I mean, we potentially have two necromancers, a metal oracle, a greatsword slayer, a psychic and who even knows what else. This has the potential to be a bad joke, a B-list horror movie, and an awesome band all at the same time.
Lesse, I think everyone's got a name now, too. I think 9 and a half applicants total. I say a half because LilWilly5 hasn't posted anything in a long while and only a class concept, but I'd hate to count anyone out just yet.
Spooky Necromancers
Chester Banderfeld - Cleric Necromancer (LAB Rat)
Jacob Romero - Wizard Necromancer (Zayne Iwatani)
Boom Casters
Kiara Alina - Arcanist (ginganinja)
Yazmine Khera - Psychic (Mimesyne)
Hit You With My Big Stick While I Pick Locks
Kyraska Johan - Rogue (Ixxix)
Aldric Beauturne - Slayer (PirateDevon)
Hit You With My Big Stick While I Cast
Amos Windelton - Metal Oracle (Wandering_Monster)
Vladymir Tamriv - Investigator? (Arknight)
Mysterious Few
Norrys Caromarc - Unknown (Harakani)
Unknown - Alchemist (LilWilly5)
That's enough people for two parties.
I'm half a mind to run parallel games, just to see the different choices each group makes. It wouldn't be hard to manage either.
I've also considered just letting everyone jump into the same pool, since the Kingdom Building rules require quite a few characters to fill roles, and I'd rather those roles get some life instead of being helmed by a "one-liner" NPC. I wouldn't mind seeing how the micro-group dynamics impact the story either.
You guys have put a lot of effort into your concepts, they're fantastic, and I'm hesitant to leave anybody out.
I personally am not a fan of large groups. Tried it twice and there ended up being a lot of reading to get caught up and sometimes it felt like I wasn't contributing. Admittedly one of them was run poorly and the other my character was crit twice and went negative 3 times in 5 battles. Still, it was a lot of work just to keep up with a lot less apparent feedback when I did respond.
I personally am not a fan of large groups. Tried it twice and there ended up being a lot of reading to get caught up and sometimes it felt like I wasn't contributing. Admittedly one of them was run poorly and the other my character was crit twice and went negative 3 times in 5 battles. Still, it was a lot of work just to keep up with a lot less apparent feedback when I did respond.
I know what you mean. I would approach it by letting the natural cliques form, and run them as fluid micro-parties.
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So far I agree with everyone's sentiments on the issue. From an RP standpoint, having everyone involved could make for an exceedingly active thread with lots of chances to go back and forth with different people. On the other hand, I can see combat becoming a two week enterprise even if it only lasts three rounds.
I can definitely see the merits of both sides.
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I can see combats going slowly but there are some thread management techniques to mitigate some of that (group initiatives, act in order of post, "shot clocks" on player actions) etc.
I have been in a lot of games over the years and with one exception most of them that have survived had 5-7 players. When there are only 4 the thread can go quiet for a while and that can be hard.
Dunno I think it is doable plus there is almost always attrition. Even if we started with 9 we would be down at least a couple within 60 days. I could be wrong but its the way it seems to go.
Well, I must say I am amazed by the OA book. :) I see soooooooooooooo much potential.
On a development note, are we using the Occult Skill Unlocks? If so, as a Psychic Detective would I need to take Psychic Sensitvity to utilize them or since I use the Psychic spell list would I already be able to do that?
Also, am I nuts or does the Psychic Detective only have access to 3 0-level psychic spells?
(BTW, I also got the herolab dataset, and found that the Psychic detective has a bug which doesn't replace alchemy. I've submitted the bug and will fix my version, but in case anyone else was using HL, may be similar issues. :) )
Well, I must say I am amazed by the OA book. :) I see soooooooooooooo much potential.
Likewise.
On a development note, are we using the Occult Skill Unlocks? If so, as a Psychic Detective would I need to take Psychic Sensitvity to utilize them or since I use the Psychic spell list would I already be able to do that?
We are using them, and you have access to them if you can cast Psychic Spells. Which a Psychic Detective can do.
Also, am I nuts or does the Psychic Detective only have access to 3 0-level psychic spells?
You use the bard spell known and spells per day, so you'd know 6 knacks at third level.
Still here and making an alchemist made him then remade him. Got him done but I am now facing some writers block on his story.
@Bēl-Ṣullulim: Might I ask if this is a reasonable point of view to have?
Beliefs:
1 Committees don't win wars
2 Ustalav is already at war - with the Worldwound
3 A military-like hierarchical command structure is the best way to prepare for and fight a major offensive
4 True political equality leads to economic equality
5 economic equality leads to a society where everyone is just a little worse off than a peasant.
6 Only those of at least middle class can afford the time for military training, education, and capital investment.
7 Most talents have a hereditary basis: strong parents have strong children, smart parents have smart children.
8 Training in order to maximize potential needs to be started before the potential is perceptible.
9 Feudal systems have bidirectional duties and Noblesse Oblige.
10 By supporting the Palatines the monarchy has abrogated their feudal duties
11 By not supporting war against the worldwound the monarchy has abrogated their feudal responsibilities
12 Humanity destroys the different unless constrained not to
13 Some 'nobles' are incompetent, and that incompetence is hereditary: point 7 is a trend, not a guarantee.
14 Improved technology and/or magic can improve productivity and/or efficiency
15 Sometimes it is necessary to do some Evil in order to more Good
16 Only the educated can truly understand trade offs
Therefore:
* It is necessary to quickly impose a non-hereditary nobility in order to fight the war with the worldwound
* It would be good for this nobility to become hereditary in order to maximise Ustalav's potential in the future - though those who prove incompetent should be removed
* It will be necessary to fight all the Palatines in time (given they will come to each others aid) and probably eventually replace the monarchy
I'm thinking this is... Lawful Evil? Lawful Neutral with Good and Evil tendencies?
This is a character who could (sadly) order the deaths of a few good people to save more later. While not seeking power for its own sake, he'd see that he has a duty to take it as he is the best qualified.
Still here and making an alchemist made him then remade him. Got him done but I am now facing some writers block on his story.
Aha so it is 10! I've been enjoying reading everyone's character concepts so I can't wait to see yours, too.
Well, you know that initial concept I had about a Brown-Fur Arcanist? I canned it.
I ran into trouble when I had a character I was mechanically happy with, but didn't have a solid backstory I could work on. The initial plan had been for it to be an aasimar, with an abyssal bloodline, and for the character to be TN, the better to balance between the two planar forces. I couldn't think of a way to add in the Brown-Fur aspect, which felt more "nature" than "planar", nor could I sort out a reason for a transmutation preference. So I canned the idea and went back to my "Shadow" character theme, and created a character that I felt a heck of a lot more invested in.
Kiara Alina
Human illusionist 3 (Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Inner Sea Magic)
CN Medium humanoid (human)
Init +6; Senses Perception +2
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Defense
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AC 13, touch 12, flat-footed 11 (+2 Dex, +1 natural)
hp 23 (3d6+9)
Fort +3, Ref +3, Will +5
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Offense
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Speed 30 ft.
Arcane School Spell-Like Abilities (CL 3rd; concentration +8)
8/day—blinding ray
Illusionist Spells Prepared (CL 3rd; concentration +8)
2nd—glitterdust (2, DC 17), invisibility
1st—color spray (DC 16), color spray (DC 16), grease, mage armor, magic missile, silent image (DC 16), vanish[APG] (DC 16)
0 (at will)—dancing lights, detect magic, prestidigitation, read magic
Opposition Schools Enchantment, Necromancy
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Statistics
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Str 8, Dex 14, Con 14, Int 20, Wis 10, Cha 10
Base Atk +1; CMB +0; CMD 12
Feats Alertness, Familiar Bond, Improved Familiar Bond, Iron Will, Scribe Scroll
Traits clever wordplay, magical lineage, ustalavic noble
Skills Diplomacy +1, Knowledge (arcana) +11, Knowledge (dungeoneering) +11, Knowledge (local) +11, Knowledge (nature) +11, Knowledge (nobility) +12, Knowledge (planes) +11, Knowledge (religion) +11, Perception +2, Sense Motive +2, Spellcraft +11
Languages Aklo, Celestial, Common, Shadowtongue, Sylvan, Thassilonian, Undercommon
SQ extended illusions (1 round), shadow spell slots (shadow spell slot, shadow spell slot), shadow spells, umbral unmasking
Combat Gear wand of silent image (50 charges); Other Gear amulet of natural armor +1, 400 gp
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Special Abilities
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Blinding Ray (8/day) (Sp) As a standard action, ranged touch vs foe in 30 ft blinds for 1 rd (dazzles if more HD).
Deliver Touch Spells Through Familiar (Su) Your familiar can deliver touch spells for you.
Empathic Link with Familiar (Su) You have an empathic link with your Arcane Familiar.
Enchantment You must spend 2 slots to cast spells from the Enchantment school.
Extended Illusions (+1 rds) (Su) Increase duration of illusion spells by 1/2 level (permanent at 20).
Familiar Bonus: +4 bonus on initiative checks You gain the Alertness feat while your familiar is within arm's reach.
Illusion Illusionists use magic to weave confounding images, figments, and phantoms to baffle and vex their foes.
Magical Lineage (Shadow Conjuration, Greater) A chosen spell counts as 1 level lower when metamagic feats are applied to it.
Necromancy You must spend 2 slots to cast spells from the Necromancy school.
Shadow Spells (Su) At 1st level, a shadowcaster uses his shadow to prepare additional spells. He must spend his entire period of spell preparation in dim illumination to use this ability. He may prepare a number of additional spell levels of spells equal to the level o
Share Spells with Familiar Can cast spells with a target of "You" on the familiar with a range of touch.
Umbral Unmasking You cast no shadow (DC 15 Perception to notice)
Ustalavic Noble +1 trait bonus on Diplomacy and Knowledge (nobility) checks.
Kiara Alina had always been at home in the darkness. As a young girl, she had been taken from her parents by members of the Nidal shadowcallers, partly due to her burgeoning ability to manipulate shadow, for Kiara had a shadow unlike any other. Observant users would notice that it was a large, monstrous thing, that had an oppressive aura, yet even as a young girl, Kiara had no fear of it, her shadow was her own, and she cared not for what it looked like.
Kiara was taken to the Dusk Hall, where she was trained extensively into managing her art, as she was taught the ways of using shadow magic. Under study, Kiara proved remarkably adept at illusion magic, often using it to sow fear and doubt into her enemies, manipulating them into following a course of action that would benefit the young wizard. The girl grew so talented; she was one of several members of the infamous Midnight Guard – a collection of Nidalese spellcasters sent to serve the House Thrune.
The change from living in Nidal to living in Westcrown would turn out be being a significant change in the life of Kiara, which exposed her to various forms of religion. As a Nidalese, she had only known torture and the worship of Zon-Kuthon, and Westcrown opened up new deities she was exposed to. One of those deities would be Sivanah, a deity whose worship was banned throughout Nidal, and a deity whose faith Kiara would eventually convert to.
In a nutshell, this proved troublesome for Kiara, because she could never return to Nidal, even in Westcrown carrying on the worship could prove dangerous if another shadowcaster caught wind of it. With that said however, Kiara could not return to her previous worship, Zon-Kuthon had only given her pain, from stripping her away from family, to the torture during training. Therefore, when the option came to return back to Nidal, Kiara declined, claiming she wished to fullfill her duty to Westcrown. Several other shadowcasters also stayed, so shortly after this, Kiara left, choosing to leave at noon on a sunny day, the better to confuse anyone who might pursue her. From Westcrown Kiara travelled to Ustalav, as she knew her extending family had long ago been members of the nobility there. Kiara had initially been sceptical about reclaiming some small semblance of her birthright, but had gradually warmed up to the idea. Resurrecting her families ancient nobility would grant her additional protection when the Shadowcasters eventually caught up with her, protection that might delay them for long enough for Kiara to outmatch them should the opportunity call for it.
Kiara is a slim human of average height, with long black hair. Her eyes are a dark brown, almost black, with her skin being in sharp contrast, being fairly pale. Kiara frequently wears a long robe with a hood, as well as a veil, allowing her to swiftly leave only her eyes visible, although it is far more common for her to have her hood down, and veil tucked to one side. Kiara naturally prefers dark clothing, feeling uncomfortable in anything brighter.
Any questions etc are welcome.
@Bēl-Ṣullulim: Might I ask if this is a reasonable point of view to have?
In the context of real life? I don't think so.
In the context of the game? You betcha!
I'm thinking this is... Lawful Evil? Lawful Neutral with Good and Evil tendencies?
This is a character who could (sadly) order the deaths of a few good people to save more later. While not...
I'd start him off as LN, and see where it goes from there. Of course, you are working toward the primacy of the werecrow race, which might make you more evil still.
Kiara Alina
I like the backstory, definitely in theme.
On a development note, are we using the Occult Skill Unlocks? If so, as a Psychic Detective would I need to take Psychic Sensitivity to utilize them or since I use the Psychic spell list would I already be able to do that?We are using them, and you have access to them if you can cast Psychic Spells. Which a Psychic Detective can do.
Cool. :) I like some of those, and they really seem to fit...
Also, am I nuts or does the Psychic Detective only have access to 3 0-level psychic spells?You use the bard spell known and spells per day, so you'd know 6 knacks at third level.
Well, I completely missed the list on page 69 of actual spells, so I was thinking didn't have much to choose from.... duh.. LOL
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I played a game (it sadly didn't last due to attrition) where it was all the same game but two groups (one thread for each) but then a third thread for when the two groups came together. I was just offering that as a musing thought as a split down the middle between two separate instances of the game vs one mega thread with 10 people in it. I'm sure we could all find separate things to do and wouldn't step on each others toes....just a thought.
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PirateDevon, that could be a very interesting idea.
Everyone brought together by the same man at the same time, divided up, given perhaps the same missions in different regions or different missions in the same region, coming together to collaborate, perhaps things one group does impacts the other...
For example
Team 1 goes out to secure a foothold in territory over run with X-type creatures and terrified farmers who would swear themselves to anyone willing to defend them from X-type creatures
Meanwhile...
Team 2 is clearing out haunts from a large manor house to use as a base of operations tucked into the edge of the woods near all that overrun farmland.
End of the day they meet up at a local Inn and begin the RP process of furnishing and refurbishing the Manor and moving in
Or something. I'm just trying to portray how I envision that working.
It might even work to make the teams fluid. Like, diplomatic mission? Group up the Cha classes and send them out as team 1 while the stealthy and damage classes turn into team 2 and sneak around the back to knock out guards and steal a thing we need. It'd give us a chance to all work and RP together and keep things interesting.
Ofc, I have no idea how much work that'd be from a GM PoV.
It would divide combat, which is the primary downside to large groups, but bring us all together to rp and keep a decent pool of RP posts rolling in. And, if we lose people as we go which is common from what I've seen, we can potentially merge into one normal sized group.
Even if th GM doesn't use that, I'm storing that in my memory bank should I ever run a PBP with lots of good applicants!
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Funny enough that is exactly what happened in my previous experience: the two group wandered off, met up, swapped a couple folks and eventually merged. It was actually really fun and in our case there was some rivalry (the 'leader' of the other group was convinced he was everyone's boss but our group sort of just ignored him in a fun RP way) so that added to the dynamic. I imagine if part of this game is about assuming power there might come a time when either natural factions might form or some infighting might make a good reason for separate threads, lol.
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Love it. I'm totally stealing that for the future, and I'd love to hear what the GM here thinks. I imagine it could work? But again, no clue how much work it is from a GM's end.
And yeah, it could makes for some great intrigue RP. Make sense motive checks vs everyone, detect all the thoughts... Find out who is gunning for what outcome. From what I've seen, we all have very different motives.
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This sounds awesome. I'm in full support and you guys have my vote for doing that, if it matters at all. But then, at the end of the day it's up to the GM.
I was thinking about just using spoiler tags to accomplish all of that.
My only worry with spoiler tags is keeping track of who is who and who should be replying to who and burying each other's posts. That said, I'm sure we are all clever enough to manage
My only worry with spoiler tags is keeping track of who is who and who should be replying to who and burying each other's posts. That said, I'm sure we are all clever enough to manage
Imagine a social clique as a party within a party. You can pay attention to what the people over there are doing, but you're more likely to be invested with what your own clique is doing. If you want to change, you just walk over to the other clique, or make your own. Of course, the mini-groups can decide to go get food/adventure/raise zombies, without needing to keep the rest of the PCs involved.
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As a socially awkward adult I cannot imagine that, but I can theorize it! I mean whatever you think works best for you is going to be fine with any of us of course. I liked the three thread one for my own organization, but one man's concept of organization is another man's chaos! Or, you know, something like that ;p
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Actually, I played in a campaign that used the above mechanic. We had two threads, iirc Empire/Rebellion for each "party", and each group did its own thing. There was no PvP, because the GM made sure each mission achieved each groups goals, and relevant NPC's were introduced. What was clever was that the GM then strung personal goals/quests for each character, and linked them to members of the opposing party, so when the time came for both groups to meet each other, and combine forces to take down a powerful evil BBEG, players felt driven to talk to members of the opposition party, then you went on missions together, investigated more, shared info and eventually it was one single party. I think we started with 10 players to begin with, but Real Life happened and we finished up with 6 or so. Sometimes characters would go on a solo mission of it was particularly personal to them, other times you would group for with another couple of people meanwhile another group is also grouping up and achieving some other mission. Obviously, against a "boss" the party groups up as 6, to prevent other players feeling like they missed out on a shared experience, and also to have a good chance of success, but otherwise it was rather free flow.
It works primarily because the GM stated straight up that there would be no chances of PvP, and synchronised individuals together. For instance, I had a backstory about hunting some very nasty people, one of which (it turned out), was a long thought dead ancestor of a member of the opposition party. I think the burden is on both the GM (for making sure all the connections work together), and the players to make it work, and it really requires activity, because there is nothing worse than wanting to speak to X about something relevant to Y, if X is inactive in the campaign.
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I ran a Kingmaker game for a while. I tried both multi-thread, spoilers, and ooc location (prefixing posts with a standard "where am I" line like
Of all these, I found Spoilers the most annoying. It's really helpful when recapping or searching to be able to just scroll back. Spoilers stop that (you have to click everything), can't be quoted properly, and remove the ability to actually use spoilers for each location. Worst of all sometimes I'd forget to click a spoiler and miss something.
Assuming PvP isn't a problem (at this stage, anyway) the OOC thing can work - people have to pay attention to it, but that normally seems to work.
Seperate threads are awesome - but it can get a bit annoying to work out where a post is.
I strongly recommend a pattern I've used and seen when and if we get to the mechanical kingmaker stage: start up a thread (or a google doc or something) so it doesn't blurgh all over the game. Something I've seen work out nicely is start a new campaign for the kingmaker, use gameplay for the IC negotiations and dicussion for the mechanics.
This means you can let people spend a week doing a kingmaker turn and STILL have them off on adventure (not like anyone is going to die inside of a turn).
Still, entirely up to you Bēl-Ṣullulim. The GM does way more work than any one player on these campaigns.
So are you waiting for August 3rd to announce the line-up or going with that? One big group separated somehow? I know it sounds like a good idea but it will also be a lot of work. Hope you don't get overwhelmed by it.
So are you waiting for August 3rd to announce the line-up or going with that? One big group separated somehow? I know it sounds like a good idea but it will also be a lot of work. Hope you don't get overwhelmed by it.
I appreciate the concern. I know you want the game to live up to your expectations, so do I. Please refrain from negative reinforcement.
Harakani makes some good points, and I'm inclined to follow his advice.
However, I haven't made a final decision, and won't until Sunday night after my Midnight to Noon shift and eight hours of sleep.
Until that time, I will consider the preferences and advice of everyone involved.
I'm glad to hear that - I still need to finish writing up Norrys!
Um, when buying rooms and teams from ultimate campaign, should I use the stated cost or the buy cost?
For example...
Create 4 Goods, 4 Labor (160 gp); Time 12 days; Size 2–6 squares
Goods and Labor cost 20gp to purchase. 8*20 = 160 (as above).
You can use the Downtime system to 'craft' a good from 10gp of materials.This gives a 'construction cost' of 80gp.
I've been working on the 'full cost' assumption, and am happy to go with that - but would feel a bit stupid if I was wrong and hadn't checked.
Either way, I think the property he owns on Ravensholm is going to be a half ruined house. As time goes on I'll get it "fixed up", and (if we go Kingmaker on it) eventually start adding more properties.
In all honesty, I'm not sure the island is going to be big enough to justify becoming a 'city'.
Stuff
You'll need to buy/construct the house at market price, since you aren't building it by hand. Feel free to plan out the house as it originally was, then reduce the cost by how many of the rooms are ruined, then you'll have your market price to buy the property, as well as a final cost of improvements.
Oh boy. Gothic horror kingdom building with a heavy emphasis on occult adventures? I wish I'd have seen this recruitment earlier, as I've got a lot of catching up to do on a submission. I'm playing a monster hunting doctor's apprentice in a CC game here on the boards - I think I'd like submit that character's mentor for this game, as although the doctor has only appeared off-camera in the CC game, I have a good handle on his personality, and I think he would be fun to play. He's a stern and educated, if loveless doctor of the occult, a man who has dedicated his life to the protection of Ustalev's citizenry from things that go bump in the night, by any means necessary, legal or not. He's got a strong code of honor and little moral compass - very much an ends justify the means type of guy. Probably a good fit for the marshal role in the kingdom-building phase, or maybe magister or spymaster.
I'll get something submitted by Saturday night. I've got a good start on the backstory in my head. I'll be going one of 1) Ranger/Lore Warden, 2) Inquisitor, or 3) Spiritualist.
I love the new OA book, and would like to use it, so I'm leaning towards spiritualist. His phantom would be the phantom of his dead apprentice (sorry Brogol).
Character.
Looking forward to seeing it.
I present Edward Norrys Caromarc, Earl of Ravensholm.
I present Edward Norrys Caromarc, Earl of Ravensholm.
Wizard (Instructor) 5 Conjuration (Sloth)?
Yeah - Thassilonan Magic from Inner Sea Magic.
Instead of getting one extra school spell per spell level, you get two (but they have to be the same). The cost is that your prohibited schools are completely off limits - even for things like wands.
I've never used it before, because the versatility is so much better than the extra spells, but with so many spellcasters likely to be in the party I figured it might help to stop overlapping, and make for a more cohesive team.
If you don't like it I can remove it.
Info Dump.
I don't have any problem with that.
Why are you level 5?
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I... have no idea. Typo I think. Looks like it was only in one place, and I've fixed it.
This is Fighting Chicken's submission, Doctor Aldous Beauturne, educated man, haunted monster slayer, and his phantom Brogol.
I've got most of the crunch up on Myth-Weavers for now (linked in the profile) and will clean it up tomorrow, moving all the crunch over to the profile. The backstory is in the profile, but I still plan to add sections on personality, character concepts, and appearance, as well as expanded information on Brogol's personality. It is already quite long as I got into writing the story, so I'll do my best to keep the rest concise.
This is Fighting Chicken's submission, Doctor Aldous Beauturne, educated man, haunted monster slayer, and his phantom Brogol.
I've got most of the crunch up on Myth-Weavers for now (linked in the profile) and will clean it up tomorrow, moving all the crunch over to the profile. The backstory is in the profile, but I still plan to add sections on personality, character concepts, and appearance, as well as expanded information on Brogol's personality. It is already quite long as I got into writing the story, so I'll do my best to keep the rest concise.
I'm not feeling the Fractured Mind archetype in your backstory or concept as of yet.
I'm not feeling the Fractured Mind archetype in your backstory or concept as of yet.
I'm glad you picked up on that, Bēl-Ṣullulim. I think that the rest of my submission should explain why Brogol isn't Brogol, but rather a cleaved-off manifestation of the Doctor's own feelings of guilt, shame and complicity in the apprentice's death. I've updated this profile but also added the rest of the application here for ease of perusal. The rationalization for the fractured mind archetype is under the "Brogol Stockl" section.
1. A very distant relation to the Count Beauturne of Lozeri, Dr. Aldous Beauturne has for years been a somewhat open secret within certain circles of Caliphas. A student of all things monstrous, Dr. Beauturne has authored some well-regarded articles about the physiology and psychology of some of the terrors that inhabit the surrounding lands (well-regarded within the small community of monster hunters and academics within Ustalev, at any rate).
2. To assist him in these studies, the Doctor had accumulated a small coterie of assistants and informants (librarians, archivists, and other academics, including like-minded monster hunters such as the deceased Professor Lorrimor of Ravengro; grave-diggers; orphans; the sick and the criminal). This network was vital to the Doctor's work, as all of his coterie had one of three things to offer: 1) camaraderie and intellectual heft, necessary for the academic peer review and analysis of the Doctor's work, as well as similar life experiences; 2) a skill set that the Doctor himself lacked, but was necessary for his work; and/or 3) first-hand experience with things that go bump in the night.
3. The Doctor also had a well-stocked laboratory and library in his manor house on Lake Lane in Caliphas, which he burned to the ground in a fit of melancholia before leaving for Lozeri.
4. A long-time student of the dark underbelly of Ustalev, the Doctor has picked up a pretty good set of skills himself. He's an educated man, with a long list of intellectual interests, and his knowledge base is broad as well as deep. In his studies, Beauturne has picked up a small bit of facility with magic as well. Quick but not particularly strong, the Doctor has drilled himself rigorously with the art of the crossbow - preferring to deal death from a safe range if his life is in danger.
5. With the death of Beauturne's assistant, the orphan Brogol Stockl, while Beauturne was in a drug-riddled sleep, something in the Doctor's psyche cleaved off, bringing the physical manifestation of the grief and shame of the Doctor's role in young Stockl's death into the world. The Doctor doesn't realize this, thinking that this manifestation is actually Brogol, back from the grave to haunt him (see more on Brogol below).
6. Now homeless and consumed with grief of the death of his assistant, Brogol, Doctor Beauturne makes his way to Lozeri to meet with his long-lost cousin. Perhaps he can be of use to the people of that place before he must stand before Pharasma's judgement.
1. Dr. Beauturne is a prideful man - prideful of his (albeit distant) noble blood, prideful of his education, and prideful of his abilities. This manifests positively in confidence in his own abilities and decision-making. Negatively, this pride manifests as extreme annoyance and dislike towards those that doubt, accuse or challenge the Doctor. Mechanically, this manifests as the Pride drawback.
2. This pride has also lead to a life-long bachelorhood. The few relationships of the Doctor's life have tended to be short, passionate affairs, done in by the nature of the Doctor's work and his inability to apologize to those he hurts.
3. The Doctor is very much a believer in rigid social order - everyone has their place. The poor and working class by and large deserve to be where they are, and of course an educated man, such as himself, deserve their place at the top of the social ladder. When dealing with the lower classes, the Doctor is unaccustomed to back-talk and expects his orders to be heeded. Despite Beauturne's belief in a rigid social order, exceptions can and do exist - the orphan Stockl was being trained to be the Doctor's living legacy, the boy having in the Doctor's appraisal the natural gifts to rise above his station.
4. Generally, the Doctor is pleasant enough to those at his intellectual and/or social level, if a bit distant. To others, he can come off as perhaps a bit cold, though Beauturne is careful to be too condescending to those he doesn't know - the Doctor could need anyone later. Essentially, in social situations the Doctor affects a very Victorian attitude - proper and distant to those he doesn't know, merely proper to those he does.
5. As befits an educated man, the Doctor's speech is peppered with grandiose verbiage and complicated phraseology.
Dr. Beauturne is a tall man, and not a particularly strong man. Nor is he particularly bulky - having never really enjoyed the act of eating, he tends to view food simply as fuel, and thus avoids what is unneeded, such as pastries. He has light brown hair and a close-cropped set of mutton-chops.
Beauturne is usually well-dressed in the manner of an Ustaleven academic, unless he's digging a grave or some such endeavor - high collars, long coats, ascots, spectacles. He almost always wears his fine chain shirt under his garments - this is Ustalev, and his work is dangerous, after all.
1. In life, the Doctor's relationship with his assistant, Brogol Stockl, was complicated. Never one to show emotion, the Doctor had never-the-less loved Brogol as if the boy was Beauturne's own son. Being that the boy was an orphan and assistant, and given the Doctor's own cold demeanor in general, young Stockl probably never knew this.
2. Brogol was a homeless petty criminal in his early teen years. After a failed mugging attempt directed at the Doctor, Beauturne gave the orphan an offer - room and board in exchange for his assistance. Brogol's daily duties included cooking and cleaning the manor at Lake Lane, as well as errand-running and assistance in the Doctor's laboratory. The Doctor was horrified at the state of the boy's education - Stockl was expected to spend his evenings studying. Brogol, ignorant in the ways in the world, soon proved to be an adept student. Though Beauturne never told the boy, the Doctor was quite pleased at Stockl's sharp mind and natural academic ability.
3. Riddled with guilt at Brogol's death - If the Doctor had not been consumed with melancholia and drifting in and out of consciousness riding the waves of Poppy's Milk, the young man could still be alive - and yet never one for self-critique, something in the Doctor's mind cleaved. What the Doctor doesn't realize is that the Brogol that visits Beauturne is not the spirit of the boy come back to haunt the Doctor. It is in fact the physical (and sometimes ethereal) manifestation of Beauturne's guilt, shame, and despair at his failure of and complicity in the boy's death that now haunts Beauturne. Why did this negative emotion form into this manifestation? Who knows, except that stuff like this tends to happen in Ustalev.
4. If selected, I would like to play the ritual aspect of Brogol's manifestation more as an involuntary action than dedicated ritual on the Doctor's part. He convulses, his eyes role back in his head, and Beauturne emits a high-pitched keening which lasts for the minute that the summoning has to take.
Alynthar the Unchained, for your perusal. I'd really like to get somewhere with this character, and this sounds like a good campaign for him.
Profile updated to contain Aldous and Brogol's crunch. I've still got a couple of fiddly things to figure out - a feat for Brogol, languages for Aldous, a little more equipment, but for all intents and purposes, the submission is complete. Let me know if you have any questions/concerns, and thanks for the consideration!
Why did this negative emotion form into this manifestation? Who knows, except that stuff like this tends to happen in Ustalev.
In the Gothic, everything happens for a reason.
4. If selected, I would like to play the ritual aspect of Brogol's manifestation more as an involuntary action than dedicated ritual on the Doctor's part. He convulses, his eyes role back in his head, and Beauturne emits a high-pitched keening which lasts for the minute that the summoning has to take.
Sounds like the Haunted archetype to me. You can, actually, combine both archetypes.
Alynthar the Unchained, for your perusal. I'd really like to get somewhere with this character, and this sounds like a good campaign for him.
I'm glad you made it to the party. Please look over the Player's Guide in the game's Campaign Info tab and use those guidelines to update the character.
You might think I would balk at three necromancers, but it's a dead man's party, who could ask for more?
Ah. My bad. I should have looked at that sooner. I'm going to withdraw, then. I find it difficult to play non-good characters- I never roleplay them well.
Ah. My bad. I should have looked at that sooner. I'm going to withdraw, then. I find it difficult to play non-good characters- I never roleplay them well.
Shame. I wish you luck in your future pbp adventures.