Mazra’s Rise of the Runelords Campaign (Inactive)

Game Master Mazra

True Neutral it is. Wasn't that evil of a character anyway. What about rules against worshiping an Evil deity?

The preference is "No." Again boundaries between the Heroes and the Monsters become blurred. In Burnt Offerings the worship of an Evil deity by the Monsters is an important part of the story. It wouldn't make sense if the Heroes agreed with the Monsters.

I'm gonna argue that logic, even if it hurts my chances. In Burnt offerings the pervading demonic entity is Lamashtu, a arch-demon of monsters. For my character the deity would be Hshurha, whom almost no one knows of, or ever worships, including the bad guys.

Hshurha is the elemental lord of Wind, who defeated the previous ruler of the Elemental plane of Air, the Duke of Thunder, Ranginori. Just because a hero, which she would in fact be, worships a deity of elemental air doesn't mean she's going to side with the sick, twisted amalgamations of the mother of Monsters. She's got no interest, or patience, for that matter.

Just because she would worship Hshurha doesn't mean she's going to walk around the town blasting people with Divine Lightning and blasting people into chaotic wind storms.

The character herself would, like her deity, be calm and collected at most times, but a raging typhoon of emotion when the situation demanded it. She revere's the flowing aspects of the deity.

Abadar is an LN deity, but can be worshiped by Lawful evil, truly greedy people. Lymnieris is a deity who has paladins, but also has prostitution And Virginity in her portfolio.

I'd still want to worship Hshurha, but I don't want my chances stunted because people are looking at the black and white aspects of the deity. Someone could look at her and say "Man I really wish these thunderstorms would stop" and then next thing they know they've got a 4 month drought, but hey, at least we don't have storms, right?

Still here, but if you do not mind I will focus my rp on one page a time or it will get confusing :)

Going to bow out of this, as I like the other rogue character that has been submitted and I have run through most of this AP with my table game.

Town of Sandpoint

As the sun begins to shine on a glorious day in Sandpoint, people are migrating toward the shiny new Cathedral.

A pleasant middle-age woman appears to be working the crowd. She shakes a lot of hands. She holds several different small children in her arms as she goes. And she smiles....a lot.

When she sees a face in the crowd she does not know, she will pause and warmly say, "Welcome to Sandpoint. We hope you enjoy our little town," holding her hand out for a firm yet gentle handshake.

The middle-age woman makes her way toward a raised platform erected in front of the new shiny Cathedral.

Thanks one and all for your submissions. I am in the process now of narrowing down the list. I will be traveling next week. I will have my pad and hopefully Wi-Fi along the way. I will say that this recruitment process has been far more difficult than I imagined. The worst part is that there will be some wonderful PCs that will not get selected.

Am I still able to place my suggestion?

Am I still able to place my suggestion?

You are free to submit a character. PCs selection will be based highly upon the criteria established in the initial recruitment post to this thread. Good luck!

As a weather beaten dwarf rides into town, he looks over at the weather beaten wagons of the festival and wonders if there will be any places in the inn for tonight.

Looks at one of the locals and asks "Sir, where is the inn, and is there any space available right now"

Dismounting and brushing the dust off his cloths, he then leads his horse towards the inn, taking time to look at the other sights of the town.

Stopping in front of the cathedral, he shakes the hand of a human woman, and says "I do hope that I enjoy the stay as well"
He then stops, and waits to see what she has to say.

I don't have much experience with pbp, I hope this works.

"May Lady Butterfly smile upon your journeys. I have to say your charming town has many pleasant surprises for a traveler and shows great hospitality.My name is Elektra, but I can see you work the crowd." After shaking the womans hand, Elektra picks a few fruits and leans against a stall, waiting for the inevitable speech.

"We have a few, but not many of your kind in our town. You are most welcome here. I am Kendra Deverin, Mayor of our humble little village," she warmly shakes the Dwarfs hand.

As the mayor moves through the crowd she is pleasantly greeted by a lovely Elf woman. "Yes, I am Kendra Deverin, the Mayor," the middle aged woman says almost apologetically with a slight head bow, and a BIG smile. "Thank you for the blessings. May you enjoy all of Sandpoint's charms during your stay."

By the way, I am new to pbp too. I will heavily depend on the experienced players selected for guidance and suggestions during the process.

Brandark loosens the girth on the saddle, to allow Abacus to rest, and waits patiently for the speech to begin. While waiting he will look around the crowd, and see everyone that is there.

Brandark loosens the girth on the saddle, to allow Abacus to rest, and waits patiently for the speech to begin. While waiting he will look around the crowd, and see everyone that is there.

As you came in to town, the town guard would have directed you to stable your steed at the Goblin Squash stables. It is a reasonable 3cps per day. Due to the large crowds they are limiting access around the Cathedral to foot traffic.

Understandable restriction. I will have stabled abacus before looking around town.

This has been an interesting experience.

I thank everyone who submitted PCs for consideration. And if you were not one of the ones selected, I sincerely wish you well in your future gaming. Maybe we can hook up in the future. If this goes well, I may do it again, but for those that just want to experience RotRL all over again.

I do not believe any of the PCs or Players being selected below will be in conflict with other recruitment. If I am in error about that, then please let me know.

Here is the party:

1.) Fighter Type - Garrath Tricks the Giants - NG Male Human (Shoanti) Barbarian
2.) Rogue Type - Kelvin Fleetwood - TN Male Elf Rogue (Scout)
3.) Divine Type - Lyr Blanch NG Female Human Cleric of Shelyn
4.) Arcane Type - Electra Stardancer CG Female Elf Wizard
5.) Other - Brandark Plainswalker NG Male Dwarf Cavalier

Discussion Thread is open.

I hope to open up the gaming thread before I go to sleep tonight.

Congrats to those who made it. I thought this recruitment would be open much longer. Oh well.

Congrats to those who made it. I thought this recruitment would be open much longer. Oh well.

Sorry about that Gnomezrule. Patience is not one of my virtues. I was anxious to move on.

Dang! Thought I had a shot at this one...

Congrats to those selected - have a great game.

Our wonderful female Cleric is unable to continue in our Burnt Offerings campaign. So we need a Cleric of 2nd Level. The first post in this thread offers some criteria.

A female player playing a Good female Cleric would be ideal, as this is who you would be replacing. But ultimately the party will help decide who will join.

So we look to your character submission. Please feel free to read through the actions so far.

Good luck!

Since knowing a little about me seems like a requirement, I'll start with that first. I've been playing RPGs since about 2006, but I only recently got into PbP. I usually play skill-based characters, but I've been trying to branch out more. I'm a 24 year-old male, but I feel comfortable playing PCs of any gender, and I'm currently running a Curse of the Crimson Throne game here on the forums as well as participating in several others. I recently graduated from college with a degree in history, and writing is a passion of mine (although I consider myself a dry writer, I'm working on adding more flavor to my writing). In the interest of full disclosure, I've read the entirety of Rise of the Runelords, but I can keep player knowledge and character knowledge separated.

I'd like to play a cleric of Pharasma, dedicated to healing and support. She'd be pretty taciturn in the tradition of the Pharasmics, but she's got an interest in what happened at the Glassworks, and she's more than willing to work with others to get to the bottom of things. I'll have a more fleshed out background and an alias put together over the rest of the evening.

Actually, a Shoan-ti oracle sounds more interesting. I've always liked having a drawback to work with. If it not being a cleric isn't a problem. If it's an issue, I can go back to the cleric concept.

My home group got to the very beginning of Thistletop after we had to split up. I'd love to be able to jump into a group that is more or less at that exact same point.

I am planning to submit an Evangelist Cleric; losing a bit of healing potency and medium armor for greatly enhanced support potential.

I'm still waffling a bit on which god to worship. Shelyn, Desna, and Cayden Cailean all would fit very well thematically with the archetype. Pharasma would fit well into the campaign (it would be perfectly conceivable for a cleric of Pharasma to be called in if a tomb was disturbed), s'long as none of the PCs are planning to do any undead necromancin'. And Fateful Channel is pretty cool. On the other hand, Cayden is probably one of the most fun gods. Quite literally.

When is the "due date," as it were? I'd like to read through the posts if possible before finalizing a character. See what works with the party and all that.

Righty-o, got a good amount of the crunch done. Looks like HP rolls are done for second level, so here we go!

1d8 ⇒ 2 And we're off to a great start.

EDIT: Also, what is the starting gold? I'm fairly certain I can upgrade to masterwork for a weapon, but I'm not sure how much I'll have left over. Wealth by Level says 1000g for second level, but APs usually don't follow that too closely.

Any divine type from CRB, APG or Ultimate Combat are acceptable for submission.

I see no harm in submitting more than one character type.

The due date is open at present. Early birds could catch the worm. When we find a character we like, we will likely close the submission.

700G would be an almost equivalent starting point to the others currently in the party. That should allow a masterworks weapon.

Your character will start with a stay at the Rusty Dragon tavern and inn in Sandpoint.

Things have been very uneasy in town with the Goblin Raid and murders at the Glassworks. The usually busy tavern has a sparse crowd this evening, as many of the locals have chosen to close themselves into their homes. The town mood is somber at best.

The proprietor of this fine establishment has been through a trauma. She pushes through her ordeal by pouring herself into her work. And her work is good food, good drink and song.

An exotic tattooed beauty with a distinctive white streak of hair in the front of her dark black mien of hair approaches as you take a seat in the tavern.

"Tonight we have our signature dishes, you can choose between Curried Salmon with spiced potatoes or a large bowl of our Spicy Chicken Noodles with vegetables. We have just received a very fine Honey Mead imported from Korvosa. We also have a white Elven wine, and even some Dwarven Ale. But don't tell our local brewer that I am serving it. What can I get for you?"

Calene sits with her hands folded in her lap.

"I could use a good meal of salmon. And a mug of that ale. And a pint of information," Calene says, leaning forward and lowering her voice to conspiratorial levels. "Did something happen here? Town's too quiet. I tried asking a passersby, but he just muttered something about staying out of the glass business."

Calene frowns. "Or perhaps he was telling me to keep my, ehem, out of the business. Couldn't tell. He really was mumbling."

"Our troubles continue. A little over a week ago the town was beset by Goblins. Our Goblin woes have lingered for days after, as several more were found in the Glassworks. Many of our citizens have perished in the raid. I will get you your food and drink," the exotic beauty scurries off to the kitchen.

Truth be told, I've been having my eyes on this game since its original recruitment thread opened. Being already part of two campaigns, though, had made me reticent to submit a character as I didn't know if my schedule would have allowed me to contribute to this game at that high level of quality that I felt was expected.

Now that one of it regretfully ended, well, here I am, taking my chances... So without further ado

As you can see, I've built her as an Angelkin Aasimar Oracle of Battle.

• Should that particular race not sit well with you (either because you dislike variant heritages or you just don't own that particular book), rebuilding her a standard human should be nothing short of straightforward;
• I've built her as a melee character as I was planning on choosing the combat healer revelation at 7th level, whose efficiency would be maximized if she were standing right in the middle of the fray. Other than that, she can be a discrete tank, hopefully mitigating the lack of the Channel Energy class feature;
• Being a CHA-based character, she can provide some social skills when nice (diplomacy) or not-so-nice (intimidate) forms of persuasion are needed.

As for a background, I haven't had much time to devote to fleshing her out, but I was thinking something along the lines of having her born among Magnimar's Mystery Cults, being given no other name than an omen in Celestial: Adamàs, or "unbreakable". Her oracular powers first manifested as she entered a trance-like state when defending herself from some Sczarni thugs, with heavenly energies pervading her body while leaving her bereft of words save for those she could utter in the Celestial language - a fact that nonetheless her parents perceived as a glorious blessing bestowed upon her by the High Heavens themselves. She now considers all of the more war-like empyreal lords as her patrons, but she holds Falayna, celestial Lady of martial valor and femininity, closest to her heart. Having heard of terrible yer fierce beasts roaming around Varisia, she has taken her leave from her brethren to prove her worth and cleanse the countryside of their presence - or perish in the process.

Last but not least, a short disclaimer about me. I live in GMT+1, which is not the kindest time zone if one has to play with what I suppose is a mostly US-based group. Also, I'm not a native speaker, so from time to time you might happen to stumble upon some odd choices of phrasing while reading my posts. I apologize in advance (and not-so-in advance for those mistakes I've already committed writing this very post ;) )

Aestereal here, submitting Ranna Feels-the-Embers. She's a Shoanti oracle of Flames and daughter of the Sun Shaman of the Sklar-Quah, in Sandpoint as part of an effort to restore her damaged sight from the clouded vision curse. She's a mobile support-healer with a minor amount of blasting from her mystery. More backstory to come, but for now, here's the statblock.

Edit:

As the proprietor of the local tavern rushes off to gather food and drink, a thin, nearly skinny, Shoanti woman opens the door. She squints, trying to see to the far side of the room, and walks forward, taking a seat near the bar. ”Just water for me, and some of that soup, the heat should sit well with me. I am Ranna Feels-the-Embers. I smelled the smell of fire, but it was old. What happened here?”

Silently eating her dinner, another unfamiliar figure is sitting in a corner, content to just blend in with the background for the time being. And yet, her heavy traveler robes do little to conceal the heavy armor beneath, and the alert eye would have no trouble spotting the glint of an expertly crafted longsword resting in her scabbard.

However, the words of that same charming bartender who has served her dinner not quite 5 minutes ago, carried over through the dull silence burdening the room, seem to wake her from her thoughts.

Goblins? Small, pitiful beasts whose only strength lies in numbers. Unworthy of a good battle? Perhaps. But even then... didn't my father teach me that the measure of a battle lies not in the power of your foe, but in the casualties your victory would prevent? If that's so, perhaps this is where Falayna wants me to be, after all.

Moving into the rusty dragon followed by honeytrap Elektra steers to their customary table.Putting down her new ranseur quite clumsily she unpacks her notebook and politly orders a watered down wine. Waiting for Garreth, Kevin and Brandark to arrive she prepares a few things she had in her mind.
Ordering a deep bowl of met for her familiar she starts a quick discussion with him and absentmindly uses a cantrip to clean her clothes and mend some rends.

A minute later, a battered looking, but clean dwarf wanders in. Lady Ameiko, an ale and some of your roast boar.
He then wanders over and sits next to Elektra.
Some new faces I see

As the proprietor of the local tavern rushes off to gather food and drink, a thin, nearly skinny, Shoanti woman opens the door. She squints, trying to see to the far side of the room, and walks forward, taking a seat near the bar. ”Just water for me, and some of that soup, the heat should sit well with me. I am Ranna Feels-the-Embers. I smelled the smell of fire, but it was old. What happened here?”

"Well met. I am Ameiko. The fires were from a Goblin raid a week ago. The Goblins set several fires all around town. But thankfully nothing too big. We already had that problem about five years ago. The soup is more noodle than soup. Would you like a pair of sticks or a spoon?"

Calene lets out a low whistle, and puts on a pensive expression. Her brow furrows deeply, and it is almost possible to see the gears in her head turn as she attempts to process the information. She begins to frantically mutter to herself, "Goblins are often disorganized, muddled masses. Yet they organized to raid the city. And they were found in the Glassworks."

Calene places two fingers on each temple and begins to massage her head. Impossibly, her brow manages to crease further into itself. "The fires in the city must have been a distraction from the Glassworks raid. So clearly they organized...to steal glass? But what would goblins want with glass?"

Calene sits in silence for another moment before snapping her fingers. A victorious smile splits her face wide open. "They wanted the glass...BECAUSE IT WAS SHINY!" she declares in a voice far too loud for the somber mood of the tavern. The Taldane woman straightens her tunic and sits up in her chair, clearly proud of her immaculate powers of deduction. The mystery solved, she waits patiently for her meal to arrive, flashing triumphant grins at any who look her way.

Ameiko will bring a glass of half fresh spring water, and half local red wine to Elektra. It is still very sweet. "Mi Lady," Ameiko offers a polite bow.

She will then bring an ale to Brandark. "It is Dwarven brewed. The good stuff," Ameiko winks at the Dwarf.

My thanks Lady Ameiko With the arrivial of the Ale, Brandark takes a deep drink, then looks at Elektra. I will return in a moment.

With that he heads upstairs, to drop off most of his gear in his room.
A couple of minutes later, after taking his seat again, he listens to the conversations in the room.

Elektra, I am wondering of what else we might find down there, any idea's ?

@Limnen_euron - Go ahead and create your character alias. Thanks.

Calene hums a light rendition of the Cayden Cailean song, "Float Me Down The River of Ale." It is unique in its utter lack of any sort of tune, rhythm, or consistent tempo.

Upon noticing that others have been served while she remains without drink, Calene coughs politely in order to gain Ameiko's attention.

Deep in thought Elektra shrugs out of her train of thoughts when the burly dwarf sits next to her. "If you ask me, we will find pain and suffering there. Now this is just an guess, but we have a shrine dedicated to a demon goddess, a lunatic quasit and a thankfully defunct transformation pool. I think, no I hope, we will find answers but alas, I think it is a vain hope. In any case I hope we will find a few clues. But at the moment I am more interested in finding another member for our merry round. I will miss her, you know, although she was somewhat strange sometimes, but I had high hopes she could teach me a bit about the polearm use. But then she was always cheerful and ... my mind wanders. We need another one, preferably with divine powers! Our adventure is dangerous and we need someone to take care of our wounds."

Well, we have found pain and suffering already. I agree, we are going to have to find someone who can mend injuries, and support us in any future endovours.
And yes, she will be missed by all of us, for both her skill at arms, and healing

Besides, Brandark mentions with a grin Either myself or Garrath would be more than honoured to teach you the ways of that waving his hand at the Ranseur.

As for clues, I am at a loss, and must take your word as to what they were.
With that, he drains the last of the Ale in his mug, and signals for another.

Calene perks up at the elf's words, and makes no attempt to disguise her interest. As Elektra finishes her thoughts, Calene attempts to vault the table to land next to the elf and her dwarven companion.

Acrobatics: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 2 = 6

Her feat of heroic daring ends with her tripping over the table, and nearly face-planting in front of the two. The cleric quickly stands, dusts herself off, and attempts to strike a casual pose.

"Answers? Clues?!?" she exclaims, "Seems you need the aid of a detective extra-or-din-aire!" Calene fumbles around in her pocket and produces a worn card, which she extends towards Elektra.

The card simply says:

"Calene Valdemar, Detective Extraordinaire
Priestess of Cayden Cailean, Finder of Lost Things
Reasonable Rates"

Calene coughs politely, and points to the card. "I might need that back when you're done. I think it's my last one."

Those versed in local knowledge may recognize the surname Valdemar as the name of one of the founding families of the Mercantile League of Sandpoint.

Calene hums a light rendition of the Cayden Cailean song, "Float Me Down The River of Ale." It is unique in its utter lack of any sort of tune, rhythm, or consistent tempo.

Upon noticing that others have been served while she remains without drink, Calene coughs politely in order to gain Ameiko's attention.

"My apologies. We became suddenly busy. Are you from around here?"Ameiko brings her a quality Dwarven Ale with just the right amount of fruity flavor, also the Curried Salmon with Spicy Potatoes. Ameiko will have overheard her comment about the Glassworks, but will choose not to reveal the truth of the events there.

Spoon? Why would anyone need a spoon? Eat the noodles and drink the broth. Ranna Feels-the-Embers pauses for a moment. "Sticks, I think. Goblins? I am not from around here, and we have things besides goblins to worry us, but I thought goblins were rarely well-organized enough for something like that. I am on my way to Magnimar. However, you seem as if you could use assistance. The spirits have...blessed me with their gifts, and I would be glad to be of service. There is no rush to arrive in the city, after all. My eyes will wait. Who should I talk to about the goblins?"

On being pointed in the direction of the elf and dwarf, she carefully makes her way over to them. "I was told there was a problem with goblins here. I am Ranna Feels-the-Embers. I offer my services."

Later Ameiko brings another round of Dwarven Ale with some Roast Boar and Spicy Potatoes to Brandark. "Is everything OK below the Glassworks?" For the first time in her life she actually has a care about the family business.

Argh! Had to add the moniker as the alias was already taken. Not completely satisfied with it though; thinking about fixing it before the 10 posts window closes

As more patrons slowly start filling the Rusty Dragon's common room, Adamas can't help but overhear some of their conversations. The news about goblins attacking the town's renowned Glassworks unsettles her, but the Taldane woman's train of thoughts that follows it manages to bring a smile to her face — which rapidly fades.

The truth is — for those pesky menaces that would truly be as good a reason as any. But attacking a walled town, twice? That could only mean there's someone - or something - behind them. And the only thing goblins recognize is strength.

It's the sound of tankards pounding on a table, however, that finally manages to draw her out of her corner. Taking off her cloak, she makes her way towards the counter, her armor clad figure covering the distance in a couple of steady strides.

"If that ale's good enough for a dwarf, I'd be a fool to return to Magnimar without tasting it. One tankard please", she cheerfully asks her exotic-looking host. "By the way, the salmon was exquisite. Truly, every Magnimarian who claims that civilization ends at his city's walls should come here and try it".

Once she's been served, sipping on her brew she once again addresses the tavern's proprietor. "Indeed, I was just passing through town on my way to the Varisian interior. Hoped to arrive in time to witness the cathedral's inauguration, pay my respects to the Gods and Goddesses worshiped there before proceeding further away from Magnimar, looking for chances to put my blade to the test again the creatures that are rumored to dwell there. But now I hear that this town's been having its fair share of problems as well." Her voice is calm and collected, the faintest of smiles adorning her face as she fixes her pale eyes on her interlocutor. She stops for moment, her gaze suddenly losing its focus before wandering around the room. Once she resumes her speech, it's like her attention has now shifted elsewhere. "If I may be so bold, who are that dwarf and that elven woman sitting there? They surely don't look like regular patrons. Indeed, it's like they project an... aura... of authority around them".

Ameiko will bring a large bowl filled with mainly noodles, mixed with various vegetables and diced chicken flavored with whole dried hot peppers to the Shoan-ti woman. A pair of lacquer coated sticks are standing straight up in the middle of the bowl. The water is cool and refreshing as though from a mountain spring, an unusual find in any town. "Hope you enjoy.

Looking at Adamàs, a chill goes down Ameiko's spine, "You look just like someone that once called Sandpoint home. Dark things happened to her." She sits a mug of Dwarven Ale in front of the Aasimar. "It is a fine ale. Enjoy."

Shaking his head and chuckling at Calene's antics, Brandark responds to Amieko
Lady Amieko, we have not managed to finish looking around down there. Lady Lyr was called away by her church, and it left us in a bind.
Brandark then takes a drink of the ale.
We are up here, in the hopes that we can find someone who might be able to help us as Lady Lyr did.

"My apologies. We became suddenly busy. Are you from around here?"Ameiko brings her a quality Dwarven Ale with just the right amount of fruity flavor, also the Curried Salmon with Spicy Potatoes. Ameiko will have overheard her comment about the Glassworks, but will choose not to reveal the truth of the events there.

"Here and there," Calene replies. "Although I was born in Magnimar. I've been traveling for a while; it's encouraged in those who follow the Lucky Drunk," Calene pauses to flash the back of her left hand, which bears a birthmark in the shape of a mug: the holy symbol of Cayden Cailean.

"Sadly," Calene sighs, "Traveling pays rubbish. So, I've been taking up the life of a wandering detective, solving mysteries all across Varisia. Unfortunately, detective work is surprisingly hard to find." Calene pauses again to take a swig of the ale.

"Almost as hard as finding a good dwarvish ale in these parts," she says appreciatively, raising the mug in acknowledgement to Ameiko.

Later Ameiko will address Adamàs' comments about the Dwarf and Elf. "Currently, their residence is here in my inn. They are more than guest, they are my friends. Come let me introduce you." Ameiko will take the Aasimar to meet Brandark and Elektra. She will then take her leave to serve other guest.

One of the other guest is a striking but stern looking Elf in woodsman attire, a longbow on her back. She looks like she has been through a battle. She makes a quick stop at the bar to pick up a glass of red wine. "I need a bath," the Elf Woman says as though desperate.