The wind blows through the sky as the waves beat on the shores of the Shackles. The music of the sea rises and falls in volume as Besmara gazes out upon her domain. Countless numbers of her children wander these waters, but a chosen few were converging in port peril as their time approached. As the strings of their fates intertwined and merged their future became more and more intertwined, all they needed now was little push in the right direction... a touch... of destiny...
===
CHARACTER CREATION RULES
-1st level
-25 point buy
-Average starting gold
-Core races only
-2 traits, 1 drawback maximum. ONE TRAIT MUST BE FROM THE S&S TRAITS LIST
-All Paizo published material allowed, 3PP on a case by case basis
Any further questions can be asked below. I will be taking a maximum of four PCs, selection date pending
Well, here is a Cleric of Besmara I'd created for a Skull & Shackles game that died suddenly and fits the above creation rules.
Dotting for interest, I'm thinking I'll be submitting either a martial deckhand (Ranger or Barbarian), an alchemist fluffed as a cannoneer, or an archaeologist bard with a big fancy hat.
Human bard reporting.
I'll adjust him to 25 pt buy.
Editing post within the hour for completion
Edited, stuff done and in profile.
I can have misc items in inventory, but i'll leave that for if chosen.
Submitting Tamina, my Half-Elf Chirurgeon for this, I'll adjust the level and point buy if necessary for selection/selected.
Dario Ezequela, a devilish wandering monk down on his luck adds his name to the roster.
I shall immediately begin working on his character sheet.
Warpriest/Gunslinger of Besmara here. I'll update the alias to reflect the creation rules and type the backstory later tonight.
Throwing my hat into the room.
Just have to adjust to your rules.
Human female swashbuckler.
Dario has been completed and is wandering casually until selection begins.
Submitting Akadi here, will check her against your rules shortly.
Correction: Alabaster will probably be a full warpriest with the amateur gunslinger feat and both the gun and the rapier (or cutlass, I prefer cutlass for pirate games) as favored weapons.
This is a character I used during the playtest. The mythic stuff in my alias is all from that. When I'm done tonight he'll be set up to fully qualify for this game. :)
So far so good, lots of interesting characters popping up. It's cool to see people using the new classes from the Advanced Class Guide, it adds a little bit of new to the adventure!
I've decided to place the selection date on Thursday the 12th of June by which time I hope to have an interesting pick of PCs.
I would ask that all applicants finish their characters by this deadline and include their backstory if they do not already have one as I base much of my selection process of the RPing aspect of gameplay
Good luck to all!
Yep. I'm going to start on Alabaster's stats in an hour or so. He'll be full warpriest with amateur gunslinger and favored weapon: Cutlass and Pistol. The intent will be to go with sword and pistol later down the road. I'll have a couple of GM ruling questions for you when I get down to it, such as: does having favored weapon: Pistol mean he's proficient with pistols, or will proficiency have to be bought another way?
Also, as the ACG isn't out yet, I am aware that when it is, I may have to rehaul the character to fit the new rules, and I am ok with that.
As written, warpriest gains weapon focus for free with any weapon. Tis' why I asked, to avoid confusion. I'll probably not waste a trait on heirloom weapon, and instead use another method.
As you wish then, let me know how you have chosen to go about it once your character is finished
I'll just grab exotic weapon proficiency-firearms. The bonus feats will help out a lot with keeping the build steady and allowing me to do something I've never done before as far as mechanics go. As for roleplaying, he's a young waif, born in Drenchport and drawn to the life of piracy. He worked on the docks, moving heavy barrels and crates, and always talking with the sailors who docked in Drenchport. His faith in Besmara began when he found out about her tenets and her worship. He was hooked, because he already believed everything she stood for. He was press ganged in Drenchport, and worked for a captain who was absolutely terrible, beating him and the other "crew members" for sport, and only half feeding them. In Port Peril, Alabaster snuck off the ship with a few gold coins he was able to steal and found a bar, where he starts his new career on a new ship.
There's the basics of it. I'll type up the detailed official version later. Having dinner with the wife now. Alias updated but not complete, I still have to plug in all the numbers.
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Got an idea for a somewhat goofy, perpetually cheerful Eagle Shaman Druid - something of a cross between Monkey D. Luffy (One Piece) and Edward Wong Hau Pepelu Tivruski IV (Cowboy Bebop), personality-wise...
I'll see what I can do with getting the background and crunch worked up and posted sometime tomorrow evening.
Putting up Garnnack the Corsair, sailor and warrior of the high seas.
Working on finishing his gear.
How much Hp do we start off with?
Max hp for your class
Do we need to pay for things like tattoos, bandanas, and hats? There are listed prices. I'm assuming it's up to the GM.
Any equipment that is non-beneficial to adventuring and serves only a decorative purpose can be added to your characters at no cost
Okay!
Hey! tieflingwizard here. With my character: Isaac Silvermane, a Rogue with the Pirate archetype.
Just realized I have not chosen my traits! Will be doing so momentarily!
I would expect a minimum of 1 post per day but if the PCs post more often I am all in for multiple posts a day
I will usually be active from 11am to 2am eastern time but I will be in a european timezone for the next week (11th to 19th of June) meaning the earliest I could post would be 2pm eastern.
However I always encourage RP while I am absent to better build your character's personality and it makes the game more lighthearted and interesting besides the simple campaign parameters.
I was going to put forward a monk, but don't want to step on Dario's toes. I'm going to look over his sheet and see if my budding character would step on too many toes.
What are your posting expectations, GM Goliath?
What hours are you usually active?
I'm building a non-min/maxed unarmed drunken master who specializes in kicking and slapping people.
I am looking to put something together. Either a sorcerer or a sea reaver. Not sure yet which one. Will finalize that soon.
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I will be submitting Morgan Allegretti for your possible selection. Archaeologist Bard, so she fills the skill monkey / trapfinder role rather than the normal bard support role. It's not an optimal build, but I like her anyways.
Here is my submission. Santiago of the Shackles. He is a Half-Orc Barbarian who has lived a full and exuberant life raging and pillaging, however he just felt the call of the ocean, thus he traveled to the Shackles. (Half-Orcs should always have a level of Barbarian. It just seems right.) He has always had a certain kinship with nature and was briefly taken on as a shaman's apprentice in his tribe, however he was sent back to "Barbarian school" after he spent more time playing with the birds and the fish, then with the boars and wolves. (This will play into his evolution into a Reincarnated Druid [he is old for a Half-Orc] into an Acolyte of the Green Faith). He currently works as a dock hand in the Shackles, helping to offload cargo, hoping to gain a chance to prove himself on the sea.
Goliath, are there any alignment restrictions?
For the moment I allow any non-evil but that may be subject to change once I select the final team depending on how they want to play the campaign.
Oh... This looks interesting, but I don't think I can make the deadline.
To all who get chosen, "May there be both smooth sailin an stormy seas awaitin ye, fore if ye have too much of either then ye will surely be doomed when ye find the other."
Traits and bonus human skill point added. Dario wishes good luck to everyone for the selection.
For Isaac Silvermane, he's going to be more of combat oriented rogue. Not really a sneaking type of rogue. He's made for the high seas, though. Eventually, I'm going to be taking levels in the Inner Sea Pirate prestige class. I'm also going to be taking the Eldritch Heritage feats for the Aquatic bloodline to add in his deep connection to the sea.
Roleplaying wise, he's going to be a Shackles native who's a cross between Sinbad and Jack Sparrow. I read the description of the Buccaneer's Blood trait and I came up with this backstory for him. He's from a family of pirates, each famous in their own right. The most famous member was the family founder, Captain Sebastian Silvermane. Isaac wants to live up to his family name and restore/ add to the grand legacy. So, he's spent a lot of time on ships and port towns, waiting for the day he can become the captain of his own ship.
Submitting Salt for this campaign. I've run through the intro twice but haven't gotten much past day 1 before our DM bailed on us.
Posting rate is no problem. At my current time i can post more than once.
RP wise, Edward is a bit of a sarcast and smooth talker.
He helped his uncle on the ship and was a parttime musician in his free time.
Raised by a sailor uncle and a high class prostitute mother, the latter being the greater influence on his sly social capabilities.
Complete bio in profile.
Arcanist 1
Init +2, Perception +1
---------------------
DEFENSE
---------------------
AC 14, Touch 12, Flat-footed 12
HP 8 (1d6+2)
Fort +1 Ref +2 Will +3
--------------------
OFFENSE
--------------------
Speed 30 ft.
Ranged Crossbow,light +2(1d8+2/20x2)
----------------------
STATISTICS
-----------------------
STR 10,DEX 14, CON 13,INT 18, WIS 12,CHR 14
Base Attack +0 CMB +0 CMD 12
--------------------------
Special Abilities
--------------------------
Arcane Reservoir (Su): An arcanist has an innate pool of magical energy that she can draw upon to fuel her arcanist exploits and enhance her spells. The arcanist’s arcane reservoir can hold an amount of magical energy equal to twice the arcanist’s level. Each day when preparing spells, the arcanist’s arcane reservoir fills with raw magical energy, gaining a number of points equal to 1 + 1/2 her arcanist level (minimum 0). Any points she had from the previous day are lost. She can also regain these points through the consume spells class feature and some arcanist exploits. The arcane reservoir can never hold more points that the total mentioned above, points gained in excess of this maximum are lost. Points from the arcanist reservoir are used to fuel many of the arcanist’s powers (see arcane exploits). In addition, the arcanist can expend one point from her
arcane reservoir as a free action whenever she casts an arcanist spell. If she does, she can choose to increase the caster level by 1 or increase the DC of the spell by 1. She can expend no more than one point from her reservoir on a given spell in this way.
Flame Arc (Su): The arcanist can create an arc of flame by expending one point from her arcane reservoir. She can make a ranged touch attack against any one target within 30 feet. If the attack hits, it deals 1d6 points of fire damage plus 1d6 points of fire damage for every two arcanist levels beyond first (to a maximum of 10d6 at 19th level). The target may attempt a Reflex saving throw to halve the damage.
---------------------
Traits
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Tireless Logic: Your curious mind figures out even the most complex problems. Once per day when you make an Intelligence-based skill check or ability check, you can roll twice and take the better result.
Ancient Explorer
You are a student of ancient history, and you've come to explore the crumbling and vine-choked ruins of the cyclops empire, which have lain abandoned among the isles for thousands of years.
You went to a tavern last night to meet a contact who supposedly had an old map of lost cyclops ruins to sell, but the drink was stronger than you had expected and you passed out before making the deal.
Benefit You gain a +1 trait bonus on Knowledge (history) and Knowledge (local) checks, and one of these skills is a class skill for you. In addition, you gain Cyclops or Polyglot as a bonus language.
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Feats
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Armor, Proficiency light
Point Blank shot
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Skills
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Spellcraft +8
Use Magic Device +6
Knowledge Arcana +8
Knowledge Local +9
Knowledge history +9
Knowledge Engineerng +8
Appraise +8
------------------
Gear
------------------
Leather Armor (10gp), Light crossbow (35gp) Bolts x 40 (4gp) Wizard's Kit (21gp)
Personality; Hans natural talents made him a little arrogant. think himself smarter than most others but usually is not to stuck up about it. He is however willing to help those willing to learn not wanting to deny anyone the opportunity he missed as a young child. He does not take orders well especially from people from whom he thinks are lesser than him, however once someone earns his respect he can be fairly loyal.
Han's biggest fear is settling down and living an ordinary life especially after having just tasted a life of adventure and learning.
Wanted to submit Bellanie for consideration. Gnome sorcerer. Have all the crunch minus gear completed. Working out the background, personality and appearance and plan to have it up sometime tomorrow.
Essentially a barmaid who has found herself in Port Peril drawn by the excitement of pirate stories. She is reasonably popular with the customers telling amazing pirate stories and using her magical talents to enhance her stories. Then of course as a gnome, she has the overly inquisitive nature to want to try new things. She is pretty but a lot of times gets confused for a really cute child rather than a pretty woman, which she generally doesn't care either way as long as people are acknowledging her. In fact, a lot of times she plays on the child aspect.
I've played in a S&S game but we only got to day 2 before our GM vanished. I'm an experienced PbPer and actually GM a number of games currently (some of which have been running for over a year). So the posting one or more times a day is not a problem and I know how to drive posting forward if needed.
Also, for ease of others and the GM, these are the applications that actually had a profile associated with them so far: (Think I got everyone, I apologize if I happened to miss you)
Elisandra - Cleric
Edward - Bard
Tamina - Alcehmist
Dario - Monk
Alabaster - Warpriest
Dinali - Swashbuckler
Akadi - Shaman
Garnnack - Fighter
Isaac - Rogue
Morgan - Bard
Santiago - Barbarian
Jesel - Druid
Hans - Arcanist
Bellanie - Sorcerer
I'm working on Alabaster now, should be done shortly.
One question GM: We know that the ACG will have a dex to damage feat as well as new archetypes and all that jazz, so when it officially releases, how far of a rebuild will someone with an ACG class go? Just enough to fit the new rules and changes, or can we completely overhaul? For instance, Alabaster's theme and main choice of feats and all will not change, but the dex to damage feat will make him a lot less MAD (and a MUCH better healer) if I could take advantage of it, but it would require me to change his base stats. Would something that drastic be allowed?
I also want to add that I am not at all about optimization. I enjoy the roleplaying of the game more than anything else. What I do like is for my character's abilities and skills to support the roleplaying. What I have in mind for alabaster is a highly dextrous, average strength fighter who can hold his own due to his skill with a blade, and embarras his opponents with witty piratical banter.
I have completed a sorcerer. I present Ranak, a marid Sorcerer with skill in cooking and intimidation.
Goliath, please tell me what you think.
Alabaster is done. GM, please review and let me know if I need to change anything. :]
Traits
(Campaign Trait) Besmara's Blessing: +1 to Intimidate and Profession- Sailor, and 1/week, reroll a Profession-Sailor Check
(Combat) Reckless: Gain +1 to Acrobatics Checks, and Acrobatics becomes a class skill
Class Abilities
Aura
Blessings
Focus Weapon
Sacred Weapon
Stats
HP:10
AC:16
Touch:12
Flat Footed:14
Initiative:+2
Fort:4
Ref:2
Will:4
Attacks
Melee: Cutlass +4, 1d6+3, 18-20 x2
Ranged:--
Feats:
Exotic Weapon Proficiency-Firearms
Weapon Focus-Cutlass
Weapon Focus-Pistol
Skills
Acrobatics:7
Diplomacy:5
Intimidate:5
Profession-Sailor:6
Swim:7
Blessings:
Water
Minor Power:
Trickery
Minor Power:
Spells Per Day
0:3
1:2
Spells Prepared
0:
Detect Magic
Light
Sotto Voce
1:
Shield of Faith
Magic Weapon
Gear:
Chain Shirt
Cutlass
Silver Holy Symbol
Spell Component Pouch
30 gp
Being born to dockworkers in Drenchport, Alabaster was never a stranger to the ways of the sea, or of the Lady Besmara. He literally knew how to swim before he could walk, and he was put to sleep with stories of sea monsters and sailor heroes, of great battles between legendary ships and krakens, and of the Lady of Waves herself. When he was old enough, he would go to the docks everyday with his father, and while his father worked, he would watch the ships dock, and the sailors unload their cargo for sale and trade. Just as often as not, the sailors would be boisterous, braggart pirates. Being the town that Drenchport was, no one gave them a second thought. Their goods were just as valuable as an honest merchant's, afterall (and to refuse them would be to invite the wrath of the Free Captains!). Alabaster, however, was obsessed with them.
The teachings of the Lady of the Sea were that if you weren't strong enough to keep something, then it was the stronger person's right to take it from you, and that's exactly what the pirates did. To Alabaster, pirates weren't the evil, murderous men his mother and father said they were. They were men of Besmara, carrying out her holy will. Every chance he got, he would talk to them at the docks, sneak into bars and taverns and watch them, and on the rare occasion that one came, he would hound priests of Besmara for all the information he could.
As he became a teen, he realized that he wholly believed in the message of Besmara. He would often look around him, at the people pf the town, at his parents, and realize: They did the same thing everyday, for years on end, never taking hold of their own destinies, never truly being free. He would then look out to the sea, and a feeling would wash over him. A feeling that freedom was there, on the waves. That if he just left, got on a ship and just left, that he wouldn't be doomed to the same life as his parents, as the children he grew up with. Hell, most of them were already working the docks all day, just like their parents, and their grandparents. So he made up his mind. If the opportunity ever presented itself, he would go.
It was around the time that he was sixteen that the biggest pirate ship he had ever seen pulled into the docks. He watched several pirates disembark, and they talked to the dock managers. After a few moments, they made their way to the closest bar, except for one, who headed toward the local shrine to Besmara. Alabaster followed him. When he got close enough, he couldn't believe his eyes at the man's weapons and clothing. Everything the man wore was more expensive than all the riches Alabaster had ever dreamed of. He realized, this was what the life of a pirate could bring him, this man was the embodiment of the freedom Alabaster yearned for. When the man entered the small shrine, Alabaster slipped inside behind him, and watched as the man pulled a coin out of a coinpurse full enough to buy food for all the dockworkers for a year, and place it in the offering tray, and prayed. When he was done, Alabaster approached him, begged the man to take him on the ship with him, to teach him the ways of a pirate. The man stayed silent until he heard Alabaster's reasons for wanting to leave. He smiled, and finally spoke.
Lad, ye remind me of meself. Ye be right in thinkin' tha' ship can be givin' ye what ye be lookin' fer, but ye gotta answer me this, wha' skills have ye tha we could be usin'? We got swabs an' riggers aplenty, and takin' on extra mouths don' be a good idea when ye be on a ship. Ye speak of knowin' the Lady, and knowin' all her rites and rules, but unless ye got her magic behind ye, I'm afraid ye'll be stayin' here, see?
The man looked at Alabaster, almost sadly, ignoring the boy's frantic pleas, and walked out.
Alabaster spent the night in the temple praying. He fixated his mind on the priest's words, that if he could gain the powers that Besmara granted, he could indeed leave the town someday. He fell asleep under the statue, the face of the Lady of the Sea watching over him with her stern expression.
He woke to the gentle rocking of a ship, something he was familiar with from the times he would be allowed to go out on the fishing boats, and didn't think anything of it at first. He then woke in a panic, snapping up and looking around. The man from the shrine was sitting in a chair next to the bed Alabaster laid in, and smiled grimly at him as he spoke.
[b]Lad, it be yer lucky day, I be supposin'. All through tha night, tha lady was sendin' me dreams of ye, of ye bein' a preist one day. I'm supposed ta be trainin' ye. Don't be thinkin' it's gonna be easy, or tha yer gonna enjoy it. It be a harsh life, especially at first. But ye asked fer it. My name be 'Arvey. 'Arvey Crassman. Welcome aboard the Shinin' Skull...
The next year that passed was probably the hardest year Alabaster has ever gone through. Before Harvey would teach him anything at all about magic, about being a pirate, he had to learn everything there was to know about the ship itself. He spent his days for months with the swabs and riggers, and absorbed all the knowledge he could like a sponge. He learned the ship from the crow's nest to the bilges, every plank of wood, every nail, every rope. He spent his nights with Harvey, learning everything he could about not only magic, but the magic needed to help a ship. He learned to fight with a cutlass, Besmara's favored weapon, most of his training coming in the days right before the Shining Skull would take a merchant ship down.
It all fell apart when a Chelish pirate hunter caught the Skull by surprise. The night right after they had taken a ship, and were celebrating, the Chelish vessel came from around the backside of a small island that the Skull was moored near. The fight was over quickly. Harvey and Alabaster were the last two standing, Harvey with his cutlass, and Alabaster with his cutlass and pistol, a weapon he learned to use in his very rare free time, and with a pirate from Alkenstar who trained him when he could.
The two fought for several minutes after the captain fell, but it was all for nought when the Chelish ship's mage blasted the two pirates with a massive ball of fire. Alabaster was thrown overboard, but as he fell, he saw his mentor and friend burn, incinerated by the spell.
This time, when he awoke, it was on the shore of the island. The Chelish ship was long gone, but he could see the wreckage of the Skull, all over the shore. They had completely destroyed her, even the main mast was in three pieces. He searched it for hours, trying to find the body of Harvey, tears freely streaming down his face. What he did find was one of the small lifeboats, undamaged and stocked with several weeks of water and dried foodstuffs for a single person. He searched the wreckage for a few more hours, to no avail. The only possessions he had left were his cutlass, which was on the shore beside him when he woke up, his chain shirt, and his holy symbol. His pistol and everything else had been lost in the battle, and in the fall. He set sail that night, with no map, and no idea where he was going.
He lost track of time, drifting for days upon days, praying everyday to Besmara to save him. Finally, on the last night of his journey, she came to him in a dream. Her words of comfort were simple, that she had never abandoned him, that she had guided his small craft with her own hands to where he was meant to be.
The next morning the sight of Port Peril in the distance greeted him. He reached it that afternoon, sold the lifeboat for a small pouch of coins, and found a shrine to pray. He headed to a tavern after, to find a place to sleep, and hopefully, find a new crew to join, and continue his work as a pirate, and a priest of Besmara.
Edited the rest of the inventory on his profile.
I'm going to be in school til 1900 EST, so I might be late getting this up. Hope it's not a problem.
PS: Do we have to take a drawback if we take two traits?
NOTE TO ALL: RECRUITMENT IS NOW CLOSED WHILE I DECIDE ON THE PCS
@Alabaster: since the release date for the ACG is scheduled for August I will not permit stat changes so late in the adventure. As for your character everything seems to check out so far :)
@Grand Moff Vixen: Ranak seems to be just fine, love the choice of a Half-Orc sorcerer we don't see that often
@Tamina Rugatonn: No you are allowed two traits and can take a maximum of one drawback to gain a third trait if you so wish. As for the time you get your character I will be making my choice by this evening so I can't make any promises as far as waiting for your character.
Ok gotcha. I might take a look at him later tonight and make a few minor edits, but I may just leave him like he is. Here's hoping fortune favors me this evening!
I added the headstrong drawback and gained the trait to give Know. Geography. I figure a pirate would have some kind of knowledge about the geography of the shackles. I'm debating dropping strength to raise dex, but I'm not sure yet.
All right it's a little earlier than evening but I have made my choice. I would like to move to the discussion board to finish up some points with my chosen finalists.
Alabaster Cain
Dario Ezequela
Ranak
Jesal "Salt" Knothin
Morgan Allegretti
Dinali, the Bloody Rose
Thank you to all the others for your applications and interest