Oh...
That's disappointing. I quite liked Katya. :(
Yeah...
Okay, so I have two people who seem still interested, the halfling diabolist and the elf magus. Any thoughts or preferences? You guys are the players so I want your input.
I feel since we've got only good/neutral characters already, a diabolist might feel a little out of place in the group. That said, another full caster might be a good idea for the party dynamic when it comes to combat. A diabolist seems like a bit of a stretch for this party, but if we all think we can make it work I'm down for it.
For what its worth, Zalika is fine with a Diabolist, as an Envoy of Balance she can probably handle the balancing act. That said, both players seem fairly active, and they both have useful characters...just useful in different ways. You have a Magus picking up the hexes that Katya would have used, or a wizard as a full caster.
Worth noting that of the two, I feel that the Magus player's backstory has greater direct ties to the campaign world than the wizard.
Would anyone mind the potentials coming into discussion and chatting a bit?
That sounds fine to me, honestly. I agree the magus has a more... relevant backstory? But having both of them come in is fine with me.
I'm fine with both of them.
Thank you for letting me present my case :).
I feel since we've got only good/neutral characters already, a diabolist might feel a little out of place in the group. That said, another full caster might be a good idea for the party dynamic when it comes to combat. A diabolist seems like a bit of a stretch for this party, but if we all think we can make it work I'm down for it.
I plan on taking the Archmage path for Acharn. Between that and offensive hexes Acharn will be able to work like a caster a significant portion of the time, a witch with better defenses if you will. He will also be quite decent at melee however, often mixing magic and attacking with his weapons. In general the party is quite heavy on magic though, Jonathan is the only one without magic, so I think we should be fine even without a full arcane caster. Zalika will also have access to quite a few arcane spells through her domains.
I'm fine with both of them.
Thank you for not letting the differences between our races and my character's feelings lead you to vote against Acharn. I do have what I think is a good solution to prevent us from ending up in PvP:
I'll pick up the lovesick drawback and have Acharn fall in love with Triel. It'll create quite a bit of inner turmoil for my character, which I'll hopefully be able to portray through his thoughts and actions. I think it'll create an interesting dynamic as Acharn is drawn between love and hate for the dark-skinned beauty. He'll struggle between the two aspects of his goddess, lust and vengeance. Once he gets to know her, he'll sympathize with her as they both have lost everyone they've known and loved. Luckily Triel's player seems ok with this path.
That's true. Jonathan has alchemy though, so my extracts and such help out too. I actually forgot how many people in this party have magic... you can blame the muscle wizard over there.
I don't think there's a single PC here without some form of magic or other--Jonathan comes closest to it with his extracts. Maximo has divine magic of Apsu, Zalika has clerical magic of Ptah, Aramus has arcane magic, and Triel is packing psychic magic--we have one of each type of magic in the party. XD
Hello! The GM invited me to mingle with you all momentarily, to present my case as Acharn put it.
I feel since we've got only good/neutral characters already, a diabolist might feel a little out of place in the group. That said, another full caster might be a good idea for the party dynamic when it comes to combat. A diabolist seems like a bit of a stretch for this party, but if we all think we can make it work I'm down for it.
Well, the premise of the campaign gave me the impression that people from all walks of life would have reason to band together... even if they do happen to be evil. I do agree that there might be some abrasion, but my hope was that it would be a cause for interesting roleplay rather than a cause of frustration for anyone. Honestly, the Lawful side is more of what I'd be focusing on - diabolism is all about law and order. He's just evil because his archetype requires it, and well, devils. :P
Worth noting that of the two, I feel that the Magus player's backstory has greater direct ties to the campaign world than the wizard.
I cannot really argue with this either, as it is a valid complaint. I chose to place the bulk of Wilcrim's backstory before the Apocalypse, to focus on how he became what he is. As broad of a concept as this utterly screwed world is, I didn't feel that a direct connection to the central conflict was necessary, per se. Though to be honest, I did neglect to elaborate more on his role after Cheliax underwent its change.
I figured that he would end up becoming a servant to House Thrune who, because of his talents and unwavering loyalty, acts as an autonomous agent for them. The empire is more like Hell than ever, much to his delight, but the Worldwound threatens to throw off the tenuous balance of power, hence why he'd be dispatched to Absalom.
As for his role in the party... almost everyone does seem to be armed to the teeth with magic, true. He has sacrificed a lot to improve his prowess with conjuration, particularly summoning, and perhaps devil binding eventually. That part could certainly rub the party the wrong way, I suppose.
"Oh, and... Happy New Year."
@Wilcrim Stroivan
What I was getting at was trying to understand why he is what he is. For instance, you don't necessarily have to be evil to summon devils (iirc), and its entirely possible to use them for "the greater good". I know mechanically the character needs to be evil for the archetype, but that doesn't tell me why Wilcrim is evil - he just seems like a slave imprisoned by circumstances possibly beyond his control. Likewise I kinda wanted an idea as to what his motivation would be to join with a party like ourselves. As you pointed out, its a really good "back" story, but I don't know much about his motivations for joining, what his personal goals are etc.
Sorry if I'm coming across as overly critical, I just wanted to learn a little more about Wilcrim thats all :)
No, I'm fine with answering questions! :)
Wilcrim is evil because he was raised under a cruel and unyielding philosophy. The law is absolute. Society requires a rigid structure, and everyone has a role in it that must be fulfilled. Wilcrim's role just happened to be that of a slave, and never once did he question that. The very concept of true free will frightens him. He was born to serve; if he cannot do that, then he might as well not exist at all. And so he sought power so he could be eternally useful - the source of that power, of course, could only serve to blacken his soul. Whether he realizes it or not, he was chosen for this role, and he in turn chose to take on that mantle. He is on a path to damnation.
So in a sense, I suppose he is a victim of circumstance. He is what he is because he has never been anything else. What he knows, everything he has, he only possesses because of his masters. In a situation where he has autonomy - like on the party - he perhaps has an opportunity to realize these things about himself. With an agent of Hell constantly chaperoning him however, one could only wonder whether it's even possible for him to change his path.
At the moment, he would only be on the party because he has to be; because he was told to. The original idea was that he was a delegate of Cheliax, or at least a representative - he is obedient enough to serve that function. In the interest of his masters, and in the interest of maintaining world order, I can't think of any reasons why he wouldn't join the party, or at least be assigned to it. Right now, the party only seems to be together out of circumstance - I had kind of assumed that a consequence of the conference would be keeping them together, in which case, no one exactly has much choice in the matter. If that assumption is wrong, I don't suppose his reason for joining would be much different.
As for what Wilcrim wants for himself, asides from being the perfect zealot? He doesn't know. The only time he was ever in a state of mind to think about that question, Hell bailed him out and gave him an answer.
Sorry if that was a bit long-winded. :P
Archarn is very much the opposite of Wilcrim in terms of motivation for joining the party. He'll actively seek out allies and risky situations in order to build up his network and experience. With his planned affection for Triel he'll also have another reason for joining the others, the desire, no burning need, to be with her.
Does anyone have any other questions for Acharn? I would much prefer to receive questions so I can show off or explain different sides of Acharn rather than sit here in silence while waiting for your decision.
@Wilcrim: The archtype does not require him to be LE, just that he can't shift further towards good or chaos, so if he does get "redeemed" (turn good) he would lose the benefits of the archtype.
"Happy new year everyone! May the new year bring you good fortune."
Regarding his infatuation with Triel: is it going to be a 'love-at-first-sight' deal or will it be played more realistically? I'm asking because it seems like a 'love-at-first-sight' affair would clash with what was established in Acharn's backstory.
How do you want it to be played Triel? I was thinking of at least an element of instant attraction, but I could modify things to suit you. We are playing this together, so I think it's important it's done in a way we both enjoy. I think having him lusting for her can be quite realistic, even if it doesn't start out as love. His lust would conflict greatly with his hatred for drow, but he could justify getting to know her with trying to learn more about his enemy. Then when he gets to know her more his feelings would grow more into love. Do you think that could work, or would you like me to change something? How would Triel approach this?
The element of instant attraction is fine by me--I just find the idea of starting out immediately in love as being kinda tacky.
Otherwise, what you're proposing sounds good. :)
Sounds good to me. What will Triel's feelings be? Would you like to eventually end up in a relationship? You did mention that she hates surface elves in your backstory.
She'll start out more-or-less in disbelief, but odds are she COULD warm up to the idea.
Much to her own surprise, no doubt.
I hope we will eventually get there, though we'll see how things develop.
@Jonathan Haykes: Have our characters ever met, or heard about each other? We are kinda from the same alliance, even if my character is on the outskirts and our countries used to be neighbors. What would you prefer?
I'd say it's doubtful? Jonathan's a Gardener, so if you met him in uniform it's hard to tell which one is which. Outside of uniform you'd have no idea he's a Gardener, so if you had met him you wouldn't know it. It's possible he's heard of Acharn, however, and if you're there with the Alliance you probably surmise the Gardeners are around somewhere.
So let's say that Acharn know of the Gardeners, but does not know of Jonathan specifically while Jonathan have heard of Acharn, but haven't met him personally.
Makes sense to me.
I've been asked to join the game. I hope you like my introduction. I feel like it makes some sense at least. I'm looking forward to gaming with you all. Hopefully we can get a good pace in the new year :).
Having a bit of a writer's block right now. I'll see if I can post something in the morning.
Having a bit of a writer's block right now. I'll see if I can post something in the morning.
Sorry for making things difficult for you :(.
Don't worry about it. :)
So, I feel it's kinda awkward for Acharn to join up with the rest of the group. I don't feel like it's fitting for Acharn to just ask to join in on their tour, even if he does want further conversations with several of the people. He hasn't exactly revived a warm welcome. Only Triel has given him her name. I had hoped Maximo and his Weasel would help out, but so far no such luck... I'm sorry if I botched things :(.
Frankly, the party coming together as fast as they did was a magic weasel inspired miracle as is. Nothing can go perfectly, so frankly it's not a huge deal.
Oh, don't worry. Things'll smooth out before too long, I imagine. :)
In hindsight having Acharn figure out Jonathan was a grey gardener and especially calling him out on it seems pretty wrong :(. Sorry about that.
I hope Maximus shows up soon. I feel like he could very naturally solve the situation with Acharn not really feeling as part of the group.
@Faceless: What happened to Katya, is she an NPC now?
Yeah. I'm going to message him to see what's up.
I'll be writing her out shortly. I'm working out one or two things.
What do you mean, "As Acharn turns away"? He's staying with the rest.
That was me typing too fast and screwing up. Sorry.
Given we are all together already I think it would be really cool if things just flowed naturally from this. Why can't we just have the conference start today for example?
The opening speeches and greetings are today. The major discussions begin tomorrow morning. The delegates arriving today need time to get settled in and get ready for the meetings.
Can I move one rank from linguistics into profession (soldier)?
I was thinking that Acharn's conversation with Triel happen as they travel, so feel free to proceed to the next place.
Sure.
Since Jonathan was told that the Chellish may be bringing a contract devil and was sent to find out if this was true, is it reasonable to assume that they informed him as to what a contract devil looks like? After all, going back and saying "I dunno man, it was some kinda devil" doesn't seem like it would go over very well with the Gardeners.
Yes, he would have been briefed on the basics of what a contract devil looks like. Not more unless the reports were confirmed though.
Okay, cool. Also, what would it be to identify Hellknights? Technically speaking I think it'd be Knowledge (Local), but I'm not positive.
Knowledge Local. It's like DC 10 at most considering how powerful Chelliax is. Hellknights are rather infamous.
Are we in a scenario where everyone are waiting on everyone? I'm kinda waiting on either a reply from Triel to Acharn or from the Cheliax representative to Zalika.
Sorry about my absence--real life's getting in the way. I should have a post up by this afternoon.
Kind of. I've been waiting for people to do something.
Just as an FYI, I'm having some account troubles again, and it's stopped showing this campaign as an active one. I have no idea when it'll be resolved or if it will get worse, as it has previously. I SHOULD be okay on posting, but if it becomes harder to get to the campaign I may be posting less.
I've never had that problem, but I've seen it happen to a bunch of people.
Sorry everyone. Feeling a tad under the weather, but I'll try to keep up best as I can!
If need be, move along and I'll catch up.
Yeah, so when I checked this thread last, which was earlier today, it said it had no posts... evidently, that was very untrue. I will do my best to keep up, still waiting to hear from moderators about my issue.