Welcome aboard all. As noted, I'll be out of town, and with uncertain internet access, Oct. 20-30. (At that point, I'll be back, though there's a chance I'll be jetlagged.)
I plan to create a game thread so people can at least dot it -- and if you want to do some pre-adventure starting gaming, please do!
In the meantime, feel free to get to know each other and your characters and make any final decisions you need to for your stat blocks.
Dotting, I'll be finishing up Crunch today at some point. Happy to be on board!
Woo! Thank you Motteditor! I didn't expect this.
I'll get gear finalized and take a look at the rest of Clover's sheet for any changes before start or, more likely, mistakes.
Glad to be playing with you all!
Hey hey! Thanks for the selection. I'll get my alias all updated. Looking forward to playing with all of you. :)
First, Thank you, motteditor!
Howdy!
I'm Central USA (Like Kansas City, Chicago, and Dallas).
Guess I need to actually finish a character sheet in the first place! Already working it, but, you know.
Now, Barhador is from the Fangwood Forest, a nature-focused community of elves that call themselves the Nestornor. It is reasonable that Persephone will know of the community if she hasn't visited.
He's been hanging around Phaendar for long enough for people to think he may be settling in, joining the Foxclaw Scouts while he chats up the (very) few marriageable elven maids in town.
His income while in the area has been from hunting. Anyone paying attention would note that he does not leave usable parts of his kill behind.
So, what's the plan? <evil grin>
Oh, Barhador, while I liked your NPCs, I have to admit I hated their names. I'm going to change them. :) (Will try to post new names for you before I leave in case you want to incorporate them more.)
So a halfling and an elf who are to a greater or lesser degree looking for spouses, and a halfling and an elf who seem like they could use a friend. Are trying to run a campaign with a dating service on the side Motteditor? :p
Alrighty, I've got *almost* everything ready to go crunch-wise and it should be viewable in this profile. I made the assumption that Elrik, being a local, has some sort of cottage in town where he lives and included a bunch of purchased stuff that he has packed away there and wouldn't be carrying around with him all the time (various kits, his old soldier uniform and armor). Hope this assumption is alright.
Only thing left is to write out his Appearance/Personality which is always the weirdest part.
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
Match.com worked wonders for me, Clover. Well, assuming my wife spending most of the first three years of our marriage in a different country than me counts as "working wonders." :D
Elrik -- that seems like a fair assumption.
Oh, I forgot to mention that I swapped Archetypes from Shielded to Two-Weapon Fighter. Elrik is still Sword and Board, but the Shield Bash feats end up having weird overlaps with the Shielded archetype abilities while TWF only adds instead of overlaps.
Yeah, I thought the PC selection seemed suspect on that point too. But why should I complain about it?
Okay, I think I've got the mechanics crunched out. I am open to suggestions about changing mechanics for the good of the group. Spell selections are the obvious, but potentially the feat selection and MAYBE the Shadowhunter racial trait. Maybe. I don't think it will actually matter for this AP, but it fit the backstory concept so well . . ..
Based on recruitment thread discussions, I went with Craft (Bowyer) and saved a ton of cash (self-crafting things I could craft by taking 10) which I then burnt on a tiny Survival advantage.
I have a lot of room to expand on his backstory, including correcting the names of the two local elven maids. This would be the area where we establish pre-game connections, right?
Yeah. I'm going to open the game thread with a couple pre-adventure posts you can all play off of too, if you want. But probably will do that tomorrow, when I'm more awake.
Ah yes, if your separation was due to visa stuff, I lived abroad for a while and saw friends go through it (minus the Match.com part). It is a real pain.
I also met my other half of 8 years on Match.com
The ad said it was £20 for a month's trial but I've since ended up spending thousands!! ;)
------
How are we doing for skills, guys? Particularly social skills. Clover I guess that's your area?
Healing as well, depending on how much we have in the group or not I was wondering about dropping the Hex Channel archetype and concentrate solely on debuffing enemies.
In terms of pre-game connections, Jinx will be well known in town and almost universally hated.
If you haven't read my backstory (which is fine by the way) he escaped from a bandit raid in 'questionable' circumstances and his arrival in town coincided with some unfortunate events. Leading the vast majority to believe he was either cursed or responsible for it directly. Subsequently he was run out of town.
So I think you would have all at least heard of Jinx, even if just in infamy or his nickname as a kind of swear-word.
I'm quite interested in how that would play out where a PC is distrusted possibly even by his fellow group and how the group dynamic changes based on public perception of one member.
I'm in Boston so EST. I mostly post in the mornings but am around pretty much throughout the day since I work from home.
How are we doing for skills, guys? Particularly social skills. Clover I guess that's your area?
I don't think you or Elric have crunch yet, but for the others of us:
Acrobatics +4 (Barhador)
Climb +7 (Barhador)
Diplomacy +7 (Clover) / +5 (Persephone)
Heal +5 (Clover) / +4 (Persephone)
Intimidate +6 (Persephone)
Kn Geography +5 (Barhador)
Kn History +7 (Persephone)
Kn Local +5 (Clover)
Kn Nature +8 (Persephone) / +6 (Clover) / +5 (Barhador)
Spellcraft +5 (Clover)
Stealth +7 (Barhador)
Survival +6 (Barhador) / +4 (Persephone)
Swim +7 (Barhador)
Use Magic Device +8 (Clover)
Arguably the only things we're coming up short on (aside from other Knowledge skills) are Sense Motive and Bluff.
Healing as well, depending on how much we have in the group or not I was wondering about dropping the Hex Channel archetype and concentrate solely on debuffing enemies.
Clover has Cure Spells and I think(?) plans on being support.
Barhador also has Cure Spells.I have 0 spells for quite some time, but I can cure some conditions.
Probably we should get a wand, but I think there's a good spread for now, so I think it's probably fine to drop the archetype.
Also, since we're both Witches - Aside from Cauldron, I won't get any Hexes until 4th or (more likely) 5th character level, so don't worry about stepping on my toes with any debuffing stuff, either. I'm presently going to just hit things.
. . .
Okay now I'm going to riff about some potential relationships.
Never underestimate the value of 'just hitting things.' :)
Especially when you have to protect a tiny, scruffy witch at the back!
Jinx is going to overlap skill-wise with knowledge nature, arcana and so on and doesn't have much in the way of other useful skills like perception either unfortunately.
Good idea on the pre-game relationships. I'll think about that too.
Not a visa issue -- she got into med school (as we knew she was trying to) and has been in the Caribbean and now the UK for most of that time. And, I hear that, Jinx. :)
--
Like I said, I'll be posting first posts in the game thread shortly. Feel free to play there in my absence, but I figured it would also give you a chance to dot the thread so it shows up in your campaign tabs.
---
Barhador, let's go with your elven lasses being Mithrielye (the farmer's daughter) and Aisiridel (the entertainer).
I'm on the U.S. west coast, Portland Oregon, so Pacific Time Zone, GS -8.
As for skills, it look like we have pretty good coverage for the beginning. Clover doesn't have a huge number of skill points, but not bad either. She does have all the knowledge skills in-class, so I can fill in where needed as time goes by. It looks like she will be mostly the party face so I can invest in social as well. Sense Motive would be the one where she doesn't do so well so if anyone else can take that on it would be better.
Clover will be focusing on healing and support/buffing. She'll be able to do a little debuffing eventually as well. Oracles (aside from Life) aren't quite clerics for healing, but the Succor mystery gives some healing benefits from Life with a couple of its revelations, and Clover has the healing campaign trait. She won't necessarily have more healing spells, but they will be more effective than usual. She'll also later have more spell flexibility than usual for an oracle due to her Bonded Spirit ability.
I have some ideas about connections, but have to run now. I'll post then as soon as I can.
Ok, stats all but done. Just need equipment and that is likely to be very minimal on this character.
My crunch is done, though I'm not much for social skills as my Charisma is nerfed due to Elrik's slightly-crippling PTSD. With Sense Motive not being a Fighter class skill (nor Perception, gah!) I have a minor +2 in both without the ability to spike them up.
Relationship-wise, here's what I'm thinking in general...
Recent Arrivals to Phaendar (0-1 year): Unless they have had a particular run in, most people who are new arrivals to the village would only know Elrik as the young man with the ghostly, dour expression. He has been keeping to himself and it would be unlikely that anything more than visual recognition would be between them.
Newer Arrivals to Phaendar (1-2 years): Newer arrivals may have been around for Elrik's return to the village, or at least have heard the rumour mill about him when he came back from the war. Despite the celebration that was held in his honor he hasn't cracked more than a glimmer of a smile since returning and seems a standoffish, haunted man.
Settled in Phaendar (2-4 years): People who have been settled in Phaendar for a decent amount of time might remember when a gaggle of the young village lads signed up and went off to join the army, or at least heard about that tragic day. Mothers wept in the streets, whether or not the lads were their own children, and Fathers shook the hands of the lads solemnly even though the boys had grins of excitement. Seeing Elrik return, those who remember see a different man than the boy who left.
Permanent Residents (5+ years): Those who have lived in Phaendar for a significant time would have known the Barrow family and their farm in the nearby countryside. Elrik was one of three children, all boisterous and fair haired like their mother and easy going like their father. His elder sister was the talk of the village for a while when she ran off with a wandering bard, and his younger brother still lives with their parents working the family farm. Growing up Elrik was a pleasant child and a bit of a follower among the local youths so when the other boys joined up with the army recruiter it was no surprise that Elrik had as well. The changes in him are prominent now and occasionally people about the village will wonder what happened that could have changed him so.
-----
Jinx -> They probably haven't interacted much, if at all, considering they are both on the Loner end of the spectrum starting out. Elrik wouldn't have participated in any rumors or gave Jinx dirty looks though, and is probably unaware of the stigma attached to him and so when they do interact it might actually be half-positive.
Clover -> Again, most likely no immediate backstory between them though her proximity to the town might mean she's heard 'the stories' about him, or at least the rumors. Moving forward her Optimism is going to play counter to his Fatalism.
Persephone -> She probably falls into that 'Permanent Residents' section up above, but until now-ish would have been Adult to his Child/Teen and so she would have some perspective on who he was and seen the change in him. Not sure where to go with it, but there is something there.
Barhador -> They probably have little in common backstory wise and I think they might make a good (rp-wise) friction point depending on how singularly minded Barhador is about his mission to find a wife.
Wow, what a dour and gloomy crowd to hang around with! We're going to have to change that!
I've looked over things and here's what I think about possible relationships.
Clover lives outside of town and has all her life. In the last year or so she's been coming to town more often, say once a month, which means an overnight stay due to the length of the walk back and forth. That means she's a sort of combination of long-term and stranger. More likely to have heard of people than to have actually met them all.
Jinx: Since Jinx is a halfling Clover would certainly be aware of him and know something about him. But if he's living outside of the town proper they may not have met. If they have it would most likely be on a market or festival day? Clover wouldn't be coming around and knocking on his door. She wouldn't be all in on believing the stories about him, but she wouldn't completely discount them either.
Elrik: Probably about the same as with Jinx. Clover may know who he is, and something about his past, but unless he's out and about to be met and looks approachable, they likely wouldn't have a personal connection.
Persephone: It's more likely that Clover might know her. Clover might be an occasional customer of hers. They would have the interest in medicinal herbs in common. Whether they are friendly would depend mostly on Persephone. Clover is more than happy to befriend anyone who will reciprocate.
Barhador: Clover is least likely to know anything about him or to have met him. It would depend on how long he's been around. Just a couple of months wouldn't provide much of an opportunity to have interacted. Unles he's made a very strong impression around town, there's not much reason to think he would have come up in her conversations with others. The longer he's been in Phaendar, the more the chances she will have met him will go up.
So I guess the upshot from all the above is that the ball is in the other characters' court as to the nature of their relationships to Clover. Like I mentioned with Jinx, Clover isn't walking around knocking on doors to say hello, she has a routine that exposes her to the people she sees along the way, and she's happy to chat with them. So I'll outline a typical trip to town and you guys can decide whether or not Clover has crossed paths with your character.
She will visit Vane Oreld, Persephone, and Kining Blondebeard according to her shopping needs (maybe other shops as well). Clover will pay for her supplies by trade in honey if possible, or cash otherwise. Vane sounds rather grumpy so she may not be staying around there much beyond her specific needs. Kining is a dwarf, and Clover will be deferential to her, very polite and a bit more formal. Can't say much more there until there's some personality revealed by Motteditor. Persephone is up to Persephone.
Any remaining honey will be sold to shops that want it, or to passersby on the street. Once those things are taken care of it's back to the Taproot to hang out with Rhyna. Clover would know Jet well, and it seems the type of place Aubrin the Green would be found since she's a Caydenite. Aubrin also sounds like someone Clover would like very much.
Next day is back to the ole homestead.
Jinx will have been in town for about 3 years total, the last 12 months of which living in the outskirts. On that basis he would have a passing knowledge of Elrik, having seen the procession when he left and probably even taken part in it.
His attitude would have been a combined mixture of support for the young men and women going to fight the monstrous hordes but nervousness as by that point he would have been helping Vane treat veterans. Combined with his own experiences and the wounds he has seen, he would have feared the worst for them.
Persephone occasionally buys herbs from Jinx on the rare days where he is tolerated in town. He is knowledgeable enough to know she doesn't need them, but he is grateful nonetheless for the wordless support.
I don't think Jinx would have had much if any contact with Barhador up to now.
Similarly, I don't think Jinx and Clover would have met face to face. She's unlikely to want to buy anything from him and he certianly wouldn't initiate contact with a stranger. So it may be that they are aware of eachother - there probably aren't many halflings in town - but we are yet to actually meet.
Back from camp, partially recovered. Scanning the above and trying to follow suit.
I need to expand out the background sketch to work with the above.
Let's say Barhador has been in the area for 8 months.
Clover: Yeah, with you doing only an occasional overnight in town, and otherwise being "just another farmer outside town", the best chance for the two to have encountered each other would actually be if I was hunting something near your home and we accidentally met. Not very likely. I think we have the two characters with the most positive outlooks on life and themselves.
Elrik: I would imagine that your backstory is near legendary in the local units. Barhador's association with the Foxclaw Scouts would ensure that he is aware of your background, and the obvious cost you are continuing to pay. Might make him far more forgiving of your behavior early, but nobody can deal with that kind of behavior forever. As a REMF veteran, I'm a might uncomfortable with your heavy PTSD issue, which I LOVE. Not that often somebody brings something to a game that both matters and I am uncomfortable with.
Jinx: Assisting with healing is a big deal, and means that many will know who you are and have reason to view you more positively than you would otherwise expect. Again, it is unlikely that we would have met except in quick passing, but you will not be a completely unknown quantity. Your heavily biased negative view of your place in the world is going to be an interesting challenge.
Persephone: Obviously, I've gone out of my way to meet you as one of three marriageable elven women in the community. Given your Scorned Heart, I expect that your response to my presence has been simply tolerance. Honestly, I expect the same with Aisiridel, but for different reasons. She probably has people trying to get closer to her all the time. I'm going to go with the hunter's path, here, and assume that the key to "catching" either of you will be patience. Patience is something an elf can normally afford. For that reason, I don't know that aggressive courting will happen in the short term. More just trying to "crack the shell" and become someone worth trusting.
NPCs:
Aisiridel: Quickly sketched in my above thoughts.
Mithrielye: Probably where he's had the best success to date. She has every reason to hesitate to trust me but I can help her meet some pretty basic needs. Gotta consider and make it part of the expanded writing.
@Barhador: Well if Clover ever saw Barhador spooking around near her place she would hide. This is Nirmathis after all!
@Barhador, hopefully I can stand up with some realism without making it too real since this is a game. I also hope I can do it justice as I am fortunate enough to not be dealing with PTSD and am not a veteran myself.
Jinx: Assisting with healing is a big deal, and means that many will know who you are and have reason to view you more positively than you would otherwise expect. Again, it is unlikely that we would have met except in quick passing, but you will not be a completely unknown quantity. Your heavily biased negative view of your place in the world is going to be an interesting challenge.
My intention for this is that any good will he would have built up by helping to treat veterans has been quickly eroded or forgotten because of the general belief that he is responsible for a series of woes that befell the town after his arrival.
I imagine this to be something of a frontier town where rumour starts quickly and becomes like Chinese Whispers, the tale getting taller all the time. By the end every illness, failed crop, death and accident might have been laid at Jinx' door by enough people to make the rest believe enough to want to stay away.
So I think it would be more interesting to play a character who actually is vilified by a community rather than just generally a bit miserable because he has a low sense of self worth.
Just throwing it out there, Mott left an intro post up for us to start RPing a bit before he left on Vacation (or whatever he's doing). I've put up an intro into the opening scene if anyone wants to approach Broody McJumpy here :P
Yes, I've read the posts there so far. I haven't completely figured out my post yet, but Clover is eying Elrik, not approaching him.
I've been away with work for two days and drove for 5 hours this afternoon so going to crash. But I will be getting up a gameplay post tomorrow!
|
Hi guys. I'm going to do something I hate doing and that's drop out. At least it is before the game starts.
Around 10 weeks ago my Dad was diagnosed with Alzheimer's. The decline over the past 3 weeks in particular has been pretty startling and I need to be around as much as I can. Posting on these games doesn't take long, but getting in the mindset to give this game the attention and quality it deserves is probably beyond me right now.
I didn't want to just disappear so at least now mott has a chance to bring in someone new before the game starts.
Good gaming guys and I hope I get to play with you again in the future.
Jam
So sorry to hear about your dad, Jam. That sucks (which is an utterly inadequate response, I know). I certainly understand you putting your priority there rather than on the game.
I'm back now, and will look into grabbing a replacement. Hope to start soon (was going to probably do that later today, but now might need a touch more time).
Try to take full advantage of the time. My wife had to work through a great number of issues trying to take care of her father as she watched him slowly die in front of her. But the time with him, even as he got weaker and more argumentative, has been a marvelous tool for her as she continues without him.
His problem wasn't Alzheimer's. As I understand things, that can put pressure on you for far longer then the few months she was given. Try to find joy in time with him.
Condolences. Family issues are always rough. I've been blessed with not needing to deal with Alzheimer's in the family (yet, knock on wood) but clinical depression in family members has been very disruptive for mine and my family over the years.
Sorry, guys, between jet lag and the site problems, I'm getting a slower start back into this than I'd expected. I think I'm just about over the former issue, though, and have been chatting with someone to replace Jam. Just need to be awake enough to look at his character.
Hi all. Happy to be on board.
Welcome. I gave your background a read through and it looks like Arryn was a military man like Elrik here, but they certainly had different paths. I hadn't considered what Elrik would think of a deserter, it'll be interesting to see what happens if that ever comes out.
Hence why Arryn has never opened up to the man.
Arryn has ranks in Profession: soldier, and I would imagine some aspects of his training will come out. I’m not a soldier myself, so I don’t know the lingo, but feel free to assume that over enough time, certain slang comes out, or something about the way he tends his gear might tip Elrik off about his military training.
Elrik might also have heard of Mitchum Woodhaver, Arryn’s father.
Sorry to hear, Jam. :(
Echoing the problems with the site here. Will try to have a post up tomorrow.
Just to make sure I have a handle on our group, we have:
Arryn -- human telekineticist (skills and support)
Persephone -- elven herb witch (healing and face stuff)
Elrik - human fighter (melee and heavy lifting)
Barhador - elven hunter (ranged combat and nature-y skills)
Clover - halfling oracle (healing, buffing, support)
We seem well-suited to living it rough in the wild and taking it to the hobgobs.
Sorry, guys, these outages seem to keep coming at times I expect to be able to post. I'm out of pocket through Monday -- I have to run up to New Hampshire for a memorial service -- but I hope to start normal posting for the adventure on Tuesday/Wednesday.
Thanks for your patience, all.
Hey guys, we're still early so I want to discuss expectations: I'm looking for people to post every day basically, especially when we're in combat (yes, weekends and holidays and whatnot can sometimes cause a delay, but we're in the middle of the week). I know things have been disjointed with the site problems and my slow part, but it's important to get a good flow going. As I said in recruitment, I believe strongly that momentum is key, and if every round of combat takes several days, we lose momentum.
If we're on different pages, let's figure it out now, please, so we can figure out the best way to have a successful game.
Once a day is fine by me.
Maybe we need to do a check in to make sure everybody has seen that we’ve started?
Also, some folks haven’t dotted the gameplay thread yet, meaning this game isn’t showing up on their campaign tab. Perhaps some PMs are in order.
Heh, I keep tabs open on my computer with both Gameplay and this discussion thread open. I probably refresh checking for posts an unhealthy number of times per day :P I agree that momentum is key for this sort of thing, would love to see us really get into the thick of this.
Yes, I'll PM Persephone and Barhador.
Works for me. I delayed posting a little since my initiative was lowest and others might have changed my actions, but normally I'll post more quickly.
I was waiting on Persephone, honestly.
Please don't wait for each other in combat, just because it means one person can hold up everything. As I said, I'll adjust actions/order slightly to try to make everything work (and will become better at that as I get to know you all and your characters), but I'd rather keep everything moving.
We'll give Persephone a little bit longer; I'm hoping she hasn't disappeared for good.