The Abadarian Prelate, Archcanon Hausivius paused, taking a long moment to draw his thoughts before continuing. "You're each in debt to the church of Abadar. The time has come to pay your debts. What I am about to tell you is secret, not to leave this room. Should you choose not to pursue this opportunity I will trust that you will not breathe a word of what you hear in this room to anyone. Measures will be taken if my trust in you proves unwarranted."
"Three years ago one of our priests came into possession of a nautical chart detailing the location of an unknown large island to the west of the Inner Sea. We determined the veracity of the map, sent a charter expedition and confirmed that the map was true. The island, which we dubbed Abadaria, after our lord, is vast, mineral rich and potentially a very viable place to begin a civilization modeled on the principles of Abadar. We mounted a colonization expedition of three ships, carrying 250 colonists. A town was founded, defenses raised and in all accounts, it began to thrive. However, when our supply ship landed there six months ago, the town was deserted. No sign of attack or foul play was found, but no trace of where the colonists disappeared to, either. We have chartered the second wave of colonists, only 100 men and women this time, but we'd like to send along a group of capable persons able to deal with unknown threats, in case our initial colonists did indeed meet with an untimely end. I want you lot to be among that group. Here are your terms: if you join the expedition you will be deposited near the settlement to investigate the disappearance and prevent any future problems. Your term of service will be one year; a supply ship will arrive at that point and if you've decided to leave you may return to Absalom then. If you would rather stay, I have titles of record granting you each deed to 10,000 acres and the title of 'Baron' of Abadaria. I will now give you time to ponder your response." The Archcanon sits back, to answer any questions and to await your decision.
sounds interesting :D count me in for now, I'll get a character draft up as soon as I can
I don't have any objections to any Pathfinder race or class. If there's something you really want to play that's not standard, let me know and we'll talk. As for indebtedness, the sky is the limit. Could be just about anything, really.
I think I'll close recruitment on Tuesday June 5th, depending on how submissions go.
I'm interested, but I'm at work right now, so I don't have time to detail a character concept at this moment. I've got plenty of ideas and should be able to put together a couple of paragraphs this evening.
Intrigued - and will ponder a while. Either Cleric or Paladin of Abadar.
I am thinking about a sage arcane sorcerer born of a wizard family and a great disappointment for not following the family tradition or an archaeologist bard with an aptitude for spycraft.
Definitely interested. I'll get workin on a build!
CROATOAN
Color me interested. I've got in mind a less scrupulous character, possibly a rogue, whose debt is mainly that they might be rotting in a cell somewhere were it not for the convenient intervention of the church. Repayment of his debt is a bit more grudging.
Ok, I'm going to dot this one for interest. Great concept
This idea sounds so good, it should be a 25 point buy! :)
A few questions:
Do you use traits?
Do we roll for hp after first level?
Are we allowed to by magic items?
How detailed do you want the gear to be?
How much do you care about encumbrance?
I'm interested in this. I have a couple of other "applications" pending but I'll shoot for this one too.
Character will be an elf magus (dervish style). He inherited his mother's magical talents but was always interested in swordplay. Naturally restless, he left his seaside home and came to the big city to train as a swordsman. After being repeatedly insulted by an influential noble's son, he challenged him to a duel and gave him a nice scar on the face. The noble pulled some strings and the young elf ended up with an overly harsh jail sentence. Now the prelate is offering to get the charges dropped if he is willing to go on this dangerous mission.
Great campaign concept! Thinking of applying with an archaeologist/inquisitor of Abadar. Probably not the most opitimized of builds, but could be interesting. Will get to work.
Are we supposed to use the pregenerated numbers from the PFS guide?
I have never been in an online game before but I would love to give it a try so I am tossing my hat in the ring. I have two builds in mind depending on what races you allow.
First is Tazidir formerly of the Swifttalon roost, now of the Church of Sarenrae.
Name: Tazidir
Race: Tengu
Stat Block: STR: 14 DEX: 14 CON: 12 INT: 11 WIS: 14 CHA: 14
Feats: Two Weapon Fighting, Weapon Focus(Bastard Sword)
Also, if you are not allowing Tengu, I would play just a human whose block would look like the following:
Name: Mercer Frey
Race: Human
Stat Block: STR: 14 DEX: 12 CON: 14 INT: 11 WIS: 12 CHA: 16
Feats: Exotic Weapon Prof(Bastard Sword), Two Weapon Fighting, Weapon Focus (Bastard Sword)
I may or may not be taking an archetype, I have not had the chance to look through all the paladin ones yet.
Traits: yes, 2.
Magic items: if you can afford them, sure!
20 Point buy. Details can be found here.
Races: Tengu are acceptable.
Gear: if you get chosen, then we can talk about specific gear.
Encumbrance: unless your combat gear pushes you into medium or heavy loads, then I don't have an issue with carrying a lot.
Shadowborn: Exactly ;)
Are you cool with us submitting more than one character?
I'd rather you focus on a single character and submit the one you'd most like to play. I find that when people submit a character they really want to play, they tend to stick with it longer. Sorry!
NP. Good to know :)
For Traits I'm thinking
Also I just remembered that 15 is the dex requirement for TWF so changes are:
Taz: STR: 14 DEX: 15 CON: 12 INT: 10 WIS: 14 CHA: 14
Mercer: STR: 14 DEX: 15 CON: 13 INT: 11 WIS: 13 CHA: 14
If that is the case and Tengus are allowed I will focus on Tazidir as he was the main idea behind the character concept.
This campaign sounds interesting.
I'm thinking about a LN Monk (Sohei?, Master of Many Styles?) 2 / Magus (Kensai?, Bladebound?) 1.
Quick and dirty backgound:
He was rather spoiled by his parents. They put him through the best (and most expensive schools), bought him the fashionable clothing, etc. Whatever he wanted, they paid for. They paid the regular "donation" to allow him to join an Abadarian monastery to train as a monk, hoping that it might instill some discipline upon him. It may have for a while, but he left it, feeling a tug upon his soul when he walked by an exotic weapons merchant. That katana just had to be his. It was practically calling out to him, so of course he bought it... at a premium no less. Afterwards, however, he became more focused. He went back to the monastery under the tutalage of of a (rather expensive) magi. He had found his calling... Unfortunately, his parents penchant for never letting him want for anything put them deep into debt. All would have been fine, as his father had a good investment that was about to pay off except that, in a tragic accident, his parents were killed. The investment was null and void and the debt was transferred to the child. How was he to pay off this incredibly large debt to the Church of Abadar???
Still have to think of a name and the background needs refining (and I still have to actually make the character), but I think it shows the gist of it.
Ok here is my submission:
Lena Relani, Inquisitor of Abadar
http://paizo.com/people/LenaRelani
Here is a draft of her backstory
Lena grew up on the streets of Absalom when her human mother died of a plague. Lena was 8. Her father (her mother told her) was an Elven Pathfinder and was away saving the world from one danger or another and soon there would be many stories about him. Those stories were never written.
Lena spent her early years scrounging for food and eventually fell in with rough types, in particular a gang of thieves. The thieves treated her well enough and promised riches and fortune. Having been used to nothing, the paltry handfuls of silver and gold they paid her seemed like a king's ransom.
Eventually she got better and better and her last job was robbing a temple of Abadar. Promised a chest full of platinum, Lena was blind to the danger. She was caught and imprisoned by the Temple's Paladins. She begged forgiveness and the Paladins were lenient on the starving street-girl. They let her work off her debt as a cleaner and servant at the Temple.
During her years at the temple she learned the ways of Abadar, in particular the ideals of civilisation, community and law. She learned that her previous ways were wrong- not the desire for wealth but the way she enacted that desire. She has always held the church in high regard since that day. Not only did they show her mercy, they gave her a new life away from the mean streets and criminal activities. She eventually joined the church as a promoter, spreading the word of Abadar throughout Absalom, using her past experiences as a way of connecting with the downtrodden or unlawful. She excelled in this role, her passion for wealth and society winning over many to the Golden Judge's worship.
She began to take on more important roles, including hunting down those who broke the laws of Abadar or Absalom. She learned all about the different creatures which threaten civilisation and their methods of defeat. She found her old skills transferred well to this role, and the supplementary training from the knights at the temple allowed her to stand up to armed gangs and monsters.
During one these latest missions she encountered her old mentor, the leader of the gang she grew up with. She was sent to arrest him, but when she arrived Lena found she couldn't do it. The man knew her too well and she allowed his honeyed words to cloud her mind. She let the man go and made up a story that he had overpowered her and escaped. Lena later learned that the crime ring he headed was actually a front for a cult of Lamashtu! The cult had infiltrated the city through deception and planned to release a horde of monsters into the sewers!
Luckily, the cult was stopped by a brave band of adventurers and the city was saved but the heroes lost one of their own during the raid.
Lena knew that many hundreds of lives could have been lost and the structure and security of the city of Absalom could have been threatened. With her failure filling her thoughts, she submitted herself before the master of her temple and handed over her sword and holy symbol. The church of Abadar had given her everything and she had let them down.
Lena awaits whatever punishment the church deems appropriate for her.
EDIT: I've applied for a few PbP games but never made the cut, I'd really love the opportunity to play PF as I GM all our games in RL. Good luck to everyone who has applied :D
Here's my proposal for a Dwarven Druid
Do have a question though: This seems like our characters might be pretty isolated. I take it that acquiring things like minor magic items, such as wands and potions, is going to be difficult once we get to the island?
Orin was always drawn to growing things, mostly because they are delicious. As a youth he spent his time helping out in the great fungus farms that fed his people. As he grew older, he ranged further afield, scouring the mountain side looking for herbs and other edible greenery. Eventually, he decided to travel to the great city of Absalom to learn at the feet of the herb masters and great chefs that plied their trade there.
Using what he learned, through a program of cross breeding, he developed a number of exquisite tasting herbs and root vegetables. Deciding to expand his operation to comercial levels, he borrowed heavily from the bankers of the Church of Abadar to buy a small farm. Things were going well until he lost his entire crop to an unseasonably late frost. This led him to defaulting on his loan and losing his farm. Still indebted to the church, he has been working as a gardener on the church grounds to work off his debt. At the current rate, he will be debt free in about 50 years. An opportunity to pay off his debt and the potential to discover new plant and animals, would be something he would be most interested in.
Dwarven Druid
Str:16, Dex:14, Con:12, Int:10, Wis:16, Cha:8 (includes racial adjustments)
Traits:
Reactionary (he got picked on for not being more traditionally dwarf like)
Devotee of the Green: (knows his way around shrubbery)
Feats: Toughness, and I don't know yet...
He will have a wolf companion and focus more on wild shape than on spell casting. He should have decent melee damage output, while still being able to provide devine spell casting support. I intend to play him as light hearted and inquisitive, with an unhealthy tendency to sample the local foliage.
Rest of the crunch will follow, if selected.
I've tried to play Flori in a couple of PbP games. One died on the second page, the other had too many players and was too long-winded for my taste, and I bowed out. Roleplay is fine, but I like some action with my talk.
She's an orc-bloodline sorcerer who's friendly and likes to flirt with human men, but has an ornery side, too, when she feels threatened.
I'll get her adjusted to spec shortly.
I GM 2 games here, and play in another. I'll gladly step aside for someone who hasn't had a chance to play at all. Flori will live again somewhere!
Orin: you may assume that. Things might turn out differently.. ;)
Roscoe "Quick-Stick" Oldfur, here to serve your needs.
This is Kybryn from above. Unfortunately i'm running out the door and don't have time to write a backstory. For now, i'm mostly interested in seeing if you're willing to sign off on the race. You'll find his statblock in the alias, and a link to the race details!
Thanks!
Here is my guy. He is half way built but he has all the basics. Background below, let me know if anything needs changing.
Leralt Littlehorn is the result of a Cheliaxian affair. Like many his mother did not survive the birth of her child, were it not for his human apperance he may well have joined his mother. He grew up like many cheliaxian children until his early teens when he noticed the first signs of his tainted blood. Well aware of what became of such children he escaped Cheliax the first chance he had. He made his way to the only place in the world where a tiefling would not be shunned from the start. Upon arriving in Absalom he was penny less with no real skills, finding his way to the church of Abadar. The clerics of Abadar listened to the story of the boy before him. In a rather strange move the clerics agreed to loan Leralt money to apprentice himself out to a teacher in a skill or proffession. Leralt tried a number of skills and trades but he seemed to have no talent for any. It was after one such failure that his debt had grown yet again and fate gifted him with a strange encounter. A pair of mages were dueling, one calling on fiendish words Leralt knew all to well while the other, a small pale man with dark robes, simply pointed at the diabolist who suddenly twisted in pain. Still his casting complete a devil came forth out of hellfire, only to turn on its summoner. The pale man walked off, his enemy's soul being dragged to the hell he had attempted to control. Leralt followed the man and become his apprentice. Finally he had found his calling. Yet the debt to the church of Abadar would take a lifetime to repay even after he had found his skill.
Pay no attention to the stat block for now! Its totally wrong. Well not totally but in a lot of ways.
I'm getting Flori a falchion. I like the Grosse Messer near the bottom, but she's undecided. Any thoughts? She likes stylish but simple.
Flori's all done but the gear.
Here's my character concept for your consideration. I'll flesh him out if you decide to accept it.
Dr. Gellius Krupt
Chelaxian alchemist (vivisectionist) 3
CN Medium Humanoid
Dex 14 (+2)
Con 14 (+2)
Int 18 (+4)
Wis 10 (0)
Cha 8 (-1)
HP: 23
Base Atk +2; CMB +1; CMD 15
Fort +5, Ref +5, Will +1
Class Abilities:
sneak attack +2d6
Brew Potion
mutagen
Throw Anything
poison use
swift alchemy
bleeding attack (rogue talent substituted for alchemical discovery)
Torturer's Eye (adds deathwatch to formula book as 1st level extract)
Cruel Anatomist (uses Knowledge(nature) in place of Heal)
4 extracts per day
Formulae: ant haul, comprehend languages, cure light wounds, deathwatch, expeditious retreat, negate aroma, shield, touch of the sea, true strike
Skills: Appraise +10, Craft(alchemy)+10, Craft(poison)+10, Disable Device +10, Knowledge(arcana)+10, Knowledge(nature)+10, Perception +6, Sleight of Hand +8, Spellcraft +10
Feats: Combat Expertise, Extra Discovery, Weapon Finesse
Ok. Ridge here:
I had a hard time whittling down which of the three concepts I wanted to go with but finally settled on Marius Hektor Voralo III. He's not fully geared up yet (Going to use some coin to buy some healing potions or the like) and I haven't rolled his level 2 or 3 hitpoints yet.
There's a much bigger version of the backstory in his profile, but for a shorter version:
Marius is the descendent of a noble house of Cheliax that was essentially erased from all official records when it tangled with the triumphant House Thrune and its allies. When Thrune took over, House Voralo fled the land with nothing more than the shirts on their backs and little to know way to prove their nobility to the nobles of Absolam. Marius became a warrior in hopes of providing for his two younger sisters, and so that he might one day reclaim his lost heritage.
Fortunately, the Church of Abadar keeps meticulous records of purchases, sales, and so on. They found and provided the evidence Marius sought, and now he is utterly indebted to them for something no amount of coin can truly repay. The chance to become a baron should he survive? That's enough to drive him to risk death a hundred times over.
I'll be away for the weekend so I'll try to flesh things out a bit more on Monday.
I am intrigued by the game concept, and I like the idea of the debt.
Still thinking of an overall character concept, but the debt jumped out at me; someone who owes money for a Raise Dead (or even Resurrection).
Very tempted by the idea of someone who always pays his debts, but is not like anyone the church could normally have drawn on, like an assassin or diabolist or something.
Here's my submission, Benefactor:
Male Catfolk Bard 3
CG Medium Humanoid (Catfolk)
Init +3; Senses Low-Light Vision; Perception +7
--------------------
DEFENSE
--------------------
AC 13, touch 13, flat-footed 10. . (+3 Dex)
hp 17 (3d8)
Fort +1, Ref +6, Will +2
--------------------
OFFENSE
--------------------
Spd 30 ft.
Melee Unarmed Strike +4 (1d3+2/20/x2)
Special Attacks Bardic Performance (standard action) (10 rounds/da, Bardic Performance: Countersong, Bardic Performance: Distraction, Bardic Performance: Fascinate (DC 13), Bardic Performance: Inspire Competence +2, Bardic Performance: Inspire Courage +1
Bard Spells Known (CL 3, +4 melee touch, +5 ranged touch):
1 (4/day) Silent Image (DC 13), Charm Person (DC 13), Grease (DC 13), Delusional Pride (DC 13)
0 (at will) Read Magic (DC 12), Mage Hand, Message, Prestidigitation (DC 12), Ghost Sound (DC 12), Detect Magic
--------------------
STATISTICS
--------------------
Str 14, Dex 17, Con 10, Int 14, Wis 8, Cha 15
Base Atk +2; CMB +4; CMD 17
Feats Bard Weapon Proficiencies, Point Blank Shot, Rapid Shot
Traits Charming
Skills Acrobatics +9, Climb +6, Diplomacy +8, Escape Artist +7, Knowledge (Arcana) +7, Knowledge (History) +7, Knowledge (Local) +7, Knowledge (Nobility) +7, Knowledge (Planes) +7, Perception +7, Perform (Act) +8, Perform (Oratory) +8, Sense Motive +8, Spellcraft +8, Stealth +10, Survival +1, Use Magic Device +8
Languages Catfolk, Common, Elven, Sylvan
SQ Bardic Knowledge +1 (Ex), Cat's Luck (1/day) (Ex), Sprinter (Ex), Versatile Oratory +8 (Ex), Well Versed (Ex)
--------------------
SPECIAL ABILITIES
--------------------
Bardic Knowledge +1 (Ex) Add + 1 to all knowledge skill checks.
Bardic Performance (standard action) (10 rounds/day) Your performances can create magical effects.
Bardic Performance: Countersong (Su) Counter magical effects that depend on sound.
Bardic Performance: Distraction (Su) Counter magical effects that depend on sight.
Bardic Performance: Fascinate (DC 13) (Su) One or more creatures becomes fascinated with you.
Bardic Performance: Inspire Competence +2 (Su) +2 competence bonus for one ally on a skill check.
Bardic Performance: Inspire Courage +1 (Su) Morale bonus on some saving throws, attack and damage rolls.
Cat's Luck (1/day) (Ex) Can roll 2d20 for a Reflex save and take better result.
Charming +1 Bluff/Diplomacy/save DC for a language-dependent spell vs. targets who could be sexually attracted to you.
Low-Light Vision See twice as far as a human in low light, distinguishing color and detail.
Point Blank Shot +1 to attack and damage rolls with ranged weapons at up to 30 feet.
Rapid Shot You get an extra attack with ranged weapons. Each attack is at -2.
Sprinter (Ex) +10 ft to speed when charge, run, or withdraw.
Versatile Oratory +8 (Ex) You may substitute the final value of your Perform: Oratory skill for Diplomacy or Sense Motive checks
Well Versed (Ex) +4 save vs. bardic performance, sonic, and language-dependent effects.
Truthfully rather liking the idea of going to some unexplored wilderness, as well as the potential of being granted land and a title, Songan accepts the offer, knowing that at the very least, he'd be better off on Abadaria than out on the streets of Absalom.
I also wanted to ask: I know the rules say you're only allowed to have one trait of each type, but I was wondering if you might let me take two Social traits: Charming and Poverty-Stricken. If not, it's fine, but I figured It can't hurt to ask.
I have a Varisian urban ranger that needs some modifications. Just dotting for now, until I can make those changes.
Character: Dr Jardlon Riverside
Player: Harakani
Outcast Elven Bandit, turned Alchemist, turned Assassin, turned Academic.
Theme: You do not easily cheat death
Theme: Who are you?
Theme: An Honest man stays bought
Theme: What strange bedfellows commerce makes
Inspirations: Joseph Banks, Riddick, Dr Moreau.
Jardlon was born into a group of outcast and half-blood elven Bandits living in the Stolen Lands.
When a local "King" killed his family, he swore vengeance.
He discovered that his lineage rendered him an outcast among elves, so 'humanised' his name into River's-Side and joined human society.
Worked his way through a number of jobs until he could join a university, where he studied alchemy.
Used his elven patience, alchemical knowledge and bandit skills to assassinate the people who had killed his family. While his first assassinations were personal, he proved to be quite good at it and went professional.
Needing a cover to explain his travel, he studied biology, zoology, pharmacology and medicine and wrote some books as Dr Jardlon Riverside.
Was very successful - started becoming a manufacturer and middleman for other assassins. Unfortunately a very successful assassin/paladin of Abadar eventually caught him
(would love for this to be another PC)
He was executed for his crimes.
Pre Mortem he cut a deal with the temple to Raise him from the dead after he died.
Post Mortem they did, but not without complication. It feels like not all of him came back. Worse, sometimes it feels like something else did.
The Temple will report him if he breaks the law, and they look in on him a lot, so he's having some trouble making his extortionate monthly payments.
As a man with skills in zoology, biology, pharmacology, medicine, engineering, cartography, wilderness survival, archery and pyrotechnics he is an excellent fit for this mission. His skills as an assassin are really just a distraction.
Is this a "party" (as in all on the same side) or will there be PvP?
I would much rather avoid any PVP. It ends up not being fun for at least one person.
Presenting Pasaro Foucault, a sage sorceress. I will created an alias later on when crunch is done.
Pasara Foucault was of Taldan descent, she never knew her real father. She was the result of an affaire her mother had while married to Sebastian Foucault a man she grew up thinking was her father. While he knew of his wife’s infidelity he never treated her different than her two brother, one older and one younger.
From a young age her stepfather, who was an accomplished wizard, taught her the craft, but she never seamed to learn, much to her stepfathers disappointment. Her older brother however had a talent and soon became a promising apprentice. He never treated her badly because of her lack of skill. Her younger brother however, who also had no talent for the craft, constantly mocked her and it grew worse when he learned the truth about her heritage. She was a constant reminder to her mother of her misstep and thus she was never very affectionate towards the girl.
On that faithfull night when her mother told her the truth during a heated argument, she ran away. Roaming around the streets of Absalom, she soon joined the wrong kind of people, helping the thieves with scams and putting her fathers training to good use identifying stolen goods. However during the stay with the thieves her powers began to develop. Scared by what happened she wanted to return home to her stepfather for help, but the leader of the gang forced her to pay a fine for leaving. Not knowing what to do, she turned to the church of Abadar for money, believing that her parents would turn her away should she come back asking for money.
Her stepfather and older brother were ecstatic when she came home, but her mother and older brother wasn’t pleased.
I'm just noting a lot of "selfish or self-absorbed" type personae. Trying to imagine a successful party dynamic.
Just missing gear, otherwise set. :)
Here's a hint: I'm not likely to choose a party that's designed to not get along. Selfish or self-absorbed characters are not likely to be chosen. At least, not more than one.
Is this a good time to mention Marius is doing it for family? ;)
Did my guy come off as selfish or self absorbed?
He is just trying to find his place in the world. Also repay the debt he owes to the church that helped him when he had nothing and no one. Granted a little bitter about that insane interest rate they pinned on him but he does not hold grudges, just trying to solve the problem. ;P
I'm thinking of Nagaji Draconic Bloodline Sorcerer, who has been contracted to the Church of Abadar via a trade agreement with Tian merchant house. I expect he would be Lawful Neutral, with a leaning towards good. I can flesh the story and stats out later, if a Nagaji is a permitted race in your game.
After consideration I'm going to withdraw.
Wish you well in your gaming to come.
I made my character a Catfolk, a race from Bestiary 3. Is that alright, Benefactor? Also changed his alignment from CG to NG.