Everyone from the Roster should have received a PM detailing some of my thoughts of where the campaign is going. Please dot in if you accept the Invitation and start discussing character tweaks, party roles, etc.
OhmygodOhmygodOhmygodOhmygodOhmygodOhmygod
*looks around, sees everyone staring*
I mean...I got in...that's cool. I guess. It's whatever. No big deal.
Gotta go to work soon so I can't really read through everyone else's characters right now or brainstorm background hooks. I thought I could swap out my spell focus for something else though and just let Franka do most of the spellcasting so there's even less overlap.
Thought about buying a horse with my leftover money but figured I'd wait to see if I got in first before asking if it was ok. Might help since there's two Cavaliers and a Druid with a horse companion.
Hello everyone!
I'm thrilled to be taking part of this AP, and am honored to have been chosen by the GM. I actually know very little about KM beyond the premise, having never played or read the books, so I'm excited to dive in and hit the ground running.
GM Wolfspirit has been amazing about communicating his expectations, thoughts, and hopes, and given us a lot to work with right out the door. It seems like a great place to start would be in helping bring our group together for maximum long-term compatibility, and offering feedback to each other. I for one am really happy that the GM chose us based on the strength of our characters and not the degree of optimization of our sheets; we may not be a 'classic' KM party (I'm not sure what that would look like), but I think we're going to be a really fun group with tons of creativity and dedication. What more could you ask for?
Since the GM has given us an overview of each PC, and invited commentary and feedback, I'll go through each one and do just that.
Túrante Poicellë: For some reason this is the PC that really sticks in my mind and whom I'd like to adventure with. Something about her being an actual frickin' princess, along with the subtle twist on the classic elf image (non-arcane) while still being true to the feel of an elf is just great.
Emil Mordrane: I have to second the GM's statement in how engaging Emil's backstory was. Tons of flavor, humor, and great writing. Excellent job! I too could eventually see him becoming the Ruler, and paying back his snobbish relatives.
Francesca "Franka" Aigner: I really appreciated the amount of thought and detail that went into Franka's Profile, and also dig her connection to the Æther. I think our party could really use her complimenting Audsley's arcane powers, and thus would select her over Bogdan.
Sera Harlow: I'm a huge fan of Sera's great combination of humor, curiosity, and dedication to the wilderness. Where Túrante, Franka, and Rambozo might come across as more intense, with Emil riding the balance, it seems like Sera might help Audsley bring a little wonder and appreciation for the grandeur of what they're doing. Zev is great, and I can't wait to see then both in play :)
Rambozo: Man! This I did not expect. Dark, brilliantly written, almost more an antagonist than an ally, with a healthy dose of psychosis and evil thrown in for good measure. I'm not 100% clear on how Jayson is going to play him - is he impersonating the man whose charter he stole? Is he playing him as Montrose, with Rambozo hidden deep within his psyche? He's listed as CN/CE, which makes it interesting trying to envision how he'll work in the long run; Frank and Sera are NG, Túrante and Audsley are CG, Emil is LG. I'd like to hear from Jayson as to how he envisions Rambozo working within this good aligned party in the long run, though I'm completely up for finding a way to make it work. I think he's got the potential to add a dark and fascinating twist to the game, as well as acting as a catalyst for great rp as he challenges the group through his actions.
I'll stop there for now since this post is already long enough. More anon!
Hi everyone. I'm really happy to be selected for this campaign, stoked to get working on tweaking my character and our mutual connections.
My own character
With the group we have so far, I agree that Franka is the best choice from my two submitted characters. I like that the current group setup (in whatever permutation we land on) is not outspoken on religion. None of the characters have strong ties to religion as a whole or to any particular deity. That will leave plenty of room for Franka to delve into the Mystic Theurge role. I initially thought this would be Druid/Wizard, but as I've been reading more, Witch sounds like a better fit. It will blur the line between arcane and divine magic even further and will allow for the Æther as a stand-in for my patron. There's also some nice archetypes for the Witch class that could fit thematically. I've been doing some digging into the crunch of how I would gain early access into the prestige class, but I'm not satisfied yet. See the spoiler for more detail. If any of you have some suggestions on other ways to enter Mystic Theurge (possibly at level 5?), that would be greatly appreciated.
- Druid can satisfy the requirement for level 2 divine magic with Augury at level 1, through the Fate inquisition. It's a pretty steep price though, coming at the cost of an actual Domain/Animal Companion. The upshot is that I could go Druid 1/Witch 3/Mystic Theurge X, and only lose one spell level compared to straight Witch.
- An alternate way into Mystic Theurge from the divine side is to pick Oracle with the Wood mystery for Warp wood/Wood shape. I'm going to discount this, since it's too large a deviation from the character I currently have.
- I haven't found any ways to get level 2 arcane spells earlier than level 3. All of the methods mentioned involve racial abilities. The only thing that might come close is the Moon patron of the Witch. It grants Darkness as level 2, although it's unclear whether that means it's still a level 2 spell. Also, getting the Moon patron is not the best fit for the Æther.
I've read the GM's suggestion to take a druid domain instead of the animal companion, but I'll have to think hard about this. I really like having a 'special' horse for Franka. This might also tie her in with the cavalier(s) in the group, who can probably appreciate this bond with a horse. I'm not adverse to taking Boon Companion feat to keep the mount relevant for some additional levels, but I guess it would depend on my leveling path, and how many levels of druid I end up taking before diving into Mystic Theurge. Also, with a spell list from two separate classes, the animal companion might add something different to the character than just more spells from the domain.
The other characters
Some observations from reading the other profiles, with a particular eye toward possible acquaintances and development of character relations:
- Emil first jumped out to me, since he's a bastard from House Lebeda, the same family where Franka has her roots. However, they probably don't know each other, the way it's written now: the timeline just doesn't match up, since he's only recently gone there for the first time. It might be nice for him to learn more about the House through me, while playing.
- I noticed quite a lot of similarity between Audsley's background and mine, both starting as servants for a noble house. :) We might do some rewriting of our backgrounds to get our Noble Houses to match up, so that we would have known each other from growing up. Still, two similar stories within one noble House might stretch suspension of disbelief. I think Audsley and Franka will have enough common ground to work together, even as strangers.
- Of Jesse's characters, Túrante speaks more to me. Her background and mission tie in more closely to the Kingmaker campaign, and I like the 'epic' princess concept. The fact that she's an elf who is totally not interested in magic might provide some nice hooks for roleplaying.
- Sera will have plenty of room to develop as a druid, with me branching into Mystic Theurge. Franka will have a vastly different outlook on druidic matters, considering any such abilities she has only a circumstance from her time with the Kellid, and just one aspect of the power she's drawing from the Aether. They could be acquainted when the campaign starts, if I write in Franka's backstory that she's already made some initial forays into the Stolen Lands before the expedition starts.
- I'm not quite sure what to make of Rambozo. On the one hand, he is so unique that it'd be a shame to pass on that opportunity. On the other hand, I have a hard time visualizing how he would fit in the group. I'll echo the other sentiments in asking for their player's perspective, reserving judgment until then. For the alternative, I feel that Janna is a character who's concept really appeals to me. She woman-pretending-to-be-a-man has a certain 'iconic' feel to it, that I really dig. I think it would be very interesting to see how he/she and Emil develop (especially with both of them as Cavalier, if they can find their own niche within the class).
I like the way the discussion has been going.
Ok, for Franka, here's a first glimpse into my "non-PFS" GMing style! I want people to have characters they want to play and achieve things they want to achieve. I occasionally bend rules when it makes sense for the greater narrative of the game, though I try to avoid *too* substantial of deviations, as it's caused some grief for me in the past.
I do like the idea of Franka being a Theurge or Heirophant and having a greater tie to the Æther, so I'm willing to bend a bit here by allowing the "old-new" FAQ ruling or potentially allowing some 3.5 content, but probably not both at the same time. Hopefully we can figure out something that works :)
The 3.5 Hierophant is an interesting option. It would take until level 7 to actually get and has some steep skill requirements (bumped down slightly if it was Pathfinder-ized.) It would have the advantage of Animal Companion advancement, which is something that it sounds like Franka would like.
My reasoning behind suggesting not taking an animal companion if you're going for a prestige class is purely from a mechanical / game reason. Full progression animal companions can be a bit squishy at later levels and one that isn't full progression could be particularly vulnerable. I do like Heimdall, though. If your goal with him is "I want something to do in combat other than cast spells", that makes sense as an Animal Companion. It he's a "I want a Magic Horse", we could potentially investigate other options than an Animal Companion if he becomes mechanically unwieldy.
Here are examples of how to "get spells"
Arcane:
Aasimar variant Spell Like abilities*
Tiefling Variant Spell Like Abilities*
Wizard Wizard Scryer subschool
*=Most Aasimar Tiefling abilities are classified arcane, but a few are Divine, per below.
Divine:
Trickery Domain (Copycat ability)
Aasimar (Incorruptible) - Corruption Resistance.
Aasimar (Agathion-Blooded) - Summon Nature’s Ally II.
Tiefling (Daemon-Spawn) - Death Knell.
With either the Aasimar or Tiefling route, you could take Scion of Humanity or Pass for Human to "appear" human to have access to the "spell like ability" without deviating too far from your character.
Anyway, I like to ask questions, make suggestions, and see what people really want, I don't want to be "that GM" that dictates peoples characters. Again, it's a collaborative effort.
Túrante: I think the general consensus is that Túrante is probably the route to go, unless there's a 180 with Franka. Túrante *could* potentially be a / the ruler, being an elven princess. We'd have to work out exactly how that would work within the game: politically and plot there's minor wrinkles with having either a perceived "elven nation" or having sub-kingdoms)
Ok, finally got a chance to do some reading. I think Emil might have the best chance to be Sera's background buddy since they're both from southern Brevoy and pretty close to the same age. They could have possibly grown up in the same area and then slowly drifted apart as their individual callings pulled them in opposite directions. Depends on how the GM feels about that kind of coincidence popping up when they randomly meet each other again several years later.
Franka could work as well if you really wanted to add a trip to the Stolen Lands into your background. Sera would be up for quizzing an actual Druid but hopefully in a way that wouldn't betray her ignorance of most druidic traditions.
I could possibly see Sera with some links to one of Jesse's elves if we pulled some strings. Maybe the elven kingdom scouted out the stolen lands beforehand and bumped into the resident Druid, only sending their envoy once they were sure it was reasonably safe to do so.
Audsley...honestly not really seeing anything. Our characters pretty much grew up in completely different worlds.
I'd definitely like to hear what Jayson has planned for Rambozo, especially when it comes to actually building the kingdom. Something tells me a serial killer that hears voices wouldn't make a good leader. =P
Rambozo is definitely a high risk/ high reward character from a number of standpoints. On the plus side, he's incredibly flavorful, memorable, and has a deep tie to the greater campaign world. On the down side, he's the most "unstable" element in the group dynamic and I don't want anyone to feel apprehensive about a potentially "toxic" character to the group.
Jayson and I have put quite a bit of effort into the Rambozo character, and both of us have shared responsibility in his creation, (him for taking a running joke one step too far to the point that it actually inspired me, me for encouraging him and giving him suggestions how to tweak the background / crunch, him for taking what was a parody and making a truly unique character.) If the group feels he's too divisive, I don't want him to be something that causes the campaign to implode down the line. At the worst case, he's definitely in the campaign world one way or another, as a PC or NPC.
I'll let Jayson speak for himself on where he sees the character integrating from a group perspective, but for people that want to pull back the curtain on some of the background / motivations, here's some mildly spoiler behind the scenes info for his background, put in an out of character context (spoilered for people that can't stand spoilers.)
Most men manage to live perfectly normal, ordinary, boring lives. They get a job, perhaps have a family, toil at some relatively meaningless job, and finally die, perfectly content in the fact that they had a quiet, utterly uninteresting life.
H. Pennington Montrose / Smythefield is not so lucky: he managed to insult and attract the interest of a Fae Queen. It probably happened while he was drunk, a Brevoy noble at some party. He doesn’t even remember what it is exactly what it is that he said or did that elevated him to the singular dire attention of this immortal being, interrupting her as she moved for unknowable reasons through the Mortal realm. He does know it altered his life forever.
For reasons unknown to even him, he had a Geas placed on him. He still hears the words echoing in his ears: "My pretty little pawn. You will join this expedition sent by the Lords of Swords, and ensure that these... Stolen Lands... are united as one."
Since that day, he has been constantly tracked and watched by minions of the Fae Queen. Only by giving up his previous lifestyle has he felt like he’s managed to shake them, a small price to pay. He’s probably just fooling himself, but playing the fool is the one thing that lets him sleep at night. Yet every time he wavers from his Geas for too long, he can feel the icy grip of the beautiful Fae Queen slowly freezing his heart.
For the context of the campaign, the character ties to the influence of the conflict with ( and between) the Fae that will have a greater impact later in the story. For a group benefit, this would probably manifest itself in some positive way for dealing with them that I haven’t finalized.
Unlike some other "dark" characters that were submitted, this character does actually have a hook towards building a kingdom. Some others I couldn't place a motivation to work with a group at all
For non spoiler info: From a group perspective, as Vigilante he would be a rogue substitute and I believe the way he’s building him has some social (particularly intimidate?) skills. In a Kingdom Role, he would make an excellent Royal Enforcer. The biggest part would be to ensure that he fits into the group one way or another.
I would like to be clear that I don’t want to have it feel like I’m championing a “Mary Sue” or putting words in the player's mouth. I'll let Jayson MF Kip speak for himself further, I just know it can be challenging to try to defend your character creation to greater scrutiny :) Janna is definitely interesting too, and between the two characters the player has definitely earned a spot in the group
Hi there everyone! And thank you for the kind words. In all likelihood you won't have cause to regret them.
*nervous cough*
Although I too am a little nervous about our CE friend, I trust Jayson MF Kip to work with us both in and out of character. So I'll trust him/her to make whichever decision he/she feels is best.
With regards to Mystic Theurge, I happened to have played an early entry Mystic Theurge in a Iron Gods campaign. With that said, here's my 0.02 gp:
-Some of the best early access methods are through racial SLAs. I myself ended up going with an Aasimar with the Scion of Humanity trait to make sure I at least looked human. Since everyone here is a CRB race, going with a plane-touched race is not going to turn the campaign into a zoo (which is nice).
-I ended up with a lot of spells available once I got into the mid-tiers. I think people don't quite realize that, as I certainly didn't, so it bears mentioning. You will be wondering what to do with all those other available spells.
-Non-level dependent class abilities become super important. Level-dependent abilities take a nosedive though. I have read about some possible shenanigans with the Evangelist PRC from Inner Sea Gods that would help with retaining class abilities, but I have not delved further into that.
With that being said, just remember to play whatever you want to play! Things will come together.
I'll be reading backgroundds and thinking of way to amend mine to be more inclusive (with a possible rewrite of that last section; it's been bothering me) sometime this afternoon. I'll keep an eye on the thread though.
One further thought about Heimdall and Franka, this would be one of the few times I would be ok with a Summoner as long as it doesn't become a My Little Pony of the Apocalypse, .
I say this not because I want Franka to change their class, but more because the visual of the "My Little Pony of the Apocalypse, ." made me chuckle.
Thanks for thinking along. :) In this case, though, I'll pass. The Summoner never did much to interest me.
I've been reading up on the Aasimar, on the basis of your previous post. They never held much appeal for me for some reason, but I think it could work in this case:
- Scion of Humanity and Deathless Spirit traits will allow me to pass for human, without any obvious effects. The only one that can't be traded or explained away is Darkvision. Maybe I'll just ignore it, thinking I can just see well in the dark. (Oooor, I could trade it out for the Halo alternate trait, consider it my first trick of drawing on the magic of the Æther and ask you if it's OK for the halo to show as a rainbow over my head. :P)
- Agathion-Blooded lets me bypass the divine spells requirement for Mystic Theurge.
- The animalistic background of the Agathion could explain why I'd be drawn to a druidic path initially, on my quest to explore the Æther. Additionally, having outsider heritage might even explain why I'd be so drawn to the Æther in the first place. If I go this way, I will probably not try to explain how I came to have outsider ancestry, and leave it for the GM as a possible plot point of which my character is totally unaware. Maybe I was left for adoption, or something...
Still dithering on how I'd like to approach the arcane side of affairs. Hedge Witch will provide some spontaneous healing for the group. Ley Line Guardian Witch fits thematically and gives the ability to 'overcharge' my magic, although it sets me back to the sorcerer spell progession. I've also been checking the Spell Sage Wizard archetype, to really open up all of the spell lists.
The only one that can't be traded or explained away is Darkvision. Maybe I'll just ignore it, thinking I can just see well in the dark.
There is something to be said in being able to see in the dark.
FYI, at this point I'm waiting to hear from Jayson before chiming in again.
It seems I'm the man of the hour!
I can at the very least echo your concerns. No one wants to put up with a shitty party member. I don't want to be a shitty part member. If our combined misgivings are enough, there are no hard feelings here.
H. Pennington Smythefield is a broken man with a broken mind, pushed to the cause beyond mere duty or honor or ambition. While others may be fueled by fame or fortune or revenge or pride, he simply wants to wake up without shivering, to grasp a bit of right-ness in his life once again.
Depression is a hell of a drug- -and at the depths of compulsion, when the summer condensation freezes on his skin, Pennington's last grasp at control is to become someone else- -to find what little agency is allowed to him in the ability to choose his own path, if only for awhile.
As far as pre-party connections, there's certainly possibility for anyone to be linked to either "H. Pennington Montrose"- -Galtan refugee, or his Brevoy alias, "H. Pennington Smythefield." He'd been a guest of House Medyved for a few years before his sprial began.
Mechanically, he's a pretty average physical combatant with an abnormally strong force of personality- -a bit unnerving, lacking the subtlety or control of practiced duels and the self-control of the typical soldier- -blood carries wamrth- -and is a touch on the unnerving side. His skillset tailors to a subversive utility- -he's a man who as lived most of the last decade in hiding, one way or another.
In an effort to be up front and as a sign of good faith to the rest of the party, if there's anything you'd like me to answer specifically, please dont hesitate to ask. And if the idea of this character sits wrong, please let me/the GM know. This campaign is too awesome to have to put up with a character that you don't like.
Thanks for the explanation.
I have to say that you've built a wonderfully rich character, and I feel bad for having to be a 'party pooper': the character as you described it will probably prove to be too dark for my taste in this campaign. I've played some different campaigns and systems over the years, including Vampire and Call of Cthulhu. I really like/liked the kind of story that comes from complex and troubled characters, but I have to be honest and state that that's not what I'm looking for in Pathfinder.
I'd like for this story, as Wolfspirit described it, to be about building something, seeing how a group of people come together to make something lasting. I believe having to delve into the psyche of a depressed and broken man will ultimately distract from that goal, and from my enjoyment of the campaign.
Again, I feel sort of bad for shooting this character down, since you and Wolfspirit have appeared to pour a lot of effort in it, but since you asked to be frank, I'm writing it as I feel it. That said, I wouldn't want to hold you back on playing this character if I'm the only one who feels this way. If the chips fall in a way that the others come together and would welcome the opportunity to play with this character, then you shouldn't let me be the one to veto this.
Yeah, I'm torn. I think what's selling Rambozo to me is Jayson's writing skill and the audacity of the concept, but I'm still not clear on how he'll work in the group as a team player. CN/CE makes him at best a foil, at worse a constant source of conflict and tension.
Things that could make this work: some sense of their being a redemptive arc that pulls the PC back from the brink and allows him to become a fully fledged member of the group, having exorcised his demons/fey. A sense of how he'll handle himself long term in the group outside of combat (is he going to still commit random murders, or -
You know what? While the payoff could be huge if we work out all the angles and kinks, it may just be simpler/better if Jayson runs with another PC. I have no doubt he can come up with something just as kick ass without the friction/potential pitfalls.
I think I'd be more willing to experiment if this was a shorter module, but with an AP that I'm hoping lasts a long, long time, I'm finding myself a little more conservative.
Just my two copper pieces.
I have updated Franka's profile to include her change to Aasimar. I've also switched some stats around:
- Int 16 and Wis 14 to anticipate her arcane magic class.
- switched my campaign trait out for Magical Knack (Druid).
- I had to drop the Spell Focus feat, couldn't bear to part with Amateur Investigator.
- I've kept the Animal Companion. Having a special connection to a horse felt fitting for an Agathion-blooded Aasimar, and as you said, I want something to do if I'm not casting a spell. I don't know how useful it will be at high levels, but by then I should have enough spells to keep myself occupied. The Boon Companion feat at level 3 is always an option, if I want to stretch its combat use a couple of levels.
- The plan is to go Druid 1/Arcane class 3/Mystic Theurge X.
I have to double-check the math later this week, but I should be set for now. The choice between Witch and Wizard won't have to be made until level 2, but I'm heavily leaning towards Spell Sage for now: I believe breadth of spell list will be very useful to the group, and number of spell slots will be less important (since I'll have druid spell slots as well).
Welcome, Janna!
I agree that there will be a wand of ClW (or more) in the near future. I also like the battle herald idea; I think it would fit in nicely with the role of the General.
Since we're speaking of future development of characters, I'd like to bring up what I wanted to do with Emil and run it by the group. I'm not married to the idea but it's very appealing. However if it's too far out there, I'll drop it.
I had a hard time coming up with something that mechanically pleased me for Emil; cavaliers in general don't inspire me all that much. But with the help of several guides out there I stumbled upon something that I could get behind.
So after six or more levels of Cavalier, I am thinking of taking enough levels in Bloodrager to qualify for the Dragon Disciple PrC. I happen to really like that PrC but haven't had the opportunity to have a character that used it.
I still intend on being primarily a cavalier, charging his foes on horseback and on foot, and so intend on taking the Horse Master feat as soon as I can to remain true to that concept.
An in-game justification for that kind of multiclassing would be that Emil is pragmatic and sees the effectiveness of the local warriors (if there are any roving barbarian tribes; otherwise I guess I need to rethink where I'm going with this).
I wasn't thinking of it as going down the crazy berserker road; instead I though of it as playing to the Order of the Flame edict: passionate about everything he does, while still abiding be the sense of responsibility he feels toward any potential travelling companions/party members.
Another way I was thinking about it was from a "Going Native" viewpoint, borrowing from Jack London's "Call of the Wild" (except Emil's not a dog) or Kevin Costner's character in "Dances With Wolves".
And yes, Janna could be the Ruler, it would also fit in nicely with the Battle Herald PrC.
Also, so I was thinking of incorporating a connection to Audsley King, Janna d'Hoiess and Sera Harlow, probably as encounters before and after Emil's fateful meeting with his grandparents.
If it's OK with you, I'll write up what I'm thinking of, pass it along to the parties involved and then add it on to the backstory once it has passed muster.
I'm not sure what's worse: having the CE character in our party or letting the DM control it. Welcome anyway, Janna. =P
Welcome, Janna. Nice idea to go for Battle Herald. It's definately a niche that wasn't filled, and I'd be fine with the idea of you being our Ruler. General seems a strong fit as well, though.
Audsley, I noticed that your first pick for Kingdom role was Magister. With Franka going for Mystic Theurge, she is also sliding heavily in that direction. Can you give an indication of where you're standing on the alternatives? Are they a distant second and third, or just as well for you?
Emil, I agree with the idea that you don't need to be a savage to have the Barbarian or Bloodrager class. From his background, he might have a large enough chip on his shoulder to 'rage' with. You might need a trigger to start casting spells, but Wolfspirit would probably provide that in-game. Also, if you're interested in the Kellid angle, Franka might provide some of that. She's lived with them for a couple of years and will look at events from their perspective from time to time. She might set you on that path if you'd like.
Re: Janna. Welcome aboard. A bardic influence would be interesting, especially going into Battle Herald. There is a militaristic theme later into the game that having a battle herald figure-head could work well for. I also would like to keep the two frontliners mechanically and thematically unique.
As a bard, you could also potentially pick up some Disable Device, as I'm not sure the party has any of that. Luckily the game doesn't start out with Grimtooth's traps but being able to pick a lock might be useful at "some" point. Or that could just be relegated to a Cohort from Leadership...
Re: Emil. Per the "core" game, the main barbarians, as mentioned are the Nomen Centaurs and a tribe called the Tiger Lords. Neither really has a large "arcane" influence, (or has an early appearance in the game, for that matter) although if that's something you want, I could rejigger things. On the subject of Bloodrager, the Id Rager with Jealousy is pretty interesting for a tank type, though if your goal is to go Dragon Disciple, Dragon bloodline is probably the way to go. Regardless, if you go Dragon Disciple, Janna might be a better fit for the ruler, as there is literal bad blood with dragons in a rulership position (see: Choral the Conqueror Unless you wanted to be a descendant of his that missed the purge, which could be interesting...
Re: Kingdom Roles. here's a rough sketch of where I could things shaking out:
Audsley: Magister or Grand Diplomat
Emil: General (or Ruler?)
Franka: High Priest or Magister
Janna: Ruler (or ?)
Sera: Councilor
Turante: Marshall-> Viceroy(?)
Franka's work with the Æther could almost become a religion...
Re: GM controlled NPCs. It is Never a good thing when a GM likes a character so much that they take it over...
I don't have a truly fixed preference on where I want Audsley to end up; I could as easily see him as Treasurer or Grand Diplomat as Magister, so no worries there. I'm going to let the game shape his ambitions, and am happy to let more focused PC's lock in or whatever roles make the most sense to them now.
This also comes into play in terms of Audsley's leveling progression; at the moment I'm just happy to make him a Level 20 Alchemist, but again am willing to let the game shape his growth. I guess I'm going for the whole organic approach.
As for Audsley's background, I'm happy to edit and modify it as needed to help connect him to the others. At the moment I have him growing up as a sort of castle-recluse, but could easily have him venture out, especially in the past few years as a kind of journeyman alchemist, visiting different cities, castles, and places of learning. As such, it should be easy to connect him to Emil, Turante (a visit to the elven court as part of his lord's retinue?) or anyone else, really.
What about an alchemist as Treasurer? You'll make us rich. :D
I had already considered High Priest as a role when writing Franka before submitting her, and I had some time to flesh out ideas during my commute home. I can see High Priest working for her, if Audsley happens to gravitate towards Magister.
In the simplest form, Franka can provide an impartial arbiter for matters of the faith, considering that she has affinity for divine affairs without being sworn to a particular philosophy or deity. She could make sure that the citizens of our newly-formed domain have a choice from a balanced pantheon of religions to worship.
On the more extreme end, she could be working an a Grand Unification Theory of Everything...
"Have you ever considered how Gozreh is the deity of all duality in nature, while Nethys shows this same duality in his domain of magic? Isn't that odd, considering that there is so much magic in nature, and nature is so magical? It's like they are two faces on the same coin.
I thought it was odd as well, until I started thinking about ourselves. We all live under many guises... To my parents I am Francesca, a delicate and curious girl to be sheltered. To the Elders of the Bonestepper tribe I was "Maggot", to be ignored until I proved myself worthy. And to you I am Franka, hopefully a knowledgeable scholar and trustworthy companion. The same might hold for anyone. The nobleman who puts up a good public face; a loving father who provides for the poor, while at night he stalks the shadows to satisfy his perverse needs, to steal, maim or kill...
What if it is like that with the Gods? That what we know of as different deities are merely aspects of one and the same? Even more: Just as the warlord speaks to his ancestors, and the Elder speak to the spirits, and the clergy speak to the Gods... They all receive the same power. What if they all speak to the same Source?"
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My goal for the "shared background" is to establish a set of plot hooks and a tie between the party before the adventure starts. It can be a loose association, but it's mostly for the goal to have a group dynamic before the adventure starts, instead of a randomly chosen group of strangers comes together to miraculously form a kingdom. On the flip side, I don't want everyone knowing everyone, so I think knowing 1-2 people makes a happy medium balance.
On kingdom roles, I'm fine with them shaking out organically, to an extent. My main goal was to at least figure out who is going towards more "high profile" roles like the Ruler, and make sure they really fit being a ruler.
There was also a small concern of the stat-heavy nature of Kingdom roles. It would probably behoove the group if each person in a kingdom role have at least a 16 in that stat, and that ruler isn't a complete mental deficient ;).
On "what I want to do when I grow level up": I like the way things have been going for people sharing plans. As I mentioned somewhere, (not sure which thread), my GM style is to try and provide hooks and rewards that people would like to see. It's no fun working out an incredibly cool (in my opinion) thing that the party sees and says, "How much can we sell that for?" and moves on. I also prefer a majority of equipment to come as loot / rewards instead of being custom built.
I also tend to give minor perks or boons for effort in backstories and roleplaying. These are sometimes "rules illegal" things that seem thematically appropriate and cool. I'll probably PM people about what they think of a starting perk before starting.
Oh. Oooh. I just had a hilarious thought about a potential, almost Shakespearean ramification of Janna being Ruler down the road.
At a certain point, probably when the Kingdom hits a certain size, the Ruler is going to have some pressure to have an Heir. While an "adopted heir" could be a suitable alternative, I can just imagine the situation where a number of eligible bachelorettes attempt to seduce the "handsome young ruler"
That's settled then. Classic! :)
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So, the original plan was to take 4 levels of Cavalier, to qualify for that tasty "Horse Master" feat.
The more I look at our party (six, plus Emil's horse, Sera's wolf) the more appealing mainlining more bard seems apropos. To that end, I would likely only take a level (maybe two) of Cavalier, and end up with a horse that's severely outclassed by the level.
Alternatively, I can pick up an Archetype that loses out on the Mount, and focus more on the on-foot style of knightly combat. Then focus more on being a secondary caster/buffmage and having skills to pay the bills.
I can certainly adapt this plan a little as we go, (and tailor it to whichever role I end up gravitating towards- -'Gods Save the Janna!'), but the choice of archetype is probably something that should be done before we begin.
Is our party too big? And would a more diverse secondary caster be more helpful than another focused mounted terror?
In light of party balance, I can pretty easily convert Audsley into a straight wizard if we feel like we need a stronger arcane element in the group.
Re: Emil. Per the "core" game, the main barbarians, as mentioned are the Nomen Centaurs and a tribe called the Tiger Lords. Neither really has a large "arcane" influence, (or has an early appearance in the game, for that matter) although if that's something you want, I could rejigger things. On the subject of Bloodrager, the Id Rager with Jealousy is pretty interesting for a tank type, though if your goal is to go Dragon Disciple, Dragon bloodline is probably the way to go. Regardless, if you go Dragon Disciple, Janna might be a better fit for the ruler, as there is literal bad blood with dragons in a rulership position (see: Choral the Conqueror Unless you wanted to be a descendant of his that missed the purge, which could be interesting...
So the part about dragons not being welcome in Brevoy was unknown to me. I'll have to revisit that, but perhaps the draconic heritage could come from the de Mordraine side of the family.
With regards to Id ragers and Dragon Disciple: I was having a conversation with another player about that, and he pointed out that the same way Blood of Dragons doesn't boost your bloodrager draconic bloodline powers, there is no requirement that the bloodrager take the draconic bloodline to qualify.
Do you agree with this interpretation? Because I'm really liking the Id rager now that you've put that option out there.
With regards to the overabundance of animal companions: I have seen large amounts of animal companions bog down play but that was at a flesh and blood table. Does it bog down play in PbP? I would also put forth that cavalier mounts are not quite the same thing as druid animal companions. I'd urge Janna to go with the four levels of cavalier to keep a mount that doesn't get incinerated by a misplaced fireball.
Concerning leadership roles: Honestly, I put Ruler first because it seemed like very few people had that as a first choice. The one choice I would expect everyone to leap on. I think I actually shook my head when I realized that. Initially I was envisioning Emil to be too bright-eyed to go with the job.
So if Janna wants the job, I think (s)he absolutely should go with it!!!
And finally Audsley: I want to say we'll be fine with you as an Alchemist, but a number of characters are in flux, so let's see what arises from the concepts?
Also, I'm voting for Zev as our tax collector.
In light of party balance, I can pretty easily convert Audsley into a straight wizard if we feel like we need a stronger arcane element in the group.
Alchemist should be fine. Between the Mystic Theurge (and possible bard casting) that should be more than enough. Plus, there's a potential for a Leadership cohort or so if it becomes a problem. With 6 people and a large number of Animal Companions, I doubt you'll have a problem.
There *are* a lot of Animal Companions, between the Cavalier horse(s), Druid horse, and Druid wolf. If this was tabletop I'd be really worried because that's a lot of extra rolls. I think it could work out ok in PbP. The bigger issue is the number of squares on the map the zoo takes up.
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Cavalry Formation, ftw!
'Standard Bearer' cavalier: Essentially trading the mount for enhanced banner progression for a level then Bard for 4 (or 7, for haste/good hope, move action inspiration) levels.
'Daring Champion' cavalier: Trade the mount for Weapon Finesse and counting CHA as INT for feat prereqs.; then again into Bard.
The significantly "more martial" option is Cav 4, Bard 1. Here the mount scales fully, I get an extra use of challenge, at the cost of (pretty much all) the spellcasting.
Maybe a better question:
Anyone have connections with the Restov Militia? Unfortunately, as far as backstories go, Janna's is built on denial of his former life.
Maybe our elven princess knows his mom- -he certainly never did.
With regards to Id ragers and Dragon Disciple: I was having a conversation with another player about that, and he pointed out that the same way Blood of Dragons doesn't boost your bloodrager draconic bloodline powers, there is no requirement that the bloodrager take the draconic bloodline to qualify.
Do you agree with this interpretation? Because I'm really liking the Id rager now that you've put that option out there.
Actually, it does boost your Bloodrager bloodline powers
Dragon Disciple and Bloodrager: The dragon disciple’s blood of dragons ability increases draconic sorcerer bloodline powers. What about draconic bloodragers?
Yes, dragon disciple's blood of dragons ability should also increase draconic bloodragers’ bloodline powers
Draconic Bloodrager is a pretty cool way to do Draconic Disciple now. If you'd rather pass on that, though, I'm not going to force that on you (the rules are really sketchy anyways)
Re: Brevoy and Dragons: there's probably some lingering emotion towards dragons, both positive and negative. It would be a bigger deal potentially if you were the Ruler, but General it should be fine other than prejudicing some people slightly.
Emil's Grandmother (or great grandmother? Would have to check the timeline) had an affair with a Surtovan noble that resulted in Emil's father. Part of the reluctance for talking with him about his father is to keep that a secret: that Emil is a descendant of Choral the Conquerer. Could work out the details if that's something interesting to you.
Zev as a tax collector? No way, he's far too ambitious for such a role. Ruler or bust. Sadly, he's also pretty old (for a wolf anyway) so Sera's gonna have to give him up pretty soon into the campaign. I'm going to go through so many animal companions if this game actually does go on for like 30-40 years. Maybe invest in a turtle companion?
