Ruins of Pathfinder: The Mysterium Compact (Mythic) (Inactive)

Game Master Robert Brookes

Adopted doesn't actually let me take a class archetype does it?

Of course I suppose an Aasimar(Gnome) can take Scion of Humanity and then take Racial Heritage(Half-elf) to become a Wild-Caller.

Kidding, kidding...

Does Golarion have a notion of time passing differently in (all or part of) the First World than the Prime? i.e. you spend a year there, and return a day later (or vice versa)? I'm considering having my character have spent some significant portion of his childhood in the First World...

Ahhhh, found in Sound of a Thousand Screams that the answer is a resounding yes to time being unpredictable in both directions in the First World. Excellent...

Hue hue hue

Gobgob Returns!

OK, wheels still spinning. I'm thinking now about a youth (likely not Gnomish anymore) who was carried off to the First World and has lived much of his life there. I know a general theme of your Ruins setting is the failure of various APs. Doors that include Kingmaker? In wondering if Nyrissa succeeded in annexing some portion of the River Kingdoms into the First World.

OK, wheels still spinning. I'm thinking now about a youth (likely not Gnomish anymore) who was carried off to the First World and has lived much of his life there. I know a general theme of your Ruins setting is the failure of various APs. Doors that include Kingmaker? In wondering if Nyrissa succeeded in annexing some portion of the River Kingdoms into the First World.

Yep! He mentioned that one somewhere.. but Kingmaker was included - All AP's prior to Shattered Star were failures, in fact.

Well, maybe you could take the adopted trait, and have been adopted by a group of half-elves. Yess.... -strokes munchkin beard-

^ This

Does Golarion have a notion of time passing differently in (all or part of) the First World than the Prime? i.e. you spend a year there, and return a day later (or vice versa)? I'm considering having my character have spent some significant portion of his childhood in the First World...

The First World sometimes has fluidic time, yes. It's per DM fiat or whatever works for the story. But it is a thing.

OK, wheels still spinning. I'm thinking now about a youth (likely not Gnomish anymore) who was carried off to the First World and has lived much of his life there. I know a general theme of your Ruins setting is the failure of various APs. Doors that include Kingmaker? In wondering if Nyrissa succeeded in annexing some portion of the River Kingdoms into the First World.

Yeah, Nyrissa succeeded and the stolen lands is now a barren desert, as she hauled it bodily into the First World.

OK, thanks, a few more questions. A big hunk of the River Kingdoms has been stolen by Nyrissa. Are the inhabitants of that land now living in the First World? In what year did that happen? Can you say anything about the lives of those people since then?

OK, thanks, a few more questions. A big hunk of the River Kingdoms has been stolen by Nyrissa. Are the inhabitants of that land now living in the First World? In what year did that happen? Can you say anything about the lives of those people since then?

Nyrissa's theft of the Stolen Lands happened in the fall of 4709. The fate of those that were living there at the time has not been revealed, so there's a lot of freedom to explore/develop that in whatever way would be conducive to your character design :)

I'll be catching up on submission reviews tonight, too!

I, Shenhua, hereby submit myself to the College of Shadows under the sign of The Dance.

I, Shenhua, hereby submit myself to the College of Shadows under the sign of The Dance.

I created the profile requested and entered Shenhua's basic information. I prefer to make packets to submit my characters as I use a lot of visuals and I hope that you take the time to check it out. I've linked it from her alias, but you can also reach it here.

I will make certain to have all pertinent information in my alias by the time the game starts if I am selected. Please check out the packet, it gives a lot more information than an alias and I think you will like it.

Aaand there goes MPC making more awesome characters :D

Holy haberdashers of Haiti that's amazing.

Still reading the story, but I wanted to make sure you adjusted your stats with the "young character" adjustments; +2 bonus to Dexterity and a –2 penalty to Strength, Constitution, and Wisdom. Those adjustments will be lifted at the end of Book 1.

Madai: Liking the revised background, it definitely swung the pendulum the other way pretty far, but it has a lot of interesting elements. The charlatan fortune tellers as a family will paint some very interesting preconceptions on fortune telling in general (which is a strong element of Mysterium Compact's story) as well as relations with Hokuto, who is one of several recurring NPCs that are present at the school throughout the campaign. Lots of good hooks, I like it.

Hu Xian: I know you haven't finished your background yet, but I just wanted you to know the mechanics all look good so far.

Cassandra Norst: Tragic background for a changeling, I like what you've got here and I can see some good parallels forming between "patches" and her eventual eidolon.

Deriku: I should have seen this coming from you. I just should have. It looks great, I love the attention to detail with the Shoanti tribe, you nailed all the information and setting; meshed it very well with the Ruins timeline.

Shenhua: Sorry, still picking my jaw up off the floor.

I agree, Holy Crap.
It beats my Group render of a KM game I'm in.

I agree, Holy Crap.

It beats my Group render of a KM game I'm in.

** spoiler omitted **

Hah, potato girl!

Good outline, though there is a very "destined" aspect to each character, specifically as they are chosen to go to the school by more than mere chance, represented in the presence of Hokuto Ichihara searching for the characters personally. So that story could definitely work, it just needs to incorporate an "I've been looking for you" angle to it.

I just thought of something to do with the eidolons... Will there be a template to make the eidolon into a weapon similar to what was done in Soul Eater? If not then oh well but I thought that instead of fighting side by side with my eidolon it would be cooler if I literally fought with it in hand.

Hah, potato girl!

I take it then you've seen or read Attack on Titan.

How many people made prince/princess characters? Making me nervous about my chances.

But then again, MPCambell's packets always make me feel like the fat greasy kid next to the prom queen. Damn you and your photoshop skills! :P

Edit: Nice story too :)

Edit edit: Chinese themed character a day after Chinese National day! Yay! I'm glad someone besides me thinks about Chinese themed Tian characters. Chinese-like culture should be the majority of Tian-Xia, not Japanese. Okay. Done commenting on Shen Hua now.

Which chinese characters are shen and hua? Body flower?

I just thought of something to do with the eidolons... Will there be a template to make the eidolon into a weapon similar to what was done in Soul Eater? If not then oh well but I thought that instead of fighting side by side with my eidolon it would be cooler if I literally fought with it in hand.

There will not be an archetype like that, no. There will be new ones not seen in Paizo products, however. Which is part of the reason everyone will start out as commoners, so you'll be able to learn about the different archetypes and evolve into their roles (potentially) over time :)

Robert Brookes wrote:

Hah, potato girl!

I take it then you've seen or read Attack on Titan.

Enough to be familiar with the concept and character yes :)

Oh well... As for DM Jelani's question my character is but a commoner trained in the use of the Totem Spear (+11 to wind instruments).

I'm glad you liked what i have. I'm trying to make a few snippets to flesh out certain historical points and fill in blanks, along with helping me understand my own character better. If there are ways i can improve upon what i have so far i would love suggestions.

Shenhua: Sorry, still picking my jaw up off the floor.

I had the very same reaction with his submission to my Ruins of Pathfinder campaign. XD

How many people made prince/princess characters? Making me nervous about my chances.

Edit edit: Chinese themed character a day after Chinese National day! Yay! I'm glad someone besides me thinks about Chinese themed Tian characters. Chinese-like culture should be the majority of Tian-Xia, not Japanese. Okay. Done commenting on Shen Hua now.

Which chinese characters are shen and hua? Body flower?

I honestly named Shenhua after the Taiwanese assassin in Black Lagoon. I was flipping around through TV Tropes looking for inspiration and I came across the terms Chinglish and Twinkie and laughed so hard I had to use the name.

I could look up the characters of course, but I haven't spoken Mandarin in almost twenty years and my characters have gotten pretty pitiful. Hard to believe it's what I got my undergraduate degree in.

As to other questions/comments -

I guess Shenhua is a princess, but I tried to show in her history that she's an illegitimate daughter to an emperor with a gazillion children. That would make her about as meh as a commoner I should imagine.

I did not think to take the penalties you have mentioned into account. I will update her packet sometime tomorrow. I spent about five hours on Shenhua today and my wife is about to kill me. I'm a medical student IRL and didn't make the scores on my first midterms that are conducive to emerging as a future doctor. I was going to try to show how hard working I am but then I just spent an hour making a burning signature in yiddish for my angel in Crusty's game.

Thank God she went to bed thirty minutes ago.

I'll update when I can. I'm glad you like the character. I make all of my characters this way and try to put a lot into them. I'm a very visual person and I like to see exactly who I'm playing. 8)

Oh! and PS - yes, I watch Attack on Titan, although never before bed. I couldn't believe how it ended, so I just finished reading the manga up to the current issue. I really like the series, it's another really intense one similar to last season's From The New World, another one I couldn't read before bed. I'm more of a goofy anime watcher - Baka to Test and that kind of stuff, but there have certainly been some good ones lately. I'm currently on episode 50 of Detective Conan after just having watched all 16 movies. I only have another 670 more episodes before I'm all caught up with that anime.

Oh! PPS - One last comment. My favorite anime is Bacano! if that gives you an idea of what I like. I need plenty of humor if there's going to be a lot of blood and guts.

My characters are basically non-existant but my speaking is okay. I live/work in China so that helps.

Man, I hope I'm like you in twenty years (I'm exactly 20 years your junior based off a convo in another thread). Pretty badass trying to become a doctor at your age. I'd most likely go for Veterinarian, but it's a similar amount of work. I just have such a hard time motivating myself to study when I can be writing characters and stories for pathfinder stuff :P

I, Taeo Oneshape, hereby submit myself to the College of Shadows under the sign of The Joke.

Gyrfalcon here, with the fey-touched son of two of the adventurers who tried (and failed) to prevent Nyrissa from taking the Stolen Lands off to the First World.

Robert (or anyone) I made some assumptions about (a) what happened after the capture of the Stolen Lands and (b) what life in the First World might be like for a child who's been carried off by gremlins. Feedback/corrections/suggestions welcome! I like collaborating on characters.

Madai: Liking the revised background, it definitely swung the pendulum the other way pretty far, but it has a lot of interesting elements. The charlatan fortune tellers as a family will paint some very interesting preconceptions on fortune telling in general (which is a strong element of Mysterium Compact's story) as well as relations with Hokuto, who is one of several recurring NPCs that are present at the school throughout the campaign. Lots of good hooks, I like it.

Yeah, I tossed out the pendulum all together. This wasn't a rewrite as much as a complete reboot. I rolled randomly for his sign and (after rejecting a chaotic evil and lawful evil result) got The Twin, which seemed to work as a hook to hang the character off of. I was thinking the imaginary friend could become his eidolon but it could just as easily stay as an inside voice representing the duality of the character.

Have fun choosing, there are some amazing character concepts here.

Robert Brookes wrote:

Shenhua: Sorry, still picking my jaw up off the floor.

I had the very same reaction with his submission to my Ruins of Pathfinder campaign. XD

I am suddenly very glad I've been lurking here even though I have no intention of submitting a character. It was worth it just to see that submission and realize that things like that exist.

I am flabbergasted at the incredible submission you put in Shenhua. It makes me wonder how many others do something similar. I am very new to the boards and from the look of the responses here, I am guessing that is rare. I have also seen some absolutely amazing back stories from many of the other candidates thus far. Is there are running count on how many characters are from Noble backgrounds and how many are not? (just out of sheer curiosity)

I haven't yet charted anything like that, but if anyone wanted to do an aggregate of submissions so far that'd be cool.

I will after an episode or two of TV, for I am mighty curious myself.

I'm still cooking up ideas for my character.. making a serious Goblin background for a character who is also anything but serious is hard work!

....but considering in all likelyhood, he's from newly reborn Thassilon.. I think, if I go this route, Rob'll enjoy it. >:)

Oh lawd. Rise of the Runegobs.

On that note, are you allowing a second trait provided we take a Drawback? I know he's a child still, but his drawback popped up early on in his life, considering he's a Goblin - 11 years old, though still a child, is a long time for a goblin.

Plus, Hedonistic is the perfect drawback for Goblins..

On that note, are you allowing a second trait provided we take a Drawback? I know he's a child still, but his drawback popped up early on in his life, considering he's a Goblin - 11 years old, though still a child, is a long time for a goblin.

Plus, Hedonistic is the perfect drawback for Goblins..

None at start, no. However I will be allowing drawbacks to be taken later.

Crap on a stick. Oh well. :P

Alrighty! Will need some adjusting then..

List of Current Submissions:

Garrett Wilson - The Keep
Aemelya - The Survivor
Zanithane - The Lost
Anlessa Kowan - The Survivor
Alyona Elvanna - The Betrayal
Yaz - The Tangled Briar
Cassandra Norst - The Eclipse
Shenhua - The Dance
Taeo Oneshape - The Joke

Thought it might be nice to see who all was submitted and what card they had chosen.

List of Current Submissions:

Garrett Wilson - The Keep
Aemelya - The Survivor
Zanithane - The Lost
Anlessa Kowan - The Survivor
Alyona Elvanna - The Betrayal
Yaz - The Tangled Briar
Cassandra Norst - The Eclipse
Shenhua - The Dance
Taeo Oneshape - The Joke

Thought it might be nice to see who all was submitted and what card they had chosen.

Missed; Madai - The Twins

I'm gonna do one with URLs in a little bit.

I didn't realise that I'd overlapped The Survivor with Aemelya. I might revise that when I try and expand on Anlessa's backstory later today.

@Taeo Oneshape: Phenomenal. One thing I didn't see in the background and is something you should consider, is Taeo's concept of death. Creatures native to the First World do not (typically) die permanently there. They'll die, then be reconstituted some time later. They have no sense of permanency of death and do not take it seriously. It's up to you how Taeo has interacted with that, and how that colors his perceptions of death on the material plane (if he's even thought about it.)

So the first world's concept of death is similar to Dragon Ball Z's... How convenient.

Garret Wilson The Keep (Half Elf spear guy)

Aemelya The Survivor (Fetchling Orphan)

Zanithane The Lost (Tiefling slave)

Anlessa Kowan The Survivor (Human Runaway)

Alyona Elvanna The Betrayal (Human evil princess)

Yaz The Tangled Briar (Half-orc, raised by orcs)

Vathan The Forge (Aasimar prisoner)

Madai The Twins (Human varisian with imaginary friend)

Cassandra norst The Eclipse (changeling adoptee with teddy bear)

Shen Hua The Dance (Human bastard princess of Tian Ja)

Taeo Oneshape The Joke (Aasimar fey born)

======================

Think I got everyone. Let me know if I missed you or misrepresented your character. I didn't read them all in detail.

@Robert Opps, i did. I saw his first one and knew he revised it and apparently overlooked the revised version. Sorry Madai!