Isle of Dread (Inactive)

Game Master Wilmannator

Feel free to chat about your characters here, ask any campaign questions and so on. Also, if you've been invited and need convincing to do this thing, here's the place to chat about it.

Also, I know this alias may be a bit weird, but just refer to me as "Damo", "GM" or "GM Damo", I'm fine with any of those. I think though, overall, it will give a nice feel as the island itself describes to you what is going on. If you prefer a regular "GM BLAH" alias, let me know. You've got 7 more posts fro me before I can't change it.

So I am digging the idea of the roles. Using those as a focus to build a character's personality sounds awesome, like painlord mentioned.

Idea for the bodyguard - my barbalchemist framework. A Chelaxian hothead, this guy is a little slow on the uptake, but unnaturally strong. His gambling problem put him on a local syndicate's radar, and was "offered" a position as the muscle in order to pay his extensive debt. It wasn't long before his new boss got into something over his head, and the debt was transferred to a mysterious benefactor who was working to gather a specialized team. His physical strength is intimidating enough, but it turns out he is a natural with strange and explosive chemicals, and has found a way to enhance his already giant-like strength.

I'm brewing up an idea for some other roles also, and I am not dead set on this one, in case someone else really wants this one.

So pumped for this!

Idea for the lore-keeper: bookworm wizard who has an unhealthy list of phobias, is asthmatic and a list of allergies as long as his list of phobias. He has convinced himself that he will be spending his time buried in an office/tent studying and chronicling the expedition, so he should be a joy to spend time with when he is out wandering the jungles and wilds with the crew. I can think of a few different ways to approach his motivation/necessity for being along with the crew, and his personal history could go a few different ways as well.

As before, I am not dead set on any idea in particular, just a few things percolating in my brain. Once I get back home I can put some things together in herolab and see what sticks.

***RAWR!!!***

Fabric rips between sight, mind, and screen as Painlord enters the thread through explosions of light and ripped fabric.

"I summon myself from the aether and into this thread! Let the circuits tremble and the pixels quake at my coming!"

Painlord dusts himself off from the bits of alternate reality and unformed chaos from his naked body. He then slices through he silver cord attached at the waist. He looks around at his surroundings.

"Aisle of Bread, eh? I shall ponder the depths of my baker's soul and recipe books for a leavener worthy of this group."

"Isle of Dread, eh? I shall ponder the depths of my black soul and darkest intents for a character worthy of this group."

Painlord draws a large stone from the aether and places it near him. He dusts off the rock, has a sit, and begins to ponder. His chin rests upon this clenched fist and that upon a bowed elbow upon knee.

I ponder. The character/personality is still forming. I know it will be a creation of blood and suffering, but this new voice is not yet fully known to me. I will not be sharing the details of my build nor creation process with you all...it would sicken and revolt even the staunchest spleen.

Yarrr,

I appreciate the invite but I'm going to have to pass. My wife and I are expecting our first child in October so now isn't a great time for me to be commit to things.

No problems, Rob! Good luck with your firstborn and thank you for letting us know. Don't worry, all babies do is eat, sleep, wee and poo... and something about crying all through the night on the odd occasion. You'll be fine. ;-)

Also, thanks for stopping by, PapaSteve & Painlord. Great to see you two in fine form and excited for the off. There is absolutely no rush on your character concept. I'll make sure everyone gets their ducks in a row (so to speak) prior to our foray into the unknown.

I wanted to let you know that I've changed the Campaign Info tab. Turns out with some Combat Maneuvers that I thought were always in the rules (but weren't until the APG), Traits and Hero Points we're using all the optional rules from the APG. I've also added a bit where you are permitted to use your specialist role in place of a class name in your character tagline (and throughout any discussions in and out of game). It is Painlord's usual preference to obfuscate his class, and I thought it might be a nice idea to make it a "thing" in this game, for those who would like to partake. Also, I have added a micro-nerf for summoners to do with their spells (sorry) and the patent has come through for my flee!™ house rule.

By the way, I like to dot in with a little more drama than just a "dot" myself, and I know that a "dot" on the discussion thread doesn't tie you to the campaign... but Painlord, that may well have been my favorite "dot" ever.

Not one to be outdone, Steve's gameplay thread "dot" was also right on the money for the feel of this campaign. Love it.

"Aisle of Bread, eh? I shall ponder the depths of my baker's soul and recipe books for a leavener worthy of this group."

"Isle of Dread, eh? I shall ponder the depths of my black soul and darkest intents for a character worthy of this group."

It may or may not comfort you to know that neither the natives who will kill then cook you, nor the rampaging dinosaur who will eventually devour then digest you, have ever even heard of "bread".

I told you not to read.

I told you not to read.

You underestimate how pitiful my willpower is in situations like that.

Seriously on the spoilers, though, if I put in a GM spoiler I do expect that (while the players sometimes do read) that your characters do not. If something in a spoiler has not been related to you in game, please do not have your character use that knowledge.

I will only accept another PC saying "open the spoiler" (or equivalent), ooc or otherwise, if their player's life is in peril and they are using their last 10 seconds on this Earth to just... post... one... last... time.

For the record, it is much easier to resist when I know it will affect how I think about my character's part in the story... I am much better at resisting those. :)

Isle of Dread. Wow.

I believe I've read it, but that would have been mumblety years ago when it first came out. This is Module X1, yes?

Thanks for the invite -- I'm definitely interested (with the proviso in the last paragraph). I'm gravitating towards the Guide, but would also be happy with the Anthropologist.

I'm planning on being a bit of a switch-hitter, but would love to get a nudge as to whether y'all think ranged or two-weapon fighting would be more useful -- I'll otherwise save y'all from any details of the build. Except for the obvious-to-the-naked-eye fact that I'll be a Mwangi woman from Sargava.

I'll want to get my RPGSS entry finalized and submitted before I formalize the character -- obviously if when I'm selected for the Final 32 I'll have to bow out, though, at least from the duration.

Won't it be fun when we are both in the top 32? :)

Personally I would say the details of your build are less important, (ie ranged vs melee/two weapon) Play the character you want to play. I am sure we will be fine if we end up on the acid or base end of the spectrum.

... as opposed to a balanced party...

ok, trying to hard...

So... Marc / GratonGratum (Edit: Whoops, had forgotten to go back and check the name), welcome on board! Great start to your PbP career. I won't really get going for a while, but feel free to discuss character stuff and whatever else you like here. Looks like we have a Builder!

pH Unbalanced, that shouldn't be an issue. I really want to sort out the characters properly before beginning... and 6 days here or there won't make any kind of difference in the context of a long-term campaign. When you win each subsequent round of PbP Superstar, we'll be happy to give you the 4 days off you need in order to finesse your entry.

Also, my friend Ryan from Australia needs about that long anyway to get back to Australia and decide if he's ready to commit to this PbP thing. I reckon he will, and I'm pretty sure he'll be awesome at it. So yeah, no hurry.

For character build, I agree with PapaSteve. Balanced parties are for chumps and people playing non D&D 1st Edition Expert adventures! Also, pH Unbalanced, while you may have read the adventure way back, my aim is to make sure you don't really recognize it. You'll see some of the same encounters popping up, but even back then it was run with a lot of individual touches by each GM. My favorite sentence in the whole module:

The rest is left for the individual Dungeon Master to "flesh out", allowing as much creative freedom as possible.

We also, by the way, need someone to step in and play after Pirate Rob declined his invitation. If you know someone who is an experienced PbPer who was at GenCon with us, and would be great at a story-focused PbP, let us know and we'll stalk their posts to see if you're right! ;-)

If we can't find an experienced PbPer from GenCon, we'll need to decide if we go for an inexperienced one... or pick up a PbPer who (gasp) didn't make it to GenCon 2015.

Gratum is definitely in line with the builder idea. However as both an Engineer and Weekend spelunker(do Dwarves have weekends?) he has quite a range of abilities. It's a character I've wanted to play for a long time. So I'm looking forward to it.

* * * *

I'm planning on being a bit of a switch-hitter,

Oh, I get why you're a switchhitter. What else would we expect from someone's alias is 'Funbalanced'?

Also, I'm pretty sure I was wrong, I think I did meet you at PCon two years ago, right? I have a nagging head sprain that I forgot, but the more I think about it, the more I seem to remember it. Anyhoot, nice to meet you again.

hahahahahahaha.... So punny.

Ok - I am going to claim the Lorekeeper. I can be convinced to change my mind if you have an amazing character idea. Feel free to PM me or ping me on the discussion thread here.

Oh, this is off to an awesome start.

Cool, take Lorekeeper. By my rules, 'tis first come first served. I'll see if I can assign the roles on the campaign info tab in a moment.

Bed time soon. Getting up at 5am with my wife may yet kill me... it certainly has killed my late night posts.

Painlord shifts uneasily upon his rock, his ass not as hard as the stone beneath him. Whether it was the pain in his ass or a stray thought that broke his concentration, Painlord finally finds words to say the assembled scum and villainy heroes and explorers. He rises to speak, rubbing his backside as he does.

"An idea comes to me, more haunting dream than thought. It is a cascading whisper and I know what I must do. I am the Anthropologist...if it pleases you all. It would give me an answer to the whispers," Painlord says, settling his ass again upon his stone. It might occur to a viewer that Painlord could simply summon a more comfy chair from the aether...or a cushion...or a weave of flumphfeathers, but no, Painlord does not. He lets his ass hurt for reasons of his own.

Usually, I would wait until last take the dregs of roles, but this idea intrigues me and I would make it be.

Flumphs! Love those guys. Used them as pawns to represent gremlins in the Six Seconds to Midnight game I ran.

Also, there are no dregs for the specialist roles! It all depends upon your perspective. You are scratched down appropriately on the campaign info tab.

Finally... it is a complete hoot to see you writing in character on the discussion thread to the extent that you require an "ooc" comment to express yourself as the player rather than your non-PC alias (here and on your first post). Had a bit of a laugh both times I saw that. Glad it wasn't an aberration... or an ooze!

havne't read this thread yet, but am quickly posting... I am going to grab the Archeologist role. Character still in the works -- don't even have a name (and only Damien has an idea of the class).

Cool. So, remaining specialist roles are:

• The Naturalist - knowledge (nature)
• The Ambassador - diplomacy & bluff
• The Bodyguard - intimidate

All decent options as far as I'm concerned (hell, I think all 8 were fun). Can't wait to see who fills what.

Did I mention to anyone that I'm insane when it comes to getting carried away?

Well...

Isle of Dread Banner

This will eventually start to peel away fog-of-war style to reveal the portions of the map you have uncovered.

So. Excited.

havne't read this thread yet...

Lame!

Painlord lifts his head to look at fleeting Sillbug, gone almost before he was there. "You should stay a while next time. Visit. Read. You might like it," Painlord smirkingly says at the retreating form.

So. Excited.

"Why don't you excitedly check your piddlespotting email, bub?" Painlord utters knowingly. "Might get excited there too."

Way excited. Just need one last person to reply (Ryan)... waiting until the end of the week is going to kill me. Heh, there's always the map to keep me occupied. The one that comes with the module is too... blue and white. Oops, now that I've said that, you'll know I've phoned it in when the veil peels back and it's blue and white.

That banner is.... awesome....

!!!

Greetings everyone! I was graciously invited by Damo and Painlord and I hope to make you proud, confused and sometimes unable to control your laughter.

I think that I shall claim the Naturalist as my calling. A few ideas have wandered around about a druidic type for a while and we all know that Painlord loves his dwarves and their cousins...

Welcome on board! Great to have you around.

Steve, your dots between awesome made my night... made it all worthwhile. Can't wait to start to reveal the map to you... in, like forever from now. Ugh. Backstories, why do I love you so?

So much to do, so little time.... And I need to find time to do work, weed the gardens, mow the lawn... Prep three scenarios for this weekend.

Oh, what have I done? Guess it is time for a tribute to The Drunken Hero, and sucking it up!

Damo,
on character creation - should we be using Golarion human ethnicities and languages? I ask, because these aren't allowed in Hero Lab w/o selecting the ISWG.

Elon Steelkeg, distant cousin to the Trunau Steelkegs, has arrived!

Hmmm. Ethnicities. I'm open to it, however my first instinct was to keep it simple. Without ethnicities, it would be common for humans, racial otherwise. This wouldn't be to say that regional languages don't exist, but they wouldn't form part of your character's mechanics one way or another. If you want to be from Varisia and speak Varisian, great... if you also want to be able to understand Tien or Shoanti, just go for it as part of your background. If you want an ancient language, go Draconic or one of the planar ones.

Otherwise, I could allow that small bit (regional languages) from the Inner Sea World Guide as an option for those who want to use that particular bit. What do you guys think?

Welcome on board Elon! Great to have you with us. I see from your (lovely and complete) tagline that you've gone with the "hippie" take on the naturalist. ;-)

I wondered about that too, but assumed it was unimportant since we are traveling to an island that has been trapped inside the never-ending-hurricane-of-doom for centuries... (figured they haven't had much exposure to other ethnicities or languages) If someone wants to use ethnicities to fill out there character I don't have any issues with it. If your ethnicity is important to how you develop and RP your character, then by all means I say jump on it. Otherwise I would venture a guess that it won't have much of an effect.

Of course I am playing the character with insane intelligence and languages to spare, so who am I to talk? :)

Of course I am playing the character with insane intelligence and languages to spare, so who am I to talk? :)

Eye sea what ewe did their. Not funny. The pun-ishment continues...I brought it upon myself, I suppose with the bread shennanigans.

So, you know the starting point now... enjoy! Feel free to make up any locations you like in your continuing character intros, or use old and familiar ones. I'm unlikely to know the difference.

My yahoo is built, both exo- and intro- skeleton. I should intro posts coming soon enough, but don't feel too rushed as we await our other players.

I am getting more excited for this and long to the Isle.

Hey all, I just want to get everyone to let me know what percentage completion they're at with their characters so I can get an idea of when we can kick off some introductory roleplay (introduction to some NPCs).

Please just reply with:

• Character name (the actual name or "not yet")
  
• Concept % complete
  
• Background % complete
  
• Mechanics % complete

I would love to read any and all of your backgrounds when they are done, so please do send them to me when you have them. It is entirely your choice as to whether or not you would like to share them with other players but I would like everyone to have at least a 500 word background written for their character. 10,000 words+ is also fine (but I may not finish reading it this week). I will also accept a "snippet of the past" in lieu of background. This would be something akin to a post that gives insight as to your character's motivations... like this (go to the bottom and open the spoiler) or this (open the background spoiler). I am open to other formats also, but can't think of any right now.

Elonkorjuu Steelkeg
Concept: 100%
Background: 40% (Have a good idea for a background, just need to type it up)
Mechanics: 100%

Gado Folklo
Concept 100% complete
Background 50% complete (got some ideas, have been making it up as I go. I will get something up in his profile soon. The hints I have already dropped are as much a mystery to me as they are to you. Which makes it more fun for both of us as I figure it out!)
Mechanics 100% complete

Dude, GM Damo, not saying this guy looks (link) and sounds a lot like you, but wow...I think he has the same platform as you would.

Character Name: Jack Brown*
Concept: 87% complete
Background: 17% complete
Mechanics: 95% complete

*=likely to change, I hope to come up with a real name that isn't so ridiculous and doesn't sound so awful

Thank you for the updates. Good to know where everyone is at. I'm not going to start pushing yet (since we don't have a full complement 100% locked in) and I really do want to make sure you've had the time to fully realize your characters before we start in earnest.

Also, we have yet to receive a "dot" in from the following players:

• Painlord
  
• Silbeg
  
• pH unbalanced
  
• Ryan (who may yet decide he doesn't have the time)

I understand that you may be waiting to make an in-character post and that's fine. I was just sorting out the campaign info, noticed on the "players" tab and saw that we're a little light. It makes me feel comfortable to know that you at least have this on your campaign list when you're not posting (except you, Painlord, you seem to know when to appear), but that shouldn't stop you from making the ever-pedestrian "dot" post if you don't want to.

Dude, GM Damo, not saying this guy looks (link) and sounds a lot like you, but wow...I think he has the same platform as you would.

Mad props to that dude. Awesome campaign ad. You know the difference between a Canadian and Australian accent, right?

Character name: Sumaru Iyukale
Concept: 95% complete
Background: 50% complete
Mechanics: 25% complete

Which is to say, I know who she is, but I haven't actually written anything in her voice yet, and I know the outlines of her build, but haven't started actually hammering them together.

Sounds like when I'm done that should all be emailed to you?

BTW, very much going for the vibe of Skin from Skunk Anansie

Mad props to that dude. Awesome campaign ad. You know the difference between a Canadian and Australian accent, right?

Uh huh...sure... Cheerio, ol' chap.

Dude, GM Damo, not saying this guy looks (link) and sounds a lot like you, but wow...I think he has the same platform as you would.

Character Name: Jack Brown*
Concept: 87% complete
Background: 17% complete
Mechanics: 95% complete

*=likely to change, I hope to come up with a real name that isn't so ridiculous and doesn't sound so awful

Huh? Wut?

Is Painlord pulling someone's leg here? That looks like a FANTABULOUS name!

• Aeslin (Archeologist) w/ Sebastian (the weasel)
  
• Concept 50% complete
  
• Background 10% complete
  
• Mechanics 75% complete
  

Might help knowing if we're allowed ethnicities, and the like (I assume so) -- still debating internally who Aeslin is... She is definitely a devotee of Nethys (with traits Child of the Temple and Magic is Life)

I am trying to get stuff together, but running three scenarios this weekend (along with the two PbP, and work) has made that ... tough.

Thanks for all the dots and continued updates on your progress, guys. Really appreciate it. Hope you're liking the background color so far. Do feel free to make some of it your own. Until you get to the exhibition (and really, even then) it's all yours for the taking.

Sounds like when I'm done that should all be emailed to you?

Up to you, really. If you want it private, then PM or email yes. Otherwise, just have it on your character profile and we'll be fine!

Might help knowing if we're allowed ethnicities, and the like (I assume so) -- still debating internally who Aeslin is... She is definitely a devotee of Nethys (with traits Child of the Temple and Magic is Life).

Ethnicities do exist in that you can be from Taldor, Varisia, Cheliax, Garund, wherever. It is still the Golarion we all know. However, there is no need to take specific languages (ie. all humans speak "common", despite regional differences). This generally means you will have more languages available to you if you choose to ignore regional languages. If you have a roleplaying reason to be able to understand a regional language like Shoanti (eg. you are Shoanti or you spent a lot of time in Korvosa) then that's fine. No need to expend a language on it, just some background writing.

I'm not sure how it will help your character to require that the different ethnicities also require different languages, but if you want that then go for it. Otherwise, select an ethnicity for roleplaying purposes and mechanically stick to the core languages.

works for me... was just checking :P

Updated:

Character Name: not Jack Brown, something good, like uhm...something
Concept: 95% complete
Background: 47% complete
Mechanics: 95% complete

Concept/Background/Mechanics all 100% complete. Background is in the profile, spoilered in the bottom. The fun part about writing stuff like that is discovering another character that seems like it would be very fun to explore, especially in a villainous role...

Love the background story, Gado! Really works well with your posts from earlier, too.

I have to say, it gives me obscene amounts of pleasure when a character's background causes me to rethink parts of an adventure. Can't wait.

I appreciate the incremental update, too, Painlord. Awesome to hear about more progress. That last 5%, she's a bîtch, though! ;-)

Love the background story, Gado! Really works well with your posts from earlier, too.

I have to say, it gives me obscene amounts of pleasure when a character's background causes me to rethink parts of an adventure. Can't wait.

I appreciate the incremental update, too, Painlord. Awesome to hear about more progress. That last 5%, she's a bîtch, though! ;-)

Thanks! It is fun to write, but that definitely makes it worthwhile.

Sometimes that is half the fun of making random posts. Throw out some random bits, then try to figure out a story that makes sense with them later. When I first mentioned "Bear Face" I had no idea who he was, or Gado would be trying to avoid him. So when I started I had two things I did know. Gado wasn't happy about going, and was going essentially against his will, and some guy named Bear Face had business with him that he wanted to avoid.

Now of course, I have a cursory idea who Lanvi is, and man does she seem like a fun villain. If Gado is lucky enough to survive, I may just have to write the next chapter in that story...