Greetings once again. I'm hoping for at least a 4th but I think I convinced David Wickham to join us, meaning we'll have at least 3.
You are all of course welcome to make your own characters or use one of the pregens provided.
I know Keven was working on a Tiefling Paladin and I think David was talking about a fighter.
Even if a pregen is selected there's still some customization needed and rather than just do these things in a void, I would like to have some discussion, hopefully we can work together to make all the characters as awesome as possible.
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1: Backgrounds
These are like skills in other d20 games, except that they are much broader. Below are are some samples but I prefer even more evocative backgrounds. Rather than just "Burglar" go with "professional second-story man of exacting standards"
2: Icon Relationships
Inventing your character’s relationship to the mighty icons who rule or shape the world is key to engaging your character with the game world. RPGs about vampires have clans, RPGs about pagan highlanders have cults, and 13th Age has icons.
You get 3 points of relationship with them. Your relationship can be positive, conflicted or negative. (You could put all 3 points into a relationship with 1 icon, or spread them out further if you desire)
This is one of your chances to help shape the story. Do you want to strike down foul undead? Take the Necromancer as a negative relationship. etc.
The Crusader is the armored fist of the Dark Gods. So long as followers of the gods of light stay the hell out of his way, the Crusader turns his wrath against the demons that would destroy the world his own gods want to rule. Follow the Crusader if you must win at any cost.
The Diabolist controls fiends and tampers with forces even the Archmage avoids. She likes her victims screaming and her chaos pure while claiming that the demons she summons would otherwise overwhelm the Great Gold Wyrm who seals the Abyss. There are two differences between her and her demons: First, she likes keeping destruction personal rather than universal. Second, she’s capable of kindness, so long as it comes as a great surprise.
The Dwarf King is lord of Forge, the dwarves’ new homeland beneath the mountains. He’d love to reclaim the dwarven Underhome lost to war against the dark elves and the creatures of the deeps. But now that the Empire is stumbling, the dwarves find themselves manning the mountain walls that shield the Empire from the orcs and monsters of the north.
The Elf Queen rules the Court of Stars, the one place where wood elves, dark elves, and high elves come together as peers and allies instead of as rivals or enemies. Honed by centuries of experience, the Queen’s innate magic at least equals the Archmage’s spells.
The Emperor rules the world’s greatest human kingdom, known as the Dragon Empire for the mounts of its mightiest warriors. All the signs suggest that the age is turning, but will the Empire fall or shift to a new balance?
The Great Gold Wyrm is the world’s protector and the inspiration for holy orders of paladins and independent heroes. Although the Gold Wyrm’s physical form seals the gap that prevents the Abyss from erupting into the world, its dreams and the agents it employs still move through the world, helping those who will fight and even die for what’s right.
The High Druid is the champion of the resurgent Wild, and the spiritual and magical leader of spirits of nature and the elements that were chained by the Empire but are now working themselves free. She might be the great force that shakes the Empire to pieces or the hero who destroys the destroyers and points to a new way to live.
The Lich King is the lord of the undead, a fallen tyrant who intends to conquer the Dragon Empire and restore his ancient kingdom. He’s not entirely insane and mostly understands that ruling a kingdom is not the same as destroying it.
The Orc Lord is a figure of legend. The last time he walked the land the Lich King fell, in part because of the Orc Lord’s attack. Who will fall before his hordes this time? Who won’t?
The Priestess hears all the Gods of Light and speaks for those who please her. She is part oracle, part mystic, and part metaphysical engineer, since she created the Cathedral, an ever-expanding temple with rooms or entire wings for each of the faiths she favors.
The Prince of Shadows is part thief, part trickster, and part assassin. To some he is a hero; to others a villain. He has squandered the riches of the dwarves, murdered the hopes of a dragon, and plundered the dreams of a god. His exploits have changed the world, but none can tell you his ultimate goals or motives.
The Three were among the first dragons to walk the world. The Red is a living engine of destruction. The Blue is a sorceress, perhaps even the original mother of all sorcery. The Black is queen of shadows and assassins. Unlike the Great Gold Wyrm, who must fight alone, the Three have learned to join forces.
3: One Unique Thing
Each character should have one unique feature you invent for him or her when you create the character. Your one unique thing is an unusual trait that sets your character apart from every other hero.
The moment when all the players sit down together with the GM to create their characters’ one unique thing is often the moment when a campaign comes to life. The intent is not to create a new ability or power that will help you in combat; your character class already comes loaded with firepower and combat moves. The intent is to hint at a unique story that you and the GM will take advantage of and learn more about in the course of the campaign. Good one unique things (“uniques”) frequently provide clues to how your character engages with the people, places, and things of the game world. Sometimes good uniques drip with obvious story hooks for you and the GM. Other times they’re a promise of a mystery to be unfolded later.
gem controlled by the Blue dragon.”
• “I am one of a couple dozen surviving members of
the Order of the Koru, a group of rangers who move
through the Empire on or beside the Koru behemoths.”
• “I am the bastard son of the Emperor.”
• “I am the oldest elf in the world.”
• “I cut off my own arm to show how tough I am.”
• “I hear pain as music. Sweet, sweet music.”
• “A paladin of the Crusader cut off my arm where I
was holding a demon-bow . . . and in doing so, cut all
the evil out of me, so that I am now a paragon of the
path of the Great Gold Wyrm.”
• “I am a dwarf who was born covered in scales from
the egg of a dragon.”
• “I am a former cultist.”
• “I am the reincarnation of an ancient icon. I don’t
know which one yet.”
• “I am the three-time winner of the dwarven drinking
championships.”
• “I was the rudest lady-in-waiting of the Imperial Court.”
Here's an example using the wizard pregen from a 1 shot I ran IRL.
One Unique Thing: Former Pastry Chef to the Emperor
Backgrounds:
Clan of Gnomish Thieves 3
Exquisite Pastry Chef 2
Savvy Resident of the Imperial City 2
Engineering School Dropout 1
Icon Relationships:
2 Positive Emperor
1 Conflicted Prince of Shadows
Notes:
Character came from a clan of gnomish thieves and took the secondary option for those not skilled in the family business, engineering school. After that didn't work out, Emily found her true calling making pastries. Things have been going well but the clan has been in a bit of trouble recently and have requested she return to help out as best she can. While she regrets leaving her pastry business behind and isn't a particularly skilled thief, she's back and ready to do what it takes to save the clan.
Okay, here's a rough first stab. Thought having the Priestess as a Negative would be interesting. Not sure if Blood of dryads fits as a background or how exactly it would be applied. I guess some touch of magic.
One Unique Thing: Cursed by the light (I like the idea of this, but the conditions are probably too harsh for a sneaky character)
Backgrounds:
Treestrider 3
Tunnel rat 2
Blood of dryads 2
Improvise tools/weapons 1
Icon Relationships:
1 Positive High Druid
1 Conflicted Prince of Shadows
1 Negative Priestess
Birthed in the hollow of a tree, the forest was both his mother and guide. He knew the trees by name and the spirits within them. They became his family and he grew to be their guardian. He learned the secrets of the High Druid through their tutelage and saw that life was in balance.
Then monks of the Priestess found a spot to their liking and moved in. He watched them and saw them cure all banner of beasts and men. But when the animal population swelled and the growing number of men intruded on the land they did nothing. The forest gave way to industry and the monks moved on, deeper into the woods to repeat the cycle again.
So he fought back the only way he knew how: the law of nature and survival of the fittest. He attacked the monastery from the shadows, poisoning their crops and cutting their supply lines. When he was finally caught they branded him with a curse so he could never hide again. Whenever he intends to cause harm his body begins to glow with a brilliant light.
aeryk: looks like a great start, a rogue that glows whenever they want to hurt people. I love it!
The Icon relationships mostly make sense, although I don't necessarily see why the Prince of Shadows fits in except for the ploting/scheming part of my GM style that makes me think the glow light is clearly his fault some how.
The backgrounds I think can be a little more broad. I think something like wildchild would cover alot of what you're trying to get at with treestrider, tunnel rat and improsed tools/weapons.
Feel free to disagree or rearange or come up with even more ideas but I'm thinking something like this would be more appropriate:
Wildchild 3
Eco Terrorist 3
Blood of Dryads 2
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Hello fellow players!
I'm wanting to play a warforged fighter with the OUT "I can't remember the dead."
I was created to fight in a war, but I never got to fight, the places my masters sent me were always less well defended then initial reports suggested, but that was lucky for us because they never seemed to send many people into the fight, and any reinforcements we received were never enough to bring us up to fighting strength.
After the war I took up work as a bodyguard, but that proved to be as boring as war. The few rare times my employers were threatened the attacker always surrendered instead of facing their deaths honorably. Guard duty did offer some strange occurrences... sometimes I would be hired only to later find out that the person I was hired to protect was made up, I've learned that it is easier to leave town with the deposit when this happens then confront the person who offered the contract.
I don't understand how backgrounds work, and I still need to think about my Icons.
David: Backgrounds are what this game has instead of skills. They are broad and cover anything that's appropriate.
For example I might ask everybody to make a background check using Dex to sneak by some guards.
aeryk could say being an eco terrorist involved lots of sneaking around and roll d20+dex+level+eco terrorist.
For your warforged your backgrounds sound something like
Soldier (Better yet would be something like Elite Shock Trooper, or Infantry Grunt, the more evocative the better)
Bodyguard (Hired Muscle, Stalwart Protector [for the right price]
You might also wand to add something else. Does your character have any hobbies, what else are they interested in?
Also can you elaborate on your One Unique Thing a bit.
ThreeEyedSloth:
The 3 things you need to do to customize are add your one unique thing, 8 points of backgrounds and 3 points of icon relationships. (Along with some background into etc)
See the first post for some more details and feel free to ask questions.
@Pirate GM: Those backgrounds sound good. I wasn't sure how general to make them.
For the Prince of Shadows, I figured since he's a rogue he'd have to have some kind of relationship with him. And I don't see my character as evil per se, so I figured Conflicted made sense.
I like the possible connection with the Prince of Shadows and the curse. I'm not sure how "real" the Icons are, but maybe there's bad blood between him and the Priestess (or their followers) and the curse was in exchange for some favor or debt owed between them.
Hey, it's aeryk. Here's my profile using the stats from your pregen sheet. Wow, there are a ton of little abilities and feats.
I noticed I have Evasive listed twice on the sheet, under Racial Powers and under Feats. Is that right? Or should I pick a different second feat?
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I'm still putting mine together, but it will most likely be a human wizard. His "One Unique Thing" was that he once was a sentient flying carpet owned by the Archmage himself that was somehow transformed into a human.
Background:
Archmage's Flying Carpet +4: I take this to mean that he picked up a lot of arcane knowledge from listening to the Archmage, and that he is also well-traveled (being a flying carpet!)
Apprentice Tailor +1: After becoming human, the character thought it would be best to go into the one thing he knew about: fabrics!
... and the rest I'm still working on.
Here is a copy of my character.
I am still doing a few finishing touches. Namely, I am trying to figure out my background skills. If anyone has some ideas or recommendations I would appreciate it. Basic gist is an orphan raised in a church.
Also character's name is currently just a holder, however, I very well may stay with it.
Any who, I am looking forward to starting this new RPG and exploring the Dragon Empire.
Hey, it's aeryk. Here's my profile using the stats from your pregen sheet. Wow, there are a ton of little abilities and feats.
I noticed I have Evasive listed twice on the sheet, under Racial Powers and under Feats. Is that right? Or should I pick a different second feat?
So there are a few generic feats like improved initiative but most of the feats improve a feature/power/thingy in some way and just share their name with that power.
In this case halflings can normally 1/battle force an opponent to reroll an attack that hits them at -2. You have a feat that improves that penality to -5.
Your other feat (murderous) improves your class talent "murderous."
Normally murderous would expand your crit range by 2 against staggered enemies (1/2 hp or less) however your feat improves murderous so that it also gives +2 to hit.
As a note on equipment I had some fun with the description, tracking pennies and exact equipment isn't necessary, in addition to your combat gear you're assumed to have anything mundane you want appropriate to your background.
Also, here's a note about class complexity:
The classes in order of complexity to play from most-simple to most-complex are:
Barbarian - Ranger - Paladin - Fighter - Cleric - Sorcerer - Rogue - Bard - Wizard
Some character classes like the barbarian are very simple and self-contained and don’t benefit as much from multiple incremental advances as more complex classes do. The wizard is the most complex class to play offering intricate choices both during play and during incremental advances. The classes are balanced against each other power-wise, some are simply more complex than the other. Remember Barbarian, don’t whine - you get most of your power up-front in a nice easy foe-slaying package. Whining is for wizards with their spell lists and pointy hats. Mighty Wizard, don’t grumble - for yours to wield is the ever-building arcane power of the cosmos. Grumbling is for tiny-brained barbarians who can’t cast Charm Person."
I'm still putting mine together, but it will most likely be a human wizard. His "One Unique Thing" was that he once was a sentient flying carpet owned by the Archmage himself that was somehow transformed into a human.
Background:
Archmage's Flying Carpet +4: I take this to mean that he picked up a lot of arcane knowledge from listening to the Archmage, and that he is also well-traveled (being a flying carpet!)
Apprentice Tailor +1: After becoming human, the character thought it would be best to go into the one thing he knew about: fabrics!... and the rest I'm still working on.
That sounds like a great one unique thing, and a great start for your backgrounds.
Somethings to think about for your icon relationships is how does the Archmage feel about you now? Did he set you free because you're awesome, did a polymorph spell hit you instead of him? Were you stolen by the prince of thieves and then rescued by the High Druid and reincarnated into a human.
Here is a copy of my character.
I am still doing a few finishing touches. Namely, I am trying to figure out my background skills. If anyone has some ideas or recommendations I would appreciate it. Basic gist is an orphan raised in a church.
So I see you've got noble and church acolyte as your backgrounds. What sort of noble were/are you? Did you live your life in luxury never giving a thought to those below you? Did you work hard to better your serfs?
Are you an "Easy Going Noble" or maybe an "Upwardly Mobile Noble" or maybe a struggling "bastard noble who has only inherited due to a technicality"
On a completely different note I was trying to do this Pirate GM thing, but it's just not going to happen. It's going to be all Pirate Rob all the time.
All hail the Pirate Rob
Here is a warforged version of the fighter David.
Quick update of where I think we are:
aeryk/Fiero - Basically done, has a pregen, a One Unique Thing, backgrounds and icon relationships.
David Wickham - Has a pregen and a One Unique Thing, needs backgrounds and icon relationships.
Branding Opportunity - Working on a character, has One Unique Thing and some backgrounding, needs icon relationships still
ThreeEyedSloth - Using Official Cleric Pregen, needs One Unique Thing, backgrounds and icon relationships.
Kevin A Turner - Made a Paladin, had One Unique Thing, Icon Relationships, still needs points assigned to backgrounds.
I've made an attempt at doing the background and allocating points. I am still trying to tackle a write up of a back story. However, for the most part I believe I've enough ready to actually play. Let me know if there's anything I'm missing on my sheet.
Yup, if people are having trouble fleshing out all the details, some can be left blank for now, to be figured out as we play. Book even mentiones some people may want to wait till after the first session to assign their one unique thing.
I do have some hope of getting started on Monday though.
So there are a few generic feats like improved initiative but most of the feats improve a feature/power/thingy in some way and just share their name with that power...
Thanks. That clears it up. Looks like I might have a challenge playing a rogue, but that class complexity probably applies to the normal d20 classes also. Looking forward to it.
Yeah I'm looking forward to seeing how this system works. Looks quiet promising. While I am one of those people who actually enjoys the heavy mechanics of games like Pathfinder, sometimes it is just nice to play something very rule light. For me that's usually HeroQuest or currently of late Descent 2nd Edition.
Well, we've definitely got aeryk/Fiero and Kevin, Branding Opportunity and Three Eyed Sloth were supposed to have posted more details over the weekend. I think David is almost done, I talked to him elsewhere but need to to actually post in the thread so I went ahead and invited DM Raven fromt he recruitment thread.
I also went ahead and added a player aid card to the campaign info page, it may come in handy as a reference.
I will post some notes in Gameplay later today about getting started and bringing you guys together.
I found the player aid card to be pretty awesome. Just need a printer now to print it out :P
Yeah, I agree. The player aid card will definitely come in handy. Thanks.
ThreeEyedSloth, checking in! :)
Sweet! Glad you could make it. Tell us a bit about your character when you get a chance. Also if everybody's who decided to join us could hop over to gameplay and take a look at the starting info there.
As always if you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask.
High Priest 2
Vagabond 2
Appraise 1
1 Conflicted Prince of Shadows
Mogda was a well-respected priest within the dwarven community of Forge. However, as he amassed his riches, Mogda became consumed with greed. He found that gambling was an easy way to satisfy his desires, but he knew it was forbidden by his enclave. He kept his addiction a secret for over a year, until another priest discovered what Modga had been doing. He was excommunicated and, feeling ashamed, left Forge entirely.
Over the next few years, Mogda slowly became accustomed to living the vagabond life. Life outdoors was much different than within the great halls of Forge, but Mogda slowly grew to enjoy the freedom he now possessed. He now travels from town to town, learning new things and meeting new people, and still occasionally indulging in a little gambling when he can...
Looks great, tell me about your "appraise" background. I like evocative backgrounds, like Gem Grubbing Dwarf.
Gotcha! Yeah, that was what I was going for. I'll change it to Gem Hoarder.
Gem hoarder, I like it :)
Wow, I definitely want to know more about Mogda! What a great concept.
Hello all! Sorry for the delayed response. I meant to get this up this morning, but didn't have the time.
First, the character sheet: http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheetview.php?sheetid=649108
Second, the important bits:
Melee type sorcerer who uses her own body to fuel her spells, gradually weakening not only her physical health but her spiritual and mental health
Reyna followed him, tracking rumours of his appearance across the Wastes and past the Abyss into the hell hole near the Dire Wood. There, she faced him and demanded answers only to be told harsh truths. Her family was only two generations in the Wastes, there forebears being exiled criminals sent there for trafficking with the Diabolist. The Justicars of the Crusader who judged the family cared not about the innocent children likewise punished. They gave no thought to any children of those judged, assuming that none would survive for long. Her brother, Asker, named so for his many questions, had decided to avenge the harsh life forced upon him. He had dreams where a beautiful woman promised him power in exchange for the lives of his family. It encouraged him by telling him that he brought death, but also a release from a terrible livelihood in a horrific place. He believed her, and believes her still. For doesn't he have power? Power now to strike back at the priests and paladins who forced his grandparents into the Waste?
Reyna tried to battle her brother, but was barely able to escape with her life due to a lucky intervention by paladins scouting the hell hole for an invasion by the Crusader. Two of the brave knights perished in the process. She vows to combat her brother's madness and the one who brought it about, the Diabolist.
Icon Relationships: Why is Diabolist Conflicted and not Negative?
While Reyna devoutly hates, loathes even, the Diabolist and actively seeks to thwart her; her brother still holds a place for her. Mysteriously, either from her brother's machinations or something to do with her heritage, some members of her cult want Reyna to live.
Backgrounds:
Red Waste Nomad: Reyna has survived inumerable horrors and has a strong mind/body from the time in the Wastes. She knows how to live where life has perished.
Child of the Abyss/Abyss-Born (Debating name). Reyna has innate magical talents that seem to come from her own life force and the shadows that flit about her when in danger. She sees magic in a way others do not, giving her unique insight into how it functions.
Crusader Paladin Training: After battling her brother, Reyna received training at the hands of her rescuers. This training included basic military knowledge/training along with advanced studies on demon subjugation and destruction.
Talents re-fluffed/flavored:
Spell fist The bonus to AC comes from wisps of shadows and darkness that float about Reyna while she is in danger/combat.
Metallic Protector Heritage Reyna's powers are siphoned via demonic abilities from the Gold Dragon. If he didn't have more importnt things to consider, it might concern him (i.e. will put a point into a relationship with him at a future level up)
Infernal Heritage: Obvious. Reyna's close ties to the Abyss growing up caused her magical talents to surface. She can drain her own life force to fuel her spells.
Hello all! Sorry for the delayed response. I meant to get this up this morning, but didn't have the time.
First, the character sheet: http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheetview.php?sheetid=649108
Glad to have you join us, and it looks great.
Couple comments1: Character should be 2nd level
2: Since we're doing this as part of the official Organized Play campaign "Only" One Unique Things are problematic. You can be one of the first, or the last, or believe yourself to be the only one. Shouldn't make any practical difference.
Go ahead and get yourself an alias and post in gameplay intro thingy when you get a chance.
aww poor lonely Feiro :(
Oh, I meant to say he felt the sense of loneliness from the tree's spirit, though I'm sure Fiero is probably a bit of a loner, too :)
Hello all! Sorry for the delayed response. I meant to get this up this morning, but didn't have the time.
First, the character sheet: http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheetview.php?sheetid=649108
Glad to have you join us, and it looks great.
Couple comments
1: Character should be 2nd level
2: Since we're doing this as part of the official Organized Play campaign "Only" One Unique Things are problematic. You can be one of the first, or the last, or believe yourself to be the only one. Shouldn't make any practical difference.Go ahead and get yourself an alias and post in gameplay intro thingy when you get a chance.
I'll level her up tonight! And its definitely the latter "believe herself to be the only one." Technically her brother survived as well and probably others.
I changed her one unique thing to clarify/specify her relationship with the Diabolist a bit more and explain why it is conflicted instead of negative. She's a (one of many) "backup plan" in the Diabolist's plans. The Diabolist plans to test her brother (among others, although he is the most promising at the moment) as a possible heir to her position. If he and his ilk fail, the Diabolist wants Reyna to still be alive to use her (somehow) as a corrupted heir.