Okay, I'm always hesitant to call anything I write 'done', but I think Sotharal's story is at the point where it is ready to be reviewed, so that I know what to improve on.
I sort of hinted that her patron knows more of what is going to happen than she does, though I left it open for GM use and interpretation.
I haven't done traits, since I was waiting for the campaign traits to come out. I haven't done equipment, either--I want to focus on the story.
I tried to fit in explanations for how she learned each skill. I'm not sure whether those explanations made the backstory better, or whether they just made it seem forced, though.
OK, for Profession and Craft, I really had to wrack my brains!
My first thought was that he had picked up something since escaping from his uncle, something to do with his journeying, but nothing quite fitted; he only has a few weeks in which to learn something and I am assuming that he joined a caravan heading for the frontier area (maybe there are some ruins nearby that have piqued his interest?). Given his background and station, it hardly seems likely that he would suddenly stoop to being a porter or Driver; not that he would be against the idea but I can't see a prospective caravan master hiring someone dressed as a Noble for such a task.
More likely it is something he picked up as part of his education; his uncle would want him to have a career prospect that a Merchant would be willing to invest in, so I think barrister would be a good choice for profession.
As for craft, that's more likely to be a personal hobby. Perhaps part of his learning the skill of disable device came from a personal fascination with locks.
So, Profession (Barrister) and Craft (Locks).
Is Profession: Tribal Shaman a thing?
He wouldn't, but I kinda wanted him to be a newcomer to Holver's Ferry.
Though if I'd have to be around for a while, since I was thinking Craft: Alchemy already, perhaps Profession: Herbalist?
@Tenro: How did you get to Holver's Ferry, a small town in the middle of nowhere, instead of remaining at the monastery and all?
Thanks! I will make a new piece to address that and add some depth.
Question: is there a campaign trait list we can pick from, or do we go with 2 general traits?
Here is Tenro's submission, with the third and likely final part of his backstory added.
"Not good enough." the Old Man simply said.
The voice startled him. No one was supposed to be here. Least of all himself. He began to form his weapon.
"That won't help you here." the Old Man said. Rajni's weapon, now fully formed, teleported to the Old Man's hand, then promptly disappeared.
"How did you know I'd be here?" Rajni asked of the Old Man.
Ignoring the question, the Old Man replied, "How did you know you'd find what you were looking for?"
Rajni thought for a moment. "I didn't. I knew there was something worth knowing in here, so I came. It wasn't difficult to see that this text was more valuable than the others," he said, indicating the parchment, "What happens now?"
"That depends on you. Here you stand, in a nexus of secret truths. A warrior, but I see you have some understanding of what you have seen," he said, indicating Rajnis hands, around which shifting patterns were materializing.
Rajni looked with a start, wide-eyed. "What is this?"
"You've seen one small piece of the pattern that links everything, and everyone. There is more, much more, to be seen... by one who looks."
Rajni looked at the man. Skin like the sole of a boot, hair white like milk. Piercing eyes ringed by cracks reminiscent of the great salt flats. "I'd look for more."
"Good. When you come again, wear these," said the man, throwing him a bundle of robes.
"Who are you?" Rajni asked of the Old Man.
"Parashurama," came the reply, "I grow tired. Return tomorrow." With that, the man turned away, and simply disappeared.
Rajni looked at the robes, put them on, and walked out the front door and into the night air.
***********
Darkness.
In the practice arena, Rajni crouched in the long shadows punctuated by torchlight, intent on hearing any sign of Nagesh. Nagesh was the next-most skilled member of his class in the Monastery of Hungry Shadows. Nagesh hated Rajni for having bested him at their last duel. Nagesh had always had a superiority complex, bristling at every perceived slight as if he was too good for this place. Rajni, on the other hand, simply focused on his own training, which infuriated Nagesh even more.
"I see you, Raj," Nagesh's voice crooned, from everywhere and nowhere.
"Yet you keep your distance."
A sharp exhale in anger gave Nagesh away a second before the strike. a small blade whizzed past the blur where Rajni's head was a split-second prior. He ran, not quite quietly enough, towards one of the pools of light. The sound attracted Nagesh like a shark to blood in the water.
"You think to hide in the light?" Nagesh taunted.
"Better than hiding in the darkness," replied Rajni.
No sharp exhale this time, but he imagined the blow well-struck. He leapt from the darkness and into the light, as a diver would surface for air. The shark was on his tail, however. His tattoo glowed with warmth, covered by his clothing, and only he sensed it. His vision became sharper, but filled with shades of possibilities a heart's beat in the future.
One such shade grew more distinct, and he raised his blade to parry an incoming dagger, thrown from the pool of darkness at the light's edge.
"You do nothing but provide me with a target. Why don't you fight?"
"A target you have yet to hit, Nagesh," Another dagger whistled through the air, dissipating after biting deep into the wood behind Rajni. "Your anger blinds you."
"I'll not be goaded so easily. You cannot throw your ridiculous blade, and you cannot chase what you cannot find. You will bleed from a thousand cuts," came the voice from the darkness. Not moving, watching from around a corner. The outline became less muddy in the darkness beyond the flame's reach.
Another dagger came and went, then another.
"You cannot dodge forever, Raj. You tire."
Electing not to respond, Rajni focused on the darker shadow. It moved between three particular spots. The pattern had emerged, as Parashurama had taught that it would.
He closed his eyes, blocking out all but the trajectory of Nagesh's movement. He could see when the dagger would fly. Half a second before that moment, Rajni reached out his hand and a beam of black light leapt out at Nagesh. Though he had aimed at the body, it struck Nagesh in the leg and threw him off-balance, causing him to careen into the corner he had planned to hide behind.
"That was no blade, scum. I will have you expelled for this!" Nagesh screamed, sharply inhaling through his teeth as he attempted to rise. One of the instructors emerged from the shadows, pulling a brightly-glowing stone from his pocket to light the wound. The instructor silently placed a hand on Nagesh's head, and his eyelids closed peacefully as the instructor's other hand drew poultice from a small pot tied to his belt and smoothed it over the weepong wound on Nagesh's leg.
In focusing on the scene he had caused, he missed the instructor coming up from his own flank. Not that he would have noticed normally, anyway. The instructors were shadow incarnate.
"You have received outside instruction, I see. Your eyes show the Seer's touch. You think yourself so accomplished here that you may train elsewhere in your clearly over-abundant leisure time? You think yourself a champion for having bested the prattling son of a noble? You think the answers can be seen in others before they must be seen inside yourself?" The questions, though asked in an even tone, were deep-cutting accusations.
"No, Grandmaster. I thought to seek more knowledge. To know more than the art of the blade," Rajni responded with a mixture of deference and desire to stand his own ground.
"You seek more knowledge before you have absorbed what you have been given. Your reach exceeds your grasp. A fine trait, if tempered with wisdom and experience. Very well. You will take the next test early. Report to the cells." The instructor said, turning and disappearing around a corner.
Rajni's heart simultaneously sank and nearly burst from his chest. The test was simple, remain in a dark cell, devoid of outside stimuli, and search within oneself for the period of seven days, one's only bodily sustenance being bread and water. The maddening part, which caused the most students to fail, was the fact that they could walk out at any time. One had to make due, and dive deep into one's own mind, to pass their time with some semblance of peace. To Rajni, this was a chance to prove he was ready for the next tier of instruction.
***********
"Congratulations might be in order, were circumstances different."
Rajni looked at the masked instructor, the gold patch marking him as a senior instructor.
"Circumstances?" Rajni asked. It was difficult to think of anything but food and water after just emerging from seven days in his dark cell.
"Yes. The grandmaster has sent me to escort you from the grounds. Nagesh's family holds a good deal of sway here, even among we who did not cater to such in the past. But times are different. You are not to return while Nagesh remains here."
"What am I to do then?"
"That is for you to determine. You are no longer a student here. Leaving the city is likewise recommended, Nagesh's family wields more power outside of these grounds than it does within them. Come, a parcel has been prepared for you to leave with."
With parcel in hand, Rajni found himself in disguise at the Vault of the Eye, and he revealed to Parashurama what had happened.
"That is troubling, but a new environment will increase your understanding," the Old Man answered the question Rajni hadn't asked yet.
"Are you sending me away as well?" Rajni asked, worried.
"In a manner of speaking. There is knowledge outside of even these halls. Sail north, to the mouth of the Sellen River. There is someone you must see. You will recognize them when you see them."
"Then what?" came Rajni's reply.
"You will go from there. I will send word if the situation changes here. Perish the thought of this place from your mind. When the one who wants you dead is gone, your Grandmaster will inform you through me."
Rajni looked surprised.
"You think the respected masters of two learning institutions do not know each other? When you displayed what you had learned here, he knew where to come with the information. Go now. Knowledge awaits." The Old Man reached for a book on the shelf, then disappeared.
Rajni, puzzled and thoughts now revolving around his future, left the Vault and proceeded to the docks. He kept an eye out behind him, in case any of Nagesh's retainers planned to ambush him, but none materialized. Spending the last little bit of coin he had on boat passage and meat on a stick from a street vendor, Rajni boarded a ship bound northward through the inner sea.
After weeks of working on the vessel to earn his meals, Rajni was pleased to step foot on solid ground once more. There had only been one port call since he departed Jalmeray, and with no coin he was scarcely able to enjoy it. Now he was in a border town, Holver's Ferry.
Surely this is the place, he thought to himself. He looked around for anyone who might have knowledge of the Old Man. Seeing nothing but fishers and porters, he headed to the village proper to look for educated individuals.
Do we get Cultural/Regional languages for free?
Only if you normally would.
...They, uh, probably won't be very helpful to you throughout the campaign. XD A few points in Linguistics might not be a bad plan, either, since you can expect to encounter creatures you've never met before.
I'm planning on it (s'why I took Truespeaker...though I get perma-Tongues after a while), just wondering if I had to drop a point to speak Shoanti.
Had GMs peg me for not taking up one of my limited languages for Polyglot on Mwangi characters and such before.
I'm working on my hobgoblin.
What I have so far is as follows:
His name is Greffa the Hunter. Here is a reference image, Reference Image
He's a hunter (feral hunter)/monk (zen archer).
His skills were such that they incited fierce jealousy in his peers. He was challenged to duels of honor - kalech-mar - before he even reached the age of majority. If the weapons were bows, he could outshoot anyone. If the weapons were otherwise, he would call on the strength of the bear and pummel his opponent to death with his bare hands and feet. Killing off his jealous peers was not something Greffa particularly enjoyed, it was simply a fact of hobgoblin life. He found true joy in hunting, in the thrill of the chase.
By the time he reached the age of majority, Greffa was already a battle scarred warrior, master archer and hunter. He made his own bows, and was a skilled tanner and leatherworker. The rite of passage in hobgoblin society involves a “year of hell” where the young warriors are expected to go raiding for a year straight. For Greffa this meant going into Hongal territory and raiding the nomads of the steppes. There are few things more grueling or dangerous than attempting to conduct a campaign of guerrilla warfare against a warlike nomadic people on their own home territory. Each year, more than half the new hobgoblin warriors failed to return. But the strong ones brought back enough loot, and honor, that the practice continues.
Greffa set out from his tribe’s lands with nine others, five young men and four young women. They were on foot, though well equipped with weapons and armor. It took them days just to trek into Hongal territory. Greffa was the first one to find sign of the herds that the Tian-La people make their living from. The nomads move around, following the herds of elk and sometimes wild cattle. Greffa found sign that a herd had passed through recently, and some herders with it. He lead the others along the trail, and on the third day they caught first sight of their would be prey.
The Hongalese numbered about 15 men, all mounted and armed with bows and blades, though only lightly armored. Greffa advised against any kind of direct attack, but the other brash youths overruled him. They came to a rough consensus that they would sneak into the human camp at night, when they would have advantage in the dark and then kill the men in their sleep and take their valuables. Greffa’s role was to be ranged support. The steppes were wide open and offered little in the way of cover. The hobgoblins were forced to hang back until they saw the smoke of the human’s evening camp fire.
Then they crept forward as a unit, slowly and quietly. They frequently crawled along through the grass like snakes. Finally the sun set, and they were free to move more quickly. The goblinoids closed the remaining distance to the nomads’ camp. To the raiding party’s dismay, they were walking right into an ambush. The fires flared up bright as soon as the raiders entered the camp, and the humans were waiting, mounted and with bows ready. Apparently they had seen the goblinoids tailing them all day, and had pretended not to notice!
As deadly shafts began to zip across the night Greffa cursed his peer’s brashness. He began sending shafts back at the humans as fast as he could, but their tactic had worked. Most of the hobgoblins were equipped for melee, not a ranged fight, and the men were outmaneuvering them easily on their horses. Hobgoblins dropped like flies, and Greffa emptied his quiver trying to save them. He was the last raider standing, and was shot twice and then struck in the head. He fell unconscious.
He awoke days later to find himself chained up in a hut with no idea where he was. His head felt like it was split in two (it basically was) and he was blind in one eye. Two of his other companions were also chained in the hut with him....
-they get sold as slaves
-other hobs die (Greffa’s tough)
-marched over the crown of the world, companions die during trip
-owner is an inquisitor of Abadar, teaches Greffa stuff about law, civilization, etc
-Abadar dude takes Greffa on as part of his crew of slavers
-Greffa finds appreciation for law and civilization, but doesn't like being a slaver. It reminds him of his own time as a slave.
-Leaves the slave company in Numeria, traveling _______ (wherever is appropriate).
-He decided to look for work as a bounty hunter, and made a living off hunting down fugitives for small villages and towns who have no law enforcement. He asks only for minimal payment, just enough to keep him alive.
-Eventually gets a contract that takes him to Holver's Ferry
I have his statblock in Hero Lab as well. I am wondering if I should continue to dump my limited free time into completing him, or if you prefer Arialora. I don't normally submit two characters to a recruitment, and if you can tell me now which one tickles your fancy more I will focus on finishing/polishing that one. Thanks :)
Ok. Won't waste any more time then :)
I literally do not have the answer to that question. XD They're probably going to give us campaign traits, but to the best of my knowledge, they haven't actually said so quite yet. I'll be expecting you guys to use them if they do come out, so it may be easiest to pick one trait for now and just leave the other open.
OK, I've got fate's favoured as one trait anyway, I'll just wait to see if there are any campaign traits.
I'm planning on it (s'why I took Truespeaker...though I get perma-Tongues after a while), just wondering if I had to drop a point to speak Shoanti.Had GMs peg me for not taking up one of my limited languages for Polyglot on Mwangi characters and such before.
Funny, I took true speaker too, and for pretty much the same reason. Wasn't able to squeeze any points into linguistics yet, but I plan on having a scroll of comprehend languages handy to start with.
This is the crunch so far
MARTYN BRANNOR
Male Aasimar (Azata-Blooded) bard (Archaeologist)1//Cavalier (Daring Champion) 1
CG medium outsider (native)
Init +3; Senses Darkvision (60 ft.), Perception +4,
Languages Celestial, Common, Elven, Gnome
AC 18, touch 13, flat-footed 15
hp 11 (1HD)
Fort +1, Ref +5, Will +2
Resistances Acid 5, Cold 5, Electricity 5,
Speed 30 ft. (6 squares)
Melee rapier +6 (1d6+1/18-20)
Melee shield (heavy/steel) -3 (1d4)
Face 5 ft. by 5 ft. Reach 5 ft.
Base Atk +0; CMB +1; CMD 14
Known Bard Spells (CL 1st):
1st (2/day) - cure light wounds (DC 14) , grease (DC 14)
0th (at will) - detect magic , ghost sound (DC 13) , prestidigitation (DC 13) , read magic (DC )
Innate Spell-Like Abilities: daylight ( 1/day)
Abilities Str 13, Dex 18, Con 12, Int 14, Wis 10, Cha 16
Special Qualities Archaeologist's Luck, Armored Casting, Bardic Knowledge, Bardic Performance, Cantrips, Celestial Language, Celestial Resistance, Challenge 1/day, Champion's Finesse, Darkvision, Order of the dragon, Spell-Like Ability, Tactician, Truespeaker,
Feats
Champion's Finesse (Weapon Finesse), Precise Strike, Weapon Focus (Rapier)
Skills Acrobatics +7, Appraise +2, Bluff +7, Climb +0, Craft (Untrained) +2, Diplomacy +7, Disable Device +4, Disguise +3, Heal +0, Intimidate +3, Knowledge (Arcana) +7, Knowledge (History) +7, Perception +4, Perform (Untrained) +3, Sense Motive +2, Spellcraft +6, Survival +0, Swim +0, Use Magic Device +7,
Possessions rapier; shield (heavy/steel); outfit (explorer's); studded leather;
Archaeologist's Luck (Ex) Fortune favors the Archaeologist. As a swift action, an Archaeologist can call on fortune's favor, giving him a +1 luck bonus on attack rolls, saving throws, skill checks, and weapon damage rolls. He can use this ability for a number of rounds per day equal to 4 + his Charisma modifier. Maintaining this bonus is a free action, but it ends immediately if the Archaeologist is killed, paralyzed, stunned, knocked unconscious, or otherwise prevented from taking a free action to maintain it each round. Archaeologist's luck is treated as bardic performance for the purposes of feats, abilities, effects, and the like that affect bardic performance. Like bardic performance, it cannot be maintained at the same time as other performance abilities. This bonus increases to +2 at 5th level, +3 at 11th level, and +4 at 17th level. (7 uses per day with +1 bonus)
Armored Casting (Ex) You can cast bard spells while wearing light armor and use a shield without incurring the normal arcane spell failure chance.
Bardic Knowledge (Ex) You add +1 to all Knowledge checks and may make all Knowledge skill checks untrained.
Bardic Performance Archaeologists do not gain the bardic performance ability or any of its performance types.
Cantrips You have learned a number of cantrips, or 0-level spells. These spells are cast like any other spells, but they do not consume any slots and may be used again.
Celestial Language (Ex) Aasimars speak Celestial.
Celestial Resistance (Ex) Aasimars have acid resistance 5, cold resistance 5, and electricity resistance 5.
Darkvision (Ex) Range 60 ft.; Darkvision is the extraordinary ability to see with no light source at all, out to a range specified for the creature. Darkvision is black and white only (colors cannot be discerned). It does not allow characters to see anything that they could not see otherwise-invisible objects are still invisible, and illusions are still visible as what they seem to be. Likewise, darkvision subjects a creature to gaze attacks normally. The presence of light does not spoil darkvision.
Resistance to Acid (Ex) You may ignore 5 points of Acid damage each time you take acid damage.
Resistance to Cold (Ex) You may ignore 5 points of Cold damage each time you take cold damage.
Resistance to Electricity (Ex) You may ignore 5 points of Electricity damage each time you take electricity damage.
Spell-Like Ability (Sp) Aasimars can use daylight 1/day as a spell-like ability.
Stats +2 Dexterity, +2 Charisma:
Truespeaker (Ex) There are some Aasimars whose language transcends all boundaries. They gain a +2 racial bonus on Linguistics and Sense Motive checks, and learn one additional language each time you take a rank in Linguistics. This racial trait replaces the skilled.
Putting forth a concept:
Android Slayer Named: Hunter #26
I'll be fleshing this out in days to come!
Okay, I'm always hesitant to call anything I write 'done', but I think Sotharal's story is at the point where it is ready to be reviewed, so that I know what to improve on.
I sort of hinted that her patron knows more of what is going to happen than she does, though I left it open for GM use and interpretation.
I haven't done traits, since I was waiting for the campaign traits to come out. I haven't done equipment, either--I want to focus on the story.
I tried to fit in explanations for how she learned each skill. I'm not sure whether those explanations made the backstory better, or whether they just made it seem forced, though.
GM Rednal, do you have comments on my backstory (it's in my profile)?
Profile should be up to standard now.
Here is the finished(???) Cha'Tima backstory:
Tima, despite much of his time being taken up by spiritual education, learning the art of mixing herbs and medicines, and meditation was also a natural warrior. Often, he would sneak out and watch the warriors of the clan train in combat, and wished to join in. It took him a long time to work up the courage to ask to be trained himself, and when he did the men were naturally reluctant, fearful of harming the shaman’s favored. But his natural charm eventually won them over, and he began to learn the art of war piecemeal.
He took to it like a fish to water, though his growth was stunted by his practice time being limited. Nevertheless, his natural talent made up for it, putting him only slightly behind the boys who were training to be warriors full time. He began to pray to the spirits “make me a warrior”.
They obliged, though perhaps not in the manner he would have liked.
In the night, goblins attacked where Tima’s clan had made camp for the night. He was awoken by the sound of a goblin splashing a vial of fire against the tent he and Ashkuwet shared and cackling in mad glee. Tima rushed out, foolishly in hindsight, being neither armed nor armored into a dangerous situation.
Sure enough, he was quickly set upon by a pair of goblins, dogslicers gleaming wickedy in the fire light and their nasty teeth showing through their grins. Tima was convinced this was the end.
“Please, spirits.” he implored “Arm me so I can fight.”
And again, they obliged, pure force sheathing his hands, much to the shock of both himself and the goblins facing him. Recovering quickly, he crushed the skull of one before it could react, and then turned to face the other. A mistake, as it turned out, as the crude knife bit into his face, taking one of his eyes and scarring his face.
He awoke several days later, slightly panicked at the darkness shrouding the world to the right of him.
“You’re a fool boy.” His master sighed as he applied more poultice, out of sight the way Tima’s head was turned “But at least you’re alive.”
He would later find out that the “battle” as he referred to it (little more than a raid from a dozen goblins, if that) had been repelled swiftly and mercilessly by the tribe’s warriors, the most grievous injury being to himself.
For a while after that, the clan warriors refused to train him further, feeling both guilty, and ashamed of him at the same time. If they hadn’t taught him to fight, would he have been so foolish as to rush into combat?
This left him with time for much meditation, and to continue his shamanly training. The encounter with the goblin had had one beneficial side effect. Whether because of an awakening of his spiritual powers, the trauma of his partial blinding, or both, Cha’Tima now had a much closer connection to the spirit world. He could see and manipulate the spirits much more freely than before, his eye blind to the natural world, but free to see the spirit world at all times. His master was pleased with his newfound rapid progress, and permitted him much more time to himself, since he required less time devoted to his studies (the hardest part of communing with the spirits is being able to train yourself to see and hear them, after all, and Tima had mastered that).
He began to “train” his martial abilities by himself, but it was little more than boyish flailing without guidance. Worse, the loss of his eye had thrown off his balance, and given him a weakness to compensate for, setting him back years of training.
After a while, the men took pity on him, feeling he had suffered long enough away from something he clearly had the dedication to pursue, and Mazka, a one-eyed veteran of the group took over his training, teaching him to compensate for his weakness, and soon he was back on track.
More secretively, he honed his ability to conjure “sprit fists”, though still has yet to progress beyond being able to form it at will and determine whether it bears spiked knuckles, a sharp blade, or merely covers his hands.
While he had learned mostly to fight with the tribal weapons of the Shoanti (the spear, Earthbreaker hammer, and Klar shield), he had been given a rudimentary education in hand to hand combat. With his newfound ability, he asked the men to further that knowledge. They taught what they could, and Tima felt very comfortable wielding a weapon that was literally an extension of himself, but there were no experts of this kind in his village.
He pondered long and hard, but eventually decided he must leave, to everyone’s disappointment. The shaman’s life was not for him, he believed. The spirits called him to follow the path of war, though for what purpose he did not know.
He left the village at 16, and never looked back.
Despite his decision not to become a shaman, his connection with the spirits was close, and only became closer as he relied on them to help him overcome the dangers of the outside world.
Having no money, and no knowledge of life outside of the tribe, he found life in the city impossible, and living in a village only slightly more palatable.
As such, he lived off the land, and eventually made his home for a while in some ruins, little remaining but a stone foundation and two half walls that would shelter him from the wind. But over time, he made it his own.
As his connection with the place grew and he began to think of it as his new home, his connection with the lingering spirits grew as well. He learned that this had, centuries ago, been a monastery to the god Irori. In his years there he learned from the spirits many things. A working knowledge of the history and geography of the region (not just the history and territory of the Skoan-Qua tribe, and to a lesser extent the Shoanti as a whole, which is all his former master had been concerned with) and religious knowledge he absorbed from them. And not least among the things he learned was how to hone his skills with an unarmed fighting style. He turned his body into a weapon, guided by his will and protected by the spirits.
Cha’tima felt he could have spent his whole life here, meditating and learning form the spirits, but nature had other plans. One night a terrible storm rose up as he was returning from gathering food. A great bolt of lightning struck the two remaining walls and they exploded into little chunks of rock, along with everything Cha’Tima owned that he wasn’t carrying on him at the time.
Cha’tima considered staying, and meditated to speak with the spirits again, but they didn’t appear. Whether it was because they felt he must move on, or the destruction of the last standing bits of the temple had jogged loose their souls, Tima would never know. But the spirits of the monks no longer answered him.
He moved on, and coming across a small village named Holver’s Ferry, decided he had been alone long enough. His time in the wilderness had honed his herbalist skills on a practical level, and he made a meager wage brewing up chemical mixtures and selling raw components, and offering his services as a healer for a fee. Currently, that is where he stays, unaware of what the spirits have in store for him in the coming weeks.
Thoughts?
@Sotharal: If the other dwarves didn't use their weapons in a defensive manner, how did your character learn to do so? Most martial traditions are taught as styles - having a unique, untaught style would be exceedingly rare, and most people who'd do that at all would probably do little else with their time.
Hmm, I said that most other dwarves use their weapons for offense (since they are, ya know, weapons), but maybe the person who trained Sotharal was also a warder? Maybe it was her uncle or another relative who taught her? That would mean I should write another NPC into her backstory, which I will do over the next couple days. Thanks for the advice:)
In addition, if she's both afraid of shadows and watched them kill her friends, why would she accept power from a shadow-aligned patron instead of refusing it? Kith and kin tend to be very important to dwarves, and I'm not sure why she'd ally with one even if it did destroy the others (which, from another point of view, could turn out to be like pledging loyalty to a devil just because it saved you from a demon).
When I wrote that Sotharal is afraid of shadows, I primarily meant the creature (which probably means she is at least somewhat afraid of other incorporeal undead, too). Shadows (the real thing, not the creature) scare her to a lesser extent, because they remind her of the creature.
Her primary reasons for 'accepting' her patron are1. It saved her life, and possibly her soul...
wait, is Golarion one of those campaign settings where turning undead corrupts or destroys the soul/spirit of the original person? If so, maybe it claimed to have 'cleansed' the souls of her comrades.[ooc]
2. Her patron claimed that she would help Sotharal help her clan and country. Maybe the patron is lying, maybe not, but Sotharal is doing what she believes is in the best interest of her people.
3. She doesn't actually know her patron is a 'shadow' patron. She didn't choose a patron the way a cleric chooses a god to follow, and she doesn't have the metagame knowledge to know that 'shadow' is the name of the patron theme she has. As a first level character, she does not yet have any powers which vary by patron. The only powers she has been granted by her patron so far are her familiar (nothing shadow-focused about it), cantrips, and first level spells. As far as I know, there are no shadow 0th level spells on the witch list, and only one shadow first level spell on the witch list (based on a search of 1001 spells and d20pfsrd.com). The one shadow spell at 1st level is not one she has learned.
As far as Sotharal knows, she does not have, nor will she ever have, shadow-based powers. That was intentional on my part. As I imagine it, Sotharal didn't pick her 1st level spells known, her patron did. If her patron had given her, say, Shadow Weapon as a starting spell, Sotharal might have been afraid to use it. Instead, she gets only non-shadow spells to start. The patron bonus spells don't reveal their shadowy nature until much later (4th level for Darkness, and eighth level for the first real [Shadow] spell). She won't find out her patron focuses on shadow magic until after coming to accept her power source.
It is possible that Sotharal is being manipulated by her patron towards purposes she wouldn't like. Her patron purports to be helping Sotharal help her family and country, but what does the patron get out of this deal? I left it open for you as the GM to mess with during the game.
Finally, I will note that it is quite possible a wise, well-informed person would be more suspicious of an unknowable witch patron, given the circumstances Sotharal was in. But Sotharal is not wise. She has below average wisdom for a dwarf...maybe I could adjust her ability scores to give her a 9 wisdom to make that even clearer.
I will revise my profile to make the points I made in this post clearer. Again, I greatly appreciate your feedback.
Most Undead templates cause the person to turn Evil, even if they were otherwise not.
GM call on whether that's a function of being undead, or being undead for a long time and doing undead things, though Golarion canon suggests the former for all such templates (getting turned into a werewolf immediately swaps your alignment to Evil).
Thought about it not bothering with a second entry as I like Penance too much as a character. He reminds me too much of Garak.
What I might do instead is keep all the fluff and submit a second set of crunch.
Martyn Brannor was born the eldest child of Lord Alexandr Brannor and Lady Eleanor Brannor. As luck would have it, he exhibited from birth the features of an Aasimar, favoured by the Nobility of Taldor as a sign of purity of blood.
But for Lord and Lady Brannor, that didn't matter. They just loved their only son and brought him up as best they could.
However, tragedy was to befall the family shortly after Martyn's sixth Birthday when their family home was consumed by fire, with Lord and Lady Brannor perishing in the flames. It was fortunate that Martyn's uncle was nearby and was able to claim fosterage for the young child. So it was that a bewildered young Martyn was whisked away to his uncles estate.
His uncle was much more of a disciplinarian, critical of the young Martyn's carefree ways, and soon he arranged for Martyn to have tutoring and fencing lessons. Martyn approached his new tutor with fear and trepidation, but was soon won over by being shown a map on which he could trace the journey he had made from his parents to his uncles estate. Pretty soon, his tutor and he were studying maps of various parts of Golarion, and preparing imaginary journeys. From there, his tutor taught him Mathematics, reading, writing, Geography, History, Politics and of course the manner expected of a gentleman.
Similarly, his fencing master, a retired cavalier taught him fencing and how to be a gentleman, sponsoring him into the order of the dragon.
Martyn proved quite adept at all these things, but he also developed friends amongst the estate children. When not studying with his tutor or fencing with the fencing master, he was getting up to tricks with the Cook's son, the stableboy and two of the guards sons. He proved quite imaginative and led his little group into all sorts of escapades.
As he grew, Martyn heard more and more details of what his uncle was doing; to his dismay he discovered that his uncle was involved in a number of schemes of questionable character which were nevertheless lucrative. In addition, he discovered that his parent's estates had been plundered; entire forests cut down, peasants lands seized and sold for profit, common land misappropriated. sadly, as long as Martyn was considered too young, his foster father had the right to maintain the estates in whatever manner he deemed right; so long as he didn't sell it all outright.
Furthermore, he discovered that his uncle was planning to marry him to the highest bidder, and a number of Rich Merchants were vying for the opportunity to marry into Old Blood of proven provenance. This was too much for Martyn, and he began planning his escape. He told no one of his plans, not wanting them involved in what could be a dangerous venture, but took his time, prepared the ground, set up caches and contacts, sold a few personal items to raise funds, and finally he was off. Everything went smoothly as one moonlit night he simply vanished. having arranged for his morning to be off, no one would think to look for him until the afternoon, by which time he had reached the city and vanished into it's chaos.
From the city, he joined a caravan headed for a frontier region where he had heard there was some intriguing ruins, arriving at the town of Holver's Ferry, eager for adventure.
I've never wanted to play in a PbP is much as this one, but boy am I having a tough time deciding on my classes, even after having my background for a long time. I was strongly leaning towards Monk and Psychic with the Monk based discipline coming along, but being so MAD as to need STR, DEX, CON, WIS and INT is not exactly easy. Then I thought Paladin and Lore Oracle fit great, but that combination seems possibly verging on overpowered, with how SAD you can become on CHA. Of course Warder fits the martial half of my character perfectly, but the heavy armour, intelligence dependence and shield makes choosing a mystic half rough. I have a couple weeks, I can do this! Probably, maybe, I hope.
Go Dex based. Path of War has Deadly Agility for all your Dex to Damage needs.
Perhaps Monk/Stalker? Dex/Wis focus all the way.
Huh. For some reason I never let myself consider the feat applied to unarmed strikes.
Dotting :) I'm excited to see what I can think up for this. Very unfamiliar with the setting/AP -- but I've got time to check it out!
In addition, if we get another 25 backers, then we'll be getting a Player's Guide for the campaign. ^^
That would be nice. Seems funny they would save that for last. It's something that I've come to think of as essential to having an "AP". They are so helpful in making sure you've got the right kind of character for a game.
Just talked to Jason Nelson, he who is in charge of LG.
There will be opportunities to resupply once the planet hopping begins, and traits should be in the PG. Thus, if you are interested in playing in this game, and have yet to pledge, even a small amount counts towards the goal of 300.
If y'all need some science-fantasy to hold you over until this kicks off, check this out:
That's been my major complaint about psionic only games. Playing support is so ridiculously hard the only class I've seen do it even remotely well is the vitalist.
Don't get me started on the tactician.
.... So what's wrong with the tactician?
.... So what's wrong with the tactician?That's been my major complaint about psionic only games. Playing support is so ridiculously hard the only class I've seen do it even remotely well is the vitalist.
Don't get me started on the tactician.
In the interest in not starting a rant I'll keep it short.
Basically, it's MAD as hell, spread too thin, resource hungry, full of situational abilities that are permanent character choices, you need to be mid level in order to do anything well, and has loads and loads of bonuses that don't stack.
In the role of support it's outclassed in every way by non-psionic classes and the vitalist.
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On the plus side, it appears that Spheres of Power has plenty of awesome support stuff you can do. Hell, Destruction even has a blast shape that gives a bonus to AC and saves for your friends inside of it. And that's the blasty sphere!
On that note, I need to look into the Akashic Mysteries playtest, to see if there are any support-y caster-types in that book.
On the plus side, it appears that Spheres of Power has plenty of awesome support stuff you can do. Hell, Destruction even has a blast shape that gives a bonus to AC and saves for your friends inside of it. And that's the blasty sphere!
On that note, I need to look into the Akashic Mysteries playtest, to see if there are any support-y caster-types in that book.
what is Spheres of Power? You said "blast shape" which has me hoping for a Warlock!
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Spheres of Power. A really good book with really atrocious art.
It's an alternate magic system that makes some pretty fundamental changes to how magic is cast (such as making CL like BAB, so that 3/4 CL and 1/2 CL classes exist alongside full CL classes) and making it so you only get a few magic talents, which you can invest into spheres to grab abilities. As such, you don't have access to everything on your class' spell list, just the spheres and talents you have invested in. It makes you less strong overall, but you can invest heavily into one or more themes, which generally feels a lot better.
And yes, the Destruction Sphere is pretty much I'M A WARLOCK! You can use your Destructive Blast at-will all day long (1d6 dmg/2 levels), or spend a spell point when you cast it to make it the equivalent to a Wizard blast spell (1d6/level). With talent expenditure, you can make the blast into a fireball, a cone, a burst, do fire damage, negative energy damage, etc.