Castaway on a mysterious island, an eclectic group of unlikely heroes discover something unimaginable and yet, perhaps not as unimaginable as it seems.Current Encounter Map
Recruitment – (the following spoiler post will occur in the Game thread as soon as it opens)
Mario's Tale:
Mario hugged the thwart, wrapping his arms around the short piece of wood that angled away from the bench-like seat that was nailed to the top of the thwart and held his eyes shut tightly fighting back the nausea brought about by the tiny ships awkward movements. The ‘lancha’, one of the long, narrow, open topped boats that had served as a lifeboat for the Durisperia, bobbed up and down on the waves, but as it did, it seemed to lurch forward, as if it was being propelled, or dragged by some unknown force as it crested each wave.
The sun had set beyond the western horizon hours ago, and the rain, thankfully, had stopped. In the distance, far to the south, lightning flashed across the cloudy, dark and starless sky. The sound of the thunder that followed was like the far away rumble of a mill stone that rolled and rolled growing fainter and fainter with each flash.
Up and down the ‘lancha’ heaved and pitched with every wave. On and on the motions continued, hour after hour. Then, suddenly, and very curiously, the little boat yawed, turning violently to the port side. The change in direction caused the boat to roll, slightly, and the red haired Basconde girl slid, feet first, into Mario.
Mario’s eyes snapped open from the slight bump, and he then noticed the girl was unconscious.
Reluctant to release his hold on the thwart, Mario turned his head and looked at the others sitting on the benches (the fools), or hunkered down on bottom of the boat, and hoped someone else would take hold of the girl, before something pitched the vessel over, and she was tossed out of the safety of the boat.
Why had the boat turned? Mario wondered, but before he could think of a possible answer, the boat rattled and shook, as it ground its way onto something semi solid, a beach perhaps or rocky shore no doubt?
It was dark, not impossibly dark, like the kinds of darkness created by magic, but still very dark indeed.
The waves continued to swell and with each one the little boat was pushed further and further onto land. Would he be the first one to get out of the boat? No, Mario was not that kind of man, he knew it, and it was fortunate, for him, that the people who had paid for his services had not known it, known the truth, the truth that Mario was a coward. If he had not been a coward, he would have died. So, as far as Mario was concerned, it was a good thing to be a coward.
This will be the official Recruitment thread for the Game – “The Castaways”
If you created a character concept in the Checking Interest Thread for this game, please post in this thread, as the alias of the character you hope to play.
If you want to play in this game but have questions, please visit the other recruitment thread, here
Telthes awakes on a strange beach surounded by wreckage. He stands up and surveys his suroundings noticing several other survivers on this beach, but a least the target is gone, he thinks to himself. If only my gear had survived with me. I guess it is time to find a forge and start making some new equipment.
Telthes starts walking toward the nearest surviver picking up a piece of debris to possibly use as a club.
This is my first PbP, but I have read some other games and seem to have a grasp. I loved the detail in the setting, so here is Adelaide Costa, made in hero labs.
Adelaide Costa - Human Cleric:
ADELAIDE COSTA CR 1
Male Human Cleric 2 Expert 1
NG Medium Humanoid (Human)
Init +0; Senses Perception +6
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DEFENSE
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AC 10, touch 10, flat-footed 10
hp 18 (3d8+6)
Fort +5, Ref +0, Will +8
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OFFENSE
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Spd 30 ft.
Melee Unarmed Strike +3 (1d3+2/20/x2)
Spell-Like Abilities Touch of Good (6/day)
Cleric Spells Known (CL 2, 3 melee touch, 1 ranged touch):
1 (3/day) Shield of Faith (DC 14), Shield of Faith (DC 14), Magic Weapon (DC 14), Protection from Evil
(DC 14)
0 (at will) Resistance (DC 13), Stabilize, Light, Detect Magic
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STATISTICS
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Str 14, Dex 11, Con 14, Int 14, Wis 17, Cha 16
Base Atk +1; CMB +3; CMD 13
Feats Extra Channel, Saving Shield, Selective Channeling
Traits Caretaker
Skills Appraise +6, Diplomacy +8, Heal +10, Linguistics +6, Perception +6, Sense Motive +9, Spellcraft
+8, Use Magic Device +9
Languages Common, Dwarven, Elven, Halfling
SQ Aura (Ex), Cleric Channel Positive Energy 1d6 (8/day) (DC 14) (Su), Cleric Domain: Good, Cleric
Domain: Restoration, Restorative Touch (6/day) (Su), Spontaneous Casting
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SPECIAL ABILITIES
-------------------- Aura (Ex) The Cleric has an aura corresponding to his deity's alignment.
Cleric Channel Positive Energy 1d6 (8/day) (DC 14) (Su) A good cleric can channel positive energy to
heal the living and injure the undead; an evil cleric can channel negative energy to injure the living and
heal the undead.
Cleric Domain: Good Granted Powers: You have pledged your life and soul to goodness and purity.
Cleric Domain: Restoration Associated Domain: Healing
Restorative Touch (6/day) (Su) Remove the dazed, fatigued, shaken, sickened, or staggered conditions
by touch.
Selective Channeling Exclude targets from the area of your Channel Energy.
Spontaneous Casting The Cleric can convert stored spells into Cure or Inflict spells.
Touch of Good (6/day) (Sp) Grant +1 to skill checks, ability checks and saving throws for 1r.
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Raised within the clergy, I was brought up to a life of tending to wounded travelers and adventurers. My parents were as strict as clergymen could be, never letting me visit town unless I was on a direct mission to tend to the grievously wounded. By their rule, clergymen are free to take their own path at the age of 20, and having just come of age, I have chosen to set out and spread the blessing of my upbringing to those who need a healing hand. The price of leaving is excommunication, but I don't plan on returning. There are many more noble causes that could benefit from what I have to offer. Making a living is hard when you aren't provided for by the church, so I take up whatever small jobs I can. Recently I found a short term contract as an onboard medic for the Constono's barge party. The pay won't be much, but it will put bread on the table and provide a chance to get out and see some activity.
your profile slightly confuses me as it lists 5 lvls of classes but only has 3 hit dice, all of which are d10, pretty sure no npc class has d10 hit dice and also pretty sure that the initial requirements stated a max of 2 lvls of PC classes and total max of 3 lvls including NPC classes.
Sasithorn Xuwicha Thaang Loom (roughly translated from Thai, "the moon of excellent education who can escape from a black hole"): enigmatic, charming, somewhat disturbing and disturbed ambassador of a distant empire!
So...I still need to know about what age a young adult of my race would be, the name of my people's mysterious deity, and what languages are available to learn beyond Basconde and Eysterlun - being a strange magician from a far away land, I might know a few weird ones most others don't. Do any of the 'standard' languages from the Core Rulebook exist in this setting?
Remember we're getting maximum hit points per level - so based on your Hit Dice and Constitution modifier, you should have 25 HP, not 17 - more still, if you've taken any hit points for favored class bonus.
@Terquem: You mentioned the Eysterlun are "dangerously xenophobic" and said the Wayang are "no less xenophobic" - what do you mean by that, exactly? Normally, when I think "xenophobic", I think of fascists of one sort of another. I'm trying to sort out my character's backstory, and while I have enough ideas, picking the right one hinges on knowing more campaign lore.
Also: Given that they're supposed to be the "true" Elves, do Eysterlun (and by extension, Wayang Eysterlun) get Elven Weapon Familiarity or any of the other normal Elven racial abilities?
Hiding – Eysturluns are convinced that they are superior, intellectually, morally, and culturally, to all other races. Generally speaking this makes them distrustful and arrogant, and at times in their history aggressive toward other races, if they perceive other races as a threat to their existence. This does not have to be true for ALL Eysturluns, and as always there are exceptions (not every single Eysturlun will be a rude or bigoted individual).
Also, Eysturyluns are not "True" elves (in the sense that they conform to the standard rules for the elven race from the Core Rulebook). True Elves, are Tradians on Hamth. Eysturluns do not consider themselves to be elves, or related to elves in anyway. So, to be clear, you do not have any Elven racial traits.
Drasbians use the rules for Half-elves, but in their interactions with other people of Hamth, they often refer to themselves as "Elves".
languages are funny things:
To the Anthandrans, "Drasbian" means "Pale Skinned Elf" and this conflict of language, is a problem on Hamth. The word "Elf" is an Anthandran word, derived from the root sound, "-ian" as opposed to the root sound "-an" as in Anthandran, Goraldan, or Liegridan. The Anthandrans pronounce the root sound "-ian" in the same way that Drasbians and Tradians pronounce it, and this is one of the causes of the confusion. Tradian, is also an Anthandran word, which means "Southern Elf" as opposed to "Tharian" which means Norther Elf. However, Anthandrans do not use the word "Tharian" in common exchanges, as it has an historically negative and racist connotation, similar to the "N" word of the English language in America. The Word Beauvingian, is a strange occurrence, as it is the same word in the language of Beauvingia and Anthandra, and because the Anthandrans have a particular meaning for the root, "-ian" this leads to many Anthandrans assuming the Beauvingian people are related to the "elves" of the Anthandran continent. Beauvingians, who consider themselves a very old race, misinterpret this confusion on the part of the Anthandrans as meaning that the Anthandrans believe the Beauvingians are an "Old Race", which they accept. Trying to clear up this confusion, say in a conversation between an Anthandran scholar and a Beauvingian scholar, would be a complex and difficult conversation to follow. Eysturlun, and Yradurlun, are words from the Eysturlun language, and the root sound “-un” has a deeper throatier sound than either “-an” or “-ian”.
Finally, when the letters,”- rrdhe” are used, this is indicating that the word is from the Anthandran language, and has a sound like “are duh”, and means “Place” or “Land” or, “relating to or belonging to a particular place”. Thus “Issemarrdhe” is the land of the “Issemi” people, or “Isle Marrdhe” is Island of Death, or “Ses Marrdhe” sea of death, and the letters “Ses” are Anthandran for “Sea of”
Hiding – the following spoiler concerns the Deity worshiped by a significant portion of the Wayang people (but should not be misconstrued to mean that this is the only Deity of the wayang people.
Moloween:
The Beauvingian and Eystulun people have a Deity in their traditions called “Moloween Sunumb”.
She is sometimes called
The Masked Goddess
Keeper of Secrets
The Dream Bearer
She who brings forth the Truth
Punisher of Betrayers
She who commands the Shadows
Moloween is one of the truly ancient Goddesses, and some say perhaps the second oldest Goddess of the world of Hamth. Images and cultural references to the Dream Bearer are nearly as old as those of Hamth, the mother Goddess of the world.
Traditionally, Moloween (disorganized matter, shadows, emotions) is the daughter (the first offspring) of the coupling of Hamth (the Greater Plane of all Matter) and Churr (the Greater Plane of Non Material Existence, time, thought). And in some ancient writings, Sonumb was her daughter from a coupling between Moloween and The Dahgda (organized thought, achievement, knowledge, expertise) and was a Deity of dreams and portents, but in recent centuries the stories of Moloween and Sonumb have been intermingled to create the modern belief in the Deity, Moloween Sonumb.
This Goddess is normally portrayed as a female of perfect form, tall and imposing, but with facial features that are always changing depending on her mood. In art she is rendered a woman with a billowing dress, and wearing either a mask that makes her appear beautiful, or hideously ugly, either way the “true” nature of Moloween is concealed. In her right hand she holds a rod, that signifies her aspect as a bringer of justice, and her left hand is swirled and obscured in a misty grey cloud, signifying her control of disorganized things, shadows, and emotions.
She is seen as the entity responsible for dreams, both delightful, and painful, and in more primitive times when it was believed that the truth of a person’s convictions were revealed through their dreams, she was worshiped as the deity responsible for visiting upon folk who lied, cheated, or otherwise caused harm, the painful dreams of a guilty conscious.
She is also seen as the spirit who brings dreams of lust and desire, though she should not be confused with Whuloriel, the Goddess of love (altruistic or true love). In some stories Moloween is portrayed as a lover scorned, or a woman who upon telling a great secret, usually her greatest desire, is betrayed, and as the story unfolds she is seen transforming from an innocent victim to a powerful enforcer of justice, not ultimate justice as seen in the forms of Haglod, the God of death, but a form of justice in which the guilty is locked away from all human contact, or shunned, left to anguish in a place of perpetual shadow. Sometimes the form of justice, or punishment she metes out takes the form of causing the guilty to become invisible, or to become a creature of pure shadow essence, which at first appears to the guilty as a boon, but becomes a terrible burden as they realize that if no one can see them then they can never convince anyone that they really exist (the story of Yamil and Theline is a story using this theme).
It is believed that there are still places where Moloween is revered as a protector, but mostly people invoke her name when they speak of bad or portentous dreams.
It is said that Moloween inhabits a Plane of existence that is commonly called the Shadow Plane. However, her connection to other Shadow Entities, demons or demi-gods is not clearly understood. It is not generally accepted that Moloween is either Good or Evil, Lawful or Chaotic, but has been called all of these things.
The following information is repeated in the Campaign Info thread and the Interest Check thread, for interested or curios individuals.
Religious Beliefs of the Western hemisphere of Hamth:
Pantheon of the principle deities of the people of the Beauvingian Empire and Emalia (including the Deities worshiped by most people of Eshia, Eysturlun, and Kijta)
The earliest writing of the behavior of Deity like beings concerns:
Hamth (The Material world – the divine feminine quality) and
Churr (The Spiritual world – the divine masculine quality)
From the union of Hamth and Churr come the following
The Dahgda (organized thought, achievement, knowledge, and expertise)
Moloween (disorganized matter, shadows, and emotions)
And the physical elements (which are, in ancient writings, various combinations of “thought” and “matter”)
Xetas – The water (masculine)
Uh – The earth (“land forms”) (feminine)
Iekah – The fire (masculine)
Rhehavaz – The air (feminine)
And the non physical elements
Moloween – The passions (feminine)
Falgrad – The intellect (masculine)
Haglod– The void (death) (transgender)
From the union of the above eleven divine spirits come the following:
(Early Beauvingians were primarily a shamanistic people with strong elemental beliefs, after contact with the island peoples was made many of the island folk tales and ‘demi-god’ like beings were absorbed into the religious tales of the Beauvingians)
Whuloriel – Fertility - from the union of Xetas and Hamth, (Female)
Meriel – Destruction – from the union of Iekah and Uh, (Male)
Toriel – Inspiration – from the union of Chur and Rhehavaz, (Female)
Donoriel – Corruption – also from the union of Chur and Rhehavaz, (Female) and the twin sister of Toriel
Rahoniel – Fear – from the union of Chur and Rhehavaz, (Male) and the younger brother of the twin sisters
Sonumb – Deception – from the union of Moloween and Dahgda (Female) (over time this divine aspect was merged with her mother to become Moloween Sonumb)
Ellaearieal – Beauty, physical beauty
I am working on a complete list of Languages, that would be spoken in this adventure, and will post it soon.
Adelaide - As a Human you are either Anthandran (and if you are you must be a Cleric of Xetas, there is no exception to this rule, and I can explain, in detail, how it is that Xetas is worshiped in the Eastern hemisphere, if that is necessary) or you are Volognan, and as such, can be a "priest" of any of the Deities listed in the spoiler above. Once you have decided I will provide Domain information as necessary.
I would like everyone who is considering playing in this game to try and be careful about the assumptions you make. Mostly, I do not make it an issue if someone invents something about their character that is strongly out of line with the setting, in fact I usually ignore it, unless it conflicts with the story in some way (and I’ll try to point that out, if it happens, right away).
Also, it is very important that players get that this IS NOT a tropical island, okay.
The island is located at a latitude somewhere between 38 and 42 degrees NORTH (this puts it in a location similar to Sardinia, on Earth, but it is significant smaller).
Yes, that is true, but politically, the Church at Ses Theeth (or commonly called The Church)which is led by an individual called the Ghedda, and has its headquarters on the Theeth peninsula, and thus the name, The Church at Ses Theeth, where the "Ses" (sea) meets the "Theeth" (protected harbor)is the most powerful religious organization of this world. You do not leave The Church, and continue to behave like a cleric, the Sovereign Sisterhood would hunt you down and explain to you why you cannot do that, and their explanations are not always pleasant experiences. So as a Priest of Ses Theeth, you are an active and regular member of that organization, or you worship Xetas as a rogue cleric, and that is going to, eventually, catch up with you..
*long drawn-out whistle* Boy, is THAT hard to argue with! Blessed Be the Darkness, etc etc!
I've always strongly disagreed with the reflexive association of emotions with chaos and, by implication, logic with order, contending it's really more the other way around, but I guess we can just call that one of those secret, alien truths that is concealed in deepest shadow, huh? ;)
Ah but you see, even you read more into what is said than what is there. "Disorganized thought" does not imply chaos, and "Organized Matter" does not imply Order (some would say that the disorganized thoughts of Van Gogh produce some of the most ordered works of art known to man, and a tsunami is merely a great deal of orginized matter moving at a very rapid speed, eh?) What is the nature of "Disorginized thought" anyway? Well enough of that.
I see, so far unless I have made a terrible error, only six confirmed characters
I will be going over all the character concepts today and if I have any questions I will send you a PM. Most of the time my questions are because I really can't get my head wrapped around all these rules and I just need to be shown how you got to where you are.
If you are still interested in this game, please try to check the Campaign Information section of the Game Threads regularly for any updates or Houserules that you might need to know. Particularly, I want to make sure everyone understands the change to Perception and Sense Motive.
There is a strange kind of dynamic involved with "recruitment". It seems there is this period of excitement, and then that is followed by "less than excitement". I was really hoping to have a couple more players, but it looks like this is it. I will launch the game tomorrow, with information in the discussion thread about posting suggestions, and how experience will be earned.
I am Darklighthitomi. Sorry, I planned on having this up yesterday, but my bosses decided to play musical chairs and couldn't keep anything straight this weekend.
I am finishing it right now, but a few tidbits may remain till tommorrow. I am oddly tired today.
Wow, glad to have you! And that's a very well organized character sheet. I look forward to seeing it when it is filled in. And thank you for sticking with me through all this.
I hope everyone enjoys the game when it finally gets going.
