Indeed, there are quite a few restrictions. I didn't go too far into it since I am playing a ranger, but it seems that a "bad touch" or "debuff" or "subtle buff" caster would all be on the table. I think the general feel of it is summed up as "If it's something really obviously magical and powerful, it probably looks really really evil". Based on that (and these are assumptions, not rules), you could not cast fly (magically flying is too obvious) but you could cast haste (since the effects are subtle). You could not cast lightning bolt (too big and flashy and army-obliterating) but you could cast enervation (it's powerful and flashy but may be appropriately evil enough to be allowed). Of course the more you steer away from subtle and "good" magic, the more you are subject to taint, so if you wanted to go bad touch or debuff you would definitely be playing with those mechanics. Which you may want to make sure your will save is pumped up to handle. Clerics probably fare best in that regard.
Just my 2 coppers anyways, I'm by no means an expert in magic in Xoth and the GM has say in what is and isn't allowed :)
On a slightly pedantic note, Patenemheb does have one whole orison as well. ;)
For new players, a thorough read of the campaign page is a good idea. Not least for any house rules present, particularly on mechanical effects of the various races.
OK I finished digging through things, and I am building up the framework of two potential additions, intended to help fill both frontline and caster roles for group balance. I also have a basic background for each which I will flesh out in more detail once I choose.
One is a cultist of Al-Tawir or The Living Flame.
The other is a Witchdoctor Druid.
Both of them are being built up to be a melee character with casting ability. I have several potential race/culture pairings for each of them but have some questions before I can make a choice. I have asked at least one of these already but I'll put them all together for easy reference for the GM.
Racial bonus feats that have prereqs, like Improved Crit (scimitar)...are the prereqs voided or do we need to meet them first before the feat becomes active?
Nomadic: If I wanted to just pick an extra feat instead of having the wild card one that was picked each morning would that be allowed?
Cult of Al-Tawir: How is the gouged out eyes taken care of in game? Like an Oracle's clouded vision curse, like true blindness, or as just fluff?
Cult of The Living Flame: How do we get around the fact that most of the cult spells and secrets in the Player's Guide seem to contradict the ban on artillery spells?
Ikuna: How much difficulty would there be in the current setting to be from a cannibal tribe?
Lamuran: Eyes of the Cat is a bonus feat but I can't find it anywhere in the references, campaign tab, or online.
I have an backstory idea and character concept for a Nomadic Khazrajite Cultist of Al-Tawir that I thought would fit in well, but would really need some GM love on it. A melee cultist needs to balance STR/CON/CHA pretty carefully and that racial combination just gives a bonus to DEX. Additionally, the cult has me use CHA for AC instead of DEX making the ability score even less useful. If there was some kind of workaround for that it would be great, but no worries if not.
I can just default to a Savage Shoma Witchdoctor if none of these are easily figured out, but I has some ideas I thought might be more fun depending on the answers to the above.
I can answer the nomadic question, since I am one:
You can just assign the same feat every morning, which essentially gives you a free bonus feat. I did that for all of level 4, although I will be using it a bit more flexibly at this level now. It's actually a really nice ability because it allows you to pick up feats at otherwise awkward times; for example, I picked up boon companion with it at level 4 so my animal companion was never weak.
These following are opinions, not official responses:
Cult of Al-Tawir: I would suspect you're actually blinded. Not impossible to play, but this may be more challenge than fun. Perhaps I'm wrong though.
Ikuna: From what I've gleamed, very difficult. Probably attacked on sight in any civilized area. Again, just my take and perhaps I'm wrong.
IIRC, Ikuna in civilised areas generally pretend to be members of other peoples so they draw less attention.
OK instead of waiting for answers I just keep jotting down notes, so I actually have a character concept (assuming we can work out the eyes thing)
The Susrahnite family Narseh had once been one of the most influential in Belthaar, but over the years had grown too large as the city began to decline. They continued to utilize their name and reputation to maintain their position, but the tangible resources of the family had dwindled over the generations. Asate was the youngest of the new generation of three sons and two daughters, and by the time she began to mature the family was barely able to maintain their facade of wealth.
Her father sent her to the temple of Belet-Lil, hoping that she would be accepted as a sacred prostitute and be accepted into the cult. This would have the double effect of relieving the family of the burden of raising her as well as increasing their influence through the familial connection to the temple. There was one problem however. Asate was deathly afraid of magic, even the sacred healing of Belet-Lil.
When she refused to petition as a member, her father was irate. Needing to have her removed to save both face and money, he planned to take the family on a trip to the east, knowing that he would be able to return home playing the part of a bereaved father whose beloved daughter had been captured and taken from him by Taraamite slavers, when he actually planned to sell her himself.
Asate's older sister became aware of the plan and warned her, not wishing her to be sold to a Taraamite seraglio at such a tender age. Asate, not knowing what to do, ran away from home. Being a cloistered daughter of a declining family, she had no concept of geography or the outside world, but the stories she had heard of Taraam made her realize that she must flee to the west.
She stole as much as she could from her father before leaving, and managed to make her way safely through the Kharjah pass relying on what little funds she had and the rare kindness of other traveling families, until she found herself in the steppes of Khazistan. From there she headed south until she ran out of funds and friendly faces and was alone at the edge of the desert with nothing but a few meager possessions. Thinking that this was the end, she headed into the desert, desiring to die alone of in the wastes than to be enslaved or worse.
Wandering southward, she found internal strength that she did not realize existed, and every time she was at death's door she managed to discover sustenance to keep her going, shelter from sandstorms, and ways to hide from the nomads of the desert. When she was finally at the end of her newfound reserves, she collapsed in the sand and awaited the end.
Unbeknownst to her, several cultists of Al-Tawir, the Sleeper Beneath the Sands, had been watching her progress for days, surprised at the tenacity, strength, and seeming affinity for the desert shown by this young foreign woman. They retrieved her unconscious form and took her to their desert temple to revive her, and allowed her to stay and learn from them. After years of learning the ways of the desert and Al-Tawir, she was allowed to become an initiate and after her test she amazed the cultists even more as she took to their faith and magic as if it was innate to her. After some time, she headed towards Zul-Bazzir, looking to teach her newfound skills, find her place in the world, and recruit followers like herself who were alone and desperate; who needed to find a new family among the adherents of the Ancient One.
And so we have Asate the Found, Decadent Susrahnite Cultist of Al-Tawir.
I'm thinking Level 0 skills of Perception, Bluff, Stealth, and Survival due to her flight and journey. The rest of the crunch starting from level 1 is being built now.
Appearance wise she would be attractive, but not striking. She would show some lingering effects of her journey (scars, weathered skin, etc) but due to her decadent upbringing and pampered youth she would have an underlying beauty that would still show from underneath. Actual hair/eyes/features still pending.
Personality wise she would be relatively quiet and maybe seem aloof since she was so used to being completely alone that she doesn't always know what to say or do in groups, but when she does speak up or connect with someone she has a lot of confidence, is generally friendly, and has a natural strength of presence. She is not immediately trusting, but does have faith that there are good people in the world. If there weren't, she never would have survived to this point.
Mechanically I plan to build her with at least decent melee skills so that when she isn't magicking she will be next to Bjoern helping out on the front line.
Her crunch is mostly done as well. I still need to do her spell selection and buy gear, but the rest is done.
Asate the Found -
While I find your character concept to be fairly interesting, I feel that in many ways you are almost identical to one of our existing characters, Tairin. Being that part of what I'm looking for involves a bit of variety for the current party, my concern is that you seem so close in backstory to one of our current players that it doesn't seem to be offering the players something different; can you expand a bit more on those differences a bit?
Also, regarding your character; given that you discussed being a "Front-Line Fighter" type - can you show me more about that variable considering that our current front-line fighter, Bjeorn, already has a Strength of 22 and is a pretty tough character; having someone standing toe-to-toe with him means having someone who can typically deal out/absorb that kind of punishment and I'd like to learn a bit more about the variable involving how your character operates on the front line in general as it will seriously effect how I do CR.
Finally; regarding casting for higher level spells - have you seen the rules for "Taint of Darkness" via magic? It's a variable used for most spells and it's a bit complicated/dark when it comes to higher level casters are effected by magic.
That said; I'm looking forward to reading the things which make your character feel a bit more unique in flavor to what we have, as well as your staying-power for front-line fighting :)
GM Dain,
I am completely open to any requests or suggestions from yourself and/or current players but here's my thoughts on your questions at this point:
1) After reading your post I reread Tairin's backstory (at least what is in her profile) and I don't see them as anywhere near identical, other than the fact that they both originate in a large upper class family. Asate has had no interaction with her family since her early teens when her father was going to sell her off, and lacks any of the education or social refinement of Tairin.
Additionally, at this point (almost 20 years later) the majority of her life has been spend in her solo journey where she had to learn to rely completely on herself followed by over a decade with the cult in the desert before she was initiated as a full member. I could expand more on that portion, but I wanted to leave it more open as I usually get to know my characters better once I'm playing them and wanted to leave room for her to grow organically. If you'd prefer, I can focus more on that part in the write-up.
2) In terms of combat role, it was mentioned that there was only one melee in the group, who has to take most of the punishment. Asate, as a cultist instead of a pure melee character, is not a basher like Bjeorn is. She does fight in the front line with a combination of spell debuff/damage and self-buff.
As an example, the spells I was looking at for lvl4 are Divine Favor and Bull's Strength (to give her +4 strength and +1 atk/dam when needed) as well as Forbid Action and Touch of Blindness for enemy debuffing in combat and also out of combat RP utility. This gives her the option of doing short range damage with her Cult Secret, debuffing enemies for battlefield control, or just self buffing and smashing things with her mace. She doesn't hit as hard as Bjeorn but provides a lot more versatility.
Side note: I was confused as to whether I got the +2 to any stat from the basic human AND the +2 to CHA from decadent, so when I originally built her she was a 16 strength unbuffed and an 18 charisma. After searching through the posts and realizing that she only got the CHA, I removed the +2 to STR. For what I'm thinking, I need to change her stats. She should be a 16 STR and a 16 CHA. That gives her a 20 STR when using Bull's Strength which is a lot nicer for the melee aspect. I'll change that.
I also picked my traits and one of my feats (Endurance) more based on backstory than mechanics, as I'm a bit of a roleplayer. If you're concerned about melee viability I have no issue taking another look at them.
3) Finally, I did read through the taint of darkness rules. I read it as applying to only stronger and more "black" magic as opposed to being applied to any casting. Knowing you use it for most spells does change the dynamic a bit, especially as I focused on STR for melee and CHA for casting and my WIS is only 11. Is it for spells only or would it apply to the Cult Secret SU abilities as well?
Finally, I am still wondering about the cult initiation which states that Asate would have "gouged her eyes out". Knowing how you will handle that will potentially make or break this entire character concept.
I have reflavored Asate's backstory to focus more on her journey, the desert, and her time with the cult in order to highlight her more unique experiences. I've also fleshed out her appearance and personality more, purchased "starting" equipment, fixed her ability scores and redone all the resulting bonuses from that change.
I'm not 100% on her spell choice, her traits, one of her feats, and still have a lot of money to spend (3k is a LOT when you aren't buying magic items)
I'm sure she'll end up with more MWK gear, and I'll probably convert a lot of her remaining cash to jewelry so it's easier to handle. Alternatively I might go with some of the training costs to increase saves or something.
All of these changes are in her profile. If I haven't addressed GM Dain's concerns sufficiently, or if any of the current players have questions or suggestions, please let me know.
(oh and in case you didn't notice, while redoing her backstory I realized that she considers herself more "reborn" than "found" so her self-given title changed. She isn't formal though, you can just call her Asate)
Asate: In relation to Detect Magic, the GM's house rule is that the spell becomes a bonus Level 1 spell (taking up a bonus spell slot and doesn't eat into your spell allotments per class) and can be cast 3 times +your spellcaster's main stat modifier (CHA in your case? +3) for a total of 6 times a day for your girl.
In relation to the rituals performed to become a cultist, the GM did say from the get go that a cultist character would have to perform the necessary rites, so your character would be blind/sightless after gauging their own eyes out. Perhaps she can wear a scarf over her eye holes/sockets, adding to her mystery/strangeness. If she's a fighter type, perhaps she has honed her other senses to aid her in battle to compensate the lack of sight. I'm certain once Dain GM is back on the boards, you can discuss this quandary if you still wish to pursue Al-Tawir.
I remembered seeing something about Detect Magic but couldn't remember what it was. Thank you for that.
In terms of the blindness, the only reason I hope that we can work out some kind of an agreement is that if you look at all of the cults, it is the only one that has a negative effect at all (and it's QUITE negative). All of the others are just RP events with no penalty.
GM - could I propose the result of this initiation being the same as the existing Clouded Vision oracle curse (or a modification thereof)? That restricts vision to 30' but you can see as if you had darkvision. At 5th level, this distance increases to 60 feet. At 10th level, you gain blindsense out to a range of 30 feet. At 15th level, you gain blindsight out to a range of 15 feet.
Being that Al-Tawir seems to be akin to the Great Old Ones from the Dark Tapestry, to look upon him could make one insane (his true form forbidden to his acolytes eyes); so the extreme penalty to sight makes a lot of sense and the severity of the rite.
I don't believe the other cults are a walk in the park - The Nameless God of Zadj makes their acolytes walk into fire and have their skin burned to a crisp. I'm certain dexterity would then be affected by such a thing as all the scarring on the body would make it hard to be flexible and such (not to mention diplomacy via the look of the character). The Wise One has their acolyte's head firmly crushed under the foot of a elephant. I'm certain this would affect balance, hearing, mental acuity, the deformity causing penalty to diplomacy and so forth. For the magical "gifts" the cultists receive, there must be a balance in what they are giving up (via the rites) for the power.
I agree there should be a balance, but I find it odd that with so much detail in other areas the author gave no guidance as to how to work with the initiations, other than saying that it replaces the Oracle's curse mechanic. That's why I was thinking using an appropriately themed curse from the Oracle would be a good way of working with it (like clouded vision for Al-Tawir or Blackened for Zadj. I have no idea which one would be appropriate for Belet-Lil or some of the others though.)
In any case we seem to be heading straight into an area of GM ruling, so I'll just wait to see what Dain GM has to say.
Did you have any other ideas or suggestions for Asate? I'm very into the character at this point but I'm sure there's room for tweaking on the character sheet itself in ways that would make her better fit in with the current group.
I agree there should be a balance, but I find it odd that with so much detail in other areas the author gave no guidance as to how to work with the initiations, other than saying that it replaces the Oracle's curse mechanic. That's why I was thinking using an appropriately themed curse from the Oracle would be a good way of working with it (like clouded vision for Al-Tawir or Blackened for Zadj. I have no idea which one would be appropriate for Belet-Lil or some of the others though.)
In any case we seem to be heading straight into an area of GM ruling, so I'll just wait to see what Dain GM has to say.
Did you have any other ideas or suggestions for Asate? I'm very into the character at this point but I'm sure there's room for tweaking on the character sheet itself in ways that would make her better fit in with the current group.
Well, right now my main concern is the mechanic for how magic works in general for the group.
Currently there are dozens of notes and asides with rules in the game for how magic is "supposed" to work in the game; noting, that certainly spells are to be restricted/denied, for example, in one book as they're considered "Artillery" spells - but then seeing them in other books as skills that certain individuals possess.
These contradictions makes it challenging for me to do the things that I need to do as it doesn't come out directly and say - "These are formally the spells that are allowed" as opposed to what it does say, which is - "These are a list of spells that really shouldn't be in there" and then seems to contradict those spells later.
In any case, in Asante we see a mysterious, scarred and blind individual who has power of the arcane at her use. The closest person in movies/TV I know that has those features, in my opinion, is the Priest/Oracle in the show Vikings. This was a blind, scarred man who commanded fear and respect with those who came to him for help.If you haven't seen who I mean, here's a clip: - Clip -.
All of that said about this character is; what will those arcane powers be?
Your idea seems interesting, but I am somewhat concerned about a character who is blind; given the strength of our current front-line fighter I have typically elected to use enemies that rely on things like elevated positions, ranged weapons, poisons, and stealth to cause to damage to the party.
Most of your Defense will be negated when an enemy is at a distance which prevents you from being able to see them; you'll be flat-footed to their threats, essentially.
Also, open casters are generally feared/distrusted and typically targets for killing. Minor powers such as cantrips and hidden spells used with Bluff or Stealth to disguise the means that they are used. Finally, learning new spells is often challenging as Casters don't simply gain spells through leveling as typical casters do in the game. Instead, gaining new spells requires a mentor or some place to properly study, with days of "in-game" research involving spellbooks which would first have to be found. So, while you might be able to start the game with spells in your repertoire, gaining new spells would be very challenging.
Finally, there is the matter of "Taint" in general, specifically in regarding the spells in question. For example "Harm" spells are ones which I would assume to be drawing the life force from another and should be very much considered ones which fall under the category of dark magic. Also, what Cosmic Being grants such power; a demon, a dark creature from another realm, perhaps? Surely not something benign; but I do not know how that is meant to be played.
Given that you are interested in playing the Cultist please give me some time to consider options on how to develop them properly as I have been very busy lately and somewhat ill.
I should have some further ideas on the matter up soon, and I apologize for the delay.
Have a good day and I'll talk to you soon!
Interested. I'm thinking of a battle-field control combatant, focused more on disarm/trip than damage. See how much of the beatings can be prevented as opposed to endured.
Been reading the material, not the thread, yet.
Need to try to finish envisioning a character before I start mechanics. Those are the easy part.
Worried that my life restricts me to one post many days. I don't get up early enough to post before work, can't from work, and am actively involved with the Boy Scouts, which can consume an awful lot of evening time.
For now, bedtime, though. I will try to find a personality to build around.
Interesting concept. For me, when I'm not sure how to proceed with a character, I often study things on movies/TV for inspiration.
You're interested in playing a character who is using Stealth/Dexterity and is still a front-line fighter I am reminded very much of Oberyn Martell from Game of Thrones. Here's a clip - Clip -
Is that the sort of person you'd like to play, or do you have something else more in mind?
Please let me know and I'm curious to know more.
I'll talk to you again soon!
Just remembered the is free from xoth.net...
So I can get a clearer idea, where/what is the current party up to? I've checked the current characters and get the feeling a Khoran might fit in better than say an Ikuna or Mazanian in terms of making a verisimiltudinous reason for why they might be where the characters are... I do have nascent ideas for all three of those races...
Khoran is certainly more respected/tolerated then the others mentioned.
I haven't seen any follow-up ideas, but I'm hoping to, soon. Do you have any other further questions on the matter?
@Dain GM: Given you have two other interested parties I'll bow out.
So I can get a clearer idea, where/what is the current party up to? I've checked the current characters and get the feeling a Khoran might fit in better than say an Ikuna or Mazanian in terms of making a verisimiltudinous reason for why they might be where the characters are... I do have nascent ideas for all three of those races...
We discussed Ikuna and Mazanian at the start of the game and felt as a race with their idiosyncrasies that they would be harder to play/sell in this game. I think a Khoran sounds interesting as I'd be eager to read why a sea-reaver has travelled inland into Zul-Bazzir. The island of Khora is situated nicely near the coastlines of Susrah and Khazistan to be plausible. I look forward to reading what character you're thinking of building. :)
@Dain GM: Given you have two other interested parties I'll bow out.
I'm sorry to hear it, I was looking forward to seeing what kind of character you were thinking of building. Thanks for your initial interest.
As you think about the cultist class, do you mind if I throw in some of how I viewed it? You mention the arcane in your post, but from my reading of what materials I have found that is more the area of the witch. The cultist would be the divine side of what magic exists in this universe.
To fit that, I was planning on using Asate more as a buffer/debuffer and seer than a more overt caster type. She would covertly pray to her god for strength or to weaken/confuse their enemies, or perform small rituals during RP situations for effects like augury or scrying or such. Perhaps at times she would just be struck with some kind of "inspiration" to flavor a spell.
I wasn't planning on having her use direct damage spells or huge flashy effects (which is where I pictured the taint mechanic coming in. Don't forget the class gets to pick either cure spells OR harm spells. In the profile I left them both in as an option until I found out how you were going to work with healing in a low magic world)
Outside of these "tweaks" to the world through her god she would be more of a traditional melee support, aiding in combat but not being the main damage dealer. I went with Al-Tawir partially out of a preference for the cult secrets but more just because I liked the flavor of finding her calling in the wasteland and a cultist coming out of the desert to civilization.
As it seems that the initiation will result in true blindness as per your comments, it seems that Al-Tawir will not be viable for a cultist who also wishes to participate in combat, so while you are considering options I will be taking a look at the other cults to see if I can find one with secrets and flavor that I could use to better create the character I was envisioning.
Hopefully knowing my thoughts on how I wanted to play the character will help you come up with options or ideas.
Take your time, I'm sorry you haven't been doing well and I hope you feel better soon.
As you think about the cultist class, do you mind if I throw in some of how I viewed it? You mention the arcane in your post, but from my reading of what materials I have found that is more the area of the witch. The cultist would be the divine side of what magic exists in this universe.
Sword and sorcery stories rarely distinguish between the magic used by sorcerers and wizards, and that employed by priests. There is seldom any evidence that divine beings exist at all; most spellcasting priests are simply magicians who use religions and cults to gain personal power, wealth, and loyal servants.
The distinction in the core rules between arcane and divine magic should therefore be dropped; simply consider all magic to be of the arcane variety.
Thus, why Dain GM referred to the magic as arcane. It's how the GM has handled magic since the very beginning of the game, so it would be good if you would keep this in mind with your character. The cultists are arcane casters like anyone else of the mystical or magical bent in this game. Thanks kindly.
Thus, why Dain GM referred to the magic as arcane. It's how the GM has handled magic since the very beginning of the game, so it would be good if you would keep this in mind with your character. The cultists are arcane casters like anyone else of the mystical or magical bent in this game. Thanks kindly.
I apologize. I've read through the player's guide and the campaign tab as well as some of the blog posts from the author but I hadn't seen that reference that you quoted. Please don't forget I'm new to this system so I'm not aware of all of the intricacies.
I'm not intending to cause discord with all my questions and misunderstandings.
I have no problem at all adapting for a new game world, just have a bit of a learning curve here it seems, and I'm trying to figure out all the details.
EDIT: Tried to find the resource you were quoting in order to do more reading up on the guidelines and the did find some stuff. The stuff I found also states "See the Cults, Gods & Demons chapter for more information on religion and the nature of the gods." Is this material from one of the other books from Xoth publishing? If so I might search it out but want to make sure before I make any purchases.
Apologies if it seems like a lot to handle. Perhaps I should have placed more emphasis than I already did on the challenge of playing a caster in this setting.
Dain GM, it seems you and Asate have a lot of details to go over if she is to follow through with this caster build. Perhaps hopping onto our discord for a quick conversation may be helpful? The magic rules are convoluted at best, but she does seem very interesting in taking on the challenge.
Quick update. Although I was a pretty big fan of the concept of Al-Tawir, I think I may have found something better to meet my intention. Jul-Juggah fits my goal of being a secondary melee who can also provide some buffs and extras (the spells and secrets are better for a kind of "warpriest" character that I thought would fit into the existing group).
On the other hand, reading the guide, that cult involves human sacrifice and has a powerful position in Azimba. Sacrifice is a bit too dark and one can only assume a member of a nation-ruling cult would be pretty aloof to non members. This would combine to make it very hard for a new character to be able to quickly merge with and bond with a group without having trust issues. I could of course have her be an exiled or former cult member who would have the features but not be attached to the existing cult. This could alleviate the trust problems but then learning new "spells" as I level would be difficult since I couldn't just take some time studying with a priest.
Basically the issue I'm looking at is this. I want to be able to provide the group with someone who is versatile; someone able to provide melee support to Bjoern but also be able to do buffs and divination of a form, as I think this would both be very fun to play and also provide something the group doesn't currently have. If this involves drastically modifying Asate or even scrapping her for a new build I'm perfectly good with that.
I look forward to hearing back from Dain GM when he is able. If this seems like it's too difficult a thing to pull off in this game world then that's ok too, just let me know so I can either withdraw or work out something completely different.
Dain GM, it seems you and Asate have a lot of details to go over if she is to follow through with this caster build. Perhaps hopping onto our discord for a quick conversation may be helpful? The magic rules are convoluted at best, but she does seem very interesting in taking on the challenge.
This would be great. Being able to figure out the intricacies on Discord or some similar medium instead of cluttering up a recruitment thread would be quite nice. I work from home this week so I'm available at most times and can work around anyone else's schedule.
@hustonj: The party already has a bard/spy combo in Tairin so we aren’t looking to fill those roles/skill set. Just so you’re aware when building your character.
@hustonj: We are looking for a specific role to be filled to complement the existing party. I simply advised that it would be suitable/advisable not to have another similar class represented because it would not be an effective use of time or energy for existing players and new players coming into the game.
Hmm, well, at this point I think I should have probably been a bit more clear about what I’m actually looking for via how roles can be filled.
My primary focus is how people’s characters/backstories allow them to interact well together as a team. I could focus on what classes we have and what we need covered, but ultimately that’s not as important to me right now as in a game like this we could always use another good sword.
Currently we have two players who were here from the core; our diplomancer, Tairin, and her bodyguard Bjeorn.
Tairin knows some magic but is skilled at diplomacy whereas Bjeorn is a very direct fighter, using almost no battle tactics and preferring the direct approach.
They are very different character concepts, but their backstories allowed them to work together very well as a team, which is something that I think that is important.
Later they were joined with Paten; he also has skills in diplomacy, though he’s more focused on healing. Tairin and Bjeorn met him at Kharjah Pass as they were fleeing Susrah and he joined with them.
Paten speaks less than Tairin when it comes to diplomacy; however, he is very good at healing. With that in mind the company developed a friendship based on mutual respect and that went well and they have worked well together. Bjeorn doesn’t seem to interact much with Paten at all, but as Tairin is comfortable with Paten then Bjeorn doesn’t seem to mind and continues to travel looking for adventure and protecting his charge.
The party then met Talar in the deserts of Khazistan near to the Yirlat oasis.
Talar is a rider and a ranger, good with a bow from his mount. He joined with the party as more of a sell-sword looking for comrades in the wilderness and the chance to earn some coin. However, his chief focus is to find his lost sister who was taken him from recently – this is why he was in the wilderness and the companions said that they would help him on this quest once they arrived at the city and got the lay of the land.
When the party arrived at the city of Zul-Bazzir they traveled with their former employer and his supposed daughter. They discovered that this employer was a priest of a dark cult out of Lamu, his “daughter” was a temple virgin he kidnapped to sell to a powerful noble in Zul-Bazzir to cement his power here; and his contact was a sorcerer who owned a house in the city.
They entered the house, found that the “temple virgin” was also deceiving them, had become a priestess in secret within the cult and that she had actually performed rites which had impregnated her with the spawn of the dark demon/god of Lamu; the party learned that after she killed her “adopted father” and tried to kill her companions.
After the party dealt with that menace they had no more employer, so they took over the property and made it their own and then did what they could to get to know the city they were in.
This takes us to now and where the complications come in for players –
--
I need new players who are interested in joining the game to focus more on how their PC would get along with the group. This is because the plots that are built in to the game are based on the fact that the party will join together and deal with those plots/stories.
Right now one issue I’m having as a GM is that one of my players, Talar, is playing his character (which I have no problem with); but his character is so fixated on finding his sister that I had to create a separate plot on my own to deal with that. As the pay-offs for such a plot are meant to be high, the journey to achieve them is meant to be filled with many challenges.
However, this had the frustrating side issue of me having to basically run two separate games as the company was attempting to achieve two different goals. I didn’t mind at first, but it was challenging.
Dealing with some investigations in the city and some back-alley brawls was no problem; but it didn't reveal results, at least, not yet. However, Talar’s character became so upset at his lack of success from an in-game level that he insulted a High Priestess in her temple before her people, smashed a valuable piece of artwork as he stormed out in rage; then he led his horse through the crowded streets until he came to a gate and rode north for about an hour to cool his head.
This is what his character would do, I can understand that, however it creates some situations.
First; this means that the other players have to fix this problem created by Talar's character. Basically, they have to convince a High Priestess to forgive their companion (who they only met a short time ago); pay for the damages he caused and then try to figure out where he went.
Unfortunately, the party is not inclined to go through so much trouble as they only met him a short while ago in game. I can't really fault them for that; after all, it's what their characters would do when confronted with that.
Of course, out of game, I personally find it increasingly stressful to reconcile the fact that one of my players would elect to leave the party and did what I could to get him to return, but he hasn't yet returned to his companions (though he is on his way) but even when he does come back, will their characters want him back?
Meanwhile, assuming he does return to the company my next issue is to figure out how he would return to them with any goodwill from his companions. That is; why should they want him to return to them?
His motivations were understandable to me (he was upset and lost his temper after no luck and fear for his sister) but how would the other players react to that?
I would assume that to them Talar has behave erratically and weakened their chances at increasing their good standing with the community – and while his actions can be remedied; the question from an In-Game perspective is - if he is truly a wandering ranger they took in for a short time to help them why keep him around if he caused any trouble?
They are not related; there is no oath or bond of blood between them; they have no contracts or plans with him formally, he’s simply a wandering ranger who is seeking his sister that they met before he rode off. They worked together for a shot while, but why should their characters take him back?
So from an out-of-game issue this has become very frustrating/stressful for me; I have no idea how it will turn out, and I don't know how to make it work, short of forcing it to work, and I don't want to do that.
I’m hoping on his return to the party that these concerns can be fixed and solved amicably without issue, but the fact remains; there is now tension within the company and I’d like it to get settled quickly, though if everyone focuses on how their characters should act and with no concern for the plot/story then I don't realistically see the plot developing, at least, not yet...
More out of game issues -
Right now I’m using a source book that is very confusing. It is a rather old source book, and back then they did wonderful descriptions on things with text, but they made no maps, so I have to make those on my own. Further, they created a series of rules which seem to stand at odds with other rules.
For example; Detect Magic is a spell that isn’t supposed to exist as magic is supposed to be extremely rare. However, I have read multiple situations in the book which suggest that certain items or locations have magical auras which can be studied if the players use “Detect Magic”. How can this be and how can this work?
The book doesn't explain that and I am extremely confused by it and the whole thing makes no sense to me to the point in which I eventually changed the rule and allowed “Detect Magic” to be used as a spell.
Further, the world is supposed to have a very real/gritty feel to it. There are only humans as playable PC’s, and monsters are generally limited to other humans, occasional undead, giants, animals (some dire/larger than normal), and some vague creatures of darkness that can be summoned with mysterious rituals (all of which made me think of Game of Thrones).
Yet the book is also laced with issues such as wandering Monsters, including thing from the core D&D books, such as antlions, bugbears, and other strange creatures that don’t make sense in this setting but are literally in the campaign settings (I had to change those things).
Spells are the most confusing; I read pages of how NOT to play a caster, which spells are not meant to be in the game, and then read certain Cults and note that their own “Class Spells” often include spells that had been judged “banned” in a previous chapter.
This makes most casting very hard, and most casters very challenging, as the book itself causes confusion. I can include them if you’re suggesting them, but it is really tricky to figure out how to do it well considering how the book is written and will likely take me time.
What I’m looking for specifically –
I’m looking for a player who, when he meets two people from Yar-Ammon, both of them having noble blood, will be courteous and respectful in their presence; a player who, when he meets a huge, barbarian northman, will be able to interact well with him so he doesn’t cause a bloodbath and a player who, when he meets a wild ranger that happens to be traveling with these three will be able to work well with the company.
So when you build your character’s backstory I’m not so much interested in feats, spells, powers, classes as much as I am interested in how your character will be a good member of the team as a whole.
To clarify - I don’t want to step on anyone’s toes via how to play their character, but certain realities need to be remembered; we can’t have a game if the players go in different directions (it can happen on occasion, yes, but it’s too much for me to run/handle as GM if it happens frequently).
When you make your character submission you know who the other players are at this point via this post. In your posts (including your backstory) please include how/why your character would ride with these players, and – more importantly – why these players would react positively to inviting your character joining the company.
Right now I don’t want to merely shoe-horn a character into the middle of the group; if your character arrived and was some dark, mysterious pygmy with a grim and foul temper (for example) then I would have to ask why would you think that two nobles and barbarian, as well as a desert ranger, would want you to travel in the party?
In short, if this was a job application your main selling point is convincing the other players that you are a good addition to the group and explain to each why their character would be excited to have you play. We have a bard/spy who can cast some magic, a scholar/healer who has a large set of knowledge skills; a barbarian/fighter who is good at melee combat and ranger/fighter good at ranged combat.
In a low magic world our bases regarding magic are pretty covered; I think what we're looking for to fill out the group could be a lot of things, though an additional front-line fighter wouldn't be bad, but in my opinion the main thing we need is someone who can get the other players excited to welcome you because of who you are as a character.
Okay, sorry for the lengthy post; that’s my chief issue here, I guess. Once we have that figured out, we can go from there.
(Asate here. I won't be using her profile for now as after Dain GM's post I don't want to lock her in that name with 10 posts in case I'm changing it drastically)
After reading that post, I'm even more interested in joining this game. I really enjoy high RP groups and it seems as though this game is highly involved in character interaction and RP as much as, if not more than, any other aspect of the game.
I am going to take today and try to come up with a good fit for this group. I think my original bare bones idea would work well with the group, as I wanted to provide some additional melee capabilities but also have the addition of some kind of divination which can help with things like finding family members or getting clues that NPC identities or intentions are not what they seem to be (to mention specific challenges that the party has or recently had)
I also better understand the challenges from the GM side involving magic, and IF I do stick with the cultist I will try to build it so it's using more self-buffs and small divination "spells" so that they can be flavored as internal power/strength of will and not flashy displays.
I will start with working up a new backstory, basic mechanical concept, and personality that will hopefully be desirable and work with the group. All the crunch can be done afterwards, as it seems that is of lesser importance at this point.
OK I now have the barebones concept. It's a pretty long wall of text please bear with me.
Basic concept is this: A person (unsure of gender so far) who is comfortable in and proficient with urban situations who is on the run from something (unsure what yet). They are not attached to any specific community but are currently in Zul-Bazzir. They are looking for a way to blend into the city to hide and the best way to do so is to find a group that they can join forces with as the people looking for them are looking for a lone stranger to the city. (Nation of origin might change based on feedback. They might be local to Khazistan or they might be from elsewhere)
How to introduce them to the group would be developed with GM approval, but I'm thinking maybe an acquaintance of one of your hirelings who then introduces us. They would present themselves as a style of hireling themselves, but one who did not want pay. The association with and connection to the group would be all they wanted to avoid the ppl looking for them. (of course they would want to share in future loot/profits once they were involved, but no need for a wage) The "someone is looking for them" portion of the backstory is very easily either just fluff that is dropped once they are in a group and safe, or is potentially a hook for future plots, but once they have joined up their goal is complete so there's no need for any additional complications to the existing story.
Being relatively well traveled and used to urban situations, they would have come into contact with a wide variety of people and would both know how to respect nobility and get along with more "common" folk. They would be friendly and generally helpful, having learned that working with people is the only way to stay alive in this world, but not a pushover who could be taken advantage of. They are tired of running solo and would be very happy to stay with a group on a more permanent basis if given the opportunity.
It is mechanically a Ranger, but built and played very differently from your existing ranger so it will not at all be a duplicate of Talar. I was looking at a Spirit Ranger with urban as their favored terrain. That would provide additional benefits in the city for the group that they might not have, and the spirit archetype gives me a 1/day augury and a 1/day cast any ranger spell without preparing it, which allows me the little bit of divination/augmentation flair I wanted without going into cultist and bringing a lot of magic to the table. It also removes the companion.
They are primarily a melee fighter as opposed to Talar's ranged. I would build them in one of several ways depending on what was preferred, and I feel like any of these would be a valuable addition to the existing roles:
- A switch hitter who used a bow until enemies closed and then swapped to 2H
- A primarily 2H fighter with lots of basic "smash em" and cleave abilities (perhaps too similar to Bjeorn)
- A primarily 2H fighter with a lot of feint/misdirection abilities
- A primarily 2H fighter using a lot of dirty trick maneuvers
Any of those is very doable depending on which combat style I pick.
Please provide me with any feedback or thoughts. I tried to take into account everything in Dain GM's post above but might have missed something. Depending on responses I will start working on building an actual character.
I've got a crazy idea to throw out there: What if you are Talar's sister? Your framework is vague enough that it could certainly fit into a young woman running away from slavers, and what you've defined of this character thus far is in line with who she is. Just a crazy pitch, but it could certainly tie you into the existing party quickly.
I had that thought, but wasn't 100% sure as to whether to suggest it. That's why I left gender and origin as TBD, to leave that option on the table. I'm writing up notes on several potential origin stories so I'll read through your background and add that in as a possibility.
Another possible option I thought of was to have him/her be unrelated to you, but running from the same slavers and being Dain GM's way of bringing news of your sister to the group. That would allow me more options on race/culture combinations.
Khazistani is INCREDIBLY mount/bow based which would be almost entirely wasted on this characer. That's the only reason I didn't immediately pitch the sister angle.
That's a fair point. Also it would be good to try go find a little more ethnic diversity into the group.
OK I've got the backstory started. She's an Azimbanan who grew up in Zimballah. She was an orphan who spent most of her time scrapping on the streets, and as she grew she was brought in to and trained by a smuggling ring. During her teens and early twenties she was quite successful as a smuggler, starting locally just moving goods inside Zimballah but eventually taking goods from city to city. Part of her success was based on the fact that smuggling is normally a male profession so with a combination of a convincing lies and disguises she was never suspected. In her mid twenties she had started to make a name for herself and was moving goods as far as Yar-Ammon on a regular basis. When in Yar-Ammon she was given hired for a job moving "goods" from Khazistan to Susreh. Upon arriving she went to inspect the shipment to figure out how to best move it and realized that she had been hired to move slaves. She never had a problem with illicit goods, but live slaves were too much for her to stomach, so she took off without taking the job, but had already received her advance payment. Now she's in Zul-Bazzir looking for a group to attach to in order to hide from the slavers who are seeking a lone Azimbanan with no friends, as she is afraid to travel alone south and perhaps fall afoul of the people who had sent her up here in the first place. On top of that, the involvement of slavery had soured her to smuggling as a career field and she's looking for something else to do where she can utilize her skills in fast talking, disguise, urban expertise, or even just as a scrapper and dirty fighter.
That's just an outline, but I think it provides enough to both give the group an idea of where she comes from as well as a potential hook for finding Talar's sister (as she could very well have been part of the "shipment" and I would know where she was)
I'm going to start working on the crunch now. Spirit Ranger, favored terrain urban, favored enemy decadents (as they represent the greedy people she always had to work for), Underhanded combat style for a mix of 2H swordfighting and dirty tactics.
I'll come back to flesh out the backstory after I hear from you all if you think it fits in with the group.
I lied. I didn't just work on the crunch I went ahead and did the character portion too. Here it is in "final" form pending any issues or requested changes. It does provide a possible hook for Talar's sister, as he and I had discussed above.
Yasala had a rough but exciting childhood in Zimballah. She never knew her parents or even her family name as she was orphaned as an infant, but fortunately the cult of Jul-Juggah sponsored orphanages throughout the city. Unfortunately, they were not the best of places, and the children were left barely educated and did not have much oversight by adults. Her childhood was therefore spent sneaking out of the orphanage as soon as her studies were complete and roaming around the stone city, mingling with the foreigners, getting underfoot in the markets, and constantly fighting with the other children. By her early teens she had been noticed due to her ability to not just slip in and out of places unnoticed, but also her ability to get out of trouble through lies, disguises, or just fighting her way out of tough spots if she had no other recourse. The people who had noticed her moved illicit goods throughout the city, and upon recognizing her talents they had her removed from the orphanage and began to use her to get items from one place to another.
Over time she began to distinguish herself among the other 'runners' and she was trained for more dangerous tasks. She began moving shipments of goods instead of just individual items, and would sometimes go along when illicit shipments were taken to other cities and towns in Azimba. Time and again she would get out of difficult spots through her natural talents, and also because smuggling was primarily a male profession so the guards and cultists were less suspicious of a young woman than they would have been of a man.
The more shipments they gave her to oversee, the more she distinguished herself, and eventually she gained the reputation of being one of the best, one who never lost the goods and who never got caught. While traveling outside Zimballah she took advantage of the chance to train in ways that most women in the city did not have, and augmented her usual scrapping with fists, knives, and dirty tricks with the use of actual weapons. She learned to use the Azimban spear and the large two handed Kilij, and found ways to incorporate her natural tendency to throw dirt, gouge eyes, and punch kidneys into true martial fighting with real weapons. She even did some training with cultists that were friendly with her organization, learning to incorporate some of their tricks to help her make decisions and keep her safe.
By the time she was in her twenties she was moving large shipments around Azimba, Shoma, and even across the mountains to Yar-Ammon. Sometimes she travelled alone, sometimes in groups of her compatriots, but often with groups of other travelers where she could better stay beneath the notice of the authorities. During her travels she took the time to learn the language, customs, and dress of every region she traveled through to in order to better hide in plain sight and bluff her way out of trouble.
On her last trip to Yar-Ammon, she had been instructed to await new instructions as opposed to the usual plan of taking a return shipment to Zimballah. She realized that she had finally made it. She was no longer just one of the better movers, she was now one of the best and had been selected for something important. She was told to travel north into Khazistan to attend to a shipment that was headed east into Susrah and Taraam. Not only was this an opportunity to learn about yet more new cultures, but it was an important enough job to warrant an advance on her payment. Yasala was ecstatic at what she thought was the beginning of a great step in her career.
Upon arriving safely in Khazistan, just south of the city of Zul-Bazzir, she was given yet more money, this time for traveling expenses and possibly bribes, and was told to familiarize herself with both the 'goods' and the route so that she could begin planning how to make the trip. When she went to check out what she was shipping, she found women in cages. This was no mere smuggling job, these were slaves.
Despite slavery not being illegal, Yasala had always found it reprehensible and she did not want to be involved in the movement of unwilling women to some unknown fate in a foreign land. She took her time 'familiarizing herself with the goods' but was actually trying to figure out how she could free these poor women and get away unscathed. While speaking with some of the slaves she was overheard by one of the slaver guards and confronted. She thought that she managed to bluff her way past him and headed into Zul-Bazzir 'to get necessary supplies' but she was simply trying to separate herself from the situation and hopefully find a way to return and free the women.
Unfortunately, she had not been as convincing as she thought, and when the guard reported what he had heard back to the slavers they realized what she was up to. Not only had she abandoned her job, she was potentially a threat to their operation, and to add insult to injury she still had both her advance payment and the traveling funds.
Realizing the situation that she was now in, Yasala went looking for a place to lay low in Zul-Bazzir. She knew the slavers would be looking for a lone Azimban woman new to the city, and she also knew it would be too risky to head south since word of her betrayal would arrive before she did. For her own safety, she went looking for a someone to band up with. Those looking to find and punish her were looking for a lone stranger, and finding companions would help her hide. Not only that but it might give her an opportunity to help the slaves escape, or even a way to make a living utilizing her skills in a new, less illicit way and leave her old life behind. Smuggling was no longer as exciting as it once had been.
Yasala is an average looking Azimban woman. She is neither unattractive nor beautiful, neither tall nor short, neither skinny nor overweight. She is almost impressively average and unnoticeable. She uses this to be able to fit in with varied groups in various social situations, having a variety of clothing styles and accessories for any occasion.
She is generally friendly and polite, and having traveled extensively and worked with people of different social strata, she can get along with almost anyone. She knows when to be polite, when to be talkative, and when to be silent. As a smuggler by trade, even accidentally being insulting or rude is the easiest way to stand out, and standing out increases the chance of being caught.
When not taking her prior profession into account, she is still an amiable companion. She enjoys the company of friendly people and would rather be in a group than be alone. She is not quick to truly trust someone, but believes that everyone should be given the benefit of the doubt and will quickly include herself in a group. She is also good at noticing when someone is trying to get one over on her and will just as quickly remove herself from a group when she realizes that they are not to be trusted.
When she does reach the point of forming a real bond with someone, she is a true friend and will do almost anything to help them out, stopping only at performing tasks that endanger her for no reason. At the same time when crossed she has a temper; if she cannot easily extricate herself from the situation she will be quick to draw her Kilij while throwing dirt in her opponent’s eyes. When it is time to scrap there is nothing resembling a ‘fair fight’. There is only winning.
The crunch is HERE if you want to look at it.
@Mat_H: I appreciate the enthusiasm and the effort you're putting into developing a character for this game. I'm also pleased that you enjoy roleplay.
Yasala looks like an interesting character. I wasn't sure if the GM told you to build a level 4 character, however currently we're all on level 5, just so you're aware. :)
I have a question regarding the favoured enemy aspect you've chosen in game based on your character's backstory. I have read Yasala's personality - she doesn't trust readily but is amicable enough and will attempt to give people the benefit of the doubt upon first meeting. No issue with that aspect.
Tairin is the only decadent character among the PCs in play. She and Paten lead the party - Tairin taking the role of the main face of the party. Being Yar-Ammonite - slavery is perfectly acceptable to her and she does not see this as an issue as it is the noble culture and race she has been brought up in. She doesn't sell slaves or mistreat them, but she does readily and happily use them for labour in her household. From your perspective, do you think this may, or will, cause some friction at the start of game between the ladies? (I'm not sure how pervasive is Yasala's dislike or hatred of decadent people and how it will spill over to the PCs - i.e. Tairin).
Personally, I enjoy a semi-organic way of developing characters (as purely organic isn't always possible or efficient unfortunately in such a medium), so I'm not forcing the issue on how they should interact from the get-go or as the game proceeds. Yet, the way Yasala enters and treats everyone in the party will be important if Yasala is to successfully gain entry into the circle. Tairin is naturally cunning, mysterious, secretive and isn't above bluffing or lying to gain an advantage, which has been useful to the party so far in game. She's adept at politicking and pretty smiles to appease the powerful and dangerous; employing her abundant physical and social charms to get the job done as required. I understand and appreciate there will be small levels of conflict as the party comes together (and being there will now be two female characters in the group). I am, however, not really interested in player vs player type conflict or conflict for the sake of drama. So, sincerely, I won't engage in that in-character. This long explanation is simply me trying to gauge how adversely you believe Yasala will react to Tairin as I believe that will be important to me as an existing player.
@Tairin: Simply being decadent is not an issue for Yasala. She would definitely be given the benefit of the doubt on meeting. Yasala's issue is with people who manipulate the system, mistreat people, or take advantage of others for purely narcissistic or selfish reasons. As long as Tairin didn't start to show a trend towards that type of attitude I don't foresee any conflict. (Honestly I was having a hard time picking a favored enemy based on her story and just went with decadent based on the above concept in her personality. I'm going to have similar issues picking a second enemy at level 5, any advice would be appreciated.)
In terms of the slavery, it's a similar situation. Yasala is well aware that slavery is legal, and met and dealt with slaves many times in her travels. She actually has employed them in the past during her work although she has never owned any herself. A slave who has voluntarily placed themselves in that situation or who is working due to a life-debt or family history or similar situation is perfectly acceptable although she does internally wish that everyone could be free. The place where she takes a stand on slavery is when the slaves are violently captured against their will (aka freedmen who are not being given any choice), when they are not given any chance or opportunity to be able to buy their own freedom (aka are purely 'property' and not people) or when they are blatantly mistreated.
I think that in a worst case scenario there might be a bit of friction between Tairin and Yasala at first, but even that is in the most extreme condition. Most probable is that Yasala would be quite friendly and polite to Tairin at first and just take a litle longer to trust her than the others in the group.
As a player, I completely agree with you on PvP conflict and excessive drama. I do not like it, and it has no place in a game unless all players are on board from the start. In terms of character level, the recruitment post from last week did say level 4. I'd noticed you were all 5 now but was sticking with the directions unless that was updated by Dain GM.
@Tairin: Simply being decadent is not an issue for Yasala. She would definitely be given the benefit of the doubt on meeting. Yasala's issue is with people who manipulate the system, mistreat people, or take advantage of others for purely narcissistic or selfish reasons. As long as Tairin didn't start to show a trend towards that type of attitude I don't foresee any conflict. (Honestly I was having a hard time picking a favored enemy based on her story and just went with decadent based on the above concept in her personality. I'm going to have similar issues picking a second enemy at level 5, any advice would be appreciated.)
In terms of the slavery, it's a similar situation. Yasala is well aware that slavery is legal, and met and dealt with slaves many times in her travels. She actually has employed them in the past during her work although she has never owned any herself. A slave who has voluntarily placed themselves in that situation or who is working due to a life-debt or family history or similar situation is perfectly acceptable although she does internally wish that everyone could be free. The place where she takes a stand on slavery is when the slaves are violently captured against their will (aka freedmen who are not being given any choice), when they are not given any chance or opportunity to be able to buy their own freedom (aka are purely 'property' and not people) or when they are blatantly mistreated.
I think that in a worst case scenario there might be a bit of friction between Tairin and Yasala at first, but even that is in the most extreme condition. Most probable is that Yasala would be quite friendly and polite to Tairin at first and just take a litle longer to trust her than the others in the group.
As a player, I completely agree with you on PvP conflict and excessive drama. I do not like it, and it has no place in a game unless all players are on board from the start. In terms of character level, the recruitment post from last week did say level 4. I'd noticed...
A few quick things:
Regarding the idea of being Talar's sister; while that may be interesting, I actually had plans on that already in motion and would rather those continue. Perhaps there is a way you could be connected to others in the group, instead?
Also, Tairin's post did remind me that you should be on level 5 at this time, not level 4. The party had recently leveled and I had forgotten that, sorry about that...
Regarding the idea of being Talar's sister; while that may be interesting, I actually had plans on that already in motion and would rather those continue. Perhaps there is a way you could be connected to others in the group, instead?
In the interest of racial diversity and so as not to interfere with any existing plans, I already moved away from being Talar's sister; that was just something he and I had discussed briefly. As it sits now he and I just have something in common in our pasts which gives us an easy topic of conversation to help us begin bonding.
As for connections to the group, I didn't see any obvious way to tie in with any of their pasts at this point. Any ideas on the topic would be very well received. If the character was to be accepted, I'm open for any method of introduction to the group, it does not have to be background related. Yasala simply wants to change careers and needs to find a group of people to work with so that she is no longer the 'lone Azimban woman new to the city' and can better evade the slavers whose employ she left abruptly and whose money she still has.
(This is Mat_H. I waited until I was more sure of this character before I posted as her, as this is her 10th post and therefore will lock the alias name in.)
A couple new notes:
- Leveling her to 5 required picking a new favored enemy, and I went with civilized. I decided based on the character concept that in her case "enemy" does not mean hated. The idea is that she has had to deal primarily with civilized and decadent people in her career, so that experience in greasing palms, evading notice, bluffing, etc would reflect in the bonus to rolls. It's not as much an enemy situation as it is a bonus due to familiarity from dealing with those folks in stressful situations. That should hopefully alleviate any concerns that remain in terms of her interactions with Tairin, and it better fits her personality.
- I'm going to modify her career history slightly after I do a little more thinking. I originally wrote her as purely a smuggler but that's not my image of her. She's more of a "transportation facilitator." She does have experience smuggling or moving illicit goods, but since she went freelance she has just as often provided guidance to traveling parties and merchants on the most efficient and least dangerous routes, assisted in getting legal shipments past guard posts and raiders, acted as a messenger, and helped people navigate new cities just as much as she has smuggled items. She makes frequent use of area maps and blue books (and actually has both of these for Zul-Bazzir in her inventory). If she is accepted I will modify her background appropriately.
- I took another look at the other characters' backgrounds and honestly I still don't see an easy way to tie her in as a previously existing connection. I am happy to work with the group and Dain GM on establishing one if that is desired but I'm not adding one in without guidance.
Question: Is their a convenient list of languages (and where typically used) somewhere? Will help me selecting which languages he should have learned as he developed his skill.
I didn't find a consolidated list, but on the Campaign tab you can easily look at each nationality and what languages they speak, and then compare it to the world map (linked on the same page) to figure out where you would have traveled. That's what I did in order to pick my languages.
Question 1: If I read the above correctly, all humans get the standard Racial Bonus Feat and +1 Skill Rank/Level. That STACKS with the bonuses from Civilized? Okay . . ..
You do get the standard human racial bonus feat but not the +1 skill rank/level. The latter is covered under Civilised culture.
Do we get the standard +2 Attribute from being Human as well, with that also stacking with the +2 from Civilized?
No. The character only gets the stat bonuses via their chosen Xoth race and/or culture.
Question: Is their a convenient list of languages (and where typically used) somewhere? Will help me selecting which languages he should have learned as he developed his skill.
I compiled the summaries found under the Campiagn Tab before the game officially started to make it easier for incoming players. There isn't a list of all the Xoth languages available, but as Yasala has said and you've noted, the summaries are helpful regarding language selection. Since there is no common tongue among the races of Xoth, the GM houseruled that Susrahnite would be the "Common tongue" at start of game because we were heading towards Susrah at the beginning of the adventure. For any new players, please add Susrahnite as a known language to your character sheet.