Wiscrani Tales

Game Master Djivan

Hi everyone, I’m very motivated to get this started :-) We won’t start immediately, you will have a few days to make some changes to the characters and make sure we’re all perfectly happy about them. I will let go of the personal quest I spoke about in the introduction post of the recruitment. Your background stories have provided me with several ideas to flavor this campaign, so they’re not necessary. If possible, we will start this Friday, but it is possible I’ll delay this if I feel some stories/characters need further perfection.

Let’s take things slow at the start, I hope to establish a good understanding between us this way, one that will avoid sudden walkaways. I have some further guidelines here, check if you’re ok with them please. Also, if you didn’t do before reading this post, check your inbox. I hope to develop a good understanding between players and DM as this is key to any successful campaign. If anything you can contact me by that mail, or by the tools I provided you with in that PM.

Character guidelines:
• Advancement: No need to keep track of experience, I’ll let you know when to level.
  
• I’m not afraid of tailoring the AP to suit my needs. For you, this means you don’t have to consider with every choice “in what direction is the DM trying to point us”. If we start with the AP and end up with sandbox adventuring in Cheliax, I’m fine with that. Just make it worth the effort I put in by writing some excellent story yourself.
  
• Favoured Class Bonus: don’t forget to pick one, and mention in your profile which choice you make.
  
• Languages: Make sure you can motivate any language you speak. I’m not fond of picking dead languages, but if you give it a restriction I’d accept it. (I’ll cite Shannons example, it’s one I like: he knows Azlanti since the language is used for some operas. But if he would speak it, it would be that very opera language -> "Help me, I'm drowning!" would be "Alas! Bring help unto me, for I am assailed by the sea!")
  
• Religion: This is an important part for me, because imho a fantasy religion is one of the parts where you can make immersion epic. I’m skeptic to a character without a patron god and you’ll need an excellent motivation (especially one that proves me that it’s not sheer laziness or lack of understanding of RL religion) for me to accept it. Remember I said I’m not fond of psi-powers? Well here is the main reason ;-)
  Gods are real in this fantasy world, the effects of the death of Aroden should have proven that. Your patron God will – in normal circumstances – decide the final destination of your very soul. Your character ought to know that. So do a little research about your patron god, make sure your character knows what his patron god wants, when his/her holidays are, what kind of celebration it includes and involve the worship of that God in your RP. Use his/her name in a battle cry, call upon your god, do a prayer from time to time, make a small sacrifice, … Just giving examples. Of course, it’s still Cheliax so actions shouldn’t be too public, but I hope I made myself clear. If you need help with further information, I’ll be happy to provide it.

Campaign guidelines:
• In the submissions, I saw various interpretations of the role of the army, Hellknights and Dottari in Cheliax society, so I’ll give you my vision on that. This is something your character would know, especially if he or she is a born Chelaxian. There are three separate military structures in Cheliax. First, there is the Cheliax military. It exists out of a combination of enslaved and enlisted soldiers, led by officers mostly coming from the nobility and it’s one of the largest armies and navies in the known world. As an institution lead by nobles, they fall under direct command of House Thrune. Second, there are the various Hellknight Orders. They are, like the Asmodean Church, quite independent but do support House Thrune in a sort of alliance. The Queen does them favors, they do favors for the Queen. However, they are not the local police and they are not necessary evil. They serve their own goals: make sure there is respect for the law, if necessary by fear. The local police in Westcrown are the Dottari, they own allegiance to the mayor. They are more corrupt as the military and the Hellknights (city militia never is an example of excellent discipline) but their main task is to root out crime.
  
• Factions in Westcrown: There are various factions you might come across at some point in Westcrown. I’ll keep track of how they think of you (using the Factions Guide to help me), you might have positive or negative encounters with them, depending on your choices. If you are interested in any faction (including other factions I’m not mentioning now), either as a story hook or a possible future prestige class or whatever else, now is the time to say.
  a. The Pathfinder Society
  b. The Hellknights
  c. The Bellflower Network
  d. The Aspis Consortium
  e. The Asmodean Church
  
• The creatures during the night: this is a known curse in Westcrown, since 4676. Current year is 4710, so the curse is going for 34 years. This means it’s widely known, an entire generation of Wiscrani has never known otherwise.

I’d be happy to assist if you need my input on your story, lore, character setup, … So if you have any questions, shoot. If not, do provide me with a character ready to play and tell me when you think he or she is ready to go so I can approve ;-)

Thanks for selecting me, looks like a good group of characters. I am in exam week and will post a character sheet as soon as I can. A few questions:

1) Favored class: By background this probably should be Paladin, but as a player starting with a Ranger, that may become a Paladin again (but maybe not) I am inclined to pick Ranger. How do you feel on the matter? I am okay with it being Paladin..it is defiantly a motivator to work back to that.

2) How would you like to flesh out the underground I introduced in my background? Do they have Pathfinder ties or ties to another of the Factions in Westcrown. How much of this would Ozer know about their organization, goals, or motivations? Which factions are the most worried about? Do they fear the Dottari or have they bribed all the right people?

3) Based on my response to your alignment question would you prefer I select Neutral Good, or should I keep it Chaotic Good? I am 'good' with it either way. ;)

4) As a party should any/some/all/none of us look to tie our stories together? From "hey I have seen you." to deep close personal relationships. If the answer is Yes do any of the other players see possible connections to Ozer?

EDIT:

5) How do you want us to handle starting money/equipment?

Here is the start of Ozer's character sheet. Still need to do equipment and make a few selections and then round out some of the 'story' stuff. Skills and feats are chosen along with the Traits mentioned in the recruitment introduction.

1) I'm ok if you pick Paladin as your favoured class, but it might take several levels to get there.

2) How to flesh out: I think the Bellflower Network and their HQ in Westcrown, the Bell of the Sea, fit excellent in your backstory. More information: [url]http://pathfinderwiki.com/wiki/Bellflower_Network[/url].
Factions: You definitely heard rumours of these factions being present in Westcrown. The Church of Asmodeus has an obvious presence, as do the Hellknights. The Aspis Consortium is a little less obvious but well known to both traders and slaves. Last but not least, anyone having ties with slavery (promoting or opposing it) has heard of the Bellflower Network.

3) Lawful and chaotic are opposites and you'll have to pass trough neutral by acting rather lawful on several occasions. The process will then repeat when going from neutral to lawful. So going from chaotic to lawful good might be a very long shot, especially since CoT is a difficult campaign for lawful characters. So I advise, especially if you take Paladin as your favourite class, to take Neutral Good.

4) You don't have to and it is not required for the start of the campaign either, but I appreciate any effort to do so. Best way is to check each other's story, check if there is a hook you can tie your character to.

5) Start with average gold for your class please :-)

1) I'm ok if you pick Paladin as your favoured class, but it might take several levels to get there.

2) How to flesh out: I think the Bellflower Network and their HQ in Westcrown, the Bell of the Sea, fit excellent in your backstory. More information: Bellflower_Network.
Factions: You definitely heard rumours of these factions being present in Westcrown. The Church of Asmodeus has an obvious presence, as do the Hellknights. The Aspis Consortium is a little less obvious but well known to both traders and slaves. Last but not least, anyone having ties with slavery (promoting or opposing it) has heard of the Bellflower Network.

3) Lawful and chaotic are opposites and you'll have to pass trough neutral by acting rather lawful on several occasions. The process will then repeat when going from neutral to lawful. So going from chaotic to lawful good might be a very long shot, especially since CoT is a difficult campaign for lawful characters. So I advise, especially if you take Paladin as your favourite class, to take Neutral Good.

4) You don't have to and it is not required for the start of the campaign either, but I appreciate any effort to do so. Best way is to check each other's story, check if there is a hook you can tie your character to.

5) Start with average gold for your class please :-)

I would prefer Ranger since I don't know if I am going to make it back to Paladin, but wanted to know if you would require me to pick Paladin due to background, which I am okay with.

I'll check out the Bellflower and see how that will blend, I am more curious about how much you think the Network trusts Ozer and will let him in on their operations.

I am okay with the difficult task of going from Chaotic to Lawful if you are...role-play will determine it. I notice the party is all Neutral Good + a Lawful Neutral...it might be nice to have a Chaotic to make things interesting. I prefer Chaotic but will go with Neutral if you want me to. (I also know he may never get to Paladin, but could go Cleric, or even a completely different way...Rouge or into the strange arcane...who knows.)

Skimming over the other PC's the first possible character link I see is with Mazon and the warehouses she guards, possible connection to the underground/smuggling of slaves. If you and or Aebliss think there is some cool story to be told there.

I will spend it wisely. :)

I like the Bellflower network. If I am going to tie it to my background I will have to do some serious thinking on how. They free Halfling's; I was suggesting Teiflings who were in danger. The Westcrown hideout is run by clerics of Iomedae my patron goddess...that leads to character questions of why I wasn't already working for them, a paladin in the city. And if I wasn't working for or with them, why did Ozer not know about them. If he knows about them why is he not working for them and why did he still fall from grace. It would seem if he was hooked up with them, he wouldn't be a fallen paladin. I am curious if you or any of the other PC's have any suggestions.

How does this alternate background work for you:

Ozer Taskker Champion of Sarenrae, Steel Falcon of the Eagle Knights, a Man of Honor...maybe half a decade ago before coming to Cheliax. Ozer was once a devout man of faith, dedicated to his martial practice, and loyal to his vows both to the Dawnflower and to his order. It is the reason they chose him to leave Andoran and go to Westcrown to bring his goddesses message of redemption from evil to the imperial nation. But it was too much, Ozer couldn't take it...the arrogance of the followers of Asmodeus and the taint of devil worship everywhere. A year of service was lost, and stout ale became the fallen paladins only devotion. Ozer became a regular at, and under, the bar at the Bell of the Sea, the only place in the infernal city that didn't seem to stink of devil worship. Elden kept the bar there and never pressed Ozer as he drank away his tithes and sold his possessions to keep himself in tankards of ale. Ozer tried to stay at the bottom of a mug away from everything but then one night there was a girl. A halfling girl, not barley a women, who was huddled in the corner of the bar when they came for her. Agents of one of the noble houses, brutes who made her scream yanking her from the chair by the hair. Thugs with authority who made Elden bleed as he leapt to aid her. It was the girls sobs that pushed through the alcoholic fog and hit him at the core. He intervened and catching them off guard was able to fight them off as Elden got the girl out and away. The altercation ended up getting Ozer tossed into the lock-up for several day, until Elden came and bailed him out. It was several month later that the bar owner finally trusted Ozer to tell him the truth. Elden, a cleric of Iomedea and member of the Bellflower Network used the bar as part of an underground to help runaway slaves and others in need get smuggled out of Westcrown. Elden wanted Ozer to help. The fallen paladin found a purpose, if not his faith, working to help the underground...but still finding himself often under the bar.

Looks really nice according to me. Add some paragraphs so it's easier to read, and in your profile you might want to add some spoilers with the same goal.

There are 4 other good writers here, so I'm curious for their opinion as well ;-)

Mmmm... the Bellflower Network isn't a story hook I'd thought to work in. But there are few folks tht would be better positioned to support one leg of an underground railroad than an itinerant herbalist and healer who commutes up and down the river to the Dhaen Fens.

Probably not a bad way to meet young gentlemen that are more tolerable than the ones Cousin keeps setting Ronwn up with.

Though Ozer, I have to apologize in advance, Ronwn isn't a great fan of grey-bearded boyfriends.

brief update on Ronwn's character profile, reflecting this campaign point build.

Ronwn has one additional language because of the attribute point level. Ronwn is picking up halfling, as a reflection of a peripheral involvement in the Bellflower Network.

"Valani's whispers lead people to shelter
His screams bring storms
Nothing lasts forever."

How does this alternate background work for you:

Ozer Taskker Champion of Sarenrae, Steel Falcon of the Eagle Knights, a Man of Honor...maybe half a decade ago before coming to Cheliax. Ozer was once a devout man of faith, dedicated to his martial practice, and loyal to his vows both to the Dawnflower and to his order. It is the reason they chose him to leave Andoran and go to Westcrown to bring his goddesses message of redemption from evil to the imperial nation. But it was too much, Ozer couldn't take it...the arrogance of the followers of Asmodeus and the taint of devil worship everywhere. A year of service was lost, and stout ale became the fallen paladins only devotion. Ozer became a regular at, and under, the bar at the Bell of the Sea, the only place in the infernal city that didn't seem to stink of devil worship. Elden kept the bar there and never pressed Ozer as he drank away his tithes and sold his possessions to keep himself in tankards of ale. Ozer tried to stay at the bottom of a mug away from everything but then one night there was a girl. A halfling girl, not barley a women, who was huddled in the corner of the bar when they came for her. Agents of one of the noble houses, brutes who made her scream yanking her from the chair by the hair. Thugs with authority who made Elden bleed as he leapt to aid her. It was the girls sobs that pushed through the alcoholic fog and hit him at the core. He intervened and catching them off guard was able to fight them off as Elden got the girl out and away. The altercation ended up getting Ozer tossed into the lock-up for several day, until Elden came and bailed him out. It was several month later that the bar owner finally trusted Ozer to tell him the truth. Elden, a cleric of Iomedea and member of the Bellflower Network used the bar as part of an underground to help runaway slaves and others in need get smuggled out of Westcrown. Elden wanted Ozer to help. The fallen paladin found a purpose, if not his faith, working to help the underground...but still...

OK, I'll try to get past some current burnout from NaNoWriMo and provide some constructive feedback.

First thought - use the preview (pre-submit) and edit (post-submit) functions in the messageboard tool. Give yourself a chance to read back and do some mechanical edit. The first sentence:

Ozer Taskker Champion of Sarenrae, Steel Falcon of the Eagle Knights, a Man of Honor...maybe half a decade ago before coming to Cheliax.

reads better with a comma -

Ozer Taskker Champion of Sarenrae, Steel Falcon of the Eagle Knights, a Man of Honor...maybe half a decade ago, before coming to Cheliax.

Later, this sentence reads better with a comma offsetting the parenthetical expression

Elden, a cleric of Iomedea and member of the Bellflower Network, used the bar as part of an underground to help runaway slaves and others in need get smuggled out of Westcrown. Elden wanted Ozer to help.

The usage is right in other contexts - the thought is there, just not always executed.

As a broader comment, the thoughts are stepping on each other. It shows up as deep parentheticals, and paragraphs blending together. Improved mechanics/punctuation can help clarify. But simplifying the thoughts into separate discrete sentences will make the text easier to read. It doesn't have to be all the sentences, all the time. But simplifying most will leave the reader more attention to devote to occasional complex sentences.

Here's a slightly altered version, with a bit of paragraph space thrown in, some mechanical edit, and a batch of simplification.

Ozer Taskker Champion of Sarenrae, Steel Falcon of the Eagle Knights, a Man of Honor...maybe half a decade ago, before coming to Cheliax. Ozer was once a devout man of faith. He was dedicated to his martial practice and loyal to his vows. He owed faith to both the Dawnflower and to his Order. His deep faith was the the reason his Order chose him to leave Andoran and go to Westcrown to bring his goddess's message of redemption from evil to the imperial nation.

But it was too much. Ozer couldn't take it... The arrogance of the followers of Asmodeus and the taint of devil worship was everywhere in Westcrown. Ozer lost a year of service. Stout ale became the fallen paladin's only devotion. Ozer became a regular at the bar the Bell of the Sea, the only place in the infernal city that didn't seem to stink of devil worship. Elden kept the bar there. He never pressed Ozer as he drank away his tithes and sold his possessions to keep himself in tankards of ale. Ozer tried to stay at the bottom of a mug - away from everything.

But then one night there was a girl. A halfling girl, not barely a woman. She was huddled in the corner of the bar when they came for her. They were agents of one of the noble houses, brutes who made her scream - yanking her from the chair by her hair. Thugs with authority. They made Elden bleed as he leapt to aid her. It was the girl's sobs that pushed through the alcoholic fog and hit him at the core. He intervened and caught them off guard. He was able to fight them off as Elden got the girl out and away. The altercation ended up getting Ozer tossed into the lock-up for several day, until Elden came and bailed him out.

It was several months later that the bar owner finally trusted Ozer, and told him the truth. Elden was a cleric of Iomedea and a member of the Bellflower Network, He used the bar as part of an underground network to help runaway slaves and others in need get smuggled out of Westcrown. Elden wanted Ozer to help. The fallen paladin found a purpose, if not his faith, working to help the underground...but still...

I would think Maxis would have various opinions and dealings with the factions. Summarized thoughts below.

As far as possible character interactions/relations/background intertwinings go, I can think of a few ideas, or at least opinions, that might involve him with the others.

All very general stuff so far; I've never been very good as distilling the bigger picture into its specific base components. That stuff sort of tends to emerge as I muse and play things out, I guess.

Looks really nice according to me. Add some paragraphs so it's easier to read, and in your profile you might want to add some spoilers with the same goal.

There are 4 other good writers here, so I'm curious for their opinion as well ;-)

Yeah, just the rough draft for now, just trying to switch it up so that I have an in Character reason to learn about the Bellflower Network but not in such a way as it would seem that his participation in it would have prevented the fall of his paladin hood. This version has him being sent by the Eagle Knights, as a paladin of Sarenre so he would less likely know about the clerics of Iomedea at the Bell of the Sea. And also gives him some more depth to his fallenness...not just his goddess but also his vows to an order.

I am not suggesting all the PC's should be tied to the Network, that would not be fair to all the great stories they already have developed. I think it might actually fit better for Ozer's story that he doesn't know that Elden is with the network officially. He just has Ozer help out from time to time, when he is sober, and keeps the secrecy for the agents and all they do from the drunkard. Ozer just knows that Elden is a good guy and is helping halflings get away. Ozer will have heard rumors of the Bellflower's and might suspect, but at this point 'in the bottle' he probably doesn't much care. He is still early on his road to redemption. This keeps to the original idea of the character a bit better, but I think will morph it into the campaign world a little bit better too. Gives you the option to reveal to Ozer about the clerics, or the network, in more detail if you want.

Mmmm... the Bellflower Network isn't a story hook I'd thought to work in. But there are few folks tht would be better positioned to support one leg of an underground railroad than an itinerant herbalist and healer who commutes up and down the river to the Dhaen Fens.

Probably not a bad way to meet young gentlemen that are more tolerable than the ones Cousin keeps setting Ronwn up with.

Though Ozer, I have to apologize in advance, Ronwn isn't a great fan of grey-bearded boyfriends.

Don't feel like you have to be tied to the Network, I am just working up my background not trying to create the party Hook. If any of the other PC want to know Ozer prior to the start of the campaign I am cool with that, but it doesn't have to be because of the halfling underground.

And don't worry Ozer is not looking for any girlfriends.

*Edited Background*

Thanks for the red pen edit, I tend not to worry to much about that kind of stuff for the games on the boards. I do to much of it for my school papers :) I will copy it into my profile.

There would definitely be a sympathy here. By all accounts, Ozer is a good guy and a hero who just fell on hard times and couldn't quite handle the weight of the world. While the nature of alcoholism is unpredictable, Maxis would surely see some potential in Ozer. I can picture a quiet optimism that Ozer would one day find his sense of heroism again and Maxis would get to say he saw a man turn into a real hero (possibly as his boon adventuring companion.) Oh, and being able to cure hangovers with alchemist's kindness is sure to win points with heavy drinkers.

Yeah, I see some good stuff here between us. Your hangover cures might just be what Ozer needs to start on a true path to redemption.

Djivan: I have tweaked the background again, let me know what you think. I also think I have finished the character sheet and it is ready for your look over. Let me know if something seems off.

Your hangover cures might just be what Ozer needs to start on a true path to redemption.

Alchemy for the win.

I read the background again and I'm glad you decided to stay close with your original story. On a first look, stats look good, but I'll check this again later to be 100% sure.

Could you use some spoilers in your profile so it becomes easier to read? Thanks a lot :-)

Hi, everyone. I was planning to post in here yesterday, but I was seriously wiped out from work. ^^

It´s an interesting group, that´s for sure!
I have put in my character profile that Monk is Mazon´s favoured class. Her only two languages are currently Common and Orc. I may buy ranks in Linguistics later, if that becomes useful.

Mazon probably won´t be involved with the Bellflower Network. Her reason for coming to Westcrown is to fight and defeat the shadow creature or creatures putting the pinkskins in terror. She does not care for much else. As far as the major peacekeeping organizations are concerned, she has tried her best to avoid being noticed by them. Mazon will do her best to obey laws that seem reasonable and just to her, and she has not been making trouble, but she does not expect armed soldiers to be too accepting of an armed Orc.

I read the background again and I'm glad you decided to stay close with your original story. On a first look, stats look good, but I'll check this again later to be 100% sure.

Could you use some spoilers in your profile so it becomes easier to read? Thanks a lot :-)

Yeah being to "in the know" of the network pushes him farther along the path to redemption at the start then originally envisioned for the character. I think the Eagle Knights gives a good reason for him to have come to Chelix and not know the details of the Network and the church of Iomedae's evolvement. Thats also the reason for the switch to Sarenrae, which could lead to some nice role-play around joining a new church in the future.

I used the 20 point buy, and put the Human bonus in Strength. I put the level one favored class bonus into a skill point. I put hp at full for first level, let me know if you would rather they be rolled.

I moved the background to the bottom and put all the fluff stuff behind spoilers so that only the crunch is now visible like a Stat Block, so it should be easier to read now.

Before Maxis can get his hangover cures into Ozer, the fallen warrior will have to survive Mazon! The Orc is struggling with her own urge to enjoy the good things in life to excess, and if she finds herself working with someone who keeps dropping into a bottle, she is likely to take him in hand and and try to teach him some of the discipline she got at the monastery... ;) She will not accept such weakness in herself, and she certainly won´t accept it in someone on whom she may have to rely for her life.

Cool, looks like we will have some tension in the party. I am good with that, maybe you can knock him back into his vows :)

ohhh, there's going to be all sorts of chemistry here, ain't there?

...

...

Oh, I guess I made a pun there. my bad.

Ozer Taskker wrote:

Your hangover cures might just be what Ozer needs to start on a true path to redemption.

Alchemy for the win.

I'll see your alchemy and raise you a magic cauldron. :)

ohhh, there's going to be all sorts of chemistry here, ain't there?

Where there's smoke, there're exothermic reactions. And occasional explosions.

Thanks for the red pen edit, I tend not to worry to much about that kind of stuff for the games on the boards. I do to much of it for my school papers :) I will copy it into my profile.

My mother was a third grade teacher. Red-line edit was scorched into me throughout my childhood. :)

Where there's smoke, there're exothermic reactions. And occasional explosions.

Now see, there's the difference between us. We're both alchemy nerds, but I know how keep it in common for the onlookers. I can tell we're going to have quite a comedic schtick going when we're out in public.

This is gonna be epic.

@Ozer: 100% sure, you're ready to go ;-)

Any other character that needs checking/feedback/info, or are you all ready to go for friday?

I think I'm cool, unless you see anything out of order. ^^

To suit Mazon's martial arts theme, I'm thinking of buying Vudrani and Tien when she's eligible to learn those languages...

@Ozer: 100% sure, you're ready to go ;-)

Any other character that needs checking/feedback/info, or are you all ready to go for friday?

If you are good with the background, I am. I like to leave it vague so we can add in as needed to help flesh out the story if needed and not be set in stone on things that may or may not come up. Unless your ;-) is a hint that I missed something super obvious, I am good to go. I will let you know that I have an 8-10 page paper due Friday that I haven't started on yet so it might be Saturday before I get a chance to add in to the game thread.

I feel I've got enough of a personality established that I can play out the rest as it occurs. Unless you think there's any gaps that need to be filled somewhere, I suppose I'll handle them as they come.

good to go :)

@Ozer: No worries, I'm not planning on changing the rules to posting every day now. I'm still OK with 3-4 posts a week.

@Mazon:
-Which favoured class bonus did you take?
-I'm not familiar with your weapons, where can I read about them?
-Vudrani and Tien might be difficult to learn in Westcrown, so I don't know if I'm ok with that. If you want to continue to flavour Mazon to a rather Eastern style tough, I'll think of how we could insert that in a credible way in the campaign.
-Could you add some spoilers in your profile? I find that easier to read :-)

@Maxis and Ronwn: I'll check as soon as I'm able to.

Pretty sure I am good to go.

@Mazon:

-Which favoured class bonus did you take?
-I'm not familiar with your weapons, where can I read about them?
-Vudrani and Tien might be difficult to learn in Westcrown, so I don't know if I'm ok with that. If you want to continue to flavour Mazon to a rather Eastern style tough, I'll think of how we could insert that in a credible way in the campaign.
-Could you add some spoilers in your profile? I find that easier to read :-)

- I used the favoured class bonus to get an extra skill rank.

- They can be found in Ultimate Combat.

- No worries if it doesn't work out. ^^ My thought was that she would try to honour her teachers by adopting the language of the nations that shaped their Art. If all else fails, maybe she could pick it up from scrolls on martial arts that become available in the market-place of Westcrown at a later date?

- Will do!

@Maxis:
-Could you motivate your language choices, especially Goblin?
-Could you send me in a PM if you have any preferences about the Pathfinder liaison? If no preferences, you can say so here and I'll give you the information you need to know. You can use that knowledge during the adventure.
-Could you tell me what favoured class bonus you are using?
-Could you add some spoilers in your profile? I find that easier to read :-)

@Ronwn:
-What favoured class bonus are you using?
-Could you tell me a little about your familiar? Just basics I could use in an introduction.
-Could you add some spoilers in your profile? I find that easier to read :-)

@Shannon:
-Could you tell me where to find more info about the "Blue book (Westcrown)?
-What favourite class bonus are you using?

@Mazon:
Thanks :-) We got some time to fix a RP solution for that, I think I can pull of something in the future to make it fitting. But, Mazon is ready to go.

Favored class bonus for 1st level is +1 Skill Point. I will make a special note of that in the profile. Down the road Shannon may take advantage of gaining the extra known spells in lieu of skill points. I don't think he is a character who benefits from or does anything to justify more hit points.

In addition, I noticed that I forgot that the previous DM asked us to select three traits. This one is more standard and only calls for 2, so I removed Natural Born Leader and retained the others, one of which is the campaign trait.

The Bluebook is from Ultimate Equipment. The namesake alone hints at its resourcefulness, when you interpret blue in the sense Samuel Peters gave it during his condemnation of the bloody or "blue" laws of puritan colonists, taken to refer to outdated, strict, and moralistic laws, and also later in Scotland when it appeared in the dictionary to mean indicate a "smutty touch in song-singing, chatting, or piece of writing."

BLUE BOOK

This book details the seedier entertainment establishments in one major city. It contains the names of brothels, burlesque houses, and gambling halls in that city. By consulting the book for 1 hour, for the next 24 hours you gain a +2 circumstance bonus on Knowledge (local), Bluff, and Diplomacy checks to gather or use information in that city. At the GM's discretion, you can use it in settlements near that city for a +1 bonus.

I have interpreted this as something Shannon has inherited from his recently deceased mother, whose estate he is now trying to handle in the wake of her public execution. It was her own Blue Book - her own writings about the seedy underbelly of Westcrown's entertainment scene, which she took full advantage of as Westcrown's most prominent doyenne, detailing people who look the other way, where illicit meetings can be arranged, as well as a smattering of rumors and spurious claims about individuals in the city, be they peddlers of vice or incorruptible saints. Thus each time it is consulted in anticipation of having to go out and gather information, Shannon can glean a little aid from his mother's wicked ways. Peering into his mother's petty schemes is by no mean's a joyful task for him, however, so he is struck with some melancholy when consulting the resource (duality of meaning; it makes him feel blue.) In fact, the Blue Book might be one far-shot piece of circumstantial evidence that would compromise the Crown's claim (vis a vis the Mayor, I assume) that she was deliberately subversive, for it never specifically references any particular issues with House Thrune, the Church of Asmodeus, or any other leading power in a treasonous way. But to bring it forward in a pathetic attempt to posthumously exonerate her would instead have the effect of revealing just what a small-minded and manipulative b$&$! she was. Shannon decided that being beheaded as a traitor to the Crown is a diva-like legacy that his mother could take pride in, rather than the shameful and ignominious reality. (Whether there is or is not any truth to the claims surrounding her execution of actual treason and subversion I leave in your hands as a sub-plot. Shannon has no knowledge of the truth, no means by which to gain any knowledge of the truth, and unlike other heroic adventurer types, no desire to, either.)

As a small note to the rest of the PCs, Shannon has probably not had any interaction with anyone directly. He has only recently returned to Westcrown to handle his mother's estate in the wake of her execution (something I would consider public knowledge or at least known by a sufficiently reasonable Knowledge Local check), taking time off from the operatic circuit of Cheliax to settle the estate. Due to the class feature of the Chelish Diva (regional fame), I am not offended if your PCs have prior knowledge or have formed opinions of Shannon as a public figure based on any number of rumors or stories, or maybe having actually seen him on stage. I am also not offended if you have no clue who he is. I leave decisions of that caliber in your hands as players and I play off of that.

As far as the factions go, I love games with factions for some reason. I don't see Shannon having any particular influence or desire to have a part in any of them at the moment. I know his interrelation and opinion on all of them, but I'll play those close to the chest and those opinions will become clear if those factions become prominent in the story.

EDIT: Haha, wow, it censors b+$&#? That's amusing.

@GM:
--I'm not sure what you mean by "motivate" my language choices. Clarify?
--as far as the PF liaison, I imagine that would be something that happens to Maxis, rather than something he decides, so surprise me.
--FC bonus is the skill rank. 4 for alchemist, 4 for int bonus, 1 for FC.
--spoilers? last I checked, the whole thing is broken up by spoilers. Am I missing something?

@Shannon: thanks, with that clear, Shannon is ready to go :)

@Maxis:
-I'd like to know why Maxis knows these languages, how he was able to learn them.
-I'll provide something at the start of the adventure.
-ok thanks.
-My bad. Don't remember why I asked either, probably confused with something else. Sorry.

@GM: ok, gonna work on that. never really give the language selection much thought most of the time, guess it would be good to elaborate on that for once. My character in my moonscar game has every language in the core rulebook due to her linguistics ranks. Haven't had to use them yet, but who needs magical comprehension when you speak virtually every language in the game? LOL.

So, thinking about it now, probably the most obvious reason for each language choice was pragmatism. common is a given, halfling makes sense, given that even in Westcrown, there are halflings to speak with. As far as the other languages go, I feel they would be the most likely things he'd be exposed to on a day to day basis, with Westcrown being a fairly even melting pot of races. Especially if he does exchange services and products every now and then, I imagine he'd either find it prudent to learn the languages of his visitors, or be educated on them by Father Edwin for the purpose of blending in and being safe from language-based double talk on the streets of Westcrown.

The goblin language, however, would likely be something he'd learn as a byproduct of alchemy studies, since some goblins are infamous for their alchemical mishaps and discoveries. If anything, understanding the goblin language would be very good for understanding what NOT to do with two chemicals. Know what I mean? Probably a very niche thing, but hey, I had INT to spare.

I like that our DM is making us justify our character choices so that they are not just sheets of paper that have a list of things they can do, but have a concept of who, what, and why they are who they are. Looking forward to an awesome campaign with all of you.

@Maxis: Apart from the languages you're ready to go ;-) I'll be starting the campaign anyway, but I would appreciate if you would give it some toughts within the next couple of days.
You have several options. Either you stick with Edwin teaching you the basics of Elven, Dwarven and Gnome, either you take some of the human regional languages (which I would find more logical for Edwin to teach you). Furthermore, Azlanti would be an option of a language Edwin would know, since it would be considered the language of his former patron deity Aroden. Feel free to come up with another reason of how Maxis would have learned a language, I'm just giving examples of possible justifications ;-)

@MythrilDragon: That is exactly the reason, glad you like it.

Started the campaign with an introduction story: http://paizo.com/campaigns/WiscraniTales/gameplay

To make it easier for everyone, I propose the following:
-Make a habit of checking discussions prior to posting in gameplay.
-Limit OOC to the most essential.
-Use spoilers for Dice Rolls + situations only your character would be aware of.
-When in combat, I'll roll initiative for everyone. Don't wait your turn (combat would take weeks that way), just post what you would be doing that round, if needed with various options. I'll do the same for the bad guys.

I think I agree with your reasoning on the languages. I'll make the changes now.

Replaced goblin with Azlanti. Education from Father Edwin does make sense, and I can see that language maybe coming in handy somewhere during the intrigue we're likely to encounter. The rest would have been introduced by Edwin, and Maxis would have found plenty of time to learn the intricacies through study and practice, given how much time he's spent indoors with the books, and his regular trading with various merchants.

Regional languages seem reasonable, but they feel like they're essentially dialects, and they all speak common on some level anyway. Seems likely that with the racial languages covered, he'd be able to mingle with a larger overall crowd. I dunno, haven't had to research the languages that much overall, I guess it's something often glossed over. Gives me something new to consider when new characters emerge.

phew...did NOT intend to throw that much exposition and internal monologue out there, but once the typing started, it just wouldn't stop.

Wish I could summon up that kind of flow on demand...

I like it ;-)

Thanks for updating the languages, I'm ok with that. Looking forward to see everyone in the gameplay thread :-)

@Ronwn:

-What favoured class bonus are you using?
-Could you tell me a little about your familiar? Just basics I could use in an introduction.
-Could you add some spoilers in your profile? I find that easier to read :-)

Favored class bonus is +1 Skill Point

Hessedher - Arcane Familiar
Male Thrush
N Diminutive Magical Beast ((animal))

...I want to sing a duet with Hessedher. :)

He can't carry a tune in a bucket. But if you hum a few bars he'll whistle along :)

Stop writing that much, you all make me feel like an amateur!

Just joking. Really enjoying it. I admit tough I underestimated writing RP in English. Will get better when I'm used to it.

@Djivan - your english is far superior to my dutch. thanks for the effort!