Perhaps it is the "Korvosan Nights" title, but I get the feeling that this campaign will have some noir-ish themes to it? If so, that would be pretty cool too.
Definitely! Those noir motivators of Love, Greed, Corruption, Revenge, Betrayal, Power, Fear along with those noir elements of flawed heroes being steadfast against urban grime, poverty, drugs, crime, murder, waterfronts, and, bars are core to the Korvosan Knights!
Brimley and OM, just submit them and see what our DM decides he wants to see! He said 4-5 so let's give him some submissions that are worthy of his attention! ^_^
Indeed! I gotta say that I'm very impressed with the quality of submissions so far.
For those keeping score at home, here are the current concepts:
Viluki - Bryeis - Tiefling Warlock
Fighting Chicken - Juliet - Half-Elf Fighter
PrismaticMonk - Roakarrd - Human Warlock
Aeshuura - Unknown - Human Cleric (Norgorber) - Not EVIL ;)
Petty Alchemy - Tybalt - Wild Elf Rogue
PirateDevon - Jiang - Human Monk
Big OM - Unknown - Human Wizard
But, not EVIL Cleric of Norgorber! ;)
Updated!
Wild Elf! Dominant gene expression.
Wild Elf! Dominant gene expression.
Thank you! That's right.
I'm working on setting up a more permanent Google Drive folder for player materials and handouts. Along with the Player Reference Doc, I will be having a folder for maps of the various districts and neighborhoods of Korvosa for reference. Along with that will be a constantly updating general map with Points of Interest as we come across them in the adventure.
The regions of Korvosa and their wards will be used often in conversation and placement. For instance, this adventure will take place primarily in the Midlands District of Korvosa around the Westdock ward.
I try to avoid asking players for a lot of knowledge rolls about things your characters likely know. Especially if it's about your city you live in and general information about a district your character resides. This is why I prefer passive roll scores. Active knowledge rolls are for asking/answering specific questions, such as, "do I know the weakness of this monster?"
In my posts you can expect staggered spoilers of difficulties with notes:
Just thought I would point out that Roakkard is probably mostly an outsider. He is marginally familiar with the outer districts, as well as the schools and libraries (a fixation on arcane knowledge), but he is not familiar at all with anything of Korvosa other than that beyond the basic outline of major streets and anything truly remarkable from an architectural perspective.
Second idea is a former dashing and handsome criminal with a nasty drug problem. He was left to die by his former boss and dealer in the Korvosan sewers in the sections known as "The Vaults" after a get-rich-quick scheme fell apart. He stepped on a trap, heard a click, and that's all he remembers. Years later, his bones, misidentifed as a former adventuring team's fallen companion's, were recovered and was reincarnated as an ugly half-orc. Through all the sin, irony, ugliness, and misfortune, he found Shelyn and saw the beauty in this cosmic twist. Immediately he is seeking to make reparations for the adventuring party and pay them back while going on his personal crusade for redemption and to make Korvosa beautiful again. Starting with the drug trade and the one who left him to die.
I like the halfling idea, but I kind of love this one. Lots of good hooks - reparations for the adventurers, beauty/beast in one's self, coming to terms with new limitations, finding beauty in Korvosa, which is in a way a rather ugly place. Very cool.
Do you have a specific example in mind that we can discuss? Perhaps a sample ruling would not only go a long way but also show a little bit of what you can expect from me as GM.
I don't have enough a handle on the ruleset to have something in mind yet, unfortunately. I was just curious if it happens. Coming from Pathfinder, a game that could have the tagline "have some more math!", I think 5E looks pretty refreshing.
I try to avoid asking players for a lot of knowledge rolls about things your characters likely know. Especially if it's about your city you live in and general information about a district your character resides. This is why I prefer passive roll scores. Active knowledge rolls are for asking/answering specific questions, such as, "do I know the weakness of this monster?"
So I understand correctly, in general Juliet, who has an Intelligence (Korvosa) modifier of +3, is going to know anything equal to or less than a 13 passively (which means probably she knows a good about the city but is no way comparable to a tout, guide or courier)? She may just know that John Smith is a fence for the local thief's guild if it comes up in play. However, perhaps I (Chicken) want to know if Juliet knows a fence for the local guild. In that case, I could make a Intelligence (Korvosa) check to see if I know of John Smith, supposed locksmith down on Water Street, who in fact has a back room filled with stolen goods?
Some cool stuff...
Excellent! I'll update Juliet's background today or tomorrow to bring her in line with Tybalt. Love the quirk!
Just thought I would point out that Roakkard is probably mostly an outsider. He is marginally familiar with the outer districts, as well as the schools and libraries (a fixation on arcane knowledge), but he is not familiar at all with anything of Korvosa other than that beyond the basic outline of major streets and anything truly remarkable from an architectural perspective.
Indeed. Roakkard would know a cursory way around the city but nothing too detailed compared to someone who lived there his or her whole life. You definitely would know more around the University of Korvosa and it's Jeggare Library (The Acadamae are rather exclusive about letting foreigners into their libraries. They're very student/faculty only.) He has the advantage of interracting with fellow Shoanti, though. Your kin would be more receptive to talking to you than a Chel or Varisian.
Thankfully those slight perks and drawbacks are basically relish on top of the game. I try to make adventures with multiple ways of solving them and never punish players or design adventures that collapse due to failing random knowledge rolls. Where's the fun in that?
For example, if you were picked and visited the Jeggare Library at the University of Korvosa, I could remark in the description of the library how you think you see a few familiar faces walking around from years ago. Or if you were speaking to a Shoanti figure, you might get a Shoanti phrase, "And the thunder rolls over the Storval Plateau, brother." instead of a gruff, "What business do you have here?" In a similar fashion, I would describe to Juliet maybe meeting an actor or an actress she may have met before at a tavern.
Simple reminders that your characters exist.
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So I understand correctly, in general Juliet, who has an Intelligence (Korvosa) modifier of +3,...
I try to avoid asking players for a lot of knowledge rolls about things your characters likely know. Especially if it's about your city you live in and general information about a district your character resides. This is why I prefer passive roll scores. Active knowledge rolls are for asking/answering specific questions, such as, "do I know the weakness of this monster?"
So, remember that Olondir said you are considered proficient if you are a Korvosan native. As such, not only do you get to add your Int mod, but you also add your proficiency bonus, making your total modifier a +5. ^_^
So this is Aeshuura's submission. Vaxillis was a street urchin that was one of Lamm's Lambs. One day, on Vax's 13th birthday a man came to Gaedren Lamm and offered to buy one of his little lambs. That was the day that Vax was introduced to the Reaper of Reputation.
Throughout the 22 years that followed, at first acting as a spy for the priest, and later learning the tenets of the cult of the Reaper of Reputation, Vax never forgot the cruelty and abuse that he felt at Gaedren Lamm's hands. Now he returns, looking to find what "brothers and sisters" yet live, and visit vengeance upon the evil that he once called master.
So I understand correctly, in general Juliet, who has an Intelligence (Korvosa) modifier of +3, is going to know anything equal to or less than a 13 passively (which means probably she knows a good about the city but is no way comparable to a tout, guide or courier)? She may just know that John Smith is a fence for the local thief's guild if it comes up in play. However, perhaps I (Chicken) want to know if Juliet knows a fence for the local guild. In that case, I could make a Intelligence (Korvosa) check to see if I know of John Smith, supposed locksmith down on Water Street, who in fact has a back room filled with stolen goods?
Correct, although you'd be considered proficient with that so you're actually a +5. Your connections in the theater and pursuit of Malcomb's killer has granted you a whirlwind of information about the highs and lows of Korvosa.
I feel like this part of my playstyle is better done face-to-face, but I enjoy when players sort of step into the creative process, like if you had a reason for Juliet finding a fence and you said, "Juliet met John Smith before. A fellow actor put me in touch with him. John connected Malcomb's death to Gaedren for me." I love to go with that stuff.
You could make an intelligence(Korvosa) check if there isn't a reason you plausibly come up with and see if you know a fence nearby or, at least, know how to get that information, such as one of your sketchy acting coworkers :)
Hmm, Aeshuura and Olondir, perhaps I'm missing something about how skills work. In order to not derail the thread any more, I've spoilered the skill stuff:
I updated Juliet's background. As for equipment, she's got a lock of Malcomb's hair, clipped from Malcomb's corpse when she went to ID the body, and I've got a section about Juliet's curious (and dangerous) half-brother. It is in the background, but I've spoilered it below for ease of reading:
Juliet left her father’s Southgate house in a huff, a litany of disparaging remarks on muttered under her breath. ”Doddering, stuck-up, officious, judgmental-“
Stepping forward quickly to kick a pile of rubbish in the street, the actor didn’t see the elf stepping off the sidewalk towards her, and they crashed into each other, a jarring collision reminiscent of a Shoanti stickball match. Scowling, sure that the elf was a “dancer” (a bag slasher), one hand went to check on her coin purse, and the other to Spite, Juliet’s blade. Then the elf spoke, the word "sister" bringing a smirk to the young woman’s lips. ”Yeah, alright bub, best get yourself back to your Shiver dealer,” Juliet said, and kept walking. But the elf was persistent, and after following Juliet a few blocks, it was soon apparent that the man knew enough of her father to merit a more serious conversation.
Tybalt – or Ty as Juliet would come to call him – could be her brother. Ty knew things about their father that most people couldn’t. Sure, he said his mom was a Shaonti woman, meaning the obviously full-blooded elf was probably misguided or perhaps crazy, but Juliet had seen stranger things; a book at the Korvosan Museum of Mystical and Medical Oddities that was bound in dwarven skin and had tattoos that dripped blood; a Shiver addict in a dockside flophouse that turned into a rat during a case of the sweats; and blue-feathered hippogriff that in the hands of his Sable Company rider could turn somersaults in the air, belching smoke as the creature did so, like a choking dragon.
Regardless, Ty proved himself loyal and helpful – to Juliet at least. To others, Ty can come off as almost a Storval Wolf, all teeth and hunger, and Juliet's pretty sure her brother has buried a dagger in the back of some sucker at least once. It doesn’t hurt their relationship that Juliet wants little from their father (other than perhaps, would she really examine her feelings, his approval), while Ty goes on and on about the old womanizer’s legacy. It also probably helps that Ty’s opinion of the old perv lines up nicely with Juliet’s own, which is to say its lower than halfling's a sack.
Sorry, I thought that Juliet had a +3 Int mod. You are correct.
Aw, shucks, I'd much rather have a +5 :)
I've finished sketching up a sheet. Will edit in a link after the below roll, and will create an alias if selected.
Unfortunately, Tybalt misplaced his rapier in a sibling, but got a trinket for his troubles .
@FC: Is D'artagan the father's last name?
Also
Tybalt was never fully accepted by the Shoanti who couldn't see any of his mother in him, and his Elven family wanted him to disappear when he first darkened their doorway.
He is paranoid, but not unreasonably so. His life on the streets has made him a good judge of character, and he can tell a thug that's all bluster from one that's really dangerous.
(Expertise: Stealth, Insight)
Tybalt's quality of life began to slowly improve after tracking down his half-sister, and finding out that not only was her claim worse, she honestly wasn't interested in it at all.
Juliet's joy in entertaining others and easy way of making friends has Tybalt attempting small talk with others. This can often go awry, because he does not believe in politeness.
Fortunately Juliet is often there to divert from his faux pas, and her consultation has prevented him from making some terrible life decisions (Tybalt has frequently considered picking up an alias, some of the ones Juliet has rejected for him include: "Whisperknife", "Tanglethorn", and "Crowfoot").
Edit:
28: A dragon's bony talon hanging from a plain leather necklace.
Nice. Tybalt wears it, but keeps the talon hidden beneath a layer of clothes.
Tybalt (Google Drive)
@FC: Is D'artagan the father's last name?
Hmm, as I look at it, it doesn't sound much like an elven name to me. Perhaps Juliet D'artangen is a stage name? That way you can have the last name you'd like.
Alright so I had my playtest today. Party of 5 with the restrictions given by my player document. None of my friends were very much familiar with the Pathfinder universe or lore, so after a 15 minute Korvosa 101 crash course we were ready to begin. In about 6.5 hours of play, we got through only about ~65% through my prepped material before real life broke us up. Final summary was all were very happy with the story and actually wished they could play this game through. Yay!
Thankfully the criticisms I got were around encounter difficulty and no serious faults were had with the story or direction. Overall the biggest thing my players had for me was my downtime activities. Specifically it was arbitrary downtime. So with the removal of the short/long rest change, I just let players decide how long they'd do what. okay so you wrapped up such and such, what do you wanna do now? How many days do you want off to follow up blah blah...
It slowed the game down and didn't add enough. It was suggested after we ended that I keep the downtime activities, but give arbitrary deadlines before moving the story forward with the option of players requesting more time. (I'm going to assume 2 days will go by unless we need more time..)
So now I'm willing to commit at this point that the deadline for submissions is this Friday. I'm super excited to begin playing and dreading the fact I have 7 interested people and should probably only take 5. Gulp.
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No worries. If you need to cut someone, you can cut me. I have already gone through this part, and really don't have to go through it again. I am just happy to be able to contribute ideas! I was watching the BBC series, the Musketeers and the whole time, all I could think was Korvosa!
That should make it a little easier! I wish you all the best of luck, and if you want to use Vax as a background character, let me know!
Woo hoo! I am glad that your playtest went well!
So now I'm willing to commit at this point that the deadline for submissions is this Friday.
Looking forward to it! Good luck, everyone.
Oh I should watch that, then! I must admit, my girlfriend and I have been marathoning Peaky Blinders on Netflix has been revving up the ol' inspiration engine. I just saw the trailer for Muskateers. AMAZING!
Thank you for volunteering to put yourself on the chopping block, Aeshuura. Super generous of you. Look for a PM by me in the next few days about setting up a Google Draw map for combat.
I'm hard at work putting on the finishing touches of the adventure for Saturday. Expect my posts until then to be rather minimal for this thread.. unless any newcomers submit an application, anyone has any questions, or something amazing crosses my mind, I'll be lurking this thread more than posting in it till deadline day.
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Oh I should watch that, then! I must admit, my girlfriend and I have been marathoning Peaky Blinders on Netflix has been revving up the ol' inspiration engine. I just saw the trailer for Muskateers. AMAZING!
Ten episodes of fun! I really enjoyed the costumes and casting! The choreography was good too, but there were a lot of quick cuts that detracted from the fights sometimes.
Thank you for volunteering to put yourself on the chopping block, Aeshuura. Super generous of you. Look for a PM by me in the next few days about setting up a Google Draw map for combat.
You are most welcome. I will certainly be up for helping you set up the Google Draw for the maps! I will send you a PM now so that you have my gmail address!
No worries, PirateDevon.
With Aeshuura on the sidelines, PirateDevon's Jiang and BigOM's wizard are the only other tentative submissions.
I'll leave my decision making until late tonight my time (11pmish) for them or others to deliver a concept.
The 4 completed characters right now are:
Viluki - Bryeis - Tiefling Warlock
Fighting Chicken - Juliet - Half-Elf Fighter
PrismaticMonk - Roakarrd - Human Warlock
Petty Alchemy - Tybalt - Wild Elf Rogue
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So here we go, I'll make aprofile for him if accepted, I'll be honest that I lost my character work and my original bio so both are sort of shoddy replications, hopefully everything is in place let me know if something is missing. I've been ill so my mind is fuzzy, lol
Jiang Tai Lao
LN Human {Tian} Monk
STR 12
DEX 13 +1 {14}
CON 14
INT 10
WIS 15 +1 {16}
CHA 8 +1 {9}
Prof: +2
Age 38
Speed: 30Ft
Languages: Common, Tian
Feat: Athlete {Standing costs 5’, +1 Dex, Climbing ≠ half speed, running jumps after 5’]
Skills: Korvosa, Acrobatics, Performance Athletics, Insight, Stealth}
Tools: Disguise Kit, Flute, Glassblowing Tools
Saves: Strength & Dexterity
Equipment: Shortsword, Explorer’s Pack, Trinket {Ancient Elven Arrowhead}, Flute, costume, belt pouch w/15gp
HP: 10 {1d8}
Unarmored Defense: AC = + WIS and DEX
Martial Arts – Dex instead of Strength, 1d4 Unarmed
Background: Entertainer
Instrumentalist {Flute}
Feature: By Popular Demand
Characteristic: “I’ll settle for nothing less than perfection.”
Ideal: “ The stories, legends and songs of the past must never be forgotten, for they teach us who we are…”
Bond: “My instrument is my most treasured possession , and it reminds me of someone I love.”
Flaw: “A scandal prevents me from ever going home again. That kind of trouble seems to follow me around.”
Jiang was a student at one of the numerous monasteries riddled about the landscape of Tian. Roughly translated the schools name was "Clan of the Shadow's Sigh". By 16 Jiang had been raised and schooled in the ways of stealth, combat, martial arts and defenses. He was an intuitive, an athelete and his dedication was strong. This brought his family pride and so Jiang committed himself to the tenants of the school: family, duty, commitment, history. Jiang's final test was a pilgrimage. IT was a test he would fail.
At 17 Jianh had met Beyece. She was Varisian, a wanderer and Jiang met her in passing at a small roadside inn. Her smile caught him as he played his flute, a practice which his school demanded he cultivate for it was believed that in seeking perfection in music and art a member of the school sustained the living soul of the school's spirit. Pilgrims were to earn money with their cultivated talents and so Jiang played.
Beyece was alluring and Jiang came to find in the woman a new sense of home and affection he had never known. He gave up his pilgrimage and moved west landing within a years time with a wife in Korvosa and a small pine box that held the last vestiges of his life as a member of the "Clan of the Shadow's Sigh"; a Tian made short sword and his pilgrim's clothing.
Jiang was stern, quiet but dedicated and to no one but Beyece tender and dedicated. For twenty years they made Korvosa their home entertainers by day and night. The always changing city appealed to Beyece's Varisian need for change. The stability of a city, a home, centered Jiang's need for structure. Tradition was honored in its own way, Jiang convinced himself, for he continued to play the music of his school and his family and though he might never go home for the shame of his abandonment he stayed true to his people and spread their music and cultivated his skill. But really, life was for Beyece, and then it was over.
Jiang found his wife murdered. The necklace of jade and gold that served as their wedding bond, gone from her body. There were whispers of course. Nothing fruitful. But a name came up occasionally, too powerful to approach, but knowing of what had happened, Gaedren.
After days of searching, a proper Varisian funeral and too many sleepless nigths, Jiang returned home overcome with emotion that threatened to spill from every seam of his person and all he could think of was the elven arrowhead his wife had given him, a small dull thing "as rigid and strong as you are my love, may you look this good when you are this old", his haru wood flute, "your true beauty my love, I know what depths you hide when you play that beautiful music" and a pine box tucked away with the past.
Opening the box Jiang felt a sort of cool assurance fill the void of his anger. Slipping the sword from its sheath the forms and motions came to him like a soft song playing somewhere in the night. Moving with the weapon, feeling the energy of his old life the code of his clan flooded him. She was his family. She was his history her death must be answered for and her effects recovered for a proper, peaceful rest.
Awash in vow making and giving in to old habits Jiang almost missed the card. Harrow backed but bearing a note it looked as though the card had been packed away when the sword was freshly stowed but the message was certainly new, "I know what Gaedren has done to you. He has wronged me as well. Gaedren must face his fate and justice must be done. Come to my home at 3 Lancet Street at sunset. Others like you will be there."
Grabbing his sword and his possession Jiang set out eager to see if the card spoke truth...
With 5 completed applications, I'd like to invite the 5 of you to the game: Viluki, Fighting Chicken, PrismaticMonk, Petty Alchemy, and PirateDevon.
Recruitment is over!