[AP] The Shackled City Adventure Path by GM Rutseg (Inactive)

Game Master Balacertar

local: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (12) + 2 = 14

JJ enters the shrine and then stands transfixed at the image before him. Could that be grandmother?

The normally energetic and fidgety young man stands still as a rock, body all but paralysed as thousands of thoughts and images rush through his mind. Unfortunately none of them are coherent.

Auto-success on Kn. Religion.

"H-here we are," Marigold explains, suddenly left to wonder if any of her friends had ever visited the shrine before. "It's a little c-confusing sometimes b-because people seem to use P-Pelor and S-Sarenrae interchangeably, but either w-works here."

She looks around. "I d-don't see Kristof anywhere; he's been in ch-charge of the shrine since his superiors d-died..."

"Um, excuse m-me?" Marigold calls out to the priest working on repairs. "Is K-Kristof here anywhere? We'd r-really like to speak t-to him if he's not b-busy..."

As the priest stands up and turns to face Marigold she is surprise the man is Kristof himself. She has probably be mislead because the man seems a lot thinner than during their last encounter. He does seem happy to see the halfling "Oh Marigold! It has been a long time since you last came around..."

Noticing the improvised patch his facial expression totally changes "What happened to your eye? Look at you... you seem changed. Are you ok Marigold?"

Somehow noticing the others he smiles once more "But sorry. What does it take you to this humble place? Are you perhaps looking for guidance? Is there perhaps something you do regret of and look for pardon?"

Knowledge(Religion) v DC15: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (15) + 6 = 21
Sense Motive v DC20: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (15) + 10 = 25

Kikinnin sets his eyes on the interior of the Church of Pelor for the first time. He's never been called to scourge a rat problem within these walls, for the time he's been in Cauldron, and for the man's gaunt appearance, he's not surprised. There's likely not a lot to eat in the pantry...

Observing Kristof's reaction to Marigold, Kikinnin becomes acutely interested in Marigold's reaction to Kristof's reaction. As such, he doesn't speak up, only watches intently.

Auto-success on that Sense Motive.

"I th-think I should be asking the same q-question of you," Marigold responds with a wan smile. "You've l-lost weight since I saw you last. I've b-been away but I heard that t-times haven't been kind to this p-place lately."

Can I trust him with the truth? *Should* I trust him with the truth? The less he knows the less danger he'd be in if those people are watching us...

She shakes her head, gesturing to her eyepatch. "It's f-fine...there's j-just been some cosmetic damage that'll p-probably take some time to heal."

Well...that's *mostly* true...

"B-but thank you for asking," she continues, her smile brightening for a moment. "Um, I h-hate to ask b-but we've heard some r-rumors about a...I think it was a r-rivalry or some other d-disagreement with the church of W-Wee Jas? Wh-what's going on, Kristof?"

Knowledge Local DC15: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (8) + 11 = 19

Maxim takes in the shrine's ambience with a wry expression;

"Quite the fixer upper ye got here Priest. Donations to the coffers ain't what they once were I'm guessing?"

At the interplay between Lil Miss and Kristof he studies the holy man's reactions - trying to gauge his intent;

Sense Motive: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (19) + 13 = 32

Satisfied he's on the level, the gun-mage interrupts with a request;

"Pardon the interruption folks... Stiff in the bag will likely be returnin' to full size soon. Don't want him gettin' stuck inside an' ripenin' up the contents.... Ye wouldn't have a coffin or some such available Father?"

He gingerly reaches into the magical bag - searching for the cold and clammy body...

JJ stands, staring at the statue, oblivious to the interplay around him. Slowly he takes a step forward, his eyes fixed on the form.

Kikinnin tries to bring the conversation around to the more pressing concern of dead half-orc festering in the hole. He turns to Kristof. "You wouldn't be able to cast a spell we need, would you? This dead assassin might be able to answer some questions of ours, and we'd gladly pay you for your services."

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 16 ⇒ (5) + 16 = 21

"Er...y-yeah, sorry, I g-got a little side-tracked," Marigold admits to her companions. "K-Kristof, my earlier question st-still stands b-but we were just attacked b-by these assassins and w-wanted t q-question the o-one whose b-body we brought...c-can you help?"

Diplomacy (Aid): 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (15) + 13 = 28

"You want me to have a look at your eye injury Marigold?" the priest looks worried at the halfling "The Wee Jass church... don't tell me..." his facial expression changes to that one of pure irritation.

But Maxim brings up a more urgent matter and he does indeed look around "A coffer?" the man looks at Maxim confused, but he quickly pieces up things together as Marigold explains and the dwarf starts to open his bag "Wait! I have no coffer but you can place it there" the priest seems convinced by Kikinnin and Marigold's words and points a side chapel while he quickly picks up some linen and places it over the floor for Maxim.

As the blonde pulls out the half-orc the body quickly starts to rise and becomes large again, smearing the clothes with fresh blood "It seems you made some dangerous enemies... I know the spell you are looking for. I just need some minutes to prepare it"

If the group agrees to wait Kristof will prepare and cast speak with the dead for the group "Do you know which questions you want to pose?"

Tearing himself away from the statue, JJ looks around to see what the rest of the group is up to. Following slowly to the side chapel he suggests. "Why did you attack us?"

Then thinking he adds "What are the names of the two spell users who also joined the attack."

Pausing he considers the options "As we don't know them, we probably need a backup question, as the first might well be answered with 'we were paid to' or 'we were ordered to' - so we should ask who paid or ordered them."

Maxim brushes any residual blood from the edge of his magical bag, then mulls the priest's query on the nature of the questions they should pose;

"Establishin' if the target was us, or one o' us would be useful. They were unsuccessful so may come at us, or one o' us again. Be good to know."

The gun-mage nods to himself as he taps the corpse with his toe;

"Might also be good to ask ugly where him an' his posse are holed up. Knowin' where they are means we can git after them, front foot when they ain't expectin' guests..."

"Oh, good thinking Maxim. Those are fantastic questions." gushes JJ.

"That way we would know if it was Ryan who was targeted - which would suggest someone wanting to remove the noble families support. Or if it was us as a group, in which case we really need to know who we have annoyed."

He shrugs, seemingly unworried, until a sad expression crosses his face. "Of course virtually everyone we have annoyed has ended up like him..Maybe they had relatives?"

"Um...m-maybe in a bit," Marigold responds to Kristof's concern over her eye. "I p-promise, I'm f-fine...it's just a really long st-story..."

When the conversation shifts to questions to pose to the dead half-orc, Marigold frowns, chewing on her bottom lip as she thinks. "Y-yes, I think we'd b-be better off to ask wh-who sent them f-first and then ask wh-why."

Kikinnin lets the initial formulation of questions percolate, before he chimes in. The body enlarging to its former size has his curiosity, for his bror's magics having first made it much smaller.

"I agree with Marigold and Maxim. You too, JJ, it just takes a moment to figure out how to ask questions for someone eager to not answer. First, we see if it can speak who hired the three of them. The why's not too important- someone wanted us dead. I figure they wanted the priest dead first, otherwise we'd have been harder to take down, for his proficiency in healing, which means those who hired them gave them insight as to our strengths, and weaknesses. Names are good, places are also good."

The black beard pulls on his black. "How many questions can we try and ask, Kristof?"

"I do believe we will be able to ask up to three questions" Kristof nods on questions suggestions and once his prayers are fulfilled and he says the spell is now prepared, he casts it while kneeling in front of the corpse.

As the spell completes the mandible of the half-orc seems to magically animate "Curses" Kristof looks frustrated at the half-orc "It seems he resisted my spell. We cannot be sure about his responses now. Anyway, I will try"

"Who sent you to kill in the Coy Nixie?" the mandible moves and talks "The Guardians of the First Vault"

Kristof frowns but asks the second question "Whom specifically where you charged to kill?" the half-orc mandible animates again and words sprung off his mouth "All the meddlers"

The priest looks back to you "I am sorry I could not do it better to force his will. We still can ask another question. Shall I ask why were they sent or do you have other options?"

SM: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (11) + 2 = 13
SM: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (5) + 2 = 7

"I don't like his attitude any better now he is dead." says JJ. "Can he be lying to us, or does the spell compel the truth? I would like to know who leads these 'Guardians of the First Vault' that he talks about."

Auto-success on those Sense Motives.

Kn. Religion (DC 15): 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (13) + 9 = 22

For a moment, Marigold simply stares at JJ. Then, in a rather uncharacteristic moment, stands on tiptoe and slaps him upside the back of his head, albeit lightly.

"Are you s-serious? The G-Guardians of the F-First Vault? He's t-talking about the s-servants of Abadar!" she exclaims, looking exasperated. "He's obviously l-lying, at least about th-that. The other a-answer...he's being truthful b-but intentionally c-cryptic about it."

She sighs. "If I understand it r-right, the m-magic doesn't always g-guarantee truthfulness from the s-subject, especially if they were st-strong-willed in life."

"ahhhh, what...OUCH" says JJ, ducking back from Marigold.

"Why did you.."

"Oh. Oh... yes... I mean, now you mention it, I thought it sounded kind of familiar."

He listens to the rest of her description. "So it is not like there could be another group also called 'guardians of the first vault'?" he asks.

"I mean I know if I was running a secret organisation, I'd like name it the same as something else to try and confused people. "

Auto success on the DC5

Maxim listens to the otherworldly answers, his brow frowning in frustration at the content and observations of his fellow Watchers;

Sense Motive DC20: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (18) + 13 = 31

"So the oaf gave us even less in death than he did in life... God's be darned."

Knowing they will get little more of sense or truth he spits in frustration at the half-orc's body;

"Reckon we prop the sack o' skit up somewhere public, an' dressed with a sign warnin' this is what becomes o' assassins in these here parts. Will either ward some off, or poke the hornets nest a little..."

Kristof's seems to get nervous as you comment the replies "I am sorry. This is an stubborn oaf. I could not break his will"

"I can try to ask something more but that might not be of use." the priest looks serious at the corpse "I can get rid of the corpse. What do you plan to do next?"

Can't make that one, haha!

Marigold blinks; Kristof's offer surprised her. "G-get rid of the body? H-how?"

"N-next move? I d-don't know...b-but there's a lot of ugly things h-happening in Cauldron lately," she frowns. "Have you h-heard anything? Or s-seen anything, K-Kristof?"

"I can burn him following the rites of Sarenrae" Kristof frowns as he is reminded about things going on in Cauldron "Oh yes! Your initial questions! I never answered you..."

The man approaches the temple's doors and points to the looming tower of just one avenue upper in the caldera. The Cathedral of Wee Jas. "That! Look what have they done of their central spire! The higher reaches of their new construction comes close to fully blocking the rays of the rising sun of this humble shrine!" the man seems extremely outraged "They are doing this on purpose. To block the Sun from the Goddess of Sun?! What do they want? Do they want to close up all my business or what?"

"I can try to ask something more but that might not be of use."

Knowledge(Religion) v DC15: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (11) + 6 = 17

Kikinnin hates the idea of wasting a god-given chance at magical interrogation, so sets his mind to one last question of a likely liar.

"Ask the half-orc this: Where were you going to meet when you succeeded in slaying us all?" The black beard isn't hopeful, but he wants some last little thought of the dead half-orc to interpret.

"What do you plan to do next?"

Knowledge(Religion) v DC15: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (10) + 6 = 16

"I was thinking we'd talk to Ike, and get his side of this story. I didn't think he was so aggressive to bully the likes of your church. They cared for my family while we chased down evil around Cauldron, and I want to hear his explanation."

Kristof nods and asks Kikinnin question "Where were you going to meet when you succeeded in slaying your targets?" and the half-orc's mandible animates one last time to say "At the Wealthy Father's Home"

As Kikinnin talks about Ike, the priest frowns again "Go talk to him if you wish. They just want me to leave Cauldron. But I will not budge from here, my mission is here for more than it shall bother them!"

Automatic Success on the Sense Motive

Kikinnin sighs as the half-orc finishes his antagonism, beyond the Veil. "Alright, thanks, Kristof. You were kind to see to us, and our problem of the body. If we manage to learn anything that might be helpful to your mission here, we'll return."

The black beard gives no more thought to the assassin, but holds the words in his head a little longer, wondering if any of the untruths will come to pass.

Kikinnin takes the lead, and marches towards Wee Jas, starting to form the first questions for Ike, when they arrive.

Kn. Religion (DC 15): 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (7) + 9 = 16

"Y-yes, thank you," Marigold agrees. "We'll t-talk to this other f-fellow and see what he has to s-say for himself," she promises. "I c-can't understand why they would w-want to pick a fight with this ch-church and I w-want to hear some answers t-too."

Maxim scowls, then prods the corpse once again;

"Ye got off light, ye sack o' skit. I'd have mounted that ugly head fir the birds to peck at..."

He shuffles out, making his way to the Church of Wee Jas with the rest of the group.

Eyeing the tall spire he mulls a thought;

"They seem to be doin' mighty well when all others are strugglin'... Guess death is good business nowadays. Say when we were in the Land O' Lil' Miss, didn't them graverobbers bear the sigils o' Wee Jas?"

"D-did they?" Marigold asks, trying to think back. "M-maybe they did, b-but I can't really r-remember for s-sure. I really h-hope none of the ch-churches are involved in all this other m-mess; that's the l-last thing we need right n-now..."

Kristof greets you again as you leave. Once out of the shrine you move towards the large Cathedral of Wee Jas.

From closer up, the temple seems build all in volcanic stone. What is more surprising is the structure seems sculpted from a single rock, as no junctures are appreciable. This is the case for even the newly constructed needle. To each side of the temple a set of lesser buildings with the same symbolism of the Lady of Graves prowl around the central structure.

On the main building, the temple itself, you find out a large set of iron doors. Engraved in the center you find the depiction of a large spiral.

The doors are closed. No one is guarding them but when you try to open and go in as Kikinnin has done before many times, the doors are locked.

Kn. Religion (DC 12): 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (18) + 9 = 27
Kn. Arcana (DC 20): 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (8) + 8 = 16

"W-well, at least we know we're at the r-right place," Marigold remarks, gesturing towards the large spiral in the center of the iron doors. Her expression quickly changes to one of puzzlement though when they find the doors locked.

"Th-that's strange, d-don't they always keep their d-doors open like the other t-temples and shrines?"

She reaches up and carefully raps on the doors with her knuckles and waits for a moment to see if anything happens.

Perception: 1d20 + 17 ⇒ (7) + 17 = 24

JJ, cautious as ever, steps up next to Marigold, leaning heavily on his quarterstaff as he does so.

"Let's hope there is no trouble..."

Kikinnin doesn't immediately register the doors being locked, so tries again, making sure that the doubles are indeed locked against entry. He steps back, and leaves the lass to rapping on the door. His attentions run along the street leading to the church, assessing the traffic of the city, and whether the door will block more than the Watchers at present.

"I don't suppose they have a side entrance do they? Otherwise... I guess I could go look in a window.." offers the lad.

DC20 Knowledge Arcana: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (13) + 13 = 26

The gun-mage pauses eyeing the building with a seasoned eye;

"Been magicks used to build this here place up. Powerful ones at that..."

When JJ speaks Maxim shoots him an exasperated look;

"Side window? We have the countenance o' common robbers Surabar!? I'll pick the darned lock..."

He gestures the group to move away from entrance way, then retrieves his lockpick set - laying them by the door before joining his companions.

(Can conduct this next bit 30ft distance max)

Focusing, he manipulates an imaginary set of picks, whilst the physical ones mimic this at the temple door (Arcane Trickster - Ranged Legerdemain ability)

Disable Device (at up to 30ft distance):

1d20 + 20 - 5 ⇒ (13) + 20 - 5 = 28

"P-pick the lock? To a t-temple? Are you s-sure that's a good idea?" Marigold remarks worriedly as the dwarf motions for everyone to back away a bit. "M-maybe we should give them a ch-chance to answer f-first..."

JJ gives a look around to find windows, but all the openings he sees are blocked by beautiful stained glass depicting scenes of Pharasma's beliefs. Kikinnin meanwhile notes the people keeps coming and going through the avenue without paying much attention to the closed temple. There is no one waiting for it to open.

Short after Marigold raps the doors there is no answer at all, so Maxim directs his magics to work on the lock. The dwarf's lock-pick floats in the air and soon a familiar 'click' is heard.

Before you can open up the doors though, you hear a voice coming from behind the doors "The Cathedral is closed today. Comeback in some days"

geography: 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (6) + 15 = 21
linguistics: 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (19) + 15 = 34

"Orcs.." he whispers.

"Really? We had some urgent business to discuss." says JJ, stepping through the portal.

"And with the resident priests, not with foreigners."

With the mention of 'orcs', not 'half-orc', not 'orcish', Kikinnin brings his Axe to his hands, and follows JJ towards the newly-unlocked doors. Moments before, he was aghast at breaking into the Church. In this moment, he's aghast that any kind of orc might be wandering the halls of a place he once considered a sanctuary to Gemma...

"I want eyes, inside." He keeps his voice low, to speak only with his crew.

On high alert now that JJ has identified the speaker as an orc, Marigold hurriedly glances around to make sure they're not drawing too much attention from any passersby. Then she conjures a bit of magic to allow her to see things as they really are.

"I'll m-make sure nothing f-funny is happening out here," she whispers.
______________

Casting True Seeing~

Marigold casts a spell as JJ pushes the doors open followed by Kikinnin.

Inside you find the grand hall of the Cathedral of Wee Jas. A magnificent sight. This hall alone measures at least one hundred and fifty feet across with an octagonal shape and a vaulted ceiling that raises fifty feet at its center.

The hall is totally empty of furniture and the floor is only covered by tiles depicting Pharasma's Boneyard.

Next to the door, and surprised by your irruption, there is a half-orc fully armored with a double axe and a fine chainmail. Behind him there are two other half-orcs equally geared. At the center of the immense hall, about a eighty feet away from you, there are two stone giants and between them, there is a cleric of Pharasma that looks at you and frowns.

The guard attempts to push JJ back "I told you the temple is closed! Leave now!"

JJ stands his ground, waiting for one of the others to respond.

"How... why... are there giants in the temple?"

Kikinnin steps around JJ and the half-orc guard, addressing the cleric of Pharasma, moving close enough to both the priest, and the two stone giants. At Will- Detect Evil

"Pardon our intrusion, revered of Pharasma. We haven't been introduced before, but I have had conversations with Ike, and there are dire events to discuss. We wouldn't have entered if it wasn't a serious matter." He shoots a look at the half-orcs, before returning to address the priest.

"These half-orcs you have here- I can understand them protecting the governmental offices, but I've never seen the need to guard a temple before. For the reports, Wee Jas has been bullying Pelor, and I'd like to hear what Ike says about it." The stone giants don't immediately raise his hackles, if only for the possibility that they're helping in the stone construction of the church.

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 16 ⇒ (8) + 16 = 24

"That's r-right...you can s-see that we'd n-not normally barge into any holy p-place without good c-cause," Marigold adds, gesturing to Kikinnin and Ryan's Abadarian accoutrements. "P-Please, h-hear us out."

Diplomacy (Aid): 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (5) + 13 = 18

"Kikinnin, isn't it? My name is Calmus Vel, Deacon of Pharasma" the man looks at the giants and the half-orcs then back at Kikinnin "Ike is not available at the moment. He is too busy with the Cathedral construction business"

"If about bullying you refer to the complains of Kristof Jurgensen, we have nothing to say. We cannot do anything about the envy of other priests for the prosperity of our church. Don't even think about talking with the High Priestess, Embril Aloustinai is away in an important mission to our faith"

"E-envy? Your c-construction is blocking the l-light of the sun from the Ch-Church of Pelor," Marigold points out, an uncharacteristic frown now on her face. "That's k-kind of a big deal to them. C-couldn't you have worked s-something out with your c-construction before you st-started it? I know m-moving locations wouldn't have been f-feasible but it's n-not feasible for them, either. I'd have th-thought that the b-bigger faith would've also been more interesting in b-being the bigger, uh, p-person and t-trying to help work out a s-solution that everyone is happy with."

And unable to keep from noticing the behavior of Calmus, she very slowly holds up her hands to show that there's nothing in them. "Wh-why so tense? We've already s-said that we're not here to st-start a r-ruckus and I'd hope our reputations would p-precede us a b-bit. So why're you acting like we're here to f-fight? Have other p-people been starting f-fights here?"

b]"Temple might be closed, but ye left yer door open... Invitin' folks in..."[/b] (Bluff)1d20 + 8 ⇒ (16) + 8 = 24

Maxim eyes the strange group before them with a hard look of appraisal;

Sense Motive: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (13) + 13 = 26

He notes the priestess' reaction to Kikinnin's words and the subtle message given to the guards.

His own hand taps the handle of his double-barrelled pistol, then flashes a hard smile;

"Gotta say Deacon... As a merchant o' this fair city... I'm mighty curious on how it is the flow of coin is slowin' yet here you Pharasmans seem to be growin' literal an' metaphoric like. Reckon the business o' death must be on the rise?"

JJ just continues to scan the room, not wanting to interrupt the delicate situation, but not wanting to get caught out but a sudden attack either.

perception: 1d20 + 16 + 2 ⇒ (14) + 16 + 2 = 32
SM: 1d20 + 2 + 2 ⇒ (8) + 2 + 2 = 12

Calmus places his hand over his mace while he does stare at Marigold's patch "You are the one talking about fights... Lady. Perhaps if this Kristof was working to have more followers in the city instead of surrealistically accusing others, he would have the money to rise up a temple that would not be overshadowed by nearby buildings"

When Maxim asks his question with accusation tone the guards raise their weapons but Calmus makes a sign to stop "Our church, lead by the cunning Embril Aloustinai, is being prosperous, we have nothing to hide on there. What are we being accused exactly? Are priests not able to collect money for their services now?"

Marigold sighs; this certainly wasn't getting them anywhere. "O-Okay, let me t-try this again. W-we're not t-trying to accuse anyone of anything. J-just that things have b-been really t-tense here in the c-city lately and we h-heard about the d-disagreement between your ch-church and the Ch-Church of Pelor. We thought we'd t-try to s-see if we could h-help somehow, m-maybe play mediator."

"I'm s-sorry that we b-barged in here unannounced b-but we th-thought it was very st-strange for this p-place to be locked up without any obvious n-notice or reason why. Hard t-times makes everyone edgy s-sometimes, including us and including y-you."
______________

Waiting to see what Kikinnin has to say on the matter before I post much else~

Hello all!

Half-Orc sorcerer (a.k.a. Xunal) checking in here.

Was reminded by Gaming Ranger that one of my two traits had to be a Shackled City AP trait. I've been distracted the last few days, but finally got around to looking at the Shackled City AP Google Doc.

By then, I'd already created, or mostly created, my Half-Orc crossblooded sorcerer (Juraan; pronounced "JUR-awn"). I already decided on the Black Dragon and Shaitan bloodlines. So, I found a Shackled City AP trait that's totally perfect for Juraan:

I've changed his HL file so the numbers matched up. It also gave me a chance to figure out how to jury-rig a character with traits or feats that aren't part of the collection of HL files I've got.

Anyway, I hope Juraan is looking good. I was going to work on his backstory tonight. But I had to take care of that AP trait first. So I'll try doing the backstory thing tomorrow. Between his upbringing (mostly randomly determined with UC), his bloodlines and that AP trait, he's probably going to have a few anger management issues. But he should be interesting!

Here's his stats, etcetera, so far. Back story and other bits to come soon:

Hi again!

I just spotted an "oopsies" in my HL profile. I accidentally gave him Acid Resistance 4; should've been +4 all saves vs. Acid Affects in the saving throw bits.

Fixed it!

Related to JJ Surabar thief and Surabar concept

The Last Laugh
You might have been tempted to go into the ranks of the Last Laugh guild by invitation or your own interest, but you are currently no member of the organisation. Perhaps you are in the orbit of the guild and act as some sort of informant for them (profiting you are working at some X place to know what is going on there), or you have dealings with them to get access to the blackmarket. In this last case you might use them to resell small objects you get on thievery (perhaps on abusive merchants or other 'too rich' people on Cauldron) or you might have great art for forgery and they often approach you to buy/obtain identification documents, city passes or tax-payment bills. Your collaboration might be out of personal interest, either greed or desire to impress and achieve power in the city undergrounds, or it might come from a pressing situation, the guild might have menaced to damage someone you love or reveal your more shameful actions to your mentor and loved Alek Tercival, Gretchyn Tashykk or other current or past respect figure. Perhaps they might have even menaced to kidnap someone you love.

Orphan connection
Just because it has appeared in more than one post, being some of you orphans or having met to a deep or shallow degree in the Lantern Street Orphanage will work very good for the campaign I think. Thus, do not be reluctant to follow that line. I feel comfortable with it.

Surabar heritage
The Tercival family might be descendants of Surabar as well. Thus your connection with Alek might be even stronger. He might be a distant or close uncle, making his reasons to protect and bring you to Cauldron even stronger. His devotion to the Church might be behind the reasons you were moved to the Orphanage instead of being personally raised by him.

About Lady Ladile different concepts

The oracle, with the options you choose for her/him are just perfect for the campaign. Because of that and mystery just works great for oracles, I will not comment much more on it ;)
(although we can comment on more connections with the city after you decide which concept to go)

For the monk, have a look at the Order of the Silver Dream entry I have written for Hayato's monk.

For the gunslinger, I think you have already read the firearms entry I wrote later.

Dreams at Pelor's Shrine
Although you have had nightmares all your life, your dreams have just recently became intense and clear. The images of fire and flames have made you seek counsel on Pelor's Shrine as you thought it would be the place where the knowledge of fire is more deep in the city. Your family might know or not about your dreams. Whether they accept your close realtionship with the temple or they are totally against, you have been well received there.

Kristof Jurgensen is a recent arrival to the city, and has been overwhelmed by work after his three superiors recently died under mysterious circumstances, leaving him in charge of the entire shrine. As such when you approached when you approached him and he identified one of the people dying on flames in your dream as one of his superiors, he decided to give you a job in the church to keep you close to him.

Independently if you know already some of the other characters and might find a reason to help them, one of the initial events of the campaign might connect to some sign in one of your mysterious dreams, and you might decide to further follow that sign and search what is the meaning of all that in an attempt to understand the nature of your dreams.

About Tom's past

Villain murderer of parents
I have an idea of whom might be this one. Your parents might have been part of Cauldron's nobility (I think that fits good with an stylish bard knowledgeable of etiquette) or for some reasons have good contacts with nobility, by being creators of high jewellery, or just part of their households (a majordomo, cooker, bodyguard, chamber lad...). If you chose the servant route a halfling might fit better as they are the most usual among noble servants in Cauldron (although half-orc for bodyguard). One of your parents might have bothered someone in Cauldron which ultimately lead him to decide for his removal (the motivations of your parent might be good or bad or you might let me decide as you wish). Let me know if you prefer to have hints on what your parent might have discovered or prefer to hold that veiled.

I will provide some physical hints at how the villain might look prior the start of the game.

Arcane duelist
In order to inspire us each other on this, it would be nice to have some extra ideas on how and where he got his arcane and fighting inner or trained capabilities.

JJ Surabar

I like the idea that Alek is an uncle or cousin. Maybe his grandfather was JJ grandfather. It also provides a reason that he was in the area when JJ's parents were killed - he may have been on the way to visit them.

Which god does Alek follow? St Cuthbert?

I like the idea of JJ being a bit of a forger. Originally I was thinking he was more of a paid lookout (which seemed to fit the "mime" role in the organisation). But having a niche specialty would be pretty neat too.

Since it sounds like Aer is on board with playing JJ and I've gotten good feedback on the oracle idea, I will go with my halfling oracle idea. I've already pitched the basic character once or twice to other games in the past so I already have an alias that I'll be using - Marigold. I'll probably start posting here as her :)

So it's looking like...

Gov - Paladin
Aer - Rogue
LL - Oracle
Ictoo - Ranger, probably
JZ - Bard or Inquisitor

Seems like a pretty good group forming to me. With either setup it looks as though melee will be covered so I will stick with the Life oracle version since the Ancestor version would've been a little more melee focused. It sounds as though probably at least she and JJ were likely at the orphanage based on how things are shaping up so maybe we can go from there for more connections to each other and the city.

I need to come up with a better name than JJ. That was really just a holding pattern, although having used it for a while it is starting to grow on me. I've fleshed out his family tree a little more as well, and put in some distant connections to other families and places.

Family
Father: Rolard Surabar (quarry owner)
Mother: Hurlira Aslaxin (a very distant cousin of Zachary)
Uncle once removed: Alek Tercival (son of Paulos and Melissa Tercival)
Paternal Grandfather: Criton Surabar (an artisan)
Paternal Grandmother: Lisa of Sasserine
Great Aunt: Melissa (married Paulos Tercival) (daughter of Navaranda Surabar)
PP Great Grandfather: Navaranda Surabar

Alek is a paladin of Abadar, and thus one of the most relevant guardians and protectors of the Church of St. Cuthbert. He is the kind of ruthless mentor, that even being good hearted and truly helping you, tries to get the best of you at every moment. A perfectionist of the faith I would say. The kind of 'parent' you feel the need to impress.

Family decisions and names seem ok.

Ok guys I am going to be largely out of action for the next week because I'm going on a trip, Rutseg I mentioned this in a PM and hope it's OK if my participation in this thread slows down somewhat this week because of it.

I'll spend the time fully fleshing out both of my concepts and maybe a wizard too.

One thing I've forgotten to ask is how are you handling initiative GM? I read about stacking turns but will there be a roll for who acts first or just heroes act and then enemy act?

Nothing better than an example:

Round 1: Lady Ladile, Ictoo, Foes, JamZilla, Aerondor
Bold are active and may post in any order.

--------------- Next GM post -------------------

[Lady Ladile and Ictoo combat actions resolution]

[Foes actions and resolution]

Round 2: JamZilla, Aerondor, Lady Ladile, Ictoo, Foes
Everybody can post.

--------------- Next GM post -------------------

[All combat actions resolution but Aerondor whom not posted an action]

[Foes actions and resolution]

Round 3: JamZilla, Aerondor (x2), Lady Ladile, Ictoo, Foes
Aerondor, as I posted before you gave an action, you can perform your last two rounds with the next post.

I hope this explains better how I usually manage initiative.

Great example, thank you

Asking here to avoid doubling stuff.

So you roll initiative and post it.
Could we then, after combat is announced, perhaps even before initiative, announce and roll for the actions we want to take, perhaps even for several rounds with alternatives?
And maybe even roll eventuel saves in a spoiler?
I was thinking about this after the last PbP i ran, because sometimes you just can´t post or others post faster and things can go very smooth that way.
The main change to your idea is the GM gets to do a bit more "resolution".

You are expected to post only during your turn, that is, while your name is in bold.

That said, if you perfectly know you can post now but will not be able to do it later, you can add an action intention within spoilers. I prefer though to see you posting only on your turn because I resolve actions in posting order rather than initiative order. This helps all players to know what is the tactical situation at the moment they are posting and ensures your actions are not invalidated by a later post.

In summary, only on exceptional cases.

About saves rolling. In the case you know you will have to roll a save in response to your own action (like attacking an enemy under a Sanctuary spell), yes sure, I expect you to go ahead and roll it ;)

Fair enough and your strategy makes a lot of sense too.

Okay JZ, enjoy your trip and looking forward to seeing your character concepts when you're able/when you get back!

Lady Ladile here; this will be the alias I'm using and as luck would have it a lot of the mechanics currently on her profile already fit with Rutseg's creation guidelines I believe (20 point buy, sources used, etc.) There will be some things I'll need to change around since some of her traits and old backstory were meant for Carrion Crown, but it shouldn't take much time to alter them.

I think I'll likely stick with the Community Guardian archetype since it's quite fitting for a Life oracle. I was thinking that her 'community' could be the orphanage and the surrounding neighborhood, at least to start with and could go from there as she gets more invested in the happenings of the campaign.

Considering that halflings are considered to be adults around the same age that humans are (20 or so) and that the filth fever plague happened 7 years prior to the start of the campaign, Marigold would've been right around the beginning of adolescence when she was sent to the orphanage (13 years old or so). So I'll need to do some work on what her life was like before then; I imagine her family might've been craftsmen working for someone or perhaps they'd been lucky enough to have their own small business somewhere in town. I'll mull it over and post more ideas on that a bit later.

Also depending on the general ages of the other children in the orphanage, including other possible PCs, she might have come to be seen as something of a big sister by some of the younger children.

I'd pictured JJ as starting at 16, and probably at least a decade in the orphanage, so predating the filth fever epidemic.

So both of us would have been long termers.

I'd not worked out where he was living now. Maybe in some doss hole, or a room over a workshop.

Are there any abandoned buildings anywhere?

There is no neighbourhood defined as specially abandoned.

That said the city has a considerable slope from the outer place descending to the central lake. The closer to the central lake, the poorest the houses, the smallest the rents.

Gov, here. Thanks for your patience. Very crazy week.

Kikinnin Rouradont, at your service. My friends call me 'Black Shuck', if only for my black hair and doggedness in pursuing my quarry. The Plague had accomplices, damn dirty rats. It's become a bit of an obsession, to tell you true. No place they don't run, so I follow. In your walls, no problems. In your cellars, no worries. Give me permission to spend some time waiting around their rabbit runs, and I'll stick you seven or eight for the dozens they likely are. I know, don't get me started. It doesn't discourage me, only fires my belly.

Fortunately, being good at getting rats has paved the way for me meeting many good folk of Cauldron. Gretchen at the Orphanage, heart of gold, that one. I visit it regularly, because damned if I let a rat think it has the run of the place. Don't even charge her for my work. Doesn't seem right to. Tercival, whoa now. Not sure the man sleeps. Adrick runs hot and cold with me. He seems a little guarded, even for a dwarf, but I hear rumors 'bout his, uh, connections.

Been here years, so I've had to weather the Filth, but I've also enjoyed celebrating the Festivals as well. You spend even a little time walking the streets, you can't help but respect the stoneworking been done around the caldera. Now, the Temple, there you're talking about some fine marble. No way dwarves didn't do that work.

...

Kikinnin has a soft spot for the orphanage, so he frequents it on business. He likely has affiliation with the Church of St. Cuthbert, but skirts the line of staunch orders, preferring his 'beggar' status/grunt work. He wasn't born within the city walls, likely the nearest dwarven establishment outside of Cauldron.

I like it Gov, I like it a lot!

It seems like we shouldn't have too hard of a time linking ourselves together or at least to one other person in the party. Let's see...

JZ's Inquisitor/Cleric Concept - I think it would be interesting if this character knew Kikinnin somehow, perhaps during his time as a paladin in service to St. Cuthbert before he turned to Kord (Gorum)?

Kikinnin - If he's got a soft spot for the orphanage then he'd likely at least know Marigold, JJ and JZ's Tom the Bard in passing.

Marigold/JJ/Anyone else that's an orphan - easy enough; can work out exact relationships once character personalities are a bit more solidified.

Ictoo's Ranger Concept - It'd definitely be hilarious and ironic if JZ's bard had been the one that Ictoo's wife had been fooling around with. Beyond that, I'm not sure.

A real obvious and easy way to tie people together is that depending on how the campaign is supposed to start, all or at least some of the PCs know one of the missing people. A fellow orphan, a family member, a friend, etc.

********************************

Still thinking on Marigold's old life, but there are a couple of options for what her family used to do before they succumbed to the plague. They could have been warehouse workers, which might give her a tentative tie to one of the ones listed in the Player's Guide, or perhaps artisans of some sort; maybe carpenters or glassworkers. The one thing I'm not sure that I see is them being servants or workers for the nobility. If anything, firmly middle or lower class halflings.

Whether Marigold still lives at the orphanage or close by, she'd definitely have some sort of a job to help make ends meet. Probably a job where she doesn't have to interact much with the general public, maybe as a scribe.

Something else that JZ touched on earlier that might have some effect on her background and personality is how the various faiths and general populace view 'oracles' and whether or not there are many others currently living in Cauldron (or any at all).

Busy three days, i have got my ranger all done up just need to get him on here.. still working on some ideas with him

I don't really have a name yet(I always find it hard) But my ranger will be around 30 son has gone missing within the past 7 days, as Rut said i wouldn't know about the large disappearances. (really hurt me as my wife is gone) I'd have a small stall selling arrows/offering some training while not working with the militia.

I like the idea of a rivalry between me and JZ for my wife?(she's dead?) and we've known each other for a while but never really liked each other because of that.

More padding will come but for myself, but i'm really liking how everyone is coming along. I think it would be good for us to at least know of each other.. but i will read over everything again after work and put some stuff together.

There is one resource I like to use when preparing my own characters.

Now that most of you have a clear role in the party and are settling on a background, I think it is a good moment to share for extra inspiration.

I do not ask you to use it, is just an extra resource I am sharing for inspiration. Take the bits that seem useful to you if any.

Ash’s Guide to RPG Personality & Background

Only thing I would perhaps ask from everyone is a Primary motivator.

I am a bit busy today, thus I cannot review everything, thus if you feel you need feedback about any point, please let me know directly on what exactly!

Thanks!

Funny you post the link, because I finally got around to looking at that last night hehe. I'll likely post Marigold's results on her profile after I get some other things taken care of with it first. And speaking of profile I'll likely have first draft of the 'crunch' up sometime today.

@Ictoo - If JZ goes with the rivalry idea (which I'd assume would also be if he decided to go with his bard concept), depending on how nasty you want it to be or not be it could also be that you both just happened to have eyes for the same woman and your character ended up the winner in that little contest. That way there's still a rivalry but it doesn't have to be quite as nasty as it would likely be if cheating had been involved. Might also make for an interesting angle for JZ since it'd be the son of the woman that he loved/loves that is missing.

Ictoo here... just getting stuff setup name is not a 100%

@Rutseg Forgot to say thanks for posting initiative just so we're all on the same page with it. I'll also be looking at the link, I suppose i have my primary motivator with my son but i'll be locking i all down over the next few days.(need to lock down dates and such.)

@All would any of you have spent time with the militia? maybe we were
spent some time patrolling together?

@Lady That's a little more tame, i'd still have a go at him for it(im sure we can play it all up well). You're going with halfling right? Thinking something involving you... but we'll see :)

The Scion of Surabar is really helpful for me on this, as it gives a great backdrop to hang JJ the orphan on.

Personality:(motivator)
JJ knows his parents were killed by Demons. He knows his far back ancestor was a mighty slayer of demons. He wants to make the family name famous again by walking in his famous ancestors footsteps. He wants to slay demons, starting with the one that killed his parents.

At the moment he thinks the best way to do that will be to learn wizardry, like the founder of Cauldron, but countering that is the expense of learning it, and the role model of his uncle Alek.

So - becoming a demon slayer and make his family famous again. Reclaim his family birthright as a respected member of the Cauldron community. Again to do this he thinks that learning wizardry would be a great path to that type of respect.

In the mdeium term he wants to learn all he can about demons and how to destroy them. Whether my magic or martial means - he doesn't mind.

However in the short term, he worried about putting food in his mouth. He is also a sixteen year old boy, and there is this pretty barmaid in the Drunken Morkoth...

Okay, here's the first run of Marigold's altered 'crunch' which actually didn't need to be altered all that much. If anyone has the time, feel free to look it over and let me know if you've got any questions or concerns about anything!

For the time being, I took the original Scarred Soul campaign trait and the magic trait Outcast's Intuition. Even if people are generally accepting of folk with unusual powers like sorcerers and oracles, Marigold tends to be distrustful of people and their motivations until she gets to know them better. I did look at the other community-created traits but none of them seemed especially appropriate. I didn't take the Lantern Street Orphan trait because the benefit it gives actually cancels out the drawback from Scarred Soul which doesn't really make sense to me and also seems like an unintentional loophole.

There's a bunch of stuff under a spoiler thanks to the personality guide that Rutseg linked earlier, but I've yet to finish her actual background or personality sections so I will be working on that over the next few days. One thing I was thinking of is that although there is no official temple to Yondalla (Erastil) in Cauldron, I believe she would have been brought up in that faith which might add another fun layer to things regarding her oracle powers and her relationship to the faith now (and how people of other faiths relate to her).

@Ictoo - Alas, Marigold wouldn't have joined the militia though that does beg the question of where she got what little combat/armor training she has. I'll have to think on that. And yes, going halfling :)

@Aer - It looks like JJ is shaping up to be a great and interesting character! I like how you're already working in a plot/background reason for him to eventually start taking wizard levels, too. Though Marigold would probably think he's absolutely bonkers for wanting to fight demons... ;)

@All - Even though it's on her profile and I think I mentioned it once earlier, I wanted to double-check that you guys would be okay with Marigold taking the clouded vision curse. It gives her darkvision but she's blind past a distance of 30 feet, so it might make some situations and encounters more challenging. Will that be okay?

@Rutseg - I think the main things I would need to ask you about at the moment would be what the general feeling is regarding oracles and such by the general public as well as by the clergy of the various faiths. It doesn't have to be in-depth, just a general idea of whether people would give her grief over it or be more inclined to hound her for 'miracles' or whatnot.

The other thing would be what the true origin of her oracle mystery is. Obviously it's supposed to be a surprise, but I'm not sure if you need any further input from me or not :)

@Marigold- thanks! I'm looking forward to hearing everyone's voices, too! I have no problem with a halfling half-blind. They're easier to wrangle ;)

@Renn- I like the idea of Kikinnin having some experience with the town guard, inside or out, as he's likely wandering in places folks don't necessarily approve, on his hunts. Won't do to constantly get dragged away from work when the town guard get twitchy. I continue to debate...

I haven't had much experience with Background Skills. Do they become Class Skills once selected?

Here's a good primer on Background Skills. Based on what it says, I think a background skill is only a class skill if your class would normally get it as a class skill anyway. Still a good way to flesh out a character without having to hem and haw over skill allocation quite as much though!

And you're welcome! Yes, Marigold probably won't be too hard to wrangle, at least to start with ;)

Marigold/Lady Ladille@ the source of your mystery I have already strongly tied up to the main plot of the campaign. If you made it into the game it will eventually be revealed, but you will need to be very patient about it ^_^

About how oracles are regarded. Well, people does not understand what is such a thing. You feel quite unique and have never met anyone in your situation. You probably consider you more like cursed and hide to everybody else. But if anyone knowns, they probably look at you as cursed. The only existent similar think in Cauldron are sorcerers, which being also rare, are the only ones with a similar 'odd' source of power you might catch as reference (but there are no relevant sorcerers you might know in the city, although you might have heard stories about them).

About the curse, I think it is much less severe than intended and even a plain bonus, as situations are always described to the whole party by the GM in the assumption everybody can see past 30 feet and few GM's will take the time to personalize the narration for a 30 feet visibility character.

That said, I can play with it from time to time, asking you how do you know that ally 60 feet ahead of you has fallen before closing up to heal him to balance the narration lack of penalty. Although having no far line-of-sight for a caster is a strong drawback by itself. Make sure you want to go that way and accept those strong penalties.

I haven't had much experience with Background Skills. Do they become Class Skills once selected?

No. Being class skills or not works as normal. You basically get 2 ranks per level to allocate on skills not often used and more flavourful for your background than others. Additionally it adds two new skills, Artistry and Lore.

Note you cannot chose Knowledge (local) as a background skill because that is an adventuring skill (see table here). But you could chose "Lore (Cauldron history)", "Lore (Rats)", "Lore (Diseases)" or in the case of JJ "Lore (Demons)".
It is basically a mean to give you a mechanic to reflect some special involvement into some very specific niches.

Much obliged, GM Rutseg! Always, always learning something new...

Thanks for the clarifications GM Rutseg! I had kinda figured that would be the case regarding the source of the oracle mystery so that would work fine for me should Marigold end up in the game.

The clarifications on how people would generally see oracles is also quite helpful and would definitely be yet another reason that Marigold tends to be a rather anxious person most of the time.

Regarding the clouded vision curse, it's one of the facets of the character that I'm not strongly married to. I had thought it would be an interesting side-effect to have some sort of physical drawback that might or might not be explained by the filth fever, but I'm also happy to pick a different one if it would make things easier on you and more fair given that, as you said, most descriptions of rooms and such are given without consideration for a character with limited vision. I know a lot of folks tend to go with Haunted or Tongues most of the time; while I don't think Haunted would really be appropriate for this particular character, Tongues could still present a challenge in combat (until/unless everyone wanted to take a rank of Linguistics to learn whatever language she jabbers in I guess) as well as offer some amusing RP opportunities. Deaf is also a possibility and wouldn't really require much consideration on the part of the GM except to remember that she'd auto-fail Perception checks based on sound. Really nasty penalties too; the aforementioned Perception check thing, -4 to initiative to start with, -4 on opposed Perception checks, and a 20% spell failure chance for spells with a verbal component (which is basically all of them). Oof. Will have to think on it I suppose...

Now that almost a week has passed and all of you have a clear concept and a role in the party, and some of you have a near complete character, I have decided to go along and provide some feedback to try help you complete them all and make them more interesting for the campaign.

I have also decided to set a time to have your character complete: Wednesday 20th 23:59 GMT+0. The next day I will make a last review to your characters and perform a final decision for the 7.

Anyway, I have to thank you all for taking the challenge of creating together a party from scratch and building up very interesting characters tied up to a predesigned campaign.

@Marigold
JJ will have a rank in linguistics (for his forgery), so if you wanted to take a tongues curse, he can have learned a language. From my point of view, Celestial would be a nice language to learn, as it ties in with his 'taint of heaven' trait - but I'm pretty open to picking anything. JJ could have picked up Abyssal during his studies of the outer planes.

GM. I am skiing in Bulgaria at the moment and the WiFi is very poor, I keep losing posts. Plus I only have my phone so I am not in a position to type long posts/develop my characters.

I will not be back in the UK until Friday and unable to really look at catching up until the weekend at the earliest.

That said, I would not want to either jeopardise this whole group not being selected because of me or hold up the game so if it is easier I am happy to stand aside.

@Aer - I'll probably either stick with the Clouded Vision curse or go with Tongues, so that's good to know. Although I'm not sure her language would be if I went Tongues just yet, so we shall see ;)

@GM Rutseg - Will do! I've been a little busier this weekend than usual and also have a real life game to go to this evening but I'll try and get started on Marigold's background and those things defined for you either tonight or tomorrow.

JamZilla@ I understand. There is no problem about the statsblock then, it is a very mechanical thing I am sure you will be able to finish once back.

I only ask you to let us know what race do you plan to play. Anything else you can give us will be good received but do not feel pressed to write it down. I have enough on your backstory and motivations and just final details are needed.

The whole thing is I will be on a trip myself during the weekend and would like to make the selection before so you can work out the final 7 during those days and start the campaign during the week.

Just spitballing here but maybe Kiki has offered to the train the orphans in basic self-defense, depending on his age? Another idea is that the town guard has done so in preparation of recruiting some of them once they are old enough? Everyone gets some training and the guard knows who to keep in mind as showing the most promise.

@GM - I was intending to take linguistics anyway for the forgery angle - does that mean I could take it with a background skill rank?

Likewise I was thinking of taking lore(cauldron nobility) but see that knowledge(nobility) is a 'background' skill, and would seem to be more generally useful - so would that be an option for him?

@Marigold- Kiki would have all the fun in the world interacting with the kids of the orphanage. He's got two games for the runts- 'Watch-Yer-Nose', and 'Peg-the-Legger'. The first game involves practicing swatting wooden cups off the bellies of one's fellow orphan with a decently-whittled stick. It carries over when someone wakes up in the middle of the night with a rat anywhere on them. The second game involves Kikinnin dragging his boot by the laces, and having the kids sling courtyard stones at it, to improve their hand-eye. Again, moving target, rat running along the floorboards... winning combination of training masked as childhood games.

@Kiki - Hehe! Marigold would probably have participated, though more to make some of the runts happy than for herself. Normally she'd have said that she's too old for games like that ;)

The more I think about it, I like the town guard or temple idea for where she gained her weapon and armor training. It actually seems quite feasible that the guard as well as some of the temples and perhaps even Bluecrater Academy and the nobility might occasionally pop in at the orphanage to look for potential talent to hire and/or sponsor.

I also think I'll go with the Tongues curse after all. The more I think about it, while the Clouded Vision would be fun to RP I think not having it would be one less thing for Rutseg to worry about as well make having certain connections easier since otherwise most people would be less likely to hire someone that's half-blind and a potential liability.

Let's see, of the options that seem thematic to the area/setting:

1 Abyssal (Once there were demons about)
2 Celestial (Apparently angels too)
3 Infenal (Oh and devils)
4 Ignan (Cauldron is a volcano town)
5 Terran (Cauldron is nestled into the earth of the volcano)

1d5 ⇒ 1

Hoo boy. Nice juxtaposition on the mystery and the curse. This will be fun :3

@Rutseg - One more question. I was actually thinking that instead of being a scribe, Marigold would be a librarian as it ties in to her love of reading and learning. Would it be possible that Bluecrater Academy would hire a non-alumni/studennt to work in their library, or perhaps one of the temples? Although the faith of St. Cuthbert might hew a little more closely to that of Yondalla in several aspects, I believe she'd feel more comfortable at Pelor's temple if Bluecrater Academy isn't an option.

Hi all, the temple/town guard training the orphanage is a great idea, while looking for talent they are also looking to keep those orphaned children of this year from being the convicts they have to deal with next year. While the town guard might be training for them, the clergy could be looking to supplement their own or the devestated trades guilds in the aftermath of Filth Fever.

Charles btw.

@Rutseg

With work taking over all my time in the week i had planned to spend a lot of time on sunday.. then a killer cold hit me spending all day in bed. I will get it done today, writing up what i've had running around in my head since i though him up.

@All So our link could be the town guard/Militia? so we at least know of each other.

@Marigold I think tongues would be a better curse, better in the sense it doesn't mess you over as a caster. Its also very interesting to roleplay.

@Jam Who am i going to lord over knowing i beat you at something when my wife chose me over you.

OK this is the barest of bare bones when it comes to Tom - not his final name - apologies for the formatting of this post, it's hard to do it from phone with poor Internet connection :/

Also, there is a 90% chance he will be human.

Son of nobles who were killed for some reason yet to be decided between me and GM, had to go to orphanage, didn't like that, was conscripted into the militia, really didn't like that (authority issues), so was sent to the academy due to innate magical talent (spontaneous caster) but was not inclined to the learning at all. Trying to get across that he has tried hua hand at a lot of things (Bard = jack-of-all-trades) Only thing he was ever good at was fighting and charming women. Became a confidence trickster, seduces women for money and just gets by rising the levels of Cauldron society with every seduction, looking for that one long con that will help him retire. Came across a woman who seemed a good mark, realised she had a kid (one rule is not to mess with families with kids due to his own background of growing up without parents) so backed off. This was Renn's wife. Later learnt she had taken that kid in a messy break up and the child had now gone missing. Despite being out for number one all his life, felt a pang of guilt (which he would never ever admit) and decided to help look into the disappearances.

@Renn- Yeah, the Town Guard would certainly have been something Kikinnin would have been a part of, if only for a little while. Having an association within the Guard would have also made his ratcatching business easier, should he have run into trespassing issues :)

@Jam Sounds good to me! I like where he's coming from and also that he at least runs by some rules. Renn will appreciate the help, unsure of what you would wish to help him.

@Kikinnin I'm sure i would have heard of a dwarf ratcatcher moving around the city you seem like you would stand out some.

@Rutseg If i were to take Scion of Surabar - How would you want me to treat it. I'm thinking as Renn is nothing special, he was always told it by his mother he was descended from great blood that discovered Cauldron and holds it to be true even if no one really believes him?

I see Renn as a salt of the earth type of guy worked every day of his life. Seen a lot of hardship in Cauldron, but thought he had something when he married his wife and brought a son into this world working even harder to provide for them with his wife being from somewhat middle class upbringing she expects a lot from him (which he can't, so Jam steps in and seduces her that doesn't go well for them.)

Also thinking of being friendly with Beppo fruit seller we would spend a lot of time trying to sell out wears in the market i'd give him a hand for a few silver now and then. Unsure of how the other two 'Friends' (Maavu Arlintal, Tygot Maspis) would fit in with Renn's salt of the earth attitude.

@Renn - I think JJ was looking at taking Scion of Surabar too, though I'm not sure that there's any restrictions on how many people can take the same 'original' campaign trait. Maybe 'ol Surabar got around a bit in his time...which could add for an interesting twist if you and JJ are both his descendants through different mothers :3

@GM - I was intending to take linguistics anyway for the forgery angle - does that mean I could take it with a background skill rank?

Likewise I was thinking of taking lore(cauldron nobility) but see that knowledge(nobility) is a 'background' skill, and would seem to be more generally useful - so would that be an option for him?

Yes, you can use background ranks for those ones.

@Rutseg - One more question. I was actually thinking that instead of being a scribe, Marigold would be a librarian as it ties in to her love of reading and learning. Would it be possible that Bluecrater Academy would hire a non-alumni/studennt to work in their library, or perhaps one of the temples? Although the faith of St. Cuthbert might hew a little more closely to that of Yondalla in several aspects, I believe she'd feel more comfortable at Pelor's temple if Bluecrater Academy isn't an option.

Bluecrater Academy is ok, you will likely be contracted as a librarian there.

@Rutseg If i were to take Scion of Surabar - How would you want me to treat it. I'm thinking as Renn is nothing special, he was always told it by his mother he was descended from great blood that discovered Cauldron and holds it to be true even if no one really believes him?

Perhaps the best way to make that work is to make your character a bastard son of someone in the direct line of the Surabar inheritance.

Thank you Rutseg! I think I've got enough that I can flesh out the outline bumping around in my head now. Crossing my fingers, I should have a background written before the night is over :)

It sounds like everything is coming together.

JJ can have learned Abyssal. Heck, maybe Marigold taught him the language at the orphanage - I like that idea. Likely neither of us realize it is Abyssal and think of it as just a "private" language we can talk in ourselves and Marigold uses when stressed.

And the militia works as a common entry point for everyone as well given Alek has been trying to get JJ to learn to be a bit more of a man with a future rather than a burden on society.

@GM do you want a whole sheet now, or is the sketched out stat block in the profile okay? I was thinking of holding off final choices until we knew final party composition in case there are some areas that need to be filled out.

@Aer - That works! I don't think her curse/powers came into effect right away, but probably have only developed within the last couple of years. Still plenty of time for her to have taught JJ the language without knowing what it is...though I believe I'll have that change very shortly before the campaign starts. Funny what you learn as a librarian...