So the Pactmaker idea will be interesting. Spirits, demons, angels are all formed by magic in this plane are bound to concepts (demons and angels of various types) like Wisdom, Pride, Compassion, or Hunger (yes, totally ripping off from Dragon Age). The concepts will feed on their concept, empowered by mortals engaging in such actions and feed into it. A rage demon might be born from battle and follow a soldier around, causing anger and rage in him. Spirits are born from death, particularly violent death or unfulfilled life, and are more passive, impressions made with magic. Like I mentioned before, some religions are based around an outsider like this. A village might give offerings to a shepherding spirit that may actually intercess on their behalf. A spirit of Justice might inspire an Order of Paladins. Larger religions pop up just like they do in ours and while no one has made contact with another plane, many cultures speak of other worlds where their gods rest. For some of them, there may be these outsiders at their head, communed with by their followers. The wizardly community also constantly theorizes on where magic comes from and about planes where these Outsiders live.
Unlike Dragon Age, there isn't the Fade or dream world that they live in and it's worth mentioning that both classes are rare, partly because the way they are born and that they are often dangerous. Most of the time they are with the people or out in wild, natural areas, just most won't be able to see them without magic and a lot of effort or around Tears, magical hot spots that this hold you will take over will be full of. It will be a contested region, but also a region no one can hold because of these Tears wreaking havoc.
A Pactmaker is going to be viewed as playing with fire at best, dangerous at worse for the treat of possession by these spirits you bond with. Most of these beings are not around for your benefit. And there is the issue of the difficulty of binding spirits. And it is seen as black magic, on the same lines of raising undead. This may be why you were sent here, for your unusual talents, but it is highly possible your family and other people view what you do as blasphemous.
I have to dig out notes and do some writing for culture, factions, and religion in these lands. Work will be in here. In here is the map I made years ago for the setting.
You are free to write things for your own faction, but I will make comments and add details along the way.
Basics right now are 13 kingdoms in the area on the map labeled as Thaerun. This is Human dominated territory, with Orcs to the south, Dwarves and further off Jotun to the northwest and the SLyvan (elves) to the north.
Human culture right now is medieval and polytheistic. A dozen or so major gods, with a myriad of minor ones. Have to do writing, as when I did this last time, Humans had become monotheistic, but their pantheon is more or less like other pantheons. Led by Mother and Father figure, gods of Love, Death, Storms, War, etc.
Each Kingdom is lead by a Mage-King, powerful figures ruling through magic in some way. Magic is seen as almost as Divine Right and even a low born mage will likely end up in one of these noble houses. Succession is passed through the blood and this blood in important. Most of these will be Sorcererous bloodlines. The largest kingdom will be around Morralion, made strong through trade and is the capital. It is ruled by a line decidedly angelic. He is considered the High King, with others technically owing fealty to him, though in actuality, each kingdom is run basically separately.
Pactmaker is fine, just know I am a believer in natural consequences. As a point of clarification, these spirits and demons are rare enough that most won't make contact.
I'm going to leave it to you to write your own house. Choose an area you like and name it. Right now, Humans own the surface (Dwarves like own below) through to Coldwall, up as far as the Swamps of Dredmor and south of the Lake near Elvahalla, the Dalelands. Northern parts of the Karagan Desert are Human (north of and including the Karagan River, but Orcs disagree.) Dwarves are unconcerned with Surface folk, as their kingdom is under the mountains, Elves like things the way they are as long as they are left alone.
Edit: Actually, going to go back on that. Orcs are a house themselves. Same with Elves, Dwarves, and Halflings (Dalelands).
Gameplay is up with something almost generic. Going to do writing tomorrow. When you have details of your House, I will write the others so I don't overwrite yours.
The reasons this is contested or dangerous is left generic for now, but for some reason no one wants this place and you are sent here to see how you do.
Re: Building Rules
When I normally run a solo game, I do 5d6v2 twice. Odd numbers from high stats can be moved lower to even things out. Anything that is 7 or below is rerolled.
Background Skills, Feat Tax Rules, Two traits, +1 with a drawback I will hold you to. Traits should makes sense with the backstory. Level 3 for you.
I'm not of fan with heavily dramatic backstories at level 1. Or at all really, unless it is really well done. You haven't done much yet. By level 3 though, you have do have some experience, but not much and this should be reflected in your backstory. You would be still pretty green. What was your first foray into the world?
Also, by the nature of Tristalt, you are exceptional, but you shouldn't be perfect. What are your character's flaws?
I'm trying to avoid heavy drama, and instead keep it on the social, reasonably-plausible side of things. XD
I'm still tinkering with the rest, but at the moment, flaws include a couple of mechanical ones (obvious casting, limited targeting for two of the spheres), a couple of social ones (pressure from her family that she's trying to resist), and I'm planning to add at least one or two personality quirks to ground her as a more interesting character.
Any thoughts about what the Kingdom you hail from is like, quirks of your house? Also, how close do you want to be to you royal line? Are you a branch family, a lesser house? or part of the main line of succession? If so, are you heir apparent?
Also, what would you like to see in the game, in broad strokes? How do you see your character's trajectory?
Which would you rather run, Carrion Crown or Ruins of Azlant?
Also, either way character is a scholar, a studier of creatures. Scholar (Doctor), Incanter, and Shifter. I do have a request, a small house rule for shifter. Druids get longer transformations at level 4, when they would normally get wild shape. At level 4, Shifters get lingering transformation that just lets shapes persist a little while longer with out spending a spell points. I'd rather have the Druid ability of10min per level shapeshifts, but I like the shifter Beastial traits more. Allows me to use it out of combat more.
At the moment, I'm RNG'ing things (The Tome of Adventure Design is great this way) to see if I like what I come up with. XD Right now, I've got a mid-level family focused on trade. Enough to get noticed in higher society, but they're not a true power player in whatever the politics are. I suspect Ariel's family is trying to marry her upwards so they can increase their own influence, though, magic being considered divine right and all. XD That seemed almost inevitable in this sort of situation, but I'm leaving this particular plot thread open for you to use (or not) as you'd prefer. (So there could be a plot about running away, about finding a better match before her parents force her into something, about taking over a family from the inside, or maybe it's just never brought up at all because she's still bluffing everyone on the subject...)
Since you mentioned a focus on a Game of Thrones-like situation - where, presumably, people are competing for a throne - I felt a good setup might be eventually trying to wind up on one of those. Of course, that requires a good motivation, which would probably be the central plot point here. XD
---------------------------
As for the game I'd be running, I'm fine with either of those. Carrion Crown is a little more horror, and people would react a little more negatively to your shapeshifting. Ruins of Azlant is more tolerant of weirdness. XD
As for shifting, I've always felt that you could resume concentrating on a spell if it can linger without active support for a bit, as long as you do so before the spell ends ends. So, instead of concentrating on it every turn, you'd only have to do it every now and then - which should be plenty for out-of-combat use, and give you more flexibility during combat as well.
What about where on that map? Any preference? Otherwise, I like the look of the lake near the center of the Map for your family in the smallish city of Soralheim or the River City of Krom near the border of the Karagan Desert. Or a region just south of Elvahalla with the Swamps as the new hold. Your hold would be in disputed or dangerous territory in those kingdoms.
As a point of clarification, being one of those magic sorcererous bloodlines is a divine right to rule, not that magic is necessarily a divine right. Right now, I have the Dwarf house of an earthen bloodline, Orcs of Fire, Elves of Verdant, Morallion of Celestial, Coldwall of Giantkin, the Dales more Druidic than anything, Dragonfire Isles of, well. Dragons, Starsoul for those islands east. Other kingdoms TBD between these major regions.
With mid level family, we can call you a branch family of a more major player. If you have a bloodline, might be interesting to make it a 'wild' one. Krom, this would be farming or trade on the river, Soralheim, trade with dwarves and mining of their own.
This first part will be establishing your hold, hopefully making it prosper, charting the area and quelling disturbances. Won't spoil things for you, but things will transpire that will put you and your hold on the map as tensions rise between kingdoms. Game shuttles between exploring and standard adventuring and higher politics with political maneuvering and machinations, later possibly war. Alongside this, wider, deeper issues will crop up that threaten everyone that likely influences the third act.
Water is usually better for trade, so Suralheim - which looks to be between mining in the mountains, a big lake, and fields - seems like a good spot. Plus, easy access to other races in case you want to bring something in. XD
Carrion Crown it is.
How should I generate scores?
Well, you can use the same method you listed above - or just take the easy route with 25 points and, optionally, the Advanced template (nothing higher than 20 to start with, though).
Since it's an AP, starting at Level 1 is probably most appropriate, but I don't think it'll be too long before you level up.
So here is what I am thinking with Suralheim.
Suralheim is a small to medium sized city where your family (what is their Name? What is their bloodline?) rules as one of the smallest of the 13 Kingdoms. It's a relatively important as a trade hub, but is dwarfed by the ports of Marallion and Loralheim and Coldwall, your kingdom lacking a port on the inner sea. Mainly moves the goods and materials from the dwarves in Karadum, but owning quite a few mines themselves. Your family is a offshoot line of the main ruling family, cousins really, but are oft ignored by the main house. House Tor based in Marallion, currently the ruler of the 13 kingdoms, officially, the High King currently being Keran Tor. Your territory reaches from the lake west of Suralheim down the river east to the larger lake, reaching north bounded by the northern river. It is here where your hold lies, bordering the start of Sylvan forests.
Your new hold has a smattering of villages, of farmers, between heavy forests and tributaries. Your house regards this place as unimportant at best, at worst troublesome when Tears crop up, but it does sit on the lake and borders the Sylvan. Isolationists, mostly, but known for their woodwork and high quality, if rare, enchantments. But since they have very rarely tried to press their borders, your house quietly spreads beyond the river.
Rumors of strange ruins and concentrations of magic, however, make it interesting for your character (if you stick with Pactmaker) Spirits seem more common here. Promises of lost legends has driven a few relatives mad trying to find them in this hold.
10
15
12
14
8
15
16
12
10
13
Taking the second set. I'll add in advanced. Feel free to do same with you. Also, with a Carrion Crown game, how do you feel about starting as a natural Lycanthrope? Either with the template or the Skinwalker (Coldborn most likely) with the SoP alt traits.
If you still want to be a Shifter, I'd recommend against being a natural lycanthrope (though I'm not outright denying it if it's what you really want to do). Polymorph effects don't stack, and it's easy to simply make a 'werewolf' form in Spheres. Heck, Lycanthropic is one of the sphere-specific drawbacks. XD It's quite simple to get the same flavor for the game without the mechanical conflicts of the template. Heck, you could explain your whole Shifter class as lycanthropic traits and build accordingly.
Oh, and while I'm at things...
= 16
= 16
= 16
= 15
= 10
= 17
Well, that seems like an okay set of rolls. XD Just gotta figure out where to put that 10.
As for a template on my side... are you familiar with the Eldritch template? It might serve pretty well to emphasize "magic changes people", and it has built-in limits to help keep it appropriate at each level. (I'd probably drop the type change and bonus natural attacks, though, at the very least.)
------
Also! Did you want to play with the recharge rules?
(They're house rules that I've tested by this point, and mostly intended for solo games. XD Basically, the gist is that instead of spending a spell point to activate a sphere power, you instead incur a 'cooldown' on a given Sphere where you can't spend any more spellpoints from it for awhile. So you can't, as an example, spam full-power destructive blasts. If you "spend" more than one point at once, you incur a longer cooldown, and some useful out-of-combat spells have long, specific cooldowns separate from the rest. Most spherecasters aren't running out of spellpoints during the day anyway, so this is actually more of a limit than anything else. XD)
Hmmm....It does do that pretty well. Works better if you link it back to whatever bloodline you have (don't have to take the literal bloodline). Speaks to something a little stronger than the average effects though. What makes you different than others? Was this a scar from an attempt harnessing more magic you can handle? Was this a portent of birth, of weal or woe? Something else? What changes do you see having now?
Eh, really don't like cooldown rules. Never made sense why a sphere (or power in other systems) would be closed while everything else drawing from the same source would remain open. Same reason why Vancian magic doesn't make sense.
I try to avoid stacking too much power, so I was thinking about taking (over time) mostly defensive abilities - a bit of DR, some Energy Resistance, a few armor bonuses... nothing really crazy like energy drain or being incorporeal. XD Part of this is because they're not really wearing armor or holding a shield, so it gets the numbers back to a comfortable place for a solo game. The other part is that I kind of like the idea of a mage being fairly hard to kill thanks to their powers protecting them. Less "squishy mage" and more "makes soldiers genuinely nervous".
And what about the flavor?
I haven't decided yet - I'm definitely going to try and tie it into their overall story and personality, though. XD
Working on backstory, but the posting gods ate it. Comforting to know after all this time, this is still a issue on these boards. Anyways, crunch is doneish.
Well, if you take too long writing it, you do get logged out... XD I tend to copy stuff before I post it out of sheer habit now.
A basic backstory up, will add more later. Whenever you finish yours (feel free to take liberties with the setting) and a bit about your house, we can start.
It's going to be a little slow adding lore docs, but if you have specific questions, ask.
Ah, screw it. Changed my mind Ruins of Azlant. Final answer.
Right-o. Honestly, Ruins of Azlant might have a better plot for a solo character anyway. Horror is a little trickier to pull off, especially with stronger characters.
I'm just waffling on the third class here and trying to figure out what would really fit in. XD
My third or your third?
Because Rowan is Shifter/incanter/Investigator
For you, with gladius and spell and the setting and your role, I would do something like
Magus/Hedgewitch/Incanter (probably with Magus spells exchanged for Spheres of Might.
or Swashbuckler/Sorceror/third magic class
Pactmaker sounds interesting and can make for a very interesting game. Common people will be suspicious, other Mages threatened, but it will be interesting.
Given your goal as Mage King (Queen), magic is probably necessary and you need to figure out what your noble bloodline is like (though you don't need Sorcerer or a class with Bloodline to do that.)
My third. XD The magic is relatively diverse (mostly a lot of basic spheres, with the occasional added talent) because I think flexibility is good, and I'm satisfied with the combat stuff... so I'm just trying to figure out what makes the most sense here. (I don't like slapping on classes that don't really fit a character, you know? If it's their power, I figure it should be a part of their story, not just an extra.)
Where are you at now?
Alignment: Neutral
Martial Tradition: Courtesan
Equipment: Dancer Training, Unarmored Training
Fencing Sphere
> Fast Feint
----
L1: Power Attack, Duelist Sphere, Debilitating Injuries (Duel)
L2: Extra Combat Talent, Berserker Sphere, Balanced Defense (Equip)
L3: Bone-Breaker (Bers), Unlikely Feint (Fen)
WEAPON: Gladius in one hand, empty other hand
-------
Incanter
Casting Tradition:
-Magical Signs (Magic clearly emanates from eye)
Drawbacks:
-Protected Soul, Personal Warp
L1: Extra Magic Talent, Life Sphere, Revitalize (Life), Illusion Sphere, Protection Sphere, Armored Magic (Prot., Bonus), Warp Sphere (Bonus), Extradimensional Storage (Warp, Bonus)
L2: Extra Magic Talent, Telekinesis Sphere, Divination Sphere (Bonus)
L3: Destruction Sphere, Weather Sphere
------------------
And done with one section of the background, focusing on their family. XD I still need to get into personality, some plausible events, that sort of thing. I've always found that things tend to go better when I write a lot of stuff for characters.
Can I see that bit about your family? Also, that doesn't say what your first class was.
I was under the impression tristalt classes are all gained at the same time, but my thought was that she learned martial stuff first, and only showed magic later on.
Overview:
Ariel is the third daughter of a family ruling on the frontier regions. Her father, the head of the family, is roughly the equivalent of a Marquess or Count - notable, but not a true power player. Their home region is particularly known for the skill of its merchants, a fact that's drawn no small amount of trade (and coin) to the family's coffers. Her mother works as a vote-counter for the various guilds of the territory. While some consider this to be a conflict of interest, the official policy of the family is to be scrupulously honest and simply tell a Guild if the family disagrees with the result of a vote. (The fact that they want to promote trade - which includes helping the Guilds succeed - is not lost on any but the most junior tradesmen in the area.)
Of course, even wealthy trade families don't have unlimited funds to hand out to their children, and Ariel's was no exception to that. As a figurehead, her main job was to promote some of the region's products to foreign traders, using her natural charm, business sense, and eye for detail to support the family's goals.
In her off-time, Ariel often practiced fencing with her brothers. About half of this was for self-defense - the other half was showing off to visitors and making a strong first impression. While she had the raw strength necessary for heavier blades, she didn't particularly like using them - instead, she eventually settled on using the Gladius and trusting in her agility to keep her out of danger.
All of that came to a screeching halt the day she first manifested an illusion. Magic was essentially a sign of divine right, and by far one of the most important things a family could have. Ariel didn't have the training to take over the family - and hadn't really been interested anyway - so her parents immediately set about the next best thing... marrying her off to a more influential family in order to advance their own station.
Unfortunately for them, Ariel had other ideas. While she didn't quite get to the point of running away, she did manage to cause enough confusion to get the idea put on hold as she looked for a 'suitably compatible husband'. Lies about her ability to detect someone with the ability to help produce genetically superior offspring may have been (*cough* were definitely *cough*) involved. That said, she knows she can't put it off forever - and while Ariel is generally amicable, she has no intention at all of becoming a boring housewife. That's how she wound up getting involved with something that would go further than she ever expected...
How's this for a reason for your character to end up in some remote hold?
Your family is trying to expand. The last people to try to hold this place went bankrupt, so your family got it on the cheap. They were going to send your brother, but you managed to convince your brother and your parents you should go instead, divine right and all.
That certainly works for me. XD I'll tweak things a little and add that to her story while I try to wrap the rest of the details up. (This shouldn't take TOO long. I just need a little spark of inspiration, and once I have that, everything should fall into place. ...Incidentally, do you have any opinions on psionics and/or psychic magic? I was thinking that some distinctly mental powers - bending the world to your will and all that - might end up working.)
I'm reticent to mix psionics with spheres. Take some mind and telekinesis talents instead. Unless there was something specific you were thinking of? And with this setting there isn't any great difference between psionic, arcane, and divine magic. It's just magic.
Nothing in particular - just feeling around for that inspiration. XD (For what it's worth, Spheres does have a suggested tradition for mixing Psionics in - but I can also see why people might prefer to avoid the mix. Honestly, it's not a huge issue for me either way.)
I was definitely thinking more "telekinesis" than "mind control", though. I've had an Eliciter in a solo game in the past, and honestly, mind-affecting powers just didn't get used that much - certainly not often enough to be worth spending a class on.
Hmmm there are a lot of interesting options. Not sure what the first class was. Also, with anti feat tax rules you don't need to pick up power attack.
Symbiat can be refluffed as possession, but that changes the game a bit, but also has some telekinetic abilities and potentially includes a DM window. Adding another casting class (Sorceror, Wizard,etc) gets you some abilities and more magic talents and plays up the mage side of your character more. Elementalist makes good synergy with an unarmored caster, even more so with a Magus, potentially. A class with a bloodline helps place you a bit in the setting, help weave what the main house of your kingdom may be like. Magus, Armorist, or Mageknight plays up the magic swordmanship. Hedgewitch gets you some skills, talents, and some of the traditions are pretty useful/flavorful. I liked the Pactmaker idea, but may have in game consequences.
Lot's of interesting options.
Pactmaker's strength is being freakishly flexible from day-to-day, and I may just go back to it. XD It fits, after all - I just wasn't quite sure I wanted to have too many consequences from that. I mean, people looking a little askance but shutting up when she produces results, sure. Lots of people after her head for largely-misunderstood channeling of entities... that'd be a little more worrying.
There is a religious order, the Order of the 5 Pointed Star, that regards any spirits and those that channel them to be unholy, but they are by no means dominant. They would be the ones after your head. Some villagers are going to be skittish and superstitious around you. The mage class has its channelers, but there is the fear of possession that you as a pactmaker are inviting. Others would advise caution. But all that requires them to know your nature. Keep it under wraps as long as you can and plan for it to be a plot point at some point. This particular age in Mirden has mages ruling, so magic is accepted and channeling too will be to some extent.
Still working on lore documents for you. Lots of writing, but work peskily gets in the way. Again, if you have questions, I'll answer them, but lore docs are going to take a bit.
It's fine. ^^ I may wait on some background stuff until your lore docs are done, just so I can tie into them better.
No, go ahead. If anything contradicts anything I am thinking, I'll let you know. And things can be edited later. Actually, having the bones of a story on your part helps focus me around your character. Though I think I have enough to go on now. I'll likely be done by the end of the week with at least descriptions of the kingdoms, some bits on races, magic, and basic history.
What's the normal level range for NPCs? (Not, like, major heroes or anything - just stuff like where her family members might be.)
I'm making good progress, by the way. XD Finally settled on a third class (Ethermancer - it's very Kineticist-like, and fulfills the 'ranged' side of things), and I'm moving on to Ariel's background and some relations and NPCs you can toss in as-needed.
1-5 is going to cover most of the common people. A experienced Guard lieutenant might be a level 5-7 fighter, where your every day guards would be level 1-4. A wizened scholar would be a high level expert. Leader of a Kingdom would be level 14+. A major house might be level 10+. The High King level 18+. As a rule of thumb for a game like this, a NPC with a class passively gains a level every few years, reaching a cap when they no longer are rising in skill or taking on higher challenges. Faster rate for NPC classes as they are gaining more skill and taking higher challenges by working at their craft. It's all context dependent, so think about their relative skill level in their field, and if they have a hero class, what they could take in a skirmish.
We haven't talked about time scale or experience yet, but I like to do things by milestone with in game breaks between adventuring, creating a more realistic time/level curve.
Tomorrow and Saturday I am going to be writing (yay for federal holidays), but I started something in that folder. Just a trickle so far.
Ethermancer seems ok, but why not take something like Elementalist? It seems Ethermancer is redoing somethings that Sphere casters already do? Not saying no, by any means, just curious.
Ultimately, a lot of magical stuff replicates others. If I had to say, though... *Rubs chin* I guess it's personal preference? The Destruction Sphere is all about creating a blast, while Ethermancy is about modifying it based on a situation. The flexibility here - I'll eventually be able to hurl blasts of all three physical elements and all four common energy elements without sacrificing my ability to power other spells - is also nice. Basically, it's separating damage potential from utility potential.
There was also a secondary concern about Caster Level. I try to take game balance pretty seriously - tristalt characters in particular have a LOT of toys to play with, but I try to avoid giving a character more than they could normally have access to. An Elementalist would provide more talents at full caster level than normal (not counting Destruction - they get full progression there already), and even with Spheres' more linear growth, I try to be conscientious. XD And it's less paperwork this way.
(Ethermancy's excellently balanced, too. You can do your most basic blast forever, do a mildly powered up one for a long time, or go nova and burn out in 2-3 rounds, forcing you to do something else for awhile. There's also some other ways to use ether that provide a slightly different feel from normal spellcasting. Interjection Games has been consistently impressive with its math and balancing.)
As for XP in your game, I'm also planning to go by milestones. Frankly, it's just easier. XD I also find that it's a nice way of encouraging creative solutions - you know that you'll progress by advancing the story, so the focus is on how you do it, not whether or not you've killed enough monsters before exploring the next ruin. I may have you level up a bit early, though, just because Level 1 play is kinda blah.
Any considerations of power are always something to be adjusted, don't worry about power creep too much. Plus as a tristalt hero, you are meant to be a little over the top power wise.
My solution for two sphere casters was just take only Alteration sphere from shifter levels anyways. From my point of view, it's just easier to keep track of one pool/spellcasting system than to split it up like that. It's up to you what you play, though.
If we do mile stones, might as well start at 2 or three and just stay there for a while for most of the chapter. Pump up early enemies as needed. I'd rather do that. I'm not a neophyte that needs time to get used to playing. Plus, gives me a little more room to get where I want to be, namely picking up some Beastmastery (and a companion) on the might side, another form for Shifter, and picking up some divination or maybe destruction talents on incanter.
Hmm... let's go ahead and start you at Level 2, then. ^^ Checking the book, it doesn't look like it'd take all that long anyway, and that should give you a nice levelup around the middle of the adventure. Otherwise, given the slow pace of PbP, it would be a biiiiiit long to go without one.