If you die because someone tried to kill you for the food you are carrying, you are juuuuust as dead (and, in this setting, presumably as prone to be reanimated as a monster) as if you were manipulated into a carefully laid trap by some 20th level cleric.
Arguing about which enemy poses the greatest relative threat can impact overall matters of strategy, and things like 'which target to try and go after', but when it comes to the heat of combat and defending ourselves against whatever is attacking us, Petra at least is not going to be going, "hey, these guys are living foes and therefore we shouldn't fight as hard as we would if we were fighting the Greater Lich of Lichdom."
She's going to treat a threat to her life, and the lives of her colleagues, as a threat, regardless.
She's also never seen or read The Walking Dead, and missed out on the feat Genre Savvy.
I'd sort of argue these sort of morality decisions are what in game discussions are likely to be about. One of the genre conventions is that there is disagreement, arguing and feuds within the group trying to survive the zombies (or whatever) at least in part because the zombies are unable to provide moral complexity.
"Do we kill that raider, or knock him out, or enslave him..." is a question that can divide groups.
I also point out that destruction of the body is no guarantee. ALL sorts of undead are coming back. Sure presumably there is a bias towards the lower cr zombies and skeletons (if 1% of people came back as Banshees the undead would have won) but Shadows are incorporeal undead.
The only "safe" thing is immediate gentle repose followed by burial in a properly consecrated cemetary.
Anyway, seems like Jon is probably going to be the newcomer to the group given he's got a ticking clock. I'd like him to have been around for a few weeks (enough time for someone to have noticed his condition is very slowly deteriorating).
Is anyone interested in being the one who bought him in?
I can only see this working if he's helping someone outside long before they meet him (cross-bowing pursuing skeletons from a nearby roof, perhaps?). That way someone can get some trust for him before they see him and realise what they're dealing with.
Jon's got a lot of useful talents as a scout and a scrounger, so I see him going outside a lot. Possibly with Petra? They do both have excellent sight in the darkness.
Petra would be more than happy to fit into Jon's storyline as the person to bring him in! And yeah, I can see them both doing scouty type things.
And yeah-- I actually agree that a lot of this is in-story character grist. It just bleeds over into OOC when people are discussing things like what feats to take, I guess. :P
Regarding what is 'safe' and what isn't, we.... are basically speculating in the dark, at this point. Whatever we think the rules are based on our familiarity with either D&D/Pathfinder, or the zombie genre, we may well be proven wrong. >:D
I personally will be surprised if gentle repose DOES work in this world, but obviously, we will see how things develop.
Well - gentle repose is beyond Jon, anyway!
I've got some prelim workings out in Jon's profile.
I changed the stats a little and am seriously considering dropping my Cha to avoid any att below 8.
Jon is going to have a pretty decent stealth, and mainly fight with magic or the biggest crossbow he can buy.
Do you know what Petra is likely to have? As per the spoiler earlier?
Aurengil: Jon's interested in a cure, it seems like you're the one most likely to be able to work out what's been done to him so far, and if it can be fixed, improved or replicated.
He's on a time limit, and wants to look for stuff, so this gives him a reason to have stuck with White Keep semi-permanently.
I'm assuming an Elven Wizard would be interested in investigating what seems to be a potential cure for Undeath?
Petra will be a shield-and-axe fighter, nothing too fancy. Right now her stealth is in the toilet, but that's due to clunky starting armor and encumbrance; I don't intend for it to stay low. I doubt she'll ever be as stealthy as Jon, but I'd like her to have a decent stealth eventually. More focus on melee than ranged. She's got a high enough wisdom that (hoping the game survives to that point) she'll be able to cast Ranger spells down the road. Her stats are all in le profile.
I can't see anything in Petra's profile
I can't see anything in Petra's profile
...huh. That's weird, I could swear I entered it. Maybe it did not save. *goes to fix*
There, should be visible now.
Jon - Yes. I can see a potentially strong reason for a connection between Jon and Aurengil. How about if they knew each other from before their arrival at the White Keep? Maybe they met on the road and kept each other alive until they found safety? It would change Aurengil's view of Jon's future, I think.
Hmm - it would make it easier for Jon to have been accepted if he was the companion to an asset like Aurengil. They certainly make a competent pair; Aurengil has the knowledge, flexibility and offensive firepower that Jon lacks(Disrupt undead is only *so* good), but Jon has the ability to bestow mage armour and protection where needed.
Sure - so in that case we can both have been met outside by petra, who was representing White Keep.
What were we doing? How did we meet up? We've both got detect magic... could we have been looking for a magical item and run into each other? Why wouldn't Aurengil have attacked Jon? Did Jon find Aurengil in trouble? It's certainly easier to imagine rescuing an out-of-spells Aurengil than Petra...
Perhaps Jon and Aurengil were low on spells and barricading in a deserted farmhouse (in the best zombie genre tradition), when the White Keep cavalry showed up? Sending up flares, ha!
/just brainstorming for lolz, don't let me get in the way of your plans
I'd say Aurengil wouldn't have attacked on sight because he might not have immediately realized that Jon was...special. Perhaps he had a chance to see Jon's humanity first. Jon let a young thief live who had entered their encampment to steal supplies, and also gave the kid food and directions to the White Keep. When Aurengil later discovered Jon's condition, he was shocked, but willing to listen and eventually to help.
Oh, and then Petra's idea happened before they could make it all the way back to the White Keep. The kid had let the defenders know where they were, and Petra led the relief force. Sound good?
can you look over my char for me again really quick sweetie just to make sure
Kyranda- your good to go.
As a fan of both, I'd like to know what you mean here. I'm familiar with the differences. The tone of both is very similar, even if the details have started to diverge pretty sharply. Maybe you'd like to put your answer in a spoiler for those who haven't caught up on the show (or graphic novel)
Really no spoilers here… I meant think Walking Dead the graphic novel, not the tv show because I have only seen episode 1 and have no idea what is going on in the tv series. Conversely, I have read up to hardcover book 8 of the graphic novel and thus I am only aware of how varied the two seem to be, graphic novel and tv series.
I am currently traveling, so it will be a day or two before Baru is totally finished.
No worries.
Seeing how you said "loosely based" figured I should check...
How changed is the Pharasma analogue? I'm wondering what form a psychopomp might take.
What regional traits are appropriate for White Keep? Is Highlander or Silent Hunter/Uskwood Hunter okay?
Pscyhopomps remain intact, nothing would change here. What did you have in mind? Also, Highlander, Silent Hunger, Uskwood Hunter all okay as traits.
One more thing I forgot to mention,
Oh yea, White Keep is surrounded by a very large lake, Black Dragons Mere, so it might be a good idea for someone to have a rank in Prof (sailor), and maybe swim, although I wouldn’t swim in this lake. Sorry for not putting that in the recruitment thread earlier.
Hey everyone, when your done with your characters can you please let me know via PM if you haven’t already so that I can start looking them over?
Everyone who has been admitted into the game please move your conversation over to the discussion thread, here.