails from the Lands of the Linnorm Kings, from a fortress known as Blackraven Hall. The Hall is a trading hub along the river in which it sits and for goods coming into the Lands from Irrisen. Hrut's father Ingvar was a trusted merchant to the leader, Freyr Darkwine, and often conducted caravns from the Lands, into Irrisen, and even to the Worldwound or farther if there was coin to be had. Ingvar trained his eldest son Hrut in simple combat and negotiations, as is the custom he would take over the merchant business when Ingvar passed. When Hrut was fourteen he was allowed to accompany his father on a caravan, as a guardsman, deep inland to a city known as Gundrum in the Worldwound. Hrut was still young but learned from the older guards as they traveled, such as the ways of their peoples fighting in unison with swords and shields, protecting others, as is the way of Torag, and various obscure languages some of the guards knew.
After many months of travel the caravan finally arrives in Gundrun, within the Worldwound. The caravan stays in the city for several days before beginning the long trek home. Just outside of the town the demons struck from out of nowhere, vicious in their assault. The demons kill everyone except Hrut in the attack, saving him for a possession ritual, since he is the youngest of them all. The demons took Hrut deeper into the Worldwound for this dark ceremony, awakening him only to torment him and scare him with visions of his father and friends dying over and over, much to the pleasure of the followers of Minagho . Two nights pass and the ceremony began, it is a full moon, the chanting of the demons and demonologists is loud and rhythmic, then the battle broke out. Knights in heavy armor came out of everywhere it seems and began slaying the demons and the priests with martial weapons and channeled divinity. When the battle is finished the holy warriors checked on Hrut, checking him for wounds and worse, possession. The ritual they explained is used to put a demon inside, as is the favored tactic of Minagho, and that it was only half completed, they needed to take him to their enclave to reverse what was done before the demon gains too much of a hold.
Swiftly the warriors traveled, taking him to a grande city by the name NeroSayan, once there he was whisked to the Cruciform Cathedral to preform the exorcism. The clergymen worked for many days to battle the evil that was growing, in the end the only way to fully rid the demon from the host was to infuse divinity into him, changing him forever. The order that found Hrut was known as the Empyreal Guardians, and after minimal persuading they allowed him to join their ranks as an initiate. The training took place deep within the Cathedral many levels below the floor level, down there training involved learning to channel my divine powers and faith into martial strikes and various maneuvers. The knights reinforced the Ulfen fighting techniques, improving the use of shield and sword fighting, shield bashes, and protecting others, especially weaker allies.
As the years go by Hrut grew to an tremendous size for a human, finally filling out to become a man, after several years of training the knights deemed Hrut worthy to take the holy oath of their order and become a brother. He is a stoic man after the event in the Worldwound, always the first one up and the last one asleep even among the other Guardians, always trying to be a protector others. Hrut, the other initiates, and the senior members of the order set off for Kenabres to take the oaths to Al'asadriel in the Cathedral of Saint Clydwell. It is an uneventful pilgrimage to Kenabres, the Guardians and the initiates come to Kenabres in preparation of the festival of Armasse, where every year the new Guardians are presented. The elders of the order informed the initiates that they are being initiated the day before Armasse and will be presented at the opening ceremony of the festival. The first night in the city the initiates were taken to Old Kenabres, to the cathedral to pray before their gods throughout the night. The next morning the vows are taken, "In my own name, unsullied and bound to my virtue, and in the name of Al'asadriel, this I swear: with my blades I shall defend the innocent from those who threaten them wrongfully. With my eyes I shall look for evil and with my words and deeds seek to turn it back to good, or else destroy it. With my mercy and conviction I shall lead others into the light, and with my courage I shall hold back the shadow, until the day I die or Al'asadriel returns to release me." After the vows are taken Hrut and his new brothers are allowed to rest after the long wake and exhausting oath. The festival of Armasse is in the next morning and the new initiates are at the cathedral ready to be presented as new brothers of the Empyreal Guardians.
Hrut is preparing to be introduced as a Guardian today, his huge frame filling his armor, blonde almost white hair long and braided in the back, his beard and mustache also in braids as is his peoples tradition. The metal plates of his armor shine newly polished for today, massive metal shield with the crossed swords and crane upon it, signifying his status as a Guardian, steel grey eyes stare out from the helm with a stern gaze that always seems to be measuring whatever they set upon. Hrut believes that laws can be corrupted and twisted, and vigilantism is also not the answer, but in doing the right thing at the right moment and being benevolent.
Questions should be answered in the background, I would any tips should you have any, guardian is the path once again, plan on dual path with something else.
As long as we're discussing lore/world questions here—would a character wishing to switch alignment to lawful be handled similarly to one moving towards good (as it's described in the player guide)? There's some really cool alignment feats in Unchained that kick in as options around level 10, and while my character (and probably some others) aren't too into a whole lawful-good-destined-hero-constant-code-of-honor mentality, after being given some sort of mythic purpose, there's a good chance my character (and others) may be interested in moving towards becoming more of a paragon of justice, depending on the situations and amount of divinity involved with granting mythic power.
I had a lot of fun putting this character together, and tried to convey my idea without writing a complete novella. The Abraxas connection was the only thing that was bothering me about the character as well. After reading your suggestion I really like the Shax connection, I'm a little disappointed in myself for not catching this the first time around. I was looking for another demon lord, and must have over looked him. I toyed with Nocticula, but didn't like the way it played out. Consider Shax the father instead of Abraxas. I'll rework his appearance a bit to fit Shax better too. Thanks for the suggestions.
Small setting note: Gundrun is actually a small town, not a city. Though the idea that they'd require frequent supplies is apt: growing edible food in the Worldwound is almost impossible.
Other than that, great submission :) I like that you were able to weave in the Empyreal Guardians. If selected, I'd make sure to involve them somehow.
As long as we're discussing lore/world questions here—would a character wishing to switch alignment to lawful be handled similarly to one moving towards good (as it's described in the player guide)? There's some really cool alignment feats in Unchained that kick in as options around level 10, and while my character (and probably some others) aren't too into a whole lawful-good-destined-hero-constant-code-of-honor mentality, after being given some sort of mythic purpose, there's a good chance my character (and others) may be interested in moving towards becoming more of a paragon of justice, depending on the situations and amount of divinity involved with granting mythic power.
Sure. To use the Redemption rule-set though, that is more of a conscious effort to change yourself, rather than something that just happens unconsciously over time. Hence the frequent will-saves to steel yourself from slipping back into old habits/frames of though.
