From the depths of an untamed wilderness, bandits and monsters run rampant across the land. Do you have what it takes to conquer the lands and raise yourself up as King, Emperor and God?
Ionnia approaches the unicorn and attempts to inspect it.
heal check:1d20 + 8 ⇒ (19) + 8 = 27
After a quick inspection, Ionnia's face grows pale and she tells everyone her findings.
The two spoilers above are now open to everyone, after Ionnia comunicates it to everyone.
Bingo, his face grim, says, "Erastil's curse on whoever did this! We can't just leave the body here. We ought to bury it or burn it or something." His voice breaks and he turns away to try and regain his composure.
female human Cleric of Shelyn 4th/Fighter(Glaive Master)4th|HP:32 Perception:+9 Init:+1|
" We should pull this corpse free and than see to properly burning it." She says as she than looks at the water and than to the others." Than any one who draws water from this area must boil it before you do anything else,than we can pass this on to Jhod and see if any one comes by with the ability to purify the water can do so"
HP 18/18 | AC 16/20 (T 15, FF 12) | CMD 15 | Fort +2 | Ref +6 | Will +5 | Init +4 | Perc +6 Elf Sorcerer 4
NO! You will NOT move him! You will NOT say dull words of some irrelevent human god over him! He is a great being of wildness and magic. His blood is greater than all that human mumbo-jumbo. He is fey! He belongs to nature and himself. No one else. I will put flowers on him, and allow nature to reclaim him. If you wish to join me, great. Otherwise, leave him for Nature.
Dris casts "Entangle" on the unicorn, and focuses as hard as she can on creating a flowering vine.
To Dris's surprise, no vines or plants come to her call. It seem whatever foul magics have infected the area around the beast are preventing the growth of new life...
M Human Paladin 3 | AC 18 T 13 FF 15 | HP 25/25 | F +8 R +8 W +7 | Init +4 | Perc +1
"Obviously the statue of Erastil is too large to move here. Dris, I know you feel strongly about the order of nature, but maybe the best way of action is to take him to the glade where we found the statue. Erastil, lord of the wild and the hunt, can look over his body. His soul should have moved on already. And it looks like the land here will not take him. Not to the earth, not to the First World, or to Pharasma's embrace. "
"Up to you all of course, but I would hate to leave this creature be in this soiled land."
When Drispeera almost shouts at Kaeso, Mornaura seems to wake from her paralysis.
In a dark voice she says, "We need to find out who did this. Thanks to Ionnia, we have an idea about how it was done - can we specify that some more? And does someone have an idea about the why?"
Not bothering to wipe the tears from her cheeks, she gets up, casts Detect Magic and slowly turns around herself.
In case there are auras to identify: Knowledge (arcana):1d20 + 10 ⇒ (1) + 10 = 11 Since Dris' knowledge (arcana) check didn't help with the (very good) question of what could someone need a unicorn's horn for, I'll try it with Craft(alchemy):1d20 + 10 ⇒ (7) + 10 = 17
When she finishes scanning the area for magical tracks, she quietly curses herself for letting her feelings take control and not thinking of possible mundane tracks earlier.
"Please, Spirits of these Lands, help me find the monster who killed one of your guardians... and take vengeance."
female human Cleric of Shelyn 4th/Fighter(Glaive Master)4th|HP:32 Perception:+9 Init:+1|
" I we can get the poor creature free of the water and I can cast restore corpse and preserve corpse and take it to the statue of the Erastil and may be Dris can bind the unicorn in vines there?" Ionnia suggests as she smiles and looks to Drispeera.
She than looks at Mornaura and sighs as she checks her self and her eguipment as she shifts over to Kaeso and smiles."If you want I can always use help with cooking, Infact i can teach you to cook if you want"
Mornaura looks around, and can wholly detect a strong necromancy aura everywhere there is no vegetation. The aura does not cover the Unicorn, but all the innate magic of the beast is gone. No specific auras can be identified as a spell.
Thinking about what a unicorn horn could be used for, nothing specific comes to mind. It is rarely used as an alchemical component, and you think you recall some spells using it as a spell component, but it must be some ancient, old magic. Nothing recent has used it.
As for tracks, the valley is eerily devoid of them. You are able to find the Unicorn's own tracks, seemingly coming here from deep in the forest, only to end by the waterside where the body currently lies...
At the surface of the water, dead fish and moss cover the surface. Not even the water prevented the necrotic magic from killing everything in it. The water is perfectly still, and the only ripples in it are the ones made by the blowing wind. The water is obviously stagnant, and reeks of rotting fish and other organic matter decomposing in it. Granted, the stench is not unbearable, giving Kaeso the impression that this defoulment did not happen that long ago. A few days max, or the smell would be intolerable.
As the party continues to ponder what to do, a voice is heard in the distance.
"MASRS!!! MASRS!!! KSOOO! MARAAAA!!"
Everyone is a bit startled and on alert. Whoever it is, he is obviously shouting his lungs out, but he is so far away that his words are almost incomprehensible.
"IPEAAAAAA!! IIOOOOO!!! MAAASRS!!! ELOOOO!!"
The voice is definitely getting closer and closer every second.
Sense Motive 17:
The voice seems somewhere between agitated or scared, but definitely under stress.
"Sumthin' comin' and it's comin' fast. Don't sound too happy, neither," Bingo remarks, drawing his sling and fitting a sharpstone bullet.
Bullet, Sharpstones
A thin layer of baked clay covers the spikes and jagged ridges covering this specially designed bullet. A proficient user knows how to crack the clay (a free action) so that it peels off from either the spikes or ridges when fired, dealing either piercing or slashing damage.
HP 18/18 | AC 16/20 (T 15, FF 12) | CMD 15 | Fort +2 | Ref +6 | Will +5 | Init +4 | Perc +6 Elf Sorcerer 4
Exhausted, Drispeera finally gives up trying to grow healthy beautiful vines to cover the unicorn. To Norn's suggestion she just gives a dispirited shrug. Can't say as I'm too fond of StagHead's treatment of people-turned-animal, but we have to take him somewhere that Nature isn't so corrupted.
At the distant shout she looks up. Has anybody seen TikTak lately?
Sense Motive: 1d20 ⇒ 3
Perception: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (14) + 5 = 19
"The name is Mikmek... but the shouting sounds like him, doesn't it?"
Turning her head to determine the direction of the screams, Mornaura walks over to her horse, to take Faron down from his vantage point.
"Time to earn your treats, my friend. Fly up and find Mikmek. Let me hear one hunting call if he's alone, two if someone's with him, or three if something hunts him."
She gives him a peck on his small head, sends him up and walks around the pond, to the side opposite from the origin of the shouting.
"If you're ready, we should call for him so that he can find us."
Just in case, the witch prepares to cast Web on anything aggressive storming out of the forest.
Faron flies up and goes take a look, circling in the air. 30 seconds go by, and Mornaura hears a loud hunting call from the distance. No other calls are made.
Finally, something comprehensible is heard by Dris and Mornaura:
Mikmek's voice becomes more distinct as he gets closer. Eventually, you can see his figure, riding a medium dog. He finally sees you near the blight and starts waving and jumping almost out of his seat.
The riding dog stops flat at the top of the blighted vegetation, refusing to go into the unnatural energies. Mikmek jumps off and starts running towards you.
"HEEELP!!! Help!! Guys, come on. You need to get back... The OUTPOST! We were attacked! They took the nice lady that cook's Mikmek's food! The Stag Lord himself came. Giant man, big horns. Heavy bow. He shot Kresten, his men... He take the lady with him and his gang. He the try to torch place down, but Mikmek and Oleg finally stop him. But he then shoot Oleg. Oleg tell Mikmek to find you guys. Tell you that they are looking for you."
female human Cleric of Shelyn 4th/Fighter(Glaive Master)4th|HP:32 Perception:+9 Init:+1|
" Mikmek you did well rest now" Ionnia turns to the others and sighs."Seems this Stag Lord isn't happy with the disruption that has been caused here. I Say we take the fight to him and free the lovely Svetlana, and brandish these heathens in the power of our combined might!' Ionnia than walks over and looks at Mikmek.
Heal 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (5) + 8 = 13 Checking to see how injured our friend is and if he is in need of healing
"Hunted, eh?" Kaeso perks up. "Maybe we should hunt him right back. I'd rather take the fight to the Stag Lord on our own terms, than wait for him."
He thinks for a moment, and then turns to Mornaura and Drispeera: "Ladies, you've been watching the map closer than I have. If we know where the bandits aren't, that means we've got a good idea where they are. Also, perhaps your, um, pets, could scout to see if they are near, and if we ought to run." I hope "pet" is the proper word--I'd hate to make them mad!
When it's obvious that Mikmek is alone, Mornaura hustles back to her companions.
"Oh Spirits... That's what we get for not taking care of the Stag Lord first..."
She nods to Kaeso, takes the map out and shows it to the group.
"Alright, we're here, and the Stag fort is supposed to be there, on the north shore of the Tuskwater lake. Mikmek, you've really proven yourself again. Before you rest - do you know if the bandits are searching for us right now, maybe even following you, or if they're taking Svetlana straight to their fort before they go on hunting us? In any case, we need to get to the fort as fast as possible. If the raiding party is searching for us, we could be able to reach the fort before them, but it means we ought to warn Jhod and the Boggard. And if they went home, well... who knows what they'll do to Svetlana when they become bored. Shall we move?"
She hands the map over to Kaeso, looks up to Faron and whistles to him. Shortly after, he lands on her forearm.
"Good boy," she mumbles, caressing him softly. "I need you to glide above us while we're riding, as long as you can. When you spot other people, come back and squeak."
M Human Paladin 3 | AC 18 T 13 FF 15 | HP 25/25 | F +8 R +8 W +7 | Init +4 | Perc +1
Norn looks down at the battle plans and nods.
"Sounds good. I am prepared to take the fight to them. Seems the fastest way would be to travel through all the areas we have already explored, as we know the trails and we can make better time. Are you sure we want to stop at the temple and the boggard? Seems like if we take care of the heart of the problem quickly, the arms and legs would take care of themselves..."
Mikmek, who doesn't look to injured, says "Uhm, I don't know. Bandits were screaming that they were falling back to their fort. They very angrey that you destroyed their other camp, with the hatchet lady leader. They loose territory. They say, they make example by feeding Svetlana to their pet soon! Angry people, they all are."
"Ugh, that means we really don't have a lot of time, but it spares us from having to send someone for Jhod... Yes, eastwards from here through the forest sounds good, but I think we'd better follow the edge of the forest southeast, then follow the river for the last part. Shouldn't take much longer, and makes us a bit harder to detect instead of riding over the open plains."
HP 18/18 | AC 16/20 (T 15, FF 12) | CMD 15 | Fort +2 | Ref +6 | Will +5 | Init +4 | Perc +6 Elf Sorcerer 4
Yes, let's head southeast (1 hex) and then eastward from there. Those are the areas we haven't explored yet. And with some luck, maybe we'll get to the Stag Lord's hideout before all his men get back. If brave little TricTrac was able to travel faster then they were with a hostage. Purrcy should be able to sneak ahead with Faron, and let us know if there are people ahead as well.
She gives a wistful look at the unicorn. It seems we're in a hurry, noble friend. Perhaps we can at least move him out of the zone of putrefication, so he can rejoin the earth normally. If he's still here once we've dealt with the Stag Lord, maybe we can think of something better to do.
M Human Paladin 3 | AC 18 T 13 FF 15 | HP 25/25 | F +8 R +8 W +7 | Init +4 | Perc +1
"Aye, sounds good." Norn will approach the unicorn and pick him up. He drags it over out of the blighted valley and finds a spot for it where the body is hidden, but would be recognizable to us if we try to once again find it.
"Really wish I had a spell to preserve it's corpse, just in case, but we will have to do with what we got"
Back to the party, Norn looks down at the map. "The route works for me, but what about east until we hit the plains of the Kamelands and then head south? Looks like we will have to move through uncharted territory either way, but plains would be quicker, even if just a small amount."
Nodding at Kaeso, "Kaeso, I say you and I ride ahead of the group, maybe a few horse-lenghts, in case there are traps or ambushes set for us?"
"Let's ride." Kaeso readies his lance. Perhaps I'll finally get a chance to charge! He tries to conceal his excitement, but fails, as usual.
I'll be traveling later this week to a conference, for which I have yet to write the paper. My participation might be slow. Feel free to impersonate me if necessary.
HP 18/18 | AC 16/20 (T 15, FF 12) | CMD 15 | Fort +2 | Ref +6 | Will +5 | Init +4 | Perc +6 Elf Sorcerer 4
Metagame-- I would prefer to travel the unexplored way and pick up the exploration xp-- and hopefully get our strength up before the Stag Lord. Or at least pick up the xp for the dot if we head east one more hex. Norn did mention that its only a hair slower. That's my 2 coppers anyhoo.
Good idea sending FlimFlam back to Jhod, let him know what's going on. And if you boys want to ride ahead, maybe take Purrcy with you. Send him back to me to warn of trouble.
"Well... I guess we can decide wether to ride across the plains or along the forest edge when we're there. The forest path should take one or two hours longer, but hopefully they don't see us coming that easily," the witch says and climbs on her horse. "Onwards, my friends."
I don't want to base IC decisions on metagame reasons... And they took a hostage, so we can't waste time.
Travel time stuff:
Exploring unknown hexes takes 1 day each, riding across known hexes takes 6 hours per hex at most. We're saving at least one day. I don't know what time it is ingame and where we are exactly in the hex, I'll assume middle of the hex.
The exploration route: Reaching the border of our current hex takes ~3 hours (let's say it's doable before nightfall), exploring the three hexes takes 3 days, plus again ~3 hours in the morning of the fourth to reach the fort from the border of the hex.
Quick forest route: 3*6 hours for the three hexes, plus 2* ~3 hours for border/middle hops, = 24 hours. With one hour of force riding (we can heal the damage to the horses with Ionnia's channel positive energy easily) on each of the next two days, we're there after 3 hours of travel in the morning of the third day, which is one day earlier than the other route.
If we squeeze in those three hours of force marching into today's evening and the next two days, we're there in the evening of the second day, which is one and a half day earlier than the other route, plus we can attack at night.
Taking the plains hex instead of the 3rd forest hex takes 2 hours less (so we'd need less force marching).
Btw... Crossing the plains hex instead of the last forest hex doesn't mean that we automatically find whatever landmark is supposed to be there, let alone have time to solve whatever quest there is.
Looks like the consensus is we ride east for now, and decide at the edge.
With haste, the party decided to send Mikmek north to alert Johd, and ride back to Oleg's to provide support and inform them that there will e an attempt to assault the Stag Lord's fort.
Through the forest, the party rides as fast as possible, getting to the edge of the forest. Not a lot can be seen into the plans of the Narlmarches, but Faron is able to see and report back that there is indeed a small fort with a wooden palisade built against a hill at the edge of the lake.
Very recent marks of riders are apparent in the plains, but the forest seems clear. Faron reports he cannot see patrols of bandits over the plains to the east.
To the south, the forest seems quiet. From Morn's earlier knowledge of geography, the forest stretches right into the Skunk river, and follows east into the Tuskwater.
HP 18/18 | AC 16/20 (T 15, FF 12) | CMD 15 | Fort +2 | Ref +6 | Will +5 | Init +4 | Perc +6 Elf Sorcerer 4
Sullenly, Dris packs up her gear. You get the distinct impression that she cares more for the fey beast then any elvenoid. Still she cannot think what else to do for him.
She cuts a lock from his mane, promising, If I can find a way to bring you back, I will. Failing that, I will avenge you, I swear it. She weaves the lock into a braid and ties it around her wrist.
"Alright, there we are... Looks like the edge of the forest follows a slight curve south-east to the Tuskwater. How about we follow it, staying on the outside where it's easier to ride, but close enough that it makes us harder to spot against the trees? And we can always dodge into the forest if anything happens."
How long until sunset? If it's doable to reach it by sunset, Mornaura will add the following:
"Let's try to make it by sunset. We'd approach from the west, in the shadow cast by the forest, which means we're even harder to spot. We'd still have some light to take a good look at the fort, and can attack when it's dark."
PS: We had to rest for the night in the forest, so we can change our prepared spells, right?
PPS: Aww, Dris, don't take the dead unicorn to your heart that much. They are magical beasts, not fey, after all. ;) And Mornaura will help you avenge it anyway.
Addendum: "If it's doable to reach it" is supposed to mean "If it's doable to reach the Stag Lord's fort". Just wanted to clarify, as that somehow got lost during editing of the post.
"Um, I was just thinking: have they ever really seen us? We've got those pins, right? Maybe we could do some kind of disguise." Kaeso remembers the blue elf. "Well, maybe most of us could be disguised."
"If they've got a fort against a hill, it might be good to see if someone could get up the hill, take them from behind. They might not expect it. But we'll have to see closer."
HP 18/18 | AC 16/20 (T 15, FF 12) | CMD 15 | Fort +2 | Ref +6 | Will +5 | Init +4 | Perc +6 Elf Sorcerer 4
Casting prestidigitation, Dris makes herself into a pale-skinned, blonde elf.
I can be boring if you want, but only for short periods of time. Trying to sneak in as bandits isn't a bad idea, Kaeso. I don't think Svetlana would be likely to tell them very much.
female human Cleric of Shelyn 4th/Fighter(Glaive Master)4th|HP:32 Perception:+9 Init:+1|
" We could try and pass our selves off as Bandits seeking to join up with this Stag Lord, or We could try and just use subterfuge magic,..You know diversions"Ionnia says as she prepares her self bu checking her weapons and then lightly sings her prayers for spells.
Correct, so you have a night to prep spells if you'd like to change them out. Your destination is reachable by sunset.
The group decides on a west-ward approach, coming down the forest and finally into the open. Galloping over the rolling fields, everyone sees a small hill with some shrubbery and trees at the top, a very good vantage point. From the top, the party can confirm what Faron saw earlier: there seems to be a fort in the distance, lit by torchlight. There is an 8' wooden palisade all around the main structure, with a single entrance gate on the front.
The fort itself is actually barely that. It seems to have been an OLD shrine or temple, just 2 stories high. From here, it looks like there is barely any of the second story left at all, with a wall crumbled off. they are hard to make out, but it does seem there are a few wooden gangplanks going around and above the palisade (for archers, presumably). All in all, it looks like the entire complex is 100 x 100 feet or so.
Figures are hard to spot from this distance, but there is some movement. Obviously a bit more presence in the front by the gates, but hard to see what is going on in the back. The hill faron mentioned is visible from here. Looks like the fort was built against it, so the palisade is much shorter in the back, maybe 3-4' high.
HP 18/18 | AC 16/20 (T 15, FF 12) | CMD 15 | Fort +2 | Ref +6 | Will +5 | Init +4 | Perc +6 Elf Sorcerer 4
Well, I can think of two possibilities for getting inside; either we disguise ourselves as new bandit recruits and see what we can find out, or we wait until dark and just attack. Maybe over that back wall that isn't so high. I don't have much in the way of disguise spells, maybe just enough to make the skin on my face pale and boring for a short while. What about the rest of you? Bingo are you any good with disguises?
Bingo thinks for a minute. "Fair ta middlin', darlin', but I dinna have any tools ta work with. Iffen I had some stage makeup, mebbe, but MikMek said they wuz lookin' fer us. Sneakin' in might be our best bet. I kin do that jest fine."
female human Cleric of Shelyn 4th/Fighter(Glaive Master)4th|HP:32 Perception:+9 Init:+1|
"I have to agree with Bingo, a nightly raid might set them off balance. I mean not many bandits expect to be raided, and I personally have never been apart of this kind of raid, a pantry raid, and panty raid yes, a 'High we are here to save Svetlana, and oh um Kill you' raid I have not been a part of" She says as she looks at her weapons and her bolts smiles.
"Since I've never been a good actress and have no spells that help with something like that, I vote for sneaking in. Maybe we can get Svetlana out of there and to a safe hiding spot without anyone noticing. I can conjure an obscuring mist to provide some cover if necessary, and when things go sour, I'll enlarge Norn."
M Human Paladin 3 | AC 18 T 13 FF 15 | HP 25/25 | F +8 R +8 W +7 | Init +4 | Perc +1
"I am fine with that if everyone else is. As long as Bingo can see well enough in the dark to sneak in. Looks like most of the bandits so far are human, so I doubt we would have too much trouble sneaking in unless they cover the place in torchlight."
HP 18/18 | AC 16/20 (T 15, FF 12) | CMD 15 | Fort +2 | Ref +6 | Will +5 | Init +4 | Perc +6 Elf Sorcerer 4
Dris gets an excited gleam in her eye. Well, attack it is then. We can just try to get Svetlana out, but it may be more prudent to get her safely out of the way and then continue against the StagLord while we have surprise. Defeating him has always been one of our missions. And if we leave and return later, he'll be more prepared for us.
Bingo, do you think you'll want to scout around for a good entrance point? You could take Purrcy with you. He's very sneaky too, aren't you handsome boy? Yes you are.
Or are we all going to go in at the same time? I don't have too many buffs to offer. I have mage armor for anyone who isn't already wearing armor. And I have Vanish... but unfortunately that only lasts a round, and I can only do it a few times or I'll be out of sparkle.
I can cast Darkness to cover our entrance point, to hide us from torches a bit, although if you don't have good elven vision, you'll have to mark the way carefully ahead of time. And once we're spotted I can cover one or two of our enemies in faerie fire, making them easier targets.
Offensively I can offer Entangle, and of course Sleep. If there's a chance for me to get a few of them together with that, please don't get in too close melee range until I take that opportunity. Maybe Charm Person if I can catch one of the guards alone.
I'm sorry to go on and on. I just find battle so... exciting.
Oh, and we should probably discuss something as a group ahead of time. We've had disagreements on this before, so lets get clear. I think combat is combat. We are outnumbered. If we spend time trying to redeem our foes mid-combat, friends could die... as Norn and I almost died last time Mornie spent more time trying to save a bandit for prison and torture and an inevitable noose then heal us. If we are victorious, and have living, incapacitated foes then redeem away. But not while friends lives are in jeapordy. That's my opinion. What do the rest of you think? We should probably reach an understanding before combat starts.
"Of course you had to bring that up again... First of all, I've told you already that I'm not killing people as long as I don't absolutely have to, and that won't change. I'm not a murderer, although I will probably make an exception for whoever killed the unicorn. Secondly, it's not my fault that noone spotted the bandit woman before she hit you, or that you didn't stay behind our two armored fighters. Thirdly, it's not my fault that Bingo decided to leave me alone with the bandit instead of, you know, letting me go and heal you, or quickly tieing up the bandit so that we could both help you. In fact, he could've killed him before, but told me to watch him. and didn't come back even though I told him I could've helped you."
Mornaura takes a deep breath before she continues.
"Well, regarding our current situation: in my opinion, saving Svetlana has absolute priority. If we can take out the Stag Lord in addition, that's great, but if we have to choose one, it should count as a secondary objective. If we have to kill all the bandits in this camp to achieve our goals, so be it, but I'm not going to slaughter anyone. If you want to do that, fine, you got to settle that with your gods."
Kaeso shrugs. "If they die, they die.." Feeling he needs more explanation, he continues: "Raiding and kidnapping Svetlana? They need to go down. Anyone who isn't dead has the potential to stab us in the back, or join the Stag Lord in hunting us down. If they throw down and surrender, that's one thing, but if they're fighting, I'm killing.[b]"
"[b]Maybe we can get someone up on the hill to take them out with arrows?"
female human Cleric of Shelyn 4th/Fighter(Glaive Master)4th|HP:32 Perception:+9 Init:+1|
"I would love to subdue those we can, but I think that our major enemy of the Stag Lord might not be willing to talk it out the others, His underlings are a different story. We might be able to save a few here and there, but if words will not work Mornie than we must defend our selves' Ionnia gives Mornaura a sorrowful look and sighs as she looks at the horse and than the others.
"No time like the present to travel there and take the fight to the stag lord"
This is my official character submission thread for my Kingmaker campaign. I'm looking for 4-5 characters but I will most likely start with around 6 due to attrition. Come up with a concept only please, we will do crunch later. Put the word faith somewhere in your concept. I constantly get screwed with Paizo's dice roller so I will be doing my own rolling with my own physical d6 for your main attributes. I roll 6 numbers, you put them wherever. While it may seem a bit controlling, if you trust me I'm very generous with scores.
-Level 1
-Core Races, Aasimar and Tiefling
-Core Classes, APG and UM
-I'm leery of archetypes but I would be willing to look at your suggestions. If I allow it, only 1 archetype.
-Max gold and HP at 1st level.
-2 traits, 1 campaign and 1 whatever of your choice.
Note: Download and read the Kingmaker Player's Guide. It's free. When you make a character, keep it as real it can be in a fantasy setting. Half-orcs are often misunderstood and distrusted so it's unlikely you would have a half-orc wizard without an awesome backstory to explain it. Not saying you couldn't have a halfling barbarian or dwarf paladin, but make a believable back story WHY and HOW they became that.
Note 2: No Mwangi or anything from thousands of miles away. You're level 1. Put the word power somewhere in your concept.
I will close submissions in 2 weeks or sooner if I get enough responses before then.
Downloading the guide as I type....will make something both faithfull and powerfull, just wanna check the Guide before submitting concept.
Edit: After a very quick review of the guide, it seems that my path is clear. I enjoy and thrive playing rangers, and it looks that they are a natural fit to this AP. Therefore, I would like to submit Serris Dral, human ranger, whose father was killed a few years ago in a skirmish with a monster horde containing even giants (OK, it was a small wandering band of giants, but survivors do tend to exaggerate a bit). Serris is hailing from New Stetven in Brevoy, where his family operates a small sawmill. His uncle Burkins and his younger brother Nit are running the business, along with his mother Nitta, and uncle's family.
It would be an understatement to say simply that Serris is very much like his father - adventurous spirit, willingness to travel and explore the world, and very, very much unlike his mother and the rest of the family - calm, business like, family oriented.
Since his father was killed, he has been constantly learning and "training" to fight giants. He only has the slightest experience with giants, seeing two of them in captivity, but he has talked to anyone he could find and done his best to be prepared to fight them. He has already took part in two (admittedly very small) campaigns, but he has fought versus humanoids and survived. When he learned about the Charters, there was no stopping him - with faith in himself and Desna guiding him, this was his chance. He would become powerful enough to became a nightmare for this gigantic humanoids, similar to nightmares he had for the past two years, since the deth of his father.
So - human, ranger, tracker, giant-killer. Probably plain old ranger, since GM said only 1 archetype, although some specific archetypes look very tempting ;-)
When/if I need to do the crunch, and/or provide more information, I am available.
The power of faith compells you to consider my application.
All kidding aside I'd like to apply with an Aasimar cleric of Pharasma. A young man coming into his power as a shepard for his diety, travelling south to not only to help civilise the south but to also make sure his faith has a place there.
Edit: Looking at your first post, normally I tend to think of concept as a couple of lines of text describing a character but I'm not sure if you're asking for a more complete background/description of the character in mind.
@Mihajlo: If you have a archetype in mind let me know and I will look at it. I said 1 archetype meaning 1 per person.
@Jörmungandr: I would like something in depth in terms of story. Write your submission like you are describing a character in a book.
For whatever reason, I do not see this guy a "typical ranger" good with animals. He will not hate animals, or anything similar, but for whatever reason he does not posses typical empathy which other rangers have. Point is - I would not like him to have an animal companion. For now, only class I found that is replacing it is Battle Scout, which seems OK. I am not overly excited about the rest of the abilities of battle scout (they are replacing rest of favored enemies, with some hmmmmm, rather fuzzy skills), but still I might go for it.
Edit: Nevermind my comment above, it seems I am still thinking in 3.5 terms. In PF it is obvious that I do not have to choose animal companion at all, so for now I am perfectly OK with "vanilla" ranger.
I have been wanting to play Kenji for Ages!!!
(Ignore stats) click on Avatar to see the direction I'm going.
The 'Origin story covers why he's not in Tian Xia.
Andrezi Giovanni is a young and imposing man, his face long and harshly Taldan thanks to his mother’s heritage. As a young boy he was given up to a panthenic church in New Stetven that acted not only as an orphanage but also a school. At the school he met and became fast friends with Orin Medvyed, a scion of the Medvyed family who not only not only became a steadfast companion during his formative years but also taught him of the wild ways of the Grozni Forest. Sadly as the years went by and the boys began to enter adolescents they were drawn apart when Orin returned north to begin training as a squire under one of his father’s bannermen.
As he got older sign of his father’s parentage began to tell, the whites of his eyes becoming darker as the years went by and his iris’ seeming to glow with an inner light, at first frightening the teen. Father Nathan, the leader of the panthenic church, however, consulted some mystics from the city and between them came to the conclusion that his physical changes were the result of angelic parentage.
Influenced by this revelation, Andrezi began to study the path of becoming a cleric at first thinking to try and emulate the panthenic church that had taken him in and giving worship to all of the gods. Over time though he found that the quiet and contemplative devotion of Pharasma attracted something in his spirit and eventually he took the black becoming a true Pharasmin cleric.
Since then he has travelled between a few churches, doing turns of duty as an undertaker and even having watched elder members of his church return the undead to their just respite. Having arrived in Restov a few months ago he has been seeking a way to further the goals of his church while doing something with his life when he heard of the opportunity to join a group of other likeminded individuals in retaking and civilizing a portion of the River Kingdoms.
I would like to Offer up Doctor Ruby Redhat A gnome Cleric of Brigh.
Ruby family hail from both the prime and the 1st world so the old Gnome tails go, He loves to tinker and make thing, always crafted odd and strange things from any bits he can find. Always trying to keep the bleaching at bay hes looks for groups heading out in to the wilder ports of the wilds. Ruby has a Riding dog call Boris who is hisconsument competition who he loves and looks after. Ruby loves red and has a top hat of red he loves to ware. Ruby like to heal other and and so as a TN pc heals with his Channels. Hes domains of Knowledge and Artfice he likes to mend and fix things.
The idea for Ruby is hes inquisitive and helpful and healer for the party, with some marshall skills. Selfless and fearless. A clever little chappy carrying silly things of use.
Back story
Ruby family hail from both the prime and the 1st world so the old Gnome tails go, He loves to tinker and make things, always crafting odd and strange trinkets from any bits an bobs he can find. As a child hes mother sent him to the local Birgh cleric telling Ruby to show him what he had made, from then on he was a member of the Church. Always trying to keep the bleaching at bay he looks for groups heading out in to the stranger ports of the wilds. Ruby has a Riding dog call Boris who is his consument competition who he loves and looks after. Ruby loves red and has a top hat of red he loves to ware. Ruby like to heal other and and so as a TN pc heals with his Channels. Hes domains of Knowledge and Artfice he likes to mend and fix things.
The idea for Ruby is hes inquisitive and helpful and healer for the party, with some marshall skills. Selfless and fearless. A clever little chappy carrying silly things of use.
The rest is in the Ruby Alias DM I do hope you like him, he should be fun.
There's no crunch in the profile, but I submit Gua Zhen for your consideration.
Background
As Gua Zhen entered the small tavern in Pitax, he had a strange sense that he had been there before. He knew, as he'd read many times, that he actually had been. But this was the first time he could remember experiencing it.
Zhen was the bastard son of a Surtovan noble. The noble, in his shame of impregnating a simple farmer's daughter, intended for both her and her newborn child to be removed from Brevoy - permanently. He came to her one night, prepared to kill the both of them. As she slept, he cut her throat. But when he saw his son, he was unable to commit the deed - he looked just like him.
He wrapped him in blankets and made his way to a small, dirty house. He knocked frantically on the door, and after a few moments, the door cracked open and an older Tian woman appeared. Seeing who it was, she allowed him to enter and quickly closed the door behind her. "What kinda trouble you in now, boy?" she asked, eyeing the "package" he carried warily. He hastily made a lie about finding this small child alone in the street and needing to ensure its safety by getting it as far away from here as possible. She shook her head sadly and ripped the bundle from his hands. "This will cost you, boy. Give me that fancy necklace and all the gold you're carrying - I'll ask for 10 times that amount when I return." He hesitated for only a moment before lifting the locket over his head, withdrawing his money pouch and handing both over to the woman.
Over the next several days, the old woman made her way to Pitax where she had arranged for a contact of hers to take the child to Tar Kuata to live and learn from the faithful and powerful monks of Irori there. As she handed the child over, she put the noble's necklace in the child's small pouch of belongings.
As Zhen grew older, he slowly became aware of his origin, thanks to the sporadic letters he received from the old woman. She told him of his father, his mother's fate and how he had ended up in Osirion. In every letter she urged him to stay put and to continue his training. That the time for his return would come. But to remain patient.
That time came in his 24th year. He received news that his elderly guardian had died in her sleep. Seeking guidance from his masters, he decided to leave the monastery to pay his respects.
Two months after receiving word of her death, the tall, bald man, honed muscles rippling beneath his simple clothing, finally returned to where his new life began. His striking green eyes peered around the room, looking for someone who might be helpful.
His knuckles turned white as he gripped the small necklace - the only real token from his past - tightly in his left hand. Approaching the bartender he asks simply, "Sir, is it possible that I might find passage to Port Ice in this village?"
Born in Brevory, Rithalk never experienced the discrimination that so often makes a half orc lose faith in society. He still inherited an odd desire for power but seeks to gain that power through wealth. Always seeking the elusive means to turn lead into gold, Rithalk knows that even those discoveries he makes that are not successes can still be useful and help propel to to his goal.
Born on a farm near the Stolen Lands, Kaeso never felt any calling to adventure. His faith was in the land and in working his family's farm. A big boy with natural strength, he was well suited for farm work, and looked for nothing more ambitious than settling down and marrying the neighbor girl, Bariya.
Then the raiders came.
Kaeso was mending fences on the southern part of the farm, an endless task--once one end of the fence was done, the other was invariably falling apart. He had just finished trimming a new board to fit when he heard the sound of horses, and saw the bandits, masked and armed. They rode through the farm, heading for the comfortable log cabin that he and his younger brothers and sisters (all ten of them) shared with their parents. Full of fear, but even more, anger, Kaeso whistled for his horse, leapt on its back, and grabbed the board.
"Come on out, old man, and give us your money, and we'll leave peacefully," said the leader.
One of his men smashed open the cistern that collected rainwater off the roof. 'Well, almost peacefully," laughed the leader.
Kaeso saw the men surrounding the house. He counted: one, two. . . five men. They hadn't noticed his approach yet, and weren't watching their rear. They must be new at this. _As new as me_, he thought. Now or never!
He drove his horse at a gallop at the nearest man, and swung the board. Crack! He reeled in the saddle. Then Kaeso, steering the horse with his knees, aimed at the leader, clutching the board with all his might. He might have one blow, if he were lucky.
"Who are you---" the leader never got a chance to finish. Kaeso hit him in the chin with an uppercut, the full weight of the horse's charge behind him. The leader fell back, hanging by his stirrups, neck making an unnatural angle. Their leader dead, the rest of the raiders fled. They hadn't expected the farmers to fight _back_.
* * *
Life went back to normal on the farm. His father had embraced him, calling him "my brave strong boy", but expected him to milk the cows again in the morning. Kaeso's heart wasn't in it. He had no more faith in himself as a farmer. In fact, he wanted to test out the talents he had discovered in himself. _Could I be a swordsman?_ Perhaps he could make life better for all the farmers if he learned to fight. Besides, the moment when he had killed the bandit had been the most thrilling of his life.
One morning, before dawn, he packed up his belongings on his favorite horse, and left town, without even saying goodbye to his girl Bariya. She deserved someone whose heart was in farming, and his no longer was. His faith was now in power.
Traits: Pioneer. Likes horses.
Note: I'm a pathfinder newbie, running games for my daughters. I'd like to play a game too, both for fun and to make it better for my kids. I used to play D&D 30 years ago.
Sorry DM I did a test as 20 point spend, but can change with your rolls and the alter crunch, etc.
Appearance.
Here:
Sex - Male
Race - Gnome
Classes - cleric (Brigh)
Alignment - TN.
Age - 105
Hight 3'0"
Wight - 40lb
Hair - Dark Red
Skin - Light red
Eys - Red
In Form - A small Gnome with dark red hair, red skin and ruby red eyes.
He has a fine set of red clothing. He seems to have lots of thing tucked away in his pockets and his riding dogs saddle bags. If you spent some time with Ruby he would not doubt make some thing small for you as a gift.
In Action - Short happy Gnome, always tinkering with things and chatting, he some times seems locked in some project, working day and night to get it done, and then dropping it to start another. Hes always happy to help and always looking into things. Ruby like all forms of magical things, playing and collecting them, the more strange the better. He is always to be found with his riding dog Boris who he spends a grate deal of care to look after
y
Over the crest of a small hill Ruby came to a stop, from under side pocket he removed a small scroll and his sand clock. "We best find a place to say, Boris rubys riding god looked up at its master with large soulful eyes That town over there looks the place and we may get some work, our funds are low and I know you would like some thing more than cold Rabbit tonight just then as local farmboy came running up. he looked at ruby and smiled. The human boy could not be more the 5 summers old, a harsh life here in the taken lands. Ruby smiled back as the boy gained to courage to pat Boris. It was then that Ruby could see the boy had a bad infection on his foot. Ruby reached into his bags Do you like toys? he ask the now nodding child.
Ruby put the small whistle he had taken out to his lips blow, the sounds of birds came out. Here take it the buy did not move but hes wounder got the better of him and he reached for it, as his hand closed around it, Ruby place his over the boys hold him for a moment, The healing surge passed from Ruby to the child and as it did the wound closed. Off you go, best run home before my dog thinks your dinner The boy ran off making tweeting sounds all the way. Ruby Smiled well we still need some thing to eat old chap The dog and Gnome moved on.
As you see the man standing in front of you, you can almost feel the aura he emanates. Norn Sentor looks like he has seen his share of trouble in the Stolen Lands, but still manages to approach strangers with a quaint and quiet voice. Around his neck and over his armor, he wears a small scarf, emblazoned with the Bow and Arrow of Erastil. Strapped around his back you can see his Longbow, and a quiver of arrows with small blood stains on the underside. This man is defnitely a hunter, but there is more to this man.
Throughout his short life as a Paladin, Norn has tried to do as his faith in Erastil demands. He has helped the men and women in the villages of Silverhall and Grayhaven, and has been traveling around the countryside since his departure from Highdelve. He was born of a Taldan woman, Marie, but taken to Brevoy at a young age. He was brought up by some of the Clerics of Erastil almost as much as by his mother. Norn helped them collect food and water in return for their time spent teaching him about tempering the body and the soul.
Norn is usually composed and simple-minded. But recently he has had a newly awakened sense of adventure. After his mother's recent passing, he has decided to embark on a new journey, knowing that both Brevoy and the many other lands of Golarion hold many opportunities for growth. Growth of mind, growth of character, growth of mettle and growth of power. In the end, Norn knows he needs all these atributes to become a better man, and provide the Stolen Lands with the protection it deserves. Nothing would please Norn more than ensure that his home remains free of the monstrosities that delved there before.
***
I know the concept is somewhat simple, but I really feel that is the type of character that I want to play up, see him grow throughout the whole campaign. I'd love to participate on the campaign, this AP has been the most appealing to me for a long time. I am actually torn whether to play him ranged (as it would fit his concept and the region very well) or sword and board in a tank type. If the concept looks good I can decide in the crunch.
I've got an idea for a dwarven monk I'd like to try, and this seems like an appropriate adventure for him. I'll get the details worked out today during lunch and give you an update then.
Anton Tarkys is still a dabbler in arcane magic. He leaved his father's castle to put some leagues between him and his half-brother and make a name of his own.
Hello I'm new to pbp. I'd like to play a human sorcerer (or wizard, not sure yet). See the full history in the profile.
Where do you fall on the subject of alignments? I'm currently reading my way voraciously through the Harry Dresden books and I find myself drawn to playing a character like Johnny Marcone. An evil character but one who imposes order on an otherwise chaotic world. I think that it could fit the setting well as he seeks to control the criminal underworld from consuming the fledgling kingdom and occasionally doing good by ridding the kingdom of serious threats to his business. Just wondering if that's a concept you'd be willing to entertain?
Don't know if the GM wants to allow evil aligned characters but I'd think Johnny Marcone was built with Lawful Evil in mind (Mr. Butcher being an avid DnD fan apparently).
Okay, here's what I have so far. Firebeard's not going to be your standard, flip/run/spring/parry/hoit monk. He'll throw the metal bits (shuriken) at anything that moves and close for some grappling/punching action. Given decent stats he should be effective at both damage and battlefield control. As for archetypes, I don't know if I'll go with any. but, if I do it will either be Martial Artist or Monk of the Sacred Mountain (with DM approval)
Background:
"What's t' tell about me childhood tha' ye really wanna hear? D' ye really wanna hear about me ma an' da gettin' butchered by demons on th' road t' Brunderton? Or mebbe tha' time when I got beat bad by them other kids fer talkin' funny? Mebbe it be amusin' t' ye t' hear th' story of th' weasel an' the barrel? Keep yer wonderin' t' yerself, longshanks. There be only one story in me life tha' truly matters, and tha' be centered around Kols."
"Have ye heard of Kols, longshanks? He's th' Faithful one, Oath-Keeper an' Law-Binder. He's not one fer fightin' battles like his father, Torag, but fer keepin' oaths an' responsibilities. Aye, I know him well-enough, though not in me younger days. Back then I was a merc, sellin' me hammer for gold an' not carin' a whit about the consequences. Me name was Karkarathilandenodontius, but I'd answer to 'dwarf' as well as any other name. Gave up me name and gave up me honor, I had. Aye, an full up to me nose in meself I was; not carin' fer dwarf or family. Didnae have none, ye see; and didnae care to go look up da's family in Greathame. An' I especially didnae care to go back to th' family debt. Da was a merchant, ye see, and when th' demons got him an' ma, it saddled me with all kinds o' debt. Wanted no part o' it, so I ran."
"One day, I was fightin' with th' Red Dragoons, out of Falshire, when me squad got tasked with working with a group o' greensins. Me, a dwarf, workin' alongside greenskins fer pay! Oh, it shames me now, but then it was just who I was. Anyways, on the second night, one o' them gobbos decided to slit a dwarven throat, an' I was too drunk to stop him. As I lay there, drownin' in me own blood, I heared a voice in me head. It were ol' Kols, remindin' me o' me responsibilities and the consequences o' me actions. I vowed t' right th' wrongs and serve him fer eternity in atonement. He tol' me eternity'd have t' wait. He wanted me t' be his mortal champion, servin' as no other dwarf would, his Hands an' Feet in the mortal world."
"When I awoke, the greenskins had moved on, apparently thinkin' I was dead. This scar was thick aroun' me healed throat, and all of me weapons and gear were gone. Across th' clearing, a withered old human woman was sittin' cross-legged, holding herself in th' air by a single finger. What power was holdin' her in the air, I wondered, as she simply watched me. Then, in a husky voice - surprisin' fer such a small woman - she said 'Well met, Firebeard! I am Dirisha. It appears that our Lords got together and planned a cosmic prank. For I am to be your teacher, and you are to learn the way of the Foot and Hand."
"She took me t' her temple, where there were people of all races doin' unnatcheral things. Some were standin' on the points o' spears, while others were climbin' bare walls withou' ropes or pitons. There were even a pair throwin' bits o' metal inta a target dummy. Not a decent warhammer, with heft and power behind it, but thin bits o' metal...and they were throwing about a hunnert at a time! Never seen anythin' like it before, and weren't too sure I wanted any part o' it. But, I had given me life t' Kols, and he had set me on this path."
"Four years I studied there under Dirisha. Four long years. And durin' that time I learned the ways o' the monk. Discipline over mind an' body were th' hardest. An' fightin' empty hand like. 'Ain't natcheral fer a dwarf' I said, but I kept at it. An' Kols revelead the path t' me. T' be Torag's champion meant battle axes an' hammers, roarin' battle and drunken peace. But Kols's champion would be one o' balance. Actions begat consequences. Agreements should be adhered t'. An' th' easist way t' make yerself heard an' noticed is often t' stand out. So, I learned t' throw them bits o' metal, an' break stone with me hands, an' a hunnert other things that no dwarf would want t' know."
"An' now I'm here, though himself's not told me why, though he hinted tha' a new nation needed an example o' responsibility. All I knows fer sure is this: Kols saved me fer service, an' to follow through on promises I made...an' that's what I intend t' do."
Description:
In his early 60s, Firebeard is not built like most other dwarfs. Taller than most, and with a lean build, he doesn't resemble the stocky fireplug of a dwarf that most people think of. His hair is bright red, and his long beard is braided in an intricate fashion. His face is smooth, but beneath the beard the wicked-looking scar from a goblin's knife can be seen on his throat. It is difficult to imagine how he could have survived the slash.
Personality:
Gruff and brash in his youth, Firebeard has a more contemplative nature since Kols revived him and took him as Champion. There is a serenity about him that is unusual for a dwarf, a sense of balance and responsibility foreign to most of his race, though below the surface his dwarvish tendencies lurk, waiting to burst forth. Firebeard, as he is known to all, makes friends easily with all - including greenskins - and strives to show Kols' ideals in all aspects of his life. Unlike many lawful clergy and monks, he doesn't attempt to proselytize, simply show the "rightness" of Kols' ideals through his life and solicitied advice.
Traits:
Rostlander: Firebeard was trained in th esouth of Brevoy, honing his monk skills in the forests and plains there. That, in combination with the hardy nature of a mountain clan dwarf, grants him a +1 trait bonus on all Fortitude saves.
Grounded: Firebeard's training and mental communion with Kols has made teh dwarf well-grounded in both body and mind. He gains +2 trait bonus on acrobatics checks and a +1 bonus to Reflex saves
I will allow any alignment except CE. HOWEVER, keep in mind your whole party will not be evil. Be prepared to reap the whirlwind should your character step over the bounds set by your party. And you will be a party before you leave Brevoy, so...
Son of a poor branch of House Medvyed, Jonas grew up training for the knighthood. He squired with an older knight , Malorian Lebeda, who was commander of a borderland fort on the border with the Stolen Lands. Jonas served his lord well for many years on the border, where his family's words "Endurance Over All" served him very well. He earned his spurs fighting bandits in the wild, saving his lord's life while in battle. Jonas' love for his country and his faith in the eventual reclamation of the Stolen Lands led him to join the Order of the Lion. Hearing that Swordlords were looking for capable men and women to help settle these lands, Malorian suggested to his former squire that he travel to volunteer for the task. With his stead Maelstrom as his only companion, Jonas traveled across the kingdom to join in this quest.
This is a character I had made for another game that didn't make it. There is crunch in the profile, but I can redo it for new stats.
When you meet Drispeera she is on the run from kidnappers. Her silk gown and slippers are torn (in a way that makes it hard to ignore her soft ivory skin and shapely figure), and she has gone for days without food or water. Her blonde curls are strewn with leaves and twigs. Her violet eyes are enormous with desperation. It is clear she is not used to physical hardship.
If someone asks, she will explain between sobs how her caravan was waylaid by(ogres? orcs? bandits?). She is a lesser daughter of a noble elven family of Kyonin. She was being taken to wed an elderly noble of Restov as part of a business arrangement. Her entire bridal trousseau, indeed all of her worldly possessions were taken, and all of her escourts slain. The attackers intended to kill her too, but decided to have a little fun with her first. As they were arguing over which of them would be the first to have her, she managed to escape with only the clothes she was wearing.
If asked if she wants to be taken to Lord "X," her betrothed-- her eyes will widen with even greater fear. She has no desire to be wed to the "old geezer." Maybe this whole tragic turn of events is a blessing in disguise, she thinks. Perhaps now, her family will think she is dead, and she can finally be free to do as she pleases.
Perhaps someone is blunt enough to point out to her that doing as she pleases (primarily shopping) requires money. And if she doesn't have the support of a wealthy husband or family, she will have to work. The word "work" evokes an expression from Drispeera like you'd asked her to eat kobold poo.
If someone asks if she has any working skills, she replies indignantly, "Of course not! Princesses of House D'Lith do not work! It would interfere with the time I needed to practice the High Art of Sorcery!"
From there she decides that as base as it may be to practice her Arts for the benefit of lowly mercenaries and vagabonds, your pungent presence is still preferable to the sack of bones she was supposed to marry. She will endure you and help your cause in return for independence and some money.
As irritating and self-involved as Drispeera may be, she is not without redeeming qualities. Her power as a Sorceress is blossoming. She has faith in herself to a degree that is either courageous or foolhardy. And she is loyal to her friends. Most of all she has faith in Beauty and Merriment. She believes everything in life should be beautiful or fun, and at least a little bit sexy. If not, she will demand that it changes immediately.
Boomer 'ere! If'n ye' 'r gonna be headin' out inta th' Stolen Lands, yer gonna want me along wit' ye. Ah c'n make all kinds o' stuff, an' blow it up jus' as quick. Ah got a knack fer figurin' things out. Yer gonna need me.
Boomer is a human alchemist raised on a dwarven cannonship. He's resourceful, intelligent, and as salty as they come.
He's in the stolen lands as a way to test prototype weapons and carve out a merchant empire, and he plans on having a damn good time doing it.
Full background written out in the character sheet. Numbers will be competed this evening.
May I present Rufus Ynais'son Fitzroi, Knight Errant & servant of the common man.
Born the product of an illicit union between a young Aldori Swordswoman & an unnamed Rogarvia Scion, Rufus knew he would find no comfort in either world. Instead he traveled south, first to Mivon & then further to the River Kingdom of Liberthane where his mother's good word bought him the opportunity to squire for Achille Parsal.
Though never quite equal to Parsal's ethical standard, Rufus learned the rudiments of knightly behavior & conduct. Particularly hueing to the concept of 'might for right' rather than it's so often seen obverse. His spurs won, Rufus returned to the hills & fields of Rostland once word of his mother's death in a duel reached him. Arriving in Restov, Rufus was quickly cautioned by family friends NOT to attempt restitution, but rather to pursue the end she had set in motion for him.
Accepting the Charter given him by the Aldori Swordlords & Restov's Lord Mayor, Rufus once more finds himself leaving the land of his childhood & turning South...
Traits:
Spoiler:
Bastard'Mother always said Father was the love of her life, but his family would never agree to a marriage to some 'upjumped Aldori Swordwench." The trials of bastardy have strengthened my mental resolve (+1 trait bonus to Will saves), but 'true' nobles tend to look down their noses at me (-1 penalty on all Charisma based skill checks when dealing with members of Brevic nobility).
Issian Noble(Inner Sea Primer: Pathfinder Player Companion) 'What little time mother would allow me north at court made it painfully clear you have to keep you wits about you.' (+1 trait bonus on Knowledge(nobility) and Sense Motive checks.)
The Standard Bearer Archetype & Blue Rose Order are both out of Ultimate Combat. Basically the Standard Bearer switches Mount & Banner & the Blue Rose Order promotes peace. You didn't list Ultimate Combat as a sourcebook you had available but I hope these will still fly.
James Lebeda is a Brevic noble who spent much of his childhood with extended family in Cheliax due to his father being killed during a duel of honor. His mother took James home to her family in Egorian where James was raised in Chelish tradition.
Early in his teens, James came to realise he had an affinity for making the best out of a situation while still remaining within the confines of the law. He was capable of twisting laws and by-laws to his advantage and was soon recognised by the clergy of the Church of Asmodeus. Inducted into their number, James found that the path of inquisitor best suited him and he was soon hunting out enemies of the faith within Chelish authority.
Less than a month has passed since word of the Restov-backed charters reached Cheliax, and James finds himself on a Hellknight-accompanied wagon for the Brevic states. His mission is clear; clear or subvert the Greenbelt of banditry, establish a power centre and then manoeuvre the fledgling kingdom to become a vassal state of Cheliax. In return, he would be afforded great power and status.
However, James has other ideas. By subverting the banditry and imposing order on them, he could control their criminal actions and establish a new kingdom without the weaknesses in Cheliax. From the chaos, he could form a new kingdom of ink and iron.
The Aldori Swordlords are the foremost masters of the blade in all of Avistan, or so believes Jaime Thelgarvia.
Ever since he was a child, Jaime has dreamed of wielding the blade and testing his mettle against the greatest warriors of the land, proving himself to be their better despite his lack of noble blood. For years he's been petitioning the prestigious Brevic schools to allow him into their vaunted ranks, but his lack of coin or family connections lead to rejection after rejection. One member, Felicia Aldori, became entranced with the young man's passion for Brevoy, the Swordlords and desire to learn the art and within a whirlwind of fiery romance and swordplay over the course of a year, introduced him to the tradition he has so much faith in.
Jaime was living his dream until one of Felicia's students learned of their "arrangement" and she was disgraced for passing on what she was learning to someone not worthy. To save her honour, their relationship ended but she did leave him with a physical reminder of their time together: an Aldori dueling sword. The weapon wasn't in the best of conditions, and was mostly used for training purposes, but Jaime has carried the blade ever since, the tell-tale shape of the scabbard wrapped in furs to avoid unpleasant questions.
When he heard of the expedition into the River Kingdoms, he jumped at the chance. Here he could make a name for himself, here he could gain prestige and glory, power and riches, here he could find a way to be accepted among the Swordlords... and surpass them. Not only would he join the expedition, he vowed, but when he returned victorious, his mastery of the blade would rival even Sirian Aldori himself.
Jaime is brash, passionate and more than a little cocky. While he's no Swordlord, he's a natural with the blade and knows it. He likes to show off his skills and longs to test his training against a living foe in a life or death struggle with him as the (obvious) victor. While this attitude may grate on some, there is no denying his courage, mettle and loyalty to those that accept him. He is a fierce fighter and somewhat of a ladies man, endeavoring to protect, or compete with the "fairer sex" depending on who his attention is on at the time.
Class:Fighter (Aldori Swordlord Archetype) (I figured that if he is an Aldori Swordlord-in-training, and has the Sword Scion trait to back it up, it'd make sense for him to actually follow the fighting style archetype written up by Paizo, if that's cool with you.)
Campaign Trait:Sword Scion
I've added Drispeera's traits. I'm holding off on skills and spells, because they are attribute- dependent. And if the GM in his wisdom sees fit to roll us higher stats then the dicebot, who are we to argue?
;)
Below is the fluff for my concept. Borden, a human, archery-focused ranger from the south reaches of Brevoy, not far from the boundary with the Stolen Lands. His faith is in Erastil and in the accuracy of his own skill with the bow. He believes in the power of community and the great strength that lies within tradition.
He will most likely multiclass to Rogue or Inquisitor, depending on what occurs during the course of the game.
Description:
Spoiler:
Lean and dexterous, Borden is decked out in supple, studded deer hides and soft soled boots. At his back rests a quiver of red-fletched arrows and a composite longbow is gripped in his left hand. Wrapping his forearm is a worn leather bracer, evidence of his time at practice with the bow. Around his shoulders rests a durable, deep hooded cloak, made to keep the cold winds that push through the southern reaches of Brevoy at bay. A slim, dagger is sheathed at his hip and a hand axe hangs from his opposite hip. A simple leather armband inscribed with a few of Erastil's teachings graces his right arm. His keen, hazel eyes have a seriousness to them, as if constantly on the lookout for something. His brown hair, kept loose, hangs to his upper back and is slightly curly with lighter highlights, a result of spending so much time under the Brevian sun. His overall appearance is of someone who has spent a lot of time on the road. His face is tanned with a beard and moustache two weeks old covering the lower half of his face.
Personality
Spoiler:
A firm believer in tradition, Borden feels that all have their part to play. Moreover, as a boy, he lived in a small community that venerated Erastil, so his views on the world focused around not only bettering oneself, but doing what one can to better the community. Not one for deceptions, he never concerned himself with Brevian politics. Even when he was living in Restov, Borden felt out of place and learned how to determine the motives of the people who hired him on as a
guide. Fair and just to those who treat him as such, Borden stives to always do what is right.
Background
Spoiler:
Born in Rendin, a small village a few day's ride from the bustling city of Restov, Borden learned to hunt form an early age from his father. An avid follower of Erastil's teachings, Borden's father instilled in his son a fierce adherence to tradition and respect for people's roles in society. Borden's father often told the young boy that it was the small communities that made the Rostlands great. It is that belief in his small village that would see him become a good hunter and a great guide. At the age of sixteen, Borden traveled to Restov and, amazed by the crowded nature of the city, began to familiarize himself with the land around it. Then, using what he had learned from maps he had seen as well as crude ones he had created on his own, Borden
began to act as a guide, leading people through the wilderness to villages and even cities as far as New Stetven. Still, remembering his responsibility to his home, Borden made sure to visit his family often, giving over a majority of what he earned and keeping only enough to sustain himself. However, that wasn't to say that the young ranger was without. Many times, the groups he guided would be set upon by fierce animals or traveling bandits, and each time Borden used his skills to defend his charges from harm. At times, he would be rewarded for
his efforts with things useful for his job. A firm believer in family, he always strove to do what he could to protect his village that sat so close to the wilds of he Stolen Lands. So when the opportunity came to sign on for an expedition into the Greenbelt, Borden lept at the chance to join, much to the chagrin of his parents. In the young ranger's mind however, exploring and Greenbelt would not only increase the security of his village home, but would also honor his own community and Old Deadeye in the process.
Profile contains the fluff, but the crunch is from a previous character and will be updated should he be accepted.
I offer up Xerrell my Half-elf inquistor(infiltrator) of Calistra, ignore the stats filled in but it will give you an idea how he will be made.
Background/personality:
Xerell was born within a brothel known as silver slipper; it is one of the finest in all of Brevoy. His mother was an elven prostitute that was really a priestess of Calistra, and the silver slipper was her temple. The brothel was a front for an information ring, which made quite a profit and helped manipulate many laws through out the land. For his father, the only thing he knows of him that he was a human. Xerell’s mother was upset that he wasn’t a female to follow her footsteps, but she ended finding another use for him. At an early age she taught him the subtle arts of manipulation and deception. She had him stationed as an errand boy for a few of the nobles. Xerell took well to the blessings of Calistra, had bestowed on him such as the manipulation of how others view his alignment. As he grew up Xerell thought of what to do next he didn’t want to be a noble’s lackey for the rest of his days. He wanted to start something of his own, to prove to his mother and the Goddess Calistra his worth. Then he heard of the expeditions being sent out to create new colonies and he had a thought if he could be in the starting of a new colony he could put his own information network in the foundation of it. His mother loved the idea and pulled some strings to make sure he would be accepted as a friend from a noble house. Xerell appears to most as a young noble man, he stands about 6 ft tall with a moderate built. He has shoulder length silver hair and a clean shaven face. He wears an earth tone colored noble’s outfit under a well clean set of brown studded leather armor. His holy symbol is hidden underneath his clothes; he likes to have it on his person. Of course he is always up to the task of talking his way out of having it. He gives off a friendly persona, but always gauges his comments on how he believes the other will perceive it. Only people he trusts will get his real personality. He will set his perceived alignment to Chaotic Good or Lawful Good. He doesn’t talk about his religion; he just lets others come up with what they think he is and goes with it.
Maximillian is a Gnostic, a follower of the Mysteries, one of the lesser-known religions of the world. As Gnostics are generally monotheists and believe in a single universal animating force, the Mysteries, they have been persecuted by powerful religious authorities on Golarion for centuries. As such they rarely practice their faith in the open and try to remain hidden.
Originating from the remote village of Amdahl, Maximillian is the third son of a local noble. As the first son inherits the power and the estate, the second son joins the military, the third sons are traditionally sent to be educated as priests. Maximillian was sent to the monastery of Wahlendorf at a young age to learn the classics and return as a full priest of the Mysteries later.
Priestly life did not, in fact, agree with Maximillian. His talent for sorcery bubbled to the surface, and his teachers at Wahlendorf tried to mold it into the proper wizardly practices. This, of course, failed. In the end, after several years of pranks, mischief and uncontrollable magical outbursts, the monks had enough and sent Maximillian out into the world.
Malicious gossip in Amdahl had held for generations that Dreidens were descended from demons or such; many ancestral Dreidens had held a touch of the otherwordly power about them and Maximillian is no exception. What the rubes of Amdahl and Maximillian himself do not know is that not one, but two powerful beings bred themselves into the Dreiden family line: a deva and a gold dragon, centuries ago. It is rare that both those heritages would combine in one person, and Maximillian drew the (un)lucky straw.
Maxmillian's trek through the world crossed many lands and many people; and he usually fled his current residence one step ahead of magistrates, city guards, creditors, religious fanatics and jelaous husbands. His unusual luck finally ran out in the city of Kuth, where he was arrested after a mass brawl erupted in an inn where Maximillian was winning a card game for high stakes (with a little help of magic, of course). The authorities in Kuth proved particularly resistant to that old Dreiden charm, landing Maximillian in prison for life.
As fate would have it, this was not the end of Maximillian's journey. His prison transport caravan was ambushed by bandits while moving Maximillian into a new, secure prison for supernaturals and magic users. Maximillian escaped with his life in the confusion and sought his way to the River Kingdoms to start a new life on the frontier.
Maximillian is young and unruly; he wishes to explore the origins and the extent of his strange magic, and he would prefer to have fun while doing it. He has built up a chip on his shoulder against authorities in general and particularly religious ones, largely over his imprisonment and mistreatment while in prison. The opportunity to escape the iron grip of senseless, overbearing laws and priests was like a siren call to him. That, and the fact that as a wanted criminal, there were few other options available...
For sake of clarity, Maximillian's backstory and prison interrogation record are attached here:
Sooo... At first I wanted to submit a different concept, but after realizing it would have been uncannily similar to another poster's submission, I decided to create a new one. And now, finally, I got my concept together and fleshed out enough to be content with it.
I submit Mornaura, half-elven witch of the woodlands.
Background:
Having spent most of her life in southern Brevoy, on the outskirts of small villages and the wilderness between them, Mornaura had never really given much thought to politics on a scale larger than "do people in that village like us or should we avoid it?", and even that question was left to answer for her mother, a witch by the name of Anann, who travelled southern Brevoy to make a living by selling her goods and services – mainly potions, herbal products or medical aid – to the villagers. She had always thought it was the same for her, until some weeks ago, when she was told that the coven had finally decided to test her.
Mornaura didn't know much about that coven, only that her mother left her alone in the hut in the forest from time to time, supposedly to trade with other witches and partake in rituals, but what exactly they did at these occasions had always been left in the dark.
Given, Mornaura had never really been alone, despite being an only child and never having met her father, in fact not knowing anything about him. Sure enough, her mother had always interdicted leaving the hut or using any magical power, leaving her with not much to do legally besides studying tomes and trying to commune with her patron, and even then she'd still have her familiar as company. But of course that didn't keep her from doing anything, strolling through the woodlands, playing with animals and magic items, trying out the first spells she had managed to cast, for at least two days, as her mother always stayed away for three days. Nevertheless, she would rather have been allowed to accompany her mother and find out what this whole coven thing was about for herself.
And now this coven had decided to test her, to send her on a mission, to join one of the groups that were to be sent out to conquer the Stolen Lands, without ever having spoken to her first, and she didn't know what to think about it. What her mother thought about it was clear, as she told her that it was the will of the coven that she had to follow if she wanted to be acknowledged as a witch by them (as if she'd need that), that peace of the entire area was at bay and things could end up like they were in Galt (as if she'd care), and that a new kingdom could be established, probably even one with a more favourable approach to witches and other spellcasters (which finally started to fire her imagination).
Irrespective of the coven and her mother, the idea of a new kingdom, in which she could probably take on an important role, never having to physically work again, and equally important, never being looked down upon again, intrigued her, so she agreed. Her mother was a bit surprised by that sudden gain self-confidence, but of course didn't object, and so, some days later, Mornaura found herself on her way to one of the meeting points for adventurers interested in following Rostland's call, wondering about herself.
Personality:
Having experienced how much effort it took her mother to make a living by selling goods and services to the villagefolks that always looked down upon them, their lack of appreciation for helping them get their hands on arcane wonders, and the deviousness of those very people, who could switch back and forth between begging her for free help and blaming her kind for whatever went wrong in their life in a day's length, made her somewhat wary. She has acquired a "survival of the fittest"-mentality, with "fit" meaning "best prepared for and able to attune to any given situation", caring only for people who are important to her some way or another. Her mother also made Mornaura learn how to survive on her own instead of waisting faith in the good will of others, but as she always felt that life in the woods entailed enough hardships to not bother with more physical work than neccessary, it led to her becoming rather creative in terms of solving problems by means of magic. Somewhat lately, she found out that now that she's in full bloom, it can sometimes be easier to cajole other people into doing things for her instead of tackling them all by herself, but to do so she has to understand the complicated social customs which she had always thought to be a waste of time, but she still lacks confidence to routinely make use of her new-found knowledge. Her mind works a lot quicker when the topic isn't a social one, and even though she isn't entirely used to articulating her thoughts for others, she tries hard not to sound snarky. If she manages to do so, her rather dark voice can be surprisingly pleasant.
She is smart enough to know that working with this new-found group to establish a realm in the borderlands is a great opportunity not only for the reasons her mother told her, but also for herself, so she might even go out of her way in a situation where it suits the goal of the entire group.
Description:
As her shoulder-length black hair, which has a slightly reddish sheen in the right lighting, is always worn in a messy bun style, it accentuates her finely chiseled facial features and the pointed ears that give away the half-elven heritage of the young woman. Mornaura could probably be reasonably attractive, if it weren't for the aura of aloofness and refusal, perhaps even arrogance around her. Mainly caused by her lack of experience with and deeper understanding for social interaction, she is mostly frowning or smirking to hide her uncertainty in this terrain, and the curious glances of her large, seemingly glowing amber eyes can easily be deemed as distrustful glares.
Her lean, svelte body is usually clad in tight, grey-brown breeches made of wool and buckskin, matching tunic and knee-long kilt. The latter are reinforced with sturdy, hard leather pieces in some places, but only to follow and emphasize the flowing curves of her shape, and not nearly enough to provide noteworthy protection. To brace herself against the cold wind, she also wears a crude looking, but practical and most importantly fluffy rabbit fur-lined tube-scarf – at second glance, it might in fact be a hood, but she rarely seems to use it as such –, matching bracers and a rugged, dark-green cloak – that is often similarly misused by folding it in half and wearing it as a wide wrap-around skirt instead. Her outfit is completed by sturdy boots, a gnarled branch of a willow that she uses as quarterstaff and walking-stick, a small backpack, various belt pouches and a leather-sheath apparently holding a sickle and some knives or daggers.
Traits & Misc:
Trait 1: either Pioneer or Rostlander
Trait 2: either Poverty-Stricken or Devotee of the Green
Familiar: probably Owl, Hawk or Raven
Patron: probably Deception, Shadow or Spirits
Chatacter’s name: Elros the Second, Son of Godfrey
In short, Elros is going to be a Wizard specialise in the arcane school of Conjuration, Infernal Binder,. He’s going to be mainly supporting, aiming to do some battlefield control, some enemies debuffing and ally buffing, and extremely minor blasting. He’s faithful to his companion/party and believes that he should be valued as important as much as he values his party. He hopes that people acknowledge that he’s a useful member of the party, despite not doing any damage during combat. He dislikes people that brag about how powerful they are and during combat, he would avoid buffing the “powerful” person just to get back at the person.
I would give more detail, such as the trait etc. when I know I have a place in your campaign.
Elros' back story:
Elros the Second, son of Godfrey, born and raised in the city of Egorian, his father Aldrich Godfrey is a professor of Conjuration in the University of Egorian. Elros’ talent in the Conjuration art is just as good and if not have a potential to overcome his father. Some call it genetics, but his father knew better.
Elros’ mother was pregnant with Elros when she first met Aldrich. Her husband then was beaten to death by a gang of Tiefling loan shark and she would probably be next if it wasn’t for Elros’ father coming to the rescue, apparently they failed to pay off the loan, and she would be no good to them considered she’s pregnant, so the best option they could think of was to kill them. Luckily Elros’ mother was saved by Aldrich, or a child prodigy would not be born.
Elros never gets to know his mother, as she died shortly after giving birth to him. Before she died however, she named her son Elros II after his biological father Elros. Despite not being related by blood, Aldrich raised Elros as his own son. Elros was taught the art of Conjuration, since he’s a child, however a child of Elf, a Young adult to Human. So when I say he graduated in the Egorian Academy of the Magical Arts at a young age, Elros is only 69 years of age.
Being a Human his father died 10 years later at the age of 106, most would say he lived a happy life and a painless death, but some say he’s fairly short lived for a wizard. Regardless, to Elros he’s the best a child could ask from a father. However with his father’s death, Aldrich’s grandson finally manages to kick Elros out of the House, and with the exact word: “Get out of our property, you stupid Elf! Our grandpa is dead and don’t think for a second that you would inherit any will, you’re just an adopted bastard.”
Just like that Elros was kicked out and assume a life of adventure.
I would also like to offer my services.
Sir Lucian du Lac, Acolyte of the swordlords and Paladin of Erastil.
Sir Lucian is the son of one of Brevoys lost Nobility, raised by a friend and battlebrother of his father. Now on a quest to regain his lost familyname and asked the swordlords to champion his application to the group of adventurers on the track south.
There are some really interesting concepts in this thread, with vastly differing motivations and goals in some cases, which will surely provide great roleplaying hooks.
Even if I don't get picked, I'll probably lurk around anyway, just to see how the PCs get to know each other's goals, how they get along and eventually come up with a compromise plan for what to do with the kingdom.
