Prologue: Invasion of Tintalas
Some say it was inevitable and that our great empire was already a succes by avoiding this fate for a thousand years. Others claim we brought it upon ourselves by our pride or even speak of a divine punishment. Whatever the explanation, the hordes of the sea have come and our walls have fallen. They have taken thousands of lives, defied our Empress and plundered our cities. Only we are left, in the city of Babil, ironically "Gate of the Godess". She has become silent. And we wonder... How did the horde of the sea do this? Why were our Empress and our magics not enough to hold them back? Was the horde just lucky or are other causes at hand? Why has the Godess fallen silent? Why do our allies do not answer? We have sent messages to the Olan Vales, yet no sign of help. Have they all forsaken us?
Mirthon the Wise, High Priest under Empress Ishtaranian II
We have what used to be a mighty Empire on the brink of collapse, Tintalas, and their allies and trade partners, the Olan Vales. The players start in the city of Globeto, capital of the Olan Vales.
The Olan Vales: A merchant federation of cities, compare it to the historical Hanze in northern Germany, or the Italian Republics in the late middle ages.
Tintalas: A large and centralised Empire with an Empress, incarnation of the Sun Godess, at its head and High Priests directly serving her.
Technology: Late middle ages/early renaissance. Bombs, early guns (think of muskets rather than rifles or revolvers) and the usual fantasy stuff.
Religion: A Pantheon in the Olan Vales, Monotheism in Tintalas. In fact, most of the Tintalas people venerate their Empress as a living godess. Only refugees dare to openly doubt she is a godess. As for the Pantheon, feel free to use the Pathfinder Pantheon for now or come up with a good homebrew that convinces me.
Magic: In Tintalas, magic used to be a blessing, in the Olan Vales it's considered a curse. It frightens people and many Valesmen are openly or secretly hostile towards magic-users, causing difficulties in the refugee population.
Recent history: See prologue. Refugees in large number look for shelter in the Olan Vales.
Cultures Tintalas is a rather Lawfull Neutral society, the Olan Vales are Chaotic Neutral. They have a long history of rivalry but have never invaded the other and joined forces when eliminating threats to both civilizations, untill now.
Races: There are other advanced races in the world, but your character has only heard myths and legends of them. Perhaps even heard a traveller speaking about them, but never encountered another civilized race before.
Other: Feel free to ask.
-Starting level: 1
-Races: Human only.
-Classes: All official* base classes, core classes & archetypes.
-Feats: All official* feats allowed.
-Abilities: Point buy 20, no ability under 9 before modifiers
-Traits: 2 official* traits
-Money: 250gp
*Official = From the Pathfinder PRD
Feel free to pick either a native Valesmen or a Tintalian refugee. You're free to agree or to disagree with your proper civilizations' culture, (you can be a chaotic Tintalian who is very happy with the freedom in the Vales, or a lawfull Valesmen who would love an established power in the Vales for either good or bad).
Tintalian characters have had no personal contact with the invaders. You fled before seeing any actual combat.
Valesmen characters do not know what to make of current events, hearing many tales of the refugees but no one seems to have actually seen the enemy.
Make sure your background story includes:
-your most valuable posession and why you hold it dear
-the name of a relative, a friend or lover, be it alive or dead
To motivate you a bit, I give a minor bonus trait to good/original character backgrounds.
I'm looking for 4-6 people willing to bring this world alive. Recruitment will depend on the amount of interest, more info will follow soon.
I expect the players to post at least daily. If you don't post for 2 days without noticing beforehand your character dies.
I'm a 3.5 player and discovered Pathfinder only recently. I don't have much experience DM'ing, but this is not my first campaign either. I've done some forum RP before, but this will be my first PbP campaign. What I enjoy most is the RP part: creating a world and making others part of it. I'm not native English so I'm sorry for spelling/grammar mistakes. I do hope the players will have a wonderfull time and look forward to start this.
This looks very cool. I am always partial to an original homebrew.
I have a paladin from a PbP which died some time ago who I think would fit the setting very well. If you do not like recycling characters, however, I have a few other ideas.
Colour me intrigued... I'll ponder before potentially throwing up a submission.
Are you open to traits / archetypes from other Paizo sources (such as Inner Sea Magic / Humans of Golarion)?
I'd be able to throw up either full text or a reference to the PFSRD. Any Golarion specific references would be shaped around the specifics of your homebrew setting.
@Saint Caleth: Thanks! Feel free to put him in, as long as he fits the setting I'm more than happy.
@Mark Sweetman: I am not familiar with material from other Paizo sources, so I'm hesitant to use it. You can convince me to use Homebrew/other Paizo stuff by creating a good story around it that suits the setting. Fair enough?
@Raging Bull - Not a problem at all and that's what I would look to do anyway for anything that I chose to propose.
Sleep time for me now - but will look to throw something up on the morrow.
What can you tell us about the faiths, religions, etc of this setting?
edit: reread the post at the top. nevermind.
RPG Superstar 2008 Top 32, 2011 Top 16
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I'm interested. I haven't played a PbP game before, but I'd like to try one. I do have a few questions about the setting though. Is the Empress actually a diety that can be selected if you play a cleric, inquisitor, etc, and if so, what are her domains and favored weapon?
Regarding magic being considered a curse in Olan Vales, is that arcane magic only, or also divine magic? How strongly is this prejudice? Would concealing magical powers be something that would be almost required to adventure (for instance, could you be arrested simply for using magic, chased by mobs, etc) or would it be more along the lines of adjusting the starting additude of NPCs what were biased one step?
i am interested and will post a character thought by tonight.
Here is my Paladin. I have edited his backstory slightly for this campaign. There are likely some edits coming to the character, especially in reference to traits as detailed below.
In my backstory I say that he is a veteran of the imperial army but never actually fought against the invaders, as per the character instructions. I hope that this does not put him too close to the action before the start of the campaign, but I think that the fact that he did flee makes for some very interesting character opportunities.
This character originally had the heirloom weapon trait, but now they have apparently changed it and it no longer gives you a MW weapon. I had originally thought that my treasured item would be my Great-Uncle's sword, but now that I can't get a MW weapon I might re-think what that item is.
The character in Hissarion's backstory is his Great-Uncle Gaius who inspired him to serve the empire. Hissarion was not able to find his Great-Uncle when fleeing to Oran Vales so he could be either alive or dead, Hissarion would have no idea either way.
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How would you describe the magic level of the world? Low magic, or standard assumptions for Pathfinder? Is the purchase of, and enchantment of magic items commonly availible? For instance, assuming the PCs were in a city, would it be relatively standard to be able to pay a wizard to enchant your +1 longsword to be upgraded to a +1 keen longsword?
I have a witch character I'd like to add to the mix if things are still open... likely from the Olan Vale.
All was well with the business until eve of Varros 17th birthday. A rowdy band of mercenaries disguised as traders attacked a seemingly feeble old tinker in the common room of the Inn. The ensuing brawl started a fire that razed the structure to its foundations and took the lives of Varro's parents. The six thugs bodies were found unburnt strangled by the beard and hair of the old tinker who likewise stood in the middle of the ruin stone dead. A peculiar white raven lingered in the debris near the tinker as Varro, his sister, and the villagers came to collect the dead. When his mothers body was hoisted onto the cart Varro found an illuminated deck of tarot cards clutched in her hands. Three cards were drawn from the deck; the Inferno, the Raven, and the Hidden Truth...
Varro took up the deck and awakened a power within himself. He suddenly knew the Raven, who called itself Bonetapper was there to guide him and be his companion. Since that day Varro has wandered the Vales tempting his fortune while seeking his destiny.
@JoelF847: Interesting questions, but let me tackle one issue at a time ^^ At the bottom of this post you'll find more info about faith in Tintalas and magics in the Olan Vales, I'll answer your last question tomorrow. If you got further questions, go ahead, but I'm not going to tell you what's in my sleeve ;-)
@Varash Ironskull: Thanks for the interest, looking forward to see your character!
@Hissarion Azor: You were right, he does fit in good! Take your time for the edits, I'll warn in advance when deadline is approaching and by then you'll have another two days. I still need to cover large parts of the story as well.
@Varro the Haruspex: Defenitely still open, I'll have a good read tomorrow for your char!
The Faith of Tintalas: The people of Tintalas believe in Ishtar, the Sun Godess. Ishtar (Lawfull Neutral) is represented on the material plane by the Empress, a divine incarnation of hers. She is both the Creator and the Destroyer of the world and will do the last when the time has come, according to ancient prophecies. Because of this, Clerics in her service represent various aspects of her: a cleric can preach good in her name, teaching to help others, another can preach that human sacrifices in her name must be made to please her. There is only one domain that does not represent her: Chaos. Everything, from life to (un)death, creation to destruction, has a meaning and a place in the divine order that Ishtar has created. Chaos is perceived a disruption of this order and hence a heresy.
Magics in the Olan Vales: The Olan Vales are a federation, a highly decentralised group of cities. As such, there are no laws against arcane or divine magic. On the other hand this makes magic-users dangerous, since there are no authorities able to control them, either divine or arcane. There are cults for gods (sometimes even with support from a public church) and hidden groups of mages, but in public, magic is like thievery. Valesmen know it exists, they see traces of it and suspect some people of doing it, but they rarely see someone actually doing it and prefer to keep it that way. No one will mourn for a dead thief, and no one will mourn for a dead magic-user.
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Very Intrested, was just wondering Raging Bull if this campaign will be mount friendly? It will help bring down my choices, one of my ideas is for a cavalier but if were doing a lot with places a horse can't go I would rather pick one of my other choices then. Thx in advance for the answer! I always dig it when some one runs a homebrew on the boards!
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RPG Superstar 2008 Top 32, 2011 Top 16
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I'm leaning towards a fighter (freehander archetype)/rogue (and eventual duelist), but am also considering a sorcerer or oracle. Here's the background on the duelist, but if the party winds up with no divine caster, I'll probably switch to an oracle (looks like the witch will cover arcane casting).
Marabelus Tarphoni comes from a minor Tintalian noble family, which had fallen on hard times, and was forced to live amongst the unwashed masses of commoners in conditions far below the dignity of those of noble birth. While food and basic necessities were sometimes scarce, his parents, Vascorni and Lillian, always made sure to scrounge and sell off treasured family heirlooms when needed to provide Marabelus and his brothers with education and training befitting a noble scion. While his older brothers Xephon and Girbertti, used their education and martial training and became minor military officers in the Imperial army, Marabelus decided that he would become his own man, beholden to no one, and would use his innate talent and wits to earn a fortune and never again have to worry about finances the way his parents did their every waking moment.
With this decision guiding him, he quickly became a bravo and a hired judicial duelist, earning a reputation as a canny fighter able to beat common thugs and riff raff, as well as trained mercenaries. When the invaders came to Tintalas, his brothers urged him to join the army and defend the Empire, but since no one offered to pay him for his services, he instead chose to flee with the refugees to Olan Vale, along with many of his regular employers. Before leaving the city, he made sure to warn his sometimes lover and often dueling rival Alessa to leave as well, to ensure he had an adequate sparring partner in the rustic Valelands.
As he set off on the road to Olan Vale, he drew out the only possession he still had from his childhood, one third of an amulet that had been with the Tarphoni family for generations, and wondered if it would ever be reunited with its other pieces which were hanging on his brother's necks.
Still mulling, but current thoughts is an Inquisitor with the Witch Hunter archetype and Black Powder Inquisition (both from UC).
Living in the Olan Vales, he was in training under another Witch Hunter who was acting as a sort of vigilante police force - hunting down and killing dangerous magic users. However they both worship at the foot of a God of Artifice (Brigh from the Golarion pantheon - though that can be changed if required) in secret.
His master recently killed by a powerful magic user, and I was injured gravely. Just returning from a period of convalescence and about to start tracking my master's killer, the invasion of the horde has changed priorities somewhat.
The master would be the 'relative' and the dragon pistol the prized possession.
After further ponderance - I'll pull out of the recruitment at this stage.
Looks like it will be a good game though and I'll keep an eye open for your escapades ;)
@Roidrage: I'm sorry, can't tell for the entire campaign yet. I got the big story in my head but haven't tought over all the environments so far. I do fit campaigns for the characters tough, so if there is a gunslinger, I'll provide muskets, if there is a cavalier I'll provide mounted combat occasions. I just can't predict how common it will be.
@JoelF847: Thanks for the character! Answer to third question at the bottom, I think the info from Magics in the Olan Vales makes it complete.
@Mark Sweetman: No problem, thanks for the interest!
Magics on the Material Plane: Standard level. A rich black market in the Olan Vales, public shops etc. in Tintalas.
I can change this character's history if she looks interesting to you. Definitely can tie her into being gifted by the Goddess.
As you can see I made some edits to the profile.
Hissarion's new treasured possession is my rank insignia from the army, which takes the form of a cloak pin with imperial coat of arms on it. Instead of being his Great-Uncle's, his sword is now just army standard issue and his Great-Uncle was probably a Wizard or a Cleric rather than just a fighter.
In terms of advancement, the idea right now is that Hissarion will take the Oath against Savagery since it looks kind of cool and the enemies of the empire are, after all, a horde.
@Varro the Haruspex: Had a good read, interesting character! Didn't see the Alertness feature tough, so what do you intend with "Senses Perception +3 (alertness)"?
@Zariah: Definitely has good prospects storywise. A gift from the Godess is possible, if not you can keep the current story with minor adaptions to fit either the Olan Vales or Tintalas. You'll need to change the Heirloom Weapon trait tough (same issue as Hissarion) and you'll need to downgrade abilities to a 20 point buy.
@Hissarion: Lookin' good!
I'll put the deadline for recruiting on Tuesday. If you got any questions, feel free to ask. I'm still working on parts of the campaign to be able to provide a good story, I hope the effort I put in will be rewarded with a good campaign.
@Varro the Haruspex: Had a good read, interesting character! Didn't see the Alertness feature tough, so what do you intend with "Senses Perception +3 (alertness)"?
My familiar grants me the Alertness feat as long as it's within arms reach as per Arcane Bond.
Oh my, where were my toughts when I asked this... Aye, you're correct, thanks for pointing it out ^^
And just to specify your two particulars, my relative is obviously my sister Hajna and my treasured item is the Masterwork Fortune-tellers deck from my mother.
Character is posted. The only open item is languages. What languages (other than common) are spoken in the region? Is there a language spoken by the educated and/or nobility (such as latin and greek in the middle ages and renaissance)?
This looks interesting, so I'd like to see if you'd be interesting in this character.
Character is posted. The only open item is languages. What languages (other than common) are spoken in the region? Is there a language spoken by the educated and/or nobility (such as latin and greek in the middle ages and renaissance)?
I second this... I have 3 languages to fill as well!
Thanks for the characters, Marabelus Tarphoni and Liam Rackford! They look good at first sight, I'll have a closer look tomorrow.
Here is some information about the languages:
Languages: Tintalas and the Olan Vales have the same language, but with a very distinctive dialect. This language is called "Vulgar", meaning "language of the people". When dealing with high nobility and clergy of Ishtar tough, many people prefer to speak "Divina", the language of the gods. It's the language of the Empress and everyone approaching her or serving her must know it. Furthermore there is "Argot", a language in the Olan Vales, originally created as a thieves language. Being forced underground, many magic-users use it as "their" language now. Last but not least, there is "Emerit". It is a dead language, only recently translated by scholars of Globeto, but found on many ruins troughout the Vales and Tintalas.
a) Vulgar = Common
b) Divine casters of Tintalas get "Divina" for free, all others can select it as a bonus language.
c) Arcane casters of the Olan Vales get "Argot" for free, all others can select it as a bonus language.
d) Campaign bonus language: Emerit
e) Other bonus languages with some (minor) purpose in this campaign: Celestial, Abyssal, Infernal, Aquan, Auran, Ignan, Sylvan, Terran
On the subject of languages; would Hissarion get to know Divina for free, since he will theoretically in the future be a divine caster but am not yet?
He'll get it as soon as he hits lvl 4, as do Rangers.
Characters are lookin' good, Liam and Marabelus.
Let's recap the party so far:
-Hissarion, Tintalian paladin
-Varro, Valesmen witch
-Zariah, Tintalian(?) oracle
-Marabelus, Tintalian fighter
-Liam, Tintalian monk
A bit melee, but can't hurt. Still one free spot, we'll see if others join before tuesday.
If someone has suggestions for the setting, feel free, I do appreciate input or feedback.
Thanks for the characters, Marabelus Tarphoni and Liam Rackford! They look good at first sight, I'll have a closer look tomorrow.
Here is some information about the languages:
Languages: Tintalas and the Olan Vales have the same language, but with a very distinctive dialect. This language is called "Vulgar", meaning "language of the people". When dealing with high nobility and clergy of Ishtar tough, many people prefer to speak "Divina", the language of the gods. It's the language of the Empress and everyone approaching her or serving her must know it. Furthermore there is "Argot", a language in the Olan Vales, originally created as a thieves language. Being forced underground, many magic-users use it as "their" language now. Last but not least, there is "Emerit". It is a dead language, only recently translated by scholars of Globeto, but found on many ruins troughout the Vales and Tintalas.
a) Vulgar = Common
b) Divine casters of Tintalas get "Divina" for free, all others can select it as a bonus language.
c) Arcane casters of the Olan Vales get "Argot" for free, all others can select it as a bonus language.
d) Campaign bonus language: Emerit
e) Other bonus languages with some (minor) purpose in this campaign: Celestial, Abyssal, Infernal, Aquan, Auran, Ignan, Sylvan, Terran
Would us having free access to many of those languages really help you in the campaign? IMO offering them among the bonus languages would probably be sufficient and perhaps the new "dead language" should require a rank in Linguistics so not just any starting character would know it.
For example my character is worldly having been exposed to so many travelers at my parents Inn. I'd probably choose Argot as one of my starting languages as I'm something of a scoundral and an arcane caster from the Vales anyway. I'm not however a scholar so picking up a newly discovered dead language wouldn't really fit my concept. I took Sylvan because that's what my familiar speaks.
As a GM I've found allowing access to exotic languages before they're encountered by the PCs takes away interesting tools in building flavor and tone later in the campaign. YMMV.
If you still have room I'd like to throw my mustache in the ring. Have been working on this guy since I came across this thread a couple hours ago. He is a Valesman alchemist(chirurgeon).
Still need to plug in a few more things, and haven't decided on whether to take gunsmithing now and weap prof (firearms) later or plan on gunslinger dip.
His only true connection was with the willful old man Miro, whom he assisted in the apothecary. Miro became his mentor as Euchrid went to classes less and less. Unfortunately, in the same week, Euchrid was kicked out of school and Miro passed away from a sudden illness.
With no reason to stay and unwilling to return home a failure, he decided to leave town. He takes with him Miro's masterwork portable alchemy lab, formulae book, (and maybe a speck of Miro's crotchety demeanor) and heads for Globeto to start a new life.
He has a fairly liberal view of magic for a Valesman, however he is a bit skeptical of divine magic. He prefers healing with "no strings attached."
Anyway, what I've read here and the group assembled so far sounds good. Happy to commit time and energy if thar be room.
I am trying to decide if Hissarion was from a noble family or not. If he was from a noble family I would take Emerit, but I am liking Varro's suggestion that you have to learn Emerit with the linguistics skill because it is a dead language which you would have to be a certain level of scholar to learn.
How long has the invasion of the Empire been going on for? My backstory assumes that it has been happening for at least 5 years and that the Imperial territory has been reduced to essentially just the capital city.
Very good arguments, Varro. Thanks for pointing that out, I consider adapting to your suggestions of skipping the "magic users get for free" part and leaving Emerit for those with Linguistic skills, I'll let you all know in a few hours. If someone else has a say on the matter I suggest sharing it fast.
My reasoning for giving Divina and Argot for free was that, from a story point of view, it would almost be unlogical not to know the first as a cleric in Tintalas and the second as a magic user in the Olan Vales. But I didn't consider that would devaluate the languages, plus on a second tought I should leave some room for those who want to take a different path storywise.
Invasion of the Empire of Tintalas is going for +-3 years now. Strange raids and plunders of coastal cities happened earlier but the full-scale invasion is quite recent and happened very fast.
@Euchrid: Welcome aboard! Still room at this stage, closing recruitment tomorrow midnight (European time).
Hey Raging Bull this looks great. I'd love to play, I will post daily and I love RP, I've just thrown this character together tonight Errik the Archeaologist (Bard Archtype), unfortunately I have to go to bed now (it's midnight in Australia). Sorry for the lack of detail and backstory, these will follow within 48 hours.
Here's a Magus I threw together. This seems like it would be a lot of fun. I've still got to do equipment and flesh out the background and description a bit, but I've got to get headed to work. I'll finish it later today.
Then came his wandering years. He quickly left the city. After trying to sneak in to Reaves house a few times to see her, he had started having problems with the law enforcement. He wandered the land just barely scraping by until he wound up in the vales making a meager living tutoring people with his cobbled together knowledge.
In his heart Errik wants to be a great archaeologist delving into dungeons to find information and artifacts from ancient civilizations.
His most prized possession is a statuette of a horse that he found in the dungeon where Reave broke her leg. It reminds him of her.
He will always hold a place in his heart for his love Reave. It has been three years since he left Tintalas but he hopes that some day they will find each other and make a life together.
It's final, the language rules change a bit, thanks to Varro for the suggestion. To all participants who already chose their language, please make sure to adapt them.
Languages: Tintalas and the Olan Vales have the same language, but with a very distinctive dialect. This language is called "Vulgar", meaning "language of the people". When dealing with high nobility and clergy of Ishtar tough, many people prefer to speak "Divina", the language of the gods. It's the language of the Empress and everyone approaching her or serving her must know it. Furthermore there is "Argot", a language in the Olan Vales, originally created as a thieves language. Being forced underground, many magic-users use it as "their" language now. Last but not least, there is "Emerit". It is a dead language, only recently translated by scholars of Globeto, but found on many ruins troughout the Vales and Tintalas.
a) Vulgar = Common
b) Campaign bonus languages: Divina, Argot
c) Other bonus languages with some (minor) purpose in this campaign: Celestial, Abyssal, Infernal, Aquan, Auran, Ignan, Sylvan, Terran
d) Emerit requires the Linguistics skill, to represent a character being a scholar to know it.
@Errik, Senthiri: Welcome!
@Volty: Can you make a profile page for your character and insert abilities, skills etc?
It seems that at this point I'll have to make a selection. Party will be 6 people, as balanced as possible with a slight preferance to good narrative. Recruiting and character changes still open untill tomorrow midnight (european time).
Been Tinkering with my skills. I swapped acrobatics for Linguistics. I love the idea of this dead Language and I think it fits my character concept better. Also picked my languages and spells.
Since I made my father an intellectual type I'm wondering could he be one of the Scholars of Globeto? Would that fit ok?
This sounds awesome! Do you still have any open slots?
Varro is complete. Description, gear & encumbrance added. I left some starting gold in case we get time so I may scribe a scroll or two.
Never mind my question about the scholars of Globeto, I just tetras the first post. Sorry
This sounds awesome! Do you still have any open slots?
You're welcome to create a character in 12 hours, but there are already more candidates as places. I'll pick the best party mix with the best story.
Alright, Senthiri is all done and ready.
*I grew up in a small town in the Vales.
*The man that killed my parents now has a name. Karak.
*He stole the sword
*Prem and I stole it back and had to dissapear.
*We moved to Globeto and joined a new crew there.
Would like to offer Braton Raith at the last minute! My Alchemist!
Right on time Braxton, closing recruiting now. ;-)
I'll make a decision within 48 hours. It's going to be a tough decision since I saw many interesting stories and characters, but I'll do my very best to make a fair choice.
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*think of epic music and the like*
Those playing will be...
Hissarion (Saint Caleth)
Varro (primemover003)
Senthiri(Ben Pistorius)
Liam (bpa144)
Euchrid (BinkyBo)
Errik (Kip84)
Congratulations to them, but you all really gave me a hard time. I spent several hours thinking who to put in. To Marabelus and Braxton, who would have made it for certain if only I had more place in the party: you were excellent candidates and I feel a bit sorry I have to say no. I hope you'll stay around and that you'll keep the characters you created, it's always possible we will need to replace someone at a later stage. In that case you'd be the first I'd ask.
I'll start the discussion thread later today, gameplay will start within 48 hours. I'm working on the minor bonuses I promised for the stories and the details of the first chapter.
Thank you very much 'bows' I'm very excited to be a part of this.