Next Best Hope

Game Master Nylissa

Evil has triumphed.

The gates are breached and the enemy is within the walls, all manner of foul beasts stalk the streets and skies. One by one, the strongholds of civilization have fallen against the seemingly endless horde. As the sun sets, the fallen rise to fight again, given new life by the necromancers of the enemy. The Empire is over, her armies shattered and her glorious capital, Thebes, lies defenseless, ripe for plunder and the dark forces run rampant through the streets, the few lights of resistance are quickly being overrun.

In the temple district, the fighting is fiercest. The priestesses of have fortified the temple of Athena and a small group of brave souls prepares to give their lives defending it. From inside, you can see the orcs and goblins milling around, waiting for the moment to charge, and you hear the screams of those who were not so fortunate. Before that, rank upon rank of undead warriors, some still leaking fresh blood from their mortal wounds, march towards the barricade. As you prepare to meet your deaths, a young priestess comes. Though she has never seen you, she knows your names.

"Come quickly," she says. "Time is short."

You follow her into the temple's inner sanctum. The aged oracle waits, her eyes blank and white, though her face is wise. When you have assembled, she turns to you. Her voice is calm, and she speaks slowly, as though there was all the time in the world.

"Today, the world ends, our heroes have fallen," she says. "Tomorrow, the sun will rise on something else. Hope endures, as long as there are those who will keep it alive. This city is dead, but there are places where the forces of good remain strong. The world will need new heroes to carry on the fight, and you must be those heroes. Go with Aurora, she will show you the way."

The young priestess beckons for you to follow her, towards the back of the temple.

This is intriguing. I'm fighting an impulse to have a norseman that's a-viking in greece as my character, I'll see what I can come up with.

Priestess, is there word from Lexandria or Saqqarah? The young foreigner seems eager for news, his eyes nearly welling with tears... but he manages to fight them back.

Worlds away and perhaps no matter, really. Where are my manners? I am Ali, and I am at your service.

The youth draws a scimitar and while letting the priestess lead the way, places himself between Aurora and any danger ahead.

Seeing this very late tonight, but intrigued. I'd like to pitch another foreigner to go with the viking and the arab...

"_I_ am the word from Lexandria. And I may be the last." The dark young woman glanced up at him past the lioness' fangs that fronted her cowl, before returning to the binding of her right hand, layer on layer of white linen, finally enough layers to keep the blood from showing. "But if this is what the Gods will we are meant for, I mean to be well for it." Tying off the wrapped linens, she tests the hard fist-club against a wall, either not feeling or not acknowledging any pain. At the unasked question, she answered, "My spear. They splintered my spear, one of the great beasts, and the shards... drove through my wrist. The priestesses here, they got them out, but I've still no strength to hold a blade." She holds up the cestus-bound hand, and takes up her shield. "This will do. If it's to be the last weapon I wield, let the Gods grant, that I wield it well."

She falls into place in the flying wedge, her shield ahead of the priest, opposite Ali. "I am of Sekhmet.", she says to the Arab. Glancing at her bound hand, she stresses, "Fist of Sekhmet."

Softly, prayerfully, she adds, "...so may it be."

...and really have to find a good avatar. If you'll have me.

"There is no time for manners! We must move!" Holding his bow at the ready, arrow nocked and aimed back the way they came. There is a slight but noticeable tremor in the man's voice. "It is not of the Gods' will that I-I am here. My own t-two feet carried me, and my own bow and skill protected me!" He says looking to the others. Hearing how frantic his own voice sounds, he shakes himself, as if to wake himself up and seems to calm a little. "I apologize. I've lost m-much up to this point, and I shall lose no m-more." He takes a breath. "You have my bow at your will. Y-You all lead and I'll bring up the rear! Don't want any surprises."

.oO{Faithless Hellenic... steady your heart and aim. May the Gods steady us all.}

"I am glad you are here, bowman, and I will thank your feet and the Gods as well. We follow the priestess, though we might walk first. She had some plan..."

Nice starts, all. Just to clarify: Egyptian Thebes with strong Greek influence. I like what I'm seeing so far.

What I've decided about character creation: 25 pt builds, one stat can be dumped to 8 before racial mods. 2 traits. Max hps at 1st level, average after that. Average starting gold*

*If you wish to play a soldier in the Theban Army, you may add Masterwork to one weapon and one armor. If you are a sorcerer or wizard, you may instead take a wand of Scorching Ray with 10 charges remaining. A witch may take a wand of Hold Person with 10 charges. Both wands are CL3, DC13. The price for this is that you will start the adventure wounded. If you take this option, your MAXIMUM hps will remain what they are, but I will roll 1d(your HD type) to represent the injuries you've taken in battle.

ninja'd on reply to your questions...

Some other questions: This is Earth? We are humans? You mentioned racial mods.

Any chance of starting @ 2nd Level... to put us on track for multi-classing, if we are? Was 1st Level already indicated?!

Hope I didn't miss it and sound like a fool! But, it happens.

The priestess Aurora leads you down a narrow corridor that slopes down behind the altar, and into a small sacristy, where the grey robes of the priestesses were stored, along with candles and other ritual objects. A dozen javelins stand in a basket in the corner, and the priestess takes one. A tapestry depicts the goddess in her full splendor, emerging from the head of her father.

Aurora pulls the tapestry aside, revealing a roughly cut passage that leads upwards through the bedrock. With a quick prayer, the tip of the javelin begins to glow, and she looks at each of you in turn.

"This will take you into the slums outside the city," she says. "I will wait here, for others may come."

@Nylissa - This "Ali" avatar is 6th level, I'll build another for the appropriate level for the campaign if I'm chosen. Starting as Barbarian 1, if we start at 2nd Level, then Barbarian/Rogue 1/1.

Ali is "Persian" I suppose, Arabian Nights influence, Sinbad, etc... VERY Mediterranean. Probably traveled through Thebes on his way to Greece.

Will there be sailing, sea travel?

If it's not too late, I'll look into later today or tomorrow. It looks very interesting!

Slums... I am closer to home, already. Ali gives a genuine smile.

Reaching into the folds of his loose shirt, Ali produces a pendant with phoenix insignia. He hands it to Aurora. Nothing more that a brass trinket, be assured. But, if it is presented with a message... we will know it is from you.

Bending, Ali kisses the priestess' hand. Manners... what separate us from animals, monsters and barbarians.

Turning, he slips into the passage and closer to his destiny.

Thanks for your questions: there are many things I need to clarify. I'm trying to pull DnD style fantasy together with a ancient mythic feel, and I'm using the Mediterranean as a template.

@ Fist of Sekhmet: This is a world that borrows its geography and culture, and history to a much lesser extent from Earth, but it is definitely a fantasy world. There is magic, there are monsters. There are many races other than humans that are scattered around the Mediterranean, though I haven't placed any particular groups in any particular places in Egypt.

@ Fist of Sekhmet, part 2: Thanks for your answers to my questions. I've glanced at them, but wanted to answer yours first and say, have a great time at the game today.

@ Ali ibn Sabbah: characters start at first level. I hope that isn't crippling.

@ Adam War...nock? ;) Apologies. You were the first to respond, and I haven't replied. By all means, bring a character in.

@ Azten: absolutely not too late. I'm keeping applications open at least until Wednesday.

@ Ali: Yes, there will be sailing and sea travel. Argonauts, Odesseys, etc. If you really want to start multiclassed, I'd say you could start as a warrior/expert 1/1, and then when the party hits second level, you'd just "upgrade" to barbarian/rogue 1/1.

There was a snort from behind Ali at the mention of barbarians.

"Are you gonna talk or get a move on? I don't much fancy getting cut down by the beasties back there," a tall and worrying looking Gaul rumbled from behind them. His fiery red hair pulled back into a ponytail and a vicious looking sword strapped to his back. What is more impressive is that he was still standing after a pair of arrows to the arm and glancing blow from an orcish blade to the face. His facial wound had been hastily bandaged, leaving only one copper green eye visible.

Despite the blood and grime mostly covering him it is clear his armor and sword are both of excellent quality. From the looks of things he seems to be on of the mercenaries hired by Thebes well before the conflict. It is shocking to see that one has lasted this long.

"I ain't got no designs on dyin' today,"

------------------

1: Brennos, a Gaulish human, mercenary and tactician (as per the fighter archetype). He was hired as a mercenary by Thebes before the current mess. If he had an option he would probably abandon the greeks to their fate but seeing as he is currently trapped, he has no choice but the throw his lot in with the other survivors. He makes for an excellent commander but has a bad habit, in his mind at least, of getting attached to the people he fights with.

2: I like a cohesive group, people able to work together despite differences in opinion and background.

3: Currently trying to learn italian style fencing with the longsword.

4: See above

5: I'd be willing to give Mythic a shot, I haven't tried it yet but won't complain if it doesn't happen.

Writing them down so I don't forget
Str: 18
Dex: 16
Con: 12
Int: 14
Wis: 13
Cha: 10
(Using an ARG alternate human trait to get another +2 to any stat)

Spoiler:

Priestess, is there word from Lexandria or Saqqarah? The young foreigner seems eager for news, his eyes nearly welling with tears... but he manages to fight them back.

Worlds away and perhaps no matter, really. Where are my manners? I am Ali, and I am at your service.

The youth draws a scimitar and while letting the priestess lead the way, places himself between Aurora and any danger ahead.

*****

Slums... I am closer to home, already. Ali gives a genuine smile.

Reaching into the folds of his loose shirt, Ali produces a pendant with phoenix insignia. He hands it to Aurora. Nothing more that a brass trinket, be assured. But, if it is presented with a message... we will know it is from you.

Bending, Ali kisses the priestess' hand. Manners... what separate us from animals, monsters and barbarians.

Turning, he slips into the passage and closer to his destiny.

Aurora's reply to Ali's gallantry and his first question was cut off by the Fist of Sekmet, bringing news of the fall of the other cities.

"To the best of my knowledge," she says, "we are the last remaining stronghold in Egypt. How other lands have fared, I cannot say, but there may be some hope left in the Hellas."

*****

In the sacristy, she returns his bow with a warm smile and a quick nod, and her fingers close around the pendant. She cocks her head in surprise at the idea that such a decorous gentleman should have emerged from the slums. "I still hope that I may survive, to be the one to deliver the message. Thank you for your thoughtfulness."

Spoiler:

"_I_ am the word from Lexandria. And I may be the last." The dark young woman glanced up at him past the lioness' fangs that fronted her cowl, before returning to the binding of her right hand, layer on layer of white linen, finally enough layers to keep the blood from showing. "But if this is what the Gods will we are meant for, I mean to be well for it." Tying off the wrapped linens, she tests the hard fist-club against a wall, either not feeling or not acknowledging any pain. At the unasked question, she answered, "My spear. They splintered my spear, one of the great beasts, and the shards... drove through my wrist. The priestesses here, they got them out, but I've still no strength to hold a blade." She holds up the cestus-bound hand, and takes up her shield. "This will do. If it's to be the last weapon I wield, let the Gods grant, that I wield it well."

She falls into place in the flying wedge, her shield ahead of the priest, opposite Ali. "I am of Sekhmet.", she says to the Arab. Glancing at her bound hand, she stresses, "Fist of Sekhmet."

Softly, prayerfully, she adds, "...so may it be."

Aurora winces in sympathy at the sight of her bound hand.

"We cannot know the Gods' will, only embrace the fate that comes," she says, and then adds in a lower tone, not addressed to you, but as if she were only speaking her thoughts alouds. "I pray that they see your courage."

Spoiler:

"There is no time for manners! We must move!" Holding his bow at the ready, arrow nocked and aimed back the way they came. There is a slight but noticeable tremor in the man's voice. "It is not of the Gods' will that I-I am here. My own t-two feet carried me, and my own bow and skill protected me!" He says looking to the others. Hearing how frantic his own voice sounds, he shakes himself, as if to wake himself up and seems to calm a little. "I apologize. I've lost m-much up to this point, and I shall lose no m-more." He takes a breath. "You have my bow at your will. Y-You all lead and I'll bring up the rear! Don't want any surprises."

Before they leave the presence of the oracle, Aurora smiles bravely at the archer, her hand on his shoulder, reassuring.

"Your feet and your bow have done you credit, then," she says. "We have all lost too much. If you cannot honor the gods' request, though, perhaps you could honor the request of a woman, to lend your skill and strength to stand against the complete destruction of all that is good in the world."

Spoiler:

There was a snort from behind Ali at the mention of barbarians.

"Are you gonna talk or get a move on? I don't much fancy getting cut down by the beasties back there," a tall and worrying looking Gaul rumbled from behind them. His fiery red hair pulled back into a ponytail and a vicious looking sword strapped to his back. What is more impressive is that he was still standing after a pair of arrows to the arm and glancing blow from an orcish blade to the face. His facial wound had been hastily bandaged, leaving only one copper green eye visible.

Despite the blood and grime mostly covering him it is clear his armor and sword are both of excellent quality. From the looks of things he seems to be on of the mercenaries hired by Thebes well before the conflict. It is shocking to see that one has lasted this long.

"I ain't got no designs on dyin' today,"

Startled by the horrific appearance of the Gaul's and his wounds, Aurora takes a step back. A moment later, she recognizes the hair and the eye, and sighs in relief.

"At least one of our brave Gallic soldiers still lives," she says, smiling. "I pray your designs will keep you from dying today, and for many days to come. Your courage and strength will be needed."

Keeping track:

RPing and applied
Ptolmaeus Arvenus/Brennos
Thornborn/Fist of Sekhmet

RPing
Ali ibn Sabbah
Variel Tathos

Interested
AdamWarnock
Azten

If you've applied (that means Brennos & Fist of Sekhmet at the moment) I'm ready to look at your character sheets/crunch, whenever you've got them ready.

Applied means questions answered?

@Nylissa: Not a problem, I never really asked a question anyway. And you got the name right, you'd be surprised how often it gets mangled.

Anyway, on to the intro.
------

A soldier stumbles backwards through the door, tripping on his feet and the blood splattering the floor. With the clatter of armor and weapons, he falls on his back and his helmet flies off his head.

Except he, is a she, and she has seen better days.

"ouch." she says as she rolls over onto her hands and knees and picks her self up. Blood, human, orc, goblin, and various other shades coated her armor and stained the cloth padding under it. She sees the Priestess and the others, stands at attention and salutes.

"Orders, ma'am?"
-------

1. Alekto is, or perhaps now was, a soldier in the Thebean army. She joined more out of it was that or beg, and she has a little too much pride to beg. She lives up to her namesake. She is relentless, unflappable, and tough. Before the siege of Thebes, she had stood and fought after taking wounds that should have felled her. During the siege, most of her unit was wiped-out with her being the only survivor. She fought her way to the temple and stumbled though the door just as the others were about to leave.

2. People who care more about fun and can keep the game moving. I've been in games that limped along with the GM posting once every two or three weeks. It's not fun.

3. I like to draw, read, and play games. Currently enjoying Prachett's Discworld.

4. The intro is a pretty good piece of my writing. Not every post is going to be like that, but most will have a good level of detail.

I've been interested in the Unbreakable Fighter Archetype, and thought this would be a good time to use it. Personality-wise, Alekto is no nonsense and blunt. She will follow orders, but at the same time will let the officer that gave them know if she thinks that they're idiotic.

5. I'm not adverse to it. Just let me know and I'll read the rules.

Here's Brennos, I'll be filling in his background and appearance shortly.

@ Ali: yes.

RPing, applied & crunched
Brennos

RPing & applied
Thornborn/Fist of Sekhmet
Ali ibn Sabbah
AdamWarnock/Alekto

RPing
Variel Tathos

Interested
Azten

@Nylissa - Ali profile updated to Barbarian Lvl 1, not crippling. Not any more than any Level 1 start. Background tweaked. Languages - Greek and Arabic.

Within the passage. No time for designs, period... friend. We're on the run. We need to find a soft spot in the gauntlet and punch through, breaking away. No stands today, no heroics.

If we gamble our lives and die, the priestess' and oracle's efforts were for nothing. Let us live and give back as much as we've gotten... A blow, for Hope.

Where are you from, man... what shall I call you? I am Ali, the Arab, Desert Dog, there have been a few.

Brennos looked down at Ali with his one good eye, hunching slightly to fit within the stone passage. "Brennos, I am from the northwest." It was obvious he was not one for listening to speeches about hope. He had been in the thick of the battle, hope did not apply to the situation, hope did not keep you alive.

"Save it, if you keep talking, I'll bleed out and die before we see daylight again. Then the passage will be blocked." He paused and looked back trying to get an accurate headcount and figure out what he had to work with.

Wounds: 1d10 ⇒ 5

Brennos's crunch raises a good point: Languages.

Greek will be the common tongue, though it will not be quite as universal as common usually is.
PCs will automatically speak Greek, & the language of your country of origin. If you're not sure what that would be, just state where you're from and I'll let you know.
I'll attempt to work up a list.

Non-humans will have the option of speaking their racial language, or their local language.

Ali laughs, then. Try to keep up, old man Brennos. The spry youth lopes ahead, obviously quick on his feet.

Alekto picks up her helmet and follows the others inside the tunnel. She takes up the rear and pulls out a shortspear after securing her shield to her arm.

"Damn fool's going to bring the whole horde on out heads." Even though her attention is at the rear, her glare still manages to bore into the back of Ali's head.

I will have a new character built up by the end of tonight what is everyone playing so far so I can try and be of help to the group? Any restrictions on races or free reign? And also just to be clear we are starting out at 1st with high fantasy build? Can't wait first play by post but seasoned player!

Spoiler:

A soldier stumbles backwards through the door, tripping on his feet and the blood splattering the floor. With the clatter of armor and weapons, he falls on his back and his helmet flies off his head.

Except he, is a she, and she has seen better days.

"ouch." she says as she rolls over onto her hands and knees and picks her self up. Blood, human, orc, goblin, and various other shades coated her armor and stained the cloth padding under it. She sees the Priestess and the others, stands at attention and salutes.

"Orders, ma'am?"

Aurora picks up the helmet and hands it back to the woman that has burst in, as another soldier pushes the door closed. The blood covering Alekto is hardly noticed, though the priestess's eyes do scan her for any particularly grievous wounds. In the past days, the sight of blood has become far too familiar, and all have become numbed to it.

"Alekto, the Theban army is no more, your duty there is fulfilled. I can only ask you now to join these others, and to survive long enough to take another stand against this darkness." she says, and then snaps out orders. "Through the passage, with the others."

I will have a new character built up by the end of tonight what is everyone playing so far so I can try and be of help to the group? Any restrictions on races or free reign? And also just to be clear we are starting out at 1st with high fantasy build? Can't wait first play by post but seasoned player!

I've only seen a couple of the builds, but so far my impression is that everyone is pretty much martial, with one martial/skill mix.

Setting that aside, I'm not really going to be thinking about choosing a balanced party. I'm going to be thinking about the individual characters whose stories I want to see unfold, and letting the chips fall.

@DM - Are we a bunch of melee/fighter types? Will the adventure be tweaked accordingly, or do you need us/me to switch to a caster of some sort?

NINJAHHHH!

Fluff is not complete, I'll get to it after work tonight.

I'm in love with this game concept already. Here's a character pitch. If it doesn't fit your ideas for the setting, let me know. I'll come up with another.

This is a really cool idea. I've been writing and thinking on your questions, and have really enjoyed your list translating the gods of Golarion to the Greek pantheon. I'm thinking an inquisitor of a greek god would be great fun, and as I looked at your list, I realized it's missing one of my favorites: Hermes.

Could we cook up a version of Hermes to use? I'd imagine domains pretty similar to Desna's - he's the messenger as well as the god of thieves, liars and gamblers, with some medicine thrown in there, as well as his role as an arbitrator of disputes - so Luck and Travel make sense, perhaps Healing? Law seems logical for the arbitrator, but somehow doesn't seem the best fit for Hermes. I'd be interested to hear your thoughts.

I'm thinking he's a junior agent, who's been sent from Athens to investigate rumors of corruption among the Thebean priests of Hermes, who may be taking bribes in their resolution of disputes. He is trapped in Thebes by the attacking evil forces, and is shocked and alarmed to find that he has to step into a more important role, which he feels largely unprepared for, helping to defeat the enemies of civilization who have wrought such destruction.

I'm mostly ready to plunge in as you've asked, but a clearer sense of how you'd see Hermes in your campaign would let me do that more fully.

EDIT: Now I see you did have Hermes in there, and I agree with Cuan that it's not a great fit. Can we invent a better fit?

"Burn them I say! Only a rare few of those monstrosities can withstand our flames and for those there are some other solution." A grizzled and strange looking fellow comes through the door, a smouldering carcass behind him. He holds a strange, spherical ceramic ball in his hands.

"Now where's this passage? I've almost run out of fire."

1: A loner from one of the greek isles, shunned for being different. Discovered liquid fire on his own but later learned he wasn't the first. Joined the army as a siege engineer later.

2: From a GM: Moving the game forth when it seems to be stuck, keep the game from derailing, having fun.
From other players: Try to keep a game fun, have fun.

3: Read, play computer games, go to the gym.

4: See above. I know it's short but he's just coming in.

5: I'd be ok with it, though I don't know what would fit the character

As for my character concept, I'm thinking a Grenadier Alchemist with bombs flavored as throwing Greek Fire. As far as race goes I'd like a Sylph, would fit coming from a windswept isle I think, but a Half Orc would work equally well for the outcast idea.

As for you gods, I like it with two exceptions:
I'd suggest swapping Artemis and Demeter around. Artemis is a frigid huntress while Demeter is a kind mother. Maybe slap the Plant domain on Demeter.

The other is Hermes as Calistria. It simply doesn't fit. No suggestion there though.

1. My family is and has always been religious(sarenrae)For some strange reason im the black sheep in the family. when my brother was training to become a priest i was in the basement tinkering. when it was my turn to join shortly after i was kicked out of the clergy for accidentally blowing up the high priests stand post, sorry dad. When this evil hit I though I finally found a place with my raw talent for pyrotechnics. So I joined the Theban army, but as usual I was posted to guard the church and look for ways to defeat this evil. I want to show my self that I'm not a screw up that I can be the hero.

2. I like the pressure wether its try to get out of a fight an possibly gain an ally or the thrill o the story and what unfolds with each decision.

3. I play board games, draw, ps3, and a big movie buff of all types.

4. Me? I've always screwed things up. ( thoughts I've always dreamt of being the shining star but never in a million...) I want to believe this really I do. I will come with you I want to see a change in my self to be what I want to be!

5. I'd be up for it I haven't heard much of the mythic rules but ill try anything and have fun!

Lol got my idea in too late great minds think alike lol.

I could also do a civilian/sailor swashbuckler was in on a routine merchant delivery and wa shoved into the church for protection and have been stuck from my natural place the sea! Live for discovery,die for adventure!

4. Woah ma'am I'm just a sailor that's right a sailor! But let's have some fun ill go let's see how much excitement that could be!

I'm in love with this game concept already. Here's a character pitch. If it doesn't fit your ideas for the setting, let me know. I'll come up with another.

The enemy's necromancers are heretics. Defilers of the will of the gods. Hades, who usually kept well out of the affairs of mortals, at first was dismissive when his niece, Athena, came to him to plead for aid against the might of the invading armies. The sly goddess informed her uncle that the heretics were raising the dead, stealing the souls of the fallen to serve them. That got Hades' attention.
The lord of the underworld agreed to release one soul into the service of Athena to shepherd the lost souls back to the underworld.

She chose Orpheus, who's voice not even the dead could resist.

The Flame of Knowledge, held in both hands by the statue of Athena flared, and out stepped a naked man weakly clutching a lyre made of bone...

The concept is to play Orpheus, weakened by his return to life, as a Death Cleric or Oracle of Bones, (any class that could work for a music-themed necromancer) who has the task of shepherding the dead back to the underworld, borrowing them for his own use along the way..

I love the imagination I'm seeing here.

Necromancy is pretty anti-heroic, though.
I'm also looking for new heroes rather than reincarnations of the old.

If you wanted to go with a Orphean style hero, though, why not a bard? The Dirge Bard would fit nicely with what you're talking about.

"Burn them I say! Only a rare few of those monstrosities can withstand our flames and for those there are some other solution." A grizzled and strange looking fellow comes through the door, a smouldering carcass behind him. He holds a strange, spherical ceramic ball in his hands.

"Now where's this passage? I've almost run out of fire."

1: A loner from one of the greek isles, shunned for being different. Discovered liquid fire on his own but later learned he wasn't the first. Joined the army as a siege engineer later.

2: From a GM: Moving the game forth when it seems to be stuck, keep the game from derailing, having fun.
From other players: Try to keep a game fun, have fun.

3: Read, play computer games, go to the gym.

4: See above. I know it's short but he's just coming in.

5: I'd be ok with it, though I don't know what would fit the character

As for my character concept, I'm thinking a Grenadier Alchemist with bombs flavored as throwing Greek Fire. As far as race goes I'd like a Sylph, would fit coming from a windswept isle I think, but a Half Orc would work equally well for the outcast idea.

Either of those races would work.

Variel allows everyone to go ahead of him through the passage and brings up the rear. Before he walks out, he turns to Aurora. "I will continue to fight for the hope that this world be cleansed of this blight." As he's turning away, he says mostly to himself, "For it seems hope is all we have left..."

This is a really cool idea. I've been writing and thinking on your questions, and have really enjoyed your list translating the gods of Golarion to the Greek pantheon. I'm thinking an inquisitor of a greek god would be great fun, and as I looked at your list, I realized it's missing one of my favorites: Hermes.

Could we cook up a version of Hermes to use? I'd imagine domains pretty similar to Desna's - he's the messenger as well as the god of thieves, liars and gamblers, with some medicine thrown in there, as well as his role as an arbitrator of disputes - so Luck and Travel make sense, perhaps Healing? Law seems logical for the arbitrator, but somehow doesn't seem the best fit for Hermes. I'd be interested to hear your thoughts.

I'm thinking he's a junior agent, who's been sent from Athens to investigate rumors of corruption among the Thebean priests of Hermes, who may be taking bribes in their resolution of disputes. He is trapped in Thebes by the attacking evil forces, and is shocked and alarmed to find that he has to step into a more important role, which he feels largely unprepared for, helping to defeat the enemies of civilization who have wrought such destruction.

I'm mostly ready to plunge in as you've asked, but a clearer sense of how you'd see Hermes in your campaign would let me do that more fully.

As for you gods, I like it with two exceptions:
I'd suggest swapping Artemis and Demeter around. Artemis is a frigid huntress while Demeter is a kind mother. Maybe slap the Plant domain on Demeter.

The other is Hermes as Calistria. It simply doesn't fit. No suggestion there though.

As far as the Gods go, I'm ignoring PF fluff, for the most part, and looking at them mechanically.

I tend to agree, that Calistria makes a pretty weak Hermes, though I felt her Domains made it a tolerable translation.

Strangely enough, I had started with Artemis as Erastil and Desna as Hermes. If you're up for an Inq of Desna/Hermes, I think we can go back to that, and pop another titan into Calistria's spot. Perhaps Nyx.

Demeter gets the shaft then, but she's not really the kind of goddess who adventuring types have a lot to do with, anyway.

Either of those races would work.
I am picturing the character as a sort of philosopher/hermit type?

Not necessarily a hermit, he was part of the army after all, but he is a philosophic kind of guy with a bit of a crazy streak (like most philosophers from that day and age). Beyond that though he is an alchemist through and through and believes in finding things like the philosopher's stone, the ultimate panacea and the source of eternal youth.

Demeter gets the shaft then, but she's not really the kind of goddess who adventuring types have a lot to do with, anyway.

It is sentences like this, and particularly the first bit of it, that make me really appreciate the wonders of the gaming community.

I'll work on a Hermetic Inquisitor and get it posted.

I was afraid you might say that. I really like Greek myths and the idea of twisting old stories into new ones.

What I was hoping to do was play Orpheus as a shattered remnant of his former self. An anti-hero using dark magic to steal the enemy's soldiers and turn them against them. Another version might be to focus on incorporeal undead, spirits of fallen soldiers used as an army against the villains (very Return of the King-esqe.)

I was thinking that he'd only have partial memories of his former life, and be willing to serve Athena but would have a strong hatred for Hades, the end result of which would lead him to try to resurrect Euridice with his borrowed mastery of the dead.

Unfortunately I'm really not into playing any kind of copycat new hero. I'd love to play an old hero reborn using this basic idea even if the necromancy thing doesn't work for you. If neither of those things is what you're looking for I understand. I'll come up with something else.

@DM - Are we a bunch of melee/fighter types? Will the adventure be tweaked accordingly, or do you need us/me to switch to a caster of some sort?

The bold part of your question has been in the back of my head, and it won't shut up, so I suppose I should respond.

The first part I answered (I think) with:

Setting that aside, I'm not really going to be thinking about choosing a balanced party. I'm going to be thinking about the individual characters whose stories I want to see unfold, and letting the chips fall.

Each class has their strengths and there are different kinds of challenges that are handled better by different types of characters. A variety of challenges that allows all types of characters to shine makes for a good adventure.

Spoiler:

"Burn them I say! Only a rare few of those monstrosities can withstand our flames and for those there are some other solution." A grizzled and strange looking fellow comes through the door, a smouldering carcass behind him. He holds a strange, spherical ceramic ball in his hands.

"Now where's this passage? I've almost run out of fire."

Aurora looks at the charred corpse a moment before the door closes, and then her eyes turn to the one who came inside.

"Only have a care that you don't burn all that we strive to preserve along with those that we fight against," she says, pointing the way down the passage. "Let your philosophy always guide your hand, and you will see what it is worth."

@ Doomed Hero: I really appreciate the thought and the enthusiasm behind your concept, it's just that it's a whole other thing. I'd love to see what you come up with for a new hero.

What would you think of a temple museum curator who uses the relics of former heroes to channel their might.

Mechanically, he'd be a synthesist summoner who's abilities make him a sort of Greek-fantasy Iron Man.

He'd start with only one or two relics and as he gained more eidolon abilities we could tie that into the game by having him find additional relics.

RPing, applied & crunched
Brennos
Ali ibn Sabbah

RPing & applied
Thornborn/Fist of Sekhmet
AdamWarnock/Alekto
Jiqs/Variel Tathos
Cuàn/?
abernastian/?

RPing

Interested
Azten
Khelreddin
Doomed Hero

"Don't you worry sister, your marble is just covered in soot and ash and my aim has over the years become good enough to avoid hitting those I do not want to." At the mention of his philosophy he just nodded. Let his philosophy guide his hand, but how would one let a paradox do that? There was no other option but to wait and see.