Shackled Souls (Inactive)

Game Master Wareagle

One of your ancestors lived in Jzadirune at the time the Vanishing (which I will explain to you if you choose this trait) struck. You are especially resistant to diseases, but find the prospect of becoming sick yourself horrifying.

Benefit: You gain a +2 bonus on all saving throws made to resist the effects of disease.

Drawback: You suffer a –2 morale penalty on saving throws against fear while in the ruins of Jzadirune, or when fighting creatures that are diseased or can inflict disease with a spell, supernatural ability, or extraordinary ability.

Roleplaying Ideas: Your parents told you harrowing stories about the Vanishing, and your dreams are haunted by visions in which you catch the disease and slowly fade away.
Demonscarred

One of your ancestors was a half-fiend. As a result, you carry some of the taint with you.

Benefit: Regardless of your actual alignment, spells and spell-like abilities with the evil descriptor treat you as if your alignment were evil. Magic items are similarly fooled. An unholy blight spell, for example, won’t damage you, no matter what your actual alignment is.

Drawback: Regardless of your actual alignment, spells and spell-like abilities with the good descriptor treat you as if your alignment were evil. Magic items are similarly fooled. A holy word spell, for example, will harm you even if you are good aligned.

Roleplaying Ideas: You are moody, gloomy, and have a short temper.
Dream Haunted

Your dreams are haunted by strange visions of tortured landscapes and deformed monsters. In some of these dreams, you are the deformed monster!

Benefit: You are used to fatigue, and suffer no penalties when you become fatigued. When you become exhausted, you are instead treated as if you are fatigued.

Drawback: You suffer a –2 penalty on saving throws against effects that cause madness or insanity, and on saving throws against sleep effects. If you are normally immune to sleep effects, you lose that immunity.

Roleplaying Ideas: You are always tired, though not to the point of fatigue. You tend to nod off when bored, and sometimes find it difficult to remember minor, relatively unimportant bits of information.
Long Shadowed

You are descended from a tribe of indigenous peoples who died out as a separate tribe many centuries ago. Still, this tribe’s penchant for necromantic magic runs in your blood.

Benefit: You automatically stabilize if reduced to negative hit points. When you take damage from negative energy, you reduce the actual damage you take by 5 points.

Drawback: Healing magic works poorly on you. Whenever you regain hit points from magical healing, you gain 1 less point of healing per character level you possess, to a minimum of one point per die rolled.

Roleplaying Ideas: You are somewhat morbid and intrigued by death and undeath, even if these interests are purely to learn more of your enemies.
Mark of the Beast

One of your ancestors was a lycanthrope. Select a predatory animal of your choice; that animal feels a mystic bond with you.

Benefit: Animals have a strange reticence when they attack you, and suffer a –2 penalty on all attack rolls made against you. If you have the wild empathy ability, you gain a +1 bonus on wild empathy checks.

Drawback: You suffer a –4 penalty to all saving throws made to resist lycanthropy, and take +1 point of damage from attacks made by silver weapons.

Roleplaying Ideas: You have a curious animal magnetism that is at once intriguing and disturbing. Your manners might be a bit crude, but you’re loyal to your friends.
Nobility

You were born into a noble family.

Benefit: You start play with an additional 200 gp, and gain +1 bonus on all Diplomacy and Intimidate checks made against citizens of Cauldron or the nearby villages. Certain NPCs in this campaign may react more favorably to your presence.

Drawback: You are well known and recognizable, and suffer a –4 penalty on Disguise rolls made against citizens of Cauldron or the nearby villages. Certain NPCs in this campaign may react more poorly to your presence.

Roleplaying Ideas: You might be haughty, impatient, or condescending to others. You might spend money frivolously, believing that there’ll always be more income to be had.
Scarred Soul

You’ve led a particularly tough life. Perhaps you’re an orphan, or maybe you suffered some sort of traumatic experience as a child. Whatever the cause, your childhood experiences have left you jumpy and haunted.

Benefit: You gain a +2 bonus on Initiative checks.

Drawback: Your experiences have left your mind less able to deal with trauma, and as a result you suffer a –1 penalty on all Will saves.

Roleplaying Ideas: You are quick to anger, jumpy, and possibly even a bit hyperactive. You’re prone to feelings of paranoia and unfounded fear.
Scion of Surabar

You are a descendant of the man who discovered Cauldron, helped settle the region, and aided in the defeat of an ancient demonic army.

Benefit: Pride for your lineage girds your mind and soul. You gain a +2 morale bonus on saving throws against fear, death effects, and insanity or confusion.

Drawback: Demons that encounter you in this region (not those that you might fight on other planes) can instinctively sense your lineage and connection to their old enemy, and gain a +1 morale bonus on attack rolls and weapon damage rolls when fighting you.

Roleplaying Ideas: You are proud of your heritage, and quick to anger if another mocks it. You find demons intolerable, and some might see you as haughty or imperious.
Touched in the Head

You’re a little crazy.

Benefit: Your mind is disorganized and chaotic. You gain a +1 bonus on all saving throws against mind-affecting effects, save for those effects that cause confusion or insanity.

Drawback: Your inability to concentrate for long makes you suffer a –1 penalty on all Wisdom-based skill checks.

Roleplaying Ideas: You have a number of strange quirks (whistling off-key, eating raw meat, a nervous tic, a tendency to scream at odd moments, and so on) that can make you difficult to get along with.
Wyrm Blooded

One of your ancestors was a half-black dragon. You have some sort of distinctively draconic feature, be it reptilian eyes, scales on the backs of your hands, or tiny vestigial horns on your head.

Benefit: You gain a +4 bonus on all saving throws against acid effects, a +2 bonus on Swim checks, and a +1 bonus on Listen and Spot checks.

Drawback: Your body isn’t quite as limber as it should be. You take a –1 penalty on Reflex saves.

Roleplaying Ideas: You have an intensity about everything you do, and your emotions are powerful and often difficult for you to control.

Population: 4,500 adults (large town).

Mixed (79% human, 9% halfling, 5% gnome, 3% dwarf, 2% elf, 1% half-elf, 1% half-orc).

Economy: (3,000 gp limit) Coffee, exotic woods, cut gemstones, obsidian, dyes, spices.

Authority Figures: Lord Mayor Severen Navalant, male human; Terseon Skellerang, male human (captain of the Town Guard).

Town Emblem: A watchful eye wreathed in blue flames.

Description: Believed to have been founded by Surabar Spellmason, Cauldron is the most populous area in the Cauldron Region. Nearby villages include Redgorge, Kingfisher Hollow, and Hollowsky. The Cauldron region is in a subtropical jungle. The town’s buildings, tightly packed and built from volcanic rock and wood, line the inner bowl of a nameless, dormant volcano. The elevation keeps Cauldron’s temperatures below that of the surrounding jungle, giving Cauldron a roughly temperate climate. Cobblestone roads form concentric circles around a small lake of cold water, which fills the volcano’s basin. Although the town’s sewage seeps into the lake, local clerics routinely purify the water for the citizens in exchange for charitable donations to their temples.

A 50-foot-tall fortified wall of black malachite encircles the city, tracing the outer rim of the volcano, becoming major thoroughfares that lead to other towns and distant realms. The districts nearer the rim of the city tend to be occupied by upper class families and elite merchants. The closer one gets to the centre of town (and the closer to the pungent odors of the central lake), the shoddier the construction and the more dangerous the dark alleys. Houses directly on the lake are often built with stilts to protect against flooding during the rainy season in winter.

Smaller avenues connect the four main roadways (from outer to inner, the avenues are named Obsidian, Magma, Lava, and Ash), which form concentric terraces down to the lake in the centre of the town.

Cauldron is ruled by a Lord Mayor, elected to his position every two years. The post is currently held by Severen Navalant, whose term expires in roughly 20 months. Other important individuals in the city include Terseon Skellerang, captain of the guard, the members of the noble families, and Cauldron’s few wealthy merchant interests.

Cauldron’s major exports come from two sources: mines and plantations. Both industries are based in the hills surrounding the city, and are managed by the various noble families who live in the area. Obsidian and diamonds are the primary products mined in the region. Plantations usually produce sugarcane and coffee. Most of those who dwell in the city itself are merchants, scholars, or workers in the mines and plantations in the lowlands. Water is never scarce in town, but most of the city’s food must be imported from Sasserine since the local fishing and farming enterprises are meager at best.

Citizens have historically paid a modest yearly flat tax of 1 gp, while merchants and nobles pay a 5% income tax each year. In addition, a 1sp gate tax is charged for non-citizens who enter the city by any of its four gates.

All inhabitants of Cauldron that own a building, or are part of a family that owns a building, are considered citizens regardless of economic status. Most Cauldronites have a simple malachite ring made or given to them when they reach the age of majority. The ring always bears the town emblem. Nobles often purchase very elaborate rings, or have extravagant brooches made to show their citizenship.

Currency in Cauldron: Cauldron uses the currency minted in the capital city of Sasserine—Nobles (pp), Eagles (gp), Talons (sp) and Commons (cp). Trade bars in 100, 500 and 1000 gp denominations are also used.

Though the festival begins with chaotic revelry, it grows increasingly organized. What starts as impromptu parties in the streets quickly turns into rows of flood-festival-themed merchant stalls lining the streets, notice boards for registrations to the Festival’s organized games and competitions.

Much work is done to get the town ready, stages are erected, flags are unfurled, streets are cleaned, sales begin, merchants begin arriving and street stalls are setup. Notices are posted on bulletin boards at each tavern, Church and meeting hall, highlighting the activities and agenda of the festival.

Visitors from neighboring regions begin to enter the city, sending accommodation prices high, space in taverns, inns and hostels at a premium. In the days leading up to the start of the festival, the streets have been colorful indeed, with locals on a relaxing stroll mixing in with visitors from the surrounding region. Various local dishes are available from street vendors, as are some more exotic ones, which are normally not available other times of the year. Unusual plates of flat bread decorated with jellied chili peppers, or yak cheese wrapped in molasses and deep-fried are among the more interesting offerings from visitors who have procured the necessary licenses to setup their own booths for the coming flood festival.

Many of Cauldron’s citizens have been saving all year for this – the Flood Festival Sales! And many visitors have also been drawn by the chance to find a real bargain. During the festival ALL merchants give a discount of at least 15% off their regular prices, and some even go as high as 20%!

set 2:
4d6 ⇒ (3, 3, 2, 3) = 11
4d6 ⇒ (2, 5, 1, 1) = 9
4d6 ⇒ (1, 6, 4, 4) = 15
4d6 ⇒ (1, 3, 6, 6) = 16
4d6 ⇒ (4, 1, 3, 6) = 14
4d6 ⇒ (2, 6, 2, 3) = 13

and

4d6 ⇒ (3, 6, 2, 1) = 12
4d6 ⇒ (1, 2, 6, 6) = 15
4d6 ⇒ (3, 2, 4, 3) = 12
4d6 ⇒ (3, 1, 4, 6) = 14
4d6 ⇒ (1, 3, 5, 5) = 14
4d6 ⇒ (3, 5, 6, 2) = 16

So this is the thanks you get for saving a noble’s son’s life?

It all started a few days ago when the Lord Mayor’s son organized a moonlight hunting party for “a few of his pals, and Yvette.” Yvette knew there was always a bit of snickering when the rich guys invited her along on their little jungle treks. The guardswoman was probably the last woman in the Cauldron you’d invite to a fancy dress party, but was a good choice for wandering into a jungle full of creatures with big nasty teeth. Yvette didn’t mind tagging along as it got her away from the barracks and into the jungle. If things went badly, or well depending on her mood, she even got the chance to slice open some critters.

Anyways, everything was going well. There was a full moon and little cloud cover, so visibility was hardly a problem. You could see at least as far through the dense foliage at night as during the day. Then the hunting party realized that Lord Navalant’s son had wandered off, again. Octavo Navalant never did take hunting seriously and always found some way to get lost in the jungle so he’d miss out on being in on the kill. Then, someone would notice the young fool was missing and everyone’s hunt would be turned into a game of “Where’s Octavo?”

Yvette would never claim to be a hunter or tracker--that was professional work. But she had no problem finding and following Octavo’s trail. By the time she found the young fool, he was seeking refuge from a pack of jungle cats by climbing a tree. There was no time to lose; Yvette had to act before Octavo learned the hard way that jungle cats can climb trees. She drew her greatsword and ran screaming into the clearing, scattering the cats before her.

Yvette thought nothing more about the incident with the jungle cats until last night. It was her first night off since the jungle outing, so she went to the pub to unwind. Yvette felt there was a hush as she entered the room, but dismissed it as her imagination. She ordered a pint of ale at the bar then took a chair at her normal table and waited for more off duty guardsmen to show up.

As Yvette nursed her ale, the conversations at the other tables resumed. It didn’t take long for her to realize that most of the patrons were discussing her rescue of Octavo Navalant. Yvette relaxed and took a nice long swallow of beer. It was nice hearing others talking of her heroic exploits. Then she realized the story had been changed in some dark and twisted ways.

“Octavo told me her eyes glowed like fire and her hair bristled like a beast’s. The cats ran from her like frightened kittens.”

“She killed three of them. It’s too bad she used that oversized horse slayer of hers. None of the pelts could be salvaged.”

“It’s the Moon Madness. It runs in the Gallowfall blood. They don’t all show it, her Dad’s stayed normal all these years, and her grandfather. But my granny told me stories about her great-grandfather. Four girls killed before they stopped him.”

“You know where the name Gallowfall comes from? They say that Surabar Spellmason himself saved old Roderick Gallowfall from a lynch mob. The mob claimed to have caught Roderick covered in the blood and gore of his own wife and children. Roderick said he had no idea what had happened. Spellmason took Roderick saying that fighting to clear this land of monsters would be punishment enough for whatever crimes he may have committed.”

“I saw Yvette’s mother leap from the wall when Yvette was a baby. The last thing she yelled was, ‘I gave birth to a monster!’”

There was a crash as Yvette violently pushed away from her table. She threw the last of her ale, mug and all, at the last gossip’s face. “Leave my mother out of this!” She yelled at the man to keep from crying. Then the gossip’s friends got up and a brawl started. After several frenzied minutes of flying fists, glassware, and barstools, Yvette was finally subdued and she spent the rest of the night in the guardhouse.

The next morning Yvette was in Captain Skellerang’s office. She would have understood if the Captain had yelled at her like she was a raw recruit, but he was detached and professional. He said a lot of things about the Gallowfalls’ decades of service in Cauldron’s guard. How he had expected great things from Yvette, possibly succeeding his successor to the captaincy. But in light of recent events… Good of the service… Maybe they were more lenient in your great grandfather’s day… I’m sure you understand.

And now Yvette Gallowfall is out of the only job she has ever wanted or known. The job her father’s fathers’ had held since Spellmason’s day was now denied to her. Well, there are still plenty of opportunities of a brave woman with a good sword in and around the Cauldron.

If Yvette can keep the Moon Madness at bay…

When Gwenill rode into the local hamlet, she was almost unconscious, barely holding on to the saddle. After she was nursed back to health, Gwenill sold her family's farm, and with the profits she bought a full set of equipment for combat. Prepared to continue cleaning up the world and desperate to try to help innocent people avoid her family's fate, Gwenill set off away from her village.

4d6 ⇒ (3, 1, 3, 2) = 9
4d6 ⇒ (2, 1, 1, 3) = 7
4d6 ⇒ (4, 3, 4, 5) = 16
4d6 ⇒ (5, 3, 5, 3) = 16
4d6 ⇒ (6, 2, 5, 2) = 15
4d6 ⇒ (4, 4, 1, 5) = 14

Race Human

Classes/Levels Conjurer

Gender Male

Size M

Age 26

Alignment NG

Strength 12
Dexterity 14
Constitution 13
Intelligence 20
Wisdom 12
Charisma 9

Feats:

Spell Focus (conjuration)
Eschew Materials
Scribe Scroll
*Alertness

Traits:

Rich Parents
Noble

Background
Alexander has lived a life cut off from the realities of the everyday with someone looking after his cooking, cleaning and mending throughout most of his adult life. Such trivialities became nothing next to his passion for learning. Not surprisingly his all encompassing drive left him socially stunted. Alexander's social awkwardness never truly hampered him in college since it always paled next to his record as a gifted student and he cared little for how his piers viewed him as long as he could continue to tutor under some of the greatest scholars of the age. The Taskerhill family allowed him his passions for a time however when it became obvious his drive for knowledge was never going to turn towards a practical end they decided he needed to be encouraged to find a useful outlet and demanded he return to Cauldron and cut him off until he can make a name for himself or starts to take part in the family interests.

Appearance
While Alexander has a certain handsomeness about him it is generally lost amongst the wild uncombed hair, ink stained fingers and too pale skin from working to long indoors. Alexander prefers his scholarly robes to the gaudiness of the noble finery worn at court. It is also rare for Alexander to be without Po his raven familiar who enjoys perching on his shoulder sometimes going so far as perching on his head.

Personality
Alexander is in general disinterested in the goings on of others. He simply has a hard time relating to people and their day to day lives. However despite his difficulties relating to others the heart of a true champion beats within his chest and only a lack of opportunities has kept it from shining through.

Fort +2
Ref +0
Will +4 (+5)

AC 11 t11 f11 (+4 vs Giants)
BAB +0 CDM +0

Climb (Str) 0
Craft (Int) 0
Fly (Dex) 0
Handle Animal (Cha) 7 (11 Felix)
Heal (Wis) 6 (8 with kit)
K.Geography (Int) 0
K.Nature (Int), 2
Perception (Wis) 4
Prof.(Tracker)(Wis) 2
Ride (Dex) 6
Spellcraft (Int) 0
Survival (Wis) 9
Swim (Str). 0
Stealth (Dex) 4
Traits:Animal Friend; Poverty Stricken
Feats: (1)Mounted Combat
Speakes: Gnome, Sylvan, Druidic

Spells Prepared:
SLA:1/day each: dancing lights, ghost sound, prestidigitation,speak with animals

Orsins:1: Create Water. 2: Guidance. 3: Stabilize
First :1: Shillelagh. 2: Cure Light Wounds. (Summon Natures Ally I)

Natures Bond: Felix
Cat, Big(Tiger) (2hd) 17 HP AC 14 t13 f11
Size Medium; Speed 40 ft. Fort +4 Ref +6 Will +2
Attack bite +5(1d6+1) 2 claws +5(1d4+1)Special Attacks rake +5 (1d4+1)
STR 13 (+1)
DEX 17 (+3)
CON 13 (+1)
INT 2 (-4)
WIS 15 (+2)
CHA 10 (+0)
low-light vision
scent
link
share spells
Acrobatics (Dex) 7
Climb (Str) 1
Escape Artist (Dex) 3
Intimidate (Cha) 0
Perception (Wis) 2
Stealth (Dex) 3
Survival (Wis) 6
Swim (Str) 1
trained Tricks:Combat Rider Trained(7)
~combat rider,~attack,~come,~defend,~down,~guard,~heal

Equipment -------120 gp carried weight 8#
2 clubs (3#) -- +1 1d4 20x2 B 10'
1 dagger(.5#) 2 gp +1 1d3 19-20x2 p/s 10'
1 sling (-#) -- +1 1d3 20x2 B 50'
20 bullets (5#) 2 sp ---

exMil.Saddle(20#) 60 gp
saddle bags (4#) 4 gp
healers kit (1#) 50 gp
x2 waterskin(8#) 2 gp (full size)
x2 rations (1#) 1 gp

Coins: 8 Talons