Inspired by the classic D&D adventure 'B2 - Keep on the Borderlands' by Gary Gygax. This is very similar in tone and theme but with some heavy-handed customization as an endeavor to take a fresh look at a classic.
Hello players.
*note that a couple of the selections are folks who have been in discussion with me about possibly changing their character to fit the party, in case you're wondering about any party balance issues or role holes*
FWIW I think we'll be fine regarding of missing any classic roles because the game is dynamic enough to accommodate such things.
I'll be working on getting up the first Gameplay post up this weekend. For now feel free to chime in here and say hello, ask questions, etc.
Hi, guys!
I'm looking forward to the game.
As to classes, I wouldn't mind having a wizard or a paladin, but with three pure martials we should do all right. The inspiration, Keep on the Borderlands, was the kind adventure where a mostly-fighter party would do pretty well.
As for me... Dunganagar is all offense and no defense. Yes, he tries to be as offensive as possible. :P
He hits VERY hard. Average damage with his waraxe when he rages is 16. Probably overkill at 1st level. But he has a comically low DEX score. When he rages and makes a charge attack his AC is 9. And yes, he IS wearing armor. :)
I do make up for it a bit by having the Fey Foundling feat which means I get more HP from healing than normal. And at 2nd level my archetype gives me DR 1/-. Dunganagar also has survival and sense motive as significant skills, but is not a skill monkey by any means.
GM: If you could open the gameplay thread that would be handy, even if you have nothing to post there yet. Once we dot the gameplay thread it shows up in our campaign tab.
Also: I'm going to make a separate avatar for when Dunganagar rages (this one), for simplicity sake. Haven't done it up yet but will mostly be copy & paste so it won't take too long.
Hello players.
*note that a couple of the selections are folks who have been in discussion with me about possibly changing their character to fit the party, in case you're wondering about any party balance issues or role holes*
Hey GM, thanks for the selection; glad to be here. :)
I was originally thinking of having an archetype that would grant an animal companion but I think that the six of us will be plenty and there's no need to add another 'party member'.
I think I'll just get a dog for RP purposes, something like a little rat terrier.
Looking forward to starting,
Game on!
Thanks GM. Keep on the borderlands was the first adventure I ever ran. That was back in the 80's so it hooked me on role playing for life. :)
The party looks pretty good, obviously our solutions to a lot of things are simply going to be - 'Hit it till it's dead!". Which is fine for Brandt, who is going to drive people crazy as he tries to fit everything into what he thinks is a proper heroic story.
Despite being a big, somewhat goofy kid Brandt will work on all his knowledge's, he's that wide eyed boy who soaked up all the glorious histories he could.
Okay, so I thought I would go over my "First Impressions" of characters to see how we fit in together.
Pinto Donasetti:
A human brawler. Good stat array for a martial character. The weapons he has are light but with Flurry I am guessing his main thing will be to full attack twice with his Handaxe. That gives a respectable 2d6+6 damage per round.
Also has the Dirty Fighting feat which (if I understand it correctly) lets him make pretty much any combat maneuver when flanking without provoking, OR gives him a +4 to hit when flanking. That's pretty cool. I'll be happy to be your flanking buddy!
Eina:
I've never played with a shaman before, but it looks like they are basically witches but with access to oracle revelations. Fair enough. Eina put two feats into getting point-blank shot at 1st level so I'm guessing she is going to specialize in ray spells later on. I'm not sure how many ray spells are on the witch list.
She can channel, but only twice per day. Also she can't swap for cure spells. So while she can heal she isn't that great at it. I'm guessing she will get a lot of use out of daze in early levels since we expect a lot of humanoids.
She has two animals, a raven familiar and a bison. Looking at the Bison stats and HOLY CRAP! 42 HP, a trample attack that does 2d6+12 damage, AC 17, 27 STR, +10 to hit in melee... wow. I'm not sure how Eina got one of these but it seems to have the same stats as an Aurochs which is on the summon monster III list. Where can I get one? If this is allowed I envision that the Bison just clears every hallway and we just mop up.
That doesn't sound like a lot of fun so I suspect the Ban-Hammer may appear there.
Brandt Holgarson:
Human Skald. My new best friend. Raging song lets me rage without spending rage rounds, so that's great. Also he has a feat so he can use raging song to give himself fast healing 2, which is cool.
His sheet says "spells prepared" but I think that should be "spells known." He knows cure light wounds so at least he has some healing, though he doesn't have enough spells per day to be more than a backup. However, I think Dunganagar will be throwing money at him to build a supply of scrolls of CLW.
I do think we need to get him some better armor and a shield. At least a buckler. His attacks are not especially strong but he can buff himself which is nice.
Taecuss dyn Bru:
Elven investigator. Since I am a dwarf we need an elf for the traditional elf-dwarf rivalry. :) Taecuss is the party smarty-pants (the opposite of Dunganagar!) and our trapfinder. I like the investigator class overall, and I actually play one (with the same archetype) in an Iron Gods game.
Taecuss will be great with knowledge skills though he only has ranks in three of the major ones right now (arcana, local, and nature). But he adds 1d6 inspiration to every knowledge check so that's pretty good. Taecuss also gets self-buffs with his alchemist extracts, but he can't use them on anyone else until he can make infusions.
Taecuss has a shortbow and a dagger and a club. He has weapon finesse, but clubs are not finesse weapons. I'm guessing he will use the bow most of the time, and will probably switch to a longbow when he can afford one.
Erodin Stark:
Tiefling Fighter. He's a Brawler, but the fighter archetype, not the class. I think what I'm looking at here is what will eventually be a sword and board TWF guy. Right now he has a great AC (20) and that's not with a shield (though he has the shield-trained trait). So this guy will probably be the main tank character.
Interestingly he dumped INT by 1 point, and upped CHA so he wouldn't have a CHA penalty. I probably would have went the other way (actually I did with Dunganagar). As a result his skills are fairly weak.
I think he has short-changed himself on his attacks. His bite and machete use weapon finesse so... My bad... just realized he is including power attack with all his melee attacks. Though he should probably list his bite when it is used as a secondary attack (for when he full attacks), in which case with power attack it will be -2, 1d6+2. He might want to grab a greatclub too for two-handing at close range if he is not going to carry a shield. He also should get some rope to attach to his grappling hook.
Nice review. I've changed his sheet to spells known. PCgen which I use to create characters doesn't really differentiate between prepared and known.
You missed the bottle of whiskey in Brandts gear. :)
As a hybrid class Skald does suffer a little in straight combat, but I've seen them used very effectively, both as a buffer and a fighter. Just have to get a few levels under the belt.
Brandt does have a shield to use with his axe, the sheet is set up with crossbow at the moment. I'll update his stat block to show his AC for ranged and melee.
Little Thunderhead (or Thud, for short) was bought using some of Eina's starting cash. He's a beast of burden and won't be going with us into the dark caves and spooky dungeons. For that matter, the only time I intend to have him participate in combat is if someone hits him. Then he'll trample and gore and general make him/her and his/her buddies paste. He's a stubborn yak (which use the bison stats in Pathfinder) and is more there so Eina can actually make it anywhere without exhausting herself.
Besides I think it'd be funny if she started using a wagon as a mobile healing hut/brewery. So long as he's plied with apple and pear liquor, Thud'll be happy to pull it.
It's probably not an optimal choice, but I took those feats so that she could use her sling without sending her attack bonus into the nether regions while the big boys are handling things. She'll primarily be a buffer and a healer as far as casting goes, so when she's not keeping allies on their feet or helping them dish out the hurt, she's plinking away at their HP with bullets, and arrows if I go by my original plan. I was going to have her dip into Ranger for the favored enemy and proficiencies, but seeing as we're looking like we're short on healing, and with a raging barbarian, that's something we need lots of, I think I may see if it's okay to do a rebuild as an oracle. either way, the flavor's going to be the same, it's just that she'll be better at the healing bit.
Also, just a note, Eina's the sole member of the fairer sex in this party. I'm not sure if I should be worried for her or for you. :P
This is Tazo's arcane submission - a tiefling psychic, so that we can have a full caster in this party. Still may be rough around the edges, but I'll work on that over the weekend. I'm glad Eina will not be the only member of the fairer sex, although Alienna is not exactly fair to look at.
@Eina - I swear I am not stealing Tella's character in creating this. :P
Um... okay. I did like your fighter though.
Eina is a full caster though, so we did have one already. And she is arcane. She just has cure spells on her spell list, like bards.
Also be advised that psychics are not arcane casters and you won't be able to use arcane items without UMD checks. But their spell lists do seem mostly to be like arcane casters. If we are counting you as arcane we now have four arcane casters.
Sure you wouldn't prefer to play an oracle? We have no divine casters. Then you can still wear armor and jack up your AC like your other character.
@Alienna: So you're playing a Shelynite that has a tendency to be creepy when interrogating criminals? :P It's cool. And Dunganagar has a point. Eina is a full caster, she just gets four slots per spell level at most. I also liked Erodin, but I like Alienna too. I'm just not sure how Eina would react to her.
I need to do a few things to wrap up Eina's profile and I think I'll be good to go.
By the way, the Gameplay thread is up if you haven't seen it yet.
I like both my characters, trying to do right from a party perspective. I have no understanding of Shamans, so maybe there is more casting in the party than I'd thought!
Just not a lot of healing.
GM, would you mind if I rebuilt Eina as an oracle?
It was me who originally asked Tazo to consider a switch from Erodin to a caster-type. At that time I was considering a slightly different line up of characters, and the main issue was we were top-heavy on melee. The bigger booboo I made was my ignorance about the Shaman class; I would've sworn they were they a 6-level caster class, but I was mistaken.
At this point I am okay with nearly any choice Tazo goes with since the party is pretty kick-ass and decently well-rounded (with the notable exception of divine magic...which is always welcome but not imperative).
I am curious to see a Psychic in play, I have to admit. I've enjoyed reading my Occult Adventures book and I haven't had a chance to play as or play with any classes therein.
(Tazo! I'm sorry for the confusion on this)
Just not a lot of healing.
GM, would you mind if I rebuilt Eina as an oracle?
I mind not at all. I picked each of you for this game (a few of you I knew beforehand as solid gamers who's style I'm familiar and comfortable with) more for your attitudes and enthusiasm than for the character you submitted. If you want to change characters for party balance that is okay with me, but all I ask is make sure your picking because you want to.
On that note - I'm not a hardass about people being locked in to their characters. If you find that you'd rather play something else as the game develops, let me know and we'll work it out. If you find that you picked a goofy feat and you want to swap it out, let me know and we'll work it out.
Pinto Donasetti:
A human brawler. Good stat array for a martial character. The weapons he has are light but with Flurry I am guessing his main thing will be to full attack twice with his Handaxe. That gives a respectable 2d6+6 damage per round.Also has the Dirty Fighting feat which (if I understand it correctly) lets him make pretty much any combat maneuver when flanking without provoking, OR gives him a +4 to hit when flanking. That's pretty cool. I'll be happy to be your flanking buddy!
Flanking buddies are welcomed! :)
This is my first brawler so we'll see how this goes.
The idea is to use brawler's fury but I won't get that until 2nd level. With that, I will switch in a combat maneuver instead of an attack every once in a while as befits the situation.
I also have combat flexibility and will get a whole bunch of feats so I'll be asking those more mechanically inclined than me to help me out with feat selection.
Game on!
Just a note. Brandt is using the Totemic Skald archetpe, so he has a few changes from the standard Skald, but not for a few levels yet. He will be getting an animal friend though. :)
A question for our GM. There is an Extra performance feat, but no Extra Raging song. Would I be allowed to take the Extra performance and use it for my Raging song? One of the prerequisites is having Bardic performance.
Here are a few reminders, refreshers, and requests:
AC 23, touch 12, flat-footed 20 [+7 armor, +3 Shield, +2 Dex, +1 dodge, +1 deflection, +1 natural armor, -2 Rage]
or this:
Melee: Gorloth's Fury - Keen Furious Bastard Sword +17/+12 (+8 BAB, +5 Str, +1 WF, +1/+3 Enh/Raging, +1 WT, +2 Rage, -3 PA), 1d10+19, 17-20 x2 (+5 Str, +6 PA, +2 WS, +1 WT, +1/+3 Enh, +2 Rage)
Just a note. Brandt is using the Totemic Skald archetpe, so he has a few changes from the standard Skald, but not for a few levels yet. He will be getting an animal friend though. :)
A question for our GM. There is an Extra performance feat, but no Extra Raging song. Would I be allowed to take the Extra performance and use it for my Raging song? One of the prerequisites is having Bardic performance.
Yes you absolutely can take that feat to get more rounds. Here are the key words from the ability:
A raging song counts as the bard's bardic performance special ability for any effect that affects bardic performances.
Okay, 4 channels and up to 4 CLWs seems to be a might bit more useful for keeping us on our feet. :)
Have I ever mentioned that I'm an indecisive person?
Now I'm wondering if I should stick with Alienna. She's probably less optimal, but from a roleplaying perspective I feel like there's going to be significant overlap between Erodin, Dunganagar, Pinto, and Brandt. Whereas Ali is going to be very different from all you brawny types.
I'll also mention that psychics can cast spells in any armor. No arcane spell failure. Ali would take a penalty to her attack rolls for non-proficiency, but she won't be attacking very much, especially as the party levels.
She's also designed to take Snake Style, which is my take on her ability to read her opponent's mind and anticipate their attacks. Though that'll take until Level 3 to get.
I started playing a psychic in a game a while ago. Building a psychic is tricky because it is tough to get a handle on the spell list. There's a lot of neat things in there, but as a spontaneous caster you don't get to choose too many. I found it difficult to come up with a working psychic.
FYI if the psychic spell list is too weird you can make a sorcerer with the Psychic Bloodline. They use the sorcerer spell list but have some psychic spells as bonus spells.
Psychic Builds:
The obvious one is to go for enchantments like charm person. There are a lot of psychic spells that do that kind of thing.
There are a number of force effect spells in there if you want to do damage, though not much else in the blasting category.
Conjuring also works with psychics.
If you wanted to play a combat character who is also a psychic this is also possible. The 1/2 BAB and no armor proficiency really hurts. But the Mutation Mind archetype lets you "hulk out" periodically giving yourself a limited number of Strength Boosts per day (1/day at first level). The Aberration discipline works well with this. Also the Self-Perfection discipline lets you use your casting score (WIS) like a monk, adding to your AC if you don't have armor. Since you can cast mage armor and shield this can work well. You could still be the High-AC guy in the party. You can use a two-handed weapon and still get a shield bonus through magic. Style feats also work with this "monk-like" concept.
If you wanted to go that route though, you would need to take a less feat-heavy combat style. You will never have enough feats to support a TWF build. Also you will need to farm every to-hit bonus you can manage to compensate for your low BAB.
If the GM will allow Alternate Tiefling Subraces, if you were going for this and taking the Self Perfection discipline I would take either the Asura-Spawn or Qlippoth-Spawn race. If you went for Aberration then Demon Spawn or Div-Spawn are probably your best bet.
Okay, 4 channels and up to 4 CLWs seems to be a might bit more useful for keeping us on our feet. :)
If your goal is to be a primary healer then yes, the Life Oracle is probably the way to go. But FYI a cleric can be almost as good without having to pick the healing domain, whereas the only way to channel-heal as an oracle is through the Life mystery.
My personal preference is for a decent healer but I don't expect you to have to be a heal-bot.
Oracles also have medium armor and shield proficiency so they can get closer to the action if necessary. Weirdly, I can't find any oracle archetype that modifies armor or weapon proficiency.
A suggestion here though:
If you want to make Ranged Combat your thing, a human can trade the bonus feat for Adoptive Parentage to get elven weapon familiarity at the start, which would give you longbow. Or the heirloom weapon trait could give you proficiency.
Half-elves can also get that by trading out the Adaptability trait.
OR, If the GM agrees you could ask to trade out medium armor proficiency for something more range-related, like proficiency with bows.
GM Zedth:
About the Map:
In your description of the campaign you describe us as going to Sowell's Orchard and then on to the Keep which is in the north east of the untamed wilds.
BUT the map you have linked to above shows us coming towards the Keep from the west, which would be through most of the untamed wilds to get to the keep on the far east end. Practically speaking the route to the Keep ought to come from the East, the North, or the Northeast.
Possible Fixes:
1. Just move the location of Sowell's Orchard and the Keep to the north-west corner of the untamed wilds, and leave the map of the borderlands the same.
2. Say that the left-hand side represents North rather than East
3. Reverse the map horizontally so as to make it that we are coming in on the right hand side instead of the left.
If your goal is to be a primary healer then yes, the Life Oracle is probably the way to go. But FYI a cleric can be almost as good without having to pick the healing domain, whereas the only way to channel-heal as an oracle is through the Life mystery.
True, I could have selected a cleric of Erastil and been able to do the same thing and get proficiency with bows from the start, but that didn't fit the background of the character. Oracle made for a much better fit with her background. She was the wisewoman/lorekeeper-in-training for her tribe, so Shaman, Witch, and Oracle are probably the best fits.
My personal preference is for a decent healer but I don't expect you to have to be a heal-bot.
I've been in a party with no divine casters and no casters that can cast any cure spells. To put it simply, it resulted in my character almost dying after getting munched on by a lizard we were trying to no kill because it belonged to the carnival we were at, then the next day, she fell into a pit trap, fell while trying to climb out, then got shanked by a skulk that popped out of hiding as we were trying to take a skulk we found in the pit with us. If I have to be a heal-bot to prevent someone from going through that I will. It was frustrating to have that happen to my character as much as I have enjoyed that game.
Oracles also have medium armor and shield proficiency so they can get closer to the action if necessary. Weirdly, I can't find any oracle archetype that modifies armor or weapon proficiency.
I'd have to double-check, but the Battle mystery either gives you martial weapon proficiency or has a revelation that lets you get proficiency with a martial weapon. The problem with Eina getting close, though, is she has a STR of 10, not exactly melee material
A suggestion here though:
If you want to make Ranged Combat your thing, a human can trade the bonus feat for Adoptive Parentage to get elven weapon familiarity at the start, which would give you longbow. Or the heirloom weapon trait could give you proficiency.
Half-elves can also get that by trading out the Adaptability trait.
OR, If the GM agrees you could ask to trade out medium armor proficiency for something more range-related, like proficiency with bows.
Hmm. If the GM's okay with it, I think I'd like to switch out the medium armor proficiency for proficiency with bows. I think it'd fit her background better anyway. I wish Heirloom weapon still gave you the weapon in question, otherwise I have to completely redo all of Eina's gear. The others, well, for the same reason I didn't pick cleric, I won't be pursuing those options.
Though if I'm going to be honest, I was thinking about dipping into Ranger. She hates goblins and it makes sense to me that she'd learn how to really lay the hurt on them. I know that it's not exactly the most optimal choice, but I think it fits her as a character.
Thank you for the advice, though. I really do appreciate it. :)
@GM Zedth--Not that I've played one, but I would guess there are a couple of things that will limit the psychic, which I think Dunganagar's posts on the topic alluded to. And there are a couple of solutions I'd like to propose.
1. Access to scrolls. Since psychic magic is a rare, third type of magic different from arcane and divine, it will be hard to find appropriate scrolls. (Note that wands will still work as long as the spell is on the psychic list.) Now, the Internet tells me that in Pathfinder Society, there is no distinction between arcane, divine, and psychic scrolls. Is that something we could implement in this game?
2. Diversity of spell list. This is a problem common to sorcerers and psychics. The main solution, frankly, is to play a Human. Their Favored Class bonus allows you to learn an additional spell as long as it's not at your highest spell level. Would it be possible for a tiefling to gain access to that FCB as well? This is totally not RAW, but the rationale (or should I say rationalization?) is that like half-orcs and half-elves, tieflings are also part-human. (I believe there's a ruling that half-elves can take the human, half-elf, or elf FCB because they count as both humans and elves. I'd be fine counting as a human and an outsider for favored enemy effects and the like.)
I'm totally fine if you say no to any of this. Starting the gravy train of giving out boons can be problematic.
If the GM's okay with it, I think I'd like to switch out the medium armor proficiency for proficiency with bows.
Unconventional, but approved. Go ahead with the swap if you want to.
1. Access to scrolls. Since psychic magic is a rare, third type of magic different from arcane and divine, it will be hard to find appropriate scrolls. (Note that wands will still work as long as the spell is on the psychic list.) Now, the Internet tells me that in Pathfinder Society, there is no distinction between arcane, divine, and psychic scrolls. Is that something we could implement in this game?
When people ask for rules exceptions I ask myself - is this game breaking? Is this problematic? Does it go against the spirit of the game? Does it further fun with little-to-no downside?
If I get satisfactory answers to those questions I'm usually going to say yes. For the purposes of this game I am okay with us ignoring the monikers of divine, arcane, and psychic as they apply to scrolls.
2. Diversity of spell list. This is a problem common to sorcerers and psychics. The main solution, frankly, is to play a Human. Their Favored Class bonus allows you to learn an additional spell as long as it's not at your highest spell level. Would it be possible for a tiefling to gain access to that FCB as well? This is totally not RAW, but the rationale (or should I say rationalization?) is that like half-orcs and half-elves, tieflings are also part-human. (I believe there's a ruling that half-elves can take the human, half-elf, or elf FCB because they count as both humans and elves. I'd be fine counting as a human and an outsider for favored enemy effects and the like.)
I'm totally fine if you say no to any of this. Starting the gravy train of giving out boons can be problematic.
This one I'm going to have say no to. Tieflings already get a very nice suite of abilities at their disposal, and spontaneous casters are built to trade in diversity for more spells/day. I'm inclined to leave this one alone.
About the Map:
In your description of the campaign you describe us as going to Sowell's Orchard and then on to the Keep which is in the north east of the untamed wilds.
BUT the map you have linked to above shows us coming towards the Keep from the west, which would be through most of the untamed wilds to get to the keep on the far east end. Practically speaking the route to the Keep ought to come from the East, the North, or the Northeast.
Possible Fixes:
1. Just move the location of Sowell's Orchard and the Keep to the north-west corner of the untamed wilds, and leave the map of the borderlands the same.
2. Say that the left-hand side represents North rather than East
3. Reverse the map horizontally so as to make it that we are coming in on the right hand side instead of the left.
I appreciate the suggestions but for the purposes of this game there are no fixes needed. The only map we're going to be using in this game is the hex map linked at the top of the page, as it is the sandbox "borderlands" zone surrounding the Keep. For intents and purposes of this game, no other context is necessary.
The world map linked on my other game is yet unfinished and as discussed via PM not perfectly to scale. The rough placing of these borderlands places them at-or-just beyond the northeastern tip of the Untamed Wilds - catty-cornered - which leaves sufficient room for Sowell's Orchard to still be west of the hex map we'll be using. This small village would similarly be placed at the northeast of the Untamed Wilds, maybe a click or two north of where you were picturing it?
In any case, it's all intellectual since the scope of this game is relatively small compared to my map(s) of the greater realm/world.
Oracles also have medium armor and shield proficiency so they can get closer to the action if necessary. Weirdly, I can't find any oracle archetype that modifies armor or weapon proficiency.I'd have to double-check, but the Battle mystery either gives you martial weapon proficiency or has a revelation that lets you get proficiency with a martial weapon. The problem with Eina getting close, though, is she has a STR of 10, not exactly melee material
The battle mystery has a revelation that gives you heavy armor and martial weapon proficiency. But that's not what I'm thinking.
I was actually thinking of an archetype that reduces armor proficiency and trades it for something else. Cleric has a number of archetypes that do that. Warpriest has at least one. But I saw none on the list that modified armor proficiency for oracles. Since the GM is letting you do that as a custom thing, then I guess you're good.
There are some with revelations that allow you to conjure a suit of armor for yourself, though the protection from those armors is never that good... but there is no max Dex bonus or armor check penalty. But it's touch to build a character that actually takes advantage of that. There are others that allow you to use CHA instead of DEX for AC, but if you are going for ranged combat then you still want DEX.
Anyway, I don't mind playing healers personally but I know that some people don't like it as they feel they are working for themselves instead of everyone else.
My new favourite archetype for Oracles is the Pei Zin Practitioner. The Pei Zin practitioner gets a revelation at 1st level that works much like a paladin't lay on hands. So you get a pool of healing but are not tied to the Life revelation to get it. It is about herbalism, mainly. It has an oriental theme but maybe the GM could allow you to re-theme it to a barbarian's tribal herbalism. So if you went with that you could still pick a mystery that isn't all about healing.
Anyway, that's my 2¢.
In any case, it's all intellectual since the scope of this game is relatively small compared to my map(s) of the greater realm/world.
What can I say, I like maps. And I am hoping that the game will continue into higher levels and the scope of the game will increase.
It just seemed strange that effectively we were in the untamed wilds and heading towards the edge of it by heading to the keep. It seems like it should be the other way around, with us starting in civilization and heading into the wilds.
It could make sense if the road from Sowell's Orchard went south into the wilds, and then turned east just before the map started. In which case Sowell's Orchard would be northwest of the keep. It still poses the problem that it is easier for the denizens of the wilds to cut off the road if they don't have to get past the Keep to hit the road.
How big are the hexes?
I like maps too :) I've enjoyed your commentary and suggestions. Suffice it to say that my maps need some work for the sake of continuity and verisimilitude.
Take a look at the map of the realm now. I've added an orange box that roughly shows where I was picturing where these borderlands would be.
The hexes are 2 miles based on my original version of the map. I need to make a few calculations before I confirm this for gameplay purposes.
Oh!
No wonder, I thought it was IN the Untamed Wilds, like where the word "here" is in "Party is here."
So we are close to the sea then. Do I smell Kuo-Toa? :)
That box will be an area roughly 25 hexes by 20 hexes, so we won't quite be able to see the coast in the area you have laid out in the closeup map. Looks like the area you have drawn in the closeup map is perhaps 16-18 hexes across?
It looks like there is a road going north out of the Keep (I assume that's the little castle on the map at the east end of the visible area is the Keep). Is that the main road that goes from Sunter to Haven and beyond?
If the GM's okay with it, I think I'd like to switch out the medium armor proficiency for proficiency with bows.Unconventional, but approved. Go ahead with the swap if you want to.
Thank you. I'll have Eina's sheet updated soon.
Edit: Looking at the map, it looks like the closest unoccupied mountains are 600-800 miles away! Forget what I was asking about in the recruitment thread. She doesn't know jack about the Borderlands!
This does bring up a question. Would her being from the Frostfangs be okay? I was thinking her tribe had settled in north of Archdale on the forested side of the range where it splits, but I don't know if there would be enough space for barbarian tribes there. If that's not okay, what about the Untamed Lands? Are there any ranges there that she could hail from?
It looks like there is a road going north out of the Keep (I assume that's the little castle on the map at the east end of the visible area is the Keep). Is that the main road that goes from Sunter to Haven and beyond?
You'll have to wait and see, I guess. Teehee!
Just keep in mind the old "the map isn't accurate" card is playable here again. (I'm keeping a number of those aces up my sleeve with your sharp eye, lol...) Don't read too much into those roads, as they were from an era prewar and during the war, so many known routes likely aren't viable any longer.
If the GM's okay with it, I think I'd like to switch out the medium armor proficiency for proficiency with bows.Unconventional, but approved. Go ahead with the swap if you want to.Thank you. I'll have Eina's sheet updated soon.
Edit: Looking at the map, it looks like the closest unoccupied mountains are 600-800 miles away! Forget what I was asking about in the recruitment thread. She doesn't know jack about the Borderlands!
This does bring up a question. Would her being from the Frostfangs be okay? I was thinking her tribe had settled in north of Archdale on the forested side of the range where it splits, but I don't know if there would be enough space for barbarian tribes there. If that's not okay, what about the Untamed Lands? Are there any ranges there that she could hail from?
That big map was drawn up long ago as a cursory look at the Western Realm, and isn't necessarily complete or fully accurate. We can assume that there are mountains closer than the Frostfangs, they're just not pictured. In fact there are some mountains in the hex map you folks are going to be exploring.
I think a better choice might be to the south, past the Great River. In a recent home game I had a short adventure near there where we determined a number of barbarian tribes hailed from, along the northern rim of that swathe known to civilized folk as the Untamed Wilds. We can further assume those hill icons don't fully describe the landscape, and that there are some mountain ranges there.
Oh goody! Maybe we'll run into those goblins that raided the Storm Ravens. I think they missed one. >:D
Okay, so she's from the mountains in the northern Untamed Lands. Do they have a name already? If not, may I propose one?
Okay, so she's from the mountains in the northern Untamed Lands. Do they have a name already? If not, may I propose one?
Much of what now exists in my game world came into being because of somewhere or something one of my players referenced. I wholeheartedly encourage you guys to help me build my world with things like this. By all means, feel free to name things from your background that don't exist yet on my map.
Oh boy! I feel like a kid on Christmas morning!
A day's ride from the northern edge of what many call the Untamed Lands lie the Stormclaw Mountains, home to several barbarian tribes living as they have for centuries. The Stormclaws seem to always be crowned with the thunderheads that give the craggy peaks their name. Among the most feared of these tribes are the Thunderbirds, who make their homes high in the crags and are legendary for raising and riding giant eagles as black as the bottoms of the anvil clouds that flow down from the mountains.
Wooden stakes are also free, and finesse-able. Dunganagar can lend you one if you want. :)
I do find it strange that there isn't a free "light club" with similar stats as a regular club (probably 1d4 damage though, but also probably a 20-foot range increment) but a light weapon.
Since we're trying to set our characters in this world, any thoughts about a theocracy where someone might train up an army of tiefling child-soldiers? (Doesn't actually have to be a theocracy, really.)
Sweetwaters would make a good locale for this. During the war its strategic value can't be underestimated in that it hosted the largest and sturdiest bridges across the Great River, meaning ground forces would need to cross there to do so en masse. It was under hellish control for most of the war, and yet the city's people maintained a fierce resistance movement literally under the city in an abandoned complex of old sewers, hosted by the city's premier thieves guild. There were tunnels that led in/out of the city, used for smuggling people and goods, tunnels that went undiscovered for most of the war.
This climate makes it an ideal place where people would accept and protect tiefling children, which could have led to training a force of them.
If anyone is up for it here are a couple of passages from my last game that have some description of Sweetwaters, as the players encountered the city. There were some awesome RP moments that occurred there, so if you're bored I encourage to read a few pages of the game.
I do find it strange that there isn't a free "light club" with similar stats as a regular club (probably 1d4 damage though, but also probably a 20-foot range increment) but a light weapon.
I see no reason to deny that this item would be as available as any club. Anyone who wants to do so may use them/add them to your sheet.
You guys' opening RP is fantastic. I'm loving this group already!
My first post will be up in a little while, so we can finally get things moving.
For the sake of clarity I wanted to share something about my GM style in the PbP setting. When I go back to reread my old game, quite a bit of it (especially the beginning) makes me cringe as I see my silly formatting errors and my constant changing of tense. As a a result, when I am typing in-game, I'll be in one of a few different voices:
1) GM narrator voice - This is typically done in third person/past tense, describing the scene from an outside perspective as a storyteller might.
2) GM player voice - This is more personal, as if we're sitting across the table from one another and will most often be
3) NPC voice - This is obviously a voice other than my own, from someone you're interacting with in-game and will most often be in bold print to represent their voice, with "," used to show their specific words.
He looks lustfully at the young devil-blooded by his side. Oh, you are wasted on that little man, he thinks, imagining what they might do together.